Daisy "Dizzy" Lane, as Jack Cooper, grilled Captain Cole. "So, what's up with the signal tower?"
Cole explained: it's offline. Needs a beefy Arc Gun—5 megajoules a second, enough to fry someone to dust. He found one, but it's busted.
"New one's in the sub-station," Cole said. "Marvin, the repair bot, can hook you up."
He led Daisy to a maintenance ladder. "Problem is, only bots fit in there. We're stuck."
Daisy peeked inside. Massive pipes crisscrossed, thick as trees. Sparks crackled from exposed circuits, cooling fans whirring like death traps. Drones buzzed in the maze.
Narrow ledges. No room for humans.
"Built for me," Daisy said, shrugging. "I got this."
BT pinged the Arc Gun's location on her HUD. Cole saluted. "Good luck, Commander!"
Daisy grabbed an R-101 shotgun from a crate, face serious. "My team's counting on me. Pilot's gotta step up."
She eyed the sparking grid, took a running leap—
"Time to shine—"
Her toe clipped the high-voltage net.
Zzzzt!
Lightning zapped her. Daisy's avatar twitched like a bug on a zapper.
Chat exploded:
"Dizzy's doing what now?"
"Lmao, Girls' Night Out vibes!"
"From hero to sparkler in two seconds."
"Movie mode to dance party!"
"I'm too normal for this chat."
"Laughing so hard I'm choking!"
No enemies in this level, but the parkour was brutal. IndieVibe X2's VR made every sparking wire and spinning fan feel like a death sentence.
Daisy, a week deep in Pilot training, still flubbed it five times before snagging the Arc Gun from Marvin.
"Welcome back, Commander," Cole said, waving. "Circuits are set. Just need power."
BT chimed in: "Pilot, relays are off. Arc Gun should light 'em up."
Cole nodded. "Hope that gun's worth the hassle."
Daisy's jaw dropped. "Hassle? You didn't get zapped out there, Cole!"
Chat cackled:
"Cole's stealing her shine!"
"Bro split the credit like a pro."
"Old boss energy."
"Dizzy's fuming!"
"'Us' sent her to the moon."
Daisy swallowed her rant and stormed to the relay room. A domed ceiling held rows of dead relay modules, green and offline.
She raised the Arc Gun. First time firing it.
Zzzzt—BOOM!
A thunderbolt shot out, recoil shoving her back. Lightning lit the room, relays flickering to life.
Chat went nuts:
"Hell yeah, Thunder Queen!"
"Can that zap Cole?"
"Quest item, bet it's gone soon."
"If it fries enemies, I'm sold."
"Anti-twitching gun!"
"Yang's happy zapper, lmao."
Relays powered up. Daisy bolted to avoid radiation. "This gun's sick!" she said, gripping it tight. She shot Cole a look, itching to test it on him.
Cole, sensing danger, gave a thumbs-up. "Nailed it, Commander!"
He clapped, directing a rifleman at the control panel. "Raise the gate, start the signal tower!"
Rumble.
The dome's gate lifted. Sparks danced on the distant tower under Typhon's rising sun.
A prompt blared: "Restarting connection lock module… 60%… 70%… 80%…"
Daisy exhaled. No tower-climbing. Just a cinematic level.
"This is solid," she said, smirking. "But Gus could've pushed it. Make us climb that tower. Flying around's too easy. Where's the hero vibe?"
Chat flooded with question marks:
"??? You screamed at the cliff!"
"Girl was shaking, now she's cocky?"
"Dizzy's wilding."
"Praying the tower fails."
"Betting my roommate's love life it crashes!"
"Add my dorm's!"
"Y'all are savage…"
KA-BOOM!
A muffled blast echoed from the tower.
"Warning! Emergency shutdown!"
Three explosions rocked the structure, debris flying. Restart failed.
The stream went silent.
Then:
"WOOHOO!"
"It blew up!"
"Wish granted, lmao!"
"Climb it, Dizzy!"
"Gus heard you!"
"Old thief: 'You want a challenge? Done.'"
"Dizzy's offline, changing diapers."
Daisy's brain short-circuited. "What the hell?"
This plot twist? She'd barely survived the Arc Gun run. Now the tower's busted? She was supposed to signal the fleet, steal the Holy Ark, and crush the IMC. Not this.
"Agh!" she stammered, pointing at the smoking tower. "Cole, what's this?!"
Cole groaned. "Malfunction. Needs manual repair. IMC's closing in, Commander. You're up."
Daisy's heart sank. Manual repair.
"I mind!" she yelled. "I really mind!"
BT cut in: "IMC reinforcements inbound. Time's short, Pilot."
The cockpit opened.
Daisy glanced at Cole's hopeful team, then BT. Her 69 million viewers watched. Quitting now? Career suicide.
She trudged to the tower's base elevator, legs lead. The platform revealed a maze of operation towers, iron frames weaving through clouds like a sky factory.
Daisy peeked over the edge. A misty abyss stared back.
"Nope," she muttered, scooting away.
BT clanked up, pointing northeast. "Scanner detects the active link module, 428 meters out. Throwing is the only way."
He posed like a javelin thrower, one arm out, the other ready to launch her.
Daisy's jaw dropped. She'd seen this in the "Cause and Effect" level—BT yeeting a pole. She'd joked, "Throw me next time."
Now? Reality.
"No way, BT! I was kidding!" She plopped down, scooting back.
Chat roared:
"Yeeting the Pilot?!"
"Straight outta the trailer!"
"Dizzy jinxed it."
"Gus: 'You want epic? Die.'"
"Slap came like a hurricane!"
Daisy whimpered. No backing out. Like bungee jumping, she was strapped in.
She crawled to BT's hand, muttering, "I'm insane. You're insane. Why're we using caveman tech?"
BT's voice was calm: "I'm not insane. I can land you."
He aimed, one arm back, the other sighting the tower. "Wind: 3 knots, direction 274, distance 95 meters, weight 89 kg…"
BT's "eyes" met hers. He flashed a fist-bump. "Trust me."
Daisy's scream echoed: "AAAH—"
Whoosh! BT hurled her like a sandbag. Wind roared, clouds blurred. The tower loomed.
Adrenaline spiked. Her HUD blared: "Blood pressure, heart rate, adrenaline critical… VR connection cut!"
Chat detonated:
"HOLY—!"
"Pull the plug!"
"Dizzy's gone!"
Far off in Seattle, Zoey Parker slumped at her desk. Titanfall's 69 million stream views meant more hype, less loss. Her $170 million bet for a $90 million loss was toast.
She sighed. "Gus, you bastard."
BT (in chat): "Monthly subs fuel updates. Trust me!"