Book Five, Chapters 27 and 28 (Patreon)

Antoine Stone is the Athlete.

No aspect has been chosen.

Antoine has a Plot Armor score of 26, Mettle of 7, Moxie of 4, Hustle of 5, Savvy of 3, and Grit of 7.

Current Trope Limit: 9

"Off the Bench" the player feels more rested for each scene they are not in. Eventually buffs Hustle and Moxie.

"The Playbook" the user will be able to see when it is their turn to act in an established plan.

“Time Out!” allows him to send a fight scene Off-Screen for a set time.

“You were having a nightmare…” reduces traumatic memories to nothing but a lingering dream and can undo much of a storyline at a very high level.

“In Bed By Nine” allows the player to incorporate a restorative sleeping break into the shoot.

"Play it Cool" suppresses mental trauma if the user acts calm and collected.

"Gym Rat" buffs Mettle and Hustle by revealing athletic backstory.

Swinging it will cause his opponents to falter, if only for a moment, based on Moxie because of “Swing Away.”

Borrowed from Riley: “Out Like a Light” allows him to fall asleep instantly.

 ~

Kimberly Madison is the Eye Candy.

Her aspect is Celebrity

Celebrity: The Celebrity aspect treats the player like an actor and the storylines like films they sign on to. Using meta tropes to create hype, fan favoritism, and larger than life roles, the Celebrity is the most versatile of the Eye Candy aspects. Using past roles to help their “career”, the Celebrity can specialize in virtually anything if they have long enough to build a career.

Kimberly has a Plot Armor score of 26, Mettle of 5, Moxie of 10, Hustle of 5, Savvy of 1, and Grit of 6.

Current Trope Limit: 9

"Convenient Backstory" allows her to believably change her backstory to assist with the current task, buffing the relevant stat.

"Social Awareness" allows her to see the Moxie stat of all enemies and NPCs and intuit relationship dynamics.

“Does anyone have a scrunchie?” allows her to shift Moxie's points into another stat by putting her hair up.

“Carousel Academy Awards” buffs her Moxie based on the quality of her performance in the previous storyline.

"The Penthouse" The character will get the nicest, safest accommodations in a multiday storyline.

"Contract Negotiations" the user will get a buff to an Improvisation after "discussing" an improvisation with Carousel.

“Breaking the Veil of Silence,” the user will get warnings from knowledgeable NPCs. Outside of storylines, NPCs will warn of dangers to women and hint at storyline rewards.

“A Lip Cease” allows her to take the story Off-Screen by halting the conversation while exploring and then picking it back up in a different setting.

"When in Rome" buffs her Grit until Rebirth if her performance matches the tone of the movie.

 ~

Dina Cano is the Outsider.

No aspect has been chosen.

Dina has a Plot Armor score of 21, Mettle of 3, Moxie of 3, Hustle of 5, Savvy of 3, and Grit of 7.

Free Background Trope: "A Haunted Past" A background trope that gives her character some past trauma that haunts her, often literally.

Current Trope Limit: 8

"Guarded Personality" resists all insight abilities.

"An Outsider's Perspective" alerts her to new, out-of-place, or unusual information.

"Encouragement from Beyond" soothes her when stressed, scared, or in pain and may provide useful information in the form of communication from the beyond.

“They Fell Off” allows her to quickly get out of handcuffs and similar restraints.

“Light Fingers” buffs the player’s attempts at stealing items from the set.

"Savvy Safecracker" tells the character how long it will take to pick a lock of some kind. Buffs Hustle in the attempt.

“You don’t know me, but…” creates a rescue that allows the player to guide NPC surrogates through the storyline from the shadows. If the surrogates survive, their postered player counterparts are rescued.

"Outside Looking In" grants her the ability to discern ideal spots to linger and observe events without actively participating in the narrative.

 ~

Riley Lawrence is the Film Buff.

His aspect is Filmmaker.

Filmmaker: The Filmmaker has a comprehensive understanding of the filmmaking process. They can manipulate the game environment effectively, altering the game's dynamics in subtle but impactful ways. Their abilities are a mixture of meta-Insight and meta-Rule tropes. They have higher Hustle, reflecting their ability to stay out of the way, stay alive, and remain unseen as they manipulate meta-movie elements.

Riley has a Plot Armor score of 28, Mettle of 3, Moxie of 7, Hustle of 7, Savvy of 7, and Grit of 4.

Free Background Trope: "My Grandmother Had the Gift…" A background trope that gives Riley’s character some ambiguous connection to “The Gift” through his heritage.

Current Trope Limit: 9

"Trope Master" grants him the ability to perceive enemy tropes, but at the cost of sacrificing half of his Plot Armor.

As an "Oblivious Bystander," Riley remains untargeted by enemies as he convincingly acts oblivious to their presence.

"Escape Artist" buffs his Hustle to help enact plausible escape plans.

"The Insert Shot" makes allies aware of an object the player chooses. The object will be shown to the audience and its use will be buffed in the Finale.

“What Doesn’t Kill Them Makes Them Angry” allows the user to antagonize the enemy into attacking and lowers their Savvy.

"The Dailies” allows him to see a selection of raw footage from the day's shoot.

“Cinema Seer” allows him to buff allies’ Grit and Savvy when making big meta predicitons.

“Just Out of Shot” allows him to see ‘cameras’ when sneaking near an enemy to avoid being seen.

“Method to the Madness” allows him to have increased in-character conversations with enemies Off-Screen.

 ~

Bobby Gill is The Wallflower.

No aspect has been chosen.

Bobby has a Plot Armor score of 24, Mettle of 3, Moxie of 7, Hustle of 5, Savvy of 5, and Grit of 4.

Free Background Trope: “Actually, I'm a Veterinarian” changes his character’s background to being an animal doctor.

Current Trope Limit: 8

“Background Noise” allows him to get background information from NPCs when Off-Screen.

“The Good Samaritan” buffs his Mettle and Grit for helping allies in a crisis if they have not met On-Screen and are strangers.

“Last-Minute Casting” recasts him as an NPC that is moderately involved in the plot. The selection is seemingly random. He will get some limited background information for the character and some access to the NPC script.

“From Humble Beginnings” debuffs the player’s stats 30% in the Party, then but buffs them 15% in Rebirth, the Finale, and the Final Battle resulting in a net 15% buff by the end of the story.

“Craft Services Are The Real Heroes” ensures that there is edible food and water on set somewhere during the storyline.

“My Only Role is Exposition” gives him some useful information to be relayed On-Screen but takes it away if he starts to bore the audience.

“If you Can't see it, it Won't Bleed” allows him to temporarily mend wounds by covering them from the audience’s view.

"Act Like You Belong" lets the user blend into any scene by quickly adopting small, fitting elements like props or attire. However, all these elements must work together to maintain their cover.

 ~

Cassie Hughes is The Psychic.

No aspect has been chosen.

Cassie has a Plot Armor score of 23, Mettle of 3, Moxie of 10, Hustle of 5, Savvy of 4, and Grit of 1.

Trope Limit: 8

“The Anguish” lets her see her allies’ health stats from anywhere and lets her take some of their pain by feeling it herself. This can reduce their overall injuries.

“We are not abandoned…” can keep her allies’ spirits high by weaving a narrative of some higher power in control. When done well, this trope can heal Incapacitation, certain forms of spiritual Infection, and even buff Grit.

“Reflective Jump Scare” allows her to get a glimpse of the enemy when she looks in a mirror, giving her some small insight into what is in store.

“Foreboding Signs” gives her insight into who will die next and how in character, allowing her to prepare for what is to come.

"Empathic Shield" buffs an imperiled ally’s Grit by expressing genuine concern for them On-Screen.

"At Your Own Peril" debuffs characters’ Grit and Effective Plot Armor if they ignore her psychic warnings.

"Clarity of Purpose" lets the user substitute Moxie for Grit when enduring tasks that cause constant pain, like handling dangerous objects.

“The Road Not Taken” allows her to get a sense of whether a certain choice will result in powerful emotions, but not what those emotions are.

~

Isaac Hughes is The Comedian.

No aspect has been chosen.

Isaac has a Plot Armor score of 18, Mettle of 3, Moxie of 4, Hustle of 3, Savvy of 4, and Grit of 4.

Trope Limit: 8

“If he’s still cracking jokes…” allows the player to reduce or eliminate injuries by using humor the next time he is On-Screen before the audience know how injured he is. Works on allies situationally.

“Weapons of Mass Absurdity” using humorous weapons Buffs his Mettle and Hustle. The buff extends to weapons that are used if the original weapon fails.

“Blood Loss Delirium” gives the player a pleasant drunken stupor when they have major blood loss and provides cover for antics.

“Gallows Humor” allows him to ease mental pain with dark humor related to a dreadful relevant topic.

"Trash Talk" allows him to debuff the enemy’s Mettle by insulting them.

"Hindsight is 20/20" allows the user to recognize mistakes they've made after the fact, helping them or their allies avoid similar errors in the future. Commenting on these mistakes increases the success of future plans based on the lesson learned.

"Lights Gone Out" grants the user a tragic backstory that makes them emotionally dead inside, providing resistance against mental manipulations and false hope that would affect a normal person.

“Bleeping Censors” allows him to take a scene he is in Off-Screen by cursing in an inappropriate way.

 ~

Ramona Mercer is the Hysteric.

No aspect has been chosen.

Ramona has a Plot Armor score of 13, Mettle of 1, Moxie of 3, Hustle of 3, Savvy of 3, and Grit of 3.

Current Trope Limit: 5

“Just Us Monsters” buffs her Mettle and Grit when she lets loose fighting against a monster alone.

“Afraid for Others” allows her to harness fear to use Moxie as Mettle when protecting or saving loved ones.

“Close-up Scream” allows the user to become the sole On-Screen character when screaming about something they see.

“Just the Jitters” allows the user to avoid feeling nervousness or unease by acting out those emotions intentionally.

“Before you get us killed” allows the user to divide the party, sending their group mostly Off-Screen and guaranteeing some success to the surviving group.

~

~

~
It was impossible to forget that I was in space.

Even as I stood up and walked around to explore the futuristic vehicle, I could always see the stars through the numerous viewports around the ship. I didn’t know if it was the result of Carousel’s magic or just the magic of space travel, but I felt an overwhelming awe as we soared through the final frontier.

I had a theory that I was never able to disprove.

I believed that the ship we were on had nothing to do with the storyline we were running. It was only there to transport us to the setting of the real story. Part of that was the aesthetic difference between it and the rest of what we had seen, but more than that, it was the sterile environment.

There was nothing to be learned here; there were no clues about the storyline hidden throughout most of the ship.

The NPCs were also very uninterested in the amazing technology that they were operating mindlessly.

It was almost as if they themselves didn’t realize how incredible this ship was.

I couldn’t shake that feeling.

There were only two NPCs actually awake aboard the ship. There were three others, but I wouldn’t see them for a few hours after we took off.

 If there was only one part of the ship that was relevant to the story, it was in an area called the Cryo Sleep Quarters. Interestingly, even though the room was called Cryo Sleep Quarters, when we entered it and looked around, it became clear that Cryo Sleep was an exaggeration.

The NPC Flannery was there to explain to us something called the Deep Sleep Chambers.

These chambers stuck out like a sore thumb.

They were made of polished metal, not that weird white material that the rest of the ship was, and they had lots of loose hoses and cords coming from them. Whereas every other piece of advanced technology on the ship seemed to operate without any such cords, the Deep Sleep Chambers fit better in with the technology we had seen back on the ground.

“What do you mean, ‘Deep Sleep Chambers’?” Dina asked.

“Well, you’ll go to sleep in these beds, and they’ll keep you alive for the dull parts of the flight,” Flannery explained.

Dina did not seem very happy about that. In truth, none of us did.

“How long exactly will we be asleep?” Kimberly asked as Flannery started to open up one of the chambers to show us what it looked like inside. Although the upper of the chamber lid was covered in glass, it was difficult to see inside because that glass was frosted.

“It should take us approximately four months to catch up with the IBECS,” Flannery said.

We all looked at each other. Being Off-Screen, we didn’t have to hide what we were thinking.

“I really hope that’s a fake four months,” Isaac said.

We couldn't imagine spending a literal four months asleep, wasting even more of our lives on one storyline, but we totally believed that it was possible.

“Don’t worry. It really is just like falling asleep,” she said.

I examined the machine closely, along with the others. Three of them were in use—it was easy to tell because we could see the NPCs inside of them through the frosted glass on the red wallpaper.

I was hoping that Bobby would be inside one of them, but he wasn’t. That would be cheating because he would have the general backstory for his character and be able to fill us in on everything we needed to know.

“How about that thing over there?” Cassie asked, pointing toward one of the pieces of machinery on the wall of the room. It was quite large, and it was made of the same white material that everything else on the ship was. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, but then I realized that it did show up on the red wallpaper in the way that trope items did, except it had no trope—it was just labeled “Foremother.”

Flannery looked over and said, “That’s our Foremother. It contains genetic samples from all the animals on Earth and is capable of cloning them. In fact, we have some samples that we’re supposed to be supplying to the IBECS. Get this—one of the officers asked for clones of his dogs.”

She started to laugh.

It sounded like we had found Bobby.

And his dogs.

“So you’re telling me that this machine can create any animal it wants based on its genetic code?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. “It’s a basic requirement for a star faring ship. In case it gets stranded on a new planet without much life, we can seed the planet with animals from our own world and help make sure that they have the traits they need to survive on that planet, either as a food source for humans or simply to spread the embers of life around the universe.”

I had a hard time believing that the same civilization that built these 90s anime Deep Sleep Chambers was able to build a sophisticated cloning machine like that.

I imagined that it hadn’t. That machine wasn’t part of the story. It was a prop.

“I have a question,” I asked. “Is there some part on that contraption that, if it went missing, would shut the entire machine down so that it couldn't be operated?”

Flannery looked at me, confused, but after a few moments, she said, “Sure. It has a dynamic spark in its power relay that would shut it down if it went missing. But I assure you, we checked, and it is there.”

She left us inside the room, and I turned to Dina and said, “Maybe it would be best if that dynamic spark, or whatever it is, went missing.”

I really didn’t have time to deal with clones.

 ~~

"I just want your bosses to know that if the idea is that we're all tourists who won a prize to get to see the solar system, then putting us inside ice boxes like this is counterproductive and inconsistent with our underlying character arcs," Isaac said aloud as the lid on his Deep Sleep Chamber was being closed.

"I have told you a dozen times that you are not going to be frozen," Flannery said. "You're just going to be put into an induced sleep and fed intravenously."

He was having fun with her, watching how she reacted to his rants and remarks. He knew that somewhere there was someone writing a script for her. He was dead set on talking directly to them.

"I also know what 'intravenously' means," Isaac said, "and you haven't put any tubes in me yet, so I don't know how this thing is going to work."

Flannery closed the lid, and while he was muffled, we could still hear what he was saying because the Deep Sleep Chambers were not airtight.

These were not Cryosleep or anything similar to that. We were literally just going to be put into induced comas, or at least that's what the lore of the storyline indicated.

Carousel's magic would probably do the real trick.

We had yet to be On-Screen during our entire trip, which told me that nothing that was happening mattered.

Isaac had a point—our characters were allegedly contest winners who got to tour the galaxy so that we could write testimonials used in advertisements for KRSL’s space tourism ventures.

But that was a very thin premise that was clearly not a part of any story. It was just supposed to be something to help us understand why we were there. The real story was on the ship that we were headed toward.

The Deep Sleep Chamber was actually quite comfortable. At first, it looked like I would be laying on a cotton sheet, but it wasn't cotton. It was a soft material that felt like fabric but was clearly rubber or gelatin or something like that.

Laying down on it felt like I was floating.

There was machinery inside that started to wiggle as I laid down and got comfortable. I jumped when I felt some weird machinery jiggle my thigh muscle from underneath the gelatin I was laying on.

"Don't worry about that," Flannery said. "The machine is designed to make sure that your body gets the movement it needs to stay healthy while you're asleep."

"You said we'd be fed intravenously?" I asked.

"Yes," she said.

The thing was, I could actually see the part of the machine that was supposed to fit around my arm and connect a series of tubes to my circulatory system, and yet she made no effort to attach it.

I had a feeling that we weren't actually going to be put to sleep—not using whatever technology the bed was designed for.

Then why were we being put in the beds at all?

Was this a learning opportunity?

I laid back and rested my head on a pillow made of the same material as the rest of what I was lying on and watched as the frosted glass moved up and covered my face. I looked around and realized that while the technology had reminded me of something that would take hundreds of years for humanity to develop, it wasn't the futuristic thing that it appeared to be.

There were no fancy arms that could stitch my wounds or perform surgery. There were no holographic displays of my vitals. It was just a fancy bed and some sleeping chemicals.

While the ship that we were on was so advanced that I couldn't even picture humanity being able to build it, this device was not. While it was difficult to imagine it being built in some alternate history’s 1980s, it wasn't impossible.

It felt grounded and real, and for that reason, there was something foreboding about it. Unlike the futuristic ship, which was basically magic to me, this chamber felt like a product—a house appliance.

I lay there and tried to identify what my misgivings were about it, but while I was thinking about it, I fell asleep.

~-~

I awoke rested and ready for whatever came. I was still Off-Screen, and we were nearly halfway through the Party phase. All of this, and we still didn't know what this storyline was about.

The apparatus that was meant to feed and monitor my health intravenously still wasn't attached to my arm.

To us, it was basically a prop.

"Rise and shine," Flannery said as she pulled back the top of my chamber.

I took a deep breath and sat up. I felt great—genuinely happy. Antoine had brought his trope that was supposed to make sleep very refreshing (among other things), and while I was skeptical that it was worth taking up the trope slot, I definitely wasn't going to complain about it.

"Come on, people, get up!" Antoine said. "We have some touristing to do!"

He jumped up from his chamber, hooted and hollered, and clapped his hands. I felt excited to get out of bed.

Even Cassie looked happy, and looking grumpy in the mornings was one of her things.

I noticed that my clothes were still clean. It was almost as if I hadn't really been wearing them for four months—ahem.

As I walked out of the room, I saw Isaac standing in front of one of the portholes, looking out at the stars.

"Are these our stars?" he asked.

It was a good question. Carousel had different stars than the real world. I hadn't quite memorized them in the way that I had the Big Dipper or Polaris, so it was hard for me to say if we had actually moved into outer space or if we had just been flying in circles.

To Carousel, would that be a trivial thing? Would it be hard to send us out into the galaxy for a storyline?

I had no idea.

~-~

"Hey, you're awake," said Rudy, the only other named NPC on the ship besides Flannery. There were three others, but they were named Ship Assistants 1, 2, and 3.

Rudy was something of a captain, but it was hard to tell what his actual rank was until he said it later. I didn't even know if he would have lines in the actual storyline or if he and Flannery were just here to guide us to where we needed to be.

"We're having a little bit of trouble here with the IBECS," he said.

"Here we go," Antoine said. "What kind of trouble?"

"Nothing big. They're not putting out a mayday or anything like that, but we can't get them to respond. The IBECS itself is responding, but it would appear—well, here, let me just call again."

"Why would you show us the message? Aren't we supposed to be reviewing you or something? Why would you want us to see you fail?" Isaac asked under his breath.

Luckily, Cassie was there to elbow him. I didn't think Carousel would punish him for mocking it Off-Screen, but it might. He was a Comedian, so it wasn't exactly unexpected, but I sure wished that he would vent his frustrations without his little jokes.

As someone who felt they had a disturbingly personal relationship with Carousel, I didn't think he wanted to poke that bear, but I couldn't quite get him to stop completely.

"Here's the IBECS," Rudy said.

"Hello, you can call me IBECS. Is there something I can help you with, crew of the Helio?"

"Yeah, IBECS," Rudy said. "We've got a rendezvous with you coming up, but we can't seem to signal Captain Marlin. Can you help us out with that?"

"Of course. Would you like me to send him a personal message? He can read it when he wakes up."

"Is he not up?" Rudy asked. "Is he still in Deep Sleep?"

"While I appreciate your concern for Captain Marlin's health, information about KRSL employees, especially officers, is private. I'm sure you can understand."

Rudy hit a button on his control panel, which appeared to mute his mic.

"Oh, these damn things," he said. "Computer, is the IBECS running an outdated artificial intelligence?"

The ship we were on, which I had not yet heard speak, suddenly spoke. "No, Captain. The IBECS has been updated with the latest compatible artificial intelligence. Its central computer could operate under strict KRSL operational procedures."

Rudy looked back at us and said, "You gotta learn how to speak to these things. They're really smart out-of-the-box, but then corporate goes in and gives them parameters and limitations. You never know what you're gonna get."

"It's not going to tell us about what's happening on the ship?" I asked.

"Well, hold your horses," Rudy said. "We just have to find somebody with clearance to tell it to wave them. These old AIs can be a pain in the butt, but they do respect rank."

Wave must have meant ‘message’ in this context. He would go on to repeat it a lot.

He tapped the button on his control panel again.

"IBECS, this is Captain Mills of the Helio. I'm commanding you to wake your captain."

"Hello, Captain Mills," the AI said. "As you are captain of the Helio and not captain of the IBECS, I am not beholden to your orders unless commanded to be."

"Can you send a wave to any high-ranked officer aboard so that I can talk to a human?" Captain Mills asked.

IBECS seemed to think about that for a moment. "Unfortunately, I am restricted to act under the authority of Captain Marlin or any of his officers acting in his stead."

"Yes," Rudy said. "I'm asking you to let me talk to one of those officers."

"Tell me what you would like to say, and I will send it to them as a message," IBECS said. They can read it when they wake up."

Was everyone asleep?

This went on for an embarrassing amount of time before we realized that it was just happening on a loop. Rudy Mills would never be able to break through the AI.

That was our job.

"Just a moment, Captain," Antoine said. He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders as if I was supposed to have something to say.

I thought for a moment, and that's when I remembered the Plot Cycle had been moving without us. It wasn't because of anything that we were doing; we were still Off-Screen.

I held up a finger as I thought. If the plot was moving forward, that potentially meant that someone was doing something On-Screen.

"IBECS," I said.

"Hello," IBECS responded. "May I ask who I'm speaking to?"

"Riley Lawrence," I said, not knowing if that would mean anything to the supercomputer.

"Mr. Lawrence, you are one of seven prize winners with KRSL’s spacefaring initiative. I have been given direct orders to engage with you on any matter you have clearance for. You have the rank of Ambassador. What would you like to discuss?"

"I'm an Ambassador?" I asked.

"Okay, Ambassador, what would you like to ask?" he responded.

I rolled my eyes.

"Can you give us a wave to any person on the ship that is awake?" I asked. I didn't know if I was using the word wave correctly, but who cared?

"I can try, Ambassador Lawrence. However, it is customary that ships be within hailing distance before a wave can be sent."

"How far are we from hailing distance?" I asked.

"Not far at all," Rudy said.

Right on time, the giant porthole in front of us started to close in on a ship that would make the Titanic look like a bath toy. I had played with it as a little holographic projection, manipulating it, trying to remember basic layouts and architecture, but seeing it in person really put things in perspective.

It was huge and incredibly confusing. The modular design prevented it from looking anything like a spaceship I recognized from most science fiction.

Pathways, arches, and entire portions of the ship were connected by one thin hallway. It was ridiculous and labyrinthine. Buried underneath tons of different modules connected this way was the core ship, which was just a giant rocket. But then, at certain places, other rockets were attached to the modules.

It looked like something someone had built in a video game and less like something that would be built by a serious engineer.

"Are we at hailing distance yet?" I asked.

"We should be any moment," Rudy said. "Just about there."

It felt like he was going to tell us the moment we got close enough, but he didn't need to because as soon as we were close enough for hailing distance, the IBECS appeared on the red wallpaper.

I.B.E.C.S.

Plot Armor: 40

__________

Tropes:

Cold, Impassionate Logic: Empathy and compassion have no power here. All Moxie checks will use Savvy instead.

Blind Spots: This entity is very intelligent, but has notable holes in their logic or plan that serve as a weakness or hazard.

Ghost in the Machine: This entity will reform as long as there is any vessel within which it is able to.

Minion Maker: This entity is capable of making minions.

Territorial: This killer will punish those who harm its domain.

Bottomless Bag of Tricks: The villain has so many different in-universe abilities that they can employ new abilities in the Finale without needing to establish them in the narrative.

Obstacle Course: This entity will help form a set of obstacles that the players must overcome to survive. The Win Condition is Beat the Clock. (This last sentence is crossed off but Patreon does not have that)

Stickler for the Rules: This entity has a set of rules or goals that it will always strive to abide by or achieve (whether it is able to is another question).

IBECS—the artificial intelligence and the ship itself—was an enemy. It was beginning to look like we were facing off against a rogue AI.

Sure would have been nice to have a Scholar.

Because we were Off-Screen, I just read off all the tropes.

The NPCs ignored me, and my friends absorbed what I was saying with a mixture of confusion and dread. There was nothing outright terrifying about its tropes. It didn’t sound evil, but it didn’t have to.

If our enemy was super intelligent and vastly more capable than us, it could be very difficult to save the NPCs we had to save in order to rescue the downed players.

“So the AI killed everybody?” Isaac said.

“We don’t know that yet,” I said.

I turned back to the control panel where I assumed the microphone was and said, “IBECS, can you please wave anyone on board who is awake?”

“I’m sorry,” IBECS said. “Can you specify who you would like to talk to?”

I looked at my friends. We knew exactly who we wanted to talk to—in fact, we knew several people.

“Can we speak to Bobby Gill, please? Officer Bobby Gill.”

Flannery had told us that one of the officers had his dog's DNA carried to him in the cloning machine. I could think of a person who might like something like that.

“I’m sorry,” IBECS said. “Officer Gill is indisposed.”

“He’s asleep?” I asked.

“Officer Gill is indisposed. Would you like to talk to someone else?”

“Sounds like the rogue AI already killed Bobby,” Isaac said.

I ignored him, though oddly that comment did make calmness wash over me, thanks to Isaac's Gallows Humor trope.

“This is Cassie Hughes,” Cassie said. “I’d like to speak to Doctor Andrew Hughes.”

“Miss Hughes,” IBECS said, “Yes, I think I can allow that. You are listed as Doctor Andrew Hughes’ emergency contact.”

We didn’t know whether the NPCs that represented the downed players would be named after them, but we had discussed it as a possibility.

Lo and behold, it turned out to be correct.

We waited while IBECS played some elevator music. Then, the audio stream stopped being an audio stream as a glass screen on the control panel lit up with video footage of a room the size of a warehouse filled with Deep Sleep Chambers.

The footage cycled around from several different cameras placed around the warehouse, which was truly enormous—larger than an airplane hangar. It would seem that several communication panels containing cameras were placed throughout.

Eventually, the screen settled on one view.

“What is going on there?” Flannery asked as she looked closely at one of the screens. “Those Deep Sleep Chambers are all lit up.”

“Yeah, that is weird,” Rudy said. “Must be some malfunction. Maybe that's why everyone's still asleep.”

We all stared, squinting at the screen intently, not sure what we were looking for. There were rows and rows of these chambers. I was reminded of The Strings Attached basement filled with casks of wizards, except there were even more of these sleep chambers stacked on top of each other, with ladders in between them like bunk beds.

They all flashed red, except for three—the three in the center of the frame that the current camera point of view was staring at.

These three were special because they were not stacked on top of each other; they were on a weird platform underneath a large industrial air conditioning unit.

From what I could tell, it almost looked like their chambers had been stuck up under the machine as an afterthought because there was no way that they could stand up straight if they were to get out of their chambers.

Every inch mattered when you were trying to transport cargo, even if that cargo was people.

I could see the lights on the side of the chamber in the center of the three tucked under the air conditioning unit coming to life.

“It’s waking him up,” Rudy said, as if reading my mind.

It was kind of interesting watching and waiting for the person to get out of the chamber. Would the NPC that was supposed to represent Doctor Andrew Hughes look like him, or would it just be some random guy?

We didn't know, but I could see Isaac and Cassie holding their breath, waiting for the off chance that they might be about to see their brother.

After a few moments, the top of the chamber slid down, and a man sat up.

“That’s not him,” Cassie said, or at least started to say, because halfway through, she said, “What is wrong with his face?”

Indeed, even though the picture was not very clear, there was something odd about his face.

It was covered in red, bleeding splotches, and as the man climbed out of his chamber and approached, I could see a look of complete defeat on his face.

At that moment, we were just over halfway through the Party Phase. As the man stumbled over from his chamber toward the communication panel, I could see that whoever this guy was, he had been through it.

His eyes were practically dead.

“Hello!” he screamed as he walked closer to the communication panel. “Please, is someone there? Please!”

On-Screen. Finally.

“Doctor Andrew Hughes, I presume?” Captain Rudy Mills said.

“Yes, thank God,” the NPC playing the real Doctor Andrew Hughes said. Even through the screen, I could see him on the red wallpaper. In the place where he might usually have a trope, he simply had a small plaque that read, “Player Surrogate: Doctor Andrew Hughes. Doctor archetype.” His Plot Armor was 25. “You don't understand! IBECS is maddening! It won't let us out of this part of the ship because of our rank!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, there, son,” Rudy said. “Can you explain what's going on? Why am I having trouble communicating with Captain Marlin?”

Doctor Andrew Hughes, or at least the man playing him, was broken. I saw tears streaming down from his face.

“He’s not available,” he said. “It’s nobody but the three of us. I think it’s because we were stuck underneath that air circulating unit. I think it shielded us from them.”

“Shielded you from what?” Rudy asked, but as he spoke, Doctor Andrew Hughes continued to speak as if he was delirious.

“We can't get IBECS to knock us back out—not for longer than a few hours. It says it’s protocol. Everything is protocol. Please, Captain Mills, can you please tell IBECS to let us out?”

“Take a deep breath, son,” Rudy said. “I don't understand what the problem is. Why is everyone still in their sleep chambers?”

Then Doctor Andrew Hughes started to laugh, or cry, or convulse—I couldn't tell. I could see the camera started to zoom in as he clicked a button on the panel.

“Don’t you see them?” Andrew said. “They’re everywhere.”

As he zoomed in, I started to see something.

It was strange, like piles of dirt surrounding all of the chambers in view. They were so small and so… everywhere… that when things were zoomed out, I couldn't quite make them out; it almost looked like grain in the picture. But as he zoomed in, I realized that these chambers were surrounded and covered by whatever those little brown specks of dirt were.

“Oh my God,” Dina said. “Oh my God, oh my God.”

I still didn't know what we were looking at. It just looked like somebody had tossed coffee grains around the entire room, piling them up near the chambers.

“What is it?” Ramona asked, finally engaged.

“You guys don't know what that is?” Dina asked.

I didn’t, but as the NPC continued to press zoom on the camera panel, I started to get a better view of whatever those little things were. It never got close enough that I could actually see them, but I could see mounds of them.

I could see them moving, wriggling.

“Is this some kind of alien?” Isaac asked.

To someone, it might have been an alien.

Not to us.

What we were seeing was what I would soon learn was one of the most vile creatures ever born across the multiverse.

We were seeing bedbugs.

~

Bedbugs

Plot Armor: 100

__________

Tropes

No Rest for the Wicked: This creature will relentlessly pursue its quarry with no breaks.

Fungible Enemy: This creature is composed of countless largely interchangeable units whose numbers will not diminish until the scene is concluded. There always seems to be more to come.

Fate Doesn’t Run: This creature will not run after its victim, yet they are never far behind in a chase scene. Buffs Hustle saving throws.

Obstacle Course: This creature will help form a set of obstacles that the players must overcome to survive. The Win Condition is Beat the Clock. (This last sentence is crossed off but Patreon does not have that)

Thoroughly Dispersed: This creature’s group can instantly occupy the entirety of a set area, making it appear omnipresent and unpredictable to characters.

Dark Aura: This being has an aura with wide-ranging effects, from fear to some combination of status ailments. Aura will bypass all stats on first exposure.

Zombie Apocalypse is a Setting: This creature is not a true antagonist but rather forms the setting of the storyline. Efforts to eliminate them will be hampered. The true conflict of the story is exacerbated by them.

The Madness: This creature infects characters with an assortment of mental ailments, including paranoia and sleep deprivation.