Reviews :

Burgie : I'm really glad you feel that way! Turbo's definitely the game's biggest hermit.

CHICKENM4N : IDK what that means, but I'm glad either way haha

Snake557 : I'm thankful you think that! I agree. I just love building upon relationships and etc., clearly, so I figured I'd just warn you guys that I lowkey went ham LOL!

Romantic Sapp : Hey! In Chapter 124 of Defying Code, Zed tried to give Oliver his light bike, like promised, but Oliver kindly refused. Instead, he asked Zed to program him something similar later on. Everyone on the lot has their own mode of transportation, though with the entire lot of characters I have to keep up with, certain tiny details, like such, that aren't detrimental to the plot, fall through the cracks. Not something I'm entirely proud of, but in order to keep my stories under a 500 chapter count mark, I have to snip where I can afford LOL. I hope that helps! I really appreciate your support, as well :) And yes, the kids technically have racing coding in them, though Theo and Berri stick more towards their glitching powers and Wren has his heels dug into his swordsmanship, as well as the trio's music. Although they all have their own powers/hobbies, it's Turbo's powers which are eventually tightly honed in on, for certain reasons. Wren, Berri and Theo all have a mode of transportation - Wren and Theo's bikes are actually expanded on and in use in Chapter 44, coming up, when Wren and Theo visit Turbo's home for the very first time.


*Chapter 42*

"Aww? You went to Sugarbucks and didn't get me anything?" Beaux blurt as him and Mara strolled into Berri's music studio; she was gently and methodically programming a few different things to Wren's high-tech keyboard, the slew of buttons and knobs on it was disorienting.

"Sorry, Beaux," Berri giggled, she wore a lazy black tank top, comfortable blue sweats, her long hair was tucked in a high messy bun atop her head, "It was like hours ago, surely anything I would've gotten for you would've melted, or gone bad, by now."

"Can we go tomorrow?" Beaux wondered, he grunted a hard noise as he flopped down to the massive, lazy bean bag chair hanging near the gape of the large swinging door, which lead from the sound studio to the glass-seperated technical side of the larger room.

Berri furrowed her brow and felt her heart surge in a strange sensation. She pretended to be concentrating hard on the few things she typed into the holographic display, successfully linked to Wren's keyboard. Although what she was typing was just mind-numbing routine, she bit her lip and eagerly wondered just what tomorrow would bring. She knew that her and Turbo had agreed to hang out tomorrow, a further venture of Sugarbucks orders and a blossoming new friendship that would then eventually include Wren and Theo, later in the evening, she knew full well that Turbo would likely draw the line when it came to inviting two additional people to his secured little loft. Berri felt honored that Turbo was lenient in letting her into the still closed off foyer of his heart, though with this tiny shred of trust, she knew Turbo's ultimate wants and desires, when it came to company; she jostled up a white lie, as quickly as she could.

"I think tomorrow, after Throttle's lessons, I was going to try and take Chester throughout the whole of Orion City, really get his muscles going," Berri shrugged in apologetic nonchalance, "I'll probably be out all day, but remind me, maybe I'll snag something for you on my way home."

"Yes please!" Beaux stated with a wide, gap-toothed grin of boyish excitement, "I want one of those blended, chocolatey drinks. With the chocolate drizzle on top?"

"You're lying," Mara's sweet voice tenderly delivered in scheming, mean delight, a tone so fragile and cute that Berri had to back track her words; she jolted her whole attention to her young niece, who sat on one of Berri's stools, something she sat on when she played her guitar.

"...Sorry?" Berri prod, her face began to show a visible, blush, and although Mara didn't know of her own User powers, Berri was absolutely certain Mara at least had some sort of an inkling about something special, and was now due to using it against everyone.

"Your face is all red, you're avoiding eye contact," Mara eased in plain, visible facts. She shrugged and glanced in Beaux's direction, "If you don't want to get Beaux a drink, just say so."

Berri put her hand on her hip, cocked an eyebrow, glowered Beaux down and gaped a little, as if to silently ask Beaux just what had crawled up Mara's butt. Beaux sagged into himself, shrugged and gave her a typical, boyish look of neutrality, as if he didn't know what was going on.

"I... I do, Mara, I just have to tend to Chester's needs, is all," Berri challenged in tenderness, she knew not to just jump all over her fragile niece, though the amount of times Mara had tested Berri's patience was now pushing a dozen, in the past few weeks, "I can grab the both of you something on my way home... If you two are still awake, that is."

Due to Berri insinuating that the two younglings have a much tighter curfew than she did, Mara pursed her lips and looked off in stewing, silent defeat, something Berri cued to. Berri secretly shot her a bugged look of whole, girly irritation, shook her head in annoyance and tucked a few loose strands of her blue hair behind her ears.

"We still waiting on Wren and Theo, then?" Beaux diverted; he knew that both girls have been in a bit of a rocky spot, as of late.

"Yeah, they should be back from Academy any minute, now," Berri's soft voice eased, she finally stood from her now finished product, stepped over to her acoustic guitar, lulled the strap over her shoulder and softly tapped the mic, it eagerly reverberated the noise through the speakers all around the room, "Wish we could get a few drinks, here, or something... All three of us aren't old enough, annnd... Looks like going to Tapper's, or anything, is out of the question."

"Yeah, what's going on with that?" Beaux wondered in now plucked annoyance.

"User, I don't know," Berri stated in gentle defeat, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed in sagged annoyance, though her fingers began to delicately strum at her guitar, a pretty, dainty little tune of sweet serenity, "All I know is, we won't be able to go to any of EZ Living's beaches..."

"Makes waiting for summer all the more worth it, I guess?" Beaux shrugged his masculine shoulders, he rubbed the top of his head, ruffled his messy, straight white hair and closed his eyes as he sagged harder into the bean bag chair, "Mom and dad told us that Sugar Rush winters are extremely brutal."

"Yeah, I vaguely remember the tail end of this last winter," Berri bugged her eyes open and gave Beaux a loving smile, and though she began to carry on, Wren and Theo suddenly burst into the music studio.

"What the heck? Why did karaoke night get bumped up two hours?" Wren blurt in entire agitation. Beaux grunted in an attempt to swat at Wren's hand on the way in, though Wren nonchalantly waved him off and pressed closer to Berri. In a hard thud, he sagged his heavy book bag to the studio's soft, carpeted floor, "I thought you were going to be at Turbo's all day?"

Berri clenched her teeth tight in her skull and could practically feel Mara's inescapable, scary, icy blue stare, and though Theo fist bumped Beaux on the way in, a loud show of bickering and chattering, like a typical show of what brothers would do, Berri felt as if Mara's gravity was consuming the whole room, like a black hole.

"No, not all day," Berri furrowed her eyebrows and gave Wren a knowing glower, "I-I was just dropping off his charger, that was all."

"Y'probably got him Sugarbucks?" Mara teased in girly, scheming delight, she began to meticulously tidy her hair, though Berri furrowed her brow and now shot her niece a look of detest.

"Yeah, I grabbed him something, I was on my way to his house," Berri defended, though it was here that Berri was absolutely irritated that Wren wasn't getting the bug-eyed signal cues to shut up.

"So when you say 'take Chester around Orion City' tomorrow, you really mean you'll be taking the fastest route to Orion Tower?" Mara snipped, it was here that she finally stood, from Berri's stool, straightened her cute, short skirt, her dark stockings covered her bare feet, she eloquently began to find the studio's exit, as if to be triumphant, "Thought I smelled a lie, in there, somewhere."

The studio fell silent, sans Beaux's and Theo's quiet, boyish conversation, though as the studio door slammed behind Mara's vanished figure, Berri sagged her shoulders in whole irritation, grappled Wren's upper arms and shook him. The material of his coat, on his lower arms, brushed against the strings of Berri's beautiful, acoustic guitar, creating a chaotic sound of haphazard noise.

"BUG-EYES MEANS SHUT UP," Berri stabbed to Wren, she finally unhanded him, rubbed her forehead and began to mosey away from him, across the stretch of the studio, away from Wren.

"Oh, whoops... You and Mara fighting?" Wren inquired nervously as Theo and Beaux wormed their way tighter into the studio, they hovered near Wren and now included themselves in on Wren's and Berri's conversing.

"When are we ever NOT?" Berri stabbed, she wildly flailed her arm and shook her head and Beaux in tender apology, "Beaux, look, I'm sorry... I WILL get you a drink on my way home, tomorrow. I didn't mention Turbo, because... Well..."

Wren crossed his arms, cocked an eyebrow, beamed her an anticipatory smile and so desperately hovered in wait, for her to continue, though everyone flinched the second the studio door popped open in a chime of new, bubbling excitement; Libby, Nox, Koko, Oliver, Tessa and even Throttle came casually and haphazardly filing in.

"I'M FIRST!" Nox blurt loudly as his hand flew up; Theo, Wren, Beaux and Berri all peered towards the door in a mix of nervousness and excitement, this was something that only really Libby cued to, due to the fact that one of her children was missing from this line-up.

"Where's Mara?" Libby prod, her girly, excited smile sagged as she could sense the energy of the small group of four, "Y'guys okay?"

"They will be soon!" Nox blurt, he grappled for the mic, clumsily unhooked it from the stand and pushed it to his face in a whole show of cheeky excitement, his deep voice lowered for the boom of the mic, though the room reverberated with the drum of his voice in the speakers, "Cause I have arrived."

"Nox, you literally just told Oliver that he could be first," Tessa blurt a hard laugh as she crossed her arms, though Oliver hung on the other side of the glass and waved his larger hand in annoyance.

"No, glowy-eyes can have it, I don't care," Oliver stabbed, he only pretended to be massively insulted. He sat down in one of the studio chairs and wildly shrugged a few times, his deep voice was wholly cut flat, due to the glass, though he could still be heard, "It's fine! I'm FINE! GO AHEAD NOX."

"Oliver's just jealous," Nox stated in nonchalance, into the mic, though he lowered it and peered to Berri in cute, boyish delight as he softly continued on, sans mic, "Did we interrupt a pre-karaoke pow-wow or something, Bear?"

Berri literally reeled; she was well aware she had been in Throttle's presence, post hanging out with Turbo, though her heart thud in whole confusion as she gently peered to Nox. Although she didn't know what Lash looked like, Nox was the one that looked almost exactly like Turbo, in the face. Although he had a much brighter, boyish demeanor, a ball of energy that was always due to overload the room with fireworks, Berri felt it so strange to be looking right into the face of Turbo's little brother, nearly a shorter and a little bit more smaller twin. She shook her head and inhaled a faltered breath, the crowd of her family in the studio, she knew this was not the time and place to discuss Turbo, whatsoever.

"Oh, we're fine, just... Worried about Mara, is all," Berri shrugged, she frowned and shook her head, "I guess I said something to hurt her feelings... I didn't mean to."

"What happened?" Tessa stated in sorrow as her and Koko sat down on the studio's couch, comfortably stationed on the instrumental side of the studio. A pillowy yellow couch, cute and only really fit for two or three people.

"Berri bought Turbo Sugarbucks today and Mara assumed that Berri wouldn't get me, or her, a Sugarbucks tomorrow," Beaux stated in nonchalance, and although Beaux wasn't technically too far from the truth, everyone furrowed their brows in a show of entire surprise and shot their delighted, curious gazes to Berri.

"Thanks, Beaux, that's..." Berri gestured her hand to her nephew, who scrunched his shoulders in innocent concern, "Thanks."

"Wai-wai-wait," Nox flagged his hand, with such, the whipping wind was amplified from the sensitive mic he still held, "YOU. Bought TURBO. Sugarbucks. And brought it TO him? Like, you went to his loft... He let you... Into his loft..."

"How many of the dragons did you have with you?" Oliver yelled through the glass; Koko and Libby burst out in laughter.

"Poor Bear," Throttle grumbled as he hung in the studio's smaller archway, which essentially led to the studio's exit; he crossed his arms and only vowed to observed the fun, and not join in.

"'Bout time hermit-man hung out with someone," Libby blurt as she waggled her hand; although Tessa's and Koko's little love seat could hardly handle it, Libby managed to plop down with them in a cuddling squeeze.

"Oooh, la-la," Koko so gently teased, she waggled her eyebrows, "Mysterious Mr. Turbo, letting a sweet, unsuspecting, beautiful princess into his secretive bad-guy-lair."

"I think it's nice," Theo cooed warmly, he gave Berri a supportive look, he could easily tell she was becoming embarrassed.

"Guys, guys," Berri stabbed in annoyance, and although she shot Theo a look of gratitude, she furrowed her brow and held her arms out. The look she gave Koko, Libby, Oliver and Nox was something Tessa cued to, something that made clear that she was about to start handing people their asses if they weren't careful, "I went over one night cause I had questions about his past, due to me being suspended and blowing his cover, I accidentally took his phone charger, I went to his house earlier today to drop it off. A, B, C."

"D, E, F, G, alllll the way to Z," Nox teasingly continued, and although Oliver blurt a laugh, Nox's smiling demeanor was met with the wall of sass Berri's glower delivered.

"It's fine if you're friends with him, Bear, no one's gunna crucify you for it," Tessa reassured, to which Libby and Koko lovingly nodded, as if they, too, could now sense Berri's frustration, "If anything, it's probably a good thing you're hanging out with him. Not only does it give him a little bit of a social life, but you could also learn a thing or two, from the guy. He's grandfathered Sugar Rush's code room for nearly the entirety of her life."

"Yeah, he certainly knows what he's doing," Throttle's deep voice encouraged with a small nod, and with this, Nox finally lightened up.

"Y'think he'll be coming to your birthday party, this Sunday?" Nox wondered with a hopeful smile, yet another gleaming opportunity to see his big brother.

"O-Oh, well... I could invite him," Berri bobbed an excited nod and smiled.

"He RSVP'd to Penny's wedding, in three weeks," Tessa added with an encouraging nod.

"He'll definitely be around, more often, if we just... Keep creating events he's invited to," Throttle breathed a chuckle, and although he kept his shy demeanor to himself, a more reserved show of tenderness, he finally budged into the room and joined the group.

"Or, if he keeps giving Berri items to then return the next day," Wren mumbled, he waggled his eyebrows and gave her a knowing look.

"I'll do what I can, guys," Berri sighed in defeat; she knew, as well as everyone else, that she had a side mission to get Turbo to become more comfortable in crowds, at events, and hopefully one day, out in public, though for now, she almost began to feel protective of Orion City's keeper. She knew he was fragile, and somehow was excited to go about this venture at Turbo's pace and his pace only, an intimate, silent agreement that only Berri and Turbo had, "It's not an overnight thing, y'know."

"It's all good, Bear, we're just glad he will hopefully come around more often," Tessa concluded with a nod, she finally stood, called checkmate on the conversation and knew that Berri was at the end of her rope. She easily segued away from the topic at hand, and while Berri gave her a soft look of kind gratitude, Tessa returned Berri the favor and gave her a small, knowing wink, "So, let's just let Nox and Oliver battle it out... Whose going first?"

"Why don't they both go at the same time?" Theo blurt, he gestured to his dad and, although he gave Oliver a wide smile, he loudly continued on, so Oliver could hear him through the glass, "Have you ever heard of SHARING, DAD?"

"No! I'm related to Tessa! I don't know what that means!" Oliver returned in a volley of sarcasm, and although the group was in great spirits, and Berri began to switch her amps and everything over to her favorite, lime green electric guitar, she almost was certain the topic of Orion City's lone wolf was never going to leave her mind.


After a long evening of singing their hearts out, Wren, Theo and Berri so excitedly getting to stretch their creative muscles and explore new songs and beats they were unfamiliar with, amidst karaoke night, everyone finally decide to retreat to their own homes relatively early, due to it being a school night. With clumsy, lazy footsteps, Berri climbed her spiral staircase. In a gentle push, she eased into her bedroom, something she hadn't seen all day long. She smiled in remembrance, her beckoning bed called to her, the haphazard sheets and downs just oozed with comfort, and with a gentle slump to the center of her bed, she lulled her eyes closed and snuggled her cozy blankets. As she took a deep inhale, she furrowed her brows, amidst her closed eyes, and was hit with that same, familiar scent, once again. The lovely, now becoming familiar scent of Turbo's hoodie.

With eyes still closed, she sighed in annoyance at herself, stretched her arm out a little further, grappled for just where she had left Turbo's hoodie, which was haphazardly splayed near her pillow. With a further annoyed tug, she yanked his hoodie up and over her whole head and upper body, and as she relished in the familiar scent once more, she drowned in the secretive, innocent little crush of admiration she had towards Orion City's biggest bad guy. She knew that this phase was likely to just fade out the more her, as well as Wren and Theo, got comfortable around Turbo. She was well aware that Turbo was just the shiny new object that was thrusted into her life, and upon a settle, she was looking forward to having a potential best friend out of him. Until then, however, she shoved the thick cloth of Turbo's hoodie harder into her face and beamed a secretive smile of girly glee.

With a sharp buzz, her phone chimed a few times. Such messages in rapid-fire succession only meant one thing; Wren was messaging her. She heaved a hard sigh, rolled over, sat up, slumped cross-legged, with Turbo's hoodie in her lap, and gently unlocked her phone through the squint of her screen's brightness. Berri held her breath and had somehow missed the previous messages in her's, Wren's and Theo's three-way group chat. They eagerly inquired about Turbo, and pressed her for information about when they'd be able to come see his home and to properly interact with him, though amidst all the banter, they lightly began to tease her, for practically setting this whole thing up, and for seemingly being the gate-keeper to Turbo's trust; Berri angrily sent the group a rather harsh message, lobbed her phone over her shoulder, was thrilled it simply bounced on her bed, and flopped forward, face first, into her pillows. She huffed a decent-decible yell into her pillow, wholly muffled for no one to hear but her.

After about five minutes of tender, though boiling solitude to herself, she could suddenly hear her mother's and father's front door of a teleportation pad buzz with life. Berri nervously sat up a little, peered to her closed bedroom door and held her breath in a spike of nervous intuition. Although Tessa's and Zed's teleportation pad was a private one, and was to be treated like a front door, Berri's immediately family had access to this pad, only a select few individuals on the lot had coded permission to waltz in whenever they would want, inside appropriate times; similar to having a spare key. The second Berri began to hear a pair of light footsteps heading up her spiral staircase, she slumped her shoulders, glowered at her door, and knew exactly just who was going to come barging in, in two seconds flat.

"Alright, your majesty," Wren barked quietly; he was well aware Tessa and Zed were still awake and watching a show in the living room, though it was still past quiet hours, "Let's uh... Let's maybe discuss your sass levels? Cause they're over nine thousand."

"Guys, go away," Berri muttered as she shoved Turbo's whole, now haphazardly crumpled hoodie to her face. She laid back into the middle of her bed and pretended to suffocate herself.

"No, I think this deserves on encore, really, I mean, wow," Wren sassed, Theo finally budged into the room and tenderly closed Berri's bedroom door behind him. Although Wren and Theo were both here to make sure the three were in good standing, never going to sleep in the middle of a fight, Theo was a little more nonchalant about it all; he eagerly made this clear by approaching Berri's bed and flopping onto it, next to her. He tucked his larger hands behind his head, grunted, scoot into her side in an obnoxious manner and got comfortable. Berri only huffed an entirely irritated groan into Turbo's hoodie as Wren sarcastically continued on, "I think you've been hanging out with me, too much, because that last message you sent was just... Phew!"

"Sassafras," Theo blurt, he cheesed a small, giggling laugh to himself, at his own joke.

"Mkay, so, I said... 'Berri, just let us know if Turbo is willing to have us over'," Wren sat on Berri's other side, though he obnoxiously sat cross legged and smooshed his criss-crossed legs into Berri's side. She grunted an annoyed noise and now covered her face with her hands, ultimately shoving Turbo's hoodie harder into her face, "YOU decided to say-"

"That I was tired of this bullshit, Turbo hesitantly agreed to you guys coming over, but I'm well aware you're just going to probably be loud and make him even MORE uncomfortable than he already is," Berri rushed in a hard stagger through Turbo's hoodie, her voice was muffled.

"...You left out a HEFTY amount of obscenities," Wren furrowed his brow and reread Berri's message, though he finally sagged his hand to his lap and peered down to Berri and Theo, who laid next to each other, "You REALLY don't want us there? We're not going to be loud and make his life hell. We understand how sensitive this is."

"I just am so on edge, you guys," Berri muttered, "I reveal to the whole of Arcade that Turbo exists, I get suspended from Academy, I BARGE IN to Turbo's home whilst he was trying to have a nice evening, and... Sure... We've maybe become friends, but now I'm just praying he doesn't feel like he's trapped with us... I-I only JUST gained his friendship, and-"

"Wait, was it like really hard or something?" Theo wondered as he cocked an eyebrow and peered to Berri, she heaved a hard sigh and finally sat up, ultimately yanking the hoodie off of her face and causing Wren to flinch a few times.

"I just... Don't want to blow it. He's been calling me 'your highness' since the beginning of time," Berri stated in a lilt of soft sorrow, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, and even though she smiled in tenderness, she still felt a gentle sag hit her soul, almost of gentle nostalgia, "He finally called me by my first name, today. It was such a tiny milestone, but... I mean, am I just overthinking all of this? I mean, we play our cards right... We could be good friends with Turbo. THE Turbo."

"It is much," Theo agreed as he, too, finally sat up and grunted, so to get comfortable on Berri's bed, next to her and Wren.

"It's just something we have to be so careful with," Berri instructed, she deperately peered to Wren's eyes, and it was in this was she glad she had both boys' attention, "This isn't something we can just screw around with, he's had an incredibly complicated past. One of so much pain and turmoil, he lost so many people's trust, and vice-versa."

"Berri, I hope you understand that you're not alone in this," Wren shrugged and looked off, his deep voice lilted to that of a further show of softness, something he wasn't caught doing often, "I mean... I see how Throttle and Nox so desperately want him around. If us three are the ones to warm him back up to people, warm him back up to society, then... Berri, you know we're not going to do anything to jeopardize the hard work you've already put in."

All three beings were quiet, Berri looked down to her lap and exhaled a long sigh through her nose, one of final relaxation and acceptance. She fiddled with the drawstring of Turbo's hoodie, it was a faded orange. She furrowed her brow and let her gaze get lost in the lightly torn strings, she knew that Wren and Theo were pretty loud, outgoing individuals, though she felt bad for dismissing their ability to reign it in and cater to another new, fragile being, one of which Berri was now committed to taking under her wing. She finally glossed her eyes to both Wren and Theo, loving boys that peered to her in an entire brotherly show of tender loving care.

"I'm sorry, guys... I just... Wish the Arcade saw what I saw," Berri shrugged, "He's really nice, unlike any of the horrible stories I've heard, thus far."

"Maybe they will, one day," Wren stated in concluding confidence, he nodded and glanced to Theo for assurance, "I mean... We just gotta keep bringing him around family functions. Maybe try and get him to go places with us in Orion City."

"Y'think he'd go for that?" Theo's deep voice glossed over Berri and Wren, to which Berri wrinkled her nose and firmly shook her head.

"Not immediately, no... All the baristas at Sugarbucks, on Monroe, now know of him, though," Berri stated in an uplift of encouragement, "I mean, even Bug seemed as if he'd be willing to meet Turbo."

"So, maybe that's our first landing spot, in the city?" Wren shrugged, "All the employees know it's something that's a possibility... The hard part is just convincing him to actually, well... DO it."

"I think we can make it happen," Theo rubbed the back of his head and gave Berri a smile of encouragement, "On his terms, of course, but... In due time."

"In the meantime, stop WORRYING," Wren gripped Berri's upper arm and softly jostled her, "I thought Ace was the worrier in the family, my User."

"You do stress out a ton, about this, Bear," Theo cooed in a depth of nervous understanding. He, too, placed his larger hand to Berri's upper back, "It'll be fine. You can meet up with Turbo tomorrow and hang out with him for a few hours, Wren and I will just message you once we're out of Academy and inside Sugar Rush. Gives Turbo time to acclimate and, I don't know... Prepare?"

"Even gives him a chance to back out, if he decides," Wren stated with a sigh, he eyed Berri with a cheeky smile, "We weren't going to pull a Berri, after all... Neither me, nor Theo, are brave enough to just go knocking on his door on any random given evening."

"...Yeah I guess the worst of Turbo's nightmares are over," Berri sagged as Wren and Theo softly laughed at her words, "Nothing is worse than me ruining his lazy, rainy day nap."