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Act 1, Part 3: The Sands of Sugar

When we last left Alicia and Larry, they were about to enter the Sugar Desert! What will they find? You'll find out here...
A quick sneeze escaped from Larry as the warm winds of the Sugar Desert blew sand into his face.
Larry and Alicia continued their search for the Love Crystal with the expansive desert ahead.

Act 1, part 3; the Sands of Sugar
Having made his first new friend, Larry felt determined to find the Love Crystal. The journey, however, would be a long one since the Sugar Desert was, well, a desert.
There had even been a scenario where there was a large, unavoidable pit of quicksand that could only be swung over with a rope hanging from the sky.

Nonetheless, they trudged onward.
***
Suddenly, there was a cloud of purple smoke. Standing there was Shauna, dressed in a black robe that looked appropriate for desert travel. The glare she gave the group was cold enough to make the dunes themselves become ice.

"Who in the name of God are you?!" Alicia blurted out.
"Looks like a troublemaker to me," said Larry.
"You'd be very much correct hero. I am Shauna, professional shapeshifter and one of Calem's five followers. I've been given a rather simple job today, so I'd appreciate it if you'd submit before it's too late and let me capture you. It would save us both the time and energy of having to fight." Shauna explained.
"Over our dead bodies!" shouted Alicia, angry.
"All I have to say is, things won't end well! True Shauna, come forth!" Shauna yelled before violently snapping her neck.

The girl's head then spun over her shoulders, with the gruesome organic sounds of bones cracking.  Her head stopped upside down. Her eyes were now empty pits, the mouth was in a crooked grin,  and her left pigtail swung like a dead snake on a branch, the very tip of it tinted with a color akin to black nightshade berries. The body went limp as the sides of the head burst from a protrusion of spindly arachnid limbs. Then the creature stood up.
Its mouth opened to let out a horrendous  sound.
"Yuck!" said Alicia, holding her mouth, nauseated.
"I'll deal with whatever the heck this is!" yelled Larry as he got a loaded gun he found nearby.
"Now!" yelled Alicia as Larry fired ammo at the spider creature. Loud noises were heard as Alicia could hear the rap rap tat of the bullets.

The purple clouds from before engulfed the grotesque spider creature as Shauna returned to her human form, noticeably leaning to one side and clutching one of her arms in pain.
"Waaahh!" wailed the girl, spitting out sand, before getting up and running out of the Sugar Desert.
"Now, that's over." said Larry.
Now, he just had a Love Crystal to find, and moved further into the desert as Alicia followed suit.

What do you think could possibly happen next? Find out next part!