A New Plan for New Parents

Both Felix and Tamora had gone up against many difficult challenges before. The time when Felix's game almost went unplugged, the cy-bug apocalypse, and the time when Ralph and Vanellope almost caused another game console to go out of commission.

But none of those compared to this newfound task they've taken on when they decided to adopt all fifteen racers.

They watched as their household became a whirlwind of a mess, with some of the racers hanging from the curtains, running with scissors, jumping on the couch, and breaking everything in their path.

"Look what I've got!" One of them said, holding up one of Felix's medallion. "First one to catch me gets it!"

And started running around the apartment, passing in between the two adults as they did.

That's okay, Felix thought. I've got plenty more where that came from.

Tamora's hand rested gently on his shoulder. "Bedroom. Now."

...

"What were we thinking?" Tamora said as she paced from one corner of the room to the next. "Those things are more reckless than the cy-bugs!"

"I know." Felix wrung his hands anxiously. "We probably should've thought this through before we let them in."

Tamora sat down on the bed, running her hands through her blonde hair. "Without us, they don't got a home."

"And we can't just pawn them off on any of the others."

Felix massaged his temples and tried to think of a way to make this less hectic for the both of them. Fifteen hyperactive children with a massive sweet tooth and a hankering for racing. Trying to tame them sounded a lot easier than it actually was.

They both winced at the sounds of multiple glass things shattering and the kids screaming. Felix told himself he could fix anything they wrecked. It was his specialty, after all.

But there was only so much he could do when things kept breaking.

"We need a plan, Felix."

"I know, I know." He sighed and pressed his back against the wall. "Jiminy Christmas, I got nothing! What are we going to do now, Tammy? I haven't got any tricks up my sleeve! I don't know how to handle fifteen kids!" His hands plastered against his cheeks. "What if something happens to them? How am I going to watch over them while I'm at work?! Oh, this is too much!"

He was frantically walking back and forth and Tamora stood up and gently took him by his shoulders.

"Get ahold of yourself, soldier," She said, sternly. "Think of this as just another mission. Our goal is to survive those youngsters and teach them a few lessons along the way."

Felix nodded. "You're right. You're right, I'm sorry."

"No need for apologies." Tamora stood up straight. "We're here to be the shepherds that give some guidance to those lost little lambs."

Felix stood up straight. "That's right! Now let's get out there and do our duty!"

With that being said, both of them marched outside the bedroom door into the chaos.

...

They didn't even know where to start with these children. Half of them were now starting to draw on the walls and the other half were still as energetic as ever.

Tamora cleared her throat and whistled loudly through her thumb and index finger. That got almost everyone's attention. "Attention! Just because you all live here now doesn't mean you get to destroy everything we own! We're going to start laying down some ground rules."

She grabbed ahold of one of the kids that was running with a pair of scissors. "First off, no running in this house! And absolutely no running with scissors!"

The red-haired racer slumped to the ground and started immediately sobbing. Felix rushed over to the girl's side and tried his best to comfort her.

"Second," Tamora continued. "You kids need to be in bed by eight o'clock! No exceptions!"

All the racers groaned simultaneously.

"We never had a bedtime in Sugar Rush!" The racer with mint-green hair and a giant bow at the top of her head said.

Tamora walked up to the racer and knelt down to be eye-level with her. "No exceptions!"

The racer took a step back from the taller lady. "Y-yes, ma'am."

Felix watched with fascination that Tamora managed to not only capture their interest but also make at least several of them comply with these rules. Just seconds ago, Felix had a hard time just talking over them. Well, it made sense. Tamora commanded an army for a living.

"Now," Tamora straightened and snapped her fingers. "Hop to it! It's already past your bedtime and we've got some cleaning to do here!"

It seemed that most of the racers were too terrified to protest. Tamora grinned to herself at having successfully tamed them at least for one night. Almost all of them lined up and headed down the hall to their temporary rooms. There was just one racer who seemed to not bat an eye at the announcement that was made.

"That means you, too, Taffyta." Tamora said to her.

The candy-coated racer clad in the pink, stripey outfit rolled her eyes and stayed in her position on the couch with her arms crossed. "I don't have to go to bed."

"Yes, you do." Tamora responded, her tone stiff and her eyes narrow.

"Oh, yeah?" Taffyta stood up and walked straight up towards the taller lady and stared upwards into her eyes. "Why don't you make me?"

Felix was about to interfere, but Tamora held her hand up towards him and said very cautiously, "Listen, Taffyta, you can either walk out of that door and go back to being homeless, or stay here with us and follow these simple rules. The choice is yours."

Taffyta shifted her eyes from the taller lady to Felix, who turned his head away. After a few seconds of glaring at each other, Taffyta sighed. "Okay, fine. But only because sleeping in a bed sounds a lot better than sleeping out on the streets."

She wandered off to where the others had gone to.

Finally, Felix and Tamora both breathed a sigh of relief.

"How'd you do that?" Felix asked her.

Tamora shrugged. "It's really not that different from what I already do during the day. Gotta keep your kids in line, just like your soldiers."

They both gaped at the mess those little scamps left around the entire apartment. The windows were shattered, the curtains were torn, broken pieces of glass were scattered all over the ground. Not even Ralph could have caused this much damage in such little time.

"Well," Felix started, clutching his hammer. "Guess we'd better start fixing it all up."

Tamora sighed in pure disappointment and frustration. "Right."