A rainy Saturday night. The perfect time to be indoors. The sturdy apartment roof and the durable windows offered protection from the harsh elements outside, whilst the pitter patter of the raindrops on glass brought about a sense of coziness and security. A lovely night to just sit back on the couch and watch the telly or chill in the room and play some video games. However, for Steph it was hard to enjoy this night. Not with that THING around.
He stared at the thing. An Earthie variant of the bio-toys. Light blue fur with a golden mane and tail. Short and stubby, the thing looked more pig than pony. A thing designed to be cute, yet was anything but. Steph didn’t like this thing. He hated seeing it happy. He hated seeing it in his home. However, he was not the owner of this thing, so as far as he was concerned, he couldn’t do anything to it.
The thing’s owner or “Mummah” as the thing liked to call her, was sat on the sofa next to mom. Aunt Riya and mom chilling on the couch with the TV on. The thing was on the coffee table putting on a performance. A dance, which consisted of standing on his hind legs and swinging his forelegs left and right, before sidestepping once, making a slight hop and landing on all four, turning around and shaking his rear end, before turning back and sitting on his rear with his forelegs stretched out. By the end the thing was breathing heavily. It was clear that this two minute performance was heavy exertion for this thing, but it was well rewarded with both Aunt Riya and mom clapping.
“That was a lovely dance, Dey!” Aunt Riya exclaimed.
The praise elicited feelings of satisfaction from the bio-toy, displayed through a wide grin and the excited tapping of hooves on the coffee table. Steph observed quietly as Aunt Riya and mom continued to smile, but Steph felt no joy, he only felt disgust as he continued to observe the thing.
“Dey mak gud singies to Mummah n Mami Mummah!.. Dey wub Mummah! Mummah wub Dey! Dey gib wub n huggies! Mummah gib huggies n wub! Dey wub Mami Mummah! Mami Mummah wub Dey! Dey wub wittle daddeh Steph! Wittle daddeh Steph wub Dey!”
The bio-toy was looking at him now with a smile, yet all Steph could feel was loathing, and he could only look back with a frown, one that the thing was quick to notice, and responding with a low whimper, before running back to Aunt Riya.
“Wittle daddeh gib meanie wook!”
Mom suddenly turned to him with a frustrated look.
“Steph, don’t be rude to Dey.”
Steph continued to frown and rolled his eyes.
“I wUB YoU tOO DeY.” Steph responded sarcastically.
The thing, being a simpleton, completely missed the sarcasm and began to giggle happily, but it was clear that mom and Aunt Riya noticed.
“Steph!” Mom stated firmly.
Steph stood up. He was in no mood to act all nice to that wretched thing.
“Whatever.” He muttered apathetically.
“Stephano!”
Steph ignored his mom and walked into his room, slamming the door behind him.
“Dayum, what a cute home.”
Zeri was in a place that was both familiar yet foreign. A gorgeous little farmhouse in the rural county of Brookshire. She had never been here before but it felt familiar. Reminded her of Bochim’s home. She got out of the car, eyeing her driver / bodyguard.
“I’ll stay in the car, Miss Lucuques.”
“Thanks… Don’t worry, this time it’s a friend. No more… Uh… heated moments like last time.”
“Understood Miss Lucuques, but I’ll be here just in case.”
Zeri nodded, walking away from the car and towards the delightful looking home. The tidy porch that squeaked under her step felt nostalgic and so did the sound of the doorbell. A lovely woman greeted her at the door. A portly lady in her late fifties.
“Hello? Can I help you?”
“Hi! My name is Zeri Lucuques, I’m a fr-”
“Oh!”
Zeri looked at her in surprise and the woman gave her an apologetic look.
“Sorry! It’s just Emmy talks a lot about you.”
Zeri smiled.
“I hope it’s all good things.”
The lady grinned as she opened the door.
“Well, from what I hear you two had quite a rocky relationship…”
Zeri raised an eyebrow, as the lady continued smiling. This hint of nervousness.
“… But in the end you’re one of the people she trusts.”
Zeri made a small sigh of relief, and grinned.
“Well it’s the same for me. Emilia is one of the few people I trust, miss… Uh…”
“Oh heavens, where are my manners?” The lady said as she ushered Zeri in. “I’m Emmy’s mom, but you can just call me Harriet dear, please come in, come in, Emmy will be happy to see you.”
“Thank you Harriet, oh and apologies for coming in unannounced, I wanted to surprise Em… She is here right?”
“Oh yes haha she’s just outside helping her father out in the field with those Fluffies of hers. Please make yourself at home.”
Zeri followed quietly as she was ushered to the living room. An elderly man was inside, sat on a wheelchair, as he watched the telly. Harriet knelt next to him.
“Dad this is Zeri, she’s a friend of Emmys.”
“Huh? Who what now?”
Zeri waved politely as Harriet directed the elderly man’s attention to her presence.
“Zeri this is Emmy’s grandfather, Grant, but you can just call him Grandpa.”
Zeri smiled with a nod.
“It’s nice to meet you, Grandpa.”
“Haeh?”
Harriet and Zeri both exchanged amused grins, then Harriet excused herself as she went to fetch Emilia. Meanwhile, Zeri sat quietly in the living room, watching the telly. She noticed Grandpa staring at her.
“You one of Emmy’s friends?” He suddenly asked.
Zeri nodded politely.
“Yes Gran… Uh…sir.”
“Good! Good…You’re not one of those Fluffy loving city folk are ya?”
Zeri smirked.
“No sir, I’m not particularly fond of them except for a few exceptions.”
“Good! Personally I think those Fluffies are nuthin’ but trouble!”
“Oh? Must be annoying having two of them living at your home then?”
“What? Oh, ya mean Emmy’s Fluffies, ah Emmy knows not ta let’em bother me, so I don’t bother’em. Still it’s unnatural I tell ya. God didn’t make’em talkin pig ponies and it’s making the world crazy I tell ya.”
“The world does feel like it’s getting crazier.”
“You’re damn right about that. Just a week ago some kids burnt a barn just cause it had’em Fluffies insides. Burnt the whole building down. Now I don’t have any love for those bio-ma-whatits but since when did that make it okay to burn another man’s property.”
“Aye sir. Pretty extreme.”
“Damn right it is, but’em Fluffy lovers ain’t no different know what I mean?”
“Oh? What do you mean sir?”
“I’mma talkin bout’em Fluffy lovin’ city folk. Something ain’t right with’em. Did’ja see what they did to my lil’ Emmy?”
Zeri gave him a puzzled look.
“What’d they do?”
“She didn’t tell ya? Roughed her up pretty good just after she left that shelter, since when did people make shelters for’em critters? I thought they were supposed to be toys?”
“It’s complicated sir, could you tell me about the people who roughed Em up?”
“Why? Ya gonna start something?”
“Maybe.”
The elderly man grinned.
“Good! I love my lil’ Emmy to bits so it makes me livid to hear what’em Fluffy huggers did. Ambushed her right outside the shelter like a bunch of goddamn cowards. Why, if my legs worked like they used to, I’d find the bastard and give’em the ol’ one two. Know what I’m saying.”
“Aye sir. They roughed up Em, only fair we do the same.”
The elderly man nodded with approval.
“Finally someone gets what I’m saying! My boy says he doesn’t want to start something. Don’t want trouble with’em city folk. Well those hoodlums started it! And apparently it had been going on for a month.”
“A month? What do you mean a month?”
“Like I said, it had been goin’ on for a month. My lil’ Emmy was crying to bits to her momma about those Fluffy hugging city folks giving her mean looks or saying nasty things, jus cause she didn’t want to run a shelter for those things, and to top if off that assault! Over some god damn talkin pig ponies? I tell ya those Fluffies are no good. Since when d-”
“Grandpa!”
It was Emilia, she had arrived and the first thing Zeri noticed was that nasty bruise on her right eye.
“Em…”
Emilia suddenly grabbed her wrist and began dragging her away.
“Not here.” She stated firmly. “Let’s talk somewhere more private.”
Steph was sat on his gaming chair. He was feeling a little better after playing Lunk’s Legend on the Alternator 2 for half an hour, and as he looked at his phone, he realized that the night was about to get better. The latest episode of My Life as an OP Slime had just come out. Something good.
Murumuru and his faithful Demon Ogre warriors were about to fight the Holy Knight and her crew, who had been misled by the Archbishops. This episode was going to be epic, and Steph found himself feeling excited enough to ward away the annoyance. He pulled up the streaming site and waited for the episode to buffer. He knew this episode was going to be great.
Knock knock knock
It started off with dialogue. An exchange of heated words caused by a misunderstanding. Murumuru was trying to resolve things peacefully but one of the Holy Knight’s crew was being antagonistic and riling up Murumuru.
A fight breaks out. One on one between Murumuru and the Holy Knight lady. Flashy and fantastic, Steph found himself completely dazzled.
“Wow!” He exclaimed aloud.
Click
The fight continued. An array of magic attacks mixed with sword play, but the Holy Knight lady had planned to sacrifice herself for the sake of peace? Steph found himself mesmerized.
“Wittle daddeh, Dey wan be fwens gain!”
Murumuru realized this and stopped the battle. He realized that something suspicious was going on and decided to talk to the Holy Knight lady again. The Holy Knight lady agreed.
“Wittle daddeh! Dey am tawkies tu yu!”
A sudden twist. One of the Holy Knight’s allies was revealed to be one of the corrupt Archbishops. He suddenly wounds the Holy Knight. Murumuru attacks. He pr-
Steph jolted, as he felt something tapping his leg. Something soft and sort of squishy. He looked down in confusion to see the bio-toy staring at him with an obnoxious pout. He couldn’t understand how it even managed to get here, the door was closed. The answer became apparent when he saw Aunt Riya standing by the door with a smile.
He stared back at the screen. He had just missed some key information and now for some reason there were three corrupt Archbishops preparing to attack. Where did the other two come from? Why was the bio-toy here?
“Dey wan be fwens gain! Wan pway!”
The irritation from earlier had come back. Be friends again? Play? Why now? He was clearly watching something. Why now? Did it not matter that this he had been waiting for this show for a whole week and just wanted to spend the time watching it? WHY NOW?
“Leave me alone!” Steph shouted angrily.
“Scawy!” The thing screamed, running back to Mummah.
Aunt Riya quickly scooped up the thing and for a brief moment, Steph saw her scowl, before she walked away. He sighed, he knew what was going to follow. He paused his show in preparation.
“Stephano Y. Morgan!”
Steph made another sigh. Great. A lecture just for wanting to be alone. His mom came storming in and indeed did give him a lecture. Something about being nice to that thing and not being rude to guests. Aunt Riya and that thing we’re not guests. They had been living here for months already, ever since Aunt Riya divorced Uncle Be for leaving a bunch of Fluffies in a car. Who does that?! Over Fluffies no less. Whatever. It was stupid. This was stupid. And his mom was still lecturing him. Steph just nodded. He learnt that the less he talked back the faster this all went by.
“Now I want you to apologize to your Aunt Riya and Dey.”
Steph cringed. Apologize to that thing? He really didn’t want to, but at the same time, he knew his mom wouldn’t take a no for an answer, so he walked out of his room, making sure to emphasize how much he hated this by walking out in an obnoxious manner, right up to the Aunt Riya and Dey, who were sitting on the couch again.
“I’m sorry Aunt Riya.” Steph stated softly.
Aunt Riya smiled.
“That’s okay Steph.”
Steph turned to his mom, who still looked unhappy.
“And Dey?”
“ImsorryDey” Steph muttered.
The thing smiled.
“Dat am otay wittle daddeh! Dey forgib yu in wittle daddeh gib Dey huggies?”
Steph cringed. He really didn’t want to give that thing huggies but Aunt Riya was handing him the bio-toy and his mom was giving him the look, so Steph relented and picked up the thing, hugging it carefully so as to not get in trouble again. He heard the thing coo-ing in self-satisfaction.
“Dey wub yu wittle daddeh.” The thing whispered in his ear.
Steph cringed. He had to wonder if Dey said the same thing when he violated Stressball. He never told his mom and Aunt Riya what Dey had done. It was definitely messed up, but Fluffies did messed up things all the time and people still loved them. Why would mom and Aunt Riya be any different? He figured that if he told them, they wouldn’t believe him. Dey was just a “Wittle Fwuffy” after all and “They don’t know any better”. Heck if he showed them Stressball, he could totally imagine them blaming him for it. His mom might even have grounded him. Imagine being grounded for something bad that thing did. It was so unfair, but it was obvious that Mom and Aunt Riya preferred Dey over him. He had to wonder if they would care if he was gone. Probably not. That bio-toy was more important after all. Why else was everyone trying to make it happy? Steph returned the thing back to Aunt Riya. The bio-toy making a slight whimper.
“Wan mo huggies.”
Aunt Riya was quick to cuddle him up.
“Who’s my little baby?”
The bio-toy began to giggle “Wub mummah! Wub mummah!”
Steph felt disgust and walked away, but his mom suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Hey! Don’t go back to your room, it’s a nice night and we’re all friends again. Come on and sit down. Let’s all watch some TV, okay?”
Steph tried his best to hide his frown. He would have loved to continue watching My Life as an OP Slime, but clearly keeping that thing company was far more important than whatever plans he had. So he sat down on the far end of the couch and stared at the TV. Fortunately, his mom sat between him and Aunt Riya, a small barrier between him and that thing.
A soap opera was playing. Steph thought it was boring but it was clear that his mom was engrossed. He watched for a bit, but it was hard to maintain interest when he had no knowledge of the characters nor the story. Instead his eyes wandered to his side; to Aunt Riya and the thing bonding. It felt gross watching Aunt Riya rub noses with that thing, and hearing the bio-toy making those childish giggles that made him cringe.
“Who’s my good little baby boy? Who’s my good little baby boy?” Aunt Riya asked as she rubbed her nose on the bio-toy’s belly.
“Hehehe Dey am! Dey am!”
“That’s right! Yes you are! Yes you are!”
“Hehehe Dey am gud babbeh boi! Gud babbeh boi!”
This continued on for a few minutes. Steph really didn’t like it. It felt weird and gross. He really didn’t like how Aunt Riya treated this thing. Like it was an actual human baby, when it so clearly was not. It was a Fluffy. A bio-toy created by Hasbio. Nothing more. Nothing less. It made him uncomfortable, and he needed an excuse to leave.
“Toilet.” He announced as he stood up.
“Mhmmm.” Replied mom.
Aunt Riya and the thing didn’t say anything. Good. Steph stood up and practically rushed to the toilet. He really didn’t understand why Aunt Riya and that thing had to be here. Well he kind of did. It was adult stuff. Something about rent. Cheaper just to rent the guest room in this flat than a whole apartment. Steph didn’t really get it. Supposedly it was important to know, so why did they never talk about it in economic class? Instead they just talked about wants and the three basic needs, economic costs and supply & demand. Thinking about it, Tian’s mom did say something about how supply & demand related to rent, but that was after the two of them had a really boring mathematics lesson about trigonometry and quadratics. It didn’t matter. Aunt Riya and that thing were going to be here for a while and there was nothing Steph could do about it.
He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. This sucked. Like really sucked. He really didn’t want to spend time with that thing, but it really seemed like he had no choice. He couldn’t watch his J-toons, cause either his mom would be on his case or that thing would try to play with him again. It was best if he got out of the house. Maybe go out for a walk. It was only seven o’clock after all. He looked out the window. It was just starting to pour.
Suddenly a brief flash of light. Followed by a BOOM!
Squeak
“Hu hu hu pwease mistah darkie time sky nu mowe woud noisie n sky wawa hu hu hu.”
Steph looked down. The voice had come from the alleyway in between his apartment and the next. At the bottom he could just about make something blue and purple partially hidden inside a cardboard box. He didn’t need to see to know what it was.
“Hu hu hu iz nu faiw, wai daddeh weave Wosie hu hu hu Wosie am onwy Fwuffy hu hu hu Nee daddeh fo nummies n toysies n housie n huggies n wuv hu hu h- SCREEEEEEEEEEEE.”
It seemed that the cardboard home had disintegrated from the heavy rainfall, soaking the bio-toy in the cold rainwater. Steph could just about see the blue and purple bio-toy scramble out of the box and dart out of the alleyway. It was amusing, but there was something else on Steph’s mind, he was thinking about what the bio-toy had said. How it needed it’s owner for food, toys and all that stuff. It made him realize something. Something about Dey.
“So yeah that’s the whole story.”
Zeri listened quietly as Emilia completed her recount of the past month. A rather infuriating report about Emilia dealing with people who showed more sympathy for the Fluffies than her, and a disturbing admission of the brutal massacre that took place near the very end. Disturbing mostly because it was Emilia who had done the killings, but she understood Emilia’s feelings.
Zeri scooted closer to her friend and rested her head on Emilia’s shoulder.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Zeri asked.
“I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Em…”
“I… I was worried if I told you, you’d drop everything and go straight to the shelter.”
“You’re damn right I would.”
“That’s exactly the point, I didn’t want that. I didn’t want you getting involved. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? Em, you got attacked.”
“It’s no-”
“Em, look at you. It’s a big deal! Things could have gotten worse. You should have called me, and if you didn’t want me to come that’s fine too. I would have just sent people to help with Entepott and more importantly, people to watch your back.”
“I didn’t want to be such a burden.”
“A burden? Em! You’re my friend, I look after my friends. You’re not a burden.”
Emilia nodded slightly with a small, thankful smile.
“Truthfully… I… Well… I guess you heard from gramps, about… uh… me crying to ma and all… But I… well…”
Emilia had paused, making a small sigh as she looked down crestfallen.
“… I… I think… Well I know… I… I wanted them to hate me.”
“What?”
“The volunteers… I wanted them to treat me like a bad person.”
“Huh? Wha… why?”
“Because I deserved it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I deserved it. I abandoned Ella’s dreams, and I… I took away a stable home for the Entepott Helpers and the Good Fluffies, because… I couldn’t handle it.”
Zeri shook her head in disbelief and grabbed Emilia, forcing her friend to face her.
“Em, you’re not a bad person for giving up on Entepott. It’s insane that those volunteers actually treated you like one. I don’t seem to recall any of them joining Entepott when it was just the three of us.”
Emilia didn’t say anything, so Zeri grabbed her arms forcing her friend to face her.
“Em! You’re not a bad person!”
“Bu-”
“No buts, what you saw with Ella would have fucked anyone up. Shit Rats laughing and cheering at her death. You’d have to be pretty heartless fucker not to feel hatred for these things after seeing a couple of them laughing at the death of OUR friend.”
Emilia looked away, nodding slightly.
“Do you have any names?”
“Names?”
“The fuckers who hurt you.”
“Ze, it’s fine.”
“It’s not.”
“It is. What’s done is done.”
“Em!”
“I’m serious Ze, don’t start something. They were just doing what they thought was right.”
“Harassing a girl who lost her friend, simply because she didn’t want to run a shelter?.. And don’t you dare say I was doing the same after the funeral.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“Good! Because I would never treat you like those asshole did. Now give me names.”
“No!”
“Em!”
“Ze!”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want you making a mountain over a mould hill.”
“They started it when they couldn’t respect the wishes of someone who didn’t want to run a shelter.”
“They’re desperate Ze, more and more people hate Fluffies everyday, they’re just trying to protect the places left.”
“By beating up people who don’t join their cause?”
“F3 doesn’t represent all Hugboxers. Just like those basement psy… people don’t represent all Abusers.”
Zeri eyed her friend suspiciously then made a long frustrated sigh.
“Fine. Fine… I won’t push.”
Emilia made a relieved sigh and a grateful smile.
“Thank you Ze.”
“Still can’t believe you’re defending those assholes.”
“They’re just doing what they think is best to protect something they love.”
“By bullying people?”
“It’s not… They don’t see it that way.”
“Then how do they see it, huh? Cause to me it sounded like they were harassing you?”
Emilia shrugged.
“They were desperate and… and sometimes people can do mean things if they think they’re doing it for the right cause.”
“What like Mayer?”
Emilia gave Zeri a surprised look, then shook her head.
“I… I think you were right about him being an abuser pretending to be a hugboxer, I think the Happy Hugbox fund realized that.”
“He’s a Hugboxer.”
“Huh?”
“He’s a Hugboxer.”
“How do y… Wait, you found him?”
“Yup.”
Emilia grinned.
“I knew you could find him… rich bitch.”
Zeri grinned, but her smile quickly faded as she remembered their heated conversation.
“I found him, but… sigh… Well, let’s just say that things didn’t go to plan.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I tried to be polite and was just planning to talk with him first. Like chat, figure out his intentions before telling him how his stupidity ki… caused boss to suffer, and ruined one of the best Hugbox shelters out there… sigh… but that didn’t work out so well.”
“What happened?”
Zeri made another sigh and noticed Emilia’s worried look.
“I… Well… Let’s just say that this Mayer guy is a lot more delusional than I thought.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“It means that the way he was acting in our shelter was not an act. He most likely believes that he’s doing what’s best for Fluffies, heck he was even happy when I told him that bo-”
Zeri paused. She figured she’d spare Emilia that detail.
“Told him what?”
“Nothing Em. Mayer, he’s just an asshole that’s all.”
Emilia sighed.
“So I guess he doesn’t regret what he did to Entepott?”
“He doesn’t… I’m sure of it, and… You think we should forgive someone like that?”
Emilia gave her a mean look.
“I see what you’re trying to do, and I don’t appreciate it.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Mhmm.”
Now it was Emilia’s turn to sigh, making Zeri feel slightly guilty.
“Em, I d-”
“It’s fine. I… I get what you’re trying to… I… I guess it’s best if we forgive Mayer.”
“What?”
“I know! I know… He’s an asshole… but… well… like he… uh… like, I mean what would be the point of making him sorry, it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t bring Ella back. Ella wouldn’t have wanted that… she’d just tell us to forget about them and move on.”
Zeri felt a brief rush of anger. How could Emilia say something like that? Forgive and forget all those assholes. Yet, she couldn’t deny it. She could imagine boss saying it. Mature boss kinda stuff after all.
Zeri made a resigned sigh and nodded in agreement.
“Okay… you made a good point.”
Emilia smiled and scooted closer to Zeri, resting her head on Zeri’s shoulder.
“Thanks Ze… And thanks, for coming all the way here just to check up on me.”
Zeri smiled.
“Of course! I said I would didn’t I?”
“Still Brookeshire. That’s a long way from your office. Where was it again? Obsidiare?”
“Eh, it’s not that far. Just like half an hour by helicopter.”
Emilia snorted slightly as she continued to rest her head on Zeri’s shoulder.
“Regular Richie McRichinson over here.”
“Hah! Sure sure Applejack.”
The two chuckled as they stared at the farm. A lovely field of golden yellow wheat amidst a backdrop of the lovely oak tree forest, all under a clear, light blue sky. The two stayed quiet, basking in the serenity.
Creak
The sound of the door broke the peace. The two girls turned around to see Emilia’s mom, Nan, standing behind the door with an embarrassed look.
“Sorry dears, I didn’t mean to pry, but I just baked a lovely batch of cookies. Emmy, don’t be rude! Invite your friend in for some tea.”
Emilia smiled before nodding in agreement and standing up, offering Zeri a hand.
“You got some free time for cookies and chocolate milk, miss CEO? My mom makes some of the best butter cookies in all of Brookshire country.”
“Oh wow. That’s a bold claim, I better go in and try some myself. I am a leading expert in butter cookies after all.”
Emilia grinned as Zeri grabbed her hand. The two stood as a new face approached. A big man with a stern face, who coughed slightly grabbing their attention.
“Emmy. I need your help for a bit with the field.”
“Coming papa. Hey Ze, go with my ma for a bit. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
“Okay. no probs.” Zeri replied with a smile.
Nan made a frustrated sigh, as she walked back in the house.
“That Byron of mine, I swear all he has in his mind is the farm. Work work work. It’s going to be the d…”
Nan paused. She had a troubled look on her face, as she made a soft sigh.
“Emmy told me what happened to Ariella. It’s… It’s heartbreaking. So young.”
Zeri nodded in agreement with a solemn look. This feeling of numbness.
“She worked herself too hard.”
“Yes… Emmy told me… And her mother. Let me tell you this dear, as a parent, one of the worst things in life is burying your own child. Ariella’s mother must have been devastated. Lord if that were to happen to my Emmy, oh I don’t even know if I could go on. I’ll tell you, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that nasty bruise on my Emmy. I tell you, those brutes deserved everything that happened to them. Oh… but still what happened to Ariella was absolutely tragic. So young… oh listen to me rambling, you probably didn’t want to hear all that. You wait here while I get the cookies ready. You’re okay to drink milk right?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Please dear, just Nan is just fine.”
Zeri smile as Nan walked off. It was just Zeri in the dining room,but for long. Two familiar faces showed up. A pair of brown Fluffies, who looked tuckered out. Oakley and Coco.
“Oh hey you two, long time no see.”
The two Fluffies looked at her in confusion. Both silent as they inspected her, but Oakley’s face suddenly lit up and he turned to Coco.
“Am Miss Zewi!” Oakley exclaimed.
“Miss Zewi?” Coco asked aloud “O! Em Mummah fwen fwom shewtew!”
“Yus! Yus! Oakwey wememba NAO!”
The two Fluffies quickly scrambled to her, hugging her legs tightly as they wagged their tails. Zeri grinned, but she felt a little confused.
“What do you guys mean Emilia’s friend from the shelter? It’s me, you know Zeri the one who gave Shit Rats the worstest hurt-”
“Bad wowdsie.” Oakley suddenly stated.
Zeri stared at him bewildered.
“Uh… Sorry… um…”
Zeri stared at the two in confusion. Did they forget about the time they shared in the shelter? Well it had been months after all, so…
A worrying thought. A question she just felt needed to be asked.
“Boss… do you two remember her?”
She looked at the two Entepott Helpers, feeling nervous as she noticed their confused faces. Both of them looked at each other before turning back to Zeri. Coco still looked perplexed, whilst Oakley was doing that cute thing where they tilt their heads slightly. Zeri began to grow worried.
“Um… Ariella… Ella wa- no Ah! Ewwa mummah. Yeah Ewwa mummah.”
Zeri scrolled through her phone and found her picture with Ariella and Emilia, and she showed them the photo, pointing to boss.
“Her, remember her?”
The two Fluffies stared at the photo closely, before both turned to her.
“Who am dat?”
Steph walked out of the toilet. He was still thinking about what that alleyway bio-toy had said. All the things it NEEDED from its owner. How all these bio-toys were largely dependent on their owner.
He looked at his mom. She was now in the kitchen making tea. Meanwhile Aunt Riya was still on the couch, while the bio-toy was back on the coffee table putting on another performance. One that was significantly lackluster, with the bio-toy still on his hind legs but now merely shaking his forelegs up and down. Steph ignored him, as he got a snack from one of the cupboards. An act that the bio-toy was quick to notice.
“Dey wan wittle nummies tu!”
Aunt Riya chuckled.
“Hmmm I don’t know baby, you still haven’t lost much weight, maybe snacks aren’t a good idea.”
Dey whimpered before suddenly dancing a lot more energetically, lifting his rear legs one at a time and doing a little twirl.
“Wook! Wook! Dey du gud dancie! Pwease pwease Mummah ju wittle nummies. Onwy wittle bit pwease.”
Dey sounded desperate and Aunt Riya chuckled.
“Okay okay. Steph honey do you think you can get one of the cookie crumble bags from the top shelf? The mini bags.”
Steph nodded as he opened the top shelf. The shelf itself was filled with an assortment of Fluffy related food items. He got one of the mini cookie crumble biscuit packets, made by Hasbio. Soft enough for these bio-toys to consume, because they were so… Helpless.
Heading to the living room, the bio-toy quickly saw the small bag of treats and scampered to the edge of the coffee table. As soon as he got close, the thing clung to his leg. Steph didn’t like it but he did his best to hide his frown and passed the bag to the bio-toy, making Aunt Riya chuckle as she took the bag and ripped it open.
“Dey can’t open the bag himself, you need to open it for him.”
As she said that, she poured the cookie crumble biscuits into the thing’s feeding bowl and put the bowl in front of the bio-toy.
“Tank yu Mummah!”
The bio-toy quickly began to scarf down the food hungrily, as Steph observed judgingly. This bio-toy was so helpless. It needed someone to get it food and even do something as simple as open a bag of treats.
Thinking about it, other animals were the same, so why did these bio-toys feel different? Was it because they talked like humans? Well they talked more like babies or young kids.
“You like your cookie crumble baby?”
“Yus Mummah! Tank yu Mummah!”
It really was like a young child, right?
“Mummah? Can… Can Dey hab specaw fwen?”
Aunt Riya sighed and pet the bio-toy, causing it to make soft coo-ing noises.
“Sorry baby, I know you really want one, but now isn’t a good time.”
The bio-toy whimpered slightly.
“Bu bu bu Dey weally wan specaw fwen, n be bestest gud Fwuffy ebah.”
“I know baby, but it’s already expensive to care for one Fluffy and I’m not ready to have another.”
“Bu Dey wan specaw fwen. Am bestest gud Fwuffy.”
The bio-toy had began tapping its hooves on the coffee table. Steph knew what was to come. A typical Fluffy tantrum, but the moment was suddenly interrupted by a flash of light followed by BOOM!
The bio-toy practically jumped with a screech, expelling some waste on the coffee table before bolting to Aunt Riya.
“Oh Dey.” Aunt Riya said with dismay “Mami, sorry gurl Dey had another fright again.”
“Hu hu hu Dey not weady for sky scawies dis tyme. Hu hu hu nu wike nu wike. Nu wan scawdies am onwy for huggies n wub hu hu hu.”
The bio-toy was burying its face in Aunt Riya chest, as Aunt Riya gave Steph an apologetic look. Steph just sighed as he grabbed a plastic and some tissues, scoping the wet goopy filth into a bag. It was gross to say the least.
“Sorry about that Steph.”
Steph just nodded, as his mom came over and squeezed his arm lovingly.
“Thank you honey.”
Steph nodded again. He did like feeling appreciated. While his money wiped the coffee table, Steph discarded the waste, then he turned back to the living room. The bio-toy was still in Aunt Riya’s arms sobbing softly as he continued to bury his face in Aunt Riya’s chest. He was like a baby.
“We should put diapers on you to prevent anymore accident,” Aunt Riya stated.
Dey just continued sobbing softly, as Aunt Riya lifted him up and put a diaper.
“Hu hu hu wan mo huggies Mummah”
“Aww… of course baby.”
Aunt Riya continued to hug him tightly. He did kind of look like a baby. A furry, light blue baby with a golden mane and a snoot. A helpless innocent baby…
Except he wasn’t. Not really.
Dey wasn’t a baby and he wasn’t innocent. He was a full grown Fluffy. A full grown Fluffy who knew all about sex. Steph knew about sex, he was fifteen with full access to the internet after all, but he also knew that sex was something only grown ups were supposed to do. If he or Tian were to ever have sex at this age, their parents would have most probably killed them, or ground them until they were old. Only adults had sex, but he had never met an adult who was so scared of thunder that they would poop themselves, nor had he ever met an adult that needed to wear a diaper. An adult who needed others to open bags of cookie crumble because they couldn’t do it themselves. An adult who would constantly ask for toys, food, hugs, love and even a girlfriend. What kind of toy asks their owner for a girlfriend? Wasn’t that weird? He would never ask his mom for a girlfriend.
Steph thought about the Fluffy in the alleyway. He thought about what it said. How it needed it’s owner for food, toys, a roof over it’s head. Of course it would. Fluffies were helpless creatures. Creatures who could not survive on their own. Creatures who could only survive thanks to the kindness of Humans.
Steph remembered something his dad said, about how Aunt Riya spent so much on Dey. And the amount of time mom would spend cleaning up Dey’s numerous messes. Heck Steph himself always had to waste time and energy just to keep Dey happy. Fluffies. They took, took and took, and they never gave.
One word came to mind: Parasite.
Fluffies were parasites
Dey was a parasite.
Steph remembered his class about parasites. They might have been small, and they might have looked harmless, but if left unchecked, they could grow, spread and could truly become dangerous.
Steph looked out the window. A massive playground park built just for these bio-toys. One of the very few in this city. He remembered his dad making a comment, something about waste of taxpayer money and Hugbox politicians caring more about Fluffies than real people. He knew about taxes, money that people had to give to the government when they became adults, but he wasn’t really sure how that worked, or why it was being used to fund a park for Fluffies. And it wasn’t just his dad. He had heard many people complain about the park. His friends, his neighbors, the shopkeepers and patrons. Not everyone, but not a few either. At least one person a day.
Why did they make that park?
All that space wasted on Fluffies.
Could’ve used the space to build an apartment.
Funded by our tax money.
Why not make a normal park for everybody else.
What an eyesore.
Why does the mayor care more about Fluffies than us?
Truth is, Steph didn’t understand a lot of them, but one thing he did understand was that people were unhappy. Were they unhappy about Fluffies? These parasites? He could imagine it. He thought about the park during the day times. All those smiling Fluffies. Smiling, while so many other people were unhappy. They didn’t care. Why would they? As long as they were happy that was all that mattered.
Just like Dey.
Selfish.
All of them were.
Parasites. Every. Single. One of them.
He stared at the park, then turned back to Dey. Though his anger was now raging he knew how to keep a straight face. He learnt how to do it, because he wasn’t allowed to make a face. It would upset Dey and it was clear that his mom and Aunt Riya preferred to Dey over him. This parasite.
He knew he couldn’t touch Dey. His mom and Aunt Riya would probably kill him. He wasn’t joking. A woman went to jail for killing a man with a shovel. Smacked him right on the head for hurting her Fluffy. Imagine that. He could imagine his mom hitting his head with a frying pan. Well not really, but maybe Aunt Riya. After all, she divorced Uncle Be for accidentally killing some Fluffies by leaving them in a car, so was it so hard to imagine her hitting him in the head with a frying pan or some shovel? And as for Dey? Well he imagined that they Dey would just giggle. Probably just ignore all this and ask for some food or new toys or a special friend. These parasites. They didn’t care about the lives they ruined. Just as long as they were happy.
Steph continued staring at Dey, trying his best to hide his disgust. He excused himself and walked into this room. Neither mom nor Aunt Riya paid him any attention. They didn’t care. They only cared about Dey the parasite. He spotted the barn owl mask his dad gave him. The empty eye sockets staring deep into him, as though looking into his soul.
This rage. This sadness. This purpose.
Maybe one day mom and Aunt Riya would realize what was wrong with Dey. Most likely not, but there was one thing he was certain of:
Fluffies were parasites, and parasites needed to be purged.
“Ze, wait! Ze! Zeri!”
Zeri was walking angrily to the car, as Emilia came chasing after her.
“Zeri! Zeri!”
“Go away Em, I don’t want to talk about them!”
“I know! But we need to!”
Zeri continued walking away, when Emilia suddenly grabbed her wrists.
“Please Ze!”
Zeri stared at her angrily.
“Those Shit Rats forgot about boss!”
“They’re not Shit Rats! And it’s not their fault!”
“Huh?”
“Fluffies, they’re programmed with short memory spans. Certain things like proper behavioral traits, they can remember, but for things like death, they’re programmed to forget. Because… well because Downers aren’t popular.”
Zeri gave her a disgusted look.
“Em, boss only died like a month ago.”
“And the average Fluffy memory span last up to three weeks at most.”
Zeri spat on the floor in disgust.
“And after that, what it’s just like Ella doesn’t exist anymore to them?”
“Yes… But it’s my fault!”
“Huh?”
“It’s my fault Ze, if you’re going to get angry at anyone, it should be me!”
“Jesus Em not this again.”
“I’m serious Ze! It’s my fault!”
“Bullcrap y-”
“I didn’t want to hear Oakley and Coco say her name!”
Zeri stared at Emilia in confusion, as Emilia walked up. Her face filled with guilt.
“W… what?”
“I didn’t want to hear them say her name in the same voice as those Shit Rats. It’s my fault Ze, I just didn’t want them to keep bringing it up, so I never talked about her in front of them. None of the volunteers did. No pictures. Nothing to remind them. I just… I just wanted the pain to go away.”
Emilia fell to her knees, sobbing softly.
“It’s my fault Ze. I… I just wanted to forget and I ended up making the Fluffies forget. They’re not at fault. It’s me. If anyone needs to be bl-”
Zeri hugged her friend in a warm embrace. Those feelings of anger subsided in the face of her friend’s misery. Her friend’s pain.
“I can’t hate you for that Em.” Zeri said softly.
Emilia cried on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry Ze. I really am. I… I just wanted to forget. I didn’t think they would forget.”
Zeri nodded and continued hugging her friend warmly.
“I’m sorry Ze.”
“Hey, it’s fine Em. At least we remember boss, right?”
She felt Emilia nodding.
The two girls separated and Zeri helped Emilia up on her feet.
“I’m sorry Ze.”
“Hey, no! It’s fine Em, really. I… I guess I got too worked up over it, I… it’s fine Em really.”
Emilia nodded.
“I’m so-”
“Hey no stop, you don’t need to apologize. You just wanted to forget I got it. It hurts, and the faster it takes for us to get over her, the faster we can heal, right?”
Emilia nodded silently.
“Anyways, what’s done is done. Those Sh… Oakster and CC don’t remember boss anymore… whatever, they… well yeah no one wants a downer right?”
Emilia nodded once again.
“Y… yeah.”
“Hey! Don’t be like that. I don’t blame you, okay?”
“I know you don’t… but you really should. I’m the fuck u-”
“You’re not a fuck up! Jesus Em, is that what the volunteers called you?”
“Not to my face but I think… it’s…”
Emilia paused, looking down with guilt. Zeri quickly came up close and hugged her friend again.
“Fuck Em you really should have called me. I would have said something at least.”
Zeri felt Emilia hugging her tightly, but the moment was ruined by the ringing of her phone. Some urgent work matters had come up.
“Ah shit.” Zeri muttered “I gotta go now Em, work stuff just came up.”
“Must be urgent stuff.”
“Yeah you wouldn’t believe just how… uh… Hah! I’ll talk to you some other time, ok?”
“Of course. I’m free to call and tell me whenever you’re in Brookshire.”
“Of course of course, hey! Same for you, call me up if you’re in Obsidiare, I’ll book a fancy place for us to eat.”
Emilia chuckled.
“Sure Ms CEO, now go. I don’t wanna keep your staff waiting.”
Zeri grinned and waved goodbye to Emilia and her family as she got in the car.
“Where to Miss Lucuques?” Her driver asked.
“Office please, Jeeves.”
“Understood ma’am.”
Waving goodbye, Zeri watched as the cute and quaint farmhouse got smaller and smaller. This odd feeling. It really was crazy that Oakley and Coco forgot about boss, but then again Fluffies were far, far from perfect.
Reeses never forgot about his owner.
This ill feeling. That’s right, Reeses never forgot, and yet they never kept any photos nor brought it up. Downers don’t forget and all Fluffies could potentially be downers, so… deep inside they all had the potential to remember. So why did Oakley and Coco forget? Probably had other things to remember. Their brains were limited after all. All that stuff about how to be a Good Fluffy. Probably simple for people, but for a Fluffy maybe it was the equivalent of memorizing quadratic formulas.
Reeses never forgot about his owner.
Zeri thought about it quietly as the car continued speeding across the empty road. Reeses was one of Entepott Helpers, memorized all the good Fluffy rules, but he never forgot about his owner. Why was boss different? What made Reeses’ owner so important…
A sudden realization. Reeses remembered, because his owner was important to him.
And boss was not important to Oakley and Coco.
Not important enough to at least remember.
All she did for the Good Fluffies. The lengths she went to give them a safe shelter. A place to call their home while they waited for a real owner… Was that why she wasn’t important? Because she wasn’t their owner. She was just another person to them. Someone who gave them food, toys, and safety, while they waited for their real owner. Someone who gave her all for them. Her time. Her effort. Her life… But she wasn’t important to them. Because she wasn’t their real owner.
Zeri felt sick.
She had expected this from the Shit Rats, but Entepott’s Helpers? The best of the Good Fluffies? All of boss’s sacrifices… was only worth three weeks’ memory. Because she wasn’t important… She was no longer important… because she could no longer feed them, no longer give them toys and no longer keep them safe. Things that couldn’t do this themselves. Reliant on others, and when you could no longer help them, then you were no longer useful, and no longer worth remembering. Like parasites… Yes, parasites. That was a good word to describe them.
Sh-
Zeri took a deep breath. She was getting worked up. Worked up about something boss and Em cared about. A cre- bio-toy. A simple entity designed to be cute and loveable and sweet… and psychotic.
The kind that would laugh at boss dying.
The kind that did not care that she perished. Not really. If boss was important then Oakley and Coco would have definitely remembered her.
She thought about Mayer, the volunteers, the Happy Fluffy Hugbox funds, F3 and Hasbio. These people, who cared more about the Fluffies than their fellow Humans. The Shit Rat. These parasites. Letting these… pests procreate and spread. These Hugbox shelters. Designed to protect and care for even the worst of the worst. Because clearly these parasites were much more important.
Disgusting.
She thought about what Emilia’s grandfather had said. Give’em the ol’ one two.
She took another deep breath. She was being over-dramatic, yet a thought began to gnaw at her from deep inside the back of her brain.
Fluffies were parasites and those who protected these parasites over their fellow people were just as bad.
This needed to be corrected.
