---
š Level Up, Lila!
Chapter 11: Glitch Requests Incoming
Word Count: ~5100
Tone: Bright, funny, suspicious, emotional, mystery-driven
---
š¤ Scene 1: Calm Before the Flood
"Okay," Lila said, stretching on the beanbag in the Patchroom, "we've survived system dives, discovered I may have a mom who's also a digital war criminal, and watched Eli almost cry over expired energy drinks."
Eli glared. "They were vintage."
Junie rolled her eyes. "So what now?"
Rin, who was currently balancing a frog on a spoon, chirped, "Maybe weā¦ teach?"
Mara blinked. "Teach what?"
Rin grinned. "What we do. Patching. Glitch-saving. Chaos-hugging."
And that's when Muffin pinged.
> š© Inbox: 3 New Requests
š© Inbox: 8 New Requests
š© Inbox: 41 New Requests
š© Inbox: 213 NEWāSYSTEM BUFFERING
"...uh oh."
---
š» Scene 2: The Message Wall
Muffin projected them onto the Patchroom wall. Line after line of blinking user handles, Tree types, problems.
Help me. My Tree froze during a memory playback test.
Is it normal for my Tree toā¦ speak in riddles?
They say my Root System is corrupted, but I swear I didn't hack it.
They're trying to reset me. Pleaseācan you patch a girl up?
Lila's throat tightened.
"These are all real studentsā¦"
Nilo scrolled through the locations. "From every department. Not just software Trees. We've got sensory, memory, kinetic, elementalā¦"
Junie added, "The system tells them they're broken. We tell them they're glitched good."
They all nodded.
"Okay," Lila said. "Let's help them."
---
š¹ Scene 3: First Three Clients
The club decided to split up and each take a case. Lila would oversee and "co-patch" each attempt.
š Client 1: "Sleepwalker" ā Dream-Type Tree
Assigned: Junie
The girl couldn't stay awake. Her DreamTree had accidentally bound her into recursive lucid sequences. She was half-asleep even in person.
Junie synced with her Treeāinside a shared dream, no lessāand helped map her fragmented consciousness. Lila watched in awe as Junie used gentle "sleep-step" methods to bring the girl back.
š§ Result: Stable system, client now capable of balancing rest with learning cycles. Wrote Junie a haiku in her thank-you.
---
š Client 2: "Mimic Protocol" ā Mirror-Type Tree
Assigned: Vess
This boy's Tree kept copying others near himāhe lost his identity and nearly mimicked a professor's test sheet.
Vess used her own mirror-based system to reflect the boy's true personality hidden under layers of copied code. With Lila's empathy sync, they created a new mirror filter: one that mirrored intentions, not just appearances.
š§ Result: He cried, said it was the first time he "saw" himself clearly in three years.
---
š Client 3: "Glitchroot Garden" ā Plant-Based Tree
Assigned: Rin & Mara
This client's Tree kept growing literal vines in digital spacesāchoking her own notes, messages, and code.
Rin shrieked when one sprouted from her wrist. "SHE'S A DIGITAL ENT!!!"
Mara solved it by teaching the girl how to prune and shape her wild branches, not suppress them.
Lila added a learning filter: every time she helped someone else, her roots would bloom in new, contained shapes.
š§ Result: Tree now forms bouquets of glitched code when joyful. Rin adopted one. It now lives in a pot labeled: "Blossom.exe"
---
šµļøāāļø Scene 4: The Strange Case
At the bottom of the inbox was a message flagged by Muffin:
> š© Message ID: Hidden Header
From: UNKNOWN
Subject: [REDACTED]
Body:
"You're not fixing them. You're infecting them.
Let me show you why."
The others wanted to delete it.
Lila hesitated. "I want to trace it."
They followed the system echo.
Junie mapped a whisper-trail in the Tree system.
It ledā¦ to the west wing of the school. A part no one ever went to.
Rin gasped. "The Closed Study Wing. Where Trees go when they'reāclassified."
Lila nodded. "Field trip."
---
š« Scene 5: The Closed Wing
Dusty. Silent. Creepy.
Lockers sealed with glowing system sigils.
Floating symbols flickered overhead like ghosts of Trees long gone.
They reached the end.
One terminal.
One figure.
She stood tall, dressed in old system robes, wires like thorns around her Treeāa "NullCore," a forbidden type meant to consume data to survive.
Her Tree whispered across the floor.
"Lila Everen," the girl said. "You woke something. And now others like meā¦ are listening."
Junie whispered, "She's a Rogue Patchmaker."
---
ā ļø Scene 6: Confrontation
The Rogue Patchmakerācode name: Nyxāoffered them a deal.
> "Let me join you. But know this: I don't fix. I break. I rewrite by tearing out what shouldn't be."
Lila stepped forward.
"If you want to help others growāyou're in."
Nyx smiled.
"But if you hurt even one of themā" Lila added, her Tree glowing, "āI'll glitch you into spaghetti code."
Junie groaned. "...Please don't call it that."
Nyx extended her hand. Lila took it.
The Patchroom had just gained its most dangerous, mysterious new ally.
---
āØ Scene 7: New Mission Board
Back in the Patchroom, Muffin chimed:
> šÆ NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: Glitch Network
Description: You can now receive weekly requests from students across the school. Some will be puzzles. Some dangers. Some truths.
And another ping arrivedāan encrypted request fromā¦
> š© COUNCIL: "Lila Everen ā You are hereby summoned."
---
š³ End of Chapter 11 ā Growth Summary
> š³ HeartTree of the Rewrite ā Level 12
XP: 550 / 500
š New Tree Feature: Glitch Network ā Accept help missions for upgrades and bonds
š New Club Member: Nyx ā Rogue Patchmaker
š Passive Unlock: Empathy Chain ā Helping others now creates shared EXP gains
š Bonus Patch: "Learning Loop ā Mistakes = Memory Upgrades"
---