Reviews :
Burgie : It's the name of the game! ;) More will be expanded upon in Chapter 157 pertaining to the name Favor. And a little in this chapter lol
Snake557 : Yeah I understand entirely, Callum is easier to hate because his intentions aren't rooted in goodness. Sure, Gideon has a villainous arc, but his intentions are good, at the very end of the day. Callum's a special, extraordinary case, unfortunately. As for the next month, yeah, it's definitely gunna be a rollercoaster of emotion. A lot happens. Some good, some bad, but yeah, I have about the next 15ish chapters already written and about 2 months has passed, story wise, so... Lots to take in, that's for sure!
Firesong-Writes : As much as Lash would absolutely include everyone in on handing Callum his ass, well... Callum is as slippery as they come, unfortunately. He be long gone lol. As for Vye and Kepa being princesses, Kepa sugar-coat the majority of her castle life to Gideon, they are in no way royalty. Her mother ran away and lived in the city with Sezeke to start a new little humbled lifestyle, everything Kepa expanded on or made seem to be bright and beautiful was a facade - her life at the castle was absolute hell, something she eventually lays all out for Gideon. I say eventually cause it feels like 400 years since they've been together and it's literally killing me lol. For you guys reading up until this chapter, 155, it's been like maybe 36 hours, but for me at the chapter I'm writing right now, 170, it's been almost 2 months and I want to die lmao
Song Listened To :
Turn, Turn, Turn Again by Gareth Coker
*Chapter 155*
A skillful, sneaky maneuver to see just where Callum's waypoint laid on Sugar Rush's grid, Lash scuffed his feet into the palace's glorious front foyer, a huge splay of big, fiery torches hung from each arched pillar the outdoor, glossy-tiled foyer was crowned with. Lash furrowed his eyebrows amidst the sound of the roaring flickers of calm fire up above him, though as he furiously looked up and caught with one of the palace's many guards, the four stood at the palace's main front doors nervously stood frozen still and peered to Lash with a look of uncertainty. Although these guards answered to Zed and Tessa, they knew the Users, all five of them, secretly held rank above absolutely everyone due to their powers. Lash scoffed a shaky little chuckle, shook his head and narrowed his gaze to these doughy, old-game style candy guards. Although cutely colored and marked, they were huge, spiny beasts that held fast to guarding the palace, a job they did extraordinarily well, without fail.
"...The lot of you have exactly five seconds to tell me just where Callum Reese Fluggerbutter went," Lash barked, his blue eyes began to sag to an angry, orangey red, a constant rollercoaster of now two hovered emotions. All the guards nervously shot glances to one another before Lash took a daring step closer and grit his teeth, "He's not dumb enough to use the palace's teleport pads if he's trying to sneakily escape..."
"H-He left twenty minutes ago, through these doors," One of the guards chimed nervously; although his voice was deep, powerful and sure, they all continued to warily glance in each other's directions with whole uncertainty.
"Did he say where he was going? Anything of the sort? What did he have with him?" Lash demanded, the main guard shrugged.
"We offered him a typical farewell and safe travels, he didn't say anything to us in return," The guard mumbled, "He didn't have anything on his person, he was dressed in all black with his hood up."
"God DAMMIT," Lash stabbed, he flagged his arm to the guards and showed brief gratitude amidst preparing to teleport away, "Thanks, guys."
Once he departed, all four guards sagged with a heavy sigh of relief; being in Lash's presence, even after all the time he had reformed and reclaimed the land in love and goodness, they all still tread lightly around him, no matter what, due to his villainous past.
With quick code work, Lash wiggled his coding through space and time and happened upon the smaller teleport pad just outside of the ground level stairwell that lead up to Callum's spire, though as he came to the cold, snow covered concrete, he double-took in a heel scuffing halt as him and Rancis caught eyes from their dozen foot gap. Lash huffed a stagger of a hot breath through his nose and watched as Rancis froze in prickled apprehension, the look on his face read entire dread, terrified guilt, emotions of which he couldn't conceal. Lash heaved a long, foggy breath to Sugar Rush's snowy, blackened night and narrowed his gaze deep into Rancis's teary eyes. He inhaled a thick, readied breath and slowly repositioned his footing to press in a slow, menacing saunter towards Rancis's figure. Rancis stood frozen in his tracks, his eyes glued to Lash's in the perilous detriment suddenly becoming of both men, Lash got within five feet of Rancis and opened his mouth upon delicate, though authoritative words delivered.
"Where's Callum?" Lash almost whispered meanly, he squeezed his eyes into a tighter narrow and allowed his red, venomous gaze to glint Rancis's frosty, sticky cheeks with the shine of it. Rancis clearly was holding his breath, he nervously long-blinked in realized terror and sagged his shoulders in a show of submissive defeat, though Lash didn't play into it and knew letting his guard down wasn't wise. He stepped deeper into Rancis's bubble and hissed him a threat, "You're gunna tell me where Callum's off to..."
"He's made the tough decision to go to the arena and save Gideon," Rancis's deep voice shook, Lash held still and was well aware this was a lie.
"You mean to tell me," Lash whispered meanly, he was nearly in Rancis's face, "That sweet... Innocent little Callum, is going to go into the INTERNET... With nothing but a candy cane dagger-"
"Watch it," Rancis threatened through the grit of his teeth.
"To save... A Mr. Gideon Fox Von Schweetz, crowned fifth winner of Game Over, the game of all games, the end-all of true, brute strength and wit," Lash continued through the hiss of his dominance, he squeezed his eyes through a sarcastic little smile and clenched his fists, "A being with powers greater than even my own... Callum, a Sugar Rush normie-"
"Don't say one cross thing about my son," Rancis growled, his dominance now returning, he dared to step into Lash's face, a little deeper, both men hovered in the mere-kiss of foreheads and stewed in impending, trembling rage, "I said what I said."
"Too bad it wasn't true," Lash stabbed through the grit of his teeth, he sucked in a readied breath and allowed the molten red of his gaze to glower Rancis down, "You're going to tell me everything you know, right now..."
"You don't scare me anymore," Rancis returned darkly, though just as Lash inhaled a deep breath to continue on this show of proverbial arms, the teleport pad behind Lash buzzed with life.
"Guys, break it up, break it up," Zed instructed firmly as his powerful figure stomped over to the two, and with a grapple, he gently yanked Lash out of Rancis's face and urgently peered between the two, both men of which didn't dare take their eyes off of one another. Zed scoffed a foggy chuckle of disgruntled annoyance and shook his head, "I was buzzed that this pad was being misused only to see your guys waypoints nearly on top of each other. The hell is going on here?"
"Yeah, Rancis, the hell is going on here?" Lash mused in furious, sarcastic cheek as he donned a wide grin and crossed his arms, it was here did Zed double-take on Lash's glowering, molten red eyes and fully understood that whatever was happening here, it wasn't good.
"Callum left to go collect Gideon," Rancis repeated, a freeze-dried script Lash was well aware was simply just bright, fuzzy flares of distractions.
"Oh BULL. SHIT!" Lash suddenly bellowed, causing Zed to sharply flinch and grapple Lash's arm, so to keep Lash from pressing any closer to Rancis.
"Rancis, what's this about?" Zed instructed firmly, to which Rancis sagged his shoulders and gave Zed a look of his dominance now down-swinging in the stance of respect he had for Zed. Zed narrowed his gaze and shook his head, "Callum...? I'm sorry, but how in the world is Callum going to convince hardened, dark web bad guys to let Gideon go?"
"No powers, no defenses," Lash yelled as he counted on his fingers, though Zed jolted to now keep Rancis from diving at Lash's throat.
"I said don't say one CROSS THING ABOUT MY SON!" Rancis suddenly bellowed in full rage, his deep voice echoed in a reverberating bounce inside the huge archways of the outdoor, palace wall corridor they stood in. Zed grunted and kept Rancis at bay as Rancis struggled against Zed's strength.
"Then TELL the truth!" Lash urged back with equal fervor, though Rancis squeezed his eyes shut, shook his head and looked to be battling himself. Lash glowered him down and gestured outwards, "Why the fuck are we here, Rancis! For the good of Sugar Rush! Gideon made a horrible mistake, but you and I BOTH know that Callum was the one who lead him RIGHT to it!"
"What?" Zed hissed is nervous disbelief as him and Rancis caught in a glance of nervous eye contact.
"Kepa told me she snooped through Gideon's text messages, on Valentine's Day. She saw EVERYTHING him and Callum were talking about. Callum was giving him directions to the arena, with the help of Flint, you can't bullshit your way out of this mess," Lash firmly rattled, though with the way Rancis's chest now began to heave in panic and the big tears that began to form in his exhausted, defeated gaze, Zed took a shocked step away from Rancis and held eyes with his right hand man as Lash messily continued through raging stammering, "I don't CARE if he's your son! Your son helped RALPH'S son right off a CLIFF!"
"Did you know Callum did this? Did you know he was leaving?" Zed staggered nervously, though Rancis gave Zed a teary honest look of desperation.
"I didn't know until just twenty minutes ago," Rancis's deep voice crackled with the onset of tears, the sheer idea that he had also just lost his child to the internet. His hands shook as he began to crumple into maddened sorrow, "H-He called me to fill me in and... Say goodbye."
"And you were going to COVER for him!" Lash pressed on in continued rage, to which had Rancis and Zed flinching. Although Lash was now due to kicking Rancis while he was down, Zed sorrowfully glowered Rancis down and allowed Lash to have the floor, "You were going to let us carry on wondering if Callum was going to come home and save the day... Little did we all know, Callum is the reason Gideon's GONE!"
"You think I'm just okay with all of this?" Rancis urged loudly as tears finally escaped him, his deep voice croaked in full defense towards himself, "You think I WANT this? You think, had I known Callum was grooming Gideon for Game Over, that I'd ALLOW it?"
"Wait, who's the other person involved in this? What was his name?" Zed urgently cued as he snapped his fingers in the draw of recollected memories.
"Flint?" Lash stabbed, Rancis tiredly rubbed his face, though Zed donned a look of floored concern.
"...Gideon's old guidance counselor?" Zed muttered in harrowing conclusion, he furrowed his brow and dart his eyes tight to Lash's in full concern, "That guy works with Tessa... He's best friends with Tessa's boss, the head honcho in charge, Mr. Favor."
Lash squeezed his eyes shut, allowed the name to roll through his brain like honey, and bulged his eyes open in an explosion of whole shock.
"I'm sorry... Mr. WHO-NOW?" Lash loudly urged, Zed furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Mr. Favor, do you know him?" Zed nervously mumbled, to which Lash grappled the sides of his head and huffed a stagger of a sarcastic laugh.
"This is a dream, I'm dreaming, this is an awful nightmare, and you fuckers are gunna vanish, and I'm just gunna wake up!" Lash urged as he began to gently slap the sides of his face with both of his hands.
"Listen... I'm going to consult with Tessa tonight, and we will speak with Mr. Favor first thing in the morning," Zed instructed, Rancis flinched as he pointed in his direction, "As for you... I understand wanting to cover for your child. We're both fathers, I get it. If anything terrible happened to Ace, whether it was his fault or not, I'd feel the knee-jerk reaction to rush to his aid, though if he were harming other individuals inside my family?"
Rancis crumpled with tears and stood still, he shook his head and looked entirely conflicted, to which Zed heaved a shaky breath and concluded his statement.
"There's a moral compass we all follow, Rancis... You know what Callum did was devastating to the entire palace, to many lives," Zed's stern voice carried, "If it were the reverse, and Gideon was the culprit to Callum's demise... You know, without a doubt, Ralph wouldn't aid Gideon in furthering his ventures. Something tells me Callum isn't simply going to the internet to collect Gideon."
"That's all he told me," Rancis croaked with a shrug, though Lash narrowed his gaze and was well aware that wasn't the truth, that he couldn't be trusted.
"We will hold a trail tomorrow evening, and for now, you're temporarily relieved of duty," Zed instructed in fatherly regret, to which Rancis's glassy eyes glanced into Zed's in full remorse. Zed collected his authoritative gaze tight to Lash's and pointed, "Tomorrow morning, Tessa and I will head to Mr. Favor's office for an equal amount of questioning... Since powers are muted there, your presence is requested in case things get ugly."
"Y-You want me there?" Lash gestured to his chest, and for the first time since Valentine's Day, Lash's eyes glinted a bright gold of full excitement, "I-I get to meet this mysterious Mr. Favor dude?"
"Yeah, congratulations, it's a party," Zed stabbed darkly, though Lash sagged and now understood that his excitement to meet this guy was simply rooted in the secret conversation him, Kepa and Mara had together. Zed pointed to Rancis, once more and tried to go easy on him without making it seem like Rancis was off the hook, "You're palace bound until we get this sorted out. I'm sorry, Rancis, but from this standpoint, you're basically an accomplice."
"Understood," Rancis grunted in remorse as he looked off in a grimace of wanted to unload with full, gut-wrenching sorrow.
"The palace is already falling apart at the seams," Lash muttered darkly as both men drew their gazes to Lash in harrowing understanding, "Gideon was the lynchpin all along... Would'yah look at that... It's almost as if I warned you."
