Seth raised his head from inside the cabinet he was looking into and gazed into space, looking thoughtful. "Maybe they're in Fangy's room. He might have been futzing around with the…uh, equipment."

Loth raised an eyebrow and grinned, but headed toward the clone's room in search of the needed tools. When he returned, he had the tools and a decidedly larger grin on his face. "Equipment, huh?"

Seth blushed and muttered something about Fangy's preferences. Ignoring Loth's chuckles, he pulled the jog of bleach out and shook it. "Feels like there's enough in here. Did Damaen find the bucket?"

"Don't know. Damaen!"

Damaen walked in, looking at his friends curiously. "What's all this?"

Loth rolled his eyes. "We're building a better mousetrap. Did you get the bucket?"

The younger bot shook his head. "Couldn't find one. Does Lin keep cleaning supplies in the house, Seth?"

"Yeah, probably in the basement. I don't do the cleaning. Fangy does; well, he does when he's in trouble. I'm the cook in the house," he said, his eyes glinting with pride.

Damaen looked back and forth between the other two. "You both cook? How come that's not in my programming?"

"Guess Jess didn't request it," Seth explained. "Loth knows how cause Deli made him learn. He's bloody whipped. Even watches cooking shows on TV." The eldest bot grinned mischievously and Loth glared at him.

Damaen smiled. "After two days of hearing how great Deli is, I believe that. Especially since he didn't go barhopping with us last night."

Loth merely shook his head. "I know my Deli well enough to know that she'd be right pissed if I went and danced with some other bird. And besides, I got to hang with Lin all evening. She's a blast. We watched movies and talked, and I made dinner."

Seth looked at him suspiciously. "That all?"

Loth sighed. "Well, of course. Did I sound like I left anything out?"

Damaen grinned. "Maybe Fangy's right, Seth. You are the jealous one."

"Yeah, well, don't bet your wiring on it. He's almost as bad as Loth…but not quite as hard to control. And this little trick should fix him good," the bot replied, pulling out some braided cord and some random hardware pieces.

Nodding, Loth sorted out the parts he wanted and went to work with the screwdriver. Seth picked the hammer and some nails and headed toward the laundry room. Damaen followed him, interested in what the others were planning.

************************************************************************

"Are you sure he does his stuff by itself? Always?"

"Yep," Seth replied. "He's arrogant that way. Always wants his stuff to stay pristine. He's afraid something of mine or Lin's will fade on his clothes."

"And he won't be mad?" Damaen fretted.

"Oh, he'll be bloody well pissed. But that's the fun part. Well, that and the fact that he's gonna do it to himself," Seth said, climbing on top of the dryer and starting to work on the ceiling.

"How's coming in here?" Loth asked, the bleach and a fully assembled makeshift pulley in his hands. He watched Seth work for a moment, and then looked at Damaen skeptically. "You're not gonna blow the whistle on us to Lin, right? We know Seth does his and Lin's clothes, so he'll make sure none of their stuff gets buggered up. But if you tell Lin, it'll ruin the fun."

Damaen narrowed his eyes at Loth. "Now why would I tell Lin? Just cause I'm younger than you doesn't make me a tattletale."

Loth grinned. "Just as long as we understand each other. Trust me, this'll be a riot. Old Pops won't know what hit when he opens the lid."

Seth looked down at the brothers. "Did either of you big mouths find a bucket yet?"

Damaen growled, but headed off to find one. When he returned, he had a small bucket marked Oxi-Clean on it. "It was empty: I didn't take the new one," he explained, noting Seth's raised eyebrows.

"You fished it out of the trash, you mean," Loth said, trying to contain his laughter.

"How did you know that?"

"You've got wet lint from the filter hanging from your ear," he replied, cracking up in earnest.

Seth muffled a laugh as he hooked up the pulley and cord, testing the tautness of the line. Running the cord all the way through the pulley system, he jumped down and wound it through the shelves and the washer, hiding it from plain view.

"Bang up job, mate. Now to rig the lid," Loth said, rubbing his hands together.

Damaen looked from the device to the bots, and shook his head. "This could take awhile…"
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The three bots sat at the lunch table, drinking beer and munching on burgers. Damean wiped his mouth, grinning hugely at his elder sibling. "So this thing is really gonna work, right?"

Loth nodded, sipping his beer. "Yep. I tested it three times, mate. It's perfect."

Seth stood up, clearing his dishes, and the condiments off the table. "I think Fangy will kick a dent in the washer about two inches deep."

"Heh, Angeline'd kill him if he did that. Besides, it's only clothes," Damean replied, putting his plate in the sink as well.

Loth shook his head. "Fangy's compulsive like that. He'll know that we're behind it and blow a gasket. That's the entire point!"

"Exactly. Though I have no idea why I'm going through with this cause you guys will be home with your women, all safe and loved and I'll be here with him. You know he'll take it all out on me…"

Loth clapped his friend on the shoulder companionably. "You can always come hide out at our place. Deli'd love to have you."

Seth grinned. "She's an angel alright. But I'm sure Angeline'd prefer if I stayed here and did damage control. Fangy can be quite overbearing when he's ticked off."
"Okay, so what now?" Damean asked curiously.

The two bots looked at each other and then back at him. "Time to go rifle through Fangy's stuff!" they replied in unison.

"Hey Seth! Loth! What're you guys doing?" another voice called. Peirce walked in, his bag slung over his shoulder, a big grin on his face.

"Oh, nothing special. Just getting ready to go raid the Fangman's digs. You up for it?" Seth asked.

Peirce nodded quickly. "Count me in. Who's the new kid?"

Damean stepped forward and shook Peirce's hand. "Name's Damean. Nice to meet you."

"Peirce," he said. He rubbed his hands together and looked at Loth. "You ready to invade Fangy's privacy?"

"Sounds like a plan," he replied, winking at Seth.