Reviews :
Jay Sketchin : You're entirely right on most fronts, though both Berri and Wren shape up to be Chaotic Good/Neutral for sure xD And, thank you! I'm really glad the dynamic is shining through and everyone is enjoying it for what it is, and hopefully what it will become! Yeah, Theo is very much like Oliver, very doughy and sweet and sensitive, though like Emery, he can get rather bitey and snarky. Wren is probably the sassiest character I've ever written for, which s saying something against Taffyta and Penny. Berri is pretty naive and dewy, though eventually shapes up to be a bit more street smart, and then you have Turbo, a hoard of baggage of a past life, diving headlong into a NEW life with an almost DGAF attitude xD
Snake557 : LOL! No, that's with my entire saga's chapters combined. So, Wrecking Limits was 200, Defying Code was 166, Rectifying Origin was 290 and then my last chapter, 44, made the whole saga at a staggering 700 chapters. Insane! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, I hope this one is equally as enjoyable :D
CHICKENM4N : Y'all will be able to cast your votes here soon! Something is telling me that everyone will also be itching to see chapter 46 drawn, though ;)
Romantic Sapp : Yes! Wren very quickly warms up to Turbo, he's just skeptical and wary about a lot, it's just Wren's nature. And, I'm glad you remembered! Turbo accidentally reveals his powers to Berri in a later chapter ;]
Burgie : Yeah he'd never trust them ever again xD Thank you!
Song Listened To :
Out There by Fox Stevenson
Wait For You by Jake Miller
*Chapter 45*
"Holy User Batman and everything TurboTime-tastic," Wren huffed in a gawk of a whisper as he crossed his arms, he held his mouth and his chin in one of his hands and shook his head, his eyes peered out to the breath taking scenery before him.
"Oh hey, I can see my house from here," Theo mumbled, he and Wren stood side by side in front of Turbo's incredible, two story wall of glass, the palace on the horizon looked an inch tall. Theo gently nudged Wren's arm, pointed and lofted his vivid green eyes tight to Wren's in boyish delight, "Look, even the glass of the code room can be seen."
"...Yeah... I see it," Wren huffed in a sarcastic tone of cheeriness, he bugged his eyes, gave Theo his stab of eye contact, "Four billion miles over the city, Theo, I SEE IT."
"You can't see Orion Tower anywhere on the lot except for Vanellope's perch," Berri stated in tender knowing, she bobbed a nod, a matter of fact tone of cute kindness; her and Turbo eased their presences next to Wren's and Theo's.
"You've checked," Wren cocked an eyebrow and shot Berri a knowing smile; she immediately furrowed her eyebrows in tender, confused dismay.
"Yeah, suddenly sixty-four floors seems like six hundred," Turbo stated in a mumbling tone of nervousness, he smiled nonetheless and heaved a long sigh as he turned away from the window and began to head to his kitchen, "It's home... But that view never gets old."
"I'll say," Theo choked, he also began to turn and lazily follow Turbo through his living room and to the kitchen, as well, "Got room for all of us to move in? We'll be quiet."
"I mean, technically, yes," Turbo shrugged, he breathed a small chuckle as, one by one, everyone gently pressed up the few steps into the tiled level of Turbo's home, shared with his kitchen, entry way and dining area. Turbo sagged to the side of his kitchen island that let him face his incredible view and living room, he sagged his masculine hands to the cold counter, "The living room, the loft, and... Technically an entire empty floor underneath my code room."
"...You have your own CODE ROOM?" Wren gawked in whole annoyance, though as Berri was the last one to ease up the stairs and onto the tiles, she slowly tucked her hair behind her ears and tried not to let her eyes trail down the mysterious, dark hallway to her left. She was aware that she had previously been down said hallway once, though Turbo lead her on a strict route that was anywhere but his bedroom and his loft. She bit her lip in a spike of bravery; she knew he had to have a bathroom somewhere, an excuse to secretly get a glimpse further into Turbo's life. Wren stood on the opposite side of the island, from Turbo, and gestured his arm, "Okay, good User. No wonder you never come around. You have enough big-dick-energy for the entirety of every single guy on the palace lot."
"Y'got the pad," Theo listed, Wren cocked an eyebrow as they teasingly continued to volley back and forth.
"The bike," Wren pressed, Theo peered his cheeky, playful gaze to Turbo, who stood frozen in annoyed, smiling delight.
"The code room," Theo continued.
"The mysterious vibe," Wren waggled his fingers, though Turbo now choked a boyish laugh and firmly gestured his hand out to his glorious city below.
"The LOOK," Theo blurt, though Turbo rushed to wave his hands in smiling, almost grimacing and disagreeing delight.
"Oh, yeah, I mean... Just HOARDS of women on my doorstep, guys," Turbo then lazily gestured to himself, his smile was in a full-fledged bashful show of boyish banter, "I really don't know what to do with myself."
"I mean... It may not be a whole hoard of women, but..." Wren trailed off, looked up to the ceiling, and with a cheeky smile, Wren and Theo eagerly lofted their gaze to Sugar Rush's princess, who only just now made her way to the island, easily lost in thought on just how to go about asking Turbo if she could use his bathroom; she finally mustered the courage.
"May I please use the bathroom, Turbo?" Berri chimed in cute tenderness as she scrunched her shoulders, and as all of the guys' eyes landed on her, she finally came to the conversation in a show of plucked delight, an innocent show of blatant fact that she wasn't listening to their bickering.
"... Yes, ma'am," Turbo eased in a stagger of now tender nervousness, he softly leaned over a little, gestured to his dark hallway and finally hooked his eyes to Berri's, "It's, uh... In my bedroom. The only bathroom in the house. So, just go down this hallway and take a left. Y-You'll see it, once you step inside."
"Thank you," Berri eased in nonchalant kindness, though as she turned her back, her eyes honed tight to Turbo's dim hallway with a beaming look of childish delight, as if she were simply about to enter a candy store with all the money in the world.
"You only have one bathroom?" Wren muttered as he cocked an eyebrow, crossed his arms and then finally eased Turbo a side-eye of smiling discovery, "Ahhh, I see what you did, there."
"What?" Turbo huffed in smiling annoyance, his more boyish, cheeky demeanor shining through a little more in a group of guys.
"You put the bathroom in your bedroom so that whenever you had a girl over, she gets a gooooood long look at your bedroom, of what's to come," Wren bobbed a nod, him and Theo locked eyes in teasing delight, "We should take notes, Theo. That's good."
"Or, maybe, Tessa designed this loft with one individual being in mind," Turbo choked as he waggled his hand, though as everyone continued to bicker, Berri was long gone, "What, I'm not allowed to have a bathroom in my bedroom? That's standard for any master bedroom in the entirety of the palace. I have to cross my entire house to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?"
"He has a point, Wren," Theo muttered, Wren cocked an eyebrow and glanced to him in annoyance.
"I'm not the man to come to for romantic advice, anyways, guys," Turbo chuckled, he sagged into Wren's and Theo's welcoming, friendly vibe, he leaned against his counter and fully relaxed, "I've only ever had one girlfriend in my entire life. I'm almost forty Arcade years old. That doesn't bode well for me."
With the bite of her lower lip, Berri held her breath and so softly pushed into Turbo's bedroom. She raised her eyebrows in girly delight and felt her heart begin to thump in nervousness, though she was entirely delighted as to just what she was graced with. Turbo's bedroom, unlike the rest of his house that which faced Northeast, had a whole wall of windows facing the West. With the incredible view of the mountains that Berri had seen in his code room, earlier in the day, she was stunned to see Sugar Rush's orange, vivid sunset do everything it could to warm the cold land beneath it. She cocked an eyebrow and stepped inside, the waft of his familiar, intoxicating human scent practically hit her head on, and it was here did she finally sag to a gentle mosey. His heavy door creaked to an almost close behind her, giving her privacy to really get a lesson in looking.
Although the wall of windows allowed an entire gloss of gorgeous setting sunshine, from the right, the two conjoined walls, to her left, were a muted, dark grey, almost a lovely green. His massive bed was a dark almost black cherry wood of a four-poster bed, thick posts, a masculine show of entire comfort. His bed was unmade, just swathed in creamy downs and pillows, smooshed and used from his slumber the night prior. He had two nightstands on either side, a long dresser a little farther down the wall, to her right, which also met with the wall of glass, a matching set of gorgeous furniture that looked loved. With a few drawers, on his dresser, just barely ajar, Berri did absolutely everything to assess every single detail. Just as she finally peeled her eyes from his gorgeous, heavenly looking bed of near-clouds, she finally glossed her eyes across the massive span of a windowed-wall and landed her eyes on the bathroom door, though in a jolt of noticing something, she halted dead in her footsteps and peered a hard, surprised gaze straight for the side of Turbo's bed frame, once more.
In the jolt of her halt, her bare feet on the shared matte grey tiles, she raised her eyebrows in hard surprise and noticed none other than a beautiful acoustic guitar. She barely gaped in surprise, a sudden spike of intrigue hit her soul, and before she could potentially write it off as something maybe every guy just typically had, a hobby that he potentially so desperately wanted to be learned but never did, she glossed Turbo's nightstand, which was deeper in his room; said nightstand was littered with scribbles of sheet music, hand-written chicken scratch of lyrics, a few guitar picks, a tuner and a capo. Berri huffed a surprised breath, clutched her chest in a fit of not knowing how to handle all the information being lofted at her. She shook her head and practically had to force herself not to rush over and see just what Turbo had potentially written down, an extremely deep look into Turbo's heart, almost equivalent to peering into a girl's diary, she shook her head and pushed closer to the bathroom, knowing full well that was disrespectful; she sagged into his bathroom and now began to mull over just how to tell him that they ironically shared a very specific common interest.
As Berri eased into his bathroom, she held her breath even harder and glossed her eyes around. She was floored to find that the same window the one single wall of his bedroom was made up of, also was shared with the bathroom. The whole wall, now to her left, was entirely glass and still held that incredible glow from Sugar Rush's nearing sunset. As she spanned Turbo's bathroom, she was delighted to find that it wasn't outrageous. A simple, modern, sleek layout of continued grey tiles, a decent sized walk-in shower and closet to the left, the same black cherry wood cabinets and a slab of dark marble for his counter top. A single sink, a gloss of stainless steel knobs and a few toiletries near the mirror, it was only a light bit of a mess. As she closed and locked the door, she did absolutely everything she could to not go nosing through his simple selection and display of shower, hair and skin-care products about the floor of his shower. As much as she wanted to burst out of his room and loudly proclaim that she, too, was a musician, she bit her lip and knew she should hold off until they were alone again. She was well aware Wren and Theo would likely jump all over him, for said discovery, and anything she could do to further protect his much-desired privacy was now her number one priority. Something she enjoyed was in her caring hands.
Once Berri was finished, she eased out of Turbo's room as quickly as she could, to hopefully portray to Turbo that she wasn't just simply lingering in his even more private domain, his bedroom of all places. Upon the clack of Turbo's bedroom door, she furrowed her brow and now could tell that all three boys had moved to the garage, due to their loud voices, their cackles of laughter, an echo of far away conversation that she couldn't make out. As she crossed Turbo's silent home, bare feet slapping to his cold grey tiles, she peered her diligent gaze to Turbo's garage side door, which was gently hung open, just barely ajar. As she came into the doorway, she peeked inside the garage and was absolutely delighted to see Turbo, Wren and Theo eagerly discussing all three of their bikes, comparing it to Turbo's, inquiring the specs and everything wonderful about it. They laughed and smiled in boyish banter, a cute dynamic that unfolded, and it was here did Berri cross her arms, lean against the doorframe and smile in a longing show of whole endearment, she knew that Wren and Theo were friendly, charismatic guys, though she was floored with how well it meshed with Turbo's otherwise painfully introverted soul.
Although the crew of four spent the majority of the rest of the evening with each other, Berri, Wren and Theo left after sundown due to all three having some form of school in the morning. After having a full day of socializing, the group part ways, and although Berri was well aware the four would likely reconvene and hang out again sometime soon, she knew that tomorrow was her birthday, and her mother and father had a whole day planned for it. Accepting the fact that her birthday was likely not a day she'd be hanging out with Turbo, due to spending it with her family, she wasn't successful in fully being distracted from thinking too hard on escaping to Turbo's loft. In fleeting moments throughout her special day, she would soak her eyes in aimless thought and ponder the rushing feeling of being on top of the world, a new found friendship she absolutely craved, she couldn't wait to return, to hopefully inquire to Turbo about his guitar.
As her birthday came, the following morning, everyone was thrilled that the beginning of Sugar Rush's snowy season had laid off for this one day. Tessa diligently skipped a day at Academy, Zed dropped all plans for the day, and alongside Ace, Libby, Beaux and Mara, the lot spent a good portion of the day in Orion City, going to whatever restaurant or shopping plaza Berri wanted to go, an extraordinarily fun day of easy socializing, a few stops to say hello and love on Sugar Rush's residents, an entire day filled with Orion City's sweet sights. Although there were an endless amount of things to do, and her mind was almost constantly preoccupied with her mother, father, brother, sister in law, niece and nephew, she absolutely couldn't help but allow her eyes to gloss in the direction of Orion City's highest tower. She could swear the tower was a beacon, just begging her to stop by, say hello to its keeper, just two minutes to spare. She tore her eyes from it whenever she felt the urge to reach for her phone and message Turbo, she knew she needed to not be so pushy with Sugar Rush's number one recluse, lest she push him away and make him shy to the idea of further hang outs.
After an exciting day of celebration, delicious food and the wonderful company of her family, the night came to a quick close due to Sugar Rush's setting sun now leaving the sky a lot earlier in the day. Although Berri wanted to continue celebrating, she knew that she had an actual birthday party planned for the closed Arcade day the Sunday to follow, strictly so anyone with a game day, like all of her uncles in Dead Zed, could come over and celebrate Sugar Rush's princess' very first birthday. She knew this was the day she'd likely get presents from her mother and father, though she also knew this was a party where everyone was invited; including Orion City's keeper. The rushing thought of trying to keep up with just who was invited and hoping to User she didn't forget anyone, she felt her heart sag in sorrow over the whole fact that she had kept forgetting to invite Turbo, whilst she was face to face with him. In a sigh of defeat, she smiled nonetheless and said her kind goodnight's to her parents, they doted on her and made sure she knew she was special on her very first birthday, the one to officially welcome her into adulthood.
Berri wrinkled her nose in silent, giggling dismay as she gently began to peel confetti from her long blue hair. Having had a full morning of pampering with her mother, Berri was treated to an expensive new hair cut. With cute bangs that daintily hung over her forehead, her waist-length blue hair was razored and layered to perfection, a crisp collection of cerulean goodness. She wrinkled her nose and ran her fingers through her healthy hair, finding all sorts of different bits of confetti in tucked away spots. With a final sigh of smiling exhaustion, she closed her bedroom door and changed into a comfortable pair of white sweats that scrunched at the ankles, a comfortable dark grey spaghetti strap, she began to tightly braid her long blue hair for the night, in hopes of having lovely waves for the morning and next day. She sagged into her bed in a final draw of exhaustion after she turned her main bedroom light off, a gorgeous chandelier that hung in the middle of her bedroom. As her eyes soaked to just her cute, peach-colored fairy lights that lined her dainty canopy bed, she inched under her covers, rested her head on her pillow and, much to her surprise, her face soaked to a sorrowful frown of mild disappointment.
Her mind easily soaked back to her new friend, she closed her eyes and slowly inhaled in a draw of remembrance, vivid images of the view of Orion City, from Turbo's loft, flood her mind with desire. She furrowed her eyebrows, scrunched her eyes tighter and allowed herself to dream, to desire going back, to ease deeper into her new friendship with such a mysterious new person, someone so taboo to the whole of Arcade, she found entire delight in befriending such an underdog, standing by his side and defending him for everything he was worth, she now began to feel sorrow for the whole fact that Turbo hadn't messaged her once today; she knew she had told him, at least once or twice, that her birthday was Thursday, which was now about fifteen minutes from turning into Friday. She finally heaved a long sigh through her nose and cuddled deeper into her blankets, a gentle sting of defeat, she knew she had likely gotten too invested into their friendship too quickly; that is until her phone gently began to tinker a cute tune, all lit up in confidence that she was, indeed, receiving a phone call.
Berri's eyes popped open in unadulterated confusion, she urgently sat up in a jolt of surprise, and as her hand quickly fumbled for her phone amidst the other trinkets, half-empty glass of water, used bobby pins and hair ties strewn about her nightstand, she yanked her phone off of the charging base it was on and felt her pupils tighten in a strict scrunch as the blinding light of her screen confidently continued to prove that someone was calling her. As if certain this was simply a dream, that there was no way the universe was this invested in her thoughts, she urgently sat up in a roll of entire, unadulterated surprise and reread the name of the individual that was calling her, over and over, as if she was totally certain this wasn't real. In a rush of girly, smiling disbelief, her thumb quickly tapped the screen, to answer the call, the screen immediately dimmed as she slowly brought the phone to her ear in a roll of bashful uncertainty.
"...Turbo?" Berri wondered quietly.
"Berri... Hey," Turbo staggered, he finally eased a nervous chuckle and seemed as if he had likely been busy doing something hectic, up until now. This was clear due to the sound of him shuffling around, the muffled noise of him opening and closing kitchen drawers once or twice.
"Hey," Berri lilted in still smiling curiosity, though somehow her tone held a twinge of sassy authority, as if to convey, just in the pitch of her tone, that it was nearly too late to simply just wish her happy birthday, if that's what this was.
"Hey, sorry, don't mean to bother you," Turbo huffed, though it was clear he was a smiling mess. Berri narrowed her gaze in whole confusion and urgently listened to him, "Y-You, uh... You left something at my house. I'm currently in the middle of dealing with some city work in my code room, is there any way you can stop by real quick and pick it up?"
Berri furrowed her eyebrows in now almost annoyed confusion, though she had to wonder if this was a dainty white lie. She knew Turbo was not a man of spontaneity, though as she glossed her eyes across her bedroom, she held her breath and revisited her previous conversation with Throttle. She was heavily warned that Turbo was a man of schemes, of jokes and laughs, a wild side that somehow rivaled Nox's, and it was in this instance did she finally understand that she absolutely had judged a book by its cover. She huffed a small, confused, nervous giggle and began to swipe away her heavy downs, so to begin crawling out of bed. Her heart began to pound in anticipation, she had absolutely no clue what to expect here, a new friend she was still desperately trying to get a feel for, she beamed ear to ear and knew diving head long into these kinds of situations was now what she was best at, and Turbo knew it.
"Oh, uh... Sure, I'll be right over," Berri chimed, she desperately tried to seem unassuming and nonchalant in her tone, which was massively overcompensated in the huge, goofy smile she now could not wipe from her face.
"Door's open, gotta be quick," Turbo quietly urged, his deep voice lilted a trail of a chuckle, something Berri cued to, and it was in this instance was she absolutely sure she had no idea just what was potentially up Turbo's sleeve, if anything at all; with her thoughts practically back-flipping, it took every single last ounce of her will-power not to tear down her spiral staircase and straight for her home's teleport pad.
