The following story was written with the assistance of AI Dungeon. For transparency, edits were only made for the sake of technical aspects like consistency, coherency, narrative structure, or formatting.
Key: AI Input, Human Input.
It's 10:00pm. The pouring of rain assaults your ears as you walk down the dark grimy streets of Plato City's slums. All around you, screens plastered on the buildings show you ads for impossibly lavish technology. Things one would only buy if they were interested in falling under eternal debt. Predictably, the sky above you is dark, devoid of any sunlight, only pure blackness and rain. Much as you'd hate to admit it, this is your home.
Your name's Jack, and you just got done with freelance work for the Spartans. You're not entirely on board with getting involved with the city's politics, but you do owe those guys a solid for your hacking skills. Nothing like hacking your way into a government-sanctioned warehouse to repay some old friends. Nah, after you got kicked out of the house for dropping out of college, these guys are basically your family.
Anyways, time for a cold drink to unwind. You enter the bar, the Dirty Sanchez, and find yourself at a table near the back. It seems that the place has been taken over by a bunch of teens, who seem to be having fun playing video games. One of them notices you, and smiles.
> You give them a quick nod, then pull out your Disk Drive and order a Sumo Santa from the network menu.
Teen: "Hey, what's up?"
Jack: "Oh, you know. Just hanging out."
> You say "Off work for now, so I might as well drown my sorrows with a cold one."
Teen: " A wise decision, man. Those assholes at the Klyton hospital charged me double for my last tetanus shot! Where's a bottle of alcohol when you need one?"
> You say "Damn, know how that feels kid. It's why I got my arm upgrades. Can't get tetanus up there if it's mechanical!"
Teen: "Ha! Nice!"
A man, presumably the barman, appears from behind the bar with two frosty mugs, briefly looking at you and then going back behind the bar.
> You say "Thanks a ton, Ellison! I need this after tonight."
Ellison: "No problem, man."
You take a long, refreshing gulp from your mug. The beer is cold and goes down really well.
Suddenly, you hear a familiar voice.
???: "Hey, you lads going somewhere?"
You turn around to see who the voice belongs to, and find yourself staring at a tall, pale man. He's wearing a long, black overcoat, with a gas mask, dark leather trenchcoat, and large, shining silver revolver placed crosswise in his waistband. You can sense him grinning at you.
The teenager sitting next to you gulps nervously, as do you.
> You say "N-no, officer. I'm not anyway."
???: "Hmm... well, can't let you leave just yet, surely. I need a few words with you."
> You agree to meet outside the bar. But make sure to pout, these Centurions aren't the boss of you.
Jack: "Sure, sure."
The man smiles at you, and then turns around and leaves. You turn to your friend.
Jack: "Sorry about that man, but the cops can be scary.
> You say "Get a less risky job. Trust me, it'll save you the hassle."
Teen: "Oh, I'm not worried about the police. They're pretty much pointless anyway. I'm more worried about the gang members. They kill people for small shit, I swear."
> You nod and meet the Centurion outside.
> You say "Okay, whaddya want, officer?"
Centurion: "Well, since you asked so nicely... I was sent here to wipe out some pesky Spartans."
You frown.
> You say "Spartans eh? Hmmm, don't think it rings any bells. Sorry~!"
The man's mask snaps into a smile, and he draws his revolver.
Centurion: "I see... so you DO know then. Tell me, where are they hiding out?"
> You use A-Tor 8 Biomech Arm to swipe the gun away.
The moment you make a grab for the revolver, the man goes into a rage.
He grabs you by the wrist with his free hand, and you feel a horrifying pain shoot up your arm.
It doesn't stop there either.
> You say "FUCK! FUCK! LET GO, ASSHOLE!"
Centurion: "Not until you tell me where the Spartans are!" he growls.
You wince in pain, before snarling
Jack: "Fuck you."
> You use your Custom Antenna Horn to hack his gas mask's display.
The man screams, and his eyes begin to bleed. He lets go of you, and you grab his revolver.
> You knock-out punch him with the A-Tor 8 Biomech Arm.
The man's head snaps back, and his eyes roll into the back of his head. He falls to the ground, motionless.
Jack: "What the...?"
You quickly look around for somewhere to hide.
> You say "Great, FUCKING GREAT! Nothing like a dead cop to start the evening. Christ..."
You spot an alley-way to the right, full of trash and disgusting. Perhaps you could hide out there until things died down.
You quietly sneak into the alley, and quickly shut the door behind you.
> You decide you can't go back home for a bit, and decide to phone Derek.
You walk a bit down the alley, before pulling out your Disk Drive and calling your boyfriend.
Jack: "Hey, c'mon, wake up."
Derek: "Huh? What?"
> You say "Might as well cut the shit, I think I hit a Centurion too hard and killed him."
Derek pauses for a second, before realizing something.
Derek: "Wait, you're at the scene of a murder?! Fuck, I have to come over!
> You say "NO! No, look, I'm fine. A bit shaken up, but it's not exactly my first kill. Anyway, think I can come to stay for a bit? While the heat dies off?"
There's a little silence, before he replies.
Derek: "Uh... yeah, sure. Come on over."
You hang up, and head back to the alley.
> You put on your hood and start heading for the train station.
Night's Falling
Once at the train station, you buy a one-way ticket to Klyton.
Unfortunately, you don't get to visit Derek too often due to ticket costs. You've talked with him about moving in so you can split the rent, but he's always dodging the question. You imagine he's just trying to save money for the move. You also call your family in between visits, but they're not too enthusiastic about your long absences from school.
> You say "In fact, lo and behold, my folks're asking me when I'm signing up for classes again. Fuuuuck me."
> You text Derek, letting him know you're on the train, still not caught.
You arrive at Klyton Sector D-2, and disembark from the train. From here, you head over to the Plato University dorms, trying not to draw any attention to yourself.
> You say "Hey, uh, what living unit were you in again?"
Derek: "BT Tower."
Jack: "Yeah, I remember now. Apartment 28C."
You head up in the elevator, and out the door to your right, which leads into the student housing section.
> You ring Derek's bell.
You wait for a bit, before ringing the bell once again.
Derek: "Is someone there?" a voice comes through the door, quite far away.
Jack: "Yeah, it's me."
The lock clicks, and you open the door.
> You say "Hey babe, sorry for the out of nowhere visit, but you know how it goes!"
You enter the living room, where you find a short man in briefs with light skin and curly black hair. He smiles and nods at you.
> You crash on the couch next to him.
> You say "WHEW! Finally, I can just kick back and not think about my latest run-in with the fuzz! You doing alright Derek? Hope I didn't ruin your beauty sleep."
Derek: "Just waiting around to get my bearings again. No reason to rush, not like I've got anything better to do.
> You say "The engineering major's got free time? Guess I finally found the Twilight Zone!"
He laughs politely, and you nod. You sit there in silence for about an hour, or until his stomach starts growling.
Derek: "Well, I guess I'd better go hunt down some food."
> You feel your own stomach growl. You haven't had dinner yet, your job started pretty early in the evening.
Derek: "Wait, you haven't eaten?"
Jack: "Derek, breaching municipal security doesn't exactly come with a lunch break."
You wind up explaining the whole bar incident over dinner. Derek seems to grow paler with each detail of the fight, it's to the point that you're worried he'll faint.
Derek: "So I was right, the police are capturing them all?"
> You say "Yep, seems they're finally cracking down on Sparta."
Derek sighs, nodding.
Jack: "I suppose I'm lucky it was just a beating rather than the jail house punch."
> You say "Might as well overdose on Christmas Lands at that point."
Derek laughs nervously.
Derek: "Well, I'm not gonna say I wasn't scared shitless. Good thing you were a little late from work, so I had time to get ready for your visit."
> You say "Yeah I ain't complaining. The more often I get to see that pretty face, the better!"
Derek's face gets red, and he lowers his eyes.
Derek: "You're laughing at me. You know I'm ugly right? You just like laughing at twinks."
Jack: "Babe, I think you're hot, and I was celebrating your beauty!" you say with a chuckle.
> You say "But seriously, thanks. I don't really have anywhere else to go."
Derek rubs his eyes and sighs.
> You say "Tired?"
Derek: "It's been a stressful day. I barely slept last night thinking about all the junk I have to do. Plus I'm having nightmares again, I think some of it's from-"
Jack: "From what?"
Derek: "Nevermind! Nevermind..."
> You say "WELL, I'd be down for some shut-eye too, although..."
> You look Derek's half-naked body up and down.
Jack: "You know what they say about good help being hard to find. Suppose I could cheer you up."
Derek's face gets redder.
Jack: "Well, I mean you're pretty cute when you're embarrassed."
Derek: "Goddammit, Jack."
Jack: "Seriously though, you wouldn't happen to be interested in..."
You motion to your crotch and make a come-hither gesture.
Derek: "...Wait, you're suddenly hitting on me?"
> You say "Look, we've both had a long, stressful day, we rarely get to meet in person, you know? Just one round Derek?"
Derek: "I... suppose it wouldn't hurt."
Derek reaches a hand out for your hand, and you grab it. He pulls you in, and the pair of you are suddenly kissing.
> You say "God, I fucking missed you..."
The pair of you lay down on the mattress-
[REDACTED FOR THE CENSORS]
You give him a long, slow kiss as you wrap your arms around him.
Jack: "You're... you're so warm..."
The two of you stay in a loving embrace for a few minutes.
Derek: "We should stop, it's getting late," he says, huddling into you.
> You say "Yeah, no worries, think you milked me dry there."
You take one more look at him. He's angelic.
> You say "Derek? Can I ask you something?"
Derek: "Of course."
> You say "Of all the guys in the world, why'd you pick me?"
Derek: "I don't know."
Jack: "You don't know? That's your answer?"
Derek: "I just knew somehow... that you were the one I was meant to be with."
Jack: "Oh come on, that's ridiculous!"
Derek: "No, it's not. I mean, look at us. We just feel so right together. Our minds, our bodies... everything about us just clicks."
> You say "In the weirdest way, yeah."
Derek: "I don't know, I just... I mean I never thought that I'd feel something like this for someone, but... I love you."
Jack: "Love you too, baby."
> You sleep, enjoying the momentary bliss, knowing that you're not out of the woods yet.
You wake up and find yourself still lying in bed next to your angelic boyfriend.
Derek: "Good morning." He says, kissing you back.
You both get up and go to take a shower. While you're in the shower, you think about what's to come.
> You say "Fuck... what am I gonna do? It's only gonna be a matter of time before the Centurions pick up my trace."
> You say "I'm sorry Derek, I wasn't thinking straight and now I dragged you into this mess!"
His response is to wrap his arms around you.
Derek: "Sssh, don't worry about it love. You didn't know. It's not your fault."
> You say "Didn't you say you wanted a clean criminal record?"
Derek: "I... don't know."
He's silent for a while, before continuing.
Derek: "I mean, yeah I do, but..."
> You say "Don't worry, I get it. I don't want to lose you either."
He hugs you tightly
Derek: "Right."
> You say "Really wish we could get away from all this. The Athens Party, Sparta, those goddamn Rhea mechs, just leaving it all behind."
Derek: "Yeah, me too."
Jack: "Maybe we could..."
You both joke about the idea of fleeing to New Promise.
> You say "Wait a minute."
You look at him.
Jack: "What if we could go somewhere else?"
His eyes light up.
Derek: "Where?"
Jack: "New Promise."
Derek: "The city?!"
You nod cautiously.
> You say "'course, it wouldn't be easy. Even though they're taking Plato refugees, the feds at home aren't gonna make it easy."
Derek: "No, I know. Then there's the issue of getting there."
You think for a while.
Jack: "What if we got a Rhea?"
Derek: "A Rhea?"
> You say "Dude, that's it! If we can get one of those mechs, we'd be able to get past the border no problem! No one could get in our way!"
Derek: "Yeah, that sounds like... I mean is it even possible?"
Jack: "I dunno, but it's worth a shot, right?"
Derek: "O-of course!"
Jack: "Good, then it's settled."
> You say "Wait... wait no, no no no."
Derek: "What?"
Jack: "Getting a Rhea is a huge task. Huge! We don't even know if we can get one of the scrap metal ones, or if we have to steal one of the working ones."
> You say "And on top of that... would you really be willing to throw your degree away? I'm the one they're after."
> You say "Like, I'm just some punk who made a million mistakes, you've got an actual future ahead of you."
Derek goes quiet, before continuing.
Derek: "I know you don't think so, but you're much more than that."
You're not sure how to respond, so you don't.
Derek: "I know I'm giving up my future to be with you, but..."
He gently rests his forehead on yours.
Derek: "Well, we're still young. We can make a new one!"
> You say "Fine, if your mind's made up, then it's settled."
Derek smiles softly.
Derek: "I'm glad to hear you say that."
> You pull out your Disk Drive, call your contact with the Spartans.
You dial the number, and a person answers after a few rings.
???: "Yeah? Whaddya want, Jack?" a gruff voice answers.
> You say "Hey Leo... wanna steal a Rhea?"
Leo's response is unintelligible, but the Drive's already been dropped. You wait a second for him to pick it up again, but he doesn't.
> You say "Okay, he's either dead, or he got so excited that he came."
Leo picks up his Disk Drive.
Leo: "I'm in, brother! Whaddya need!"
Jack: "Last night's heist squad. We're gonna need a mix of their stealth, firepower, and my hacking."
Leo: "What about the second pilot? You know those things need two, right?"
> You look at Derek.
> You say "I might know a guy for the job."
Leo: "Sounds good to me! I'll round everyone up in downtown HQ."
Jack: "Sure thing. See ya then!"
Leo: "Later, Devil Boy!"
> You hang up.
Jack: "Holy shit, this is actually happening," you whisper to yourself.
Derek nods in agreement.
Derek: "Let's do it then!"
Comments (0)
See all