Reviews :
chuckiboo : I'm genuinely honored that you feel that way. I put every ounce of my heart into this saga and I'm really glad that shines through. Thank you so much for that, that's incredibly encouraging. Gideon's not so much hard on Vanellope, it's more so Ralph that unfortunately gets the short end of the stick here. Poor guy endures it for a handful of chapters, here.
Song Listened To :
Iris by Natalie Taylor
The Ancient Wellspring by Gareth Coker
*Chapter 173*
Raindrops that collected on his eyelashes, Gideon steadily breathed and stood with his forehead pressed to his art wall, the opposite side of it. With eyes closed, he stood on the outside of the palace, as if he had to collect himself, to truly feel the depth of his skin, to understand just how robbed he suddenly was. He was well aware a reset inside Sugar Rush would likely gift him back all of his powers, though standing inside Callum's feelings, a normal, powerless body, he fluttered his eyes and now felt entire grief for Callum, a true depth of understanding he had for his wildly misunderstood cousin. Tears fell like rain, his gashes throbbed, the residue of all of the drugs he had been drowning in made his temples pulse with struggle, finally getting a moment of silence to stand in a mere minute of Callum's lifelong struggles had him reeling, backflipping into a void, he squeezed his eyes shut and could feel hindsight slap him silly. He gulped a firm, struggle of a swallow and fluttered his teary eyes, he knew he'd go back and be the one that was there for Callum. Hidden, darkened sorrow that Callum masked were so greatly overshadowed by Gideon's loud and proud announcements of sorrow and pain, such pain that was far easier and lighter than Callum's. Although grateful to be home, grateful at this sheer stroke of luck, the switch up to now grieve the loss of Callum's home life was far heavier than he anticipated.
Eager to get home, he inhaled a trembling breath and pressed his palms to the back of his art wall. He knew that summoning his manifestation was beyond him now, easing his glitching abilities to the forefront of his skin was gone, he inhaled a steady breath and did absolutely everything to allow Kepa's wise words to gloss his heart, equally backed by Ora's tender reassurance. Eager to get back to his roots, back to the powers he had before the mess of adrenaline, drugs, tattoos, corruption, he focused every ounce of his energy to his left hand and was desperate to receive even a drop of his old glitching abilities, he somehow hoped the essence of the craft was left behind in his artwork, currently stationed on the other side of this impenetrable wall he stood before. He allowed the rain to trickle down on his bare back, his body trembled with pain he desperately wanted to numb with drugs he could no longer manifest, he winced in grimacing plea and did everything he could to imagine the sprawl of his gorgeous art wall, down to the last paint stroke. After what felt like hours trying to connect with his old self, he was floored to feel his palm eagerly sag into the sturdy white concrete of the palace wall, and with a slip, Gideon closed his eyes, held his breath, and successfully stepped through the coding of the wall with a haphazard, silent little blip of confused, white coding.
Once on the other side, he panted and shoved his back to his art wall in frozen, bittersweet dread. His eyes peered to his parent's lovely abode, his childhood home, all cutely glossed with rain and dim with slumber, he grimaced a nervous hiccup and felt dizziness begin to want to claim him. Though he had pushed on through the whole walk to the palace and was confident he'd make it inside his home, he began to fear having a game over, and just what that'd all look like now that he couldn't access his own coding, now that he was basically a white-walled, messy shell of himself. He peered to the silent palace and relished in this stillness, the fact that no one knew he was here, he was home, he squinted his gaze in rocked surprise and felt as if the palace was so incredibly tiny, even though it hadn't changed in size. The sheer, colossal amount of life he had endured in the span of two short months made it so returning to his past looked so incredibly minuscule, easy, bite sized. It wasn't until he stumbled across his backyard with purpose and happen upon his own front door did he feel his heart begin to angrily throb in terror. He worried he'd be rejected, he had caused so much pain, had ruined so many lives, including his own, he squeezed his eyes shut, lifted his trembling arm and firmly thud a few knocks to his own front door.
Vanellope inhaled a thick breath and was interrupted from her slumber from what she thought was a knock at the door. She held her breath and urgently listened out for more knocks to come, though as a small roll of thunder laid over the land, she heaved a shaky breath and sagged back into the couch, where she had unfortunately fallen asleep. She tabbed on her lock screen to see if anyone had texted her, though due to it being three in the morning, obviously no one was awake. She furrowed her brow in nervous confusion and could've sworn she heard a knock at the door, though as she shrugged it off and grunted to roll over and desperately attempt to get back to sleep, suddenly a muffled voice came from the other side of her front door, from down the corridor. She popped her eyes open and now peered to her front door in a swing of unadulterated, heart racing terror, and as a few more hefty thumps came down on the front door, Vanellope long-blinked in the roll of hazy, enchanted stun the second she could hear Gideon's raspy, trembling voice muffle through it.
"Mom?" Gideon weakly pleaded, and though Vanellope was now frozen in pure shock, the greatest shock she had ever felt in her life, she immediately ripped the blankets off of her body and glitch-hopped across the foyer at lightning speed.
With force, she yanked open her front door and peered headlong into a vision of hell, the epitome of darkness himself, thunder rolled as Vanellope's sunken eyes met with Gideon's equally as sunken gaze, a bloodied mess, a beast of a man she hardly recognized, though the second her brain fervently shook her soul to its core and reminded her that this was indeed real, Vanellope uttered a trembling cry and cupped her quaking hands over her mouth.
"Gideon," Vanellope's crumpling voice whimpered through the onslaught of tears she now collapsed into.
"Please, please let me come home, please let me in," Gideon's crackly voice pleaded as he lulled his eyes closed in full exhaustion, to which Vanellope urgently gripped Gideon's arm and yanked him into the house with a seal of their front door.
"You're alive," Vanellope wailed, and not caring about the remnants of blood that had been soaked down his chest, Vanellope grappled her arms about Gideon's center, shoved her face into the front of his neck and grimaced out silence through the gape of her mouth, frozen in rocked surprise.
"I-I'm here," Gideon whimpered as Vanellope sucked in a huge breath and suddenly erupted into harrowing cries of full, whiplashed despair and relief. Gideon's lip quivered as the mere feeling of his mother's arms about his body felt like finally laying to rest in heaven's rays. He shook as he, too, began to erupt into tears as he grappled his quaking arms tight about Vanellopes shoulders, he squeaked out the only thing he knew to be true in this moment, "I love you."
"My baby!" Vanellope screamed in deafening cries as her arms grew rigid tight about Gideon's body, and as Ralph suddenly erupted from their bedroom, finally awaken from the heavy slumber he was previously in, he grappled the sides of his head and uttered an equally as collapsing noise of full, relieved grief.
"Gideon," Ralph whimpered in immediate despair as he firmly pushed into the two and grappled his strong, huge embrace about the two, now fully promising that he would absolutely never let go.
Ralph firmly tucked his chin to the top of Gideon's head and grappled the whole of them in a cocoon that was entirely unwavering, the three loudly cried in each other's arms, in the sanctity of their home, it was every single last wish they ever had, fully realized, once and for all. Their foyer echoed with an equal amount of terror, despair, relief, joy, a huge mixture of bittersweet made Sugar Rush sing with their cries. They easily came unglued as a tight unit, and though Gideon was certain his blood was getting on his parents, he knew they didn't think twice on it. Gideon cried like a baby in his parents arms and sagged in entire relief, there was absolutely nowhere he'd rather be in this raw moment but in his parent's arms, safe and sound. The three didn't dare let go of each other, they stood and sobbed, unabated, for at least ten minutes. No one dared to want to let go of Gideon for fear of them waking up from this lovely dream, this beautiful reality that they had somehow been blessed and the universe so diligently answered their cries of desperation. Although the three eventually settled, it was clear this was going to be a very long night, moving forward. Ralph finally was the first one to gingerly pull away and allow for Vanellope to do the same. Vanellope trembled, she peered up into the terrifying, hollow, sunken beast of a man Gideon had become, the only thing recognizable about the true nature of his spirit was the tiny glint of life in his golden eyes.
"Y-You're alive," Vanellope whispered in trembling glee, she dared to smile through her tears, to which Gideon bobbed a trembling nod and now felt exhaustion take over.
"I made it," Gideon whimpered tenderly, he could feel his knees want to buckle, though he held through nicely, even though he trembled.
"Did you forfeit?" Vanellope pleaded nervously, she rested her hand to the part of Gideon's right shoulder that was void of blood.
"Forfeit? No," Gideon's voice shook, he long-blinked in confused, sickly understanding and wrinkled his nose in the gentle, harrowing delivery of his words, "I won."
Vanellope sucked in a gasp and gingerly lifted her hand from Gideon's shoulder in world-altering shock. Ralph scoffed a shaky breath and urgently rubbed his face, and though they were desperate for the two months worth of tears to let up, they knew there was no stopping this train. Ralph grunted a nervous noise and shook his head as they peered to Gideon, and what he had become. Pierced all over his face, gorgeous, bold tattoos that draped his clavicles, temples and whole backside of his body and arms, he looked sickly with dark, sunken eyes, gashes all down his chest and the right side of his face, needle marks ruined his arms, it was like staring headlong into a true nightmare creature. It had Ralph and Vanellope froze in the detrimental ideation of just what Gideon had been up to, for the past two months, save for genuinely winning Game Over, what could seemingly be guessed as winning by a landslide. The sheer beast stood in their foyer was a huge, overshadowing, looming figure of death compared to the cute, innocent little boy they had brought into this world. Ralph struggled to swallow a gulp, his voice trembled with the onslaught of tears, though felt brave anyhow.
"Son, w-we gotta get you reset," Ralph cautioned, to which Gideon now suddenly understood the weight of that.
"I don't want to see Tessa or anyone right now, I just want you guys," Gideon pleaded darkly, he glared up into his father's eyes and felt licks of his final fight now begin to taunt his brain, the dregs of drugs in his system had him feeling as if he could totally come unglued in any instant, and it was in said glower of eye contact, into Ralph's eyes, did he fervently warn Ralph to tread lightly.
"Were you followed?" Vanellope worried, suddenly the reality of Gideon's dug in ties to the dark web put a target on Sugar Rush, dead center.
"No, I doubt it, I-I was... Rescued," Gideon grunted, his eyes fluttered, he looked as if he was about to faint as he gently wobbled, though caught himself.
"Son, we HAVE to get you reset-"
"I'M NOT DOING THAT!" Gideon suddenly erupted in a full, unhinged bellow as he popped his eyes open and glared down his father, to which both Ralph and Vanellope nearly came unglued from their skin and took three steps away from Gideon in a spike of terror. Gideon's trembling breath panted through his nose as he clenched his fists, though his skull and arms now very obviously trembled, he shook to the core, his coding urgently blipped about in a mess of corrupted white. Though he settled and peered his sunken, defeated gaze into his mother's and father's in full apology, he darkly continued on, "I'm not ready, do NOT reset me. I-I just... I want..."
"What, what do you want, anything, it's yours, baby," Vanellope pleaded after a few moments of Gideon's silence, though he inhaled a shaky breath and now wobbled to try and stay standing, in which he ultimately failed and tumbled to his knees with a thud.
"Okay, c'mon, let's... Let's get you cleaned up, we can start there," Ralph firmly stepped into Gideon's gravity, carefully gripped his upper arm, and though he brought Gideon's body to a stand, he grimaced as Gideon basically hung limp in his father's sturdy grip. Without hesitation, Ralph grunted and carefully scooped Gideon into a cradle across his chest, in his strong arms, to which Gideon's heavy skull ultimately thud against Ralph's heart in limp defeat, "C'mon, you're home, you're safe... We won't reset you, but please... Please let me at least get you clean."
"I want a bath so bad," Gideon's weak, crackling voice barely uttered above a dry whisper, to which Ralph began to move in the direction of his and Vanellope's bedroom.
"Babe, go ahead and get Gideon some water, maybe some food too," Ralph tenderly ushered to Vanellope, who nodded and eagerly fell into the motions of babying her fourth born, "I don't think bathing with open wounds is wise, but... We can at least get you warm and clean."
"I'm so tired," Gideon whispered, he laid limp in his father's loving grip and relished in the smell of his childhood home, everything about this whole scenario felt incredibly surreal.
"You're home, you're safe," Ralph returned the whisper as he pushed into his and Vanellope's bathroom, he turned on the bathroom light with his elbow and pressed over to the shower area as he fervently pushed a few kisses into Gideon's wet forehead. He grimaced a small little noise of grief and uttered a plea down into Gideon's face, "We missed you more than you'll ever know..."
"I missed you guys too," Gideon grimaced in more tears to come, he choked a silent cry and was floored he was in this reality, he was safe and sound in his parent's arms, a reality he was absolutely certain would never be his ever again.
"Okay, sit here, get undressed," Ralph instructed as he sat Gideon down on their closed toilet, he quickly rushed to their huge walk-in shower and turned on the water, so to get it warm.
Gideon sagged and felt his spine want to come unglued, and though he never in a million years ever wanted to be naked in front of his parents, all decency and ideas of privacy wasn't even a blip on the radar. Although not thinking about how this could be awkward at all, he still struggled to sag his thumb into the sweatpants and underwear he was left with. He grunted and due to the feverish tremble in his weak hands and arms, he huffed a small cry of frustration and did everything he could to so much as muster the strength to even get his thumb into the brim of said sweats and underwear. Ralph moved quickly and with purpose, and as he firmly approached Gideon once more, and noticed him struggling, he shook his head and silently assured Gideon to never mind. Without blinking, Ralph gripped Gideon's upper arm, gingerly pulled him into a stand and began to lovingly usher Gideon a few notions about how he was here for him, to lean on, to be vulnerable with, a moment of tears draped down Ralph's face as he had the harrowing task for further uncovering wounds on Gideon's body. Gideon loudly grunted in trembling grimacing as Ralph successfully wrangled Gideon out of his clothes and began to cautiously lead him to the shower.
"This might suck, son, y'got dirt all in the cuts on your feet," Ralph nasally cautioned, only now noticing nasty gashes on the edges of Gideon's soles.
"Glass, mirrors," Gideon murmured through a suck of an inhale through the grit of his teeth, and as Ralph's steady arm helped Gideon into the shower, away from the spray, Gideon began to crumple, once more, to which Ralph firmly followed Gideon in the up-step and aided Gideon into a plop of a sit on his rear, on the cooler shower tiles. Gideon heavily panted and thud his skull to the wall he leaned on, he squeezed his eyes shut and was desperate for warm water on his body, "I-I can't believe I'm here..."
"Trust me, we can't either," Ralph stated through the tremble of his tone, he so desperately wanted to continue erupting into tears, though he grabbed the long shower sprayer in preparation to fully clean Gideon of the dirty blood and mud he was ruined with. Ralph nervously looked Gideon's body over and came down to a kneel, in Gideon's bubble, "Alright, just relax, this might sting."
"Okay," Gideon whimpered, his head and neck trembled as he cocked an eyebrow and was grateful Ralph turned the pressure of the sprayer down to an option that more acted like softer rainfall, though as the warm water suddenly glossed over Gideon's body, and his wounds, he equally felt relieved and rocked with pain, all at once.
Vanellope stepped into the bathroom with a huge glass of water and a box of peanut butter crackers, though she jolted clear out of her skin the second Gideon's loud, bellowing groan of full pain made the mirrors in their bathroom tremble. She stiffened and felt dread course her, though for some reason, even so much as the sound of Gideon's alive, breathing person in her vicinity was enough to soothe any jolt of motherly fear that just came over her. She shook her head in teary, bittersweet delight and pressed closer to Ralph's backside, who now did fervent work to so tenderly blot Gideon's wounds clean with a wet wash rag, his bigger hand maneuvered the sprayer over Gideon's body and cleaned him free of blood and mud. Gideon sucked in another tight breath through his teeth and erupted in full, bellowing, agonizing pain, once more, to which Ralph bobbed a nod and was eager to rush to his son's aid.
"Deep breaths, deep breaths, you're okay, bud," Ralph cooed, his deep voice trembled, he worked fast and carefully blot about Gideon's wounds in such a way that cleaned them without clawing at them. He lovingly tucked his finger underneath Gideon's strong jaw and grimaced in impending understanding, "I gotta do your face, now, close your eyes, okay?"
"Dad," Gideon whimpered in plea, tears rolled down his wet cheeks as Ralph rinsed the cloth out and began to carefully blot at the split in Gideon's bottom lip, the gash that dragged all the way down his eyebrow and cheek, a perfect representation of the handprint of a clawed creature slicing Gideon clean across the face.
"What the hell got you so good, like this?" Ralph whispered in full dread, he gently sagged Gideon's jaw shut, for him, and began to run the warm water all through Gideon's dirty hair and splayed over his face. Gideon visibly sagged and relished in the warmth he was being drowned in, it was everything he ever wanted.
"Vye," Gideon murmured sorrowfully once Ralph moved the spray away from his face, and as Ralph settled and allowed the spray to simply splash Gideon's stomach, which was void of any open wounds, Gideon's trembling, teary voice carried on as the quaking in his arms and head got a bit more jarring, "Sh-she... She clawed at me, but she... Ultimately saved me."
"Vye Ketton saved you?" Ralph staggered in terrified disbelief, to which Gideon nodded and began to weep.
"Kepa's mother brought me home, her mother is alive, she said she'd take refuge i-in... Orion City," Gideon could only get a handful of sentences out at one time before the tremors got the better of him, Ralph turned off the sprayer and now was eager to blot-dry Gideon's wounds and get him dressed in clean clothes, though he grit his teeth and bravely mentioned resetting, one more time.
"Son... Please let me compromise with you, somehow, please promise that eventually you will let us reset you," Ralph pleaded tenderly, he was grateful Gideon didn't erupt this time, though he did sharply furrow his brow and deploy pushback.
"I don't want to see Tessa or Zed or Oliver or ANYONE," Gideon grunted in a coherent string, though he heavily panted and sagged in on himself as his arms went limp in full trembling by his bare sides, "P-Please... Just sleep... Please, I just want to be held."
Ralph held his breath and tossed his eyes over his shoulder, to which Vanellope stood in hovering, frozen wait, and as the two caught eyes, Vanellope eventually heaved a long, dreaded sigh and bobbed a nod of defeat. Gideon murmured a noise and tried his best to keep his exhausted, sunken eyes open.
"Th-there's... So much to... T-Tell," Gideon whimpered quietly, he struggled to take in air, it was clear that going to sleep was his best option, outside of being reset, "Please don't... Tell anyone I-I'm home. Just let me sleep."
"You can sleep, son, it's okay," Ralph whispered as he lovingly caressed his bigger hand across Gideon's forehead, and for the first time, Gideon opened his eyes and connected said innocent, exhausted gaze tight into Ralph's in full plea. Ralph crumpled into tears and murmured Gideon a whispery notion so full of love and despair, "No matter what has happened... Y-You'll always be my Gideon."
Gideon inhaled a deep breath and furrowed his brow in the onslaught of crying that he was just wrought with, tears he was certain his body couldn't produce anymore, he heaved a shaky whimper as his split lip trembled, he bobbed an agreeing nod and shakily leaned into his father's touch.
"Thank you," Gideon squeaked with a grunt of exhaustion, he sagged and fluttered his eyes closed, "I love you guys... So much..."
"We love you, dude," Ralph grumbled as he stroked Gideon's forehead and the top of his head, and with an assured nod, a promise of hunkering down together and allowing a full night's rest to be their escape, Ralph eased Gideon the best string of words Gideon had yet to hear, "C'mon... Let's get some sleep."
A/N : I drew this infamous scene in small comic form! It's on my DeviantART titled 'Welcome Home' - I made that piece about a year ago, it's so bizarre to see it all come full circle. Whew
