Reviews :
CHICKENM4N : lol yeah, it's the worst when that happens... haha
Burgie : Yes indeed! All answered in different avenues of time and people lol
Snake557 : Yeah he definitely doesn't like it x] Berri will call him that just to be teasing.
Jay Sketchin : Hahaha! Ohh in due time, my friend. Don't you worry :P
Romantic Sapp : Hey! I just want to give you one MASSIVE thank you. When you first reviewed on Wrecking Limits, showing fervor to keep reading, I was excited but I also was worried - nearly 99% of my new readers, to Wrecking Limits, eventually fall off the face of the Earth and never actually catch up with me. Understandable, the story is incredibly massive and likely daunting to look at from chapter 1 of Wrecking Limits... But you totally did! And I LOVE seeing your guys' reactions to everything this saga entails, and the relieved moment given off when one finally does catch up with me. You powered through, which is awesome, and I'm glad you shared that with me cause it reminds me that my saga was worth the effort. Thank you so much for reading through this behemoth of mine, and now you're all caught up with me and my reviewer crew! Welcome aboard!
chuckiboo : Seriously! You're telling me... It's exhausting for me to have to keep re-explaining what went down, though it helps me with continuity. I don't have a ghost writer going back and making sure everything int he story arc is aligned, so I guess it's good to have a refresher, from all angles haha.
Song Listened To :
For Ya by Abir
*Chapter 30*
"I'll get the number two with a vanilla shake, please," Berri chimed in tender politeness, the cuteness of her huge, vivid blue eyes peered into the dewy, starstruck gaze of the burger joint employee that stood on the other side of the counter from Berri, Wren and Theo. Berri gently lofted her gaze to Wren and Theo, who patiently stood behind her in line, and although Berri was wondering if she should potentially pay for her uncle and cousin, she knew full well they had their own allowances, as well. She gently peered her gaze back to the near-trembling employee and softly shrugged, "I guess that'll be it... O-Oh, no ketchup, please."
"A-Anything, your highness," The employee staggered with a nervous smile, the sun glinted through the busy shop's bay windows, it glistened on said employee's name tag as the kitchen crew, behind her, was in near panic trying to tidy and cook in the presence of their game's royalty, something Berri nervously grimaced at. The cute employee had her black hair tucked in a low ponytail under a baseball cap, her bashful candy red eyes and dewy, blushed and speckled skin curled a delightfully anxious smile up into Berri's dominant, Queenly disposition, "Y-Your meal is on us, today, w-we'll bring it to wherever you decide to sit. It's an honor that you're here, really."
"Oh, you... You don't have to do that, please," Berri urged quietly as she scrunched her shoulders and held her dollars closer to her, "Please, let me pay."
"It's our honor, we'll have your food out to you in a jiffy," She urged with a bob of a nod, her taller, huskier and sweatier manager came alongside her with a wide, welcoming grin, and an equally as fervent bob of a nod. Said register employee kindly continued on, "H-Here's your number for your table, your highness."
"Well, thank you," Berri staggered in a show of gratitude, though she folded a handful of her dollars and tenderly shoved it into the messy, scuffed plastic tub of a tip jar.
"Of course, only for the princess... I'll give you my entire allowance if they comp my meal," Wren muttered to Theo as he slunk to the cash register. He gave the employee a kind smile and was surprised to see said employee hold on to that star struck demeanor, "Hi, I'll also get the number two, though I'll get a soda and curly fries."
"Sure, anything," She eased, although still staggered in a star-struck tone, it wasn't as much of an earthquake as it was with Berri. Nonetheless, she cocked an eyebrow, tabbed a few things into her register and gave Wren a kind smile, "It's on us, Mr. Fluggerbutter."
Theo cocked an eyebrow, gave Wren a beaming, cheeky side eye and softly held his larger hand open to him, which now annoyingly nudged at Wren's lower arm, as if to insinuate that Theo was patiently waiting for payment. Wren gaped a little, peered to Theo in a whole entire roll of shocked, unadulterated sass, and with a massive eye roll, Wren shoved his wad of cash into Theo's hand.
"Thank you, that's really kind," Wren stated to the employee with a bob of a nod and a grateful smile, though he grit his teeth and muttered Theo a few obscenities as he began to walk in the direction Berri vanished in; he rolled his eyes again the second he heard Theo loudly ordering a smorgasbord of food for himself.
Wren furrowed his brow, peered through the crowd and noticed Berri had gone outside to sit. Although the kids were used to being lightly fawned over whenever they left palace grounds, due to being royalty, Wren was uncertain he'd ever get used to it. He grimaced a small look of near delighted annoyance and, as he crossed the noisy, colorful burger joint to get to the side door, he noticed Berri, out the bay windows, kindly loving of a few Sugar Rush citizens, signing a few autographs, her threshold and patience for the small little hoard of adoring onlookers was outstanding, something Wren was certain he should be taking notes on. Just as he were to get lost in his train of thought, his phone, in his rear pocket, vibrated a few times. In a slick swipe, he eased his golden phone out of his light grey jean's back pocket and peered down to the screen in confusion; Penny had messaged him once, which very quickly turned into an overflow of bombarding messages.
Fluggers : ARCHIVED CHAOS SPLIT UP!
Fluggers : BUT ALSO THERE'S MORE INFO
Fluggers : CAN I CALL YOU?! WHhear are yOu?!
Fluggers : Where*
Wren bulged his eyes, shook his head in a sudden jolt of disbelief and reread Penny's words. He heaved a hard, annoyed sigh, locked his phone and sagged it back into his jean pocket. He figured he'd sit down and get settled before he tried to tame his big sister's worries. Once he approached the table Berri had set their flagged number at, he felt a little more at ease the second Berri finally peeled from a few tourist-type gamers, Sugar Rush locals and itty bitty candy residents alike, what furthermore made him sag his shoulders in relief was a few security guards that loosely surrounded Berri's table of choice. Close enough to protect but far enough to not be intrusive, something Wren was very appreciative of. He finally heaved a long sigh, returned his attention to his phone and began to urgently tab away, his eyes dug into his phone.
"They call you dangerous lightning," Berri grunted in a playful, announcer-like voice as she plopped down next to Wren, she furrowed her brows and shook her head at him in tender, incredulous curiosity, "User, who are you rapid-fire messaging like that? Are you fighting with someone?"
"No, Penny just, uh... Sent me some very interesting news that I don't know how to deliver to you," Wren rushed in a stab of cheek, he smirked down to his phone and shook his head, "It'll knock the blue right out of your hair, sweet cheeks."
"What, is she pregnant?" Berri huffed in a lilt of now entire excitement as she perked up, though Wren lulled his head back, let a loud groan escape his throat, his adam apple sagged in a drone of guttural irritation towards his niece.
"You and everyone on the palace lot," Wren droned up to the vivid blue sky, though both him and Berri wildly flinched the second Theo heavily plopped down on Wren's other side, ultimately sandwhiching Wren between him and Berri, albeit loosely, "Hey, allowance stealer, I cleaned the hearth AND the main teleportation pad like three times for that wad of cash, you jerk."
"Well, you made a lousy, uneducated bet that I didn't even agree to, so," Theo shrugged his masculine shoulders, he wore a dark grey t-shirt and a cozy, faded maroon zip up with tattered seams; it was properly clad with Dead Zed logos, so to represent his mother, Emery, "Really, YOU'RE an allowance GIVER."
"Go choke on a di-"
"Tell me what Penny's sayinnng," Berri complained as she urgently gestured to Wren's phone, though just as she finished her sentence, Wren's phone began to daintily ring; Penny's cute face showed up on the caller ID, in which Berri nearly jolted to a standing, "PICK IT UP!"
"Y'know, I was thinking of just letting it roll to voicemail, what's life without a little suspense?" Wren sassed as he cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri a cheeky smile. He shrugged his shoulders, challenged Berri's annoyed facial expression of urgency and gently slide his thumb across his phone's button-less interface, so to answer the call. He also quickly put it on speaker and looked off into the distance of the huge, sunny, outdoor mall and quad they were comfortably stationed at, "Joe's Crab Shack, how can I help you?"
"Seriously Wren, where the hell are you? The one time I barge into mom and dad's house and you're not there," Penny rushed through the phone, she sounded like she was panting, as if to be speed walking; a few voices could be heard in the background, it was clear that she was likely passing by the palace's typically noisy kitchen.
"I'm with dumb and dumber at the mall," Wren stated in nonchalance; it was this that Berri and Theo began to silently argue just who would be dumb, and who would be dumber. Wren chuckled to himself and continued to let his dark blue eyes get lost in the crowds of people at the mall.
"Which mall? Orion City has like five of them, you freak," Penny stabbed in sass, to which Wren cocked an eyebrow and gave his phone an exaggerated look of shock as he tucked his palm to his broad chest.
"Oh, okay, I mean I can just hang up on you," Wren volleyed, clearly playful banter that Berri and Theo were always excited to be present for, "We're at Lemon Drop Square. Where else."
"Maybe Gumdrop Ridge? It's the closest mall to the palace, Tessa and Zed really let you kids go all the way to the heart of Orion City?" Penny staggered, though she broke up as she seemingly spoke to someone else for a second, it sounded as if it could've been Oliver.
"Literally our first day of Academy is next Monday, rude," Wren huffed, he gestured his hand in sassy annoyance and shook his head, "Speaking of Academy, tell tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb what you told me. You're on speaker."
"Hi aunt Penny," Berri chimed in excitement, as did Theo, "What's going on?"
"BERRI YOU WON'T BELIEVE," Penny loudly urged through the phone, causing her voice to cut out a little. Berri winced a little and eyed Wren in tender suspicion as he covered his face with his hand and grit his teeth, as if to brace himself, "Archived Chaos split up!"
"...WHAT?!" Berri barked in whole terror as she grappled the sides of her head, her pupils practically shrank in dread, "What, why? How? When?"
"Where? Who?" Wren mocked Berri quietly, Theo blurt a laugh and crossed his arms.
"And sometimes Y," Theo stabbed in confidence, though Wren dart him a look of cheek.
"Those are vowels, dude," Wren mumbled, though everyone flinched once Penny's voice pierced their existence once again.
"Gunner's drummer and guitarist bailed on him! The band split up!" Penny cried in horror as Berri now held her cheeks, in speechless stun, "I-It's a good thing I saw their show last week, before this nonsense... I would've been pissed. I mean I still am, but-"
"Well what's going to happen then? They're just... Done making music?" Berri worried as her eyes gently collected with Wren's and Theo's inquisitive gazes, though Wren looked on, like maybe he had more information than both wreckers.
"Get this... Gunner is going to be going to Game Central Academy with this next Spring semester," Penny rushed in a squeal, to which Berri's jaw nearly fell on the ground, "Supposedly, he's waiting until after New Years to-"
"He's ATTENDING ACADEMY?!" Berri urged into Wren's phone, she nearly grappled it out of his hand, to which he blurt a chuckle and held his steady hand to her shoulder to hold her back, "I-I... What should I wear? Do you think we'll have classes together?"
"Gunner's a faux-code?" Theo wondered as he scrunched his face in whole confusion, to which Penny laughed.
"I was surprised by that too! I guess he's from some game, long unplugged," Penny confirmed, "He currently lives in EZ Living... Somewhere up in the hills, crazy security, the whole nine yards."
"So, he'll just be coming to class with us surrounded by body guards?" Wren shook his head and let his gaze stab across the crowd in continued, tender nonchalance, a cute, poised air he always kept about himself, "Clamored by girls of all sorts, desperate for autographs? Berri leading the battalion of bullshit?"
"Hey," Berri complained as she furrowed her brow and gave Wren a girly look of displeased annoyance, "C'mon, I'm not THAT desperate."
"If Gunner came up to you and said 'oh, this seat taken?' Girl," Wren side-eyed Berri and raised his eyebrows.
"You kidding, her shirt would go flying or something," Penny choked through the phone, to which everyone, excluding Berri, was nearly doubled-over laughing.
"This seat's for you!" Theo cried in a girly voice as his large hands urgently clawed at his broad chest.
"You can sit here forever, Gunner, my love," Wren also teased as he pretended to play with long hair on his shoulders, in which he didn't have; Berri plopped her elbow to the wooden table they sat at, shoved her chin in her hand and looked off in whole irritation.
"You guys suck," Berri choked, though she immediately perked up, raised her eyebrows and beamed a wide, polite smile the second said previous employee came out with a tray of their food and softly set it on the table, "Oh, thank you!"
"A-Anything, your highness, just let us know if you need anything, absolutely anything," She staggered in star-struck glee, and as she slowly slipped away, Berri, Wren and Theo gave her polite words of gratitude.
"...You guys didn't go out in disguises?" Penny stabbed with a laugh, "How many people have bombarded you thus far?"
"Ten million," Wren cheekily exaggerated, "Future Queen Bee, here, even signed autographs."
"It was cool," Berri bobbed a nod and looked off to the crowds of people about the mall, most of which were walking from store to store, eating, or minding their own business, though outside the gentle circle of security guards was a small crowd of excited onlooker, "Never experienced anything like that, before."
"Imagine what it'd be like if you had Turbo with you," Penny choked a small laugh of entire, muttering dread, though due to the confused silence by all three younglings, Penny sharply fell silent and reeled in the feeling of mild word vomit.
"Wait, why would that be bad?" Wren stated in gentle confusion, and although Wren and mostly Theo glossed past Penny's remark, Berri was now hawk-eyed to Wren's phone, even leaning in to hear what Penny had to say, a spike of pinged information she never knew she wanted.
"Oh, I don't know why I said that, he's just a hermit, so... I'm sure it'd be awkward for him," Penny rushed in a voice of nonchalance, though Berri narrowed her gaze in whole confusion and side-eyed Wren's phone, something he tenderly cued to. He shrugged and gave Berri a look as if to wonder why she was bothered, though Penny's cute voice carried on, "Alright, my dumplings, let me know when you're back on palace grounds, we can continue talking then, I guess."
"We'll be home in a few hours," Wren confirmed, and in gentle easiness, all three kids stated their goodbyes to Penny and Wren ended the call. Wren furrowed his brow and peered to Berri as she nervously began to pull her food closer to her, as did Theo for his own food, "What was that look for?"
"Well... To be honest with you, my mom gave me some weird information about Turbo, last night," Berri shrugged and began to pick at her delicious french fries, "I guess... Before we were born, some crap went down between my mom, Turbo, Sugar Rush, and... One of Turbo's brothers."
"Nox, or Throttle?" Theo wondered, his mouth was now entirely full; Wren wildly wrinkled his nose at him and shoved a few napkins into his space in an obnoxious manner.
"Neither," Berri's voice eased to tender seriousness as she gently unlocked her phone, lazily thumbed through her notepad, "His name was Whiplash... I guess he's in coded purgatory, in the code room. He really had Sugar Rush in a choke hold, when grama Vanellope was Queen, from what mom told me..."
"Whiplash?" Wren furrowed his brow and peered to Berri in tender confusion, "How come... Nox, Throttle nor Turbo have ever mentioned his mysterious other brother they have?"
"I have no clue," Berri shrugged, she shook her head and peered down to her phone in tender confusion, "Mom gave me Turbo's number, though... She told me to ask him my questions, seemingly his word would hold more weight. I guess they've tried, he's too much of a hermit and will only really open up to my dad about it all."
"You have Turbo's number?" Wren gawked in excitement, he began to eat his curly fries in a dainty show of carefulness, "Did you text him?"
"No, I've... I've literally written out like fourteen different messages that I COULD potentially text him," Berri rushed in cute, girly nervousness, "I-I have NO clue what to say to the dude."
"Especially after your little code swap escapade with him," Theo muttered as he obnoxiously waggled his dark green eyebrows; Wren choked a hard laugh as Berri gaped in whole annoyance.
"Okay... It was an EXTERIOR swap," Berri stabbed in rising irritation, "Not to mention, an accident."
"Here, gimme your phone," Wren waggled his fingers, and although he was prepare for a struggle, Berri nonchalantly handed Wren her phone. She furrowed her brows and noticed him quickly typing away, thinking that he was simply adding to her notepad, though after a moment, Wren shrugged, handed her phone back and continued to eat, "There. Easy."
"... You MESSAGED HIM!?" Berri blurt in a choke of terror, Theo nearly lost his mind with laughter as Wren daintily shrugged.
"YOU weren't going to, so..." Wren coyly eyed his niece and gave her a dominant, cocky smile, "You're oh so welcome, my love."
"WREN," Berri stabbed in a groan of bug-eyed horror, though she peered down to her now brand new text conversation with Turbo and read the message in beet-red blushing embarrassment.
Blue : Hi Turbo, it's Berri. My mom filled me in on some stuff last night and I was wondering if you could answer some questions I had?
"For User's ACTUAL sake," Berri grunted as she locked her phone, she shook her head and now began to angrily pick at her fries, "He's going to write back and be like 'delete my number from your phone you freak house'."
"Freak MANSION," Theo cracked himself up with no shame.
"No he's not," Wren choked a laugh as him and Theo continued to eat and carry on, though Berri now peered down at her food in continued, reeling horror. She cocked an eyebrow and peered down to her unlocked phone, her's and Turbo's now new, raw, gapingly blank text conversation, "Just getting the ball rolling. You know how much I love tea."
"This is not tea," Berri stabbed, she could hardly contain a laugh as she jostled her phone about, "This is serious, Sugar Rush was absolutely screwed before we were born, this isn't just friendly gossip, Wren, this is Turbo's little brother we're talking about. Code room purgatory! Do you know what that is?"
"No, but I'm sure you were on your way to trapping your own mind in purgatory, what with that full-ass notepad of would-be messages to the very keeper of Orion City," Wren rushed with whole sass, he shrugged and gave Berri an ironically kind smile, "Let me know what Mr. White Knight says. I'm invested."
"Invested," Berri mocked in a mutter of annoyance as she finally locked her phone and set it between her and Wren, on the table, "Intrusive, more like it."
"Just keepin' it real, babe," Wren recited as he quickly nommed on another curly fry, "Oh look, speak of the devil."
Berri's eyes bugged in whole terror as her screen lit up, with none other than Turbo Black's notification of a reply message daintily plastered on her screen.
