Confronting the Dragon

by Mark Cheverton

  Across the pale landscape, Gameknight saw the dragon swoop down on a collection of archers and swordsmen, the flying beast flashing red as it smashed down on the NPCs. Villagers just disappeared as it flew through the company, leaving behind piles of items and vacant looks on those that just barely survived.

  This dragon is tearing us to bits, he thought as he watched the carnage. No more . . . NO MORE.

  “It’s time we attack!” he yelled.

  Sprinting to the remaining warriors, he had them form up into two columns with a wide space in between.

  “Everyone crouch and wait,” Gameknight shouted. He then turned to Hunter and Stitcher who had followed him. “I’ll bring the dragon to you, Hunter. Be ready. When I hit him, he’ll stop flying for a moment, then all the archers must charge forward and shoot as many arrows as they can, as quickly as they can. You got it?”

  Before she could reply, Gameknight streaked away. He knew that the monster was still stalking him, and it was out there somewhere.

  “Where are you dragon?” he screamed. “Come and get me.”

  Sprinting across The End, Gameknight scanned the dark sky for those burning eyes. He knew they were there . . . somewhere, and then he saw the purple flash. In the distance, Gameknight thought he saw something that triggered a memory from a dream . . . no from the Land of Dreams. It was the hateful creature with the glowing eyes; not an NPC and not a user . . . he was something else. The creature was just standing there and watching, unafraid of endermen or dragon, his eyes burning bright with hatred.

  What was he?

  A roar sounded from high up in the air. Tearing his eyes from those vile glowing eyes, Gameknight slowly moved backward toward the archers, watching the dragon approach. He had to time this just right. When he was right in between the two columns of warriors, he stopped running and stood his ground.

  “I’m not afraid of you,” he screamed at the flying beast, “and I won’t let you hurt my friends anymore. The line is drawn here,” he scratched a line on the face of the end stone, “AND YOU CAN GO NO FURTHER!”

  The Ender Dragon bellowed out a great roar and swooped straight for the User-that-is-not-a-user. And then suddenly, Gameknight charged forward. Leaping high up into the air, he swung his shimmering blade and drove it into one of the monster’s wings, cutting in deep. Stunned by the ferocity of Gameknight’s attack, the monster just hovered in the air for a second.

  “NOW!”

  Suddenly, a hundred archers stood up and filled the dark sky with arrows. The sharp points dug into the dragon’s flesh, making the beast scream out in pain. Beating its wings with all its might, it flew up into the air, out of range.

  “Get ready, it will be back,” Mason shouted as he directed the swordsmen toward attacking endermen, protecting the archer’s backs.

  “I see it,” shouted Stitcher. “The dragon is over there.”

  Gameknight looked in the direction the young girl was pointing and could see the pair of purple eyes watching him with cautious discretion.

  “I think it’s afraid,” Hunter said. “It’s staying out of range.”

  “That’s not good, we have to destroy that thing,” Gameknight said.

  Stepping up onto a small hill, he turned and faced the dragon. He could see those blazing eyes looking at him through the darkness as it circled around, looking for the Ender Crystals that no longer existed.

  “Come on back, I’m right here!” Gameknight shouted. “I destroyed your Ender Crystals, all of them. What are you going to do about that, you flying worm?”

  The dragon seemed to hesitate and hover in the air as it listened to Gameknight999’s taunts, then turned its long scaled neck and looked back at him, its eyes like intense purple lasers. When he saw the eyes glare down at him, Gameknight threw his sword to the ground.

  “What’s wrong . . . you afraid of me?”

  He then took off his helmet and threw that to the ground, then removed his diamond chest plate and tossed it aside as if the dragon could do nothing to him.

  “COME ON YOU WORTHLESS CREATURE,” the User-that-is-not-a-user screamed with all his strength. He held his arms out wide as if wanting to give the dragon a warm embrace and closed his eyes. “LET’S DANCE!”

  The dragon let out a roar that made the very fabric of The End shake. The flying monstrosity turned and headed straight for Gameknight, but when it was within range, Hunter and Stitcher were suddenly at his side firing their enchanted projectiles at the monster. Thrumm . . . thrumm . . . thrumm. Their bows sang out as the arrows streaked toward their target. And then more arrows streaked out overhead as additional archers came forward, Bakers, Weavers, Diggers, Runners, Farmers . . . an entire community of people stepping forward to take their lives back. And as the massive wave of arrows fell down on the Ender Dragon, it roared one more time. This time it was not the angry, hateful sound it had been bellowing since the NPCs had invaded its land. Now it sounded mournful and sad, as if the dragon knew what was about to happen and was overcome with grief. Then the monster started to glow purple and white. Shafts of light shot out from the impaled body, filling The End with probably the first taste of bright light it had ever seen. The endermen all moved away as the dragon glowed brighter and brighter. The shafts of light stretched out in all directions, piercing the empty sky, and then suddenly the dragon exploded and was gone.

  The Ender Dragon was dead.

  CHAPTER 31

  THE SECOND KEY

  The army let out a great, joyous cheer.

  With the death of the dragon, the endermen all seemed to have had enough of battle. Teleporting to the far side of The End, they disappeared in a cloud of purple mist. The warriors breathed a sigh of relief, sheathed their weapons and cheered again. They screamed at the top of their lungs, yelling in celebration for Gameknight999, for the User-that-is-not-a-user, for Minecraft. The NPCs were jubilant over their victory. But Gameknight did not cheer. Instead, he looked about the battlefield and saw hundreds of piles of items sprawled across the pale yellow landscape as well as the purple spheres dropped by the enemy; the markers for the dead. Looking at the survivors, they had easily lost half their number if not more.

  This battle had cost them dearly.

  Reaching up to the dark sky, Gameknight raised his hand, fingers spread wide. The NPCs saw this and instantly stopped cheering. Raising their hands in kind, they all gave the salute for the dead, squeezing their fists tightly over their heads as they remembered those dear to them that no longer drew breath. This was a great victory, but a sad day at the same time.

  Lowering his hand, Gameknight wiped a tear from his face as he looked across the sea of faces. Reaching down, he retrieved his armor and sword, then turned to face Hunter and Stitcher.

  “Thank you for being there for me,” he said.

  “What else were we gonna do?” Hunter answered. “We weren’t gonna let you have all the fun.”

  “Hunter!” Stitcher chided.

  Her older sister just shrugged and smiled.

  Below the exploded dragon now stood another portal, a three block tall spire of bedrock surrounded by more blocks of the dark, impenetrable stone. The whole thing floated six blocks in the air, and gave off little puffs of ash and smoke as if it were aflame. Sitting atop the spire was a black egg, small facets of purple sprinkled across its surface.

  Hunter gasped.

  “It’s beautiful,” Stitcher said as she gazed up at the second key to the Source.

  One of the soldiers pulled out a stack of cobblestone and built steps up to the mysterious structure. Putting away the blocks, he moved up close to the edge of the portal and reached up to take the egg.

  “Stop!” Gameknight shouted.

  The warrior froze.

  “We must be very careful. The Dragon’s Egg will teleport away when picked up. This must be done just right.”

  Walking up the steps, Gameknight moved around the rim of the portal and next to the warrior. The portal at his feet had the same twin
kling look as the Ender Portal in the stronghold. A sea of stars stared up at him, some blue, some gray, some white. As he moved around the edge, he could see the stars shift as if he were viewing some kind of three-dimensional projection.

  Glancing up at the Egg, he knew that they had to do this carefully, or this entire battle would have to be replayed again, and he wasn’t sure if their army was up for that. He’d been here many times before, trying to take the Egg only to have it disappear and reappear somewhere else in The End. Then he remembered a video he’d seen of someone using a piston to collect the egg. Looking up at the pedestal on which it sat, he considered all the pieces of the puzzle, then glanced down at the portal that was spread out at his feet, the stars sparkling a welcome invitation.

  If the Egg falls into that portal then we will have lost, he thought.

  “Cover the portal with cobblestone,” he said to the warrior.

  The NPC looked at him, confused.

  “DO IT!”

  This snapped the villager into motion. Putting away his bow, the NPC pulled out a stack of cobblestone and started to carefully cover the portal.

  They would only get one shot and they had to hurry. Gameknight figured that Malacoda and Erebus would be here soon, and the King of the Endermen might be able to teleport with the Egg and take it if they failed here. They had to do this right and do it quickly.

  Pulling out his own cobblestone, he helped with the cover, sealing away the starry portal from sight. As he worked, Crafter pushed his way through the crowd and ascended the steps. By the time Gameknight was done, the portal was completely covered with grey blocks of cobble, the puffs of smoke from the portal now contained within its sparkling depths. Gameknight moved out on the new surface, making room for his friend.

  “What is it you are doing?” Crafter asked.

  “We have to harvest the Ender Dragon Egg very carefully. We can’t touch it unless it drops as an item.”

  Moving to the edge of the portal, Gameknight looked down at the soldiers below. Mason was standing next to Hunter, his bright green eyes looking up at him.

  “I need some redstone powder and an iron ingot. Does anybody have . . .”

  Before he could complete the sentence, the items were tossed up to him.

  “Crafter, do you have your crafting bench?”

  “Of course, what kind of crafter would I be if I didn’t have a crafting bench?”

  “Great,” Gameknight said. “I need you to make a piston, quickly.”

  He glanced over to where the army had materialized into The End, expecting to see a massive army of monsters appear any second.

  “OK, here you go,” Crafter said as he handed the piston over to him.

  “I need some blocks of cobblestone right here next to the egg.”

  The warrior moved next to Gameknight and placed two blocks on top of each other, right next to the bedrock spire.

  “That’s enough,” Gameknight commanded.

  Moving to the other side, he placed the piston so that its face was pointing toward the egg.

  “Red stone torch,” he shouted.

  Crafter pulled one out and handed it to Gameknight.

  “Put it on the piston.”

  Crafter moved to the piston and stuck the redstone torch into its side. Instantly, the piston activated, its flat surface suddenly extending outward, knocking the dragon egg off the bedrock pedestal and into Gameknight’s hands. A cheer erupted below, the army shouting out in jubilation. Gameknight looked down at their faces and saw a look that he hadn’t seen for a long time; hope.

  “OK, let’s uncover the portal and get to the Source,” Gameknight commanded.

  They broke away the stone cover and were surprised that the portal had changed from a star-filled night sky to one of complete darkness. Gameknight looked down into the portal and could see something in its depths. It looked like a beacon of some kind. He could just barely make out the streak of light that was stretching up into a dark sky. As his eyes became adjusted to the darkness, he could see the surroundings being lit by this beacon. There were other, smaller beacons near this large bright one, but the other beacons were dark, giving off no light . . . nothing. What did this mean? Gameknight suddenly knew that this was what he’d come here to protect. He was looking at the Source.

  Suddenly a screechy cackling filled the air. Looking up, Gameknight saw Malacoda materialize into existence, Erebus at his side.

  They were here.

  “Quickly, everyone through the portal,” Gameknight said. He then leapt into the portal and slowly dissolved from sight. The last thing he saw from The End was the glowing red eyes of his enemy, Erebus, an eerie toothy smile on his sinister face.

  CHAPTER 32

  THE CLASH OF KINGS

  Erebus and Malacoda stood on the small hill of end stone that sat in front of the obsidian platform. They looked across The End and could see the army of NPCs standing around an island of bedrock, a tall spire sticking out of the middle.

  “That’s probably the portal to the Source,” screeched Erebus.

  He could see that annoying User-that-is-not-a-user standing on the edge of the island, staring back at them for an instant, then disappearing into the portal.

  “We should attack them now!” boomed Malacoda. Turning, he looked back at the obsidian platform and a curious look came over his face. “Where is my army?”

  “What? Are you missing your precious monsters?” Erebus cackled. “My withers hold the other side of the portal. They are keeping everyone out until I command that they may follow.”

  “Then tell them to come quickly, I command it. We can catch the User-that-is-not-a-user,” Malacoda said.

  “You fool. You still think that you are in command?”

  Malacoda whirled to face Erebus.

  “Your days are over, Malacoda. It is now the time of the endermen.”

  Erebus gathered his teleportation power, causing a cloud of purple particles to dance about him.

  “You cannot teleport, I forbid it,” Malacoda boomed. “Remember when we first met, I stopped you from teleporting and running from me, and I will do it now.” The ends of Malacoda’s tentacles glowed slightly. “Kneel before me, your king, or be destroyed.”

  Erebus only glared back at the ghast and smiled. Malacoda bellowed with rage and formed a glowing ball of fire within the writhing tentacles.

  “I’ve grown tired of you, enderman.”

  The burning sphere of death streaked toward Erebus, but at the last instant Erebus teleported away and appeared right next to the King of the Nether.

  “You no longer control my teleportation powers, idiot,” Erebus screeched. “I’ve been updated and no longer need to suffer your foolishness any longer.”

  He then gave off a high-pitched screech that made Malacoda cringe. It echoed all across The End, making all the endermen stop and turn toward their king. In an instant, all of the Endermen across the pale yellow land materialized right next to Erebus. Flicking one of his long, dark arms, he had three endermen move to Malacoda’s side and wrap their long black arms around him, pinning him to the ground. The King of the Nether struggled to escape the endermen’s grasp, but more came forward and wrapped their arms around the ghast, holding him tight. Then they picked him up and brought him near the edge of the floating island, where the end stone stopped and the massive dark void began. Erebus looked over the edge of the floating island and down into the darkness. It looked endless. Erebus knew that if one fell far enough they would eventually reach the end of the Minecraft universe, and at that point all entities died. That was where he was going to send the King of the Nether.

  “Throw him over,” Erebus screeched. “Make sure he does not return.”

  The endermen teleported out into open space with the King of the Nether held in their clammy grasp. Malacoda tried to hover upward, but more of the endermen piled onto the ghast, making the collection heavier and heavier. They finally started to fall as more of the shadowy monsters j
oined the mass of bodies.

  “You can’t do this . . . I’m the King of the Nether,” Malacoda bellowed.

  “We aren’t in the Nether anymore, fool,” Erebus screeched. “Goodbye Malacoda, enjoy oblivion.”

  The enderman cackled his maniacal laugh as the screaming ghast slowly fell down into the void. As he descended, Erebus could see Malacoda’s burning red eyes, his jagged mouth screaming out in anger and terror. And as he watched, the two red pinpoints of light became dimmer . . . and dimmer . . . and dimmer, until they winked out.

  The King of the Nether was gone.

  The endermen that fell with the ghast suddenly materialized, their dark skin smoking from contact with the end of the universe, but still able to teleport back and survive.

  “And so ends the reign of Malacoda,” Erebus said, then cackled the loudest enderman laugh ever heard in Minecraft.

  “My plans are almost complete.” He turned to one of the dark endermen standing nearby. “Go back and tell my wither generals to send them through. It is time for the monsters of Minecraft to fulfill their destiny.”

  The creature disappeared in a cloud of purple particles, then instantly, a group of three-headed withers materialized on the obsidian platform followed by a massive flood of monsters, enough to destroy any army that stood in their way.

  Erebus smiled as he watched his army come through the Ender Portal and flow out upon the landscape of The End. But then his eyes fell on the shadow-crafter. His glowing white eyes made Erebus feel uneasy. There was something about this creature that he didn’t like. It wasn’t the sense of evil that always seemed to be circling the creature . . . no, that part he liked. It was something else. In the back of Erebus’s mind, he had the feeling that this dark creature, the leader of all the other shadow-crafters, had some other plan in mind, and Erebus had not been able to figure it out. And because of this, he didn’t trust this creature. He wouldn’t even give his name . . . and that he definitely did not trust.