It Was Only A Game- Prologue

Sugar Rush hadn't changed one bit since he'd last seen it. The skies were bright and the air had a sweet minty scent to it that cleared your lungs and left you with a wide smile spread across your face. Everything had a sort of lifting feel to it; happy and carefree.

Warmth spread through him at the sight of it. He wandered down the multicolored path, leading away from the entrance, to the surface of the sugar-coated world. He glanced around at the tall cotton-candy trees and the peppermint forest beyond that. Then he spotted the crowds of candy people and the starting line- The Races. It was all too familiar. He wished he'd returned sooner.

"Ralph!!"

The bad guy raised a brow and turned just in time to catch the girl springing into his arms.

"Ralph, you're finally back! What took you so long!?" the girl laughed brightly, nuzzling her head against his, a mischievous grin playing along her features.  

"Hey kid," he smiled, returning the affection.

He set her down and she immediately clasped her hands around one of his large ones and proceeded to drag him away towards the races. Her hands were so very tiny in comparison to his. Her palm was smaller than one of his finger digits. She was small in general, so when she held his hand he had to haunch over just to keep at level with her.

Vanellope finally let him go and bounced over to her cart. She began to rant to him about the time he had missed: the races she'd won and lost, the friends she had made, the presidential decree's she'd passed, and so on. He smiled to himself as he watched her mess around with the steering wheel while still managing to keep the never ending sentence going.

When she was finished she glanced towards him with those large caramel apple eyes. He gave her a look witch she replyed to with a smirk.

"Come on Ralphy, let's go for a ride! I wanna show you what I can do," she padded the back of her cart.

As soon as he set foot on the little vehicle, they were off. He gripped the back of the bumper and quickly caught himself before tipping off. Once he got his bearings back he sat up strait and gazed out ahead of the track, smiling inwardly. She revved it and he cheered her on, raising a fist in the air. The little racer had improved a lot, he had to admit. He hadn't fallen off yet-

Then without warning, the car swerved and he went tumbling off the side into a pit of chocolate milk. He emerged from the surface and gasped. Vanellope stond above him, leaning against her cart grinning.

"Bad move Squirt," Ralph called up to her as he whipped his face.

Vanellope squealed as he reached up and grabbed her ankle, pulling her towards him.

"If I'm going down, you're going down with me!"

She squirmed and wriggled in his grip till she found herself at eye level with him. She laughed and bounced at his face, taking him off guard. They both went down, landing backwards into the pool of milk. The two laughed and played, splashing at each other.

It was like old times. But this time they were safe, and nothing would ever hurt them again.

Vanellope climbed back out of the pit and rang out her pony-tail. Ralph smiled up at her from down below and began to climb out himself. She giggled, seeing him slip and fall back in.

Then there was the sound of pattering footsteps nearby. She glanced around to see who it was, but no one was there. She turned, expecting to find one of her friends playing tricks on her, or one of the candy guards, but again nothing. Confusion clouded her vision. Then there, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of red and white, like the stripes of a candy cane. She whipped around, but it was gone- simply vanished.

"Hey kid, you alright?"

Ralph had finally made it out and was now by her side, brushing off his cloths.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she reassured him, flashing him a grin.

He nodded, pleased with her response.

Something still tugged at her thoughts though- a weird feeling that something wasn't quite right.