LYDIA DEETZ AND WRECK IT RALPH
Capítulo 5: Sugar Rush
The party that Ralph, Felix and the Nicelanders had prepared was joined by Calhoun, his men and Sugar Rush's president, Vanellope von Schweetz.
“Come on, princess, I'll introduce you to Lydia and Percy," said Ralph, and together with the girl they approached the two of them.
“Candied marshmallows! I had never seen anyone with such white skin and I thought that Adorabeezle's skin and mine were very white," said Vanellope, impressed with Lydia's skin.
“She also has darker hair than you, princess, and it's not dirty," Ralph mocked, referring to the sweets Vanellope always wore in her hair.
“Look who's talking, you should at least take a bath after falling into the mud every day," said Vanellope with a frown, but Ralph didn't bother.
“A pleasure to meet you, President Von Schweetz.” Lydia bowed to her.
“Oh, please, just call me Vanellope, not president, not princess," Vanellope said referring to Ralph.
“Call me by name too," said Lydia.
“You've got a lovely face, you're much prettier than Sticky," Vanellope flattered her, as she stood on her toes to get a better look at Lydia's perfect face.
“Hi Vanellope, my name is Percy!” Suddenly the cat boy let him go as he happily wagged his tail and ears.
“Wow, Glad to see you, I've never seen anyone with cat's ears and tail," Vanellope said, looking closely at Percy's tail and ears.
“I'm sure they didn't know anyone that small either," Ralph laughed and Vanellope started joking to annoy him, too.
“You heard Lydia, even though she's a child, I've never heard anyone so young with such an expectant voice, like an old lady," Percy said to Lydia without any disguise.
“What did you say, Percy?” Vanellope asked with a frown.
“Percy!” Lydia scolded him.
“Listen kitty, we can't all have the beautiful voice of your friend Lydia," said Vanellope, putting her arms in a jar.
“Forgive Percy, sometimes he says things without thinking," Lydia apologized for the cat boy.
Vanellope accepted Lydia and Percy's apologies and the party continued without any major mishaps, although they had to move it to the street because of the large turnout. Calhoun's men asked the celebrates to recount their adventures against Beetlejuice with what the boys accepted and all gathered in a fan-like fashion in front of them so they could hear the two friends' adventures in the real world.
.
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“The adventures you had with Percy were great," Vanellope said.
“Well, yours and Ralph are not far behind," said Lydia.
“How about Lydia, if you and Percy visit me at Sugar Rush," Vanellope suggested.
“I don't know, Calhoun told us that it wouldn't be safe to go to other games except Tapper's and Burger time.”
“Oh, don't mind the sergeant who's always dramatizing.”
“The surge protector also told us the same thing.”
“But he doesn't even know where he's standing, let's go, Lydia!”
“I think it's a good idea, I mean, we're not going to participate in any races or anything like that," Percy said.
“And what about the quicksand of nesquick," said Lydia.
“Don't worry, I'll tell you where it's safe to go for a walk," Vanellope said.
“All right, we'll go to Sugar Rush when the arcade opens tomorrow," Lydia agreed, and Percy took a big leap of pure joy.
“Don't worry Lydia, Sugar Rush is a huge place, which makes Niceland look tiny by comparison. There are so many things to see!” Vanellope said as she stood up and leapt from the thrill.
Near the end of the party, Lydia informed her friends of her intention to visit Sugar Rush. Felix, Ralph and the nicelanders had no objections, but Calhoun was somewhat dissatisfied.
“They will be your responsibility as president, don't let them near the quicksand or the bubble land, the last time I was there, the floor gave way and I almost died when I crashed to the ground down there.”
“Is that where you said the cybugs had their nest?” Lydia asked.
“Exactly, Sugar Rush isn't as harmless as it seems, there are many places that can be dangerous, like the green puddles of candy or the Sea of Candy," said Calhoun with a serious gesture.
“Yes, I remember falling into one of those puddles when I first met Vanellope, after a while the candy hardens and can be uncomfortable," Ralph said with a thoughtful gesture as if he was remembering his affair with the girl.
“You see, guys, what if you get trapped in hard candy and can't run from the predators...”
“But Calhoun, there are no dangerous animals in Sugar Rush, only devil dogs and those are controlled by the cops," Vanellope reassured her as she approached Calhoun and rubbed her arm to reassure her.
“Stubborn as a donkey in the midst of hail," the sergeant said another of her famous sayings.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, now that everything's settled, come to Sugar Rush tomorrow.”
"I see that Vanellope really likes the idea of bossing," Lydia thought, and then she and Percy assured her of their visit to the place.
After the party, everyone went back to their apartments. Calhoun fired his men and to Vanellope's horror, the sergeant ordered them to serve as the girl's presidential escort until she arrived safely at her castle.
Lydia and Percy also went to the house that Felix built for them and prepared for a well-deserved break because although they loved the party, they were exhausted.
.
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The next day, the boys woke up late because they didn't have to vacate the nicelanders' building because of the arcade opening. Lydia and Percy ate the cake that was left over last night and after saying goodbye to Q*Bert and his friends who were on their way out to participate in the game, they took the carts to the Video Central Station.
As all the arcade characters were in their games, the VEC was deserted. The boys approached the information office and informed the surge protector that they would be entering Sugar Rush.
“Are you sure you want to go to that cloying game?”
“Yes sir, President Vanellope von Schweetz herself invited us to visit her in her castle.” Lydia told her.
“Last night they prepared a party for us and we received the invitation," Percy said.
“Then you can enter, however, you must not be seen on the game screen, or real world players will notice your presence.”
The boys assured the man that they would be careful and went in search of the Sugar Rush game.
“Where is this game?” Percy asked.
“Vanellope told me that it is right in front of Hero's Duty," Lydia told him as she looked over the entrance arches of the games to find her friend's game.
“There it is! Percy was excited," Percy pointed out, and the two boys entered through the archway to get some strollers to take them to the game.
.
.
After getting out of the strollers, they walked a couple of steps and reached what appeared to be a rainbow that bridged the gap between where they were and the ground of Sugar Rush.
The view they had was breathtaking. Vanellope was not lying when she told them that Sugar Rush was a very vast place, from where they could see forests made of candy and mountains made of varied cakes, as well as a vast green sea that was surely the Sea of Caramel they were told about earlier.
Percy was stepping forward to go down the rainbow when he noticed Lydia wasn't by his side and turned to see what was keeping her friend.
Lydia seemed petrified and looked at the rainbow and the Sugar Rush landscape apprehensively.
“Don't worry Lydia, you don't have to worry, I'll be by your side every moment. I promise you," Percy assured her, holding Lydia's hand very tenderly and smiling confidently.
“You're, you're right, I'm acting like a little girl. Let's go see Vanellope," Lydia decided, shaking her head and then took a big breath and then calmly exhaled through her nose, with that breathing exercise calmed her nerves and, together with Percy, went down the rainbow.
“Are you still nervous, Lydia?” Percy asked her worried as he rubbed her friend's arm and shoulder to calm her down.
“I'm better now, Percy, thank you," thanked Lydia, who was still a little tense but not as tense as she was at the beginning.
“I guess for a Gothic girl, this Sugar Rush atmosphere is not your style," Percy said, trying to cheer her up. “How about Lydia, if instead of imagining you're going down a rainbow like in the world of care bears or my little pony, you imagine that this is the rainbow that connects Valhalla to the mortal world."
“What a good idea," said Lydia, and this time she seemed to have more courage to continue her journey.
When they reached the base of the rainbow, they saw that the Sugar Rush cops were waiting for them.
“Welcome, you must be the guests of our president.”
“We'll escort you to the castle where you can wait until the races are over.”
“Lydia, these are real police desserts," whispered the cat boy mockingly so that the blue icing ones wouldn't heard him.
Lydia looked at Percy with a frown and then thanked the cops for their work.
The officers took the boys to the gates of the castle where sour Bill was already waiting for them.
You must be the famous Sour Bill!” Percy let him go as soon as he saw the tiny guy.
“Ummm welcome," said Sour Bill with his characteristic bored and annoying tone that caused Percy to wipe the smile from his mouth at once.
"Please come with me,” asked the green one, slurring his words and led the boys to one of the balconies of the castle.
"You can sit here and watch the races," he said, pointing to binoculars for them to wear. If you want something you only have to...
“Yes, I have something!” Suddenly Percy said, “Something to ask!”
“Well...”
“Is it true that Ralph put you in his mouth to get you to confess the King Candy's conspiracy and yours against Vanellope?”
“Percy! Excuse my friend Mr. Bill, if we need anything we'll let you know later," Lydia said with a smile.
Once Sour Bill entered the castle corridors, the boys took the binoculars and focused on the racetrack.
“They are good binoculars," said Lydia when she checked the power of the devices despite their small size.
The boys could see from their advantageous position most of the race track, as well as the large screens that showed the other spectators the televised route, so they would not miss any part of the competition.
“The race is on Percy," Lydia told him as she wore her binoculars the same way her friend did.
The cars seemed to be made of biscuits and pastries that gave them a deceptive appearance of toys, however, Lydia was able to see that they were very fast and in this they had nothing to envy to the racing cars of the real world, quite the contrary, since the sweetened cars seemed to have mechanical advantages with which only the teams of the real world could dream.
Bold turns, impossible jumps and unthinkable traction were the characteristic of each of the cars that ran at that time for the fun of a variety of spectators, all representing various candies and multicolored cookies and all the flavors.
“This race reminds me a lot of the Mario kart game," said Percy, who couldn't decide between watching the cars compete or the tasty spectators.
“You're right, this race is about helping cars to gain speed or arm themselves with cannons that neutralize opponents, there are also deadly traps for competitors like those cherry bombs and others... Calhoun was right, Sugar Rush is not as innocent as it looks.”
In the middle of the race one of the runners collides with another competitor's vehicle, causing her to fall into the void of a huge cliff.
Lydia screamed the same as Percy, bringing Sour Bill closer.
“Is something wrong?”
“Mr. Bill, one of the runners ran aground!” Lydia shouted.
“Don't worry, the runners don't suffer any damage no matter how high they fall or how fast they crash," said Sour Bill in a single voice.
“Is there really nothing wrong with them?” Lydia asked incredulously.
“The most serious thing is that they lose a tooth, but they immediately regenerate it," he clarified the greenish point with a bored look on his face, and then went out into the corridor.
The boys breathed easier and watched race after race until the arcade closed, then Sour Bill took them in a car driven by a driver made of candy to the main stands to watch the race that would decide the nine riders who would participate tomorrow.
The friends arrived just in time for the start of the race and watched as the fifteen competitors left quickly to gain a place in tomorrow's races.
The competition was fierce right from the start and Vanellope won first place thanks to her pixelating technique, with which she overtook the other riders.
The spectators were euphoric and the two boys went to the track to welcome their president friend who was already arriving along with the other competitors.
“Lydia, Percy, did you see how I won the race? I won first place!” Vanellope said as she took a big leap and punched the air.
“But you cheated with that pixelating thing at the end of the race,” Percy said to her tactlessly.
“Hey, pussycat, why don't you go meow someplace else since quietly you look prettier.”
“No thanks, I feel happy in this place and meowing as I please, Anya, meow, nya, meew, mii.” Happily meowed Percy as he put his arms in a jar and looked up to the sky with his eyes closed.
“Don't mind him, Vanellope, I thought you were fantastic.”
“Thanks Lydia, come on, let me introduce you to the other runners at Sugar Rush," Vanellope said as she was holding her friend's hand, Percy was following her from behind.
“This is Taffyta Mutonfudge, Candlehead and the beautiful little girl here is called Rancis Fluggerbutter.”
“Hey, I'm a boy!” Rancis complained.
“You're right, Vanellope, she does look like a girl," laughed Percy.
“These three are always together, so let's go on," Vanellope wiped a tear. “Minty Zaki, Swizzle Malarkey, Jubileena Bing Bing Bing, Adorabeezle Winterpop, and Gloyd Orangeboar, who as you can see does not look like a girl.”
“Hey! I mean... Don't bother Vanellope!” complained Gloyd.
“Very nice hat," praised Lydia.
“Don't forget us,” she was criticized by other runners.
“Here we have the foreign runners: Snowanna Rainbeau and Crumbelina Di Caramello.”
“Don't forget about us because we're the colored runners either," complained the other competitors.
“I didn't mean to, my friends," Vanellope said, calming them with her hands. “And last but not least, my friends Citrusella Flugpucker, Sticky Wipplesnit, Nougetsia Brumbelstain and Torvald Batterbutter, the latter with a proud male name.”
“It is no longer funny," said Torvald, shaking her head.
Percy approached Sticky Wipplesnit and looked at her with huge eyes and little stars inside.
“Hot dog, I don't believe it! Vanellope, you were right, your friend is beautiful," Percy said, grabbing the girl and giving her a hug as he stroked her cheek with his own. “Lydia, can we keep her?”
“Percy, get Sticky down here right now! I'm sorry, my friend is sometimes very effusive, but he's right, you're a beautiful girl," Lydia praised her, while Sticky blushed and put on her characteristic tender expression of chewing on her lower lip while smiling.
After the presentations were over, Lydia and Percy returned to the castle with Vanellope and the other fourteen runners. At this place a party started and the runners asked Lydia and Percy to tell their adventures against the Beetlejuice ghost with which the two friends accepted.
Time flew by amidst amusing anecdotes from one side to the other, when, to the relief of Sour Bill, the party was over. Like Calhoun, Vanellope ordered Sour Bill and the cops to escort Lydia and Percy to the Ralph and Felix game.
Lydia told Vanellope that it was not necessary, but the president insisted, and the two boys were escorted until they arrived safely at Fix it Félix Junior game and then went straight home to enjoy a refreshing rest.
CONTINUARÁ...
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