Mall of America Parking Lot, Bloomington, Minnesota - 7:58 PM

The frigid wind blew snow across the parking lot, but it wasn’t enough to blow out the lights on the Dangerbox’s flamethrowers. They flickered, sure, but didn’t go out. I knew it was a threat, but it wasn’t one I took seriously; the guy in charge didn’t really want blood on his hands. That said, I wasn’t going to push him.

Hence, patience.

Eventually, the flying drone did start to lower. It dropped thirty feet before catching itself like it was trying to gauge my reaction. My eyes were still closed, so he wouldn’t be sure how I knew he was there. After a few more seconds, he started descending in a lazy spiral. It took the drone another minute before it moved to hover over the one that had spoken to me.

Not willing to take my hands out of my pocket, I gave it the nod.

“I don’t think I know who you are,” came an unnaturally deep voice from the drone, Minnesotian accent and all. It was obviously being changed by a filter.

“That statement is correct,” I said.

“Are you a part of the MOA Reclaimers?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I am not.”

“Ace of Clubs?”

I shook my head. “Nope.

“Then you must be with Milky Way,” he stated, sounding sure of himself.

“That is also incorrect,” I told him. “And now that you’ve listed off the big three groups, we can move on to the next part of the conversation.”

The voice hesitated. “Which is?”

“The part where you try to guess where I’m from,” I replied, stifling a yawn.

“I guess it sounds like you’re from the south,” he said after a moment’s hesitation.

“That is also a correct statement,” I confirmed. “Florida, if you must know.”

The voice hesitated again. “How did you know about me? These little guys on the ground I understand because they approached you, sure, but how did you find my flying drone?”

“Midnight Steel, right?” I asked, making conversation. “That is what you named this S-343 model, if I remember correctly. Which I am.”

“Ya?” he asked more than said, unsure of how I knew so much.

“Excellent. Anyway, Lucas-“

“Oh, for Pete’s sake!” Midnight Steel jerked backwards as if I had slapped it. “How do you know my name? And about Midnight Steel? Who sent you? Who in Florida knows or cares who I am?”

I smiled. “Sorry, I’m getting there, just cool your gravity propulsion jets for a moment.”

“I’m about five seconds away from calling everyone in, man, so don’t test me,” the voice from the drone threatened.

“There’s no need for that,” I replied, slowly shaking my head. “Why don’t we start where we were supposed to. My name is Anthony Franklin. I’m a psychic from Florida who has destroyed scenarios in my hometown, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh while my team works in Chicago, which has a few different big questlines going on. You know, all spread out.”

I watched as Midnight Steel rotated. It moved as if looking around for anyone that might be hiding, and I could see the camera hiding behind a dark tinted visor. Lucas was thinking. Carefully, I pulled my hand out of my pocket along with a pencil I retrieved from my inventory. His attention snapped back to me, but I wasn’t moving quickly. To sell the psychic bit, I Lifted the tool into the air.

“I’m here because of that,” I continued, pointing the pencil towards the mall, having it twitch like a needle on a compass. “Without me, it will take three more weeks before it’s destroyed. By that time, the third scenario will have already started, and then y’all will have to deal with other threats.”

“So you can see the future?” he asked, still unsure.

“Seen it so clearly that it’s like I’ve lived in it,” I answered boldly. “That’s how I know your name is Lucas Steel. Age: 15. Trying to hide the fact that you’re the Dronemeister from your parents who absolutely would not approve of what you’re doing.”

“Geez, hold on a moment.”

“Can’t, you’ve opened Pandora’s Box of knowledge,” I said, waving my hand. “You’re currently camping out at Normandale Community College in a building outside of the safe zone. Impressive range on these things, by the way, I know you put a lot of points into it. Dangerbox Alpha, the one that spoke, was your first, but Midnight Steel is your real baby. That’s why you named it after yourself, other than the fact that you really wanted a superhero name growing up. Plus, it’s pitch black and midnight really makes sense in that context.”

“Okay, okay! You know things, holy buckets,” he said, exasperated. Midnight Steel shifted as if it were nervous. “Why are you bringing all this up?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “It’s because you’re impressive enough for my visions to find you relevant.”

Midnight Steel hovered there in another patented Dronemeister pause. A part of me felt bad about manipulating the kid like this, but it wasn’t as though he was going to be in the line of fire. He was much safer than nearly anyone else who picked a combat-oriented class.

There wasn’t any feedback through his drones when they took damage, and it would be good for the city to bring him up to the standards of the faction leaders. Even though trusting someone of his young age could backfire, the few times I had been here showed me that would end up doing more good than harm.

He eventually spoke. “Oh, well. Go on, then.”

“Thank you,” I said with a slight flourish and bow. “Now, I know this is your turf. You’re watching over it and you’re supposed to tell the other groups the moment someone trespasses. You want to do a good job. I get it.”

My smile turned grim as I let my pencil drop back into my hand so I could point it at Midnight Steel. “But that way leads to a lot of death. This scenario is unfair in a lot of ways, just like so many of them are. The three factions are trying, of course. They’re trying their best to get stronger, but that plastic tyrant in there is going to break them. You can help me stop that.”

No response, and the silence was palpable.

“Lucas, aren’t you tired of just being a guard?” I continued. “Wouldn’t you rather be a hero? We can take care of this. Not to brag, but I am really, really good at what I do. And us taking care of the Mall of America means that there won’t be any casualties. It’s a win-win-win, even though they won’t think so.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The mood seemed to shift as the drones retreated a few feet. In tandem, the flamethrowers that had been threatening me were pulled back into their respective Dangerboxes. The lights on the blocky drones in front of me flickered off, and I opened my eyes. Midnight Steel flew so that it was floating a few feet in front of me.

“I’m not saying yes, but tell me your plan,” his distorted voice said. “I’m interested.”

I clapped my hands together, returning the pencil to my inventory. Once it was gone, I walked around Midnight Steel towards the first Dangerbox. Each of the drones followed my movements, and I stopped at the broken, multicolored star in front of the mall’s north entrance.

“I’m going to go in there and ruin the Mannequin Master,” I announced.

“Can you actually do that?” Lucas asked. “Or are you just trying to sneak in to loot the place?”

“Nah, I can do it,” I answered easily.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. I’m a man of my word.”

Lucas huffed. “So was my father when he said he’d get me a better graphics card for Christmas, and that never appeared,” he muttered.

I held my hands up. “I’m not getting into the middle of that one. You were asking in 2021, dude, that wasn’t on him.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” he grumbled, giving me the point.

“Look, I’m on a time crunch here, so I can’t give you a demonstration. Best I can do is have you follow me inside and you’ll see for yourself,” I said. After a moment of thought, Midnight Steel bobbed. “Alright, so. Everything in there is trashed. It’ll go back to normal after, renewing itself into a safe zone once it’s done.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Here’s some insider information for you: you know how everyone thinks the big guy’s the one in charge? He’s not. There’s a little dude running around who’s controlling every one of their plastic monstrosities. Kind of like you and your drones, except he’s the bad guy. And there’s loot in there that will help you be on par with the other factions around here.”

“Something the big bad drops?” Lucas asked.

“Something each of the four bosses inside can drop,” I corrected, holding up four fingers. “No guarantees, though. If you help me, there’s a good chance they’ll drop a Drone Aficionado item you can slot into Midnight Steel. Something for defense, offense, etcetera. Now, it’s not a 100% chance. I know the future, but there’s variables. Still, it’s a good chance.”

“How good are we talking?” Lucas asked. Midnight Steel moved to hover beside me. It shifted so it appeared to be looking back and forth between me and the mall. The propulsion system it was equipped with astounded me; I couldn’t hear it at all.

“Two in three,” I responded. “Well above average. Even if they don't drop, however, there are other things.”

“Tell me more about that,” he requested, unable to hide the greed in his voice despite its distortion.

“Well, I said the mall goes back to normal, right?” I asked. Midnight Steel paused before bobbing once in an approximation of a nod. “There’s going to be a lot of loot reappearing. I only need three, or four, or five things. The rest is all free game to whoever makes it there first. Since I don’t want most of it…”

“Okay, I’m picking up what you’re laying down,” Lucas said excitedly. “I can go and hit all the tech stores to find what I need to upgrade the boys!”

“You sure can, just make sure you grab the system enhanced stuff and not their mundane counterparts,” I warned. “The moment any of the factions get here, there’s going to be a lot of scrambling for the best items. It’s going to be like Black Friday, but everyone has super powers.”

“Have you ever been shoved into a display case by an angry lady in a Best Buy on Black Friday?” Lucas asked seriously, turning the drone to look at the mall again. “Those people already had super powers: the ability to not give a damn. Pardon my French.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, suppose you’re right,” I admitted. “So? The possibility of a boss specific drops and free rein of the mall for however long it takes for everyone else to get here. Are you in?”

Lucas turned his drone to face me again. “I just have one more question.”

“Shoot.”

“What am I supposed to say when they ask what happened here?”

It was clear to me that he was invested now, but there was the feeling that he was going to be in trouble holding him back. That was the kind of thing that had made me feel better about giving him this kind of power in the first place.

“I always find that honesty is the best policy, but that doesn’t mean you have to tell the whole truth,” I said. “That’s just being pragmatic. You don’t tell people everything about everything, and you don’t have to do that now. In this case, though, go ahead and tell them that I’m here.”

“Wait, really?” he asked, surprised. “You want me to give you up?”

“Yeah, go for it. You just have to phrase it right,” I told him. “Think of it this way. They’re more worried about other groups coming in and stealing their glory, right? But I’m just one man. So here’s what you do: you send a message saying someone’s skulking about the Mall of America. He’s only one dude. You’ve already spoken to him, and he claims to be some psychic from Florida.”

“You are some psychic from Florida,” Lucas replied.

“Honesty, right?” I asked with a grin. “They won’t be worried about me. I’m just some guy and they don’t think I’ll be able to beat the scenario. It won’t even be something they’ll think about, because they’re going to be too busy grilling each other on whether or not I’m some kind of faction spy. They’ll put you on recon, and that absolves you of your part in all this.”

“They could send a few people to check things out,” he offered. “They’ll see me working with you.”

I waved my hand. “If they send people, then they send people,” I said dismissively. “Also, you’re not working with me, you’re keeping an eye on some lone maniac. They won’t find me after I collect my spoils, and they’ll be too busy fighting over the safe zone to care much about your part in it. If they suddenly do care, then you just reveal yourself to be some kid. That’ll take the heat off you, like, immediately.”

“What?” Lucas asked in a panic, and Midnight Steel shook back and forth. “I can’t do that! I’m hiding my identity from my parents. Which is something you know, because you brought it up!”

“Look, man, I understand that you don’t think they’ll like what you’re doing,” I said, letting my sentence hang there.

“But?” he urged. “It sounds like there’s a but”

I shook my head. “No but. They definitely won’t like what you’re doing,” I said. “If I had to put a but in there, I’d say that you might as well tell them now because the longer you wait, the worse it’s going to be. The Dronemeister is already a fairly well known figure around here. It’s only a matter of time before they find you in your control room. Or forbid you from going out when you need to go there.”

“Okay, you can see the future. How long until I get caught?” he asked.

Turning to face Midnight Steel, I gave him a thin smile. “Longer than you think, but still less time than you hope. It’s variable, like most things, but I’d be surprised if you made it to the end of May without being discovered.”

I heard Lucas sigh through the drone. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best…”

“Excellent. Because while your parents worry for you, they’re going to be pretty reasonable about it,” I continued. “It definitely helps that, one, you’ve been using your powers thoughtfully instead of recklessly and, two, you’re not in the way of harm. Number two is a really big factor.”

“That’s some weight off of my mind, then,” he admitted. The drone shook like it was trying to pump itself up. “Alright. I can set Midnight Steel to follow you while I send out this message. Crazy guy, says he’s psychic, comes from Florida and thinks he can solo the Mall of America. Sounds right?”

“That’s a very accurate message,” I said with a laugh. “For the record, you’re in, right?”

“You know what? Ya. I’m in.”

<<<>>>

[[Patron Quest Complete!]]

I’m not sure how I feel about you talking a 15 year old child into something like this, but I suppose this will be a fairly bloodless endeavor, given that all the enemies are plastic.

Still, well done. You really know your way around these conversations. I wasn’t sure how you were going to sway him, but it was fun to watch.

Once you get the scenario quest, I’ll send my last quest of the day with it. Now, be careful, and make sure nothing happens to that Midnight Steel drone. And, yes, that will be an optional objective.

Reward: 1,500 points.

<<<>>>

“Perfect. Then let’s get to it.” True to his word, when I started heading towards the entrance, the drone followed over my shoulder. We entered through the broken glass doors of the mall, ready to work.