Reviews :

chuckiboo : Hooo if you thought Tessa was mad in the last chapter... xD Wait until you read this one lol. And, I ALMOST had the dialog go that way, where she reveals that he's a User, but it didn't steer down that route, like I thought it would. It'll probably pop up later down the line. I don't thin Mr. Kelta could've handled another hit like that haha.

CHICKENM4N : The fun doesn't stop there xD

Jay Sketchin : Ohhh SHE PISSED.

Snake557 : Yes, the latter of your review is correct :) User-made gamers don't show any age at all, though self-programmed gamers do EVENTUALLY begin to show a tiny bit of age. Like in the fifth story, Tessa begins to show a bit of a subtle grey streak in her hair. They do age, it's just extremely slow and not very obvious.

A/N : Hey guys! Just quickly wanted to say a MASSIVE thank you to all my readers and reviewers. As of this chapter, Out of the Blue has hit over 10k views! THANK YOU GUYS!

*Chapter 36*

With a buzz of the teleportation pad, Tessa and Berri's silver coding aligned to correction in the safety of their own home, the King and Queen's nest. The whole, fast paced walk home, Berri and Tessa were silent. Both women were fuming, for two very different reasons, and although Berri was certain everything was likely about to explode the second they were in the safety of the palace walls, Berri flinched as Tessa stormed off of the teleportation pad, head down the gape of their large, main hallway corridor, and bee-lined it for the kitchen. Berri harshly furrowed her eyebrows and eagerly began to storm after her mother.

"Hey, hey, wait! You're really going to continue giving me the silent treatment here?!" Berri suddenly shouted, their peaceful home now reverberated with anger, and it was with this was she certain her father was now cued to the impending argument to be had, between two of the palace's most hard-headed fighters.

"I'm not giving you the silent treatment, Berri, I'm just... Just...!" Tessa flagged her hands, the suspension papers in Tessa's left hand suddenly flapped and made a sharp whipping noise as they followed Tessa's firm arm gestures, "I'm mad! I'm mad. I need to think about the words I want to say or else I will say things I might regret."

"What, you regret bringing me to Academy?" Berri prod; she knew her and her mother went toe-to-toe on a lot of issues, strictly because Berri didn't know how to keep her mouth shut, how to read physical cues and how to take a hint. A thing only time and maturity would cure, though for now, she knew she was on the path to full, exploding anger, "Regretting maybe not filling me in on everything Turbo is considered to the Arcade? You really thought sending me to Academy without this valuable information was wise?!"

"I didn't think it'd matter! I didn't think Turbo's name would literally be EVERYWHERE today! It's NEVER like that!" Tessa barked as she whirled around and pointed a finger at Berri, down the corridor, and although Tessa most certainly wanted to absolutely rock Berri's world and give her what for, she shook her head, inhaled a deep breath and turned heel to continue storming into the kitchen, where Zed now nervously poked his head out from, "I-I need time to think, I just need space, we can... We can reconvene in an hour or so, please?"

"Why! Just so you can tell me MORE shit I should know by now?!" Berri was furious, a wrecking rage she had yet to learn how to control, and although she was a cute little ball of fire, typically all smiles and easy going, it was in her heated moments of anger was she certain she became a different person, however less often it occurred.

"You watch your mouth, young lady. You may be suspended from Academy, where you can romp around palace grounds all day, but don't make me confine those restrictions to just your bedroom," Tessa now growled as she, yet again, whirled around and began to switch her path straight for Berri; she figured that if her own daughter was here to continuously push her buttons, without heeding Tessa's very obvious warnings, then she'd give Berri exactly what she was asking for.

"Great, just sit in my room and wait for ALL the answers about your weird, detrimental, convoluted past to just COME to me," Berri snapped in a dripping, mean amount of sass. She put her hands on her hips and gave Tessa a snotty look of challenge, something Tessa was easily prepping to rival, "I dare you, mom. I DARE YOU!"

"You march your ass to that teleportation pad, go say goodbye to Chester, go say goodbye to Wren, to Theo, to EVERYONE," Tessa's voice shook the entire game, the beautiful chandelier above the teleportation pad trembled with the ricochet of her dominant voice, which was slowly becoming hoarse, "You better double dog dare me, child, because you can bet your sprinkles that you're not leaving this tower until you learn some RESPECT."

"Oh, like the respect I maybe deserved? By telling me the important things I should know before I opened my fat mouth at Academy?" Berri shouted, she daringly took a step towards Tessa, a challenge Berri knew full well that she'd massively lose at, and only confirmed said fact the second that Tessa's spine stiffened and posture straightened in further riled anger.

"You must've forgotten our little deal, then, because opening your fat mouth was on YOU," Tessa bellowed, "I warned you! But did you listen?!"

"NO! Cause no one here listens to ME! You all SUCK!" Berri hollered loudly, though she flinched once Tessa took a step closer to Berri, furthermore filling the gap.

"Your feet better find that teleportation pad if you know what's good for you, cause that's the last time you'll be using it," Tessa darkly stabbed into the gravity of Berri's face with a jolt, Tessa's aggressive, dominant silver coding sparked on the undersides of her bare feet, causing the corridor's light and mainframe to bug out in glitch lines.

"I hate you," Berri muttered through now billowing tears and a shredded, wilted demeanor; with a rip of Berri's blue hair, as she whirled around, Berri shot for the teleportation pad and was immediately whisked away.

Tessa panted through her nose and glowered down the gently glowing teleportation pad, and once it settled, so did the air in the corridor. Tessa's shoulders were stiff, and in a firm swipe, Tessa sharply chucked Berri's suspension forms in a messy splay about the hallway. She whirled around, stormed for the gape of the living quarters and the kitchen, and felt thrilled that Zed was only simply observing the fight, and knew to eagerly step out of Tessa's way and leave her be, so to cool down. She fumed as she pushed into the kitchen, opened the splay of their remote code room privileges, above the kitchen island, and just as she was about to pull up Berri's stats, location and everything in between, Zed finally felt a fatherly cue to step in and settle Tessa's fiery heart.

"Tessa," Zed instructed firmly, though his deep voice was tender and soft. He eased his masculine hand to her shoulder, gently swished away Berri's stats and location and was thrilled to gain eye contact with Tessa, even though it was nearly boiling hot to even endure, "Enough, enough... Don't make rash decisions while you're mad. Step away from it."

Tessa heavily panted through her nose, looked off and finally allowed the show of big, billowing tears to sag into her eyes. Zed hovered tight over her, held his hand firmly to her shoulder and knew he was the rock that steadied her rushing, wrecking thoughts. He shook his head, narrowed his gaze and, although he was prepared to overflow his bride with tender loving care, he knew he needed to help Tessa get on his level.

"She doesn't hate you, she's just angry," Zed assured softly, to which Tessa shut her eyes tight in regret, the tears urgently spilled down her cheeks, "You know restricting her will just make her rebel further, love..."

"I don't care right now, I don't care," Tessa urged through a choke of a small, staggering cry. She composed herself, inhaled a long sniffle and quickly wiped her eyes, "She let her entire last hour class know that Turbo is alive and well, in Sugar Rush..."

"Yikes," Zed huffed through a long sigh, he shook his head and looked off.

"She got suspended for disrupting her class, and now I'm left to do damage control," Tessa urged in whole annoyance, to which Zed gave her a curious smile.

"Well... Why? Words already out, there's not much you can do, now," Zed shrugged, "It was about time Turbo's reign of silence was broken. Really who better to spill the beans than a generation of kids that are so far removed from the situation?"

"Mr. Kelta was so mad," Tessa sighed, she began to come off the dregs of her anger, though this only caused more tears of regret to pool in her eyes, "She looked so defeated, I-I just... I feel so bad for sheltering her from all the terrible things that happened."

"Well... Maybe we just need to lay it all out, now," Zed stated in warm, knowing defeat, "It's clear, now, that reserving this and saving her the burden of everything we've ever been through is just not wise anymore. She's this game's successor... She needs to know. No matter how heavy it is."

"She's not going to talk to me ever again," Tessa huffed in a stagger of sorrow, she peered her glassy, hazel eyes tight into Zed's and looked entirely sapped of angry energy, "She's probably going to avoid me for the next month."

"Then, so be it... Give her space," Zed instructed, he cocked an eyebrow and gave Tessa a knowing smile, "Like mother like daughter... You think I don't know how to navigate the two most important women in my life?"

"...Fine. You win," Tessa mumbled as she rubbed her face in agitation and finally slumped into Zed's chest for a supportive, loving embrace.

As Berri ripped her messy, glitch-hop of silver coding about the inner bend of the palace's massive wall, the covered, outdoor stretch of corridor that encompassed the palace lot, she finally came to Chester's stable and burst into it. With a firm jolt of the swinging doors, Chester's head flew up in startled agitation, the perk of his ears held tight to Berri's footsteps, and although Chester was blind, he still could tell just who was approaching, due to their footstep, their smell, and any noise they would make otherwise. Chester sagged in gentle relief, though he steadied his strong, massive legs firmly into the soft substrate underneath him and allowed Berri to practically plow into his chest. Berri grappled her arms about Chester's thick neck and lovely winter mane, and in a whole unload, she began to sob into Chester's creamy fur, her nose so firmly buried into his warmth.

Chester sagged in a show of sorrow, as tenderly as he could, he flattened his ears, lowered his head and lovingly tucked his wings about Berri's back and whole body. In a firm tug, he held Berri tight to his body as the underside of his jaws tucked tight to her lower back, thus keeping her snug to his chest. Although Chester didn't have a voice box, it was rare that he could sometimes still emit breaths of sounds, and in the gentle meep of a curious noise, he remained a solid rock for Berri, allowing her to cry her heart out into his fur. The rain, outside, spattered the cold, blue and white grass about the palace lot, the only warmth radiated from small street lamps and lanterns posted about the palace lot and at each couple's tower. A fog hung over the day like a blanket of sadness, something Berri just allowed herself to drown in.

"I wish you could fly, Chester, I wish you could fly," Berri begged in a soft hiccup of a few cries. She grit her teeth and allowed the tears to pour like the rain about Chester's warm stable, she shook her head and snuggled deeper into the escape of Chester's chest. She carried on in a raspy whisper of a sigh, "I wish you could fly... I'd fly so far away..."

Chester sagged a little, lulled his eyes closed and flatted his ears tighter as he tucked Berri even closer, as if to apologize. Berri eagerly cued her silver coding onto the warmth of Chester's fur and skin, an exterior swap that Chester relied on to see, though Berri often used it if she needed love or advice. A convey of thoughts from one another, she knew that Chester couldn't verbally talk, though the sensation of his thoughts was enough to carry on intelligent conversation. She unloaded all of her mental worries onto Chester's blank canvas of an emotional hug, he sat in all of her worries, mental cries that came at him rapid fire, something he learned how to just accept and take as it came. He opened his eyes and was thrilled he could now see his surroundings, via glowing silver grid lines and messes of mapping the stable's furniture and structure.

Chester sniffled his wolf-like snout into Berri's soft hair, sprinkled with a little bit of rain. His glorious wings, ones of which he never really opened for display or use of flying, were sagged tight about Berri's body in a protective encompass of unconditional love. As he soaked in all of Berri's worries, about Turbo, about her mother, about Academy, Chester's blind eyes shook as they aimlessly looked about his comfortable stable. In a curious volley, he dared to suggest that Berri seek out her own answers, to not wait for Tessa and Zed to come to her, to take the initiative and get exactly what she wanted, without wasting anymore time. In this lull of tender suggestion, Berri inhaled a shaky breath, pulled from Chester's coded gravity and gently peered up into his blind eyes.

Berri bobbed a nod of realization, inhaled a nervous breath and now urgently pat her rear pocket for her phone. Upon swiping it out of her pocket, she unlocked it, tabbed to her messages and urgently opened her's and Turbo's previous conversation, from days ago. She bit her lip in contemplation and began to urgently type away a rush of a bold message, though before she could hit send, she furrowed her brows, sagged her phone and looked off in another hit of realization. She lulled her eyes closed and recalled a memory from the evening prior. The image of Turbo's warm, though hesitant disposition, the gloss of his deep, raspy voice politely instructing her to name a time and place, she peeled her eyes open in further, dominant assertiveness and quickly locked her phone, thus eradicating texting Turbo.

"Chester, please take me to the teleportation pad by the code room," Berri pleaded quietly, and without hesitation, Chester tilted his body and knelt down a little, insinuating that he was all hers, and he was happy to take her anywhere.

With the thud of his powerful paws, like hooves that thudded in loud, echoing reverberation about the massive stretch of outdoor corridor, Chester easily hauled himself and Berri to the palace's courtyard in the blink of an eye. Upon pushing into the large, donut-shaped corridor that housed each racer's individual home, all whilst encompassing the game's code room, Chester's claws loudly clacked along the palace's gorgeous tiles, he bolted about the bend and finally slowed upon reaching the sealed, intimidating, glowing round of the code room's door. Berri quickly jumped off of Chester's bare spine, huffed a shaky breath and came upon the palace's main teleportation pad.

Although the majority of the teleportation pads, about the palace lot, were all pretty much the same, this main hub was a lot more advanced. Once Berri stepped onto the main pad, almost ten feet in diameter, it gently came alive with the glow of her silver coding, knowing full well each individual's coding color upon stepping aboard. Berri inhaled a shaky breath, having never really utilized said main teleportation pad, due to just how expansive it was. In a mess of glowing, silver, holographic tiers, an entire list of every single teleportation pad in the whole of Sugar Rush quickly unfolded before Berri. Nearly three dozen points long, it was sectioned into three different columns, one listed as public teleportation pads, ones listed as private, and ones listed as semi-private. In a rush of adrenaline, Berri felt her heart begin to surge with purpose, with nervousness, her blue eyes scanned the list and finally came to the teleportation pad she was looking for - Turbo's.

Berri inhaled a trembling breath, her pointer finger hovered over his name in entire hesitation. She furrowed her brow in whole contemplation, she knew that the second she pushed that button and was whisked away to his semi-private teleportation pad, there'd be likely no chance of returning without Turbo knowing that she had visited his pad. Her chest rose and fell in the heat of the electrical grab the teleportation pad had on her coding, the hover of her larger finger over his name, the infamous Turbo. She grit her teeth, held her breath, and as her finger firmly sagged into his name, she shut her eyes tight and was prepared to have her coding whisked clear across Orion City, in the mere blink of an eye. The second her silver coding swarmed the air in a lightning show of dissipation, she realigned to Turbo's teleportation pad and froze in terror she desperately kept reigned and collected.

Berri's ears rung with the clear amount of distance she had covered, and over so many different beings of Orion City. She panted and reopened her eyes, though much to her surprise, she was delighted to see that the term 'semi-private', when it came to teleportation pads, simply meant that the pad was stationed outside of an individual's front door, as opposed to a private pad, much like Tessa's and Zed's, which acted as a front door instead. Turbo's front door foyer was glistening in silent, pristine white walls and ceilings, with a gorgeous array of dark grey tiles that lead into a blank, white alcove. Although it looked like a larger bevel into the wall, as if to insinuate said alcove was an entry way, it had no door handles, no peek hole, nothing. With trembling footsteps, she eased off of the glowing teleportation pad, which was stationed a few feet to the right of the assuming doorway. She took note of her surroundings, peered hard to the wall she was certain was an entry way, and swallowed a firm gulp of now rising terror, a full understanding that this was the point of no return.

She stiffened her shoulders, inhaled a deep breath through her nose, and readied herself. She straightened out her shirt, tucked her damp hair behind her cute ears, shook her head in whole disbelief that she was about to do this, and clenched her right hand into a fist. With said fist, she sank a few, firm knocks into the center of the wall, that seemingly was Turbo's front door, and as if her heartbeat was on whole surround sound in this low-ceiling, dimly lit foyer of Turbo's, she desperately tried to hide the tremble in her veins, the tremble that nearly wanted to crawl right out of her coding and send her running home. Although the thought was now beginning to sound inviting, she felt her pupils tighten the second the large bevel of a wall gently shifted, sagged deeper into the wall, and silently slid down and into the grey tiles, revealing the man she was beginning to fear all over again.

Turbo stood in entire, unadulterated confusion; his hair was ruffled, as if he had only just previously maybe had woken up from a nap. He wore a black shirt and a comfortable pair of faded grey sweats, though his cozy appearance was eradicated by the sheer look of cold confusion plastered deep into his vividly glowing yellow eyes. Turbo huffed a stagger of a startled breath, clutched his chest with his masculine, grey hand and shook his head, as if to potentially want to feel inward agitation over the fact that a royal was budging into his personal life, essentially caught out of normal, presentable clothes and disheveled from a simple, rainy afternoon nap. He tried to collect himself as Berri bravely locked eyes with his, he shook his head a little and gave her a floored look of bewildered disbelief.

"Y-your highness?" Turbo staggered, as if he was now thinking ahead to just what in Arcade could be wrong, just what in Arcade could have her knocking on his door, of all people.

Berri long blinked in the rile of whole disbelief, as if she was absolutely beside herself that this moment was real, that she had successfully propped Turbo up between a rock and a hard place. Her beautiful blue lashes stuck together in a cute, dewy show of droplets, due to the short amount of time she was in the rain. The haunting vision of Turbo's eyes now piercing her soul in unadulterated confusion, she inhaled a trembling breath and was firmly reminded of Turbo's confident words; she knew she was the one in control of naming a time and place, for their impending reconvene, and with the roll of confidence she knew she had to bluntly fake it to make it, she asserted her dominance and kept her eyes tight to his. She uttered a conclusion to this whole mess, knowing full well this was exactly how she was going to get the answers she wanted.

"Here and now."