Preface: Hello, again! Apologies for not posting last weekend - it was a little tiring from me. I'll try to upload two this weekend to make up for it. With that said, let's get started!

MINECRAFT MANIACS:
LIGHT AND DARK

Previously...after their quest for the second Cube of Balance and another ambush from the Manipulator, Danny, Liam, Kevin, and their companions set out to the rabborgs' kingdom of Rabborgia to fill the final Key of Balance. When they arrived, however, they quickly learned of the rabborgs' old foe Magnivolent returning, scattering three artificial Gadgets of Order across the land. They were successful in obtaining the first one in the jungle.

Now...the group heads to the second gadget's location...

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 21:
Bridge to Rabboriga, Part Three -
Ruined Mysteries

[Main Party Selected: Danny, Liam, Kevin, Balancia]
[Supporting Party Selected: Spawny, Spawnette, Pork Chop]

[Character Selected: Danny]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Rabborgia, Withered Desert]

It was another few-chunk trek to our next destination after the adventure in Feroce's jungle. We had to briefly stop to sleep when night fell, and as soon as we woke up, we set right back out on our way. "Y'know what I miss? Buzzer's teleporting powers," I said in the middle of the journey.

"Agreed," said Liam, nodding. "I say after this next gadget, we log off for the day. Is that an option, Balancia?"

"I think you could," said the allay, "but it could give the Manipulator an opportunity to further whatever plans it has."

"(I do not think he will be that much of an issue,)" said Spawnette. "(We already have two Cubes of Balance already. Victory is not that out of our reach.)"

I chuckled a little at her unusually cocky statement. Being unladylike, are you? I thought. That's when I noticed the feeling of the ground had changed. It wasn't the somewhat-hard feeling of grass anymore - it was more grainy. Sand. "Uh, Kevin?" I said. "I think we're here."

[BGM: Johan Johnson - Cacti Canyon]

Kevin finally looked up from his watch. "Yep! Here we are - the Withered Desert!" Looking around, it looked kinda similar to an ordinary desert biome, but with a few things that stuck out to me - some of the sand was black instead of yellowish, and wither roses were sprouting up here and there.

"Looks like we better watch our step," said Liam. "Don't wanna get withered from those roses."

"(Don't have to tell me twice,)" said Spawny as we resumed our trek. "(So where is our destination?)"

"We're going to this abandoned town," explained Kevin. "Remember how the Creepgyptian Desert was once inhabited by a tribe worshiping creepers?" We all nodded. "Well, this one worshiped the wither. I think they may have moved to a badlands biome at some point, since chiseled red sandstone is the one with wither engravings."

"Someone did their homework," said Balancia, giggling. "Well, I'll leave you to it!" She flew into my inventory once more, leaving us to our travels.

"(How long until we get there?)" asked Spawny. "(My legs are tired!)"

Kevin paused for a minute, which made me suspicious. "It's gonna be a while, isn't it?" I said. Kevin gulped, which I took as a 'yes'. I sighed in exasperation. "Alright, come here," I said, bending down to give Spawny a piggyback ride.

Just as he started to climb onto my back, the rabborg noticed something in the distance. "(Llama!)" he cried, pointing over my head.

"A llama?" said Kevin. We all peered ahead. Sure enough, the long-necked creature familiar in plains and mountains, but not deserts, was in the distance. Two, as a matter of fact. "Must be a wandering trader."

But then another silhouette appeared. One that was short and rabbit-like. "No, it looks like a rabborg wanderer," Liam argued. "Maybe we can ask him if we can borrow his llamas?"

"Let's see," I said, motioning the others to follow me. We approached the wandering rabborg, and he approached us. He had a yellowish headset, ears, and stomach fur, and a fedora on his head.

"(Hiya!)" he said, cordially. "(What brings you to the Withered Desert?)"

"We're looking for the ruins of the ancient wither society," explained Kevin. "As you can see, we have a few tired customers."

The rabborg eyed Spawny, eying the llama, desperately thinking of riding it. "(Well, you're in luck! If we're thinking of the same place, I'm on my way to those ruins myself! How about we buddy up and travel together?)"

"(Sounds like a plan!)" said Spawny, eagerly hopping on one of the llamas. "(Oh, sorry. I should've asked first.)"

The traveling rabborg chuckled. "(No worries! He loves giving rides!)" He bent down and petted Pork Chop. "(The name's Argento!)"

"I'm Danny, and this is Liam and Kevin," I said to Argento. "Welcome to our little club!" With a new party member in tow, we resumed our journey to the ruins.

[Character Selected: Kevin]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Rabborgia, Withered Desert]

[BGM: Continued]

Now that you're approaching the ruins, you stop looking at your watch so much. Probably better, anyway, you think. Don't wanna accidentally run into a wither rose. Argento proves to be a fantastic traveling companion, knowing his way across the desert like the back of his hand.

"(So you have been all around the multiverse, trying to stop all sorts of bad guys?)" he asks, in between explanations of your adventures.

"Yep! I bet you've been all around the world, too!" you say. "Looking for artifacts to fill up a museum must take you near and far."

"(Sure, but I've only ever been around Rabborgia,)" replies Argento. "(Maybe my next excursion will be into one of the worlds you have visited.)"

"I'll hook you up with the technology," you say. But then you catch sight of a pillar of sandstone. "Oh. Looks like we're here."

[BGM: End]

You all look around. The only other man-made structures are identical sandstone pillars, each with ordinary sand blocks in the middle and wither engravings in the chiseled sandstone like red chiseled sandstone, rather than the usual creeper faces. "Huh. I was expecting something a bit more…ruin-ish," says Liam, somewhat disappointed.

"(Hold on, there may be something hidden,)" says Argento. He turns towards his llamas and rifles through the chest on the leftmost one's back, pulling out what looks to be some kind of duster, identical to the one shown in the Caves & Cliffs preview back in 2020. Using the duster, he slowly brushes away the first sand block, revealing a small, player-like sandstone figure holding a sword.

"Man, if only they didn't push back archeology," says Danny, shaking his head. "We could've gotten that!" One-by-one, Argento brushes away the remaining sand blocks, revealing figures holding a bow, a block, and a pickaxe. When all four figures have been revealed, the ground begins to shake. "Whoa! What's happening?" says Danny as you run back to see what has occurred. Slowly but surely, the four pillars rise up, attached to houses, shops, watchtowers, and wells made out of sandstone. As the buildings finish their assent, you realize what they are.

[BGM: Johan Johnson - Desert Temple]

"The true ruins of the wither worshippers," you say with a grin. "Now we're talking."

"(This is where the artifacts I'm looking for are!)" says Argento, rubbing his hands together. "(Perhaps what you're looking for is here, too?)"

At the back of the ruins, a statue holding a familiar purple orb stands, with a message carved into the pedestal in the Standard Galactic Alphabet. "Looks like it," says Danny, walking up to the pedestal, "but just to be safe…" He takes out his sword and waves it in front of the message. Instantly, the English translation of it appeared, hovering in front of the original letters. Curiously, you walk up to the message and read it aloud.

"HE WHO TAKES THE TREASURE OF WITHORUS MUST BATTLE OUR GREAT KING AND HIS SERVANTS"

You rub your chin in thought. "Looks like we can't take the gadget without fighting this 'Withorus' guy," you say.

"If that's the case, I say we help Argento get the artifacts he needs first," says Liam. "Then we take the gadget."

"(It is the least we could do,)" says Spawnette. "(I believe that will be a sound plan.)"

Argento smiles at the offer. "(Thank you very much,)" he says. And so, you all look through the buildings in search of artifacts. To everyone's surprise, the artifacts happen to be unused Minecraft items - cogs, dirt slabs, colored planks, the original looks of stained glass, dispensers, and lapis blocks; and even a Nether reactor core, the last of which makes you somewhat uncomfortable due to past experience.

As soon as Spawny places the last item into the chest, he gives a satisfied sigh. "(Thanks again for letting me ride on your llama,)" he says to Argento. "(It was kinda fun looking for artifacts with you.)"

"(And I thank you for helping me look,)" says Argento. "(These artifacts will make fantastic additions to the museum.)"

You nod your head. "Look, we appreciate you traveling with us," you tell the rabborg, "but if you feel like you gotta get out of here, we understand. Fighting an ancient king isn't exactly your forte."

"(Actually, I would like to fight with you,)" Argento says, pulling out an iron sword. "(It's the least I can do after you helped me.)"

"You sure?" says Liam, and the rabborg gives a determined nod. "Alright, I guess an extra set of hands wouldn't hurt." He begins to turn towards the statue in the back of the ruins.

[BGM: End]

"Wait, let me decorrupt it first," you interrupt. Taking out the Key of Balance, you walk up to the statue and stick the key into the corrupted artificial Gadget of Order. With a flash of purple lightning, the corrupted energy slowly flows into the key, filling it up to ⅔ of the way full and leaving the yellow-glowing man-made gadget safe for the taking. "Your turn, Liam," you say, putting the key back into your inventory.

Liam takes a cleansing breath and rubs his hands together. "Alright, let's get crafting," he says, borrowing Danny's catchphrase from long ago. Then he grasps the gadget and lifts it off of its plinth. Instantly, the statue begins floating in the air, and as soon as the cracks appear in its body, you all get into defensive position, anticipating the battle against his royal highness…

[Character Selected: Liam]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Rabborgia, Wither Society Ruins]

The dispenser went from Liam's inventory to his hands in record time just as the cracks in the statue overtake the entire figure, revealing the ancient pharaoh it depicted - Withorus. "Who dares disturb my slumber?" the wither king boomed, opening his eyes. "And who stole my treasure?"

"Uh…we did…" Danny said, awkwardly. "We have no bad intentions, Your Majesty, but we will fight you if we must!"

[BGM: Johan Johnson - Necromancer]

"Hmm…honest and brave," said Withorus, a twinge of admiration in his voice. "I find that respectable. Now then…" He reached his hand out and levitated the black scepter that stood next to him as a statue to his person. Then he waved it about, and from the sand, several wither skeletons dressed in gold headdresses and black Egyptian-style clothing emerged.

"(Phooey. I never did like wither skeletons,)" said Argento. But he was willing to swallow his fear for the greater good. The heroes glared at their enemies and charged. What they expected to be a relatively quick fight, however, quickly proved to be a tad harder than usual.

Danny thrust his sword in front of him, plowing through a chain of wither skeletons before they could land a single hit. He didn't have much time to celebrate his victory, however, as he immediately felt an arrow get stuck in his hip. "Ow! They have arrows?" he groaned, but then he noticed his health bar had turned completely black. "And they still give you wither. Perfect."

"That ain't good," said Kevin, shaking his head. Taking out a few dirt blocks, he and Liam made a small tower to fight as many of the sword- and axe-wielding skeletons as they could. Arrows flew from Liam's dispenser, smacking the bony brutes in the head, while Kevin inhaled the foes and spat their bones back out. They were able to keep things going until they also got hit by arrows, causing them to fall off their towers and become withered themselves.

The rabborgs and Pork Chop were faring relatively well on their own, mainly because Pork Chop got the idea to kick sand into the skeletons' empty eye sockets, making it easier for the others to attack. "(Y'know, it seems a lot of our battles lately have been because of the enemies' numbers,)" said Spawny between blasts from his scepter, "(but with these guys shooting arrows as-YIPE!)" He hopped to avoid an arrow coming right at him.

Argento's sword clashed against a wither skeleton's sword in a traditional duel, pushing the skeleton's sword closer and and closer to its body until he was able to stab it clean through the chest. "(And that's another one down!)"

After spinning through another group of wither skeletons, Spawnette panted. "(There must be a better way!)" she cried. Looking around, she could easily see the players struggling with the other skeletons, no doubt in part because of the arrows giving them the wither effect.

"(Well, how about blinding them?)" suggested Spawny, pointing to Pork Chop, continuing to kick sand into the foes' eye holes. "(I doubt we can blind them all, though…)"

"(Unless…)" Spawnette had an idea at that moment. She started twirling around extremely fast, and the wind that was built up by it went flying into both her and Spawny's amulets. The two underwent another transformation, Spawnette's tutu and Spawny's cape becoming cloud-like and their crowns gaining aspects of wind gusts.

"(Wow! So that is what those amulets can do!)" said Argento, surprised. "(They allow you to transform!)"

From above the battlefield, Withorus watched the heroes struggle to fight his followers. "They are strong, I must admit," he said, "but fighting large numbers is overwhelming, it seems." Suddenly, two tornadoes appeared, gathering up the sand and shooting it into the eye sockets of the wither skeletons. "Hmm?"

As the players desperately gulped down the milk buckets that Kevin provided, they saw the tornadoes flying around, but they were not as confused as Withorus, for they saw the familiar rabbit-like creatures in the gusts. "Haha! Those little rabborgs!" cried Liam, fully healed. "Come on, guys, let's get these boneheads!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" said Danny. Rushing into the bunch of sand that blinded a group of wither skeletons, he charged his sword and did a single swipe, and the beam that came out defeated the mobs instantly. Liam charged into another bunch of sand and did a mid-air spin, wiping out the skeletons unlucky enough to be hit by his arrows. Kevin also entered the fray, performing a slide kick that caused all the wither skeletons in yet another batch of sand to trip, toppling one another. By the time the sand bunches vanished, the wither skeletons were all gone, leaving only their bones, coal, and even heads in some cases.

"My word…" said Withorus, impressed. "No one has ever defeated my followers before."

"Never underestimate what a Minecraft player can do," said Liam, munching on some baked potatoes to heal up.

Withorus hovered down to the ground, approaching the heroes. "You may have fared well against my people, but can you defeat me?" He pressed his staff onto the ground, and suddenly, black flowers sprouted from the sand.

"Aw, come on!" Liam groaned. "Not wither roses!" The black flowers inflicted the wither status once more into the heroes, and this time the rabborgs and Pork Chop were not spared.

"Ooo, you'll pay for that!" said Danny. He gripped his sword and charged…but was met with a staff to the face. Withorus then vanished and reappeared next to Pork Chop, whose attempt to kick Withorus in the face was met with being tossed right into the air, preparing to slice the pig in half.

"(I don't think so!)" cried Spawny. Still having his wind powers, he exhaled, causing a large gust of wind to push Withorus away. Pork Chop landed safely in Danny's hands, safe from becoming a meal.

Seeing the sight, Kevin pulled out a Mega-Piston from his inventory. "If we can time it just right, we can attack him with this and be able to get him easily."

Withorus fell a good distance away from the heroes, but facing straight towards them. "I will not allow this mistreatment to go on any further," he said, angrily, and he aimed his staff to fire a humongous laser at the heroes.

It was then that Argento saw something that gave him hope - his llamas. "(Kevin, give me the piston. I have an idea.)" Having developed enough trust with the rabborg, Kevin handed him the Mega-Piston and watched as he hopped onto one of the llamas' backside. Instantly, the llama bleated and kicked his hind legs, sending Argento flying into the air. Aiming carefully, he tossed the Mega-Piston onto Withorus' head, and the piston instantaneously grew to its full size, smacking the wither king in the face.

"Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" cried Danny, pumping his fist. He kicked back and fell into a relaxed position as the dimensional rift sucked up every single one of the heroes, as well as King Creep.

[World Change: Trio Attack Dimension]
[Location Change: Trio Snowball Arena]

The group found themselves in the snow-covered, wool sun-overlooking platform that they had used to defeat the gigantic gangerman back in the Cursed Caverns. Danny stretched his arms out, taking in the cool air. "Yeah, after that desert heat, this is refreshing." Paper-like chunks of Withorus began to flutter down from the sky, alongside snowballs.

"Looks like it's time for Withorus to chill out!" said Liam, and he grabbed a snowball and tossed it right at the closest piece of Withorus. And that was how the heroes, including Argento, found themselves tossing snowball after snowball at Withorus, slowly but surely gaining the upper hand over him.

When every single piece of the wither king had fallen, a gigantic snowball fell from the sky landing in Danny's hands. "Whaddya say? Should we stack up?"

"Why not?" said Kevin. "And let's let our guest of honor do the honors." Danny tossed the snowball to Argento, then had everyone else form a stack on top of his hands. Slowly, Argento climbed to the very top, balancing on Spawnette's hands.

"Whoo…this is tricky…" said Argento, struggling to keep a hold of the snowball. Down below, Danny started walking this way and that, struggling to balance under the weight.

The full picture of Withorus began fluttering down. "Steady…steady…" Danny told himself. As soon as the foe was in front of the wool sun, Danny tossed Pork Chop, who tossed Liam, who tossed Spawny, who tossed Kevin, who tossed Spawnette, who tossed Argento, who tossed the snowball right into Withorus' face, slamming him against the wool sun. "Whoo! Yes!" cried Danny, jumping into the air just as white engulfed the entire landscape.

[World Change: Minecraftia]
[Location Change: Rabborgia, Wither Society Ruins]

[BGM: Peter Hont - What You Came For]

The group found themselves back in the ruins, the wither roses thankfully gone. "(Wow! That was amazing!)" cried Argento, exhilarated. "(This has been the most exciting excursion I've ever been on!)"

"That's what you get when you adventure with us," said Liam, and the heroes all gave a hearty laugh.

"Fantastic work," they suddenly heard Withorus say. This especially came as a surprise to the players, as usually anyone who was affected by a Mega-Piston didn't survive the attack (barring the Manipulator back in the Blue's Clues World, though that one is understandable). "I do not think I have ever met such resilient people," Withorus continued, genuinely complimenting the heroes. "I have kept you here long enough. You are free to go."

"Wow! Really?" said Liam. He took out the artificial Order Gadget. "What about this? Isn't this your treasure?"

Withorus eyed the gadget. "Oh, it actually is not," he said. "Somebody else must have taken it."

"Well, if we find it, we'll be sure to return it," said Danny, nodding. "It's the least we can do." He chuckled, realizing how many times that phrase was said recently.

Withorus nodded. "I would like that very much," he said. "Now then, I must return to my slumber." He walked back up to the plinth he was on, closed his eyes, and was covered in stone once more.

"Hmm…besides Bruno and Molly, I don't think anyone who attacked us made up with us afterward," said Kevin. "That's certainly a change."

"Well, regardless, the gadget is ours!" said Liam, triumphantly holding it in his hands. He looked around at the ruins. "This seems like a good place to log off."

"Agreed," said Danny. He looked into his inventory. "Hey, Balancia, we're gonna log off now."

The allay flew out from the inventory. "Oh, you found the next gadget! Fantastic!" she exclaimed. "I think you all deserve a break."

"Totally," said Liam, with a chuckle. He turned to Argento. "I believe you ought to be heading off, too?"

"(Of course,)" said Argento. "(It has been a pleasure, you six,)" he said, gallantly shaking Spawny and Spawnette's hands. "(I hope whatever travels you go on meet you well.)"

"(Likewise,)" said Spawnette. With that, the wandering rabborg waved goodbye to the crew, who watched him vanish into the horizon with his llamas before the players logged off for the day, leaving their companions to rest up for the next part of their journey.

[BGM: End]

[Character Selected: Mark]
[Current World: Minecraftia]
[Current Location: Private World, Kevin's Lab]

The two gangermen didn't know how long they stared up in awe at what they saw - a large, red robot with a yin-yang symbol on its chest, a large sword in its right hand, and an arm cannon in its left hand. Inside were nine slots - six for each of the Maniacs, and three for the Cubes of Balance.

"It's glorious…" Mark finally said at last. "This is definitely what we were told to defend."

"Agreed," said Andy. He felt the stress of what would be going on back on the gangerman planet leave his shoulders. "Guess there's nothing bad happening back home."

"If there was, I'm sure we would've gotten the alarm by now," said Mark. Little did either of them realize that there were very bad things going on in their base…and one of the figures causing the bad things had disabled the security systems…

To be continued...and next time: a deep dive!

Next chapter: "A Monumental Swim" Only one more artificial Gadget of Order to go! The Maniacs take a dive into the ocean to find it, and the good news is, it's hidden in plain sight. The bad news is, it's blocked by a rather upset ancient mob, and making the mob happy again requires a battle with some guardians...

Postface: Chapter complete! Two gadgets now! Things are moving right along!

Trivia time! I wanted to incorporate llamas and an explorer-type character in the story, and that's how I came up with Argento. I also thought referencing removed or cancelled Minecraft features would be clever, which is why several of them appear in the ruined society, like cogs and dirt slabs. As for the inclusion of archaeology, I confess that I wrote this chapter before it was revealed that it would finally be added in the Trails and Tales update. So its inclusion here was based on how I felt it made sense for a character like Argento, since I knew it was at least in the works. Lastly, I wanted to avoid quadruple-dipping and bringing back King Creep, one of the recurring foes from Minecraft Maniacs RPG, which is how I came up with the idea of the ruined society being based around the wither, since chiseled red sandstone has an engraving of the wither in contrast to chiseled regular sandstone has a creeper engraving.

That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all next time for a (not-so-)refreshing swim! 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.~