Preface: Hello, again! Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the unexpected break I took - I got caught up in enjoying the last few weeks of my summer. But as school nears, I promise I'm gonna try to upload more frequently. Anyway, this is just a little quickie to wrap up Act 1 before things get bigger next time, so enjoy!
MINECRAFT MANIACS:
LIGHT AND DARK
Previously...with the assistance of their new ally Balancia, Danny, Liam, Kevin, and their companions successfully filled up the first Key of Balance and obtained the first Cube of Balance.
Now...they return from their challenge of the code...
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 9:
An Interrupted Break, Part One -
Whatever Comes Next
[Main Party Selected: Danny, Liam, Kevin, Balancia]
[Supporting Party Selected: Spawny, Spawnette, Pork Chop]
[Character Selected: Kevin]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Public World, Multiversal Gateway]
[BGM: Antimo & Welles - Order of the Stone [Minecraft: Story Mode 101 OST]]
The white finally leaves your screen, and you see items pop into your hotbar. Around you, you see portals and three keyholes. "So…we're back," you say.
"And so is our stuff," adds Danny. That's when it hits him. "Wait - our stuff's back!"
"It is!" says Liam, taking out his dispenser. "Thank goodness! I would not want to lose this bad boy!"
"Well, more importantly, you have the Cube of Balance, right?" Balancia asks.
"Oh, yeah, that's right!" Danny fishes into his inventory and pulls out the white cube that Jarvis rewarded you with. "So this thing can make the Gadgets of Order even more powerful, huh?"
"Yeah, that's what Jarvis said," you recall. "Well, if that's the case, we oughta make sure this doesn't fall into the wrong hands!" Just then, you see a video screen appear in the sky above you. "Oh, don't tell me he's back somehow?" you groan, recalling how Perinton Pig would give you a video call after you defeated a major boss the last go around.
Thankfully, the pig is not the face that greets you when the static clears. Instead, it's the face of his not-so-evil subordinates. "Hey, guys!" says Andy, waving. "Just thought we'd check in!"
"Congrats on getting the first Cube of Balance!" says Mark. "But we do have to warn you about something."
"Is it about those rogue gangermen?" asks Liam. "We found them in that picnic world or whatever it was called, but they got away before we could deal with them."
"Yeah, so we found out how exactly they've been doing that," explains Mark. "You see, when Perinton was defeated, we junked his teleportation technology to make sure no one could recreate it."
"They recreated it, didn't they?" you ask, lamely.
"Not quite," says Andy. "They used the scraps to make…this." He presses a button, and a holographic image of a key appears. It doesn't quite look like the Keys of Balance…rather, the top of it resembles…
"Hang on, is that an Order Gadget?" says Danny, glaring at the hologram.
"No, but it is an artificial one," says Andy. "Same basic biodata, but not enough power. But when combined with the remains of the portal technology, it can open up that Multiversal Gateway and let them go into any world they want."
"So we have to try to get that key away from them," you guess.
"Well, we're gonna try to do it ourselves so you can focus on getting those cubes," says Mark, "but if you run into them again and they drop, do try to take it. Anyway, good luck!"
You all wave goodbye as the transmission ends. "So, I guess as long as those rogue gangermen can go in here, this probably isn't the best place to hide the Cubes of Balance."
"Well, we could hide them at that shrine we built, but that's in the private world," suggests Liam.
"(Maybe sis and I could hide it in our castle!)" Spawny suggests.
"(But what if they could still access it through the gateway?)" says Spawnette. "(It seems we can't truly hide it anywhere they cannot find it…)"
"Hmmm…" says Balancia. "I do have an idea…" She holds her arms out and says, "Yin."
"Whoa!" The cube dissolves in Danny's hands and flies towards Balancia. The particles fly into her tiara, where they rest in the "yin" portion of it. "Dang, you really are all-powerful!" he says, impressed.
"Oh, I didn't absorb the cube," says Balancia. "It's in my tiara for safekeeping!"
"Well, that's convenient…" you say, nodding. "I guess you still haven't figured out all your powers…"
Danny takes out his sword. "Speaking of powers, there's one more thing I wanna do before we call it a day…"
[BGM: End]
[Character Selected: Andy]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Planet of the Gangermen, Royal Lair]
As soon as the transmission ended, Andy and Mark got up from their seats and stretched. "Well, now that that's settled, we better start working on the new UFO," said Andy, picking up the blueprints left on the table.
"I'm lucky I even found them. They were buried so far deep, that lab is a mess," said Mark. "But I was also able to find this!" He showed Andy another blueprint he found, showing the UFO splitting into two smaller UFOs. "If we add this in, we might be able to split up and get those two separately!"
Andy thought about it. "Hmm…it does sound like a good idea. Let's focus on the main UFO for now, though, then we'll see if we can fit that in."
"Good!" said Mark, nodding. "But we better work quickly, though. Something tells me those two will be moving on to their next attack next weekend…"
[Character Selected: Danny]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Public World, Temporary Shelter]
[BGM: Johan Johnson - Halland]
After a long walk back while holding my sword at the ground, I had finally finished what I was gonna do: a minecart track from the temporary shelter outside the Cave of Experts to the Multiversal Gateway. "There we go! Now we don't have to worry about getting lost!" I said, slipping my sword back into my inventory.
"Smart idea, Danny," said Balancia, nodding. "So, I believe you all deserve a break after that!"
"Yep, totally," said Liam. "But in the meantime, was that a good adventure for you, Danny?"
I thought for a moment. "Well, I'm not sure how much it added up to our last adventure, but it was nice getting back into dimension hopping. And I have a feeling we're just getting started, since the Manipulator's still at large."
"Oh, yeah! We still haven't seen him since that battle," said Kevin. He looked up to the sky. "When do you think we'll see him again?"
"Hard to say," said Balancia. "He can really come outta nowhere. We better be on guard for when that happens."
"She's right, guys," I said. "We better watch our backs for the Manipulator." I stretched. "But for now, time for a break." We all walked into the temporary shelter to log off. "Well, see you guys next time," I said, and I opened the pause menu and quit the game.
[World Change: Real World]
[Location Change: His House]
After I logged off, I plugged in my tablet and layed on my mom's bed. That was a pretty good adventure, I thought to myself. But I hope the Manipulator takes his sweet time getting back. I can do without him…
[BGM: End]
[Character Selected: Manipulator]
[Current World: In-Between Space]
[Current Location: N/A]
The Manipulator watched as the players logged off for the day, leaving their companions all alone. "Ah, yes, enjoy your break, Minecraft Maniacs," it said devilishly. "I have plans for you, and for this little one, too." Its focus turned to a little blue heeler peacefully sleeping, followed by a bright, indiscernible entity making sure all was well in her life…
Act 1 has concluded! Next time: Danny vs. the Manipulator!
The Minecraft Maniacs Will Return
Act 1 Credits
Cast:
Jesus von Any - Various Voices
Marieve Herington - Balancia
Willy Blanq - Liam
Alfred von Any - Danny
Neville Napoleon - Kevin
Damien Laquet - Spawny, Spawnette
Dee Bradley Baker - Various Creature Sounds
Andrew Stanton - Manipulator
Traci Page Johnson - Blue
Josh De la Cruz - Josh
Shazdeh Kapadia - Sidetable Drawer
Jordana Blake - Pail
Ava Augustin - Tickety Tock
Leo Orgil - Shovel
Jacob Soley - Slippery Soap
Doug Murray - Mailbox
Brad Adamson - Mr. Salt
Gisele Rousseau - Mrs. Pepper
Emma Ho - Suki
Daniel Pathan - Axel
Molly Lewis - Hazel
Jacob Soley - Tibor
Brad Adamson - Carter, Grandpa Grok
Taylor Puterman - Edgar
Glee Dango - William
Stacey DePass - Beverly
Music:
Antimo & Welles
Minecraft Dungeons Soundteam
C418
PT Walkley
Asher Lenz
Stephen Skratt
Additional Music:
Weezer - Back to the Shack (Trailer Music)
C418 - Alpha (Credits Music)
Written by: Alfred von Any
Edits by: Jesus von Any
Next chapter: "Battle of the Mind" Time for a break! Wanting a bit of alone time, Danny decides to do a bit of solo-building, and for the Manipulator, that's the perfect opportunity to attack! Naturally, fighting an omnipotent deity without your friends is no cakewalk, especially when it knows your deepest, darkest anxieties...
Postface: Chapter complete! That's it for Act 1, and the stage is set for what's next! Andy and Mark will try to take care of the Order of Doppel! The players have more fights with the Manipulator ahead of them! And a certain blue heeler returns...but not under good circumstances!
That should be it! Please read, review and share around, and I'll see you all next time for the Manipulator's next attack! 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.~