The next few days felt like they dragged on.

Any spare moment, he would log back on to the game. Each time only to be met with disappointment and a welcoming meow. At some point, Andry dropped by Whiskers, who seemed happy enough to amble about the cell. Sometimes he amused himself by kicking a ball around, watching the robopet chase it.

Once to twice he sent a message to Kylee, only to receive brief replies. Most, he knew, would have taken this as a bad sign. Not him. Jester had known the mechanic long enough to know these were as close to automated as she got. Which meant she was working hard.

He doubted she was best pleased about the work, but he knew she wasn’t messing with him.

Occasionally, temptation rose to ask if the rules she’d set still applied. However, he decided not to press his luck. Why rock the boat when everyone was happy?

Her words about caring for him stuck in his mind. One thing about it still confused him, though. Did she mean as a friend, or in a more romantic sense? He wouldn’t lie and say he didn’t find her attractive.

Not even just because of her avatar. It was the way she spoke to people, how she was when they hung out or relaxing. While they’d never met in the real world, their time in the game had always been something he enjoyed.

It was part of the reason he’d gone to her, regardless of her hatred of Dolls.

Would he date her? Maybe, but not until this thing with Happy Hour was done with. Too many people had their hooks in him at the moment, Kylee included, depending on if her rules were still in place.

The message from the customer service team didn’t come until midnight the day before the match. A lot of it went over his head, but the general gist was a position reset and some other things. They also credit him One-hundred credits for the inconvenience.

A nice little top up for the trouble. He messaged Kylee, Dam13n, and Andry before he logged in for the day. After the typical start-up sequence, he stood right outside the prison.

To his shock, there was another familiar face there to greet him. Not Happy Hour to his disappointment, but the leader of the gang who caused the entire mess. With a nervous grin, the man stepped forward hand outstretched.

“Hey, I just wanted to apologize in person.”

Jester took the pro-offered hand and looked them in the eyes.

“It was a shitty thing to do.”

“Yeah.” The Leader shrugged. “But you were our best lead. Plus, the guy who tipped us off sounded pretty sure.”

A pause broke the conversation as Jester’s eyes narrowed. There was no way, right?

“Someone tipped you off about me? Not a guy in a riding helmet, by chance?”

Surprise took over The Leader’s face. “Yes.”

“Lexington.” Kylee looked pissed.

With a step back, The Leader raised his hands. “Look, sounds like you know him.”

“How much did he pay you?” Jester asked.

“Twenty-five credits.”

“You screwed me for that paltry amount?” Jester watched as The Leader took another step back. “For the amount of what, two meals at the coliseum?”

“He sounded pretty legit.” The Leader didn’t stop walking. “Anyway, you all seem like you wanted to chat. I just came to apologize. So, sorry about all this. See you around, I guess.”

Jester watched the man run, unimpressed. Kylee looked like she was about to throw a fit, while Dam13n simply appeared confused.

“He was the guy we met when we signed up, right?” Dam13n glanced towards Jester. “I mean, he seemed like a dick, don’t get me wrong. But really?”

“That child is a no good mommy’s boy.” Kylee slammed a fist into her open palm.

“He really is.” Jester nodded.

“But,” Dam13n still looked confused. “Isn’t he in another Cup? Why does he care about you competing? Is this an Android thing?”

“Yes, but it’s also he doesn’t like me thing.” Jester shrugged. “He hates Scrappers as a concept, and I’ve had run–ins with him in the past. One of them led to me finding Happy Hour.”

He threw a glance towards Kylee. “Speaking of?”

She returned his question with an unamused, almost hurt expression. “Really? Not even a hello first?”

“No, fair.” Jester bowed and smiled at her as he came up. “Hi Kylee, how are you?”

“Better. But yeah, I have her at the store. We still have a couple of hours before the match is on properly.”

“Awesome.” Jester extended an arm. “Shall I escort you back?”

“Oh my,” she fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Such a gentleman.”

“Before you run off Jester,” Andry stepped forward, a massive hand outstretched. “I wanted to say I’m glad you’re out. Mistletail has been worried about you, and wants you to come visit as soon as you can.”

“Oh, sure, I can do that.” Jester nodded. “After the match, though.”

Andry’s laugh was booming as he nodded back. “Of course, of course. I should be there to watch. It’ll be nice to see one of us win for a change.”

“Hopefully,” Jester said.

Kylee nudged him in the side. “What do you mean, hopefully? Are you disparaging my work?”

“Not at all.” Jester shook his head. “I’m worried about people coming in purely to stop me.”

From nearby, he could see Dam13n nodding in agreement. It wasn’t an unreasonable fear. More than once, a person strong enough to enter a top tier Cup had decided to play big fish in a small pond.

“Sure, maybe.” Kylee shrugged. “But we know it won’t be this match. Now come on, I want to show you what I did.”

Dam13n perked up at that. “Can I come see?”

Kylee flicked her hand through the air. “Sure, if you want. Andry?”

“Thank you for the offer, Ma’am, but no. I have a patrol to do.”

The three waved as he walked away, before they turned to head off towards Kylee’s workshop. Beside them, Dam13n was almost bouncing with excitement, as Jester kept Whiskers balanced on his shoulder. The robotic kitten was restless, excited to see Happy Hour once more.

“Oh man,” Dam13n said. “I haven’t ever gotten to like, go into a mechanic’s workshop before.”

That admission caused Jester to raise an eyebrow. “Really? You’ve never needed your Android worked on?”

“Oh, uh, no.” Dam13n scratched the back of his neck. “She doesn’t really come out much.”

From the tone of his voice, Jester figured it was best not to pry. Kylee seemed to pick up on that as well and changed the topic.

“So Dam13n,” she asked. “How long have you been playing RotorRager, anyway?”

That question seemed to perk him up, and he puffed out his chest. “Third expansion, I’ve been around from near the beginning. I met DollmakerMC once, ya know?”

“Really?” Jester looked towards the younger man, an eyebrow raised. “And you never told Happy Hour?”

Dam13n deflated somewhat. “Well, it wasn’t like a big meeting. More of a friendly hello when we passed each other.” He perked up and raised a finger. “But, oh man. It was before he came out with the first real doll prototype.”

“Huh,” Kylee said. “I wonder what he was like?”

“Debrah would know.” Dam13n gestured in the dollhouse’s direction as he spoke. “She and him were old friends.”

“I know. She gave Happy Hour his suit.” Jester smiled as he remembered how excited Happy Hour had been to receive the gift.

“She had his old suit? I’m surprised you’re not wearing it for the fight.” Dam13n flashed him a thumbs up, which made Jester laugh.

“Nah, not my style. Plus, she decided having me act as a human billboard would be more efficient.”

“I suppose.” Dam13n looked like he wanted to add more, but he shook his head. “Speaking of the fight, you excited?”

“Nervous.” It was odd to admit, but he was. While his avatar showed no signs of it, he knew if this was the real world, everyone around him could see it.

Kylee reached up and patted his shoulder. “Don’t be. With my modifications, this dump truck doesn’t stand a chance.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Are you doubting me?” Her mock pout was so overdone, Jester couldn’t help but chuckle.

His laughter proved infectious, and soon they were getting looks from the sheer noise they were creating. It was nice to get stared at for something fun for once. The banter continued until they reached Kylee’s warehouse.

As they drew closer, he felt the mechanic stiffen beside him, and the reason was obvious. There, standing by the door with a smug grin on his face, was Lexington. Even from this distance, Jester could see his fingers typing in the air. Was he sending a thank you note to whomever tipped him off?

He supposed it didn’t matter.

The bully’s grin grew wider as he saw them, and he closed out his menus.

“So Jester. How was your time in jail?”

***

Kylee reacted before Jester got the chance.

Her red locks bounced as she moved with speed towards her shop. A single fist raised and ready to strike. She stopped, the squeak of her sneakers filling the air as she twisted at the hip.

Lexington flinched, his hands raised before his face. His entire body was shaking as he squeezed his eye shut.

Jester snorted, and beside him, Dam13n let out a laugh. Even Kylee giggled at the sight, stepping back and letting her arm drop to her side. It took a moment for Lexington to realize she wasn’t going to hit him. He straightened his coat indignantly, brushing off imaginary dirt.

“And here I stopped by just to give you my congratulations on your release.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Oh, stick a sock in it, Lexington.” Jester flipped him off, smirking at the affronted look he received in return. “We know it was you who sicked those guys on me.”

“I simply gave them a lead.” It was obvious he was trying to smirk, but clearly Kylee’s prank had thrown him off balance as it came across more than a grimace. “It’s not my fault you’re a thief.”

“Oh, he is not.” Kylee crossed her arms. “You’re just being a pain.”

“Isn’t he? I didn’t realize he bought the cat.”

Whiskers took that opportunity to hiss at him. This time, Lexington smirked. “I’m surprised The Developers let you keep it.”

In all honesty, Jester was, too. Maybe they simply had bigger things to deal with? Truth be told, it mattered little.

“Yeah, well, they also paid me for my trouble. Thanks for the free one-hundred credits,” Jester said. “I’d buy you a drink, but I hate you.”

“Ouch, testy.” Lexington rolled his eyes. “So, you all prepped for your match?”

“Sure am. What about you?”

“My matches start later than yours. Some of us need more time to prepare, as we’re not working with whatever dregs we can scrounge up.”

Kylee stepped forward, her first rising. “Watch your mouth.”

Lexington flinched again and started leaving.

“Well, it’s nice to see you again, Arthur. I’m sure others will be around to say hi.”

“Yeah, you run, coward,” Kylee called after his retreating back. “We’ll see you in the finals.”

Lexington didn’t respond, but his pace quickened.

“I hate guys like him,” Dam13n said. “Arrogant jerks.”

“Agreed on that.” Kylee pulled the door open. “Now come on, we have someone who actually wants to say hi to you.”

Jester watched with amusement as Dam13n peered around the room all wide eyed. The way the younger man seemed to fixate on the parts made him curious.

“Hey, Dam13n. What is it you do around the Dollhouse?”

“Drink mostly,” Dam13n replied, his focus on the mechanical arms now stripping down a breastplate.

“But if you could do something else?”

Dam13n fell silent as they continued to follow Kylee deeper into the back. She stopped once or twice to check on some things, and each time Dam13n watched her intently.

“I wanted to build robots,” he admitted. “But I don’t have the skill for it.”

“Going to build your own Android?”

Dam13n shook his head. “Already did. Just never finished her.”

“Ahh.”

There was that tone again, but thankfully, a familiar voice called out to interrupt them.

“Jester!”

It surprised him at how pleased he was to hear that voice again. He turned a corner around one of the shelves and waved.

“Hey Happy Hour.”

She was sitting on a workbench, a more complicated diagnostic tool than the one at Markal’s. Streams of data scrolled down a screen, and occasionally he saw video files that he expected were memories. All were recent things, as he saw himself in multiple.

In terms of appearance, she looked the same as she did normally. Gone was the goth makeup and dress. Instead, she’d returned to her typical star adorned maid outfit. They were spinning now, a show of her own excitement, he guessed.

There were no visible signs of any upgrades.

“Has Kylee been treating you well?”

The woman and the Android shared a look.

“We came to an understanding,” Happy Hour said. “How was your time in jail?”

“Not great,” Jester admitted. “Boring mostly, though, Whiskers was good company.”

As soon as he spoke the robot pet’s name, he felt it pounce off his shoulder. Happy Hour extended her arms, catching it in the air, and pulling it close. Whisker’s purr was loud as it rubbed against her arms and made a happy mewling noise.

Jester felt his heart melt at the sight. Adorable. Even Kylee looked pleased at the scene. After a while of letting Whiskers get all his appreciation out, Happy Hour turned back to Jester. The robopet cradled in her lap.

“I’m glad you’re out. Kylee is nice, but I missed you. Plus, if I’m correct, our fight starts today, does it not?”

“It does. Are you ready?”

She gave a seated bow.

“Yes Jester. I’ll do you proud.”

“I don’t doubt it.” He turned to Kylee. “So, about this hypnotism power? We have anything for that?”

Kylee nodded and started fiddling with her menus. Her eyes darting across the air.

“Happy Said that you had some deal to not change the outfit, right?”

Jester nodded, before realizing she wasn’t looking at him. “Yes.”

“Well, hopefully these will do. It was last minute, but I think they’ll do fine?”

With a blink, a pair of glasses materialized in the air. They were in the classic old person half moon design. An elegant gold frame, with clear lenses. There were no temples, the parts that went over the ears, so he hoped they’d stay on during movement.

Jester felt the weight of them as Kylee placed them into his outstretched hand. Heavier than he’d expected. As though she’d filled the rims with something other than gold.

[https://i.imgur.com/MkMiVBC.png]

“How do they work?”

Kylee stood a little straighter at the question, clearly pleased with her handy work. Inwardly, Jester groaned. That was her lecturing position.

“You know how the basic hypnotism ability works, right?”

“No.” Jester admitted.

Beside him, he could see Dam13n shaking his head as well. That was nice. At least he knew he wouldn’t be in the only one confused.

“Ok, to simplify it.” She clicked her tongue. “So it basically sends a signal to the other robot to run a specific subroutine that tells it to pause combat tasks. Though that section doesn’t work properly. Which is why they kept dancing even during combat.”

“I didn’t think they allowed hacking powers?” This came from Dam13n. “On account of people stealing or damaging other people’s robots.”

“They don’t, and it’s not.” Kylee pointed towards Whiskers. “It’s similar to what Happy Hour did with the robopet. It’s more about activating a flag than anything else. You’re not adding anything, and you can’t tell it to do anything other than pause. Believe me, they were through.”

From the look on her face, Jester could tell she knew that from experience. Which made him curious about what hacks she tried with the tech.

“Ok,” Jester asked. “So why doesn’t everyone use this tech, then?”

“Because it’s easy to block.” Kylee shrugged. “Provided you know it’s coming. Just make a piece of equipment that stops that flag from activating. Plus, you need to have a higher hypnotism attack than they have a defense rating, which at higher levels is hard to judge.”

“So, more a gimmick than an actual attack?”

“Exactly.” Kylee nodded. “Great in low cups, but they wouldn’t manage in any of the higher ones.”

“So Happy Hour is immune, then?” Dam13n grinned. “Congrats man, we have this in the bag.”

“Eh.” Kylee made a so-so motion with her hand. “She still has to not get run over.”

“I’ll endeavor to do my best.” From Happy Hour’s lap, Whiskers yawned.

“Can we give her some kind of flight power?” Dam13n asked. “Or teleportation?”

“Sure, if you have the credits for it.” Kylee scoffed. “I’m happy to help, but I’m not throwing high-end gear after this.”

Dam13n looked bummed, but Jester shrugged. He knew the score. Besides, he was grateful for the help. What Debrah said about the spectacle was true. If Happy Hour could simply fly out of the way, it would be a boring competition.

Damage would be an issue still.

“Do you have any upgrades for weapons?”

“I do, actually. I made some upgrades to the shoes.”

Happy Hour looked ecstatic as she broke into the conversation. “They shoot the blades now.”

That actually took Jester back. “You gave her a ranged weapon?”

“Sure. She can spawn new blades in them, but it takes a minute or two. So I wouldn’t rely on it.”

“You know she doesn’t have a ranged weapon package?”

He did not like the way Kylee grinned at him.

Instead of answering the question, she simply turned towards the door. “Are we ready to go?”

Happy Hour jumped from the workbench, scooping Whiskers up in such a way to not jostle him. With one hand, she reached for the glasses. Jester handed them over, curious about how they would affect her.

She slipped them on, and he saw they adhered to her nose. The change was instantaneous. Her gaze turned disapproving, and her posture grew rigid. All signs of playfulness were gone. With the glasses, and her hair in the bun, she looked like a stern teacher, or, he supposed, a head maid.

“Well, this place is a mess.” Her words came out clipped, and with a British accent that sounded less put on. “Miss, you truly need to hire someone to clean up for you. It is not proper for a young lady to work in such terrible conditions.”

Dam13n snorted, and Kylee rolled her eyes.

“Happy Hour, are you ready for the fight?”

“If combat is what the good sir requires of me, then I shall do the household proud. They shall rue the day they sent the embodiment of garbage against a proper maid. I do say it will be good to enlighten the masses about what a proper battle looks like.”

“Well then, let’s not keep your lesson waiting.” With a shake of his head, he followed Kylee towards the front door.

***

The trip towards the coliseum was slower than he would have liked.

People were filling the streets and clogging the alleyways. Far more than he’d ever seen bother to turn out for a Frankenstein Cup before. It wasn’t an unpopular one exactly, it’s just most people found it dull. The really cool weapons were in the higher levels, where people launched nano-machine wars and fired rockets from the sky.

Most participants of the Frankenstein Cup could barely afford a sword unless it was a lucky find.

That fact alone made him worry, a concern compounded by the stares. A lot of people smirked, some pointed. Ahead of him he could see the back of plasterboard signs carried by a group all dressed like fifties housewives.

Happy Hour ignored it all, walking proudly beside him with Whiskers carried in her arms. The robopet stared around, baring its fangs at any who came close. Dam13n stood next to them, while Kylee vanished further into the crowd.

It hurt, but he didn’t blame her. If this went badly, she could lose a lot of potential business. As someone who wanted to do what she did, he wasn’t going to ruin her chances of paying rent.

Nobody hassled them directly, though more than once he found his pace slowed. Groups would stop for a chat, and some would even summon robots to block the path. They didn’t last long and were often rudely shoved aside by others. One even sparked a full out battle, causing the street to diverge into the alleyways.

At this rate, Jester was seriously considering taking to the rooftops. He looked towards them and saw others already had.

“Sir,” Happy Hour said. She adjusted her glasses using her palm. “We are almost there, are we not?”

“Yes.”

He could see the coliseum, the roman architecture all covered in copper. It shone under the sunlight, a beacon of what the game was truly about.

“Is there any admin we need to do before we begin?”

“Umm…” Jester said eloquently.

He realized he wasn’t sure. He didn’t think so, but he supposed it couldn’t hurt to check.

“Sir.” Happy Hour sounded disapproving, and he waved her off.

“We’ll check in at the desk, but we shouldn’t. It’s just a matter of arriving and getting in position.”

Dam13n coughed, but it sounded more like a laugh. “Yeah, you should probably check in at the desk.”

“Yeah.” Jester knew he would be blushing if he could. “I should have checked earlier. I get it.”

“I will endeavor to keep sir more on task.” Happy Hour pulled Whiskers back, as the robopet was swiping the air towards one guy getting too close. He backed off under Jester’s glare.

“Thank you.”

The entrance to the coliseum was slow-going, but eventually they made their way to a familiar desk. That was where the problem started. Ahead of them, a man was arguing with the clerk. Jester could see Chester standing there, face blank, as the man ranted.

Jester tapped his foot as he got in line, checking the clock in his user interface. They still had twenty minutes. Plenty of time, really. Provided, the line moved.

They waited.

From ahead of him, people grumbled. Grumbles turned to muttering, which turned to pointed comment. None of which the man seemed to notice. As the time ticked on, Jester cottoned on to what the man was actually saying, and his eyes went wide.

“Well, you see, I paid for a ticket, but didn’t, and therefore I want a refund without having paid for a ticket that I didn’t buy.”

It was gibberish, at least it would be to a human. To one of the NPC’s however, it would have enough keywords that sounded legit, which would explain why Chester wasn’t calling over security.

“Damn it,” Jester swore. He looked around, trying to catch the eye of one of the NPC security guards.

From the way several other heads moved, he wasn’t the only one. However, with the sizeable crowd, most seemed too busy directing traffic. He gritted his teeth and tried to think of a way out of this mess.

“Hey Chester, I’m a competitor!” His cry went unheeded, apart from the annoyed look from a few other people in line.

That was fine. He had someone’s attention.

“He’s looping the AI,” He said hurriedly before they looked away. “Shut him up, or we’ll be here forever.”

That caught a few more people’s attention. Whispers of the information made its way to the front, where a large grey skinned avatar stood. From the way they stormed and immediately took a swing, Jester felt they’d probably been stuck behind this man for a while.

Chester looked like he was waking from a dream as someone knocked the man out of line. With a blink of his eye, he looked towards the grey-skinned avatar.

“How can I help you?”

Jester breathed a sigh of relief as the line started moving once more. That was ten minutes down. Everything would be fine.

They reached Chester with five minutes left to spare. Jester returned the smile with a quick nod.

“Competitor, go where?”

“Of course, sir,” Chester said, his words chipper. “If you would follow the line, and we’ll get you all set up.”

“Thank you.”

In his vision, a line appeared, and he started following it. From behind him, he could hear Dam13n calling out to someone. A friend, probably. He wished Dam13n could come in with him. This was going to be nerve-wracking enough.

His hand rested on the doorknob, and he tried to breathe his anxiety away. It didn’t work.

“Sir?” Happy Hour put a hand on his shoulder. “We shall be fine.”

Another deep breath, and this time it seemed to work.

“Of course we will. Win for the Dollhouse, right?”

Happy Hour gave him a small bow, and with that, he pushed open the door.