It's been about a week since the Glitch-o-mania Stick Figure Purple endured. During that time King Mango had trained with the Crowbar he had gained, and planned for his next move. Though one person had reached out to him about a new development that needed his attention, so King collected relevant notes for research to give to his new ally. All the while, he never ceased monitoring Purple's condition, and seeing to her needs in the best way he could. Purple, despite her annoyingly persistent state of glitching (her words, although most people would use "concerningly" or "alarmingly" instead), was on her feet and helping again after the first day. Even if said feet physically wouldn't allow her to stand from time to time, she still made every effort to stick by Mango like she was his little assistant. (That may have just been an excuse to be near him, honestly.... something she'd never admit at gunpoint.) Finally, though, the glitches ebbed away for good. For the time being, at least, she existed without pain and without struggle. So of course things had to get intense again the second she so much as considered relaxing.
"Well, I'm aware, but I can't be in two places at once"
What about that assistant of yours I saw last time we called?
"She is my daughter, and she's still recovering from facing a very experienced Govorduul. I don't want to risk her for the moment"
So you know the whole Doc Scratch debacle by now, I hope? Well I'm cooking up a plan to fight him. A secret weapon, if you will. But in order to make it so it actually, y'know, works, I need King's research on Minecraft - the way it exists is oddly connected to tthe real world, as well as the Essence Loop. But given the state of things right now King needs to stay here sorting other waterfowl
"I. Am. Not. Risking. Purple. I almost lost her once... I won't lose another like this..."
As always, she was listening. As always, she didn't let him know she was, even if it was practically a given since they were in the same room. And hearing him call her "daughter" absolutely did NOT make her turn away and try her damndest to cover up her smile, something just caught her eye on the other side of the room, her hand is over her mouth because she's contemplating it and the glimmer in her eyes means nothing-
Okay, yeah, who is she kidding, she's practically* ecstatic *about that word. So much so that she almost misses the next bit of the conversation. But it sounds like King needs her help, and what kind of daughter (!!!) would she be if she didn't offer it to him? So she schools her face down into a neutral smile, wipes brimming happy tears from her eyes, and taps him lightly on the shoulder.
"Mango? You... said my name?"
She'll pretend she didn't hear that last part. She'll pretend even more so that it didn't make her heart swell twice as much.
"It's like Clock Jester said. We need to get my research on Minecraft to them, but we don't have anyone available except you. But I won't ask you to, not when you just started doing a little better"
She starts bouncing on her toes, maybe a little more eager than she should be considering she can still feel the remnants of exhaustion in her bones.
"It's just a delivery job, right? I've done tons of those before! I can fly there and back before you even notice I'm gone!"
That's what I wanna hear! Mango should have it all collated, I'll DM you a route - not my exact location of course, just a drop site
"...if you insist... take care, Purple"
In short order a DM is recieved, directing Purple to go to a little-used but still functional website for a long-defunct Minecraft server
"Of course!! Smart thinking!"
Purple equips her elytra, which thankfully had not been taken from her as it sat safe and sound in her inventory, and darts off to go collect the info she needs, as well as some supplies for a safe trip. Maybe she's overpreparing a smidge, but better safe than sorry. She knows that well, now. For a brief moment, she comes back to Mango's side to say goodbye. Maybe she was intending to go in for a hug, but anxiety gets the better of her at the last second, and she ends up just leaning against his arm.
"I'll be careful. I promise."
And try to stay away from Shadowglass or V-Corp patrols - we really don't nwant this getting messed up
A most precious box of papers, artifacts, and gadgets is placed into her arms. Under different stars this would have led to a 200 panel segment of trying to put it in her Sylladex Inventory and destroying King's house, but as she has a much more convenient inventory system, this does not occur. The path is long and winding, going through various websites, but there's no real conundrums until she's a few sites away - there are 3 ways to go. 1 is blocked by Rocket Corp activity (she cant' risk her Elytra), 1 by V-Corp popups (even worse), 1 is blocked by nothing but leads through Newgrounds. She makes it just fine, wings buzzing and fireworks lighting and the box held as safely as it can be. No one is given the chance to see her— as she promised, she is as careful here as she was back in Stick City.
Unfortunately, that care means there is only one thing she can do at the crossroads. By absolutely no means will she let herself be seen by either cooperation. Not again. Not when she can't fight. But Newgrounds...
Purple takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders. There's no other option if she wants to get back home quickly. Her elytra buzz again, sending her gliding into an orange sky that she hasn't seen since she was 4 years old. She clasps her hands tightly together. It's not burning this time. The terrorists responsible for that have long since disappeared from the public eye. She is as safe here as she is in Minecraft. (She tries not to think about how one of those terrorists is in the same chat room as her.)
When she briefly lands by a bunch of fuel tanks is when the trouble starts. Two people, one not unlike that Crowbar guy from earlier, appear
The other one looks around, and shoots a fuel tanker with a Fire bullet, causing the entire local area of Newgrounds to explode and catch fire, like it did all those years ago
Sawbuck uses his Felt Power!
THe two men warp out, but not before one got a verrrrrrrrrrry good look at what she was holding. Oh code, they HAVE to show up right as she lands, huh? Purple gets about half a second to lament about her bad luck, and half a second more to realize that she is right next to fuel tanks and that one of them was just shot.
The explosion goes off in her ears, in her eyes, in her nerves, in her **brain**, and when she comes back to herself she's barely breathing at all. Her throat is too tight, her skin too hot. She's on her back. Her delivery is clutched tight to her chest— a couple things spilled out, but miraculously, none of them have burned.
She needs to run. She needs to hide. She needs to **get up.
Get up get up get up get up
She scrambles to her knees and shoves everything back in the box, not even entirely sure what's in there. Her wings don't think to move, her elytra clamped tight against her back as some meager protection. Her legs are on fire. Her arms are on fire. For a second, the image of her mother flashes across her mind, and then she is running. Running to where? She doesn't know. **Anywhere** but here.
She just has to hope and pray she finds who she's looking for.
~~They're not supposed to be blue... are they?~~*
Out of the fire on her own body emerges another person like Blue Stripe Hat, only with a Red Stripe Hat instead. He looks at Purple, then looks at the box
She yelps and nearly stumbles, but no, no, **no,** she **can't** afford to fall, she **can't** afford to **fail**-
Purple turns, and looks at the person with the red striped hat, and she can't quite meet his eyes but she hears his words, and she clutches the box tighter, takes a step back, and shakes her head.
No. She will not give this to him. She doesn't remember why it's important, or where she needs to get it to, just that it **is** and she **cannot** let it go.
She steps back again. Her calves burn with the movement, even if the actual fire is flickering out from her running. They are still scorched, and red, and **damaged**, and oh, ~~someone~~ is going to be so upset because she wasn't careful-
She pries her attention back. Letting it slip right now will be fatal.*
You can give it now or after I carbonize you. Your choice
*Another step. Another inch away. For a moment, she considers it — for a moment, she is unsure — and then that moment passes, and her determination is renewed twofold. She presses the box ever closer to her chest. No, she will **not** give this to him. Anything else, but **not this.**
The warning, the danger, the **fear** echoes in her mind. So she turns, and she runs.*
Matchsticks uses his Felt Power!
Matchsticks suddenly emerges from a fire in front of her and hits her full blast with his fire extinguisher
She managed to skid to a stop and keep her footing, hunched over the box to protect what's inside. At least the flames on her arms are out now.
There's another problem, though.
She's trying— all she gets is foam. There's not even enough room to hold her breath, but she persists. Her legs are weak, but she persists. Covering her face would risk dropping the box, but she persists.
She's good at staying upright. It's all that's kept her alive for these years.
A hard WHACK against her head is felt - the fire extinguisher must have other uses too
She collapses- but only to one knee. Her vision is starting to black out and she's only barely able to wipe her nose clear enough to start breathing air instead of liquid.
'**Come on.** You haven't gotten this far by crumbling to every little thing, have you?'
Despite her pounding skull and the circumstances and the promise she already broke (even if she can't remember who she made that promise to— maybe her mother, maybe her father, maybe...) Purple shifts her weight and braces her feet, and with what little she can see, she picks a direction and **dashes**. Somehow, she's still fast. Somehow, she's still balanced. Somehow, the box is still intact.
She intends to keep it that way.
Very thin air, on account of Matchsticks' previous attack with the fire extinguisher. That didn't stop being a thing or anything. As she runs, she hears gunshots behind her - Matchsticks is trying to shoot her now, with a gun that is almost comically small for him
She hears the shots and manages a sharp left turn, right behind a tall monolith covered in files. People's files. She has a moment to regret what she might be doing to them — if those bullets strike a home link, it'll be the Netscape attacks all over again — but she does not have time, and so she continues running along the length of the "screen" before winding towards another. With luck, he'll lose her trail, and she'll escape without much further damage.
She's fading fast, though. Her legs are numb, only still moving from adrenaline and muscle memory.
And of course, the very thing she was afraid of happens moments after she worried about it. Matchsticks shoots a home link, causing it to go up in flames. This causes the bad thing Purple was afraid of (what File wouldn't be) but then enables another bad thing she remembers as it happens
Matchsticks uses his Felt Power!
Matchsticks emerges from the resulting fire, grabs Purple, then puts it out behind him
She flinches, hard, and her eyes blur for just long enough.
And then she's trapped, she's stuck, she's **choking**, unable to make her muscles work with the sudden weightlessness and the pressure in her gut.
A few thing have fallen out of the box.
Her wings buzz against Matchsticks's arm at that.
She wasn't supposed to let that happen.
She was supposed to keep it safe.
She was supposed to keep it **all safe**.
Now she can't even reach down to pick it back up.
... at least it won't burn. The fires around this area are out.
So she clenches her teeth and the remaining 90% of her delivery, and presses it closed again, and struggles to remain conscious. If she blacks out, the box falls. If she blacks out, it means she **fails**.
If she blacks out, it means... it means...
She kicks her feet against his chest and beats her elytra as hard as it'll go and raises her head and screams.
SHE WILL NOT BE TAKEN HERE.
in the corner of her mind appears a symbol, jagged and angular. She doesn't dwell on it, only that its presence seems to answer her call
SHE WILL NOT BE TAKEN HERE.
On pure instinct, very chaotic pale green triangle glitches appear where Matchsticks holds her. These spread to the fire he was trying to enter, "corrupting(? (probably not honestly, but what other word?))" it
This HURTS. More than anything she's ever experienced. She has to stop. She must stop now or she'll die!
But No. She can't stop. Fate. Must. Change.
---\_\_\_---___\_\_\_-------\_---\_-
Purple shrieks to the empty orange sky, to the huge black monoliths, to the **agony** in her torso.
To the symbol in her mind.
'**"Blue blazes," indeed, Matchsticks.**'
A young Stick Figure sits at home in the base he made for himself. Given that it's the first time he has been seen, it shall be allowed give him a name. What will his name be?
```The Cerulean Crackhead```
Oh you think you're SO funny don't you? Well this ain't Persona, ya Joker
Your name is Blue. You're not really sure how you ended up in this Minecraft world. One moment you were getting Green to fly your ship into a weird Triquetra of energy Red found, one moment you're here
You have a collection of various items, mostly relating to AGRICULTURE, CULINARY ARTS, and ALCHEMY IN THE TRADITIONAL NON-SBURBAN SENSE. Those things are your INTERESTS.
[S] Blue: -Get lambasted by a green fireman, appently
When Purple can see again, the first thing in her sight is her friend, her friend, her friend-
GAH! What was- Who cares. She's sleepin' tight for now, just slip awa-
<The WART!>
*Blue rushes Matchsticks, knocking him over*
<YOU WRECKED MY FREAKIN' WART!>
<Oh hi Purple>
<Anyway DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT WAS TO GET MY WART?!>
Purple groans, **exhausted** but not in pain, for the moment. Her hands curl and she manages to open her eyes, to push herself up. It's difficult.
So she does it anyways, forcing herself at least to her knees with only a brief panic over the box before finding it and pulling it closer. Then, and only then, does she direct her attention to her friend beating up the fireman who almost killed her.
The effects of what he did show in her voice, weak and dazed. At least her face is clear enough to try and refill her lungs.
*Out of nowhere the blue guy's back, now he brought a family of pig people, a beachgoing woman, a bottle cap-wielding knight, 2 astronauts, a Shifter, a troll, four human children, along with a blue, deer-like centaur, with a sharp, bladed tail, and Notos. Oh yeah, and a bomb, that goes off, causing everyone to teleport again*
Sawbuck uses his Felt Power!
When Purple comes to, she sees herself in what looks like the Minecraft town Orange was showing off. She is not being attacked, somehow a miracle has occured. A moment more, and Purple's able to get a good look at the reason she does'nt see any oncoming attacks - or rather, who's taking them all for her - her good friend Orange
over with the crowd, notos is dealing with their own miniature disaster. the blue centaur thing has its tail blade up against their neck, and is yelling at them telepathically.
<Where are we? Who are you? How did you find us?>
its- his. his voice is like that of a young teenager, not unlike the humans (and one red-tailed hawk, who had gone mostly unnoticed in the earlier chaos) that stood around him in a subtle defensive position.
”okay, please calm down. we really don’t have time for long explanations, but i’ll do my best. we ended up in your world on accident. that green guy over there with the blue hat? he teleports everyone in a radius into a random spot in the multiverse every time he gets hit. just hold tight until this is over, and we’ll get you back to your own universe once everything gets wrapped up. deal?”
funnily enough, it is not the centaur that answers, but one of the humans, a tall, well built boy with fluffy brown hair and dark brown eyes that seemed far too hard for someone his age. he steps forward, taking notos’ extended hand in his own and shaking.
Purple, despite her weakness, pries herself off the ground and back to her feet. The box is still kept securely in her arms as she surveys the situation. Suddenly, the group is much bigger; suddenly, they're in an entirely different place. For a moment, she* might *recognize it, it's familiar enough to her, but her attention is taken far quicker by Orange. She should help him. She should fight with him- but her hands are not free, so-
... So.
So, *how could she have forgotten her inventory space? A quick check, and- yes, she has enough room, if she just breaks the rules a little. Her friends do it all the time. It can't be that hard.
The lines between slots are broken, and the box is shoved within, and just like that, she is grinning with all her teeth and pulling a netherite spear to her side. Her wings flare and flutter and she lifts herself up with a jump. Her breath may still be shallow, but that's just how it is when flying. She can work with this.
And work with it she does, as Matchsticks's gun-firing arm is suddenly sliced through at the shoulder by a monochrome-purple blur. An easy twist in midair has her facing Orange, still smiling.
"About time you joined us, textbox!"
Matchsticks had apparently just finished an attack on someone. Yellow is seen participating, but there's someone not here who should be. A flicker of red is seen at the other end of a fire Matchsticks sprays with his extinguisher before it can reach her.
matchsticks suddenly has to contend with six identical lines of pressure surging out from the new group, breaking over his skin like waves breaking on the shore. notos hinoki has joined the battle! for a bit, at least.
For a brief moment, a flicker of a* snarl *crosses Purple's face. Someone close enough, attuned enough, can hear what's almost a growl come out of her mouth. And then she darts in for Matchsticks again, this time aiming for his hand. But the sight of the fire extinguisher once again in action makes her flag, and jerk away from the thing, and she stabs his forearm instead.
Then they're face-to-face, and she's shocked for a moment, even as she braces her feet on his body.
Then her mouth curls up again, as do her eyes.
"Hello~ You didn't really think you could **get rid of me**, did you?"
Matchsticks leaps back, then dusts the whole area with his fire extinguisher, making it very hard to breathe
tavros coughs- once, twice, then stops. he closes his eyes for a second, and every muscle in his body seems to relax. the Breath swirls around him. it goes faster, faster, faster, until it bursts out in a roar, dissipating the dust into the air and spreading it so thinly that it can’t do any serious harm. once this is done, he opens his eyes, grins in relief, then promptly - and shakily - sits down, looking exhausted.
Purple's wings burst open again and she's back in the air. Blurry vision? Blurry thoughts? No problem, fighting is second nature to her.
(It's not, but she has to believe it might as well be.)
She gives herself three seconds. One to reorient herself, two to plan her next move, three to breathe. One, two, three- **go!**
This time, when she dives, the spear is not pointed directly at Matchsticks. It's the opposite direction, tilted slightly, while a firework lights in her hand and boosts her forward. The hooked lower edge of the spearhead catches by his eye, dragged along with her speed and tight grip, and just like that a long cut swerves above his eyebrow. As if to add insult to injury, his hat is knocked off as well.
'Good luck seeing with all the blood in your eye.'
Shots ring out, but none of them hit Purple.
A Minecraft person then appears
Everyone's passives are here scrambled!
Sawbuck now has one of the humans' killability, a different one's morphing ability, Song's garbage defense, and a Deblasto effect Yellow had cast which was swapped for the Drilnos Sawbuck raises his gun and blasts Notos, only for something odd to happen - everyone teleports when NOTOS is hit. Clock Jester goes along, but leaves behind Orange, Yellow, and Blue
notos… doesn’t notice the change inmediately. they just got hit with a SHOTGUN blast after all - they may be significantly more durable than the regular human, but that still HURTS! their pokemon, however, absolutely do notice, and they start absolutely WHALING on sawbuck.
Purple knows she's gone when the air under her wings is suddenly far different to the air of the battlefield. That's the first thing she notices, that she's fluttering in the air with the wrong amount of force, and usually when this happens it's because she's gone through a portal and is swooping in to land. So her elytra stops moving. And she starts falling.
She then feels a massive YANK before she can land in the dimension, instead landing in a wooden room, with many strange artifacts pattered throughout it
...Now then, got the goods?
She stumbles onto her feet, newly upright and generally oriented after she takes a few seconds to look around and stand up straight. Then she looks at Clock Jester. She recognizes the voice, but...
"Which goods in particular do you speak of?"
she says, narrowing her eyes and folding her hands behind her back. The suspicion is clear; she was only expecting to leave the box at a drop point, not deliver it directly to someone. Although, given the circumstances, she's ready to accept it. She just also knows, firsthand, the dangers of the knowledge that she holds.
King Mango's notes and junk - It was supposed to be a drop point but considering how everything went down I might as well just, like, take the stuff here
*She closes her eyes for one full second— an intense display of wary trust, from her. When she opens them again, the navy blue tint of her eyes is a little less there, a little hint lighter to give way to her detail's color. She stares at Clock Jester with the practiced hardness of a girl who had known one too many betrayals in too few years.
"During that phone call. What did you call me, and what did he call me?"
King? He called you his daughter. Eye-Eye-Arr-See
Yes, they actually put emphasis on them spelling it out. They seem to know how annoying it makes them sound. A fire in a fireplace in the room starts to wobble ominously.
Her face... twitches. Around her eyes and mouth, the muscles spasm and pull like she's either trying to stop an expression, or make one... it's hard to tell.
Purple cuts off abruptly, turning sharp eyes to the fireplace and backing away a step.
Clock Jester's also readying a spell - a strong one
Matchsticks emerges, and promptly fumigates the area again
THe Water spell damages, but does not kill. Also it was too late to shut the fire before he jumped in
Immediately, Purple covers her mouth again, as though that will do much against this specific fire extinguisher. Her spear is still clutched tight in her hand, and she takes the opportunity of Clock Jester's Water spell to dive forward with its surge, tip aimed straight and true at Matchsticks's chest, right where his heart would be on a human. There's enough force behind the action to drive the spearhead deep into his skin, and when her feet land on the floor, she doesn't hesitate before kicking one up and bracing it on him to wrench the weapon out.
Matchsticks goes stiff, then falls.
Panting in the airless space, Purple grips her spear and turns back to Clock Jester.
"Forgive me if this is an... impudent question, but do you have anywhere to hide the body? I don't believe you'd want it rotting on your floor."
THe body turns to dust after a ray of dark gray chaotic energy hits it
You were fine btw. Never turn your back on the body
"... Very good point there."
The lack of proper air must really be getting to her. But she's got enough of her thoughts back in order to figure that this person, from what little she's heard of them, is probably the right one. If she's wrong, she suffers, and everyone goes back to the void of death. Not the worst fate she's experienced.
"Now, then. I'd prefer to get home quickly, so here's your box."
And with that, she pulls it out of her inventory, briefly grimacing at the borders she probably won't be able to repair, and hands the whole thing to Clock Jester.
... a couple things slipped out during the fight. They're loose in Newgrounds now. She'll pick them up on her way back, but hopefully her client won't notice.
Cool. King's on his way to Pokeworld, if you want me to take ya there
"That's a very kind offer, but I wouldn't want to impose too much. If you could direct me back to-"
Her voice caught for a moment.
"- Newgrounds... Then I could find my way from there."
Nah really, it'd be a gift to me - I'd get to bug test some spells
For a moment, she's silent. But she's also learned that pushing too hard on something only gets people suspicious of her. So, she prepares to resign herself to leaving a few papers lost and possibly burned in her home site.
"If you really are sure about that. I suppose it would be faster... just as long as it isn't too much trouble."
