Preface: hello, again! Since you're coming off of last chapter, let's just get into it!
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. Afterward, the players returned to the Multiversal Gateway and successfully collected the second Cube of Balance.
Now...they return to the Multiversal Gateway, victorious...
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 17:
High Risks, High Rewards - Part Three:
A Hero's Purpose
[Main Party Selected: Danny, Liam, Kevin, Balancia]
[Supporting Party Selected: Pork Chop, Spawny, Spawnette]
[Character Selected: Danny]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Public World, Multiversal Gateway]
[BGM: C418 - Danny]
The white left my screen, and I saw my inventory be filled up with my stuff. As the sight of the Multiversal Gateway filled my eyes, I took out my sword and inspected it. "Good. Just making sure it's fine," I said.
Balancia flew out of my inventory. "Always good to make sure your stuff hasn't been tampered with," she said. "Speaking of checking your inventory - Liam, you have the next Cube of Balance, right?"
"Oh, right!" said Liam. He fished the cube out of his inventory. "Giving the first one to Balancia seems to have worked well so far, so why not do it again?"
"Of course! Hold it still…" Balancia flew over to the cube, held out her hands, and said "Yin. Yang." One after the other, the two halves of the cube dissolved in Liam's hands, like how the first one dissolved in my hands. The two pieces flew into the small dots in the yin-yang symbol on her tiara, representing the evil in good and good in evil.
"Well, that's that," said Kevin, stretching. "Ready to call it a day?"
"Whoa, don't leave us hanging!" we suddenly heard Andy say. Making combat poses, we looked up at the holographic screen that had appeared above us, which I saw made Andy chuckle a little. "Just wanted to congratulate you guys on getting the next cube!"
"Oh, thanks," I said. "You took care of Per and Don, right?"
"Yep! They're locked tight and will not be getting out anytime soon," said Mark. "At least I don't think they will. Might double-check their cell after we hang up."
Andy elbowed Mark in the chest. "Now who's unsure about them escaping?" he said, jokingly.
Mark laughed. "Ah, well. Have a good one, you guys!" We all waved goodbye as the screen fizzled and vanished.
I sighed. "To think those guys worked for one of our greatest enemies," I said as we started walking out of the hall to the minecart track. "Funny how life works that way."
"Always throwing us curveballs," Kevin added. "I guess all we can do is work with it."
"Looks like we have to," I said. "After all, it is sorta our purpose."
That gave me weird looks. "Your purpose?" said Liam. "What do you mean?"
"Remember when I was talking about feeling like I didn't have a purpose now that we stopped Doppel?" The two nodded. "Well, now that we know we're the Heroes of Balance, I know we still have a purpose - to keep the multiverse safe."
"Well…" Liam gave me a weird look, but then sighed. "You're probably right." I could tell he had something else to say, and quite frankly, I felt like I knew what it was. But I decided not to ask him about it, since I was in a good mood.
Before long, we were riding back to our temporary shelter. "So, where do you think we'll have to go to get the last cube?" Kevin asked.
"(Y'know, I don't think we ever had a real adventure in Rabborgia,)" said Spawny. Of course! The kingdom he was the prince of! "(Maybe it'll be there?)"
Balancia chuckled. "Well, I won't tell you just yet," she said. "You all deserve a rest."
"Good, because I need one," I responded, and everyone gave a good laugh. With that, we all climbed out of the minecarts, walked inside the shelter, and bid each other farewell before logging off.
[World Change: Real World]
[Location Change: His House]
After plugging in my device, I went back over to my mom's bed and laid down. Feels good to have a purpose again, I thought. Then I made myself face the lingering feeling of uncertainty in me - I just hope it doesn't come to a stop too soon…
[Character Selected: Sonic]
[Current World: Whisker Haven]
[Current Location: Whisker Haven Pawlace, Throne Room]
[BGM: Whisker Haven Theme Instrumental]
Stepping out of the Warp Ring he had jumped through, Sonic took in the view that greeted him and smiled. Ah, it all still looks the same, he thought.
Like the other worlds involved in the crisis, the kingdom of Whisker Haven had enjoyed overall peace since Doppel's defeat. The Palace Pets resumed their everyday lives, having fun adventures and practicing the royal heart of friendship. The fallout still made its presence in their minds, but thankfully, they had each other to help get through it.
Now that he had returned to Whisker Haven, Sonic turned to the blue heeler behind him. After the adventure the other day, Bluey's nightmares had returned, leading to Sonic deciding to take her to Whisker Haven to get her the help she needed. Even then, he saw her nervously playing with her fingers. "You good, Bluey?" the hedgehog asked.
"Just nervous," said Bluey. "I haven't been to a therapist before, and…I'm scared she won't be able to fix me. And I'll stay broken."
Sonic shook his head and knelt down. "Bluey, listen to me," he said. "You are not broken. You're just as normal as you were before. You just need a little bit of help, and that's what you're gonna get." He turned around to see a familiar hummingbird, wearing a purple dress and orange bowtie, fluttering in front of him. "Finally," he said, relieved.
"Hello, Sonic," Ms. Featherbon cheerfully said, tipping her hat. "It's wonderful to see you again!"
"You too, Ms. Featherbon," said Sonic, giving a thumbs-up. He stepped aside for Bluey to step forward. "Bluey, she's gonna help you out."
"I think I remember you," said the hummingbird fairy, eyeing the puppy. "You helped fight against that dastardly Doppel, right?"
Bluey nodded. "And then I went back to my normal life. But then, a few days ago, I had a nightmare. I was being attacked by the scary monsters I met. And I kept having them all week."
Ms. Featherbon summoned a notepad and pen, writing down what Bluey was saying. "That sounds horrible," she said, understandingly.
"You said you've been studying child psychology, right?" Sonic asked.
Ms. Featherbon nodded. "After that robotic version of you attacked, some of the Palace Pets started having nightmares like what young Bluey described," the hummingbird fairy explained. "So I started studying psychology to help them."
"So…can you do that with me?" asked Bluey, a niggle of hope in her voice. "Can you fix me?"
"Well, I'm not so sure if I can truly 'fix' you," said Ms. Featherbon. "These kinds of thoughts in anyone at any age are very hard to eliminate. However, I will certainly help you come to peace with your thoughts."
"Oh, okay," said Bluey, disappointed. "I was hoping you could fix me."
"I mean, you can cast a spell on her and get rid of her pain, right?" asked Sonic. Ms. Featherbon nodded. "Still, I think some actual therapy might work better for Bluey."
"Certainly!" said Ms. Featherbon. She turned to Bluey. "Come now, dear. Let's begin."
Sonic began to walk to the side to play on his Game Gear until Bluey was done, but then he remembered something. "Oh! I almost forgot! Ms. Featherbon, where are Pumpkin and Treasure?"
The hummingbird fairy pointed to the door facing the thrones. "They should be in Treasure's playroom," she said.
Sonic gave another thumbs-up and ran through the door. Scanning the various other doors in the Pawlace, he eventually came to a purple-colored room with a pool in the middle of it. "Hello? Pumpkin? Treasure?" the hedgehog called out.
"CANNONBALL!" he suddenly heard. Bracing himself for the impact, Sonic watched the scarlet-furred kitten and gleaming white poodle jump into the pool, splashing him with water that he almost immediately shook off.
"Sonic! You're back!" Pumpkin eagerly said, climbing out of the pool. She helped Treasure out, and the two ran to Sonic to hug him, their tails wagging rapidly.
Sonic giggled. "I missed you guys, too," he said.
"Why did you come back?" Pumpkin inquired. "We haven't seen you in so long."
Sonic rubbed the back of the head. "Let's just say when I thought that our adventures didn't have any effects on anyone's minds…I was wrong. Ms. Featherbon's seeing Bluey right now, if you remember her."
Pumpkin and Treasure nodded, understandingly. "I didn't have a lot of good dreams after that robo-you attacked. I didn't wanna do all the things I love for a while."
"But then Ms. Featherbon decided to help us," said Pumpkin. "And even though she didn't use magic, it helped! And she kept helping us after that time travel adventure, and our adventures with our other friends from other worlds!"
"Did you still have those thoughts at all?" asked Sonic. "The scary ones?"
"Sometimes," said Treasure, "but now I know how to deal with them. And I know that there are people who can help me." She put her arm around Pumpkin.
"How about you, Sonic?" asked Pumpkin. "How are you feeling?"
The hedgehog smiled. "Don't worry, I'm fine. In fact, I've never felt better. Now come on, we've got some catching up to do."
[BGM: End]
[Character Selected: Manipulator]
[Current World: In-Between Space]
[Current Location: N/A]
The Manipulator shook its head at the sight of Ms. Featherbon sitting down to help Bluey. "Fools," it said. "Even after I show them what I can truly do, they still try to help one another." Scoffing, it turned back to the Minecraft world. "No matter. It's time to move on to my next target."
Act 2 has concluded! Next time: Liam vs. the Manipulator!
The Minecraft Maniacs Will Return
Act 2 Credits
Voices:
Alfred von Any - Danny, Corrupted Clone
Andrew Stanton - Manipulator
Names Withheld by Request - Bluey, Bingo, Indy, Lila
Willy Blanq - Liam
Neville Napoleon - Kevin
Dee Bradley Baker - Various Creature Sounds
Marieve Herington - Balancia
Damien Laquet - Spawny, Spawnette
Dave McCormack - Bandit
Melanie Zanetti - Chilli
Charlotte Stent - Chloe
Jesus von Any - Various Voices
Kate Higgins - Tails
Issac Ryan Brown - Sonic, Mighty
Jenna Ortega - Amy
Joshua Rush - Ray
Asher Angel - Knuckles
Mike Pollock - Dr. Eggman
Anne Halli - Ms. Featherbon
Sanai Victoria - Treasure
Bailey Gambertoglio - Pumpkin
Music:
C418
Minecraft Dungeons Soundteam
Antimo & Welles
Asu01
Tee Lopes
Captainsparklez
Tryhardninja
Yuzo Koshiro
Sonic Underground Soundteam
Asu01's contributions were based on compositions by Joff Bush
Additional Music:
Hyper Potions - Friends (Trailer Music)
Tee Lopes - Sonic Origins Suite (Credits Music)
Written by: Alfred von Any
Edits by: Jesus von Any
Next chapter: "Battle of the Heart and Mind" Danny's not the only one who wants some alone time! Liam decides to head out for a solo mining trip, when he finds a very tempting chest...wait! It has to be a trap set up by the Manipulator, right? Of course it is. Now Liam will have to test how much he follows his heart and his mind to break out!
Postface: Chapter complete! And with that, we are officially halfway through the story! Sorry again for taking so long by the way - I'll try to work on that this year.
Trivia time! I haven't mentioned Danny's little subplot about seeking a purpose in a while, so I decided now would be a good place for a turning point - now he feels protecting the multiverse with his friends is his purpose. But will it last? Speaking of subplots, Bluey's little subplot this arc is now wrapped up - she's finally getting some good therapy, and through the return to Whisker Haven no less! I'm aware that PTSD isn't exactly something that can be "cured", so I'm gonna leave it up to you whether or not she gets to that point, but rest assured she probably won't be going through such lows again now that she's getting help. I decided to bring back Whisker Haven just as a little call-back to give some of the past universes I covered a bit of love.
That should be it! I'll be taking a bit of a break now to write the next bit of the story, but until then, please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all next time for Liam's bout with the Manipulator! Stay diamond, everyone!
-Alfred
~Minecraft and everything related to it are properties of Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios. Bluey and everything related to her are properties/licensees of Ludo Studio PTY., LTD., the Australian Broadcasting Corp., and BBC Studios Dist., LTD. Sonic the Hedgehog and everything related to him are properties of Sega Corp. The Palace Pets and everything related to them are properties of The Walt Disney Co. 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.~