Chapter 33
"Oh my goodness Gregory, what's that behind your ear?" Chica exclaimed. She reached behind the young boy's head. When her hand returned, she held up a Fazcoin as a gasp escaped from her beak. Sharing a glance with Pedro, Gregory whispered, "I don't know what's stranger, Chica clearly distracting us with magic tricks or the amount of coins behind my ears."
"I'm not distracting you guys, honest! I just wanted to show you these magic tricks I just downloaded into my hard drive!" Chica clucked, giving the boys a sweet and innocent smile. She was currently shuffling a deck of cards, another magic trick no doubt. Meeting Gregory's gaze, Pedro remarked, "Oh yeah, she's definitely distracting us."
"Agreed. Okay Chica, the gig is up. What's going on?" Gregory demanded, putting his hands on his hips. Dropping her cards in surprise, Chica rapidly shook her head as she chirped, "Oh no no no no no no! I would never!" Raising one eyebrow, Pedro commented, "Oh really? Then why is it you're the only one here? Where's my mom?"
"Mommy!" Grace cheered, clapping her hands together excitedly. The toddler had been quiet this whole time, sitting on Pedro's lap watching the magic show with intrigue. Squeaking in delight, Chica scooped up the small child and cried, "That's right Gracie, I am your mommy! Oh boys, wasn't that the sweetest thing you ever heard?"
"Now Chica, there's no need to change the subject. Where's my mom?" Pedro questioned. Standing tall beside the other boy, Gregory added, "And where's my dad?" Cradling Grace in her arms close to her chest, Chica tried to find anything else to look at as she stuttered, "Um... well... you see boys-"
"Chica, it's okay. I'm all done now," Roxy called out as she exited the elevator. The chicken animatronic let out a huge sigh of relief when she heard the wolf and cried, "Thank you Roxanne!" Rolling his wheelchair over to his mother with Gregory close behind, Pedro remarked, "Hey Mom, what took you so long?"
"Yeah, Chica here has been entertaining us with magic tricks in the lobby forever!" Gregory exclaimed. It was at this moment the two boys noticed that Roxy had a red wagon dragging behind her. A black blanket was draped over whatever was inside the wagon, which could be anything. Neither of the boys could tell what was possibly underneath the cloth. Pointing at it, Pedro asked, "What's that?"
"Oh, a little something that I found and then worked on. Come on, let's get out of the lobby," Roxy suggested, flicking her tail as a way to beckon the children and Chica to follow. The wolf animatronic led them towards the racetracks. "Gregory, Chica. You guys can go ahead and take a seat," she piped up, gesturing to the bleachers. She herself stopped nearby and turned to Pedro. Kneeling down, she held her son's hand gently in her own as she spoke softly, "Pedro, I have a surprise for you."
"I kinda guessed that already Mom," Pedro replied with a laugh. Chuckling, Roxy ruffled the reddish brown hair on the top of her son's head. Taking a hold of the black blanket on the wagon, she tugged it off, revealing a pair of endoskeleton legs. The metal bars inside the rings were gone, allowing room for either a new bar or something else entirely. There also seemed to be a headband of sorts in the wagon too. Gregory's jaw dropped as he mumbled, "No way man." A purring noise emitting from her voice box, Chica cooed, "Oh yes way."
"Mom..." Pedro stammered, his voice cracking slightly. He was at a complete loss for words. Picking up the headband and holding it gingerly in her hands, Roxy sighed heavily before she began explaining, "I know it's not much but... but I want you to walk and to race. I want you to live your dreams. And I'm gonna help in any way I can." Tears running down his cheeks, Pedro wiped them away with the back of his hand as he rasped, "Mom, that's amazing. You didn't have to do this."
"Oh trust me, I wanted to," Roxy answered as she stood up. Placing the headband on the teenager's head, the robot tapped the device with one green claw as she stated, "This is a neurotransmitter. It's meant for animatronics but I managed to rig it so it can work for humans too." Jumping up from his seat, Gregory shouted, "That's so cool!" Smiling as she quietly kicked her legs back and forth, Chica chimed in, "Roxy, you're amazing."
"Roxy's the best!" Pedro piped up, looking up at the neurotransmitter he now wore on his head. Blushing from all of this praise, Roxy finished sliding the endoskeleton legs over Pedro's paralyzed ones. Backing up a few feet, the wolf animatronic instructed, "Alright Pedro, let's start simple. In your mind, tell the legs to stand." No one said anything, everyone holding their breath as they waited to see what would happen. Pedro's brown eyes were closed, a sign he was concentrating on the command. At first, nothing happened.
Then the legs started moving.
"Oh my Scott," Chica gasped, her hand raising to her mouth. Gregory's jaw dropped again. Roxy, meanwhile, didn't dare move a mechanical muscle. She didn't even blink, her eyes too focused on her son. The endoskeleton legs continued to move, raising Pedro to his feet. At last, the teenager was standing tall and proud. Her tail slowly beginning to wag as the others cheered, Roxy woofed softly, "Okay, try walking to me Pedro."
"Okay Mom," Pedro replied. Concentrating hard, he took a step forward. It was shaky, as expected seeing how it had been years since he last could walk. But, slowly and surely and taking one step at a time, the determined boy made it to his adopted robotic mother. "You did it!" Roxy howled, throwing her arms into the air. Gregory and Chica were cheering as loud as possible. A big smile on his face, Pedro jumped into Roxy's arms as he spoke, "Thank you Mom." Her tail wagging in pure bliss, the wolf animatronic pulled her son into a warm hug as she whispered, "You're welcome my rockstar."
"This is amazing!" Chica yelled, "We gotta show everyone!"
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