Preface: Hi, again! I'm planning on uploading every day this week as we finish the Overworld Saga, but for all we know, things could get in the way. But I'm getting ahead. For now, this chapter is a little shorter than usual as Kevin manages to finally defeat his evil soul. Hope you enjoy!
MINECRAFT MANIACS RPG
THE OVERWORLD SAGA:
DOPPEL STRIKES BACK!
Previously...after journeying across the land and even into Mojang HQ, Minecraft players Danny, Liam, and Kevin have found the five Gadgets of Order. As soon as their new companion Buzzer activated their power, however, Kevin's character fainted.
Now...Kevin waits for his game to start responding again.
Roll Call:
Kevin - Neville Napoleon: Part-gangerman redstonist. The brains.
Chapter 7:
Minds of Power, Part Two -
The Mind of a Gangerman
[Character Selected: Kevin]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: ?]
You've been watching the loading screen for quite some time now. You start to think your game might have softlocked. Maybe you should try checking your computer?
[BGM: C418 - Subwoofer Lullaby]
Then, the green bar finishes being filled up. You find yourself in a strange place that looks somewhat like the Overworld. The grass is a lighter shade than usual and the sky seems pink. "Where am I?" you wonder aloud.
"You're in your own mind," you suddenly hear from behind you. You turn around, and see two other gangermen behind you. They look almost like your avatar, with bigger eyes than usual, and you can't help but wonder if you've seen them before… "My name is Andy," says the left gangerman, "and the other one is Mark."
"You're not gonna attack me, are you?" you ask, getting into a defensive position.
"Don't worry, we're on your side," says Mark. "The power of the Order Gadgets is what brought you here for you to defeat your inner evil."
"Inner evil?"
"Let's walk and talk," says Andy. You start to walk with them towards a large obsidian structure. "Almost all gangermen have an evil soul," Andy continues. "Since you're a player with a gangerman skin rather than a full-on gangerman, the evil soul isn't taking you over, but it still prevents you from full-on killing Doppel."
"So that's why he always escaped!" you exclaim. "I've had this idea for a contraption that can purify evil, but I've never been able to make it properly!"
"That is another result of the inner evil," says Mark. "Defeat the inner evil, and you will have it in your grasp."
You have arrived at the obsidian structure, and there is a door made of iron blocks. "Now, there are three gangermen in here that are manifestations of the strongest part of the evil soul," says Andy. "They'll be rather difficult to deal with."
"Can't you help me with it?" you ask.
"Unfortunately, we can't," says Mark. "Since this is part of a single evil soul, you have to do this alone. We will simply make sure you win."
[BGM: Antimo & Welles - Training Montage]
"Okay, hit me with the first one," you decide. Andy flicks a lever, opening the door. A gangerman is standing in an arena with several raised pillars.
"The first part of a gangerman's evil soul is its ingenuity," says Mark. "This one will try and use the pillars to its advantage to attack."
You step into the arena, and straight away, the gangerman jumps onto one of the pillars and spits a star bullet at you, damaging you. Quickly, you duck behind a pillar. Okay, how am I gonna do this? you wonder. The gangerman hops onto another pillar and spits another bullet at you.
Suddenly, it hits you. The potions that Liam made. You pull out the potion of leaping and gulp it down. "Two can play at this game!" you shout. With the increased jump height, you leap onto the pillar and kick the gangerman off. Then, you inhale one of the cobblestone blocks nearby and swallow it. A hat made of stone appears on your head. Then, you jump above the gangerman and turn yourself into a block of stone before falling onto the gangerman, killing it.
"Well, he certainly wasn't expecting that!" Mark compliments.
As you return to normal, you start to feel a rumble on the ground that stops as quickly as it begins. "What was that?" you ask.
"Part of your inner evil has been weakened," says Andy. "And, part of the device has been given to you."
Sure enough, when you open your inventory, part of some sort of rifle-like device is in there. Before you can wonder about it, however, the next door opens up, showing another gangerman in some sort of obstacle course.
"Another part of a gangerman's inner evil is its competitiveness," says Andy. "It will do what it can to make sure you don't win this race."
"Well, I bet he's in for a surprise, too!" you say confidently as you step onto the course. Three note blocks sound off, acting as a "Ready, set, go!" signal, and then you begin running, jumping to increase your speed. A lava pool is approaching, and you prepare for a leap.
Suddenly, the gangerman inhales a block from the wall and spits it in front of you. At first, it seems like it missed, but then you realize it was deliberate - you barely manage to prevent tripping into the lava, giving the gangerman an advantage in the race.
"A cheater, huh?" you say in disbelief. "Fine, I'll cheat, too!" You take out the potion of swiftness and drink it. With your increase in speed, you jump over the lava and begin to catch up with the gangerman. Your further sight allows you to see a parkour section upcoming, with the gangerman partway through.
You take out your pickaxe. Let's see if I can pull this off, too, you think. Remembering Danny throwing his pickaxe like a boomerang, you reel in and throw it at the gangerman. The pickaxe hits the gangerman, causing it to fall off, before the pick returns to you, allowing you to catch up. Hopping from one block to the other, you are just about to make it past the checkpoint when the gangerman imitates your pick-boomerang move with its own hastily-made pickaxe. You begin to fall when you manage to grab the edge of the block with your foot, allowing you to push off and jump towards the ground. You enter a tumble and go back into running.
The last stretch is coming, and you and the gangerman are neck-and-neck. Just then, you run over a pressure plate and hear a hiss. Thinking quickly, you grab a splash potion of harming and throw it at the gangerman, and it gets stunned from the pain, allowing you to cross the finish line just as the course blows up, ending the gangerman.
Andy and Mark carefully build a bridge across the ruins and make their way over to you. "Well, I see you aren't afraid of cheating," says Andy.
"I had to do what I had to do," you say, shrugging. Suddenly, another rumble occurs, and when you check your inventory, the rifle-like object now has some kind of canister. "So, will this shoot some kind of bullet that purifies things?" you ask.
[BGM: C418 - Droopy Likes Ricochet]
"Basically," says Mark. "Now, I don't know if you can handle this last segment."
"After those last two things?" you ask. "Are you kidding me?"
"You see," says Andy, "the last part of a gangerman's evil soul is its personal struggles. In most cases, that doesn't mean much, but in your case…"
"My family troubles," you guess. "I have to face them?"
"This last gangerman will represent your younger self," says Andy. "All you need to do is help him feel better about what's going on."
As the last door opens to reveal the last gangerman, you start to think about what to say. Then, you start to think about what you would say to Danny to help him with his own personal struggles. You'd probably say that he isn't alone in what he's going through - there are tons of other people there. Plus, he has support from all over, if he just lets them know what he's going through. He doesn't have to go through it alone.
That's when you realize what to say. You walk up to the gangerman, who looks up at you with a sad look on its face. "Hey, younger me," you say. "I know that things are pretty weird right now, and they will be for a long time. But you should know that your family still loves you, and your friends will still be there. You'll still go to school and all the other places. It's gonna be fine."
The gangerman starts to cry and hugs you. As you hug it back, you begin to think that was a little cliche...but either way, it seems to have worked. An even bigger rumble occurs, nearly causing you to lose your grip on the gangerman. When the rumble stops, you let go and open your inventory. The rifle-like object is complete, and you hold it out for Andy and Mark to see.
"Well done, Kevin," congratulates Andy. "The purifier is now complete."
"Now, all you have to do is go up to your evil soul and aim the purifier at it," says Mark.
[BGM: Antimo & Welles - Old Friends]
You put the purifier away. Turning around, you see there is a huge gap. "How are we gonna get there?" you ask.
"Look in the chest," instructs Andy." You walk up and open the chest. There is a block of TNT marked Destructive!, a minecart, and a water bucket.
Getting an idea, you hold your hand out to reveal the crafting grid and place the water bucket and minecart into it. A water-filled minecart appears in your other hand and you place it down.
"Now, this is where we have to leave you," says Andy. "When you finish off your inner evil, you will wake up. Just remember what we told you, and good luck with Doppel!"
You nod in agreement, You hop into the minecart and place down the TNT. It instantly lights up and explodes shortly afterwards. With the water, you are shielded from the explosion and the minecart gets catapulted over the gap.
A black sphere is in the distance. You take the purifier and aim it at the sphere. You attempt to activate it, and a beam shoots out at the sphere. It begins to be sucked up into the canister, becoming white energy. "Ha! I did it!" you shout in excitement. Then, as you begin to fall into the chasm, your screen fades to white before cutting back to the loading screen.
Unbeknownst to you, Andy and Mark discuss your actions. "Good. Everything's going according to plan," says Andy.
"It won't be long before we can begin our takeover," says Mark. Then, they vanish, as if they were never there in the first place...
To be continued...and next time: what were Danny and Liam up to?
Next chapter: While Kevin's off in his mind, Danny, Liam, and the others are locked into the ultimate challenge a Mojang intern can put upon intruders: "Spleef War!" Caught by interns Bruno and Molly, the two will have to rely on their wits and teamwork to get through this supercharged take on the classic Minecraft minigame!
Postface: Chapter complete! I mostly based this chapter on the part in Earthbound where Ness enters Magicant - one of the few influences to survive the rewrite! I'm honestly a little worried that Kevin's subplot with defeating his inner evil was rushed - maybe I should have let it run for the whole story? Ah, well, what's done is done.
There's no real trivia to go around today, so instead, a small commentary on Andy and Mark - their name stems from 'enderman,' and I initially created them as nothing more than beings that exist in Kevin's mind - the gangermen that represent the good in him, if you will. But then I decided to expand upon them...what kinds of secrets are they hiding? You'll find out as we go along...
That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you next time for what Danny and Liam got up to during this chapter! Stay diamond, everyone!
-Alfred
~Minecraft and everything related to it are properties of Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios. No copyright infringement with any of these companies nor financial gain was intended in the making of this story. All resemblance to real-world people or events are either coincidental or done fictitiously.~