Richard was hanging out with the tree racer guys while Vanellope caught up with her old pal, Ralph. It was still dark—apparently, as another outage had struck.

Richard let out a heavy sigh before slowly sliding down the wall to sit on the ground.

"Hmm?" Rancis asked, noticing. "Are you okay?"

Richard looked up, mumbling, "Uhh..."

At that moment, Gloyd plopped down on one side of him, and Swizzle joined by sitting on the floor in front.

"What's wrong?" Gloyd inquired

Richard sighed again. "I'm just worried about grandpa, that's all," he admitted. Then he added, "He must be worried sick! I bet he came in to open the arcade earlier and saw I wasn't there."

The three racer boys exchanged glances, each sporting a determined look—as if they all shared the same idea.

Rancis turned back to Richard. "Okay, starting tomorrow, you need to try and grab your grandpa's attention through a screen."

"Wait, what?" Gloyd blinked repeatedly.

"That's not what I was thinking at all!" Swizzle protested. "I was thinking he could try to find a spot where he gets phone service."

"Rancis, are you crazy?!" Gloyd snapped. "Richard can't do that! What if someone besides Litwack sees him?"

"He could do it at opening time," Rancis explained. "Before any of us even wakes up. Doesn't Litwack come in early to make sure everything's fine? Richard could get his attention then."

"Rancis... but we've been hiding the fact that we've been alive for years! That whole secret will come crashing down!" Swizzle argued.

Rancis folded his arms. "We can't have Richard's grandfather worrying about him. What are we gonna do—keep him here in secret forever while his family frets? Yeah, we haven't shown people we're alive, but one person can't hurt, right?"

"Technically, two people know," Swizzle pointed out, gesturing toward Richard.

Rancis sighed. "Yeah. We just need to think this through." He turned to Richard. "If we go with this plan, just make sure you tell your grandpa not to mention us... you know, in that sort of way. Game folks being alive,"

Richard nodded. "I'll try, Rancis."

"But how do we even get Litwack's attention? What camera is Richard supposed to stand in front of?" Swizzle asked. "Which game? We can't just wing this,"

Gloyd scanned the arcade's entrances. "Yeah. Just our luck that Litwack won't look at any screens once he comes in tomorrow."

Just then, Rancis snapped his fingers. "I got it!" He leaned in. "Litwack uses his computer every morning before fully opening—probably to check emails and stuff. Richard could hop into the Wi-Fi opening, but instead of going to the internet, he could find himself on the desktop computer! Remember the others said you could access that too?"

Swizzle nodded. "Sounds like a plan! At least it's more secluded from the players. If he misses his window, no one coming into the arcade would see him, since players aren't allowed in Litwack's office."

"Okay, so we do that tomorrow?" Richard asked.

The three boys nodded in unison.

"Yeah," Gloyd said as he took Richard's hand. "Come on, let's grab some root beer. The rest of the characters is heading over there once the power comes back on."

Richard smiled as he stood up.

"Looks like they're giving Vanellope a proper welcome back!" Swizzle grinned.

Richard took a long sip of his root beer and set the cup down with a contented "ahh." He then glanced over at the three boys gathered around the table.

"What's wrong?" Rancis asked.

"It's... well, it's been a long day," Richard replied.

"Well, for you!" Gloyd laughed. "You actually went to the internet! So, how was it?" He leaned his elbows on the table as he eyed Richard.

Richard blinked. "It was... interesting, to say the least," he admitted.

Then he smirked. "Or should I say... Internetresting—haha, ha..." Immediately, Richard cringed at his own pun, which sent the other three into fits of laughter.

"Oh my god!" Gloyd snorted. "Dude, that was terrible!"

Swizzle was practically cackling beyondbelief, and slammed his head on the table.

Rancis just shook his head slowly. "Didn't know you were into such awful puns," he teased.

Richard, still burying his face in his hands, mumbled, "That was so bad..." as he slowly looked up at his friends.

Gloyd giggled and playfully shoved Richard's shoulder.

"Ow!" Richard gasped, shooting Gloyd a mock glare.

Gloyd leaned over and teased, "Oh, you big baby! That didn't hurt!" while rolling his eyes in an exaggerated manner.

Pouting, Richard grabbed Gloyd's waist and started tickling him all over his sides and stomach.

Of course, Gloyd erupted into a fit of giggles. His sides were unbelievably ticklish, and the more he laughed, the more Richard tickled him. "R-Richard!" he managed between breathless laughs. "STHAHAHAOP!"

Across the table, Swizzle exchanged a glance with Rancis, who was sitting on the opposite side of Richard.

Rancis giggled, "You earned those tickles—for all the times you've pranked us."

"NOHOHO! I DOHOHOHON'T!" Gloyd shrieked in laughter, before playfully shoving Richard off him. Richard tumbled to the ground with a soft thud.

"Geez!" Rancis gasped.

Gloyd quickly apologized, "Oh my god... I'm so sorry!" He leaned down to help Richard up. "Are you okay?" he asked in a babyish tone, gently grabbing Richard's face and planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

Richard blushed fiercely, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead, while Swizzle chuckled.

Clearing his throat, Richard said, "So... yeah, I ran into Vanellope."

The three boys burst into laughter.

"W-What?" Richard blinked in surprise as their laughter continued.

"Seriously, the way you just kept chatting like nothing happened after all that tickling—haha!" Swizzle managed between giggles. "And you falling!

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" Richard muttered, covering his face with his hands.

Gloyd chuckled, "So you really ran into her? You must have been heading somewhere. Did you check out any sites on the way?"

Richard hesitated, recalling the 'site' he had visited—a building, really. "Uh... I—I tried to look up anything related to Kid Powers," he admitted, glancing at Rancis.

Rancis gasped knowingly, since they'd talked about this before. "Seriously? What did you find—" he began.

But Gloyd cut him off, blinking in confusion. "How do you know about Kid Powers?" he asked, then turned to Swizzle. "That's the legend, right? The one about us being alive?"

Swizzle nodded. "Yeah," he replied, then fixed his gaze on Richard. "How do you know about him? I wouldn't expect any human to."

Gloyd glanced at him, "Well, according to the legend, he was a game character created by a human—so it makes sense some humans know about him." Swizzle nodded in agreement. "Makes sense."

They turned back to Richard. "Did you find anything about him?" Rancis asked.

Richard opened his mouth to share the full story. He remembered, though, that he had never mentioned the dream that had sparked all this talk of this video game legend—and he wasn't really ready to dive into that. Instead, he asked, "Guys, the arcade's closed, right?" But if he was, he wanted to talk about it, somewhere quieter.

The others nodded. "Yeah, we went over that," Rancis confirmed.

"Storm is still out there," added Gloyd.

"Okay, how about we head back to the Penthouse in Fix-It-Felix? I want to talk to you guys alone," Richard suggested.

The three exchanged looks, but Gloyd smirked. "Alone, huh~?" he grinned. "Well, you can't get too weird with us—we weren't modeled with dicks—" Before he could finish, Rancis punched Gloyd's arm. "Dude!" he snapped.

Swizzle snorted, "Oh god, Gloyd..."

Richard blinked rapidly, trying to process Gloyd's offhand comment. "Then... how do you guys piss?!"

"PIFTTTTTTT!" Gloyd burst into loud laughter.

Richard blinked. "I mean, I've seen restrooms everywhere," he replied.

Rancis sighed with a slightly amused smile. "Well, Gloyd was exaggerating a bit. We do have, you know, privates. But they can't do—" he leaned in and whispered softly to Richard, "sex."

Gloyd snorted softly as he heard, "Yeah, they can't."

Richard blinked repeatedly. "O-Oh..."

"Unless you're a game character from a dirty game—then maybe they can," Swizzle chimed in. "Like House Party,"

Richard stared at Swizzle in disbelief.

"Alright, guys, we're clearly making him uncomfortable," Rancis said, giving Richard a reassuring pat on the back. "Come on, let's head back to the penthouse."

"Yes! Bed!" Gloyd exclaimed as he flopped onto the bed, landing on his back as soon as they reached the penthouse room. Almost immediately, Swizzle leaped onto him, clearly gearing up for a tickle attack.

"AHHH! NO, SWIZZLE!" Gloyd shrieked between bouts of uncontrollable giggles. "SWIZZ, GET OFFA ME!" he hollered, laughter filling the room.

At the foot of the bed, Richard simply watched them, a bemused expression on his face.

Rancis sighed playfully. "See what I have to put up with?" he teased the two.

Swizzle, still chuckling, slid off Gloyd and perched on the edge of the bed, leaving Gloyd a panting, disheveled mess.

"So... are you going to continue with why you wanted to speak privately with us?" Rancis asked.

Gloyd, still lounging on the bed, smirked mischievously. "He prolly' just wants to see all our belly buttons!" he joked.

Richard rolled his eyes. "Ugh, no! I... I just wanted to talk more about Kid Powers," he clarified.

"Oh!" Gloyd sat up, raising an eyebrow. "You could have just kept talking about him back at Tappers. You didn't have to turn it into a big secret."

"Seriously," Swizzle agreed with a small smile.

Gloyd shook his head. "No, no... It's just that Kid Powers seems to be part of some weird conspiracy in this arcade world. I didn't want everyone to overhear when I mentioned him." He settled on the bed, and Gloyd scooted closer, leaning his shoulder against his. "Vanellope found out about my search after KnowsMore blurted it out... and... she didn't seem too fond of me looking him up, for some reason."

Rancis nodded. "Yeah, some of us game characters down here aren't too keen on the whole Kid Powers talk."

Richard frowned. "Why not?"

Swizzle piped up, "For one, it's a conspiracy. So yeah, maybe about it around others might not be a good idea. Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I heard Kid Powers' name mentioned before now."

"Hm," Richard murmured, looking down. "Why would people hate it?"

Rancis sighed again. "Well, think about it: for game characters with some pretty awful backstories—like, say, Mom—people like her tend to dislike Kid Powers."

Richard squinted, trying to wrap his head around it.

Swizzle continued, "They figure Kid Powers is the reason why they turned out the way they are."

Richard blinked. "But... isn't that the fault of the programmer? Er, I mean, the writer?"

"True," Rancis agreed with a nod. "But remember, we weren't 'alive' until this whole Kid Powers conspiracy came about. Humans don't know we're alive—we were never alive until Kid Powers existed and, according to the story, made us come to life."

Richard turned his head back to Swizzle, as he talked again. "Yeah. So everyone who believes that Kid Powers was real, hates him because he's the reason they all suffered their back stories," Swizzle said.

Richard blinked repeatedly. "Wow... okay," he said quietly, his gaze dropping.

Rancis broke the silence. "So, what did you wanna talk about? About Kid Powers, I mean?" Rancis asked.

Richard hesitated, wrestling with his thoughts—should he tell them about the dream he had, or drop the subject entirely? Finally, he decided to open up.

"Okay," he began slowly. "I... for some reason, had a dream about him."

The three exchanged surprised looks. "What?" Rancis asked. "A dream?"

Richard nodded. "Yep."

Gloyd leaned in. "Did... you like, see him? Or...?" he prodded.

"No, it..." Richard shook his head. "I saw an arcade machine with 'Kid Powers' emblazoned above it on its roof."

The trio exchanged puzzled glances. "Huh? You mean you only saw the cabinet? Like, how our machines look from the outside?" Swizzle asked.

Still resting his head on Richard's shoulder, Gloyd asked, "Have you ever seen anything in your world that talks about or shows Kid Powers?"

Swizzle nodded. "Yeah, the story goes that he was once a game character. Maybe humans have seen it—maybe you've even caught a glimpse in your life somewhere."

"I swear, I haven't," Richard insisted. "I know nothing about Kid Powers. I've never seen him or heard of him—and I'm a video game nerd. I would have known about a 1980s superhero sidescroller,"

"Sidescroller? How do you know it was a sidescroller?" Richard asked.

"Oh... well, that's what it looked like in the dream... and—" Suddenly, Richard's eyes widened as he remembered something.

"Uhhh...?" Rancis blinked. "What is it?"

"I saw the machine in the internet..." Richard mumbled, his gaze fixed on the wall.

"How... did you?" Gloyd asked, his tone mixing surprise and curiosity.

"The game... it... KnowsMore mentioned that the site was showing a DNS error. I don't know why, but I was still able to access it—and there it was," Richard stammered. "The exact same machine I saw in my dream..."

Gloyd pulled away from Richard's shoulder and sat up, a perplexed look on his face. "You... you dreamed of something you were actually going to see? Are you secretly psychic or something?"

Richard's mouth went slack. He opened his mouth to respond, but then a flash of images—green grass, him running, jumping—flickered in his mind before snapping him back to reality.

He was just staring blankly at the wall.

The three racers noticed his sudden trance.

"Is he okay?" Gloyd whispered to Swizzle.

A heavy silence fell, stretching on longer than it should have. Finally, Richard muttered, "How... how old am I...? Where... where am I?"

Rancis leaned over, shaking Richard's shoulder gently. "Rich!" he urged.

Then there was a painful zap in Richard's mind, "Ah!" Richard gasped. He snapped back to reality. "Huh?!" he gasped. "W-What?" He looked up at Rancis, whose expression was filled with concern.

"Are you okay?!" Rancis pressed. "You totally blanked out and started saying random stuff!"

"I—I did?" Richard blinked in confusion.

"Yeah, you did. You sure you're alright?" Gloyd asked.

Richard rubbed his eyes. "I... I don't remember. What were we talking about?"

"You don't remember?" Swizzle echoed.

"We were talking about Kid Powers! And you mentioning something about seeing that machine in the internet," Rancis reminded him.

Richard tried to piece it together, but it was as if his mind had completely reset. He recalled catching a glimpse of Kid Powers when he went to the internet, but he couldn't remember how the conversation even started with the three.

"Hmm..." Richard murmured.

Still concerned, Gloyd asked, "Did someone just cast Obliviate on you?"

Rancis rolled his eyes. "Gloyd, be serious for once," he said, then turned to Richard. "If you don't remember, don't push yourself. We remember what you said."

"Yeah, but you didn't give us much info beyond that you saw the machine," Gloyd argued, earning a light punch on the arm from Rancis.

"OW!" Gloyd winced, rubbing his arm. "Uhhh... how about we change the subject? What are your favorite games, Richard?"

"We went over that, like the day he came here," Swizzle said with a grave expression.

"Now you have someone to cast Obliviate on you," Rancis joked.

Gloyd looked over at Rancis with blank expression, from him using his joke against him, and Richard couldn't help but chuckle softly as he sank back onto the bed. "Sorry, guys—I don't know why my mind just blacked out like that."

Gloyd plopped down beside him on the bed. "It's okay, Richard. It happens."

Richard eyed him. "So... you guys have been... 13 for a long time, huh?"

"I mean... technically we're physically 13, but we're as mature as adults," Gloyd said. "Comes with practically being immortal," he chuckled.

"That is, until our arcade's fuse burns out," Swizzle added.

"Ugh, don't say it like that!" Gloyd snapped. "Litwack would just replace it. It ain't hard to change a fuse,"

"So... you guys aren't really 13?" Richard asked.

"It's complicated," Swizzle explained. "We are, but we're not. We're a mix of childish and mature. We're programmed to act childish—throwing out silly remarks when races get heated—but being alive for over 30 years changes you eventually."

"Huh..." Richard gazed up at the ceiling. "You know, for some odd reason...I feel like I've been here for a long time myself,"

Rancis grinned. "You mean here in the arcade with us? It's only been a few days, but I get why you'd feel that way, haha."

"No—that's a different story," Richard giggled. "This weekend was super long, but probably the most exciting ever. But that's not what I meant." He rested his hands on his chest. "I mean, my life in general. It feels like it's on repeat, like the same cycle happening over and over. I'm in middle school now, and these three years I swear feels like they're stretching on for 30."

"Huh..." Swizzle blinked thoughtfully. "Have you considered therapy? That might help."

"Yeah," Rancis nodded in agreement.

"You guys have therapy here?" Richard looked over at the three.

"Hey, we're alive! Everything you humans can do, we can too!" Rancis declared.

"Except sex," Gloyd added with a smirk.

Swizzle snorted in amusement.

"Gloyd..." Rancis rolled his eyes.

Richard sighed. "Maybe I'll consider it when I get back... whenever that may be."

"Hey," Rancis said, moving closer to Richard. "If not, you can always talk to us."

That's when Richard's mind jumped to a sudden realization—are these three his... boyfriends now?

"Uhh... what exactly is our relationship?" Richard asked.

"Oh—" Gloyd blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Uh... well, we..." He exchanged glances with Rancis and Swizzle, whose expressions echoed the uncertainty. "Well, it's clearly something, isn't it?"

"You... you three know what polyamorus is?" Richard asked.

"Dude, of course we do! I'm in one with these two dorks," Gloyd replied, gesturing toward Swizzle and Rancis.

"Hey! I'm not the dork! You are!" Rancis snapped.

Richard blinked in surprise. "Whoa... really?"

Swizzle nodded. "Yep. We love each other a lot. And... we love you too, and we know you love us back."

"Another human trait—we can feel romance!" Gloyd grinned.

"Yeah, one day we just all started falling for each other. Vanellope even got a bit jealous—she had a crush on Rancis once. But when she realized that all three of us boys were head over heels for one another, she backed off," Swizzle chuckled. "And so did the rest of the girls,"

"You do not want to see Vanellope when she's got a crush!" Gloyd laughed.

Rancis rolled her eyes. "She was literally a yandere!"

"Okay, maybe she wasn't THAT horrible," Gloyd snorted.

Richard tilted his head, curious. "How do you guys know about all this stuff? I mean, how do you even know about yandere girls?"

"Humans love to talk," Gloyd smirked at Richard. "You folks just chatter nonstop, and we pick up everything."

Swizzle shook his head. "Man, the things I've overheard behind our wheel... damn."

Richard let out a soft, amused laugh. "Well, that makes sense. I'm sure you've heard some pretty weird things over the years."

Swizzle laughed. "Like that time someone mentioned drawing NSFW art of the Sugar Rush Racers. Yeah, that was a little weird," Swizzle laughed.

"Hope they drew my good side," Rancis added with a grin.

Gloyd burst into laughter. "Dude!" he cackled. "And don't even get me started on the fanfiction!"

"Yeah, I remember someone said they wrote a Gloyd Rancis fanfic," Rancis snorted.

"Seriously, that kinda happened. They'd probably flip if they knew," Rancis continued.

"Remember when Sonic came back from the internet that day?" Swizzle snorted.

"Bro looked absolutely horrified," Gloyd said, shaking his head.

"But he kept going back! He said he appreciated the art, no matter what it was," Swizzle added with a chuckle.

"My life feels like a fanfic," Richard said quietly.

"I'm sure it does! I mean, meeting your fictional crushes? Definitely!" Gloyd beamed.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Richard glanced upward at the ceiling before turning back to them. "So, how do you guys take off your shirts?"

Rancis blinked. "What?" He quickly glanced over to Richard.

"PIFFT!" Gloyd smacked his hand over his mouth, fighting to keep from giggling.

"N-no, I didn't mean it in a weird way!" Richard stammered, waving his hands frantically. "I mean, you guys have, like, cartoon heads!" He propped himself on his elbows. "How do you even put clothes on these things?" He reached out and lightly touched Gloyd's face. Then he looked up at Gloyd's pumpkin hat. "Can that come off-?" before anyone could stop him, Richard plucked the hat right off Gloyd's head. Gloyd gasped, eyes wide, as Richard immediately placed the hat on his own head.

"Wow..." Richard murmured, nearly swallowed by the oversized hat. "I can't see a damn thing."

Rancis started giggling softly. "You look adorable with Gloyd's hat!"

Swizzle laughed. "The way it's covering your face—haha!"

Gloyd grunted, snatched his hat back, and set it firmly on his head. "Don't take my hat again! It only comes off when I'm about to sleep!"

Richard chuckled. "It wouldn't even fit my head anyway."

Gloyd playfully rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we get it. Your head's smaller than ours."

After adjusting the hat to fit properly, Gloyd declared, "And we can take off our shirts just fine." He tossed his jacket onto the bed and smoothly slid his shirt off. It wasn't even noticeable that Gloyd did it. It just happened.

Now shirtless, Gloyd's display made Richard blush furiously.

Gloyd noticed and teased, "Oops... I forgot. This weirdo likes belly buttons." He covered his mouth and shot a playful glance at the others.

"You sure it's that? Or not because you practically stripped in front of him?" Rancis asked.

Swizzle burst into giggles.

"I didn't strip! I just took off my shirt!" Gloyd yelled, laughing.

Richard, feeling bolder now, decided to confess. "Fine, I admit it. I do like belly buttons. I don't really know why."

"Yes! He admitted it!" Gloyd cheered.

Rancis rolled his eyes at Gloyd's excitement before turning to Richard. "It's totally okay, Rich. We all have our own tastes, don't we? For example, Gloyd here loves cuddles more than anything."

Gloyd instantly blushed. "Hey don't give out my secrets like that!"

Swizzle laughed. "Yeah, the little prankster is such a cuddle bug."

Gloyd rolled his eyes plafully.

Rancis asked, "So, you like to look at them?"

"Definitely poke 'em," Gloyd giggled.

"Yeah," Richard nodded. "I like to touch them, feel them. I also love the belly itself... I've always wanted to cuddle on one."

"Awww," Rancis smiled warmly.

"Guess he's like Gloyd too—a cuddle bug, but belly edition," Swizzle laughed.

Rancis then took off his jacket and lay down on the bed. "Wanna lie on mine?" he offered, pulling his shirt up.

Swizzle giggled. "You've got three of us to choose from," he snorted.

Richard didn't know who to choose. If he wasn't feeling bashful before, he was feeling bashful now. In the end, he silently crawled over to Rancis and laid down on his stomach. Rancis smiled and gently patted Richard's head.

Gloyd settled down next to Richard, while Swizzle laid on the other side, nestling close to Rancis, and soon they were all snuggled together.

Richard's heart started to beat faster. Something in him, still couldn't believe this was happening. Meeting his fictional crushes in real life—and realizing they all liked him? It didn't seem real, but here it was.

He wasn't sure if he'd ever leave this alternate world, but he figured he might as well savor the moment. He snuggled deeper into Rancis's soft belly, completely at ease.

"Rich? I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you need to shower," Gloyd suddenly announced.

Rancis snorted. "Gloyd, be nice!" he giggled.

"Hey, as the cutie's new boyfriend, I gotta let him know, haha!" Gloyd chuckled.

Richard blushed, suddenly aware that he might actually smell. He lifted his head slightly. "Wait, you guys... you take showers?"

"Well, obviously!" Swizzle replied. "Remember, we use restrooms here."

That's when Richard realized he hadn't showered in days. "Why didn't it ever occur to me to shower?"

"Probably the excitement of being in a new place? You literally teleported here according to what you told us, so I don't really blame you," Rancis said kindly.

"Yeah, and it's kinda our fault for not mentioning the showers in the penthouse," Swizzle added.

"Oh... so there are showers in the rooms?" Richard asked, surprised.

"Some rooms don't have them—like the one you're in—but ours do," Rancis explained. Then, with a teasing grin, he ruffled Richard's hair. "Come on—Gloyd's kinda right. You're a bit stinky~"

Richard blushed and giggled. "Aww, but I was comfortable..."

"So was I..." Swizzle pouted, his head was leaning on Richard in a cozy manner.

Rancis chuckled. "Sorry," he said with a smile, then kissed Richard's cheek. "Go on, the restroom's just across the room through that door. Toss your clothes out the door when you take them off—I'll have the Nicelanders wash 'em for ya'."