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It's really happening. After two solid months of trying to convince Ralph that the magic bar with humans in it was real, after two months of lost arguments and futile searches, Vanellope finally has concrete proof. Proof that'll let both of them visit whenever they want to. Proof that'll settle their bet once and for all.

Assuming it works like the big blond guy said it would, anyway.

Vanellope is tempted to run straight into Pac-Man and grab Ralph out of the Bad-Anon meeting, but... no. The last time she tried that, Inky had a panic attack and Clyde had to make everyone leave while he calmed his brother down. She'll just... casually loiter around the Pac-Man entrance until the meeting's over. There's no law against that, right?

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The first bad guys emerge into Game Central Station just as Vanellope's loitering starts to attract a crowd — a crowd which then begins to disperse, as Neff comes striding out of the gateway in all his rhinocerine majesty, with the Killer Robot close behind. As some of the more popular baddies appear, a few autograph-seekers or game-mates step forward to greet them, but most characters leave the path clear.

Ralph's about halfway down the line this evening. The moment he steps through the gate, an all-too-familiar figure resolves in front of him. "Name?"

Ralph sighs. "Wreck-It Ralph. Am I still on the watch list?"

"Until the next somebody endangers a game," Surge Protector replies blandly. "Destination?"

"Fix-It Felix Jr." Ralph notices Vanellope. "Unless the President there has other plans."

"I'll take it from here, Poindexter," says Vanellope, jogging over to Ralph's side. "He's with me."

Surge Protector looks at Vanellope as if just noticing her, which may well be the case. "Just a moment, Madam President." He turns back to Ralph. "Anything to declare?"

"Not in front of a 9-year-old. Are we done here?" He steps aside without actually waiting for SP's approval. "Sorry about that, Doc."

"No problem at all, Ralph," says Dr. Eggman with a friendly smile as he and the rest of the group play through. "These things happen."

M.Bison nods. "When Street Fighter II was first installed," he says, "my Elite Four got stopped at least once a day—"

Ralph holds up his immense right hand in the universal whoa gesture. "Can we continue this conversation later, MB? Looks like somebody has something she wants me to see before bedtime."

"Certainly," Bison replies. "Take care!" He breezes off in a swirl of cape to pick up a conversation with Zangief.

Ralph scoops Vanellope up onto his shoulder. "Where to, President Pester-Paws?" He starts ambling in the general direction of his own game's outlet, just by reflex.

"I'll give you a hint," Vanellope whispers in his ear. "It starts with 'M' and ends with 'illiways.'"

Ralph starts to blurt out a reflexive rejection of Vanellope's ongoing claims about a place where players and characters mingle freely, but stifles it at the last moment to avoid making a scene public. Once he gets his face unstuck, he rolls his eyes and mutters "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Oh, you're gonna see it," says Vanellope. "Trust me. Just head over to your outlet and I'll show ya."

"If you say so." He shrugs and ambles on.

It's not until they're right outside Fix-It Felix Jr. that her implication sinks in. "Wait," he blurts, "are you going to let this place hijack our outlet? The way you say it sneaks up on you going through other doorways? Because, you know, I don't have the 20 coins on me right now." He realizes how that sounds. "I'm not saying I believe you, yet anyway. I'm not saying I don't believe you either. It's just... if you can get the place to show up, I'm sure you'd like me to pay up as soon as possible. And if you can't, well, we've got 20 coins for the evening."

"Calm down, Stink Brain," says Vanellope with a good-natured eyeroll. "We can stop by your place first. I'm not gonna make the door show up in the middle of Game Central Station, people would freak."

Edited 2013-03-17 01:40 (UTC)

"Just didn't wanna get caught by surprise, that's all." He grins and steps through to the tram line for the ride up to the cabinet.

On the way from the Niceland tram station to the shack where he keeps his more sentimental stuff, Ralph waves at the Q*crew and a few Nicelanders who happen to be out and about. (Felix and Sarge still aren't back from their night out; it's Felix's treat this time, which means a nice luau just off Cruis'n World's Hawaiian track.)

Everybody with arms to wave waves back; Q*bert manages a wave-like waggle of his snout, and Coily rattles his tail in a friendly way. Gene strives to be cordial, with some success, but Ralph can't help feeling like it's more for Vanellope's sake than his, for all that he and the mayor have come to be on speaking terms these last few months.

Inside the shack, Ralph scoops up a double handful (which would be at least a quadruple handful in most people's hands) of coins (technically some of Felix's spare medals, exactly 23 as it happens) and pours them into a pocket of his overalls, whence they vanish into the coin-storage slot of his inventory, leaving the pocket as flat as before. "Okay, Captain Shortstack," he challenges, "can you make the door to this shack open onto the alleged watering hole?"

Edited ([user name=leeshajoy]: "mostre"?) 2013-03-17 03:40 (UTC)

"Yes I can," replies Vanellope. "And so can you, with...these!"

From her hoodie pocket she pulls out a pair of key-shaped gingerbread cookies. One is decorated with mint-green icing and the initials "VvS," the other with red icing and the initials "WiR."

Ralph takes the red-iced key carefully between his right index and middle fingers. "I'm still not seeing anything you couldn't have made from Kart Bakery leftovers, but stranger things have happened." He steps toward the shack door. "So, apart from the magic, it works like any other key, right? Just stick it in the doorknob and turn?"

"You don't even have to stick it in. Just hold it and think 'Milliways' real hard while you're opening the door." She gestures magnanimously toward said door. "After you, Admiral Underpants."

"See you on the other side, President Fartfeathers." He holds the key, still gently, opens the door, thinks the word... and steps through.

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