A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the slow update. I was house sitting all last week and was super busy, and next week is Phoenix ComicCon, which I will be attending and cosplaying, so I will be slow on the updates until the 10th of June probably. But this story isn't going anywhere and I'm still going to be pumping out chapters as best as I can! I'm SO GLAD you guys are enjoying it so far! Stay tuned! :D

*Chapter 5*

"Wow," Tessa breathed as she looked down the tracks, where all of her hopes and dreams led.

"I-I didn't think they went THAT fast," Penny said through her trembling voice. Tessa scoffed with a wide smile and shook her head.

"I hope you realize this means we're dead," Oliver grumbled as he crossed his arms, "You just HAD to take a weird, side turn."

"Well, excuse me for wanting adventure," Tessa argued as she finally slumped her shoulders.

"Great," Oliver spat, "Now we're all toast."

"I swear I could see the look of angry confusion on aunt Vanellope's face," Penny said in soft nervousness. Tessa heaved a hard sigh and lulled her head to the side.

"We should probably get off the tracks before they make their next round," Tessa said in an annoyed tone.

"That'd probably be wise," came a sudden, deep and grumbling voice from the bushes they had just emerged from.

Orion stood in poised patience, as if he had been standing there for quite some time. His speckled, nerd riddled skin camouflaged well with his shrubbery surroundings. He tilted his head in a way as if to express understanding, yet he seemed beyond annoyed as it was.

"You ratted us out already!?" Tessa hollered to Oliver as she threw her hand largely in the massive chameleon's direction. Oliver shot her a dirty look.

"He didn't rat you out," Orion's voice crackled as he took a few steps out of the thick forest's edge, his large tail curled towards the three, "You practically did that for yourselves."

"You knew that we left?" Penny asked innocently as Orion's large, careful tail wrapped around the three, including Tessa's unharmed bike. He effortlessly lifted them and begun to bring them to the safety of the forest.

"My perch has a code room of it's own," Orion uttered as he slowly made his way into the shade with the three unconventionally tucked into the tight curl of his tail. Tessa grumbled slightly as she adjusted her legs a little, "Even though I'm not around often, I still am on castle grounds."

"You're not going to tell our parents, are you?" Penny wondered, though she flinched once Tessa gestured towards the disappearing race tracks with annoyance.

"I'm a neutral being," Orion chuckled, he continued to trek down the very path Tessa tore down just minutes prior, "I keep order in the kingdom alongside Vanellope, Ralph, Taffyta and Rancis... Though I know when to keep my mouth shut about an innocent joy ride."

"Then how come you're out here taking us back home?" Tessa argued, though she let her eyes wander Orion's beautiful, speckled skin of his back and legs. It was rare to see Orion outside, let alone off of the castle's grounds.

"I teleported to you guys once I saw you take that nasty leap onto the Sugar Rush tracks," Orion said with an annoyed sigh, "I tried to stop you guys from being seen, but it looks like I didn't act quick enough."

"You... You're on our side?" Tessa said with surprise, "You're not mad?"

"Why would I be?" Orion laughed as he looked over his shoulder, though one of his eyes did the rest of the work for him, he peered at the three directly behind him and kept walking, "I'm not your guys' parent. I just didn't want you three to be seen by the humans. We don't want sugar rush to be unplugged."

"Wouldn't want that," Tessa said through a large sigh as she slumped her chin into her hand. The three were awkwardly wrinkled together, as well as the bike, in Orion's sturdy tail.

"I wonder what mom is going to do to us," Oliver grumbled.

"I wonder what mom is going to do to DAD," Tessa said with a largely worried face, Oliver nervously glanced at her in question, "He IS, after all, the one who let us have free reign."

"I don't think uncle Ralph will be too thrilled once aunt Vanellope tells him exactly who she saw on the tracks," Penny worried quietly.

"Can we use any excuse to get out of it?" Tessa wondered as her and Penny exchanged scheming looks.

"Get out of being in trouble? Via Queen Vanellope?" Orion said through a chuckle of disbelief, "You'll have better luck getting me to leave the game, little smarties."

"We're doomed," Penny said sadly.

"Rephrase, Oliver and I are doomed," Tessa said with an annoyed tone as she looked to her cousin over her shoulder, "Aunt Taffyta will probably just sternly give you a talking to and it'll be over."

"You kidding?" Penny exclaimed.

"Aunt Taffyta is the coolest," Oliver grumbled, "You'll be in trouble for 10 minutes tops."

"Not true," Penny argued.

"Not to mention uncle Rancis will probably forget all about it come tomorrow," Tessa grumbled, "Mom and dad won't let us forget it even long after Oliver has started academy... And that's in four months!"

"I guess we'll see who comes out of this alive," Penny said nervously.

"Boy, are you three in for it," Orion muttered.

Curled deep into her colorful, warm room, Tessa remained crossed legged on the middle of her bed. The air in her room was daintily circulated by the wall fan she possessed, it oscillated in a rhythmic way, causing her long, auburn hair to flicker every now and then. She had changed back into her comfortable tank and black sweats. She held her breath and gazed down at her empty hands. She knew racing day was over and her mom and dad were to be safe and sound at the castle. She knew the joy ride her, Penny and Oliver had taken, a few hours prior, was no secret anymore. She felt the knot in her stomach tighten with the image of her mom's fierce car growling towards her, the look of pure disappointment and fright on her face. Tessa shut her eyes tight and shook her head just barely, though she forced herself to peer around her room once more, as if the walls obtained sugar coated reassurance.

Her room was dim, yet warmly lit by the single lamp near her large, wooden bed. Her room's walls were coated in warm purples and reds, they were decorated in a faded disarray of Sugar Rush stars and the like. She had a large, single drapery that hung over her bed. Over all, her room was an organized mess, it was proudly sprawled with her favorite trinkets from Sugar Rush, Fix-It Felix, Hero's Duty and EZ Living. Her desk, across the room, was graced with a single work lamp. The worn, light wood of the northern cherry blossom trees had eons of stories, memories and enchantment trapped in it's dead roots. Her white tiled room had a single, cream woven rug which was crooked and bent over slightly.

Tessa let her hands meet her comforter. It was a faded orange and cottony soft to the touch. She figured she better start appreciating her room; she knew her parents would never let her out of it ever again. She heaved yet another sigh, she felt as if her lungs could hardly handle the single act of exhaling anymore. Her eyes met the twin, french balcony doors opposite her bedroom door. Sugar Rush's sweet, evening sun pierced her windows one last time. With the final announcement of the arcade close, she could feel the tension of the Loft, overhead, unwind for the day. Her's and Oliver's bedrooms remained safely tucked down a hallway across from Ralph's and Vanellope's room. The four were kept closest to the Loft and it's many secrets.

"Tess?" Came a soft call from her cracked door. With sullen eyes, Tessa looked up to greet her brother.

"Hey, Oll," Tessa said dully, though she looked away and held true to her frown. Oliver slowly slipped into her room and crossed it. His larger feet dragged nervously across her sparkling tiles, his demeanor budged into the still room like hot embers to cold stones.

"Mom and dad just came home," Oliver stated nervously as he stopped at the edge of her bed. He crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow at his sister, "I-I'm pretty sure that if we don't find them, they will find us. Best to face our doom and get it over with."

"It was just a silly joy ride," Tessa snapped quietly as she glared out her window, "Besides, you were going to tattle on us anyways."

"No I wasn't," Oliver assured gently, his eyebrows furrowed downwards as Tessa's curious eyes met his.

"Thanks," Tessa said weakly, "Well… If you weren't, then Orion might've. I should've known not to go past Big Green."

"I'm not sure who's going to be more upset," Oliver said as he slumped his shoulders, "Mom, or dad."

"Probably mom," Tessa snapped, her voice was coated in anger as she wrinkled her nose and gazed to nowhere in an idle state of thinking, "She's been really on my case lately. I don't know why."

"I think it's because-" Oliver jolted as there were footsteps present from down the hall. Both him and Tessa froze as a third presence wormed itself into the room.

"Our parents are home," Penny stated softly, her voice was coated in worry. Oliver and Tessa heaved hard sighs and relaxed as their cousin joined them.

"You scared the sprinkles out of me," Tessa hissed quietly.

"I think it'd be wise to meet them downstairs," Oliver said gently as he averted his gaze from Penny to Tessa; she caught eyes with him and remained still.

"We're dead either way," Tessa grumbled, "I say we run away, to EZ Living. You know Zane would let us stay with him."

"That water logged beach bum?" Oliver gawked in surprise with an incredulous smile.

"I like Zane," Penny argued, "He's funny."

"Funny, lazy, quirky, hyper," Oliver listed with his large fingers.

"Doesn't matter," Tessa sighed as she furrowed her eyebrows in sadness, she felt her heart tug harder with the fact that she might not be seeing her best friend any time soon, "We're trapped in Sugar Rush unit kingdom come anyhow."

"Best to rip the band-aid off fast," Penny muttered. After a few, still moments of nervous contemplation between the three, Tessa finally sat up and got off of her bed.

"Alright," Tessa sighed, "Let's go."