“My, my, what do we have here?” Chorus glanced over when the door to their production studio opened suddenly. They had been huddled behind Victori, peering at the girl’s screen, but the horde of child-like knights that suddenly darkened their doorstep immediately caught their attention.
“A gaggle of small Jaids out alone in the world. Are you here on an errand? Doubtful. No, just look at your faces. You’re out seeking mischief. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Why don’t you come with me for a while? We can talk about so many fun things, spill some silly secrets, play some crazy games, eat some delectable snacks. It will be a blast.”
“H-hey, wait!” The Quick Changer outstretched their arm as the automated door slammed shut in front of them and the cubes mechanisms began to whir—rotated out by one of the clones who was having none of Chorus’ nonsense.
While the producer certainly would have provided a lot of entertainment for the identical crowd, even at their age they knew it only spelled trouble—not quite a stranger, but certainly smelled of danger. So the clones elected to ignore them and would find other fun rather than get wrapped up in one of Chorus’ schemes with the remainder of their time.
So they cycled through the remaining cubes, not taken in by any of them until they got to the very last one: Itsy’s garage. Like Rishaki’s shop, it too was presently deserted, but that wasn’t actually unusual. The giantess didn’t actually care if anyone intruded—usually to borrow a tool—since everyone knew to be respectful of the space, lest they experience The Wrecking Ball’s wrathful side first-hand.
While the clones at the very least understood the concept of that respect, they elected to ignore it and began poking around. Not a drawer was left unopened, no tool remained untouched by grabby hands. Oil was spilled and then cleaned up—poorly—and spilled again. The little knights did all they could to sate their curiosity and need for constant amusement, doing their best to avoid the true object of their excitement in the room, knowing it would only lead to trouble.
But they lost that fight very quickly and gave into their base impulses. The moment that the first clone touched Itsy’s monster truck, the rest swarmed to it like starving flies. As many as could fit crammed into the cabin, pressing every button, flipping every switch. The rest clinged to the truck from the outside, ready to ride it into battle, or more realistically, down the street.
Though their intention was to never actually take the truck anywhere, yet when they looked at the ignition, the desire became irresistible. What was the harm in one little joyride? Jaid knew how to drive, even if she didn’t do it very often—mostly using company cars to drive from safehouses to mission points—and the rudimentary fundamentals were still retained in the young clones’ minds.
Push the pedal to go, brakes to stop, horn to make any pedestrians flee for their lives, how hard could it be? Well, there was an issue in that none of the clones would singularly be able to drive it themselves, unable to reach the wheel, pedals, and also be able to actually see at the window. But they were a cohesive force and could surely tackle the challenge.
There was one other small problem, though, in that they couldn’t find the key. They’d already searched both visors, in every cup holder and glove compartment. A few clones even hopped back off the truck to scour around the garage but returned with similar defeat. Even the key rack next to the door was entirely empty. It meant the worst possibility of Itsy actually having taken the keys with her.
Yet all hope was not lost. Jaid had never learned to hotwire or anything of the sort, but that wouldn’t be necessary. Thanks to Feyjrusa and a certain cheese-based supervillain, she’d learned how to pick any lock using her Curse.
The bigger issue was getting those clones to cooperate. Since their campaign of fun had begun, the small army hadn’t dared to make any other type of herself, because odds are they’d spoil it for everyone. But the clones needed to pick locks were feeble scaredy-cats, so they wouldn’t be able to tattle even if they wanted to, and the children Jaids could certainly bully them into doing whatever they wanted.
But just as one of the clones in the driver's seat stuck her finger against the ignition, they were caught in an entirely different way. “What are you little dang dumplings doing to my truck?!” Itsy clambered into the garage, dropping down the box of parts she’d brought with her.
Many of the tiny knights jumped in surprise and fear at the thought of the giantess’ incoming wrath. But the one who was most guilty played it cool when she noticed that Itsy didn’t actually appear to be too mad. “Just err, pretending to drive, y’know,” the puny Paladin then mimicked a few hand gestures. “Vroom vroom, honk honk.”
“Uhuh…” the mechanic clearly wasn’t buying it. “Nah, clearly you all wanted to go for a ride. But sorry, youngins, yall too small to handle something like that. If you really want to drive around, though, maybe I can hook ya up. Hang on a second, and don’tchu dare break anything on my truck.”
The clones all went rigid at the threat, not daring to move another muscle. Itsy went rummaging in one of her storage closets and was back a minute later, setting a miniscule vehicle down on the ground. It was almost like a scaled-down version of her truck, but built like a go-kart.
“I been seeing that toy truck Pox been driving around in that Rishaki gave him and thought it wasn’t good enough,” The Wrecking Ball mentioned. “So I wanted to make him something better, something stronger so he can drive his lil’ sis ‘round safely wherever they wanna go. But this is just a prototype. Haven’t had a chance to build the real thing yet.”
“Got no use for this bit anymore, so you’re welcome to it. Only fits two, though. One up front and one standing in the back. Sorry ‘bout that. Already don’t got time, so I definitely can’t make ya more. Guess you’ll hafta take turns.”
“Eh, watcha doing?” Itsy was immediately confused when one of the clones hopped off her truck and then got into the monster-kart ass-backwards. The Jaid laid her back against the seat and stuck her limbs out through the metal tubing of the frame. She then rocked around, flipping the kart over and hoisting it onto her back like a turtle shell, finally sticking her head out through the vehicle's rear end.
“Ah, I think I get it,” the giantess realized when the young girl finished fusing with the metal, creating a bizarre exoskeleton around her. “You’re trying to wear it.”
The clone nodded and then half of the remaining horde vanished. They respawned a second later, each with their own monster kart, but all sitting in them properly. She’d utilized a part of her Curse that often went underappreciated. Anything that Jaid was wearing or had equipped could be recreated when the clones were formed.
As a result, though, those items became fused to that clone's existence, and would remain as long as the clone did. The clone couldn’t let them go or unequip them. However, when created, Jaid could move the items around to any part of her body where they’d remain. In this case, the duplicated monster karts would stay fused to the clones’ thighs for as long as they lived.
The main clone who had made the rest then squirmed their way out of the framing and took their seat properly. Dozens of engines revved, and the remaining idle knights went and joined the rest, hopping in the back standing-seat of karts. Itsy then received a barrage of grateful ‘thank you’s and watched the cavalcade speed away, out of her garage and down the tunnel. That was when she started to worry about what hell she’d just unleashed but decided not to dwell on it and got back to work.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
Once the caravan of clones made it up to the surface, they initially thought about driving around through the town, but quickly rejected that idea. Receiving hundreds of traffic violations didn’t sound like a fun time. So instead, they opted for the mountains, which fortunately the monster karts could handle.
They drove up and down the various formations, but eventually that lost its charm, so they needed a way to ramp up the fun. That’s when the idea to have a race surged through the group, but not just any old race, the fastest, most-fun race they could think of. Every monster kart converged at the peak of the highest mountain range and they circled around, all facing away from each other.
It would be a race to the bottom—whoever could get there fastest, by any means necessary. They all honked at once, signaling the start with deafening blares, and the race was off. Every duo of clones sped down the mountain at full speed, and immediately it went awry.
Many of the karts began to tumble, flipping over themselves. Unfused clones in the backseat went flying, slamming into rocks around them, with a wise few unsummoning themselves before impact. Those who were fused to the karts were forced to ride it out. Well, they could disappear if they wanted to, but most chose to embrace the chaos and crazy adrenaline as they lost all control.
Some of the monster karts broke apart, the frames smashing to bits, forcing those clones to withdraw from the race so that they wouldn’t sustain worse injuries. Every bit of pain was shared among the group, but the insane fun they were having overpowered it for most. And after using separated clones for so long now, Jaid had formed an incredible tolerance, able to shirk off blows that would down the most durable Fiends.
But not every rider faced catastrophe, and a good chunk actually made it to the bottom of the mountain in one piece. A few more, though, were never able to regain control, crashing into the next mountain over. And ultimately, the clones were unable to deduce who the winner was. While they were certainly all losers, it didn’t feel like it, because how much crazy fun they’d was all that mattered.
Eventually, though, as the clones giggled to each other about each one’s crazy race, the adrenaline started to subside, and the pain was really setting in. So they decided to return home, having enough fun for the day, yet still longing for something a little more, something they hadn’t quite figured out yet.
Every clone but one vanished, who still had a working cart to drive back to the compound. The original of the small clones who’d made the monster karts had theirs smashed to smithereens, meaning this kart would vanish when the clone did, losing it forever, but the Jaids accepted that outcome, honestly fine with the idea of never riding around with it again.
Once the sole driver made it back into the Fiends For Hire’s walls just as the sun was starting to set, she let herself vanish as a new pack of the child knights returned. Somehow, through all that, the actual Jaid had never woken up—still writhing in her sleep through all the aches and enjoyment. So the group tried to decide what to do with their remaining time.
They’d already been filled to bursting with excitement, now they sort of wanted to fill their souls, feeling a bit longing and lonely, tired and burnt out, having winded down from their earlier over enthusiasm. All their eyes suddenly drifted to the headquarters building. They knew someone would be there that they wanted to see.
Deborah only raised an eyebrow as the small army walked right past her desk, but decided not to raise the issue and let her eyes drift back to her computers. The clones then continued on, peeking into the throne room. There they found Drim alone, looking bored in his overly ornate chair that he always seemed to hate whenever he had to occupy it.
The younglings couldn’t remember why the man was there, but they knew they’d be able to find him, a routine he had every week. “Erm, can I help you, Jaid?” the king perked up as a sole clone sheepishly stepped forward, approaching him. He clearly noticed the rest of the crowd peeking in, but did his best to keep his attention on the one right in front of him.
But the girl didn’t say anything, even though her whole body was trembling and she looked on the verge of tears—endless anxiety and a cocktail of other handicapping emotions beating her down, only fueled by the onlookers who were all feeling the same.
Drim’s entire body went rigid when the young Jaid hopped up into his lap. She was facing away from him as she scooched into place, her body was just as stiff as his. The man was clearly at a loss for words with no idea what to do in the situation until finally the clone tilted her head to look at him, tears streaming down her face.
“Pet my head and tell me I’m doing a good job!” she then quickly looked away, embarrassed by her request, wanting to flee and never speak to the man again after saying such an atrocity. But before she could scamper off, she felt the firm-yet-comforting hand land on the top of her head.
“Yes, Jaid, you’re doing a great job,” Drim smiled down to her as he gently stroked her hair.
Immediately, the girl felt relief, all her dread and sorrows washing away, all her worries gone in seconds. And in moments, she felt the most relaxed she’d been in years, so comfortable, never wanting it to end. But of course the moment had to be spoiled, not by anyone but herself. The rest of the clones quickly filled the room, wanting their turn.
The girl’s selfish side wanted to tell them to mawhg off, but she couldn’t treat herself so poorly, relinquishing her spot as the next clone in line hopped up into the man’s lap. And Drim entertained them all, even when his hand was starting to cramp, making sure each one got their turn.
Each clone had less time with him than the last, not because the king wanted them to leave, but because of the impatience of those who’d yet to have their turn. At least those in waiting had something to do.
Pox, who’d been on the back of Drim’s head, had tried to escape when he saw the mob of children, but was immediately caught and was now subject to infinite petting. While the idea was something he wouldn’t mind, the hands of the children weren’t as gentle as Drim was being with them. But the fluffball sucked it up, accepting his fate.
At some point, the king was pretty sure that a few Jaids had come back for seconds, but it was pretty hard to keep track. Then suddenly, the one on his lap suddenly jumped off, and all the clones around the room had their eyes widen in surprise. “She’s waking up!” they started to panic. “Waking up!” “Quick, vanish!”
One by one, the clones popped out of existence, never to be seen again, until it was down to the last clone. She looked up to Drim with a big smile and waved. “Thank you! Bye bye!” she bid him farewell, leaving the man just as confused as the moment they’d arrived.
◆◆◆
“Uhk, what time is it?” Jaid sat up in her bed, one hand grabbing for her phone as the other clutched her head. She checked the clock, realizing the entire day was gone in a flash. Her ‘quick nap’ to feel better had somehow turned into one of the longest, deepest sleeps of her life.
And even after all that rest, she only felt worse. For some reason her entire body was aching, like she’d taken blows all over. Maybe she had some sort of flu or sickness causing the symptoms which would explain a lot. Her stomach was growling in starvation, yet it was queasy as if she’d eaten an entire cake buffet. And her head was reeling as her mind tried to recount the bizarre dreams she’d had while unconscious.
They were so strange and made no sense. She’d dreamed about watching a bad move and a lot of running around. Then she felt like she fought Nachi at some point for some reason and then made a trip to the bakery. But then she’d dreamt about trying to visit the Central Peace but couldn’t quite make it there, and then she was in a world of treasure one moment and crashing down a mountain the next.
And the last thing she’d remembered before waking up… Her face went red, embarrassed by the flashes she saw. She couldn’t say it was bad, but she’d never be able to live with herself if she’d actually asked Drim to do that in reality.
Yet despite all the physical pain and unpeaceful sleep, the woman’s mind felt lighter. Suddenly, everything she was worrying about before her crash didn’t seem all that important. She could worry about the future when it came, and just do her best in the present, enjoying the small moments when she could. Maybe eventually she could be just as reckless as she was in her dreams, but for now, she was happy with her life.
As for what happened at the compound that day, those who she’d encountered in her ‘dreams’ acted like they’d never seen a thing.