Preface: Hello, again! This is it - the last chapter in the Into the Corruption! arc. The last Glitch Key is within everyone's reach, but in the meantime, there's some other difficulties going on behind the scenes! Let's get into it!
MINECRAFT MANIACS RPG
THE CORRUPTION SAGA:
GLITCH'ER THINGS
Previously...after Kevin finally stabilized the detotated wam, Buzzer gathered all sorts of heroes from across the multiverse to join Danny, Liam, and Kevin in their adventure across the Corruption. So far, with the probably unneeded assistance from Woodsword students Jodi, Morgan, and Ash, they have acquired the first Glitch Key in the Breached Plains, the second one in the Cursed Caverns, the third in Fuquatres' temple in Debug Woods, and the fourth dow in the Lake of Glitches.
Now...their hostess, Trixie Heeler, prepares for her second-to-last time with the heroes as some uninvited guests arrive...
Roll Call
Danny - Alfred von Any: Hero with emotional issues. The leader.
Liam - Willy Blanq: Expert crafter. The maker.
Kevin - Nevile Napoleon: Part-gangerman redstonist. The brains
Pork Chop - Dee Bradley Baker: Danny's companion. The pet.
Spawny and Spawnette - Damien Laquet: The rabborg siblings. The heart.
Buzzer - Jim Cummings: Psychic fly from the future. The fairy.
Max - Max Brooks: Real-worlder trapped in Minecraft. The load.
Woodsword Gang - Various Actors: Jodi, Morgan, Ash, Harper, and Po. The other loads.
Sonic the Hedgehog - Issac Ryan Brown: Fastest thing alive. Hero of Mobius.
Treasure - Sanai Victoria: Princess Ariel's kitten. Courageous and loves water.
Sultan - Henry Kaufman: Princess Jasmine's tiger cub. Full of energy.
Kirby - Makiko Ohmoto: Super-tough pink puff. Can copy other's abilities.
Unikitty - Tara Strong: Princess of the Unikingdom. Near-eternally optomistic.
Dr. Fox - Kate Mucicci: Unikitty's brainy friend. Resident scientist.
Bluey Heeler - Actress Name Withheld: Six-year-old blue heeler. Loves to play.
Bingo Heeler - Actress Name Withheld: Bluey's little sister. Slightly more sensitive.
Chapter 43:
Into the Corruption!, Part Five -
Aether Aerobics
[Main Party Selected: Danny, Liam, Kevin, Buzzer, Unikitty, Treasure, Kirby, Sonic]
[Supporting Party Selected: Pork Chop, Spawny, Spawnette, Max, Tails, Sultan, Bluey, Bingo]
[Character Selected: Uncle Stripe]
[Current World: Bonega]
[Current Location: Brisbane, Australia]
The past week was pretty stressful for Stripe. Between Trixie's temporary role in guiding Bluey and Bingo into this strange new world, and continuing to parent Muffin and Socks, he hasn't been this exhausted since Muffin was born three years ago.
"Stripe, we're going!" Trixie shouted from the bedroom. Walking to the door, Stripe saw his wife, dressed in the silly costume she kept putting on, in front of some kind of portal.
"This is the last day, right?" he asked, hopeful.
"Second-to-last," Trixie corrected. "We're in the home stretch." Stripe gave his wife a quick kiss before waving goodbye as they vanished into the portal.
The mood quickly changed as he heard knocking on the front door. Muffin perked up from her seat. "Dad, who's that?" she asked.
"I don't know," responded Stripe. "I wasn't expecting anyone." Carefully, he opened the door. Standing there was his brother and sister-in-law, looking pretty mad. "Oh, hey, Bandit!" Stripe said, awkwardly. "And Chilli, you've never looked better!"
"Can it, Stripe," said Bandit, walking through the doorway. "Where are Bluey and Bingo?"
"They just left, Uncwe Bandit," Muffin said, sweetly. "They and Mum went into a portal to a magic world!"
"Portal to a magic world?" Chilli repeated, incredulously. "Stripe, just what has happened this week?"
The heeler's sweat dropped. Would they think he was crazy? That's why Trixie didn't tell anyone, right? But seeing their faces right now, he decided he could only be honest. "Okay," he sighed. "I'll tell you everything. But it's a long story…"
[Character Selected: Danny]
[Current World: ?]
[Current Location: Tent of Rejuvenation]
[BGM: Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)]
"But we would have ten red cars that would look exactly like ours," I heard Bluey say as I joined the game on the last day of the week. I noticed that she and Bingo were conversing with Sonic.
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Who the heck is driving all of those other cars?" he asked.
Bingo was just about to answer, but I decided to butt in. "Butlers!" I answered for her.
"Butlers?" said Sonic. "How would they hire ten butlers just to escape the cops?"
"They wouldn't," I said. "They'd just kidnap Queen Elizabeth's butlers."
"Yeah! We would sneak into the Queen's palace overnight," said Bingo, "and steal the butlers while they're sleeping!"
"Well, that might do it," said the hedgehog, shrugging in defeat. "But if the cops still catch you and give you a ticket, 'Gotta go fast' is not accepted as a medical condition if you decided to contest it in court instead of paying up."
I laughed. "These two have amazing ideas, don't they?"
"They sure do," said Sonic. He sat up. "Your Kevin pal is off in his lab or whatever, Buzzer asked Tails to head back home, and Ms. Featherbon got a little cold from yesterday, so she's back in Whisker Haven healing up."
"Alright, good to know," I said, giving a thumbs-up. "Liam should be here any…" And then he popped up right next to me. "There we go!"
"I'm glad the gang's all coming together for one last adventure," I heard Trixie say, delighted. "But we have one final member joining us." At her words, the portal that served as the entrance turned into a white light. And the figure who walked out was a pink hedgehog.
"Oh, hi Amy," Sonic said, waving a little uncomfortably.
"Hi, Sonic…" said Amy Rose, waving dreamily. "Whatcha doin?"
"Just mingling…" Sonic looked at everyone staring at him and Amy. "Okay, before anyone asks, no! We are not a thing!"
"Oh, I think we all knew that!" said Liam, chuckling. And then, emerging from the portal next was Kevin. "Hey, dude! Where were you?"
"Just making this!" Right in my eyes, Kevin flashed three white badges with a familiar red 'M'. "Upgraded Power Badges that can store sixteen different power-ups at once. Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Star, Super Leaf, all three suits, the Cape Feather, the Carrot from Mario Land 2, the power-ups from the first Wario Land game, the caps from Mario 64, and even the Boomerang Flower." He placed them back into his inventory. "So overpowered, I'm holding onto them for when we really need them."
"Good idea," I said. I looked around. In addition to the new faces, Unikitty and Dr. Fox were still here, Treasure and Sultan were roughhousing with each other, Max was playing with Pork Chop and a fishing rod, and the rabborgs were playing cards with Kirby. "Alright, just our special guest and…" That was when a boy wearing some kind of explorer's outfit appeared right next to me. "Po Chen! Just the guy we wanted to see!"
"Hi there!" said our guest. "Nice setup you got here. Do you have a mod that adds in Sonic the Hedgehog and all of those other faces?"
"Nope! It's all vanilla!" said Liam. "Long story."
Po nodded. "Alright then," he said. "So is this world we're in kinda like the Upside Down or something? Because that's kinda how my friends described it."
"Not exactly," I said. "Simply put, it looks like Minecraft, but it doesn't completely act like Minecraft."
"You should see the world outside this tent!" said Max, placing down his fishing rod. "Sonic took a few runs around it. It's crazy - greener grass, grey dirt, cows with gold wings…"
That seemed to spark something within Po. "That sounds a lot like that Aether mod from way back in the day."
"Indeed, it is!" stated Buzzer. His skin was now white, meaning we were now going to search for the fifth and final Glitch Key. "The Tent of Rejuvenation has been in the almighty Aether this whole time!"
"So, we're not going into the Corruption?" I asked.
"Actually, the Aether is in the Corruption!" Buzzer corrected me. "We simply have to walk out of the tent!"
"Alrighty then!" I said. I clapped my hands to get everyone's attention. "Okay, guys! Time for our last quest! Everybody ready?"
Unikitty hastily stood up. "Ready Freddy!" she said.
"I only have my laser blaster from our first endeavour," said Dr. Fox, taking out her semi-trademark weapon, "but it's set to medium-well."
"I'm ready when you are!" said Sonic. He eyed Amy. "You brought your hammer, right?"
Amy took out the yellow hammer she's been associated with for a while now. "Never leave home without it!"
"Then it's settled!" said Trixie. "Go forth, everybody, and I shall be waiting for you when you return!"
"Good!" said Sonic. "And don't worry, shadow lady! Dinner's on me tonight!" All ready to go, we rallied up, lifted up the cloth of the tent, and walked out into the open.
Treasure gasped as we took in our first view of the Aether. "Shimmering seashells!" she shouted. "It's so beautiful!"
"Looks just like those pictures I saw a few years back!" said Po. Sure enough, the lighter green grass and grey dirt was all there, not to mention the flying pigs and cows.
A man with a long white beard and a glowing grey toga floated down to greet us. "What's up, dudes?" he said in an 80s surfer kind of voice.
Defensively, I drew my sword. "We're not gonna have to fight you, will we?" I asked.
"What? Nah!" said the figure. "I may be the Glitch Lord of Mods, but Alteris ain't much of a fighter!" Smiling, I put my sword away. "I'm still gonna have to make it tricky for you to get that Glitch Key, though." Rats. I knew it was too easy.
"So, uh, where is this…'Glitch Key'?" Po asked, trying to make sure he got the name right.
Alteris pointed over to an alcove down near the forest. "See that dungeon down there?" he asked. "It combines the Bronze, Silver, and Gold dungeons into one super-tricky challenge! Master all of them, and I'll give you the Glitch Key, fair and square!"
"Sounds good!" said Liam. "Can we go in right now?"
"Sure, go on ahead!" said the Glitch Lord. "When you're done, just come back out, and that prize is yours! Stay classy, dudes!" And with that, he flew off into the sky.
"Well…" said Po. "That was...interesting." He smiled. "But I've always wanted to try those dungeons! C'mon, let's go!"
We started walking towards the alcove where our first challenge was. "So, uh, just to make sure," said Sonic, "what are we gonna find down there?"
"If it's anything like the mod," I said, "slimes that can swallow you, mimic chests, and all sorts of other stuff."
"So what we've seen so far?"
"Yep."
"Bring it on." With the hedgehog's words, we all took one last deep breath and walked into the dungeon.
[Character Selected: Kevin]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: The Aether, Mixed Dungeon]
[BGM: The Proclaimers - I'm Gonne Be (500 Miles)]
The first room of the dungeon is a simple 3x3 room made up of some kind of chiseled gray stone. It doesn't seem like too much of a threat, but after what you've seen, you can never be too safe.
"This doesn't really seem that challenging," says Sultan, unimpressed. "I bet we just gotta look in those chests for something and we're through."
"Yep, too easy…" says Sonic. He struts forward, ready to open the first chest, when suddenly the block he steps on emerges from the ground, revealing its green eye-like gems.
"Watch out!" shouts Po. "That thing's called a sentry! It hops towards you like a slime!"
Sure enough, the block starts to hop towards Sonic. "You really think a moving block is gonna threaten me?" he says. Jumping above the block, he curls into a ball and tries to drill through, but he merely bounces off, neither side harmed.
"That's not how you do it!" says Amy, shaking her head. "You need a little more oomph!" At the last word, she smashes the sentry with her hammer. In an instant, the block explodes, which while not harming anyone, causes the chests to reveal their true states.
"Um, guys?" you ask. "Why are the chests growing legs?"
"Who cares?" says Danny. "We gotta stop them!" The chest getting close to him opens its mouth, ready to eat Danny, when he slashes through it, causing it to tumble and fall, allowing Pork Chop to smash it in a single stomp.
Sonic picks himself up off of the ground, seeing a mimic chest approaching him. "Now this is more like it!" he says, impressed. This time, curling into a ball manages to get him through the creature.
Liam arms his dispenser. "Bingo, freeze these two!" he says. "Then I can get them!"
Bingo takes out her xylophone. "Freeze!" With a single ding, the chests freeze in place. Liam takes care of the first one with a few arrows, while a single shot of Dr. Fox's laser blaster annihilates the other. "There! All gone!" says the red heeler.
Sonic taps his foot. "C'mon, that wasn't a real challenge!" he complains, sounding bored.
"Well, okay, then!" Alteris' voice suddenly shouts. "The next room will be a bit tougher, so get the things those mimics dropped!"
"What does he-?" Unikitty begins. But then she notices something at her feet. It is a bronze sword with a rather chubby blade. "Ooo! This sword looks tough!"
Po inspects the sword. "If I'm remembering correctly, this sword can set anything you hit it with on fire!" He takes the sword from the ground. "Here, you can take it!" he says, giving it to Max.
"Really? Are you sure?" asks your ally, a little unsure.
"Yeah! I already have these!" In his other hand, Po holds a stack of small blue blades. "When I throw these at things, they'll be hit by lightning!"
You tap Po on the shoulder. "Say, do you mind sharing?" you ask. Po gladly drops a stack of 16 lightning knives into your hand. "Thanks!"
"Alright, guys, next room!" Danny says, pointing towards a corridor. Walking down the path, you end up in the next room. This one has a more brownish color palette, as well as several angel-like beings wearing silver armor and wielding silver swords. "So, uh, Po - what about these guys?" Danny asks.
"I think these are called valkyries," Po explains. "If I'm remembering correctly, they're neutral mobs…" He looks ahead. "...but it looks like we're gonna have to fight them in order to proceed, so…" With a strong toss, one of the lightning knives flies into a valkyrie, sending a bolt of lightning onto its body. And then they all turn on you.
"Well, guess we're all gonna have to fight," you remark. The nearest valkyrie approaches you and slashes its sword, dealing a bit of damage. You slash its own sword with your lightning dagger and kick it in the groin.
Max parries to the left and stabs the valkyrie attacking him with his flaming sword. However, while the creature flashes red, it does not catch on fire. "Um, guys?" he shouts. "These guys seem to be immune to burning!"
"(Well, guess I won't be using my fire form,)" Spawny responds. He swings his scepter into the face of a valkyrie and uses his magic blasts to defeat it. "(Well, that's one of them…)"
"Only a bunch more to go!" finishes Sonic. Spinning into a valkyrie, he pins it to the ground. "Get 'em, guys!"
"Aye-aye, Sonic!" says Treasure, saluting. She takes Sultan and Pork Chop's hands, and the three all squish into a ball-like form to roll onto the creature. "And...that's two!"
"Nice job mastering the Spin Attack, you three!" Danny compliments. He is about to charge through the valkyrie he's facing, when suddenly, the silver sword pokes his body instead. "Ow! Oof! Gah!"
"That's not good!" says Liam. Quickly, he piles onto some dirt and fires one arrow at each valkyrie, finishing off the one that you're facing right now. "So, anyone got any ideas how to get rid of these?"
Your eyes go to Unikitty, since she's the closest to you. "Anything?"
Unikitty leans into Dr. Fox. "I'll distract them, you attack!" The scientist nods, so the princess runs into the middle. "Hey! Angels! You can't make dreams come true! Only I can!"
Amy misses smashing a valkyrie because of the distraction. "Unikitty, what are you doing?" she shouts.
"Just follow my lead, everyone!" Dr. Fox shouts. As soon as the angel-like monsters are about to attack Unikitty, a single laser hits every single one of them. Then some arrows. Then a few hammer smashes. And then Bluey turns them all into mice.
"Well, that was some nice teamwork," says Liam, jumping down from his dirt pile. He turns to you and Po. "Care to finish the job?"
You and Po pick up your lighting knives. "With pleasure!" says your ally. Reaching your arms back to make sure no one is nearby, the two of you aim at the hypnotized valkyries and incinerate them one-by-one. When the lightning clears, there is nothing but experience orbs.
"Well, it's a good thing Tails wasn't here," says Sonic. "He wouldn't have been able to handle all of that." He turns to his left and sees Kirby pouting a little. "Hey, everything alright, Kirby?"
The puffball sighs. "I'm just having a bit of a hard time making myself useful, that's all."
Amy rubs his back. "Don't worry, buddy. When the time is right, you'll find a way to shine." She notices Sultan rummaging through a chest that is, thankfully, not a mimic. "What's in there, little guy?"
"This cool-looking red diamond," responds the tiger, picking his head out with the jewel in his mouth. "When I hold it-pleh-I feel like nothing can hurt me! Literally!"
Po puts his hand to his chin. "That sounds like the regeneration stone," he says. "You may wanna hold onto that."
Danny shrugs. "How do you know so much about this mod?"
"The internet."
"Wow. Walked right into that one." Suddenly, coming from the other room, you can hear loud slapping. Almost like a rock slamming against the wall. Danny puts his ear to the wall. "That kinda sounds like…"
Sonic puts up his ear as well. "Those weird llama cubes…"
Treasure also puts her ear to the wall. "We found in those spooky caves."
"So if those things were retextured slimes," you recall, "then that means…"
"Swets," Po answers. "Be really careful!" You creep down the hallway, wondering how far into the hill this dungeon goes. Hopping up and down are a bunch of slimes, all colored blue.
"Well, these little guys don't seem so-" Bluey begins. Suddenly, she gets absorbed by one of the creatures. "Hey! Lemme out!"
"Yo, not cool, other blue!" Sonic says, shaking his head. He holds his hand out to Amy. "Wanna team up?"
Amy's face turns a bright red. "I thought you'd never ask!" she says, taking Sonic's hand. In response, Sonic curls up into a ball, charging a Spin Dash, and Amy wacks Sonic with her hammer, sending him flying through the swet that Bluey is trapped in...but is then swallowed by another swet.
"Wow. It's almost like marbles," says Liam, rolling his eyes. Suddenly, a swet appears on his arm, beginning to consume him. "Oh, for crying out loud!"
"Uh, it's starting to get me, too!" Unikitty says as she and Dr. Fox are the next to be devoured.
Desperately, you swing a lightning knife at a swet approaching Bingo. The lighting manages to kill it, but while you are distracted, another swet starts to eat you. "Alright, this is not going well!"
You watch through blue slime as Kirby looks around, seeing everyone's trapped state. "Okay, this is what you've been waiting for…" you hear him whisper to himself. He takes a mighty breath and starts to inhale every single blue slime in the room. Swet after swet flies off of everyone's body and into the puffball's mouth. Once everyone is free, he swallows and licks his lips. "Yum! Blueberry gelatin!"
Amy takes some cleansing breaths. "See, Kirby?" she says. "I knew you'd come in handy!"
Kirby smiles. "Yeah, I guess I did."
"Man, you dudes are doing pretty gnarly!" Alteris' voice echoes across the room. "Now you just gotta face a couple of bosses, and you win! But watch out: they're vicious!"
"Vicious?" says Max. "Are you sure we wanna go for it?"
You roll your eyes. "Really? After everything we've been through?"
"Yeah!" Bingo agrees. "This adventure has shown me and Bluey that we're tougher than we thought!"
"And, even if we don't succeed," adds Po, "it's still been fun playing with you! It's been an amazing adventure!"
Max nods. "Okay, okay! But first, we should eat something!"
Danny's eyes grow wide. "Oh, yeah!" Taking out a stack of golden carrots, he begins to munch on them, even sharing some with Pork Chop. As they do, Liam splashes everyone else with some of the splash potions of healing he brewed a while back, and the welcome healing power flows through your body.
"Okay, we all ready?" Sonic asks, wiping his hands.
Everyone nods. "Let's finish this thing up!" Liam says, and everyone lifts their arms up and cheers. With that, you all walk down the stairs in front of you, prepared for whatever you would find down there.
[Character Selected: Liam]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: The Aether, Bowels of Mixed Dungeon]
[BGM: Johan Johnson - arena1]
Down in the basement of the dungeon, right in the middle of the first room, was a gray, brick-like block with a big blue eye on all sides. "Hmm, this seems suspicious," said Liam, eyeing it closely. "What is this thing?"
"Hold on a sec…" Po froze, walking away from his console to search the internet for a second. Shortly afterward, he returned. "It's called a slider. It's the boss of the Bronze dungeons, can slide across the room to try and smash us, and can only be hurt by pickaxes."
Liam cracked his knuckles. "Alright, I can see where this is going." He set his crafting table down and quickly made a pickaxe out of some stone and sticks. "Let us handle this," he told the others before walking up and striking the mob with the pick. Instantly, the slider began to slide across the room.
"Whoa!" shouted Unikitty, diving out of the way and taking Sonic and Treasure with her. "That thing really is vicious!"
Liam gripped his pickaxe. "Okay, second ti-ow!" The slider smashed into his body, sending the pickaxe flying into the air.
"I got it!" Danny shouted. The pickaxe fell into his hands and was smashed into the slider once more. The creature slid away, trying to avoid more hits, when Max took out his own pickaxe and landed another hit.
"Yes! Nice job, dude!" shouted Po. Suddenly, the slider climbed onto the wall. Po watched as it slid across the ceiling, positioning itself above Bluey. "Hey! Blue dog! The slider!"
"What?" Bluey asked. She looked above herself. The slider was right above her, ready to crush her.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sultan flew out from behind Spawnette and pushed Bluey out of the way. The slider hit the ground, smashing the tiger cub's tiny body.
"No! Sultan!" Treasure cried out, reaching her paw out in despair. "It can't be…" The kitten began to cry.
At that moment, the slider slid off of Sultan's body, and he picked himself up off the ground. "Look, Jasmine! I'm roadkill!" he shouted. "Don't worry! I had the magic stone!" Everyone's despair was quickly replaced by laughter at the non-sequitur.
The slider attempted to use the opportunity to smash everyone right then and there. "Oh, no you don't!" Amy shouted, seeing it back up. She tossed her hammer right in the direction of the slider. It bounced off, not inflicting much damage, but it certainly enraged it. Its eyes turned a bright red and the mob began to slide around the room at much faster speeds. Everyone tossed themselves this way and that to avoid getting hit, but a few did manage to get trampled.
"(Well, he has really cornered us now,)" gritted Spawnette. "(What else can we do?)"
"I don't know," said Dr. Fox, laying on the ground. "The specimen is too fast to land a solid hit."
That sparked an idea within Po. Jumping out of the slider's way, he took the pickaxe from Danny's hands and gave it to Sonic. "You, Sonic! You're probably the only one who can finish this!"
Sonic chuckled. "Must I really do everything myself?"
"What?"
"Relax! Relax! I'm kidding!" Focusing now, Sonic allowed his tremendous speed to move from his movement to his senses. Time slowed as the slider froze in place all of a sudden. What looked like the block vanishing into thin air was actually the hedgehog dealing the last few blows to the slider, defeating it for good. His speed returned to his movements in time for him to see everyone's stunned reactions. "Done!" he said. "All in a Mobius minute!"
"Huh, that was anticlimactic," said Po, dusting himself off. "But at least we have one more boss to get through!"
"Yep! Just one more, and you're home free!" Alteris spoke into the room. "But this last dude is pretty hard! So…" A silver hammer dropped into the room, and Po carefully walked up and picked it up from the floor.
"The Hammer of Notch!" he shouted. "The most elusive weapon in the mod!" Suddenly, he watched as everyone but Danny, Liam, Kevin, and Max were encased in a cage made out of magma, floating on the ceiling.
"Hey! Not cool!" shouted Sonic, looking out of the bars. "In fact, incredibly hot!"
[BGM: Peter Hont - The Arch-Illager]
Looking in the middle of the room, the remaining players watched as a creature made entirely of fire emerged from the ground, illuminating the entire room. "The Sun Spirit…" said Po. "The final boss…"
"Power Badges!" shouted Kevin, pinning the items to his, Danny, and Liam's avatars. "Quick!" The power flowed into their bodies as they gained the special clothes of their Fire transformations, as well as a slightly transparent and metallic dragon hat with a rocket and retractable wings, bull horns, and bunny ears, a raccoon tail, a yellow cape, a black shell, a red scarf, and frog feet boots.
"Hah! Beyond unlimited po-" Danny began, before Liam slammed his hand over his mouth. "Alright, not the time!" Indeed, the Sun Spirit began to attack, charging across the room.
Liam tossed a few hammers at the spirit, but they merely bounced off of it harmlessly. "Rats! This dude's invincible!" he gritted. Fireballs passed across the room, so he quickly ducked to allow his shell to protect him.
Max leapt out of the way. "So how are we gonna get him?"
"Just wait until he shoots an ice ball and hit it back!" shouted Po. He grasped the Hammer of Notch in his hands. The ice ball he mentioned was shot in his direction, so he took a mighty swing and launched it at the Sun Spirit. The boss mob froze instantaneously, and Po tossed the hammer at it, inflicting a bit of damage.
"Now's your chance, guys!" Unikitty shouted down. "Get him!" Obliging, the others started to attack while they still could. Danny tossed fireballs, boomerangs and hammers at the spirit, Max dug his flaming sword into its body, Kevin turned himself both invisible and metallic and stomped onto the spirit while spitting fire from his dragon hat, and Liam combined the powers of the Super Leaf, Carrot, Jet Hat, Cape Feather, and Frog Suit to take a mighty leap above the spirit before turning into a statue and smash right into its body.
"Wow! That was amazing!" shouted Po, impressed by everyone's handiwork. He was so entranced by the spectacle, he almost didn't notice the mini-Sun Spirit coming right at him.
"Not so fast, Mr. Fiery!" shouted Bluey. She ran towards the bar, swung her asparagus at the creature, and shouted, "Peacock!" The mini-Sun Spirit suddenly paused and attempted to shove its non-existent feathers in Po's face.
"Well, that was weird," remarked the boy, confused. The Sun Spirit suddenly melted from its frozen form and barged into Max's way.
"Owowowowowow!" Max shouted, on fire. "Somebody put me out!"
"No! Water doesn't work around the Sun Spirit!" Po warned. The fireballs spread around the room, and everyone ran for cover.
"That actually wasn't too bad, guys!" shouted Danny, jumping out of the spirit's way as it attempted to charge at him. "One more hit oughta do it!"
"I sure hope so!" said Po. "It doesn't top what my friends and I have done, but beating this dude would be an accomplishment to me!" With one last wave of its hand, the Sun Spirit shot another ice ball, this time flying towards the cage where everyone else was trapped. "Somebody get that!" Po shouted.
Pork Chop watched the ice ball get closer. Seeing everyone else watch in awe, the pig hopped off of the wall, flew towards the bars, and delivered a mighty kick towards the ice ball. It was sent flying back at the spirit, who froze once more.
"Alrighty, here we go!" Liam shouted. First, Po tossed the hammer once more, dealing the first part of the final blow. Then, Max gave another slash of the flaming sword. Finally, Danny, Liam, and Kevin pressed the star on their hats, activating the invincibility associated with it. Bull horns came out of the hats as they all interlocked arms, yelled, and charged forward through the spirit just as it was about to melt. In a mighty flash, the creature vanished into thin air, and the cage containing the others vanished as well, causing them to fall to the floor.
[BGM: Peter Hont - Finally]
"Ow…" Sonic groaned, landing face-first. "Still, that was awesome, dudes!"
The effects of the Power Badge wore off, and Danny, Liam, and Kevin reverted to normal. "Yep! It sure was!" They all ran through the crowd, high-fiving their allies as they went.
"And if we managed to kill that guy," said Max, nodding his head, "just imagine what else we could do!"
"Well, I'm sure that other stuff would be mondo," Alteris' voice said, "but for now, it's time for you dudes to claim your prize! Meet me back outside the dungeon!"
Danny smiled. "Whaddya say, guys? Shall we graciously accept it?"
Everyone nodded. "Let's do it to it," said Sonic.
[Character Selected: Danny]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Corruption, The Aether]
[BGM: Peter Hont - What You Came For]
Walking back out into the daylight after being in that dungeon for so long was honestly one of the most liberating feelings I experienced in this adventure. The sunlight, the feeling of victory, the fact that the end of our overall journey was near...it all felt so right. "Congratulations, y'all!" said Alteris, standing there to greet us. "You accomplished all of the Mixed Dungeon's challenges!"
"Yep! It feels really good!" I said, stretching. "Now then, where's our prize?"
"Ah, that!" said Alteris. "I...accidentally tossed it over the edge."
"WHAT?"
"Relax, I'm just joshing y'all!" He reached behind his back and held out the final Glitch Key, covered in a white holder. As I took it, it's small buzz seemed like the sweetest sound in the world. "Just make sure to tell the other Glitch Lords that I gave you a real beatdown in case they ask!"
I chuckled. "Will do, man!" I said. "Now, we gotta head back now!"
"Yeah, you go on home and enjoy your victory rest!" said Alteris, beginning to fly away. "Stay classy, everyone!"
We waved goodbye as he drifted off into the heavens. Buzzer flew out from Kevin's inventory, his skin back to its usual green. "Fantastic work, everyone!" he said. "Your teamwork was invaluable in obtaining all five Glitch Keys!"
I looked behind myself and saw everyone that helped out in some way in achieving this moment. "Yeah, it really was," I said. "And I never could've asked for a better team! Now come on, guys! Let's head back to the tent one last time!"
[Location Change: The Aether, Tent of Rejuvenation]
[BGM: Antimo & Welles - Rueben]
Trixie was sitting there as we walked back into the tent, almost like we were her children coming home from school. She opened her eyes. "Oh, goodness! You're back already!" she said. "How did it go?"
"We did it, Aunt Trixie!" shouted Bluey, her tail wagging. "We found the last key!"
"And we beat the Sun Spirit, too!" added Po, pumping his fist into the air. "Y'know, you guys rock!"
"Well, we're fun people to be around," said Kevin. "And even if you didn't contribute much to the story, it's been a blast playing with you and your pals!"
Liam rubbed the back of his head. "What do you say you get everyone back here, maybe tomorrow morning?"
Po thought for a moment. "That sounds cool," he said, "but I'll have to ask Doc first. But I bet she'll let us do it! See you guys!" With one last wave goodbye, he left the game, ready to tell everyone else about what he had just accomplished.
I was a little confused about Liam's offer. "Why tomorrow morning?" I asked.
"It's Saturday," he said. "They won't have school tomorrow, if they aren't already out for the summer."
Bluey and Bingo gasped. "Bingo! It's the weekend!" Bluey said. "We don't have school either!"
Sultan smiled. "That means whatever we have to do tomorrow, we can get an early start!"
I nodded. "Yeah, how about it, Buzzer?"
The fly chuckled. "That would be a smart idea," he said. "This later schedule has given Perinton a bit of an advantage. If we do an earlier fight tomorrow, we can catch him off-guard!"
Sonic pounded his fist into his hand. "Let's do it!"
"Well, if we're doing this, we should probably be getting outta here!" I said. "We should get some rest!"
"Ooo!" Bingo said. "Before you go, I have something to say. It's been fun going on this adventure with you."
"Yeah. We learned a lot from you, Danny," Bluey added. "You're a good friend to be around."
"Oh, please!" I said, waving my hand. "You're just saying that because I'm the author's self-insert!"
"No, I agree!" said Unikitty. "You're a lot better guy than you think you are!"
"Even though you do look like my business rival," said Sonic, "I wouldn't mind hanging out once this is all over!"
I smiled. Never before had I believed so many people who were complimenting me. "Never change, guys," I said. "Never change."
Bluey smiled, but then she frowned. "Although, the things you taught me and Bingo have made me feel like growing up isn't going to be fun…"
My smile changed to a more neutral expression. "That's because it isn't."
"Huh?"
"Growing up means a lot of changes in your life," I said. "And maybe you just aren't prepared for it. So, this is my final advice: just don't grow up. It ain't worth it."
Trixie groaned. "You do know they are going to have to grow up sometime," she said. "They can't be kids forever."
"Physically, maybe," I said. "But mentally, they probably can." I sighed. "Alright, I'm gonna get out of here!"
"Yeah, we are, too!" said Liam. "And Danny...we're gonna have to talk about what you've been telling those two, y'know."
[World Change: Real World]
[Location Change: Danny's House]
Liam's last words echoed in my head the rest of that evening. I knew what I was doing was bad. So why didn't I stop? Because of my own self-image. I saw myself as nothing more than a broken human being that can only make sure nobody else ended up like him.
I wanted to forget about it. So I tried to focus on tomorrow. Going by the last few quests we were on, this would be the final battle. Little did I know what would happen tomorrow. In fact, tomorrow, everything would change…
[Character Selected: Sonic]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: The Aether, Tent of Rejuvenation]
[BGM: Continued]
Trixie gave a stretch as the players left the game. "Well, now that that's taken care of," she said, "I recall Sonic saying he would be handling dinner tonight?"
Sonic snapped his fingers. "Indeed. You can think up portals, right? The place I'm thinking of is called Apotos."
Amy rolled her eyes. "Oh, Sonic. You better not be doing what I think you're doing." Unsure of what she meant, Trixie closed her eyes. Turning around, Sonic saw the portal entrance of the tent turn into a bright light. Instantly, he ran through.
"(You do not seem too pleased, Miss Amy,)" said Spawnette, curiously. "(What is the matter?)"
Before Amy could answer, Sonic ran back through the portal, carrying a brown paper bag with the logo for the Don Fachio chain of hot dog stands. "Chili dogs? Really?" Amy asked.
"Oh, I'm not done!" said Sonic. He dropped the bag and ran back through the portal. A few seconds later, he ran back in, carrying a ton of ice cream cones topped with a bunch of assorted candy. "Chocolate Chip Cream Sundae Supremes for everyone!"
Sometime later, everyone was munching on their chili dogs and ice cream. "(I've always wanted to try one of these!)" said Spawny, devouring his dog. "(And man, are they delish!)"
Sonic popped a whole chili dog into his mouth. "That's why I love them!"
"Well, it's not too romantic," said Amy, "but at least we get to share dinner together!" She flirtatiously batted her eyes, grossing Sonic out.
Bingo took another bite of her dinner. "These snags are amazing!" she said, giggling. "I hope Mum and Dad get the recipe!"
Bluey giggled, munching on her sundae. "I think Mum would especially like the snags!" she said. "After all, her not-mum name is Chilli!"
Unikitty stopped nibbling her sundae. "Speaking of your mom and dad," she said, not understanding the Australian colloquialisms, "do they know about what Danny's telling you two?"
Trixie sighed. "Yes, they do," she said. "I've been writing letters for them each night."
"Well, that's a sweet thing to do," said Kirby, patting his full belly. "I hope they can join us tomorrow."
That caused Sonic to pause. "Y'know, if tomorrow is gonna be a big deal, we oughta prepare tomorrow morning,"
"He's right, guys!" said Max. "We don't have too much time! We have to make it count!"
"I'm gonna get a head-start!" said Amy. She put down her chili dog and put the walkie-talkie she brought with her up to her ear. "Hello? Sally, do you read me?" she said. "If you can hear me, rally up everyone and meet me at the park tomorrow at noon. If I have my facts straight, this could be the Freedom Fighters' biggest job yet!"
[Character Selected: Perinton]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Planet of the Gangermen, Royal Lair]
Perinton looked over his checklist. He had obtained the trust of almost everyone he was searching for. "The last one is going to be tricky, however," he noted, circling the last name on the list. He turned towards the computer room. Andy and Mark were on break for the evening, meaning he was the only one with access to the room.
The pig poked his head inside. The Connectiviator was still running, but it was not at full power. "I think it's time to see what this baby can fully do," he said, reaching for the power knob. He turned it all the way up to the maximum setting...
To be continued...and next time: Danny and the plan start to fall apart!
Next chapter: "The Darkness You Fight is Within You" Danny knew he should've stopped. He knew he was giving Bluey and Bingo bad advice. But he kept going. And now, Bandit and Chilli are mad, and ready to give him his comeuppance! But it looks like they also won't be prepared for how he responds... The first of three shorter chapters as we "Countdown to Collision"!
Postface: Chapter complete! So, at long last, the final Glitch Key has been obtained! After how long these chapters have been, you're probably delighted to hear that! I'm also delighted - that means we can finally move on!
Trivia time! Our final guest from the Minecraft: Woodsword Chronicles series is Po Chen! Po is the school's star basketball player who is wheelchair-bound and also has deep aspirations for theater! I included him here because he was basically the odd one out, but quite frankly, I felt like he was the most involved of the group, probably because of how excited I made him to be trying out the Aether mod! Speaking of which, I thought it would be cool incorporating a well-known Minecraft mod into the story - and having it be where Trixie was hiding this whole time! For this chapter, I mostly looked towards the original release of The Aether rather than the updated Aether II, probably because I felt like it would've been easier to understand that way. Well, really I just never really knew there even was an Aether II. But I did do my research - everything you see in this chapter is from at least that version of the mod! As for the power-ups included in the Power Badge this time, I took it from Nintendo Maximus's Mario story Super Bowser, which adapted the The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode Super Koopa. Specifically, Bowser tried to gain the powers of all the power-ups mentioned at once, which is the new reason why his magic pendent malfunctioned in that adaptation. As you can see, paying homage to my inspirations is something I like to do!
Wow, Bandit and Chilli sure seem mad! And Stripe is confessing to everything as we speak! And it looks like Perinton has plans for the Connectiviator! What did he use it for? Why is Bandit and Chilli waiting to ambush Danny? Why am I making it seem like these two details are related? Stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen...
That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all next time for the start of the Countdown to Collision! Stay diamond, everyone!
-Alfred
~Minecraft and everything related to it are properties of Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios. Characters, ideas, etc. from the Mario and Kirby franchises are properties of Nintendo Co., LTD. and HAL Laboratory, Inc. Sonic the Hedgehog and everything related to him are properties of Sega Corp. Unikitty and everything related to her are properties/licensees of Lego System A/S (The Lego Group) and WarnerMedia, LLC. The Palace Pets and everything related to them are properties of The Walt Disney Co. Bluey and everything related to her are properties of Ludo Studio PTY., LTD., the Australian Broadcasting Corp., and BBC Studios Dist., LTD. No copyright infringement with any of these companies nor financial gain was intended in the making of this story. Any resemblance to real-world people or events are either coincidental or done fictitiously.~