Tasque Manager's tail cord thumped against the floor irritably as she paced, "Can you believe that? 'It would be too dangerous for you!' all that malarkey!" she grumbled.
Spamton shrugged and scratched his head, glancing to the side, "Well… Did you know anything about this before now?" he asked, tapping a finger against her shoulder.
"Unless they've got an active cheat book for the security tunnels, I don't have to!" She stomped a boot and glanced to him, "We'd be sorting out the same puzzles at just the same rate, maybe faster given the topic of the task!" The robotic cat woman waved her hands as she spoke, her electromagnetic receptors steering them with ease, "You fixed that problem earlier with the kettle, didn't you?"
The short salesman paused and thought for a moment, his eyes to the floor, "Yeah but, I didn't do anything- y'know MASSIVE…" he shrugged and leaned with his head in his hand, his elbow resting on her shoulder as he looked at the glitches anxiously.
"Yes it was! You took what was around you and you made something that would work!"
"It was a flimsy, wiggly glass bowl!"
"It was smart!" She urged, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, "You and I could be helpful!"
"Me?"
"If you want… but, I for one, am not sitting by while Cyber City falls apart…" she turned, greeted in any direction by one of the three Swatchlings who'd circled the two protectively.
"Sorry, miss Tasque Ma'am…" Vince chirped softly, his gaze anxious and a bit guilt-ridden.
Barnaby gave them a glance from his position on the other side, "You were requested to stay and, for your safety, us to guard you."
"Yeah, I think the boss is pretty big on keeping you both alive so…" Gerald shrugged, stepping in front of Tasque Manager when she strode towards a gap, "Come on, don't make this a pain…"
"You can't just keep us here!" The cat android hissed softly and pinned her ears back.
The three corvid servants all paused and glanced at each other for a moment before nodding to each other, Gerald's voice easing in, "Weeeelll… With Queen blitzed out of her mind…"
Vince twiddled his thumbs anxiously and gave them a glance up through the few curled feathers that hung around his face, "And Swatch as her head butler…" he mumbled, dipping his head to shyly hide his eyes.
Barnaby cut the bush they were beating around in half with an adjustment of his suit, "They have taken up a position of power in her place temporarily, making them the royal and us their royal guard…" he sighed and combed his hand through his feathers, "As such.. You've been detained under royal order." the Swatchling blinked and turned his head away to not meet the glare of the cat-like android who shot him daggers.
"This is ridiculous! We should be helping them!" she snapped, pinning her ears back more sharply as the trio faced forward around them, "What if they get stuck somewhere? We can't just let them go alone!" she huffed before resting her hands on her hips, and seeming to give up.
Meanwhile, Swatch could feel the soft silk curtains brushing against their feathers and sides on occasion as they pushed through into a room with a rather low ceiling, met at every corner by large folds of sheek fabric and tiny tabs hanging from braided threads.
A table sat at the center with a single candle next to a large crystal ball that looked like earth, spinning slowly as it levitated.
"Hello? Miss Fire Fox?" They blinked a few times and gazed around for any other rooms or entrances from which to find the browser entering, but snapped to attention as the candle on the table grew brighter. Swatch's ruby-like eyes glimmered even through their tinted shades as the wick burned a larger and larger petal of flame. They hovered their hand over their face to the heat, stepping back a bit and glancing for the exit before their gaze back to the candle proved freezing, locked in place by another pair that gleamed back towards the top.
A smile formed just below but quickly turned into a yawn that brought an extra burst of warmth to the figure as it reached out two paws of flame onto the table, a pair of ears and a fox snout forming as the candle was abandoned.
Swatch felt the heat on their feathers and face intensify as the browser stretched into a more refined form, "Uh… F.. Fire Fox?" they stammered a bit.
The fox opened an eye to the visitor, finishing her stretch with a fluff of her tail as she climbed onto the crystal ball and waved a paw, "Greetings, friend. You're here for knowledge." She predicted with a flick of her ear, "The Addisons were screaming their heads off this morning about it all… And here comes Queenie's kid for an answer to start fixing the mayhem…"
"... Correct… and you know where the key to the security tunnels is?"
"I might… but something else is bothering me…" Fire Fox's orb floated a bit as she hung from it by the tail, "You've decided to go alone?"
". . . And if I have?" Swatch asked, glancing up. They studied the blazing browser in front of them, trying to harden their gaze towards the bright figure and readying to defend their decision.
"Well… I can't judge your decisions, I certainly don't understand them… why wouldn't you bring a helping hand?" She asked, leaning forward, her tail flickering around the earth in a few places, "You were certainly eager to assist when you made the-"
"That was years ago, I need answers to help with now.."
"This isn't just some search, not that I can search anyhow… This effect on our world has been draining me all morning…" she shook her head as a ripple of glitches tore through the curtains and fizzled out the other side.
"Okay well, I know you still hear a lot of talk around here! Even disconnected you know more than almost anyone here.." they said and squinted at the fox's light.
Fire Fox blinked at them with a low-lidded gaze, "You're not wrong… but should I tell you how to start a doomed mission?"
"It's not doomed! I was trained for this, I was raised with puzzles like these so I should be the one to go!" Swatch stepped forward, hands outward.
"You went to CoolMath Land when you were 8 and then studied books on the subject."
"Okay but-"
"You got stuck on the Block Game and book reading does not help." Fox blinked at them with an unamused gaze and shifted her weight to one side of her haunches, "You're not this stupid, Swatch.. I've watched your path for nearly two decades… You're afraid of something…"
"Afraid? Of course, I am! Everyone is afraid! Cyber City is falling to ruin!" They waved their hands, stepping closer.
"If you weren't afraid of something else you'd know that you'd have a better chance not going alone-"
"What I'm afraid of is you wasting my time, now where is the key?!" Swatch grit their beak and clawed at the air.
"You will get the key when I'm certain your quest won't end in failure!"
Spamton gazed at the entourage with cautious eyes, then glanced back around to the Information Center's booths, squinting at each one for a moment then back at Gerald, "Hmm… Hey, you said you like gags and pranks earlier, right?"
The green-donned bird turned his head and his beak curved into a grin, "Oh, for sure!"
"Fantastic! Tell me, friend, are you well-versed in… jello pranks?"
"Jello? Not gonna lie, chief, that sounds pretty fire, what's the prank?" Gerald's grin grew as he turned to listen.
"It's simple!" The short salesman offered a bright grin, his hand on his hip as he rested on Tasque Manager's shoulder by a leaning arm, "Trap your friends' things in jello! Pens, combs, toothbrushes-"
"No, absolutely not!" Barnaby cut in, shooting a glare to the scheming green Swatchling, "Don't you dare, Gerald!"
Spamton glanced over and raised a brow, "Aww, not a prankster? Never lived a little?"
"Yeah, live a little, you coward!" Gerald laughed a bit before turning back to Spamton, but before the salesman could open his mouth, Barnaby shot a response back.
The blue-suited male huffed, his beak up, "Of course not! What a childish way to pass time…"
"Oh right, because reading Ulysses for the third time is SO thrilling, huh Barn? Have you ever tried a prank?" The other servant asked, head tilted.
"Don't call me 'Barn' and did I not already make it obvious? I have been the victim of your jokes from the minute you started working here!" The blue Swatchling stepped closer to Gerald, squinting.
Tasque Manager and Spamton watched as the two fell into an argument, squawking within inches of each other over the morality of pranking. She glanced over as Vince tried to end the conflict, their hands up cautiously, "Great thinking, Spammy…" she whispered quietly and inched away from the trio, weaving into the crowd.
The Addison gave a last glance back to the abandoned guards, clinging to her back, "So, what now?" He asked as the pair disappeared from view.
"So why are you really going by yourself?" Fire Fox squinted back to the corvid, asking as she leaned closer and tilted her head.
"They… they might get in the way or get hurt!" Swatch answered as they waved a gesturing hand.
"Your fears are founded well, but you know the odds, don't you? The numbers will lean in your favor if you allow your prideful ass to accept some help."
Swatch sighed and rubbed their head, "I just… I'd rather be alone… that's how my life has been… for the most part… hasn't it?" They asked, stumbling over their reasonings, tilting their head in the browser's direction as they tried to collect their thoughts.
"Right, we'll push aside your little project partner I suppose…" Fire Fox flicked her tail, a glitch wiggling off of the flaming tips as she turned to see the butler with their head low, "And the Swatchlings?"
"They're like siblings, really…"
The living inferno shook her head and stepped back, "What about your work partner? You seemed rather keen on making friends with her, what happened there?" She asked as she peered down into the crystal ball, watching carefully, the simplified vision of a figure falling towards flame, "Mm… I see…"
The corvid blinked at her anxiously, ". . . If I'm just going to lose them, why should I get close to them?"
"... You're afraid to smile with them now… and cry for them later…"
Swatch took a deep breath, glancing away and down towards their own feet with a frown, "I didn't come here for a therapy session, I came here for answers." They stated firmly and began to turn to leave, but a line of flame formed across the exit.
"Don't get used to the silence… it will drown you…" she simply stated before lifting the flame, "The key is among her majesty's royal junkyard. Good luck."
Tasque Manager flicked her tail tip back and forth as she walked, glancing from booth to booth, "There has to be some kind of history cache section here… or hopefully someone aside from FireFox who'd know where we're going…" she mumbled, the salesman on her back shifting from one side to another to look around.
A hand reached out to them, a being of flame that donned a gradient of pink to orange, much like a sunset with a cartoony white flare upon their chest, "You look lost, lovelies~"
Spamton's expression twisted into one of annoyance, muttering, "Oh great…" under his breath as the cat woman turned them both.
"Depends on how much you know…" Tassy replied sternly, lowering her eyelids unamusedly, "You must be Tinder?"
The being gave a gleeful expression and took her hand gently, "My my, am I so popular already?" they asked, pulling her hand up to their face for a peck before her hand jolted into the air, fingers grazing through the front layer of flame across their face.
"More like infamous…" he muttered under Tasque Manager's cheek, avoiding the site's gaze with an almost embarrassed face, "Can we ask someone else?" he leaned closer and whispered, "They flirted my last few dates away from me over a car I sold em…"
The robot flicked her ear to him and gave a glance that apologized as Tinder shook their flame to normal, "Sorry about that, miscalibration on my electromagnets.." she lied slyly, earning a chuckle from her accomplice, "Would you happen to know where to find a key to the security tunnels?"
Tinder sputtered a bit and waved a hand, nodding, "It's no trouble-" they shrugged and straightened their suit with a trailing gaze that scanned the robot in front of them curiously, "Ahem… something about a key? Mm, I'd check the junkyard. Everything ends up there, maybe even we could take a trip, eh doll?" they asked with another grin that curved around as they hooked a hand around her waist, earning a glare of daggers from Spamton as the touch reached him as well.
Tassy leaned backwards, raising a brow and pinning her ears back, "Please keep your hands to yourself, mate…"
The flames shifted in tone and the being's demeanor changed to a much less forward one, their suave demeanor melting back into a more gentle one as they retracted their hand and rested both behind their back, "Understood. Sorry about that. So many swipe left, it's hard to shift back sometimes… You need the key for the security tunnels, right? I could lead you, if you like."
Spamton kept his squint on Tinder, shuddering and tugging on Tasque Manager's collar subtly, earning a decisive sigh from her.
"A point in the right direction will be fine thanks…" she said calmly, smiling when she received a nod and gesture towards the east.
Tinder opened a floating tab that visualized a rather choppy, glitchy map of Cyber City, "You'll want to head to the old royal scrapyard where Queen keeps her old fighter bot parts." They explained calmly, pointing to a more zoomed and scaled section. A set of polygons which jumped and broke at points, formed a towering pile of hollow bot framing, stacked steeply towards the skybox.
Spamton leaned forward over Tasque Manager's head, inspecting it with the same intense focus as the woman's face below his, "Is that a cave?"
Tassy blinked a few times and gasped, "There is! Where's it lead?" She asked, glancing back up at Tinder.
The app smiled and tucked the map away, "Why not be a little curious and find out?"