Story TROGGO Episode II: The Legacy of The Dead Server

From our previous story

BRAWL
-The Legacy of the Dead Server-​

Background: It has been 2 years since Inspector Troggo investigated the demise of the (copyright friendly) Hardcore Games. Since that time much has occurred. Troggo moved on from being a detective to owning his bar 'Club Trogs' where he serves drinks and makes hella money. However his timing could not have been more ill advised, for dark times have fallen upon Brawl Nation. Playercounts have fallen, staff have resigned, and ex staff have gone insane. In short, the server is dead. But even in the midst of chaos there is hope. A former staff member, accompanied by one of Brawl Nation's most respected citizens has returned to get to the bottom of it all - and stop who is behind it. Packed with awful writing, dreadful characterization, and a copied plot you'll be on the edge of your seat as our faithful investigators seek to answer this central question:

Who killed Brawl? And where will they strike next?

This is where our story begins...

Brawl Nation Headquarters. April 27, 2018​

Superintendent Arnold Putty was in a bad mood. Of course, he wasn't in a good mood much these days, not the way things had been going. The server which The Chap had entrusted to him was in a dismal state, his hairline had receded, and worst of all he sucked at Fortnite. Just last night he had played several hours of it and he still couldn't understand what the heck was going on. But this was not unusual for someone of his status. Putty wasn't the sort of man who liked to deal in the affairs of daily life. He was the superintendent, the chief of police in a word, if something needed to be done he would delegate the problem to someone else. Suddenly it wasn't his problem anymore, it was their problem. The only issue was, he couldn't exactly delegate his lack of Fortnite skills and this was troubling him deeply.

Putty leaned back in his brown-leather backed chair and gazed at his shoe collection. It was the hallmark of his office. Whereas most officers at Brawl Nation had pictures of their family, some books, or even the odd application or two on the wall Putty had a enormous 12 foot high bookcase full of shoes. In his life there were three things: his job, his room-mate, and his shoes. And his office reflected that - minus the room-mate. Putty was only too thankful his college days were over.

Fortnite was one thing, but today's meeting concerned Brawl. It was with his old friend Chief Inspector Roke, a man with less personality than a potato but so responsible he made Tom seem like a slacker. Putty smiled at the thought, if he ever needed a dose of sanity from the inanity of running a Minecraft server Roke was it. Putty would talk, Roke would listen, and when their meeting was over he'd go warn Admiral_Munson for breaking the forum rules. It was one of Roke's many duties, he had no hobbies - other than collecting an unusually large number of pet rocks. Probably because he identifies with them... Putty thought with a smile.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. It was a crisp knock, three times with an even rap on the pane each time. It indicated a deep sense of order, an unyielding will to the rule whatever that rule may be. In Putty's case it was Knock Before Entering and he got very annoyed when someone rushed in spewing nonsense as Officer Cupz had a tendency to do.

"Come." Putty said, sitting upright and slanting his feet behind the desk.

The door opened and a tall, imposing, and utterly dull man entered and took his seat in the chair directly across from Putty. It was, as expected, his old friend, Chief Inspector Roke.

"Felix, it's good to see you."

"Likewise." Roke said, his expression in neutral face. Felix was his real name, known only to Putty.

"I expect you know what this is about."

Roke nodded

"The Trap Takeover. It is a very serious and deeply troubling problem." Putty continued, resting an arm on the desk, "I mean, if this continues we won't be Brawl Nation anymore. We might as well be Trap Nation! Can you imagine that?"

Roke stared at him, saying nothing, although the confusion in his eyes told Putty he missed the joke. Well that's not a first for Felix... Putty thought

"I'm joking Felix." he said, attempting to bring things back with a wry smile, "Get it, Trap Nation?"

"Oh," Roke said, "Yes..."

"Roke you are aware of our diminished player counts?"

"Yes."

"I've been thinking about this problem very carefully for some time." Putty said, "And I've come to a decision on the matter."

Roke looked at him expectantly, saying nothing. It was the greenlight Putty needed.

"I've decided to buy more shoes."

"Shoes...?"

"Yes shoes!" Putty said enthusiastically, "Look at my wall!" he gestured to the massive shelf of shoes, "It's disgraceful! Some of those shoes have been sitting there for months, years, collecting dust. Very unpleasant to look at don't you think?"

Once again, Roke just stared at him. Oh well, the effort at humor was worth it. Putty sighed and turned back to Roke. It was time to get serious.

"Troggo was a good investigator. He had a unique ability to get to the bottom of anything, no matter how unclear the connections were... But he's gone..." Club Trogs, what an idea. Putty thought. He'd never imagined he'd lose his best detective to a strip club. But then again, he never imagined he'd be running a dead server at 48.

"Felix do you have the -"

"I have the information on the investigator you wanted." Roke said, pulling a file out his dull-brown briefcase. He placed it on the desk and passed it to Putty.

Putty picked up the file. It read: INFORMATION ON 'T'. TOP SECRET. He flipped through the file's contents, it was only one sheet with no pictures or additional information. Only a 2 paragraph bio and a saltine cracker. Nothing to identify the sender, if there was one

"I assume this came from your office?" Putty asked

"Yes."

"Who is T?"

Roke shrugged, "No one knows. All that is known is he was an investigator here many years ago. I've had Anon look through the records but we haven't found anyone who could be T anywhere."

A former investigator who isn't in the records...? Putty found that difficult to believe, but then again he also found it difficult to believe he had once spend $1,000 on Adidas running shoes. Huh, what do you know...

"Not in the records?" Putty frowned, "If he was an investigator in the past we would have records of his prior cases. Did you check those? Any cases involving someone who could be T?"

Roke nodded, "Yes we did a thorough check. The only possibility was a permanent ban a long time ago of a player who hacked, claiming they wouldn't be banned if they did."

"What happened?"

"Obviously they were banned." Roke said with a hint of sarcasm

A banned player with a connection to T? Could it be...?

"What was their username?"

"It was erased from the record."

"Erased?" This was getting very strange. Had Yin screwed up? No that isn't possible. Data on prior staff wasn't just lost. And if someone had, somehow, gained access to T's data they could have erased it to hide his identity. Putty leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. As if the staff leaks weren't enough, now someone was tampering with the personnel records. What a headache...

"Then there's no way to know who T is?"

"No, apparently not."

Putty thought on this for a moment before asking, "But he is willing to help us?"

"Yes."

"But if we don't know who he is how do we contact him? Through an intermediary?"

"That would be me." a man replied, before Roke had a chance to reply. Both of them looked up to see a tall man with a mane of blond hair tucked under a bowler hat with bright green eyes standing in the doorway. He was holding a laptop, barely concealed within the fringes of his trench coat. He was smiling

"Good evening :V"

...

"Random, is that you?" Putty said, eyes widening with astonishment

Random nodded and tipped his bowler hat. "It's good to see you again Putty."

Random, of course, was an alias. His real name was unknown, even to his close friends. For his part Putty wouldn't be surprised if even his family didn't know who he was. But for such a mysterious character Random was well established within Brawl Nation. In a previous life he had been a deputy in the force, banning hackers and solving cases alongside some of the oldest names in Brawl. He was a veteran of such investigations and could be trusted.

"You're the intermediary?" Roke said in disbelief, "I thought you were selling aluminum siding in San Diego all these years."

"Yes well..." Random coughed, "I'm afraid aluminum siding isn't all it's made up to be. Lacks the luster you know."

Putty smiled, "But you can't tell us how you became an intermediary for the greatest detective in Minecraft I assume?"

"Observant as always m8." Random said, "No I'm afraid not. Although you two may be investigators yourself T has made it clear that no one know who he is and, of course, should anyone know how I met him it would be a simple matter to find T as well."

"Yeah I wouldn't bet too much on that." Putty said, "Felix and his investigators can't even find a record of T, let alone his identity. Worse than useless, I swear."

Roke glared at him but held his tongue. He was, after all, a very prideful man.

"Do you think I should demote him?" Putty asked, gesturing to Roke

"Well... it is worth thinking about m8"

"All right, I think we've had enough fun with that." Roke said sternly

"Are you sure? You are very funny." Random said mildly

"Do you want your first forum warning Random?" Roke asked

"No :V"

"Then shut up."

"Gentlemen..." Random started, "I am here to convey a message from T."

Putty nodded, "Go ahead."

"T is as eager to get to the bottom of this matter as the rest of you. Not that he's particularly concerned about Brawl Nation but more that he is, and I quote, "bored as sh*t" and your case presents an interesting challenge. He is willing to work with you on one condition - that he is supplied with 3 bagels and a prostitute per day and that you agree to keep your involvement with him secret, even from your own staff. Unless he specifies otherwise. As his intermediary you may call me Nathan."

"...So T is a he?" Roke asked, seeming slightly disturbed by the condition of a prostitute

Nathan shook his head, "I did indeed say 'he' m8 but you interpreted that to mean that T is actually male, like all of us here. But as far as you know he could be a she whose pronoun happens to be 'he' at this particular moment. Of course I know his gender, but he has not given me liberty to divulge that either."

"Forget it." Putty said, "It doesn't matter if he has a dick. What matters is solving this case."

"Well gender and anatomy are actually separate... :V" Nathan interjected

Putty waved him away, "Give me a break Random I'm from Kentucky. We f*ck our own cousins"

Nathan nodded, he got the message. "Very true. Well that's all I have to report. T looks forward to hearing from you in kind. For the time being I will be here. You may contact T through me, he is accessible through a program on this laptop." he held it up, "I'm sure you understand, for security reasons, I cannot allow any of you to handle this at any time."

"Of course."

"Very well. I look forward to hearing from you." Nathan said, tipping his hat again as he exited, as quietly as he came.

...

Somewhere in America, the same day:
​

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

"Everything in my way is gone! Brawl... your server is DEAD. Do you hear me? DEAD!!! When I joined in 2015 I was just another player, completely at the mercy of your INCOMPETENT, IDIOTIC staff. Well, who's laughing now? It's only a matter of time before I kill Minecraft for good. And then I, DashedPoppy, will have my perfect victory! I'LL WIN!"

The teenager behind the computer screen laughed and then slowly sank back into his chair. It felt so good to have finally killed this damn server at last. At last! He still remembered how they mistreated him, how they made fun of him all those years ago. When he was just trying to make Brawl a better place!

And then there was the ban wave. When all the so called 'hackers' of Brawl were freed. It was an act of clemency he thought was beyond Brawl but it happened. And Dashed rejoiced when it did. He was free!

But the old rot of corrupt, no... incompetent and USELESS staff remained. Festering in Brawl like a sore wound, they continued to torment Dashed night and day, as if they felt some resentment towards his crusade. And then it happened. The falseban.

Dashed would never forgive Brawl for this second betrayal. But what could he do about it? He tried making an appeal to the people, urging them to see his plight as their own and unite in flame against the server. But his hopes were for naught as he was still banned.

Dashed smiled as he ran his fingers across the notebook lying next to his keyboard. The gift... A notebook of DDoS, or so the Pepe had told him when he got it a few days ago. He would write a network in the notebook and it would happen. Downtime. Login issues. Rating farms. Chaos...

Heh, Brawl wasn't so smart now were they? The notebook even worked on individual players. And he had a few in mind that he'd like to hit off. All he had to know was their username and their current skin.

Putty...

It was too easy. Dashed opened a new tab and searched 'namemc'. He typed in 'chickenputty' and Putty's skin appeared on the screen

"So are you gonna off him?" a voice behind him asked

Dashed turned to huge green Pepe behind him and smiled. Yes Rayak, that's exactly what I'm going to do

Someday all players will bow down to Xion. Starting with you putty...

Starting with you...

Characters:

Brawl Nation (Police):
@chickenputty as Superintendent Arnold Putty
@Lord_Roke as Chief Inspector Felix Roke
@Miskey as Inspector Mike Miskey
@SoCool21 as Deputy Tom Forehead
@AnonymousGalaxy as Officer Jacob Anon
@Gehenna_Beam as Officer Cameron Beam
@Fista_Cupz as Officer Jonah Cupz
@Versions as Detective Matthew Versions

Citizens:
@ToughBadger as angry citizen no.1
@Ry23an as angry citizen no.2
@Trogy as Daddy Trogs (formerly Inspector Andreas Troggo)
@randomcitizen1 as Nathan
@Xion as himself
@Sn4x5 as 'Snacks'
@? as T

To be continued