Reviews :
Burgie : Thank you! Yeah, I hate saying this 154 chapters in but, you're definitely right... This is only the beginning.
Snake557 : Yeah, Callum... I hate to love him and love to hate him. It's really difficult, because at the core of all of this, he's hurting too. It looks vastly different from Gideon's hurt, but it is still a shred of hurt that I share with him. I can relate to him, not nearly as much as I relate to Gideon, but you know what they say. Hurt people hurt people.
Firesong-Writes : I want to thank you SO MUCH for your continued support, and your kind compliments! Seriously, I grin every time I see you've messaged me in any sense of the form. You're a fantastic friend and I'm grateful for you. I apologize for the lack of giving n my end. I'm being butt-rocked by life, and writing this segment of the story isn't helping. I'm currently 15ish chapters ahead of you guys and reliving some of the trauma and events Gideon is going through has been really difficult for me. I'm doing my best to stay afloat, but you're definitely right, this season of Gideon's new villainous life is equally a blast to write for and horrible. It's Gideon's darker nature, and though it's not permanent, it still is hard to write about. I've already said this, but I don't think there's a chapter beyond 150 where I haven't sobbed the whole way through writing it. I'm having a rough go, but... I'm ALMOST through the thick of it. You guys are going to probably hate me for the next month or so, but... Y'all know how this goes, the sun eventually comes out haha. Thank you so much friend, you're the best, truly.
Song Listened To :
Ontario by Novo Amor & Ed Tullett
*Chapter 154*
"Mom's not sure how to even tackle the topic," Mara murmured, referring to Tessa. Nose clogged, eyes swollen, it was all anyone was now currently reduced to, and likely would remain as such for the unforeseeable future. Her and Lash quietly stepped off of their arena home's main teleport pad inside the dome of their seemingly great hall. A gorgeous, dimly lit dome that eventually forked into a handful of corridors, one of which being the corridor that lead to the arena's main, massive common room, where Koko and Nox remained. Mara delicately carried on, "Not to mention the fact that... We won't even know if Gideon survives for months to come. What if we end up actually following through with the funeral, only to find out that he's alive?"
"Yeah, we should wait until the show airs," Lash staggered as he shook his head, though as he opened his mouth to carry on, the teleport pad behind them buzzed with fresh life. Lash and Mara whirled around to see Kepa's peppy, riled aura and figure stomp off the pad, though the thing that had Lash and Mara gaping in her presence was the sheer sight of her whole mouth and front just soaked with blood. Lash faltered a nervous noise and urgently shook his head as him and Mara firmly approached her, "Whoa, what the hell happened?"
"I worked fast," Kepa stabbed loudly with a crazed, bloody grin of fangs, her long tongue lapped in a thick, slow drag all the way up to the bottom half of the bridge of her nose, over her bloody snout, a predator through and through. She put her hands on her hips and panted, though Lash and Mara flinched as Kepa carried on a lot louder than she likely should be, "Crunched the fuck outta him."
"Lash, you insinuated she was just going to give him a stern talking-to," Mara hissed in a loud whisper as she also shushed Kepa and now Lash's urgent falter of words, she cued her glorious User coding and encased the three in a sound-proofed dome of peachy honeycombs and circuitry about them, so that their conversation inside of it was now entirely private.
"I gave you an hour, you've only been gone like twenty minutes," Lash scoffed a trembly little laugh of cynical delight as he shifted on his feet and gazed into Kepa's eyes with whole pride, though he flinched the second she urgently and largely gave a huge, sarcastic shrug, slapped her hands to her side and donned a further-maniacal grin.
"He called my bluff," Kepa squeaked cutely, though her voice trembled, she huffed a shaky breath and desperately tried to keep a smile amidst the quiver her bottom lip held in, the huge well of tears in her gorgeous eyes, "I gave him a good throw around, and before I could continue, he might as well have just PANTSED me in the middle of the palace's great hall, like that would've been LESS detrimental to me."
"What are you talking about?" Lash urged nervously, he glossed his eyes down Kepa's body, once more, and further assessed that she was drenched in more of Callum's blood than he originally thought, her now-glistening shirt basically sagged due to it. He wanted to grin like a lunatic, he wanted to ask the dirty details, though largely reserved himself the second Kepa began to become totally unglued with tears.
"Gideon wasn't the only one with secrets, but Callum's right," Kepa yelled in collapsing whimpering as she looked off in a grimace and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. She squeezed out the words as she shut her wet eyes tight and erupted into chokes of crying through her words, "My secrets are FAR worse..."
"Kepa," Lash cooed nervously, he went to quickly reset Kepa to Turbotime's grid, though Mara beat him to it. Kepa blipped back to normality, the final absence of Callum's pungent blood, she was pristinely reset, though as Lash gingerly gripped her dangling left arm, Kepa continued to stagger on through the trembling wail of her words as the grief of this all finally hit her between the eyes.
"If I could go back and just TELL Gideon... Tell him that I feel the same," Kepa wailed into the back of her hand as her beautiful eyes spilled endless tears. She largely gasped in hiccuping crying as her shoulders shook, she urgently glossed her warbled, teary eyes into Lash's in full, eternal remorse, "I would tell him... He was so confident with his words, he looked me in the eye for so long and I just... I just... Didn't RESPOND! Like an IDIOT!"
Lash heaved a trembling sigh through his nose and desperately tried to stay strong for Kepa in this, though as he gingerly began to pull Kepa into a hug, to insinuate he was here for her, as was Mara, she squeezed into his embrace and finally erupted in harrowing, wailing cries deep into the center of Lash's chest. Lash gasped a silent gulp of a breath and tried to remain collected as he grappled his arms about Kepa's trembling shoulders, though as he tossed his dark blue eyes into Mara's, they held gazes in detrimental understanding. The notion of nothing ever being the same, from here on out, continued to haunt them, unabated. Mara held glassy eyes with Lash for only a moment before crumpling herself and looking off to cover her face, she took a small step away and choked a cry into their reserved bubble of sound-proof coding. Kepa's sweet, sorrowful cries filled their bubble with despair, her trembling arms gripped Lash's center for dear life, she continued on through her loud cries into the bend of Lash's neck.
"I'd give up absolutely everything to have him here right now, I just want my Gideon back," Kepa loudly wept through a grimace of pure grief, she sucked in a stagger of hiccuping, trembling gasps for air and let Lash's chest and the bend of his neck just have it, "I just want my Gideon back... I'd give anything and everything, I'd give up every single item to my name if I could just tell him that I..."
Lash squeezed Kepa's shoulders tight and choked a gentle cry over the side of her head, tears freely poured, he shook his head and kept Kepa glued to him like their lives depended on it. He grimaced in a grit of his teeth, the agony of hearing Kepa's cries was enough to emotionally ruin the lot of them for an eternity. He was well aware she was desperate to openly and verbally say the words, the return of love she had for him, though even still she reserved. He was well aware this was now her detriment, the key to her molting was verbally telling Gideon that she loved him in return, unfortunately an opportunity she once had in her grasps and let it get away from her. Lash firmly rubbed up and down Kepa's upper back and allowed her all the time in the world to unload, he knew this was likely going to be a temporary norm. Eager to brother her with love and unconditional understanding, he firmly laid a sweet, innocent press of a held kiss into the side of Kepa's head and hair.
"We all would," Mara assured in a squeak of tears she was lost in, too, and though she remained stepped a few feet from the two, it was obvious she was still firmly inside this feeling with Lash and Kepa. Mara sucked in a trembling breath and grimaced a soft cry out before her as she carried on, "Statuses, past grievances, Arenas, Palaces... We'd give up everything."
"We have to just hold out hope," Lash murmured quietly, he shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, "We have to hold out the hope that he'll win, somehow... And, if by some miracle he does, we THEN have to hope that he'll recall the beautiful thing he left behind. Fuck the rest of us, I hope he understands just the future he abandoned, the future he had with you..."
"Yeah," Kepa squeaked in teary despair as she lay limp in Lash's arms. Although she was a whole mess of emotions and the fight she just endured with Callum blatantly exposed her, she held onto the raw fact that Callum had made clear that Gideon had won. She gingerly pulled from Lash's arms and peered her hazed, glassy eyes deep into his. She debated back and forth whether or not she should begin info-dumping every last secret to her name onto Lash, though she figured this information was due to spilling out, anyways, "I have... I have a handful of confessions for you two."
"We're here," Lash assured with a nod as he wiped his cheeks free of tears, though more threatened to follow. Mara stood close by and desperately tried to collect herself, as well.
"None of this is going to be easy to tell you, but it has to be said," Kepa murmured, "It's either you hear it regurgitated from Callum, or you hear it right from the horse's mouth."
"Anything, no judgement," Lash whispered shakily as he squeezed his eyes shut and gingerly gripped Kepa's hand in between the two.
"Gideon won," Kepa relayed through a grimace of teary disbelief. She choked a shaky cry and squeezed tighter into a grimace of equal despair and relief, the prayer that Callum was telling the truth. Mara and Lash froze in whole shock as Kepa shakily continued on, "I-I know Callum and this... Flint character have ties to the dark web, him and Gideon were texting about it. Callum somehow got the news that Gideon won, and told me as I had him pinned to his balcony wall."
"H-How, though? The tournament happened THAT fast?" Mara stabbed shakily as her and Lash sharply glanced into each other's eyes in hot surprise.
"Well, yeah... They film in one go, the winner won't be announced until much later in this year because that's when episodes are released," Lash rushed, Mara firmly furrowed her brow and shook her head.
"But... The crowd? People surely saw who won and that information would be leaked," Mara rattled.
"The city, where the Arena is, is a closed city... During the event and filming, all the way through to the airing of the season finale, no one comes or goes, no information goes in or out... No random gamers just LIVE in The Block, or come and go. You have to earn it. You're there for life." Lash volleyed, to which Kepa now confusedly joined in.
"But... How did Callum GET this information, then?" Kepa staggered, Lash darkly looked off and shook his head.
"Flint's gotta be someone deeply involved, not just a typical Block citizen," Lash ushered nervously, Kepa crossed her arms and bobbed a nod.
"In the messages, Callum said that Flint was going to be arriving late to the Arena, I guess Flint works there during filming," Kepa assured, Lash lulled his eyes closed and bobbed a conclusory nod.
"If that's the case, if Callum's in tight with Flint, then... Surely Callum meant what he said," Lash's voice shook in the dread that hit the group, he scoffed an almost-smiling little noise and felt incredibly conflicted, "If Callum's telling the truth, then..."
"We can't tell anyone," Mara muttered nervously, Lash furrowed his brow in confusion.
"That we have information leaning into the idea that Gideon is alive?" Lash relayed in sarcastic worry.
"Lash, we can't keep juggling everyone's emotions, like this," Mara whimpered as she gestured in mild desperation, "We're all RUINED over this, you were there when Vanellope found out. If the palace learned that he won and was alive? EVERYONE would be diving into the internet to find him, and I guarantee you, the majority of us wouldn't live to see that mission through."
"It would be a suicide mission," Kepa muttered darkly, she crossed her arms and shook her head, "Mara's right... If Callum was telling the truth, then this has to stay between us. Let everyone else find out that he won naturally and... Whatever happens after half a year of grieving, then..."
"We're all so heightened, this is so fresh. The whole of us are about to come crumpling down with Gideon's poor decisions," Mara mumbled as she brushed her messy bangs from her eyes, as well as the tears on her cheeks, "We have to hold fast, be strong... We have to hope that whatever life he's now living will eventually be worse than what we previously offered him."
Lash nervously glossed his blue eyes to Kepa and understood that this was a proverbial stab to Kepa's heart. If Gideon decided to stay in the dark web forever, this meant that Kepa wasn't worth it. Lash grimaced a little and knew, from here, Kepa was likely the one to take the hardest hit, here. The prospects of a whole future with Gideon, an intimate look into his life, his coding, his soul, a precious thing only the two of them were due to sharing, now so viciously ripped away from her, Lash felt his heart sag at even the thought of putting himself in her shoes.
"I'm glad you got to have a genuine taste of justice," Lash murmured quietly, Kepa scoffed a nasally, sarcastic exhale through her mouth and allowed her aimless gaze to look down at the tiles off in the distance.
"Humans unfortunately don't taste good, but... It felt good to literally rip his throat out," Kepa stated in calm nonchalance, to which Lash and Mara bugged their eyes in shock. Kepa dared to ease a mean smile, "Sorry I beat you to the honor of traumatizing him for life, but... I'm sure whatever you're gunna do or say to him will be equally as satisfying."
"Kepa, what did you mean when you said that he called your bluff?" Lash dared gently, to which Kepa perked her ears and held teary eyes with Lash in a swing of dread.
"You guys have been correct, all along," Kepa murmured nervously, "I know I've gaslit the crap out of you guys, for the past month or two, but... You were right, this whole time. Vye is my big sister."
Lash long-blinked in a sticky swing of coldness that felt like a kick to the gut. He choked a shaky noise that resembled a laugh, he urgently peered to Mara, held with her in unadulterated shock, and gathered again with Kepa's sweet, sassy eye contact. She dared to giggle and shook her head.
"Don't be freaked out... I only knew her before that fiasco... Before Castle Run got unplugged," Kepa sighed sorrowfully, "I didn't get the chance to tell Gideon that my mother, a lion gargoyle, fell hopelessly in love with a dragon gargoyle, my father. I didn't get the chance to tell Gideon that me and Vye are both breeds... I didn't get the chance to tell Gideon that we had a beautiful, snuggly little life together, in the city, before my mother was ordered back to the palace by the hawk gargoyles."
"...I-I thought hawk gargoyles were like monks? Peaceful creatures. They lived high in the mountains," Mara recalled from Kepa's previous tellings.
"The majority did... There was another small, not-so-peaceful clan that reigned supreme," Kepa muttered nervously, she flattened her ears and understood that there were many a harrowing story about these scary beasts from her childhood, far more information she was due to previously revealing in bite-sized pieces, though now was faced with the task of regurgitating it into a mess of incoherent sorrow, "It's a HUGE no-no for lion gargoyles to leave or procreate with other breeds, but... My mother and father just... ADORED each other. I couldn't ever imagine them apart, until..."
"... Easy breaths," Lash whispered quietly as Kepa rubbed the side of her head and began to grimace into a cough of outward crying that was overtaking her. Lash gingerly shushed her and rubbed up and down her upper arm in a soothe of love.
"Vye stayed with my father, the hawks forced me and Vye to take my mother's last name, as opposed to my father's," Kepa whimpered nervously as Lash and Mara allowed her to quietly carry on, "They weren't technically married, but we were given my father's last name at birth... Having to grow up at the palace with a name that wasn't technically mine, with features that made me stand out from all the other lion gargoyles, I felt like a total joke... And now that Vye has gone and SOILED the Ketton last name... My mother would be so disappointed in her..."
"Well... Why don't we honor your father, then?" Lash gently suggested as Kepa's teary eyes hooked to his in a swing of tender, teary renewal. Lash bobbed a nod and peered to Mara before glossing back to Kepa with the idea he was hoping would at least help her feel as if things were picking up and healing, however slow it'd all be, "Why don't we officially change your last name back to what it was at birth? That's an easy switch, in the code room."
"That's a good idea," Mara suggested with a nod, "What was your last name given at birth?"
"Favor," Kepa whimpered through a grimace of more tears as she tucked her hand to her mouth and shook her head, "I miss my parents... Like I can't even describe. I even miss Vye. I miss what we had... It was so beautiful, so... Quaint, just us four... The Favors."
"That's cute, The Favors," Mara hummed with a small giggle of warm understanding, "Well... Let's do it, let's get it changed."
"Way ahead of you," Lash cued warmly with a nod, and as he pulled out his phone, he cued to his remote code room abilities, tabbed to a darker, terminal-like screen and gently handed his phone over to Kepa, so she could re-type in her own name, "Alright... All ready for you."
"What's your whole name, then?" Mara cued gently, Kepa inhaled a thick, steady breath of pride and bobbed a gentle nod as her thumbs diligently spelled it all out.
"Kepa Sezeke Favor," Kepa hummed with whole relief, a weight lifted, she shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm sure my mom and dad would've gotten married and made it all official, but... They were unfortunately too late."
"Why'd they make your parents change your's and Vye's name to her last name?" Mara mused confusedly as Kepa returned Lash's phone to him.
"Ketton is a castle last name, it was to keep us in line, uniform... They treated my father as if he muddied my mother's coding, her life... He was such a wise, caring, noble being," Kepa murmured sorrowfully, "Vye stayed with my dad because she was fully grown, in our split, and... Refused to assimilate into castle life. I didn't have a choice, I hadn't turned one yet... She got out while she could, I'm sure her and my dad went nuts knowing my mom and I were now inaccessible... I guess the unplug was enough for Vye to abandon everything and rush to the internet. I low-key don't blame her, now that we've watched Gideon run away from his pain, as well."
"Surely numbing it with a thing like Game Over will only make matters worse," Lash muttered nervously, Kepa inhaled a deep breath and shook her head.
"If I know Gideon like I think I do... I have hope that he's going to wake up one day and realize that he's the biggest idiot," Kepa stabbed, though she was grieving his loss, the simple idea that he was still alive kept enough juice in her to feel the need to scold the living daylights out of him, given the chance, "I don't think it's wise to be introduced to his other two siblings, or anyone else... I just basically ate Callum for dinner. I can't promise much less, due to the pain the palace has brought Gideon."
"Trust me, although I haven't murdered anyone, I definitely have handed palace-side their asses, a time or two," Lash grumbled, he heaved a long, exhausted sigh and shook his head, "And, tonight will be no different... This conversation stays between us. Deal?"
"Deal," Kepa and Mara murmured in unison.
"Kepa, please go make yourself at home with Nox and Koko, they're in the common room," Lash instructed with a nod, "I don't want you feeling alone, through this, so... Please stay in at least one of our presences."
"You can sleep over if you'd like," Mara mused gingerly, knowing Kepa had Gideon's old unit in the courtyard, she was delighted to find that her suggestion for a sleepover had Kepa nodding in agreeing fervor.
"Y'coming with?" Lash wondered to Mara, though Mara bit her lip and peered to Kepa.
"...No, I'm going to stay here and get Kepa settled at home and such," Mara sighed as she shook her head, "I don't want to deal with Callum, right now... Not after knowing all that I know. I will say really unforgivable stuff to him."
"How do you think his father is going to take it?" Kepa flattened her ears and eyed the two with uncertainty, "Isn't he like at the King's right hand? Gideon's uncle?"
"Yeah, Rancis is... Whew," Lash bugged his eyes and looked off in full dread, "I don't know how long I'll be gone, but if I message either one of you an SOS, y'all know the whole palace is on fire and I'm desperately wanting to be rescued."
"Said the User," Kepa murmured cheekily, and although it felt foreign, the group gently erupted into weak laughter.
"Alright, girls, take it easy... Seriously, please keep an eye on your phones for my SOS, that wasn't a joke," Lash muttered as he gingerly removed Mara's dome of a sound-proof, coded bubble and began to repave his way to the arena's main teleport pad, now dim due to the lack of recent usage.
"Aye, captain," Mara quipped in a downswing of dread both girls left Lash with.
