Off we ran, the sun racing to the other side of the flat lands and leaving us in the soon growing darkness. Not the greatest conditions to be in, seeing as PAMA can see in the dark, meanwhile we can't.

The sand was getting kicked up into our eyes, clumping up in our shoes and making this experience overall much more tiring and obnoxious. Suddenly, the ground ended. With a grunt, the Ivors fell into the pit.

"A signal would've been nice!"

"It's not her fault you weren't paying attention," Remarked Midnight. She got a glare in response. Ignoring them, Harper began talking to the Jesses.

"Gotta tell you guys, that was some pretty smart work distracting PAMA."

"You made that… that PAMA thing?" Asked Jesse with an odd look on his face. He looked tired, much more than I'd ever seen.

"Ye- okay, yes, I was the one who built PAMA," she confessed. "...but I swear this wasn't its purpose. It's out of control! And… and I need your help."

There was a slight pause, everyone looking amongst each other, until the other Jesse finally asked, "What kind of help?"

"We need to get to my secret lab."

First off, it's not a secret if people know about it. Second off, is it just me or does that sound kidnap-y? I mean, we might not be ten-year-olds, but we're still underage, so…

"Well let's get there fast- those zombies aren't just stronger than I've ever seen, they're also faster."

What about the townspeople? They're kind of… also being controlled?

"We'll need to split up. You head to the lab while I lead these mobs away, got it?" Asked Harper, obviously not actually looking for input. Though, if she was, I would have told her that a bunch of people is easier to spot than one surprisingly spry old lady.

"Splitting up doesn't feel like it's going to get us anywhere," said Jesse, his voice smooth as he attempted to convince her with his magic main-character charm.

"Hey, I'm doing you a favor, I'm offering to be the bait!"

A question for you, Harper. Would you rather go for a single diamond, or the entire diamond mine? Sure, sometimes mines run dry, but it's often a rewarding risk. Besides, if PAMA catches us, you'll crack under the pressure eventually. It's going to take years for people to stumble upon the temple once again.

"Just start walking that way…" she instructed, pointing a certain direction. She then began sprinting the other way. As she ran, she shouted back to us. "...and look for the big difference. You'll see it!"

"What?-" Somehow, she was already out of sight.

Seeing no other option, we went the way she pointed.

"She is… intriguingly cryptic, isn't she?"

Oh no, not another love triangle- and your rival being yourself? Seriously!? Honestly, it kind of reminds me of some of the older fandoms.

"That's weird…" Ivor ran straight into the "big difference," peeling himself from it after his mind registered the collision. This caused a bit of laughter going around, but it ended quickly so as to not get noticed by the sour old man.

A painting has approached! Fight, Act, Items, Mercy. Act: check. It is a painting. It looks as though there is something off about it…

"So strange. It's like an exact copy. Or is it…? Seems just a little off." Did Harper paint it herself? Why does everyone else know how to paint? I want to learn too!

The hoard of puppets was shambling closer. Of course, the Jesses are speedy problem solvers. They spotted the very obvious cactus and we all instantly ran to it. They flipped the lever, causing the sand to drop (which was a large plot-hole, how does she get in and out without the noise attracting attention?) and people began jumping through the hole.

It was an infinitely tiny little lake and most of us almost became one with the floor. Like me, for instance, who jumped last. I just barely made it in the water. Heights are absolutely brutal. At least I actually made it this time. Meanwhile, the little puppets kept missing. Eventually, they finally decided to adapt. Natural evolution in a nutshell! They began to go for this tiny little cobweb that magically broke their fall. Minecraft logic at its finest. Even better, this was Minecraft STORY MODE, they bounced off the web instead of getting stuck.

Well unfortunately for Pama, the second the first little puppet got close (a zombie) the other Jesse high kicked it into the lake. After a very disturbing few seconds of electrical sounds and groans of undead pain, the redstone chip popped right out of its cranium. We stared for a bit, then Midnight immediately took advantage of the situation.

"Hey Ivor, dare you to poke it."

"Uh, no thank you. Even if it does look completely shut down."

Eh, kudos for trying at least. I've got to admit, it would've been hilarious if he had actually tried it.

"Huh. The water must have… busted the connection or something. Like washing away the redstone." Or like dropping a toaster in the sink.

"Which means PAMA's control can be broken, after all!" Not without electrocuting our friends. Then again, the pain should luckily only last a few seconds in this world.

They were quick to get rid of the zombie, which had apparently lost all the physical attributes the chip had given it.

"So once we deactivate the others' chips, they'll go back to normal, too!" As normal as you can get right after being woken up from some sort of trance. I can only assume it's absolutely terrifying to be controlled like a marionette.

"It seems like a fair assumption."

"They just keep on coming…"

"How are we supposed to stop them?!" I mean, their only way of getting here is that cobweb, so obviously the solution is to simply ignore that fact and throw down that lever on the wall behind us. Great job, Jesse. You sure are the sharpest spoon in the drawer!

Sand fell, blocking the puppets from the hallway that we just now went into even though we should have the second we got out of the water. I have no idea why PAMA didn't just dig through it right then and there. Sand blocks take seconds to break, after all. There are a lot of plot holes in this episode.

"That should do the trick." No, no it should not. "Let's see about this 'secret lab.'"

"I just hope whatever's there can help us."

We began walking through the hall, the main groups talked amongst themselves while Midnight and I remained silent. I mostly just fiddled with my necklace while walking. Up until now, I had sort of forgotten about it. The memories have mostly left me alone during this journey. I assumed it was either from Midnight being here, or Whisp not being here.

"It will make helping the others a lot easier if there's something helpful at this 'secret lab.' Blech. PAMA's completely ruined the word 'useful' for me now."

"I… didn't actually know you cared so much. You really want to help them, huh?"

"I still have a few surprises up my sleeve."

Then, the topic somehow changed to the Ivors thinking Harper is attractive. Who will win her in this game of passion?

"I must say, that woman has been a most intriguing person so far." Quickly, Midnight piped up, choosing to thoroughly embarrass him.

"Oh, 'intriguing', huh? What could you possibly mean by that?"

I… what? It's nothing. I just mean I can empathize when it comes to your creations getting out of hand. Nothing more!" Technically, embarrassing one of them causes the other to also be embarrassed. So, now there's two supposedly middle-aged men who are planning the assassination of Midnight.

Out of nowhere popped Harper, clearing her throat.

"Careful with all that sputtering. You'll swallow your beard." Somehow, Harper manages to be really cool and an overall jerk at once.

"What did you hear? It was nothing!"

"Uh huh."

"One of the blonde guys called you Jesse, right?" The Jesses looked at each other.

It took a while to sort the names out, but we made it eventually.

"You can call me Harper. You could also explain why you lead PAMA'S forces right to my secret lab." What, you expected the puppets not to keep following us into your hiding spot?

"Hey that's not fair, you were the one who told us to come down here!" Argued Jesse. It seemed whatever adrenalin he had was long gone. He dragged his feet instead of his usual strutting.

"Okay, okay, you're right. Sorry. I'm just a little steamed. I didn't know PAMA would actually be able to follow us. What're you doing in this world anyway? You here to try to steal my secrets?"

"What? No."

"Just figured I'd ask- better safe than sorry and all that. Bunch of you are the first people I've seen come out of the portal network in forever. So, you'll have to excuse me if it made me a little… anxious."

"Whoa, you know about the Hallway?"

"'The Hallway?' That's what you've been calling it?"

"Yes. Maybe. What do you know about it anyway?"

"A lot, I should think. I helped build the dang thing."

"But that would make you… an Old Builder." Telling her she's over the hill isn't going to make this situation any better, Jesse.

"Huh… forgot you people called us that. Never was my favorite name. Makes me sound like some sort of living statue."

"Well, if you're an Old Builder… Can't you just help our friends get free of PAMA?"

"I'm afraid that's a bit out of my abilities right now. PAMA's just too powerful. And besides, there's actually no exit portal back to the portal network from this world."

"What? Why not?"

"I destroyed it so that PAMA couldn't get free."

"Okay, well that's fine, can't you just build another one?"

"You basic or something? I can't do that while PAMA's still running!"

"So. PAMA. What is it?"

"I swear I made PAMA with good intentions. It was designed to automate things. Make everything more efficient. Use monsters to help with farming or mining... Until the day PAMA decided that the townspeople weren't efficient enough already. Started making them 'useful.' That was a long time ago. "

Eventually, we finally made it to the entrance of her lab. Only after a bunch more of talking, of course. Harper flipped a lever, causing cauldrons to pop up. She instructed the leaders to grab the water, causing us to meet her robo-friend, Ron.

"Hey, don't you judge me. Being alone gets lonely."

After grabbing the water, the two set out filling cauldrons. Or, well, one cauldron. They wouldn't get it done, as they apparently don't know how to work while they talk, and the puppets came waltzing down the hall towards us. Our friends were of course in the front lines, weapons in hand, ready to either mow us down or spread their parasite.

"You could've made this much easier for yourself," said the other-Petra puppet. Its voice was completely void of all life and emotions.

"Come on Petra, snap out of it! It's me!" If it were that easy, this episode wouldn't have gone on so long.

Harper quickly threw water into another cauldron, the water almost sloshing out in the process, but PAMA was a thinking machine. My Lukas- or at least, the marionette of him, easily backtracked from the waterfall that had recently cascaded down. PAMA had learned after the first time and definitely wasn't going to forget any time soon. Steadying our stances, readying our weapons, we fought.

The leaders battled the Petras, Midnight was a little… 'incapacitated,' and I was sword-to-sword with the shell of my friend. I wasn't the greatest at fighting, but lucky for me, the skill PAMA had in sword-fighting awoke an odd amount of actually somewhat decent fighting instincts in me.

Maybe I had done fencing in life? Maybe it was something that came from being in the game? It didn't matter, I ended up getting hit, nonetheless. He slit deep into my shoulder. It was my right shoulder, so it didn't affect my fighting ability too much (I am left-handed, after all), but it did hurt like heck. He must have missed the most vital parts, since I could still move my arm, but it was painful to move too much.

Finally, the leaders made their choices. They, of course, chose the Petras. PAMA led the Lukases away on spiders, Harper getting dragged along for the ride. The other Jesse got a water bucket and a flower chucked at him by Harper as she yelled confusing instructions and "Get the roses to Harry!"

If I hadn't moved, would Lukas have cut right through my neck? Probably not, I'm sure PAMA would like to play around in my memories. Still, fear perseveres no matter how much logic is in it.

I was nowhere near as hurt as Midnight. She either had almost broken a bone in her arm, or she had dislocated it. I wasn't a professional, though, so I didn't know. My shoulder had a cut deep enough that it looked like it would most-likely scar, and it definitely would need stitches, but other than that I was perfectly fine.

I took a really long time once again. I'm so sorry for the wait, everyone. I've been busy lately, and I will continue being busy for quite a while. I'm not sure when I'll be free enough to post more often, but I will try my hardest to post as often as I can.

...

...What is it, Z?

Did you really have to give me a huge gash in the shoulder?!

Yes. Yes, I did.

But... why?

Eh, it'll become apparent soon, don't worry. Um... anyway, bye everyone. Hopefully I'll post again soon.

Bye!