A/N: I've seemingly stunned the pants off of most of you and I am so sorry not sorry! xD I've given enough filler/lolly gag chapters, I was about to go nuts quite frankly. Here is where things start really getting interesting for our DC bunch. Lots of throw around, so hold onto your seats, guys! It might get bumpy/confusing! Details details... xD

Song Listened To : My Friend Tesla (Album Edit) by Mauro Picotto

*Chapter 115*

Tessa panted softly as the tears finally streamed down her cheeks. She felt her skin grow cold with just what was taking place, the realization that was setting in like a two ton lead weight into her brain. She shook her head and finally slumped her shoulders. She could hear her family, behind her, remain nearly silent, though they shuffled a little, as if the reality of their home was slowly crumpling before them. Tessa slowly turned around, to face her doom.

"Tessa, I don't care who you are, you turn right around and chase after that boy," Ralph urged angrily.

"What?" Tessa tensed, again, "You heard what he said!"

"Yeah! At least a dozen times that boy yelled that he knew exactly how to fix this mess!" Ralph bellowed as he took a step closer to his daughter, "Do YOU know how to fix this mess?"

"Dad, I'm not going to go following after him!" Tessa argued loudly as sweat began to form on the crown of her forehead.

"But he's your boyfriend, you can't just shut him out like that, we need him!" Penny dared to butt in. She knew she could handle these family arguments.

"He's not anymore," Tessa said through grit teeth and an angry glare to the ground, "I can't believe I fell for all of that..."

"We knew, going into this, that Zed had something fishy in his brain coding," Vanellope finally chimed in; she stood in between Ralph and Tessa, so that she was certain they'd see her and give her little self their attention, "How all this flew over the tops of our heads, I'll never know... I did so many scans on that additive, I was certain it was benign..."

"Whatever Radex did, he cloaked his identity inside Zed's coding," Rancis urged softly as he, too, joined Vanellope, "Sugar Rush didn't detect it, as a virus, because... Well..."

"Radex, as corrupt as he became, was once one whole gamer..." Taffyta trailed off as she caught eyes with Tessa, though everyone nervously peered down to Rancis, "He was a whole person... Which was Rancis. Sugar Rush didn't recognize him as a virus because, after the reintegration Rancis followed through with, before Tessa was born... Radex is coded for this very game."

"So where is he now?" Tessa bellowed to the smaller Great Hall, though her voice still echoed.

"He's not a being you can fight, Tessa," Vanellope argued, her higher pitched voice was as annoying and as cute as ever, though she tried her hardest to remain dominant over the wreck that Tessa had become, "He's a part of Sugar Rush's coding... That's the worst kind of virus this game can obtain."

"Not only can he single handedly ruin the entire game," Taffyta nervous glanced at Ralph, though everyone drew their writhing, scared attention to Tessa, "He can do it from any single stand point of this game. The code room is useless to him. Because he IS the code room."

Tessa froze and felt as if she was sinking harder into a nightmare. She furrowed her eyebrows and finally exhaled a hard groan as she took a few brooding steps away. She held her head in her hands and desperately tried to hold back tears. She shook her head and ran over every single raw, faltering detail that had just hit her brain, within the span of ten measly minutes. She finally glanced down at her mother, who looked as if she was completely mortified, but was potentially too exhausted to even care, from this stand point.

"Tessa," Vanellope started with a soft sigh as she shook her head, "Do you know how much we've all done for you guys? How much work we've put into making sure you were safe?"

"Mom," Tessa loudly argued, as if she didn't want to be kicked while she was down.

"How hard it was for all of us not to shun Zed out of our sights, for being an opposed code from you? Not to mention, harboring fishy brain activity?" Vanellope's voice still dominated Tessa's, "You couldn't so much as wait? For such a short time? You HAD to put his coding in yours? Was it really worth it?"

"We didn't think it'd do any harm! It was just source code placement," Tessa urged, "We didn't fully swap codes!"

"In a perfect world, it truly wouldn't have done any sort of damage," Taffyta said to Vanellope, albeit softly, "Though, no one knew it was a virus..."

"Zed knew," Tessa muttered as the hate still hung in her eyes.

"Oh will you knock it off!" Ralph bellowed, which startled everyone, "He knows how to fix everything. He's the problem. He's the solution!"

"Dad, he can't fix anything!" Tessa shouted, "If HE was the scapegoat in all of this, why would Radex bless his sorry ass with the solution to all of this! If anything, I'm sure Zed just THINKS he knows how to fix it, but in reality, it'd probably delete every single one of us!"

"You didn't even hear him out," Oliver urged in an annoyed tone as he gestured his larger hand.

"I heard enough," Tessa growled, "Looks like you can't trust the ones that are closest to you."

"Sometimes you have to just keep giving your trust away, in order to eventually make things right," Oliver dared, he gave his sister a dominant look and shook his head, "I knew something was up, but I figured it'd all go away once you deleted the additive."

"And it probably would have! A good Queen doesn't fall into sticky temptations, like such!" Vanellope scolded Tessa, which had her daughter nearly seething.

"We figured it'd tide us over, a-a loving sentiment!" Tessa explained loudly, "The code-source placement is temporary... Unlike a code swap! Let's just, get into the code room and fish it out!"

"It's too late!" Vanellope hollered as she threw her little fists down, "Radex is already dug into the coding. If you want to fish him out, you're going to be here for an eternity. He's inside the coding of the game... There is no fishing him out. He IS Sugar Rush, now."

"Radex called check on all of us," Ralph urged, "If you're not going to go chase after Zed, then I will."

"How romantic, dad," Tessa sneered in a dark tone.

Just as Tessa was about to let more snarky remarks fly, Oliver suddenly emit a loud noise of pain and confusion. He shook his head and gripped his right wrist, though much to everyone's surprise, his skin began to look mildly transparent, and his new, shiny olive green coding could be seen coursing through his body. His eyes bulged as he gazed down at his hand in pure horror, though everyone immediately drew their attention to him and began to lightly swarm him.

"Oliver! What's happening to you?" Tessa urged in a scared tone as she rushed him; they all dropped their differences, for the time being, and put Oliver at the forefront of the situation.

"I-I don't know! I'm disappearing, or something!" Oliver's scared eyes suddenly dart to Tessa's, as if to beg for her help, "Is that possible?!"

"The game is downgrading even farther," Ralph rushed nervously as he gripped Oliver's shoulder, "I-It's wiping clean anyone that didn't exist, with this version of Sugar Rush."

"It's just going in order, who was born last," Taffyta worried as everyone gave their horrified gazes to Oliver; he began to shake, though Tessa almost was shell shocked with how raw Oliver suddenly let his emotions show through.

"Tessa's last to go," Penny worried as, she too, gave Tessa a horrified stare. Tessa largely shook her head and gripped Oliver's hand, a force of love she knew had to be conveyed no matter how mad everyone was.

"We'll be okay," Tessa urged nervously, "S-surely we can pause the game, buy us more time... Or, go into the game's core data and add all three of us to this timeline!"

"Oliver's not the first one to go," Vanellope suddenly uttered, as if she had immediately remembered something crucial. She gave Ralph a slow look of complete anguish and felt as if she was having a hard time even beginning to think about collecting her thoughts.

"What? What do you mean?" Tessa worried down to her mother, though Vanellope's glassy eyes gently laid into Tessa's, as if she was harboring good and bad news, all in the same bundle.

"... I woke up, in the middle of the night, last night, with a loading bar," Vanellope admitted softly.

Her words seemingly froze the whole entire game. Everyone eagerly, yet silently gawked, at the news brought down upon them, though with the inch of excitement everyone was given, it was ripped away with the horrific downfall to this downgrading hell. Tessa scrunched her face, in growing anguish, and shook her head, as if to wonder if an apology, practically on her knees, would somehow make so her mother would potentially ever forgive her. She remained silent, though she could swear her eyes began to sting with the feeling of oncoming tears.

"I was going to tell everyone, once we got back... When we congratulated Tessa and Zed, on a job well done," Vanellope's small voice still held it's mature depth, though her eyes scanned the ground, as if to wonder if trying to save this situation, anymore, was now futile, due to the loss of another child she was previously due for.

"Mom..." Tessa started as she softly looked to Oliver; he gave her a look of grief, as well. The potential for a younger sibling, for the two, still somehow seemed to hang in the balance, "Mom, I'm so sorry... I know that doesn't even cover it, but... I will find a way to reverse this mess."

"We can still save the baby, somehow," Ralph stated quietly to her, though he looked equally as shocked, and a touch more excited, despite all the signs pointing South.

"I've got it!" Taffyta's little voice chimed, though she eagerly peered to Vanellope, "Do you remember that one time Sugar Rush got moved all the way to Disneyland?"

"Yeah? That sucked," Vanellope choked, though she suddenly let her eyes bulge as she peered up at Tessa, "We met Tessa! You time traveled, via the code room!"

"Time travel," Tessa urged in hard annoyance, "Guys... Can we uh... Get back to reality? Please?"

"It's the truth," Taffyta argued, though Tessa flinched and finally gave her aunt her full attention, "You showed up... You told us you were just there to comfort us, because we got moved across the state."

"Sugar Rush got taken out of Litwak's?" Tessa worried as she continued to hold Oliver's hand for support.

"Yeah, but you brought us back... You time traveled via Sugar Rush's code, through a purple portal... Your coding simply went back a year or two, in the data," Taffyta explained.

"You expect me to know how to do that? To a time where I didn't even exist? That wasn't in any of my code room training!" Tessa worried, "And, what am I going to do once I get there, huh? Oh, hi! I'm not born yet, but I'm your niece!"

"You can't tell our past selves who you are, we'll implode on ourselves," Vanellope worried, though she furrowed her small brows and looked down to the ground a little, "Well... I actually think you may have spoiled it to us, anyways."

"She did," Taffyta muttered dully as she crossed her arms, though Oliver loudly uttered another nervous noise of pain, as his fingers began to disappear more.

"Wh-where do you think I can make this... Portal, thing? To the past?" Tessa worried; she knew the idea sounded totally crazy, though the fact that Oliver kept disappearing had her brain practically running on fumes. She knew she shouldn't question anything, from this stand point. Anything to make it so her family stays in one piece, overthrown kingdom or not.

"Probably the Hull," Vanellope eased as she gazed sorrowfully up at her daughter.

"Oh! Oh!" Taffyta started, "Take Vanellope's wedding ring, as proof of who you are."

Vanellope quickly pat her front pocket in confusion, though she slowly pulled out her wedding ring, which was now a little too big for her fingers. She heaved a nervous sigh and, as much as she hesitated, she softly stepped closer to Tessa and handed her the wedding ring.

"Well, wait... I don't think you ever saw your future wedding ring, Vanellope," Taffyta prod curiously, "I know I did, but I don't think Tessa ever showed it to you... Because it would have spoiled the fact that Ralph was prepared to propose to you."

"Just... Take it with, just in case," Vanellope frowned, though Tessa softly took her mother's wedding ring, from her little fingers, and gave her a nervous look of doubt.

"I-I guess I'll do my best... I'm not sure what it will accomplish," Tessa worried.

"The reason Oliver is disappearing is because, well... I guess, sending Tessa sort of created an awkward time continuum," Taffyta crossed her little arms and quickly tried to get comfortable in her old, hot pink jacket outfit, "In order to set everything straight, and keep so you guys are a thing of the future, you have to show up and... I guess, reassure us that everything will be alright."

"That will make it so Sugar Rush stays plugged in, Ralph and Vanellope eventually get married, and eventually have you two," Rancis explained nervously, "Thus, the timeline panning out, like how it already has..."

"Tessy, I'm warning you now, past-me will try and worm a LOT of information, out of you, but don't do it," Taffyta pointed her gloved finger up to Tessa, her snarky smile remained.

"Why didn't I know of any of this?" Ralph prod in annoyance, "You never told me."

"...You told Tessa to tell PAST me, not to tell YOU, about Tessa," Vanellope droned on.

"I guess I'm glad I never knew about any of it," Ralph eased with a tired expression.

"Which, I think Tessa was successful," Taffyta shrugged, "You didn't know about Tessa until, well..."

"The honeymoon," Vanellope muttered.

"My brain hurts," Penny argued, "This is too complicated!"

"You want to talk about your brain hurting?!" Oliver bellowed as he gestured to his fingers, which were continuing to become more transparent.

"Alright, alright," Ralph urged as he nudged Tessa, "You, get to the Hull. Us four are going to go to Starkrem and meet up with Orion."

"You're going to find Orion? If he's even still the huge, bag of skittles he is!" Tessa worried as the four began to quickly file towards the castle's odd, cheery looking front doors.

"You think he downgraded too?" Taffyta worried as they pushed out of the doors, though their voices still carried.

"There's only one way to find out," Rancis's little voice pressed as they stepped into the hateful sunshine, which tried it's hardest to convey cheer.

"Tell yah one thing," Taffyta started as they pushed past the castle's front gates. She grabbed her hot pink dress, tried to hike it, and stumbled with a hard, annoyed grunt. She swiped her helmet off and tried her hardest to tidy her bangs, "I don't know how we survived like this, for so long. That upgrade was the best thing that ever happened to us."

"Say goodbye to code swapping," Vanellope muttered as she could feel Ralph's very prominent, heavy footsteps next to her. She could see him shoot her a wild look of bewilderment in her peripheral.

"Hooo, you two are totally doomed," Taffyta suddenly pointed and burst out in hard laughter; Rancis covered his mouth and tried to remain polite as Vanellope's face turned beet red, "What you lack in height, Ralph definitely makes up for in-"

"Yeah-YEAH HUH, CAN WE NOT," Ralph loudly urged as he waved his hand in front of Taffyta, to get her to stop talking, "This is getting way too weird for me. Let's just... Get this issue fixed."

"But, we still don't know how to fix it," Taffyta urged, she giggled softly, though her tone mostly swapped to the serious conversation they still clung onto, "You think Orion knows how to fix it?"

"He DOES know a lot about the deeper coding," Rancis stated as he looked up into Sugar Rush's cheerier sky.

"Orion might," Ralph peered off towards Sugar Rush's massive, cutesy though looming entrance in the distance, "But I know Zed does, for sure."

"You gunna go after him?" Vanellope wondered as the four slowly moseyed to a curious stop.

"Yeah," Ralph nodded, though he looked down at the three munchkins he used to merely call his friends. He gazed at the odd, though familiar sight, as if he was merely sat in a memory, "I should be back soon... Gunna drag his ass here, if I have to."

"Give 'im a good throw around?" Taffyta put up her fists, everyone softly laughed.

"And then some," Ralph shook his head.

Tessa heaved a shaky sigh and watched the strange sight, of her disheveled family, leave. She finally peered to Penny and Oliver, as Lickity strolled up, though everyone peered to the crowned Queen with a terrified, exhausted demeanor. Tessa glanced between Penny and Oliver, though she gave them a humbled, apologetic frown. She knew that her and Zed caused this mess, though out of good intentions. She furrowed her eyebrows and wondered just how fragile all of this was. She shook her head and softly glanced at her mother's spiral staircase, which lead to where the Hull was placed. The whole castle was a lot smaller, and a lot pinker. She furrowed her eyebrows, and just as she was about to get lost in thought, Oliver's gentle voice broke the silence.

"It's not your fault, Tess," Oliver eased softly, though he shook his head and gave her a stern look, too, "It's also not Zed's..."

"Stop," Tessa urged darkly, though she flinched once Penny chimed in.

"Zed's memories were hindered, Tessa, you can't just-"

"Stop!" Tessa suddenly hollered, which caused Penny and Oliver to jump. Tessa's voice carried into her awkwardly decorated castle, smaller and daintier than she would ever be caught dead in. She shook her head and glared at her cousin and brother, "Zed's not here anymore. We can't busy ourselves with what could have been."

"Tessa," Oliver grumbled.

"Mom told me, that if something drastic were to happen to the kingdom, I'd have to put all my emotions aside for the good of the game!" Tessa yelled, she began to look already exhausted from the sudden weight of stress, "I can't worry myself with my relationship with Zed, I can't think about how he fits into this mess anymore! Because he's not a part of the equation!"

"Yes he is!" Penny argued.

"No he's not! I've removed him! He's destroyed the game," Tessa growled, the hatred in her eyes began to grow and grow, though Penny could easily tell that she was purely just scared, "He's destroyed my trust."

"You'll get over it," Oliver spat in annoyance, though just as Tessa was going to retort, with writhing fury, Lickity suddenly honked a noise and bounced on her front feet, as if to suggest potentially following her.

"Lickity, what is it, girl," Tessa said in a groan as she slumped her shoulders and turned to face her suddenly excitable dragon; Lickity bounced and bobbed a few times with a handful of eager noises. Her wings sprawled softly, though Tessa could tell she was wanting to go get the one blue haired foe that could either save or destroy this situation farther. Tessa rolled her eyes and idly waved her hands, "Lickity, we're not getting Zed. I have to go to the Hull."

Lickity barked a soft noise and peered back to the castle front doors, though she eagerly peered back to Tessa, with begging, almost annoyed and urgent eyes.

"Even LICKITY wants you to go get Zed," Penny urged in hard annoyance as she flailed her arm.

"I'm not getting Zed, Lickity! Forget it!" Tessa demanded, though Lickity flinched, as if to be offended. Tessa took a small few steps away from Oliver and Penny, and began to head towards Vanellope's spiral staircase. Lickity bellowed a noise, as if to argue with Tessa, though she largely looked over her shoulder, to her annoyed dragon companion, and gave Lickity a dirty look, "Why don't YOU go find him, Lickity, maybe then you can talk some sense into him, yeah?"

Lickity perked her ears and let the insult hit her, though Oliver and Penny quickly took a few steps back as they noticed Lickity hunker her body lower to the ground and flatten her ears. A look of hard, angered dismay fell over her figure, though as dominantly as she could, she expanded her chest cavity, inhaled the deepest breath she could, and stiffened her spine. With all of the power in Arcade, she sprawled her wings and exhaled the hardest, loudest roar into the echoing chamber beyond her. Oliver and Penny slapped their hands to their ears in stunned surprise as Lickity's powerful voice practically shook the whole game. Lickity finally inhaled a hard chuff, shook her head, and greatly challenged the Queen's authority.

Tessa scrunched her head to her shoulders and slowly turned heel, to face Lickity dead on, who was two dozen feet away. Lickity chuffed another hard breath, with bared fangs, and dared Tessa to say 'no' to her one more time. Tessa furrowed her eyebrows and wondered just how it'd feel to be on the receiving end of Lickity's anger. She knew she was making everyone mad, by shunning Zed from the game, though somehow she knew she had to hold fast to her stubborn ways, even if she knew everyone was right, and she was dead wrong. She glared at Lickity and was beginning to feel as if her dominance was slipping. She knew she would definitely lose a battle against Lickity, though somehow, she cocked an eyebrow and gave Lickity a look, as if to dare her to try it.

A/N: I've uploaded the painterly request of Tessa firing one of Hero's Duty's guns, from chapter 95, to my deviantART for you guys - titled 'Bullseye', my username is Vyntresser :)