Chapter 16: Dissipated Device

Jester froze at the question.

His eyes scanned the road and nearby rooftops in search of the robopet. From the rags that acted as curtains to small sections of a roof that continuously collapsed in the same pattern.

However, no matter how he searched, there was no sign of Whiskers. His breath caught in his throat. How did they lose him? The robotic cat was there during the fight against Virtualdream. He knew that much.

Afterward though? Well, afterwards was the party, and he remembered little of that. But he was sure Whiskers went with him to The Dollhouse. Jester’s mind raced as he tried to replay the events of the night.

Yes, Whiskers was there. Probably. Most Likely.

With a grimace, he turned to Happy Hour. If anyone remembered, it would be her.

“Was he with us at the Dollhouse?”

Happy Hour nodded, and brush a stray strand of her red hair out of her face. “Yes, he spent most of the time asleep on you, if I recall.”

Jester sighed in relief. That was that then. Most likely, he’d crawled under a table or couch and gone to sleep. That was a simple fix. He refused to think about any other possibility. They’d cross that bridge when they came to it.

“Well, let’s head back to The Dollhouse then. I mean, we’re heading that way, anyway. A detour won’t hurt.”

Jester did his best to keep his tone confident as he led the way. Happy Hour talking up her place beside him. She was silent as they walked, not even humming. He gave her a side-eye’d glance. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say she was worried.

“We’ll find him. Don’t worry.”

She nodded, and a smile graced her features. However, something in her posture told him he didn’t convince her.

“I do hope so. If we lose him, what will Mrs. Shivit say?”

He didn’t have a response to that, though he supposed that was a possibility. Whiskers shouldn’t have even been able to leave the store. Perhaps The Developers spawned him back home? If they did, it wouldn’t be hard to grab the robopet again. Stolen or not, Jester enjoyed having the pet around.

He was good company.

“Maybe we should check in on her?” Jester suggested as he changed his path. “Make sure she’s doing ok.”

“Oh let’s,” Happy Hour clapped her hands. “It’ll be nice to see if she has anything new for sale.”

A chuckle escaped his lips at that, even as he checked his credit satchel. Not empty, but not exactly bulging either. He really hadn’t been doing his normal scavenging lately. Perhaps with the new windfall of items that people were reporting, he should? His drink date with Tiffany was coming up. It would be rude not to pay for some of them.

That was a thing to be done after they found Whiskers, however.

Mrs. Shivit was sitting behind her counter, and gave her routine confused squint as they entered her store.

“H-Hello?”

“Hello, Mrs. Shivit,” Jester greeted as he moved towards the counter.

As soon as he got close enough, her confused expression faded. To be replaced with a beaming smile.

“Jester. It’s been too long. How is my favorite customer?” Her words were route, and she moved her head around mechanically.

That was strange to him. Normally, she was much more human for an NPC. When she looked at Happy Hour, she waved. “I do like your robot Jester.”

“Thank you Ma’am.” Happy Hour curtsied. “Is there anything we can do to help you today?”

“As a matter of fact…” Mrs. Shivit trailed off as she stared at a spot on her counter. “My dear Whiskers has gone missing. The little scamp vanished last night. I miss him terribly. Would you find him for me?”

“Last night?” Jester tried not to sound eager at the news. This was fascinating. It meant whatever Happy Hour did, it wasn’t technically stealing. That meant no repeatable quests, but it also wasn’t messing with the NPC structure. A good sign.

“Yes, last night.” Mrs. Shivit’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know who would do such a thing. Could you find him for me?”

{Quest Gained - Missing Kitten
Someone has stolen Whiskers from Homemade Hand-Me-Downs. Find out who, and bring them to justice.

Rewards based on completion time.
ACCEPT
YES        NO}

He felt bad even as he accepted the quest.

This was the second time in a few days someone had stolen something from Mrs. Shivit. Why the thief targeted this NPC confused him. She wasn’t anyone important in the grand scheme of things. With little of value to boot.

An attention grabbing stunt? Maybe a new player who was role-playing a thief?

It wasn’t common, but they appeared from time to time. They rarely lasted long, most leaving after getting caught and jailed the first time. If there was one thing that gamers didn’t like, it was consequences of their inappropriate behavior.

Some tried to make a game out of it, but retired when they found out the rewards were paltry. However, this line of thought wasn’t getting them any closer to finding Whiskers.

“Do you have any idea where he might be, Ma’am?” Happy Hour asked, as Jester messed with the prompt.

“No, I’m sorry dear.” Mrs. Shivit shook her head. “I wish I could help you. But I’m glad you’re going to keep an eye out for me.”

“Of course, Ma’am.” Happy Hour turned to Jester. “We’ll find him right away, won’t we?”

“As soon as we can,” Jester promised. “We’ll take our leave now, if that’s ok?”

“Good luck, Jester,” Mrs. Shivit called after them as they left the building.

Once more standing on the street, Happy Hour frowned as she looked around.

“Who do you think could have done such a thing?” She asked, tapping her foot.

“I’m not sure,” Jester admitted. “I’m just hoping we don’t get the blame again.”

The last thing he needed was for those idiots to show up and bust him again. He doubted The Developers would appreciate him glitching out the jail again. With a minor delay to move somewhere sheltered, he messaged Kylie, Tiffany, and Dam13n.

It wasn’t a complicated message. A request for any information on the kitten. That complete, he started walking towards the Dollhouse. If they were lucky, he’d be stuck somewhere stupid, and it was the distance that caused the quest.

All of this would be a simple distraction, nothing more.

Together, they moved through the streets of Geartown. People still complained, but he was sure he saw a few more looks of respect for the people they passed. Not enough that he felt confident in relaxing, however. The last thing he needed was more players trying to jump him.

There was enough on his plate as is.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if the wins would do them good. People loved a victor. Would there come a point when he could walk with Happy Hour and not worry about the crowd turning on him?

A man dressed in neon green clothes spat on the ground as they passed by.

Jester sighed. That would remain a long-term dream, it appeared.

At least when he turned onto the street that housed the Dollhouse, he didn’t need to worry. It was as empty as it normally was. As he approached, he felt a smile curve at his lips. Tiffany was standing out front, keeping a careful eye on the street.

“Yo! Tiffany!” He called out.

She waved to him, a smile on her own face. When he was close enough, she slapped him on the back.

“Welcome back, champion. Thought you had other business to attend to? Or did you miss my company?”

He knew he’d have been blushing if he could and found it difficult to meet her eye. To his relief, that was when Happy Hour stepped forward.

“Hello Tiffany. Have you seen Whiskers?”

Tiffany frowned. “The cat? I thought he was glued to you two?”

“I wouldn’t say glued.” Happy Hour shrugged. “Have you seen him?”

“I mean, he was at the party last night, right?” Tiffany tapped at the wall behind her. “Then after that? No. I don’t really remember. Sorry.”

Jester sighed. “Do you think Debrah would mind if we checked upstairs? It would be like him to fall asleep under a couch or something.”

“Nah, go ahead.” Tiffany waved him inside. “Don’t linger too long, though.”

“Of course,” Jester gave her a mock salute. She laughed and winked at him. He found he enjoyed the sound a fair bit. “Come on Happy Hour.”

“See you later, Tiffany!”

With that, the two walked inside The Dollhouse.

***

Nobody bothered them as they made their way back up to where they’d held the party.

The room looked much the same as when they’d left it. Clean, tidy but still reeking slightly of booze and snack foods. Jester’s eyes flicked over the ring, wondering if he’d see Whiskers there. It would be like the robopet to be somewhere stupid.

No such luck.

“You take the couches, I’ll take the bars?” Jester asked as he moved further into the room.

“If you like.” Happy Hour hummed as she moved between the couches.

Together, they searched the room from top to bottom. However, no signs of the cat appeared. He’d even checked inside pot plants. Debrah was nowhere to be found, though he doubted the cat made its way into her office.

With a sigh, he slumped down onto a nearby couch. It was comfortable, but not enough to distract him from the churning in his stomach.

“Where are you, Whiskers?” He murmured to himself.

He felt more than saw Happy Hour sit next to him. Her hand rested on his knee, the metal cold even through his suit pants. When he turned his head, he could see her looking at him. Those red eyes that once surprised him, now feeling so natural by his side.

“We’ll find him.” Her words were firm. “No matter what it takes.”

“Will we?” Jester leaned backwards, staring at the ceiling. “What if we don’t?”

“Then we’ll keep searching.” She patted his knee and stood up. “Now, where’s the next place to look?”

He sighed and checked his messages. Neither Kylee nor Dam13m showed up in his unread section. That was annoying. Still, he supposed finding them in person might be more friendly anyhow. Plus, it wasn’t like he didn’t want, well, need, to see Kylee.

“Kylee I suppose? Maybe she grabbed him to monitor him after he was gone?” His tone didn’t hold any conviction. She wouldn’t have done such a thing. The mechanic having played the game long enough to know the type of quests that would trigger.

However, it wasn’t like he could see any better options.

“Oh, that would be nice. Whiskers always did like her.” Happy Hour rose to her feet and held out a hand to help him up. “I’m sure they’re having a blast.”

“I’m sure.” Jester took the pro-offered hand and smiled as she tugged him up. “Come on, we should get going.”

Before they left, they checked the downstairs area. On the off chance, the little machine snuck into somewhere it shouldn’t. None of the staff mentioned they’d seen it. But the bartender promised to keep an eye out.

As an NPC, though, Jester wasn’t sure how helpful that would be. It was better than nothing; he supposed. Maybe Debrah would get a tip off?

Tiffany waved them over as they left the Dollhouse.

“No luck?”

Jester shook his head, and she reached out to pat his shoulder. “He’ll turn up.”

“I hope so.”

“Please keep an eye out?” Happy Hour asked as she moved to Jester’s side. A motion he saw Tiffany note with amusement.

“Will do. Good luck on your search.”

Jester waved as they left. Happy Hour remained at his side as they moved through the streets. Worry filled his thoughts to the point he only noticed they’d arrive when he spotted the sign above the door.

He shook his head at it, even as he pushed the door open.

That was a discussion they needed to have.

“Kylee!” He called as he walked inside.

A quick check on his friend’s list told him she was online. So he hoped she was home. Not that she left her workshop often. It was always her happy place. Somewhere she could do something she truly excelled in.

At least, according to her. Not that Jester would disagree.

No response came from his shout, and as he looked around, he could see that none of the machines were moving. The large mechanical arms weren’t stripping anything down. Strange. He moved further into the stacks.

“Kylee?” This time, a worried tone filled his shout.

She hadn’t locked her door. Maybe she was deep into some project and didn’t notice him? A large shape moved, and he flinched until he saw it was Lugathin.

“Hey big man, you know where Kylee is?”

Lugathin gave a deep rumble. Its egg-like body shifting around as arms sprang out. Jester stepped back, even as Happy Hour stepped forward.

“Hello again.” She waved towards the massive robot. There was a creaking of metal as Lugathin returned the gesture. “Is Miss Kylee here?”

Lugathin beeped.

“I see. On the roof? Thank you.” Happy Hour bowed her head slightly before turning to Jester. “How do we get on the roof?”

“There’s a ladder,” Jester gestured towards a wall where a ladder stood. “However, I’m not sure if that’s the best idea.”

“Why not?” Happy Hour asked.

“She likes to think when she’s up there. I’m not sure if she wants to be disturbed.”

“But she might have Whiskers.” Happy Hour pointed upwards. “We need to see.”

He bit his lip before shrugging. It couldn’t hurt. Plus, it would be a quick enough trip. Poke his head up. Ask. Head out again. They still needed to track Dam13n down.

“Fine, but we’ll be quick.”

Lugathin didn’t move to stop him as he hurried over to the wall and climbed the steel ladder placed there. The trap door opened smoothly, and soon enough, he was hauling himself out into the tin room. He knew if this was real, he’d be wincing at the heat of it.

However, instead, the view simply took his breath away. Buildings stretched out around him. All shapes and sizes represented. More warehouses were the closest, of course. Even they, though, took on different forms. From the modern day square boxes, to old wooden things, too small cubic buildings made of multicolored stone.

Some would hold workshops, others were nothing but supply deposit for NPCs and Players alike. Even though he couldn’t see them, he knew each contained guards of various types. Be it faceless soldiers to miniature turrets that climbed about on the ceilings.

He stepped aside to Let Happy Hour climb up behind him. His eyes tracked towards Kylee. She stood at the edge, hair hanging loose as she stared over the edge. If this wasn’t a game, and he’d found her like that? Jester would have been worried about her safety.

“Kylee?” His call was soft, even as he walked across the roof.

She didn’t so much as twitch at the sound of his voice. However, he could tell she knew he was there. With one hand, he motioned for Happy Hour to stand back. No point crowded the mechanic.

“I have a question?”

“No, I haven’t seen him.” Her voice was void of emotion as she stared over the city.

“Ahh, I see.”

In another few steps he was beside her, the toes of his boots standing at the edge of the roof. One simple step, and he’d be on the ground.

“Congratulations on your win.” Kylee shifted at that, her voice sounding more alive. “I was proud to see it.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you watched. Did you enjoy the party?”

That got a grin, though a small one. “Yes. Did you like our picture?”

Jester looked up and away from her. “I can’t believe you convinced Tiffany to do that.”

“Her? She convinced me.” Kylee let out a laugh. “She seems nice.”

“She does.”

“Heard she asked you out for a drink.” There was no more laughter in her voice.

Jester’s nod was his only answer. He wasn’t sure what he expected from that. A tearful confession? Mockery disguised as advice? Some tactic or trick he should use? Whatever it was, it wasn’t a punch delivered to his shoulder.

“Good for you Jester. Don’t let her break you.”

“Seems like you’d prefer that,” He said while rubbing his shoulder.

That got another laugh. “Maybe.”

Together, they stood in silence, both of them staring at the sky. He saw her shift and point.

“Early today.”

They were too. The animalistic barges that filled the sky drew his gaze. There seemed to be more of them. All flying lower than he’d ever seen them. Over filled, perhaps? Whatever the case, they were still a beautiful sight.

It was a sight that he’d missed during his time running around with Happy Hour. They stood on the rooftop silent until the barges finished flying over head.

“Do you think,” He paused, before shaking his head. “This game will be simple again?”

Kylee snorted. “For you? No. But that’s ok. I think it’ll be a pleasant change.”

“Yeah,” Jester said. “Me too.”

***

After a few more minutes of silence, Kylee turned and headed back inside.

Jester waited as Happy Hour joined him at the roof’s edge. He still needed to talk to Kylee. Discuss what was happening between them as well as a weapon upgrade.

“Did she know anything?” Happy Hour asked.

“You weren’t listening?”

“I would never, Jester.” She sounded affronted at the thought.

“Mm hmm,” he said. “Well, no. Which means Dam13ns our last port of call. Not that he’s responding to my messages, either.”

“He seems like he’d be busy a lot.” Happy Hour gestured to Geartown, her finger finding the Dollhouse as she spun around. “There is a lot to do here.”

“I suppose there is.” Jester shook his head and dusted off his clothes. It was strange to think how much of it he’d gotten to experience of late. “Shall we figure out a weapon for you while we’re here?”

“Yes, please.” Happy Hour clapped and moved towards the ladder. She paused at the ladder. “Though, shouldn’t we see the outfit first? I’d hate not to match.”

Jester pointedly looked at her shoes. The bright pink garments were her most eye-catching piece of gear.

She grimaced. “Fine.”

“I’ll see you down there in a minute.”

When Happy Hour vanished from view, he turned back to watching over Geartown. His thoughts whirling. Was Whiskers out there somewhere? Lexington sicked bounty hunters on him last time. Could they do it again?

Though that wasn’t likely. Not unless he infiltrated the Dollhouse somehow. He supposed he could have paid someone else to achieve the same effect. That was if it wasn’t another customer. Several were less pleased about the fact he’d won than not.

After the victory over Heather, he’d cost one or two quite a number of credits. Still, that didn’t feel right. If Debrah found out, they would bar the offender for life. Of that, he was sure.

There was something going on here. He simply didn’t know what.

With a shake of his head, he rubbed at his face. There was no point standing up here and worrying. It wouldn’t get him anything but a headache. That thought confirming his next steps, he turned and moved towards the ladder.

Even as he slid downwards, he could hear Happy Hour nattering on. Kylee was rooting around in boxes as Lugathin watched on from a distance. As he drew closer, he could make out the words.

“I’m not sure that I’m equipped to do any weapon fighting,” Happy Hour said as he shifted over a lid that Kylee passed to her. “I dance.”

“You’ll be fine.” Kylee said, her words clipped and distracted, sounding. She got like this when she was concentrating. “Besides, Jester wants to dress you up as some kind of bee. You’re going to need a stinger.”

“Couldn’t it be on the dress?” Happy Hour ducked as a piece of metal flew over head. “Ornamental?”

“What would be the point of that?” Kylee pulled a long metal pole out of the box, a smile crossing her face. “Yes, this will do.”

“But I don’t know how to wield it.” Happy Hour looked over at Jester.

“Not yet.” Kylee pointed towards a diagnostic bench. “Sit.”

“Jester?” Happy Hour asked.

“Go sit,” He said. “It’s not going to hurt.”

Plus, he couldn’t help but wonder what Kylee would find. She knew more about this kind of thing than he did. Not that he’d forgotten her threat when all this started. That she would rip Happy Hour’s code apart and sell it to the highest bidder.

However, he didn’t think that was as much of a concern.

Happy Hour performed a shallow curtsy and moved to the table. As she sat, two screens blanked to life. Streams of green lettering running vertically down the screen. Jester rolled his eyes. Kylee and her movie references.

“Wow,” Kylee muttered to herself. “You really aren’t equipped for combat, are you?”

“I’m not.” Happy Hour nodded. “I’m a serving robot first and foremost.”

Kylee didn’t seem to be listening as she poked at the screen. “Your maker was something else. This stuff is weird. Jester, how much of this do you understand?”

“Basically, none of it.” He didn’t feel bad admitting that. She knew what a noob he was when it came to robot construction. “I mean, I know she can activate other robots’ dance emotes. Also, that her personality changes depending on her outfits. Other than that? Not much.”

“Ok.” Kylee tapped at the screen once more. “So, she has no combat slots? I was going to say find some money and buy her some modules. However, you can’t. Like, she has no space for them. Even her dance thing isn’t a module. It’s all hard coded. DollmakerMC disguised it as a module, I think?”

“And that means?”

“It means.” Kylee turned to him, hands on her hips. “That Happy Hour is one of a kind. She shouldn’t exist.”

Jester watched as she moved away from the table, wringing her hands.

“How do I explain this? It’s like. Ok. You know how people build their own computers, right? Choose graphics card, motherboard, and what not?”

“Sure?”

“Well, it’s like someone put nothing but a motherboard in, and it all works off that. All of it. But it acts as though it has everything else?” Kylee threw up her hands. “That’s not even right. What I’m saying is she shouldn’t work.”

“That sounds like the type of thing DollmakerMC would do.” Jester shrugged. “That player was weird about Android design.”

“Sure. Except the game mechanics shouldn’t support this?” Kylee pointed a finger at Happy Hour.

The robotic woman waved at them.

“So, you’re saying she’s a bug?” Jester looked towards the diagnostic bench.

“Yes.” Kylee nodded. “Exactly. He’s done some weird bullshit to make this work. Like. Ok. You mentioned the personality change thing, right?”

“Yes?”

“That happens because she’s stealing code from the items. To function, she needs to be clothed and equipped. It fills in the gaps. I’m honestly not sure what would happen if you stripped her naked.”

“Please don’t.” Happy Hour sounded scandalized at the idea.

“We won’t,” Jester said. “Promise.”

When Happy Hour seemed mollified, he turned back to Kylee.

“Let’s say I understand all of that. So what?”

“So what?” Kylee looked at him. “Jester. She’s a bug... Or nearly one? Or something? Whatever happened during her creation, the Developers didn’t expect it to be possible.” She paused and looked at him seriously. “I have a favor.”

“Shoot.”

“Will you let me examine her after each cup? This is some really fascinating stuff.” Kylee held her hands in front of her as though pleading with him. “We could make bank if we could figure out how they made her this efficient.”

Jester shrugged. Kylee was already making him do this. What did it matter if her reasoning changed? Though her use of the word bug made him worried.

“Is that a good idea? If she’s bugged I mean?” He asked. “Wouldn’t the devs take notice?”

Kylee shrugged, before making a maybe gesture with her hand. “You know what they’re like. Provided they get a show out of it, and it’s nothing game breaking, they won’t care.”

Jester couldn’t help but agree with her. The devs were notoriously slow to respond to stuff like this. Plus, it was what, some item code stuff? It wasn’t like he could make Happy Hour invincible or something silly.

Kylee placed a hand on his shoulder. “Plus, if they sniff around and kick up a fuss, I promise we’ll pull out.”

Her use of the word, we, didn’t go unnoticed by him. He thought about the others who he owed favors too. Debrah and Madame Merriam wouldn’t be pleased if he bolted over this. Mistletail too now, he supposed. At least when he got the arm band or whatever she wanted him to wear.

His gaze turned to Happy Hour, who smiled at him.

“Do you want to keep going?”

She blinked. “Of course? I’ve never been able to dance in front of such an enormous crowd before.”

Happy Hour’s expression changed. Excitement fading as she looked towards the door. “What about Whiskers, though?”

Jester shrugged. “Until Dam13n gets back to me, I’m out of leads. I miss him too. However, not much we can do.”

“If you say so.” Happy Hour did her best to bow from her spot. “Shall we continue?”

“Thanks Happy Hour.” Jester turned back to look at Kylee. “What have you got for us?”

“Oh, I have a few ideas.” The Mechanic moved back towards the boxes. “It will depend, though. What kind of show would you like to put on?”

Happy Hour perked up at that question, and Jester sat back. From the way those red eyes followed the mechanic, he knew this would be a long brainstorming session.