Preface: Here we go. The start of the Maniacs' new adventure...
MINECRAFT MANIACS:
LIGHT AND DARK
Now: It's time to get "Reconnected!" with the Minecraft Maniacs! Two years after their last adventure, the three have moved on from the excitement and peril, but while Danny secretly yearns for another adventure like what came before. And it seems a new one is just around the corner...
Roll Call
Danny - Alfred von Any: Hero with emotional issues. The leader.
Liam - Willy Blanq: Expert crafter. The maker.
Kevin - Nevile Napoleon: Part-gangerman player. The brains.
Pork Chop - Dee Bradley Baker: Danny's companion. The pet.
Spawny and Spawnette - Damien Laquet: The rabborg siblings. The heart.
Chapter 1:
Back in the Game!, Part One -
Reconnected!
[Character Selected: Liam]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: ?]
[BGM: Johan Johnson - arena1]
The players and their companions ran through the door and caught their breaths. The last challenge they had to face was a tricky one, and worse, they knew they weren't done yet. So these were precious few seconds they had to slow down and stop. "Man, these sure are challenging," said Liam, dusting himself off. "And to think these are designed for other players."
"Well, that's the point, right?" said Danny, stretching his arms. "To test your knowledge and skill of Minecraft."
Just then, the walls in the room opened up and the players braced themselves. "They're here," Kevin muttered. While their companions still had their usual skills, the players lacked their usual weapons and had to make do with the iron swords and bows they were able to make from the previous challenges they faced.
And then, the mobs came. Zombies came marching out from one wall, skeletons clanked out from another, and spiders crawled out from the third. The six were prepared. They knew what to do. And so, without another word, they charged.
Danny and his pet pig Pork Chop took care of the spiders. The pig hopped onto the spiders to distract them, leaving Danny to slash his sword through the oversized arachnids. Meanwhile, Liam, Kevin, and the rabborgs, Spawny and Spawnette, teamed up on the zombies. Liam and Kevin shot arrows at the undead creatures from afar, and then Spawny would weaken them further with his scepter's magic, followed by Spawnette using her magic twirls to finish them off.
Before long, however, the group had to turn their attention to the skeletons. The bony foes' arrows were starting to stick to the heroes' bodies, anyway. "Time to shatter some boneheads!" said Danny, retreating from the spiders to slash his sword through a skeleton. Man, do I miss the Chicken Blade! he thought, preferring the smooth elimination of his signature modified sword over the clumsy slashing he was forced to do instead.
Turning to Spawny, Liam instructed, "Keep at it with these zombies. We need a refill on arrows."
Spawny saluted. "(I'll do my best,)" he said in his native tongue. With that, Liam and Kevin left to help Danny with the skeletons.
"Fresh thighs with a side of experience dressing," said Kevin, dodging the arrows to deliver a blow to the skeleton he was facing. "That's a mighty fine dinner!"
"I'd much prefer nuggets," said Danny, alternating with Liam as Pork Chop covered the skeleton's "eyes". "Those don't have any bones!" A few stabs later, and the crew had enough arrows to finish the job.
"(Are you three done over there?)" Spawny called over, wiping his forehead. "(We need some help over here!)" Despite the perils he and Spawnette had faced in the past, tackling even zombies was still tough with their small bodies.
"On it!" cried Liam. He leapt into the air, did a somersault, and delivered three arrows into three zombies. "Took me a while to do that without my dispenser!"
With one last swipe of his sword, Danny and Pork Chop successfully decapitated the last spider. "Alright, the crawlies are done with!" he called to his friends. "Let's finish these brain-hungry braindeads!"
Finding himself being surrounded by two zombies and two skeletons, Liam got a quick idea. Just as the skeletons fired their arrows, he dove out of the way, and the arrows hit the zombies square in the faces. "Looks like we've got a fantastic boxing match here tonight, folks!" Liam called, seeing the zombies start to fight the skeletons.
Spawny grabbed Spawnette's hand and twirled her through some of the remaining skeletons and zombies. "(I think we're almost done!)" said Spawny, slightly relieved.
"Looks like it!" Kevin agreed. "But we gotta do something about this fist-fight," he added, referring to the zombies and skeletons duking it out.
"I'll handle this," said Danny. He gripped his sword, spun in place, and tossed it right in the middle of the battle. All four creatures dropped dead, and the sword stuck to the wall. "Bullseye!"
[BGM: End]
Liam put his weapons away and stretched. "Well, that was a pretty good trial run, eh, guys?"
The others nodded. "Well, let's get out of here. I need some victory chicken!" said Danny, and the group chuckled.
[BGM: Antimo & Welles - Automatic Chicken Farm [Minecraft: Story Mode 101 OST]
The six returned to the outside world and topped their health up outside of the cave they were just in. It was a new creation of theirs - the Cave of Experts. It was a five-level minigame that tested one's skills at Minecraft, specifically the first night, mining, redstone, brewing and enchanting, and mob fighting. The players had been working on it for about five months now, and it seemed to be nearing completion.
Kevin munched on the baked potatoes he was sharing with the rabborgs. "So, how tricky did you think that was?" he asked his friends through bites. "Fairly difficult, or too difficult?"
"I still think maybe we should add a few things to make it a little easier," said Danny through bites of chicken. "Like, I dunno, places to spawn iron golems?"
"I still think it's good besides that last section," said Liam. "We should try adding some more mobs! Creepers, perhaps!" He finished the bread he was munching on. "But overall, I think it's ready to be tested!"
Danny and Kevin nodded. "I agree! Let's get some friends over spring break or something and have them try it out," said Danny. He thought for a moment. "How about next time, we go on a good old-fashioned adventure?"
Kevin considered the thought. "Y'know, we have been so busy with this we haven't gone on an adventure in a while," he said.
"(Yes, I think that could be fun, actually,)" said Spawnette, nodding. "(I am sure Spawny would agree.)"
"(Yeah, sure, why not?)" said Spawny.
"Then it's settled," said Liam. "Let's go on an adventure tomorrow!" With that, the six retired to the temporary shelter they set up outside the Cave of Experts to log off.
[Character Selected: Danny]
[Current World: Real World]
[Current Location: His House]
[BGM: C418 - Danny]
"Alright, see ya tomorrow!" As I bid my friends farewell, I turned off the iPad I was using and walked over to plug it in. I turned around and gave a cleansing sigh - now that playtime was over, I had to start my homework so I could actually relax this weekend.
As I went downstairs to get my work, I found myself thinking about recent events. It was almost two years since Doppel was defeated for good, and what had Liam, Kevin, and I done since then? Just play Minecraft like regular people. Well, mostly regular people, anyway. We hadn't gone on any huge, multiverse-spanning adventures like that one since. I'll admit it: I felt a little lost. Like I didn't have a purpose anymore.
Deep down, I yearned to have another adventure like the one I had years ago. But there was that niggle of worry - there was a low chance of something like that happening again, and even then, would it be as good as last time? The worst part is, I couldn't really talk about it with anyone - they'd think I was a weirdo! But maybe I could talk about it with Liam and Kevin…
[World Change: Minecraftia]
[Location Change: Public World, Temporary Shelter]
And that's what I decided to do. The next afternoon, I logged on early so I could prepare for our journey. I made sure I had food, wood, torches, a map, and some weapons, and then I played with Pork Chop a little while I waited for Liam and Kevin to arrive.
The two popped in right in the middle of me having Pork Chop tug on a carrot on a stick, which I usually did with him to strengthen his jaw. "Well, if I had a nickel for every time I walked in on this, I'd have two nickels," said Liam.
Hiding my embarrassment, I stood up and tossed the carrot on a stick to the nearest chest. "Not a lot, but weird that it happened twice, I get it." I cleared my throat. "So, where should we start going?"
Liam and Kevin turned to prepare their stuff. "Well, we haven't really explored beyond the area of the Cave of Experts," said Kevin. "So…maybe east?"
I nodded, then looked down at the wooden floor. Now was as good a time as any to talk to them about my feelings. "Hey, listen…can we talk quickly?"
Liam lifted his head out of the chest. "I guess…what's wrong?"
I sighed. It's now or never. "So, you know how it's almost two years since that crazy Mergepocalypse or whatever?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"See, we haven't really done anything crazy like that since then…"
Kevin walked in on the conversation. "What are you saying?" he asked. "You're bored?"
I sighed. "I wouldn't say that. I'd say more like…lost. Like we've already done the best stuff of our lives."
Liam rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I guess that's a fair point," he said. "Maybe I've been feeling that way a little, too?"
"Well, we don't have to just explore our world," said Kevin. "We still have that dimensional portal technology."
"I know, I know," I said, defensively raising my arms. "It's just…what if it isn't as good as last time? Less satisfying, I guess?" Man, this was tricky…
Liam thought for a moment. I remember when he tried helping me though my…usual bad feelings. It worked a bit, I'll admit. "Here, how about this: sometime after this adventure, we try going on an adventure somewhere across the multiverse, just to see what we think?"
I nodded, partially because I wanted this conversation to be over. "Alright, sounds like a plan." I knelt down to Pork Chop, who looked up, raring to go. "So, let's set out, I guess."
"(Oh, you are done?)" Spawnette suddenly chimed in. She and Spawny emerged from the corner where they were playing a little. I guess they didn't want to butt in on our little talk.
"Yep, we're done!" said Liam. He held his fist out. "No player left behind?"
Kevin and I bumped his fist. "No player left behind," I said. And with that, we all opened the door to set out on our quest…and found a small, blue being floating in front of us.
"Hello there, Minecraft Maniacs!" the being said. "I'm happy I found you, because the Chaosverse is in danger again!"
To be continued...and next time: who's this new face?
Next chapter: "The New Threat" Surprise! A new quest awaits the Minecraft Maniacs! And it's one across the multiverse, just like Danny wanted! But first, they'll have to find out the exact details about the quest, including how and why they're gonna go on it...
Postface: Chapter complete! So, was that a good introduction to the new adventure? I'd say so.
Trivia time! So, what's the Cave of Experts, exactly? This was the project the players were working on at the end of Minecraft Maniacs: The Mini-Game Tournament. It may not seem like much now, but soon, its importance will be revealed. As for Danny's conflicting feelings about going on a new adventure across the multiverse, that was kinda based on my own personal feelings about this sequel. After all, sequels pretty much have a 50/50 chance of being as good as the original. And remember, I don't intend on this being as long as the original, so I'm nervous it'll come as cheaper than the original. Even then, I'm still gonna give it a try!
That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all next time for our proper introduction to Balancia! Stay diamond, everyone!
-Alfred
~Minecraft and everything related to it are properties of Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios. 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.~