Reviews :
Romantic Sapp : Thank you so much! Yes, Berri doesn't have to deal with that sub ever again - her actually teacher, you'll find, is far more understanding :)
Jay Sketchin : LMAO! I'M FINE I'M FINE IT'S FINE I'M FINE. (I'll reply to your PM I promise)
Snake557 : Nahh, Coral doesn't have THAT kind of power xD
Song Listened To :
Bad Language by Topi
*Chapter 35*
Although she were simply a returning student at Academy, Game Central Academy's administration knew full well she was the head of a very powerful and a very large hierarchy. In a push through the school's main office, she breezed past the receptionist, who nervously kept her eyes down and meeped Tessa a wary 'your majesty'. In rolls of chills, laced with anger, terror, frustration, a whole swathe of different emotions, Tessa cleanly wove her way through the long stretches of Academy's behind the scenes, office areas where top administrators offices resided, conference rooms of all sorts, and sat nicely at the very end of the massive, long hallway she trekked, sat the head of Academy's office; a man of promise, one that was previously very courteous and accepting of Tessa and her predicament, though she was certain having Berri in his office, on her very first day, was something that he was not going to be too thrilled about.
With a gentle few knocks to Mr. Kelta's massive, wooden office door, Tessa heard his deep voice, from across the room, allow whoever it was inside. With a firm push, a swing and a loud clack of the door behind her, Tessa eased into his office, glossed her eyes about the front of his marvelous, cherry-wooden desk and spot a certain blue-haired princess off to her right. Tessa cocked an eyebrow, gave her daughter a whole entire glower of motherly dominance, a glaze of nervous concern, she felt her stomach dip in further frustration with the raw look of sullen, guilty sorrow splashed across Berri's whole face. She sat with her arms crossed, slumped in one of Mr. Kelta's very nice leather chairs, a few sheets of paper were splayed out on the side of his desk that Berri was closest to; clearly forms of reprimanding. Tessa firmly crossed the room, put her hands on her hips once she neared a few feet before his desk and, although she spoke to Mr. Kelta, she held her tight, authoritative gaze to Berri's wilting, sapped demeanor.
"What's going on here?" Tessa snapped in demand, almost as if to ask Berri herself, though Mr. Kelta cleared his throat, raised his eyebrows in exhaustion and looked down to the digital display, which was apart of his desk.
"Mrs. Kalivar, Your Majesty, we have run into a little bit of... Scare mongering, here, with a Ms. Berri, in her last hour class," Mr. Kelta stated in a long, raspy sigh. He was an older man with darker skin and greying, peppered black hair. His professional glasses hung tight to the edge of his nose, his hypnotic, grey eyes finally slid to Tessa's in a slew of curious concern, "Your daughter claims to be, uh... Personal friends with a Mr. Turbo Black... The very gamer that has wrought Arcade with fear for the last almost forty years."
Tessa held her breath, tore her eyes away from Berri and now quickly realized this wasn't something she felt the need to punish Berri over. Having sworn that Berri maybe acted up in class, got into a fight with another student, did something against Academy rules, Tessa felt her heart begin to surge in concern at the whole fact that she would now have to sit in front of Academy's head and explain that she, indeed, was housing the infamous Turbo Black. Tessa froze, her eyes held tight to Mr. Kelta's seemingly annoyed demeanor, as if he now assumed this was all just a hoax, though Tessa was beginning to feel fear flood her veins, just what Academy would do upon her reveal of Turbo.
"From Coral's report, she stood up in her seat, demanded the teacher to take back the things said about Turbo and refused to sit down until his name was cleared," Mr. Kelta's voice dribbled to that of continued irritation for said nonsensical pranks. He shook his head, let the papers sift back to his desk and properly folded his hands before him in gentlemanly fashion, "Now... I know, hands down, you're not affiliated with Turbo. I've tried to get some information out of Berri, here, but... She's giving me the silent treatment."
Tessa felt a heatwave of conflicting thoughts hit her skin. She knew, full well, she could lie to the head of Academy, right now, and have this all just brush under the carpet, strictly pretend it was coincidence that Berri had another innocent friend suspiciously named 'Turbo Black'. Tessa bit her lip and peered hard into Berri's nervous, almost teary blue eyes. Tessa was fully aware that she was the first one to desperately want to clear Turbo's name. How hard it's been to keep the very idea of Turbo a secret, she felt her heart tug in a vastly more difficult direction, the road less traveled. She heaved a hot sigh through her nose and wondered if this could be the small hole in the dam, if somehow this could be the start to reintroducing poor Turbo back into the Arcade.
"I'm sure your daughter just has a friend inside Sugar Rush who just so happens to be named after one of the biggest bad guys Arcade has ever been graced with," Mr. Kelta cocked an eyebrow and now began to show signs of nervousness, "...Right?"
Tessa heaved a long sigh through her teeth, shook her head, crossed her arms and knew she'd defintiely be taking the entire brunt of this conversation, a fight she was definitely ready for, though having to spill all the beans, in front of Berri, was something Tessa was hoping to avoid until they were safe within palace walls. Tessa huffed her answer, becomingly terrified of the outcome, "No, Mr. Kelta, I... I can confirm that THE Turbo Black resides in Sugar Rush's safety."
The room fell painfully hot, painfully silent. Tessa kept still, as did Berri, though she eagerly watched as Mr. Kelta sat up stiffer in his chair, planted his hands to his desk, furrowed his brow in bewildered disbelief and shook his head in whole entire confusion. Although he wanted to simply shut this down and have everyone go home, it was clear that he was prepared to pry this conversation open end to end.
"You mean to tell me that your game, your kingdom, is harboring a fugitive?" Mr. Kelta demanded, his voice began to grow a bit more serious, it was clear that he, still, didn't totally believe the two girls, though Tessa knew he'd be well on his way shortly, "You are comfortably housing a bad guy? A CRIMINAL to the entirety of Arcade? You understand the repercussions of such sheltering, don't you, Mrs. Kalivar?"
"He's not a criminal and he is not a fugitive," Tessa demanded as she unfolded her arms and pointed down to the ground, "Turbo's entire story is a massive misunderstanding. He is a huge aid to me and my husband, in Sugar Rush."
Mr Kelta gently looked off, merely glanced in Berri's direction, in disbelief, and now began to show a true wash of anger and terror.
"...I-I can't believe my ears, Turbo is ALIVE?" Mr. Kelta demanded, he desperately tried to keep his voice down, though Tessa raised her eyebrows and was certain she'd win any shouting match she came across, her children watching or not.
"Yeah, he's alive, and to be frank with you, Mr. Kelta, I'M alive because of him," Tessa's voice became firm, the same level she used with Berri or Ace amidst sternness or punishment, something Berri felt triggered by and cued to by slinking farther into her seat, "I'm Sugar Rush's Queen because of him, my own flesh and blood is able to attend Academy because of him."
"You're harboring a criminal, either way," Mr. Kelta stated firmly; a man of fairness, Tessa knew he was just playing devil's advocate, and although she was desperate to get him to see her side, she knew this journey would be a long one.
"A criminal for getting TurboTime and Roadblasters unplugged?" Tessa narrowed her eyes and side-eyed Mr. Kelta as he nodded in fervor, "You understand that he wasn't killed in TurboTime and Roadblaster's unplug, right? Him and all of his brothers hung around in Arcade, for awhile, openly... He sought refuge in Sugar Rush's demo, Sweet Streets."
"I-I don't know, I wasn't alive then," Mr. Kelta pressed, though Tessa's demeanor grew larger.
"For years, everyone was angry at Turbo for his actions, but no one came after him as a criminal," Tessa urged, "It was only until his story turned into lore, fire-side ghost tales, scary bedtime stories did everyone morph his whole identity into that of a game virus, that of a killer... It was only then did everyone fear his name, his whole identity just up for grabs due to the entirety of Arcade playing telephone with each other."
"So, why don't you go ahead and tell me what Turbo is actually like then, if you're so confident in keeping his record unscathed, in keeping his name out of the mud, Your Majesty, what is so great about this guy that you think, for one second, keeping him around, ALIVE for that matter, is a wise idea?" Mr. Kelta wasn't a man of sass, though the attitude he lofted Tessa's way had Berri sinking even farther in her seat, knowing full well just what happens once Tessa is tested.
"Turbo is quiet, reserved, polite, gentlemanly, sweet, and, underneath all that grey matter and decades of hatred lofted at him, he has one of the softest, kindest hearts I've ever known," Tessa stabbed in full confidence as she took a step or two closer to Mr. Kelta's desk, "He is in charge of Sugar Rush's largest metropolis, he helped save the entirety of Sugar Rush and helped us put her back together again, and if it weren't for his two brothers living on our lot, we wouldn't have such an awesome, eclectic group of people to share our space with."
"I thought he had three brothers?" Mr. Kelta worried.
"The third one is the reason Turbo's name is tarnished, Whiplash is the reason the trend kept going, Whiplash is the reason that Turbo's swap mate, inside Sweet Streets, went down with the ship and wasn't warned in time of an imminent unplug," Tessa pointed to the ground in voice-rising fervor, "Whiplash was the reason Sugar Rush was wrought with trouble since day one... Turbo was the one that turned it all around, despite everything. Turbo made a huge mistake by game jumping, and although Turbo created this mess, he did everything in his power to clean up after himself and end it."
Mr. Kelta was silent in continued terror, his eyes held tight to Tessa's in a roll of unadulterated disbelief. He shook his head, opened his mouth to say something, though nothing came out. Him and Berri caught eyes in a slew of confusion, and although Berri was just being introduced to the information Tessa was delivering, she was certain her mother's words were accurate, and had a proper say in just who Turbo was, as well.
"Whiplash is currently in code room purgatory, in my game," Tessa continued, "He had Sugar Rush in a death grip, turned the entire game upside down, ruled it for User knows how long... But he's confined to purgatory and won't be released, rest assured. Turbo has been apart of our team for the past year now, without a single issue."
"Does everyone in Sugar Rush know he's there?" Mr. Kelta stabbed in uncertainty, though Tessa lulled her eyes shut and shook her head.
"He wishes to remain anonymous, he doesn't want to be discovered," Tessa dragged in a sigh, "You know how quickly he'd be sought out? People would be out for blood, the poor thing would probably be dragged out of Sugar Rush and killed on sight, you know this, don't you?"
"I certainly do, I'm sure many people would jump at a chance to punish Turbo for bringing such a terrible idea, as game jumping, to our society," Mr. Kelta complained, though Tessa firmly laid her hands to Mr. Kelta's desk and halted the entire orbit of the planet.
"Then you listen to me and you listen good," Tessa's voice deepened, a quiet tone of deathly delight, she hovered over Mr. Kelta like a ghost, "You have an entire swathe of new information, of helpful dialog, of an incredible conversation of movement standing right before you. A two-for this Arcade is in desperate need of."
"What are you insinuating, Your Majesty?" Mr. Kelta figuratively shrunk, Berri hooked her eyes tight to her mother and soaked in every ounce of this encounter; she knew it was not like her mother to get this riled, to get this in people's faces, though Berri felt pride sweep through her coding as she eagerly took mental note of this raw moment.
"Not only do you have your very own precious Academy's-worth of faux-codes being deleted via opposed code swap, you have another silent, invisible virus on the rise, something my entire team, including Turbo, could be of incredible use against," Tessa's voice remained low, a dangerous vibe of 'shut up and listen' that had Berri practically clenched in terror, "The most important conversation is the one no one is having. Now, I've been through hell and back figuring out the opposed code swap, helping my entire crew through it, battling rogue gamers and viruses alike."
Tessa inhaled a long, deep breath, narrowed her gaze to that of cheeky, whispering dominance and continued on, the slew of sass filled the room to the brim.
"Can you think of any other gamer with that kind of experience?" Tessa's voice was crisp and low, a quiet before the storm.
"No, ma'am," Mr. Kelta staggered.
"My daughter may not have all the facts, but she's wise to stand up for someone she's grown up with, someone who has treated my whole family, my whole entire kingdom, with care," Tessa stabbed, her words began to just barely come out of her figure via the grit of her teeth, signaling to both Berri and Mr. Kelta that she was well on her way to blowing up, "There's no way in HELL I'm going to let anyone shut my daughter up for standing beside those who cannot speak for themselves. Turbo is a great man, a harmless man, someone of who I owe my entire life to."
"Mrs. Kalivar, it's fear mon-"
"It's not fear mongering if it's true, it's not fear mongering if it creates healthy conversation," Tessa now barked as she pointed to the closed door of Mr. Kelta's office, Berri nearly flinched at the spike of Tessa's voice, "It's time the Arcade relearns just who Turbo Black actually is. It's time all these what-ifs of messy confusion, game lore and opposed code swapping uncertainty be put to rest. Everything I just listed is something I just so happen to be a master at, game jumpers and code swappers alike."
"...What are you suggesting, Mrs. Kalivar?" Mr. Kelta began to nervously cave, as if he was sure to see her side, though convincing the entire school, the entire Arcade, was an entirely different story.
"Get me a seat in front of ALL of the Academy's council," Tessa urged in demand, "I don't care what station it's in, I don't care if I have to travel, I need a seat in ANY of Academy's administration. This information is too precious to just sit on, to just watch my daughter try and fumble her way through sticking up for one of her friends, to watch innocent faux-codes be deleted due to viruses and code swaps gone wrong. You want to keep your Academy open, don't you?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Mr. Kelta worried; Tessa squinted and leaned forward in a hiss of annoyance.
"How are you going to do that if every last goddamned self-programmed gamer is deleted?" Tessa stabbed, Mr. Kelta sat in nervous silence.
"I'll talk to the Council... I see your points," Mr. Kelta eased gently, he tried to hide the tremble in his hand as he began to fumble for Berri's papers, "Unfortunately, y-your daughter may have been sticking up for her friend, but she disrupted her class, so her new start date is to be pushed back to a week after the next semester starts."
"Fine," Tessa agreed, she finally switched her heated disposition straight for Berri's wavering figure, and although Berri was right to stick up for Turbo, she still knew Mr. Kelta had a point. Tessa pointed to her daughter with a firm hand and continued on her heated, motherly tone, "I told you to keep your mouth shut until Arcade was over. I know hearing the term 'go Turbo' all day hasn't been easy, but c'mon, Bear, C'MON."
"Mom, I'm sorry, Coral stated that she hoped Turbo was rotting in hell," Berri complained in a gripe, to which Tessa scrunched her face in whole annoyance and switched her anger back to Mr. Kelta.
"You're STILL letting that tired old screech substitute here?!" Tessa boomed in entire irritation, to which Mr. Kelta shook his head, handed Tessa Berri's suspension forms and began to stand.
"I will get you that seat in front of Arcade's Academy Council," Mr. Kelta reconfirmed, "You can take it up with them, she's a travelling sub from West Arcade Academy."
"For User's sakes," Tessa huffed as she tried not to snatch the papers from Mr. Kelta's hands, "C'mon, Berri. We have a lot to discuss."
A/N : Hey guys, I just posted a speedpaint of Turbo to my deviantART and Art Station. Usernames are Vyntresser and LuckyBat, respectively :]
