Chapter 20: Gambit
Quaz: [90/100] 
Jasmine: [100/100]
Arthur: [75/100] 
Will: [80/100]
Silver: [20/20] 
Hiro: [35/50] 
Stats:
Experience (Level 5) [1000/8000]
Charisma: Unlocked
Manners: Unlocked
Agility: Locked
Cunning: Unlocked
Strength: Unlocked
Weapon Knowledge: Unlocked
Dueling: Unlocked
Hand to Hand: Unlocked
Heavy Weaponry: Locked
Discovered Kingdom skills:
Wizardry: Unlocked
Spiritual Assistance: Unlocked
Polymorphing: Locked
???: Locked
???: Locked
You awake at some point later, though in the darkness it is impossible to tell what time it is. That is alright to you. You are used to being disoriented, although you do take a moment do breathe in the smell of the mattress you are sleeping on. Its a bit damp–possibly from your sweat or tears during the night-- and smells like old leather. Still, you are grateful to be away from the cold white room with humming walls, and slowly ease into the mattress again with contentment. This is not a simulation.
Then you figure out what woke you up as they repeat themselves.
Quaz : Sorry to wake you up, Master Troy, but you need to be there for this debriefing, there will be food.
You ache. All over. Actually, your broken arm feels better than before, which is nice, although now that you have thought about it, it is extremely itchy. As you move to scratch it, you hear Quaz in the darkness.
Quaz : Don’t scratch.
You: Ugh…
- Ask Quaz to help you up.
- Get up on your own (Requires Strength)
You groan again.
You: Quaz,can you help me up?
Quaz : Of course, Master Troy.
Quaz gently pulls you up and lets you lean on him as you move through the tunnels. When you finally arrive at the debriefing, Go Go glances your way before commenting.
Go Go: See? We should have postponed this, he can barely stand on his own.
Hiro : …We’ve already set it in motion, we have to move now…
You: I can… I can help, I just need to get my bearings.
Go Go: I’d say first you need to get your landlegs.
Honey Lemon: Oh, knock it off, Go Go.
Honey Lemon enters at this moment, Wasabi behind her.
Wasabi: Excuse her, she’s just antsy.
You grunt out a response and then heave yourself into a chair. Esmeralda appears in the doorway and hands you a plate of eggs and toast. You start eating while Hiro outlines the plan.
Hiro : Okay, so you and your posse bring me and the others in guns blazing. Once we get inside, you yell out about how you’ve got brought the resistance. We’ll crumble beneath the robots, and get captured. Once Mirage gives you the artifact, the Parr kids will play their part, bust us out, and then we’ll take over the HQ.
You: Won’t the robots be a problem?
Honey Lemon: Their computer is in the HQ, as long as we get it, we get control of the entire army.
Go Go: Control the army, and you control the government.
Wasabi: We’ve heard back from Mode, she’s gonna have a method to break through the firewall devised for us by the time we show up.
You: Who’s Mode?
Honey Lemon: She’s a brilliant scientist. She used to be a fashion designer, but she’s been forced into work by the government. The AI program has advanced tremendously because of her, but at some point she realized that it was going too far and defected to us.
Hiro We’re pulling out all the stops with this one, this is the gambit of the rebellion. History-wise, this is where we either pull it off, or crash and burn. Nothing in between. What do you think of the plan?
- Go over the potential flaws and offer solutions. (Requires Weapon Knowledge)
- Express a distrust in the rebellion
- Express a worry about there not being a backup plan
- Accept their plan as is.
You: How positive are you that first off, you can hack the computer, and second off, that it does have all robot control? Mirage used a little screen to control the robots previously.
Hiro : The robots do have to be hooked up to a computer to maintain their basic functions, but you’re right that Mirage was able to control some with that device. This is the supercomputer though, and the few she takes won’t be enough to stop us. Plus, Mode already has everything set for a hack in.
You: How do we make sure the Parrs can find you, and what’s the backup for if Mirage doesn’t directly part with the artifact?
Go Go: We’re going to have trackers on us, and we already know where the artifact is being kept anyways. Stop wasting our time with these foolish questions and get ready to move out.
Go Go storms out of the room, but Hiro meets your eyes with respect.
Hiro : Nice of you to poke holes to make sure we’re expecting everything, it shows you understand everything well enough to know what could go wrong. Trust me, we’re preparing for every possible scenario, but ultimately, this is a big risk, and somethings just cannot be anticipated.
+10 Hiro Favor
Hiro is now your ally!
+200 Experience
Experience: [1200/8000]
You: Alright, if you’re all set, then let’s give this a spin.
You down the rest of your meal and finish it off with another couple glasses of water. Hiro leads you from the room, Quaz at your sidebut no longer helping you walk. You enter a room and see the rest of Hiro’s friends gearing up. Woody darts into the room and offers a status update, then takes off again.
Hiro : Alright guys, we’re all set. Now we move out.
Go Go: Here goes everything we’ve worked for, I hope we’ve done enough.
Honey Lemon: For Fred!
Wasabi: Heck, for everyone, not just Fred.
Your companions also all meet up in the room. Jasmine’s daggers gleam wickedly in the light, the razor sharp edges sparkle with electricity. Quaz heads over to a table and puts on body armor and thick steel gauntlets. Will is carrying a pistol much like the one you saw in the simulations, and Arthur draws excalibur. Both Will and Arthur are also decked out in the shining armor, but Esmeralda is not.
Hiro : I decided to give your friends a few upgrades, we need them to pull their own weight, after all.
Esmeralda: I’ll be scouting, not fighting.
You: Any chance you’ve got something for me?
Hiro sizes you up for a minute before finally offering a grin.
Hiro : I’ve got yah a medallion that should enhance your connection to the arcane. Spirits, Magic, Beasts, whatevs, and that’s the cool part!
Hiro made a piece of tech to bolster the strength of your kingdom skills, Hiro has passed his first favor test!
Hiro : I’ve also secured some weapons for you. You can only take one, but their all amazing. We’ve got a pair of gauntlets, they’ll be great for hand-to-hand combat. They are light, and sturdy. I also made a lot of lasor edged swords, you can take two if you think you can manage them. They’ll cut through the robots without any effort on your part, or I’ve made a giant sledgehammer. It is a prototype, but it should be able to send out an EMP everytime it collides with a surface. Basically you’ll be neutralizing robots left right and center with that. Take your pick!
Tutorial: You can now choose your weapon for the remainder of the battles! This choice will boost the experience gained from a combat skill by a huge amount, and look you to that combat choice. Whatever weapon you choose will be what you use for the rest of the story, so pick well!
- Charged Gauntlets! (Boosts Hand-to-hand)
- Lasor-edged Swords (Boosts Dueling)
- EMP Sledgehammer (Boosts Heavy Weaponry)
You retrieve the pair of swords after placing the medallion securely around your neck. They hum through the air when you test them out. They feel really really good.
You: Heck yes!
Dueling skill has been boosted, double experience will now be gained from it.
Hand-to-hand and Heavy Weaponry are now locked.
Hiro : That’s the enthusiasm I like to see when someone is complimenting my work!
Hiro offers you a grin and you grin back before tucking the two swords into their sheathes, and strapping them to your side. Hiro injects something into your broken arm and you feel your fingers twitch as he removes the cast.
Hiro : We want you at the top of your game, let’s get out there!
With another clamour of voices, you, your companions, and the resistance surge down the exit and through the streets, making a beeline for the capital. All too soon you reach the HQ you were held in, and you feel a shudder as a pang of fear turns your legs to jelly. Next to you, Silver clasps your shoulder.
Silver : Back into the beast, but this time, let’s get vengeance.
You smile at him and the near debilitating sense of fear leaves your body. Before you even reach the door, it burst open and dozens of robots charge outside. For a moment, there’s something resembling peace. Just the pound of clambering feet, the sizzle of electricity in the air, and the static of receivers…
…And then the battle begins. Steel cuts into steel, people shout, robots power down. Despite the few who exited with you, you are all more than a match for this army.
Jasmine’s new daggers slash, greedily piercing everything and leaving the robots dead to the world. Will and Silver stand side by side, each firing shouts from their laser pistols into the robots. One robot flies through the battlefield towards them, and Will draws his saber, at the same moment he holsters his gun before slashing the robot’s head clean off its shoulders. You charged toward a dozen robots, passing Quaz as he grabs a handful of a robots chest, rips and then throws it into another with a resounding boom. Arthur remains near Quaz. You watch as he cuts a robot in half with excalibur then whips around and lifts a hand to send a robot flying with magic.
Your reach your targets and easily slash through the robots. Your swords plunge deep and even the lightest caress of the blade against an enemy leaves a deep scratch and the sounds of zapping from wires. Your dozen foes fall before you with ease.
4000 Experience
Experience: [5200/8000]
Your companions are hardly the only ones packing a punch. Go Go’s disks cut through enemies around her as she seems to fly rather than skate over the road. At one point she leaps into the air before bringing her disks down and cleaving two robots completely in half. As she does this, a robot comes up behind her, prepared to strike with a laser sword. Wasabi appears out of nowhere and parries the blow with his own laser sword before jabbing it through the middle and watching it power down. He turns to the next enemy as a ball of goop flies past him, lands on a robot and then promptly explodes blowing the robot up. You turn to the side where you see Honey lemon pressing buttons on the side of what looks like a purse. Another blob shoots out the side and she catches this before dashing it at an enemy. Hiro fights on his own, pulling robots to him with powerful magnets and then slamming them into each other or the ground. Esmeralda stays amid this group of chaos, though she does not fight, she does a surpisinging job of dodging around and staying out of people’s way.
It does not take very long for you to fight through the bulk of the robots and get inside, where you steadily race down one hallway, Will and Silver blasting robots in your path. Eventually you enter a large room, seemingly empty until you set foot deeper within, at which point the tiles beneath your group highlight and Mirage ahead of you. The walls on all four sides manifest giant turrets, and you gulp as you realize this is the moment where your plan reaches its fruition. Mirage smirks and you catch her eye before calling out your declaration.
You: A deal’s a deal, Mirage. I’ve brought you the top minds of the resistance. They’ll know everything you need to know about it all.
You turn on the resistance members, swords drawn as you step away. Go Go blows a bubble of gum that pops loudly as Hiro scrunches up his face.
Hiro : You what!? Troy! You rotten traitorous scum I’m going to kill you!
You: That won’t be happening anymore, I’m afraid.
Honey Lemon: How could you do this? They hurt you!
You: Yes, and that’s why I know how important it is I remain on their good side.
You are a little ways from Mirage now, and that’s when you feel the pull of the artifact to her. You glance around her neck and see she has a small rectangular piece of metal around her neck. Just as you were about to retrieve it, something else dawns on you. Mirage has the piece, and it’s not where Hiro expected it to be. What other information could the resistance have had wrong.
Mirage begins to sarcastically applaud, then she outright laughs, as two robots round the corner behind her, each holding a child securely handcuffed. One is small with blonde hair and a shifty gaze, the other is older with black hair and a nervous demeanor. Both are dressed in Red tights, with black gloves and boots and the letter I as a symbol on their chests.
Hiro sucks in a breath, and Honey Lemon gasps
Mirage: It is actually cute that you thought I would fall for this. Did you really think it would be that hard to figure you all out? Even as we speak, I’m rounding up your resistance. Edna Mode has been detained, but ultimately she will continue to work for us, as will all of you when you have been simulated.
- Improvise the plan and pretend that the Resistance deceived you too
- Screw the plan and attempt to take Mirage hostage
- Attempt to free the Parr kids
You offer Hiro a double-take and let your lower lip quiver in shock and hurt.
You: You guys didn’t trust me? B-but I thought–
Hiro : Of course we didn’t trust you! You think we’ve managed this long by trusting people? You really are crazy, aren’t you! I’d never trust you, but I’m hurt you thought I would.
Mirage watches this exchange with interest and you hold back a grin at Hiro’s improvisation. Just when you think you are home clear, A small shadow rounds the corner and addresses Mirage.
Woody: Don’t believe their banter. Troy knew exactly what he was getting into just like the rest of them. He’s not your ally, and if you trust him now, you’ll be bringing an end to your little empire here.
Hiro’s eyes narrow, and you can suddenly feel the sincerity in his voice from betrayal.
Hiro : Woody! You…how! I–
Mirage offered a knowing smile
Mirage: Convincing counterpart, isn’t it? Troy’s help was extraordinarily useful in figuring out how to make the robots act like humans…or in this case, a sentient toy.
Mirage offers a maddening smile.
Mirage: I’m one step ahead of you all, and that’s why I’m in charge. Now, Troy, if you wouldn’t mind rejoining your buddies.
You consider trying something, but that’s when you once again remember the guns all aimed at the resistance, among them your companions. With clenched teeth, you slowly step back over to your group of failed insurrectionists.
Mirage: Now I have everything I require–
The guns on the walls flip back inside the walls and you hear a voice over the loudspeakers
Voice: I’m putting everything on this now, dahlings. Here’s the shot you needed, now take it.
Hiro is the first to surge forward. The tiles Mirage is standing on collapse and she falls through swiftly as they reposition themselves afterwards. Robots stream into the room from all directions, these bringing lasers into the fray. You notice Arthur lift a magic shield as the others spread out to find cover or take the robots on. Hiro takes down the robots holding the Parr kids and you slice through their restraints swiftly.
Hiro : Spread out and find Mirage, Troy, we got to secure Mode!
As you follow Hiro down the corridor, you notice him take a moment to trample Woody to smithereens before continuing on. The robots you encounter are no match for the two of you and they easily sucuumb to your attacks.
You sprint down several hallways before finally stopping in front of a door which opens for you. Inside, sitting on a chair is a short woman with glasses perched on her nose and black hair in a bob. As she sees the two of you in the computer screens reflection she spins around raises her hands and dramatically curls them towards herself.
Edna Mode: Hiro, Dahling! I was beginning to wonder if the plan would fall through in the end. And Troy, come closer, let me see.
You step further into the room, noting the sparking robot that appears to have been impaled by a long thin rod. As you get closer, Mode adjusts her glasses, looks you up and down then sniffs as she turns back to the computer screen.
Edna Mode: When this all ends, I will design you an outfit to go with your natural physique! You deserve something revolutionary. That is what you are.
Hiro : Yes, but first, Edna… I need you to do me a favor.
Edna Mode: But of course, dahling, I will also make you an outfit!
Hiro : No, not that, I need you to hck into Troy’s chip and give him a tech upload. He needs to know the skill of our kind.
Edna eyes you again, then shrugs as if completely unbothered. She presses a few keys and then taps a few more buttons. You see a rectangle with the word “Uploading” in block letters, then soon after the words “Upload Complete”. Your mind suddenly swims as information previously undiscovered now flows into you.
Hiro : Okay, Troy, disable your chip now.
You confidently approach the keybard as Edna moves out of the way and tap several buttons. The screen lights up, with a command and soon the chip has been disables. Edna applauds.
Hiro : Now you have the skills of tech on your side, I hope it serves you well.
Hiro taught you the tech kingdom skill. Hiro has passed his favor test.
Kingdom skill unlocked: Technical Know-How!
You: Wow…this is… enlightening…
Edna Mode hops off the chair then proceeds to rip the thin metal rod from the robot and carry it once more.
Edna: Now that we have this taken care of, we need to proceed to the supercomputer and actually take control of the robots.
Hiro : Right, let’s move!
The three of you dart from the room and proceed down the passage. At the end, blast doors have sealed off the remainder of the corridor. You notice a panel next to the door. At the other end of the hall, robots are approaching from a distance, guns raised.
- Hack the door open (Requires Technical Know-how)
- Shoot a fireball at the robots (Requires Wizardry)
- Charge the robots
The panel has a digital pad on it. You tap the side and a compartment pops out. You pluck several wires out, then grab one an rip it out. The panel sparks and you enter four random numbers into the pad. The doors begin to open. Behind you, You see both robots fall as Edna blasts them with a laser gun almost her full height. She ghrins when you look at her and gestures to a compartment by the door where she must have pulled the gun from.
+200 Experience
Experience: [5400/8000]
Hiro : Nice one!
Edna Mode: Let’s move!
The three of you charge through the door and round the corner, laser blasts slamming into the wall you past. You leap down three flights of stairs before nearly crashin into Edna, who is leading the way.
You: Watch it!
Edna: Not possible…
Before you, a young man stands motionless, in a dinosaur suit. As you gape at him, Mirage rounds the corner and stands behind him, another of her maddening smiles on her face.
Mirage: Don’t think you have won. You will all be simulated. It is only a matter of time.
Hiro : Fred!? But… I thought you were dead months ago…
Mirage: Not dead, but he might as well be to you. Fred, kill them.
Fred: Nothing can beat me! Bring it on freaks!
Fred charges towards you, pulling the back of his hood over himself, and breathing a fireball out of his mouth. It looms closer, and you all dodge out of its path, watching it spasm harmless into the wall behind you before going out. Edna lifts the gun to her shoulder but seems to think better of it and sets it down, instead pullingg out the metal rod from earlier.
Edna: He’s in a simulation, but that’s him.
Hiro : Edna! Did you know about this?
Edna: No way, dahling. I thought they had not made this much progress in the area, and I assumed Fred dead a long time ago as well.
Mirage: Ooh, we’re just getting to the good part.
As she says this, another figure steps forward from a door. He clasps two brass knuckles in his fists and advances as mindlessly as Fred. Hiro lets out a ragged breath beside you.
Hiro : T-Tadashi!? You’re alive too!?
Mirage smiles, almost sincerely.
Mirage: The surprises will keep on coming as time goes on.
Tadashi surges forward, catching up to Fred, who had momentarily paused, before the two charged together. The two divide up, Tadashi punching Hiro in the gut forcibly, though Hiro probably did not feel it due to the armor he had on. Fred lobbed a fireball at Edna, who patted it away effortlessly with her stylus. Before charging towards him, climbing up him, and bashing him on the head. Fred ignited into flames, and Edna Mode leapt off in an instant. Meanwhile, Tadashi battered Hiro again, who clusmily attempted to dodge, the fight seemingly drawn out of him by his encounters. Before you could take anything more in, you catch Mirage whip out a laser pistol, about to pull the trigger, her target: you!
- Dodge your way to her and disable her. (Requires Reflexes)
- Conjure a shield (Requires Wizardry)
- Try to hide
- Yell for help
You lift your hands and conjure a shield just as Mirage pulls the trigger. The laser blasts into your shield before reflecting back towards her. Mirage dodges out of the way before firing again. Your shields do not usually reflect the attack, how odd. Just then you feel the medallion warm against your chest. It really does amplify your magic! You surge towards Mirage, her shots flying off the shield as you reach her. You ram straight into her and she easily goes flying.
+600 Experience
Experience: [6000/8000]
Your remove your shield and retrieve the final artifact piece from Mirage’s neck, You taking a moment to study it, noting that it is a simple computer chip. You pocket it and make your way back to your struggling companions, but Edna calls out to you.
Edna: Doing fine here, dahling. Just plug this into the main computer! The room behind you!
Edna leaps atop Fred and hurls a flash-drive at you. You grab this and dart into the room as directed. It is easy to locate the drive port and you carefully plug it in. The computer boots to life, and as you read the text on the screen, you know something is wrong. The text continuously rambles about initiating the AI takeover protocol. You have no idea what this means as you attempt to reboot the computer to no avail. You attempt to hack into it, but it refuses to respond to any of your commands. You spin out of the chair and dart back to the hall to inform Edna, but stop sort when you see her battling against a trio of robot arms carrying helmets. One such helmet is already on Mirage, and you watch in horror as Tadashi holds Hiro still while a helmet snaps onto his head.
You: What is happening!?
Edna: This is… The AI takeover protocol, but it should not be finished yet!
You: I am beginning to think they have made a lot more progress than you thought!
Edna beats the robot arm till it goes limp, sparks crackling, before offering you a sheepish look.
Edna: So am I… We need to get out of here! We have the artifacts, now we end this by stopping it from beginning!
You: But what about Hiro?
Edna: If we tarry, we may become simulated as well, we cannot risk that!
As you reluctantly follow Edna down the hallway, Edna whirls around and then lets out a warning, but something cold and smooth wraps around your head, and everything goes dark…
Chapter Complete
Quaz: ?
Jasmine: ?
Arthur: ?
Will: ?
Silver: ?
Hiro: ?
: Nice work, Troy. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.
2
But I’m not sure how one “gets into it” really. 