Reviews :

Firesong-Writes : Aww, thank you so much! I'm really glad my characters can reach people beyond me. That's definitely my intention, so I'm really happy you feel that way. Yeah, I always say this with my new babes, but Gideon is definitely turning out to be my fave as well. His story gets rough, for sure.

Burgie : I agree :(

Lyssdoodle : Oh I agree, I wish I had this when I was a kid.


*Chapter 42*

"User, you should've SEEN it, Finch!" Gideon hissed in solid excitement; having come home, indulged to his parents and was eventually put to bed, he easily waded through his comfortable lucid dreams with his imaginary friend. Lost in a sunny field of green grass and nothing more, him and Finch happily strolled. Gideon pressed on, he gestured his hands outward, not truly noticing that he was his fully realized self, his deep, husky voice carried on, "It was like... This HUGE city for miles and miles. It was so cool."

"Could you replicate it?" Finch wondered; standing a few feet tall, tailing Gideon's powerful, bigger stride, Gideon had envisioned a proper golden-brown fox, his namesake. Crowned with gold fluff, beautiful dark stockings, and haunting golden eyes, Finch was always down for a riveting conversation, a romp in the grass, a stroll through Gideon's incredible imagination. His huge fox ears perked in riled excitement as he took a bit of a zestier trot to keep up with Gideon, "Surely it'd be easy, no?"

"Potentially, but... It WAS a lot," Gideon mumbled as he rubbed his stubbly, chiseled jaw and chin, he furrowed his thick brow and looked off as his feet came to a gentle stop. Finch also trot to a stop and peered up to Gideon in warm, baited wait as both beings locked eyes, "It was the coolest thing ever... I just wish I could actually GO there, y'know? I wish there was a place I could imagine and it'd just... BE there."

"You mean like in the real world?" Finch questioned; having become a permanent fixture in Gideon's heart and mind, Finch was well aware he was merely a figment of Gideon's imagination, Finch being somehow okay with this notion.

"Yeah, like... I could leave Sugar Rush and step into it, and have it be real," Gideon rubbed his chin and furrowed his brow, "I think this field needs a sandy ocean side, or something."

"Ooo, the beach!" Finch hissed in excitement as Gideon inhaled a deep, readied breath and expanded his hands; with pure ease of Gideon's lucid dream, the sky warped with vivid pops of blue, and with a kiss of perfect imagination, Gideon dreamt up the perfect scenery of crystal blue waters on white sands, just at the edge of the luscious field they stood in. Finch perked up, took a running dive for the sand and grinned with all of his fangs, "WOOHOO! This is the best!"

"I've only ever been to the beach once," Gideon chuckled, he firmly stepped into the hot, pillowy sand and relished in the cool ocean breeze that kissed his cheeks. He inhaled a deep breath of excited revival, though he furrowed his brows and glossed his eyes down the sandy beach in continuous creativity, "You know what this beach needs?"

"What?" Finch garbled a noise as a wave of crystal clear water plowed into his side. He barked a hard laugh and tried to catch his footing on all four paws.

"A mysterious light house," Gideon hissed in excitement; all at once, just near the edge of the grass, a gorgeous, though rickety and enchanting lighthouse cropped up. He grinned in eagerness and began to power over to it, Finch's paws heavily trailed the sand behind him, "One we can explore and claim! C'mon, Finch."

"W-well, it looks kind of ominous, you sure you haven't imagined anything living inside?" Finch's little voice warbled, to which Gideon furrowed his eyebrows in mild frustration and realized just what was setting in; deep sleep.

"Dammit," Gideon's deep voice grunted, he tried to smile in Finch's direction as the world began to grow sleepily dark, a cozy cocoon of warmth that eventually halted his lucid fun, every night. Gideon sagged his shoulders and shook his head as he realized his true, sleeping form, buried cozily in his bedroom, was now falling deeper into slumber, thus eradicating the easy flow of REM sleep, "I'll see you tomorrow, Finch. Guess it's legitimately time for bed..."

"Sleep well," Finch chimed cutely as he sat on his hind legs, the sand, ocean, grass and sunny sky began to evaporate, and with all of this easy slipping of reality, Gideon officially powered down for proper rest to be had.


"Alright, we need to talk," Tessa mumbled in mild, smiling exhaustion.

With all the ease in Arcade, Tessa carefully lifted her arm and hand in the gentle act of splaying a sound proof silver dome over her mother's and father's living room, encompassing all three beings inside of it. With a huff, Tessa plopped down on their massive sectional couch, across from Ralph and Vanellope, so to easily converse. Tessa exhaled a tired sigh and removed her zip up, further proving to her parents that she was due to getting comfortable and staying, thus the sheer amount currently on her chest.

"What's up?" Ralph grunted with a nod as him and Vanellope finally eased from fidgeting and settling in their spots, they honed their eyes to their eldest, the Queen of Sugar Rush.

"Guys, I'm not sure exactly just how much you know about Gideon, in the way of his powers," Tessa pressed gently as she scoot to sit on the edge of her side of the sectional. She rested her elbows on her knees and peered to her parents in a downswing of near-dread, though it could've read as billowing excitement, "Has Gideon told you two anything, pertaining to his glitching abilities?"

"We've just recently discovered that he has a bit of a manifestation power," Vanellope nervously mumbled, though the smile on the edge of her mouth assured to Tessa that both of her parents were excited about this notion, though were too afraid to explode it out of proportion in fear of giving Gideon a big head. Vanellope glanced into Ralph's eyes before gently revisiting Tessa's, "He was painting last night, and... He somehow was able to create paint from his coding."

"Your mother also visits him in lucid states, whilst he's on his way to sleep," Ralph added, to which they both flinched as Tessa stiffened as if she had struck gold.

"OKAY! Good, okay, so you know that you visit some strange state and he's like... A FULLY grown adult, right?" Tessa rushed, "You and Berri experienced this, as well, when he was just a loading bar."

"Yeah, it's something he kind of has to invite you in to, he's pretty selective about it," Vanellope and Ralph caught eyes, once more, "It's usually only me he'll let in, but he's welcomed Ralph to it a few times."

"Weird seeing him fully grown, like such," Ralph scoffed a small laugh and smiled with his eyes, the amount of pride dripping from his demeanor was palpable.

"He took me to it while we were flying, both him AND Novus were... HUGE?" Tessa gripped the side of her head and scoffed a shaky little laugh, "I-I guess I didn't really believe Berri when she told me Gideon was a fully realized adult, in that state, he's so tall!"

"Don't tell Koko she's still the shortest, 'round here," Ralph grumbled cutely, to which Tessa looked off in irritation.

"You really thought another one of your sons would be shorter than Koko?" Vanellope huffed a giggle and shook her head, "Little five-foot-nothing Koko?"

"Guys, I'm telling you, whatever is going on inside his head, whatever ability he has, it is... A LIVE-WIRE of either heaven, or hell," Tessa urged, though she was delicate with her caution; nonetheless, Ralph and Vanellope both donned nervous, dewy looks.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Ralph worried, Tessa shook her head.

"Look, I don't know a whole lot about the coded brain's psyche, I only really have a grip on the circuits and what that means for the coded body," Tessa gestured to her sternum and shook her head with a huff of a shaky chuckle of riled disbelief, "Guys, the sheer, otherworldly fantasy he took me on tonight? He made the sun shine in the middle of the night, cities... CAME DOWN from the sky, I mean, there was marine life in the clouds, Novus's wings bled color and stardust, there's just... I can't even begin to describe it."

"Wait, he like... Took you on this adventure and he was awake?" Vanellope prod with a sting of new information as she sat up a little, "H-he only really ever shows me that side of his coding when he's on his way to falling asleep."

"I don't know, something about flying and having all that SKY to just imagine shit inside of it, must've awoken something in his mind," Tessa shook her head; having put on a good show of nonchalance after her and Gideon got home, the second Gideon was put to bed was the second she let her true emotions out, something Ralph and Vanellope were secretly stunned by, "Guys, it's... It's like teetering on the edge of a nightmare, don't you ever feel that way?"

"Yeah, it's heavy standing in his gravity, while he's in that imaginative state," Vanelope muttered nervously, "It's like... Things could turn sour at a moment's notice, it's weird being in an entire environment simply being controlled by someone else."

"A moody, unpredictable adolescent, no less," Ralph added nervously.

"We need to make sure his powers are safe with us, we HAVE to make a safe space for him," Tessa urged gently, "We need to cater to this, in goodness. He's expressed to me, a few times, that said imaginative place is his escape, he's lonely on palace grounds."

"Yeah, Callum..." Ralph started, though he finished his statement with a heavy, raspy sigh instead.

"It's not Callum's fault he's maturing into an adult and is interested in other things," Tessa urged gently as she shook her head, "Gideon... Probably deserves Callum's attention, at the very least, the guy could afford to toss a smile Gideon's way, but... We need to put Gideon somewhere where he has friends, and doesn't feel like he has to escape elsewhere to feel happy. I don't think letting his exterior environment rot is going to do any good for his interior environment."

"If the flower doesn't bloom, you change the environment, not the flower," Ralph mumbled in warm understanding to Tessa's words.

"It difficult because Pre-Academy doesn't start until the eight month mark," Vanellope worried as she shook her head, "You know this... Unless there's a way we can enroll him early?"

"... I can probably pull some strings," Tessa mumbled as she fingered her lip in contemplation, "He'd be two whole months behind on those kids, though. That's equivalent to nearly five mental years. He'd be thrown right in with other big kids and feel like even MORE of an outcast."

"Y'think we can squeeze him in at seven months?" Ralph wondered as he peered to Tessa in gentle nervousness, Tessa wove her bigger hand through the mess of her mane, flopped it to the other side of her scalp and sagged in sighing exhaustion.

"That would probably be our best bet," Tessa assured with a nod, "I'll have a talk Mr. Favor and the rest of the board under him. He just recently hired a brand new guidance counselor, I guess he comes highly recommended. Maybe Gideon can be shadowed, like an extra cushion, just in case his younger age calls for negative attention."

"Well, what would be better? Risking bullies but hanging out with kids his age, or lonely, repetitive playdates with Novus every single day until he's eight months?" Vanellope worried.

"Each batch of babies have always had another branch of kin close to their age, born here on the palace lot," Ralph grumbled sorrowfully as he gestured to Tessa, "You, Penny and Oliver had each other, Berri, Theo, Wren, Mara and Beaux all had each other, Ace had Libby... Koko had Oliver, granted Koko's situation was a little bit more dire and rode on survival."

"Callum had Gideon, but..." Vanellope staggered with the onset of tears she forced away, "Gideon has..."

"Next to no one," Tessa huffed sorrowfully, Vanellope looked down to her hands and furrowed her brow in the hugest attempt not to cry, "Novus is great company, but he has his own pack of family he's involved with. It's not twenty four seven that Novus can be around."

"It's okay, babe," Ralph's deep voice warmly ushered as Vanellope nodded and wiped her face quickly.

"Yeah, mom, I'll... I'll have a good chat with Mr. Favor tomorrow," Tessa gingerly urged, "Surely Gideon can squeeze into Pre-Academy when he's seven. That IS, after all, in less than a month."

"He'll be just fine until then," Ralph cooed warmly, "We got Oliver's birthday party coming up this weekend, Lash's soft-opening for his and Mara's confectionary, there's lots happening that'll distract him and bring about good memories with the family. Don't you worry."

"I just want him to feel that proper sense of belonging you all felt," Vanellope now visibly cried, though she remained collected, "I, too, was once an outcast... There is nothing worse than loneliness..."

Ralph and Tessa fell silent with Vanellope's gentle, sorrowful insinuation. The firm reminder that, for years of Lash's tirade as King Candy, Vanellope lived alone and had zero friends or family. Tessa looked off and now did what she could to keep the billow of tears inside her eyes, and though she was successful, she still inhaled a soft sniffle and rubbed her forehead.

"I promise I'll make this right," Tessa uttered with a nod, "In the meantime, I'm going to give Gideon a single slat of one of the palace walls to paint on. Gives him a nice distraction where he can get emotion out, or whatever else."

"Good idea," Ralph encouraged as he lovingly rubbed Vanellope's upper back.

"Gideon's gunna be fine, mom," Tessa reassured with a loving smile as the two caught eyes, "I'll make sure of it."