Fanfiction: Experiencing Freedom CHAPTER 47 is a go! (February 7th)

CHAPTER 28! CHAPTER 28! GET TO SAFETY NOW!!!

‘Iridium bars? Check. Frozen Tears? Still fine quality.’ James thought as he rummaged through the freezer. He took out the objects out and placed it in his wheelbarrow. He then opened the fridge door. The fridge had three of his high-quality pumpkins, two melons, ten jars of blueberry jelly and a high quality rainbow trout. James nodded and placed the things into his wheelbarrow. Finally, he took a look at his gemstone chest and took out the largest diamond and a bunch of emeralds. He was all set. Just then, the clock struck six. Jade would be waking up by now. James walked out of the house to greet the day. He firstly went to his kegs to see if the beer was ready. The one with the cranberry juice in was still doing its job. He checked the remaining five kegs. The beer was ready. ‘Damn, Leah’s ancestors were amazing people!’ James thought as he took a sip from the beer. He brought a box full of bottles and filled them with the beer until the kegs were empty. In total, he had made fifty bottles of beer. He took six of them and placed them in an ice box and dumped thirty-four in the selling box. As he was about to place the rest of them in the fridge, he saw Jade rummaging through it. “Uh… Jade? There isn’t much to eat there.” James said.

“What? Is that why I can’t find my leftover cookies?!” Jade asked. James nodded, but his face suddenly changed into confusion.

“Wait, who eats green tea cookies for breakfast?” James asked. “Anyways, back off. I have to place these in the fridge.” He added. Jade moved aside so that her roommate can do his job. Now with that out of the way, he could officially start his work on the farm.


It was 8 o’clock when James was done with his chores. He remembered receiving a text message from Lewis saying that whoever wishes to contest on the showcase is required to come at least thirty minutes early. Knowing this, he decided to take Jade with him for the Fair. “Jade?” James called out from the porch.

“Yeah?” Jade answered, opening the front door. She was still wearing her pajamas. James shook his head.

“Get dressed. We’re leaving for the Town soon.” James said. Jade nodded, closed the door and reopened it wearing a white dress and a flower hat. James put his palm on his face. “Jade, this is NOT the Flower Festival. Besides, where did you get those heels?” He asked.

“I found it in 2 Willow Lane.” Jade replied. James was flabbergasted.

“YOU STOLE THEM?! JESUS ROLLERBLADING CHRIST, JADE! Go wear something else!” James shouted. Jade nodded, laughing and closed the door. She came back with a witch’s costume and a jack-o’-lantern toy on her hand.

“What about now?” Jade asked. James tried to hide his laughter.

“Jade, Spirit’s Eve is two weeks away from now. Besides, where the hell did you get that costume? Don’t tell me that you stole this too.” James asked.

“Abigail gave it to me. I don’t know, but she said that it’s a gift of friendship.” Jade replied. James gave a nod. That was understandable.

“I see. In all seriousness, though. Just wear what you usually wear. We’re going to go now.” James said, holding his wheelbarrow. Jade came back wearing a white shirt, green bow on her hair, jeans and boots. “That’s better. Let’s go. The mayor’s going to be impatient.” James said, pushing the wheelbarrow full of things for his showcase.


The walk lasted about ten minutes. The path between the bus station and the Town was decorated with banners that say ‘Welcome to Stardew Valley’. Although the station was empty, the notification panel stated that there are twelve buses incoming. As he entered the town, James and Jade noticed that the square was decorated as if it was some kind of circus. There were carnival tents everywhere with what looked like employees walking around carrying boxes. There was a large banner that says ‘Stardew Valley Fair’ on the mountain cliff next to stairs. There were also slanted tables that were to be used as showcases. Pierre was loading the leftmost table with goods. As James walked to Lewis, who was standing beside the General Store, he was greeted by him.

“Why, Hello James. It’s good to see you here. I suppose you came for the showcase?” Lewis asked enthusiastically.

“Yes, sir! That’s what this wheelbarrow is for!” James replied, pointing at his wheelbarrow. Lewis nodded with a smile.

“They sure are good quality items! Remember, James. This is the most important event of the year. I hope you have what it takes to make your grandfather proud! Plus, it’s glad to see your friend Jade going along with the community as well!” Lewis said. James responded positively and walked to the table with a signboard with ‘Cerulean Farm’ written on it. As James was thinking of how he will arrange his items, Pierre walked to him.

“Hello, James. I see that you are set for the Fair showcase!” Pierre said arrogantly.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks, Mr. Berneau.” James replied with a false smile. He looked over him to his stall. It was filled to the brim with fresh produce. He noticed that some of them were made by James himself. ‘Wait, that’s not fair. Does that explain his arrogance?’ James thought. “Anyways, are we the only two to showcase things here?” He concluded with a question.

“No, Marnie and Willy also showcases their things in the other tables.” Pierre replied, pointing at the empty tables behind James. There were four empty tables. “Huh, that’s weird. I guess two other people are coming? No matter, I will crush them like I usually do every Fair.” Pierre arrogantly added.

‘Really? Very well, I guess I should crush his spirit.’ James thought as he started placing his items on his table. As he backed away from the table to see how the showcase looked like from afar, he was hugged from behind by someone. He found out the perpetrator: Abigail. “Hey, Abby.” James greeted her, holding her hands.

“Are you going for the showcase?” Abigail asked, releasing him. James turned around to her and nodded. “My dad always wins the Fair showcase to the point that it’s not rewarding. I wanna see you win!” She added.

“It’s like how Seb told me about how you always win in the Egg Hunt.” James jokingly replied. Abigail giggled. She hopped to her boyfriend and gave a passionate kiss. The two released their lips as soon as they heard Pierre’s cough. James looked around to see people coming from the bus station. Marnie arrived with a wheelbarrow of her own goods while Willy was already stocking his fish collection on his table. James noticed the empty table at the right end of the showcase. Who will be the owner? As he thought, he was tapped by someone. He turned around to see that the perpetrator was Sam.

“What’s up, bro?” Sam asked. Sebastian walked to his blonde friend.

“Heh, what’s up guys?” James asked.

“Eh, we’re fine. We’re here to get bored of Pierre’s victory parade.” Sebastian replied, taking a drag from his cigarette.

“Is it? We’ll see.” James said. Sam gave a shrug.

“Are you going for the carnival games?” Sebastian asked.

“Maybe. I don’t know how this Fair goes, so I’ll have to see what the others are doing.” James gave a shrug. He looked around to see more people coming to the town square. He checked his phone. It was 9:12 AM. Lewis picked up a megaphone from a nearby table and drew attention of everyone to him.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! I, the mayor of Pelican Town, would like to welcome you all to this wonderful festival: The Stardew Valley Fair!” Lewis said through the megaphone. Everyone clapped along, although James could clearly see that the claps from Sebastian were empty. “Now! I hope everyone will enjoy this year’s festival! In fact, we have a lot of things in store… two times the number of events than last year! With that being said, let the Stardew Valley Fair… BEGIN!” Lewis shouted with excitement. Demetrius and Maru ignited some fireworks and they skyrocketed up and exploded into colorful lights. The crowd clapped and continued doing what they were doing. James gave a nod and took out the icebox from his wheelbarrow. He opened it to reveal the ten bottles of beer covered in ice. Just then, Leah walked to where he was with a wheelbarrow full of wooden sculptures, porcelain and art canvases.

“You made these?!” Leah gasped in awe, peeking into the icebox. James nodded with pride. He was happy with his achievements.

“It’s all thanks to your ancestors!” James replied. Leah giggled at the response. “Say, I suppose all that stuff is for your grange?” He asked, peeking at Leah’s wheelbarrow.

“Yeah! I wanted to showcase my art to the public for the first time, and I think the Fair is the best time to do it!” Leah replied.

“Well, good luck then.” James said, waving. Leah smiled back and pushed her wheelbarrow to the rightmost table among the showcases. He continued placing items, taking them out and placing them in a different order to see if the design suited the eyes of the majority. After five minutes of arrangements, James finally found the arrangement of items that he found satisfactory. Giving a nod, he walked around the showcase tables to see who else were contesting other than Pierre. Marnie had just finished setting up her grange. It was full of dairy products and egg products like mayonnaise, large eggs from ducks and chickens and cloth made from high quality wool. However, what took the eyes of James was the gigantic wheel of cheese. James approached Marnie. “Damn, Ms. Lannister! That’s a large wheel of cheese!” He complimented.

“Well, thank you James! It took me twenty liters of milk to make this! It’s glad to see you like it!” Marnie replied. “Although Pierre’s goods seem… overwhelmingly fresh. I’m not sure if I could win this year.” She added worriedly. James took his time to peek at Pierre’s stand again. He saw the shopkeeper beaming with confidence. It made James want to crush his high hopes. For some reason, it filled him with determination. When the town square seemed to be bustling with people, James decided that it was the best time to see what the fair has to offer. There were more ten tents to be exact, with one that seemed to be on the graveyard. He walked to one of the tents with a lady wearing a sky-blue dress.

“Would you like to exchange star tokens for gifts?” The lady asked.

“Uh, what are those?” James asked. Just then, Sam approached him and grabbed his shoulder.

“It’s the money of this Fair. You’re gonna have to win some carnival games to get’em, bro.” Sam said.

“Well, I guess I should do that. Introduce me to them, vocalist.” James said, shrugging Sam’s hand off. Sam nodded and ordered his friend to follow him.

“Well, the first one, here, is the shoot the balloons. I guess it’s obvious since you were so used to guns.” Sam said as he walked to the second tent. “That, is the fishing game. I don’t know, but Pam seems to lurk around this one.” The two then continued to the third tent. “This is the… I… don’t know what that is.” Sam finished, looking at the tent that was on the graveyard.

“Hey, I can do it alone from here. First, let me get some star tokens.” James said. Sam gave a nod and walked to where Sebastian was. After looking around his surroundings, James walked to the tent which happened to sell star tokens and bought a fifty for 250 Galleons. Knowing that his videogame senses are tingling, he walked to the tent with the shooting range. It costed him fifty Galleons, but he had to wait as there was someone who was already inside the tent. He waited as he heard airsoft gunshots and eventually slamming of frustration. Turns out, it was Abigail who was shooting whatever targets were in the tents. As she exited the tent, she immediately noticed James standing in front of the counter.

“Hey, robo-baby!” Abigail greeted. James waved back with a grin.

“What the hell happened? It’s not high noon?” James jokingly asked.

“What? NO! I suck at aiming!” Abigail giggled, slapping James’s shoulder.

“Uh, sir? It’s your turn.” The woman behind the counter said. James nodded and entered. Inside was a long table with a single rifle. There was a conveyor belt that was used for moving targets around. James picked up and inspected the rifle. For a carnival apparatus, it looked extremely similar to a Colt Revolving Rifle with the wooden stock and metallic barrel and cylinder, but the only differences was that the ammunition were plastic darts. The stock could break from the metallic part of the rifle, revealing the empty sockets in the cylinders for the ammunition. In short, this rifle had a top-break action system. “Sir, be sure to say ‘go’ when you think you are ready!” The woman called out. James gave a positive response and loaded the rifle with the darts. He took a look through iron sight. There seemed to be a slight deviation, but James shrugged.

“Go!” James called out. The machinery activated. The conveyor belt started moving, revealing target boards with numbers written on that determined the points. The1-point targets moved in swarms and were slow while the five-point targets moved relatively quickly and were dwindling in numbers. Taking a deep breath, James fired at the 1-point targets, with all six darts hitting their mark. He quickly reloaded and this time concentrated on the 5-point targets. Just as he was reloading for the second time, two target boards appeared in the opposite sides of the tent. They were worth ten points. Seeing how rewarding if they were to be hit, James hastily closed the gun but one dart impaled his left arm. Although excruciating pain followed, James gritted his teeth and shot one target while the other disappeared. James quickly removed the dart and loaded it in his gun, but blood gushed from the wound. Ignoring it, he continued firing at the swarm of targets until the counter woman blew a whistle, signaling that the time was up. The screen in front of James brightened up, indicating his overall progress.

SHOTS-53

HITS-53

ACCURACY-100%

ONE-POINT TARGETS HIT- 32

FIVE-POINT TARGETS HIT- 19

TEN-POINT TARGETS HIT- 2

OVERALL SCORE- 147

NEW RECORD!

TOTAL STAR TOKENS- 75

The screen flashed with pixilated firewords. James gave a grin and walked out of the tent. Abigail was peeking through the hole. When her boyfriend came out, she hugged him but immediately released him when she felt liquid from his left arm. Blood. She gave a shocking gasp.

“Oh my god! James, are you alright?” Abigail asked, grabbing his arm. James gave out a groan of pain.

“I could be if you didn’t grasp the wound like that! James replied, squeezing his arm. Abigail looked at him in the eyes. Her white shirt was partially covered in James’s blood. “It’s only a flesh wound.” James assure her, kneeling down to kiss Abigail. “Besides, I think I know why you suck at this game. What was your score?” James asked.

“Four.” Abigail replied, looking embarrassed. “At least you got some training!” She said.

“Hey, what does Reaper from Overwatch use? Shotguns. There’s your answer for your stupid aim.” James said. “Now, I want to see what else this place has in store.” He said to himself, walking to the other tents.


After five hours worth of the Fair, James returned to his showcase grange. The other five contestants, Pierre, Marnie, Willy, Leah and Clint were standing next to theirs. Pierre was looking arrogant as usual while Willy felt doubt with his showcase. Lewis and three other people walked to the six and gave a smile. “Well, contestants! I hope you are all done setting up your granges. These thee people will be the judges alongside with me.” Lewis said. James bowed to the people, showing respect. “Well, fellow judges, should we begin?” Lewis asked the judges. The three nodded. After thirty minutes of inspections, the four people gave each other a nod and started writing something down on small pieces of paper. When the judges nodded for the second time, Lewis opened his mouth. “Well, it’s time to say the results!” He said. James’s heart tensed. This was the time to show what Cerulean Farm was capable of. Pierre in the other hand was all relaxed. “I’ll start with the sixth place: Willy with the score of 23.” Willy gave a sigh. “Now for the fifth… Clint! 45 points!” Clint also gave a sigh, but was soothed by Willy with a pat. “The fourth will go to… Leah with 67 points!” Leah gave a pout, but gave a smile for some reason. “Third place goes to Marnie! She receives a total of 78 points!” Marnie gave a empty smile. James felt sorry for her as her giant wheel of cheese seemed like her trump card. This was it. James and Pierre were the last two standing. His stomach clenched even tighter. It was as if his stomach enzymes were firing heavy machine guns on the stomach walls. “The winner of the 2019 Stardew Valley Fair Showcase is…” Lewis gave a pause to add excitement.

“Well, I would like to say goodbye, farmer James!” Pierre gloated. James wanted to flip him off, but he continued to glare at Lewis.

“…James with 99 Points! Congratulations, farmer! Pierre, you have acquired 98 points. A close call!” Lewis exclaimed. James gave out a yell of excitement. He had crushed Pierre’s arrogance. The shopkeeper at the other hand gave a face of disbelief. He had been annihilated by someone who hadn’t lived in the Valley for a year. “…And here are your rewards, everyone! Be sure to clean up before you leave!” Lewis said, giving out star tokens to each and every contestant. James received 2000. Seeing his reward, he quickly moved all of his items back in his wheelbarrow and ran to the gifts tents. He looked at what was at stock and saw a purple star-shaped fruit. The label read ‘Stardrop’. He immediately purchased the fruit which was contained in a jar. Knowing that there will be a time when he will need it, he placed it in his wheelbarrow. After being congratulated by his friends and managing to drag Jade off of Sebastian, the two headed home for the day. When James and Jade entered the house, James immediately noticed a door that did not exist in the morning. It was the second room. The room already had a bed.

“Jade, this is your room. Now get in.” James jokingly said. Jade gave a pout and shut the door behind her. Laughing, James placed back his items into chest and the refrigerators and collapsed on his bed. “It’s been a long time, my love!” James groaned as he kissed the pillow to sleep.

Well, it's been a loooong time since Chapter 27. It's just that I've reunited with my Federation friends at LotteWorld, a Korean amusement park and was resting from it while chatting with them. Secondly, Sins of a Solar Empire is like a handcuff to me because of how fun the game is. Hmm, if only I could do a crossover of Stardew Valley with it...

 

JAMES X BED I SHIP IT!

 

lmao I second that

Good to see you back with another installment, Aps. This was entertaining as usual. I particularly enjoyed Pierre getting his comeuppance for being an arrogant prick. Wish James did flip him off but victory is a sweet reward!

 

HOOT HOOT CHAPTER 29 ALERT HOOT HOOT!

“Can you PLEASE do whatever you are doing silently?!” Jade shouted through the window. James gave out an annoyed sigh and dropped his hammer. He was working on a weapon on his makeshift forge. There were two furnaces made with Clint’s blueprints and an anvil made of pure iridium-200. It took him two weeks to make such object. He walked to the window where Jade shouted from and leaned on it.

“Jade, what do you know about blacksmithing?” James asked.

“Look, Enji! I don’t care if you were trained to make anything, but it’s 3:23 in the morning! Can’t I have some sleep?” Jade said. Enji was James’s nickname back at Gorgon Base since he was an engineer. James frowned, but pushed the negativity away.

“Sleep? What, you wanna fantasize seeing yourself and Sebastian in your bedroom naked?” James jokingly asked. Jade’s face heated up.

“What? NO!” Jade exclaimed, slapping her roommate. “Well, I do think he’s cute…” She said, walking away from the window. “I’ll be playing on your Playstation!” She shouted.

“Whatever.” James called back. He walked back to his forge to continue working. Throughout the times since their first date, James and Abigail had been practicing combat with the boyfriend training her. Although Abigail was horrible to the point where James confiscated her sword and sold it during their first days, she started to improve drastically in shooting and swift combating, especially in shotguns. James remembered promising his girlfriend that he will make her a better weapon when she cried over the confiscation. After the Stardew Valley Fair, James also remembered that she always plays as Reaper in Overwatch and rarely plays as Reinhardt. Thus, he came to a conclusion to forge dual shotguns. He gave a grin as he hammered down a bar of glowing hot titanium. He shaped it into a cylinder and perforated four holes on it. He checked if the cylinder fitted in the gun’s husk. Perfect fit. James gave a satisfied nod and placed the gun next to another gun similar to it. They were done. He picked up the guns and loaded them with dirt. He designed it to shoot out anything just like his original shotgun. He pointed the guns at a tree and pulled the triggers. Two cracks were followed with the sounds of pebbles crumbling and dust flying from where the projectiles hit. James heard the house door open with Jade rushing out with his shotgun.

“What was that? What happened?” Jade asked, panting.

“Just a field test. A successful one, to be exact.” James replied, holstering the guns.

“Thanks to you, I lost my kill streak in Overwatch!” Jade shouted. James placed his index finger on his lips.

“There are people here sleeping, Jade.” James hissed.

“Says the guy who was hammering metal and shooting guns. Fine, I’m going back to Overwatch.” Jade replied with a snicker. She walked back to the house and shut the door. James shrugged and returned to the forge. After finalizing the making of the guns, he turned off the fire and walked straight back to bed.


It was 7 o’clock in the morning when James had finished his agricultural chores. He walked inside of the house with a basket of eggs that his chickens laid. Sirius had laid relatively gigantic eggs which surprised him. He placed the normal sized ones in respective cartons and put them in the selling box. Seeing the guns that he had forged a few hours ago, James packed them in a box and wrapped it in purple wrapping paper and green ties. He then placed the box in his backpack. Just as he was about to pick up his diamond-tipped pickaxe, something sparked in his mind. He ran to his room and opened his tool shed to find three copper pickaxe that is smaller than his diamond counterpart. Although heavy, James’s enhancements enabled him to hoist the load with ease and set off to Town while Jade played with the cows. “I want bunnies! Callisto just pooped on me!” Jade shouted with disgust mixed with her words. James couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m not that rich to buy rabbits, Jade! Go take a shower if you don’t want Seb to see you like that!” James jokingly shouted back. He officially started his walk to the Town.


James was fishing near the Town River when he noticed someone approaching him. It was Sam. He was holding a skateboard on his armpit. “Yo, caught anything?” He asked.

“Check the bucket.” James replied. His eyes were glued to the bobber. There were two fish inside. “I know what you’re going to say: ‘Not a big haul, huh?’”

“How did you know?” Sam asked. James shrugged. He checked the time to see that it was 9 o’clock. He retracted his rod and picked up his bucket.

“Well, time to see my woman.” James said as he walked to the General Store. “By the way, you smell.” He said as he passed by Sam. Sam gave a shrug and dropped his skateboard to the ground. He then rode around it. James entered the store to be greeted by Pierre.

“Oh, welcome James.” Pierre greeted him with empty words. He still couldn’t comprehend his defeat yesterday. “Are you here to see my daughter?” He asked. James nodded. “Well, she’s in her room.” Pierre said. James thanked him and entered the living section. He knocked on Abigail’s door.

“Wait! Some privacy please, dad!” Abigail called out.

“It… me.” James said. The door swung open, revealing Abigail wearing only a large blue shirt. She was blushing and panting, making James boil up with his face turn ruddy. He made a false cough and looked away. “I… guess I should give you time to change.” James said. All sorts of lewd thoughts swarmed his mind.

“No, it’s okay… wait, it’s not.” Abigail replied, giggling. She shut the door and reopened it, revealing herself again. Nothing seemed to have changed. “Come in!” Abigail chirped. Giving a confused look, James shrugged and entered the room. “It’s so nice of you to see me this early!” Abigail said, hugging James.

“Well, I wanted to be free from Jade. One of my cows pooped on her. Poor thing, the cows. Who cares about her anyway.” James jokingly said.

“Are you serious?!” Abigail asked, bursting into laughter. “I feel so bad laughing, but it’s so funny!” She said. James couldn’t help but burst into laughter, too.

“Say, may I ask why you are exhausted? Why are you so… uh… under clothed?” James asked with his entire face becoming ruddy.

“Girls’ secret! I’ll tell you when I think you’re ready!” Abigail said, giggling. It made James blush even more. She gave out a loud laugh at James’s embarrassment. “So, uh… what do you want to do?” She asked.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t know.” James replied, looking around the room. Her computer seemed to draw his attention. Suddenly, something sparked in his mind: The gift. “Abby, remember our training?” James asked. Abigail nodded. She felt empty without her sword. It was now in the hands of Marlon. “Well, I want to give you something as a reward for your improvement.” He said as he rummaged through his bag and took out the gift box. Abigail quickly took it from him and tore the ribbon and the wrapping paper. When she saw the contents inside, her mouth opened wide. The box contained two shotguns in the form of a revolver. They were about the size of her forearm. The barrels of the guns were fitted with blades made up of pure iridium-200. Thus making the guns similar to daggers. “I think you are ready for these.” James said. Abigail tackled him and kissed him repeatedly while he was lying on the ground.

“I seriously love these! How did you know I wanted to be like Reaper?” Abigail asked.

“It’s obvious: You play as him every time.” James replied. Abigail picked the guns up and pointed at them at two opposite sides, making her resemble Trinity from the Matrix movies. “Glad to see you like it. It took me my entire sleeping hours making these. Say, wanna go hang out with the gang?” James asked.

“Sure, but where?” Abigail asked. James gave a grin and tilted his head to his backpack. There were pickaxes. Abigail gave a smile and embraced him once again. “You know me so well! Who’s going?” She asked.

“Our gang, as I said. I’ll leave Jade with her cow poop. I should thank Callisto later.” James said. Abigail laughed.

“Aww, but what are the boys going to have?” Abigail asked. James gave a wink and emptied his backpack. Along with the four pickaxes, a revolver, a broadsword, a ball launcher, the iridium split-edged sword and a shotgun fell to the ground.

“Wanna take those words back?” James asked. Abigail pulled her phone out and typed something in the Facebook group chat. “Hey, uh… will your parents allow you to go to the mines?” James asked.

“I got three of my weapons confiscated by them. I think you get the point.” Abigail replied. James looked around the room once again.

“Window it is.” James said as he packed the weapons back in his bag and climbed the window. “Get changed or something. You’re gonna make two more dark knights rise.” He jokingly added.

“You’re horrible!” Abigail said, blushing. She changed to her usual black shirt, purple short coat and jeans and climbed out the window. James gave a nod and called Sebastian while Abigail called Sam.

“Sam? It’s your bassist.” James said.

“What’s up?” Sam replied through the receiver.

“We’re all going to hang out near the mines. I want you there, too.” James replied.

“What? Why? I don’t like the mines!” Sam said.

“Sam, don’t lie to me. I know you look at all those inspirational people and Chippendale dancers. If you don’t want to show Penny your scrawny little posterior, get yourself to the mines. I heard she likes diamonds. Plus, I’ll scrub the cowardliness off of your sorry face if you agree.”James said. Abigail howled in laughter.

“Oh for pete’s sake, James! Alright fine, I’m coming. Should I bring my deodorant?”Sam asked.

“Go ahead. Just don’t bring anything stupid or they’ll go straight to the melting pot.” James replied as he hanged the call. “Now, should we?” James asked Abigail. Abigail held his hand tightly as they walked to the mountain.


Sam and Sebastian were discussing the situation near the mine entrance when the couple arrived. “Why would you want us in there?” Sebastian asked.

“About damn time to man up, you two.” James replied. “If Abby can do it, so can you.” He added as he handed a copper pickaxe to the two boys.

“What about weapons? Is this mace okay?” Sebastian asked, holding a mace. James tilted his head. He approached him and punched the head of the mace. It shattered by the sheer force of the cybernetic fist. Sebastian looked at the mace fragments and then to James in shock.

“I don’t understand why you would bring props for real situation. That gives me an idea.” James said, emptying his bag of content. All kinds of weapons fell to the ground. “Pick one.” He said.

“Holy Macaroni, bro! You made all these?!” Sam asked in amazement. James nodded with pride.

“All except that broadsword.” James replied. “Oh, I’ll take my weapon.” He said, picking up his iridium sword. Sebastian and Sam looked at the collection for a while and made their selection. However, their hands were both going for the shotgun. The boys’ eyes met each other and a spark seemed to flash in between them. They held their other hands and unexpectedly, did rock-paper-scissors with Sam winning. He immediately grabbed the shotgun. Shrugging, Sebastian took the broadsword and a ball launcher. “I guess we’re all set. Alright, team! Let’s go.” James said as he walked into the mine entrance. As the gang entered the lift, James pressed the number 10 and the lift bolted down. The lift stopped at the tenth level and the door opened.

“I never went down this far.” Abigail said, looking around the cave. She was pointing her guns around to see if anybody was here.

“So have we.” Sam shuttered, pointing the shotgun on his waist. James laughed at his cowardliness and laughed.

“Now, gang. There might be some monsters here. If you see any, inform me. I’ll see what I can do.” James said, taking his pickaxe out from his bag. “For a time being, we should split and start mining what’s good for all of us.” He added.


The gang was busy mining whatever they thought was minable. James was picking away a pile of rocks when he heard rustling behind him. He knew just what it was: a stone golem. He gave a sigh. Dropping his pickaxe, he readied his sword. When the golem was about forty centimeters near him, he twisted his body, swinging his sword on its waist, cutting the monster in half. A green soul escaped its husk. “Was that all you had?” James asked, inspecting the remains of the golem. He then continued picking away the rock pile until the path that it blocked opened up. He heard gunshots. It wasn’t from Sam as the shots had a high pitch. It was Abigail. Her war cry and sounds of impaling followed afterwards. Grinning, James walked to the source where he found Abigail panting with a pile of dead slimes surrounding her. James clapped slowly. Her body was soaked with the slimes’ cytoplasm. “Doesn’t it burn?” James asked.

“It kind of does. How was it?” Abigail replied, holstering her guns in her pockets. The blades tore a hole through them. James gave a sigh.

“Well, I would have given you a hundred out of hundred if you hadn’t done that.” James said. “Anyways, I’m impressed. Was that your first victory?” He asked. Abigail nodded. Suddenly, Sam’s cry was heard followed by kicking of dirt.

“Ugh, looks like the blondie’s on the run.” James grunted. Just as he finished speaking, he heard gunshots. “I take that back. Looks like he decided to fight. Come on, Abby. Let’s save his life.” He added, walking towards the source of the gunshots with Abigail. When the couple arrived, they saw Sam and Sebastian cornered to the wall with their weapons pointed at the cave golems and slimes surrounding them. Sam was shivering as if there was an earthquake while Sebastian looked around searching for a gap between the monsters to run towards. James noticed Sam desperately pulling the trigger, only to hear empty clicks. He had run out of ammunition. ‘What did I load that gun with?’ James thought. Sebastian found James and Abigail staring at the situation.

“Hey, get us out of here!” Sebastian shouted. Abigail pulled out her shotguns but James stopped her. “What the hell are you doing?! Do you want us to die?!” Sebastian shouted again.

“Nope.” James replied with his hand on his back. Sam and Sebastian glared at him in horror. James rummaged through his satchel and threw a bag of thermite to Sam.

“What the hell is this?” Sam asked. Tears were dropping from his eyes.

“Ammunition.” James replied. He took out two bottles of beer and handed one to Abigail. They clinked their bottles and took a sip. Sam broke the gun and loaded the gun with the powder. Desperately locking the mechanism, Sam pointed the gun at the monsters, now approaching them. Sebastian readied his broadsword. James could see determination fill his green eyes. Sebastian gave a war cry and slashed his way out of the commotion. He held out his revolver and emptied the gun, killing two slimes. Sam, seeing how his friend managed to escape, gained determination and fired his shotgun as if he was the last man of his squadron. White hot thermite escaped the barrel and hit the stone golems. The golems melted away with each successive shot Sam pulled. After the dust was settled, molten rock surrounded Sam. He, too, was panting. He jumped over the glowing liquid and ran straight to Sebastian and hugged him. James gave a slow clap.

“WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!” Sam shouted. Tears were falling from his face.

“Because, I knew that you could do it yourself!” James replied, grinning.

“I NEARLY DIED, YOU NIPWIT!” Sam shouted. He was now sobbing. James couldn’t help but laugh. Sebastian followed. “WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TWO LAUGHING?!” He shouted.

“It’s just funny how you’re crying over what you’d do in Dead Rising 4!” Sebastian answered, howling in laughter. “I was scared until I drew my sword!” he added. “Man, I love to see you suffer.” Sam was filled with rage. Gritting his teeth and clenching fists, he stormed to the ladder.

“I thought you agreed to come down because you wanted to give Penny the greatest gift of all?” James said. “If you want to leave, no one’s stopping you.” He added. Sam stopped. His mind was in a maelstrom. If he left now, his friends would consider him as a coward and he would become the laughing stock of the gang. What would Penny think of him? He thought of all the negative outcomes that will follow once he climbs up the ladder. He promised himself over and over since he confessed to Penny that he will gain confidence. Cursing himself, he walked back to the gang.


“You win, you stupid excuse of a friend. What now?” Sam grunted, retracting his shotgun.

“I… guess you three are ready for the real tip. Follow me to the lift.” James replied, walking to the lift. He pressed the button with the number 45 on it. The lift bolted down. As the gang descended lower and lower, the air seemed to have become colder. Abigail started shivering. Seeing this, James gave his coat to her. She blushed. The lift stopped. “Okay, Sam. It’s your time to shine. There are traces of diamonds here. If you want to get… what was the word…” James hesitated.

“Laid?” Abigail suggested.

“Laid, yes. That’s the word. Go prospecting.” James concluded. Sam hit Abigail and James on the shoulder. “Alright, let’s get to work. Keep whatever you mine.” James said, preparing his pickaxe.


Abigail was sticking close to James as they picked through ores. She seemed to be fond of ripping quartz from the ground. She also was lucky enough to find a vein of amethysts. James couldn’t help but smile whenever she showed her achievements and hopping around with a handful of amethysts in her hands. She was too cute whenever she was happy. “Look, James! I never knew I would get these myself!” Abigail chirped, holding out her harvest of minerals.

“That’s good! I guess they are your favorites?” James asked. Abigail nodded in reply. She suddenly bit on one of the quartz crystal. James gave a confused look.

“Don’t worry, I won’t eat them! I just want to show you that they are solid!” Abigail assured. James nodded, but the confusion remained inside him. Suddenly, Sam gave out a shout.

“JACKPOT! JACKPOT! I’M GETTING LAID TONIGHT!” Sam shouted. Startled, James picked up his sword and ran to where Sam was.

“What is it?” James asked. Sam turned to him and showed him a diamond the size of his index finger. “Oh, ho ho, Nelly! I’ll approve it!” James said. Sam beamed with pride. “…although it looks a bit to impure....” He added as he inspected the diamond. Although it had a octahedral shape, the diamond wasn’t as clean as he saw in Minecraft.

“Don’t worry, man. Penny loves all kinds of diamonds, even these.” Sam replied. Sebastian walked to him with a bag full of frozen tears.

“Damn, I never knew I’ll ever find so many of what I love down here!” Sebastian said.

“Tears? That’s weird.” James remarked. Suddenly, he heard something. It was a sound of Frost Jellies, but they didn’t sound like they were coming for the gang. “Guys, arm up. I got a bad feeling about this. Stick close to me.” James warned. Sam shuddered, but nodded anyway as he, Sebastian and Abigail readied their weapons. They stuck close to James as he crept towards the source of the sound. James’s eyes widened when he saw a gang of Frost Jellies attacking what looked like a puppy and a kitten. The puppy was yelping as if it was calling for help. Feeling remorse, James gave a shout to draw the attention of the Jellies with success. They swarmed at him. He was ready to strike. As the jellies charged at him, he swung his sword at each and every one of them, making them explode into cold and acidic cytoplasm. Just as he thought that they were all taken care of, one jelly pounced onto him. James shut his eyes for the unfortunate event that will come to him, only to be interrupted with a loud gunshot. He opened his eyes. There was smoke coming from Abigail’s guns. He gave a grin and gave her a high-five. James turned to the poor animals that were being abused. The puppy stared at him directly in the eyes, melting the gang’s hearts. “Are you two okay?” James asked as he picked up the two animals. The puppy had snow white fur with sky blue eyes. Its ears twitched at James’s coos. The kitten at the other hand was pitch black with green eyes. Its mews made Abigail snuggle it.

“What are you going to name them?” Abigail asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll think about it once we get back home.” James replied.

“I hear something.” Sebastian said, looking around. Squeak. They were bats. Hundreds of them.

“Everybody slowly go to the lift.” James said, rummaging through his satchel. “Damn, I’m all out of thermite.” He cursed.

“What are we going to do?” Sam asked, tip-toeing to the lift. James paused and something suddenly sparked in his mind.

“Sam, do you have your deodorant?” James asked. Sam nodded as he threw his can to him. “Perfect. Seb, may I borrow your lighter?” He asked Sebastian. Sebastian complied and handed his silver lighter to him.

“What are you going to do with it?” Sebastian asked, but gave a grin once he figured out his answer.

“Exactly. Now get back. Here they come.” James said as he saw a black cloud of bats approaching the gang. “Hello, buddies!” James shouted. “Did you guys play Pokémon before coming for us? Ice is weak against…” He lit the lighter. “…FIRE!” He activated the spray. The liquid combusted due to the flames and a large spray of fire exited. The bats were set on fire almost immediately. James gave out a maniacal laugh as he moved left and right holding the crude flamethrower by his waist.

“Damn, he actually looks cool like that.” Sebastian remarked.

“Alright, this plan doesn’t work.” James said as the flaming bats continued to approach him. He did the unthinkable: Throw the lighter and the deodorant can to the bats. James turned away as the combination resulted in a violent explosion. He activated the lift by pressing the button with the zero on it. The gang agreed to split after the day. It was 10 o’clock at night. James walked home with the animals. The puppy constantly licked his hands, tickling him. “I’m home!”He shouted as he opened his house door. Jade shut the refrigerator door and ran to him.

“Where the hell were you…” Jade paused at the kitten. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “KITTY! HE’S SO CUTE!!!” She exclaimed, snatching the kitten from James. The kitten didn’t resist but snuggle on her chest. “What’s his name?” Jade asked.

“I… didn’t name them yet.” James replied. “I think the cat likes you more. Wanna name it?” He asked. Jade wasn’t listening.

“Aww, you’re so cuddly! I’ll call you Garfield! Yes, Garfield! That’s the perfect name for a fluffly buddy like you!” Jade cooed while squealing at the same time.

“Well, I guess you named it already.” James said to himself, staring at the puppy. He was licking his chin. Every action seemed to melt James’s heart now. “Hmm.. I don’t know what to name you.” James said. The puppy stared at him as if she was telling him that he had an idea. The puppy was right. James did have an idea. “Hey, bud. I’m going to name you… Fenrir!” The dog yapped positively at the response. She seemed to like the name. As he cuddled with Fenrir, James stood up and took out a large piece of obsidian and threw it to Jade.

“What is this for?”Jade asked.

“You like Sebastian that much, right? That’s his favorite. Give it to him.” James replied. Garfield cuddled with the stone as he fell to sleep in the arms of his new family member.

Fenrir and Garfield actually has a huge role of this fanfic. Rumors say that there were powerful creatures that disguise themselves as powerless forms of themselves dwell in the mines. Anyway, this chapter seemed to have... inappropriate scenes, but this was the closest thing I could get to without getting flagged for NSFW. Hey, perhaps I can add some of those in other websites. (IF I HAD ONE)

 

Sounds like the Pelican Town Irregulars need a bit more time in the mines to better develop teamwork and weapon proficiency. They better hurry, who knows how long this peace will last?

 

I need to get my hands on James' backpack also he's stone cold holy s**t lmao. they way he tossed the thermite to Sam. you got fire in a can. deal with it It's like a bird pushing its babies out of the nest. the whole team did good tho so grats to them for not dying!

 

He needs to introduce them to C4 next time. "Here, try this, it's explosive play-dough! Form it in the shape of the boom you want. "

 

Damn,let's get this pumped up to the max and give Sam a Tsar Bomba.

 

As I still don't know how the forums work and I can't replace the poll that's still in this page, I'll say it here:

I'm thinking of making another fanfiction after this one, but with a female character called Jane (Korean name: Haneul Park) that has incomplete cybernetics due to past illness and is mute. She will be the absolute counterpart of James and will arrive in Stardew Valley in a different way. James will make a cameo there. What do you say?

 

If you have a story you think is worth telling for this character, then you should do it.

 

I was basically gonna say this. Is it a story that you want to tell that can only be done with her and not James? If so, and you think it will be interesting, then by all means go for it. if it helps, I'm planning a "sequel" of sorts to my current story when this one finishes, so yeah, a parallel story in this world could be intriguing.

 

Yep,Advice from the old writers.

As for me...even though i'd say im the less skillful writer in this forum

Will the story connect? Is it a sequel? What would be the consequences of Jane arriving? How would she arrive? That is some factors to be considered

 

This will be an alternate universe as a sequalified will mean that the Teenager Trio would have to be 30 years old at Jane's arrival. She will be 17 years old during the fanfic

 

At the mention of that,i could not help but gag in happiness!

 

EMERGENCY. EMERGENCY. CHAPTER 30 WITH SUPERNATURAL POWERS DETECTED. ALL PERSONNEL BATTLE STATIONS

James woke up with a lashing of the tongue of Fenrir the next morning. James woke up thanks to her efforts. “You are the best alarm clock ever, Fenrir!” James cooed as he scratched her ears. She jumped off the bed and ran around the room. “What, you wanna pee? Alright, girl!” He said as he swung open his room door. “Open the door for the dog!” James called to Jade who was rummaged through the refrigerator.

“Okay!” Jade shouted back. Giving a nod, he walked to the bathroom to get washed. He first stripped his shirt off and picked up his toothbrush. He thought of what he would do as he brushed his teeth. ‘Okay, first things first, harvest whatever is ripe. Second, help Jade tend the animals. Third, go see the Junimos in the Community Center. Oh, how they are cute.’ James thought as he spitted out the foamy saliva. He took off his underwear as soon as he cleansed his mouth with some water. He turned the tap on for a steamy hot shower. James couldn’t get enough of the warm water falling onto his free body. As he scrubbed the shampoo off of his hair, he looked down to see the numerous wounds from his past on his highly muscular body. 90 percent of these wounds were bullet wounds that he received from base. There were five in his belly, two on his left shoulder and one on his heart. He looked away as quickly as possible. James turned the tap off and wrapped his thigh with a large towel. He suddenly heard Fenrir barking. ‘Huh, that’s weird.’ James thought as he opened the door. Out of all of the horrific possibilities, he saw Abigail sitting on his bed cuddling with Fenrir. She turned her attention to the bathroom door when it opened. She gave a short scream when she saw her boyfriend in only a towel. Both James and her gave a blush and a gasp.

“Oh my god! You’re so… buffed!” Abigail exclaimed. James ignored her and ran for his wardrobe, slipping on the floor. He immediately got up, covered his thigh and opened the underwear section with one hand.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” James shouted as he ran back into the bathroom with a pair of boxers. He slammed the door shut, panting. Abigail simply giggled as Fenrir barked at the door. She never thought that her boyfriend would be that muscular, although she did know that he would be somewhat so due to manual labour. She continued staring at the bathroom door blankly imagining lewd thoughts of James until it opened with James on boxers. He gave a sigh as he walked to the wardrobe again to wear his clothes, but Abigail embraced him from the back. Giving a ruddy blush and a grin, he sat down on the bed. Fenrir jumped on the bed despite being small as a smartphone, amazing the couple.

“Wow, your puppy is so… outgoing!” Abigail remarked as Fenrir ran around the bed with the speed of a sports car. It weirded out James as her legs were tiny.

“Well, I guess she is.” James replied. Abigail rubbed her hand on his abs. They were hard as diamond. She swooned over the sensation.

“Wow, your abs. It’s so… ugh!” Abigail said, squealing. James gave a confusing look.

‘Why would she be so happy about me being naked? Does she even know how embarrassed I am?’ James thought. “So, uh… what brought you here?” He asked.

“Well, uh… I want to return the favor for taking me out at early days!” Abigail cheerfully replied.

“Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense.” James said. In fact, he had been taking his girlfriend out to dates at mornings. He could take the kindness. Abigail swung him around so that she could see the muscular body, only to find bullet wounds. She gasped. “Oh my god! What happened?” She asked, rubbing a bullet wound on his abs. “Does it hurt?”

“No, but you did hurt my heart.” James jokingly replied. “They’re punishment wounds back when I was a supersoldier.” James answered. “Every violation in orders equals a bullet in the body. They didn’t take the bullet out, so they’re still in here. I’m surprised that I didn’t die of lead poisoning.” He wondered.

“Damn, I’m so sorry to hear that!” Abigail said, kissing him.

“I don’t understand why you would be. I have work to do. Stay her how long you wish.” James said, releasing his lips. He stood up, changed to his work clothes and headed out the door. “Oh yeah, The dog’s name is Fenrir!” He shouted.

“Fenrir? You really need to give better names!” Abigail shouted back, giggling.

“Hey, what’s wrong with Norse Mythology?!” James shouted, shutting the door.


“Did you milk the…Oh, hey Abby.” James said, opening the barn door and entering. Abigail was with Jade as she was milking Io. Abigail was rubbing the head of Ganymede cooing. “Interested in her?” He asked, with Abigail nodding. “She’s Ganymede, the biggest one of the four. That one is Io, Callisto and Europa.” James said, pointing at the corresponding cows. Abigail nodded. “Say, did you get the eggs from the chickens, Jade?”

“Yup. They’re in the kitchen. Want me to package them?” Jade responded. James nodded.

“Abby, wanna join me on walking Fenrir?” James asked.

“Sure!” Abigail replied, letting go of Ganymede. Just then, Fenrir ran into the barn and ran around the couple in circles, making James laugh. “Aww, she’s just a furball from here!” Abigail cooed.

“I know, right? She’s so cute.” James replied, kneeling down to pick Fenrir up. “Come on, little girl. Let’s say hello to the townspeople!” He said, walking out of the barn. Abigail followed him outside.

“Wait, you don’t have a leash, right?” Abigail asked.

“Well, judging by how clingy she is, I don’t think she needs one!” James replied, lowering Fenrir to the ground. As James’s words said, Fenrir ran around the couple in circles and snuggled on James’s foot as they walked to the Town.


Alex was playing alone with a gridball but he approached the couple once they arrived at the Town. “Yo, what’s up dude?” He called James.

“Yo bro!” James replied. Fenrir yapped at Alex and ran to the back of James, looking scared.

“Whoa, you have a puppy?” Alex asked. “She looks… scared.” He added.

“I guess she isn’t fond of strangers.” James shrugged. “Say, what are you doing so early?” He asked.

“It’s the usual. I’m training for the gridball. You know me, bro. I want to be a legendary quarterback.” Alex replied, peeking at Fenrir. “Hey, I think Dusty would like a friend. Wanna see their reactions?” He asked.

“Well, uh… firstly, putting a puppy this small sounds like a lethal idea and secondly, male and female together in a confined space? I don’t think so.” James replied.

“You didn’t have to go that far, James!” Abigail remarked. James simply gave a shrug. Suddenly, Dusty came out from his house and peeked from the fence. He immediately smelled the scent that Fenrir gave away. He barked at her as if he saw an intruder. Fenrir, hearing this, started to yap. James, not knowing what to do, simply stared at both the dogs and Alex, who was laughing. As Dusty stepped up his game and started growling, Fenrir ran up to the fence and unexpectedly growled at a lower tone than him. She started to sound like a wolf. Her eyes glowed yellow and gave an ear-deafening low tone bark. Whimpering, Dusty hid back in his shack. Fenrir ran back to the James-Abigail couple and ran around in circles in the speed of sound.

“Bro… your dog… damn.” Alex said, flabbergasted. “How the hell is this possible?” He asked himself. James, glaring at Fenrir, wondered what this dog was hiding from him.

“Uh… I think we should go now. It was… nice seeing you today, I guess.” James said with concern. He took Abigail’s hand and walked to the mountains. Alex quickly came to Rusty to check if he was okay.


It was three o’clock when they decided to end the date for today near the community center. James kissed Abigail for a minute and waved her goodbye. Fenrir leaped on her open arms and licked her nose until she received a phone call from Pierre. Seeing that his girlfriend was about twenty meters away from him, James took Fenrir inside the Community Center’s big doors. Little did he know, however, that Abigail was actually spying his actions from a bush. ‘Why would he go in there?’ She thought as she saw the doors close behind her boyfriend. She silently walked to the Community Center and peeked through one of the broken windows. She saw James walking to what looked like a vault room. Unable to hide her curiosity, she crept inside the building and tiptoed just outside the room. She peeked only to have her mouth open wide of disbelief: James was talking silently with what looked like walking gumdrops. She remembered always loving to hear stories of Junimos when she was a little girl in Prometheus City, and there they were in reality.

“Hey, little buddies! I’m back!” James said to the yellow Junimos quietly. The Junimos hopped around with glee. Fenrir was lying on her back as a Junimo bounced on her belly. Seeing this, Abigail giggled, but covered her mouth that no sound could come out. “I’ve got a present for all of you!” James said as he rummaged through his backpack. He took out a prismatic shard the size of his palm and placed it on the ground where the Junimos surrounded holding their pygmy hands. Abigail gave a nonexistent gasp. She had seen illustrations and stories about the legendary prismatic shards, but she never expected to see one from the hands of her boyfriend. Just then, the room brightened up as if a flash bang grenade detonated in slow motion. She could hear millions of Junimos chirp as the room became pure white and disappear with a poof. The vault room didn’t look dilapidated at all. The room was shiny clean with all the cracks and mildew gone. The vault was fixed and the desk right next to it was organized as if somebody owned the room. A Junimo dashed out of the room, making Abigail hide between two bookshelves knocked over. She saw James and Fenrir follow the Junimo as it took out a golden star from a hut. It threw it near the fireplace which floated on a panel with six stars. Four of them were shining. James gave a grin as the Junimo moved back to the hut. “Alright, girl! Let’s get you home!” James said to Fenrir as they walked out of the building. Seeing that nobody else was there, Abigail crept from her hiding spot and walked around the building. There were six rooms including the central hall with five rooms clean. She couldn’t believe how James was fixing all of this alone and without anybody knowing. She took a peek inside the hut to find nothing inside. With millions of questions circulating her mind, she exited the building through the window and ran home, making sure her boyfriend wasn’t around.


The lift gave a jolt when it stopped at the 105th level of the mines. James opened the gate and walked out of the lift. It was four o’clock that day. He was in dire need of gold ore so that he could build some sprinklers with the blueprints that Clint gave him. Knowing that shadow brutes lurk around these places, he made sure that his shotgun was loaded at all times and his sword was easily reachable. Seeing that it was done, James pulled out his pickaxe and worked his way through the cave. He frequently encountered red slimes known as Sludges and made short work of them with his sword, although they were more difficult to take care of unlike Frost Jellies. Plus, their cytoplasm is actually molten tungsten, making them even more dangerous even after death. He even had to cut off his foot to make himself move again, and repairing that leg required him four days. Thus, James decided to get rid of sludges with his shotgun. After three hours of mining, he had finally found what he was here for: gold. Giving a yell of approval, James quickly picked the ore until the yellow radiating metal fell from the rock. He had gathered at least ten kilograms of gold, making James somewhat encumbered.


As he took the ladder to the 107th floor, James heard something unusual from the dark tunnel that greeted him. It didn’t sound like anything that he had encountered before. He drew his sword just in case any fire-resistant monsters might surprise him. He switched his cybernetic eye to night vision mode to see what was lurking in the tunnel. He moved slowly and silently while looking around his surroundings. As he reached the end of the tunnel, he saw what looked like a new type of monster. It looked like a red lizard with yellow eyes with what looked like fleshy frills. It was about one meter tall and was beside a legion of Shadow Brutes wielding spears. Seeing that he was outnumbered, James quickly planned a strategy in his mind. Suddenly, the lizard opened its frills to reveal its pattern on the under skin. As he was startled but looked at the lizard again, James heard a familiar voice in his head. It was the voice of Abigail. “James, I think you should go closer to that beautiful creature….” Her voice said as it slowed down. Everything around him seemed to slow down. He started to move slowly towards the lizard without his mind commanding his body. James tried to struggle, but his body didn’t respond to any of his commands. “Move closer….” Sebastian’s distorted voice said. James’s started to feel dizzy, yet the shifting pattern of the lizard’s frills compelled his dilated eyes to move forward. “Don’t resist…” Abigail’s voice gloated him. James was now tripping out as he started to see patterns moving around his vision as if he took narcotics. As he approached closer to the lizard, the Shadow Brutes readied their spears and prepared to strike. He was now two meters away from the monsters. “It looks so… friendly….” Sam’s distorted voice joined in. James’s mind, partially giving up on struggling, readied himself to accept the fate that could be death by the Shadow Brutes. He dropped his sword. Suddenly, as James was now a meter away from the lizard, sounds of rocks crumbling were heard from the other side of the tunnel. Two of the five Shadow Brutes looked over the direction of the sound.

“Search the tunnel. This is unorthodox for a place like this.” One of the Shadow Brutes ordered in a low voice. The Shadow Brutes nodded as they walked to the source. Just as they disappeared from the sight, a large explosion was heard followed by loud snarls. James could hear them, but the lizard’s mesmerization prevented him from looking at it. The snarls became louder as a giant wolf-like creature with white fangs the size of daggers with large intimidating orange eyes and white fur with black streaks ran towards the lizard. The wolf pounced on the lizard, clearing James’s mind in an instant. While James was comprehending what was going on, the wolf tore through the lizard’s flesh as it squealed in pain. It ripped its head off and threw it beside where James was kneeling down. The Shadow Brutes, horrified, charged at the wolf, attacking it with spears. The wolf backed away beside James and gave a ear-deafening howl, scaring the Shadow Brutes away. “Retreat! Retreat! It’s the Feral Deceiver!” The Shadow Brutes shouted as they fled.


When the dust had settled and James’s mind clear, the wolf turned around to him. Horrified, James found his sword and pointed it at the wolf. “D… don’t come any closer!” James emptily threatened. He was filled with fear of what would this monster do to him. Suddenly, the wolf knelt down and licked his face over and over, soaking James’s face in saliva. Disgusted, James wiped his face and pushed the monster’s nose away. Just then, something sparked in his mind. The wolf was glaring at him as if it was speaking to him, which he seemed to understand. “…Fenrir?” James asked, petrified. The wolf gave a loud bark as if it was correct. “… You were this all along?” He said with tears dwelling his eyes. Fenrir circled around him and rested its head on James’s right shoulder. James couldn’t believe it. Just a day before, he and the Teenager Trio rescued Fenrir and Garfield from a group of monsters. Now, one of them had paid its debt on him by rescuing her master from death. Comprehending the situation, James embraced the colossal wolf by the neck and cried on its silky fur. Fenrir whimpered, telling him that it was alright. “Right, girl. Let’s… get out of here. Let’s take the ladder up.” James said, wiping his tears and checking his phone. It was 10 o’clock at night. Just as he walked to the ladder, Fenrir got in his way and barked at the head of the lizard. Its frills were still opened, its patters still shifting. James carefully moved to the head and picked it up, with black blood dripping from the severed neck. However, as James observed the husk, he was mesmerized by its patterns and blankly stared at it as distorted voices gloated at him. Fenrir, seeing its effects, pushed the head away from her master’s hnds, clearing his mind. “Ugh, thanks Fenrir.” James said. ‘Hmm, I think I know how to use this thing.’ James thought as he picked up the head once again and stuffed it in his backpack. Fenrir, seeing that there were no monsters around her master, quietly transformed back to the small white puppy that everybody knows. “Let’s go, Fenrir. I’ve got a lot of questions to ask you and the woman's cat.” James said as Fenrir leaped onto one of his shirt pockets.

Fenrir's true form has been revealed. I've posted about this lizard in the suggestions forums.

 

WHOA WHOA WHOA...

SLOW DOWN THERE ABBY!

U'RE 2 YOUNG TI BE SEEIN' YOUR BOYFRIEND IN A TOWEL!

 

Fenrir is such an adorable little fire breathing hell lizard. Cool name when transformed too. also James sure gave Abby one heck of a view lmao if you're built like adonis then you don't have to be embarrassed!

 

Fenrir's a deceiving puppy, thank you. The lizard is a concept monster.
--- Post updated ---
I cannot believe this fanfiction has satisfied its 3000th reader! How do I repay this debt?! How can this petty idea work so well?! CAN ANYBODY TELL ME HOW?!

 

CHAPTER 31 WAKES UP DORMANCY!

“Oh, hello Fenrir!” James said as he rooted out a pumpkin the size of a boulder. Fenrir sat down next to him holding a basket thrice the size of him full of cranberries. “Oh? How did you pick these?” He asked, taking the basket from her mouth. Fenrir gave a yap signaling that she plucked the stems from the fruit with her mouth, thus giving reason to how clean the cranberries were. “You know what, Fenrir? We make a good team. Come here, you furball!” James said as he rubbed Fenrir’s belly. After harvesting the last pumpkin of the year, James stood up and hauled the wheelbarrow full of pumpkins to the selling bin just outside of his house. After loading eighty percent of the pumpkins inside, he checked on his seven barrels. Surprisingly, one was not operational. Scratching his head, he brought a wine glass from his kitchen and turned the tap on. Runny red liquid flowed out of the keg and into the glass, giving James a big smile. The aroma that the liquid gave confirmed its readiness. James took a sip from it. The wine’s nectar-like properties gave him a sensation of Abigail’s kiss. Seeing this, James brought some wine bottles and bottled the wine. He had made seven bottles of cranberry wine in a single keg. ‘Alright, chores are done.’ James thought as he took the bottles full of wine to his kitchen. He boxed one of them. He went outside to check his mailbox to find two envelopes. He opened one to find that it was from Mayor Lewis.

Dear Farmer James Suh,

Do you sense the cold breeze flowing through the air? Spooky, isn’t it? That’s right, it’s the signal that the Spirit’s Eve is here!

This event will be commemorated to pay respect to the ones who passed on life. Besides, it is to say goodbye to the Fall that we have loved for ages. Oh, the entire town will be wearing costumes for the event, so feel creative and wear what you think fits your imagination!

The event starts at 7PM and ends at about 1AM. During this time, there will be some carnival games for us all to enjoy! I hope to see you there!

-Lewis McLengst

James gave a smile as he folded the letter back. He checked the mailbox again to find a purple envelope. Giving a grin, he opened the letter.

Chosen One,

Today is the day when the souls of the dead temporarily rest and shower us humans with luck. To satisfy them, we must perform the usual task of this ritual you mortals call Spirit’s Eve. I require you for the preparation of this event. Come to the Community Center entrance as soon as possible. The spirits await their feast, Chosen One.

-Milosz Rasmodius

The letter turned to dust and the wind blew them away. Shrugging, James called Fenrir outside and walked to Pelican Town. Fenrir ran around her master’s feet as usual.


“Ah, young one. You seemed to have accepted the spirits’ calling.” The wizard greeted James as he walked to the Community Center entrance. “What is that creature doing here?” He asked, pointing at Fenrir.

“Whoa, Rasmodius. She’s Fenrir. Nothing to worry about.” James assured him. Fenrir ran behind James’s feet. The wizard paused for a minute and opened his mouth.

“Is… is that the Feral Deceiver?!” Wizard said, stuttering his words. Fenrir came out and yapped in response. The wizard, like James, seemed to understand what she said. “I am void of words.” He said. “How did it get to you? Why didn’t it kill you?”

“Well, I found her along with a black cat down in the mines. Frost Jellies were attacking them. So… I thought that it was a good idea to rescue them and take them home.” James replied.

“…Didn’t you see its true nature?” Rasmodius asked.

“I did… last week. I was being attacked until Fenrir came to save me. That’s when I knew that I had a lot of questions I needed answered.” James replied.

“I am truly impressed, Chosen One. Feral Deceivers almost never ally with anyone. The last case of this happening was 4000 years ago. I thought it would be a miracle to encounter this with my own eyes.” Rasmodius remarked.

“Well, thanks. Anyway, what brought me here?” James asked, looking at t he Town Square down.

“The town mayor asks me to prepare this event every year. However, my apprentice has died last year, making it impossible for me to set everything up. Thus, I require your help, young one.” The wizard replied. Just then, Linus approached the two with a spell book in his hand.

“Hello, James.” Linus greeted.

“Oh, hi Linus.” James replied. “Uh, how is everything going on with you?” He asked.

“Not much. I am here to help Milosz, but this is a three-man job.” Linus replied.

“I see.” James nodded. “So, how can I help?”

“We require your magic to forge our maze. Not to mention, we desire your intelligence to build traps.” Linus replied.

“Maze? Sounds fun.” James replied.

“It all depends on how determined you are in creating, young one.” The wizard said. “This maze is different from what little children solve in their books.” He added, forming a black cloud in his palms. He then shot the cloud onto James, surrounding the young supersoldier. The cloud expanded until it was about the size of his old cottage.

“Hey, uh… I can’t see anything!” James shouted. “Well, technically speaking… I CAN see what’s ahead of me a little bit…” He added, looking around his surroundings. All of this reminded of the blindness effect in Minecraft. Chuckling, Rasmodius gave out his palm, sucking the cloud back into him.

“Do you see? This is what confused the challengers.” The Wizard said. “Now, we shall leave the design of the maze to you.

“Very well!” James said, pulling out his journal and his pencil.

“Keep in mind that it is your duty to point where the traps should be set.” Linus remarked.


It was 6 o’clock in the evening when the three finished their duty and parted ways. James ran back to the farm along with Fenrir. He searched through the internet about what costumes would fit the most for events such as Spirit’s Eve. After minutes of thinking, James decided to cosplay as Alarak from StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void with the costume he bought at eBay. He dressed Fenrir as a Zergling thanks to another costume he bought last week. Although the thick armor make him sweat, James gave an approving nod when he saw himself wearing the Tal’Darim Highlord armor through the mirror. Just as he exited the room, he was greeted by Jade who was wearing a witch’s costume. “James, I think you’re trying too hard.” Jade scoffed.

“Shut up, Jade. At least I look awesome and not generic unlike you.” James replied, rubbing his black armor.

“At least everybody knows about the Wicked Witch of the West! Does anybody know who Alarak even is?” Jade countered.

“Abigail? Sam? Sebastian? You?” James replied, folding his arms and giving a smirk.

“Fine, you win… Nerd.” Jade said, defeated. She turned away and headed for the door. “Let’s go, Garfield!” She said. The cat bolted up from the fireplace and stealthily dashed for his master. He climbed Jade’s black robes and sat on her cybernetic shoulder, curling his fuzzy tail around her neck.

“Fenrir?” James called. The puppy immediately stopped scratching its neck and bolted towards her master. Chuckling, he followed his roommate out of the house. He brought a large pumpkin along with a black box with him.


The townspeople were crowding the Town Square when Jade and James arrived with their costumes and pets. Everybody was wearing costumes, some generic and some out of place. Only Lewis and Pierre weren’t wearing costumes, but rather dark clothing. Vincent and Jas were running around chasing each other. Vincent was dressed as the vocalist of Greenday while Jas was dressed as Princess Peach. ‘Probably Shane’s idea.’ James thought, giving a shrug. As he walked around the area, his metallic armor gave heavy thuds as he took steps. Although he looked encumbered, it was nothing to James. They all greeted each other. Lewis approached James.

“Hello, James! It’s good to see you in this wonderous… and terrific event! You seem encumbered by that armor!” Lewis said.

“Well, thank you sir! Say, what’s with the maze?” James asked, pointing at a pile of shrubs. In fact, he was the one who designed the maze. The wizard and Linus simply built it with their magic. James did cooperate by using his, too.

“The maze? Well, it’s the heart of the Spirit’s Eve! The strange man that lives in the tower in Cindersap Forest built it all by himself. We weren’t permitted to exit our homes until his task was done. It sometimes gives me questions…” Lewis replied. “Well, enjoy, James!” He said, walking away. Waving back, James and Jade walked to one of the tables where there were plenty of Halloween-inspired food such as Pumpkin ale and sweets. Surprisingly, there was also pizza, which James loved. As the two sat down and talked about the situation of the Ferngill-Gotoro War, the Teenager Trio surprised them with their own costumes. James turned around to find Abigail dressed as Reaper from Overwatch but the skull mask on her shoulder, Sam as Goku while Sebastian dressed as Ezio from Assassin’s Creed.

“Oh, hey guys! What’s up?” James asked. He had to turn his entire body around as his neckpiece prevented him from turning his head around completely. He stood up to face his friends.

“Jesus Christ, bro! You look like you can stand up again the US army!” Sam remarked, pointing at James’s thick armor.

“I think you are trying too hard for this. Can you even walk?” Sebastian asked. James stood up and walked around the table two times without difficulty.

“Did that answer your question?” James asked. Sebastian gave a nod of approval. He looked at Abigail and gave a smile. She too smiled back. He found her shotguns holstered on her waist. “Uh… I hope those aren’t loaded.” He said, pointing at the guns.

“Don’t worry! They’re just props for today!” Abigail replied, pulling out one of her guns and breaking it. She showed the empty cylinders and reattached the mechanism. James gave a nod and glanced at the maze just over at the mountain.

“Hey, uh… what do you know about the maze?” James asked. He wanted to know how his friends reviewed it.

“Huh. Apparently there is supposed to be some kind of golden pumpkin as a reward for clearing the maze. I don’t know how, but whenever we go in, everything becomes dark. It’s freaky. No, really.” Sebastian replied. James gave a nod. He remembered how the maze was laid down. He designed it, after all.

“Nifty. Wanna go in?” James asked.

“I wanna eat! Let’s eat and then go!” Abigail chirped, taking a seat right next to her boyfriend’s. The gang ate their food. When they confirmed their full stomachs, the gang walked to the entrance of the maze.

“You… you guys sure want to go in there?” Sam asked, shaking his bones out.

“Heh, I’m ready for sure.” Sebastian replied, taking his hoodie off. “I’m an assassin, after all.” He said. Seeing this, James gave a grin and rummaged through his bag. He then took out his hidden blade and handed it to his raven-haired friend.

“Here’ a little something to fill you up.” James said. Sebastian, seeing what he had given him, dropped his jaw. “It’s yours to keep. I can make another one.” He assured.

“Dude… I… Damnit.” Sebastian stuttered his words. He attatched the blade on his wrist and operated it. Smooth as butter. “My life is complete!” He beamed.

“Your life will be even more complete with… nevermind.” Jade said with a blush. James and Sam burst into laughter.

“She likes you, man! That’s the hint! Get it!” Sam exclaimed.

“Shut up!” Sebastian hissed. He was close to activating his hidden blade on his blonde friend. Instead, he pushed him into the maze. Everything around Sam became dark.

“Uh... guys? I can’t see anything!” Sam shouted, walking around with his hand held forward. He started to walk deeper inside the maze. “Guys, this isn’t funny!” He exclaimed as the gang laughed as his misery. The wizard’s black fog has taken action.

“Shall we go in, guys?” James asked. The gang nodded as they followed James inside. Abigail rushed and held her boyfriend’s arm just before things around her became dark. She could only see what was happening three meters away from her.

“How are we supposed to beat this maze without starving to death?” Sebastian shouted, tapping around the hedge. James chuckled as he navigated the maze with ease, despite he himself can’t see clearly through the fog.

“James, how can you walk around here so easily?” Abigail asked. Giving a sigh, James decided that it was time to tell the truth. He opened his left hand vertically and cleared his mind. A ball of blue plasma formed in his palm for his girlfriend to see. Abigail, seeing this, had her jaws dropped with her eyes opened wide. James clenched a fist, making the ball of plasma dissipate into thin air.

“I guess that answers your question.” James replied. “I was worried that you would abandon me if you saw me using this, but I was glad that you and our friends didn’t say anything when I used it during the fight between Jade.” He added. Abigail leaped on him, latched her legs and gave him a deep kiss.

“It’s okay, robo-baby! I love you the way you are!” Abigail whispered, releasing her lips.

“Well, to be honest, I helped the wizard design the maze, so it would be a bit too boring if I just cleared it.” James said, talking a left turn. He saw Harvey wearing a Dracula costume staring at the hedge wall corner. “Uh… Doc?” He asked, touching the middle-aged man’s shoulder. Startled, Harvey gave a high pitched scream.

“J… James? God damnit…” Harvey stuttered. James and Abigail gave laughter. “Damnit, I showed my scrawny side. I… I was scared, which explains me hiding here. Just… don’t tell anybody, you two. Okay?” He added. The couple gave a nod and moved on with the maze. As the gang went on their way around the maze, they encountered many of the townspeople stuck in it, especially Alex in his quarterback uniform, Maru in her nurse’s outfit and Haley in a Harley Quinn outfit. She encountered Sam running back to the entrance with tears in his eyes, making her giggle. The James-Abigail couple, however, didn’t have any problems besides a couple of jumpscares that Abigail definitely screamed loudly at. On their way, they encountered Penny wearing a angel costume staring at a shield with the face of the red lizard that Fenrir devoured last week. Her eyes were glowing red as she was mesmerized from the husk. Abigail thought that it was a good idea to pull her out only to get mesmerized in exchange. Penny, falling down on the grass, gained back her focus. Her eyes turned to her usual green, saw in horror of what was happening to Abigail. James pulled his girlfriend away from the shield.

“Wh… what was that?” Penny asked.

“It’s the head of one of the monsters I find in the mines. They usually hang out with Shadow Brutes.” James replied. Penny glared at him as if he told a lie. “Strangely, even the Brutes get mesmerized by them. It’s a strange friendship. Well, we gotta go. Thanks for hearing me out, Pen.” He added, walking away. Shrugging, Penny followed them through the fog.


As the couple and Penny walked along James’s designated path, they ended up in what looked like a dead end with a sign board with a question mark written on it. “It’s a dead end.” Abigail said.

“…Or is it?” James replied, confusing the two women. “There are things that we overlook in things that we find generic.” He added, confusing them even more. “Now you may see a dead end…” A blue aura formed on his left palm. He also raised his right hand just for fun, but unexpectedly, magic also formed on his cybernetic hand, too. “…Soon you won’t.” He said, surprised. The magic escaped his body and flowed to the dead end, causing the hedge wall to separate. The two women gasped in amazement. It was Penny’s first time seeing James’s magic but it was Abigial and James’s first time seeing magic flow through his robotic hand. In the end, everyone was amazed. James walked through the new gate and eventually to a red chest with golden edges. “Abby, will you be honored to open it?” James asked. Abigail gave a nod and clicked the chest open. Suddenly, Sebastian and Sam entered the scene. With everyone’s except James’s amazement, Abigail pulled out a Golden Pumpkin from the chest.

“I…I thought they were just myths!” Sam exclaimed.

“Well, they’re not.” James replied. “Abby, you may keep it.” He added. Abigail gave a nod and gave him a kiss on his cheek. He checked the clock. It was 12:43 AM. Everyone was getting tired. Soon, everybody left the maze and eventually to their homes. James stayed in along with the wizard, Linus and Marlon to clean up the mess.

Well, I decided that the Spirit's Eve should be a combination of Halloween and Dia de Muerte, thus making me use costumes. Here's a list of the townspeople and their costumes:
James-Alarak
Fenrir-Zergling
Jade-Wicked Witch of the West
Garfield- N/A
Sebastian-Ezio
Abigail-Reaper
Sam-Goku
Alex-Quarterback
Haley- Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad)
Penny-Angel
Maru-Nurse uniform
Harvey-Dracula
Shane-Alex Mercer (Prototype)
Emily-Black Widow (Avengers)
Vincent- Billy Armstrong (Greenday)
Jas-Princess Peach

 

So you went with Ezio for Seb. Not a bad choice also +1 for Alarak cosplay. cool af haha. anything LotV related is a good thing imo