Theo didn’t put the pumpkin back on his head. He wanted the Endermonster to really see him. Maybe the part of it that was once the Evoker King would recognize Theo as a friend.
He would just have to avoid making eye contact. He wanted to be very careful not to anger it again, now that the mob had finally calmed down.
He could feel his friends’ eyes on him as he descended the ladder into the pit. They were nervous. Morgan, especially. Because Morgan didn’t like it when things were out of his control.
And this time, it all came down to Theo.
Once he was off the ladder, Theo kept his eyes on the ground. The soul sand was eerie. As if this situation weren’t frightening enough!
“I, uh, I come in peace,” he said. “I just want to talk.”
The Endermonster didn’t say anything. But it didn’t attack, either.
“Do you remember me? I’m Theo. We were both going to be ‘the new kid’ at the same time.” He took a shuffling step forward. “You called yourself the Evoker King.”
The mob made that horrible shrieking sound. Theo flinched, and he held his hands up in front of him. But he kept his eyes on the ground.
The shriek faded. And the Endermonster spoke.
“Not Evoker King,” it said. “Evoker King’s…fear.”
“Fear?” Theo felt it himself. “I don’t understand.”
“Evoker King…was one. Evoker King…is six.”
It took Theo a moment to make sense of what the Endermonster was saying. He gasped as the truth sank in.
Did he understand correctly? Was such a bizarre metamorphosis possible?
The Evoker King hadn’t just become this new mob. He had become six new mobs.
Theo remembered the moment when Jodi had convinced the Evoker King to be their friend. The Evoker King had been scared. He was terrified of change.
Was the Endermonster that piece of him? The part of him that was afraid?
“Listen to me,” Theo said. “I know what it’s like…to be afraid. I know what it’s like to not want people to see you. Because what if they don’t like what they see?” He took a deep, shaky breath. “It feels safer to be invisible. Safer…but it’s so lonely. Aren’t you lonely?”
The Endermonster didn’t say anything. But Theo could hear it making the strange, otherworldly sounds of an enderman. It was close.
He took another small step forward.
“I’m going to look at you now,” he said. “I know it’s scary. But I want you to be brave. Because I’m your friend. And you have to let your friends see the real you.”
Theo raised his square chin. He gazed into the Endermonster’s face. He looked right into its bloodred eyes.
“Not afraid,” it said.
“Good,” said Theo. “That’s good.”
The mob’s eyes glowed red. Its whole body glowed. It leaned forward and whispered something in Theo’s ear.
Theo didn’t have a chance to respond. The Endermonster was engulfed in a burst of light—light in the shape of blocky, pixelated butterflies. There was a swarm of them, and they washed over Theo, filling his vision with color. He had to shield his eyes and look away.
When the butterflies had all faded or flown away, Theo saw that the Endermonster was gone. Where it had stood just a moment before, there was now a long, rectangular block.
“What is that?” asked Jodi.
“It’s a leg,” said Theo. “It’s the first piece of the Evoker King.”
“The first piece?” said Ash.
“You mean…that was just the beginning?” Morgan asked.
“I’ll explain everything,” said Theo. He poked the leg. “But first, we need to figure out who’s putting that leg in their inventory.”
With Doc’s permission, Theo returned to Stonesword Library during his lunch period the next day. He had promised to uninstall his mods—at least until the team had a chance to vote on which ones would be helpful.
That part was easy. But when Theo saw Doc’s code, he gasped.
Lines of code were missing. Files had been deleted. The mod code that made their Minecraft game so special…was no longer complete.
Theo didn’t know enough about programming to know exactly what this meant. But he knew enough to realize that it would be trouble.
Clearly, it wasn’t just the Evoker King who had changed. The game iTSelf had changed.
* * *
On his way out of the library, Theo saw Ms. Minerva, Doc, and Mr. Malory taking a lunch break together. They were sitting by the Stonesword statue. They were all smiling and laughing.
Mr. Malory spotted him first. “Hey, Theo,” he said. “Did you solve that problem you were having with your friends?”
“I think so,” Theo said. “I took your advice to be myself, and I took my friend Ash’s advice to be honest, and I sort of mashed both pieces of advice together.” He shrugged. “I want my friends to see and accept the real me. I think it’s going to be fine.”
Ms. Minerva nodded. “Wise words, Theo,” she said. “Just remember—friendship takes work. And that work is never really done.”
“Some friendships take more work than others,” Doc said, and she cackled when Ms. Minerva gave her a look.
“I don’t get it,” Theo said. “I mean…I don’t want to be rude…but two days ago, I thought you two hated each other.”
Doc clucked her tongue. “We could never hate each other. We’ve been friends too long for that.”
“Sometimes friends disagree,” added Ms. Minerva. “Sometimes they disagree strongly. And that’s okay. As long as you respect each other and can agree on the big things.”
“The big things?” Theo echoed.
“Sure,” said the teacher. “For instance, Doc and
I both believe in the importance of education. We agree that there’s real joy to be found as a teacher. And we think you kids deserve the very best.”
“And we agree that the butterfly sanctuary is a wonderful addition to the school,” Doc added. “Especially if it gives me the chance to update some of our systems. Woodsword is going to be truly cutting-edge before I’m done!”
Ms. Minerva threw up her hands in surrender. “Sometimes a little chaos is all right, I suppose.”
“Oh!” said Mr. Malory. “That reminds me.” He plucked the VR headset from Theo’s hands. “We can’t have these things floating around. We need to get them checked into the system.”
“But…,” said Theo. “But we’ve been taking those home at night. To keep them safe.”
“They’re perfectly safe here, Theo,” said Mr. Malory. “What could go wrong in a media center?”
Mr. Malory smiled, but that didn’t make Theo feel any better. And it was clear that Theo would have to leave the goggles behind…where just about anybody could use them.
Maybe moving the computer lab to Stonesword wasn’t going to be such a good thing after all.
Another problem for later, Theo thought. Those seemed to be stacking up lately. Like a tower of blocks that was bound to come crashing down.
* * *
Theo crossed the crosswalk, stepping back onto school grounds…and right into a very welcome surprise.
A very welcome, very green surprise.
“We’re still not calling ourselves the Blockheadz,” said Morgan. “But I admit the shirts are kind of fun.” Morgan, Harper, Po, and Jodi were all in a row, wearing their T-shirts with pride. And Harper was holding a pizza box.
“We figured we owed you a pizza,” she said. “We even got pineapple.”
“On half of it,” said Po. “It’s a weird topping, man.”
“Call it a compromise!” Jodi said. She held up Harper’s phone. “Right, Ash?”
“That’s right,” Ash said through the phone. “Welcome t
o the team, Theo! For real this time.”
“And…?” said Jodi, and she gave her brother a look.
“I am sorry for making you feel unwelcome—you’re not as annoying as I said you were,” Morgan mumbled. Then he grinned. “As Ash and Jodi have reminded me, I can be a little intense.”
Theo smiled. “It’s all right. I can be intense, too, in my own way.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I made a lot of decisions without checking with you guys first. I kept secrets. I did it because I was afraid to make you mad.” He shrugged. “I’ve never had a close group of friends like this. It’s taking me some time to get used to it.”
“We’ll work it out,” said Morgan. “We’re good at solving problems. Although I still don’t understand how my diamond armor ended up in a tree….”
Theo kept his lips sealed about that. And on the phone Ash smirked, keeping mum as well.
“Then it’s settled,” Ash said happily, changing the subject. “Now, if only I could figure out how to eat pizza through the phone, this would be a totally happy ending!”
Everybody laughed at that. Theo felt his worries float away on the sound of their happiness.
Most of his worries. He couldn’t forget what he had seen in the mod code, and he couldn’t forget the Endermonster’s final whispered words of warning.
“Beware,” it had said. “The Fault…will destroy the Overworld.”
Based on the most popular video game of all time, this all-new chapter book series takes a group of intrepid Minecraft players deeper into the game than ever before!
Into the Game!
Five young Minecraft players in the real world find themselves transported inside the game they love. But now it’s not a game—and they will have to use everything they know to explore, build, and survive!
978-1-9848-5045-4 (trade) — 978-1-9848-5047-8 (ebook) — 978-0-593-40120-0 (digital audio) — 978-1-9848-5046-1 (lib. bdg.)
Night of the Bats!
When zombie hordes attack them in the game and bats invade their school in the real world, Ash, Morgan, and their friends realize that it’s going to take all their talents to get to the bottom of these monstrous migrations.
978-1-9848-5048-5 (trade) — 978-1-9848-5050-8 (ebook) — 978-0-593-40123-1 (digital audio) — 978-1-9848-5049-2 (lib. bdg.)
Deep Dive!
As Ash, Morgan, and three of their fellow Minecraft players, who can actually enter the game, take a deep dive into the Aquatic biome, they find a world filled with beauty and wonder. A treasure map promises adventure and the opportunity to explore—but it could also be a trap set by the mysterious Evoker King.
978-1-9848-5051-5 (trade) — 978-1-9848-5053-9 (ebook) — 978-0-593-40124-8 (digital audio) — 978-1-9848-5052-2 (lib. bdg.)
Ghast in the Machine!
Jodi, Ash, Morgan and their fellow Minecraft players go out into the real world to find clues to the identity of the mysterious and sinister Evoker King. Not only do they need to find out who—or what—he is, but they need to know if it’s really possible for him to escape the game!
978-1-9848-5062-1 (trade) — 978-1-9848-5064-5 (ebook) — 978-0-593-40126-2 (digital audio) — 978-1-9848-5063-8 (lib. bdg.)
Dungeon Crawl!
When Po, Morgan, and three of their fellow Minecraft players track the Evoker King to his home in the heart of a perilous dungeon, they have to gear up for an epic fantasy quest filled with danger, dragons, and hostile mobs.
978-1-9848-5065-2 (trade) — 978-1-9848-5067-6 (ebook) — 978-0-593-40128-6 (digital audio) — 978-1-9848-5066-9 (lib. bdg.)
Last Block Standing!
As the world of Minecraft falls under the Evoker King’s control, Morgan, Ash, and their friends get ready for the final showdown. But with their enemy now in possession of the most powerful building block in Minecraft, do they really stand a chance of defeating him?
978-1-9848-5069-0 (trade) — 978-1-9848-5071-3 (ebook) — 978-0-593-40130-9 (digital audio) — 978-1-9848-5070-6 (lib. bdg.)
Someone—or something—has turned the Evoker King to stone. And now a new player, Theo, has joined the team on their quest to return their former enemy to normal. Theo has modding skills that could come in handy, but does he have what it takes to be part of the team, or will his meddling put a crack in the game code that none of them will survive?
978-0-593-37298-2 (trade) — 978-0-593-37300-2 (ebook) — 978-0-593-40132-3 (digital audio) — 978-0-593-37299-9 (lib. bdg.)
is a game about placing blocks and going on adventures. Build, play, and explore across infinitely generated worlds of mountains, caverns, oceans, jungles, and deserts. Defeat hordes of zombies, bake the cake of your dreams, venture to new dimensions, or build a skyscraper. What you do in Minecraft is up to you.
Nick Eliopulos is a writer who lives in Brooklyn (as many writers do). He likes to spend half his free time reading and the other half gaming. He cowrote the Adventurers Guild series with his best friend and works as a narrative designer for a small video game studio. After all these years, endermen still give him the creeps.
Alan Batson is a British cartoonist and illustrator. His works include Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Star Wars Little Golden Book, Everything That Glitters is Guy!, and Spider-Ham. Being extremely fond of cubes and travel to exotic places, he has recently begun to lend his talents to several different books on adventures in the world of Minecraft.
Chris Hill is an illustrator living in Birmingham, England, with his wife and two daughters and has been loving it for twenty-five years! When he’s not working, he spends time with his family and trying to tire out his dog on long walks. If there’s any time left after that, he loves to go riding on his motorcycle, feeling the wind on his face while contemplating his next illustration adventure.
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Crack in the Code! (Minecraft Stonesword Saga #1) Page 6