Reviews :
Burgie : Agreed! Slowly but surely, they're getting it lol
Snake557 : It's only up from here! Well... In terms of everyone being in Gideon's corner finally lol
Song Listened To :
My Whole Life For This (Alternate Version) by CHPTRS
*Chapter 192*
In due diligence, as per Tessa's and Zed's massive plan, they successfully moved the palace sheer across creation, on the opposite side of Orion City. With Sugar Rush's entrance no longer in view, nestled cozily into the cascading, tropical cliffside of Cherry Ribbon Beach, Tessa made sure the flyer's enclosure was housed right into the huge gape of sand that touched the crystal blue waters that perfectly encompassed Sugar Sun Island, about five miles in the distance. Due to this, the flyer's dome entrance cozily housed Elkuorra's and Sezeke's now much bigger home right in the entrance of the enclosure, to the right of the corridor that lead to and from the main palace grounds, and off to the left was another fork of a much shorter corridor that lead straight out into a privately sectioned area of the beach. About a mile stretch of white, pillowy sand secured on either side by big cliffside boulders of earth-colored rock candy, said private sanctuary of beachside was reserved for Kepa's and Gideon's lighthouse, where Kepa was now due to moving back into, shortly.
Not wanting to ever set foot into the lighthouse without Gideon, and currently surprised she had definitively stuck to her guns, her and Gideon stood in the splay of harder ground where the lighthouse would soon be stationed. The sun was setting, the sky melted into oranges and purples of the vanishing Sugar Rush sun, they quietly stood side by side and relished in the amazing view of said sunset their lighthouse would have. They quietly awaited Lash, knowing he was the one that had to transport it safely out of Turbotime, not an easy feat. Hand in hand, they stood in tender silence with one another, after a busy day of picking furniture and getting Gideon's and Beaux's new home set up, the two were eager to get Kepa settled into her new, familiar spot, once more. Although Gideon was terrified to step back into his old life, with Kepa in hand, he was certain this would aid in their healing tenfold. Definitely not in any position to hope that it would cover wounds and things would go back to how they used to, Gideon knew this was a massive step in the right direction, a place for Kepa to properly grieve Gideon's old self and begin learning this new version of him, and her new molt, in both the physical and mental realm, as well. With footsteps Kepa heard first, she perked up and turned about in time to see Lash and Mara slowly moseying their way through the about twenty-foot long, glass tunnel of a big corridor that lead from the flyer's enclosure and straight out into the open air, the beachside Kepa was gifted.
"Kepa," Lash suddenly huffed in full, unadulterated surprise as the two caught eyes across the sand. Lash's bare feet pushed a bit harder and faster to get to the two, though as he got within a dozen feet of the two, who now turned around and curiously peered to him, he scoffed a teary little laugh and grappled the hair on the sides of his head in grinning, nostalgic shock, "Y-You... You molted, you actually did it!"
"...Oh! Yeah, User, I had no clue why you were suddenly getting so teary," Kepa mused sweetly as she held her arms out, looked down to herself, flicked her fresh tail and tossed her eyes up into Gideon's, who stood loosely to her side.
"Isn't she gorgeous?" Gideon complimented tenderly, though Lash crumpled and peered to the two in the swing of mildly coming unglued.
"Baby, what is it? What's wrong?" Mara cooed sorrowfully as she looked between Kepa and Gideon, and then to Lash; he choked a small chuckle and cutely assessed the two.
"This is the first time I've seen you two together, side by side, in months," Lash's voice clipped with tears that pooled in his vibrantly glowing, golden eyes. Gideon softened in a slope of understanding as him and Kepa sweetly peered to one another, and with a cute little snug, Gideon lovingly hugged his arm about Kepa's shoulders, pulled her into a snuggly side hug and lovingly pressed a kiss into her forehead. Lash scoffed a shaky chuckle of disbelief and watched as both beings, so saturated in growth, so beautifully kissed in molts and earned stripes, in their own right, Lash shook his head and slumped his arm to his side in sweet defeat, "Y-You guys have no clue how wild this all is... To actually see you two like this, once more. With new skin, it's like you both leveled up, tenfold."
"Nah, I've always been dumpy, Kepa, on the other hand," Gideon shrugged, Mara largely rolled her eyes and grinned, though as Lash sweetly approached Kepa, she unfurled from Gideon's arms and peered her sweet eyes tight to Lash's.
"You did it," Lash cooed cutely with a nod as the two gripped each other's hands, he sweetly stroked her knuckles with his thumbs and assessed the gorgeous, stark markings on her arms. He squeezed his eyes shut and reopened in the slide of tears down his face, he eased her the sweetest smile of nostalgic warmth, "I'm so proud of you... You pulled through a REALLY intense season of grief... You've earned every second of this, Kippy."
"Don't make me cry, Lash, we've all done enough of it for a millennia," Kepa rattled cutely as she flattened her ears, looked off and firmly blinked to keep tears from forming, Lash cutely reached for Mara's hand, in which she gently gripped Gideon's in the swing of him reaching for Kepa's, to connect the circle.
"Look how far all of us have come," Lash murmured warmly, all four stood with each other in this brand new season of their life, all four beings glanced into each other's eyes as the seaside breeze rustled their hair and light clothes about, "We still got a long way to go, but... Damn..."
"This is all thanks to Kepa," Mara mused gently as Kepa looked down and shrugged in humbled cuteness.
"We can thank Kepa for keeping hope, we can thank Ora for delivering the message," Gideon stated gently with a nod, he frowned and looked down to everyone's bare feet, "There's a lot to be sad about, but... I appreciate this approach. We all have come a very long way. I can't wait for things to be normal, again..."
"Well, things will never be what they once were, you altered the script a little, my guy," Lash mumbled in brotherly tease, Gideon rolled his eyes and looked off as Kepa eased a giggle; she admired the lay of his tattoos, on the underside of his neck and jaw, the golden glint in his eyes caught with Kepa in a smoldering show of almost stewing frustration, something that had Kepa's heart stopping in a fit of a rekindled flint of a spark inside of her. She flattened her ears in a swing of girly surprise and flinched as Lash's voice erupted in a shaky laugh that roused the group, "Got the whole entire fucking game station cloaked, got security and all sorts of threaded forcefields at the router's outlet, you and everyone involved in this mess doesn't exist on the grid... Normality will eventually come, but for now, I'm glad we all have each other again."
"The only thing that would make this entirely better is if... Callum came back," Gideon muttered sorrowfully, he shook his head and inhaled a huge, shaky breath as Kepa flattened her ears tight in disagreeing and looked off, "Sure, he... Corrupted my coding, and seemingly is Flint's henchman, but-"
"H-He did what?!" Kepa suddenly erupted in a stiffen of her tail and spine, Gideon largely flinched and peered hard into her eyes.
"...Ohh, bud, you uh... Y'gotta give Kepa all these details, friend, I could've sworn you already have," Lash mused nervously, though Gideon began to show signs of losing his already shortened temper as his tremors got a little worse.
"Oh, sorry, reuniting fifteen minutes in was then switched to focus on Kepa reuniting with her mother, sorry I didn't fucking stick around to tell her all about the torture I've been through, I figured the reunion with the woman who birthed her was a LITTLE more important," Gideon suddenly growled, and though Lash was now mildly used to Gideon's outbursts, Mara and certainly Kepa weren't.
"Hey, whoa," Lash retort as everyone gently dropped hands, Lash gestured to Gideon and choked a laugh, "I'm not interrogating you, I was being playful."
"Yeah, well, I only have so many fucking hours in a day, buddy," Gideon stabbed meanly, clearly riding on any shell of a man he was in The Block, clearly a harsh, nasty exterior he likely had to put on for others, Kepa finally laid her hand to Gideon's upper arm and understood he needed to be reeled in.
"Hey. We promised each other we'd leave room for each other to be cranky and upset, but just because there's room doesn't mean you can make it house-sized," Kepa instructed gently, Gideon sagged and sorrowfully glanced to Lash and back to Kepa, "Read the energy, Gid, Lash meant you absolutely no harm. Yes, I'd like any and all information you have to tell. Yes, I'm willing to be patient... And yes, I appreciate you putting me and my mother first, that says a lot about you."
"Tread lighter, love," Mara muttered to Lash, who heaved a shaky sigh and caught now apologetic gazes with Gideon.
"I'm sorry, bud, c'mon, you know I'm just pulling your leg, I'm not here to make your situation harder, you KNOW that," Lash shook his head and gave Gideon a knowing side-eye, "I helped you through that whole mess, in the code room. I sat by your side. I love you, dude. I'm well aware Kepa's likely going to get FAR more of your time, a far deeper and grander look into all of this than ANY of us will ever hope to get, and that's perfectly fine. It will take time... I'm sorry for making it seem like you've failed."
"It's okay," Gideon sniffled and looked off, Kepa lovingly rubbed his arm and shook her head.
"All we have is time, truly," Kepa mused, she eyed Gideon in cheeky authority and smiled with her fangs, "There's a TON I learned about you in your absence, there's a ton we have to touch base on and then continue informing. Even if we stayed up until the sun rose, this morning, talking after we reunited, we likely wouldn't have even made a dent."
"Don't be hard on yourself, uncle Gideon, time is on our side," Mara looked off in mild dread, "Given... Callum and Flint don't wise up and figure out just where you went."
"The second they figure out that Elkuorra is missing is the second we're screwed," Gideon worried, Lash sharply furrowed his brow and shook his head.
"As if, like I said, I've armed the whole station to the teeth," Lash's voice lilted in joyous nonchalance, "You have five Users on standby, just because Ace and Libby like to stay out of trouble doesn't mean they have been silent through this mess... Everyone has played their part, thus far."
"What's my part, here?" Gideon aided nervously, he nodded and shrugged, "Surely I can help out."
"You know what your part is, Gid?" Lash lovingly stepped into Gideon's bubble, cupped his hand to Gideon's right arm, though also reached out to cup Kepa's left arm. In a cute little snug, he squeezed the two together, "Your part is to be an entirely open book to Kepa, and vice versa. Your part is to make nice, dig your heels in, renew the energy of the lighthouse and keep your heads down. Find mentors on palace grounds who will build you two up, sure there's hurt, and sure there will be hardship, but... You two need each other. Gideon, your manifesting depends on it. Kepa, your molt tells the tale of a million words, the markings on your fur are proof that your guys cooperation isn't just for funsies."
"...You're saying there's something bigger than just our relationship, in this?" Gideon sweetly wondered in a narrow of warm confusion, "What do you mean by that?"
"Gideon, you have an in... You had a massive look at just how the dark web operates, just who's in charge, just what kind of people you lived with," Lash shook his head and shrugged, "I'm not saying right this second, I'm not saying right this month, even this year, but... There's family missing, on palace grounds. Callum, Vye, the Game Over winners... They're all family, are they not?"
Gideon heaved a shaky sigh and gently glanced down into Kepa's eyes as the two bobbed nods in knowing dread, though Kepa covered her mouth and silently coughed a small little cry at the thought of her older sister still being lost to the void of it all. Now that the majority of her family was reunited, she flattened her ears and was welcomed by Lash, Mara and Gideon's gentle little words of loving assurance, though as Lash pulled her into a big hug, he chuckled over the top of her little shoulder and gave her a good squeeze.
"I'm pretty sure Gideon told me he promised he'd go back for Ora, I know Vye, Albar and Jukkit would be included in on that," Lash stated quietly as he caught eyes with Gideon's fervent, adamant stare of solid diligence he exuded, he bobbed a nod as Lash continued on, "It's a terrifying thought, but... One day, when we're all standing on solid ground, we're sharpened and ready to puff our chests and end this mess, I hope to be standing next to you three in the thick of it."
"W-We'd actually go rescue them?" Kepa whimpered nervously, Lash shrugged as he pulled away from Kepa and held her upper arms in a swing of warmth, he admired the gorgeous markings on her face and brushed her white, choppy bangs out of her eyes.
"That's what we do for family... It was what we wanted to do for Gideon, but we didn't know what we didn't know," Lash stated sorrowfully as he glanced to Gideon in a swing of assurance, "But, now that we have information from all angles... This is something we need to bring to an end."
"What if Callum can't be reasoned with?" Gideon worried, he narrowed his gaze and shrugged, "Where's uncle Rancis in this mess?"
"He moved off of palace grounds cause he was feuding with Ralph, over you leaving and Callum helping you to it... Ralph and Rancis have since made nice, but... I'm positive that only YOU can convince Rancis to move back," Lash stated knowingly as he gently released Kepa's arms and loosened in the circle the four stood in, "That's something I'd be happy to accompany you, whenever you feel you're ready to see him. He has no idea you've come back... So, that should probably happen sometime soon."
"I wouldn't even know where to start," Gideon grumbled, he shrugged and gave Lash a knowing little look, "Yeah, it'd... Probably be best if I had company."
"Any one of us would be happy to join," Lash spoke for the two women on either side of him, they both fervently nodded in agreeing. Lash sucked in a huge breath, pulled out his phone and blurt a chuckle, "For now, however, let's get the lighthouse planted, once and for all."
All three bobbed nods as they began to head closer to the glass tunnel that lead back into the flyer's enclosure. They patiently watched as Lash began to cutely nose about Sugar Rush's code room, and with the transportation of Kepa's and Gideon's gorgeous lighthouse, he successfully unfurled it's code room structure, all lit up in his coral-colored coding, and with a huge, hefty, earth-rumbling thud, he delivered it into Sugar Rush's soil and placed it perfectly nestled near a small cliffside it towered over. Gideon flinched in surprise as the beams of the lighthouse's gorgeous cast of sunlight began to slowly spin, huge tethers of his fresh beacon home, he sucked in a trembling, silent gasp and quietly crumpled into tears as he squeezed his eyes shut in marinated in the very essence of Ora's tender begging, the urge to go home, the promise that Kepa was waiting. Gideon grunted a choke of a noise and pinched the bridge of his nose, just under his erl piercing, and relished in the feel of Kepa's firm palm that rubbed up and down the side of his left arm. She eased a cute, nasally little giggle of equal tears and hissed him a warm notion of finalized love.
"You made it home, Gid," Kepa whispered sweetly, such words that had Mara now rolling her eyes as huge tears billowed in her gaze as well, frustration over the fact that nearly anything said could move the four to immediate tears at any given moment.
"It's beautiful," Gideon quietly croaked, he looked up to the incredible spire and felt his heart thud in nostalgic remembrance, he looked down to Kepa and gave her an unsure smile, "I-Is... Is everything inside...?"
"Untouched, I never had the courage to go back in without you," Kepa whimpered as she wiped her cheeks, Lash came trudging back, through the sand, and gave the two a wide smile.
"C'mon, you two, go in, have a laugh, poke around... Don't be so hard on yourselves, it's just as you two left it," Lash assured with a wall of warmth, and as Gideon suddenly pushed out with the grapple of Kepa's hand, he jolted as her stance was stubborn and unmoving.
"Kepa," Gideon huffed tearfully as he firmly looked over his shoulder and halted his movement, he gave her an apologetic little look and shook his head, "C'mon, we can do it."
"I-I'm so scared to go back in, I'm so scared of remembering the day I was told that... You were gone," Kepa grimaced into a full splay of crying as she held the side of her face with one hand and gripped Gideon's in the other; although Lash and Mara stood close as a tiny audience, Gideon fervently erased them from his peripheral, lovingly pressed into Kepa's bubble and cupped her adorable face with his big hands, albeit lightly trembling.
"We have to shatter the illusion, we have to make a brand new memory to override the last... Let's go in, reminisce, cry our eyes out, whatever we do, we do it together," Gideon so sweetly whispered down into her face as her teary eyes firmly collected to his in slow darts back and forth between his intense, golden stare, "I don't care how many times I have to walk in and out of the front door to prove that I'm still here... I'll do it a million times before the night ends, I promised you that things would lean in your favor, from now on."
"Promise?" Kepa whispered tearfully as she peered up to him in nervous desperation.
"Promise," Gideon returned warmly, his deep voice crackled, he bobbed her a small nod and hovered before her face.
"You may now kiss the bride," Lash stated in full, grinning confidence, and though Mara and Kepa erupted into cute giggling, Kepa hummed said giggle on the push of Gideon cutely falling into a firm smooch on her lips.
"Oh my gosh we got them to kiss in front of us," Mara blurt with a wide grin, "That never happened."
"A rare sight, to be honest," Lash chuckled as he put his hands on his hips.
"...God dammit, Gideon," Kepa grunted through cute laughter that everyone fell into.
"C'mon. We can talk and be angry and tell stories and fight and do whatever the hell, preferably in the spire where you can scratch other things besides me," Gideon murmured into her face as her grin broadened, though Lash bugged his eyes and looked off.
"D-doesn't the spire have like a hundred-foot drop, Gideon?" Lash grumbled, Kepa grinned with her fangs and pulled from Gideon's gravity as she grappled his big hand.
"Sure does!" Kepa stated in full, playful excitement through her tears, and as her and Gideon stumbled to get their footing in hurried jogging to the lighthouse's infamous front door, Lash and Mara laughed alongside them and waved them off.
In the scuffle of their feet to the sandy front door, Gideon gingerly gripped the front door's round handle, turned it and peered back into Kepa's eyes with a swing of loving, prickled delight.
"Ready?" He eased, and though Kepa sucked in a huge breath, hovered for a moment and gripped Gideon's free hand in trembling, bittersweet anxiousness, she finally exhaled said huge breath and bobbed a single anticipatory nod.
"Ready."
