Terra Firma

I strode to the site where I had seen the fleshy ground that signified the presence of the Crimson. I had some trouble finding it, before I saw that it had spread rapidly, as if this world were in Hardmode. There was a large plain, filled with red and pink, eyes growing from stalks of grass and tissue smothering the ground. I could only shake my head, seeing the desolation before me. The only life I saw was the plant life, and then some movement. A dark hill of Crimstone had grown in the center, arching over with an entrance facing me. A quick flash in the darkness, then spindly legs crawled from the hole like a cockroach from a skull’s mouth.

Following the limbs was the large, pale, fleshy body of a Blood Crawler. No longer following the comforting aspects of my world, I could now see it in all its terrible glory. A large jaw, with no eyes visible, sat hunched forward, a pair of legs jutting from the back of it. A large, ovoid abdomen followed, pulsing with either blood or digestive juices. Fangs leered from the mouth, maroon venom dripping like saliva. It was terrifying, and for once I felt fear. I shook my head, and charged it, battle cry ripping from my throat. A swift slash down and then to the side, something I could never do before, and the spawn of the Crimson was literally quartered. A guttural bellow came from behind me, before I felt a pair of powerful jaws clamp down on my waist like a vise.

I attempted to twist from the grasp, adrenaline rushing, before I felt cold seeping in from where the teeth punctured. An icon appeared in my status area, entirely new, showing a group of small, round, red orbs, with green wires emitting from them. I read the tooltip, and it said, ‘Infected. Lasts until cured.’ A sudden crunch, and the jaws snapped my ribcage. I screamed in agony, wildly flinging my sword around, praying to hit my assailant. A loud thwack was heard, and a piercing screech, and I was dropped. I stumbled, clutching my chest with one arm, and turned, slowly, oh so painfully slowly, to face the attacker.

My eyes were greeted with an enormous mouth. Situated above the gaping maw was a pair of yellowish eyes, glaring hatefully at me. My attention was drawn to the jaws, and I saw how they nearly reached the ground, spread impossibly wide, with stalactites and stalagmites of fangs. A sudden lunge, and my head was snapped off, swallowed by the beast. “Terra Firma was beheaded by Face Monster…” I saw the terrible scene from my death view, horrified as I saw the abomination begin to devour my body, slurping up scraps of flesh, a pair of platinum coins and fifty gold coins resting nearby.

I respawned with a gasp. I still felt pain, and the creeping chill, when I saw my Infected debuff remained. I groaned, both in agony and annoyance, staggering to the lower level. “Did your trip go as planned, Terrarian?” Said Rainbow Dash, smirking. “Go… Go fuck yourself… The Crimson is spreading fast… I… I need to get… Back there…” I moaned, heart thumping wildly in my chest. I gasped, falling to one knee, as the cold moved slowly to my extremities, before wrapping around my heart, already slithering up my neck. “Just… Need… To… To… Keep… Going…” I muttered, rising to my feet before falling face-first. “I… Need… To… End… This…”

Darkness filled my vision, before revealing a shocked library and the death screen, message saying, “Terra Firma couldn’t find the cure…” A short wait later, and I formed again, status effect still there. It started where the jaws of the Face Monster had bit into my sides, leeching my health away. I fumbled through my inventory, before snagging a regeneration potion and drinking it. It combated the debuff, allowing me to move normally. I walked downstairs, passing by the inhabitants of the library again, not noticing that the cyan pegasus and metal dog from earlier followed me. Flapping my Frozen Wings, I made quick progress to the Crimson, prepared to face the new danger of the place.

Touching down, sword in hand, I ran to the Crimstone cave, trying to enter before the regeneration potion wore off. I leapt up, reaching the lip of the tunnel, before rushing into the depths, barely making out where the direction switched suddenly. As I sprinted, I looked into my inventory and picked up the only Shine potion I thought to bring, and chugged it. Immediately a bright glow suffused the area, emanating from my body, removing the need for torches or glowsticks. I suddenly flung myself off the end of the tunnel, falling to the floor at near-terminal velocity. I flared my wings, gliding down to the Crimson Hearts that resided on the floor of the cavern I was now in.

“This sure as hell should get me a dryad here. I need the status on this place, ASAP, and a damn new debuff won’t stop me!” I shouted, equipping my Pwnhammer and smashing the beating organs, watching grimly as the informational text appeared. As the third and final heart fell under my powerful tool, a roar echoed around, with the notice, “Brain of Cthulhu has awoken!” Then the boss battle music started, causing adrenaline to rush through my veins as the familiar theme filled the area. “You’re awake now, and I don’t give a fuck if you’re angry, you’re being put to sleep!” I cried, laughing happily as I saw the first of the Creepers float through the Crimstone floor, pale orbs signifying the presence of the boss. The new look on them surprised me, because instead of the normal, flat objects I was used to, they were now perfectly round things, with a tiny, black pupil staring at me. “Come on, bring your leader to me! There’s PLENTY of me to go around!”

-------------------- Alec’s POV --------------------

I followed Terra Firma, with Tohl at my side, racing to catch up with the fleeting Terrarian. After a massive sprint, we managed to see him jump a ridiculous height into a strange mound. It was made of a mottled black and red, with a seeming fleshy appearance, and it looked eerily similar to a mouth. A squish from my hooves notified me of the grass as well, and I took flight out of disgust. The ground was covered in moss that looked and sounded like tissue, and reeked like a corpse. The grass was a deep red, with organs sprouting from some parts. Tohl continued, unimpeded, so I flew after him. We managed to find Terra Firma, only to watch him drink a yellow potion from a bottle that had a hole in the center. He immediately began glowing, providing us with a perfect lightsource.

A minute or so of running later, we watched as the Terrarian leapt off the edge of the tunnel, gliding down to a trio of unnerving things below. I shuddered, closing my eyes as I attempted to banish the image of the hearts beating below, thudding with a deep bass, resounding throughout. Terra Firma pulled out a silver and gold hammer, with a large ruby in the center of the head, and began smashing the organs, causing me to throw up to the side. He didn’t notice, and as the final heart was demolished, an otherworldly roar reverbrated throughout the cavern. Suddenly music began playing, setting a strange, blood-rushing theme to the sight. Suddenly a large eye phased through the ground below, a fat white sphere with a tiny pupil that was centered on the Terrarian. “Come on, bring your leader to me! There’s PLENTY of me to go around!” He shouted, his massive blade suddenly in hand.

A gross sound was heard behind Tohl and I, and we turned to see a swarm of the eyes flying to us, with a massive brain-with vertebrae attached and tentacles flapping from the brain stem-floating to us. I manifested my armor, before grabbing Tohl and leaping to the floor, clutching my friend as we braced for impact.

-------------------- Terra Firma’s POV --------------------

I heard a loud thump behind me, and I turned to see the Titanium-gemspark canine from earlier on the ground with an armored creature. The armor flickered with golden electricity, before vanishing, revealing the groaning form of the cyan pegasus from earlier. “Ugh. Note to self, don’t jump off the bucking edge.” It muttered, with a male voice. “What are you two doing here? You can’t honestly think you’ll help?” I questioned, a concerned tone combined with a smirk. “I’m Fireteam Crimson, Spartan two-five-zero, and Alec. And I can bucking try.” He snarled, before the armor reformed around him.

A Creeper began flying to us, a second and third close behind, intent on catching Alec by surprise. The dog suddenly turned, before opening its mouth and shooting what appeared to be a combination of Ichor bullets and the beams from a Laser Rifle. My jaw dropped, seeing how the rapid stream of projectiles impacted the trio, and damage numbers from fifty to sixty flashed above. The eyes blew apart with a squelch, Crimtane Ore and Tissue Samples falling. I snagged them, before equipping my Megashark.

“Tohl, let’s see who gets the higher kill count. Loser owes fifty bits.” Alec said to the dog, raising a foreleg. “Agreed,” said the canine, causing my jaw to fall again. The front of Alec’s foreleg suddenly flashed, and a trio of things fired, like the Clockwork Assault Rifle, piercing the pupil of one Creeper, effectively killing it, and peppering another. Not to be outdone, the canine opened its mouth, jettisoning yet more rounds. I snapped out of my daze, seeing how most of the Creepers were gone, and I began firing my Megashark, Crystal Bullets shattering on impact and inflicting even more wounds.

“What happens when all the eyes are gone?” Shouted Alec, dropping his foreleg. “Then the Brain of Cthulhu attacks,” I replied, before my eyes widened in realization. A mirthless chuckle came from behind me, and I came face-to-eye with the heart inside the Brain of Cthulhu. The monstrosity was even more terrifying, with the seam holding the lobes together split, fangs protruding. As the eye inside the heart looked at me, the green iris flashed red and my hearts dropped rapidly. Another debuff, this one named Bloodlust, appeared, saying, “Melee damage and speed increased, taking extra damage.” I narrowed my eyes, before rushing to the boss with my sword held high, only for it to fade and warp behind Alec. The pegasus turned too late, suddenly sent flying from the powerful charge the monster used. Another run to it, Adamantite Sword held above my head, and it teleported again, this time rushing into and through me, causing me to take multiple hearts of damage. I switched to my Megashark, and fired into the back of the brain, shrapnel and scraps of pinkish flesh flying. My vision pulsed green and gray, and I faltered, feeling the chill from the Infected debuff begin to set in. “No… One… Last… Shot!” I cried, loosing a couple more rounds before my vision faded, replaced with the death view. “Terra Firma was infected…”

I respawned, panting. I gazed at the Death Message, before I saw something heartening above it. “Brain of Cthulhu has been defeated!” I laughed, glad that I had defeated the master of the Crimson,even as I died. I strolled downstairs, not noticing the chill from the Infected debuff, and found everyone in their spots, with the changes that Alec was now lying down on the couch, with Tohl next to him. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!” Came a loud shout, roaring from behind. I fell to my knees yelling in agony, as it felt like my eardrums had burst. I tilted my head to see Celestia, standing over me, enraged. “ANSWER ME!”

“He… *Cough* Didn’t do anything. If anything, he saved our lives, mine and Tohl’s.” Alec said weakly, getting up from his position. Celestia looked horrified, and then humiliated, before resting a large wing around me and beginning to say something, only to stare in shock as my body evaporated. “Terra Firma didn’t receive the antidote…”

I reformed, no longer as happy, before I curled up into a ball, something I couldn’t do in my old world, sobbing. This place was a living hell. I had underestimated it, had thought myself superior, and paid the price. I was being killed constantly, by something I could not fix, I could not simply delete the world and generate a new one, I had no NPCs to house, ones who would admire me, or so I thought. I had come to the true terror, a living hell, and I still did not know the name of it. The creeping cold from the Infected debuff slowed and stalled, before sluggishly fading away. A golden glow surrounded me, comforting yet it didn’t seem material, rocking my form gently. I raised my head to see the apologetic face of Celestia, horn glowing like the sun. “I’m sorry for my behavior before, Terra Firma. I was angry and upset about my subject being hurt, and I blamed you for it.” She spoke, nothing but sincerity in her voice.

“I… I forgive you…”

I smiled, first in relief, then in surprise as text formed, broadcasting to all present in the library.

“Isis the Dryad has arrived!”