"I'm not going to let you through," you reply calmly, your eyes narrowing as you call forth from the nothingness your trademark weapon. A staff of Cogs appears from thin air, colored silver. "I'm really not going to let you past this point, Hero," you snarl. "German, leave," you state to your momentary side-kick, who takes the cue to growl at the man before retreating for the last room.
"Now then," you point your silver staff at Knighthowl. "Let me correct you on one thing," you add as you twirl your staff. "It is not Chemista who is the Overlord here," you slam your staff on the ground as the bits and pieces of metal around you start to float and condense, "It is I."
A silver and copper construct twice the size of a human is built within an instant from the scraps around your form, bellowing a terrifying cry of rage as it opens and closes its claws and shows its pointy steel teeth.
Knighthowl growls, his eyes narrowing.
His sword comes down, pointed at you.
"Stop lying! There can only be one Overlord, and it is not you!"
"Of course it's not him," Chemista states plainly, slowly sliding into the room from one of the pipes. "Well, technically it is him, but really...did the ink enter your nose so much you can't recognize your dear friend, THE Hero?"
"What?" that question is asked both by your shocked mouth and by Knighthowl.
"Of course he doesn't remember anything, but that's beyond the point." Chemista rolls her eyes. "I'd like to say that I wanted him to become a slaughterer of innocents because, really, he does fit the part quite well doesn't he?" she chuckles. "But the fact is, I didn't. That wasn't my intention."
"YOU LIE!" Knighthowl roars.
"Ah, yes," Chemista nods slowly. "That is the reason I didn't kill THE Hero when I had him at my mercy." She smiles bitterly. "Tell me, Incognito [Ink], before calling me out as an evil, horrible, Overlord who removed your memories and made you into his successor, let me ask you...what do you think of the HEROES now? When I first asked you that question...when I first told you how you all really were, you just said I was lying," her chuckle grew raspy. "In the end, however, you proved yourself more bloody than even I have ever been. How does it feel?"
"Was this all to tell me the Heroes association was...wrong?" you ask, your eyes darting from her to Knighthowl, who seems keener on waiting it out.
Your conjured Golem stands at the ready.
"No, of course not," Chemista snorts. "It would need a bit of a general background information though, and I'm more than happy to oblige," smiling, Chemista slinks further closer to you. "You think I always was a Goo-Girl? There's a reason I hate that imbecile of a Casternews, you know? There's a reason I prefer monsters to humans," she eyes Knighthowl wearily, "At least, some monsters more than other."
"You're stalling for time!" Knighthowl roars.
"I'm still here, Knighthowl," Chemista clicks her tongue, "Let an old lady have her last talk, would you?"
She turns her head towards you.
"I admit, our last battle was quite entertaining. You raided my lair, armed with your creations...you were known as 'The Silver Mechanism' back in those times. Ah, I admit, the battle dragged on for a while before you pulled out your last chance attack and tore apart the ship we were fighting on. I managed to escape, obviously, and you nearly ended up dead. Knighthowl there was in your party, but busy as he was with one of my own Dark Advisors, he could not intervene."
"You cannot be serious," Knighthowl growled, his eyes moving to stare at yours. "You cannot," this time his voice is a murmur.
"You were such a boisterous young thing, armed with ideals and 'Justice is Good' or 'Good is Justice', sometimes you even yelled 'Let the Righteous smite the evil down' and so forth," Chemista's smile is lukewarm now, "Such a naive way of thinking," she hissed. "Such a stupid, stupid way of thinking."
She slowly begins to slink her way around you. "So, with everything I had destroyed, with the need to lay low and you floating around...I decided to do something smart. I didn't have much Mindium left, but what little I had I used. Not to mind control you, no, that would have made my point moot! What little I had I used to completely erase all of your memories. Then, I trained you as my successor."
She slowly takes her position to the side of both you and Knighthowl, forming the head of a triangle with the way you three are disposed.
"Because I wanted to show you the horrors of the Hero association...and you wouldn't have listened to me otherwise!" she snarls. "That's the problem with you heroes...unless someone slams your face against reality, you keep on living off in your fantasy land of goodness and justice. Monsters are just monsters to be killed, torturing them is a sick show, and so on...if you become a Hero, then you're immediately exalted as a noble example...but if you are not a hero, then you are automatically a monster!" Chemista roars. "And the television will portray you as such! Never mind the lab accident that might have caused your mutation! Never mind the way you avoid harming anyone! You can't even go buy the groceries, that the lady you knew for years will show you the door!"
With heated words, Chemista ends her tirade. "And the only reason I'm saying all this is simple, really. You want your memories back, THE Hero? Why don't you just let Knighthowl capture you and bring you back? Of course, they'll blame me for corrupting your mind. You'll go through the Asylum for a few days and then come out as the example of Righteousness you were in the beginning! I'm sure the puppy here will be very happy!" she snarls pointing at the Heroic Hero, who growls back.
"But I'm not going to let you run from this choice," she adds with a bitter and hollow laugh. "The Zeppelin is gone. There's Psysquid aboard, and whoever else managed to escape his slaughter," she eyes Knighthowl. "I'm leaving the call to you. Are you THE Hero...or are you Incognito [Ink], the Evil Overlord?"
"Don't listen to her!" Knighthowl yells then. "Silver, don't listen to her," his tone is surprisingly warm now. "She's a monster. They lie and they betray whenever they want," Chemista snorts. "She's using you! She's mind controlling you! Please don't listen to her! The HEROES association can help you get back into the light! Let us kill this Overlord and be gone from here!"
"As a side note," Chemista says plainly, "Know that Knighthowl never won a single spar against THE Hero."
Her right hand forms a blob of viscous green goo. "And I have my own tricks, in case you decide to keep on fighting on the Good Side...I will not make it easy."
You look to Knighthowl, and then you look to Chemista.
You clench your staff as your Golem waits behind you.
Sidenote of the GM: The Heroic Heroes bonus are on the +12 scale. The Overlord/THE Hero are on the +14
Who do you choose?