Greetings, everyone! I had a busy work week this week, but I'm off for the next few days so I will be back to updating this fic. Not really too much action in this chapter, but some important plot and character progression happening here nonetheless. Please enjoy and review, and relax... for now. :D
We finally reached Westchester County upstate, and we were all exhausted from the drive, among other things. It had taken about five hours to get there, and now I just had to navigate through the place and find my aunt's house. About a half an hour later, I sighed with relief when I finally pulled into the driveway. Rafael's brows raised.
"Wow… nice place." He said.
"Yeah… my aunt has a lot of property." I said as I got out. "I'm gonna go talk to her. It's been a while so it'll take a few minutes." I got up, going up the stairs and knocking at the door. It took about five minutes for her to answer because one, she's in her 90s, and two, because she's as deaf as a doornail.
"Hello?" She said as she opened the door.
"Hey, aunt Vera!" I said, quite loudly. "How are you? Sorry I came unannounced!"
"Oh, Kara, what a surprise! How did you get all the way up here?" She asked.
"Some friends and I are on a road trip, so-"
"A what?" She interrupted.
"A ROAD TRIP!" I shouted, not in a mean way, but I still managed to maintain a pleasant expression. "Do you think we could stay here for a few days?"
"Oh, sure! I don't really have any rooms prepared though…"
"That's okay, we'll handle it! Thanks aunt Vera!" I gave her a hug before going back down to the car.
"Jeez, she really must be deaf, I could hear you from China…" Rafael chuckled.
"Okay, so I don't feel like explaining you two…" I pointed to Rayne and King Candy. "Because my aunt will think she's gone senile. So you two have to stay out of her sight."
Rayne shrugged. "No problem, I can just- oh, wait… damn it. I still don't have my powers…" She hissed.
"Hm…" King Candy tapped his chin. "How about you and Rafael go into the houth, and open a window, and I can jutht float mythelf and Rayne in, hoo hoo!" He chirped.
Rayne shot him a look. "You are NOT touching me."
I shrugged. "Fine. Stay in a freezing cold car all night. It's your choice." I said as Rafael and I turned to bring in our stuff.
Rayne stood there, dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open a bit when she looked from us to King Candy. He glanced up at her, twisting his bow tie as he grinned, wiggling his brows. She looked away from him angrily, gritting her teeth.
Rafael went into one of the bedrooms upstairs, putting all of our crap in there before I went back down to the others by the car.
"Okay. Rafa and I brought all the stuff inside, so just go around back to the…" I had to think for a moment. "… the window all the way to the left. I told Rafael to open it. Oh, and watch out for bears. She sometimes gets them in her yard because the forest is right back there." I headed back inside.
"Well, are you ready, my dear? I'll jutht gently lift you like an angel in the-"
"Shut up and let's go." Rayne said as she headed around to the back of the house, standing there with her arms crossed as she sighed with annoyance. King Candy blinked a bit before joining her, giggling in anticipation as he floated up to gently grasp under her arms. "I am warning you now." Rayne spoke in a low tone. "You try ANYTHING, and I will crack open your skull like an egg and your yolk of a brain will come oozing into my hand, where I will crush it. Understand?"
King Candy raised his brows, tugging on his collar as he chuckled nervously. "Y- Yeth, sure…" He cleared his throat as he gently lifted her up, floating for what seemed like a million years. "Tho, um… why-"
"Don't talk to me." Rayne cut him off.
King Candy frowned. "What did I ever do wrong? I didn't mean for you to hate me tho much…"
"Because I don't LOVE. I don't care what others feel. I live to see the misery of others."
"Tho… why help uth, then? Why not jutht dethtroy us now?" He asked.
"Because my powers need time to return. I used whatever I had to hang onto whatever thread of life I had left while I rotted in that pit!" Rayne replied.
"Well…" King Candy started. "Why do you hate everyone tho much?"
Rayne sighed, rolling her eyes. "Because life is very unforgiving. Love weakens a person. It opens a person up to be burned. Those who are smart enough to use love as a front to get what they want are the ones who put all those who truly believe in it to shame. People who believe in love believe in nothing- no, less than nothing. It's a lie. Only those who have no heart, no remorse, not a care of who gets hurt and thrives off of the agony of others are true survivors." She glanced up at him. "Satisfied?"
King Candy frowned. "I wanted to love… but the movie I came from, I had to be what thomeone elthe wanted me to be. I had no control. I wath the lie. And… even when the movie ended, I thtill couldn't be me. Thometimeth I really don't know WHO I am… jutht what I wath made out to be. It'th… I jutht wish I had thomeone who could help me figure out what I wath really meant for."
Rayne narrowed her eyes. "Well, I'm not a therapist. If you have problems, figure them out yourself."
They finally reached the window, and King Candy backed himself in, sitting Rayne on the window sill as he situated himself inside before holding his hand out to her. Rayne swatted his hand away.
"Rayne, he's just trying to help-"
"He had his hands on me for long enough, THANK YOU." She snapped, before trying to turn herself around so she could slip inside. However, she lost her balance when the window sill, which was quite old, broke on one side, and she gasped as she slipped, one of her hands managing to grip onto the broken window sill as she dangled, struggling to pull herself up.
"Oh my-! Oh thank codes my aunt is deaf!" I rushed over to get to her, but King Candy was there, trying to grab her other hand.
"Hey, BACK OFF!" She screamed angrily, but then furrowed her brows as she looked behind her. Her eyes widened as a flashback of dangling over the acid pit, the remains of Dr. Thorne clinging to her legs, appeared, and the memory of the bubbling, burning chemical stew made her swallow thickly as she scrambled to pull herself up, but she just kept slipping.
"Pleathe, let me help you, you'll fall!" King Candy cried.
"I don't NEED your help! What do you take me for, a weakling?! I CAN do it!" She shouted, but her eyes widened in panic as more of the window sill broke off, and her hand slipped. Before she could fall to the ground below, King Candy grabbed her hand with both of his, lifting her up and helping her inside.
"Jeez, Rayne!" I sighed, and Rafael shook his head in disbelief at the whole scene.
"Wow. You are REALLY stubborn." He said to her.
Rayne got to her feet, swatting King Candy away from her as she dusted herself off. "You're all ridiculous…" She shook her head, storming over to the other room where she began to set up her things.
"Rayne… I… I wanted to lithten to you, but you fell… I couldn't jutht let you-"
"Listen to me now, then, VERY closely." Rayne jabbed a finger at his chest. "You ever, humiliate me like that again and I'll break your spine in half!"
"B- But Rayne, I didn't mean-… I was jutht helping you-"
"I don't NEED your help. I don't need ANYONE ELSE'S help. When I get my powers back, I will leave you all to your ill fates like the rest of your animated friends and the disgusting human race!" She growled, going into the room and slamming the door.
I approached King Candy, who stood there sadly. "King Candy… you have to understand something about her. She… she trusts no one. She thinks that if she actually comes to care for someone it will be used against her… or that… the one she cares for will hurt her. Just give her some space."
King Candy nodded sadly as he turned to bunk in the room with Rafael and I. He glanced back once more at the door behind him, before going into the other room and gently closing the door behind him.
"Hey… Turbo, come on bud…" Ralph said, furrowing his brow as the group stood around a passed out Turbo.
"Wake up, Turbutt!" Vanellope pouted.
"'Ey, 'ey, give him some space, will you?" Rebel said to Vanellope before turning back to Turbo. "I think he's coming to."
Turbo groaned, his eyes fluttering open as his hands reached up to rub them, taking a few moments for his vision to adjust before he sat up slowly, rubbing his head.
"What… what happened?" He asked groggily.
"You fainted…" Rosie frowned. "Mickey was making his announcement and then you just…"
Turbo took a moment to interpret her words. He began to think of all that happened, and what Mickey had said.
"From what I've been told… it seems that no one is immune from this crisis."
"She's gone…" Turbo said, breathing shakily.
"Who's gone…?" Blitz tilted his head.
"Who…? WHO?!" Turbo snapped, breathing unevenly as he clutched his helmet.
"Whatever happens… we'll always get through it together, right?"
Turbo began to cry bitterly, remembering I had said that to him when we had managed to survive the horrors of Dr. Thorne's ill intentions.
"Turbo, now's not the time to get angry at everyone. We're just looking out for yo-" Calhoun started.
"Didn't you hear what that rat said?!" Turbo cried. "All of the humans have been… been hacked! They're gone! They're not who they're supposed to be anymore! KARA is out there! He said no one was immune to it. If that's true, then they got to her! She could have been saved if he would have let her just stay here! If he would have just let her be where she belonged, with us, with ME, she could have escaped!" He screamed, gritting his teeth. "I'll get him. I'll get him back for this. I will never, EVER, forgive him. This is HIS fault."
"Turbo…" Vanellope whined lightly. "Stop talking like that… Mickey is trying to help us…"
"Help?!" Turbo snapped at her. "If Kara were here, maybe we wouldn't BE in this situation. She could have stopped all of this. Whatever happens, whoever gets hurt now in cartoonverse, it's on him." He wiped his face, sniffling angry tears. "And I hate myself most of all… I was a coward. I could have tried to get her back, or go with her… I abandoned her. I let her go."
"Turbo…" Felix placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You can't give up hope. There's still a chance that this can be fixed. Maybe if we all figure this out together, we can save cartoonverse, and save Kara. But you can't shut us out, brother. We have to stick together. Kara's still with us, in our codes. She wouldn't want us to fight like this."
Turbo looked up at Felix slowly, blinking a bit.
"Look at all the friends you've made. Look at the life you've built for yourself, the relationships you've mended."
My words from before I left cartoonverse echoed in Turbo's mind, and he slowly looked around at the group encircled around him. He hung his head, doing something that no one expected the proud, short-tempered racer to do.
He hugged Felix.
Felix blinked in surprise, before smiling lightly, hugging him back. One by one, the others joined them in a group hug, Ralph's arms large enough to hug around them all.
"That all stays with you even when I can't."
Turbo smiled lightly through his sadness. "Thanks, you guys." He said quietly.
King Candy and I slept on either side of Rafael in the queen sized bed, exhausted from the day's events. The man of royalty was curled up with a pillow on his side, lightly sucking on his thumb as he slept. It was the middle of the night, and the moonlight shone through the blinds of the window, chopping the light into stripes across the room. All was peaceful and serene until the bedroom door creaked as it was opened. A pair of red eyes glowed, framed by darkness as Rayne stepped into the room. She seemed to glide along the floor, silent as the night itself as she went around to where King Candy was, standing over him. Her standing in the way of the window cast her dark shadow over us, the light illuminating the back of her but further darkening her front. She narrowed her eyes as she stared at his slumbering form, taking something into her hands and gripping it firmly.
The device.
'I don't know how much longer it will take for my powers to be fully restored…' She thought to herself, glancing at Rafael and I. 'But I made a deal, and I intend to fulfill it… if there is anyone left to fulfill it for. Then… I can simply sit back and watch the two worlds slowly wither and fade away. Clear the board so it is mine for the taking.'
She reached over, making a face as she took one of King Candy's hands into hers so they would return to cartoonverse together. As her thumb hovered over the device button, about to press it, she gasped lightly as King Candy smiled in his sleep, sighing contently as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She instinctively reared her other hand with the device back to break the unwanted contact, but fearing she would break the device as well, she grit her teeth, shaking her head as she pressed the button.
Turbo decided he needed to take some time to clear his head and warm up his muscles a bit, so he told the others he was going to go for a short walk, thinking it would do him some good. As he did so, he looked around at all the different characters, finding some odd, interesting, or downright creepy. The residents of Bluthtown were helping the visiting characters in any way they could. Turbo suddenly felt something light on his shoulders, raising a brow as he looked to see a small fairy had landed there.
"Uh… do you mind?" Turbo asked.
"Oh, forgive me! I noticed you seemed a bit lost, so I was wondering if I could help!"
"No, not lost. Just… I needed a breather, is all." Turbo replied. "Thanks."
"What's your name? I am Thumbelina."
"Weird name… I'm Turbo. You uh… from around here?"
"Yes, I live here with Cornelius, Prince of the Fairies."
"That's nice. Look, I… I'm not feeling too great, I just want to walk around."
"Oh dear… might you tell me what's wrong? I'm sure I can try to help you…"
Turbo sighed. "Well, other than the fact that I'm stranded here…" He hung his head. "There's… someone I really care about. We got separated because she's human and she had to go back to the real world. But now… something went wrong. All of the humans' codes got hacked, and they'll never be the same. I'll never be able to be with her again."
Thumbelina tilted her head in thought. "Well, I'm not quite sure what a code or a hacked is, but I remember when I thought I lost Cornelius… I was so sure that he was dead, and because I lost the one person I loved the most, I almost resorted to marrying a mole thinking I had no other option!" She giggled a bit of how silly she had been then. "But my dear friend, Jacques, told me to have faith and he was so sure he was alive. I didn't believe him, but then Cornelius just appeared before me! It was truly a miracle." She smiled up at Turbo. "If I could be reunited with him and have my very own wings as I always dreamed of, I'm sure you'll find your loved one too. She's out there somewhere, and she may be looking for you too."
There was something about the small creature that gave Turbo a warm, optimistic feeling as he smiled lightly. "Thanks, Thuh-… Tuh… um… what's your name again?"
"Thumbelina." She giggled. "Because I'm no taller than a thumb!"
"Oh, yeah. Right." He smirked a bit at her. They continued to talk for a bit, until he thought he heard someone call out his name. He furrowed a brow, looking around.
"Is something the matter?" Thumbelina floated off his shoulder.
"I… I hear someone… it sounds…" His eyes widened, moving a bit faster as he made his way towards the source of the voice through all of the characters and streets. It became a blur as the voice rang through his head, and he even laughed a bit as he ran. "Maybe she was right… maybe Kara made it here… it could be her… it HAS to be her…" He turned a corner, looking around and thought he saw movement.
"Goodness, you run so fast!" Thumbelina said as she caught up with him.
"Fast is my middle name! But I found her! You were right, she's here!" He strode forward quickly, but he stopped dead in his tracks when the individual stepped from the side of the building, turning to face Turbo. He furrowed a brow, looking all around her as his feet remained planted firmly to the ground. "You… no, it can't be you! And… how… you found…"
Rayne lifted her head a bit, smirking lightly at him. "I'm sorry… not expecting me?" She said as she took a step forward. "And yes, I found your… colleague." She held her arms out straight in front of her, King Candy still sleeping soundly. She made a face, letting him slip and fall from her hands, landing with a thud on the ground.
"Oof!" King Candy cried as he was jostled from his sleep, stumbling as he got to his feet and look around, dusting himself off. "R- Rayne? Where… where are we?"
"Bluthtown, I presume… I had to carry this imbecile here all the way from Game Central Station. I must say, those sickeningly sweet ponies sure can do a lot of damage… gives new meaning to the phrase; 'looks can be deceiving.'"
"Enough about that!" Turbo cried. "You were in the real world, and he had to at least be close to where Kara was, you know how she is doing, I know you do!" Turbo took a step forward. "Please Rayne, at least say she's alright, that she's safe!"
"So you want me to say it even if it isn't true? Just to ease your worries with irrational words of comfort?" She answered.
"Oh, Kara? She's-" King Candy started, but was slapped on the back of his head by Rayne.
"Ouch!" King Candy yelped, frowning and rubbing his head where he had been hit.
Turbo gasped. "I knew it! Tell me where she is and how she's doing! I know you didn't bring her back her on purpose, Rayne! I need to see her again, please! Just give me the device and I'll-" He reached for the device, and Rayne yanked her hand back, smirking as she chuckled lowly.
"Not so fast, Turbo… no pun intended by the way. This is not part of the agreement I made with the sergeant. My only end of the agreement was to return the king to cartoonverse, and I have. Now I owe you all nothing more and you will all spare me my life, as promised."
King Candy furrowed his brow at this, looking back at her. "Wait… tho, you only helped me and brought me back here becauthe of a deal?"
"Yes, now you and I will have nothing more to do with each other." Rayne said before turning to Turbo. "And I will be keeping this. What happens to any of you, Kara included, matters not to me."
Turbo furrowed his brows as Rayne walked off. The one thing that could unite us now was being walked away with, and he fell to his knees in defeat.
Oh no! Turbo came so close, yet so far! Will he be able to get the device from Rayne? Will the characters come together to make some kind of solution? Will Rafael and Kara be able to escape the overly happy human race for much longer? Find out more in future chapters! Thank you for reading! :D