Wicked Warrior

by Morgan, Winter;

  The gang was exhausted from their night battling the vicious clown and corrupt bunnies under a blood moon, and now they were stuck with a rare solar eclipse.

  “I feel like we’re cursed,” Isabella cried.

  Miles eyed the area for any hostile mobs, spotting Frankenstein in the distance. This ironically energetic zombie mob that only spawned during a solar eclipse was much faster than a regular zombie and even harder to defeat. Miles grabbed the jetpack and his bow and flew toward Frankenstein. Owen flew next to him.

  “This is intense,” Owen exclaimed as he shot two arrows at Frankenstein, but the arrows barely damaged this super zombie. With perpetually outstretched arms, the zombie leapt at Isabella, who stood below Owen and Miles. Isabella skillfully captured Frankenstein within her leaf barrier, as she worked hard to weaken the beast.

  Sarah let out a piercing scream when she saw a ghoulish figure dripping with water standing behind her. “Help! What is that awful thing?”

  Owen flew over to Sarah, striking the swampy creature with a succession of arrows that ripped through the watery flesh, destroying it. Owen lowered himself to the ground and picked up a broken hero sword it dropped. “That’s a swamp thing. It must have come from the murky swamp waters that are nearby. They’re very common during a solar eclipse.”

  Hovering above them in the sky, Miles saw three swamp things lumbering toward the town. “You’re right. It looks like more swamp things are heading this way.”

  Owen screamed at Miles, “Watch out! Next to you!”

  A bat flew toward Miles. “A bat!” he cried as he flew away from it and steadied himself, aiming his bow at the bat.

  “It’s not a bat!” Owen called out. “Destroy it fast! It’s a vampire.”

  The bat flew closer to Miles. He tried to strike it with an arrow, but it was impossible. The bat bit Miles. “Ouch!” he cried before he disappeared from the dark sky.

  “Miles!” Owen screamed as he saw the gravestone flash across the sky. Owen looked like he didn’t know which direction to go. The bat was advancing toward him, and the swamp things were walking through the center of the village. Plus, another Frankenstein might spawn. As the bat flew toward Owen, it transformed into a gruesome caped zombie, inflicting Owen with the bleeding debuff and removing his last bit of energy. Within seconds, Owen had respawned in his bed.

  Owen grabbed a bottle of potion and took a quick sip to regain strength. Climbing out of bed, he sprinted into the village, ready to seek his revenge on the vampire, but he was too late. Miles was pounding the gape-mouthed vampire with flaming arrows, annihilating the beast. Owen sprinted toward his friends, who were battling the swamp things.

  With Owen by his side, Miles was able to save their friends from the clutches of the creepy swamp things. Miles scanned the area. “It looks like the mobs might be gone for now.”

  “You spoke too soon,” Owen cried as a sea of bats flew toward them.

  Autumn threw as many wrenches as she could, yet only one struck one of the bats. The bats landed, morphing into vampires.

  “I wish the sun would come up!” said Miles.

  “Me too!” John cried as he threw knives at the vampires, knowing he was no match for these blood-sucking mobs.

  Miles knew they were outnumbered and even the jetpack wasn’t going to help them. He needed to think of something that could save them, and he had to do it fast. Miles quickly put on a pair of lightning boots, and used his advantage of speed to annihilate two vampires.

  “Only five more to go,” Owen said as he put on his pair of lightning boots and destroyed two more vampires.

  “We’re almost there!” Miles looked over at his partner. He was happy he wasn’t in this alone. His NPC friends were able to fight, but none of them would ever be as strong as another warrior.

  “Yes, we are!” Owen was ready to destroy the rest of the vampires. The victory of defeating the two vampires filled him with hope. He knew they could win this battle, but they just had to keep their energy up.

  Katie suddenly moaned, “Frankenstein, and he has a twin friend!”

  Owen signaled to Miles that he could finish up the vampire battle on his own. But just then, Miles was surrounded by two Frankenstein monsters, and their extended arms created a box around him. Miles was trapped.

  Chapter 10:

  LIFE IS A PARTY

  Miles reached for his arrow, but the Frankensteins simultaneously leapt toward him. Miles was about to close his eyes when a flaming arrow destroyed one of the Frankensteins and Owen called out, “Get the other one, dude!”

  Miles shot a barrage of flaming arrows at the Frankenstein, destroying it. Sarah sprinted toward them, pointing at the sky. “It’s over! The solar eclipse is over.”

  Two broken hero swords were dropped by the mobs and Miles picked them up, handing one to Owen.

  Owen looked up at the sky, and let out a sigh of relief when he saw a normal moon as evening approached. “I’m so glad that we don’t have another blood moon tonight.”

  Miles said, “Now we can summon Skeletron Prime. The mechanical skull wasn’t damaged, was it?”

  Owen checked his inventory, and unearthed the mechanical skull. “No dents. It’s ready to go.”

  “But maybe we should wait another day,” Miles said. He didn’t realize how fatigued he was from the battle, and he wanted to be alert when they summoned this deadly mechanical mob.

  “Really? You want us to wait an entire day? You must be kidding. Let’s do it now. I want that Bucket of Bolts achievement.”

  Miles remembered his first battle with Skeletron before he was in hardmode. He was destroyed by the devilish mob, because he was overeager to battle him. He knew he needed rest, but he just had to convince his friend. “I want to spend the day mining for supplies, and getting prepared for the battle.”

  Owen placed the mechanical skull back in his inventory. “We have everything we need, what is your problem?”

  “You battled Skeletron before, right?” questioned Miles.

  “Of course,” replied Owen.

  “Did you get it on your first try?”

  Owen paused. “Well, no.”

  “I think this is going to be a lot harder than the original Skeletron, and I just want us to be prepared, but we can leave tonight if you want.”

  “Great, let’s go. It will be nighttime soon, and …” Owen didn’t finish his sentence, because someone walked into the village and called out his name.

  “Owen, sweetie,” called a girl with red hair like Miles’s. She appeared in the center of the village and raised her voice. “You abandoned me.”

  “Bunny,” Owen pleaded, “I couldn’t find you.” He looked over at Miles, “Didn’t I tell you about Bunny the party girl?”

  “Yes,” confirmed Miles. “We were looking for you, but there were so many battles and Terraria is so large, we never found you.

  “What about me?” asked an older man with gray hair who wore a big red-rimmed hat and trailed behind her.

  “Who are you?” questioned Miles.

  “I’m Roland. I’m Owen’s clothier.”

  “You never told me about Roland,” said Miles.

  “I forgot.” Owen regretted saying this, because Roland looked down glumly.

  “You forgot about me?” Roland asked.

  “No, I’d never forget you, but I just didn’t mention it to Miles,” Owen explained and then asked Roland, “Do you have any new clothes for me? I’d like to buy some.”

  Roland took out a clown suit. “I just started selling this. I think it’s quite popular. You only get to buy it when someone destroys the clown. So it’s a sign of success.”

  “That outfit gives me the creeps,” said Katie.

  “I appreciate your honesty,” Roland said, looked at Katie. “But I’m trying to make a sale here, so can you just mind your own business?”

  “Roland, this isn’t the time to sell anything,” said Bunny. “Unless anyone wants a super cool confetti gun.” />
  “I guess you’re right,” Roland said. “We are not here to sell, but to ask you to help us.”

  “How? I’ll do anything for you guys. I owe you a lot,” Owen said.

  “Can you build us new homes?” asked Bunny. “Now that Kyle is gone, it was just us in the middle of nowhere. I couldn’t throw any parties and obviously being in the middle of nowhere meant that nobody was inviting me to any either. It’s just awful there. Can’t you build us homes here, so we can have friends?”

  Roland added, “I just want to be near you. I’d live anywhere if it isn’t too far away. I’m not looking for a party, but if you happen to be going to a party, I have a great suit I can sell you.”

  “Of course I’ll build you homes here,” Owen said and looked at his other friends for confirmation. He realized this wasn’t just his decision alone, and he had to ask everyone else if it was okay if these new people stayed.

  Everyone agreed that Owen should build homes for Bunny and Roland before the sun set. Miles helped as Owen crafted two homes next to Katie’s house.

  “Seriously? You’re going to block my view?” Katie was annoyed.

  Miles and Owen didn’t listen to Katie’s complaints as they built the homes. Bunny stood by them, marveling at the construction. “This place is going to be super awesome. I can tell already.”

  Owen stared at the one wall of blocks he had constructed. “I’m glad you think that, but we’ve barely started.”

  Bunny talked endlessly about how she was going to decorate the house. “Lots of sparkles, tons of glitter, a disco ball is a must.”

  “Sounds like I’m going to have some noisy neighbors,” Katie remarked.

  “No, I’m quiet as a mouse. I’m a tailor. I just like to work on clothes. Maybe I can design a new nurse’s uniform for you?” asked Roland.

  “Don’t bother,” she replied, and asked Owen and Miles, “Can you also build a fence?”

  Bunny laughed, hoping Katie was joking as she stood next to Owen asking him a series of questions. “So what are you up to these days? Have you slayed any beasts? You destroyed the clown, right? Any reason for me to throw you a party? You know I throw the best parties, right? They are epic, right?”

  “Yes, you do throw a bunch of good parties,” Owen said as he placed a window on Bunny’s house. “And there will be reason to celebrate soon, because we’re going to defeat Skeletron Prime and get the Buckets of Bolts achievement.”

  “Really? Once you get that, I’m totally going to throw an after-party for you, okay? Like a seriously fun one? Everyone cool with that?”

  John confessed, “I’ve never been to a party, that sounds like fun.”

  “Well, you’re in for a treat. Even if you’ve been to other parties, they are nothing compared to my parties. I throw the craziest parties in the world.”

  “Wow, you’re so humble,” Katie said, then walked toward her house.

  When Katie was out of earshot, Bunny said, “I know she’s going to have the most fun at my party. The ones who complain are always the first ones to admit my parties are the best. You’ll see, after a few weeks of living next to me, that nurse is going to be a lot more fun.”

  “Don’t hold your breath,” remarked Miles as he finished Roland’s house.

  Roland walked inside his new home. “This is great. There’s enough room for me to set up a work area to make clothes. I’m back in business. Thanks!”

  Miles looked up at the sky, “Owen, I was thinking we should leave now that the sun has set, so we have enough time to travel far way to spawn Skeletron Prime.Or maybe we should just leave in the morning.”

  “I guess leaving in the morning is a good idea,” said Owen.

  Miles was relieved; he had another night to sleep in his own bed. “Great. We’ll leave in the morning.”

  “Yes, we don’t want to waste any valuable time traveling all night, because if we don’t defeat Skeletron Prime by morning, we’ll have to respawn it.”

  “Do we even have enough supplies to craft another mechanical skull?” asked Miles. “Do we need one?”

  “I’m not sure,” said Owen as he searched through his inventory.

  “Do you need a confetti gun?” asked Bunny. “It makes battle fun. I mean who doesn’t want to sparkle a little fun into their fights?”

  Miles chuckled and replied, “You’ve sold me. I’ll take one.”

  “And how about this clown hat with embroidery? I guess you can call it a party hat. It complements the confetti gun.”

  “Okay,” said Miles. “You can embroider ‘Miles’ on the hat.” He looked at Bunny and said, “I’ll wear it to the after-party once we defeat Skeletron Prime.”

  “That better be a promise,” Bunny said and smiled.

  Roland took out the hat, and started to embroider Miles’s name. It took a rather long time. Miles stared at the sky. “We should all get to bed soon, Roland. Owen and I have to wake up early and leave, but I don’t want to rush you.”

  “I think embroidery is difficult,” said Owen.

  “Of course it is! If it wasn't hard, no one would do it! That's what makes it great,” Roland said as he handed the clown hat to Miles.

  “That’s how I feel about defeating Skeletron Prime,” Miles said and thanked him for the hat.

  “You will both have many challenges during the battle, but don’t give up. Even if it looks like there isn’t a chance to win, there is always another way,” Roland told them.

  They said goodnight and in the morning, Owen stood at Miles’s door, ready to go. Jack was next to him. “Remember,” Jack said, “we’re here if you need us. I have tons of explosives that will destroy Skeletron Prime.”

  “I know,” said Miles.

  “And don’t forget about your jetpacks.” Hope rushed over to say goodbye.

  As Miles and Owen walked out of town, they could hear Bunny’s voice, “Guys, we have to get ready for this after-party. I want it to be a blow-out event. Now, where’s that stylist? We speak the same language.”

  Chapter 11:

  HARD LUCK IN THE HALLOW

  “It feels like we’ve been walking forever,” said Miles. “My feet hurt.”

  “I think we’re in a good spot to summon Skeletron Prime,” Owen said. “We just have to wait until dark.”

  “Look at that!” Miles pointed at a brightly lit area in the distance. It looked like it was pulled from the pages of a book of fairytales. The trees’ leaves were purple and yellow, with turquoise grass, making it look like a colorful, picturesque land. Miles had been there before. “It’s The Hallow,” he said.“It must be growing over there.”

  “Kyle told me about The Hallow. He said I should be careful because it wasn’t as fun as it looked. In fact, he said it was quite the opposite.”

  Although Miles and Owen stood still, The Hallow didn’t, and within minutes the leaves on the trees that surrounded them turned from green to a pinkish purple. “Looks like we didn’t have to travel to The Hallow, because it came to us.”

  “Look, a unicorn,” said Owen.

  “They’re very dangerous,” warned Miles.

  “But they look so gentle.”

  “Watch out!” Miles hollered. “Put your bow away, and use the Dao of Pow.”

  The unicorn charged toward them, jumping over blocks, as Miles shot from the Dao of Pow, which struck the unicorn and left it confused.

  “I don’t have that weapon,” Owen screamed.

  “The unicorn is confused. This is our time to escape. Follow me,” Miles said as he rushed through The Hallow, hoping it would end soon, but it felt like a never-ending biome. Miles remembered Isabella telling him The Hallow was growing rapidly and had already taken up thirty-five percent of the world. Miles swore he’d stop the growth of The Hallow like he did with the Corruption.

  Owen shouted, “Above us! What’s hovering above us?”

  “Pixies!” Miles informed him.

  Small flickering lights swarmed above them. Miles put on his
jetpack and shot arrows at the fast pixies that flew toward them.

  “I’m getting attacked!” Owen could barely get these words out as the pixies cornered him. He was losing energy.

  Miles took out the megashark and slammed into the pixies, destroying a group. Even wearing a jetpack, Owen was having a difficult time fighting the Pixies. They moved quickly, and struck Owen with the slow debuff. Owen cried out, “I can’t move.”

  Miles aimed at the pixies that flew toward Owen. “I’m going to help you!”

  “Behind you!” Owen cried.

  Miles turned around, and saw the unicorn charging in his direction. With a swarm of pixies in front of him, and an aggressive and muscular unicorn behind him, Miles wanted to close his eyes, but he knew that wasn’t a solution. With his eyes wide open, Miles used the megashark to destroy the pixies and turned around and aimed at the unicorn. The megashark annihilated the unicorn in one shot.

  Owen’s slowness wore off and he grabbed the megashark, attacking the pixies that circled around with their flickering light.

  Miles and Owen grabbed the dropped pixie dust and unicorn horn.

  “We have to get out of this biome,” Miles exclaimed.

  “I know. It’s almost nighttime,” Owen replied. “But how?” Owen looked at another group of pixies that flew toward them. Miles hovered above the ground, transfixed by the beauty of the pixies. Owen caught him staring at the light and screamed “Pay attention. They are going to destroy us.”

  Miles pressed the button on his jetpack and flew toward the light-filled pixies, as another enemy spawned on the ground. “Look down,” he called to Owen. “What is that?”

  Owen lowered himself. “It’s made of slime,” he said, inspecting the red circle on the ground, when it began to hover and shoot a laser at him.

  “Watch out for that Gastropod!” a voice called out.

  Miles’s jaw dropped when he saw his friend Asher sprinting toward them. Asher promptly shot the Gastropod using a megashark.

  “Man, thanks!” Owen said as he watched the Gastropod disintegrate.

  Asher wore wings and flew toward Owen, helping him battle the pixies that surrounded him.