Chapter 7 Fire Ogre
Luke kept on stumbling for a while, the bat horse had depleted his energy fast. “You see that?” the Master asked. “Define that,” Luke said, unable to see where the Master was pointing, since he was a disembodied voice in Luke’s mind. “In front of you. Out in the distance,” he said. Luke looked where the Master had described. In the distance, a mass of darkness sat, with long bridges and tunnels leading in every direction. “A Nether Fortress,” Luke said. “How do I get over there?” “Oh, wait,” the Master said. “It seems you don’t need to travel to the fortress. Our target is on its way,” At first, Luke couldn’t see what the voice was talking about. Then, he noticed the giant fiery blob. It seemed to be floating toward him. It could’ve been a blaze, but it seemed way too big. Then, a large fireball blazed to life and flew at them. It hit Luke in the chest. He flashed red with damage and stumbled back a few blocks. “What is that thing?” Luke asked. “A fire ogre,” the Master replied. “Destroy it, and you will get the Heart of Fire.” Then, the Master remained silent. If this thing was more powerful than the bat horse… Luke shuddered to think what might happen. He didn’t know what might occur if he died while inside Minecraft. He didn’t know if he’d respawn. But he had to trust the Master. He was going to get back at Austin. The ogre kept floating nearer and nearer, and as it did so, it was easier to see. It was a massive creature, with orange skin, fire where hair should’ve been, and a huge flaming sword. It was riding above the Nether in a tornado of flame, shooting fireballs as it went. The fire ogre stopped, hovering a couple of blocks away from the Netherrack ledge. It fixed its glowing orange eyes on Luke and growled. It threw its flaming sword at Luke, which he narrowly dodged. The blade embedded itself in the Netherrack wall behind him. The ogre roared in outrage and catapulted another volley of white-hot balls of flame at Luke. He thought about how to defeat a ghast. He swung his sword and hit an incoming fireball, hitting it back at the ogre. It smashed into the ogre’s chest. It flashed red with damage. It launched another few fireballs. Only one came toward Luke, the others clumsily flying off in a bunch of different directions. Luke again slashed with his iron sword, returning the projectile back to its sender. After one more hit, the monster realized Luke’s strategy. It charged, its flaming tornado burning the air. Luke sidestepped and held his sword out to the side. The ogre’s momentum kept it from stopping, and it slammed into the blade. It became so angry that it couldn’t control itself. It bellowed so loudly that the whole Nether trembled. It formed three white-hot, bigger than before fireballs and launched them through the air. With one last huge stroke, Luke smashed the fireballs back at the ogre, and it disappeared with a pop! “Well done,” the Master said again. Where the ogre had been standing, a floating ball of fire sat, hovering up and down. “The Heart of Fire,” Luke guessed. The Master snorted. “How long did it take you to figure that out?” Luke ignored the comment. When he reached out to touch the white-hot fireball, it didn’t hurt. He stored it in his inventory. “Two down, one more to go,” the Master said. “But once we get all of them, what happens?” Luke asked. “We create the essences,” the Master said. “And then, the essences combined make something very powerful. But first, we need all three Hearts. The last one you need to collect is the Heart of the Undead. Go. Your next task awaits you.”

Chapter 8 Kylo
Austin hiked through the flower forest. Dozens of oak and birch trees spread out across the landscape. Colorful flowers dotted the green grass. Behind him, Minecraft City skyscrapers gleamed in the bright sunlight of high noon. To the left, Mount Minecraft rose high up in the sky. Austin had decided to take a walk alone in the forest. Just to get away from all the noise and think. He wondered where Luke had been mysteriously going off to. It had been two Minecraft days since they had first arrived in Minecraft City and the Mayor had chosen him for his assistant. No one had seen Luke since he had walked off in the direction of the department store. He could’ve sworn he saw him at Mount Minecraft, but when he’d went, he couldn’t find anything. He felt bad for Luke. But he was also suspicious. Where had been sneaking off to? Why did he flinch when Sam described his encounter with Zephyr? So many questions, but none of them came with answers. A noise brought his head out of the clouds. He looked around. Yip! The sound came again. It sounded like a bark. Austin looked around, searching for the source of the noise. Yip! The sound had definitely come from the left. Austin walked in the direction of the bark. A large ravine, like a tear in the earth, was dug into the face of Minecraft. Yip! The sound was a lot louder now. Austin crept to the edge of the crevasse, careful not to fall. A lone wolf sat on a ledge, about fifteen blocks below. The ledge was probably sixty blocks above the bottom of the ravine. Nothing but molten lava sat down there to cushion the poor animal’s fall. It yipped again. “I can’t just leave the poor thing there!” Austin thought aloud. The wolf looked up at him and yipped again. Austin took out an iron pickaxe and dug a makeshift staircase downward toward the animal, as he got closer, the wolf stepped back. Eventually, the staircase reached the ledge where the poor thing was standing. It stood at the very edge. When Austin stepped out, the wolf tried to walk backward, but its back paws slipped, and it narrowly avoided plummeting down to the molten lava below. It stood, shaking, its fur bristling. Austin reached out his hand. “Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s okay.” The wolf didn’t understand. A loud Clunk! suddenly filled the air. A hum sounded just before an arrow embedded itself an inch next to Austin’s foot. He looked up, and there, glaring down at him, was a light gray, skeletal figure, holding a bow and notching an arrow. The skeleton’s bowstring hummed as it launched another projectile. Austin drew his own bow, but before he could shoot, the pointed shaft hit him in the arm. His arm erupted in pain as he flashed red with damage. But he kept on going. He notched an arrow and fired. The shaft arced through the air and struck the skeleton. It flashed red with damage and flew backward a block or two. It shot another arrow, but Austin strafed, stepping side to side, and dodged it. He shot one more arrow from his bow and the skeleton collapsed in a puff of smoke. A bone fell from where the skeleton had been standing and clattered to the ground next to Austin. The wolf sat huddled in a corner, still trembling in fear. Austin picked up a bone and offered it to the animal. It turned its head to one side curiously, then took the bone from Austin’s hand and began to chew on it happily. Suddenly, a red collar appeared on its neck. The bone vanished. The wolf looked up at Austin adoringly. He tossed the newly tame wolf a piece of cooked steak he had. The wolf ate it happily, then walked up to Austin and stood next to him, his tail wagging. A zombie growled above. The wolf growled back and barked a few times. “Hmm…” Austin said. “What should I call you?” He thought about how his friends loved to watch Star Wars together. And about how this wolf’s personality. How it could be easily angered, how it was sometimes afraid, and how it trusted those who helped it. “Kylo,” he said. “I think I’ll call you Kylo.” Kylo barked in approval. The wolf followed him back up the carved staircase, then they set off together toward Minecraft City.

Chapter 9 Heart of the Undead
A few moments later, Luke stepped out of the portal with the whirlpool sensation. He wanted to rest, but the Master did not give him a break. “Your tasks are not over yet,” he said. “You need an Essence of the Undead. That is the final step on our plans.” Luke walked over and flicked the lever. The sound of pistons filled the small cave as the doors mechanically opened. Luke stepped through. The moon was beginning to rise above Minecraft City. Creepers walked around silently in the plains below, in the thirty-block space between Mount Minecraft and Minecraft City. “Jump,” the Master said. “What?” “Jump,” the voice repeated. “I said jump. Here’s a hint: WATER, YOU FOOL!” Luke pulled out a water bucket from his inventory and leapt off the side of Mount Minecraft. But before he hit the ground and died a foolish death, he placed the water right below him, cushioning his fall. He looked around. “What am I supposed to be doing?” Luke asked. The Master said nothing. Suddenly, a hiss emanated from behind Luke. He instinctively jumped backward from the detonating mottled green monster. He swung his iron sword, stopping the creeper from exploding. It hissed angrily and advance on Luke. He slashed again with his blade, hitting the creeper. It flashed red with damage. Its four legs crept silently across the grass. The creeper flashed white, getting ready to explode, but Luke sliced with his sword one last time and destroyed the creeper.  A pile of gray powder and a collection of green orbs floated where the monster had been standing a moment ago. Luke collected the gunpowder and the XP orbs. “ARRRRRGGHH!” A guttural roar filled the air. Luke looked over. “Aha!” the Master said. “That is what you are supposed to be doing.” A huge creature stood about twenty blocks away, beating its chest. It was probably five blocks tall, with green skin, long, pointed bottom teeth. It held a spiked club, and it was swinging the weapon around aimlessly. It was an ogre. Not unlike the Fire Ogre he’d seen in the Nether, but it didn’t have flames everywhere. The creature smashed its club into the ground. Dirt blocks rose out of the ground, floating in circles around the ogre. It waved a massive hand and one of the levitating dirt blocks flew at a nearby zombie, destroying it instantly. It bellowed in triumph, then began stomping around, looking for more adversaries. Then, it saw Luke. Its eyes narrowed, and it roared. The ogre thrust its hand outward, and a dozen dirt blocks shot at Luke. He jumped upward, landing on the dirt block, then jumping on the next again and again, using them like floating steppingstones. When he reached the final block, he leapt over the ogre’s head and stabbed its back. It flashed red with damage. It roared in anger but didn’t seem seriously hurt. “I need a different plan,” Luke muttered to himself. Then, an idea came into his brain. He remembered how he had defeated the ogre’s Nether counterpart by hitting its fireballs back at it. How he had done the same with the ghast. Puzzle pieces began tumbling together to form a battle strategy. “HEY!” Luke yelled. The ogre glared at him. “Yeah, you big ugly brute!” The creature bellowed and swung its club. Luke quickly rolled aside as the spiked weapon hit the ground where he had been standing a millisecond before. The club embedded itself into the ground, and the ogre struggled to get it out. Luke quickly swung his sword at a levitating dirt block and sent it right at the ogre. It hit home, smacking the beast right in the face. It flashed red with damage. It stumbled for a moment, then shook its head and bellowed. It swung its club again, but Luke skillfully dodged. The ogre wasn’t as smart as its fiery counterpart, so it kept on throwing dirt. Luke hit the blocks back at him over and over again. The monster’s HP was getting lower, but it was taking a long time. Eventually Luke might not be able to dodge an attack from the ogre and get smashed. Finally, Luke hit one last dirt block. It smashed into the monster’s stomach. It bellowed in pain, then collapsed in a puff of smoke. A piece of smelly rotten flesh and a green slimy blob hovered where the monster had been standing. “The Heart of the Undead,” Luke said. “Yes, yes,” the Master agreed. “Now it is time to put my plan into action.”