CHAPTER 14
FLETCHER
Gameknight followed Hunter through the curving pass with Stitcher at his side. Their enchanted bows lit the sheer stone walls with an iridescent glow that made it seem magical—like a dream, but a dream that had zombies, spiders, and skeletons. No, not a dream . . . a nightmare.
As they ran, the sounds of battle grew louder, and they could hear the clicking of spiders and the sorrowful moaning of zombies. Digger’s booming voice thundered over the din of the monsters, the NPC shouting out orders to his companions.
They turned around the next bend and came to a long, straight section of Two-Sword Pass that widened in the middle to about eight blocks across. Herder sat huddled against one wall, by himself, with the ender chest next to him. On the far end of the passage, the others were trying desperately to keep the monsters from forcing their way through. Gameknight checked Herder to see if he was hurt. He thought the young boy’s eyes looked strange again—glassy—as though the lanky NPC were lost in some kind of terrifying nightmare.
A victorious roar came from behind them; Xa-Tul had likely made it past the crater.
“Quick, build a wall across the pass,” Gameknight said to Hunter and Stitcher.
The sisters put away their bows and started placing cobblestone. Building as fast as they could, they constructed a wall three blocks high. Once complete, they drew their bows.
“No!” Gameknight shouted. “Xa-Tul will smash through that wall easily with his sword. It needs to be much thicker.”
Hunter rolled her eyes and cast him an irritated glare.
Gameknight realized Herobrine was back, toying with their emotions.
“Hunter, it’s the whine from the XP making you angry,” Gameknight explained. “I need your help, please.”
The sincerity of his voice pierced through Herobrine’s evil. Hunter smiled as she pulled out more blocks of cobblestone and her sister did the same. Turning away from the construction, Gameknight ran over to Digger. Drawing both his swords, he smashed into the battle like a whirlwind of destruction.
A zombie swiped at him with its sharp claws extended. He ducked, then slashed at the monster’s waist, making the creature flash red. Not waiting for it to recover, he leapt high into the air and brought both weapons down with all his strength. The zombie disappeared with a pop!, but another quickly stepped up to take its place. The deadly mob was pushing forward, driving the defenders slowly backward one step at a time.
Suddenly, one of the zombies broke through the defensive lines and shuffled toward Herder. Gameknight sprinted toward the creature, both swords ready. But, when the monster turned to face him, the User-that-is-not-a-user saw a long, curving scar that ran across its forehead and the faintest stubble of blond hair growing on the creature’s head. This was no mere zombie—it was a zombie villager. IT WAS FLETCHER, BAKER’S WIFE!
Instead of attacking her, Gameknight thought quickly, then pulled out blocks of dirt and placed them around the creature, quickly building an enclosure two blocks high. Moving up onto the brown wall, Gameknight looked down on the monster. Hatred burned in its red eyes; the zombie virus completely ruled Fletcher’s mind. Would she even recognize her husband if she saw him? he thought. Gameknight pulled out the potion of weakness and moved closer to the creature. He knew he should move away, but he couldn’t afford to miss. He threw it down into the enclosure and the splash potion shattered on the wall and coated Fletcher-zombie, but in his rush, he’d managed to get the purple liquid on his own legs as well. Instantly, Gameknight felt weak, his legs starting to shake, but thankfully it was a very small dose, and the sensation only lasted a few moments. Looking down at the monster, Gameknight could see gray spirals hovering around the zombie villager, signifying the potion had been successful.
Next, he pulled out his golden apple and threw the shining sphere at the monster. The zombie made no attempt to reach up to catch the fruit; it just stood there looking up at Gameknight999 and growling. When the fruit hit the monster, it just disappeared, somehow dissolving into the zombie, as if merging with the Fletcher’s very essence. The gray spirals now turned to a deep red as Fletcher-zombie started to shake quickly, a hissing sound coming from her body.
“Don’t worry, Fletcher,” Gameknight said to the moaning creature. “You’ll be OK in a few minutes.”
Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out a shovel, then tossed it into the enclosure. He also threw in an apple and a loaf of bread.
“I hope you can understand me,” Gameknight said to the shaking zombie. “When the transformation is complete, dig your way out and eat something. You’ll probably need this, as well.” He laid a spare iron sword at the zombie’s feet and then turned to help his friends battle the attacking mob.
Gameknight was shocked at what he saw. The zombies had pushed the scant defenders back and were trying to find a hole in their line so they could flood into the pass. Behind him, Gameknight could hear Xa-Tul smashing the cobblestone wall, but he had not torn it down . . . yet. When the zombie king destroyed the obstacle, they were probably done for. Running forward, Gameknight moved between Baker and Digger, his two swords carving great paths of destruction through the zombie formation. Arrows flew out from the back of the horde as the skeletons moved into the pass and joined the fighting zombies. But Stitcher and Hunter fired back, their own flaming arrows flying into the monster army, taking down zombie and skeleton targets in equal numbers.
Gameknight heard something behind them—it sounded like someone was building something—but he couldn’t stop to see what it was. There were too many monsters and he didn’t dare take his eyes off the battle.
Baker grunted as a zombie scored a hit, causing the last of his armor to fall away, but the NPC did not stop. He continued to fight, knowing there was no other choice.
“Everyone, push forward!” Gameknight yelled, his swords flashing through zombie flesh. “We have to hold them back!”
The NPCs drove the monsters back with new ferocity, pushing them away from Herder and the ender chest. The zombies, surprised by the newfound intensity of the NPCs charge, backpedaled, few wanting to be the one to face the enraged defenders.
Suddenly, a loud ringing sound, like a gong, sounded from behind. Gameknight smiled. He knew exactly what that was: she’d turned back into a villager again. Soon, a cry of happiness filled the air.
“BAKER!” the newly transformed NPC yelled, her voice filled with joy as she emerged.
“Fletcher??” Baker said, finishing off an armored zombie and stopping dead in his tracks at the sound of her voice, which he thought he’d never hear again. “FLETCHER!” the NPC yelled joyously as he turned around to find his wife standing before him.
For the first time in what seemed like forever, a smile crept across Baker’s face, his eyes lighting up like brilliant gems. He never even noticed the pair of spiders coming up behind him. Gameknight started to cry out, to warn his friend and brave warrior, but it was already too late. They fell viciously upon Baker, their wicked, curved claws tearing into the last of his HP.
“FLETCHER?” Baker yelled, this time his voice filled with sadness, his HP down to practically zero. Gameknight felt like everything was moving in slow motion. Fletcher reached out for her husband, a look of terror on her face.
And then, a moment later, in the blink of an eye, Baker was gone, his inventory falling to the ground.
“NOOOOO!” Fletcher yelled as she ran forward.
Gameknight burned with anger. Turning to the spiders, he slashed at them, overwhelmed with hatred. Crafter stepped up to his side and joined him, adding his sword to Gameknight’s blistering attacks. In moments, the two spiders had been destroyed.
Fletcher rushed forward to the spot where her husband had just died and fell to her knees, weeping. The items on the ground flowed into the woman as though drawn to her by invisible threads.
A zombie lunged at the mourning woman, but Gameknight’s sword knocked the monster aside. Glancing around,
the User-that-is-not-a-user could see spiders climbing down the walls. There were too many of them to keep fighting like this. Soon they would be surrounded and overwhelmed.
A cry of anger filled the pass like nothing ever heard in Minecraft. Turning to the sound, Gameknight saw Fletcher standing, Baker’s enchanted pickaxe in her hands. She swung the pick into the monster horde, tearing HP from green bodies, fighting with a vengeance that would never be sated.
“Gameknight!” Stitcher yelled, pointed to his side where a zombie was almost upon him.
Gameknight turned, swinging his weapons wildly and carving out spider and zombie HP alike. A spider rushed forward, trying to squeeze past him.
“GAMEKNIGHT!” Stitcher yelled again.
He glanced over his shoulder. Stitcher stood on a pile of stones, firing down at the zombies that were trying to breach the cobblestone wall they’d built.
“What?!”
“It’s Herder. He’s disappeared again,” Stitcher said, pointing at the side of the passage.
Gameknight stepped away, looking back toward where he last saw the young NPC curled up against the wall of the pass. Now, a ring of obsidian could be seen against one wall, a purple teleportation field filling its interior. Herder and the ender chest were nowhere to be seen.
“He took the ender chest to the Nether?” Gameknight said, confused. “Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know, maybe . . .” Stitcher momentarily paused as she fired an arrow in Gameknight’s direction. The arrow streaked past him and buried itself into the body of a spider. “Maybe he was just afraid.”
Gameknight finished off the spider, then shouted back at Stitcher. “Why would he abandon us in our hour of need?” he asked, hurt. “We need him, and he left us! Besides, the Nether is far too dangerous for someone young and inexperienced in fighting like he is.”
Crafter approached them and joined their conversation. “You can never be sure why someone—” Crafter began to say.
“We have to follow him and get that chest back!” Digger interrupted, his voice booming off the walls of Two-Sword Pass. “We don’t have any choice now. We must follow him to the Nether.”
Using his pick, Digger stepped back and dug a hole in the ground. He dug another and another. Gameknight moved next to him and drove the monsters back, providing the stocky NPC more room to place TNT in the holes he’d dug. Not waiting for instructions, Hunter and Stitcher fired at the blocks as the defenders stepped back. The monsters, seeing the blinking cubes, tried to retreat, but there were too many monsters behind them, blocking their route. They were cast into the air like ragdolls as the blocks exploded, great balls of fire enveloping the monsters.
“Everyone to the Nether!” Digger yelled. “We won’t have very much time, and this monster horde will be right behind us.”
They all ran for the portal. Digger was the first to go through, followed by Crafter and Monkeypants. Then Hunter and Stitcher ran through, leaving only Gameknight and Fletcher.
“Fletcher, you go. I’ll stay behind and slow them down,” Gameknight said.
“I wanted to thank you for saving me,” the woman said, tears now streaming down her cheeks. “I was able to see my precious Baker one last time, and for that I will forever be in your debt. Thank you, Gameknight999 . . . and good bye.”
“What?” Gameknight asked.
Suddenly, she stepped forward and shoved the User-that-is-not-a-user into the purple teleportation field.
“Noooo!” Gameknight yelled, arms waving as he toppled off balance and his vision became wavy and distorted.
As he watched, he could see Fletcher swinging the diamond pickaxe at the obsidian ring, hoping to destroy the portal before the monsters could come through. Slowly, his vision dimmed, but he could see the brave NPC wielding the enchanted diamond pickaxe with every ounce of strength she had. Zombies were coming up behind her, reaching out with their claws, but she ignored everything, focusing only on the obsidian block, swinging the diamond pickaxe over and over again, until—
And then Gameknight999 found himself standing in the Nether, the heat and smoke slamming into him like a flaming hammer.
“Fletcher, nooo,” Gameknight moaned.
The portal winked out behind him, the undulating purple field within the ring of dark stone disappearing. The pathway from the Overworld was now severed. There was no going back for Fletcher.
“What happened?” Monkeypants asked. “Why did the portal go out?”
Gameknight turned and faced his companions, tears running down his cheeks.
“What happened? Where’s Fletcher?” Stitcher asked.
Gameknight just shook his head, wiping the square tears from his cheeks.
“She stayed back and used Baker’s diamond pickaxe to break the portal,” Gameknight explained softly. “She saved us all with that enchanted tool. Without her sacrifice, we would probably all be dead, and Herobrine’s XP would likely be captured.”
Putting away his weapons, Gameknight reached high up into the air, fingers spread wide. His companions mimicked his actions, all of them reaching up as though trying to touch the rocky ceiling high overhead. The User-that-is-not-a-user clenched his hand into a fist, squeezing it with all his might, every ounce of anger and rage contained within that grasp.
“For Baker, and for Fletcher,” Gameknight said in a loud voice. “Without Baker’s pick and Fletcher’s sacrifice, we would be lost.” He looked around at his friends. There was not a dry eye to be found. “We will not forget you. No one in Minecraft will forget you.”
He then brought his fist down. His face changed from one of sadness to one of grim determination.
“What do we do now?” Crafter asked as he gestured at their surroundings. “Herder could be anywhere.”
Gameknight looked around. There were lava rivers and rusty netherrack blocks everywhere, the occasional mound of nether quartz adding the smallest bit of contrast to the fiery landscape. They stood on the side of a hill that gently sloped downward to a massive lava ocean, the distant shore lost in the smoky haze.
“He’ll be down there,” Gameknight said, pointing to the lava ocean.
“How do you know?” Monkeypants asked.
“Because down there you’ll find a nether fortress on the shore of the lava ocean,” the User-that-is-not-a-user explained. “That’s where Herder is going.”
“What? Why would he do that?” Crafter said.
“So he can free Herobrine’s XP,” Gameknight said, everything suddenly becoming crystal clear. “I know it is hard to understand, but Herder is no longer on our side. He is Herobrine’s servant now, and our enemy.”
Gameknight sighed. The words made him sad and furious at the same time, but he knew them to be true.
Herder, why would you betray us? the User-that-is-not-a-user thought as more tears flowed down his square cheeks.
CHAPTER 15
CHASING HERDER
Gameknight led the party down the netherrack slope toward the distant ocean of lava. The moans of zombie-pigmen followed them as they traveled, their sorrowful voices filled with pain and despair. After the Great Zombie Invasion, the zombie-pigmen had been sentenced for their war crimes to be forever incarcerated within these hot and smoky lands, and their voices revealed their misery and the fury they felt toward their jailers. Fortunately, zombie-pigmen could not fight unless first attacked, and the NPCs knew this all too well. Careful to veer around the decaying monsters, the company kept their distance as they traveled through the burning landscape.
“You’re sure he went this way, son?” Monkeypants asked.
“I’m sure,” the User-that-is-not-a-user replied. “I don’t know how I know it, but I know there’s a fortress down there, and that’s where Herder will be headed.”
“But why would—” his father began to ask, only to be silenced when Gameknight held up his hand.
“You hear that?” Gameknight whispered, stopping in his tracks.
There was no mis
taking it this time. A clattering of bones echoed across the burning landscape. It could only mean one thing: wither skeletons.
“Take cover, quickly,” Gameknight said quietly to the group as he ducked behind a pile of nether quartz.
The party joined him just as a company of blackened skeletons came around a large pile of glowstone. The monsters were like their Overworld cousins, composed only of bones. Curving ribs stuck out from their jagged spines and their long, straight legs connected to bony hips. Each held a sharp stone sword in front of them. Though the weapon did not do very much damage, wither skeletons were very skilled with them and every NPC in the Overworld knew they were fearsome opponents in battle.
As they crouched behind the quartz blocks, waiting for the threat to pass, Gameknight had an idea.
“Get ready to attack,” he whispered.
“Attack?” Crafter asked, his face showing surprise.
Gameknight nodded.
“Is this another of your crazy ideas?” Hunter asked in a hushed voice.
The User-that-is-not-a-user nodded and cast the girl a mischievous grin.
“I like it!” she replied.
“NOW!” Gameknight yelled, then charged forward.
He smashed into the middle of their formation before the monsters even knew what was happening. Spinning to the left, he slashed out with his iron sword, chopping the wither skeletons on the right with his diamond blade. Before he could attack another, his father was at his side, his own iron blade tearing at the creature’s HP. One skeleton disappeared with a pop!, then another, and another. In a minute, the company had destroyed every wither skeleton in the group, leaving the ground littered with their inventory.
“Collect everything,” Gameknight said as he pulled out his shovel and dug a couple of blocks of the brown soul-sand that sat nearby.
“A bunch of coal and bones? Why do we want all this?” Digger asked.
“I need the skulls,” Gameknight replied. “It’s rare, but sometimes wither skeletons will drop a skull. I need them.”
“Collecting skulls is kind of morbid, son,” Monkeypants271 said, his voice sounding disapproving.
Gameknight999 vs. Herobrine Page 10