Terraria Story

Chapter 1
Silver picked himself off the ground and hefted his newly acquired Copper Axe. He slammed it into a nearby tree, bringing it down in several swift chops. He lifted it to the light of the rising sun and said to himself, "Hmm... Massive! Cool!" He brought down several more trees before a light cough behind him made him spin around. A short man with spiky brown hair stood there, a book in hand. "Hello! I'm Andrew, the Guide!" He lifted his book. "This book here tells me everything you want to know!" Silver smiled and said, "Pleased to meet you!" while shaking Andrew's hand.

Several trees later, Andrew and Silver had built themselves a nice house. "Warning: Several trees were harmed in the making of this house!" Silver said appreciatively. Andrew smiled and said, "This house'll be good for you and me. If we want to attract more people to our growing town, we'll have to make more!" Silver smiled again and walked into the house. He ran his hand appreciatively over the flat, smooth table. Andrew got up and puttered about, finally setting two bowls of rich, steaming soup on the table. "This is GREAT!" Silver exclaimed when he tasted it. Andrew blushed. "It's my specialty," he said.

"What else is there to do in this land?" he asked. Andrew opened his book, read for a few moments, and responded, "Well... This book says there is a mighty stronghold to the west. A tangled and deadly jungle to the east. And a horribly purplish land, full of evil, past that." Silver jumped up. "Purple land it is, then!" he exclaimed, hefting his shortsword. "Whoa whoa whoa, tiger!" Andrew yelped, grabbing his arm. "That place is not good for your health with just this little sword. I suggest you go caving. Find a cave and go down into it! Don't venture too far, though."

Silver controlled his descent down a steep cave. He looked appreciatively at his copper pickaxe, which he had obtained along with the shortsword and axe. It had mined him lots of ore so far - he now was the proud owner of 3 bars of iron, a gold broadsword, a tungsten pickaxe and a full suit of iron armor. The tungsten pick was his new ore-mining pick. The copper one was a memento now, of his first days in Terraria.

Suddenly, he stepped on something embedded in the floor and heard a click. A rumbling began above him. The ceiling opened up... and a boulder fell on top of him!

Silver plummeted into darkness, knocked stone-cold out. When he came to, he was in a battered wooden building. He stared out the hole-filled door and saw nothing but darkness. As he sat up, his pounding head forced him to moan in pain. A figure stepped out from behind a table in the structure, scaring Silver senseless. "I see you've woken up!" the figure said. Its arm groped around in the dark for a bit before hitting something. With a click, the structure lit up. Silver's pounding head forced him to cover his eyes. The figure said, "You had a nasty fall off that ledge. The boulder barely missed you when it came down." Silver uncovered his eyes and looked up at the face he now recognized as his savior. "Who are you?" he moaned. The figure grinned. "They call me Swaggins." It was a long-haired man with a green shirt and khaki pants partially hidden by a full set of tungsten armor. He held a shining silvery pickaxe in one hand, a long silvery sword in the other. "Whassat?" Silver grunted, still not fully recovered. "Oh, that?" Swaggins asked, looking at his sword. "That's a platinum broadsword. I mine a ton, so I have lots of platinum to use." He turned around and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, that reminds me, I have something for you." He trotted back into the darker corners of the house, then came back carrying a red, heart-shaped object.

"This is a Heart Crystal," he explained. Silver sat up. Swaggins handed him the Crystal. "It'll help you get more health and get better soon," he explained. "I've already eaten three or four of them. Go ahead." Silver stuffed the crystal into his mouth and chewed.

"Tastes... good. Like... like... something a friend once made for me," he stuttered. A reddish-pink glow surrounded him, then disappeared. "I feel... stronger," Silver announced. "Where to now?"

That was when a red glow illuminated the house. The two friends - for they had taken an instant liking to each other - threw open the door and looked out. A puddle of water not three meters off was glowing with an eerie red light.

"A Blood Moon," Swaggins whispered, his eyes wide with fear.

Chapter 2
"What's a Blood Moon?" Silver asked. "It's a terrible thing - the moon turns red as blood, and monsters are called by it. It's HORRIBLE," Swaggins answered. "I've only heard of it before, from a passing merchant. We'd better get somewhere safe."

"Here, up to my house," Silver volunteered. "It's well protected - only some doors, and zombies can't open those, eh?"

"Actually, they can," Swaggins responded, "on a Blood Moon."

A thought occurred to Silver. "ANDREW!" he screamed, and started climbing up to where he had fallen from. Swaggins followed.

When they reached the ledge, Silver noticed something he hadn't noticed before: An ancient, weather-beaten, gold-painted chest was standing just to the side of the cave. He opened it quickly and sorted through the contents. "Hmm... some claws we could put on our hands, some potions, a blowpipe thing, and... oh! This is cool! A big... eyeball. Weird."

The two adventurers donned the claws and made quick headway up the cave. When they got up and back to Silver's house, they found it already besieged by zombies and flying eyeballs that bounced around. Andrew was piling furniture against the doors, but opened up when the two adventurers put their eyes to the hole in the door after clearing out the zombies. One of them dropped a pair of manacles from its emaciated hands, which Silver looped around his hand thoughtfully.

They stepped inside, Swaggins and Silver taking up arms at either door. Suddenly, a huge wave of zombies came at Silver's side. They slammed into the door, bursting it open and sending Silver flying across the floor. He landed on the eye that he had picked up earlier, splattering it into fragments. Everyone except the zombies (who had died before Swaggins's sword) and Silver froze. Silver was rolling on the floor, screaming "EW EW EW EW EW EW EW!!!!" An almighty roar cut through the frozen silence. "OUT OF THE HOUSE!" Swaggins yelled. Andrew, Swaggins and Silver (whose armor was covered in eye blood) sprinted out of the house as fast as they could. Andrew and Silver drew swords, and Swaggins drew a platinum bow. They all braced themselves as an immense eyeball hurtled out of the air toward them.

Chapter 3
The three friends huddled together, their weapons drawn. "Well, if this is it," Silver started, "it's been nice knowing you." His companions nodded assent. The eye hurtled ever closer. Just as it struck the ground, a sword came out of nowhere and cleaved it almost down the middle. The eye roared. As it flinched away from the blow, six rapid shots came out of nowhere and filled the eye's smooth body with holes. It flew off, then came back for another pass. Each time, either the bullets or the sword would come, until the eye changed shape. Its iris and pupil disapperead, to be replaced by a gaping jaw with huge fangs. "Dodge it, then stab," the sword-wielding fighter whispered to Silver and Andrew. "Climb up here and snipe it, with me!" a rough voice shouted from where the bullets had come from. Swaggins followed it up the cliff. The young adventurers followed the orders of the fighters, and soon the eye was dead. It left behind many blocks of shining purple stone. "What WAS that thing?" Silver gasped. "It was the Eye of Cthulhu," the sword-wielding figure said. "Oh, and by the way, you can call me Squazz. That gun-toting derp over there is Stryker." She reached a hand out of her red armor and shook Andrew's and Silver's in turn. Andrew asked, "Stryker... like eye striker?" Stryker laughed. "Well, no, but I do strike eyes!"

The five adventurers approached the pile of loot left by the Eye of Cthulhu. "This is Demonite," Squazz explained. "It makes stronger weapons and tools than platinum - you'd better get rid of that." Swaggins protested, but eventually removed his bow to exchange it for a Demonite bow. He tested out the balance. "Well, not as good as platinum, of course, but good."

Andrew was curious about the gear Squazz and Stryker were carrying. He turned to Squazz first. "You're carrying a Blood Butcherer. That's a sword I've never personally seen before. And you have... Crimson Armor! Never seen that either." Squazz nodded affirmation. Andrew then inspected Stryker's weapons. "Hmm... you have Necro Armor, of course. That's easy to find. But this gun... what is- Oh! It's an Undertaker! I've heard of that, but never seen it, of course." Stryker looked vaguely amused.

Once they were done picking up the Eye's loot, Swaggins had a bow of demonite, Silver was opting for a battleaxe and Andrew had gotten a sword. They each examined their weapons, very pleased.

"This still doesn't tell me anything," Andrew said, his finger in Squazz's face. "Those weapons CAN'T be gained on a world without a bloody biome full of death and decay. And we don't have that. What did you do?"

"We actually, ah, came from a separate world. I'm not sure how it happened, but we did get this loot."

"I ain't believing that," Andrew said, "but we might as well take your help while it's there."

Silver, eager to head off a quarrel, asked, "Where to now?"

"Oh, that's easy," Stryker said. "We could go to the dungeon, the jungle or the Corruption."

The fivesome voted. Squazz cast her vote in favor of the jungle, Andrew in favor of nowhere, Silver in favor of the dungeon and Swaggins and Stryker in favor of the Corruption.

"Guess we're on our way," Stryker said, and led them east.

Chapter 4
The sun was rising over the purple land of the Corruption. Eaters drifted far in the sky, ready to swoop down on the adventurers. Stryker, not looking up, shot them out of the sky with his Undertaker. They landed with a thud, long after the shots had left the gun. "Come with me," Andrew whispered. "Why are we whispering?" he added as an afterthought. His companions shrugged.

Andrew led them to the edge of a massive chasm. Squazzil looked over the edge and immediately reeled back, hands over her eyes. "It's so deep," she moaned. Swaggins looked over. It was deep, a purple patch of ground visible far below. "What do we do?" Silver asked, nervously scanning the sky for Eaters. "We climb," Stryker volunteered.

It took several hours to reach the bottom of the chasm. When they did, it opened into a long cave. There were massive altars, their tops lined with bones. "Don't touch them if you like your face where it is," Andrew warned. He nervously guided the group past them. As they progressed down the cave, the air grew colder. Squazzil shivered. She pulled her red-and-gray pickaxe out and nervously hammered at the ground. It broke beneath her feet and she tumbled down.

"Squazzil!" Swaggins and Silver yelped. She called up from the hole, "I'm alright. It's freezing down here, though. There's this orb... it's a terrible thing." Stryker and Andrew exchanged looks. Stryker tossed down his red-and-gray hammer, saying "Try hitting it." Squazzil did. It shattered in a few taps, sending a shiver down all of their spines and dropping an old-fashioned gun, along with some bullets. "Wow!" Squazz yelped, picking them up. She climbed out of the hole and handed it to Stryker. He tested its balance. "I'd say it's an old type of musket. Good craftmanship, but not my Undertaker." He transferred it to Andrew's hands.

The group progressed farther. It grew cold again. Squazz broke another orb. This time, screams echoed up and down the cave, bouncing off the walls. All five covered their ears, though Silver uncovered them and yelped in delight as Squazz tossed him a thorn-like spear. He aimed it and a bolt of thorny light came out, flying right through the wall. "Wow!"

Finally, after several Eater attacks, they reached a spot where the cold was concentrated. It was also a dead end. There was an orb floating right in midair at the end. Squazz hammered at it, and, tossing the flail it dropped to Swaggins, was slammed into the cave wall by the head of an enormous worm-like creature.

Chapter 5
The massive, worm-like creature zoomed into the cave, carrying Squazz with it. It slammed into the cave wall with her, passing right through. Squazz crumpled to the ground, and Stryker ran to check on her. "It's the... Eater of Worlds!" Andrew gasped, running to the cave wall. The Eater of Worlds tunneled out again, only to meet a blow from Swaggins's new flail, which severed it completely in half. Both halves seemed to grow independent brains and both swung around, taking on their separator and Silver in single combat. Silver dodged admirably, his armor glinting in the gloom of the cave. His new Vilethorn - for that was what his thorny spear was called - shot evil-looking bolts through the air, following the Eater of Worlds even through walls. It ripped through its entire body.

Soon, all three of the mobile adventurers were exhausted. Stryker still stood over Squazz, delivering powerful blasts with his Undertaker whenever the huge worm grew too close. Squazz was unconscious. Swaggins swung his flail yet slower and less accurately, rarely hitting the Eater. Silver's well-aimed Vilethorn shots grew less aimed and more desperately wielded. His energy was drained. Andrew mostly dodged the Eater's attacks, firing with his Demon Bow weakly and inaccurately.

Finally, the Eater disappeared for a long time, pursued by Silver's magic. As the adventurers began to relax, it burst roaring through the end of the cave with a tremendous noise. Silver aimed his Vilethorn... concentrated... and fired. The thorny bolt passed all the way down through the worm, ripping out through its tail. Silver collapsed where he stood, the body of the Eater flying over him. Swaggins swung his flail and missed... Andrew shot his Demon Bow and missed... and the Eater had almost slammed into Squazz and Stryker when a heavily armored figure dropped out of the sky and struck the Eater squarely on the head. It exploded in a shower of shadowy scales, meat and smell of death.

They looted the carcass vigorously, taking the shadowy scales and putting them together to form a shadowy armor from some Demonite that the monster had dropped. Andrew donned the armor, saying it looked good but was freezing cold. They finally remembered their savior.

Swaggins turned around and looked at him. "Thank you. Who are you, by the way?" The armored figure smiled. "I'm Denis," he answered. "I wield spears to take down my enemies." Andrew walked over, opened his book, and inspected the stranger's armor. "This is Molten Armor, forged from the depths of hell... and you wield the Dark Lance, evil trident of the Corruption. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were heavily decked out." Denis smiled. "I come to help those who accidentally awaken the Eater. It's a jerkface. No match for a good spear, though." His smiled faded. "And I think we'd better help your friend now."

Squazz didn't look so good, as Swaggins put it. Her face had turned a nasty shade of green, and a long cut stretched down her leg. Her Crimson Armor's headpiece was cracked in two.

Denis managed to ferret out a golden chest, which held a bottle with clouds in it. Since he was the most alert, Andrew strapped it on and used it to fly the company to the top of the Corruption and back home.

"I think we might not save her," Silver whimpered. "Well, there is a way..." Andrew said. "But it involves going to the Jungle."

Chapter 6
"The JUNGLE?" Andrew gasped. Swaggins and Silver looked back and forth from him to Denis, unsure why their friend was so shocked. Andrew explained. "It's a terrible place - full of vines, and traps, and more evil things. Like giant hornets." Denis shrugged. "Eh, shouldn't be too hard. With my spear, of course."

In the end, they decided to go. Andrew and Stryker would stay home and keep watch on Squazz, who was still unconscious. Denis, Swaggins and Silver would travel to the Jungle and collect the healing ingredient - which Denis said was pure, sweet honey.

It was early the next morning when the three adventurers saw the tops of the vine-covered Jungle trees. They were exhausted, having traveled all night and fought to get there. They had had to pass through a desert to get there, and they were all thirsty. Swaggins leaned down to take a drink, but Denis stopped him. "No. The water is full of piranhas who would strip you to the bone in seconds." Swaggins gulped and didn't drink.

Soon, they found a cave and descended into the underground Jungle.

It was the worst place Swaggins and Silver had ever seen. Full of hornets that shot poisonous stingers, man-eating plants, spiky spike-shooting globs of slime and worse, they were terrified. Even with Denis's wicked spear skills ("Glad I've never gotten in a fork-fight with him" Swaggins said) they were hard-pressed to stay alive.

Finally, they found a yellow wall in the green depths of the jungle. This wasn't after Silver's nose was aching from absorbing spores galore (Denis said they were good for magic, so he collected them) and his pockets hurt from carrying several jungle flowers. He had five vines looped around his neck for safekeeping.

They hammered through the wall of honeycomb and were immediately attacked by a swarm of bees. Swaggins plugged the hole with his flail (which he had christened Ball O' Hurt) and listened to the bees beat themselves to death on it.

When the bees' death cries had stopped, the company widened the hole and entered. They found themselves waist-deep in hard-to-move honey. After extricating themselves, Silver climbed up the wall, dislodging several angry bees, and examined something he had found. "Itph duhlehshus," he mumbled around a mouthful of honey. Suddenly, his hands slipped, and he was brought crashing down - straight onto a larva-like creature, which burst.

A rumbling started in the walls of the hive. "Silver," Swaggins began, "did you just summon another stupid creature with your clumsiness?" Denis replied for the embarrassed Silver, "Yes, that's the queen bee. I figured we might meet her."

The bee swooped through. All three adventurers were badly beaten and stung. The bee was about to overwhelm them again, when suddenly...

"I can't let her win. I need to save Squazz," Swaggins moaned, chest-deep in honey. He and Silver swung out, leaving Denis and his heavy armor to sit in the honey.

Together, the two adventurers were unbeatable. Swaggins swung his flail, smashing bees left and right, and Silver aimed his Vilethorn right at the bee queen. Soon, it was a pile of dead bee and honey.

The adventurers pulled some gear out of the remains. Swaggins picked up a sword whose hilt was the wings of a bee, and Silver picked up a huge, six-barreled gun. He tested it and found that it shot angry bees who immediately left the hive to attack some hornets. Denis poked through and found nothing but honey. "We need this to save Squazz," he announced, picking up some bottles.

They made it home safe, just as Squazz's breathing was slowing. They force-fed her honey, and she gradually recovered. Finally, they were ready to adventure. But where to?

"Next step - the Dungeon," Stryker announced grimly.

Chapter 7
"To the Dungeon, where no spears can be found!" Denis yelled, leading the small party towards the Dungeon. It could be seen looming over the landscape ahead. Squazz, Stryker and Andrew groaned. They were sick of spears.

They entered the Dungeon, ignoring the hobo who yelled at them, "You must not enter until my master has been defeated!" in a quavery voice. All except Stryker. "You might want to watch out..." he muttered, then called after them, "Stop!" But it was too late. Silver had jumped down.

Suddenly, an immense skull came tearing out of nowhere. It flew straight past Silver, who cowered against the wall. Then it opened its jaw and spoke. (Silver noticed it had a red, green and yellow hat with black dreadlocks). It went something like this:

"Yo dawg, I heard you like the Dungeon! Well dawg, I got news for ya! If ya wanna enter da Dungeon, ya gotta beat Skelerapper! He's my head plus two arms and can rap like the Devil himself! Bettah get stahted! Oh yeh, and Ah'll killya if ya come back 'gain! Sup dawg!"

And it flew back down.

Silver and Swaggins covered their ears. Squazz was passed out. Stryker was curled in the fetal position. Denis couldn't stop crying. Meanwhile, the old hobo came to them and started cackling hoarsely. "I... told you... you must defeat my master! He is called... Skeletron! Tremble, please. I need to make a living."

"Right then," Swaggins noted. "So, can we meet your boss? I'm sure we could convince him to give you a raise." The old man replied in a hacking whisper, "Not so fast! Wait until night, if you know what's good for you."

"Okay," Swaggins replied. He pulled out an anvil and set it down. "Silver, didn't you have a bunch of Jungley loot? Craft whatever here."

Silver did. Soon, he was outfitted in green and flowery armor, with a large hook of ivy at his side. "I like this look," he said, firing off a projectile with his Vilethorn. It struck the bricks of the Dungeon and passed right through, killing a slime on the other side instantly. "Wow, that's powerful! I feel more energetic too!"

Night fell slowly. "So, we need to release you from your curse of a sort, is it?" Silver asked the old man. The man started to tremble and fell to the ground. An immense skull and arms - stripped clean to the bone - floated out and solidified.

"Dang, Silver, you have a problem with summoning stuff," Stryker noted, backing up slowly and raising his pistol.

Chapter 8
The whirling arms of the giant skeleton caught Denis in the chest, sending the spearman into the wall. The head made a beeline towards Silver, seemingly sensing it was him who woke the bones. He dodged to the side, firing wildly with his Vilethorn.

The skull made two more passes at Silver, each missing. However, on the third, it struck. He flew into the dungeon and knocked his head on a bookshelf. "Oooooohhh," he groaned. A book had fallen on his head. As the skull bore down on him, he opened it and aimed it at the skull. A stream of glowing water flew out and ricocheted around the Dungeon. The skull flew backwards into the wall and shattered. "Guess that is some water!" Silver muttered, looking at the book in his hand.

The left arm had died to the flail Swaggins carried, and the right to several shots from Stryker's Undertaker. The group surveyed the shattered bones, picking some gear out of the rubble.

"Oh, man! A spellbook!" Silver exclaimed, picking up a battered, black volume with a skull on the front. Stryker picked up a miniature version of Skeletron's hands, shooting one out as a grappling hook. "I like this!" he said with a smile.

"Well, if you have finished, we can go into the dungeon now, according to that horrible rapper," Squazz interjected.

They entered the Dungeon. Just as they dodged past a set of spikes (Stryker grappled them across) a skeleton appeared out of the gloom. This skeleton had rusty red armor on its torso and wore a hockey mask. Red eyes shone out of the grid. "OH god freaking skeleton OH god it has a spiky head OH GOD RUN!!" Silver screamed as Swaggins's flail caught the skeleton and sent it rocketing across the room. It shattered, leaving behind some bones, which Stryker picked up, and a key that shone golden. Andrew pocketed it.

They continued through the Dungeon, killing skeletons as they went. They got one more key and many more bones.

Soon, Swaggins jumped off a ledge and hit a gold-and-blue chest. It was locked. However, there was a chest of gold next to it. Andrew stuck his key in, and the chest popped open. Inside was a shiny blue flail. It glowed, lighting up the Dungeon and their faces with a faint blue light. Swaggins withdrew it, placing his Ball O' Hurt inside. "Goodbye, friend, but I just replaced you," he told it. The new flail flew much farther than his old one, and decimated skeletons in one or two hits.

The group found several more chests. Squazz got herself a shiny new blue shield, which protected her well against skeletons, Andrew got a wickedly fast and sharp blue sword and Silver got himself a gold-and-blue scepter. It shot a stream of water when he used it.

Soon, they got out of the Dungeon. There was good loot in their pockets, and good feelings among them. "Where to now?" Andrew asked. "I think... we should go to hell," Stryker answered with a wink. Denis looked at him.

"Excuse me?" Squazz asked.

Chapter 9
"To hell?" Denis asked incredulously. "Yes, to hell," Stryker replied, a manic grin on his face. "So let's find a cave and get going!"

They walked for a long time, night and day. At noon on the second day, they came across an area covered in shadow. They looked up... and saw an immense island.

"What the-?" asked Swaggins. "That's a... floating island," Andrew replied. "Harpies appear there, and wyverns, great huge dragons that can kill you like lightning."

They all looked at him. "But that's after we go to the underworld and defeat an immense wall made out of flesh." Everyone looked relieved. "Besides, we can find all sorts of loot up there! C'mon!"

It took a while, but with Swaggins's Cloud in a Bottle, they managed to get Squazz, Andrew and Silver up. Silver and Squazz looked in the chest while Andrew stood guard outside, fending off harpies that shot feathers at him.

Inside the chest sat a pink and gold sword, glittering in the sun. Squazz picked it up and pointed. She focused - and a star fell out of the sky, squashing a harpy flat!

Silver stood openmouthed. He had found himself a horseshoe of gold, which he gave to Andrew. Andrew jumped down, while Swaggins ferried the other two down safely. Andrew's horseshoe negated all falling damage.

Not soon after, they came to a cave. It wasn't anything special, just a regular old cave. But Stryker sniffed the air and smiled. "That is the scent of hell. We're there. C'mon down." There was a sulfurous odor wafting out of the cave, mixed with cold and pure water.

Long, far below soil level, they came upon the first lava. Farther still, mysterious orange flowers dotted their path. Finally, they came to the Underworld.

It was a horrendous place, full of fire and brimstone. Demons flitted about on bat wings, while globs of magma hopped around aimlessly. Towering obsidian castles rose from the lava. Silver and Denis entered one. There was a forge burning hot enough to heat the whole room, and a locked purple chest. Denis pulled out a key he had gotten from the Dungeon, stuck it in, and twisted. It worked! The lid sprang open. Inside was a flaming flail with a head shaped like the sun, and a copy of Denis's Dark Lance. They took the flail and gave it to Swaggins, who loved it instantly.

"This wall of flesh will travel across the Underworld, so we must be prepared to evade lava," Stryker told them. Swaggins strapped his Cloud in a Bottle to his feet and readied his flail. Squazz grabbed one of his arms, while Silver took the other. Denis tried pole-vaulting with his Dark Lance, but failed miserably, and would have fallen into lava had Andrew not pulled him back. He settled for clinging to Stryker as he readied his Skeletron Hand grappling hook. Andrew stood there on the open, hot ground, his sword at his side.

"So how do we summon this thing?" Silver asked quietly. "Well, it requires a voodoo doll to be dropped into lava, which one of the demons holds... there's one!" Andrew said, too loudly, pointing to a demon flying in the distance. "This voodoo doll... it's modeled after... me. My family. The Guides of Terraria."

"Waiwaiwait. So you're saying... when it's dropped, you'll die?" Silver asked tearfully. "But we can't do that!"

"Yes, you can," Andrew said. "You don't need me - you saw how I was in battle. Stryker can tell you what you need to know." Silver sighed. "That isn't the point, Andrew. You're our friend."

"No worries, Silver. You may meet another friend of mine once I'm gone," came the reply. He walked off, shot down the demon, and returned with the doll. "Here, take this and drop it," he told them, face shrouded. He pulled a cap out from his pocket and stuck it on his head - a green one, with a short sun visor. "I'm ready."

Hands trembling, Silver, Swaggins, Squazz, Stryker and Denis each put their hand beneath the doll. Then, as one, they let go. Tears ran down Silver's face as the doll fell into the lava at their feet and burned to nothing. When he looked up, Andrew was gone, leaving just a green cap sitting on the hot ground. Silver pocketed it just as the Wall of Flesh came out of the Underworld gloom toward them.

It was an immense wall made out of pitted and pockmarked flesh, with one eye on either side of a huge mouth. Enemies attached with ropes of flesh came out of it. "My god... it's a wall of HAMBURGER MEAT!" was all Silver could think to say. Then he, Squazz and Swaggins linked arms and flew with the Cloud in a Bottle up to attack one of the eyes. Denis and Stryker grabbed each other and grappled up to a spur of stone, where they began stabbing at the Wall and shooting fast shots at it. Stryker had been to hell before, and he had some hellstone, so he had made himself a handgun of fire with the handgun he had obtained from the Dungeon, which he claimed "was useless anyways."

The Wall of Flesh was halted by this barrage of fierce attacks. Soon, it was nothing but a square of blue-black bricks containing the loot. Stryker got an old-fashioned clockwork rifle, Silver got a pistol that shot lasers, Squazz got an immense sword and Denis got a huge gold-and-silver hammer. As they were collecting their loot, Squazz straightened up. "Everything is black!" she yelped. "Everything is white!" Swaggins replied. Soon, the visions passed, and the heated air of the Underworld seemed to drop 20 degrees for a moment, until it passed.

"That was odd," Swaggins commented. "Well, let's get home. Andrew said a relative might be waiting."

Silver burst into tears.

Chapter 10
The promised relative was not waiting back at the house, which sent Silver into tears again. The sun was setting.

"I wonder if anything has changed with the Wall's defeat," Swaggins said. "Oh, a lot has changed, trust me," Stryker replied. "and not for our benefit."

The sun sank. Denis was chopping wood a few feet outside the door. Suddenly, he was dive-bombed by two immense eyeballs - not as big as the Eye of Cthulhu, but much larger than Demon Eyes. As he stabbed one, its mouth opened, like a miniature version of the Eye. They struck him and bit him all over. Thankfully, he was able to get in, with only a small bite on his forearm, where his unprotected hand had stabbed out at the eyes.

"My God!" Swaggins yelped. "It seems there are all sorts of nasties!"

They tried to hold the fort, but they soon discovered walking suits of armor that could break down doors easily. So they soon just held the entrance points, doors cracking beneath their feet. They were almost overwhelmed; Silver's newest spell fired powerful skulls at the enemies, Stryker shot a wave of bullets from his new rifle, Swaggins flung his flail again and again, Squazz rained down stars, but they were thankful when the monsters dispersed with the sun's rays.

They decided to go and check out the land, which they had done fairly little of as of late. But as they reached a cliff near the house, they saw the Corruption had spread almost to it. Eaters and larger, four-fanged monsters sailed in the skies above them.

On the other side, things were of a different variety of bad. A rainbow-treed land with turquoise grass had spread towards them. Unicorns barreled up and down, trying to get at the adventurers, and Squazz's stars smote some pixies headed to them.

Swaggins whirled and grabbed Silver's arm. "What have we got ourselves into?"

Chapter 11
The adventurers stood over the land of the Hallow. Swaggins gripped Silver's shoulder. Stryker's Undertaker fell to his side, unused. Squazz fell to her knees. Denis experimentally jabbed with his spear at the ground, then looked bleakly ahead.

"What have we done?" Swaggins whispered.

"Avenged Andrew," Silver replied, his eyes watering. "But at this price?" replied Squazz.

A unicorn jumped up the ledge towards them. Squazz swung her new sword and struck it down. It dropped a horn, which Squazz picked up. "Wow! It's amazingly weird!" The others looked at her.

They reached the house, which was almost overrun by the Corruption. Silver watched as the purple ground inched forward, about to cover up the house he and Andrew had worked so hard to build. A tear rolled down his cheek for the second time that day. Suddenly, a pale green-skinned woman dashed out of the dark Corruption and threw some flowers at his feet. "Take these! Plant them! They shalt protect thy house!" Then a ball of greenish-purple liquid shot out of a Corruptor's mouth and knocked her dead.

Silver stared in shock as Stryker shot down the Corruptor. Then he picked up the flowers and gently placed them in the earth by his house. The Corruption touched them, but seemed to recoil, not touching them. He did the same on the Hallow side.

"What do we do now?" Denis asked plaintively. "Well, we need the ores," Stryker replied. "Follow me."

They went underground in the Corruption. There was not a whole lot of changes, just Corruptors and World Feeders. Silver collected some of the flames they dropped.

"This is what we need!" Stryker exclaimed. They had found several grayish-purple altars with horns sticking up. "Here, take your hammer," he told Denis, "and smash them." Denis did. Wraithlike black creatures with red eyes appeared and attacked. Squazz and Swaggins beat them back. A patch of bluish ore generated in a cave off to their right. A patch of golden-orange ore generated beneath Silver's feet. Stryker and Squazz pulled out molten pickaxes and mined it. "This is cobalt," Stryker explained, pointing to the blue ore, "and this is palladium. It's used to make armor and weapons. Smash more, Denis!"

Denis did, happily. Squazz and Swaggins had no troubles smashing the wraiths. More ore generated: Cobalt, palladium, mythril, orichalcum, adamantite and titanium. Each was mined with no trouble, after Stryker crafted an anvil of iron to make a drill of cobalt, as well as a forge he had gotten in the Underworld. Piece by piece, ore by ore, pick by pick, six sets of armor and weapons were crafted.

Squazz armed herself with Titanium Armor as well as a Titanium Waraxe, since she had to get up close and personal with enemies. Swaggins, since he was second melee, got Adamantite as well as an Adamantite Glaive, which he stated he would not use no matter what. Denis took Orichalcum, as well as an Orichalcum Halberd. Silver took Mythril, but no weapon at all. Stryker ended up taking a full set of Palladium Armor.

When they were all suited up, they climbed back home. As they beat back the Wandering Eyes and Possessed Armor with their new weapons, they reflected on the fact that they had done an irreparable wrong to the world, but they had done their best to stop it.

"You know?" Swaggins said to Silver. "I get the feeling this'll be a terrible night."

Chapter 12
The group of adventurers headed back to the house, prepared for something that they weren't sure of. Every one of them had a bad feeling about the coming evening. The sun was setting, and Swaggins shivered. "I feel like something is... watching me?" Squazz replied, "Well, if it's the Eye of Cthulhu, we can handle it like a piece of cake." Silver told Squazz, "I feel it too. But it's more like more than one something."

The last rim of the orange sun sunk below the horizon at that moment. The adventurers heard a tremendous...

ROARRRRR!!!

It was repeated twice. Then two giant eyeballs rose out of the ground. One was green and the other was red. The adventurers scattered.

From the start of the fight, it was clear that the adventurers were outmatched. Squazz jumped around, swinging her Titanium Sword at the green eye, with Stryker blasting away below her. Denis stabbed when it came too close.

Silver was casting skulls, streams of water and fiery balls at the red eye, to no avail. Swaggins swung his mighty Sunfury, stunning the big eye again and again, but it wasn't enough.

Squazz was knocked aside, armor flickering with green flames. Denis's Dark Lance snapped in half, unleashing a blast of sound and darkness that stunned everyone on the battlefield. Swaggins's Sunfury started to dim, no longer unleashing a wave of heat wherever it went. Silver's arms drooped with exhaustion. Stryker started running out of bullets.

Finally, the green eye unleashed its final blow: A massive wave of green flames shot out and swept over the adventurers. All five collapsed.

As the two eyeballs bore down for a final blow, a white-robed figure stepped out from behind a tree. "Wait!" it screamed. Then it raised its hands. The two eyeballs, incredibly, halted. Then they turned around, looked at each other, and began smashing into each other.

Soon, the eyeballs had turned themselves into more battle-ready forms: The green one's pupil had split into a large maw, like the Eye of Cthulhu's did, except this one was shooting green flames at a steady rate, while the red one's pupil had sprouted a laser cannon.

Soon, the eyes realized what they were doing. By then, they were very weak, but not too weak to muster a final blast at the weakened, unconscious adventurers. As the green one heated up and the red one charged up, the angel stepped out from where he had been hiding. "With the might of the holy ones, I, Koburo the angel, summon back a lost friend to save these adventurers in their time of horror!" he yelled. Then he collapsed.

A heavily muscled man with a tuft of brown hair atop his kindly face and armored body stepped out of the gloom. He aimed a massive crossbow at the red eye and blasted it into a pile of bloody fragments. Then he took out a massive silver-and-gold sword and sliced the green eye in two. Then he stepped forward.

"Silver, old friend, wake up," came the gentle voice, easing Silver's eyelids open. "Drink this," Andrew said, holding out a blue potion with gold bands.

"A-a-andrew? It's really you?" Silver stuttered. "Yes, it's me. That angel's final magic reawakened me, with the might of the holy ones, in the form of this Excalibur and Hallowed gear," Andrew told him. "Now let's wake the others."

Soon, the others were awake too, or at least awake enough to see the pair of pure white wings, undirtied by the still-hot ground, resting near a tree. Swaggins asked, "What's that?" Andrew replied, "That's the wings of the angel that saved you. Here, Silver, wear them."

Silver wore them. All of a sudden he lifted off and soared around, smiling. He landed back at the feet of his friends and embraced them all. "I'm so glad we're alive!" everyone cheered. Andrew smiled. "Let's get a good night's rest now," he told them. "But first, I feel rumblings in the very ground. Let's handle that beastie first," he announced, winking.

Chapter 13
The rumblings in the ground soon intensified, but the adventurers were too happy to care. Andrew was back!

The rumblings soon manifested themselves in the form of a giant steel worm, which they dispatched with ease. It dropped some orange-red spheres, which they collected, along with the green ones from the giant eyeballs. Everyone was joyful.

When they reached the house, a short, irritable man was waiting for them. "About time!" he scoffed. "Buy some of this! Only 35 gold!" Stryker bought a massive shark-like gun, which shot bullets extremely fast. The arms dealer left.

In the morning, they decided to go different places: Squazz would head to the Jungle with Stryker, and Silver would head to the Corruption. Swaggins would head to the Desert. Denis would head to the tundra. Andrew would go to the Hallow.

They met back at the house in time for nightfall. Silver wielded a new spellbook: This one shot bouncing green fireballs. Swaggins had a massive black and white flail that confused enemies when they were struck, causing them to walk backwards. Squazz was decked out in tough, turtle-like armor that made her almost impervious to damage, as well as leafy wings. Stryker had found a strange biome beneath the Jungle, full of glowing mushrooms and a strange man, shaped like a mushroom. He had sold them a spear that left mushrooms behind, which Squazz gave to Denis, and Stryker himself had glowing blue armor that made him almost invisible. Stryker gave a set of lime-green armor to Denis, who had nothing to show except a few icy weapons, including a staff and a sword. Andrew had a spellbook that shot wickedly fast crystals, which he gave to Silver.

They beat a massive skeleton that rose from the ground easily, letting him drop his blue-purple spheres. However, when they did, they heard a massive rustling sound come from the Jungle's direction. It died down after a while, but was still omnipresent. "Wonder what that is," Stryker said. "That's... Plantera," Andrew said reluctantly. "A foe far beyond the likes of anything we have ever faced. Let's train for it."

And train they did. Squazz practiced dodging blank shots from Stryker. Denis parried magic shots from Silver. Swaggins and Andrew went flail-to-sword.

"I think we're ready," Andrew said at last.

Chapter 14
"We're off to beat Planteraaaaaa!" Swaggins sang as the group marched toward the Jungle. "Not so fast," Andrew warned him. "This enemy is wickedly strong, way beyond whatever you have faced in my absence." Squazz admitted, "We haven't really fought anything big aside from the Wall." Andrew nodded. "See, that confirms it. Plantera is about twice as hard to kill as the Wall, and a lot stronger."

Swaggins was quiet after that.

The group reached the edge of the desert that led to the Jungle. The sun was about to start rising. "Okay, let's go!" Stryker commanded. They started out.

"Why is it so dark?" Silver asked plaintively. "Where's the sun?"

"It hasn't risen yet, Silver," Squazz sighed.

"Nope. There it is," Andrew corrected, pointing to a black disc with a fiery orange edge. "Solar Eclipse. Get ready for battle beyond the likes of anything you've seen."

Soon, the monsters started swarming. Silver had built a pillar and platform, so they attacked from there, except Denis and Squazz, who held back the monsters below.

It was terrible. There were vampires, ooze monsters, eyeball zombies that shot lasers, frankensteins, all manner of horrors. They swarmed from all sides. Eyezors shot lasers at Stryker as he shot them down. Squazz and a vampire went sword-on-fang. Swaggins smashed his flail into a Swamp Thing, but it just absorbed the blow. Silver cast bouncing green fireballs all over, setting reapers on fire. A Frankenstein leaned away from spear jabs launched by Denis.

Finally, the night came again, quietly and full of relief. "That was... that was... terrible," Silver panted. His energy was almost depleted, and he drank some potions.

For loot, Squazz, Denis and Swaggins each had identical swords, old and broken in two. Silver held a huge black scythe nervously, offering it to Andrew and finally giving it to Squazz, who agreed to carry it for a while. "That's all?" Denis whined. "We risked our lives and all we get is this broken stuff?" Andrew halted him. "There's more power in these swords than you think. They were once a hero's sword, but that hero fell in battle with these monsters. Now we have them - and we can do good with them. Here, watch." He took out his Excalibur and laid it flat against one of the swords. A glowing pink light enveloped them all. When it cleared, the Excalibur was much longer and more pink. When Andrew swung it, a pink afterimage sailed out and speared a Zombie through the head.

Everyone looked surprised. They continued their trek to the Jungle.

As the sun rose for the first time in two days, the adventurers dove into a pool of water to reach the Underground Jungle.

It was far worse. Giant bats flitted around, moths attacked them, giant mossy hornets shot stingers. Derpy blue beetles on huge legs hopped around.

"Well, where do we fight Plantera?" Silver asked.

"There," Andrew said, pointing to a pink bulb up on a wall of the Jungle.

"Oooh oh oh oh! I get to break it!" Silver yelped, tripping and landing on an identical pink bulb at his feet.

The jungle echoed with the rustling of vines and a huge grassy

'' ROARRRR!!! ''

Chapter 15
Plantera roared through the Underground Jungle, tearing up vines and bushes in its path. All the creatures scattered, while the adventurers positioned themselves.

First, Plantera reeled toward Silver. Silver blasted it with his new Cursed Flames. It reeled away, straight into Swaggins's Dao of Pow, then into a stream of bullets from Stryker's Clockwork Assault Rifle, then into Squazz's Breaker Blade. So the battle went, until Denis was almost gone. They grabbed him and left the Jungle for the safety of the forest.

Stupid move. Plantera roared in fury and opened its mouth. Sharp brown balls flew out at the adventurers. With considerable effort, they subdued it.

Once they were done, they happily surveyed the loot: A large, flower-like Vilethorn for Silver, a green gun that fired extremely fast for Stryker, a massive flower-headed flail for Swaggins and a brownish-green key. Squazz attached it to her belt ring.

"Where to next?" Silver asked. "Now we head... to the Dungeon. Single most deadly place in Terraria," Andrew told him. All the adventurers grinned at the prospect of a fight.

The Dungeon was pitch-black, all light extinguished. There were blue candles flickering lightly.

As they entered, tall skeletons came out of the gloom, their bodies clad in glinting blue armor so thick Swaggins later tried to stick one of his flail spikes through it and failed. They dropped a polishing rag and some polish, which Squazz rubbed on her armor. In addition, they dropped a massive sword shaped like a key. Squazz grabbed this eagerly, swinging it through a group of purple-robed, crouching skeletons. "Must be hobos," Silver later commented. These skeletons dropped an oddly shaped purple staff.

Farther down, there were orange-armored skeletons whose very presence heated up the air. Fiery mages cast balls of inferno at them and later dropped an orange fork. Silver got his hands on a magnetic sphere that hung in the air and shot electricity here.

At the farthest level, there were ragged mages that blinded enemies temporarily. They were swept down. Along with them, huge rusty-armored skeletons attacked as well. This was living hell.

When they finally got out, Silver tallied up their loot: "Wow!" they exclaimed. Silver had a lot of new toys to play with, and they all were happy.
 * 1 Shadowbeam Staff
 * 1 Inferno Fork
 * 1 Tactical Shotgun
 * 1 Sniper Rifle
 * 91 Ectoplasm
 * 1 Magnet Sphere
 * 1 Keybrand
 * 3 Armor Polish
 * 1 Adhesive Bandage

Suddenly, they felt their entire bodies go numb...

Chapter 16
"Lordy, what is that?" Silver gasped, looking up at the sky. There, silhouetted against the sun, was a huge shape. Swaggins lifted his numb arms, holding a pair of binoculars, and looked through them. "It looks... like a giant brain!" he yelped.

Squazz spoke. "In our world," she began, "there's this massive brain that lives in the Crimson. But it didn't make us go numb..."

Andrew opened his guidebook and flipped through it. "I have no idea what it is. Hope it's friendly."

Soon, the shape floated off to the ocean. All the adventurers collapsed to the floor, their bodies giving out from the magnetic field exerted.

"Excuse me," a quiet voice said behind them, "but do you need help?"

They picked themselves up and wheeled around to see an immense man in a suit of pitted and scarred silver armor looking at them. He held a huge shield with one hand, a hammer with the other. He lifted the hammer. "I'm Arthur, a Paladin from the Dungeon. I saw you going through, and I decided to help. I'm not like those other, warlike Paladins."

Squazz asked, "What warlike Paladins? Where? We saw no one!"

Arthur answered, "Oh, they're kind of secretive. But once you see them, you're too late." He wheeled his hammer in his hand and sent it smashing with deadly accuracy into the bricks at the top of the Dungeon, raining a shower of plaster down. No one had time to react. "Wow..." Silver breathed. Arthur smiled behind his helmet. "Let's go. I know where to next. You have the Key from Plantera?"

Andrew handed it to him. Taking his cues from his friend, Silver decided to trust the immense man.

They headed back to the Jungle and then down into the earth. When they looked around a bit, pushing aside vines and brush, they found ancient orange-brown bricks with strange symbols.

"This," Andrew said, "is the Lihzahrd Temple. Inside lies a being of immense power. If we defeat it, we get loot!"

They stepped inside. The walls were covered with strange symbols and mouths with spikes poking out. Andrew threw a loose stone at the floor, triggering a pressure plate, which sent spears arcing out of the walls to strike the other. All the adventurers leaned back. Swaggins pulled a pair of wire cutters from his belt, seeing something in his vision change. "I can... see wires all over!" he exclaimed. Then he cut the offending metal, making the traps harmless. Squazz struck the traps with her pickaxe, but failed to break them.

After mazes, they reached an immense room. Flying snakes flitted overhead, occasionally divebombing the adventurers and being slammed into a wall by Silver's Inferno Fork blasts. Squads of lizard-like monsters attacked with spears and tridents. "I think I saw those on a television once..." Andrew noted.

Finally, they reached the center of the altar. Swaggins pulled a battery out of his pocket and stuck it on an ancient slot cut in the stone table. A rumbling shook the room.

Suddenly, a massive red stone figure dropped down out of the ceiling, cracking the floor where it landed. It had a sun on its chest and massive, chain-linked fists. Squazz and Stryker struck at the left fist, Swaggins, Denis and Silver at the right, and Andrew and Arthur struck at the massive head.

The fists were hard to deflect, as they were so heavy. Denis was punched into a wall, and Squazz was lifted sky-high.

"And that," Swaggins said, "is why we never get in a fistfight with ambidextrous people."

Soon, the head detached from the body and started firing flaming lasers down at the adventurers. Arthur stepped in and went berserk on the Golem. His hammer was a blur, his shield a fallout shelter. Soon, the Golem was a pile of red rubble and loot.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. "I sometimes go berserk in battle. It's from my mother's side."

"So you mean," Swaggins asked, "yo mama had anger issues?"

Everyone laughed, then started to look at the spoils.

Squazz got a wickedly strong orange pick whose head was bent both ways, Swaggins got a massive gun that shot a miniature Golem fist, Silver got a laser pistol-like weapon that shot a beam of yellow light, Denis got a massive, boulder-topped staff and Stryker got a hatchet that homed in on enemies and then returned to his hand.

"That... was... AWESOME!" Silver yelled. "Where to now?"

When they got out of the Jungle, it was dark and pumpkins grew on the grass. "Hmm..." Andrew said, inspecting them. "I think it's about time for the Pumpkin Moon."

Chapter 17
Andrew would still not tell them what the Pumpkin Moon was. Even Arthur didn't know. He just gathered pumpkins and bars and ectoplasm with the rest of them.

Finally, they were ready, and gathered around the table in Silver's house. A calendar on the wall said October 31. A jack o'lantern flickered on the front step.

"The Pumpkin Moon is a terrible thing. Horrific monsters come and attack us in waves. Each wave makes it harder. There are many things - Scarecrows, Hellhounds, Poltergeists and things too horrific to mention."

Soon, night fell, a huge orange moon peeking over the horizon. Andrew held the orange medallion up to the sky and yelled a battle cry.

The Pumpkin Moon began. The moon turned orange with an evil, flickering face on it. The shadows darkened. Evil laughs sounded from all around, echoing off cliffs.

It started quietly. First they were alone, then Splinterlings surrounded them. Swaggins splintered the Splinterlings with his Flower Pow's might. Squazz sliced her way through a line of Scarecrows as Silver protected her back from the Hellhounds that leapt. Stryker vaporized a line of Poltergeists with his Sniper Rifle.

Soon, a monster appeared that was too strong. It was the Headless Horseman. It rode a mount of shadows, its glowing head flickering with evil light. It charged into Squazz and then Andrew, sending them flying backwards. Arthur stepped in front, catching its charge midway with his heavy armor. He grunted as it struck, then sent a barrage of hammer blows into its face. The pumpkin cracked down the middle and the light went out. The Horseman crumbled, and Squazz asked "Is that the hardest we'll face?" Andrew responded grimly, "Nope. Much worse is coming."

Much worse came. Giant purple trees that cackled evilly as they burned the ground. Immense black-robed pumpkin-faced men, launching scythes at the adventurers. Soon, the adventurers' sanity was strained by these horrors.

Finally, the moon started to sink. As it did, the Pumpkin Moon climaxed. Pumpkings attacked in droves, avoiding blasts of Silver's Inferno Fork. Squazz went sword-on-sword with a band of Headless Horsemen. Mourning Woods blasted Andrew and Denis with fire, sidestepping their swings and stabs.

Soon, all the monsters were dead, except the strongest of the Pumpkins. He sliced deep gashes into Denis and Arthur's armor and knocked Silver and Swaggins away. Andrew was repelled by a viney arm. Finally, Squazz leapt up and catapulted head over heels. Her Keybrand lashed out and sliced off the pumpkin-shaped head. The Pumpking dissolved into dust, dropping a single perfect orange blade.

The adventurers collected themselves and their loot just as the sun rose. Squazz armed herself with the orange sword, Stryker with a rifle that shot candy corn as well as a stake-shooting crossbow, Denis with a staff that summoned ravens and Silver with a bat-shooting staff.

"What now?" Swaggins asked, sitting cross-legged on Silver's kitchen floor and staring at the pile of loot.

"I suggest we stay home for a while. Enough adventuring. Until maybe... Christmas?" Andrew suggested.

Chapter 18
A fire burned in the hearth, its light reflecting off the baubles hung from the ceiling. A Christmas tree twinkled in the corner, lighting up the presents beneath.

Denis bounded down the stairs, his spear strapped to his back. Squazz, Stryker and Andrew trudged drowsily after him.

"It's CHRISTMAS!" the spearman yelled, loud enough to wake Silver, Swaggins and Arthur. They tumbled down the stairs. The Christmas tree was pushed aside, the presents dragged out. Squazz had given them all identical purple shields with an ankh symbol in the center. Everyone thanked her profusely. Denis had given out dirt blocks, claiming that "pet dirt blocks were the latest in fashion." Silver tied a ribbon around his, then dropped it to pick up a freshly unwrapped Frost Staff. He swung it in an arc, and icicles dropped from the ceiling.

Arthur had been given some armor bracing by Swaggins. He gave the flailman a smaller Paladin's Hammer.

Finally, they got to the last present. It was purplish, and tied with a magenta ribbon. A skull was emblazoned on the edge. It was addressed "to the Adventurers." Silver eagerly opened the top.

A gust of cold air washed out, blanketing them all in a layer of frost. And the Frost Moon began.

First, only Zombie Elves rushed them, their decaying arms covered in bright green and red gloves. Squazz sliced through them.

This was like the Pumpkin Moon, except worse. Much worse. Soon, they were all going single combat against at least half a dozen enemies.

Squazz went sword-to-branch with several Everscreams, screaming all the while. Swaggins swooped in from overhead, bringing his flail through the heads of ten Krampii. Silver kept his eyes closed and concentrated, melting the cold from around them with his Inferno Fork. Yetis pummeled the ground with hairy fists, trying to smash a tired Denis. Snowflake-like Flockos swooped down in arc-like paths, slicing deep grooves in Andrew's armor. Arthur swung his hammer in vain at Ice Queens flying high above, as Stryker shot return fire at Elf Copters.

Soon, as the monsters came too thick to be dispatched, Swaggins noticed something. He told Stryker to aim for one Ice Queen flying high above the rest, waves of cold coming off its body in waves. Stryker did, delivering a stream of bullets with his newly obtained Venus Magnum, a gift from Squazz.

Soon, with lots of running around and shooting, the Ice Queen was dead. It plunked down in a frosty hunk next to Stryker, who dodged its body. All the other monsters seemed to lose the will to live. They collapsed, letting themselves to be beaten to pieces.

"Well, that was... active," Silver commented, searching through the remains. He retried an Everscream's branch and handed a long, tree-like sword to Squazz. Denis grabbed a long, snowflake-topped spear out of the Ice Queen's remains.

Suddenly, a glint caught Swaggins's eye. There was a strange staff nestled in the pile of ice to his right. Just as he reached down to grab it, a figure came rushing out of nowhere and grabbed it. "HEY! That's mine!" Swaggins yelled after the fast-disappearing figure. He stood there, fists clenched at his sides.

His companions gathered, smiling at their new loot and clapping Swaggins on the back for his revolutionary idea of defeating the Queen.

When they came back to their house, the sun was setting. The snow outside glistened with the orange and red light of the dying day.

"So, how was your Christmas?" Silver asked Swaggins, patting his friend on the back.

"It was the best Christmas ever," Swaggins replied, leaning on the doorframe.

Chapter 19
Christmas was over, the presents unwrapped, the Frost Moon's evils over, the loot resting in shining piles in the packs of the adventurers. Dawn was breaking, and Silver made a decision. He called everyone to the table in the main room and spoke.

"Everyone... I think it's time we take a vacation."

So they went to the beach. Swimming in the ocean was out of the question, since there were sharks, but they did find a sleeping man there. Squazz woke him up.

"Ha... wa... takethis.... fishwithit..." He held out a battered fishing pole and handed it to Squazz, then went back to sleep.

Squazz held it in her hand, unsure what to do. Andrew showed her how to put bait and line on it. Silver, impulsive as always, stuck a bluish-white worm on it and handed it back to Squazz, who cast it out into the ocean.

"Wainodon'tdothat!" Andrew screamed, too late. As Squazz pulled back on the line, a massive fish-pig creature came flying out of the ocean, shooting bubbles at them. Swaggins smashed through them with his flail, but they still blasted Denis far away.

Andrew screamed, "Duke Fishron, drowner of souls and the quencher of life itself! Runnnnnnn!"

Silver grinned. "Nice resume. But you're not escaping me."

He and Swaggins took to the sky, their weapons flashing and weaving in the sky. Fishron dived below them, taking a hefty smack on the snout from the Flower Pow of Swaggins, but managed to slam into Squazz and send her into the ocean. Stryker began swimming out to rescue her, but a tornado picked both of them up and sent them into battle with a horde of bat-like sharks.

Arthur was kept in place by a whirlwind of blue rings, circling about him. Andrew was thrown far and wide on tornadoes.

Swaggins and Silver started worrying. This fish-pig had taken their friends down easily.

Silver flew up to a ledge and started firing his Inferno Fork at the pig. Swaggins pummeled it from below with the Flower Pow.

This barely made a dent in the mighty monster, but later it went into a more desperate stage. Its skin darkened, it started flying so fast that Silver couldn't catch up, and its eyes turned an evil, poisonous yellow.

Suddenly, Silver had a thought. "Distract it!" he yelled to Swaggins. He then started building a huge box of wood that encircled him, Swaggins and the monster.

Swaggins's distraction failed at about the time Silver finished the box. He was thrown against the wall hard and blacked out. Silver screamed in rage, pulled up his hood and started firing his Shadowbeam Staff straight up.

The Staff ricocheted up and down instantaneously, drilling through Fishron in a dozen places. The magic of Silver's hood kept him alive as the damage to the fish creature started skyrocketing.

Finally, it was over. Silver slumped to the ground, a blue spellbook clutched in his bloodied hand.

Andrew, who had swum to shore after his tornado dissipated, picked him up and tossed a large, blue bow to Stryker. When Swaggins awoke, he grabbed a large flail with the creature's head. Swaggins took great delight in smashing the head against a tree.

On the way home, Silver stirred. Arthur, who was carrying him, trickled a potion gently into his mouth.

When they got home, the sunflowers they had put up were uprooted, scattered across the ground in all directions. The house was in flames. And the Corruption and Hallow met in the center of it, the energy released by their struggle astronomical, pushing away the adventurers.

Chapter 20
The Corruption and Hallow had met, and a rift in space-time had appeared where they fought for control - in the center of the burning remains of the adventurers' house. Corrupt and Hallowed creatures swarmed all around it, united in their hatred for the humans.

A voice rang out across the plains of life and death. "We shall exterminate the human race... you should never have existed... you will die by our minions' hands..." All the adventurers shuddered at the disembodied voice - no, two voices, intertwined, one high and almost kindly, one low and deadly.

The adventurers chose the only available option: battle.

Stryker, Squazz and Denis leapt down on the Hallow side of the house and started slashing, stabbing and shooting at Unicorns, Enchanted Swords and Gastropods as they came near.

Swaggins, Silver, Arthur and Andrew leapt to the Corruption side, taking care to avoid the huge space-time rift. A wave of Corruptors and Slimers took to the air, swooping down at the brave adventurers.

Back and forth the battle surged, each side trying to crush the other into nothingness.

All the adventurers were exhausted, while the monsters were fresh and strong. And they had numbers. Numbers upon numbers. Waves and waves of monsters just kept coming. The adventurers were facing hordes of at least 1000 - much more than they could handle at one time. Squazz whirled in a circle, parrying swipes from 20 Enchanted Swords at once. Stryker sprinted as fast as he could across the blue grass, dodging stabs from a herd of unicorns. Gastropods fired innumerable lasers at Denis and  his snowflake-shooting spear.

Silver was nearly overwhelmed just deflecting the Corruptor's spit, let alone killing them in the first place. Swaggins's Flairon was swinging slower and slower as it ripped through the Devourers and World Feeders. Arthur could barely bring himself to smash through the hordes of Corrupt Slimes.

And then, when it seemed it could not get any worse, they came. The defeated ones. The bosses who had fallen beneath the adventurers.

The Eye of Cthulhu lunged down at them as the sun began to sink, diverting all Andrew's attention to it. He shot with his Hallowed Repeater, about half of the arrows deflecting off the rock-hard surface of the eye.

The Eater of Worlds came out of the Corrupted hellscape, its many segments roaring and its mouthparts clicking as they lunged for Denis, who stabbed it all the way through.

The Queen Bee roared toward them, diverting Silver's attention to killing it and its minions. Its shell was rock-hard now and deflected most of his passes.

Skeletron flew through the air, forcing Swaggins to attack it and ignore the monsters pummeling him. Its bones were fused into a nearly unbreakable mass, smashing into the adventurer.

Arthur smashed his hammer again and again into the Destroyer as it wrecked the battlefield. Stryker fired six arrows at once at the Twins. Skeletron Prime swiped at Squazz as she chopped at its hands.

Plantera and the Golem roared out of the confines of the twisting Jungle, ready to take on opponents. Plantera was enraged. Its vines deflected shots toward it, and it launched spiky balls at Arthur and Andrew, who were each fighting two bosses at once to take Plantera down. The Golem slammed into Denis, launching him away. The Eater of Worlds followed them.

Finally, Duke Fishron came, bringing with him the scent of corpses left rotting on the seabed for eons. Silver diverted his attention from the Queen Bee, leaving Swaggins to bring it down alone. He knew that this was his fight. Duke Fishron would still be killing innocent animals in the deep seas had it not been for Silver, clumsy adventurer.

Silver was nearly unbeatable as he attacked the leviathan again and again. Nettle Burst, Shadowbeam Staff, Inferno Fork, all lashed out indiscriminately, turning the air above the battlefield into a vortex of leaves, shadows, water, fire, lightning, everything known to mankind.

The smoke eventually cleared, the bosses defeated, both the Corruption and Hallow fled back into their space-time warp, gone from the now peaceful world of Terraria.

Silver stood on one leg, leaning against Swaggins. Denis planted his spear in the dirt and leaned on that. Squazz rested her back against a boulder left intact by the fighting. Andrew and Arthur hugged each other, the Guide barely managing to get his arms around the suit of armor. Stryker held his Undertaker straight up and fired.

The sound rang out between the cliffs of Terraria - a free land.

''Hey guys! I'm really happy and sad that this story has drawn to a close. All the adventurers will go their separate ways, and be happy in doing so. This is where the story ends. If you wish it, I may add a little more, but I'm definitely planning to do something for when the "Lunar Boss" comes out.''

Best,

Silver.

The adventurers thank you!