And then there were three

A large crate arrived at my laboratory over the weekend with a letter attached.

Dear Dr. Mason,

We are sorry for your loss of little marion. These newly imported pests known as mimmoths have been breeding rapidly and pose a risk to the entire doll population. We have increased security at our facility and for that very reason.

The marion unit was still under warranty, so we have provided a replacement unit at no charge. Furthermore as an esteemed and valued customer (and since we must rearrange our inventory for "mimmoth-proofing") we have provided you with an additional complete set of doll construction parts. We suggest saving them as replacement pieces in case of a second attack, but there is enough to create a second doll if you so wish. However please be advised that our warranty will no longer cover mimmoth attacks.

Sincerely,

Dr. H. Stauf
Turn Key Enterprises

I began work post-haste on a pair of nekos I had just...recovered, and soon Steelhead City echoed with my screams of "THEY'RE ALIVE!"

I think it was my use of the plural this time that brought the management and other neighbors to come see Sasha and Becca. I gave thema partial tour of the city. Oh you should have seen their faces when they saw the carnival! They had opposite reactions to the clown statue interestingly enough. We also ran into the Evil Kitty herself. I warned my little ones not to go poking in other people's factories.

The next night I brought sasha to work at Novem and yet another doll stumbled in, half-broken...severely damaged by mimmoths. (It's an epidemic I tell you!) After some emergency surgery behind the bar she was stabilized. She said her name was Sparky, and that her Maker was trying to make her fully human before he disappeared. Indeed, she had more organics than one would expect. I accepted her into my rapidly growing family with the promise that if she does indeed wish to become fully organic, I can arrange it.

In the middle of all of this, the specs on Gematria's new chassis are finally beginning to coalesce. At this rate I may have to summon Ash or Qli to babysit so I can get some work done!