Escape from Starr Park

Chapter 14: Dead End Mines

Team Recap! We have Edgar, Colette, Jessie, Pam, Mortis, EMZ, The Western, Mystic, Old Town, Super Hero, Retropolis, and Arcade Trios!

As the group heads over to the Gem Mines, everyone is in an unsure state, some believe this is the end of the chain of clues and are back to square one, others believe this is infact, the next area of clues. The opinions are mixed, but there's no other clues. "You think Griff found out we kinda left the shop without him knowing?" Edgar asks Colette, "I'm sure he's seen my letter."

"I'm still worried about what he'll think, we never got his validation." Edgar states to his co-worker. Colette thinks about it for a second "He'll be thanking us later! Our universe is at possible risk if everything we know is true!" Edgar stays silent to Colette's attempt to cheer him up. "We might have to rethink all of this..." Colt exclaims, "Maybe everyone should split up..."

Colt tries to come up with a strategy while walking over to the gem mines. "I'm sure with what little information the Mines have, we can come up with one with it." Shelly puts her hand on his shoulder, reassuring him. He nods, as his eyes briefly lights up with a sign of determination. Soon enough, everyone comes across the cave that leads to the entrance of the mines.

All the jewels sparkle in a way that is irresistible. "Ooh.." Jessie views all of the collected gems in awe. "Jess, you better not take any of them." Pam calls her over "Of course not, mom!" As a bit of conversation happens, 3 brawlers come out in a minecart "COMING THROUGH!" the cart reaches to stop. "Good job, little guy." "Hey, hey, hey... What in the world are people doing here?"

"Jacky... Dynamike... Carl..." Colt stutters. Jacky gives him a raised eyebrow. "Have you seen... any suspicious behavior? Anything out of the ordinary?" Shelly tries to cover up Colt's words. "No, we haven't seen anything." Carl responds "Why do you ask?" The current group try to tell the Miners the current situation, which at this point, is getting harder to explain by the time.

"Well, there's been evidence that there are real life counterparts of us brawlers whose consciousness has been used in the in-game versions of us." Shelly tries to explain the situation, scratching the back of her head. "Holy *jackhammer sounds*!! That's was VERY unexpected!" Everyone present give Jacky a stare, indirectly telling her to keep her mouth shut.

"My, my! Watch your language!" Piper exclaims. "Eh, who even cares?" Jacky responds arrogantly. "Just put all of Jacky's inappropriate words aside! We need to uncover this mystery!" Edgar starts to speak up. "Has anything unusual going on?" He proceeds to ask the 3 "How'd we know? We just mine in those caves all day!" Dynamike responds to the trio.

"I guess, we occasionally go out to do matches, but other than that, everything's going by schedule!" Carl adds to the statement. Edgar breaks a sweat, thinking the chain of clues has hit a dead end. "Have I chosen incorrectly??" Colette thinks to herself. EMZ lets out a sigh, "Girl, there was little to no clues in the first place! That doesn't count!" Edgar starts banging his head with the scarf.

"ARGH!" He bursts out in rage as he falls to the floor. "He's acting so dramatic, like it's a drama show." Byron points out. Brock chuckles for a bit because of that statement. "Byron, I didn't know you had a sense a humor." "I didn't intend to." Byron responds with a stern expression. "Edgar, get up already!" Colette tries to get him on his feet. "We'll just have to look around."

Edgar sighs, "Fine, but I'll only do it for a bit." Colette turns to the big group, gives them a nod, and then a nod to the miners. Everyone then splits up to check around the mines for clues on what to do next. "Huh? I found a can!" Crow shouts out to the rest, waving the item he has found. "Oops! That looks like mine! Sorry!" Max replies. "Oh..." Crow throws the can back at Max.

"Could you not litter next time?" Bibi speaks for Crow. "Heheh... Not guaranteed!" Max laughs it off as the other 2 from her trio give her a stare. The hunt for clues continues. "Tara... Do you coincidentally have Physic Enhancer equipped?" Sandy asks, in a monotone tone due to being sleepy. Tara mumbles when responding to Sandy. "You have Support from Beyond?" Tara nods.

"We're out of battle... Can't you just... Change it?" Sandy continues the conversation. Tara shrugs and opens her stats. For being in a virtual world, this holographic screen was never questioned or suspected in a while, but now that this theory of a real life counterpart's consciousness being used for the life in this virtual-game world, it lets out a menacing aura. Tara's eyes widen.

While changing from Support from Beyond to Physic Enhancer, Gene tries to make a statement. "Hmm? You're saying Tara still couldn't use her gadget now since she can change it?" Sandy thinks about it, then face palms. "Ooh... I haven't thought of that..." Sandy then throws some sand at Tara, she flinches as her stats close down. She is now considered to be in a battle.

"Use it now, Tara!" Sandy exclaims. Tara gets the realization and activates the gadget. She can now see the area without the disruption of the few bushes around the area for 4 seconds. Making use of said 4 seconds, she quickly looks around the area. Despite this, there is nothing out of the ordinary to be found. Lots of time passes by, every nook and cranny has been seen.

Even so, nothing has been big has been found. They all meet back together "As I said, NOTHING!" Edgar starts to complain "Eugh... I don't even know what I'm *jackhammer noises* looking for." Jacky responds to the situation. Edgar kicks around a rock in frustration, it hits 8-bit on his head with a hard impact. He falls to the ground. "System Error."

"Edgar!" Brock yells, "What was that for?!" "Oh shoot! I didn't mean to!" Edgar responds, taking a step back. "You good, man?" Brock asks 8-bit to see if he's okay. "Rebooting..." Edgar let's out a sigh of relief. As this all happens, another portion of gang reviews the old VHS tapes. "Maybe we missed something with these." Colt theorizes. Pam, Jessie, Meg and Shelly is with him.

"They're probably all different parts of one video." Pam gives her guess, "We just need to figure out the order." "The chances of us missing parts is high, too." Meg adds to the theory. "Guys! Guys!" Colette tries to round up the gang "Don't you all think we should wait out in the Gift Shop, and... I don't know... Look at the news of suspicious activity?" Colette shrugs.

Everyone looks at Colette strangely. "Okay... But I think I have a plan!" she gathers everyone into one big group, ensuring everyone could hear her clearly. "So I think we should be spread out more, maybe a few of us at the gift shop, a few of us somewhere else." "Yeah, but how will we have means of communication?" Colt asks. "Well..." Colette tries to think of an answer.

"Well, we have robot brawlers..." Max subtly suggests. "Okay, sure, Max. We'll use their communication options if they have any." After a bit of discussion, Everyone starts calling on different stations in Starr Park to stand by. The plan is for there to be one main team doing most work, everyone else will be at different stages reporting anything out of ordinary.

"Well, let's get going! Back to the Gift Shop!" Colette calls out. Out of all of the Miner Trio, only Jacky decided to join the group. As they all walk back to the Gift Shop, some brawlers drop off to the station they decide to stay on. After a while, the group has surely gotten smaller, but they reach the gift shop. "Glad it's already closing time." Edgar says, opening up the shop doors.

Everyone decides to wait until sunrise to start the adventure to figure out the mystery behind Starr Park once again.