Bulleta/Stories
After making a report on a completed job, Bulleta is set upon by unknown assailants. She learns that a bounty has been put on her head and uses the World Flipper to escape to Starview Village.
Bulleta: Right! That's another job done! Once the client signs off on it, I'm all set.
Bulleta: Having Love along would've made things go smoother, but she just had to spout some stuff about self-improvement and run off to Starview Village.
Bulleta: It's not like I can't work solo, but... *sigh* I hope she comes back soon. Texting's convenient, but it's got its limits.
Bulleta: Self-improvement, huh... I guess I should work on myself too. I don't want to let Love down.
Bulleta: Well, I've got downtime between jobs, so now's—
Bulleta: Definitely NOT the best time. Sorry, but you'll have to get up super early in the morning to get the jump on me.
Bounty Hunter: Found her! Set your sights, boys—we bag her and the credits'll be ours!
Bounty Hunter: W-wait! Don't shoot! I surrender!
Bulleta: Who hired you? You're not a card-carrying member of my fan club, I know that much.
Bounty Hunter: I don't know the details! The request came from multiple clients!
Bounty Hunter: A whole bunch of corporations want your head for destroying the dome and making their investments worthless!
Bulleta: I don't suppose you'd all just go home if I said it was an accident, huh.
Bulleta: Come on. Are you seriously saying they sent all of you to catch little old me? Overkill, don't you think?
Bounty Hunter: That's not the way the corporations see it.
Bounty Hunter: Those ads are the sacred, inviolable property of the corporations. It'd be a PR nightmare if you walked away without so much as a fine.
Bulleta: That explains why the city's crawling with troubleshooters. I thought there was a convention and I didn't get the memo.
Bounty Hunter: A job's a job. But I've gotta know...
Bounty Hunter: Why the hell did you do it? You're not stupid—you could've seen this coming a mile off.
Bulleta: Heh. Since you asked...
Bulleta: I did it to see my friend smile!
Bulleta: It's been real, but I've got to jet! Maybe next time I'll give you an autograph!
Bulleta: Geez... That bounty hunter wasn't kidding. Everyone's out for my blood.
Bulleta: But little do they know, I've got a safe house that no one can get to.
Bulleta: Starview Village...
Bulleta: I wonder what's on the other side. A postwar dystopian hellscape? A haunted land with ghouls at every turn?
Bulleta: ...Probably not. I remember how freaked out Love was when we played that VR horror game.
Bulleta: Whatever kind of place it is, I'm sure the sky's a damn sight prettier!
Light: Do you have the shopping list, Alk?
Alk: Yep! We should be able to get everything we need in Palpebra...
Stella: ...Bulleta?
Bulleta: Stella! Hey!
Bulleta: Whoa, what an awesome town. And look at that sky! I thought...
Bulleta: Well...
Bulleta: I dunno. I thought it'd be a lot closer, like you could reach out and touch it.
Alk: You look starstruck. Or maybe skystruck is a better word?
Bulleta: I've been dreaming of this moment for so long! And now I'm finally here! Looking up at a clear sky!
Bulleta: Please, Stella! You've got to let me stay here!
Bulleta: My base got smithereened and there are bounty hunters on my tail... But none of that matters anymore!
Alk: Um, what exactly happened over there?
Bulleta: Seriously, it's nothing! What's a busted base and bounty hunters compared to this beautiful sky?!
Bulleta: Starview Village is a pretty clickbait name, but the sky's literally FILLED with stars! And each one's a world of its own?! That's crazy!
Bulleta: I thought the divine was just algorithms in the machine, but looking at this makes me think there is a higher power out there!
Bulleta: C'mon, let me stay. Please?
Stella: Of course. Welcome to Starview Village, Buletta.
Bulleta: Seriously?! Whoa... That's so... Thanks, Stella!
Alk: Want to join us for some shopping? We can buy things for your welcoming party too!
Light: Or you could stay behind, if you wish to do some more stargazing.
Bulleta: Nah. I'm happy to help. It's the least I could do since you're letting me stay.
Bulleta: I can't wait to start a new life here with all of you!
Asked about how she became a troubleshooter, Bulleta reminisces about a mission she went on as a company intern and how she met Love.
Bulleta: Whoa, that is SPICY! What is it?!
Stella: From what I can see, a mountain of pepper.
Bulleta: Aw, getting this "seasoning" thing right is hard! Isn't there a button or an AI tool I can use?
Alk: Is it... really that hard? I always thought seasoning's a matter of personal taste.
Bulleta: I've never eaten anything that wasn't synthesized before...
Bulleta: I spent my whole life eating AdTaste enhanced food. I guess I'll just have to get used to the kick.
Alk: You don't have to get used to it. If you only pull back on the pepper a bit...
Alk: How are you feeling, aside from the food? You're not seasick or anything?
Bulleta: Nope. The balancers in my earwear compensate for any disorientation.
Bulleta: My cybernetic eye and aural enhancement units keep me on a steady keel. My nervous system's also been upgraded, so a little boat rocking won't faze me.
Alk: You've undergone a lot of enhancements, huh.
Bulleta: Cybernetic add-ons come in handy. I could stare at the sky for days without blinking.
Bulleta: But the nerve upgrade surgery DID hurt, like you wouldn't believe. I was in so much pain I must've thrown up a hundred times. But Love was there with me, so it was all right.
Alk: Just imagining it is making me shiver...
Bulleta: Well, it didn't kill me and now I'm stronger!
Bulleta: I wouldn't be able to do my job as Love's partner if I wasn't.
Stella: How did you become a troubleshooter, Bulleta?
Bulleta: Asking someone about their origin story? You need to unlock some serious friendship levels for that.
Alk: Oh? I thought we were pretty close.
Bulleta: We are. I'm just saying you can't drop that question on someone without a little grinding, you know?
Bulleta: Gather 'round, kids. I'll tell you my tale.
Bulleta: It all started when an NPC girl accidentally unlocked her hero job class.
Captain: Commencing operation!
Captain: Nice moves, intern! You'll have to tell me how you learned that at the pub after!
Bulleta: Thank you, sir! Some chicken nuggets would go well with that drink, sir!
Captain: Cheeky little— Who said anything about picking up your tab?
Captain: All right, we advance. We miss any units in this redevelopment sector and the boss'll tear us a new one.
Captain: The person with the most confirmed kills will get whatever meal they want.
Captain: Target sighted. Shoot to kill.
Bulleta: But Captain! If I recall correctly, our mission parameters said we're supposed to evacuate any citizenry!
Captain: You've got a good memory, intern. But you missed the fine print.
Captain: "Those suspected of infection must be terminated." Those are our orders.
Captain: Besides, this here's the slums. It'd be a miracle if the brat WASN'T infected.
Bulleta: ...So, what? You're saying every slum dweller is going to be treated like a rogue unit?
Bulleta: That the circumstances surrounding a person is what decides their fate?!
Captain: That's exactly what I mean, intern. Society can only function when everyone is clear on their roles.
Bulleta: That's the most heartless thing I've ever heard. I can't follow those orders!
Bulleta: Sorry, everyone! I'm going to have to ask you to step back before I wallop you!
Bulleta: *sigh* So much for landing a job. Sorry, Mom and Dad...
???: If it's a job you want, I have a proposition for you.
???: What do you say to being a free agent?
Bulleta: And that's how Love and I became partners.
Stella: What about the child?
Bulleta: Love pulled some strings and got them into a corporation-managed school.
Bulleta: That should have raised some flags, in retrospect. How many freelance hackers can drop a huge stack of credits to pay for a total stranger's upkeep?
Alk: You didn't suspect a thing?
Bulleta: I think I was so psyched about the idea of being a hero that it slipped my mind.
Bulleta: At the time, I figured it was going to be smooth sailing from there. Shows me how much I know, huh?
Bulleta: Love thought I was a superhero. Thing is, she has a mind as sharp as a laser scalpel. I've got to stay on my toes just to keep up.
Bulleta: I didn't want to let her down, so I started training like mad, underwent all kinds of enhancements, took on life-and-death jobs... all so I could be the hero she saw in me.
Alk: I get it. Meeting Love changed you. I can tell how close you two are.
Bulleta: So close the dome couldn't contain us. How's that for an epic friendship?!
Alk: So, you don't have regrets?
Alk: Oh, sorry. You didn't say anything wrong; I was wondering if playing the hero all the time doesn't weigh on you.
Bulleta: Of course it does! And I've got enough regrets to fill this entire ocean!
Alk: S-sounds heavy...
Bulleta: Yeah. But hardships are what forge heroes.
Bulleta: And looking at this sunset makes all the struggles worth it.
Bulleta: Forget credits. There's no reward that tops this.
Bulleta: I'd love to stay and watch the stars come out, but it's freezing up here!
Bulleta: I've had enough sea spray for one day! Time to go below deck and try that bath thing! I've never had anything other than a sonic shower before!
Alk: Sounds like a plan. I think we've got some bubble solution too, if you want to try.
Bulleta: Now we're talking! Let's set a course—for home!
Bulleta and Light return to Qualia City to stock up on ammo. Upon arrival, they're surprised to learn that there's no longer a bounty on Bulleta's head—and that she's now hailed as the city's hero.
Light: Why are these people gathered around? They sound very excited.
Bulleta: Meh, I bet it's just an ad for a new product or something. Count me out if it's AltMeme.
Bulleta: We should get a move on. I don't feel like getting mobbed by bounty hunters today.
Light: Tell me again why you've brought me with you?
Bulleta: Wellll, my ammo stash is running low and they don't make ones for my guns anywhere else, but I can't just waltz in alone.
Bulleta: That's where you come in. Your handy-dandy senses are better than any high-tech perimeter scanner!
Light: So I'm a stand-in for a machine. I'm not sure how to feel about that...
Townsperson: Uh, excuse me? Are you by any chance Bulleta?
Bulleta: The one and only. What can I do for you?
Townsperson: W-well you see...
Townsperson: I'm a HUUUUGE fan! Can I have your autograph?!
Townspeople: Ooh, me too!
Light: Wait. Didn't you say you have a bounty on your head?
Bulleta: That's what I thought. Say, can someone tell me what's going on? Not that I'm not flattered, but this isn't the reception I was expecting.
Townsperson: You didn't see the ad? The one saying you cracked open the dome? You're a hero!
Ad: With the shattering of the dome, one troubleshooter became the heroine of the sky, ridding the world of corporate greed and saving the noble princess!
Ad: And now, for the first time, the true story behind the hero will be revealed on the big screen!
Ad: With a star-studded cast and the production value you've come to know and love from Paradigm Break Co., "The Bullet of Freedom" is sure to pierce hearts everywhere!
Bulleta: That slimy King John-sunuva... He doesn't know when to stop!
Bulleta: Come on, Light! I'll be damned if they turn my life into a for-profit farce!
Light: R-right. But how will you get a meeting with him?
Bulleta: By crashing straight through his C-suite cruiser and blasting him out of the dome! How else?!
Light: W-waaaaaaugh!
King Johnson: About time! The film production team was going to start without you—
King Johnson: Let me guess: you're upset.
Bulleta: Why don't we take this somewhere else? I've got a lot of questions and you're going to give me answers.
King Johnson: What will you have? I've got a bottle of champagne, if you'd like a glass.
Light: I doubt the establishment would take kindly to us bringing drinks in from outside...
Bulleta: Two unsynthesized milks, if you don't mind.
King Johnson: This is a celebratory event. Surely you can choose something a little less pedestrian. *sigh* Fine. Make that three unsynthesized milks.
Bulleta: Now, to business. I'm not some sort of idol or movie star. I'm sure even you can see how damaging this is to my brand as a troubleshooter.
King Johnson: Why would I want to tarnish your brand? On the contrary, I'm giving you a PR makeover!
King Johnson: I even had the bounty on you lifted and put the amount they were offering into repairing the dome.
King Johnson: Haha! You're a free woman now! And it's all thanks to me!
Bulleta: Somehow I doubt you did it purely out of the goodness of your heart.
King Johnson: Ahaha... Oh, there's no need for you to be so guarded with me, Bulleta Noche.
King Johnson: You played your hand and cashed out big-time. All I'm doing is giving you your just reward.
Light: Is that really all there is to it? Where's the profit in it for you?
King Johnson: Let's just say that seeing people who don't know the whole story stick their necks into this whole mess touched a nerve.
King Johnson: And that's exactly why I'd like to cut a deal with you.
King Johnson: Won't you be the hero Qualia City—no, the world—needs?
King Johnson: Fame, fortune, and prestige would be your oysters. I could make you a star so bright and so high nothing would bring you down.
King Johnson: You would be a legend. And all you have to do is say yes.
Bulleta: No.
Bulleta: I never once fought for fame or fortune.
Bulleta: Everything I did was for my one-and-only partner; I don't want to sully my gift to her with other distractions.
Bulleta: I'm grateful that you restored my reputation. Truly, I am... But friendship was and will always be my main motivation.
King Johnson: I see... That's a pity. Well, I suppose there's nothing left to say. You may leave—
Bulleta: You ARE going to stop production on that movie, aren't you?
King Johnson: You sure do drive a hard bargain! Oh, all right. Consider the movie scrapped!
Bulleta: ...'Preciate it.
King Johnson: Do stop by again sometime. I may yet have something else that piques your interest!
Bulleta: Not if I can help it!
Bulleta: Aw, crud. I totally forgot about the ammo...
Light: True. But I suppose there's no rush, seeing as you're free from the threat of bounty hunters.
Bulleta: I dunno... I'd say the ammo shortage is a more serious issue.
Light: That reminds me. There's something I wanted to ask you, Bulleta.
Bulleta: Shoot. So long as it's not an overly personal question.
Light: Er, I can assure you it's not.
Light: You said you're not interested in fame or fortune, right? But did you end up collecting a reward for your services on that mission?
Bulleta: I did. And a big one at that.
Bulleta: I got my friends and the right to gaze up at the most beautiful sky in the world. What better reward is there?