Jester was holding Tiffany's hand when the others caught up to them.
To his surprise, there was an extra member of their little group. Heather was trailing behind Debrah. Her blonde hair hanging loose, and the blue cocktail dress a stark difference from her normal waitress outfit.
At his expression, Debrah explained.
“She’s been with Happy Hour for longer than you have. I thought it was fair she was here. Plus, with the unrest, having some protection made sense.”
“Sure,” Jester said. “It’s nice to see you, Heather.”
“Yeah, like sure.” Heather waved at him. “Happy Hour? O.M.G. Our little champion. So, how does it feel to like, be a winner?”
From the corner of his eye, he watched Happy Hour place Whiskers onto her shoulder. The robopet seemingly unconcerned with its new placement. She smiled then, with none of the tinge of animosity he’d been expecting.
“It’s a great feeling. Nice to see you too, Heather. Sorry about the fight before.”
“Oh please, you weren’t exactly yourself.”
As the two Androids continued to chat, Jester turned to Madame Merriam. There were no signs anything was wrong. Though she was standing closer to Debrah than she probably needed to.
When she caught his eye, her lips quirked up.
“You’ve done well for yourself, boy.”
“Thank you, Ma’am.” He paused before continuing. “Are you ok? I’m so sorry for everything that happened because of me.”
She raised a hand to stop him. Her face growing stern as she stared at him.
“What those people did isn’t on you, Jester.”
“But—”
“—no buts.” Madame Merriam cut him off with a flick of her hand.
It was such an imperious gesture that it instantly reminded him of Happy Hour wearing the Beegown. For a moment he wondered if she was the one who taught her the mannerisms.
“Boy.” Her words drew his attention back to her. “I wasn’t hurt. All they did was some bug hack thing to kick me out of my store. They didn’t even damage any of my inventory. It’ll cost a few hundred credits to get my shelves back to rights, but that’s no concern of yours.”
She met his eyes, and he tried his best not to flinch away as the guilt welled up. Not that he didn’t believe her.
He did.
That didn’t change his feelings about it, however.
“Did we find out who did it, though?” Jester turned to Debrah, who nodded.
“We did. There was a group who was in the original fight with Heather. I doubt you’d remember them. They spent a lot of money on this. Gambled once more on your loss against Inectorz.”
“A terrible bet,” Kylee remarked.
“Yes.” Debrah nodded. “Still, I’ve sent our mutual friend their information. You’ll not need to worry about them again.”
Relief filled him at that, and he gave Tiffany’s hand a squeeze.
“Thanks Debrah.”
“You’re welcome. Now, are we going to eat? I’ve heard this establishment is respectable.”
“Man, you have no idea.” Dam13n moved forward and held out a hand, which Jester shook. “This place is great. You should have seen some of the performances they’ve put on.”
Together they walked up the gangplank, unworried by the other players. Dave was once again working the door. From the grin on the man’s face, he guessed they’d requested the duty.
It wasn’t like they hadn’t booked in advance after all.
“Jester!” Dave’s voice filled with excitement. “And Happy Hour, of course. How’s our favorite understudy?”
“Hello, and good.” Happy Hour said.
“Excellent. Excellent. You won’t mind if I call the Captain? He wants to escort you to your table personally.”
“No,” Jester said at the same time as Heather asked. “Understudy?”
Dave gestured towards Happy Hour. “Oh, didn’t you know, miss? She was in a previous performance. Happy Hour here will be the one singing for your supper.”
That caught Jester’s attention.
“Another singing part?”
“All the good ones are. It’s why Captain Cogsworth won’t let me on the stage.” Dave let out another laugh, even as he typed into the air. “Please wait a moment.”
The time estimation wasn’t wrong. As though teleportation was involved, Captain Cogsworth appeared. Cedric and Lucy standing behind them. Both dressed in what he could only describe as Cyberpunk Dystopia.
Madame Merriam moved before anyone could talk. One hand grasping the cuff of Lucie’s jacket.
“Who made this?” Her tone was demanding, even if her eyes were unfocused.
“Our resident costume designer, Kelly.”
“This is weak.” Madame Merriam looked Lucie in the eye. “A leather jacket with LED highlights. Stitched to appear as though it was handmade with poor quality materials. Correct?”
“Yes?” Lucy looked shock.
“It’s too well-made. Anyone with any sort of eye could tell a machine did this. No. Absolutely not. You’ll be taking me backstage, so I can have a talk with your designers.”
“Excuse me, Miss?” Captain Cogsworth was stepping forward, hand outstretched. “May I have your name?”
She turned to him, hair ripple shifting faster as he did.
“Madame Merriam. I run a clothing store for Androids.”
With a deft bow, he kissed the back of her hand. “You wouldn’t be the one who made Happy Hour’s clothes, would you?”
Jester smirked as she saw her looked down at the ground. The games’ version of a blush.
“I would.”
“Then Miss, if I may. We would love to have someone of your expertise to spend some time with our staff. As Miss Happy Hour is coming as well, perhaps you would be willing to escort her?”
“That would be.” Madame Merriam cleared her throat. “What I want to say is, yes. That would be acceptable. Perhaps we can even establish a more permanent working partnership.”
“In that case, please, allow me to escort you all to your table.” Captain Cogsworth held out an arm, which Madame Merriam took with little prompting.
Jester heard Kylee snort behind him. Next to him, Tiffany gave her a meaningful look, and he let go of her hand. Only to take her hand a moment later. Together, they walked through the restaurant until they reached their seats.
The staff pushed more tables into the alcove before bringing over more chairs. There even brought an additional chair to create a spot for Heather at Debrah’s request.
“Please, if there is anything you need, don’t hesitate to call. It’s all on the house. Our way of congratulating you on your victory.”
With that, Madame Merriam and Happy Hour moved off with Captain Cogsworth, Cedric and Lucie. When they were out of earshot, Debrah turned to Jester.
“Will she be gone the entire night?”
“No.” He shook his head. “They usually do the show early.”
“I’m surprised she isn’t sick of people staring at her by now,” Heather sniped.
“Dude, really?” Tiffany looked at her. “Not tonight.”
“Pfft, whatever.”
Kylee shifted forward in her seat.
“Captain Cogsworth brought up one good point. Congratulations are in order.”
Dam13n grinned at that and raised a hand. In seconds, a waiter was by his side. Before Jester, or anyone else, could say a thing, he was already ordering for the table. Moments passed, and wine glassed filled with a thick purple liquid sat on the table.
They let off a fruity scent that Jester found pleasant.
“A toast then!” Dam13n raised his glass to the table. “To Jester! A Scrapper who reached for the stars!”
“To Jester!” All his friends called as they took a sip.
Kylee was next to speak.
“To new business opportunities!”
Debrah let out a melodic laugh at that.
“Hear, hear!”
Once again, they toasted. They kept doing so until the wine ran out. Suggestions ranged from victory to new friends. All things Jester agreed, was something worth celebrating.
He was sure it would have gone on for longer if it wasn’t for the reappearance of Madame Merriam. She slipped into her chair with a smug expression. At a raised eye from Debrah, she gave a small nod.
“Thanks to Happy Hour’s modeling of my work. Captain Cogsworth wishes to hire me from time to time as a consult and designer.”
“Congratulations,” Kylee said, a sentiment everyone else joined in on.
“Does that mean I’m no longer at risk of having to wear the tutu?” Jester joked.
Madame Merriam laughed. “I suppose so. Though, I guess from you’d still like it for Happy Hour?”
“Yes, please.”
“Than it shall be done. Now hush, I do believe the show is about to start.”
When Captains Cogsworth moved into view, everyone paused in their conversations. His arms raised as he got ready to introduce that night’s entertainment.
***
There was a solid round of applause when the show finished.
Happy Hour getting her own standing ovation for her part of the Ghetto Witch. She wasn’t required to do such, but to keep a straight face during the rowdier parts of her song was impressive.
Jester didn’t even know so many things rhymed with clock.
When Happy Hour returned to the seat, there was another round of toasts. The waiter an almost constant presence as more and more drinks appeared on the table. Tiffany demanded an almost blow-by-blow reply of the fight.
Jester complied, enjoying the stunned looks on everyone’s faces. Even though Debrah mentioned they’d watched the livestream.
The company made sure to broadcast it in a multitude of places to keep up with demand. With numbers higher than for some of the Technomancer Cup fights. A fact that he couldn’t help but be proud of.
“And then they locked us into the waiting room for a bit,” Jester said as he finished the last bite of fish on his plate.
“I’m not surprised.” Dam13n shot a set of finger guns his way. “The streets were crazy. Before the messaging system got overwhelmed, I was getting the news. Most of The Dollhouse was out in force. Doubt Geartown has ever seen that many Androids in its streets before.”
“Not a onetime thing, hopefully.” Tiffany remarked. “They aren’t any weirder than the Chimera bots.”
“True enough at that.” Kylee nodded.
“Should be good for business, hey Debrah?” Madame Merriam asked.
“How do you mean?” Debrah looked at the other woman.
“Oh, you know. If Androids become more mainstream. Lose the stigma, well. You might get more customers.”
“I could say the same for you. Look at tonight.”
Both women laughed, and as they did Jester felt a hand squeeze his.
“You’ve done good work, dude.”
“Thanks Tiffany.”
His gaze swept the table. Everyone appeared to be having a good time. Even Happy Hour and Heather weren’t sniping at each other. He wasn’t sure he agreed that this was on him. Not with all the work everyone put in to get him where he is.
Still, he couldn’t help but appreciate the way things turned out.
“You excited about your next match?”
Jester turned to Tiffany and grinned. “Against Lexington? Yes. That really is the final bit of business I have to deal with. Then I can focus on more important things.”
“I’m sure he’d love to be referred to in those terms.”
“Oh, totally.”
“Wait, isn’t Lexington the guy we met at The Copper Coliseum?” Dam13n asked.
“Sure.”
“Ha.” That got a laugh from Kylee. “You sure you’re even fighting him?”
“No idea. I haven’t actually checked.”
That was something he knew he’d need to do. Not tonight, though. Tonight was for good food, good friends, and to celebrate. Lexington’s deal could wait. Still, he doubted they didn’t get to the end. With the money they spent on Rippertooth, it wasn’t likely they lost early.
For the rest of the night, he spent time laughing and drinking. Members of the cast and occasionally other patrons approached to ask for details on the match.
He answered without issue. Overjoyed that they wanted to celebrate with him.
As it drew time to leave, Debrah took him to the side.
“You know there’ll be another party at the Dollhouse, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Be prepared for it to get loud. Those that showed up to help get you inside are feeling festive. They’ll want to celebrate big. Put on your game face.”
She squeezed his shoulder before she left. Kylee was the next to head out, accompanied by Dam13n. They both paused in front of him, though when she hung back, Dam13n spoke first.
“Congratulations again on the mac, man.” Jester laughed as he felt the slap to his shoulder. “Also, sorry for not getting into the stands. Couldn’t afford it.”
“No worries.” He waved the other man off. “It was a hectic battle all around.”
That earned him a nod from everyone still listening in.
“You can say that again, man.”
With that, it was Kylee’s turn. She stepped up to him, shoulders squared. Neither spoke as she took a deep breath to steady herself.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be.”
Her look silenced him as her shoulders remained tense. There was something there. Echoes of their previous conversation. He resolved to let her say her piece. After another deep breath, she started again.
“I’m sorry, Jester. For everything. The way I treated you was bad and I shouldn’t have done it. I know we spoke about it before, but that doesn’t change the fact of what happened. All the work and stuffs been me trying to make up for it.”
She paused and stared at her hands before shaking her head and continuing.
“Still. Congratulations on your win. If anyone deserves it, you do. Thanks for being my friend.”
“Always.” Jester said, and without another word, he scooped her into a hug.
Kylee laughed in his ear and pulled him tighter. They stood still like that for a few minutes before he released her.
“Also, thanks for pushing me into the cups. May not have been the best c circumstances, but I sure wouldn’t have been here without you.”
“Is that permission to be mean to you?” Her lips twitched into a smile.
“No.”
She laughed again, and with a wave moved off with Dam13n. That left him with Happy Hour and Tiffany. The Showboats employees having left to give them some space. At Tiffany’s look, he looked down and tried to hide his smile.
“Should I be jealous, dude?”
That got him.
He laughed again, and she joined in. With one arm, she pulled him into a hug that he didn’t fight. For a moment they stood there before his eyes fell on Happy Hour. She stood there, watching. Those red-eyes now seeming to be so less empty than when he’d first looked into them.
When he offered his free hand, she moved into him. As he stood there with both his girls in his arms, it felt right. Natural. Sure, Happy Hour and his relationship would never be the same as his and Tiffany’s.
That much he knew.
She was still an important part of his life. One that he didn’t want to let go of. If any part of him was still considering selling her to a collector, it was long gone.
They were a team.
From her shoulder, Whiskers let out a meow. The robopet not pleased at even the chance it was being forgotten. Tiffany reached out a hand and shook her head as it bit down. Those rubber teeth bending as they met her digital flesh.
“You are still as weak as ever, aren’t you?”
Jester watched as a flash of purple filled the kitten’s eyes for a single second. Then it was gone. A small show of its own power.
“I don’t think so.”
“Whiskers was never weak,” Happy Hour sniffed.
Whiskers meowed in agreement once it let go of Tiffany’s hand. The stars on its painted nightgown glimmering in the restaurant’s low lights. With one hand, Jester reached up and patted Whiskers, enjoying the soft purrs from the same pet.
“Mrs. Shivit is going to be upset, seeing as she’s not getting her pet back.”
That got both of his companion’s attention. Tiffany and Happy Hour both staring at him.
“What?”
“Come on now.” He looked at Happy Hour. “Do you want to give him up?”
She looked at Whiskers the best she could, before frowning. “No.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“Harsh, dude.” Tiffany pointed at him. “You’re stealing from old ladies now?”
“Did that before I met you.”
Tiffany shook her head and put up her hands. “Cold. That’s cold.”
Before he could say another word, Happy Hour stepped forward. Whiskers now snoring softly on her shoulder.
“If dinner is done, where are we going next?”
That got him a quizzical look from Tiffany as well. The way Happy Hour said it made it sound as though he’d had other plans. He had an answer, though. One that shocked him, he could say now.
“Where else, Happy Hour? We’re going home.”
***
The party the next day was off the charts.
There was no chance for him to escape upstairs this time. Too many people kept him locked in his booth. Tiffany was next to him, as was Happy Hour. At least whenever she wasn’t being pulled onto the dance floor by a line of eager partners.
He watched her come and go with a smile.
She was having a great time, if her laughter was any indication. Though, she’d yet to find anyone who could stand toe-to-toe with her.
No matter if it was techno, country, a more classical waltz or the EDM style Kylee favored, she would leave her partner in the dust. Jester included himself in that. Not that it stopped her from trying to drag him off.
Players crowded around him as they asked for details on the fight.
All of them wanted to know more about Virus-Hour. How she worked. What her conditions were. If they could repeat it with their own Androids.
Some already did so.
Overt the course of the night, multiple players showed off their homages to her virus riddled design. Androids with strange parts and choices before him. Female Androids with arms made of bike speed chains.
Wolf men with fur that held the same texture as a scrub brush colored to appear as if they’d rolled in a paint set.
One of Jester’s favorite ones was a simple humanoid android. At least until you looked closer. Only then you could see that they’d made it up of small welded together scrap parts.
Each cut in strange shapes to fit together to form a normal face.
The player who’d own that one, Scraplord65, was more than happy to explain the finer details to Jester.
It’d been a work of months. Started the first time Virus-Hour showed up on the forums. He’d gathered all the pieces himself before taking them to a mechanic friend. When Jester asked if he was considering the Cups, he’d received a laugh.
“I’ll leave that to you, I think,” Scraplord65 said.
Jester smiled and bought him a drink.
It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it now, after all. Plus, it would be one of the few he’d been able to buy. Anytime he slipped away from the booth to get to the bar, someone would shove credits across for anything he ordered.
From beside him, Tiffany shifted, and he looked at her. She was staring around, fingers drumming on the table in time with the music.
Crowded into the booth with them, people chattered and sang. Androids surrounded them on all sides. Cat girls chasing sprites, while dog men growled at each other. A humanoid dinosaur warrior standing by the bar waved at a group of staring patrons.
Its owner flexing to show off to a set of identical twins dressed as angels. A contrast to the pair of raven haired devil girls who stood behind them.
Tiffany nudged him.
“So, horns are your thing?”
Jester met her gaze with a slight grin. Her face blurred as he stared at it, an effect of the system detecting alcohol in his system.
“You offering?”
That earned him a light boop on the nose. From the way her hands twitched, it seemed he wasn’t the only one that the system was messing with.
“Hush you. Dude. Still. Are you having fun?”
“How could I not be?”
Jester did his best to encompass the entire party in one broad gesture. Though it didn’t seem to be enough. His eyes locked onto Happy Hour. She was dancing with a young woman now. Both of them locked in a tango.
Which made little sense, considering the techno nature of the song.
That didn’t stop the people standing around, clap for them any less, however. All their watchers seemed enthralled. Though they always did when Happy Hour was involved.
He would bet she could have stood there doing nothing and received a standing ovation tonight.
“True enough,” Tiffany said. “Not feeling overwhelmed, though? Happy Hour told me about your first time in here.”
With a shake of his head, he smiled. “No. Think I’ve gotten used to it. Used to being around people, I mean.”
At her look, he elaborated.
“Not that I wasn’t before. It was smaller crowds.” He chuckled. “Kylee would drag me to bars sometimes. We’d meet up with her friends, drink, catch a show. Small things, you know?”
Tiffany nodded.
“It was getting into a big crowd like this that set me off. So many people in a small space? I’d never needed to deal with it before. Thankfully, Dam13n helped.”
“He is good with people.”
“Damn right,” someone else from the booth cried.
Before he knew it, there was a toast to Dam13n being declared. It made him try to find where his friend was. His gaze swept the club until he found him. The younger man was chatting with Kylee and that player who wore the wedding dress to Happy Hour’s fight with Heather.
Kylee was looking as pleased as the rest of her small group. All of them were holding drinks.
As though the toasting made people remember he was there, they once more drew him into conversation. Topics that ranged from Android ownership to what he planned to do for the Final Cup.
From the bits he overheard, Lexington was indeed the winner of his bracket. With DangerDeathless, the only other one who guaranteed to make an appearance.
Some speculated on how that fight would go if they matched Jester again him. For his part, he didn’t need to imagine. There was a single outcome. No matter what or how hard he tried.
It took hours for the party to wind down.
Jester was exhausted. Though he refused to sleep in a booth of all places. Tiffany stayed by his side, even as others drifted off. Players logging out right on the dance floor instead of exiting the building.
Not that he could blame them.
To simply get to the door would be a half an hour journey at points.
Debrah made an appearance as the party was properly winding down. Kylee and Dam13n were already claiming some of the few open spots in the booth.
Jester sat chatting with the old woman he’d met.
She was regaling them all with stories about her past husband.
A man, it was clear, she’d loved more than anything else.
They were all in hysterics about one particular story. Where he’d gotten it into his head to buy her the world’s biggest box of chocolates. The packaging was so large it’d almost dwarfed her. Three days it’d taken them to get half-way through the box.
That was with her family helping, of course.
Her dad nearly adopted him on the spot for that gift.
When Debrah arrived, she waited patiently for the story to finish.
“Jester, do you have a moment?”
“Of course.”
“If you would come with me?” She didn’t wait for a reply, simply walking towards the stairs.
He followed suit, unsure what this was all about.
The upstairs section was silent, with not a single player or NPC there. Not even Heather was manning a bar. Debrah didn’t stop until she was standing in the center of the ring. With an awkward movement, he climbed behind her.
“What is this about?”
She turned to him then and smiled. With a single clap of her hands, there was a flash of smoke.
Then a familiar figure in a yellow suit stood before him.
“Jester!” DollmakerMC cried out. “Good to see you. Yes. Congratulations are in order. A lot. The company’s pleased with you. Money aside, the views! Well. I wanted to come and congratulate you myself.”
“Thank you.” Jester nodded. “Sorry, Happy Hour is still dancing downstairs.”
“I’ll see her in a second. I wanted to talk to you alone first. Yes. That was important. A requirement.” They nodded. “Now, you are ready to enter the Final Cup?”
“Yes.”
“Great. Then remember to fight well. Enjoy your money. Put on a good show. The company’s impressed with your performance so far. Though note the Final Cup will be traditional fights. No gimmicks. Flat sandy ground. Boring. Also, matches will be one after another. No waiting. You’ll be able to heal up between bouts.”
“Right.” Jester nodded as he tried to keep up.
“Indeed.”
With that, DollmakerMC turned on their heel and walked away. At Debrah’s glance, Jester stayed a while longer.
“Sorry, they mean well. What’s your plan until the fights start?”
Jester smiled.
“I have a few buildings to buy. Tell me Debrah, how would you like to invest in some entertainment in The Outskirts?”181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivgOiR9Tuc
