Preface: Hello, again! Now that the second Key of Balance is filled up, let's get right into the next Challenge of the Code!
MINECRAFT MANIACS:
LIGHT AND DARK
Previously...following an ambush from the manipulator, Danny, Liam, Kevin, their companions, and some of their allies from Bonegea and Mobius went on an adventure to fill the second Key of Balance.
Now...the players return to the Multiversal Gateway to fulfill the next 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 15:
High Risks, High Rewards, Part One -
The Third Trial
[Main Party Selected: Danny, Liam, Kevin, Balancia]
[Supporting Party Selected: Spawny, Spawnette, Pork Chop]
[Character Selected: Liam]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Public World, Multiversal Gateway]
[BGM: C418 - Danny]
Walking back through the portal to the Multiversal Gateway, the players and their companions felt the sense of accomplishment one does when they inch a little closer to their goals. "Well, that went well," said Liam, stretching his arms out.
"Besides Bluey's mental issues," Danny pointed out. "For all we know, the Manipulator did that to throw her off."
Kevin shook his head and gave a disapproving breath. "Man, possibly messing up a kid mentally for life just to ward them off?" he said. "That's utterly sick."
"All the more reason we should stop him," said Liam, nodding. He took out the Key of Balance, ready to be used. "Whaddya say? Should we hit the next Code Challenges?"
Danny shrugged. "Why not? I've got time."
"It would make a good way to end the day after how productive we were," Kevin pointed out. The group walked up to the three keyholes, and Liam placed the key into the one with the complete yin-yang symbol above it. Just like with the previous key, it vanished into the hole, which then expanded out into a full portal. "So, ready to face the next trials?" asked Kevin.
"(I hope it's not as hard as the last one,)" said Spawny.
"Oh, come on, where's the fun in that?" Liam jokingly teased. Spawny groaned in annoyance before everyone stepped right through the keyhole. Once again, they were in a void filled with ones and zeroes, but this time, they were slightly more prepared for when the invisible platform they were standing on vanished beneath their feet. Though there were still a few screams in the crowd when they all started to fall.
[Character Selected: Kevin]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Minecraft Code]
[BGM: Peter Hont - 0]
You try not to flinch as you pass through the filter that empties everyone's inventories. It's fine, you tell yourself. You'll get them back when you win. The thoughts soothe you somewhat as all of your stuff vanishes. "Okay, let's try not to land freakishly this time," you tell the others.
"Don't have to tell me twice," says Danny. He and Liam position themselves upright before helping the rabborgs and Pork Chop do the same, and this time, the landing is much smoother.
"Nice landing, fellas," says Balancia, delighted. "You're in luck - there's only one trial this time around. But it might require quite a bit of brains…" She then vanishes back into Danny's inventory.
As you wonder what she means by this, you inspect the chamber you have landed into. Nothing inside but an iron door and a chest. "Hmm…if this really is like the Cave of Experts," you think, "this must be the redstone test."
"(Ah, of course,)" says Spawnette, holding her hands out. "(So we must have to figure out how to get this door open!)" She inspects the chest and pulls out all of the materials inside. "(Let us see…some dust, a lever, some repeaters…)"
Liam scoffs. "What kind of challenge is this?" he says. He boredly takes the lever from Spawnette's hands, places the lever next to the iron door, and flicks it. The result, however, is not what he anticipated.
"Uh…does anyone else hear hissing?" Danny asks. You all look around, trying to find the source of the sound, but by the time you realize what the source is, it's too late - the entire chamber explodes, killing everyone instantly.
In your frustration, you stand up from your seat and groan. "Seriously?" you shout into the aether. Annoyed, you sit back down and hit the respawn button. You and your teammates pop back into existence in the chamber, mysteriously returned to normal. "So, looks like just using the lever won't work," you tell Liam.
"Yeah, got that," Liam responds, unamused. "And look." You turn to where he is pointing to see three blocks of wool - the first two are green, and the third one is red. "Looks like we only have three chances."
Spawny, Spawnette, and Pork Chop gather around. "(We're gonna try putting our heads together,)" Spawny explains, and the three quite literally place their heads together. After a minute or two of waiting and watching, Spawny perks up. "(Oh! I have an idea! This might be like that one room in Fuquatres' temple!)"
"(Oh, yes! We must have to place the redstone in a specific pattern!)" Spawnette agrees.
"Hmm…maybe," says Danny. "At least it probably doesn't involve note blocks like what I've heard," he says, nodding. "But where are we gonna find that pattern?"
Pork Chop leans his head down and starts sniffing. Methodically and carefully, he makes his way over to the door in every way except for just walking straight ahead. When he finally arrives, he looks up and starts squealing.
"I think he found the pattern," says Liam. "Only one way to be sure…" He collects the supplies from the restocked chest and motions for Pork Chop to come back to the start. When the piglet starts sniffing, Liam follows him, placing redstone dust down right behind his hooves, plus the occasional repeater to extend the signal.
"And…done!" you say when Liam finishes. "Alright, let's see if this'll work!" You go over to the lever, now sitting on the floor opposite to the door, and flick it. Unfortunately, the hissing returns. "Aw, come on!" you groan.
"But wait! Look!" says Liam. You all look down to find a red glow coming from the ground, only having just enough time to each take a screenshot before the chamber blows up once more.
This time, when you respawn, you have a better idea of what to do. "Did you see that weird glowing?" you ask the others.
"Yeah, it must be the pattern!" says Danny. "I managed to take a screenshot, but only a bit of it."
"Me, too," you say, and Liam states he took his own screenshot as well. "Here, send your pics into the group chat. I'll try to figure out the pattern." Danny and Liam nod, and after a few seconds, your phone buzzes with the pictures. "Alright, let's see here…" After you collect the supplies once more, you study the screenshots, making sure you place the redstone as accurately as possible to what was shown.
"You better not slip up," Liam points out, staring at the wool counter, which now has a middle red block. "We only have one more chance." Taking that into account, you double- and triple-check your placement to ensure that it's completely accurate to the screenshots.
Eventually, you place down the lever, completing the circuit. "Okay, moment of truth," says Danny, nervously walking up to the lever. He closes his eyes, flicks the lever…and you all collectively breathe a sigh of relief as the door opens.
[BGM: Peter Hont - Stuga]
"Geez, that was unnecessarily tense," you say as you walk through the doorway. The next chamber you enter has another chest inside, but the decoration on the back wall makes you jump. A large face-like carving, almost frustrated-looking. A giant observer. "Gee, guess we have a big brother observing us," you joke.
The rabborgs and Pork Chop turn to the west wall. "(Look! A diagram!)" Spawny says, drawing your attention. The picture on the wall is one of a redstone contraption, built using wool, redstone blocks, dispensers, boats, pistons, and observers like the giant one watching you.
"It looks like a flying machine," you say, squinting, "with a TNT cannon attached."
"Is that even possible in standard Minecraft?" Danny asks.
"Unfortunately, we're not in standard Minecraft right now," Liam responds. He inspects the chest and finds all of the materials shown in the diagram. "Looks like we'll have to build within this cube," he says, pointing out the green terracotta fixed into the ground in a square shape.
"And we don't have any lives this time," Danny adds. "Guess this guy will let us go as soon as we get this exactly like the diagram."
Splitting the blocks evenly, you and the others study the diagram, following its guidelines to construct the contraption. "Alright, this'll go here…and this will go there…" you mutter to yourself, making sure every observer, wool, and piston is in the right place.
"And here goes the water…" says Liam, nearing the end of the TNT cannon. "And just some TNT in here…and there we go!" You all jump off of the contraption, admiring it.
"So, does this satisfy your wishes?" Danny asks the giant observer. As if to answer his question, the observer's eyes turn green, marking its approval, and the entire wall it is attached to falls away, opening up a large gap to the next part. Perfect for the contraption to be used.
"Now, just hoping that this thing works," says Liam as you all climb into the boats. "Here we go…" He flicks the lever attached to one of the wool blocks, and the contraption works perfectly, beginning to move across the gap without disrupting the redstone dust or water in the TNT cannon. "Yes! Thank you, weird code logic!" You all kick back and relax as the contraption takes you on a ride to the other side of the gap.
[Character Selected: Danny]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Minecraft Code, Code Challenge #3]
[BGM: Peter Hont - Mary]
The pistons ca-chunked and chunk-cad as the flying machine made its way across the gap. "I mean, it's not the same as the Twister," I said, recalling the feeling of being on top of an airplane's wing, "but it's still a sweet ride."
Liam nodded. "Kinda takes me back to when we were flying above the skies of the Unikingdom," he said, wistfully. "Remember those phantoms we took out with a villager launcher?" That sparked quite a chuckle in the group - I still don't know what was going through Kevin's head when he made that.
Suddenly, Kevin froze and peered ahead. "Uh-oh," he said in a worrying tone. I squinted to try and get a better look at what he was seeing.
And then I saw it. A familiar yet alien silhouette. An arrow flying past my face that I barely dodged. An internal system riding on top of a blue, winged, undead creature. "A skeleton riding on top of a phantom," I said, grimly. "A phantom jockey."
"Guess those boneheads got tired of riding spiders," said Liam, ducking down to dodge another arrow. The phantom swooped down and rose again, getting closer to us. "I've got this…" Liam pressed the button on the TNT cannon, spitting out one of the red, explosive blocks from the dispensers into the water, then an additional one on top of the fence post. In an instant, the TNT in the water exploded, dealing no damage but sending the additional one flying onto the phantom jockey, taking out both the rider and its stead.
"Whoo! That's what I'm talking about!" whooped Kevin. He then gave a dissatisfied glance into the distance. More strange silhouettes. "Great. This guy has buddies."
I quickly scanned my inventory for things we could use to fight. Nothing. Not even a few blocks of sand. "And the cannon is our only means of defense…" I groaned.
"Nothing we can do about that," said Liam. "We'll just have to shoot and hope for the best."
And that's when inspiration came in the form of another arrow coming by, landing right next to the dispenser that would place the ammo. "Unless…" I said, getting an idea. I turned to Pork Chop. "Distract them, boy."
The pig gave a salute and jumped out of the boat. He then jumped up and down, oinking to get the skeletons' attention. One arrow came flying at him, and he caught it effortlessly. Another came flying from the other direction, and right into his hooves it went. Through his quick reflexes and footwork, the little pig had obtained a good amount of arrows, around twenty in total.
"Nice going, Pork Chop," said Liam, taking a block of TNT out of the dispenser next to the pig. "Now try sticking them on!" One-by-one, Pork Chop stuck the arrows into the TNT, careful to dodge any other arrows coming our way. When he was finished, he put the TNT back into the dispenser.
"Nice!" I said. The phantom jockeys were dangerously close now. "Now can we fire it before we get pincushioned, please?"
"You got it!" said Liam. He pressed the TNT cannon button once more, and the ammo launching process repeated. Only this time, when the TNT exploded, the arrows stuck to it went flying in all directions, leaving all of the phantoms and their jockeys down for the count.
"Yes! Direct hit!" cried Kevin, pumping his fist. "And look - I think I see a passageway!" Sure enough, an open hole was slowly getting closer to our view.
"Well, this is it," I said, bracing myself. "Ready to see what the next Keeper of Code has to test us?"
"Not sure we have so much of a choice this time around," said Liam, gazing at the hole, "but I'm ready either way." And so, without another word, we let the flying machine carry us into the open hole and on our way to the next Keeper of Code.
To be continued...and next time: diffusing the bomb!
Next chapter: "An A-Maze-ing Bomb Diffusal" Pardon the pun, but it accurately describes what the Maniacs will have to do to get that next Cube of Code...go through a maze to diffuse a block of TNT! And it's not gonna be easy with the other redstone challenges that await them...
Postface: Chapter complete! Moving quite along now, aren't we?
Trivia time! This trial is based around redstone because I feel that's the next step up in Minecraft mastery - using one of the rare materials to create automated contraptions. Since there's only five conerstones I picked out, however, I decided to limit myself to just one trial focus this time around. As you can see, I took some inspiration from Minecraft Maniacs RPG - the room with the TNT puzzle was based off of a trial in Fuquatres' temple in the Corruption Saga, and the one with the phantoms was partially based off of the chapter in the Unikitty Saga involving Kevin's mech, the Twister. I decided to combine a BUD circuit flying machine and a TNT cannon mainly because I thought it sounded cool, and the arrows and TNT bit was just a bit of clever thinking on my part.
That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all next time for the next Keeper of Code trial! 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.~