Preface: Hello, again! I'd say this chapter is where the real meat of the story begins - it's quite a bit longer than the last two! Hope you enjoy!

MINECRAFT MANIACS:
LIGHT AND DARK

Previously...two years after their last adventure, Danny, Liam, Kevin, and their companions decided to set out on a new adventure when they ran into Balancia, an allay who was a guardian of the Chaosverse. Under her guidance, the three discovered the Multiversal Gateway and set out to the Blue's Clues world

Now...they exit from the portal and into their new quest...

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.

Balancia - Marieve Herington: Guardian allay. The fairy.

Chapter 3:
Back in the Game!, Part Three -
In Search of Pawprints

[Main Party Selected: Danny, Liam, Kevin, Balancia]
[Supporting Party Selected: Spawny, Spawnette, Pork Chop]

[Character Selected: Danny]
[Current World: Blue's Clues World]
[Current Location: 123 Notebook Drive, Living Room]

I'll admit my entrance to the world of Blue's Clues could've been more elegant. Maybe if I hadn't misjudged how high I needed to lift my feet. But instead, I tripped over something and came tumbling out of the portal, landing head-first on the ground. I was thinking about kicking myself for that, but when I turned my head around, I saw the others did the same thing. And that we apparently came out of a TV screen. So that made me feel a little better.

I got up and brushed myself off. "Balancia, maybe fly through the portal before us next time," I suggested, "just to give us a warning."

"Well, this was certainly unusual," the allay admitted as the others got up. "I wasn't expecting the portal to be a TV on this end." She clapped her hands. "Anyway, we should start looking for a way to prove our kindness."

"Well, this is the world of Blue's Clues," said Kevin, recognizing the room, "so this should be easy." Just then, we heard footsteps again. Two sets of them. And I thought I knew the first one.

I looked ahead to see a small blue puppy running our way. And behind her, a live-action Filipino-American wearing a blue striped shirt. "Bow! Bow bow bow!" I heard Blue say.

"Oh, hi!" said the human behind her. "We weren't expecting visitors today. I'm Josh!"

"I'm Danny," I said, then named the others, "Liam, Kevin, Pork Chop, Spawny, Spawnette, Balancia." I noticed Blue was encircling me, looking me over. "I see Blue's taken a liking to me."

Just then, Blue said something I wasn't expecting. "Bow bow! Bow bow!" I couldn't speak dog, but I'm pretty sure she said "Danny! It's you!"

"You recognize me?" I asked, surprised, and Blue nodded. "But how? I haven't watched Blue's Clues in years…and I don't even look the same…"

"So you're saying Blue can see the kids watching at home?" said Liam. He shook his head, dumbfounded. "Mind. Blown."

"You're one of Blue's old friends?" asked Josh, just as surprised. "As in, one of the kids at home watching on their TV?"

I nodded. "I am. And my friends and I are communicating with you through a video game," I explained. "It's cool to see you face-to-face, Josh."

"Well, any friend of Blue's is a friend of mine!" said Josh. He looked behind himself, and saw that Blue had gone to the table in the background. "Oh! Blue wants to show you her kindness collage! Come on!"

"Looks like that's our ticket to filling up our first key!" I said, pointing forward. "Let's go!" Liam took a deep breath as we started walking towards the table, so I assumed that he wasn't going to enjoy this.

"So, what brings you to our humble abode?" asked Josh as we arrived at the table.

"You see, we are in search of the essence of kindness," explained Balancia. She flew into my inventory and pulled out the first Key of Balance. "We need to fill up this key with the essence in order to successfully save the multiverse from danger."

"Wow…sounds pretty scary," said Josh, and Blue nodded in agreement. "Well, Blue knows a lot of ways to be kind! Isn't that right, Blue?"

"Bow bow bow!" said Blue. She then showed us the picture she was working on. It had photos of her helping around the house, like helping the Spice Family make lunch, planting flowers with Pail and Shovel, and coloring with Magenta and Periwinkle.

"(Why, those activities sound lovely,)" said Spawnette, "(but perhaps what we need to look for is the ultimate act of kindness!)"

"Hmm, she has a point," said Kevin, and we nodded. "Any ideas, guys?"

That's when I had an idea. I motioned for Balancia to float over to my head. "If you have any ideas, whisper them into Blue's ear!"

"Oh, okay!" said Balancia, nodding. She then floated down to Blue's ear and whispered whatever her idea was to the puppy.

"What did she tell you, Blue?" asked Josh, curious. We were all wondering, but the way we were going to found out was going to be a little unorthodox.

"Bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow!" said Blue running up to the wall and seemingly sticking a pawprint in midair. Huh, I guess that's what the pawprint sticking to the screen looks like from here, I thought.

"Oh! We can play Blue's Clues to figure it out!" said Josh, running up to the pawprint. He then waved his hands and sung a little ditty that I recognized a little. "We are gonna play Blue's Clues, cos it's a really great game!"

"Blue's Clues? Really?" said Liam, a little annoyed.

"Well, it's gonna be the most efficient way to fill that key up," I argued, "so why not?"

Liam sighed. "Good point." He walked up to the pawprint. "So if I'm remembering correctly, the pawprints will be on the clues?"

"Yep! Blue's clues!" said Josh, waving his hands. "But first, we should clean up this pawprint!"

"Okay…how about this?" Liam then did something that really gave me a chuckle. He took out his pickaxe and mined the pawprint! It even went flying into his inventory! "Honestly, I wasn't expecting that to work!" he added with a laugh.

I looked at the Key of Balance that Balancia was holding, and noticed that the end point near the key ridges filled with white a little. "Good! Some of the essence is filled up!" she said.

"See? I knew this would be a good way to fill up the key!" I said, eyeing to Liam and Kevin.

"Wonderful idea!" said Balancia, nodding. "I'm going to be in your inventory for now, but of you need me, just holler!" And with that, she flew right back into my inventory.

"You better not tamper with my stuff!" I called to her as she flew inside.

"So, you know what we need now?" asked Josh, looking at us expectantly.

"Our Handy Dandy Notebook?" we all said at once. Except Spawny. He said "(A potato?)" We all just looked at him weirdly. "(Sorry…I dunno what I was thinking.)"

"Hey, everyone needs help figuring things out sometimes," said Josh, understandingly. "Even I still need a little help." He then looked back at us. "Come on! Let's go get the notebook!"

"Y'know, I just realized something," said Liam as we followed Josh. "He and Unikitty would make really good friends."

We all knelt down with Josh over by the small piece of furniture near the big red chair. "Hey, Josh!" said Sidetable Drawer. "Are those some new friends of yours?"

"They certainly are," said Josh, nodding. "And they're gonna play Blue's Clues with Blue and I!"

"Oh," said Sidetable, sounding a little upset. "I only have one notebook, though."

"Ah, don't sweat it," I said. "We can take turns drawing, right?"

"Of course!" said Josh. Sidetable smiled and opened her drawer, allowing him to take out his Handy Dandy Notebook. "Thanks, Sidetable Drawer!" he said, signing"thanks" in ASL. "So, you all know how to play Blue's Clues?"

"Um…well…maybe…" we all said, waving our hands. "Can we at least sing the song?" I quickly added.

[BGM: PT Walkley - Play Blue's Clues (2019 Mix)]

"Oh, yeah!" said Josh. I just couldn't help myself. I ran up with him and Blue, and I just started singing that little opening song with them. I'm sure you know what it is, but I'm surprised I even remembered all the words.

When we finished, I looked over to the others, who were just standing there, slack jawed. "Sorry. I don't know what got into me," I said, embarrassed.

"I'm willing to forget that happened if you are," said Kevin, to which we all nodded.

Josh rubbed his hands together. "Okay, where should we look first?" he asked.

"(Well, I think I saw Blue go this way,)" said Spawny, pointing behind him. It was left from our direction. And so, we decided the living room would be the first place we should check.

[Character Selected: Liam]
[Current World: Blue's Clues World]
[Current Location: 123 Notebook Drive, Living Room]

[BGM: PT Walkley - What I Like About Blue BGM]

The group split up to look for their first clue. As he and Kevin checked the table, he couldn't help but hum "We are looking for Blue's clues," a fact that made him cringe internally.

"Hm…nothing in the felt frame," said Josh, looking inside with Danny.

Pork Chop dug through the toy chest with Spawny and Spawnette in search of the clue. "(Doesn't look like it's in here, either,)" said Spawny, poking his head out for air. Just then, the pig managed to pick up the scent of the pawprint, leading him to a toy shield laying up next to the chest. He oinked to everyone when he determined the location.

"Huh?" said Liam, looking over. "Hey! The shield!"

"Hmm?" said Josh, looking over. "Oh! The shield!" He ran over and put it on his arm, failing to notice the pawprint on it. "With this, I can be the brave and noble Sir Josh the Smart, Knight of the Snack Table!"

"No, the clue's on the shield," said Danny, telling himself not to loose his cool.

"Huh?" Josh looked at the front of the shield. "Oh! It really is!" he said, noticing the pawprint on the shield. He put it back down. "You know what we need now? Our Handy Dandy…"

"Notebook?" everyone said at once. And this time, Spawny got it right.

"Notebook!" repeated Josh, taking out the small book from his pocket as it made the ding of a bell. "Would any of you like to do the honor of drawing it?"

The others thought it over. "Mmm…nah, I think we're good," said Kevin.

"Oh, alright!" said Josh. He opened the notebook to the first page and began to draw, narrating as he did. "A shield sort of looks like a weird kind of shape with a lot of points, and with a few dots inside of it for bolts. There! A shield!" The image of the drawing flew out of the notebook and hovered over Josh's head, surprising the players. "So what do you think Blue wants you to do that involves a shield?"

The players thought about it. "Well, a shield usually means to protect something," said Kevin, his brain working.

"So maybe we need to protect someone from something," added Danny.

Josh nodded. "Good idea," he said, "but we should look for our other clues first." He closed his notebook, put the crayon back in the spiral, and put the notebook back in his pocket.

"Josh! Can you come over to the bedroom for a minute?" a voice called over.

"Hey, wasn't that…" Kevin racked his brain for the character who had the voice he heard. "Pail?"

"Yes it was!" said Josh, nodding. "I think she needs our help." He motioned for the players to come with him, and they all followed.

Over in the bedroom, Blue was sitting with a shovel, a pail, a bar of soap, and a clock, all of which were alive with faces. "There you are, Josh!" said Tickety Tock. "We made these friendship cards for everyone!" she said, holding up the piece of paper in front of her.

"Wow! That's very kind of you!" said Josh, and Blue nodded.

"But they've all been mixed up!" said Shovel, looking down.

"We don't know who to give them to!" added Slippery.

"Oh, that's not good!" said Josh, shaking his head. He turned towards the players, expectantly, as did his friends. "Will you help them sort their cards out?"

"Uh…give us a minute," said Danny. He and the others turned around and formed a huddle.

"Okay, no, this is where I draw the line!" Liam declared, shaking his head.

"Really? You're giving up now?" said Kevin, annoyed. "You don't see me complaining, and I hate this as much as you do!"

"Besides, you didn't complain that much a few years ago when we went into other preschool shows!" added Danny.

"Well, in the case of Whisker Haven, we didn't follow any plot formula besides the one the last few Order Gadget hunts did," Liam argued, "and in the case of Bluey's world, we weren't being treated like total idiots!"

"Alright, that's fair," Kevin admitted. "But come on, we shouldn't be here much longer. And it's for the multiverse, right?"

Liam sighed. "Alright, I guess I'll pull through." The others nodded and broke the huddle. "Sorry about that," Liam apologized to Josh and his friends. "I was just having my pride for a snack. Arguably nutritious, but not very satisfying."

"Well as long as it's a healthy snack," said Josh, not understanding the sarcasm. "Anyway, I looked at the cards, and they all have aspects of everyone's personalities!"

"Oh, this should be easy," said Danny, taking a closer look. "Okay, this first one has numbers on it, so it should be Tickety's."

The clock took the card. "You're right! I love numbers!"

"And this one has bubbles on it," said Liam, examining the second card. "But also a sailboat." He looked at the group again. "That should be…the soap guy, right?"

"My name's Slippery Soap!" said the soap bar, taking the card. "I want to be a sailor when I gro-OOOOOAAAHHH!" Slippery slipped, dropping his card on the floor. Blue quickly ran over and picked it up for him. "Thanks, Blue!"

"(Hm…okay,)" said Spawny, looking at the third card. It had a picture of flowers on it. "(Well, you can use a shovel to plant flowers…)"

"Yeah, good," said Kevin, helping the rabborg along.

"(So maybe…the shovel?)" Spawny eventually decided.

"Yeah! I love to dig!" said Shovel, taking the card. "There's only two more left!"

Spawnette looked at the fourth card. "(Oh! This one has a sand castle on it!)" she said. "(And a sand castle can be made with…)" She looked at the group sitting at the table. "(A bucket!)"

"Close!" said Pail. "A pail!" She took the card from Spawnette's hand. "And this last one has pawprints on it!"

"So it must be for Blue!" Josh figured out. He picked up the card and gave it to the puppy, who immediately took a liking to it.

"Bow bow bow bow!" Blue barked, thanking her friends for the card.

"And thank you for helping us figure out which card was for who!" Josh thanked the players. "You solved it really quickly!"

"Well, we are teenagers," said Danny. "We have more developed cognitive thinking skills!" Everyone laughed at the joke, but then Danny noticed something on the drawing of the house. "A clue!"

"You? You want me to make a card for you?" asked Josh, mishearing Danny's exclamation.

"No, there's a clue!" Liam corrected. "On the house picture!"

Josh turned around to look at the drawing. "Oh! Sure enough!" He had an idea. "Would you like to draw it, Danny? Since you found it?"

"Uh…okay…" said Danny, sort of awkwardly. "But I'm gonna need your Handy Dandy…"

Josh pulled his notebook out of his pocket before Danny was even finished. "Notebook!" he said. "Here you go!"

Danny took the notebook and opened it to the second empty page. "Okay, then." He grabbed the crayon and began to draw. "So I guess I can do a square for the walls, a triangle for the roof, and then a small rectangle for the chimney. Then I can add these circles and squares for the door and windows. There! The house!"

"So the house is our second clue," said Josh, and the drawing flew out of the notebook. "And what was our first clue again? A shield?" The shield drawing flew out of the notebook. "Right! So, what could Blue want us to do?"

"Well, Kevin and Danny pointed out that a shield could mean to protect something," said Liam, "so perhaps we have to protect your house from…something, whatever it is."

"Then that means our last clue must answer the question: what do we have to protect the house from?" His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden chorus of "Mailtime, mailtime, mailtime, MAILTIME!"

"That better not mean what I think it means," said Liam, dumbfounded.

"The mail's here!" cried Josh, all giddy. "Come on!"

"I knew it," said Liam, and he reluctantly ran with the others to pick up the mail.

[BGM: PT Walkley - Mailtime Song (2019 Mix)]

In the living room, Josh and Blue danced along to the mailtime song as the others watched from the background. "Here's the mail, it never fails, it makes me wanna wag my tail! When it comes I wanna wail, 'MAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIILLLLLL!'" Josh sung, and then a purple mailbox with a face on it flew in through the window on an extendable arm.

Josh sat down in the red chair as the players gathered around. "Hi, Josh!" said Mailbox. "Got some new friends, I see!"

"I sure do!" said Josh. He pointed to all of them. "These are Danny, Liam, Kevin, Spawny, Spawnette, and Pork Chop!"

"Huh, he got it right," said Kevin. "That's impressive!"

"Well, actually, this letter's for them!" said Mailbox. He opened his lid, and Josh reached inside to pull out a green envelope with a picture of a creeper face on it.

"Thank you, Mailbox," Josh said, signing 'thanks' again, and Mailbox zoomed back outside. "So, would you like to open the letter?"

"Eh, why not?" said Danny. "It is for us, anyway." Josh handed Danny the envelope, and Danny took the opportunity placed upon him. "We just got a letter, we just got a letter, we just got a letter, I wonder who it's from!" he sang before opening the envelope. Inside there was a video from a strange blue being that resembled the multiverse guardians.

"Hello, Minecraft Maniacs," the being said in a booming, threatening voice. "It seems you have decided to stop my attempts to prevent disorder in your multiverse. Well, I suppose I shall let you try to stop me for now. I look forward to meeting you…"

Danny closed the letter, surprised at the message inside. "What…was that?" asked Josh.

"I think it was a death threat," Danny said, honestly. He sighed. "Look, if that guy shows up, we'll deal with him. We've done this kind of thing before."

"Oh, really? Good," said Josh. Just then, he heard a small bark. "Oh! I think Blue wants us to see something!"

The group ran over to the TV, where Blue was standing. The screen showed the image of a typical Minecraft world, but not the Multiversal Gateway. "Bow bow bow, bow bow bow!" Blue sung, spinning in place before jumping right into the TV screen.

"Huh. It looks like Blue wants us to go to our world," said Kevin. "I did not see that coming!"

"Well, then, let's just-OW!" Danny attempted to walk through the TV screen, but instead, he just walked face-first into it. "Okay, I guess we gotta skidoo!"

Kevin walked over and picked Danny up. "How can we be sure that will work, though?" he asked.

"Only one way to find out!" Danny stood in front of the TV. "Blue skidoo, we can too!" he sung, swinging his arms in time, and then he pointed to the TV screen and zoomed right into it. "Whoa! It worked!"

"Alright, I guess its our turn," said Liam, shrugging. He turned to Josh. "Care to lead us?"

"Oh, sure thing!" Josh walked next to the TV and dragged his foot across the floor, causing sparkles to appear from it. As he did, the others just swung their arms. "Blue skidoo, we can too!" Josh sung, and everyone pointed to the TV screen and zoomed inside to join Danny and Blue.

[Character Selected: Manipulator]
[Current World: In-Between Realm]
[Current Location: N/A]

The Manipulator witnessed the players skidoo into the Minecraft world. "Fools…even after they receive my message, they try to stop me," it remarked. "No matter. They won't be so resistant for much longer…"

To be continued...and next time: building and battling!

Next chapter: "Building and Battling with Blue!" Blue skidoo, we can too! The Maniacs, Josh, and Blue skidoo into Thingville to help a construction worker build a cozy cottage! Then, when they find their third clue, they skidoo back home to think, but the Manipulator has an unpleasant surprise for them...

Postface: Chapter complete! I hope I did the Blue's Clues world justice. I mean, I have so far, right?

Trivia time! The reason why I went with Blue's Clues for the first crossover universe because that's what this new batch of stories started with, so it felt kinda fitting. Naturally, I decided to stick to the traditional Blue's Clues formula, squeezing in all of the bits and pieces, including initiating the game, looking for clues, helping the friends around the house, and mailtime. I even incorporated Josh mishearing the others when they spot a clue! Of course, this chapter ended right when the skidoo segment was beginning, but don't worry, that'll be taken care of next time...

That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all next time for some more fun with Blue! Stay diamond, everyone

-Alfred

~Minecraft and everything related to it are properties of Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios. Blue's Clues and everything related to it are properties of Paramount Global Dist. Group. 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.~