Reviews :
Lyssdoodle : Awww that's so sweet! HAHAHA omg I'd love it if you did that xD
faolan1230 : LOL idk about the name, but yes, it is a thing in the 5th book :) Y'all got your wish!
chuckiboo : Hooo yes, I am the queen of not wanting to ask for help on anything, simply because I feel as if no one would really understand what I'm going through. I'm so glad that was apparent, with Ace's character and his development. He's come a long way from being the clumsy, chubby little shy guy. He's one of my favorite boys, his character development was a lot of fun to work on.
Snake557 : Unfortunately you guys have to wait longer for the creepy cave reveal xD It WILL come tho! You DO get to find out what's inside.
A/N : Hey guys! My first week of school went REALLY REALLY well. I was immediately swamped with homework, but I'm doing what I can to stay on top of my time management and I finish it throughout the week so that I can hang out and catch up on chapters over the weekend! I'm really glad I switched to this every Saturday schedule, there's no way I could keep up with my every other day posting. I think if I get enough chapters under my belt, I MIGHT be able to upload twice a week. So, if I randomly start uploading Wednesdays and Saturdays, that's why. I guess always be on the lookout for surprise Wednesday chapters :) I have class every single day, but Wednesday is my short day, so I'm thinking if I plan my week right, I can possibly squeeze chapters out on that day as well.
Thanks for being so patient with me! ENJOY!
Song Listened To :
Silver Comforts Jim by James Newton Howard
Looking for Mr. Han by James Horner
Aladar & Neera by James Newton Howard
*Chapter 231*
Blue : You have me seriously concerned about the creepy cavern, previously discussed.
User : Wait, seriously? Like genuinely concerned or are you just saying that
Blue : ... I'm just saying that, I want an excuse to talk to you. WTF. Of course I'm serious!
Berri eased a soft chuckle through her nose and removed her eyes from her phone, for a second. Stood all by herself in the grassy center of their huge, glorious cul-de-sac, her bare feet meshed with the soft grass underneath, she patiently waited for Chester to find a spot to do his business. Being mindful that she'd have to zap said expelling into deletion, she sourced Chester, across the grass, before she peered down to her phone, once more. The nighttime sky was clear and breezy, an insane amount of stars twinkled overhead, and although the cricket's symphony was on full blast, the gaping blackness of the night, about her, was silent and peaceful. She furrowed her brow, tucked her damp, free hair behind her ear and eased a curious grin down to her's and Ace's little conversation.
User : Don't be scared lol it just looks scary, I'm sure it's a normal sea-side cavern. Sorry for shaking Turbo up like that, I appreciate that he's taking this so seriously, we just... Really need him, after your guys' getaway, to be at the top of his game.
Blue : Oh I understand, I've been trying to keep his mind off of work for the past twenty four hours. I mean it's only been about an hour or two since you rattled him, but I'm sure he got the hint.
User : Good, I was worried you'd be mad at me. Anyways, I hope you guys have fun. Let me know if Lash makes more cinnamon rolls, holy crap.
Blue : I will haha.
User : I love you Bee.
Berri raised her eyebrows in tenderness and felt a weird wave come over her. Knowing, full well, Ace was absolutely no stranger to showing affection and making his love known, for some reason, it hit her a little harder than usual. She inhaled a shaky breath, sourced Chester far across the gap, once more, before she peered back down to her's and Ace's seemingly completed little conversation. Suddenly the urge to cry brimmed at the back of her throat, the amount of love she had for her big brother, she sagged her shoulders and aimlessly looked off, as if to wonder just why she had suddenly become so emotional about him, in such a tiny time frame. In the aimless draw of her misty eyes, her eyes landed on Mara's little home, cutely still lit up. Mara knew that Berri would be chauffering Chester to her place, once he had done his business and was settled for the night, though with the thought of Mara, Berri heaved a long sigh through her nose and now understood just why she was getting emotional; she tabbed back to her's and Ace's conversation.
Blue : Ace, do you think I'm a good sister?
Berri frowned at the thought of even asking such a question. She huffed a silent noise, an attempt to keep her emotions in check, though as a few warm, quiet moments went by of radio silence from Ace, she lulled her eyes closed in defeat and locked her phone, figuring Ace was in the process of getting ready for bed. Just as she sagged her phone into her pocket and was about to catch up with Chester, amidst the huge field, the grid next to her softly buzzed with life, cueing Ace's figure, once more. Berri clutched her chest, took a glitch-hop or two away and peered hard into Ace's eyes as both of their coding settled. Berri finally huffed a shaky giggle and grinned in hot surprise into her big brother's eyes, who stood a few feet away dressed in a cozy grey t-shirt and sweats, obviously en route to going to sleep.
"Okay, are you like... Doing what you can to boast your User skills or something? Like we GET it, you can teleport anywhere and delete anyone," Berri muttered cutely with a grin, her heart raced, the raw fact that her little question merited him leaving the comfort of his home and sourcing her from over a hundred and fifty miles away, so they could have a conversation face to face, made her heart soar.
"I've never deleted anyone," Ace's deep voice grumbled in cuteness, he gave her a sleepy, cheeky smile.
"YET," Berri softly added, to which Ace shook his head and looked off, amidst their smiles, though he narrowed his gaze and brought it right back to Berri.
"... Bear, why would you ask such a question?" Ace wondered tenderly, he could immediately see Berri's self becoming shelled, something she wasn't typically caught doing, and it was here did he understand she was vulnerable to an overflow of emotion. Ace scoffed a gentle chuckle and began to ever so slowly make his way closer to Berri, "You're the best sister anyone could ever ask for."
"Thank you," Berri mumbled in whimpering defeat as she looked down to her feet, she knew there was something about Ace that always felt safe, aside from the fact that he was Arcade's original User. Something about him always had her allowing her guard to drop, the instant she needed tender loving care and reassurance, she knew Ace was the golden source of it all. She inhaled a shaky breath and just owned the fact that she was due to near-ugly crying shortly, alongside the tears that slipped down her cheeks. She grimaced and felt the brim of emotion swell over her, weight she had no clue she was carrying until now, "I just... Know Mara and I haven't gotten along, and now that we mended our relationship, I just... Don't want you to think that I ever like hated her or anything, I'm sure she could've used a sisterly figure all this time, and I just... Have failed-"
"Berrrrriii," Ace cooed with a gentle chuckle, he grinned and closed their gap, his arms were gently outstretched, knowing full well that his bear hugs were a necessity. His smile only grew as Berri shoved her hands into her face and crumpled, he grimaced through said grin and slowly wrapped his strong arms about her now trembling shoulders, and knowing just what she needed, he scooped her into the biggest embrace he could afford and tucked his face into the top of her head. He lulled his eyes closed and was further thrilled to feel her tightly worm her arms about his chest. He breathed a chuckle of understanding onto her damp, clean hair and gave her a solid squeeze as his deep, caring, warm voice ushered her hushed care, "You haven't failed anything, here, okay? You and Mara had your differences... It all stemmed from lack of communication. It has absolutely nothing to do with how you sister people."
"I just look back on our childhood and... Can remember points in time where I left her out, or made her feel unimportant," Berri whimpered through her tears, soft little cries, tender noise that eventually got Chester's attention due to the causal trotting he now pressed into, across the stretch of grass. Berri shut her eyes tight and melted into Ace's strong hug, her face almost entirely buried into the top of his muscular chest, "She's your daughter, she's... An entire extension of you. I disrespected you, ultimately, by treating her this way."
Ace heaved a hot sigh through his nose, lifted his head a little and aimlessly looked off, so to digest Berri's words. He was glad Chester was aware of just who he was, due to the sound of his voice; he could tell by Chester's lazy saunter that he wasn't concerned. As Chester approached, he chuffed a hard exhale through his wolf-like snout and nuzzled his face into the side of Ace's and Berri's embrace, so to somehow join in. Ace blurt a chuckle and removed one hand to messily pet the top of Chester's head, though with such, Berri just barely eased away. She desperately tried to compose herself, she wiped her cheeks and frowned down her hands, though much to Ace's surprise, the little flecks in her irises just barely glowed a fragile, sorrowful blue, properly tinting her nose and cheeks with said glow. Ace huffed a faltering breath and cute, discovering disbelief and narrowed his gaze in curiosity.
"I may be a User, but I'd kill to have glowy eyes, like such. That's one of the many things you have over me," Ace mumbled cutely, he was glad this successfully got a huff of a chuckle out of Berri's figure. Her beautiful eyes hooked to his as he so carefully took her smaller hands in his much bigger, able ones, "Love, I don't feel disrespected. Do I wish you and Mara had a more sisterly relationship growing up, sure... But that's just how the cards fell, and the most important thing now is that you two are taking steps to mend the bond."
"She seems to be coming around," Berri's crackly voice whimpered as Ace lovingly squeezed her hands as she meeped him a gentle conclusion, "Thank you."
"You're my little sister, I'll ALWAYS be here for you," Ace's soft voice assured, he kept tight, loving eye contact with her as he cutely pressed on, "I could tell by a question like THAT that you were in need of one of my hugs."
"It helped," Berri cutely smiled, her eyes aimlessly glossed Ace's strong chest before finally sagging into his lovely, hazel eyes, "I'm sorry I haven't really been around much, I miss hanging out with you."
"Well, then, how about, after your vacation, how about you and I go on a brother-sister date," Ace confidently suggested, he bobbed a nod and was thrilled her eyes began to sag away from that sorrowful blue, "My treat, we can go anywhere you'd like."
"Alright, but I'm wearing my disguise, I don't want to be signing autographs and have the focus taken away," Berri mumbled, she removed her hand from Ace's only briefly, to rid her jawline of tears.
"I don't mind either way, it'll be just me and you," Ace's warmth was palpable, something to so easily drown in, Berri heaved a soft, shaky sigh of relief and eased a conclusory nod. Ace raised his eyebrows and glossed his eyes to the handful of resort houses just across the stretch, he was well aware he didn't know Mara's exact location, but he knew for certain that she was here. He finally returned his eyes to Berri's and eased a sneaky smile, "So, you two getting along okay, now? Surely she's latched on to you."
"Oh, yeah, we're like best friends, it's the weirdest thing," Berri grunted, she gestured her arm out and eased a nasally giggle, "I think she forgot that I know a decent amount of Teltokuan."
"Ohh, yeah, she's for sure not going to let you out of her sight, now," Ace grinned and rubbed his face in cute agitation, "Anyone she can have a secret conversation with, believe me. She'll deploy that on me whenever we're in public."
"Makes me feel real special, I'm all for it," Berri and Ace erupted into a soft laughing fit, "I just... Hope she comes out of her shell, a little more. She gets along with everyone here except Lash, she like... Hates him."
"... Seriously?" Ace stated in innocent shock, he furrowed his brow and rubbed the back of his head, "Damn, I thought... For SURE they'd be fast friends, he's so quick-witted and snarky, and like... Abrupt."
"You can just say he's an asshole, it's fine," Berri mumbled lazily, they both riled into another fit of soft laughter with each other as Ace shook his head.
"I just mean like... Mara is similar in that aspect, I thought maybe she'd feel like she'd find a friend in him, and together they could bully the crap out of all of you," Ace rushed with a deep chuckle, his handsome smile had Berri grinning harder.
"Did you just call your daughter a bully?" Berri wondered dryly, though her smile proved she was totally invested.
"Look, get her and her mother together whilst Beaux isn't home, it's a disaster, I get bullied into next Tuesday," Ace grunted in smiling irritation, he held up his fingers, "In TWO languages, nonetheless."
"No, they hate each other, it sucks," Berri finally stated after coming out of a soft laughing fit, she rubbed her eyes a little and heaved a hard, satisfied sigh, "He just needs some manners, is all. Doesn't help that Mara is super smart and likes to make it known."
"Well, tell him to dish it back to her, Mara loves when I fight fire with fire, I don't know why," Ace grumbled, "I tried it with Libby once and she cried. I have no clue where Mara gets it from."
"Probably from mom, let's be real," Berri giggled, Ace immediately cracked up with laughter the both of them tried to conceal.
"Well, get Lash to make her one of those cinnamon rolls, it won ME over," Ace smiled, he broadened his gaze a little and assessed the breezy, nighttime atmosphere about them, "Anyways... Keep her under your wing. The past isn't relevant any longer, what matters now is you have an opportunity to deploy all those fantastic sisterly skills on someone who needs a little guidance. Hell, you've even treated me like I was the younger one, sometimes. You're a fantastic leader, surely you know that."
"Thank you, I... I needed this," Berri stated through a refreshed though nasally sigh, she bobbed a nod and looked down to her hands, "I wish you and Libby joined us, this time."
"Bah, might've been too weird with your own daughter and wife's ex-boyfriend who is now your sister's husband-to-be," Ace grit his teeth and gave Berri a playful look of dread, though Berri rolled her eyes and softly swat at Ace whilst he grunted a cute chuckle, "Nah, it would've been a lot of fun. Maybe after this deleter drama settles down, we can all plan to come back. I know Libby would jump at the opportunity, as would Beaux."
"Next time, promise?" Berri cutely pressed, she held up her pinky, so to insinuate they seal the deal with something incredible official.
"Promise," Ace stated in soft confidence, and with a smile, he wrapped his larger pinky around hers. Ace smiled into her eyes for a moment whilst they jostled hands, though he finally scoffed a small noise of delight and wrangled Berri into another big hug, something she very easily obliged to. He buried his face into the top of her head, once more, and eased her a more serious notion of brotherly love, "Berri, don't you ever, for one second, think you're not a fantastic sister. Don't think on it for one second..."
Berri heaved a shaky breath into Ace's chest and felt her world crumple, once more; she shut her eyes tight in frustration over the fact that she had finally composed herself, only to revisit the waterworks upon Ace's infamous hugs. She hiccuped a silent little cry and now glued herself to Ace, a vulnerable, needy show she was thrilled Ace was always receptive to. She shut her eyes tight and marinated in his brotherly love, the way his larger hand so tenderly stroked the back of Berri's head, the shush of warm, whispery words of assurance into the top of her head, easily sealed with a small smooch to her forehead.
"I love you," Berri whimpered, to which Ace's squeezing hug intensified.
"I love you, too," Ace assured with all the confidence in the world, he held her for as long as she remained glued, and after a few long moments of an unending grip, he eased his head away and cutely gained eye contact. He gave her a sweet, snarky side-eye and breathed a soft chuckle, "I know you're not starved for hugs, with the gooey guy that Turbo has become, now, are you?"
"No, no, I just... Have been thinking about this for a long time now, the situation with Mara, and... It's just weird having it all come full circle into healing territory," Berri mumbled, she sniffled and eased her gaze into Ace's as he unravelled his strong arms from her figure, "I'm grateful you came back to comfort me. I would've scraped by with our text conversation, but..."
"I could tell you needed a big brother hug," Ace's voice grumbled knowingly, he rubbed Berri's upper arms quickly, up and down, before he gestured to the lot of quiet, quaint resort homes across the stretch, "You should go inside, get some sleep. Turbo knows you're out here, yeah?"
"Yeah, I was just taking Chester to Mara's and letting him out and such," Berri stated in nonchalance as she softly eased her palm to Chester's velvety snout.
"... Chester's staying with Mara? She is so wary of all the flyers, I'm shocked," Ace grunted as he stood up a little straighter and glaned to Chester in soft curiosity.
"Trust me, we all were too, she's... She's really trying her hardest to ease up, I guess," Berri assured with a shrug and a nod, to which Chester flattened his ears in gentle sorrow.
"I don't bite," Chester mumbled sadly, to which Ace and Berri beamed in cute apology.
"It has nothing to do with you, Chessy, she's always been nervous around you guys, I think it's your guys' size, really," Ace assured, he bugged his eyes a little and gave Berri his gaze, "If you can get her to sleep in the same room as one of the dragons, I'd say you're off to a great start, with this vacation. Who knows what else she'll accomplish."
"It'll be interesting to watch, to say the least," Berri mumbled in cute knowing, well aware these next two weeks, to come, would put Mara's wall-flower nature to the test.
"There's nothing creepy about it, it's just a cavern," Throttle grumbled in annoyance, though his little smirk proved to Turbo that he was potentially invested in the group drama now to be had, over this ordeal.
"I don't know, Berri told me and Lash about it last night and I like can't get it off of my mind," Turbo rushed quietly; everyone was awake for the day, the common room was a source of coming and going, and with the huge, sliding glass bay doors wide open, the sound of the ocean's waves lapped into the cozy common room whilst Turbo and Throttle quietly chit-chat in the common room's kitchen.
"It's probably just full of sea shells and sand, nothing more," Throttle added, now starting to show mild disinterest, though Tatum had budged her way into the common room's kitchen in the dregs of their conversing.
"What's full of sea shells and sand and nothing more?" Tatum chirped in cute curiosity, she grunted and set her beach bag on the island a few feet from Turbo and Throttle, she began to rummage through it; she wore a bright coral-colored bikini with a pair of white cotton shorts.
"I guess there's a creepy cavern off the shoreline, somewhere. Berri told me about it last night," Turbo mumbled, he now honed his energy to Tatum, knowing, full well, that she'd eat this up, unlike Throttle; much to Turbo's delight, she bugged her eyes and dart a look of tepid terror Turbo's way.
"... Creepy cavern? This is a place of happiness, I don't want to bring horror into it, c'mon," Tatum rushed in mild annoyance as she sagged her shoulders and heaved a loud, dreadful sigh. Throttle erupted into soft laughter as Tatum tried to conceal her nervous grinning, she caught eyes with Turbo, "You're telling me I now have to be on the lookout for creepy caverns?"
"We should go investigate," Throttle only teased, to which Turbo and Tatum bugged their eyes and stabbed their looks of nervous surprise into Throttle's cheeky white gaze.
"Do you volunteer as tribute or something, then?" Turbo urged as he bobbed his head, Tatum eased a shaky giggle.
"Where is it?" Tatum pressed, she desperately tried not to seem too curious on the off chance that Turbo may potentially drag the two to said creepy cavern, she was grateful that Turbo shrugged and glossed his golden eyes tight to the blinding white sand, just outside the common room.
"I don't know," Turbo's deep, crackly voice almost whispered, a lilt of now growing curiosity, something Throttle almost begrudgingly took note of in the form of slumping his chin into his hand.
"Don't do it," Throttle mumbled, barely audible, though he froze in a sag the second Turbo snapped his fingers and gave Tatum a look of almost boyish anticipation.
"Let's go look for it," Turbo ushered gently, though him and Tatum flinched the second Throttle let out an annoyed groan and slumped his forehead to the island's counter below; Tatum and Turbo dart their confused attention tight to Throttle as he choked out soft laughter of mild annoyance.
"You guys, pretty sure it's not safe to wander INTO a cliffside sea cavern," Throttle muttered, though he lifted his head and ran his hand through his short, jet black hair as his creepy white eyes also glossed the blinding sand and sunshine, "Especially ones that have underwater caves."
"Ooo I didn't even consider that," Turbo hissed quietly, he grunted from his lean against the counter and gestured for Tatum to follow, "C'mon, let's just go check it out."
"... Wait, what? Right now?" Tatum worried, her shaky voice quickly ushered Turbo a giggle alongside her lilting tone of girly caution, "Sh-should we, uh, well... I-I mean do you have any form of protection? Like a weapon or something?"
"Berri gave me somethin' a week or two ago," Turbo muttered slyly, he held up his hand and tossed Tatum a cheeky look over his shoulder as he cued his and Berri's lovely, rosy coding all over his palm, "C'mon, it'll be fine. Let's just... FIND it, and then-"
"Wander INTO it?" Throttle called after Turbo, though he flinched the second Tatum abandoned her beach bag, at the island, and began to quickly tail Turbo in camaraderie. Throttle sagged his hands to the counter in surprised defeat and gaped a small smile, "You're ACTUALLY doing it?"
"Throttle, your annoyed front is just there to mask that you, too, are scared," Turbo called in hot annoyance as him and Tatum's quick footwork found them on the golden terra-cotta tiles on the lovely, luxurious patio of the common room. Before they stepped into the cut of sunlight, Turbo's sassy, golden eyes flashed Throttle a cute look of challenge, "C'mon, scaredy cat."
Throttle pursed his lips, and although annoyed, he heaved a huff of a hot sigh through his nose and defeatedly removed himself from the island. He briskly jogged to catch up with the two, and upon doing so, the three sagged their bare feet into the fluffy, thick white sugar sand of the island. Like wading through a pool of velvet, the three pressed on with fervor, what usually was a casual mosey to the crystal clear shore line was now a power walk to the dramatic, sweeping vertical edges of the nearby cliffside, jagged beige-pink rocks that hugged their private little shore line. Although small and all to themselves, it still had a decent stretch of a swoop to it, to make it from one end of the beach to the other would be likely a ten minute walk. Determined, they powered on through the thick and heavy sand, the island sunshine beat down on the three, though with determination, they reached the left side of the beach's cliffside. Due to the positioning of the near-noon sun, they had a few yards in the cliffside's shade, making for cooler sand to walk on.
"Oh, look, the other side doesn't have any sort of alcove, like this side," Turbo examined, his muted eyes scanned the other end of the beach; within looking, he could see Berri, Mara, Lash and Koko in the center of the shoreline, enjoying the lapping water at their ankles.
"Good, glad we picked the creepy side," Throttle hissed sarcastically as he crossed his arms and scrunched, as if to prove that he was becoming uncomfortable.
"I'd rather one creepy side than two," Tatum's voice lowered, the closer the three got to the mouth of what was becoming a gaping entrance to a proper cliffside cave, the gape of darkness that was slowly becoming apparent. Tatum instinctively began to walk a little closer to Turbo, almost behind him, "Okay, guys, I... Might have nightmares tonight, are we actually going to keep going from here?"
"C'mon, it's not so bad," Turbo gently affirmed as he waved the two on, though Throttle and Tatum now began to slow their roll.
Upon pressing into wet sand, the shore line hugged the cliff's side, though in such a way that eased in and out of shallow pools equally mixed with pockets of crystal clear waters that drowned gorgeous displays of candy coral. Although a beautiful scene, alongside the gape and majesty of huge underwater boulders and rocks, the cliff's shadow now had them shroud in a cloak of darkness only thwarted by the sheer beam of blinding sunshine the beach's sand reflected. Turbo raised his eyebrows in gentle surprise and realized that him, Tatum and Throttle were further out beyond the shoreline, much further. He raised his eyebrows in soft surprise and looked directly out into the horizon. Although Orion City could just barely be seen on the sunny horizon, Turbo quickly realized that the cliff's edge, from here, plummeted into the ocean at a sheer, deep drop. Swimming out into this would be literally swimming into the swallowing gape of open water, who knows how deep. With three pairs of bare feet that now cautiously pressed closer to the darker hug of sand that dissipated into wet slabs of rock, Turbo swallowed hard and easily allowed his now minty colored eyes to span the incredible, majestic height of the cave's gaping entrance, high above him.
"If we just... Use mine and Throttle's eyes, we can easily see into the cave," Turbo stated quietly, although he had the ease and ability of seeing almost perfectly in pitch black, even the structure of this cave looked creepy and unwelcoming. Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in soft confusion as now the only sound that could be heard was the gentle dripping of water, deep inside the cave he was now at the mercy of.
"I'm sure whatever you're saying is cool, Turbo, why don't... You come back and tell us over here where it's safer?" Throttle suddenly called, Turbo could feel his pupils tighten in a draw of terror as he whipped around and peered in the direction he had just walked from.
Tatum and Throttle were stood tight with each other, easily a hundred feet from where Turbo's vulnerable position lay. Without hesitation, Turbo allowed his body to crawl with an adrenaline rush of coding, and with ease, he glitch-hopped back to where Tatum and Throttle were. Upon popping into their bubbles, Throttle and Tatum jolted in surprise, though just as they were about to inquire just what Turbo was trying to previously tell them, Turbo shook his head and eased a loud, shaky, incredulous chuckle of grinning terror.
"Nope, nope. We're leaving, nope," Turbo choked, he looked back in hot terror as the three eagerly began to nearly run away. Tatum blurt a hard giggle as both boys easily joined in on her very nervous laughter, though Turbo finally eagle-eyed the small group on the shoreline and grinned as the three sped-walked out of the mouth of the cave like maniacs, "So, uh, let's go hang out in the sun where it's sunny, and we'll get lots of sun."
"This was your idea and you were the first one to nope out of it?" Throttle loudly teased as they made quick work of their walk, having now pressed out into the cut of sunshine and aimed directly for the little group wading in the water, "Whose the scaredy cat now, then?"
"It's me, I'm not afraid to admit that, yes, that'd be me!" Turbo loudly uttered as he gestured his hand back to the gaping darkness they had just escaped. He fixated his eyes to his blue beauty, she wore an adorable white bikini, and although her hair was down and wet, it was desperately doing what it could to wave and curl against the weight of the water. Turbo glossed his eyes over his shoulder, to Tatum, and grit his teeth in playful frustration, "How could you abandon me like that and LET me just wander into the cave alone!"
"You SAID you had a weapon and then got all cocky with your glitching powers!" Tatum cried with a hard laugh as she flagged her arm out, they were finally within earshot of the small group of four they approached; they eagerly peered to Turbo's small, approaching, quick moving group, "I mean hey, you got a holster big enough, my guy, you can't chicken out the second y'gotta bring out the big guns."
"I would've had I not gone marching inside all alone," Turbo wheezed, all three were lost in laughter.
"What happen, you see a ghost?" Throttle lilted in a teasing way, as if to pretend to be speaking to a child, though said comment was now heard by the group they had finally budged into.
"No no no, no ghost talk," Koko barked in hot irritation as she firmly flagged her pointer finger and draped an arm over Mara's shoulder, "I got a FANTASTIC night's sleep, last night, and if you so much as mention ghosts to Nox, he'll be up all night trying to find one and won't shut up about it."
"Okay, so NOX is someone who would go into that cave with you," Throttle snapped his fingers, as if to prove he had stumbled upon this idea on his own, though Turbo urgently sagged into Berri's bubble and, like a magnet that couldn't be stopped, he plowed his face into the top of Berri's right shoulder and scrunched into her.
"Uhh, I'm assuming you guys saw something scary?" Berri uttered a hard laugh as Lash began to grin in scheming delight. Berri giggled and gently rested her hands to Turbo's lower back, he clung on to her in a playful show of continuing to be scared, though everyone was aware he was only playfully dramatizing his reaction at this point.
"That's a good point, you never expanded on what you saw, Turbo," Tatum recounted as she put her hands on her hips.
"You guys went into that creepy cave over there, just now?" Lash loudly wondered as he pointed, and it was here did everyone slowly turn in a draw to find the gaping, darker entrance of the cave, something that could easily have been overlooked as a shady, jagged, darker collection of the cliff's rocky base.
"I didn't see anything, what scared me was the fact that I thought Tatum and Throttle were still following me," Turbo blurt into Berri's shoulder, though he finally stood to correction and kept an arm loosely about Berri's lower back as they stood side by side, "I was at least a hundred steps into the damn thing all by myself, I look back and Tatum and Throttle are just standing there, like...!"
"I woulda gone in with you," Lash firmly assured with a nod and eager eyes, he rubbed his hands together in playful eagerness and grinned, "Who doesn't love a little horror added to their beach vacation."
"You wouldn't have gone in," Throttle curtly argued with a smug smile.
"I would've!" Lash retort, to which Throttle largely shrugged and flagged his hand towards said creepy gape of ominous, hovering wait, far across the beach.
"Well, then go! Here's your chance," Throttle cackled, to which Lash sharply furrowed his brow and grinned in hard irritation.
"I'm not going ALONE," Lash cried, everyone erupted into laughter, and although he was due to throwing another stab in Throttle's direction, a gentle flash of a smile, to his right, caught his eager glance. With a toss of his eyes, so not to be caught staring, he curiously watched as Mara bashfully grinned down to her feet, a full fledged smile of warmth.
"YOU wouldn't go alone," Berri blurt as she put her free hand on her left hip, she narrowed her gaze and gave Lash an incredulous grin, "You, Mr. I'll Delete Anyone, Mr. Game Ender Jr."
Lash held his breath and felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise in prickled curiosity. Although his eyes held tight to the creepy little nook of jagged rocks, all amounting to the gape of a dark, cavern entrance, he long-blinked in soft searching and wondered if he should at least attempt to take a more humble, gentlemanly route in this conversation. As much as being honest with himself was a task in of itself, he almost nervously looked about the group of eyes staring him down and knew that being honest to others was worlds harder. Although typically not one to go out of their way to make nice with people, he was well aware he was at least on good terms with everyone here, everyone except one person. He shyly glanced his muted, matte yellow eyes to Mara's and felt his heart surge in further nervousness the second his pupils caught with the dead-on gaze of Sugar Rush's ice queen. Mara attentively awaited just what Lash had to say back to Berri, whether it be boastful or humble, now no one really could guess just which.
"N-no, I... I wouldn't," Lash struggled to admit, he cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders. He shifted on his feet, and in the act of rubbing his upper left arm, as if to self soothe, he shot Berri a cheeky little grin and narrowed his eyes in full sarcasm, "None of us here would be brave enough to go alone, I'm no different."
"Not even User-girl, I know that for a fact," Koko chimed cutely, she nudged Mara's arm, and although Mara didn't nod or shake her head in either agreeing or disagreeing, she narrowed her gaze and curiously peered to the cave's entrance, far off, as if to decipher just if her great aunt Koko was correct, or not.
"C'mon, User powers, y'gotta," Lash finally grunted, as if showing a really humble, vulnerable front for too long would kill him. He grinned in sassy camaraderie, as if he was ready to now play ball with Sugar Rush's brattiest smarty, though he felt his heart stop the second Mara's sharp eyes stabbed into his, once more.
"No, I may be a User, but I'm not an idiot, I'm not going in there by myself, are you kidding me? YOU'RE the one that gets off by living on the edge, YOU go, I dare you," Mara rushed with smiling, annoyed confidence, she gave her full attention to Lash and looked as if she was confident that he was now easily thwarted and wasn't going to push the issue; much to her surprise, he stood a bit straighter and crossed his arms in a lazy show of proving that he wasn't backing down.
"What's it like being a User and not having the urge to utilize your powers?" Lash wondered cutely, dripping, venomous sarcasm he was well aware would either land him in hot water, or earn him a shred of Mara's friendship; he could see the group, about them, tense a little and shoot confused looks to one another.
"Being a User doesn't mean I can just strong arm my way through life, believe it or not," Mara's soft, delicate voice delivered with concise sass, she so gingerly mocked Lash's stance in a form of crossed arms and confidence in her spine, she raised her eyebrows and finally gave Lash a sassy, wider smile that showed promise of becoming a full grin, "I do believe you've already felt that rush of delete-like powers when you sought to murder my grandmother and aunt Berri. So, why the hesitation now?"
"Oh, so we're playing hard ball? Is that what this is?" Lash choked a chuckle, looked about and shrugged, "Okay, since you know everything, why don't you just delete the whole cliff side then? Solves EVERYONE'S problems."
"Being a User doesn't mean I can just rearrange my grandmother's game to my own liking, dude. There's a little thing called respecting the chain of command," Mara was quick to retort, though she took a brooding step or two closer to Lash, unbeknownst to him; he firmly gestured out to the cliffside and grinned in hot irritation.
"Oh, come on, Tessa is NOT going to care if you get rid of one little sliver of the cliff side," Lash barked with a hard chuckle as his eyes scanned the cliffside, as if this was potentially going to be something Mara would follow through with, though he flinched in soft surprise and quickly noted that Mara was now merely a foot or two from his bubble. He raised his eyebrows in collected softness and felt as if the wind was sharply taken from his sails. He unravelled his arms and peered his curious, softer gaze into Mara's. What usually was a mean, icy gaze was now a bit of a warmer temperature of friendly fire, as if he had unlocked a layer to her impending friendship, once and for all. Lash staggered on a few words, but ultimately finished his statement, "C'mon, i-it'll... Keep Nox from wetting the bed, Turbo won't sleep walk his way into the cave... T-Tatum won't-"
"I think you're just trying to get everyone to forget about the fact that I dared you," Mara's voice softly pressed to Lash in a full show of what tender dominance looked like, properly deployed and utilized, and much to Lash's whole surprise, she eased an unreserved little grin of almost mean challenge; he swallowed hard and hung on to the fact that said smile was happening no matter what context of torture he put it in.
"... I'll get back to you on my answer," Lash muttered in defeat, the edges of his lips nearly curled in cheeky annoyance as his eyes remained glued to Mara's stare of challenge.
"I'll sleep with my phone on loud tonight," Mara eased in a dull tone of disinterest, to which Berri finally eased a giggle and knew to take the heat off of Lash, lest him and Mara truly start fighting.
"Okay, WHOEVER goes to the cave needs to either take me with or take pictures, cause I'm super curious now," Berri urged, to which Throttle rubbed his face in agitation and shook his head.
"I GUARANTEE it's probably just dark, wet rocks, and nothing more," Throttle whined, everyone erupted into laughter as they finally tossed their curious gazes to said ominous gape in the base of the cliff.
"That and goblins and demons and ghosts and all sorts of deleted souls," Lash hissed in a lighthearted way, though as everyone began to quietly mumble their own conclusions as to just what could be in said cave, Lash curiously tossed his eyes to Mara's still positioning and was thrilled to catch her looking away.
Mara seemed as if each day was easier to open up, each encounter with her was like watching a fragile flower in bloom, and although this wasn't necessarily the interaction Lash could foresee as friendly, he eased a small, secretive little smile in her direction and was well aware it was at least something. He assessed her silently, hoping to go unnoticed. She stood straight, a stronger show of revealing confidence that was becoming something easier to witness as the days passed, he narrowed his gaze in soft observing and suddenly felt a strange feeling bubble from the pit of his stomach. Lash gently averted his gaze beyond her and to an aimless stare out to the horizon, and in soft searching, he quietly grimaced to himself and wondered just what kind of a strange feeling was now somehow brewing in the depths of his heart. In a soft ping of curiosity, he brought his golden eyes back to Mara's face and was glad she was still in the act of peering off towards the cliffside.
As if to feel shock and realization crawl over him like a pour of molten lava that dripped down the crown of his head, he sharply held his breath and was almost loudly aware of the sheer sound of his heartbeat pounding away in his ears. Firm thudding he was curious to find nearly no control of, he shakily did what he could to swallow and now felt as if his tongue had doubled in size. He furrowed his brow in further, almost panicked searching as everyone's conversing turned into soft, lovely hums of nonsense in his ears, his golden eyes pierced tight to Mara's as reality began to slowly bevel and slip away from him. The weird sensation of sweaty palms and a racing heart was something he was sure never happened to people, the hot confusion that continued to pour over him that maybe, just maybe, he had room for a new preset of emotions, emotions that the very beings around him had so diligently warned him about. He finally looked down to his feet and was sure he had huge neon signs pointing down on him, making clear that he had now entered new, emotional territory, though with a small, sneaky glance back to Mara, one more time, he eased a gentle smile and wondered if her words rang true, if she really would sleep with her phone on loud tonight.
