Turning a corner, they found a lone blaze and fell on it before it could form even a single fireball. Gameknight and Monkeypants were like a lethal tornado of steel and diamond as their blades quickly extinguished the monster, leaving a pile of blaze rods in their wake.
As they continued on, it was easier and easier to know which corridor to follow; the whining sound grew louder and louder, impossible to ignore, like a trail of breadcrumbs that followed Herder’s path, drawing them toward the dark box.
They came upon a group of a dozen wither skeletons who jumped into their path, weapons drawn. Charging through the formation of ashen, bony monsters with his head down, Gameknight made it seem like he wasn’t going to stop to fight, but instead, barrel right through to the other side and keep going. But when he had pierced through their formation, he instead immediately turned and slashed at them from behind with his two swords while his friends attacked the front ranks. Charging into the middle of the group of monsters, Digger swung his two great pickaxes around in a circle, cleaving a great swath of destruction. Confused and out-maneuvered, the monsters tried to hug the walls of the passage to escape Digger’s wrath, but this gave them little room to fight and made them even easier targets.
At the sides of the passage, Hunter and Stitcher both placed a block of netherrack on the ground and stood on them, giving them a vantage point from which to fire. Their flaming arrows fell down upon the monsters like a fiery rain, never missing a bony body.
With their rage focused on Herobrine, and their unwavering refusal to be defeated, the companions worked together like a well-oiled machine, each supporting the other as they battled.
The wither skeletons realized their impending fate and tried to retreat and escape the battle, but Gameknight was there, blocking their path. In another minute, all the monsters had been destroyed, the ground littered with stone swords, bones, and glowing balls of XP.
The User-that-is-not-a-user moved carefully through the debris, the colorful spheres moving to his body and increasing his XP as he kicked aside swords and bones. He growled with frustration when he realized they had not dropped any more skulls.
“How many of those things do you need?” Stitcher asked, annoyed by the delay.
“Only one more,” Gameknight999 explained.
“Here, I picked one up when we first came to the Nether,” Crafter explained.
The young NPC reached into his inventory and pulled out the small dark cube. He tossed it to Gameknight, who caught it deftly
“Thanks,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “I have an idea that most of you won’t like very much, but you’ll have to trust me.”
“Is it incredibly dangerous?” Hunter asked.
Gameknight nodded and smiled.
“I like it already,” she exclaimed.
“That’s why I said most,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said with a smirk.
“Come on. Let’s get moving,” Monkeypants yelled above the whine from the ender chest, which now was almost earsplitting. “Herder can’t be far away.”
Nodding, Gameknight turned and sprinted down the passage. Following the sound, he turned this way and that, wending his way through the labyrinth of corridors. As they proceeded, they noticed the darkness they were used to traveling in was beginning to fade as they went deeper and deeper into the fortress. The walls here were lit with a faint orange glow.
“I think that’s light from the lava ocean,” Gameknight said.
“You’re wrong,” Digger snapped. “It’s probably just torches left by a careless user.” His comment sounded like an accusation aimed at Gameknight and his father, and he realized it almost immediately. “Ahh . . . sorry, I guess that wasn’t very nice,” he said. “What I meant to say is, how do you know it’s light from lava and not torches?”
“I can’t see any flickering in the light,” Gameknight explained. “Torches always flicker a little.”
Digger looked in that direction and nodded. “You’re right,” he said, apologizing to his friend, then looking at the ground.
“Don’t worry about it, Digger. We’ve got bigger issues to think about. But I think that light means we’re going in the right direction,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “We need to hurry. I have the feeling we’re in a race, and we’re losing. Come on!”
Gameknight accelerated, sprinting now at full speed. Turning a corner, he found himself looking down a long, straight passage, the end of the corridor filled with bright orange light.
“There, that’s it!” Gameknight exclaimed.
Not waiting for a response, the User-that-is-not-a-user streaked through the corridor. At the end, he burst out into a large opening in the side of the fortress. In front of him was an ornate set of steps leading down to the ground, the great lava ocean a dozen blocks farther away and stretching far out into the distance. Gameknight was shocked at the immensity of the great ocean. It stretched out to the left and right as far as he could see, the shore cutting a curving path through the nether. Ahead, the distant shore was too far away to see as well. The pool of molten stone before them was seemingly endless. From high overhead, glowing streams of lava fell from the ceiling. The ash and smoke from the lava-falls choked the air, making Gameknight’s throat hurt every time he drew in a hot breath. It was truly a scene from his worst nightmare.
Glancing down at the foot of the steps, Gameknight suddenly saw Herder, standing there by himself, staring out at the burning ocean. The ender chest was held firmly under one arm, a sickly white light oozing from the corners of the lid.
The whine from Herobrine’s XP was like a thundering jackhammer in the back of his head. Gameknight felt dizzy; it was hard to even move normally. Sucking in his breath, and using every bit of willpower he could muster, he lurched down the steps and approached Herder.
“Herder, what are you doing?” Gameknight shouted. “Why did you steal the ender chest?”
Herder didn’t move, and the User-that-is-not-a-user was about to call out to him again when a mechanical wheezing sound filled the passage behind them. Glancing over his shoulder, Gameknight could see the corridor they’d just traversed filling with bright, flickering light, as though a wave of fire were crashing through its length.
“Blazes!” Digger shouted.
“Go get that ender chest,” Hunter yelled as she placed a block of cobblestone on the ground that she could fire from.
“Everyone take one of these,” Crafter said quickly as he handed out bottles of fire resistance potion. “There’s enough for everyone to have one. Don’t use them yet. We don’t know when we might need them most. I have a feeling we’ll know when the time comes.”
The young NPC placed the bottle in Gameknight’s hands as he ran by, then started to place cobblestone along the wall of the passage, narrowing the walkway in an effort to force the monsters to squeeze together, which would make them easier targets to shoot.
The User-that-is-not-a-user looked at his friends and gave his father a hopeful smile.
“Go help Herder,” Monkeypants said. “We’ll slow them down as long as we can.”
Gameknight nodded, then ran down the stairs, heading directly for the tall, skinny NPC. As he approached, Herder shook his head as if saying ‘no’ to some internal argument. The young NPC shot a quick glance over his shoulder and, seeing Gameknight approach, he moved closer to the edge of the boiling ocean, the glowing chest shifting nervously from arm to arm.
“Herder, what are you doing?” Gameknight asked.
“I have to . . . to get rid of th . . . th . . . this,” the young NPC stuttered.
“Herder, look at me. You stole the chest from us and I’m really mad at what you did. I don’t think you know how dangerous that thing is.”
Gameknight took a step closer, and the XP shrieked in defense like an animal that realized it had been cornered. The noise felt like a chisel gouging away at the inside of his head, causing a throbbing pain right behind his eyes.
“You took it because yo
u don’t trust me, right?” Gameknight continued. “You think I can’t deal with this, that I’m not strong enough, is that it?” His anger was growing, about to boil over. Gameknight thought he heard the whining sound almost chuckle.
“Ahh . . . I . . . I didn’t—” Herder stammered, but was interrupted.
“Don’t try to lie to me. I know you don’t trust me, Herder.” The whining became louder as Gameknight’s anger grew. “I’ve known it all along. And now you’re trying to steal that chest from me. You’re just a person that—”
Then, out of the blue, Gameknight saw a flicker in Herder’s eyes, a glimpse of kindness and innocence that he hadn’t seen from the young NPC in a long time. His father’s words came back to him upon seeing this, echoing within his mind and pushing back Herobrine’s whine.
Don’t judge the person, judge the behavior . . .
Gameknight looked at the young boy and could tell by his stance that he was terrified, his entire body tensed and strained like a coiled spring about to explode. This was not the Herder he knew; it was someone who was confused and scared, acting out of fear and frustration. Herder was his friend, and Gameknight had to help him somehow.
“Herder, you can’t just throw it in the lava,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said in a much calmer voice. The whine seemed to grow louder, trying to draw the anger from him, but Gameknight counted to five, then continued. “We don’t know what will happen. You have to stop.”
Herder started to shake, his entire body vibrating. He bent over suddenly, and for a second, Gameknight thought he was going to drop the ender chest. Then the NPC straightened himself back out, and the User-that-is-not-a-user gasped in shock.
The boy’s eyes were pure white and glowing. He didn’t even look like Herder anymore; it looked like the eyes staring back at him belonged to someone else entirely. Or something else. Gameknight put away his weapons and stepped forward, hands outstretched.
“Herder, give me the box.”
“We . . . we have to throw it . . . throw it into the . . .”
“Herder, just give me the box and we’ll take care of it together.”
The boy took a step back.
“Come on, Herder. It’s me, Gameknight999, your friend.”
The NPC looked straight at Gameknight, a disturbing look on his face. It was as though Herder didn’t even recognize him, or did recognize him, but from somewhere different . . .
“You remember that time when you saved Hunter with all your wolves?” the User-that-is-not-a-user said desperately. “Or when you saved me with your pigs? We’ve been through a lot together, you and me. Come on . . . it’s me . . . your friend.”
Herder’s eyes cleared for a moment, the milky white fading for just an instant. Gameknight saw the young NPC stutter in his movement, like inside he was struggling . . . fighting against something. But then Herobrine’s whine grew louder, and Herder’s eyes clouded over once again.
The boy took another step back, moving dangerously close to the edge of the lava ocean.
“Herder, be careful!” Gameknight cried, pointing. “The lava—”
Herder looked over his shoulder at the boiling ocean as he took another step back. He didn’t notice the ground sloped downward by one block near the edge, and he misjudged his footing. The NPC fell backward. Herder dropped the chest as his arms shot out, windmilling as he tried to stop his fall. It seemed to Gameknight like everything was playing out in slow motion, the chest tumbling end over end through the air as Herder plummeted backward. The dark box landed on the rusty netherrack with a sickening thud, causing the lid to pop open. Suddenly, Herder was illuminated by a rainbow of colors as glowing balls of XP burst out of the ender chest, spreading out across the ground, a scant few falling into the great lava ocean while the majority streaked into the nearest body—Herder’s. He had fallen on his hands and knees, only a few blocks from the lava.
Where the balls of XP fell into the lava, the boiling stone seemed to glow white for just an instant, then took on a sickly yellow glow before fading back to bright orange again. The young boy, however, shook violently as the spheres of light flowed into his body, painting him with a kaleidoscope of hues. Instantly, the lanky boy glowed bright as the XP filled his body, then suddenly, he stood up.
“Herder, are you alright?” Gameknight asked, terrified at what the answer might be.
An eerie, unnerving smile spread across Herder’s square face, something sinister and unnatural. It created a face that Herder, his friend, would never ever make. His eyes flared bright white as the XP from the ender chest finally took total control over the young boy’s body.
“Gameknight999, it is so good to see you again,” Herder’s voice said, but it was not Herder speaking. Gameknight would recognize that evil and terrible thing forcing his friend to speak anywhere, and his mouth dropped open in sheer terror. “It is I, Herobrine, and I think we have much to catch up on.”
CHAPTER 20
MONKEYPANTS’ PLAN
“RUN!” Crafter screamed as he sprinted down the steps of the fortress, all their friends right on his heels. Gameknight took a few steps away from Herobrine and glanced at his companions. He could see dark scorch marks on their armor, the edges of exposed clothing smoking slightly from battling the blazes. When they reached the foot of the stairs, a bright orange glow enveloped the fortress opening as hundreds of blazes burst out of the citadel like a burning tide of hatred.
Taking another step away from Herobrine, his eyes wide with fear, Gameknight did the only thing he could think to do: he spun around and ran with his friends, moving away from the fortress and toward the netherrack plain. Before they could go even a dozen more steps, endermen materialized ahead of them, each with another monster in tow.
The User-that-is-not-a-user skidded to a stop as the next wave of endermen appeared with more monsters from the Overworld. Spiders, zombies, and skeletons now filled the burning landscape. Gameknight and his group turned away from the monsters, looking to head in the opposite direction, but the mechanical wheezing stopped them in their tracks. Now, the blazes were approaching them on one side while the monsters of the Overworld were still materializing on the other, closing off any avenue of escape.
“We’re trapped,” Gameknight said softly, his voice defeated.
“Where’s the chest?” Crafter asked anxiously.
Gameknight didn’t even know how to tell his friends what had happened. “Herder . . . dropped it. It broke open. He was . . . I mean, is . . .” The User-that-is-not-a-user didn’t know how to continue.
“What do you mean?” Digger asked. “What are you trying to tell us? Where’s Herder?”
All Gameknight could do was gesture toward the mob of blazes. An eerie silence fell over the companions as they looked in the direction he pointed. A tall, dark-haired boy could be seen pushing through the mass of burning monsters, an evil laugh coming from his sinister-looking face, eyes glowing bright white.
“Oh no,” Stitcher said as tears streamed down her face.
Hunter notched an arrow and pointed it at the boy.
“Go ahead, Hunter, shoot me . . . shoot Herder. I’d very much like to see that,” Herobrine mocked.
An angry scowl formed on Hunter’s face as she pulled the arrow back a little farther, then, realizing what a bad idea it was, slowly lowered her bow to the ground, tiny square tears tumbling down her cheeks.
“Oh Herder,” Hunter said. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.”
“Boo-hoo,” Herobrine mocked, his eyes glowing bright with glee.
Digger moved next to Gameknight and spoke in a low voice. “User-that-is-not-a-user, what do we do?”
“Yes, Gameknight999, what are you going to do?” Herobrine said, his mocking laughter echoing off the side of the fortress.
The lanky boy stepped forward, his stone sword in his hand.
“Let me tell you what I am going to do.” Herobrine turned and faced the blazes, holding his sword high up in the air. “I
’m going to destroy the User-that-is-not-a-user.”
The creatures of fire and smoke wheezed louder with excitement. Herobrine then turned to face the monsters of the Overworld. They chuckled, clicked, moaned, and rattled with glee as they stared at their Maker, the anticipation of the impending battle carved into every monstrous face. One of the zombies shuffled forward, claws glistening in the light from the lava ocean, moaning excitedly, but Herobrine held up a hand, stopping the creature.
“Not yet, my friends,” Herobrine said. “Let us watch them panic for a bit. Anticipation of a thing can be worse than the thing itself. Let them stew in the anticipation of their destruction for a bit. Then I will deal with them personally. All you monsters need do is keep them from escaping. I will do the rest.” Herobrine then turned and faced Gameknight999, pointing at him with Herder’s sword. “It’s time for you and me to finish what we’ve started so many times before.”
What do I do? I can’t fight Herder. I can’t kill my friend, Gameknight thought. But if I don’t stop him, then he’ll kill all of us . . . and destroy Minecraft.
“Is this the army you decided to bring with you, Fool?” Herobrine spat. “You never were very bright, were you? Surely, this will be the shortest battle in history.”
Gameknight, Shawny and I are ready to help, Jenny typed into the chat.
I hope you’ve got some kind of plan, Gameknight replied. Because I’ve got nothing.
Suddenly, Monkeypants was at his side.
“Son, I know how we save Herder,” his father said. “But it will be dangerous.”
“More dangerous than all this?” Gameknight asked, gesturing to the field of monsters that surrounded them.
“Yes,” Monkeypants said. “But you have to give me time to prepare. Here’s what I want you to do.”
Gameknight nodded his head as his father whispered into his ear, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place in his mind. And in an instant, the User-that-is-not-a-user could see all aspects of his dad’s plan laid out before him. It would be dangerous, but it was Herder’s only chance.
Gameknight999 vs. Herobrine Page 13