“We need to get off this server,” Mr. Anarchy shouted, surprising everyone.
“I know,” Michael agreed.
“I still need more command blocks.”
The townspeople searched their inventories and gathered command blocks. They handed the blocks to Mr. Anarchy, and he placed them in his inventory. “I have to rebuild the lab next.”
Robin suggested, “Why don’t you work in the cottage? Now that Lily is back in the real world, there’s room for you.”
Mr. Anarchy contemplated this idea. He did miss Lily an incredible amount and would love to work on the command blocks while living in her space. The cottage reminded him of Lily, and it brought a smile to his face. “Yes, I’d love to stay in the cottage.”
“Great,” Robin replied, “then it’s confirmed.”
Michael paced outside Mr. Anarchy’s lab. He peeked inside and looked at the rubble. “We still don’t know who destroyed this place. I don’t feel safe in Lisimi Village anymore.”
Simon spoke his opinion to Michael. “I think someone wants us to stay trapped on this server.”
Michael nodded and suggested, “While Mr. Anarchy works on the command blocks at the cottage and tries to get us all off the server, why don’t we solve the mystery of who is blowing up Lisimi Village?”
“Deal,” Simon smiled and high-fived his friend.
Mr. Anarchy followed Robin back to the cottage. As he entered the small house, he thought he could hear Lily’s voice, but he knew he was just imagining things.
“You can work on the command blocks over here,” Robin said as she cleared a space for Mr. Anarchy in the cozy living room.
Mr. Anarchy gazed out the picture window at the peaceful blue water. “Lily really constructed a nice cottage.”
“Do you miss Lily?” Robin asked.
“Yes,” he replied, “can’t you tell?”
“Me too,” Robin said. She wondered if she could be of any help and asked, “Is there any way I can help you with the command blocks? I’d love to help everyone get off the server as quickly as possible.”
“Sure,” Mr. Anarchy replied, and he explained how he used the command blocks.
While Mr. Anarchy and Robin worked on the blocks, Michael and Simon patrolled Lisimi Village.
Michael rattled off places he was worried might explode. “What about Juan’s butcher shop?”
Simon shook his head. “I guess so. But why there?”
“It’s a great resource for us, and Juan is very active in Lisimi Village. He’s always helping us when there’s a griefer bothering our town,” Michael said.
“I’m not sure Juan’s butcher shop is a target.” Simon walked through the village streets searching for TNT. “We have to keep looking. I don’t want to miss any TNT bricks that someone might have placed in the village.”
“I just wish we knew what they are planning to blow up next.” Michael wasn’t enjoying playing the role of sleuth; he wanted answers and he wanted them now.
Pablo appeared in the village. “Hey guys, I’m here,” he called out. My sister is done with her school project.”
Michael asked, “Have you heard from Lily?”
“No,” Pablo replied. “I saw her the same time you did. I’m sure she’s stuck at home in the storm.”
“Yeah,” Simon said, “that storm was very intense. I’ll bet she doesn’t even have power.”
Pablo asked, “What are you guys doing?”
Michael explained that they were searching for the culprit who was blowing up random spots in town. Pablo said, “Wow, I hope you find the person responsible.” He excused himself again because it was dinnertime at home.
As Pablo faded, there was another explosion.
Michael shuddered and hollered, “It sounds like it’s coming from the direction of the cottage!”
7
MISSING
Michael and Simon rushed to the cottage, calling out for Mr. Anarchy and Robin, but they heard nothing.
“Where are they?” Michael was frantic.
“I don’t know,” Simon replied as he stepped over the rubble littering the living room floor. “I can’t find them.”
“The townspeoples’ command blocks are destroyed.” Michael stared at the floor in disbelief.
“Robin!” Simon hollered, but it was pointless. He had called her name out numerous times and there hadn’t been a response.
“This has to be the work of someone who wants us to stay on this server,” Michael theorized.
Simon agreed, “Yes, it looks like the person who is doing this is picking his targets wisely.”
“I’m not sure why they destroyed the library, but I’ll bet if we go back there, we might get some answers,” suggested Michael.
The duo headed for the library. As the sky grew dark, Simon noted, “This has to be a quick trip. It’s almost nighttime.”
Michael pointed to the library in the distance. “I think we have time to check it out before any hostile mobs spawn.”
Arriving there in just minutes, Simon climbed through the crumbled library’s façade, searching for any clues. There were aisles of books and piles of rubble, but they couldn’t find anything that might help them.
Michael browsed through the books. “I don’t see any enchanted books or anything.”
Simon called out, “Over here!”
Michael rushed over to Simon who stood by a chest. “I wonder who left this chest.”
Simon opened the chest and announced, “It’s empty.”
Michael peered through a hole in the library wall. “It’s getting very dark. We have to head back to my house quickly.”
Simon and Michael jogged all the way from the library and were inches from Michael’s house when four block-carrying Endermen walked past them. One of the lanky Endermen made eye contact with Simon and unleashed a high-pitched shriek. Simon began to sprint toward the shoreline but it was too late. The Enderman attacked him first.
Simon fumbled, trying to get his sword from his inventory. The Enderman attacked Simon again and he lost a heart.
“Help!” he called out, but Michael was busy battling three Endermen.
Simon finally grabbed his diamond sword and slammed it into the Enderman, but he was too weak to continue the battle. Simon was destroyed and respawned in his bed.
Simon looked out the window. It was pitch-dark and he wasn’t sure what had happened to Michael. He knew that it was too dangerous to search for him and crawled back into bed. Simon hoped they would get answers in the morning.
The sun shone through the small window, waking Simon up. He groggily pulled the covers off and climbed out of bed when he heard Michael calling his name.
“Michael,” Simon said, “I’m here.”
“Good,” Michael replied, “I’m here with Blossom.”
Blossom spoke rapidly and appeared quite nervous. “I can’t believe Mr. Anarchy is missing. Now we’ll never get off the server.”
Simon took a piece of cake from his inventory and offered it to Blossom. She accepted and munched on the cake.
“We can’t worry too much, that’s not going to help us at all. We have to solve the problem and figure out how to get off this server,” advised Simon.
Blossom was doubtful. “Do you think we have the capability of getting off this server on our own?”
Michael replied, “I don’t know, but we’re going to have to try. If we can’t find Robin and Mr. Anarchy we’ll have no choice.”
Blossom’s eyes filled with tears. “What if Robin and Mr. Anarchy are back in the real world? I feel like everyone is back there except us. Sunny, Lily, Peter, Ilana …” Blossom barely finished the list of all their friends who had gotten back to the real world because of her sobbing.
“We will be next,” Simon reassured her. “Michael and I are gathering clues.” He told Blossom about the chest they discovered in the library.
“But what does that mean?” questioned Blossom.
Simon didn�
�t have a chance to reply. Six creepers silently crept into his living room and exploded behind Blossom, destroying her. Michael and Simon hurried to Blossom’s house. They didn’t want her to be alone when she respawned. As they entered her house, Blossom appeared in her bed. She jumped up and asked, “Who is the griefer?”
“I don’t know,” Simon replied, “but we’ll find out.”
Blossom asked about Mr. Anarchy and Robin. “Do you think they’re in Mr. Anarchy’s lab?”
Simon felt foolish. They had never checked the lab. “You might be right.”
The gang dashed over to the lab, but it was empty. A few spiders crawled down the dirt hallway. Michael destroyed them with a strike from his diamond sword.
“There’s nothing here,” Simon said in disappointment, “so we should leave.”
“Wait, I think I see something,” Blossom called out.
8
NEW ENEMY
“What is it? What do you see?” Michael questioned as he rushed toward Blossom.
“It’s just an empty chest,” Blossom groaned when she lifted the lid. “I thought it might be full of something valuable.”
“That’s the second empty one we found,” Simon remarked. “I think there isn’t anything worthwhile left to search here. Let’s go back to the cottage and see if we missed anything.”
Winding their way to the cottage, they noted that the town was desolate. Most people were staying in their homes. They were afraid because of the explosions and the sudden attacks from the Ender Dragon.
The trio felt very alone because most of their friends had gotten off the server. Michael hoped Robin and Mr. Anarchy would be in the cottage, but when they arrived, it was still empty.
As they entered the cottage, Blossom reminded them, “We have to watch out for creepers.” Michael stood in the living room, trying to see if there was anything he overlooked the last time they searched. “It looks as if the person knew where Mr. Anarchy was using the command blocks and left the TNT right outside this area.” Michael poked his head through a hole in the wall to check everywhere.
Blossom headed into Robin and Lily’s bedroom. “If Robin was destroyed in the blast, she could have respawned in her bed. It isn’t damaged at all.”
“I’ll bet she’s still on this server,” Simon said as he stared at the bed.
“Maybe they’re trapped,” Blossom suggested.
“I hope not,” Simon replied.
“We have to find them,” Michael concluded.
A voice called out from the living room, “Michael! Simon!”
Michael went to follow the sound of the voice and found Pablo waiting there. “Pablo,” Simon asked, “has Lily returned any of your messages?”
“No,” Pablo replied, “I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay,” Simon said. “I’m sure we’ll hear from her soon. I really thought she would have visited by now.”
Pablo questioned, “What are you guys doing in here? Is everything okay?”
“No, it’s not. After you left last night, the cottage exploded.” Michael pointed to the hole in the wall.
“And Robin and Mr. Anarchy are missing,” added Blossom.
“Really?” Pablo appeared shocked.
“Yes, we thought they’d be here.” Michael was upset.
Pablo sighed. “I feel for you guys. I hated being on this server. Being home is the greatest. Yesterday my parents took me out to a restaurant and I ate French fries. I know you guys have potatoes, but French fries are so much better.”
“Stop talking about home,” Blossom said. She was so annoyed. “Are you trying to make us feel worse? None of us want to be trapped on this server. And we all miss French fries.”
“Sorry,” Pablo said, “I forget sometimes that you are trapped.”
Michael walked over to Blossom to cheer her up. “We’re going to get off this server soon. I promise.”
“Yeah, I hope you do,” Pablo said and then excused himself. “Gotta go, my dad needs to use the computer. See you later.”
The minute Pablo disappeared they heard another explosion. Blossom cried out, “We have to find out what exploded this time.”
Michael didn’t move. He just shook his head. “I think I know who the griefer is.”
“Me too,” Simon said and asked, “Do you think it’s Pablo?”
“Why Pablo?” questioned Blossom.
“Every time he shows up, something explodes,” explained Michael.
Blossom thought for a moment and surmised, “He did brag about the French fries.”
“What can we do?” Simon asked. “He’s in the real world. We can’t destroy him. He’s just playing the game and we’re stuck in it.”
Blossom started to panic. “This is awful! Now it will be even harder to get home. We have to battle a person who is way too powerful!”
Michael said, “If we just find Robin and Mr. Anarchy, I’m sure we’ll find the answers we need.”
“But where are they?” Blossom cried.
Simon suggested they head to town to ask people if they had seen them. The others agreed and the gang walked to the demolished library. There they spotted Fred the Farmer.
“Can you believe somebody destroyed our nice library?” Fred said as he stood by the old entrance.
“And the blacksmith’s shop,” Juan the Butcher added.
“Who would blow up the blacksmith shop?” questioned Blossom.
“Someone who doesn’t want us to replenish our supply of weapons,” suggested Simon.
“Who would cause all of this devastation?” Juan asked. He was upset, too.
“I’m sure it’s the same person who blew up the cottage and Mr. Anarchy’s lab,” Michael said. He asked Fred and Juan if they had seen Robin and Mr. Anarchy.
“I saw Robin,” Fred replied, “and she looked very upset.”
“When did you see her?” Michael asked.
“It was just a few minutes ago,” he told them. “I was picking some carrots on my farm when she walked by. She was crying. I asked her if she was okay, but she didn’t respond.”
“Which direction did she go?” asked Blossom.
“She was headed in the direction of the jungle biome.” Fred pointed off to a grassy hill.
“We need to go find her,” Simon exclaimed.
Michael, Simon, and Blossom hurried off toward the jungle biome. They didn’t have a map or any idea where they were going, but they were hopeful that Robin was still on the server.
“Where can she be?” Simon felt frustrated as they roamed through the jungle biome and Robin was still nowhere to be seen. The gang circled the entire area. Huge green leaves shaded the jungle path. Simon searched for any sign of a jungle temple. He knew Robin had to be somewhere in the jungle.
Blossom called out when she spotted the walls of a jungle temple, “Over there! Maybe she’s inside.”
The moss and cobblestone temple was hidden behind enormous trees full of cocoa beans.
Blossom stopped abruptly and pointed. “There’s an ocelot!”
“We don’t have time to tame an ocelot now,” Simon told her.
The muscular animal bounded through the leafy biome, disappearing into the lush landscape.
The gang continued down the path toward the temple. Blossom entered first and searched the ground floor, calling out, “Robin.”
Michael searched for hidden treasure, but the temple had already been looted. “It looks like someone got to the treasure before we did.”
“Do you think that’s a sign?” asked Blossom. “Do you think Robin took the treasure?”
Simon heard a voice and asked the others, “Do you hear that?”
The gang stood silently, but they couldn’t hear anything but the leaves blowing in the wind.
“I think you’re imagining things, Simon,” Blossom said.
“What if someone is going to attack us?” Simon was worried.
“We can escape on the river,” Michael reminded him. “This jung
le is so dense with trees, we can cut wood quickly and craft boats.”
“That’s a good plan,” Simon said.
“And I don’t hear a voice at all,” Blossom said. She wondered why they were bothering to come up with a plan of escape when they weren’t even being attacked.
“No, I definitely heard a voice,” Simon insisted. He was sure he had heard someone talking. “Can’t you guys hear it?”
Blossom stood quietly and listened but she couldn’t hear anything. “What did they say?” she asked.
“I think someone is calling my name.” Simon was getting irritated. “I can’t be the only person who can hear it.”
“Where is it coming from?” Blossom asked. Simon didn’t answer her.
Michael said, “I’m going to search the rest of this temple for clues. We have to find something here.” Michael checked the rest of the jungle temple and was excited when he spotted another empty chest. He called his friends over, but they didn’t respond. When he went to look for Simon and Blossom, he was shocked to see them talking to someone.
Michael gasped, “Lily! Is that really you?”
9
COMPUTER PROBLEMS
“Yes, it’s me,” Lily said, “but I don’t think I can stay on the server too long. It has a lot of glitches.”
“We think Pablo is griefing this server,” Michael blurted out.
“You’re right,” Lily replied. “He is.”
“How do you know?” Blossom was utterly shocked by Lily’s reply.
“He—” Lily vanished before she could finish her sentence.
“Lily!” Simon gasped.
“I had so many questions I wanted to ask her,” groaned Michael. Her disappearance upset him. “But I have to tell you guys something. I found another empty chest.”
“Does that make this place a target?” questioned Blossom.
“I hope not, but there’s no reason to stick around here. We have to find Robin,” Michael replied.
Attack of the Ender Dragon Page 3