A/N: Happy leap year, everyone! This whole entire story is the EPITOME of Defying Code. First I screwed up the chapter system with my April Fool's BS from last year, THEN I ended the damn thing on 165 chapters, (not to mention on Feb. 29th of ALL DAYS.) and to top it all off, it's content as a whole.

*dives in head first into chaos and the unknown lol*

*explodes*

Song Listened To : Scars by Tove Lo

*Chapter 165*

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Lickity muttered through hard pacing.

The two girls flinched as Tessa intelligently began to break down Zed's loft, via the main code room orb. It gladly recognized her as one with Zed, and as if it was merely waiting for this day, it gladly took orders from her. Tessa fingered her lip, and as gracefully as the game would allow, walls and ceilings began to dissipate into crumbles of pixels and blobs of dead grid lines, as if to seemingly pack everything away in preparations for the great move to Dead Zed's largest city.

"You're not sorry," Tessa stated through a dull tone, though she droned a giddy chuckle at the end of her statement.

She lovingly peered to Lickity, who now paced amongst Zed's pearly white living room tiles, though the ceiling largely lobbed away and disappeared. Lickity's large body heavily paced, with claws that clacked loudly against the tiles and a long, strong tail that loosely dragged behind her agitated body. She shot Tessa an annoyed side-eye, which cued Tessa to let out a louder laugh.

"What! You're not," Tessa concluded, Lickity flattened her ears and chuffed hot air out her snout.

"What a jerk," Lickity spat, "You expect me to share a home with that douche bag? I broke my 'I'm not going to talk in front of anyone' vow."

"Well, if anything, now none of them will mess with you," Tessa shrugged as, one by one, the tiles underneath their feet messily flipped about and disappeared. They showed beautiful, glossy jungle soil underneath, "You got in Orph's face and spoke out, which no one believed would ever happen. None of those boys knew you could talk."

"Scared the shit out of him, didn't I," Lickity finally peered out to the valley below Zed's disappearing loft, she straightened her posture for once and tucked her wings tight to her body in pride, "Teach him to mess with me."

"Lickity, just promise me something," Tessa heaved the words through an exhausted sigh as the morning sunshine began to flood their surroundings more and more.

"I already know where this is going," Lickity muttered, though Tessa tiredly giggled.

"Orph is going to HAVE to have a chance at holding my son," Tessa eased as patiently as she could, "And when that time comes... I don't want fireballs rocketed in his direction."

Lickity furrowed her brows and gave Tessa a look as if she was going to have an extremely hard time agreeing to such notion, though she finally slumped her strict posture and looked down to her claws as Tessa continued on.

"I know you hate him," Tessa stated quietly as the last bits of Zed's furniture materialized away, "But... He's going to be an uncle, just like the rest of those boys. They're each going to have a special relationship with this baby."

"I won't get in the way," Lickity muttered as she finally looked away, as if to be saddened, though Tessa gave Lickity a long, ogling frown.

As gently as she could, she let the orb sweep up the very last bits of the building, and until they were surrounded by nothing but wilderness, she patiently peered at her best friend from across the lovely morning scene. She scoffed a small laugh and began to make her way over to Lickity. As she approached, she tenderly let her palm meet the underside of Lickity's chin.

"This baby is going to have five uncles, sure," Tessa shrugged, though as Lickity's dewy green orbs glossed over hers, she beamed the widest, most loving smile, "But... He's also going to have the most awesome aunt on the planet."

Lickity finally let a small smile grace her fur and scales, and as she bashfully looked down to hers and Tessa's feet, she flinched as Tessa pushed a firm smooch into Lickity's snout.

"I-I'll do my best... I have some big shoes to fill, after all," Lickity stated in a humble, though sad tone. Once Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, Lickity's apologetic frown broadened, "... Penny's."

"...Right," Tessa sighed, though she shook her head and forced a small smile, "Well... We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. But no one, not even Penny, can replace you and the special relationship you'll have with the baby."

"And you for... Well, whatever gender I have," Lickity finally let her gaze gloss to the distance in gentle contemplation, "We should probably look into that."

"Y'think we'd be able to tell what the gender will be?" Tessa wondered excitedly, "I can't wait to see what he or she will look like!"

"Orion DID have really pretty skin," Lickity droned in a dreamy tone as her ears lightly drooped, "Kept changing color, and when he'd-"

"I-I don't need the details," Tessa urged with a wide grin, though she looked over her shoulder as the sound of the five grumbling bikes made their way up the cliffside once and for all.

"C'mon, I'm the only girl you've got," Lickity smiled a toothy smile and straightened her posture, "You'll cave eventually and spill everything to me, about Zed."

"Let's build a home first," Tessa groaned as she rubbed her forehead, "THEN we can relax."

With a small nod, the two were only encompassed in silence for a few small moments before the rumbling chorus of five bikes made their presence known. With a kick up of jungle soil, Zed and his five brothers finally peeled over the top of the peak Tessa and Lickity were on, which was once the groundwork of Zed's loft. Tessa smiled as they each dismounted their bikes, brought their engines to quiet and looked about in curiosity. Tessa proudly held the game's main code orb close to her chest, it seemingly snuggled into her warmth, as if to express it's gratefulness towards having a second being in the game it could wholly cooperate with. Tessa gave Zed a small, knowing smile as he stepped forth.

"Well," Zed scoffed, "Good work... How long have you two been up here?"

"About an hour," Tessa eased as she looked off to the distance, she noticed the sun was now a decent height in the sky. She knew the Arcade wasn't open yet, though she had to guess it was around six in the morning. She gave Zed her tired eye contact, and though she knew her and Zed had a long day ahead of themselves, she tried not to think about how long it'd be until she could rest her head, "I packed everything away safely... Guess we're good to move, now."

"I'll say," Zed chuckled as he crossed his arms, Finn was first to make his presence known to their comfortable bubble, "The size of my loft was no joke. I'm impressed."

"An outlandish amount of space for one guy?" Finn muttered, though he gave Zed a knowing smile as he shot his younger brother an annoyed side-eye.

"I guess, deep down, I always knew the space wasn't just meant for me," Zed mumbled as he unraveled his arms, though as the warm morning breeze rippled through the eight on the clifftop, Zed gladly inhaled his game's crisp air, "I'm going to miss this mountain top..."

"Not like you can't come back," Duke joined as Jax, Tej and Orph bickered from across the clearing, "Always good to start fresh, though."

"You remember Ekreth," Finn nudged Zed's shoulder, "C'mon, you'll forget all about this cliffside once you have that awesome view back in your life."

"Not to mention the night life," Duke added with raised eyebrows, he smiled to Tessa, and as if touring around a foreigner, his and Finn's eyes lit up, "We can show Tessa around. You're gunna love it."

"I'm all about big cities," Tessa said through a sigh, though her heart instantly squeezed in pain at the thought of her favorite, sugary city: Starkrem.

"It'll be great," Zed's dominant, though loving voice glossed over everyone in anticipation, though as gently as he could, he gestured the orb out of Tessa's hands and tabbed into a few options. Finn and Duke eagerly watched as Zed safely harbored his brother's bikes away, once and for all. Just as they were about to protest in confusion, Zed gestured to the orb, "Relax, relax... Your bikes are safe. We can travel via the code room. It will make for a much quicker trip."

"I forgot," Duke sighed, and though Finn relaxed as well, he bit his lip in nervous contemplation and looked about the ground.

"Alright, guys, stay inside the circle," Zed ordered as he called out to his three brothers across the way, who seemingly ogled at the view down the backside of Zed's cliffside. They quickly made their way over, though everyone nervously flinched as the code room orb softly hummed a knowing noise and spread a golden circle of grid lines and coding across the ground, as if to insinuate that said golden circle was the only thing they needed to teleport to wherever they wanted to get to. Zed held the center of the circle, and as he continued on, all eyes were on him, "Step outside the circle, mid-teleport, and see what happens."

"Is that sarcasm? Cause I'm not about dying," Orph muttered, everyone laughed excluding Lickity.

"You'd regenerate," Duke reminded, though Orph rolled his eyes.

"I'm aware, though it doesn't make it any more fun to endure," Orph argued as everyone continued to laugh.

Tessa stood close to Zed and watched his fingers work, his intelligent eyes glossed the reflection of the beautiful, golden orb in his possession. He patiently brought up a map of the surrounding area, and as he scanned through the hologram, he finally came across a large mass of city, which was housed in the crest of a long, winding mountain range. As his teeth peeked through a knowing smile, he zoomed into the mountain range, found a certain, high cliff, and on his count, to ready everyone, with one blip of his fingerprint to said location, everything outside the grounded golden circle flashed immediate change.

Everyone flinched and let out knowing notions of laughs and small chimes of surprise. Tessa gasped, and as if to be wholly rocked from the world, she took a small step outside the circle. Her heart soared at the sight beyond her, gorgeous jungle valley that sloped to the majestic, jagged mountain range they were merely a crown jewel of. Sat confidently perched in the heart of the crest's valley was the massive, futuristic city of Ekreth. With towers that reached the clouds, and small streams of vehicles in air travel, Tessa finally felt a wholly genuine smile sprawl her cheeks, for the first time in days. She tucked her lazy palm to her chest, as if to be totally beside herself in awe. The way the morning sun illuminated the waking city, the twinkle of city lights that tried so hard to hold onto it's energetic, mysterious night life, Tessa almost wanted to ditch responsibility altogether and wander her new surroundings.

"Not too shabby," Duke's deep voice droned in an impressed way, and as Tessa stepped out of the golden circle, it blipped a soft noise, as if to want to solidify their setting.

"I'll say," Tessa heaved, the fresh wind caught her hair and welcomed her home.

She inhaled a deep breath, and as she closed her eyes for mere seconds, she remembered the skyline of her beloved Starkrem. As she opened her eyes once more, she knew she should feel disappointment that Sugar Rush's main city wasn't what graced her retinas, though the new, sharp skyline, she was prepared to get to know, stood out in confident pride, as if to contend with Tessa's favoritism. Tessa finally droned back to the group of boys behind her and was impressed with how easily she could block out their bickering.

"It's just not fair that you don't get quarter alerts," Orph argued, "I want to stay and help make the house. What if you guys put my room some place I don't want it!"

"What, with windows facing the morning sun?" Jax teased, "Isn't that what you want?"

"Not a chance," Orph snapped, though he grappled Finn's shoulder, "Finn, take my spot on the roster today, I can't afford to be absent from this ordeal."

"You can't afford to be absent from quarter alerts, bro," Finn urged in annoyance as he shook Orph's hand from his shoulder, "That's your first priority. Keeping the game plugged in."

"We won't put your room where the morning sun can attack you," Zed rolled his eyes, "Just relax."

"Fine, then can I, at least, break ground?" Orph begged, though his voice was laced with boyish excitement and annoyance, "I want to contribute somehow."

"Fine, just make it quick," Zed snapped as he hesitantly handed over the main orb.

The circle, in which they easily traveled, followed the movements on the ground, so to keep the orb at the very center of the large sprawl of golden grid on the ground. Orph beamed a wide smile, and as Zed gently lobbed the orb into Orph's hands, he inhaled a deep breath and peered out to the city far in the distance, though his eyes clipped with the back of Tessa's head. She stood a solid twenty feet away and was wholly consumed by the view beyond her. Orph froze, and as if kindness wanted to so badly creep into his system, he shoved it. He shook his head, furrowed his brow and peered down at the glowing orb. It gently awaited orders, and just as Orph was about to push his finger into the one, main button that was being projected onto the orb, to make the code room's destination permanent, he froze and hesitantly let his gaze glide to the back of Tessa's head, once more.

Everyone froze as Orph halted his selfish production. Through a knowing frown, he lowered the orb, and though he kept a safe grip on it, he finally let his heart unglue from the suffocation of control he so desperately wanted over the situation. With a sharp, hard sigh, he finally took a step out and approached Tessa. With gentle footwork, and a group of his five brothers in shocked silence, behind him, he pushed into Tessa's bubble, and as gently as his voice could muster, he spoke.

"Tess," Orph eased, Tessa looked over her shoulder and turned around as Orph moved closer. She furrowed her eyebrows and peered down at the orb in growing curiosity.

"What's wrong?" Tessa questioned, her voice was raspy and tired. Orph melted a hard sigh out of his lungs and peered down at the orb in growing, delightful sorrow.

"Here," Orph murmured as he delicately slipped the orb into Tessa's possession. She safely cradled it in her larger hands, and though she peered down at it in growing curiosity, she finally gave Orph an even more confused smile.

"You... You don't want to be the one to permanently place the code room?" Tessa wondered quietly, though Orph took a small step back and gestured to it in a small bout of humility everyone knew he harbored deep down.

"Boy do I..." Orph mumbled, though his honest, silver stare finally gripped Tessa's, "But... You just lost your entire home, and your entire code room..."

"Orph," Tessa lulled, as if she didn't want her problems to become excuses in order to get things handed to her; Orph raised his hand.

"I've already got everything I want," Orph's deep voice glossed hers in growing maturity, something he looked uncomfortable showing, "I-I gained back a brother, and, you... I get a nephew, and... The dragons."

"Orph, I can't take this away from you guys," Tessa scrunched her shoulders, as if she didn't deserve this privilege.

"Tess, you're not taking anything away from us," Orph urged, "And one day, when the moment is right, we will take back Sugar Rush, for you. I just know it."

"What, we're going to somehow be invincible to force fields?" Tessa playfully glowered, though Orph rolled his eyes before he gestured to Tessa's lower stomach.

"Well, we DO have an ace up our sleeve," Orph mumbled, though as his smile broadened, Tessa furrowed her brow in a daze of realization.

"Ace," She breathed quietly, though she finally gave Orph girly, confused eye contact, "I like that name."

"Fight Zed for that one, and I'll have everything I'll ever need," Orph stated through a playful chuckle.

Tessa finally smiled and peered down at the patiently glowing orb in her hands, though through teary eyes, she gave Orph a loving smile as he continued on.

"We have the best view in the whole game," Orph chuckled as he gestured behind Tessa though he delicately took another step back and motioned for Tessa to carry on, "You deserve to break ground. We may be the kings of the game, but a new castle is nothing without its queen."

"Thank you," Tessa urged through the crack of her voice. She inhaled a soft sniffle and hugged the warm orb closer to her center.

Orph nodded once, and though he gave Tessa a cheeky side-eye, as if to playfully insinuate that he owed her one, he melted back into the group of his brothers. Zed firmly pat his back, gripped his shoulder and lovingly shook it, to give him a proper, silent 'thank-you'. Orph crossed his arms, and as Tessa realized all eyes were on her, she let the warmth of the orb soak into her existence. The fact that her new family peered back at her and patiently waited for her to make a very large decision for the good of the game. She furrowed her brow, gazed down at the orb, and silently asked it to bear with her. She knew being wholly in charge of a game would feel nice, though she had no clue this overwhelming sweep of responsibility would feel so great. With a turn on her heel, she faced Ekreth at it's finest, and as the sun peeked in the East, which was to the left of the skyline, Tessa let a wide smile grace her cheeks.

As tears slipped down her face, she soaked in every single aspect of the game. The sharp, blue sky, the strange loss of cotton candy clouds, though she was impressed with the starkness of Dead Zed's white, powerful thunderheads on the horizon. The massive sprawl of neverending jungle that swarmed Ekreth like the kindest ivy, Tessa knew navigating this new, raw world was going to be a chore, though she also knew it was just the beginning to her test as the true princess of Sugar Rush, and true queen of Dead Zed. Through a deep inhale, she gazed down at the orb one last time, and with a single clip of her silver-circuit fingerprint, she solidified the destination of the code room, the destination of her new family, once and for all.

-To Be Continued-