The Gamer Girl
Level 14 Storyline Quest.
Previous Quest: The Wild Wes
TSQ: Paris Fashion Week
Next Quest: Heist School Story
Previous Quest: The Wild Wes
TSQ: Paris Fashion Week
Next Quest: Heist School Story
Requirements
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Requirements
Everyone crowds around Wes.
Wes: Okay, everyone. Listen up. I know the grading system at Hearst High is corrupt, but I don’t have enough information to pinpoint the details. Sakura’s obsessed with competition, and my sources confirm that she’s been tracking the grades of everyone at Hearst. If anyone has the data we need, it’ll be her.
Danny: So we find her and recruit her, right?
Wes: Exactly.
Julian: Then let’s hurry up and recruit her! Hearst High’s been messing with us long enough. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to put a stop to it... before they try to shut down our school again!
Wes: There’s just one problem... Hearst High is on lockdown. Only students with Hearst IDs are allowed to set foot on campus. But there’s still one way to reach Sakura. She always joins a multiplayer online game at lunch. If we get in the game, we can talk to her. Nishan, you know what I’m talking about...
Nishan: You’re talking about B.A.N.G., right?
Danny: B.A.N.G.?
Nishan: Battle Arena: Next Generation. It’s a sci-fi shooter with a King-of-the-Hill competition.
Mia: Huh?
Nishan: The players are dropped onto a map. At the center is an abandoned alien cyborg hive on top of a mountain. The goal is to capture the hive and defend it from the other players.
Mia: Ewww! Why would I want to capture some gross alien hive? Is this like what poor people do when they don’t have enough horses to play polo?
Nishan: Close enough. Anyway, whoever has control of the hive when the clock runs out wins!
Julian: I’m in. I’ve played Call of Duty and Battlefield. They’re kinda similar to that game, right?
Danny: I’ll help. And I’m sure we can count on Nishan.
Nishan: Um...
Danny: Nishan?
Nishan: I don’t... I don’t think this is a good idea.
Danny: Why not? It sounds like a solid plan...
Nishan: Yeah? Well, you don’t know Sakura.
Danny: What’s that supposed to mean?
Nishan: I... oh, forget it.
Danny: So, what do we need to pull off this plan?
Nishan: It’s going to take a pretty spectacular setup. That game required top-of-the-line hardware to even get past the loading screen!
Wes: So we’re going to need a lot of processing power. Danny, think we can get something set up?
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You, Wes, Julian, and Nishan gather at one of the Nerd Hangouts...
Wes: Okay, everyone. Like Nishan said, this is a King-of-the-Mountain style game... an all- out war to get to the top of the alien cyborg hive and stay there. Sakura is a pro, so she’ll make her way to the top fast.
Danny: Nishan, you’re our expert here.
Nishan: Me? No... I’m no expert on this game. I haven’t played since... well, not in a long time.
Wes: That’s still more than the rest of us. And besides, we’ve got one big advantage. We’re going to be working as a team. Everyone else in this game is only looking out for themselves.
Julian: Let’s do this!
Wes: Right. Just remember to stick close and work together!
You log into the game, and the alien home world materializes around your in-game avatar. Lightning splits the purple sky. Twin moons are high above you, illuminating the map. In the game, you spot your avatar wearing a suit of black, battle-scarred armor. A huge plasma blaster is in your hands.
Danny: Whoa... this game is the best thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe I’ve never played this before! It’s so cool!
Julian: It’s weirder than I was expecting... but, yeah, I could get into this.
Danny: It’s amazing! I mean, do you see those cyborg arms coming out of the hive?
Nishan: They’re beckoning us to our doom, as per the cyborg queen’s parting instructions to the horde when she was destroyed... er, or so the legends say.
Wes: A horde of mindless drones obeying your blood-thirsty plans for revenge... there’s something intriguing there.
Danny: Uh... so about finding Sakura?
Wes: Right, right. Okay, everyone. Stay alert... Sakura’s got to be at the top of the mountain already... see how fast players are getting wiped out and respawning on the map?
Wes points to a tiny map at the base of their display. On it, blue lights flicker, disappearing and then reappearing farther away from the mountain.
Wes: When we find her, we’re only going to have one chance to make out case before she tries to destroy us. She’s not exactly going to believe that we’re only there to talk. Nishan, you’re friends with her, so that means you’ll be our guy. We get you close enough, and you convince her to join us.
Nishan: I’m not... I... I can’t...
Danny: What? Are you okay?
Nishan: I can’t do this!
In real life, Nishan bolts from the room! In the game, Nishan’s character drops his plasma rifle and stands idle!
Danny: That... was unusual...
Julian: Deserting your friends on the field of battle? Jerk move.
Wes: Well, this just got more difficult.
Julian picks up Nishan’s blaster.
Julian: Don’t worry. We’re still in this.
Suddenly, a plasma blast hits the rock behind you!
Wes: Another player just found us! We’re under attack!
You bring up your plasma blaster and pull the trigger! Your shot hits the enemy player, and he’s vaporized!
Julian: Nice shooting, Danny.
Wes: You seem like you’ve got this handled... but the players are only going to get better the farther up the mountain we go. Before you go on, try to get some backup. Then see if you can make it up the next level of the hive. I’ve got something to take care of... I’ll be back.
In the game, Wes’s avatar sprints off.
Julian: Well, that was weird and not surprising. Wes always has an agenda.
Danny: So what now?
Julian: Like Wes said, I guess we get some more people to join the game. We’re going to need gamers. Lots of gamers.
Requirements
The two gamers join the round of B.A.N.G., materializing inside the game next to you and Julian.
Julian: Okay, we’ve got our new recruits taking point and guarding our right flank. Between the two of them, we should at least be able to make it up the mountain to the base of the hive.
You, Julian, and the gamers fight your way past other players until you finally reach the entrance to the hive. You go through narrow pathways, lit by eerie, flickering lights.
Julian: This is it. According to this blinking map thing, the next room is the inner sanctum of the hive. That’s where Sakura will be.
As you round the corner, you nearly run into Wes!
Wes: There you are. I’ve been waiting.
Julian: Yeah? Well, you could’ve come and helped us!
Wes: I was busy. I made some ‘arrangements’.
Danny: What’s that mean?
Wes: I had a little talk with some of the other players in the game. Turns out, it’s in their best interest to leave us alone while we face Sakura.
Danny: How did you swing that?
Wes: I promised each player on the server that I would take out Sakura and then give up the mountain to them. It’s going to be total chaos when we log out, but, hey, not our problem, right?
Julian: That’s the most Wes sentence I’ve ever heard...
Wes: The point is, they’ll stay out of our way. We just need a plan for how we’re going to get inside the inner sanctum of the hive to speak with Sakura.
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Wes: I spotted Sakura just up ahead. She’s taking out everyone around her even faster than I anticipated. We’re going to have to buy ourselves some talking time, or else we’ll be vaporized before we even have a chance to finish a sentence.
Joshua: I’ve got an idea. Everyone, listen up. Wes and I will come around the side and hide. Danny and Julian, go straight for a frontal assault. When you’ve got her damaged, we’ll hit her with one of these.
Joshua holds up a handful of tiny capsules.
Joshua: These will trap her in place with a jelly-like glob of goop. But they take a few seconds to activate, so you have to make sure she’s distracted AND that she’s taken some damage. She’ll need to heal, and that will buy us time.
Danny: Roger.
Joshua: When it’s time, give us the signal. Scream out ‘Fight or die’! Got it?
Danny: Fight or die. Got it.
Wes: Okay, everyone. Get into position!
Time - 8 hours
You and Julian round the corner and see Sakura! She snaps around, spotting you immediately!
Sakura: Oh, how adorable. You actually thought you could surprise me.
Sakura aims her plasma blaster straight at you! You roll to the side, dodging the blast!
Julian: Good reflexes! Now’s our chance!
Julian takes aim at Sakura, and you raise your plasma blaster and... You send a plasma blast shooting towards Sakura!
Danny: Ha!
Sakura throws herself to the side, but the plasma blast clips her leg!
Sakura: Oof!
Julian: Nice shot!
Sakura: Oh, you will PAY for that!
Danny: Sorry! I only want to talk to you!
Sakura: Yeah, right!
Sakura glances down at her leg and starts applying a healing pack.
Danny: (This is it! I’ve got to signal Wes and Joshua!) Fight or die!
Joshua and Wes spring out of their hiding place and throw jelly capsules at Sakura! They land between her feet and explode into a glob of goo that traps her in place!
Sakura: Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me...
Julian: We did it!
Sakura crosses her arms in front of her chest and glares at you and your teammates.
Sakura: What’s with the goo? And why didn’t you take me out? You had the shot, I saw you.
Danny: Like I said, we really do want to talk to you.
Sakura: All right. You’ve got my attention. You want to talk? Talk.
Wes: I know you’ve been tracking the grades of everyone at Hearst High.
Sakura: Whoa, buddy. This server isn’t secure. You want to talk about Hearst High, do it IRL.
Danny: We can’t get onto the Hearst campus. Will you come to our school?
Sakura: Sorry, kids. After a big win, I always spend the night celebrating.
Danny: Come celebrate with us.
Sakura sizes you, Julian, and Wes up.
Sakura: Default avatars? No offense, but I don’t think we party the same way. I’m not into spin the bottle and dancing on tables.
Danny: We’ve got gamers at our school. We can throw the ultimate gamer party.
Sakura: Yeah? Well, maybe I’ll drop by and check it out. But no promises. I actually want to have fun when I celebrate a win.
Julian: Wait a second. You keep talking like you’ve won, but the game isn’t over yet.
Sakura: Isn’t it? See, if you actually played this game, you’d know that Freezing Goo holds someone in place... but it also provides a shield against explosives.
You spin around and notice Sakura’s plasma grenades wired all along the walls of the room!
Sakura: So... if those plasma grenades were to go off... I’d be just fine. Can’t say the same for all of you. Later, guys.
Sakura presses a button, and the grenades detonate in a blinding flash of blue light! Text flashes on the screen... GAME OVER. Back in the real world, you turn to the gamers.
Danny: So. I guess we’re throwing a party?
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Sakura: A LAN setup... board games... and a pre-release next-gen console? Not a bad party, actually. At least you guys aren’t sore losers.
Sakura: But you didn’t invite me here just to have fun. You said you wanted to talk about Hearst?
Wes: I know you’ve been tracking the grades of everyone at Hearst High.
Sakura: Yeah? So what?
Wes: I get it. You wanted to figure out the system of Hearst High... how to ‘play the game’. You picked out the consistent high scorers. You made sure you were always partnered with the people who got A’s.
Sakura: There’s nothing wrong with that.
Wes: Not at all. What I’m interested in is your data. You might not have realized it, but when you were tracking everyone’s grades, yo were also tracking the corruption at Hearst High.
Sakura: Oh, please. You want to go play ‘Cloak & Dagger’, go somewhere else. Like you said, I’ve got this game all figured out. Why would I help you bring down the system?
Danny: For justice?
Sakura: Morality’s all relative.
Julian: What about for Nishan? He wants us to take down Hearst. Don’t you want to help him? He’s you friend, right?
Sakura: My friend? I don’t have any friends.
Sakura turns and leaves.
Wes: Well, THAT was unexpected. Seems like it’s time we have a talk with our favorite nerd.
Julian: Yeah. That girl was ten kinds of ready-to-kill-Nishan.
Wes: Yeah... and I bet he knows why.
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Wes: Nishan, you sent us in with bad intel.
Nishan: What?
Wes: About Sakura. You should’ve warned us that mentioning your name was like walking into a minefield!
Nishan: So she’s till mad, huh?
Wes: Oh, she’s furious. Want to tell us WHY?
Nishan: When I left Hearst High to come here... I didn’t exactly tell everyone that I was going. And by that I mean I didn’t tell Sakura.
Danny: But... weren’t you friends?
Nishan: We are. Were. Kind of? You might have noticed that she’s not the easiest person to talk to. It wasn’t a conversation I was looking forward to, and I guess I just kept putting it off... And then suddenly she’d already found out from Kara, and that was the end of it! I tried to talk to her about it later, but she didn’t want to hear it!
Wes: Well, this is your fault, and that means you’re going to figure out how to solve it, even if you have to use every neuron in that huge brain of yours.
Time - 12 hours
Nishan: Believe me, you don’t want to send me in to talk to Sakura. I’m the last person she’d want to see. She’s made it pretty clear that she’s through with me.
Wes: So what do we do? Sakura said she had a good thing going at Hearst High. She’s not feeling very friendly towards you. We’ve got to come up with some other way to get through to her. How can we get on her good side?
Nishan: Well... Sakura’s always had a hard time in art class.
Wes: No group projects, so no way to play the system... makes sense.
Nishan: Plus, you can’t really win at art. It either makes you feel something or it doesn’t. I don’t think she ever really got that part of it. Before I left Hearst, I think she mentioned that she was actually failing the class...
Danny: So we bring in an artist to help her and try to get on her good side?
Nishan: That’s probably a good place to start.
Danny: Hey! Autumn. Can we get your help with something?
Autumn: Sure, Danny. What’s up?
Danny: We’re trying to recruit Sakura, and we think we’ve finally found something that she might need help with... art.
Autumn: Heh. That IS something I can help with. I’ll just have to find the right way to reach her inner artist. Oooh, we can set up a whole art studio! Clay, paint, marble, oils... we can even put together a still-life for her to contemplate! What do you think?
Danny: Sakura might not be the ‘contemplating’ type, but it’s worth a shot! I’ll see what I can do...
As you turn to leave, Payton and Mia run up to you!
Mia: Danny! Danny! We’re going to Fashion Week. Want to come with?
Danny: What’s Fashion Week?
Mia: You don’t know?! Fashion Week is the event where all the most famous fashion designers in the world show off their looks for the upcoming season! It’s one of the most exclusive events in Paris!
Danny: Whoa, Paris? Your dad’s just letting you fly over there by yourself?
Mia: My dad hasn’t really gotten over that entire betraying-Hearst-by-transferring thing yet. He doesn’t care what I do. Besides, I won’t be alone. Payton’s coming.
Payton: Oh yeah! I’m not missing out on the chance to see chic couture! I told my parents it was an educational trip. You know, to improve my French.
Danny: You’re taking Spanish...
Payton: Details, details. So are you coming? It’ll be totally posh!
Mia: You wouldn’t have to worry about where to stay. My cousin Brigette’s got her own apartment downtown, and there’s plenty of room for all of us. The only thing is... well, you’ll have to buy your own plane ticket. And if you want to sit with me and Payton, it’s got to be first class. Is that going to be a problem? You’re not that poor, are you?
Danny: Uh...
Payton: You have to come, Danny! Think about all the French stuff in Paris! French shoes, French fashion, French kissing... Paris will be SO much fun! What do you say?
Continued in Paris Fashion Week
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Autumn: Oh, Danny! This is amazing! Oil paints, canvases, clay, fruit, flowers, fancy bowls... I was able to get everything I’ve ever wanted! Er, I mean, everything I need to help Sakura!
Danny: Good, because she’s on her way.
Sakura: Okay, I’m here. Wes texted that you wanted to help me with my art problem. For the time being, we’ll just ignore HOW you found out about my artistic shortcomings... And focus on the fact that Wes promised to solve them for me, no questions asked.
Danny: Yep, we just like to help people here.
Sakura: Great policy. Really giving the Boy Scouts a run for their badges. So, where do we start?
Autumn: Good question! I’ve set up a still-life with fruit and flowers over here...
Sakura: Fruit. And flowers. Wow, I’m inspired already.
Autumn: You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?
Sakura: Look, I’m just saying that I think we can do a little better. Something with some more action to it.
Autumn: I... guess I could get someone to pose for us...
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Nick: So, you need some help from a model?
Autumn: Yep... just stand over here and pose for us.
Autumn helps Nick up to platform at the center of the art room, and Nick strikes a pose!
Autumn: There, is that better?
Sakura: It would be even better with a flaming sword, slick with the blood of fallen enemies...
Autumn: You’ll just... have to use your imagination on that one. But... that could actually be a good thing... imagination is a step in the right direction!
Sakura: Sure...
Autumn: Now, let’s get to work! These paintings aren’t going to paint themselves!
Sakura: Um... how long is this going to take? I’ve got a raid in twenty minutes...
Autumn: You can’t rush art! Your inner artist is like a delicate flower. You have to give that side of yourself time to unfurl...
Sakura: Look, I’ve got places to go, epic battles to win, and n00bs to humiliate. You expect me to stand here all day and stare at the paint?
Autumn: Just give it a chance. I thought you didn’t want to fail your art class.
Sakura: Well, I’m not about to wreck my GPA over all this paintbrush twirling, pencil-doodling nonsense, if that’s what you mean. Let’s do this.
Nick: Um, how long do I have to hold this pose?
Sakura: Until I’m done unfurling my delicate inner-artist flower!
Time - 6 hours
Four canvases and a LOT of paint later... Sakura steps back from her finished paintings.
Autumn: Well, let’s see how you did...
Sakura: ...um, are they terrible?
Autumn looks over each of the paintings...
Autumn: Is that Nishan being hurled into a flaming abyss?
Sakura: What? No! That’s crazy. It’s just a random nerd guy.
Autumn: Right. A random nerd guy with a faux-hawk and distinctive t-shirt... and this painting is of that same nerd guy trapped in quicksand... and here we have him transforming into a slug. Well, I have to say you’re making progress. I think you’re really starting to get to some honest emotion here. Now let’s see your final piece... Wow. Sakura, this is... deep.
Danny: Let me see.
You lean over and see an oil painting of a figure floating alone in a black hole, the darkness elegantly and richly portrayed in bold strokes.
Autumn: It’s vulnerable and expressive... Sakura... you nailed it.
Sakura: Heh. This art stuff isn’t all that hard. Achievement unlocked.
Sakura: Well, thanks for the help, art girl.
Autumn: It’s Autumn.
Sakura: Sure. See you around.
Danny: Wait... don’t you want to talk about joining our school?
Sakura: Um, that was never part of the deal. You just said you wanted to help. You helped. I SAID thanks.
Danny: Well, we kind of thought that you might consider transferring and helping us out with the downfall of Hearst High...
Sakura: Are you crazy? Like I said, I’ve got a good thing going there.
Danny: What about Nishan?
Sakura: What ABOUT Nishan?
Danny: Er... don’t you want to go back to hanging out with him?
Sakura: That spineless twerp left me in the middle of the school year with about a dozen half-done class projects, not to mention a long-term RPG quest that’s still cluttering up my quest log. Look, thanks for all the help. I’m out of here.
Sakura waves and heads off.
Danny: That... seemed like it could’ve gone better...
Autumn: Danny... this painting Sakura did... We’ve got to show Nishan. She’s clearly upset with him. I bet that’s the REAL reason she doesn’t want to transfer. If we could just get the two of them to talk...
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Danny: Nishan... we’ve got something you need to see. This painting... Sakura made it.
Nishan: Uh, was the prompt ‘depressing things that keep you awake at night’?
Autumn: The prompt was to paint her feelings... and obviously she’s feeling pretty depressed and alone right now.
Nishan: I don’t get it. That’s not like Sakura at all. She doesn’t need anyone else. She’s a lone wolf, prowling the night.
Autumn: Are you sure about that? Because this painting seems to suggest otherwise. I think you should go find her. She needs to talk to someone.
Nishan: Even if you’re right, I’m the last person she’d want to talk to. I tried to talk to her a couple days after I left Hearst, and she bit my head off. Literally. We were playing ‘Monsters and Mayhem: Eat or Be Eaten’.
Autumn: I get that she might put on a tough front, but she obviously feels SOMETHING about what happened between the two of you. Let’s just say some of her other paintings were a little more...
Nishan: Amorous?
Autumn: Violent.
Nishan: Right.
Autumn: Look, what I’m getting at is that you need to talk to her, okay? I think she’s still somewhere on our campus. Go find her. She needs you.
Time - 16 hours
Nishan: Hey... Sakura. So. I, uh, saw that painting you made. That’s, uh, some pretty bleak stuff...
Sakura: Who said you could go pawing through my stuff?
Nishan: Whoa! Autumn showed me. That’s all.
Sakura: It was just a class project. It didn’t mean anything.
Nishan: Really? You, alone in a black hole of doom? Kinda got the feeling that it meant SOMETHING... Autumn had this crazy idea that it had something to do with how I left Hearst...
Sakura: Well, yeah, that was low, Nishan. You left without any warning! We were working on projects together in three different classes! We were supposed to do a science fair experiment together! You could have at least said something!
Nishan: I know I messed up. I’m not exactly the best guy when it comes to touch-y, feel-y, good-bye-y stuff, okay? I didn’t want to go through all that. Not with you. And to be honest... I didn’t think you cared. I mean, you’re this crazy-cool renegade loner girl. You’re strong and independent and, like, totally in control of everything! I never thought that you’d... care... that I left. I didn’t think you needed me.
Sakura: I don’t NEED you. ...but maybe I want you around.
Nishan: You... do?
Sakura: Hmph. Don’t let it go to your head.
Nishan reaches out to Sakura and gently squeezes her hand. She look startled, but then gives him a quick smile.
Sakura: Nishan...
Nishan: Sakura... will you join our school? There’s nothing I want more.
Sakura: Well. When you put it that way... I’ll do it. What’ve I got to lose?
Sakura: And about that data you need...
Danny: Yeah?
Sakura: I’ll email it all over to Wes. He can start looking at it while I enroll.
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Danny: Welcome to the school, Sakura.
Sakura: You know, I actually might like it here. At least helping you take down Hearst will be fun. Rebel against the oppressive regime, liberate the people... I’m no do-gooder, but it IS run fighting the evil empire. Especially if you win. Just like playing Resistance Rebels, am I right?
Danny: Probably?
Wes: Hey, Danny.
Wes and Nishan come walking up to you.
Danny: Did you take a look at Sakura’s records? Did you figure out what you were looking for?
Wes: Yeah... and the corruption’s even worse than I thought.
Danny: Really? How?
Wes: I’ll go over everything with the team. There’s just one last snag... We’re going to need some supplies if we want to break into Hearst without getting caught. Nishan?
Nishan: Just standard, totally routine things... walkie talkies, maps, masks... Infrared goggles, grappling hooks, tiny robot spiders with lazer-beam eyes...
Danny: That seems excessive... and unnecessarily creepy.
Nishan: Look, do you want to caper this caper or not?
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Wes calls the group together in one of the Nerd Hangouts...
Wes: I took a look at the data that Sakura gave me... it’s even worse than we thought. You see this chart? This tracks donations from the wealthiest families at Hearst. And this tracks the grades of those students. Every time someone gets a low grade, suddenly there’s a big donation, and then just as suddenly the grade is changed.
Autumn: That’s terrible! They’re BUYING grades?
Julian: No big surprise there. The Hearst Coach benched me so the principal’s son could be the star. The faculty at Hearst have never played by the rules.
Mia: It WAS a little suspicious that we had a hot tub in the gym... I guess that money had to come from somewhere.
Wes: And the worst part? It’s wrecking the curve for everyone else. After all the rich kids take up all the A’s, everyone else has to fight over B’s and C’s.
Payton: But... that’s so sad. It’s just... WRONG. Sakura, you KNEW about this?
Sakura: Hey, I was just figuring out the top people to partner with. I didn’t exactly spend hours studying the results. I’ve got raids every afternoon, and I’ve been marathoning ‘The Last of Us’ in Survivor mode at night.
Wes: Anyway, I’ve been studying the patterns here... There’s usually a one-day delay. Except in this case. Right here, on October 10th of last year... Mr. Georgette took three whole days to change the grade.
Danny: So what does that mean? Who’s this Mr. Georgette guy?
Wes: He’s a history teacher at Hearst. Big on honesty and doing the right thing. My guess? The guy fought back. And if he did, that means there’s a chance there’s a record of his protest. Lucky for him, we’re just the people to take that information and bring it into the spotlight.
Nishan: I can create a search algorithm that will comb through all of his emails and files. It’ll even retrieve any docs he’s deleted. If there’s any way to find and recover those records, we’ll get them.
Wes: But like I said... we can only do this from inside Hearst High... it’s the only way to get access to their closed computer system. And you know what that means...
Danny: We’re going in.
Congratulations! You got Sakura on your side, and you and your friends are about to take the fight to Hearst! But will you be able to pull off the ultimate heist? Find out in our next quest, Heist School Story!
- Have 1 Slacker Hangout
Everyone crowds around Wes.
Wes: Okay, everyone. Listen up. I know the grading system at Hearst High is corrupt, but I don’t have enough information to pinpoint the details. Sakura’s obsessed with competition, and my sources confirm that she’s been tracking the grades of everyone at Hearst. If anyone has the data we need, it’ll be her.
Danny: So we find her and recruit her, right?
Wes: Exactly.
Julian: Then let’s hurry up and recruit her! Hearst High’s been messing with us long enough. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to put a stop to it... before they try to shut down our school again!
Wes: There’s just one problem... Hearst High is on lockdown. Only students with Hearst IDs are allowed to set foot on campus. But there’s still one way to reach Sakura. She always joins a multiplayer online game at lunch. If we get in the game, we can talk to her. Nishan, you know what I’m talking about...
Nishan: You’re talking about B.A.N.G., right?
Danny: B.A.N.G.?
Nishan: Battle Arena: Next Generation. It’s a sci-fi shooter with a King-of-the-Hill competition.
Mia: Huh?
Nishan: The players are dropped onto a map. At the center is an abandoned alien cyborg hive on top of a mountain. The goal is to capture the hive and defend it from the other players.
Mia: Ewww! Why would I want to capture some gross alien hive? Is this like what poor people do when they don’t have enough horses to play polo?
Nishan: Close enough. Anyway, whoever has control of the hive when the clock runs out wins!
Julian: I’m in. I’ve played Call of Duty and Battlefield. They’re kinda similar to that game, right?
Danny: I’ll help. And I’m sure we can count on Nishan.
Nishan: Um...
Danny: Nishan?
Nishan: I don’t... I don’t think this is a good idea.
Danny: Why not? It sounds like a solid plan...
Nishan: Yeah? Well, you don’t know Sakura.
Danny: What’s that supposed to mean?
Nishan: I... oh, forget it.
Danny: So, what do we need to pull off this plan?
Nishan: It’s going to take a pretty spectacular setup. That game required top-of-the-line hardware to even get past the loading screen!
Wes: So we’re going to need a lot of processing power. Danny, think we can get something set up?
Requirements
- Have 2 Upgraded Nerd Hangouts
- Have 3 Nerds at Level 5+
You, Wes, Julian, and Nishan gather at one of the Nerd Hangouts...
Wes: Okay, everyone. Like Nishan said, this is a King-of-the-Mountain style game... an all- out war to get to the top of the alien cyborg hive and stay there. Sakura is a pro, so she’ll make her way to the top fast.
Danny: Nishan, you’re our expert here.
Nishan: Me? No... I’m no expert on this game. I haven’t played since... well, not in a long time.
Wes: That’s still more than the rest of us. And besides, we’ve got one big advantage. We’re going to be working as a team. Everyone else in this game is only looking out for themselves.
Julian: Let’s do this!
Wes: Right. Just remember to stick close and work together!
You log into the game, and the alien home world materializes around your in-game avatar. Lightning splits the purple sky. Twin moons are high above you, illuminating the map. In the game, you spot your avatar wearing a suit of black, battle-scarred armor. A huge plasma blaster is in your hands.
Danny: Whoa... this game is the best thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe I’ve never played this before! It’s so cool!
Julian: It’s weirder than I was expecting... but, yeah, I could get into this.
Danny: It’s amazing! I mean, do you see those cyborg arms coming out of the hive?
Nishan: They’re beckoning us to our doom, as per the cyborg queen’s parting instructions to the horde when she was destroyed... er, or so the legends say.
Wes: A horde of mindless drones obeying your blood-thirsty plans for revenge... there’s something intriguing there.
Danny: Uh... so about finding Sakura?
Wes: Right, right. Okay, everyone. Stay alert... Sakura’s got to be at the top of the mountain already... see how fast players are getting wiped out and respawning on the map?
Wes points to a tiny map at the base of their display. On it, blue lights flicker, disappearing and then reappearing farther away from the mountain.
Wes: When we find her, we’re only going to have one chance to make out case before she tries to destroy us. She’s not exactly going to believe that we’re only there to talk. Nishan, you’re friends with her, so that means you’ll be our guy. We get you close enough, and you convince her to join us.
Nishan: I’m not... I... I can’t...
Danny: What? Are you okay?
Nishan: I can’t do this!
In real life, Nishan bolts from the room! In the game, Nishan’s character drops his plasma rifle and stands idle!
Danny: That... was unusual...
Julian: Deserting your friends on the field of battle? Jerk move.
Wes: Well, this just got more difficult.
Julian picks up Nishan’s blaster.
Julian: Don’t worry. We’re still in this.
Suddenly, a plasma blast hits the rock behind you!
Wes: Another player just found us! We’re under attack!
You bring up your plasma blaster and pull the trigger! Your shot hits the enemy player, and he’s vaporized!
Julian: Nice shooting, Danny.
Wes: You seem like you’ve got this handled... but the players are only going to get better the farther up the mountain we go. Before you go on, try to get some backup. Then see if you can make it up the next level of the hive. I’ve got something to take care of... I’ll be back.
In the game, Wes’s avatar sprints off.
Julian: Well, that was weird and not surprising. Wes always has an agenda.
Danny: So what now?
Julian: Like Wes said, I guess we get some more people to join the game. We’re going to need gamers. Lots of gamers.
Requirements
- Have 2 Gamers at Level 7+
The two gamers join the round of B.A.N.G., materializing inside the game next to you and Julian.
Julian: Okay, we’ve got our new recruits taking point and guarding our right flank. Between the two of them, we should at least be able to make it up the mountain to the base of the hive.
You, Julian, and the gamers fight your way past other players until you finally reach the entrance to the hive. You go through narrow pathways, lit by eerie, flickering lights.
Julian: This is it. According to this blinking map thing, the next room is the inner sanctum of the hive. That’s where Sakura will be.
As you round the corner, you nearly run into Wes!
Wes: There you are. I’ve been waiting.
Julian: Yeah? Well, you could’ve come and helped us!
Wes: I was busy. I made some ‘arrangements’.
Danny: What’s that mean?
Wes: I had a little talk with some of the other players in the game. Turns out, it’s in their best interest to leave us alone while we face Sakura.
Danny: How did you swing that?
Wes: I promised each player on the server that I would take out Sakura and then give up the mountain to them. It’s going to be total chaos when we log out, but, hey, not our problem, right?
Julian: That’s the most Wes sentence I’ve ever heard...
Wes: The point is, they’ll stay out of our way. We just need a plan for how we’re going to get inside the inner sanctum of the hive to speak with Sakura.
Requirements
- Danny
- Wes
- A Gamer (Joshua)
Wes: I spotted Sakura just up ahead. She’s taking out everyone around her even faster than I anticipated. We’re going to have to buy ourselves some talking time, or else we’ll be vaporized before we even have a chance to finish a sentence.
Joshua: I’ve got an idea. Everyone, listen up. Wes and I will come around the side and hide. Danny and Julian, go straight for a frontal assault. When you’ve got her damaged, we’ll hit her with one of these.
Joshua holds up a handful of tiny capsules.
Joshua: These will trap her in place with a jelly-like glob of goop. But they take a few seconds to activate, so you have to make sure she’s distracted AND that she’s taken some damage. She’ll need to heal, and that will buy us time.
Danny: Roger.
Joshua: When it’s time, give us the signal. Scream out ‘Fight or die’! Got it?
Danny: Fight or die. Got it.
Wes: Okay, everyone. Get into position!
Time - 8 hours
You and Julian round the corner and see Sakura! She snaps around, spotting you immediately!
Sakura: Oh, how adorable. You actually thought you could surprise me.
Sakura aims her plasma blaster straight at you! You roll to the side, dodging the blast!
Julian: Good reflexes! Now’s our chance!
Julian takes aim at Sakura, and you raise your plasma blaster and... You send a plasma blast shooting towards Sakura!
Danny: Ha!
Sakura throws herself to the side, but the plasma blast clips her leg!
Sakura: Oof!
Julian: Nice shot!
Sakura: Oh, you will PAY for that!
Danny: Sorry! I only want to talk to you!
Sakura: Yeah, right!
Sakura glances down at her leg and starts applying a healing pack.
Danny: (This is it! I’ve got to signal Wes and Joshua!) Fight or die!
Joshua and Wes spring out of their hiding place and throw jelly capsules at Sakura! They land between her feet and explode into a glob of goo that traps her in place!
Sakura: Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me...
Julian: We did it!
Sakura crosses her arms in front of her chest and glares at you and your teammates.
Sakura: What’s with the goo? And why didn’t you take me out? You had the shot, I saw you.
Danny: Like I said, we really do want to talk to you.
Sakura: All right. You’ve got my attention. You want to talk? Talk.
Wes: I know you’ve been tracking the grades of everyone at Hearst High.
Sakura: Whoa, buddy. This server isn’t secure. You want to talk about Hearst High, do it IRL.
Danny: We can’t get onto the Hearst campus. Will you come to our school?
Sakura: Sorry, kids. After a big win, I always spend the night celebrating.
Danny: Come celebrate with us.
Sakura sizes you, Julian, and Wes up.
Sakura: Default avatars? No offense, but I don’t think we party the same way. I’m not into spin the bottle and dancing on tables.
Danny: We’ve got gamers at our school. We can throw the ultimate gamer party.
Sakura: Yeah? Well, maybe I’ll drop by and check it out. But no promises. I actually want to have fun when I celebrate a win.
Julian: Wait a second. You keep talking like you’ve won, but the game isn’t over yet.
Sakura: Isn’t it? See, if you actually played this game, you’d know that Freezing Goo holds someone in place... but it also provides a shield against explosives.
You spin around and notice Sakura’s plasma grenades wired all along the walls of the room!
Sakura: So... if those plasma grenades were to go off... I’d be just fine. Can’t say the same for all of you. Later, guys.
Sakura presses a button, and the grenades detonate in a blinding flash of blue light! Text flashes on the screen... GAME OVER. Back in the real world, you turn to the gamers.
Danny: So. I guess we’re throwing a party?
Requirements
- Complete a Party with a Gamer and a Gamer
Sakura: A LAN setup... board games... and a pre-release next-gen console? Not a bad party, actually. At least you guys aren’t sore losers.
Sakura: But you didn’t invite me here just to have fun. You said you wanted to talk about Hearst?
Wes: I know you’ve been tracking the grades of everyone at Hearst High.
Sakura: Yeah? So what?
Wes: I get it. You wanted to figure out the system of Hearst High... how to ‘play the game’. You picked out the consistent high scorers. You made sure you were always partnered with the people who got A’s.
Sakura: There’s nothing wrong with that.
Wes: Not at all. What I’m interested in is your data. You might not have realized it, but when you were tracking everyone’s grades, yo were also tracking the corruption at Hearst High.
Sakura: Oh, please. You want to go play ‘Cloak & Dagger’, go somewhere else. Like you said, I’ve got this game all figured out. Why would I help you bring down the system?
Danny: For justice?
Sakura: Morality’s all relative.
Julian: What about for Nishan? He wants us to take down Hearst. Don’t you want to help him? He’s you friend, right?
Sakura: My friend? I don’t have any friends.
Sakura turns and leaves.
Wes: Well, THAT was unexpected. Seems like it’s time we have a talk with our favorite nerd.
Julian: Yeah. That girl was ten kinds of ready-to-kill-Nishan.
Wes: Yeah... and I bet he knows why.
Requirements
- Danny
- Wes
- Nishan
Wes: Nishan, you sent us in with bad intel.
Nishan: What?
Wes: About Sakura. You should’ve warned us that mentioning your name was like walking into a minefield!
Nishan: So she’s till mad, huh?
Wes: Oh, she’s furious. Want to tell us WHY?
Nishan: When I left Hearst High to come here... I didn’t exactly tell everyone that I was going. And by that I mean I didn’t tell Sakura.
Danny: But... weren’t you friends?
Nishan: We are. Were. Kind of? You might have noticed that she’s not the easiest person to talk to. It wasn’t a conversation I was looking forward to, and I guess I just kept putting it off... And then suddenly she’d already found out from Kara, and that was the end of it! I tried to talk to her about it later, but she didn’t want to hear it!
Wes: Well, this is your fault, and that means you’re going to figure out how to solve it, even if you have to use every neuron in that huge brain of yours.
Time - 12 hours
Nishan: Believe me, you don’t want to send me in to talk to Sakura. I’m the last person she’d want to see. She’s made it pretty clear that she’s through with me.
Wes: So what do we do? Sakura said she had a good thing going at Hearst High. She’s not feeling very friendly towards you. We’ve got to come up with some other way to get through to her. How can we get on her good side?
Nishan: Well... Sakura’s always had a hard time in art class.
Wes: No group projects, so no way to play the system... makes sense.
Nishan: Plus, you can’t really win at art. It either makes you feel something or it doesn’t. I don’t think she ever really got that part of it. Before I left Hearst, I think she mentioned that she was actually failing the class...
Danny: So we bring in an artist to help her and try to get on her good side?
Nishan: That’s probably a good place to start.
Danny: Hey! Autumn. Can we get your help with something?
Autumn: Sure, Danny. What’s up?
Danny: We’re trying to recruit Sakura, and we think we’ve finally found something that she might need help with... art.
Autumn: Heh. That IS something I can help with. I’ll just have to find the right way to reach her inner artist. Oooh, we can set up a whole art studio! Clay, paint, marble, oils... we can even put together a still-life for her to contemplate! What do you think?
Danny: Sakura might not be the ‘contemplating’ type, but it’s worth a shot! I’ll see what I can do...
As you turn to leave, Payton and Mia run up to you!
Mia: Danny! Danny! We’re going to Fashion Week. Want to come with?
Danny: What’s Fashion Week?
Mia: You don’t know?! Fashion Week is the event where all the most famous fashion designers in the world show off their looks for the upcoming season! It’s one of the most exclusive events in Paris!
Danny: Whoa, Paris? Your dad’s just letting you fly over there by yourself?
Mia: My dad hasn’t really gotten over that entire betraying-Hearst-by-transferring thing yet. He doesn’t care what I do. Besides, I won’t be alone. Payton’s coming.
Payton: Oh yeah! I’m not missing out on the chance to see chic couture! I told my parents it was an educational trip. You know, to improve my French.
Danny: You’re taking Spanish...
Payton: Details, details. So are you coming? It’ll be totally posh!
Mia: You wouldn’t have to worry about where to stay. My cousin Brigette’s got her own apartment downtown, and there’s plenty of room for all of us. The only thing is... well, you’ll have to buy your own plane ticket. And if you want to sit with me and Payton, it’s got to be first class. Is that going to be a problem? You’re not that poor, are you?
Danny: Uh...
Payton: You have to come, Danny! Think about all the French stuff in Paris! French shoes, French fashion, French kissing... Paris will be SO much fun! What do you say?
Continued in Paris Fashion Week
Requirements
- Spend 160,000 coins
Autumn: Oh, Danny! This is amazing! Oil paints, canvases, clay, fruit, flowers, fancy bowls... I was able to get everything I’ve ever wanted! Er, I mean, everything I need to help Sakura!
Danny: Good, because she’s on her way.
Sakura: Okay, I’m here. Wes texted that you wanted to help me with my art problem. For the time being, we’ll just ignore HOW you found out about my artistic shortcomings... And focus on the fact that Wes promised to solve them for me, no questions asked.
Danny: Yep, we just like to help people here.
Sakura: Great policy. Really giving the Boy Scouts a run for their badges. So, where do we start?
Autumn: Good question! I’ve set up a still-life with fruit and flowers over here...
Sakura: Fruit. And flowers. Wow, I’m inspired already.
Autumn: You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?
Sakura: Look, I’m just saying that I think we can do a little better. Something with some more action to it.
Autumn: I... guess I could get someone to pose for us...
Requirements
- Danny
- Autumn
- An Artist (Nick)
Nick: So, you need some help from a model?
Autumn: Yep... just stand over here and pose for us.
Autumn helps Nick up to platform at the center of the art room, and Nick strikes a pose!
Autumn: There, is that better?
Sakura: It would be even better with a flaming sword, slick with the blood of fallen enemies...
Autumn: You’ll just... have to use your imagination on that one. But... that could actually be a good thing... imagination is a step in the right direction!
Sakura: Sure...
Autumn: Now, let’s get to work! These paintings aren’t going to paint themselves!
Sakura: Um... how long is this going to take? I’ve got a raid in twenty minutes...
Autumn: You can’t rush art! Your inner artist is like a delicate flower. You have to give that side of yourself time to unfurl...
Sakura: Look, I’ve got places to go, epic battles to win, and n00bs to humiliate. You expect me to stand here all day and stare at the paint?
Autumn: Just give it a chance. I thought you didn’t want to fail your art class.
Sakura: Well, I’m not about to wreck my GPA over all this paintbrush twirling, pencil-doodling nonsense, if that’s what you mean. Let’s do this.
Nick: Um, how long do I have to hold this pose?
Sakura: Until I’m done unfurling my delicate inner-artist flower!
Time - 6 hours
Four canvases and a LOT of paint later... Sakura steps back from her finished paintings.
Autumn: Well, let’s see how you did...
Sakura: ...um, are they terrible?
Autumn looks over each of the paintings...
Autumn: Is that Nishan being hurled into a flaming abyss?
Sakura: What? No! That’s crazy. It’s just a random nerd guy.
Autumn: Right. A random nerd guy with a faux-hawk and distinctive t-shirt... and this painting is of that same nerd guy trapped in quicksand... and here we have him transforming into a slug. Well, I have to say you’re making progress. I think you’re really starting to get to some honest emotion here. Now let’s see your final piece... Wow. Sakura, this is... deep.
Danny: Let me see.
You lean over and see an oil painting of a figure floating alone in a black hole, the darkness elegantly and richly portrayed in bold strokes.
Autumn: It’s vulnerable and expressive... Sakura... you nailed it.
Sakura: Heh. This art stuff isn’t all that hard. Achievement unlocked.
Sakura: Well, thanks for the help, art girl.
Autumn: It’s Autumn.
Sakura: Sure. See you around.
Danny: Wait... don’t you want to talk about joining our school?
Sakura: Um, that was never part of the deal. You just said you wanted to help. You helped. I SAID thanks.
Danny: Well, we kind of thought that you might consider transferring and helping us out with the downfall of Hearst High...
Sakura: Are you crazy? Like I said, I’ve got a good thing going there.
Danny: What about Nishan?
Sakura: What ABOUT Nishan?
Danny: Er... don’t you want to go back to hanging out with him?
Sakura: That spineless twerp left me in the middle of the school year with about a dozen half-done class projects, not to mention a long-term RPG quest that’s still cluttering up my quest log. Look, thanks for all the help. I’m out of here.
Sakura waves and heads off.
Danny: That... seemed like it could’ve gone better...
Autumn: Danny... this painting Sakura did... We’ve got to show Nishan. She’s clearly upset with him. I bet that’s the REAL reason she doesn’t want to transfer. If we could just get the two of them to talk...
Requirements
- Nishan
Danny: Nishan... we’ve got something you need to see. This painting... Sakura made it.
Nishan: Uh, was the prompt ‘depressing things that keep you awake at night’?
Autumn: The prompt was to paint her feelings... and obviously she’s feeling pretty depressed and alone right now.
Nishan: I don’t get it. That’s not like Sakura at all. She doesn’t need anyone else. She’s a lone wolf, prowling the night.
Autumn: Are you sure about that? Because this painting seems to suggest otherwise. I think you should go find her. She needs to talk to someone.
Nishan: Even if you’re right, I’m the last person she’d want to talk to. I tried to talk to her a couple days after I left Hearst, and she bit my head off. Literally. We were playing ‘Monsters and Mayhem: Eat or Be Eaten’.
Autumn: I get that she might put on a tough front, but she obviously feels SOMETHING about what happened between the two of you. Let’s just say some of her other paintings were a little more...
Nishan: Amorous?
Autumn: Violent.
Nishan: Right.
Autumn: Look, what I’m getting at is that you need to talk to her, okay? I think she’s still somewhere on our campus. Go find her. She needs you.
Time - 16 hours
Nishan: Hey... Sakura. So. I, uh, saw that painting you made. That’s, uh, some pretty bleak stuff...
Sakura: Who said you could go pawing through my stuff?
Nishan: Whoa! Autumn showed me. That’s all.
Sakura: It was just a class project. It didn’t mean anything.
Nishan: Really? You, alone in a black hole of doom? Kinda got the feeling that it meant SOMETHING... Autumn had this crazy idea that it had something to do with how I left Hearst...
Sakura: Well, yeah, that was low, Nishan. You left without any warning! We were working on projects together in three different classes! We were supposed to do a science fair experiment together! You could have at least said something!
Nishan: I know I messed up. I’m not exactly the best guy when it comes to touch-y, feel-y, good-bye-y stuff, okay? I didn’t want to go through all that. Not with you. And to be honest... I didn’t think you cared. I mean, you’re this crazy-cool renegade loner girl. You’re strong and independent and, like, totally in control of everything! I never thought that you’d... care... that I left. I didn’t think you needed me.
Sakura: I don’t NEED you. ...but maybe I want you around.
Nishan: You... do?
Sakura: Hmph. Don’t let it go to your head.
Nishan reaches out to Sakura and gently squeezes her hand. She look startled, but then gives him a quick smile.
Sakura: Nishan...
Nishan: Sakura... will you join our school? There’s nothing I want more.
Sakura: Well. When you put it that way... I’ll do it. What’ve I got to lose?
Sakura: And about that data you need...
Danny: Yeah?
Sakura: I’ll email it all over to Wes. He can start looking at it while I enroll.
Requirements
- Admit Sakura
Danny: Welcome to the school, Sakura.
Sakura: You know, I actually might like it here. At least helping you take down Hearst will be fun. Rebel against the oppressive regime, liberate the people... I’m no do-gooder, but it IS run fighting the evil empire. Especially if you win. Just like playing Resistance Rebels, am I right?
Danny: Probably?
Wes: Hey, Danny.
Wes and Nishan come walking up to you.
Danny: Did you take a look at Sakura’s records? Did you figure out what you were looking for?
Wes: Yeah... and the corruption’s even worse than I thought.
Danny: Really? How?
Wes: I’ll go over everything with the team. There’s just one last snag... We’re going to need some supplies if we want to break into Hearst without getting caught. Nishan?
Nishan: Just standard, totally routine things... walkie talkies, maps, masks... Infrared goggles, grappling hooks, tiny robot spiders with lazer-beam eyes...
Danny: That seems excessive... and unnecessarily creepy.
Nishan: Look, do you want to caper this caper or not?
Requirements
- Spend 18,000 coins
Wes calls the group together in one of the Nerd Hangouts...
Wes: I took a look at the data that Sakura gave me... it’s even worse than we thought. You see this chart? This tracks donations from the wealthiest families at Hearst. And this tracks the grades of those students. Every time someone gets a low grade, suddenly there’s a big donation, and then just as suddenly the grade is changed.
Autumn: That’s terrible! They’re BUYING grades?
Julian: No big surprise there. The Hearst Coach benched me so the principal’s son could be the star. The faculty at Hearst have never played by the rules.
Mia: It WAS a little suspicious that we had a hot tub in the gym... I guess that money had to come from somewhere.
Wes: And the worst part? It’s wrecking the curve for everyone else. After all the rich kids take up all the A’s, everyone else has to fight over B’s and C’s.
Payton: But... that’s so sad. It’s just... WRONG. Sakura, you KNEW about this?
Sakura: Hey, I was just figuring out the top people to partner with. I didn’t exactly spend hours studying the results. I’ve got raids every afternoon, and I’ve been marathoning ‘The Last of Us’ in Survivor mode at night.
Wes: Anyway, I’ve been studying the patterns here... There’s usually a one-day delay. Except in this case. Right here, on October 10th of last year... Mr. Georgette took three whole days to change the grade.
Danny: So what does that mean? Who’s this Mr. Georgette guy?
Wes: He’s a history teacher at Hearst. Big on honesty and doing the right thing. My guess? The guy fought back. And if he did, that means there’s a chance there’s a record of his protest. Lucky for him, we’re just the people to take that information and bring it into the spotlight.
Nishan: I can create a search algorithm that will comb through all of his emails and files. It’ll even retrieve any docs he’s deleted. If there’s any way to find and recover those records, we’ll get them.
Wes: But like I said... we can only do this from inside Hearst High... it’s the only way to get access to their closed computer system. And you know what that means...
Danny: We’re going in.
Congratulations! You got Sakura on your side, and you and your friends are about to take the fight to Hearst! But will you be able to pull off the ultimate heist? Find out in our next quest, Heist School Story!