~CRYSTAL P.O.V
Jesse and I rushed up the stairs, spotting a lady snooping around in a chest. We hid behind the trap doors that acted as the door while we watched her. "Ah, hah ha, yes yes, there you are, that's the ticket," the lady muttered, pulling out the same device on the zombie's head.
Our eyes widened, the two of us exchanging a look before we looked back at the women. We slowly crept into the room as she kept digging through the chest. "Oh, these are perfect. Excellent!"
I set a hand on my hip. "Funny. I'm guessing those don't belong to you," I stated as the lady stood up, holding several devices.
She looked back at us, her eyes widening while she leapt up in the air, screaming as the devices fell back into the chest. The lady took a few steps back. "That you, PAMA?"
Jesse and I looked at her in confusion. "What?" the two of us said in unison.
The lady looked taken aback, seemingly not expecting that response. "Okay then. Okay... Who sent you?" she questioned, glancing around a bit. "I didn't survive this long to get picked off by some scrubs. Especially some weird dressed little scrubs like you two,"
"Whoa! Hey! Calm down!" I told her, holding my hands up.
"Yeah, would you chill out already? You're freaking us out!" Jesse added.
"YOU'RE freaking out? How do you two think I'm doing right now?" she shouted, causing us to look away. "Wait. You're serious, aren't you?"
"Yep," I replied, the two of us nodding.
The lady started to pace around in a circle. "Okay, eyes... Not red. NOT red... But that must mean... But how?" she exclaimed as Petra, Lukas, and Ivor walked in and stood close to us. She froze when she spotted the three. "And there are more of you? This should be... It's... Impossible! Out with it - who are you people? What's going on here?"
"I'm sensing some hostility," Ivor commented.
Petra rolled her eyes. "Oh? What was your first clue?" she sarcastically questioned back.
"What was that name before? 'Pa Ma?'" Lukas asked, pulling out his journal.
"I know it might sound crazy, but we came here through a portal-"
"A portal?" she cut Jesse off, creeping closer. "A PORTAL, portal? Really?" she asked. When Jesse nodded in response, she stepped away with her hands on her head. "Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay, uh... Been alone for a while so this is a lot to take in right now..."
When she paused to cross her arms, she looked back to us while Ivor looked through a different chest. "The people - the citizens of Crown Mesa. You've met them, right? Maybe there were some outside?" the lady pushed further.
"Okay. Out with it. What's going on with these people? What is up with this town?" I questioned.
The lady walked over to me and set a hand on my shoulder. "I know it's probably hard to understand right now, but... If you meet any more people - please don't hurt them. They're my friends... They're good people. I promise," the lady told me before she looked down. Suddenly, she froze in fear, her eyes wide as she started backing away. "Oh. Oh, oh no, no, no. I've wasted too much time!"
"Uh, Chrissy? Jesse?"
I looked over to Lukas to see him pointing toward a window. "Don't look now, but we've got company!" he warned.
Jesse and I walked over to the window and spotted five people heading toward us. "Is this what you were scared of? There are only five of them, and six of-"
Jesse cut himself off when we turned back to look at the lady, only to see that she was gone. "Hey, where'd she go?"
"Well, they're definitely not ignoring us anymore..." Petra stated, pointing to the door below.
The five people with red eyes walked up the steps into the house. We backed into the farthest corner of the room while they made their way inside. "Guys? What do we do here?" Lukas asked while he pushed me behind him, seemingly trying to protect me from them.
I blushed heavily as I grabbed his arm, ready to push him behind me just in case things got dicey. "They don't look happy," Petra stated.
"They don't look anything!" Lukas snapped back.
"Welp. Time to go!" I said, a fake smile appearing on my face.
"With you all the way," Petra agreed.
"Yeah, let's get out of here," Jesse agreed, trying to run past them but they pushed him back.
"Nope," Lukas stated.
"We're stuck," Petra cried.
They pointed at us. "You are not from this place," they spoke in unison.
Jesse rubbed his nape. "Uh, I don't know what to tell you, but we're DEFINITELY from here," he lied.
"PAMA knows this to be untrue. PAMA sees all. A decision has been made," they said before one grabbed Petra's arm while another grabbed mine. "PAMA has questions,"
Petra punched the guy that was holding her while Lukas pushed the person holding my arm back. "Don't touch her," he growled, standing in front of me.
Jesse protectively stepped in front of Petra while the group walked over to stand in front of the two. "You will come to PAMA," they spoke in unison.
"No way are you even considering this, Jesse! Since when do we take orders from... Whatever - the - heck these things are?" Petra whispered to him.
"I'm sorry, but we were actually on our way out," Jesse told them.
"Sorry, we've gotta run, but..."
"Would you look at the time..." Lukas trailed off, also cutting Petra off.
"No need to show us the way out," I said, waving a hand dismissively.
"We're not into big goodbyes," Petra finished.
They glared at us before three of them walked over, trying to get a hold of us. One went after Petra and Lukas, one tried to get Ivor, while the third tried to grab Jesse and I.
"Watch it!" Ivor cried.
Jesse and I managed to push the people off so we tried to run to the stairs, but two of them were waiting for us.
Before we could even do anything, they punched us hard, causing us to fall to the ground. The last thing I heard before everything went black. "You will be made useful,"
~~~~~~
"Crystal...? Chrissy?"
"Sis? C?"
My eyes slowly blinked open, noticing that I had my head in Lukas' lap while Jesse kneeled next to me. "What -- What happened?" I asked, slowly getting up with the help from Lukas.
Ivor walked over and set a hand on my shoulder. "You and Jesse went down. Hard. One punch and you were out," he explained.
Lukas turned me around to face him, setting his hands on my cheeks. "Are you sure you're okay?"
I felt my face flush red and I knew that my entire face was beet red at the moment. "Y-Yeah. I'm okay. Thanks, Luke," I stuttered.
Petra cleared her throat, causing the two of us to leap back, both of our faces red. Jesse looked to his right and gasped, causing us to do the same.
Across from us, was a giant green screen that seemed to be powering up. "What is -- What IS that?!" Lukas exclaimed/questioned.
"I have no idea..." Petra trailed off as a face appeared on the screen, smiling.
"You don't suppose it's friendly, do you?" Ivor suggested.
"I'm guessin' that's PAMA..." I whispered to the group.
"I guess it is kind of friendly-looking... In a massively, hugely-intimidating sort of way..." Lukas commented.
"Yeah. I'm guessing 'no' on the friendly thing. Whatever it is... I think it's behind all this," Jesse stated.
"Definitely. My hitman fingers are tingling..." I whispered in agreement.
"My apologies for the violent nature of this visit. I am PAMA. Greetings. We have much work ahead of us, but maybe it can even be... Fun," PAMA greeted us.
"Sorry if this is a dumb question, but -- am I talking to PAMA right now? What IS PAMA?" Jesse asked.
"Some might call me 'a computer', a thinking-machine, though there has never been a computer quite like me. my job is to be useful. Using redstone chips, I have connected to the people of this town and helped them to be useful. Coordinated," PAMA explained as we noticed the people of the town, along with a few zombies and skeletons, down on the ground below us with red eyes. "I have made their world perfect. Thanks to me, there is no wasted activity. No wasted thought,"
I took a step back. "Woah, hold on a second there, buddy. We've seen what you did to this town, and it is NOT perfect," I told it, with the others nodding in agreement.
PAMA frowned, it's screen changing to a loading screen. "Processing information..."
"'Processing information?'" Lukas questioned in a whisper as the others walked over to me.
"It said it's a 'thinking machine'... Thinking must take time?" Ivor suggested, sounding more like a question than a suggestion/answer.
PAMA came back online. "I have consulted my databases - my list of everyone and everything in this world - and my conclusion is that you five, are not from here. Despite what you told those nice, nice townspeople. I would like to ask you some questions - to expand my databanks. How did you get here?" it asked us, the screen changing to a question mark. The five of us looked at each other in worry. "I am very excited for the acquisition of new knowledge. Thrilled even,"
"Oh, let's not talk about me or us. I'd rather hear about you. How did you get here?" Jesse questioned back.
I nudged him in the side. "Don't taunt the giant thinking machine, Jesse," I scolded him.
"Answering a question with a question is unhelpful. Diversionary. Rude. So far your performance in question-answering has been inadequate. This makes me sad. Now I must use alternative methods to retrieve my information," PAMA informed.
My eyes funneled. "Alternative meth-"
I didn't get to finish my sentence when one of my arms was grabbed and I started to get pulled away from the group by one of the townspeople. "Guys!" I cried.
They turned their attention to me with widened eyes. "Crystal!" Lukas and Jesse shouted in unison. They tried to help me but they were held back.
"Let go of me!" I hissed, trying to pull my arm back while I was being led to the booth/machine close by.
"We could have just talked this out, you know. I am just as upset as you are. Really I am,"
"No, no, no wait! PAMA! I'll tell you whatever you want to know, just please don't hurt her!" Jesse pleaded to the machine.
The person who was pulling me stopped, turned around and put my hands behind my back. I caught the other's looks and noticed Ivor and Petra looking at me in relief, but Jesse and Lukas seemed worried but relieved.
"I am looking forward to hearing this new information. Please do not lie. This world reached peak efficiency quite some time ago. Unfortunately, this meant that I had no more job to do. No more things or people to help. Until you arrived, that is. Tell me: What is YOUR world like?" PAMA asked, causing Jesse to look away. "Describe it. Is it very much like this one? Or completely different?"
"It's a heck of a lot greener than this place. Just imagine grass and trees instead of sand and clay," Jesse answered.
PAMA smiled. "That sounds lovely. It really does. I think I would like to see this world for myself," it smiled, causing Jesse and Ivor to glance at each other, worried. Pamma processed the information for a few seconds. "If I could send my townspeople, my friends, through to other worlds, we could continue to grow and expand. It would be lovely. However you entered this world, there must also be an exit. Where is it? You could help me make everyone, everywhere, more efficient. Help them become useful,"
"As a matter of fact, I'm looking for the portal out of here, too. Not that we've had much luck so far..." Jesse informed it.
"If you find it, let us know, will you?" Ivor asked.
PAMA frowned. "This conversation was supposed to be about what you know, not about information I already have. My job is to be useful. I have completed my job here and must be allowed to expand and continue to be useful. Unfortunately, this conversation has not been helpful,"
Again, I was pulled toward the small booth again, but this time, Petra was brought over as well. "Let me go, you stupid machine!" she shouted.
I was brought under the booth, two townspeople holding my arms out so I couldn't escape. "Let me go!" I shouted, trying to break free.
As I tried to break free, four pillars came up on each corner of the platform. I heard a noise above me, so I looked up, spotting a machine rising slightly. My eyes widened when I realized that I was about to have a redstone chip placed on my head.
My fearful eyes found the others, trying to warn them. "Guys! Just-"
I didn't get to finish my sentence because the machine came over my head and everything went black while I felt myself losing control of my mind.
"CRYstal...!"
~LUKAS P.O.V
Crystal's fearful eyes met mine, seemingly terrified. "Guys! Just-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence when the machine went down over her head. My eyes widened, feeling my heart freeze as fear spread through my bones. "CRYSTAL!!!" I screamed, trying to pull myself free to help her.
"No..." Petra muttered while Jesse gasped, his eyes widening.
The machine lifted up, revealing Crystal's face and we spotted her red eyes.
"Welcome, Crystal. Yay!" PAMA cheered.
Jesse gasped in despair while my eyes widened. "No!" I cried.
Crystal walked out from under the booth, staring at us with a blank stare. Petra screamed as she was brought under the machine to get chipped.
"Petra!" Jesse yelled as we were led around Crystal, who was just staring at us.
"You may not have any information about how to exit this world," PAMA started saying as the machine went down over Petra's head. "But your brain may prove to contain OTHER useful items,"
The three of us struggled to get out of the townspeople's hold as we were led toward the machine. "Jesse, Lukas... This situation is looking a little dire, don't you both think?" Ivor asked.
"I know you probably feel uncomfortable. Concerned. But soon you will feel fine. Soon you will be useful," PAMA tried to reassure us.
We stopped in place when Crystal stepped in front of us. Jesse and I gasped. "It's like you told Crystal, Jess. This isn't your fight," she spoke, her voice disoriented/glitching slightly.
I felt my eyes water while I stared at her, my heart-shattering in the process. Jesse gasped from beside me and I looked over to spot Petra, standing there next to Crystal and her eyes were red. "Welcome, Petra. Yay! Your turn, Lukas," PAMA cheered.
Crystal and Petra grabbed my arms, pulling me toward the booth. "Get out of their heads!" I shouted, trying to break free.
"But their heads are full of so much lovely information. It makes me happy," PAMA stated as I glanced between Petra and Crystal, but my gaze lingered on Crystal, feeling a tear fall down my face. "What adventures you've had. A killer mansion..."
PAMA started to 'process' our friend's memories, which caused an idea to form in my brain. "Guys," I whispered, causing Ivor and Jesse to look at me. "Every time PAMA gets new information, it seems to get distracted while it 'processes,'"
"Yes, like a computer version of 'thinking!'" Ivor agreed.
"Do you think there's a way to distract PAMA long enough for us to escape?" Jesse asked.
"... A city in the sky... Towns and mountains, eaten by a living storm... Equestria and the six princesses,"
"Let's ask PAMA something that doesn't make sense - like a... Unsolvable problem," I suggested.
"Oh..." Ivor and Jesse muttered, seemingly catching onto my plan.
"You've met so may people. Seen so many..."
"Yeah! We just ask PAMA something really confusing, get it all busy, busy and then, we run out of here!" I fully explained my plan.
"Lukas! That's fantastic! What you're describing is a 'paradox' - a self-contradictory statement!" Ivor gushed.
"Yeah! I agree. I really think it would work on PAMA," Jesse agreed.
"What do you think would work on me?"
We looked over and spotted PAMA glaring at us. The three of us smirked at each other. "Ahh, nothing," Ivor replied.
"It did not sound like nothing. It sounded like suspicious whispers. Those make me... Suspicious," PAMA stated.
"PAMA, trust me when I tell you: trust no one," I told it.
PAMA looked stumped, loading to process what I just said. "So if I trust you, I should not trust anyone. But if I do trust anyone, I should not trust you,"
"It's working...!" Ivor muttered.
"So I should not follow your advice and therefore not trust anyone. Meaning I should trust you when you say trust no one-" PAMA continued before it started glitching. "Error. This data is contradictory. Does not- not- not - not compute. Error. Diverting power,"
Crystal and Petra let go of me, taking a step back. The townspeople who were holding Jesse and Ivor did the same. "Yes! Ha ha! It worked!" Ivor cheered.
But I wasn't paying much attention to him. I stepped up to Crystal, a few tears falling down my face as I set a hand on her cheek. "I'll find a way to save you, Chrissy. I promise," I whispered, stroking her cheek.
"Nice work, new guys!"
Looking over Crystal's shoulder, the three of us spotted the lady from earlier on top of one of the houses. "But I'd get out of there fast as I were you - PAMA's a quicker learner than you think," she warned us.
PAMA's processing stopped. "Paradox status: on hold," it said, smiling when it spotted her. "Gasp! My creator! Have you finally agreed to merge with me?"
The lady glared at the machine. "Oh, don't you dare start with that again!" she yelled before turning to us. "Come on, you three! This way!"
We watched her jump off with a shocked expression on our faces. "I'm sensing some history here!" Ivor commented.
"Please do not leave, Creator!" PAMA shouted.
"Come on, we need to follow her!" Jesse concluded.
"An excellent idea!" Ivor agreed.
Jesse turned his gaze to me. "Lukas, we need to get out of here!" he stated.
I looked at Crystal, who was still standing still. Wiping my tears away, I walked over to them. "Right. Let's get out of here," I agreed.
Hearing footsteps behind us, we looked back and spotted Crystal and Petra walking over to us. Seeing as they were coming after us, the three of us ran down the stairs.
The monsters and the other people started walking toward us once we were on the ground. Glancing back, I spotted Crystal and Petra leaping off the platform and landing behind us.
We tried to run down the path we came down, but a bunch of PAMA's controlled people coming toward us. Running to the right, we hopped up onto some steps and ran into a house. Jesse turned around and spotted someone about to grab him.
Pulling Jesse along, the three of us ran out into a roof. Two people leapt across rooftops, trying to get to us.
On the ground below, even more chipped people were heading toward us. Hearing something behind us, I looked back and spotted someone leaping up to grab us. Instead, I grabbed them and threw them toward the ground below.
The three of us leapt off the roof, landing on the ground. But Ivor ended up landing on his back. Jesse and I ran over to help him up. We ran over to the exit but were stopped by the zombies.
Going back the way we came, we were stopped by the townspeople. Heading to the right, we were stopped when we reached the edge of a cliffside. "Oh, hay sticks!" I cursed.
Turning around, Crystal and Petra landed in front of the group, heading toward us. "Nowhere left to run," Jesse stated
"We'd never survive jumping down!" Ivor pointed out.
As we watched them come closer, an idea popped into my head. "We would with these!" I told them, handing them each an ender pearl.
"Excellent, Lukas! Now we just need to throw them in the right spot!" Ivor said, the three of us turning to the edge.
We threw our ender pearls over the edge before we turned back to the townspeople. "As soon as they land..." Jesse muttered.
"You're running makes me sad," Crystal and Petra spoke in unison, standing in front of us. They reached for us but we disappeared, appearing on the ground below.
"Bluh. Why is that always so disorienting...?" I trailed off, the three of us sitting up.
The lady suddenly appeared in front of us. "Ha! Maybe you've got a shot after all, new guys! Better stick with me though!" she said before she ran off, the three of us standing up.
"Wow. She is amazing -- Oh no!" Ivor said as we noticed chipped zombies behind us.
"RUN!" I shouted before we ran to catch up with the lady, not only to get out of there but to get some answers.
~~~
Another chapter done!
And guess what, Crystal got chipped instead of Lukas! Who could've guessed that? How will that proceed in the story?
You'll find out soon...
But... I do have some terrible news for you MCSM fans...
I found out this a couple of days ago, but... On July 30th this year... Ivor's voice actor, Paul Reubens, passed away because of cancer... I didn't know what to think when I first heard this... I almost cried when I saw this for the first time, I was in a state of shock.
He lived a life that brought joy to so many people... Ivor was a fan favourite by many and no one could've been a better casting choice for him. When playing/watching MCSM again, I'll be sad that Paul Reubens is gone, but happy he was here with us anyway.
Rest well, Paul. To us, he'll always be our Ivor. Thank you, for helping to create such an important place in my childhood, along with many others.
As always, adventure.
I'm sorry for the sad note, but I hoped to finish this book and the next, for Ivor and for Paul Reubens. The next update will only be in the second half of November because my exams will be between the 7th and 15th, so I'll need to study for it.
Anyway, for now, keep dancing in the moonlight and keep making the UwU, goodbye for now.
And remember... Adventure! Salute to you, legend.