Hello, all! Pastrinator64 here with a new chapter for Hourglass!

Okay, so here's the scoop. You all know that I put out that announcement about not being able to do any more posts because of the new story my parents assigned me to create. Thing is, I had no clue what I was going to do at first, but once I had an idea and started writing for it, I realized that I was already missing writing this one.

I just couldn't give up on this story right then and there and probably lose all inspiration to write later on. I was afraid to become attached to any more characters until I was done with my work here. This has been an amazing experience for me, so it would feel so wrong to just cut it short before I'm even finished. I've got a lot of writing ahead of me and I promise to finish this story even when I have writer's block like the Black Plague!

I even went back and reread The Glitch and VOiD for nostalgic reasons. They were both amazing stories, both with so many moments that I remember first writing and laughing out loud to. This is especially true for The Glitch since it was my first time being on Fanfiction and I got so much recognition. I was tearing up at several moments, mostly the tear-jerking ones in the story. Jeff's death, anyone?

So yeah, I'm gonna keep this going. It's the only thing I can do! I refuse to give up! :D And since I mostly just got a bunch of goodbyes from my fans last chapter, which was just an announcement, I'm going to skip the replies and get right on with the show.

Without further ado, here is Chapter 16 for Hourglass! Please enjoy!

Chapter 16: Auconi Makes A Bet

Norman fell to the ground and screamed out in pain. Blood was visibly seeping from around the arrow stuck in his kneecap, catching the attention of all Norman's friends as well as all the people sitting in front of blocky slot machines that lined the casino room. All the men and women around them crowded around the group to see what was going on, some idiots taking pictures of Norman while he lied down the ground.

Bailey took a cooked porkchop from her Blockpack and handed it to Norman, who found himself suddenly ravenous; he ate it in two bites, gasping for breath. While he devoured a second slab of meat, Kelsey bent down and tried to figure out how to remove the arrow. Eventually it would despawn on its own, but it would be healthier just to get rid of it.

"Mr. Cobweb, I'm gonna take this arrow out right away, kay?"

Norman swallowed and glanced up at her quickly at the idea. He paused, biting his lip, but nodded. She put her hand on the shaft of the arrow and looked up at him without turning her head.

"Ready?"

"Ready. I can take it...AAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!"

Kelsey didn't hesitate in wrenching the arrow out right away. Bailey hastily fed Norman a third porkchop before the bleeding started up again, allowing his wound to seal up and heal for the most part. When Astrid yanked him up off the ground, he found his stance to be a little shaky, but he was otherwise okay. He nodded to Kelsey and said,

"Er...thanks."

Still, the crowd of people still stood in a square around them near the casino door, snapping photos and murmuring to each other. A couple of people did come forward finally to see if everything was okay, and after the caring people passed it was as if nothing had happened, the tourists going back to their slot blocks and squares of fortune.

The casino itself was pretty spacious, earning its name of Bottomless Cauldron Casino. And yes, that was exactly what the sign on the entrance said. Identical slot machines, each constructed from one Netherrack brick on the bottom and a command block on top, speeding images of emeralds, gold ingots, diamonds or stuff as worthless as coal in each of the three machine slots.

Most of the people were just getting angry at their machines for giving them unlucky results such as three coal lumps in a row, cursing at their machines. Just like the real one, Blocks Vegas was a money-milker of a place.

"How in the Overworld can all these people waste their emeralds on gambling machines?" wondered Bailey aloud, raising an eyebrow at all the people yelling in their seats.

Norman still had a lot of leftover adrenaline running through him; the old paranoia was coming back to him in an all-too familiar fashion. He both loved and hated the feeling, but...it made him think about sharing the experience with Liz and he just got depressed again. The rowdy, happy cheers of the group playing a dice game nearby mocked him.

"Well then! Where are we supposed to find the spirit thing?" wondered Auconi, glancing around the place as if Froace would walk right out of the crowd towards them.

"Finding tha' guy'll be like finding a needle in a haystack!" said Ben, playing it up with the cowboy talk.

Then, about three seconds later, a man leapt out in front of them; he wore silver dress clothes, his suit glittering brightly and his tie even more so. He also wore a pale gray trilby on his head and held in his hand a full-chrome cane.

"Hello, ladies and gents! Welcome to the Bottomless Cauldron Casino! My name's Nicholas Wither and I'm here to show YOU lucky contestants the Chromium Cube!"

All of a sudden, the man Nicholas zeroed in on Norman of all people and dragged him along, the others hurrying after.

"What's this bloke think he's doing? Going around flashy as a Big Blue diamond and he doesn't even choose me!" retorted Darcy, looking really annoyed.

The man's grip was too strong for Norman to pull himself free, so he was forced to be jerked through the crowds, looking back quickly at his friends for backup. They were doing their best to part the mass of people and help him. Finally, they came to a halt and Norman got his wrist back, glaring up at the man. Although, his attention was almost immediately taken by the glorious sight before him.

Sitting atop a table of polished oak wood was one giant cube of chrome, gleaming and sleek, without a single mark touching its flawless surface. It was several times bigger than Norman, standing at 10x10x10, and could probably fit everyone inside. Nicholas lifted his cane and, with a gleam of almost childlike joy in his eyes, gazed upon it and tapped it with the curved end of his cane.

"THIS is the Chromium Cube, our most impressive gambling machine in the entire building! Just step right inside to find treasures awaiting you! No longer will you leave this place sorry and broke, but instead you shall go from rags to riches! Enter!"

Norman paused, letting the beauty of the massive cube soak in...it truly was a magnificent thing...

And then he realized what he was doing and quickly lifted a hand to Nicholas, a serious look on his face.

"Sorry, Mr. Withers, not interested. I've got places to be."

He turned his back on the man and walked away without another word, gesturing for the others to follow. Nicholas was feeling quite disappointed until he saw one of the group members come forth holding a handful of diamonds. Everyone turned and many pairs of eyebrows raised; Auconi was walking up to the cube, a handful of diamonds clutched in his fingers.

He lifted the diamonds to the guy and sighed, saying,

"Could you fix these boots or something? I've got money."

He then brought out his grandpa's old leather boots, which were still torn in half from his fall back in the caves. Nicholas snatched up the diamonds first, observing them closely as if he were checking for counterfeit, then plucked his hat off his head and put the diamonds in it, then slipped it back on to cover his messy white hair.

"Proceed." he said, tapping the cube's surface again.

The Chromium Cube's front face suddenly disappeared, showing the barren inside. As Auconi jumped up onto the table, he felt somebody grab his arm suddenly and he whirled around, finding himself staring into Darcy's prideful brown eyes.

"Mate, what're you thinking? Wasting my well-earned blue beauties to mend some old crock's leather boots?" he snapped, looking even more annoyed than before. "C'mon, let's get out of here already..."

Auconi gave him a nasty look as he took back his arm and went right on in the Chromium Cube. He stood there in the center for a bit, looking around and waiting.

"So, what am I supposed—"

And then the missing face of the cube reappeared, sealing Auconi inside. Norman and company watched in a mixture of curiosity and worry.

"What exactly is Auconi going to do in there?" asked Astrid, crossing her arms.

Nicholas tapped the cube for a third time, the spark in his eyes shining brighter than ever.

"Your friend here is going to be betting not only with the diamonds he gave him, but his life as well! THAT'S the most exciting bet in all the dimensions! It's an enemy run, see, so he's got to battle one of every enemy in the game—excluding bosses, of course. If he wins, he gets his...boots. If he loses, then he dies."

It was about this time that they were getting ready to take crazy Nick down, but for some reason he seemed to be able to sense their intentions.

"Don't bother fighting me! It's not as if I can open it! The Chromium Cube will only open when he's completely finished, alive or not."

Auconi's instinct suddenly kicked in out of nowhere and he whirled around, whipping out his blade and stabbing a Creeper that had come up out of nowhere. He slid his diamond blade all the way through before kicking the ugly plant creature to the ground. It disappeared in a puff of white particles, letting out one final hiss.

"What the...?" he muttered, staring as the smoke faded away into the air.

Before he could even process what was going on, he heard the gurgle of a zombie behind him and turned around instantly, side-stepping the thing as it charged him. The zombie had a hard time coming to a stop and simply rammed into the white wall; Auconi took the opportunity and rushed him with his sword, bringing down the tip into its rotting abdomen.

Soon after, a spider appeared above him and tackled him to the ground. Auconi gritted his teeth while he struggled, and then kicked the giant arachnid off. He leapt to his feet and started circling the spider. It hissed and spit at him, its fangs clicking at the sight of its mobile snack. While he waited in anticipation for the spider to make its next move, Auconi lifted his head and shouted to the people outside,

"Hey! Nicholas Craphead! I did NOT agree to this!"

His yelling got the spider riled up again, so it zoomed forward to bite him. Too bad for the spider, but Auconi had reflexes to rival its, dodging the attack and pivoting on his heel to swing his sword back around, slicing off a couple of the spider's legs. Auconi lowered his head and smirked down at the spider as it struggled towards him awkwardly, spider juices flowing out of its open wounds, a pained screech coming from his mouth.

"Still looking for more, eh?"

He zoomed right past the spider in a second, his blade to the side, and sliced it through the center. The spider despawned seconds later, and as Auconi stood there in the center of the room, looking around and listening carefully for any more monster noises, nothing happened. He waited another five seconds in silence, when a voice sounded inside the room.

"Round 1 complete!" it declared, sounding much like Nicholas's only a bit robotic. "Round 2 is in session, everyone! Swarm mobs, activate!"

The low, zombified oink of a pig entered Auconi's ear to his left and he turned in that direction, finding himself facing a zombie pigman that had spawned three blocks from his position. It watched him suspiciously, not giving off a signal that it was about to move, but still at the ready. Auconi stared it down, at the same time watching its bony fingers clutching the golden blade in its hand, waiting for even the slightest twitch. He slowly walked forward, diamond blade scraping the pure chrome floor as he pursued the zombie pigman.

"Where're your friends?" he questioned the creature, almost expecting an answer.

When he was a mere block from it, Auconi rushed forward and stabbed it straight through the stomach. It squealed in horrible pain and was knocked back by Auconi when he kicked it off his blade. Suddenly, the sound of several more oinks and grumbles came from his right and he saw four more of the Hellspawn speeding towards him.

After finishing off the wounded one, Auconi turned to face his pursuers, and his smirk morphed into a full grin, teeth and all. Despite being in the unfair situation he was in, Auconi couldn't help but enjoy it. It was happening once more. Here he was, trapped in a hopeless situation, outnumbered by monsters, and yet he found his smile to grow. The old fever was returning to him. His monster hunter was coming out again.

"You monstrosities want a fight, do you? Well then...let's dance!"

Auconi bolted forward at the last second, surprising the horde of zombie pigmen and targeting the middle one, slicing its head clean off with one swipe. A golden blade came into view a split second later and Auconi ducked, rolling to the side and chopping off part of the second one's left leg; it fell to the ground, tried to kill him yet, and was battered with the hilt of the sword.

The other two zombie pigmen flanked him, charging with their swords outstretched and eyes full of hatred, but Auconi fell flat on his back and brought his legs together, ramming the two of them into each other and impaling each other with their own blades. He hopped to his feet and then grabbed the hilt of the third pigman's blade, wrenching it out of the creature's chest and swinging it back around to launch its partner.

The two zombie pigmen lay on the ground, staring up at Auconi in a mixture of disbelief, anger and immense pain, eyes pleading for mercy. Auconi held the two golden swords in hand, breathing hard and eyeing the dripping blood with a strange hunger. At the sound of the tortured oinks coming from his victims, he turned slowly to face them once more. Without giving them another chance, Auconi stepped forward and stabbed beheaded the two creatures at the same time, each with their own sword.

"Back to the Nether you go!" he breathed, wearing a smile to rival Smile Dog's as he was engulfed in his own adrenaline.

And then came the hiss of a silverfish behind him.

"Another swarm's coming!" he muttered, turning back around to watch the pathetic little bug crawl towards him in a zig-zag pattern. "Like they say, the MORE the MERRIER!"

Oh...well then. It looks like Auconi's monster fighting obsession has been at rest for a while. Oh yeah, and I noticed that I wasn't giving the OC's enough time in the spotlight, so here you go! Now I just need to get Alexander back into the story despite his ability to annoy the crap out of everyone just by being. I have a plan for him, though, so not to worry!

Anyhow, here's the QAA that I didn't do last time!

To Thorvon: Can I have some nachos?

Thorvon: Well, I don't see any reason to not share the love of nachos, so of course! *hands you the nacho platter*

To All: *signs up as the new Fourth Wall Repairman*

All: HUZZAH!

Phil: Aha! I knew that I was important! By the way, I'm still living in the 4,444th dimension, I'm just retired now. Ahhh, it's been a long time since I got to rest up this much. Now I don't have to worry about getting rid of the extra holiday pounds!

To Liz: Are you in the (corrupted) Aether, in the Plasma Dimension, or in Heaven?

Liz: *depressed, shaken horribly, but still aware of her role in the book* I'm not allowed to tell you, technically. You'll have to wait for me to come up in a later chapter... *fourth wall shatters, Phil laughs as he watched as Pastrinator64 Jr. scrambles around to clean it up*

To All: How do you feel about being locked in Pastrinator64's head for several months?

Norman: Well, I guess it's alright in here. I mean, the inside of his head is normally barren, but he imagined a nice hobby room for all the characters to hang out in.

Liz: Well, it's too bad I can't be around Norman while I'm in the story, but at least we can be together in here. It's kind of fun being a teenager again; everything is twice as fun as I remember! Norman is even a lot more fun than usual. *grins, then surprises Norman with a kiss on the cheek*

Kelsey: I agree with Norman; it's got a pool table and cooler, so that's cool!

Adrian: Heck, it's actually the best break I could get! Golly, we can just laze around an' talk with all o' the other characters without havin' ter worry about the story.

Astrid: Two words: pool table! I'm in the same boat as Kelsey, man! *smacks the table puck into Kelsey's goal* BAM!

Bailey: Well, I can definitely say that it's an interesting place to be—in somebody's brain, I mean. I'm not sure I can comprehend it, but I just try to sit back, converse with everyone and wonder what the heck Pastrinator64's going to put us through in the future.

Darcy: I don't really side with one end of the combo. I'm about as happy as a disturbed nest of blue-tipped wasps though, cuz' that woman forgot to register me for a room! She even got Auconi, the fruit loop! *eyes Bailey angrily*

Auconi: I dunno! It's just really weird to me. I sure do like it better than actually being in the story, though. That's a WHOLE lot harder!

Alexander: Ah, screw it all. Whether I'm in the story or not, just having to talk to all these people is torture. *as he's walking out the side door,* I'm going back to Blocks Vegas.

Vanessa: Sure, sure, it's great. The only thing is, I can't find a single spot in that hobby room where it's quiet enough for me to focus on my book! *a puck flies into the air and hits her in the back of the head, she whirls around* ASTRID! For crying out loud! Control yourself!

The Glitch: Simply wonderful, I tell you! They have a table just covered in baked goods! I see why my creator is in love with pastries so much! I LOVE IT ALL! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *devours an entire table of cupcakes*Except for Minecraftian cakes, which are absolutely disgusting and lack any significant flavor.

Ben: GAH! You have no idea how rich it is for me to finally be able to get away from that idiot Glitch! It has me under its control inside the story, but here I can get back to talking to Salutem! Unfortunately, the Mental Man Cave has these restrictions that prevent us from sharing confidential information with the other members. Still, that doesn't stop me from telling him how horrible my new ruler is.

Danny: Why can't they just give me another chance, huh?! I've been stuck in this room since the end of The Glitch and I'm frickin sick of it! C'mon, Pastrinoob! Are you going to let me at least have one cameo, or what?! *waits for answer, receives none*

Okay, so I usually hate having to answer those really long "To All" ones, but this one was actually kind of interesting, so I decided I'd give it a go. Sorry if there's a character that you wanted to hear from who I didn't put it!

Oh yeah, and I'm going to be making chapters a bit shorter now just in general. It'll help me post faster knowing that my standard is a bit lower than I put it. I'll do 3,000-3,500 for each chapter at the least, alright?

Anyhow, I plan on seeing you soon with the next chapter! Chapter numbah 17, everyone!

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 [~]