Preface: Hello, again! Happy Fourth of July to you Americans who make up most of my readership! This chapter's going to be a little shorter than the last few, but it is the start of the second story arc: Parcels and Prizes! I name it as such because the players will be delivering a package (or parcel, as some of you call it), and will eventually get a prize in the form of the first Cube of Balance! Anyway, let's get started!
Update 7/8/22 (original uploading 7/4/22): fixed preface description
MINECRAFT MANIACS:
LIGHT AND DARK
Previously...when they tried to set out for a new adventure, Danny, Liam, Kevin, and their companions met Balancia, an allay who took them on a quest to the world of Blue's Clues to stop a new foe known as the Manipulator. While the players were able to defeat the Manipulator in an encounter, they were unable to eliminate it entirely.
Now...the players return from their adventure...
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 5:
Parcels and Prizes, Part One -
Giving the Gift of Crafting
[Main Party Selected: Danny, Liam, Kevin, Balancia]
[Supporting Party Selected: Spawny, Spawnette, Pork Chop]
[Character Selected: Balanica]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Public World, Multiversal Gateway]
[BGM: Antimo & Welles - Order of the Stone [Minecraft: Story Mode 101 OST]]
As soon as Danny set back down into the Multiversal Gateway, Balancia flew out of his inventory. "So, that was a fantastic start, wasn't it?"
"Eh, I at least hated it less than I thought I would," Liam admitted, waving his hand. He stretched. "So, let's get this first Trial of the Code out of the way, shall we?"
"Yeah, sure, why not?" said Danny. He reached into his inventory to pull out the Key of Balance he had, but what he found was not something he was anticipating. "Uh-oh."
"What's wrong?" asked Kevin.
"It's only halfway full." Indeed, the key had only filled up to the small line dividing the key in two with white. "Looks like we're gonna have to do some more good deeds first," said Danny, putting the key back into this inventory.
"Actually, we've been playing for quite some time now," Kevin pointed out. "Now seems like a good time for a break."
Balancia considered it. "Well, you did do that with Buzzer," she said, recalling the exploits the fly had with the players. "I suppose you can take a break for now. I'll watch your companions."
"Great! See you guys tomorrow!" said Danny, waving to the others. With that, the three players logged off for the day, leaving the rabborgs and Pork Chop with Balancia.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful for the four. With the Manipulator set back for a good period of time, they didn't have much to worry about. Balancia let the three explore the gateway, peeking into other worlds, but she did not let them go through the portals straight-up. When night fell, she put the three to bed, then teleported out of the gateway to consult with two more of her allies.
[Location Change: Planet of the Gangermen, Royal Lair]
As she twirled around and vanished, the allay found herself within the lair of the gangermen she first met. The two were sitting in a lounge area, reading a pair of green books. "Settling in for the night, I see?"
"Yep! Only a classic!" said Andy. "Minecraft: Essential Handbook! One of the first books ever made!"
Balancia scratched her head. I thought that was just a guidebook for real worlders, she thought. "Oh, anyway, we filled up the first Key of Balance halfway!" she then said, recounting the day's events. "We even gave the Manipulator a good setback!"
"Ooo, that's good," said Mark, looking up from his book. "I hope we won't hear from him for a while." He then got serious and put his book down, tapping Andy on the shoulder to do the same. "But we have some bad news."
"Recently we got reports of a couple of gangermen vanishing," Andy explained. "Today, we inspected the disappearance, and this was what we found." He held up a sheet of paper that Balancia read aloud:
"You may have taken away our leader and his assistant from us. But we refuse to accept this downfall. Mark our words: the glory of the gangermen shall be restored!"
"Seems like some of the gangermen went rogue and are trying to bring back Doppel and Perinton," explained Mark. "Luckily, we locked up the spirit vault, but who knows what they're gonna do first."
"So you're saying to keep an eye out for them?" said Balancia, and the two nodded. "Alright, duly noted!" She was sure to keep this knowledge in mind for the next adventure she and the players were about to embark on…
[Character Selected: Danny]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Public World, Multiversal Gateway]
[BGM: C418 - Danny]
The day after the Blue's Clues adventure, I logged on, same as I always had, to find my friends there, waiting for me. "Hey, guys!" I said, waving to the others. Pork Chop ran up to me and circled around me.
"Yo!" said Liam, standing up from where he was with Spawny. "They were just telling us how last night went."
"(We got to peek into all sorts of cool worlds!)" Spawny told me, excitedly. "(We saw Sonic's world, Bluey's world, Unikitty's world…every world we've been to! We also saw this one world that Balancia said we were going to next!)"
I followed Spawny to the portal where the next world lay. It was made of white blocks decorated with red, yellow, and turquoise rhombuses, and the vortex flashed the colors of the rhombuses. I think I know what world this is, I thought, leaning down to poke my head through the portal. My eyes set on the town up ahead, made of rather ordinarily-built houses and inhabited by kinda tiny anthropomorphic animals. "Whoa…" I said, pulling my head back in.
"Lemme guess: it's another world you recognize?" asked Liam. I nodded. "It's probably an obscure one that we have no clue about." I nodded again. "You have weird interests, dude." I nodded a third time.
That was when Balancia flew up to us. "Oh! You're here! You're here!" she exclaimed. "And you're already at the portal! Perfect!" She flew up to the portal and stuck her arm out. "This world right here is the first world the Manipulator targeted. Thankfully, an order of heroes from another world teamed up with some locals to take it down."
"So we're covering previously-charted territory here, eh?" said Kevin. "No matter. I'm curious as to what this place is exactly!"
"Well, let's not waste any more time!" I said, and we all started marching towards the portal.
"Oh! One more thing!" Balancia added. "I was alerted by Andy and Mark about some rogue gangermen, so…be on the lookout!"
Rogue gangermen? I thought as I journeyed into the portal. Ah, probably won't be a big deal. They probably don't have the teleportation technology…
[Character Selected: Suki]
[Current World: Pikwik Planet]
[Current Location: Pikwik Post, Living Room]
[BGM: Asher Lenz, Stephen Skratt - Hazel's Birthday BGM]
It was another bright, sunny day in Pikwik. Some months ago, the town faced a crisis when a strange shadowy figure appeared and wreaked havoc on the town. Luckily, thanks to some help from heroes from another world (and some magical emeralds), the Pikwik Pack was able to stop the figure. And now that the town had been rebuilt and the crisis had left the public eye, the town could focus on something much happier: Grandpa Grok's birthday!
"And…there!" said Suki as she put the finishing touches on the cake she and Tibor had made. It was a three-layered cake with figures of the pack lifting Grandpa Grok into the air on top. "Cake is done!" she called.
"And so are the tacos!" cried Axel. Everyone in Pikwik was bringing their own snacks to the party, and the raccoon had offered to make tacos.
"Balloons are ready, too!" said Hazel. The kitten walked in with two handfuls of balloons, each one colored the same color as one of the Pikwik Pack members - green, blue, orange, and purple.
Tibor inspected everything one last time. "I think that's everything!" he said after his inspection. "Come on! Let's get everything packed up!" The group was about to start loading everything into the hippo's truck, when suddenly, they froze, realizing something they didn't before. "Oh, wait! We need a present for Grandpa Grok!" said Tibor.
"But what are we going to give him?" asked Axel, shrugging. Before the pack could ponder this thought any longer, three bells rung in time with the three flashing rhombuses on top of Pikwik Post. "Hip, hip, hooray, there's a package on the way!" the Pikwik Pack said simultaneously, and they set their things down to go see what the package was going to be.
The pack enacted their standard package appearance procedure. Suki opened up the rhombus-shaped door into the strange green void she had wandered into and watched as magic sparkles flew into an orange part of the void, where Hazel bounced along some orange rhombuses. The magic continued to a purple void, where Tibor popped up and watched it go onto a blue void, where Axel cartwheeled across some blue rhombuses. Hazel began running along the purple floor as Axel bounced ahead, and when the kitten tripped, Tibor helped her back up. The three met Suki at the front, and they ran to the briefing place where the magic floated up to the top of the tower, turning into a small rectangular package, wrapped in white paper marked with red, green, and yellow rhombuses.
"Yay! The package is here!" exclaimed Hazel as the package floated to the ground.
"Who is it for?" asked Axel.
"Where does it go?" asked Tibor.
"The tag will tell us what we need to know," said Suki, reaching for the tag on the package. On the red rhombus on the package, a small image of a familiar toad appeared. "It's going to Grandpa Grok…" The image of Grok winked as an image of an island appeared on the yellow rhombus. "At Celebration Island…" An image of a clock with balloons tied to it appeared on the red rhombus. "And it has to get there before his birthday party begins!" That's when Suki realized what this meant. "This must be the present we can give to Grandpa Grok!"
"Of course!" cried Axel. "Why didn't we think of this before?"
"Let's check the map and make a plan." Suki grabbed a baton as the screen in front of the Pikwik Pack opened up to reveal a map of the town. The hedgehog pointed her baton at the locations as she read them off. "Okay, team, we have to go past the docks, around Windy Water Way, through the Rocky Rapids, and right to Celebration Island for Grandpa Grok's birthday!"
"Hmm, we can take your boat, Suki," Axel thought as the image of the hedgehog's boat popped onto the screen, "but it might not be big enough to hold all of the party supplies!"
"Ooo! Ooo!" Hazel pointed out. "There were train tracks leading underwater! That must be a super-secret shortcut tunnel!"
"Yeah! We can take my train through the water!" Tibor pointed out as an image of his trusty locomotive appeared on the screen.
"Sounds like a plan!" said Suki, putting her baton away. Just then, there was a knock at the front door. "Hmm? Who could that be?" The pack returned to the front door, Tibor grabbing the package along the way.
"Maybe it's one of our friends?" Hazel suggested, staring at the door.
"Or it could be some more guys from another dimension," pointed out Axel, recalling the events from months ago.
"Only one way to find out…" With that, Suki grabbed the door handle and swung the door open. Staring back at them were…three blocky humanoid figures, a blocky piglet wearing a fedora and scarf, a blue fairy-like creature, and two rabbit-like figures wearing royal regalia. Okay…Axel was right, Suki thought, trying not to freak out.
"Er…hi…" said the frontmost figure, who resembled a plumber. "We're here to prevent multiversal terror."
"Lemme guess…" said Axel. "Does it involve a weird blue guy with crazy powers?"
"Actually, yes," said the plumber figure. "But we won't be hearing from him for a while, so it's best we get what came for done with while we still can."
"Well, as long as you aren't here to hurt us," said Suki, welcoming the figures inside. "I'm Suki, and these are Axel, Hazel, and Tibor, my family."
The plumber figure whipped his head around. "Family?" he said, confused. "I thought you were just friends!"
Suki chuckled. "Well, a wise hedgehog taught me that your friends can be family, too," she said. "His name was Sonic."
The blocky figures looked at each other, even more confused. "Y'know what, that doesn't matter right now," said the figure who looked like a black alien. "I'm Kevin, these are my friends Liam and Danny, this is Danny's pet pig Pork Chop, these are the rabborgs, Spawny and Spawnette, and this fairy here is Balancia, our ally."
Hazel looked at Pork Chop sweetly. "Aww…what a cute little piggy!"
"So, what brings you here?" asked Tibor. "Are you after some weird energy source?"
"Kinda," said Liam. He reached into Danny's pocket and pulled out a key that was half-white and half-clear. "See this key right here? If we do good deeds, this will be filled with enough power to open up a gateway towards the power needed to stop this crazy maniac." He turned around and saw the party supplies in the kitchen. "And it looks like we can start by helping you clean up around here!"
"Oh! We're going to a birthday party, actually!" explained Tibor. "We were just about to load everything into my train!"
Danny snapped his invisible fingers. "Then that's where we'll start! Come on, guys! Let's start loading!'
With the help of these strange new figures, the Pikwik Pack had their party supplies loaded in no time. With the food tucked away into a special compartment, the balloons tied to the train's poles, and the package up on the top seat, the pack was ready to set out.
"Thanks for your help," said Suki as she tied the last balloon to the pole. "It feels nice to help others, doesn't it?"
"Y'know, it actually does," said Liam. He checked the key. "Hmm…we still need to fill this up a little more."
"Oh! I know! Why don't you deliver the package with us?" Suki suggested. "That's a good way to spread joy!"
"I don't see what else we can do," said Danny, shrugging. "Alright, we're in!" He, Liam, and Kevin hopped onto the train's carriage. "Ready when you are!"
"(Ooo! I call the top seat!)" cried Spawny. He, Pork Chop, and Spawnette joined Hazel on the top seat of the train. "(I'm king of the multiverse!)"
Suki giggled as she and Axel boarded the train. "All ready to go, Tibor!" Axel cried.
Tibor hopped into the conductor's seat. "Clickety clack, this train is on track!" the hippo declared, and he pressed the button to set the train out on its way. Smoke billowed out from the top tube, and the train pulled out.
As the train passed through town, onlookers saw it go by. "It's a Pikwik delivery!" said Carter the crocodile, looking from her house. "Who's it for, Tibor?"
"It's our birthday present for Grandpa Grok!" the hippo called back as he passed a small skate park.
Edgar the elephant and William the dog looked from their skateboards. "I wonder what it could be!" Edgar wondered, and the two examined the shape of the package. "Hmm…" the two wondered aloud. "A bookcase?" the elephant guessed, and a thought bubble depicting a bookcase appeared next to his head.
"A streamer?" guessed William, and a thought bubble depicting a purple streamer appeared next to his head. "Ooo! Ooo! Maybe it's a…"
"Streamer case!" the two said simultaneously, and their thought bubbles combined to form a bookcase shooting out streamers, which made the two laugh.
It probably would have been a nice, calm delivery for the Pikwik Pack and their new companions had it not been for the strange figures watching them from the treetops. "It looks like they're on their way to the cave," said one of them.
"Perfect. That's where we'll ambush them," said the other. "Then they'll see we won't let anything stand in our way…" With that, the two vanished…
To be continued...and next time: ambush!
Next chapter: "Underwater Ambush" A place like Pikwik is perfect for a fast, eleven-minute delivery...usually, that is! But there's a new group of foes after the Maniacs, and they have an attack planned that could ruin the delivery! But while the players are going up against the bunch of mobs, how can the Pikwik Pack help?
Chapter complete! Hmm...who could those new foes be? You'll find out...
Trivia time! As you can see, I decided to stick with the order I was going with by having the players go into the world of Pikwik Pack! As with the Blue's Clues adventure and my previous story featuring the pack, I'll be adhering to the show's plot formula, but there will be events that will break it up! We also have our first teaser for the new minor villains: rogue gangermen who wish to bring Doppel back to life! I created them to add a bit more peril to the players' adventure, but will they succeed in their endeavors? Not yet, but soon...
That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all next time for the mysterious figures' attack! Stay diamond, everyone!
-Alfred
~Minecraft and everything related to it are properties of Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios. The Pikwik Pack and everything related to them are properties of Guru Animation Studio, LTD. 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.~