Everyone in Niceland could count their lucky stars that by morning, things had returned to normal. Each and every citizen was back in their original form and not a thing was Blissed out of place.

"Aw man, what a night…" Felix sighed as he stepped out of his apartment, a little exhausted from the exploits he and the others had taken part in "I'd wish that it were Sunday again but knowin' OUR luck, somethin' else freaky might happen!"

The repair looked down the hall, the Nicelanders all filing in and out of their homes as they prepared themselves for work. He couldn't hold back a smile; yeah, they were a handful but at least they were now safe.

"Are you okay?" said Mary, holding warmly onto Gene's hands.

"I should be asking YOU that question my dear…" the mayor chuckled warmly, planting a kiss on his fiancée's lips "We both had such a rough night…."

Mary scoffed, pinching Gene on his cheeks "Rough? That's putting it LIGHTLY, dearie! After all, who was the one who ended up with the black eye?"

"I get MUCH worse when Ralph tosses me everyday!" the man laughed "A black eye isn't going to phase me!"

"Oh, but my threat of no pie for a week DID? Oh, Gene, you silly goose!"

"Dear…"

"Yeah, this is just the way things should be…" Felix nodded, whistling to himself as he boarded the elevator. He went down to the first floor but was caught off guard when of all people there, he did not see Ralph.

But instead, LUCY was sitting on the couch in the atrium, dressed sharply as usual but she didn't appear to be her usually bright and snappy self.

In fact, she looked rather down, tiny hands holding up her chubby, pouty cheeks.

"POOP."

"Ms. Lucy?"

The little woman looked over, sighing heavily "'Mornin' Felix."

"Say, is everythin' alright?" the man said, sitting next to his neighbor.

"Oh, things are just PEACHY…" the woman huffed, turning away from Felix "In fact, I couldn't be better! Nope! Things are just so great an' sunny an'-!"

Lucy felt a hand rest atop her shoulder, her eyes going to Felix as the man looked down at her, concern on her face.

"Nah-uh, I know somethin' us up an' its best ya tell me tha truth, young lady!"

"Oh Felix! I'm not that much younger than you so stop actin' like my dad!" the woman pouted again, crossing her short little legs.

"Lucille…."

"Oh….FINE. If ya wanna know what's buggin' me?"

Lucy looked at Felix; she couldn't avoid those eyes! They were going right into her soul! Try as she might, she could feel the power of the game's hero overcome her and after a few seconds of huffing.

"I-I-! I LIKED bein' Blissed, okay?!"

Felix jolted back a bit. Was that it? He knew that Lucy did seem to have fun in her new form but did it really bother her so much to be normal again?

"W-well, I guess I'm glad that ya had fun, 'cept for tha part where ya locked me up in tha closet….but ya know Lucy, I'm happy ta see ya in your Nicelander form! Its just who ya are…."

"Yeah?" Lucy grumbled "But guess what Felix?"

"What?"

"It STINKS."

The repairman blinked, the look on Lucy's face telling him there was more to her anguish than he first thought. Felix moved closer to Lucy, an arm going around her.

"Lucy….ya know if somethin' is botherin' ya, ya can always tell me."

"No…." the woman said "I mean…I mean this is too personal. I haven't even told Tony 'bout this because I know HE would chew me out about it."

"Well, if that's tha case I understand. Just know that if somethin' or someone ever does somethin' ta ya, ya can always come ta me for help! That's why I'm here!"

Felix smiled brightly at the young woman, Lucy feeling a bit of guilt coming over her. Wow, this was the man that she had ordered the others to THROW AND LOCK into a closet only a few hours before and despite that, he was still there. Still smiling at her and willing to help in whatever trouble she had.

Felix had always been there for the Nicelanders, and he wasn't going to suddenly turn his back on them now.

And with that, Lucy knew she had to come clean. If not to Felix, then who? She couldn't hold the truth back any longer.

"Felix, wait…"

"Yes?"

"Do ya….?"

This was just so hard.

"Do ya wanna know tha reason why I ENJOYED bein' Blissed? Tha real reason?"

"Yes, Lucy. I do…."

The woman wrung her hands together, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat.

"Because….because it was the first time in my life I had EVER felt real…"

Felix was a little confused; what had Lucy meant by that?

"Think about it for a second Felix. Before getting' Blissed, no one in tha arcade took us seriously...I mean, we're nothin' but JOKES around here."

Yeah, Felix knew about this all too well. In all his years in the arcade, there had been many a days when he had to be called out to get the Nicelanders out of some sort of trouble and it wasn't solely based on the tiny citizens getting themselves into trouble,

It was often because so many other LARGER characters made it their mission to harass the lot.

The infamous Turbo incident.

That was a day Felix would never forget and a day he wished never to relive.

"I've been so envious of others…" Lucy continued "They're so lucky ta be designed ta look half-way human but us? We're just walkin' eggs an' people are so ready ta break us because of it. But yesterday? Yesterday, I actually enjoyed goin' out ta tha station an' ya wanna know why?"

Felix shook his head no.

"Because no one messed with us. Even with all tha runnin' round we did, no one stopped us or tried to push us around or laughed at us for one reason or another. If we got inta trouble, it was because WE were actin' stupid, not because 'Oh, it's a Nicelander! Let's KICK 'EM!' or 'Hey! Someone smaller than us! EASY PREY!'"

Lucy couldn't help but feel a tad embarrassed. She always did a good job at hiding how annoyed she was with certain people by pestering the others but for the first time, Felix saw another side to the woman. She wasn't being overly bratty but a lot more sincere.

The mask had come off but Felix was upset by what he saw.

"Lucile, look at me…" the man said "There is nothin' wrong with ya."

The young woman didn't seem to take the man's words to heart, only putting another hand to her cheek "I'm tryin' ta believe."

"No, I'm serious!" Felix said in a serious tone "I've worked with ya guys for this long an' I respect ya!"

"Well….isn't that because we WORK together? I mean…."

"Lucy, look at me."

The woman turned, seeing the truth in Felix's eyes.

"There is nothin' wrong with bein' a Nicelander, Ms. Lucile."

"If there wasn't anythin' wrong, then why do people still mess with us?" Lucy sighed "I mean, it's like they WANT us ta be scared an' like remindin' us that we-!"

"Look, people are always gonna be jerky."

"Like us?"

"No. I didn't mean it like th-!"

Felix rubbed the bridge of his nose; how could he explain this to the young woman, especially when it was becoming more and more obvious that she very upset on the subject.

"Ya know, if these past few months have taught me anythin' here, it's that….it's that there are still so many problems here. Problems I WISH I could fix but even I don't have tha power ta do so."

A smile then came on the man's face, Lucy looking on.

"But if there is one thing I wanna make myself clear on, it's that I have NEVER viewed ya guys as anythin' less just because of tha way you're designed. Why would I?"

"I know you're tryin' ta be nice, Felix. I know ya are….but if only things were so nice an' sunny with ya in tha station…."

"Then lemme say this…." The repairman said "Lucy, I know you're better than ta think like that. Ta let people bully ya into thinkin' ya don't matter or that you're some plaything because of whatever reason. Ya gotta hold that head of yours up high, girlie!"

"But Felix-!"

"Nah, nah! Lemme finish! That whole Blissed thing? Yeah, it might have been INTERESTIN' but at tha end of tha day, those forms? They weren't ya. Lucy, those were just SKINS an' it should tell ya somethin' right away who people REALLY think when they start respectin' only when ya change tha OUTER BITS…"

Lucy thought for a moment, realizing that deep in her heart Felix did have a point. No one messed with them when they were more human shaped but the more she thought about past instances, the more she began to realize that some people only did care about the skins.

She remembered the many, MANY times when Mary had gone out of her way to be so sweet and kind to many characters. In some cases, the characters would react so positively towards her, drawn in by her kindness.

But in other cases….

In other cases, it never mattered how nice Mary was, how out of her way she had gone to make sure someone was happy, they still didn't see her as a person.

Just as another silly looking, easily throwable NPC.

And considering what Turbo had done to her so many years ago….

"Lucy, I know…I know I can't fix EVERY problem that comes here. I wish I could, but I can't. Just know this…"

"Yeah?"

"I will never, EVER think less of ya because of who ya are or your role here. I learned that tha hard way with Ralph, an' I'm not goin' back on tha promise I made ta EVERYONE."

Felix could see the woman's eyes starting to gloss over. She was trying to hide it but Felix's words had really reached her. She hadn't expected such words to come from him.

But in that moment, she knew Felix was telling the truth. HE wouldn't lie to her, his words coming from the very depths of his heart.

"I…."

The woman snorted haughtily, trying to hide the small tear coming down her cheek.

"For cryin' out LOUD, do ya always hafta be so SCHMALTZY?"

Lucy wasn't fooling anyone, especially Felix. The man gave the girl a cheeky grin, patting her on the head "Hey, I was just tryin' ta help…"

"Thanks."

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks Felix…" the woman said, though her eyes were now focused on the ground "Ya know it's hard out there. Even harder now ta me but…but it just feels good ta know that no matter what, there's…there's always someone there who doesn't care who or what ya are, or what your job is. They just like ya for…those inner codes I guess."

Lucy looked off to the side, shaking her head "Guess I forgot 'bout that with all tha 'attention' people have been givin' us. Hard ta stay so light when ya got people screamin' at ya constantly for being so me-"

Without so much as another word, Felix got down on his knee….

And hugged the girl.

"OH!"

"Just…just be you, Lucy." Felix said "Just be you…."

It's always surprising how the actions of one person can mean so much, Felix's words and his hug making the small Nicelander realize that even with everyone who had come and gone in the arcade, she was lucky. Lucky to have someone, anyone, who cared so much. Cared about their safety, cared about their lives.

Cared enough to help them up when they were down.

"Ya say that…" Lucy smiled, pulling away "But ya know, Genie always has a fit when I'm 'myself'…"

"Don't worry. I think he's startin' ta mellow out now that he proposed…."

"We shall see!" the woman snickered, going towards the elevator to prepare for work "We shall see, Mr. Fix-It!"

And as the doors to the elevator closed, Lucy was gone. Felix stood back up, tipping his hat up.

"Well, here's hopin' she'll feels better…."

"Felix?"

The man squeaked, turning around to see none other than his beloved wife standing around the other corner. Stealthy thing, wasn't she? Felix hadn't even got a sense that she was there.

"Dear? You're not upset too are ya?" the man asked, worry creasing on his face. Calhoun's lips curled into a sweet smile, reaching down and picking the man up in her arms.

"Felix, ya say there are things ya can't fix…." the woman said, holding the man warmly in her arms "But what I just saw? What ya said ta her? Felix, ya ARE a hero. Ya just don't know how much of a hero ya really are…."