The Light of SBC (Miniseries)

[WinterArcanine]

Spoiler most of obaby remains dead but his feet get revived.

[Jjs Goodman]

10. World’s End

OWM, Slug, Patty and Mythix exit the portal. They land on a mysterious, almost magical, black ground. There are white lines forming pathways through the strange world. They look around to see a large, ancient, mystical, spacial void surrounding them, as if they are outside of both time and space.

“…Where in the world are we?” Patty asked, looking around confused and fascinated.

“Far from home, that is for sure.” Slug said.

“When that portal opened, I assumed it would take us to SBC, but I guess we have to take a detour…” OWM said, trying to figure out where they are.

Suddenly, they begin to hear many familiar voices in the world echoing around in the air…

“…Hello? Where am I? Anyone here?” OWM yelled out into the plains, from chapter one.

“Greetings traveler, I am sbl of the Spring Kingdom. You can trust me. Take my hand.” Sbl said to OWM, from chapter one.

“Heyo, sbl. Eh, I see someone’s new in the village?” SOF asked, from chapter two.

“Oh, sorry. I’m JCM, the headmaster of the school. Are you a new recruit?” JCM asked, from chapter two.

“We did it!” Patty said happily, as the four join hands again, from chapter two.

“Looks like you’re going to fit in just fine, OWM. Slug said to him happily, from chapter two.

“I had fun, and now with a fourth member, the dynamic will be interesting.” Mythix replied, from chapter two.

“Team Destiny…you will make decent allies to the Winter Kingdom and will be a great help against the Shadow Walker threat.” Wintermelon said, from chapter three.

“The way I arrived here was mysterious, and it still puzzles me. It was as if a power beyond this world sent me here.” OWM explained, from chapter four.

“It only be fair, matey. Pirate code says if a swordsman bests ya, ye must give up a weapon.” Jjs said, nobly accepting defeat, from chapter five.

“Fascinating, it appears to be connected to you somehow. You are a special one, OWM, and your whole team, even if their skills could use work.” Hawk said, from chapter six.

“I have received revelations and omens to come for your journey. This day will be an important judgment for your destinies going forward…” Tyeam says, from chapter eight.

“…Where are those voices coming from? And why did one of them sound like me?” Mythix asked, looking around confused at the bizarre world.

“Those voices…they are from us and residents of SBC.” Slug realized, as they keep hearing voices from their past adventures.

“This is weird…but also fascinating.” Patty said, hearing herself in several of the voices, as she walks around.

As they keep walking, their footsteps create puddle splashes on the ground and make wave vibrations. They then see many branching paths, all leading to mysterious portals surrounded by white lines and arches. These portals show various events across time in the realm of SBC, surprising the team.

“Hey, that is us!” Mythix said, seeing a portal showing Team Destiny competing against Team Raiders from chapter four.

“We can see through all of time in this world…wow.” Patty realized.

“But why? Why did this world bring as here, and how do we get back?” Slug asked, as he hears himself among the echoing voices in the background.

“This world…it is beyond everything we know. It acts as a type of world between worlds, connecting time and space. We are supposed to be here. A magical presence wanted us here for a reason. It is our destiny to be here, and we will find out why soon enough.” OWM realized.

They keep observing the portals, as they change and begin to show various events from their adventures, including: OWM seeing Spring’s Landing for the first time, Team Destiny meeting each other, the team’s first school adventure where they found the treasure in the apple forest, helping Wintermelon catch the Shadow Walker, their exploration of the Old Barrow where they fight the fake WhaleBlubber, sailing on their ship to Inferno Isle and fighting Jjs’ crew, fighting Hawk for the Fire Heart, Mythix and Slug helping Wintermelon gets his ice dagger, OWM and Patty saving Goobz, the gang being turned to stone at Reversal Mountain, and them escaping the shadow world.

“What a journey we have had thus far…” Mythix reminisced. 

“It really feels like it is coming to an end…” OWM realized.

“Can we alter time with these portals, such as stopping us from turning to stone?” Slug wondered.

“I do not believe that would be a wise idea. Changing time would create more potential problems on our list.” Patty said.

“I concur. As fascinated as I am, altering time sounds scary and messy.” Mythix replied.

“Then what is this place’s purpose?” Slug wondered.

They see more portals, showing SBC in the distant past. They see Spring’s Landing being created, Wintermelon’s ice castle being created, Tyeam moving to Spring’s Landing, Rob discovering the shark cave, the ancient ruins near Reversal Mountain being built, Hawk seeing the Fire Heart for the first time, and the founding of the Spring’s Landing school by JCM. 

Suddenly, a light shines at the group from a portal, catching their attention. The portal begins to glow ominously, as a shadowy aura surrounds it. The four look through the portal and observe a curious sight. The portal shows SBC several years ago, and the Tree of Light appears. An unidentified explorer is approaching the tree, reading a map guiding them to it.

“I finally found it…” the explorer said to himself, making their way through multiple vines and seeing the tree before him. “It is beautiful.”

The Tree of Light glows bright, as the explorer walks towards its roots. He inspects the roots,  looking at them curiously. He then notices a small bit of shadow goo is growing through the ground nearby, and looks at the goo confused.

“Ew, what is this stuff?” The explorer wondered, poking the goo with a stick.

Under the goo, he sees an ominous black rock, which is the same one from the prophecy. The explorer reaches to grab it, when the goo jumps up and begins to cover his body, making him yell in fear and pain. He becomes infected by the shadow goo, as it keeps keeps covering his body and turns his eyes black. He is transformed into the Shadow King, who looks up at the tree. The Shadow King picks up the shadow rock and places his hand on the trunk. Goo seeps in through the wood, slowly infecting the tree. The Tree of Light then shines bright and blasts the Shadow King away, knocking the shadow stone out of his andante sending it flying faraway. somewhere. The Tree of Light then creates the light forcefield currently around it now to keep the Shadow Walkers and armies away from it. The Shadow King looks at the tree, and runs off into the plains to gather his forces. 

“So that is where the Shadow King came from…” Patty said, shocked.

“That poor man…” Mythix said.

The portal then changes and shows lots of shadow goo inside the Tree of Light, revealing it has been infected and is slowly dying ever since that encounter.

“And the tree is dying…soon, the forcefield protecting it will break.” Slug realized.

The group then sees another portal right next to it with another curious sight. The portal shows sbl exploring the open fields of Spring’s Landing one day. OWM looks at this annoyed. Sbl then trips over something, peeping his curiosity. He gets back up and looks to see the shadow stone peering out of the ground. Black goo is seeping from it, and he hears a voice coming from the stone, as if it calls to him. Sbl picks up the stone and holds it obsessively, as the stone begins to possess him. He is corrupted into becoming a servant of the Shadow Walkers by it, as he smiles evilly, and the portal vision ends.

“Sbl was not always evil, the stone corrupted him. …Wait, that stone is the same one JCM and Trophy must have saw in the ruin prophecy.” OWM realized.

“Destroying that stone must be the key to defeating the Shadow Walkers and freeing sbl from his trance! We will have to get it from sbl when we return.” Patty said.

“That is if we do return, who knows which portal we are supposed to go into, or if we will ever find it…” Slug said, looking around annoyed.

“We will find a way, we always do.” OWM encouraged, as they keep walking along the void path.

As they walk, OWM then is struck by a strange, magical presence, as if it is guiding him. A light shines at him, as he looks directly at a portal to his right. OWM walks closer and sees…himself. The OWM in the portal is seen in a house, wearing the backpack he came to SBC with. He then exits the house, and is shown on an island, faraway from the rest of the SBC continent. Several other obscure villagers are on this remote location. 

“…This is where I came from? I was always from SBC?” OWM asked, as Patty, Slug and Mythix approach.

“I…have never seen nor heard of an island like this in the realm. It must have been at world's end, far out of reach from the continent.” Patty said, confused.

Suddenly, a growling is heard, as Shadow Walkers attack the island, making the residents scream in terror. OWM tries to run from them, but cannot escape the island. OWM is thrown down to the ground by a Shadow Walker, as they hover over him. 

“Oh no, past you could be doomed…or will you, if you are here right now?” Mythix wondered, as this makes OWM wonder.

The portal then shakes, as if it wants the current OWM to interact with it. OWM places his hand against the portal, creating a vibration. He hesitates if he should do it or not, but then feels his body glow due to the Tree of Light’s magic again, startling him. It tells him he must save himself  to set destiny in motion. OWM then reaches his hand through the portal, startling the team.

“OWM, what are you doing!?” Slug asked, worrying he has messed with time. 

OWM grabs the past OWM and pulls him through the portal with the team’s help, albeit with reluctance and confusion from Slug. The past OWM is saved from the Shadow Walkers. The portal disappears from the island, as the Shadow Walkers look around confused, wondering where he went. The past OWM falls to the ground in the world between worlds, as the portal closes behind. The past OWM lays on the ground, asleep and with memory loss. The tree’s magic fills the past OWM with light, giving him the mysterious powers he has now.

“…Were we supposed to do that?” Mythix asked, worried.

“Yes, we were.” OWM replied, seeing another portal nearby that shows the open field he woke up at in chapter one. He realizes what he must do.

OWM throws the past OWM through that portal, as he goes through the light tunnel, repeating the beginning of the first chapter:

Within seconds, OWM is seen waking up on a lush, spring meadow plain at night. He looks around at his surroundings, confused and unfamiliar with where he is now. He looks out at the plains, feeling something is amiss.

“…Hello? Where am I? Anyone here?” OWM yelled out into the plains, frantically walking around, lost.

A heavy breeze blows through the air, as he receives no response. He looks out at the starry night sky, and realizes an even bigger question: He has no idea who he even is.

“…Who even am I?” OWM wondered.

They watch as OWM walks around the plains, revealing his arrival was a fixed time loop caused by them.

“That explains why we were supposed to be here, and how OWM came to SBC. He ended up in the field because of…himself!” Mythix realized.

“What OWM did to himself was a set time occurrence that was always meant to be. OWM had no other way off that island, and if we had not saved him, none of us would have met. This is what Tyeam meant by our destinies.” Patty realized.

“This is a lot to take in and understand, but what I got is: OWM was never an outsider…he was always a resident of SBC, but at an unknown location.” Slug realized, surprised.

“I was just on a faraway island few have ever been, so in a sense, I never did exist to SBC until I pulled myself to the main land. However, it seems whatever memories I have of that island are truly gone forever.” OWM realized, not sure how to feel.

“You may felt like you did not matter to SBC before, but you do now. At least you made new memories with us.” Patty said.

“After all this chaos is over, we should try to find that island to learn more about your past.” Mythix said curiously.

Another light shines at them, guiding them to another portal. The portal glows, and this time, it appears to want them to go through it. The portal shows their statues at Reversal Mountain.

“This must be it. Finally…the way back.” Slug said.

The team is ready to go back, as they look at each other.

“Thank you. We found our way back and got our answers together. It is time to finish our destinies and defeat the Shadow Walkers. We will save SBC.” OWM said heroically.

They jump through the portal, taking them back to SBC.

[Jjs Goodman]

11. Fool’s Hope

At Reversal Mountain, the statues of OWM, Patty, Slug and Mythix begin to glow. The stones break off and the four move again, coming back into the world. They move around surprised but excited to be back in the real world. They look to see the spring water is completely dried up. They then look up at the sky to see many dark clouds covering it, with no sunlight coming through.

“Looks like we arrived just in time.” Mythix said.

“I still do not fully understand what happened in that space place, and I do not want to know. At least it did really bring us back.” Slug said, scratching his head.

Team Destiny quickly, but cautiously, makes their way down the Reversal Mountain. They carefully look around to make sure the guards and Shadow Walkers are not anywhere near them. They then make it to the bottom, and run through the fields, making their way back to Spring’s Landing. As they run, a dark, chilly breeze blows through the air.

“It almost feels as if a storm is brewing…” Patty said.

“There is a storm coming alright, from our enemy. Let us hope not too many residents got turned to stone while we were gone…” OWM said, as they keep making their way for Spring’s Landing in the distant.

Team Destiny makes it there, but the town is dead silent and feeling empty. They look around to see everyone in the town is completely turned to stone, including SOF, Steel, Halibut, Fa, Fred, Kaiju, Ben and Loopa.

“We are too late…” Patty said, looking around in horror.

“We are the last survivors of a shadow apocalypse…” Mythix said grimly.

“Not quite.” Tyeam whispered, surprising them.

The four turn around to see Tyeam peering out from her building, waving for them to come inside. They do so, as Tyeam quickly shuts the door and looks out the window, making sure no Shadow Walkers are near.

“Good, you were not followed. I see you made it back from the banished world and planes beyond, just as destiny intended.” Tyeam said.

“Yeah, can you explain anything more about that crazy time-space place we were in or…” Slug was inquiring.

“You saw what you needed to see, and did what you needed to do. Everything has aligned together for this today. The final battle between the living and the shadows.” Tyeam explained.

“So how do we defeat the Shadow King? I do not want to kill the guy considering he was once normal.” Slug said.

“Strike his core and the corrupted will be restored, but only temporarily. The real threat, a terrible evil, is in the tree, where this sickness all began.” Tyeam said cryptically.

"What evil?" Mythix asked.

"I cannot tell further, but the origin of the shadow energy comes from a murky, almost ancient, presence that has been hiding away deep in the tree for years." Tyeam replied.

“My only confusion is: you said I was not of this world, but I am.” OWM said, confused.

“You technically are not, from a certain point of view. A place nobody knows could be seen as alien and far off.” Tyeam replied.

“Fair enough.” OWM replied.

The four look around further to see the building is a wreck inside, with one of the windows broken.

“What happened here?” Patty asked.

“The Walker I had captive escaped during the ensuing chaos, but thankfully, I was not present when that occurred.” Tyeam explained.

SpongeRobert then comes into the room, surprising them. Robert has joined up with Tyeam, who have been working together in an attempt to fight off the Shadow Walkers.

“Hey, it is the shark wizard!” Mythix recalled.

“That is right, when those Shadow Walkers invaded my sanctuary, I fled to this village for help. I thought everyone was taken, until Madame Tyeam took me in. I have been teaching her some of my own magic to help fend off those beasts, and in turn, she has taught me fascinating psychic fortunes. I am pleased to see you four survived.” Robert explained.

“You two are the only remaining survivors here?” Slug asked to be sure.

“It appears so. But do not fret, for I know you four can do it. You have come this far.” Tyeam said.

“Uh, I hate to ruin your hope, but defeating them may be a fool’s hope at this point…” Robert warned.

“It will not be. We know what to do.” OWM explained, catching Robert’s curiosity.

“Slow down there partner, first we need to find wherever sbl has that stone, if he even has it on him.” Slug said.

“Maybe it is in his quarters somewhere.” Patty suggested.

“Then we go there first.” OWM replied.

“One other problem, how will we make it past the tree’s magical barrier?” Mythix inquired.

“That will not be a problem. The barrier has broken due to the chaos. The tree is dying, you must move now. Throw the stone into the tree’s core, the darkness will be over.” Tyeam explained.

“Alright then. Thank you Tyeam, for everything.” OWM replied.

“Good luck, Team Destiny. I will keep working on spells to scare off the shadows, but if you need any help, I will be here.” Robert said to them.

“No. Only they must go, as prophesied.” Tyeam said, as Robert understands.

They head out, carefully walking. They make it to sbl’s house and enter inside. It has been kept neatly clean, and is quiet. They carefully search around sbl’s house, looking for the shadow stone. Mythix finds a locked chest. He then throws one of his magic powders which opens the lock, as Mythix looks inside the chest to see the glowing shadow stone.

“I found it!” Mythix said, taking the shadow stone out of the chest and putting it in a bag.

“Your spells really paid off.” Slug said, impressed.

“Surprised sbl is nowhere nearby guarding it with his friends.” Patty said.

“I guess he assumed we would have no way to get inside the chest. That is another thing off the checklist, now we head for the tree.” OWM said, grabbing sbl’s map of the SBC realm from a table.

The team gathers up all the supplies they need from their homes, and regroups back at the town center. 

“We are ready.” Slug said confidently. 

Team Destiny leaves Spring’s Landing and makes their way to the Trees of Light, trekking through the long meadow path towards it. As they head onward, sbl jumps out of a bush, with several Shadow Walkers coming to his aid. Several of which are turned SBC residents from the Autumn Kingdom, showing Cha, Homie, Prez, Goobz among others. The team readies their weapons, prepared to fight.

“You actually made it back…I must admit, the king and I are impressed. But your path ends here, I will change your destiny. And I know very well you took my precious stone, just as I planned.” Sbl said, looking at Mythix’s bag.

“Sbl, this is not you. The stone you found, the presence inside of it corrupts you.” OWM reasoned.

“Nonsense! Now to send you back to the banished lands…” sbl said, preparing another shadow blast, as the Shadow Walkers get closer to the team.

Suddenly, the four then pull out lanterns from their backpacks, shining them at the Shadow Walkers, making them hiss and back away.

“We came prepared.” Slug said, aiming his bow at sbl.

“Do not harm him, sbl is still in there somewhere.” OWM said.

“He is making it hard not to.” Slug replied, as sbl keeps charging a shadow blast.

Mythix then throws a powder, making smoke appear around the area, and distracting sbl.

“Dangit!” Sbl yelled, trying to find them.

Patty splatters paint at sbl, while holding her lantern to keep the Shadow Walkers back. OWM then hits sbl in the head with the handle of his pirate sword. Sbl falls to the ground unconscious.

“That will keep him down for a while.” Patty said.

The Shadow Walkers run off towards the tree, ready to ambush them there. They make their way onward, as the tree keeps getting closer from their view.

“We are almost at our destination…” OWM said, nearly out of breath.

They make their way through a treacherous forest, avoiding vines, traps and poisonous plants along the way. Several Shadow Walkers jump out of the trees, but they shine their lanterns, making them go back into hiding. They look to see more of the Shadow Walkers are turned SBC residents, including Trophy, JCM, OBAB and Coffee.

“We will get you guys back, we promise.” Slug said to them, as they keep moving onward.

They exit the forest, and keep walking a little bit more. They then see the Tree of Light right before them. It stands tall, piercing nearly into the high sky above. The barrier around it is completely gone, and much shadow goo is forming in the areas surrounding it.

“It looks amazing up close…” Patty said, wishing to draw it, but there is no time.

They walk through a lush pathway, taking them to the tree’s base. They exit it, arriving at a clearing. The tree’s trunk is right near them, where a glowing entrance is to take them inside of the tree.

“Alright, you can come out now.” OWM said, knowing the Shadow Walkers are near.

Several shadow goo blobs come out of the tree’s trunk and take the form of Shadow Walkers, ready to attack. The Shadow King then appears out of the shadows, looking at Team Destiny with a neutral expression. Multiple other Shadow Walkers appear from the trees, surrounding Team Destiny. The Shadow King and his army guard the entrance to the Tree of Light. OWM holds out his pirate sword, as Mythix, Patty and Slug also ready their weapons. 

“It has been an honor being with you guys.” Mythix said, accepting whatever comes next.

“Have a little more faith.” Slug replied.

Shadow King motions his army to attack, as the Shadow Walkers all begin to fire shadow attacks at Team Destiny. They wave their lanterns around to make the creatures fall back, as they avoid their attacks. Slug fires several fire, water and electric arrows at the Shadow Walkers around to get them out of the way, clearing a path toward the Shadow King. 

“OWM, you get the king, we will hold off the lackeys!” Patty said, as she splatters more paint around, blinding the Shadow Walkers.

The shadow blobs transform into guards, similar to the ones near Reversal Mountain. Slug keeps firing away, piercing at them and turning them back into goo. Mythix throws several spell bags that blind the Shadow Walkers or put them to sleep. 

OWM makes it toward the Shadow King, as they stare each other down. OWM points his pirate sword at him. The Shadow King then stands still and waves his arms, making his eyes glow green. In the distance, all the Spring’s Landing residents that were turned to stone have their statues glow green. Their Shadow Walker forms break out of the statues, as they all run to the Tree of Light to aid the Shadow King. Before OWM can strike the Shadow King, several shadow blobs get in his way, stopping him from moving forward, as the Shadow King walks away. 

OWM slashes through the shadow blobs with his sword, getting out of there. Another Shadow Walker jumps at him, this time a possessed Jjs, which OWM shines away using his lantern and points his own pirate sword at him. Slug, Patty and Mythix bravely fend off the Shadow Walkers as long as they can, who are trying to pile on them. OWM keeps running toward the Shadow King. 

OWM swings the pirate sword right at the Shadow King, who quickly turns around and grabs OWM’s hand. The Shadow King knocks the pirate sword out of his hand, and grabs onto OWM, holding him up. He keeps holding OWM tight, about to turn him into stone. OWM then quickly pulls out Wintermelon’s ice dagger and stabs the the Shadow King with it, right in his core. The core freezes solid, making the Shadow King gasp. The Shadow King’s body then cracks and begins to glitch. The shadow goo disintegrates from his body, bringing the explorer back to normal. All around him, the many other Shadow Walkers he created either disintegrate if they were shadow blobs, or turn back into SBC residents if they were transformed. 

“Woohoo!” Patty cheered.

“Fantastic work, mate.” Slug said to OWM.

All across the realm, anyone who was turned into a Shadow Walker turns back to normal. However there are multiple people turned to stone that still need to be saved, and the remains of the shadow blobs all flee back into the tree’s trunk to the source of the shadows.

“Huh, where am I?” Dman asked, confused, looking around at the clearing.

“So that is the Tree of Light, huh. I’ll be.” Sebby said, impressed, as he looks at it.

“…Is it finally over?” Mythix asked.

“No, far from. Our real enemy is at the top of the tree. That is where it will all end. The Shadow King was only a pawn for a greater force.” OWM said, pointing all the way up.

“Oh boy.” Patty replied, ready for whatever comes next.

The explorer and former Shadow King then feels the grass and looks around, surprised they are back to normal.

“…I am free! I am finally free from that curse after years! For ages I tried to break free and undo the damage I was causing, but I could not, sadly. Thank you so much for finally freeing me!” The explorer said happily, feeling their body and then shaking OWM’s hand.

“Say, what is your name, mr. explorer?” Patty inquired curiously to the explorer.

“Gosh, it has been so long…wait, I recall now. terminoob is my name, yup. Do not forget my name.” terminoob remembered.

“Get to safety, we will finally handle whatever is inside the tree once and for all.” OWM said to terminoob, who understands.

terminoob heads off to help people recover, and wishes the team best of luck. The team then heads into the Tree of Light, finally prepared to face what awaits them at the end of their long journey.

________

One chapter remains.

[dmandagiraffe]

we're almost there, good fellows

[Jjs Goodman]

12. Rebirth

Team Destiny walks through the Tree of Light, seeing the dark goo is flowing everywhere and slowly diminishing its light. However, through the darkness, several floating glowing seeds of light still barely manage to illuminate the pathway. The team uses their lanterns to light the rest of the way, guiding them down their path.

“It is a shame such a lovely sight like this is slowly dying.” Patty said, seeing the dark goo flowing down from the bark.

“This is not what I expected from the inside of a tree, though this is a magical, and bigger one, compared to every other tree out there.” Mythix said curiously.

As they go further, Slug carefully aims his bow around, looking for any shadow blobs. Suddenly, several shadow blobs plop down in front of them, forming a wall to prevent them from passing. 

“Not today.” OWM said, as the team holds up all of their lanterns.

The light from the lanterns begins to melt the shadow wall. The shadow blobs disintegrate due to the light, clearing their path.

“With all our light, these shadow demons will tremble before us.” Slug said.

“Let us not get too overconfident, we still do not entirely know what is atop the tree.” OWM warned, as they walk up several wooden steps, taking them to the next level of the tree.

They arrive at the next level, where they see a meadow field growing inside, with more glowing seeds lighting the way. 

“How is there a meadow growing inside of a tree?” Patty wondered.

“Magic.” Mythix replied.

“Makes sense to me.” Slug replied, as they walk through it.

OWM then steps into a pile of shadow goo hidden in the meadow field, and quickly gets out of the way. Shadow blobs multiply everywhere from the goo, swarming the field. Some of them transform into stone golems and guards, as Team Destiny fights back. They shine their lanterns at the blobs, disintegrating those. OWM swings his pirate sword at two of the disguised guards, knocking them down. Patty splatters paint at the golems, blinding one of them. Slug then shoots an explosive arrow at a golem’s head, blowing it off, as the rest of its body collapses into goo. OWM throws his sword at another golem, cutting off its head, and making it fall apart. Mythix releases a knock out powder from his bag, which knocks out the remaining disguised guards, and turns them back into shadow blobs. Slug then fires shining arrows at the blobs, disintegrating them. The lantern lights scares off the rest of the shadow blobs, destroying them. 

“How many more floors do we have left of dealing with those creatures?” Patty wondered.

“Probably a lot.” Mythix replied.

“We will keep fighting to the end, however long it may be.” OWM replied.

After clearing the way, head onward through the meadow, finding the next exit up ahead. Team Destiny keeps making their way up the tree, avoiding many traps and shadow goo blobs that try to slow them down. They make it out of the next level, which leads them into a dark corridor.

“I can feel it, we are getting closer to the top.” Patty said, sweating and exhausted from their journey.

Suddenly, they hear footsteps from the side, not belonging to any of them. They carefully shine their lanterns through the darkness, to see sbl approaching them. He had entered from a secret entrance. His hands are both in the air as he walks, indicating he does not intend to harm them. The team is on edge, ready to fight him, but OWM senses something different about sbl. 

“Stop, do not attack me! I come in peace.” Sbl pleaded, surprising them, but still making them suspicious.

“Why should we believe that?” Slug asked.

“Because I still am OWM’s friend. I…realize what I did was wrong. I am sorry for trapping you all in the banished realm. I was not myself, that stone had corrupted me and the entity influenced my thoughts. I want to help you destroy that stone and in turn, the evil entity at the top of the tree.” Sbl explained to OWM.

“He is telling the truth. I knew you were still in there. Glad to have you back, sbl.” OWM said, pleased with this, as he shakes sbl’s hand.

Slug, Mythix and Patty trust OWM’s judgment and each welcome sbl back, shaking his hand.

“Thank you for trusting me. I must warn you even I do not fully comprehend or understand what the evil entity is…but it calls itself “Shadow Matter”, as it told me in my visions.” Sbl explained to them.

“This Shadow Matter, whatever it is, is our true enemy.” OWM realized.

“I wonder what it looks like…” Mythix said curiously.

“Whatever it looks like, we are not afraid, and we will send it back to whatever dark hole it crawled out of it.” Slug said.

The five head down the corridor, and it takes them up more stairs. They go further up the tree, and come outside to an edge. They look down at Spring’s Landing in the far distance from their high view.

“What a lovely view, even if it is dreary out.” Patty said, admiring it, but noticing how darker the clouds are getting.

Suddenly, a powerful gust fills the air, as they see more dark clouds filling the air, not allowing any light to pass through. The tree then shakes, startling the five, as a large dark aura begins to emit from it.

“What was that!?” Slug asked, concerned.

“Oh no…we are running out of time, that is what it means. Shadow Matter will soon cover the entire world in darkness.” Sbl warned to them.

Another tremor occurs, as they all carefully hang on, not trying to fall. Mythix nearly slips but OWM helps him up.

“That was close, thanks.” Mythix replied, as a powerful dark aura keeps emitting from above them.

They carefully walk around the edge and find another entrance.

“Be prepared. This is the beginning of the end from here.” Sbl said to them.

They walk through it, taking them to another floor. The floor is completely filled to the brim with shadow goo everywhere. At the end of the room is a large entrance with light dimly shining from it, which is their ultimate destination. The five run through the room, when an army of shadow blobs rise from the goo, stopping them from moving forward. The five fight onward and sbl uses his own lantern to shine away the goo blobs. They clear the way and see the shining light from the entrance ahead.

“Here we go.” OWM said, as the five enter.

They arrive in a strange, almost cosmic like room, which is the core of the tree’s energy. There is still light faintly shining from around, but much shadow goo is slowly covering it. They look in the center to see a giant, ominous dark shadow blob with dark electricity emitting off of it. This entity is Shadow Matter, as it keeps emitting the dark aura that is surrounding the tree, and soon, SBC.

“So that big blob must be Shadow Matter. How did it even get here?” Patty asked curiously.

The five carefully walk forward, as Shadow Matter keeps floating there.

“Is it even alive?” Slug wondered as they keep approaching it carefully.

Suddenly, Shadow Matter lets out a shadow pulse from its body, knocking the five back.

“That answers that!” Mythix replied, as they get up worryingly. 

Patty then looks over ahead to see a cliff, leading into a pool of light.

“That is where the stone is supposed to be thrown into, as the prophecy said.” Patty said, as Mythix gets the stone out of his bag.

Before they can run to it, Shadow Matter makes the area flash.

“sO…yOu HaVe cOmE…?” Shadow Matter spoke in a distorted, warped voice, surprising the five.

Shadow Matter lets out another dark aura, which makes the five fall to the ground again and paralyzes them. Mythix’s bag falls and drops the rock.

“No!” Mythix yelled, as they struggle to get up.

OWM, Slug, Mythix, Patty and sbl all begin to tremble before Shadow Matter’s power, as it prevents them from moving.

“tHiS iS wHeRe YoUr JoUrNeY eNdS, tEaM dEsTiNy…” Shadow Matter spoke.

“It knows our team name…” OWM said, surprised, as he tries to reach for the stone.

“I kNoW aLl…BeEn ArOuNd FoR a LoNg TiMe…I WaS cReAtEd BeCaUsE oF tHiS rEalM…fOr YeArS tHeY fOuGhT oVeR tHe TrEe’S pOwEr…tHaT lEd To My BIrTh ThRoUgH tHe StOnE…aNd I bRoUgHt DaRkNeSs wItH iT…” Shadow Matter explained, startling them.

“Wait, so this thing is saying that…” sbl was saying.

“Yes, Shadow Matter was formed because of SBC and the negative energy the four kingdoms had from wanting the tree’s power.” Patty realized.

“I knew nothing good would come from them fighting over that tree, but wow, the fact the negative energy of the four kingdoms created this…thing is unbelievable.” Slug said, still struggling to break free.

Shadow Matter then levitates OWM with its power, worrying him.

“yOu…ThE sPeCiAl oNe…WiLl NoT dEsTroY mE…i WiLl MaKe YoU NeW sHaDoW kInG tO cOnTiNuE wOrK…” Shadow Matter said to OWM, shocking him, as he struggles to get out of the trance.

Shadow Matter tries to transform OWM into his next Shadow King, which he tries to fight off.

“No, OWM!” Slug, Patty, Mythix and sbl yelled, trying to get up and help him, but it is no use.

Before Shadow Matter can corrupt him however, OWM begins to glow light thanks to the tree’s power, angering Shadow Matter, as it makes another tremor. Mythix, Slug and sbl all glow light as well, as the Tree of Light is giving them what is left of its power. OWM manages to break free of Shadow Matter’s possession, as do sbl and the team. They all attack Shadow Matter’s core with light attacks.

“NoOOOoooOO…” Shadow Matter said angrily, as its body begins to crack and weakens it.

OWM grabs the stone, as the team keeps holding Shadow Matter off. OWM heads for the cliff, seeing the light pool below. He then drops the stone as it goes falling below. Shadow Matter then makes the ground tremor, causing OWM to slip and he panics. OWM nearly falls in, but manages to hold onto a ledge just in time. He looks below to see the stone slowly sinking into the pool of light, relieved it worked, but worried for his. Own well being. Sbl then rushes over and reaches out his hand.

“Take my hand!” Sbl yelled, as OWM carefully looks up at sbl.

OWM climbs up carefully and reaches his hand out to sbl.

“Don’t you let go…REACH!” sbl yelled to OWM.

OWM grabs sbl’s hand, as sbl helps OWM up safely. They look below to see the rock in the pool of light, as it begins to melt apart. Shadow Matter then lets out a loud hail as it slowly begins to disintegrate into nothing. Patty, Mythix and Slug cheer.

“I cannot believe it is finally over…” Patty said, relieved.

The tree then shakes again, as the shadow goo all over it becomes to slowly break apart. It then flashes a powerful light, consuming the five. The five are then teleported back to Spring’s Landing by the tree’s power. They see the dark clouds disappear, as light shines through once again. JCM, Trophy, Coffee, OBAB, Wintermelon, Hawkbit, Steel, Fa, Hayden, Halibut, Fred, SOF, Tyeam, Robert and everyone else from Spring’s Landing approaches Team Destiny and sbl. They lift them into the air, and hailing them as heroes.

“Hip hip, hooray!” SOF cheered.

“I knew you kids had what it took.” Hawk said, impressed.

“I used your dagger well. You can have it back.” OWM said, handing it back to Wintermelon.

“Thank you. I am honored to have worked by your sides.” Wintermelon replied, putting the dagger away.

“Oh hey, what do you know, our school’s training actually paid off for something. Also, thanks for saving me from shadow doom and all that good stuff.” JCM said to them.

“Yeah, so how about upping my pay?” Trophy asked, winking to JCM, who sighs. “But yeah, great job guys, and I’m glad my almost sacrifice was not in vein.”

Kaiju, Ben and Loopa approach, actually thankful for Team Destiny.

“We had our problems, but you know…I am glad you guys saved us. You are worthy rivals, but someday we will beat you at something, do not forget!” Ben said, as him, Kaiju and Loopa shake the team’s hand, giving a hearty laugh.

Team Destiny then sees Tyeam and Robert, approaching them.

“I am sorry we were not there when the town needed us.” OWM apologized to her.

“Do not be sorry. You all were exactly where you were supposed to be.” Tyeam replied confidently to them, as she looks at the tree’s light in the distance, seeing everything has come together.

Everyone else across SBC who was still trapped in stone begins to have their statues glow a golden light. The statues break open, freeing all of the remaining SBC users, allowing them to leave the banished realm. G4ry is seen breaking out of his statue on Reversal Mountain and begins to rethink his ways, wanting to do good for once. The SBC villagers all return to their proper kingdoms. The kingdom armies all agree to never fight over the tree again and share its power. The tree glows and heals all of the dark energy from it. It is reborn into a new form, as it shines a bright light across SBC. Everyone in the four kingdoms cheers, happy SBC is saved. Team Destiny are hailed as heroes across the four kingdoms, celebrating and passing their story down for years to come.

Wintermelon returns to the Winter Kingdom, reuniting with residents such as RDSP and dman. He continues to rule the kingdom and search out for more ancient treasures. Hawkbit returns to the Summer Kingdom, where he starts to guard other islands with valuable treasures. Team Destiny continues to participate in adventures for the school. terminoob explores the Autumn Kingdom and shares stories with residents such as Leedles, Cha, Homie, Prez, Goob and WhoBob, wanting to make amends for what he did as the Shadow King.

At a later point in time, Team Destiny are seen boarding a boat. They want to find the island OWM came from and are preparing for a long voyage.

“Are you ready?” Slug asked OWM.

“As I will ever be.” OWM replied.

“Good luck pal. We will all be here for you when you get back.” Sbl replied, shaking OWM’s hand.

“Thank you for everything.” OWM replied to him.

“I do not know what awaits us wherever we go, but I am excited.” Mythix replied.

“I hope we come across many exotic uncharted lands, they would make for great paintings.” Patty said.

Several Spring’s Landing residents such as SOF, Fred, Robert, Tyeam, JCM and Trophy arrive to see them off. The boat sets sail, as the team waves farewell to Spring’s Landing behind them. The residents wave back, wishing them best of luck on their journey. The boat sails off through the SBC oceans, where they see Captain Jjs’ pirate ship and crew nearby. He looks at OWM with his pirate sword and is impressed, as he lets the team pass. The boat keeps on sailing onward, as the team sees the light shining from the tree in the distance, almost as if it is guiding them to their next destination.

“Whatever awaits us beyond, we will face it together.” OWM said to the team, making them excited.

The ship sails onward, going off into the sunset.

THE END

 

That’s all she wrote, folks. No more literatures from me for the foreseeable future.

Edited August 24, 2019 by jjsthekid

[dmandagiraffe]

My eyes are legit getting misty from that ending (not really from sadness, just the whole "epic journey is over" feeling).

This was a great lit to end on.

[SpongeOddFan]

thoswas great way to end your lit writing career as fitting to SBC's 10 year anniversary.

thank you, Jjs.