Confronting the Dragon

by Mark Cheverton

  Silence enveloped the landscape as he slowly stepped off the block. He could see shamed blocky faces lowered, eyes fixed to the ground while others glanced at each other, uncertain what to do. Stitcher said something to him, but he did not hear, he just turned and stormed down the stairway into the shadowy depths of the stronghold. He didn’t care if anyone followed. He’d try this alone if he had to, even though he’d probably fail, but he would not stand for people abusing the weak or the different or the innocent.

  Gameknight could hear his own footsteps echoing through the stairway as he descended. It sounded like the banging of a drum, one lonely drum. He despised how Herder had been treated by everyone, especially himself. It reminded him too much of how he himself had been treated back home in school. That really makes me mad! And he hated being here, in Minecraft, always afraid for his life, afraid to lead, afraid to fail, always terrified . . . always feeling like a coward.

  Another drum joined the symphony, and then another and another. He could tell that people were talking to him, but he couldn’t hear through his rage. He just stormed forward, heading for the portal room. The drumming footsteps became indistinguishable as more people followed Gameknight, the echoes now sounding like continuous thunder. When he reached the bottom of the stairs and started through the wide passages, he looked to his side. His stout friend Crafter was there, his sword in his hand. On his other side were Hunter and Stitcher, both with their enchanted bows held ready, arrows notched. Looks of grim determination were painted on their faces as they strode through the hallway. He knew that they were ready to go to battle with the User-that-is-not-a-user, and that they would give their lives, if necessary, to protect him and to protect Minecraft. Glancing over his shoulder, Gameknight saw that more people were walking with him now. Soldiers big and small were following him through the stronghold, weapons drawn, faces showing the same determination that his friends were showing. They were following their leader, the User-that-is-not-a-user, and they were prepared to do what was necessary and pay whatever price was asked of them to protect their friends and protect Minecraft.

  He would not let the Ender Dragon bully him, just like he would not let Malacoda or Erbus do that to him again.

  “I am Gameknight999, the User-that-is-not-a-user,” he shouted aloud, not caring who heard, “and I will be afraid NO MORE!” A cheer rang out behind him that was so loud it made his ears hurt. “I will not stand aside when I see people mistreated, and I will not stand aside when I see Minecraft threatened.” More cheers, this time even louder. “I am the User-that-is-not-a-user, and I stand for everyone, the small, the big, the brave, and the afraid. I will not let the monsters of the night threaten your world or mine!”

  Gameknight entered the glowing portal room. Stopping at the top of the steps, he turned and faced the army . . . his army.

  “I am going to The End to destroy the Ender Dragon and take the Dragon Egg. Then I’m going to the Source. Malacoda and Erebus will likely follow us and their army is massive, but I will not be deterred. I’m going to stop this war and stop the monsters forever. It may require my last breath and the last sliver of my life, but I don’t care. I’m tired of being afraid of them, tired of being afraid to stand up for what’s right. This is the end of all that and right now is the start of a new day. Follow me if you wish, but know that The End will test the last thread of your courage, and then it will only get worse when we get to the Source. But make no mistake—we will save Minecraft.”

  He then turned toward the portal and drew his enchanted sword.

  “Come on Dragon . . . let’s dance!”

  And Gameknight stepped into the Ender Portal and disappeared from sight.

  CHAPTER 28

  THE CRAFTING OF EREBUS

  The blaze pushed through the collection of monsters until he stood before his king, Malacoda.

  “Sire, the NPC army is gone,” the flaming creature said, a mechanical wheezing sound accompanying each word.

  “What?”

  “They are gone,” the monster explained. “We saw them moving about the land, collecting things. As you instructed, we hid so as to not be seen, but when we came back out of hiding, they were gone. But we did see one of them, a child, running away.”

  Some of the monsters laughed at that, many of them suggesting that the cowardly NPC was afraid of the King of the Nether. Malacoda raised a tentacle to silence the rabble.

  “They likely went into that tunnel that leads underground,” Erebus said in his usual screechy voice. “They’re heading for the second key.”

  “Of course they are,” Malacoda confirmed, “just as I expected.”

  Erebus chuckled. This fool expected nothing.

  Malacoda glared toward Erebus, then back at his blaze.

  “Are there any left on the surface?”

  “No, Sire, they are all gone.”

  “Then we should attack now!” Malacoda boomed. “They won’t be expecting us. We’ll crush them and then we’ll . . .”

  “No!” Erebus screeched.

  Malacoda turned and glared at the enderman, and ball of orange fire starting to blossom within the ghast’s tentacles.

  “Ahh, I mean . . . that might not be the best choice . . . sire,” Erebus said quickly. “We should let the NPC army defeat the next guardian for us. Let them take the second key and unlock the Source for us.

  “But they will be expecting that,” Malacoda objected.

  “Look around you. They cannot possibly defeat this army. It is the largest collection of monsters ever assembled. We are an unstoppable force that will crash down upon them like a ferocious storm. They can do nothing, and this time, Gameknight999 does not have his precious users to help him. They are cornered and trapped, and will soon be destroyed.”

  Malacoda floated up off the ground, lost in thought. While he considered his options, Erebus glanced about at their army. They were hungry for battle and wanted to destroy all those NPCs, but more importantly, they wanted to get to the Source and destroy it. This army of Overworld and Nether monsters thirsted to be free from the confines of Minecraft; they wanted the freedom of the physical world. Looking across the sea of creatures, his eyes fell upon the shadow-crafters. They were all clustered together, discussing something, their mutterings unintelligible over the moans of the zombies, clicking of the spiders, and mechanical wheezes of the blazes. Teleporting to a new position amid a cluster of magma-cubes, Erebus could see that the strange shadow-crafter with the glowing eyes was at the center of the group. He was crafting something, but Erebus could not tell what. It looked to be a dark thing that was being created, but Zombiebrine’s green body blocked most of the shape. As he watched, Erebus started to feel a strange tingling all over his body, like something within him was being magnified, but he couldn’t quite figure out what. And then he noticed purple teleportation particles starting to form around him . . . but he hadn’t called on his powers . . . what was going on? Looking back at the shadow-crafters, he saw the one with glowing eyes suddenly stop his crafting. At the same time, the tingling sensation stopped and the teleportation mist disappeared. He was about to turn away when the shadow-crafter suddenly stood up and looked straight at Erebus, eyes blazing bright.

  “One side’s hero is the other side’s villain,” the strange shadow-crafter said with a scratchy voice.

  “What?” Erebus asked, but it was too late, the mysterious shadow-crafter was gone.

  He just silently disappeared, no teleportation particles, no popping sound as if his HP was consumed. The bright-eyed shadow-crafter just stopped being there. Looking around, Erebus scanned the area and could not find the creature . . . Turning back, he could see the other shadow-crafters looking at him with strange mischievous smiles painted on their blocky faces. Zombiebrine nodded to Erebus as if they had some kind of understanding, then turned and walked back to Malacoda. Looking to the floating monstrosity, Erebus could see that the fool was starting to give orders.

  I better get back there a
nd make sure that idiot doesn’t do something stupid.

  Reaching for his teleportation powers, he suddenly materialized in front of the King of the Nether. He didn’t even notice the teleportation particles form, if they had at all . . . interesting.

  Malacoda looked down at the enderman.

  “I have decided that we will wait until the NPCs have acquired the second key,” Malacoda boomed. “Then we will crush them at the footsteps of the Source itself.”

  “What a brilliant plan, your kingliness,” Erebus mocked.

  Malacoda glared down at him with an angry scowl.

  I’ll be done with this fool soon, he thought as he carefully reached for his teleportation ability. But this time, Erebus could feel more power there, as if it had been amplified, somehow. He could feel the difference and knew that this changed everything.

  Yes, I’ll definitely be done with this idiot soon, and then I will be the King of all the monsters . . . and Minecraft, and the physical world will soon be mine.

  And Erebus chuckled his eerie, creepy enderman laugh as he smiled up at Malacoda.

  CHAPTER 29

  THE END

  Gameknight999 materialized into a strange landscape of pale yellow blocks and tall dark pillars. But landscape was not quite the right word. He knew that this was actually a huge island, all made from the beige end stone blocks, the whole thing just floating in a dark emptiness that extended out in all directions; no features around the island . . . no stars, just the void.

  Looking down, Gameknight could see that he had materialized on an obsidian platform that was five blocks by five blocks in size. And fortunately for him, the obsidian platform was actually on the island and not floating in open space; that was a lucky break.

  Moving to the edge of the platform, he surveyed his surroundings. A hill maybe ten to twelve blocks high stood before him, blocking off his view of the area. Peeking up from far behind the hill, Gameknight could see the top of obsidian pillars, their summits capped with flame. Leaping off the platform he fell two blocks and landed on the end stone, his sword ready. Seeing that there were no threats nearby, he sheathed his blade and moved quickly up a gentle rise. Gazing across The End, he could see the dark forms of endermen dotting the pale yellow island, the shadowy creatures teleporting from place to place as they wandered about. There must have been a least a hundred of the terrifying monsters on the floating island, some collected in tight groups while others were spread out, their smaller dark cousins, endermites, always scurrying about nearby. As he surveyed the landscape, he could hear the others materializing behind him, the army slowly flowing from the underground stronghold and into this strange and frightening land. Feeling a presence next to him, he turned and found Crafter at his side.

  “Welcome to The End,” Gameknight said as he patted his friend on the shoulder.

  Crafter looked at the landscape and shuddered.

  “Look at all the endermen . . . they’re everywhere.”

  Gameknight turned from his friend and looked across The End. From the top of the hill he could see the landscape of The End without obstruction. Endermen were indeed everywhere, but the thing that drew Gameknight’s attention was the shadowy towers. Tall, dark obsidian pillars jutted up into the air all across the landscape like towering sentinels standing guard over the landscape. From experience, Gameknight knew that there would be about twenty of them, though he could only see six from this position. Atop each was a purple crystal that floated within a ring of fire, smoke and ash rising up into the dark, empty sky. The flames licking up around the purple crystals had a beautiful look to them, and made Gameknight think of the birthday candles on his last Minecraft birthday cake. He smiled. These purple crystals were the Ender-crystals and the secret of the Ender Dragon’s strength.

  They would be their first targets.

  Turning, Gameknight walked down the hill and faced the army.

  “Friends, the Dragon hasn’t seen us yet, but he will soon,” Gameknight said. “You cannot stand up against this demon, no matter how strong you think you are. If you try to stand and fight it, you might be able to do some damage. But then it will just fly up to the Ender-crystals atop those obsidian pillars and be healed. Our first challenge is not to fight the Dragon . . . it’s to destroy those crystals.

  “Archers, form a ring around the pillars and shoot the crystals. One shot will cause them to explode. They must be destroyed as quickly as possible. Swordsmen, guard the archers. Dig a channel three blocks wide and fill it with water. Archers, stand in the water. That will protect you from the endermen. Remember, if you see the dragon coming at you . . . run. Don’t stand there and try to fight with it, unless you’ve given up all hope and want your days to end. Now let’s go.”

  Drawing his sword, he turned toward the nearest pillar and ran.

  “FOR MINECRAFT!” he yelled.

  “FOR MINECRAFT!” the huge army bellowed as they followed him into the battle for The End.

  They flowed across the landscape like an unstoppable flood. All of the endermen nearby stopped their senseless wandering and turned toward the invaders, their eyes glowing bright in the dim light of The End. Some of the dark creatures started to approach the army, their devilish curiosity drawing them near.

  The first group of archers reached the nearest pillar and started firing. It was hard to get the range correct. The arrows fell short at first, embedding into the side of the obsidian pillar.

  “Higher, aim higher,” Gameknight yelled as he sped by, heading for the next tower. “Archers, spread out and get to all the Ender-crystals, quickly. Warriors, protect them.”

  And then one of the arrows made contact with the Ender-crystals. An explosion resonated throughout The End as the purple block exploded. A cheer erupted from the NPC army, but was cut short by a bellow of rage that sounded across the landscape . . . the dragon now knew they were here.

  “Here he comes!” someone shouted.

  Looking up, Gameknight could see faint movements in the sky. But it was hard to see clearly what it was, its body obscured by the smoke and ash that drifted up from the Crystals. And then he saw them . . . those terrible purple eyes blazing with hatred.

  With a mighty roar, the dragon soared overhead, its terrible eyes glaring down at the intruders. As it flew by, Gameknight could see its long spiked tail trailing behind its winged body like a giant black snake. The grey spikes that ran down its length gleamed in the gloomy light of The End, the razor sharp tips sparkling ever so slightly. He knew that the touch of those spikes likely meant death and he shuddered.

  Then the great monster banked, turning in a huge arc, its wings extended out. He could see the clawed tips of those wings and knew there was danger there as well. But then the monster straightened and soared over the army again. This time, Gameknight999 was able to look straight into the hateful eyes of the beast. It roared, opening its fanged mouth wide. He could see a purple glow come from deep within the monster; the strange lavender fire that glowed behind those eyes also burned inside its body. Suddenly, it snapped its jaws shut. The fangs crashed together like a mighty steel vise.

  As it passed, the monster kept its terrifying gaze on Gameknight999. The reptilian head stayed focused on the User-that-is-not-a-user as it passed, its grey horns sparkling with sharp death.

  Giving off another mighty roar as it passed, the horrific creature flew off into the darkness, likely getting ready for its first attack.

  Gameknight shuddered, then tore his eyes from where the beast had flown. Gathering his courage, he ran to the next pillar. He could see Hunter and Stitcher firing their enchanted arrows at the next Ender-crystal. The pointed shafts streaked through the air like flaming missiles, embedding into the side of the pillar. Readjusting their aim, they fired again. The glowing projectiles arced through the air and struck the crystal, causing the top of the pillar to erupt in flame, the blast echoing across The End; another one destroyed.

  Turning, he saw another group of archers laying sie
ge to one of the towers, a ring of swordsmen on guard. Woodbrin was there planting blocks of dirt on the ground followed by Grassbrin who was leaving behind entangling grass. They were protecting one of their flanks, the swordsmen protecting the other. Just then, an enderman chuckled right behind one of the warriors. The swordsman spun and swung his sword, striking the enderman in the chest.

  “Oh no,” Gameknight heard the NPC say.

  This enraged the dark creature, making its eyes glow bright white. It then stepped back from the NPC and screeched at the top of its lungs. The shrieking sound cut across The End like a blade through flesh, causing many of the NPCs to drop their weapons and cover their ears. The endermen all throughout The End start to quiver and shake, their eyes burning bright white with hatred; they were becoming enraged. Turning back to the NPC, the enderman struck out with its blunt fists, smashing into the NPC relentlessly until only the pile of his inventory marked his presence.

  “It’s started,” Gameknight muttered to himself as he saw the endermen horde teleporting toward the army. “The endermen are attacking! GET READY!”