Downkeep
Psysquid
"So, Psysquid," you say, and then stop. He's apparently busy building a model ship inside a bottle, using his tentacles and quietly concentrating.
"Yes, your evil overlordness?"
"What are you doing?"
"A hobby of mine, your evilness," Psysquid replies. "It's very relaxing, I must admit."
You frown. "Is it?"
"Well, no, putting the boat inside the glass bottle isn't. But it's very well worth it afterwards."
You scratch the side of your face, not understanding.
Then you watch Psysquid nod to himself, and place the delicate looking ship on the nearby counter, in the kitchen.
And afterwards, he quietly tiptoes out of the room. You follow him, and watch as he hides behind the corner, in wait with his breath drawn.
Chemista comes slinking behind the corner, and as she moves, she passes by the thing without toppling it. Psysquid quietly twitches a tentacle in that moment, and the thing falls down with a crash.
And then Psysquid appears. "What happened? You! Look what you did!"
Chemista raises an eyebrow. "What I did? You insufferable squid, I did not make it fall!"
"No? Is there anyone else around here who did that?! I spent hours building it up!"
"Frankly, your horrendous and disgusting hobby that makes you look like a perverted bastard should-"
You bring a hand to your face.
And quietly sigh.
Really. Out of all the Dark Advisers...
Gamington
"Give me give me give me a dance after Christmas, won't somebody help me dance the shadows away!" Gamington's dancing, quite thoroughly, on the Dance-Dance Mat Over-Nine Thousand.
"Nanananaaaa nanananaaaa," Coghuahua sings along with the mic.
There is...too much movement of hips for your brain to properly process it all.
The last remaining human girl -wearing a cog-like outfit- is excitedly clapping her hands at the show.
"Ahem," you cough, to catch their attention. The cog-outfitted human girl proceeds to rush into hiding behind Coghuahua.
"Yes, your lordness?" Gamington says, standing at attention.
"Everything's all right?"
"Sure thing!" he says, with thumb-up included. "We're eagerly awaiting the chance to destroy the Heroes Association!"
"Very well then," you say, "Continue doing...whatever it is that you were doing."
Cerulean
"Cerulean?"
"Yes, dad?" Cerulean replies primly, while holding in her arms a sleeping spider-kid, who apparently enjoys sleeping with all eight legs curled up around its chest. The 'children' section is quite filled with marks of the various children' passage, like silk from the corners, bite marks, claw marks, broken dolls with their interiors ripped out, books slashed, and a large aquarium where the fish-types are swimming around, sometimes headbutting each other.
There are a lot of broken toys, strewn around the room.
Quite the metaphor for lost childhood.
"What is magic?" you ask her, and she blinks.
"Wave the wand and say something cool?" she replies. "I...I don't think there's anything else to it."
"Really?" you frown.
"Well, but I was a magical girl, and I had my stick of power. I had a color, and...that was pretty much it? Now, if I had a stronger magical staff I could throw powerful magics, I'm sure of it."
"Yes, but how does it work?" you ask, and Cerulean shrugs.
"Dunno dad, it just does. How do you build the Cogs?"
"I just do," I shrugged. "Oh, I see."
"Yep," Cerulean nods. "Magic's pretty much the same thing, dad."
The Upkeep
There is a vice like grip around your neck, choking you, but when you open your eyes, it's gone.
It's like somebody tried to suffocate you, but apparently stopped the moment you opened your eyes. You manage to move to the side of your bed, and from there quietly get dressed in your Evil Overlord uniform.
The morning air is salty, and of course tastes like seawater.
As you step into the kitchen for breakfast, the usual chaos is absent, replaced by a demure and sober atmosphere.
You don't really understand what's going on, but take a seat at the table.
"It's soon going to be a full year," Chemista says, noticing your confusion. "It was August the Twenty-Fifth, and soon, it will be again."
You blink.
Uh, how fast does time fly.
"Well, your evil overlordness," Gamington remarks. "As per orders, I had four wuffle-cogs made, and then fused them with the four assault cogs."
Resources lost: Four Wuffle Cogs, Four Assault Cogs.
Acquired: Four Air Assault Cogs
"And...ahem," Psysquid coughs, to attract your attention. "There's...this to consider."
He pushes up to you the three available missions.
1) Acquire the Mindium Crystal from the Museum. You may do this mission this turn, or the following one. Afterwards, it will be too late for both Cheery and Incognito. Mixed. Heroic Hero Present! Side-Kick present! Special Forces Present! Police Present!
2) Cut the Supply Line. The evacuation was halted, meaning the Heroes Association will not receive reinforcements, but this doesn't mean they'll be defenseless...unless we cut off their food supplies, and make them starve to death. Destruction. High Chance of a Hero! High Chance of a Side-Kick! Special Forces present. Police Present.
3) Assimilate the lost city. Hero city is now filled with refugees, lost, scared and traumatized people, and is being overrun by mutants. They'll die if they are not saved. Control. Available only Today. No Heroes present. No Side-Kicks. Low Chance of Special Forces. Police Present. Monsters Present.
You swallow thickly.
"We can only choose two," Psysquid remarks. "We could wait for the Crystal...but I have the feeling they'll move it if we wait too long. And it might even get harder than it is now to recapture it, your evilness. It's...a tough call."
"The City's practically a done deal," Chemista remarks. "The monsters will easily overrun them, murder them, and then we can take over the monsters."
"And how many innocents are going to die if that's the case?" Gamington asks. "Please your evilness...think of the children."
"What his evilness needs now is the Mindium Crystal," Chemista hisses back. "And we must cut the supply lines. There's no need to think about the humans. They chose their side the day they decided mutants had to be purged. So now, why not have the Humans purged for once?"
"They could bolster the army," Psysquid remarks. "If saved. But...your evilness," he looks at you. "I'd rather you kept yourself sane and safe, rather than risk for strangers' lives."
You sigh.
Choices...choices...