Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from Hourglass!
I'm really glad that I've been able to keep a steady pace for posting chapters so far! I haven't been this consistent since the first book, I think. It's also really helpful that I'm getting more and more reviews; your encouragement is my fuel, everyone! :D And speaking of which, here are the replies!
Replies to Reviews
Marshman101: Alright! :D And just being curious here, who's that on your profile pic? What's she from?
Badgerman: Thank you! I miss the old gang A TON! Also, I don't know that I want to bring the mutants back. See, all but Zombulk are dead for good as far as you know. Blackberry, as you may remember, had its arms ripped from it back in the first book and was crushed into the ground. Tanglera, as was established a couple times throughout the series as its body reappeared, died after being beaten both by Norman's group and Mark's group. Skull and Crossbones was absorbed by the Glitch itself and Bacon the Bloody's heart is still full of cactus needles and sitting in the Bucket O' Blood in the Glitch's old prison, so that guy is definitely 100% dead.
Sorry if I ranted a bit. XD Anyway, I like your jockey idea, but I'd need to choose one or the other for that one unless they appeared in difference rooms. Finally, I did check out the reviews that were for Chapter 15 and I didn't see anything that I missed. You sure?
There's a lot more QAA than normal reviews, I've noticed. Could you guys give me a bit more critique rather than just asking questions to the characters? The QAA takes a long time to write and I sometimes would like to just know how I'm doing. Thanks!
Now, let the story commence!
Chapter 21: Memories With Mark
POV: Norman – Kelsey
Norman let out a sigh of relief as the arrow that had put a hole in his right buttcheek finally despawned. He took a cooked porkchop from his the stack in his hotbar and munched on it, feeling the fresh wound suddenly close up.
"Ugh...why is it always in the butt for me?" he wondered aloud. He paused for a second, then looked down at his wrist to stare at the binding rope that connected him and Kelsey; his wrist was starting to feel a bit raw with all the rubbing of the coarse fabric. "Another thing: I wish that we didn't have to be practically chained together like this. It's obstructing and obnoxious, honestly."
Kelsey lowered her gaze a bit, feeling slightly hurt at his words. She hoped he would notice and apologize, but Norman was still not the most observant when it came to emotions and so it went unnoticed by him. They were stuck in an extremely awkward silence for the past three rooms and it was absolutely torturous.
Finally, Kelsey sighed a tiny bit herself and, without even looking back at him, she said,
"So, Mark was a pretty great son, I bet..."
Her words caught Norman off guard. At the mention of his late son, a not-so distant sadness filled his lungs and he found it hard to start talking again. Thankfully, Kelsey saved him from having to.
"I know because...well, he was a pretty great boyfriend. Mr. Cobweb, I wish I could've gotten to know you and Mrs. Cobweb more before all this happened so we could be a on better terms. I feel a little strange..."
Norman's sadness was suddenly emptied from him. Instead, compassion and curiosity filled him and he had the courage to reach out with a hand and put it on Kelsey's shoulder; he noticed that time that she jumped slightly, so he let go quickly and just talked.
"Even from the few times I got to talk with you and your parents, I knew that you were a good influence on him. He can...I mean, he was often very unfocused and impulsive. Probably a bit obsessive. I've seen how you transformed him...and you can still just call me Norman." then, the curiosity part kicked in and he added, "Kelsey? Could you just tell me what Mark was like to you? I'm interested to know what kind of guy he's like when I'm not with him. How was he during your quest?"
Kelsey lifted her eyes a little bit, staring down into the seemingly endless stone hallway, almost daydreaming as memories came to mind. She remembered it like it was yesterday—only a few months ago, in reality.
"You're right when you said that he was distracted at times and a bit impulsive. Even obsessive. I've seen that in him; no one is perfect." she admitted, pausing to take a breath. "But, Mark was a ton of other things, too. During our quest, he just wanted to protect all of us even when he probably wasn't the most able person to do the job. Gabe might've been our bravest, most selfless member of the group, but Mark was the most empathetic. He always put others first and made sure that no one would ever get hurt until he took the pain himself. In all the battles we ever fought in, he would throw himself in front of our enemies out of free will. All because he loved us...except maybe Lucas, but that's another story."
Norman raised an eyebrow skeptically. If his kid was being selective about who to respect, he wanted to know.
"We have plenty of time; tell me about Lucas."
The name stirred many bitter memories of Kelsey's almost as much as the name Raven did, but she got herself to begin her explanation once more.
"Lucas was the youngest in our group, probably around twelve years old. You might not like this, but he was actually the one son of Bailey. He did end up dying like all the rest, so that's why I say "was."
Norman felt a little surprised by this as Bailey had never made mention of a son. It was odd and quite deterring, but he let himself tune back in when she started back up again.
"Anyway, Lucas started out just as this little energetic middle school kid who liked to bug everyone for fun, joke around and be generally childish. We all accepted him and liked him, even, but then things got worse. He started acting suspicious, his mischief becoming meaner and meaner. Eventually, he guilt-tripped Mark into a dare to kiss this other girl named Raven who had joined us just recently. He did it just to make Lucas not hate his guts, but I misinterpreted what actually happened and thought that he'd just gone out and cheated on me. I mean, Mark came out of that spider hole with his face smeared with black lipstick, looking like he'd made out with a Goth, and he DID! Seriously, he could've at least wiped off the makeup or..."
She realized what she was doing and turned red in the face.
"Sorry, I got a bit carried away...well, that was basically how I felt at the time. Anyway, after that happened, Raven was hanging onto Mark like crazy, acting all creepy and fixated. The whole time, I thought that Mark was into her now and that I was suddenly thrown in the dirt, so I was pretty damn angry with him...sorry, please excuse my language."
"Long story short, Mark eventually got tired of Raven and told her the hard truth, shouting it right in her face because of her cruelness towards everyone else. Then he told me the story and...I believed him. He only put up with Raven because of how caring he really was; he didn't want to break the heart of any girl. At first, I felt a little jealous, but I realized the meaning behind his actions and my heart melted instead."
Kelsey cleared her throat as it felt like it was beginning to close up again. Just like Norman, Kelsey was having a difficult time talking about Mark like this. Still, she was able to pull herself together and continue.
"And then there was all that time we spent outside of battle. He was fun-loving, energetic—not like Lucas, though—and quite the jokester. He made everyone laugh, even making Rexum smile once. Now THAT was a rare sight at the time. Then, when it came to just us being alone, he spent a lot of his energy making sure I was comfortable, making sure I was okay. He knew how to listen and talk and everything. He swore that he'd protect me 'til the day he died...he sure did keep that promise."
She turned to look back at Norman, a new smile on her face.
"Like I said, I bet he was a great son."
Norman chuckled lightly; the way she described him was exactly how he expected. He was reminded of the day back on Earth when Mark came back from the hospital after visiting Kelsey. After getting hit by the back of that truck, she was knocking on death's door, so she only had another half hour to live when they put her in the hospital.
The whole time, Mark stood by her side while she was on life support in the bed, hoping and praying that she'd make it. Instead, she passed on through a slow death, even getting to give him one last kiss before she died. It sounded cheesy on paper—which it is—but it was from it in real life. It was quite possibly the saddest thing Norman ever had to watch. For several months after Kelsey died, Mark shut down inside and out. He wouldn't talk, would barely eat, hardly sleep, and let his grades slip considerably. He was broken. And then, after the third month, he decided to have something done that would remove the pain. He had his memory removed.
In 2430, just three years before the tragedy, a memory-erasing procedure was created by a group of top scientists. It required a painful amount of money and paperwork to have done on someone, but for many who tried it, it was worth it. Mark wasn't emotionally strong enough to get over it after all that time and he wished to have his memories of Kelsey erased. He did have them erased and was happier ever since, his late girlfriend becoming only a distant memory. The procedure must've started wearing off when he came into the Minecraft Dimension, however, because he obviously somehow regained his memories of Kelsey some time during their quest.
"What was it like," Norman suddenly found himself asking, a little surprised by himself. "Dying? What was it like in the hospital when you died? Sorry if it's a stupid question, but I really would like to know.
Shockingly, Kelsey didn't seem fazed at all by the question and merely shrugged her shoulders.
"They were able to put me under a lot of numbing medication, so I mostly just felt like I was falling asleep. The scary part was knowing that I wouldn't wake up again with Mark still there, standing by my side. Instead, I found myself both waking up in Heaven above, God in my presence...and here. It's so much better up there, though. I wish it were possible for everyone to go there when they die. I know Mark hasn't really died yet, thank God, or Notch, or whoever I'm supposed to refer to here."
Norman raised an eyebrow at her, now even more curious than before.
"How do you know?"
Kelsey looked up at the ceiling for a moment, still smiling.
"I know because otherwise he would be with me in Heaven right now. He's not there yet. And so, I know he hasn't died." she said with a happy sigh. "He's going to come to Heaven when he dies, no doubt. Even if I don't have him here in Minecraft, I'll see him then. Then I'll know he's finally free from the Glitch."
Norman gave a sad little chuckle and replied,
"Hey, that must be pretty convenient...to be able to know for sure that he's not truly dead yet. If I had died on Earth already, I could do the same. It sure would be nice to know that he's really okay...and Liz...that she's...yeah."
Suddenly, a real silence fell on the two of them. Kelsey already felt partially guilty for bringing up Mark to him, but now she even had his wife dragged in on it all, too. As the two of them went about their mission in a returned hush, she tried desperately to think of something to say to make up for it. Thankfully, being the kindhearted individual she was, she was used to coming up with cheer-up plans and almost instantly remembered the favor she'd been asked of by Bailey earlier that hour.
"Hold on, can I just grab something from my Blockpack?" she said, getting only a quiet nod from Norman.
She set down Darcy's blade for a moment and reached behind her with the hand that wasn't tied up. Fingering around its dark depths, grazing every single square compartment, she was eventually able to grasp the right item with her two fingers. When she brought it out into her dominant hand, it grew to the its appropriate in-use size and glimmered in the dimness of the cave, sparkling despite the lack of light. It was a diamond blade, though unlike the spare sword she'd been given, it was curved into a crescent shape, hooking at its tip. She handed it to Norman, whose Adam's apple visibly moved upon him recognizing it; he was trying to hide a lot of emotions all of a sudden.
"Where did you...?" he murmured, unable to finish his question as he took in the blade in his hand.
He was holding Shine...the weapon that had aided Liz in every battle they'd fought in together. It was reliable, powerful, and quick as hell. It was the perfect tool for her and always made for a very entertaining story to tell whenever she wanted everyone to know how she had managed to get her hands on it...and it was going to make him cry. The moment he started sniffling, Kelsey knew she had to act fast before the eventual breakdown occurred.
"Bailey said she found it left in Liz's hotbar just before her body dissolved into plasma; I guess being a mod weapon, so basically god-level in this dimension, will give it some greater durability than other items. She didn't find a good time to give it to before now, so she handed it off to me before we all went down the different tunnels. She told me that I needed to give it to you because you were the only one who...who deserved it...and that you...oh geez, now I'm gonna cry!" she said, laughing pathetically.
Norman glanced over at her, wiping a single tear from his right eye and coughing to clear his throat. Good Notch, he hated sore throats.
"Thank you...I had no idea that this would even be a possibility, but REALLY, thank you."
He stowed it away in his Blockpack and sighed, taking a couple more deep breaths in and out to calm himself.
"We are going to definitely win. I know it. Mark and Liz and everyone else...they won't have been taken for nothing!"
Speaking of Mark's enslavement, he was still trapped in the Plasma Realm within the Glitch, surrounded by the infinite darkness of his prison. However, he was far from alone...Raven Clawfall was there as well. She approached Mark, eyes alight with madness, vengeance and mania. A wicked smile was spread across her face, her face barely lit by the single red light that was suspended in midair above them.
Mark backed up as she continued to walk forward, eyes wide with fear more than anything; he remembered perfectly well how things ended between them, and knowing her, she was probably ready to slit his throat and drink his blood like the vicious girl she was.
"Hey, Raven!" he said, trying to look friendly. He probably still looked scared out of his wits, though. "Long time no see?"
Raven snickered, not taking her eyes off of him and keeping her pace.
"It hasn't been that long, has it? Only a couple months, right? Sixty days of heartache and extreme insecurity for me was all..."
Mark raised up his hands and replied,
"Look, Raven, I'm really sorry about what happened back there in that desert. You just set me off at the moment after all that torture I had to go through with losing Kelsey. I snapped! I didn't mean to hurt you so badly!"
"Oh, so you do admit to it, do you?" she said, raising a thin, black eyebrow at him and speeding up her pace slightly. "Good. I was hoping I wouldn't have to cut through a couple lame bluffs. That really would've been sad."
Mark noticed her starting to speed up and grimaced, sensing the oncoming danger. She didn't seem quite the same as before. He could feel some unknown power beneath her pasty exterior. Some dangerous, unnatural power...
"Still, that doesn't mean I forgive you at all. You broke my heart without even giving me a second chance! What kind of a man are you, Mark?" she said, her tone rising in anger.
Suddenly, she lifted her hands up and brought walls of soul sand from out of the ground, surrounding them. Mark backed up against the wall, the heat prominent on his skin as though this batch was fresh from the Nether itself. Raven, however, continued walking towards him. She knew she had him trapped.
"Soul sand, huh?" murmured Mark, looking around at his new prison within his bigger prison. "You never actually used it back when you were in our company...why?"
Out of nowhere, Raven bolted forward with incredible speed, her image blurring, and pinned Mark up against the wall with a new strength.
"Don't try to change the subject! No matter how much you try to avoid it, you know how cruel you were to me! After humiliating me like that, tossing me out the window like trash, you deserve to feel the pain yourself! THAT'S why I'm here, Mark! The Glitch found me and took me in because it and I share a mutual hate of the Cobweb family. They're all pests...you just happen to be the worst, in my opinion." she muttered, her violet eyes piercing his gaze with malice. Then, she stepped back from him, walking slowly towards the other end of the soul sand box. "Since I never got the satisfaction of having you as my own, I guess I'll just have to force you into giving it to me..."
Mark gasped as the soul sand behind him sucked him in partially, sticking him to the wall. No matter how hard he struggled, it seemed he just couldn't free himself from it. Upon seeing him struggle, Raven laughed and declared,
"Look at you now, Mark! Not so amazing, are you?!"
She took a small step forward, creeping eerily towards him like he was her prey.
"I'm coming for you, Mark...and there's nothing you can do about it..."
Mark gritted his teeth, pulling with all his might at the soul sand—no prevail. Raven inched closer and closer, a mere eight blocks from him. She outstretched her arms and made claws with her hands, her razor-sharp nails glimmering.
"I'm...gonna...get...you..." she whispered, a forked tongue suddenly waving from behind her pointed teeth.
Mark only had fifteen seconds left before Raven would come and "get" him, whatever that meant—but he was not willing to find out! Mark yelled, pulling harder and harder yet at the soul sand that gripped his skin, burning it slightly. His screams resonated through the walls, vibrating them. He had no idea why, but for some reason he was feeling a new power inside himself as well.
Then there came a voice inside Mark's head.
"If I were you, Markus Cobweb, I would take advantage of the power that the Plasma Realm provides you..."
The feeling that was beginning to wash over Mark was nothing like anything he'd felt before. It felt like adrenaline, only much more potent and it sent insane amounts of energy coursing through his veins. Was...was this what the Glitch's power felt like? Was this what it felt like to be glitched?
"NO!" thought Mark, still yelling and shouting on the outside but furious with the Glitch on the inside. "I refuse to let you take over me, too! I can get out of this myself!"
"Sure, sure, and I'm Eddy Wally. JUST DO IT! You only have ten seconds to decide. If you don't want help, then I guess you'll have to play Raven's games...we both know you don't want that, don't we? ...don't we, Mark?"
The Glitch's voice faded in his mind, leaving Mark to focus once again on Raven. It was right. Ten seconds more and Raven would turn him into her toy, clawing at him with her near-talons. Seven seconds later, Mark was still undecided, right on the borderline. He was almost out of time!
"...I don't have a choice...do I?"
A mere block from Raven's claws, Mark let himself go and stopped fighting the severe adrenaline. The virus entered his body fully, swirling around inside his mind and through his veins, driving him to new heights of power. The moment Raven's fingertip made contact with his chest, he broke free and leapt forward, tackling her to the ground. At first, she thought he was giving into her and embraced the position, but Mark had other plans; he used her stomach as a springboard and launched himself off of her, making her gasp in pain. He landed just behind her in a fighting pose, fists curled and pulsating with a red glow. Raven grunted and stood up shakily, giving a small cough; then she looked at him and, surprisingly, she smiled again.
"Do you like the taste of the virus? It's great, I know..."
Mark squinted at her suspiciously. Even though the power of the Glitch empowered him, he still knew who he was. That was Raven's opinion, not his.
"You're wrong, Soulsand...I'm so much better than that...so much better than you could ever be. You're influenced by feelings of spite and shameful pleasure, but not me..."
Raven lowered her head slightly, still keeping her purple eyes locked with Mark's pale gray ones. He spoke like he was in full control, but she knew better. She too got into a fighting position, licking her lips with that new forked tongue of her.
"Well, I've been under the influence of the viruses much longer, so I would know how utterly amazing it is. It might have something to do with my changes in appearance. I'm guessing you've noticed that my tongue is forked and my teeth are sharp as knives, right?"
Mark nodded, not letting the hypnotic twisting of her snake tongue distract him.
"Yep."
Raven's body suddenly began to glow with the same red aura, only three times as much.
"Well, then I guess you'll be able to find out just how fun I am, Mark!"
POV: Adrian – Auconi
Adrian and Auconi both panted for breath as they made their way down the skinny pathway. The two of them had cleared too many rooms to count, so they were pretty wiped. As they shuffled awkwardly down the tunnel, careful not to rip each other's hands off with those tight binds of theirs, Adrian cleared his dry throat and said,
"How many goldarn rooms are we gonna have ta clear befer we make it to the Arcuniris? And what's with tha' name, too? It sounds awful familiar..."
Auconi wiped a layer of sweat on his forehead with his forearm. He felt like he had just run a 5k for the first time with all the ache and tiredness that filled his arms and legs, his lungs feeling overworked. And yet, Auconi still found this feeling to be the best. He grinned, even laughed!
"Heh...I dunno, this is kinda fun for me. I haven't fought this many mobs in a row in a while. It's quite refreshing actually. Heheheh! Hahahahahahaha!"
Adrian gave Auconi the weirdest of looks. He seemed to be going mad and it sure did spook him.
"You're a nut, y'know that?" he muttered, staring at Auconi as he chuckled.
Not a minute later, the tunnel opened up to the biggest room they'd seen yet. Stone structures stood about the room like Stonehenge, fallen pillars of rock forming a square around it with other clusters of misplaced blocks sat around the room. Cobwebs crisscrossed through the air in an intricate pattern, looking one gigantic one that filled the room. It would have been a very cryptic scene if not for the comforting glow that came from its center, its source hidden by the rocks.
After taking in the room, Adrian reached behind him and tapped Auconi, who still seemed to be giggling like crazy. He stopped for a moment, just to take in the ancient look of the cave. His attention was caught by the multi-colored glow that came from the center.
"Is that over there what I think it is?" he wondered aloud, looking up at Adrian, who stood almost a head higher than him.
Adrian nodded in agreement and muttered,
"Tha's gotta be the Arcuniris. I can feel it in my gut..."
The two of them walked forward at the same time, climbing over stray blocks of stone, evading the cobwebs both in the air and on the ground. They made their way past the fallen pillar that stood in their way, entering the Stonehenge-like formation.
Sitting there in the very center, embedded in the ground, was a single block colored like the rainbow, shining brilliantly and expelling all the darkness that surrounded them in the massive room. A shine flowed over it every second as if it were enchanted; this only adding to its mysterious beauty.
"What a purty little ore that is, partner." murmured Adrian, fully captivated.
Auconi too stared at it in awe, absolutely mesmerized. Although, he was still able to snap himself out of it and return to his impatient self again.
"Alright, enough goggling at it! Shouldn't we claim it before the others get here? I mean, it is the grand prize! Oh man, Darcy's jealousy is going to be through the roof!"
Auconi switched to his special wooden pickaxe that was just sitting there unused in his hotbar and lifted it. Even in his dreamy state, Adrian quickly realized what he was doing and lifted a hand to stop him, shouting,
"Wait! What did the guy with all the X's say about its unpredictable powers?!"
But Auconi was already in literal full swing; he brought his pickaxe down hard on the multihued block and was suddenly blasted back with the force of ten creepers, smacking painfully into one of the stone shapes behind him. He was knocked out cold. Adrian backed up as the vivid glow that came from the Arcuniris intensified, becoming painfully bright rather than pleasant. Soon, an invisible force started pushing him backwards, overpowering him in strength as he tried to keep his ground.
"What in the name of Blake Shelton is happening?!" he cried, shielding his eye from the light.
He unexpectedly lost all control and was blown back against the rock as well. Although he wasn't knocked out like Auconi, he couldn't move out of the way of the powerful force, stuck there up against the cold stone formation. Suddenly, a booming voice resonated from the Arcuniris itself, rumbling the ground beneath his feet.
"WHO DARES DISTURB THE GREAT AND POWERFUL SPHERICAL SPECTER?!"
Wait...what? At first, Adrian's mind was scrambled by the scream of this unknown, all-powerful being inside the Arcuniris. That voice was so, so, so familiar to him! It was right on the tip of his tongue! But who?!
Then it hit him.
"Spherical Specter guy?!" he thought to himself, unable to believe it was true.
This idiot again?! I thought he was stuck in that cave down in Buenomalo! It looks like Adrian's going to have trouble with this guy a SECOND time.
QAA time!
To Danny: Why the squid don't you just build yourself a house? YOU ARE A BEDROCK!
Danny: *asleep, snoring into the crusty white carpet of his mom's basement*
To Ben: Why do you obey the glitch?
Ben: *under its viral control* I sh-shall always be loyal to our Lord Glitch...despite my past with my older master Salutem.
To...Norman's son (forgot his name): Can you train yourself inside the Glitch? Like, 2 million pushups?
Mark: It's MARK! *avoids slash from RAVEN* And I'm pretty busy at the moment! Leave a message at the tone! BEEEEEEP! *dodges another slash*
Raven: Stop talking to your imaginary friends and focus on my luscious—
Mark: Oh Notch, just stop right there!
To Salutem: Dude, where the hell are you?
Salutem: I apologize, but that's classified information. The Glitch could be listening... *glances around suspiciously*
To Gabe Adrian and Bailey's annoying son: How does it feel being possessed? And will you two be back or something?
Lucas: Do you just not know anyone's name from this series, or what? Anyway, I'm Lucas, and I was kinda sucked up by the Glitch, too...so, I'm as trapped as everyone else and I...I miss my mom and dad! *sniffle* (The kid's twelve, give him a break!)
To the mutated bed: Sup?
Mutated Bed: Blarghafalbruh! *translates* Sup with you, bruh?
To Vanessa: Enjoying your free time?!
Vanessa: Oh, if you only knew the torment I'm going through right now!
To Alexander: Off with some hoes, man?
Alexander: Bi*** you guessed it! WOO!
To the mutated bed: *places down crafting table which quickly mutates* Now you have someone to talk to!
Mutated bed: HUGRABLE! GORBLEFARG UGHCK! *translates* HUZZAH! A FRIEND!
To Astrid and Darcy: You are saving the universe! That is exactly why you should not relax whenever you want to! The lives of millions of people will end in nine and a half days if you don't complete your quest!
Astrid: Damn, Badgermoron! I could have fun for two seconds and you'd be jumping on me in an instant!
Darcy: Yeah, you ankle biter! We've gotten enough hate already!
To Norman:I am now going to drive you mad by tick-tocking.
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.
Norman: *getting very, very sleepy...* So...hypnotic...must...fight...
And lastly, here we have the next Sugar Lords snippet! Enjoy! :D
"You better handle me right! Otherwise, I'll put a hole in your face with THIS tentacle!" threatened Squid Girl, shoving one of her tentacles in Kyle's view.
Kyle looked over pleadingly at Pastrinator64 and cried,
"Why do I have to carry her?!"
Pastrinator64 shrugged, keeping his eyes ahead as they flew back to base.
"Nwinds carried her the last twenty minutes and I did so twenty minutes before him! It's your turn!"
Kyle sighed and looked down at Squid Girl, who looked like she was pouting there as she hung from him in the air, so very impatient. Her weight was even starting to drag him down as he flew.
"Jeez, how much shrimp did you eat today?" he asked her, grunting as he got a better grip on her.
She jerked her head up at him and snapped,
"Do you understand just how wonderful and amazing shrimp really is?! A squid can never eat enough! It's pretty kraken sad that I'm already out, though; this Minecraft place doesn't even have shrimp! See, squids eat from the four main food groups: shrimp, fried shrimp, shrimp PUFFS, and shrimp!"
Kyle's eyebrow twitched with annoyance and he muttered,
"You said shrimp twice..."
Thankfully, Nwinds's eyes lit up as he spotted their broken down base sitting in the distance. They were almost there!
"There it is, guys! There's home base!"
Pastrinator64 sighed with relief. They were only minutes away from being able to drop Squid Girl's extra weight into the fountain outside. Now that would be satisfying!
Does this one seem a little shorter to you? I dunno, maybe it's just me. :/
Well, that's all for now! I hope you enjoyed chapter numbah twenty-one, and I'll see you all LATER!
This is Pastrinator64, your fellow writer and reader, signing out!
*throws sugar bomb and disappears behind its cloud of fine white sugar*
...Goodbye for now...
~Pastrinator64 [~]