Sally almost instantly grabbed BB and took to exploring the house inside this strange new place. The car ride to that strange man's house had taken ages and when the gang arrived, they couldn't help but be disappointed. Well, that was being generous, it was more like they wanted to turn tail and bolt. But things were certainly not what they appeared with this man and it didn't take long to quell their nerves. The two children tore up every nook and cranny and examined every last speck to learn about what this place was like. Everything was so colorful, so bright, all the textures were wildly different from inside the building. Softer than any metal in there. This was their chance to learn about the world without anyone looking over their shoulder, and they were gonna take it, much to the glee of Pete.

Speaking of which, he'd found it very fascinating how this strange client of theirs' was able to create an entire world inside of a machine, let alone a world that could be warped and manipulated to a user's desire. He knew he'd been in the Food Family, away from society for exactly 90 years now, but he couldn't have imagined technology would improve THIS much while he was away. His little kid self would have been... ah, who cares about him. It didn't matter what he thought.

Roy had given the gang a strange "base script" for them to all work with. Apparently, they were going to torment his two children. Pete had felt a knot in his stomach when he'd heard this over the car ride, but you should always prepare for the unexpected... and it was still better than having to murder them...

The script itself seemed purely demented out of context, and quite frankly, even in the context of tormenting and warping reality, it still was what one would gently call "off-kilter." Roy had promised them that they'd each get their own specialized roles after he talked with them, so it seemed there'd be a little more to it than simply performing the song and dance.

Roy interviewed all the other members of the Food Gang before Pete. As he waited his turn, he looked around at what he was doing at this point in his life. It certainly wasn't what he'd expected to be doing when he was 100 years old. He... didn't think he'd LIVE to be 100. He didn't think he'd be watching his f- his friends, who were all misguided, unsettling, freakish murderers, play around in a house that didn't exist, while he waited to learn what is job was involving tormenting two human children.

'Where did your life go so wrong.'

The twins walked into the room missing their characteristic unfaltering smile.

"Hmm? What's wrong you two? You look like sourdough bread," questioned Frankie. BB shot him a quick pout at that.

"Roy gave us a special job. We're not supposed to tell you about it," they replied in monotony. Retreating to a pair of chairs, they shot each other the rare nuanced glance and stared out the window into the distance.

Pete shrugged as he brushed non-existent dust off his apron and walked into the other room. He took one last moment to glance at Sally and BB, who were staring in awe at a book Sally was trying to read. They were a little behind in terms of education but they were still trying. It would've been cute... in any other circumstance.

...

"You don't have a special job," Roy stated flatly right as Pete crouched into his tiny seat. "You'll follow the script as is. That'll be all."

"Oh."

Roy stared at him with glazed over eyes, breathing heavily. Pete had to wonder if he had some sort of respiratory malfunction.

"Is there... is there any particular reason? For why I don't get one."

"No."

"Why did you call me in here..?"

The human's face twitched ever so slightly, in what Pete could only assume was irritation. But he didn't say anything.

"Well," Pete's voice lowered to a grovel, "thank you for wasting my time." He snatched up his script and turned to leave. Which was when Roy decided to interrupt, of course.00

"Make sure you all practice in one of the spare houses. I'll need to talk with my... Two kids."

"Of course... Thank you oh so much for the imperative information." He didn't necessarily have a reason to, but he was beginning to like the man less and less. Then again, his instincts had never helped him much before. Pete rolled his eyes shook off the strange emotion resting on his shoulders. After gathering up the gang, they were informed that they had two days to get everything perfect. As they crossed the street to one of the uninhabited houses, Pete fantasized about what might happen after it was all over. They'd do their job well, and when they came back home, they'd probably get great rewards from the elders, such as not having to murder for a really long ti- agh, that's a really pathetic reward actually. Still, it would be something. The tall object was so distracted that he nearly slammed right into the wall.

...

Well. This was going swimmingly.

"Why're you two just sitting over there staring at nothing?!"

"Oh, for the last time, WE DON'T HAVE ANY LINES!"

"Ah, you two don't have to do jack, why'd I have to get saddled with these awkward rhymes that don't sound right?"

"They'd sound right if you'd actually SING!"

"I don't WANT to!"

"Oh you're complaining about that! Pete and I practically have to carry this whole song!"

"How do you say this word?"

"This is exactly why you're on drums, not lyrics! And for the record, it's pronounced fish, not feesh."

"Oh that's how it's spelled."

"UUUUUUggggggghhhh why can't you reeeeeeeaaaaaad."

Pete sighed as he watched the others bicker excitedly at each other over the script. As painful as it was to watch, the squabbles were also rather hilarious and he couldn't help but smile. Actually he could help it. It hurt too much to smile for long periods of time thanks to the re-education. It would tug on the exposed sinew and if he smiled too wide or too much, it might break the skin open again. But whatever. He was smiling on the inside. That counted, right?

Actually, despite the petty arguments, the gang seemed to be having fun. For all their yelling, he could still hear them holding back laughter at the ridiculousness of it all. It was so genuine and unlike anything he'd seen from them outside of small glimpses during the rare times they were all together. Their normal smiles were wide and shining, but simultaneously devoid of any true emotion. They were too perfect, too unpleasant. Now he could see the creases in their face and the light in their eyes. This was so stupid that you could not help but smile. It was like a child was instructing them all. This whole scenario was utterly absurd and just thinking about it made him chuckle internally.

Wait a minute, why was everyone staring at him?

"Oh. My. Gosh." Sally's face broke into the widest smile he ever saw as she hurtled herself towards him. He instinctively flinched back as she started hopping up and down.

"YOU DID IT YOU DID IT I KNEW YOU COULD!"

"D- did what?!"

"YOU LAUGHED!"

Pete froze for a moment, shocked that he actually laughed externally, before he chuckled again, causing Sally to almost fall backwards in shock off the couch he was sitting on. She started squealing, and turned to the others. "See! I told you it would happen, I TOLD you!"

Frankie sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "I guess I owe you £5 when we get home."

Pete watched in silence as the gang bustled about and talked with one another, growing exponentially distracted and off topic. Wait, was he really so miserable that they were betting on whether or not he was capable of laughing? He'd have to rectify that when they got back. He truly was happy around them, so he needed to make sure they knew it. His thoughts were soon pierced by someone behind him clearing their throat, and he stood up to face a very disgruntled looking Roy.

"You know. My LAST employee could memorize his script perfectly." He clenched and unclenched his fists rhythmically.

Pete had to hold back another snicker. It was almost too funny seeing this tiny man get so angry about something as moronic as this.

"I can assure you, we'll get this done just fine," Pete growled, eager to bother this silly human. "Why don't you run back home to your kids? I'm sure they're DYING to see your oh so welcoming face." No one could see it, but behind the mask he was smirking as well as he physically could. Roy was an utter joke in his eyes, and the only reason he found himself tolerating him as time went on was the fact that this was their job. He may have been ever so slightly frightened at first, but that had soon dissipated.

Roy simply turned around and walked out the room.

He muttered to himself, "Oh we'll see who's dying soon." Hmmph. A dad joke. What a rarity.