Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter for Hourglass!
Okay, so this chapter is a longer one and I've decided to keep the Author's Note short and sweet! NO QUESTIONS!
Replies to Reviews...
Marshman101: Yeah, I can only imagine what Kenneth will be like when he takes in some of that plasma...heh...heheheheh...HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!
Airas Slayer: Glad you enjoy having Kenneth stick around! I figured this was the only appropriate route to go after everybody freaked out over his death. And you really think Calista is just MEH?! ...me too, honestly. XD What am I talking about, of course she is! She was supposed to be a bit of a neutral character to balance out the zaniness of the original group, but she ended up being a little bit boring.
Ooooh! Top 10! Noice!:D
Badgerman: I've had enough of just PLANNING what to do, I want to actually DO IT! Which is exactly why this is the last chapter before, well, you know...eh, you'll see! ^^
Like I said, this one's a long chapter! It's just, well, I HAD to finish the song! What song, you may ask? Well, you're sure to find out in a bit, aren't you? Huehuehuehuehuehuehueh!
Now, let the story commence!
Chapter 33: A Magical Musical Training Video
The Mastermind cracked his neck and shoulders, both of which were now covered in rippling muscles. He then took a step towards Vanessa, who had to use every bit of her willpower to not back away in fear. He stopped only a few blocks from her position, pausing for a while to let the breeze rustle the bells on his hat. After standing there for an unnecessary amount of time, he lifted his beefy arm and jabbed a finger at the ground, causing the earth to shake. Vanessa didn't lose her balance at all, but this certainly shook her around where she was, and so she had to grab onto the nearest tree to feel stable.
A few seconds later, a towering pillar of slime blocks shot up from beneath the Earth, extending high, high up into the sky. It kept going until there were a whopping fifty blocks aboveground, standing erect in the middle of the forest. The Mastermind looked back down at Vanessa, who had her neck craned so she could spot the top. He crossed his bulging arms and said,
"As you already know, all us witches and wizards can see how much magic energy a single person actually stores inside of them. I've seen your pool and you've definitely seen mine by now."
Vanessa looked up at him curiously, an eyebrow raised. She was already unsure where he was going with this.
"So I'm gonna tell you this now! …the level of magic you possess right now far surpasses anyone in this dimension except for me, what with you and my pal Rexum being fused. Combining what he had left with the stuff you already had inside you, you're already just as powerful as he was when he was still alive."
At these words, Vanessa's eyes widened tenfold. She'd only been just introduced to magic when considering how long all the other sorcerers she'd met had been at it, but…
She recalled some of the times she and Rexum had worked together. Like the time the two of them double-handedly saved her brother and all his friends from that colossal squid; that was one of the Glitch's rejected mutants, for crying out loud! And when Rexum was dying and he gave her the rest of his magic, which she used to destroy Jeragarizarg in one blow? That was their combined work again! She glanced up at the Mastermind, who was suddenly giggling to himself.
"What's so funny?" she asked, feeling skeptical again.
"Nothing, nothing! Eeheehee…" the jester chuckled, shaking his head and looking away from her. "It's just that I had a thought. If you're able to survive, well…"
He glanced up at the tower of slime blocks that stood between them, immobile and glistening in the bright sun. After a few moments, he waved a hand at her and said,
"Forget it, I'll tell you later! Heeheeheehee!"
He slapped his hands together with extreme volume, making Vanessa jump.
"Now then, on with my point! What I'm trying to tell you is that you have no problem whatsoever using your magic in calculated ways that'll be useful in actual combat! You've taken on that particular characteristic from Rexum for certain…BUT, what one of your many, many issues—" Vanessa's ears pricked. "—is that you rely too heavily on attacking from afar. You only ever use Cantatis for long-ranged magical blasts and barriers; never in the thick of it, you sit at a distance and fight from fifty blocks away!"
Hearing this, Vanessa crossed her own arms in annoyance, trying not to let the redness in her cheeks show as she said,
"S-so what if I only fight from a distance? Rexum did the same thing!"
A big gloved finger appeared directly in her vision and waggled back and forth so rapidly it made her head spin.
"On the contrary, little witch! Despite how old of a fart he was, Rexum was in the best of condition physically and his knowledge on staff-wielding was unmatched! …by anyone but me, of course. Here, let me show you what you missed a while back when you and Lucas were playing patty-cake in the jungle tree."
Before Vanessa could respond to the usage of the words "patty-cake," the Mastermind held out both his hands in front of her and made a circle, creating a reflective yin-yang that played back what looked to be a duel between him and Rexum. She watched in awe as the two of their staffs clashed and grazed each other, as Rexum flipped this way and that around the Mastermind, dodging every swipe that came his way. It was absolutely mesmerizing…
Her master disconnected his fingers, causing the yin-yang to evaporate into thin air.
"He was always prepared for close-quarters combat, missy! Eeheeheeheeheehee!" he giggled, and Vanessa stared up at him in mild shock. "I did say you had a deep, DEEP pool of magic energy. I didn't say it was infinite; I didn't say you couldn't run out of it! Heehee...hey, you know what? I guess you could say it works a lot like your Block power! Yeah!"
Vanessa lowered her head to the ground and stared at it as the thoughts of losing her magic poured into her mind. She hadn't really thought about it that explicitly before, especially considering Rexum almost never let his exhaustion show when he was in front of her. She suddenly had flashbacks of watching him for hours while he sat on top of, next to, and even one time underneath his Eyestone to meditate. Something told her now that he was doing more than trying to just find inner peace. She glanced up at the Mastermind, who was now thumb wrestling with a pair of detached white and black gloves, both in suspended animation and really going at it.
"Um…" she murmured, her stomach a bit uneased at the sight before her. "So, you're telling me that I can only ever be as powerful as Rexum if I become as physical STRONG as him? And as fast, skilled, and full of stamina, too?"
The Mastermind snapped back to attention and waved both his real hands, summoning the gloves back onto his dichromatic fingers.
"That's exactly what I am saying!" he declared dramatically.
"Okay…and that's why you're buff now?" she added, awkwardly lifting a finger to his grotesquely fit figure.
He clenched all his muscles simultaneously, a whip crack sounding from his body.
"You bet!"
Vanessa's eyes slowly turned towards the slimy tower extending high into the air above her.
"…and the tower?"
The Mastermind grinned and suddenly took a step back, followed by another, and another, and several more. As he gradually backed away from his apprentice, he said,
"I think it's about time we finally get this session on the road. You did say you were going to go through with it, so there's no point in waiting now! Ready to begin?"
Before Vanessa could say otherwise, the Mastermind stood straight up from his new position and shouted,
"GREAT! Then let's get started! …seriously this time. I mean it, let's get on with it already. All this procrastination is killing me!"
But before he could do anything more, Vanessa raised both her hands to stop him.
"Wait, wait! I just have to ask this before we get started!"
He rolled his oddball eyes and sighed, replying,
"Oh, what now?"
"What's with the background music? It's been playing for almost ten minutes straight and I can't even pin where it's coming from…"
The Mastermind merely snickered and put his fingers together, cracking them with intense volume.
"Heeheeheehee! You'll figure that out in just a second! Now then, LET'S DO THIS!"
"How should I know where the bludger went?" snapped Darcy, who had suddenly become extremely bitter at the mention of Kenneth's disappearance. "He hadn't even bothered to fulfill his bloody promise and turn my babe Jasmine into a deadly beater before he up and left!"
He lifted Jasmine to their eye level and added,
"Sure, she may shine like the bright sun even under the gust of a monster, but she ain't stroke-perfect."
Bailey rolled her eyes and turned away from him, grasping Norman's shirt to pull him away as well. The two of them stood in the center of the cart and huddled together, whispering to each other,
"What are we going to do now? No one in here knows what happened to him!"
"Did we ask everyone for sure?"
"I think so…wait, hold on. I forgot to tell you something."
"What, then?"
Bailey's eyes moved away from Norman's and looked to her right, landing on Adrian. She got a jolt in her stomach when she saw that he was staring directly at her as well. She quickly looked back at Norman and straightened up, maintaining her quiet tone.
"I saw Kenneth look at Adrian last night; something Adrian did scared the code out of him, apparently, but I don't know what. Should we ask him what's up?"
Norman shot a very brief glance at the southerner through his peripherals before returning his gaze to his best friend.
"I don't see why not."
As the two of them talked on what to do, Ben just watched from his seat. He could clearly hear their conversation, of course, so the clear suspicion they were displaying was immediately taking its toll on his cover. Sooner rather than later, they'd figure out that their buddy Adrian wasn't his whole self. He had to act fast and prolong their investigation.
Ben focused his power across the room to the girl Kelsey Ice, who he recalled to be that love interest of Cobweb's offspring; she was of little importance to the group in terms of combat and survival, so he could do whatever he pleased with her. With a sprinkle of plasmatic energy, he entered Kelsey's mind and animated her still body while she slept. She awoke suddenly and stood up, putting one foot in front of the other as she walked casually towards him. Then she sat next to him and he blinked once, revitalizing her.
"Oh jeez!" she piped, shaking her head and looking around hastily. "Adrian, hi! Did I…man, did I just sleepwalk over here? That hasn't happened since I was little!"
She let out an embarrassed giggle and shrugged, scratching her neck. Ben chortled along with her, absolutely nailing Adrian's laugh. When she refocused her attention on him, Kelsey added,
"Anyway, I've been meaning to ask how you've been feeling lately. You just seem really out of it, y'know? I mean, during our last adventure you were able to deal with a ton of junk, like the world being mutated at night, and the battles against the viruses, and the MASTERMIND…but you look so empty inside now. What's up?"
This was perfect. He could see the disappointment in Bailey and Norman's eyes when they realized they'd waited a second too long to talk to him. Now that Kelsey was in the way, they would have to wait even longer!
"Adrian?"
Ben snapped back into focus and met Kelsey's emerald eyes.
"Hey, yeah!" he declared, slapping some fake energy into his statement. "I know what you mean, really. The thing with our last journey was, well…shoot, Kelsey! Almost all o' the guys and girls we had our adventures with are gone now! Vanessa, Gabe, Mark…aw, heck! Even Lucas was okay to be around! I miss 'em all! Not sure about Raven, but everyone else, yeah."
Kelsey nodded, turning her eyes to gaze up at the blue sky passing above them.
"I can definitely agree with you on that; I miss Mark for sure. Like a lot…"
Ben rolled his eyes while she wasn't looking. Good grief, all her reminiscing of that damn Markus Cobweb was grading away at his ears. It was at this moment that he decided he'd let the real Adrian take control again. He just had to step backwards into his subconscious and retrieve him; that was an action best done during sleep, because otherwise it would look to the others that Adrian simply fainted out of nowhere. While he and Kelsey continued to converse, Norman and Bailey had returned to their original seats to continue their private conversation. Norman shouldered Shatter and said,
"I know this is off-topic of what we're talking about now, but I'm just aching to get to New Pork City. Now that I've had the sights of returning home back in my mind again, I just really, really, really want to get back to the real world again. With no Glitch or anything, just peace and love on good ol' planet Earth! And I know it's farfetched, but I like to think that I can still save Mark and Lizzy from being deleted forever. Every computer, and I mean every computer, has backup storage for deleted items. I should know."
Bailey sighed and sat back against the metal of the vehicle around them, replying,
"I'd like to think that also."
A long pause followed this last sentence. While she gazed at the sky and Norman repeatedly bounced Shatter over his shoulder, not a single word was uttered from either. Another few minutes passed before one of them spoke again.
"Good Notch," muttered Bailey, shaking her head. "You're right about the long wait to get to New Pork City. What time is it?"
Without changing his line of sight, Norman reached over with a single finger and pressed down on the F5, opening up the world data for the second time that day. It was almost one o'clock, so they still had a quarter of a day left to go. He was aware that the days were much, much shorter in the world of Minecraft than back in his own dimension, but nevertheless he felt like the wait was eating away rapidly at his patience. By spending this much time in Minecraftia, he'd grown accustomed to their versions of daytime and nighttime, so it all still felt terribly long to him.
As these many thoughts pushed at his brain, he felt a bit of grogginess settle in. He hadn't gotten all that much sleep last night and the whole day so far had consisted of sitting and waiting around awkwardly; his body was beginning to shut down due to the lack of activity. His eyelids started to droop immediately and he let out a small yawn. Surely, he figured, he'd end up falling asleep in a matter of minutes.
And being aware of this story's condition, he was well aware of how painful filler could be to their audience.
Vanessa's ears came to attention the moment that pesky background music began to get more and more prominent in the area. Now she could make out snare drums and marching bells in the steady, fast-paced tune. The Mastermind backed up yet another step and lifted his hand, summoning his twin-snake staff in his right hand and pulling out a simple wooden one from out of nowhere, which he tossed suddenly to her. She just barely caught it, the pole tumbling around in her arms before she had a good grip on it.
Then the trumpets sounded in the background as well, adding another element to the music. It seemed like it was all building up to something. In addition, Vanessa couldn't help but notice there was an odd familiarity about it, like she'd actually heard it before. It reminded her of the beginning of a song from a really, really old movie his dad once showed her and Mark.
Then it hit her.
But it was too late, the trumpet intro had finished and the Mastermind had lifted his staff up to his chest, gripping it tight with both hands and broadening his grin. Then he began to sing and it all made sense…
"Let's forget the witchcraft!"
He summoned two flower pots, which flew up high in the air and fell back towards the ground with great velocity.
"And work on,"
He shattered both of them as they plummeted, his strikes perfectly in time with the beat of the song, and then jabbed his weapon straight at her face, making her jump.
"Your brawn!"
He suddenly disappeared into thin air, the whirling sound accompanying the string instruments that sounded around Vanessa. While he remained invisible to her wandering eyes, he continued with the made up lyrics.
"Rexum sent a rookie,"
Without her knowing, he reassembled behind he and curled over her, slipping a silverfish down the hood of her robes. She lurched forward upon feeling the slimy little feet crawling down the skin of her back and she flailed the pole, unintentionally shooting bursts of red energy every time she jumped to escape the creature. As trees around her were sliced in half by the storm of crimson blades, Mastermind floated up above her and groaned,
"Yet I asked for none!"
He began to descend to her level, shaking his head in disappointment as he watched her frantic struggle to get rid of the bug. He landed neatly on the ground and crossed his beefy arms, singing,
"You're the weakest girl I've ever met,"
With his eyes closed, he wasn't aware of the magic blast sent directly towards him, and he merely went on.
"And you can BET—" the beam collided with his gut and caused him to stumble backward, eyes wide open. "—before we're through…"
He took a thundering step forward and snatched the pole from her hands in the blink of an eye, making Vanessa go instantly red in the face and fold her hands. He knelt down and got nose to nose with her, glaring at her with the fierce black and white tones of his gaze. He grabbed the extra fabric of her robes and sang,
"Bookshelf I'll,
Make a witch,
Out of you…"
On his last note, the two of them teleported across the clearing to a set of trees with square targets placed on their trunks. The Mastermind summoned a bow in his hand, setting the staff to stand on its own next to him, and threw up a random triplet of apples. He pulled back on the string and let loose three arrows to match, stabbing through each fruit's core and pinning them to every target before him.
Vanessa picked up an apple that was on the ground next to her and took the Mastermind's bow in her own hand, materializing her own trio of cerise fruits midair—a spell that she rarely used—and letting loose another volley of arrows. All three missed and she grimaced, bending the bow in her anger. She magically returned the apples to their midair spot and let them fall, preparing even more arrows.
"Silent as a Creeper,
But a wolf inside…"
She missed the apples a second time and let out a small growl, throwing down her weapon. The Mastermind sighed and rolled his eyes, teleporting them to yet another part of the area. They stood atop the foliage surrounding the clearing, Vanessa now teetering at the edge of the tallest jungle tree with a bucket of lava balanced over her head and a new pole gripped between her thin fingers. The Mastermind laughed maniacally and summoned a number of floating cobblestone blocks, jabbing a thick finger at her and sending them flying.
"Once you've trained with me, kid,
You will be,
ALRIIIIIIGHT!"
The pail of molten rock fell off her head immediately, setting the back of her robes aflame and causing her entire body to thrash around, only getting knocked off balance when the first block hit her head on. She fell off the tree in an instant, screaming as she plummeted, staring in disbelief as her master appeared beside her mid-fall to discourage her in song.
"You're a feeble, scaredy-ocelot,
And your act gives me the blues,"
They teleported once again, this time back in front of the tower. Vanessa fell backwards upon touching the ground and landed flat on her back, wheezing a bit as she tried to regain her breath. The Mastermind loomed over her, absorbing her in his shadow.
"Still I will,
Make a witch,
Out of youuuu!"
He snapped his fingers once more, transporting them to a tunnel just beneath the surface of the clearing. Vanessa stood at one end while the Mastermind was at the other, and he beckoned her forward. With a determined scowl, she darted forward and ran as fast as possible, immediately feeling the exhaustion taking its toll on her. Then the arrows began to fly from the dispensers across each wall, causing her to panic.
And yet, as if the background music was enchanted, she was forced to start singing as well.
"I'm never gonna catch a break,
"Say goodbye to Mark and daddy,
"Why'd I go and read in gym instead of sprint?"
An arrow hit her in the back of her leg and she screamed in agony, falling to the floor; just before hitting the stone, she felt her body whoosh through the air and fall into the soft, green grass of the aboveground area. She stood up, dizzy, and instinctively leapt back to avoid a swipe from the Mastermind's staff. Now that he was actually attacking her, she summoned the pole that was lying ten blocks away to her left hand, lifting it to try and block the next stab. As she continued to hardly avoid his unpredictable jabs, she sang,
"I might meet an early death—"
The final blow hit her straight in the face, sending her flying across the area and into another tree. She gasped, holding her bleeding nose, but somehow managed to keep singing.
"—he's probably gonna tear right through me,
"After this my legs will surely have shin-splints!"
The Mastermind popped up in front of her and shook the ground with a single step, shaking his fist in her face and declaring,
"BE THE WITCH!"
He sent the two of them back to the center of the clearing, setting her down in front of a long row of unlit fireworks. In the distance, perhaps thirty or so blocks away, there was an armor stand holding leather pieces, representing her one and only target.
"You must be quick as a spider jockey,"
"BE THE WITCH!"
Vanessa huffed through her nose out of irritation and picked up the first one to her left, lighting its fuse and taking aim. If she'd learned anything in physics, it was how to perfectly project an article of propulsion in an exact arc.
"With all the firepower of Ghasts and Blazes,"
"BE THE WITCH!"
Only thing was, this rocket was burning her as it counted down to blastoff, and so she fumbled with it, hissing and crying and ow-ing out each time a spark touched her. The moment it actually shot off, it went so off-course that it twirled around midair and landed back in the pile, igniting every other explosive in a ten-block radius.
"With the great presence of iron golems,"
All sixty-three remaining fireworks flew off in different directions, causing Vanessa to skitter away in alarm. She dodged one soaring hothead after another as they threatened to blow her into the ground. Finally, she let out a shriek and threw up her hands, summoning Cantatis above her and forming a shield to deflect it all. From beneath her transparent red bubble, she looked up and out at her master, who looked less than amused at the sight of magic.
"For one day I know this world won't autoSAAAAAAVE!"
He lifted his arms to the sky and out rose a tall hill from the center of the open grass, shaking the entire jungle. He summoned an anvil over Vanessa's head and let it fall, landing directly on her back. She was crushed into the ground and got all the air knocked right out of her, though something in her brain told her she just had to keep going. She struggled for a moment, but eventually was able to stand up with the gravity-affected block. The Mastermind pointed to the hill's peak.
"Life is like an hourglass," he cried furiously, his tone rising high above the trees.
"And its sands flow by,"
A bitter expression formed on Vanessa's face before she staggered toward the lush slope. It took every ounce of energy left in her legs to push her off the ground and get her on the next level, where she promptly fell onto her side due to the sheer weight of the metal burden she was now carrying. She was breathing heavily and shaking slightly, fatigue hitting her hard. The jester in black and white stomped his curly-toed boot a mere pixel from her head and continued to sing.
"Be Minecraftia's guardian,
And we might,
Be fine,"
All of a sudden, Vanessa looked up in the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to already set. She'd wasted half of her day being tortured by this wacko sorcerer and what did she have to show for it? An arrow wound, a couple silverfish bites, and several bruises, that was what! She sat up on the hill and sniffed, putting her head in her hands. The Mastermind merely walked away from her, his arms crossed and his eyes closed.
"It was wrong for me to take you and leave,
Guess I'll just find someone new…"
The tears were present in her eyes now as she thought of all the people she'd be disappointing by failing to become as great of a warrior as Rexum was. There was no way she could ever contact him again without bursting into pathetic hysterics. Without a guardian, was the whole dimension really doomed?
"Why'd I try,
Make a witch,
Out of you…?"
As the Mastermind left her to cry alone, Vanessa felt a sudden spurt of determination enter her bloodstream. The doubt from Mastermind, her own self-hatred; it was all pushing her closer and closer to wanting to achieving her goal, desperately hoping that she could become what she needed to become. Then something caught her attention; she sat up hastily and turned her head to face the towering pillar of slime blocks that stood not all that far from her. Then she looked back at him, watching for a few moments as he removed himself from the vicinity.
Instantly, a fire burned in her heart.
Was she going to become a real witch? Was she going to take Rexum's place? WAS SHE GOING TO GIVE UP BECAUSE OF SOME DAMN ARROWS AND AN ANVIL?!
She stood up and threw the hefty metal chunk from her back, feeling a surge of energy in her limbs as she jogged towards the tower. She came to an abrupt halt beside it and gave the blocks a good stare, mentally processing her newest challenge. Finally, she cracked her neck and took another step forward, throwing her arms out around it and letting her extra-long sleeves wrap around it. She pulled back a split second later, feeling the fabric catch and form a tight knot. Now it was time to put her adrenaline to the test! The background singers continued the parody's legacy and chimed,
"BE THE WITCH!"
"You must be quick as a spider jockey,"
As the Mastermind's right leg swung past the first tree in his walk of shame, he lifted his head to a sound in the distance. When his head spun seamlessly around atop his neck, he saw a miracle taking place. He smiled and turned himself fully, leaning back against the nearby tree trunk and congratulating himself on how well the insult route had worked out.
"BE THE WITCH!"
"With all the firepower of Ghasts and Blazes,"
Vanessa let out a pained grunt every time she hoisted herself up another eight pixels, but she swore that she wouldn't let her aching muscles get to her. In fact, her speed increased every second she remained pressed against the slimy, jiggly pole. She had but one goal: get to the top of this Notch-forsaken tower!
"BE THE WITCH!"
"With the great presence of iron golems,"
She was unsure how long it took her to see the top, but Vanessa was confident that it hadn't been all that much time. At the tip of the wobbly structure she could see a single arrow embedded in that final block—odd, of course, because when exactly did Mastermind shoot at the tower in the first place? All technicalities aside now, Vanessa felt her goal come nearer and nearer and she pushed herself, her throbbing arms repeatedly rising up and pulling her higher yet.
The Mastermind continued to watch from a distance. He tried his best to ignore the black and white flashbacks of Rexum's training as he felt the pride burst in his chest. And yet he just couldn't help but see so much of him in the young Bookshelf. The sudden feelings of determination to prove everyone wrong was absolutely marvelous!
"Cuz' one day this world may still indeed be SAAAAAAAAVED!" he joined in, praising the skies for this amazing breakthrough.
A few moments later, Mastermind spotted a small dark object whizzing through the air towards him, which he reached out to with his long arm and caught with one hand. He uncurled his fingers and sure enough it was the very arrow he'd earlier placed at the top of that mean, green spire, a little emerald jelly still stuck to its head. He glanced back up at the tower and saw that Vanessa was giving him a big wave, both her hands in the air. He returned the gesture, of course!
Back up in the air, Vanessa could literally not be any happier. She wasn't sure what had snapped inside her or activated or whatever, but she was up and raring to go for another chance at the trials. She imagined that this was exactly how Rexum felt when he first reached the top. Exhilaration, breathlessness, pride, and self-confidence.
"HA! I told you I could do it!" she screamed, the pumped-up background music only adding to her euphoria.
Far in the distance, she saw the Mastermind twist his staff around into a cornucopia shape and press it to his lips. Then he shouted back with,
"That's great, Vanessa! ...NOW TRY COMING BACK DOWN FROM THERE!"
Oh yeah. Getting back down was a thing…
And she still had a tenth of a song to get through, yet.
Norman's dreams, as usual, were of nothing but Mark, Vanessa, his wife, and obviously the Glitch. For over twenty years he'd been tormented by this monster and boy was he ready to end it all for good…then all of a sudden, the entire cart jerked to a stop and slammed him directly into the wall, banging up his nose!
"OW!" he cried, falling to the side and landing in the carpet.
When he managed to stand up, he noticed that everybody else had suffered similar injuries upon their abrupt halt. Darcy was nursing a hit to the funny bone, Alexander had accidently gotten punched in the face by Nikki, and Astrid had fallen awkwardly on her right leg, which she was rubbing profusely in a useless attempt to lighten the pain. Norman whirled on his heel and gave Alexander a sharp look, spouting,
"Why'd we stop? I just bonked my nose on the wall of your cart, so perhaps some warning would be nice for next time…"
Alexander returned with an equally nasty expression, saying,
"I dunno, smartass, why don't you go outside and check?!"
Norman gritted his teeth and turned around, grumbling to himself about edgy teenagers as he made his way across the space. He passed the multi-block pillar and reached the open doorway in no time, which he leaned far out of so he could look left and right. Sure enough, they'd stopped in the middle of a vast plains setting, a long forest far, far to his left.
And to his right?
He stepped out of the vehicle and felt a certain numbing awe settle over him. He walked around the edge of the vehicle and stopped at its side, letting Shatter fall to his side as he got an eyeful of what was just ahead of them. After just a minute, he found that Astrid had joined him outside. She had a look of pure curiosity on her face as she addressed him.
"Sooo, leader? What's up with you being all wide-eyed out here for no…reason…holy buckets, would you look at THAT!"
Sooner or later, every single member of their group had made their way outside and were all in bug-eyed unison at the spectacle before them. Skyscrapers, office buildings, apartments, and business headquarters of pink stood not even fifty blocks from them. An entire city lay before their wake, its entire structure glistening in the gold-red light of the setting sun.
But that wasn't what was so unbelievable about it.
Just imagine the logic of the many vehicles, tools, and weapons featured in Villager News. Then replace those villagers with pigs. Yup…
And ENTIRE city made of piggies.
"Welp," Auconi said, startling everyone with his unforeseen desire to speak. "it's still not a weirder sight than those animals playing poker."
I TOLD you, I just had to finish the song! NOW IT MAKES SENSE! Plus, now we've finally reached New Pork City! We're getting clooooose! XD And I promise not to make any more super long chapters. I know they're a lot harder to read, so I'll try and stick to 4,000 words max. Sound good, e'rbody? Great! :D
Was Rexum really just like Vanessa in how the two of them trained to become great magic users? Will Vanessa truly be able to make the full transformation into the new guardian of the Minecraft Dimension? Will either Bailey or Norman be able to figure out the secret behind Adrian's odd behavior? And what chaos is in store for our heroes now that they're finally able to enter New Pork City and claim their second Spirit? Find out answers to these questions and more (maybe!) in the next chapter of Hourglass!
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 [~]