Can of Worms (Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut Book 6), page 1
Apocalypse Gates
Book 6:
Can of Worms
Daniel Schinhofen
Copyright © 2020 Daniel J. Schinhofen
No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form by an electronic or mechanical means – except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews – without the written permission from the publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2020 Daniel J. Schinhofen
All rights reserved.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-four
Chapter Forty-five
Chapter Forty-six
Chapter Forty-seven
Chapter One
Bored with driving through the white, snow-filled world of the Dwarves, Alvin was glad when they finally stopped for the night. Gothy, Mousie, and Desiree had jumped out and gone off to the bedroom to get washed up as soon as the vehicle had come to a stop. Alvin set the brake and got out himself.
“Texas, what are they likely to have done to Texas?” Alvin mused out loud as he stretched. “The Midwest and going east, it’s going to be harder and harder to miss larger towns. I hope some of them are okay... at least Texas believed in open carry. The people left after the Rapture would have a chance to defend themselves better than other places.”
He walked into the kiosk room and stopped. “Sammi? What is it this time?”
“Bugs. They seem to follow you around,” Sammi grumbled. “We were adding a package to the envoys so they could speak and understand the language of the people they were dealing with. Someone decided to poke around in the system further and found a bug tied to you... well, tied to Mousie.”
“What’s wrong with Mousie?” Alvin demanded.
“Nothing— but she has the Linguist power. You know, the one we removed from the damned game?” Sammi snapped at him. “Somehow, being with you has corrupted or altered her data and she gained that power. We think it happened from the whole bond thing, but that doesn’t explain why Desiree has it, too.”
Alvin chuckled, “I like free power ups.”
“Well, we don’t,” Sammi grumbled. “Can you stop adding women to your harem for a week or two while we unravel the reason behind why it’s happening and fix it?”
“I don’t plan to add women. Gothy does that,” Alvin laughed. “But I’ll see what I can do. Are they giving you that much flak for it?”
“Yes. You have been the biggest bug magnet we’ve ever had.”
“I’m helping make the game better, then,” Alvin shrugged. “The bugs are getting caught, right? Isn’t that what matters?”
Sammi exhaled, her shoulders slumping. “That’s what I said. Anyway, just try to give us time, please.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Not sure I’ll find anything interesting enough in Texas, anyway. Chupacabras, maybe, but I can’t think of anything else off the top of my head besides that. It’s not like New Mex…” Alvin trailed off as he started to think. “Oh… I wonder...”
Sammi’s face fell and she started to wave her hands. “I didn’t say anything! Nothing, not a thing.”
Alvin began to chuckle, “That would make sense. I bet they have tech— advanced tech that could make a big difference.”
“Alvin!” Sammi said loudly, clapping her hands to draw his attention back to her. When he looked at her, she grimaced, “Look, you can do whatever you want, but please give us a bit of time to fix the latest bug. Also, your weekly quest starts tomorrow. We’ve added different options, so you’ll be getting a random one. The kill quest goals have been reduced, too.”
Alvin set aside the idea he had so he could finish talking to Sammi; he’d bring it up to his companions once she was gone. “That’ll be good, Sammi. You know I’m not actively trying to break shit, right? I’m actually grateful to you for a lot of things you’ve done. Some of the other devs can kiss my ass, but you’ve done good things for us, like saving Jarvis.”
Sammi looked away from him. “I… you…”
“I mean it, even if I also kind of said it to see you blush,” Alvin snickered.
“Fucking asshole!” she snapped, her cheeks going crimson.
“Yeah, never said I wasn’t. Glad to see you still got that fire. Was there anything else that you needed from me?”
“No,” she grumbled, her petulance showing through easily.
“Do your best, Sammi,” Alvin said with a touch of kindness. “We are doing the best we can with the system you’ve been given to fix.”
“Fine,” she huffed and shrugged. “Have fun in Texas.”
“When we get there,” Alvin grinned.
Sammi shook her head and vanished. Chuckling, Alvin moved into the main room and saw Jarvis working in the kitchen. He left the butler to do his thing and headed for the bedroom. He could hear happy voices and the sound of running water as he got closer to the bathroom.
“What is taking him so long? We didn’t even kill anything today,” Gothy was complaining. “I’m going to march out there and—”
“And what?” Alvin asked, stepping into the shower.
“Hero,” Gothy smiled. “Were you just waiting for me to give you an opening?”
“I do love your openings,” Alvin smirked. “But no, I was delayed by Sammi.”
Gothy rolled her eyes. “What did our personal stalker want this time?”
Alvin picked up a bar of soap and started scrubbing her back, explaining to them what he and Sammi had talked about. He gave Mousie a smile when she started to scrub him down, and winked at Desiree when she started in on Mousie.
“So that’s why?” Mousie said. “I was confused that I was able to talk to Desiree and her people.”
“I can speak to anyone of any race?” Desiree asked to clarify.
“Looks like it,” Alvin chuckled. “Felt a little bad for Sammi, though. She’s getting flak, as if it were her fault. I think some of the devs really hate the fact that she’s known and liked.”
“Jealousy,” Gothy sighed, “it’s such an ugly thing. Glad we don’t have that problem.”
Spinning her around, Alvin kissed her cheek. “It would be messy if we did. Now spread ‘em again so I can get your front.”
“As you wish, Hero,” Gothy purred as she spread her legs wide for him.
“I can’t get your front that way, Hero,” Mousie sighed.
“We can get each other,” Desiree told her. “After he finishes with Gothy, the three of us can all pile on him.”
“That is a good plan,” Mousie was quick to agree.
“I’ll allow it,” Alvin laughed. “I had something else to talk about, though, too.”
“You have until we’re clean— then you’re going to be a bit busy, Hero,” Gothy purred, her eyes heated as his hands caressed her skin.
“Instead of Texas, we’re going to detour south into New Mexico.”
Gothy’s forehead creased. “Why would we…? Oh! You think?”
“Yeah. Remember how we discussed games and fast travel? I think that’s the angle for this game.”
“Plus other stupidly powerful tech,” Gothy nodded. “Yeah, I’m totally on board with that idea.”
“I don’t understand,” Desiree said. Mousie’s lips were pursed and she nodded at Desiree’s statement.
“There’s a famous town in New Mexico,” Alvin explained as he went to a knee to get Gothy’s left leg. “It’s known for aliens.”
“Aliens?” Desiree said slowly, the word unfamiliar to her.
“Beings of immense power and technology that can travel between stars,” Alvin clarified. “Our folklore is littered with them.”
“Like Babylon Five?” Mousie asked.
“Not quite like that, no. More the ‘abducting people and mutilating cows’ kind.”
“Oh, crop circles,” Mousie nodded.
“I still don’t understand,” Desiree sighed.<
“Need to get her the human book,” Gothy said with a soft smile. “Maybe after we’ve had our fun tonight.”
“Yeah... it’ll knock her out for a bit, and that’d be the best time for it,” Alvin agreed as he started to work his way up her other leg.
“It is best if she knows more about you,” Mousie nodded. “I gained a wealth of knowledge from it.”
“Before we get to that, though, we have dinner,” Alvin said, standing back up and taking the shower wand to rinse Gothy off.
“And before that, we have you,” Gothy husked as she stared at him.
“Yes,” Mousie and Desiree agreed. Both had finished getting clean and were just waiting for them.
“Far be it from me to disagree with my three wives,” Alvin laughed as he washed the suds off Gothy. “Okay, ladies, where do you want me?”
~*~*~
Jarvis served them another gourmet meal; this time, a delicious filet mignon and lobster tail. Alvin sighed contentedly, feeling sated, relaxed, and happy. “You’re amazing Jarvis.”
“I’m aware, sir, but thank you for noticing.”
Gothy snickered, “We’re rubbing off on him.”
“I skipped preparing a dessert tonight. I thought you might be otherwise engaged and I should leave stuffing you to each other,” Jarvis said, perfectly deadpan, as he began to gather their plates.
Alvin laughed, “Yeah, definitely rubbing off.”
“I’m still a bit too full for what I really want,” Gothy sighed. “We can go over what to spend XP on first before we get to dessert.”
“Probably for the best,” Alvin agreed. “I’d hate for any accidents after that meal.”
“Sofa to relax while we talk?” Mousie suggested.
“Works,” Alvin agreed.
Once they were relaxing on the sofa, Alvin wondered about how the women had arranged themselves. He had Desiree on one side and Gothy on the other, while Mousie was on the far side of Gothy. They’re working out their hierarchy... just leave them to it, he told himself.
“Before we get started, I’m buying gas masks for the three of us. We might need them if we run into fungals on the way out.”
“I was going to suggest it if you didn’t,” Gothy nodded. “If we can get Bill or Wynn to remove the trigger guards on Desiree’s pistols, that would let Desiree use them even when she’s wearing armor.”
“Hmm, we’d need to send them and get them back. I can ask how long it would take to see if it’s feasible, but we’ll need the upgrade for that.”
“Which is on the list of things we wanted to get anyway,” Gothy reminded him. “You still think fast travel is going to be gated behind it?”
“Yes.”
“Then it becomes doubly important. It’ll probably be a bit expensive, but with your windfall from the Dwarves, you can afford that and more.”
“Okay, so we’re going for powers, right?”
“That’s what I’ve been looking at,” Gothy nodded. “I’m assuming some of these are going to get tweaked. I tried to avoid the most obviously broken ones— you’re welcome, Sammi. I looked for ones that appear to be fairly balanced, plus one that dovetails with the freebie we got.”
“Gate Sense?” Alvin asked.
“Yes. Right now, our range is ten miles. With the add-on, it goes to twenty-five. No idea what Gate Sense costs by itself, but the add-on is a hundred thousand XP.”
“One of us should pick that up. Don’t think we both need it.”
“True, but I think that some of the powers are going to be unlockable. We could buy the upgrade, but what if it comes naturally at the tenth Gate? I doubt they’ll refund us.”
“Huh, that’s fair. Are there any you think we might find in-game?”
“It’s hard to guess since we’ve only had the one show up. Without more data, I’d be shooting in the dark.”
“Do we need to expand the distance?” Mousie asked. “The glow from a Gate can be seen from a distance.”
“True, they’re visible from a few miles out. The power only does a bit better than that,” Alvin nodded.
“The interesting ones are the active use ones, even with the cooldowns on them,” Gothy said. “Want to double your damage for a bit? We can get that from Critical Strikes. Need to ignore pain for a few minutes? Dull Senses.”
“Recharge per day or what?”
“A good night’s sleep,” Gothy shrugged. “Haven’t found out what that means, but I’m thinking six hours in a secure room with bedding is probably what they’re going for.”
Mousie understood everything they were talking about, and while Desiree looked a little lost, she was able to follow most of their conversation. Alvin looked into the distance as he contemplated what kind of things would be best for them.
“There’s one that makes any firearm instantly reload for you every five minutes, as well,” Gothy added.
“In an intense firefight, that could be amazing. For the Ma Deuce, it would easily tip things into OP.”
“I think there’s going to be a lot more, but they’re probably trying to make sure they don’t give us anything too broken again. I did find the one that lets you escape any restraint amusing.”
“Well, considering what we do, yeah, but that would be useful if you think you’re ever going to be taken hostage.”
“Do we have to spend it all?” Desiree asked.
“No, we don’t. We likely won’t, but we could use some upgrades.”
“Let me go get the next kiosk upgrade and see if it unlocks anything we might want right away,” Alvin said.
When he came back to the living room a minute later, Alvin wore a knowing smirk. “The fast travel option is still locked, but it’s attached to the kiosk. It allows travel from kiosk to kiosk instantly, excluding player kiosks.”
“Do we want to take any of the other powers?” Gothy asked.
“Thinking we should stack Critical Strikes and the reload one onto a single person. If things get rough, we put them on the Ma Deuce and laugh.”
“Oh, nice. You thinking me or Mousie?”
“Why not me?” Desiree asked.
“Not enough time with the gun overall, and with your armor being second nature to you, it makes sense that it would be one of us instead.”
“Point made, Gothy.”
“We also need to pick up an extra wardrobe slot for Desiree,” Alvin added. “We all have an extra slot already except for her. We’ve got our leathers there, and we can add the Dwarf armor to the accessory slots of that set. Then it’s a simple toggle and willing it into existence.”
“Oh, right, need to do that. Glad we put runes on the leathers already. It will keep the armor room busy if we start taking damage to those sets, too.”
“Should be minor. If we’re wearing leather, it’s because we’re expecting to use the resistance runes on them.”
