(Cubed Cinder; idea by BiggerBetterBarbie)
While it was business as usual in his beloved arcade, Mr. Litwak sat down in
front of his beaten-up-but-he'll-never-let-it-go iMac G3 where he saw a message
prompt.
"Oh? A firmware update is now available for your router? Hmmm… okay then." Mr.
Litwak said as he clicked on OK and followed the instructions.
At the same time, a familiar face beamed in from the terminal that would
normally send Mr. Litwak's avatar into the literal world wide web. That face was
Vanellope von Schweetz.
"Woohoo! Hello, sweet empty Wifi!" Vanellope shouted, staying silent for a few
seconds as she listened to her voice echo through the rest of the router's
insides.
"Ahhhh… I never get tired of that sweet, sweet echo. But never mind that. I
wonder what everyone in the arcade will think of seeing me again. Especially
Ralph… that big stink face. Hahaha!" Vanellope said. Before she could take
another step, however, she watched as the router suddenly lit up with a bright
light.
"Uhhhh… okay. What's happening?" Vanellope asked. She then saw a virtual screen
light up on the ceiling that read:
"Firmware update in progress? What's a firmware update?" Vanellope said.
It was after Mr. Litwak clicked the last OK button that the upgrade process
started for the router. Of course, it looked perfectly normal on the outside
(aside from a few blinking green and orange lights on the router), but inside
the router, the light was getting too bright for Vanellope to handle… and
suddenly she found herself getting zapped left and right with static
electricity.
"AEIOUUUUUUUUUUEIOAAAAAAAA!!!" Vanellope said as she contorted in all sorts of
directions, unable to fight against or glitch out of the electricity.
Eventually, Vanellope just plain disappeared from sight.
When Vanellope felt the relentless electric attack stop, she opened her eyes
and stood back on her feet, brushing her dress.
"Whoa… and I thought getting rolled over by a Jawbreaker was bad enough."
Vanellope said. She then looked around and tried to figure out where she was,
although her vision was still blurry from the wild ride.
"Where… am… I?" Vanellope said. She suddenly heard thumping sounds behind her
that got louder and louder, and also a female voice that sounded like it came
from a loudspeaker.
"Come on, Chloe! I bet I can finally beat Hero's Duty this time!" one female
girl said.
"Whoa, Max! Slow down!" the other girl said. Vanellope turned around to look at
where the voices came from, and she suddenly saw two giga-sized teenage girls
running in her direction with giga-sized sneakers approaching fast.
"Spit!!!" Vanellope said as she glitched out of the way, just avoiding getting
crushed unknowningly by the giantesses. As Vanellope caught her breath, she was
taken aback by how massive the girls were.
"Holy silicon…" Vanellope said. And that's when she looked around and saw the
rest of her surroundings.
She was actually in Litwak's arcade, but very VERY small. Probably no bigger
than a quarter to half an inch tall. And speaking of quarters, she watched as a
very huge one suddenly came rolling towards her.
"Meep!" Vanellope shouted as she got running, using her glitch powers to speed
up her running. Even when tucking herself against another machine, she gulped
nervously as the quarter came closer and closer, only for it to finally tip over
and land on the ground. At the same time, Vanellope watched as a giant boy (with
his even bigger mother behind him) reached down and scooped up the quarter.
"Timmy! Be careful with your quarters. We've talked about how valuable those
things are." the Mom said.
"Sorry, Mom! Can we play Fix-it Felix Jr. one more time before we go get some
pizza?" Timmy asked.
"Well, alright. I suppose one more game can't hurt." the Mom said as the two
walked away. Vanellope looked around once more.
"Geez… I know there are those Mini Mushrooms in Mario's world, but they wouldn't
shrink me this small! I have to find out how I can get back to Game Central
Station…" Vanellope said. Then she looked out in the distance at her former
home… the Sugar Rush machine.
"Maybe I can still get back into my old home… even though Taffyta would have a
field day if she saw me like this." Vanellope said as she glitched her way
towards Sugar Rush, avoiding more and more giant children that ran around.
Eventually, Vanellope found herself inside the machine, confused as ever
seeing she was standing on nothing more than a printed circuit board, finding
herself surrounded by capacitors, transistors, fuses, and other parts that make
up the inside of an arcade cabinet.
"Ooooookay… so how do I get into the game world? This must be all the insides of
the games that Stanley the Bugman used to brag about until he got unplugged."
Vanellope said. She approached one of the CPU traces and took a deep breath.
"Maybe I can force my way back inside if I glitch my way through this weird
pathway here." Vanellope said as she activated her glitch powers while holding
onto the trace. However, in doing so, an incredible surge of energy went through
the entire board, zapping Vanellope along with it.
"AEIOUUUUUUUUUUEIOAAAAAAAANOTAGAIN!!!" Vanellope said. The young girl tried and
tried and tried, but finally was able to break free and teleport out of the
machine.
Vanellope was back outside in the arcade… but something looked different.
"Huh? I coulda swore the floor was a LOT closer." Vanellope said. She was
nowhere near as small as before, but at the same time, she was watching the
floor slowly fade away. Not only that, but the ceiling was getting a little
closer as well.
"Wait… am I getting bigger now?" Vanellope said. As she looked from floor to
ceiling, she ended up wandering out from behind the Sugar Rush cabinet. The
gasps of many adults and children was what snapped Vanellope out of her trance
as she looked at the many people staring at her.
"Look, Mommy! It's Vanellope from Sugar Rush!" one young girl said.
"Er… yes, dear… I see that." the Mom said.
"That's probably just someone inside a costume." an older man said.
"Wow! She's getting bigger! Like she ate a mushroom!" a young boy said. And
that's when it hit Vanellope. If she didn't escape now, she was going to get too
big for the arcade and send a whole bunch of her friends into the big video game
graveyard in the sky.
"Er… look out, everyone!" Vanellope said as she charged through the crowd and
made her way to the automatic double doors that led outside.
While they did open, Vanellope found herself stuck before she could crawl her
way out.
"Ack! I'm stuck!" Vanellope said. With her upper body sticking out, she watched
as people who were ready to enter the arcade went screaming for their cars and
drove away.
"No! Wait! Come back and support Mr. Litwak!" Vanellope said as she felt her
squeeze getting tighter and tighter.
"Provided I don't bring the house down… oh!" Vanellope said as she felt
something pushing against her behind. It was actually the people inside who were
trying to push the growing digital and sweet-infested girl outside, even as one
of her shoes was shoving arcade machines (like Dance Dance Revolution) out of
place. Finally, with help from the growing Vanellope herself as she kicked and
clawed her way out, she was outside the arcade. As she stood up, she watched the
world around her continue to shrink and people fled away however they could.
Finally, the growing stopped. Vanellope didn't know how big she had grown,
but she was definitely big enough to take out the whole arcade in a couple
steps.
"Whoooooooa… I gotta talk with Princess Peach about how strong those Mega
Mushrooms are. Bleh… who am I kidding? I'm this big because of some… I don't
know… super all powerful mighty glitch." Vanellope said. She then looked out in
the distance, following the road that was Route 83 that eventually led to the
big city.
"Well, since I'm way too big to glitch back to Game Central Station, I might as
well have some Donkey Kong-sized fun!" Vanellope said as she flexed her arms and
started walking towards the city, already showing a smile on her face as she
heard each of her footsteps leave behind a thunderous boom sound.
The news broadcasts blaring all over radios and TVs made sure everyone in the
city knew the giant Vanellope was heading their way, but for those who were
somehow clueless, all they had to do was look out in the distance and see the
giantess approaching.
"Oh my god! That's Vanellope von Schweetz from Slaughter Race!" a young man
shouted.
"I thought she was in Sugar Rush? My granddaughter loves that game!" an older
woman said.
"That was before they updated the game and she became an ambassador of the
kingdom. Don't you remember?" another woman said.
"Who cares!? She's big and heading this way! She'll crush us all! It's the video
apocalypse coming to fruition!" another man said before everyone got to running,
especially as Vanellope arrived just outside the city, already buildings unable
to tower past her waist.
"Fufufufufu! Look out, little players, because Vanellope von Schweetz is gonna
crush you all like lollipops under my kart!" Vanellope said as she took one step
forward and flattened an apartment building under her boot (dressed up with
dried up gum).
"Whoa! I could get used to this!" Vanellope said as she continued to take step
after step over the city. She took her steps slow, not wanting to purposely
crush any people, especially children, underneath her boots. These were future
Slaughter Race players she might be crushing, after all!
Still, that didn't mean she couldn't have some fun, especially as she looked
down and saw a parked semi truck that had a picture of a candy cane on the side.
"Oooooooh… a candy cane! I wonder if there's all sorts of sweets and goodies
inside!" Vanellope said as she reached down and grabbed the truck, lifting it up
to her head and licking her lips. She tilted the back of the truck towards her
open mouth. However…
"Empty!? Bleh! What kind of sweet delivery truck would drive around empty!?"
Vanellope said as she slammed the truck on the ground out of frustration,
causing it to explode. She next stepped all over the vehicle, leaving it nothing
more than scrap metal.
"Maybe that truck was meant for that 18 Wheeler game. Whatever." Vanellope said
as she got back to walking around. As she did so, however, she clipped a
building with the ponytail of her hair, watching as pieces of it rained down on
the ground.
"Whoops! Runaway ponytail!" Vanellope said.
And yet, as she watched building pieces rain down and people ran left and right
to dodge them, it made her feel good on top of seeing just how much destruction
her hair caused. In fact, it made her feel like wrecking something, much like
her good friend, Ralph.
"Teehee… now it's my turn to wreck it!" Vanellope said as she raised her fists
up and then slammed them down, pummeling the building until it collapsed to the
ground.
"Awesome!" Vanellope said as she danced around in victory, crushing a few cars
and parking meters in her path. Then she watched one of the yellow stars that
was attached in her hair fell off and land on the ground.
"Eh, you all can eat that. Hey, it's got cornstarch in it!" Vanellope said as
she playfully walked away from the area.
Vanellope soon made her way into a park, watching as parents and children
alike came to a stop as they saw the giantess arrive. She then recognized a
couple of young girls.
"Oh! I remember you two! You set new time trial records in Sugar Rush with me!"
Vanellope said. She walked up to the teenage-looking girls and picked them up
before they could run away. The girls looked very scared as they stared into
Vanellope's gigantic face.
"Awww… don't be scared. I just want to thank you two for making me look good
that day!" Vanellope said.
"Er… thanks, but…" the girl said.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Vanellope asked.
"I'm glad you feel that way, but…" the girl said, and then the other girl jumped
in.
"I miss you in Sugar Rush. It's like the game is not the same ever since you
stopped showing up in the daily rotation." the other girl said. Vanellope had a
sad look on her face, but then smiled again.
"Don't be sad. The game is better because you have more great racers to choose
from! Besides, I'm living my dream of being in Slaughter Race." Vanellope said.
"Oh? I thought video game characters didn't have dreams." one girl said.
"Teehee… you'd be surprised what characters like me, Wreck-it Ralph, Sonic, and
others are thinking when the lights in the arcade go out. Or in my case, when
nobody on the Internet is playing!" Vanellope said.
The giantess then set the two ladies back down on the ground.
"Anyway, run along, you two! I got some more giantess type things to do!"
Vanellope said as she stepped over the girls and made her way out of the park.
As she was doing so, however, she watched as she started glitching out.
"Huh? Oh no… don't tell me it's out of control again!" Vanellope said.
Eventually she watched as her body started to pixelate, and those pixels were
vanishing one by one.
"What… what's happening!?" Vanellope said before she vanished completely. Some
people breathed a sigh of relief that the giantess had vanished and was no
longer a problem for their city. However, Vanellope was about to be a giant
problem for other video game worlds.
In the Mushroom Kingdom lay a distant land called Giant Land, home of one to
two dozen Toads who had their growth spurts kick into overdrive at a young age.
Among the Toads, which included Prince Hugo the Huge, was a lone human who lived
on the island and was married to the prince… a 64-foot-tall human woman known to
everyone as Princess Apple. The two were walking peacefully down a dirt path,
holding each other's arms and looking around at their fellow giant citizens
living their lives.
"Look around, my sweet. Everyone's having such a good time!" Hugo said.
"You're right, honey! It's nice to see such a peaceful atmosphere." Apple said.
"You know, speaking of peaceful, our wedding anniversary is coming up." Hugo
said.
"That's right! I take it you're going to drop something beautiful and gorgeous
in my lap?" Apple asked.
"Heh heh… you'll see." Hugo said. Just then, the two stopped when they saw a
series of blue blocks suddenly appear out of thin air and gradually come
together.
"Huh? What's all that?" Hugo asked.
"Oh no… I hope it isn't another attack from Dark Land." Apple said.
Finally, the blue pixels all finished their coming together show and formed
into the 80-foot-tall Vanellope, who landed right on her behind.
"Ow! This makes the trip to and from the Internet via Wi-Fi silky smooth."
Vanellope said as she slowly stood to her full height.
"It's… it's a young human girl." Apple said.
"Do you suppose she's from what's now Diamond City?" Hugo asked.
"I don't know. I've never seen her before." Apple said as the two approached
Vanellope, who looked confusingly at them at first.
"Who… who are you?" Vanellope asked.
"Don't be afraid, young lady. We don't hurt you. My name is Princess Apple, and
this is my husband, Prince Hugo the Huge." Apple said.
"Uh huh… more royalty. Then again, I was a princess and then a president. I'm
Vanellope von Schweetz from Slaughter Race!" Vanellope said. Apple and Hugo
looked at each other confusingly.
"Strange… I've never heard of that land, and I've been everywhere in the
Mushroom Kingdom." Hugo said. Vanellope gasped.
"Wait, I'm in the Mushroom Kingdom!? Er… where exactly? I don't recognize this
part of it." Vanellope said.
"Why you're in Giant Land!" Apple said.
"Oh? Giant Land? You mean there's a land just for giants? I guess that explains
why you're just a little bit shorter than me compared to the city I was just
in." Vanellope said.
"Oh? So this is not your normal size?" Hugo asked.
"No, it's not. Kinda a long story. Listen, could you just point the way to
Princess Peach's Castle?" Vanellope said.
"Sure! Follow us. We know a shortcut there." Apple said as the three giants made
their way down the path back towards Giant Land Castle.
They eventually made it to the side of the castle (past Madzilla mowing the
lawn) where a just as big as them warp pipe was resting.
"This warp pipe connects Giant Land with Grass Land, just outside where Princess
Peach's Castle lies dead center of the Mushroom Kingdom. It's only a short walk
from the pipe to the castle." Apple said.
"Okay, thanks!" Vanellope said. She climbed into the pipe and tried to fall down
inside it, but… she was having trouble getting through, no doubt thanks to being
bigger than the typical giant in Giant Land.
"Er… could I get a little help here?" Vanellope asked.
"Oh, of course, dear child." Hugo said as he and Apple reached up and pushed
down on Vanellope's head. It took a few tries, which included a lot of wiggling
from Vanellope herself, but finally she sunk into the pipe, her happy cry (like
she was going down a slide) fading as she fell deeper and deeper.
"She seems like a nice girl." Hugo said.
"I agree. I hope we see her again." Apple said as the two walked away from the
warp pipe and went back on their peaceful walk.
Vanellope was getting worried that the pipe tour would never end, but finally
she could see light at the end of the tunnel. When she emerged, she found
herself in Grass Land and, sure enough, Princess Peach's Castle and Toad Town
were out in the distance.
"Ahhhh… there's Peach's sweet, sweet castle. I sure hope Mario is there too. I
oughta give him a piece of my mind for not coming to any anniversary parties for
Sugar Rush… OR Ralph's game!" Vanellope said as she approached Toad Town.
Unsurprisingly, the Toads stopped what they were doing when they saw the
colorful giantess approaching.
"Greetings, Mushroom people, I come in peace!" Vanellope said as she grinned and
gave the peace sign. Many of the Mushroom retainers looked at each other
confusingly while others ran back inside their houses, which made Vanellope
giggle.
"Really? That's your way of staying safe from a giant girl? Running back inside
when she might crush your house!?" Vanellope shouted. This comment got the other
Mushroom retainers nervous. Vanellope realized what she just said, first
covering her mouth and waving her arms around.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down! I'm not gonna crush anything! Honest! I'm not like
that brute, Bowser!" Vanellope said. Some of the Toads continued to run around,
prompting the giantess to shrug her shoulders.
"Eh, whatever. I just want to say hi to Princess Peach." Vanellope said as she
made her way through Toad Town, making sure not to accidentally crush anyone or
anything as she walked in a straight line towards Peach's Castle.
Of course, this chaotic activity was not lost on Peach's Castle nor its
occupants inside. Running out onto one of the balconies were Princess Peach and
Toadsworth.
"I say! Who is that giant monstrosity!?" Toadsworth said.
"Don't you remember, Toadsworth? That's Vanellope von Schweetz! She was a guest
racer in one of the Mario Kart races. Quite skilled, if I must say." Peach said.
"Oh… well… she certainly has grown up since she last came here!" Toadsworth
said. Vanellope approached the castle and got down on her knees to better see
Peach from the balcony.
"Yo, Peach! What's up?" Vanellope said.
"Er… aside from you?" Peach jokingly asked.
"Hahaha! That's what I like about you, princess. Having a sense of humor."
Vanellope said.
"It's been a while, Vanellope. What brings you here, and how did you get that
big?" Peach asked.
"Well, that's kind of a long story. I came here because Princess Apple pointed
the way." Vanellope said.
"Ah, of course! So how did you like Giant Land?" Peach asked.
"It's cool, but it makes me feel… normal-sized compared to here." Vanellope
said.
"Good point." Peach said. Vanellope then let out a smile as she posed her next
question.
"Hey! Is Mario around? I haven't seen him in a while either." Vanellope asked.
"He's down in the kitchen eating some pasta. Hold on, I'll go get him." Peach
said as she temporarily left the balcony.
As Vanellope waited for Peach to return, she casually walked to the side of
the castle and leaned against it, something that didn't sit well with Toadsworth
as he watched a few pieces of the outermost walls get rubbed off.
"Argh! Young lady, do you know how valuable this castle is!?" Toadsworth
shouted. Vanellope got off from the castle and looked at Toadsworth.
"Okay, okay! Sorry! I'm still getting used to being this big! Don't blow a
gasket, old man." Vanellope said.
"Hmph… for someone who technically is still royalty, she's such a big pain in
the…" Toadsworth mumbled, only to look up and see a face full of Vanellope's
giant face.
"What's that, old man? You're gonna have to speak up." Vanellope said with a
somewhat evil grin on her face.
"Oh, um! Nothing! Nothing at all!" Toadsworth said. Vanellope then backed away
when she saw the balcony doors open up. Coming out were Peach and, as promised,
Mario.
"MARIO! There you are, you super duper famous jumping superstar, you!" Vanellope
shouted.
"Mama mia!" Mario shouted.
He was not prepared for the giant Vanellope reaching out and wrapping her
hand around him. Vanellope smiled as she held him up to her face.
"Teehee… Mario, Mario, Mario. You're a hard guy to come by, you know that?"
Vanellope said.
"Eeeep…" Mario said.
"You're so busy doing things left and right, and yet you didn't have time to
come to the anniversary parties of Sugar Rush OR Fix-it Felix Jr.?" Vanellope
said.
"Forgive me, Vanellope! Like you said, I was just so busy, especially lately
with touring places like London and Tokyo via kart!" Mario said.
"Hahaha! Yeah, I forgive you, paisano! Even Felix has come to realize how busy
you are. Still, a simple hello could've done!" Vanellope said.
"I'll remember that for the next anniversary! And hey! You know how to speak
Italian?" Mario said.
"Cool, thanks! And yeah. Italian is one of the voices programmed into Sugar
Rush, remember?" Vanellope said.
"Ummmm… Vanellope, could you please put Mario back down? You're making me
nervous…" Peach said from the balcony.
"Okay! Sorry about that." Vanellope said as she gently placed Mario down on the
balcony. He and Peach shared a quick hug while Vanellope folded her arms.
"Seriously? When are you two going to get hitched? It feels like it's been 35
years or something and…" Vanellope said.
She stopped talking, however, when she felt her body tingling. She looked
down and saw she was glitching out again.
"Whoops, I guess it's time to get a move on. Tell Luigi I said hi!" Vanellope
said.
"Farewell, Vanellope. Let us meet again! Perhaps without the giant antics…"
Peach said.
"It's a deal, princess! Whoaaaaaaa!" Vanellope said before she vanished into
thin air again.
Inside Fix-it Felix Jr. was the humble town of, well… its name is not
important. What is important was the almost mountain-sized pile of bricks and
other random bits of garbage. Behind that pile was the formation of the giant
Vanellope, this time with a much softer landing.
"Whew… much better. I'm getting an S rank already it seems!" Vanellope said. She
stood on the tips of her toes to look over the mountain of garbage and took a
couple whiffs as well.
"Whoa… foul stench. Mountain of bricks. That can only mean…" Vanellope said as
she smiled once she recognized the scenery.
"Fix-it Felix Junior!" Vanellope said. She looked to the right at the massive
window that was the world of Litwak's Arcade. She didn't see a single person.
Not one in front of Fix-it Felix Jr., and not at any other machine. Of course,
she knew exactly why.
"Yeah, I scared everyone out during my little growth spree. I wonder if anybody
in here and the other machines saw that." Vanellope said. She then looked in the
heart of the city where the game typically took place. There she saw Ralph
banging away at the top of the building, breaking windows up and down while
citizens were begging Felix to fix it.
"Hmmm… I guess now's a good time to be practicing… like they do in Slaughter
Race overnight! Sigh… I miss that game already. Shank is probably worried sick
about me." Vanellope said. She then rested an elbow on the mountain of bricks,
watching as the game played out.
But once Felix was one floor away, Vanellope realized something. Ralph was
going to take another hard fall to the ground shortly, and she couldn't help but
wonder…
"Hey… maybe I can play the hero for a change." Vanellope said. As the citizens
presented Felix with a pie as thanks for fixing all the broken windows and then
picked up Ralph, Vanellope spread apart as much bricks as she could as she
plowed her way through the mountain. Right as Ralph went plummeting down the
building…
"Waaaaaaaaah!" Ralph screamed. He suddenly felt himself land on something soft.
"Oh? Did they finally give me a soft landing spot? Not that I was complaining.
Like Kano said, you can't mess with…" Ralph said, only for him to look up and
see a familiar face, only bigger.
"The program, right, stinkbutt?" Vanellope said with a smile.
"Sweet mother of monkey milk!!" Ralph shouted. Felix and the other citizens of
the game world ran to the edge of the building, wondering why they didn't hear
that familiar thud sound of Ralph landing on the pavement. That's when they saw,
almost as tall as the building they were standing on, the giant Vanellope.
"Vanellope!?" Felix shouted.
"Whoa! Who snuck the Mega Mushrooms into the game?" one of the men said.
"*&^%!?" Q*Bert randomly blurted out.
"You said it, Q*Bert." Felix said.
Vanellope then looked up at the others.
"Teehee… hi, everyone! Let's just say this is some kind of temporary glitch that
I hope gets resolved soon. Why don't you all take 5? I mean… nobody's in the
arcade right now!" Vanellope said as she pointed over her shoulder at the empty
arcade in the distance.
"Who's up for a root beer run!?" one of the female citizens shouted as everyone
followed her inside.
"Eh heh… you guys go ahead. I'm gonna go give Sergeant Sugar Plum… er, I mean…
Sergeant Calhoun a call." Felix said as he took the nearby staircase. This left
Vanellope and Ralph all to themselves.
"Whoa… kid… you've really grown up." Ralph said.
"*snickers* In more ways than one! But you know what I like best about this?"
Vanellope said.
"What's that?" Ralph asked, only to have to hold on as Vanellope raised her palm
up. The giantess eventually dropped Ralph onto one of her shoulders.
"You get to ride my shoulder for a change." Vanellope said. As she walked
towards the pile of bricks that Ralph usually called home, this brought a smile
to the bad guy's face.
"Nothin' wrong with that." Ralph said. Vanellope plopped herself down atop the
bricks and looked down at her shoulder towards Ralph.
Ralph and the giant Vanellope spent the next few minutes chatting with each
other on what's been happening with each other, including of course how
Vanellope grew.
"Heh, that's certainly a new one. I mean, in how you grew. Never would've
guessed that with all the games I've seen come and gone." Ralph said.
"I know, right? One more reason to embrace my glitch powers, right?" Vanellope
said.
"Still, when you do think you'll revert to normal? I mean, you can't race in
Slaughter Race like that, right?" Ralph said. This brought a bit of a frown to
her face as he brought up a good point… there was no car possibly big enough to
suit her.
"Maybe it will wear out on its own, but yeah, that'd be a bummer if I couldn't
race anymore. I mean, being a giantess is fun, but not nearly as fun as racing
avatars who would like nothing more than to claim your ride." Vanellope said.
"You've probably racked up the medals in that category, kiddo." Ralph said.
"Pfffft! It's the Internet, Ralph! There are no medals!" Vanellope said.
"Right, right, you've told me. It's all trophies and achievements and
gamerscore. When did games get so violent and complicated? I mean, back in my
day, it was a joystick and one or two buttons. And quarters, and…" Ralph said.
Vanellope couldn't help but giggle.
"You sound like an old man talking like that." Vanellope said.
"Old!? Try telling that to those two paddles in that Pong game!" Ralph shouted.
"HAHAHAHA!!!" Vanellope said as she broke into a laughter. She rocked back and
forth as Ralph fought to keep his balance.
"Hey… nice keeping your balance!" Vanellope commented.
"Heh heh… I've gotten quite nimble over these past few years." Ralph said.
Before Vanellope could say anything more, however, she looked down and saw
she was beginning to glitch out again.
"Uh oh…" Vanellope said.
"Kid? What's wrong?" Ralph said, holding on as Vanellope set him back down on
the ground.
"I guess it's time for me to visit another castle… er, world! Talk later,
stinkbutt!" Vanellope said before vanishing in a series of blue pixels again.
Ralph scratched the back of his head.
"Man… wherever she goes next, I hope they're ready." Ralph said as he went back
to the apartment building to tell everyone the coast is clear.
When Vanellope regained her vision after being blinded by pixels galore, she
immediately recognized the next spot she was visiting.
"Oooooooh… I'm back in Sugar Rush!" Vanellope said as she walked near what was
left of Diet Cola Mountain. She peeked inside and saw there was still a mess of
rocks and boulders around what used to be her home track.
"Heh… I'm surprised they still haven't cleaned up this mess and reopened the
track. What do they think this is? River Country?" Vanellope said. She then
squinted and looked out in the distance where she saw the main race track, Sugar
Rush Speedway.
"Haha! Wait until the other racers get a load of me now! Er… literally?"
Vanellope said as she stomped towards the track, stomping all over the pink
lollipop plains along the way.
Of course, the race was going on without anyone knowing about the giant
Vanellope's arrival. They were all racing to decide who the 9 selectable racers
are the next time the game is in operation. In the lead was Taffyta Muttonfudge,
and not too far behind her was Rancis Fluggerbutter.
"Ha! Last lap coming up! I'd like to see you peanut butter cup your way past me
Rancis!" Taffyta said over her shoulder as she looked back at Rancis.
"Ooooooh! I oughta send you flying all the way to the Laffy Taffy vines!" Rancis
commented. The two, and the rest of the racers, were making their way out of the
tunnel towards the finish line to begin the last lap. As they did so, however,
the ground began to thump with each passing second. Even the crowd was wondering
was the commotion was about, but when one of the sugar infested citizens of this
world from the bleachers pointed upward.
"Giant girl!" she shouted. Sure enough, stepping out from behind the tallest of
the bleachers was the giant Vanellope.
"Hello, my little racer friends!" Vanellope said as she proudly stomped over the
start/finish gate, crushing it beneath her boots. All the racers slammed on
their brakes and came to a skidding stop, some karts (like Taffyta's and
Rancis's) coming within inches of slamming into the giantess's boots.
"V…V…Vanellope!?" Taffyta shouted.
"Hmmhmm… Taffyta. Figures you'd be the one taking my place as always leading."
Vanellope said as she started to reach down towards her and the other racers.
Everyone didn't waste anytime abandoning their carts and running for safety.
However, by the time Taffyta and Rancis got out of their vehicles, they were
already wrapped up by the giantess's hand.
"EEEEEEK!" they both screamed as Vanellope lifted them up towards her face.
"Hahaha! Nice view, isn't it?" Vanellope said.
"What… what do you want with us, your highness!?" Rancis said.
"Nothing much. There's something I gotta do first before I deal with you two,
and that's…" Vanellope said as she smirked and then took two steps forward. In
those two steps, she crushed every single kart into numerous pieces, especially
as she twisted her foot left and right.
"Oooooh… that felt so good! Makes me wish being giant was a power up in this
game!" Vanellope said.
"My… my kart!!" Taffyta shouted.
"Chill out, Taffyta! You know you can always build another one at the factory!
Well, that is…" Vanellope said.
"What?" Rancis asked.
"That is unless you don't survive being in my belly! This'll be like eating
gumdrops…" Vanellope said as she licked her lips a few times.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!!!" Taffyta suddenly screamed, with
tears pouring out of her eyes. She and Rancis screamed together as Vanellope
opened her mouth and slowly brought the duo closer and closer to her open mouth.
Then she pulled them back and laughed.
"Hahahahaha! Oh man! You two should've seen the looks on your faces!" Vanellope
said.
"You're… you're not going to eat us?" Rancis said.
"Give me a break! I'm trying to lower my sugar intake this year, especially
being in Slaughter Race the whole time. And besides, you both knew you'd just
regenerate, right?" Vanellope said, prompting quick nods from the two in her
hand.
"So… can you let us go? Are you done toying with us?" Taffyta said.
"Heck no! I'd hate myself if I didn't do this one thing while I'm this size."
Vanellope said as she tightened her grip on Rancis and Taffyta and then walked
forward at a rather brisk pace.
That brisk pace allowed her to catch up with some of the other racers, 4 more
in fact. They all stopped when Vanellope planted her boots down in front of
them.
"Awwwww… don't leave! The fun is just getting started!" Vanellope said as she
scooped up these other racers, cradling a total of six now in her arms. After
giving them a hug that made some of them squeal in pain from getting squeezed
too hard, Vanellope laid flat on her back and threw the other racers all over
her clothes.
"Now then, I could use a gooooood massage after all the walking around I've
done. And if anyone even thinks about running, well…" Vanellope said as she
raised one of her hands and slammed it down, leaving an arm-shaped crater
nearby.
"…you'll be flatter than Flat Wario for sure!" Vanellope said. The other racers
didn't waste any time, rubbing their hands and feet all over whatever item of
clothing they were standing on. Vanellope let out a relaxed sigh.
"Oh yeah. This is the life." Vanellope said as she laid back and stared at the
clear orange skies above.
However, the massaging soon wouldn't last as she felt herself glitching out
again.
"Awwww… come on! This is the best part of my rampage so far!!" Vanellope said.
Despite her pleas, though, she glitched out and disappeared once again, with the
racers who were atop her falling to the ground and wondering where she went.
That somewhere was Vanellope's new home. The world of Slaughter Race. She
instantly recognized it from the drab environment, the burning carcasses of
destroyed cars, and most importantly, as Vanellope took a whiff of the area
around her…
"*cough cough* Octane 93. I'd recognize the smell of that fuel additive
anywhere." Vanellope said. Before she could admire the scenery any more,
however, she took cover behind a taller building and watched as a
convertible-looking car was driving wild and crazy around the road. Not too far
behind that car was Shank and her crew in their own vehicles.
"Ooooooh… another chase is on! It looks like that player is getting away,
though…" Vanellope said. The giantess then looked down and smiled.
"Teehee… is that player ever going to be surprised when he sees who's going to
put the brakes on this mission." Vanellope said. She waited until the car turned
to drive towards her, smiling as she saw the vehicle approaching.
Meanwhile, the player avatar looked in his rear view mirror to see he was
pulling away from Shank and the rest.
"Victoria! Chop shop, here I come! Oro, oro, oro, oro…" the player said. But
when he focused his sights back on the road in front of him, he watched as the
giant Vanellope suddenly jumped in his path.
"WHOA!" the player shouted as he slammed on the brakes to avoid running into
Vanellope's boots. He managed to do so, leaving him to look way up at the young
giantess.
"Tsk tsk… you should know better than to swipe a yellow 2002 Corvette Z06 from
under our noses, CarlosTurismoKing85." Vanellope said as she shouted out the
avatar's username hovering over him. Shank and her crew came to a screeching
halt as well, with Shank looking up in awe with her mouth wide open. The player,
meanwhile, scrambled to undo his seatbelt and bail from the ride, only to freeze
on the spot as he watched Vanellope raise one of her boots up.
"Game over, racer!" Vanellope shouted as she lowered her boot down. The player
could only watch as his vision faded to the black and pink colors of underneath
Vanellope's boot. Vanellope slammed her boot down and the car exploded, left as
nothing more than a flaming pile of rubble with no sign of the player.
"CRUSHED!!!" a surly male voice shouted overhead.
In the real world, the teenage boy named Carlos watched a big CRUSHED!!!
banner take over his computer screen with the male voice proudly announcing the
way his game ended.
"Awwww man! I was so close to winning that car too! Only to be crushed by… a
giant Vanellope von Schweetz? Since when did they patch that into the game?"
Carlos said as he slammed his laptop shut out of frustration and got up from the
bed, walking out of his room.
As Vanellope admired the damage she had done, she next turned her attention
to Shank as she slowly approached the giantess.
"V-V-Vanellope? Is that you?" Shank asked.
"Teehee… hey, Shank! I hope you don't mind there's a lot more of me to like."
Vanellope said.
"Not one bit." Shank said. Vanellope stepped over the car she just crushed and
then kneeled down, lowering a hand towards her friend.
"Want a ride?" Vanellope said. Shank smiled, but then remembered the rest of her
crew.
"You guys take 5 until the next opponent arrives. Butcher Boy, make sure my car
gets back to the garage safely." Shank said.
"Gotcha, boss!" Butcher Boy shouted as he and the rest of the crew, along with
Shank's own hot rod, drove away from the scene of the crime and headed back to
their base. Shank, meanwhile, jumped onboard Vanellope's palm and looked up at
the giantess's face.
"Wow… how did you get so big, Vanellope?" Shank asked.
"That's a long story. I'll tell you while I walk around and see how different
the city looks from up here." Vanellope said, winking one of her eyes as she set
Shank on one of her shoulders and walked around.
Vanellope spent the next couple minutes walking around, though she couldn't
help but stomp a few more destroyed cars along the way.
"So that's the story. I don't know how long I'm going to be this big, so I'm
making the most of it!" Vanellope said.
"Hahaha! That's so cool. You'd be great for VGGTS World." Shank said.
"Huh? VGGT-What?" Vanellope said.
"It's this website I stumbled upon while walking around the smaller corners of
the Internet one day. Basically, your favorite video game gals such as, but
definitely not limited to, Princess Zelda, Hitomi from DOA, or Aeris from Final
Fantasy VII either grow to gigantic proportions or shrink the man that they
adore so much and play with them as if he were a toy. It's a website dedicated
to this topic and all the people that contribute to it." Shank said.
"Wow… there's a really a site for a thing like that?" Vanellope asked.
"Hey, you and Ralph went all around the Internet. You know no stone goes
unturned out there." Shank said.
"Yeah, true. Funny, though. I don't recall any of the ladies in the arcade
bragging about that site. I would think they'd be like me and want to be big
24/7!" Vanellope said.
"Well, since it's mostly fan art and fan fiction and fan knowledge and fan
whatever… everyone there is a clone of the real character, although…" Shank
said.
"Although what?" Vanellope asked.
"I haven't seen a clone of me yet. Maybe nobody thinks I'm hot enough to make a
rampaging giantess." Shank said.
"Awwww… don't worry, Shank! I'm sure your time will come soon! Look at me and
how long it took for something like this to happen to me!" Vanellope said.
"Hahaha! True." Shank said.
As Vanellope continued to walk around, Shank wondered something about her
giant friend.
"So? Have you destroyed a lot of buildings since you grew?" Shank asked.
"Well… not much, actually. I didn't want to cause TOO much trouble, even if
those buildings can regenerate after a while." Vanellope said.
"Well, I want to see you rampage! You see that group of apartment buildings over
there?" Shank said.
"Yeah?" Vanellope asked.
"They haven't been used in a couple years, not since our game was upgraded to
version 1.666." Shank said.
"So does that mean…?" Vanellope asked.
"Yep. They're unoccupied. I wouldn't mind seeing them get destroyed and the
foundations turned into a go-kart track for kid players to practice on." Shank
said.
"Well then! Your wish is my command, Shank!" Vanellope said.
After setting Shank on a nearby building to allow her to watch, Vanellope
clapped her hands together.
"Go get them good, Vanellope!" Shank said.
"Mwahahaha! Now you city buildings will face the wrath of Super Giant
Vanellope!" Vanellope said as she did not hesitate to smash and crash every
building in the block, especially without fear of killing anyone. Well… there
were some avatars (who obviously were curious about the giantess) that got
caught underneath falling pieces of buildings, but that only made both Vanellope
and Shank smile with delight. Vanellope even got a little creative with ways she
destroyed some of the buildings. Slicing them with the ponytail (and candy piece
or two) in her hair. Whacking them with parts of her clothing, such as the pink
ropes outside the front of her jacket. She even tried eating some of the
buildings like they were pieces of candy… only for her to spit them back out.
"Bleh! I've had snickerdoodles better than that!" Vanellope said.
When all was said and done, in a few minutes time, there was nothing left but
a big pile of rubble and debris. She tried brushing it all aside with her boots,
only for Shank to make a suggestion.
"It's okay, Vanellope! Pyro will burn all that stuff to dust later!" Shank said.
"Heh, right. I forgot!" Vanellope said as she walked back towards Shank and
lifted her up off the building she had been sitting on.
"You were wonderful, Vanellope. I've never witnessed anything like that in all
the years the game has been up and running." Shank said.
"I'm so glad you approve, Shank. That's why we're such good friends, right?"
Vanellope asked.
"Always." Shank said. Vanellope then cuddled the woman up against her face,
hugging her like a doll.
"Hahaha… okay, Vanellope, that's enough. This game has an image to maintain."
Shank said.
"Whoops… sorry!" Vanellope said, taking note of some of the avatars staring up
at the cuddling display.
Vanellope soon felt her body glitching out again, but this time she wasn't
teleporting away, nor did she get that feeling she was going somewhere else.
Vanellope set Shank down on the ground next to her boots.
"Vanellope? What's wrong?" Shank asked.
"I don't know… I'm getting this feeling again. The same feeling I had when the
router zapped me…" Vanellope said. Shank was the first to see what was
happening.
"Oh! You're shrinking!" Shank shouted.
"Whoa! You're right!" Vanellope said as she finally saw the ground coming up
fast. Smaller and smaller Vanellope got until she was all the way back to her
normal size, especially as she found herself looking up at Shank once more.
"Awwww… I guess that's the end of that." Vanellope said.
"Yes, it would appear so. I guess whatever was part of that router firmware
update has finally left your code." Shank said.
"Yeah…" Vanellope said as she scraped the ground with one of her boots. Shank
could easily tell Vanellope was sad to no longer be a giantess. That's when she
kneeled down and patted Vanellope on the head.
"Don't be sad, Vanellope. You know what? Maybe sometime in the near future when
game activity is light, I'll take you to the VGGTS World website. Maybe they'll
have someone or something there that can make you that big again." Shank said.
"Wow! You really mean that? That would be so cool!" Vanellope said.
"Yeah! But for now, let's get back to the garage and await our next mission."
Shank said.
"Right! And make sure Little Debbie isn't doing anything silly to my kart."
Vanellope said, prompting a smile on Shank's face as the two ladies walked down
the street.
Along the way as they dodged sewer sharks trying to eat each other and other
weird and wacky things that happen in this world, the two talked a little more
about VGGTS World.
"Hey, Shank. Who runs this VGGTS World site?" Vanellope asked.
"Some weirdo guy on fire named Cubed Cinder. I heard he left a game called
Killer Instinct to run the place." Shank said.
"Killer Instinct, eh? Sounds violent and scary, as Ralph would say." Vanellope
said.
END