A diamond hidden within the gray line

Chapter 40: Candymaker's arrival and wrath, and the key to the first vision.

The music video above is my friend's choice for a theme song for his oc, which is candymaker. All credit for the music video goes to the original owner of the music video and to the birdie game it's associated with.

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-Narration-

It didn't take max long to finally get close to the dollhouse and the barn, especially since it appeared as if not a soul is even around him. "I gotta be going crazy...there ain't nothin' here that wants to attack me..." Max says with an annoyed sigh. The fact that he didn't even have a shirt on, but at least had his shell on and a pair of blue night shorts on only proved that he had arrived totally unprepared for the ancestral plane, but even if he did...how could he have possibly expected to return to this place through his bathroom door?

"Ah, you arrived! And..wow, you really weren't prepared..." Said the voice of marx, who can be seen sitting on the ground, but max didn't notice what he was holding just yet. "Yeah? That's an understatement of the year...especially since i ended up coming here simply by opening my bathroom door!" Max replies, before looking at the dollhouse and the barn. "Right..so last time, i couldn't get in the dollhouse because it was locked...the only choice i have, is to go in the barn." Max says, assuming the key is in there. "I'm afraid you can't set foot in there....you are far from ready to venture inside. Even i can't go in there." Marx says in a tone of seriousness that max has never heard from marx before.

"What are you..." Max began to say as he turns to marx only to see that marx is recording everything that is happening right now with max's ipod. "Marx? Why do have my ipod?" Max says in serious tone that could easily be mixed with hostility. "Oh, that's what this thing is called? For something that looks old, it can record with such amazing quality, making it simply remarkable." He says with a giggle. "Give it. Back. That ipod may be old, but it holds a deep importance to me." Max says in annoyance, but has no idea that something nearby had taken notice of max and is currently just standing there like a menacing shadow.

"Hey now, relax. I'm simply using it to let you show your family where you are! But...did you remember to smell the air?" Marx asks in a unsettlingly calm manner while holding max's ipod with a gentle yet firm grip as he zooms in on what max was far from aware of. "Smell the air...hm.." Max sighs, and began to sniff the air, only to smell something...sweet.

-Max pov-

I was honestly half expecting to smell nothing at all, but...i smell something sweet. It didn't help that the ground is starting to shake...

-Marx pov-

The show has just begun! The smell of cotton candy means that candymaker has arrived...and i've never seen them so motivated before!

-Narration-

"Why does the air smell like..." Max began to say before the ground shook more violently. "Cotton candy! They're here...and to be honest...i have never seen candymaker as motivated as they are now." Marx says while max looked behind him and was in horrified shock at what he was seeing while he points his gun at it. What he saw is a 10ft tall nutcracker who wore a ringmaster outfit but did not have a huge hat on their head. Instead, they had long, white hair and a scraggly beard of the same color. They had on a pair of black boots that, even though they were massive, it seem to be a perfect size for candymaker, and as for its massive weapon? Their weapon is the very same giant lollipop that marx used earlier as candymaker's pale blue eyes glowed ominously while looking down at max while they slowly stomp their way towards max before coming to a stop.

-Max pov-

Mary mother of god...what being spawned this?! "Did you SEND him after me?!" I ask, starting to get agitated. "Send? Oh, my dear friend...i never sent them. You should also know, that candymaker has no gender, including i, but i don't want a life where i can't freely express myself, which i desire so very much! Besides, when you first came here, you are lucky that candymaker didn't attack you right then and there. Which still baffles me considering that they've never listened to me before...hm..looks like their creator, whoever or whatever they are, is interested in what's happening here. But to a certain extent? Or is it because you serve a purpose here? Not even i know the answer." Marx explained, who showed his confusion about the situation.

Creator..? Neither marx or candymaker has a gender?! What the hell...this just leaves more questions than answers! And yet...why has everyone, including myself, referred to marx as a he? I can only assume that he's somehow wanting us to see him as a being with a gender, leaving me to wonder if marx truly belonged in this place.

"How the hell am i supposed to beat this?!" I ask him while candymaker just stood there, looking at me. "I would recommend that you two not play around here. The barn and the dollhouse cannot be touched in a damaging manner. Also, candymaker has a..special key that is stuck on their weapon...take it from them, and come back here. You'll receive your first vision." Marx explained to me, not even bothering to tell me how to beat candymaker.

I don't know how marx was able to borrow that giant ass lollipop through that strap on his body, but if he won't tell me how to take candymaker down, then dammit i'll find a way! Hm..i would say they in marx's case, but it just doesn't sound right...and what did he mean by vision?

Shit..guess it's now or never...

-Narration-

For what felt like an eternity even though it was only a few seconds, max and candymaker stood there, staring each other down. "You want me? You got me!" Max says, before running at full speed towards candymaker, who swung their weapon at max, who quickly dodged it by rolling out of the way. "Let's see how loud this gets.." Max mutters, who fired his first shot, which to his surprise...it sounded like a powerful magnum had just been fired. "Woah!" He exclaimed, while the 'bullet' hits candymaker on the back of his leg which left a mark, but it hardly deterred candymaker who retaliated by trying to crush max who dodged acrobatically as the lollipop made the ground max was just standing on cave in, making the dirt fly everywhere a short distance.

"YEE-HAW!! This thing packs a punch! But so do they..." Max said excitedly at first, before looking at the very spot he was standing and immediately got serious as candymaker began to rapidly attack max, who kept dodging and firing his weapon at candymaker whenever he was able to, but to his surprise, candymaker wasn't slowing down in the slightest, or even bothered by the damage they took!

"Agh, Damn they're tough..." Max says in a frustrated and weary tone, before taking notice of a old looking key that's stuck on candymaker's huge candy-like ball part of their weapon, which, much to max's surprise, smelled like cotton candy. "Right..just need to get that key..." Max mutters, formulating a plan to get it unstuck, deciding to shoot at one of the hands that candymaker held their weapon, which actually made them drop it, giving max just a few seconds to get the key. "C'mon..c'mon...get unstuck!" He says rather frantically as candymaker balls up a fist and tries to punch max with all their might, but before they could connect, max was just barely able to get the key off and dodged their potentially fatal haymaker, but the wind coming off of the punch became more than enough to knock him down and make him grunt in pain as he laid their for a few seconds.

"GOT IT!!" Max says in relief as he got up quickly and made a dash for the dollhouse as his 10ft tall opponent simply paces back and forth, waiting for max to receive his first vision, and face them again."Now i can find out about xaczxar's history!" Max says who is now standing in front of the dollhouse itself. He was not sure of what he would find out, but he knew that he will have to likely run from candymaker and back to his home from his bathroom door.

But what he wasn't aware of, is that one of the koopalings has heard the commotion from his bedroom even it's mostly muffled...and they had just begun to wonder just what was going on.