The Infection: Book 4
Chapter 3: Swords and Screams
Gameknight couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned, his closed eyes occasionally opening before he remembered to shut them again. Finally, his mind started to slip away. Gameknight could feel his thoughts silently retreating as… he…
He was awake again. Sort of.
“Oh, come on!” He yelled into the mist, frustration coming to the surface. The walls of his bedroom were partly transparent, partly not there at all. “This isn’t sleep! It’s just another way of being… being… what’s that?”
A pulsing light was coming from an area outside his window, shifting and whispering unhearable words. Gameknight frowned and stepped out of his castle, the obsidian and cobble reforming behind him. Now he was floating, sinking very slowly to the ground. Gameknight closed his eyes and imagined a pair of gray wings strapping onto his back. A second later, he heard the whistling of wind in his ears and the rustling of the elytra trailing behind him. He glided towards the lights, right against the other side of the village wall. He could see a strange, floating screen. No, not a screen. It was the mist, taking color and bending into shapes, sounds emitting from it. He could also see another light, lighting up the ground from the opposite direction. He was almost there, straining to see who it was… of course.
Gameknight landed soundlessly on the grass, nodding his greeting to the figure watching the mists scene intently. “I was wondering when you would show up,” Sky mused seemingly to herself, eyes trained on what appeared to be a group of zombies advancing on a village. Gameknight opened his mouth to ask if anything was wrong, but before he could Sky silenced him. “Don’t worry, it’s old.” She said.
“Where were you at the meeting? I looked back and you were gone.” Sky shook her head. “Invisible. Not gone.” Gameknight felt tired of her cryptic responses. “But why?” Sky briefly glanced away from her display and looked him in the eye before turning away. “I couldn’t let the light-crafters see me. They would see her in my face.” Gameknight looked at her, puzzled. “The Oracle? But don’t they, I mean, know you?” Sky shook her head. Her face had hardened. It made Gameknight cringe. What had happened to this child? She was the most heartbroken and emotionless person he had ever met. “What would they think if they knew my other parent, even if I’m only a freak of nature? And they don’t know the other parent of the daughter of Herobrine. I made sure of it. It’s a secret they have been kept from for decades.” Gameknight felt an unsettled feeling in his stomach. “Sky?” He hesitated before his next words, the young girl as still as stone. Or was she young? “How old are you?” Sky sighed, lowering her gaze onto the ground. “I don’t really know. I stopped keeping track. I was born sometime after the Great Zombie Invasion, but I didn’t age right. I was an infant for more than fifteen years. Slowly, over time, I grew up faster, and now I progress normally, but I was young for so long… in my seventies, maybe? I can’t tell. I feel like a kid, around eleven, but I lived in that jungle for a long, long time.” She was silent. The mist was creating different shapes now, a cavern filled with spiders. But as she looked on longingly on, Gameknight saw the outline of a cobblestone temple and giant leafy trees with two figures standing before their ancient home. One was young, laughing and splashing in the river curving its way towards the splashing sea beyond. The other smiled down at her, a healthy look on her face and an unneeded cane lying on the ground beside her. Sky scowled and waved her hand through the image, and it rippled and was spiders once more. “Does that mean you’re older than…” Gameknight999 began. “Yes, I am older than Crafter. And much older than you as well. But now I age like everyone else, even though I haven’t enjoyed these last few years.”
“Why?” Gameknight asked. Sky twirled a long blade of grass around one finger. “I’m made of magic, I think. My birth wasn’t normal either. For about a month or two, my mother just felt her powers draining, and felt fatigued and weak. She thought it was just all the changes Notch had made in Minecraft after the war, but then one morning she woke up and I was a baby sleeping next to her. Do you want to see?”
“What?” Gameknight felt taken aback. More questions he couldn’t answer. “Do you want to see?” She repeated, her eyes a multitude of glowing colors. “See what?” Sky cocked her head. “What else?” She stood up and grabbed his arm, and pushed him into the swirling mist of memories.
…
He was back in the jungle. Sky was next to him. But it wasn’t the Sky he knew, not even the Void he had known. It was a young girl, her face soft and not yet hardened by the lines of war and grief. She must have only been six years old, or looked like it. She was in a small clearing, the jungle life all around her. She was staring in awe at a huge pile of stone in the middle of the remarkably bare space. The mound was surrounded by nothing but ferns, the wavy plants leaning towards the rocks as if pulled by an invisible force. In the very middle, down to its very hilt, a sword had been driven into the rock. Sky edged towards it. Her eyes were glowing brightly, her favorite magenta color spinning with the entire rainbow. She struggled up the mound and yanked on the handle. It didn’t give. She pulled harder and harder. Finally, she gave up, leaning against it and panting. After a moment she feebly grasped the hilt to pull herself up. To her surprise, the blade popped out along with her. She tilted backwards, pinwheeling her arms to stay balanced. Gameknight tried to move toward her, but found he was stuck in one place. To his relief, she caught herself and was able to jog down the hill and regain her balance. Then she took the time to stare down at the sword in her hand. Despite the fact that the blade had been in the stone for who knows how long, it looked like it had just been crafted. The edge was sharp and the handle had strong leather wrapped around it. But the strange part was that it was like no other sword in Minecraft. It’s blade was purely transparent, like glass, only as strong as diamond. It seemed to have different layers, the light from the bright jungle sun causing flashing colors to dance along its surface. Sky’s eyes went wide with amazement. The sword seemed to fit in her hand, an almost giddy aura coming off of it. Sky giggled, swishing the sword through the air. It made a keen whistling sound, and she laughed even harder. She teleported around the clearing, swinging the weapon and laughing. Suddenly, she swung it accidentally into the side of one of the jungle trees, cutting through the tough wood like the leafy leviathan was made of water. But the crystal sword slid right back out of the bark as easily as it had gone in. Sky stared at the blade with wonder.
The scene wavered and changed. Gameknight was now in front of the jungle temple, the ancient structure looking just as beautiful and mysterious as before when he had seen it. The Oracle, her gray hair flowing downward, was sitting hunched on the steps that led to the temple. Her metal capped wooden cane rested in her hands and she leaned against it. Despite this, she seemed defiant and strong. The same twinkle he had seen before was present in her eyes. “Sky!” She called out in her scratchy voice. Suddenly, Sky appeared on the cliff ledge Gameknight had stood on while he faced off the spider queen, Shakiliud. She leapt off the precipice, her long hair flying behind her. At the last minute, she disappeared, landing right next to her mother. Her bobbing wild hair once more came to a rest upon her shoulders. “Mama, mama!” She gasped. “I-found-this-sword-in-a-rock-and-tree-broke-FIXED!!!” The Oracle stared blankly at her. Sky proceeded to go into a dramatic and elaborately detailed explanation of what had happened to her. Finally running out of air, Sky collapsed into the old woman’s lap, panting. The Oracle frowned down on her. “Sky,” She scolded, “you are almost fifty-seven years old. You are too old to be telling stories like that.”
“But, Mommy, it’s true!” Sky whimpered. With that she drew the crystal sword. The Oracle stared at the blade with wide eyes. Carefully, she took it from the little grinning girl. “See? See?” Sky said eagerly. Gameknight could see the Oracle trying to hide her shock and amazement. “You do not need a sword, Sky,” She reprimanded. “You are perfectly safe here. Now, go inside. I will be holding onto this.” Sky pouted, sticking out her upper lip.
Suddenly, the image changed. Sky looked older now, and she was sitting in a small room with rock walls. She was on a magenta bed, surrounded with bookshelves and drawings pinned in item frames. She looked bored, and in her hand there was a shimmering pickaxe. She hacked at a section of wall. The stone started to crack, thin lines spreading across its surface like a spiderweb. Suddenly, the block disappeared with a pop! In its place was a floating stone block. She picked it up and replaced it. The wall instantly looked like nothing had ever happened. She broke it once more, repeating the same movement. Gameknight realized that he recognized the tool. He had found it in a chest in the temple, and it with its Silk Touch enchantment had allowed him to mine a block of cobweb. That sticky block, and in turn the pick, had saved his life.
Sky’s eyes went wide. She lifted her free hand and the torch illuminating the room went out instantly. She stuffed the pickaxe into her inventory, and through the gaps in the jungle wood door Gameknight could see the Oracle coming down the long stone hallway. Sky yanked up the covers and slipped under, her eyes closing so as to seem asleep. The door opened a moment later. The Oracle looked down on her daughter motherly. Gameknight had never seen the Oracle so happy as when she stroked a strand of hair from her daughter’s face. Sky shuffled a little, and her mom quickly closed the door so as not to wake her. Sky waited until she knew the coast was clear. Throwing back her blanket, she silently slipped onto the ground. Her eyes were no longer glowing, exposing her colorful irises. She quietly opened the door and walked out into the narrow tunnel. Gameknight followed close behind.
She passed room after room, each doorway leading to a different place. Finally, she came to what she was looking for. It appeared to be a workshop of some sort, with tools hanging from the walls and a long wooden table covered with items. One Gameknight recognized, a pale white bow with golden swirls painting its long form. The string was almost entirely invisible, with a quartz arrow already notched. It was surrounded by other strange trinkets. But in the very middle lay the crystal sword. Sky stared at it in shock. “I remember this,” She said shakily. With both hands, she scooped up the weapon gingerly. Moving both her hands, she grasped the handle. She relaxed, the sword seeming to melt into her hands. She whisked it through the air, listening to the familiar breath of wind. She smiled down at the sword. It smiled back.
The Oracle suddenly appeared in the doorway, a look of anger on her face. She tried to move forward, but it was too late. Sky’s eyes were glazed over, a brilliant magenta radiating from them that lit the sword with a bloody glow. A sort of power grew within the room, filling the air with a static buzzing. Then, BOOM!! Sky and the Oracle were thrown to the ground.
The dust settled, and Gameknight stared at the destruction. The room was gone, with charred remains of random items scattered everywhere. The only things left were Sky, still holding the undamaged sword, the Oracle, and the bow, which now rested on the ground. It seemed to sparkle in the light cast by Sky’s eyes, as if saying, “Let’s do that again!” Sky covered her mouth with her hands, a look of horror on her face. The sword fell to the ground, but before it touched stone, the scene changed.
He was back in the workshop, now rebuilt. This time the scenario was backwards. Sky peeked around the edge of a doorframe as the Oracle, with a frustrated look on her normally calm face, waved the crystal sword in the air. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Sky whimpered, but the Oracle, with a fire in her eyes, did not hear.
The scene shivered like a rock had been thrown into a still water reflection. Sky, not very much younger than she was now, stomped her foot. “I want to meet them, too!” She whined. “It’s too dangerous,” The Oracle said sternly. They were in a stone tunnel. They were at the end, and Gameknight could see the back of the Oracle’s throne in the large first room. From inside the chamber, he could hear voices. Suddenly, one rose above the others, and he froze. It was his voice.
“Go take care of the wolves,” The Oracle snapped. Sky glared at her and then whirled around, stalking down the hallway. Gameknight followed. As soon as she turned the corner, Sky gave up her proud outer shell and sprinted away. She came to a door and threw it open. The inside was like nothing Gameknight had ever seen. Trees of every color and type resided within the space, set in perfect proximity to each other with brightly colored flowers filling in the space between. Wolves howled and scampered on the lush grass growing at the bottom of the cavern. Gameknight could have sworn he saw a rabbit, the little dart of movement huddling close by the leafy ferns and grasses. Gameknight also heard moo’s, oinks, and clucks coming from the woods. A sheep, the wolves obviously being too full to give chase, was munching on some grass next to an acacia. Sky huffed and stalked through the huge created forest. Mostly it was many trees all spread around, but in some areas there were miniature biomes. In one section, frosty snow covered a frozen ground with a shard of ice reaching up into the air while in another hot sand was brightly lit from the cavern’s light. Some green cacti were visible with dead brush dotting the ground. Every tree and plant in Minecraft was on display. Gameknight could see tall mushrooms, gray speckled mycelium underneath the huge fungi. And way off in the distance, Gameknight swore he saw giant crimson and warped fungi, sitting respectfully next to each other on blocks of nylium.
Sky grumbled under her breath and stalked into a large clearing. Around the edges, spawners had been placed, but instead of giving birth to dangerous mobs they spat out cattle, swine, chickens, sheep, and such. A stream that had been placed so well through the cavern it looked like something you could easily see on the surface of the Overworld ended here, in a largish pool of water. Spawners could be seen spitting out fish, even the occasional axolotl. Gameknight watched as a small baby salmon suddenly appeared, then swam past the sea grass and glowing lichen on the bottom of the pool. It swam upstream, farther into the cavern. Lily pads merrily floated on the face of the water.
Sky slashed angrily at the pool with her hand. The mirror-like clearness of the water broke apart into violent ripples. Plopping down on the grass, Sky crossed her arms. She continued to sit angrily on the ground and every once in a while huff. Finally, the girl was starting to nod off when the sound of an opening door and a gasp came suddenly from the other end of the cavern. Sky jolted up, as did most of the wolves, their ears pricked and alert. As one, they all bolted toward the sound, and Sky suddenly teleported. Gameknight found himself back at the beginning of the room, watching as Sky watched breathlessly from in the branches of a large birch. She was staring intently at Herder, who was gaping at the huge space in front of him. Sky had obviously never seen another child her age so close, and most definitely not a boy. She watched him curiously. Herder was amazed and he walked breathlessly around the cavern. Sky followed him closely. Herder soaked up every detail of his surroundings, occasionally reaching out to brush his fingers along a tree or tail-wagging wolf. He had just reached the pond when a growl resonated behind them. Turning, Sky smirked to herself. She knew this was the pack’s alpha, and he did not do well with strangers. The wolf was huge, with upstanding fur and red eyes- its teeth were furiously bared. Slowly Herder knelt down on his knees. He held out his hand. The wolf glared at him. A long string of drool hung from his mouth. Sky had to suppress a laugh. She was getting ready to save the newcomer from an ugly battle. Herder carefully got down even lower, and bowed his head. Abruptly, the growling stopped causing Sky’s heart to skip a beat. His head safely pointed towards the ground, Herder could not suppress his smile.To Sky’s great disbelief, the alpha walked forward and sat right in front of Herder. Carefully, the lanky boy sat upright and reached out his hand to stroke the alpha’s silky fur. Petting the great wolf’s back, Herder moved slowly until he was level with the dog’s head. Slowly a change came over the large canine, and after a moment its tail, for the first time since Sky could remember, started to wag. She let out a squeak of disbelief. Miraculously, Herder was too occupied to notice.
Once more the scene changed, the worst one. Sky was still with the wolves, but now they were in the throne room, the Oracle sitting on her throne. The elderly woman looked weak and frail, her shoulders slumped as she watched her daughter desperately try to sort out the pack. She was in agony, trying to hold their home, no, their life together against the monsters outside their door. “Come on! Please!” Sky begged the alpha. The once proud dog was now lying on the ground, looking defeated. He whimpered. Sky gritted her teeth. “I know you miss the boy! Just get up!” An explosion rocked the temple- Herobrine was closing in. Sky visibly shook. “He made you soft!” She scolded the creature. The alpha lowered his eyes in shame, but did not get up. Sky knew, and so did Gameknight, that without their leader, the wolves would have little chance against the approaching tide.
A whistle resonated through the air, some awful creature calling for its brethren. It, no, he could easily come at that moment and discover his daughter. What would he do then, seeing her eyes? The Oracle felt an overwhelming sense of fear at this. She would fight until every last portion of her code had vaporized, until her enemy was destroyed in a violent haze. She took a deep breath. He wasn’t the only code crafter leader to fear. She knew what to do.
Moans filled the passage. Sky shivered and sighed, then made a motion with her hands. The wolves leaped up and ran into the passage, where the sound of battle suddenly echoed. The alpha whimpered, and then slowly got up and joined his fellow canines. Sky wrapped her arms around herself, closing her eyes and bowing her head.
“Sky,” The Oracle said. The powerful leader of the light-crafters was leaning heavily on her cane, her legs shaking. “Come.” Sky looked nervously at her mother, then stepped forward. The Oracle managed a smile and wrapped her not-so-little girl up in her arms. “I love you, Sky,” She whispered into the small figure’s hair. “Don’t worry, it will wear off soon.” Sky didn’t answer. The Oracle sadly pulled away, revealing a frozen in time girl. Gameknight could feel the panic coursing through Sky, her eyes unable to close or light up, and the vision slightly blurred as if the Sky he knew now were frightened by the memory. The Oracle laid her hands on her child’s shoulders, and Sky suddenly turned invisible. Gameknight, however, could still see the semi transparent form of a girl. The Oracle dragged her stiff daughter against the wall, positioning just right so she could see nothing but stone. “It will be alright, my love,” The Oracle promised. Gameknight felt his stomach sink. It would not be alright. The Oracle let her fingers slip from Sky’s hand for the last time, returning to stand in front of her throne with a look of defiance against her enemies. But unbeknownst to her, Sky rolled slightly, allowing her to see the whole scene.
She watched and listened as the sound of zombies being shoved away came from the opening. Her mother took a deep, courageous breath. “So, you have finally come,” The woman said boldly. Herobrine stepped into the light, and Sky saw her father for the first time. Her breath caught in her throat as she internally struggled against the magical bonds constricting her. His long jet black hair was tangled and unruly from the previous battle, just like hers, and his height and the way he held his head like he was ruler of all was just what she did. Their faces were almost identical. He kept his eyes to the ground, taking a meandering path around the XP coating the ground, but she could see his pupil-less face. Fear coursed through her veins. The Oracle began to walk toward him. What was she doing!?
“You have caused much trouble, Virus,” The Oracle said. “Was it necessary to kill all my wolves?” A look of feverish insanity crossed over Herobrine’s face. “I will destroy everything that you cherish, just out of spite,” Herobrine answered. Sky, the Oracle thought. “But you killed many of your zombies as well,” the Oracle said. “Have you no respect for any living thing?”
“These zombies are mine to command and mine to sacrifice as needed. They were happy to give their lives for me.”
“They didn’t look very happy to me,” the old woman said.
“You lack vision, old hag, and cannot see what is really important. A few hundred zombies sacrificed… who cares? Your emotions and sentiment cloud your judgment; that is why you will lose and I will win.”
“We shall see, Herobrine. But this time, Gameknight999 will be ready for you.” Like last time? Sky thought.
“Like last time?!” Herobrine shouted. “Your puny little dogs were all that kept him from being destroyed. That won’t work again. The next time I face the User-that-is-not-a-user, I will have a little surprise for him… something that even the great Oracle did not foresee.”
He came closer, and the Oracle’s fingers tightened around her cane. “Did you feel the servers change? I didn’t think so. I was ever so careful when I crafted something that seemed so harmless and unimportant that it made it past the ever-watchful gaze of the great Oracle. But this innocuous thing will shift the balance of power for good, and bring the User-that-is-not-a-user to his knees before me.” Herobrine cackled and stepped closer, drawing his sword. He was grinning. “Your time is up, and now you don’t have any of your mutts to protect you. You have been abandoned by all the NPC’s-“
They abandoned us? Sky thought.
“-and are completely alone. The Oracle is at my mercy.”
“You don’t know the meaning of the word,” the Oracle shot back. She threw her cane to the ground, where it clattered against the floor. “What are you doing?” Herobrine snapped. The Oracle’s face was broken by a huge grin, and her arms were linked across her chest.
I will protect Sky, no matter what I have to use.
She reached out for the cleverly hidden sword behind her, drawing it towards her.
Sky inwardly frowned. She knew what her mother was doing- she’d seen it hundreds of times. But what confused her was that part of the throne’s base was shivering. What was her mother doing?
At that moment, everything changed for the Oracle. For the first time, the item fought back, pulling her. She tried desperately to let go of the connection, but the sword had her in its grip. She couldn’t move. She fought with as much strength as she could muster, the Music of Minecraft swelling with her pain. Herobrine stepped forward, his sword glinting in the torchlight as it fell. And then-
Pop!
The Oracle disappeared, the sword having done its work. Sky felt her heart go numb. No. No. He did it… Herobrine… he won.
It was her father that had done it, right? What else could have done it? He was disgusting, and chaotic, and, and she would make sure he was stopped.
Herobrine was looking frantically around the room. How could it be that easy?! The torches suddenly went out. Herobrine disappeared, leaving his daughter alone in the dark. The Music of Minecraft’s strength was quickly diminishing. Then, out of the darkness above, “YOU HEAR THAT, GAMEKNIGHT999… I DESTROYED THE OLD HAG, AND NOW I’M COMING FOR YOU!” She then heard him cackle, and then she was alone.
She wouldn’t let him come back… she would die first.
She didn’t even notice as the rest of the temple bagan to burn, the tunnels melting away in a fiery wave of hate. For now, she had been blinded by sorrow and rage, the Oracles’ protection keeping her from death as her world disappeared and she was lost in furious thought. Then she realized something.
Abandoned… so this was partly Gameknight999’s fault. Well, she’d find him. She would find him, fight him, and when he was on his knees, she would make him explain to the last detail why he hadn’t stayed, or taken her mother with him. Why not? He was much of the problem, part of which she would have to fix. Eventually. The other of the two fighting men, that needed to be stopped before more lives were ruined. Why not? Wasn’t the User-that-is-not-a-user supposed to be the savior? Then why had he left? Why not?
For what he hoped was the last time, the vision changed. This time Sky was the same age, and she was on her hands and knees in a huge crater. She was sobbing into her hands as moonlight from the huge opening above lit her hair. Different moonlight. How much time had gone by? Her very soul had been snapped. It took Gameknight a moment to realize that he was in the remains of the Jungle Temple. Herobrine had leveled the ancient building before killing the Oracle out of spite. Nothing remained to show that anything had ever been here, that anything ever would. Gameknight felt an invisible tear roll down his cheek.
Sky looked up and screamed. The mournful sound shook the night, and the sounds of the jungle went silent for the first time. The pain of grief echoed for miles. It filled the leafy jungle, rocketing over the sea, bouncing off the surrounding Mesa and coming back again. All of her earlier defiance and fury had vanished. Finally, her shrill voice gave out and she gasped for air. Struggling to her feet, she scrubbed unaffectedly at her face with a piece of cloth, but more tears flooded her face. She clenched and unclenched her fists, her breath barely coming. She stared at the throne. Somehow, the majestic chair was the only thing left untouched. Sky screamed again, and kicked it. Bouncing on one foot, she hobbled away. She stared at the throne from afar for a while. Then, narrowing her eyes, she stalked towards the front of it. She felt along its front, until her hands found a small knob. It had been cleverly concealed within the throne, only to have been slightly pulled out. Sky narrowed her eyes. She managed to fit a few fingers barely around the knob and yanked. Nothing. Her fingers slipped off and she had to steady herself. She tried again, and again, until she was exhausted. Panting, she flopped over and put her hand on the knob. The knob and the rest of it slid forward immediately, and she gave a loud shriek. Sky looked down in wonder at the crystal sword, which had fallen into her lap. “I remember you,” She said softly. Then a horrible look of anger came over her face, her brow furrowing. She threw the sword onto the ground, the weapon skittering across the floor and slamming against the wall. “It’s your fault!” Sky shrieked. “She tried to fight, to save herself, and you made her disappear like- like-“ Sky snapped her fingers. “-Like that!” She laughed, a little crazily. “I’m talking to a sword… an item, what is wrong with me?” She shook her head and reached out her hand, and the sword floated up into the air. Sky clenched her fist, or tried to. Square beads of sweat dropped into her eyes, but the sword, now quivering, would not crumble like she wanted it to. Sky suddenly flashed red and yelped, retracting her hand, the sword falling once more. Gameknight wondered, with all the times it had hit the ground, how it was still in one piece. “You stabbed me!” Sky scolded. “You stabbed my hand! How did you do that?” Sky teleported over to the weapon in question, scooping it up and appearing outside of the crater. The moon hung like an ornament in the sky, the stars pure snowy Christmas lights. Sky gave a long, shuddering breath, refusing to look back at the hole behind her. Staring down at the crystal blade, her shoulders sagged. “I guess you can come along,” She said. “We’re a bit the same, with nothing better to do. I guess rotting on the bottom of the ocean isn’t much different than rotting on the jungle floor, right? Yes, the same. No one knows we exist, and no one ever will. Or care. I think… I don’t know about you. But no one knows I exist, and if they did, what would they want me for?” She sighed then, a long sorrowful sigh, and started walking toward the shore. Gameknight floated behind, watching intently. What was Sky doing?
The cool yellow sand gave way to cold surf, the ground beneath her feet silty and constantly moving. The ocean waves spread up her ankles, then her thighs, past her waist and chest until only her upward tilting face was spared from the cold unforgiving water. She stared longingly up at the blanket over the world she was named after… the last thing she would ever see. Was she shivering from the cold, or was she shaking from fear? Who could tell? Who cared? Only she did, and her interest was quickly slipping away. But if she didn’t care, why was her stomach in knots?
Sky took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes, then reopening them. She would be doing plenty of that pretty soon. Why even blink, why spoil more of this quickly fading beauty? And it was beautiful, the endless dark blue waves, the night sky that seemed to melt with the horizon, the constellations and moon light that lit her surroundings with a silver glow, the far off safety of the serene coastline that was all she knew, all she ever would know, all she ever wanted to know, or was that all she wanted? Wasn’t it just a few days ago where all she wanted was to sail away with the only person she knew, off along these same waters with nothing else but strangers, strangers that had endangered them and then saved them, and then caused her mother to die anyway? Wasn’t this what she wanted now, to get away, escape, from the insanity and grief, all that seemed to be caused by one man? Or was it two men that were the problem? Yes, two men, caught in some foolish struggle that only resulted in death? How different was this from an average argument caused by an insult or shove?
These thoughts flew through her brain, as so many things were thought of before they no longer were needed. Her hand trembled with unnoticed pain from clutching the sword so hard, the blade seeming to know what was happening. Sky looked sadly upward one last time, then took in a huge last breath. She stepped forward.
The cold was piercing, why was this so horrible? She fought the instinct to return to the surface, although she still had plenty of oxygen, her lungs furious with what was happening. And then a vibration, a muffled scream that coursed through her and caused her to accidentally break through the surface. Her ears were instantly assaulted. “Help! Help me! Anybgguuubb.” Sky caught sight of a flailing figure that couldn’t have been farther from swimming to safety. Salt partially blinding her, she struggled back toward the person. “Ouch!” Yelled the bony, skinny ‘swimmer’, Sky having poked them in the ribs with the sword. Ignoring the protests, Sky sheathed her blade and thrashed forward toward the land. The current had taken her farther than she had realized. Somehow, they ended up on the beach. Sky collapsed, every muscle complaining that the whole reason she tried to commit suicide was so they didn’t have to do that anymore. Sky argued back, snapping that that was completely backwards. Her companion, although you had to give credit for almost drowning, was gasping way too much for someone who hadn’t had to do anything. Sky, regaining her breath, whipped around to face them. “What were you doing? You could have been killed! You’re just lucky AHHHH!” She scrambled back, making sure to give the offending skeleton a good kick in the skull as she did so. “Hey!” They yelled. “You should be thanking me! I went out there to save you!” Sky growled, her sword once again in her hand. “You accomplished that well! And- and you’re a monster! You were probably trying to drown me!” The skeleton, obviously a boy, rolled over to stare at her annoyingly. “Why would I try to kill someone killing themself?” He snapped. “I’m not a zombie!”
They glared at each other for a long minute. Sky broke the silence. “Listen,” She said slowly. “You’re a skeleton, and I’m… not.” The skeleton snorted. “That means I have to kill you,” Sky snapped. He narrowed his eye sockets at her. “Fine. Then do it.” Sky felt herself grow angrier. “I mean it!” She growled, pointing her sword at him, now on her feet. “Then do it.” He challenged. “I will.” “Fine.” “Fine!” “Suit yourself.” “You know what, I will!” “Go.” “I’m going to do it.” “Start.” “I’m doing it! I’m killing you.” “Begin. Go ahead. Commence. Get going. Hurry!” “Shut up!”
Sky hissed and clenched her fists. “I’m not even going to bother. Obviously I can’t do anything while you are here, so I’m leaving. She spun around, kicking as much sand as possible into his eyes, and stalked off.
She had barely gotten ten blocks before the skeleton frantically called, “Wait!” She groaned and turned to see him, looking very sheepish, staring back at her. “Can I go with you?” Sky smacked her forehead with her palm. “Why don’t you clatter back to your skeleton town?” The skeleton, obviously smarting over the clattering comment, held up his head and exclaimed, “I got bored of that old place.” He then squirmed nervously as Sky stared hard at his small, puny body. It was as if she was somehow searching his very core. He felt very uncomfortable and surprisingly embarrassed. “They kicked you out,” She stated. Then she turned around. “Hurry up. Where do you need to go?” The skeleton hurried to his feet, jogging to catch up. To his dismay, he sounded like a bag of sticks getting thrown around. “No where,” he panted. “I guess… I just want to, you know, see stuff.” Sky didn’t respond, but Gameknight could sense her thinking ‘I do too… maybe.’
She remained silent.
“My name is Rakier,” The skeleton offered. “I do not care,” She answered curtly. “We will travel out of the jungle together for one night, and only one night. Then we will go our separate ways, and you will let me do whatever I wish without interruption.” Rakier nodded so hard his head wobbled. Straightening it, he followed obediently. “Why don’t you just do that fast appeary-thingy?” Sky yelped and faced the startled mob. “Were you watching me?!?!” All Rakier could do was shrug.
“What’s your name?” He asked after a moment. Sky growled. “No.” He smiled. “Pleased to meet you, and don’t try to stop me. I’ll get it out of you.”
They walked into the jungle. But then something tugged at Sky, and she reappeared in the Temple ruins. Running through the collapsing tunnel, she ran into a room. Just as she had thought, the bow lay undisturbed on the ground, the arrow still notched. Hello, daughter of power, it whispered in her mind brightly. She picked it up, an involuntary shiver of excitement running up her spine. Something about this bow called her, just as powerful as the crystal sword if not more, but a different kind of power. Yet another thing she wanted to figure out. She reappeared one last time in the huge charred chamber, looking at the throne once more. Sighing, a single tear fell from her eye and splashed on the ground. She disappeared from the crater, leaving her life once more behind. But in the moonlight, Gameknight saw something the girl had missed and saw now for the first time. A single magenta flower sprouted upward in the moonlight where the tear had fallen, shimmering slightly.
Gameknight felt a wave of familiar heat- he had entered the Nether.
He found himself next to Sky and Rakier in a small cave in the netherrack, only big enough to house both of them somewhat comfortably. A set of stairs had been carved into the cliff it was in, and a 3 by 2 window had been carved so Sky could see the lava ocean beyond. Sky was staring intently down at something- a battle. A small group of people were surrounded by a huge group of monsters. Two lone figures were down by the shore. “Why do we care so much about this?” Rakier asked from his lazy position on the ground. His small body was stretched upon a simple blanket, beds not being a good idea in the Nether. “What’s so different about this battle than all the hundreds of others we’ve seen between the User-that-is-not-a-user and your dad?” Sky didn’t answer. “No way,” She muttered. “Him? What on earth is that kid doing with the ender chest? He’s going to drop it! He’s- and there he goes. Gee, that XP in the lava is going to be a problem later on.” Rakier shot up. “What?” He yelled. “Keep it down!” Sky snapped as Rakier scurried to her side, almost falling out the empty window. Together they watched the battle, sweat dripping from Sky’s forehead and Rakier’s bones turning slightly pink. Halfway through, Rakier casually asked, “Hey, Girl, so what’s your name?” Gameknight realized with a jolt that Rakier still did not know her name. Sky chuckled. “Nice try, Rakier. You do realize you’ve already asked today, or is that your master plan?”
Finally it came to the showdown between the infected Herder and Gameknight999. “Sky, the User-that-is-not-a-user isn’t going to let your dad through the Gateway, is he?” Sky didn’t answer, focused intently on the scene unfolding beneath their prying eyes. Soon Rakier was whimpering- Herobrine had Gameknight pinned only a few blocks from the molten stone stretching along beside them. Herobrine moved his mouth, an eerie, evil, satisfied grin on his blocky face. Past Gameknight looked sorrowful and defeated, the far off shine of tears streaming down his cheeks. Present Gameknight had a sneaking suspicion that Sky could hear every word being spoken.
Herobrine was still talking, and then Past Gameknight sighed longingly, or seemed to. His eyes strayed to his friends, no, his family, Sky realized with a painful tug on her insides. Then he nodded and a moment later they both disappeared in a large column of light. Rakier completely collapsed. “What do we do?” He moaned to the girl standing quite still above him. “Girl, what do we do?” Sky was smiling so hard she looked like her face would crack. Gameknight could sense that this was the happiest she had been since her mother died. “He did it,” She whispered. “He did it… Gameknight did it… he did it!” Her eyes spun with so many colors that if Gameknight had his eyes he would have been blinded. “He did it! HE DID IT! He’s gone! Herobrine is really gone! My dad is gone! I’m finally an orphan! I’m free, Rakier, I’m really free! Don’t you see? He’s trapped! I-“
At that moment Sky fainted, hitting the ground hard. “Girl?” Rakier gasped. “Girl!” He dropped to his knees, trying and failing to scoop her up in his tiny arms. “Wake up! Girl! Come on!” Gameknight watched helplessly as the minutes ticked by- five, fifteen, thirty, thirty-five. Finally Sky jerked upward out of Rakier’s lap, gasping like she hadn’t breathed in all that time. “Girl!” Rakier cried with relief. “Are you okay?”
Sky looked at him. All of her previous joy had vanished. “Rakier,” She said. The skeleton stiffened. And he had a good reason, too. Sky had never sounded so serious in her life. “Come on. We need to get back to the Overworld.” Rakier stared at her. “What- what- why?” Sky glared at him, for the first time since they truly became friends. “We need to start forming an army. I need your help to collect monsters. Of course, we won’t attack right away. But we need to get started.” She headed for the door. “But- but what are we attacking?” He protested. Sky didn’t even turn her head. “Why, the villagers, of course.” Rakier stared at her, his jaw slightly ajar. Sky didn’t let him even start. “Rakier, don’t you feel anything against them?” She asked forcefully, spinning around. “You’re a monster, for Notches sake, and after all that’s happened to your family, not to mention you, don’t you want revenge?”
Rakier stared at her, his mouth moving up and down without a sound. She sighed. “Rakier,” She began slowly. “Do you still want to know my name?” “Ugh,” He stuttered. “I, um, yeah?” Sky, her face as cold as stone, beckoned him closer. As soon as he was in reach, she shot out her arm and clamped firmly onto his wrist. Rakier yelped like he had been stung by a bee. Slowly, and then gaining speed, his many bones began to swell. He kept trying to tug away, whining like a frightened puppy the entire time, but Sky’s eyes were closed and her motionless face emitted concentration. Soon he became taller than her, until he dwarfed the young girl and had to stoop as his hand would not budge. Suddenly she let go, and stared up at her giant friend that now resembled the Rakier Gameknight knew. Sky’s face was as smooth and emotionless as the ocean on the night she tried to die, but her swirling eyes gave away the anger bubbling beneath. She stared up at him, back straight, fierceness and strength coursing through her. “My name is Void, daughter of Herobrine,” She said boldly.
Then Void leapt out the door and off of the cliff.
Gameknight emerged from the images, the mist once again white and drifting uncontrolled. “Oh my gosh,” He gasped at Sky, who was standing motionless, and just like before only her eyes showed her emotions. “That was-“ Sky snapped her hand up into the air, her eyes elsewhere. Her head quickly turned towards the forest, Gameknight following suit. What he saw terrified him. A lone figure was surrounded by strange humanoid creatures with glowing white eyes, the glint of flashing swords apparent. “GO!” Sky screamed, disappearing in an instant. A horrible scream cut through the air, coming from the trapped person in the woods, no, from the castle, but which, who, what…
He burst into reality once more, his heart pounding as his bedsheets were thrown back. Suddenly, the scream sounded again, even louder. It was if the dreamer was truly in the castle… which meant the creature was near. Gameknight felt his heart, now in his throat, skip one horrible beat. The sound was coming from Wonder’s room.
Gameknight leapt out of bed. Skidding down the hallway, he threw open the door.
Hey everybody! Thank you SO SO much for reading my first post since September! If you have no clue who I am, go back a while on the website and look for WonderWriter2000 because last summer I posted all of my newest finished book and the ones before it. As I recently commented, life blew up in my face and I could not find writing time (I still blame the FFA, needy sheep, and homework) except for my school breaks and a few days ago. I did write a lot in those times, though, and that is why I am also posting chapter 4 at the same time because the chapter got so lengthy that it was longer than the rest of the book I had already written. That was before I even got to what you will read next. The part that took so long was actually this chapter section! Who knew? Again, sorry! That was my bad!
Tell me what you think of the suicide part, because I felt pretty proud of myself on that. It sounded really good. Also, I remember quite clearly a certain chapter I posted of my second book, Daughter of the Demon. In the comments, everyone started screaming about how badly they wanted Void/Sky to die. Now that you know 1. Her reasons behind what she did, which was mind control. 2. That she now is helping them. 3. That her mother is literally the ORACLE, the most amazing character in the series with Crafter in a close second, and 4. Her backstory (finally) and how she got to where she was. Do you still want to kill her? I think not.
Also, please give good feedback on the section where ‘Herobrine’ killed the Oracle because that was sort of hard. I took it from the actual book, Last Stand on the Ocean Shore in case anyone is wondering, and it is the same except of course for the obvious thoughts and details and the fact that I switched around some of the words.
What do you think happens to Wonder? Keep reading to find out!
Thanks for reading and watch out for Drowned’s! (Those things drive me insane)