Unplugged

Chapter Sixteen

This chapter is basically a lot of conversation going on between Vanellope and whoever she hit in the previous chapter. Some dialogue is serious-other dialogue is just for giggles. Enjoy.

Vanellope stops her kart and jumps out of it to see who she hit. It's Tamora. She's on the ground clutching her leg and there's blood trickling from her nose. Lucky for her, she's wearing her armor. Without it, it could have been a lot worse.

"You gotta be kidding me," Tamora grunts.

"Sweet mother of monkey milk! Are you okay?!" Vanellope asks. She helps Tamora sit up and Vanellope gasps when she sees the blood from Tamora's nose.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tamora waves it off with one arm still holding onto her leg. "I might have broke my leg, though. You really gotta watch where you're driving."

"Wait, you broke your leg and you're cool with it?? Man, you are one tough cookie!"

"I'm a drill sergeant. I'm suppose to be a tough cookie," Tamora half smiles. "You're gonna have to give me a ride now to make up for this. I need Felix to fix this, obviously."

"Of course," Vanellope wraps her arms around Tamora and Vanellope glitches, so Tamora's now seated on the back of Vanellope's kart. "Felix should be in his game. I was heading there anyway, so it's a win-win," Vanellope sits down in her kart and revs the engine.

"Wait, his game isn't here anymore," Tamora notes while wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

"Yeah it is, doi! It just got moved to a different power strip. That explains why it was unplugged a day early," Vanellope begins to drive.

"Well, that's great. Now Felix won't be so depressed anymore."

"Aw, man, I've never seen him so depressed!" Vanellope exclaims.

"Me either! He smiles all the time and yesterday I didn't see him even smirk once," Tamora adds and shrugs. "The whole tragedy was a lot for him to take in, though, so that explains it. But, everything's back to normal now. The game's back. That's good."

"I don't know if it's staying, though," Vanellope drives her kart into the cord to Game Central Station. Now the two are riding along in the wall cables, finding their way to Station 3.

"Probably not. 1980s games aren't so hot nowadays," Tamora shrugs again. She's still holding onto her right leg with one hand while the other is holding onto the kart. "And Fix-It Felix Jr is all the proof you need."

"I don't get it. Fix-It Felix Jr sounds like a fun game to play. You play as this cute little guy with a magic hammer and you have to fix windows while Ralph smashes up the building-and you have these turbo pies that turn Felix's hat into this multi-colored flashing helmet thing and gives him super speed. That's kind of cool if you ask me!" Vanellope explains.

"Yeah, well the game's 8-bit, and that's probably the main problem. Kids these days are on the lookout for games with high definition and smooth animation-and Fix-It Felix Jr is the total opposite. Felix can only move in right angles during gameplay. It's not appealing to the gamers."

"But he's so adorable!" Vanellope argues. "And right angles are amazing! The gamers don't know what they're missing out on."

Tamora winces at the pain in her leg when she tries to move it. She then adds, "All games go eventually, V, and if your game lasted about thirty-five years, you are one lucky person. What I'm saying is nothing lasts forever."

"I know that," Vanellope sighs. The two arrive at the right wire and the travel through it, arriving at Station 3. The station is totally empty, mainly because there are only about five games plugged into this power strip. Vanellope remembers where Fix-It Felix Jr is located and she drives to the correct outlet. She's about to drive into the cord, but she freezes.

"You alright, kid?" Tamora asks.

"I'm just so excited to see Ralph," Vanellope answers. "A little too excited, though. I feel butterflies in my guts." Tamora snickers and leans over in her seat.

"Just think of this as a normal visit to Fix-It Felix Jr. You'll be fine," Tamora softly says. Vanellope nods and her kart then moves forward. Tamora flinches at another sharp pain in her leg from the kart moving again so suddenly. The two travel down the long wire to the game console.

"Hey, Sergeant?" Vanellope says. Tamora gives Vanellope her attention. "Felix was exhausted this morning. He had these dark circles under his eyes. I asked why and he didn't really give me an answer. He just said--" Vanellope says the next phrase in a southern accent to mimic Felix's voice. "A lot happened."

Tamora snickers at Vanellope's impersonation. Then Vanellope continues in her own voice. "Do you know why he was like that?"

"Ehh, we may have got into a little fight," Tamora answers casually.

"Whoa, like a fist fight?" Vanellope asks unbelievingly.

"Nah, it mainly involved emotional trash, but I'll make up for it tonight," Tamora promises.

"How?"

"I have some ideas..." That's all Tamora says and a sly smirk forms on her face. Vanellope gets the message and she sticks out her tongue in disgust.

I couldn't help myself with the last thing Tamora said. I mean, you are reading a story written by a 'Hero's Cuties' fan (Which means I might post a Felix and Tamora romance story someday, so heed this warning!)

Ship it like FedEx.  ;>