A/N: Where do I even begin?

First of all, an apology to those of you who have been waiting patiently for a new chapter. I appreciate your patience more than I can explain - this past year has been a wild one, with changes in school life. I hope that you've all stayed healthy and happy! With all of the craziness, I've rarely had time to think about updating this story, but I'm back.

I have read all of your reviews. I appreciate all of your words dearly, and am so glad to see people still interested in seeing my story to the end. Thank you all so much for holding on. It's funny to thing this story was originally destined to be much shorter than it is now.

Without further ado, here is the long-awaited chapter. Thank you so much, again, for being so patient.


Chapter 9


For a while, Yesss was stuck in darkness and silence.

She hadn't been able to move at all. That certainly should've alarmed her, but she felt calm instead. She liked the quiet, it was relaxing; when was the last time she'd actually slept? She couldn't remember. Her duty to BuzzzTube really drained her sometimes, and she rarely had time to catch a few z's. It was nice to actually rest, but that wasn't the type of person she was; she never slacked off.

She could hear voices talking from far away, but her body dared not twitch even an inch. She wanted to, but it was like a hibernation had come over her—a dreamless, dark sleep that was unable to fight. The voices were growing louder, though, and she tried to navigate toward them. As they got closer and closer, the darkness began to subside.

She started to come to again, uncertain of how much time had passed by, where she was, or what had happened to her before she'd fallen into the seemingly endless darkness that had kept her shut in. She practically forced herself as she pushed through the dark; the algorithm's eyes felt like they had weights keeping them closed, but as she fought to the surface of the sea of cold sleep, she was able to open them a moment later.

The world was a blur a first, and she squinted and blinked rapidly to try and clear everything up. The ringing in her ears continued, and it was incredibly distracting as she tried to focus. Yesss had experienced her share of headaches before—but this raging ache in her head was so much different than what she was used to.

Something was casting a shadow over her, blocking what little light was in the distance from reaching her face. Despite this, she still struggled to keep her eyes open for more than a second without having to blink. She lay there for only a moment more as she finally started to twitch her fingers, and the fog that surrounded her mind finally dissipated as she came to completely, but was still in a daze.

"—you hear us? Say something!" there was a desperate cry that broke through the ringing in her ears, and Yesss felt herself caught off guard when two hands grabbed onto her coat and rapidly shook her in an attempt to wake her completely. At being jostled suddenly like that, she startled out of her daze entirely.

"What the—let go of me!" Yesss smacked one hand away, her expression showing nothing but irritation. As he let her go, she fell back with a groan as her head collided with the floor. Her head was already spinning—she didn't need it to spin even more, and the pounding in it was enough to make her reel further. She forced herself up, lips drawn back in anger.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Boss Lady! I was for sure that you'd regenerate any second due to damages in your code, but—"

Before he could finish, Yesss had grasped onto the front of his shirt, pulling the grating voice's owner forward.

"If you shake me like that ever again, I'll contact your site's web host and get it taken down for good!" she snapped at him, shaking him back and forth just like he had done to her.

But then, things started to come back and she paused in her shaking. She looked past him to see that, in the dim light, there were bars enclosing them. Unaware of where they had landed up, she thought better of continuing to shake him, knowing she needed him in one piece to escape. Their faces only a few inches apart, Yesss frowned. Spamley seemed to look plenty relieved, as he was grinning dumbly at her despite the threat she'd spoken.

"You are so rude, shaking me like that." Yesss sighed as she dropped him, but he was still smiling.

"So—so you're okay?" he asked, moving to sit back up.

"I think so? Ugh. . ." she muttered under her breath, digging one palm into her forehead.

"Take it easy," he steadied her with one hand, and she frowned slightly when she recalled him shaking the daylights out of her a few moments ago, "just relax. How're you doing right now?"

The feeling of her wanting to go right back to sleep despite clearly having done so for a while already, the ringing in her ears, the headache. . . all of it added up was bothersome. She sighed in exasperation.

"I've been better, but otherwise I'm fine."

"You did hit your head pretty hard."

Yesss's eyes widened at the voice, and she paused. Slowly her eyes lifted as she set her sight on none other than Wreck-It Ralph himself, who had been presumed to be dead prior to their discovery. The giant was sitting right next to her with his knees pulled in, looking down at her with concern; clearly his position was the source of the light being blocked out from just a minute or so ago. Now her jaw had gone slack, surprise washing over her as she blinked.

Her memories were coming back in full now. The first thing that metaphorically hit her was that she'd been grabbed and flung away by a giant monster. That was the last thing she could remember happening. What she was doing before that? Well, that was kind of foggy. But she remembered she had discovered Ralph was alive.

Before the assault she hadn't exactly gotten the time to process he was still. . . here! Now, it was hitting deep as she stared, wide-eyed.

"Why's she looking at you like that?" Spamley asked uneasily.

"This happened to my friend Felix one time. He fell straight from the top of our building right onto his head, and he hardly looked like he recognized me when he woke up, so maybe this is the same thing."

Yesss staggered to her feet as she ignored what the two were discussing, looking the wrecker up and down. She squinted as she readjusted the visor that was over her face, which now had a crack in it, and she peered closer at him. Yep, that was Ralph in the flesh, alright. The overalls, the messy hair, the giant stature—it was undoubtedly him.

Her look of surprise quickly morphed into a wide, smiling grin, and she let out a celebratory half-laugh, half-scream.

"Ha! You're really alive!" she howled with glee, as though she were a child. For a moment she twirled in a circle, still boisterously laughing before she came to a halt, feeling dizzied. As soon as she'd recovered from the temporary spell, she didn't hesitate to hug him the next second, catching him off guard as she lunged toward him. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she shouted, "You big dumb baby, I could never forget you!"

She was laughing still as she hugged as tight as she could. Ralph smiled, and opened his mouth to respond; before Ralph could say anything, though, she released him and slapped him across the face with a force the wrecker didn't know she had. The smile she was wearing a second ago was replaced by a frown and jutted out lip.

Spamley gasped loudly as he covered his mouth, and Ralph looked at her with the most bewildered face possible.

"Hey! What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing his cheek with his thumb; an exasperated look was etched into his expression as he stared at the blue lady.

"That was for worrying me so much!" the algorithm snapped at him, fists balled, a mixture of anger and pain reflected in her eyes even in the dim light. "And for worrying Vanellope and everyone else who cares about you on the Internet!"

"Vanellope." Ralph said, and his eyes were wide. "Do you know where she is?"

"Oh! Uh-huh! Hmm, let's see. . ." Yesss thoughtfully stroked her chin as she paced back and forth in front of her companions. If she wasn't feeling like being sarcastic before, she certainly was feeling it now. Her hands tucked behind her as she turned to face Ralph, "Oh, right, she's precisely anywhere but here. I wouldn't know where she is because I'm stuck down here just like you two! And, by the way," her coat ruffled as though she was bristling as it lit up with bright blue all at once, "that creature has no manners, throwing a woman around like that. Ha, just you wait until I get my hands on him!"

She continued to vent, a vexed expression on her face as she continued to pace back and forth, hands grasping at the air around her as she went on cursing.

"You know what? I think she'll be okay." Ralph whispered to Spamley, who only nodded in agreement.

By the time Yesss was done getting out her anger, she felt even more fatigued than before. She let out a huff as she ran a hand through her hair and sat back down on the ground in front of them.

"Just thinking about this situation made my headache worse." Yesss grumbled as she rubbed one temple, face creased with pain.

"I'm, ah, surprised you didn't regenerate." Spamley admitted. "It was quite the blow you took there."

"Yeah." Yesss agreed, looking a shade paler as she envisioned that possibility. "That thing. . . that thing is a monster. I've never seen anything like him in my life. The biggest thing I've ever seen is Ralph, and he's even got him beat!" Yesss gestured to the wrecker with one outstretched hand, a look of surprise on her face as she stared at Spamley. Ralph sat there, pursing his lips; he was unsure whether to be offended or not by that statement.

"Well. . . all we can do is be stuck here until we figure out how to escape unless we want him to kill us." Spamley sighed, a bored look on his face.

"I can't even remember how we got here. Where. . . where is here?" Yesss asked, looking at the wrecker expectantly. To her dismay, he shrugged.

"I've got no clue. Turbo's always had nasty tricks up his sleeve. We'll be lucky if we ever find out where we are." Ralph said uneasily. "I thought we got rid of him years ago. But, well. . . we were wrong."

"You think?" Yesss sighed in exasperation. "So, we're locked in here. . ." she looked around at the bars that surrounded the trio, realizing that someone was missing, "And. . . where is Shank? Is—is she okay?"

"We have no idea." Ralph answered, a similar worry in his eyes that Yesss had expressed through her tone just a second ago. "Turbo, well. . . he kind of. . . sort of. . ."

"He put a virus in her." Spamley finished, gulping. "Boss Lady, I'll spell it out for you: Alien, but backwards. You know that one part of the movie where that alien pops out of that guy's chest—"

"Spamley, I know, I've seen it!" Yesss snapped at him.

"Sounds gross. Remind me to never watch it." Ralph said, grimacing.

"You already saw it right in front of you." Spamley reminded. "Just backwards, like I said."

Once his words sank in, however, Yesss notably paled. Her mouth suddenly felt very, very dry. Her brows were knit together with worry, and her mind started peddling a hundred miles a minute. She was worried about Shank, worried about Vanellope, worried about the three locked in their cell—this was just too much for her.

As her thoughts bombarded her, her temper quickly flared up. The code in her veins began to boil as she clenched her fists in frustration. She had never felt this powerless in a situation before. There was always some kind of upper hand, a card stashed away that could be played, but right now she felt completely in the open. She was vulnerable. Yesss didn't like 'vulnerable.'

"Well, what are we standing around for? Ralph, get up and start breaking the cage!" Yesss commanded, pointing at the bars of their prison.

Ralph only started to shake his head. "I can't."

Yesss felt her heart-rate increase as she frowned at him, and panic started to set in. The anxiety she was experiencing began reflecting in her face as lines of stress appeared. "What do you mean you can't? Do they call you Wreck-It Ralph for nothing? Wreck it, Wreck-It!" she hissed impatiently.

"I told you that I can't." Ralph frowned at her.

"And why is that? You've got a little girl in danger, and you're just sitting around?" Yesss demanded. "You know he's after her!"

Ralph's fists clenched. "What, did you think I haven't been trying? I know more than anyone that Vanellope's out there somewhere, and she's gonna get hurt if Turbo gets his hands on her—"

"Well, then we need to work on getting out of here faster!" the algorithm interrupted. "Try harder! Quit being useless and do something about this!" her voice rose higher and higher as her pulse continued to quicken.

"Insulting me isn't going to do anything, Yesss! Can't you see that I have been?" Ralph raised his fists, shouting at her. Yesss's hand covered her mouth as she saw them—they were battered up and becoming purple from bruises. She hadn't noticed before thanks to the dim lighting, but her eyes were wide just at the sight of them. She almost felt herself falter. "Why do you seem so surprised? I'd never let Vanellope get hurt! Not if I can help it! So I think it's best if you don't boss anyone around right now and just try to stay calm like the rest of us."

At that, Yesss bit her lip as her hands went back to her sides, balling up once more. "I'm just trying to get us out of here, you idiot! There's no way I could be calm!" she snapped back at him.

"And I've been trying to get out for days!" Ralph got in her face as he leaned forward, but she didn't even flinch. "The fact that you think I wouldn't do everything in my power to save Vanellope is the worst insult of all. We're all in the same position here, if you hadn't noticed, not just you! I have people to protect and I can't because I'm here!" Ralph bellowed at her.

Yesss opened her mouth to give a nasty retort, but her expression only fell as his words processed in her mind. She realized just how futile it was to try and escape, and her heart started to sink.

She turned her back on him, crossing her arms as she took a step away from the angered man. Yesss, rattled to the core by the realization that she was trapped, lost her steam just as quickly as it had came about. "I have people to protect, too." she said, quiet now.

"Well, you know what?" Ralph went on angrily, not noticing her change of tone, "If we don't get out of here, and work together without arguing then they're all gonna die! So just keep being snotty to me, and we'll get nowhere!" Ralph's voice only got louder. Yesss didn't physically flinch, but she did mentally. Her eyes shut tightly as she tried to keep herself together. "What, you've got nothing to say now? Did the big idiot make a point?"

"Ralph, relax." Spamley finally intervened, putting a hand on the big man's arm.

"No! No. . . I can't relax. We're all in danger here, and she thinks ordering me around is gonna change that! She's acting like she's better than everyone else right now by giving orders—she can't see straight! You might be the boss of BuzzzTube, but you aren't the boss of me!"

"Ralph!" Spamley shouted, and that caught the attention of the algorithm, too. The spammer wore a scowl as he stared up at Ralph, disappointment in his expression. "Look, buddy, I get it—everyone's high strung right now, and maybe calling you an idiot doesn't help. . . but she's afraid, too, not just us. Can't you see she's panicking?"

Ralph was breathing heavy as he glared back at her. Her silence was, in actuality, kind of alarming. She was never quiet like this. Ralph dragged a hand down his face as he realized how he'd acted toward her. As the red in his vision started to fade away, he could tell now just how disturbed she looked.

One arm was clutched to her chest, her other hand near her mouth. Intensely, she was focusing on the fingertip she was gnawing on, as though if she stopped concentrating, she'd lose her cool altogether.

That was it—for years, she had kept a cool, calm demeanor for a reputation. Now, the facade was starting to fall apart. When Shiv had died, she had shown the public eye no signs that something was wrong. She kept smiling, hiding her pain with laughs and throwing herself into her work twice as hard as she typically did to distract herself. Then, when it finally processed that Shiv was gone, she felt all alone. She had contemplated it time and time again; maybe, perhaps, it was something that Yesss was programmed with—a hole in her that needed a constant fill. After all, she was an algorithm, constantly looking for the next best thing to show her viewers. She quite literally existed to fill the holes in their interests where they needed it most. Based on the search history of the viewers, she usually knew what was best for them.

It made Yesss happy to make others happy. She loved doing that, and most of all she loved her job for giving her the opportunity to share happiness with others, even if they were strangers. So, she had especially loved when she saw the smile on Shiv's face, someone who was more than just a stranger, every time they got done shooting a video together. Not to mention thatShiv had filled the hole in Yesss's that needed filling. She never had any friends, really, and Shiv was the first. People came to her site, but no one cared about an algorithm. All they cared about was the entertainment. They needed Yesss until they didn't. They needed someone to help them until they could go on without recommendation. The people came and went just as fast as they had come.

Shiv made Yesss's reality okay, because if at least one person stuck around with her, she was happy. Without that, she wasn't really anybody. At least, that's what she felt like. A nobody algorithm for people to use when necessary and then overlook ninety-nine percent of the time. She was the lead of BuzzzTube, yes, but that meant nothing when it came to users. They didn't care for who was in charge—they only wanted content.

That ate her up more than she admitted to say.

"Look, Yesss, I—I didn't mean to say something like that—" Ralph tried, but was interrupted.

"You don't know me, Wreck-It Ralph, because I definitely don't think I'm better than anyone here!" Yesss's sudden scream, filled with a hidden agony, caught Ralph off guard as he flinched. She tore around, arms at her sides as her fists balled once more. "I've got people on the line, too! Everyone thinks I'm fine, right? But how can anyone be that way in a situation like this? My friends are in danger, everyone I love and care about could be killed! Shank could be dead! We don't even know if she's alive!"

It was Shank who was hit hard with the reality of what had happened at that exact time when Shiv had passed; but meanwhile, Yesss had barely been able to show much emotion at all in the moment, due to her denial.

A few weeks after it happened was when it finally hit her that Shiv was never coming back. And, oh, the horror that Yesss felt when her viewers demanded more videos with Shiv, commenting on Shiv's videos asking why she was gone, and if she was ever coming back. All of Shiv's fame was swept away in her absence within months, like an ocean current washing up against the shore for just a moment and then receding away again equally as fast. Except the wave never came back, likewise to Shiv.

That's when the tsunami came and crashed onto the algorithm. Yesss couldn't sleep. She couldn't talk to anyone. She cut herself off from everything. Maybe was the only one she spoke to; she couldn't even bear looking at him, though. Getting attached to someone else and losing them was not what she was trying to do, and alas, she turned a cold shoulder to him. Emotions were rough to deal with, and she started to shut them out all together, becoming a numb husk of who she used to be when she had Shiv around.

Ralph's comment had reminded her of a not so happy memory that she, even though her head was still pounding from a possible concussion, could remember.

"How are things going these days around here?" Shank had asked when she'd stopped by one day. "I was just curious if things were. . . feeling normal again."

It seemed she, too, was looking for comfort. Some sort of closure. Anything that could bring her peace. The fate of the universe led Shank's journey for peace straight into Yesss's office.

The algorithm was staring at her, a stressed expression clear in her face. It had seemed that Shank's liveliness had returned; she obviously wasn't a sobbing mess like she had been previously. She was pulled back together by the help of friends, surely. Yesss, on the other hand, looked like she'd gotten run over by a truck. Dark circles lined her eyes, half-lidded, reflecting the exhaustion she felt internally.

"They're going." Yesss had answered, tone dripping with dread. One blue hand traced the keys on her computer, head propped up on her other. "And I assume things are just peachy over at Slaughter Race?"

"Of course you'd think that." Shank gave her a glowering look, "They're the complete opposite. It's been. . . it's been a nightmare." Then, she paused. Seeing the way that Yesss was staring at her, as though she were dead inside, was new and, of course, justifiably concerning. "You. . . look like you haven't slept for a while."

Yesss's eyelids only drooped lowered at this observation, "How can I sleep when I have a site to run?"

Shank blinked, and seemed surprised at her lack of emotion. Maybe it was the lack of liveliness, or the lack of usual confidence and power in Yesss's voice. Shank's expression changed from judgmental and annoyed to soft. "Are. . . you okay?"

"Yes. Absolutely. I have never been better." Yesss laughed in spite of herself, leaning back in her chair. When she finished her laugh filled with falsity, her eyes honed in onto Shank's, keeping up a weak but steady eye contact with her.

The Slaughter Race character stared at the exhausted algorithm's tired expression, and her eyes softened more as they darted away, breaking the connection.

"I can't lie," Shank started, and she shifted on her feet uneasily as she wrapped her arms around herself, "I really thought you'd be the type that is too prideful to mourn. I thought you felt like you're above everyone else. . . and I guess it never occurred to me that you could care about one of your stars dying."

Yesss's eyes slowly widened, feeling stung. "Youyou think I wouldn't care?"

"I'm sorry." Shank said slowly. Yesss could tell that she meant it, but it still hurt. "I just. . . well, here's to being honest: I didn't expect it."

Yesss's expression twisted with desperation. She wanted Shank to understand. She hoped Shank would understand.

"I'll clue you in a little, Shank. We were best friends. She was so much more than just views and hearts. How could I not care? Did you think I simply had no emotional tie to her? Sure, she was my client. . . we worked together to make her successful, but that doesn't mean anything. I did that for her because I cared."

Shank looked shameful, brows furrowed with guilt, "I just didn't think you cared about anything other than views."

"I can't believe you could think I'm so shallow." The algorithm said weakly. "Did I really come off like that to you?"

"No! I meanI just. . . I was jealous and. . . and I made you a monster in my mind. And monsters. . . don't usually have feelings."

"Well, here's a monster with feelings, then." Yesss motioned to herself.

Shank bit her lip. It was clear from her face that she had regretted not coming sooner. And making Yesss a villain in her mind made her feel more guilty, and that too showed in her expression.

"I had no idea. . . that this whole time, your world had stopped turning like mine did."

Yesss had realized long ago what Shiv leaving Slaughter Race had done to Shank. They had broken it off, after all. And, adding insult to injury, it had looked like Yesss had purposely stolen her away. Yesss couldn't blame Shank for not being so fond of her, but that had never been her intention.

She rose from her seat, and Shank looked at her expectantly, nervousness in her face. It was obvious she was not certain of what Yesss's intentions were as the algorithm walked toward her. Shank's brown eyes darted back and forth between Yesss's, and they stood apart for a moment as they just examined one another.

Both seemed tired, but maybe a bit wiser as well after the accident that plagued them both. One of which they couldn't escape. One which had passed through the Internet like wild fire, making game characters afraid to leave their games on the net. Which constantly had some sort of presence in their minds and their spirits.

Yesss's arms did all the work for her as she closed the space between them, wrapping them around Shank's neck. The racer stiffened at this touch.

"How do we get it to start turning again?" Yesss whispered, fitting her head onto Shank's shoulder. She sounded fearfulterrified, even, but her tone was wrung with sadness most of all.

"We'll find a way." Shank said, and she hugged the algorithm back. "We'll do it. . . we'll do it together."

Yesss's eyes widened for a moment. Tears that she didn't even know she could still produce quickly built up. She grit her teeth as she tried to hold them back, but she quickly failed. Shank didn't pull back or give her a cold shoulder. The idea of Yesss being this cruel, evil monster slowly started to dissipate from her mind.

Despite the sadness, there was some relief from both sides, because at least now, they both didn't feel as alone as before.

Yesss felt herself come back to reality as she blinked rapidly, trying to get her tears to go away. After all of that, Shank and her had become great friends, getting through their trouble together. Though, Yesss had still stayed in her little bubble until the day Ralph and Vanellope showed up. She'd wanted them gone. She did not find fondness in creating new friendships. She didn't want the horrible feeling of losing someone again. Heck, when they showed up, she'd still had an icy feeling toward Maybe.

But how could she say no to the pair of video game characters, with Vanellope's pleading little eyes and Ralph's gargantuan smile, the pair of them reassuring her that he'd be her new star? She'd cracked as easily as an egg.

Now, she was on the verge of losing all three of those people who mattered to her so very much. In truth, it terrified her. To be alone again? No. The algorithm would rather face death herself than be all by herself again, and that was the truth.

"Yesss?" Spamley asked uneasily, breaking her free from her thoughts. Her eyes darted at him, but she didn't say anything. "You look a little shaky."

She realized just how badly she was shaking just at the mere thought of being all alone again. She hugged herself and looked away. "I can't do this again. I can't lose any of you." Yesss mumbled. "Maybe it seems like I don't really care all that much. I'm not the best with feelings, but if anything happens to the people I care about. . . I don't know what I'll do."

Ralph had never seen her like this. The hopeless look on her face. The grief and fear mixed like a swirling pool of poison within her eyes. He could see it all, and he had contributed to it.

Guilt pricked at him as she covered her face with her hands, clearly not knowing what she should do or say.

The wrecker moved to stand in front of her, unsure of what he should say. He wasn't the best at comforting people, but seeing others miserable was too unbearable for him. To see her in such a state, when she was normally all smiles and sass, made the reality of the situation they were in sink in even deeper than it had before. If even she could lose hope, things were gradually going to be doomed.

"Look, Yesss. . . I just. . . it's been tense around here, so I didn't mean to. . ." Ralph trailed off, scratching his head. He wasn't sure how to put it. "We all wanna get out of here, okay? I didn't mean to be so. . . you know. I'm worried about the kid, and us too."

"Yeah, I know that. How. . . how do you think I feel?" the algorithm asked, her tone laced with annoyance.

Her hands pulled away from her face, revealing her frazzled expression. Then she looked down at the ground, and her expression became softer.

"Maybe it sounds selfish, but. . . I've already lost everything once." Yesss forced out, her voice fragile. Then, she looked up at him. A sullen look suited her features as she lowered her hands to her sides, and all the tension in her body faded. "So. . . you know, the last thing I want to do is lose everything again. You wouldn't. . . you wouldn't understand."

As the algorithm's eyes settled back on the floor, Ralph finally thought of a response. He seemed surprised, but he had something to say now at least.

"I do understand. I lost friends back at Litwak's, and I almost lost everyone I care about before."

Yesss looked back up, "When I saw how heartbroken Vanellope was when she heard you had all supposedly died, I. . . well. . . I couldn't bear to see her like that. Because. . . I saw myself in her. A girl who had lost everything that mattered to her. I lost someone very important to me once, and—"

"I know." Ralph interrupted, putting a hand up so she wouldn't have to explain. "Spamley filled me in."

Yesss paused briefly as the horrible memories about Shiv started to fade as fast as they had come, and then, she sighed deeply. "I just. . . can't go through that again, okay? I can't. . . lose you or anyone else. I'm not good at handling these types of situations. I'm just the algorithm meant to recommend entertaining videos to people, not some hero who can handle death. I'm scared."

A big hand was placed lightly on her shoulder. She looked up again nervously; she found herself staring into Ralph's face. He had an empathetic look in his expression.

"Yesss, how could you say that?" Ralph asked. Her expression revealed a look that was asking which part he was referring to, and he continued, "You're so much more than just an algorithm! You—you helped Vanellope get her game back! You helped me get back what I ruined for the kid. If you were just an algorithm, I don't think you'd have done all of that. You're my friend."

Yesss's eyes widened. She felt her lip tremble, and as the words sunk in, she felt like a little girl.

"Really?" she asked softly, eyes hopeful, "You mean that?"

She was surprised at herself as she felt a tear drip down her cheek. She reached up, touching her face in stun, not realizing her tear ducts had been burning. Quickly she pulled off her visor, feeling slightly humiliated at her emotional vulnerability. The algorithm's hands both wiped away her tears for her, desperate to stop embarrassing herself with her tears. One of Ralph's fingers moved, and he nudged her jaw gently as her teary eyes refocused on him.

"Of course I do." Ralph answered. "You helped me so much that I could consider you far more than just a friend, but you know—baby steps."

Yesss snorted, eyes still brimming with tears, "You could never take a baby step, Ralph."

Ralph, who normally would have gotten annoyed, started to laugh in a bit of relief.

"Either way, Yesss. You won't go through losing anybody again. I promise," the wrecker said reassuringly, and a smile played at the edges of Yesss's lips. "We're going to get out of here. Together, safe and sound."

The algorithm felt a little hope rise inside of her.

"And if you break that promise, I'm going to delete all your hits off of BuzzzTube." Yesss said, and she wiped away the rest of her tears with the backs of her hands.

"You wouldn't." Ralph said, mock surprise scrawled across his face. Then, he just bellowed, "Alright, alright—fine. You can threaten that, but you won't have to. Got that? So. . . what do you say?"

Yesss hesitated for a moment as her vision cleared up completely, but then, she settled on an answer, "Okay." She said, but then a smile returned fully to her face. "Yes, okay, we are going to get out of here."

"I'm sorry for getting angry, and I'm sorry for saying what I said. It wasn't true at all, and I know that from experience. . . from you helping Vanellope and I when you didn't have to help at all. I didn't consider your fear."

Yesss sighed through her nose at the good memory again, and she smiled. "Yeah, helping you two was one of the best decisions I ever made." Once again, she hesitated, and her cheeks puffed out before she let out a sigh. She looked away, arms crossing, "I apologize for getting annoyed with you." Yesss forced out. She wasn't much for apologies.

Ralph blinked, not expecting that response, but then he just smiled.

"It's alright. Now we need a plan."

Silence followed, but just for a moment.

"Thank goodness! Man, you two've got me all emotional." Spamley said out of nowhere, wiping a tear from his eye. "If you guys kept on arguing, I was gonna try and break my neck attempting to escape this cage! You guys have both got hot tempers, I don't want any part of that."

Yesss and Ralph both shared a glance.

"Well, he's not wrong." Yesss managed to grin, placing her visor back over her face.

"You should have seen me back in my prime." Ralph said, like he was boasting, "I was quick to rage all the time."

Spamley's arms were limp, an annoyed expression on his face as he looked up at Ralph, "You say it like that's a good thing."

Then, a moment of silence followed.. This gave the algorithm time to think about what they could do to escape. Surveying their situation, she knew that help would eventually be on the way. With Shank and Yesss both missing, two vital people to their game and website, she knew that help would be on the way soon. Maybe would send out the forces, and Shank's friends—and players of the game alike—would eventually be concerned and start looking for them.

There were definitely ways of speeding up that process, though. It involved blunt-force trauma, yes, but—

"Hey, Yesss? I know now's not the time, but. . . I have to know. The kid, she. . . was she. . . really upset?" Ralph's voice interrupted Yesss from her thoughts.

She adjusted her visor uneasily, "Destroyed." Yesss affirmed, a pitiful look in her eyes as the smile dropped back off her face. "She's just a little girl, you know. Of course she would be upset."

"Well. . ." Ralph seemed to be thinking back on old times as he pulled his hand away. Yesss's eyes narrowed.

"Don't tell me you're thinking back on when she left!"

"Of course I am. I thought she. . . well, it sounds stupid now, but I just thought—I don't know. That she would've gotten over it pretty quick?" Ralph gave a half-hearted shrug.

"Are you kidding me?" Yesss asked bewilderedly. This reminded her exactly of when Shank thought she was so shallow, so emotionless, that she wouldn't have cared about Shiv's death. The colors along her jacket bristled again as she felt a sudden wave of agitation hit her.

She wasn't going to stand for it. Vanellope had suffered greatly in their absence, and Yesss wasn't going to let her get painted any other way than being sad and regretful.

"I have never seen Vanellope cry like that. No, I've never seen anyone cry like that. Let me set something straight for you, Ralph," the woman quickly was regaining her regular energy as she pointed one finger at him, placing the other hand on her hip.

"That girl loves you more than you know. Yeah, she left you—but sometimes, people leave when they want a change. Sometimes, we can't do anything about it. Sometimes, we wish they'd come back—and she wanted to come back. It was just too late for her to return, and she regrets that now. Let me tell you that you're one of the most important people in her life, and you always will be. You let her do something phenomenal, Ralph—you let her chase a dream instead of dragging her back to the arcade, and I know she is grateful for that, even if right now she regrets it and is hopeless. She misses you, and she needs you now more than ever, especially if this. . . this. . . Turbo wants to do something to her."

Ralph stared in stun at her speech. Yesss was keen on being able to tell that her words were working their way into the wrecker's brain. Regret seemed to overcome his expression. He took a step back.

"I shouldn't have thought that she would. . ." Ralph trailed off, and then shook his head. He looked back up. "I protected Vanellope from him once, and I'm gonna do it again. If she's given up all hope, well. . . I just can't let her live on thinking we really are gone!" he closed his fists tightly, determination trickling into his expression.

"Yes!" the algorithm gave a shout, though her headache—which was now faltering—briefly shouted back and she grimaced internally. "That's right, Ralph."

"I fought Turbo once, and I'm gonna do it again, for her!" the wrecker bellowed.

"Yes!" the blue woman echoed herself, balling her hands.

"I'm gonna see her again and protect her, no matter what I have to do!" the man threw one fist into the air, smiling so wide the gap between his teeth was visible.

"That's the Ralph I know!" Yesss shouted. "That's my star!"

The two stared at one another, determination reflecting in both of their expressions.

Spamley's legs were crossed as he sat, head propped up on his hands as he stared up with a big smile on his face, "That was beautiful."

Ralph and Yesss smiled at each other.

"Alright," Yesss said delightedly, "now that we're not in shambles—let's get out of here. Punch me in the face."

"Yup, we're gonna get out of here alri—wait, what did you say?" Ralph frowned at her.

"Alternatively, I guess that you could whack me on the ground a bunch of times instead." The algorithm stroked her chin as she brainstormed.

"Why would I do that?!" Ralph's frown deepened, throwing his hands out in confusion.

"She would just regenerate if you hit her hard enough." Spamley pointed out, getting to his feet. "Hey, nice idea, Boss Lady!"

"Spamley's right. If you knock me out hard enough, I'll be able to respawn. I'll go back to my website, regroup, bring backup, and come back here to save you all!" Yesss said, grinning.

"But. . ." Ralph started, and Yesss frowned slightly.

"I don't wanna hit you." Ralph pointed out. "But. . . it might be one of our only options."

"Get to it!" Yesss encouraged him. "It's the best plan we have right now!"

"I hope that you realize it's not all that good of a plan, I'm afraid. I'm not sure where you pretentious Internet wannabes got your information on regeneration, but if you've got a death sentence, then that will be one less person for me to worry about."

A different voice spoke up. Yesss, Ralph, and Spamley all froze up at the mere sound, all three of them sharing a glance before they turned in the direction of the new person who had joined them.

In the dimness, one thing was very clear: the person who joined them was not only very short, but had eyes and teeth that glowed a harsh yellow, too.