Part 32: Plugging in Your Mouse

So, with everything done so far that can be done, our hero is finally ready to hit those Hackers where it hurts. Like the two small islands, the Fortress is literally only accessible via the Blimp. Unlike the Base, it has actual guards swarming the front gate - nothing Pinky can't handle, though.





Talking to this guy gets him to move to block the entrance, and giving access to a capsule with a Scrap 3.



And there's also a Celtis 2 waiting to be claimed out in the open.





Flashing the Leader's Badge to the Hacker guarding the north door lets our hero in to a big meeting. One that Father's attending - though talking to him reveals that he doesn't remember who Brain is. Further talk with him is pointless, so there's not much left to do but listen to the villains' master plan.



After the meeting, all the guards in the previous room disappear, letting our hero go where he wants. The left two doors both lead to the same room, so take the upper one just to avoid the backtracking needing to nab this Cure. The Fortress has enough backtracking built in, so avoiding any more is always helpful.





With one direction blocked off by a locked door, the only choice is following the only other available path until our hero hits another locked door. This one, however, is flanked by a vent. Going into that vent results in badly translated plot.



After everyone's left, our hero can nab a Key for the previous locked door. The books in the room are all of stuff Brain already knows - Shield 3, Power Pack, and Quick Pack - so there's no real reason to check them out unless the books were skipped in the Old House or the Volcano Hideout.





Fighting his way back to the locked door, Brain gains a level. Expect this to be a common thing throughout this dungeon. There's a lot of mooks to cut through to get places.



Opening the locked door has an immediate reward of 1200G, along with allowing our hero to head up the stairs to the next part of the Fortress.





Which also is full of loot.







In a room up near the capsule with the 2500G, our hero comes across some Hacker scientists working on a way to jack into the internet. Since Brain is a mouse, they use him as a test subject before jumping in themselves. With them suitably distracted, he helps himself to the schematic and uses the Invention Machine in the back room to make himself a copy of the device.



Circling around the upper level of the previous room leads to another little area with books. One actually provides something new, but the other two are just for the Bomb 2 and Turbo Pack. Also in the room is a computer connected to the internet. Seems like a good chance to use the newly crafted Cyberjack.



The main goal for entering here is to find the two Hackers who dived in after Brain returned. Despite the little area being blocked off, they somehow managed to get themselves lost in a section accessible from this other machine. Leading them back is simple enough - there's a crystal to the left of them that leads back to that first machine. In return, our hero gets this key and the knowledge that his father's memories are being stored in the mainframe with a protector program.



However, in order to access that mainframe, Brain will have to delve deeper into the facility - bringing him face to face with the Faceman. As with every other enemy I've pointed out in this manner, this guy is very dangerous. His melee hits are reminiscent of the Franken in that they are horrendously damaging, even to Pinky, and its ranged attack has a chance to inflict Confuse. This can result in your confused bot turning his back on this physical monster, so take them out quick with Run commands.





Killing baddies, getting Megs. Power and Guard will be maxed out in the next level, and Speed shortly after that.





This is the door the Key is for, and beyond it is the main console that directly leads to the mainframe where the memories and the guardian are stored. It's literally a straight path that ends in a face-off with the virtual mid-boss on the internet. Speaking of...



Meet Bugbug. He has some damaging moves and can inflict Stop, but he suffers from an utter lack of Run Resist or any real defenses beyond running away after attacking. That tactic is made less useful on a bot with a pair of Boots 4, so it only takes about four Narfs to the back to drop him.



It should be noted that in the test run through the game, Pinky actually crit Bugbug for 999 - the max amount of damage possible. This is also that last boss that our hero will be able to one-shot with a lucky crit, all the following bosses have four digit hit points.



Defeating Bugbug removes all the cyberspace barriers, letting our hero nab this little goody. The exit point is just past where he entered from the big console, so it's not too hard to get to. Once that's done, it's time to find Father and see if his memories have returned.





Power and Guard maxed. The stats can actually go higher - all the way to 999 like Energy - but that requires cheating to do so. And doing that would remove all traces of difficulty in this game.







A sentimental guard is all that blocks Brain from his Father. A quick sob story gets him to open the door, gaining our hero access to his estranged parent and a couple books on laser swords. Talking to daddy dearest results in plot and starts a short stint of follow the leader.





The first door he leads our hero to has another couple new enemies beyond it. The Knight is like the Shell in that it can randomly shield against attacks. Fortunately, Run attacks can still take them out decently enough - even if one of the swings is blocked. Just be wary when coupled with Redpixies - continuing the comparisons, they're like the Luckstars in that they're highly damaging and highly Run resistant.

Plus they can Confuse. Nothing that can Confuse should be left alive for very long.



The next room is partially flooded with water, not that it matters much since our hero can't access the submerged sections just yet. What he can access, however, are two capsules containing a total of 7000G. The cash is really rolling in now. Too bad Brain has nothing to spend it on.



Continuing along, the invisible enemies make a return. The first to show up are the Berets, including this new version. While Pinky's able to deal with them more effectively now due to his higher level and stats, it's still recommended to go through any suspiciously empty rooms with a Shield equipped. They can still one-shot our pink punisher with a good hit.



After several rooms of baddies, father and son reach the goal. He's going to try and sabotage the laser while Brain is relegated to draining the water. The trip to the switch is surprisingly easy - there's no enemies at all to be fought.



And a quick detour leads to another Scrap 9.



At the end of this surprisingly vacant trip is the Waterway Drain Switch. Hitting it causes the water to drain, obviously, but also spawns hidden Hacker soldiers all the way back to the room with the two capsules stuffed with cash. They're generic Hacker soldiers, but they aren't visible until our hero gets close - wherein they spin into existence.



Speaking of cash, draining the water makes getting this capsule possible now.



Talking to Dad is optional - he just mentions he's working on his end and that our hero needs to go get the MacGuffins.





Remember the locked door with the big computer console that led to Bugbug? Our hero has to run all the way back there, through several rooms of baddies. As mentioned, the Fortress has some serious backtracking, which results in enough dead mooks for another level. Speed's maxed now.



Heading right through the formerly submerged doorway is the way to go, but heading down and left leads to a Scrap.





Returning to the proper route leads to more rooms filled with baddies, including another room of invisible super-soldiers that introduces another new type. This guy uses his remote control to drop sumo wrestlers and feet on your robot for massive damage. I'm not kidding, equip a shield to avoid being Monty Python'd.



Not far beyond that is the actual boss of the Fortress, Blackmore. You may remember him way back in the Old House, where he looked just like a normal Hacker. He's upgraded a bit since then, and he's the first boss that has alternate dialogue if you talk to him as a mouse. Unfortunately, doing so makes him boot our hero back towards the door rather than engage, so reminding him who we are is necessary to start the next boss fight.



Blackmore's Blacktank. Here is where things start getting dangerous for Pinky. Even with the max level tier of shield, the tank can do a lot of damage - on the range of 20+. It doesn't seem like much, but this is on a max defense robot with under 40 HP. Since both defensive stats are maxed at this point, it basically turns into the same strategy for all future boss fights.



Hope for dodges and blocks, and get behind the boss to maximize damage. Blacktank doesn't have Run resist, so do that to smack him around for 300 damage a pop. Four hits and he's gone.





Leaving nothing but sweet, sweet experience. Expect Pinky's HP to skyrocket over the next few levels now that the three stats I wanted to max have been maxed. Charge will probably only see about two more points or so before it's never touched again.



Despite having gone through two bosses, the Fortress isn't done just yet. Clearing through several rooms full of Bigfaces and Knights leads to the final chamber, marked with a familiar symbol. This is the end of the facility.



Beyond the door, Rose is waiting with the Master MacGuffin, forged from the three MacGuffins. She isn't surprised at Blackmore's defeat and offers Brain a spot at her side. However, our Pumpkin-headed adversary both survived his exploding tank and overheard Rose's bragging, and gets revenge on both her and our hero by turning the super-powerful Laser on the facility itself.



The results are obvious.

... Nah, just foolin'.

Next Time: Restoring a Previous Session