Jack stared at the four pot bots lined up against the wall of his dingy house, each marked with a painted emoji. Angry. Sad. Scared. Happy. Right now, he could only relate to the first three.

  Laughter echoed in the room. Horace recounted an epic battle. Holly’s high-pitched squeals of delight followed every twist.

  First, he’d thought she was upset with him. Then she surprised him at Bright Hill. She hadn’t flinched when he’d accidentally flirted. She’d even fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder.

  And then she’d said he didn’t really know her.

  Now, she was giggling at everything Horace said. Jack hovered on the fringe of the room, unsure if he should join in or fade out.

  One moment, she made him feel seen. The next, invisible. He just didn’t know where he stood.

  Then Holly’s voice rang out. “Jack told me how you and the others are helping with his dad’s treatment. That’s really kind of you.”

  Horace shifted, visibly uncomfortable. “Oh. You know about that, huh?” He glanced at Jack—really looked at him. There was something in his eyes. Pity, or understanding, maybe. “It’s Jack. He’d do the same for me.”

  That stung. Not because it was untrue, but because Jack wasn’t sure he’d earned it. The knot in his chest just pulled tighter. Now guilt folded itself into the mix, and he felt like he didn’t deserve such a loyal friend.

  Holly pressed a hand over her chest. “Aawww. That’s so sweet!”

  “How do you two know each other?” Horace asked, looking to change the subject.

  “Well, we—” Jack started.

  But Holly moved first. Without hesitation, she crossed the space between them and bumped her shoulder with his.

  “Jack and I are friends,” she said, with that effortless confidence of hers. “He asked for my help with the pot bots. Isn’t that right, Jack?”

  And just like that, she was beside him again.

  Jack’s brain stuttered. “I—uh—yeah,” he said, scrambling for words. “Holly’s studying engineering. She’s super smart. I think she can help me improve the robots.”

  “Really? A consultant, huh?” Horace glanced between the two of them, then smiled. “That’s awesome. God knows Jack needs smart people around. Especially with that hollow head of his.”

  Jack let out a breath. The teasing felt familiar—safe. For the first time since he’d arrived, he didn’t feel like an outsider.

  “Sorry, I didn’t tell you I was back,” Jack said.

  “No problem. I just came to see if you needed help moving stuff to the new base.”

  “Yeah, actually. I’ll need help with the pot hives. Think you could carry a couple for me?”

  Horace grinned. “I knew you were gonna say that. That’s why I brought this.” A wheelbarrow popped into existence in the room, with bright flames painted along the sides.

  Jack laughed under his breath. Of course, Horace would add flames.

  “I’ll start moving the pots. Cool?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Horace stepped onto the patio, carefully lifted two pot hives into the wheelbarrow, and rolled it inside.

  “Nice to meet you, Holly.”

  “Likewise!” she replied, still beaming.

  The door closed behind him. His whistle trailed off as he carried the pot hives away.

  Holly let out a slow breath, eyes wide. “I can’t believe I just met the Steel Dancer.”

  “Yeah,” Jack said softly. “Horace is pretty incredible.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. His voice had come out tight, almost snappy.

  Holly glanced at the door, then back at Jack—quiet, thoughtful. “Are you OK?”

  He forced a smile. “Yeah… yeah. Of course.”

  “Jack… You know you’re kind of incredible too, right?”

  Jack chuckled, shaking his head.

  “What?” Holly asked.

  “Nothing. It’s just that… I guess you don’t know me that well either.”

  The words slipped out before he could stop them, echoing what she’d said earlier. As soon as they left his mouth, he regretted the edge in his tone. When he risked a glance at her, he saw it—she’d heard the echo too. And it stung.

  He sighed. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. He really hadn’t.

  “Look, Holly. I’ve been goofing off for most of my adult life,” he said. “My dad wouldn’t even be in this mess if I’d been more responsible. If I’d just finished college… or stuck to a job, maybe the banks would’ve helped us out.”

  “Jack… I—”

  “Horace is the incredible one. He’s had it together for years.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Holly’s smile softened. “You’re selling yourself short. I’ve seen how hard you work on Amari’s videos. And look at this place—the pot bots, the hives, the bricks. You’ve built all of it while figuring out a difficult class and trying to help your dad.” She hesitated, then added quietly, “And being that honest about yourself… that’s kind of amazing.”

  Jack stared at her, at a loss. Their eyes met—just for a moment—until she looked away.

  He thought he saw the faintest flush on her cheeks. Or maybe it was just the afternoon light, catching in the orange clay pots in the room.

  “So,” she said, clearing her throat, “what’s the deal with these pot bots?”

  Jack cleared his throat. “I can’t seem to make them do anything worthwhile. Can I show you the program I wrote?”

  “Sure!”

  Holly crossed her arms as Jack cranked pot bot number three to life.

  The gears clicked softly as it rolled toward an ordinary clay pot tucked in the corner. It lowered its claw, carefully pinched the small toy mouse between its fingers, and trundled across the floor. At the other end, it dropped the toy into a second pot, spun in place, and returned to the starting point, resetting for another run. It continued for two more cycles before stopping.

  Jack stood straighter, pride swelling in his chest. “So, what do you think?” he asked.

  “Mind if we see it again?”

  He nodded and moved the robot back to its starting position. Just as he was about to let go of the crank, Holly rested a hand on his arm.

  “Is that as far as it goes?” she asked.

  “For now, yeah.”

  “Good. Let it roll.”

  They watched again as the pot bot ran its loop once more. This time, it wasn’t as lucky—missing every attempt. Sometimes it closed the claw too early, sometimes too late. Still, it went through the motions with mechanical confidence, delivering nothing with the same pride as before, until it clanked to a halt halfway through the third cycle, out of power.

  Jack glanced at Holly, trying not to show how much he was hoping for a better reaction. “So? What do you think?”

  Holly shrugged, visibly choosing her words. “It’s, uh… cute.”

  Jack turned to her. “Cute? That’s all you’ve got?”

  Holly raised an eyebrow. “What, did you want me to say it was awesome?”

  “I mean, I did just show you a robot I made out of clay and scrap. If that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is.”

  “Okay, fine. It’s adorably awesome. But very limited.”

  Jack scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah… I know.”

  “I don’t think the problem is your programming,” she said, her tone shifting into full analytical mode. “You’ve probably squeezed all you can out of the current hardware. If we want to see real improvement, we need to focus on that instead.”

  “Alright. What would you change?”

  “Let’s start with the wheels. Four-wheel drive works okay on flat terrain, but the moment you hit rough ground, it’s going to struggle. I’d switch to a caterpillar track.”

  Jack blinked. A caterpillar track? Where would he even find one of those? Maybe, with his new Explorer trait, he could piece one together without needing a recipe. Not made of rubber, obviously—but maybe wood?

  “The next thing—”

  “Wait! Let me write this down.”

  “Sure! Take your time.”

  Jack pulled out the app and opened a fresh page. “Hit me.”

  “In my opinion, your biggest issues are fuel and sensors. Right now, you’ve only got a crank for power. That’s rough, especially since you have to wind it up manually. Do you have any alternatives in mind?” she asked.

  Jack shrugged. “Honestly? My only hope is that I find a skill down the line. Maybe one that gives access to better gearboxes, or lets them store more power.”

  Holly tapped her chin. “Interesting… That’s right. The game’s system can bend the rules a little, huh?”

  She started pacing, one hand on her chin.

  “Even with better mechanics, manual energy is just too limited,” she said. “We need something scalable. I’m thinking steam might be our best shot.”

  “Steam?” Jack echoed. He hadn’t even considered that. His thoughts hadn’t gone much further than winding up a fancier crank.

  “Yeah. It fits the game's tech level. It’ll give you more sustained torque, and it’s way easier to toss coal into a boiler than to crank a handle every five minutes. Yes. Steam is our best choice."

  Jack chuckled, watching her go full problem-solver. This wasn’t the Holly who joked around and bounced between topics like a ping-pong ball. This was a confident planner. Someone methodical and decisive. And he… liked it.

  “Now, for sensors,” she continued. “One of the simplest and most effective types is a whisker switch. It's just a flexible bit of metal or wire, kind of like cat whiskers. When they bump into something, a subroutine triggers. The bot backs up, turns, and tries again. It’s basic obstacle detection.”

  “Metal whiskers,” Jack repeated as he typed. “Got it.”

  “But writing that logic with clay instead of code? Oh my goodness. That’s such a weird, fun challenge! How do I build feedback loops without electronics?!”

  Jack smiled. The earlier awkwardness between them was long gone. This was better. Just the two of them geeking out over how to make a robot out of clay and dreams.

  “So what do you want me to do?” he asked. “Should I look into steam-related skills? Or make those whisker-things?”

  “Hmmm... not yet. I’d start with the tracks first. Better mobility gives us a lot more options. I’d also redesign the pot bots to be bigger.”

  “Bigger?” Jack raised an eyebrow.

  “Twice the size,” she said, nodding to herself. “Maybe more.”

  “H-how come?”

  “Well,” she said, folding her arms, “even if your programming is solid now, we’ll need to expand it eventually—branching routines, modular logic. That would mean wider and longer pinned barrels. Your current pot’s just too cramped.”

  Jack nodded slowly. “Right…”

  “And if we switch to steam? We’ll need to fit a boiler in there. That alone will take a lot more room.”

  “But, Holly, the problem is that I made the shell size based on the components that are available.”

  She walked closer to the robot, squinting through the openings in the clay. “Hmm… maybe we can work around that. Can you send me a list of all the components you used?”

  “Sure.”

  “Make sure you include the measurements,” she said firmly. “They need to be precise. To the millimeter.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jack replied with a salute.

  “Okay. Sounds like we’ve got a plan. Look into tracks and scale the bots up. Keep leveling your profession to see what new tools or skills unlock. I’ll brainstorm sensor ideas and read up on steam technology.” She tapped her chin. “If I draw a schematic or ask you to make specific parts, can you do that?”

  Jack shrugged. “I don’t work with metal, but I can make just about anything out of clay.”

  “In that case—”

  The front door clicked open, cutting her off.

  They both turned as Amari and Marie stepped inside.

  “Hi, Jack!” Amari called out. “Guess who just finished their class advancement—”

  He stopped mid-sentence, eyes narrowing slightly as they landed on Holly.

  After an awkward beat, Marie broke the silence. “Hi?”

  Holly shrieked. Twice as loud as she had after seeing Horace.

  “EEEEEEE! IT’S MARIE AND AMARI! AAAAAAAAA!”

  She bolted across the room like she’d just met her lifelong heroes, practically bouncing with excitement. “No way! Marie and Amari?!”

  She grabbed Marie’s hands. “Marie, you are the coolest girl in the whole game. I love how you explode stuff.” Then she turned to Amari, hopping as she spoke. “And Amari! Oh. My. Gosh. I’m such a fan! I was one of your first thousand subscribers. Subscriber number six eighty-three, actually. I’m so stoked that you’re here! Oh my goodness, why are you so smart? Do you have, like, informants in the game? I was so mad when the Slayer beat you guys. He’s such an idiot—”

  She kept going, her voice at full speed, like a rapper on twenty shots of espresso.

  Amari shot Jack a panicked look: Please save me.

  Marie just raised an eyebrow at him, smirking. The unspoken You didn’t tell us you had a girlfriend? was practically flashing in neon.

  Jack felt a weight come off his shoulders. Watching Holly light up around Amari and Marie made something click. He hadn’t been sidelined with Horace—this was just who she was. Bubbly, enthusiastic, and unfiltered. And honestly… that’s what had drawn him to her in the first place.