~🏅~

Giant soda bottles pop and spray. The lids of the fan boxes fly off, revealing hundreds of spectators.

The racers line up at the start as the start line glimmers and shines in the sunlight.

A blimp flew over head. King Candy stood in his royal box.

"My sweet subjects, I can without a pinch of hesitation assure you that I have never been so happy in all my life to say the following words..."

A marshmallow custodians swept the finish line. When they were done, one of them gave a thumbs up to another marshmallow.

The other marshmallow nodded, he pressed a button on the remote he was holding turned on the leaderboard, but Vanello's name blinked as a no show.

"Let the Random Roster Race COMMENCE!" King Candy pulled a lever, he slid down with Royal banner with a laugh. He landed flawlessly in his kart.

(Pull the lever Kronk! WRONG LEVERRRR! Sorry, sorry. When I wrote the word 'lever,' that just came to mind 😭 )

The green light flashed, and the racers were off! A marshmallow waved a checkered flag as the racers zoomed off.

~🏎️~

From behind the stands, Ralph and Felix hanged onto the back of Vanello's kart, holding on her dear life. Felix sat on the spoiler, hanging on tightly and keeping a hand on his hat to keep it from flying off.

(Name) sat in the back seat as she clutched onto the side of the kart, while Vanello drove with determination on his face.

"Remember, you don't have to win! Just cross that finish line, and you'll be a real racer!" Ralph reminded.

"He's already a real racer!" (Name) told Ralph before Vanello could say something. Vanello smiled at (Name), who smiled in return.

The group reached the start line, Ralph, Felix, and (Name) jumped off.

"I am, and I'm gonna win." Vanello smirked with determination. He sped off across the start line, passing by the 'X' marked for his kart, his name appeared on the leaderboard, officially adding him in the race.

~🏎️~

The racers enter Gum Ball Pass where gum balls the size of boulders came out of the machines. Swizzle Malarkey gets hit and is knocked off course. Adorabeezle Winterpop hits a Power-Up. Her kart transforms to reveals an ice cream cannon.

"Power up!"

Adorabeezle shot out a scoop of ice cream. King Candy gasped and dodged the scoop, but Jubileena was not so lucky. As the ice cream scoop landed right on her cherry pie kart.

"Oh, Ala Mode!"

King Candy sped up with a smirk when he began to drive towards the power ups, he passed through one of them and gained it. The hood of his kart opens and unleashes a canon.

"Sweet Seekers!

"Have some candy!" King Candy smirked, he fired three fireballs at Snowanna, Gloyd and Adorabeezle, knocking them out of his way. Adorabeezle especially is launched through a gum ball machine, shattering it.

King Candy laughed and jumped up off the track.

~🍬~

King Candy moved up to fourth place, while Vanello moved up the seventh.

~🍬~

Vanello smirked and dodged gum balls flawlessly and made a jump boost, overtaking Minty.

"Behind you!" Vanello called behind Crumbelina.

She looked behind her, not noticing Vanello pass her.

"In front of you~"

Vanello drove up a colossal layered cake lined with huge cherries and caught up with Taffyta's clique.

Rancis admired his reflection in the mirror, before gasping when he saw Vanello in the mirror.

"IT'S THE GLITCH!" He alerted Taffyta and Candlehead.

"The glitch!" Taffyta sneered. "Light em up, Candlehead!"

Candlehead leaned over and lighted the cherry stems with her car's candle, laughing mischievously.

"What's this? Cherry bombs!"

(🎶Ch-ch-ch-ch-CHERRY BOMB!!!!🎶)

One by one, the cherries exploded, causing Vanello to panic and glitch out, trying to avoid the blasts.

"I told you, you're just an accident waiting to happen!" Taffyta smirked.

Tafftya, Candlehead, and Rancis drive into a giant straw, laughing. Only for Vanello to glitch up the rear. He suddenly glitched past the karts and ended up in front, driving backwards.

The clique and Vanello screamed in shock. The bullies lose control and spin out, just as the tunnel spits them out over the sea.

Vanello landed hard on the ramp on the far shore, stunned and confused. The rest of the racers miss and crash into giant cupcakes.

"WAHH!" Taffyta wailed, crying like a baby.

"My candle!" Candlehead said in distraught as she looked at her broken candle.

"Alright, gotta keep it under control. No more glitching!" Vanello told himself before speeding up.

He had to win this race.

Not just for himself, but for (Name).

~🍬~

Ralph, Felix, and (Name) watched the leaderboard anxiously.

"Okay, kid, let's finish this thing without anymore distractions-" Ralph was suddenly cut off by a punch to the face by Calhoun.

"OW!" Ralph yelped, clutching his chin on the ground.

"Hope you're happy, junk pile." Calhoun growled. "This game is going DOWN and it's all your fault!"

Felix took his hat off and smiled up at Calhoun. "My lady! You came back!"

"CAN IT, FIX-IT!" Calhoun snapped, before turning to (Name), who stared at the woman nervously.

"As for you, girly, you're darn lucky I don't hit kids or else I would have slapped you silly!" Calhoun scolded.

"I don't how to feel about that statement." (Name) chuckled nervously.

"That Cy-Bug you brought with you both, multiplied!" Calhoun informed angrily.

"No, it died in the Taffy Swamp! Believe me!" Ralph assured as he got to his feet.

Just then, hundred of Cy-Bugs burst out of the ground behind the bleachers.

"Bull roar." Calhoun scoffed as she draw out her gun while Ralph stared at the Cy-Bugs, flabbergasted.

As Candy Citizens run around in panic, Calhoun jumped on her cruiser and fired at the bugs.

"Listen up, people! Head for Game Central Station, NOW!" Calhoun instructed the fleeing citizens.

"Move it! Let's go! Let's go! Go! Go! Go!"

Ralph and (Name) waved their arms and directed them to the exit.

The two then looked at the mountain in the distance, then to the Jumbotron which showed a map of the track. It pointed out where King Candy and Vanello were, both of them were approaching the ice cream mountain.

Ralph and (Name) then looked at the Finish Line, which shined and shimmered.

A Cy-Bug got attracted to the shiny light, and floated towards it along with some other Cy-Bugs.

"NO!"

~🪲~

King Candy zipped up the ice cream mountain headed toward massive fudge-covered scoops in the distance.

Vanello pulls up him, and in almost slo-mo he lifted up his goggles in disbelief.

"WHAT?!"

Vanello just gave a smug smirk as he drifted past the King's car and zoomed ahead. They approached a nougat mine.

King Candy took a short cut on a closed turn, he zoomed past the sign and drove down the road.

Vanello turned around and smirked when he saw no sign of the King.

"WHOO-HOO!" Vanello cheered as he drove down the tunnel. As he rises, King Candy swept in.

Vanello grunted as King Candy rear-ended him so hard that his kart spun around. The King hit him again and his front end goes up on his hood.

"GET OFF OF MY TRACK!" King Candy shouted.

"Hey!" Vanello tried to shift and get off of his hood. "What are you, CRAZY?"

King Candy broke off the antenna of his kart and aimed it towards Vanello threateningly. "I forbid you...TO CROSS THAT FINISH LINE!"

Vanello screamed as the King whacked the antenna at him, nearly shattering his mirror.

"Knock it off!"

~🏎️~

Ralph grunted as he punched some more Cy-Bugs, keeping them away from the finish line, making them explode into green dust.

Meanwhile, (Name) kicked a bunch of Cy-Bugs and head-butted a few.

Felix, on top of the finish line, gasped and pointed to the Jumbotron. "Ralph, (Name), look!"

Ralph and (Name) did as he said and gasped as they saw King Candy attacking Vanello, who struggled to defend himself.

"Kid!" Ralph exclaimed.

"Vanello!" (Name) yelled.

~🏎️~

Vanello and King Candy wrestled with the antenna, Vanello glitched out nervously, making King Candy glitch as well.

"Stop it!" Vanello begged.

"NO! I'M NOT LETTING YOU UNDO ALL MY HARD WORK!" King Candy screamed.

However, King Candy's appearance began to chance as he glitched.

~🏎️~

Ralph, Felix, and (Name) squinted their eyes at the Jumbotron as they watched King Candy's figure glitch out.

"Is that..." Felix began to say in horror.

The male King Candy glitched, the more he flashed into a familiar, creepy face.

'King Candy' looked down at himself in horror and shock when his true form was revealed.

No, it wasn't King Candy.

It was Turbo.

Ralph and Felix's jaws dropped.

"NO WAY!" Ralph shrieked.

Neither of their reactions were as fearful as (Name)'s.

"No...no, no, no, no, no, no." She whispered, her heart beginning to beat up rapidly.

"He's dead. They told me he was gone..."

"Kid? Hey, (Name)! What's wrong?" Ralph questioned, noticing the girl's frightened state.

(Name) didn't answer, as memories of her past came flooding through her brain...

~🏎️~

Thirty years ago.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

(Name) still remembers stealing a car when no one was around and driving around the track.

(Name) was only programmed for one reason and one reason only. To be Turbo's best friend.

But she was a non-playable character, and could only watch races from the sidelines. Like some kind of cheer leader.

And she hated it.

She would always ask Turbo if she could join the track too and become a racer, but he always refused. Saying how she wasn't good enough and bad at racing. She failed to understand how Turbo was just afraid of outdoing him and taking away his fame.

The thing was, Turbo always felt entitled to (Name) and wanted her all to himself.

He saw her as his most prized trophy, and nothing else.

As such, he never let her leave the game. Claiming it was 'dangerous' out there.

And (Name), who was younger and naive, believed him.

But as time went on, Turbo began to treat her harshly.

The fame and popularity was getting to his head, and he began to disregard (Name) and was rude to the other racers.

When (Name) tried to confront Turbo about it, he just brushed her aside harshly once again.

And that day when RoadBlasters got plugged in...

(Name) tried to convince Turbo to not do it, but as always, he didn't listen.

When Turbo Time got unplugged, (Name) barely managed to escape.

She was the only one who got out.

Her entire home was gone, her friends were gone. The person she thought was her friend was a monster and was gone.

(Name) didn't tell anyone she was from Turbo Time. She wanted to forget about Turbo completely, and she didn't want people to know her for that.

Yet, the characters at the arcade didn't know what to do with her. So they isolated and ignored her completely.

As years went on, she began to hear the phrase "Go Turbo" get passed around.

So (Name) vowed to never let anyone make the same mistake Turbo made, as she failed to protect her game.

When she saw what happened at the party with Ralph, she knew she needed to protect Ralph and Felix.

But now? It appeared (Name)'s past had came back to haunt her...

~🏎️~

"(Name)? (NAME)!"

(Name) finally snapped out of it and looked at Ralph and Felix, who was staring at her with worry.

"I...he's supposed to be dead." (Name) gripped her (hair color) fair. "HOW IS HE ALIVE!?"

"You..." Ralph then figured it out. "You were from his game, weren't you?"

It all made sense now.

Why she helped him, the driving, why she was so secretive about which game she was from.

Everything she did, she was...trying to protect them.

(Name)'s (eye color) eyes went wide, before she simply sighed.

"Yeah...look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just...didn't know how. And...I wanted to forget about him. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, you don't have to apologize. I'm surprised I didn't figure it out sooner." Ralph gently assured. "I promise it's gonna be okay. We're gonna finish this out. I just need you to take deep breaths, okay?"

(Name) glanced at Felix, who was smiling at her gently. For that moment, (Name) felt like she was surrounded by love.

She did what Ralph said and took deep, slow breaths, and calmed herself down.

(Name) and Ralph smiled at each other, but her eyes then went back to the screen, seeing Turbo begin to attack Vanello.

~🏎️~

"What the-" Vanello stared at the man in horror. "Who are you?!"

"I'm T̶̝͝u̷͖͝r̵͈̂b̴̤͝o̸̤͑, the greatest racer e̴̘̫̽̚v̷͔͙͂ë̵̘́́r̶̰̿!̶͖͋ͅ"̸͕͙͆̃ Turbo grinned evilly as glitched out more and he kept switching forms. He then leaned closer to Vanello.

"And I did not reprogram this world to let y̷̟̹̍ŏ̵͎u̷͇̙̓, that traitorous brat, and that HALITOSIS-RIDDLED WARTHOG, T̶̙̱͆A̷͎̥̐K̷̭̻͗̂É̴̍ͅ ̶̨̆̀I̸̩͇̊̏T̷̘̅̒ ̸̪͆͠A̸̰͚͗̚W̷̨̫̄À̷̼Y̴̪͔͝ ̸̯͊F̷̨̈Ṟ̶̐͘O̴̰͐̕M̵̭̀̊ ̷̱̘̈́M̷͊ͅE̶̲̅̀!̶̞͗͑"̵͓̌

Turbo pushed his foot down on the pedal, he aimed his kart towards a wall, preparing to ram Vanello right into it.

"TURBO-TASTIC!" Turbo laughed evilly as the wall got closer. "End of the line, GLITCH!"

Vanello gasped. "Glitch! That's it!"

Vanello closed his eyes, the world seemed to slow down around him as he concentrated.

"Come on, Vanello. I know you said you wouldn't do it again but you're gonna do it one more time." He whispered to himself. "Just focus and concentrate and...glitch!"

Vanello glitched, disappeared, and reappeared to the left of the fork.

"NO!" Turbo screamed in anger, he swerved, bounced off the wall, and headed down the right hand tunnel.

Vanello laughed in joy as he drove towards the end of the tunnel. "Sweet mother of monkey milk! I did it!" He sped off and out of the mines.

"NOOO!" Turbo screamed.

He speeded ahead, a Cy-Bug jumped in front of the entrance and opened his mouth wide.

Turbo screamed, and drove right into its mouth.

~🪲~

Lore reveal!!!

If you already figured (Name)'s backstory out, you get a cookie! 😁🍪

I hope her backstory wasn't too rushed, I needed to get back to the main stuff lol.

And while (Name) has been in Litwak's for over thirty years, she is still mentally and physically a sixteen year-old girl. So there is no age gap between Vanello and (Name). As they are still the same age even if (Name) has been around the Arcade longer than him.

Friendly reminder Calhoun and Felix are a couple, and Calhoun's game was plugged in a week ago while Felix was plugged in thirty years ago. But they are still adults and the same age.

Video game characters don't age, so there's really no problem with age gaps like this.

Ok? Cool.😌

~🏅~