The Chronicles of the Blocky Brigade: Book 2
The Haunted Server and the Dog-Napping
Chapter 1: The Great Fart-Portation
It was Tuesday afternoon, which meant two things for Erik and his best
friends.
First, it was Coding Club, the best hour of the week where they got to build
their own Minecraft worlds on the school computers.
Second, and much more chaotically, it was "Bring Your Pets to School Day."
The computer lab smelled like a mixture of warm electronics, wet dog, and
cheese and onion crisps.
"Waffle, get down!" Erik laughed, trying to pull his golden Cocker Spaniel off
the keyboard. "You're typing nonsense code! Look, you just typed
woof_woof_sausage into the mainframe!"
"At least your dog is typing," Ben sighed. Ben was wearing his football kit
because he had training later. Under his desk, his big dog Monty, was
currently chewing on Ben’s mouse cable. "Monty! That is not a worm! Drop it!"
Across the room, Thomas was sitting neatly with his dog Margo. Margo was
sitting perfectly still, wearing a little red bow.
"Margo is being very polite," Thomas noted. "Although she did just growl at
the printer."
"And I have... nothing," Mak announced, spinning on his chair. "I am the lone
wolf of the team. The wild card!"
"Guys, focus!" Erik said, tapping his screen. "I’ve almost finished the new map.
I’m coding a super-cool castle. Matt, how are the mobs looking?"
Matt, who was sitting next to Erik, smiled sweetly. "I programmed the
Creepers to give hugs instead of exploding. It’s going to be lovely."
Suddenly, the screens flickered.
ZZZT. ZZZT.
Instead of the Minecraft dirt block background, a skull and crossbones
appeared on every monitor in the room. But it wasn't a scary skull. It was
wearing a posh school tie.
[SYSTEM HACKED BY THE FARRINGTONS FIENDS]
"Oh no," Erik groaned. "It’s the rivals from Farringtons School! They must have
hacked our local server!"
A text box appeared on the screen:
> NICE CODE, NOOBS. WE ARE DELETING IT. AND WE ARE TAKING YOUR
SNACKS.
"They can take our code," Ben shouted, standing up and flexing his arm. "But
nobody takes my snacks!"
"Look!" Mak pointed. "The vacuum drive is turning on!"
A loud whirring noise filled the room. The webcams on top of the computers
started to glow bright green. A swirling vortex of wind started pulling things
toward the screens. Papers flew. Crisp packets swirled.
"Bark!" Waffle shouted. He saw the swirling green light and thought it was a
ball.
"Waffle, no!" Erik yelled.
Waffle jumped. He leaped right onto Erik’s desk, paws slamming onto the
keyboard.
CLICK-CLACK-SMASH.
Waffle hit the ENTER key, the SHIFT key, and the FART key (okay, there isn't a
fart key, but he sat on the keyboard with his bum).
The computer made a noise that didn't sound like a laser. It sounded like a
giant, wet, wobbling whoopee cushion.
PARRRRRRRRRP-SQUELCH.
"Ew!" Mak yelled. "That sounded moist!"
A beam of green light shot out of the screen. It zapped Waffle. ZAP! The dog
vanished into pixels.
Then it zapped Monty. ZAP!
Then Margo. ZAP!
"THEY TOOK THE DOGS!" Matt screamed.
"Not on my watch!" Erik yelled. He grabbed his monitor with both hands.
"Blocky Brigade! Grab the screens! We’re going in!"
"For Waffle!"
"For Monty!"
"For Margo!"
They all grabbed their screens at the same time. The vacuum pulled them in.
PARRRRRRRP.
The room went dark. The smell of wet dog and farts filled the air. And the boys
were sucked into the digital world.
Part 1: The Survival Mode Scramble
THUD. THUD. THUD. SPLAT.
They landed on cold, purple grass.
Erik shook his head. He looked at his hands. Square. He looked at his legs.
Rectangles. He looked at his chest. He was wearing his pixelated hoodie.
"Sound off!" Erik commanded, jumping to his feet.
"I’m here!" Ben shouted. He tried to do a burpee but accidentally punched a
block of dirt. "Still athletic! Still blocky!"
"I am present," Thomas said, dusting off his knees. "My trousers appear to be
made of pixels now."
"Where are the dogs?" Matt asked, looking around worriedly.
They were standing in a forest. But it wasn't a normal Minecraft forest. This
was a Dark Oak Forest. The trees were incredibly thick, with trunks as wide as
cars, and giant red mushrooms sprouted from the gloomy soil. The canopy
was so dense it blocked out the square moon, casting long, creepy shadows.
"This is the Haunted Server," Erik realized. "The Farringtons boys must have
changed the biome settings to 'Spooky Mode'."
"Guys..." a voice wobbled from above them. "Help..."
They looked up.
Mak was floating. He was hovering about ten blocks in the air. His legs were
paddling, but he wasn't touching the ground. And he looked... see-through.
"Mak!" Erik gasped. "You’re Glitching!"
"I have zero gravity!" Mak wailed. "If I don't hold onto something, I’m going to
float into space forever!"
"Ben! Quick!" Erik shouted. "Do something athletic!"
Ben didn't hesitate. He reached into his inventory. "I have a fishing rod!"
Ben cast the line. Wizzzzz. The hook caught onto Mak’s shoe.
"Gotcha!" Ben yanked the rod. He reeled Mak down to the ground. "You’re like
a chaotic balloon, Mak."
"Tie him to your belt, Ben," Erik ordered. "Don't let him go."
Erik looked around the dark forest. A low growl echoed from the shadows.
"We have empty inventories," Erik realized, checking his hotbar. "We’re in
Survival Mode. We have no armor, no weapons, and no tools. We need to craft,
and fast."
"Punch a tree!" Ben shouted. "That's rule number one!"
Erik ran to the nearest Dark Oak tree. He slammed his blocky fist against the
bark.
WHACK. WHACK. WHACK.
It hurt a little, but cracks began to appear in the wood texture. With a final
POP, a tiny cube of wood floated into his hand.
"Keep punching!" Erik ordered.
The boys swarmed the tree. THUMP-THUMP-CRACK.
Once they had enough wood, Erik quickly threw four blocks together to make
a Crafting Table. He placed it on the ground with a solid THUNK.
"Okay," Erik said, his fingers flying over the crafting grid. "I’m making a
Wooden Sword. Stick plus two planks... and... Craft!"
POOF.
An item appeared on the table. It wasn't a sword.
It was a Wooden Spoon.
"A spoon?" Erik asked, picking it up. It was giant, pixelated, and completely
useless for combat. "I can't fight monsters with a soup utensil!"
"Let me try!" Ben shoved past. "I’ll craft a Shield! Wood plus iron nugget!" He
arranged the blocks.
POOF.
Ben got a Wooden Bin Lid. It even had a handle made of old string.
"The crafting recipes are corrupted!" Erik realized. "The Farringtons messed
with the code! They turned all the weapons into kitchen junk! We have to
make do with what we have. Spoon and Bin Lid at the ready!"
Part 2: The Dog-Napping
"Look!" Matt pointed into the dark forest.
In the distance, they saw green glowing lights. Hovering in the air were
Phantoms—those scary flying manta-ray monsters that attack you if you don't
sleep.
But riding on the Phantoms were Baby Zombies wearing posh school
uniforms (The Farringtons Uniform).
And in the claws of the Phantoms... were the pets.
Waffle was barking in 8-bit audio: Bork-bork!
Monty was chewing the Phantom’s wing.
Margo was looking very unimpressed.
"They have the hostages!" Erik shouted. He started to run, his blocky legs
pumping. "After them!"
"Wait!" Thomas yelled. "Look at the path!"
The path ahead was covered in cobwebs and Soul Sand. The sand had creepy
faces drawn in the texture, and it felt like walking through thick mud.
"We’ll never catch them running on Soul Sand!" Erik said. "We need speed.
Ben, check your inventory. Do you have any potions?"
Ben checked. "No potions. But I have... a stack of Baked Beans?"
Erik’s eyes lit up. A mischievous, silly grin spread across his square face.
"Beans," Erik said. "Boys, do you remember the Turbo-Fart Glitch we
discovered in Book 1?"
"Oh no," Thomas whispered. "Please, not that."
"It’s the only way!" Erik yelled. "Eat the beans! Prepare for propulsion!"
They hurriedly ate the pixelated beans. CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP.
A rumble echoed in their blocky stomachs.
"Aim your bums away from the target!" Erik commanded. "3... 2... 1... LAUNCH!"
PARP! TRUMP! TOOT!
The force of the gas launched them forward like rockets. They zoomed over
the Soul Sand, leaving a trail of green particles behind them.
"I’m a rocket maaaaaan!" Mak yelled, trailing behind Ben on the fishing line
like a kite.
"This is so undignified!" Thomas shouted, zooming past a confused skeleton.
They burst through the trees, propelled by bean-power, just in time to see the
Phantoms flying into a massive, dark castle on top of a hill.
The Phantoms flew into a high window. The dogs were gone.
The boys skidded to a halt at the castle gates (mostly by crashing into a wall).
"Ouch," Ben said, rubbing his head. "That was fast. And smelly."
"We’re at the gates," Erik said, looking up at the spooky fortress. "The
Farringtons are in there. They have our dogs. And if we don't save them before
the teacher unlocks the computer lab door... we might be stuck here forever."
"Or worse," Matt whispered. "Waffle might miss his dinner."
Erik pulled out his coding keyboard (which appeared as a holographic
screen).
"Let's hack this castle," Erik said. "Blocky Brigade... Action 67!"
They tried to do their cool "Action 67" hand-signal, but because Mak was
floating and Ben was tangled in the fishing line, they just sort of fell over in a
heap.
"Close enough," Erik laughed. "Let's go."
Chapter 2: The Hall of Mimic Mirrors and the Skeleton Gym
The castle gates creaked open with a sound like a giant groaning zombie.
ERRRR-RRRR-GMMM.
Erik, Ben, Matt, Thomas, and the floating Mak (who was bobbing in the wind
like a chaotic balloon) stepped inside.
They expected a grand hall. Instead, they entered a long, confusing corridor
where the walls, floor, and ceiling were made of Ice and Glass.
"It’s a Hall of Mirrors," Thomas said, looking at his reflection. "Oh my. The
mirror makes my head look very flat. I look like a pancake."
"Look at me!" Mak laughed from the ceiling. "The mirror makes me look like a
floating spaghetti noodle!"
They walked deeper into the hall. Suddenly, the glass shimmered. Out of the
mirrors stepped four creatures.
They were Glass Golems. They were perfectly transparent, except for their
glowing white eyes. They blocked the path, standing perfectly still.
Part 1: The Mimic Battle
"Stand aside!" Ben ordered, trying to look tough with his wooden bin lid. He
raised his right arm.
The Glass Golem in front of him raised its right arm.
Ben scratched his head.
The Golem scratched its head.
"They’re mimics!" Erik realized. "They copy everything we do. We can't fight
them, because they’ll just fight back perfectly!"
"So how do we get past?" Matt asked.
"We have to confuse them," Erik grinned. "We have to do something so silly, so
impossible, that they break trying to copy it."
"I was born for this," Mak said.
"Challenge accepted," Ben said.
Ben started doing star jumps while spinning in a circle. "Try this,
see-through-man!"
The Glass Golem tried to copy Ben. It spun. It jumped. But it got dizzy. CRACK.
A small fracture appeared in its glass chest.
"It’s working!" Erik yelled. "Mak, give them the Glitch Special!"
Mak (who had Zero Gravity) did a triple backflip while sticking his tongue out
and wiggling his ears.
The Glass Golem tried to float. It tried to backflip. But it had gravity. It fell over
with a loud CLINK.
"Matt, use the cuteness!" Erik commanded.
Matt made the silliest face possible. He crossed his eyes, puffed out his cheeks
like a blowfish, and wiggled his fingers.
The Golem tried to copy the face. But glass doesn't stretch.
CRACK-SHATTER.
The Golem’s face broke into a thousand diamond-like shards.
"Forward!" Erik shouted, stepping over the piles of broken glass. "To the next
room!"
Part 2: The Parkour Gauntlet
They pushed through the doors and found themselves on a high platform.
Below them was a pit of bubbling lava. Between them and the exit was the
most terrifying thing in Minecraft: A Parkour Course.
"Oh no," Matt whimpered. "I hate parkour. My thumbs aren't fast enough!"
"Analyze the blocks!" Erik shouted, pointing.
The course was made of tricky blocks:
First, Iron Bars—thin, slippery posts you had to balance on.
Then, Slime Blocks—green, wobbly cubes that made you bounce
uncontrollably.
Finally, Honey Blocks—sticky orange blocks that you couldn't jump off easily.
"This requires precision," Ben said, stretching his hamstrings. "Listen up, team.
It’s all about the sprint-jump. You have to hit spacebar at the very last pixel!"
"Mak, you just float over," Erik said.
"Wheeee!" Mak drifted across effortlessly.
"The rest of us have to jump," Erik said. "Ben, lead the way!"
Ben sprinted. He leaped onto the Iron Bars. He wobbled but held his balance.
"Easy!"
He jumped onto the Slime Blocks. BOING. He bounced perfectly to the next
platform.
"Your turn, Thomas!" Ben called.
Thomas stepped up. "Excuse me, Mr. Iron Bar." He stepped carefully. He
landed on the Slime Block. BOING. He bounced sideways.
"Oh dear! I am going off course!" Thomas flailed politely.
"Grab him!" Erik shouted.
Ben reached out with his bin lid. Thomas grabbed the handle just as he was
about to fall into the lava.
"Thank you kindly," Thomas gasped.
They finally reached the Honey Blocks.
SQUELCH.
Their feet got stuck in the orange goo.
"It’s so sticky!" Matt complained. "It smells like toast!"
They dragged their sticky feet to the exit door. PLOP. PLOP. PLOP. They fell
through the door, exhausted and covered in honey.
Part 3: The Skeleton Gym
They stumbled into the next room. The air smelled of old PE socks, damp
towels, and ancient cheese.
"Why does the Haunted Castle smell like the boys' changing room after
double PE?" Ben asked, holding his blocky nose.
"Look at the sign," Thomas pointed politely.
Above the next door, a sign written in glowing bone-meal read:
THE SKELETON GYMNASIUM.
MEMBERS ONLY. NO SKIN ALLOWED.
"Great," Mak said, floating upside down because the wind had caught his
trainers. "I don't have skin right now. I’m just a hologram. Can I go in?"
"We all have to go in," Erik said, pulling up his holographic map. "My scanner
says the first Gem—the Ruby of Strength—is in there. And we need that Ruby
to power the portal to get the dogs back."
"I hear barking!" Matt gasped.
They listened. Faintly, through the walls, they heard the distinct Woof-Woof of
Waffle and the deep Boof of Monty.
"They’re being moved to the upper tower!" Erik shouted. "We have to cut
through the gym! Move out, Brigade!"
Part 4: The Workout of the Dead
They entered a massive, cavernous hall. The floor was made of black obsidian.
The ceiling was draped in thick, sticky cobwebs.
And the gym was busy.
Dozens of Skeletons were working out. But they weren't naked skeletons.
They were wearing the rival school’s PE kit: bright purple shorts and yellow
t-shirts that said "FARRINGTONS" on the back.
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK.
A Skeleton near the door was doing push-ups. Well, sort of. His arms would
push up, but his ribs would fall off, and he’d have to stop to put himself back
together.
Another Skeleton was trying to lift a dumbbell made of cow skulls.
HNNNNG-CLATTER. Its arms snapped off and the dumbbell fell on its foot
toes.
"This is ridiculous," Ben whispered. "Their form is terrible. Look at that one on
the treadmill. He’s running backwards."
"Shhh," Erik hissed. "We need to sneak past them to the other side. That’s
where the Ruby is."
He pointed. On the far side of the gym, sitting on top of a high diving board
over a pit of bubbling lava, was the glowing red Ruby of Strength.
"Sneaking mode activated," Erik whispered.
They crept forward. Ben held Mak’s fishing line tight so Mak wouldn't float up
into the cobwebs. Matt tiptoed. Thomas walked with perfect posture.
Suddenly, a whistle blew. PWEEEEET!
A giant Mutant Skeleton stomped into the middle of the room. He was three
blocks tall, wearing a headband and a whistle. He looked like the scary PE
teacher everyone is afraid of.
"OI! YOU LOT!" the Mutant Skeleton shouted (his voice sounded like stones
grinding together). "NEW RECRUITS! GET ON THE CRUNCH MATS! IT’S LEG
DAY!"
The Skeleton pointed a bony finger right at Erik.
"Uh oh," Erik said.
"We’re not recruits!" Mak yelled from the ceiling (he had drifted up a bit).
"We’re the Blocky Brigade! And I’m glitching! Wooooo!"
The Mutant Skeleton looked up. His jaw fell off. He picked it up and clicked it
back into place.
"INTRUDERS!" the Skeleton roared. "GET THEM! PELT THEM WITH
DODGEBALLS!"
The Skeletons grabbed balls made of Slime and Magma Cream.
"Dodgeball fight!" Ben yelled. "Finally, a sport I can win!"
Part 5: The Bum-Bounce Glitch
"We can't fight them all!" Erik yelled, ducking under a flying slime-ball. SPLAT.
It hit the wall behind him. "We need to get to the Ruby! But the lava pit is too
wide to jump!"
They ran to the edge of the lava pit. The diving board with the Ruby was
twenty blocks away.
"I can't jump that," Ben admitted. "Even with my athletic calves. It’s too far."
"I can fix this," Erik said. He crouched behind a rack of bone-weights and
pulled up his coding keyboard. CLICK-CLACK-TYPY-TYPE.
"What are you doing?" Thomas asked, politely deflecting a magma-ball with a
tennis racket he found.
"I’m hacking our boots!" Erik shouted. "I’m coding a Super_Jump
enchantment. Just give me ten seconds!"
Erik typed furiously.
if (jump == true) { launch_player_high(); }
But just as he pressed ENTER, a Skeleton threw a wet sponge at him.
THWACK.
Erik flinched. His finger slipped. instead of typing High, he typed Hiney.
[CODE UPDATED: BOOTS OF BUM_BOUNCING APPLIED]
"Boots of what?" Ben asked, looking at his feet. His iron boots started glowing
pink.
"I might have made a typo," Erik grimaced. "I tried to give us Super Jump, but
I think I gave us... Bum Bouncers."
"What does that mean?" Matt asked.
"It means," Erik said, grabbing his friends. "We have to jump... on our bottoms.
GO!"
Erik jumped into the lava pit. But instead of landing in the lava, he twisted in
the air and landed on his blocky bum.
BOING!
He shot into the air with a loud SPROING noise. He bounced off the lava like a
skipping stone.
"It works!" Erik yelled, bouncing in mid-air. "Come on! Bum-bounce your way
to victory!"
Ben jumped. SIT. BOING. "This is humiliating but effective!" Ben screamed,
soaring past Erik.
Thomas jumped. SIT. BOING. "Excuse me, gravity!" Thomas called out politely.
They bounced across the lava pit like skipping stones made of blocks.
BOING-BOING-BOING.
The Skeletons watched in confusion. They scratched their skulls. They had
never seen fighting tactics like this.
Part 6: The Flex-Off
They landed on the platform at the base of the diving board. They were safe
from the lava, but the Mutant Skeleton PE Teacher had jumped across too.
He blocked the ladder to the Ruby.
"YOU WANT THE GEM?" the Mutant Skeleton roared. "YOU HAVE TO BEAT ME
IN A... FLEX-OFF!"
The Skeleton raised his arms and flexed. His bones rattled loudly.
CLATTER-CLATTER.
"He’s challenging us to a pose-down!" Ben gasped. "He thinks he has better
muscles than us!"
"He doesn't have muscles," Matt pointed out. "He’s just calcium."
"I got this," Erik stepped forward. "Boys, do you remember the meme? The
one we practiced in the playground?"
"You don't mean..." Mak floated down, looking excited.
"Yes," Erik grinned. "Action 67."
Action 67 was a glitched animation pose where you bent your knees, twisted
your arms backward, and looked at the sky while vibrating. It looked
ridiculous. It looked broken. It was their secret weapon.
"On my count!" Erik shouted. "3... 2... 1... ACTION 67!"
The four boys (and the floating Mak) struck the pose.
They leaned back. They twisted their blocky arms into impossible shapes.
They started vibrating their pixels.
They looked like they were glitching out of reality.
"ERRRRR?" The Mutant Skeleton looked confused. He tried to copy them.
He leaned back. He twisted his arms.
CRACK.
He twisted too far.
"DOES NOT COMPUTE!" the Skeleton yelled. "TOO... MUCH... SWAG!"
The Skeleton vibrated so hard trying to match their coolness that he
exploded.
KA-CLATTER.
He turned into a pile of bones and a whistle.
"Action 67 never fails!" Ben cheered, high-fiving Erik (while still vibrating).
Part 7: The Ruby and the Drain
Erik climbed the ladder. He grabbed the Ruby of Strength. It glowed with a
warm, red light.
[OBTAINED: GEM 1/5]
"We got it!" Erik shouted, sliding down the ladder. "One down, four to go!"
Suddenly, the room began to rumble. The lava in the pit started to drain away.
A giant whirlpool opened up in the floor. But it wasn't sucking down lava
anymore. It was sucking down... water?
Green, murky, slimy water started flooding into the gym from the pipes.
"The castle is flooding!" Thomas cried. "My trousers are getting soggy!"
"It’s the Farringtons!" Erik realized. "They’re flushing the level! They’re trying to
wash us out!"
"Look at the drain!" Mak pointed from the ceiling. "There’s a tunnel down
there!"
"The next Gem must be down that pipe!" Erik shouted. "Everyone, hold your
breath! We’re going for a swim!"
"Wait!" Ben yelled. "I sink like a stone in iron armour!"
"Grab Mak!" Erik ordered. "He floats! Use him as a buoyancy aid!"
Ben grabbed Mak’s foot. Erik grabbed Ben. Matt grabbed Erik. Thomas
grabbed Matt.
They formed a chain of blocky boys.
"DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!"
They jumped into the swirling green water.
SPLASH.
They were sucked down the giant drainpipe, spinning like socks in a washing
machine, heading deep into the underwater dungeons below.
Chapter 3: The Mining Fatigue Maze and the Fart-Propulsion
GLUG. GLUG. BLORP.
The Blocky Brigade shot out of the drainpipe and tumbled into the deep, dark
water.
Usually, Minecraft oceans are blue and pretty. This one was green and thick. It
looked like pea soup that had been left in a locker for three years.
"I can't see!" Ben yelled, his voice sounding bubbly underwater.
Blurble-blurble-glub. "It’s too murky!"
"Hold on!" Erik shouted (bubbles coming out of his mouth). "I’m the swim
captain! Follow my nametag!"
Erik kicked his blocky legs. He was a natural swimmer, cutting through the
green sludge like a torpedo.
Ben, however, was sinking. His iron boots were dragging him down to the
seabed.
Mak was the opposite—because he was glitching, he was floating straight up
toward the surface.
"I’m a balloon again!" Mak cried. Glub-glub.
"Grab him!" Erik ordered.
Matt grabbed Mak’s ankle. Thomas grabbed Matt. Ben grabbed Thomas. Erik
grabbed Ben.
They formed a human chain, bobbing in the water.
"We need the Sapphire of Breath," Erik said, checking his waterproof map. "My
scanner says it’s inside that giant underwater temple ahead. But be careful...
the scanner also detects... lasers."
Part 1: The Maze of Slowness
They drifted toward the temple, but they found themselves in a maze. The
walls were made of Prismarine blocks that shifted colors from blue to purple,
and glowing Sea Lanterns that hummed with spooky energy.
Suddenly, a ghostly image of the Elder Guardian flashed across their vision.
SCREEE!
"I feel... heavy," Ben groaned. His voice sounded slow and bubbly. Blurble...
glub...
Erik tried to swim, but his arms moved in slow motion. It felt like swimming
through jelly. He punched the water, but his fist barely moved.
"Oh no," Erik realized. "We have Mining Fatigue. The Elder Guardian must be
nearby! It’s a curse that makes you move super slow!"
"I can't swim!" Matt cried, paddling his arms slowly like a sleepy turtle.
"We have to get through the Maze!" Erik pointed. Ahead of them lay a
labyrinth of Prismarine walls.
Ben tried to punch a wall to break through. He pulled his fist back... and five
seconds later... tap.
"This is useless!" Ben yelled in slow motion. "My... muscles... are... on... holiday!"
"Look out!" Mak yelled (floating fast because he was a glitch).
A Guardian fish popped out from behind a pillar. It charged its laser. ZZZZZ.
"Swim!" Erik shouted. "Or drift enthusiastically!"
They slowly paddled away. The laser beam scorched the water right behind
them.
"We’re too slow!" Erik panicked. "We need a boost to break the curse! Ben! The
beans!"
"I... still... have... some!" Ben said slowly.
"Eat them!" Erik ordered. "Trust the gas!"
They ate the Glowing Sea Beans. CRUNCH.
Their stomachs rumbled. GRRRR.
"Aim... bottoms... away!" Erik commanded. "ENGAGE TURBO!"
PRRRRRRRRRRRRT!
The fart-bubbles broke the Mining Fatigue curse! The force launched them
forward like torpedoes.
ZOOOOOOM!
They shot through the maze, bouncing off walls like pinballs, leaving the
Guardians in a cloud of bubbles.
CRASH. They smashed through the maze exit and landed in the main temple
chamber.
Part 2: The Lasers and the Beans
"Lasers?" Thomas asked politely. "Underwater?"
ZAP!
A bright purple beam shot past Thomas’s ear, singing his blocky hair.
"Yikes!" Thomas said. "That was rude."
Emerging from the gloom were Guardians. They looked like giant, one-eyed
pufferfish made of prismarine stone. Their eyes glowed red, charging up
lasers.
ZZZZZ-ZAP! ZZZZZ-ZAP!
"We’re sitting ducks!" Ben yelled, paddling frantically but getting nowhere.
"The water is too thick! It’s like swimming in jelly! We need a speed boost!"
"I don't have a speed potion!" Matt cried. "I only have... these!"
Matt opened his inventory. He pulled out a stack of Glowing Sea Beans. They
pulsed with a weird neon light.
"Sea Beans?" Erik looked at them. "Legend says those give you gas. Lots of
gas."
A Guardian charged its laser. VMMMMMMM.
"Eat the beans!" Erik shouted. "It’s our only hope! TRUST THE GAS!"
The boys shoved the glowing beans into their mouths. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
GULP.
For three seconds, nothing happened.
Then, their blocky stomachs rumbled.
GRRRR-RUMBLE-GURGLE.
"Oh my," Thomas whispered. "I feel a disturbance."
"Aim your bottoms away from the temple!" Erik commanded. "3... 2... 1...
ENGAGE TURBO!"
PRRRRRRRRRRRRT!
A massive cloud of bubbles erupted from behind them. It sounded like a
trumpet section falling down stairs.
The force of the underwater parps launched them forward like torpedoes.
ZOOOOOOM!
"We have jetpacks!" Mak screamed, holding onto Ben’s foot as they rocketed
through the water.
They zoomed past the Guardians. The Guardians tried to aim their lasers, but
the boys were too fast (and too smelly).
PARP-PARP-WHOOSH.
"Left turn!" Erik shouted, steering with his hips.
They banked left, leaving a trail of bubbles that confused the fish. They
slammed straight through the front door of the Ocean Monument.
CRASH.
Part 3: The Elder Guardian’s Glasses
They tumbled into the main chamber of the temple. Thankfully, there was an
air pocket here.
"That," Ben panted, waving the green gas away, "was the most athletic thing I
have ever done with my bum."
"Look," Matt whispered.
In the center of the room floated the Elder Guardian.
He was huge. He was grey. He looked ancient.
But he wasn't attacking. He was squinting. He was bumping into pillars.
BONK. OUCH. BONK.
"WHERE ARE YOU, INTRUDERS?" the Elder Guardian boomed. "I KNOW YOU
ARE HERE. I CAN SMELL... BEANS."
He turned around and blasted a laser at a wall. "TAKE THAT, INTRUDER!"
"He’s blind," Erik realized. "He can't see us."
"He’s lost his glasses," Matt said sadly. "Look, they're over there on the floor."
Matt pointed. A giant pair of spectacles was lying in the corner, guarded by
three angry squids.
"We need the Sapphire," Erik said. "It’s stuck in his forehead. We can't fight
him; he’s too big. We have to trade."
"Operation Optician is a go," Erik announced. "Ben, distract the squids. Matt,
get the glasses. Thomas, do the talking."
Ben ran at the squids. "Over here, calamari! Look at my star-jumps!"
The squids looked at Ben confusingly.
Matt snuck past and grabbed the giant glasses. They were heavy. He waddled
over to the Elder Guardian.
Thomas stepped forward. He cleared his throat politely.
"Excuse me, Mr. Giant Fish Sir?"
The Elder Guardian spun around. "WHO SAID THAT? I WILL ZAP YOU!"
"Please don't zap," Thomas said. "My friend Matt has your spectacles. We
would like to return them."
Matt held up the glasses.
The Elder Guardian squinted. He lowered his spikes. "MY... BIFOCALS? YOU
FOUND THEM?"
Matt slid the glasses onto the Guardian’s eye.
The Guardian blinked. His eye magnified comically large behind the lens.
"I CAN SEE!" the Guardian cheered. "OH, THE TEXTURES ARE SO HIGH
DEFINITION! LOOK AT THAT MOSS! IT’S BEAUTIFUL!"
"Since we helped you," Erik stepped in, striking a cool pose. "Can we have that
blue shiny thing on your head?"
"THIS OLD THING?" The Guardian plucked the Sapphire of Breath from his
forehead. "TAKE IT. IT WAS GIVING ME A HEADACHE ANYWAY."
[OBTAINED: GEM 2/5]
Part 4: The Clue
As Erik grabbed the Sapphire, something fell out of the Guardian’s pocket (do
fish have pockets? In this mod, yes).
It was a red dog collar.
"That’s Waffle’s!" Erik gasped, picking it up. It had a nametag: If found, please
return to Erik. Likes cheese.
"He was here," Ben said, clenching his fists. "The Farringtons took him."
"Where did they go?" Mak asked.
The Elder Guardian pointed a fin toward a dark tunnel at the back of the
room. "THE NASTY BOYS IN THE POSH UNIFORMS WENT THAT WAY.
TOWARD... THE VILLAGE OF THE NAUGHTY VILLAGERS."
"Thanks, Mr. Fish!" Matt waved.
"Wait," Thomas said. "That tunnel is flooded too. Do we have to..." he looked at
the Sea Beans left in Matt’s hand.
"No," Erik grinned. "We have the Sapphire now. Look at the enchantment."
[SAPPHIRE OF BREATH: Grants infinite underwater breathing and
super-swim speed.]
"No more beans," Erik said. "Everyone grab onto the Sapphire! We’re going to
motorboat out of here!"
They grabbed the glowing blue gem. It pulled them forward like a jagged
underwater scooter.
WOOSH!
They shot into the dark tunnel, leaving the temple and the fart-bubbles
behind, racing toward the surface and the mysterious Village.
Chapter 4: The Village of the Naughty Villagers
(and the Atomic Wedgie)
SPLASH.
The Blocky Brigade burst out of the underground river and landed face-first in
a mud puddle. They shook themselves dry like wet dogs (which made them
miss Waffle instantly).
"We made it," Erik panted, wiping mud off his screen. "According to the Elder
Guardian, the Village of the Naughty Villagers is right over that hill."
"Why are they naughty?" Matt asked, wringing out his blocky t-shirt. "Did they
forget to brush their teeth?"
"Worse," Ben said, pointing. "Look."
They peeked over the hill. The village below was a disaster zone. The houses
were covered in toilet paper. The street lamps were bent into pretzel shapes.
And the noise! It sounded like a hundred kazoos playing out of tune.
PFFT! PARP! HONK!
The Villagers were running wild.
One Villager was putting a bucket on another Villager’s head.
A baby Villager was running around with a marker pen, drawing moustaches
on the chickens.
"It’s total anarchy," Thomas whispered, horrified. "Look at the sign on the Town
Hall."
The sign, which should have said WELCOME, had been graffitied to say:
SMELL-COME TO THE VILLAGE OF BURPS.
"We need the Emerald of Silence," Erik whispered. "It’s in that Town Hall. But
look at the guards."
Patrolling the streets were Iron Golems. But these weren't the nice,
flower-holding robots. These Golems were wearing black ties and "PREFECT"
badges. They were stomping around looking for rule-breakers.
Part 1: The Redstone Trap
"We need to get into the Town Hall," Erik whispered.
They ran to the Town Hall. But the door was locked. It wasn't a normal door. It
was a massive iron wall covered in Redstone Dust, levers, and flashing lights.
"It’s a Redstone Puzzle Lock," Erik noted. "I love these."
"Stand back," Erik said, cracking his knuckles. "I need to rewire the circuit."
Erik examined the wall. "Okay, we have a Comparator going into a Repeater
set to three ticks. But the signal strength is too low. I need to place a
Redstone Torch here..."
He placed a torch. FIZZ. The wires glowed bright red.
"And if I flip this lever..." Erik pulled the lever. "...the door should open."
CLICK.
The door did not open. Instead, a hidden Dispenser block popped out of the
wall right in front of Ben’s face.
THUNK.
A Pumpkin Pie shot out of the dispenser at 50mph and hit Ben in the face.
SPLAT.
"I’ve been pied!" Ben shouted, wiping custard from his eyes.
"Whoops," Erik grinned. "Crossed wire. Let me try this one."
He flipped another switch. The iron door groaned and slid open.
Part 2: The Wedgie of Doom
"We’re in!" Erik said. "But look out behind us!"
A Prefect Iron Golem had spotted them.
[TARGET ACQUIRED: BOY IN FOOTBALL SHORTS]
"Run inside!" Erik yelled.
Ben was the last one in. He tried to slide through the door, but he slipped on a
piece of pumpkin pie crust.
He slid right between the Golem’s legs.
The Golem reached down with lightning speed. It grabbed the back of Ben’s
football shorts.
YANK.
"YEEE-OWCH!" Ben screamed.
The Golem hoisted Ben into the air by his waistband. It was the legendary
move: The Atomic Wedgie.
"My shorts!" Ben yelled, kicking his legs helplessly. "They are riding up! This is a
foul! Where is the referee?!"
The Golem marched over to a tall lamp post and hooked Ben’s waistband
onto the top.
CLUNK.
Ben dangled there, spinning slowly in the wind.
"Let me down!" Ben shouted. "This is bad for my aerodynamics!"
"Oh no," Mak laughed (he was floating upside down nearby). "He’s been
pantsed by a robot. That is officially the funniest thing I have ever seen."
Part 3: The Hangry Truth
"We can't rescue him yet," Erik said. "The Golems are swarming! Mak, you're a
glitch. Float into the Town Hall and find out why everyone is acting so crazy!"
"Going stealth mode!" Mak saluted.
Mak floated toward the Town Hall. He drifted right through the brick wall.
Inside, the Mayor was sitting on his throne. But he wasn't doing mayor work.
He was chewing on his own desk.
GNAW. GNAW.
"I’m so hungry!" the Mayor wailed. "The Farringtons stole all our emeralds AND
our sandwiches! We are hangry! That is why we are being naughty!"
His stomach rumbled so loud it shook the paintings off the wall.
GRR-RUMBLE-DOOF.
Mak floated back out. "Guys! It’s a hunger crisis! They’re 'Hangry' (Hungry +
Angry). They need food, stat!"
Part 4: The Pizza Protocol
"Food?" Matt checked his pockets. "I have half a digestive biscuit?"
"Not enough," Erik said, cracking his knuckles. "We need to feed the whole
village. We need... The Pizza Protocol."
Erik pulled up his holographic keyboard. He ran to the village fountain, which
was currently filled with slime.
"I’m hacking the water supply," Erik grinned. "Replacing Water with
Liquid_Cheese and Dough."
Erik typed furiously.
if (village == hangry) { spawn_pizza(ALL_OF_IT); }
ENTER.
The fountain gurgled. GLORP.
Then, it exploded.
KABOOM-SPLAT!
A geyser of melted cheese shot into the sky. Then, giant, frisbee-sized
Pepperoni Pizzas started shooting out of the fountain like clay pigeons.
PYEW! PYEW! PYEW!
"INCOMING!" Ben yelled from the lamp post.
A pizza hit a Golem in the face. SPLAT. The Golem paused. It licked the cheese.
Its angry red eyes turned happy blue.
A pizza hit the naughty baby Villager. He stopped drawing moustaches on the
chicken and started eating the crust.
"It’s a buffet!" Mak cheered, catching a pizza mid-air (it went through his
glitch hands, but he managed to balance it on his head).
Part 5: The Polite Robbery
The Mayor waddled out of the Town Hall. He saw the raining pizza. He gasped.
"The circular food of the gods!"
He grabbed two pizzas and stuffed them into his mouth at the same time.
NOM NOM NOM.
"He’s distracted!" Erik whispered. "Thomas, you’re up! Use your politeness!"
Thomas walked up to the Mayor, who was currently covered in tomato sauce.
"Excuse me, Mr. Mayor," Thomas said, bowing. "I noticed you have a shiny
green gem in your pocket. Might I borrow it? It clashes with your tie."
The Mayor burped loudly. BUUUURP.
"Take it!" The Mayor mumbled, his mouth full of cheese. "I need my hands free
for more slices!"
He tossed the Emerald of Silence to Thomas.
[OBTAINED: GEM 3/5]
"Success!" Thomas beamed, wiping a bit of pepperoni off the gem with a
handkerchief.
Part 6: The Escape
"We got the Gem!" Erik shouted. "Now let's get Ben down!"
Matt ran to the lamp post. He looked at the Golem who was guarding Ben.
The Golem was currently trying to figure out how to eat a pizza without a
mouth.
"Mr. Robot?" Matt said, doing his 'puppy dog eyes'. "Can we have our friend
back? He looks like a Christmas decoration up there."
The Golem looked at Matt. It looked at the pizza. It shrugged.
It reached up and plucked Ben off the hook.
THUD.
Ben landed on the floor. He pulled his shorts down from his armpits.
"I will never speak of this again," Ben grumbled.
"Guys!" Mak shouted from the sky. "The portal! It’s opening!"
Above the village, the sky ripped open. Through the tear, they saw the red,
fiery landscape of the Nether.
And suspended in a cage over a lake of lava... were Waffle, Monty, and Margo.
"They’re moving the prisoners!" Erik yelled. "They’re taking them to the Nether
Level!"
"But I’m terrified of the Nether!" Mak cried. "Glitches are flammable!"
"Not if we run fast enough!" Erik grabbed his friends. "To the portal! Last one
there is a rotten egg!"
"Or a pineapple pizza!" Matt giggled.
They sprinted toward the swirling vortex, leaving the Village of Burps and
Pizzas behind them.
Chapter 5: The Piglin Barter, The Jelly Trampolines, and the S.S.
Quack-Titanic
WHOOSH-SPLAT.
The Blocky Brigade landed in the Nether.
But they didn't land in the pudding yet. They landed in a Crimson Forest.
Giant red trees loomed over them. The air was filled with red fog and floating
spores. Shroomlights glowed in the branches.
"Quiet," Erik hissed. "We are in Piglin territory."
Part 1: The Piglin Barter
A squad of Piglins marched out of the fog. They held golden swords and
crossbows. They snorted aggressively. SNORT-GRUNT.
"Oh no," Ben whispered. "Piglins attack anyone who isn't wearing Gold Armor.
We’re wearing Iron!"
The Piglins raised their crossbows.
"We have to Barter!" Erik said. "Quick! Does anyone have Gold Ingots?"
"No!" Matt cried. "I only have lint!"
"I have this!" Erik pulled out the Wooden Spoon he crafted in Chapter 1. "It’s...
uh... a rare artifact! Very valuable!"
Erik threw the Wooden Spoon at the Piglin Chief.
The Chief caught the spoon. He sniffed it. He bit it.
He looked at Erik. He nodded respectfully.
OINK.
Apparently, Wooden Spoons were very fashionable this season.
The Piglins lowered their weapons and let them pass.
"That was lucky," Erik breathed.
Part 2: The Pudding and the Jelly Trampolines
They walked out of the forest and stepped onto the shore. SQUELCH.
"Ew," Ben said. "The ground is sticky."
"It’s Sticky Toffee Pudding," Erik said. "And look ahead... giant wobbly cubes!"
Ahead of them lay a field of giant, red, wobbly blocks. Usually, these are
Magma Cubes. But here...
"They’re Strawberry Jelly Cubes!" Matt squealed.
"Jump on the jellies!" Erik commanded.
Erik leaped onto the first cube. BOING!
It launched him high into the air. He flipped and landed on the next one.
BOING!
"It’s a pinball machine!" Mak yelled, bouncing off the ceiling because he had
no gravity.
Ben tried to punch a jelly cube. His fist got stuck. GLORP.
"Let me go, you wobbly red beast!" Ben shouted. The jelly wobbled and fired
him across the room. SPROING!
They bounced from jelly to jelly like chaotic ping-pong balls.
BOING-SPLAT-BOING.
"Target ahead!" Erik shouted, bouncing upside down.
They reached the end of the jelly field and saw the Lava Lake. Suspended high
above the middle, in a dangling iron cage, were the hostages: Waffle, Monty,
and Margo.
Margo was growling at the bars. Monty was drooling at a magma cube. Waffle
was flapping his ears.
"The cage is dropping!" Ben screamed. "They’re going to be cooked!"
Part 3: The S.S. Quack-Titanic
"We need a boat!" Matt cried. "But wood burns!"
"Leave it to me!" Erik shouted. He didn't just type; he ran toward the lava edge,
jumping over puddles of custard, typing on his holographic keyboard in
mid-air like an action hero.
"Coding Lava-Proof Vessel!" Erik yelled. "Executing Spawn_Mega_Floatie!"
He slammed the ENTER key as he jumped off the cliff.
POOF.
Erik didn't land in the lava. He landed on something bouncy.
It wasn't a cool speedboat. It was a Giant Yellow Rubber Duck the size of a
double-decker bus. It was wearing sunglasses.
QUAAAAAAAACK, said the giant duck (in a deep, manly voice).
"A duck?" Ben asked, landing on the deck.
"It’s aerodynamic!" Erik grinned, spinning the steering wheel (which was a
giant squeaky toy). "Hold onto your bums! TURBO MODE!"
Erik slammed the squeaker. The duck’s engine roared.
SQUEAK-SQUEAK-VROOOOOM!
They zoomed across the lava, bouncing over waves. Mak was tied to the
duck’s tail like a balloon, cheering. "Faster! I want to feel the wind in my
pixels!"
Part 4: The Snotty Ghast
Suddenly, a shadow fell over them.
HORK... SNRRRRRK...
"Is the engine making weird noises?" Thomas asked.
"No," Matt whispered, looking up. "It’s him."
A Ghast drifted down. It was huge, white, and floating. But it looked
miserable. Its eyes were red and watery. It was holding a giant block of ice like
a cold compress to its head.
"It’s got the flu," Matt said sympathetically.
HAAAA-CHOOOOO!
The Ghast sneezed.
But it didn't shoot a fireball. It shot a Giant Ball of Green Ectoplasm (Snot).
"Evasive maneuvers!" Erik screamed. He spun the duck.
The snot-ball missed them by an inch and splashed into the lava. SIZZLE.
"That is disgusting!" Ben yelled. "That is a health and safety violation!"
SNRRRRRK. The Ghast was charging up another one. And this one was
aiming right for them.
"I can't dodge this one!" Erik yelled. "It’s a homing-snot!"
"I got this!" Ben shouted. "I’m the goalie!"
Ben leaped onto the duck’s head. "Come on then! Give me your best shot!"
The Ghast sneezed. CHOO!
A massive glob of green slime flew at them.
Ben jumped. He did a bicycle kick.
SPLAT.
He kicked the snot-ball away! It flew back and hit the Ghast right in the face.
"GOAL!" Ben cheered. Then he looked at his foot. "Ew. My boot is sticky."
Part 5: The Hanky of Destiny
The Ghast looked shocked. Then it looked sad. It started to cry (which meant
slime tears were raining down).
"Stop!" Matt yelled, running to the front of the duck. "Don't fight it! It just
wants a tissue!"
"We don't have a tissue that big!" Erik shouted, steering around a tear-puddle.
"Thomas!" Matt turned to the polite one. "Your inventory! You always carry
napkins!"
Thomas checked. "I have a stack of White Wool blocks? Will that do?"
"Perfect!" Erik yelled. "Load the cannon!"
They stuffed the White Wool blocks into the Rubber Duck’s beak (don't ask
how the physics worked).
Erik aimed the duck at the Ghast.
"FIRE!"
PTHOOM!
The wool blocks shot out and hit the Ghast. The Ghast caught them in its
tentacles. It blew its nose loudly. HONK.
The Ghast turned white and happy. It smiled.
Then, it sneezed one last time—a tiny, happy sneeze.
Atishoo.
Something shiny shot out of its nose and landed in Erik’s hands.
It was orange and glowing. The Topaz of Speed.
[OBTAINED: GEM 4/5]
"We got the gem!" Erik laughed, wiping a bit of goo off it. "And we cured the
sniffles!"
"The dogs!" Mak yelled from the back. "They’re being beamed up!"
Above them, a portal to The End opened up. The cage was being reeled in.
Erik slammed the gas. "Hold on, Brigade! We’re going vertical!"
The rubber duck launched off a lava-fall. Flapped it's useless scrubber wings and shot straight up into the portal.
Chapter 6: The Farringtons’ Fortress and the Action 67
ZAP-CRASH.
The Rubber Duck landed in The End with a bounce. It skidded across the floor
and crashed into a pile of books.
"We’re here," Erik said, jumping out. "The final level."
The End wasn't empty. The Farringtons had built a massive Diamond Fortress
in the middle of the island. It was tacky and covered in signs that said
FARRINGTONS RULE and BLOCKY BRIGADE DROOLS.
On top of the tower, behind a wall of Bedrock, were the pets.
Monty was chewing on the bedrock.
Margo was fiercely digging a hole in the obsidian.
Waffle was chasing a particle effect.
Margo had chewed through one of the Redstone wires, sparking the lock, but
they were still trapped.
Floating above them were the Farringtons Boys (Avatars: [ADMIN_01],
[ADMIN_02], [ADMIN_03]). They were wearing enchanted golden armour and
drinking virtual smoothies.
"You’re late, noobs!" the leader jeered. "Prepare to be deleted!"
Part 1: The Mega-Creeper (Head Boy Edition)
The leader pressed a big red button.
KLANG.
From the ground emerged a monster.
It was a Creeper. But it was HUGE. It was wearing a school tie and a "Head
Boy" badge. And it held a giant ruler.
BOSS: THE HEAD-BOY CREEPER.
ATTACK: DETENTION STOMP.
"That is a very large vegetable," Thomas noted fearfully.
"It’s going to explode the whole server!" Erik shouted. "If that goes off, we lose
the dogs forever!"
"Ben! Distract it!" Erik commanded.
"Mak! Glitch attack!"
"Matt! Save the animals!"
"Thomas! Be... diplomatic!"
Part 2: The Chaos Unleashed
Ben ran at the Creeper's feet. "Over here, green bean! Your tie is crooked!"
The Creeper looked down and tried to stomp Ben. STOMP. Ben did a roly-poly
dodge. "Missed me!"
Mak (who was still weightless) floated toward the Creeper’s face. "I’m a glitch
in the system!" Mak yelled, phasing inside the Creeper’s nose. "It’s very echoey
in here!"
The Creeper crossed its eyes, trying to see the boy inside its own nose.
While the monster was distracted, Matt and Erik sprinted for the tower.
"I need to hack the cage!" Erik shouted, typing on his keypad as he ran. "Matt,
get ready to catch them!"
Erik reached the base of the tower. He typed: DELETE_BARS.EXE.
ERROR. ACCESS DENIED.
"It’s firewall protected!" Erik groaned. "I need an Admin Key! Or... the final
Gem!"
He looked up. The Farringtons Leader was wearing the Amethyst of Power
around his neck.
"Waffle!" Erik yelled, looking up at the cage. "FETCH!"
Waffle’s ears perked up. He saw Erik pointing at the shiny purple gem on the
flying boy’s neck.
To a Spaniel, "Fetch" is the most powerful command in the universe.
Waffle backed up. He ran. He leaped over Margo. He bounced off Monty’s
back.
He jumped over the cage wall.
He flew through the air, ears flapping like helicopter blades.
CHOMP.
Waffle snatched the Amethyst right off the bully’s neck in mid-air!
"Good boy, Waffle!" Erik screamed.
Waffle landed on the giant Creeper’s head. He wagged his tail and dropped
the gem down to Erik.
Part 3: The Action 67 Overload
Erik caught the Amethyst. [OBTAINED: GEM 5/5]
The five gems started to orbit around Erik’s head. He glowed with rainbow
power.
"I have the power!" Erik shouted. "But the Creeper is flashing! It’s about to
blow!"
SSSSSS-TICK-TOCK.
"It’s unstoppable!" Ben yelled, sliding between the Creeper's legs again.
"No!" Erik grinned. "We just need to confuse the code. We need to do
something so silly, the server crashes and reboots."
"You don't mean..." Thomas gasped.
"YES!" Erik shouted. "BRIGADE! ASSUME POSITION! ACTION 67!"
The boys (and Mak floating upside down) lined up in front of the giant
monster.
"3... 2... 1... GLITCH IT!"
They did the move.
They bent their knees inward. They twisted their arms backward like pretzels.
They tilted their heads back until they were looking at their own bums. And
they vibrated. VBRRRRRRR.
It was the silliest, glitches pose in gaming history.
The Mega-Creeper paused. It looked at them.
It tried to process the image.
DOES. NOT. COMPUTE.
TOO. MUCH. SILLINESS.
The Creeper started to vibrate too. It tried to copy the dance.
It twisted its green legs.
CRACK. GLITCH. ZZRT.
"SYSTEM OVERLOAD!" The Farringtons boys screamed as their admin powers
vanished.
The Creeper turned into a giant pile of homework sheets and exploded into
confetti. POP!
Part 4: The Smelly Victory
A white light consumed the world. The server was rebooting.
ZZZZZZZT.
Erik blinked.
He felt a hard plastic chair. He smelled floor polish... and farts.
He opened his eyes. He was back in the computer lab.
Ben was on the floor (he had fallen off his chair doing the move).
Mak was sitting up, patting his arms. "I’m solid! Gravity works! I’m human
again!"
Thomas was straightening his tie.
And under the desks...
Woof! Waffle licked Erik’s hand.
Boof! Monty nudged Ben’s leg.
Yap! Margo sat on Thomas’s foot.
"We did it," Matt whispered.
The door flew open. Mrs. Peares, the teacher, stormed in.
"What is going on in here? And why does this room smell like a wet dog
explosion?"
The boys looked at the screens. The Farringtons' logo was gone. It just showed
a simple message:
GAME OVER. WINNERS: THE BLOCKY BRIGADE.
"Sorry Mrs. Peares," Erik grinned, petting Waffle. "We just had a... technical
difficulty. A bug in the system."
"A bug?" Mrs. Peares sniffed. "Smells more like a beagle."
The boys burst into laughter. They grabbed their bags and their pets and ran
out into the playground before they could get detention.
As they walked home, Waffle burped. A tiny pixelated heart floated out of his
mouth.
"Did you see that?" Ben asked.
"Nope," Erik winked. "I didn't see anything. Who's up for pizza?"
THE END.