A/N: hey guys! I'm currently uploading this chapter from my hotel room, for PHXcon. (I'm in the Sheraton if anyone is in this massive building with me! Hit me up!) sorry for the sporadic uploading... This whole weekend has been crazy busy for us thusfar. I'm itching to get back to writing because I haven't all week Dx I'm deprived lol. If there are any of you guys here attending Phoenix Comicon, be on the lookout for us tomorrow! Michaela and I are cosplaying (movie version) Taffyta and Vanellope, and my boyfriend Cory is cosplaying his own rendition of a 'hard-core' Ralph. I had a few people approach us today while we were cosplaying Taffyta and Vanellope (from Wrecking Limits) so that was super fun!

I can't stress this enough - don't be shy to approach us! Last year, after con, I had so many people message me and tell me they were too shy to come up to me but saw me at the convention...! I LIKE PEOPLE YAYY! Please don't be shy to say hi! I love you guys so much!

*Chapter 59*

Tessa briefly chit-chat with a classmate or two; she and the rest of her anxious class hung near the exit of their classroom, waiting for the last bell of the day to ring. She hugged her book closer to her chest and swapped tellings of who they were related to, in the arcade. Within a few minutes of smiles, kind laughter and brief conversation, the bell finally rang and her busied classmates began to file out of the room. Tessa hung near the back of the class and, once she was finally out of the door, she exhaled a small breath and smiled. She squeezed her textbook to her chest, one of which she had asked her teacher if she could borrow; it was from the very class she walked out of, Program Ed. 1. She knew her and the class would eventually delve into the topic of code swaps, and every little technical detail it pertained, though she couldn't ease her busy mind on the fact that she needed answers. She hoped no one would pry as to why she brought said textbook home.

Tessa slowly strolled through the massive, arched ceiling halls. She let her mind wander to what she'd be doing after she head out of Academy for the day. She knew to meet up with Penny, Tammy and Emery in the courtyard, for they'd likely have an idea of what the rest of the day looked like. Just as she was about to hook a long, winding bend, in which lead to Academy's gorgeous courtyard, she suddenly was stopped by a sharp hiss of an inquiry. She flinched and gently looked to her left; hugged against a stone pillar, near the shadow of a few lone classrooms, stood Selka. He had his arms crossed, though as passive as he could, he lightly tilted his head up and gestured her to approach him. She slowed in her steps, though she harshly furrowed her eyebrows and glared at him. She gave him a curious look once he slumped his shoulders and gestured her over a little harder, as if he was already annoyed that she was avoiding him.

Tessa inhaled a nervous breath and lightly glanced down the bright corridor, which lead to the courtyard, though with hesitant feet, she gently tore from her confident path and moseyed on over to Selka. He finally unlatched himself from his leaning position and eased his arms to his side as she slowly approached. Tessa hugged her book closer to her chest and eagerly peered around, as if his gang-mates were hiding in the shadows, ready to jump her. After a moment of nervous looking, she finally glued her hateful eyes to Selka and inhaled a long, tired breath.

"What do you want," Tessa uttered darkly.

"Just wanted to say," Selka started as he looked about, though he finally pierced his daring green eyes to hers, "That was some trick, Zane used against me, two weeks ago."

"Yeah, you like that?" Tessa dared in a dull tone as she cocked an eyebrow.

"For sure, what does he call it?" Selka wondered sarcastically, "Coupled with his infamous 'run and hide' technique, I'd say you've scored yourself a real man."

"I may not have my wrecking abilities, but I can throw a mean punch," Tessa growled as she easily waved her heavy textbook around, "Want me to demonstrate?"

"I didn't call you over here to fight," Selka muttered in an annoyed tone, though he raised his eyebrows slightly as Tessa gently took a step away.

"Cool, then if you don't mind, I have to be somewhere," Tessa rolled her eyes, though she flinched once Selka dared to take a step closer to her.

"You and I both know every faux-code's powers are disabled in Academy," Selka hissed as he largely furrowed his eyebrows and pointed an angry finger to the ground, "...You and I both know Zane isn't a faux-code."

"Gee, what gave it away?" Tessa quietly barked in his face.

"What racer is he?" Selka muttered in a passive-aggressive tone as he crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Tessa dared as she stood her ground.

"How does it feel, to be a little faux-code, traipsing after a user-made gamer?" Selka said through a disgusted laugh, "I thought I was the one with fangirls, but it looks like Zane takes the cake, with this one."

"He's my boyfriend, not my idol," Tessa growled, she began to feel her blood boil.

"Ah, he finally put a title on it, did he?" Selka smiled a delighted, mean, toothy grin and looked at Tessa down his nose, "What next, crippling shyness? Maybe, an awkward, incompatible code swap gone wrong?"

"Go to hell," Tessa looked Selka over once, in a look of pure disgust as she stood her ground; Selka dared to step closer to her.

"It certainly was nice knowing you," Selka eased quietly down to her, "Poor Tessa, her code was eaten alive by her one and only boyfriend, ever. Once you get your head out of the clouds and realize that you shouldn't be messing with fire, I'll be here, trying not to say 'I told you so'."

"Tessa," Penny urged with a curious smile as she strolled up, though it quickly dropped as Selka came into her line of vision. She tenderly hooked her hand around Tessa's inner arm and kept her protective glare to Selka, "Everything okay here?"

"We're fine," Tessa uttered as the two girls glared up at Selka, "I was just leaving..."

"Oh, but things were just getting good," Selka said in a sickly, sorrowful voice as he lulled his arms to his sides, in passive-aggressive disappointment, "You were just about to tell me which one of the racers Zane REALLY is."

"He's the one with your delete button," Tessa braved through a hateful glare. She gently took Penny's hand in hers and began to pull the two towards the safety of the exposed hallway, "C'mon, Penny."

Selka raised his eyebrows in hard surprise as the two girls left him in his stunned, lonely silence. He finally let a contemplative glare chase after Tessa, as if he was certain looks could kill.

"Tessa, what's going on?" Penny largely worried as the two girls lightly traipsed out of Academy and down it's glorious stoop, which lead into Game Central Station.

"I blew it," Tessa urged sadly, though with a hint of anger towards herself. She could see Zane, Oliver and Lickity hanging in the middle of Game Central Station, waiting for Tessa and Penny to join them.

"What do you mean? What was Selka wanting?" Penny wondered nervously as she skipped a few steps to keep up with her quick-paced cousin.

"He knows Zane is Zed," Tessa worried as she lightly looked into Penny's eyes.

"Secret's bound to reveal itself, sooner or later, anyhow," Penny encouraged as she skipped a few steps again, to keep up with Tessa.

"Hey," Zane chimed with a happy smile, though it quickly sloped to concern as Tessa neared him. He furrowed his eyebrows in kind surprise and held his sharp gaze to hers as she quickly approached him, "What's wrong, what happened?"

"It's Selka," Tessa urged quietly as she finally stopped a few feet in front of Zane. Oliver and Lickity quickly approached in bumbling curiosity, as did Penny from behind Tessa. They surrounded the two in poised concern as Tessa continued, "He knows you're Zed. I-It's all my fault, I wasn't thinking... I-I just... He cornered me!"

"Hey, hey," Zane urged as he gently gripped Tessa's upper arms and tilted his head a little to get a good look into her eyes, "Easy..."

"I'm sorry... I-I promised to keep your secret, but... I'm so sorry," Tessa said quietly to Zane as her nervous eyes pierced his confident ones. He let the corner of his mouth wrinkle into an understanding smile.

"No harm done," Zane said gently as he kept his gaze to Tessa's, "I-I mean, he was bound to find out eventually... What do you mean he cornered you?"

"Well, not physically, but... He kept prying for information. It sort of just slipped out, and I revealed who you were," Tessa said sorrowfully as Zane straightened his posture.

"You flat out told him I was Zed?" Zane wondered quietly as Penny, Oliver and Lickity gently stole nervous glances to each other.

"I said you were the one with his delete button," Tessa muttered as she looked down to the ground; Zane harshly furrowed his eyebrows with a wide, proud smile.

"Damn, Tess," Zane suddenly, though quietly laughed as him and Oliver exchanged surprised looks, "Way to scare the pants off of him."

"He deserves it," Tessa darkly spat as she held a hard, angry glare on Zane's chest.

Zane slumped his shoulders and eased a tender, incredulous smile towards Tessa. He opened his mouth to quell her buzzing worries, though everyone immediately cued to Lickity's sudden fervor. Her ears suddenly laid flat, and with her switch in behavior, from easygoing to aggressive, she bared her teeth and let a deep, threatening growl escape her figure. Everyone nervously, and curiously, peered to Lickity, though after a few moments of silent confusion, they trailed their eyes to follow Lickity's line of sight. She kept her cat-like slits honed to Selka, as he slowly began to approach the five.

"Would'yah lookit that," Selka chimed with a wide, annoyed smile as he sulked forward and crossed his arms in a show of attempt to place dominance over the place. He cocked an eyebrow and looked over Tessa and Zane, "A royal match made in heaven. How does it feel to be the head of Dead Zed, and future head of Sugar Rush?"

"It feels like a challenge someone, like you, wouldn't even bother to rise to," Zane eased, though his voice was sharp and precise. He tenderly hooked his hand to the middle of Tessa's back, through her long, crazy auburn hair, and eased his arm around her lightly, as if to take her under his wing for protection; she easily shifted her legs to lull farther into his bubble.

"When were you going to tell me you're Zed?" Selka wondered in an angry tone, though he lightly glanced at Zane's hair, "Or, if that's really your name... Doesn't Zed have blue hair?"

Zane lightly cocked an eyebrow as him and Tessa side-eyed each other in a sweep of understanding they had towards each other. Tessa lightly let her hand come alive with her electric purple code and, as easily as she could, she gripped Zane's arm and disrupted his code processors. His arm wigged out with angry, desperate pixels that flared with Tessa's purple code, Zed's blue code, and a few pops of the mysterious silver specks that danced around in a fit of delightful fervor. Zed gave Selka a challenging look as his hair quickly dipped from the jet-black color, he hid underneath, to the usual dark, cyan blue he was programmed with. He tilted his head up and inhaled a deep breath; his chest expanded to show final, proper dominance over Selka. Selka easily raised his eyebrows in surprise, though he pointed an angry finger.

"You're such an asshole," Selka dared, "All this time, you pretended to be someone you weren't? You lied to me this whole time? And for what!"

"I wanted a normal life, with normal friends," Zed challenged as Tessa, Oliver, Penny and Lickity hung near and behind him; Lickity continued to bare her teeth and let her core shake with a deep, faint growl, to remind Selka that he was largely outmatched. Zed continued on, though he kept a protective arm lightly hovered around Tessa's back as his strong hand held her waist, "I should have known better than to associate myself with someone like you... You're nothing but a show horse. I hid my identity because I was tired of being hated for who I was... And even then, you hated my FAKE identity, behind my back!"

"We're just different, it's not like I hated you as a person!" Selka argued.

"Trying to steal a girl from me, two years in a row? Degrading me behind my back? Yeah, that most definitely results in brotherhood," Zed shook his head sarcastically and lightly tapped his forehead with his palm, "User, what was I thinking? You're totally right."

"What, so now that you have a royal crowd to hang with, suddenly all of us in town are trash to you?" Selka grasped at straws.

"The reason these guys are so much more grand than you and your sorry group is because they accept me for the gamer I am," Zed dared as he took a step closer to Selka, he cocked an eyebrow lightly and was surprised to see Tammy and Emery lightly stroll up to the side of the group and approach the escalating situation. Zed slumped his shoulders lightly and waved a gentle, shy wave to the two girls, who stared on in utter confusion, "Hey, guys..."

"Y-You're...!" Emery pointed lightly, though she largely flinched once Selka largely pushed into Emery's and Tammy's bubble.

"You see? He's been lying to you guys this whole time!" Selka argued as he pointed, though Emery furrowed her eyebrows and glared at Selka.

"Good User," Zed hissed as he largely rolled his eyes and looked away in pure annoyance.

"You're Zed?" Tammy wondered loudly, though a curious smile sprawled her face, "No way! How come you were disguising yourself?"

"Because he's a wuss," Selka dared as he crossed his arms and kept his eyes glued to Zed; he furrowed his blue eyebrows and shot a hateful glare, tenfold.

"Whoa, hold up," Tammy pointed a finger to Selka and felt a protective rage come over her, "I know you're not talking about him like that."

"Surely he had good reason, to hide his real identity." Emery agreed as she gestured to Zed, "He's a good guy. Leave him alone, why are you getting all riled?"

"If you hadn't have known him as Zane, you wouldn't be saying this!" Selka urged as he gestured towards Zed.

"Maybe," Emery agreed lightly as she softly glanced at Zed, someone of whom she had grown to know and love. She gave him a curious smile that he sorrowfully returned, though she furrowed her eyebrows and set a hard glare upon Selka, "...But, I did know him as Zane, first. I got to know him without the pressure of knowing him as our unbeatable core... And so did you! So, what gives you the right to get so bent out of shape! You know he's a genuine person."

"You're just jealous that your old, nerdy friend Zane is actually in charge of your whole existence," Tammy laughed as she largely nudged Oliver's shoulder and crossed her arms; everyone let out a few, stifled laughs, though Tessa and Zed kept their demeanor stone solid.

"So, what, am I supposed to bow at your feet? Call you Almighty?" Selka dared in a dull, annoyed tone; Zed cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms gently.

"Hey, whatever gets you off," Zed didn't miss a beat.

Selka inhaled a sharp, searing breath of infuriating grief. He took a daring, hard step forward with a clenched fist, though everyone in the group, minus Zed and Tessa, largely flinched as the true protector of the group exhaled a loud bark of a growl, a massive threat display, as if to dare Selka to take another step closer to her loved ones. Lickity largely sprawled her wings and took a hard skid of a step around the other side of Tessa. She let her mouth hang open wider as her sharp fangs glistened under Game Central Station's lights. Selka looked Lickity over and challenged her with his stare, though it was clear he was bluffing. With this, Lickity bared her teeth even farther and felt a hard roll of protective rage drape over her scales.

With shrinking slits, to hone in on her prey, her eyes widened to take in everything that Selka was. She chuffed a hard, aggressive, steamed breath, and much to everyone's surprise, she lugged herself to her hind feet and slowly began to tower over Selka. She snarled a neverending, core rumbling growl and sprawled her wings out wide, an aggressive display of protectiveness towards her brood. She peered down at Selka and was easily twice his height, when on her hind feet. With a final, determined bark of a growl and a snap of her sharp teeth, Selka finally flinched and took a few clumsy steps backwards. Lickity gently slumped herself back to her front feet, to the ground, and eased her dangerous side as Selka quickly began to head towards Dead Zed.

"That's my girl," Tessa said in a knowing way as she largely pat Lickity's side; she tucked her wings tight to her body and only lightly looked back at Tessa, though she kept her angry glare to Dead Zed's outlet, to make certain Selka was long gone.

"Good, Lickity," Penny said in a surprised tone as everyone easily surrounded Tessa, Zed and their dragon.

"That was fun," Zed said in a hard, annoyed tone, though he nervously caught eyes with Tammy and Emery. He lightly pushed closer to them and gave them apologetic looks, "Look, y'guys... I definitely meant for this moment to be a lot less dramatic."

"Eh, it keeps life exciting," Tammy gave Zed a knowing smile, "It's good to finally know the real you... The blue haired jerk, everyone hates!"

"Yeah," Zed scoffed as he beamed a gentle smile down to the ground, though he kept his curious gaze to Emery; he knew she was sensitive to this subject. He tenderly gestured his hand towards her and eased his soft demeanor, "I hope you're not mad at me, Ems..."

"Mad," Emery said with a kind smile as she shook her head, "I'm not mad... I knew there had to have been something going on, but I never would have imagined this."

"I think Penny was the only one with User-like intuition," Zed chuckled as everyone gave Penny a few curious glances, she shrugged with a bashful smile.

"... The core of my game, the dead last boss," Emery squinted her eyes lightly and peered at Zed with the ultimate curiosity, "You've been right under our noses this entire time... And you're...! You're the farthest thing from a jerk."

"Guilty," Zed scoffed as he smiled a bashful smile down to the ground, though he raised his eyebrows in growing shyness as Tessa lightly slipped her hand into his and eased into his side, "It helps to be surrounded by awesome people..."

"You definitely picked the right group to be a part of," Tessa smiled as she peered to Tammy and Emery; Oliver, Penny and Lickity easily joined in the circle, "We're nothing but a group of misfits that just so happen to fit together."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Tammy beamed kindly.

"Me neither," Oliver gently nudged Zed's arm with a knowing smile.

"C'mon," Tessa quipped softly as she lovingly ran her palm over Lickity's snout, "Let's go home."

"Home," Emery eased softly to Tessa in kind curiosity.

"You can have more than one home, y'know," Tessa smiled lovingly towards her, Tammy emitted a small noise of agreement, "A place where family gathers."

"You guys pretty much are my second family, anyhow," Emery said with a gentle shrug and a renewed smile.

"Family," Zed said in an inquisitive tone of curiosity, though his eyes gently slid to meet Tessa's, "I could get used to that."