*Chapter 93*
Before any sort of tension could break out further on the court, Daisy and Peach were quickly escorted to the opposite side of their court for questioning. Tessa put her hands on her hips and beamed the opposing team a victorious grin, though she nervously turned around and wondered just what kind of mental and physical condition she had not only left her family in, but the court and crowd as well. Amidst the gentle, flickering flames from the net, which was now settled on the sand, and slowly going out, the crowd went nuts with excited cheers and angry yells from all around. Tessa exhaled a nervous, though surprised scoff and gestured her arms outwards, though her eyes slowly slid to her aunt Taffyta, whom of which was stood in her position in a confused, sullen sort of stupor.
"So, you want to win any of these games?" Tessa called with a wide beam as she began to skulk to Taffyta's half of the court, "Catch a rogue starman! Light the place on fire! They're bound to give trophies for that, right?"
"User almighty, we won!" Taffyta bellowed in growing, curious excitement. She looked around in utter bewilderment, what had displayed before her was something she could have sworn she'd never see, "We WON!"
"We won!" Tessa laughed in an incredulous tone, "Did that make up for wrecking their side of the court to start off with?"
"Did it!" Taffyta laughed as she suddenly scooped her niece into a large embrace, around her center. Tessa exhaled a startled noise as Taffyta largely picked her up and, with a grunt and one swing, she twirled Tessa around and choked an incredulous laugh, "I can't believe this happened! Sort of doesn't even feel fair!"
"Guess fighting dirty is something that doesn't skip a generation," Tessa muttered through a hard grunt as Taffyta plopped her back down to the sand, though she jolted once Taffyta grabbed her shoulders.
"You know what this means?" Taffyta hissed in a loud whisper as her exhausted, though energetic eyes dug into Tessa's soul, "This means I have say in where the trophy goes this year...!"
"User, is that all you guys play for?" Tessa laughed as she clumsily wiped her brow of sweat, "Just to argue over where the damn TROPHY goes? What if you lose!"
"We don't lose," Taffyta corrected, she cocked an eyebrow and looked at Tessa down the bridge of her nose, "You should know this, Ms. I'm Dating Mr. Invincible."
"Unbeatable," Tessa corrected in a dull tone as she slumped her shoulders; the thought of Zed suddenly draped over her mind like sticky, black honey; she knew such an impending topic would attract angry, buzzing bees of thought.
"Holy User, Tess," Ralph chuckled as he approached the two girls; Tessa and Taffyta quickly diverted their attention to him as Rancis quickly strolled up as well, "If the world wasn't scared of you prior to this game, I'm positive you won't need to carry Lickity around with you for protection anymore. That was terrifying."
"You're telling me!" Taffyta lightly shrieked, "She nearly dove right for me!"
"Wouldn't THAT be a sight," Rancis laughed as he rubbed his forehead, Taffyta shot him an annoyed glare.
"I have ALWAYS wanted to see a starman in action," Tammy urged excitedly as her and Zed pushed onto the court and closer to their loose bubble of jittery conversation.
"User, that was so awesome!" Zed suddenly, and eagerly exclaimed as he joined their bubble; the crowd continued to loudly chatter in confusion and excitement as the referees decided Daisy and Peach's fate; Tessa glued her kind, though timid gaze to her boyfriend and felt her stomach wrinkle into a knot as he continued, "You guys were great! What was with the rogue starman? Did one of their spectators throw that into the court?"
"We don't know what happened," Tessa furrowed her eyebrows and peered across the court, to the other side; the sun was still high in the sky, though it looked as if it were beginning to make it's decent across the game; she squinted past the blinding light and glaring sand.
"I'm sure we're going to get questioning from all ends of this," Ralph muttered as he peered to the referee's and judges booth, just plopped in between both team's bunkers; parallel to the court. They were busy chattering in a frantic sort of way, all while a few news cameras and tellers hung in anticipated wait, as if this story was just the one to break a social barrier.
"You guys did so awesome," Tammy gripped Taffyta's lower arm, in a show of kind appreciation, and beamed her a thrilled smile, "I've never seen such a game."
"Only cause Ms. 'Can't Control Myself', can't control herself," Taffyta muttered with a renewed smile towards her niece, though Tessa blew a hard raspberry and looked away in a playful sulk of a smile.
"Always a thrill watching this one wreck stuff," Ralph grumbled as he ruffled the top of Tessa's head, in a kind way, "Your mother would be proud... She, unfortunately, fell asleep and missed most of the game."
"Killer pain meds," Taffyta crossed her arm and cocked an eyebrow, she curiously peered over to where Oliver, Penny and Otto stayed with Vanellope, who was easily snoozing away in her chair.
"Made us proud, that's for sure," Zed gave Tessa a kind smile; he finally brought his walls down and offered her a slice of his vulnerability; he ever so gently reached for her hand and took a few steps closer to her, "You played like a champion. That was such a cool game to watch."
"Thank you," Tessa gave Zed an equally kind smile, though, as if her sick game of cat and mouse had now come to a climax, she gingerly tucked her arms into a tight, criss-crossed position and gave Zed a smug, annoyed smile.
Zed raised his eyebrows lightly and froze for a split second as confusion largely washed over him. He stared Tessa down in pure, saddened curiosity and ever so lightly pulled his hand out of the motion he was aiming for, as if to suddenly keep his hand from being figuratively chopped off. He felt his heart stop in a fit of uncertainty; he knew every relationship had it's lulls, it's fights, it's spats and it's misunderstandings, though he suddenly felt extraordinarily alien standing next to Tessa. A feeling he thought he'd never have to endure. Just as Zed opened his mouth to quietly question if she was alright, their loose bubble suddenly included a few, eager news tellers and cameras, as if they couldn't bear to hang back any longer.
"Tessa, is it true you've always wanted to try a Mushroom Kingdom power-up?" One reporter softly barked as they lightly swarmed Tessa and Taffyta; Ralph, Rancis, Tammy and Zed nervously took a few steps back and quietly watched the questioning unfold.
"U-uh," Tessa stammered, though she was thrilled to feel Taffyta plant her positioning firmly next to her, as if to silently convey proper camaraderie, Tessa glanced at her aunt, in a questioning sort of way, though she cautiously continued on, "I-I mean, I've never really thought of it. I never would have imagined today would be the day."
"Do you think the starman was released on purpose?" Another reporter rushed, which caused Tessa to flinch; she felt as if a rock had formed in the pit of her stomach with just how naive she felt in this moment.
"I have no clue," Tessa worried as she furrowed her eyebrows, "Surely, if it were meant for me, they had to have known it would cost them the game."
"Mrs. Fluggerbutter, are you disappointed in your niece for snagging the starman?" The third reporter called, the camera honed in on Taffyta.
"Disappointed?" Taffyta furrowed her eyebrows, "We won, because of it. Sure, it's sort of unconventional, but if we're going to play against cheaters, it's really the only fair outcome."
"I never tried to snag that starman, I tried to avoid it at all costs," Tessa whispered to her aunt in a disgruntled sort of way.
"They're trying to get a story, just be straight forward," Taffyta whispered back in a rush.
"Do you two think you could have beaten Daisy and Peach if it weren't for this sudden disqualification?" The first reporter asked with the utmost curiosity and urgency.
"'Course," Tessa spat as she glanced at her opponent's side of the court, "They may have good strategies, but what Sugar Rush has, that they don't, is speed."
"Don't call it Sugar Rush for nothing," The second reporter chuckled, which caused everyone to lightly erupt in short laughter.
"User, what was THAT all about?" Tammy uttered to Zed as the four lightly hung about a dozen feet away from Tessa, Taffyta and their interviewers.
"Huh?" Zed wondered, though he remained sullen.
"What, you didn't see the shade Tessa just threw at you?" Tammy chuckled as she gestured her arm, though she lightly folded them across her chest, "Or am I the only one that can spot her sass from two billion miles away?"
"You caught that?" Zed muttered as he shoved his hands into his pockets, in a defeated sort of way.
"Caught it," Tammy scoffed, "It smacked me across the face. Are you guys fighting?"
"I-I... You're going to think I'm stupid, but..." Zed trailed off and largely shrugged his shoulders, his tank lulled on his skin as he quickly shook his head and beamed Tammy an incredulous, annoyed grin, "I have no idea!"
"You don't know why she could be mad at you?" Tammy chuckled, "What'd you do?"
"What, it's my fault?" Zed argued lightly as he furrowed his eyebrows and glued his attention to Tammy.
"It's always your fault, rule of thumb," Tammy mumbled in a disinterested kind of way as she cocked an eyebrow; Zed largely rolled his eyes and looked away.
"Right, right... Real mature," Zed muttered under his breath, "I'm sure she's just tense from yesterday... I've never seen her so mad."
"Give it another night," Tammy lulled her arm towards her cousin and shook her head, "The girl always requires an extra night to sleep any of the drama off. You know Tessa. So tough, but so sensitive at the same time."
"Should I talk to her?" Zed wondered nervously, his nearly defeated demeanor was palpable.
"Probably tomorrow," Tammy lightly shrugged, "I'm going to be hosting a small get together, at my game tonight... All of you guys are invited. I know just how to de-stress that girl."
"How?" Zed wondered as he glued his attention back to Tammy; the two caught eyes.
"Y'ever been to Hero's Duty cybug shooting range?" Tammy beamed a sly smile.
"...You want to hand that girl a GUN?" Zed hissed in a whisper as he largely gestured towards Tessa and Taffyta, who were still being heavily interviewed.
"What, yah scared?" Tammy laughed, "Come off it. I've taken Tess to the shooting range, to de-stress when she's mad. She may get pissed easily, but she's not stupid. She knows not to hurt anyone."
Zed gave Tammy a hard side-eye of terrified confusion.
"Alright, Dead Zed, you may think you know that idiot more than anyone else, but until you have her code coursing through your little brain, there's no one in Arcade that knows that smarty better than me," Tammy gestured to herself and laughed in an annoyed way; Zed rolled his eyes playfully, which caused Tammy to shove on his shoulder, as if to express she meant business.
"Alright, alright," Zed chuckled as he wobbled, though he came back to his standing position, "I just hope you know what you're doing."
"Just let her run through a few magazines, those cybugs would never stand a chance if she went to battle with 'em," Tammy nodded in a knowing way towards her baby cousin, "That girl may have large hands, but damn can she use 'em for more than just swinging and wrecking."
"Tell me about it," Zed said innocently, though he choked a hard laugh as Tammy largely shoved on his shoulder, yet again, "Ow! What!"
"I don't need any of your TMI, lover boy," Tammy barked with a largely annoyed smile.
"I-I meant with how agile she is with deleting the additive in my brain code!" Zed defended honestly, though his face turned beet red, "Look, it's still painfully obvious I have my original code, and so does she, you don't need to rub dirt in the wound."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, suck it up," Tammy chuckled as she crossed her arms; Zed slumped his shoulders in annoyed, playful dismay.