Welcome back!
This is PART 1 OF CHAPTER 20. I HAD TO SPLIT THIS CHAPTER DUE TO FORMATTING ISSUES. MUCH LIKE WITH CHAPTER 19, THE VOTING WILL BE LOCATED ON THE FORUM FOR PART 20B.Since I split this chapter, I have more room to explain WHY I did it. Here's the explanation.
The PMC forum editor is kinda goofy. In chapter 19, I apparently wrote too much and when I saved it, the editor converted half of what I had written to source and deleted the last two paragraphs. This understandably pissed me off, so I decided to see what the issue was. Turns out that it did seem to be a length issue, so that's when I decided that I was going to split the chapter. Splitting did work. I kinda had to split it right in the middle of the contest, which was a bit inconvenient. I looked for several ways to cut down on word count, which is why you'll see that
'Battle for the Enchanted Netherite Trophy' has been removed from the front of EVERY CHAPTER in the dropdown menu. It cut out well over 100 words. I also had to remove the evil alts from the user menu. It just seems obsolete, considering that I know that those users have voted.
Now for things more specific to this chapter.
I split chapter 20, originally called
Kiruna, Klarhatness Campus into two parts - the intro and the game. I did this because the intro was intended to be pretty long. Since 20 is a milestone, I wanted to use it to tell more stories about the contestants. I wanted to go into depth about them, and move away from
Piglin,
Allay, and
Evoker. Those three have gotten too much screen time, and at this point, I'm buttering them up to be in the final three. I'm not going to be surprised when at least one of them does make it there. I'm calling it now. Allay is going to make it into the final three, and not just because I'm basically rigging her there. I rigged the game for Alleviation, so.... forget what I said there heh.
Thank you, viewers, voters, and all who read this and voted.Welcome back to the Battle for the Enchanted Netherite Trophy.
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Here are the contestants
Alleviation
- Allay
- Copper Golem
- Glare
- Warden
- Evoker
- Axolotl
- Cow
- Mooshroom
- Moobloom
mångfald
- Pillager
- Vindicator
- Iron Golem
- Piglin
OUT
- Tadpole
- Vex
- Piglin Brute
- Goat
- Glow Squid
- Ravager
- Illusioner
- Frog
- Wandering Trader
- Hoglin
- Phantom
- Villager
- Iceologer
- Cat
- Wolf
- Bee
- Enderman
PIllager folds his arms and nods. "Yep. Still can't believe that Moobloom got back in during the rejoin. What did she contribute to the game anyways?"
Iceologer grunts and takes a sip of his drink. 'UGH. They only chose her because she's cute or something stupid like that. Piglin Brute says that the 'basement girl' rigged the vote, and I'm going to go with that! She didn't even seem interested in her audition and really didn't deserve to get back in. She doesn't even care!"
Vindicator laughs and sits down across from Iceologer. "At least you weren't outvoted by Glow Squid again!"
"Agh, cut it out! You don't make mob vote jokes with Allay and her friends, do you? I'll let it slide though. Illusioner also that Basement Girl rigged that vote before it started its stupid little revolt as well. Then again, we all kinda see it that way. The only ones who don't think that the vote was rigged probably didn't even sign themselves up for this game in the first place. Back then, when we did the rejoin, it was before we called that... thing 'Basement Girl'. By the way, how's the game going? How many game days have you had since the rejoining?" Iceologer asks.
'Well, only one," Pillager responds. "Evoker also joined Alleviation."
"Wait, wait, wait- she WHAT?!" Iceologer responds in shock.
Vindicator shoots up. "Oh yeah. Golden let us vote on who we wanted to be eliminated after the 18th game, and she voted for herself. She's always been a crazy girl. On the topic, does she even know that we're here? I'm going to text her right now."
Up on a turf patch on the roof, Iron Golem and Copper Golem pass a football to each other while Evoker leans out over the railing. Meanwhile, Glare and Allay fly around the rooftop venue, occasionally stopping to check out the drink vendors.
"I sure hope that Golden is alright. She keeps on disappearing. This time, it seems she headed to the backrooms... I'm also quite concerned about her mental health as well," Allay says with concern.
"Didn't you say that she told you that she was fine?" Glare asks.
"Yes, but you know how she is. While she does seem comfortable being open to those close to her... I just don't know. She often lies to herself and tries to hide how she's feeling from the world," Allay replies.
"Fair point. Regardless, I hope she- WOAH! Aliea- Look out!" Glare exclaims, quickly grasping Iron Golem's ball with their telekinesis.
Allay exhales with relief. "Phew... Thanks..."
"Eh, it's really nothing. Let's go back to our friends."
Allay and Glare head back toward where Copper Golem and Iron Golem are, but they are stopped by Vex.
"Yo, can I talk to Ali for a second?" he asks.
"Oh, sure thing Austin," Allay responds.
Vex leads Allay towards the rooftop's railing - opposite from where Evoker is standing.
"I know that I've said this before..." Allay starts. "But, I'm truly sorry for saying that I wished that you were eliminated and that you were annoying. I don't know what was going through my mind."
"Oh, no need to sweat it. I know that you never mean any of that stuff as an insult. The way I see it, it's almost like a little friendly rivalry, almost as if we were brother and sister, and quite honestly..." Vex replies. "I..."
"Go on, I'm listening,"
Vex is silent for a second before turning to his younger cousin. "When we were younger, and even more so now, I feel like we have the bond we'd have if we were siblings. You were really the only one I had to hang out with. You and Avery and Ashlie, but... you know how that went..."
"I get how you feel there," Allay says with compassion. "And about my sisters... A few years after we moved into our apartment, all my memories of both of them seemed to fade away, yet it seemed somewhat... artificial. Didn't you have a similar feeling? It's ok if you don't want to talk about it. I know this is kind of a painful topic for both of us."
"It's fine. That was a long time ago, but we're older now. And what you were saying about your memories, even the fact that they even existed... Strangely, I felt that my memories of them were locked away as well. It was only a while ago that everything came back to me. Do you think that someone might have deliberately done something to lock up our memories until we were older?"
"I'd blame some of this on our parents. Do you remember when I came to visit you a few days after Ashlie died? Yeah... My parents were reluctant to bring me over. They were definitely hiding something from me, and I knew it. 'Well, Aliea's not feeling very well right now...' 'She's too sick to play...' What they told me was nothing but lies! When you told me about Ashlie, I knew why they were so hesitant to let me see you. Why would they try to hide something like that from me!? Did they really think that it was better to hide the truth - that I was going to find out about eventually!! - then it would've been to just tell me straight out!?" Vex responds, his tone growing into a mixture of sadness and frustration. "On top of that, and I don't know if you remember this, but when I asked about Avery, your parents told me that she was invited to a special school, far, far, away. What did they think that lying to me was meant to achieve!!?"
Allay flies closer to her cousin. "I'm not sure. I'm not saying that they were right for what they did, but I might understand their intentions. We were young, and perhaps they thought that... we were too young to handle what had happened, so they lied to protect us... You know, we can talk about this in private, perhaps somewhere else or at another time. Just know that I'll be here to listen."
"Thank you. I'm glad that we can talk about this together. It's just the kind of topic that needs to be discussed, and you're really the only one I can talk about this to. It's- it's just that no one else would understand! Your parents, my parents... there's no way that they'd get it! It's all their fault!" Vex exclaims, this time sounding more distraught.
"My pleasure. I don't think that our parents should take all the blame though. I could've done more to protect Ashlie. Sometimes, I look back at that day... She wanted to go to the park with me, and at first, I was opposed to the idea. I... knew that it isn't safe for two young kids to go out without an adult. I don't know why my parents gave me the OK when I asked them for permission to go. Me asking was the first mistake. If I had just told her that I really wasn't feeling up for it... perhaps she would've been upset with me at the moment, but... she'd probably still be with us today..." Allay replies softly. "I just want to go back and do things all over again!"
Downstairs, Piglin restlessly paces around inside the food hall.
"Come on... when are you going to show up?"
Suddenly, she hears footsteps behind her and turns around.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I spent so long getting ready to meet you here that I missed the campus bus. I had to walk back to the apartments and use the elimination dorm bus that Illusioner stole. I'm surprised that he and Iceologer didn't take it earlier. Regardless, I'm here now," a male voice says.
The two siblings approach each other with haste.
"It's no big deal," Piglin says happily. "I'm just glad that we can see each other again."
"Me too," Piglin Brute says, holding his sister's hands.
"Let's get some food and go up to the roof," Piglin responds, approaching a barbecue vendor.
"Sounds like a good idea. Regardless, it's nice to be together again, sister."
As the two siblings take their food up to the rooftop, the topic of Illusioner is somehow brought up.
"So, you're using a stolen bus? He's OK with you using it?" Piglin asks.
"Yeah. I really shoulda got my own. I'll get to that tomorrow. Did something happen after he was eliminated?"
"Well, um... I killed Allay, and then Evoker called me out for my behavior. I kinda realised that what I was doing was wrong... Uh, why are you asking?"
"I was kinda forced to live with him and spend pretty much every day with him and Iceologer. I wouldn't say that the three of us are on the best of terms, but I can't say that we're on bad terms either."
"Ah, well, it must be nice to talk to someone other than them, right?"
"Yep. Totally. And it's nice to be able to sleep in my apartment again. Damn, those beds in the elimination dorm were rock hard! Did Golden get those from a boarding school surplus?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if she did! That girl's sooo rich, but she never cared about the elimination dorm, did she? I've seen her in her luxury cars, drinking iced coffee out of a gold-adorned tumbler. She really didn't care!"
Piglin Brute nods. "You're right to an extent. If you try to bring it up to her, she'll just deny all accusations, give you a wad of cash, and call it a day,"
"Well, it's all over now, right? I visited the library the other day and saw some blueprints and technical sketches of what the new building is going to look like, and it's going to be way better! I still don't get the point though. Why make everyone stay somewhere else just cause they were voted out of a game show?"
"I'm not sure. Say, could you tell me more about the new building? Let's discuss it over our dinner."
At long last, the contestants had reunited, and some little part of the whole situation just screamed... something is coming. Something that you've been waiting for is about to arrive.
A spotless white car with shiny, ornate golden accents pulls into the venue's parking lot. The headlights shimmer in the setting sun as the vehicle pulls into a parking space. Even as the car stops, the glistering netherite pendant hanging from the rear-view mirror swings like a pendulum. The almost silent engine of the electric vehicle stops, and the front door opens to reveal the interior of the vehicle, which is no less exquisite than the outside. The blonde driver, dressed in a light gray suit, steps out of her car and walks over to the venue, passing by the contestants on her way. She walks into the market, making sure to stop at the empanada and juice vendors before stepping aboard the glass-walled elevator leading to the roof. As she sits down to eat, the contestants who are downstairs, as well as some that had just arrived begin to make their way up as well. Two workers begin to set up a portable flat-screen TV by the turf patch. Somehow, perhaps out of a stroke of serendipity, something big was about to happen. After another lengthy wait, while still not nearly as long as the last, everything points towards one thing - Another game day has finally arrived. It seems like this all worked out by chance, after all, it wasn't planned for everyone to meet up at Framtida Market on that particular day. Or was it?
The woman stands up and disposes of her paper tray and napkins before walking over to the TV holding an iced cocktail glass. As the final rays of the sun disappear behind the surrounding buildings, the woman boots up the display screen and navigates to the iconic voting result graph on her tablet.
Hello and welcome back to the Battle for the Enchanted Netherite Trophy. It's nice to see you all again, especially on such a lovely evening. It isn't hot, but it isn't cold out here either. It's just around 13°, which is quite an ideal temperature for me. I'm actually really surprised that we all somehow decided to come to Framtida Market tonight. I was planning on starting the game day, or I guess night off here, so it was understandably quite convenient and shocking when I saw that a majority of the contestants, both eliminated and still in the game were already here. I could go on about this for a while, but we really need to move on with the schedule.
So, as you all know, or if you don't know because you missed it or you are eliminated, mångfald lost last time. Wait, all the games are recorded and were available for viewing in the Elimination Dorm before it caught on fire and had to be demolished. That building was so poorly built and needed so many repairs, not to mention all the safety and health violations that it had. We decided that it would be more cost-effective to just rip it down and build a new one in its stead. That's why all the eliminated contestants are allowed to live pretty much the same way as those still in the game. The only difference is that they aren't allowed to play in the game.
Now, unfortunately, we didn't receive nearly as many votes this time as we did last time, which is really disappointing. We only got 22 votes, which just so happens to be the same number of votes that Bee was eliminated with, but that's irrelevant. Let's move on. Today's prize is a gold laser-engraved Battle for the Enchanted Netherite Trophy pen. I ordered a huge box of these for a discounted price of $800. That's more money than I've spent on two months worth of food for the Elimination Dorm. I guess we can give some out as a thank-you gift to the voters when they come into the main building to vote. Anyways, if you are safe, you'll be getting a pen. If you are not safe or you are already eliminated, you will not be getting a pen at this moment. If you want one, feel free to take one when the contest starts.
Alleviation won the last contest, so all of their members get a pen. Now, only two members of mångfald received votes, so let me tell you who those two people WEREN'T. Piglin, Pillager, and Iron Golem, you three are safe. I'll hand out the pens.
"Ooohhhh... shiny!" Piglin exclaims, taking the pen.
Now we are down to Vindicator and Enderman. Who's going to leave the game and not go to the Elimination Dorm because it doesn't exist anymore? Let's show the votes!
I click a button on the computer, triggering an animation of the bar graph on the TV screen. At four votes, Vindicator is safe! That means that Enderman leaves the game at 18 votes! "Hmph. Well, I'll be seeing you," Endrman grunts as he teleports away.Thank you to these users for commenting/voting on the game!
What happened to the badge drop down menus?
If you are a returning viewer, you probably noticed that the user badge and badge requirements drop down boxes are gone! Where did they go? Well, I had to remove them due to time limitations, formatting issues. I might add them back at a later date though!
THANK YOU FOR VOTING AND HELPING SUPPORT THE GAME!
Alright. I need to get things settled out before the game begins, so I guess you guys can just relax a bit more before we get things started tonight.
Vindicator and
Evoker walk over to the edge of the rooftop, facing the parking lot.
"Evelyn, I know we haven't been spending as much time together as we used to. You know, with us being on opposite teams and all,"
Vindicator starts. "Even with the long breaks between game days... we've still been so caught up with other things."
"I know what you mean. I've been focusing more on my online classes and thinking about how things are going back home. I never expected the game to last for so long... and if it goes on for much longer, I might have to drop out of the game to finish up my senior year in person. That is if our school even starts doing in-person classes before the end of this school year..."
Evoker replies.
"Yeah... don't sweat it. It's not like we're the only ones that are going to end up doing our last year remotely. All of our friends... our enemies... We're all in this together, right?"
"Right. And I'm sure that even if we do get the chance to go back, Golden would understand if I explained. I... just feel so much pressure. Should I stay in the game or go back home? I really want that trophy, and this just seems like a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The voters... the other contestants... all see me in a positive light. Being here helped me start anew and move on. When I left home, I left the pains of my past there too. Sometimes it's best to just let go of the past and start a new life with a clean slate,"
"That makes sense. Isn't it funny how it's been so long, and those kids still haven't learned anything about the way they treated us? I'm thinking about how things were when we were kids now. About how things never seemed to change when we were growing up..."
"Still in terms of that... I've been talking with Aliea a bit more. It seems like we've all been thinking more about our pasts. She told me how she witnessed two older illagers brutally murder her sister as a child. Even despite that, she treats everyone with the same level of respect without any bias for... anything. I envy her for that,"
The two look out at the cityscape in front of them, hand in hand. They are silent for a moment, but
Evoker turns to her boyfriend to speak.
"I've made up my mind. After tonight's game, I'm going home for the holidays a bit early. And if our school does switch back to in-person, I'm going to finish school there. This campus is only about half an hour away from our neighborhood. I'll come back for game days, and perhaps weekends. Being a contestant on this game show is fun and all, but my studies are important as well. During my time here, I've learned some new skills that helped me narrow down what I might want to do after I graduate. I know that it will be expensive to make the commute out here a few times a month, but it will be worth it,"
Vindicator nods. "I understand. You said it yourself, but Golden would be more than happy to support you if you move off campus to focus more on school. I'm sure she'd even provide you with gas money. Nah, she likes you. She sees that you have some great potential, and you know how she's more willing to spend more money on those who she thinks highly of. If you ask her, I wouldn't be surprised if she bought you a custom-designed electric car and paid for your insurance!"
"I can wrap my mind around that. Should I go tell her or wait until after the game?" Evoker asks.
"That's all up to you. If you want to talk to her now, go for it... and since you said that you are going on your holiday break early, I have something I want to give you. We can head over to my place after the game... you know, before you leave..."
Since there's going to be a long wait for 20b to come out, I wanted to put a poll here. I want to ask your opinion on something - Which arcs would you be interested in seeing more of?
Poll ended 01/13/2023 12:56 pm.
TheEvokerQueen