-today was the business meeting Pendulum had with Gart Default, and he had brought @rnmbarb along, so she could prove herself to Robot and Monster how capable she is-
-Of course, Barb remained in her lamb costume to stay hidden and to keep from scaring the other workers, but to those who knew, they knew she was Barb-
Hey, Pen! Before we go in here, I wanted to give you something. It's not much, but I thought it might suit you. Is it okay if I...
-Barb leaned down to Pen's level, and took out a brooch, a fancy gold charmed heart locket brooch that had a prominent pretty looking ruby in the center, and she pinned it to Pen's scarf.-
It's actually a long story, where I found this thing. I just thought it would look nice on you, so I polished and cleaned it up! For your meeting. Like a conversation starter.
It's also a small thank you for you taking me under your wing. Because you didn't have to, you know? So thanks for looking out for me. Anyways, let's go get in here! You look great!
:)
Oh- you really didn't need to. I needed the help and you needed a job, it was the most sensible thing for me to do. I really don't deserve- ...thank you Barb, it is lovely. -Well now he feels terrible. In reality Pendulum had brought Barb with him with the intent to start a fight between her and Robot. He was hoping whatever ability Barb had would trigger, causing massive electrical damages to the Blinking Light Factory, and perhaps even giving him such a diversion that he could find the schematics for the blinking lights that Gart kept so well guarded. Although could he really do that to someone who had such genuine trust in him? At least with Robot in the past, he could choose to believe that he was using Pendulum to stick it to Gart as well.- -No he had to, this was a solid plan to finally best Gart and his factory once and for all. The one thing he had dreamed of doing for decades now.- -But would it actually be worth it? Loosing genuine connections just to get where Gart is? High up on the pedestal that he still seems to be bloody miserable on.- -Pendulum only knew he had until the end of this meeting to figure out exactly what he was going to do.- @rnmbarb
-Barb felt pretty confident by being near Pen's side-
-Although she couldn't pin point it at first, after Barb gave Pendulum his fancy brooch, however, there was a slight shift in his energy. Maybe it was just nerves?-
Hey, don't catch a fever now, @askpendulumdepot . You got this! I'll even back you up if you need me to. There's nothing new that Gart or anyone else can say to you that hasn't already been used to try and knock you down. Just focus on all the good you've been doing. That's what sets your factory apart from all the others! Your heart. Get it?
-Barb poked his new heart locket brooch, giggling at her own corny joke that was heart warming all the same-
-but she really did believe Pen had a good heart, though, didn't she?-
-that he was being just as genuine as she was-
-Why else would he tag her along other than for supporting each other?-
-Pendulum snapped out of his own internal dialog to give @rnmbarb a forced overly cheerful smile.- Haha, you are right about that! Folks like me have got to fight to not be cast into irrelevance because of what's spoken by the likes of Gart DeFault or others. It's how my company still stays afloat despite some arguing it should have gone out of business years ago. I do what I must to try and stay ahead of the game. -Pendulum adjusts the brooch on his scarf. He doesn't want to break Barb's trust in him, but this business as been the most important thing to Pendulum for the majority of his life. Perhaps she would understand? He'd be lying to himself if he said he believed that.- -Well perhaps the meeting with @gart-the-golden-child will give him the final bit of clarity he needs. He pushed the doors to Gart's office open with a facade of his usual confidence.- Why hello Gart! How is the Blinking Light business treating you these days?
-at first, Gart didn’t notice them enter… he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts at the moment, but he immediately hid something in the bag he brought…-
-…it was something he’d written down… probably nothing important, he only INHERITED the formula and the factory, not like he’d write down something completely personal that he’d felt awful about in the past that almost cost EVERYTHING…-
Hm? Oh, it’s going… well, for the most part. I mean, as far as I can tell…
…oh! Is that a… it’s impressive! I mean, not “You never disappoint” impressive, but, it’s still up there… I’m guessing it was a gift…
@rnmbarb @askpendulumdepot
-Barb listened as Pendulum explained how tough it was out in the business world; how much work it was just to keep his head above water. She felt pretty bad that he had to work so hard to the bone like that. Or supposedly in this instance, grinding his gears.-
-It's not his fault that solid lights had become obsolete, but he still believed in keeping the solid brand alive. It's hard when you believe in something so much, and have hardly anybody to stand by you.-
-Even Robot had a friend like Monster to support him. Who did Pen have? Well, right now, he had Barb that believed in him. Although she did wonder, if he did end up having to close the solid lights factory down, what next endeavor would he pick up? Did Pen ever think about that? For now, Barb just wanted to support Pen the way he's always supported her.-
Barb: It doesn't matter what they think @askpendulumdepot . It should be a good thing that you provide more traditional options. Your solid lights are just as reliable as the blinking ones. I honestly don't get what the fuss is all about.
-But Barb came from a world where human technology was much more advanced than theirs, so of course she didn't quite understand why it was such a big deal for them-
-Anyhow, Barb and Pendulum end up greeting @gart-the-golden-child , who seemed briefly caught up in his own little world, carrying around and pondering over whatever was inside his fancy bag before realizing their presence.-
-Gart even made a compliment to Pen's brooch! Well, sort of a compliment. It wasn't directly mean or hurtful, so that's a good start.-
Barb: Hi Gart! That's such a cute purse! Also, Yeah! I found that brooch at the bottom of Lake Bottom Berrel, down in the serpents crystal den! You wouldn't believe all the treasures you can find down there. I ended up snatching it as a souvenir when we saved Robot, but I thought it would look nice on Pen. I also thought it was kinda funny because he wears his heart on his sleeve! Or- scarf. Get it? -giggles-
-So corny and naive, and Barb did genuinely think that Gart's bag was super cute-
Thank you Barb. There are very few in this city who truly appreciate Solid Lights these days. -Pendulum looks genuinely touched that someone believes in his Factory. Perhaps had actually made a real friend? No, he had to remind himself that those typically don't last long in this line of work. But it still felt nice that someone sounded that confident in his business.- -The seeming normalcy of the start of his conversation with Gart put him a bit at ease though definitely. At least that's consistent with what Pendulum knows to be the norm. For now at least.- Why thank you Gart...I think. It was indeed a very thoughtful gift from Barb here. I had no idea you got it at Lake Bottom Barrel! You definitely have quite the adventures outside of work. Now what're you hiding in that little bag Gart hm? For your sake it better not be the blinking light formula, that purse certainly doesn't look very secure! -He chuckles. Pendulum knows the paper is most likely not the blinking light formula. He's just enjoying teasing Gart about it, assuming it's probably just something silly or embarrassing.- @gart-the-golden-child @rnmbarb
Um, first of all, it’s a handbag, not a purse, and who says I have the formula in here? You don’t know for sure about- -he stopped himself. Lake Bottom Barrel? @rnmbarb WENT there? And LIVED?-
…since when did Barb visit Lake Bottom Barrel? I’ve been told it was… unsafe, to say the least. I mean, I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been there…
-That part was true, at least. He’s never been there, seen it for himself, or even volunteered to look, but he has heard stories about it. Terrifying ones, not unlike ghost stories told about Barb’s species, and that had certainly turned him away…-
-he looked back to his “handbag,” as he called it. Okay, maybe it WAS a purse, but it was the only thing he could find that could properly store his special cargo… it was obviously not the formula, but @askpendulumdepot hinted at it like it was… was it? He’d been so caught up in his own mind at the time, what if he accidentally jotted something down?-
-As @askpendulumdepot and @gart-the-golden-child took note of Barb's brief recall of her adventure into the depths of Lake Bottom Barrel, she felt compelled to provide more context.-
Barb: When I was out on one of my night walks, I found the place abandoned and thought it would make a good picnic spot. I didn't know about any of the rumors, but Robot told me about the Oil Barrel factory accident that ended up burning down, sinking and spilling oil into the lake. That's why it's called Lake Bottom Barrel. What most people don't know however, is that there are mechanical survivors who've created their own small community down at the bottom!
They didn't get petrified with rust and corrosion because of the oil that's saturated into the water, so their metals are always protected!
According to Robot's friend Maurice, it also turned out that it was this giant Mechanical Serpent they call "Utekna", that attacked and sunk down the Oil Barrel factory. She was really mean and very territorial, but Monster was able to pull out the crystal on Utekna's forehead, which must have been like a splinter she got from her crystal den in the caves, and it made her grouchy. Now she's super docile! Still territorial, but now she protects the residents of Bottom Barrel, so long as they provide her with plenty of gems and treasure.
It might actually be for the best that you don't visit there, Gart. Utekna would easily mistake you for being an appetizing piece of gold! That's why Robot almost got eaten by Utekna because Robot is so brightly colored and shiny, and likely got mistaken to be a gem for her to snack on.
It was scary, but Robot found closure with Maurice ending up being alive this whole time! We still go down there to visit Maurice every now and then, so long as we cover Robot up in dirt to dull his shine.
-Barbara looked down between Gart and Pendulum bringing up the silly formula. She couldn't deny that Pen would try stealing the blinking lights formula if he could, but still had no suspicion that Pen would use her to do it.-
-Robot, on the other hand, had his suspicions that Pendulum was up to no good, especially when it came to Barb. In fact he had half a mind to confront Pen over how he carelessly brought Barb out in such a public space where she could risk getting exposed. At least at Pen's solid lights factory, Barb could remain more hidden.-
-Robot takes out his binoculars from his hatch and zooms in-
Robot: I got my eye on you, Pendulum... I know I'll catch you tangled up in your little twisted web of LIES-
-Barb noticed Robot watching, and she gave him a wave that made it obvious to everyone else that Robot was in fact, watching-
Robot: Oh crud- -the binoculars slips from his claws and he tosses them away immediately-
Barb: Anyways, what do you carry around in that handbag, Gart? I like to carry a brick in mine. Maybe two. I can't legally have a wallet, or ID, so I just carry the bricks to feel like I have something. And I had to steal the bricks! ..... I don't have a lot of stuff-
