Author's Note: I can't even believe this is over. This story has consumed my life since December. Half a year! I'm very sad and yet very pleased to be coming to the end. I wrote this epilogue months ago and it's just been a matter of time getting to it. To the many of those who have asked if this is a trilogy: no, it is not. I have no immediate plans to write a third part, although I may write more short fiction that takes place within this headcanon/timeline. But as for this actual story, no. This was the end of the plot I envisioned.

To all of the folks who actually hung on and followed through with me to the end: thank you. So much. I couldn't have done this with out you. A huge thanks to my editor, Lava, and to all of the people who encouraged me throughout writing this. I'm very proud of this work and it's been a pleasure to share it with you. Feel free to contact me on tumblr at 'ask-ktb-and-the-twins' if you have any other questions about the fic or the ending or anything. Thank you again. It's been a lot of fun!

Epilogue

Ted climbed out of Fix-It Felix, Jr,'s rattling little tram cart, turning to look back at Ned and Turbo behind him. Turbo was leaning forward a little in the seat, his body obviously tense as he focused the better part of his energies just on keeping his code together. He glanced a bit tensely at Ned, who carefully climbed out onto the platform and offered him a hand."You doing okay?"

"Y-yeah," Turbo muttered, taking Ned's hand and squeezing it tightly as he pushed himself out of the cart as well, relying more on Ned's tug than on his own legs' ability to hoist himself out.

Ted led the way ahead of them, smiling to himself, a halfway-forced smile that mixed his excitement at being outside of Sugar Rush with concern over Turbo's condition. He was doing his best to stay upbeat, to direct the tone of their visit to a positive one. It wasn't every day the unplugged racers were invited to a party, and Ted intended for them to make a good impression. As much as he couldn't care less what the rest of the arcade thought of him any more, he was determined, for Turbo's sake, to be an upstanding party guest.

Ted let out a soft breath and he apartment building glowed warmly in the game's dark atmosphere. The music from the party could be heard even before the tram carts had reached the game's platform. The racer tipped his chin upwards to the penthouse, watching the vague shadows and indicators of movement. He hadn't been invited to a party in this game (nor any other) since his own game had been unplugged. Though he had crashed a few, that was generally for the purpose of making a scene. Being here, being invited, being a 'guest'...it felt like the old days.

Turbo, however, had no such recollections. Though he may have had fond (or at least, not terrible) memories of past parties and visits to Fix-It's, he was too busy focusing on walking to do much else now. Even after days of working on his code, every step was still a struggle, but to his great relief, he was still moving, leaning slightly on Ned for support. He felt his right knee give a bit and he toppled somewhat into the other racer, who caught him immediately. "Careful, careful," Ned said gently, looping his arm through Turbo's and helping pull him upright. Normally Turbo would have pushed him away, refused the gesture or at least made a complaint about it, but today he didn't bother. A few of the Nicelanders were milling about at the front steps of the building, glancing in the direction of the trio suspiciously, but for the first time in Turbo's life, an unusual thought ran through his head: why do I care what they think anyway?

"You're early!" Felix called as he hurried down the front steps and toward them. "I was goin' to meet you at the platform!"

"It's fine," Ted said, smiling the most genuine smile he could manage. "It didn't take us as long to get through Game Central as we expected. Which is a good thing." He glanced back at Ned and Turbo. Ned was smiling politely and Turbo was looking up at Felix, quite belabored.

"How's he doing?" Felix asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Turbo snapped. For the first time, he seemed to actually notice his surroundings, his glare softening a little as he took in the apartment building, the outlying trees and the deep blue sky above. It had been ages since he had been here. Or anywhere, other than that blazing bright Sugar Rush landscape.

Ned patted Turbo's arm lightly and smiled. "Thanks for inviting us, Felix."

"Well, come on up!" Felix said quickly, moving toward the steps. "The party's just started, and there's plenty to eat and drink and..."

Ted took a step forward, but he glanced back at Ned, and then to Turbo, who had returned his attention to Felix with a weary expression. "I...don't know if we'll be able to make it up," Ted said quietly. Turbo glanced at him with a faint glare, but he didn't argue. "I don't think we'll be able to stay long anyway."

Felix perked, looking from Ted back to Turbo and musing quietly, "Oh, I see..." A hopeful smile sprung back onto the handyman's features and he looked up at Ted once more. "Well, how about I have a few drinks brought down here then?"

So it was that the three racers found themselves sitting on the front steps of the Fix-It Felix, Jr. apartment building, sipping at drinks while Felix himself catered to them. At first the twins assured him he didn't need to go to any trouble for them, but the handyman was eager to please and happy to have them, so eventually they relented and let him serve. "Oh, Turbo," he said, having just run off and come back again after fetching a second round of drinks (Turbo had refused to accept a second, his hands shaking a bit much to hold a glass.). Turbo glanced up at Felix, looking haggard, but he perked at the sight of a pie held between the handyman's hands. "We fixed this up for you earlier. Cherry, right? I thought you'd like to have it. Fresh out of the oven."

Turbo swallowed, hesitating before he reached out a trembling hand for the gift. Felix handed it over to him with a smile, gently laying a fork across the top. "I hope you can still enjoy it."

"Oh, he will," Ted said slyly.

Ned tipped his head on its side with a smile, giving Felix the 'thank you' that Turbo hadn't offered.

Turbo shifted a little in his spot between the twins, managing to get the fork in one hand, steady enough to stab it into the crust. With a little maneuvering, he got a lump onto the fork and and carefully directed it to his mouth. This was it, this was his favorite, yes. It was almost better than the one the twins had brought him before, if that was possible. He hummed with pleasure, returning the fork to the pie eagerly. Ted chuckled lightly and put his arm around Turbo's shoulders to gave him a light squeeze, but Turbo ignored him entirely. One thing at a time.

Felix sat with them a little while and chatted with the twins. Turbo was unable to participate for the most part, unable to spread his attention much more than he already was doing. Yet sitting on the steps of the apartment, he found a strange distant memory playing itself out in his head: Felix and himself sitting here, one night long long ago, while he was complaining bitterly about something or other the twins had done to annoy him. And Felix had said something...something like..."You should be grateful to have friends like them in your game!" And he'd scoffed, something about 'friendship' being a worthless notion, and gone back to his rant.

Turbo raised another bite of pie to his mouth, chewing it thoughtfully.

Felix had been right, and Turbo had known it even then. And the twins...

He coughed suddenly as a glitch shuddered through him. The twins looked at him quickly. Red pixels slipped in Turbo's avatar and seemed to have trouble forming up again. "That's our cue," Ted said quickly, standing. Felix looked from Turbo to the twins urgently.

"Will he be alright?"

"Oh, yeah," Ted said, leaning down over Turbo. "We just gotta go."

Turbo tried to stand but found the glitching prevented him. His avatar wouldn't move, and the pie plate slipped from his useless hands to the ground. "Okay, Turbo," Ned said lightly, slipping his arms under Turbo's legs and behind his back, lifting him easily. A little glitch gave Ned a spark, but he only shook it off, looking back at Felix. "Thank you again, Felix!"

Felix was looking after them anxiously, nodding a bit, and looking helpless. "Be careful going back!"

Ted saluted and turned to go, walking quickly with Ned at his side, Turbo curled up, glitching and flinching in Ned's arms.

He barely remembered the return journey. He was only halfway conscious and for the most part, the glitching robbed him of his senses. He knew Ned carried him the rest of the way back (he could feel the warmth of the twin's arms around him). He vaguely recalled being in Game Central and thinking a bit bitterly, I do still care what they think of me; they think I'm pathetic. Then briefly, maybe at least they won't think I'm a threat to them anymore. Then everything seemed to slip away and he knew only darkness and a break from the discomfort of his glitching code.

Ted and Ned managed to get Turbo back to their room without running into trouble. To their great relief, he didn't change back into the cybug when they returned, but remained silently in Ned's arms, original avatar intact. He had passed out entirely by that point, but seemed otherwise alright, so they loaded him into Ned's kart and the three of them took off for the palace.

They got Turbo back to their room, where one of the usual guards was waiting at the door, yawning sleepily. He let them in without a word and closed the door behind them.

Ted pulled back the cotton candy blankets and Ned lay Turbo gently in the center of their oversized bed. Then Ted nodded toward the door, stepping back. "We've gotta report to Vanellope."

Ned hummed softly, kneeling on the edge of the bed. "We don't have to right now," he whispered.

Ted tilted his head, smirking a bit knowingly. "Come on, it won't take long. He'll be here when we get back."

Ned stuck out his bottom lip a bit in a pout, then pulled his legs up on the bed and lay himself down next to Turbo. Ted shook his head with a smirk, stepping back over to the bed himself. "Come on, Ned, we can do this later."

Ned scooted himself over against Turbo's side, looking up at Ted quietly. "You want to do it too."

Ted still smirked, shaking his head at his brother. "Later."

Ned stuck out his bottom lip again, then he shifted about, leaning over Turbo and carefully pulling the helmet off the other racer's head. He rolled the helmet over the edge of the bed where it clunked and rolled against the floor, then he settled back in, smiling up at Ted. "Now you have to."

Ted laughed softly, glancing aside. He let out a sigh. "Alright, alright...But she's gonna be mad." The racer climbed onto the bed on Turbo's other side and moved into place, lying down so that the twins had sandwiched the smaller racer between them. He gazed silently at Turbo, looking peaceful and rather childish with his scruff of hair hanging over his forehead. "Dammit, Ned...He's cute."

Ned smiled, wrapping an arm around Turbo and snuggling up against him, breathing out contentedly. Ted smiled a little and closed his eyes, stretching himself out before relaxing. He hadn't noticed, but his body had been tense the whole day. Ever since Turbo decided he wanted to try going to Felix's. To be perfectly honest, Ted had been terrified. What if something happened? What if they couldn't get him back in time? The whole day had been nerve-wracking. At least it was over, and it went well...and Turbo was alright.

There was a light knock at the door and Ted opened his eyes, glancing over. "Come in."

The door opened by the guard beyond and Sour Bill shuffled in a few steps before pausing, looking in at them dully. "...I wanted to see that...he was alright."

"He is," Ted said, smiling.

Sour Bill nodded, looking if anything the slightest bit anxious "Good. Well. I'll...be off then."

"Sour Bill," Ted said softly. The green candy ball looked up at him. "Come on over here."

Sour Bill hesitated, then with an eagerness that was unlike him, he clattered to the side of the bed, looking up at the racer with large eyes. Ted smirked and reached down a hand. The Sour Ball rather nervously reached out one of his green jellybean hands in return and Ted gently lifted him onto the bed. With some help from the racer, he soon found himself wedged in between Ted and Turbo, blinking. "There you go," Ted purred, "now this is where you wanted to be anyway, isn't it?"

Sour Bill was clearly uncomfortable, but he perked as Turbo shifted slightly against him and reached out an arm, tugging the little green candy in against him. The royal assistant blinked a bit uncertainly at Ted, then took a soft breath as a glitch ran the length of Turbo's body, flickering him briefly to King Candy's avatar and back. Ted leaned his head on his arm. "I take it this isn't the first time you've done this."

"No sir," Sour Bill said quietly, although it was obviously the first time he had done it with anyone else around.

Ted smiled at the little candy quietly. On Turbo's other side, Ned seemed to have already drifted into sleep, and Turbo was obviously long gone, although somehow it seemed he had garnered some comfort from taking Sour Bill under his arm. Ted let out a breath tiredly and relaxed against the bed. He balled a fist and gently brushed his knuckles against Sour Bill's cheek. The candy looked up at him vaguely.

"Thanks," Ted said softly. "For looking out for him. Even though he lied to you and, to be perfectly honest, you didn't even know who he really was...Thanks. He needed somebody, and you were there for him when nobody else was. I don't know, maybe he just programmed it that way, but..."

"I was always honored to serve him," Sour Bill said, with a voice that suggested he wasn't, yet Ted was getting better at reading that misguiding tone. "I still am...when I'm able."

Ted closed his eyes with a smile, sighing through one last sleepy chuckle.

When Turbo awoke, he was back in the oversized bed in the twins' room at the palace. Ted was fast asleep in front of him and Ned had an arm wrapped around him from behind. He was also surprised to find that he had Sour Bill tugged up against his chest, the little candy quite contentedly asleep there under his right arm. Lifting his arm carefully from Sour Bill, he shifted around a little, trying to free himself of Ned's embrace and eventually managed to sit up, the twins and Sour Bill unaware of his movements on either side.

He looked down at his hands—still familiar grey skin, thank programmers. He had made it to another game and back, as himself. It was an enormous success, but he was still troubled by how debilitating the glitching made him. He raised a hand to brush at his temples, rubbing the short cropped hair at the sides of his head and frowning. He perked as he felt a hand at his shoulder, turning just in time as Ted tugged him back down with a flop onto the bed. He grimaced, looking at the twin who smiled sleepily over at him.

"Morning, Turbs."

"Morning, Idiot."

"Aww, aren't you in a good mood," Ted murmured with a smile, nuzzling his cheek up against Turbo's shoulder. Turbo frowned but didn't push him away, still feeling rather weak and subdued.

"Where's my helmet?"

"Don't know," Ted purred dismissively, closing his eyes again and settling in. "Doesn't matter."

Turbo scowled up at the ceiling and said nothing, clenching and unclenching his hands slowly. Ned shifted around on his right, still fast asleep and breathing quietly. There were no engines running yet. The room was silent. "How long did I last yesterday?" he asked. "Before I glitched?"

Ted was silent for a moment, breathing in deeply and back out. "Forty-three minutes, I think. New record."

There was a certain vague sense of confidence, of freedom, that came with that thought. It was strange, because he had finally settled into the idea of living in Sugar Rush, of staying here and being content with that. Yet the freedom to come and go, to be a part of this larger community of the arcade (whether they wanted him to be or not) brought its own feelings of significance. If he could just get the hang of this, then...well, then who knows. The gli-Vanellope-would be eager to hear about this. He was partly surprised she hadn't assaulted them first thing when they'd returned. Although, maybe she had. He'd been unconscious after all.

"Turbs," Ted said softly.

Turbo turned toward him with a frown. "Don't call me that. What?"

Ted opened his eyes, stifling a yawn. "Vanellope came in here last night, she woke me up...to see how you did over at Fix-It's." He was unable to stop the yawn and let it out with a wide jaw before settling back in against Turbo's shoulder. "She said...she wants you to race the roster today."

Turbo raised a brow at him. "But I didn't glitch to the cybug this time."

"No, no," Ted said. "She just wants you to be in the races. As King Candy, that is." He stifled another yawn, leaning his head against Turbo's. "The other racers agreed, though I'll bet it took some convincing...but you can be in play for the day. If you want."

Turbo blinked at him slowly, his yellow eyes wide and disbelieving. "Really...?"

"Yup," Ted said, smiling sleepily. "Woulda' woken you up to tell you, but you looked so cute there..."

Turbo blushed, pushing at the other racer. "Alright, alright-enough!" He huffed, letting the idea of being a playable character again settle into his mind. Racing—really racing! With a gamer at the controls. Why would Vanellope would do this for him?!

Ah, of course. He did owe her after all. He smirked faintly. Well, admittedly, he had to be impressed by her craftiness. It was about the only thing he'd ever found remotely impressive about her.

While he was lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice as Ted leaned over to him, planting a light kiss on his cheek before he settled back in close against him. Turbo blushed deeply as he stared at the ceiling above, listening to Ted's stifled chuckles at his side. After a moment, the other racer cleared his throat and settled down and the two of them lapsed back into comfortable silence, both considering the future that now lay before them.

"So you're gonna race again," Ted murmured finally. "Like the old days."

"I guess so." Turbo continued to stare at the ceiling, trying to brush away the feeling of disbelief that still lingered in his thoughts.

"And you're...still Turbotastic?"

Turbo glanced over at Ted slowly. The other racer was smirking expectantly, extending one hand just over Turbo's chest. Turbo stared at that hand, silent, considering that thought-still Turbotastic-until Ted cleared his throat again and gave him a little encouraging nod. Startled from his thoughts, Turbo swallowed and drew in a deep breath, nodding as he grabbed the offered hand tightly in his own.

"I've always been Turbotastic."