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It was a normal day just like any other. The arcade was filled with the sounds of games being played, quarters sliding in & idle chatter.
Turbo was about to earn his 10th win of the day. Eyes narrowing at the finish line, he hit the gas pedal for final boost of speed, Charger & Diesel right on his tail.
As he whizzed past the finish line he shouted his ever iconic catchphrase, "Turbotastic!"
The game teleported him & the twins to the podium, trophy in hand. "Turbotastic!" He exclaimed again.
Once the face on the screen disappeared, he turned his attention towards Charger, about to start their usual post-race banter. "Better luck next time fellas-"
His taunting came to a halt when he saw that Charger was gone.
He let out a small 'Huh?' as he turned to Diesel, who wasn’t on the podium either.
Did they leave already? Maybe they're upset that they lost... no, that doesn't sound like them! Charger always preached about how losing meant there was room for improvment! And Diesel never seemed upset no matter how many times he'd lose.
Something wasn’t right.
Then, from beyond the screen, in a cabinet opposite from theirs, he saw them.
Charger & Diesel! They're... in Roadblasters? What were they doing over there? How did they get over there? And why didn't they bring him along?
Yeah, something definitely wasn’t right.
He set the trophy down & jogged towards his car, then stepped on it as hard as he could.
As he cruised through his game's power cord & into Game Central Station, he wondered what he must’ve done to make the twins ditch him like that. They were practically like brothers! They did everything together! So what went wrong?
Maybe his antics have getting too chaotic lately? Did he forget an important date? Should he let them win once in a while?
Or maybe they finally got tired of his nonsense.
He shook his head. No. Don't say that. They love you. Maybe they're just planning a surprise for him.
Yeah, that's it. Just a big, nice surprise party where the twins definitely dont hate him.
As he reached the grassy plains of Roadblasters, he called out, "Charger! Diesel! Are you there?"
Nothing.
"C'mon guys! I saw you over here just a minute ago!"
Where could they...?
He hit the brakes once he saw the terrifiying sight before him. All of the cars from RoadBlasters looked like they've been in the nastiest car crash ever, with the world around them glitching & breaking apart.
He jumped out of his car faster than lightning as he ran over to the wreckage. Oh Ojata, what if the twins were in there!
"Charger!" He yelled. "Diesel! Can you hear me!?"
He turned around at the sound of two very familiar voices.
It was the twins again! They were back in TurboTime, both banging on the screen's glass as they cried, "HELP! SOMEBODY COME HELP!"
In the corner, he saw a shadowy figure pulling the plug on their game.
"No! Stop!" He shouted as he ran towards the twins, not even noticing how everything around has faded to black.
But it was too late, he was too late.
Charger & Diesel screamed as they were sucked into a void of pixels, hugging eachother for the very last time.
"NO!" Turbo cried as he shot out of bed. He was panting, heart pounding in his ears, & tears pricking at his eyes.
As he scanned the room infront of him, he realized it was all just a nightmare.
A stupid, stupid nightmare.
He violently wiped the tears from his eyes but they just kept pouring. Ugh, he must’ve looked so pathetic right now. He hated crying.
"Turbo!" The twins exclaimed as they burst through the door. They ran over to him in a panic.
"What happened?" Asked Charger, followed by Diesel's "Are you hurt?"
"No, no, im fine, i just-" Turbo groaned before taking a deep breath. "I had... a nightmare."
"A nightmare?" Charger repeated as he gently sat at the edge of the bed. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
Turbo closed his eyes for a moment, trying to collect himself.
Then he opened them once more, & spilled his guts out.
As he spoke, Charger adorned a more sympathetic expression, while Diesel gave him a pitying look that he absolutely despised.
"And that's that." He concluded. He grew frustrated as he tried to rid his eyes of tears, all in vain. "Ugh! Why can’t i just stop?! Im supposed to be the brave daredevil! The one whose not afraid of anything! Yet here i am, sobbing & sniffilng like some sort of-"
His rant had ceased as Charger hugged him. Diesel leaned on his shoulder.
"Hey. Tough guys can cry too." He said, in that soft voice that made Turbo's breathing & his heart slow down significantly.
"This is about that other Turbo, ain't it?" Charger asked softly.
"Y-yeah." Turbo choked out. "Im scared. Scared that one day i'll end up like him. I know im not excatly the best decision maker, & i come up with all these crazy stunts to get people to like us, but." He sniffled. "But I dont wanna hurt anyone, especially not you two."
Charger held his cheeks, lifting his head up so they see eye to eye. "You listen to me & you listen good, you're not that Turbo, never was & never will be, ya know why? It’s cause you care. What you said just now only proves my point. Sure, you're a handful sometimes, but I know you always mean well."
Turbo smiled, then he, Charger & Diesel joined for a group hug. "I dunno what i'd be without you guys."
The twins simply chuckled.
To this day, Turbo has never slept better than that night, save in his brothers arms.