The music of Minecraft was silent.
“Perhaps you wouldn’t have truly believed the lesson if it had just been handed to you,” Crafter mused.
Gameknight sighed again as he nodded his head.
“I know I can be courageous when I have to be,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “And I’m not an idiot … I have some wisdom within this thick skull of mine, but I don’t feel that this is enough. There’s something here that I’m missing.” He pulled out the Book of Wisdom and stared into its shiny pages. “Looking at my own reflection isn’t really helping me find what I need … there’s something else here that I was supposed to learn—but what?”
He looked out across the calm blue waters; the splashes of squid playing nearby added to the beautiful scene. He could see the shoreline approaching, the village just becoming visible in the distance. A feeling of dread began to fill Gameknight as he saw the village getting closer. He knew that soon Herobrine would be here, and he still didn’t know what to do. Everyone was relying on him to save them, and he didn’t even know how to save himself.
Anger began to bubble up within his soul.
“I don’t know what to do, Crafter. I’m afraid I’m going to fail everyone.”
“Do not despair, User-that-is-not-a-user,” Crafter said. “You will find a way … you always do.”
“You don’t get it, Crafter!” Gameknight snapped. “That was my last chance. I have to face Herobrine in battle, and I know that I can’t defeat him. This book was supposed to tell me how to stand up to him, but it gave me nothing. What am I supposed to do now? He’s coming … I can feel it, and he’s coming for me. And you know what I have to stop him? NOTHING!”
Crafter grew silent. Gameknight felt bad for yelling at his friend, but he was so frustrated and angry that he didn’t know what to do. As he rowed for shore, he tried to imagine himself defeating Herobrine. But in his imagination he could see only himself lying on the ground and Herobrine standing over him, a malicious smile on his square face.
CHAPTER 23
THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE
As Gameknight stepped out of his boat and moved onto the shore, he could tell that something was wrong. Everything was eerily silent. He couldn’t see anything moving, neither NPC nor animal. Glancing to the pens that held the livestock, Gameknight999 could see the pigs and cows all looking toward the forest. The animals were motionless, standing perfectly still, as if some terrible predator were there waiting for them, and any movement would draw its attention … and its wrath.
“Come on,” Gameknight whispered to the others.
Drawing his sword, he ran to the village. As he sprinted, he glanced up at the watchtower. There was nobody standing guard … how could that be? Running even faster, he headed for the cobblestone building, but before he could reach the structure, he heard a maniacal laugh percolate out of the nearby forest. Moving to the nearby Baker’s house, the User-that-is-not-a-user pressed his back against the wall, then motioned for the others to find cover. Crafter and Stonecutter ran quickly to his side. Moving to the edge of the wooden structure, Gameknight cautiously peered around the corner toward the tree line.
In the distance far off to the right, he thought he could see a figure standing on a grassy hill, watching. It looked like a zombie, but how could that be? It was daytime. Again, the distant zombie looked to have something drawn across its chest. This time, a lavender field of flowers seemed to traverse the zombie’s chest, with rows of yellow sunflowers adorning its arms, its legs painted grass-green.
How can that be … a painted zombie … in the daylight?
It reminded Gameknight of something, but he couldn’t quite place it. But that painted creature was not the source of that evil laugh; it had come from the nearby tree line, not that grassy knoll. Still, he felt that he should recognize the zombie. As he searched his memory, a figure emerged from the forest shadows before him. It looked to be a woodcutter by the color of its smock, but Gameknight could tell by the glowing eyes that it was not.
It was Herobrine.
A cold wave of fear crashed down on him, driving away the last vestige of courage.
“So, User-that-is-not-a-user, we meet again.”
Gameknight drew his iron sword with his left hand and tried to ready himself for battle. He could feel the Book of Wisdom in his inventory, its shiny pages still mocking him with his own image. Behind him he could hear the rest of the NPCs approaching his hiding place.
“He knows we’re here,” Gameknight said to Crafter.
“Then there is no reason to hide,” the young NPC replied.
Drawing his diamond sword with his right, Gameknight stepped out from behind the baker’s home and faced the monster; the other NPCs lined up behind him, Stonecutter at his side.
“Ah … I see you brought your army with you,” Herobrine mocked. “What do you have there, fifteen villagers? Ooo … I’m so scared. Well, let me show you what I brought with me.”
Moving with lightning speed, Herobrine crafted four portals from obsidian, each with a pale yellow field inside the dark stony ring.
Out of the first portal came a skeleton king riding a skeleton horse. This bony creature was the biggest monster Gameknight had ever seen. Both rider and mount were colored a pale white, as if they’d be left in the desert sun for years. Gameknight could see their ribs curving out from jagged spines, their arms and legs clattering as they moved forward. Atop the rider’s boxy skull sat a shining metal helmet that looked to be made of golden bones. The helm encircled the monster’s head and kept it from bursting into flame because of exposure to the sun’s lethal rays. In its hand, the monster held a bow that looked to be formed from the bones of some long-deceased creature, a massive arrow notched into its string. The skeleton king, eyes glowing blood-red, stared at Gameknight999 with an utter hatred for his very existence.
Out of the second portal came a massive blaze riding a horse composed of glowing blaze rods and flame. The heat from the duo singed the grass at their feet, instantly charring it until the once-green blades crumbled to ash. Blaze rods revolved quickly through the center of the monster, its flaming body holding the glowing staffs together somehow. Those that formed the horse, however, did not revolve. Rather, the smoldering blaze rods formed the bones of the creature, so that it looked much like the skeleton horse, though the blaze horse’s body and skin were composed of flame. But the most unsettling thing were the blaze king’s eyes; they stared straight at the User-that-is-not-a-user, but instead of being black, the eyes were like red-hot coals, burned a hungry, angry red.
From the third portal stepped Xa-Tul, the zombie king. He rode a zombie horse whose eyes were smoldering with hatred, as were its rider’s. Xa-Tul looked as he did during their encounter in the desert, though this time he wore his crown of claws. The horse he rode had the look of a zombie creature, with rotting flaps of skin hanging off here and there, bones visible through decaying sections. When Xa-Tul saw the User-that-is-not-a-user, he drew his massive golden sword, then sneered and gave him a hateful glare as his eyes shone bright red.
“These are my three horsemen,” Herobrine said. “I believe you have already met Xa-Tul, but let me introduce Reaper, the skeleton king, and Charybdis, the blaze king. But, more importantly, I want you to meet my fourth horseman.”
Out of the fourth portal stepped a black horse that was covered with purple teleportation particles. Sitting atop the dark mount sat an enderman far bigger than any other Gameknight had ever seen.
Can it be? Gameknight lamented to himself.
The dark creature’s arms rippled with strength; his legs looked strong as iron. He sat atop the terrible ender-horse and looked down on Gameknight and the villagers with hateful superiority as if the NPCs before this monster were too insignificant to live.
No … it can’t be, Gameknight pleaded to himself
The enderman’s skin stood out from that of his mount. The ender-horse’s flesh was the typical pitch black, as
all endermen were shaded … except for one. Gameknight could see teleportation particles dancing about the horse’s flesh; it could likely disappear with just a thought. But the rider …
It can’t be … I killed him on the steps of the Source.
The rider was shaded a dark, dark red … the color of dried blood. And the monster’s eyes glowed with an evil blood-red color that turned Gameknight’s courage to ice.
Was it him … back from the dead? Was it Erebus?
Fear rippled down his spine as he thought of all the battles he’d faced with that creature.
“Allow me to introduce the new king of the endermen, Feyd,” Herobrine said. “These are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and they are here to bring doom to Minecraft.”
How am I going to face four of them, and then face Herobrine? Gameknight thought.
Herobrine held up a hand and snapped his finger. The sound resonated through the landscape like a hammer hitting a piece of hot steel. Instantly, monsters poured out of the portals and gathered behind their respective kings.
A burning field of blazes stood behind Charybdis, their flaming bodies filling the air with ash and smoke. Many of the trees in the forest burst into flame at the touch of the fiery monsters, but right now, nobody cared. Behind Feyd marched hundreds of endermen, each showing eyes filled with hatred for the NPCs of the Overworld, their bodies cloaked in a mist of tiny purple teleportation particles. But most shocking were the zombies and skeletons in broad daylight. Each wore a cap of leather that protected them from the burning rays of the sun. Their ranks swelled as they emerged from their portals, the green monsters growling and moaning, the white skeletons clattering as they jostled for position behind their leader.
Before Gameknight stood at least two thousand monsters, more than had ever been assembled together in the history of Minecraft. And glancing behind him, Gameknight could see fifteen NPCs, all with their weapons out and a look of overwhelming fear on their blocky faces.
“Prepare to meet your doom!” Herobrine said as he held up a hand, ready to signal the charge.
CHAPTER 24
TWIN VOICES OF COURAGE
Just before Herobrine could move his arm, a rumbling sound echoed through the ground. Huge sections of sand were falling away, revealing wide steps that led deep underground. As the landscape transformed, a loud, angry yell erupted.
“FOR MINECRAFT!” came the battle cry. Hundreds of NPCs charged out of the stairway, forming a wall of bodies between the User-that-is-not-a-user and Herobrine. Gameknight could see Digger at the head of the column while Monet and Stitcher ran for the watchtower, their enchanted bows in their hands.
NPCs from all across Minecraft must have come to this village. Likely Smithy’s riders had found recruits to help with the defense of Minecraft, and by the looks of their numbers, everyone had answered the call to battle. Gameknight could see villagers from every occupation ready to stand up against the horde of monsters that wanted to destroy Minecraft.
“Ooo … impressive,” Herobrine said. “But where are your walls, Gameknight999? You always seem to like trapping yourself behind walls. All I see are holes in the ground. I hope you don’t think we’re going to be dumb enough to fall in those holes.”
Herobrine chuckled, causing the entire monster army to burst into laughter.
“If this NPC rabble is all you have to stand against us, this is going to be a quick battle indeed.”
The evil shadow-crafter raised his hand and prepared to signal the charge, but before he could issue the command, a loud popping sound echoed across the landscape. Suddenly, a lone user appeared standing off to the left of the village, a shining server thread stretching up into the sky, the name SHAWNY floating over his head.
Instantly, all the NPCs dropped their weapons and linked their hands across their chests. This made the monsters laugh even harder.
“Shawny … what are you doing?” Gameknight screamed.
“Wait for it,” he replied.
“But you can’t—”
“Wait for it,” he said again.
Suddenly six hundred users appeared around him, each with diamond armor and enchanted weapons. Instantly, they started to build TNT cannons while the archers and swordsmen took up defensive positions around the artillery.
“Ha, ha, ha,” Herobrine laughed. “Your NPCs are so foolish. You can have users at your side or NPCs, but you can’t have both. You have lost, Gameknight999, even before the battle has begun.”
The User-that-is-not-user could see that the NPCs wanted to help, wanted to pick up their weapons and fight, but if they did, they would be excommunicated from every village … they’d become the Lost. He couldn’t ask anyone for that kind of sacrifice. But without them, Herobrine was right. Without the NPCs, they stood no chance of winning.
“Your own NPCs have abandoned you, Gameknight999,” Herobrine yelled, an eerie smile on his face. “This is better than I expected. The feeling of rejection must be terrible … this is fantastic. Look at them—the cowardly NPCs abandoned you at their first opportunity. They aren’t a community; they are heartless cowards. Ha, ha, ha!”
Suddenly, someone was standing next to Gameknight, nudging him. Looking down, he found Topper gazing up at him, Filler right behind.
“It’s OK, kids, you can’t help it,” Gameknight said. “Herobrine’s right; you can’t help me … I’m alone in this and on my own.”
The twins looked at each other and frowned, then looked up at their friend. Gameknight could see the internal struggle that was going on, but knew that they couldn’t help … they’d have to give up everything, and he wouldn’t ask them to do that. Stepping forward, he pushed through the stiff bodies of NPCs and stood at the front of the crowd.
“These NPCs are not part of this, Herobrine; you leave them alone,” Gameknight said.
“Ha … sure, I’ll leave them alone,” Herobrine said, “if you take the Gateway of Light.”
“NEVER!”
“Your friends have abandoned you, and all you have is a pathetic collection of users at your side,” Herobrine said. “Soon you will be totally alone!”
“No, he won’t,” squeaked a voice from behind the NPCs.
“That’s right,” said another.
Moving through the crowd of stationary NPCs came Topper and Filler, each holding toy wooden swords.
“We don’t care if we become Lost,” Filler said, her voice filled with confidence and strength. “We don’t abandon family.”
“That’s right!” shouted Topper in a young, high-pitched voice.
This made the monsters laugh even more, but the snickering stopped when Hunter stepped forward, her bow in her hands, arrow notched.
“I guess I’m with them,” she said.
“Me, too,” said Digger as he moved to stand at his children’s side.
“And me …”
“And me …”
In an avalanche of courage, triggered by two small voices, the entire NPC army bent down and picked up their weapons. They banged their swords and bows against their armored chests, creating a sound of pounding thunder that echoed across the land.
Gameknight looked about at his friends … his family, and was so proud. They were indeed a community, and the brave looks on their faces told the User-that-is-not-a-user that this battle was not lost yet.
“So be it,” yelled Herobrine.
He raised his hand again and brought it down.
“CHARGE!” Herobrine yelled.
And the flood of hatred and violence was released as the Last Battle for Minecraft finally began.
CHAPTER 25
PAINTED THUNDER
The monsters charged straight toward the NPCs, their growls filling the air. But before they could reach the defenders, Digger stepped forward. He turned and looked at a small structure with thick cobblestone walls and iron bars across all the windows. Gameknight could see that there was an NPC inside the small building facing a wall of buttons and levers. Insta
ntly, he knew what it was.
“Redstone 1!” Digger yelled.
The NPC in the control room flicked a lever.
Instantly, the sound of pistons could be heard as holes appeared in the ground. Blinking cubes of TNT popped into the air, launched by slime block pistons. The red and white cubes exploded when they were one block in the air, tearing into the monsters but leaving the mechanism unharmed. More holes appeared on the ground as TNT cubes leapt into the air, tearing more HP from monster bodies. It was like watching a destructive popcorn popper at work. The cubes burst out of the ground and detonated all across the field of battle, appearing where they were least expected. The mechanisms then reset themselves, only to launch another explosive block into the air.
The User-that-is-not-a-user turned and looked toward Shawny. He could see his friend smiling, and knew that this was his design; Gameknight knew that his friend’s ingenuity would come in handy.
But the monsters did not slow. They charged right into the blinking cubes, unaware that the bombs were even there. There were simply too many of them.
“Redstone 2 … now!” Digger yelled.
More pistons sounded as underground mechanisms moved and shifted. Suddenly, stacked pistons raised a stone wall three blocks high into the air, right in front of the charging monsters. As the monsters smashed into the barricade, NPCs quickly built steps to get on top of the wall. They poured a lethal rain of arrows down on the onslaught of advancing creatures.
The monsters retaliated. Blazes shot flaming balls of death at the defenders on the stone wall, forcing them off the fortification. Endermen teleported forward and tried to remove underground blocks that supported the redstone circuits, but the wall still held. Zombies charged the walls and started climbing over their own comrades, standing on their blinking bodies so that they could gain access to the top of the wall. Warriors tried to stand on the barrier and hack at the decaying monsters, but the blazes took a terrible toll on any who climbed atop the ramparts.
The users fired their TNT cannons into the mass of blazes, but quickly drew a fiery response. Prepared for this, the warriors put away their bows and swords and instead pulled out snowballs. They ran forward, throwing the icy spheres at the flaming creatures. The balls of snow extinguished many of the monsters, but there were too many of them to have much effect. Charging onward, the users smashed into the ranks of blazes while the TNT cannons turned their fiery breath upon the skeletons.
Last Stand on the Ocean Shore Page 17