Author Notes: Well, a convention threw me way off schedule, but I present to you, finally, chapter four! Just so you guys know, I am determined to finish this fanfic at all costs, more than anything because of you lovely readers and reviewers and followers. I started this story for me and I want to finish it for you. This chapter is an up-and-down one for me, but I hope you'll enjoy it. This chapter includes my favorite little exchange of dialogue for the entire fic, and maybe no one else will like it half as much as I do, but...heh. I had fun writing it. (Thanks as always to Lava for editing.)

Chapter Four – Old Habits

Twenty-Some Years Ago...

Ted stirred at the sound of footsteps in the hall. It was still early, he thought vaguely, the arcade wasn't even open yet. He snuggled up against his brother's side, closing his eyes tighter and trying to relax again. Three knocks sounded outside the apartment, loud and stiff. Ted listened silently to the sound of footfalls passing by, hurrying down the hall and moving for the front door. He breathed out softly and wriggled his arm under the blankets, finding Ned's hand and interlacing their fingers gently. Ned leaned against him lightly in return, nuzzling his cheek into his brother's hair.

He could hear the door creak open out of sight.

"Felix," the voice came, laced with disapproval, "I hope you won't find this forward of us, but we want them out."

"Please, keep your voices down..."

Another voice: "They cannot be here when the arcade opens, Felix, you must know that."

"I understand, but there's time still, and they're sleeping-"

"You must understand our concerns, here, I mean, considering who they are and their history-"

"I do understand, but-"

"Just make certain they're gone before quarter alert, Felix. I beg of you."

"...I will, I will."

"Dear me, can't believe you ever let those boys in here...Felix, really..."

The door clicked shut quietly.

Ted lay, his eyes just open, gazing out at nothing. Beside him, Ned opened his own eyes and glanced at him, sadly. Ted returned the glance and squeezed his brother's hand, sighing. "Morning," he murmured. Ned nodded softly, lowering his eyes. Ted leaned over and kissed his brother's cheek, sighing again.

Felix' footsteps sounded softly as he stepped back down the hall, pausing in the doorway to the living room, where the two unplugged racers were laid out on his couch. He was standing in his shorts and a t-shirt, looking haggard and guilty. The twins looked up at him silently as he entered. The moment he met their eyes, he looked away quickly, biting his lip. "Did you boys hear that? I'm so sorry...I hoped they wouldn't wake you."

"It's okay," Ned murmured. Ted looked back at his brother and leaned into him gently, closing his eyes again. "W-we can get dressed and go..."

Felix shook his head faintly. "You've got an hour til the arcade opens, it's no hurry..."

"No, we should go," Ted murmured. His twin nodded, his eyes low.

"Thank you," Ned said meekly, propping himself up on his elbows. "For the couch...and for fixing up Ted." Ted hummed quietly, nodding.

Felix nodded himself, looking vague and helpless. He hesitated, opening his mouth to speak, then without a word, stepped out of the room to get dressed himself, leaving the twins alone. After a little while, Ned pushed himself up to a sit and Ted slowly followed suit, running his hands through his short hair. "You feel okay?" Ned asked gently.

Ted nodded, glancing at his brother. "...so this is what it's gonna be like from now on."

Ned looked at him quietly, then nodded. "I think so, yeah..."

"I wish I understood how you handle this," Ted murmured with a sigh. "You're an inspiration, Ned..."

Ned smiled and a subtle warmth came into his cheeks. He leaned over and nuzzled his cheek against his brother's face gently. "That's all I want to be..."

Ted managed a smile, watching as Ned rose and stretched his arms above his head, leaning to either side before he began to glance around for his jumpsuit. Ted watched in silence as his brother retrieved the two blue-and-white helmets from the base of the bed and placed his own beside him.

Present Day

Ted lifted his head from the bar slowly. It had been years since he had woken up in Tappers, feeling sick and woozy and uncertain about how he'd gotten there. He blinked his bleary eyes slowly as the deep colors of the game came into focus, eventually revealing the bar in front of him and patrons around him.

"Ah, so you're awake."

Ted turned slowly at the sound of the old bartender's voice. Tapper approached him with his usual clipped movements, tipping his head at the racer as he leaned on the bar in front of him. "Thought I was going to have to get somebody to move you out for arcade hours."

Ted hummed softly, lifting his hand to rub his palm into his eye. "Been here all night, have I?"

Tapped hummed an affirmative. "Been a while since you spent the night in here. Heard things were going pretty well for you over in that Sugar Rush game. Something happen?"

Ted ran his hands through his hair, closing his eyes tightly. He thought of what he recalled of the night before, of Ralph's words and Turbo's yelling. Flinching a little at the fuzzy pain in his head, he frowned and muttered, "Not really, no...I should get back." Ted stood and reached forward for his helmet, taking it under his arm as he stepped around the bar stool.

"Take it easy, Ted," Tapper said lightly, "don't wanna see you getting into trouble again..."

"Right," Ted murmured as he headed for the door. His body felt stiff and sore, and he already regretted staying out when he should have gone back to his brothers. He sighed. Old habits die hard, he supposed.

Ted turned his head at the sound of whispering, and met the eyes of two women who were looking at him and speaking under their breath. They turned away quickly as he looked at them. Ted sighed and shook his head, pulling his helmet on as he stepped out.

Turbo awoke early. He blinked his eyes open slowly, staring up at the candy paneled ceiling above him. The cybug lay still for a moment, trying to remember what exactly had occurred the night before. Then he lifted his neck a little and peered down over himself. He was lying on his back with his legs curled in toward his belly. Ned himself was laid out along him, the racer's arms hanging limply around the bug's chest. Turbo breathed out quietly and tilted his head, casting a glance around the room. Ted was no where to be seen.

As he lay his head back down, the only thought that get get through his mind was...the last thing I did was yell at him. It seemed foolish to think that, pathetic even. What did it matter anyway? He would be back, he would be fine. Everything would go back to normal.

He had the vague sort of feeling that he'd had that thought once before...

Ned slept for another hour or so, a relief to Turbo, who had laid awake most of the night with the racer, who despite his assurances of not being worried about his brother, just couldn't seem to get to sleep. Now Ned awoke, still seeming groggy and concerned. He tipped his chin up and looked toward the cybug, opening his eyes slowly. "Is Ted back?"

Well, Turbo through dismally, at least he had gotten a few hours peace. "Not yet," he said softly. Feeling guilty, he craned his neck and nuzzled against the other racer gently. "He will be."

Ned took a soft breath before he reached out and hugged the cybug's neck. Turbo stayed close to his brother a little while until there was a knock at the door, and a moment later the guard outside—Goodbar, looking as incompetent as ever—opened it to allow "President Von Schweetz" to enter.

"Morning, boys," she greeted, lacking her usual jovial tone. She looked somewhat haggard and, if it could be said, disappointed. She gave them both a weary look and then glanced around the room. "So Ted never came back, huh?"

"No," Turbo said coldly, shifting himself a little on the bed as he withdrew from Ned's embrace. "I was hoping he was elsewhere in the palace..."

Vanellope glanced back at him, pausing before she shook her head. "I'll send someone to look for him...In the meantime, how are you feeling?"

Turbo lowered his gaze. Ned looked up at him quietly, then he pushed himself up to a sit. The bug shifted a little, allowing the racer to slide off onto the bed and lean back against him. "I'm fine," he muttered.

Vanellope watched the two of them with interest. "Looked like you hit that wall pretty hard last night," she commented dryly, stepping past the bed.

Turbo kept his head low, watching the child silently as she stepped over to the window. "You didn't tell the wrecker," he murmured.

Vanellope glanced back at him. "Hm?"

"You didn't tell him," Turbo said lower, frowning deeply, "about my...'sweet spot.'" He glanced down a bit, blushing faintly. "Or if you did, he was too much an idiot bother using it to stop me last night..."

Vanellope gave him a long, solemn look before she turned back toward the window. "I didn't tell him."

Turbo lifted his eyes and stared at the child. It was the first time that he felt truly grateful to her for anything, not that he would thank her aloud. Still, the thought that she could have revealed his greatest weakness but chose not to was...

He glanced at Ned as the boy reached up and touched his face. He looked at him quietly, brushing his claws against the racer's hand lightly.

"Y'know, I don't know think Ralph can really hurt you," Vanellope said. "In Hero's Duty, they shoot the bugs, y'know, with big fancy guns. I mean, Ralph is tough, but." Turbo lifted his eyes to her silently. A strain of curiosity ran through him. What was she doing? Trying to console him? Did it look like he needed consoling? Vanellope shrugged and turned back toward the window, looking over her kingdom. "Well, even if he could, you ought to regenerate here. You did once."

"I'd rather not test it again," he growled under his breath. "With the wrecker or anything else..."

Vanellope smirked faintly. "Well," she said, "Ralph promised to quit going after you. For whatever that's worth." She shrugged with a grin. "He is a 'bad guy' after all."

Turbo stared at her. For reasons he wasn't entirely sure of, a faint smile tugged at his lips, but it faded suddenly at the sound of voices in the hall. He turned his head quickly and zeroed in on the door, listening closely until Goodbar pushed it open and Ted wandered into the doorway, looking a little worse for wear. He stepped into the room slowly, leaning on the wall for support as he looked in at them with a wry smile. "...hey."

Ned scrambled up off the bed and over to him, taking his brother's face in his hands and kissing his cheek quickly before he pulled him into a hug. Ted flinched a little but hugged his brother back, smiling wearily. Turbo and Vanellope watched the two of them, the child with a grim expression and the cybug looking a mix of anger and relief. Ned slowly released his brother and leaned back from him. "You didn't come back last night.."

"Yeah," Ted murmured, "I'm sorry about that...Sort of lost track of time." He glanced past his brother at the cybug, then at Vanellope. "Sorry to...all of you."

Vanellope had just opened her mouth to respond when the bug abruptly slipped off the bed and began scrambling for Ted. Ted blinked at him slowly, drawing back a little when Turbo grabbed his arm in one clawed hand and tugged him close. "Where were you?!"

Ted flinched at the sound, pulling his other arm up to press his helmet harder against his ear. "Tappers, keep your voice down."

Tappers! Of all places! Turbo stared at him, not knowing what to do or even how to react to him any more. How careless, how unthinking! Turbo squeezed the racer's arm slightly before releasing him, crouching down on his legs to face Ted levelly. Ted looked back at him grimly, raising a hand and rubbing lightly where he had been grabbed. "...did I worry you?"

"No!" Turbo snapped. Ted flinched again, shutting one eye as it teared up. "But you kept Ned up half the night wondering why the hell you didn't come back!"

Ted glanced to his brother and back at Turbo again. "...I'm sorry," he murmured.

Turbo stared at him still, angry and offended, but beneath that, he was hurt and concerned and confused, most of all.

"Ted," Vanellope spoke up. The racer looked past the cybug in front of him, squeezing his brother's hand as Ned took his gently. Vanellope slipped her hands into her hoodie pocket and stepped over from the window. "You and Ned were invited to race with a few of the racers after hours today...If you're up for it."

Ted blinked at her, then glanced to Ned. "S-sure, I guess. I should feel better by then."

Turbo made an abrupt snort and turned from the group of them, coiling his body round and stalking away back to the bed, his neck low and his back arched. He climbed up onto the bed and thunked down heavily, tucking his legs in around him and curling his tails tightly. Ted watched guiltily, looking toward Vanellope again slowly. "I'm sorry if I worried you, Vanellope..."

Vanellope gave him a hard look, one that seemed mature, for a child her age. But she wasn't really a child, he thought vaguely, she had been through hell and back, just like them.

"Come on down to the track when you feel better," she said. "We'll race as soon as arcade hours end."

Ted had been reluctant to stick around with Turbo. He could tell he'd upset the cybug, and wasn't eager to talk about why. Seeing as the way the cybug's anger had been manifesting in violence of late, Vanellope suggested the two of them give him his space and watch the day's races from the grandstands. So with that, the twins left the cybug in the palace once again, alone and brooding.

Arcade hours had just ended, and Turbo was lying by the window watching what could be seen of the Royal Raceway. He was feeling rather hopeless again, he was deeply troubled by all the information he had learned about Ted and Ned. He found he could do nothing but lie still and stare emptily outdoors.

Turbo lifted his head at a bit of sound out in the hall. At first, just raised voices, then a bit of muffled yelling echoing outside. Turbo grimaced. Just what he needed, someone coming to yell at him while there was no one around to intervene. And in the cybug form, he had to keep himself hidden. He laid his head back down gloomily. The voices came nearer til they were just outside the door. He growled. Damn those guards, what were they doing out there? Just letting anybody into the palace, as usual. Was it too much to ask for a little peace and quiet? If he was going to be left to his own devices, couldn't he at least be left alone?

He pushed himself to his feet and skittered over to the door, bearing his teeth. "Would you keep it down, I'm not in any mood to-!" The door was suddenly torn open, and he came face-to-face with Sgt. Tamora Calhoun, who immediately leveled a sizable weapon at his forehead.

Turbo gaped at her, a hesitation that would have cost him his life had Werther, guarding the door, not abruptly pushed the gun aside as she fired. The blast ripped through part of the wall with a loud fwoosh of energy. Turbo immediately bolted into the doorway, knocking Calhoun and the guard aside and scrambling past them in a panic. He alighted his wings with a buzz and raised up in the high-ceilinged hall, but he soon heard the fwoosh of another blast, and one of his wings unexpectedly shorted out. He found himself sprawling to the floor, collapsed in a tangle of limbs. Panicked, he scrambled up and away down the hall.

His heart raced. Calhoun! What the hell was she doing here?! Who told her he'd turned back into a cybug?! Damn that wrecker, it had to be him! Wait—no! He growled loudly. Dammit, dammit, Ted. Ted who had stayed out all night at Tappers and come back smelling like root beer, dammit!

Another blast rang out, careening into the wall near his head. Desperate and terrified, he found himself shouting the name of the last person he ever wanted to get help from, "Vanellope!"

He dove behind a pillar in the grand hall leading to the royal chambers just as another blast careened into it. The candy pillar shattered into dust and shrapnel that exploded around him. Would he regenerate this time? There was no telling. Mod he hoped so! What a way to go!

He scrambled out from behind the fallen pillar and bolted for the royal chambers just in time to see Vanellope come running out. "Glitch!" he gasped, very near collapsing in front of her as she stared wide-eyed at Calhoun rushing toward them.

"Kid, move!" Calhoun shouted.

Vanellope rushed to Turbo's side quickly and grabbed one of his legs in both her hands. "Stop! Ms. Calhoun, what are you doing?!" Turbo immediately saw his savior and tugged her in against him, facing Calhoun with wide eyes. The woman still had her gun trained on him, her eyes sharp.

"Let her go, bug!" she barked.

Turbo craned his head low, shaking as he held Vanellope against him. He felt ashamed, but he couldn't seem to gather words. It was she who spoke up for him: "Calhoun, don't shoot! He's okay!"

"He's a bug, kid!" Calhoun was coming closer, step-by-step. Turbo shifted backward slightly, pulling Vanellope with him.

The child held her ground even as she was dragged back. "Well, this is my palace and my kingdom and I order you to lower your weapon!" Vanellope flinched as Turbo's claws pinched her. She elbowed him hard in the side but he didn't feel it. "I'm not a hostage, okay?! You just scared him!"

Scared! Turbo loosed his grip on her slightly. Yes, he was scared.

Calhoun regarded the girl with a long stare before she slowly lowered her weapon, cold eyes still trained on Turbo. "What exactly is the means of your granting immunity to so lowly a creature as a cybug, young miss?"

"He's still himself, Ms. Calhoun," Vanellope said firmly. Turbo was letting up is grip more now. "He's not dangerous. At least, not any more dangerous than he is normally."

"That's impossible," Calhoun snapped, stepping closer. "You'd have to have one hell of a stubborn personality to stay sentient after a bug's got you."

Vanellope rolled her eyes in a half-lidded gaze. "Sounds about right."

Turbo slowly released his hold on the child, still crouching low. "I'm not plotting any kind of invasion, alright?" he hissed. He was shaken by how frail his voice sounded. "I'm still more me than bug, and all I want is to get my old body back." Calhoun seemed unconvinced. He growled softly, a fearful grow.

From around the corner, Felix came running into sight, out of breath and waving his arms. "Tamora, please—listen—!"

Calhoun didn't turn to look at Felix, still keeping her eyes on Turbo. The bug growled under his breath. Just get out, he thought desperately, just go, just leave.

There was a tense silence, interrupted only by Felix's huffing as he came to stop beside Calhoun, catching his breath. Vanellope's gaze was hard and firm, as determined as stoic as the sergeant before her. "He's my responsibility, and you can't come into my game and hunt him."

"He's a threat to every other game in this arcade," Calhoun said firmly.

"He can't leave," Felix managed breathlessly, looking up at her. "He's...a glitch. I t-told you that."

As if on cue, a red ripple of static ran down the length of Turbo's body, transferring to Vanellope as it reached his hands and giving her a faint glitch as well. She glanced at him, but he was still staring intently at Calhoun. Calhoun still didn't seem convinced, but she finally let her eyes slip from Turbo to Vanellope. "Kid, this is serious."

"Yeah, I noticed," Vanellope replied with a frown. "I know you're just doing what you think is right, Ms. Calhoun, but this is my game. And Turbo's a part of it now. Cybug or not."

Turbo glanced at her briefly. It was the first time he'd ever heard it phrased like that, the first time he'd ever heard Vanellope (who in spite of his dislike for her, he still recognized as the powerhead of the game) say it. His eyes flickered back to Calhoun, but fear had been replaced with a sort of dull astonishment. He realized quite suddenly that he felt lightheaded.

"I still say you're playing with fire, kid," Calhoun said, finally glancing down at Felix who had recovered and was watching her anxiously. Vanellope perked when she heard Turbo's skittering behind her. She turned quickly and Calhoun reacted with instinctive reflexes, lifting her gun to aim it again at him. But Turbo wasn't advancing; he was stumbling back.

"Turbo?" Vanellope said quickly. Turbo's vision had begun swimming. He was trying desperately to stay on his feet, but a lightheadedness had come over him and without much ability to do otherwise, he found himself collapsing onto the floor of the hall. Vanellope perked as she realized for the first time the red puddle growing on the floor near his feet. "Ah!" she gasped suddenly, "you hit him?!"

"Thought I clipped him at least once," Calhoun said with a mild pride mixed with disinterest.

Felix hurried past her and up to Vanellope as the girl quickly went to Turbo's side. His insectile legs were twitching a bit and to the two's surprise he was still vaguely conscious, partly attempting to scramble up off the floor but to no avail. "Where's he bleeding from?" Vanellope asked, ducking under a leg as it poked in her direction.

Felix had his hammer at the ready, and he crept around Turbo's side until he found the wound in the armor of his back. A plate of the cybug's armor was missing, the skin underneath seared and raw. He grimaced, feeling a bit sick for a moment before he reached forward and anxiously touched it with his hammer. The wound repaired with the characteristic ding and Turbo's armor was back in place, glitching a little as the pixels settled. "Fixed it," he murmured.

Turbo's vision cleared, but he still felt rather out-of-sorts. At least he stopped his scrambling and lay still, feeling helpless and vague. Felix and Vanellope stepped around to his head, both of them leaning down over him with concern. "You okay, friend?" Felix asked softly.

Turbo glanced up at him. He grunted a little with discomfort still, digging his claws into the candy floor. "Get your trigger-happy wife out of here, Fix-It..."

Felix blinked, momentarily insulted, but all things considered, he supposed Turbo had that right. He straightened up and looked at Vanellope, who had smiled faintly to see that Turbo was alright. "Word is spreading around the arcade pretty quickly," Felix said softly.

Vanellope glanced up at him, her smile fading. She sighed softly. Other characters would be trying to get in, trying to get at him. "I'll deal with it," he said softly. She turned back to Turbo, sighing, "Thanks, Felix."

She looked back down at Turbo, who was taking slow, deep breaths and trying to even out his heartbeat. He wanted to get up, wanted to be back on his feet and in control, but he chose to lie still anyway. For once he decided to put his overall good above his pride. Besides, a part of him was concerned that he would simply topple back over if he tried to get up. His head was still spinning. He glanced up at Vanellope rather helplessly, glowering.

"Thanks for using me as a shield," she said, raising her brows.

"Apparently I was wrong," he muttered, somewhat labored, "you are good for something after all."

"Ha, ha," she said blandly, hunkering down and leaning her cheek against her fist. "You want me to get the twins?"

He stared at her. This was becoming too commonplace, too casual, the way she addressed him. Like they were friends, mod forbid. But he couldn't hate her. In spite of everything, she had done more for him than he could ever ask of anyone. Maybe it was all for the sake of the twins, and most of it was done out of the naiivity of a child, but still.

"Yeah," he finally muttered, "thanks."

Vanellope glanced over her shoulder. Felix and Calhoun were still in the hall although they were on the way out, Calhoun glancing suspiciously over her shoulder. "Just wait til they're gone," she murmured, not about to leave him lying their alone with Calhoun still in the hall.

Turbo stared up at her still. Stupid glitch...How did she know exactly what he was thinking, exactly what he wanted? He breathed out shakily, speaking with mild disorientation, "Where, ah...where are they?"

"Mm?" she looked back at him. "Oh, the twins? Rainbow Road, I think. Gloyd and Rancis asked them to race."

"Did they...?" Turbo murmured. So the twins had been invited to race by the other racers. And Gloyd and Rancis, no less. He hadn't expected Rancis to be among the first to accept the twins. After all these years, those racers were still full of surprises.

Vanellope smiled quietly. "They're coming around, the racers. I mean, most of them are still pretty unsure about you—and Taffyta, well she just plain hates you—but, they're getting used to the twins. They almost beat me the other day, you know. Ned came pretty close."

Turbo perked, looking at her quickly, his eyes a bit hungry. "He did?"

She smirked faintly. "You should be proud of them."

Left alone in the palace hall, Turbo had slipped off into sleep before Vanellope brought the twins back to him. When they arrived in a flurry of excitement and demands of what happened to him, he was startled awake and found his head cradled in Ned's arms with Ted hunched over him, face pressed against his forehead. "I'm alright, I'm alright," he muttered groggily, blinking the sleep from his eyes as the twins withdrew to get a look at him.

"Vanellope said Calhoun shot you!" Ned exclaimed, still holding to Turbo's head gently.

"There's all this blood on the floor," Ted managed with agitation, his hands shaking a little in his lap.

"I'm alright now," Turbo assured them, shaking his head a little. "Just...resting."

Ted hummed softly, letting out a trembling breath. Then he suddenly leaned in and kissed the king's forehead, taking Turbo's face in his hands and kissing it again gratefully. The cybug still tugged free immediately and hissed at him, twisting his neck back. "Ted!"

"I'm so sorry!" Ted said quickly, his eyes suddenly welling with tears. The genuine look of concern on the other racer's face gave Turbo enough pause not to knock him away with his claws. "This is my fault," he blurted, "I-I should have been more careful..."

Turbo lifted a clawed hand shakily. "Ted..."

Ted closed his eyes tightly as tears began to spill down his cheeks. He fisted his hands and tried not to sob. "You could have been killed, Turbo, I'm so sorry..."

Turbo took a shaky breath before he reached out and wrapped his claws around Ted's shoulder, pulling the racer in against him and hugging him gently. With his other arm, he drew Ned into the embrace, holding the both of them and breathing in deeply as Ted tried and failed not to cry.

"I'm alright," Turbo managed with a tremble in his voice, "we're all...alright."