Story Tales of Terraria
- Thread starter Mystic Neon Rain
- Start date
Mystic Neon Rain
Skeletron Prime
I know that Nike Leon already posted and helped, but I thought I should clarify what happened about the whole "I might stop writing this" thing.
Before I said I might stop when Hardmode was activated. Then I posted the Seventeenth Chapter and said,
...Which was basically saying I was continuing it. Plus I've updated the story since then, like Nike Leon pointed out
Nah, it's fine xD
moon_lord552
Skeletron Prime
Oh crap. I did not realize you moved to TCF and assumed you had discontinued work on it. When i found out it was being updated here I was like 
Well, this is nice. I haven't had time to read it yet (immediately posted this when I saw the thread wasn't dead) but I will as soon as possible in between my terraria playing.
Anyway, awesome. Can't wait to see how awesome Xorathor is.
Well, this is nice. I haven't had time to read it yet (immediately posted this when I saw the thread wasn't dead) but I will as soon as possible in between my terraria playing.
Anyway, awesome. Can't wait to see how awesome Xorathor is.
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Mystic Neon Rain
Skeletron Prime
Nah, it's fine.Oh crap. I did not realize you moved to TCF and assumed you had discontinued work on it. I was like
Well, this is nice. I haven't had time to read it yet (immediately posted this when I saw the thread wasn't dead) but I will as soon as possible in between my terraria playing.
Anyway, awesome. Can't wait to see how awesome Xorathor is.
I'd posted on the old thread that I was moving to TCF, but no-one seems to have noticed. Probably an alert fail or something. :P Again, it's fine.But yeah, thanks for coming back! Enjoy the new chapters!
GlitchCo
Spazmatism
Nah, it's fine.
But yeah, thanks for coming back! Enjoy the new chapters!
Since I got no notification before too, it seems to really have been an error in the alerts. xD
Mystic Neon Rain
Skeletron Prime
CHAPTERS CONT'.
NOTES AND COMMENTS:
--I'm not satisfied with some scenes, though I tried improving them.
--I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like parts of this chapter are repetitive. I'm not sure how to fix it though.
--"L R L R Stop and Dash and Up and Talk B B A B S" is from the Vocaloid song Remote Controller, AKA Rimokon.
--There will probably be a chapter for each Hardmode ore (Cobalt, Mythril, and Adamantine), Chapters for each Hardmode boss (the Destroyer, Skeletron, and The Twins), and then the ending chapters.
--Two Days Without Her--
The next day, they sat in a circle, ignoring the fact that there was a table with chairs behind them.
"So what are we doing today?" Thalia asked.
"Well, we know she's not in the village. Where else do we look?" Dusk asked.
"We could go mining," Dan suggested. "Then we could look for the new ores, and look for her at the same time."
"Should we go to the tunnels near the hill, now that the Cave's Corrupted?"
"We might get stronger faster if we go to the Underground Corruption though."
"But she hates the Corruption. Would she really go there like that?" Thalia asked. "I still think the tunnels are a better idea."
"The tunnels it is, then."
Not very far into the tunnels, there was a fork.
"Which way?" Dan asked.
"Both." Michael said. "There's a 50/50 chance no matter which way you go. We should go both ways, just to be safe."
"Because splitting up is incredibly safe." Dusk said. "Besides, what happens if you find another Altar and--"
"NO. NO MORE ALTARS." The other three said in unison.
"We're sick of fighting Wraiths for you!" Michael said.
He held his hands up, palms out. "Okay, okay, okay, fine, no more altars! But I still don't think it's safe."
"Why?"
"We just got our butts handed to us the other day--"
"I just realized, what the crap is that even supposed to mean? Pardon the pun," Michael said. "'We got our butts handed to us'. Uh, NO, I still have my butt, no-one handed it to me. WHY WOULD THEY EVEN BE TOUCHING MY BUTT IN THE FIRST PLACE?"
Looking disgusted, Dusk said, "That...that isn't the point...the point is--"
"BUT IT'S SO WEIRD! Don't tell me you've never thought about stuff like that!"
"Apparently, my mind is cleaner than yours, because no, I haven't. Can we please move on?"
"What do you mean, cleaner?"
"'Cleaner' as in, I don't think about butts or toilet jokes all the time. Or ever."
"Pfft, like you've never made a butt joke before." Michael joked, crossing his arms. "...Wait, have you?"
"No. No, I haven't." Dusk said, his voice and facial expression so deadpan he probably could've won an award.
Michael's jaw dropped as he stared at him in disbelief.
After a couple of seconds, Dusk said, "...Anyway, my point was that we're having enough difficulty as a group, so we don't need to split up and make it even worse."
Michael didn't move, or even blink.
"I think you broke him." Dan said.
"People can't be broken, they aren't machines." Dusk said in a no-nonsense tone.
"YOU MANAGED TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE! YOU BROKE A HUMAN!" Thalia wailed.
"Calm down, I'm sure he's fine..."
"NO HE'S NOT, HE'S STILL FROZEN!"
"YOU SAID THE F-WORD!" Dusk shrieked in terror, sounding like a girl. "...Is what a lot of people are likely thinking right now."
"What?"
"Never mind. I have to make up for all of her references,"
"If that's what you're trying to do, we all know you failed. She would've given me rabbit ears or drew a mustache on my face or something." Michael said.
"HE'S ALIVE!" Thalia exclaimed gleefully.
"Please, we all knew he was fine..." Dusk mumbled. "Anyway, which way?"
"KONAMI CODE!" Michael exclaimed. Then he sang, "L R L R Stop and Dash and Up and Talk, B B A B S--"
"That's not the Konami Code, Muggle Fool," Dusk said coldly, though one side of his mouth tugged upwards in a half-smile. "It's Up Up Down Down Right Left Right Left B A."
"Soooo left then."
"Sounds about right." Dusk said, smirking cheerily. "Let's go."
"DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE, look, it's red stuff." Michael said. He didn't say anything, but he didn't feel as excited as he normally would've been.
"Oh, nice! It must be one of the new ores." Thalia said.
Michael took out his pickaxe and struck down.
He flinched and dropped it, rubbing his hands. "Ow...you can tell it's harder than the other metals..."
"You okay?" Dusk asked.
He nodded. "Lemme try again." He repeated the action again once, twice, three times... "It's no use. I'm going to break my pickaxe if I keep this up."
"We'll have to get it later. We probably need better gear first,"
"Right."
The sound of skeletons' growling echoed.
"Dusk and I'll guard the front," Dan decided.
They got into place, then continued walking.
About 20 yards ahead, there was a drop downwards. The growls were close.
"They're up ahead." Dan stated. "I'm going down."
Dusk nodded. "I'm staying here."
Flaming arrows flew forwards. The three ducked, crouching to the ground. Dan flatted himself to the wall. He jumped down after a few seconds.
"I can't see him. Is he fine?" Michael asked.
Dusk peeked around the wall he was hiding behind. "He should be."
He jumped out to cast some spells. Thalia copied his tactic.
"What's going on?"
"An archer and a warrior. Neither dead. Just wait, we'll cast spells from up here." Dusk summed up.
More arrows flew up, missed, and pierced the stone floors.
Thalia sent fireballs back at them.
"How long are we keeping this up?"
"I told you, just wait," Dusk growled. "I'm going down. Take my place."
He slipped forwards, then fell off the edge as casually as if he had walked down. Michael ran forwards as Dusk instructed.
An arrow hit Thalia in the shoulder and she yelped. The arrow dissolved but the flames didn't.
He turned around. He loaded the Minishark, propping it up on his shoulder. He pulled the trigger. Bullets rained downwards. The Archer died.
A horizontal wall of water bounced off the far wall. It sliced through the Armored Skeleton. Dusk snuck up behind and attacked again.
Michael saw its face was unguarded and aimed for it. After a few seconds, its head spun off.
Dusk stabbed downwards, shattering the spine with a crunch.
He stood up, wiped his hands off, and put the 4 silver coins in his pocket.
He jerked his head slightly. "Come on, we're going."
They jumped down and walked onwards.
"DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE it's blue stuff."
"Why do you keep saying that?" Dusk asked, trying not to grit his teeth.
"'Cause it's fun. Try it."
"Oh, hell no."
"Aw, hell YEAH! Seriously, try it."
Dusk sighed. "Fine." He put on a serious face, then said, "Duuuuuuuuuude, it's blue stuff..." in a flat voice.
"WOW."
"'Wow' what?"
"'Wow that was sad' wow. Just...wow."
"That doesn't even sound like a word anymore. Stop that,"
"Sure. ...If you say it right."
"What?"
"You're supposed to say it while having fun. You're too deadpan," Thalia said, Michael nodding.
"Do I really have to?"
Dan shrugged. "Just do it."
He breathed in. "DUUUUUUUUUUUUDE BLUE STUFF."
"...Well?" Thalia and Michael asked in unison.
"...It's okay."
Michael facepalmed. "I give up. You're a lost cause. I knew it. See, I told you guys," he joked, elbowing Thalia and Dan.
"Just get the ore."
This time he was able to mine the ore. "It's Cobalt," he announced. "Sweet. Let's go look for more."
"What day is it?" Michael asked. "It seems like we've been down here forever."
They'd fully explored the tunnels to the left, and they were now in the tunnels on the right.
"I don't know, I've lost track of time..." Thalia said. "Should we go back to the Surface?"
"We've gotten a lot of Cobalt, so we should probably try to make something. So yeah," Dan said.
"Okay then. Let's leave a sign behind so we know where we were. What should it be?" Thalia asked.
"How about an actual sign?" Michael asked. "Seems fitting."
When the sign was finished and put in place, they teleported back.
"It's still daylight..."
"We must've been gone for over a day then. Let's ask one of the NPCs."
They walked up to the Goblin Tinkerer's house and knocked on the door.
"Xon? ...Xon? Hello?"
The door opened by a crack, a yellowish eye looking out. Then the door opened, revealing the familiar Goblin.
"Are you okay? You look tired," Thalia commented.
"Huh? Oh...I have bags under my eyes, don't I?"
She nodded.
"I've been trying to hide from the monsters. It's exhausting,"
"So I take it you also miss sleep?" Michael asked.
Xon nodded wearily. "Anyway, what did you need?"
"Oh, right. We were going to ask how long it's been since we went to the Tunnels."
"About three days."
"What, seriously?!"
He nodded again, apparently not in the mood to talk. "Is that all?"
"Yeah, I think so. Thanks,"
"No problem." he yawned, then went back upstairs.
"He forgot to shut the door..." she mumbled, closing it.
After that, they went to the forges.
"So what should we make first?"
"Either armor or a pickaxe." Michael said. "We need new ore, but we also need more defense."
"As long as we don't get hit and stay from a distance, we'll be fine. We should work on getting better weapons." Dusk said.
Sensing a fight, Dan said, "Okay, so we should make a cobalt pickaxe, then a chestplate and a sword. If we have leftover ore, we'll keep making weapons
and armor."
Once they were finished crafting, Thalia asked, "What's the plan next?"
"I dunno. Keep getting stronger, I guess."
"What about Dawn? She doesn't seem to be in the Tunnels, we should've found her by now if she was." Michael said. "Maybe we should stay and see if she comes back here."
"No. We don't have time to wait." Dusk said.
"She'd wait for us if one of us was in her place!" he shouted, standing abruptly.
"Would she really?" he asked emotionlessly. "She doesn't seem like the type to wait on others. It seems like she'd be doing the same thing we are."
"Could you please stop fighting in my house?"
"Scott?! When did you--"
"I'm not Scott. I'm Wyatt. And I've been here for a day now. How are you?"
They blinked at him.
"Uh...good, I guess...can you tell us where Dawn is?"
He smiled. "Dawn isn't anywhere. It's just a time of day, when the sun rises."
"Don't play stupid, we know you remember," Dan said. "DAWN. Our friend. The owner of this world. Red hair, green eyes, freckles, tall, acts kinda weird and is a tomboy. Ring a bell?"
He tilted his head to the side. "She sounds interesting. Have we met?"
"OF COURSE YOU'VE MET! WE'VE ALL MET BEFORE! ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
He smiled, but it looked more menacing than friendly. "Dan, I highly suggest you stop screaming in my house."
"I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU ANSWER MY QUESTION FOR ONCE!"
"Fine then. No, she's not here. What more do you want from me?"
"If she's not here, where is she?!" Michael asked, shoving Dan aside without a second thought.
His smile split into a grin. "Gone."
"What?"
"Don't you know? She's gone. She's been gone. She left. Vanished. Poof! There she went!"
"That doesn't make sense--"
"Ah, but it does. Use your brain, Michael." he giggled, tapping his forehead with his forefinger. "Seriously, I can't believe you guys sometimes."
"Let's leave before he winds up in hysterics again," Thalia whispered softly. She tugged at Michael's arm. He looked at Dan, who nodded.
"Thank you for your...for your help, Guide. Goodbye." she said, though it sounded forced. He didn't seem to notice or care, though.
"Aw, leaving so soon? Well, it's fine. I'm sure we'll see each-other again soon," he added darkly.
They left without looking behind.
"So...what was that supposed to mean?" Michael asked.
"It means she's dead." Dusk said.
"What?"
"She's dead. I told you. She must've never been revived."
"B--but that can't be true..."
"Why else would she not answer you on the Chat Box? Why else would she be completely missing? What the Guide said only proves my theory. For whatever reason, she's permanently...she's dead. For real."
"But that's not fair," Michael whispered.
Dusk looked confused. Not in a condescending or shocked way, just pure confused.
"But that's not fair, she...she's been fighting for so long. And then she had to put up with us for ages...and she...she always was so awesome. Of all people,
why would she...why would she--"
"It--it's okay. Right? The Guide's insane anyway, he's probably lying--"
"Thalia. Don't," Dusk warned.
"I want her to be alive. I want to believe that, more than anything. But...but I don't know..."
"Are you saying you think I want her to be dead?" he asked, now looking slightly offended as well as confused. "I--I miss her, too, but--"
"NO, you DON'T! You barely knew her!" Michael shouted.
"Just because I barely knew her doesn't mean that I don't miss her!"
"She was just your little pawn, wasn't she?! Just someone to help you get out of your little 'mental problems', or whatever it was!"
"I don't have mental problems! And she wasn't a pawn!" Michael was quiet, so he continued, "If this really is a dream, or I'm delusional, then I want to go back to normal as soon as possible. But I will never manipulate any of my friends for my own wants or desires--and that includes losing my amnesia."
"...But you said--"
"I know what I said. Just because I think everything else is a distraction from getting out of Terraria doesn't mean that I don't care about my friends."
"You left Vi--"
"I KNOW!" he shouted. "But that doesn't--that doesn't mean anything! I--"
"That doesn't mean anything? We left him. We didn't even offer to help or anything!" Thalia exclaimed.
"I didn't do that on purpose! And I'm going to fix it. I'll fix everything. I'm not proud of everything I've done," he added quietly. "What I was going to say was that I believe friends are people who you would willingly give up your own life for just so that they could live another day. So far, I don't really have any friends--no offense. However, you four--including Dawn--are my allies, and that still means I will never betray or manipulate any of you. None of you are my pawns, or anything like that. I'm not a monster."
"We know." Thalia whispered.
Either he didn't hear, or he didn't have a reply.
Silence.
"...I'm going to the Nurse's house for some potions." he said.
He left, shutting the door silently.
"...We'll look again tomorrow, I guess." Thalia said.
--Six Days Without Her--
"So where are we going today?"
"I think we should ask the Guide if he can bring her back." Michael said solemnly.
"What?"
"Ask her if she's really dead, and if she can be revived somehow."
"...If she's dead, is it really right to bring her back?"
"She was supposed to have been revived anyway."
"....Are you sure you'd be okay with hearing the answer?" Thalia asked.
"I'm sure she's not dead." he retorted.
"Okay then...let's try talking to the Guide again."
"Can I go alone?"
"Why?"
"For some odd reason, I have the feeling he'd be more straight-forward if he's talking to only one person."
Dusk snorted. "Good luck with that. He's weird no matter what."
"Doesn't hurt to try though."
"Alright. Good luck," Thalia repeated.
He knocked on the door cautiously. "...Hey, Guide?"
"Yeah?" the voice from the other side asked.
"Can I talk to you again?"
A pause.
"Of course. Come in."
He did so and saw that the Guide was sitting at the head of the table again--his favorite place in the house, apparently. He was petting a rabbit with each hand, petting them at the same time.
"This is Fluffy, and this is Sir Eats-A-Lot-Of-Carrots. We call him Carrots for short."
"Ah. I see," Michael said half-heartedly, nodding.
"Sit."
He debated where to sit--he didn't want to be near the Guide, but he didn't want to offend him either. He compromised with a seat near the middle of the table.
"So what is it?"
He swallowed. "...Is Dawn really dead?"
The Guide froze and stared at him from the corner of his eye. "...What?"
"Dawn. We asked you about her yesterday. ...Is she really dead?"
"I don't know. Is she?" the Guide resumed what he was doing as though nothing had happened.
"I wouldn't be asking you if I knew."
"Good point. Yet I think you do know."
"So..."
"Listen. You saw her die, right?"
"No."
"You heard the voice, though, right?"
"Yeah."
"And she never came back."
"...Yeah."
"And you haven't heard anything from her, even though you've tried communicating."
"You were dead, how would you know?" he asked, trying to stay calm.
The Guide started petting the rabbits slower, though he never took his eyes off of Michael. "Careful with that tone. If you're going to start getting aggressive, then we won't talk."
"Sorry."
He went back to normal. "So. What do you think?"
"I don't know. Dusk said the same thing, and I didn't know then either."
"So I'm being repetitive?"
"...Kind of,"
"Sorry, then."
Michael's eyebrows shot up as though they had a mind of their own. The Guide...apologized...?
He stopped again, his eyes narrowing. "What's that face for?"
"Nothing! Nothing."
"...Okay, do you know what happens when Terrarians aren't revived?"
"No..."
"They turn into zombies. Or skeletons. Or, if they're lucky, they stay completely dead, but their armor is accidentally 'revived' instead, if you can even call it that."
"Possessed Armor?"
He nodded.
"...So what's the point of telling me this?"
He shrugged. "Just sharing some information. Thought you might want to know." He stood up. "Anyway, it's Fluffy and Carrot's lunch time. I'm going to go get some mushrooms."
"Uh...bye then."
"Bye."
"...So you learned nothing," Dan said.
"I wouldn't say that." Dusk said. However, he didn't continue, and he changed the subject. "Anyway, Thalia was saying we should probably go to the Jungle next. More ores and everything. Plus she thinks it's a likely place she might be."
"Alright, let's go."
"What the...but this was supposed to be a forest!" Thalia exclaimed.
"It must've been Corrupted as well." Dusk said, drawing his sword. "I take it you want to get out of here as soon as possible?" he asked, sounding slightly distant.
"Right. There's a desert on the other side, we should be safe there."
He nodded. "I'll fight, you guys can run ahead or follow me. It doesn't matter."
"We'll follow."
He nodded again, and sprinted forward. Any enemy that got close was sliced to shreds, yet he never stopped moving forwards.
"Let's go, we're getting behind!"
He ran into a Corrupted forest about 50 feet away. The trees were purple and rotting, their bark loose and falling off.
"He went through there!"
They half-ran, half-slid down the hill, dodging trees, thorns, and enemies. Michael felt something wrap across his foot and drag him down.
"MICHAEL!"
"Keep going! I'm fine!"
Thalia hesitated but turned around and kept going.
He looked down: he'd tripped on sickly purple ivy. He cut it with his axe, then stumbled back into a sprint like before.
He skidded to a stop at the bottom, where the forest ended.
"...Uh, guys? Why are we stopping?"
"Look," Thalia said, pointing with a shaking finger.
He moved so he could see past her head.
His eyes widened.
NO.
The desert had fallen, too--the sand was a putrid, dull purple that reminded him of ashes, and the cacti had turned obsidian-purple, their thorns like needles. Shadowy mummies with tattered bandages shambled along aimlessly.
"But I thought only the forests could be infected..."
"This is Hardmode now. Things are different." Dusk said. "Do you want to turn back or keep going?"
"...Let's keep going."
After the desert, they passed through a normal forest, then they were there: The Jungle.
"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Thalia asked.
"Everything seems to bring back memories to you." Michael said, unamused. "...Let's try and find the caves we went to last time."
As Michael and Dan tried to figure out where they were, Thalia noticed Dusk was lagging behind.
"...Dusk, are you okay? You look tired,"
"I'm not...used...to weather like this," he panted, wiping sweat off of his face.
"What do you mean?"
"It's hot and humid. I don't like hot and humid places." he said, irritated. "The Jungle is one of my least favorite biomes."
"Oh. Do you like the Snow Biome?"
"A little bit. I mean, it's cold, but at least you can breathe without feeling like you're being suffocated."
"You're not used to extreme weather, are you?"
"No. The cold doesn't really bother me, but I hate summer."
"...Well, I don't really know what to tell you. We'll just have to try to hurry and get out of here as soon as possible." she said.
"...Uh, thanks, then, I guess..."
"No problem," she smiled.
"The Jungle doesn't seem to have changed at all," Michael commented, shooting down Hornets from a distance. "Should we split up?"
"In what groups?" Thalia asked, throwing neon-purple Demon Scythes at various different monsters.
Dan paused, not fighting for a few seconds. "It seems the most logical groups would be Michael and Dusk, then Thalia and I."
"Why?" Michael demanded.
"Then there's a mage, fighter, and long-distance fighter in each group."
"Oh. ...We'll split up at that one fork then, I guess. The one Thalia got lost at."
"Oh yeah, the tunnels near the Jungle Shrine. I remember that. And we'll regroup at the Armory, right?"
"Right."
"...So how long have you known her?" Dusk asked Michael.
"What?"
"You said I barely knew her. Now I'm wondering how long you four knew each-other."
"Oh." he seemed to think about whether he really wanted to answer him or not. Then he replied, "Well, Dan, Thalia and I all met the day we first came to Terraria. We met Dawn right before the first time we went to the Corruption, I think."
"Huh. That's weird." he commented. "You guys seemed so close, I thought you must've known each-other for years or something. Then again, time in Terraria is weird, to say the least..."
"How long do you think you've been here?"
Dusk seemed taken off-guard. "...I don't know. Around two years now, at least."
"Two...years?"
He nodded. "It's hard to survive alone. ...Plus I wasn't exactly in great shape when I woke up."
"What do you mean?"
His expression soured, as though he disliked his past self. "I didn't deal with my amnesia too well. I asked too many questions and I had trouble keeping
track of time or events. The Guide's insanity and my constant deja-vu didn't help at all. Eventually I got everything straightened out, but..."
Michael looked confused, then concerned. "Do you think...do you think she had to go through that too?"
He was talking about Dawn again... "I don't know. Different people deal with things differently." He added half-heartedly, "Oh, look, green ore. Wonder what it does."
After mining it, Michael said, "...Mythril. It's called mythril."
He nodded. "Cool." he said emotionlessly. They continued walking in silence.
"Do you really think she's alive?" Thalia whispered as Dan looked for Cobalt.
"...Dawn?" she nodded. He continued, "I hate to say it, but...I doubt it."
"It doesn't feel like she's gone though. I mean, I can't believe it. I can imagine what she'd say if she were here, I can imagine her making jokes with us, like the whole Konami Code thing earlier...it's weird. It's really, really weird."
"We must be in shock or something. They say there's five stages of mourning. This must be the Denial stage."
"How can you be so calm?" she asked, looking slightly shocked.
"I don't know. To be honest, I guess I don't feel...anything. I feel blank. Like I'm telling myself what to do--'attack that monster', 'get the Cobalt', 'craft armor', whatever--but I'm not really there. Like I'm just a spectator, controlling what I do and say yet still never really being here."
"That doesn't sound good."
He shrugged. "I don't know. It's weird, and distant, but I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or not."
"Why would it be good?"
"If it's a coping mechanism, it might be a good thing. I don't know," he repeated.
For a few minutes, the only thing she could hear was the sound of the pickaxe striking Cobalt.
"...So how are you?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I'm not letting myself believe it. She can't be..." she stopped, trying to think of a word.
"Gone?"
"...Yeah. Gone."
"I told you. It's denial."
--Seven Days Without Her--
It was noon by the time they decided she wasn't in the Jungle, and they had enough Cobalt ore to go back home.
"What next?" Thalia asked on the Chat Box.
"We should keep going to the right until we get to the Ocean." Michael said.
"Do you want to go with someone else or on your own?" Dusk asked. "The Ocean's pretty safe, so not all of us should have to go."
"I'm fine with going on my own, but I guess you guys could come. Whatever you think is better." he said.
"Are you okay?" Thalia asked.
"Why?"
"You sound kind of depressed," she said gently, trying not to upset him.
He didn't reply. Then he said, "I guess I'll go on my own, then."
They all teleported home, then Michael left without saying anything--they already knew where he was going, so why bother?
Standing at the edge of the Village, he took a deep breath.
I'm going to run, and I won't stop until I'm there.
He crouched down into a runner's position.
3...2...1.
He leapt forward and ran at full speed.
He shoved aside trees and branches, not changing direction except to swerve around the trees directly in front of him.
Everything was in fast-forward. His breaths came rapidly and shallowly. He knew he was probably going to hyperventilate, but he didn't care.
He practically fell down the hill, once again in the Corrupted desert.
He zig-zagged around the cacti, ignoring the dark but scorching waves of heat.
Soon that, passed, too, and he was in the forest, then the Jungle.
The only reason he could tell the difference was because the blurred green in his vision changed from grass-green to vivid green.
His foot hit something solid and he went flying.
He laid there for a while, catching his breath.
When it felt like a bucket of Jell-O was dumped on his head, he sat up. Said Jell-O jumped forwards and hopped away--oh, wait, it was a slime. That made more sense.
He wiped his face off, then went back to running.
It wasn't long before the landscape changed into sand. Not purple sand, but normal sand.
He almost sighed in relief before he caught himself.
You're here to find her--that's it.
He cleared his throat.
"...Dawn!"
His eyes widened. What had happened to his voice? It sounded...hoarse, and it hurt to raise his voice too much.
He coughed--probably just something stuck in his throat.
"Dawn!"
It still sounded wrong, but he dismissed it. As long as she could hear him, it didn't matter.
"Dawn, are you there?! ...DAWN!"
He scanned the area. She could've been anywhere, really. He decided to start looking on the right.
He walked slowly.
"Dawn? ...DAWN, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
He kept walking, calling her name and looking in different directions every few seconds.
The sand stretched onwards, no end in sight.
He faintly wondered if he was hallucinating--though it was unlikely, since it was cooler than the desert.
Suddenly he noticed the sky was several shades darker than it was before.
...Nah, probably just clouds covering the sun.
His voice started hurting, so he grabbed a jar of water from his backpack. He lifted it, and as he was moving he hit a wall and bounced back.
He looked up--nothing. It looked the same as before. Just sand and the ocean.
He poked his foot forwards, and it jolted back as though something deflected it.
He rubbed his eyes, pinched his arm, and even tried slapping himself.
He still couldn't go forwards, and he still didn't see anything different.
"Must be some kind of magical barrier..." he mumbled to himself. He made a mental note of it, then turned around and walked the other way.
He felt as though he'd walked miles, yet he still hadn't reached the other barrier.
He glanced up. The sun was sinking, and everything was orange and purple as though the sun's color had rubbed off and bled onto the sky.
He looked forward again, drank the last of the water he had, and shoved the empty glass into his bag. He swore it had its own miniature dimension--anything could fit in there, even furniture.
He shook his head.
"Who cares? It doesn't matter. It's just a backpack." he told himself.
He cupped his hands to his face and called, "DAWN! DAWN, ARE YOU THERE?! IF YOU ARE, PLEASE...PLEASE SAY SOMETHING! ANYTHING!"
His voice cracked, and he rubbed his neck.
It seemed like no matter how much water he drank, it still hurt.
"DAWN--"
He walked face-first into the barrier.
And Dusk says he has bad luck...
Lying on his back, he stared at the sky, as the oranges faded and the indigos and purples replaced it.
"She's not here...she's still not here..."
His vision blurred, and something wet slid down his cheek.
No. NO, I'm not going to cry, I'M NOT CRYING!
He rolled over and curled into a ball, forcing himself to cough--at his father's funeral, his sister had told him that if you coughed, you couldn't cry.
It always worked for the most part--it still did.
When his breathing returned to normal, he stood up and saw the stars were beginning to appear.
He wiped his eyes again, and teleported home.
The next day, they sat in a circle, ignoring the fact that there was a table with chairs behind them.
"So what are we doing today?" Thalia asked.
"Well, we know she's not in the village. Where else do we look?" Dusk asked.
"We could go mining," Dan suggested. "Then we could look for the new ores, and look for her at the same time."
"Should we go to the tunnels near the hill, now that the Cave's Corrupted?"
"We might get stronger faster if we go to the Underground Corruption though."
"But she hates the Corruption. Would she really go there like that?" Thalia asked. "I still think the tunnels are a better idea."
"The tunnels it is, then."
Not very far into the tunnels, there was a fork.
"Which way?" Dan asked.
"Both." Michael said. "There's a 50/50 chance no matter which way you go. We should go both ways, just to be safe."
"Because splitting up is incredibly safe." Dusk said. "Besides, what happens if you find another Altar and--"
"NO. NO MORE ALTARS." The other three said in unison.
"We're sick of fighting Wraiths for you!" Michael said.
He held his hands up, palms out. "Okay, okay, okay, fine, no more altars! But I still don't think it's safe."
"Why?"
"We just got our butts handed to us the other day--"
"I just realized, what the crap is that even supposed to mean? Pardon the pun," Michael said. "'We got our butts handed to us'. Uh, NO, I still have my butt, no-one handed it to me. WHY WOULD THEY EVEN BE TOUCHING MY BUTT IN THE FIRST PLACE?"
Looking disgusted, Dusk said, "That...that isn't the point...the point is--"
"BUT IT'S SO WEIRD! Don't tell me you've never thought about stuff like that!"
"Apparently, my mind is cleaner than yours, because no, I haven't. Can we please move on?"
"What do you mean, cleaner?"
"'Cleaner' as in, I don't think about butts or toilet jokes all the time. Or ever."
"Pfft, like you've never made a butt joke before." Michael joked, crossing his arms. "...Wait, have you?"
"No. No, I haven't." Dusk said, his voice and facial expression so deadpan he probably could've won an award.
Michael's jaw dropped as he stared at him in disbelief.
After a couple of seconds, Dusk said, "...Anyway, my point was that we're having enough difficulty as a group, so we don't need to split up and make it even worse."
Michael didn't move, or even blink.
"I think you broke him." Dan said.
"People can't be broken, they aren't machines." Dusk said in a no-nonsense tone.
"YOU MANAGED TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE! YOU BROKE A HUMAN!" Thalia wailed.
"Calm down, I'm sure he's fine..."
"NO HE'S NOT, HE'S STILL FROZEN!"
"YOU SAID THE F-WORD!" Dusk shrieked in terror, sounding like a girl. "...Is what a lot of people are likely thinking right now."
"What?"
"Never mind. I have to make up for all of her references,"
"If that's what you're trying to do, we all know you failed. She would've given me rabbit ears or drew a mustache on my face or something." Michael said.
"HE'S ALIVE!" Thalia exclaimed gleefully.
"Please, we all knew he was fine..." Dusk mumbled. "Anyway, which way?"
"KONAMI CODE!" Michael exclaimed. Then he sang, "L R L R Stop and Dash and Up and Talk, B B A B S--"
"That's not the Konami Code, Muggle Fool," Dusk said coldly, though one side of his mouth tugged upwards in a half-smile. "It's Up Up Down Down Right Left Right Left B A."
"Soooo left then."
"Sounds about right." Dusk said, smirking cheerily. "Let's go."
"DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE, look, it's red stuff." Michael said. He didn't say anything, but he didn't feel as excited as he normally would've been.
"Oh, nice! It must be one of the new ores." Thalia said.
Michael took out his pickaxe and struck down.
He flinched and dropped it, rubbing his hands. "Ow...you can tell it's harder than the other metals..."
"You okay?" Dusk asked.
He nodded. "Lemme try again." He repeated the action again once, twice, three times... "It's no use. I'm going to break my pickaxe if I keep this up."
"We'll have to get it later. We probably need better gear first,"
"Right."
The sound of skeletons' growling echoed.
"Dusk and I'll guard the front," Dan decided.
They got into place, then continued walking.
About 20 yards ahead, there was a drop downwards. The growls were close.
"They're up ahead." Dan stated. "I'm going down."
Dusk nodded. "I'm staying here."
Flaming arrows flew forwards. The three ducked, crouching to the ground. Dan flatted himself to the wall. He jumped down after a few seconds.
"I can't see him. Is he fine?" Michael asked.
Dusk peeked around the wall he was hiding behind. "He should be."
He jumped out to cast some spells. Thalia copied his tactic.
"What's going on?"
"An archer and a warrior. Neither dead. Just wait, we'll cast spells from up here." Dusk summed up.
More arrows flew up, missed, and pierced the stone floors.
Thalia sent fireballs back at them.
"How long are we keeping this up?"
"I told you, just wait," Dusk growled. "I'm going down. Take my place."
He slipped forwards, then fell off the edge as casually as if he had walked down. Michael ran forwards as Dusk instructed.
An arrow hit Thalia in the shoulder and she yelped. The arrow dissolved but the flames didn't.
He turned around. He loaded the Minishark, propping it up on his shoulder. He pulled the trigger. Bullets rained downwards. The Archer died.
A horizontal wall of water bounced off the far wall. It sliced through the Armored Skeleton. Dusk snuck up behind and attacked again.
Michael saw its face was unguarded and aimed for it. After a few seconds, its head spun off.
Dusk stabbed downwards, shattering the spine with a crunch.
He stood up, wiped his hands off, and put the 4 silver coins in his pocket.
He jerked his head slightly. "Come on, we're going."
They jumped down and walked onwards.
"DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE it's blue stuff."
"Why do you keep saying that?" Dusk asked, trying not to grit his teeth.
"'Cause it's fun. Try it."
"Oh, hell no."
"Aw, hell YEAH! Seriously, try it."
Dusk sighed. "Fine." He put on a serious face, then said, "Duuuuuuuuuude, it's blue stuff..." in a flat voice.
"WOW."
"'Wow' what?"
"'Wow that was sad' wow. Just...wow."
"That doesn't even sound like a word anymore. Stop that,"
"Sure. ...If you say it right."
"What?"
"You're supposed to say it while having fun. You're too deadpan," Thalia said, Michael nodding.
"Do I really have to?"
Dan shrugged. "Just do it."
He breathed in. "DUUUUUUUUUUUUDE BLUE STUFF."
"...Well?" Thalia and Michael asked in unison.
"...It's okay."
Michael facepalmed. "I give up. You're a lost cause. I knew it. See, I told you guys," he joked, elbowing Thalia and Dan.
"Just get the ore."
This time he was able to mine the ore. "It's Cobalt," he announced. "Sweet. Let's go look for more."
"What day is it?" Michael asked. "It seems like we've been down here forever."
They'd fully explored the tunnels to the left, and they were now in the tunnels on the right.
"I don't know, I've lost track of time..." Thalia said. "Should we go back to the Surface?"
"We've gotten a lot of Cobalt, so we should probably try to make something. So yeah," Dan said.
"Okay then. Let's leave a sign behind so we know where we were. What should it be?" Thalia asked.
"How about an actual sign?" Michael asked. "Seems fitting."
When the sign was finished and put in place, they teleported back.
"It's still daylight..."
"We must've been gone for over a day then. Let's ask one of the NPCs."
They walked up to the Goblin Tinkerer's house and knocked on the door.
"Xon? ...Xon? Hello?"
The door opened by a crack, a yellowish eye looking out. Then the door opened, revealing the familiar Goblin.
"Are you okay? You look tired," Thalia commented.
"Huh? Oh...I have bags under my eyes, don't I?"
She nodded.
"I've been trying to hide from the monsters. It's exhausting,"
"So I take it you also miss sleep?" Michael asked.
Xon nodded wearily. "Anyway, what did you need?"
"Oh, right. We were going to ask how long it's been since we went to the Tunnels."
"About three days."
"What, seriously?!"
He nodded again, apparently not in the mood to talk. "Is that all?"
"Yeah, I think so. Thanks,"
"No problem." he yawned, then went back upstairs.
"He forgot to shut the door..." she mumbled, closing it.
After that, they went to the forges.
"So what should we make first?"
"Either armor or a pickaxe." Michael said. "We need new ore, but we also need more defense."
"As long as we don't get hit and stay from a distance, we'll be fine. We should work on getting better weapons." Dusk said.
Sensing a fight, Dan said, "Okay, so we should make a cobalt pickaxe, then a chestplate and a sword. If we have leftover ore, we'll keep making weapons
and armor."
Once they were finished crafting, Thalia asked, "What's the plan next?"
"I dunno. Keep getting stronger, I guess."
"What about Dawn? She doesn't seem to be in the Tunnels, we should've found her by now if she was." Michael said. "Maybe we should stay and see if she comes back here."
"No. We don't have time to wait." Dusk said.
"She'd wait for us if one of us was in her place!" he shouted, standing abruptly.
"Would she really?" he asked emotionlessly. "She doesn't seem like the type to wait on others. It seems like she'd be doing the same thing we are."
"Could you please stop fighting in my house?"
"Scott?! When did you--"
"I'm not Scott. I'm Wyatt. And I've been here for a day now. How are you?"
They blinked at him.
"Uh...good, I guess...can you tell us where Dawn is?"
He smiled. "Dawn isn't anywhere. It's just a time of day, when the sun rises."
"Don't play stupid, we know you remember," Dan said. "DAWN. Our friend. The owner of this world. Red hair, green eyes, freckles, tall, acts kinda weird and is a tomboy. Ring a bell?"
He tilted his head to the side. "She sounds interesting. Have we met?"
"OF COURSE YOU'VE MET! WE'VE ALL MET BEFORE! ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
He smiled, but it looked more menacing than friendly. "Dan, I highly suggest you stop screaming in my house."
"I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU ANSWER MY QUESTION FOR ONCE!"
"Fine then. No, she's not here. What more do you want from me?"
"If she's not here, where is she?!" Michael asked, shoving Dan aside without a second thought.
His smile split into a grin. "Gone."
"What?"
"Don't you know? She's gone. She's been gone. She left. Vanished. Poof! There she went!"
"That doesn't make sense--"
"Ah, but it does. Use your brain, Michael." he giggled, tapping his forehead with his forefinger. "Seriously, I can't believe you guys sometimes."
"Let's leave before he winds up in hysterics again," Thalia whispered softly. She tugged at Michael's arm. He looked at Dan, who nodded.
"Thank you for your...for your help, Guide. Goodbye." she said, though it sounded forced. He didn't seem to notice or care, though.
"Aw, leaving so soon? Well, it's fine. I'm sure we'll see each-other again soon," he added darkly.
They left without looking behind.
"So...what was that supposed to mean?" Michael asked.
"It means she's dead." Dusk said.
"What?"
"She's dead. I told you. She must've never been revived."
"B--but that can't be true..."
"Why else would she not answer you on the Chat Box? Why else would she be completely missing? What the Guide said only proves my theory. For whatever reason, she's permanently...she's dead. For real."
"But that's not fair," Michael whispered.
Dusk looked confused. Not in a condescending or shocked way, just pure confused.
"But that's not fair, she...she's been fighting for so long. And then she had to put up with us for ages...and she...she always was so awesome. Of all people,
why would she...why would she--"
"It--it's okay. Right? The Guide's insane anyway, he's probably lying--"
"Thalia. Don't," Dusk warned.
"I want her to be alive. I want to believe that, more than anything. But...but I don't know..."
"Are you saying you think I want her to be dead?" he asked, now looking slightly offended as well as confused. "I--I miss her, too, but--"
"NO, you DON'T! You barely knew her!" Michael shouted.
"Just because I barely knew her doesn't mean that I don't miss her!"
"She was just your little pawn, wasn't she?! Just someone to help you get out of your little 'mental problems', or whatever it was!"
"I don't have mental problems! And she wasn't a pawn!" Michael was quiet, so he continued, "If this really is a dream, or I'm delusional, then I want to go back to normal as soon as possible. But I will never manipulate any of my friends for my own wants or desires--and that includes losing my amnesia."
"...But you said--"
"I know what I said. Just because I think everything else is a distraction from getting out of Terraria doesn't mean that I don't care about my friends."
"You left Vi--"
"I KNOW!" he shouted. "But that doesn't--that doesn't mean anything! I--"
"That doesn't mean anything? We left him. We didn't even offer to help or anything!" Thalia exclaimed.
"I didn't do that on purpose! And I'm going to fix it. I'll fix everything. I'm not proud of everything I've done," he added quietly. "What I was going to say was that I believe friends are people who you would willingly give up your own life for just so that they could live another day. So far, I don't really have any friends--no offense. However, you four--including Dawn--are my allies, and that still means I will never betray or manipulate any of you. None of you are my pawns, or anything like that. I'm not a monster."
"We know." Thalia whispered.
Either he didn't hear, or he didn't have a reply.
Silence.
"...I'm going to the Nurse's house for some potions." he said.
He left, shutting the door silently.
"...We'll look again tomorrow, I guess." Thalia said.
--Six Days Without Her--
"So where are we going today?"
"I think we should ask the Guide if he can bring her back." Michael said solemnly.
"What?"
"Ask her if she's really dead, and if she can be revived somehow."
"...If she's dead, is it really right to bring her back?"
"She was supposed to have been revived anyway."
"....Are you sure you'd be okay with hearing the answer?" Thalia asked.
"I'm sure she's not dead." he retorted.
"Okay then...let's try talking to the Guide again."
"Can I go alone?"
"Why?"
"For some odd reason, I have the feeling he'd be more straight-forward if he's talking to only one person."
Dusk snorted. "Good luck with that. He's weird no matter what."
"Doesn't hurt to try though."
"Alright. Good luck," Thalia repeated.
He knocked on the door cautiously. "...Hey, Guide?"
"Yeah?" the voice from the other side asked.
"Can I talk to you again?"
A pause.
"Of course. Come in."
He did so and saw that the Guide was sitting at the head of the table again--his favorite place in the house, apparently. He was petting a rabbit with each hand, petting them at the same time.
"This is Fluffy, and this is Sir Eats-A-Lot-Of-Carrots. We call him Carrots for short."
"Ah. I see," Michael said half-heartedly, nodding.
"Sit."
He debated where to sit--he didn't want to be near the Guide, but he didn't want to offend him either. He compromised with a seat near the middle of the table.
"So what is it?"
He swallowed. "...Is Dawn really dead?"
The Guide froze and stared at him from the corner of his eye. "...What?"
"Dawn. We asked you about her yesterday. ...Is she really dead?"
"I don't know. Is she?" the Guide resumed what he was doing as though nothing had happened.
"I wouldn't be asking you if I knew."
"Good point. Yet I think you do know."
"So..."
"Listen. You saw her die, right?"
"No."
"You heard the voice, though, right?"
"Yeah."
"And she never came back."
"...Yeah."
"And you haven't heard anything from her, even though you've tried communicating."
"You were dead, how would you know?" he asked, trying to stay calm.
The Guide started petting the rabbits slower, though he never took his eyes off of Michael. "Careful with that tone. If you're going to start getting aggressive, then we won't talk."
"Sorry."
He went back to normal. "So. What do you think?"
"I don't know. Dusk said the same thing, and I didn't know then either."
"So I'm being repetitive?"
"...Kind of,"
"Sorry, then."
Michael's eyebrows shot up as though they had a mind of their own. The Guide...apologized...?
He stopped again, his eyes narrowing. "What's that face for?"
"Nothing! Nothing."
"...Okay, do you know what happens when Terrarians aren't revived?"
"No..."
"They turn into zombies. Or skeletons. Or, if they're lucky, they stay completely dead, but their armor is accidentally 'revived' instead, if you can even call it that."
"Possessed Armor?"
He nodded.
"...So what's the point of telling me this?"
He shrugged. "Just sharing some information. Thought you might want to know." He stood up. "Anyway, it's Fluffy and Carrot's lunch time. I'm going to go get some mushrooms."
"Uh...bye then."
"Bye."
"...So you learned nothing," Dan said.
"I wouldn't say that." Dusk said. However, he didn't continue, and he changed the subject. "Anyway, Thalia was saying we should probably go to the Jungle next. More ores and everything. Plus she thinks it's a likely place she might be."
"Alright, let's go."
"What the...but this was supposed to be a forest!" Thalia exclaimed.
"It must've been Corrupted as well." Dusk said, drawing his sword. "I take it you want to get out of here as soon as possible?" he asked, sounding slightly distant.
"Right. There's a desert on the other side, we should be safe there."
He nodded. "I'll fight, you guys can run ahead or follow me. It doesn't matter."
"We'll follow."
He nodded again, and sprinted forward. Any enemy that got close was sliced to shreds, yet he never stopped moving forwards.
"Let's go, we're getting behind!"
He ran into a Corrupted forest about 50 feet away. The trees were purple and rotting, their bark loose and falling off.
"He went through there!"
They half-ran, half-slid down the hill, dodging trees, thorns, and enemies. Michael felt something wrap across his foot and drag him down.
"MICHAEL!"
"Keep going! I'm fine!"
Thalia hesitated but turned around and kept going.
He looked down: he'd tripped on sickly purple ivy. He cut it with his axe, then stumbled back into a sprint like before.
He skidded to a stop at the bottom, where the forest ended.
"...Uh, guys? Why are we stopping?"
"Look," Thalia said, pointing with a shaking finger.
He moved so he could see past her head.
His eyes widened.
NO.
The desert had fallen, too--the sand was a putrid, dull purple that reminded him of ashes, and the cacti had turned obsidian-purple, their thorns like needles. Shadowy mummies with tattered bandages shambled along aimlessly.
"But I thought only the forests could be infected..."
"This is Hardmode now. Things are different." Dusk said. "Do you want to turn back or keep going?"
"...Let's keep going."
After the desert, they passed through a normal forest, then they were there: The Jungle.
"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Thalia asked.
"Everything seems to bring back memories to you." Michael said, unamused. "...Let's try and find the caves we went to last time."
As Michael and Dan tried to figure out where they were, Thalia noticed Dusk was lagging behind.
"...Dusk, are you okay? You look tired,"
"I'm not...used...to weather like this," he panted, wiping sweat off of his face.
"What do you mean?"
"It's hot and humid. I don't like hot and humid places." he said, irritated. "The Jungle is one of my least favorite biomes."
"Oh. Do you like the Snow Biome?"
"A little bit. I mean, it's cold, but at least you can breathe without feeling like you're being suffocated."
"You're not used to extreme weather, are you?"
"No. The cold doesn't really bother me, but I hate summer."
"...Well, I don't really know what to tell you. We'll just have to try to hurry and get out of here as soon as possible." she said.
"...Uh, thanks, then, I guess..."
"No problem," she smiled.
"The Jungle doesn't seem to have changed at all," Michael commented, shooting down Hornets from a distance. "Should we split up?"
"In what groups?" Thalia asked, throwing neon-purple Demon Scythes at various different monsters.
Dan paused, not fighting for a few seconds. "It seems the most logical groups would be Michael and Dusk, then Thalia and I."
"Why?" Michael demanded.
"Then there's a mage, fighter, and long-distance fighter in each group."
"Oh. ...We'll split up at that one fork then, I guess. The one Thalia got lost at."
"Oh yeah, the tunnels near the Jungle Shrine. I remember that. And we'll regroup at the Armory, right?"
"Right."
"...So how long have you known her?" Dusk asked Michael.
"What?"
"You said I barely knew her. Now I'm wondering how long you four knew each-other."
"Oh." he seemed to think about whether he really wanted to answer him or not. Then he replied, "Well, Dan, Thalia and I all met the day we first came to Terraria. We met Dawn right before the first time we went to the Corruption, I think."
"Huh. That's weird." he commented. "You guys seemed so close, I thought you must've known each-other for years or something. Then again, time in Terraria is weird, to say the least..."
"How long do you think you've been here?"
Dusk seemed taken off-guard. "...I don't know. Around two years now, at least."
"Two...years?"
He nodded. "It's hard to survive alone. ...Plus I wasn't exactly in great shape when I woke up."
"What do you mean?"
His expression soured, as though he disliked his past self. "I didn't deal with my amnesia too well. I asked too many questions and I had trouble keeping
track of time or events. The Guide's insanity and my constant deja-vu didn't help at all. Eventually I got everything straightened out, but..."
Michael looked confused, then concerned. "Do you think...do you think she had to go through that too?"
He was talking about Dawn again... "I don't know. Different people deal with things differently." He added half-heartedly, "Oh, look, green ore. Wonder what it does."
After mining it, Michael said, "...Mythril. It's called mythril."
He nodded. "Cool." he said emotionlessly. They continued walking in silence.
"Do you really think she's alive?" Thalia whispered as Dan looked for Cobalt.
"...Dawn?" she nodded. He continued, "I hate to say it, but...I doubt it."
"It doesn't feel like she's gone though. I mean, I can't believe it. I can imagine what she'd say if she were here, I can imagine her making jokes with us, like the whole Konami Code thing earlier...it's weird. It's really, really weird."
"We must be in shock or something. They say there's five stages of mourning. This must be the Denial stage."
"How can you be so calm?" she asked, looking slightly shocked.
"I don't know. To be honest, I guess I don't feel...anything. I feel blank. Like I'm telling myself what to do--'attack that monster', 'get the Cobalt', 'craft armor', whatever--but I'm not really there. Like I'm just a spectator, controlling what I do and say yet still never really being here."
"That doesn't sound good."
He shrugged. "I don't know. It's weird, and distant, but I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or not."
"Why would it be good?"
"If it's a coping mechanism, it might be a good thing. I don't know," he repeated.
For a few minutes, the only thing she could hear was the sound of the pickaxe striking Cobalt.
"...So how are you?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I'm not letting myself believe it. She can't be..." she stopped, trying to think of a word.
"Gone?"
"...Yeah. Gone."
"I told you. It's denial."
--Seven Days Without Her--
It was noon by the time they decided she wasn't in the Jungle, and they had enough Cobalt ore to go back home.
"What next?" Thalia asked on the Chat Box.
"We should keep going to the right until we get to the Ocean." Michael said.
"Do you want to go with someone else or on your own?" Dusk asked. "The Ocean's pretty safe, so not all of us should have to go."
"I'm fine with going on my own, but I guess you guys could come. Whatever you think is better." he said.
"Are you okay?" Thalia asked.
"Why?"
"You sound kind of depressed," she said gently, trying not to upset him.
He didn't reply. Then he said, "I guess I'll go on my own, then."
They all teleported home, then Michael left without saying anything--they already knew where he was going, so why bother?
Standing at the edge of the Village, he took a deep breath.
I'm going to run, and I won't stop until I'm there.
He crouched down into a runner's position.
3...2...1.
He leapt forward and ran at full speed.
He shoved aside trees and branches, not changing direction except to swerve around the trees directly in front of him.
Everything was in fast-forward. His breaths came rapidly and shallowly. He knew he was probably going to hyperventilate, but he didn't care.
He practically fell down the hill, once again in the Corrupted desert.
He zig-zagged around the cacti, ignoring the dark but scorching waves of heat.
Soon that, passed, too, and he was in the forest, then the Jungle.
The only reason he could tell the difference was because the blurred green in his vision changed from grass-green to vivid green.
His foot hit something solid and he went flying.
He laid there for a while, catching his breath.
When it felt like a bucket of Jell-O was dumped on his head, he sat up. Said Jell-O jumped forwards and hopped away--oh, wait, it was a slime. That made more sense.
He wiped his face off, then went back to running.
It wasn't long before the landscape changed into sand. Not purple sand, but normal sand.
He almost sighed in relief before he caught himself.
You're here to find her--that's it.
He cleared his throat.
"...Dawn!"
His eyes widened. What had happened to his voice? It sounded...hoarse, and it hurt to raise his voice too much.
He coughed--probably just something stuck in his throat.
"Dawn!"
It still sounded wrong, but he dismissed it. As long as she could hear him, it didn't matter.
"Dawn, are you there?! ...DAWN!"
He scanned the area. She could've been anywhere, really. He decided to start looking on the right.
He walked slowly.
"Dawn? ...DAWN, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
He kept walking, calling her name and looking in different directions every few seconds.
The sand stretched onwards, no end in sight.
He faintly wondered if he was hallucinating--though it was unlikely, since it was cooler than the desert.
Suddenly he noticed the sky was several shades darker than it was before.
...Nah, probably just clouds covering the sun.
His voice started hurting, so he grabbed a jar of water from his backpack. He lifted it, and as he was moving he hit a wall and bounced back.
He looked up--nothing. It looked the same as before. Just sand and the ocean.
He poked his foot forwards, and it jolted back as though something deflected it.
He rubbed his eyes, pinched his arm, and even tried slapping himself.
He still couldn't go forwards, and he still didn't see anything different.
"Must be some kind of magical barrier..." he mumbled to himself. He made a mental note of it, then turned around and walked the other way.
He felt as though he'd walked miles, yet he still hadn't reached the other barrier.
He glanced up. The sun was sinking, and everything was orange and purple as though the sun's color had rubbed off and bled onto the sky.
He looked forward again, drank the last of the water he had, and shoved the empty glass into his bag. He swore it had its own miniature dimension--anything could fit in there, even furniture.
He shook his head.
"Who cares? It doesn't matter. It's just a backpack." he told himself.
He cupped his hands to his face and called, "DAWN! DAWN, ARE YOU THERE?! IF YOU ARE, PLEASE...PLEASE SAY SOMETHING! ANYTHING!"
His voice cracked, and he rubbed his neck.
It seemed like no matter how much water he drank, it still hurt.
"DAWN--"
He walked face-first into the barrier.
And Dusk says he has bad luck...
Lying on his back, he stared at the sky, as the oranges faded and the indigos and purples replaced it.
"She's not here...she's still not here..."
His vision blurred, and something wet slid down his cheek.
No. NO, I'm not going to cry, I'M NOT CRYING!
He rolled over and curled into a ball, forcing himself to cough--at his father's funeral, his sister had told him that if you coughed, you couldn't cry.
It always worked for the most part--it still did.
When his breathing returned to normal, he stood up and saw the stars were beginning to appear.
He wiped his eyes again, and teleported home.
--I'm not satisfied with some scenes, though I tried improving them.
--I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like parts of this chapter are repetitive. I'm not sure how to fix it though.
--"L R L R Stop and Dash and Up and Talk B B A B S" is from the Vocaloid song Remote Controller, AKA Rimokon.
--There will probably be a chapter for each Hardmode ore (Cobalt, Mythril, and Adamantine), Chapters for each Hardmode boss (the Destroyer, Skeletron, and The Twins), and then the ending chapters.
moon_lord552
Skeletron Prime
my Internet was all funky, now that it works I spent until like midnight catching up. 
Sacrifices must be made...
So anyway, I will hopefully be able to regularly post on this thread now! Enjoy my criticism-er-feedback!
Sacrifices must be made...So anyway, I will hopefully be able to regularly post on this thread now! Enjoy my criticism-er-feedback!
Mystic Neon Rain
Skeletron Prime
I'm not sure whether everyone alert failed or whether nobody has any comments...
Anyway, NEWS UPDATE: I haven't been able to go to TCF for a while, but now I'm back. I don't know when I'll be able to update the story, but I've been writing it so I would be surprised if I take over 3-4 weeks to finish it.
Anyway, NEWS UPDATE: I haven't been able to go to TCF for a while, but now I'm back. I don't know when I'll be able to update the story, but I've been writing it so I would be surprised if I take over 3-4 weeks to finish it.
Thank you for coming back! Feel free to post/give feedback whenever, it's always nice to hear peoples' opinions and ideas on the storymy Internet was all funky, now that it works I spent until like midnight catching up.
So anyway, I will hopefully be able to regularly post on this thread now! Enjoy my criticism-er-feedback!
moon_lord552
Skeletron Prime
I'm not sure whether everyone alert failed or whether nobody has any comments...
Anyway, NEWS UPDATE: I haven't been able to go to TCF for a while, but now I'm back. I don't know when I'll be able to update the story, but I've been writing it so I would be surprised if I take over 3-4 weeks to finish it.
Thank you for coming back! Feel free to post/give feedback whenever, it's always nice to hear peoples' opinions and ideas on the story
Ok, thanks! I'm glad to see the next chapter is soon!
And I loved how Xorathor turned out. I hope he makes an epic return...
Mystic Neon Rain
Skeletron Prime
I plan for all of the multiplayer characters (Vi, Olive, Odin, Xorathor, etc.) to appear before the end of the story. So yes, he should returnAnd I loved how Xorathor turned out. I hope he makes an epic return...
moon_lord552
Skeletron Prime
WOOHOO!I plan for all of the multiplayer characters (Vi, Olive, Odin, Xorathor, etc.) to appear before the end of the story. So yes, he should return
Any update on when the next chapter is out?
EDIT:
I just realized it has only been one day since you announced a new chapter.
Summer Vacation-so bored I post on a thread daily...
Blue the Swordsman
Golem
Because it was said to be three or four weeks about three weeks ago, it shouldn't be too long for a new chapter.
Mystic Neon Rain
Skeletron Prime
...I honestly don't know when I'll be able to post the next chapter (school is starting so now I'm busier)...
No worries, take your time ^_^
moon_lord552
Skeletron Prime
So, any update on the next chapter?
Mystic Neon Rain
Skeletron Prime
*cringes* no...I've had so much homework I haven't been able to write. I think it's almost finished...I'm not sure though. We'll see. Sorry guys
Mystic Neon Rain
Skeletron Prime
Here it is, finally! xD Sorry it's taken so long...
NOTES/COMMENTARY:
--Don't ask why I picked Sexyback. It's been stuck in my head lately and I figured it'd be funny XD Also, Vi looks different than I imagined him, but I can't pinpoint why. idk
--I wasn't planning on having Thaseus' character appear in the story, but here he is. I'm sorry for changing his character so much, but I was writing and I didn't have internet so I just went with the first thing I thought of--an absurd, flamboyant character, like Excalibur from Soul Eater. XD Also, please don't be offended by Dusk being rude--that's just the way he is, I'm not insulting your character.
--Nine Days Without Her--
"She's not there," Michael croaked. "I couldn't find her."
"Do you want to rest?" Thalia asked. "You look tired."
"No, I'm fine. We have to go to the left side of the world."
"Skip the Corruption?" Dusk guessed.
"Skip the Corruption." Dan repeated in agreement.
"Alright, you can go ahead. I'll go grab some potions." Thalia said.
They nodded and left.
"I think this is the first time it's been just the three of us guys," Michael commented.
"That's odd." Dan said, killing a slime in one hit. "I think you're right, though."
"Does it matter?" Dusk asked. "Besides, she's right behind us. See? She's coming out of the Corruption."
"She finally caught up about a minute later. She sat for a minute, catching her breath.
"How...did you guys...manage...to pass the Corruption...before I got back?" she panted.
"It'd say 'magic', but then I'd be lying." Dusk said. "I think you just took a long time."
"Well, I couldn't find...the mana potions," she said, standing again.
"You okay?" Dan asked.
"Yeah," she said, nodding in a bobble-head-like motion. "Let's go."
As they walked, Michael said, "You know...it's kind of sad. Walking through the Forest, I mean."
"Why is that?"
"Because I know it won't last. It's like knowing something you care about will die soon and this is the last time you'll ever see it again."
Dusk turned to look at him. "Is that really what it's like?"
"Yeah. ...Ever since Hardmode, anyway."
A pause.
"I'm sorry, then. I had no idea." he looked away and walked faster, quickly passing the others.
"What the hell is THIS?!"
They heard the disgusted cry before they finally saw what was going on:
Dusk had stopped dead in his tracks, as he stared in horror at the transformed landscape in front of him: bright, minty-blue grass, trees of varying candy-esque colors, and a huge double rainbow in the sky, framing all of it.
Glowing orange orbs with fairy wings flew all over the place, and...were those UNICORNS in the distance....?
"Oh my god, I've gone insane." Dusk said, his voice starting to strain from terror. "Or I've been brainwashed. Or poisoned. What if the Guide put alcohol in the water?!"
"None of those things should be possible in Terraria." Dan said firmly.
"Except the alcohol." Michael said. Upon the disapproving glares of Dan and Thalia, he added, "The Guide says there's ale! I haven't drank any, though, I swear!"
"Given that I know we don't have anything to make ale WITH, I'm going to take your word for it." Thalia said. Then her voice rose about five or ten octaves, her eyes grew wide and shiny, and she exclaimed, "OHMYGLOB UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRNSSSS!", before she ran off to go pet one.
"THALIA, WAIT!" Dan shouted, running after her.
Michael looked at Dusk pointedly.
"Oh HELL NO. There is NO WAY IN HELL you're making me go in there!" Dusk exclaimed.
"There's no way around it." Michael pointed out.
"Too bad. I'm staying here."
"You sound like a toddler."
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you."
"I thought we agreed to stop arguing."
"We did."
"Then GO IN THE DAMN GIRLY FOREST THING!" Michael shouted, trying to push Dusk from behind.
"What part of 'no' do you not understand? The 'n' or the 'o'?"
"You sound like my mother."
"Ew. No," Dusk said, making a face.
"Why are you saying 'ew'?"
"I dunno."
"Are you insulting my mom?!"
"Why would I insult your mother?"
"I dunno! Just GO!"
"Hell to the no, brother."
"That's the most terrifying thing I've ever heard in my entire life."
"Seriously?"
"No."
"So I don't have to go?"
"No. CRAP!"
"Oh yay, we agree. Yo'
just Looney Toon'd itself," Dusk grin-smirked.
"That made no sense. Hey, maybe that means you're drunk after all--"
A shriek pierced the air, echoing.
"That's Thalia!"
"How can you tell?! It was a scream!" Dusk said.
Sire enough, though, there she was, running for her life, away from a charging unicorn. Dan was several feet ahead of her, looking quite pale himself.
"Don't," he said, before Michael could comment.
More unicorns joined the first one, creating a stampede.
"Oh SH**." He swore, shocked.
"TELEPORT! TELEPORT HOME!" Michael shouted.
She frantically looked behind her. She snatched Dan's hand. She grabbed her Mirror and vanished.
Some unicorns stopped. Several of them tripped. A couple of them saw Michael and Dusk and changed direction.
"****!!" Dusk shouted, digging around his backpack. Where was the Mirror...?! "DOUBLE ****, I CAN'T--"
He stopped. His fingers brushed cold, magic-infused metal. He grasped the Mirror, slapped a hand on top of Michael's head, and looked downwards.
The world turned black.
As soon as Dusk's vision returned, he felt his legs buckle and he smacked into the wooden floor.
"Dude! You okay?"
He pushed Michael away, saying, "BACK OFF, I'm fine."
He bit his lip, steadying his arms and preparing to get up. "I thought I'd finally gotten used to teleporting..." he grumbled.
He sighed, irritated. "Why are you so rude? I was just trying to help."
He grabbed onto the side table for support, then stood up. Michael ignored him and walked out of the room.
"I'm going to go find the other two." he called.
The door creaked shut.
After a few moments, he facepalmed--he'd forgotten to apologize.
"...So that was the other biome, the Hallow," Thalia said, cradling her right arm as it wasn't fully healed yet.
"Also known as, The Girliest Place in The Entire Universe," Michael added.
"It's not girly, it's just colorful! ...With unicorns!" she said defensively.
"And rainbows!" he interrupted. "Don't forget the big-butt rainbows!"
Thalia glared daggers at him and said through clenched teeth, "YES, Michael, THANK YOU. AS I WAS SAYING, just because there's actual colors and unicorns AND RAINBOWS, that DOESN'T MAKE IT GIRLY."
"You know, I'm actually on his side this time." Dusk said, pointing with his thumb. "It's pretty girly."
Seeing Thalia's expression grow stormier, Dan said, "You know what, it doesn't matter, guys. The point is, we can't go past the Hallow without dying right now."
The air suddenly seemed chillier.
"So...she can't be over there, either..." Michael said, his voice sounding smaller.
"No, no, no, it's okay. The Guide said that breaking Altars makes more of the world turn Hallowed or Corrupted. She could've gone past the Hallow before it--"
"No." the Guide said, appearing in the doorway and looking as solemn as they did. "Each world gains at least one Hallowed biome when it begins Hardmode."
He let that sink in.
"So you mean..."
"I told you." he said. Pause. Then, "You can even see her tombstone if you like."
"Her...tombstone?" Michael asked, looking and sounding like he'd been punched in the gut.
"In the exact place a non-NPC Terrarian permanently dies, the Creator of Terraria spawns a tombstone. I can show you if you don't believe me."
The four of them looked at each-other--Thalia looked on the brink of tears, Dan looked distant, and Dusk just nodded.
Michael clenched his fists. "She's not dead," he protested, though his words sounded defeated.
"Fine then. Follow me if you want to see, though."
He left.
First, Dan stood and walked out of the room. Dusk slinked after him. A few moments passed, then Thalia also left, leaving the door open behind her.
Michael got up and stared at the doorway.
He gulped.
Either way, he had to know.
He rushed ahead, not stopping until he reached the stairway she'd been guarding.
All he could see was the Guide's back.
Indistinct whispering.
Sobs.
NO.
He put one foot in front of the other, staggering up the stairs.
He shoved aside several people. He didn't know who.
He didn't care.
The only thing he saw was the tombstone.
"Dawn's innards were turned into outards by Werewolf."
"No..." he choked. "No, NO, NO!!"
He fell to his knees.
"This is a joke, right?" he said as he breathed out. He didn't think anyone understood what he was saying, but it didn't matter.
He reached out.
Stone. It was stone. Not a fake.
He breathed in and out shakily.
"Is she...is she really?"
"She's not really buried, if that's what you're asking," the Guide said coldly from behind him.
"I'm never going to see her again," he realized. "She's gone. ...She's really gone this time." He tried to cough but he wound up choking instead. "No...NO..." He balled his hands up into fists. "Take me instead..."
"...What?"
He turned to the Guide. "Take me to the Creator of Terraria. I want to make a deal."
"No." he said bluntly. "That's not possible--you can't see him and you can't make a deal."
"Too bad. I want to make one anyway. My life for hers,"
"There is no way he'd accept that deal even if he could. Say your goodbyes, then go back to your quest." he said, then he strode away.
He had to do something. Anything. He couldn't even think--the anger and grief were too strong. He had to get her back. He had to do something.
He wanted to break something.
He had to break something, anything--break it to pieces, because he couldn't do anything, he couldn't do anything, but he had to, but he couldn't bring her back--
He lifted his fist. At the last second, he hesitated. Instead, he tapped the stone softly.
"For Dawn," he whispered. "I'll never forget."
Clothes rustling. A slight 'knock'. "I won't forget either," Thalia vowed, kneeling next to him.
"Nor will I," Dusk said, doing the same.
"We'll fight together, in her name." Dan said.
The four of them sat there in silence, each holding a fist to the stone as though they were having one last group-fist-bump with her.
In that moment, time didn't matter anymore--and in that moment, it seemed as though there was no time.
--Fourteen Days Without Her--
In the past four days, they'd gotten all-cobalt gear and a good deal of mythril. The Nurse had returned, this time with the name Holly.
"I think it's time you go to the Hallow again," the Guide said casually. "You should be able to survive by this point."
"Fine," Michael said, sounding disappointed, though he didn't protest. "Time to go unicorn-hunting, then."
Thalia was not amused.
"Aaaaaand here we go again." Dusk said as they arrived. "Look, the rainbow's still there. Whatever happened to science and physics? There's been no rain; there shouldn't be any rainbows."
"Maybe the water droplets are all hovering in the air, so it doesn't rain but they catch the light anyway." Thalia said, lifeless.
Ever since their fears had been confirmed, that was how they talked. They always had the same dull, distant look in their eyes--it was depressing.
It had taken Dusk a few days to realize what it was:
Grief.
He'd never understood that look before. Now that he did, it felt...sad, almost. Or sympathetic. He couldn't tell.
"There are a couple of unicorns by that small pond. I'll need some backup," he said.
"We'll cover you." Michael said.
Dusk nodded, crouching down and stealthily moving forwards. His hand reached for the sword hilt by his side. The equestrian's ears flew up, as though a warning sign.
He froze.
The other unicorn stopped drinking and lifted its head.
His eyes narrowed. His hand drifted over slowly...slowly--
The unicorn neighed shrilly. They threw their forelegs up, standing on only their hind legs. Dusk's sword flew out of its sheathe in an arc. The unicorns staggered back. Blood splattered onto the pastel grass. The other unicorn thundered into a charge. Last second, he stepped over. It ran into the sword. The impact jerked Dusk out of his stance. He fell. The other unicorn got to its feet. He sent Water Bolts at it. They didn't do any real damage. It galloped towards him--for the first time, he was afraid--he'd be trampled to death--it was a yard away--
He rolled over and slashed out weakly. It stumbled--its legs were bleeding--it began to speed up again--
He threw his weight forward to get up. He ran forwards and swung--
The unicorn's head was lopped off, and its body fell with a resounding THUD.
It disappeared.
He crouched down and picked up both of the unicorns' horns.
"...Or maybe I won't need backup."
"You got lucky."
He rolled his eyes. "Are you coming or not?"
"Fine, fine..."
He scanned the area--the only source of life he saw were the winged orbs.
He suddenly realized there were no birds, no squirrels--nothing.
...Other than the standard birds and rabbits, had he really missed it?
How could he be so ignorant of something as huge as a lack of real life?
He made a mental note to investigate this later.
A blurred flash. He whipped around. Something bounced into his face. He hit the ground again. His face stung like it'd been zapped with electricity, or badly sunburnt.
Spots of light made it impossible to see.
He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. The sound of nearby bullets sounded oddly vague, echoing in his head. He blinked again, until he could see again.
There was only one left--the others were turned into pixie dust. He threw a sword. It exploded into dust upon impact.
"You stole my kill," Michael said seriously. He couldn't quite read his facial expression, but he assumed it was a joke.
"What is this, Call of Duty?"
"Call of what?"
"It's not like I stole your EXP."
"Fourth Wall?" Michael guessed, smiling faintly.
He nodded.
"Let's go."
Giving up and retreating back to his own thoughts, Dusk tried repeating his memories again.
A man in shadows...
What was it that she was talking about?
What kind of place would look like that?
He questioned himself, but it seemed as though he honestly had no idea.
"Hey...in the old world, where would you find a room full of computers like that?"
"What?"
"From my past."
"Oh. ...Well, most places were still magic-based. Technology wasn't used that much. But then again, Akatsuki banned magic...so they probably began relying on technology."
His eyes widened.
He recognized Akatsuki. He had been surrounded in technology. He knew her.
And he knew...he knew the Guide, didn't he?
"Why are you here?"
They were battered, covered in dirt, with rat's-nest hair.
He didn't blame him for being suspicious.
"We know about your project. You're the Doctor, right? The nameless one?"
His olive green eyes narrowed as he ran a hand through his absurdly messy reddish-brown hair. "I'm not sure who you're talking about."
"You're wearing a lab coat. We know it's you."
"What project?" He asked.
"Codename Genesis." Dawn answered.
"...In that case, I apologize. Come in."
His memories weren't very specific after that--they'd explained why they were there, and the Doctor listened.
"...I see. What time frame are we looking at?"
"A matter of months. We'll be lucky if we get a year." she said.
"I should get to work."
"Hey, aren't you awful young for a doctor?" she asked.
"Aren't you 'awful young' for a couple of fugitives?" he'd calmly retorted.
"...And what about that scarf? Isn't it a safety hazard?"
He absent-mindedly began retying it. "It's a risk I'm willing to take." he said casually. "So, tell me your story again...?"
"Dusk, are you okay?" Thalia asked. "You look like you're spacing out."
He debated whether it would be a good idea to tell them now, or to wait.
He decided it was likely the latter.
"I'm fine."
"But you're getting hit more often..."
"I'm fine." he repeated. He looked at the sky--it was darkening. "Are we going to stay here or go back to the village when it's night?"
"I dunno. I guess we'll see."
"Unicorn on the left." he warned.
Michael began firing at it. In the corner of his eye, he noticed another group of pixies. He cast Water Bolt, then sliced through them with the cobalt sword.
The battle was soon over, and they moved on.
"Hey, Guide." he'd said. "Am I the only person here?"
The Guide scoffed and put a hand to his chest, mocking indignation. "Am I not a person?"
Dusk blinked. "...But...you aren't a person. I can tell."
The Guide's expression briefly turned to one of genuine surprise, before he masked it again with sly curiosity. "Okay, then. Assuming I'm not real, how can you tell?"
His eyes narrowed. "I'm not entirely sure. But you repeat some phrases, even if it's illogical. You just don't seem right."
"Is that so?"
He nodded.
"How rude."
More and more NPCs had arrived.
"Still think you're the only person, Dusk?"
He was sitting by the window, staring outside with his head resting in his palm. He looked over, seeming almost uninterested. "Yes. Yes, I am."
"My, how arrogant. You even admit you think you're the center of the universe!"
"Don't tell me what I think. I know there have to be more. You're just not letting me find them."
"I never said there were or weren't more people. Maybe you are the center of the universe."
"Stop toying with me." he said, half exhausted, half disappointed.
He stood up and quietly walked out.
The Guide's face broke into a grin.
"They're all so fun to mess with."
"So Guide, what will it take for you to let me find the real people?"
"Ooh, a deal. Interesting," he smirked, his eyes gaining an almost snakelike edge. "But first, tell me: why do you care so much?"
"It's bothered me ever since I came here. Besides, I'm clearly not making any progress the way things are now."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I'm not getting any closer to leaving or to losing my amnesia."
"Well, that's disappointing. At least you're honest." he paused to fold his hands dramatically. "So. A deal then. What kind of deal?"
"What do you want?"
The Guide laughed harshly. "I want many things, but I doubt you could get them for me."
"Fine then. What can I do for you?"
"Just defeat all of the biomes. Then we'll talk."
As soon as he'd gained the ability to visit other worlds, he'd abused it. He went anywhere and everywhere, which meant that he often ran into the people who were doing the same thing.
He quickly found out two things: One, people tend to be annoying and overall not as great as he seemed to have thought; and two, most people made him uncomfortable. Before, he'd assumed he was only uncomfortable around the NPCs, but now he realized that part of that was just because he wasn't a people person.
"Hey!" something small squeaked. "Hey, YOU! DUSK!"
He whipped around. "WHAT?"
Nothing.
"Down here!"
He sighed and mentally rolled his eyes. This cliche? He wasn't looking forward to this.
He glanced down and saw...a slime with a wizard hat?
He blinked, frowning in disbelief. He tried thinking of something to say, but he couldn't, so he just stared.
"You're probably wondering what I am." it announced, bouncing flamboyantly. "I," it said, "am a SLIME."
"Well, yes, anyone can see that."
"HAH! And that's where you're wrong! I, THASEUS, am a MAGIC SLIME."
He stared for another second before he said, "This is quite possibly the most stupid thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I'M DONE."
"That's rude! That's really really rude!" a voice exclaimed in the background.
He ignored it, turned around, and began speedwalking away, but the creature exclaimed,
"WAIT! I propose to you A CHALLENGE!"
"What's in it for me?"
"If I win, you talk to me. If I lose, I'll never bother you again. Simple as that."
"Fine then. What is the challenge?"
"I challenge YOU to a KARAOKE BATTLE!"
It took all of the willpower he possessed and didn't even know he had, just to keep his face expressionless and not to burst out laughing like an idiot.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked behind him go see Vi, who was smirking. "I'll prepare the karaoke."
"I hate you."
"I'll give you the advantage," Dusk smirked, hoping he didn't look as confused as he actually felt. "Pick a song."
"Why, thank you!" it exclaimed. "I propose a duet!"
He felt his stomach drop. "Interesting. What song did you have in mind?" he asked coolly.
"UNDER. THE SEA!" it boomed shrilly.
"That's not a duet."
"What? OH..." it said. "MY LIFE IS A LIE!" it wailed, heartbroken. "...How about Let it Go?" it recovered cheerily.
"Solo."
"Sexyback?"
"What?"
"The one that goes 'I'm bringin' sexy back'..."
"That's not really a duet, there's just the main singer and the guy in the background--Vi, what are you doing?"
Vi was leaning towards the karaoke machine, about to press one of the buttons. He quickly jerked his arm back. "Nothing."
"...As I was saying--"
"OH LOOK IT'S STARTING SING DUSK SING"
"Uh--I'm bringin' sexy ba--"
"Pfft heheh WAIT YOU NEED SUNGLASSES"
Vi tossed him a pair, and he restarted the song while he put them on. "Let's try again," he grinned.
...As stupid as the whole thing was, he'd felt a flicker of something--had he been...enjoying himself?
Stupid.
None of it's real anyway.
He suddenly realized it was night.
"Dusk, cover me!" Thalia exclaimed.
He sped up, his sword arcing upwards. The glowing, shelled creature fell, then dissolved. Following her, he continued to attack the shelled creatures, while dodging lasers.
He quickly fell back into his state of deep thought.
He was with Dawn and the Guide again.
"I've found the solution, but I need to test it."
"What is it?" she asked.
"A digital world similar to real life--almost like its own dimension."
He killed the last of the Gastropods. The rest of the night creatures fled.
"There would be no hunger, and you wouldn't need sleep so you'd never be tired. I'll keep adding things so no-one will ever get bored."
The sun began rising.
"Really?" he'd asked.
The sky exploded with color--yellows, reds, blues, and purples--and the rainbows were already visible again.
"Really," he said good-naturedly. "I call it..."
He drew in a breath.
"Terraria."
Oh my god.
I know the answer.
As though his body was moving on its own, he turned around and began running back.
He ignored the sounds behind him--nothing was important anymore. Nothing but this.
Remembering he could teleport, he reached for his Mirror.
He slammed into the floor.
He picked himself up and kept running.
He reached the door.
He stood there for a while, just breathing and trying to get his brain to catch up.
He breathed out, feeling collected.
The door swung open with a slight creak.
There he was, sitting at the head of the table, as usual.
"Guide." he said. "I have an offer for you."
The Guide grinned, the full extent of his insanity clear in his eyes.
"Well then--let's make a deal."
"She's not there," Michael croaked. "I couldn't find her."
"Do you want to rest?" Thalia asked. "You look tired."
"No, I'm fine. We have to go to the left side of the world."
"Skip the Corruption?" Dusk guessed.
"Skip the Corruption." Dan repeated in agreement.
"Alright, you can go ahead. I'll go grab some potions." Thalia said.
They nodded and left.
"I think this is the first time it's been just the three of us guys," Michael commented.
"That's odd." Dan said, killing a slime in one hit. "I think you're right, though."
"Does it matter?" Dusk asked. "Besides, she's right behind us. See? She's coming out of the Corruption."
"She finally caught up about a minute later. She sat for a minute, catching her breath.
"How...did you guys...manage...to pass the Corruption...before I got back?" she panted.
"It'd say 'magic', but then I'd be lying." Dusk said. "I think you just took a long time."
"Well, I couldn't find...the mana potions," she said, standing again.
"You okay?" Dan asked.
"Yeah," she said, nodding in a bobble-head-like motion. "Let's go."
As they walked, Michael said, "You know...it's kind of sad. Walking through the Forest, I mean."
"Why is that?"
"Because I know it won't last. It's like knowing something you care about will die soon and this is the last time you'll ever see it again."
Dusk turned to look at him. "Is that really what it's like?"
"Yeah. ...Ever since Hardmode, anyway."
A pause.
"I'm sorry, then. I had no idea." he looked away and walked faster, quickly passing the others.
"What the hell is THIS?!"
They heard the disgusted cry before they finally saw what was going on:
Dusk had stopped dead in his tracks, as he stared in horror at the transformed landscape in front of him: bright, minty-blue grass, trees of varying candy-esque colors, and a huge double rainbow in the sky, framing all of it.
Glowing orange orbs with fairy wings flew all over the place, and...were those UNICORNS in the distance....?
"Oh my god, I've gone insane." Dusk said, his voice starting to strain from terror. "Or I've been brainwashed. Or poisoned. What if the Guide put alcohol in the water?!"
"None of those things should be possible in Terraria." Dan said firmly.
"Except the alcohol." Michael said. Upon the disapproving glares of Dan and Thalia, he added, "The Guide says there's ale! I haven't drank any, though, I swear!"
"Given that I know we don't have anything to make ale WITH, I'm going to take your word for it." Thalia said. Then her voice rose about five or ten octaves, her eyes grew wide and shiny, and she exclaimed, "OHMYGLOB UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRNSSSS!", before she ran off to go pet one.
"THALIA, WAIT!" Dan shouted, running after her.
Michael looked at Dusk pointedly.
"Oh HELL NO. There is NO WAY IN HELL you're making me go in there!" Dusk exclaimed.
"There's no way around it." Michael pointed out.
"Too bad. I'm staying here."
"You sound like a toddler."
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you."
"I thought we agreed to stop arguing."
"We did."
"Then GO IN THE DAMN GIRLY FOREST THING!" Michael shouted, trying to push Dusk from behind.
"What part of 'no' do you not understand? The 'n' or the 'o'?"
"You sound like my mother."
"Ew. No," Dusk said, making a face.
"Why are you saying 'ew'?"
"I dunno."
"Are you insulting my mom?!"
"Why would I insult your mother?"
"I dunno! Just GO!"
"Hell to the no, brother."
"That's the most terrifying thing I've ever heard in my entire life."
"Seriously?"
"No."
"So I don't have to go?"
"No. CRAP!"
"Oh yay, we agree. Yo'
just Looney Toon'd itself," Dusk grin-smirked."That made no sense. Hey, maybe that means you're drunk after all--"
A shriek pierced the air, echoing.
"That's Thalia!"
"How can you tell?! It was a scream!" Dusk said.
Sire enough, though, there she was, running for her life, away from a charging unicorn. Dan was several feet ahead of her, looking quite pale himself.
"Don't," he said, before Michael could comment.
More unicorns joined the first one, creating a stampede.
"Oh SH**." He swore, shocked.
"TELEPORT! TELEPORT HOME!" Michael shouted.
She frantically looked behind her. She snatched Dan's hand. She grabbed her Mirror and vanished.
Some unicorns stopped. Several of them tripped. A couple of them saw Michael and Dusk and changed direction.
"****!!" Dusk shouted, digging around his backpack. Where was the Mirror...?! "DOUBLE ****, I CAN'T--"
He stopped. His fingers brushed cold, magic-infused metal. He grasped the Mirror, slapped a hand on top of Michael's head, and looked downwards.
The world turned black.
As soon as Dusk's vision returned, he felt his legs buckle and he smacked into the wooden floor.
"Dude! You okay?"
He pushed Michael away, saying, "BACK OFF, I'm fine."
He bit his lip, steadying his arms and preparing to get up. "I thought I'd finally gotten used to teleporting..." he grumbled.
He sighed, irritated. "Why are you so rude? I was just trying to help."
He grabbed onto the side table for support, then stood up. Michael ignored him and walked out of the room.
"I'm going to go find the other two." he called.
The door creaked shut.
After a few moments, he facepalmed--he'd forgotten to apologize.
"...So that was the other biome, the Hallow," Thalia said, cradling her right arm as it wasn't fully healed yet.
"Also known as, The Girliest Place in The Entire Universe," Michael added.
"It's not girly, it's just colorful! ...With unicorns!" she said defensively.
"And rainbows!" he interrupted. "Don't forget the big-butt rainbows!"
Thalia glared daggers at him and said through clenched teeth, "YES, Michael, THANK YOU. AS I WAS SAYING, just because there's actual colors and unicorns AND RAINBOWS, that DOESN'T MAKE IT GIRLY."
"You know, I'm actually on his side this time." Dusk said, pointing with his thumb. "It's pretty girly."
Seeing Thalia's expression grow stormier, Dan said, "You know what, it doesn't matter, guys. The point is, we can't go past the Hallow without dying right now."
The air suddenly seemed chillier.
"So...she can't be over there, either..." Michael said, his voice sounding smaller.
"No, no, no, it's okay. The Guide said that breaking Altars makes more of the world turn Hallowed or Corrupted. She could've gone past the Hallow before it--"
"No." the Guide said, appearing in the doorway and looking as solemn as they did. "Each world gains at least one Hallowed biome when it begins Hardmode."
He let that sink in.
"So you mean..."
"I told you." he said. Pause. Then, "You can even see her tombstone if you like."
"Her...tombstone?" Michael asked, looking and sounding like he'd been punched in the gut.
"In the exact place a non-NPC Terrarian permanently dies, the Creator of Terraria spawns a tombstone. I can show you if you don't believe me."
The four of them looked at each-other--Thalia looked on the brink of tears, Dan looked distant, and Dusk just nodded.
Michael clenched his fists. "She's not dead," he protested, though his words sounded defeated.
"Fine then. Follow me if you want to see, though."
He left.
First, Dan stood and walked out of the room. Dusk slinked after him. A few moments passed, then Thalia also left, leaving the door open behind her.
Michael got up and stared at the doorway.
He gulped.
Either way, he had to know.
He rushed ahead, not stopping until he reached the stairway she'd been guarding.
All he could see was the Guide's back.
Indistinct whispering.
Sobs.
NO.
He put one foot in front of the other, staggering up the stairs.
He shoved aside several people. He didn't know who.
He didn't care.
The only thing he saw was the tombstone.
"Dawn's innards were turned into outards by Werewolf."
"No..." he choked. "No, NO, NO!!"
He fell to his knees.
"This is a joke, right?" he said as he breathed out. He didn't think anyone understood what he was saying, but it didn't matter.
He reached out.
Stone. It was stone. Not a fake.
He breathed in and out shakily.
"Is she...is she really?"
"She's not really buried, if that's what you're asking," the Guide said coldly from behind him.
"I'm never going to see her again," he realized. "She's gone. ...She's really gone this time." He tried to cough but he wound up choking instead. "No...NO..." He balled his hands up into fists. "Take me instead..."
"...What?"
He turned to the Guide. "Take me to the Creator of Terraria. I want to make a deal."
"No." he said bluntly. "That's not possible--you can't see him and you can't make a deal."
"Too bad. I want to make one anyway. My life for hers,"
"There is no way he'd accept that deal even if he could. Say your goodbyes, then go back to your quest." he said, then he strode away.
He had to do something. Anything. He couldn't even think--the anger and grief were too strong. He had to get her back. He had to do something.
He wanted to break something.
He had to break something, anything--break it to pieces, because he couldn't do anything, he couldn't do anything, but he had to, but he couldn't bring her back--
He lifted his fist. At the last second, he hesitated. Instead, he tapped the stone softly.
"For Dawn," he whispered. "I'll never forget."
Clothes rustling. A slight 'knock'. "I won't forget either," Thalia vowed, kneeling next to him.
"Nor will I," Dusk said, doing the same.
"We'll fight together, in her name." Dan said.
The four of them sat there in silence, each holding a fist to the stone as though they were having one last group-fist-bump with her.
In that moment, time didn't matter anymore--and in that moment, it seemed as though there was no time.
--Fourteen Days Without Her--
In the past four days, they'd gotten all-cobalt gear and a good deal of mythril. The Nurse had returned, this time with the name Holly.
"I think it's time you go to the Hallow again," the Guide said casually. "You should be able to survive by this point."
"Fine," Michael said, sounding disappointed, though he didn't protest. "Time to go unicorn-hunting, then."
Thalia was not amused.
"Aaaaaand here we go again." Dusk said as they arrived. "Look, the rainbow's still there. Whatever happened to science and physics? There's been no rain; there shouldn't be any rainbows."
"Maybe the water droplets are all hovering in the air, so it doesn't rain but they catch the light anyway." Thalia said, lifeless.
Ever since their fears had been confirmed, that was how they talked. They always had the same dull, distant look in their eyes--it was depressing.
It had taken Dusk a few days to realize what it was:
Grief.
He'd never understood that look before. Now that he did, it felt...sad, almost. Or sympathetic. He couldn't tell.
"There are a couple of unicorns by that small pond. I'll need some backup," he said.
"We'll cover you." Michael said.
Dusk nodded, crouching down and stealthily moving forwards. His hand reached for the sword hilt by his side. The equestrian's ears flew up, as though a warning sign.
He froze.
The other unicorn stopped drinking and lifted its head.
His eyes narrowed. His hand drifted over slowly...slowly--
The unicorn neighed shrilly. They threw their forelegs up, standing on only their hind legs. Dusk's sword flew out of its sheathe in an arc. The unicorns staggered back. Blood splattered onto the pastel grass. The other unicorn thundered into a charge. Last second, he stepped over. It ran into the sword. The impact jerked Dusk out of his stance. He fell. The other unicorn got to its feet. He sent Water Bolts at it. They didn't do any real damage. It galloped towards him--for the first time, he was afraid--he'd be trampled to death--it was a yard away--
He rolled over and slashed out weakly. It stumbled--its legs were bleeding--it began to speed up again--
He threw his weight forward to get up. He ran forwards and swung--
The unicorn's head was lopped off, and its body fell with a resounding THUD.
It disappeared.
He crouched down and picked up both of the unicorns' horns.
"...Or maybe I won't need backup."
"You got lucky."
He rolled his eyes. "Are you coming or not?"
"Fine, fine..."
He scanned the area--the only source of life he saw were the winged orbs.
He suddenly realized there were no birds, no squirrels--nothing.
...Other than the standard birds and rabbits, had he really missed it?
How could he be so ignorant of something as huge as a lack of real life?
He made a mental note to investigate this later.
A blurred flash. He whipped around. Something bounced into his face. He hit the ground again. His face stung like it'd been zapped with electricity, or badly sunburnt.
Spots of light made it impossible to see.
He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. The sound of nearby bullets sounded oddly vague, echoing in his head. He blinked again, until he could see again.
There was only one left--the others were turned into pixie dust. He threw a sword. It exploded into dust upon impact.
"You stole my kill," Michael said seriously. He couldn't quite read his facial expression, but he assumed it was a joke.
"What is this, Call of Duty?"
"Call of what?"
"It's not like I stole your EXP."
"Fourth Wall?" Michael guessed, smiling faintly.
He nodded.
"Let's go."
Giving up and retreating back to his own thoughts, Dusk tried repeating his memories again.
A man in shadows...
What was it that she was talking about?
What kind of place would look like that?
He questioned himself, but it seemed as though he honestly had no idea.
"Hey...in the old world, where would you find a room full of computers like that?"
"What?"
"From my past."
"Oh. ...Well, most places were still magic-based. Technology wasn't used that much. But then again, Akatsuki banned magic...so they probably began relying on technology."
His eyes widened.
He recognized Akatsuki. He had been surrounded in technology. He knew her.
And he knew...he knew the Guide, didn't he?
"Why are you here?"
They were battered, covered in dirt, with rat's-nest hair.
He didn't blame him for being suspicious.
"We know about your project. You're the Doctor, right? The nameless one?"
His olive green eyes narrowed as he ran a hand through his absurdly messy reddish-brown hair. "I'm not sure who you're talking about."
"You're wearing a lab coat. We know it's you."
"What project?" He asked.
"Codename Genesis." Dawn answered.
"...In that case, I apologize. Come in."
His memories weren't very specific after that--they'd explained why they were there, and the Doctor listened.
"...I see. What time frame are we looking at?"
"A matter of months. We'll be lucky if we get a year." she said.
"I should get to work."
"Hey, aren't you awful young for a doctor?" she asked.
"Aren't you 'awful young' for a couple of fugitives?" he'd calmly retorted.
"...And what about that scarf? Isn't it a safety hazard?"
He absent-mindedly began retying it. "It's a risk I'm willing to take." he said casually. "So, tell me your story again...?"
"Dusk, are you okay?" Thalia asked. "You look like you're spacing out."
He debated whether it would be a good idea to tell them now, or to wait.
He decided it was likely the latter.
"I'm fine."
"But you're getting hit more often..."
"I'm fine." he repeated. He looked at the sky--it was darkening. "Are we going to stay here or go back to the village when it's night?"
"I dunno. I guess we'll see."
"Unicorn on the left." he warned.
Michael began firing at it. In the corner of his eye, he noticed another group of pixies. He cast Water Bolt, then sliced through them with the cobalt sword.
The battle was soon over, and they moved on.
"Hey, Guide." he'd said. "Am I the only person here?"
The Guide scoffed and put a hand to his chest, mocking indignation. "Am I not a person?"
Dusk blinked. "...But...you aren't a person. I can tell."
The Guide's expression briefly turned to one of genuine surprise, before he masked it again with sly curiosity. "Okay, then. Assuming I'm not real, how can you tell?"
His eyes narrowed. "I'm not entirely sure. But you repeat some phrases, even if it's illogical. You just don't seem right."
"Is that so?"
He nodded.
"How rude."
More and more NPCs had arrived.
"Still think you're the only person, Dusk?"
He was sitting by the window, staring outside with his head resting in his palm. He looked over, seeming almost uninterested. "Yes. Yes, I am."
"My, how arrogant. You even admit you think you're the center of the universe!"
"Don't tell me what I think. I know there have to be more. You're just not letting me find them."
"I never said there were or weren't more people. Maybe you are the center of the universe."
"Stop toying with me." he said, half exhausted, half disappointed.
He stood up and quietly walked out.
The Guide's face broke into a grin.
"They're all so fun to mess with."
"So Guide, what will it take for you to let me find the real people?"
"Ooh, a deal. Interesting," he smirked, his eyes gaining an almost snakelike edge. "But first, tell me: why do you care so much?"
"It's bothered me ever since I came here. Besides, I'm clearly not making any progress the way things are now."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I'm not getting any closer to leaving or to losing my amnesia."
"Well, that's disappointing. At least you're honest." he paused to fold his hands dramatically. "So. A deal then. What kind of deal?"
"What do you want?"
The Guide laughed harshly. "I want many things, but I doubt you could get them for me."
"Fine then. What can I do for you?"
"Just defeat all of the biomes. Then we'll talk."
As soon as he'd gained the ability to visit other worlds, he'd abused it. He went anywhere and everywhere, which meant that he often ran into the people who were doing the same thing.
He quickly found out two things: One, people tend to be annoying and overall not as great as he seemed to have thought; and two, most people made him uncomfortable. Before, he'd assumed he was only uncomfortable around the NPCs, but now he realized that part of that was just because he wasn't a people person.
"Hey!" something small squeaked. "Hey, YOU! DUSK!"
He whipped around. "WHAT?"
Nothing.
"Down here!"
He sighed and mentally rolled his eyes. This cliche? He wasn't looking forward to this.
He glanced down and saw...a slime with a wizard hat?
He blinked, frowning in disbelief. He tried thinking of something to say, but he couldn't, so he just stared.
"You're probably wondering what I am." it announced, bouncing flamboyantly. "I," it said, "am a SLIME."
"Well, yes, anyone can see that."
"HAH! And that's where you're wrong! I, THASEUS, am a MAGIC SLIME."
He stared for another second before he said, "This is quite possibly the most stupid thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I'M DONE."
"That's rude! That's really really rude!" a voice exclaimed in the background.
He ignored it, turned around, and began speedwalking away, but the creature exclaimed,
"WAIT! I propose to you A CHALLENGE!"
"What's in it for me?"
"If I win, you talk to me. If I lose, I'll never bother you again. Simple as that."
"Fine then. What is the challenge?"
"I challenge YOU to a KARAOKE BATTLE!"
It took all of the willpower he possessed and didn't even know he had, just to keep his face expressionless and not to burst out laughing like an idiot.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked behind him go see Vi, who was smirking. "I'll prepare the karaoke."
"I hate you."
"I'll give you the advantage," Dusk smirked, hoping he didn't look as confused as he actually felt. "Pick a song."
"Why, thank you!" it exclaimed. "I propose a duet!"
He felt his stomach drop. "Interesting. What song did you have in mind?" he asked coolly.
"UNDER. THE SEA!" it boomed shrilly.
"That's not a duet."
"What? OH..." it said. "MY LIFE IS A LIE!" it wailed, heartbroken. "...How about Let it Go?" it recovered cheerily.
"Solo."
"Sexyback?"
"What?"
"The one that goes 'I'm bringin' sexy back'..."
"That's not really a duet, there's just the main singer and the guy in the background--Vi, what are you doing?"
Vi was leaning towards the karaoke machine, about to press one of the buttons. He quickly jerked his arm back. "Nothing."
"...As I was saying--"
"OH LOOK IT'S STARTING SING DUSK SING"
"Uh--I'm bringin' sexy ba--"
"Pfft heheh WAIT YOU NEED SUNGLASSES"
Vi tossed him a pair, and he restarted the song while he put them on. "Let's try again," he grinned.
...As stupid as the whole thing was, he'd felt a flicker of something--had he been...enjoying himself?
Stupid.
None of it's real anyway.
He suddenly realized it was night.
"Dusk, cover me!" Thalia exclaimed.
He sped up, his sword arcing upwards. The glowing, shelled creature fell, then dissolved. Following her, he continued to attack the shelled creatures, while dodging lasers.
He quickly fell back into his state of deep thought.
He was with Dawn and the Guide again.
"I've found the solution, but I need to test it."
"What is it?" she asked.
"A digital world similar to real life--almost like its own dimension."
He killed the last of the Gastropods. The rest of the night creatures fled.
"There would be no hunger, and you wouldn't need sleep so you'd never be tired. I'll keep adding things so no-one will ever get bored."
The sun began rising.
"Really?" he'd asked.
The sky exploded with color--yellows, reds, blues, and purples--and the rainbows were already visible again.
"Really," he said good-naturedly. "I call it..."
He drew in a breath.
"Terraria."
Oh my god.
I know the answer.
As though his body was moving on its own, he turned around and began running back.
He ignored the sounds behind him--nothing was important anymore. Nothing but this.
Remembering he could teleport, he reached for his Mirror.
He slammed into the floor.
He picked himself up and kept running.
He reached the door.
He stood there for a while, just breathing and trying to get his brain to catch up.
He breathed out, feeling collected.
The door swung open with a slight creak.
There he was, sitting at the head of the table, as usual.
"Guide." he said. "I have an offer for you."
The Guide grinned, the full extent of his insanity clear in his eyes.
"Well then--let's make a deal."
--Don't ask why I picked Sexyback. It's been stuck in my head lately and I figured it'd be funny XD Also, Vi looks different than I imagined him, but I can't pinpoint why. idk
--I wasn't planning on having Thaseus' character appear in the story, but here he is. I'm sorry for changing his character so much, but I was writing and I didn't have internet so I just went with the first thing I thought of--an absurd, flamboyant character, like Excalibur from Soul Eater. XD Also, please don't be offended by Dusk being rude--that's just the way he is, I'm not insulting your character.
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TerraBlaze
Skeletron
Wow. Took me a entire day to read all this, and I'm not disappointed. Exavor, if that was his name, made me laugh alot in the pvp chapters. Some of these comedic actions need to be in a movie.
My favorite part so far is probably the full blood moon. It was a perfect climax/falling action that left a lasting affect on the characters. Plus imagine 5 horrified hardmode newbs fighting a full blood moon their first night
I miss Scott Poor guy, he was the good kind of crazy.
My favorite part so far is probably the full blood moon. It was a perfect climax/falling action that left a lasting affect on the characters. Plus imagine 5 horrified hardmode newbs fighting a full blood moon their first night
I miss Scott
Poor guy, he was the good kind of crazy.
Mystic Neon Rain
Skeletron Prime
Wow, thank you xD Yeah, I had fun writing Xorathor's character. XD I'm glad you liked the story, thank you for reading it.
Really? I expected a lot of hate for that, given what happened to her. I'm glad the scene had the overall feel I was going for though--I based a lot of it off of the major fails I had when I first entered hard mode.My favorite part so far is probably the full blood moon. It was a perfect climax/falling action that left a lasting affect on the characters. Plus imagine 5 horrified hardmode newbs fighting a full blood moon their first night
um...Scott's fine...he's still here xDI miss Scott