Chemistry of the Antimatter kind (PokeStreamer/Minecraft)

[Stov1212]

Jacob wakes up, not to the sound of his fifth alarm or to his roommate shaking him awake before he misses his first class of the day, but to him landing on his side, slamming into the hard ground, pain radiating through his side as he shrieks, his clothing barely doing anything to protect him from the freezing cold as he scrambles to his feet. The moment he could actually see his surroundings, however, brought him to a standstill.

White. White as far as the eye could see, an unending sea of nothing under the bright blue sky and white clouds, the only thing to disrupt it being a singular book on the ground, attached to what looked like a vambrace of some kind with a small screen underneath. With little other leads on where he was, Jacob picked it up. His eyes were immediately drawn to the screen, with it's glowing text.


[Stream inactive. Automatic activation in 10 minutes.]


"... Hm. That'll be a problem for later me. Now then, for the book." Jacob mutters to themself, strapping the vambrace on as he flips open the book. Surprisingly, it is mostly empty, save for a single circle with an image of a book within it and some sort of exotic glyphs below it. When he ran his finger over the image, however, a sudden shining light had him close his eyes from how bright it was. As several machines, a pickaxe, some sugarcane, sand, and a book fell on the floor, appearing from seemingly nothing, the text on the screen changing without his notice.

[Stream Initializing…]

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Gloria was bored. Capital-B Bored. There was no other way she could call her current situation, stuck at home with a broken arm after the fiasco with Rose and Eternatus. Her team is sharing in the misery, at least. Cinderace was folded over one of those fun spinning stools, just rotating herself in a circle. Lucario was leaning on her shoulder, barely awake while watching her mess around with the tv, scrolling through Pokelive.

"Cinderace, you mind choosing something for us to watch? Nothing's catching my eye." Gloria calls out, with Cinderace flopping off of the stool and landing on her back, looking at the screen.

"Cin… Cin… Cind-Ace?" Cinderace perks up, seeing one stream that's preview screen was almost pure white, compared to the others showing either nature, pokemon, or places like gyms. Lucario perked up as well, lifting his head so he could actually see the screen as Gloria stopped scrolling. "Huh. That is strange, Cinder." he states. "Think it's an illusion, then?".

Interested, Gloria pulls up the stream proper. Not much actually changed from the preview, besides a man with dark hair and pale skin becoming visible, wearing gray slacks and a labcoat along with some sort of device on his arm. Well, that and the surprisingly square hole in the ground near him filled with sand.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"...So, this burns foodstuff to make power, and this one just melts things into compounds? Neat." Jacob muttered out loud, messing with the machines that appeared, when a 'ding!' rang out from his arm - or rather, the screen currently strapped to his arm.


[CinderAceInYourFace: That's a funky background, mate. Is that an illusion or some sort of simulation?]


Jacob looks at the screen with a blank look before sighing and turning away to continue messing with the machines and replying in a deadpan tone. "....Guess future me is now present me. Fuck me. Nope, this isn't an illusion or simulation. At least, as far as I know, which isn't very much admittedly. Not really my field of expertise. Do you know where I am?"


[CinderAceInYourFace: …Nope, Can't say I'm well-versed in white voids. You mind waiting a sec to see if my Zoroark can tell if it's an illusion some prankster is running on you?]


"Be my guest, whoever you are. I'll just be looking around for anything different. Just like the past five minutes or so. Staring out into the colourless void."

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Cinderace, Lucario, and Gloria were all alert, their previous sleepy demeanor evaporating at the man's words. As Gloria types a response to the man, Cinderace dashes out of the room and Lucario keeps his attention on the screen for anything that may happen.


[CinderAceInYourFace: So, what's your name mate? Might help to pinpoint where you are, y'know, see if any region has a missing person's report out or something.]


As Cinderace runs back in with Zoroark following at a more sedantry pace, the man replies on the screen. "The names Jacob. Professor Jacob Grant, specifically, if that helps you any."

"Ah, Zorah. Can you tell if that place on the screen is an illusion, luv?" Glora says, noticing the pair enter the room. Obliging, he takes a look, bending down closer to the screen and looking for something. After a minute, he bends back up and shakes his head negatively, looking back at Gloria with a questioning look on his face. "The man - Jacob, that is, says that he didn't go there himself, or at least that he doesn't recognize where he is. Was just wondering if it was like an illusion or something like it."

With concern evident on his face, Zoroark hops on the couch next to Cinderace as Gloria brings out her phone and begins dialing Leon…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[CinderAceInYourFace: Right, Zoroark doesn't think it's an illusion, he's saying it's too uniform. I'm calling up some friends of mine, see if they can get a Porygon to help. Meanwhile, I'm handing Lucario the keyboard.]


"...Right, that might as well happen. Any ideas, Lucario?" Jacob mutters, fiddling with the vambrace as he does so.


[CinderAceInYourFace: Nothing right off the bat, and nothing is catching my eye besides that on your arm and the things you were messing with. What are they?]


Jacob glances at the screen before looking away. " I… don't know. I found it on the ground and I just put it on."


[CinderAceInYourFace: … what. You found a piece of mysterious technology you don't recognize and you just PUT IT ON?!]


"... Listen, there was nothing else around me and it was my best bet on finding out where I am. Of course I put it on, I might have needed the open hand!" Jacob retorts, before pausing and flipping open the book. "Hey, do you recognize any of this?" Jacob says, pointing to the original picture of a book and the glyphs under it.


[CinderAceInYourFace: …That's just standard. Do you not know - wait is this not in standard for y- Y'know what, that's a later discussion. It's asking if you consent to your current situation, basically.]


[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): I'm here, and I've got the Porygons tracking the location. If it's not a prank, we'll see what we can do to assist y]


[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): Right that's bloody weird. All the Porygon could tell is that your IP is at 'Antimatter', wherever or whatever that is, before they fainted. Definitely spreading the word to the other mods and admins about this.]


[ZoruaInATrenchCoat: Just tuned in and what do you mean the staff Porygon fainted? What could even cause that??]


Jacob's gaze bounces between the screen and the ground "...Thank you, Lost. And I would suppose that 'Antimatter' is this stuff on the ground. Let's see…" he replies, gripping onto the pickaxe he attached to a clip on his belt and slamming it into the ground. After a few seconds of doing it, a cuboidal chunk of the ground ceased, and a floating block appeared in its place. Jacob continues, mining several pieces of the white top layer, and beginning to break a few of the second light gray layer underneath.


[CinderAceInYourFace: uh]


[ZoruaInATrenchCoat: …]


[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): the fuck was that]


"...Right, I'm assuming that if you're confused about the whole 'floating block' thing as well, then it's something inherent with where I am. Far as I can tell, if I try to break anything long enough, it shatters and a miniature form of it appears. Fascinating, from a scientific approach. I would honestly be invested in what's happening if I wasn't, y'know, kidnapped here or whatever the term would be. Abducted, I think?" He ranted on, breaking more and more blocks as he did so, stopping only when he had made a sizeable hole in the ground.


[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): You seem… rather calm at the prospect of being stuck somewhere that no one knows where it is.]


"Heh. Well, I wasn't particularly social where I was previously, and I used to hop between projects at work, so I don't have anyone I was friendly enough with to miss. You might call it nihilistic or whatever, but this is the most interesting thing that's happened all month for me. And hey, I'm not really alone, what with whatever is actually streaming this."


[CinderAceInYourFace: Wait, you're not streaming yourself?]


"Yup. Nothing but the white void - or, i guess white void on top of a light gray void, really, as far as the eye can see. And it's rather warm, too, compared to how cold the ground was. Wish it was a bit cooler really, but I'll make do." Jacob notes, feeding some sugarcane into a machine, watching as it spits out a vial with text on it.

'C12H22O11'

"That's… Sucrose. Makes sense, it's a sugar, and I did insert sugarcane. I wonder…" Jacob inserts the Sucrose back into the machine, with three different vials being produced.


[ZoruaInATrenchCoat: Mind filling us in with what's happening there, Jacob?]

[Agreed.]
[Ditto'd]
[Wondering that as well.]


Jacob pauses in his experimenting, looking towards chat. "It seems that this machine is capable of breaking down things to their chemical components, albeit to a simplified degree. Fascinating, really."


[TopRattata: What're chemicals?]


"Chemicals are the building blocks of reality. Everything is made up of them, and everything can be classified by them. Things with Oxygen, Carbon, and Hydrogen are typically organic, like your average plant. Silicon Dioxide, made up of Silicon and Oxygen, are found in rocks like Granite and Diorite! Anything else?" Jacob explains, turning his gaze towards the chat.


[CinderAceInYourFace: Guess that explains why you called yourself 'Professor' earlier, huh?]

[Wait, professor?]

[Huh, this dude's a legit Professor? I mean, i saw the labcout but...]

[Would've though there'd be an announcement of a Professor specializing in 'chemicals', whatever those are.]

[TopRattata: …Neat! Thanks for explaining!]


"No problem, TopRattata." Jacob chuckles, giving a small smile to the chat. His expression quickly sobers though, eyes furrowing. "Hey, StuckInTheBuilding, any updates on your end? I think I've got some information to share if you haven't figured it out yourself."

[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): That you're not in our reality, or even from it? If so, we already know that. We've checked your name in the Global Citizen Database, and unless your're secretly an 83 year-old gentleman from Johto or a toddler in Paldea, you don't exist here.]

[wut]
[pardon?]
[EXCUSW ME????]
[What's this about a database???]
[its what you're trainer id links to.]
[*your]
[dang it.]
[lol]
[lol]
[lol]

[CinderAceInYourFace: Of fucking couse this happens on a Friday. WHY IS IT ALWAYS FRIDAY?!?!?]



Jacob stalls, staring at the chat as it breaks down to a rapid blur as everyone tries to comment, only catching a few comments as they rush by.


[<The stream has been put into Moderator-only mode.>]


[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): right, should've expected that. Anyways, we've notified the rest of Interpol along with the Rangers and they're currently discussing what to do with the Aether Foundation. They're the leading organization on dimensional travel btw, they've helped with a crises relating to them previously. If anyone can help you, they can. Meanwhile, Chat: Remember that Jacob can't read any of you if you are all talking. Take your time and don't spam.]


[<The stream is no longer in Moderator-only mode. Thank you for your patience!>]


[Well then. We've heard the boss, no spamming!]
[roger]
[ayup]
[indeed]
[wait, isn't this spamming]
[oh it is, sorry Lost!]


Jacob chuckles, turning away from chat. "Well then. Guess I'm in good hands, then? If that's true, then there's only one thing to do…" he states, pausing dramatically


[TopRattata: What's that?]


"SCIENCE!" he exclaims, holding his pickaxe forward, towards the machines.


[Ah…]
[Yup, definitely a professor's personality…]
[I vote we give this guy the 'unofficialprofessor' tag, just so people have fair warning.]
[lol]
[lol]

[DarknessEverlasting: lok]

[lok]
[lok]
[lok]

[DarknessEverlasting: dang it.]

Spoiler: Author Note

Holy crap QQ hates formating. Ahem. Hope I'm doing this right. Anyways, if you see any errors, please be kind when pointing them out! And yeah, this is definitely going to be a far more peaceful fic than the likes of the others currently active. After all, the only threats here are base minecraft stuff and player stupidity. After all, who would jump into an active furnace? Wait shit Jacob back the hell up from the molten metal-

 

[Stov1212]

"So chat, I have a question if you don't mind me asking one." Jacob asks the stream, multitasking while digging a bigger pit. Earlier, he discovered that the different colors of 'Antimatter' would be dissolved into different elements when fed into the deconstructor, so he was digging for the past hour while talking idly with chat. "What's with your emphasis on the word 'Professor'? I originally thought it was the same as what I was used to, but now I have to admit I'm a bit uncertain on what it means for you all."


[AidTheAid: Oh, guess not every world would have the same words mean the same things. I can explain.]

[AidTheAid: A Pokemon Professor, shortened to Professor, are the forefront experts and researchers on all things pokemon! They typically have a speciality within one branch of research. For example, the professor I work under, Professor Burnet, specializes on alternate dimensions and the pokemon in those worlds. She is absolutely freaking out right now since we have an actual connection to someone not from our dimension! We have a ton of questions, but they can wait until later.]


Jacob chuckles, pausing from his task to look at the chat more thoroughly. "So they're researchers, basically? Interesting. Now then, onto another question: What are 'pokemon'? I'd assume they're prominent in your society since you have dedicated titles for researchers, but that's about all I can tell."

He begins hauling the materials up to ground level, waiting for the chat to respond. However, even after several minutes of doing so, they have yet to respond. Growing concerned, Jacob stops what he's doing and focuses on the screen, trying to see if it froze or something similar, calling out at the same time. "...Hello? Are y'all still there? Did reality finally decide it wouldn't stand this and ended the stream?"


[IonoZone(MOD): I- sorry. That just surprised us all, I believe. Do you… really not know what pokemon are?]


Jacob shakes his head as he sits down, bringing the screen out in front of him. "I'm going to assume this is going to be a bit of an explanation, then?"


[IonoZone(MOD): yeah]
[oh boy]
[where do we start?]


[ProfessorOak: That's simple, we start at the start, heh heh!]

[IonoZone(MOD): oh shit it's professor oak]


[WHAT DO YOU MEAN ITS OAK]
[wait he has a Pokelive account? What the hell]


[ProfessorOak: Pokemon are amazing things, coming in all shapes and sizes, with mysterious capabilities!]

[holy crap I'm actually seeing an oak lecture im going to faint]
[akbaodl]


[ProfessorOak: And, while I can go on and on about how great they are, there is only one more thing that I need to say about them.]

[ProfessorOak: They're our partners. Through thick and thin, rain and shine, the good and the bad. Pokemon will stick by us and we'll stick by them, for they are our friends.]

[...oh I'm going to cry. I gotta go hug my trainer.]
[I'm not crying youre crying - wait we both are. Oh well.]
[brb gotta go hug my geodude and cry for a solid 10 minutes]


[CinderAceInYourFace: …Couldn't say it any better, professor. I would do anything for my little goobers, even when they've set the couch on fire for the fifth time this week.]

[IonoZone(MOD): yeah, you would not BELIEVE the amount of technology I have to replace because my pokemon got a bit too excited and electrobolt-ed the house. Still wouldn't give them up for anything, though.]


Jacob reads on silently as more and more people tell their stories about their pokemon. "...Partners, huh? I can get behind that. Sounds pretty nice." He finally replies, a melancholic smile on his face as he gets up. "So, you're one of these Pokemon Professors, then? What's gotten you to tune in to my little misadventure here? I don't think there's anything that would interest you at the very least."


[CinderAceInYourFace: Little? Hate to break it to ya but, even if this wasn't a case of a whole different dimension, Professor Oak himself came online and talked to you. You've got like, at least a thousand or so people watching you mate.]


"...What?" Only now does Jacob finally take a look at the top of the screen, where the glowing text that was there when he had initially put on had changed.

[<Stream Active. Current Viewers: 2,315>]

For a while, Jacob simply just stares at the number of viewers in the stream. Eventually, with a deadpan look on his face, he manages to let out a response. "Huh. That's… neat, I guess? Suppose I'm a celebrity now. I'll process that later."

Doing just that, Jacob throws himself into experimenting with the chemical machines, deconstructing the antimatter into elements, and eventually recombining the elements into pure ingots along with creating cobblestone.

"Interesting… Cobblestone is usually made out of various different types of stones, each made of different elements, yet this was made with just Silicon Dioxide and I can see the different rocks in it. I wonder…"

Jacob feeds a block of cobblestone into the dissolver, and a yellow vial is dispensed. "Oh! Very interesting, indeed." He mutters, beginning to feed more stone into the machine.


[Mind sharing with the class?]
[Wasn't going to say it, but ye]
[What's so interesting?]


"You see, I created this cobblestone and granite out of pure Silicon Dioxide. That shouldn't have worked, or at least, not have created these samples. It seems like they have the properties of the original material, including being made out of the same elements, even though I never gave it any of those elements as seen by the machine dispensing this gold vial. I wonder if the machine can make plants…" Jacob replies, beginning to grab elements from where he set them out of the way and inserting them into the machine. "Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen to make Cellulose, and place the result in…" as he finishes placing the Cellulose in the machine, several logs begin to fly out of the machine, narrowly missing him as he dodges out of the way.


[HOLY SHIT]
[DODGE]
[WHat the fuck]
[oh hey, that reminds me of whenever my Panchem finds a stick]


After the machine finishes chucking wood out of itself, Jacob slowly brings himself to his feet, checking himself over for any injuries. After a thorough search, he lets out a breath of relief and relaxes. "I'm a-okay!" he states to chat, seeing their panicked messages.

[phew]
[Oh I almost had a heart attack]

Brushing himself off, Jacob turns to take a look at the pile of wooden logs. "So I was right. I added Cellulose, and the machine took care of the rest. It's strange, though. Most of them are…Oak, I assume from the colour, but there's some that's what I can only assume to be Birch. I suppose that means placement matters, since I placed some Cellulose into a different slot on the machine."


[AidTheAid: Aaaand he's right back to his science. Yup, he's definitely a professor.]

[TrueBlue: Yeah, Professor Oak is the same. His subjects that he's working with always seem to eventually let off a light shock or try to gnaw on him, and he's right back to the research once he's recovered. You know how Professors are.]


Jacob places more cellulose into the machine, but not before turning the machine off first. He then tries to place various elements alongside the cellulose, turning the machine on and off with each attempt. Finally, the machine reacts…. Throwing an Oak sapling in his face, knocking him backwards.


[oof]
[ouch]
[home run!]
[dude.]
[listen, it was funny!]
[L]
[L]
[L]


Groaning, Jacob pushes the sapling off of his face, sitting up. "Ow. But, that's very good to know! I can make all sorts of plants from just basic elements. Now, I am realizing that there… may be an issue that I have forgotten to think about."


[Hm?]
[What do you mean?]
[Oh?]

"I don't have any dirt."

[...Oh.]
[wait oh dear]
[...do you have any water at least?]


"...that's another issue. However, that's far more easily solved. Water is made out of hydrogen and oxygen. However, I feel like I may need a bigger container than these vials if I am to use it in any meaningful manner. Nonetheless, the vials should be safe for me to drink. Probably."

[what do you mean probably?]

"Well, it could be salt water. That would track with silicon dioxide becoming full-fledged rocks, after all." Jacob replies, placing two hydrogen and one oxygen vial in the machine. Like before, it spits out a vial, although thankfully it's at his feet and not slamming into his face. Uncorking the vial, he downs it in a single gulp.


[OI]
[why didn't you check if it was safe?!]
[you JUST SAID it might not be safe. What are you doing?!]


Watching as the vial in his hand dissipates into thin air, Jacob replies. "Eh, if it wasn't safe then I was screwed either way. Might as well assume it was safe than assume it was going to kill me. But hey, that's one less problem to deal with! Now, onto the dirt problem. I admit, I don't particularly know everything that's in good dirt. Any botanists in chat or whatever you call yourselves?"


[MeganiumLover32: I'm a grass specialist, I know a bit about how to grow plants?]


"Perfect. Now then: what's typically present in good dirt? I know that it has organic matter in it and that's it."


[MeganiumLover32: Well, the most important part of good growing dirt is that it can retain water well, which is usually done with clay, I believe? I know my berries have to be in moist soil to grow well, so it should probably have water in it as well.]


"Well, let's try that. Kaolinite - that is, clay, is made up of aluminium oxide, silicon oxide, and water. Organic material… We can try cellulose first, and move onto other compounds later. Thank you kindly." Jacob replies, before gathering up some vials to begin the synthesis. "So, I'm assuming Meganium is one of these 'Pokemon'?"


[MeganiumLover32: Yup! She's my starter pokemon - Oh, by that she's my first pokemon I've had. She looks a bit like a walking flower, and she's a big softie, and by big I mean beeeg. She's even taller than I am! And yet, she still loves laying on me while I sleep…]

[MeganiumLover32: Oh, one sec. I think I have an emote of her!]
[MeganiumLover32: here it is! :meganiumpog:]

[:meganiumpog:]
[:meganiumpog:]
[:meganiumpog:]

[ZoruaInATrenchCoat: :zoruakek:]
[:zoruakek:]
[:zoruakek:]


Jacob chuckles at the chat's antics, finishing mixing the compounds together, a brown block falling out. Reaching down to grab it, his fingers sink in slightly. "Oh, it seems like you were spot on there, MeganiumLover. This definitely looks and feels like dirt."


[MeganiumLover32: yay]
[nice!]
[hell yeah!]
[Good job, @MeganiumLover32!]

[MeganiumLover32: (#o#) it was nothing!]

[nope]
[you helped, admit that you're awesome]


[ProfessorOak: On the contrary young lass, you used your own knowledge to help another person. That is an incredible thing indeed! Good job!]

[Welp, the professor's spoken. accept our compliments!]

[MeganiumLover32: This is my trainer's Bellossom. She's currently blushing madly in a corner.]

[MeganiumLover32: Keep it up. She deserves it :>]


Jacob chuckles, clapping softly alongside chat celebrating for a while. When it eventually dies down though, he goes back to making more dirt, digging holes and placing each block when it's made. Once he's got a couple dozen blocks down, he begins to plant the sapling and the various seeds he's created from placing sucrose alongside other organic compounds into the combiner.

When he finally finished planting the seeds in the dirt however, he was struck with a thought. Slowly turning his head to chat and bringing the vambrace towards his face, he asked a question.

"Chat…. How long does it take for crops to grow?"

[MeganiumLover32: oh]

[ah fuck]
[...several months without pokemon assistance, several days with, usually.]
[welp. This is an issue.]

Unnoticed to Jacob and the chat, however, the book began to glow, and a message was received.

[<A threshold has been reached. The Connection Strengthens. Functionality has be restored.>]
[<Intervention has been Granted.>]​

Spoiler: Author Note

Some of you were asking about the modpack. It's Antimatter Chemistry. See what I did there for the title? Also, please tell me if you think I'm going too much on the chemistry part of the story. It seems like a good balance to me, but again, it's my story. An outside view is appreciated to help weed out problems!

I'm hoping to be able to post these chapters every other day or so, but I admit I may be late or post a surprise chapter if I write too much in one sitting. Not like I have anything else I can do because of that fucking bird though

And i can't believe it's true, but. Apparently you do become more motivated from comments.

Wish i had this power while doing my finals.

 

[Stov1212]

[Why are you hiding behind a wall and throwing stuff at it? There HAS to be a better way to figure out what it is.]

"Well then, give me an idea. I don't have anything else besides random crap and there's a thing that's currently humming ominously!" Jacob retorts, throwing yet another block of antimatter at the Hole.

It had appeared a while ago, in the middle of Jacob brainstorming on a possible solution to his food problem. Simply put, it was an utter failure. It turns out that the chat's world had gone all-in on using pokemon to assist crop production, and as it so happens, there don't seem to be any pokemon where Jacob is. When Jacob bent down to take a closer look at the sapling he planted, hoping that something with the dimension he was in had changed it, a bright flash of light and a cracking sound similar to thunder echoed out almost directly at his side.

Jacob dove to the side, as was becoming surprisingly common of him, and managed to scramble to his feet pretty quickly. When he turned to face what had just appeared however, he was just confused.

An off-black plane, about a meter or so wide and tall, but about as thin as a piece of paper. Looking down at his coat dissuaded any attempts to touch it however, as he was missing an entire sleeve from when it brushed against the thing. So, he started to do the next best thing. Throw anything and everything he could spare at it and see what happens. Surprisingly, he actually learned a lot from this. Both types of antimatter from under his feet would bounce right off, and seemed to be unaffected. Synthesized blocks, like the granite and diorite he made earlier, would fly through and leave no trace, like they disappeared into thin air. And, as he first learned with his sleeve, organic material like seeds and plants would combust and burn into ash almost instantly on contact with it.

There was also the humming. A deep, bassy tone, unchanging in pitch or speed, was being emitted by the Thing. Honestly, Jacob would say that was the worst thing about it. The noise seemed like it was designed to be annoying to listen to, and chat agreed.

[TrueBlue: Well, no, but it's not like throwing more things at it will change anything, really?]

[You could always ignore it and see if it does something later?]

"...Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Tell you what, I'm going to see about making more logs from the combiner and make myself a shelter. If the strange block rules apply as well, that is."
He concedes, grabbing more cellulose.

All things considered, it didn't take all that long to make a basic lean-to out of some cobblestone and logs. Granted, it looked like shit and only had three walls, but it had a roof, and that was enough to protect him from the elements. (Which, looking at the sky, he couldn't exactly see a sun so who knows if that's an actual worry he had to care about. Whatever, it's future him's problem, not present him.) When he was finished, he turned to take another look at the Thing, only to pause when he noticed that something had changed. It had disappeared, and when he walked closer to take a better look, he saw…

A wooden table. One with a large three-by-three grid on it, but a table nonetheless. Looking at the chat while advancing on it, he could see that they've been screaming at him for the past few minutes, and paused to read their messages.

[OI JACOB IT CHANGED]
[the thingy disappeared mate]
[JACOB! LOOK AT THE THING!]

[Oh look at that, he remembers we exist.]
[JACOB THE THINGY CHANGED oh wait hes looking at us again. Hello Jacob!]

Jacob, saying nothing in response, leaned down and grabbed a block of wood from the ground and threw it at the table, watching as it bounces off and lands back on the ground.

[aaand he's back to throwing]
[mew dang it Jacob]
[AidTheAid: professor will be professor, I suppose]

Seeing nothing happen, Jacob finished his approach to the table, getting a closer look at it. It seemed like a normal table, looking like it was made out of oak from a first glance, along with noticing a tenth square off to the side of the grid. When he lowered his hand to touch the table however, the book on his left arm - which he had nearly forgotten about, what with the screen being the only thing to do anything previously, began to emit a soft glow. Initially looking towards the book, his gaze was distracted by what was happening in chat.

[huh.]
[that must be a good thing, right? Blue glows are a good thing?]
[I mean… I haven't seen a bad blue glow before I guess.]

[Host: Open The Book.]

[uh]
[I'm sorry, what?]
[Wait, so it's a person streaming Jacob?!]

[IonoZone(MOD): UH @LostInTheBuilding COME TAKE A LOOK AT THIS]

[Host: Open The Book.]
[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): Sorry, I caught back up, what do you]

[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): uh]

[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): Fuck it, if whoever sent you there is telling you to open the book, better do it before they do something worse than summon a table]

Jacob, eyes flicking between the screen and book, purses his lips before nodding in agreement and slowly opening the book. The first page was almost the same, with the only difference being a second symbol of a book, this time with a number '1' on it. Flipping to the next page, it showed a grid, much like the one in the chemical combiner and on the table, with pieces of antimatter in specific spots.

[That's it?]
[Well that's weird.]
[Huh. I expected like, an explosion.]

[TopRattata: Is it like what you were doing with the machine thingy?]
[oh]
[that's… not a bad idea. Could be a lead.]

Jacob, grabbing several pieces of antimatter, nods towards chat. "It looks like the grid on the table, at the very least. I'm going to try placing the blocks like in the diagram." While placing the pieces on the table, he notes that they aren't floating in place like before. Instead, they were seemingly flat against the table. After he placed the fourth piece, an image of a stone(?) slab appeared in the square off to the side. Trying to touch it, he was startled by a 'pop', as the antimatter disappeared and the image became a physical thing. Picking it up, it quickly became evident that it was a sort of sharpening kit, with half of the thing falling off and revealing a thin rod made of the same type of porous stone as the rest of it.

[oh!]
[neat]

[DarknessEverlasting: So, we can label the mysterious user as semi-benevolant, at least.]

[huh, why?]
[yeah, once does not make nice]

[DarknessEverlasting: They wanted Jacob to open the book and look at the diagram, which made an actual thing. I bet there's some more useful diagrams in there somewhere, like maybe replacement clothing.]

[DarknessEverlasting: Or, maybe some super-fertilizer could be made and help solve Jacob's food probelm.]

[ohhh.]
[L spelling mistake]
[probelm]
[probelm]
[probelm]

[DarknessEverlasting: Oh shut it.]

Jacob, meanwhile, was ignoring chat, and was flipping through the book. Trying out several recipes shown, he created several things. Firstly, some planks and a door - or, well, three doors, for his shelter. Secondly, there was a recipe for another grid-topped table, one that was a full block and not a table which he made immediately just in case something happened to the first.

At the end of the pages, however, were three different recipes, all of them marked with a yellow star in the corner. The first was a basin, made with solid stone combined with paper-thin slices of stone, which he recognized from an earlier recipe as pressure plates. Second, was a square shape of cobblestone, which looked like a primitive furnace on a closer inspection. And lastly, was a device that looked somewhat like a pump, the recipe using antimatter in the outer eight slots, which it apparently needed a lot of the little '64' next to each piece meant anything.

[DarknessEverlasting: See? It's marked a way to make fire, as well as a… washbin? And a.. I've got nothing. What's the last thing?]

"I.. don't know. I guess I'll just have to make it. And I only need, what, about…. Hey chat, someone do the math, how much is sixty-four times eight?"

[Rotom312: That is… 512!]

"Right, thank you. I only need over five hundred blocks of antimatter. Oh I am so going to be sore after this. Wish me luck, so that my back doesn't break, or my pickaxe, or something."

[Gotcha.]
[wishing you luck!]
[lol]


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jacob immediately got to work, methododically mining row after row of antimatter, only taking a break about halfway through due to his pickaxe's ends shattering. Recalling the first page of the book, he took a seat, grabbing some water as he brought over the sharpening kit.

[I'm telling you, Cynthia would absolutely rock Lance in a 6v6.]
[pfft. Yeah, right. And there's pokemon on the moon as well, correct?]
[I never said that! Just, I guess that would make sense for pokemon like Clefairy to come from the moon.]
[Oh mew damn it, not this again.]

"So, chat. Another question for you all." Jacob asks, taking a sip of water as he does so, half-watching as the sharpening kit slowly begins to disappear, with the material on the pickaxe reappearing at the same rate..

[Ope. Go for.]
[Hit us!]
[Perfect, a distraction from Clefairy.]
[I know I know! Maybe. Hopefully.]

"Who's the 'Cynthia' you were talking about?"

[Champion Cynthia of the Sinnoh region.]
[She's one of the strongest pokemon trainers that exist! She's currently Champion of the Sinnoh region, which means that she's the head of the command chain when it comes to what happens in the region.]

[DratiniSupremacy: A bitch]

[GarchomSupremacy: So says the flying-type trainer]

[DratiniSupremacy: Fuck you Cynthia]

[WAIT WHAT]
[WHAT DO YOU MEAN CYNTHIA ALKDBKLDSNLBL]

[Ah, the parents are fighting again]
[aaaand they're fighting again. Why does this always happen?]

With the sharpening kit fully dissolving and the pickaxe back in near-perfect condition, Jacob went to stand back up. "...You know, I think I've taken a long enough break. Back to mining."

[Jacob. Jacob don't leave us here. JACOB!!!]
[DratiniSupremacy: Your Lucario is looking pretty puntable, you know?]

[GarchomSupremacy: Try it, and Garchomp is going to learn Dragon Dance just to fuck you up.]
[help me]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jacob placed the last block of antimatter onto the crafting table, a transparent copy of the item shown in the book appeared just as it did before. "Time to see just why this recipe was marked." He muttered to himself, reaching out to grab the small pump when it abruptly disappeared and the vambrace grew heavier.

[ope]
[Did it just fuse to his arm attachment?]
[...looks like it. Upgrade get?]

Taking a closer look, the only difference between the diagram in the book and the actual device is the presence of a button on the side. Without a second thought, he presses the button and it began to whir ominously. Going to press the button again, he was interrupted by something slamming into his side, pushing him down and off of his feet. Twisting to look as he fell, the only thing he could see was a tree where he previously stood. Getting back to his feet he could see that the tree was actually to the side of where he stood, centered on the dirt that he placed earlier. Right where the sapling used to be.

[...]
[oof. Jacob got launched again.]
[...should we get a counter at this point? It's happened often enough at this point.]

Turning to look around, the other seeds and saplings that he's placed are having the same reaction as the first, rapidly growing in what seems like minutes, with the saplings suddenly popping up into trees.

"...That solves the food issue, I guess? Wish things would stop slamming into me, but if that's the price I have to pay, very well! Now then, let's see if these are edible..." Jacob exclaims, rubbing his side before turning to harvest the previously planted crops.

Spoiler: Author Note

And here it is, how I decided to implement some of the minecraft-reality rules and the quest system the modpack works off of, along with the major issue I had: how would someone that doesn't know about Minecraft or have the tutorial know how to begin crafting? And, I had to have a third-ish party intervening somehow, it's basically tradition at this point.
Wonder what it is
Anyways, holy crap I severely underestimated how much antimatter it would be for the in-world minecraft grow speed system to just… burn. Wasted. 512 blocks. My Tinker's stone pickaxe leveled up during it! That's not a good thing.
Bad news, the birds have struck the local electrical grid. The next chapter may be delayed, as I'm using my last bit of battery in my phone to post this. Sorry!
Me, looking at next chapter
Hm. I'll need to check with a mod
As I've said before, if you have any criticism you think would help, please say it kindly. Thank you!

 

[Stov1212]

[FrozenNurse: If you end up landing near where I am when you eventually escape, I am dragging you into a checkup immediately, and I don't mean because of hypothermia]

[oooo, the Nurse Joy's maaaad~]
[Someone's in trouble.]


"Hmph. I am perfectly healthy, thank you very much. Don't you see me eating my greens?" Jacob retorts, speaking through a bite of his bread-apple-potato sandwich.


[SammichForLife: That sandwich a culinary affront to Mew. You should be ashamed of what you have created.]


[I'd say that's a bit harsh but…]
[I think you gave my Gengar ideas. Oh dear]


"Anyhow, this at least proves that the Combiner can fully replicate organic material. And now, I have a way to actively create water, along with a way to actually power the machines, since the power generator that came with them runs off of food." Jacob comments, watching as the field he planted just a few minutes ago rapidly grow.


After the assault-by-tree earlier, Jacob expanded his growing area to a size comparable to an actual field - at least, for its crop output. Using a bucket created by fusing iron dust into ingots, he was able to combine enough water together in one go to actually create a pool of water, of which he surrounded with blocks of dirt. With only a minimal amount of water being lost to the growth of the plants and an easy way to replicate more, it quickly became a full-fledged farm, even growing pumpkins and beetroot, both of which were incredibly useful when run through the dissolver. Beetroot, having a rather high iron content, could be dissolved into iron oxide, while pumpkins dissolved into Cucurbitacin, which further dissolved into an extremely high amount of Carbon and Hydrogen, which was useful when creating other organic compounds, like the various sugars and proteins found in food.


He also created the last marked recipe in the book, which turned out to be an evaporation basin. Likely due to the anomalous nature of the world, water placed in the basin would rapidly evaporate, leaving behind a mineral salt which could be dissolved into various metals, by which he could use specific elements to 'dye' various pieces of antimatter into different colors, which changed their properties when dissolved, usually by dissolving into the element used when dying. Since he could dye eight pieces at a time with each elemental vial used, it was a surprisingly effective way to 'duplicate' elements when he was running low.


"So chat, I've been thinking." Jacob says out of the blue, looking at his ramshack of a shelter


[Dangerous.]
[oh?]
[AidTheAid: Hit us]


"I'm pretty sure that I've got the supplies to make an actual building now."


[...Construction section?]

[I have a feeling that it may be another affront to nature.]

[It'll be fiiine. I think. Wait, it's Jacob we're talking about. Hold me chat i'm scared.]


"I need to make one either way. I don't want to find out that this place does weather when it sends a vial of acid into my face, or decides to rain on the potassium." Jacob retorts, already feeding materials into the Combiner and pulling out blocks of stone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So, chat. What do you think?" Jacob asks, looking onto his new house.


[...You know what? It's not as bad as it could have. Boring, but not exactly bad.]

[Jacob, it's literally a wooden box on top of a stone box. It looks like when my Tinkatink gets bored and begins to play with rocks and sticks.]

[I was honestly expecting at least one thing to try to smack you.]


"At least it's functionable chat." Jacob sighs, moving his pile of vials inside, taking the time to slot them into drawers he had created while building the structure. "And hey, at least this should make it easier to find what I need."


[I don't know, it's kinda funny watching you dig through the pile looking for stuff.]
[That's just rude, mate.]
[true, though.]


Flipping through the book, Jacob pauses once he gets to the page where the pump recipe was previously. After he had crafted it previously, the page had disappeared, leaving behind a diagram made of nearly-black purple blocks, larger than the grid on the table or in the combiner was. Hesitating on the page, he eventually calls out. "...Hey chat, any of you have an idea about this? It's too big for the table we have, and I didn't see any other crafting-grid stations in the book."


[hm.]
[I've got nothin]
[could it be a donut?]


[StevenStoneOfficial: That looks like the volcanic glass - Obsidian, that I've recently found.]


[Oh hey! Another Champion]
[Oh hiiii steven]
[Wait, a volcano can make glass? Neat.]


"...Well, that's a lead at the very least. Lava is liquidated rock, so let's try combining the various oxides that the different rocks deconstruct into with silicon dioxide." Jacob nods to himself, already pulling out several compounds from the wall, looking at each one thoughtfully before either returning it or placing it in a pocket.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Test number thirty: Magnesium, Potassium, and Aluminium oxides mixed with Silicon Dioxide." Jacob blandly states, already slotting the compounds into the combiner.

[AidTheAid: Recorded.]

"Alright, turning the machine on…." With a whir, the machine activates, the vials being consumed. "Oh shit, it's currently doing something!" Jacob exclaims, before rapidly realizing where he was standing and quickly moving to the side as a block of obsidian was spit out right where he was previously.


[Sweet!]
[Score one for Science!]
[AidTheAid: Nice.]


Quickly feeding in more compounds, he is left with ten blocks of obsidian, the same as in the diagram. Picking them up, he turns back to chat. "Right, that's all of the obsidian. Any leads?"


[Still brainstorming.]
[Sorry :<]
[AidTheAid: The professor is still brainstorming things, sorry.]


"Ah, don't worry about it chat. Didn't really expect an ans-" Jacob paused, as a low tone played alongside chat suddenly pausing.



[<Chat has been disabled.>]

[Build the Alter.]
[Light the Passage.]
[Pillage the constructs.]
[Strengthen the Connection.]

[<Chat has been enabled, thank you for your patience!>]


[uh]
[im sorry what]

[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): Those were system messages, what the mew.]

[wait yeah there was no username]

[IonoZone(MOD): …does that mean Pokelive's compromised? We're going to have to reset the servers, aren't we?]

[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): unless you know how they did it, they're probably going to do it again. Just… triage I guess.]

[CinderAceInYourFace: Ignoring that, what does it mean by bloody 'Pillage'?!]


[don't forget the whole 'connection' thing]
[i was hoping we could ignore that.]

[and 'alter'? Does it mean the diagram?]
[so what, is he supposed to place down the blocks on the ground??]


"...So chat, scale of one to ten: how evil do you think that is?" Jacob asks, staring at chat.


[Idk, like a 8? I don't do curses or whatever that is.]
[I mean. They were like the 'Host' dude's instructions earlier. Could it be them again?]


"...I'm going to keep a vial of potassium tied to a vial of water while I build this. I don't trust it." He finally says, moving slowly as he begins to build the frame. Eventually, he places the last block and stands back. "The messages said to… 'light the passage', right?"


[Yup.]
[ueah]
[that it did.]


"... I'm going to do this from a distance." Jacob replies, backing up from the Obsidian frame and placing a few blocks of antimatter between it and him.


[uh. Quick question. How are you going to light it from a distance?]
[...how are you going to make a fire in the first place.]

[FrozenNurse: I SWEAR IF YOU THROW THOSE VIALS]

[JACOB DO NOT YEET THE BOOM]


Jacob, ignoring chat, throws the vials at the altar, ducking behind the antimatter as he does so. Just as his head clears the wall, an echoing explosion rocks the camera while Jacob is thrown off his feet. When the camera stabilizes, Jacob is back on his feet and in front of the altar - or rather, portal. Through the purple sheen between the obsidian, he can see a dark, crimson red on the other side. And fire. A lot of fire. Throwing in a block of wood, it passes through harmlessly.


[and we're back to throwing.]
[Um guys is that the Distortion world????]
[Like. You mean where Giratina supposedly lives?]

[GrachompSupremacy: That's not it. Not enough floating landmasses or purple voids.]

[ayo what]
[cynthia what]

[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): Cynthia what the fuck]

[GrachompSupremacy: :>]

[LostInTheBuilding(MOD): DON"T ':>' ME CYNTHIA WHAT THE FUCK]

[DarknessEverlasting: So I'm just going to come right out and say that looking at that portal is causing my Calammity senses to go haywire. I wouldn't go in there unless you are ready.]


"...I am going to be right back chat. I think I saw armor in the book, but now I need to double check."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jacob fastens the last strap to his torso, finally finished putting on iron armor, conveniently made to his size by whatever magic is in the crafting table. Turning to chat, he begins to speak. "There was also a recipe for a sword and shield in the book, think that'll be enough for a cautionary expedition through the portal, Darkness?"


[DarknessEverlasting: It's stopped screaming to my senses, I think that's the best you're going to get. ]

[FrozenNurse: Remember that your safety is paramount. When you're in a hostile environment, your number one priority should always be to protect you and those you're with. Be careful.]


Jacob nods at chat, strapping the shield onto his left hand, while picking up the sword in his right. "Right. Explore the other side, don't die. Easy as pie. Or, well, easy as a baked potato. Still can't make a pie yet. Going in." he mutters to himself before walking through, the stream buffering as his foot steps across.


[<Stream Active. Current Viewers: 23,133>]

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Jacob was immediately hit with a burst of near-burning air, bringing with it the scent of sulfur and rotten food. Barely managing to keep his food down, he took stock of his new location. The portal dropped him into what looked like a cave, the red haze preventing him from seeing too far.


[Aand we have a connection! Thought the stream crashed for a second there.]
[We're alive! Oh, and you are too! Congratulations!]


Nodding towards chat, Jacob begins to walk down one end of the tunnel, stopping when it ends with a hole downwards, the floor far below. Lit up by fire scattered about, it's easily far enough to kill him outright if he fell.


[Oh that is far.]
[ohhh my vertigo]
[That is not a good hole.]


Turning around, Jacob starts to walk the other way. Sliding down a small slope and turning a corner, he nearly bumps into something, ending up face-to-face with it, his heart nearly falling out of his chest when he finally sees it.


[OH WHAT THE FUCK]
[oh im going to be sick]
[Its flesh is rotting right off the bone.]
[Right, I'm nope-ing out now.]


Its skin was an amalgamation of sickly green and bleeding pink, only made worse by the bleached bone visible between strands of flesh dangling off of the joints. In its hand, a golden blade only kept steady due to the rot actively melding the blade with the structure of the hand. Through the ribcage, its rotting heart and lungs are visible, eerily still.

Jacob doesn't move, barely breathing as the creature slowly turns its pig-like head and begins to shuffle away. When it moves a far enough distance away, his composure cracks as he throws up his makeshift meal from earlier.


[It is in my professional opinion that that is fucked up.]

[FrozenNurse: Its heart was exposed to the elements, it shouldn't be alive.]

[FrozenNurse: And taking a closer look, I don't think it was. The heart wasn't beating, and its diaphragm was missing.]

[thats just fucked up]
[yeah, im definitly going to be sick. Excuse me.]


Looking between the pig-like being and chat, Jacob eventually musters up a response. "That thing definitely isn't alive, yeah. I can smell the rot in the air. If it isn't alive, then how is it moving?"


[FrozenNurse: My best bet? That's the 'Construct' that the system was going on about earlier. At the very least, it'd be a mercy as you'd be putting it out of its misery.]

[Woah what]
[wait are you saying that he should…]

[FrozenNurse: Yes. I am willing to take the blame for suggesting this, but you should try to take one down.]


Jacob's only response was tightening his grip on his shield, before slowly advancing on the creature. Aiming for the neck, he's surprised at how smoothly the blade glides through the flesh, carving off a large chunk of the thing and knocking it back. As it spins around unnaturally quick, he raises up the shield and catches the golden blade it was about to bring down, staggering as the blade rebounds off. Stabbing forward, his iron blade lands another deep strike, pushing the pigman off the ledge behind him. Carefully leaning over, he sees no trace of the pigman besides a chunk of its flesh, a small box, and a singular golden nugget. Lowering his shield, he is nearly ambushed by a second of the things, thankfully managing to knock it back and dealing with it in a similar manner to the first, being able to see it disappear in a puff of acrid smoke this time, leaving behind another small box and a golden nugget.


[Huh. if i wasn't horrified, id be intrigued.]
[oh i didn't like that.]

[FrozenNurse: So it wasn't real. Or rather, real in the way that we are. Hopefully that'll be the last time you need to do so.]

[hate to say it, but the wording was 'Pillage'. I don't think 2 counts as pillaging.]


Bending down, he picks up the items, his hand brushing against the red stone of the dimension as he does so, slightly pressing against the spongy ground. Opening the crates, he finds vials in them, much like the ones back at base.

'Rb and C8H10N4O2'

"That's… Rubidium and Caffeine. Why was it…" Jacob trails off, looking at the vials with a confused look, brushing off the rotten flesh still clinging to the boxes.


[...Did you say caffeine?]
[Wait, those things were holding coffee????]


Standing back up, Jacob unceremoniously shoves the vials in a pocket before grasping his sword and begins to make the trek back to the portal. Once he arrives, he takes out some cobble and walls off the two tunnel exits before walking back through.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

After shrugging off his armor and laying his sword on the pile, Jacob slides down the smooth wall of his shelter, eyes closing while he thinks.


[So, the hell was that?]

[DarknessEverlasting: A terrible thing, that's what.]

[...yeah.]


[but like, what was it? Were they pokemon? Robots? And why did they have coffee on them???]

[all of the above??? None of the above? We don't know. We can't know, not now at least.]


[DarknessEverlasting: … indeed. While the presence of danger has all-but disappeared, I doubt that Jacob will be able to ignore that…. Distortion of a world, for lack of a better term.]


[HexYouToo: …I hope that at the end of everything, Jacob will be fine.]


[yeah]
[DarknessEverlasting: …same]


Jacob takes a deep breath, before exhaling loudly, standing up afterwards. He begins to pull vials from his coat pockets and starts placing them on the wall of chemical drawers. While doing so, he begins to speak. "So. I assume that you all have seen the same thing that I did, right?"


[...not sure]
[I…can't say I've realized anything, no.]

[AidTheAid: You're going to have to explain what you've figured out, Jacob.]


Stalling in his self-assigned task as he pulls out the vial of caffeine, he raises it for chat to see. "This was planted on that creature, if not in its life than when it was… slayed. I looked over the recipes, there is no way for me to currently get Nitrogen without previously having some, of which this caffeine can be used to make more of. I was meant to find it, and to do so I was meant to fight the… zombified creature. That means that there's an active presence watching me, which we already know of, assuming that everything up to now was the same entity."


[HexYouToo: …are you saying that there might be multiple things messing with you?]


Glancing down at chat, Jacob pauses a second to read before answering. "Quite possibly. I don't remember just how I got here, it might have been different than the black portal-like thing that dropped off the crafting table, or what it was that talked in chat as 'The Host', or whatever sent system messages earlier. As Darkness said earlier, they are at the very least not directly malevolent."


[CinderAceInYourFace: So, what're you planning to do, then?]


Glancing back up, his gaze drawn to the shifting pattern in the purple vortex of the portal, he doesn't respond for several moments.

"I think… the only thing I can do. Keep playing along with whatever the entity is planning, and if I find that what it's doing is not good? I'll use its 'gifts' against it and show what science can truly do."


[TrueBlue: …heh. Good enough plan, its even worked before. Use your opponent's strengths against them and make them regret it.]


And with that ominous note, Jacobs begins to work.

Spoiler: Author's Note

EDIT: FUCK I FORGOR THE TITLE

So. Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Yule/Holiday season everyone! Sorry for being late on the next chapter, they've fixed the power lines just in time for me to do holiday prep so I've been a bit busy. Still don't have my new satellite receiver yet, though. I'll post chapter 5 and 6 when I finish them as pennance or whatever the term is, lol. Going to start working on it right after I post this, as it's currently late at night and everyone's gone.

Also, decided to not tempt fate and toned down what I had planned originally just to be doubly sure it doesn't go against the rules. In the terms of my friend. "What. The fuck?"

Hm. looks to introduction. Looks back at chapter. Guess it's torment whirlpool time?

Tell me, does the nether portal or nether section feel a bit forced? I couldn't think of any good ideas while writing it and ended up with what I've got. I might replace it later, if I think of anything better or if any of you have some neat suggestions.

So, what do you think of Jacob's building prowess, huh? It may be a rectangle, but it's a functional rectangle, thank you very much. Because mobs don't naturally spawn in the Antimatter biome, there's no true need for a house besides lore and personal taste reasons.

And hey, our first mob interaction! Spooopy oooo~ for real though. It startled me enough that I swung my sword at it.

Fun fact: I got the pack's 'You Should Take A Break' achievement while writing the end of this chapter! We're currently at 700,000 ticks and counting!

Also, Looking over how the setup is going, Jacob's Scientific Industrial Complex relies purely on baked potatoes and sugarcane to melt The Hole alongside beetroots and pumpkins. And by The Hole I mean the currently 20x20x6 25x25x7 300x9 pit that I've made from mining antimatter. Cherish The Hole. Praise The Hole. Sacrifice the dozens of waste hydrogen and beetroot seeds you make to The Hole.

Jacob truly is a Tinker holy shit.
also. pingas plight? Bliblies?? The fuck?? Uh Nani the fuck hi?

 

[Stov1212]

Spoiler: Pre-Author's Note

Pre-author's note: Again, sorry about that whole thing with the power. It's back on and I'm currently making up for lost time!

Spoiler: .

..

Spoiler: ...

Karmic Balance Evaluating

Spoiler: Plate Imbalance Detected

Divine Intervention Granted

Spoiler

By Giratina or Arceus or whatever is watching me write this what the fuck are you doing to my game???

"Hm. Barely any of you are on, huh?" Jacob said to himself, taking a look at the chat as he waits for his plants to grow.

[<Stream Active. Current Viewers: 819>]

It had taken a while for him to set everything up and begin to farm the new resources, enough time in fact that most of the chat had turned in for the night, with most of the viewers still on being lurkers. He had constructed the caffeine into cocoa beans and stuck them to trees, eventually finding Jungle logs to be the most effective for growing them, along with digging a small pond. At the persuasion of chat, he had previously created a fishing rod by turning protein harvested from the chunks of rotten flesh into pieces of string.


[HexYouToo: Yup. Guess it's us night dwellers that'll keep you company now, eh he he]

[DarknessEverlasting: …Was that supposed to be a creepy laugh?]

[HexYouToo: s-shut it!]

[lol]
[lmao]
[heh]


"So, I recall seeing the both of you on earlier, Hex and Darkness. Why are you still awake?" Jacob asks, finally turning away from the cocoa beans now that he's satisfied with how they're growing and heading back to the portal, shrugging on his armor with pickaxe in hand, set on mining some of the blocks from there. The shock from earlier had… mostly subsided, so long as he doesn't focus on the pigmen.

[DarknessEverlasting: Simple. Terrible sleep schedule, really.]
[oof]
[relatable.]
[Hey, same!]

[HexYouToo: Me? Eh, it's our trainer's account, and we're Ghosts. While she's busy with stuff and we don't want to join her, or when she's asleep, we log on and watch stuff to waste the time. Don't particularily need to sleep unless it's for things like recovering energy or healing.]

[That checks out for Ghost-types]
[Chandelure here, same.]

Jacob pauses on reading that response, before shrugging to himself and heading through the portal.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Picking up another bunch of blocks of the strangely flesh-like stone of the alternate dimension, Jacob gave them a slight toss upwards before shoving them in his pocket, going right back to mining. He had decided to stay behind the safety of the walls he had thrown up, mining in a straight line to recover some material. After the first few blocks, he had gone back through and dissolved it, collecting phosphorus alongside sulfur and gold. All of which were not insignificant in importance.

[I still don't like this.]
[Its to red.]
[to]
[go hug a Gyarados.]
[lol]

Breaking through into what appeared to be a cavern, with large patches of gravel freely strewn about and glowing stone hanging from the ceiling, alongside more of the pigmen from his first encounter. Raising his shield in alarm, he slowly lowers it when they show no interest in him at all.

[Oh that's actually rather pretty.]
[Hate its where the things live, but yeah.]

Walking further into the opening, Jacob can only help but pause when he hears a crunching under his feet. Looking down, his gaze falls on the small white crystals poking out from under the rock. Swinging his pickaxe at it quickly reveals it to be a type of quartz. Following the patch, he scoops up a few brown mushrooms alongside their red variants as he digs out the quartz. Finding the patch continuing at a wall, he begins to bore into it. As he finishes digging up the last of the quartz though, a loud tone is emitted from chat, startling him forward through his newly-dug hole and to a new opening on the other side.


[<Benchmark Achieved: A Terrible Fortress.>]

[HexYouToo: y'know, I'd be willing to visit that place. Seems like itd be a fun training opportunity]
[HexYouToo: Ope]

[hey its back]
[benchmark?]
[Are we going to ignore the fact it says 'Fortress' and that it apparently has an OPINION on it???]

[...Yeah. It was always matter-of-fact like 'Pillage the constructs' or 'Grow the connection' or whatever. Now it's saying 'Oh hey, welcome to a terrible fortress.']


More used to the rough surface of the stone before, Jacob slips on the smooth flooring now under his feet and slides into the alternate side's polished brick wall. Clutching onto it for a second reveals it to be a similar texture to the spongy rock outside, if somewhat hardened.

Its presence betrayed only by the hissing of the air burning on its surface, Jacob barely manages to raise his shield up in time to block the roaring fireball, sending it right back to its source down the hallway with a second exploding on the shield, thankfully not setting it- or him, aflame. Turning to look and replacing his pickaxe with a sword, his way out blocked by an inferno caused by a third fireball that missed him in the initial volley, he does the only thing he can do and advance on the source shrouded in the misty haze prevalent in this dimension.

[OH MEW WAS THAT A FIRE BLAST?!]
[no no no]
[Shit, not again.]

Blocking another volley of fire, Jacob could finally see their source: A creature made of the stuff, with blazing rods circling a burning head, wreathed in dancing flames. Unfortunately for him, getting closer also revealed three animate skeletons, withered bones blackened from what he can only assume were the flames of the previous being, all wielding blades made of stone, alongside some more of the undead pigmen from earlier. As he brought us his shield to block yet another volley, one of the fireballs bounced back towards the creature, slamming right into one of the withered skeletons. Snapping towards him, all three rushed at him with an unholy speed, somehow weaving through the blazing creature's fire.

[oh dear]
[whuh-oh]
[DarknessEverlasting: Those things are lighting my calamity senses up far greater than the creature from before!]
[DarknessEverlasting: Jacob, that's a Six-on-One. You need to RUN!!!]


Rushing forward, Jacob twists to the side, bouncing the next volley of fireballs off of it and straight at one of the skeletons, while using his sword to swing straight at another, his sword digging into the bone and allowing him to yank the skeleton in the way of the third, impaling it on its ally's blade. As it disappears in a puff of smoke, Jacob slides to the left side of the hallway to dodge another burst of fireballs, slicing into the first skeleton as he does so, poofing it as well. Blocking the third, he quickly takes it out before rushing the ranged fireball chucker, not even blocking and simply dodging to the side when it tries to strike.

Finally reaching the intersection the living blaze was situated at, Jacob goes to take it out, managing to slice through several of the rods and causing it to cry out in an eerie scream of pain before an explosion rocks him off to the side from a fireball slamming into his armor. Recovering and spinning around to face both threats at once, his gaze snaps towards a second Blaze, blocking its fireball volley as the first starts to charge up. Quickly flying forward, Jacob slices through the rest of the rotating rods, the fire dying out as it collapses to the floor and poofs. Being much more careful with the second, he summarily takes it out with a swift strike through both rows of rods.

[holy crap hes got schmoves]
[DarknessEverlasting: by Mew that was, frankly, impressive.]
[HexYouToo: …You have better tactics than my trainer does what the hell that's her JOB.]

[impressive?! He only got hit by an ambush! Wait shit he got hit!]
[Oh dear. Jacob, you alright?!]
[fuck it calling the nurse @FrozenNurse]


[FrozenNurse: Why are you pinging me I'm about to go off shift.]

[FrozenNurse: wait what do you mean Jacob got attacked?!]

[Yup. We believe its a Fire Blast or something similar. Fire-type at the very least, it was some sort of living fire thing that used it.]


Blocking off the hallway with stone, Jacob then leans against the wall as a burning pain begins to blossom from his side. Taking off his chestpiece to look, he is met with a dark and growing bruise, the armor taking the brunt of the heat somehow.


[thats a wicked bruise]
[I'd say just pulp an oran berry and apply it to the site, but…]

[FrozenNurse: Not the worst result, at least. You should likely bandage it up when you get ba]
[FrozenNurse: Hm. make some paper and cover the wound later. You don't actually have cloth, at least not yet.]


Jacob chuckles through his panting, poking the bruise and then flinching from the pain. "Yeah, I should probably see if I can make bandages later, huh?"

Sliding down the wall, Jacob huffs before pulling out a vial of water, taking small sips as he breaths heavily. "Ah, screw it. Now's the time, if any, to treat myself." Pulling out a paper-wrapped package from his pocket, he begins to unwrap it.

[treat?]
[oh hell yeah cookies]
[Dang I wish I had cookies]

Grabbing a sugar cookie from the package, he sighs as the sugar reaches his tongue. Munching on the packages, he doesn't notice a slight green glow from his side, right over his bruise.

[and somethings happening again]
[what the fuck]
[why is jacob never looking at us when shit happens?!]

[WhosThatPokemon(BOT): What's that move? It's…. Recovery]

[oh shit wait]
[FrozenNurse: …fuck it, idc anymore. Gift Rapidash and all. At least its operating like I'd expect recovery to do with surface wounds.]
[I cant help but notice it only did so when he began to eat]


Finishing the cookies he packed, he begins to stand back up, hand brushing against his side. Not feeling any pain, he looks down to see the last of the green sparkles disappear along with his bruise. Only then does he turn back to chat and begin to read.

FrozenNurse: Its too mewdamned late, I'm clocking off of sentience, see y'all in the morning. Ping me if he begins to grow tendrils or something.]
[uh]
[is that? A concern????]
[HexYouToo: No, she's joking. I think]

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Placing the last of the weird sand down, Jacob takes a look at his loot from the expedition.
He had recovered several rods from the Blazes, alongside some dust from the withered bones of the skeletons. He had also mined a bit of this weird sand, which unnervingly seemed to slow him down whenever he walked over it, alongside some fungus that was growing on it.

On the matter of his now-nonexistant injury, he had figured some things out through trial and error. If he ate some kind of food, no matter what kind, he would begin to heal from any injury. Jacob didn't test what type of injury though, as he didn't want to find out he couldn't replenish blood after bleeding out from a self-inflicted wound.

On a brighter note, the chat actually got him to try to fish in the pond he had created earlier. Picking up the fishing rod and placing down a wooden staircase to act as a seat, he tossed his line out into the water. "I truly don't know what you're all expecting from this, really."


[DarknessEverlasting: Simple. You may not catch anything from this venture, but it should act to help you relax after… earlier.]

[Yeah, have some fun!]
[take a break]
[You need some time to think and relax]


Jacob sighs, shaking his head with a smile on his face. "Well, if you all want me to relax, then why don't you tell me about what you said earlier? What did you mean by… you said Ghost-type, I believe?" He asks, looking down at the chat.

[HexYouToo: Us pokemon are able to use this 'Energy' we call Type Energy. Each one interacts with the other types in unique ways. Ghost types, for example, are immune to Normal-type and Fighting-type energy when it's used as an attack. However, we're also weak to other Ghost-type moves.]

[DarknessEverlasting: Indeed. However, you forgot to mention that Ghost-types get folded by Dark-type moves as well :> ]

[HexYouToo: Bah, shut it.]
[lmao]

[DarknessEverlasting: :zoruakek:]
[:zoruakek:]
[:zoruakek:]

"So, you'd say that these type energies react with each other, much like chemicals?"

[...huh, yeah. Guess they are]

[DarknessEverlasting: That is a fair observation. So, anything else you want to kno. Jacob.]

"Hm? What is it?"

[DarknessEverlasting: The bobber's moving.]



"...What?" Jacob stalls, his head snapping up as there's a sharp tug on his rod, nearly pulling him off of his seat. He manages to pull back, however, and begins to reel it in, with an intense back-and-forth with whatever was on the other side of the line. With a last desperate pull the rod snaps, but not before sending whatever was on the line flying through the air right at Jacob.


[UH]
[DarknessEverlasting: What in the Mewdamned…]
[HUH]
[I-There wasn't anything in the water beforehand. What]
[Huh. Guess I'm updating the bingo.]


It was too sudden for Jacob to react, being unprepared for something to actually happen. In a tangle of fins and limbs, what he fished up and him were sent tumbling over the back of the chair, landing on the hard concrete-like surface of the antimatter, water absolutely soaking him as it drips off of what he had fished up from the nothingness, both it and him screaming from the previous shock into a tumble.


[...]


[HexYouToo: ...]


[...]


[....@WhosThatPokemon]

[WhosThatPokemon(BOT): Who's that Pokemon? It's… Feebas!]

Spoiler: Author Note

Spoiler: FISHING RANT

What the fuck. I was writing the fishing segment and was like 'haha wouldn't it be funny if Jacob fished up a pokemon. Hm. Eh, I'll roll a d100, if it's higher than 90 I'll think about it' and then I rolled a Fucking. Natural. 100. And like - what? The fuck??? So I was then 'Oh shit. Well - uh, I guess I'll roll a dice online with as many sides as there are Pokemon?' and then. It rolled a 349. I can remember that number off of the top of my head. It's my favorite water type, Feebass, evolves into Milotic, National Dex number 349. What. So- I then flipped a coin IRL to figure out the gender. Female. At that point, I decided to just flip a coin again. If it was heads, I'd base her personality off of Fenja from Silver Eyes - meek, but with a will to help. and Guess what I got. A Giratina-damned Heads. I thought of ignoring it and just using the rolls later, but the power fucking flickered out for five minutes before coming back on. I can take a hint. Jacobs karma had to be balanced ig.

Not to mention. I needed Soul Sand after that, so I went to the nether and decided to postopone the fishing scene until later, and started exploring, making a tunnel to mine Netherrack. Even if I didn't find much right there, I was just going to say there was off-screen mining or some crap for the stacks upon stacks of gold I'd have gotten from the mining. Guess what I found while digging it, right across the large cavern I mined into, and then again at the end of the quartz patch I was boring into the wall for. Jacob, you are truely under the gaze of fucking Arceus what the hell.
So, screw it! How did y'all like the unintended Fortress raid scene? Almost everything happened near-exactly as to what happened in the game (I was pausing at sufficiently cool moments and typing it out as it happened lol.) Bet Jacob loves that I had 'Only interests were reading, fencing, and Science' in his character bio from the start right about now. Oh- by the way, don't know what mod it is in the pack, but you can reflect fireballs back at enemies, even does a nice 'Ding' if it triggers. Might be projectiles, I'll see later.

What the fuck is my story's luck now???