Richard lay on his back across the bed, his hands resting gently on his stomach. The other three boys were scattered around him, snuggled comfortably against his sides. He let out a sigh, his mind still spinning from everything that had happened. He hadn't even realized how heavy the sigh sounded until Rancis spoke up, asking if he was okay.

"I... I don't know," Richard murmured. "I'm not sure."

"That's okay." Rancis pulled himself closer and pressed a soft kiss to Richard's cheek. "Just relax right now, alright? We're not going anywhere."

Richard smiled, turning his head to see Rancis smiling softly back at him.

"Yeah!" came Gloyd's familiar, boisterous voice. "You've got us!" He had been sprawling on his back between Richard's legs, but suddenly flipped over and pounced onto Richard.

"Oof!" Richard grunted, the air rushing out of his lungs as Gloyd slammed his weight down onto his chest.

Swizzle snorted from his spot on the left. "Gloyd, you gonna kill 'em or something?"

Richard just smiled warmly up at Gloyd. His heart ached with a strange, bittersweet feeling. They were so familiar, yet not familiar at all. Deep down, he knew he had known these boys long ago, but it also felt like he had only met them four days prior to now.

"What are you looking at~" Gloyd asked cutely, letting out a little giggle.

Richard's smile turned teasing. "Just your beautiful face~"

Gloyd flushed bright red and quickly covered his face with his hands.

Rancis laughed lightly. "Haha, awww~"

Still smiling, Richard relaxed back into the mattress, his hand rubbing soothing circles into Gloyd's back as the racer lay on top of him.

"I guess you're going to stay with us again?" Swizzle asked.

Richard thought it over. He still wasn't entirely sure what he wanted. He had the freedom to bounce between the game world and the outside as much as he pleased, but part of him just wanted to stick around. "I guess I can stay with you guys for a few more nights," he finally decided.

Gloyd beamed. "Yay!" he cheered, hugging Richard even tighter.

"Are you sure? Like, completely sure you want to stay here?" Rancis asked gently. "I mean, I understand you're actually a game character like us, but you were exposed to the human world for who knows how long. You probably shouldn't abandon it so suddenly."

Richard nodded, appreciating Rancis's concern. "I'll be okay, Rancis. I promise. I just want to be around you guys a little longer." After he said it, he felt Rancis plant another warm kiss on his cheek.

~~~~~~~~

Richard stayed with them that night. Instead of going back to the old room he had, he remained in the boys' room, the four of them cuddling together until morning.

The next day started like any other. The arcade characters headed off to their respective games for the day, leaving Richard behind in Game Central Station, since he had no active game to head too.

Vanellope was still hanging around, though she planned to head back to the Internet soon. She was sitting on one of the station benches, but after she started to burn off her hyperactive energy by standing on the seats, and running around.

"Geez, you're really energetic," Richard chuckled, watching the racer refuse to keep still.

Vanellope giggled and finally plopped down onto the bench. "Sorry, I can't help it! It's been so long since I had this much candy all at once. Sweets are kind of hard to come by in Slaughter Race, and Taffyta totally loaded me up on candy!" she explained, proudly patting her stomach.

Suddenly, Vanellope's stomach let out a loud gurgle. "Oop—" She blinked, staring down at her belly before looking sheepishly back up at Richard. "Hehe... maybe a little too much candy."

Richard laughed, tapping his fingers against the wooden bench. "You got a tummy ache? I thought you told me digital beings didn't get sick."

"Hehe, well, I'm not sick!" Vanellope smiled brightly. "But our tummies do make a lot of weird noises if we eat too much. Surprisingly, we don't really get sick from it, though."

"Ah, gotcha," Richard nodded. He leaned back against the bench, folding his arms behind his head as he looked over at her. His mind shifted back to the daunting task ahead of him. He needed to track down the scattered versions of Danger Kid. He figured they had to be hiding everywhere, especially out in the vastness of the Internet. And Vanellope was the only person he knew who knew the web like the back of her hand.

If he was going to traverse it, he needed her expertise. "You know your way around the Internet, right?"

Vanellope tilted her head at him. "Well, definitely not everywhere. The Internet is seriously huge. But I know the main hubs and how to protect myself. Why? Are you planning on going back out there?"

"Yeah," Richard said, his expression turning serious. "There's something I need to do there. It's a lot to explain, but I really need your help with it. You're the only friend I have who actually lives there."

Vanellope nodded resolutely. "Well, in that case—" She hopped right down from the bench. "Let's go then! You've got a lot to learn about the internet."

~~~~~~~~

The two of them exited the Wi-Fi shuttle right at the gateway of Litwak's website. Richard definitely wasn't thrilled to have ridden the pod again; it always felt like it was launching him at lightspeed.

"Okay, that..." Richard looked slightly green, as if he were on the verge of throwing up as he stumbled onto the walkway. "That was horrible. It's always horrible."

Vanellope just giggled. "Haha, you get used to it!"

As they made their way toward the main hub, Richard finally gathered the courage to ask her something that had been weighing on him.

"Vanellope?" he started.

The little candy racer twisted her upper body toward him without breaking her stride. "Yeah?"

"You..." Richard let out a shaky sigh. "You really don't mind that I'm... Kid Powers?"

Vanellope blinked, her gaze dropping to the floor for a second before she looked straightforward again. "I already told you. You were there for me. So, for me to feel any kind of disgust toward you would be very, very rude of me," she stated simply.

They walked a little further in silence before she added, "Besides, you told me it was a virus that made us alive, not you."

"Yeah, I..." Richard took a wavering breath as sudden, unbidden tears pricked the corners of his eyes. It just hit him all at once. His entire life still felt like it made absolutely no sense. He quickly wiped his eyes, trying to hide the fact that he was crying.

But Vanellope glanced over and caught him. Without a second thought, the racer dropped everything, threw her arms around Richard, and hugged him tight. "Shh, it's okay! I'm totally serious when I say I don't care what you are. Really, I don't! You're a great guy, definitely not the evil warlord all those crazy theories make Kid Powers out to be."

Richard sniffled. That wasn't the sole reason he had broken down—though it was certainly part of the mix—it was just how overwhelmingly cloudy and chaotic his mind had been lately. "Well, it's not me. It was never me. It was Danger Kid."

Vanellope nodded understandingly. "Right. That's what you told me." She pulled back from the hug and hopped into place in front of him, accompanied by a game ding sound.

Richard wiped the last of the tears away. "Danger Kid is split. He's scattered all over, he told me so himself. I don't know what his endgame is, but I reckon it's nothing good." He locked eyes with Vanellope. "It would take me forever to find all his fragments by myself. I can't do it alone. I need someone to teach me how to navigate the inside of the Internet. I mean, I know how it works from the outside looking at a screen... but I need help in here. I don't know why, but my gut tells me the Internet is going to be the key to finding a large chunk of his... uh, 'minions'."

Vanellope didn't even hesitate. "I'll help you. I'll do my absolute best. Danger Kid sounds seriously dangerous, and he definitely proved it when he messed with my game. I'll help in any way I can."

Richard nodded, a renewed sense of determination washing over him. "Okay," he said. "Let's go, then. It might take a while to find anything."