Preface: Hello, again! This chapter is currently the longest one so far, which actually surprised me! And if you feel like the story's lacking in action so far, that'll change soon enough...
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, where they befriended Josh and Blue and started to play a game of Blue's Clues with them.
Now...the group skidoos into the Minecraft world...
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.
Blue - Traci Page Johnson: Nearly-anthropomorphic puppy. Leaver of clues.
Josh - Josh de La Cruz: Blue's current owner. Excitable little cousin.
Chapter 4:
Back in the Game!, Part Four -
Building and Battling with Blue!
[Main Party Selected: Danny, Liam, Kevin, Balancia, Josh, Blue]
[Supporting Party Selected: Spawny, Spawnette, Pork Chop]
[Character Selected: Liam]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Private World, Thingville]
[BGM: Antimo & Welles - Redstonia Freewalk [Minecraft: Story Mode 102 OST]
Liam's feet hit the ground as his skidoo finished. He saw Kevin, the rabborgs, Pork Chop, and Josh do the same thing. "Whoa!" said Josh, looking around with Blue. "This must be your world!"
"Well, it's one of our worlds, at least," said Liam, looking around. They were back in the Minecraft world, certainly, but not their public world…in fact, the town they were in was rather familiar. "Hey, wait a minute," Liam suddenly said. "This is Thingville!"
"You're right, it is!" said Danny, who had arrived seconds earlier. Thingville was the first stop on the players' initial quest to stop Doppel, so to be back here brought back some somewhat pleasant memories for them.
"Bow bow bow!" said Blue, pointing to the left. The group followed the puppy to a small wall in the middle of the street made out of obsidian. "Bow bow bow bow!"
"This guy needs help?" asked Liam, pointing to the player near the wall. The player's skin was that of a blonde-haired construction worker, and he was rummaging through a chest at the moment.
The player peaked his head out of the chest and turned to face the group. "Oh! Hello, there!" he said, waving. "My name's Placer. You must be the players that saved our town from the Deathlord a few years ago!"
"Yep, that's us!" said Kevin, nodding with the others. He looked at Josh. "Well, except for him. He's just visiting."
"I'm Josh!" Josh introduced himself. He looked at the empty wall. "What's this you're building here?"
Placer showed the group a blueprint. "I'm building a house," he explained. "But I can't remember where which block goes!"
"Oh, that's no good!" said Josh, shaking his head. "Don't worry! We'll help you finish your house!" Blue nodded in agreement, and the two turned to face the players. "You'll help too, right?" asked Josh.
"Well, it would help us fill up the Key of Balance," said Kevin. He got an idea. "Can I see your supplies and the blueprint for a minute? I think I know how we can make this easier."
Placer handed Kevin the blueprint and stepped aside so Kevin could inspect the chest of supplies. After rifling through the chest for a minute, Kevin looked at the watch he wore on his wrist. "I'll just input these details…" he murmured, typing in the supplies amount and blueprint schematics. "And…viola!" A holographic model of the hypothetical completed build floated into the empty space.
"Whoa! It's like magic!" said Josh, impressed by the technology. "Now we can see which piece goes where!"
"Say, that kinda looks like that Cozy Cottage build I've seen sometimes," said Liam, recognizing the build. Rather than the traditional cobblestone walls, however, the walls of this build were made out of brick, amongst other differences like an oak wood frame instead of spruce and quartz roof lining instead of stone. "It looks better than usual, actually!"
Placer, Josh, and Blue walked up to the hologram of the house. "Ah! Now I remember!" said Placer. "First things first, we have to dig out the basement!"
Blue inspected the dimensions. "Bow, bow, bow, bow, bow…" she counted. "Bow, bow, bow, bow! Bow bow bow bow!"
"You're right, Blue!" said Josh. "The walls are eight blocks long! We can all dig them out!"
"(Yeah, that could speed things up!)" agreed Spawny. "(C'mon, guys!)" The players walked up to the hologram and took the iron shovels that Placer handed out.
"Okay, everyone line up!" called Placer. The group all lined up on one block, based off of the hologram. "And…dig! One, two, three, four, five, six!" The group dug out the grass in time with Placer's directions, though Josh and Blue took a bit to figure out that they only had to whack the dirt a few times instead of actually digging. "Stop! Turn around!" Placer called when they dug six blocks ahead. They repeated the digging procedure two more times, and when they finished, the basement had been dug out.
"Alright, looks like the next thing to do is fill up the walls with cobblestone and the ground with planks," said Danny. He turned towards Josh and Blue. "You wanna try?"
"Really? Okay," said Josh. He took the cobblestone and Blue took the planks. "So, how do we…" He held his hand out with the cobblestone, and it snapped into place. "Oooooohhh!"
Blue used her paws to dig out the dirt in the floor and placed the planks in their place. "Bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow!" she exclaimed, comparing the experience to playing with building blocks.
"Or teaching a preschooler how to play Minecraft for the first time," said Liam, watching Josh easily learn how to place blocks.
Before long, the basement walls and floor were finished. "Thanks, you two! The basement looks good!" said Placer. He walked up to a corner and placed a few ladders on the wall in accordance to the hologram. "Now we gotta do the walls and roof!"
As they climbed up the ladder and Placer began to fill in the floor with more planks, Danny got an idea. "Say, don't you usually come up with a song to help things go along?"
Josh thought for a moment. "Songs do help me remember things," he admitted, and Blue nodded.
"Good to hear," said Danny. He took out his sword and raised it into the air. The spell he performed transformed it into a blue guitar, which he strummed. "Let's see here," he said. "I've always been better with covers than writing original songs, but…" He turned towards the hologram and looked at the walls. "Well, first you do the wooden frames, four blocks high," Danny sang, playing the guitar. "Then…you place the stone base, all along the side…"
"Next you make the walls with bricks everywhere," added in Liam, getting the vibe.
"But be sure to leave the holes, cos you put the windows there!" finished Kevin. He nodded. "Alright, that's a good start."
"I think I can remember that," said Josh. "Can you, Blue?" The puppy nodded. "Alright, let's start building!"
"Appreciate the enthusiasm!" said Placer. He tossed the group the materials needed for the walls. "Now, let's get to work!" And so, the group began to construct the walls. Singing the song the players came up with, Josh and Blue helped put down the frames to be filled in with bricks, then placed in blue stained glass panes for the windows. By the time they were finished, the house was coming along nicely.
To complete the major groundwork, Placer put a pair of wooden doors in the doorway, with a birch step and mini-roof above held together with spruce fences. "Alright! Now we just have to do the roof, the interior, and some finishing touches, and we're done!" he said, nodding.
Kevin thought for a moment. "How about Liam, the rabborgs, and I do the roof and finishing touches, and the rest of you do the interior?"
"Sounds like a plan," said Placer, nodding. He tossed the roof-builders some supplies and turned to the interior-makers. "So, any ideas?"
Danny looked around, his brain racing. "Oh, totally."
Before long, the house was finally complete. Iron doors and an overhang made the wall more effective with keeping mobs out, a grass path led to the front door of the house, and the walls were lined with quartz and made out of stone brick. Inside, there was a sofa, a small kitchen area with a refrigerator, a table with a brewing stand, a crafting table, and a wall map on the top floor, and some chests, nether wart, an enchanting table, and a bed in the basement. Lastly, four blocks of glowstone fixed into the ground, hidden by a blue and white carpet, illuminated both floors.
Liam, Kevin, Spawny, and Spawnette checked out the interior as they walked back in from the outdoor work. "Wow! Looks pretty nice!" said Liam, looking around. "Now I see why you like making houses so much, Danny!"
"Oh, you're a house builder, too?" asked Josh.
"Well, I do have a superflat world with a lot of houses in it," Danny admitted. "In fact, I may have been the one who made the blueprints to this very house…" He then recalled something. "Oh! I put an ender chest in the basement in case you guys have to grab anything."
"Alright, thanks!" said Kevin, nodding. He and Liam walked over to the trapdoor covering the ladder to go downstairs.
And that's when Danny saw it. A blue pawprint on the creeper painting above the sofa. "A clue!"
"Two? You think we should build two houses?" said Josh, mishearing Danny. "I'm not sure there's room for two houses!"
"No, a clue!" said Danny, pointing to the painting. "Right there!"
"Oh, a clue on the painting!" said Josh, turning around. He grimaced. "What even is that?"
"That there is a creeper," said Danny. "It's a kind of monster we have to deal with in our world."
"So 'monster' must be our last clue!" said Josh. "We should tell the others!"
As if summoned, Liam, Kevin, and the rabborgs emerged from the basement. "Dude! You'll never guess what I found in the ender chest!" said Kevin, excited. He presented a familiar-looking rifle with a gauge attached to it.
"No way! The Purifier!" said Danny. "I've been wondering what happened to that thing!"
"We also found a Mega-Piston in there," said Liam, holding out what looked like an ordinary pushing device. "Who knows when that'll come in handy."
"Well, we found something, too!" said Danny. "The last clue!"
"You know what we need now?" said Josh. Everyone said "Our Handy Dandy Notebook!" one last time all together, and Josh pulled out his notebook and began to draw the creeper face. "Let's draw a square for the monster's head, two more squares for its eyes, and a curve like this for its frown. There, a monster!" That's when the biggest revelation dawned on him, the same way it always did. "Hey! We found all three clues! You know what that means!"
[BGM: PT Walkley - Story Time with Blue BGM]
"We're ready for the Thinking Chair!" said Danny. "We better get going!" He turned to Placer. "Hope you enjoy the house, but we gotta go!"
"Thanks for helping out!" called Placer as the group ran out the door. "Come back any time!"
Blue was the first to arrive at the television back home and skidood into it. "There goes Blue, let's go, too!" sung Josh as the group skidood after her, back to the house.
[Character Selected: Danny]
[Current World: Blue's Clues World]
[Current Location: 123 Notebook Drive, Living Room]
[BGM: Continued]
The weird feeling I got with skidooing left as I hit the floor of the living room. "Man, that feeling never gets old," I said, dusting myself off. "Welp, off to the Thinking Chair!" We all ran to the big red chair in front of the front door and sat around as Josh sat in it.
"Now that we're in our Thinking Chair," said Josh, looking down at us, "let's think!" He took out his notebook and flipped through the pages. "Our clues are a shield, our house, and a monster!" The drawings flew out of the notebook and hovered over his head as he listed them off. "So what could Blue want you six to do with a shield, our house, and a monster?"
"Well…" Liam began, but I quickly covered his mouth.
"I wanna hear what he thinks it is first," I whispered.
"Oh! Maybe Blue wants us to dress a monster in a shield and introduce it to our house!" Josh suggested. The drawings changed to make one where a creeper walked into the house carrying a shield.
Liam and Kevin just stared at him in total disbelief. "Wow. Now I really want to know what goes through that head of yours," said Liam.
"Lots of weird stuff, actually," Josh answered, "but that's probably not the answer." He began to think some more. "Well, you did point out that a shield means to protect something…"
"And it does seem like we have to protect the house from…" I added.
"(A creeper?)" suggested Spawny.
"(Maybe not a creeper,)" suggested Spawnette, "(but a monster in geneal!)" That's when the clue drawings combined again to form a drawing of us defending the house from a whole hoard of mobs, signifying that that was the correct answer.
"Protect the house from a monster!" said Josh, and Blue popped up behind him and nodded. "That's it! Blue wants you to protect our house from a monster!" He stood up, excited. "We just figured out…" That's when the gravity of the situation set in for him. "Wait, protect our house from a monster?"
[BGM: End]
"Yeah, why would we have to do that?" asked Kevin. Our question was answered by a sudden rumbling sensation. We all struggled to keep our footing as everything around us began to shake.
"Bow bow!" shouted Blue, holding onto the Thinking Chair.
"I don't think this is an ordinary earthquake," said Josh. "It could be…" Fearfully, we all looked out the window.
And the ground was gone. In its place, the sky. And in front of the house was a big blue being seemingly made of pure energy.
"That's the monster you have to stop," said Josh, realizing what was happening. He got a determined face. "You go and stop him. I'll go get everyone to a safe place."
[BGM: Antimo & Welles - Wither Storm Theme [Minecraft: Story Mode 101 OST]
We nodded and walked right outside the door. We could see that Mailbox was trembling from fear, and I honestly couldn't blame him. "Hey! Mailbox! Get inside!" I called over, and he wasted no time in extending all the way through the window. With that, I joined the others in facing our brand new foe.
"So we meet in person for the very first time, Minecraft Maniacs," boomed the being. "And it will be the last time as well."
"So you're the Manipulator," I said, trying not to freak out. "We got your message, by the way. We didn't appreciate it." I turned towards my inventory. "Balancia! We need your help!"
The allay flew out of my inventory and right beside us. "The Manipulator!" she cried with a mix of surprise and anger. "I see you haven't decided terrorizing innocent worlds wasn't going to work after the first time!"
"Oh, I don't plan on terrorizing this entire world just yet," the being taunted. "Just your heroes."
"Well, at the very least, I shall level the playing field." Balancia flew back into my inventory and pulled out a block of cobblestone, left over from the building process. She held it up to the sky, and the ground stretched out with a giant platform of cobblestone before us.
"Ah! More ground! That'll help us!" said Liam. He pulled out his modified dispenser, Kevin used his gangerman powers to inhale some gunpowder and sand, gaining the Bomb ability, Spawny readied his scepter, and I turned my sword back into its normal state. "Alright, let's finish this before it starts!"
"Agreed," said the Manipulator. And so, we charged. Yelling out into the atmosphere, I raised my sword up high and created several duplicates of everyone, including myself. The Liams and Kevins dove to the side to attack from there, while the Pork Chops, other Dannys, and I jumped up to attack directly. Just as I was about to slash across the Manipulator's face (or whatever it was), he snapped his fingers, causing all of the duplicates to vanish, before swiping his hand across the sky, sending me flying back. Then he quickly flew away from the arrows and TNT fired, sending them towards Liam, Kevin, and the rabborgs instead of their planned target.
"Whoa!" cried Kevin, grabbing Spawnette and diving out of the way of the arrows. "That guy just zoomed away from us!"
"I can see why he's called the Manipula-AAAAAAHHHH!" Before he could finish his thought, Liam was suddenly sucked into a portal and dumped onto the Manipulator's open hand.
"Liam! No!" I cried, reaching my hand out. Realizing what had to be done, I turned towards Kevin, who nodded. We grabbed each others' hands, did a synchronized backflip, and jumped up. I prepared to fire a beam from my sword, while Kevin prepared a block of TNT. The Manipulator raised his hand to block it, but at that moment, Liam found the opportunity to fire his dispenser. Arrows were quickly joined by TNT and a laser as we finally landed a hit on the Manipulator.
Kevin and I landed next to the rabborgs and Pork Chop. "(So that's the trick!) said Spawny. "(He can only block with one hand while someone's with him.)"
"So, you want your little friend back?" said the Manipulator. "Here!" That's when he gripped Liam tightly and tossed him all the way back at us. Quickly, we sidestepped out of the way to dodge him, and he landed right into…
"Balancia?" Yep, the allay caught Liam and set him right back down next to us. "Man, that's some arm!"
"I have an idea," she told us. "Let me be the next one he grabs. Maybe I can be the one who attacks while you distract him."
I thought it over briefly. "Well, you are both from that in-between space. Let's give it a shot!" And so, we all charged again, this time with Balancia flying right towards the Manipulator.
"Ah, hello Balancia," the Manipulator said as she set down in its hand. "I see you decided to give yourself up for these heroes." We all got closer to the Manipulator, raring to attack, and he prepared to trap us in another portal.
"Oh, did I?" said Balancia. She closed her eyes and held her hands out. "Yin." Suddenly, the portal closed, and we all attacked at once. I slashed right across the Manipulator's hand, Liam fired arrows in its face, and Kevin placed blocks of TNT right below the being. Just as the TNT blew up, the Manipulator got enough power back to pick up the piece of cobblestone we were standing on.
"Well, at least we were able to get some hits in," said Kevin as we came closer and closer to the Manipulator. "I wouldn't call that a total loss."
"Don't write yourselves off yet," said Balancia. She held her arms out again and said, "Yang." The piece suddenly stopped moving, and our companions took the attacking lead. Spawny fired shots of energy at the Manipulator while Spawnette grabbed Pork Chop and twirled around with him, passing right trough the Manipulator and attacking him.
"Yes! Let's goooo!" cried Liam, cheering for the little guys. That was when the Manipulator really got mad. He swiped his hand across the air, sending us all flying back again. And this time, he took all of our weapons, too. We landed on the hard cobblestone platform, and I saw my health bar drop to half a heart. Pork Chop and the rabborgs slid next to us shortly thereafter.
"Well, well, well, it seems you aren't as grand as you used to be," said the Manipulator. "And even if you come back from your end, you won't have all of your tricks up your sleeve."
"Oh, yeah?" I called out. "We still have one more! Liam?" I alerted him to take out the Mega-Piston he found, but when he searched through his inventory, he couldn't seem to find it, and that's when I saw it. All the way back at the other end of the platform. It must've slid out of his inventory when we were sent flying back.
"Well, it seems you truly are defenseless," the Manipulator taunted. Just to add salt in the wound, he squeezed Balancia so tightly she couldn't use her own powers to stop him.
"Well, I guess this is it, guys," I said, reluctantly. "Looks like we're gonna have to work our way up from the start." Our weapons all turned right towards us, and we braced for the impact.
All that ended when we heard a "Bow!" Using what health we had regenerated to look up, we saw Blue and Josh had stepped outside the house and had grabbed the Mega-Piston. "Bow bow bow bow bow!"
"Yeah, leave our friends alone," agreed Josh, beginning to march towards the Manipulator.
"Josh, what are you dong?" I asked. "You're gonna get killed."
"If I die protecting my friends," Josh responded, "then that's the way I want to go." He looked at the Mega-Piston. "How do I use this?"
Kevin smiled. "Just place it down. He's defenseless." And so, Josh placed down the Mega-Piston, and it grew to colossal size. If the Manipulator had a face, I'm pretty sure it would've looked panicked as the Mega-Piston smacked him right in the kisser and opened up a tear in the fabric of reality.
Josh and Blue even began to be sucked into the tear with us. "Gah! What's happening?" Josh said, panicking.
I just smiled. "Sit back. The real show's about to begin."
[Character Selected: Kevin]
[Current World: Trio Attack Dimension]
[Current Location: Trio Fireball Chamber]
[BGM: Continued]
The sight of the familiar, Nether fortress-like chamber fills you with delight. "The Mega-Piston still works as intended!" you say, pumping your fist. You turn towards Josh and Blue, who are looking around in bewilderment. "Hey! Thanks for saving us back there!"
"No problem, now what is this place?" asks Josh. "There seems to be fire everywhere! Did we die? Are we in…the place bad people go to?"
"No, no, no," you say, shaking your head. "See him?" You point towards the flattened image of the Manipulator. "We're finally gonna be able to finish him off!" You toss everyone but Danny and Spawny sticks to use as bats. "When those ghasts over there fire fireballs at us, hit them with the stick and they'll go right into the Manipulator!"
"Wow, I sure learned a lot about your world today!" says Josh, chuckling. The ghasts start to shoot their fireballs, and Danny and Spawny start off with their sword and scepter, respectively. In its flattened state, the Manipulator doesn't try to retaliate and takes all the fireball beatings from everyone.
"Bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow!" says Blue, expressing her delight with literally playing with fire.
"Yeah, but we better be careful not to get burned!" Josh reminds her. Just then, a giant fireball comes flying in.
"Wow! That's new!" says Danny, impressed. "Big finish!" Pork Chop and the rabborgs hit it once, then Josh and Blue, and finally… "All together now!" You, Liam, and Danny hop up and hit the fireball all together, sending it flying towards the Manipulator. The entire wall comes crashing down, solidifying your victory.
"Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" declares Liam. "We've still got game!" Just then, the entire arena fills with a white flash, signifying the end of the Trio Attack.
[BGM: End]
[World Change: Blue's Clues World]
[Location Change: 123 Notebook Drive, Front Yard]
The first thing you notice when you return to reality is that you are no longer in the sky. Rather, you and the others are back on terra firma. "Hey! The house is back on the ground!" says Liam, pointing behind you.
"Yep! I did that while you were taking down the Manipulator!" says Balancia, wiping her forehead. The Manipulator lies on the ground in front of you, motionless. "Now then, let's finish the job!"
Knowing exactly what to do, you pull the Purifier out of your inventory. "I'm gonna need a bit of charge," you say, noticing the still-empty gauge. "Balancia?"
"I guess I could try." The allay closes her eyes, holds out her arms, and says "Yin" once more. Instantly, the gauge of the Purifier fills up to maximum.
"Okay, Manipulator! Get ready to taste the true pureness of the multiverse!" you say, aiming the weapon right at the being. With the press of the trigger, pure energy goes flying out of the cannon, right towards the Manipulator. But just before it makes impact, the Manipulator raises its arm and vanishes into thin air. The beam keeps going across the air until it eventually dissipates without hitting a single target.
"Did-did you get him?" asks Liam.
"No, there wasn't any big explosion," you say, defeated. "I think I missed."
"You missed? How could you possibly miss? He was three feet in front of you!"
"It looks like he may have teleported away just before he got purified," says Danny. He sighs. "Well, at least we know for sure this guy means business!"
You put the Purifier back into your inventory. "Well, at least he's gone from this world," you say, deciding to look on the bright side. Just then, you hear rumbling. "Uh, does anyone know what that is?"
Josh and Blue turn around and gasp. "It's all our friends!" says Josh. "They're coming to thank you!" Sure enough, every single resident of the Blue's Clues house comes running out. Before you know it, you and the others are all being tossed up into the air.
"Man, where was this kind of 'thank you' when we defeated Doppel?" Liam jokes. "I guess most of the Chaosverse isn't as grateful as these guys!"
You are then set down to the ground, where the Spice Family comes to greet you. "Thank you, thank you, for saving our home!" says Mr. Salt.
"How can we eva repay you?" asks Mrs. Pepper.
"Hmm…how about a three-course gourmet meal served on traditional French china?" you suggest. Everyone haves a good laugh about it, which relieves you, since you were worried they were going to take you seriously. "Really, though, we came here for the essence of goodness. That's payment enough."
"Look at you, a humble hero," says Josh, nodding in approval. "Still, if you ever need anything, I'm sure everyone here would be happy to share!"
"Thanks for the offer, actually," says Danny. "But seriously, we took a good beating there. We should eat." You all reach into your inventory for some food, but as Danny munches, he notices something's off. "Hey! I thought I had a whole stack of chicken in here! Why is there only 48?"
Balancia nervously rolls her eyes. "Heh…I may have gotten a little peckish…" And everyone laughs again.
[Character Selected: Josh]
[Current World: Blue's Clues World]
[Current Location: 123 Notebook Drive, Living Room]
"CHEEEEEEEEESE!" Paprika snapped the photo from her phone, then sent it to print. "Thanks, Paprika!" said Josh as she left to get the photo.
Before long, Blue got the photo. "Bow bow…" She ran over to her kindness collage and glued the photo to the sheet. "Bow bow bow bow bow bow!" Proudly, she showed her completed project to the players.
"Wow! It looks so good!" said Danny, nodding. "Was this a school project?"
"Yes, actually!" said Josh. "Next week is kindness week at her school, and she's gonna present the collage to her class!" He shook Danny's hand. "Thanks for coming over, by the way! It was cool meeting one of Blue's old friends!"
[BGM: PT Walkley - So Long Song (2019 Mix)]
Danny looked over to Blue, who nodded. "It was cool meeting an old friend of mine, too," he said. As he and the others walked over to the TV, Danny began to sing, "Well now it's time for so long!"
"But we'll sing just one more song," added Josh. With that, the two sung "The So Long Song" as a sendoff before the players returned to the Minecraft world. "It was nice to meet you!" said Josh when they arrived at the TV.
"Nice meeting you, too, actually," said Liam. "But before I forget, I must ask…what happened to Steve and Joe?"
"Oh, my cousins?" said Josh. "Steve's a detective now, and Joe works at the present store!"
"Good. Just wanted some closure on that!" With that, Liam joined the others in skidooing back into the TV and into the Multiversal Gateway. And as they did, Blue ran up to the TV and licked it as one last goodbye.
After that, Josh knelt down and gave Blue's collage a look. It really is a nice collage, he thought.
[BGM: End]
[Character Selected: Manipulator]
[Current World: In-Between Realm]
[Current Location: N/A]
After its escape from the Blue's Clues world, the Manipulator left to think about its next course of action. "So I cannot block and use my powers at the same time," it thought to itself. "Noted. Attacking the Minecraft Maniacs all at once will likely not work again. What I need is a different approach…"
To be continued...and next time: special delivery!
Next chapter: "Giving the Gift of Crafting" Now that the Back in the Game! arc is over, it's time for the next part of the quest: Parcels and Prizes! First off, in order to completely fill up the Key of Balance, the Manicas will have to make a special delivery with some very familiar critters...
Postface: Chapter complete! And with that, the first story arc, Back in the Game!, is finished!
Trivia time! First off, when you have a Minecraft-Blue's Clues crossover, you just have to have Blue and the host skidoo into the Minecraft world. It just makes sense. But of course, Josh and Blue didn't skidoo into the world the players were once in - they skidood into Thingville! For those of you that didn't read Minecraft Maniacs RPG, Thingville was the first major locale in the story, where the players showed off their fighting skills and acquired the first Gadget of Order. I included it here as a way to keep continuity. And since Blue's Clues is kind of a show about trying new things, it made sense to have Josh and Blue help the players build a house. I chose the Cozy Cottage, made iconic by Paul Soares, Jr., because it's a nice, beginner-friendly house, which befitted a preschool show environment. The specific design used was actually a custom I made myself in my own superflat world where I make houses - Danny is my counterpart in more ways than one! Lastly, a concept from the tie-in story, Minecraft Maniacs: The Mini-game Tournament, is featured - the program that lets Kevin make holograms of builds to make building easier!
Of course, after that we have our first big conflict with the main villain of the story: the Manipulator! You may recognize the Manipulator from some of the more recent stories, but now his real status as the villain is established! He's more powerful than Perinton Pig and Doppel, but he also has his limitations, but he also makes up for that with his learning from experience and ingenuity. Of course, Balancia's powerful, too - she's the yin to the Manipulator's yang, which is why she's able to disable some of his powers temporarily. Her ability to make a cobblestone platform from just one block was also inspired by the main function of allays - if you drop an item in front of them, they'll look for other dropped items of that kind. Last but not least, a few items from the first story return - the Mega-Piston, which serves as a counterpart to the Trio Attack Hammer from Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, and the Purifier, which was used to defeat all of the major bosses in the first story - not that it seems to work on the Manipulator, at least not right away...
That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all next time for a super-special delivery! 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.~