The arcade had become a battleground between order and chaos. GLich-chan hovered near the ceiling, her sterile white light methodically "correcting" everything it touched—the once-janky skee-ball machines now operated with soulless precision, their colorful tickets replaced by neatly printed achievement certificates.
Yamete ducked behind a half-normalized air hockey table, watching as Terry sneezed violently on a cluster of Theta's perfectly balanced NPCs. The resulting glitch turned three of them into potted ferns and one into a very confused flamingo.
"That's our best weapon right now," Yamete muttered. "Allergic reactions."
Gary's can rattled impatiently at his feet, the dents in his surface now unmistakably forming a crude middle finger aimed at GLich-chan. The latest series of clangs translated to: "REMIND ME WHY WE'RE NOT RUNNING?"
Before Yamete could answer, the Cheat Engine's chaotic half suddenly projected a new command prompt across the floor:
/locate Theta_design_docs
The orderly side immediately countered:
/command_restricted insufficient_permissions
Yamete grabbed the device and mashed keys at random until it displayed coordinates to what appeared to be Theta's old office.
Terry sneezed again, this time turning their own left hand into a fish. "Great. Now what?"
"Now we—" Yamete's plan was interrupted by GLich-chan floating directly above them, her blank eyes scanning the group.
"Anomaly cluster detected," she intoned. "Initiating cleanup."
Yamete did the only thing he could think of—he grabbed Gary's can and hurled it at a nearby fire alarm. The impact triggered a sprinkler system that had somehow survived Theta's balancing act. Water rained down, causing GLich-chan's form to flicker momentarily.
"Go!" Yamete yelled, making a break for the exit. Terry followed, still shaking their fish-hand like it might change back.
Theta's office turned out to be a nondescript building that smelled like old coffee and regret. The door was locked, but Terry's latest sneezing fit accidentally turned the doorknob into warm butter.
Inside, yellowed blueprint papers covered every surface. Yamete picked one up, his eyes widening as he read:
"Glitchvale Design Doc v0.5 - Key Features:
- Intentional imperfections (charm factor +30%)
- Allow 5-10% runtime errors (personality injection)
- DO NOT 'fix' the screaming mailboxes (they're funny)"
Terry picked up another sheet. "This one says 'Gary Character Notes: Make him weird enough that players question their life choices.'"
A noise at the door made them turn. Theta stood there, his bathrobe now accompanied by a clipboard. He looked at the papers in their hands, then sighed deeply.
"You weren't supposed to see those."
Yamete held up the design doc. "You *wanted* Glitchvale to be broken?"
Theta rubbed his temples. "Not broken. Alive. But then the glitches started... glitching the glitches. Things got out of hand." He gestured to the window, where GLich-chan's cleansing light pulsed in the distance. "She was supposed to help me maintain the balance, not erase everything interesting."
The Cheat Engine chose that moment to project a new message from its chaotic half:
/theta_was_right_but_also_wrong
Theta eyed the device. "I see it's developed opinions."
Gary's can suddenly rolled across the floor, coming to rest against Theta's foot with a meaningful clang.
Theta picked it up. "Ah. The trash can with attachment issues." He studied the dents. "Is this... is this giving me the finger?"
Yamete crossed his arms. "We want our glitches back."
Theta sighed. "Fine. But there's a condition."