Sugar Rush: Rival Racing 3

After dinner had ended Sydney had began leading the others to the kart factory. Most of them were worried since they had never driven these types of karts before, but no one had said anything. Vanellope trusted them to win, so they would not let her down. Sydney led them to a chocolate covered road with nuts on it. "This the quickest way to the kart factory, and the Waffle wolves shouldn't bother us on this path, but stay close just in case."

As they made their way down the path, Adorabeezle saw a rustling in the bushes. Crumbelina and Jubileena stopped behind her. Was it another wolf? Snapper jumped from the bush and ran over to Adorabeezle before jumping into her arms. "Hey, it's snapper." She said as the pet licked her face.

Sydney looked back and smiled. "He must like you a lot since he followed your scent here. He's probably here to get his snack. I usually bring him something from the kitchen after dinner." He said reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a gummy worm and then tossed it at Snapper. The pet shot its tongue out and snatched the treat from the air. Sydney turned and kept leading them down the path. "C'mon, we're almost there."

Adorabeezle ran up beside Sydney. "So, why won't the prince let Snapper in the palace? Is he allergic or something?" She asked.

"No. The prince is very fussy about what and whom he lets in the palace. Plus Snapper left a little gift on his thrown once." He said. "For what it's worth I'm sorry about this whole mess. I know the prince can be a little rambunctious, but please don't think too badly of him."

Taffyta huffed. "That shipped sailed a while ago pal."

"Why do you guys listen to him? I know he is supposed to be the prince, but you don't have to let him boss you around. We only listen to Vanellope because we want to." Adorabeezle explained.

"We also kind of thought she was going to execute us." Candlehead admitted. Crumbelina elbowed her side. "Ow! Well it's true!" She complained.

Sydney sighed. "Most of us do like the prince. He's bossy but he does put us first. And besides that, it's our duty to serve him." Vanellope covered her mouth to keep from laughing. He noticed her and rolled his eyes. "Not THAT kind of duty."

She laughed even harder. That was exactly what Ralph said. "Is that the kart factory?" Rancis asked pointing up at the large building before them.

Sydney nodded and then tapped on the huge door. It began opening and he lead them inside. "I think the prince said it should work the same way as your kart factory. But keep in mind that these are designed for two people, and two people are needed to make them." He said. "Also keep in mind that double dash karts are made for specific partners. So make sure you and your partner work well together."

"So, is Jimmy your partner?" Candlehead asked. She remembered how he had rode with Jimmy earlier.

"No, that was a kart we just had laying around. My sister and I are partners. You see double dash kart partners have to be coordinated, so pick your partner wisely. If you make a kart with someone you have to drive it with them, or else you'll be out of synch." He warned.

"So we just pick our partners wisely, no problem." Minty said.

"Well, you guys can stay here as long as you want. The courses we all will be using from the Sweet Tooth kingdom are the Rocky Road, and Hersey's Highway. You can practice on them as much as you want."

Vanellope looked at him suspiciously. "You know, for a guy who's going to be racing against us you sure do seem to want to help a lot."

He tipped his hat. "Well ma'am, the way I see it, it wouldn't be fair otherwise. Besides, the prince told me to make sure I give you every advantage you need so there will be no excuse when you lose."

Vanellope frowned. "Don't you mean IF we lose?"

He shook his head. "Sorry ma'am, as much as we like you the prince wants us to win. So we'll win, it's simple as that." He said it as if it were already a fact.

"We'll see. Thanks for the help Sydney." Vanellope said.

He nodded and then left out. He knew he could of stuck around to see what type of karts they were making, but that didn't seem fair. He closed the door and Vanellope turned around to face everyone. "Okay, so I know we've got ourselves in a bit of a mess here."

"WE didn't get into anything. YOU got us into this. Vanellope, if you lose you're going to get married!" Gloyd said holding his hands in the air. "And that guy will be the ruler of ALL of sugar rush! Then what will we do?"

"Well the first thing we're going to do is win, and I know we can because I believe in you guys!" Vanellope said smiling. "Now we just have to decide who's going to partner with whom."

"Me and Swizz got this." Minty said grabbing his arm. "C'mon, let's go make our kart." She said pulling him along. He looked nervous as Rancis chuckled and made kissing noises.

Taffyta looked at him and rolled her eyes. "C'mon Fluggerbutter, you're with me." She said grabbing him. He looked nervous as well as he was drug away by the taffy themed girl. Gloyd snickered and waved at them, suckers.

"Hey Crumbelina, what do you say we team up?" Jubileena asked.

"Grace and style a deadly combination." Crumbelina said smiling. They high fived and then walked off to go build their kart.

"Oh, I want to team up with Snowanna!" Candlehead said. She would have teamed up with Taffyta, but seeing as she had a partner she figured she'd team with Snowanna. Besides, the two hadn't hung out in a while.

"Let's show who their messing with sister." Snowanna said leading Candlehead off.

Gloyd looked over at Adorabeezle. "Guess that just leaves me and you Orangboar." She said punching his arm playfully.

"Yeah, we might as well get this over with." He said grimly.

"I think I'll tag along with Crumbelina and Jubileena to see how these things are made. You two have fun." She said running off.

Gloyd huffed and followed Adorabeezle into the nearest room. As they walked in Adorabeezle looked back and smirked at him. "So, how long have you had a crush on the pres?" She asked.

Gloyd's face turned as red as Jubileena's hair. "What? What makes you think I have a crush on the president?" He asked nervously.

She scoffed. "Please, the way you snatched his hand away from hers, the way you tried to protect her from those wolves. You're head over heels in love with her pumpkin boy." She said chuckling. "C'mon Gloyd, you know I'm not the gossipy type. You can tell me."

She was right. Adorabeezle didn't like all the girly stuff the others did. Swizzle said she normally hung out with her and Minty, and rarely, if ever, gossiped about the others. "Okay, so maybe I do like her. Do not tell anyone, especially Rancis and Swizzle. They'd tease me about it for sure."

"I won't say anything, but you know she's probably talking about it right?"

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Gloyd, why do you think she went with Crumbelina and Jubileena and not us? They're going to gossip about you."

He looked panicked. "Well what are they going to say?" He asked.

"I don't know. I'm not a girly girl. But I know one thing for sure. If we don't win this race it won't matter if she likes you back or not, cause she'll be married."

His face turned pale. "We have to win."

Vanellope looked worried. She had faith in her friends, but what if… no, they wouldn't lose, they would definitely win! They had to. "Are you worried Vanellope?" Jubileena asked. She and Crumbelina stood in front of the controllers to decorate their kart. "Put those sprinkles on it!"

"I don't know. I know everyone wanted to show these guys we're just as good as they are, but do you think I made a mistake by taking this bet? Plus being married, I can't get married." She said shuttering.

"You won't have to worry about being married. We'll wipe the floor with those Sweet Tooth creeps." Crumbelina said. "So, Jubileena tells me a certain pumpkin head has a crush on you."

Vanellope blushed. "Gloyd? What is with everyone thinking Gloyd likes me." She said crossing her arms.

"So do you like him back?" Crumbelina asked.

"What?" The question seemed to catch her off guard.

"Do you like him back?" Crumbelina repeated with a smirk. "Do you?"

"No! Well, maybe… I don't know! I've never really liked a boy before! I mean I thought Rancis used to be cute but I didn't 'like' him. How am I supposed to even tell?" She groaned.

"Well, don't ask Jubileena because she'll tell you you're in love with the first thing that moves." Crumbelina said trying to focus on their kart.

Jubileena pouted. "Hey, just because I happen to be looking for love doesn't mean I'll go for anything… you think the prince will marry me instead when we win?" She asked.

Both Vanellope and Crumbelina decided to ignore her. "Look Vanellope, just think on it. If you like him then tell him. If not then come back and I'll show you how to shoot a guy down. I've been shooting down that Jimmy guy all day."

"He really seems to like you. Why don't you just give him a shot? I mean after this whole thing blows over anyway. Now it would just be all awkward." Jubileena said smirking.

"Isn't it obvious he's a weirdo? I mean looked at him!" Crumbelina said in disbelief.

Vanellope sighed. "Hey, not to be self centered but I'm kind of in a huge jam over here. I could use some of your girly advice or whatever." She complained.

Jubileena smirked. "You could just kiss Gloyd and find out. I heard when you kiss a boy you know if you like him instantly." She suggested.

Vanellope blushed and shook her head. "No, no, no, no!" I'm definitely not kissing him! I don't even know if I like him!"

"I was only joking." The red head said giggling. She grew a wide smile and then ran over towards the end of the trey their kart had been. "It's done! Let's see what we got!"

Crumbelina ran over next to her and rubbed her hands. The kart slowly wheeled out and the two girls looked proud. Vanellope took a look and nodded in approvingly. They had managed to throw both of their candy themes into it. The kart itself looked like it was made of some red cherry like substance, and the top of it had been covered with milk chocolate.

Crumbelina ran over and jumped into the driver's seat. "Sweet, what should we call this baby?" She asked.

Jubileena ran over and then jumped on the back. "How about we call it… the Chocolate Cherry Runner?"

Crumbelina thought for a moment. "I like it. It kind of rolls off the tongue doesn't it?"

"Oh man, that really does look cool. I wish I got to race." Vanellope said admiring the kart.

They both smiled slyly at her. "Maybe when we win you and Gloyd can come back and make a kart just for the two of you?" Crumbelina suggested.

"La-la-la-la-la! Can't hear you!" Vanellope shouted covering her ears.

Everyone met outside of the kart factory looking excited. Everyone would be able to show off what they made and start hitting the track with their karts. Vanellope, Jubileena, and Crumbelina walked out and saw the others waiting on them. "What took you ladies so long?" Rancis asked smirking.

Crumbelina who was sitting in the back jumped down and patted the hood of their kart. "We had to put the finishing touches on the Chocolate Cherry Runner. The fastest kart this side of the whack-a-mole." She said proudly.

Taffyta smirked and pulled out her lollipop. "Oh really? Because I say the Peanut Fudge Flyer here is the fastest." She said. Vanellope looked as Rancis drove the kart out. It was definitely based of both their themes and had a peanut butter fudge look.

"Well it's got nothing on ours!" Swizzle said. "Say hello to the Swirl Speeder!" Minty honked the horn in their blue and green stripped kart. It even had green swirled peppermints as wheels.

"Behold! The Rainbow Cake Cruiser!" Candlehead said clearly excited. She and Snowanna both stood aside and showed their multi colored cake kart. It had three pistons on each side resembling candles.

They heard an engine revving and turned towards Adorabeezle and Gloyd. Adorabeezle pressed on the pedal happily as Gloyd leaned on the side door. "Ladies and gentleman, may I introduce to you the Frosty Pumpkin." The kart was orange and pumpkin themed, but had frosting around the sides.

Vanellope smiled and clapped her hands together. "Okay! Now it's just a matter of who's going which track!"

"I hold the fastest record in the Candy Cane forest. I think me and Rancis can do that one." Taffyta said.

"And I hold on the fastest one in the Candy Corn fields. We'll smoke those guys." Swizzle said as he and Minty high fived.

"Okay, great. So let's go check out Hersey's Highway and the Rocky Road. We can decide who's going to race on what track then." Vanellope said.

"Wait, then who gets the last track, the one that goes through all of Sugar Rush?" Minty asked.

Gloyd looked angry. "I'm getting it. I want me crossing the finish line to be the last thing that smug son of a sugar cane sees in this Prix." He said adjusting his hat.

"Gloyd does know all the shorts cuts in our half of the game. If we practice on the others I'm sure he can find them in no time." Adorabeezle said.

"I can memorize every trick on the track in no time." He assured.

Vanellope thought on it. "Alright, I'm counting on you Orangboar." She said punching her arm.

"Relax princess you don't have to ring the wedding bells yet." He said jumping on the back of the kart.

Vanellope rolled her eyes. "It's President. I'm going to go help the others with the Sweet Tooth circuits. But, I'll come by and check on you and Adorabeezle later." She said heading toward her kart. She stopped and then looked back nervously. "Oh, and good luck Gloyd. With the races I mean."

"Thanks." Gloyd said smiling. He watched as Vanellope jumped into her kart and began driving off. Candlehead, Snowanna, Crumbelina and Jubileena drove after her. He looked over at Adorabeezle who was wearing a smug look on her face. "Shut up!"

"I didn't say anything."

Vanellope watched as Crumbelina and Jubileena struggled to make the tight right turn on Hersey's highway. It was always that same turn that seemed to stop them. They pulled over avoiding the chocolate cars and trucks that zipped up and down the roadway and made their way over towards Vanellope. "You guys have to drift when you get to that turn."

"I am drifting. This thing just isn't drifting enough." Jubileena complained. "I don't get it! I never had this much trouble drifting before."

They heard laughing and then looked up. A few tows above Vanellope in the stands were Jimmy, Larry, the Al CaPop-rock twins, and Fang. All of them were laughing except Fang who just stared down with a stoic look on his face. "Having some trouble ladies?" Larry asked.

"We're fine!" Crumbelina said revving the engine.

Jimmy held his hands up. "Hey, no need to snap at us babe, we're just trying to offer some help." He said jumping down a few rows. "You see, double dash karts are heavier and sturdier, but they're a lot harder to move. Therefore, the back seat driver needs to help. When she starts to drift, lean your body over to help shift some of the kart's weight."

Crumbelina looked at him suspiciously. "Yeah right. You're probably just trying to trick us." She said turning back.

"We don't need to trick you…" Petty started while giggling.

"…when you're already so bad." Patrick finished joining his brother in laughter.

The three girls glared at them and Vanellope turned back to the track. "Just ignore them, their trying to throw us off our game before the competition. Try it again, I know you guys can make this turn."

Jubileena nodded and then drove off. She circled around the track until they made their way to the right turn. Jubileena turned the wheel as far as she could, attempting to drift past the tight turn, but it wasn't working. "For sweets sake! Lean into the turn!" Crumbelina looked over at the stands and saw Jimmy shouted.

"Ugh!" She couldn't believe she was listening to this guy. She leaned over to the right and Jubileena could immediately feel the weight of the kart shifting. They could hear the wheels skid against the chocolate shelled road as they swung around the turn. The minute they were clear Jubileena stomped on the gas and they continued down the track.

"We did it! I can't believe we did it!" Jubileena cheered.

Crumbelina couldn't believe it. "It worked. I can't believe he was telling the truth." She pulled up to the stands and saw Vanellope smiling. Behind her were the twins and Larry who looked amazed. No one had ever gotten the turn that fast.

Fang and Jimmy didn't looked surprised at all. "Told you she'd make it."

"No fair!" Petty yelled.

"You told her!" Patrick shouted.

"I didn't say I wouldn't tell her. I just said she would make the turn. Now pay up suckers!"

Garry looked down at them all from his balcony and smirked. "It looks like our friends are getting used to the tracks and double dash karts. Good, I wouldn't want it to be too easy for us." He said closing the door to his balcony.

He turned around and looked towards the door of his room where Sydney stood at attention. "They do seem to be coming along sire. No one here has ever made the turn on Hersey's highway so quickly."

Garry smiled. "No one except you." He walked over and patted Sydney on the shoulder. "You hold the fastest record on all of our courses don't you?" He asked already knowing the answer. The other racers decided to ignore Sydney's score since they knew they could never beat it.

"Yes sire, I do."

Garry turned back around and stared into his mirror before adjusting his crown. "You're my best racer and my most loyal subject Sydney. I count on you more than I do on anyone else. That is why I expect you to crush these Candy Kingdom rejects. Once I marry that tom boy of a princess, I'll be the absolute ruler of Sugar Rush." He said balling his fist up.

Sydney simply stood there. Honestly he wasn't comfortable with using Vanellope like this. She seemed nice enough and her friends all seemed to think she was ruling fine on her own. But he was Garry's right hand man, and he wouldn't question him. "Of course sire."

Garry turned back around with a wicked smile on his face. "The Gum guards were listening in on their little conversation in the kart factory. Now we know who they'll be racing on what tracks. We have every advantage on them."

Sydney looked worried. "Your majesty, with all due respect, I don't think this is necessary. We can beat them without having to resort to tricks." Listening in on them was cheating, and he didn't want to cheat, he hated cheating.

Garry chuckled. "I know you can beat them Sydney. I have the utmost faith in you. But this is just a little… insurance." Garry said. "And don't forget, I decide what is necessary and what is not. Though your opinion is duly noted."

"Yes sire."

"Oh, and you and Cindy will be racing on the track that goes through all of Sugar Rush. You'll be up against the pumpkin brat from earlier." He said balling his fist up. Gloyd Orangboar, that little brat had tried to stare him down. "I want you to beat him especially. I have something in mind for him. You're dismissed."

Sydney tipped his hat before walking out. The minute he left the room Garry went back out to his balcony and looked down at Vanellope. "A distasteful little brat, but I suppose I can fake her death when I become king." He said straightening his crown. "And if all else fails, I still have THAT planned." He said looking over at an egg near his bed.