A/N: I might start slowing down, from here on out until next Monday - comicon will most definitely A. wipe me clean of energy and B. take up the entirety of my free time. I'll be picking the story RIGHT back up after I get home from comicon, though! So don't fear! :D
For those of you that live in AZ and are going to Phoenix Comicon, be on the lookout for me! I'll be cosplaying, for the majority of the weekend, from WIR, Wrecking Limits and Defying Code - one day, however, I will be cosplaying Sokka with my best friend going as Katara from Avatar The Last Airbender xD So come say hi, if you happen to see us! :D
I will be keeping my Instagram updated regularly, with pictures of us from comicon - my username is Vyntastic
ArchitectDreams : Those are valid guesses! But I can't wait for you guys to see how it goes down :D Thank you!
Nikki Firesong : This is true! xD She gets a good heap of added TLC, in the next few coming chapters - you guys will all get that huge sigh of relief shortly, I promise LOL
Xaehttium : You mean 'broken' in the sense that he doesn't use his powers? He knows how to wreck and glitch, as of right now, but he doesn't know he's a User - that and he's never really been up against force fields or deleted people so he really wouldn't be able to know if he had the power of resurrection or etc. xD
Alisi Thorndyke : LOL omg that'd be so bad xD Ace would need brain bleach haha
JaySketchin : Whoa there, friend xD You won't hate them in a few chapters, I can guarantee! That's some extreme heat risin' off your review, there LOL
Retrokill : I know I can't wait either haha. You guys will definitely flip!
WildVirus : RIGHT I'd kill for Tessa's setup haha. How awesome would that be?
TwizzleCreampuff : Thank you for this! Unfortunately, the Rancis she saw in the station wasn't a hallucination - he was real :) I really appreciate your comments about character development. I sort of grow WITH these characters, so that makes the development easier on my part haha. And, don't you worry! Tessa gets to have her cake and eat it too :)
Thank you SO MUCH you guys! I LOVE reading and replying to all of your reviews :D
Song Listened To : When You Come Home by Trevor Dahl
*Chapter 38*
"I worry for Ace," Tessa's voice finally crackled above the jungles hum of vibrant life. She hugged her knees tighter to her chest, inhaled a slow breath and only tenderly attempted to peer to Nox, who sat next to her. She carried on through the rasp of her voice, something she didn't use very often, anymore, "Those fire flowers thrive in colder weather, ironically... They're likely going to die off during the summer."
"They'll regrow, right?" Nox gently wondered as the two finally honed their attention to the lonely User in the field of fire flowers far below them.
"In the Fall," Tessa quietly assured as she rested her chin atop her knees once more.
Tessa and Nox relaxed in the morning sunshine, and the only clouds that could be seen were being kept at bay by the mountain range in which they were the crown jewel of. The two sat comfortably perched on Orph's and Jax's balcony, a wide bay of loved tan tiling hugged by thin rails that were overtaken by jungle ivy and flowers. The sprawl of field below was gorgeous, a pop of orange and red, due to the fire flowers, and the starkness of Ace's dark blue hair amidst it was like candy to the eyes. Tessa squinted lightly and held onto the spot of foliage in which Ace kept his sharp attention to every single morning. Tessa began to feel nearly as desperate as Ace was, for Libby to return. Tessa knew she herself was likely the perfect fit, the only girl, excluding Lickity, to be housed amongst eight men and Royal. Her tomboy spirit and tough attitude got her far with the boys, though deep down she longed for a girl to chit-chat with, someone to enjoy the latest gossip with, to share clothes and relate to on a female level. She finally sighed and gave Nox a gentle, apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry I've been so mopey, lately," Tessa stated quietly, Nox gave her his square gaze, something in which Tessa had just finally gotten used to. Out in the sunshine, his gaze was muted, though she was certain it was even creepier than when they held a dominant glow at night.
"Naw, it's understandable," Nox croaked sleepily as he waved his hand, to assure Tessa it was no issue. He was forever dressed down in lounging, comfortable clothes, an eternal vacation, away from his old homeless life, he ate up on the daily. He chuckled, leaned back on the bench him and Tessa shared and crossed his arms; the bench lovingly croaked with his weight as a breeze whipped their hair about, lightly, "You're going through a lot, right now... Are you and Ace going to go over to West Arcade Academy, tomorrow?"
"What's tomorrow, Monday?" Tess squinted, she felt a weird wave of time-loss sweep over her. She cocked an eyebrow and came to the quick conclusion that Ace's first birthday was in less than two weeks. She sighed through the rush of information to her brain and nodded lightly, "Yeah... I'll likely get off my ass and do something with my life... Starting tomorrow."
"It's always tomorrow," Nox grumbled, the two shared a laugh.
"Y'got words out of her," Zed's calm, deep voice melted over the breeze, he stepped out onto the deck and tenderly sunk his masculine hands to the tops of Tessa's shoulders. Tessa immediately tried to hide her bashful smile as she slipped one of her hands to the top of his. He squeezed her muscles softly as him and Nox caught glances, "You guys doing okay?"
"Just great, your game is beautiful," Nox praised quietly as the three peered down to the field and to the gorgeous, swaying jungle trees out before them. He nodded once and inhaled a deep breath of the fresh air, "We were just discussing Ace's dilemma... Those fire flowers, I guess, aren't going to last through the summer."
"Well, he has nearly fifty flowers, in the kitchen, to reuse," Zed shrugged, he was shirtless; his skin glistened from the shower he just got out of, his electric blue hair was now dark, wet and messily ruffled to his scalp.
"I think it's cute how he wont give up," Tessa's voice cracked, she gently shrugged, "... I just hope he doesn't run himself into the ground."
"He'll either ease his way out of it, in acceptance that she won't come back, orrr..." Zed trailed off in attempt to find a positive, though Nox cheekily beat him to it.
"Or she'll come back?" Nox smiled, both Tessa and Zed chuckled as Nox carried on, "I'd like to meet this chick. Ace has definitely talked her up, a lot. I guess she was a lot of fun to have around."
"Ohh she was," Tessa giggled, she felt weird smiling, though any bout of happiness that came her way, she didn't question it, "She was so hyper, but the amount of smiles and laughs she got out of Ace..."
"Out of all of us," Zed concluded, Tessa lazily nodded.
"It'll be a good day for everyone, if she comes back," Tessa sighed, "All we have to do... Is wait..."
Ace breathed a slow sigh through his nose as he moseyed through the field of fire flowers, a tired draw of knowing, Libby's arrival was to never come. He shook his head and glared down at the stark, empty patch of picked flowers he had cleared in the field. A good fifty flowers missing in a single bunch in a circle of about a five foot diameter. He eyed the one single flower that was left near the center of the circle. He smirked an annoyed grimace down to it as he came half a dozen feet from the circle; he scolded it. How could it be that the patch he stood in, for these two months, was now picked clean? He sighed at all the time lost, though he began to feel defeat. He finally slumped his shoulders and made a promise to the flower in anticipated wait.
"You, my friend, will be my last flower picked," Ace grumbled as he finally began to approach it, the flower's gorgeous, hot orange petals boasted all the sunlight Dead Zed could offer. He shook his head and finally came upon the circle of bare grass he had come to know and love, "After you, I will have given up... I-I guess... Waiting out here every day wouldn't hurt. I'm just tired of destroying mom's fire flower field..."
Ace finally heaved a calming breath through his nose and assessed the beautiful flower, he wondered if it felt lucky for being the very last pick of his important duty, in which he had valiantly upheld. In an attempt to gain clarity, he threw his gaze up to the stretch of field where he'd anticipate Libby every day, though the second his eyes caught with foliage that looked a bit different, his skin prickled in frozen fear. He raised his eyebrows in hard surprise and honed his eyesight across the field. Tucked underneath the shade of the towering jungle trees, near a few climbing limbs of wild foliage, he noticed a pair of bright, eager eyes peering back. The glistening turquoise he felt familiar, though he began to feel an itch of fear sprawl his coding once said creature stood and began to slowly saunter it's way out of it's hiding spot. Ace squinted in hard confusion and felt a sudden pang of adrenaline; the jolt to run and seek safety, the instinctive rush of fight or flight soaked over him, though the second sunlight cast upon said creature, he felt as if his eyes were merely deceiving him.
"...Balba," Ace whispered in a soft draw of a question.
He remained frozen in collective excitement and wonder, as if he was certain that this could possibly be a dream and he shouldn't get his hopes up. The familiar, green-furred lykata sauntered it's graceful being out onto the sprawl of the open field, as if to test if it were safe. Once she was a dozen or so feet from Ace, her demeanor lightened and the strict hold of her wings drooped in relaxation. Her snout wrinkled as she sniffled the air for the familiarity of Ace's scent. She was a gorgeous being, a creature of the most marvelous display of green speckled feathers, her turquoise eyes were simply a mirage of the sky, intelligence beyond anyone's knowledge. Her large, wolf-like ears finally perked atop her head as she stood to full height. The collar of her chest easily came to the tops of Ace's shoulders. She wasn't quite as large as Lickity, though her body still exuded speed and power. The second her puppy-dog demeanor came back to her, and her tongue flopped out of her mouth in a content pant, Ace heaved a hiss of a laugh and grappled his hair.
"Balba!" Ace uttered loudly, which cued Balba to yip an excited bark, garner a puppy-dog stance of bending down and outstretching her front legs, to signify she wanted to play. Ace laughed an excited, incredulous laugh and began to take a few quick steps to Balba, "Girly, is that really you?!"
Balba easily bounced once on her feet, jolted to Ace and, with a rush of her flat, wagging tail, she easily overwhelmed Ace with the hugest 'hello' she could muster. She largely lapped at Ace's face and neck in a frenzy of admiration, a reunion clearly she had been wanting for a long time now. Ace wrinkled his nose and, though he dodged her large tongue running over his mouth and face with some success, he largely hugged his arms around her thick neck, grappled her fur like he used to and scratched her neck like she loved. She whined a noise of happiness and continued to smother Ace in much needed attention she knew they both wanted.
"My User, Balba, you have grown so big!" Ace's deep voice uttered in a crack of delight, he could hardly believe he was in the presence of adorable, puppy-dog Balba. She finally settled somewhat, bounced on her feet and gave Ace an equally as happy and impressed look, as if to give the same compliment right back to him. Ace wiped his cheek a little, gawked and shook his head, "You're gorgeous, Balba, I can't... I can't believe you're here!"
"She really missed you," A warm voice chimed.
Ace whirled his attention to his left in immediate surprise and froze. Stood, just outside the circle of grass, bare of fire flowers, was none-other than the one girl he had longed to see. The tall grass swayed about, encompassing the three in an alternate universe of warmth. Dressed in an adorable, white summer dress and bare feet to match her wild-child spirit, Libby's eyes glued to Ace's in a look of total adoration, a warm smile of nostalgia cloaked her entire being. She was near flawless, a woman of height who easily was only a handful of inches shorter than Ace. Her brilliant white hair kissed the backs of her knees and flit about with the hot summer breeze. She tucked her fists to her chest and, in whole, girly delight, she finally beamed Ace a wide smile of success, as if coming back to their point of origin was a feat she had been attempting to conquer for awhile now.
"Libby," Ace eased, the name float out of his mouth without any effort, though he long blinked a few times, as if to wonder if this was simply a dream.
He shook his head and clutched his chest, to somehow check if he was potentially still alive. He scoffed a laugh, though the second Libby started laughing along with him, his goofy smile broadened. He could hardly believe his eyes. Just as he was about to take a running start to hopefully welcome her into his embrace, he caught himself as his eyes glanced down at the patiently waiting fire flower before him. He scoffed a noise, as if he was caught in an untimed performance he had been rehearsing for, for weeks now. He uttered an apologetic noise, grappled the end of the flower, gingerly picked it and stood. The two caught eyes in curious knowing, though Ace gingerly held it out for her as he stood in the circle of bare grass. He patiently assessed her and could swear his heart could burst right out of his chest.
"F-for you," Ace's deep, gentlemanly voice offered.
A grateful, bashful smile finally sprawled across Libby's cheeks as she tucked her hair behind her left ear. She barely giggled, and through her sky-blue gaze straight into Ace's unsure, elated hazel eyes, she gingerly reached for the fire flower, and in the moment it finally left Ace's grip and into the hands of the one woman he had been dying to see, he felt his whole world become complete. He heaved a shaky sigh and couldn't help but beam her the happiest smile he could. He desperately attempted to restrain himself from glomming onto her and never letting go, though his heart jumped at every single noise she uttered. She scoffed a small breath of surprise, and as she gingerly buried her nose into the flower to smell it, her eyes fluttered. She finally held the flower closer to her chest and gave Ace a look as if to wonder why she hadn't pushed the limit and come back earlier.
"You waited," Libby whispered as tears gathered in her eyes, Ace shook his head and furrowed his brow.
"I promised I would," Ace stated, as if she should know that their promises were unbreakable. He shook his head again and braved a step closer to her, as if to inquire in a bit more urgency that he was nearly about to pounce on her, "I've waited every day for your return."
Libby raised her eyebrows in hard surprise and, before she could convince herself to be strong, she scoffed a sigh, shook her head and finally filled the gap. She threw her arms around Ace's neck, dove into his embrace and squeezed him as tight as she could. Ace easily grappled his strong arms around her upper back and didn't dare to let her go. He shut his eyes tight and buried his face into her shoulder. Her white hair tickled his nose and the tops of his cheeks, though he relished in it and her familiar scent, one of which he nearly forgot. He inhaled a shaky breath, gazed across the field to the point in which she had finally arrived and squeezed her tighter to his strong chest.
"Don't ever let me go back into that jungle," Libby uttered through tears, though it was at this point Ace couldn't differentiate if she was crying happy or sad tears. He immediately frowned, squeezed her tighter and glared down the jungle that took her from him.
"I won't," Ace's deep voice quietly assured. He nodded once, to seal the deal and gave the jungle a look as if to dare it to try him, once more, "I promise."
A/N: *cue squee-ing in a pitch that only dogs can hear* - I drew fanart for this chapter, on my deviantART titled 'When You Come Home'
Username - Vyntresser