Reviews :
Burgie : Thank you! Yeah I'll be okay. Kepa's a good bean, she belongs :)
Snake557 : Thank you friend! :D
Song Listened To :
Fuel to Fire (Dexcell Remix) by Agnes Obel
*Chapter 197*
As the sun rose and made its way into Sugar Rush's minty sky, a loft of billowing storm clouds eventually made their way across the atmosphere and began to speckle the small group in drizzling raindrops. Ralph, Vanellope, Tessa, Gideon and Kepa loosely gathered about Rancis and Taffyta's front door, a quaint little home that now was clear across creation. Due to the palace being moved, Rancis's home was now on the opposite side of Orion City. This gave Gideon more of a reason to push that Rancis and Taffyta move back to the palace. As the group approached his modest little cottage-like home, Gideon nervously glossed his eyes about the group, balled a gentle fist and thud his hefty knuckles to Rancis's dark brown front door. Gideon sucked in a trembling breath and felt his heart thud like crazy in his chest, he knew having to reveal to Rancis just what had become of his youngest child wasn't something easy to endure, for anyone. He lulled his eyes closed in silent, anticipatory nervousness and flinched the second the front door swung open, and Taffyta was in the gape half-dressed in her game day attire, the only thing missing was her pink racing jacket. Gideon raised his eyebrows in an uplift of prickled curiosity as he met eyes with his aunt, though he frowned and felt his gut turn at solid remembrance, a feeling he was quite familiar with now, the sight of people literally fleeing from his presence at all costs.
"Gideon," Taffyta whispered in crumpling, terrified disbelief.
She shook her head and fervently dart her sunken, exhausted eyes to Ralph, Vanellope, and back to Gideon, and though Gideon was nervous to do so, he gingerly opened his arms and hands for the insinuation that he was approachable for a hug. She whispered a teary notion about how she literally couldn't believe her eyes, though she finally was reduced to tears the second Gideon scooped her approaching figure in for a huge embrace about her back. She grappled her arms about his neck and silently wept into his shoulder, and as Ralph and Vanellope sweetly gestured for Tessa and Kepa to file into Taffyta's house, due to it beginning to rain a bit harder, Gideon and Taffyta remained still in the bigger gape of the doorway. Thunder suddenly rolled over the land, in which finally shook Taffyta and Gideon from their tight embrace. With ease, Gideon gently ushered the two inside, shut the door behind him and smiled into his aunt's teary eyes.
"H-How... Y-You..." Taffyta began to look as if she was due to hyperventilating shortly, the way she'd suck in trembling, teary inhales, it was here did Gideon gingerly grip her upper arms and huff her a sweet notion laced in warm, quiet laughter.
"Breathe, aunt Taffyta, it's gunna be okay," Gideon eased lovingly, to which Taffyta nodded and peered hard into the face of the man she once would call a doughy, lovable Ralph look-a-like, though was now somewhere next to being labelled a striking visual of a sinister beast. Gideon gently swooped his eyes about her's and Rancis's dim front foyer; it had a broom closet, a tiny mud room off of the front door all laden in beautiful chocolate-stone tiles. Not nearly as grand as their abode back on palace grounds, it still suit the Fluggerbutters perfectly. Gideon's heart ached, he stepped into the main home with her by his side, he glossed his eyes to his family as they got comfortable in their living room, "I know quarter alerts are coming up, but I really need to speak to you and uncle Rancis, is he around?"
"Y-Yeah, he was just showering," Taffyta whimpered, she finally broadened her gaze to the individuals in her living room; she peered hard into Vanellope's equally teary eyes and shook her head, "What the hell is happening?"
"I told you that you weren't gunna believe me if I told you," Vanellope choked a small, teary giggle; although both women weren't nearly as estranged as Ralph and Rancis once were, there was still palpable tension in the room, no matter what.
"Hey, Ralph," Rancis stated in an uplift of warmth as he scuffed his heels from down a singular hallway, nearby, though as he came out into the open and assessed just who was here, he stopped dead in his tracks the second him and Gideon met eyes. He clutched his chest, froze in terrified dread and visibly looked rocked from the face of Arcade. He struggled to suck in a sharp, silent gasp as the tendons in his thick jugular stiffened, his vivid blue eyes hooked hard into Gideon's, and with the hot realization that he had a Game Over winner right in his living room, merely a dozen feet from him, he now visibly shook and nearly whimpered out the words, "G-Gideon, the hell you doing here...?"
Just as Gideon was due to opening his mouth and politely rushing all of Rancis's and Taffyta's worries, the group flinched in shock the second Rancis mumbled a small noise of despair, clutched the thighs of his pants and clumsily got to a near-terrified kneel on the ground, he sagged his heels into the back of his rear with a solidified sag of true, unadulterated submission in Gideon's presence. As if merely in the presence of a villain coming to take his soul, Rancis trembled and hung his head in full apology, from absolutely every angle. He grit his teeth, choked a cry out to the room and looked as if this was his one-way ticket to becoming entirely unglued for good, a brave face he had been wearing for way too long now, now due to withering away. Gideon flinched upon Rancis's deflate to the ground, a bow like what Gideon was previously eager for, though now that it was just Rancis and Gideon in this weird predicament, Gideon largely frowned and peered down to the top of Rancis's head in musing consideration. There was a shred of him that secretly really enjoyed relishing in his old mindset, the desire for people to fear him, to bow upon his presence, it wasn't until Gideon broadened his sharp and commandeering gaze up and straight into his father's, stood just a few feet to Rancis's left, did Gideon feel his muscles soften.
Gideon held his breath as him and his father fervently held gazes. Both men had a four hour conversation in the span of mere split seconds within this one grapple of eye contact, and with said relinquish of control, the desire for justice served and vengeance gained, Gideon bobbed his father a small, humbled nod, sagged his eyes a bit broader to Ralph's right and landed right with Kepa's equally as concerned, pleading gaze. His reason for breathing, his true beacon home, the glowing light at the end of the tunnel, he fervently peered hard into Kepa's eyes and allowed every single last ounce of her love for him to fill their gap, the way her pleading eyes practically begged for Gideon to air the drama out and wrangle these poor parents home, to their fresh and rebuilt community, Gideon gave Kepa a small nod, as well, and finally sagged his tired, humbled, sweet gaze down to his uncle. Gideon heaved a long, hot sigh through his nose, grunted to a one-knee kneel near Rancis's figure, and lovingly gripped his bigger hand about Rancis's upper arm. With an easy tug, Gideon successfully brought Rancis to a stand and held his shoulder, and though Rancis physically flinched at any single move Gideon made, Rancis softened his teary, blistered gaze and peered hard up into Gideon's eyes in wild disbelief.
"I escaped The Block, I have quite a bit I need to fill you in on, about Callum," Gideon tenderly mused, his deep voice was calm and steady, he did everything to make his uncle believe that Gideon wasn't a threat. He gently squeezed Rancis's shoulder and gave him a forlorn look of curiosity, "Are you willing to sit with me and discuss it?"
"Yeah," Rancis whispered in still-enchanted, bewildered stun, it was only here did he finally crack a teary smile amidst a scoff of continued disbelief, "Y-You're home, I can't believe it..."
"Y'know, same," Gideon stated with a cute little chuckle as he glanced to his parents and back to Rancis, "It's quite literally a miracle I'm here talking to you, uncle... I've been through hell."
"Is Callum alive?" Taffyta worried, she gestured for the group to settle in their kitchen, which had a bit more comfortable standing space. Just off the living room, past the dim front foyer, was an archway that lead into their kitchen. Higher ceilings and a modest island right in the center, Gideon, Rancis and Taffyta all rounded about it as everyone else found places to lean and stand. Thunder crawled over the game, the sound of rain splattering nearby windows soothed the tense energy in the room, Taffyta did what she could to wipe her face of tears and brush her choppy white hair out of her face, "W-we lost contact with him shortly after he left..."
"Yes, Callum's alive... But, even if Callum somehow kept his phone, in The Block, getting wireless information in and out of that place is nearly impossible without the right connections," Gideon explained with a nod, he broadened his chest in a huge inhale and felt his tremors begin to act up, due to the rush of anxiety he had for this conversation. Nervously he rubbed his forehead, it was obvious in this action that he was now trembling, and with such, Ralph firmly rested his big hand to Gideon's broad upper back and began to rub in soothing motions. Stood to Ralph's right was Gideon, he was cutely delighted to find Kepa stood confident to Ralph's left. Ralph caught eyes with Gideon in a swing of gratitude as Gideon huffed Ralph an affirming notion, "I-I'm okay, just... I hate reliving it all."
"We're right here for you," Ralph assured with a nod, he continued to keep his strong hand to Gideon's back as Gideon bobbed another nod of pure gratitude and finally gave Rancis and Taffyta his full attention.
"Guys, I hate to be the one telling you all of this, and I'm not entirely sure just what you know about Callum, and what you don't know, but... He's kind of gone off the deep end and is consorting with, well... One of the top dogs of Game Over. He was my old guidance counselor, I'm sure you guys are aware, his name is Flint," Gideon explained, Rancis and Taffyta held in tight, woven hand holding, a loving grapple of nervous anticipation, it was clear they were all each other had in this world of sorrow they were drowning in. Gideon knew none of this would be easy to say, and even more so, he dared to give Kepa a full swing of eye contact as he cautiously carried on, "What I'm about to say isn't even stuff I've described to Kepa, just yet, cause... I mean, to be honest, even I can't believe it."
"What happened?" Rancis croaked nervously, fear plagued the two, they still looked as if they were having out of body experiences where they stood.
"The short of it is... One of the Game Over winners, Ora, is a medium. She gave me visions of Kepa manifesting us home, via the lighthouse, and... Well, it was kind of my come-to moment, and I immediately began barraging my other house mate, one of the other Game Over winners, for information on how to leave," Gideon explained softly as he held eyes with Rancis, "Little did I know... That wasn't allowed, I had no clue attempting to leave would be punishable... I truly thought, walking into that Arena, going on my kill-spree, I was CERTAIN I wouldn't ever dream of coming back here. It's a miracle I'm standing here, Uncle Rancis."
"Y-You were punished?" Taffyta staggered sorrowfully, Gideon heaved a long sigh through his nose and lulled his eyes closed in dread.
"I was taken to a big, dark room, where Callum single-handedly robbed me of my powers," Gideon's voice croaked as he peeled his tired, darkened eyes open and aimlessly peered down to the kitchen island the group loosely hovered about, "Arms tied behind my back, a metal lasso around my neck, that muted all my powers, so I couldn't fight back, Callum ordered to have me pinned to what I can only describe as a hot-plate that, once turned on, might as well have been the surface temperature of the sun."
"H-He TOOK your coding?" Taffyta cried in terror as she cupped the side of her face in full apology.
"Wrecking, glitching, manifesting," Gideon listed tenderly as he opened his palm, and upon cueing his purple coding, the group watched as Gideon's gorgeous, swirly coding was exposed. However beautiful and unique it all looked, the group tightly grimaced in full, harrowing dread as Gideon's raspy voice croaked on in regret, "He sliced my circuits wide open, carved my powers out of me with the hot plate I was pinned to, and sent me off to a red room for continued torture... Guess it was to teach me a lesson."
Although doing a nice job of staying composed, Kepa finally uttered a soft hiccup of a noise, covered her mouth, flattened her ears and firmly turned to look into Ralph's left arm and beyond it, behind Ralph's big figure. In trying to hide her face, she silently coughed a small few cries into her hand and finally sagged her face into both of her palms. Ralph raised his eyebrows in a prickle of surprise and as everyone firmly turned to assess the sudden, quiet outburst, Ralph tsked her a small noise of understanding, got to his left knee, leveled with her and so warmly opened his arms for her. With an easy snug he knew no one would say no to, Ralph's deep voice grunted a small noise of settlement as he firmly tucked Kepa's littler body into the left side of his chest. She had her face still shoved into her palms, her littler arms tucked tight between herself and Ralph's chest, and with a huge swallow, Ralph embraced Kepa in a firm squeeze and sorrowfully peered up to Gideon, from his one-knee kneel. Now chest-up from the kitchen island, he squeezed his eyes shut in dread as Kepa now confidently staggered hard cries into Ralph's chest, the very idea of Gideon going through this level of hell was more than she could bear to hear.
"Callum HAS your powers now?" Rancis muttered sorrowfully as the group collectively either gave Kepa a look of forlorn apology or snugged closer to Ralph's presence so to rub her upper back or arms, in show of support.
"Yes," Gideon mumbled in full dread, he rubbed his forehead, grunted in a firm downward lean, and with a successful, tender grapple, he carefully wrapped his hand about Kepa's tail, which was loose in defeat about Ralph's feet, and brought it up to him so to comfort her in a way that only he was allowed to. Gideon sighed, lifted Kepa's tail with one hand and firmly began to stroke the underside of said hefty appendage with long, easy pets of care, "He told me that I'd get them back after I came to my senses, we could have a chat and really figure out where my loyalty laid, but... Vye took me to a red room to continue on with the tirade, but I guess I had a singular ounce of glitching left in me, cause... We exterior swapped."
"Kepa's sister," Taffyta pointed gently, although no proper introductions were made clear, it was obvious to the group that this cat-like creature that Gideon was very easily loving on was none-other than Kepa.
"I gave her mental images of Kepa and made clear to Vye that she was alive and well, and that Kepa was my main reason for wanting to leave," Gideon lovingly explained as he continued on in slow, long, easy pets down the end of Kepa's tail. Kepa continued to silently weep into Ralph's chest, to which Ralph's much bigger thumbs soothingly rubbed her littler shoulder blades and upper back, "After a scuffle to try and get free, I successfully exterior swapped with Vye and... She helped me escape. If it weren't for Vye, I wouldn't be alive."
"Vye Ketton, truly," Taffyta huffed in full, boggled enchantment. She scoffed a teary giggle and smiled in Kepa's direction, "I-I can't believe any of this is even happening, right now..."
"Callum wanted powers so badly, and... God dammit, I'd do anything to reverse time," Rancis croaked through his tears, he covered his mouth with the back of his hand and did what he could to try and stay composed as Taffyta rubbed his lower back, "I'd do anything... Just to assure him that he was enough, to get to his level and really tackle this insecurity head-on."
"All of us parents have madly fumbled, with this whole situation," Vanellope tearfully mused with a nod and a lull of her eyes shut, to which Tessa crossed her arms and murmured her opinion, as well.
"It's not just you guys... ALL of us have to answer for this," Tessa stated nervously, "All of us have neglected Gideon and Callum... The difference is, Gideon found something worth living for that was greater than anything The Block could ever offer."
"What, all of us?" Taffyta wondered in almost concerned disbelief, to which Tessa choked a small, annoyed giggle and looked off.
"I wish, aunt Taffyta," Tessa grinned, she shrugged and glanced in Kepa's direction with sweetness, a humble show of defeat, she knew no one measured up, "Sugar Rush could've been burning to the ground and Gideon would reach for Kepa."
"I wouldn't just watch the game go down with a smile, c'mon now," Gideon murmured with an annoyed eye roll, to which everyone roused to a hum of laughter.
"Love, Gideon had love," Tessa affirmed with a nod, she inhaled a shaky breath and gave her aunt and uncle an apologetic frown, "It pains me to this day that Callum can't source that... There was even a season where Gideon couldn't, either. It took Ora giving you a swift kick in the pants for him to finally get good."
"I remember Flint telling me that if I had love, I didn't need anything the Arena had to offer," Gideon bobbed a nod and choked an incredulous laugh, "Flint, the mastermind behind this bullshit, told me that... The man in love with Kepa's mother."
"Oh, so this is a hostage situation, then," Rancis grunted as he choked a noise and desperately tried to clear his throat, "Flint has Vye in a chokehold because he wants Vye's and Kepa's mother for himself..."
"Just about, it was more so about Sezeke, their father," Gideon stated with a nod, "Either way... Flint nor Callum have what they want. Flint made it clear... Nothing in the Arena is worth losing that breed of love. The reason I took his words literally and ran off was because Kepa and I had a huge misunderstanding and I... Assumed her and I were over."
"So, Callum's just... Running around The Block with all of your powers, now? Now that you figured out just what you wanted and made clear you wanted to leave, he just robs you of your coding and tosses you to the wolves?" Taffyta worried, Gideon shrugged and nodded.
"I'm not comforted by the idea that my son is going through a manic episode and just... HAS your manifestation powers," Rancis staggered in full terror, "H-He just... Can WILL anything? Whenever?"
"Yes, sir," Gideon grumbled in dread as he eyed his uncle in hot knowing, "What's worse is... My coding was WROUGHT with drugs, I was so sleep deprived, my coding was in an awful headspace at the time that Callum took it from me. I'm scared over the fact that Callum just has this hellish version of me under his skin now, and User knows what the hell he's gunna use it for."
"All that trauma from the game, the drug abuse, whatever else you were up to," Tessa listed nervously, and though Gideon wasn't keen on overexposing the nasty stuff he was on about, he looked off and diligently listed a few things for emphasis.
"Money was the big thing... Money and drugs. I was a dealer for a few weeks there, I got all kinds of shit from all sorts of terrifying strangers on the dark web, drugs I couldn't even pronounce, promises that fueled my mental state with the desperation for more substance to get underneath my skin," Gideon mumbled as he lulled his eyes closed in dread, "It wasn't until the sexual favors started being requested did I just choose to retreat into myself... I hate to be blunt about it, but truly, any single notion leaning towards romance or girlfriends or swapmates or ANYTHING, had me thinking of Kepa, or doing everything I could not to... And then Ora was just about to shake me into the next dimension, she was so frustrated with me."
"Well, I hope Vye's okay, she totally incriminated herself," Tessa mumbled in a show of sweet concern for Kepa's big sister, "I wonder what happened next... If you were suddenly in Vye's hands and then you just vanish? Alongside their mother? I just... I hope Vye's okay."
"Probably the weirdest thing to ever agree to, but yeah, same," Vanellope bobbed a nod and gave the back of Kepa's head a forlorn frown; Kepa remained with her face buried in Ralph's chest, over his heart, to which Ralph's massive scoop of a loving embrace never wavered.
"So, you're saying, if Callum had a girlfriend or a lover, NONE of this would even be happening?" Rancis stated in a swing of fatherly protection, he peered to Gideon in full desperation, "I'm really thrilled that the bond you and Kepa have is that strong, and can transcend even the most harrowing experiences, but... That's rare, Callum certainly would've made a fine spouse for someone, but I can't imagine that all his struggles would be erased due to it."
"Ehh, it gets rid of a lot of strife, my guy, we all know this well," Ralph tenderly mused above a murmuring whisper, due to his face being so close to the gape of Kepa's bigger ear.
"It... Changes things, suddenly the world doesn't revolve around you," Tessa shrugged as she looked off with a bittersweet little smile, "Not that being in a relationship with someone just for the sake of staying sane and keeping your feet planted is healthy, I just... I see why Gideon wised up and bounced back. He had a future awaiting him."
"As much as we want to sit here and say, oh, Gideon came home for us, I mean... I'm sure deep in his heart, that was a feeling, but, the drive to have a unified future with someone, especially your best friend?" Vanellope sorrowfully peered into Rancis's eyes, "We have to put ourselves in Callum's shoes... Flint's right. There's nothing in that Arena that is better than love, as cheesy and cliche as it all sounds, it's true."
"So, what do we even do from here?" Rancis choked nervously, "I-Is he going to come for Sugar Rush and destroy everything we have? It's clear you boys are no longer on good terms, so... What does this mean for us? You coming home has likely had Callum setting his sights right for us, right?"
"That is unless Callum was told that maybe Gideon died?" Tessa suddenly brightened in side-eyeing suspicion, "I wonder if Vye covered for Gideon and... Told Callum that unfortunately, he died due to the torture."
"That could be why the game is so suspiciously quiet," Vanellope whispered, "Outside of all the work the Users have done to keep names off the grid, and such, but... That's a good point, Tess."
"Well, he's still my son, I still love him, no matter what has happened, at the end of the day, he's still my little boy," Rancis crumpled as he rubbed his forehead, to which Taffyta covered her face and audibly wept in whispering coughs of despair. Gideon heaved a shaky sigh and lovingly wrangled his aunt into a big hug as Rancis carried on, "I'd do anything to just... Go get him. Snatch him up, tell him that we'll make it all better, again..."
"I hate to stress everyone out more so than we already are, but... We have to go back," Gideon stated in a swing of gentle confidence as he held Taffyta to his chest, "I made the mistake of promising Ora I'd be back for her, and... Kepa's mother told me that she told Vye she'd be back for her, too. A lot of rushed promises were made in the heat of terrifying moments, but... I do believe they need to be upheld."
"W-We can't just dive out onto the internet, especially the dark web, we'd be killed so quick," Rancis worried as he fervently rubbed Taffyta's upper back and wiped his own tears.
"I don't think anything major needs to be discussed at this time, but... I gave Ora my word, I cannot abandon them there... And, given the chance to try and find Callum and Vye? Every person there is worth it," Gideon urged in great warmth with a nod, "There are currently three beings, on palace grounds, with a very clear idea of JUST how The Block operates. Granted Elkuorra has literal years over my two or three months there, it's still inside information Callum and Flint surely don't want out and about."
"You're saying we have an edge, because we have an in," Vanellope mused nervously, Gideon sighed and nodded.
"We can talk about a game plan for another day, but... Uncle Rancis, I was sent here with the mission to collect you and I'm not leaving this point on the grid until you agree to me one thing," Gideon stated in full confidence as he gave Taffyta a squeeze, gently unhanded her and firmly peered his dominant gaze tight into his uncle's.
"...I-I can't, Gideon, I know what you're gunna ask, and I can't," Rancis muttered tightly, to which Gideon lifted his head a little, shook his head with his eyes closed and was adamant about not taking no for an answer.
"You are to attend to quarter alerts and continue your day like normal, but you will see to it that you're at the palace afterwards, with your bride," Gideon stated in a firm swing of assured, now smiling love.
"B-But what if-"
"People give you flack? Someone dogs you?" Gideon's voice grew in strength, any instance where Gideon showed his scarier, harder edge typically had jaws snapping shut and eyes bugged wide in a gulp of impending intimidation, "No one will dare step one toe out of line while I'm here. You can refer them to ME, if anyone's gunna think they're slick for giving you ANY shred of hell. I will personally hand them their ass."
Rancis sucked in a huge, trembling breath and looked down with a grimace of defeat, and much to everyone's full shock, he squeezed his eyes shut and bobbed a finalized nod of full acceptance. The group visibly loosened as Gideon meanly chuckled and gave Rancis a loving, protective look of sinisterly glee.
"I've been through hell and back, I've smashed heads and stepped through the bloody pixels without looking back," Gideon's raspy voice croaked, he shook his head, the fire in his eyes glinted against Rancis's teary gaze as Gideon's villainous desires now easily translated into a boast of familial protectiveness, "Keeping palace residents in shape is a cake walk. I'll be your guard dog, uncle Rancis. You and aunt Taffyta won't have to worry about a single thing."
"Thank you," Taffyta whimpered as she wiped her face free of tears.
"You're welcome... I love you guys, we'll get through this mess, I promise," Gideon sighed as he rubbed Taffyta's upper back, "Let's get settled at the palace, lay as low as we can, for now... We can discuss our own version of Game Over, later on."
"It'd be an away-game," Tessa muttered in sarcastic, smiling dread, one that had Gideon brightening, though with his release of his aunt from a comforting hug, he now focused his attention on Kepa; she unfurled from Ralph's big chest, and though Ralph lovingly wiped some of Kepa's tears with his bigger thumb, he ultimately grunted to a full stand and sweetly maneuvered Kepa so she was now tight in Gideon's presence.
"I didn't know it was THAT bad," Kepa whimpered as she tightly gripped her arms about Gideon's chest, and with all this nonsense, Vanellope finally looked away and began to fervently fan her eyes in the desperate attempt to keep from erupting into tears, herself.
"Yeah, it... Was far more excruciating than I've even explained, I'm trying not to scare you guys," Gideon mumbled nervously into Kepa's hair, he peered to Rancis with a frown and continued on, "Thanks for hearing me out, uncle Rancis... I know this isn't easy to digest, all at once."
"I-It's okay, I'm just glad both of you boys are still alive," Rancis nodded, he exhaled a shaky sigh and lulled his wet eyes closed, "You found your way back... I'll still hold out hope for the last smarty that wandered too far from home."
