Samurai Profile.
Pseudonym: Teddy.
Given Name: Classified
Primary tool set: Robotic Brigade (Animal Theme)
Secondary tool set: Lures and Fortifications.
Home base: Calgary (Undercity)
-It should be noted Teddy’s main facility houses her civilian adoptive siblings. Of whom she is very protective, approach with caution.
Current Location: Beneath the Rocky Mountains near Jasper.
Samurai Profile.
Pseudonym: Cassy the Clown
Given Name: Classified
Primary tool set: Weaponized semi autonomous Novelty Items.
Secondary tool set: Non-Weaponized semi autonomous Novelty Items.
-The items in question exhibit high levels of autonomy, far beyond what should be possible by base level AI. Protectorate AI have refused to comment when queried.
Home Base: None
Current Location: Calgary (Undercity)
From the Family’s Data systems.
***
“Barty, that is a squirrel, I thought you said the Calgary lady had teddy bears?” Said Cassy to the voice in her head, as she strode through the streets of the undercity.
From what I’ve gathered, she started off with just bears, but has branched out into many different animal automata.
“Neat! They aren’t acting very squirrelly though, just watching. Do you think they like nuts?” Cassy continued to speak out loud to Barty as they walked. She seemed oblivious to the furtive glances, and out right stares of the people around her.
“The streets seem a bit drab, do you think they’d mind some new paint?”
Perhaps we should wait to speak to Teddy before making any changes to parts of the city she considers under her watch. As to the nuts, perhaps metallic ones, I’m doubting they have the correct organs for actual nuts.
“You make a good point Barty. It would be rude to redecorate someone else’s home without asking their favourite colour first.”
Cassy paused to look around. “This is taking forever, I shouldn’t have left Bike at the top of the elevator. Stupid size restrictions. I’m going to engage the sproingy shoes, keep me pointed in the right direction Barty, It’s time to make a new friend!” With a click of her heels to release her shiny red springs from her shiny red shoes, Cassy began bouncing her way willy nilly over rooftops, and off of walls toward the towering grey edifice Barty said was Teddy’s home base.
Despite trying her best to be a polite uninvited guest, Cassy still found herself leaving the odd cloud of glitter and confetti as she went, and maybe, just maybe… A few of her balloon friends slipped out of her pockets, to amble off and find small faces in need of smiles.
In short order Cassy found herself in the shadow of Teddy’s building. “She’s cleared a lot of space around her building, I wonder if she’d mind me setting up the tents? Only one way to find out!"
Cassy strode confidently to the large garage doors that remained closed firmly in front of her. Grinning her biggest grin, striding her cheeriest stride, trying to look as friendly as she could. She wasn’t blind to the defences trained on her, but who would shoot a cute clown?
Stopping in front of the doors, she knocked firmly and loudly three times. “HI!” She shouted. “My name is Cassy. Is Teddy home? Can she come out to play?”
***
In a comfy room, covered in pictures, and plushies of frogs, a young girl sat attentively holding a tablet, while listening to a dapper anthropomorphic frog teach her about the best ways to construct plush animals designed to survive the rough living conditions of her fellow youth down here in Calgary’s under-city.
The frog paused for a moment, their eyes flickering briefly. “Ms. Isabelle, it seems another Vanguard has hopped by to say hello to Teddy. By some contrivance or another, the others are all either busy, or just can’t be bothered to get the door. Shall we go greet them?”
Issi paused for a moment, putting on her best serious face as she flicked her tablet to show the main door upon which Cassy had just knocked. “Mr. Froggington, that is a clown.”
“Indeed Ms. Isabelle, that is Cassy The Clown, and she is indeed a Samurai, of, ah, some reputation. The posts on her Wiki-Sam page are a bit conflicted about what that reputation is though…” Mr. Froggington trailed off, possibly distracted by the unrealistic claims of some posts.
“Hmmm, she doesn’t look dangerous. Hey! Maybe she’ll play Chessers with me!” All seriousness dropped from the young girl's face as she scrambled to gather her Chessers supplies. Arms clenched around the game board and pieces, Issi darted from her room. Papers covered in crayon drawings of rules and moves, fell from her grasp and fluttered to the floor behind her as she scrambled her way towards the patient clown.
As she reached the doorway she realised her hands were too full to hit the button to open them. “Mr. Froggington, could you please open the door for me?” She was hopping on her feet, giddy with excitement.
***
A smaller person sized door opened up in front of Cassy as she bounced from shiny red shoe, to shiny red shoe. She couldn’t wait to meet another young woman who loved cute and fun things as much as she did! There was no one there, the door opened into a mostly empty garage.
“Wanna play Chessers with me? A young voice piped up from below. Cassy’s gaze slowly drifted down, and down, until she was looking directly into the adorable grinning face of a young girl clutching a game board, a few random pieces, and a bundle of loosely gathered papers.
“That looks like a chess board, I have bad memories of chess… Is Chessers like chess?” Cassy asked, with concern on her painted face. “The last time I played chess, I pulled a muscle in my back.”
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“It’s totally different, but also sorta the same, but also waaay more fun! C’mon I’ll show you!” The exuberant child went to grab Cassy’s hand, snatching it back to her chest as more pieces and papers tumbled to the ground. A look of consternation grew on her face as she looked from Cassy, to the game board clutched to her chest, and the scattered mess at her feet and behind her.
With a tiny hop and a giggle, Cassy dug into her voluminous pockets, her arms disappearing past the elbows as she rummaged around. Pulling her hands out with a flourish, she scattered a few balloon friends into the air. “It looks like you could use a hand!” She said with a wink. She paused for a moment. “Barty, take a note: we need hands that walk.”
Issi starred in wonderment as the skinny balloons tumbled through the air, began to inflate, and twist into various animal shapes. Her wide sparkling eyes zeroed in on a particularly bright green one that landed beside her with a plop, and a ribbit. “Froggy! She squealed in childish glee, dropping everything in her arms to pick up the half metre tall rubber frog.
She turned back to Cassy, her eyes wide and glistening. “Can I keep him?”
“That’s entirely up to him, now isn’t it. What do you say, my little green helper?”
The balloon twisted its head to look Issi in the face, contemplating her just long enough to build the right amount of drama to the moment. Its rubber mouth squeaked open, and a red licorice tongue flicked out and tapped Issi’s nose before disappearing again.
Cassy grinned down at the beaming girl. “I believe that’s a yes. Now where should our friends set up the Chessers board, so you can teach me how to play?”
While Issi had been enraptured by her new friend, the rest of the cadre of assistants had gathered up the scattered game materials, and stood waiting nearby.
“ Troops, follow me!” Issi said in her best impression of how she imagined Teddy would act. “We’ve got games to play!” She turned and marched deeper into the building, followed by a crowd of toddling and tumbling rubber animals, and a happily bouncing clown.
“Oh, I forgot to ask. Are you Teddy?” Cassy called out as Mr. Froggington closed the door behind them.
***
Cassy was laying on the couch, her head hanging down over the front, causing her colourful curly poofs of hair to pool on the carpet. He stockinged feet stuck up into the air over the back of the couch, waving back and forth. “What do you mean, you don’t know what a carnival is?”
Issi was bouncing around the room, Cassy’s huge shiny apple red shoes on her feet, sproingy springs launching her off of floors and walls alike. Her new froggy friend clung to her head like a helmet, the other animals covered the rest of her, keeping her safe. Mr. Froggington had insisted after Issi had nearly crashed into the ceiling.
“I don’t think anyone down here knows what a carnival is,” Issy replied mid-flight. “We usually just throw things in the canals and see how fast they dissolve.” She impacted high on the wall behind Cassy, the balloons activating their sticky rubber bodies to hold her there while she giggled.
“This travesty cannot stand! Barty, call in the troupe, Issi, put the word out, we are having a carnival!” Cassy stood tall, manic fire burning in her eyes, grinning wide enough to nearly split her face in half.”
***
Jane, the eldest of Teddy’s little found family, and by far the most mature and responsible, was standing beside Mr. Froggington, starring in apoplectic horror at a monumental disaster, and massive breach in security.
Her jaw worked back and forth, flapping open and closed before finally finding the words she needed. “I said I was going to have a nap, and to only wake me in case of an emergency. How is an unknown Samurai showing up unannounced at our door, not an emergency? And please tell me why you thought it was ok to let that same Samurai convince a child to turn our safety cordon into a, whatever this absolute catastrophe is?”
The stoic and dapper Mr. Froggington had traded his usual garb for the tailed coat and top-hat of a circus ringmaster. “Ms. Cassy did not show up unannounced, her Protectorate AI informed me they were arriving almost 30 seconds before she knocked. I used that time to peruse the mesh for information on her. I determined that Issi would benefit in a myriad of ways by spending time with her, and the likelihood of her causing any lasting trouble was minimal. Not to mention, I thought it might be fun.”
The last comment caused Jane to raise an eyebrow and look sideways at the robot, before she could ask him to clarify any of his statements a burst of horns and confetti cannons drew her eyes back to the disaster in front of her.
Mr. Froggington spoke up again, a trace of humour hiding in his voice. “It’s called a carnival, Ms. Jane. You should wander in, maybe try a few games? It might help you relax, take your mind off of other things.”
As he spoke, a pair of clowns came running out of the crowd toward them. The smaller of the two had opted for some strange version of frog themed motley. “JANE!” Issi’s voice thundered out from the smaller figure. “This is soooo much fun! Almost better than Chessers! You have to come try the drop of doooom!”
Jane found her hand grasped in Issi’s iron grip as she was dragged into the riot of noise and colour of the carnival. They were rapidly surrounded by the laughing denizens of Calgary’s undercity. She goggled as gangsters of groups usually at war, turned their rivalry into competitive spirit, trying to see who could win the biggest or best prize at various games.
An echoing scream pulled her eyes to a tower that stood stories tall above the crowd. A Hologram projected from its peak. THE DROP OF DOOOOM! Where had they gotten rides?
Issi and the woman Jane assumed was Cassy, continued to drag her through the crowds toward the tower. The assault to her senses and sanity only grew. Light, sound, smells, delicious smells, she almost let go of Issi’s hand when they passed a booth full of sugary fried treats that smelled of heaven.
The booths and stalls were not run by humans. Tin toys, and rubber balloon animals took tokens and handed out prizes, there were even a number of Teddy troops helping out. She saw one of the balloons fall into the vat of a deep fryer, only to crawl out and take a bow. Only slightly crispier for the tumble.
The air was full of glitter, and confetti, and people in bubbles? Jane’s eyes traced the path of floating people to a set of stairs leading up to a huge watch blowing bubbles out of its winding knob, to send people up and over the carnival grounds.
Issi tugged on her hand, she had stopped to stare. “We can do the bubbles later! They are fun too, but not as good as the Drop Of DOOOOOOOOOOOOM!” The dragging continued, the costumed pair now chanting Drop Of Doom, over and over as they went. Jane stumbled along behind, too dazed to protest.
***
The sun was setting in the distance, its fading rays casting long shadows, and revealing an imposing silhouette. She stood tall, she stood proud, hands in the pockets of her loose pants. On her head perched a brimmed officer's cap. The winds of the undercity billowed the long coat she wore resting on her shoulders out behind her. The stick of a lolly-pop protruded from her mouth.
“Vise-boss Issi!” A voice called from the shadows as another silhouette scampered up beside her. "I just got a report from Party Planner Barty, through Head-Boss Cassy. Over-boss Teddy is returning to the city!"
A crunch echoed from Issi’s mouth as she bit down hard and cracked her sucker. She pulled the now empty stick from her mouth and tossed it, grinding it into the ground like a cigarette. She slipped another from her pocket, and began unwinding the wax paper wrapped around the top. In her best grizzled gangster voice she spoke. “Well, looks like we’ll have to put off covering windows with encouraging slogans in washable paint till another night, I’ve got a meeting to attend. Gather the rest of the Clown Frogs at the tree tent, I’m sure the Head-Boss has some treats waiting there for you.”
With a flourish and a swish of her coat, she strode off into the encroaching night. The teddy bears were back from their picnic, she’d be needed.
***
Cassy felt bad, she’d had to run off right as it looked like Teddy was coming home. She figured if spending a day with Issi was this much fun, then her older sister must be a riot and a half. Unfortunately, Barty had gotten a message from The Family, they wanted to “Talk” to her again. She really wasn’t interested in joining a cult though, so she’d hugged Issi and the other members of her new gang goodbye, hopped into Time Flies and headed off for fresh adventures.
Thinking back, she wondered if starting a gang was really the best idea, but the others had insisted. If you want respect down here, you either have to be a Samurai, or in a gang, and as Cassy had yet to figure out how to create a new Samurai, a gang it was. So she’d gathered Issi and a dozen other kids that needed a safe place, and built them a tree with a tent in it, not far from Teddy’s base. She’d left a tonne of supplies and a gaggle of her best fundraisers to keep them safe. She’d even encouraged a few of Teddy’s bears to join, they were even more adorable in matching outfits.
As Time Flies drifted across moonlit skies, Cassy curled up in comfy bean bags, content after a wonderful day. Glad she had left behind smiles and joy, as well as plans and people to keep her favourite new smile from harm. She hugged her new plush frog tighter and giggled softly as she remembered Jane’s face on the Drop of Doom.
She’d meet Teddy next time she was in Calgary. That would be another amazing day.