Six more honeybees swiftly joined the magitech 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 [Reflecthives] had as much strength as their opposites. Seven bees had crushed one of her wasps, but Amanda could make another seven to meet them head-on and prolong the conflict.

17/40 KMP

With seventeen points left to spend, Amanda directed her hive to focus their attacks on a single bee at a time. Directing her wasps to attack a single target instead of their opposites worked. Bees were picked off, one by one, and she could simultaneously replenish some of her Kamp reserves; each one seemed to reward five times the expenses she had invested in slaughtering them.

32/40 KMP

Her opponents adapted quickly, more honeybees flooding in from the entrance and picking off her own drones. The honeybees began to engage in unfamiliar tactics, splitting themselves into additional drones and preserving their number; no doubt they had recovered as much energy from her wasps as they had. They were self-replicating, and the drones didn't seem to mind sacrificing their own to gain an advantage.

Amanda's attention frayed 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, only to have her attacks rebuffed as the AI adapted to her tactics.

Gradually, the number of both forces dwindled. At some point in the fight, the drones stopped producing reinforcements. Dozens of Reflecthives lay on the ground, curled up and no longer operational. Amanda only had a few of her wasps left when the last magitech drones were crushed, and she found herself panting with exhaustion.

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 what she had left to work with, but her shaky fingers examined the screen closely.

10/40 KMP

The opposite of comforting. Amanda only had it in herself to summon ten minions or cast two spells at most; Amanda couldn't even rearrange her corridors, or her magic would run dry! If she'd struggled with those drones, how would she fare against a Starkeeper? The answer was likely to be "not so well." She'd have to use her brain if she wanted to defeat them. To think her way out of this situation, act strategically.

Amanda's thoughts came up black.

"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 insulted by a voice as pleasant as her own. She tapped her head, wracking her brain for ideas. What would someone smart do?

What would 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 up 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 and ingenious! She ran her idea by Calico, just in case she'd overestimated her abilities.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

plagiarism aside,

that's an excellent plan.

once you know what they're capable of,

which starkeeper they are?

you can form a counterattack plan.

you have a devious mind,

amanda!

"Awwh, thanks…" Amanda squirmed. Wait, did Calico call her 'devious'? That's not nice at all. She'll have to pretend that was a compliment, because she would never do anything evil.

Wiggling her fingers, Amanda commanded a Reflecthive to break off from the remaining cluster 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.

Amanda 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. No doubt those were connected to the fact Mars 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 riff! Her music was so bright and bassy that you could hear it from blocks away; the sound waves were even known to shatter glass! She was just as loud and confident as the songs she'd sing...

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. Weaker mirrors shattered immediately, including the Reflecthive at the doorway; years without maintenance had left them in poor shape. Amanda panicked. She didn't have much time to formulate a response, but she knew instinctively how to flee from this attack. Amanda's Aspect covered this, did it not? She'd have to trust in her instincts and roll with the punches.

She grabbed her two remaining minions and cast her first spell, ducking into a nearby mirror and popping out on the other side, inside the Mirror Realm.

Silvery glass coated every corner of this world, jagged and unfriendly. This world was a mirror of her own, reflecting the entirety of reality in reverse. Left and right were inverted as well. With each intended step along the rough and warped surface of the dungeon, Amanda could feel her opposite leg move instead. It wasn't overwhelming or disorienting; she was still moving forwards, regardless of the leg extending.

The strange properties of this world did cause Amanda to run headfirst into a wall when she intended to turn left and turned right instead, but she was able to adapt quickly and avoid a repeat incident.

That wasn't the only strange property of this world. 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 sprint, holding the two hives under her arms tight.

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 would come 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, with her core where it was? 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 other options. 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.