The Localization Imprisonment (Wreck-It Ralph fic, FINISHED)

	A full week had passed since Turbo's reign over Sugar Rush had ended. Vanellope was still getting used to the change in job description, from hobo to president. One of her first decisions as president was to do a thorough check of Sugar Rush's code, to make sure there were no outside influences from Turbo remaining. She was currently sitting in the throne room, on the aforementioned throne, waiting for someone.
	"Hey, kid!"
	"Oh, hey, you finally made it!" Vanellope greeted. She was excited to see her best friend, Ralph, continue to show up every night (after the arcade closed up for the night) to lend a hand.
	"So, the usual, huh?" Ralph asked.
	"Yuuuup! I knew they didn't do it on purpose, but it's going to take me a while to get used to trusting the others after...that stuff. You're the only one I trust to help me out, here," Vanellope admitted.
	"Let's get to it, then. Just don't bury your nose too deep this time, I'd like to relax a bit, too, ya know."
	Vanellope hopped off of the throne. "Follow me, minion!" She opened up the secret passage behind the throne, which had been modified to be bigger in order for Ralph to fit inside without having to bust through any walls. The two headed deeper inside, to the point where a code needed to be entered to process through the next door. Ralph grabbed a rope that had been coiled up on the ground nearby and tied it around Vanellope's waist, ensuring it was secure. Vanellope spoke the code out loud as she entered it. "Up, Up, Down Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A!"
	"You really do trust me, huh...?"
	"DOI, Stinkbrain!" The door opened up slowly, revealing the chaos that was the Sugar Rush code. "You know the plan. Hold onto that rope, and pull me in if anyone comes in here." Vanellope had kept this project a secret from the other residents, not wanting them to worry, or worse, interfere in some way.
	"Have fun." Ralph picked up Vanellope with one arm and gently tossed her into the code. He then wrapped his end of the rope around his arm several times and sat down, ensuring that he was close enough to see her.

	An hour passed. Vanellope had discovered a locked piece of content. What confused her, however, was the date. According to the records associated with the content's files, it had been locked since before Sugar Rush even arrived at the arcade, ruling out Turbo's influence. The content was labeled...Merin Crustang.
	"HEY, KID!! HOW YA DOIN'?!" Ralph shouted from inside the game.
	"PRETTY GOOD!!" Vanellope yelled back. She gave a thumbs up just in case he hadn't heard her. She turned back to the content. "Merin Crustang...sounds like a racer's name. Turbo didn't do this, but..." Vanellope recalled the time not too long ago when she had been prevented from racing, due to these sorts of methods. Whoever this 'Merin' person was, Vanellope wanted to give them a chance to race, just as Ralph had given Vanellope a chance. The content appeared to be completely fine, as if it had been worked on, completed, and then blocked off for some unknown reason. There were files associated with graphics, sound, statistics, and more. Vanellope had heard rumors of something called "DLC" that reminded her of this, but had never heard of that sort of thing applying to arcade games. Vanellope went to work removing the lock.

	Another fifteen or so minutes passed. Vanellope successfully unlocked the content, watching the Merin Crustang data float toward the rest and connect to it. Vanellope tugged on the rope, signaling Ralph to pull her in. One yank was all it took, as Vanellope rode the momentum and landed on Ralph's outstretched hand. Vanellope shut and locked the door to the code before Ralph untied the rope and put it back down in its usual spot.
	"So...fix any Turbo-tastic problems?" Ralph asked, smirking slightly.
	Vanellope groaned after hearing "Turbo-tastic". "If you MUST know...actually--I don't even know what I did."
	Ralph was dumbfounded. "Waaiiit...wait. What do you mean, you don't know?! That's not a game! Well, it is, but it's not meant to be played with! In there! Like that!"
	"All I did was unlock something."
	"...Something?"
	"Yep!"
	Ralph's eye twitched a bit. "Well, let's hope that this "something" isn't a glitch that'll mess up the game or--" Ralph paused when he noticed Vanellope looking away from him with a tear in the corner of her eye. "...Hey, I didn't mean it like that!"
	"...Yeah. I know. Anyway, we're done here, but I want to go and see if I can find this Merin Crustang," Vanellope told.
	"Merin Crustang?"
	"The name of the content I unlocked. I'm thinking it's a new character. It's not something that Turbo did; it was locked before Sugar Rush hit this arcade."
	"...No way. Kid, you did not seriously do that!" Ralph's curiousity quickly turned to anger.
	"What's the big deal?"
	"I'm no expert, but if something got locked before the game got rolled out, it's something the creators did, and they did it for a reason," Ralph explained.
	"...Oh. Oops."
	Ralph sighed. "Well, you already unlocked it, so...let's go have a look around. If the game's alright, no harm done. But if there's some sort of...final boss or something smashing the place up, you gotta go back in there and undo what you did, got it?"
	"Alright, it's a promise!" Vanellope agreed as she jumped onto Ralph's shoulder. "Onward march; time to go find this new content!"
	"Yeah yeah, I'm on it, President Pipsqueak," Ralph replied as he headed back out the way they came in. He closed the entrance behind the throne on their way out. After opening a nearby window, Ralph jumped out through it, landing on the ground below and damaging it a bit. Vanellope nearly fell off from the force of the impact.
	"Hey, stop wrecking my yard every time you visit!" Vanellope complained.
	"Why? Sour Bill isn't exactly busy," Ralph pointed out.
	"...He will be now!"
	The two of them laughed together. "Ha ha...so...do you have any idea where this content might be?" Ralph asked.
	"Nope! Just wander around. We can always ask some of the others if they've seen anything that looks out of place, too," Vanellope suggested.

	Only a few minutes went by before they spotted a small crowd of racers. Taffyta, Candlehead, Jubileena, Rancis, Gloyd, and Crumbelina were all together, eyes focused on another racer. This one was unfamiliar to Vanellope and Ralph; she had short pigtails, in a sort of creamy color. Her outfit was simple compared to many of the others', bearing more resemblance to Vanellope's than anyone's, although it still stood out. She wore a yellow dress over a white long-sleeved shirt, and was actually showing a little skin on her legs. The most odd trait, though, was the half slice of lemon portruding from the top of her head. Taffyta was the first one Vanellope heard speak. "No, seriously. Who are you?"
	"But I already told you....I'm a Sugar Rush racer: Merin Crustang," the lemon-headed kid replied.
	"Then how come we've never seen you before?" Taffyta inquired.
	"Well..."
	Crumbelina spoke next. "You do look like one of us, but you could just be using a disguise like Turbo did..."
	"Who's Turbo?" Merin asked, clearly out of the loop. At this point was when the crowd noticed Vanellope and Ralph join in.
	"Turbo's history," Vanellope answered. "Guys, stop being jerks, this kid isn't an imposter."
	"President!" Taffyta exclaimed. "....Wait, how do you know about her when none of us do?"
	"Oh, well....just some content that I unlocked."
	"Content?" Rancis raised an eyebrow.
	"Yeah, Merin was locked away in the game's code, since before Sugar Rush even debuted," Vanellope informed. Candlehead was poking at the lemon on Merin's head, causing Merin to shy away slightly.
	"The game looks fine, though," Ralph added. "Guess you made the right call, kid."
	"Of course! I always do!" Vanellope grinned as she said this.
	Taffyta eyed Merin closely. "Another girl, though? There's few enough boys around here as-is....I sort of feel sorry for them. Heh."
	"Actually..." Merin stared at the ground nervously. "I'm a boy..."
	Candlehead's hand froze. "....Ehhh...?"
	"No way!"
	"That's not funny, Merin!"
	"You're way too cute to be a boy!"
	Vanellope interrupted the reactions of shock. "Merin's telling the truth. When I was poking around in the data, I noticed some profile info that said he was a boy. I wasn't expecting....this, though."
	The crowd fell silent. Merin turned away. Gloyd finally spoke up. "Who cares? This is Sugar Rush! It doesn't matter what something's made of, as long as it's sweet!"
	"This is different, Gloyd." Rancis sighed. "Our opinions aside, the creators are the ones who locked Merin away, not Turbo. They probably did it for the game's own good."
	"I agree." Crumbelina nodded.
	"This is different than you, President," Taffyta told. "You were intended to be one of us from the start. Merin, though, wasn't. A weird kid like him would probably drag down the game's popularity! Do you wanna get unplugged?"
	"We WON'T get unplugged," Vanellope responded. "And I'm not locking him back in there. I know what it's like to want to race and not be able to."
	Jubileena nodded. "I think we should give Merin a chance."
	Taffyta scowled. "Fine, do whatever you want..." She then looked at Merin. "Assuming you're even good enough to make it into the daily roster!" She then started laughing. "C'mon, guys, let's go. We've still got some time to kill before the usual race." She then turned around and left, followed by Candlehead, Crumbelina, and Rancis.
	Merin stared at the ground. "I'm just causing trouble, aren't I...?"
	"Oh, whatever!" Vanellope grinned at Merin. "I think another new face will make this game even MORE popular." She then looked at Ralph. "Ralph. Remind me, why do the players like me?"
	"Because you're adorable! And a winner! An adorable winner!" Ralph exclaimed.
	"Hear that, Merin? You just gotta win!" Vanellope explained.
	Merin looked surprised. "So I'm...already adorable?"
	"Yes!" Ralph and Vanellope responded together.
	"Let's go hunt down your kart. Hey, you two!" Vanellope looked at Gloyd and Jubileena.
	"Hmm?" Jubileena looked back at her.
	"Go nuts in tonight's race for me. I've got other plans this time around," Vanellope informed.
	"Will do!" Gloyd responded. Jubileena smiled. The two of them then departed.
	"As for us, we're off to the kart bakery!" Vanellope was excited to be going back there. If she was lucky, she might get to see Ralph make another neapolitan kart.

	The trio soon arrived at the entrance to the kart bakery. The guard was asleep again. Vanellope picked up a random piece of candy off of the ground and nailed him in the head with it, snapping him awake. "Hey, you. You're fired."
	The guard panicked. "Wh---WHAT?!"
	"...Just kidding," Vanellope added while grinning. She hit him in the head with another thrown piece of candy. "Eat more of this stuff, it'll keep you awake!"
	"This is why I will never live here with you," Ralph muttered.
	Vanellope ignored him. The three of them then entered the large building. "Here we are, Merin! Throw a kart together and we'll get you on the road!"
	"Alrighty, I'll do my best!...Although..." Merin suddenly hesitated.
	"Hmm? What's up?" Vanellope asked.
	"Maybe those other people were right. I mean, why would I have been locked away if--"
	"No, no, no," Vanellope interrupted. "You've been all alone for so long, and now here you are, about to experience real kart racing for the first time! Who cares what those sour patch kids think?"
	"Don't you think you're being a little...forceful, Vanellope?" Ralph asked.
	Vanellope tilted her head, puzzled. "...No?"
	"It's okay, Ralph. I'm grateful. It's just a lot to take in at once," Merin explained. He then walked over to a machine and started pressing buttons.
	"Hey, wait, that's--!" Vanellope paused when the machine started making some strange noises. A panel on the side opened up, revealing a tube. A huge blast of sugar then hit Merin at close range, knocking him over. "...That's where all the excess sugar ends up...looks like it hadn't been emptied in a while."
	"Hey, Powderpuff, you okay?" Ralph asked, looking down at Merin, who wasn't moving.
	"...." Vanellope paused. "....That's a good nickname for him. I'M gonna start calling him that, too." She poked Merin's cheek. Most of the sugar had fallen off of him, but the constantly juicy lemon on his head was covered. Merin suddenly sat straight up, eyes wide open, looking around in every direction. "Whoa, calm down!"
	"SUGAR!" Merin yelled. He then bolted down the corridors. Neither Vanellope nor Ralph had ever seen Merin drive, but he sure could run. Merin jumped onto and off of various machinery and would occasionally run around in circles, having a seemingly endless supply of energy. He then dashed back the way he came, charging straight at Ralph.
	"Ralph, grab him, this is stupid." Vanellope let out a long sigh. Ralph, timing it just right, scooped Merin up with one hand when he got close enough. He held onto Merin tightly enough to restrain him without hurting him.
	"Calm down, you!" Ralph narrowed his eyes.
	Merin was breathing extremely quickly at this point. "SUGAAAARRRR--GET IT OFF!!"
	Vanellope jumped onto Ralph's shoulder. "Look, the lemon. There's sugar on it."
	"No way can we get all the sugar off of that! The water around here is just...augh, it's all FULL of sugar!" Ralph growled.
	"It's just a sugared lemon. Lick it, suck on it if you have to," Vanellope suggested. "Just don't bite it or eat it. It might be his brain or something."
	"....You're kidding, right?"
	"Do it!"
	Ralph groaned. "Okay, okay." He then licked Merin's lemon. Merin struggled a little less. Ralph continued until all of the sugar was gone. "Blech, so sour--!!"
	Merin's face was red. "Ummm...sorry...I don't know why, but whenever my lemon gets sugared, I get a rush of energy...I can't lick it myself, so..."
	"Can't you just take it off?" Vanellope asked.
	"No. It's on there really tight. It might even be...attached," Merin told. Ralph and Vanellope stared blankly.
	"Let's just pretend it's glued to your head and you don't want to ruin your hair by ripping it out." Vanellope twitched a little.
	"I WOULD be sad if my hair got ruined..." Merin agreed. "Oh, I almost forgot, the kart--"
	"You don't know what you're doing. Follow my lead," Vanellope ordered.
	"Good idea!" Merin followed behind Vanellope as she showed him each step of the kart building process. Ralph stayed out of it for the most part, since Merin's and Vanellope's combined strength could activate almost all of the steps correctly, and Ralph didn't want to destroy the machinery again. After all was said and done, Merin ended up with a lemon meringue pie shaped kart with a pie crust spoiler and lemon slice wheels.
	"It needs a name...." Vanellope pondered out loud.
	"I'll call it the Citrus Softie!" Merin chimed.
	"That works," Ralph agreed. "You're a lot softer than some of the other kids around here."
	"Whoever are you talking about?" Vanellope asked, with a smug grin on her face. She looked away as Ralph looked right at her. "Anyway, let's go give this thing a test drive over at Diet Cola Mountain."

	On the way to Diet Cola Mountain, Ralph pushed the Citrus Softie along. "Why can't Powderpuff just drive this thing there?" Ralph complained. Merin had a confused look on his face.
	"He means you, that's your nickname," Vanellope pointed out to Merin. "And Ralph, I don't want us getting separated from Merin. Not to mention the waste of kart fuel. It'd be different if all three of us could ride. Although...." Vanellope all of a sudden jumped onto the front of the kart and laid back, motioning toward the driver's seat. "Powderpuff, your seat awaits!...Whoa. Meringue is really comfy."
	"Oh, nice idea!" Merin commented, jumping into the driver's seat.
	Ralph sighed. "Really? You Sugar Rush kids do nothing but eat sweets all day and you don't even have any energy?"
	"I have LOTS of energy, but why should the President have to walk? And Merin's kart is Merin's kart. He has the right to sit in it." Vanellope explained.
	"Maybe I'll just push you two into that chocolate over there..." Ralph thought out loud. He then grinned at the two passengers as he adjusted the kart's course.
	"AAH!! Merin, start the kart, START THE KART!" Vanellope panicked as she turned around to face Merin, partially sinking into the meringue.
	"...This thing, right?" Merin pressed a button and the kart started up.
	"Good! Now put that pedal to the crust and get us out of here!"
	"Here goes!" Merin stepped on a pedal, causing the kart to shoot forward and Ralph to lose his grip. The acceleration on this one was impressive. Vanellope was laying on her side at this point, not being able to sit up straight in the meringue. Merin drove around randomly.
	"THAT'S how it's done," Ralph commented. "A little bit of sink-or-swim never hurts. Well, except for when it does." As if on queue, Merin crashed into a candy cane tree. The kart was relatively unaffected, though. The impact was enough, however, to shake Vanellope off of the kart and onto her back. She stood up and started licking the meringue off of her arms and anywhere else she could reach. She then looked over at Ralph. "I'm not licking that."
	"Doi, you're not licking me! You licking Merin was hilarious, since I got to see your sour face. This wouldn't really get any funny reaction out of you."
	Merin giggled. "You know, I haven't even gotten to race yet, and I'm already having tons of fun. Thanks."
	"You haven't seen anything yet!" Vanellope exclaimed. They then continued on, with Ralph pushing the kart again after Merin shut it off.

	The three arrived at Diet Cola Mountain about ten minutes later. The original makeshift track that had been carved into the ground by Ralph back before Vanellope's presidency had been re-made by him on one of his recent visits. Vanellope had originally wanted it made again just for the memories it held, but now it was going to get some practical use as well. Vanellope smiled when she saw it, then looked over at Merin. "Soooo...that kart of yours may be lemon-themed, but I don't think it's an actual lemon. It's got some crazy acceleration and sharp turning; you just gotta learn to keep up with it!"
	"This is just a round track, though...." Merin commented. "How can I improve my own reaction speed when everything is so...simple?"
	"You just go do a few laps of that to start. Get used to driving. Ralph and I will cook up something more advanced in the meantime." Vanellope told. Merin nodded with a smile, fired up the Citrus Softie, and got to driving. Unlike Vanellope, who had been missing a lot of her memories during her own training due to Turbo's tampering, Merin had the basics already figured out, as he was a completely intact character.
	"Looks like we won't need to spend as long with this kid as I thought, huh?" Ralph watched intently as Merin zoomed around the track.
	"One full day of training! I think Taffyta might try to pull something dirty when Merin shows up to try to make the top nine. I have some dirty ideas of my own, but nothing beats practice!"
	"...'Dirty ideas'?" Ralph asked, slightly worried. "I'm not sure I want to get involved..."
	"You ARE involved! It'll be awesome, you'll get to wreck stuff!" Vanellope assured.
	"....Not karts, right? I'm not--"
	"NOT. ANOTHER. WORD," Vanellope growled. The two stood in awkward silence for a while as they tried to avoid eye contact.
	"Uh..."
	Vanellope sighed. "Here's the plan. Merin's kart is a fast starter, so I'll have you wait near the very first overpass on the track with a nice big chunk of candy cane tree. As soon as Merin gets by the overpass, throw that tree onto the track. It'll slow 'em down. Don't worry about me, I can get past it real easy with my ability."
	"Okay, that I can do," Ralph agreed.
	"After that, you'll be doing the same thing at the final overpass before the finish line. You gotta be quick, so make sure you've got both of the trees ripped out of the ground before the race."
	"I never knew you were so....well, smart," Ralph admitted. Vanellope kicked him in the shins a few times, which Ralph found amusing.
	"Presidents have to be smart, otherwise no one will take them seriously!" Vanellope pointed out. "Oh, and try not to let anyone spot you during the race."
	Ralph gave a thumbs up. "I'm not exactly the most subtle guy, but there's a lot of places to hide around here, so..."
	Merin pulled up to where the other two were standing. "Any advanced stuff for me yet?"
	"Oh, right, sorry! Take a break for a bit if you like." Vanellope  then ran off toward her old makeshift bed. She then picked up a couple of cone-sized pieces of candy corn off of the ground nearby. She had amassed quite the stockpile of them. "Hey, Ralph, grab more, and I'll set them up!" Ralph grabbed two handfuls and followed her. She dispersed them throughout the track in a rather staggered fashion. Several minutes passed, and the initial setup was finally done. After their positions were decided, Ralph pounded each one down in order to ensure that they didn't fall over by accident. "I'm gonna go a little higher up to see the entire track at once. Merin, once you get going again, you're going to alternate your turns....left, right, left, right, around each piece of candy corn. No stopping, and no forcing your way through. If you need to slow down, go for it, but try to pick up the pace as you practice!"
	"Can I....eat the candy corn after...?" Merin asked.
	"Even though they got smooshed by Ralph's sweaty ham-hands?" Vanellope cringed a little after she said that.
	"Mmm-hmm!" Merin replied.
	"...Why are you so weird?"
	"Everyone in this game is weird," Ralph added. "Get going, Powderpuff, show us how it's done!"
	"Here I go, then...!" Merin started up the kart and zoomed toward the first candy corn, swerving around it easily. As he got further and further, he slowed down more and more, particularly on the tighter turns of the track. He picked up speed on the straightaways.
	"Corners are where the racers' places change the most! Don't hold back!"
	An hour went by. Merin, for the most part, had gotten used to doing tight turns. "Sweet!" Vanellope commented. "Stop for a second, Merin! Now we try a moving obstacle. Ralph?"
	"What, I'm an obstacle now?" Ralph inquired.
	"It's what you do at work, right?"
	"Well, yeah, but..."
	"So here's how this is gonna work! Ralph, pick a spot, anywhere on the track. You can move around anywhere you like. You're gonna try to get in Merin's way; block him, knock him off course, anything you can. Merin, you don't have to follow the turning pattern anymore, but Ralph's out to get you now. Watch out!"
	"Oh. Wow...I'm not sure I'm up to that..." Merin's meek side was starting to show again.
	"You gotta do it! Ralph is a lot slower on his feet than other karts on their wheels will be. This is just a warm-up. Not to mention that there's gonna be like...what? Sixteen karts besides yours on the track tomorrow?"
	"Th-that many...?"
	Vanellope continued. "You've gotta master this before Ralph has to head home tonight. Tomorrow night isn't an option for training; we're gonna have prep work to do!"
	"...Okay! I'll make the top nine for su--"
	"No way, you! You're no Sugar Rush racer unless you aim to WIN."
	Merin went wide eyed for a second, before looking back at the track intently. "An adorable winner! I'll do it!" He then got the kart going again. He drove around the track easily darting between the candy corn, but Ralph was able to predict his turning and grabbed the front wheels.
	"Didn't you listen? You don't have to do the pattern anymore! Avoid Ralph ANY WAY you can!" Vanellope yelled. "Now turn around and drive the opposite direction! Do that every time Ralph catches you!"
	"Okay!" Merin replied, not getting discouraged. He got right back into it.

	Later that night after the race that Vanellope didn't attend, in Game Central Station, Taffyta was walking around with Rancis and Candlehead.
	"I wonder why Vanellope is so obsessed with that new kid. Don't tell me she has THAT sort of taste." Taffyta sneered.
	"No, that's not it," Rancis replied. "I don't like the idea of letting Merin race, either, but I can see why Vanellope wants him to."
	"None of that matters if that Merin puts off the players and lowers Sugar Rush's popularity. Now, there's no way a newbie can beat ME, but there's a good chance that he might make the top nine." Taffyta started pacing. "Although...!" She then looked over at the entrance to Hero's Duty.
	"...Are we gonna go in there? Are we gonna get some guns? And BOMBS?" Candlehead asked. She jumped up and down in excitement.
	"Calm down, you. No, we're just going to talk to someone! C'mon, Rancis!"
	"...You're kidding."
	"Nope! Man up. Those bug things are only active when the arcade is open. It'll be fine!" Taffyta assured with a confident smile. Candlehead ran ahead toward the entrance, followed by a grinning Taffyta and a nervous Rancis.

	The next night, a little while after the arcade had closed again, the Sugar Rush kids were all set for that night's roster race, which was to consist of just one lap. There were a total of sixteen karts ready to go. One of the first things Vanellope had done as president was removing the entry fee requirement from these races; she wanted to ensure everyone always had a fair chance to race the next day. This resulted in allowing Merin to participate, despite never having raced before.
	"Heh. So, showed up this time, huh? I thought you got scared and ran off!" Taffyta mocked, looking over at Merin. Merin turned toward her and smiled, before opening his eyes all the way and staring at her blankly, tilting his head to one side. "...Hey, quit that, you're creeping me out!"
	Merin turned to Vanellope. "Just watch, I'll win this race!"
	"I know you'll put up a fight, at least! Ralph couldn't lay a finger on you once you got serious!" Vanellope exclaimed. "Just watch out. Anything can happen in these races." Vanellope closed her eyes for a moment, pondering her plans. Not only were Gloyd and Jubileena left out of the plan, despite being in favor of Merin racing, but Merin himself was also kept in the dark about it. The race was just about to begin; all of the racers started their karts' engines. The second the "Go" signal came about, all of the karts took off.
	"May the best win, PRESIDENT!" Taffyta laughed. Vanellope headed straight for Taffyta, assuming that she was going to get in the way. Taffyta tried to evade her, but didn't have enough room; Vanellope's kart clashed against hers. Some of the other racers were having trouble moving up past them, not wanting to risk a pile-up. Merin, on the other hand, was able to get an early lead thanks to his kart's acceleration, but both Rancis and Candlehead were close behind him. The first set of sugar cubes, which contained items, were coming up fast. Merin missed the items, as did Candlehead, but Rancis managed to grab one. It was a syrup slick; he used it immediately, leaving a puddle of syrup in the center of the track. As Vanellope and Taffyta continued to slam their karts against one another, Taffyta managed to force Vanellope out of the sugar cubes' area and grab one herself. It was a sugar rush boost, but she didn't use it. Gloyd was catching up, but didn't see the slick on the road and hit it, spinning out of control. Snowanna, who was close behind him, ended up crashing into him. Crumbelina easily evaded them both and sped ahead. The first overpass was coming up quickly; although Merin was the first one through, Rancis and Candlehead were still on his tail. The candy cane tree that Ralph had uprooted was tipping down toward the track. Taffyta, who had managed to get ahead of Vanellope, activated her sugar rush in order to speed past before it landed. Vanellope used her teleportation ability to pass through the tree unharmed. As Crumbelina approached, she noticed almost the entire road blocked off by that tree, and having no time to slow down, she crashed into it. The other racers following her met a similar fate. The pack of karts struggled to free themselves from one another and get through the small open gap between the tree and the barrier on the side of the track.

	Ralph was about to proceed to his next spot when he noticed something far off in the sky, moving toward the lead racers. "Oh no...no no NO. That had better not be--!!" Ralph panicked and took a different path to try to reach Merin and Vanellope as soon as possible.

	Vanellope was catching up to Taffyta, but the two were still a little ways behind the leading three. Both of them managed to grab an item from a patch of sugar cubes right before a turn. Taffyta's was another sugar rush, while Vanellope's was a sweet seeker. Noticing the missile that spawned atop Vanellope's kart, Taffyta made a wide turn, allowing Vanellope to get ahead of her before Vanellope fired the missile. The missile flew forward, navigating the track quickly.
	"Nice try!" Taffyta yelled. "By the way, I have a surprise for that new friend of yours!" She then activated the sugar rush, getting ahead of Vanellope again.

	At the front of the pack, Merin did his best to keep his kart in front of both Rancis and Candlehead, but he knew that one of them would get past eventually if he didn't come up with a plan. The sweet seeker that Vanellope had fired finally caught up to them, and hit Candlehead's kart, knocking it and her into the air. Merin giggled, and focused on Rancis. Rancis had a worried look on his face.
	"Merin!" Rancis yelled. Merin ignored him, being absorbed in the race. "Listen! You need to get out of here! Taffyta--" He was cut off when he noticed a person riding a hoverboard and holding an assault rifle-type energy weapon fly down from the sky.
	"YOU!" Calhoun growled, glaring at Merin. She kept her hoverboard at a low altitude, and maintained enough speed to keep up with him. Rancis steered away, putting distance between himself and Merin. "I know what you are! Wreck-It's little friend was messing around with Sugar Rush's code, is that right?!"
	The two of them continued on, with Rancis following closely, and Candlehead starting to catch up. Merin looked over at her. "....You a racer too?"
	"A racer? No...an ERASER. I'm taking you down, and then I'm gonna have a little talk with that president about not fixing what ain't broke! I figured she'd be the LAST person to pull a stunt like this after what happened with Turbo!" Calhoun aimed her gun at Merin. She fired a few bursts, but Merin easily evaded her shots with his quick maneuvering. "Huh. Thought this would be a quick job, but--" Calhoun suddenly turned her head, looking to her right, and noticed a large jawbreaker come flying at her from the side of the track. She evaded upward. The jawbreaker hit the barrier on the left side of the track before rolling back toward the right. Candlehead managed to evade it, but lost a little speed in doing so. Ralph stood near the track with another jawbreaker in hand. Calhoun looked back at Merin, who was getting ahead again. "I'll be back for YOU!" She then flew straight toward Ralph, aiming her gun at him.
	"You gonna shoot me? If I die, Fix-It Felix jr. gets unplugged! And then Felix will--" Calhoun interrupted Ralph by firing several shots into his knees. Ralph collapsed to the ground, dropping the jawbreaker next to him. He winced in pain.
	"I'm not a MORON, Wreck-It. I don't have to kill you."
	"Why you...!!"
	"I have no idea why you let this all happen when you spend so much time here, but stay out of this." Calhoun then flew off, heading for Merin again. Ralph struggled to get back up, but the pain was too much. He laid back on the sugary ground with a grumble, and stared at the sky with a bitter look on his face.
	"...I think I'll fill in for Markowski again soon. Humiliate that crazy woman one more time."

	Due to the number of turns Merin was having to make to avoid Calhoun's gunfire, and both Rancis and Candlehead keeping their distance to avoid being hit themselves, both Taffyta and Vanellope were able to catch up to the three easily. Vanellope was having trouble getting ahead of Taffyta, but didn't want to risk a teleport with this much chaos happening on the track.
	Taffyta yelled at her two cohorts. "HEY! Are you two chicken?"
	"Hey, that's Calhoun!" Vanellope exclaimed. "What are YOU doing here?"
	Calhoun stopped firing momentarily, to turn around and look at Vanellope. "We can talk....AFTER I fill that lemon kid full of holes!" After firing a few warning shots in front of Vanellope's kart to keep her back, she then turned her attention back to Merin. She aimed her gun.
	"You keep that stuff out of my game!" Vanellope yelled. She activated her teleport ability near the top of a small hill, sending her kart up into the air. Calhoun had no time to evade, and she was knocked off of her hoverboard by the front bumper of Vanellope's kart. She landed on the track, losing her grip on her gun. Vanellope, however, lost a lot of ground with this stunt, and by the time she landed on the track again, the four karts ahead of her were off in the distance.

	"Ugh....that military lady screwed up..." Taffyta complained. "...Oh well! This sort of thing is more my style!" Rancis and Candlehead noticed her approaching; Merin stayed focused on the track. Another pack of sugar cubes was coming up; Rancis missed this time around, but the other three each grabbed one. Before Candlehead could use hers, Merin dropped a syrup slick right in front of her, causing her to spin out and slam into the barrier on the left side of the track. Taffyta had a sweet seeker. "HEY! RANCIS!"
	Rancis looked at her. "Uh-oh..."
	"Either back off, or I'm blasting YOU instead!" Taffyta shouted. Rancis panicked, pulling to the side and letting Taffyta past. The finish line was within sight. "He's good...he's going to make the top nine, but....I'm going to humiliate him! Humiliate him so much in his first race that he'll never show his face again! Deny him victory RIGHT before the finish line!"
	Merin looked back at Taffyta. "....Ummm..." He then looked toward the goal. "Well...I'm out of options. I wanted to do this fairly, but..."
	"Get off of my racetrack, reject!" Taffyta yelled, firing the sweet seeker. It hit Merin's kart dead-on. As the kart was knocked into the air, Merin jumped off of it.
	"...WHAT?!" Rancis exclaimed. Taffyta was dumbfounded by what she was seeing, and lost focus on the road. Merin landed on the front of Taffyta's kart, leaving his own kart sitting on the track, motionless. He held onto Taffyta's kart with his arms and legs, keeping his head in front of it.
	"Hey, get off!" Taffyta tried veering back and forth, but Merin wouldn't let go.
	"Now what?" Merin asked, looking back at Taffyta. He smiled brightly.
	"Taffyta! You can still keep him out of the top nine if you turn around!" Rancis yelled. "The other racers have almost caught up!"
	Taffyta shot him a glare. "You shut up! Letting this reject into the game? I'd rather put up with THAT than LOSE A RACE ON PURPOSE!" Taffyta then sped up, leaving Rancis behind. Although Taffyta's kart was the first one across the finish line, Merin's name is the one that took the #1 spot on the scoreboard as he himself had technically crossed it first. Taffyta was #2, Rancis #3, Candlehead #4, Vanellope #5, Crumbelina #6, Gloyd #7, Snowanna #8, and finally Jubileena as #9.

	The racers, as well as Calhoun and Ralph, all met up after the race had ended and Merin had retrieved his kart. Ralph's legs were better, and he was standing in between Merin and Calhoun while Vanellope sat on Ralph's shoulder. Calhoun had put her gun away, but still had a serious look on her face.
	"Why did you start shooting the track up?!" Vanellope asked.
	"Same reason you had Wreck-It do what he did. We just had different targets," Calhoun told.
	"Well, too bad! Merin's in the roster tomorrow! Sucks to be you, Taffyta!" Vanellope gloated.
	"Really? Because I could've sworn I wiped the floor with you in that race just now," Taffyta replied with a laugh.
	"This isn't funny, kid!" Calhoun clenched her fist and looked at Vanellope. "Why did you mess around with the game's code?! Do you have any idea what could have happened?!"
	"I guess I ought to apologize, I thought this was just going to be a friendly race..." Merin commented, laughing a little himself.
	"You didn't do anything wrong, Merin," Vanellope assured. "And the way you turned that pinch around....SO COOL!"
	"It wouldn't have worked with human players, since we have to play by the game's full rules when that's happening, but...." Rancis looked away from Merin. "...Yeah, that was impressive. Slightly."
	Vanellope looked at Calhoun. "Look, I know the whole thing with Turbo and the Cybugs was bad. But I'm not out to break the game. I just wanted..." Vanellope paused.
	"What?" Calhoun asked.
	"I wanted to share. The fun, that is. I had so much fun after everyone found out about who I really was! That I wasn't a glitch!" Vanellope exclaimed. She then looked at Ralph and smiled. "And I wouldn't be where I am without my friend here."
	Ralph blushed a little. "Oh, c'mon, I didn't do much..."
	Vanellope then turned to Merin. "So I wanted you to experience the same thing, Merin. And I knew that you'd probably need a friend's help." Merin smiled.
	"Heh. All's well that ends well, right, Calhoun?" Ralph asked. "And now you have another story to tell Felix the next time you and him go off to do that thing you two do." Calhoun coughed and hid her face.
	"Thing? What thing?"
	"Oh, is it THAT?"
	"What's...'that'?"
	"Tell us! Tell us!"
	"...Felix knows how?"
	"C'moooon, spill the jelly beans!"
	Calhoun jumped onto her hoverboard. "This game's rating is a little too strict for me to discuss....THAT." She then looked at Vanellope. "I'm out of here. I'll try to do a little more...investigating before I jump the gun next time." She then flew off, heading for Sugar Rush's exit.
	Ralph turned to Vanellope. "So, what're your plans for the night?"
	"Not sure. Tapper's?"
	"Tapper's it is. Hey, Powderpuff, why don't you come with us?"
	Merin tilted his head. "...What's 'Tapper's'...?"
	Ralph and Vanellope stared. "That's right..." Vanellope commented. "....You're a NEWBIE!"
	"Ehehehe..." Merin laughed, slightly embarrassed.
	"Hey, I want to show Merin some things as well!" Gloyd exclaimed.
	"I'll tag along, too!" Jubileena added.
	"Okay, fine, but NO MORE! They only have so many stools..." Ralph agreed reluctantly. Vanellope snickered. "What, what's so funny?"
	"They'd have more stools if they served MEXICAN food!" Vanellope laughed. Ralph was not amused. The other racers all thought it was hilarious, though, and fell over laughing.

	After the arcade opened the next morning, a couple of guys who frequented the arcade had met at the Sugar Rush cabinets, ready to start the first race of the day.
	"....Hey. Who is this? 'Merin Crustang'...?"
	"Wait, did you say 'Merin'?"
	"Yeah. Look. She's kind of cute."
	"Dude, Merin's a boy."
	"....No way."
	"Yuuuup. He was in the original Japanese version of Sugar Rush, but he got taken out of the North American localization. One of the big bosses decided at the last minute that THAT sort of character would put players off."
	"...That's stupid. Guilty Gear is plenty popular!"
	"Yeah, turned out there were more players pissed about him being cut. He was even fully programmed, and had an English voice and everything! Pretty hard to find a rom online where Merin's still locked, but this is the first time I've seen him unlocked in an arcade."
	"...Sweet. Can't wait to see how he plays."
	"But...how did he get unlocked? Did Mr. Litwak...?"
	"No way in hell."
	"Er...yeah. You're right. Let's not worry about it. Oh, but I AM gonna take some pictures and post them online. People are gonna be SO jealous..."
	A small crowd had gathered after hearing the conversation. All eyes were on Merin as he was selected for the first time.

	- The End -