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Chapter 19 – Anger and Regret (John)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

Work was running smoothly.

Or at least, as smooth as it could between patching old games and setting up the framework for a third one. The planning for the theme of this game had yet to be developed since we were occupied making sure the other ones had enough 'love' to leave us the chance for 'Round Three'. Truth be told, we could have easily stopped there and gotten back on track for a new game by the next year, but we decided it was only for the best to get a new game out, then take a year-long hiatus while still working on improving some aspects of the current games, and then shift back for new stuff. It was a bit of a tiring job, but I figured this one was going to be less stressful to handle due to how little pressure we had about it. We got to the sufficient, if not higher, point of the quota our boss gave us and I was quite confident that was going to be deadly useful once we were set to prepare for future stuff.

Hence why today I decided to put in the extra mile and invite two individuals to join me and the others for a few hours. Webby happily accepted, while Lena was a bit reluctant to come due to one reason that became more evident when we arrived. Looking left and right, rubbing her hands together in a nervous manner, and keeping really close to me as we wandered through the workplace, to the point of bumping into me a few times when we would have to stop. It took me a while, but I finally understood what the clues were telling me.

"You don't like computers?"

The question sure felt wrong to ask her, especially since I had seen her use a few with Webby when they both were at McDuck Manor. Still, she went stiff at that, sparing me a confused look while the other girl hummed.

"That wouldn't make much sense. We tend to watch videos a lot at the manor."

Webby's affirmation further reinforced that and I was ultimately forced to 'concede defeat' at the slow and nervous look from Lena herself. Still, the look on her face, the awkward frown and the shaky smile… yeah, something was still off. I got close to it despite 'missing', but I ultimately got it.

"Are you worried that you might end up being bored to death?"

Webby sported a perplexed look, but as she looked at her friend, we could both see it on her face. And, instead of trying to find an excuse, she shrugged.

"Yeah..."

"But dad isn't going to show us boring stuff. It's not work," The shorter girl remarked, arguing the overall situation was different to what Lena thought it was.

"Yeah, I will work on the side, but you two can play with some beta builds we have of the games. Those are like normal games with a few issues that you can report about."

Lena blinked. "So, it's not like some very complicated stuff about the PC?"

"Do you want to see that?" I inquired quietly, getting a head shake from her. "Then you will not be forced to do that. It's a visit, not you two working or anything."

Her shoulders sagged and we were finally there by my office. "So, it's just… playing and talking. Nothing too difficult for… me to understand?"

"No, you two will not be subjected to unpaid work. You're too young to begin with, and then I know for a thing you're not exactly a fan of this difficult stuff."

She huffed. "Sorta. It's just… I never had the chance to study any of this. And since there's so much..."

"You're afraid it can overwhelm you?" Webby guessed, pulling her in a sudden hug and getting a surprised look out of her.

"S-Sorta."

Cracking a smile at that honesty, I leaned close and patted her head. She was a bit surprised by it, but didn't refuse the gesture as I went on to get her a test console so she could play together with Webby, with both girls soon distracted with their own play session. So, with that little situation solved, work finally 'started'. I would take brief looks at the girls as they started to use the multiplayer function we were working on for the first game, a 'competition' brawl between chefs to bring a new element to our very first game. From the looks of it, the two were enjoying 'battling' against each other, trading jabs that didn't go too far or deep when it came to the overall competition. But as I thought this day would be a calm and slow one, I was surprised when someone was soon knocking at the door of the office.

"Yes-"

Now, I was in a good mood and not expecting anyone for today. So, I was pretty much surprised… in a negative way when this proved to be a certain annoyance I thought I was done with. Like really, why did he have to come here and annoy me?

"John Bukharin!" Mark Beaks, owner of Waddle, exclaimed as a loud greeting, stopping all sorts of activities in my office.

"Mark Beaks," I flatly greeted back, trying my best to hide the sheer amount of irritation his presence brought to me.

"John Bukharin!" He repeated with a stronger tone, still retaining his grin as he approached my desk. "Long time no see, you intriguing fellow of mine."

At least it wasn't friend or associate, both of which would be wrong terms to approach our current relationship. If it even existed.

"Not long enough," I hummed. "What are you doing here, Beaks?"

"Oh, you know me, passing by, checking the drinks and trying to hire you at my company."

I blinked. "Nope."

"You didn't even hear what I can offer you."

"Trust me, I don't need to," I added calmly and he huffed.

"As if! This is just like last time. Ignoring me… don't ignore me!"

To emphasize the point, he proceeded to slam his fist on the desk, the action shaking the girls off their gaming and… leaving them with a frightened look at the sudden situation. 'Yeah, if he wants attention, then I'll give him the wrong kind', I thought as I turned towards him with an intense glare. To his credit, Mark looked somewhat embarrassed by what he did, but he looked more unnerved by the glare I was giving him.

"Listen, I just want you to listen and-"

"No. I will not listen," I replied tensely. "And I would like you to leave. I find people willing to use tantrums to try and get something or someone for one reason or another to be quite unpleasant, and of the kind that I don't work with. And trust me, I will call security and they will have many legal reasons to boot you out of this building."

He looked unimpressed, but so was security when they came to pick him up and remove him from the premises. It was going to present a rather awkward issue in the next few days if he fussed about it, but with the cameras on my side and the boss being a reasonable guy, I didn't have much to worry about. Instead, the girls looked particularly unhappy with what had happened, but even more they were concerned about my current expression. Annoyed, frustrated and showing no sign of a calm recovery to the eased look I had before Beaks got in the room.

"Dad?" Webby quietly called at me, rupturing my quiet seething and drawing a tired look instead.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Are you alright?" Lena asked instead of the shorter girl. "You normally don't have that kind of look. Like, really unusual."

"But not wrong, of course," The younger girl argued sheepishly. "Mr. Beaks was being a jerk and… I think this is the first time you really got angry and it wasn't during an adventure."

I blinked. Was that really it? I mean, sure, I normally didn't have a reason to be pissed at something or someone, but this… it's been really that long since I got that angry during a normal aspect of life? Never thought of it like that before this point.

"I guess it's because Mr. Beaks was trying to be too forceful and..." I quietly pondered if it would be best to be completely truthful or not, but I was surprised when Lena pressed on it.

"You saw us in distress. That was quite a… crazy moment. Guy is just a jerk, isn't he?"

"Yeah, Louie and Dewey have already met him and told me he was really bad as a boss."

I frowned, slightly unfamiliar with this comment from the shorter duckling. "Boss?"

What did Louie and Dewey do with Mark Beaks that I wasn't aware of? And why do I feel like this will be a 'fun' conversation by the time I ask them?

"Nothing of importance. Now," Webby intervened quickly, further leaving me suspicious of this detail, but decided against pressing it. "Still, were you really that upset that it… scared us?"

Lena sighed. "Not really scared. Just surprised'."

"But it was a bit scary since it came out of nowhere and then… you just looked at him with a serious look and told him off. That was… so cool!"

I chuckled. "Cool but particularly unpleasant. Mostly because it's not that good for me to get angry."

"Why not?" Lena inquired. "I mean, you're making it sound like you are against getting angry or something."

"Does that sound like that?" I asked, a bit surprised by that remark, and I offered a sheepish look as I saw Webby nod in agreement. "Well, I guess that's because… it's kind of right. I don't like getting angry because, if I really get angry, I tend to be wide open to commiting mistakes or performing stupid things."

"Like with Donald?"

I stared at the little surrogate daughter of mine with a smile and nodded. "Like with Donald. Except Donald isn't one that gets too angry when the situation is too dangerous."

"At times."

I chuckled at the rebuttal. "Yes. Still, emotions tend to be problematic at times. Hence why we have to know when to moderate those to avoid making a mistake or two while we handle them."

"So… is there a way to keep those from… stopping you from doing the right thing?"

I paused, my amusement drying out at that bizarre question as I glanced at Lena. She didn't look quite… pleased with the question herself.

"Sorry."

That sudden apology surprised me, doing the opposite of what I could tell was its main intent. "For what?"

"It was a silly question. I should have been… nevermind."

I was about to press onwards, but Lena turned away, giving me one final look that even Webby noticed. 'Do not go any further'. The message wasn't said, but something deep down warned me to be wary of what was implied. It was like my own instincts were telling me to be guarded around… Lena? It was possible for magic to leave behind something like a 'spider-sense', some pseudo-premonition that alerted me that taking a specific step was… risky. It didn't tell me how risky, only that it was such. So, instead of pressing, I backed away, deciding to switch the conversation back to something less wild despite Webby's own intentions to dig further on the subject. The duckling eventually gave up in that regard, and things went back to a peaceful pace as before Beaks came in.

The rest of the day returned to running as smoothly as before, but the conversation we just had lingered for a while. Both because I felt happy at the level of concern both girls had for me at my current state of mind, but also because of the strange mood swing Lena showed at that last bit. I could tell something was really off, something that was gnawing at her a lot and I really needed to get this through once I got the chance to speak with her when she was alone.

I could tell something was hurting her. And that, I couldn't allow her to keep quiet about it.

AN

So, the next chapter will contain 'canon' elements and some stuff that will surprise a few. Let's just say that John is about to get a visit from his past from a person he never met but… he knows about. It's going to be a surprise for sure, and I will definitely draw out that 'episode' for two chapters for two specific POVs. Also, the end of Season 1 is around the corner and then things are just going to get funnier after that~.

REVIEW Q&A!

Fuyuki365: I have seen a few episodes as a kid.

Austin:
1) There is a single true pairing, but a few flings here and there;
2) Yes;
3) They act out against them since they are ruining their plans. They want to rule the world after all;
4) There are plans. I have been dabbling with a lot of franchises in my snippet thread on QQ, some of which I will definitely do such as a story I've started about the Erma Webcomics and one about Lore Olympus. I'm generally aiming for 'unknown but unique' stuff rather than going for the same formula too much.