They say an arduous task is one you refuse to take on due to your lack of faith in its completion. For Frank, this was a difficult task, to say the least. The entire night and the whole morning right after was spent deconstructing the well, and pulling semi-inebriated citizens and guards out of the water.
One by one, Frank escorted tons of people to the side while he tore down the old well. He figured it would be a messy job, but due to him trying to chop a tree down, only for it to somehow defy physics and remain standing, despite a chunk of the tree being missing, that was all he really needed to know that this wasn't his world... but he was stuck in it for the time being, and had to make the most of what has transpired. It was a long and arduous task, especially when he had to drag that Dale individual out of the well a few separate times in the last few hours.
Frank leaned against one of the homes and wiped the sweat from his brow, marveling at how the entire well had been deconstructed, despite the water still being present. "Well, the well's finally torn down, but there's not much I can do about that tainted water. Could plug it up or cover up the hole, but that likely wouldn't solve anything, it would be another problem that's put off until it becomes much worse... unless," Frank looked down at the watch on his wrist, twisting the dial through the available aliens he had. He noticed that one of them was yet another bipedal creature. From what little he could tell by the silhouette alone, it seemed aquatic, yet it had some kind of bulbous protrusions all over its body. "Well, this wouldn't be a misuse of my power, if I'm using my power to help these people. Plus, better to familiarize myself with what I have available." Frank said.
Frank pressed the button and popped the core up, but before he could try and transform again, he felt uneasy. It was like a set of eyes were on him, burning their gaze into the back of his head. Frank looked around, only noticing the few villagers and guards wandering around. Frank shook off the odd feeling and let the watch return to its dormant state on its own. Frank coughed and gently massaged his throat, feeling it getting drier from the constant work he was doing.
Frank sighed. "Man, if that well water wasn't so gross, I might just be desperate enough to drink it... oh well, it's something to motivate my hard work. Let's see here," Frank leaned on his wooden shovel, looking out for any possible locations to put the new well. Aside from very few small plots of land here and there, combined with the minimal housing and the fact some people were trapped in their homes, either buried under dirt or didn't have a means to escape, this village, within the sunlight, truly looked terrible, worse than depressing. "...Oh Frank, what have you gotten yourself into?" Frank asked himself, rightfully concerned by how minimal this town was.
"Aside from talking to yourself like a moron?" A voice spoke out.
Startled by the sudden response, Frank whipped around with the shovel held above his head. Much to Frank's initial surprise, he was looking at a woman. She had blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and wore a fancy looking purple cardigan, black jeans and blue slippers. The woman, upon first glance, didn't seem to belong in a run down village like this, but she seemed to have a few specks of dirt and a few stains that indicated that she was in just as much poverty as everyone else in Phoenix Drop.
The woman stepped forward, looking up a bit into the eyes of the shapeshifting stranger. "Couldn't help but notice that you were fidgeting and manhandling that delicate and complex contraption on your wrist. As if it wasn't already obvious that you're not from our village, that watch and its unique way of functioning certainly proves it," The woman saw the look on Frank's face. He didn't know what to say, but he was starting to get a bit rosy cheeked. The woman stepped back and cleared her throat. "My apologies, I'm not really a people person. I keep to myself and tend to my books, or whatever books are still intact, anyway, no thanks to the previous lord. My name is Emmalyn, I'm the village's resident librarian. I'm what most would call an "egghead", but that's just because I value knowledge the same way we all value the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, and the homes we have that keep us safe... the word around town, according to Zenix, is that you're gonna fix things... stop by my library when you're not busy with any of the grunt work." Emmalyn introduced.
Before Frank could get a word or two in, Emmalyn lightly shoved Frank aside and strutted her way back to her library, the very building he was leaning against. Frank wasn't sure how to interpret that interaction, but he was interested in getting to know these people better, and what better place to start than with the first woman to have spoken with him since he got here. First and foremost, he needed to figure out how to make this village look more presentable, since it already looks run down and ransacked.
Again, Frank looks to the watch on his wrist, curious if any of his transformations could make this a bit easier. He didn't linger on that thought for long, but he did hear the echoed sounds of growling, followed by the lingering smell of rotting flesh.
Against his better judgement, Frank followed the smell to the bottom of the hill, noticing a poorly covered up hole, one that lead into what looked like a cave. Frank readied his hunting knife and slowly moved forward, noticing a couple of zombies hunched over, chewing on what little remains of a recently killed chicken. Without much hesitation, Frank stabbed the knife into the undead creatures, piercing and removing their brains with relative ease.
Frank noticed that the inside of this particular cave was surprisingly dark. He activated the watch, letting its purple light illuminate the interior of the cave, but it's clear to him that this cave was full of resources. He decided to try mining what looked like chunks of coal, to which he ended up getting quite the surplus. He also managed to get some stone, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to do anything with it besides make a new well.
Frank came out of the cave and fished out all of the wood he gathered last night. Twenty oak logs in the span of a few hours, and some stone he just collected from that cave. This was not going to be enough to fix an entire village.
Frank rubbed his face, feeling rather overwhelmed. "Starting to wonder if dropping out of college was a good idea. I don't have any kind of construction degree to be doing any of this." Frank remarked.
The shapeshifting man thought for a moment, looking over at the larger house behind him, the one near a huge hilltop. "Hmm... that looks like a good spot for a well. Not only could that benefit the farmers, but it would be pretty useful for everyone else if it's somewhere a drunken man can't get to easily." Frank remarked.
Frank slowly approached the spot he was looking at. It was in-between a section of crops and the large house, and it seemed pretty easy to figure out a proper system. "If I can wall off the outside and get this built by nightfall, while also preventing anymore shenanigans committed by guards under the influence, the well can go right here, and I could make it a bit bigger." Frank wondered.
The sound of footsteps could be heard, heavy armor clad footsteps. Frank turned around, noticing Zenix's approach. "Found a spot for the new well. Could make it bigger, put up some fences, maybe a wall to keep monsters from falling in and likely contaminating it all over again." Frank stated.
Zenix nodded his head. "And it'll be right by the farmhouse, could likely help with keeping the soil moist, maybe get some nutrients back in the soil. Already you're more practical than our last lord, but that's not saying much, considering..." Zenix seemed to space out for a moment, looking off in the distance. Frank raised an eyebrow and snapped his fingers in the guard's face, causing him to bring his focus back to reality. "Anyways... I'll let you get back to it, sir. I'll inform Garroth of your progress." Zenix stated.
As Zenix walked away, Frank couldn't help but feel like something was different. Zenix seemed a bit... off. He couldn't tell if anything about Zenix was actually different, but Frank paid no mind to that idea and brushed the notion off. It's been a busy day, and he hasn't slept yet. He'll get to sleep when he's finished with the well. Frank readied his wooden pickaxe, as well as his wooden shovel, and readied himself for another round of construction work.
Zenix walked into one of the smaller buildings and ascended up a ladder, taking notice of Garroth having his back turned, observing the village. "See anything unnatural, or anything that could explain Phoenix Drop's strange visitor?" Zenix inquired.
Garroth turned around, unwavered by Zenix's implications of Frank. "Nothing, just like the last four times you asked me today. Be it man or monster, not a single sign of any individual creature has been seen as of late. That gargantuan beast he turned into must've had one powerful roar, if it could frighten a horde of monsters into submission and make them retreat," Zenix rolled his eyes at that comment. He wasn't convinced that this stranger was anything special, but he had to trust Garroth's judgement. It's the only reason he hasn't tried to take Frank's head off. "If you're here to give me your report, don't bother. I can see him working hard on the well from here. The placement of the new one is rather practical, could aid us in having a successful harvest, for once." Garroth stated.
Zenix groaned, clearly annoyed. "Yeah, well what about that librarian? She's aware, just like you and I. Out of anyone else in the village that could've regained their sense of awareness, why did it have to be the one woman who looks after a bunch of dusty old books!?" Zenix complained.
That caught Garroth's attention. A villager that became aware, and so soon? Curiosity and relief washed over the guard as he let out a momentary sigh. "Emmalyn, the librarian? That is rather interesting to note, though it's a bit sudden to guess where this could take us. Anything else to report?" Garroth questioned.
Zenix nodded his head. "Not long after she became aware, she's taken an interest in that shapeshifter, as well as that watch on his wrist. Also, he's rather skilled with that knife of his, too, took out some of those undead monsters hiding in the cave beneath the village, the ones that have been killing our livestock. He took them out before I could even call for reinforcements," Garroth nodded his head, he was impressed, but he still needed a bit more time to see how this stranger pushes forward. "He came out with a surplus of coal and stone... he's a strange one, but if I can give that guy any kind of compliment, he's consistent and dedicated to completing the task at hand." Zenix reported.
Garroth nodded his head and turned around to face his apprentice. "This is quite the extensive report. It's good news to know the villagers are regaining their sense of awareness, but that means the world is beginning to dust off the cobwebs and oil up it cogs, get itself turning again... I'm not entirely convinced if it has anything to do with the shapeshifter's presence, but I admit, it's all a bit too coincidental." Garroth stated wearily.
"Should I round up the guards and take him in for questioning?" Zenix asked.
Garroth shook his head. "No, that'll only provoke him to either fight or flee... besides, he's working hard to fix our village. Lets give it some time before we do anything rash or make a mistake, give him a few days, see what he does with his time. That'll be all." Garroth stated.
Despite feeling disappointed in his mentor's decision, Zenix nodded his head and saluted to Garroth before returning to his duties. Garroth stayed atop the small housing structure, surveying the village for any possible threats.
A few hours later, the well has been finished, and a tall wall made of fences have been placed behind the structure. The front of the fence was gated off, and Frank was marveling at his handiwork. Frank smiled, he never thought he'd feel proud of himself for building something, but he felt like he accomplished something.
Frank set his wooden tools down, wiped the sweat from his brow and stretched a bit. "Well, that's a bit of my day well spent. Maybe I'll work on fixing this old wooden pathway next before I start on the crops," before Frank could figure out just what exactly he should work on next, he noticed that the well he built, it was empty. "Oh... right, a well needs water... how the hell am I going to fill this thing with water!? I don't have anything to carry water in, and I certainly can't wait for it to rain! That'll take too long!" Frank remarked, mildly frustrated.
Frank thought about how to remedy the situation, only for his gaze to shift towards the device on his wrist. He was a bit worried about using its power for recreational use, but then he remembered, he already got the well itself built on his own, he has the callouses to prove it. Using one of his transformations to fill the well wouldn't be that irresponsible of a thing to do, especially if it's to help them get some actual clean water.
Finally succumbing to his own peer pressure, Frank activates the device again, twisting the dial through the various icons till he found the icon he chose earlier. Frank popped the core up and pushed it down, enveloping himself in a flash of purple light.
In Frank's place was a new creature, a humanoid crustaceous bivalve creature with reddish-orange armor. The creature's bright yellow eyes shined as it gripped its sharpened shell-clawed digits, brushing against the large barnacle-like nozzle in his palms. Matter of fact, his entire body was covered in barnacles. The device's badge was on the alien's upper chest.
Frank looked himself over, seeming satisfied with his choice. "Fantastic. Lets see... I be not entirely sure what this land walking sea dweller's supposed to do, but I suppose it's better to find out now, rather than later," the alien spoke in a grisly yet warped voice, like he was in some kind of suit, and sounded vaguely like some kind of pirate. The alien jumped into the well, falling into the deep, dry and empty hole. "Let's see now... how do I fill up this well with some pure, refreshing and untainted water?" the alien looked at the barnacle nozzles in the palms of his hands, and an idea came to him. The alien curiously held his palm out, feeling some sort of pressure building in his arms. A small torrent of water shot from the barnacle nozzle in his palm, much to his surprise. "Aye... so that's the way we'll do this! If I can make these torrents of water stronger, I'd be one serious water hazard!... Water Hazard! Now that be a fine name for this shell headed buccaneer!" Water Hazard exclaimed.
Water Hazard pointed both of his palms to the stone floor, and flung himself back to the surface with powerful streams of water. By the time he reached the surface, he continued to fill the well with the water he was producing, nearly filling the well to the brim. Soon enough, the new well was now officially constructed. "Aye, this be a job well done! Water Hazard may just be me best transformation yet!" The device soon started to beep and flash red. In a burst of red light, Frank was returned to his normal form, just as Zenix came running onto the scene. "And here comes the dutiful guard, just in the nick of time! Finished that new well, and got it filled with a lot of fresh water." Frank stated.
Zenix looked over at the new well, it was now comprised of stone bricks, had proper fencing and support to prevent outside contamination, it was rather impressive, but he still didn't know if he could trust Frank. "Well... that's certainly a lot better than it being in the center of town, and full of people, to say the least," Frank smiled and continued to behold his hard work. "But, there's still a lot more to do... if you've got the time, I'd like to give you your next task myself. Meet me in the center of the village, and we'll discuss things further." Zenix stated dismissively.
Frank could tell that Zenix wasn't particularly the social type, but he was dedicated to his duty as a guard, which was commendable. He looked into the sky, seeing that there was still a bit of daylight, so he followed behind Zenix as he explained things. "Eager, huh? Well, I suppose that's a positive trait. I'll make this brief and straightforward, I have reason to believe that something was drawing in monsters to Phoenix Drop last night, we never dealt with a horde of that size before. I want you to enter that small cave under the village and look around, see if anything stands out to you, and should you find something, it's likely you'll have to dismantle it." Zenix stated.
Frank was curious about Zenix's request, but from what all he saw down there, it wasn't that big, and didn't go any further before stopping at a dead end. "I was just down there in the dark depths, and aside from a couple of those zombie things, some coal and a dead chicken, there doesn't seem to be any way further or deeper into the ground, nor was there anything else in there. Out of curiosity, why even ask me to do it, and not go down there yourself with a couple guards, isn't protecting the village part of your job or something?" Frank questioned.
Zenix frowned, not appreciating the questions he was asked. "It is our job, yes, but there's been some complications, recently. I'm sure you heard that one of our guards, Dale, is a bit of a drinker. It'd be negligible to bring him on such an important mission. I'd gladly go down there myself, but you never know what could be waiting to attack you when your guard is down. Can't bring an inexperienced trainee into the depths. I can't bring Garroth because he's on lookout." Zenix explained.
Frank, despite Zenix's explanation, was hesitant to accept the task, but if there was a substantial risk to the village and its citizens, he couldn't stand by and let things be destroyed. "Fine, but on the off-chance there is something a bit tougher than a zombie or a skeleton down there, I'd like for my wooden tools to be upgraded substantially, my hunting knife included, just in case I can't use my transformations, for whatever reason. I also get the feeling I'll need armor of some kind, sound like a deal?" Frank suggested.
Zenix scoffed and laughed a bit, much to Frank's irritation. "What do you think we're made of, money?! Resources? This village is as bare bones as it gets! tell you what, if you can find what's attracting monsters here and get rid of it, then I'll gladly see if Garroth can get you some recipes for crafting weapons, tools and armors of all kinds." Zenix remarked.
Frank scowled at the guardsman, but decided to walk towards the library. He really needed to see if there was any weight to Zenix's claims of monsters being attracted to the village, and tips on mining. The safer the village is, the better off it will be.
Frank walked into the small library, noticing Emmalyn standing against a window as she casually flipped through the pages of a black book. "Hey there, miss Emmalyn. Perchance, do you have any books on mining?" Frank inquired.
Emmalyn jumped at the sound of Frank's voice, nearly dropping her book in the process. "Aah! You just show up whenever you feel like, don'tcha!?" Frank raised his hands in a defensive manner, but she eventually calmed down and set her book aside. "Are you here to finally take up my request?" Emmalyn questioned.
Frank sighed. "Unfortunately, no. Zenix wants me to head back in that cave under the village and dig around, to look for something that attracts monsters, whatever that's supposed to mean." Frank stated.
Emmalyn rolls her eyes, seeming disinterested in the prospect of going into some cold, damp and cramped stone spaces, but then she thought about it more, and an idea came to her, a slight devious smile forms on her face. "Well, if you're going to go underground, you'll need to find your way back. I got some torches from a village up north, just in case I ever go on an expedition, so you coming to be for a book on mining is rather opportune for me," Emmalyn stood up and walked over to a nearby chest. "This'll have all the torches you'll ever need. They'll light the way, even in the darkest depths, all I ask in return, is to go with you. See, I'm in need of assistance in finding a deep dark biome, only found within the deepest darkest depths below any ordinary caves. I want to collect some stone samples and anything else we come across, for the sake of discovery!" Emmalyn offered.
Frank groaned, rubbing his face. "You can't make this easy, can you?" Frank asked.
Emmalyn leaned against the chest, looking smug. "What's it gonna be, sir? Go mining without light, or have some company?" Emmalyn questioned.
Frank took a deep breath, and sighed. He didn't want to endanger anyone, but if this was the only choice he had, especially without constantly resorting to using the device, then this was what he had to do. "Fine, you can come with me, but you do what I tell you to, you stay close to me so we don't end up getting lost or separated, and don't touch anything." Frank firmly stated.
Emmalyn opened the chest, pulling out a large leather backpack full of torches, as well as a leather chestplate that barely fit around her already small frame. She handed the large backpack to Frank, and slipped the chestplate on, smirking with excitement. "Well now, let's get a move on." Emmalyn stated.
Frank held out a hand to stop her. "One more thing," Frank reached behind his shoulder and pulled his wooden sword out. He turned the blade around, and handed her his wooden sword. "You'll need this, just so you can protect yourself. Only swing it at the monsters, if necessary," Emmalyn held the wooden blade firmly in her grasp, then poked him in the stomach. Frank saw the smug look on her face, and could only let a wry smirk form on his face. "Very funny. Come on, let's get this done as soon as possible. I got a pathway to fix, and this will have to come first before I start on that." Frank advised.
Emmalyn followed Frank out of the library, closing the door behind her.
Within the cave, Zenix had a couple torches placed along the stone walls, digging a small hallway into the dead end's stone wall. As he did, however, he'd end up coming across an opening to an underground mineshaft, one that was covered in some sort of dark teal colored veins. They didn't look natural, but looked otherworldly, almost extraterrestrial, in nature.
Zenix didn't fixate on this weird stuff for long, he stepped forward onto a small patch of it, which seemed to cause the veins to react, twinkling and twitching as an odd sound echoed through the cave. Zenix, out of curiosity, rounded the corner, only to see one of those weird sensor things being triggered by his presence.
Almost immediately, Zenix felt his blood run cold. He ran right back the way he came, ignoring the fact that Emmalyn and Frank were just now coming into the cave itself. As they did, Zenix ran past them in a frantic manner, climbing out of the cave and running straight for Garroth. "Sheesh, he took off fast! Wonder what's got him spooked... these guards get more spineless every day." Emmalyn remarked.
Ignoring Emmalyn's comment about Zenix's fear, Frank was curious about his reaction himself, but then he began to think, assuming that the situation was either as bad as Zenix portrayed it to be, or somehow far worse than what the guard initially thought. Regardless, he had a job to do, and Frank Decade wasn't going to let this job be the end of him or anyone in Phoenix Drop.
Frank stepped forward, snapping his fingers to get Emmalyn's attention. "Call it cliché, but I got a bad feeling about this. Still, I got a job to do, so let's get this figured out and taken care of." Frank remarked, readying his hunting knife.
The pair carefully enter the lit up hallway carved out by Zenix, unaware of the horrors that they were about to encounter.
Meanwhile, beneath a darkened underground city, someone clad in mysterious red armor looked upon a growing mass of dark teal. Without hesitation, the figure tossed a couple vials of strange liquid. One was comprised of a rather toxic green color, and the other looked dull and gray. The vials shatter onto the ground, the various liquids contained inside seem to cause the mass to react, the sound of glass shattering seems to set off some kind of organic sensor, which then activates some kind of organic alarm. The sound of shrieking echoes out across the entire cave, causing tons of sensors to be triggered. The sound bounces every which way off the walls, and the sound of the ground breaking beneath the figure's feet could soon be heard.
The figure quickly tossed another vial at his feet, vanishing in a flash of light and a puff of smoke. The figure sought out to do something, and judging by the inhuman grunts that could be heard from within the ancient city buried far below the surface, the figure succeeded in waking something up.
The roaring beast is now awake, shrouded in darkness as the sensors go off. A new sound can be heard to the beast. Footsteps, first there was one set, then it fled, only for two more sets of footsteps to be picked up. The beast growled and grunted, curious but also apprehensive of the poor fools that dare disturb its slumber.
To Be Continued...
Author's Note
Well, this was certainly one way to round out a chapter, to start with a multi-parter! Yippee!
Figured I'd allow for Frank to explore his powers and get into a couple of his own unique interactions before delving deep into the MCD side of things. Also, figured I'd do my own interpretations of characters to reinforce just how different, yet similar, this version of MCD is to the original.
I also figured I'd introduce another member of Frank's default ten. Water Hazard wasn't originally my first choice for a water alien. I was initially split between AmpFibian and Overflow, but I already have aliens like Swampfire and Humungousaur present, so I had to find a balance. Water Hazard and Overflow come from the same planet, so I figured I'd pick the cooler one of the two.
I wanted to show that Zenix's character is a bit different here, too, more inspired by his MCD: Reborn counterpart, while playing off an old head canon I had about him back when MCD was starting out.
Also, as some of you probably noticed, I want to introduce newer Minecraft stuff into the world, to truly show just how different this world is with more modern stuff implemented into it.
Part two will be out soon, so I hope you enjoy this chapter!