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R A I S I N G ◦ A N ◦ N P C !

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▶ BOOK 1: M A K I N G ◦ A N ◦ N P C !
▶ CHAPTERS: 1 | 2 | 3 |

⊹˚₊·‧Chapter 4: Adventure

After another week Pierrosie had started to develop a strange quirk: She would fetch random objects, showing them to the others. Nobody ever saw her finding them. She apparently was just wandering off when nobody was looking, coming back with a little item in her tiny, grubby hands.

At first it was rather ordinary stuff — a little ball, a flower from one of the many flowerpot assets, a block, stuff like that. But after a while her findings became more peculiar; Like food, keys and objects akin to those one would find in the rooms of the crew.

Until eventually Pierrosie found things that were downright fascinating and very well received: New pencils for Gangle, body parts for Zooble, pillows for Kinger, keys for Jax. She even found a new pajama skin for Ragatha.

As if she were learning what people liked; Maybe trying to contribute something.

But things got downright concerning when she one day handed something to Pomni.
Pomni crouched down at her eye level to take the object.

“Watcha got there, Pi?” She asked and looked at the item.

It was a calculator.

The very same Pomni had used in her past job, back in the real world - Even with its stupid sticker on the back, that she had peeled off a banana.

Of course Pierrosie wouldn’t respond to any of Pomni’s following questions. So she just kept the calculator in her room for when she was ready to answer.

Eventually, after a month, Pierrosie was ready to join them on the adventures — not because Caine or anyone else decided so, but because she chose so herself.

It was called ‘Scavenge in the Postapocalypse!’
And it would turn out to be a pure nightmare for all of them.

---

Everything had seemed too wonderful at first. The story was simple: Trying to gather a case of intel in a postapocalyptic metropolis; A completely empty city, taken back by nature.

When Caine opened the portal, Pierrosie tried to walk through first.

Gangle quickly grabbed her by the waist, holding her up, with the others coming closer.

“Oh, sweetheart…” Ragatha intervened, gently taking the little doll from Gangle’s arms and holding her, “You can’t go yet, you’re too little.”

Pierrosie squirmed in her arms, making little noises of disapproval.

“And who decided that?” Jax asked, coming closer. “Are you seriously prohibiting a child NPC from playing a family-friendly VR video game?”

Ragatha looked at Jax, then at Pierrosie. Then at Caine.

“Why are you looking at me? I have completely lost the plot with you guys and your flawed NPC.” Caine responded.

“Will it be dangerous?” Pomni asked him.

“Why, not at all!”

“But it’s… a postapocalyptic setting…” Ragatha thought out loud.

“Yes. With a big emphasis on the prefix ‘post’, which is Latin for ‘after’, Ragatha. Which means that the apocalypse already happened. Some might even argue that a world without humans is inherently safer. And I created this adventure to be just a little more than a walking simulation with pleasing visuals and a search quest.”

“That sounds pretty lovely for once. Like a good first adventure,” Zooble commented, and then added, “and it’s some sort of urbexing, right? Didn’t you have a thing for that, too, Pomni?”

“Oh!” Pomni remarked upon the realization, “Yes! That… that actually seems nice! I would enjoy exploring some lost places together…”

Ragatha looked at Pomni, obviously evaluating. 

Pomni grabbed her hand. “It’ll be okay. She’s tougher than she seems. It won’t be anything more than a stroll.”

Ragatha gave a big sigh and put the miniature pierrot down. “Alright, alright” she agreed, making the kid’s eye light up like the sun, “Let’s make this Pierrosie’s first adventure.”

The world was probably one of Caine’s best maps yet. The overgrown city was nothing short of stunning. There were plants on every skyscraper, tons of beautiful assets, and even some animals in the distance. Exploring this place was genuinely nice; for everyone. Even Jax didn’t complain. He just had fun breaking into old shops and pillaging, generously calling it ‘looting’.

Caine had even furnished the apartment buildings. Not all of the rooms were enterable, but many.

It was exceptionally delightful for Pomni, in fact. It almost felt real. The thrill of exploring, of reading the history of bygone days, of feeling the virtually constructed echoes of what once was — Caine had outdone himself with this one.

And exploring all this with her friends and Pierrosie?
A dream come true.

While Ragatha was more about taking in the scenery and using the chance to chat and bond with the others, Pierrosie seemed just as intrigued by exploring the abandoned buildings as Pomni. 

After a brief discussion with Ragatha, Pomni broke up with the group, together with Pierrosie and Zooble, to venture off into one of the bigger buildings — a mall-apartment complex, beautifully preserved.

They explored the abandoned mall at first, with Pomni showing Pierrosie tricks on how to enter, hints on what to look for, and morals on how to behave. Things no one had ever taught her, which she learned on her own; things that were close to her heart and that she could now pass down in such a natural manner. It felt so intimate, in a way.

The mall was a great place to have a first urban exploring experience, because it had enough windows to still be explorable even without additional light, and there were barely any health risks since everything was rather well preserved. However, it was still dark inside the shops.

So they found flashlights and batteries in one of the old stores, where Pomni taught Pierrosie the first rule: Always bring more batteries than you think you need. The little girl took the flashlight and nodded.

They walked through the different stores and restaurants, while especially focusing on the few remains of human life. A calendar from bygone days with old birthdays marked in it. Little notes for coworkers, saying stuff like, “Don’t you dare flirt with Jenny again, Martha! She’s mine!” or “Sorry for taking your lunch. I O U”. Even little mini quests like “Don’t forget, code for the safe is 5757”, which actually opened up a little safe with a voice tape inside, explaining more about the history of the mall’s employees.

Pomni couldn’t help but marvel at the craftsmanship Caine had provided here; and at the feeling of enjoying this together with a friend and the little virtual creature that she came to like so much.

Then they ventured further into the apartment levels of the building. Those were a bit more dilapidated than the mall but still relatively safe.

After trying out some doors, they quickly found an unlocked one and started to explore the living space. It looked as if a family had just left during dinner, with everything being otherwise clean and not cluttered or destroyed.

“It’s important to leave everything as it is, Pi” Pomni explained while they walked through the rooms. “To honor what has been… and to let other explorers enjoy the scenery, too.”

This eventually made Zooble chuckle.

“Why are you laughing?” Pomni asked.

Zooble shook their hand, signaling a small apology. “It’s nothing. You’re just… cute.”

“C… cute?” Pomni replied, flustered.

“Yeah. The way you explain everything… It sounds like you’ve studied urbexing.”

Pomni felt her cheeks growing hot. “I… I did not.”

“I know! That’s why it’s cute. You’re so passionate about it, and it shows in the way you talk about it to your daughter. For me it’s just exploring cool old buildings. And it might have been that for you, too. But right now? It’s sharing a piece of your heart with your kid. That’s utterly adorable.”

Pomni cleared her throat and gave a nervous chuckle back in response.
Zooble wasn’t wrong. But hearing the little NPC being called her daughter or kid out loud was still a bit strange.

They continued exploring more and more, with Zooble now joining in on the tips and tricks, making it feel as if they had also decided to embrace a more legal guardian role. Which felt nice, too.

Pierrosie listened to all they had to say and looked at everything they pointed to, apparently trying so very hard to understand all that was provided.
She tried to take a souvenir now and then, but also quickly understood that it was part of the respect not to take anything. When Pomni said, “Take Nothing but Photos, Leave Nothing but Footprints”, Pierrosie stared at her for a while, then pointed at her own flashlight, making Zooble laugh.

“Mmm…” Pomni answered a bit nervously, “That’s different.”

Zooble asked the question that was written all over Pierrosie’s face. “How so, Pomni?”
They sounded amused and teasey.

“That’s… well. Hm. That’s hard to explain. I would say… it’s based on a gut feeling? Like… the mall was still very full, and there were dozens of other flashlights. And we needed them. But… But I think that you need clear rules to understand things, don’t you, Pi?”

The little doll nodded, confused.

Zooble patted her head.

“There are many things in life you have to bend the rules for a little. Part of life is to learn when you can do that. But for now, stick to what your parents tell you.”

Pierrosie looked at the flashlight, making anxious sounds.

“Look, Pi — we bring the flashlights and the batteries back before we leave the world. How does that sound?” 

This seemed to calm the kid down, also relaxing Pomni in the process.

After about two hours of exploring, they returned to the streets looking for the others.

It didn’t take long to find them. Just following the loot trail of Jax like breadcrumbs, eventually ending up in front of a police station, was enough — where Jax himself was waiting. Leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.

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