Royalmech Gridlock

Dosigma roared, calling four gray cubes to descend from the gridded ceiling. The squares materialized into walkers wearing medieval knight helmets with sharp triangular noses. The gray armored walkers were about a third the size of the boss with rectangular heads and square-shaped body parts like Dosigma. Walking with jet-powered boots, each one had a rotary grenade launcher as the right arm and a purple pincer cannon as the left arm.

Cubic Royalmech

Level 150

HP: [1/1]

Trait 1: Zero Armor

"Zero Armor?" Chloridium gasped.

"One health. Let's attack those walkers before they cause trouble!" Mivangeline commanded the group.

"Huh? No, wait!"

It was too late. The three teams fired everything they had at the walkers, but the royalmechs took no damage.

"What's going on?" Shien swung his staff at a royalmech. "That one HP isn't going down!"

Everyone heard the spinning whir of the royalmechs' rotary launchers, blasting grenades that made the entire battleground explode.

Hundreds of police droids were destroyed as the explosives damaged everyone's health. The walkers activated their pincer cannons, which glowed bright pink with power.

"Erbium moonbeam!" Chloridium pushed Mivangeline's team out of range. "One hit, you're dead!"

"Huh? What?" Shien panicked as Chloridium yanked him and Mivangeline away.

Giant pink death rays fired, destroying more police droids as the group battled the walkers in vain. Dosigma chuckled at the party's futile efforts.

"What's happening?" Mivangeline dodged a grenade shot. "Chloridium, I-I'm sorry..."

"Be careful next time. Think before you act!" Chloridium shouted.

"How come we can't damage them?"

"It's that Zero Armor," Chloridium kicked a walker back. "All damage done to its armor becomes zero."

"That's hardly fair!" Elysia fired her machine pistols at the royalmechs. "How do we beat them?"

Phoenicia punched against a walker's pincer. "I believe if we attack the royalmechs' weakness, they will be destroyed."

"R-Ritom. You're a mechanic, right?" Mivangeline jumped from Dosigma's foot. "Can you find the walkers' weakness?"

"Already on it. I don't see any exposed parts though!" Ritom scratched his head. "Their armor looks perfectly sealed throughout!"

"Commander! We need a new plan!" Chloridium fired his arm cannons until Dosigma swatted Elysia into his face.

Mivangeline shuddered but did her best to improvise. "C-concentrate your fire on Dosigma!"

Mivangeline told everyone to fire their artillery at the charging Dosigma, knocking the Cubic boss back. She then called Shien, Elysia, Ritom, and Phoenicia to close in on the toppled Dosigma. However, the four royalmechs blocked their path to protect the boss. They blasted them off with their grenade launchers. One of them exploded in Naivern's face, knocking her out cold. Shien took her away before the royalmechs could finish her off.

"Oh, dear," Enshiron saw everyone's stats decrease via Dosigma's traits.

"Crap!" Ampyria commanded her dice to bombard the walkers. "Without Naivern, our stats will be sucked into the boss thanks to his traits!"

"No, no!" Mivangeline panicked. "This isn't supposed to happen! Naivern is pivotal to-"

"Watch out, Commander!" Chloridium pushed Mivangeline away from a royalmech's moonbeam.

She fell onto the floor as the giant laser engulfed Chloridium in flames.

"Chloridium!" Everyone yelled.

Mivangeline's android guide fell onto the magenta floor as his HP instantly dropped to zero.

"No..." Mivangeline knelt to him. "Chloridium?"

"Cover her!" Ritom shouted as he helped the others fend off the royalmechs that charged at Mivangeline.

"Commander... Hey..." Chloridium struggled.

"Chloridium, I... um, I don't... you can't... Please don't... it's all my fault!" Mivangeline cried.

Chloridium reached for Mivangeline's hand as his body glowed with light blue. "I-it's alright. I just... ugh, just wanted what's best for you. I'm your android guide after all, right?"

"I know, but, but I can't... I can't do this! What... What am I supposed to do? I can't lead without you!" Mivangeline sobbed as she held his hand. "Please don't go!"

"Hey, you got this..." Chloridium made his last smile. "I know you can... I taught you the best I can. Now, ugh... go, lead the players... to victory..."

Chloridium's body disintegrated into blue hexagons. Mivangeline couldn't feel her android's hand anymore as her hand felt the sprinkles of what was left of him. Everybody froze in shock until Dosigma's fire breath burned everyone. Less than 50 police droids remained.

"Cheaters!" Esarin fired smoke rockets to cover the remnants of the team with a wall of dense smog. "How dare you torment the kiddies like that, block boy dumbos!"

The barrier protected the group from Dosigma and the royalmechs.

"My old smoke trick should hold us for some time!" Esarin grinned.

"Nice one, old-timer," Ruddigus sighed. "Man, we lost a boatload of health there..."

Everyone's HP was in critical condition with less than 100 remaining. Their weary faces and clothes were covered with ash and grenade pieces.

"Mivangeline?" Shien knelt to her.

She sobbed, covering her face full of tears.

"Just what kind of commander are you?" Ampyria kicked Mivangeline in the face.

"What the? Ampyria!" Shien pushed the android back. "What was that for?"

"I've already held my temper long enough seeing my police droids killed at your command! What are we? Expendable?"

"N-no," Mivangeline cried.

"Thanks to you, Chloridium is dead! You suck, Mivangeline!" Ampyria charged at Mivangeline.

"Blah, enough!" Esarin blocked Ampyria with his cane. "Unlike me, you all are young adults! So act like it! The last thing I want is for us to end up killing each other!"

"I don't know who you think you are, old man," Ampyria snarled. "But I'm an android. Do you have any idea how many of us droids have died under her command so far? Why do we droids need to die for you stupid players? Why should we fight for you people?"

"Now you listen here, young lady," Esarin swung his cane. "Human or droid, I don't care! We work together. My condolences for your fallen companions, but your droid friends wouldn't have needed to put themselves at risk with us if more players manned up to help us fight!"

Ampyria frowned, but she knew what Esarin said was true. The three factions were designed for hundreds to thousands of players to work together. However, the group only had eight players: Mivangeline, Shien, Naivern, Ritom, Enshiron, Elysia, Ruddigus, and Esarin. To substitute for the many players who had no interest in helping, the police droid battalions had to participate in the campaign instead. When the smoke barrier dispersed, Esarin fired more smoke rockets to protect the party from the royalmechs.

"Meh! Those were my last ones," Esarin warned. "I won't be able to protect all you kiddies again."

"May I remind you all that we are critically low on health?" Phoenicia pointed out. "We should heal and generate a new strategy to destroy Dosigma and the royalmechs."

"We could have Enshiron heal with an Eonspace Brew," Ritom looked at his items tab to find it empty. "His passive Nebula's Communal trait will heal all of us simultaneously."

"A splendid idea!" Enshiron checked his item storage. "Oh, dear. It appears that I have no healing items left."

The gang searched their item storage, but they had no healing items left. All except Elysia, who had one Eonspace Brew left.

"It's my last one," Elysia wagged her tail, swiping a tab to donate her item to Enshiron.

"Ah, many thanks, my dear Vulpi companion," Enshiron drank the almighty healing item.

Everyone was relieved to see their health maxed out with the help of Enshiron's trait.

"Mivangeline?" Shien sat beside his crush.

"I-I'm a failure," Mivangeline whined. "I'm a terrible commander! H-how can we win?"

"Look. You know how to make strategies, right? You got this."

"I can't! I can never lead! I don't want to anymore!"

"But Mivangeline, if you don't, then who will?"

"I could," Ampyria smirked, pulling her hair back. "I can do a lot better than that screw-up."

"Yeah? You want to bet?" Ritom scowled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Beauty and brains aren't the same, Ampyria. And let me be honest, I'd feel more comfortable with Mivangeline's strategies guiding us this far rather than tolerate your bratty attitude."

"But-"

"Dying to be a leader? Then why don't you tell us your plan in taking down Dosigma and those royal walkers?" Ritom pointed at the smoke. "We're listening, Ampyria."

Ampyria stared at Dosigma punching the smoke barrier. Her mind went blank, unable to think of a strategy to command the players to victory.

"Commander?" Phoenicia asked Mivangeline. "What are your orders? It's imperative to devise a strategy before Esarin's smoke wall disperses."

Naivern awoke as Mivangeline sniffed. "Huh? "What... what happened?"

"My dear Loud Girl," Enshiron patted her shoulder. "It's complicated."

"Mivangeline," Shien held onto her cold hands. "You're more capable than you think."

"No, I'm not..." Mivangeline mumbled.

"Who came up with the big plan to attack Kel Rectilinea and dismantle the cobra factory? Who came up with the strategy to take out the scrounger beehives during the boss fight?"

"Me?"

"That's right!"

"I-I know that but Chloridium is dead because of me."

Shien wiped Mivangeline's tears with a handkerchief. "You want to know why Chloridium sacrificed himself for you?"

"So I won't die?"

"Yes, Mivangeline. He wanted you to be alive because he knew you were the only one capable of leading us. He knew that if you were shot by that beam, not only would you die, but there wouldn't be hope for us in this battle."

"H-he believed in me?"

"Yeah! Look at me, Mivange!" Shien rubbed Mivangeline's back. "Can I call you Mivange? Cause it sounds cute."

She giggled a bit.

"Mivange," Shien shook her. "I believe in you too!"

Everyone stood around Mivangeline, waiting for orders.

'Y-you all... believe in me?" Mivangeline blew her nose into the handkerchief.

"Mivangeline, we all want to go home," Naivern joined fists with Shien. "None of the other players want to help, but you're the one who guided us to get this far. We're in this together!"

Shien's gang bumped their fists with Naivern. Ruddigus and Esarin joined as Ritom dragged Ampyria into it. Mivangeline then bumped her fist with theirs.

Shien hugged Mivangeline. "We're here to help. Just give us the instructions."

"T-thank you, Shien, everyone," Mivangeline wiped the last of her tears. "But those walkers... they're invincible..."

"But remember what Phoenicia said?" Shien reminded her. "We just need to find the weakness!"

"Okay, b-but I'm not sure how..."

"Then we figure it out together! Let's go!"