Reviews :

Snake557 : Aww, I feel the same way! SUPER nostalgic for me as well :D Thanks friend!

faolan1230 : LMAO Ralph's back and lazier than ever! xD

Lyssdoodle : ME TOO SQUEE

Burgie : I agree :D I love further developing them. It's been a loooong time.


Song Listened To :

Now Use the Light, We Want to See by Gareth Coker


*Chapter 5*

Given the go-ahead from her second born, Vanellope's tender footsteps pressed to Oliver's and Emery's adorable abode on palace grounds. With Sugar Rush's warm evening easily creeping its way well beyond dinner time, she was thrilled to get a cute little invitation from Oliver to visit his home for a dessert Emery had put together. Oblivious to the fact that this could be a mild setup, her casual canvas shoes pressed to Oliver's teleportation pad, on the swooping stoop of his front porch area, and was briskly swept away in the form of purple pixels. Upon collection, she reopened her eyes to see Oliver's dimly lit front entry way corridor. With the wall to her right beautifully painted a darker teal and clad with all sorts of family photos, the wall to her left was entirely glass and looked out to the beautiful trees and a glimpse of the palace lot's field of grass, a nestle of perfection the lot of them were tucked into. Upon taking off her shoes, she pushed deeper into Oliver's cozy home and prepared to softly swing about the edge of the corridor, which first lead into his and Emery's open airy kitchen and living space.

"I smell something good, whatcha makin', Ems?" Vanellope tout cutely, and though she knew she had been given the go-ahead to enter Oliver's home unannounced, for this lovely meetup, Vanellope's pupils tightened at the dainty sight in Oliver's kitchen. Stood lazily leaned against his massive, lovely kitchen island, were each of her children, and in the toss of their kind, sheepish and concerned smiles, Vanellope's feet scuffed to a cute stop as she lit up in pure joy, "... OH! You didn't tell me this was a whole nuclear family hangout, I would've had Ralph join, guys."

"Hey, mom," Tessa chimed warmly, she wore a lazy, faded yellow t-shirt and white-washed skinny jeans, she gingerly lofted her mass of lovely dark hair over her shoulder and sagged into her mother's arms upon Vanellope's curious, meandering figure that finally came within arms reach.

"Y'guys look so down-trot, am I missing something?" Vanellope cutely giggled and lovingly wrapped her arms about Tessa's shoulders, to which Koko cutely joined in on said group hug, and though Oliver was keen on joining, he finished washing his hands at the sink and shrugged his large shoulders.

"Sorry, mom... I initially told you the company would just be Emery and I, but... I invited my sisters over," Oliver started as Vanellope cutely wrangled Tessa and Koko into a hug. Oliver inhaled a deep breath, dried his hands and lovingly smiled into Vanellope's eyes, "How's your night going, so far?"

"Oh, y'know, the usual," Vanellope stated through a soft sigh as she collectively released Koko and Tessa in unison, to which they eased off of her and returned to their casual leans or crossed arms. Vanellope stood at the corner of the island, before her three children, and though Emery was present in their home, she kindly gave the four space; although she was technically family, and family matters pertained to her, she was aware this subject was touchy and only made herself present in the kitchen to check up on the goodies in the oven. Vanellope straightened out her loose tank top and now almost nervously looked between her three adult children, "Your father is obsessed with his show, and... I've actually been working on a new painting, believe it or not."

"What is it of this time?" Koko kindly wondered, Tessa's eyes lit up.

"Diet Cola Mountain," Vanellope guffawed, all three of her children softly erupted into playfully annoyed notions as Vanellope giggled and waved her hands, "It looks pretty on the horizon, I thought I'd emulate it."

"Surely dad loves it, so far, can we come see it soon?" Tessa wondered sweetly, to which Vanellope hesitated a bit of a shaky inhale and looked off in concealed sorrow.

"Sure, babes, you know our door is always open," Vanellope stated in great warmth, and though Tessa and Koko knew a bit of what was up between their mother and father, Tessa and Koko's gentle eyes trailed to Oliver's, as if to ask him for prying help. Although he wasn't necessarily the muscle of any argument, due to his soft-natured disposition, they eagerly leaned on him to spearhead this due to his sharp intuition, inklings of trouble he had properly sniffed out alongside Tessa's and Zed's help.

"Mom, we're... Really worried about you and dad," Oliver stated in a slump of tenderness, to which all three women kept their eyes tight to Oliver. His broad chest inhaled a trembling breath, and though he tread lightly and handled the situation with grace, it was clear he didn't want to make Vanellope feel cornered over this topic, "You just... Were giving off a weird vibe earlier, and, to be honest, I haven't even SEEN dad in about a week or two. Are you guys okay?"

"We're okay, bud, nothing to worry about," Vanellope stated with laced, lovely charm, and though her facade of easiness was very convincing, she dragged her eye's through Koko's and straight to Tessa's. Tessa's sharp gaze held a world of concern, frozen suspicion, and though Vanellope was well aware Tessa had likely gotten a very real amount of information from Zed, Vanellope sagged her shoulders and was further aware that she couldn't get anything past her own successor. Vanellope lazily looked off and heaved a raspy sigh, "We're... Fine. Just a bit of a rough patch."

"You guys aren't gunna divorce, are you?" Koko staggered in solid worry, to which Vanellope wildly furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head.

"No, no, you guys, absolutely not," Vanellope begged gently, the sincerity in her tone was genuine, and though this only eased them briefly, Vanellope could see all three of her children silently shoot each other whole looks of rising dread and nervousness, silent conversation all three siblings had likely gushed to each other about, "We're just... I don't know, you guys, your dad is in a funk, and I really don't know how to get him out of it."

"You've tried talking to him?" Tessa pressed, the concern in her twinkling, hazel eyes was heart-melting.

"Surely," Oliver added tenderly, Vanellope shrugged and leaned the side of her hip against Oliver's island counter.

"Y'guys, it's much easier said than done," Vanellope eased a long, hot sigh of regret. She shrugged and shook her head, "I... Hate to make any of you stand in the spotlight, but... I genuinely think he's still torn up about our huge separation, all that time ago. All the time lost with Koko."

"That's some of what Zed has been telling me," Tessa mumbled in gentle knowing as everyone dragged their warm gazes to Koko, who stood prickled in the new information.

"Should I talk to dad?" Koko wondered in dumbfounded concern as she rested her fingers on her bare collar bone, "I-I mean... We've discussed the total lack of him in my childhood, but... There's really nothing any of us can do about that."

"He can't possibly just be aloof and moody over THAT," Oliver grumbled as he crossed his arms, Koko eyed her mother in gentle concern.

"Mom... Nox and I start to bicker and things get tense if we go more than a week without swapping codes," Koko gingerly cautioned, to which Vanellope sorrowfully looked down to her little hands on Oliver's island, "It's... Probably been far too long, for you and dad... Hasn't it."

"It's been almost two months," Vanellope stated sadly, to which Tessa inhaled a thick breath of remorse through her nose and held her forehead.

"Yikes, mom," Tessa muttered as she eyed Vanellope in hot regret.

"It's a known thing, mom, going too long without that refill... We saw first hand what it did to Turbo," Oliver mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head, though Vanellope stiffened with purpose.

"Well, how the hell am I supposed to even GET him to that point, if we're on our way to being too far gone?" Vanellope now loudly prod, causing the three of her children to freeze and peer to their mother in cold concern, "If we're just bickering and upset at each other and nothing can help it but a code swap, how the hell am I supposed to turn the tables and make it so the deed finally gets done? How do you guys succumb to vulnerable, loving feelings and give in to the act of it all WHILE in the midst of feuding?"

"I just remind Zed of his future son in law," Tessa muttered as she cocked an eyebrow and shot Oliver and Koko a little hint of a devious smile, "Seeing Turbo go down the route of trapped coding, for thirty years, I mean, shit... Zed shapes up real quick, and we get stuff done."

"He's good about staying on top of issues, though... Dad's used to being neglected, his past consisted of him not really having a say, or a role," Oliver shrugged, "When Emery and I get to that point, it takes both of us to set pride aside and get that swap in as fast as possible. It's really only after a week, or two, does it start to mildly affect us."

"Nox can get pretty bitey, all four of those Turbotime men have that edge," Koko cautioned with a soft giggle, "But... I think the unanimous, resounding common ground all three of us have, here, is... We have partners that are super willing to participate and contribute to communication."

"Dad's, well..." Tessa grit her teeth and peered to her mother in soft nervousness, "A bit more brooding and stubborn."

"Sounds a lot like someone else we all know," Emery's gentle, loving voice pierced the conversation at an angle, and as all four pairs of eyes landed to her, they softened as she gingerly approached the kitchen island. Although they were curious as to just who she could be talking about, Oliver finally looked off, cutely rolled his eyes and tried not to smile, to which Emery sweetly held her hand up and out towards her husband, "Introducing a Mr. Oliver Trey Von Schweetz, y'guys. The broodiest, moodiest dude in Ralph's whole lineage."

"You DO resemble dad, in the ways of hiding away and not opening up to the safe places, in your life, about your problems, Olly," Tessa mumbled cutely, to which Oliver sneakily eyed Emery, as if to playfully be irritated over the fact that she was calling him out.

"It's true, Olly, remember our fight last year?" Koko added with a sneaky smile, to which her and Tessa erupted into soft laughter as Oliver began to grumble something incoherent.

"I guess the difference is..." Vanellope sadly looked down at her hands and finally peered into Emery's vivid, lovely eyes, "You know how to quickly get on top of it. I sort of... Let Ralph fall through the cracks."

"Mom, it's not your fault," Tessa cooed sorrowfully, Koko and Emery eagerly shook their heads in agreeing to Tessa's words.

"I may be LIKE dad, but dad is definitely his own person," Oliver assured, though everyone eagerly honed their eyes to Emery.

"Ems, when Oliver falls into these moods, how do you get him out of it?" Tessa inquired tenderly, to which Emery beamed a bashful smile down to her hands and erupted in cute giggling as Oliver covered his face and groaned aloud to the room. Tessa rubbed her temples and cutely eyed her mother as she added one last notion, "In... As little detail as possible."

"Well, while a good portion of my convincing is private and speeds along the process of obtaining a code swap," Emery shrugged, her face turned red alongside a sweet smile, though she continued on in all seriousness as she hooked eyes with her mother-in-law, "The biggest thing I do is give him a safe space. I take note of how I've been speaking to him, how often I've lifted him up and made him feel as if he has purpose in mine and Theo's lives."

"Stroke his ego, for lack of better words," Koko mumbled cutely, her and Emery shared a nod and a giggle, as if to assure Emery that she potentially had the same issue with Nox.

"I give him purpose, I make clear that efforts are appreciated," Emery stated through the sighing tail-end of her's and Koko's giggling, "He finds fulfilling tasks, things we both can do together that either strengthen the bond inside our little family unit, or between him and I. He'll pick a place for me, him and Theo to go out to eat, we'll... Make a big decision within our home that falls on his shoulders, I'll make clear that whatever he has done, whether big or small, is worthy of praise and is valued."

"If dad's anything like me, mom, nagging and pestering will chase us away fast," Oliver tenderly cautioned, to which Vanellope rolled her eyes and looked off in annoyance towards no one but herself.

"Shot myself in the foot already," Vanellope muttered, though she animated with life once more and peered to her children, "Today went well though! I asked if he could show me how to polish my ring, and he said he would after his show was over... He left the house trashed, but I didn't speak on it. He cut his show off early and found me downstairs."

"Did he show you how to polish your ring?" Tessa inquired hopefully, to which Vanellope eagerly nodded and showed her four children her glistening, beautiful wedding ring.

"Yeah! We like... Had a moment, too," Vanellope stated with a twinge of hope, she frowned and shook her head, "Guys, when I went to Vidrix today, to get your aunt Taffyta those candies she wanted, the guy at the candy story gave me his number..."

"Don't tell dad," Koko muttered.

"Too late," Vanellope grunted, all four beings bugged their eyes.

"UH, how did he take THAT?" Emery barked with a sharp giggle.

"I'd be livid at the dude," Oliver pressed in smiling irritation, to which Vanellope sighed with a smile and looked down to her ring.

"Yeah, your father was, too. He seemed irritated... Not at me, but," Vanellope's smile sagged to a frown as she lovingly peered to her children, "Y'guys, I just... Don't want to let any of you down. I know your father and I will be okay, I just really worry that he's... Maybe he's..."

"Mom, dad LOVES you, he ADORES you," Tessa begged softly as she shook her head, "We all see it, clear as day, there's always that bond and that love. I know right now it's clouded by hurt that needs to be unearthed, but... I truly think you need to just keep doing what you're doing, it obviously is moving things along."

"Give him tasks, like what you did today," Emery chimed as she crossed her arms, "It's clear he needs purpose. Now that he's not King, now that his children are all grown and doing their own thing, getting married and having babies, maybe it's time for you two to invest in something new."

"Another baby?" Tessa's eyes lit up with hot glee, to which Vanellope sharply furrowed her brow and rested her hand to Tessa's shoulder.

"I swear to User, if you tamper with mine or your father's firewalls, I will delete you," Vanellope playfully threatened, to which the group erupted into cute laughter.

"Oh, c'mon, mom... Maybe all dad needs is another little baby to hold," Oliver shrugged, though Koko gave him a look of caution.

"Well, Ol, I think... He's grieving over the fact that he couldn't hold ME as a baby," Koko gestured to herself, to which Oliver sagged his shoulders in defeat and bobbed a sorrowful nod, "I don't think putting a brand new baby in his arms is going to fix the problem."

"It'd put a band-aid on a gaping wound," Emery warned with a shrug, "Having another baby would probably make these issues a lot worse. Take it one day at a time, mom... Keep up this trend of easing off of the pestering and nagging. It is, after all, little messes that can easily be fixed."

"What I've learned, mom... Sometimes marriage sways out of the fifty-fifty ratio," Tessa eased in an apologetic tone, "Sometimes there are seasons where it's ninety-ten, or even one hundred-zero. It all ebbs and flows, you just can't give up. Dad vowed his life to you, and you for him. Methinks you should try and butter him up, get him to spill about his troubles that revolve around Koko and that loss that's in his heart."

"I can't IMAGINE being in dad's spot, mom," Oliver rested his hand to his chest and narrowed his soft, honey-brown gaze for emphasis, "If Emery had Theo and I had absolutely no part in Theo's childhood? I couldn't hold my own child due to wicked separation I had no control over? Yeah, I'd drown in my sorrows. I'd drown."

"Dad's probably doing everything to keep his head above water," Koko mumbled softly, all four beings held their sorrowful, apologetic eyes tight to Vanellope's, "Sure, I'm here, and now we can sort of make up for lost time, but... I'll never be a little child, or a baby, ever again. Surely dad is miserable over that fact."

"It's absolutely something he can grieve and move past, but," Tessa shrugged and glossed her eyes about the group before she brought her sweet, hazel eyes tight to her mother's, "Surely you've spoken to Turbo about core coding, yeah? Accessing your core coding isn't only just for sex, mom. Any one of those stressors gets blocked and it can wreak havoc on the coding in your brain."

"I can almost guarantee dad's stressors are like... So clogged it's not even funny," Oliver eased in hot regret, to which Vanellope inhaled a shaky breath and nodded.

"Ralph and I started delving into it when Turbo first added the information to Sugar Rush's code room, but, we kinda dropped the ball," Vanellope frowned, she eyed Tessa in gentle concern and shook her head, "I don't know... Should I reach out to Turbo for more help?"

"Mom, absolutely," Tessa quietly begged, "Zed reached out to Turbo the other day for more stressor help. There's no shame in asking for help, especially if your marriage is on the line... Please, please do this... If not for us, then for dad."

"You know Turbo doesn't judge, NOR does he blab," Oliver bobbed a nod, he shyly eyed Emery, "After he corrected a few of Theo's hardcore problems, Emery and I immediately messaged him."

"I know first hand, I have an in to the Black family's code stream," Koko mumbled in soft humility as she bobbed a nod and gave her mother a soft smile, "Turbo's extremely intuitive in that realm, and I guarantee he can help you and dad out of this issue."

"There's no way I can convince Ralph to come with, to meet up with Turbo," Vanellope garbled in smiling irritation, to which Tessa shrugged and shook her head with a furrowed look of nonchalance.

"Dad doesn't have to go with, Zed and I go to Turbo separately all the time," Tessa pressed, "He's the palace's code psychologist, at this point. He's genius at what he does. He'll run a billion scans on you and figure out YOUR problem, and though dad won't be there to get scanned or physically and immediately helped, Turbo will surely be able to send you off with information on how to move forward."

"The men high up in the hierarchy have their own specialties," Oliver stated with smiling, sweet humility, "Zed's the dominant backbone, he keeps all of us in line, behavioral wise, and Turbo is like the coded nervous system that knows all of the ins and outs."

"Uncle Rancis is the brains of the operation," Tessa mumbled cutely.

"With Wren tight in tow," Koko added sweetly, Emery crossed her arms and gave Vanellope a lovely smile.

"Wanna know who the heart is?" Emery chimed warmly, and though Vanellope concealed a shy smile and looked down to her hands, Emery lovingly filled the air with the obvious answer, "It's Ralph... You can gain all of that warmth back. Just get the other parts of this operation in on it."

"Zed's been doing tough work behind the scenes," Tessa stated to Vanellope in sly, smiling warmth, "We need Rancis to come in with a proper amount of guy-time dad is lacking, and... We need Turbo to finish it all off with his insane smarts on everything core-coding related."

"Am I just supposed to sit back and hope for the best?" Vanellope worried, Oliver shook his head and smiled.

"Go to Turbo, get yourself in working order first," Oliver warmly concluded, "You can't save someone from drowning if you, yourself, are also drowning."

"Get yourself to a good spot first, talk to Turbo," Tessa urged as she lovingly held her mother's hand in hers, "He won't turn you away. Sure, he has a game day now, but he's aware his priority is to Sugar Rush and all of its people."

"You're our previous Queen, Vanellope," Emery reminded delicately, "Sure, Tessa and Zed are in charge and ultimately have our allegiance and utmost respect, but... You're Sugar Rush's predecessor. I guarantee Turbo will drop everything he's doing to help."

"Leave dad alone for a little bit, get yourself in tip top shape," Oliver added with a smile, "I will warn you, though... Turbo's core coding sessions are not anything to take lightly."

"What do you mean?" Vanellope tenderly worried as her eyes dart between all four beings before her.

"Just... Be prepared," Tessa grit her teeth in soft caution, "You don't realize just how much garbage you're harboring until it's all abruptly unearthed."

"Damn, well," Vanellope huffed a sigh and now felt nervousness sweep her, and though she was well aware she'd come out the other end of this in one piece, she glossed her apprehensive gaze about the group and meeped a conclusory quip of sarcasm, "Wish me luck, then, I guess."


A/N : Alright guys, I have a confession. And I'm nervous to talk about this, but I guess I'll do it anyway.

For awhile now, I've been procuring spin-off smuts of crack ships from this saga. I'm not going to list them, due to the possibility of weirding out my loyal readers, but when I say crack ships, I mean crack ships. I've written 5k+ worded one offs of a few crack ships now, ones I've always wanted to indulge in but obviously didn't cause the ship is not canon to the story. I was curious, if I uploaded a 'new story' and labelled the chapters of the crack couple it contained, would anyone be interested in these single and sometimes double-chaptered AU's? It keeps with the continuity of the story, as well as the canon-like qualities of the characters, the pairings just aren't canon to this saga and are more in the vein of being forbidden and secretive, which... Are INCREDIBLY fun to write, I've discovered.

This isn't something I'd subject to my readers, here in this vein of the saga. I'd upload it as a new, labelled story and just add to it as I went. I've been considering doing this, and the only reason I'm even so much as saying something now is because I've had a few other readers/friends agree with certain other crack ships I've indulged in and wondered if others would be interested. If you're not interested, don't worry, it's not canon and you don't need to make clear you're not interested cause I've assumed, thus far, that no one WOULD be interested.

This also gives people a chance to read my way more mature stuff - my sex scenes are littered throughout my saga and are far and few in between, but this 'new story' would strictly be sex scenes. AKA I'm a huge pervert and I'd like to make it more apparent lmao

But, if you are interested, let me know, cause the more people that take interest, the more likely I'll upload them. Thanks for understanding guys! I hope you're enjoying everything so far!

OH ALSO. I've been considering rewriting Wrecking Limits so that it's up to par with my writing now. Would anyone be interested in that as well? Lemme know :D