Yes, it's short! My apologies, really, but I wanted to get this out of the way so I can do more fun stuff. I hope the explanation wasn't too confusing for you.

Explain to Me

"Okay, tho…explain it to me again?"

Felix sighed, pulling his hat off to rub his forehead. "Well…it's like this. When Turbo went into Diet Cola Mountain, his coding was fried…or so we thought."

"Yeth, I got that part," King Candy nodded. "But…how did you explain how we're both here?"

"Well…" Felix put his hat back on, rubbing his hands together. "Maybe it's better to show you than just tell you."

.o.o.o.o.

"Can you see it?" Felix called.

The handyman was floating within the void of the code vault, a licorice rope tied around his waist. He was near where King Candy's code box was, now broken into two sparking halves. Felix kept his distance, not wanting to accidentally cause anymore damage.

"Yeth, I can thee it," King Candy confirmed.

The cybrid was standing in the code vault entry hall, head stuck through the vault's doorway to better see where Felix was. It still worried him that outsiders could get into the code vault like this. It was asking for trouble, really…but Vanellope trusted them…and she was in charge now…so he had to trust her judgment…even if he didn't like it one bit…

"See how your code box is…well, broken?" Felix asked.

"Yeth, I can thee that. How in candy caneth name did that happen?!" the monarch barked, dread creeping in as he saw his code box's ruined state. "Did Turbo do that?"

"No," Felix shook his head. "Though he had a hand in it, as unwilling as it was. I think this was caused by Turbo flying in Diet Cola Mountain. The hot cola damaged Turbo so badly that it sunk into your code box, melting it in two."

"That can happen? I thought only virutheth can damage thomeone'th code box directly," King Candy argued.

"Viruses are the usual cause of code destruction, but anything significantly damaging to one's code can damage the code box. Though I'll admit it, I've never seen a code box cut in two before, so I'm kind of iffy about the cause…but that's the only thing that makes sense," Felix pointed out nervously.

"I gueth," King Candy muttered, drawing back.

"Anyhow, Turbo could only integrate himself into Sugar Rush by weaving his coding into it. While creating his own custom avatar could've been done, he found himself in luck…I guess," Felix said. "Your coding, incomplete as it was, was still present within the code vault. Somehow, Turbo got into the code vault, found your code fragments, and mixed your codes so he could take on your avatar."

"Thuth letting him trick everyone into thinking he wath me," King Candy guessed.

"I'm afraid so," Felix confirmed sadly. "Your avatar was only able to hold together thanks to Turbo's complete coding. Without him, you'd still be code fragments in here."

"How ironic thince he cauthed thith whole meth…" the cybrid grumbled sourly.

"Now then, as for why you're here now," Felix continued. "From what we can guess, and the evidence we have here—" He indicated the broken code box. "—it looks as though both your codes were cut in half thanks to Diet Cola Mountain. Since Turbo's code is complete and yours is…fragmented…you only really exist here because of Turbo's code. Without it, your avatar would never be able to hold up in this world."

"And…thith?" King Candy gestured to his cy-bug frame. Felix sighed, looking helplessly at him.

"Well, Turbo was already infected with cy-bug coding. When he got destroyed by Diet Cola Mountain, I guess the virus managed to survive. And when your code box, taken over by Turbo's coding, got cut in two thanks to all the damage by the cola, I guess the cy-bug virus automatically split between both of you in order to save itself from deletion," Felix explained. "Of course, this is all a guess, but it sure explains why you're both cy-bug…things…right now."

"But you thaid you haven't theen Turbo yet. What if you're wrong and he'th not…like thith?" King Candy gestured to himself again.

"The presence of cy-bugs alone tells us Turbo has to be like you. He managed to avoid being completely consumed by the virus once, after all. It'll be no shock if he can do it again," Felix admitted.

"Then why wathn't I conthumed by it?" King Candy asked.

"I'm not sure," Felix shrugged. "You're just a skeleton code…or were. It should've been very easy for the cy-bug virus to have consumed you. Then again, cy-bugs become what they eat. Maybe it's not a matter of the virus consuming you but making you a part of its own code…or making itself part of your code."

"…Hath thith happened to anyone elthe?" King Candy questioned.

"Not that we're aware of," Felix replied. "Calhoun has never seen it happen back in Hero's Duty. Then again, the game usually ends before anything to that extent can occur. Outside of arcade hours, the soldiers don't interact with the cy-bugs at all since they're sealed up in their base. If it has ever happened before, the instant reset between rounds would automatically return everything to normal before it could become permanent."

"…That'th confuthing," King Candy pointed out.

"I know," Felix chuckled. "But that's how Calhoun explained it. Apparently, you and Turbo are the only cases where the cy-bug virus has been able to permanently place itself within your code. It doesn't help that Turbo was already infected before your code box got cut, so you would've been infected no matter what."

"Ith there anyway to turn me back to normal?" the cybrid hesitantly asked.

"I…" Felix sighed, looking away. "We're not sure yet. From the look of things, nobody's too keen on testing anything like that until Turbo's dealt with. As long as he's running around…"

"Thugar Ruth ith in danger," King Candy muttered softly. He stepped back into the vault hallway. "It'th all right, Felix. I underthtand. Thugar Ruth mutht come firtht. Once Turbo ith caught, then we can worry about me."

"I'm sure we'll find a way to get you back to normal!" Felix yelped, reeling himself into the doorway and scurrying after the cybrid. "Don't you worry! Once Turbo's gone, I'm sure we'll have this mess of yours fixed in a jiffy!"

King Candy chuckled. "Perhapth," he nodded. "I can afford to wait. No ruth…"