WorldWide Wreck-It

Six Long Years

A large man took a bite of a large, ripe cherry as he sat on a metal bench, watching people walk by with a bored look. "Okay, here's something you definitely won't get, kid. Who do you think... Unironically watches soap operas?"

He turned to a small girl next to him, who was munching on her own cherry, cocked an eyebrow and looked up at him. "M. Bison, a-doi. He's a total softie when he isn't all 'murder happy psychic dictator'. Plus, he keeps being all chummy with Chun Lee, so there's that."

The larger man snorted, using his free hand to ruffle the little girl's hair. "Right you are, you little crumb muncher. I was pretty surprised when Zangief told me."

The little girl with candy in her hair sprung up onto her feet. "Of course you were, Stinkbrain. You barely ever think to just ask people this stuff. C'mon, you're always so nosy."

"You're projecting, kid", the man shot back with a laugh.

The girl huffed and sat back down, looking to the side with a sour pout. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Not my fault Taffyta's rubbing off onto me."

The man rolled his eyes good naturedly, and nudged the girl. "I'm just teasing ya', Vanny."

Vanellope snorted lightly and flashed the man a grin. "It was kinda obvious, Ralph."

The two arcade denizens returned to their simple guessing game as the more people flooded out of their games to enjoy their night. As more people flooded in, Ralph's smile grew more and more as his mind flashed back to six years ago. Feared and a taboo, living alone in the garbage of Niceland with no friends. Now he had not only finally made a best friend, but also a family and place within Litwack's.

People would smile and greet him rather than run away and hide. He was a frequent member of the weekly Bad-Anon, even getting a chance to host it every so often. And he had an actual home, a little shack in front of the massive brick pile that was just exactly what he wanted.

Vanellope, too, had her life change so much over the last six years. Once a glitch that everyone in Sugar Rush feared, she had finally reclaimed her title of princess (and promptly changed it to president), had become friends to all the racers, and even fulfilled her dream of being a playable racer.

Not to mention their shared secret of a second, chaotic family they became a part of a while back, all thanks to a kid and sword who got lost.

Litwack's itself shifted with the event. Ralph's escapade into Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush was well known all throughout. While he was chastised for nearly going 'Turbo', the fact he saved a whole game and stopped the original Turbo, it kinda balanced out in the end.

Ralph was knocked out of his musings when Vanellope suddenly stood up, smacking his arm with her finished cherry's stem. "C'mon Ham Hands, let's head to Tappers. Root Beers are on me!"

"Alright, alright, hang on kid", the wrecker said with a laugh. He finished the rest of his cherry hastily, then stood up and followed the energetic twelve year old towards the entrance of the ever popular root beer bar. They both tossed the cherry stems into a trash can before heading under the gate and along their way towards the train. It was loading up with characters, but luckily they were able to squeeze in at one end.

Once filled, the train automatically glided through the power cord, electricity sparking and arcing along the copper wiring. Vanellope rested on her usual spot on Ralph's shoulder, lazily looking towards the top of the wire.

"You ever wonder if Litwack's will get a new game, chumbo?" The racer asked absentmindedly.

The wrecker shrugged, making sure he didn't knock his friend down. "Who knows. Not a lot of companies really make arcade cabinets all that much any more, from what I've heard. A lot of players say Litwack's is a pretty rare sight."