Reviews :

Burgie : Aw I'm glad you feel that way :D

Jay Sketchin : TRUE

Snake557 : LOL! They're a goofy bunch :)


Song Listened To :

Legend Has It/Cliffside Playtime by John Powell (HTTYD3 score)


*Chapter 88*

"I honestly was thinking about making it nearly as large as the palace lot," Tessa eased seriously, she gently averted her gaze to her husband's vivid blue eyes the second his eyebrows shot upwards in a tender pluck of delighted surprise, "Massive glass dome over the top, climate control, original Dead Zed flora... These poor guys are freezing, out here, in Sugar Rush's frigid winter climate."

"Granted it DOES warm up," Ace inquired softly, he shrugged and bobbed a nod, and although he had only spent one full year in Sugar Rush, he still got to experience every season to its full potential.

"Yeah, but Sugar Rush is so dry, Dead Zed is so humid," Nox pressed, a small group meeting of a more casual air, with the final person being Koko, lovingly situated tight to Nox's right side, "I mean, I know the dragons are hearty creatures, but surely they'd love to have as slice of Dead Zed on the palace lot. I think Tessa's idea is golden."

"It's just a lot of land, a lot of extra activity for the code room," Zed's gentle, authoritative voice glossed the group, and as he gently stood from his seat, at his and Tessa's lovely, sunny dining room area and table, he politely reached and dragged the few holograms, that Tessa was previously fiddling with, enlarged it, and eased it over the center of the dining room table, so everyone could have a view, "Guess... We could keep the flyer's huge patch of trees, around the edge of our end of the palace lot, and maybe attach a separate code room-like dome to our end, make a proper entrance or big corridor so no heat or humidity escapes."

"They won't be able to just fly in and out if there's a dome over the top, though, I mean... They love doing that, don't they?" Ace worried with a shrug, knowing Royal and his own antics best.

"Well, they'll still have access to the main palace lot, from their proper enclosure, so... They can come and go as they please, they'll just have to leave their enclosure to, well... Leave the lot," Tessa bobbed a nod and looked to Zed, her lovely auburn hair spilled over her shoulder in deep waves, the shaved patch, on the left side of her head, had begun to slightly grow out in a fluffy patch of cuteness, "You don't think the sudden spike in temperature difference will reek havoc on their bodies, will it?"

"It's why I'm thinking we shouldn't make it so drastic... Find a happy medium," Zed shrugged, "Since Sugar Rush is so extremely dry and cold, this time of year, and Dead Zed is so hot and humid all the time, we should just balance it accordingly... So that when they DO come out of the warmth and humidity of the dome, the frigid, snowy cold doesn't destroy their poor systems in confusion."

"How long is this project going to take, mom?" Ace pressed, now properly getting excited, "I mean... Have you told the flyers?"

"I've told Lickity, and of course, she's super excited," Tessa sighed as Zed gently minimized the holograms, for Tessa's view only, and kindly returned it to her, "This means I'll probably tuck the recreational hall, as well as Berri's tower, a little deeper into the woods of their old patch of trees... I can get with Berri on what to do about Chester's stable, and where she'd like that placed."

"...Speaking of Berri," Ace prod in a lilt of a mild topic change, and although he hovered for a second to see if his mother or father would kindly remind him to stay on the topic, their eyes gently hooked to Ace's in diligent, curious listening, "Did you guys see that Turbo came over the other day? I didn't want to intrude, but... Turbo gave Berri this beautiful guitar pick necklace."

"He did?" Zed prod curiously, Ace bobbed a nod as him and Nox caught eyes, and although Nox was cued in to all of Turbo's feelings towards Berri, he diligently kept his mouth shut due to not knowing just who was aware of said secrets.

"Yeah, I... I got a weird vibe from it, like, it was a very romantic gesture," Ace continued to ease in softness, and although he wasn't up in arms, it was clear he was becoming protective of his little sister, "I mean, I pulled Wren and myself away so the two could be alone, cause Turbo sort of announced that he had a gift for her, but... I looked back and they were hugging for kind of awhile. The guy even left his loft and was OUTDOORS, of all things."

Although Nox stifled a small laugh at Ace's cute statement, Koko, Tessa and Zed all kindly eyed each other in soft knowing, as if to be sure that they all were quietly on the same page before spilling Turbo's fragile little secret about Sugar Rush's princess. Ace noted the silence of stolen glances, furrowed his brow, dart his eyes to Nox's and was floored to see Nox's smile broadening, as if they all knew something stark that Ace did not. Ace finally shot his father a look of now taken-aback confusion, shook his head and blurt a nervous chuckle as everyone around him silently mused in cute delight.

"... Okay, I'm CLEARLY out of the loop, or am missing something, what's going on?" Ace prod with a louder choke of said nervous chuckle, though everyone remained silent as Zed inhaled a deep, stable breath.

"I think we're all a pretty trust-worthy bunch, here," Zed stated wisely, though everyone crumpled into knowing laughter as Zed's smile broadened in cute knowing, "Turbo's little secret has been out for a hot minute, now, and not once did it ever get back to Mr. User."

"We're gamers of our word," Nox assured with a cheeky smile, though Ace furrowed his thick brow harder and shot Nox another floored look of now rising irritation, as if he was shocked that there were things that Nox hadn't even come close to alluding to.

"I guess I probably should just allow Turbo to do the talking, but now that Ms. Thing has a shiny new lead singer boyfriend of whom I'm not too happy with right now," Zed stated in one breath as he lulled his eyes closed, inhaled a deep breath of revival and brought his loving blue eyes back to his son's wavering, confused hazel orbs, "Turbo has expressed interest in pursing your little sister's heart, son."

"... T-Turbo?" Ace staggered, not so much out of detest or resentment, though more out of shocked confusion. He finally choked a small laugh, shot his eyes to Nox's happily golden gaze and shook his head in a further roll of confusion, "W-We're talking... Turbo, guy that... Never leaves the game, or his loft, super reclusive?"

"I don't know, he's... He's been inching out of his shell, lately," Nox cued in a lilt of cuteness as he looked off and glanced to Koko, who also bobbed an eager nod and a smile. Nox finally gave Ace a kind look and shrugged, "He even invited us to a house party he hosted, two weeks ago."

"... Wait a second, Turbo... Threw a HOUSE PARTY?" Tessa finally blurt with a surprised laugh, to which Zed equally furrowed his brow in cheeky confusion and joined in her fervor, "That's a joke, stop it."

"Not joking, he invited me, Koko, Throttle, Wren, Theo, Penny and Orph," Nox quickly cued, though Ace furrowed his brow in mild confusion.

"Berri wasn't invited though?" Ace prod.

"No, cause she was on a date with Gunner in Orion City," Nox lazily rattled, though little did he know, said date with Gunner was supposed to be a secret from Zed; this had Tessa stiffening in a spike of dread.

"I'm sorry, WHAT?" Zed suddenly stabbed, to which Ace now grit his teeth and shot Nox an unsure grin, Tessa rolled her eyes and now felt due to protecting Berri's feelings.

"Zed, it was just a little date inside Sugar Rush, they both were safe, y'gotta let the girl live a little," Tessa grumbled, and though Zed seemed as if he was due to go on a fatherly tirade, he seemed to cut short in a huff of an irritated sigh and allowed Tessa's words to sink in, "She has deletion protection now, she can take care of herself."

"I mean, we knew THAT with that nasty train footage," Ace grumbled in pride towards his baby sister.

"Anyways... Turbo has expressed interest in Berri, they... They're pretty close friends, from what I can tell," Zed eased with a sigh of mild, dejected defeat, as if seeing the spectrum of the men Berri could potentially pair off with was now what had Zed weighing far heavier in Turbo's corner.

"Expressed interest'," Ace used air quotes and cocked an eyebrow at his father, and although Zed took a pause and the room fell softly silent, he smiled down to the dining room table for a moment before bringing his tender, humble gaze back to Ace's.

"He's in love with her, bud," Zed gently admitted, to which Ace raised his eyebrow in a pluck of warm surprise.

"I-In love," Ace repeated in a breath, he leaned back in his chair and tried to process all of it, though he cocked an eyebrow and gave Nox a nervous smile of mild humility, "Guy's comin' for my crown, then..."

"YOUR crown, you respectfully declined the throne, y'dingus," Nox blurt, Tessa and Koko quietly choked with laughter, "If anything, he's coming after Zed's crown."

"No, no, that... That guy isn't fighting for the crown," Zed smiled down to his hands and felt a bittersweet feeling hit him, he shook his head and furrowed his brow, "After he watched the footage of Berri on the train, with the deleter, I mean..." Zed trailed off and softly averted his gaze to Tessa, who was witness to the lovely scene that unfolded, that night.

"I don't think I've ever seen the guy cry so hard," Tessa eased in soft warmth, though Nox prickled in surprise.

"CRY? Turbo was... Was CRYING?" Nox staggered in whole shocked disbelief, to which Ace and Koko both raised their eyebrows in surprise, as well. Nox tried to find words, he fumbled in staggers of breaths for a moment before urgently peering to Zed, "No, no, no... The big, bad Turbo doesn't cry. I've NEVER seen that guy cry, I mean... Maybe I've seen him well up, but, full on crying? I've only ever seen his eyes go red twice, in my whole entire life."

"Trust me, he... He unloaded, that night," Zed chuckled, he rested his hand on his chest in sweet humility and smiled to Ace, "Sorry I'm sort of, well... Outing Turbo, here. I... I feel bad to say but, I don't think anything is going to come of it. At least anytime soon."

"What with Berri and all the touring she'll be involved in, with Gunner," Koko stated in a sorrowful decline, it was clear just who everyone, at this table, was rooting for.

"I... Guess I probably should've let Turbo just tell you himself, but," Zed sighed and looked off, "I don't think it'll come to fruition."

"...You seem to be hoping it will, dad," Ace cued kindly, and although it was a lot to wrap his mind around, the raw fact that his current swap mate's ex boyfriend was now fancying his little sister, he sagged and knew that if any of the people, on this lot, were to be loyal, tried and true, it was the TurboTime boys. Knowing Turbo was very similar to Nox, in this aspect, Ace felt little worry about it.

"Y'know, maybe if I start openly saying it, and actually putting it out into the universe, it'll come to be," Zed stated in a spike of uplift, as if it was a secret he wanted off of his chest, Tessa blurt a cute giggle as Zed cheekily continued on, "Yeah, I'll admit it. I don't really see a better fit for Berri than Turbo. I see their dynamic, I see how they are in person. The dude has opened up to me twice, now, about potentially pursuing a proper courtship, with her."

"...Okay, where the HELL have I been?" Ace blurt with a hard laugh, this rocketed everyone at the table into a fit of understanding laughter, towards Ace.

"Yeah, they've been a secret item on the roster of people pairing up, on the palace lot, for about a month or two, now," Tessa muttered in cute, cheeky delight, clearing stating her stance on the whole situation. She shrugged and sat up a little straighter, "Hey, I love the guy. He's sweet, painfully polite... He'd make Sugar Rush proud, one day. Hell, he already has."

"I mean, he knows the game like the back of his hand, anyways," Koko chimed with a shrug.

"Knows it better than I think me, Tessa, Ralph and Vanellope combined," Zed mumbled in a swoop of defeat he didn't try to climb out of; instead, he smiled and bobbed a nod, "It's ultimately Berri's choice... I mean, the guy has vowed to never leave Sugar Rush. As much of a great guy that Turbo is, that wouldn't bode well for them, what with her touring and everything."

"Y'think we can like... Make a race track that secretly leads out of the game, and we can all race and just LET him win?" Nox quickly pressed, everyone eagerly laughed at his notion, "No, I'm serious! Just let his sorry ass SAIL right into Game Central Station... He'll be out in public and once he sees that no one is going to try and assassinate him, he'll be like, oh yeah, I remember this. This is great!"

"Why doesn't HE just code himself some of that deletion protection? Certainly that'd solve everything," Nox argued, though Tessa shook her head softly and looked down.

"The deletion protection is only coded for faux-codes... Our coding is a LOT more malleable and forgiving, when it comes to adding certain elements," Tessa gently described in defeat, "I'm sure Turbo could try, but... It'd probably take him an eternity."

"If only it were that easy," Zed grumbled as he rubbed his face and gave Nox a grateful, cheeky smile, "I think it's gunna take some strong, divine intervention. Sugar Rush could be on its side and he'd still be clinging to the top of Orion Tower."


With the gentle clack of her thin stilettos, the slow moving sound could be heard nearly reverberating through the thousands of rows of seats and stadium spots in the vacant, warmly lit arena Berri ogled in solitude. With the sound of Bedgy, Gunner, Wren and Theo loudly chattering near stage left, Berri stood in the center of the massive, glossy, oddly shaped stage, one of which they would be playing on in the next month. Berri could swear her heart was in her ears, the way the sea of empty seats seemed to melt into an abyss of neverending spots for onlooking, eager eyes, she could swear that no amount of words could describe the sheer about of nervousness and excitement that coat her soul. Although she was thrilled to be eventually rocking out on her electric guitar, next to Gunner's vocals, Wren's keys and Theo's drums, she felt her heart ache in a yearn of defeat as her eyes softly glossed across the massive swoop of a black stage, and directly to a lonely microphone stand, properly poised in a beam of a stage light. She furrowed her eyebrows in a twinge of softer disappointment that now coat her veins in a placated attempt at comforting herself, how badly she wanted to sing alongside Gunner, to show her full amount of talent; she knew she should take what she could get, and this opportunity came to so few individuals.

As her heels eased to a stop, she felt her phone softly buzz in her back jeans pocket. Slick black skinny jeans, paired with a gorgeous top and an expensive, small over-coat, Berri carefully pulled her phone out of her pocket and peered down at the screen in the shred of enjoyed solitude she had. She felt her heart surge with warmth at the sight of Turbo's message daintily splayed across her screen, though she bit her lip in a stifle of a wide smile and only briefly read the small preview. As she unlocked her phone and properly tabbed to her messages, she was floored to find that Turbo had sent her a picture of him and Chester inside of his loft. Apparently, Chester had done well for himself by getting into Turbo's cabinet, eating himself silly, of random items, and then passing out for a nap in the center of Turbo's kitchen. Turbo playfully shamed Chester by placing all sorts of normal house-hold items all over Chester's passed out figure, and cheekily posing with him. The full-fledged grin, across Berri's face, was enough to split her jaw in half. She blurt a silent huff of a chuckle and allowed herself to mentally escape to Turbo's lovely loft, the itch to go back and relax was massive, after a long day of meetings and photoshoots.

"Bear, y'comin'? We're gunna head back to the studio and practice... Gunner thinks we might be able to squeeze in five songs, instead of three, for our first show," Theo shrugged as his bare feet gently approached; he, too, was dressed in a nicer, expensive outfit, with a slick hair cut to match and green accents that really made his lovely, emerald eyes come alive. Upon reaching Berri, he noticed her texting someone and nonchalantly gestured, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"No, it's cool, it's just Turbo, lookit," Berri continued to beam, Theo leaned in as he watched Berri pan through the hilarious pictures of Turbo and Chester, "He's such a piglet... What's he thinking, getting into all of Turbo's food. For User's sake, I leave Turbo with more than enough food, for Chester, and somehow Chester is STILL hungry."

"Growing guy, he is," Theo shrugged, though the two continued to quietly laugh at the funny pictures Turbo sent, "Looks like Turbo's having a good time."

"Yeah, he is," Berri chimed delicately as Theo eased off, though as Berri peered down to her's and Turbo's conversation, Theo raised his eyebrows in gentle knowing as Berri's shoulders began to sag, a shroud of bittersweet sorrow cloaked over her, unabated.

"We should go see him, tonight, if we can," Theo bobbed a nod of assurance, his eyes gingerly glossed the lovely guitar pick that confidently rested on Berri's sternum, he allowed their conversation to dull to an even quieter presence and was thankful that Gunner, Bedgy and Wren continued to loudly laugh and talk, far across the stage, "I'll bet you miss him... Last time you saw him was Sunday, right?"

"Yeah, it's... It's shaping up to be that we likely will only be able to really hang out with him, fully, on Sundays," Berri sighed, she was reminded, by the calendar on her phone, that today was not only Thursday, but a school night. She sagged her shoulders and looked out to the glorious, neverending rows of seats out before the two, "He seemed cool with it, I just... Well..."

"... Wish it wasn't so far away, huh?" Theo so warmly eased, and although Berri typically went to Wren for all of her girly gossip, when it came to love interests, she sagged in Theo's mature aura and was glad to have an eye of the storm to visit, outside of Wren's typical, sassy chaos.

"Yeah," Berri quipped as she locked her phone, eased it into her back pocket, once more, and bashfully looked down to her twiddling fingers.

Theo's softening gaze peered to Berri, unwavering, glinted through the theatrical stage lights that softly illuminated their fragile moment. With the sag of Theo's larger, wrecking fingers into the gentle gape of his nice pants, he breathed a silent breath through his nose and danced about the idea of potentially bringing up Berri's secretive, bubbling thoughts, or just leaving Berri to fester herself into the ground, all by herself. In the contemplative gaze that dragged to Berri's still slowly and nervously twiddling thumbs, Theo sagged his shoulders a little and allowed a greater deal of softness to coat the two. He was well aware the two had an incredibly special relationship, one that was unmoving and solid, one that shared exterior swaps, the softness of sibling love and everything in between, he narrowed his gaze and knew this was likely his time to get in a little deeper, with Berri, to really continue to prove that she could easily rely on Wren for any advice or boy talk. To further prove that, although Theo had no experience on the subject matter, he was an unwavering wall of a stronghold, one to easily give her a foundation to rest upon in times of hurt, something she very easily masked.

"Bear," Theo's loving, deep voice lilted above a whisper, and as he wrinkled her a gentle smile, she looked up to him with a look of nearly wanting to keep him at arms length, though in this, he could immediately feel her walls want to come down. Theo shook his head just barely, glanced to the gorgeous guitar pick on her sternum, tilted an eyebrow up in knowing and shrugged in a mild gesture, towards said pick, "I... I think what you and Turbo have is really beautiful."

"Yeah?" Berri huffed thinly, as if to be breezy in her words, hoping that Theo would gloss on past it, though his unmoving disposition affirmed to Berri that he was being absolutely serious, here. She huffed a shaky breath as words formed in her mouth, though she shook her head and looked back down to her hands in a sag of discovered defeat, "I... Thank you..."

"I wouldn't write him off, so quick, Bear," Theo's wise words so softly glossed her, he furrowed his brow and, although they were out of earshot of their company, Theo still respectfully kept his voice low, "I can see, in your eyes, that you're torn... I can see how hard this is for you."

"I-I don't really know what you're talking about, Teddy," Berri's voice smoothly conveyed a further amount of skillful plainness, though Theo narrowed his gaze and could easily see right through it; Berri flinched as he dared to take a step deeper into Berri's bubble.

"Berri, whatever is said between us stays between us," Theo kindly urged, he tried not to plead, he long blinked and gave her his solid, shiny emerald eye contact, unabated; she softened her stance and knew fighting Theo, here, was futile, "Just... That man really loves you, Berri. I can see it in his eyes. I'm sure being stuck in Sugar Rush, without you, is killing him, but... To see him continue to support you, even though it's probably torturous for him, I mean... I just want you to know that, you have a lot of love there, waiting for you."

"Theo, it's... It's more complicated than that," Berri revealed, the tremble in her near whispering tone was real, though as if on a cue, she gently eased her fingers to the pick on her sternum and lovingly held it tight, "This is as close as I'll get to having Turbo attend shows, or leave Sugar Rush. I can't trap myself inside of Sugar Rush, just because there's a lot of love there. I have things to do, and places to be, Theo... We all do."

"Certainly we can help him get comfortable with coming out of the game," Theo softly suggested, Berri shrugged and looked out to the vacant seats before them.

"Theo, it's all in his willingness, or... Lack thereof... I've tried countless times to get him to come into Orion City with me, to get comfortable with the locals before diving out of BIGGER comfort zones, and he won't budge," Berri urged quietly, though Theo raised his eyebrows in tenderness as he noticed tears begin to well in Berri's big, blue eyes, "He's adamant about his decision, and... In that, I... I have to be adamant about mine."

Theo frowned and held onto her words, which held weight. He sighed in defeat, a long, drawn out exhale through his nose, and as he looked down to their feet, he lulled his eyes closed and accepted the potential for the conversation to close, though much to his delight, Berri carried on.

"Theo, I'd... I'd give up everything to see him in one of these seats," Berri's voice trembled as she gestured out to the empty seats below and beyond, she shook her head and quickly swiped away a tear that escaped, though her tone became nasally, "I mean it... I'd give up absolutely everything..."

"Just, please promise me you won't give up on him," Theo urged quietly as he peered his near-desperate gaze into hers, warmed from death, once more, "He needs us... I know he'll eventually come around, I mean... Look how far he's come within this last month, or two."

"...What, finally showing up at the palace unannounced and going outside, of all things?" Berri mumbled in a dull, nasally tone; she knew her words weren't fair, and no matter how little the progress seemed, it was still progress.

"Turbo's my friend, too, Bear," Theo reminded as he cocked an eyebrow, as if to grow protective of their favorite Arcade nightmare, "You can't look at his slow progress and toss it away... You have to look at the present... Here and now."

Berri raised her eyebrows and felt immediately thwarted; her face grew hot at the raw fact of her's and Turbo's loving inside joke, now becoming a mantra, was now being used against her, though in this, she flinched in surprise as Theo began to peel his presence from hers. Although it wasn't technically an upbeat departure, the air between them was still kind and neutral.

"He's never given up on the people he loves," Theo warmly reminded, almost sternly, as he began to gently walk back to the chattering group, across the stage. He shot Berri a knowing look and made it an obvious point to glance back at her gorgeous guitar pick, still confidently glistening on her sternum, "I know you wouldn't, either..."

Berri sagged her shoulders in pinpricked defeat and held eyes with Theo for as long as his stance would allow, though once he turned his back and departed from Berri, she sighed a heavy breath through her mouth and peered back to the glorious stadium before her. As excited as she was to finally have her talent in front of an entire crowd of hundreds, thousands, she narrowed her teary eyes and knew there was only one thing she wanted to see, out in the dark abyss of the crowd. A certain, confident, golden glow from one of the most misunderstood beings this Arcade has ever known. The only person she'd ever want to fully share this whole fiasco with. Although the odds of Turbo stepping foot outside of Sugar Rush was so incredibly slim, she marinated in Theo's warm words and knew that he was right. She knew Turbo would never give up on her, if roles were reversed. Berri inhaled a slow, confident breath and peered out to the crowd, once more, and although she previously viewed seeing Turbo out in the crowd as just lifeless, wishful thinking, she held onto that thought and allowed her heart to dangerously plant that seed of hope, once and for all.