Song Listened To: Together We Map The World - How To Train Your Dragon 2 Soundtrack
Other Worlds by Really Slow Motion & Instrumental Core
*Chapter 162*
"So, where do we begin?" Zed urged as the eight began to mosey on towards the edge of the clearing, where Zed's five brothers left each of their respective bikes.
"Should we start with just how pissed we are at you? Skip the pleasantries?" Finn darkly wondered, though his voice still held a bite of a kind charm. Everyone largely uttered agreeable grunts and notions in favor of Finn's sarcasm; Zed rolled his eyes and nervously looked away.
"I give you guys full right to tear me apart, I get it," Zed muttered.
"Tear him apart, though, and you'll have two angry pregnant ladies mowing you over," Tessa barked as she easily climbed aboard Lickity and sat crisscrossed atop her head. Lickity flattened her ears and let out a teasing, toothy snarl as each boy looked over their shoulders with nervous curiosity.
"Let's make things painless, then," Zed started as he whirled around, causing everyone to come to an immediate halt. They held their poised, readied gaze straight into Zed's existence as he effortlessly carried on, "I'm a moron. I trusted someone I shouldn't have, and to reward me for trying to back out last minute, I got my memories wiped. I'll listen to your guys' better judgment, next time."
"I think King Kong needs a steady right-hand man," Finn muttered as he crossed his arms as if to insinuate potential past harm that was caused to him. Zed slumped his shoulders, sighed and peered down to the ground.
"You know I'm going to make my rounds," Zed stated firmly, though he dominantly and lovingly gave each of his brothers a stern look in the eye, "To each of you... I know I wronged each of you in some way or another."
"Y'spared those two," Orph argued loudly as he gestured to Tessa and Lickity, "Cost me a dragon and, in two weeks, our sanity."
"We're ten minutes deep and already you're insulting your nephew?" Zed's voice grew angrier though everyone suddenly gawked at just what Zed was insinuating.
"Nephew?" Jax wondered with a gleeful smile, "Yes! More boys!"
"You're having a boy?" Finn wondered up to Tessa, his smile was kind and patient.
"Congrats," Tessa waved her hand about as if to pretend to be displeased, though her beaming smile proved otherwise, "I guess the male gene is extraordinarily dominant in your guys' family."
"Yes! The Kalivar name lives on," Orph raised his fist in excitement though Tessa furrowed her eyebrows.
"Kalivar?" Tessa pressed though she raised her eyebrows and peered to Zed in overflowing curiosity.
"Yeah? You uh... You not keen on taking Zed's last name or something?" Orph dully wondered, "You one of THOSE girls?"
"N-No I just... I didn't even know Zed had a last name," Tessa laughed though she sat up straighter atop Lickity's head and crossed her arms. Lickity urged a grumble, as if she, too, was just as pressed for more information.
"You..." Finn lazily gestured to Zed, though as each boy fixed their gaze upon Zed's, they each flared wide smiles of hard knowing. Zed's whole demeanor grew beyond bashful and sheepish as Finn continued, "Hold on... You haven't told her your LAST NAME?"
"It just slipped my mind," Zed urged honestly, "You guys have NO idea how much crap has been going on."
"Slipped your mind," Orph muttered though Tej and Jax began to snicker to themselves.
"Wow, and she said yes to your proposal," Duke's quiet voice finally chimed. He crossed his strong arms and peered up at Tessa through his dark eyes, though his smile held a deep amount of kindness, "That's ballsy. Our last name could be... Oh, I don't know, 'twinkle toes' for all you knew, and you still agreed to marry him."
"What can I say?" Tessa mumbled, she lazily waved her hand about, though with all the ease she could muster, she finally slid off of the side of Lickity's neck and jumped to the grass underneath, "Alright, Mr. Zed Kalivar... Any other secrets?"
"Hooo Queen Bee, you're in the right group asking all the right questions," Jax's voice grew loud, each boy's eyes lit up with impending doom brought upon poor Zed.
"Alright, lemme just cut to the chase," Orph strong voice demanded, his cheeky smirk never failed. Tessa rolled her eyes and looked away though she couldn't help but beam an already annoyed smile as she could hear Zed's four other brothers begin to snicker at the show unfolding before them. Orph loudly continued as he swiped his fingers through his silver hair, in a clumsy fashion, "User put brothers on this planet, so to ruin every other brother's reputation with the ladies. This is why you have me. This is why... Zed has me."
"Orph," Zed mumbled, he rubbed his face in agitation; the wear of everything that had just taken place already began to show on Zed's tired shoulders. He lightly winced at the feel of his sore neck muscles.
"No no, shh, you shush," Orph snapped as he wildly waved his hand, "You can play the annoying father once the baby arrives, but leave me out of it."
"You've got two weeks of hell, Zed," Duke grumbled, all the boys laughed. Tessa scrunched her shoulders and began to feel nervous though she felt a sweep of warmness coat her existence as Lickity nuzzled her snout into the palm of Tessa's hand, which hung near her side.
"Let me just get this out into the open as quick and painlessly as possible," Orph beamed Tessa a wide, snarky smile, which so easily mocked Zed's though Tessa could tell Orph had absolutely no reserves when it came to being a complete and total lovable ass.
"User, where do you begin?" Jax barked as all five boys began to hover around Zed as if to let the teasing commence.
"He sleepwalks," Tej chirped, hoping to start the roller coaster of fun; Orph beamed and pointed to Tej as if to kindly agree.
"Sleep TALKS," Orph loudly added.
"Is record belcher," Jax beamed as he put his hands on his hips.
"Count it comin' from the other end, too," Duke mumbled; Zed shot him an incredulous glare, his face immediately turned hot red.
"He haggled an old lady out of those pies that one time, remember?" Tej rubbed his forehead as if his memory was failing him, "Was nearly daylight robbery."
"The poor thing, she had no idea what was even going on," Finn justified quietly in tired defeat, his eyes scanned the ground as if to rethink the past event.
"I'm positive he's already gotten his ridiculously obnoxious whole name out of the way, yeah?" Orph wondered, he side-eyed Tessa as if to be unsure.
"Whole name?" Tessa wondered through a furrowed expression, "It... It's not just... Zed Kalivar?"
"Got a winner," Jax crossed his arms with a smug smile.
"Whoa, Zeddy boy, you mean to tell me..." Orph trailed off to laugh about it. He wiped his face free of a few tears as he tried to collect himself, though he largely grappled for Zed's shoulder, "You went and swapped codes with the girl and she doesn't know that 'Zed'... Is merely a nickname?"
"Well, she didn't know his last name, y'think he's going to tell her his whole name, alongside his obnoxious middle name?" Duke laughed, everyone lazily joined.
"Don't do this," Zed muttered under his breath though he couldn't help but smile as his brothers went nuts.
"She's carrying your child, for crying out loud, you could, at least, do her a kindness and tell her, oh, I don't know," Orph sarcastically trailed off, fingered his lip and looked up before his attention came wildly crashing back down to Zed's annoyed existence, "Your WHOLE NAME?"
"Zed is SHORT for something?" Tessa gestured though Lickity perked her ears in curiosity as if this was news to her as well.
"Wait'll you hear it!" Orph hissed as he tugged Zed into his right arm and slung his left arm over Tessa's shoulder. He then gave Zed his patiently excited attention, "Alright! Let's hear it, Zeddy-bear, let'er RIP!"
Zed gave Tessa a cheeky, nervous smile through grit teeth, though it easily sunk to Orph's dewy, sarcastic gaze, as if he was certain getting his brothers back was now something he wanted to reverse, for the sheer fact that he has never had the opportunity to bring a girl home.
"This is my last secret, I swear," Zed uttered, to Tessa, through the tight grit of his teeth.
"That's a lie," Jax chimed happily, Zed rolled his eyes, though his face couldn't produce more blush.
"... The programmers, I guess, had a hay-day with my name," Zed uttered bashfully, he looked down to the ground in growing embarrassment, "I-I really have no clue why they made my name the only name short for something."
"Y'can't be unbeatable and have a bitchin name, in one go, dude," Orph muttered though he aggressively and impatiently waved his hand about, "Out with it!"
"M-My full name is uh..." Zed trailed off though his bashful stare finally gripped Tessa's, "... Zedian."
"Zedian!" Tessa eased though she heaved a sigh of relief and gave each of Zed's brothers a trying, annoyed smile, "Y'guys had me terrified for a second there."
"That's not fair, why isn't she turned off by it!" Orph suddenly gawked, though Zed suddenly gained a sweep of confidence as he put his hands on his hips and gave Orph a smug smile.
"Maybe I CAN be unbeatable and have a bitchin name," Zed snapped with a proud smile, "My lady thinks it's cool. That's all that matters to me."
"Yeah, blurt out your middle name and we'll see," Orph muttered; Jax and Duke were in hysterics.
"Zedian... Blank... Kalivar?" Tessa gestured her hand a little, to politely ask him to carry on; the kindness in her eyes assured him that she promised not to make fun. He heaved a dry sigh and gave Orph an annoyed side-eye.
"Thaddeus," Zed spat, "There. I have a ridiculously obnoxious whole name and now you know why I never mentioned any of them in the discussions of baby names to pick."
"Thaddeus! PLEASE name our nephew Thaddeus," Jax practically cried from laughter, which he and Duke were lost in. Orph largely joined in.
"Zedian Thaddeus Kalivar," Tessa eased as she kept her hands on her hips, though after a moment, she reached out her hand for a handshake and gave Zed a kind look of unconditional love, "Tessa Von Schweetz."
"I can always count on you," Zed chuckled as he gripped her larger hand in his and shook it lovingly, the two held locked eye contact for a moment before Orph bellowed a largely annoyed groan.
"So you BOTH have annoying whole names?" Orph argued though everyone began to finally move out of the clearing once and for all.
"Mine's not annoying," Tessa pushed.
"You're right... It's schweet," Orph ogled in a mockingly, playful girly tone.
"Schweetz," Tessa barked as she nudged a firm fist into his upper arm, which caused him to wobble a few feet to the side. He gawked and caught his footing, albeit clumsily, "Don't forget it."
"So, who exactly are we contending with, anyways?" Finn nervously wondered as everybody finally settled, he fiddled his worn fingers in awkward contemplation.
"In Sugar Rush?" Jax's voice grew quiet.
"My parents, the King and Queen," Tessa muttered darkly, she looked down to the grass as everyone fell into a stiller silence. Through a dry breath, her eyes glossed into a haze as she shook her head, as if wrapping her mind around it all was impossible, "If my parents are set on a decision, I remember it being near impossible to sway them from such."
"Were they ever graced with a situation like THIS?" Jax urged deeply, he took a step before Tessa and gestured out to the jungle, as if to insinuate their problems were as large as the world in its entirety, "Their heir to the throne is with child, ANOTHER heir to say the least!"
"Jax," Zed's patient voice eased as if to merely bookmark his anger and make it known everyone stationed before him understood the levels of pain they trudged through.
"There's no way they've blocked out the entire world from getting into the game," Jax pressed, he gave Tessa a determined glare, though his mouth hinted at a kind smile, "If you can't get in, you can bet we'll storm the castle, no hesitations."
"All of us," Duke's strong voice urged, he took a small step out to join Jax as he put a firm hand on his younger brother's shoulder; Jax easily nodded.
"Thanks, guys," Tessa eased, the twinkle in her eye cued them to believe these boys were rapidly growing on her, and vice-versa. She finally caught eyes with Zed and Finn, who both stood poised, their eyes honed to Tessa's being as if to follow her every cue and movement.
"C'mon," Jax beamed as he puffed out his chest and inhaled a deep, refreshing breath in the process of trudging towards his parked bike, "I haven't gotten in someone's face in a long while, and I'm sort of excited about it."
"I don't think you'll be excited when Ralph's fist comes flying at your face," Zed muttered, he lazily rubbed the entirety of his sore neck.
"I don't think any of us care just WHO is bringing the fight," Duke uttered in a mean tone under his breath, he pointed back to Zed and gave him a sly grin, "Our nephew's well-being is on the line."
"We'll be the one's bringing the fight," Orph barked as each boy finally mounted their respective bikes and revved their powerful engines to life.
"That was easy," Zed chuckled as him and Tessa lightly looked back at Lickity, her beautiful green orbs watched as each bike dragged hot grass underneath the rubber of their tires. As the last of them disappeared through the thicket of jungles, she flattened her ears and finally spoke.
"I was hoping one of them would sass me so I can breathe fire," Lickity pouted, "It's been awhile."
"Last person to endure it was me," Tessa muttered as her and Zed quickly boarded Lickity's larger body, with her kneeling aid.
"I'd prefer to stay on the team of people who don't push Lickity's buttons," Zed laughed as he sank his protective grip around Tessa's middle, he felt his heart dip in fresh knowing as the warmth of their brand new loading bar was present on his inner arms. He beamed a sneaky smile on the back of Tessa's shoulder and braced himself for Lickity's gentle take-off, though he softly continued, "Not to mention, she's about to bring a creature into this world that is related to the hot-blooded Orion..."
"Damn straight," Lickity barked as she finally pushed into the air.
Tessa's sharp eye kept honed to her new brother's whereabouts, on the jungle floor. Little snippets of their sharply colored hair and bikes weaved in and out of the foliage underneath the massive shadow of Lickity's wingspan. Tessa gripped Lickity's fur, and for the first time in her life, she felt a strange sweep of protectiveness come over herself, over something and some place that wasn't her code-born family or Sugar Rush. She glared down Dead Zed's entrance, far in the distance, and felt her blood begin to boil; Jax's heavy words rung loud in her ears, like molten wax over a tired, short wick. With the feel of Zed's tender hands against her hot loading bar, she knew he was now tabbed into her every rushing emotion. Like clockwork, he stroked her skin and, without words, he softly reminded her to be calm. With greater speed, in which Lickity's sharp wings and tail fins provided, she dipped a little and cut through a massive, puffy cloud. They popped through the other side with cutting speed, though Tessa's heart soared with determination.
As the boys' five bikes roared up the sloping hill to Dead Zed's foliage ridden entrance, Lickity dipped down to the ground, and with a sharp swoop, she demanded the head of the line, the front of the race. Without stopping, and without questions asked, one by one, each force rocketed into Dead Zed's winding wires. One after the other, in hot, unrehearsed choreography, everyone rode the figurative jet-stream of Lickity's strict wing posture, her speed was unmatched. With sharp banks, near hairpin turns, the six easily weaved through their home's electricity. Before Tessa could contemplate stopping just outside of their outlet, inside End Of Line Station, Lickity burst forth and, with a hard few flaps, she rocketed into the nearly empty, warm station. Tessa largely looked over her shoulder and let out a sharp, high-pitched whistle, to cue to all five boys that there was no stopping involved. She waved her hand forward, to insinuate to keep following, and with this, their bikes loudly crashed into the echoing station.
The high arches, majestic walls of humble architecture, hung onto every single last breath of life their bikes had to give, and with this, the station, and each game that was plugged in shook. The Arcade nearly bowed with the impending task at hand, as if all stars attempted to align for this castle take-down. As if she were told to grin through a death wish, she pushed down on Lickity's shoulder blades, which cued her to bow closer to the ground in a sharp dip, and like a well-oiled machine, Lickity flattened her ears and knew just what was to come. With a sharp hover a few feet off the ground and an immediate bank down unknown territory, Lickity's agility led her straight into the pocket of the station's train loading dock and down the near pitch black train tunnels. Tessa bit her bottom lip and, as her and Zed nervously looked over their shoulders, to see if the five Dead Zed racers would chicken out, she beamed a wide smile and was floored to find each bike launch onto the live wire tracks with no hesitation whatsoever.
Tessa exhaled a hard laugh, and as each of their futuristic bikes lit up the tunnel, with their respective colors, Tessa eagerly set her sights for the dark, neverending tunnel they rocketed down. She beamed an excited, though nearly mean smile, and wondered just what kind of hot water her family would be in now that she had back up. She released a hot, shaky breath and could swear, in this instance, that she could breathe fire driven by her anger and frustration. With new, silver coding that now cooperated with her raw system, she felt wholly unstoppable. She glared down the tunnel, and as each boy let out excited calls and whoops of manly, war-ridden aggression, her smile broadened; Zed let out a hard chuckle on Tessa's shoulder and gripped her around her center a little tighter.
Tessa felt her heart race faster and faster, though as the flicker of light, at the end of the tunnel, became more and more present, Tessa tucked herself deeper into Lickity's spine. Just as Lickity banked into Game Central Station's train dock, Tessa felt a strange sensation come over Lickity's body. With a hard, sudden downstroke of Lickity's powerful wings and the flailed, desperate scraping and clacking of her powerful claws along the golden tiles undertow, Lickity came to the hardest stop she could potentially muster. Her tail largely flopped about the glossy tiles. With this, she exhaled a hard grunt and spread her wings out wide, so to show the five boys behind her that stopping wasn't just merely an option; she demanded it. With the ear piercing screech of rubber against the flawless tiles they graced, every single fierce, determined being on this war path came to a dead stop. Tessa grunt in hard frustration and before she peered out to her warm, dim home station, she largely glared down at Lickity's head.
"Lickity! What gives?!" Tessa hollered in hard annoyance as if their streak of anger could likely be dampened by the sudden stop. Lickity heaved hard, raspy breaths with her even panting, though she flattened her ears and held onto her strict posture.
"Certainly not forcefields, I'll tell you that," Lickity darkly muttered under her breath, "Any further, any faster, and it'd be like slamming into a brick wall."
"Lickity, come on, we have to get to the entrance," Tessa demanded, her voice shook as she clumsily dismounted Lickity's spine, "Once we're there, Zed and his brothers will do the rest."
Tessa took a hard few steps out before Lickity, though just as she opened her mouth to continue berating Lickity, for her clearly wise choices, she was clipped with an overload of angry information straight to her skull. Unlike any force of energy prior, Tessa wobbled backward and was nearly rocked off the face of Arcade. She choked a hard noise, stumbled backward and held her hand out in a shaky, defensive action. She long blinked a few times and glared out to the quiet station before her. With an audible swallow and a small shake of her head, to get her bearings, she opened her palm and could swear her heart sank to the depths of her dark soul as to just what her skin came in contact with. Like angry snakes, hot tiers of red coding poured over the whole entrance to Game Central Station. As if it could likely give her a virus from just touching it for too long, she yanked her hand away and peered up at the bubble of rippling coding that slithered to the very last inch of Game Central Station's opening. With raw silence from behind her, Tessa could swear she could hear every last rushing thought on each and every soul's mind.