AN: So, this is a bit late really, but here we go with another chapter. I decided that I'll keep my original plan and put out this chapter and one more before the 'official' hiatus.

Enjoy.

Chapter 24: Sassy Girl

The shopping arcade was ablaze with lights, and practically vibrated due to the chatter. People attempted to press Scott for more information about who he was, and how he could do the things that he did. His answers did not win a lot of hearts or minds, however.

"Come on! Don't hand me that crap," said a partially bald older man. The top of his head was completely bald, but white hair sprayed out from the side like a caricature of a mad scientist.

Scott shrugged at the old Dr. Wiley impersonator. "I don't know what to tell you. Fight. Keep Fighting. You get better, find cool loot, or you die. There's no real secret."

The wild-eyed fossil turned away from Scott in a huff. His nostrils flared briefly before he wandered away to join another small group.

“Man, that fight earlier was intense!” said Stephan, a younger man with black hair and a seemingly perpetual expression of surprise.

Scott smiled at him. The small family group that remained nearby were at least a little more polite than some of the others. “Yeah, it wasn't as bad after I beat that first red ghoul, but night hunting is definitely more dangerous now than a few days ago.”

“You seem fine, though,” said Jessica, a blond woman who wielded an M-16. She wore bits and pieces of armor over her National Guard uniform. Just before everything completely turned to shit, she'd gotten dressed for duty. Now she'd worn her duty uniform since the apocalypse started. Tattered, dirty, and covered in dried blood, her uniform was a testament to her survival.

He patted Harley on the head. “She’s a good kid, and she looks after me.”

The pink haired girl closed her eyes and made a happy noise. “Harley is glad that she pleases you, Master.”

He smiled down at her, and nodded. “You do so much for me and never ask for anything.”

“Harley is happy when Master is happy.” She nuzzled the top of her head against him palm, and her cheeks reddened.

“OK, I need to know. What the hell…?” asked Jessica.

“Hmm?” asked Scott.

“That little girl!” asked Jessica.

Scott blinked. “Oh, that’s right. She’s my pet.”

“What kind of sick crap is that!” exclaimed Stephan heatedly.

“Harley, I need to go shopping. Would you mind going into bike mode and keeping watch for me?” asked Scott.

“Harley is happy to serve you, Master.” She made another cute noise then shifted into her robotic form.

“The hell!” exclaimed Stephan. Despite the fact that he'd only just met the man, his words came off like a fair imitation of Scott. He stepped back involuntarily, and stared in horrified surprise at the bizarre situation that appeared.

Harley began to restructure herself. Soon she'd transformed completely into a cute little mini-bike. “Harley will scan the area for you, Master.”

Scott patted her handle bars and her headlights dimmed. Her little engine revved slightly and her horn softly beeped in a strangely precious manner. Harley enjoyed being petted.

“She is a little girl, but she’s not human. Harley is a Doki-Doki Automaton, basically a class of pet monster,” said Scott.

“Pet monster?” asked Stephan in surprise.

“That girl… She turned into a bike.” mumbled Freddy, his eyes wide. "That's so cool!"

A little boy with sandy blond hair, and a dash of freckles across his nose, Freddy was Jessica's overly enthusiastic little brother.

“How. I mean… What?” asked Jessica intelligently.

Scott laughed a little then shook his head. “She’s a sweet girl, and excellent transportation.”

Harley thanked him for praising her once more and she began to roll around the area. She intended to take her orders seriously.

“Ok, that’s just weird,” said Stephan.

“I get that. Anyway, back to shopping,” said Scott.

The three people attempting to converse with him watched him stroll away to shop like the things that he'd sad were the most normal things in the world. He even began to hum a merry tune while he strolled.

“That guy’s out of his damned mind,” said Stephan. He eyed Scott critically for a moment then looked to his fiancé, Jessica.

Jessica glanced at Harley as she slowly rolled around the area. “Maybe, but he’s doing a lot better than we are.”

Scott decided to check his status at the back of the room. He was still level one, but that was unsurprising. He would not have his status updated till the following evening. It was entirely possible that he'd not gained enough experience to raise his level anyway.

The closest booth to his present location was the pet shop booth. Scott glanced over at Harley. "You know, she does a lot and asks for nothing."

He smiled softly at her then grinned when she pulled to a stop and beeped at someone who stood in her way. The older woman blinked then stepped aside so that the little mini-bike could go about her business.

Determined to see if he could do something for her, he went to check the pet shop's inventory. He did not expect much, but for once he was pleasantly surprised. “The hell?”

There was a laundry list of new things that he could buy for his pet! Everything was expensive, but items ranging from racial equipment to consumables existed.

One thing caught his interest the most of all. “Doki-Doki Core Mk. II?"

[Pet Upgrade]

Doki-Doki Heart Core MK. II

The Doki-Doki Automaton is a machine spirit pet that requires upgradeable parts in order to grow and become stronger. The most important upgrade is the core as it allows for greater power and the addition of new upgrade parts to the main body.

Required Level: 10

Max Energy: 20

Max Power: 10

RAM: 4

Memory: 100

Operating System: Doki-Doki Rhythm 2

Upgrade Slots: 2

Value: 2500

[--]

The coins had dropped like rain during the night hunt. Out of the few hundred monsters that he'd slain, he had collected nearly eight thousand more daemons. Hell, if he survived a few nights like that he could afford to outfit himself completely. However, at the moment, he wanted to do something good for his most devoted and trusted companion.

Scott blinked. He did not know what max energy or max power did, but he did want to give his adorable little girl the best chance to do the things that she could do.

He trotted back toward her and called out softly to Harley. The little mini-bike rolled over to him and asked him how she could serve him.

Scott patted her handle-bars and asked. “Harley, do you know what a Doki-Doki Heart Core is?”

“Yes, Master. The Doki-Doki Heart Core is the main component that houses Harley’s soul,” said the bike.

“If I purchase a mark two version of that core, would you be happier?” he asked.

Harley's headlights lit up brightly. “Master that would make Harley very happy.”

“Cool. Let me know when you reach level ten-” began Scott, but Harley revved her engine and said, “Harley is currently level ten, Master.”

“Oh, so you can install it now?” asked Scott.

“Yes, Master,” said Harley with surprising eagerness instead of her normally flat tone of voice. "It can be installed immediately."

They went to the pet shop booth and Scott purchased the core upgrade. “How do you install it?”

A popping noise echoed from Harley’s seat. “Lift up Harley’s seat, Master…” she said in a shy tone.

Scott did as directed and she released a distracting noise that sounded strangely like the unholy combination of a whimper and a moan. It was enough to make him feel distinctly uncomfortable.

“Do you see a little glass panel with a glowing sphere in it?” she asked him, a weird huskiness in her voice.

“Yeah,” said Scott slowly, his tone making it apparent that he was a bit unsettled.

“Touch Harley there, Master…” she said, her voice strange once more.

“You’re a little girl you know,” muttered Scott.

"Harley is an adult, master," replied Harley in a suspiciously annoyed sounding tone of voice.

"Right..." said Scott, before he reached down and gently touched her on her glass.

Her engine revved loudly and she unleashed the most disturbing noise yet. Scott nearly called the whole thing off then, but the glass began to vibrate and shimmer. It disappeared and the core beneath it lost its illumination.

“Remove the old core and lightly run your finger around Harley’s core holder to check for debris.” she said. “Please do this quickly but gently, Master. If Harley’s core is removed for too long Harley’s body will auto-disassemble.”

Scott did as she asked, and fought down the urge to sigh when she made a whimpering noise throughout the process of checking her for debris. He slid his finger slowly around her core holder, but found no debris. “Now what?”

“Place the new core inside Harley’s core holder, Master,” said the overly stimulated mini-bike.

Scott placed the golf ball sized crystalline sphere into her core holder. It rotated quickly for a moment then the glass panel shimmered back into place. The core lit up in a dazzling display of light.

“What now?” asked Scott.

“Master, we now need to finish the upgrade by taking Harley to a place with raw automotive and biological materials.”

He stared at her for a moment then remembered how her body was first formed. “You mean junk vehicles, electronics, and dead bodies?”

“Yes, Master. The area in the front of the shopping arcade would be ideal.”

Scott went with her out front, and took a moment to kill off a few ghouls that had wandered into the area. “Alright, what do we need to do now?”

“Harley has determined that there are enough materials in this location. Master, please order Harley to initiate upgrade sequence Alpha-Zero-Alpha.”

“Harley, initiate upgrade sequence Alpha-Zero-Alpha,” said Scott dutifully.

“Understood, Master!” exclaimed Harley. Her bike body radiated a brilliant light for a moment. Then exploded into a fiery ball of shrapnel.

Scott stared dumbstruck for a moment then screamed out her name. He started toward her last position, but stopped suddenly when he saw the core floating in the air where she had once been. Electricity began to arc outward from the floating device. Soon a familiar whirl of wind and lightning appeared. Bodies were lifted into the air, but notably only the second-tier monster corpses moved toward the maelstrom of light and fury.

Windows exploded nearby. Dozens of cellphones and other electronics devices raced toward Harley’s location. The red ghoul bodies and electronics dissolved into the light. Not long after that, the maelstrom ceased. The floating core radiated a strong and steady light.

The shrapnel that had exploded outward previously floated gently into the air. Bits of metal began to circle the core. Various abandoned cars began to lose bits and pieces of metallic materials. Car hoods, antennas, and soon various vehicle parts from car and truck alike were torn loose and joined the slowly spinning mass of materials.

The last thing to rise into the air was a wrecked motorcycle on the corner. Each of these things were rendered into particles of light and then absorbed by the core.

A semi-transparent blue outline of a motorcycle appeared in the air. It shifted between various body styles until one that suited the desires of the machine spirit was chosen. A wave of energy erupted outward from its central point and that design became physical reality.

Where once there had been a cute little pink mini-bike, there was now a cute little pink motorcycle. It was the same color design as the mini-bike had been. Scott guessed that it was only a little larger than his old scooter, the one that he'd lost in the beginning of the apocalypse, but she was styled more like an off-road bike.

“Wow, Harley…” said Scott.

The motorcycle revved her engine, and this time it sounded more like a dirt-bike. “Oh, thank you Master! This is great.”

“I’m glad you’re happy.” He said with a smile.

“I am! Thank you for showing me such kindness ever since I was a little girl,” she said affectionately.

Scott blinked. “Ever since you were a little girl?”

Harley shifted forms quickly and became a taller robot girl, and then shifted into a humanoid form that wore short denim shorts and a pink halter top. Where once there had been a girl who looked to be no older than five or six years old, ten at most, there now stood a girl who could easily pass for twelve-to-fourteen years of age.

She ran over to him and looked up at him with a warm expression. “I had a wonderful second childhood thanks to you.”

“You… What?” asked Scott. She acted like they had known each other for years, but she'd literally been a child a few minutes prior.

She laughed softly and then danced back away from him. “You were always supporting me and praising me. You gave me important jobs to do and even cleaned my face with I ate like a pig.”

“Not to mention let you use firearms and engage in life and death battles,” said Scott sarcastically.

She did not take the bait, however. Instead she smiled brightly at him. “Yes! You trusted me with your life, and praised me constantly.”

“I was quite spoiled.” She said as a gentle blush creeping up on her cheeks.

Scott was at a loss as to what to say. His robo-loli had grown up and entered middle school. Kids really did not waste time these days. After a moment he reached out and lightly patted her on the head.

Her eyes closed for a moment then snapped open. “Master… I-I’m not a little kid anymore. Patting me on the head is embarrassing…”

“You don’t like it?” asked Scott softly.

Her blush intensified. “It’s not my place to say.”

“Well, if it’s embarrassing to pat your head, how should I praise you?” he asked.

She stepped back and lifted her hands to her chest. She blinked then looked down and bit her lower lip as though she had to think about the appropriate thing to say. “Uhm…”

It was obvious that Harley was at a loss. How should her master praise her now?

“How about I just embarrass you a little now and then and you put up with me?” asked Scott before he moved forward and patted her on the head.

Her nostrils flared and her cheeks were so red that they looked like they were burning. “So embarrassing.”

“Would you prefer a hug or something?” he asked.

Her face turned bright red and she took a step back. “N-no! That’s OK. You don’t have to do that!”

“Oh, now I feel bad,” he said, teasing his former robo-loli.

“Ah! No, don’t feel bad, Master!” She waved her hands in front of her in what had to be the most adorable display that Scott had ever seen in his life.

He patted her on the head again and she calmed down. Though she did bite her lower lip a little.

“So, a head pat isn’t so bad?” asked Scott

“Well, Master… If it’s you…” she said gently, before she closed her eyes and made a cute noise. Her entire face turned as red as a tomato.

"Will this keep happening?" asked Scott.

She opened one eye and looked up at him. "I'll die of embarrassment..."

"What? No, not the head patting. I meant, the part where you get older with each upgrade," said Scott.

Harley looked away from him and said, "My body will age with each upgrade until I look like the adult that I truly am..."

Scott patted her head a little more and she made a cute noise of embarrassment. Yeah, she was an adult alright.

"So, I guess we can't sleep next to each other anymore," said Scott. Harley rarely slept, as she did not need to rest often, but on occasion she'd stretched out next to him while thinking that he was asleep. She could detect life signs whether she was stable or in motion, so he'd thought nothing of it. Now though, it might be a problem.

"What? Why?" she asked suddenly. Her eyes widened, "You knew?"

Her expression shifted to one of sincere loss and growing sadness. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"You kidding? My little Harley's growing up. She gets embarrassed by head pats... Why would she want to—" began Scott. He was teasing her a little to get back at her for all the weird noises she made during her upgrade, but to his surprise the girl lunged forward and gave him a tight hug.

"No, no... Harley is sorry!" she cried while nuzzling her head against his chest.

Scott noticed that she'd reverted to her third person speech for a moment. He felt like an ass after he realized what happened. He'd upset her enough that she'd mentally reverted to her younger mental state out of shock and worry.

He hugged her warmly then kissed her on the top of the head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't tease you so much."

Harley sniffled softly and made a cute noise. "S'ok master. It's fine to tease Harley... a little."

"I should pay more attention to your feelings, though. So, just let me know if something upsets, you," said Scott.

"Yes, master..." she said, her sniffles quieting in the process. She smiled softly and nuzzled her head against his chest once more.

"I mean, I've never had a little sister before, so it's not something I'm used to..." said Scott as an apology.

She froze in place briefly, then pushed herself away from him. Her bangs covered her eyes while she looked down, but it was obvious to Scott that he'd said something to upset her again.

"Harley...?" asked Scott.

She growled softly then turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. "If it pleases you, Master... Your little sister will transform and patrol."

"Sure... If you want," said Scott. "You know, I've told you before... You can call me by my name, right?" He reached out to put his hold on her shoulder, but she stepped forward to avoid it.

Harley snorted then tossed her hair back over her shoulders, "Yes, Master. Harley knows..." and then began her transformation. She reverted to her pink dirt bike form then honked twice before rolling away.

"Uh... Ok then..." said Scott at a loss for words. After a brief moment passed he quirked an eyebrow then smiled slightly. "Seriously?"

"My little girl's growin' up and gettin' all sassy," he said softly then chuckled and shook his head.

From the door to the shopping arcade three people looked on in confusion. Once again, they had no idea what was going on, but it was obvious that those two people were crazy.