Fizzypop looked at the table laid with cinnamon rolls, coconut cream, grilled fruit, and peanut butter protein smoothies. It was oddly specific and, for once, not weird, but obviously important to Noobkitty. Skidmark was already loading a second sticky roll with cream and strawberries.

  Not wanting to miss out on a culinary experience, Fizzypop made their plate, arranging it like a painter’s palette: the roll partly covered in fruit, partly in cream, and a small section plain. They added a bit of each fruit and an additional dollop of cream so they could try each component individually and together, delicate as a true gourmand. The smoothie didn’t allow for any artistic presentation; it was magically cold, squishy, and tasted like peanut butter and banana.

  For the enjoyment of being awkward, they sat between Grimmblade and SisterQuery, the two had started to pretend they were not thinking about each other. Fizzypop wanted to spark something, though maybe they shouldn’t; if Noobkitty couldn’t save the world, any romance would die with it. Not the time for forced match making. Shaking the thought away, they bit into their cinnamon roll. Fruity, creamy, sweet, and actually very good. The grilled pineapple’s juice was an amazing highlight.

  Noobkitty finally sat down with the party of Sweet Victory. Her mood was still low, but no one could blame her.

  “My prime self died. For better or worse, I’m tied to this world. My plan doesn’t change: cook snacks, make overly enchanted equipment, and beat the world boss. With luck, that’ll bring in enough players and viewers to save the world. Now I’m part of the world too. I apologize to SisterQuery and .ex if it seemed I wasn’t taking things seriously. I promise I was. Me being weird is just… me. And making you two my friends already made it hard to accept the weight of it all, so I kept being my weird self, as I will now.”

  There was a moment of silence, a seriousness, a weight. Fizzypop, conflict-averse, took a bite of grilled strawberry with cream. They watched as .ex held Noobkitty’s hand. She looked about to say something when...

  PFFFTTT SQUEEK… squeak… poot.

  Skidmark smiled and laughed. “Musical cakes work.”

  Noobkitty laughed. .ex laughed. SisterQuery blushed. Grimmblade looked confused. Fizzypop sipped their smoothie, trying not to burst out laughing. The meal turned into a small party, the treats no longer tainted by the weight of Noobkitty’s loss.

  After a while, most were eaten, a few cinnamon rolls dressed up, a few smoothies made, and all packed into Fizzypop’s cross-server storage with instructions to give them to Noobkitty’s sisters next time they met.

  ---

  Ari sat at their desk in their relatively sparse apartment. Everything went toward their netlife, which had oddly become their job. Editing replays took time, and they had notes to consider. They drank a hypoallergenic nutrition pack, fake strawberries and chocolate today. It was awful.

  Alone, things were quiet. Too quiet. Unfortunately, that meant time to think. When had everything become so serious? They were supposed to be a food reviewer. Now they were trying to help three women they liked stay alive, to save a lackluster net world that should have been dead years ago. If it weren’t for Noobkitty, there’d be no reason to log in. And now… now they were regular cohosts with her replicant sisters.

  Speak of the devils:

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  From CheshyBot:

  Fizzypop! You in the mood for cinnamon rolls from dozens of different worlds? Our sisters keep sending them to us, and this could be a mix of funny and feels content! Let us know, we also have peanut butter smoothies!

  They laughed. Of course, if Noobkitty made a specific treat, all of her sisters would have the same idea. They composed a letter to their fans:

  Hey Gourmands and Gamers,

  I know you’ve all been wondering what happened to my cohosts last time. Well, we’ll be having a special cinnamon roll tasting extravaganza and telling all in the process. Good thing digital stomachs can’t be overfilled, because we’re about to try dozens of gooey delicacies from across the Crystal net.

  It was basic, but it got the job done. Ari finished their nutrition pouch and prepared themselves for an endless barrage of cinnamon rolls. The clip reel would be priceless, even without stomachs, two dozen rolls, they’d wish they could throw up. They settled into their expensive, health-conscious gaming chair, clicked in, and logged on.

  ---

  Table after table lined with cinnamon rolls, each slightly different, since each came from a different world. Noobkitty’s was actually the plainest looking, being homemade. Some had violently red strawberries bleeding into white cream, some sparkled with crystal sugar, some oozed with frosting so thick it dripped. In the physical world, eating one of these would send Ari to the hospital. Here, they were on their fifth.

  Not everyone sent cinnamon rolls. Some sent spicy pistachios, potato dishes, even mushroom jerky, evidently all Lyla’s favorite foods, all sent to share with the sisters who spoke to the net.

  After a few rolls, Fizzypop chewed on a piece of mushroom jerky as a palate cleanser.

  “Okay, girls, seriously, what’s with all the cinnamon rolls?”

  GobMouse, wiping her mouth after eating one surprisingly fast despite her small mouth, “It was the last thing we ate before being downloaded. We share every memory up to our last breakfast as Lyla, so to show we aren’t alone in the net, most of our sisters sent that exact meal.”

  “We’re making care packages to send back. Not everyone’s getting fifty cinnamon rolls, but everyone will get snacks, so they know, despite our prime self being dead, they’re not the only one with her memory in these worlds,” CheshyBot said, primly wiping cream from her mouth.

  “Oh.” Fizzypop paused. No quip. No frame of reference. They’d never even considered making a downloaded copy of themselves. Then they rallied: “Well, when we’re done with our gooey cinnamon orgy, mind if I give Noobkitty her care package?”

  “Of course. Our youngest sister has found herself a nice family in Coro?en, and she’ll need all the cheer she can get. That world is…” CheshyBot trailed off.

  “That’s a good reminder,” Fizzypop said. “If you want to see yours truly in ugly beginner robes fighting a doomsday dragon, log onto Coro?en and give our kitty your old armor. Twenty-nine days left ‘til server collapse unless Sweet Victory can make a viral video of level 1 players defeating a world boss.”

  “Save the kitty!” GobMouse yelled, then sheared a small bite through another cinnamon roll.

  CheshyBot went pale, the overload of flavor hitting her system. Fizzypop reflected, for a moment, how download drift could vary so much, and wondered how much their Noobkitty was like the Lyla woman they once were. In the end, it didn’t matter. Noobkitty was the one they cared about. Noobkitty, with the girls of Sweet Victory, was who they’d help save, one smiling food review at a time, until Coro?en was saved, destroyed, or their audience revolted.

  They plastered on a smile and took another roll. “Careful, CheshyBot, not everyone has the constitution of a gourmand like me and GobMouse.”

  The demure, sharp-toothed goblin woman gave an embarrassed and meek smile. “My sister is a bit delicate.”

  And so the food review went on. Fizzypop would be happy if they never experienced another cinnamon roll in their life, but now had an appreciation for extra spicy mushroom jerky despite normally not liking spicy food.

  ---

  The store was open for the evening, and it was busy. Fizzypop cut the line, some customers recognizing them and had no qualms about the Gourmand of Games skipping the queue. With a smile, they went to Noobkitty.

  “None of these are up to your weirdness levels, but your sisters across the net sent you gifts and condolences.”

  With a swipe, the packages transferred to her inventory. It had cost Fizzypop a few points of Cz, but it was worth it. The audience would eat it up when she opened snacks from zombie apocalypse worlds, futuristic worlds, space operas, magitech realms, and even cozy game worlds.

  Noobkitty’s eyes, duller than usual that morning, began to spark again as she scrolled through the items. Fizzypop wondered how .ex would react to zero-g chocolate bananas on laser sticks. It was going to make great content. They just hoped the streaming sisters were good at editing.