((There's a character in here that uses music. A lot of it. So I'd like to try and soundtrack this - this is optional but may help you guys out. First, play "Tubular Bells" - just the song, not the album. When the music changes, play "Night Shade" by AdhesiveWombat.))
Deadbeat Pseudo
Chapter 3
Lurch
There's bedrock and floating sand everywhere.
After finding the Wither triplets, I'd decided to investigate more so-called "haunted" seeds, hoping to find a lead to whoever changed them, but none of the seeds, even the ones with weird things, had anything out of the norm enough.
And then this beast appears, borne on player chatter. They told anybody willing to listen that the seed was absolutely messed up, that blocks randomly changed textures or dropped different things, that items broke or appeared out of nowhere, that physics began applying to the wrong blocks, that cows began to behave like zombie pigmen sometimes, that entire cave systems appeared and disappeared without warning, that bedrock could be broken by hand sometimes, that even Herobrine couldn't be causing all these things.
It's definitely not the work of someone like me, that's for sure, and I highly doubt even a real Herobrine would do something like this.
But it fits the bill of what the triplets described.
I cautiously step around another block, fully aware that things are starting to get more chaotic. My stomach isn't in good shape, either - that sickening feeling I get whenever I'm around corrupt code just keeps getting stronger and stronger. Clearly, something's up.
Suddenly, it gets cold. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle, but I keep moving.
As I walk forward, it starts getting warmer instead until it's sweltering, a Nether-like temperature. It keeps fluctuating between the two extremes, between hot and cold, until it suddenly evens out again.
My stomach is beginning to churn now; this level of corruption would likely even affect player skins. I decide to contact one of the triplets in hopes of keeping myself distracted.
"Mitre? You there?"
His voice rings out in my mind, carrying with it the barest hint of sarcasm. "No, I'm not."
"Good to know. Are you seeing this?"
"Technically not, but I can essentially guess what it's like. It's not the same person, you know."
I groan. "You mean I waded into this nauseating wasteland for nothing!?"
"Don't be like that. If we can find this person, they may very well be a powerful ally."
He has a point. I sigh and continue walking, then stop again. I can hear a faint tune playing in the distance, and it's putting me on edge.
"Anyone got an idea what that is?"
Carthage speaks up this time. "I think it's a song called 'Tubular Bells'."
"Wait, wasn't that used in that one horror movie?"
"I don't know, PH-37. That's not the type of thing I can get information on as easily."
Well, this is just wonderful. I'm climbing through corrupt code that's likely tearing my stomach to shreds, and now there's an ominous horror theme that I have to head towards. Fun times, right?
Still, I have to keep moving.
It's another hour before I reach the source of the music.
There's a lone person just standing there, some kind of small tornado whipping around them, numbers and strings of garbled code crackling in various places. I don't know who or what they are, but they're tearing the game apart.
"Hey, you! Cut it out!"
They turn ever so slightly towards me, glaring, and I step back as my stomach lurches particularly hard.
"What do you want!?" His voice (it's definitely male, although it sounds rather garbled) is sharp and cold, and it scares me a bit.
"I said, cut it out."
He laughs. "Why?"
"It's ripping the game apart, and, quite frankly, some of us do need to live here. Plus, the players are catching on."
"But they can't really do anything about me, can they?" He strides closer, and I get a better look at him.
He's of average height and a bit on the skinny side, and he wears a deep black tailed suit and jabot that fit him rather well. Every inch of his skin that I see has strange, small black marks on it that look like a circuit board, and his eyes are the same jet-black as the rest of his outfit. His right eye has two marks under it, a musical sharp and flat, and his left eye - and the side of his face - is slashed through vertically. The cut oozes black.
Every single sane part of me practically screams "run away" right now, but I manage to stay in the same place and glare back at him. "No, but I can."
He spreads his hands wide, as if about to conduct an orchestra. "You intend to fight me?"
It's go time. "No, I intend to kick your sorry arse."
He lunges, the music around him changing to something different, and I sidestep, then draw my only weapon - an iron sword.
"So, are you keeping time?" The music is escalating dramatically, but it's still the same song. I know what's going on here... this is a straight up challenge and he wants me to play by his rules.
I think I know those rules; keep the beat or die.
I move with the percussion, since it seems to be the most consistent thing, and slash in time. Whoever he is, he has a major advantage - he probably knows this song, and I don't. While I'm stuck with a simple beat, he's using the melody to keep up constant movement, flipping and spinning away from every maneuver.
I can't even get one hit in, so I turn to defensive just as the percussion drops out and the man attacks me. I stumble over my own feet in a desperate attempt to guard against the blows, but he's too fast for me and I'm hit.
I can't even see if he's using a weapon because I'm facing away from where he hits, but it feels like a sharp sword just slashed through a good part of my cheek. My stomach lurches, and I feel myself suddenly blink to the left a bit, like player skins do when they get lagged.
Pulling myself up, I flip over him - the song has looped, and I know where we are now. There's no time to be confused over what just happened - I need to move, move, move.
I put lightning into my strikes this time, spinning with the tune, and he takes one straight to the gut.
He rushes me, glaring, and that same invisible sword cuts into my side.
It really hurts this time, and my stomach goes nuts. I can feel myself lag-jump again, this time behind him. I use the opportunity to slice at his back but when I do he whips around and kicks me straight in the stomach.
My gut goes nuts, but oddly enough the pain subsides pretty fast this time. I look down at my hands and see something weird - the lightning marks on my hands have seemingly turned to lightning, and it's spreading to the rest of my body.
It doesn't seem to hurt me, though, so I keep fighting.
He's hitting harder now, but every time it hits the lurch in my stomach nullifies the pain. I'm getting used to the song as it shifts back and forth, even though parts are playing that I haven't heard before, and my movements feel lighter.
Am I turning into lightning? It seems like it, or something similar. That gut feeling that I hated before now feels like a good part of me, something keeping me anchored to the ground as I teleport from place to place, my strikes now naturally keeping the melody.
"This is called glitchform," Ultor announces out of the blue. "It's a defense mechanism shared by all Purgiests. They essentially become their element."
Good to know.
The guy in black stumbles and falls over, and the music stops short.
The second he hits the ground, the feeling in my stomach recedes and I hit the ground, too, although my descent is a bit more coordinated.
The black is leaching out of his outfit and skin, and he looks friendlier.
Also, he seems unconscious. I grab his arm, haul him over to a block, and prop him up against it.
So much for tracking down the person that Edited the Wither triplets - although he could be a lead.
I'll have to wait for him to wake up.
((Ah, this was the first time I've had fun writing a fight scene. Tell me what you think in a review, please!))
((-Ivy))