Author's Note: They're not necessary for understanding what is going on, as details will get explained as they are made relevant, but for those of you who want to know the full story, this one is an offshoot from 'The Honeyglow Surge' (splits at chapter 33), which is in turn the sequel to 'A Sudden Surge'.

Special mention to Dixie Darlin for giving me the inspiration to write this story, as well as her blessing. The initial premise is somewhat similar to one of her stories, "The Path Not Taken", though it becomes completely different.

Furthermore, I'll state here that the Crumbelina mentioned in this story is 19 years old, being from Sugar Rush 2, a game set 10 years after the original Sugar Rush.

Litwak's Family Fun Center and Arcade, circa 1987.

Jet sat up suddenly, taking a deep, gasping breath as a bucket of water was dumped into his face. He had apparently crashed into a wall during a race in Turbo Time and was flung from his car.

"You okay there, brother?" Set asked with a goofy smile.

"You should have seen it!" Turbo said as he guffawed replaying the imagine in his head over and over again. "It was Turbo-tastic!"

Jet desperately looked at himself. His skin was grey again, and he was once again wearing that old familiar blue jumpsuit. His heart lurched. What am I doing here?! This game was unplugged ages ago! Where's Sugar Rush 2?! He ran out into Game Central Station ignoring the two.

"What's up with him?" Turbo asked.

"Mind your own business Turdbo," Set said as he ran after Jet.

"What's gotten into you?" Set asked as he finally caught up to Jet.

"No. No no no.." Jet said, "This isn't right!" Crumbelina.. No, I've got to wake up. I've got to WAKE UP. This is obviously a dream! He paced around trying to make sense of the situation.

"Jet, you're scaring me here," Set said worriedly, "Tell me what's up, I can help."

Jet leaned against the gateway to their game and hesitantly asked, "Is.. Is there a game called RoadBlasters in the arcade?" What the hell happened? I always wanted to go back.. But how? And why now after all this time? I've got a girlfriend for crying out loud, and a good life! I need to wake up from this. It can't be real..

"RoadBlasters?" Set asked, "Oh, is that the new game Litwak has been talking about? Look, it's nothing we need to worry about, right? We're the most popular in the arcade for crying out loud. There's no reason to wig out. And even if it does somehow become more popular, it's not like people will stop playing our game."

Jet's heart lurched again. Am I going to have to lose Turbo Time again? Was everything else just a dream? Was Crumbelina not real? I'm so confused.. No.. It had to be real, there's no way it wasn't real..

"Come on, let's go to Tapper's," Set said, "You look like you need it."

"H-have you ever thought that maybe we should have more friends?" Jet asked. If I have to be in this time, I might as well try to do things right this time.. Wait.. If those games don't get unplugged, will Sugar Rush still get plugged into this arcade? What about Sugar Rush 2?!.. No.. There's no way Litwak would pass up racing games. All that would change is that he gets new surge protectors early, right?

"More friends?" Set asked dismissively, "Look, you know how I feel about all these jokers. What do they have that you don't. All we need is each other."

"Hear me out.." Jet said, "Don't you think we could shake this place up a little?" I have to intrigue him into this first. He can't help but enjoy pulling pranks, this will be no different to him, right? But hang on, if Litwak gets new surge protectors earlier, then what? And then there's still the matter of RoadBlasters, how am I going to settle this?

"Oh, I like where this is going!" Set said menacingly, "Tell me more about this idea of yours."

"Well you know how everyone is scared of Bad Guys, right?" Jet said with a forced smile, "I say we show them what's what. How do you think those Good Guys will feel when they're shown to be the real bad guys around here?" It's about a 50/50 chance he loses interest with this.

"Oh, you mean you want us to be goody two-shoes," Set said with a sigh, "And here I thought it would be interesting."

"Come on," Jet said, "How often is it that we do something that's my idea?" Figures. I'll have to pull this card then. I rarely ever asked anything of him. If he doesn't want to help, I'll do it myself. RoadBlasters came out in 1987.. 26 years.. I have to make sure I survive 26 years before I meet Crumbelina again.. Her kid self doesn't count. Can I make this work?

"Alright, fine," Set said in a dissatisfied tone, "You'd better make this fun though. So where do we start?"

"Where to start?" Jet asked knowingly, "I think the best place to start would be Wreck-It Ralph. That guy always goes to Tapper's alone, pretty much the only person that ever talks to him is Tapper himself. I say we make him our first target." I think Set's reputation precedes him though, I wonder if Ralph would accept Set as a 'friend'.. I'd really rather not resort to killing Turbo and my brother if it can be at all avoided. Though that would be the simplest solution, wouldn't it? I still don't remember how to manipulate games so it's not like I can do that..

Set laughed excitedly and said, "Oh, now this I like! You do have a good head on your shoulders, brother."

"I thought you might agree," Jet said, forcing a playful smile. I have to keep myself the dominant one in this otherwise it'll trail off into whatever Set wants to do. I have to avoid that at all costs. I will not allow 'going Turbo' to become a thing this time. It will be a long time, Crumbelina.. But you're worth it. I still have no idea how I got sent back, but this is perfect..

"We were going to Tapper's anyway, let's see your plan in action," Set said happily.

All the way in the back of Tapper's, sitting by himself, was Ralph. He had a bored expression on his face, about as bored as you can expect from someone who has spent the last five years in near-isolation.

"H-heya Ralph," Jet said hesitantly as he and Set sat across from him. He's already suspicious, I can't blame him. We have the reputation of being pranksters..

"What do you guys want?" Ralph asked coldly as he sipped a root beer, "Whatever prank it is you're trying to pull, I'll have no part in it." If you're thinking of pranking me, don't think I'll let you get away with it. I've got enough on my plate as it is.

"Now, now, Ralph," Set said teasingly, "There's no reason to sit all by yourself, now is there?"

Jet looked at Set. Ugh, that is not helping at all, Set. He looked back over to Ralph and said, "We just thought you could use some company, that's all. Nobody truly wants to be alone, right?.. I know you Bad Guys get a bad reputation around here, and you don't deserve it. So we thought we could help." You've got to be at least a little receptive to this, Ralph. I won't let you suffer through 30 years again. At least you only have to wait 10 years for your best friend's game to get plugged in. Although I guess she might not be your best friend anymore.. I didn't think about that before.. How much should I change? They would still be good friends, right? And Ralph is dating the Vanellope from Sugar Rush 2 later on.. I have to keep all this in mind.. But what am I going to say, 'oh by the way you can't go dating anyone for 26 years, because this girl will come along that you end up dating'? Yeah right. Who would buy that crap? I don't even know if this arcade will have Sugar Rush 2 in 26 years.. It pains me to even think about that..

"Oh yeah?" Ralph asked dismissively, "And why now, after all this time?" I'll admit that being avoided gets pretty annoying at times. Most times. All the time.. Even Felix doesn't look me in the eye and he's pretty much the nicest guy in the entire arcade. But why now? They're up to something, but I suppose I could play along until they show their hand.

"Come on brother, he's obviously not interested," Set said as he began to stand up.

"No, I'm not going to accept that," Jet said to Set, which surprised him immensely, making him sit back down in shock. I think this is the first time I've ever said anything like that to Set.. "Why now? You're right.. We should have done this sooner, I'm sorry. But it just dawned on me today, that's all.. I mean, so what if you're a villain in your game? Does that mean you shouldn't have friends? It's not like you chose the role you play in the game." I need your help especially with this Ralph, otherwise this just won't work. It's for the best, trust me.

"Well.. You certainly seem.. as if you care, I guess.." Ralph said in shock, "Look, if it means that much to you, I'll play along with your little game for a while. But I've got my eye on you.." You'll have a lot of answering to do if you're going to turn around and say it's a joke.

"That hurts, Ralph," Jet said, "I'm being serious here. I know Set and I don't exactly have the best reputations either, but that's one more reason we should stand together." He's on board, what should I do next?

Author's Note: This is a story I've been thinking about doing for a while now. Ever since I started writing 'The Honeyglow Surge', actually.