Chapter 8: Scene 8 – HoneyPL0T

Other bees swiftly joined the drone clinging to life in the House of Black Mirror. Amanda made the split-second decision to match them, number for number. As far as she could tell, her [Reflecthive] had as much strength as their opposites. Seven bees had crushed one of her hives, but she could make another seven to meet them head-on.

Seventeen points left to spend. She directed her hive to focus their attacks on a single bee at a time. The focusing tactics worked. Bees were picked off, one by one, and she could simultaneously replenish some of her Kamp reserves.

 

 

Her opponents adapted quickly, joined by the rest of the swarm.

Amanda's attention began to fray as she handled dozens of unfamiliar machines, wincing each time one of her minions went dark. The expenses were starting to pile up as she sent waves of Reflecthives at the bees in disorganized lumps.

Gradually, their number dwindled. At some point in the fight, the drones stopped receiving reinforcements. Dozens of Reflecthives lay on the ground, curled up and no longer operational. Amanda only had a few of her hives left when the drones were crushed, and she found herself panting.

Amanda's body was drenched in sweat. The overuse of magic had left her body trembling and messy. Her fingers twitched and trembled as she held her shoulders. How much Kamp did she even have left? She was afraid to discover, but shaky fingers tapped a menu, and she examined the screen closely.

The opposite of comforting. She only had it in herself to summon ten minions or cast two spells at most; she couldn't even rearrange her corridors, or she'd run dry. If she'd struggled with their drones, how would she fare against a Starkeeper? The answer was: not so well. She'd have to use her brain if she wanted to defeat them. To think.

"Ugh. I'm such a bimbo. How will I make a scheme when I'm just a big dummy?" Amanda huffed. Something felt nice about being called a bimbo by a pleasant voice like her own. She tapped her head, wracking her brain for ideas. What would someone smart do?

What did the Starkeepers do?

The gears in her brain clicked into place. They'd sent drones to scout her dungeon out, to figure out her capabilities. Why couldn't she do the same? She had three Reflecthives; she could bait out the combat capabilities of the Starkeeper, couldn't she? And she could come out with a better plan after that!

No, she wasn't copying their ideas; not at all! She was improvising and coming up with something clever, ingenious! She ran her idea by Calico, just in case.

"Awwh, thanks…" Amanda squirmed. Wait, did Calico just call her 'devious'? That's not nice at all. She'll just take that compliment to be a good thing.

Wiggling her fingers, Amanda commanded a Reflecthive to break off from the leading group and make its way towards the intruder. She paid careful attention to the feed the Reflecthive was sending back to her. While she might be able to make out the strong impression of the Starkeeper using her dungeon senses, knowing a Starkeeper was there did not mean knowing which Starkeeper they were.

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She was startled to discover herself face to face with Mars, already wearing her signature helmet and headphones. She'd set up an array of golden and reflective amps outside the House of Black Mirror and seemed to be tuning her guitar. Amanda looked out at the impromptu stage, excitement building. She'd heard about this!

Mars was known for her impromptu Malice-slaying concerts! She'd set up her amps while her team held the Malice back, and then she'd let loose with a maddening sonic rift! Her music was so bright and bassy that you could hear it from blocks away. The sound waves were even known to shatter glass! That's how loud her riffs were.

Wait. Shatter glass?

"Oh, pumpkin bread." Amanda's face went pale.

"This is for you, Malice!" Mars pressed a pedal underneath her foot and strummed.

The whole of the House of Black Mirror began to tremble. Some weaker mirrors shattered immediately, including the Reflecthive at the doorway. Amanda panicked. She grabbed her remaining two minions and cast a spell, ducking into a nearby mirror and popping out on the other side. The Mirror Realm.

Silvery glass coated every corner of this world, jagged and unfriendly. The further Amanda ran from a reflective source, the less tangible her body felt and the more sluggish her movements. Worse, as she ran through the corridor of the House of Black Mirror (or rather, its reflected counterpart), she could see entrances shatter and close off in real-time. Amanda continued to run, holding tight to the two hives under her arms.

The Mirror Realm was not something Amanda understood, nor did she have time to understand. She knew, instinctively, that she could keep eyes on the entire city through their reflections, that she could leap through glass and puddle and all manner of reflective surfaces. Her Aspect thoroughly covered the art of reflection, and hopping in and out of this silvery world came naturally to her.

So that begged the question; what was she to do? Mars would take down her whole operation if she didn't act quickly. Her amps covered the entrance in the real world, leaving her with no way to escape on foot. Could she even flee on foot? She wasn't a person anymore. She was a dungeon. She couldn't leave. Think, think…

Wait. Those amps outside. Golden and reflective? Maybe she could do something with that. Perhaps, she could put a plan together and stop the Starkeeper. Her breath caught. Could she truly defeat a god? Let alone such a perfect god with such a fantastic voice?

She didn't have time to consider it. There wasn't any choice; her decision was no longer hypothetical. Do or die time. Steeling her resolve, Amanda did the unthinkable.

She left her house.

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