Chapter 8   

Wonderbrine

   Cold water rippled through Gameknight999’s clothes as he shoved himself deeper into the depths of the ocean. His friends trailed behind him, looking around with awe at the beautiful world underneath the waves and kicking with their invisible legs. Turning, he could just see the scowling form of his sister Monet113 blur until she was gone, angrily standing guard on the beach. They were headed to the bottom of the ocean, where they knew (hoped) they would find the ancient enderman prison called Aquaspear. And if it was as evil as it sounded, Gameknight was shocked that something so awful could exist in such an amazing place

     The ocean floor beneath the group looked like a pale yellow cake topped with thousands of frosting creations. To their right, a crevasse gouged into the earth. Bubbles poured from the mouth of the ravine, caused by the magma blocks on the bottom. Gameknight was tempted to go check for diamonds, but he knew they had more important matters at hand. Surrounding the crevasse was a kelp forest, the wavy plants thriving in the warm water. A pod of clicking and whistling dolphins played in the fronds, spinning around and nipping at a school of cod. Right below them, a coral reef glowed. The hundreds of colorful shapes twisted like rainbow trees. Sea pickles grew everywhere and gave off a warm light. Tropical fish swirled around them and sea turtles seemed to soar through the water like birds. Off to their right, a sunken ship nestled on the ocean floor. The huge vessel was half covered with sand and seaweed clung to the sides. It was the most lively place Gameknight had ever seen, the reef stretching for miles. But Erebus shivered ahead of him. “We’re getting closer,” He whispered. 

     Above them, the surface rippled and beams of sunlight fell around them. The whole place felt unreal, almost immortal. Gameknight half expected to suddenly see the kingdom of the mermaids or Poseidon’s palace appear out of the blue before them. But Erebus was right; they weren’t going to be that lucky. 

    He felt it before he saw it. The ocean around them seemed to get darker, and the animals around them seemed less playful and more tense, as if they could hear a fishing boat or some other threat approaching. The coral seemed to be twisting into pained, tortured figures. And the strange plants in front of them suddenly got a whole lot denser and much taller. It was like that for many blocks, he could tell. It wasn’t a coral reef. It was a coral wall. “It’s here,” Gameknight whispered to the others. He could feel someone nod next to him. “I feel it too,” Digger murmured. Wonder, not invisible, moved up next to Erebus. “You remember what to do?” She asked him. “I don’t feel so good,” He peeped. “What if I get stuck there? What if the guards figure it out? What if-“ “Don’t think about the what-ifs,” Gameknight told him. “If there’s anything I’ve learned from Minecraft, it’s that.” Erebus moaned. “That’s exactly what I need,” He grumbled. “Gameknight999 giving me advice.” Gameknight glared at him, even though he knew the monster couldn’t see it. “Should we turn back?” 

  Wonder sighed. “You two have serious issues.” She said. “He killed me!” Erebus snapped, pointing at his rival. “He tried to kill me and everyone we care about!” Gameknight retorted. “But I didn’t do it,” Erebus whined. “Enough!” Hunter growled, her bow seemingly floating in midair. “Stop complaining and get on with it!” They both went quiet, simmering in anger. “Thank you,” Wonder said. She took a coil of rope out of her inventory and tied it securely around Erebus. Now unable to move his arms from his sides, he kicked hard to stay afloat. “Let’s hope the guards aren’t in a bad mood today,” The enderman said nervously. “Wait,” Hunter said sharply. “What guards?” Erebus stared at them. “Um, it’s a prison.” He explained slowly. “So there are guards. I assumed you would have already realized that.” Gameknight huffed. “Great. Another thing to add to our plates.”

      “But we knew someone would be there,” Wonder added. “Isn’t that why I’m not invisible and you are?” Gameknight nodded. “But I thought it would only be one, or you would have to answer some kind of code or riddle. I mean, who would want to live down here? Who could live down here?” He turned back to Erebus. “Do you know what they look like?” Erebus shook his head. “No. Back home in the End, no one talks about Aquaspear. A lot of endermen think it’s a curse to mention it. But there are stories, stories about horrible guards protecting Aquaspear from intruders and that even take out prisoners and then kill them to make room for others.” Gameknight thought for a minute. “Hey,” Digger suddenly spoke. “Have you guys noticed anything weird?” They all tried to look at him. “What is it?” Hunter asked. “We can talk. Usually water breathing doesn’t let you do that,” He pointed out. “Your right!” Gameknight said. “Good work Digger! I bet this place is enchanted for people to get to Aquaspear. We’re definitely in the right place.”

   He kicked up towards the top of the coral wall. “On three,” He said. Erebus whimpered. “One, two, three!” He shot up over the wall, and so did the others (except for Wonder and Erebus, who stayed hidden and carefully peeked from cracks in the coral wall). The sight that met him was something he knew he would have nightmares about for the rest of his life. 

The coral wall made a huge circle around a large clearing. In the very middle, a rectangular black building sat on the pale sand. It was made out of black stained glass, with heavy iron doors guarding the entrance. For at least thirty blocks in every direction there was nothing but whitish sand. No kelp, no coral, no fish, not even seaweed. But that wasn’t what truly scared him. What really scared him was the guards. They were Drowned’s, the aquatic version of zombies. They had blue sagging flesh and brown tattered clothing. Algae grew on their heads like hair and their eyes and mouth glowed bright blue as well. But these drowned’s didn’t look like normal ones. At least ten of them were swimming around, and they each had dozens of scars from head to toe. They looked strong enough to crack a stone block with their fists in one blow. They all had tridents, each glowing with enchantments. These creatures rode around on dolphins, the marine mammals huge and also marked with scars. Their eyes burned red with hatred. About seven of their cousins swam through the clearing riderless, searching for something to destroy. Even as they watched, a sea turtle floated into the clearing lazily flapping its fins. In an instant, the dolphins were upon it. The turtle flashed red over and over, a look of fear and confusion on its face. One of the Drowned’s cocked back its arm and threw its trident. The barbed projectile struck the turtle, killing it. The weapon shivered in the water for a moment, then sped back to its owner. The Drowned’s all let out guttural laughs, the deep vile sounds echoing like some kind of horrible song. The dolphins clicked in evil excitement. The aquatic monster that was guilty of the detestable deed gave an over dramatic bow. Gameknight almost threw up, the sight making him sick. Erebus moaned out loud. The Drowned’s went silent. 

    “What was that?” One of them growled. Gameknight almost hit the enderman. He would have, to, if he had not caught himself. The last thing they needed was more attention. The Drowned glared up at the spot where they were all clustered around the coral wall. “I heard something,” He moaned. “I’m going to go check it out.” 

    So they can say things like I and we, Gameknight thought. Huh. They’re not as zombie-ish as I thought. Then he realized what the Drowned had been talking about. A rising sense of panic rose up inside of him as the undead creature steadily moved closer. There was no point in trying to get away, the mob would feel the movement in the water. The plan was to wait a while before sending in Wonder, so they could double check for traps. He didn’t want her to pop up and possibly blow their cover. They were trapped and there was only one way out of this mess… fight. He curled his fingers around the hilt of his sword, but didn’t take it out. Yet. 

   The Drowned swam steadily towards them, a determined look on his face. Ten blocks… eight blocks… five blocks… three blocks… the beast’s glowing face was so close Gameknight could smell his fishy breath, something that also wasn’t possible in normal ocean waters. The User-that-is-not-a-user closed his eyes, ready for the claws about to tear into his flesh. 

    “Riptide!” The other Drowned, the one that killed the turtle, suddenly boomed. “Get back here! What you’re doing is useless, it isn’t possible for anyone to be there! The last visitor we had came here years ago! You’re dumber than a cod if you believe you’ll find anything there!” Riptide grunted and turned towards his comrade. “And why should I listen to someone of your stupidity, Angler?” He challenged. Angler gave off a wail of anger. Both got ready with their tridents. Riptide kicked back down towards the prison to brawl with the opposing monster and Gameknight finally let out his breath. 

     Another Drowned who Angler and Riptide addressed as Eel broke the furious two up before things got ugly. From then on, the team of NPCs were able to safely examine Aquaspear as the agitated monsters simmered. Finally, Gameknight declared it safe. Now the hard part came into play.

        Gameknight counted once more down from three. “Ok…” He whispered. “NOW!” Wonder gripped Erebus’s rope harder and swam up over the coral wall. Every one of the Drowned’s went silent. The other User-that-is-not-a-user swam cooly down towards the stunned ocean inhabitants, tugging a shaking Erebus behind her. “I’d like to make a deposit,” She said satisfactorily. The monsters stared. Then one of them pushed through the crowd and glared at her. This Drowned, instead of holding a barbed trident, showed off an enchanted fishing pole. The normally harmless looking object seemed to be made of hatred and violence towards all living things. It could easily take a life. And its master was just as terrifying. He was covered in hundreds of black and red scars, a gruesome look on his face. He wore a scratched but menacing turtle shell on his head like a helmet. By his side floated a huge dolphin, the underwater mammal just as scary as the owner. Gameknight knew this was the leader. Now the beast was looking coldly at Gameknight’s friend. “I am Undertow,” The beast moaned. “The commander of the Aquaspear Guards. And NPCs are not welcome here.” Slowly, all the other Drowned’s began to laugh, malicious glee filling their faces as they pointed at Wonder. She just smiled. “I’m not your normal NPC,” She interrupted. Undertow shook his head. “We have no care for the Users-that-are-not-users either,” He growled. “In fact, it is safe to say we despise them more. Now leave, before I have my companions use you as target practice.” The other guards wailed in excitement, looking hungrily at the woman. Her smile slowly morphed, the grin turning almost manical. And something else happened as well. Her eyes began to glow, becoming a bright white. Gameknight watched in horror as Wonder became- became-

     “Herobrine?” Undertow asked, astonished. “I get around,” He said smugly. “This one needs to be taught a lesson. I’m thinking the rest of eternity trapped across from his little friend.” Undertow nodded. “Understood,” He rumbled. “You may pass.” Wonder/Herobrine swam for the entrance, but apparently Erebus wasn’t going without a fight. “NO!” He screeched. “I WON’T DO IT! I’LL NEVER GO!” The virus yanked at his bonds. “Come on, you pathetic thing,” She growled. With one hand she held open the door and with the other she yanked. Eel came forward. “Need help?” He offered. She glared at him. “Yes,” She huffed. Eel shoved Erebus forward, and he sank slowly downward and got dragged along, still moaning. Herobrine turned to face Gameknight. “Come along, Gameknight999,” He mouthed. Gameknight swallowed. “Let’s go,” He whispered to Hunter and Digger. “But-“ Hunter objected. “It’s time to end this,” Gameknight murmured. So the trio snuck past the guards and into Aquaspear through the still open door. A moment later, Erebus was thrown into the dark building, the sudden presence of air causing him to hit the ground hard. Then the door slammed shut, locking them all inside. And it was just in time. Almost as soon as it happened the invisibility potion wore off and Gameknight, Hunter, Digger, and Monet became visible. Wait. “MONET!” Gameknight screamed. She was panting. “I have to tell you something,” She gasped. “YOU!” Hunter interrupted, pointing her bow at Herobrine. The Wonder imposter grinned. “That was fun!” Digger glared at her/him. “It was you the whole time, wasn’t it?” He challenged. “That’s how you got inside the village so easily! It was an inside job.” The virus looked a little confused. “What are you talking about?” 

    “Oh, stop trying to hide it!” Hunter nearly shouted. “This is a trap! Your monsters are probably about to ambush us!” Gameknight was still focused on his sister. “I can’t believe you went against me like that! I asked, I pleaded, I begged, and you still don’t listen. I’m so disappointed.” Monet looked stricken. “But you said to come if I saw-“

    Her brother had turned away. Instead he stared at the person he had thought was his friend, the person he was sure had been his friend, and drew his sword. “We both know how this is going to end,” He growled. “But… all the guards are outside,” Herobrine pointed out. “Exactly!” Gameknight’s heart was pounding in his ears. How long had it been like that? How long had he talked and laughed and told everything to his enemy? He thought about the night of the explosion. Had that all been a lie? 

    The virus regarded him in confusion. “What do you mean- HEY!” Gameknight swung his diamond blade, hoping to surprise his rival. The sword went faster, whizzing through the air. Right before it found enemy flesh, Monet leapt in front of Wonder/Herobrine. “STOP!” She screamed. Gameknight had no idea he could move so fast. He spun like a top, slamming into the wall. His sister gave him a glare laser worthy. “This isn’t the real Herobrine because the REAL Herobrine is on his way RIGHT NOW. THIS is what I wanted to tell you!” 

    There was a moment of confused silence. Then Wonder, who had also plastered herself to the wall, dropped her arms. “Wait, you thought that I was Herobrine?” She gave a nervous laugh. “I get that you’re stressed, but how could you forget about that? I mean, it’s so, so out there.” 

 “Forget about what?” Gameknight snapped angrily. “What do you expect me to do? Ignore the fact that your eyes look like flashlights? And how?” Hunter nodded. “Yeah, how do you pull off a stunt like that, huh?” Wonder raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean? It was all in the note I told you to give to Harvester. Didn’t you read it? When you didn’t say anything I thought it meant you were ok with it. It was another potion from the website, a Herobrine potion. I knew they weren’t going to just let us in so I thought ahead.” 

 “Why did you expect me to read something you told me to give to someone else?” Gameknight questioned. Wonder crossed her arms. “Because that’s, like a total Gameknight999 move!” Digger laughed. “Yep,” The big NPC chuckled. Gameknight sighed and shook his head. “Can you get rid of the ‘Herobrine potion’?” He asked. She gave him a huge toothy grin. “Duh,” She pulled a bucket of milk from her inventory and gulped down the creamy liquid. “I thought it was a good idea,” She retorted after swallowing. Her eyes slowly faded to their normal violet color.

    Ignoring his proud friend, the (original) User-that-is-not-a-user turned back towards his sister. She was still looking triumphantly up at him, salt water dripping from the ends of her blue hair. “Why did you follow us?” Gameknight asked again. “I was standing watch, like you told me,” She began. “When all of the sudden I saw somebody from over the hill. So I looked closer, when I realized the person had suddenly gotten way closer. So I looked closer, and saw it was a girl. I thought maybe there was a village nearby and they were just out hunting or something, when suddenly their eyes lit up SUPER bright. So I ran off and swam after you guys and got there right as Wonder made her eyes light up. So I followed you guys and here I am.” Gameknight felt his mouth go dry. The familiar feeling of fear started to pulse through him side by side with his frozen blood. This was exactly what he had been scared about. Not now. Please not now. Turning quickly back to the other four people in the group, he uttered, “What do we do…” The words died in his throat. Erebus was still on the floor, his purple eyes huge. He rocked back and forth, practically weeping with terror. “A-A-Aquaspear,” He stuttered. The entire group fell silent as they noticed their surroundings for the first time, the King of the Enderman’s murmuring the only sound. 

    The place around them was so quiet the heavy silence seemed to moan. The six intruders were in a four block wide hall, the walls around them full of cells. The black glass was replaced every one block by three block wide panels of clear glass. Next to each panel was an oak sign, the brown wood seeming out of place and too natural for this demonic place. The whole place was dimly lit from the small amount of light from the outside and sea lanterns placed in the corners. The whole place had an aura of fear and hopelessness. Something about the dark building made Gameknight want to sit down and give up, just stay there forever. Aquaspear was nothing but torture and despair. He could see why the endermen were so terrified of it. Slowly, the group all moved towards the first panel without having to communicate. What they all saw made the once brave group shudder. There was a square moat full of water inside, three blocks in each direction. In the very middle was a tiny one block island of stone. On it stood an enderman, his face sad and miserable and seemingly exhausted. When he saw Erebus, his sleepiness drew away for an instant and he gave a small start. Then he saw the enderman kings bonds and gave him a sad look, obviously assuming he, too, was to spend eternity with this punishment. 

     “This is awful,” Wonder whispered, the silence seeming to swallow her voice. Erebus nodded sadly. “They never die,” He murmured. “They can’t jump into the water and end their lives, all it results in is pain. They are never hungry. They are never thirsty.” 

 “What about… getting tired?” Digger asked, his deep voice unusually low. Erebus sighed. “That’s the worst part,” He screeched in his high way. “They do get tired. But they have to stand forever. But if they fall asleep anyway…” The enderman in the cell had slumped against the wall behind him. His eyes closed slowly, fluttering up and down, and then they were shut. The water reached up, shooting like a missile and shoving the dark lanky creature. The poor prisoner flashed red and he stumbled forward, hitting hard into the clear glass. He looked longingly out at them, as if wanting to breath free air just once more, to be free himself. The enderman screeched in anger and sorrow, the noise muffled by the glass. Erebus shook with fear. “Get these things off of me,” He moaned, struggling suddenly in his bonds. Absentmindedly, Wonder sliced through Erebus’s ropes. Gameknight moved to the sign. It gave the enderman’s name, why he was there, and who had ‘deposited’ him.

Skotadi

Helped a villager child being attacked by a zombie

Deposited by Thymos (enderman)

“All this… for helping a villager?” Gameknight exclaimed, shocked. Erebus nodded. “That’s why the guards aren’t used to NPCs coming here.” Hunter sighed, upset over the unfairly treated mob. “Come on, Gameknight.” But the User-that-is-not-a-user stayed rooted next to the sign, even as his friends (and enemy) moved away. His mind whirled, the threat of Herobrine lurking at the recesses of his thoughts. He had always thought of the endermen, the monsters, as the bad guys. Either that or dangerous allies. But here was living proof that one of those ‘bad guys’ had gone out of their way to save a life, despite the punishment. And now he was here, paying the ultimate price. “No,” He said. His friends turned back to look at him, confused expressions on their flat blocky faces. “Gameknight, let’s go,” Digger pushed. “No.” Gameknight repeated. “NO! I refuse to let this happen. I REFUSE!” He pulled out his pick and started hammering away at the glass imprisoning Skotadi. With three quick blows, the first block shattered. He continued until two more blocks were gone. “Gameknight, what are you doing?” Monet cried. Skotadi looked blown away, and then with shaking legs he stepped out of his cell. Although none of them knew it, he had been in there for over thirty years. He gasped, then gave a scream of joy that made them all cover their ears and shocked the other inhabitants of Aquaspear out of their daze. “Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!” He screeched, actually hugging Gameknight. “I’m freeee!” Hunter stared at Gameknight for a moment, then a wide grin spread across her face. “What are you waiting for?” She asked playfully. “Let’s save some endermen!” 

     For the next half hour, the group of now seven occupants traveled through Aquaspear, reading signs and releasing endermen and their numbers steadily grew. Nearly all the cells were emptied, although every once in a while they would come across a creature a little too evil for their liking and would quickly walk away. Erebus steadily became more and more agitated as they traveled from floor to floor, until Gameknight and Wonder were running ahead to catch him as he teleported from floor to floor. They yelled at him to slow down, but their words bounced right off him. Finally, he could hold it in no longer. “EMMA!” He screeched, peering into each cell. Gameknight and Wonder both stopped and looked at each other. “Emma?” They  exclaimed in unison. They had to follow Erebus up to the next floor, climbing up the ladder at the end of the long room. The enderman swiveled his head back and forth, and suddenly he saw a cell that made his dark purple blood run cold. What was obviously a girl enderman was standing on her island, her head down and her eyes closed but apparently not sleeping. Erebus practically threw himself onto the panel. “BREAK THE GLASS!” He screeched. The monster inside looked up sharply and her mouth fell open into an O. Gameknight smashed the blocks with his pickaxe, then had to grab Erebus as he almost fell face first into the small moat in his attempts to grab ‘Emma’. He was successful and instantly wrapped his arms around her, squeezing so hard she gasped. “Erebus?” She asked weakly, leaning against him for support. “I’m sorry it took so long, I couldn’t get back, I’m so sorry…” He apologized. Gameknight just stood there dumbly as they both started talking excitedly. “Wait,” He snapped. “Does this mean I came all this way to help Erebus, of ALL the monster kings, get his girlfriend back?” 

    “I guess so,” Wonder said, seemingly just as confused as he was. She pointed at Emma’s sign. “What does it say?” Gameknight walked closer and read it out loud. 

Emma

TO MAKE EREBUS SUFFER!!!!

Herobrine

Gameknight groaned. “Well that makes me feel ridiculous,” He griped. WonderWriter shrugged. “At least now we have the endermen on our side,” She pointed out. “Um… I think.” Gameknight stalked off in a huff. The duo worked on freeing the rest of the endermen from their cages, soon moving up two more levels. Finally, they came to the last ladder. Gameknight climbed up the wooden rungs, but to his surprise an iron trapdoor blocked the way. He peered out the glass wall and nearly fell to the ground. 

   He had no idea about how high the prison was. They must have been somewhere on the twelfth level, and each floor was around four blocks high, so… 

The Drowned’s below were the size of ants, their dolphins flies buzzing around. He shivered. He scanned the area for Herobrine, but saw no sign of the virus. He wasn’t here… yet. “Well?” Wonder prompted, staring up at him with a smile on her blocky face. “Are we going up or what?” He snapped back to reality. “Ah… yes. But there’s a trapdoor.” She nodded slowly. “Yes. And there’s the way to open the trapdoor.” She said sarcastically, pointing at an oak button next to his head. “I know, but what if it’s there for a reason?” He stammered. “Of course the buttons there for a reason, now move!” She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him off, then clambered up herself. “I meant the…” He began. But she had already moved on and out of sight. So he followed her, barely snatching his leg away before the trapdoor slammed shut. He stood up and his stomach sank to the bottom of his body and then fell down to somewhere near the bedrock level. 

    He knew why there was a trapdoor. It was a warning. 

This was where they kept the bad prisoners. 

They were on the highest level, he could see that. And the panels of glass on the cells looked normal enough. But what was inside them? That was not. 

    They both stepped towards the first panel. The beast inside glared at them with a look of hate and loathing Herobrine would be impressed with. Then the enderman looked above their heads, at the usernames and missing server threads. A look of insane rage came over his face and he threw himself against the panel, beating on the glass with his dark fists. Gameknight and Wonder both leapt backwards, the ferocity of the attack numbing them with fear. The enderman was covered with scars, one of them over his left eye. Because of this, the eyelid was permanently closed and a bright pink. Inching closer, Gameknight could read the words on the sign. 

Parafron

Killed the occupants of a entire village in their sleep

The Fifteen Crafters

Gameknight gulped. “Let’s not let this one out,” He suggested feebly. “Sounds good,” Wonder gasped. Gameknight let his eyes drift downward and suddenly saw something odd. “What’s that?” He asked, pointing to the water surrounding Parafron. The liquid had an odd green color, something that definitely was not there to make the cell more inviting. Curls of green colored smoke drifted off the surface of the water. Wonder chewed on a lock of her auburn red hair. “I think it’s poison,” She said. “Feels like it,” Gameknight agreed.

   Parafron had stopped clawing at his prison wall and instead stared out at them with a look of loathing. They moved on. The next three cells were also poison. At first Gameknight didn’t see the point in this, but then a monster named Serilda made the mistake of leaning against the panel for too long. The poisoned water smashed into her and she let out an agonized scream. Wonder’s face went pale. “Let her out, let her out, let her out!” She begged. Gameknight smashed as quickly as he could into the glass. Serilda stumbled out. “Go down stairs. You’ll find the rest of the freed endermen with our friends the NPCs.” He told her, his voice shaky. Serilda smiled at him, then bolted out the trapdoor. The User-that-is-not-a-user double checked to make sure he hadn’t just let out a master criminal. Nope. All safe.

Serilda

Destroyed an Ender Crystal and hit the Ender Dragon after it killed her son Yios

Nomikos (Enderman)

Wonder shuddered for what felt like the hundredth time. “I hate this place,” She hissed. Gameknight nodded sympathetically. “I guess they really like the dragon.”

The next cell was much worse. Gameknight read the sign before he saw… it.

Mohammed

The shadows

The shadows

“Huh?” He asked quizzically. He looked through the glass. The enderman inside, Mohammed, didn’t have an island. He kept himself above the water by holding onto iron bars in the ceiling and by keeping his toes right up against the glass. His arms were shaking from the obvious stress of hanging for who knows how long. Gameknight swung his pick.

Nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing happened. “It won’t work,” He said worriedly as the diamond tool hammered away to absolutely no effect. “Oh, no,” Wonder moaned. “You mean we can’t help them? I was worried about that when we came, but…” Gameknight wasn’t listening. He traced his fingers over the word shadows. A small chill went through his body, trailing up his arm and filling him with a scared feeling. He yanked from the strange letters. “Why do you think this is all it says?” He asked. Wonder looked at the sign. “I’m not sure,” She admitted after a moment. “But is it just me, or do the shadow words seem darker to you?”

“What do you mean?” Gameknight asked. “All the words are black on signs.” “Actually, there was just a fix so you can dye the words on signs,” She corrected. “But never mind. I mean, those words almost seem blacker to me.” Gameknight looked closer. Sure enough, The shadows seemed a deeper darkness than the other words. “You’re right,” He said slowly. “But it doesn’t seem like dye. How could Minecraft have done something like this?” 

    Wonder didn’t answer, lost in thought. “Feel this,” He told her. He grabbed her blocky hand and shoved it onto the black words. “Doesn’t it seem cold?” He asked. “Ahh… yeah. You’re right. So now can you let me go please?” He released her and she stepped back. He had more questions, but he kept them to himself. “Come on,” She chided. “We have to move on.” The next three cells were the same. Where there should have been the reason the monsters were there and who had put them there, it was just the shadows. Gameknight was becoming uneasy. There appeared to be many more cells, and Herobrine would be there any minute. “Hurry up,” He said, jiggling from foot to foot as Wonder read another sign. “Calm down,” She snapped. “There’s only a few cells left, and the way this is going it ain’t gonna take much time.”

     “Well let’s go, it’s just the same words-“ He gasped, staring at the next panel. “What? What is it?” She hurried to his side. Gameknight’s stomach felt it had flipped, and he felt nauseous. There was another enderman, of course, but it was much worse off. It, too, had no island, and this time no iron bars. He stayed above the water by practically doing the splits in midair and bracing himself against both walls. His limbs were trembling, no, jerking violently from the strain. When he saw Gameknight and Wonder, he lost his focus and plunged in the water below. A cloud of steam billowed up from his sizzling flesh and he kicked and scrambled to get back up the wall. “Ohhh,” Wonder moaned, hiding her head in her hands. Gameknight tried at the glass with his pick, trying to free the monster. Nothing. Once again, it was the same thing for the next three cells.  And all the signs ever said was The shadows, The shadows.

    Gameknight was about to call it quits and head back down to the rest of the group when he saw the box.

At the very end of the hallway, what appeared to be a large white concrete box took up the space that used to house the ladder. There were two cells on each side of it, an aura of hate and malice emitting from each. Somehow hanging from the ceiling in front of the area of cells was a sign. This is what it read-

The Goners

“What does that mean?” Wonder asked. Gameknight could only shrug. “I don’t know,” He said nervously. Wonder took a deep breath. “Ok,” She decided. “You take the right side, I’ll take the left.” The two split up and headed toward their separate cells. Gameknight went straight for the sign, curious about why someone thought that these endermen were in so much trouble. He stared at the piece of oak, fear creeping up his spine like a cold finger. 

Athootita

Tried to save a coastal village from an attack

The Shark

The Shark.

The two words were both a deep ocean blue.

The Shark was someone mentioned in the prophecy book he had found in the Far Lands. In the letter from M and in the signs. And if the Shark put an enderman in this cell, then who was in the others? He looked into the panel. There was a shaking enderman inside, her limbs spread out against the walls. But the water was bubbling and steaming, and actually causing huge waves up and down the walls. Athootita was practically on the ceiling but the water continued to douse her. A sudden geyser shot up and hit her on the face. Gameknight turned away. 

   What he really needed to know was who had placed the next few endermen, the rest of the Goners, and why. Secretly, he had hoped that the entire prophecy had been fake and it had all been a hoax. But now in the Overworld, he was finding living proof. He bolted over to Wonder’s panel. “Hey, I thought we agreed-“ She said, startled, but Gameknight wasn’t listening. The enderman inside the cell did have an island, but it was made of a block of sand. The water was swampish and strange neon glowing plants grew out of the muddy bottom. Strange snake-like creatures swam lazily through the water. The enderman suddenly leapt upward as a toothy eel jumped out of the water and snapped at the lanky creature.

   “Yikes,” Wonder said. “What do you think this means?” She pointed at the sign. 

Titus

Tried to take over a swamp

The Snake

These words were neon green. The Snake was also in the book. He sprinted for the next panel, the one beside the Snake’s. This enderman actually had no water at all. The ground was dry and bare. But strange shadowy shapes pummeled and pulled at it, and the monster screamed in pain. 

 

Leith

Was caught using a light spell

The Panther

Gameknight came to the last one. The prisoner was actually in the water, or… what could be water. It was bright red, and the enderman wailed in pain as if it was molten lava. The liquid bubbled and frothed like a pot of water on a stove. No, no, no! Gameknight thought. Please, please, please! 

Adjutor

Tried to help the Four Terrors of Minecraft

The Blood Sorcerer

“Gameknight!” Wonder suddenly spun him around. “What. Is. Happening?” Her violet eyes narrowed as she saw the fear in his face. “Why are you so upset about the weird people it says on these signs? You know something!” 

   “I- I don’t-“ He stammered. “I expect you know who that is too, huh?” She snapped, pointing at a strangely white sign hanging right above the trapdoor in the box. This sign was different from the others. This is what it said-

Teras

The Dark One

“Punishment is not a measurement of pain, nor is it a matter of fear. True punishment is about the soul, and is only as strong as the victim, and only as bad as the wielder.”

 

There was no reason as to why the enderman, if there was an enderman inside the concrete box, had been placed there. Wonder walked forward, her blocky hand outstretched for the small hatch’s handle. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” Gameknight half warned, half shouted. But he was too late. She flung it open. For a split second, Wonder just stared inside, her mouth gaping. Then she screamed and slammed it closed, leaping backwards. “Don’t look in there,” She gasped, clutching his arm. “Don’t look in there! NO!” 

   He opened the door. 

The very air seemed to buzz. Inside the box, yellow bolts of lightning zipped back and forth, striking at an imprisoned black enderman. The black shadowy creature screamed and shrieked, writhing. He saw Gameknight and reached out, clawing desperately to get free. His black arms surged for the User-that-is-not-a-user right as the trapdoor shut with a bang! “What was that?” Gameknight asked. Wonder was trembling. “Let’s go,” She whispered. He nodded. “I’m not spending one more minute in this awful place,” He ranted. “Herobrine’s almost here, and there’s at least fifty enderman we need to-“

     “Beware, Users,” Came an eerie, muffled voice. Gameknight turned, startled. “Who said that?” He called. Then he looked at Parafron, the evil prisoner of Aquaspear. The insane monster continued, and Gameknight realized that he was singing. “Beware, villagers. Beware, humans. He will return. The Dark One will once again rule the land. Flee, you creatures of the night. Cower, people of the day. He will rise, he will return. Watch for the Last Battle, it draws near. Watch for the Terrors, they create fear. Watch for the shadows, they take what you hold dear. Beware! Beware! They return swiftly, like a wolf they hunt their prey. Breath now, it might be your last day. Fall to your knees, fall and pray. The Prophecy will occur, and blood will spill. The demons of The Dark One will drink, thriving on the death and destruction. 

The Void will rise and come as a girl.

The Blood Sorcerer will come back from the dead.

The Panther will pounce.

The Shark will swim forward and have the water.

The Snake will slither forward and have the land.

The Dark One will be last. 

He will rule all.

Beware, Users! Beware, Villagers! Beware, Humans! Your end draws near.”

Parafron looked up and saw Gameknight and Wonder’s terrified faces. A horrible smile slowly covered his face, and he started to laugh. The vile sound echoed throughout the room until they had to cover their ears. Gameknight grabbed Wonder’s hand and pulled her back through the trapdoor and farther and farther downward until they could hear it no more. Slowly, a new sound met them as they descended level after level. It was the sound of dozens of voices, all of them shouting and yelling. When they reached the second level, they found chaos. There was a sea of endermen, teleporting to and fro and searching through the crowd looking for familiar black faces. Gameknight could see Erebus standing at the back of the group. The monster king suddenly brought his black fingers to his lips and let out a shrill whistle. A silence fell over the floor. “Everyone listen up!” He screeched. “We are surrounded by guards and Herobrine is coming in fast, so I’ll make this quick. There are NPCs and, to my great displeasure, two User-that-is-not-a-users in this room. We are going to follow them up a few levels, then break the glass and swim to safety. They have potions to protect us. Once we have left the general area of Aquaspear, we can teleport to safety.” He nodded at Gameknight. The User-that-is-not-a-user placed a block of dirt under his feet. He repeated this action until he was above the sea of endermen. He then emptied his inventory of the Water Resistance splash potion, drenching the monsters. “Ok, does everybody have some?” He asked. The endermen nodded. “OK, let’s go!” The party headed back up the ladders, the endermen teleporting upwards. “By the way,” Gameknight murmured to Erebus. “Why don’t you all just teleport out of here? What’s the point?” Erebus glared at him. “I already explained all that!” He hissed. “No, you didn’t!” Gameknight snapped. “You speak in riddles! You told us, like, two things about Aquaspear and then expected us to do everything else! I-“ Wonder appeared in between them. “Geez! Do you guys ever stop fighting? Erebus, just answer the stupid question.” The king of the End huffed. “Because we can’t teleport from this place, idiot,” He said sharply. “Not until we pass the big coral wall thing we hid behind earlier. As soon as that is behind us, we’re home free.” Gameknight sighed. “Alright. Well, here we go. Let’s get this over with.”

     Gameknight999 stopped them all on the fifth floor. Peering out the glass wall, he nodded. They were at least twenty blocks from the ocean floor. “Let’s go ahead and jump out now,” He said. “We’re about at the wall. Digger, will you do the honors?” Digger grinned and then swung his pickaxes at the wall.

Smash!

    The glass shattered under the force of the blow. Gameknight smiled. “Couldn’t have done it better myself,” He congratulated the big NPC. Digger gave a booming laugh then broke a few more blocks so the endermen could exit easily. “OK,” Gameknight addressed the crowd. “You don’t have to worry about Water Breathing. Just move as fast as possible. Now everybody, SWIM!” He dove into the water, his friends following. 

   They were facing the front of the building, but the guards had noticed them yet. They were busy with something else. 

“But I’m HEROBRINE!” Herobrine, still in Void’s body, screamed angrily. Undertow laughed, a cross between a moan and a gurgle. “Then who is inside right now? Another small-nosed person with glowing eyes? No. Leave now, imposter. The Guards of Aquaspear do not take kindly to liars.” Void’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “Other Herobrine… GAMEKNIGHT999!” At that moment, many things happened. The first was that Herobrine looked up. The second was that Undertow, as well, glanced upwards. The very last thing was that Gameknight looked down at his archrival and waved, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. 

   The hateful and angry sound that came out of Herobrine’s mouth is not able to be described in mere words. But knowing him, you probably get the gist of it. The group of escapees kicked harder. “Guards!!” Undertow boomed, his voice echoing like a cannon blast. “GET THEM!” Tridents started to whiz through the air after them, the weapons returning to their masters outstretched hands. They were about halfway to the coral wall. Almost, almost…

That’s when fate decided to play a joke on them. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Gameknight saw one of the endermen flash red. Yet, a trident was nowhere near it. The monster continued to flash, and then Gameknight noticed the spirals above its head. It didn’t look rich and blue like it was supposed to. They were pale and sickly looking. And they flickered, as if going to disappear at any moment. Gameknight’s heart stopped.

Uh oh.

   Wonder noticed them too. “You did follow those potion instructions exactly, right?” She asked suspiciously. “Well, uh, mostly,” Gameknight said. He could feel his ears go red as Wonder stared at him with laser eyes that seemed to burn his soul. “What does ‘not exactly’ mean, exactly?” She growled. Gameknight suddenly realized he was more scared about what she was going to do to him than Herobrine. “Well, uh, we didn’t quite have enough bubble coral, so we used a couple… others.” 

    Wonder looked like she would explode. “What. Others?” She said, the words coming out in a whisper. “Uh, uh,” He thought. “Um, there was horn, and brain, and, um, the blue one?”

    She burst. “TUBE CORAL?!?!” She yelled. “You put TUBE CORAL in WATER RESISTANCE?!” He winced. “Well, yeah! Coral is hard to get, we don’t just have it lying around…” She smacked her forehead. “Why didn’t you tell me? Now the endermen might not survive! It has to bubble coral, it’s the most important part! It’s what keeps the water from getting to them. Without it, the potion isn’t going to help much longer! We have to get them out, NOW!” 

They swam faster. “Everybody, move!” Gameknight shouted. “Faster! Swim faster!” He was almost there. So close, just a few more blocks…

    Pain radiated through his body. Undertow had cast his fishing rod, and the hook had pierced his leg. It was like an iron sword biting into him, only instead of hurting once, it continued to draw his HP. And, to his horror, he was slowly getting dragged downward back towards the Drowned’s. Back towards Herobrine. Gameknight kicked and struggled. “Help!” He yelled. Suddenly, the pain subsided. Hunter had swum up next to him and yanked the hook out by the string. “Thanks,” He panted. “Just get up here, before they catch us!” She snapped. The guards were getting closer, and Herobrine/Void was catching up. The crystal sword was in their (his? hers?) hand. Spinning around, Gameknight and Hunter just shoved themselves over the wall. The endermen were disappearing with small pops as they hurried to get out of the water. Sadly, Gameknight saw more than a few ender pearls bobbing up and down. Erebus suddenly grabbed both of them and Gameknight suddenly felt a strange sensation of being in two places at once.

Pop!

They suddenly reappeared back on the beach. All the surviving endermen were gathered there and their friends were dispersed throughout the crowd. Gameknight ran through the group. “Don’t just stand there!” He yelled. “They’re coming! Teleport to the village!” All the endermen looked at each other. “Uh…” One of them said. Gameknight sighed. “OK, just come and hold on,” He said. They all walked a little closer and reached out so they were touching. Gameknight waited until they were all connected, then nodded to Erebus. “Now go!” 

 Pop!

They were home. 

The endermen spread out again. They had appeared next to the forest. Erebus teleported away, wiping his hands from where he had touched Gameknight. Taking a deep breath, Gameknight stepped in front of the crowd. “Thank you,” He began. “You are all free to return to the End. Rest. I know you need it.” A wave of relief went through the crowd as their shoulders slumped. “However,” He continued. “I fear we will need you soon. Herobrine, the girl with glowing eyes that you saw, will not stop. He will fight till he rules Minecraft and now that he is in the body of his daughter, Void, he is much more powerful than before. And he won’t stop with the villagers. He will go after the monsters next until he rules everything. Then he will try to escape into the Internet and take control over that. But for now, go home and get your lives back. All I ask is that you be ready to fight.” 

   The endermen looked at each other and then nodded at the User-that-is-not-a-user. They all quickly teleported away in groups. Gameknight ran through the crowd, searching for a single monster. Finally, he found her. “Hey! Wait!” He yelled as she began to teleport. She stopped and turned around. “It’s Serilda, right?” He asked. She nodded. “Um, you were next to Parafron, right?” He questioned. Serilda shuddered. “Yes,” She said fearfully. “He’s so creepy. Please tell me you didn’t let him out.” Gameknight shook his head. “No, of course not. It’s just that he, um, well he…” 

   “He started singing, didn’t he?” She interrupted. Gameknight nodded his boxy head. She sighed. “He does that a lot, and it’s always the same thing. We didn’t have a clock, of course, but we- the other endermen next to us, I mean- realized he did it at the exact same time everyday. And he didn’t talk at all. But he would laugh a lot. For hours, sometimes, he would just laugh and point at us.” She shuddered again. “That’s all I know about him. He was already there when I was imprisoned.” She shrugged. “I hope that was helpful. Now if you excuse me, I haven’t slept in, well, a very long time.” Serilida disappeared in a cloud of purple teleportation particles. 

     Gameknight turned back towards his friends. Only three endermen were left, Erebus, Emma, and one more he didn’t recognize. This enderman looked nervously around, peering uncertainly at her surroundings. Emma strode forward, Erebus trailing slowly behind. Emma stopped in front of Gameknight, having to look down at him because of her height. “First off, thank you for saving me,” She said. “Second…” She turned to stare at Erebus. He sighed and slowly shuffled forward. “Thank you for taking me to Aquaspear to get Emma back,” He mumbled, staring at his feet. “And?” Emma pressed. Erebus groaned and crossed his arms. “And thank you for getting me out of the Land of Dreams! There! Are you happy?” Gameknight grinned. “You’re welcome,” He laughed. “Lastly,” Emma said sadly. She gestured to the other enderman. “This is Fieona. She was in the cell across from me, and she said that Herobrine put her there too, because of someone else she knew. Somebody that looked like Erebus, and I was wondering if maybe you knew who?” 

     Fieona looked at him anxiously. Gameknight, of course, knew exactly who they were talking about. “Not again,” He moaned. Wonder laughed. Gameknight rubbed his face. “Yes, I know who you’re talking about,” He told Fieona. “Just go back to the End and he’ll be there soon, I promise… all of you.” Fieona gave a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” She said happily, then she disappeared. Emma smiled at him one last time, then did the same. “See you later, suckers!” Erebus shrieked, then he was gone. Gameknight turned towards Wonder, Monet, Digger, and Hunter. “We’ll deal with that mess later,” He said. “Let’s go home. Digger?” The stocky NPC was staring at the village.

     “Look,” He said. “No watchers.” He pointed at the watchtower. Gameknight spun around. Sure enough, his friend was right. The User-that-is-not-a-user felt his mouth go dry. “Oh, no,” He said. Hunter broke into a sprint. “Come on!” She yelled. They ran towards the settlement. Crossing the bridge that spanned the moat, Gameknight banged on the gates. “Gameknight?” Monet asked, sounding fearful. Her brother didn’t answer. “Let me,” Digger said, pushing his friend aside. As soon as he was sure he wouldn’t hit anyone, he smashed the iron door with his pickaxe. Cracks appeared along its surface and then it fell to the ground. Scooping up the now shrunken item, Digger bolted through. The rest of the party followed suit. The entire place looked abandoned. No one was in the streets. No torches were lit. 

    Digger replaced the door. “So no one will notice we were here,” He explained. Wonder pointed at it. “You put it backwards,” She accused. “I know that!” Digger snapped, the tension making his temper flare. He raised his pick (not at her, at the door). “Wait!” Gameknight rushed forward. Placing his hand on the normally smooth surface, he ran his fingers on the newly carved grooves. Wonder’s breath came in a gasp. Hunter growled. “Zombies,” She hissed. Gameknight looked at them, fear in his eyes. “We have to get to the crafting chamber!” 

    They continued their sprint, this time aiming for the cobblestone watchtower. But right before Gameknight’s fingers touched the door handle, the sound of thunder filled the air. “What’s that?” Digger boomed, looking at one side of the village. Hunter drew her bow, an arrow already notched. Gameknight drew his swords. 

Suddenly, a group of armed warriors on horseback leapt into sight. There were many, too many to stop. Gameknight999 braced himself.

    “Gameknight!” Crafter, leading the charge, jumped off his horse and ran toward him. “It is good to see you, my friend.” “Crafter?” Gameknight asked, confused. “What’s wrong? Is everyone OK?” Crafter nodded. “Most of us.” Gameknight opened his mouth to speak, but then the air filled with majestic howls. Herder’s wolves came bounding around the corner, the lanky boy following. “What is it? Where are the monsters?” He gasped. Crafter shook his head. “Relax, Herder. No need to worry. Gameknight is back!” Herder’s eyes lit up. “Gameknight!” He yelled, running towards his idol. “Boy, am I glad to see you!”

     Gameknight glared at them. “What’s happening? Where is everybody?” Crafter shared a sad look with the other warriors. “Get on,” He said, gesturing to his horse. “It isn’t safe out here.” His mind reeling, Gameknight obeyed. The rest of the returning party found room with other riders. They rode, not towards another part of the village or Gameknight’s castle, but to the mountains that lay beyond the village. They headed up the cliffs, their horses straining. The wolves kept their eyes swiveling back and forth, ears pricked. “Crafter? Where are we going?” Gameknight asked. “All will be explained,” Crafter promised. We are almost there.” They suddenly came to a cave opening. Instead of passing right by it, Crafter led them inside. They headed deeper into the passage, the stone walls a dark gray in the rapidly fading light. But as they rounded a corner, warm yellow light suddenly filled the small space. The horses whinnied. 

     In front of them was a smooth wall of stone. “It’s a dead end,” Gameknight said, annoyed. “Yeah, Crafter,” Wonder piped up. “We’re caught at a hard place made of rock.” Crafter ignored them. Instead, he lifted up his fist and knocked on the wall. 

   Duh duh. Pause. Duh. Pause. DUHDUHDUHDUHDUH.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the sound of pistons and grinding stone filled the air. The wall split, revealing a doorway and a very nervous Rakier. The giant skeleton relaxed when he saw who it was. “Get in,” He hissed. The company rode through, and Gameknight stared shocked at his surroundings. 

A massive cavern had been created from what must have used to have been a small cave. There were villagers everywhere, and they all cheered at the sight of the User-that-is-not-a-user and their crafter. “Quiet!” Rakier whisper-shouted. “The doors! The DOORS!” All of the NPCs went silent. Rakier flipped a lever. The wall once again became, well, a wall. Only then did the villagers celebrate. The group all jumped off the horses, and Crafter handed off the reins to Herder. The lanky boy ran off towards a small opening in the wall. Gameknight could hear the sound of cattle and chickens clucking. The villagers must have brought the animals. 

He smiled.

“So?” Crafter asked, his words silencing the crowd. “Where’s Erebus? Did you do it?” Gameknight grinned at them all. “Let’s just say that we will have the endermen on our side.” The cheers multiplied. Gameknight crossed his arms. “Now will someone tell me what’s going on?” Crafter sighed, and the villagers quieted down into a sad silence. Or maybe it was fearful. “Soon after you left, we were attacked,” He began. “Herobrine sent wave after wave of monsters at the village. He attacked from all sides. We finally had to retreat.” 

     “Why didn’t you just use the minecart system?” Hunter asked. Stitcher shoved her way out of the crowd and headed towards her sister. “We tried,” She said. “But the ladder was gone. And every time we tried to get down another way, more monsters would come. So when the monsters were gone for a little while, we snuck up here. Now we’ve been waiting.” 

“For what?” Gameknight asked, bewildered. They all laughed. “For you,” Crafter said. His eyes were bright as he looked at his friend. “Who else?” 

 

A few days earlier

 

Herobrine looked loathingly at the village from a tall hill. “Sir, the User-that-is-not-a-user left a few minutes ago,” Said his skeleton general Izena, who had just appeared from a scout group Herobrine had sent to spy on the village. Herobrine sighed. Izena was large, but the shadow-crafter would have much preferred the first one that his daughter had employed, Rakier. He would have been a much needed addition to the monster army waiting in the woods behind them. But Herobrine didn’t voice any of these thoughts. Instead, he asked, “Who was with him?” 

   “One of the red headed NPCs he is always with,” Izena informed him. “Which one?” “The older one. He also brought a very large NPC.” “The digger,” Herobrine mused. “Anyone else?” Izena nodded. “Yes. There were two small-nosed people with him, a girl and a young woman. One of them had painted armor, and the other had violet eyes. Erebus, the red enderman that used to be the king, was also there.” 

    “I know who Erebus is!” Herobrine snapped. “And I knew they were going to take him. The two other users must be his sister and the new one, WonderWriter something. No sign of the boy-crafter, the tall child with the long hair, or the small archer girl?” Izena shook his head. Herobrine’s other general, Ha-Sun, growled and drew his golden sword. “It is time to attack!” He roared. “Ha-Sun wants to kill villagers, NOW!”

 “Not yet, you idiot!” Herobrine snapped. “We must make sure it’s the right time. When it is, we will be told!”

     At that very moment, another skeleton named Hadlin came shooting over the top of the hill. “We’re ready,” He said firmly, adjusting his helmet. “Now that the sun is starting to set, the villagers are going into their homes. They won’t be expecting us so soon.” Herobrine smiled, but it was the evil kind. “Excellent.” He turned to stare at the peaceful community below. Sure enough, smoke was starting to rise from its chimneys. “Good work, Hadlin.” The bony monster beamed. “Thank you, ma’am.” 

Herobrine whirled around. “What did you just say?” Hadlin froze. “I, uh, I didn’t mean-“ Herobrine drew his sword. Hadlin quickly stepped back, his eye sockets trained on the crystal blade. His Maker stared at him with evil intent. The skeleton continued to walk backwards as Herobrine advanced, until he was against a steep edge of the hill. “I think you need to be taught a very, very harsh lesson,” Herobrine growled. Hadlin whimpered and tried to retreat, not realizing that there was nowhere to go. He wobbled, pinwheeling his arms, but it was too late. He toppled backwards and hit the ground three blocks below. 

    Herobrine felt a strange rush flow through him. “Oh my gosh! Are you OK?” He yelled, teleporting down and grabbing Hadlin. All three monsters stared at him, open mouthed. Herobrine felt his sanity return. He threw Hadlin roughly to the ground, trying to hide his embarrassment. “I hope you learned your lesson, skeleton,” He said. “Ha-Sun, Izena, I want a quarter of the army on every side of the village. We attack now! Do not test my patience.”

   The generals were still wary enough to be afraid, and they quickly got to work. Hadlin sprinted for the forest, lucky to be alive. Herobrine sighed and rubbed his temples. He could feel another headache coming on. 

The Maker momentarily closed his eyes, then appeared on the mountain overlooking his enemy’s castle. The eyes were on him again. He scanned for whoever it was, but they remained out of sight. Honestly, he was too tired to search any harder. He had learned to live with it. 

    Herobrine/Void sat down wearily. He was too tired to do pretty much anything. He had barely slept at all the night before. This time, it had been a dream. Not something he had much experience with. He had been… he had no idea where he had been. It was a type of white space, but honestly he hadn’t been paying much attention to that. There was a woman in front of him. She had beckoned to him, but he hadn’t moved. The woman continued to try to coax him after her, but he refused. She became more and more frustrated, yet still she said nothing. Her light green eyes narrowed and she suddenly spun around, her blond hair flying. She pointed upwards to something above them, and Herobrine tilted his head to see. An oak button was floating in the air. Herobrine was about to say something when everything swam and a frustrated sound cut through everything like a knife. He woke up with a start and the mysterious figure was NEXT TO HIM. And as soon as he looked, it was gone.

   So now he was exhausted, because he hadn’t gone back to sleep. He had stayed awake the whole night on the lookout. Now he glared at everything around him, just so whoever it was knew he was watching. “Button,” He said. “What the heck was with the button?” 

  Chills went down his spine. He could feel the concentration behind the eyes suddenly build. Whoever it was was agitated. 

He smiled.

“Button,” He said. “Oak button.” The person was becoming angry. He could feel it. It made him happy, an evil kind. “Button. Button, button, bu-“ A searing pain flashed through his mind and he saw spots. He collapsed to the ground and- and-

The trees whirled by. He hated those trees. Finally, he came to it. He raised his hand, ready to push-

The wind whistled as he swung the sword, and the ground cleaved in half-

Flames licked at walls. The howling gusts of wind seemed to swallow them up. “Help! Please, NO! Noo-

Don’t make me-

Now Bryce-

Weapon! Terrible, terrible weapon! Terrible! TERROR-

 

He gasped for breath, his mind cleaved in two. The pain quickly dulled and then it disappeared. Herobrine opened his eyes. His location had changed. He was now at the foot of the mountain, in an area of grass and flowers. A cow and pig wandered nearby, the duo both either grazing or napping in the setting sun, which was much lower in the sky. Everything was calm. No secret, hidden eyes watched him. No monsters stared at their Maker in disbelief, no villagers ran screaming or tried to attack. Everything was calm. Then it hit him. 

Void had no idea what her father had just been through. She wasn’t sure what had been happening. All she knew was that something had been wrong and that suddenly her father had lost concentration. He had let his guard down, and she seized the opportunity.

 The white of their eyes flickered, then a brilliant magenta replaced it. Sky froze, feeling power and control flow back to her limbs. At first, she didn’t know what to do. Should she run and try to warn the villagers about her fathers plans (she knew about that) or should she go try and stop the monsters herself? She made up her mind. She had to get to the villagers, and fast. But she didn’t dare teleport- her father was trying to battle his way back inside and she couldn’t lose her concentration. So she gulped down a potion of invisibility so she wouldn’t be mistaken for Herobrine and sprinted for the village a little ways off. She got to the wall and ran for the gates. But she was starting to run out of breath and her strength was waning. It was a lot of pressure on her body to suddenly have so much to do on her own, and she could feel her dad starting to return. She was just about to get onto the bridge when she lost control. Herobrine returned with full force, and they instantly appeared back on the hill. He grabbed a bucket and teleported to a cow. Quickly milking it, he drank and the potion wore off. He grabbed his sword and sliced at the cow. It disappeared with one last sad moo as the crystal weapon rendered its HP from its body in an instant. Once again on the hill, he watched as the villagers first ran to their positions. The monsters were already hammering on their doors- he had instructed them to arrive without a sound. The pathetic NPCs had no idea that they were surrounded. Herobrine laughed, then drew something he liked almost as much as the magical sword. It was Sky’s bow, a beautiful weapon made of fine almost invisible string and pure grainless quartz. He grabbed an arrow made of quartz and gold and notched it. Even though the villager he was aiming at was just a tiny figure to him, he knew that he could hit it even though he had also never been much of an archer. Sure enough, it flew through the air and hit the poor NPC. They flashed red as half their HP was taken from them. Herobrine shot another arrow and they disappeared with a pop, a confused and fearful look on their face. Herobrine cackled madly. “First kill of the night,” He chuckled. “And there’s a lot more coming.” He tilted his head towards the heavens. “I’M COMING, AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!” He screamed, and the cries of pain and sadness echoed from the doomed community below.

 

Hi everyone! Sorry this took so long. It is FINALLY SUMMER and I plan on writing much more. I feel so bad for always having to apologize for this! I have been writing this chapter since Spring Break and even though it took a while (because it is actually very long) I know it is good and you will enjoy it. Thank you for all the support I have still gotten even though my chapters have been so sporadic! Please comment below and thank you!

 

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