Reviews :

Twizzle CreamPuff : Yes xD Poor Felix. But I'm sure the Sugar Rush crew will take the cake with the whole amount of bombs dropped haha.

Burgie : Thank you! :D

MightyNinja2000 : Yes, they do get sadder, but more grand. It'll be great :)

jonnyne : WOW Thank you so so so much! You have no idea how much that means to me, and I greatly appreciate it!I'm really glad I can keep people captivated, I always worried things may get stale, but I'm just glad people are still sticking with me. So thank you! That means the world to me!

Snake557 : Yes, Tammy stopped going - it's explained in this chapter :) Thank you!

Alisi Thorndyke : I've added your request! Thank you! :D

chuckiboo : Thank you very much! That means a lot, I'm just glad the reunions aren't getting stale. I have like... 4 or 5 more to get through, so they're no where near being completed yet xD

Kaoru-Yuki : Thank you! Yes, a lot is explained in this chapter, concerning Tammy and the like. It will be a slow process, cause now I'm adding more and more bodies to this story, so each chapter will likely have a lot of exposition for awhile, until everyone gets on the same page xD It'll be a process, but it'll be worth it! Thank you! :D

Alanshee The Guardian : Yes, Litwak actually plays a very important part in the 4th story. You are correct about that! Thank you! A lot is explained in upcoming chapters :)

ArchitectDreams : Yes! You do actually get to see the other racers of Sugar Rush, though it is a lot farther into the story, and isn't in such a way you'd hope or expect D: But it IS pretty humorous and adds some hilarious scenes. Thank you! :D

Retrokill : Aww haha. I appreciate that! And yes, Tessa and them finally get their bearings and head to the sky in the next chapter :)


*Chapter 51*

"Clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds," Royal muttered excitedly to himself, to the rhythm of his clacky footsteps to the reveal of Game Central Station's tiles.

Tessa inhaled a shaky breath and slowed to a stop outside of her father's game outlet. She held her hand to her stomach, puffed her chest and tried to seem large in the eyes of Sugar Rush's loving, yet ominous game outlet that hung across the way. She bit her lip and ogled it in it's entirety. For so long now, so many dreams and nightmares, so many flits of worrying thoughts, blips of lost information, kisses of nostalgia... She could hardly believe all of that fell to the wayside with hers and Sugar Rush's reunion, in this very moment. She could feel her heart begin to pound in all sorts of emotions, though she could tell Ace cued to her worries. He lovingly slipped his hand into hers and bent over a little, to gain eye contact.

"Y'ready?" Ace's deep, gentlemanly voice pressed as him and Royal eagerly kept their eyes to her. She inhaled a shaky breath and nodded as the two boys began to lovingly lead her across the station, to lead her home again.

"Yes, I'm ready," Tessa nodded nervously, and once they sunk into Sugar Rush's outlet, her eyes scanned the familiar, graffiti-ridden walls.

The splays of artwork and words made her heart jump harder, she felt as if the whole entire station shook under the sheer importance that was taking place. As she walked, she gave her gaze to Ace's strong hand in hers. He gripped her with confidence, and for a moment, she realized she likely should have told Ace this whole drama a long time ago. Her eyes dragged up his arm and to his face. He peered ahead, his innocently happy demeanor seemed as if absolutely nothing could shake him. She knew he got this trait from Zed; strong and stable, an unwavering force of warmth and courage. She squeezed his hand and could begin to feel her limbs shake in growing apprehension, as if seeing Sugar Rush, for everything it was, and reuniting with the kingdom she so desperately fought to keep alive, was like stepping up to a parent you have wronged. She knew she still had a long road ahead of her, though with the gentle tug of Ace's unbreakable field of love, she knew she had just the right team on her side.

As they rounded the last bend of the winding wires of Sugar Rush's game cabinet, they approached the glowing entrance to Sugar Rush, one of which she knew Ace had never seen before. She inhaled a shaky breath and felt tears immediately sting her eyes, and though she could feel Ace's hand grip hers harder for added assurance, she began to feel nearly terrified. As if she was simply stepping into the lion's den, a place that could either mean refuge or death depending on how she played her cards. Once they gained ten feet from the seemingly palpable, invisible force field, Tessa halted and peered out to Sugar Rush's glorious land; it was exactly as Ralph stated. Nothing but vast fields, mountains and valleys of snow, and as glorious and as beautiful as it was, it was stark compared to the sight she was used to. With the castle sat use to sit nestled on the pink hills, diet cola mountain off to the east, and the touch of Starkrem's northern lights that kissed the horizon; she shook her head as tears immediately streamed her cheeks.

"It's okay, mom," Ace eased tenderly, though he glanced to the beautiful, snowy yet sunny sight, "Is... Is this what Paw said it would be?"

"Yep," Tessa meeped as she slid the back of her hand to her cheek to wipe her tears. She exhaled a small huff of a cry and shut her eyes tight, "The castle... Everything's gone..."

"Well," Ace glanced to Royal, he beamed an excited smile and nodded. Ace chuckled and tenderly gripped both of his mother's hands, "Let's go find it!"

"A-Ace," Tessa worried as he began to tenderly back step and take her with him.

"C'mon mom," Ace whispered, he squinted at her lovingly and shook his head with a kind smile, "Don't you want to go home?"

Tessa raised her eyebrows softly and, as Ace continued to slowly lead her closer to the buzzing force field over Sugar Rush, she felt her heart begin to pound with purpose, the fact that the air, the breeze, the scents and everything Sugar Rush was, was trapped behind the force field, and so desperately awaited her to rejoin. Tessa hissed a soft giggle as tears streamed her cheeks, and though her eyes glanced to Sugar Rush's gorgeous, snowy landscape, she kept her eyes gripped to Ace's. She shook her head in disbelief and gave him a look of nervous terror.

"More than anything," Tessa whispered through a gentle whimper. Ace chuckled and nodded, though Tessa flinched as his back softly dipped through the force field, a miraculous act she knew she could never come to grips with, and as their skin riddled with the lovely kiss of their silver circuits, Tessa flinched as she was gently pulled through the force field.

"Well, c'mon, then," Ace eased kindly as he pulled Tessa through the field, once and for all.

Tessa flinched, and before she could protest and ask for a moment, hold her breath and force herself awake from this sweet dream, she slowly let her entire being soak in the entirety of Sugar Rush. She scrunched her shoulders and winced as the force field lightly licked her entire being before she was pulled to the other side. She reopened her eyes and fixed them to Ace's adorable, gap-toothed smile. He squeezed her hands and scoffed a small, celebratory laugh through a hiss of surprise. He shook his head and inhaled a deep breath of Sugar Rush's deliciously sweet air, though the second it reminded Tessa to do so as well, her arms and skin crawled with her silver circuits. She huffed a small breath as Ace continued to lead her deeper into the game, onto the light swirling chocolate gravel they stood on, which eventually dribbled to pink, fluffy sugar grass, an area of the entrance snow had not just yet crept to.

"We did it," Tessa hissed in a shushed tone as she finally stood up tall and let her eyes peer to her land, she could hardly believe just where she was, and though she would prefer to see Sugar Rush's glorious castle in the distance, she figured just being in the game's circuits was enough for her, for now.

"YOU did it," Ace assured as he gently let Royal into the game, and within the moment Tessa had in her own personal bubble, she shook her head again, in disbelief, and long blinked tears down her cheeks. She inhaled a slow, steady breath and gave the distance a challenging look.

"I'm home, Sugar Rush," Tessa assured quietly as Royal and Ace slowly came alongside her, to show her camaraderie, "I won't let you down, this time."

"The Queen, has returned," Ace stated with a small laugh as he gently bowed to Tessa, in a gentlemanly way. Tessa and Royal easily laughed in howls of victory as they bounced about, though Tessa shook her head and swat at Ace in a playful manner.

"Princess," Tessa giggled, "I'm not Queen."

"You're Queen to me, mom," Ace mumbled sleepily as he gave her a dorky smile; Tessa shook her head and grappled his shoulder, though after a moment of the two held in shared, loving eye contact, Tessa gently yanked him into a big hug. He choked a small laugh and grappled his arms around his mom's waist, "Thank you, baby... You... Have no clue what this means to me."

"Anything, mom," Ace grumbled as he rested the side of his head on her shoulder, though he began to slump into her, "You can repay me with allowing me to nap."

"Aw, c'mon, what about the clouds?" Royal argued as he bounced on his feet, he peered up the to delicious, pink Sugar Rush clouds that lazily hung over head in their pop of hard, sweet saturation. Ace heaved a hard sigh and peered upwards, though the clouds seemingly put his sleep schedule back even farther.

"Those DO look really good," Ace mumbled with a smirk as Royal's tail began to wag.

"C'mon, let's get into the sky," Royal urged as he bounced on his feet.

"We gotta figure out which direction to go in, first," Tessa mumbled as she gently peered about, though she heaved a disgruntled sigh, "Not even sure which way anything is... There's literally nothing, for miles."

"It never used to look like this, did it," Ace worried as the three peered about for any sign of civilization, which there was none.

"Not even close," Tessa heaved, she shook her head and gave Ace a look as if to state she was pleased, nonetheless, "I'm just happy I'm in the game. Now we can get to the bottom of this."

"Lead the way, Auntie Tess," Royal perked up as he spread his wings and insinuated he was ready for the long haul.


"PIGEONNN," Lickity barked as she suddenly hauled down the beach.

Sand lightly splayed outwards and up, her massive, agile body dart about as a massive flock of seagulls began to frantically fly away. Zed and Tammy heaved a hard bout of laughter, and were immediately thankful they were further up the beach on a small hill of grass, in which sprout from the tail end of the beach. They were a good ways away from other beach goers, Zed was thankful they had quiet privacy, so to make conversing easier.

"Lickity, they're seagulls! Not pigeons!" Zed hollered to Lickity with a hard laugh as she skid to the sand, on her belly, and attempted to capture an unfortunate seagull.

"She is so much more rambunctious than I remember," Tammy stated as she bent her knees and rested her arms up on them. She lightly turned to Zed and gave her a kind smile, "I can't imagine she gets that from Orion."

"Who knows... There's a lot about Orion no one knows, still," Zed shrugged as he sat with his legs criss-crossed. He relaxed back on his hands and gazed out to EZ Living's glorious, sunny day sky, "I'm sure Lickity is the only one who really knows all the details, what with them having shared coding now."

"I'm surprised she's not going stir crazy," Tammy inquired lightly, "Don't swap-mates have to swap like... Once a week or something? In order for the code to refresh?"

"I don't think it counts for animals," Zed shrugged, "She's never stated anything about... Missing Orion, or needing a swap or anything."

"Guess that makes sense," Tammy chuckled, and though she lightly peered out to the horizon, she furrowed her brow in contemplation, "I learned about that at Academy, last year."

"... Did you attend for the semester after, well... You guys thought we died?" Zed wondered tenderly, he gently peered to her in billowing curiosity, though he held his breath as Tammy shook her head and shut her eyes tight.

"I dropped out," Tammy uttered sorrowfully, she looked down to her bare feet and inhaled a shaky breath, "I... I couldn't carry on with my studies. It was mom's idea, really. I just quickly went with it. And I'm glad."

"Did you tell Emery and Otto?" Zed asked softly, though Tammy furrowed her brow and peered to him.

"Emery is trapped in Sugar Rush," Tammy stated, as if she was surprised Zed didn't know this information, "Didn't you notice she was missing from Dead Zed?"

"O-Oh, well yeah, we did notice she never came back... But we figured, y'know... Since she swapped with Oliver, that she was sort of on everyone's side against us, for putting Sugar Rush in danger," Zed worried, "We didn't even know Sugar Rush was in disorder."

"That's true... I... Stopped going to Academy, because not only did I lose my favorite little cousins, Tessa, Penny and Oliver... I lost my best friend Emery," Tammy uttered, "I... I wasn't close enough to Otto to really tell her what happened."

"Wow, she probably assumes everyone got wiped off the face of Arcade," Zed sorrowfully chuckled, "One day, all five of her friends just stop attending Academy? She's probably more in the dark than any of us were."

"Too true," Tammy sighed, "I just... Couldn't carry on visiting the same place everyday. I knew Tessa's, Oliver's, Emery's and Penny's class route, I knew to meet them for lunch. Just not seeing them there every day... I couldn't handle it."

"I'm sure," Zed eased sorrowfully, though as warmly as he could, he reached out and rubbed Tammy's back as her eyes began to well with tears. Tammy shook her head and peered her glassy eyes to Zed's.

"You have no idea how much I cried, over you guys," Tammy whimpered as tears finally slid down her cheeks, "When... When Uncle Ralph stated that you guys were alive and were due to visit the next day, I didn't really believe him. I couldn't. I spent this whole year believing you guys were dead. It's just... A lot to take in."

"We're all going through this roller coaster together," Zed chuckled as he continued to comfort Tammy, both friends remained close.

"And THEN the fact that you guys had a baby?" Tammy's eyes finally lit up with glee, she wiped her tears and breathed a small giggle, "What a game changer."

"You're telling us. We were not planning on having Ace," Zed's eyes bulged, "He was most definitely a surprise."

"A good one, though," Tammy inquired, though Zed scoffed and nodded. He huffed a small sigh and shook his head.

"I can't imagine life without that kid," Zed breathed with a loving smile out to the ocean, "He changed the way I view everything, the way I live... Having him, with Tessa, was one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. And through all this turmoil, I would never take that back."

"He seems sweet," Tammy smiled lovingly, "You two should be proud. I can't wait to get to know him, further. As well as all these boys you're harboring back home."

"For User's sakes, they're all dying to meet you," Zed mumbled as Tammy nudged him, he chuckled and wobbled, "Aren't you lucky. You get first pick over Penny."

"Yes," Tammy hissed as she rearranged her sitting position, "Okay. So tell me about each one. I want to know what I'm getting into."

"Welp," Zed sighed as he readjusted his sitting position as well, so to look at Tammy better, "All of them are wholly inexperienced in the romance department, so you'll have to forgive them."

"Eh, not much better than me," Tammy waved her hands.

"It all depends on what kind of guy you like," Zed shrugged, "All of them are so different."

"Hmm," Tammy fingered her lip and looked up, "I like confidence, smarts, humor..."

"Well, so far you've narrowed it down to two dudes, and that'd be Jax and... Dare I say, Orph," Zed stuttered through a laugh, "Finn can be pretty funny, sometimes, but he's very quiet..."

"Quiet as in dark and mysterious or... Aloof?" Tammy inquired softly as she side-eyed Zed, her face turned a delightful shade of pink.

"Eh... Quiet as in awkward," Zed sheepishly stated, though Tammy slumped her shoulders and gave him a wide smile, "He claims he knows a lot about the ladies. Twenty bucks he flubs the second you walk in the door."

"When can I meet these guys? I want to see this all for myself," Tammy wondered with a widening smile.

"Well, I guess it's safe to assume you can tonight, once Tessa comes back, and we all can go back to Dead Zed after game day," Zed carried on with kind eyes, "There's... Also a certain someone we've been harboring in the castle... Someone you guys may not like at first. Ralph met him last night."

"Nox?" Tammy inquired in an unsure manner, Zed nodded and raised his eyebrows in a dull way, "Uncle Ralph told us... TurboTwin survivor number one, I suppose. He also said that Ace has a little girlfriend?"

"Libby," Zed beamed a wide smile and shook his head, "They're not official. They sort of grew up together, and it's painfully obvious they like each other, but... Libby sort of has had a very weird past. It'll be a bit of a bumpy road for the two, but I'm sure it'll pan out eventually."

"How so?" Tammy wondered gently, though Zed inhaled deeply.

"Well.. Long story short, she is a native to one of the many illusive Dead Zed tribes. She would visit us every day, and sneak back into the jungle after game day was over, to go back home, her and her wolf creature, Balba," Zed explained patiently, Tammy glued her eyes to his as he continued, "I... I guess, one day, when Ace was around eight months old, she came back one last time and said she was forbidden to be with us every day, because she was to be wed by their chief's second born son."

"Wow... So she's married?" Tammy gawked, "Poor Ace, where's Libby's husband?"

"She's not married, she ran away from home the day before her wedding because... Well..." Zed trailed off and nervously rubbed the back of his head. He lightly eyed Tammy and frowned, "Her future husband raped her."

"What?" Tammy hissed in hard surprise as she gawked, "Oh, don't get ME within a five mile radius of this dude, I'll have his head!"

"You and all of us, as well," Zed choked with a wide smile, "She's fortunate she still has her original coding. We almost WANT this guy to show up, so we can hand him his ass."

"Poor Libby," Tammy worried with a frown, "Is... She doing okay?"

"This actually happened a few days ago, and she's living with us, now," Zed slyly smiled, as did Tammy.

"Much to Ace's liking, I'm sure," Tammy giggled, Zed nodded and rolled his eyes.

"But... Ace doesn't know what happened to Libby. Only reason I know is because Libby told Tessa," Zed heaved quietly as he looked down to the soft white sand before them, "Tessa is likely going to tell Ace, while they're in Sugar Rush today."

"He's going to be pissed," Tammy muttered, Zed cocked an eyebrow.

"Hope Tessa's prepared for that shit-show of a wrecking storm," Zed eased through the clench of his teeth.