Scripted Encounters 3.1 was authored by Faria Lyton as a part of Co-Op Mode. This chapter is reposted as part of A Bug in the Game with permission.

Scripted Encounters 3.1

After we settled down enough to stop hugging and yelling and exchanging back-slaps, Taylor and I dismissed the wall of updates that spawned while we were celebrating. More skills and stats, three levels, and one alert that's really interesting.

You've defeated the boss monster Legion Zombie.
You've received the title [Zombie Slayer]

Zombie Slayer
Drops from Zombie-type enemies increase in both quantity and quality
+10 to initial level for skills acquired from skill books dropped by Zombies

Zombies can drop skill books? Apparently Taylor has just finished with her alerts, as we turn to the pile of stuff dropped by the Legion Zombie together. Four rounded bottles of a red fluid just a little too bright to be blood, a leather-bound book (I wonder…), and a stack of bills lay neatly on the ground. A quick count shows we've got $420 in tens. At least that's easy to split. I hold half out to her.

"Your power created cash?" Taylor raises her hand to her mouth and fakes a cough, "Bullshit."

"So, how about we hit up Book Brothers again after school tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah," Taylor sounds just as eager as I feel. "It's a… quest." She picks up the book and looks it over.

I guess that means I should look at the bottles. No window appears the moment my hand touches the first flask, so I give it a slosh. Definitely not blood. Not thick enough. "Observe"

Low Grade Recovery Potion - Rank: Normal
A recovery potion. A low grade potion that instantly recovers 200 HP.
Tastes like strawberries.

That's… awesome. I still don't know if First Aid will work on me, but this is great. Weird bullshit from my power making up for that little weakness. And I'm glad it's not cherry flavor. Ugh. The bottles join the other assorted loot from the day in my inventory.

I didn't have time to sort or count any of it earlier, but now I can see I'm up to 33 Teeth of the Dead, 15 Ribs of the Dead, 7 Skin of the Dead, and a whopping 51 Soul Shards. The blueprint we risked so much to save is for the Undead Shirt, which protects from damage and boosts VIT. It needs 10 skins, 2 ribs, and 5 teeth, so I'll probably make it later tonight or after school tomorrow. I've already got a shirt, though, so the pauldrons are a little more pressing.

"James, I think you should look at this," Taylor's holding the book out to me. There's a primitive painting of a sickly green-grey man on the cover.

You've obtained the skill book [Zombie's Hide]
A magic to grant the user skin like a zombie. 30 MP activation
Blocks .5% of physical, electrical, cold, and acid damage.
Reduces likelihood of infection by disease or poison by 1%
50 Additional MP used per minute.
Warning! [Zombie's Hide] gives the user the corpse-like skin while active.
Would you like to learn [Zombie's Hide, Lvl 1]
Yes No

Okay, I want this. Gotta be honest there. Especially since that title can jumpstart it to level 11. But I've already got a few levels of Physical Resistance and Taylor's just squishy. "You should take it. I've already got some damage resistance."

"I have my bugs for Combat Mapping and Dodge. You're more our Brute; you should take the book."

"The Legion Zombie also dropped HP recovery potions. They might not even work for anyone but me. And it was your plan that took it down. You should take the book."

"Oh, is that what those perfume bottles were? Doesn't matter. The potions might work for me too. Not that we should rely on them or waste on checking, but your power made this book. It belongs to you.."

Polite's polite, but I'd swear it's like she doesn't want the skill. "How about we flip for it?"

"Fine, but loser has dibs on the next book that appears out of nothing."

$ 00 . 25

The coin flip favors Taylor, which doesn't seem to surprise her for some reason. What happens next does. "It says I can't learn any more skills yet. My INT is too low."

I can't be sure, but it sounds like… "Does it look like you've got as many skills as your INT score?"

"Status Window" Taylor's fingers dance across screens only she can see. "Huh, both Cryptography and Computer Programming claim to give me +1 INT, but my intelligence is showing as 33 + 1." Maybe they don't stack? "And as for skills… Look's like you're right. I have thirty-three skills." She looks at me expectantly, then sighs. "You aren't going to just take the book now, are you? Fine. One point to INT. Just enough to check."

Points are great, and saving them for the right time is important, but skills are vital. For the first time, I'm almost glad I didn't get half a dozen extra skills with my power. Almost. Taylor's Invertebrate Control and Multitasking are awesome. And I wouldnot say no to an energy blast power of any kind.

I've only seen it a few times now, but I'll probably never get tired of watching a skill book in action. Lights, sparks, wind, boing. Boing? The book reforms in Taylor's hands.

"What? Translation error?" Taylor sounds just as confused as I feel. "It says that since I don't have Gamer's Mind, it can't teach me skills in a language I don't know." She flips through the book, glancing over each page. "What the…"

"Do you mind?" It only takes one page to see what's wrong. There's no language on earth like this. I'd say it's almost like diagonal cuneiform, but I think the various colors matter. And some of the letters… bend, almost like they're peeling off the page. Frankly, it hurts my eyes to look at it too long. "I don't think we're going to find a book that teaches this language. We could hire a..."

"No. We're not finding a linguist to spend years figuring out the language just so I can learn the skill. Go ahead and learn it now."

"Do I still get first dibs on the next book?" I joke as I switch to Zombie Slayer before pushing Yes.

If I thought learning Chinese or Jeet Kune Do was something, this is something else. There's a whole new… it's not a language. It's words, yes, but it's impossible motions, and unseeable colors, and scents that can't exist. And even more importantly, it's math that simultaneously agrees with and contradicts everything I've ever learned. It's… it's… it's too…

And suddenly it's all gone, all but one simple equation/phrase. "Zombie's Hide" My MP starts dropping even as I feel my skin thicken under my armor. I hop a few times and try a few punches to get a feel for it. It's almost like my skin has become a soft, pliable leather. Eugh. I'll use it in combat, but it feels way too weird to run constantly. It's still incredible. It's like no other power I've used. I release the effect. "That feels weird."

Taylor scans me from head to toe. "Well, you don't look any different. Whatever it does it subtle. That's good."

"It's off now. But yeah, doesn't seem to make me look different."

"James, what time is it?"

Huh. It has been awhile since the sun set… I check my watch. "Shit. It's almost midnight."

"Shit. I'm going to be in for it," complains Taylor.

"You and me both." While my parents might not have noticed, it'd be too much to hope that Andy didn't. Maybe if I get home before one. And have a good story. "ID Escape!"

The fragmenting sky effect is less impressive under the stars, but it's still worth taking a moment to enjoy. A shard of black falls away from the low-hanging half-moon, brightening the night.

ID Escape's level goes up by one!

I idly comment on the boost as I swap to my civilian gear. The sudden chill of night air on my face is unbelievably refreshing. Huh, I guess I do still sweat some. Is that a good or a bad thing?

"I'm going to go swap out my costume." Taylor disappears around a corner again, leaving me to my thoughts.

...I hate when games make you just wait around for a few minutes. Final Fantasy V Mimic fight, jails in both Chrono Trigger and Fable, I couldn't even bring myself to finish so many others… Reviewing my character sheet barely occupies me for half a minute. My AGI is only one point lower than my INT. It's weird. I've always identified myself by my intelligence, and now I'm almost as bendy as bright. If I can't find a way to grind INT soon…

Taylor finally comes back, but she's still in her Lady Bug costume. "Did you decide to not change?" To be fair, we would be less likely to get mugged or anything if we head home in our cape clothes.

"No. Keep your voice down," she shushes me, "and I think you're going to want to put your costume back on. Someone - make that at least five someones - are sweeping the Ship's Graveyard."

There's nothing around here worth looking for. We're the most exciting thing to happen here in- oh. "You think they're looking for us?"

"How would I know?" She gives a mild shrug. "I think they're a gang. Can't tell which one, but there is one group of two and one group of three. They're armed and have their weapons out. Only one gun, but they all have knives, and one has a bottle. I think it might be a Molotov cocktail. Also by armed, I don't just mean they're carrying weapons. They have them out and ready. They're also prowling. They might not be looking for us, but they seem to be searching for someone or something."

I am so glad I don't have to change the mundane way. If I had to find privacy and take three or four minutes every time I need to swap outfits, I'd never get anything done. "Inventory. Can you guide us around them?" We really don't have the time to be skulking about. On the subject of skulking, "And do you really think sparkly gold armor is best for stealth?"

"That's what the black side of my cape was supposed to be for," Taylor protests. Without the cloak, her outfit really doesn't carry the 'bug' part of her theme. Maybe we should carry some rope in the future, for stuff like that. "I'll deal. They're spread out far enough apart we should be able to get through. Plus we can always escape into one of your illusion barriers. Unless…"

Huh. We could just vanish right before they see us, wait for them to wander by. Actually, when we entered that last illusion barrier we were on the boat. Now we're on the beach. If I ever get a Running skill or something similar, I could probably fake teleportation fairly effectively. "Unless what?"

"Unless the reason they're looking for us is that someone has a power that detects when we're opening up pocket dimensions."

And that's a terrifying thought. "It's possible, but maybe they just come out at night to patrol or maybe there's a turf war going on." I hope. "Who knows."

"Give me a moment. I want to try something. Maybe I can find out." Whatever she's doing, it causes her to freeze up and almost fold in on herself. "Nope. That's not working." Her tone betrays some pretty serious pain.

"Are you okay? You sound funny." Okay, I'm not mister tact, but I am concerned.

She waves me off, "I'm fine. I tried to eavesdrop on them through my bugs. I've got this Sense Mapping skill that should let me listen and see through my bugs, but I guess I need to work on leveling it some more." Even thinking about looking through compound eyes sounds painful to me. With the number of bugs I've seen Taylor throw around… ouch. "The group of three is heading this way. Would you mind storing my backpack?"

My inventory is still open from changing a moment ago, so it only take a moment. "Of course, I'll store it. Good idea."

"Okay, let's go. Stealth."

That's so weird. "I'm getting used to the other vocalizations, but… Stealth." How counter-intuitive is that? "Oh well, if it works…" I switch to Novice Hero to get the most from it.

"Most of the other skills seem to work better when called out."

Creeping around the two groups of punks isn't too hard. It's the other groups Taylor notices entering her range that make it difficult. We have to stray way off to the west to get a little space. On the plus side, earned another level of Stealth. On the downside…

"James, either they're herding us somewhere or they're all heading to the same place."

Which we're probably getting near at this rate. "So, what do you want to do? We're planning to be heroes, and we're in costume. Sounds like the kind of thing we should check out." We've got a crowd of punks practically gift-wrapped. I'm not really sure what's the average level for minions, but most adults I see are in the 10-14 range. I'm not exactly confident I can hold my own, but with Taylor on crowd control… "I'm not going to get in more trouble for getting home at one o'clock instead of twelve thirty."

"Your costume isn't ready," she protests. My costume isn't really that important, though. "If they just had knives that would be one thing. Too many of them have guns. One of them has something I'm pretty sure is a submachine gun." First target, I'm not leaving that in play if this turns into a fight. "Your armor won't stop bullets."

I never planned on it. "It doesn't need to. I've got Physical Resistance and can stack it with Zombie's Hide." 12.5%, one eighth reduction in physical damage total while I've got the MP to keep going at full force. Not even close to bulletproof, but it's a start. "Add in all the HP that I picked up leveling, and you're squishier than I am now. I regenerate. You don't." I'm not exactly eager to be the tank of our team, but I'm the best option we've got for now.

"Fine." There's a wide array of tones women say that word with. This one says she agrees, but isn't remotely happy about it. "You're right. If they're hunting us, we really need to know that. If it's something else, it's our duty as heroes to find out what."

"Good. So what's the plan?" Okay, less nodding while wearing the Stag Beetle Augment. My head's all top-heavy. Feels weird, like I'm a bobble-head or something.

She has a plan. We drag a pile of bugs into a zombie-free illusion barrier and have them set up Taylor's skirt-net-rope so we can climb up to the roof. Opening the barrier gives me a level of ID Create. We switch back to reality once we've got a good vantage point. As we wait, Taylor wraps the rope around her waist for easy access. Thankfully, it's only a moment before she finds what she was looking for.

"They're passing us by, so good news: they're not after us." Taylor leans forward a little. I shift to be ready to snag her belt if she goes too far out. "And, it looks like they're ABB."

Let's see, we've moved west into the Docks. "That's not really a surprise. We're in their territory now. So now I open us another empty illusion barrier, we climb down the fire escape and follow them?"

"Yes, that's the plan. We're just gathering intel," she reminds me. "Be ready to open up an illusion barrier. If they spot us, we run. When we fight, I want it to be on our terms."

Well, I gotta agree with that. Following them is easier than avoiding them was, but still enough to earn another +1 Stealth. The streets are mostly empty at this time of night, aside from hookers and insensate winos. With every step we take, Taylor's swarm grows just a little.

"This way." She pulls me into one of those super-narrow alleys that a tallish man could climb just by bracing his legs on both walls at once. Ooh! There's a cat and some kittens! Before I can get too distracted, she speaks up again. "I'm staying back here. See if you can spot Lung or Oni Lee with Observe, but be careful."

I flash her a thumbs up and offer a silent prayer of thanks that my helmet is hiding just how sick I must look. Did she really have to remind me who I might be facing here? Oni Lee is a teleporter who leaves a clone behind for a few seconds. Just enough to get infinite uses out of the same grenade, acting as a one-man army of suicide bombers. Lung is the leader of the Azn Bad Boyz. Even without figuring in his powers, Lung managed to form a pan-Asian gang. Considering how racist Asians can be against each other, the man must have godlike charisma. And his powers are bullshit. He turns into a dragon. Over time, ramping up the longer a fight goes on, but still. He's soloed an Endbringer, and no one is really sure if he was at full power even then.

There's a decent horde of Asians in red and green all crowded around, names and levels floating above their heads. If it weren't for picking up Chinese earlier, I'd be completely confused by several of these names. It looks like they're ranging from level 12-16. A little stronger than I'd be happy with, but not enough to have me running for cover. I'm not sure what triggers it, but they all turn at once and face a newcomer.

Lung
Level ?
The Dragon of Kyushu

Fuck. Question mark levels are bad. Okay, the Legion Zombie was level 34, and I could see that back at level 11. Twenty-three levels difference, safe to assume at least a 25 level zone I can identify at a glance. So, at least level 40. Nope. Not fighting that. Not without a damn good reason. I whisper a quiet "Observe" but don't learn anything new.

I wasn't really listening when I was reading the screen, but I tune make in just in time to hear, "...the children, just shoot. Doesn't matter your aim, just shoot. You see one lying on the ground? Shoot the little bitch twice more to be sure. We give them no chances to be clever or lucky, understand?"

My temper has always been… binary. Either nothing ever phases me, or just about anything has me seeing red. Now? I'm seeing red. But I'm also still in control. I'm so mad I want to rip his fucking pedocidal head off. But I know better than to charge head first into a crowd of enemies with a leader of uncertain level.

New Quest Alert: Save the Kids!
Prevent Lung and the ABB from achieving their dark goal tonight
Reward: 5000 XP, Increased Reputation with ?
Failure: Injury, death, and/or loss of general reputation
Bonus Goals: Save the kids without assistance
Bonus Reward: 5000 XP
Accept?
Yes No

This counts as a good reason, right? I absently push the Yes button as I give myself over to the rage. Fuck this bastard. A wordless roar tears from my throat as I launch myself towards the crowd.