2041

Spriggy FazSprig's Pizza launch, giving a dedicated home to all this new supporting cast of characters.

Ducky the Quaxly,

Flamer the orange Fuecoco,

Fluffy the Pirate Eevee,

And of course, the headliner, a dark green Spriggy FazSpring.

Business was good, and Liko was happy...mostly.

It did bother her that the one original character that she created, the original Ducky, got passed over for inclusion in that cartoon show. The only character to get ignored for the show.

But other than that, she was happy. She had herself a husband and three children, two daughters and a son. She had a thriving business. And best of all, she was able to learn the craft of robotics from the man she both loved and hated, Roy.

Together they were constantly pushing the limits of what these characters could do.

Becuase it was quick and easy, new characters introduced into the roster would be given a simple hand-sewn suit that any of the performers could wear.

Eventually, Roy would design one of his signature animatronics for that character, utilizing a divided mouth with either a hinged or sliding jaw design. This was the first generation of animatronics.

But why stop there? Liko had big ideas. What if the animatronics weren't just locked to the stage, but could freely roam around the restaurant? What if her mascot suits could become animatronics? What if she could use more than just rigid, metallic skeletons? Why not experiment with tubes and wires, giving the animatronics fluidity and flexibility, while still providing structure? The possibilities for this technology were endless.

Liko fell in love with robotics. She had started with a dream of bringing one simple singing Sprigatito to life. But with robots, she had stumbled across the tools that gave her the ability to control life itself. And thanks to Roy, she was practically speedrunning her way to an engineering degree.

And while Liko wouldn't admit it out loud, one other thing that kept pushing her forward was the desire to beat her former rival. To prove herself smarter and more capable. To surpass the man who everyone else considered to be a visionary genius.

But pride cometh before the fall, and tragedy was about to strike.