In no time at all, the hat-botlers were having their party. They were standing around the room, chatting, eating snacks, and drinking their beers while Flug's wrestling match played in the background.

Meanwhile, the girls had set up pillows and blankets around the top of Melanie's cage.

"There, now, if anything happens, we'll have the high ground," said Sadie.

"True, but we shouldn't underestimate their power," reminded Melanie.

"Hey!"

The girls turned around.

As if on cue, Jose had suddenly appeared on the edge of the roof holding an arm full of sodas.

"Hey there, ladies! I brought you some drinks," Jose said, rolling towards them with a friendly smile.

"What the feck?!" Sadie exclaimed before shapeshifting into a wolf and continuing her conversation telepathically. "How did you get up here?"

"Sadie!" Melanie tried to chide before Jose interrupted.

"Hey! Hey! Calm down, chicas," interrupted Jose. "I come in peace. Here, I brought Mexican coke. It's like the normal stuff, but it's got way more sugar and is much worse for you. It's the best shit. Come on, prima. What do you say?"

Sadie reverted to her human form, shrugged, and said, "Alright, but only because you come with offerings."

"Ay, chicas! Now, it's a party!" Jose said, rolling between the girls and propping himself down on the pillows. "Drink up!"

"Hey! You can't sit with us!" Sadie argued.

"Sadie!" Melanie tried to intervene.

"'Mean Girls'?" interrupted Jose with a raised eyebrow. "You're quoting 'Mean Girls'. Aren't ya?"

"Yeah," said Sadie. "You've seen that movie?"

"Of course, I have," Jose replied. "I watched that movie in theaters with my sisters when I was 11. I had two big sisters and one little one. I used to do all the girly stuff with them."

"Really?" Melanie asked in surprise. "How old are you?"

"19," Jose answered.

"So, where are you from?" asked Sadie. "You know, before the robot situation."

"If you do feel like talking about that," Melanie added.

"No problem, chicas. I ain't Roberto. I'm an open book," Jose said, pulling open his beer with his robot fingers. "I grew up in San Antonio with my aunts, uncles, and cousins all around me. My best friends grew up only a few houses down. Ladies, believe me when I tell you it was so lit. We did everything together. We'd do our homework, play soccer in our yards, watch a bunch of horror movies, play music together in our band, and upload videos on YouTube back when LetsPlayers and Abridgers were new and there wasn't all the commercialized algorithm bullshit there is now. You could also swear a fuckton and no one cared, bro. God, it was so cool. I miss those days, man. My besties, cousins, and sisters did everything together. We went to the same community college. We worked in the same restaurant. We partied together. We were together all the time. We didn't have to worry about nothing. Oh, my God. It was the greatest. I miss those days so much…"

When Jose paused to take a swig of beer, Melanie looked at Sadie confusedly. They were both thinking something similar.

"Wait. Didn't you say you were only 19?" asked Melanie.

"Yeah," Sadie added. "Didn't 'Mean Girls' come out in 2004?"

Jose chuckled out loud and replied, "Yeah, that doesn't make sense. Does it? Sorry. We don't get many non-cyborg visitors that aren't the doctor, the crazy chick, the bear, or the demon, so it's not something I'm used to explaining. You see, the doctor turned me, my best friends, and my cousins into robots when I was 19, back in 2012. Because of that, my brain and body never got to mature anymore. So, mentally, I figure I'm still 19. Really, I'm as old as Flug is. I just never learned to act like a grown-up."

"Oh, my God," Melanie replied.

"Yeah, chica," said Jose sadly. "It's like this for all of us. We're all stuck in a robotic purgatory that we never asked for."

"Robotic purgatory?" Melanie asked. "That's quite a creative way to put it."

"Thanks," Jose said proudly. "I got the idea from Dante's Divine Comedy."

"You've read that book all the way through?" Sadie asked, impressed. "Wow, man. I've never even managed that."

"Hey! I may be a party boy, but that doesn't mean I ain't smart," defended Jose. "I'll have you know that I was at the top of my class for my first year at my community college."

"You went to community college?" asked Sadie. "My mum started out at one."

"Yeah, girl, San Antonio College, I went for programming and coding and all the computer sciences," elaborated Jose. "I was the vice president of my programming club and even learned how to be a hacker."

"You don't say," Sadie said. "My dad's a programmer too. He had me young, so he's only a few years older than Flug."

"Is he now?" asked Jose. "Sounds like he and I would get along. My fam used to tease the crap out of me for being a nerd. They called me Donatello, after the Ninja Turtle. It was all in fun though. They were always super supportive. I was also the one they always called whenever they needed any kind of tech support. I was always proud of that."

"That's kinda funny," Melanie said. "Where are they? Can we meet them?"

Jose's face fell immediately.

"Jose?" asked Melanie.

"You can't," Jose said with a sad smile. "They're all gone now."

After a moment's pause, Melanie asked, "Did Black Hat have something to do with it?"

"The whole damn system did," Jose explained calmly but with heavy sadness in his voice. "It all started around 12 years ago when my cousins, friends, and I heard about this temporary storehouse job that paid well. I thought it would be a good way to cover some bills for school. Everyone else had other bills to pay, so we all went for it only to discover that we were working for a villain who wanted to make us all his henchmen. We refused, naturally, and the head honcho didn't like that, but we didn't know that at the time. We were naïve enough to believe that we were getting a vacation at a nice resort where we would finally get access to our phones so we could contact home when we got sent away. But of course, that wasn't true.

"That's when we met good old Doctor Flug who told us we could either give into the brainwashing that was coming or face the consequences. At first, we don't take the guy seriously, right? He sounds like he's my age and we think we can take him. Then the brainwashing comes. It's tough, but we don't give in. After all, we have each other, right? Then it gets worse, but we still stick together. My oldest cousin Javier, no older than 24 at the time, he was the leader of our group. He comes up with this plan to escape. We all are on board. We thought it was foolproof because Javier is a genius. He graduated with honors from Texas A&M, business management major, the first one of us to go to college with a scholarship. We all thought he could do nothing wrong, but again, we were so naïve and so damn stupid. We got caught because the evil doctor was just so much better.

"Then we get turned into hat-botlers. We were all broken. All depressed, but we had each other. We stuck together and vowed to look out for each other and do what it took to survive. Most of us thought that would be enough. Only Javier knew better. I'll never forget that first night. We were all crying because our lives were over. We were slaves and objects in this home on this island we could never leave. But Javier, he was calm. He told us, 'Don't fear the reaper', the title of our favorite song to perform together. We didn't know what it meant then, but we understood later. One by one, we would be picked off and we'd see others die. Javier would always say the same thing, 'Don't fear the reaper.' He meant death was and is nothing to fear because it's the only thing that'll bring us freedom from this system that had us damned from the beginning.

"Cousin Ronaldo died first. He caught Black Hat on a bad day. My best friend Miguel went next. The doctor needed a test subject for an experiment. He put himself in front of me so I wouldn't be chosen. I was the baby of the group. They always protected me. My other bestie Hector got sent on a mission and never came back. Again, he put himself in front of me. The lizard chick took out my cousin Tulio. Cousin Martín got hit by a car and the doc didn't consider fixing him worth his time. My cousin Romeo found out his girlfriend Julietta died of cancer. With hardly a word to anyone, he went to the desert and blew himself up. My cousin Javier was the last to go. He went to Black Hat to serve him wine and got his head removed and brains drank instead. I rolled in, when the bastard was done, to clean it up. Javier's last words were, 'Don't fear the Reaper'."

The girls were horrified, staring at Jose empathetically and pitifully with eyes on the verge of tears.

Jose looked back at them and saw their feelings.

"Hey, hey, hey," reassured Jose. "You don't need to cry for me, chicas."

His words didn't work. The girls still looked ready to cry.

Jose looked askance for a few moments before finding the words to break the tension, "Hey, wolf girl?"

Sadie shook out of her silence and replied, "Oh, uh, yeah?"

"You're a shapeshifter, right?" asked Jose.

A bit confused, Sadie looked back at Melanie and then at Jose to reply, "Yes, I'm part puca. That's a type of Irish fairy."

"And you're part reaper, right?" Jose asked Melanie.

"Yeah," Melanie replied.

"So, I'm not afraid of you," Jose said, pointing to Melanie.

Melanie paused.

"But I am afraid of you," Jose finished as he pointed to Sadie.

The girls looked at each other confusedly.

Jose sighed annoyedly, "I was trying to make a joke to lighten the mood. My God, that sucked!"

Suddenly, Melanie burst into laughter. She laughed harder and harder until she couldn't breathe.

Sadie gradually started snickering along with her.

Jose smiled, "Wow, my joke actually landed? I'm smoother than I thought."

"No," Melanie chuckled. "That joke sucked."

Jose scoffed and asked, "Did you just laugh to make me feel better?"

Melanie stopped laughing and replied, "No, I'm laughing because you tried to make a crappy joke and got upset it didn't work. I found that funny."

"She has a dark sense of humor sometimes," explained Sadie. "I do, too. It's another reason why we're friends."

Jose chuckled under his breath and said, "You know, you two are alright."

Melanie's face grew more serious, and she asked, "After all you've been through, how are you still so positive? We both have faith yet we're still struggling. How do you keep going?"

"Struggling doesn't mean your faith isn't any good," Jose said with a warm smile. "Going through this shit, it hurts everybody. Everybody suffers in this hell. We all have had to find our reasons to keep going or we go out to the desert and blow ourselves up. For you, it's faith. For others of us, it's other things. You just have to decide what it is and keep going."

Melanie nodded. If that was the case, she'd keep going. No matter how bad it got here, she wasn't giving up. She would hold onto her faith.

"So, what is your reason to keep going?" Sadie asked suddenly.

"I have multiple…" Jose said, before another hat-botler interrupted him.

"Hey, Jose?" asked a hat-botler.

"What is it?" Jose asked, looking over the edge.

"We were wondering if you would hack the computer and put on some music," said another hat-botler.

"I'll see what I can do," Jose said, giving Melanie a wink and moving towards the edge.

"You're a hacker?" asked Sadie.

"Kinda," admitted Jose. "I already learned a lot about computers and programming when I was at school, but all the unsupervised time we're given just let me get better. I know how to hide my search history so well that even the doctor can't figure it out, so I can help anyone around here find whatever they need: social media accounts, streaming services, music, legally and illegally downloaded content, and even some viruses off the Dark Web to infect the computers when I feel like getting some revenge."

"Nice," Sadie commented.

"I know, right?" said Jose. "Most of the hat-botlers tease me for being stuck a kid until they need my help with the computers."

"Only because you are one!" another hat-botler teased.

"I was 19 about 12 years ago. You turned 25 last year. You're the baby, Freddy," Jose teased back as he hopped off the cube. "Now, let me see what I can do."

"Hey! I know what you can do if you want music," Sadie suggested. "Why don't we listen to Melanie's music playlists? She has several on YouTube."

"What? Sadie?!" Melanie replied nervously.

"What?! The doctor might see my phone if I connect mine," Sadie reasoned. "Besides, I like your music mix. The party was your idea after all. It only fits that you should get to choose the music."

"But what if they don't like it?" Melanie asked worriedly. "What if they think it's weird?"

"We like you a lot so far," Jose added. "I don't think you could do anything to make me or the others hate you at this point."

The other robots spoke up to agree with him. That helped Melanie's confidence a little.

"Well, okay," agreed Melanie. "I'll use my technopathy to connect the phone to the TV. You guys let me know if you don't like anything and I'll change it. Okay?"

"Prima, I don't think you could do anything we don't like," reassured Jose. "Also, how the crap do you have technopathy?"

"It's a new ability that younger reaper hybrids have," said Melanie, feeling a bit more confident than before as she got out her music playlist. "I guess God allowed us to evolve."

"Lucky," teased Jose. "Need any help setting up?"

"No," Melanie said confidently as she pulled her music playlist up on the TV. "I think I got everything under control."

Melanie clicked the shuffle button on her YouTube music playlist and waited for the first song.

It was "Pavane for a Dead Princess" by Maurice Ravel. Melanie immediately flushed in embarrassment.

All the hat-botlers paused in surprise at hearing the classical music piece.

"Oh, uh, sorry!" Melanie said, feeling a bit flustered. "Just trying to get some mood music going. I'll move on to the next song."

"I didn't know you were such a fan of the classics, Melanie," Sadie commented. "It's pretty."

"It helps me calm down sometimes," Melanie said quietly, quickly trying to press buttons to change the song they were listening to. "But it's totally not right for a party. This is why I didn't want to use my playlist."

"It's okay, lass," Sadie reassured. "Just go to the next one."

"I'm trying," Melanie said nervously.

The seconds felt like humiliating minutes as Melanie found the right buttons to press to move the playlist along.

Melanie finally pressed the next button and the next song played. It was "Complainte de la Butte".

Melanie's heart sank.

"Oh, God," Melanie said, feeling her voice get higher. "I screwed it up again."

"What song is this one?" asked Sadie.

"Complainte de la Butte," Melanie replied in a panic. "It's an old French song. There's no way they're going to like this one."

Sadie looked over the crowd and smiled.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Sadie said. "Look."

The robots were talking to each other like before. Only some looked like they were even listening to the music, but the ones who did seemed to enjoy it.

"I don't get it," Melanie said, scratching her head. "Everyone's okay with it?"

"Yeah," Sadie said. "They're enjoying the party. They aren't worried about judging you. You don't need to be so hard on yourself. Just let the music play."

Jose suddenly rocket-boosted himself over the side of cell and said, "Hey! Some of the French guys really appreciated the French song. Keep up the good work."

With that, Jose hopped off the cell again, leaving Melanie and Sadie alone.

Looking around and seeing the robots enjoying themselves, Melanie smiled.

Then the next song played. It was "Whisper" by Evanescence.

"Oh, man," Sadie said excitedly. "It's been a while since we listened to Evanescence together."

"Ages," Melanie agreed.

"Want to sing karaoke to it?" Sadie asked with an excited glint in her eye.

"Uh, Sadie, I don't know if these hat-botlers want to hear us sing all night," Melanie hesitated.

"Oh, no, we'll offer it to everyone," Sadie said. "I figured it could be a fun bonding activity for everybody."

Suddenly, 505 climbed to the top of the cage with Jose riding on his shoulder.

"I just want to intervene to say that idea sounds awesome, primas," said Jose.

"Are you just listening to our conversation and waiting on where you can intervene?" asked Melanie with a raised eyebrow.

"So, what if I am?" asked Jose, taking another drink of his beer. "I haven't had people like you to talk to in over a decade. You can't blame me for being a bit socially awkward."

Melanie scoffed and said, "I guess, but it's still kinda rude."

"Yeah," Sadie added. "You should just join in."

"Alright then," Jose said, hopping off 505's back and falling back onto their pile of pillows.

"How many beers have you drunk?" asked Melanie.

"I lost count," Jose admitted.

"How are you drunk already?" asked Sadie. "You gobshites have only been drinking for about half an hour. Besides, you don't have bodies. That doesn't make sense."

"Hey! We're all brains, so it makes plenty sense," Jose argued back. "But forget about that. You've let a few songs pass by. I thought you two were going to sing karaoke."

505 grunted to back him up.

"Why are you on his side?" Melanie asked the bear annoyedly.

"Come on, Melanie, please," Sadie begged. "It'll be fun. Come on. We could all stand to keep this serotonin boost going."

Melanie sighed and said, "Okay, fine. But you're singing with me!"

"Deal!" agreed Sadie. "Now, let's wait for a song to come on that we both know."

The girls waited together to see what song would come on next.

The Ride of the Valkyries, Clair de Lune, Waterfall from Undertale, an old song by Gautier de Coincy, and a forgotten song about Hamlet that Sadie introduced to Melanie a few years earlier passed before the perfect song came on. For one of them anyways.

"Melanie, it's 'Birdhouse in Your Soul'!" Sadie said excitedly. "You remember this one, right?"

"Are you forgetting who introduced you to They Might Be Giants?" asked Melanie playfully. "Let's go."

"Pause the music," Sadie said.

"What? Why?" asked Melanie.

"I need to get us an introduction," Sadie explained. "If we go up there and start singing for no reason, we'll just confuse everyone."

"Okay, fine," Melanie said.

Melanie paused the music, causing the hat-botlers to look up in confusion.

"Alright, everybody! It's time for some karaoke!" Sadie called out to the crowd.

The hat-botlers cheered enthusiastically and gathered around the front of the room where Melanie and Sadie were standing on the scythe.

"Here are the rules," Sadie explained. "For every song that plays, anyone can come up and take over singing. First up is me and Melanie. Melanie, hit play!"

Melanie allowed the song to play. It was the opening melody to They Might Be Giant's "Birdhouse in Your Soul".

"You start first," Sadie said.

"But…Hey!" Melanie protested before Sadie pushed her forward and made her start.

Melanie took a deep breath and sang, "I'm your only friend. I'm not your only friend. But I'm your little glowing friend. But really, I'm not actually your friend. But I am."

To Melanie's surprise, the hat-botlers were bobbing along to the music in the pause. 505 was dancing most enthusiastically of all.

That gave her confidence and Melanie started flickering the lights in rhythm with the beats.

"Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch! Who watches over you!" the girls sang. "Make a little birdhouse in your soul!"

Melanie continued, "Not to put to fine a point on it! Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet!"

"Make a little birdhouse in your soul!" Sadie joined along with her.

The girls bobbed together for a moment with Sadie gesturing for Melanie to continue.

Melanie started moving the scythe around the room over the crowd and sang, "I have a secret to tell! From my electrical well! It's a simple message! And I'm leaving out the whistles and bells! So, the room must listen to me! Filibuster vigilantly! My name is blue canary, one note spelled l-i-t-e! My story's infinite! Like the Longines Symphonette! It doesn't rest!"

Sadie hopped off the scythe, flew around in the air next to Melanie, and sang with her, "Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch! Who watches over you! Make a little birdhouse in your soul!"

Much to the hat-botlers' astonishment, Sadie then shapeshifted into a bluebird and flew around while Melanie sang, "Not to put too fine a point on it! Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet! Make a little birdhouse in your soul!"

During the interlude, Melanie continued riding around the room on her scythe like it was a skateboard while Sadie turned back into a human and started dancing mid-air.

The hat-botlers enjoyed all of it, cheering with every wild move.

Finally, Melanie resumed, glowing for emphasis, "I'm your friend. I'm not your only friend. But I'm a little glowing friend. But really, I'm not actually your friend. But I am."

Then she quickly dissolved her scythe, summoned her wings to keep flying, and continued, "There's a picture opposite me! Of my primitive ancestry! Which stood on rocky shores! And kept the beaches shipwreck-free! Though I respect that a lot! I'd be fired if that were my job! After killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts! Bluebird of friendliness! Like guardian angels, it's always near!"

"Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch!" Melanie and Sadie sang. "Who watches over you! Make a little birdhouse in your soul!"

"Not to put too fine a point on it!" Melanie sang while perching on top of the cage as Sadie performed the dance from the music video. "Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet! Make a little birdhouse in your soul! And while you're at it! Keep the nightlight on inside the birdhouse in your soul! Not to put too fine a point on it! Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet! Make a little birdhouse in your soul!"

The girls then sang the endings where they sang different lyrics.

Sadie sang, "Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch! Who watches over you! Make a little birdhouse in your soul!"

Meanwhile, Melanie sang, "And while you're at it, keep the nightlight on inside the birdhouse in your soul!"

They repeated the last part again before coming together to sing the finishing lyric, "Not to put too fine a point on it, say I'm the only bee in your bonnet! Make a little birdhouse in your soul!"

The song ended, and much to Melanie's surprise, the hat-botlers erupted in loud applause.

"They're clapping for me," Melanie said in disbelief as her wings dissolved.

"I knew they would," Sadie added.

Melanie looked back at her friend and instantly remembered, "Hey! You said you'd sing with me. Why did you make me perform the majority of the song?"

"I did sing with you," Sadie explained. "I never said where I would."

"You tricked me," Melanie accused.

"Kinda, sort of," Sadie hesitated before redirecting her friend to their audience. "But look how well you did! You performed that song beautifully on your own, for the most part. You didn't need me to hold you up. You stood up on your own two feet. You're strong enough to do anything to set your mind to."

Melanie paused, looked around, smiled, and said, "I guess I did. But I still question your methods."

"I said I would help you and be your friend," Sadie retorted. "I didn't say I would do it perfectly."

Melanie responded with a playful eyeroll as the applause finished and the girls lowered themselves to the ground.

Unfortunately, Demencia then crashed through the ceiling and swung from the wires of an exposed light to the wall which she promptly stuck on to.

"Hello, ladies, hat-botlers!" Demencia yelled out to her stunned audience. "For some reason, my amorcito has deemed you worthy for an audience with him, Melanie!"

"What?" Melanie asked in surprise.

"Hey, Lizard Lass!" Sadie cried out to Demencia. "What the hell are you on about? We're kinda in the middle of something."

"Well, you know me. I just love crashing parties!" declared Demencia.

The light she swung from fell from the ceiling and smashed into the floor.

"Literally!" Demencia commented.

"Can you go away?" Melanie added. "We're having fun. I'm sure whatever Black Hat wants can wait till later."

"Nah ah, traidora," said Demencia, hopping on the floor. "My Black Hat waits for no one. You're coming with me now or I'll have to make you."

Knowing that she wouldn't win this fight, Melanie relented, "Fine. Can I have a second?"

"Not a chance. We don't wanna keep Black Hat waiting. Now, hurry up!" Demencia barked, hopping to her feet and walking out of the room through a path the hat-botlers cleared for her.

"But…" Melanie attempted to protest as a Hat-Sentinel rolled into the doorway.

"Our dark lord gave me some backup in case you decided to act up," Demencia gushed.

"Uh huh," Melanie said annoyedly. "I guess I'll just get my bag."

Melanie turned around to see Roberto holding her bag.

"Roberto?" Melanie asked.

"You need to get going, mija," said Roberto. "It's best not to keep the master waiting. You'll be alright. We'll see you later."

"What?!" cried Sadie in disbelief. "Why are you guys so willing to just…?"

"Because it's how we survive, chicas," Jose whispered, rolling up next to Roberto. "We have to blend together like zebras, so we don't get picked off. It sucks, but it's what we all gotta do. You both need to play along, so we'll be able to help you survive too. Sorry we can't do any more than that."

Melanie looked over at Jose's face and noticed a marking on his cheek.

"What's that on your cheek?" Melanie asked. "Is that a bass clef?"

Jose smiled, "Yeah, prima. I used to play bass guitar for our cousins' band. You reminded me and the others of good times tonight, so I thought I'd give myself something to remember it by."

Other hat-botlers around them muttered their words of support and affirmation.

"Who said it has to stop?" asked Melanie as Sadie handed over her phone.

With a flick of her wrist, Melanie pulled up her workout playlist on the screen and started playing it for the hat-botlers who immediately started cheering and dancing.

"Now, it's a party!" Sadie cried. "Why didn't you play this one to start with?"

"I don't know," said Melanie. "I guess I just didn't think of it till…"

"Booorrrrrrring!" Demencia interrupted from the hallway. "Are you down now?! I want to see my amorcito!"

"Calm your tits, woman! I'm coming!" Melanie yelled back at Demencia before turning back to Sadie and the other hat-botlers. "I'll go see what the demon wants and try to get back here as soon as I can. Enjoy karaoke, guys! See ya, Sadie!"

"See you," Sadie said, waving a bit anxiously and trying to hide her nerves.

"Don't worry, prima," Jose reassured her. "Melanie is important to these guys. She'll be okay. They won't hurt her. I'm sure of it."

"If you say so," Sadie said sadly.

"We know so," Roberto said, trying to back up Jose. "Just try to enjoy the party."

Melanie waved back as she headed to the door where Demencia was.

Once she was close enough, Demencia grabbed Melanie's wrist and practically twirled her into the hat-sentinel in front of her.

"Walk on ahead of us so you don't linger behind anymore," Demencia ordered. "You've kept me away from my handsome Lord Black Hat long enough!"

"Why am I in front?" protested Melanie. "I don't know how to get out of here. This lab is a maze."

"Fine," Demencia said, leaping on the ground in front of Melanie to lead the way. "Follow in between me and the robot. And no lagging behind! You've kept me from Black Hat long enough!"

"Whatever," Melanie said, following behind Demencia as she walked away. "Let's just get this over with."