Chapter 2 - Learning is Stressful

Turbo stood up straight from where he had been leaning, heading over to one of the chairs that was within the room. He dragged it over to the twins' bed and promptly sat down, gazing at the two of them with a raised eyebrow. "What do you want to know?"

Ted and Ned glanced at each other, forming questions in their head. "Where are we…? I know there's a world out there, one that's not ours." Ned began, and Turbo looked to the window that was behind them, gazing out at what he could see. The track and podium were visible, and a hint of the screen that led to the outside was peeking through.

"We're in an arcade." Before either of the twins could ask for clarification, Turbo continued. "It's a place where a bunch of games are located for players to interact with. There's an entrance to a wire at the far end of our game, and I think it leads to a place where all of the games are gathered."

"How do you know?" Ted inquired, briefly wondering this about himself, too. How had he known what he did earlier?

"I just do." Turbo replied bluntly, looking to each of them. "Probably because I'm the main character. I know that there's other games, like us, but also different. Not every game here is a racing game, in fact, I don't think there are any others."

"What are the other games like?" Ned questioned, now causing Turbo to shrug.

"I wouldn't know unless we headed out there to check it out. Maybe we can get more answers than what we already know." He responded, now getting up. "We might as well do it now, while the arcade is closed."

"It's 'closed'? What does that mean?" Ned said as he and Ted got up as well.

"It just means that there's no one here to play the games, and that we're free to do whatever we want. When it opens, there are gamers that will play our game for the day."

"Oh...that's cool," Ned breathed, seeming amazed at what Turbo knew. The trio of racers left the twins' room and headed downstairs, leaving through the garage to begin their trek to the exit of the game. As they arrived, Turbo inspected the train that was present. It was rather small, and had the logo of their game plastered on the side.

"I guess this leads to the hub," Turbo suspected, gazing it over before getting into one of the cars. Ted and Ned parroted this, squeezing into the car that Turbo was in, much to Turbo's annoyance. After a few moments, the train began to move steadily, gliding over the mass of wires that were the walls and floor of the tunnel they were in. Ned watched with wide eyes as sparks and blips of electricity flashed as the train passed through, and he inched closer to Ted as if he feared he would get shocked.

It didn't take too long for the train to arrive at its destination, and the brothers on board got off, taking their first steps outside of their game. A tunnel led out towards a brighter area, and Turbo could hear a lot of voices and clamoring as they got closer. "Turbo Time monorail arrived, welcome to Game Central Station." A woman's voice stated overhead, causing the twins' heads to prick up.

"Game Central Station?" Ted questioned, though there wasn't a reply from the woman who had spoken before.

"It must be where all the games are connected." Turbo responded, referring to the end of the tunnel as well as the name that had been granted to them by the strange woman. As they neared the end of the passageway, the three racers squinted as they were met with a bright atmosphere and many various characters.

At first, it seemed like no one had noticed them. But, gradually, a few characters took note of the newcomers and headed over to them, smiling in greeting. Turbo had never seen them before, so he had no idea what their names were, where they were from, or what their games entailed. Though, as he began to engage in conversation, he learned bits and pieces of what he needed to know. The twins didn't say much, as they were huddled together behind Turbo and taking in the sights.

As the characters that had been speaking to him left, Turbo turned as he noticed someone else heading towards them. He was a relatively short character, wearing a blue shirt and a tool belt, with darker blue pants and a hat of the same hue as his shirt. Turbo managed to get a look at the name tag that was on his shirt, mouthing out the name.

"Hey there, neighbors! Welcome to Litwak's Arcade!" He greeted, reaching his hand out to shake Turbo's own. "I'm Felix, from the game Fix It Felix Jr.!"

Turbo accepted the handshake, giving a side glance to the twins as he did so. "I'm Turbo, from the game TurboTime," He replied, clearing his throat to get the twins' attention. Both racer's heads pricked at him, then turned to Felix.

"Oh—hi!" Ted began, he and Ned stepping up closer to Turbo. "I'm Ted, and this is Ned, we're also from TurboTime!"

"Well, it's mighty nice to meet you!" Felix said with a smile, gazing around at the station that encased the characters of the arcade. "It's pretty great, isn't it?" He continued, prompting Turbo and the twins to look around as well.

"It's crazy, that's for sure." Turbo replied, looking back to Felix. "How do things work around here?" He didn't mean to spring the question on so suddenly, but it came out of his mouth regardless.

Felix didn't seem to mind, turning to Turbo with a smile. "Well, this here is Game Central Station. Your guys' plug is right there," He gestured behind them, "And the other games' plugs are scattered around. Right now the arcade is closed, so characters are free to leave their games." He paused, seeming to remember something. "But when it opens, you'd better be in your game! If the players see you're gone, they'll think the game is broken and, well, you'll be unplugged for sure."

Turbo blinked at this information, and the twins gazed at Felix worriedly. "What happens if we're unplugged?" Ted questioned, causing Felix's smile to falter.

"Well...everything will disappear, and if you're still inside, so will you," He replied, but he shook the sadness from his voice and his smile returned fully. "But, you shouldn't have to worry about that! As long as you're in the game when the arcade opens, everything'll be fine!"

Turbo studied Felix's face and tilted his head slightly. "How do you know what happens when a game is unplugged?" He asked, and Felix's gaze turned to him.

"It's happened before, but," He shook his head, tapping on the hammer on his toolbelt absentmindedly, "There's no need to get so down about it now! It's nothing you'll have to worry about. Whaddya say I show you guys around the station? I can explain more as we walk."

Turbo and the twins glanced at each other, still processing the information they had received. As Felix sensed their uncertainty, he clasped his hands together in front of himself. "I know it's a lot to spring on you guys, but I surely wouldn't want you guys getting unplugged because someone didn't tell you," He explained.

Turbo nodded in understanding. "Thanks, we appreciate it. We're still a bit confused on how this all works."

Felix gave Turbo his usual warm smile, gesturing behind himself as he began to walk. "Well, let's get going then!"

Luckily for Turbo and the twins, Felix didn't seem to mind answering their onslaught of questions. In the midst of this, they were also shown the other games that were plugged in, such as Felix's own game, Tapper, Burger Time, and Pac-Man. By the time their tour had ended, all three racers seemed to feel a bit more sure-footed as to where they were now living.

Felix had explained the concept of visiting other games, and to be wary of dying in another game, for if they did, they wouldn't be able to regenerate. He also informed them of who Litwak was, as well as the schedule the arcade seemed to run on. It opened at 9:30 am every morning, not counting Saturdays and Sundays, in which then it would open at 10:00 am. In retrospect to closing, during the week it closed at 8:30 pm and, on Saturdays and Sundays, it closed at 6:00 pm. On holidays, it wouldn't be open at all, and Felix assured them that he would let them know when those holidays were when the time came.

"Today, May 1st, is a Saturday, so the arcade closed earlier than normal. That gives you a little more time to get acquainted with everything." Felix added in conclusion.

As Felix and the TurboTime brothers parted ways after saying their goodbyes, Turbo turned to look at the entrance of their game's plug. "Well, Felix said it was getting late, so, maybe we should head back and rest." He suggested, glancing to the twins.

Ted and Ned nodded in agreement, with Ted standing a little bit in front Ned. Before Turbo could walk off, Ted cleared his throat to get the shorter racer's attention. "Turbo? Ned and I wanted to ask you something."

Turbo's brow raised as he turned his head to look at them. "What?"

Ted and Ned looked at each other for a moment before only Ted returned his gaze to Turbo's. Turbo's eyes narrowed slightly as Ned didn't look at him, and before Ted could say anything, Turbo cut in. "Did I do something wrong? Why won't he look at me?"

Ned flinched at this, and Ted inched himself a little so he was standing more in front of his twin. "No, you didn't do anything wrong," He replied, putting his hands up in a placating gesture.

Turbo grew increasingly confused, equating to slight annoyance. "What is it?"

"Ned and I just wanted to ask your opinion on something." Ted explained, though before he could say anything else, Turbo's annoyance got the better of him and he cut Ted off.

"Why is Ned not looking at me?" He demanded to know, taking a step towards them. "I thought everything that happened earlier was resolved. I said sorry, didn't I?!"

Ted's eyes widened and he quickly grew defensive. "Turbo, back off. This has nothing to do with that." He retorted, glancing around to see if Turbo's risen voice had drawn any attention. To their luck, it didn't, as the station seemed to be clearing out for the night. Returning his gaze to Turbo, he tried to explain again. "Ned and I were just wondering your thoughts on something that Felix mentioned."

"Well, spit it out." Turbo hissed, his patience thinning.

At this, Ted's eyes narrowed slightly. "What's your problem?" He snapped, causing Ned's own eyes to widen. This wasn't where this conversation was supposed to go at all…! "You get so defensive over everything and barely give Ned or I a chance to explain ourselves!"

Turbo's gaze flashed with anger at the accusations being thrown at him. Though, before he could argue back, Ted held his ground and kept speaking. "Why can't you just react normally? I wasn't even being hostile!"

"Well, I'm sorry that I got confused because Ned was hiding behind you like I was going to kick him! Why is he doing that?!" Turbo lashed out, his voice laced with sarcasm and increasing annoyance.

"If you'd let me explain then you'd know why! So just shut up and listen!"

Ned cringed, his wide eyed and fearful gaze flicking between his brothers. "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to cause this—"

"Ned, don't apologize." Ted broke in, holding his hand out as if to stop him, his glare still centered on Turbo. "Just listen. Ned and I were wondering what you thought about what Felix said regarding being unplugged. It's been bothering Ned ever since Felix said it, and he wanted to ask you if you thought it was going to be okay. But, he's scared to, he doesn't know why, but he is. Happy?"

"What—does he think I'm going to make some snarky comment and blow it off?" Turbo retorted, seeming offended. Ned flinched, quickly turning to look away.

"I don't know—we both don't know. We just wanted you to take it gently and give us your opinion."

"You thought I wasn't going to take it gently?" Turbo laughed with an edge to his voice, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So—one fight happens and I'm immediately heartless!"

"Turbo, stop it! You know that's not what we're saying." Ted responded, his own voice laced with shards of anger. "You take everything so literally! Just relax—we only wanted to know what you thought."

"Fine, you know what I think?" Turbo began, a smile creeping onto his features as he took several steps towards them. Ned's eyes widened like saucers and he hid behind Ted, who took his own steps back. "I think that you're being an idiot. It's like you think we're going to get unplugged and be homeless for the rest of our lives! You're such a child—why would we even get unplugged in the first place?!"

The pit in Ned's stomach only grew as his fears slowly became a reality. "I-I didn't want you to get mad…! I just wasn't sure if I should ask because—"

"What? Because what? Are you scared of me or something?!"

"Turbo—stop! You're the one acting like an idiot! What the heck is your problem?!" Ted broke in, now not caring if people heard them or not. "I don't get it—we didn't even do anything wrong! It's like you're programmed to hate us!"

"Oh, believe me, I wouldn't need programming to hate the two of you." Turbo snarled out.

Ted's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "Turbo, what the heck?! We didn't even do anything!" He exclaimed in exasperation. "You're literally getting mad for no reason!"

Turbo's gaze flicked between the two of them, his mind buzzing. Why WAS he getting mad? His lack of understanding on this only angered him further. "I don't know—maybe if you two weren't such nuisances I wouldn't get upset!"

Ted was beyond confused. Turbo was literally spewing nonsense at this point. Taking a moment to think, Ted tried to calm himself down, gazing back at Ned. The other twin's eyes were shut tightly, his shoulders shaking with each quick breath he took. Returning his sight to Turbo, Ted tried to loosen up. "Turbo, I don't know what's wrong with you, but you need to calm down."

"Oh—sure, I need to calm down. I'm not the one who was too scared to ask a simple question." Turbo stated in a jab at Ned.

Any anger that had dissipated from Ted began to return. "Don't talk about him like that—it's not his fault you freak out over nothing. I'd be scared to ask you anything too." He retorted, managing to keep his voice low.

"So you ARE scared to ask me questions." Turbo observed, his narrowed eyes flicking from Ted to Ned. They glowed with frustration; he was more mad at himself than the twins by now. He couldn't understand why he was doing this. Something in his code told him to hate these two, to argue and fight with them like they didn't matter an ounce to him. His apology earlier that day had to be forced out of his throat, and he didn't know why. It's not like he wanted to hate them, but the involuntary will to do so screamed at him as much as his will to race.

As these thoughts slithered through his head, Turbo began to grow increasingly distressed. This distress evolved into frustration, then to anger. He almost wanted to hit Ted, who of which was now protectively guarding the other twin with a blaze in his eyes.

Debating whether he would lash out or not, Turbo's gaze flicked around the station. By now, it was nearly empty, and the only characters that were left were far down the strip. Turbo's first thought was that they wouldn't hear if a fight were to break out, but he tried to shake it. He didn't want to fight with Ted, it would only worsen any good relations Turbo still had with him.

Ted's posture hadn't relaxed, and he watched with a calculated gaze as Turbo seemed to be looking around the station. "Turbo," He spoke up, his voice low. Turbo's head snapped in his direction, their eyes meeting. "Listen, we can forget this happened. I don't know why you got upset, but I just want to take Ned home."

Turbo's facial features shifted slightly, as if he were thinking. Ted didn't allow his glare to waver in case he needed to act quickly. Something told him in his mind that Turbo might lash out; something in his code whispered to him that he should be ready for it. To his relief, Turbo took a step back. Ted blinked as he noticed a hint of defeat in the shorter racer's eyes, but otherwise didn't say anything as Turbo whipped around and headed into the plug.