A/N: Hey all... Just wanted to update and say, please bear with me. I haven't given any details or etc., but I have expressed on deviantART that I am currently going through a few hardships. I haven't properly drawn or written in about 2 weeks. I'm currently only 4 chapters ahead of you guys, which usually I am about 20+. I'm slowly getting back on my feet, but if I am sow to update, respond, or seem as if I'm 'alive', please just bear with me. This story, as well as the next story to follow, are still going strong, I just am having a hard time finding free time to do all the things I want. I'll get my groove back soon here, I can already start to feel things lighten - just to keep you guys in the loop. Thanks you guys, you totally rock
Song Listened To : King by Lauren Aquilina
*Chapter 152*
Tessa grit her teeth and finally felt wholly safe to unload, in no better place than the person she felt most comfortable with. She sobbed into Zed's shoulder quietly, though with the strict, nervous way Zed held her to him, she knew he was on another planet, and all of the worries she was about to overload him with was bound to strap him down to the ground faster than lightning. Tessa shut her eyes tight and, as tears spilled onto Zed's bare shoulders, she shivered and quaked, like her mind was violently whirling her thoughts about her coding, as if to beg to let loose all of the pent up information that was about to change his life for good.
"Tessa, what's going on?" Zed worried as Tessa finally pulled away; the look of ghostly exhaustion that hung on her was beyond chilling. Zed glued his horrified gaze to hers and gripped her upper arms, though her fingers messily dribbled down his strong, bare chest.
"I don't even know where to begin," Tessa sniffled, though she was thrilled Lickity stood close by. Her large, majestic posture remained, as if she were simply protecting the two; from what, she was unsure.
"Well, let's start with the fact that I've seemingly lost my shirt," Zed chuckled as he looked down at himself and got comfortable on the ground, though he furrowed his eyebrows harder and grappled for the large burlap bag that he was half sat in, "And, uh... Looks like I was sacked."
"Zed, you accidentally deleted yourself," Tessa blurted through a choke as she wiped her eyes with the back of her larger hand, though the way Zed glued his piercing blue gaze to hers lead to suggest he almost didn't believe her.
"Deleted myself?" Zed urged quietly, "I-I wouldn't do such a thing... I was careful to just rid my coding of Radex, not of... Myself as a whole."
"Whatever you did, you were very quickly replaced with Zane, right at the entrance of Dead Zed," Tessa mumbled as she finally tried to relax her tense shoulders, "You forgot who you were... You forgot me, you forgot EVERYTHING."
"I was Zane?" Zed chuckled nervously as he tugged his bangs down and, much to his relief, he was thrilled to see it's usual blue, "So... You brought me back here? Quick thinking... The Flip Side has an extra of everyone's coding... But, how did you get me here, if I was Zane? Clearly by kidnap, yeah?"
"Yeah," Tessa finally felt a smile want to form as her eyes longingly glossed over the enchanting pool of light to her right, "I had a lot of help..."
Zed hooked his gaze into Tessa's soul, which was lost in the illuminating pool. Her entire being was overcome with grief, though Zed could swear, just for a few seconds, with the way the warm light hit her skin, that she was glowing. Somehow, she harbored a certain quality he couldn't name, nor pinpoint. He felt his heart begin to sink in nervousness; she looked wholly worn, though he still couldn't quite understand how she could radiate such beauty and warmth all while looking totally haggard. He heaved a soft sigh and, following her line of sight, he gave The Flip Side's magical entrance a kind nod, as if to insinuate he knew exactly what was on the other side.
"My brothers," Zed's soft, deep voice urged. Tessa heaved a small giggle and shook her head.
"They are so excited to see you," Tessa rushed in a tired whisper, though as the warm breeze flicked her hair around, just barely, she gave Zed her solid eye contact, yet again, "Bringing you to The Flip Side wasn't my first choice..."
"Why? What was, instead?" Zed urged softly, he didn't dare take his eyes from hers.
"I... I went to Sugar Rush, to get your coding from my code box," Tessa dragged on sadly.
"The code-source placement," Zed eased, though his confused gaze only grew as his eyes scanned Tessa for any hints of continuation, "That... Wouldn't be enough, then?"
"... I didn't have any access to it," Tessa's voice crackled as she looked down to her lap, in which her open palms lazily laid in. She grit her teeth, and through a choke of a sob, she shook her head and whimpered a small cry, "I-I've been banished from Sugar Rush..."
Zed huffed a hard choke of a silent sigh and shook his head with a bit of a toothy look of a confused half-smile. He long blinked a few times and, as his eyes scanned Tessa's crumpling expression, his began to grow protective and angry. He shook his head again, though harder, and reached his now determined hands for her lower arms. He gripped her and leaned down a little, in hopes to gain eye contact, though she kept her strict gaze down.
"What?" Zed hissed in disbelief, "B...Banished...?"
"There's a force field over the whole entrance," Tessa's sad voice was the strangest mixture of sorrow-sweet. She finally hooked her glossed, dazed eyes into Zed's and tiredly shook her head, "Neither Lickity or I can get in... Rancis told me this was to 'think about what I've done', and... They'll come find me when it's time."
Zed slumped his shoulders, though his chest continued to rise and fall with growing anger, and though it wasn't directed at Tessa, the veins in his neck continued to bulge a little. He shook his head in determination, hate, anger. His eyes pierced hers with growing motivation, though he largely darted his attention to the entrance of The Flip Side.
"We have to go, I'll march right up there and tell 'em what for," Zed's strong voice quietly urged, though as he began to stand, Tessa grappled for his arm and brought him back down.
"You can't leave yet," Tessa sniffled as Zed hesitantly sat back down, "... If you leave, you'll forget who you are, again. In the real world, you're still Zane. We just... Need to somehow get 'Zed's' coding back into the actual coding of the game."
"That should be a simple switch-over," Zed urged quietly, though he peered off into The Flip Side's familiar distance, as if he knew exactly where he needed to go in order to fix this mess, "Just... Takes a bit of thumbing around in the code room."
"The Flip Side has a code room?" Tessa wondered quietly.
"Essentially," Zed stated, though the dregs of anger still hung onto his strong demeanor, "It's linked to the code room, in the real-time game. Sort of like having a spare tire for a race car."
"Right," Tessa heaved a hard sigh and shook her head as she looked down to their laps.
Zed looked as if he wanted so badly to rush away and fix this mess immediately, though he gave Tessa a once-over and, as if he had finally cued to her defeated demeanor, he exhaled a long, relaxing breath and tried his hardest to soften his angry muscles. He slumped his shoulders and assessed Tessa; he could somehow sense she had eons worth of more information hung in her very coding. He wrinkled his nose and squinted lightly.
"Who, exactly, told you that you were banished?" Zed darkly wondered.
"Uncle Rancis," Tessa's voice crackled as she lazily raised her eyebrows and kept her gaze aimlessly on the swaying grass, "Everything was upgraded to perfection... Uncle Rancis looked just like normal... It sounded like it wasn't his idea. I'm sure mom and dad are just pissed at me. Maybe they really did miscarry my youngest sibling and, the only thing they can think would possibly help me to understand their pain was to banish me..."
"Well, I'll have a few words with them," Zed's deep voice was angry and protective, though just as he was about to continue, Lickity finally relaxed her stance next to them and sat down. Her large body pushed into their sides as she wrapped her long tail around them and, as if to nestle them, she snuggled the side of her head into Tessa's side. Zed gave Lickity a kind pat, on her rib cage and let his fingers fiddle with the fur, "I'm sure Lickity and I BOTH will, huh girl."
"Yeah, considering she can talk," Tessa mumbled, though she waved her hand, "I know you don't believe me, and... Probably never will."
"She can talk?" Zed chuckled as he finally felt his body relax for good, "How do you wonder that?"
"Well... Um," Tessa tucked her fingers to her mouth and finally looked over her shoulder to get a good steal into Lickity's curious orbs. Lickity perked her large ears and gave Tessa a look, as if to suggest she was awaiting for Tessa to reveal all the final, good news to Zed, "I-I... I guess I have something else to tell you."
"Yeah?" Zed urged, though with the news that had just hit him, he sagged his demeanor in nervousness and furrowed his eyebrows, "What else is up...? Dare I ask."
"Uh, well..." Tessa trailed off nervously and, for the first time in hours, she felt a genuine smile grace her cheeks. Just as her face began to turn beet red, she giggled as Zed poked her side a little.
"Out with it, what's going on?" Zed urged, though he finally felt a smile hit his face as well, cued from Tessa's escalating, bashful and cheeky attitude, though her eyes remained sullen and teary.
"I-I don't really know how to tell you this, but..." Tessa trailed off, bit her bottom lip and peered back to Lickity. Lickity nodded once, as if to express she couldn't wait any longer to reveal to Zed that he, indeed, was going to be a father. Tessa giggled softly and let her gaze slide back to Zed's, though her shaky voice finally blurted her conclusion, "Lickity's pregnant."
Lickity barked a confused noise and, with ears perked taut on her head, Tessa heaved a hard giggle and braced herself for Lickity's annoyed notions. Lickity bared her teeth and began to nibble at Tessa's arm in growing annoyance, as if that was not the exact news she wanted revealed in this moment. Tessa shoved at Lickity's face and was thrilled she still had the ability to laugh.
"Lickity's pregnant?" Zed beamed as he straightened his spine, though just as Tessa pointed to Lickity's lower stomach, which was near Zed's side, he peered over his shoulder and gaped at the sight of Lickity's, now peachy-golden loading bar. He finally drew his excited attention back to Lickity and chuckled, "Lickity! Whose the lucky guy?!"
"Ohhh, you wouldn't believe it," Tessa nasally laughed, she shifted her sitting position a little.
"It happened when we were gone?" Zed wondered with a wide smile, "Did she come back to Dead Zed and find a mate?"
"Nope," Tessa chirped, though she continued to giggle as Lickity nudged her side in annoyance, "She found everything she needed in Sugar Rush."
"Sugar Rush?" Zed squinted in confusion, though his expression sloped to sudden knowing as he barked a laugh, "Oh my User, Orion?!"
"Orion!" Tessa choked; the two howled with laughter, though Lickity finally grumbled a hard cough of a noise and snorted a good dose of steam out her nostrils. Both Tessa and Zed took it as no threat and, while they waved their hands about, they gave Lickity kind looks of appreciation.
"Aww, Lickity, that's sweet," Zed chuckled as he finally rubbed her snout, which seemingly began to calm her down. Her ears flattened in a relaxed way, "It'll be great to have a baby dragon around."
"Yeah," Tessa smiled, though she uttered a soft noise as Lickity nudged her elbow, as if to express to Tessa to get on with her news, as well. Tessa nodded once, though she almost gave Lickity a pleading look, "Alright, Lickity, please... Please tell Zed that you can talk. I don't want to be seen as a psycho for the rest of my life."
"Wait, she can really talk?" Zed wondered, though the smile on his face lead to suggest he still didn't believe it.
"She swapped with Orion," Tessa stated seriously, though she held onto a broken smile, "Orion can talk. And now, so can Lickity."
"You've heard her talk?" Zed squinted in suspicion towards Tessa; she nodded with fervor.
"She's just stubborn in the fact that she only wants me to know," Tessa slumped her shoulders and gave Lickity a pleading look, "C'mon... How about it just stays between the three of us? Surely there's stuff you want to say to Zed, too, huh?"
With flattened ears, Lickity held her hard gaze into Tessa's eyes, though she finally heaved a hard sigh, slumped her body and merely glanced into Zed's eyes.
"Fine, but because you got to spoil MY big news, I get to spoil YOUR big news," Lickity rushed softly, though Zed raised his eyebrows in hard surprise.
"O-Oh my User, you CAN talk!" Zed barked as he stiffened his spine; Tessa threw her head back and laughed.
"Y'thought she was kidding?" Lickity raised an eyebrow muscle and glanced to Tessa.
"Well... That or delirious!" Zed urged with a widening smile, though he shoved his hands to the side of his head and began to look more and more floored, "This is nuts, you... You can talk!"
"Damn skippy," Lickity bared her teeth, though she flattened her ears and gave Zed a stern look, "But I'm not spoiling it to anyone else. I don't want everyone to know."
"Well, why not? This is awesome!" Zed urged.
"I'm just not used to it, just let me come to grips with all of this, okay?" Lickity barked, though she held onto a snarky smile, "I'm sure it'll slip, anyhow. Besides, that's not the craziest thing to happen in the last twenty four hours."
"I'd say it is," Zed disagreed with an oblivious smile, though he nervously glanced at Tessa and cued to their silence. He slumped his shoulders and glanced between both girls, "Why, what... What could possibly top THIS?"
Lickity squinted and gave Tessa a knowing smirk, though Tessa rolled her eyes and looked away in a bashful manner. She heaved a hard sigh, hugged her arms across her chest and nervously looked down to the grass underneath.
"Clearly something?" Zed tenderly inquired as he cued to her demeanor, which was quickly becoming shy. He glanced at Lickity and shook his head, "What is it?"
"I think I'll let her tell you," Lickity's soft, comforting voice grew to a level of maturity everyone knew she had somewhere deep down.
Zed raised his eyebrows in baited wait and finally hooked his whole attention into Tessa's. She gave the grass one good look-over before she hooked her gaze straight into his, though she nearly flinched with just how glued he was to her. She gave him a sweet, bashful smile and shook her head, as if to wonder if any of this was real; both the good and bad. She felt her heart suddenly jump back to life, with the raw, precious bundle of news she harbored, as well. She took in a deep breath and, with renewed strength she was certain was now a rarity, she straightened her spine and let her hands find Zed's. He continued to keep his whole attention on her, though Tessa could tell the silence was becoming painful, on his end.
"Zed," Tessa started quietly, though with an elated smile that continued to become more and more of a bashful glow. She breathed her final statement with all the warmth the squeeze of her hands could muster, "Lickity's not the only one with a loading bar."