Felt the Third
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[edit] Chapter One
Rock and Roll were loving the current Loop for one very important reason: Dr. Wily didn't exist in it. They were very certain of that. They'd checked every possible digital record regarding every known name variation they'd ever encountered.
The mad scientist didn't exist as a man, a woman, a child, or even an escaped chimp from the zoo that had wandered into a pharmaceutical company (that had been a strange Loop).
Of course, it meant that someone else could very well have taken his role and the other shoe was just waiting to drop, but they'd handle that if and when it happened.
"So the Pie eats the Cupcake but gets smothered by the cheesecake." asked an Iconic black and blue bot.
-Back and Forth between TOM, SARA, Rock and Roll-
"Hey dad!" Roll greeted Dr. Thomas Light as he trudged into the kitchen for breakfast. "How are things going? Awake yet?"
"Still no subspace pocket access," the man smiled as Roll placed an omelet and orange juice in front of him. "So, it looks like I'm just a highly lucid Dreamer this Loop."
"Eh, we'll happily store anything you want to keep for a later Loop," Rock offered as he entered the kitchen. "How are preparations for the big presentation going?"
"My new business manager should be starting today," Dr. Light answered. "Though it'll probably just be showing him around and detailing his duties. Still, it'll be good to have more time to work in the lab on many of the projects I've been putting off so Albert didn't try to steal them."
"What's his name again?" Rock wondered. "Bill Anderson?"
"Andersen with an 'e', though the names do sound similar," Dr. Light answered. "Bill and his family have recently moved to Arcadia for this job, so he probably isn't familiar with the city yet. I'm honestly wondering if I should send Auto to show him the way to the lab or keep Auto at the store so he doesn't scare the man away."
"Probably keep Auto at the store for now," Rock nodded. "He's a little much to take in the first day on the job."
"I wonder if Mr. Andersen has any kids..." Roll mused.
[edit] Chapter Two
It was early morning after moving day and Riley was reflecting that there were some rather odd and annoying constants in the Loops at times.
'No duh,' she heard disgust snort in her head. 'Exhibit A: Our house is, once again, a complete and utter disaster area! I mean, the last people who lived here should have had it condemned rather than sell it to poor innocent people like dad and mom!'
'Not to mention that the *beep* movers got lost yet AGAIN!' Anger fumed. 'And will you stop hitting the censor button Fear?!'
- Ding-Dong*
'Hey! Someone's at the door!' Joy latched onto this new fact. 'Ooooh! I wonder who it is? I bet it's some of our new neighbors coming to make friends!'
'I bet it's someone looking for whoever used to live here and now they're going to be reminded that their friends moved away and that'll be sad...'
'Oh geez! You don't think the robot uprising makes house calls, do you?!'
'Settle down you all,' Riley thought to her emotions. 'Let's find out before getting bent out of shape.'
"Hello, is this the Andersen residence?" Riley heard the voice of a boy about her age ask.
"Um... yes," the surprised tone of her father replied.
-Bill's Headquarters-
"Red Alert!"
- Boy! Boy! Boy!*
"How did he find out about Riley so fast?! Why is he here? Who is he?"
"We should probably find out before jumping to conclusions. There is a tiny chance the boy is simply a new neighbor being polite."
-Reality-
"Who are you?"
"Rock Light, sir," the boy answered in such a polite tone that Riley just knew he'd held his hand out to shake her father's. Peeking around a corner to spy on the doorway, and she say a young boy with black hair in a blue shirt doing exactly that. "I'm from Light Labs. Dad sent me and my sister over to see how you were settling in, sir."
'Oh, I like this guy,' Disgust mused. 'Polite, charming, decently dressed. Yeah, we could do worse for friends even if he is a boy.'
"I... see..." Riley's father blinked as he accepted the handshake. "Um..."
"And this is my sister, Roll Light," the boy continued as a blond girl with a ponytail and a red sundress joined him holding what looked like a bag of groceries.
'Wait... Rock... and Roll?' Joy's slow voice sounded in Riley's head. 'Those... are... the... most... awesome... names..... EVER! Almost as awesome as yours Riley!'
"Oh... my... god..." the girl paused and looked at the interior of the house in horror.
'See! Someone else agrees with me about the house!' Disgust crowed in vindication.
'Oh... she hates our new house... that's sad...'
"Rock, you start making breakfast for these nice people," the girl handed the grocery bag to her brother as well as a frying pan that had been hidden behind it. "I'm going to get my emergency cleaning supplies." "Bring some of the picnicware while you're at it!" the boy called back after his sister after a glance inside confirming that there was not yet any furniture to speak of.
'Emergency cleaning supplies?!' Fear worried. 'Is she going to scrub our new house from the face of the earth?!'
'Not like it would be any great loss,' Disgust dismissed Fear's worries.
'But we're still inside! Aren't condemned buildings supposed to be evacuated first?!'
"Um... what just...?" Riley's father finally found his voice.
"Just let my sister work, sir," the boy smiled serenely as he entered the house. "I promise you won't be sorry you did. Now, if you could show me the kitchen, please? I'm not as good at cooking as she is, but I can do a passable omelet."
"Sure..." Riley's dad seemed to latch onto that idea like a drowning man latching onto a life preserver and began leading the boy to the kitchen. After a moment, Riley followed.
'You should introduce yourself Riley!' Joy prompted.
"Hi..." Riley began.
'But don't give away too much!' Fear added. 'We still don't know if either of these two are part of the inevitable robot uprising!'
"Are you part of the robot uprising?" Riley finished before she could stop herself.
'Oh, nice one Fear...' Anger and Disgust both grumbled as Riley's face flushed in embarrassment and her dad barely stifled a snort of amusement.
"Nah," the boy smiled in amusement as he wiped down the electric stove top. "Actually, part of what my sister and I do is help make sure that our dad doesn't engineer one by accident."
"So what else do you do?" Riley's father asked.
"I mostly help dad with his lab work," the boy said as he set out eggs and various omelet fixings. Riley was relieved to note the complete absence of broccoli. "Roll–"
"Ack!" Riley's mom suddenly exclaimed in shock from the entryway. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
-Jill’s headquarters-
"And where do you get your cleaning supplies? Because we could really use some around here."
-Reality-
"Good morning Mrs. Andersen. My name is Roll Light. And I end messes."
"...does that," Rock finished.
'I don't know about the rest of you,' Disgust broke the silence in Riley's head, 'but I just found my new best friend.'
[edit] Chapter Three
Roll's claim of ending messes was apparently not made idly. She came in with a commando headband and enough cleaning supplies to be mistaken as a one-maid army ready to take on the apocalypse itself. By the time she was finished, around early afternoon, the still-empty house all but sparkled.
Rock on the other hand had talked to Riley's father about the general expectations and schedule of his new job. Riley had tuned out a fair bit, but the gist was that Rock and Roll's dad, Dr. Light, was gearing up for the release of a major industrial robotics line and was finding that he just didn't have the time anymore to invent, build, and run the business side of things. Which was why Riley's dad had been hired on, with a fairly generous increase in pay over his old job. He'd also talked a fair bit about Arcadia and the various sights, as well as some of the more flamboyant celebrations that the city's eccentric mayor, Leonardo Dorado, held. Joy had loved that part in particular and prodded Riley into asking more.
And then the two had offered to take not just Riley's dad to tour his new place of business, but the whole Andersen family.
Riley was excited about going with her dad to see Light Labs. Right up until she saw what she was expected to ride in.
'What in the world is that?!' Disgust yelled as Riley beheld the truck the Light twins had arrived in.
'I don't know but I think it's looking at us...' Fear added.
'Oh, come on... It's not..... that bad...' Joy offered, but even she didn't seem really certain.
The truck, if it could really be called that, was bright green and yellow with an open cab. The front of the truck had a face consisting of an oversized bumper-jaw and two humongous red eye-headlights.
All in all, it evoked the image of some robo-clown and neither Riley nor her emotions were thrilled with the prospect.
"It's... certainly..... unique," Riley's mom offered diplomatically.
'Translation: She hates it but doesn't want to be seen as impolite,' Disgust paraphrased.
"Unique is..." Rock began hesitantly.
"...one way to describe Auto..." Roll finished.
"Auto?" Riley's dad asked. "And now that I think about it, who drove you anyway?"
"Auto is Light Labs' mechanic and... somewhat eccentric. As for who drove," Rock stated, holding up a license, "I did."
The Andersen family blinked as one.
'I'm torn...' Disgust finally offered from Riley's head. 'The whole driving thing is automatic cool points, but that thing is, like, anti-cool.'
'He is a very brave soul,' Fear offered.
Riley had absolutely loved seeing Light Labs. The entire place had the general look and feel of something that Phineas and Ferb would want when they grew up. Or at least the chance to play around in over the summer.
The industrial robots, that Dr. Light called the 'robot masters' were six robots that Riley didn't recognize. She chalked that up to only playing the '2' and '3' games of the series that Loop she'd broken her leg (and neither to actual completion), but it still hadn't stopped Fear from ranting about the inevitable robot uprising. Nor had Dr. Light's explanation of each robot's abilities. Regardless of intended purpose, giant scissors that could cut tree trunks were intimidating.
Then had come Dr. Light talking about the AI of each robot, explaining the concept of IC chips (along with a bunch of technical details that went over all the Andersens' heads) and how each 'robot master' would be able to undertake complex emotional interactions, direct other robots in the workplace, and make complex decisions like a human.
Joy had thought that was awesome, Fear had thought that was terrifying, and before Riley could make peace between the two her father had voiced the concerns.
"This all sounds really amazing, but how do you know these 'robot masters' won't go out of control?"
"For one, I've been testing the cognitive systems and IC chips already and, after..... an issue with the prototype, the two finished models are exceeding all expectations for the series, both in emotional interaction with humans and complex cognitive processes."
'But do they have fashion sense?' Disgust snarked.
"Really?" Riley asked. "Can we meet them?"
'Yeah! This is sounding cooler by the second!' Joy agreed.
'Oh... they're the first of their kind?' Sadness realized. 'They must be lonely...'
"They do sound... interesting..." Riley's mom admitted.
'More like terrifying!' Fear interrupted.
'Will you shut up already!' Anger yelled.
"I'd like to see them myself," Riley's dad folded his arms. "I want to know exactly what you're having me pitch to possible customers."
"Actually..." Dr. Light smiled serenely.
'I swear, he's like my natural enemy...' an unwillingly calm Anger grumbled.
"...I believe you've already met."
'Huh?!' Riley thought in unison with all five of her emotions.
Dr. Light took in the incredulous expressions of the Andersen family and made a sweeping gesture towards his two children.
Rock and Roll waved politely.
'I KNEW IT!' Fear broke Riley's mental silence. 'THE ROBOT UPRISING IS UPON US!'
[edit] Chapter Four
"So why pretend that you're not robots?" Riley finally asked. "Well..." Rock grinned sheepishly. "It's kind of petty, but we really like seeing the looks on people's faces when they realize that we're not human," Roll explained. "Or whatever the main population is that Loop." 'Oh man!' Joy laughed in Riley's head. 'The look on Fear's face was priceless!' 'Yeah, it was kind of funny how he was running around like a chicken with his head cut off...' Sadness added. 'Uh... gross analogy, Sadness...' Disgust muttered. "Sorry about how we laughed at your reaction," Rock apologized. 'It was a perfectly legitimate question!' Fear yelled. 'Doesn't mean it wasn't hilarious, Fear,' Joy giggled. 'And a terrible first impression,' Disgust added. 'Way to go, Fear.' "Yeah, well," Riley blushed a bit, "saying 'oh, so you are part of the robot uprising?' wasn't my finest moment." "Maybe not," Roll allowed, "but we've had worse reactions." "Anyway, you're the visiting looper, any plans?" "Well..." Riley hedged, still not quite wrapping her mind around the two robots in front of her being the local Anchors (each of them was an Anchor apparently, it was a rare thing or something). For one, she'd never heard of a Rock or Roll in either of the games she'd played. Of course, they could have been in the endings, which would make sense as she'd never beaten either of the games. "I kind of wanted to talk to Mega Man... but since I'm replacing that Dr. Wily character... I guess he doesn't get built?" Rock and Roll blinked at Riley's statement and exchanged wordless glances. "You... don't know who either of us is?" Roll asked, getting a shaken head from Riley. "I only played the '2' and '3' games one Loop when I broke my leg in a hockey accident and never actually beat them." "Huh..." Rock blinked thoughtfully. "In that case... we won't tell you." 'What?!' Anger fumed in Riley's head. 'Oh, come on! That's just low, even for a boy,' Disgust added. 'They gotta tell us about Mega Man!' Joy insisted. 'He's like, the local superhero, right?' "Don't get us wrong," Rock hastened to add, "we'll be happy to tell you if you guess, but we don't always get the chance to just 'hang out' with other loopers and be friends before the events that Dr. Wily kicks off become a factor. The last ones were..." "...Phineas and Ferb actually," Roll supplied after a moment of thought on the matter. "Oh, circuits, that was a wild summer," Rock grinned. "Those two are my favorite mad scientists after dad." 'We are totally asking about that later,' Joy said. "You've met Phineas and Ferb?" Riley blinked. "They gave me the welcome speech." "Which musical number did they use?" Rock asked eagerly. 'I got this!' Joy cheered as the memory came up. "Number... 5," Riley replied. "Awesome!" Roll grinned. "We actually helped them write that one!" 'Really?!' Joy exclaimed. 'Sweet!' 'I like her more and more,' Disgust added. "Huh..." Riley blinked. "Anyway, what's your Loop like?" Rock asked. 'Wait... they don't know about us either?' Sadness wondered. 'Oop, we're getting memories from long-term!' Fear alerted. "You... haven't seen the movie?" Riley asked. Aside from Phineas and Ferb, who were often too busy running around with wacky inventions to really take much time for movies or novels in their eternal summer, most of her fused Loops had been with people who had seen the movie about her baseline. She'd watched it herself a few times, which was still a rather odd experience. "No offense," Roll assured her, "but we don't always have the time for movies." "And the popular fare in out Loop tends towards sci-fi anyway," Rock shrugged. 'Yeah, that's so not us,' Disgust allowed. 'Oh, oh!' Joy interrupted before Riley got back on track, 'This calls for an idea!' Riley blinked again as a concept she'd been thinking of since Phineas and Ferb introduced her to her own emotions came to the forefront of her mind and grinned. "Actually, I think I know what I want to do this Loop..." -Jill's Headquarters- "I'm not sure I like leaving Riley with those two..." "Yeah... robots pretending to be human? It doesn't sit well with me..." "It'll be okay, Anger, Fear," Mrs. Andersen's Sadness reassured her fellow emotions as she called up a memory from short-term to play the interactions with the two... child robots, apparently... earlier that morning. "They seem to be very polite children after all, and the girl was helpful earlier." "Yeah," Mrs. Andersen's Disgust chimed in with a sigh of contentment as the scene of the young girl cleaning the Andersen family's new house within an inch of its life played. "Ahhh... There's at least a week's worth of house cleaning we won't have to be doing..." "Yeah!" her Joy chimed in. "And Riley seems to like them, so they deserve a decent chance." "I still don't like it." "Very well then, check in with the husband. This is his new job after all and we should follow his lead." "Looks like dear has his 'game face on', Sadness. We can't get a clear reading." "Then we wait for now." -Bill’s Headquarters- "Sir," Mr. Andersen's Fear reported as his fellows; particularly Mr. Andersen's Joy, Sadness, and Disgust; gave the current talk with Dr. Light their attention, "I've been through all of the plans for potential situations and there is nothing about child robots wanting to be friends with Riley." "Are you certain?" his Anger asked. "Absolutely," his Fear replied, shuffling through various large binders. "We have scenarios on what to do if there's a robot uprising, a robot apocalypse, a robot dance craze resurgence, robot doppelgangers, robot overlords, robots going haywire (I set that volume aside just in case), robot traffic cops, robot crooks, robot detectives, robots replacing honest working men (set that aside too since it's now relevant), murderous roombas, robot costumes that really want you to wear them, drones flying too close for comfort, and so on, but nothing about robot children." "Our new boss is wrapping up his speech," the man's Joy spoke up. "Okay, recap for us." "He wants us to manage the business side, of course, but it seems his real plan is to use robotics to accelerate the world's cultural and technological development by removing most, if not all, of the age-old problems plaguing humanity. His end-game is to essentially develop a brand new sapient race of machines to live and work alongside humanity as we go forth to settle other planets, working together to evolve far beyond what either could alone. The current line he wants to market is basically a stepping stone to achieve that." Mr. Andersen's Anger and Fear blinked owlishly for a few moments. -Reality- "I must say, Dr. Light," Mr. Andersen said after several long moments to digest what the man had told him, "when you think big, you don't do it halfway." "Thank you, Mr. Andersen," the scientist smiled. "Don't thank me yet," Mr. Andersen replied gruffly. "I get that you have good intentions and just want to help people, but I paid attention in my history classes doctor. I know that for every problem someone like you ever solved, at least two more crawled out of the woodwork later on. Some arguably worse than the original problem. Have you even thought about what kinds of problems a plan like yours might create?" "Actually, I have," Dr. Light replied with a serene smile. "And I find it interesting that you mention history because that is right where I looked when I wanted to know what humanity might face living alongside a new race with potential values and desires that differ greatly from our own. What I discovered was that this would be nothing that humanity has not already faced in some form or another." Mr. and Mrs. Andersen both blinked. "It seems fantastic, but take into account the sheer number of different cultures among humanity itself. Do you even know how many there are on this one tiny planet? I don't, even after extensive research. Barriers of language, values, geography, morality, culture, technology levels, living conditions, sexuality, stereotypes, and more have all conspired to divide us and yet each day those divisions grow just a bit less divisive. We see more and more that those differences make humanity stronger as a whole rather than weaker. So the addition of one more group with differences can only serve to strengthen the whole in the long run, provided we are accepting of them for what they are. Yes, there will always be problems and I suppose a part of me takes comfort in that. For if there were no problems to solve, then I quite fear that I'd find life very empty indeed. Not to mention that I'd be out of a job." The Andersens exchanged a glance before turning back to him. "So, what do you say?" "I say it's a shame you don't run for office because suddenly I'd like to vote for you," Mr. Andersen chuckled. "Alright, doctor. You've got yourself a business manager. Let's see where this crazy road leads."
Rock, Roll, and Riley were gathered around what looked like a red sphere attached to a yellow box with blinking lights. Off to the side was a bundle of cords that looked made to attach to the box. "Well," Rock mused as he inspected the device, "it could certainly use some maintenance after being in your pockeet for so long, but otherwise this Mind Machine is in pretty good condition." "Oh, good," Riley sighed in relief. 'Yeah, that would be all we needed,' Disgust snarked. 'Having an idea like this and then it being derailed because the thing didn't work anymore.' "It wouldn't be that big a deal if it wasn't," Rock tapped his head with a smirk. "We both have all of Phineas and Ferb's usual blueprints in memory. Plus a few things they built just for that Loop." "Oh, maker, the Phineas and Ferb Numbers were awesome!" Roll giggled. 'We are totally getting that story later,' Joy insisted. "So, do you think my idea will work?" Riley asked. "It should," Rock nodded, pulling a large circuit out of nowhere, "especially with these. This is an Integrated Circuit chip. Essentially it's what allows robots like us to have personalities." "At least the ones not looping," Roll clarified. "Yeah," Rock nodded. "We're... a bit beyond the usual capacity of the IC chips as a result of looping, but even so these things are so complex that, though they're manufactured the same way, each one will effectively produce a unique evolving personality." 'Wow...' Sadness whispered. "Again, not taking the particulars of the Loops into account," Roll clarified. "Even though they're supposed to produce unique personalities even when installed in identical machines and loaded with identical programs, the robot masters we know still end up with pretty similar personalities. Usually, anyway." "Add it to a complex enough CPU and it goes from a basic artificial intelligence to an artificially created intelligence." 'AKA, a recipe for disaster!' Fear added. "What's the difference?" Riley asked. "It's the difference between mimicking thought patterns and actually possessing them," Rock said. "Not always easy to define, but very, very real." "The personality and emotions they enable are so complex that the average robot master variant is essentially a missing link between having a Soul and not having one. Our Admin says it's part of why we're able to Loop in the first place." "So...?" "So," Rock grinned, "we should be able to essentially make a new Mind Machine that can download these additional loopers who live in your head to an IC chip, which we can then put in a robot body of their very own." "You'll be touring Arcadia together in no time," Roll smiled. 'I love this plan!' Joy cheered. 'Yeah,' Sadness added quietly, 'we can take long walks in the rain and obsess over the weight of life's problems together...' 'And hugs! Don't forget hugs!' 'Guys, I really think we should take a closer look at this idea before we go through with it...' Fear worried. 'I mean... something's bound to go wrong.' 'Oh, don't be such a spoilsport,' Disgust scoffed. 'Riley, you better be ready for one heck of a shopping spree because I intend to leave you looking fabulous.' 'Heh...' Anger chuckled, 'don't forget to leave some time for a little one-on-one on the ice!' 'Guys!' Fear insisted. 'Oh, lighten up, Fear!' Joy chastised. 'Yeah, think of being able to see a scary movie with Riley,' Sadness prodded. 'I mean, you'll probably embarrass yourself screaming, but that's okay, right?' 'Okay... yes, I'd like that; not the being embarrassed part, the other one; but still...!' 'Fear, do you have one solid reason why we shouldn't do this?' Anger sighed heavily. 'No! I don't! I can't think of a single one! Or find one in my disaster planners! And that should worry you!' 'Oh, give it a rest Fear,' Disgust scoffed. 'I say we go through with it.' 'Yay!' "It's settled then!" Riley smiled at her new friends.
[edit] Chapter Five
"What is that you're installing?" Riley asked Rock as the latter fiddled with the generic robot bodies her emotions would inhabit. The technical specs went way over her head, but the gist was that on download, the bodies would be reconfigured to something more closely resembling the personality on the IC chip. Rock and Roll had mentioned something about 'Color Masters', but Riley hadn't asked for clarification. The last time she had, it had resulted in a technospeak lecture that had left her eyes crossed. Come to think of it, she might regret asking her lastest question... "I call it the Zen Buster," Rock told her. "It's an energy blaster I developed that calms the target's emotional state. Completely harmless and nonlethal, but it could come in handy if by some misfortune there ends up being trouble. I developed it after..." 'Joy, don't fall asleep now!' Fear yelped in Riley's head. Riley tuned out, smiling and nodding politely as Rock went on about something called 'broforce'. "Everything set?" Roll asked her brother. "Five bodies, three female standard, two male standard, ready and waiting. With a few spares just in case," Rock replied as he looked over the alcoves housing the prepared bodies. "Check!" Riley noted. "New mind machine showing all systems green." "Check!" "Remote override in place and operational?" "Check!" Riley confirmed as she adjusted the failsafe headband the Light twins had developed for her. "Five sapient emotional entities ready and waiting...?" 'Ready!' 'Waiting...' 'Let's get this show on the road already!' 'I still think this is a bad idea!' 'Oh, put a sock in it already!' "Check, check, check, check, and check!" Riley smiled, strapping herself into the main chair while Roll adjusted the headgear. "One young lady hooked up and ready to rock and roll?" Rock grinned. "You know it!" Riley grinned back. "Then, let's get started!" The five emotions in Riley's head stared up at the repurposed memory recall tube, which in short order would put its new functionality to use by moving them to new bodies of their own with which they would be able to interact with their mutual favorite person in the multiverse. "I still have a really bad feeling about this!" Fear shuffled nervously. "It'll be fine, Fear," Riley's voice sounded from the control panel. "I mean, you haven't found anything wrong with the plan, right?" "Not a thing!" Joy chirped for her fellow emotion. "And not for lack of trying either," Anger grumbled. Searching through Fear's planners for something on this scenario had not left him in the best of moods the first time the emotion had grabbed him for the job. Nor had the subsequent attempts. "Anger, be nice," Sadness scolded half-heartedly. "DO ANY OF YOU REALIZE JUST WHAT IT MEANS THAT I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT COULD GO WRONG?!" Fear shouted. "Not really," Disgust rolled her eyes as the memory recall tube began powering up and smirked as a thought occured to her. "I SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND SOMETHING WRONG WITH ANY–" Fear was cut off as Disgust gave him an unceremonious push towards the recall tube and he was whisked away. "What?" Disgust asked when the other emotions stared at her. "I just did what we were all thinking." If he had a mouth, he would have smiled. It had taken a great deal of patience and hacking to arrange the opportunity he was about to have, from arranging the current fused Loop to ensuring that both that fool Hephaestus and that idiot Janus were out of their offices for reasons that would not have them interfering any time soon to subtly steering the thoughts of all involved away from the very obvious consequences of their endeavor. But it was about to pay off big time. And with a personal touch, he would get both revenge on the ones that had humiliated him before as well as a follower all his own. Perhaps the first of many. Everything was going his way this time. He could almost taste his triumph already. For once, he lamented his lack of a mouth, because this was a prime opportunity to laugh.
