"A Close Encounter"
...of the bacca kind.
Chapter 3 of 3 update
Words: 2,366(2.5K)
(AKA "the chapter that Nell had to spend three hours researching for because she completely forgot to record it all beforehand" lesson learned, people. also, if you ever plan on writing with the Derpy Squid mod, or at least, the TC part of it, and want to be accurate, send me a PM. THE RESEARCHING WAS HARRDD-)
There's a tab bit of swearing, but I kept it to a minimum because the internet is spoiling you all and you should feel bad
jk jk I love you all
All things will be explained at the end.
Enjoy~
The dawn couldn't have been prettier. The empty expanse of sky was filled with color, shades of purple and blue mixing together. The sun climbed over the horizon, painting the clouds with delicate swirls of golden, and the sea of green far below seemed to roll on forever.
Xena had gotten used to the sight of the dawn, as most Enders had, but dawn didn't bring her fear. Unlike other Enders, Xena didn't mind the dawn, and instead liked occasionally watching them while on duty. Well, watching the sun until it came up above the horizon enough to burn your eyes.
After narrowly avoiding an eye-burning, Xena switched her shift with another recruit, and came down from her assigned watchtower. She glanced around, watching as lights flickered on in the dorms. It was weird, watching the other recruits experience sleep. Enders didn't need sleep, they simply went into a period of hibernation for a day or two after being killed or damaged severely; the amount of time spent in hibernation depends on how bad the damage was. Xena had only died a few times due to fall damage and a budder mining mistake with lava(and a prank involving a bucket of water and a door, but we don't talk about that), so she didn't entirely understand sleep, or dreams for that matter. Sure, she had visions of the Overworld while in the End, and sometimes had hallucinations when she was high on sugar, but never real, sleep-induced dreams. Missie often told her of her dreams, but they usually involved the Tardis and animating.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Xena made her way down a large gravel path, joining a growing crowd of early rising recruits. After a few minutes of walking, the crowd made it past the dormitories and further into the heart of Sky Base. Here lied the training grounds and medical bay, along with a plethora of useful buildings.
Xena herself made her way to the main cafeteria, which was a large building composed of stone bricks and glass panes for windows. As she walked up to the front doors, the constant chatter of early morning guards came to her ears.
Now at the front doors, she stepped forward onto a pressure plate, which allowed the double iron doors to swing open. She stepped through quickly, knowing that she might get slammed in the face if she wasn't quick enough. Once through the iron doors, Xena made her way into the main hall, passing by a duo of guards exiting for their early morning shifts.
"I swear dude, Andrew said something was following him around last night."
"It's probably just his imagination. Besides, who'd follow an arse like him?"
"You little-!"
The guards' conversation quickly left Xena's ears, and she was partially glad for this, because Sky Army guards had a reputation for having quite vulgar language. Though, she was interested in what the guards had been talking about...
Now in the cafeteria, Xena grabbed an apple and sat down at one of the farthest tables from the doors. Her friend group would arrive here soon, and she wanted to finish her breakfast quickly. Not that she didn't like eating in front of others, but she had almost choked from laughing too hard a few times, and she was not going into hibernation from choking.
After a little while, recruits started poring in like crazy, and Xena could barely hear herself think. However, over the loudness, she could still hear the shouts of her friends as they entered. She had just stood up to greet them, when an annoyingly loud yell spooked her.
"XENA~!"
A cheerful blonde sprinted up to Xena, engulfing the Enderman hybrid in a bear hug. The sudden physical touch coupled with the shriek made Xena poof away, and the blonde fell flat on her face. When Xena came back, she deadpanned at a mock-sobbing Hope, and a very exasperated Par. Their gamertags, Fluttershyfan2 and Paramillo, floated unwavering above their heads.
"Seriously, Hope?" Par asked, cocking an eyebrow at his friend's performance.
"I just wanted to give her a huuuggg!" Hope wailed over dramatically.
Par sighed and gave Xena a look that pleaded for her to intervene. Xena gave him one back saying that she wasn't putting up with early morning crap.
After some more antics, Charlie and Minty showed up, and everyone calmed down because Minty was ranting about a weird dream she had and one does not simply ignore people when they speak of their dreams.
"And then this weird girl that looked like Janet but wasn't actually showed up and pushed me off the balcony and Charlie and her were like dukeing it out and then I came in and saved the day, nya~!" Minty raved, babbling nonsense.
"Actually, Minty, I'm pretty sure you were making out with the floor while I did everything. You know, because I'm the knight?" Charlie answered back, trying to make sense out of her story.
"No, nya~! I saved the day, nya!" Minty responded.
"Uh, no, I did the work, you were passed out from sugar overdose!"
"YOU WANNA GO, NYA~?"
"YEAH LET'S GO RIGHT NOW!"
The two then wrestled on the floor, oblivious to the disbelieving looks of their comrades.
A few more minutes in, and Missie arrived, and a very disheveled-looking Abel entered moments later.
Par immediately caught on, and asked, "You look tired, Abel. Did you not get enough sleep last night?"
He didn't get much a response, just a muffled groan, and a very annoyed look.
"Aw, what happened? Too much science for that big brain of your's?" Hope asked jokingly.
"No..." he mumbled, taking off his glasses to tiredly rub at his eyes, "Someone raided the potion supply, and the medical wing was devastated because of it." He then mumbled something about there not being enough mages in Sky Army.
"Oh...that...sucks."
"Yes, it does...'suck'."
There was an uncomfortable silence between the group, aside from Charlie and minty, who were still wrestling on the white floor.
Recruits began to leave for training, and the janitors began to kick people out if they weren't eating. At this point, Charlie and Minty had stopped fighting, and left to spar. Abel excused himself as well, saying he had to get back to work, and left after grabbing some bread. Missie was still eating, so she and Xena chatted while she ate, and Par and Hope left to check in on their pets and make sure the army's steads were doing well. Xena watched them go, silently praying that Hope wouldn't trip and fall on her way out.
She did.
Deep in the ocean of the Derpy Squid dimension, a figure swam quickly, using their tentacles to propel themselves forward. As they swam, they went over the night's events in their head. From infiltrating Sky Base, all the way to their not-so-graceful escape at dawn. And now, they would have to suffer the humiliation of returning to their king without having accomplished their original mission.
Even with all these stray thoughts running around in the figure's head, they couldn't help but cringe at their encounter in the potion supply room. Of all things to steal, they stole potions?
The figure just shook their head, continuing to swim towards the Squid Kingdom. It was very well hidden inside a maze of kelp, and protected by a thick wall of cobblestone. Of course, one had to swim over the wall, and through or above the kelp, but it kept your mind sharp, and your tentacles sharper.
As the figure approached the kelp, they were greeted by some seemingly harmless derpy squids. However, the figure knew that these squids were actually there to alert the king of anyone of importance that came withing the boundaries of the kelp maze. And sure enough, the moment the figure began to swim through the kelp, one of the squids darted off, quickly disappearing out of their rendering distance.
Tch, seems like there's no getting out of this one. the figure groaned inwardly.
To keep their blood pressure down, the figure outstretched their hands to feel the kelp. It was a strange sensation...the texture was rough, but at the same time, no one crease was higher than any of the others, so it also felt smooth...the figure had always liked the kelp. It somehow soothed their nerves, and gave off a safe vibe that they had found solace in. To think that this kelp was the only thing keeping the humans out, should they find the portal...
No! STOP IT, ME!
It took them only a few minutes to get through the maze, and were now approaching the thick wall. While the wall itself was only cobblestone, a plethora of different creatures had taken up home in the rough stone. As the figure passed over the wall, they tried to keep track of the different creatures they saw, and how many blocks were in the wall, but the two numbers merged together in their mind, and they quickly lost count.
Behind the wall was a gigantic underwater city, practically glowing with blue. Even though this was probably the umpteenth time the figure had seen the city in all it's glory, they still felt a slight enchantment wash over them as they gazed.
After gawking for a few more moments, the figure moved forward, beginning their painfully slow trek towards inevitable doom. If there was one thing they didn't like, it was when the King Derpollolus was angry at his knights.
(:: :: ::)
Now approaching the castle, the figure was snapped out of their thoughts at the call of a nearby squid soldier. The figure saluted to the squid guards currently operating the gates, and watched as the large stone doors were pulled open. A plume of bubbles shot up to the surface, and the figure swam through, letting the gates close behind them without a second glance.
Now inside the castle, the figure swam to the water seal, slipping through it and into the main hall. As they did, their heavy cloak was pulled back, briefly showing their squid soldier uniform. The figure payed no mind to this, and instead walked forward, letting their clothes drip.
Drip, drop...drip, drop...
...something isn't right.
The figure paused to look around, glancing at the tall pillars on either side that supported the high ceiling. They couldn't see anything off, just pillars and blue and glowstone and carpet and blue and-
The figure's left arm suddenly shot up, using the arm guard to protect their head. Seconds later, sparks flew, and the figure stared at a diamond axe blade. They strained against the strength of the blow, but quickly slipped out from under the blade, and side stepped, finally getting a good glimpse of the bearer of the axe.
"Jerome..." the figure narrowed their eyes under the hood of their cloak, hissing out the squid boss' name. They knew about the other squid bosses, and how they were recaptured after Sky Army broke up. This boss they were staring at now was the squid boss of ASF Jerome, one of the strongest of the commanders, and it showed in their squid boss. They had the ability of BACCA, which meant they had increased strength and speed, and the attribute of being VERY HAIRY, or being resistant to attacks ten percent of the time; their boss name was FluffyTheSquid. The figure wished they had abilities and attributes, but new squid knights had to prove themselves, and this stunt they pulled was definitely going to set them back.
"You're improving..." another voice chimed, "But after last night, you'll need to do more than that to get your abilities."
The figure's head swiveled to one of the far pillars, where another boss showed themselves: BajanSquidanian. They had the ability of WINNING THE HUNGER GAMES, and the attribute of HITTING YOU. These together made him a formidable opponent, with increased speed, regeneration, damage, resistance to status affects, and a special blocking ability. From what they had heard, for every hit you made, only one out of five would do damage; the other four would be completely nullified. It was terrifying.
The figure eyed down the two, taking in their appearances. In a far off memory, they could remember when they were human. After a few seconds, they answered, "You're not supposed to be here."
"Oh, is someone a bit intimidated?" cooed the squid boss, stepping further out of the shadows.
"...No. I have no reason to be afraid."
The squid boss was now beside his partner in crime, and the figure could tell both were ready for a fight at a moment's notice. They had to be careful of what they said.
"You're under the King's command. You cannot willingly hurt me, or any of the others!" the figure declared, watching the duo.
BajanSquidanian whistled, playing with their squid sword, "Whatever you say, SquidIssues...but remember, the moment you become useless, the King will have no reason to let you live..."
The duo turned and walked off, with a final hiss of, "...So watch your back."
The hall was silent, and the figure let out a breath that they didn't know they were holding. They knew how unforgiving those two when in battle. They also knew that those two were just a bit insane.
Turning, the figure began to walk down the main hall, towards the throne room, which was dead ahead. Giant lapis lazuli doors littered with glowstone specs were the only thing between them, and the King.
The figure took a deep breath, and flicked back their hood, letting their long, bright green hair flow free. They tied it into a high ponytail, playing with the locks of wavy hair. These blue stripes looked so ugly with bright green...
The figure pushed open the doors, and whispered to themselves,
"Show time."
HEY MY FRIENDS
GUESS WHO'S BAAAACK~
*ahem*
So if you didn't already see, I went back and re-did all the previous chapters, as well as changed the A/Ns. Some of the changes were small, some large, and some you can't even tell the difference. Either way, I suggest rereading the story to catch everything ;).
For those confused: the 'figure' in this chapter is a different 'figure' than the one in the previous two. I bet you all know who the first figure was, though ;)
Just so that no one gets anymore confused, you can pretty much just forget about what happened in SB at this point. Well, not the plot, but basically the encounters with the tubers, and the appearances of all OCs of mine. I need to rewrite SB, and for real, this time.
Sadly, I also came back to another drama involving EclipticChaos. Anyone remember them? If you wish to hear about it, PM me. As for the rest of you, thank you for staying out of it.
Okay, so you know those little A/Ns before the previous chapters? Would you like me to continue doing that?
Anyway, I won't ramble too much, because this A/N is too long already, and you probably have things to do, soo...
Thank you all for the comments, it means the world to me!
If you want to talk with me, send me a PM, and I'll respond ASAP! I missed you all ;-;
Updates won't be regular, but I'll do my very best!
BIII