After multiple experiences creating fan fictions on other forums, I've decided to create one focusing on Minecraft! This tale doesn't focus on a simple wooden house, that would be boring.
However, it focuses on the adventures of a miner named Kaline, who longs to carry out his recently killed brother's last request. This proves to be difficult however, as he tries to keep alive by paying the "Creeper King" in emeralds, so that he may continue to have sancturary in his wooden home that has recently been captured. Although many antagonists are encountered during the story, each of them fear a mysterious mob that has a desire to destroy everyone and everything.
I plan to work hard on this fan fiction. I do hope that each and everyone who actually takes the time to read it will be filled with satisfaction.
Prologue:
"Stop it! Stop it!" A young woman cried, slashing two Endermen with a damaged sword.
One Enderman turned around angrily, and knocked her to the wall with a tremendous force.
"He saw this coming! No mortal is allowed to trespass among The Void's fortresses!" The other Enderman yelled.
They had been thrashing a man, armed with nothing but a wooden sword and chain armor...and an enchanted book!
"Give it to us!" An Enderman commanded. "The Creeper King forbids anyone to have knowledge about the secrets within that book!"
The man was about to faint, but he tried with all his might to speak to the woman, even though he was still being harmed.
"Katherine...get out of here...take the minecart and get out!" The man ordered to the woman.
"But...Vick..." The woman replied in tears.
"Go now! Before you get involved into this situation as well!"
The Woman tried to resist the man's orders, but she finally understood she had to leave him behind, and left, right before the referenced Creeper King entered the room.
"That'sss enough soldiersss," The Creeper King said with a vile hiss. Once the Enderman were given this order, they vanished.
The Creeper King was a typical Creeper, except for a few minor characteristics. He had a golden crown with emeralds forged within it. He also wore a luxurious, red robe and a shimmering golden necklace.
"Are you ready to give up the book? Or shall I make you with force?" The Creeper King asked.
The man grinned, and got up, even after he was almost killed by the two Endermen.
"Yes," He answered. In response, he quickly brought out a mysterious device and shoved the enchanted book inside.
The Creeper King had a look of fear on his face, and jumped towards the device. It was too late though, for it vaporized and was quickly thousands of blocks away from The Void fortress. It had teleported the book to another being.
"No!" The Creeper King cried, stomping on the ground with it's four small feet. He frowned at the man, who was filled with glee that the book was out of the king's reaches.
"I would blow you up right now if I didn't suicide as a result."
The man laughed.
"But seeing as though i'm of royalty, I can pay people to do that for me," the Creeper King said. With that, the same Endermen teleported back to the room, this time with TNT in their hands. They chained the man to the wall, and set TNT all over the room.
"Goodbye Vick, sssee you in hell, or in this case, The Nether." The Creeper King grinned.
He then lit the TNT with flint n' steel and vanished along with the endermen. And after a large explosion as a result, he was dead. Kaline, his brother, woke up that exact second.
PART I: The Key to Coroq Gates
Chapter 1:The Funeral
"Everybody please settle down," an NPC Villager requested from a noisy crowd. "The funeral is about to begin."
The crowd settled.
"I am proud to introduce the ruler of everything in existence, Notch!" The NPC Villager announced. The crowd clapped with somewhat of a delight, after all, it was a funeral.
"Vick was an impressive miner, one of the best in the land," Notch began. "I am honored to be here reading his will, and I will forever long his absence. Now, let's begin"
After a couple of hours went by, Notch read the names of the people to which Vick had left valuable items to.
"We are down to the final item everyone," Notch said, "and Vick adressed this special object to his only brother, Kaline."
The crowd silenced, as Kaline stood up from his seat. He walked across the red wool leading to Notch with no emotion whatsoever.
"I'm sorry for your lose, Kaline," Notch apologized. He handed him the final gift. "That is the conclusion to this funeral, Notch out!" He then burst into light and went up into the sky.
Kaline Woolcraft never wanted to go through this. He had millions in diamonds before his home was captured by the Creeper Empire. It was a mansion then. Everything was robbed from him, even the materials he had used on his sancturary. Now, he lives in a simple wooden house with his wife, Crystal, slaving away to gather emeralds for the Creeper King. For if he didn't, he would be lose his home, and put himself and his wife through the same fate as Vick, blown up and tossed into The Void.
Kaline placed a button on some spruce wood, which stood out from the oak wood that made up his house. An iron door opened, and he quickly entered the household, with the gift Vick left to him. Crystal greeted him, and gave him a hug, an obvious indication that she felt sorry for him.
"I can't believe he's gone," Kaline weeped. "Why did he have to look for trouble? Why?"
"He's an explorer, Kaline." Crystal replied. "His curiosity got the better of him."
"It always did," Kaline admitted. He looked at the gift he achieved from the funeral.
"Open it up, Kaline," Crystal suggested.
Kaline ripped away the wrapping, and inside was a familiar object...the enchanted book! His eyes widened, he was familiar with this book. He had to remember what it was, it wasn't entirely clear to him. He opened up the book, and began to read.
"In the beginning..." He began.
Him and his wife quickly gawked, and a loud pounding on the door was heard. The Creeper King was outside.
Chapter 2: A Deal is Made!
"Hurry up Kaline! Read the rest!" Crystal panicked.
"That's all it says! Literally, just one single sentence," Kaline replied.
A zombie villager, wearing a suit filled with holes and rips, and an eyepatch over his eye destroyed the iron door with a pickaxe. The Creeper King then entered, not amused.
"Alright Kaline," He spoke. "I'm not in the best mood, so hand me your daily pay in emeraldssss."
Kaline looked at Crystal and nodded. She had an understanding on what he wanted her to do. She went into the back of the wooden house and broke a block of red wool, which was used as for their carpeting. As a result of this act, a lever was revealed. Crystal pulled it, and the reaction signaled a group of pistons, built to act like an elevator of some sort. Up came a chest, which was their hiding place for the emeralds they had worked hard to achieve. However, it was empty.
Crystal looked back at Kaline with a look of worry. As a response, he shook his head in dissapointment.
"Well?" The Creeper King said impatiently, "I don't have all day."
Kaline walked over to the Creeper King. "We have no emeralds to spare."
Minutes passed with silence. Until the Creeper King made a loud hiss, and was actually close to exploding. But he quickly calmed himself, to prevent unexpected death.
"What do you mean you have no emeraldssss?" He grumbled.
Kaline and his wife said nothing.
"I could have you killed for thissss!" The Creeper King yelled. " I would make sure you two experience a death one million timessss worse than Vick!"
Kaline and Crystal began to weep once more after the Creeper King's recent statement. Surprisingly, the Creeper King felt emotion and was actually hurt by what he had said to the two. He then shook his head violently and returned to his angered mood.
"You have by the end of this week to gather a stack of emeralds," The Creeper King instructed. "I will return to this despicable household then, and if no emeraldsssss are in your possession..."
The Creeper King walked over to a golden apple sitting on a table within the wooden house and bashed it with his head.
"You get the idea," He smiled devilishly. "God that hurt! Sometimessss I dread the fact that I lack armsss." He walked out of the household, but his Zombie Villager companion stayed. He looked at the couple and tossed them two emeralds.
"...Just to get you started." He grunted.
Kaline smiled. "Hey Zane."
The Zombie Villager sniffed and walked out the iron door.
"Haven't seen him around these parts in a while." Crystal spoke.
"Yeah, it's nice to see that he's not completely infected...at least not yet..." Kaline replied.
Crystal returned to the previous topic. "What are we going to do Kaline? How are we going to get a stack of emeralds in a week?!?!"
"Forget about it." Kaline responded. "Once this book reveals to us the secrets that it wields, we'll be able to take down the Creeper King and his empire."
"Kaline, he could have us killed!" Crystal yelled. "What could this book possibly do? Barely anything is written in it!"
"It's not the words that matter." Kaline noted. "It's what the book can unlock. It's the key to Coroq Gates!"
"You mean the rusty gates in the center of Witherox?" Crystal asked, "Nobody dares set foot in there! Heck, nobody even knows what lies behind those gates."
"Well it's time we found out." Kaline said with a sense of adventure in his eyes. "We need to find Archie the Iron Golem."
Chapter 3:Archie the Iron Golem
Kaline made a quick trip down the Extreme Hills where his Wooden House stood and reached a small NPC Village by the name of Rush. It's called Rush for its involvement in several diamond rushes over the past few centuries. Archie the Iron golem, whom Kaline longs to speak to, is the beloved mayor of the village. As soon as he made his way through the main gate, he was greeted by many villagers. Suddenly, three villagers whose clothes were covered in filth approached Kaline. Their heavy hard hats with bright glowstone inside indicated that they were miners.
"Hi boss!" One of them said happily.
Kaline smiled. "Blake, Nick, and Orio, I need you to do me a huge favor."
"Sure boss!" Orio replied. "What do you need?"
"Me and Crystal are on to something big and the Creeper King demands we give him a stack of emeralds by next week," Kaline explained. "I need you three to mine at least a fraction of that amount, can you do that?"
"We'll get right on it, boss!" Nick spoke.
"Yeah, we won't let that nasty Creeper King harm you." Blake added.
The three miners took out their shovels and dug down through the dirt, closing it up soon after they were out of plain sight. Afterwards, the sound of a clicking button silenced the village. A large door opened, and a colossal figure stepped out into the open. It was an iron golem, two times as big as a natural one. He had a beard and a mustache to go along with it, and his eyes were blue rather than red. He caught glimpse of Kaline and walked towards him, taking large steps that shook the entire ground. Once he was a few inches away from Kaline, he held out...a rose. The golem's name was Archie.
"Thanks Archie," Kaline said, "Vick would really appreciate this."
Archie smiled. It was clear that he was upset over the death of Kaline's brother, Vick.
"What brings you here?" Archie asked in a deep, yet overall quiet voice.
"I recieved a book from Vick at his funeral," Kaline responded. "I believe it's the same book that was created to lead us to The Climax."
The Climax is a dimension that has only been concieved in fiction. It is believed to lead to a mob that every being in the Minecraft Universe fears. He is described as being twenty blocks high, having four legs, and having a body completely made out of fluid that changes color periodically. He has claws and long arms, and a gigantic mouth with jagged teeth, as well as glaring red eyes. The story goes that he was a mob that thrived in the "beta" times, but was only viewed by few people and eventually claimed to be a hoax, much similiar to Herobrine. Truth is, "developers" felt no need for his presence and sealed him away in The Climax, a shadow-like dimension that serves as the home for abandoned mobs.
"In the beginning..." Archie read from the enchanted book. "You have done a great job, Kaline, this is the book. Tomorrow morning we shall journey to Witherox."
Archie handed the enchanted book back to Kaline, nodded, and went back inside his home. Crystal came running to the NPC Village and met up with Kaline.
"So...Why did you need to talk to Archie?" She asked.
"Because long ago, The Wither and the Iron Golem race were allies. Iron Golems helped construct their monuments and The Wither rewarded them with daily needs," Kaline answered. "Archie is the only person who can unlock Coroq Gates with the book."
"Incredible!" Crytal said in amazement. "I always wonder how you get him to talk to you, he doesn't talk to anyone, now that his creator is gone."
Kaline watched Archie getting prepared for the Witherox trip within his house. He frowned. "The Creeper King is a monster."
Zane Helmframe was Archie's creator. He constructed him using four iron blocks and a pumpkin, and trained him to be a master in weaponary and a dedicated adventurer. The Creeper King feared Archie's power and wanted to destroy him. To do this, he tampered with his enchantment table and made a horrid enchantment called "Zombie." Archie was the one who commonly enchanted the village's weapons and armor, at the time however, he was away and Zane was left to do the job. Because of this, he was transformed into a zombie villager, and only has faint memories of his friends and family. Zane Helmframe was corrupted with evil, and the Creeper King took advantage of it greatly. Although it wasn't the result he expected, the Creeper King killed Archie the Iron Golem, but on the inside, for he dreads the fact that his master will never be with him again.
Chapter 4: Kaline Vs. The Nether
"Kaline look out!" Crystal cried.
Kaline looked behind him and found a Creeper sneaking up to him, about to explode. He was terrified and slashed it away with a sword. It exploded, but at a distance where he was not harmed. Kaline was relieved, and brought out a crafting table.
"Alright Crystal, how much iron ore did we collect?" Kaline asked.
"Here." Crystal said, throwing the pieces of iron ore to Kaline.
"About two stacks. Perfect!" Kaline replied. "Put it in the furnace while I make some more diamond pickaxes and swords. We need to be prepared if we're heading into a dangerous place like Witherox."
After minutes of smelting, Crystal used the resulted iron ingots to make two sets of iron armor on the crafting table.
"Seven...eight...nine..." Kaline counted. "Ten diamonds. That's enough to make each of us a diamond sword and pickaxe."
Crystal and Kaline equipped the armor and stored the pickaxes and swords in a "on the go" chest.
"Let's go rendezvous with Archie." Kaline insisted.
Kaline and Crystal left the mine that they had been exploring and made their way back to Rush. When they came back, they were surprised to see Archie with blocks of obsidian in his hand.
"What is all this?" Kaline questioned.
Archie looked towards Kaline. "If we're going to Witherox, we're going to have to make a portal. The portal to Witherox requires fourteen blocks of soul sand, which can only be found in The Nether."
Archie began constructing a Nether portal out of the fourteen blocks of obsidian he had in his hand.
"I don't know Archie, The Nether is well...hell nowadays," Kaline complained.
"Yeah," Crystal agreed. "The Creeper King has alliances with Ghasts, Blazes, and even Zombie Pigmen. They will destroy us!"
"I know it's a dangerous idea, but we can't just get soul sand out of thin air," Archie stated. "Rush has a bedrock outpost nearby, if we can get there as quick as possible, we won't be harmed."
Kaline and Crystal thought for a few minutes and realized there was no other choice. They agreed to enter The Nether. Archie made a quick grin, and lit the structure with flint n' steel, creating the portal. All three held hands, and jumped through, and with a quick purple flash, they were in the hellish dimension. Oceans of lava lied benath them, and flames roared on the tops of Netherrack as the red sky failed to indicate day or night.
"Over there!" Archie cried, pointing to a small bedrock structure across a bridge. It was only thirty blocks away. "Run!"
All three of them sprinted across the netherrack, when they reached the bridge in a matter of seconds, they felt confident they would make it...they were wrong. A loud screech was followed by a huge fireball that blew up part of the bridge, cutting them off from the outpost. Kaline, Crytal, and Archie stopped in their tracks. A Ghast came up from under the bridge. It wore a cape with the Creeper King's symbol painted on the back.
"Going somewhere?" The Ghast grunted.
Several blazes circled around Kaline, Crystal and Archie as a zombie pigman came and put dispensers on their hands.
"It was the only thing we had," The Zombie Pigman groaned. "After all we have no handcuffs."
The ghast made an angry look at him, and shot a fireball, quickly annihilating him.
"Take all of them to the Nether Fortress," The Ghast ordered. "I'll report them to the Creeper King and see what torture he has in store for them."
Chapter 5: Creeper King Perspective #1: The Creeper King's Fate
Moments after our heroes were captured in The Nether, an important meeting was being held in the center of the Minecraft universe where a set of gigantic fortresses surrounded an overlooking castle. The Creeper Empire's home was here. The Creeper King was in an odd behavior. He was furious, not at any of his subjects, but at himself. For some reason, he had not been able to sentence Kaline and Crystal to death, which has never happened before. Killing people was his all time favorite hobby, although coldhearted, he was filled with joy out of it.
An Enderman shined the emeralds on the Creeper King's crown and placed it on his head. Afterwards, the Creeper King took a deep breath and walked through two wooden doors leading to a large room. A table stretched across the room, filled with multiple types of mobs. He sat down in the largest of the chairs. Each mob at the table then stared at him with a puzzled look.
Minutes passed, and the Creeper King finally became enraged. "What isssss it?!?!" He yelled.
"This is unlike you, Baxtroff," A skeleton with a gold tooth admitted. "Letting a mortal off the hook, especially one who has been ordered to present emeralds each day. You know we need them for the project!""
"I'm aware of the project!" The Creeper King scolded. "After all, I created it!"
"We know," An Enderman suited in gold armor assured. "But we're afraid you've been getting side-tracked and not focusing on it more."
"This project is the whole reason we have given you all our armies, mining crews, and superior materials!" A gigantic spider snapped.
All of the mobs began to yell at the Creeper King and pound on the table.
"Shut up..." The Creeper King begged, but the mobs would not listen. "I said shut up!"
Everyone became silent.
"I jusssst...couldn't kill Kaline Woolcraft," The Creeper King admitted. "Don't think i'm giving up on the project, i'm not. That'ssss why I sent him to collect a stack by thisssss week."
The mobs were delighted and clapped.
"A stack, why that almost completes the amount we need!" A Zombie in a robe said. "Good show, Baxtroff. Forcing this subject to collect emeralds was a brilliant idea, we just thought you let him off the hook for no reason whatsoever."
"It'sss not right though!" The Creeper King snapped. "I've never felt so weak in my entire life. I can't explain to you how much I wanted him dead, I just made the emerald deal as an excuse for my failure!"
A creeper in a vest came into the room. "I think you're all stupid, if this guy collects emeralds, why would you want him dead?"
The Creeper King looked back with a furious look and signaled the Skeleton King, who quickly shot him...head first.
"Kaline gives the people of Rush hope," The Creeper King explained. "Besides, he never collects the emeralds, his mining crew does. I promise, if he doesn't have a stack of emeralds by the end of the week, I will end his life."
The mobs listened carefully.
"Honestly he's a good slave to me, but he's a brother to Vick." The Creeper King continued.
"The one who knew the secret of The Climax?" The Skeleton King questioned.
"Correct. I assume that Vick found a way to tell him about the subject, but if I kill Kaline for that reason, and he didn't know anything about The Climax, neighboring empires not in alliance with us may rebel."
"So let me summarize this..." The Blaze King began. "You want Kaline dead because he gives the people of Rush hope and he may know the secret of the Climax?"
"Correct."
"But...you couldn't kill him for some reason? And the entire emerald thing was just an excuse?"
"Correct."
"I just figured out something! If Kaline doesn't give you a stack of emeralds by this week, you have an excuse to have him dead!"
"Brilliant! That makes everything work out!"
Multiple creepers brought in glasses full of lava for the mobs.
"Don't worry, it's just punch." One of them said.
"Cheers, to the potential death of Kaline Woolcraft." The Creeper King grinned.
"Cheers!" Every mob in the room said.
That night, the Creeper King put on a night cap and entered his bedroom, exhausted from the gathering of the empires. He was about to get into his bed when...
"Something's not right..." Zane Helmframe said.
"Ahhhhh!" The Creeper King screamed. "Don't...do...that..."
"I can see how your little emerald deal is working out, but you know you wanted to kill Kaline. You weren't thinking about the project at all." Zane predicted.
"I wasn't," The Creeper King admitted. "If I killed Kaline, it would probably be harder to collect emeraldssss, after all, he'sss found the mossst. But if I told the other leaderssss that, they would be furious."
"So why didn't you?" Zane asked with a devilish grin.
"I don't know, okay!" The Creeper King yelled. "I would any other day!"
"Well here's your chance, the Ghast King is sending a transmission." Zane said.
The Creeper King gasped as the Ghast King's face came up on a large screen within his bedroom.
"Ah Baxtroff, glad to see you're awake." The Ghast King smiled.
"What do you want?" The Creeper King asked.
"I have three prisoners, are they familiar to you at all?" The Ghast King replied. He showed a snapshot of Kaline, Crystal, and Archie.
The Creeper King was shocked. "Yes, what of it?"
"Well, one of them was holding the enchanted book. You know, the one we sealed away in the Void Fortress." The Ghast explained.
"WHAT?!" The Creeper King screamed. "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"
"I don't know, but i'm awaiting your approval to dispose of them." The Ghast King said.
Zane looked at the Creeper King, who began to sweat. He began shaking rapidly after this question was concieved to him.
"N-N-No...Ju-Jusssst keep them hostage..." He managed to say.
"Roger that." The Ghast King approved. The transmission then ended.
"You failed to kill Kaline again." Zane said, shaking his head in disgrace.
The Creeper King stomped on the ground. "I now know what became of the Coroq Gatessss book....That idiot Vick transported it to Kaline...He knew he would carry out hissss mission!"
Zane observed the Creeper King as his anger began to build up. "I wouldn't talk trash about Vick like that Baxtroff."
"Why?! Don't you see!? Our entire ultimatum is in jeopardy! I must inform the other empiressss immediatly! While i'm at it, i'll snatch Kaline's mining crew and make sure he doesn't collect the emeraldsssss by the end of the week! Yes...I'll make them his replacement, make sure they collect as many emeraldssss as I want them to collect." The Creeper King laughed.
"Because Baxtroff...Vick Woolcraft is still among us. Part of him is inside you. Part of him is preventing you from destroying Kaline once and for all." Zane explained.
"V-Vick...I-inssside me?" The Creeper King stuttered.
"Yes. Before you killed him, his wooden sword must've had the enchantment, "Final Request." Which provides any being with a power to carry out a final desire. Vick's final desire was to make sure you stay out of Kaline's way so he can reach The Climax, mine the Wither Colossus, and make sure the Creeper Empire doesn't activate it with its soul power source, emeralds."
"And I was the last one to be hit with it..." The Creeper King finally realized. "What do I do Zane? He can't win! He can't defeat me...I need to form an alliance with the Witch Empire...Only they have the power to relieve me from this hellish fate."
The Creeper King removed his night cap and once again put on his emerald crown and robe.
"Inform the empires on what has happened!" The Creeper King ordered. "And ask the Skeleton King if I can borrow Dav."
"The assassin?" Zane questioned.
"Yes, if I can't kill Kaline, somebody else is going to have to. And make sure he retrieves that book!"
Chapter 6:Vick's Transmission / A Silverfish Rescuer!
Thousands of blocks away from the sanctuary that our heroes had hoped to stay in, under a deep ocean of fiery lava layed a castle made from blocks of Nether Quartz. Within this castle, Kaline, Crystal, and Archie were in the confines of a bedrock jail cell, with no chance of escape possible, and no help for miles.
"This is unfortunate." Archie muttered.
Kaline acknowledged Archie's remark with an upset nod. "It's hopeless, we can't escape bedrock. Even if we could, we would easily be captured or burned in the lava ocean outside if we tried to escape."
Suddenly, a booming voice was heard, presumeably from an intercom somewhere in the castle.
"Ghast King speaking," The voice indicated. "You three are lucky, the Creeper King has refused to issue a punishment. Nevertheless, I will make sure you are secured within this cell 24/7 and let nature do it's thing."
The intercom stopped after that announcement, but came on minutes later.
"Uh...yeah, by that I meant you're going to rot in this cell..." The Ghast King explained. "Just wanted to make sure you're fate was clear and...uh...bye."
The intercom finally ended.
Kaline slammed his fist on the bedrock wall. "I'm so sorry I brought you guys into this."
"Kaline...It's not your fault!" Crystal objected. "You risked your life to do what your brother Vick requested, you're a hero!"
"But you...my loving wife, and Archie, my best friend..." Kaline weeped. "I never wanted you two to risk your lives, it's clear to me now that I failed in keeping you safe."
Silence was present in the room for the remaining hours of containment, up to the point when an explosion was heard outside the castle walls.
Kaline, Crystal, and Archie were all spooked by the sudden uproar. The slashes of bows and shooting of arrows could be heard outside, as well as the cries of Blazes, Ghasts, and Zombie pigmen that were protecting the castle.
The intercom went on again. "Intruder alert! Intruder...! O-Oh no! Ahhhhhh!"
The speaker on the intercom had been knocked out by someone, and the announcement was halted.
"What is it?!" Archie questioned with an alarmed expression.
Soon, the mysterious presence was in the bedrock prison...approaching the cell that Kaline, Crystal, and Archie were in! They were filled with fear, assuming that it had been a mob out to destroy them. Luckily, that was not the case. A silverfish squeezed through the bedrock walls, making a tiny noise as he did. He was equipped in miniature diamond armor and had a purple bandana around his head. He layed silently on the ground for a while, and Kaline, Crystal, and Archie just stared at him. No movement was detected whatsoever.The silverfish observed the three heroes, and finally noticed the enchanted book within a pocket of Kaline's pants.
"Ha!Ha! I've finally found you!" The silverfish cried with a childish, squeeky voice. "Kaline! Your name is Kaline, yes?"
"Yeah," Kaline answered. "Who might you be?"
"My name is Zerrel," The silverfish replied. "I've been ordered by your brother, Vick, to come and rescue you!"
"You know Vick?! Is he still alive?!" Kaline asked with hope.
"Sadly, no." Zerrel admitted. "It was a transmission from him minutes before his death."
Zerel brought out a small device and placed it on the ground. With the push of a button, Vick's image appeared and began to speak. He was wearing severely damaged armor and was beginning to grow a beard. His hair was messed up and greasy, and he had bruises across his face.
"Hello fellow comrads," Vick greeted with a small grin. "I have recently gotten into trouble. I have entered the Creeper Empire's Void Fortress and have stolen the sacred enchanted book, or as I would like to call it, The Book of the Wither."
Kaline watched the transmission with excitement, he had finally been able to catch one final glimpse of his brother.
"Within a matter of seconds, the Creeper King's goons will find me and most likely end my life," Vick continued. "I plan to send the book to my loving brother, Kaline, and hope that he succeeds in interpreting the book's secrets and ending the Creeper Empire once and for all!"
"Vick would appreciate what you're doing," Zerrel smiled. "What you're doing is all he ever wanted after he died, nothing else. He wanted safety for everyone, and you're close to achieving it. He really loves you Kaline."
Kaline nodded happily.
"Oh!Oh! This is the part of the transmission that I was given my mission!" Zerel yelled out.
"Zerrel and the rest of my alliance, please ensure that Kaline and his friends are safe on the journey to The Climax," Vick requested. "And Kaline..."
Kaline was alarmed by the mention of his name and listened carefully.
"If I die, I just wanted you to know that my life would never have been joyful if you weren't in it," Vick said. "I miss you, brother."
He made a small grin and the transmission ended.
Kaline was completely still and silent. Archie, Crystal, and Zerrel looked at him. Finally, he stood up and clenched his fists.
"Come on," Kaline spoke. "Let's get out of this hellish dimension, collect some soul sand, and enter Witherox."
They all cheered.
"That's what I like to hear!" Zerrel laughed. He then brought out a mystical block with a blueish glow.
"What is that?" Archie asked.
"May I present to you Zerrel's Overpowered Optimum Machine! Or as i'd like to call it, ZOOM." Zerrel responded. "This hunk of metal will take us anywhere, so long as we provide it with specified coordinates or details. Let's get out of here and back to the Overworld!"
"Hold up silverfish, we can't leave The Nether unless we collect fourteen blocks of soul sand." Crystal complained.
"Not a problem, in fact, it's a perfect time to demonstrate old ZOOM here." Zerrel decided. He knocked on the block and a screen popped up on the top of it.
Archie reacted quickly and looked towards the door. Faint voices could be heard, and as they grew louder, he knew that whoever was making them was coming towards the cell.
"You may want to hurry up!" Archie yelled, beginning to rush Zerrel.
Zerrel began to hear the voices too and listened.
"He went into there!" One voice shouted.
Zerrel panicked and typed in the coordinates faster. As the cell door busted open, he activated the block out of fear, and all four of the heroes were teleported out of the bedrock cell. They were free!
...That is, until they were teleported right above an ocean of lava.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" All of them screamed.
"Oh my Notch! Oh my Notch!" Zerrel yelled. He punched in details rather than coordiantes this time, and as fast as he could. The block read: TO THE NEAREST SOUL SAND PATCH
Instantly, the four heroes were teleported once more, this time onto land rather than an ocean of boiling lava. They reached a patch of soul sand with enough blocks to achieve the goal of fourteen, and began to mine them.
"Witherox here we come," Kaline said with determination.
"I hate ZOOM." Archie shared, clenching his chest as though he had gotten a heart attack from the recent experience.
Chapter 7: Witherox Portal
After successfully gathering enough soul sand to construct a Witherox portal, Kaline began to arrange the fourteen blocks into the significant shape that would bring them to the gloomy dimension.
"No, no! What are you doing?!" Zerrel barked at Kaline.
"Uhhh...constructing the portal," Kaline answered, "We need to get into Witherox as fast as we can! We're already behind schedule."
"Look, this may sound stupid, but Witherox is a bigger hell hole than the Nether," Zerrel explained. "A ghast could easily blow up this portal and BAM! Trapped."
Kaline finally realized that Zerrel was correct, and was thankful that he didn't make one beforehand. Maybe it was a good thing that him and his friends were held captive in the bedrock cell. If they weren't, they wouldn't have met Zerrel.
"Let me take you to Vick's Mining Headquarters," Zerrel suggested, "I'm sure the other members of the alliance would love to meet you, seeing as though you're technically co-owner. Let's go!"
Zerrel punched in coordinates for the headquarters into ZOOM.
"Don't worry guys," Zerrel assured, "Old ZOOM here won't put our lives in danger again."
Archie pulled out a fire resistance potion and drank every last drop of it.
"Here we go!" Zerrel shouted. He then knocked on the block and a blinding flash teleported them out of the Nether. In that split second, a flaming arrow pierced into the netherrack block that Kaline was standing on before he was teleported. On a cliff, a skeleton equipped with a torn cape and iron chestplate, wielding an enchanted bow pounded his fist on the wall. In one of his empty holes where an eye once was, a glowing ord was present. He also had small, pointy teeth completely made out of diamond. Dissapointed about his recent failure in trying to shoot Kaline, he pressed a small button hidden on the top of his bow, and dissapeared in an eerie, black mist.
A few minutes later, Kaline, Archie, Crystal, and Zerrel successfully reached Vick's Mining Headqurters. They were standing in a lobby of some sort made out of iron blocks. Redstone Lamps saturated the place, and were basically a main source of light. Along with that, a fountain spewed glistening water that a pack of wolves began drinking out of. In tribute to Vick, paintings that portrayed him hung on the wall.
"I haven't seen this place in so long," Kaline smiled, "it's glad to see how nice it's coming along."
"Zerrel!" An unfamiliar voice said. Kaline looked around to identify who might have said it, but it was not clear.
Suddenly a bat flew from the cieling and landed on Zerrel's head.
"Hey! What's up man?" Zerrel questioned with glee, "It's nice to see you Lars, where are the others?"
Lars burst out laughing. "They're right behind you, they're invisible!"
Suddenly, three different mobs tackled Zerrel. After the small encounter, Zerrel finally introduced them to Kaline.
The first introduced mob, which was a bat, was named Lars. Although very small, Lars is actually a master at redstone and is responsible for making all the machinery that Vick's mining team uses. He also produces minecart systems that go on for thousands of blocks.
Second, a witch named Rodona. Although the Witch Empire never liked the Creeper King, she became an outcast and retreated from her comfortable hut in the swamp when she heard that they were planning to team up. Rodona is a master brewer and can make potions that no one has ever seen before.
Third, an ocelot named Forrest. Forrest is notable for being the only ocelot in the Minecraft world at this time. The Creeper King captured his entire empire and he was the only one that escaped. Forrest can run really fast and he's a master at crafting. He knows recipes by heart and even has some that have never met minecraftian eyes.
"Lars, Rodona, Forrest, this is Kaline," Zerrel introduced, "He's Vick's brother."
They all gasped.
"Wow! I've been waiting to meet you!" Forrest cheered.
"Yeah," Rodona replied, "We're really honored to have you here, and glad that you're participating in the alliance against the Creeper Empire."
"It's nice to meet you all too!" Crystal replied.
"What about me?" A near voice asked.
Suddenly, out of the shadows came a typical minecraftian. He had green eyes and black hair. He wore a red jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, and held a cane with a golden creeper head on both ends. His shoes were emerald encrusted, and he wore jeans. Along with that, he also wore headphones.
"Oh, hey Pierce," Zerrel greeted with an annoyed sigh.
"Who?" Kaline questioned.
"I'm Pierce," Pierce snapped. "I am the powerhouse of this mining team and overall leader of the alliance."
Kaline frowned, "Vick put you in charge?"
"Let's just say I worked my way to the top," Pierce grinned. "Alright, i'm done here. Get back to work."
Pierce walked into a small piston elevator and was gone.
"What a creep, how did he get put in charge?" Kaline questioned.
"It's not important, Kaline," Lars said, "What is important is that we get you to Witherox!"
"He's right Kaline," Archie agreed, "It's time we finally construct the portal.
Kaline nodded. And with help from Archie, Crystal, and the entire alliance, the fourteen soul sand blocks were constructed into a portal shape.
Forrest walked over to Archie and offered him a full set of iron armor. He was the only one who wasn't equipped with any.
"Do you need it, Archie?" Forrest asked.
Archie shook his head, "I'll be fine out there."
Kaline took out the "on-the-go" chest full of the supplies that he had packed before entering the Nether and pulled out a flint and steel. He nodded at his wife, Crystal, and then at his friend, Archie. He lit the portal, jumped inside the black wisp, and within a few seconds the heroes were in Witherox. The sky was pitch black, and the entire ground was made out of a grayish stone. It was a very mountainous world, and a harsh snowstorm reaked havoc on it.
"I can't see anything!" Kaline cried, using his sword to block his eyes from the snow. "Archie?!Crystal?!"
"Kaline!" Crystal yelled from a couple blocks away, "Look out!"
A loud screech was followed by a soaring wither head that hit Kaline directly in the head with an explosion.
"No! Kaline!" Archie yelled, running towards the explosion.
The source of the attack lead to the monster known as The Wither. His three heads laughed with joy as Kaline fell to the ground in pain.
"And thus the hero fell...ending all the hope for his allies...his friends...and the entire Minecraft universe," The Wither spoke. "Oh what a pity that an experienced soldier such as this...must fall. Ha! Kaline Woolcraft...Crystal Woolcraft...Archie the Iron Golem...What a joke. We die of laughter. No matter, we will soon be treated with a feast in three.....two.....one....."
Kaline Woolcraft withered away.
"Destiny has spoken," The Wither laughed. "We win."
Chapter 8:The Blank Reality
"Vick! Don't go, please!" Kaline cried from the entrance of his wooden home.
"I'll be fine, brother," Vick assured, raising his diamond pickaxe into the air. "When I return, the Creeper Empire will leave the village of Rush in peace, just like you always wanted!"
"But Vick..." Kaline wined. "It's too dangerous, you might die..."
"Have I ever let down on a promise, Kaline?" Vick asked.
"No, never." Kaline answered.
"I promise I will be back," Vick smiled. After a quick goodbye, Vick and his wife Katherine went down the mountain and into the NPC village known as Rush. Suddenly, there was a quick flash, and Vick was in the presence of the Creeper King.
"Goodbye Vick, sssee you in hell, or in this case, The Nether," The Creeper King grinned. Immediately after speaking, he left the room and two endermen piled TNT around Vick and lit it with flint and steel. A giant explosion resulted, and with that, Kaline woke up.
"Vick, no!" He yelled in despair. After he realized it was nothing but a dream, he rubbed his eyes and was curious as to where he was. Everything was completely white. The sky, the ground, everything.
"W-What is...?" He managed to ask himself. He barely moved, horrified as to what would happen if he did.
After a while, he put his foot on a block. Nothing happened. Afterwards, he began to walk around the strange world that he was brought into. Suddenly, he saw the silhouettes of a familiar iron golem and young woman.
"Crystal! Archie!" He said with hope. But his hope quickly faded away. They were indeed Crystal and Archie, but their entire bodies were completely white just like the world, and they were frozen in place. Kaline also saw the Wither hovering in the sky, but he was exactly the same as the others.
"This can't be real...It isn't real!" Kaline said to himself. He began to walk some more across the world, and finally realized something that stood out. It was the Witherox portal! He could see the soul sand clearly, color and all, and the portal was active! Seeing as though there was nothing else to do, he jumped inside the black wisp. Once Kaline was back in the Overworld, he was introduced to the exact same world. It was indeed Vick's Mining Headquarters, but completely white...
"What is going on!?!" Kaline yelled out. He fell to the ground, it was hopeless... no one could hear him.
Kaline walked helplessly around the world for days... of course, he couldn't tell. Nothing existed in the unknown world that Kaline had been plunged into. No moon, no sun, no mobs, no tools, and no blocks. No anything. Kaline then walked into an NPC village which he assumed was Rush and climbed up the tall mountains that lead to his wooden house on the peak. He explored the household and approached the room where Vick once slept before he died. When he did, he saw a man sitting on the bed. He was alive and not frozen, and he had color! He was wearing a straw hat and had stubs of hair that were beginning to form a mustache. He was wearing a jacket and jeans and was fiddling around with a diamond pickaxe.
"This is a nice little tool," He said as Kaline simply gawked at him. "I bet you do some fine mining with this!"
"Who are you?! How did you get in here?!" Kaline asked with confusion.
"....I....I don't know..." The man answered unknowingly.
"You can't remember your name?" Kaline questioned in shock.
"Nope. But some people like to call me Moral," Moral replied.
"Who? There's nobody around here except for us," Kaline noted.
"Well... you can," Moral smiled.
"Alright Moral, tell me..." Kaline began. "What is this place and why are me and you the only ones who are alive?"
"Alive?!" Moral laughed, "We're dead!"
"D-D-Dead...?!" Kaline stuttered.
"Welcome to the end of Minecraft my friend!" Moral explained, "You're currently in an opposite reality of what was Minecraftia. This is where you're judged based on your actions as to whether you spend eternity in The Nether, The Aether or a return to the Overworld in a process Notch calls Respawning."
"Then... was Vick here?" Kaline asked.
Moral made a puzzled look. "I've never seen or heard of a fellow named Vick walking around these parts."
"Oh..." Kaline said with dissapointment.
"But anyway, what you're standing in now is simply a waiting room." Moral spoke.
"A waiting room?" Kaline repeated.
"Yep," Moral replied, "Once you hear a loud beeping noise, a person will be sent to the Greyscale Judge to determine your fate."
"Greyscale Judge who-" Kaline tried to say, but was then interrupted by a loud beeping noise that Moral had just described.
"That's you! No time to lose, good luck!" Moral exclaimed. Kaline suddenly began to glow and went up at an incredible speed into the sky. Within seconds, he landed on a platform in what seemed to be space. The Greyscale Judge sat in front of him, which was a giant, bird-like mob with a cloak and a large staff. Kaline looked around in astonishment at the glistening stars. The Greyscale Judge waved it's staff at Kaline and a small screen appeared over him, measuring whether or not he was worthy enough to be respawned. He looked at it with fear, and crossed his fingers. Luckily, it indicated that he was fit to be brought back into the overworld!
"Well," The Greyscale Judge spoke, "Looks like it's your lucky day. Try not to get killed this time!"
"I won't," Kaline smiled with relief. "By the way, who was that man in the... um... waiting room? He told me his name was Moral and he was really a big help. I do hope that he will get to be respawned just like me."
"What man?" The Greyscare Judge asked. "You're the only one who was down there, no one has been here in quite a while now."
Kaline's eyes widened. He looked down at the opposite reality known as the Waiting Room and debated whether or not his conversation with Moral was even real. Nevertheless, he had been granted with a superior gift, and was ready to be respawned and join his friends back in Witherox.
Chapter 9:Creeper King Perspective #2: Seven Days Have Passed...
As our heroes ventured into Witherox and dealt with the Wither's slaying of Kaline, who later was allowed to be respawed, the Creeper King was visiting the Skeleton Empire to address a major issue that involved The Book of the Wither.
"The other empires are furious Baxtroff!" The Skeleton King argued, "If the book isn't returned to the Void Fortress soon, there's a possibility of war!"
The Skeleton King paced in his throne room furiously as the Creeper King sat on a large couch, sipping on a glass of milk and constantly looking at a clock that hung on the cieling.
"Oh come off it," The Creeper King rolled his eyes, "Why would they ever attempt to face me?"
"Don't you see Baxtroff?" The Skeleton King asked, "They've given you everything they have in order to ensure the protection of this project and make sure it goes through successfully. To be honest, some of them dislike you, but you've given them a chance to reach a glimpse of power and succeed in these tough times."
The Creeper King hissed, "I'm sssick of all of you losssing trussst in me! It's not my fault Vick was one step ahead of me."
Suddenly, an eerie noise ran throughout the corridors of the castle where the two monarchs were in. The Creeper King smiled and looked at the clock. Kaline was out of time to collect a stack of emeralds, a week was up.
"Besides..." The Creeper King laughed, "His time is up. He'll have to return to his disgusting household if he wants to return the emeralds, whether he has them or not. And when he does, i'll make sure he'll never see the book again!"
After speaking, a black mist appeared behind the Creeper King, and the same skeleton that attempted to kill Kaline in The Nether appeared. His glowing orb for an eye glistened as he reached out his bony arm towards the Creeper King.
"What's thissss?" The Creeper King asked furiously.
"Impossible," The Skeleton King spoke with shock.
"What? What's going on?!" The Creeper king demanded.
"Dav didn't kill Kaline," The Skeleton King revealed, "He never fails to assassinate a target."
"Pay. Now," Dav commanded.
"I gave you two stacks of diamonds you cheap piece of-"
Dav then pointed an arrow directly at the Creeper King's forehead.
"If I were you I would pay up. I'll make it easier for you this time, I want four stacks of diamonds and i'll decide not to end your life. Deal?"
The Skeleton King was suprised, The Creeper King had never been scared of anything in his entire life. It seems Dav fit the bill for that category, he was his first biggest fear."
The Creeper King walked towards an ender chest and pulled out four stacks of diamonds. He then handed it to Dav, who quickly threw them into a small lava source.
"I don't take diamonds," Dav grinned, "This time I want some of this armor enchanted. Get to it."
He took a full set of diamond armor and piled it on top of the Creeper King, who quickly fell to the ground.
"Y-y-yes...I'll get to it..." The Creeper King stuttered, "Subjects!"
Suddenly, two creepers entered the throne room and replied, "Yes, sir?"
"Take this set of armor and enchant it to the highest level we currently have," The Creeper King said, handing them the armor.
Dav brought out a chest and placed it on a block.
"And when it's enchanted, put it in here and i'll pick it up later."
The two creepers nodded and walked off with the armor. Dav bowed to the Skeleton King, pressed a button on the top of his bow, and dissapeared in the black mist once more.
"I've known you since I was a child, Kullij," The Creeper King said, "How could a nice guy like you have a serveant as dispicable as him? Dav is truly a horrifying mob."
"Lots of fighting experience and training turned him into the ultimate assassin," The Skeleton King replied, "He's simply loyal to all skeletons, let's leave it at that."
"Well, I need to head to Rush and hopefully meet up with Kaline at his wooden home. If not, Dav would've killed him and retrieved the book." The Creeper King said.
That Night...
The ground trembled violently.
"Where's Archie?! Where's Archie?!" A villager cried.
"Look out!" Another yelled.
Thousands of Creepers entered the village of Rush. They made a small path for the Creeper King, who walked up to the front of them.
"Lisssten up!" The Creeper King announced, "I don't know if any of you are aware, but Kaline has reached the end of his time limit. I demand to see him this instant. And if he's still in Witherox, go fetch him!"
"Wait!" Orio, one of Kaline's miners, cried. "We have collected a stack of emeralds! Here they are!"
Blake and Nick brought out a minecart full of emeralds. Sixty-four of them were present, an entire stack.
The Creeper King smiled, "How promising, but he mussst be here to present them to me."
Every villager in Rush was terrified and remained quiet, fearful of what may happen if they weren't. The Creeper King lost patience within a simple matter of minutes, and directed a soldier in his army towards a small house in the village. The Creeper army nodded as a substitute for a salut towards the soldier, and he exploded, taking the house with him.
The villagers gasped.
"Every hour Kaline is not in this village, I will explode one of your precious homes." The Creeper King dictated. "Subjects, build me a temporary base that I may stay in for the night. That is all."
As multiple Creepers of the army began to construct a large structure to serve as the Creeper King's base, a familiar being heard the entire announcement from the top of a hill. It was Pierce. He shook his head in disgust and stomped on the ground. Afterwards, he took out a device that resembled ZOOM, and entered the coordinates of Vick's Mining Headquarters.
"This can't go on," Pierce said, "Kaline needs to return to Rush as soon as possible, even if his life may be at risk."
He pounded on the block and teleported away from Rush. Smoke began to rise into the sky, and flags were put up around the village that had the Creeper Empire's symbol on them.
Chapter 10:The Wither's Boom
Kaline blinked and began to yawn.
"K-K-Kaline?!" Crystal weeped.
Kaline nodded with a smile.
"Oh my Notch! Kaline! You're alive!" Crystal said happily. She began to cry with tears of joy.
Kaline was back at Vick's Mining Headquarters. Apparently, Archie and Crystal quickly retreated from Witherox after the attack, and they brought Kaline with them.
"Glad you're back, Kaline," Zerrel added, "Don't worry, we won't let you go back there again."
Kaline shook his head in disagreement, "If anything, we are going back."
Vick's crew gasped.
"You were only there for three minutes and the Wither destroyed you!" Forrest responded, "Besides, you have a bigger issue to attend to!"
"Huh?" Kaline asked in confusion. The crew remained silent after that, however, Zerrel revealed the truth.
"The Creeper King is in Rush, and he's threatning to destroy the entire village unless he sees to it that you give him a stack of emeralds."
"How dare he go back on our deal!" Kaline yelled furiously, "It's only been four days!"
"Wrong," Archie disagreed, "Wherever you went after you were killed by The Wither, three days passed, making a total of seven days. It's been a week, Kaline."
Kaline began to feel dizzy and he sat down. He could not believe what had happened while he was in "The Waiting Room."
Suddenly, he felt an urge of braveness and proudly spoke, "Well who cares! If I approach him he'll kill me anyway, more importantly, he'll take the enchanted book! I've worked too hard to get this far, you guys should be ashamed, Vick would never want this."
The crew was dissapointed, and they finally realized that Kaline was making his own decision and they had no right to interfere.
"You're right Kaline," Lars agreed, "Come on guys, we'll defend Rush from the Creeper King and hold him off until Kaline unlocks Coroq Gates!"
The rest of the crew cheered, which made Kaline overjoyed.
"Thank you," He said as he entered the Witherox Portal once again.
"Wait Kaline!" Forrest shouted. He handed him an enchanted bow, arrows, a communication device, and ZOOM#2. "You'll need these if you ever stand a chance against the Wither and his minions. His throne room coordinates are 355-2344-23, ZOOM#2 will get you there easily. Good luck!"
Kaline nodded and then looked towards Archie, who was looking at a sword being mantled on the wall.
"Something wrong?"
"I want to help them, Kaline," Archie answered, "Rush is my village, if the citizens are in trouble I must lead them to safety or claim victory."
"I understand," Kaline said. He made sure he had all the required gear and held Crystal's hand. Afterwards, he jumped into the portal, dissapearing in a black wisp.
Inside The Wither's Castle...
"It feels nice to destroy," The Wither lectured, hovering over a wooden table where hundreds of Wither Skeletons sat, "Now that Kaline Woolcraft is gone, The Wither Empire can sleep peacefully knowing that Coroq Gates will be secured."
The Wither Skeletons cheered in the pitch black throne room of the castle. The only light source was dim, redstone torches. The Wither floated over to a wall full of Minecraftian heads on item frames, he then placed a head that resembled Kaline's on an empty one.
"A new addition to collection!" The Wither laughed. Suddenly, two beings were transported into the room, attracting the attention of all the skeletons, including The Wither. It was Kaline and Crystal.
"Impossible!" The Wither screeched, as he did the item frame where Kaline's head was planted melted.
"I-I-I killed you! This can't be!"
Kaline and Crystal brought out their diamond swords. The Wither gave them an angered look, constantly glaring at them with his blank eyes. "Subjects! Leave me!"
All the Wither Skeletons in the room instantly got up and sprinted to trapdoors in each corner of the room. They jumped in and every single one was out of sight and not a threat whatsoever. The Wither made a clicking sound with his bony torso and redstone lamps flashed on, brightening the surroundings. The table flipped over and left a rug made of red wool where it once was. Lastly, the nether brick walls transformed into pure bedrock.
The Wither's three heads laughed cheerfully, "It's time we finish this, one on one, to the death!"
Crystal refused to let Kaline fight the Wither by himself, but Kaline notioned her to stay back and simply spectate. Kaline and The Wither looked at each other carefully, waiting to see who would make the first strike. Kaline then brought out his bow and shot The Wither as quickly as he could, resulting in a direct shot in the ceneter head.
"You little- I'll kill you!" The Wither screeched in pain. He attacked for the first time, and began to shoot heads towards Kaline, who managed to evade them. Kaline sprinted towards the Wither, who hovered away and continued to shoot heads in Kaline's direction. As he ran, Kaline shot flaming arrows at The Wither, which struck him each time.
"STOP IT!" He yelled furiously, suddenly, he changed his motive of attack. His eyes glowed and all the bones that made up his body rattled. Immediatly after, a black beam was shot at Kaline and he was thrown towards the wall with a large force and began to be withered. He was knocked out instantly.
"I must say," The Wither began, "You are nothing like my past meals, you show courage and strength...Hahaha! How sad! Prepare to die, Kaline Woolcraft!"
The Wither prepared to fire another beam at Kaline, which would most likely kill him, but Kaline tried with all his might in order to stand up. Once he did, he threw his diamond sword straight into The Wither's chest.
"Gah!" The Wither cried. Kaline ran circles around The Wither, constantly shooting him with flaming arrows up to the point in which The Wither began to drift slowly towards the ground. Kaline jumped on him, pulled the diamond sword out of his chest, and slashed him in the head. The Wither was still, and fell to the ground. Kaline breathed heavily and felt proud about his victory over the ghastly villain, Crystal cheered with glee.
"H....Ha....Haha....HAHAHA!" The Wither managed to laugh. He couldn't float, but he sat up and balanced himself on his torso, seeing as though he had no legs. "I...I...I guess....This is it....Correct?"
"Explain yourself," Kaline demanded.
"W...We die here," The Wither grinned. He hopped over to a small switch and pulled it. As a result, the cieling slid into the wall and revealed a chandilier completely made out of TNT. "We've known about your trip to Witherox for a while now...A-After you achieved The Book of the Wither, we assumed you would come to unlock the secret that lies beyond Coroq Gates...th-they wouldn't let us....they wouldn't let us allow your entrance into the gates..."
"Who? Start talking!" Kaline asked, hoping for an answer.
Crystal looked towards the TNT chandilier and notcied a small symbol implamented on it. It was the symbol of the Creeper Empire. "Kaline! The Creeper King was here!"
Kaline noticed who The Wither was talking about.
"H-H-He's more powerful t-than you think, Kaline..." The Wither warned, "We tried not to let him know the power that The Book of the Withercould unlock...But we couldn't stop him...He wants to rule the Minecraft Universe...he needs to die...he must die..."
The Wither began to fade away.
"Wither! Don't leave now, where's Coroq Gates? What is the Creeper King planning to do?!" Kaline questioned.
"The book will tell you everything..." The Wither replied, "We grant your permission, Kaline, g-good luck...Wish we could say more...but we will be gone in.....3.......2.....1...."
An arrow pierced the Wither and his body burst into flames.
The Wither was shot by Dav.
"What?!" Kaline said in astonishment. Dav, the skeleton assassin, entered the room and approached Kaline and Crystal.
"Finally..." Dav spoke, "I've found you...Kaline Woolcraft."
Chapter 11: The Golem, The Book, and Coroq
After defeating The Wither, somewhat, dark skies loomed over the castle of nether brick as Kaline met face to face with a new villain, Dav.
"I must say," Dav spoke, observing the throne room as he drifted ever so closer to Kaline. "The Wither was a loyal slave to the Creeper Empire if he actually constructed a TNT chandilier for my personal use in this fight."
"So," Kaline chuckled, "The Creeper King sent you, I guess he really is out to kill me. And to do so he sent a weak subject like you to do his bidding."
Dav laughed, he was not at all offended by Kaline's comment. "Somewhat, he does want you dead, but his main prize is that there book."
"Well i'm sorry to break it to you, but you're never taking this from me," Kaline snapped. "The Creeper King ended my dear brother's life, he will not get me too. I will fight and make my brother's dream a reality, making sure punks like you taste the ground of The Nether and ending this foresaken empire."
"I see you're determined to do that," Dav replied, "But i'm sorry to break it to YOU, I don't care whether or not I get that book, I just want kill you and make sure nobody in the entire Minecraft Universe knows that Kaline Woolcraft escaped the great skeleton assassin...me!"
Dav quickly took out his bow and pressed the button on the top of it, resulting in his sly dissapearing trick in which a black mist was produced. Kaline and Crystal, both wielding diamond swords, looked closely in each direction to see where Dav had escaped too.
"Kaline look out!" Crystal warned.
Dav came out of the black mist behind Kaline and punched him in the back of the head with a great force. Kaline fell on to the red wool carpeting. He quickly got up and picked up a table constructed of a wooden pressure plate and fence post and smashed it across Dav's face. Kaline was proud that he had got a mighty hit on the vile skeleton, but he was wrong. Dav simply cracked his neck and spit out a diamond tooth, then punched Kaline again, this time in the jaw. Crystal couldn't bear to watch Kaline suffer, in an attempt to save her husband she slashed her diamond sword into Dav's skull. After the impact, he showed no movement whatsoever and was silent, until he pulled it out with his bony arms and threw it at the bedrock wall, where it shattered. The large cut on his skull then began to heal!
Kaline was horrified, not only for his healing technique, but the fact that his power was so incredible that he could shatter a diamond sword just by throwing it at the wall.
"W-W-What are you?!" Kaline questioned.
Dav made an evil laugh, "This is why none of my opponents escape me Kaline, I am invincible."
Kaline, who was unable to get up because he had been severly injured, tried to make one final blow at Dav with his diamond sword, which was still available, but Dav quickly grabbed it from him and tossed it on the ground. Suddenly, he took out his enchanted bow and pointed a flaming arrow directly at Kaline's blocky head.
"Kaline!" Crystal screamed.
With that, the sound of an arrow piercing a target echoed throughout the room. However, it did not belong to Dav, it belonged to Archie the Iron Golem. He had shot a flaming arrow engineered with Power V directly into Dav's chest. He turned around furiously and glared at Archie.
"Who dares interrupt this-" Dav managed to say, until Archie charged at him and tossed him into the bedrock wall.
"Good timing," Kaline smiled. He patted him on the back.
"Well it's a good thing you had Forrest's communication device on that entire time," Archie replied, "I could hear everything that was happening, therefore I left Rush and rushed to Witherox as soon as possible to rescue you. By the way, we were able to hold The Creeper Empire off until your return to Rush, so let's find Coroq Gates!"
"Right," Kaline agreed.
Dav regained consciousness and looked towards the reunited team with disgust. He grabbed his damaged bow and shot a flaming arror at one of the TNT blocks in the chandilier. It went off and it was only seconds before the entire throne room would be destroyed, except for the walls of course, which were bedrock.
"This is not over Kaline Woolcraft, I will defeat you sooner or later," Dav vowed. He pressed the button on top of his bow and vanished once more, this time out of the dimension.
"That fool!" Kaline yelled.
"Come on!" Archie ordered. He grabbed both Kaline and Crystal and sprinted towards one of the trapdoors that the Wither Skeletons jumped into earlier. Without any desire of stopping, Archie immedietly jumped in and met with an enormous fall to assumed death. As explosions rocked the throne room above them, the heroes screamed as they fell to their doom, of course, they only fell in a patch of water and were not harmed.
"That was so close," Crystal said, relieved.
"Archie...What is this place?" Kaline asked as he finally took a look around at the place they had fell in. It was a giant room, about ten times larger than the throne room, and it was pitch black. The floor was mycelium and stone bricks covered the walls and cieling. But in the center was a path made out of gold blocks that lead to a fountain that spewed lava. And behind that, was a gigantic gate made of iron bars, it was Coroq Gates.
"Kaline...This is it..." Archie answered.
Kaline gasped. "Coroq Gates!"
Kaline brought out the enchanted book and he ran towards the entrance of the gates, Archie and Crystal following behind him. He approached a small pedestal that stood out from the rest of the structures in the room, it was eminating a blueish glow.
"This is it, hand me the book Kaline." Archie requested.
Kaline handed Archie the enchanted book. Archie took a deep breathe and set it in the center of the pedestal. In an instant, the entire castle began to shake violently.
"What's going on?!" Crystal asked hanging on to the pedestal with the other heroes for she was unable to keep her balance on the shaking ground.
"I don't know!" Archie answered, "This is kind of a first for me! I may have constructed this place, but i've never had the book to see what the results would be!"
Outside The Wither's castle the blocks of grey stone transformed into glowstone and the winter storm diminished and eventually dissapeared leading to a clear, red sky. Beams of blueish light then shot out of the castle and at that very moment...silence. Everything became calm.
Kaline, Crystal, and Archie looked at the gates with curiosity, waiting to see what would happen. Suddenly there was a loud bang, and the gates creaked open. Once they came to a halt, a portal opened up on the other side of them and out of it came...a minecraftian.
Kaline was angered, "What is this?! He's just a newly spawned weakling!"
Kaline knew this for the minecraftian was clearly dressed as Steve and was only equipped with a stone pickaxe. Archie slammed Kaline across the head.
"Silence!" He yelled, "This is no ordinary minecraftian, this is Coroq!"
"Coroq?" Kaline asked with confusion, "Why does he look like Steve then?"
"In the ancient Iron Golem language, Coroq actually means Steve!" Archie revealed.
"Who has summoned me?" Steve snapped, "I was busy refreshing myself in my luxrious home on the highest cliff of Mushroom Island and now i'm at the gates that were named after me like five versions ago. Speak!"
"Steve, this is a huge honor," Archie spoke, "It's me, Archie, I constructed these gates with The Wither, don't you remember?"
"Oh, right," Steve replied. "Well, good to see you again Larry. Now, who has brought my fabled enchanted book into this chamber?"
"I have sir," Kaline answered. "I have a desire that you will reveal the secrets of this book to me so that I may journey to The Climax, mine the Wither Colossas, and carry out my brother's dream in ending the Creeper Empire."
"Eww, The Creeper Empire? The Wither Colossas? I hate both of them, therefore I like you," Steve smiled. "You've gotten my attention, Kaline Woolcraft."
"How did you-" Kaline tried to ask.
"Yes, yes I know your name," Steve interrupted. "Anyway, this enchanted book means nothing, it was just a failed attempt to make a successful novel back when I had a dream of becoming an author. So to hell with this."
Steve then grabbed the book and crushed it in his hand, where it burst into flames. Kaline, Crystal, and Archie all gawked.
"In exchange for my...er...novel. I hearby give you, Kaline Woolcraft, this second enchanted book. This one will concieive to you everything you will need to do in order to get into The Climax." Steve explained.
"Awesome, thanks so much!" Kaline said, but Steve was no longer in front of him. Kaline shrugged and began reading the second enchanted book.
"What do we do now, Kaline?" Crystal asked.
"In order to construct a Climax Portal we need fourteen Klouncine Blocks," Kaline explained. "As said in here, they are extremely rare and are scattered throughout the Minecraft Universe and its dimensions."
"I bet the Creeper Empire has those gaurded pretty well." Archie sighed. "No bother, this book gives details on where each one is located, plus, it gives us more information that the Creeper King doesn't know..." Kaline continued. "For once, we are a step ahead of him."
Kaline looked up towards the cieling. "Don't you worry Vick, we're almost there..."
"If Kaline did somehow sssurvive Dav..." The Creeper King spoke. "I want a motive that can kill him, since it is obviousss now that I can't..."
The Creeper King and his army stood upon the mountain where Kaline's wooden house was, overlooking Rush. They have been waiting to see if Kaline was somehow alive, and when he would enter the village and present the stack of emeralds to The Creeper King. Recently, Kaline had defeated both The Wither and Dav and unlocked the secret of Coroq Gates within the dimension of Witherox. The prize happened to be Steve, the actual one, who gave Kaline yet another book. However, this one possessed actual power and instructed Kaline to gather fourteen Klouncine Blocks so that he could construct a portal leading to The Climax.
"May I suggest the Creeper Empire's finest weapon, The TNT Magnum?" Zane suggested. He turned the Creeper King towards a gigantic machine that resembled a giant shotgun. There was a small piece of string on the top that, once lit, would send a gigantic blast towards any coordinate point, no matter how far. "Engineered by the finest crafters within the Minecraft Universe. She's a beauty, yes?"
"Beautiful, good work Zane, you seise to impress me." The Creeper King replied. "However, no matter what orders I give to you, you must not let your aim down. I want Kaline dead."
"Look!" A Creeper Soldier called.
Suddenly, on the opposite side of the mountain there was a huge flash, and out of it came Kaline, Crystal, Archie, and the rest of Vick's mining crew. Half of Rush was destroyed, and the other half was on fire. Seeing as though most of the architecture was wood it was easy to spread.
"You are a fool!" Pierce insulted. "If you took one second to come to Rush and hand the king those stupid emeralds, none of this would have happened, Kaline!"
"Stop it, Pierce!" Zerrel replied in anger. "Even if Kaline did give the emeralds to The Creeper King earlier, he would still destroy Rush! He's a very vile mob."
Pierce sniffed. "Well, what do you propose we do?"
Kaline turned to Vick's mining crew and his friends. "Stay here, I know what i'm doing."
Crystal tried to run up and stop Kaline, but Archie comforted her and convinced her he would be alright. Kaline walked slowly on the gravel path through the center of Rush, drifting closer to The Creeper King and his army who were now at the bottom of the extreme hills. Blake, Nick, and Orio quickly approached Kaline.
"Here you go, boss." Orio said, handing Kaline the stack of emeralds that he had placed in his minecart.
Kaline smiled and nodded as a sign of thanks, and soon enough he was in the presence of The Creeper King.
"It'sss been a while, Kaline," The Creeper King hissed. "You're quite late, you had better hope you have those emeraldssss with you."
Kaline showed the Creeper King all of the emeralds he had collected, there were exactly sixty-four. "Here, now leave these innocent villagers alone and get far away from Rush."
The Creeper King tossed the stack of emeralds in a small bag and handed it to Zane Helmframe, who was standing right behind him. Zane then gave a thumbs up to a soldier on top of the extreme hills. When he recieved it, the soldier pushed multiple stone buttons and fired up the TNT Magnum. A huge whirring noise filled the entire premises.
"What the...?" Kaline questioned with horror as he looked towards the extreme hills only to see the giant gun ready to fire.
"Goodbye K-K-Kaline...?" The Creeper King stuttered. He then began to shake rapidly. "S-Stop! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
"Don't do it," Zane ordered. "He told us not to go forward with his commands."
"P-Please! Stop it!" The Creeper King yelled. "I'm ordering you! TURN THAT THING OFF NOW!"
The soldier was horrified by the Creeper King's anger and quickly aimed to shut off the gun.
"You idiot!" Zane yelled. He pushed the soldier out of the way and turned towards the TNT Magnum's control panel. He panicked and fired the gun with the power it still contained before shutting off. Sadly, he was too much in a hurry to notice that his coordinates were not pointed at Kaline, but at the village of Rush. The gun shot a small beam and within milliseconds it hit Rush and caused a fiery explosion equivalent to about fifty TNT blocks. Everyone gasped, the village was gone.
"Promising..." The Creeper King admitted, "But wrong target you idiots!"
Kaline was furious. He loomed over The Creeper King and punched him to the ground, knocked out. The Creeper Army was shocked and springed into action. Once Vick's crew noticed this, they attacked as well. As for Kaline, he simply ran towards the spot where he had first entered Rush moments ago. The charging crew of Vick were confused by his action.
"What are you doing?!" Pierce asked.
"Leave them be!" Kaline replied, "I know what i'm doing, trust me!"
The Creeper King woke up, his vision blurred. He got a clear image of Kaline running, and noticed the second enchanted book that he had got from Coroq Gates.
"That's not The Book of The Wither..." The Creeper King managed to say, "He...actually did it...he met Steve...h-he's going to enter The Climax in no time!"
Back with Vick's crew...
"You're just going to abandon Rush like this?!" Pierce questioned furiously.
"Wait," Crystal spoke. "Kaline is not like this, something is obviously going to happen."
Zerrel slithered toward Pierce's boot and looked up at him. "Please Pierce, trust him."
Pierce was not convinced Rush would be saved, but since his crew believed Kaline was doing the right thing, he followed them back to their entrance point. ZOOM was placed on top of a grass block.
"Everyone grab on!" Zerrel ordered. When everyone did so, Zerrel punched a set of coordinates and they teleported to Vick's Headquarters.
Meanwhile...
"I can't believe thisss...' The Creeper King moaned. "All he needs to do is collect those Klouncine Blocks and he'll be able to enter The Climax and foil my plot!"
"Oh come of it." Zane replied, rolling his eyes.
"No, I refusssse!" The Creeper King hissed. "He now has their locations, he can find them Zane! We still have yet to make a portal to The Climax, and we have NO Klouncine blocks collected yet! I've been using all my power to deal with this brat!"
"Sir," A Creeper soldier said. "Something's odd about this village...The villagers are...squishy and made of fire."
The Creeper King and Zane both looked at the soldier with an odd look. "How much milk have you been drinking, soldier?"
"Look i'm not insane," The soldier replied, "See for yourself!"
The Creeper King looked towards the village of Rush. Suddenly, all of the buildings and villagers began transform into...magma cubes!
"WHAT?!" The Creeper King screeched.
"Wow," Zane said, "Magma cubes, they're masters of disguise. Kaline Woolcraft definetly knows what he's doing if he got their assistance to make an exact replica of the village using them. I can see how this situation worked out, the Magma Cube Empire has trained hard enough to become immune to fire and explosions."
"W-What...?" The Creeper King gawked. "How could someone trick me...?"
All of the magma cubes hopped towards the Nether Portal that Kaline had constructed a few days before in order to collect soul sand. A giant magma cube with a golden crown turned towards The Creeper King.
"You smell that?" He sniffed. "That's the smell of revenge, Baxtroff."
As the last of the magma cubes entered the portal, the Creeper King stood perfectly still and became extremely angry. "Kaline Woolcraft...I sware to Notch that I will get you...Zane, rally up the empires for another meeting. The rest of you, back to the castle!"
Flashback to when Kaline and his friends were within the bedrock jail cells...
Kaline sighed, Archie and Crystal were sound asleep. It was late at night in The Nether, although it was hard to tell from the outside.
"Still awake too, huh?" A mysterious voice asked.
Kaline followed the sound of the voice to the bedrock wall on the left of him. It was coming from another cell right next to his. "Who are you?"
"Oh...Haha...I'm actually the king of the Magma Cubes," The Magma Cube King explained, "But some call me Moulicon."
"Nice to meet you, i'm Kaline Woolcraft." Kaline introduced.
"Oh I know," Moulicon replied, "I could hear you and your friends over the course of the day talking about your future journies to Witherox. I was great friends with Vick Woolcraft."
"You were?" Kaline questioned happily.
"Yeah, he was a good man." Moulicon said.
Kaline thought for a moment. "Without a doubt the Creeper King will be waiting for me to give him my stack of emeralds, when i'm not there he's going to terrorize the people of Rush...What should I do Moulicon?"
Moulicon came up with an idea. "We magma cubes are a master of diguise, Kaline. If you can break me out of this hellish cell I will gladly reunite with my army and we can establish a clever plot...A plot in which we disguise ourselves as your entire village."
"Brilliant! It's a deal!" Kaline agreed.
Moments later when Zerrel has teleported Kaline and his friends to the soul sand patch...
Archie and Crystal began mining the soul sand and Zerrel stood on the side admiring his creation, ZOOM.
"Oh I almost forgot!" Kaline realized. He took ZOOM, punched in the coordinates for an area just outside the bedrock jail cell he was trapped in, and teleported away.
"What gives?!" Zerrel cried.
Back at the Bedrock cells...
Kaline brought out his diamond pickaxe and dug below the bedrock cells, being catious as there was lava all around him. He dug into Moulicon's cell. He finally got a glimpse of the king, he was a colossal magma cube with a shining gold crown.
"Thank you, Kaline Woolcraft." Moulicon grinned. "Now to gather up my army! We shall set course for Rush and plot our replication scheme. And don't worry about the villagers, we will escort them to a temporary home and ensure they are safe."
"Sounds good," Kaline replied. "The Creeper King won't know what hit him."
Kaline walked over to ZOOM and teleported back to the soul sand patch so he could meet up with his friends. Soon after, fourteen blocks of soul sand were collected. And in time, The Creeper King didn't know what hit him. Kaline's brilliant scheme saved Rush from pure destruction and got him a step closer to The Climax.
Chapter 13: The Campfire
In the Blank Reality, referred to most as The Waiting Room, an alternate reality of Minecraftia where the dead are judged on whether they live or stay dead, Moral, whom Kaline met earlier after The Wither killed him, lays happily within the alternate version of Kaline's wooden home, reading the newspaper.
Moral looked towards the opposite direction he was facing with astonishment. "Oh hi, didn't see ya there. For those who don't know me, my name's Moral. I don't know who I am, how I died, or how I even got inside this wooden house, but what I do know, is that our pal Kaline has went through a lot in the past couple days."
"Why are you talking to me?" A random skeleton asked with an odd look, sitting patiently in a chair waiting to be taken to the Greyscale Judge to see if he would be respawned or be doomed to The Nether.
"Yes," Moral continued, "His second chance at life proved to be a very worthy fate. After he vanquished Dav and met with Coroq, or Steve, he quickly made his way back to Rush where he gave the sixty-four emeralds he was ordered to fetch to the Creeper King, saving his own life and his home."
"Creeper King? Steve...K-Kaline?" The skeleton questioned. "What does all of this mean? Who are you?!"
"Let me finish!" Moral snapped. "After he tricked the Creeper King, he quickly made his way back to Vick's Mining Headquarters, where he plans to prepare for a second journey in an attempt to retrieve fourteen klouncine blocks in order to construct The Climax portal."
"Who the heck is Kaline?!" The skeleton continued to question.
"But that's only a summary," Moral said, "I apologize, i'm supposed to be getting to the main plot of today's chapter. Sorry to waste your time, readers."
"Oh my god, please just kill me." The skeleton sighed, "this man has obviously had too much milk."
"In today's chapter, number thirteen, Kaline, Pierce, The Skeleton King, Archie, and The Wither's head will all gather around a campfire and speak what's on their mind. Enjoy." Moral revealed happily.
"Are you telling me a fairy tale? Cause if it's one, it sounds like nothing i've ever heard before." The skeleton replied.
"That's because it's no fairy tale," Moral said, "It's a frequently updated fan fiction on a forum!"
A loud beeping noise filled The Waiting Room, and the skeleton was called to see the Greyscale Judge.
"Yes!" the skeleton cried, "Yeah, i'm pretty sure everything you're saying is absolute crap, so make sure you get LOTS of rest man, you need it."
The skeleton was lifted into the air by an incredible force.
"Shame he thinks i'm crazy," Moral chuckeled, "I am foretelling the truth, shame he didn't want to hear any of it, because his fate, well, ends up not being so well."
"A skeleton hmm...?" The Greyscale Judge's booming voice said from above, "Destiny says your fate is death! To hell with you!"
"Haha!" Moral laughed, "Told ya, anyway, let's get on with the story."
Chapter 13 Begins at Vick's Mining Headquarters, a day after Kaline retreated from Rush after they tricked the Creeper King by having magma cubes replicate the entire village. He prepares for his journey to find the first klouncine block.
"Kaline! Kaline!" Lars and Forrest cried as they ran towards the lobby of the headquarters.
'What's up guys?" Kaline asked, turning from Crystal and Archie whom he had been talking to.
"After translating the enchanted book from golem language to minecraftian language, I discovered that the first klouncine is not too far from one of the swamp stations on my rail system. Using a minecart, you can get there within only a matter of minutes!" Lars explained.
"That's awesome!" Kaline replied. Crystal and Archie were delighted as well. "What do you have to say Forrest?"
The young ocelot was nervous and could barely manage to speak. Therefore, he simply handed his creation to Kaline, it was an emerald sword. "I...um...made that for you, it has double the durability and power of a diamond sword...Nobody knows how to make one except for me..."
"Wow...Thanks Forrest, this is incredible." Kaline smiled, observing the glorious blade.
"I didn't even know those existed," Archie said, "Emeralds are almost impossible to craft with, Forrest is a very talented kid."
Zerrel approached the gang. "Alright guys, I got some bad news. We're going to have to make the trip next morning, and early too. The Skeleton and Witch empire have both expanded and are extremely close to the first klouncine block. To ensure they don't mine it before us, we have to get there first."
"Sounds good Zerrel, i'll get my stuff ready." Kaline replied. As Zerrel took the attention of everyone, Kaline looked towards one of the glass windows to see the night loom over the desert biome. As he did, curiosity struck as he noticed a dim light and smoke going into the sky. His first assumption was that it was an enemy, so he grabbed his newly crafted emerald sword and exited through the back door quietly so he made sure nobody got worried.As Kaline trudged through the sand, he looked back at the heaquarters to make sure he was not being followed, but when he turned around, Archie was right in front of him.
"Oh my Notch!" Kaline yelled.
"What do you think you're doing?" Archie asked suspiciously.
"Shhhh..." Kaline ordered, pointing to the dim light in the middle of the desert biome. Both of them dived behind a dune.
"W-What is t-that?" Archie stuttered.
"I'm not sure, but it has to be something bad," Kaline assumed. "On the count of three, we attack."
"1..."
They crawled closer to the mysterious light.
"2..."
The emerald sword was drawn and Archie grabbed out a diamond axe.
"3!"
Archie and Kaline jumped from the dune and sprinted towards the light, which they soon realized was a campfire.
"Ahhhh!" Pierce yelled out of absolute fear. He was soon trampled by the two heroes.
"P-Pierce?" Kaline said, suprised. "What are you doing out here, man?"
Archie and Kaline got off of Pierce, he was horrified, but regained his natural behavior within a matter of minutes.
"Oh, so they didn't tell you yet," Pierce groaned. "Every other weekend I come out here in the night, set up a little campfire, and think about the current events unfolding in life. Please, take a seat on a log."
Kaline and Archie looked at one another and both agreed to join Pierce. They sat on oak logs set up around the campfire. There were four of them. For a few minutes, each of them just sat quietly in the darkness and did not even look at each other.
Finally, Kaline spoke. "So Pierce...Lars identified the location of the first klouncine block...we're all gonna set out in the morning...Just figured you might want to know."
"Whatever..." Pierce sighed.
Kaline finally got annoyed by Pierce's constant attitude. "Okay, look, I can obviously see that you don't like me around the headquarters or even the crew. Please, explain to me why you just can't respect the good i'm trying to do for everyone!"
"Good?!" Pierce snapped back, "Look Kaline, I understand you're trying to prevent Vick from dying in vein, but let's face it, you're playing with fire!"
"What are you talking about? We've done okay so far in vanquishing the Creeper Empire, now all we have to do is mine the Wither Colossus!" Kaline replied, both him and Pierce were standing up now.
"What? A small trick back at Rush convinced you that we can beat them?" Pierce added.
Kaline was silent.
Pierce sat down and put his blocky hand on his forehead. "Kaline...I didn't tell you this before and Vick probably didn't either, but I was second in command of the crew back when he was still alive. When he approached me about the topic of retrieving the enchanted book in the Void Fortress, I agreed and went with him and his wife. I was there to see him die, Kaline...You don't understand how horrifying that experience was...my best friend...gone...right in front of my eyes. You may be his brother, but I feel the same pain as you do."
"I-I didn't know Pierce..." Kaline said, "But why wouldn't you want to avenge him?"
"Because Kaline," Pierce answered, "We're not an army, we're just a small group of miners. Although we have special talents, that doesn't even compare to the many empires out to destroy us who have millions at their command. With Vick gone, I vowed to take care of his crew, and that's what I will continue to do. Putting them up against the Creeper Empire...it's just...how do we have a chance?"
"Well..." Kaline replied, "I guess that's up to you Pierce...I can't force the crew to go along with me and fetch the fourteen klouncine blocks, that's your call. If you feel they aren't a match, than that's fine by me."
Pierce sighed, "Kaline..."
Suddenly an arrow was shot out of the bow of a nearby figure.
"Look out!" Pierce cried. He pushed Kaline out of the way and the arrow missed and dug into the sand.
Kaline, Pierce, and Archie all looked toward the source of the fired arrow to find a masked skeleton. But it was not just him, behind him were hundreds more, and they were all armed with armor, swords, and bows. All at once, the skeletons drawed their bows and were seconds away from shooting arrows that could instantly kill the three.
"Stop!" A deep voice ordered.
A taller skeleton with a gold tooth and crown walked out of the crowd of skeleton soldiers and approached the campfire.
"My god...It's Kullij, the Skeleton King..." Pierce said, not moving a single inch.
"But my king, that's Kaline." The masked skeleton stated.
"I can see that you dolt," The Skeleton King replied, rolling his eyes. "All of you! Back to the castle, I shall finish this mess. And do not let the Creeper King know of this unexpected encounter."
"Sir!" The entire army of skeletons cried, making a salute. Afterwards, they marched in the opposite direction of the campfire.
"What do you want...?" Pierce glared.
Kaline reached for the emerald sword.
"Relax, relax," The Skeleton King chuckled, "I'm not here to murder you, not yet atleast, I would like to join your little campfire gathering, if that's okay with you three."
Kaline put away the emerald sword, he had believed that the Skeleton King was not here to kill him if he sent his entire army away. "How did you find this place so quickly?"
"Actually I was just on my way to the Creeper Empire to deliver, this." The Skeleton King admitted, reaching into a chest he recently placed. He pulled out one of The Wither's heads.
"Help!" It yelled.
"My god! It's The Wither!" Kaline yelled, "Put him down!"
"Wrong, this is not The Wither, this is merely one of his heads that survived the explosion back at Witherox. I'm taking him to the Creeper King so he may share what he knows." The Skeleton King replied.
"You're horrid," Pierce scolded, spitting at the ground where the Skeleton King's feet sat.
"If you're not here to kill us, why are you so interested in sharing information with us by the campfire?" Kaline questioned.
The Skeleton King sighed. "What you're doing is very brave, Kaline Woolcraft. I guess you can say I feel your pain. Years ago, I lost my brother to the Ender Dragon, and after that tragedy, I vowed to avenge him by slaying it...which I did."
"That's true," Archie spoke, "The Skeleton King is the slayer of the Ender Dragon."
"Indeed," The Skeleton King nodded, "Anyway, I've never seen someone like you. You're giving everything you got despite the enemy's large advantage against you, and that is one amazing sight. Sure, I may be a vile king and destroyer of hope, and i'm in alliance with the Creeper King, Baxtroff, but I would never do something as terrible as he is doing."
"Than why do you continue to help him?" Kaline asked with a disgusted glare, " I know you're the one who sent Dav after me."
"You're right, Dav is loyal to me," The Skeleton King admitted, "but it was Baxtroff who payed him to kill you, not me. I'm sorry Kaline, but I am loyal to Baxtroff, even though he's working towards a goal in destroying Minecraftia and starting a destructive dictatorship. I don't go through with his plot because I want to see it happen, I just don't want my empire to be destroyed as a result of disloyalty...He's got so much power, Kaline...Just one order and me and my empire are finished. I can't bear to see that happen."
Pierce, Archie, and Kaline all stared at the ground.
"So sad..." The Wither's head sniffed.
"I never knew it was like that..." Kaline said, "My whole life I thought the kings of the empires were all just as vile as The Creeper King."
"Don't say that..." The Skeleton King snapped at Kaline.
"What?" Kaline questioned.
"I am crushed by the fact that The Creeper King is viewed as such a tyrant," The Skeleton King replied. " I mean...he is but...Ugh, i've known him since I was a child...He used to be so kind-hearted."
Pierce put his hand on The Skeleton King's shoulder. "Please share."
"Baxtroff Kolligar," The Skeleton King explained. "That's his name. When me and him were children we used to be best friends. At the time, The Creeper Empire was known for being the most giving empire, there was nothing evil about it. The time came when Baxtroff's dad, king at the time, took his other son, Akolo, Baxtroff's brother and the next in line for the throne, on a trip to visit the Ender Empire and create an alliance, which was not made at the time. I remember that exact day, me and Baxtroff actually went to Rush to play. The King's trip made Baxtroff the way he is today. What happened was, the king and Akolo had not been focusing on the path they had been taking. As a result, they plunged into a ravine and died from the fall. It's known as being the most unexpected death in the history of all the empires. Because the king and prince were both dead, Baxtroff became the next king. He was never the same when his father and brother died, and it's like all the good within him became evil. When he took the throne, he immedietly became power-hungry. He took control of all the empires, but he wanted more. Eventually, he sent his army and conquered more and more land, killing people along the way. That leads to the issue at hand now, Baxtroff will not stop unless all of Minecraftia is at his command. That's why he decided to become interested in the Wither Colossus and how to harness it's power, so he can use it to destroy everything and everyone.
"That's absolutely terrible..." Kaline said.
"Now you know..." The Skeleton King groaned. He stood up and walked over to Kaline and put his bony hand on his shoulder. "I wish you luck, Kaline Woolcraft."
After looking at the three heroes for a few minutes, the Skeleton King bid farewell and set off to The Creeper Empire to deliver the Wither's head. Minutes passed and silence lingered around the campfire once again.
Pierce looked towards Kaline and smiled. "Kaline, I was wrong to ever doubt you."
"Huh?" Kaline said with an odd look.
"I have confidence that we will have victory over The Creeper Empire and mine the Wither Colossus. I am with you all the way, and...I trust you." Pierce replied.
"Thanks Pierce, that means a lot..." Kaline grinned.
The moon had gone down and the sun layed over the horizon. It was almost morning. Pierce stood up and put out the campfire, and made his way back to Vick's Mining Headquarters. Kaline was about to make his way back aswell, but noticed Archie was still sitting on the oak log, holding something mysterious in his hands.
"Something troubling you Archie? I didn't hear from you much tonight." Kaline asked.
Archie looked up towards Kaline and showed him the items he was holding. In his hands were a golden apple and splash potion of weakness.
"This campfire has encouraged me to mend the tragedy that occured in my life Kaline." Archie spoke. "With a single golden apple and splash potion that Rodona gave me, I think I can cure my beloved master, Zane."
"I hope so, Archie," Kaline smiled, patting his back. The two then made their way back to the headquarters.
Meanwhile, farther out in the desert biome...
The Skeleton King dragged The Wither's head through the hot sand as the sun beamed down upon them.
"That was a legendary conversation you had back there, kullij," The head spoke. "Who knew there was some good inside you."
The Skeleton King looked down at the head. "Yeah, yeah just come off it already."
Once The Skeleton King looked back up, The Creeper King's dark figure was right in front of him.
"What conversssation, Kullij?" The Creeper King hissed.
"N-Nothing Baxtroff," The Skeleton King stuttered. "Here."
The Skeleton King threw the Wither's head into a bag The Creeper King was holding.
"Kullij please! Don't do this, I know you can change!" The head cried.
"What'ssss all thisss about change and good, Kullij?" The Creeper King questioned with an evil glare. "I hope you weren't doing anything other than putting that device on Kaline."
"The tracking device was delivered successfully, Baxtroff, no need to fear." The Skeleton King ensured.
"Excellent!" The Creeper King said with delight. "Kaline will lead us directly to the klouncine blocks! This calls for a feast, come Kullij, I had my servants bake you up your favorite...pumpkin pie!"
The two kings walked towards the Creeper Empire's castle.
The Skeleton King looked towards the direction where Vick's Mining Headquarters had been. "Kaline, I apologize..."
Chapter 14: The Untouchable Lockdown
In the middle of the ocean, a mushroom island lays peacefully, millions of blocks away from any threat. Upon this mushroom island, a mansion made out of quartz stands, housing the legendary minecraftian known as Coroq, or, Steve.
"Life does not get any easier than this!" Steve bragged, sipping from a small glass as two villagers fanned him with giant leaves. "Hey! I don't pay you to do a lousy job! Fan faster! I'm dieing out here!"
The villagers did as Steve ordered, and as he was refreshed by the cool breeze they provided him, they were sweating. Within a few minutes, Steve grew tired and dozed off on his lounge chair. However, an event of pure chaos caused him to awake...the villagers had stopped fanning him.
"Hey!" Steve yelled angrily, "I told you to fan faster, not fan at all!"
The villagers made no response, and stood perfectly still, motionless. They were staring into the sky, gawking. Their leaves...on the ground. Steve got up from his lounge chair and glared at them.
"You morons! I demand that you fan me this instant before I die from the heat!" Steve ordered, once again. Soon enough he got frusturated by their ignorance and punched one in the face. However, no pain was felt by the villager, he did not even budge. He simply fell to the ground with the same exact look on his face.
"Oh my Notch..." Steve said, finally realizing what had happened. "They-They're dead!"
Suddenly, a large breeze blew in from the North and dropped the tempurature on the island to a chilling 10 degrees. Steve was instantly freezing and went into his mansion to fetch a sweater.
"Who's doing this!?" Steve yelled at nothing. "I got a stick and i'm not afraid to use it!"
The blue sky that loomed over the island faded to grey and snow began to fall from the clouds that recently formed. At the same time, all the mycelium that made up the island shriveled away and was replaced with bedrock. Steve ran out to the middle of the island and looked in every direction. He was convinced someone, or something, was out to get him.
"Show yourself!" Steve ordered, equipping himself with iron armor and using his stick and two diamonds to craft a diamond sword.
The breeze became more powerful, and a whistling noise was heard throughout the island. To make matters worse, a dense fog covered the island. Steve could not see a thing. He was getting more frightened by the second, and this was rare for the famous warrior, who had never been afraid of anything in his entire life. Steve was shivering and had his arms around himself, struggling to keep warm. He traveled across the now, "Bedrock Island," for all the mushroom trees and mycelium had vanished. Suddenly, he saw two bright lights in the distance that were covered by the fog. He stared at them with curiosity and assumed that it was a coast gaurd boat that had come to rescue him from the madness that consumed his island. However, it wasn't.
"Hello?" Steve questioned. "Who's there?"
As he got close to the two bright lights, a face began to from in the fog. When this happened, Steve immedietly began to hear an enormous buzzing sound and became nauseous. He grabbed his head, which had just gotten a searing pain out of nowhere and his vision became impaired.
"Ugh!" Steve yelled. "What is this?! Stop it!"
He dropped to the ground, his head staring at the bedrock. Soon, two feet entered his line of sight. Steve looked up, and as soon as he saw who it was, he was horrified.
"You!" He cried. And within seconds, Steve was gone, and all the unnatural effects that occured on his island vanished, and everything was normal again.
Back with Kaline and friends...
Vick's Mining Crew had finished preparing for the trip to the swamp where the first Klouncine block had been located. Zerrel had chosen Forrest, Rodona, and Lars to accompany them on the trip for they were all needed. Pierce had not changed his decision from the campfire and was still in agreement to join Kaline on his adventure without any complaint, hesitation, or regret. Lars, being a master of redstone and a constructer of one of the biggest minecart rail systems ever created, showed the crew to the station where a group of minecarts were already set up. Everyone entered the carts and within a matter of minutes they were blasted from the station and moving quickly across the track. It was not long before the crew reached the swamp, and were already on foot, heading to the coordinates where the Klouncine block would be found.
Lars lead the group, for he had been the one who translated the book from golem language to minecraftian language and was aware of the exact location of the block.
"Stop!" Lars commanded.
Everyone froze.
"We're here!"
The crew had stopped in front of a gigantic lake that was in the exact center of the swamp biome. Within the lake was a stone structure with redstone lamps. A lever sat on top. Surrounding the structure were a ton of golden lilypads.
"Wow," Rodona spoke. "Such a simple spot to place a Klouncine block, this place stands out from the entire swamp."
"There's no way it's this easy," Archie added. "There has to be a catch. But for now, Kaline, go flip the lever."
Kaline jumped into the muddy swamp water and swam towards the stone structure. He climped on top of one of the golden lilypads and hopped onto the structure. When he did this, he pulled the lever. As a result, the ground began to shake and the stone structure began to crumble.
"Kaline! Get out of there!" Crystal cried.
Kaline quickly jumped off the structure and swam to land. As soon as he was safe, the lake's water made a bright glow and was drained away. At the bottom of the now empty lake was the first Klouncine block. The block was bright orange and had small, red rings orbitting around it.
"There it is!" Kaline said happily. "Come on guys, let's get down there."
A stone slab staircase appeared out of nowhere for the crew's convenience. They walked down to the bottom of the lake and stomped onto the wet soil. However, when they got down to the bottom of the lake, their recent happiness transformed into hopelessness. The klouncine block had been trapped inside an ender crystal, a powerful item found only in The End.
"This ruines everything!" Zerrel moaned.
"How could this be?" Kaline questioned. "How could someone have beat us here already?"
"Look." Pierce pointed.
On the ender crystal was a painted symbol that had been used by the Witch Empire. They had complete control over the Klouncine block but had not mined it yet, a possible indication that they had no clue what it was. Therefore, they had not been notified by the Creeper King to search for them.
"Guys, calm down." Forrest said. "This is a simple solution, just like we do if we're facing the Ender Dragon, we shoot an arrow at them!"
Forrest got out a bow and aimed it at the ender crystal.
"Don't you dare!" Archie screamed. "If you shoot that ender crystal, not only will it blow us up, but it will completely destroy the Klouncine block. And you know what that means? We can't construct The Climax portal and we are doomed! Basically, you're doing the Creeper King a favor."
Forrest was frightened and put his bow away. Everyone remained quiet and thought of a resolution.
"There's not really much we can do," Zerrel spoke. "But hear me out, what if the Witches aren't in alliance with the Creeper Empire? They could still be good! All we need to do is convince them that we need the Klouncine block and we can even get Rodona to negotiate with them, she's a witch!"
"That's brilliant!" Rodona complimented.
"Good Job, Zerrel!" Kaline said. "But I think it would be best if we wait another day before we do so. Let's head back to the headquarters."
Everyone agreed. Soon enough, the crew head back to the minetrack and traveled back to the headquarters. Later that night, while everyone was asleep, Kaline went into the empty lobby to get a drink of water and was suprised by an unexpected appearence.
"Kaline!" Moral cried.
"Ahhhh!" Kaline screamed, dropping his glass of water. "Moral?! What are you doing here? Don't do that!"
"Actually," Moral replied. "I'm not technically here, this is just a hologram i'm using so that I may communicate with you."
"They allow the dead to speak to the living at the Waiting Room?" Kaline asked.
"Yeah, sure, whatever, but that's not the point!" Moral replied. "I didn't just put this together just to scare you, I need to talk to you! It's important!"
Kaline took a chair from a table and sat down, ready to hear what Moral had to say.
"Okay," Moral began. "I know you don't know this, but i'm going to be a very important person during your quest. I have advice you need to hear if you ever want to beat the Creeper King. First off, you can't go to the Witch Empire, Kaline, you can't!"
"What are you talking about?" Kaline snapped. "In fact, what do you know? You're some bum I met in the afterlife. How do YOU know what decisions I can make to benefit my journey?"
"Because i'm aware of what you need to do to accomplish your goal!" Moral replied. "I bet you didn't know that the witches ARE in alliance with the Creeper Empire! Their entire plan with trapping the Klouncine Block was that you could go approach them about it and they could ambush you!"
"Oh man..." Kaline gasped. "Well...I don't know Moral, what should I do?"
"First off you need to keep in mind that you MUST retrieve emeralds so that you may keep the wooden house." Moral explained.
"What?" Kaline quesitoned. "That's suicide! The Creeper King wants my head, I can't just go up to him with emeralds!"
"I didn't say that." Moral sighed. "You need to find a messenger of some sort that can deliver them. The Creeper King has to give you permission to use the wooden house if you give him the required emeralds because he promised to doing so. He's aware that if he attacks you for doing what he promised you had to, then neighboring empires will notice that as a threat and attack him."
"Why is the wooden house a big deal now?" Kaline asked.
"Because as you know, your brother, Vick, constructed it. What you don't know is that it holds some secrets. Powerful secrets that you must intend on harnessing" Moral continued.
"Woah, woah, woah," Kaline interrupted. "How do you know ANYTHING about my brother?"
"I just do, Kaline." Moral answered. "Now, what you need to do in order to get the Klouncine block is-"
Moral was gone.
"Moral?" Kaline questioned. "Moral!!"
In the Blank Dimension, or, "Waiting Room"...
"Kaline! Kaline?! Can you hear me?!" Moral yelled into a telephone that had been transferring his hologram.
The line had been cut. Moral turned around and saw the Greyscale Judge looming over him.
"An on-the-go, hologram transferring telephone...hahaha...fool." The Greyscale Judge laughed. "Looks like Kaline Woolcraft was right, there is a being down here that had evaded me this entire time. I don't know how you did it, but I must applaude you. Honestly, I don't even know who you are, care to share it with me?"
Moral didn't speak.
"Whatever," The Greyscale Judge sniffed. "I hope you know that talking to the living is strictly forbidden by not only me, but Notch too."
The Greyscare Judge pointed his giant staff at Moral and zapped a beam that obliterated the telephone.
"I'll see you soon," The Greyscale Judge grinned. "And when I get back, i'll be determining your fate. And from the action you just committed right now, i'd say you're leaning towards a nice, easy going life in hell."
"You idiot!" Moral yelled. "I need to tell Kaline what he needs to do in order to get the first Klouncine Block or he's doomed!"
The Greyscale Judge had already flown to his judgement room in the skies above the Blank Dimension.
"Get back down here!" Moral yelled. He pounded his fists on the ground.
"Dude, take a chill pill." A random being suggested.
"Huh?" Moral questioned. He looked up and saw a familiar face. "Steve!"
Chapter 15: Steve and Moral
Finding the first klouncine block led to a shocking turn as Kaline and friends saw that it was locked within an ender crystal. Anything that touched the crystal would result in its inevitable self destruction, which in turn would remove the first klouncine block from existence. After Zerrel had suggested that the crew approach the Witch Empire, who have the key to disabling the crystal, Moral approached Kaline through a holographic image of himself later that night to convince him that the plot would prove to be disastrous. However, the Greyscale Judge soon found out that Moral was indeed in the Waiting Room and vowed to judge him on whether or not he would go to the Aether or the Nether. Now, Moral has encountered the famous Steve, also known as Coroq, and hopes that he might be able to help him.
"Steve!" Moral cried. "You couldn't have picked a better time to be here my friend!"
"I wish I didn't have to pick a time at all!" Steve snapped. "Where the heck am I?! There's no people, no grass, no sky, no color. What is this place?"
"You don't know?" Moral questioned.
"What kind of question is that?" Steve replied. "Just because i'm famous and "all-knowing" doesn't mean I have to know everything."
"Alright..." Moral said with a confused look. "Anyway, you're in the Blank Reality. It's basically where you wait to be judged on whether or not you live or die."
"That's not possible..." Steve argued. " I'm not supposed to die!"
Steve grabbed Moral by his jacket and held him in the air.
"What sort of trickery is this you bum?!" Steve growled.
"Steve, please!" Moral cried. "Now isn't the time to question the obvious! I need your help! Me, Kaline, and even countless others have lives that could be in jeopardy!"
Steve dropped Moral onto the blank floor. "Did you say Kaline?"
"Yes!" Moral replied.
"The name rings a bell...Ah, yes! Kaline Woolcraft!" Steve realized. "He's the guy I met at the Wither Castle. I had to give him the locations to the klouncine blocks. He was traveling with that iron golem, Alex, and his wife, Jessica."
"That wasn't their names...But whatever, you're right!" Moral said happily. "They successfully found the first klouncine block. Sadly, they have made a plan to go confront the Witch Empire in an attempt to deactivate the ender crystal it's locked in! If they do that, they'll be ambushed and most likely be destroyed. I need to contact Kaline and tell him what he needs to do. But the Greyscale Judge cut me off!"
"The Greyscale Judge is in this dimension?!" Steve responded. "Me and him go way back. But what's this you say about contacting Kaline? Didn't you just say this is the dimension where you wait to be judged? You're dead! I cannot go against the Laws of Notch and allow you to contact the living. The answer is a no, good day, or night, whatever it is here."
Steve no longer paid attention to Moral and walked away. He then took a seat in a nearby chair and picked up a newspaper from a stack that was conveniently sitting on a table and began reading it. Moral started to become angered by Steve's little attention to his issue.
"Hey!" Moral called. "Get up! I need you to help!"
Steve ignored Moral.
"Steve! This is important! Lives could be lost!" Moral continued.
"Enough!" Steve snapped, throwing the newspaper on the ground and standing up. "There's no way to contact Kaline without doing it illegally, dude. But if you're so convinced that doing so will show no issue, let's make a deal."
"Alright, shoot." Moral said.
The Blank Reality began to tremble violently and the ground surrounding Moral and Steve crumbled away, leaving one giant arena. Steve raised both of his hands into the air and his eyes made a blueish glow. As a result, fences fell from the sky were placed around the entire edge of the arena. Suddenly, diamond armor equipped itself on both of the Minecraftians. Along with that, diamond swords flew into the hands of both.
"What's going on down there?!" The Greyscale Judge yelled from the skies, unable to hear the music on his headphones due to the tremors.
Steves eyes returned to normal and the tremors that rocked the Blank Reality came to a halt. "If you can defeat me in a PVP match, I will let you contact Kaline Woolcraft. Get ready..."
Moral and Steve both got into a warrior-like position.
"Get set..."
"This is impossible..." Moral thought to himself. "Steve is a professional fighter, how will I ever defeat him?"
"GO!"
Moral and Steve raised their swords into the air and charged towards one another. Within a matter of seconds, both of their swords clashed. Steve made a confidential smile and his superior power knocked Moral to the floor. Steve grabbed his sword with both hands and was ready to strike Moral while he was down, but Moral rolled away just in time, causing the sword to strike the ground. Steve yanked the sword out of the ground and walked over to Moral, who was still getting up, and kicked him in the face. Struck with fear, Moral fled from Steve, only to have Steve run after him.
"I must admit," Steve laughed. "You have some pretty impressive moves...Shame that won't save you."
Steve threw his sword and the end of it smashed Moral in the back of the head. He was knocked out. Steve was ready to make the final blow that would destroy Moral, but as he was temporarily knocked out, Moral considered all of the consequences at hand and was filled with confidence and strength. He awoke, and as Steve got closer, he did a backflip and kicked Steve right in the face.
"I beg to differ." Moral replied. "You will help me, Coroq."
Steve rubbed his nose, which was bleeding a bit. "We shall see."
The two engaged in a swordfight. They were neck and neck, and it was not clear who would be victorious. Their power was equal.
"This isn't possible!" Steve yelled.
Moral took the upper hand, and without any sign, he swung his diamond sword and knocked Steve's off of the arena. He was defenseless. Moral grinned and set his diamond sword on the ground.
Steve chuckled. "You are no ordinary person, it seems."
"I'm Moral." Moral replied. He made a fist, and socked Steve in the jaw, throwing him over the fences and off of the arena.
"Nooooooooooo..." Steve cried. "...Haha"
Moral blinked. The Blank Reality was back to normal. Both of their bruises and scars had vanished, as though they had never fought. Steve had his hand on Moral's forehead.
"It seems that...If we ever fought, you would be victorious." Steve smiled. "I've never foresaw such an outcome before...You're incredible."
"Wha- What was all that?!" Moral asked.
"All a vision," Steve answered. "You could see and feel everything that happened, but it was not reality. I can do a lot of awesome stuff, you know."
"Apparently," Moral admitted, rubbing his head. "Does that mean I win? Can you allow me to contact Kaline?"
"Oh, that wasn't the challenge." Steve laughed.
Moral groaned.
"If you really want my help, you must answer my question." Steve explained.
Moral made an odd look.
"I've dwelled in the Minecraft world for ages, and I have knowledge of every being who has existed in the world. But your disguise is so convincing, who exactly are you?" Steve asked.
"That's a dumb question, i'm Moral." Moral replied.
"Who are you fooling?" Steve frowned. "I know you are lying. I will ask once again, who are you?"
Moral sighed. He didn't answer the question, but instead he showed Steve who he was. He took off his straw hat and trimed the stubs under his nose.
Steve was suprised. "It's you! Everything is so clear now..."
He handed him a telephone.
Back at the lobby within Vick's Mining Headquarters...
"Moral!" Kaline called. "What do you need to say? Tell me!"
Moral's hologram appeared once again in front of Kaline
"Kaline!" Moral replied.
"You're back! What happened?" Kaline asked.
"No time to explain," Moral said. "In order to release the klouncine block out of the ender crystal WITHOUT going into the Witch Empire, you need to attend the annual "Creeper Empire Ball." It's a celebration where everyone across the world is invited to party within the Creeper King's castle. There, you can successfully sneak into the control center of the castle without anyone knowing and disable the ender crystal."
Kaline fell silent for a couple minutes.
"You want us to enter the Creeper Empire? That's suicide!" Kaline complained.
"I know, I know, it sounds stupid!" Moral agreed somewhat. "But trust me, everything you need is within the wooden house. Like I told you earlier, you need to find a way to keep paying the Creeper King in emeralds!"
"I-I don't know..." Kaline sighed.
Moral became worried. "Kaline...please just trust me on this one. Within the wooden house is a batch of specially made invisibility potions! All you need to do is get Rodona to increase the timing on them so you have more time to dwell inside the Creeper King's castle without getting caught!"
Kaline wasn't convinced.
"Kaline..." Moral continued, "Vick believes in you, and...he would want you to do this too."
Moral pulled a pickaxe from his jacket that had the name "Vick" inscribed within it.
"Where'd you-?" Kaline questioned, suprised that Moral had Vick's pickaxe in his possession.
"I met him." Moral smiled. "Now please Kaline...are you with me on this one?"
Kaline looked up to the cieling and viewed the night sky through a glass dome. He took a deep breathe. "Alright Moral, I think I trust you...If Vick trusted you with...that....then I trust you."
Moral was delighted and his hologram dissapeared.
"Vick..." Kaline whispered to himself. "Are you still alive? And why Moral...How can someone like him have such a great understanding of the situation at hand? How does he know so much about me and you? Why is he helping us? Ugh...This is such a tough situation we're in..."
Kaline continued to stare at the cieling, and a shooting block flew across the night sky.
"Alright," Kaline smiled. "Let's do this."
Back in the Blank Reality...
"Well..." Moral said. "That's that. Thank you, Steve."
"My pleasure...Moral." Steve winked.
A beeping noise ringed throughout the entire Blank Reality. Suddenly, the ground shook as the Greyscale Judge jumped from the skies and slammed into the ground, landing on his two giant feet. "Moral, your time is up. Time for your judgement!"
"Greyscale!" Steve yelled.
"Steve!?! I uh- Wow...this is so unexpected." The Greyscale Judge gulped. "What are you doing here?! How did you die?!"
"That's not important! I refuse to let you deem this good soul to the depths of The Nether!" Steve growled.
"B-But Steve...It's my job." The Greyscale Judge responded.
Steve walked up to the Greyscale Judge.
"Look," He whispered into his ear. "Moral has broken the law and spoken to Kaline, but it was only to help him face off The Creeper King. Please, please allow it Greyscale. He's not a bad guy, he's only hidden himself from you so he can remain undercover and help Kaline along the way. To be honest, I did help him continue his conversation. So if anyone is to go to The Nether, send me."
Steve turned around and looked at Moral, and gave him a thumbs up. Moral waved.
"Absolutely not!" The Greyscale Judge refused. "I will not send the great Steve to The Nether! If this whole situation is alright with you, Steve, I see no harm on why Moral can't stay here a bit longer."
"Thank you!" Steve said happily. "This means a lot, Greyscale."
The Greyscale Judge looked towards Moral. "I'll be keeping an eye out on you though, don't forget. Also, Steve, i'll contact Notch and make sure you get an immediete respawn. After all, you were granted immortality, you shouldn't be here!"
The Greyscale Judge flapped his giant wings and flew into the skies of the Blank Reality.
"Wow this cleared up everything!" Moral spoke. "But wait...immortality?"
"You heard right," Steve nodded. "I am immortal, nothing can kill me. That's why I didn't know what this place was when I first got here. And yet...I died....It's such an odd situation, i'd rather not talk about it."
"Coroq...I mean, uh, Steve," Moral said.
"Huh?" Steve questioned.
"Who or what killed you?" Moral asked.
Steve made a grim look. "Herobrine."
Chapter 16: Creeper King Perspective #3: Descent Into Madness
The Creeper King sat in his thrown and sulked. He was still upset that Kaline Woolcraft was able to outwit him and his entire army back at the village known as Rush. There, Kaline had used magma cubes to replicate the entire village. This gave him the chance to pay off his debt, save the entire village and the people that lived there, and manage to escape back to Vick's Mining Headquarters unharmed. His entire throne room was silent, as no one had even dared to disturb him. Except for Zane Helmframe, who entered the room so that he could speak to the king.
"Get out!" The Creeper King hissed. He got up and used his small feet to kick a glass that had been placed on the ground at Zane. It missed and shattered upon hitting the wall.
"Settle down, Baxtroff," Zane spoke, rolling his eyes. "I just wanted to let you know that the leaders of the other empires have been downstairs waiting for you so that the meeting may commence."
The Creeper King groaned and fell back into his throne. "Why musssst they be here now?!"
"Because you told me back at Rush to call them over!" Zane snapped. "You said this meeting was "urgent" so get your robe and crown on and get downstairs immediately!"
Zane left the throne room, closing the giant wool door behind him. The Creeper King remained still for a while and suddenly decided to get prepared. He got up and went into the bathroom. After he put his crown and robe on, he put his head in the sink and soaked it in water. After drying his face with a towel, he looked up at the mirror that was hanging above the sink to see his reflection. However, the reflection he saw was none other than Vick's.
"Vick!" He gasped.
"What's the matter, Baxtroff?" Vick questioned with a devious grin. "Scared to see someone you murdered?"
The Creeper King blinked. "No...No! You're not real! Go away!"
Vick laughed. "Oh I am, Baxtroff. Do you not remember Zane explaining to you that I had used an enchantment on my sword called Final Request? Well...My final request was to do anything in my power to prevent you from destroying Kaline. I am within you, Baxtroff. And there's nothing you can do to get rid of the only fear that you will EVER have...me!"
The Creeper King began to shiver. His bones ached, and he became dizzy. He shook his head. "Stop it! Go away! You're not real, you can't be real! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
The Creeper King, having no arms, used his head to bash a glass container that had been holding an emergency diamond axe. He grabbed it under his chin and threw it at the mirror, instantly smashing it into hundreds of little pieces. He breathed heavily, and soon became relieved. The reflection of Vick had vanished.
An enderman ran into the throne room and noticed the Creeper King and the broken mirror within the bathroom. "Sir, are you okay?!"
The Creeper King looked over at the enderman. "I-I'm fine...I...I'm fi-"
He fainted. When he woke up later that evening, he had been hospitalized and laying on top of a bed.
A voice had been calling his name, but he couldn't hear it. "Baxtroff? Baxtroff, wake up!"
Soon enough, The Creeper King woke up, and he had been perfectly fine, as though nothing had happened.
"Ah, at last! You're awake!" Kullij, the skeleton king, smiled happily.
"Wah-? What are you all doing here?" The Creeper King questioned. In front of him were all the leaders of the neighboring empires that had been in alliance with the Creeper Empire.
"Well," The Enderman King spoke, "By the time the meeting started you had been on an ambulance pig and on your way to the hospital. You were unconscious for about two hours. It's weird, none of the doctors knew what had caused it!"
"Unconsssscious?" The Creeper King questioned with confusion. "How could that be? I was just about to head down, I was as healthy as any creeper could be!"
"Obviously, you weren't." The Blaze King said. "One of your enderman soldiers said you had not appeared to be normal when he found you in the bathroom. But that's in the past, let's get this meeting started."
The leaders sat down in small chairs that the doctors had supplied for them.
"First of all, it appears your assault on the village of Rush was a complete failure." The Spider Queen began.
"Not only did your let yourself be outwitted by a mortal, but your TNT Magnum destroyed an enormous amount of land that had been owned by the Cow Empire. They are FURIOUS now." The Zombie King added.
"What'ssss your point here?" The Creeper King asked with a worried tone.
The leaders looked at each other.
"Well," Kullij spoke, "We no longer have to waste time gathering emeralds for Kaline has completed our amount through the stack he gave you back at Rush. And since you have proven you cannot keep good control of an army, we have no choice but to withdrawl our soldiers from yours."
The Creeper King became furious. "You can't do that! I need those soldiers for very important reasons!"
"I'm sorry Baxtroff," The Spider Queen apologized. "But for now on you're on your own when it comes to offense. We will continue to supply you with materials, but other than that, you will recieve nothing else from us."
The leaders got up, gave The Creeper King "Get Well Soon" cards, and left the hospital. The only visitor left was Zane.
"What the hell just happened, Zane?" The Creeper King asked with a blank expression. "I lost about 50% of my firepower...How will I defend against Kaline's little force now?"
"The leaders have spoken, Baxtroff." Zane snaped. "Servers you right, it appears you have become obsessed with destroying Kaline Woolcraft yet your mind won't let you! How can you be trusted with an army if you behave in such a matter? You're going insane! It's time for you to wake up!"
Zane left the room, but quickly returned after he had forgotten to inform the Creeper King about a package he had been given. "Also, a silverfish wearing a bandana approached me this morning and gave me this."
He tossed the package on the Creeper King's hospital bed.
"It contains the daily fee of emeralds that Kaline used to give you," Zane explained. "Might want to look up on this random predicament."
The Creeper King was shocked and immedietly took out a small device that pinpointed the location of the tracking device Kullij had placed on Kaline's back at the campfire. "He'ssss ussssing my own weakness againssst me! It seems Kaline has found out that if I go against the deal I made him, I will be stomped upon by neighboring empiresss not in alliance with me."
The Creeper King laughed devilishly. "Very well, Kaline. Take your wooden home. But just know that each emerald you present me with only makesss me stronger! For what you and Vick don't know is that the Wither Colossus is powered by thissss very material! Hahaha!"
Zane rolled his eyes.
"I don't care what you have to say." The Creeper King hissed. "Now, notify the soldiers back at Rush that they may go home! Kaline can enter his home...for now."
Zane nodded and left the room. After he did, The Creeper King took out a second device. Three letters had been scratched in by a claw of some sort. It spelled out "DAV." The Creeper King pushed a small button on the device and within a few seconds an explosion of black mist filled the room. Dav, the skeleton assassin, had appeared before him.
"I see you're still cheap." The Creeper King snapped. "Very well, they're in the left pocket of my robe. It's sitting on that hanger over there."
Dav looked over at the wooden hanger in the corner of the room where the Creeper King's very expensive looking robe had been. He took out his bow and shot a flaming arrow at the robe. Soon enough, it had burned into a pile of ash, leaving only the diamond blocks and a few other materials.
"I'll take those too." Dav laughed. "This is going to be a very exciting revenge."
With that, he pressed the button on top of his bow and dissapeared in an explosion of black mist...again.
"I hate that guy," The Creeper King sighed. "Well, not much to do now but prepare for the ball coming up. Hopefully by then Kaline either supplies me with more emeralds or Dav will actually be of use and kill him. Either way, it's a win for me. I can already see myself in control of the Wither Colossus...Stomping on the world below me, citizens everywhere bowing in my glory, and Kaline's grave by my doorstep."
Suddenly, the happiness that The Creeper King had gotten from his thoughts diminished and soon turned into fear. "I didn't believe Zane at first...but now...I think i've been drawn to the conclusion that Vick actually has some control over me...that reflection in the bathroom, and then...my fainting...? According to Prime, the Enderman King, I was unconscious for two hours! What am I going to do...I-I need to end it...I need to destroy it...but...it's me! It's me that I would be destroying!"
The Creeper King's dizziness returned and he was drawn out of his bed.
"Ugh," He groaned, "I need a drink."
He walked out of his room and as he entered the hallway and felt the touch of sunlight through the glass window, his shadow appeared before him. It was Vick's shadow, at least, from his perspective.
Chapter 17: Bone Kaline / Spectators of the Blank Reality
Forrest, Rodona, and Lars sat in the cafeteria of Vick's Mining Headquarters grabbing a quick breakfast before their journey to the Witch Kingdom. There, Rodona would try to convince the king to deactivate the ender crystal and allow the crew to mine the first klouncine block all according to Zerrel's master plot. Archie and Crystal walked over to the cafeteria table and joined the three mobs.
"Hey guys!" Crystal greeted.
"Hi Crystal!" They all said at the same time.
"Have you seen Kaline by any chance?" Archie asked.
The three looked at each other.
"No, actually," Lars answered. "We figured he was with you."
"No," Crystal said with a worried look. "We haven't seen him since yesterday evening."
"I know where he is!"
Everyone looked towards the entrance of the cafeteria. It was Zerrel. He had a frightening look on his face, as though he had seen a ghost.
"Zerrel!" Rodona cried. "You look horrible! What happened?!"
'I just came back from the Creeper Empire!" Zerrel answered.
Pierce had been nearby and overheard the entire conversation. "What?! Are you out of your mind?!"
"I heard Kaline talking to someone last night..." Zerrel explained. "Apparently he had his own plot to get the klouncine block out of the ender crystal. It involved paying the Creeper King in emeralds so that he could keep his wooden house. He's going to Rush right now and he plans to use an invisibility potion to sneak into the Creeper Empire Castle during the Creeper King's Ball and deactivate it. According to him the Witch Empire was going to ambush us if we ever stepped foot into their territory. He needed someone to deliver the emeralds...so I volunteered. He didn't force me! No harm was done!"
"That's crazy Zerrel!" Pierce yelled. "You could've been killed! Even worse, they could've followed you here!"
"It's fine, Pierce!" Zerrel replied. "I gave them to this nice Zombie Villager who is basically the king's apprentice. He told me that I had made a smart decision. If the Creeper King lays a hand on Kaline even though he paid his fee in emeralds, empires not in alliance with him will rebel!"
Everyone was delighted.
"That's brilliant!" Archie said joyfully. "Who was this mysterious being Kaline spoke to?"
"I-I don't know...It seemed like a hologram of some sort." Zerrel shrugged.
"Well what are we standing around for?!" Forrest questioned. "We should get prepared and head out to Rush! Kaline needs us!"
Everyone agreed. They got up from the table and walked over to the locker room where they began to gather supplies. Pierce, however, walked slowly to his office and shut the door behind him.
"I understand that Kaline is trying to do what's best for us..." Pierce thought, fiddling with sticks on top of his desk. "But I can't go through with this sudden resolution he has come up with. Going to the Creeper Empire is suicide! I can't let him endanger Vick's crew."
Pierce looked out the glass window in his office towards the swamp biome where the first klouncine block laid as well as the Witch Empire.
"I can reason with Dar." Pierce decided with a grin. "That old warlock can't be that big of a threat, and i'm sure he has no understanding on what that klouncine block even does. That fool. Maybe I can mine the klouncine block before Kaline goes to the ball with my crew. Yes, I can save them! They'll realize who the true hero is. I know I agreed to go along with your tactics at the campfire, Kaline. But this is a dark situation, and my crew needs to know what's best."
Pierce put on iron armor and grabbed a backpack. Afterwards, he went down to the minecart rail system. He placed down a cart, hopped in it, and sped off to the swamp without anyone knowing about his absence.
Meanwhile at Rush...
Kaline walked into the village of Rush with a big smile on his face. The Magma Cube empire had been successfully returning the village to its former state and villagers had been exiting from the Nether Portal that Kaline had made during his trip to The Nether. They had retreated to the hellish world for shelter when the Creeper King stormed into the village with his army.
"Boss!" Blake called. The trio of miners ran up to Kaline with great news to share.
"What's up, guys?" Kaline asked with a grin.
"It's incredible!" Orio began. "The soldiers withdrawled from the village! And according to them, they agreed to leave your house untouched!"
"That's great!" Kaline replied. "Sorry to leave you guys with such a short conversation, but I have to go there now and get some stuff. Best of luck to you guys!"
Kaline continued through the village and greeted the Magma Cube king, Moulicon. After a quick talk with him he made his way up the peak of the Extreme Hills where his wooden home sat peacefully. He took a deep breathe of fresh air when he got up to the top and saw that his house had no damage to it whatsoever. That brought a happy thought to him. However, when he placed a button on the spruce wood that opened the iron door of his home, he was shocked. Dav was standing in the middle of the hallway.
"You!" Kaline gasped.
"Hello, Kaline Woolcraft." Dav smiled devilishly. He held out his bony hand and black mist formed the shape of a bone. When the mist faded away an actual bone was present, solid and everything. He grasped it with all his might and smack Kaline in the side of the face with it. Kaline went flying and almost plummeted off the mountain. The bone Dav had been using as a weapon had been enchanted with Knockback II.
"I've decided to change up my melee attacks." Dav spoke. "You are impressed, I assume?"
Kaline remained quiet and rubbed the blood off of his cheek that had resulted from the piercing blow from the bone.
"No comment, huh? No matter." Dav grunted. "I'll make this quick and VERY painful. Nobody picks a fight with me and lives to tell the tale!"
Dav ran out of the wooden house and had planned to hit Kaline off the side of the mountain. Kaline jumped out of the way leaving Dav to almost run off as he could not halt in time. Sadly, he kept his balance. Kaline brought out the emerald sword that Forrest had made him and struck Dav. Both of their weapons clashed.
"Apparently the Creeper King is too scared to fight me because of his reputation with the other empires. So he sends a joker like you to deal with me just so he gets away with it!" Kaline shouted.
Kaline's sword prevailed and shot the bone into the air. As gravity launched it back to the ground, Kaline jumped up and grabbed it. When he successfully held it in his hands, he turned to Dav and hit him with it. Dav was launched to the edge of the mountain. He tried to maintain his balance, but Kaline managed to run up to him before he could and push him off the mountain.
"N-No! That's Impossible!" Dav cried as he fell off the mountain and slammed into the ground with a gigantic crash.
Kaline sneaked and looked down to the ground. A huge crater had resulted from Dav's plummet to the plains below and smoke was rising into the air. The villagers of Rush were alarmed and looked over to the extreme hills with curiosity. As he looked closer, Kaline could see that there was some movement in the crater. The assassin was still alive.
In the Blank Reality With Steve and Moral...
"I sense that Kaline is in a pretty sticky situation at the moment as he tries to find the secrets within the wooden house." Steve spoke.
"What?!" Moral said in shock. "Has the Creeper King not realized that if Kaline gets hurt the other empires will rebel?"
"It's not the Creeper King," Steve explained. "It's a skeleton assassin known as Dav."
"Well, we need to see how this turns out!" Moral said pounding on the colorless walls.
"Calm yourself, Moral. There's a way we can do just that!." Steve assured.
He spawned a stick from his bare hands and touched the wall with it. Wherever the stick touched, black ink appeared. Steve drew a circle on the wall using the stick. As a result, an entire picture formed within the border of the shape. It was Rush, and they could see everything that was going on!
"I call it the Reality Ward." Steve said.
"That's incredible!" Moral complimented.
"Don't be so amazed," Steve frowned. "Dav isn't showing his full potential in this fight. His strength is far superior than Kaline's. He's planning something..."
Moral made an odd look and watched the entire situation unfold within the circle Steve drew.
Back at Rush...
There was a huge flash within the crater and a loud whirring noise could be heard. Dav flew out from the smoke and was soon directly in front of Kaline, hovering gently in the air. He had been wearing chain boots that had the ability to propel him with giant flames as though they were a jet pack.
"Hahahaha!" Dav laughed evilly, "Oh please Kaline, you and me both know that if I were to actually fight you, I would be the victor. To save time and ensure that my revenge is successfully, I will introduce you to someone of your own might...yourself!"
The glowing orb that Dav had used for an eye glowed and a red beam was shot towards Kaline. Suddenly, Kaline's entire body glowed red just like the beam as though he were being scanned. Within a matter of seconds the beam retracted back into the orb. Dav then looked towards a grass block and unleashed the beam out of his eye once again. This time, the area that it hit began to shirvel and a black mist rotated like a tornado. Kaline covered his eyes as sand particles began to form into the black miss. Suddenly, body parts began to form out of the sand. Kaline could picture a hand, a foot, and a chest all spinning around in the black mist. Soon enough the mist vanished and what was left was an incredible sight. It was an entire figure constructed out of bones. In fact, it was Kaline. The skeletal figure in front of him had his same, flowing brown hair and his same outfit, which included jeans and a t-shirt. His eyes were red instead of brown, however.
"Meet Bone Kaline." Dav grinned. "Well, I should get going. Send me his head, Bone boy."
Dav flew off towards the Creeper Empire. As he did, Kaline and his skeletal double simply stared at one another. The fight then began when a giant spear formed in Bone Kaline's hands.
"Only one..." Bone Kaline hissed.
He sprinted towards Kaline and began to strike him with his spear, but Kaline blocked with his emerald sword. That didn't last, sadly, as Bone Kaline dropped to the ground and tripped Kaline with his foot. Kaline was rendered useless, and Bone Kaline prepared to strike him with his spear. But Kaline struck first and threw his emerald sword into the skeleton's chest. He wobbled backwards and dropped his spear. Kaline got up and ripped the sword out of his double's chest. As a result, a giant hole was left in his chest and hundreds of bone fragments fell to the ground. Kaline was pumped up and struck Bone Kaline multiple times with his sword. Pieces of Bone Kaline's body began to crumble and fall to the ground.
In the Blank Reality...
"Kaline's getting the hits on this guy!" Moral said happily.
"He is," Steve agreed. Suddenly he realized a small device that was on Kaline's back. "Wait, what is that thing?"
Moral looked closely and noticed it too.
"My notch, it's a tracking device!" Steve gasped. "That's how that skeleton powerhouse found out where Kaline was heading! And what's worse, there's probably many things that it can do to Kaline."
Back at the fight...
Dav was observing the battle from a far distance and noticed that Bone Kaline was not winning.
"Gah, this pest just doesn't quit." Dav groaned. He pressed a small button on a device.
All of a sudden, Kaline felt a piercing shock and fell to the ground instantly. The tracking device Kullij had placed on him was the source of it, and as long as that was still on him, he couldn't do anything. Bone Kaline smiled and picked up his spear. He raised it into the air, vertically, and prepared to strike Kaline right in the head. Kaline tried to stand up and defend himself, but the shock was so powerful he was not able to.
"Yes....YES!" Dav shouted happily.
All of a sudden, the tracking device on Kaline's back imploded and the shocks came to a halt. Bone Kaline began to strike, but Kaline was able to move his head at the last second before the spear dug into the grass. Kaline punched Bone Kaline and he became unarmed. Kaline had managed to take his staff right from under him. Bone Kaline became enraged and charged after him, grabbing him by the shoulders. Before he attempted to headbutt him, Kaline took the spear and jabbed it into Bone Kaline, immedietly taking it out soon after he did. Bone Kaline's red eyes faded into black holes and his hair and clothes vanished. He had become a regular skeleton, and when this happened, light shined out of cracks in the bones and the entire body became a pile of sand that was soon blown away by the wind. Kaline was exhausted and tossed the spear he had recently stole on the ground.
Dav grinded his sharp teeth in frustration. "Fine Kaline, stay alive...for now..."
He pressed a small button on the top of his bow and he dissapeared in a black mist, as he does every time.
In the Blank Reality...
Moral and Steve continued to watch Rush through the Reality Ward.
"Well," Moral spoke. "Kaline proved victorious against Dav once again. But the question is, how? The tracking device malfunctioned or something?"
"No," Steve said. "My killer strikes again. It was none other than Herobrine. Look."
Moral looked towards a small hill right behind Kaline's wooden house and noticed a figure that looked exactly like Steve, but had pure white eyes.
"What sort of joke is this?" Moral said. "Why is this Herobrine character getting involved in our business all of a sudden? First he kills you, now he's mysteriously helping Kaline?"
"Because Moral," Steve explained. "I am his creator. It happened when me and "The Gods of Minecraft" collaborated to make it so each newly spawned person gets a skin. My look was chosen as the default look, mainly because...well...i'm obviously handsome and absolutely awesome. What happened was, I had to be cloned first so that my look could be transferred to every new minecraftian. However, my "clone" grew consciousness and became Herobrine. All this talk about him being "Notch's Brother" is completely ridiculous and invalid. Anyway, me and him became the perfect duo. We brought peace to the world and even started an incredibly successful economy. This is mainly because he's exactly like me in every way."
"But why is he so evil?" Moral asked.
"When the iron golems and The Wither began constructing Coroq Gates, Herobrine got into a fight with The Wither. Soon enough, the two brawled. Keep in mind that since he is a clone, Herobrine is about 10% mechanical. When The Wither's projectiles struck him, his entire mechanical half was overshadowed and he became pure evil. He's filled with wither energy, the most vile force in the entire universe of Minecraftia. Herobrine has my same warrior skill, my high intelligence, and my knowledge of The Climax, including the klouncine block locations. Herobrine probably killed me so that I could not pose as a threat to him. He must be planning to conquer the Wither Colossus just like The Creeper King. However, he plays with the minds of anyone. There's not really any enemy or friend of him, everyone is just his puppet. So why is Herobrine involved with this all of sudden? Sooner or later he's going to try to get his hands on the klouncine blocks, and he'll do anything to do so."
Moral was shocked.
Back at Rush...
Vick's mining crew had recently entered the village of Rush with the help of Zerrel's creation, ZOOM. The crew entered the village, greeting everyone they saw. Archie was happy to see that his citizens were not harmed at all and talked with them as the rest of the crew made their way up the extreme hills biome to the wooden house so that they could help Kaline. Forrest didn't notice the large crater that Dav had made when he plummeted off the mountain and fell into it. He rubbed his head and began to climb out, but a figure jumped out of the smoke and grabbed him. Rodona ran back down the mountain to see if Forrest was alright.
"Forrest?" Rodona questioned. "Are you okay? Do you need help?"
Forrest came out of the crater and was in front of Rodona.
"No, no. I'm perfectly fine!" He smiled. "I'll meet you up there!"
Rodona nodded and began to head up the mountain once again.
"Yeah..." Forrest grinned. "I'm fine..."
His eyes were pure white.
*Edit: The Content of Part II was too long. To read the chapters above 17, scroll down and you should see it!
A recently awakened sun loomed over the horizon as The Creeper King prepared for the Creeper Empire ball, which was scheduled to start within the next hour...
The Creeper King slouched in his throne as endermen servants used a small cloth to shine the small black shoes that covered his four small feet. He was facing a flat-screen that laid in front of him that was projecting images from different areas inside and outside of his castle.
"Guards..." The Creeper King said to himself while focusing on an image of the entrance to his castle where two skeletons, equipped with the finest armor and weapons, stood. "Check."
"Dance floor..." He continued, but this time looking at a image of a large room that featured a punch table, disco ball, flashing lights, and a DJ setup. "Check."
Two creepers entered the room through a small corridor, carrying pairs of clothes on their heads. They walked up to the throne and presented them to the king. It was a suit, a pair of sunglasses, and some stylish pants. The Creeper King coughed as a sign to let the endermen know he needed their assistance in another task. They complied and helped the Creeper King get dressed in his new clothes.
"Excellent!" He laughed as the sunglasses were placed over his eyes. "Everything is in order, the fifth annual Creeper Empire Ball will begin as planned, hopefully with no interferencessss."
The Creeper King nodded at two creepers that were across from him on the other side of the throne room. They were standing next to a dispenser filled with fireworks. They were aware on what they had to do, and acted with no hesitation. They stepped on a pressure plate to activate the dispenser, upon doing so the fireworks flew into the air and exploded in an array of colors.
"Today, we drop the royalty act," The Creeper King spoke. "And instead, we party in style."
The Creeper Empire Ball had started.
Meanwhile at the Wooden House...
Kaline had entered his home and was searching for any sign of a secret in the household that he was unaware of. He could not find anything.
"This would be much easier if I knew what I was searching for," Kaline groaned. "I really think that this whole talk about "powerful secrets" in my house is full of crap. Moral, now would be the best time to give me some advice, seeing as though you somehow know so much."
Kaline thought back to when he was in the Blank Reality and talking to Moral in person, not by hologram. Suddenly, he remembered that Moral had been in Vick's bedroom when he encountered him. Kaline immediately made his way to the room, and sure enough a hologram of Moral was present.
"Ha ha!" Moral laughed, "Glad to see that you remember where we met!"
"Moral," Kaline said, "Boy am I glad to see you. So, what do I do now?"
Moral tipped his straw hat. "Ah yes, the special invisibility potions. They are in Vick's secret laboratory, which he constructed under your house. He was going to show you where it was so that you and him could find the Klouncine blocks together, but sadly, he met his fate before he ever could. If you put a lever under that table over there, you will find yourself in the lab."
Kaline looked over to a small table. A pot of flowers were on top of it. Kaline looked back to thank Moral for all the help, but he was already gone. As instructed, he quickly crafted a lever and placed it under the table. The result was a small hole that opened up underneath Kaline. He had no time to react, and fell. Soon after, he found himself in a colossal room. It was full of different types of machinery, blueprints, weaponry, potions, and a large computer smack dab in the middle.
"Woah!" Kaline said in amazement, "How did I not know about this? Vick has about everything in here that could be of use!"
He looked around, interested at all of the knickknacks that he could use at his disposal. However, what he was most interested in was a cabinet full of the invisibility potions Moral had detailed.
"Cool," Kaline smiled, "Now all I need to do is get Rodona to soup these up, then I can make my way to the Creeper King's Castle."
"Kaline!" An unexpected voice of Zerrel cried as he entered the laboratory with the rest of Vick's Mining Crew.
Kaline screamed, took out his emerald sword, turned around, and pointed it at the innocent silverfish. Zerrel gulped.
"Oh Notch...Zerrel," Kaline sighed. "You scared me dude, don't do that and- Why is the rest of the crew here?!"
"I'm sorry! Don't be upset!" Zerrel replied in a sad tone.
"Zerrel, I gave you ONE order and it was not to tell the others!" Kaline snapped, "I don't want anyone to get hurt! It's a simple mission that I planned to do, I would've been back in the morning!"
"Kaline," Crystal said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Don't be upset, Zerrel did the right thing, he told us about your plot out of fear that you could get hurt. I get that you had this thought that none of us would be able to handle this mission, but we want to help, and we're going to. We'll always have your back, no matter what the stakes are. If it makes you feel better, it made us forget about the raid on the Witch Empire, so in case you were late getting back to the headquarters, we wouldn't have been kept hostage by the warlock."
Kaline loosened up and was able to accept his wife, and the crew's assistance.
"Alright, then let's suit up." Kaline grinned. "First off, Rodona, I need you to increase the timing of these invisibility potions so that we won't be seen by the Creeper King's minions during the ball."
"Got it!" Rodona agreed, taking the potions from Kaline and placing them on a special brewing stand that she had brought along.
"Okay," Kaline continued, "Now let's get some weapons in case we get into trouble. When I walked in I saw some weaponry over at the end of the laboratory. Vick was a brilliant inventor, so i'm sure he has some top-notch stuff over there."
The members of Vick's Mining Crew nodded and began to scramble around the laboratory, grabbing any necessary materials that would be of use during the mission. As they did, Kaline explored some more and ended up finding a giant, iron vault.
"This must be Vick's private storage," Kaline said to himself. "I think I remember him telling me the combination, if only I could remember..."
Kaline observed the keypad used to unlock the vault. It had pictures of various blocks and materials.
Sure enough, that was the combination. The vault made a huge buzzing noise and opened up slowly. Inside were piles of diamonds and other useful items. Kaline suddenly had an idea. The vault was the perfect place to keep the klouncine blocks. It was impossible to destroy and impossible to enter without knowing the code. In case he was away or busy and needed to place a klouncine block inside the vault, he needed someone who he could trust and had a great memory to have knowledge of the code. He chose Forrest.
"Forrest!" Kaline called.
Forrest heard his name and followed the echo of Kaline's voice. Soon enough, he was in front of the vault.
"How may I be of your assistance?"
"Forrest, I need you to be the protector of the vault. Make sure all of the klouncine blocks are secure, okay?" Kaline asked.
"You can count on me...uh-" Forrest replied, trying to speak the name of Kaline but did not have any memory of who he was. Within the mind of Forrest, Herobrine's soul struggled to identify the being who had spoke to him. He took out a small device, an iCraft actually, and plugged the end of a small cord into it. He plugged the other end into the brain of Forrest.
Connected to Network: Forrest...
"Alright, let's see here..." Herobrine's soul said. "Appetite, no. Mood, no. Ah here it is! Memories. Let's see...Parents that were killed in a fire when their village home was invaded by Zombies...Crafting knowledge...Zerrel...Vick...no, no, no. Wither Colossus information...Vacation spots...None of these memories detail anything about the appearance of this fellow."
"Uhh...Forrest..?" Kaline questioned, looking into the gleaming, white eyes of the frozen ocelot.
"Hold your horses pal." Herobrine's Soul snapped, although Kaline was unable to hear his words. "Ah here we go, this fellow is Kaline Woolcraft. Well now, how coincidental that this mortal is the same person I have been searching for! The collector of the klouncine blocks...and he's giving me the combination of their future home! This is going to be easy as pie. Oh shoot, back to reality."
"You can count on me, Kaline." Forrest smiled happily.
"Good." Kaline responded.
By the time Rodona had finished increasing the timing on the invisibility potions, everyone was decked out in the finest equipment. Enchanted emerald armor, diamond ray guns, and iron bows were only part of their newly found weapons.
"Alright everyone," Rodona spoke. "Drink up."
Vick's Mining Crew drank the specially made invisibility potions. As a result, they became unseen as planned.
"Crystal, where's Archie?" Kaline asked before drinking the potion.
An invisible Crystal responded. "He's catching up with his village."
"Okay, then I guess we'll leave him be."
Kaline drank the potion, and with that, everyone was invisible. They would remain like this until the potion's effect wore off, which wouldn't happen until the six hour durability ended or they drank a bucket of milk.
"This is sweet!" Zerrel laughed. "Now let me just get ZOOM and we'll be in the Creeper King's castle in no time."
"No!" Lars cried. "If we teleport into the castle we'll be detected, we're going to have to get there by walking, or by some faster means of transportation that won't be discovered so easily."
"Hey guys," Forrest spoke. "Did anyone see this yet?"
Everyone walked over to Forrest, who was standing by a large gate in the wall of the laboratory. It was a stable full of horses! Everyone looked at each other with the same idea, and with that, the crew left Rush and set their course to the Creeper Empire.
Back at the Creeper King's Castle, the ball had been going steady, and more and more people were pouring into the royal fortress by the minute...
"Hello television audience!" a pig with black hair said in front of a cameraman. "It's me, Beefton Blake! Tonight i'm here at the Creeper Empire where the annual ball is taking place. And let me tell you, it is bigger than ever! At the moment there is some intense karaoke and dancing going on within the Creeper King's colossal castle and within a matter of minutes DJ Cowz is going to be taking the spotlight! He's going to fill you with all the greatest beats out there, so if you want an energetic night, come over here now! Speaking of Creeper King, I have him here now. Ladies and Gentlemen, Baxtroff Kolligar!"
The Creeper King walked over to Beefton Blake and faced towards the camera.
"This is an amazing experience you are giving us, Baxtroff! Tell us, have any thoughts you want to share with the Minecraft world?" Beefton Blake questioned, holding the microphone up to the Creeper King.
"Thanks Beefton, and yes, I do indeed," The Creeper King replied. "I am filled with joy to know everyone is having a great time at my castle. I know that every day after this night I will still be seen as the vile dictator I am pictured as, but I just want to say that I am just misunderstood. I respect each and every minecraftian and mob out there, and although my laws and actions are "harsh," I just want the world to be a better place, and show happiness to all the people out there like I am now at the ball."
"That was a great response, Baxtroff!" Beefton Blake complimented. "Anyway, we're going to go to a quick commercial break. When we return, we will show some footage of the ball in action! Stay beefy, my friends!"
A red light shining on the side of the camera vanished.
"We still live?" Beefton Blake asked.
"All clear, mate." The cameraman ensured.
"Great, I'm getting fed up with all this noise, I need some punch." Beefton Blake groaned. "Also, Baxtroff, thanks for the interview, means a lot."
Kullij was sitting at a table not too far away from the camera crew and rolled his eyes after the Creeper King said his speech. The Creeper King walked over and sat next to his skeletal friend.
"Wassssn't that great, Kullij?" The Creeper King questioned, sipping a bucket of milk through a straw.
"Great?" Kullij replied. "That was a lie Baxtroff! You don't care about the happiness of others, I doubt you even want to show them it! you probably had trouble even saying the word!"
"Can't argue there," The Creeper king chuckled, "I need to wassssh my mouth out with sssoap."
Kullij gave the Creeper King an evil glare.
"You cleary do not know know how to play this game, my friend." The Creeper King frowned. "You think I like holding these balls? I would rather be looking out for Kaline Woolcraft or looking for the klouncine blocksss. Hell, because of you guys ruining my perfect army, i'd rather be working on a way to organize it! The whole reason for doing this is to just convince everyone not to rebel againssst me and hold their peace a while longer, up until I destroy them at least, ha ha! Nobody needs to know of my true behavior towards Minecraftia, they'll find out soon enough when they're smashed on the ground by the feet of the Wither Colossus."
Kullij looked to the ground in disappointment. "Why are you so against the world, Baxtroff?"
The Creeper King hissed and got up from his chair. "What is with you, Kullij? Your recent soft behavior is getting me suspiciousss. Why do you care so much about the condition of these weak minecraftiansss? Wouldn't you enjoy seeing them at your feet doing everything you command?! Feeling as though you're the most powerful person alive?! Oh Notch, even the thought of it...Pure bliss."
Kullij didn't speak.
"Time to grow some bones Kullij, even if Kaline Woolcraft continuesss to go against me, he will only fall, just like his brother. So in conclusion, why am I so against the world? I want them to feel the same pain I felt when my loving father and brother died in that ravine. Do you not hear the words that I am spitting out?" The Creeper King explained.
"I do, Baxtroff." Kullij responded.
The Creeper King nodded and began to walk back to the castle. "I don't want to speak of this again, Kullij. I hope you're still with me on this mission, and that you're still the friend i've known since I was a young child." The moon loomed over the horizon as the Creeper Empire Ball continued. Little did anyone know that Kaline and friends would be there soon.
Chapter 19: The Creeper Empire Ball Pt. II
Horses ran across the cold sand of a desert biome at night. There were six in total. They seemed to be heading to a large structure that was only a couple hundred meters away. It was The Creeper Empire's castle. Their running pace slowed as they reached a towering stone brick wall, and they trotted quietly to a spot where they could not be seen by the plenty of guards that had been walking slowly on top of it. The riders of the mysterious horses were none other than Kaline, Crystal, and Vick's mining crew, still invisible, and still not detected. They quickly got prepared and put any of the supplies they would need into the pockets of their clothes so the invisibility would leave them unseen. Kaline looked around to make sure nobody was around, then whispered into the ears of his companions.
"Zerrel,"
"Yeah?" Zerrel responded.
"I need you and the rest of the mining crew to be a distraction in case anyone gets suspicious," Kaline said. He then pulled out the communication devices that Forrest had given him before he entered Witherox. The same communication devices that aided him by notifying Archie that he was in trouble.
"Crystal, I want you to be my lookout. Let me know if anything happens so I can get out of the castle as fast as possible."
He held out a communication device as quickly as possible, and Crystal recieved it. Everyone agreed to their given task.
"I'm going to head to the control room of the castle and shut down the ender crystal so this whole mess can be resolved," Kaline explained, glancing at a map he had in his pocket. "If i'm correct, the control room should be in The Creeper King's throne room, which, I would think, is probably the most dangerous place to be. Good luck to you all."
The group quietly walked over to the main gate of the castle, where two heavily armed guards had been standing.
Everyone held their breathe, they did not dare to make even the slightest sound. With that, they passed through the two guards, who didn't even notice a thing. People had been all over the front yard, which also posed as a threat. With quick maneuvers, the crew was able to avoid bumping into them, and afterwards, they made it into the Creeper Empire castle. They were now in the main corridor of the castle, where the ball had been at it's climax. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a gigantic blast of music filled the room, and lights began to flicker on and off consistently, while changing colors. The crowd went wild. Suddenly, a cow wearing sunglasses, with headphones over it's ears, approached the DJ setup and raised it's hands in the air.
"Welcome people across the world, and those of the Creeper Empire! If ya'll are already partied out, you ain't seen nothing yet! I'm DJ Cowz, and i'm going to make this ball into something you ain't NEVER seen before! Pump up the noteblocks!" The cow shouted.
"Do these people even know what a ball is?" Lars whispered to himself, shaking his invisible head in disappointment.
The crowd was completely involved in dancing to the music DJ Cowz had to offer. The invisible Kaline saw this as the perfect opportunity to make his way to the control room, which was all the way on the other side of the castle. With a quick movement of his feet, he left the group and ran past the distracted crowd, quickly making it into a joining room. It was the kitchen. Kaline sat down in a nearby wooden chair, suddenly, he was startled when he saw that Beefton Blake, the reporter, had only been two seats away from him.
"I can't wait to get out of this place," He groaned. "Weirdos. That's what all these people are. I don't see how anyone can stand this much sound. My ears are bleeding."
The door of the kitchen slammed close. Beefton Blake jumped out of his seat in astonishment. He was about to yell at the person who caused it to happen, until he realized it was none other than the Spider Queen, who had been crying.
"Udelias?!" He questioned, "Are those tears?!"
The Spider Queen hopped onto a seat next to Beefton Blake and Kaline, whom she did not notice. She fought back her tears and speaked. "It is a curse! A dreadful curse! With no resolution...No hope!"
"What is a curse? Tell me, your majesty." Beefton Blake urged.
"I have driven my Empire to ruin," She explained. "We have given Baxtroff all of our precious resources now because we are in fear that he will invade us...and this is how he uses it! That ignorant fool has power and uses it to completely hypnotize us into thinking we must aid his empire or else he will demolish us! Me and the other Empires thought by taking away a majority of his army...it would help...but it didn't! Me and my spiders will now die from starvation...It would've been better off just not even being associated with the Creeper Empire! So i've come to the ball so I can use food as a substitute for my deep depression."
Beefton Blake stomped his feet. "This is unacceptable! How could someone do something so vile to people? Especially a beauty like yourself! Baxtroff has been corrupted with power! And if we don't rebel, he may just self-destruct on the entire world! I've been saying too many positive things about the man in my interviews, but no longer!"
Udelias continued to weep, "If only, Beefton. But the other empires won't budge. Kullij will always be in alliance with Baxtroff, they're lifelong friends. Prime, The Enderman King, was promised protection of The End. Langley, The Zombie King, was friends with his father! The rest of them won't even listen because nowadays nobody could care less if we, the spiders, were burning in flames never to be seen again! And you! Why are you staring?!"
Kaline became frozen. The Spider Queen was staring right at him. Beefton Blake looked around in confusion.
"M-M-Me...?" Kaline squeeked.
"Yes! You've been listening on this entire conversation!" Udelias screamed. "And why are you invisible?! I am suspicious!"
"I-I-I can expla-!" Kaline said, but was quickly interrupted.
"No need! Who are you?!" Udelias asked.
"Your majesty, who are you talking to?" Beefton Blake questioned.
"My name is Kaline Woolcraft...I'm sorry for the trouble- I just..." Kaline revealed
The Spider Queen gasped, "Kaline Woolcraft! Vick's brother?!" She ran up to the invisible Kaline and gave him a hug.
Kaline made an odd look. "How can you see me?!"
"Oh," Udelias laughed. "I was born with a special eye-condition, whenever I wish, I can use x-ray vision. But that's not important. I am filled with joy that I am meeting you here! What Notch-given deed are you striding for that will surely doom Baxtroff?"
Kaline was still uneasy about speaking to the Queen of the Spiders. "I have come to The Creeper Empire to shut down the ender crystal that contains the first Klouncine block. I was...sort of undercover."
"I apologize," Udelias grinned. "I had no idea. I must say, I can't tell you how much hope I have had that you would gather all the Klouncine blocks and end Baxtroff's reign. I just want to say, thank you."
"You scared me for a second, I never would've thought that there was another Empire monarch out there who supported me," Kaline laughed. "Anyway, can you tell me which way the Creeper King's throne room is?"
"Gladly," Udelias replied. "If you take that hallway to the right all the way down, there should be a stairwell leading up to the next floor. Once you make it upstairs, the giant doors of the Creeper King's throne room should be in plain sight."
Kaline nodded and thanked Udelias for her help, and was on his way once again.
"Kaline Woolcraft?!" Beefton Blake cried, as though he had just realized who the hero was. "The hero of this generation?! Oh, if only I could get a glimpse."
Udelias smiled. "My empire holds on a thread, and right now, Kaline is that thread. I need to find a way to aid him, if he takes down Baxtroff, maybe peace can finally be restored to the world, and with some miracle, maybe peace can be restored to Baxtroff."
"I plan to help in any way I can, your majesty." Beefton Blake replied, combing his hair.
Back in the main corridor of the castle, Crystal is carrying out her position as Kaline's lookout...
Crystal leaned against the wall, observing the crowd, more specifically, guards and other Creeper Empire associates, to see if there was any suspicion among them. Suddenly, fireworks were launched out of dispensers that were on the sides of the DJ setup.
"People! Get ready for..." DJ Cowz yelled, holding his microphone to the crowd.
"The milking!!"
Not too far away from Crystal, across the room, Vick's Mining Crew had been ready to make a distraction when it was needed.
Lars' eyes widened in horror, "The Milking?!?!"
Suddenly, bright lights shined on a gigantic bucket that was directly over the entire crowd. It was full of milk.
"3!" The crowd chanted.
"We must leave!" Lars told the rest of the mining crew. He had forgotten to whisper, and a guard standing only two blocks away from him looked over to where he had heard the sound, and became suspicious.
"2!"
The mining crew ran over to where Crystal was standing and ordered her to get out of the corridor.
"1....!"
Suddenly, the bucket tipped over. As the crowd jumped with joy, Crystal and the mining crew were horrified. Gallons of milk poured on them, and the invisibility effects from their potions had faded away. Creeper guards recognized the group and immediately ran over to their location.
Zerrel was alarmed and reacted quickly. "Look! Dinnerbone!"
The entire crowd gasped, looked at Zerrel, and then charged over to where he had been looking. As they did, they trampled over the guards. The group smiled at the clever silverfish then exited the castle, soaked in milk.
Back With Kaline...
Kaline creaked open the giant wool doors of the Creeper King's throne room and peaked in. Nobody had been present, he had assumed that they were all downstairs enjoying the ball. He quietly walked in, observing his surroundings, looking for some sign of a control room. He looked to the giant flat-screen on the wall that the Creeper King frequently used, it showed the perspectives of all the cameras that had been in the castle. Soon enough, he looked behind the Creeper King's throne to find an iron door, which stood out from the rest of the wool doors in the room. It also had a sign that read:
CONTROL ROOM: ANY TRESPASSERS WILL BE EXECUTED
He pondered for a moment. Then, he took out his pickaxe and simply broke the door. Within the dim-lighted control room filled with cob-webs, were many levers and buttons that operated not only the Creeper Empire Castle, but other Creeper Empire related places. However, he only had use for one lever, and soon enough he discovered it. The lever he had his eyes on controlled the ender crystal of the Witch Empire's swamp, the same ender crystal that the first klouncine block was contained in. He disabled it, and with that, his mission was complete. He made a quick cheer of success, and turned for the door, but as he did, milk was splashed onto him by a mysterious source who had a bucket. His invisibility had been corrupted, and afterwards, the same figure tossed him out of the control room and onto the red carpet of the throne room.
Kaline shook his head and rubbed his eyes, then turned around in shock to see who had discovered his presence.
"You!"
The Creeper King towered over Kaline, with a very displeased look. "And so we encounter each other once again, Kaline. I musssst say, you put together quite a clever plan. In fact, you may have gotten away with it if I didn't recently just discover your little crew being foiled by DJ Cowz's famous "milking." Haha! Look at the failure!"
The Creeper King enlarged the camera view of the main corridor so it took up the entire screen of the flat-screen, then rewinded it to the moment where Crystal and Vick's Mining Crew's invisibility wore out. "Sadly, my security didn't destroy them. They got away. Worthless staff, I need to get more help."
Kaline was relieved by that news, but sulked over the fact that he had been caught red-handed.
"You know what mussst be done now, correct?" The Creeper King asked. "There will be no tolerance to the collection of even one Klouncine block! I've come too far to be stopped by you, Woolcraft! I will make sure that incident at Rush will never be recreated!"
"Oh, I know what must be done," Kaline frowned, standing up. He took out his emerald sword. "You must be destroyed, you murderous...you heartless...fool! You bring down suffering not only on everyone in this world, but even on your own alliances! And you act like it never happened by holding these balls! Your pretend peace is fiction!"
Kullij the Skeleton King, Zane Helmframe, and Dav rushed into the throne room.
"Baxtroff!" Zane cried, "What's going on here?! Is that Kaline?!"
"Leave us..." Baxtroff ordered.
Dav took out his bow and aimed the arrow at Kaline's chest.
"Leave us!!!" Baxtroff yelled in fury.
Kullij nudged Dav, and he put his bow away. The three left the throne room without any hesitation. The Creeper King walked over his throne and looked over to the side of it. There was an odd contraption being held on two hooks. It was a metallic arm. He quickly equipped it to the side of his torso where an arm would typically be, if he even had any.
"If you and I are to brawl, at least make it a fair fight. This temporary arm will aid me in holding weapons...including THIS!" The Creeper King explained, suddenly taking out a small, diamond dagger and slashing it at Kaline.
Kaline was able to dodge his attacks, and with the swing of his emerald sword, he quickly unarmed the Creeper King of his dagger. However, that didn't protect him from The Creeper King using his metallic arm to sock him in the face. His nose bled, but he ignored it. Kaline fought back and punched the Creeper King, knocking him off his feet and onto the floor. Kaline charged towards him, and was ready to stab him with his emerald sword. However, the Creeper King whistled, and a rope lowered to his position. He pulled it quickly, and as a result, a trap door on the cieling opened, and hundreds of beacons dropped down and fell on top of Kaline just as he was about to end him. Kaline was knocked out.
"At last!" The Creeper King laughed devilishly. "Guard! Hand me my prized sword, I shall make this quick and enjoyable!"
A creeper guard walked into the room with a ruby encrusted sword. The handle was imprinted with the Creeper Empire's symbol. The Creeper King thanked him, and with his metallic arm, he raised the sword into the air. He aimed it precisely at Kaline's neck, and with that, he brought it down with all the force he could and...he stopped. His arm began to shake violently, and the sword dropped straight out of his hand.
"No! Not this! Not now!" The Creeper King yelled. "I've reached the moment I have most anticipated! DO NOT TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME VICK! YOUR BROTHER MUST JOIN YOU!!"
Kaline's eyes opened wide. Reacting quickly, he regained grip on his sword, kicked the Creeper King down on the ground, and pointed it at his face. His anger had reached its boiling point, he had no sympathy for the king.
"K-Kaline..!" The Creeper King stuttered. "Don't do thisss!"
"Shut it you snake!" Kaline snapped.
"Do you really want to go through with ending me, Kaline Woolcraft?! Or would you much rather see Pierce alive!" The Creeper King sneered.
Kaline lowered his sword. "What have you done?"
The Creeper King was relieved and laughed. "Sssssee for yourself! Look to the screen!"
Kaline turned around to view the flat-screen. Suddenly, the view of a dungeon was pictured, and the one who had been in it was none other than Pierce. He was chained up, and he appeared weak.
"Kaline!" He cried. "I-I've screwed up! I-I'm sorry...But don't give in to his tricks! Don't do whatever you're thinking! I'll get out of this! I know it-"
The visual on the dungeon faded into static. Pierce was gone.
"Pierce!" Kaline yelled. He looked at the Creeper King with anger. He gripped his sword as though he was going to kill him, but he knew he couldn't due to Pierce's condition. The Creeper King would still live.
The Creeper King's grin faded. "I am untouchable, Kaline Woolcraft. I can destroy my enemies physically and mentally, but they can't destroy me! You've lost this round, and you will surely lose the war."
Kaline stomped his feet on the carpeting and threw The Creeper King's ruby-encrusted sword at the wall. with that, he sprinted out of the throne room.
The Creeper King nodded and then walked into the control room. "Now to regain life to the ender crystal that will continue to make a hole in Kaline's path."
The Creeper King tried pulling the lever, but he could not. Kaline had jammed it. "WHAT IS THIS?! NO! Gah...get a hold of yourself, Baxtroff...you're still here, and that's all that matters. Kaline and his so-called crew are surely going to head to the Witch Empire and retrieve that Pierce fellow...They won't stand a chance... Great, now I have to get a new sword..."
Kaline was filled with fear as he ran out of the castle. He managed to get past the Creeper King's goons and reunited with his friends who had been in the same spot as they were in when they first reached the castle.
"Kaline!" Zerrel cried. "You're okay! Hurry! We need to get out of here before-"
"The Witch Empire captured Pierce!" Kaline wept.
Everyone gasped. After explanation, everyone realized that they had to return to the Witch Empire as quickly as possible. They got onto the horses and rode away from the colossal castle, just before the guards had come to eliminate them.
Hundreds of people poured out of the castle, many exhausted from a long night of partying.
The Creeper Empire Ball had concluded.
Chapter 20: Why Do You Live?
Kaline's vision was nothing but blur following the blink of his eyes after regaining consciousness. He couldn't make out where he was or who was there with him.
"Ugh..." He groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "W-What happened..? Where-Where am I..?"
The blur was gone and his vision was now clear. He was in a large cave, but it was definetly not natural. Some notable things he saw were- bleachers. Bleachers full of thousands of cheering witches stomping their feet to the melody of distant noteblocks, and throwing bottles of enchantment into the air with excitement. On the ceiling were blocks of glowstone hanging on fences, the obvious source of light in the cave. And lastly, in front of Kaline, was a red carpet leading to a tall, golden chair. But that wasn't important, what was important was a small, hunched figure walking towards Kaline. He reacted quickly and tried to bring out his emerald sword, but was shocked to notice he couldn't even with all his might. Chains had prevented him from doing so. The figure was now in his face. He looked at Kaline with much interest, then, suddenly, ran a bony and shaking finger across his neck. He was very old, had a large white beard, and a ridiculously tall black hat.
Kaline made a curious look at the figure, then observed his surroundings. He took account of the many witches present in the area then had an idea who the person in front of him might be. "Are you...the leader of the Witch Empire?"
The figure nodded with a grin, "Indeed, young one. I am Dar, only warlock amongst this world and head of the empire of witches."
"No, no. I can't be in your presence," He replied, shaking his head. "All I remember is leaving the ball...then entering the swamp. I had to save my friend...Yeah...Pierce! Where is Pierce?! Come to think of it...Where's everyone else?! How did I get here?!"
Dar moved his hand slowly to the left, and exactly as he did, a zipper closed Kaline's mouth shut. He couldn't speak.
"Slow down!" Dar snapped. "I swear, you young people and your millions of questions and fast language. Look, Kaline of Woolcraft, me and my empire had no beef with you until you and your little party barged through our hut and attacked. Kept yelling at us to present you with this Pierce fellow. We got annoyed, so we through some splash potions of sleep at you. If you're referring to the tempered one who tried to reason with me to release that klouncine block within our biome, he is over there. And your party, they are rather close, in fact, they're above you!"
Kaline looked upwards and saw a wooden cage. Inside he could only assume was Archie, Crystal, and Vick's Mining Crew. He then looked towards the direction Dar had pointed to and saw Pierce within fiery bars.
"Kaline!" Pierce shouted. "This is all my fault! I should've been true to the promise I made, I should've put trust in you! But I was too blind by the fact that only my way could help my crew. And all that happened was that I only doomed them more, along with you, and maybe even the entire Minecraft world. He's going to kill us Kaline. KILL US!"
"Pierce!" Kaline cried. He then looked back at Dar in disgust. "If you didn't have beef with us before we came into your territory, then why did you lock Pierce up and then have the Creeper King use him as an excuse to ignore his business and come here? Speak!"
Dar laughed. "Well, when you think about it foolish one, we didn't have beef with you before you came here because, well, you weren't much of a target then! This was a back-up plan, you know. We wouldn't have had any business with you if this fellow, Pierce, hadn't come along and caught the attention of Baxtroff!"
"So you are in alliance with the Creeper Empire? This neutrality state is history now?" Kaline questioned, making a very fierce look at the old man.
"My philosophy is," Dar began, "that this world needs a universal leader in order to be at peace. Baxtroff is just the person we need to do that job. He knows how to rule with an iron fist. Sure, people will die, many, but in the end it will be hundreds of thousands less than the typical amount we have today! Plus...He offered me a huge expansion in territory, along with a bigger supply of potions. Come to think of it, I think that last reason is the main reason I gave in, haha!"
"Why do people like you live?" Kaline glared.
"Well, right now I can only assume I live to be a billionaire brewer, give my empire of ladies a lifestyle of luxury, and be the one to kill the great Kaline Woolcraft!" Dar laughed.
"Old fool! You won't be killing him, your silly little contraptions will! You're blind as a bat!" Pierce yelled.
"Blind?" Kaline questioned.
"Yes, old age has had a toll on my eyesight," Dar admitted. "But no matter, let's get to it shall we!"
The witch spectators cheered. Dar waddled to his throne and sat down, then raised his arm into the air. A magical substance was emitted from his hand. It began to swirl and within a few seconds it exploded and sent small particles flying across the cave. Kaline looked around to see if something happened, but it didn't seem like anything did. However, he was wrong. Five stone blocks in front of him, each two blocks apart, flipped over and revealed gold blocks. Situated on top of those gold blocks were pressure plates.
"You see, Kaline, I like to have fun with my enemies, I like to see them become so nervous they sweat and cry, because they're so desperate to live," Dar explained. "Each of these levers in front of you activates something in this room. If you don't use the correct strategy these levers require in order for you to keep your life, you, of course, die. Oh, so does your friends, figured i'd make that clear. Sadly, I couldn't set up anything to kill Pierce since we locked him in that jail cell, so i'll drop a couple hundred splash potions of harming on him later."
The chains restricting Kaline's arms vanished, he was free to move them now. He stood in front of the levers and stared at them for five whole minutes. He gulped. So much was at stake, he couldn't focus. Without even thinking he pulled the lever further to the left. A distant noise was heard and a blaze rod dropped from the cieling. Kaline dodged it and it melted through the stone floor. He looked through the hole it made in the floor and through it he could see a pit full of boiling hot lava. The floor had only been 1-block thick.
"Oh Notch..." Kaline said in horror.
Dar chuckled.
As time passed, Kaline managed to pull four or the five levers. Dar and the rest of the Witch Empire had watched with anticipation. One lever spawned a piston connected to a wooden platform, a second one gave Kaline redstone along with a torch to activate it, and a last one was a bucket of water in a dispenser. Nobody had died yet, luckily, but one lever still remained.
Kaline took a deep breath, put his hands on the lever, and pulled it. Suddenly, the ground below him opened up to reveal the lava pit and Kaline fell in.
"HAHAHAHA!" Dar laughed devilishly.
An immediate death was prevented as Kaline grabbed the stone floor and pulled himself up. Afterwards, he noticed that the lever he pulled also put a counter on the side of the cage holding his friends. He had exactly four minutes, once that time was up, the cage would be dropped into the fires below. Kaline grasped his skull, he didn't know what to do. He looked at each of the products the lever provided him with, then, with a minute to spare, he discovered what to do.
"Okay..." Kaline whispered to himself. "The wooden platform and piston mean nothing, but the redstone, water bucket, and that blaze rod do... The hole the blaze rode created as it melted into the ground gives access to the lava pit..."
Dar raised one of his eyebrows in suspicion.
"All I have to do is let the water flow into that small opening, and the lava will turn to obsidian! Everyone will survive! The cage will simply fall onto the obsidian!" Kaline continued.
That's exactly what he did. Kaline took the water bucket out of the dispenser and dumped the water next to the block that the blaze rod had burnt through. The water successfully flowed through, and he could hear the lava transforming into obsidian. Within seconds of this action, the cage fell into the opening in the floor, but landed with no damage done to the crew. Kaline turned back to face Dar and made a grin.
"Kaline you did it!" Pierce cried happily.
"N-No...It can't be...NO! WHY WAS THIS SO EASY TO SOLVE?!" Dar yelled clenching his head.
Kaline brought out his emerald sword.
"Bah! You were lucky boy, but don't think that next time we cross paths you will be able to save yourself so easily!" Dar hissed. "With all the time you spent here, Baxtroff has probably already set his sights on the next phase of his plan! So take your silly Klouncine block, it's the only one you'll get!"
Dar took one last look at Kaline then clapped his hands. A vortex of sugar swirled around Kaline, Pierce, and the mining crew and within almost an instant they were outside of the cave and at the location of the first klouncine block. Birds chirped and the sun shined. Everything was quiet and peaceful.
Kaline put away his sword and looked at the Klouncine block in amazement.
"Kaline!" Pierce called, running over to him. "We've done it! The first klouncine block, right here! Ours for the taking!"
Everyone began to slowly recover from the effects of the sleeping potions.
"Ugh..." Zerrel groaned. "What the heck happened?"
"I feel like a snow golem right now," Archie spoke, rubbing his eyes. "Slushy and weak."
"You're all okay!" Kaline said with a smile. "Take a good look guys! We've done it!"
"Indeed," Archie replied. "All that trouble for one klouncine block. It's still a great success, but we still have thirteen more to go so let's not celebrate. Mind if I ask what happened back there? I may not know what went down after we stormed the witch hut and fell into slumber, but I am positive you faced the warlock."
Kaline had hugged Crystal, his wife, then turned to face Archie again. "I did. He was definetly off his nut. He gave me this very degrading puzzle, had to use strategy in order to save us. I completed it, and then he used his magic to send us back here. I can't help but think it was too easy though, like everything I endured in there was simply a distraction. I was told how dangerous it was the go to the Witch Empire, even Moral said-"
"Woah, hold up," Archie interrupted. "Who's Moral?"
"He- I don't know- Nothing, Archie." Kaline replied, struggling to find an answer.
"Well, that doesn't matter," Crytal said with a smile. "You do the honors Kaline, mine us the first klouncine block and guide us one step closer to getting to The Climax."
Kaline nodded then turned to Pierce. "Are you with me now?"
Pierce rolled his eyes at the remark but then grinned. "Yes, Kaline. I am."
"Good." Kaline said. He brought out his pickaxe and approached the klouncine block, sitting peacefully in the deactivated ender crystal.
With that, the first klouncine block was obtained.
So yeah, Chapter 4 is out.
It's a rather turn in the story.
I'm also organizing the story into parts so it doesn't get too confusing in the future.
Hope you guys enjoy it!
Chapter 5 has been released.
Was in a good mood!
This is a long one! Didn't realize that until it was published, but there was a lot of information to reveal!
This Fan Fiction isn't really close to being done, but Chapter 5 is an important part of the entire thing.
It does get a little confusing, but you'll get used to it towards the end.
I hope you enjoy it! These positive responses are driving me to update it more often.
This story is getting better and better. Chapter Five really grabs your attention (especially the whole "Final Request" part). Keep up the good work, my friend!
This story is getting better and better. Chapter Five really grabs your attention (especially the whole "Final Request" part). Keep up the good work, my friend!
Thanks!
I was really aiming to make Chapter 5 a primary part to the story. I plan to make the next few chapters just as good!
Chapter 6 is finally out!
Sorry for the long wait, been away from the computer for a while. I'll be sure to update the story more commonly now.
**Small Update**
I re-read some previous chapters and fixed some spelling errors. Don't know if anyone cares, but some were pretty silly. So yeah, a lot of them are fixed.
Just finished Chapter 7!
Where Chapter 6 was more of a funny and cheerful chapter, Chapter 7 really returns to the dark nature of the story.
This recent chapter puts the heroes in a difficult situation again, but this time it's much worse than the event that occured at the end of "Kaline vs. The Nether." And yeah, they go to Witherox. I personally like this chapter. I enjoyed writing it almost as much as I did with Chapter 5.
I hope you guys enjoy!
Hello, my name's OffTheAir.
After multiple experiences creating fan fictions on other forums, I've decided to create one focusing on Minecraft! This tale doesn't focus on a simple wooden house, that would be boring.
However, it focuses on the adventures of a miner named Kaline, who longs to carry out his recently killed brother's last request. This proves to be difficult however, as he tries to keep alive by paying the "Creeper King" in emeralds, so that he may continue to have sancturary in his wooden home that has recently been captured. Although many antagonists are encountered during the story, each of them fear a mysterious mob that has a desire to destroy everyone and everything.
I plan to work hard on this fan fiction. I do hope that each and everyone who actually takes the time to read it will be filled with satisfaction.
Prologue:
One Enderman turned around angrily, and knocked her to the wall with a tremendous force.
"He saw this coming! No mortal is allowed to trespass among The Void's fortresses!" The other Enderman yelled.
They had been thrashing a man, armed with nothing but a wooden sword and chain armor...and an enchanted book!
"Give it to us!" An Enderman commanded. "The Creeper King forbids anyone to have knowledge about the secrets within that book!"
The man was about to faint, but he tried with all his might to speak to the woman, even though he was still being harmed.
"Katherine...get out of here...take the minecart and get out!" The man ordered to the woman.
"But...Vick..." The woman replied in tears.
"Go now! Before you get involved into this situation as well!"
The Woman tried to resist the man's orders, but she finally understood she had to leave him behind, and left, right before the referenced Creeper King entered the room.
"That'sss enough soldiersss," The Creeper King said with a vile hiss. Once the Enderman were given this order, they vanished.
The Creeper King was a typical Creeper, except for a few minor characteristics. He had a golden crown with emeralds forged within it. He also wore a luxurious, red robe and a shimmering golden necklace.
"Are you ready to give up the book? Or shall I make you with force?" The Creeper King asked.
The man grinned, and got up, even after he was almost killed by the two Endermen.
"Yes," He answered. In response, he quickly brought out a mysterious device and shoved the enchanted book inside.
The Creeper King had a look of fear on his face, and jumped towards the device. It was too late though, for it vaporized and was quickly thousands of blocks away from The Void fortress. It had teleported the book to another being.
"No!" The Creeper King cried, stomping on the ground with it's four small feet. He frowned at the man, who was filled with glee that the book was out of the king's reaches.
"I would blow you up right now if I didn't suicide as a result."
The man laughed.
"But seeing as though i'm of royalty, I can pay people to do that for me," the Creeper King said. With that, the same Endermen teleported back to the room, this time with TNT in their hands. They chained the man to the wall, and set TNT all over the room.
"Goodbye Vick, sssee you in hell, or in this case, The Nether." The Creeper King grinned.
He then lit the TNT with flint n' steel and vanished along with the endermen. And after a large explosion as a result, he was dead. Kaline, his brother, woke up that exact second.
PART I: The Key to Coroq Gates
The crowd settled.
"I am proud to introduce the ruler of everything in existence, Notch!" The NPC Villager announced. The crowd clapped with somewhat of a delight, after all, it was a funeral.
"Vick was an impressive miner, one of the best in the land," Notch began. "I am honored to be here reading his will, and I will forever long his absence. Now, let's begin"
After a couple of hours went by, Notch read the names of the people to which Vick had left valuable items to.
"We are down to the final item everyone," Notch said, "and Vick adressed this special object to his only brother, Kaline."
The crowd silenced, as Kaline stood up from his seat. He walked across the red wool leading to Notch with no emotion whatsoever.
"I'm sorry for your lose, Kaline," Notch apologized. He handed him the final gift. "That is the conclusion to this funeral, Notch out!" He then burst into light and went up into the sky.
Kaline Woolcraft never wanted to go through this. He had millions in diamonds before his home was captured by the Creeper Empire. It was a mansion then. Everything was robbed from him, even the materials he had used on his sancturary. Now, he lives in a simple wooden house with his wife, Crystal, slaving away to gather emeralds for the Creeper King. For if he didn't, he would be lose his home, and put himself and his wife through the same fate as Vick, blown up and tossed into The Void.
Kaline placed a button on some spruce wood, which stood out from the oak wood that made up his house. An iron door opened, and he quickly entered the household, with the gift Vick left to him. Crystal greeted him, and gave him a hug, an obvious indication that she felt sorry for him.
"I can't believe he's gone," Kaline weeped. "Why did he have to look for trouble? Why?"
"He's an explorer, Kaline." Crystal replied. "His curiosity got the better of him."
"It always did," Kaline admitted. He looked at the gift he achieved from the funeral.
"Open it up, Kaline," Crystal suggested.
Kaline ripped away the wrapping, and inside was a familiar object...the enchanted book! His eyes widened, he was familiar with this book. He had to remember what it was, it wasn't entirely clear to him. He opened up the book, and began to read.
"In the beginning..." He began.
Him and his wife quickly gawked, and a loud pounding on the door was heard. The Creeper King was outside.
Chapter 2: A Deal is Made!
"That's all it says! Literally, just one single sentence," Kaline replied.
A zombie villager, wearing a suit filled with holes and rips, and an eyepatch over his eye destroyed the iron door with a pickaxe. The Creeper King then entered, not amused.
"Alright Kaline," He spoke. "I'm not in the best mood, so hand me your daily pay in emeraldssss."
Kaline looked at Crystal and nodded. She had an understanding on what he wanted her to do. She went into the back of the wooden house and broke a block of red wool, which was used as for their carpeting. As a result of this act, a lever was revealed. Crystal pulled it, and the reaction signaled a group of pistons, built to act like an elevator of some sort. Up came a chest, which was their hiding place for the emeralds they had worked hard to achieve. However, it was empty.
Crystal looked back at Kaline with a look of worry. As a response, he shook his head in dissapointment.
"Well?" The Creeper King said impatiently, "I don't have all day."
Kaline walked over to the Creeper King. "We have no emeralds to spare."
Minutes passed with silence. Until the Creeper King made a loud hiss, and was actually close to exploding. But he quickly calmed himself, to prevent unexpected death.
"What do you mean you have no emeraldssss?" He grumbled.
Kaline and his wife said nothing.
"I could have you killed for thissss!" The Creeper King yelled. " I would make sure you two experience a death one million timessss worse than Vick!"
Kaline and Crystal began to weep once more after the Creeper King's recent statement. Surprisingly, the Creeper King felt emotion and was actually hurt by what he had said to the two. He then shook his head violently and returned to his angered mood.
"You have by the end of this week to gather a stack of emeralds," The Creeper King instructed. "I will return to this despicable household then, and if no emeraldsssss are in your possession..."
The Creeper King walked over to a golden apple sitting on a table within the wooden house and bashed it with his head.
"You get the idea," He smiled devilishly. "God that hurt! Sometimessss I dread the fact that I lack armsss." He walked out of the household, but his Zombie Villager companion stayed. He looked at the couple and tossed them two emeralds.
"...Just to get you started." He grunted.
Kaline smiled. "Hey Zane."
The Zombie Villager sniffed and walked out the iron door.
"Haven't seen him around these parts in a while." Crystal spoke.
"Yeah, it's nice to see that he's not completely infected...at least not yet..." Kaline replied.
Crystal returned to the previous topic. "What are we going to do Kaline? How are we going to get a stack of emeralds in a week?!?!"
"Forget about it." Kaline responded. "Once this book reveals to us the secrets that it wields, we'll be able to take down the Creeper King and his empire."
"Kaline, he could have us killed!" Crystal yelled. "What could this book possibly do? Barely anything is written in it!"
"It's not the words that matter." Kaline noted. "It's what the book can unlock. It's the key to Coroq Gates!"
"You mean the rusty gates in the center of Witherox?" Crystal asked, "Nobody dares set foot in there! Heck, nobody even knows what lies behind those gates."
"Well it's time we found out." Kaline said with a sense of adventure in his eyes. "We need to find Archie the Iron Golem."
Chapter 3: Archie the Iron Golem
"Hi boss!" One of them said happily.
Kaline smiled. "Blake, Nick, and Orio, I need you to do me a huge favor."
"Sure boss!" Orio replied. "What do you need?"
"Me and Crystal are on to something big and the Creeper King demands we give him a stack of emeralds by next week," Kaline explained. "I need you three to mine at least a fraction of that amount, can you do that?"
"We'll get right on it, boss!" Nick spoke.
"Yeah, we won't let that nasty Creeper King harm you." Blake added.
The three miners took out their shovels and dug down through the dirt, closing it up soon after they were out of plain sight. Afterwards, the sound of a clicking button silenced the village. A large door opened, and a colossal figure stepped out into the open. It was an iron golem, two times as big as a natural one. He had a beard and a mustache to go along with it, and his eyes were blue rather than red. He caught glimpse of Kaline and walked towards him, taking large steps that shook the entire ground. Once he was a few inches away from Kaline, he held out...a rose. The golem's name was Archie.
"Thanks Archie," Kaline said, "Vick would really appreciate this."
Archie smiled. It was clear that he was upset over the death of Kaline's brother, Vick.
"What brings you here?" Archie asked in a deep, yet overall quiet voice.
"I recieved a book from Vick at his funeral," Kaline responded. "I believe it's the same book that was created to lead us to The Climax."
The Climax is a dimension that has only been concieved in fiction. It is believed to lead to a mob that every being in the Minecraft Universe fears. He is described as being twenty blocks high, having four legs, and having a body completely made out of fluid that changes color periodically. He has claws and long arms, and a gigantic mouth with jagged teeth, as well as glaring red eyes. The story goes that he was a mob that thrived in the "beta" times, but was only viewed by few people and eventually claimed to be a hoax, much similiar to Herobrine. Truth is, "developers" felt no need for his presence and sealed him away in The Climax, a shadow-like dimension that serves as the home for abandoned mobs.
"In the beginning..." Archie read from the enchanted book. "You have done a great job, Kaline, this is the book. Tomorrow morning we shall journey to Witherox."
Archie handed the enchanted book back to Kaline, nodded, and went back inside his home. Crystal came running to the NPC Village and met up with Kaline.
"So...Why did you need to talk to Archie?" She asked.
"Because long ago, The Wither and the Iron Golem race were allies. Iron Golems helped construct their monuments and The Wither rewarded them with daily needs," Kaline answered. "Archie is the only person who can unlock Coroq Gates with the book."
"Incredible!" Crytal said in amazement. "I always wonder how you get him to talk to you, he doesn't talk to anyone, now that his creator is gone."
Kaline watched Archie getting prepared for the Witherox trip within his house. He frowned. "The Creeper King is a monster."
Zane Helmframe was Archie's creator. He constructed him using four iron blocks and a pumpkin, and trained him to be a master in weaponary and a dedicated adventurer. The Creeper King feared Archie's power and wanted to destroy him. To do this, he tampered with his enchantment table and made a horrid enchantment called "Zombie." Archie was the one who commonly enchanted the village's weapons and armor, at the time however, he was away and Zane was left to do the job. Because of this, he was transformed into a zombie villager, and only has faint memories of his friends and family. Zane Helmframe was corrupted with evil, and the Creeper King took advantage of it greatly. Although it wasn't the result he expected, the Creeper King killed Archie the Iron Golem, but on the inside, for he dreads the fact that his master will never be with him again.
Chapter 4: Kaline Vs. The Nether
Kaline looked behind him and found a Creeper sneaking up to him, about to explode. He was terrified and slashed it away with a sword. It exploded, but at a distance where he was not harmed. Kaline was relieved, and brought out a crafting table.
"Alright Crystal, how much iron ore did we collect?" Kaline asked.
"Here." Crystal said, throwing the pieces of iron ore to Kaline.
"About two stacks. Perfect!" Kaline replied. "Put it in the furnace while I make some more diamond pickaxes and swords. We need to be prepared if we're heading into a dangerous place like Witherox."
After minutes of smelting, Crystal used the resulted iron ingots to make two sets of iron armor on the crafting table.
"Seven...eight...nine..." Kaline counted. "Ten diamonds. That's enough to make each of us a diamond sword and pickaxe."
Crystal and Kaline equipped the armor and stored the pickaxes and swords in a "on the go" chest.
"Let's go rendezvous with Archie." Kaline insisted.
Kaline and Crystal left the mine that they had been exploring and made their way back to Rush. When they came back, they were surprised to see Archie with blocks of obsidian in his hand.
"What is all this?" Kaline questioned.
Archie looked towards Kaline. "If we're going to Witherox, we're going to have to make a portal. The portal to Witherox requires fourteen blocks of soul sand, which can only be found in The Nether."
Archie began constructing a Nether portal out of the fourteen blocks of obsidian he had in his hand.
"I don't know Archie, The Nether is well...hell nowadays," Kaline complained.
"Yeah," Crystal agreed. "The Creeper King has alliances with Ghasts, Blazes, and even Zombie Pigmen. They will destroy us!"
"I know it's a dangerous idea, but we can't just get soul sand out of thin air," Archie stated. "Rush has a bedrock outpost nearby, if we can get there as quick as possible, we won't be harmed."
Kaline and Crystal thought for a few minutes and realized there was no other choice. They agreed to enter The Nether. Archie made a quick grin, and lit the structure with flint n' steel, creating the portal. All three held hands, and jumped through, and with a quick purple flash, they were in the hellish dimension. Oceans of lava lied benath them, and flames roared on the tops of Netherrack as the red sky failed to indicate day or night.
"Over there!" Archie cried, pointing to a small bedrock structure across a bridge. It was only thirty blocks away. "Run!"
All three of them sprinted across the netherrack, when they reached the bridge in a matter of seconds, they felt confident they would make it...they were wrong. A loud screech was followed by a huge fireball that blew up part of the bridge, cutting them off from the outpost. Kaline, Crytal, and Archie stopped in their tracks. A Ghast came up from under the bridge. It wore a cape with the Creeper King's symbol painted on the back.
"Going somewhere?" The Ghast grunted.
Several blazes circled around Kaline, Crystal and Archie as a zombie pigman came and put dispensers on their hands.
"It was the only thing we had," The Zombie Pigman groaned. "After all we have no handcuffs."
The ghast made an angry look at him, and shot a fireball, quickly annihilating him.
"Take all of them to the Nether Fortress," The Ghast ordered. "I'll report them to the Creeper King and see what torture he has in store for them."
Chapter 5: Creeper King Perspective #1: The Creeper King's Fate
An Enderman shined the emeralds on the Creeper King's crown and placed it on his head. Afterwards, the Creeper King took a deep breath and walked through two wooden doors leading to a large room. A table stretched across the room, filled with multiple types of mobs. He sat down in the largest of the chairs. Each mob at the table then stared at him with a puzzled look.
Minutes passed, and the Creeper King finally became enraged. "What isssss it?!?!" He yelled.
"This is unlike you, Baxtroff," A skeleton with a gold tooth admitted. "Letting a mortal off the hook, especially one who has been ordered to present emeralds each day. You know we need them for the project!""
"I'm aware of the project!" The Creeper King scolded. "After all, I created it!"
"We know," An Enderman suited in gold armor assured. "But we're afraid you've been getting side-tracked and not focusing on it more."
"This project is the whole reason we have given you all our armies, mining crews, and superior materials!" A gigantic spider snapped.
All of the mobs began to yell at the Creeper King and pound on the table.
"Shut up..." The Creeper King begged, but the mobs would not listen. "I said shut up!"
Everyone became silent.
"I jusssst...couldn't kill Kaline Woolcraft," The Creeper King admitted. "Don't think i'm giving up on the project, i'm not. That'ssss why I sent him to collect a stack by thisssss week."
The mobs were delighted and clapped.
"A stack, why that almost completes the amount we need!" A Zombie in a robe said. "Good show, Baxtroff. Forcing this subject to collect emeralds was a brilliant idea, we just thought you let him off the hook for no reason whatsoever."
"It'sss not right though!" The Creeper King snapped. "I've never felt so weak in my entire life. I can't explain to you how much I wanted him dead, I just made the emerald deal as an excuse for my failure!"
A creeper in a vest came into the room. "I think you're all stupid, if this guy collects emeralds, why would you want him dead?"
The Creeper King looked back with a furious look and signaled the Skeleton King, who quickly shot him...head first.
"Kaline gives the people of Rush hope," The Creeper King explained. "Besides, he never collects the emeralds, his mining crew does. I promise, if he doesn't have a stack of emeralds by the end of the week, I will end his life."
The mobs listened carefully.
"Honestly he's a good slave to me, but he's a brother to Vick." The Creeper King continued.
"The one who knew the secret of The Climax?" The Skeleton King questioned.
"Correct. I assume that Vick found a way to tell him about the subject, but if I kill Kaline for that reason, and he didn't know anything about The Climax, neighboring empires not in alliance with us may rebel."
"So let me summarize this..." The Blaze King began. "You want Kaline dead because he gives the people of Rush hope and he may know the secret of the Climax?"
"Correct."
"But...you couldn't kill him for some reason? And the entire emerald thing was just an excuse?"
"Correct."
"I just figured out something! If Kaline doesn't give you a stack of emeralds by this week, you have an excuse to have him dead!"
"Brilliant! That makes everything work out!"
Multiple creepers brought in glasses full of lava for the mobs.
"Don't worry, it's just punch." One of them said.
"Cheers, to the potential death of Kaline Woolcraft." The Creeper King grinned.
"Cheers!" Every mob in the room said.
That night, the Creeper King put on a night cap and entered his bedroom, exhausted from the gathering of the empires. He was about to get into his bed when...
"Something's not right..." Zane Helmframe said.
"Ahhhhh!" The Creeper King screamed. "Don't...do...that..."
"I can see how your little emerald deal is working out, but you know you wanted to kill Kaline. You weren't thinking about the project at all." Zane predicted.
"I wasn't," The Creeper King admitted. "If I killed Kaline, it would probably be harder to collect emeraldssss, after all, he'sss found the mossst. But if I told the other leaderssss that, they would be furious."
"So why didn't you?" Zane asked with a devilish grin.
"I don't know, okay!" The Creeper King yelled. "I would any other day!"
"Well here's your chance, the Ghast King is sending a transmission." Zane said.
The Creeper King gasped as the Ghast King's face came up on a large screen within his bedroom.
"Ah Baxtroff, glad to see you're awake." The Ghast King smiled.
"What do you want?" The Creeper King asked.
"I have three prisoners, are they familiar to you at all?" The Ghast King replied. He showed a snapshot of Kaline, Crystal, and Archie.
The Creeper King was shocked. "Yes, what of it?"
"Well, one of them was holding the enchanted book. You know, the one we sealed away in the Void Fortress." The Ghast explained.
"WHAT?!" The Creeper King screamed. "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"
"I don't know, but i'm awaiting your approval to dispose of them." The Ghast King said.
Zane looked at the Creeper King, who began to sweat. He began shaking rapidly after this question was concieved to him.
"N-N-No...Ju-Jusssst keep them hostage..." He managed to say.
"Roger that." The Ghast King approved. The transmission then ended.
"You failed to kill Kaline again." Zane said, shaking his head in disgrace.
The Creeper King stomped on the ground. "I now know what became of the Coroq Gatessss book....That idiot Vick transported it to Kaline...He knew he would carry out hissss mission!"
Zane observed the Creeper King as his anger began to build up. "I wouldn't talk trash about Vick like that Baxtroff."
"Why?! Don't you see!? Our entire ultimatum is in jeopardy! I must inform the other empiressss immediatly! While i'm at it, i'll snatch Kaline's mining crew and make sure he doesn't collect the emeraldsssss by the end of the week! Yes...I'll make them his replacement, make sure they collect as many emeraldssss as I want them to collect." The Creeper King laughed.
"Because Baxtroff...Vick Woolcraft is still among us. Part of him is inside you. Part of him is preventing you from destroying Kaline once and for all." Zane explained.
"V-Vick...I-inssside me?" The Creeper King stuttered.
"Yes. Before you killed him, his wooden sword must've had the enchantment, "Final Request." Which provides any being with a power to carry out a final desire. Vick's final desire was to make sure you stay out of Kaline's way so he can reach The Climax, mine the Wither Colossus, and make sure the Creeper Empire doesn't activate it with its soul power source, emeralds."
"And I was the last one to be hit with it..." The Creeper King finally realized. "What do I do Zane? He can't win! He can't defeat me...I need to form an alliance with the Witch Empire...Only they have the power to relieve me from this hellish fate."
The Creeper King removed his night cap and once again put on his emerald crown and robe.
"Inform the empires on what has happened!" The Creeper King ordered. "And ask the Skeleton King if I can borrow Dav."
"The assassin?" Zane questioned.
"Yes, if I can't kill Kaline, somebody else is going to have to. And make sure he retrieves that book!"
Chapter 6: Vick's Transmission / A Silverfish Rescuer!
"This is unfortunate." Archie muttered.
Kaline acknowledged Archie's remark with an upset nod. "It's hopeless, we can't escape bedrock. Even if we could, we would easily be captured or burned in the lava ocean outside if we tried to escape."
Suddenly, a booming voice was heard, presumeably from an intercom somewhere in the castle.
"Ghast King speaking," The voice indicated. "You three are lucky, the Creeper King has refused to issue a punishment. Nevertheless, I will make sure you are secured within this cell 24/7 and let nature do it's thing."
The intercom stopped after that announcement, but came on minutes later.
"Uh...yeah, by that I meant you're going to rot in this cell..." The Ghast King explained. "Just wanted to make sure you're fate was clear and...uh...bye."
The intercom finally ended.
Kaline slammed his fist on the bedrock wall. "I'm so sorry I brought you guys into this."
"Kaline...It's not your fault!" Crystal objected. "You risked your life to do what your brother Vick requested, you're a hero!"
"But you...my loving wife, and Archie, my best friend..." Kaline weeped. "I never wanted you two to risk your lives, it's clear to me now that I failed in keeping you safe."
Silence was present in the room for the remaining hours of containment, up to the point when an explosion was heard outside the castle walls.
Kaline, Crystal, and Archie were all spooked by the sudden uproar. The slashes of bows and shooting of arrows could be heard outside, as well as the cries of Blazes, Ghasts, and Zombie pigmen that were protecting the castle.
The intercom went on again. "Intruder alert! Intruder...! O-Oh no! Ahhhhhh!"
The speaker on the intercom had been knocked out by someone, and the announcement was halted.
"What is it?!" Archie questioned with an alarmed expression.
Soon, the mysterious presence was in the bedrock prison...approaching the cell that Kaline, Crystal, and Archie were in! They were filled with fear, assuming that it had been a mob out to destroy them. Luckily, that was not the case. A silverfish squeezed through the bedrock walls, making a tiny noise as he did. He was equipped in miniature diamond armor and had a purple bandana around his head. He layed silently on the ground for a while, and Kaline, Crystal, and Archie just stared at him. No movement was detected whatsoever.The silverfish observed the three heroes, and finally noticed the enchanted book within a pocket of Kaline's pants.
"Ha!Ha! I've finally found you!" The silverfish cried with a childish, squeeky voice. "Kaline! Your name is Kaline, yes?"
"Yeah," Kaline answered. "Who might you be?"
"My name is Zerrel," The silverfish replied. "I've been ordered by your brother, Vick, to come and rescue you!"
"You know Vick?! Is he still alive?!" Kaline asked with hope.
"Sadly, no." Zerrel admitted. "It was a transmission from him minutes before his death."
Zerel brought out a small device and placed it on the ground. With the push of a button, Vick's image appeared and began to speak. He was wearing severely damaged armor and was beginning to grow a beard. His hair was messed up and greasy, and he had bruises across his face.
"Hello fellow comrads," Vick greeted with a small grin. "I have recently gotten into trouble. I have entered the Creeper Empire's Void Fortress and have stolen the sacred enchanted book, or as I would like to call it, The Book of the Wither."
Kaline watched the transmission with excitement, he had finally been able to catch one final glimpse of his brother.
"Within a matter of seconds, the Creeper King's goons will find me and most likely end my life," Vick continued. "I plan to send the book to my loving brother, Kaline, and hope that he succeeds in interpreting the book's secrets and ending the Creeper Empire once and for all!"
"Vick would appreciate what you're doing," Zerrel smiled. "What you're doing is all he ever wanted after he died, nothing else. He wanted safety for everyone, and you're close to achieving it. He really loves you Kaline."
Kaline nodded happily.
"Oh!Oh! This is the part of the transmission that I was given my mission!" Zerel yelled out.
"Zerrel and the rest of my alliance, please ensure that Kaline and his friends are safe on the journey to The Climax," Vick requested. "And Kaline..."
Kaline was alarmed by the mention of his name and listened carefully.
"If I die, I just wanted you to know that my life would never have been joyful if you weren't in it," Vick said. "I miss you, brother."
He made a small grin and the transmission ended.
Kaline was completely still and silent. Archie, Crystal, and Zerrel looked at him. Finally, he stood up and clenched his fists.
"Come on," Kaline spoke. "Let's get out of this hellish dimension, collect some soul sand, and enter Witherox."
They all cheered.
"That's what I like to hear!" Zerrel laughed. He then brought out a mystical block with a blueish glow.
"What is that?" Archie asked.
"May I present to you Zerrel's Overpowered Optimum Machine! Or as i'd like to call it, ZOOM." Zerrel responded. "This hunk of metal will take us anywhere, so long as we provide it with specified coordinates or details. Let's get out of here and back to the Overworld!"
"Hold up silverfish, we can't leave The Nether unless we collect fourteen blocks of soul sand." Crystal complained.
"Not a problem, in fact, it's a perfect time to demonstrate old ZOOM here." Zerrel decided. He knocked on the block and a screen popped up on the top of it.
Archie reacted quickly and looked towards the door. Faint voices could be heard, and as they grew louder, he knew that whoever was making them was coming towards the cell.
"You may want to hurry up!" Archie yelled, beginning to rush Zerrel.
Zerrel began to hear the voices too and listened.
"He went into there!" One voice shouted.
Zerrel panicked and typed in the coordinates faster. As the cell door busted open, he activated the block out of fear, and all four of the heroes were teleported out of the bedrock cell. They were free!
...That is, until they were teleported right above an ocean of lava.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" All of them screamed.
"Oh my Notch! Oh my Notch!" Zerrel yelled. He punched in details rather than coordiantes this time, and as fast as he could. The block read:
TO THE NEAREST SOUL SAND PATCH
Instantly, the four heroes were teleported once more, this time onto land rather than an ocean of boiling lava. They reached a patch of soul sand with enough blocks to achieve the goal of fourteen, and began to mine them.
"Witherox here we come," Kaline said with determination.
"I hate ZOOM." Archie shared, clenching his chest as though he had gotten a heart attack from the recent experience.
Chapter 7: Witherox Portal
"No, no! What are you doing?!" Zerrel barked at Kaline.
"Uhhh...constructing the portal," Kaline answered, "We need to get into Witherox as fast as we can! We're already behind schedule."
"Look, this may sound stupid, but Witherox is a bigger hell hole than the Nether," Zerrel explained. "A ghast could easily blow up this portal and BAM! Trapped."
Kaline finally realized that Zerrel was correct, and was thankful that he didn't make one beforehand. Maybe it was a good thing that him and his friends were held captive in the bedrock cell. If they weren't, they wouldn't have met Zerrel.
"Let me take you to Vick's Mining Headquarters," Zerrel suggested, "I'm sure the other members of the alliance would love to meet you, seeing as though you're technically co-owner. Let's go!"
Zerrel punched in coordinates for the headquarters into ZOOM.
"Don't worry guys," Zerrel assured, "Old ZOOM here won't put our lives in danger again."
Archie pulled out a fire resistance potion and drank every last drop of it.
"Here we go!" Zerrel shouted. He then knocked on the block and a blinding flash teleported them out of the Nether. In that split second, a flaming arrow pierced into the netherrack block that Kaline was standing on before he was teleported. On a cliff, a skeleton equipped with a torn cape and iron chestplate, wielding an enchanted bow pounded his fist on the wall. In one of his empty holes where an eye once was, a glowing ord was present. He also had small, pointy teeth completely made out of diamond. Dissapointed about his recent failure in trying to shoot Kaline, he pressed a small button hidden on the top of his bow, and dissapeared in an eerie, black mist.
A few minutes later, Kaline, Archie, Crystal, and Zerrel successfully reached Vick's Mining Headqurters. They were standing in a lobby of some sort made out of iron blocks. Redstone Lamps saturated the place, and were basically a main source of light. Along with that, a fountain spewed glistening water that a pack of wolves began drinking out of. In tribute to Vick, paintings that portrayed him hung on the wall.
"I haven't seen this place in so long," Kaline smiled, "it's glad to see how nice it's coming along."
"Zerrel!" An unfamiliar voice said. Kaline looked around to identify who might have said it, but it was not clear.
Suddenly a bat flew from the cieling and landed on Zerrel's head.
"Hey! What's up man?" Zerrel questioned with glee, "It's nice to see you Lars, where are the others?"
Lars burst out laughing. "They're right behind you, they're invisible!"
Suddenly, three different mobs tackled Zerrel. After the small encounter, Zerrel finally introduced them to Kaline.
The first introduced mob, which was a bat, was named Lars. Although very small, Lars is actually a master at redstone and is responsible for making all the machinery that Vick's mining team uses. He also produces minecart systems that go on for thousands of blocks.
Second, a witch named Rodona. Although the Witch Empire never liked the Creeper King, she became an outcast and retreated from her comfortable hut in the swamp when she heard that they were planning to team up. Rodona is a master brewer and can make potions that no one has ever seen before.
Third, an ocelot named Forrest. Forrest is notable for being the only ocelot in the Minecraft world at this time. The Creeper King captured his entire empire and he was the only one that escaped. Forrest can run really fast and he's a master at crafting. He knows recipes by heart and even has some that have never met minecraftian eyes.
"Lars, Rodona, Forrest, this is Kaline," Zerrel introduced, "He's Vick's brother."
They all gasped.
"Wow! I've been waiting to meet you!" Forrest cheered.
"Yeah," Rodona replied, "We're really honored to have you here, and glad that you're participating in the alliance against the Creeper Empire."
"It's nice to meet you all too!" Crystal replied.
"What about me?" A near voice asked.
Suddenly, out of the shadows came a typical minecraftian. He had green eyes and black hair. He wore a red jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, and held a cane with a golden creeper head on both ends. His shoes were emerald encrusted, and he wore jeans. Along with that, he also wore headphones.
"Oh, hey Pierce," Zerrel greeted with an annoyed sigh.
"Who?" Kaline questioned.
"I'm Pierce," Pierce snapped. "I am the powerhouse of this mining team and overall leader of the alliance."
Kaline frowned, "Vick put you in charge?"
"Let's just say I worked my way to the top," Pierce grinned. "Alright, i'm done here. Get back to work."
Pierce walked into a small piston elevator and was gone.
"What a creep, how did he get put in charge?" Kaline questioned.
"It's not important, Kaline," Lars said, "What is important is that we get you to Witherox!"
"He's right Kaline," Archie agreed, "It's time we finally construct the portal.
Kaline nodded. And with help from Archie, Crystal, and the entire alliance, the fourteen soul sand blocks were constructed into a portal shape.
Forrest walked over to Archie and offered him a full set of iron armor. He was the only one who wasn't equipped with any.
"Do you need it, Archie?" Forrest asked.
Archie shook his head, "I'll be fine out there."
Kaline took out the "on-the-go" chest full of the supplies that he had packed before entering the Nether and pulled out a flint and steel. He nodded at his wife, Crystal, and then at his friend, Archie. He lit the portal, jumped inside the black wisp, and within a few seconds the heroes were in Witherox. The sky was pitch black, and the entire ground was made out of a grayish stone. It was a very mountainous world, and a harsh snowstorm reaked havoc on it.
"I can't see anything!" Kaline cried, using his sword to block his eyes from the snow. "Archie?!Crystal?!"
"Kaline!" Crystal yelled from a couple blocks away, "Look out!"
A loud screech was followed by a soaring wither head that hit Kaline directly in the head with an explosion.
"No! Kaline!" Archie yelled, running towards the explosion.
The source of the attack lead to the monster known as The Wither. His three heads laughed with joy as Kaline fell to the ground in pain.
"And thus the hero fell...ending all the hope for his allies...his friends...and the entire Minecraft universe," The Wither spoke. "Oh what a pity that an experienced soldier such as this...must fall. Ha! Kaline Woolcraft...Crystal Woolcraft...Archie the Iron Golem...What a joke. We die of laughter. No matter, we will soon be treated with a feast in three.....two.....one....."
Kaline Woolcraft withered away.
"Destiny has spoken," The Wither laughed. "We win."
Chapter 8: The Blank Reality
"I'll be fine, brother," Vick assured, raising his diamond pickaxe into the air. "When I return, the Creeper Empire will leave the village of Rush in peace, just like you always wanted!"
"But Vick..." Kaline wined. "It's too dangerous, you might die..."
"Have I ever let down on a promise, Kaline?" Vick asked.
"No, never." Kaline answered.
"I promise I will be back," Vick smiled. After a quick goodbye, Vick and his wife Katherine went down the mountain and into the NPC village known as Rush. Suddenly, there was a quick flash, and Vick was in the presence of the Creeper King.
"Goodbye Vick, sssee you in hell, or in this case, The Nether," The Creeper King grinned. Immediately after speaking, he left the room and two endermen piled TNT around Vick and lit it with flint and steel. A giant explosion resulted, and with that, Kaline woke up.
"Vick, no!" He yelled in despair. After he realized it was nothing but a dream, he rubbed his eyes and was curious as to where he was. Everything was completely white. The sky, the ground, everything.
"W-What is...?" He managed to ask himself. He barely moved, horrified as to what would happen if he did.
After a while, he put his foot on a block. Nothing happened. Afterwards, he began to walk around the strange world that he was brought into. Suddenly, he saw the silhouettes of a familiar iron golem and young woman.
"Crystal! Archie!" He said with hope. But his hope quickly faded away. They were indeed Crystal and Archie, but their entire bodies were completely white just like the world, and they were frozen in place. Kaline also saw the Wither hovering in the sky, but he was exactly the same as the others.
"This can't be real...It isn't real!" Kaline said to himself. He began to walk some more across the world, and finally realized something that stood out. It was the Witherox portal! He could see the soul sand clearly, color and all, and the portal was active! Seeing as though there was nothing else to do, he jumped inside the black wisp. Once Kaline was back in the Overworld, he was introduced to the exact same world. It was indeed Vick's Mining Headquarters, but completely white...
"What is going on!?!" Kaline yelled out. He fell to the ground, it was hopeless... no one could hear him.
Kaline walked helplessly around the world for days... of course, he couldn't tell. Nothing existed in the unknown world that Kaline had been plunged into. No moon, no sun, no mobs, no tools, and no blocks. No anything. Kaline then walked into an NPC village which he assumed was Rush and climbed up the tall mountains that lead to his wooden house on the peak. He explored the household and approached the room where Vick once slept before he died. When he did, he saw a man sitting on the bed. He was alive and not frozen, and he had color! He was wearing a straw hat and had stubs of hair that were beginning to form a mustache. He was wearing a jacket and jeans and was fiddling around with a diamond pickaxe.
"This is a nice little tool," He said as Kaline simply gawked at him. "I bet you do some fine mining with this!"
"Who are you?! How did you get in here?!" Kaline asked with confusion.
"....I....I don't know..." The man answered unknowingly.
"You can't remember your name?" Kaline questioned in shock.
"Nope. But some people like to call me Moral," Moral replied.
"Who? There's nobody around here except for us," Kaline noted.
"Well... you can," Moral smiled.
"Alright Moral, tell me..." Kaline began. "What is this place and why are me and you the only ones who are alive?"
"Alive?!" Moral laughed, "We're dead!"
"D-D-Dead...?!" Kaline stuttered.
"Welcome to the end of Minecraft my friend!" Moral explained, "You're currently in an opposite reality of what was Minecraftia. This is where you're judged based on your actions as to whether you spend eternity in The Nether, The Aether or a return to the Overworld in a process Notch calls Respawning."
"Then... was Vick here?" Kaline asked.
Moral made a puzzled look. "I've never seen or heard of a fellow named Vick walking around these parts."
"Oh..." Kaline said with dissapointment.
"But anyway, what you're standing in now is simply a waiting room." Moral spoke.
"A waiting room?" Kaline repeated.
"Yep," Moral replied, "Once you hear a loud beeping noise, a person will be sent to the Greyscale Judge to determine your fate."
"Greyscale Judge who-" Kaline tried to say, but was then interrupted by a loud beeping noise that Moral had just described.
"That's you! No time to lose, good luck!" Moral exclaimed. Kaline suddenly began to glow and went up at an incredible speed into the sky. Within seconds, he landed on a platform in what seemed to be space. The Greyscale Judge sat in front of him, which was a giant, bird-like mob with a cloak and a large staff. Kaline looked around in astonishment at the glistening stars. The Greyscale Judge waved it's staff at Kaline and a small screen appeared over him, measuring whether or not he was worthy enough to be respawned. He looked at it with fear, and crossed his fingers. Luckily, it indicated that he was fit to be brought back into the overworld!
"Well," The Greyscale Judge spoke, "Looks like it's your lucky day. Try not to get killed this time!"
"I won't," Kaline smiled with relief. "By the way, who was that man in the... um... waiting room? He told me his name was Moral and he was really a big help. I do hope that he will get to be respawned just like me."
"What man?" The Greyscare Judge asked. "You're the only one who was down there, no one has been here in quite a while now."
Kaline's eyes widened. He looked down at the opposite reality known as the Waiting Room and debated whether or not his conversation with Moral was even real. Nevertheless, he had been granted with a superior gift, and was ready to be respawned and join his friends back in Witherox.
Chapter 9: Creeper King Perspective #2: Seven Days Have Passed...
"The other empires are furious Baxtroff!" The Skeleton King argued, "If the book isn't returned to the Void Fortress soon, there's a possibility of war!"
The Skeleton King paced in his throne room furiously as the Creeper King sat on a large couch, sipping on a glass of milk and constantly looking at a clock that hung on the cieling.
"Oh come off it," The Creeper King rolled his eyes, "Why would they ever attempt to face me?"
"Don't you see Baxtroff?" The Skeleton King asked, "They've given you everything they have in order to ensure the protection of this project and make sure it goes through successfully. To be honest, some of them dislike you, but you've given them a chance to reach a glimpse of power and succeed in these tough times."
The Creeper King hissed, "I'm sssick of all of you losssing trussst in me! It's not my fault Vick was one step ahead of me."
Suddenly, an eerie noise ran throughout the corridors of the castle where the two monarchs were in. The Creeper King smiled and looked at the clock. Kaline was out of time to collect a stack of emeralds, a week was up.
"Besides..." The Creeper King laughed, "His time is up. He'll have to return to his disgusting household if he wants to return the emeralds, whether he has them or not. And when he does, i'll make sure he'll never see the book again!"
After speaking, a black mist appeared behind the Creeper King, and the same skeleton that attempted to kill Kaline in The Nether appeared. His glowing orb for an eye glistened as he reached out his bony arm towards the Creeper King.
"What's thissss?" The Creeper King asked furiously.
"Impossible," The Skeleton King spoke with shock.
"What? What's going on?!" The Creeper king demanded.
"Dav didn't kill Kaline," The Skeleton King revealed, "He never fails to assassinate a target."
"Pay. Now," Dav commanded.
"I gave you two stacks of diamonds you cheap piece of-"
Dav then pointed an arrow directly at the Creeper King's forehead.
"If I were you I would pay up. I'll make it easier for you this time, I want four stacks of diamonds and i'll decide not to end your life. Deal?"
The Skeleton King was suprised, The Creeper King had never been scared of anything in his entire life. It seems Dav fit the bill for that category, he was his first biggest fear."
The Creeper King walked towards an ender chest and pulled out four stacks of diamonds. He then handed it to Dav, who quickly threw them into a small lava source.
"I don't take diamonds," Dav grinned, "This time I want some of this armor enchanted. Get to it."
He took a full set of diamond armor and piled it on top of the Creeper King, who quickly fell to the ground.
"Y-y-yes...I'll get to it..." The Creeper King stuttered, "Subjects!"
Suddenly, two creepers entered the throne room and replied, "Yes, sir?"
"Take this set of armor and enchant it to the highest level we currently have," The Creeper King said, handing them the armor.
Dav brought out a chest and placed it on a block.
"And when it's enchanted, put it in here and i'll pick it up later."
The two creepers nodded and walked off with the armor. Dav bowed to the Skeleton King, pressed a button on the top of his bow, and dissapeared in the black mist once more.
"I've known you since I was a child, Kullij," The Creeper King said, "How could a nice guy like you have a serveant as dispicable as him? Dav is truly a horrifying mob."
"Lots of fighting experience and training turned him into the ultimate assassin," The Skeleton King replied, "He's simply loyal to all skeletons, let's leave it at that."
"Well, I need to head to Rush and hopefully meet up with Kaline at his wooden home. If not, Dav would've killed him and retrieved the book." The Creeper King said.
That Night...
The ground trembled violently.
"Where's Archie?! Where's Archie?!" A villager cried.
"Look out!" Another yelled.
Thousands of Creepers entered the village of Rush. They made a small path for the Creeper King, who walked up to the front of them.
"Lisssten up!" The Creeper King announced, "I don't know if any of you are aware, but Kaline has reached the end of his time limit. I demand to see him this instant. And if he's still in Witherox, go fetch him!"
"Wait!" Orio, one of Kaline's miners, cried. "We have collected a stack of emeralds! Here they are!"
Blake and Nick brought out a minecart full of emeralds. Sixty-four of them were present, an entire stack.
The Creeper King smiled, "How promising, but he mussst be here to present them to me."
Every villager in Rush was terrified and remained quiet, fearful of what may happen if they weren't. The Creeper King lost patience within a simple matter of minutes, and directed a soldier in his army towards a small house in the village. The Creeper army nodded as a substitute for a salut towards the soldier, and he exploded, taking the house with him.
The villagers gasped.
"Every hour Kaline is not in this village, I will explode one of your precious homes." The Creeper King dictated. "Subjects, build me a temporary base that I may stay in for the night. That is all."
As multiple Creepers of the army began to construct a large structure to serve as the Creeper King's base, a familiar being heard the entire announcement from the top of a hill. It was Pierce. He shook his head in disgust and stomped on the ground. Afterwards, he took out a device that resembled ZOOM, and entered the coordinates of Vick's Mining Headquarters.
"This can't go on," Pierce said, "Kaline needs to return to Rush as soon as possible, even if his life may be at risk."
He pounded on the block and teleported away from Rush. Smoke began to rise into the sky, and flags were put up around the village that had the Creeper Empire's symbol on them.
Chapter 10: The Wither's Boom
"K-K-Kaline?!" Crystal weeped.
Kaline nodded with a smile.
"Oh my Notch! Kaline! You're alive!" Crystal said happily. She began to cry with tears of joy.
Kaline was back at Vick's Mining Headquarters. Apparently, Archie and Crystal quickly retreated from Witherox after the attack, and they brought Kaline with them.
"Glad you're back, Kaline," Zerrel added, "Don't worry, we won't let you go back there again."
Kaline shook his head in disagreement, "If anything, we are going back."
Vick's crew gasped.
"You were only there for three minutes and the Wither destroyed you!" Forrest responded, "Besides, you have a bigger issue to attend to!"
"Huh?" Kaline asked in confusion. The crew remained silent after that, however, Zerrel revealed the truth.
"The Creeper King is in Rush, and he's threatning to destroy the entire village unless he sees to it that you give him a stack of emeralds."
"How dare he go back on our deal!" Kaline yelled furiously, "It's only been four days!"
"Wrong," Archie disagreed, "Wherever you went after you were killed by The Wither, three days passed, making a total of seven days. It's been a week, Kaline."
Kaline began to feel dizzy and he sat down. He could not believe what had happened while he was in "The Waiting Room."
Suddenly, he felt an urge of braveness and proudly spoke, "Well who cares! If I approach him he'll kill me anyway, more importantly, he'll take the enchanted book! I've worked too hard to get this far, you guys should be ashamed, Vick would never want this."
The crew was dissapointed, and they finally realized that Kaline was making his own decision and they had no right to interfere.
"You're right Kaline," Lars agreed, "Come on guys, we'll defend Rush from the Creeper King and hold him off until Kaline unlocks Coroq Gates!"
The rest of the crew cheered, which made Kaline overjoyed.
"Thank you," He said as he entered the Witherox Portal once again.
"Wait Kaline!" Forrest shouted. He handed him an enchanted bow, arrows, a communication device, and ZOOM#2. "You'll need these if you ever stand a chance against the Wither and his minions. His throne room coordinates are 355-2344-23, ZOOM#2 will get you there easily. Good luck!"
Kaline nodded and then looked towards Archie, who was looking at a sword being mantled on the wall.
"Something wrong?"
"I want to help them, Kaline," Archie answered, "Rush is my village, if the citizens are in trouble I must lead them to safety or claim victory."
"I understand," Kaline said. He made sure he had all the required gear and held Crystal's hand. Afterwards, he jumped into the portal, dissapearing in a black wisp.
Inside The Wither's Castle...
"It feels nice to destroy," The Wither lectured, hovering over a wooden table where hundreds of Wither Skeletons sat, "Now that Kaline Woolcraft is gone, The Wither Empire can sleep peacefully knowing that Coroq Gates will be secured."
The Wither Skeletons cheered in the pitch black throne room of the castle. The only light source was dim, redstone torches. The Wither floated over to a wall full of Minecraftian heads on item frames, he then placed a head that resembled Kaline's on an empty one.
"A new addition to collection!" The Wither laughed. Suddenly, two beings were transported into the room, attracting the attention of all the skeletons, including The Wither. It was Kaline and Crystal.
"Impossible!" The Wither screeched, as he did the item frame where Kaline's head was planted melted.
"I-I-I killed you! This can't be!"
Kaline and Crystal brought out their diamond swords. The Wither gave them an angered look, constantly glaring at them with his blank eyes. "Subjects! Leave me!"
All the Wither Skeletons in the room instantly got up and sprinted to trapdoors in each corner of the room. They jumped in and every single one was out of sight and not a threat whatsoever. The Wither made a clicking sound with his bony torso and redstone lamps flashed on, brightening the surroundings. The table flipped over and left a rug made of red wool where it once was. Lastly, the nether brick walls transformed into pure bedrock.
The Wither's three heads laughed cheerfully, "It's time we finish this, one on one, to the death!"
Crystal refused to let Kaline fight the Wither by himself, but Kaline notioned her to stay back and simply spectate. Kaline and The Wither looked at each other carefully, waiting to see who would make the first strike. Kaline then brought out his bow and shot The Wither as quickly as he could, resulting in a direct shot in the ceneter head.
"You little- I'll kill you!" The Wither screeched in pain. He attacked for the first time, and began to shoot heads towards Kaline, who managed to evade them. Kaline sprinted towards the Wither, who hovered away and continued to shoot heads in Kaline's direction. As he ran, Kaline shot flaming arrows at The Wither, which struck him each time.
"STOP IT!" He yelled furiously, suddenly, he changed his motive of attack. His eyes glowed and all the bones that made up his body rattled. Immediatly after, a black beam was shot at Kaline and he was thrown towards the wall with a large force and began to be withered. He was knocked out instantly.
"I must say," The Wither began, "You are nothing like my past meals, you show courage and strength...Hahaha! How sad! Prepare to die, Kaline Woolcraft!"
The Wither prepared to fire another beam at Kaline, which would most likely kill him, but Kaline tried with all his might in order to stand up. Once he did, he threw his diamond sword straight into The Wither's chest.
"Gah!" The Wither cried. Kaline ran circles around The Wither, constantly shooting him with flaming arrows up to the point in which The Wither began to drift slowly towards the ground. Kaline jumped on him, pulled the diamond sword out of his chest, and slashed him in the head. The Wither was still, and fell to the ground. Kaline breathed heavily and felt proud about his victory over the ghastly villain, Crystal cheered with glee.
"H....Ha....Haha....HAHAHA!" The Wither managed to laugh. He couldn't float, but he sat up and balanced himself on his torso, seeing as though he had no legs. "I...I...I guess....This is it....Correct?"
"Explain yourself," Kaline demanded.
"W...We die here," The Wither grinned. He hopped over to a small switch and pulled it. As a result, the cieling slid into the wall and revealed a chandilier completely made out of TNT. "We've known about your trip to Witherox for a while now...A-After you achieved The Book of the Wither, we assumed you would come to unlock the secret that lies beyond Coroq Gates...th-they wouldn't let us....they wouldn't let us allow your entrance into the gates..."
"Who? Start talking!" Kaline asked, hoping for an answer.
Crystal looked towards the TNT chandilier and notcied a small symbol implamented on it. It was the symbol of the Creeper Empire. "Kaline! The Creeper King was here!"
Kaline noticed who The Wither was talking about.
"H-H-He's more powerful t-than you think, Kaline..." The Wither warned, "We tried not to let him know the power that The Book of the Wither could unlock...But we couldn't stop him...He wants to rule the Minecraft Universe...he needs to die...he must die..."
The Wither began to fade away.
"Wither! Don't leave now, where's Coroq Gates? What is the Creeper King planning to do?!" Kaline questioned.
"The book will tell you everything..." The Wither replied, "We grant your permission, Kaline, g-good luck...Wish we could say more...but we will be gone in.....3.......2.....1...."
An arrow pierced the Wither and his body burst into flames.
The Wither was shot by Dav.
"What?!" Kaline said in astonishment. Dav, the skeleton assassin, entered the room and approached Kaline and Crystal.
"Finally..." Dav spoke, "I've found you...Kaline Woolcraft."
Chapter 11: The Golem, The Book, and Coroq
"I must say," Dav spoke, observing the throne room as he drifted ever so closer to Kaline. "The Wither was a loyal slave to the Creeper Empire if he actually constructed a TNT chandilier for my personal use in this fight."
"So," Kaline chuckled, "The Creeper King sent you, I guess he really is out to kill me. And to do so he sent a weak subject like you to do his bidding."
Dav laughed, he was not at all offended by Kaline's comment. "Somewhat, he does want you dead, but his main prize is that there book."
"Well i'm sorry to break it to you, but you're never taking this from me," Kaline snapped. "The Creeper King ended my dear brother's life, he will not get me too. I will fight and make my brother's dream a reality, making sure punks like you taste the ground of The Nether and ending this foresaken empire."
"I see you're determined to do that," Dav replied, "But i'm sorry to break it to YOU, I don't care whether or not I get that book, I just want kill you and make sure nobody in the entire Minecraft Universe knows that Kaline Woolcraft escaped the great skeleton assassin...me!"
Dav quickly took out his bow and pressed the button on the top of it, resulting in his sly dissapearing trick in which a black mist was produced. Kaline and Crystal, both wielding diamond swords, looked closely in each direction to see where Dav had escaped too.
"Kaline look out!" Crystal warned.
Dav came out of the black mist behind Kaline and punched him in the back of the head with a great force. Kaline fell on to the red wool carpeting. He quickly got up and picked up a table constructed of a wooden pressure plate and fence post and smashed it across Dav's face. Kaline was proud that he had got a mighty hit on the vile skeleton, but he was wrong. Dav simply cracked his neck and spit out a diamond tooth, then punched Kaline again, this time in the jaw. Crystal couldn't bear to watch Kaline suffer, in an attempt to save her husband she slashed her diamond sword into Dav's skull. After the impact, he showed no movement whatsoever and was silent, until he pulled it out with his bony arms and threw it at the bedrock wall, where it shattered. The large cut on his skull then began to heal!
Kaline was horrified, not only for his healing technique, but the fact that his power was so incredible that he could shatter a diamond sword just by throwing it at the wall.
"W-W-What are you?!" Kaline questioned.
Dav made an evil laugh, "This is why none of my opponents escape me Kaline, I am invincible."
Kaline, who was unable to get up because he had been severly injured, tried to make one final blow at Dav with his diamond sword, which was still available, but Dav quickly grabbed it from him and tossed it on the ground. Suddenly, he took out his enchanted bow and pointed a flaming arrow directly at Kaline's blocky head.
"Kaline!" Crystal screamed.
With that, the sound of an arrow piercing a target echoed throughout the room. However, it did not belong to Dav, it belonged to Archie the Iron Golem. He had shot a flaming arrow engineered with Power V directly into Dav's chest. He turned around furiously and glared at Archie.
"Who dares interrupt this-" Dav managed to say, until Archie charged at him and tossed him into the bedrock wall.
"Good timing," Kaline smiled. He patted him on the back.
"Well it's a good thing you had Forrest's communication device on that entire time," Archie replied, "I could hear everything that was happening, therefore I left Rush and rushed to Witherox as soon as possible to rescue you. By the way, we were able to hold The Creeper Empire off until your return to Rush, so let's find Coroq Gates!"
"Right," Kaline agreed.
Dav regained consciousness and looked towards the reunited team with disgust. He grabbed his damaged bow and shot a flaming arror at one of the TNT blocks in the chandilier. It went off and it was only seconds before the entire throne room would be destroyed, except for the walls of course, which were bedrock.
"This is not over Kaline Woolcraft, I will defeat you sooner or later," Dav vowed. He pressed the button on top of his bow and vanished once more, this time out of the dimension.
"That fool!" Kaline yelled.
"Come on!" Archie ordered. He grabbed both Kaline and Crystal and sprinted towards one of the trapdoors that the Wither Skeletons jumped into earlier. Without any desire of stopping, Archie immedietly jumped in and met with an enormous fall to assumed death. As explosions rocked the throne room above them, the heroes screamed as they fell to their doom, of course, they only fell in a patch of water and were not harmed.
"That was so close," Crystal said, relieved.
"Archie...What is this place?" Kaline asked as he finally took a look around at the place they had fell in. It was a giant room, about ten times larger than the throne room, and it was pitch black. The floor was mycelium and stone bricks covered the walls and cieling. But in the center was a path made out of gold blocks that lead to a fountain that spewed lava. And behind that, was a gigantic gate made of iron bars, it was Coroq Gates.
"Kaline...This is it..." Archie answered.
Kaline gasped. "Coroq Gates!"
Kaline brought out the enchanted book and he ran towards the entrance of the gates, Archie and Crystal following behind him. He approached a small pedestal that stood out from the rest of the structures in the room, it was eminating a blueish glow.
"This is it, hand me the book Kaline." Archie requested.
Kaline handed Archie the enchanted book. Archie took a deep breathe and set it in the center of the pedestal. In an instant, the entire castle began to shake violently.
"What's going on?!" Crystal asked hanging on to the pedestal with the other heroes for she was unable to keep her balance on the shaking ground.
"I don't know!" Archie answered, "This is kind of a first for me! I may have constructed this place, but i've never had the book to see what the results would be!"
Outside The Wither's castle the blocks of grey stone transformed into glowstone and the winter storm diminished and eventually dissapeared leading to a clear, red sky. Beams of blueish light then shot out of the castle and at that very moment...silence. Everything became calm.
Kaline, Crystal, and Archie looked at the gates with curiosity, waiting to see what would happen. Suddenly there was a loud bang, and the gates creaked open. Once they came to a halt, a portal opened up on the other side of them and out of it came...a minecraftian.
Kaline was angered, "What is this?! He's just a newly spawned weakling!"
Kaline knew this for the minecraftian was clearly dressed as Steve and was only equipped with a stone pickaxe. Archie slammed Kaline across the head.
"Silence!" He yelled, "This is no ordinary minecraftian, this is Coroq!"
"Coroq?" Kaline asked with confusion, "Why does he look like Steve then?"
"In the ancient Iron Golem language, Coroq actually means Steve!" Archie revealed.
"Who has summoned me?" Steve snapped, "I was busy refreshing myself in my luxrious home on the highest cliff of Mushroom Island and now i'm at the gates that were named after me like five versions ago. Speak!"
"Steve, this is a huge honor," Archie spoke, "It's me, Archie, I constructed these gates with The Wither, don't you remember?"
"Oh, right," Steve replied. "Well, good to see you again Larry. Now, who has brought my fabled enchanted book into this chamber?"
"I have sir," Kaline answered. "I have a desire that you will reveal the secrets of this book to me so that I may journey to The Climax, mine the Wither Colossas, and carry out my brother's dream in ending the Creeper Empire."
"Eww, The Creeper Empire? The Wither Colossas? I hate both of them, therefore I like you," Steve smiled. "You've gotten my attention, Kaline Woolcraft."
"How did you-" Kaline tried to ask.
"Yes, yes I know your name," Steve interrupted. "Anyway, this enchanted book means nothing, it was just a failed attempt to make a successful novel back when I had a dream of becoming an author. So to hell with this."
Steve then grabbed the book and crushed it in his hand, where it burst into flames. Kaline, Crystal, and Archie all gawked.
"In exchange for my...er...novel. I hearby give you, Kaline Woolcraft, this second enchanted book. This one will concieive to you everything you will need to do in order to get into The Climax." Steve explained.
"Awesome, thanks so much!" Kaline said, but Steve was no longer in front of him. Kaline shrugged and began reading the second enchanted book.
"What do we do now, Kaline?" Crystal asked.
"In order to construct a Climax Portal we need fourteen Klouncine Blocks," Kaline explained. "As said in here, they are extremely rare and are scattered throughout the Minecraft Universe and its dimensions."
"I bet the Creeper Empire has those gaurded pretty well." Archie sighed. "No bother, this book gives details on where each one is located, plus, it gives us more information that the Creeper King doesn't know..." Kaline continued. "For once, we are a step ahead of him."
Kaline looked up towards the cieling. "Don't you worry Vick, we're almost there..."
Part II: The First Klouncine Block and its continuation
Part III: The Finishing Touch
The Creeper King and his army stood upon the mountain where Kaline's wooden house was, overlooking Rush. They have been waiting to see if Kaline was somehow alive, and when he would enter the village and present the stack of emeralds to The Creeper King. Recently, Kaline had defeated both The Wither and Dav and unlocked the secret of Coroq Gates within the dimension of Witherox. The prize happened to be Steve, the actual one, who gave Kaline yet another book. However, this one possessed actual power and instructed Kaline to gather fourteen Klouncine Blocks so that he could construct a portal leading to The Climax.
"May I suggest the Creeper Empire's finest weapon, The TNT Magnum?" Zane suggested. He turned the Creeper King towards a gigantic machine that resembled a giant shotgun. There was a small piece of string on the top that, once lit, would send a gigantic blast towards any coordinate point, no matter how far. "Engineered by the finest crafters within the Minecraft Universe. She's a beauty, yes?"
"Beautiful, good work Zane, you seise to impress me." The Creeper King replied. "However, no matter what orders I give to you, you must not let your aim down. I want Kaline dead."
"Look!" A Creeper Soldier called.
Suddenly, on the opposite side of the mountain there was a huge flash, and out of it came Kaline, Crystal, Archie, and the rest of Vick's mining crew. Half of Rush was destroyed, and the other half was on fire. Seeing as though most of the architecture was wood it was easy to spread.
"You are a fool!" Pierce insulted. "If you took one second to come to Rush and hand the king those stupid emeralds, none of this would have happened, Kaline!"
"Stop it, Pierce!" Zerrel replied in anger. "Even if Kaline did give the emeralds to The Creeper King earlier, he would still destroy Rush! He's a very vile mob."
Pierce sniffed. "Well, what do you propose we do?"
Kaline turned to Vick's mining crew and his friends. "Stay here, I know what i'm doing."
Crystal tried to run up and stop Kaline, but Archie comforted her and convinced her he would be alright. Kaline walked slowly on the gravel path through the center of Rush, drifting closer to The Creeper King and his army who were now at the bottom of the extreme hills. Blake, Nick, and Orio quickly approached Kaline.
"Here you go, boss." Orio said, handing Kaline the stack of emeralds that he had placed in his minecart.
Kaline smiled and nodded as a sign of thanks, and soon enough he was in the presence of The Creeper King.
"It'sss been a while, Kaline," The Creeper King hissed. "You're quite late, you had better hope you have those emeraldssss with you."
Kaline showed the Creeper King all of the emeralds he had collected, there were exactly sixty-four. "Here, now leave these innocent villagers alone and get far away from Rush."
The Creeper King tossed the stack of emeralds in a small bag and handed it to Zane Helmframe, who was standing right behind him. Zane then gave a thumbs up to a soldier on top of the extreme hills. When he recieved it, the soldier pushed multiple stone buttons and fired up the TNT Magnum. A huge whirring noise filled the entire premises.
"What the...?" Kaline questioned with horror as he looked towards the extreme hills only to see the giant gun ready to fire.
"Goodbye K-K-Kaline...?" The Creeper King stuttered. He then began to shake rapidly. "S-Stop! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
"Don't do it," Zane ordered. "He told us not to go forward with his commands."
"P-Please! Stop it!" The Creeper King yelled. "I'm ordering you! TURN THAT THING OFF NOW!"
The soldier was horrified by the Creeper King's anger and quickly aimed to shut off the gun.
"You idiot!" Zane yelled. He pushed the soldier out of the way and turned towards the TNT Magnum's control panel. He panicked and fired the gun with the power it still contained before shutting off. Sadly, he was too much in a hurry to notice that his coordinates were not pointed at Kaline, but at the village of Rush. The gun shot a small beam and within milliseconds it hit Rush and caused a fiery explosion equivalent to about fifty TNT blocks. Everyone gasped, the village was gone.
"Promising..." The Creeper King admitted, "But wrong target you idiots!"
Kaline was furious. He loomed over The Creeper King and punched him to the ground, knocked out. The Creeper Army was shocked and springed into action. Once Vick's crew noticed this, they attacked as well. As for Kaline, he simply ran towards the spot where he had first entered Rush moments ago. The charging crew of Vick were confused by his action.
"What are you doing?!" Pierce asked.
"Leave them be!" Kaline replied, "I know what i'm doing, trust me!"
The Creeper King woke up, his vision blurred. He got a clear image of Kaline running, and noticed the second enchanted book that he had got from Coroq Gates.
"That's not The Book of The Wither..." The Creeper King managed to say, "He...actually did it...he met Steve...h-he's going to enter The Climax in no time!"
Back with Vick's crew...
"You're just going to abandon Rush like this?!" Pierce questioned furiously.
"Wait," Crystal spoke. "Kaline is not like this, something is obviously going to happen."
Zerrel slithered toward Pierce's boot and looked up at him. "Please Pierce, trust him."
Pierce was not convinced Rush would be saved, but since his crew believed Kaline was doing the right thing, he followed them back to their entrance point. ZOOM was placed on top of a grass block.
"Everyone grab on!" Zerrel ordered. When everyone did so, Zerrel punched a set of coordinates and they teleported to Vick's Headquarters.
Meanwhile...
"I can't believe thisss...' The Creeper King moaned. "All he needs to do is collect those Klouncine Blocks and he'll be able to enter The Climax and foil my plot!"
"Oh come of it." Zane replied, rolling his eyes.
"No, I refusssse!" The Creeper King hissed. "He now has their locations, he can find them Zane! We still have yet to make a portal to The Climax, and we have NO Klouncine blocks collected yet! I've been using all my power to deal with this brat!"
"Sir," A Creeper soldier said. "Something's odd about this village...The villagers are...squishy and made of fire."
The Creeper King and Zane both looked at the soldier with an odd look. "How much milk have you been drinking, soldier?"
"Look i'm not insane," The soldier replied, "See for yourself!"
The Creeper King looked towards the village of Rush. Suddenly, all of the buildings and villagers began transform into...magma cubes!
"WHAT?!" The Creeper King screeched.
"Wow," Zane said, "Magma cubes, they're masters of disguise. Kaline Woolcraft definetly knows what he's doing if he got their assistance to make an exact replica of the village using them. I can see how this situation worked out, the Magma Cube Empire has trained hard enough to become immune to fire and explosions."
"W-What...?" The Creeper King gawked. "How could someone trick me...?"
All of the magma cubes hopped towards the Nether Portal that Kaline had constructed a few days before in order to collect soul sand. A giant magma cube with a golden crown turned towards The Creeper King.
"You smell that?" He sniffed. "That's the smell of revenge, Baxtroff."
As the last of the magma cubes entered the portal, the Creeper King stood perfectly still and became extremely angry. "Kaline Woolcraft...I sware to Notch that I will get you...Zane, rally up the empires for another meeting. The rest of you, back to the castle!"
Flashback to when Kaline and his friends were within the bedrock jail cells...
Kaline sighed, Archie and Crystal were sound asleep. It was late at night in The Nether, although it was hard to tell from the outside.
"Still awake too, huh?" A mysterious voice asked.
Kaline followed the sound of the voice to the bedrock wall on the left of him. It was coming from another cell right next to his. "Who are you?"
"Oh...Haha...I'm actually the king of the Magma Cubes," The Magma Cube King explained, "But some call me Moulicon."
"Nice to meet you, i'm Kaline Woolcraft." Kaline introduced.
"Oh I know," Moulicon replied, "I could hear you and your friends over the course of the day talking about your future journies to Witherox. I was great friends with Vick Woolcraft."
"You were?" Kaline questioned happily.
"Yeah, he was a good man." Moulicon said.
Kaline thought for a moment. "Without a doubt the Creeper King will be waiting for me to give him my stack of emeralds, when i'm not there he's going to terrorize the people of Rush...What should I do Moulicon?"
Moulicon came up with an idea. "We magma cubes are a master of diguise, Kaline. If you can break me out of this hellish cell I will gladly reunite with my army and we can establish a clever plot...A plot in which we disguise ourselves as your entire village."
"Brilliant! It's a deal!" Kaline agreed.
Moments later when Zerrel has teleported Kaline and his friends to the soul sand patch...
Archie and Crystal began mining the soul sand and Zerrel stood on the side admiring his creation, ZOOM.
"Oh I almost forgot!" Kaline realized. He took ZOOM, punched in the coordinates for an area just outside the bedrock jail cell he was trapped in, and teleported away.
"What gives?!" Zerrel cried.
Back at the Bedrock cells...
Kaline brought out his diamond pickaxe and dug below the bedrock cells, being catious as there was lava all around him. He dug into Moulicon's cell. He finally got a glimpse of the king, he was a colossal magma cube with a shining gold crown.
"Thank you, Kaline Woolcraft." Moulicon grinned. "Now to gather up my army! We shall set course for Rush and plot our replication scheme. And don't worry about the villagers, we will escort them to a temporary home and ensure they are safe."
"Sounds good," Kaline replied. "The Creeper King won't know what hit him."
Kaline walked over to ZOOM and teleported back to the soul sand patch so he could meet up with his friends. Soon after, fourteen blocks of soul sand were collected. And in time, The Creeper King didn't know what hit him. Kaline's brilliant scheme saved Rush from pure destruction and got him a step closer to The Climax.
Chapter 13: The Campfire
Moral looked towards the opposite direction he was facing with astonishment. "Oh hi, didn't see ya there. For those who don't know me, my name's Moral. I don't know who I am, how I died, or how I even got inside this wooden house, but what I do know, is that our pal Kaline has went through a lot in the past couple days."
"Why are you talking to me?" A random skeleton asked with an odd look, sitting patiently in a chair waiting to be taken to the Greyscale Judge to see if he would be respawned or be doomed to The Nether.
"Yes," Moral continued, "His second chance at life proved to be a very worthy fate. After he vanquished Dav and met with Coroq, or Steve, he quickly made his way back to Rush where he gave the sixty-four emeralds he was ordered to fetch to the Creeper King, saving his own life and his home."
"Creeper King? Steve...K-Kaline?" The skeleton questioned. "What does all of this mean? Who are you?!"
"Let me finish!" Moral snapped. "After he tricked the Creeper King, he quickly made his way back to Vick's Mining Headquarters, where he plans to prepare for a second journey in an attempt to retrieve fourteen klouncine blocks in order to construct The Climax portal."
"Who the heck is Kaline?!" The skeleton continued to question.
"But that's only a summary," Moral said, "I apologize, i'm supposed to be getting to the main plot of today's chapter. Sorry to waste your time, readers."
"Oh my god, please just kill me." The skeleton sighed, "this man has obviously had too much milk."
"In today's chapter, number thirteen, Kaline, Pierce, The Skeleton King, Archie, and The Wither's head will all gather around a campfire and speak what's on their mind. Enjoy." Moral revealed happily.
"Are you telling me a fairy tale? Cause if it's one, it sounds like nothing i've ever heard before." The skeleton replied.
"That's because it's no fairy tale," Moral said, "It's a frequently updated fan fiction on a forum!"
A loud beeping noise filled The Waiting Room, and the skeleton was called to see the Greyscale Judge.
"Yes!" the skeleton cried, "Yeah, i'm pretty sure everything you're saying is absolute crap, so make sure you get LOTS of rest man, you need it."
The skeleton was lifted into the air by an incredible force.
"Shame he thinks i'm crazy," Moral chuckeled, "I am foretelling the truth, shame he didn't want to hear any of it, because his fate, well, ends up not being so well."
"A skeleton hmm...?" The Greyscale Judge's booming voice said from above, "Destiny says your fate is death! To hell with you!"
"Haha!" Moral laughed, "Told ya, anyway, let's get on with the story."
Chapter 13 Begins at Vick's Mining Headquarters, a day after Kaline retreated from Rush after they tricked the Creeper King by having magma cubes replicate the entire village. He prepares for his journey to find the first klouncine block.
"Kaline! Kaline!" Lars and Forrest cried as they ran towards the lobby of the headquarters.
'What's up guys?" Kaline asked, turning from Crystal and Archie whom he had been talking to.
"After translating the enchanted book from golem language to minecraftian language, I discovered that the first klouncine is not too far from one of the swamp stations on my rail system. Using a minecart, you can get there within only a matter of minutes!" Lars explained.
"That's awesome!" Kaline replied. Crystal and Archie were delighted as well. "What do you have to say Forrest?"
The young ocelot was nervous and could barely manage to speak. Therefore, he simply handed his creation to Kaline, it was an emerald sword. "I...um...made that for you, it has double the durability and power of a diamond sword...Nobody knows how to make one except for me..."
"Wow...Thanks Forrest, this is incredible." Kaline smiled, observing the glorious blade.
"I didn't even know those existed," Archie said, "Emeralds are almost impossible to craft with, Forrest is a very talented kid."
Zerrel approached the gang. "Alright guys, I got some bad news. We're going to have to make the trip next morning, and early too. The Skeleton and Witch empire have both expanded and are extremely close to the first klouncine block. To ensure they don't mine it before us, we have to get there first."
"Sounds good Zerrel, i'll get my stuff ready." Kaline replied. As Zerrel took the attention of everyone, Kaline looked towards one of the glass windows to see the night loom over the desert biome. As he did, curiosity struck as he noticed a dim light and smoke going into the sky. His first assumption was that it was an enemy, so he grabbed his newly crafted emerald sword and exited through the back door quietly so he made sure nobody got worried.As Kaline trudged through the sand, he looked back at the heaquarters to make sure he was not being followed, but when he turned around, Archie was right in front of him.
"Oh my Notch!" Kaline yelled.
"What do you think you're doing?" Archie asked suspiciously.
"Shhhh..." Kaline ordered, pointing to the dim light in the middle of the desert biome. Both of them dived behind a dune.
"W-What is t-that?" Archie stuttered.
"I'm not sure, but it has to be something bad," Kaline assumed. "On the count of three, we attack."
"1..."
They crawled closer to the mysterious light.
"2..."
The emerald sword was drawn and Archie grabbed out a diamond axe.
"3!"
Archie and Kaline jumped from the dune and sprinted towards the light, which they soon realized was a campfire.
"Ahhhh!" Pierce yelled out of absolute fear. He was soon trampled by the two heroes.
"P-Pierce?" Kaline said, suprised. "What are you doing out here, man?"
Archie and Kaline got off of Pierce, he was horrified, but regained his natural behavior within a matter of minutes.
"Oh, so they didn't tell you yet," Pierce groaned. "Every other weekend I come out here in the night, set up a little campfire, and think about the current events unfolding in life. Please, take a seat on a log."
Kaline and Archie looked at one another and both agreed to join Pierce. They sat on oak logs set up around the campfire. There were four of them. For a few minutes, each of them just sat quietly in the darkness and did not even look at each other.
Finally, Kaline spoke. "So Pierce...Lars identified the location of the first klouncine block...we're all gonna set out in the morning...Just figured you might want to know."
"Whatever..." Pierce sighed.
Kaline finally got annoyed by Pierce's constant attitude. "Okay, look, I can obviously see that you don't like me around the headquarters or even the crew. Please, explain to me why you just can't respect the good i'm trying to do for everyone!"
"Good?!" Pierce snapped back, "Look Kaline, I understand you're trying to prevent Vick from dying in vein, but let's face it, you're playing with fire!"
"What are you talking about? We've done okay so far in vanquishing the Creeper Empire, now all we have to do is mine the Wither Colossus!" Kaline replied, both him and Pierce were standing up now.
"What? A small trick back at Rush convinced you that we can beat them?" Pierce added.
Kaline was silent.
Pierce sat down and put his blocky hand on his forehead. "Kaline...I didn't tell you this before and Vick probably didn't either, but I was second in command of the crew back when he was still alive. When he approached me about the topic of retrieving the enchanted book in the Void Fortress, I agreed and went with him and his wife. I was there to see him die, Kaline...You don't understand how horrifying that experience was...my best friend...gone...right in front of my eyes. You may be his brother, but I feel the same pain as you do."
"I-I didn't know Pierce..." Kaline said, "But why wouldn't you want to avenge him?"
"Because Kaline," Pierce answered, "We're not an army, we're just a small group of miners. Although we have special talents, that doesn't even compare to the many empires out to destroy us who have millions at their command. With Vick gone, I vowed to take care of his crew, and that's what I will continue to do. Putting them up against the Creeper Empire...it's just...how do we have a chance?"
"Well..." Kaline replied, "I guess that's up to you Pierce...I can't force the crew to go along with me and fetch the fourteen klouncine blocks, that's your call. If you feel they aren't a match, than that's fine by me."
Pierce sighed, "Kaline..."
Suddenly an arrow was shot out of the bow of a nearby figure.
"Look out!" Pierce cried. He pushed Kaline out of the way and the arrow missed and dug into the sand.
Kaline, Pierce, and Archie all looked toward the source of the fired arrow to find a masked skeleton. But it was not just him, behind him were hundreds more, and they were all armed with armor, swords, and bows. All at once, the skeletons drawed their bows and were seconds away from shooting arrows that could instantly kill the three.
"Stop!" A deep voice ordered.
A taller skeleton with a gold tooth and crown walked out of the crowd of skeleton soldiers and approached the campfire.
"My god...It's Kullij, the Skeleton King..." Pierce said, not moving a single inch.
"But my king, that's Kaline." The masked skeleton stated.
"I can see that you dolt," The Skeleton King replied, rolling his eyes. "All of you! Back to the castle, I shall finish this mess. And do not let the Creeper King know of this unexpected encounter."
"Sir!" The entire army of skeletons cried, making a salute. Afterwards, they marched in the opposite direction of the campfire.
"What do you want...?" Pierce glared.
Kaline reached for the emerald sword.
"Relax, relax," The Skeleton King chuckled, "I'm not here to murder you, not yet atleast, I would like to join your little campfire gathering, if that's okay with you three."
Kaline put away the emerald sword, he had believed that the Skeleton King was not here to kill him if he sent his entire army away. "How did you find this place so quickly?"
"Actually I was just on my way to the Creeper Empire to deliver, this." The Skeleton King admitted, reaching into a chest he recently placed. He pulled out one of The Wither's heads.
"Help!" It yelled.
"My god! It's The Wither!" Kaline yelled, "Put him down!"
"Wrong, this is not The Wither, this is merely one of his heads that survived the explosion back at Witherox. I'm taking him to the Creeper King so he may share what he knows." The Skeleton King replied.
"You're horrid," Pierce scolded, spitting at the ground where the Skeleton King's feet sat.
"If you're not here to kill us, why are you so interested in sharing information with us by the campfire?" Kaline questioned.
The Skeleton King sighed. "What you're doing is very brave, Kaline Woolcraft. I guess you can say I feel your pain. Years ago, I lost my brother to the Ender Dragon, and after that tragedy, I vowed to avenge him by slaying it...which I did."
"That's true," Archie spoke, "The Skeleton King is the slayer of the Ender Dragon."
"Indeed," The Skeleton King nodded, "Anyway, I've never seen someone like you. You're giving everything you got despite the enemy's large advantage against you, and that is one amazing sight. Sure, I may be a vile king and destroyer of hope, and i'm in alliance with the Creeper King, Baxtroff, but I would never do something as terrible as he is doing."
"Than why do you continue to help him?" Kaline asked with a disgusted glare, " I know you're the one who sent Dav after me."
"You're right, Dav is loyal to me," The Skeleton King admitted, "but it was Baxtroff who payed him to kill you, not me. I'm sorry Kaline, but I am loyal to Baxtroff, even though he's working towards a goal in destroying Minecraftia and starting a destructive dictatorship. I don't go through with his plot because I want to see it happen, I just don't want my empire to be destroyed as a result of disloyalty...He's got so much power, Kaline...Just one order and me and my empire are finished. I can't bear to see that happen."
Pierce, Archie, and Kaline all stared at the ground.
"So sad..." The Wither's head sniffed.
"I never knew it was like that..." Kaline said, "My whole life I thought the kings of the empires were all just as vile as The Creeper King."
"Don't say that..." The Skeleton King snapped at Kaline.
"What?" Kaline questioned.
"I am crushed by the fact that The Creeper King is viewed as such a tyrant," The Skeleton King replied. " I mean...he is but...Ugh, i've known him since I was a child...He used to be so kind-hearted."
Pierce put his hand on The Skeleton King's shoulder. "Please share."
"Baxtroff Kolligar," The Skeleton King explained. "That's his name. When me and him were children we used to be best friends. At the time, The Creeper Empire was known for being the most giving empire, there was nothing evil about it. The time came when Baxtroff's dad, king at the time, took his other son, Akolo, Baxtroff's brother and the next in line for the throne, on a trip to visit the Ender Empire and create an alliance, which was not made at the time. I remember that exact day, me and Baxtroff actually went to Rush to play. The King's trip made Baxtroff the way he is today. What happened was, the king and Akolo had not been focusing on the path they had been taking. As a result, they plunged into a ravine and died from the fall. It's known as being the most unexpected death in the history of all the empires. Because the king and prince were both dead, Baxtroff became the next king. He was never the same when his father and brother died, and it's like all the good within him became evil. When he took the throne, he immedietly became power-hungry. He took control of all the empires, but he wanted more. Eventually, he sent his army and conquered more and more land, killing people along the way. That leads to the issue at hand now, Baxtroff will not stop unless all of Minecraftia is at his command. That's why he decided to become interested in the Wither Colossus and how to harness it's power, so he can use it to destroy everything and everyone.
"That's absolutely terrible..." Kaline said.
"Now you know..." The Skeleton King groaned. He stood up and walked over to Kaline and put his bony hand on his shoulder. "I wish you luck, Kaline Woolcraft."
After looking at the three heroes for a few minutes, the Skeleton King bid farewell and set off to The Creeper Empire to deliver the Wither's head. Minutes passed and silence lingered around the campfire once again.
Pierce looked towards Kaline and smiled. "Kaline, I was wrong to ever doubt you."
"Huh?" Kaline said with an odd look.
"I have confidence that we will have victory over The Creeper Empire and mine the Wither Colossus. I am with you all the way, and...I trust you." Pierce replied.
"Thanks Pierce, that means a lot..." Kaline grinned.
The moon had gone down and the sun layed over the horizon. It was almost morning. Pierce stood up and put out the campfire, and made his way back to Vick's Mining Headquarters. Kaline was about to make his way back aswell, but noticed Archie was still sitting on the oak log, holding something mysterious in his hands.
"Something troubling you Archie? I didn't hear from you much tonight." Kaline asked.
Archie looked up towards Kaline and showed him the items he was holding. In his hands were a golden apple and splash potion of weakness.
"This campfire has encouraged me to mend the tragedy that occured in my life Kaline." Archie spoke. "With a single golden apple and splash potion that Rodona gave me, I think I can cure my beloved master, Zane."
"I hope so, Archie," Kaline smiled, patting his back. The two then made their way back to the headquarters.
Meanwhile, farther out in the desert biome...
The Skeleton King dragged The Wither's head through the hot sand as the sun beamed down upon them.
"That was a legendary conversation you had back there, kullij," The head spoke. "Who knew there was some good inside you."
The Skeleton King looked down at the head. "Yeah, yeah just come off it already."
Once The Skeleton King looked back up, The Creeper King's dark figure was right in front of him.
"What conversssation, Kullij?" The Creeper King hissed.
"N-Nothing Baxtroff," The Skeleton King stuttered. "Here."
The Skeleton King threw the Wither's head into a bag The Creeper King was holding.
"Kullij please! Don't do this, I know you can change!" The head cried.
"What'ssss all thisss about change and good, Kullij?" The Creeper King questioned with an evil glare. "I hope you weren't doing anything other than putting that device on Kaline."
"The tracking device was delivered successfully, Baxtroff, no need to fear." The Skeleton King ensured.
"Excellent!" The Creeper King said with delight. "Kaline will lead us directly to the klouncine blocks! This calls for a feast, come Kullij, I had my servants bake you up your favorite...pumpkin pie!"
The two kings walked towards the Creeper Empire's castle.
The Skeleton King looked towards the direction where Vick's Mining Headquarters had been. "Kaline, I apologize..."
Chapter 14: The Untouchable Lockdown
"Life does not get any easier than this!" Steve bragged, sipping from a small glass as two villagers fanned him with giant leaves. "Hey! I don't pay you to do a lousy job! Fan faster! I'm dieing out here!"
The villagers did as Steve ordered, and as he was refreshed by the cool breeze they provided him, they were sweating. Within a few minutes, Steve grew tired and dozed off on his lounge chair. However, an event of pure chaos caused him to awake...the villagers had stopped fanning him.
"Hey!" Steve yelled angrily, "I told you to fan faster, not fan at all!"
The villagers made no response, and stood perfectly still, motionless. They were staring into the sky, gawking. Their leaves...on the ground. Steve got up from his lounge chair and glared at them.
"You morons! I demand that you fan me this instant before I die from the heat!" Steve ordered, once again. Soon enough he got frusturated by their ignorance and punched one in the face. However, no pain was felt by the villager, he did not even budge. He simply fell to the ground with the same exact look on his face.
"Oh my Notch..." Steve said, finally realizing what had happened. "They-They're dead!"
Suddenly, a large breeze blew in from the North and dropped the tempurature on the island to a chilling 10 degrees. Steve was instantly freezing and went into his mansion to fetch a sweater.
"Who's doing this!?" Steve yelled at nothing. "I got a stick and i'm not afraid to use it!"
The blue sky that loomed over the island faded to grey and snow began to fall from the clouds that recently formed. At the same time, all the mycelium that made up the island shriveled away and was replaced with bedrock. Steve ran out to the middle of the island and looked in every direction. He was convinced someone, or something, was out to get him.
"Show yourself!" Steve ordered, equipping himself with iron armor and using his stick and two diamonds to craft a diamond sword.
The breeze became more powerful, and a whistling noise was heard throughout the island. To make matters worse, a dense fog covered the island. Steve could not see a thing. He was getting more frightened by the second, and this was rare for the famous warrior, who had never been afraid of anything in his entire life. Steve was shivering and had his arms around himself, struggling to keep warm. He traveled across the now, "Bedrock Island," for all the mushroom trees and mycelium had vanished. Suddenly, he saw two bright lights in the distance that were covered by the fog. He stared at them with curiosity and assumed that it was a coast gaurd boat that had come to rescue him from the madness that consumed his island. However, it wasn't.
"Hello?" Steve questioned. "Who's there?"
As he got close to the two bright lights, a face began to from in the fog. When this happened, Steve immedietly began to hear an enormous buzzing sound and became nauseous. He grabbed his head, which had just gotten a searing pain out of nowhere and his vision became impaired.
"Ugh!" Steve yelled. "What is this?! Stop it!"
He dropped to the ground, his head staring at the bedrock. Soon, two feet entered his line of sight. Steve looked up, and as soon as he saw who it was, he was horrified.
"You!" He cried. And within seconds, Steve was gone, and all the unnatural effects that occured on his island vanished, and everything was normal again.
Back with Kaline and friends...
Vick's Mining Crew had finished preparing for the trip to the swamp where the first Klouncine block had been located. Zerrel had chosen Forrest, Rodona, and Lars to accompany them on the trip for they were all needed. Pierce had not changed his decision from the campfire and was still in agreement to join Kaline on his adventure without any complaint, hesitation, or regret. Lars, being a master of redstone and a constructer of one of the biggest minecart rail systems ever created, showed the crew to the station where a group of minecarts were already set up. Everyone entered the carts and within a matter of minutes they were blasted from the station and moving quickly across the track. It was not long before the crew reached the swamp, and were already on foot, heading to the coordinates where the Klouncine block would be found.
Lars lead the group, for he had been the one who translated the book from golem language to minecraftian language and was aware of the exact location of the block.
"Stop!" Lars commanded.
Everyone froze.
"We're here!"
The crew had stopped in front of a gigantic lake that was in the exact center of the swamp biome. Within the lake was a stone structure with redstone lamps. A lever sat on top. Surrounding the structure were a ton of golden lilypads.
"Wow," Rodona spoke. "Such a simple spot to place a Klouncine block, this place stands out from the entire swamp."
"There's no way it's this easy," Archie added. "There has to be a catch. But for now, Kaline, go flip the lever."
Kaline jumped into the muddy swamp water and swam towards the stone structure. He climped on top of one of the golden lilypads and hopped onto the structure. When he did this, he pulled the lever. As a result, the ground began to shake and the stone structure began to crumble.
"Kaline! Get out of there!" Crystal cried.
Kaline quickly jumped off the structure and swam to land. As soon as he was safe, the lake's water made a bright glow and was drained away. At the bottom of the now empty lake was the first Klouncine block. The block was bright orange and had small, red rings orbitting around it.
"There it is!" Kaline said happily. "Come on guys, let's get down there."
A stone slab staircase appeared out of nowhere for the crew's convenience. They walked down to the bottom of the lake and stomped onto the wet soil. However, when they got down to the bottom of the lake, their recent happiness transformed into hopelessness. The klouncine block had been trapped inside an ender crystal, a powerful item found only in The End.
"This ruines everything!" Zerrel moaned.
"How could this be?" Kaline questioned. "How could someone have beat us here already?"
"Look." Pierce pointed.
On the ender crystal was a painted symbol that had been used by the Witch Empire. They had complete control over the Klouncine block but had not mined it yet, a possible indication that they had no clue what it was. Therefore, they had not been notified by the Creeper King to search for them.
"Guys, calm down." Forrest said. "This is a simple solution, just like we do if we're facing the Ender Dragon, we shoot an arrow at them!"
Forrest got out a bow and aimed it at the ender crystal.
"Don't you dare!" Archie screamed. "If you shoot that ender crystal, not only will it blow us up, but it will completely destroy the Klouncine block. And you know what that means? We can't construct The Climax portal and we are doomed! Basically, you're doing the Creeper King a favor."
Forrest was frightened and put his bow away. Everyone remained quiet and thought of a resolution.
"There's not really much we can do," Zerrel spoke. "But hear me out, what if the Witches aren't in alliance with the Creeper Empire? They could still be good! All we need to do is convince them that we need the Klouncine block and we can even get Rodona to negotiate with them, she's a witch!"
"That's brilliant!" Rodona complimented.
"Good Job, Zerrel!" Kaline said. "But I think it would be best if we wait another day before we do so. Let's head back to the headquarters."
Everyone agreed. Soon enough, the crew head back to the minetrack and traveled back to the headquarters. Later that night, while everyone was asleep, Kaline went into the empty lobby to get a drink of water and was suprised by an unexpected appearence.
"Kaline!" Moral cried.
"Ahhhh!" Kaline screamed, dropping his glass of water. "Moral?! What are you doing here? Don't do that!"
"Actually," Moral replied. "I'm not technically here, this is just a hologram i'm using so that I may communicate with you."
"They allow the dead to speak to the living at the Waiting Room?" Kaline asked.
"Yeah, sure, whatever, but that's not the point!" Moral replied. "I didn't just put this together just to scare you, I need to talk to you! It's important!"
Kaline took a chair from a table and sat down, ready to hear what Moral had to say.
"Okay," Moral began. "I know you don't know this, but i'm going to be a very important person during your quest. I have advice you need to hear if you ever want to beat the Creeper King. First off, you can't go to the Witch Empire, Kaline, you can't!"
"What are you talking about?" Kaline snapped. "In fact, what do you know? You're some bum I met in the afterlife. How do YOU know what decisions I can make to benefit my journey?"
"Because i'm aware of what you need to do to accomplish your goal!" Moral replied. "I bet you didn't know that the witches ARE in alliance with the Creeper Empire! Their entire plan with trapping the Klouncine Block was that you could go approach them about it and they could ambush you!"
"Oh man..." Kaline gasped. "Well...I don't know Moral, what should I do?"
"First off you need to keep in mind that you MUST retrieve emeralds so that you may keep the wooden house." Moral explained.
"What?" Kaline quesitoned. "That's suicide! The Creeper King wants my head, I can't just go up to him with emeralds!"
"I didn't say that." Moral sighed. "You need to find a messenger of some sort that can deliver them. The Creeper King has to give you permission to use the wooden house if you give him the required emeralds because he promised to doing so. He's aware that if he attacks you for doing what he promised you had to, then neighboring empires will notice that as a threat and attack him."
"Why is the wooden house a big deal now?" Kaline asked.
"Because as you know, your brother, Vick, constructed it. What you don't know is that it holds some secrets. Powerful secrets that you must intend on harnessing" Moral continued.
"Woah, woah, woah," Kaline interrupted. "How do you know ANYTHING about my brother?"
"I just do, Kaline." Moral answered. "Now, what you need to do in order to get the Klouncine block is-"
Moral was gone.
"Moral?" Kaline questioned. "Moral!!"
In the Blank Dimension, or, "Waiting Room"...
"Kaline! Kaline?! Can you hear me?!" Moral yelled into a telephone that had been transferring his hologram.
The line had been cut. Moral turned around and saw the Greyscale Judge looming over him.
"An on-the-go, hologram transferring telephone...hahaha...fool." The Greyscale Judge laughed. "Looks like Kaline Woolcraft was right, there is a being down here that had evaded me this entire time. I don't know how you did it, but I must applaude you. Honestly, I don't even know who you are, care to share it with me?"
Moral didn't speak.
"Whatever," The Greyscale Judge sniffed. "I hope you know that talking to the living is strictly forbidden by not only me, but Notch too."
The Greyscare Judge pointed his giant staff at Moral and zapped a beam that obliterated the telephone.
"I'll see you soon," The Greyscale Judge grinned. "And when I get back, i'll be determining your fate. And from the action you just committed right now, i'd say you're leaning towards a nice, easy going life in hell."
"You idiot!" Moral yelled. "I need to tell Kaline what he needs to do in order to get the first Klouncine Block or he's doomed!"
The Greyscale Judge had already flown to his judgement room in the skies above the Blank Dimension.
"Get back down here!" Moral yelled. He pounded his fists on the ground.
"Dude, take a chill pill." A random being suggested.
"Huh?" Moral questioned. He looked up and saw a familiar face. "Steve!"
Chapter 15: Steve and Moral
"Steve!" Moral cried. "You couldn't have picked a better time to be here my friend!"
"I wish I didn't have to pick a time at all!" Steve snapped. "Where the heck am I?! There's no people, no grass, no sky, no color. What is this place?"
"You don't know?" Moral questioned.
"What kind of question is that?" Steve replied. "Just because i'm famous and "all-knowing" doesn't mean I have to know everything."
"Alright..." Moral said with a confused look. "Anyway, you're in the Blank Reality. It's basically where you wait to be judged on whether or not you live or die."
"That's not possible..." Steve argued. " I'm not supposed to die!"
Steve grabbed Moral by his jacket and held him in the air.
"What sort of trickery is this you bum?!" Steve growled.
"Steve, please!" Moral cried. "Now isn't the time to question the obvious! I need your help! Me, Kaline, and even countless others have lives that could be in jeopardy!"
Steve dropped Moral onto the blank floor. "Did you say Kaline?"
"Yes!" Moral replied.
"The name rings a bell...Ah, yes! Kaline Woolcraft!" Steve realized. "He's the guy I met at the Wither Castle. I had to give him the locations to the klouncine blocks. He was traveling with that iron golem, Alex, and his wife, Jessica."
"That wasn't their names...But whatever, you're right!" Moral said happily. "They successfully found the first klouncine block. Sadly, they have made a plan to go confront the Witch Empire in an attempt to deactivate the ender crystal it's locked in! If they do that, they'll be ambushed and most likely be destroyed. I need to contact Kaline and tell him what he needs to do. But the Greyscale Judge cut me off!"
"The Greyscale Judge is in this dimension?!" Steve responded. "Me and him go way back. But what's this you say about contacting Kaline? Didn't you just say this is the dimension where you wait to be judged? You're dead! I cannot go against the Laws of Notch and allow you to contact the living. The answer is a no, good day, or night, whatever it is here."
Steve no longer paid attention to Moral and walked away. He then took a seat in a nearby chair and picked up a newspaper from a stack that was conveniently sitting on a table and began reading it. Moral started to become angered by Steve's little attention to his issue.
"Hey!" Moral called. "Get up! I need you to help!"
Steve ignored Moral.
"Steve! This is important! Lives could be lost!" Moral continued.
"Enough!" Steve snapped, throwing the newspaper on the ground and standing up. "There's no way to contact Kaline without doing it illegally, dude. But if you're so convinced that doing so will show no issue, let's make a deal."
"Alright, shoot." Moral said.
The Blank Reality began to tremble violently and the ground surrounding Moral and Steve crumbled away, leaving one giant arena. Steve raised both of his hands into the air and his eyes made a blueish glow. As a result, fences fell from the sky were placed around the entire edge of the arena. Suddenly, diamond armor equipped itself on both of the Minecraftians. Along with that, diamond swords flew into the hands of both.
"What's going on down there?!" The Greyscale Judge yelled from the skies, unable to hear the music on his headphones due to the tremors.
Steves eyes returned to normal and the tremors that rocked the Blank Reality came to a halt. "If you can defeat me in a PVP match, I will let you contact Kaline Woolcraft. Get ready..."
Moral and Steve both got into a warrior-like position.
"Get set..."
"This is impossible..." Moral thought to himself. "Steve is a professional fighter, how will I ever defeat him?"
"GO!"
Moral and Steve raised their swords into the air and charged towards one another. Within a matter of seconds, both of their swords clashed. Steve made a confidential smile and his superior power knocked Moral to the floor. Steve grabbed his sword with both hands and was ready to strike Moral while he was down, but Moral rolled away just in time, causing the sword to strike the ground. Steve yanked the sword out of the ground and walked over to Moral, who was still getting up, and kicked him in the face. Struck with fear, Moral fled from Steve, only to have Steve run after him.
"I must admit," Steve laughed. "You have some pretty impressive moves...Shame that won't save you."
Steve threw his sword and the end of it smashed Moral in the back of the head. He was knocked out. Steve was ready to make the final blow that would destroy Moral, but as he was temporarily knocked out, Moral considered all of the consequences at hand and was filled with confidence and strength. He awoke, and as Steve got closer, he did a backflip and kicked Steve right in the face.
"I beg to differ." Moral replied. "You will help me, Coroq."
Steve rubbed his nose, which was bleeding a bit. "We shall see."
The two engaged in a swordfight. They were neck and neck, and it was not clear who would be victorious. Their power was equal.
"This isn't possible!" Steve yelled.
Moral took the upper hand, and without any sign, he swung his diamond sword and knocked Steve's off of the arena. He was defenseless. Moral grinned and set his diamond sword on the ground.
Steve chuckled. "You are no ordinary person, it seems."
"I'm Moral." Moral replied. He made a fist, and socked Steve in the jaw, throwing him over the fences and off of the arena.
"Nooooooooooo..." Steve cried. "...Haha"
Moral blinked. The Blank Reality was back to normal. Both of their bruises and scars had vanished, as though they had never fought. Steve had his hand on Moral's forehead.
"It seems that...If we ever fought, you would be victorious." Steve smiled. "I've never foresaw such an outcome before...You're incredible."
"Wha- What was all that?!" Moral asked.
"All a vision," Steve answered. "You could see and feel everything that happened, but it was not reality. I can do a lot of awesome stuff, you know."
"Apparently," Moral admitted, rubbing his head. "Does that mean I win? Can you allow me to contact Kaline?"
"Oh, that wasn't the challenge." Steve laughed.
Moral groaned.
"If you really want my help, you must answer my question." Steve explained.
Moral made an odd look.
"I've dwelled in the Minecraft world for ages, and I have knowledge of every being who has existed in the world. But your disguise is so convincing, who exactly are you?" Steve asked.
"That's a dumb question, i'm Moral." Moral replied.
"Who are you fooling?" Steve frowned. "I know you are lying. I will ask once again, who are you?"
Moral sighed. He didn't answer the question, but instead he showed Steve who he was. He took off his straw hat and trimed the stubs under his nose.
Steve was suprised. "It's you! Everything is so clear now..."
He handed him a telephone.
Back at the lobby within Vick's Mining Headquarters...
"Moral!" Kaline called. "What do you need to say? Tell me!"
Moral's hologram appeared once again in front of Kaline
"Kaline!" Moral replied.
"You're back! What happened?" Kaline asked.
"No time to explain," Moral said. "In order to release the klouncine block out of the ender crystal WITHOUT going into the Witch Empire, you need to attend the annual "Creeper Empire Ball." It's a celebration where everyone across the world is invited to party within the Creeper King's castle. There, you can successfully sneak into the control center of the castle without anyone knowing and disable the ender crystal."
Kaline fell silent for a couple minutes.
"You want us to enter the Creeper Empire? That's suicide!" Kaline complained.
"I know, I know, it sounds stupid!" Moral agreed somewhat. "But trust me, everything you need is within the wooden house. Like I told you earlier, you need to find a way to keep paying the Creeper King in emeralds!"
"I-I don't know..." Kaline sighed.
Moral became worried. "Kaline...please just trust me on this one. Within the wooden house is a batch of specially made invisibility potions! All you need to do is get Rodona to increase the timing on them so you have more time to dwell inside the Creeper King's castle without getting caught!"
Kaline wasn't convinced.
"Kaline..." Moral continued, "Vick believes in you, and...he would want you to do this too."
Moral pulled a pickaxe from his jacket that had the name "Vick" inscribed within it.
"Where'd you-?" Kaline questioned, suprised that Moral had Vick's pickaxe in his possession.
"I met him." Moral smiled. "Now please Kaline...are you with me on this one?"
Kaline looked up to the cieling and viewed the night sky through a glass dome. He took a deep breathe. "Alright Moral, I think I trust you...If Vick trusted you with...that....then I trust you."
Moral was delighted and his hologram dissapeared.
"Vick..." Kaline whispered to himself. "Are you still alive? And why Moral...How can someone like him have such a great understanding of the situation at hand? How does he know so much about me and you? Why is he helping us? Ugh...This is such a tough situation we're in..."
Kaline continued to stare at the cieling, and a shooting block flew across the night sky.
"Alright," Kaline smiled. "Let's do this."
Back in the Blank Reality...
"Well..." Moral said. "That's that. Thank you, Steve."
"My pleasure...Moral." Steve winked.
A beeping noise ringed throughout the entire Blank Reality. Suddenly, the ground shook as the Greyscale Judge jumped from the skies and slammed into the ground, landing on his two giant feet. "Moral, your time is up. Time for your judgement!"
"Greyscale!" Steve yelled.
"Steve!?! I uh- Wow...this is so unexpected." The Greyscale Judge gulped. "What are you doing here?! How did you die?!"
"That's not important! I refuse to let you deem this good soul to the depths of The Nether!" Steve growled.
"B-But Steve...It's my job." The Greyscale Judge responded.
Steve walked up to the Greyscale Judge.
"Look," He whispered into his ear. "Moral has broken the law and spoken to Kaline, but it was only to help him face off The Creeper King. Please, please allow it Greyscale. He's not a bad guy, he's only hidden himself from you so he can remain undercover and help Kaline along the way. To be honest, I did help him continue his conversation. So if anyone is to go to The Nether, send me."
Steve turned around and looked at Moral, and gave him a thumbs up. Moral waved.
"Absolutely not!" The Greyscale Judge refused. "I will not send the great Steve to The Nether! If this whole situation is alright with you, Steve, I see no harm on why Moral can't stay here a bit longer."
"Thank you!" Steve said happily. "This means a lot, Greyscale."
The Greyscale Judge looked towards Moral. "I'll be keeping an eye out on you though, don't forget. Also, Steve, i'll contact Notch and make sure you get an immediete respawn. After all, you were granted immortality, you shouldn't be here!"
The Greyscale Judge flapped his giant wings and flew into the skies of the Blank Reality.
"Wow this cleared up everything!" Moral spoke. "But wait...immortality?"
"You heard right," Steve nodded. "I am immortal, nothing can kill me. That's why I didn't know what this place was when I first got here. And yet...I died....It's such an odd situation, i'd rather not talk about it."
"Coroq...I mean, uh, Steve," Moral said.
"Huh?" Steve questioned.
"Who or what killed you?" Moral asked.
Steve made a grim look. "Herobrine."
Chapter 16: Creeper King Perspective #3: Descent Into Madness
"Get out!" The Creeper King hissed. He got up and used his small feet to kick a glass that had been placed on the ground at Zane. It missed and shattered upon hitting the wall.
"Settle down, Baxtroff," Zane spoke, rolling his eyes. "I just wanted to let you know that the leaders of the other empires have been downstairs waiting for you so that the meeting may commence."
The Creeper King groaned and fell back into his throne. "Why musssst they be here now?!"
"Because you told me back at Rush to call them over!" Zane snapped. "You said this meeting was "urgent" so get your robe and crown on and get downstairs immediately!"
Zane left the throne room, closing the giant wool door behind him. The Creeper King remained still for a while and suddenly decided to get prepared. He got up and went into the bathroom. After he put his crown and robe on, he put his head in the sink and soaked it in water. After drying his face with a towel, he looked up at the mirror that was hanging above the sink to see his reflection. However, the reflection he saw was none other than Vick's.
"Vick!" He gasped.
"What's the matter, Baxtroff?" Vick questioned with a devious grin. "Scared to see someone you murdered?"
The Creeper King blinked. "No...No! You're not real! Go away!"
Vick laughed. "Oh I am, Baxtroff. Do you not remember Zane explaining to you that I had used an enchantment on my sword called Final Request? Well...My final request was to do anything in my power to prevent you from destroying Kaline. I am within you, Baxtroff. And there's nothing you can do to get rid of the only fear that you will EVER have...me!"
The Creeper King began to shiver. His bones ached, and he became dizzy. He shook his head. "Stop it! Go away! You're not real, you can't be real! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
The Creeper King, having no arms, used his head to bash a glass container that had been holding an emergency diamond axe. He grabbed it under his chin and threw it at the mirror, instantly smashing it into hundreds of little pieces. He breathed heavily, and soon became relieved. The reflection of Vick had vanished.
An enderman ran into the throne room and noticed the Creeper King and the broken mirror within the bathroom. "Sir, are you okay?!"
The Creeper King looked over at the enderman. "I-I'm fine...I...I'm fi-"
He fainted. When he woke up later that evening, he had been hospitalized and laying on top of a bed.
A voice had been calling his name, but he couldn't hear it. "Baxtroff? Baxtroff, wake up!"
Soon enough, The Creeper King woke up, and he had been perfectly fine, as though nothing had happened.
"Ah, at last! You're awake!" Kullij, the skeleton king, smiled happily.
"Wah-? What are you all doing here?" The Creeper King questioned. In front of him were all the leaders of the neighboring empires that had been in alliance with the Creeper Empire.
"Well," The Enderman King spoke, "By the time the meeting started you had been on an ambulance pig and on your way to the hospital. You were unconscious for about two hours. It's weird, none of the doctors knew what had caused it!"
"Unconsssscious?" The Creeper King questioned with confusion. "How could that be? I was just about to head down, I was as healthy as any creeper could be!"
"Obviously, you weren't." The Blaze King said. "One of your enderman soldiers said you had not appeared to be normal when he found you in the bathroom. But that's in the past, let's get this meeting started."
The leaders sat down in small chairs that the doctors had supplied for them.
"First of all, it appears your assault on the village of Rush was a complete failure." The Spider Queen began.
"Not only did your let yourself be outwitted by a mortal, but your TNT Magnum destroyed an enormous amount of land that had been owned by the Cow Empire. They are FURIOUS now." The Zombie King added.
"What'ssss your point here?" The Creeper King asked with a worried tone.
The leaders looked at each other.
"Well," Kullij spoke, "We no longer have to waste time gathering emeralds for Kaline has completed our amount through the stack he gave you back at Rush. And since you have proven you cannot keep good control of an army, we have no choice but to withdrawl our soldiers from yours."
The Creeper King became furious. "You can't do that! I need those soldiers for very important reasons!"
"I'm sorry Baxtroff," The Spider Queen apologized. "But for now on you're on your own when it comes to offense. We will continue to supply you with materials, but other than that, you will recieve nothing else from us."
The leaders got up, gave The Creeper King "Get Well Soon" cards, and left the hospital. The only visitor left was Zane.
"What the hell just happened, Zane?" The Creeper King asked with a blank expression. "I lost about 50% of my firepower...How will I defend against Kaline's little force now?"
"The leaders have spoken, Baxtroff." Zane snaped. "Servers you right, it appears you have become obsessed with destroying Kaline Woolcraft yet your mind won't let you! How can you be trusted with an army if you behave in such a matter? You're going insane! It's time for you to wake up!"
Zane left the room, but quickly returned after he had forgotten to inform the Creeper King about a package he had been given. "Also, a silverfish wearing a bandana approached me this morning and gave me this."
He tossed the package on the Creeper King's hospital bed.
"It contains the daily fee of emeralds that Kaline used to give you," Zane explained. "Might want to look up on this random predicament."
The Creeper King was shocked and immedietly took out a small device that pinpointed the location of the tracking device Kullij had placed on Kaline's back at the campfire. "He'ssss ussssing my own weakness againssst me! It seems Kaline has found out that if I go against the deal I made him, I will be stomped upon by neighboring empiresss not in alliance with me."
The Creeper King laughed devilishly. "Very well, Kaline. Take your wooden home. But just know that each emerald you present me with only makesss me stronger! For what you and Vick don't know is that the Wither Colossus is powered by thissss very material! Hahaha!"
Zane rolled his eyes.
"I don't care what you have to say." The Creeper King hissed. "Now, notify the soldiers back at Rush that they may go home! Kaline can enter his home...for now."
Zane nodded and left the room. After he did, The Creeper King took out a second device. Three letters had been scratched in by a claw of some sort. It spelled out "DAV." The Creeper King pushed a small button on the device and within a few seconds an explosion of black mist filled the room. Dav, the skeleton assassin, had appeared before him.
"Thirty diamond blocks. Now." Dav immediatly demanded.
"I see you're still cheap." The Creeper King snapped. "Very well, they're in the left pocket of my robe. It's sitting on that hanger over there."
Dav looked over at the wooden hanger in the corner of the room where the Creeper King's very expensive looking robe had been. He took out his bow and shot a flaming arrow at the robe. Soon enough, it had burned into a pile of ash, leaving only the diamond blocks and a few other materials.
"I'll take those too." Dav laughed. "This is going to be a very exciting revenge."
With that, he pressed the button on top of his bow and dissapeared in an explosion of black mist...again.
"I hate that guy," The Creeper King sighed. "Well, not much to do now but prepare for the ball coming up. Hopefully by then Kaline either supplies me with more emeralds or Dav will actually be of use and kill him. Either way, it's a win for me. I can already see myself in control of the Wither Colossus...Stomping on the world below me, citizens everywhere bowing in my glory, and Kaline's grave by my doorstep."
Suddenly, the happiness that The Creeper King had gotten from his thoughts diminished and soon turned into fear. "I didn't believe Zane at first...but now...I think i've been drawn to the conclusion that Vick actually has some control over me...that reflection in the bathroom, and then...my fainting...? According to Prime, the Enderman King, I was unconscious for two hours! What am I going to do...I-I need to end it...I need to destroy it...but...it's me! It's me that I would be destroying!"
The Creeper King's dizziness returned and he was drawn out of his bed.
"Ugh," He groaned, "I need a drink."
He walked out of his room and as he entered the hallway and felt the touch of sunlight through the glass window, his shadow appeared before him. It was Vick's shadow, at least, from his perspective.
Chapter 17: Bone Kaline / Spectators of the Blank Reality
"Hey guys!" Crystal greeted.
"Hi Crystal!" They all said at the same time.
"Have you seen Kaline by any chance?" Archie asked.
The three looked at each other.
"No, actually," Lars answered. "We figured he was with you."
"No," Crystal said with a worried look. "We haven't seen him since yesterday evening."
"I know where he is!"
Everyone looked towards the entrance of the cafeteria. It was Zerrel. He had a frightening look on his face, as though he had seen a ghost.
"Zerrel!" Rodona cried. "You look horrible! What happened?!"
'I just came back from the Creeper Empire!" Zerrel answered.
Pierce had been nearby and overheard the entire conversation. "What?! Are you out of your mind?!"
"I heard Kaline talking to someone last night..." Zerrel explained. "Apparently he had his own plot to get the klouncine block out of the ender crystal. It involved paying the Creeper King in emeralds so that he could keep his wooden house. He's going to Rush right now and he plans to use an invisibility potion to sneak into the Creeper Empire Castle during the Creeper King's Ball and deactivate it. According to him the Witch Empire was going to ambush us if we ever stepped foot into their territory. He needed someone to deliver the emeralds...so I volunteered. He didn't force me! No harm was done!"
"That's crazy Zerrel!" Pierce yelled. "You could've been killed! Even worse, they could've followed you here!"
"It's fine, Pierce!" Zerrel replied. "I gave them to this nice Zombie Villager who is basically the king's apprentice. He told me that I had made a smart decision. If the Creeper King lays a hand on Kaline even though he paid his fee in emeralds, empires not in alliance with him will rebel!"
Everyone was delighted.
"That's brilliant!" Archie said joyfully. "Who was this mysterious being Kaline spoke to?"
"I-I don't know...It seemed like a hologram of some sort." Zerrel shrugged.
"Well what are we standing around for?!" Forrest questioned. "We should get prepared and head out to Rush! Kaline needs us!"
Everyone agreed. They got up from the table and walked over to the locker room where they began to gather supplies. Pierce, however, walked slowly to his office and shut the door behind him.
"I understand that Kaline is trying to do what's best for us..." Pierce thought, fiddling with sticks on top of his desk. "But I can't go through with this sudden resolution he has come up with. Going to the Creeper Empire is suicide! I can't let him endanger Vick's crew."
Pierce looked out the glass window in his office towards the swamp biome where the first klouncine block laid as well as the Witch Empire.
"I can reason with Dar." Pierce decided with a grin. "That old warlock can't be that big of a threat, and i'm sure he has no understanding on what that klouncine block even does. That fool. Maybe I can mine the klouncine block before Kaline goes to the ball with my crew. Yes, I can save them! They'll realize who the true hero is. I know I agreed to go along with your tactics at the campfire, Kaline. But this is a dark situation, and my crew needs to know what's best."
Pierce put on iron armor and grabbed a backpack. Afterwards, he went down to the minecart rail system. He placed down a cart, hopped in it, and sped off to the swamp without anyone knowing about his absence.
Meanwhile at Rush...
Kaline walked into the village of Rush with a big smile on his face. The Magma Cube empire had been successfully returning the village to its former state and villagers had been exiting from the Nether Portal that Kaline had made during his trip to The Nether. They had retreated to the hellish world for shelter when the Creeper King stormed into the village with his army.
"Boss!" Blake called. The trio of miners ran up to Kaline with great news to share.
"What's up, guys?" Kaline asked with a grin.
"It's incredible!" Orio began. "The soldiers withdrawled from the village! And according to them, they agreed to leave your house untouched!"
"That's great!" Kaline replied. "Sorry to leave you guys with such a short conversation, but I have to go there now and get some stuff. Best of luck to you guys!"
Kaline continued through the village and greeted the Magma Cube king, Moulicon. After a quick talk with him he made his way up the peak of the Extreme Hills where his wooden home sat peacefully. He took a deep breathe of fresh air when he got up to the top and saw that his house had no damage to it whatsoever. That brought a happy thought to him. However, when he placed a button on the spruce wood that opened the iron door of his home, he was shocked. Dav was standing in the middle of the hallway.
"You!" Kaline gasped.
"Hello, Kaline Woolcraft." Dav smiled devilishly. He held out his bony hand and black mist formed the shape of a bone. When the mist faded away an actual bone was present, solid and everything. He grasped it with all his might and smack Kaline in the side of the face with it. Kaline went flying and almost plummeted off the mountain. The bone Dav had been using as a weapon had been enchanted with Knockback II.
"I've decided to change up my melee attacks." Dav spoke. "You are impressed, I assume?"
Kaline remained quiet and rubbed the blood off of his cheek that had resulted from the piercing blow from the bone.
"No comment, huh? No matter." Dav grunted. "I'll make this quick and VERY painful. Nobody picks a fight with me and lives to tell the tale!"
Dav ran out of the wooden house and had planned to hit Kaline off the side of the mountain. Kaline jumped out of the way leaving Dav to almost run off as he could not halt in time. Sadly, he kept his balance. Kaline brought out the emerald sword that Forrest had made him and struck Dav. Both of their weapons clashed.
"Apparently the Creeper King is too scared to fight me because of his reputation with the other empires. So he sends a joker like you to deal with me just so he gets away with it!" Kaline shouted.
Kaline's sword prevailed and shot the bone into the air. As gravity launched it back to the ground, Kaline jumped up and grabbed it. When he successfully held it in his hands, he turned to Dav and hit him with it. Dav was launched to the edge of the mountain. He tried to maintain his balance, but Kaline managed to run up to him before he could and push him off the mountain.
"N-No! That's Impossible!" Dav cried as he fell off the mountain and slammed into the ground with a gigantic crash.
Kaline sneaked and looked down to the ground. A huge crater had resulted from Dav's plummet to the plains below and smoke was rising into the air. The villagers of Rush were alarmed and looked over to the extreme hills with curiosity. As he looked closer, Kaline could see that there was some movement in the crater. The assassin was still alive.
In the Blank Reality With Steve and Moral...
"I sense that Kaline is in a pretty sticky situation at the moment as he tries to find the secrets within the wooden house." Steve spoke.
"What?!" Moral said in shock. "Has the Creeper King not realized that if Kaline gets hurt the other empires will rebel?"
"It's not the Creeper King," Steve explained. "It's a skeleton assassin known as Dav."
"Well, we need to see how this turns out!" Moral said pounding on the colorless walls.
"Calm yourself, Moral. There's a way we can do just that!." Steve assured.
He spawned a stick from his bare hands and touched the wall with it. Wherever the stick touched, black ink appeared. Steve drew a circle on the wall using the stick. As a result, an entire picture formed within the border of the shape. It was Rush, and they could see everything that was going on!
"I call it the Reality Ward." Steve said.
"That's incredible!" Moral complimented.
"Don't be so amazed," Steve frowned. "Dav isn't showing his full potential in this fight. His strength is far superior than Kaline's. He's planning something..."
Moral made an odd look and watched the entire situation unfold within the circle Steve drew.
Back at Rush...
There was a huge flash within the crater and a loud whirring noise could be heard. Dav flew out from the smoke and was soon directly in front of Kaline, hovering gently in the air. He had been wearing chain boots that had the ability to propel him with giant flames as though they were a jet pack.
"Hahahaha!" Dav laughed evilly, "Oh please Kaline, you and me both know that if I were to actually fight you, I would be the victor. To save time and ensure that my revenge is successfully, I will introduce you to someone of your own might...yourself!"
The glowing orb that Dav had used for an eye glowed and a red beam was shot towards Kaline. Suddenly, Kaline's entire body glowed red just like the beam as though he were being scanned. Within a matter of seconds the beam retracted back into the orb. Dav then looked towards a grass block and unleashed the beam out of his eye once again. This time, the area that it hit began to shirvel and a black mist rotated like a tornado. Kaline covered his eyes as sand particles began to form into the black miss. Suddenly, body parts began to form out of the sand. Kaline could picture a hand, a foot, and a chest all spinning around in the black mist. Soon enough the mist vanished and what was left was an incredible sight. It was an entire figure constructed out of bones. In fact, it was Kaline. The skeletal figure in front of him had his same, flowing brown hair and his same outfit, which included jeans and a t-shirt. His eyes were red instead of brown, however.
"Meet Bone Kaline." Dav grinned. "Well, I should get going. Send me his head, Bone boy."
Dav flew off towards the Creeper Empire. As he did, Kaline and his skeletal double simply stared at one another. The fight then began when a giant spear formed in Bone Kaline's hands.
"Only one..." Bone Kaline hissed.
He sprinted towards Kaline and began to strike him with his spear, but Kaline blocked with his emerald sword. That didn't last, sadly, as Bone Kaline dropped to the ground and tripped Kaline with his foot. Kaline was rendered useless, and Bone Kaline prepared to strike him with his spear. But Kaline struck first and threw his emerald sword into the skeleton's chest. He wobbled backwards and dropped his spear. Kaline got up and ripped the sword out of his double's chest. As a result, a giant hole was left in his chest and hundreds of bone fragments fell to the ground. Kaline was pumped up and struck Bone Kaline multiple times with his sword. Pieces of Bone Kaline's body began to crumble and fall to the ground.
In the Blank Reality...
"Kaline's getting the hits on this guy!" Moral said happily.
"He is," Steve agreed. Suddenly he realized a small device that was on Kaline's back. "Wait, what is that thing?"
Moral looked closely and noticed it too.
"My notch, it's a tracking device!" Steve gasped. "That's how that skeleton powerhouse found out where Kaline was heading! And what's worse, there's probably many things that it can do to Kaline."
Back at the fight...
Dav was observing the battle from a far distance and noticed that Bone Kaline was not winning.
"Gah, this pest just doesn't quit." Dav groaned. He pressed a small button on a device.
All of a sudden, Kaline felt a piercing shock and fell to the ground instantly. The tracking device Kullij had placed on him was the source of it, and as long as that was still on him, he couldn't do anything. Bone Kaline smiled and picked up his spear. He raised it into the air, vertically, and prepared to strike Kaline right in the head. Kaline tried to stand up and defend himself, but the shock was so powerful he was not able to.
"Yes....YES!" Dav shouted happily.
All of a sudden, the tracking device on Kaline's back imploded and the shocks came to a halt. Bone Kaline began to strike, but Kaline was able to move his head at the last second before the spear dug into the grass. Kaline punched Bone Kaline and he became unarmed. Kaline had managed to take his staff right from under him. Bone Kaline became enraged and charged after him, grabbing him by the shoulders. Before he attempted to headbutt him, Kaline took the spear and jabbed it into Bone Kaline, immedietly taking it out soon after he did. Bone Kaline's red eyes faded into black holes and his hair and clothes vanished. He had become a regular skeleton, and when this happened, light shined out of cracks in the bones and the entire body became a pile of sand that was soon blown away by the wind. Kaline was exhausted and tossed the spear he had recently stole on the ground.
Dav grinded his sharp teeth in frustration. "Fine Kaline, stay alive...for now..."
He pressed a small button on the top of his bow and he dissapeared in a black mist, as he does every time.
In the Blank Reality...
Moral and Steve continued to watch Rush through the Reality Ward.
"Well," Moral spoke. "Kaline proved victorious against Dav once again. But the question is, how? The tracking device malfunctioned or something?"
"No," Steve said. "My killer strikes again. It was none other than Herobrine. Look."
Moral looked towards a small hill right behind Kaline's wooden house and noticed a figure that looked exactly like Steve, but had pure white eyes.
"What sort of joke is this?" Moral said. "Why is this Herobrine character getting involved in our business all of a sudden? First he kills you, now he's mysteriously helping Kaline?"
"Because Moral," Steve explained. "I am his creator. It happened when me and "The Gods of Minecraft" collaborated to make it so each newly spawned person gets a skin. My look was chosen as the default look, mainly because...well...i'm obviously handsome and absolutely awesome. What happened was, I had to be cloned first so that my look could be transferred to every new minecraftian. However, my "clone" grew consciousness and became Herobrine. All this talk about him being "Notch's Brother" is completely ridiculous and invalid. Anyway, me and him became the perfect duo. We brought peace to the world and even started an incredibly successful economy. This is mainly because he's exactly like me in every way."
"But why is he so evil?" Moral asked.
"When the iron golems and The Wither began constructing Coroq Gates, Herobrine got into a fight with The Wither. Soon enough, the two brawled. Keep in mind that since he is a clone, Herobrine is about 10% mechanical. When The Wither's projectiles struck him, his entire mechanical half was overshadowed and he became pure evil. He's filled with wither energy, the most vile force in the entire universe of Minecraftia. Herobrine has my same warrior skill, my high intelligence, and my knowledge of The Climax, including the klouncine block locations. Herobrine probably killed me so that I could not pose as a threat to him. He must be planning to conquer the Wither Colossus just like The Creeper King. However, he plays with the minds of anyone. There's not really any enemy or friend of him, everyone is just his puppet. So why is Herobrine involved with this all of sudden? Sooner or later he's going to try to get his hands on the klouncine blocks, and he'll do anything to do so."
Moral was shocked.
Back at Rush...
Vick's mining crew had recently entered the village of Rush with the help of Zerrel's creation, ZOOM. The crew entered the village, greeting everyone they saw. Archie was happy to see that his citizens were not harmed at all and talked with them as the rest of the crew made their way up the extreme hills biome to the wooden house so that they could help Kaline. Forrest didn't notice the large crater that Dav had made when he plummeted off the mountain and fell into it. He rubbed his head and began to climb out, but a figure jumped out of the smoke and grabbed him. Rodona ran back down the mountain to see if Forrest was alright.
"Forrest?" Rodona questioned. "Are you okay? Do you need help?"
Forrest came out of the crater and was in front of Rodona.
"No, no. I'm perfectly fine!" He smiled. "I'll meet you up there!"
Rodona nodded and began to head up the mountain once again.
"Yeah..." Forrest grinned. "I'm fine..."
His eyes were pure white.
*Edit: The Content of Part II was too long. To read the chapters above 17, scroll down and you should see it!
Awesome!
Witherox!
Hehee
I need moar of this awesomeness.
An entire army of Antagonists against the valiant protagonist and etc.
This is by DEFINITION an epic story !
TT2000, you are genius.
PART II: The First Klouncine Block
Continued!
A recently awakened sun loomed over the horizon as The Creeper King prepared for the Creeper Empire ball, which was scheduled to start within the next hour...
The Creeper King slouched in his throne as endermen servants used a small cloth to shine the small black shoes that covered his four small feet. He was facing a flat-screen that laid in front of him that was projecting images from different areas inside and outside of his castle.
"Guards..." The Creeper King said to himself while focusing on an image of the entrance to his castle where two skeletons, equipped with the finest armor and weapons, stood. "Check."
"Dance floor..." He continued, but this time looking at a image of a large room that featured a punch table, disco ball, flashing lights, and a DJ setup. "Check."
Two creepers entered the room through a small corridor, carrying pairs of clothes on their heads. They walked up to the throne and presented them to the king. It was a suit, a pair of sunglasses, and some stylish pants. The Creeper King coughed as a sign to let the endermen know he needed their assistance in another task. They complied and helped the Creeper King get dressed in his new clothes.
"Excellent!" He laughed as the sunglasses were placed over his eyes. "Everything is in order, the fifth annual Creeper Empire Ball will begin as planned, hopefully with no interferencessss."
The Creeper King nodded at two creepers that were across from him on the other side of the throne room. They were standing next to a dispenser filled with fireworks. They were aware on what they had to do, and acted with no hesitation. They stepped on a pressure plate to activate the dispenser, upon doing so the fireworks flew into the air and exploded in an array of colors.
"Today, we drop the royalty act," The Creeper King spoke. "And instead, we party in style."
The Creeper Empire Ball had started.
Meanwhile at the Wooden House...
Kaline had entered his home and was searching for any sign of a secret in the household that he was unaware of. He could not find anything.
"This would be much easier if I knew what I was searching for," Kaline groaned. "I really think that this whole talk about "powerful secrets" in my house is full of crap. Moral, now would be the best time to give me some advice, seeing as though you somehow know so much."
Kaline thought back to when he was in the Blank Reality and talking to Moral in person, not by hologram. Suddenly, he remembered that Moral had been in Vick's bedroom when he encountered him. Kaline immediately made his way to the room, and sure enough a hologram of Moral was present.
"Ha ha!" Moral laughed, "Glad to see that you remember where we met!"
"Moral," Kaline said, "Boy am I glad to see you. So, what do I do now?"
Moral tipped his straw hat. "Ah yes, the special invisibility potions. They are in Vick's secret laboratory, which he constructed under your house. He was going to show you where it was so that you and him could find the Klouncine blocks together, but sadly, he met his fate before he ever could. If you put a lever under that table over there, you will find yourself in the lab."
Kaline looked over to a small table. A pot of flowers were on top of it. Kaline looked back to thank Moral for all the help, but he was already gone. As instructed, he quickly crafted a lever and placed it under the table. The result was a small hole that opened up underneath Kaline. He had no time to react, and fell. Soon after, he found himself in a colossal room. It was full of different types of machinery, blueprints, weaponry, potions, and a large computer smack dab in the middle.
"Woah!" Kaline said in amazement, "How did I not know about this? Vick has about everything in here that could be of use!"
He looked around, interested at all of the knickknacks that he could use at his disposal. However, what he was most interested in was a cabinet full of the invisibility potions Moral had detailed.
"Cool," Kaline smiled, "Now all I need to do is get Rodona to soup these up, then I can make my way to the Creeper King's Castle."
"Kaline!" An unexpected voice of Zerrel cried as he entered the laboratory with the rest of Vick's Mining Crew.
Kaline screamed, took out his emerald sword, turned around, and pointed it at the innocent silverfish. Zerrel gulped.
"Oh Notch...Zerrel," Kaline sighed. "You scared me dude, don't do that and- Why is the rest of the crew here?!"
"I'm sorry! Don't be upset!" Zerrel replied in a sad tone.
"Zerrel, I gave you ONE order and it was not to tell the others!" Kaline snapped, "I don't want anyone to get hurt! It's a simple mission that I planned to do, I would've been back in the morning!"
"Kaline," Crystal said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Don't be upset, Zerrel did the right thing, he told us about your plot out of fear that you could get hurt. I get that you had this thought that none of us would be able to handle this mission, but we want to help, and we're going to. We'll always have your back, no matter what the stakes are. If it makes you feel better, it made us forget about the raid on the Witch Empire, so in case you were late getting back to the headquarters, we wouldn't have been kept hostage by the warlock."
Kaline loosened up and was able to accept his wife, and the crew's assistance.
"Alright, then let's suit up." Kaline grinned. "First off, Rodona, I need you to increase the timing of these invisibility potions so that we won't be seen by the Creeper King's minions during the ball."
"Got it!" Rodona agreed, taking the potions from Kaline and placing them on a special brewing stand that she had brought along.
"Okay," Kaline continued, "Now let's get some weapons in case we get into trouble. When I walked in I saw some weaponry over at the end of the laboratory. Vick was a brilliant inventor, so i'm sure he has some top-notch stuff over there."
The members of Vick's Mining Crew nodded and began to scramble around the laboratory, grabbing any necessary materials that would be of use during the mission. As they did, Kaline explored some more and ended up finding a giant, iron vault.
"This must be Vick's private storage," Kaline said to himself. "I think I remember him telling me the combination, if only I could remember..."
Kaline observed the keypad used to unlock the vault. It had pictures of various blocks and materials.
"A-ha! I remember!" Kaline cried. "Grass block, obsidian, stick, stick, quartz, beacon."
Sure enough, that was the combination. The vault made a huge buzzing noise and opened up slowly. Inside were piles of diamonds and other useful items. Kaline suddenly had an idea. The vault was the perfect place to keep the klouncine blocks. It was impossible to destroy and impossible to enter without knowing the code. In case he was away or busy and needed to place a klouncine block inside the vault, he needed someone who he could trust and had a great memory to have knowledge of the code. He chose Forrest.
"Forrest!" Kaline called.
Forrest heard his name and followed the echo of Kaline's voice. Soon enough, he was in front of the vault.
"How may I be of your assistance?"
"Forrest, I need you to be the protector of the vault. Make sure all of the klouncine blocks are secure, okay?" Kaline asked.
"You can count on me...uh-" Forrest replied, trying to speak the name of Kaline but did not have any memory of who he was. Within the mind of Forrest, Herobrine's soul struggled to identify the being who had spoke to him. He took out a small device, an iCraft actually, and plugged the end of a small cord into it. He plugged the other end into the brain of Forrest.
Connected to Network: Forrest...
"Alright, let's see here..." Herobrine's soul said. "Appetite, no. Mood, no. Ah here it is! Memories. Let's see...Parents that were killed in a fire when their village home was invaded by Zombies...Crafting knowledge...Zerrel...Vick...no, no, no. Wither Colossus information...Vacation spots...None of these memories detail anything about the appearance of this fellow."
"Uhh...Forrest..?" Kaline questioned, looking into the gleaming, white eyes of the frozen ocelot.
"Hold your horses pal." Herobrine's Soul snapped, although Kaline was unable to hear his words. "Ah here we go, this fellow is Kaline Woolcraft. Well now, how coincidental that this mortal is the same person I have been searching for! The collector of the klouncine blocks...and he's giving me the combination of their future home! This is going to be easy as pie. Oh shoot, back to reality."
"You can count on me, Kaline." Forrest smiled happily.
"Good." Kaline responded.
By the time Rodona had finished increasing the timing on the invisibility potions, everyone was decked out in the finest equipment. Enchanted emerald armor, diamond ray guns, and iron bows were only part of their newly found weapons.
"Alright everyone," Rodona spoke. "Drink up."
Vick's Mining Crew drank the specially made invisibility potions. As a result, they became unseen as planned.
"Crystal, where's Archie?" Kaline asked before drinking the potion.
An invisible Crystal responded. "He's catching up with his village."
"Okay, then I guess we'll leave him be."
Kaline drank the potion, and with that, everyone was invisible. They would remain like this until the potion's effect wore off, which wouldn't happen until the six hour durability ended or they drank a bucket of milk.
"This is sweet!" Zerrel laughed. "Now let me just get ZOOM and we'll be in the Creeper King's castle in no time."
"No!" Lars cried. "If we teleport into the castle we'll be detected, we're going to have to get there by walking, or by some faster means of transportation that won't be discovered so easily."
"Hey guys," Forrest spoke. "Did anyone see this yet?"
Everyone walked over to Forrest, who was standing by a large gate in the wall of the laboratory. It was a stable full of horses! Everyone looked at each other with the same idea, and with that, the crew left Rush and set their course to the Creeper Empire.
Back at the Creeper King's Castle, the ball had been going steady, and more and more people were pouring into the royal fortress by the minute...
"Hello television audience!" a pig with black hair said in front of a cameraman. "It's me, Beefton Blake! Tonight i'm here at the Creeper Empire where the annual ball is taking place. And let me tell you, it is bigger than ever! At the moment there is some intense karaoke and dancing going on within the Creeper King's colossal castle and within a matter of minutes DJ Cowz is going to be taking the spotlight! He's going to fill you with all the greatest beats out there, so if you want an energetic night, come over here now! Speaking of Creeper King, I have him here now. Ladies and Gentlemen, Baxtroff Kolligar!"
The Creeper King walked over to Beefton Blake and faced towards the camera.
"This is an amazing experience you are giving us, Baxtroff! Tell us, have any thoughts you want to share with the Minecraft world?" Beefton Blake questioned, holding the microphone up to the Creeper King.
"Thanks Beefton, and yes, I do indeed," The Creeper King replied. "I am filled with joy to know everyone is having a great time at my castle. I know that every day after this night I will still be seen as the vile dictator I am pictured as, but I just want to say that I am just misunderstood. I respect each and every minecraftian and mob out there, and although my laws and actions are "harsh," I just want the world to be a better place, and show happiness to all the people out there like I am now at the ball."
"That was a great response, Baxtroff!" Beefton Blake complimented. "Anyway, we're going to go to a quick commercial break. When we return, we will show some footage of the ball in action! Stay beefy, my friends!"
A red light shining on the side of the camera vanished.
"We still live?" Beefton Blake asked.
"All clear, mate." The cameraman ensured.
"Great, I'm getting fed up with all this noise, I need some punch." Beefton Blake groaned. "Also, Baxtroff, thanks for the interview, means a lot."
Kullij was sitting at a table not too far away from the camera crew and rolled his eyes after the Creeper King said his speech. The Creeper King walked over and sat next to his skeletal friend.
"Wassssn't that great, Kullij?" The Creeper King questioned, sipping a bucket of milk through a straw.
"Great?" Kullij replied. "That was a lie Baxtroff! You don't care about the happiness of others, I doubt you even want to show them it! you probably had trouble even saying the word!"
"Can't argue there," The Creeper king chuckled, "I need to wassssh my mouth out with sssoap."
Kullij gave the Creeper King an evil glare.
"You cleary do not know know how to play this game, my friend." The Creeper King frowned. "You think I like holding these balls? I would rather be looking out for Kaline Woolcraft or looking for the klouncine blocksss. Hell, because of you guys ruining my perfect army, i'd rather be working on a way to organize it! The whole reason for doing this is to just convince everyone not to rebel againssst me and hold their peace a while longer, up until I destroy them at least, ha ha! Nobody needs to know of my true behavior towards Minecraftia, they'll find out soon enough when they're smashed on the ground by the feet of the Wither Colossus."
Kullij looked to the ground in disappointment. "Why are you so against the world, Baxtroff?"
The Creeper King hissed and got up from his chair. "What is with you, Kullij? Your recent soft behavior is getting me suspiciousss. Why do you care so much about the condition of these weak minecraftiansss? Wouldn't you enjoy seeing them at your feet doing everything you command?! Feeling as though you're the most powerful person alive?! Oh Notch, even the thought of it...Pure bliss."
Kullij didn't speak.
"Time to grow some bones Kullij, even if Kaline Woolcraft continuesss to go against me, he will only fall, just like his brother. So in conclusion, why am I so against the world? I want them to feel the same pain I felt when my loving father and brother died in that ravine. Do you not hear the words that I am spitting out?" The Creeper King explained.
"I do, Baxtroff." Kullij responded.
The Creeper King nodded and began to walk back to the castle. "I don't want to speak of this again, Kullij. I hope you're still with me on this mission, and that you're still the friend i've known since I was a young child." The moon loomed over the horizon as the Creeper Empire Ball continued. Little did anyone know that Kaline and friends would be there soon.
Chapter 19: The Creeper Empire Ball Pt. II
Horses ran across the cold sand of a desert biome at night. There were six in total. They seemed to be heading to a large structure that was only a couple hundred meters away. It was The Creeper Empire's castle. Their running pace slowed as they reached a towering stone brick wall, and they trotted quietly to a spot where they could not be seen by the plenty of guards that had been walking slowly on top of it. The riders of the mysterious horses were none other than Kaline, Crystal, and Vick's mining crew, still invisible, and still not detected. They quickly got prepared and put any of the supplies they would need into the pockets of their clothes so the invisibility would leave them unseen. Kaline looked around to make sure nobody was around, then whispered into the ears of his companions.
"Zerrel,"
"Yeah?" Zerrel responded.
"I need you and the rest of the mining crew to be a distraction in case anyone gets suspicious," Kaline said. He then pulled out the communication devices that Forrest had given him before he entered Witherox. The same communication devices that aided him by notifying Archie that he was in trouble.
"Crystal, I want you to be my lookout. Let me know if anything happens so I can get out of the castle as fast as possible."
He held out a communication device as quickly as possible, and Crystal recieved it. Everyone agreed to their given task.
"I'm going to head to the control room of the castle and shut down the ender crystal so this whole mess can be resolved," Kaline explained, glancing at a map he had in his pocket. "If i'm correct, the control room should be in The Creeper King's throne room, which, I would think, is probably the most dangerous place to be. Good luck to you all."
The group quietly walked over to the main gate of the castle, where two heavily armed guards had been standing.
Everyone held their breathe, they did not dare to make even the slightest sound. With that, they passed through the two guards, who didn't even notice a thing. People had been all over the front yard, which also posed as a threat. With quick maneuvers, the crew was able to avoid bumping into them, and afterwards, they made it into the Creeper Empire castle. They were now in the main corridor of the castle, where the ball had been at it's climax. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a gigantic blast of music filled the room, and lights began to flicker on and off consistently, while changing colors. The crowd went wild. Suddenly, a cow wearing sunglasses, with headphones over it's ears, approached the DJ setup and raised it's hands in the air.
"Welcome people across the world, and those of the Creeper Empire! If ya'll are already partied out, you ain't seen nothing yet! I'm DJ Cowz, and i'm going to make this ball into something you ain't NEVER seen before! Pump up the noteblocks!" The cow shouted.
"Do these people even know what a ball is?" Lars whispered to himself, shaking his invisible head in disappointment.
The crowd was completely involved in dancing to the music DJ Cowz had to offer. The invisible Kaline saw this as the perfect opportunity to make his way to the control room, which was all the way on the other side of the castle. With a quick movement of his feet, he left the group and ran past the distracted crowd, quickly making it into a joining room. It was the kitchen. Kaline sat down in a nearby wooden chair, suddenly, he was startled when he saw that Beefton Blake, the reporter, had only been two seats away from him.
"I can't wait to get out of this place," He groaned. "Weirdos. That's what all these people are. I don't see how anyone can stand this much sound. My ears are bleeding."
The door of the kitchen slammed close. Beefton Blake jumped out of his seat in astonishment. He was about to yell at the person who caused it to happen, until he realized it was none other than the Spider Queen, who had been crying.
"Udelias?!" He questioned, "Are those tears?!"
The Spider Queen hopped onto a seat next to Beefton Blake and Kaline, whom she did not notice. She fought back her tears and speaked. "It is a curse! A dreadful curse! With no resolution...No hope!"
"What is a curse? Tell me, your majesty." Beefton Blake urged.
"I have driven my Empire to ruin," She explained. "We have given Baxtroff all of our precious resources now because we are in fear that he will invade us...and this is how he uses it! That ignorant fool has power and uses it to completely hypnotize us into thinking we must aid his empire or else he will demolish us! Me and the other Empires thought by taking away a majority of his army...it would help...but it didn't! Me and my spiders will now die from starvation...It would've been better off just not even being associated with the Creeper Empire! So i've come to the ball so I can use food as a substitute for my deep depression."
Beefton Blake stomped his feet. "This is unacceptable! How could someone do something so vile to people? Especially a beauty like yourself! Baxtroff has been corrupted with power! And if we don't rebel, he may just self-destruct on the entire world! I've been saying too many positive things about the man in my interviews, but no longer!"
Udelias continued to weep, "If only, Beefton. But the other empires won't budge. Kullij will always be in alliance with Baxtroff, they're lifelong friends. Prime, The Enderman King, was promised protection of The End. Langley, The Zombie King, was friends with his father! The rest of them won't even listen because nowadays nobody could care less if we, the spiders, were burning in flames never to be seen again! And you! Why are you staring?!"
Kaline became frozen. The Spider Queen was staring right at him. Beefton Blake looked around in confusion.
"M-M-Me...?" Kaline squeeked.
"Yes! You've been listening on this entire conversation!" Udelias screamed. "And why are you invisible?! I am suspicious!"
"I-I-I can expla-!" Kaline said, but was quickly interrupted.
"No need! Who are you?!" Udelias asked.
"Your majesty, who are you talking to?" Beefton Blake questioned.
"My name is Kaline Woolcraft...I'm sorry for the trouble- I just..." Kaline revealed
The Spider Queen gasped, "Kaline Woolcraft! Vick's brother?!" She ran up to the invisible Kaline and gave him a hug.
Kaline made an odd look. "How can you see me?!"
"Oh," Udelias laughed. "I was born with a special eye-condition, whenever I wish, I can use x-ray vision. But that's not important. I am filled with joy that I am meeting you here! What Notch-given deed are you striding for that will surely doom Baxtroff?"
Kaline was still uneasy about speaking to the Queen of the Spiders. "I have come to The Creeper Empire to shut down the ender crystal that contains the first Klouncine block. I was...sort of undercover."
"I apologize," Udelias grinned. "I had no idea. I must say, I can't tell you how much hope I have had that you would gather all the Klouncine blocks and end Baxtroff's reign. I just want to say, thank you."
"You scared me for a second, I never would've thought that there was another Empire monarch out there who supported me," Kaline laughed. "Anyway, can you tell me which way the Creeper King's throne room is?"
"Gladly," Udelias replied. "If you take that hallway to the right all the way down, there should be a stairwell leading up to the next floor. Once you make it upstairs, the giant doors of the Creeper King's throne room should be in plain sight."
Kaline nodded and thanked Udelias for her help, and was on his way once again.
"Kaline Woolcraft?!" Beefton Blake cried, as though he had just realized who the hero was. "The hero of this generation?! Oh, if only I could get a glimpse."
Udelias smiled. "My empire holds on a thread, and right now, Kaline is that thread. I need to find a way to aid him, if he takes down Baxtroff, maybe peace can finally be restored to the world, and with some miracle, maybe peace can be restored to Baxtroff."
"I plan to help in any way I can, your majesty." Beefton Blake replied, combing his hair.
Back in the main corridor of the castle, Crystal is carrying out her position as Kaline's lookout...
Crystal leaned against the wall, observing the crowd, more specifically, guards and other Creeper Empire associates, to see if there was any suspicion among them. Suddenly, fireworks were launched out of dispensers that were on the sides of the DJ setup.
"People! Get ready for..." DJ Cowz yelled, holding his microphone to the crowd.
"The milking!!"
Not too far away from Crystal, across the room, Vick's Mining Crew had been ready to make a distraction when it was needed.
Lars' eyes widened in horror, "The Milking?!?!"
Suddenly, bright lights shined on a gigantic bucket that was directly over the entire crowd. It was full of milk.
"3!" The crowd chanted.
"We must leave!" Lars told the rest of the mining crew. He had forgotten to whisper, and a guard standing only two blocks away from him looked over to where he had heard the sound, and became suspicious.
"2!"
The mining crew ran over to where Crystal was standing and ordered her to get out of the corridor.
"1....!"
Suddenly, the bucket tipped over. As the crowd jumped with joy, Crystal and the mining crew were horrified. Gallons of milk poured on them, and the invisibility effects from their potions had faded away. Creeper guards recognized the group and immediately ran over to their location.
Zerrel was alarmed and reacted quickly. "Look! Dinnerbone!"
The entire crowd gasped, looked at Zerrel, and then charged over to where he had been looking. As they did, they trampled over the guards. The group smiled at the clever silverfish then exited the castle, soaked in milk.
Back With Kaline...
Kaline creaked open the giant wool doors of the Creeper King's throne room and peaked in. Nobody had been present, he had assumed that they were all downstairs enjoying the ball. He quietly walked in, observing his surroundings, looking for some sign of a control room. He looked to the giant flat-screen on the wall that the Creeper King frequently used, it showed the perspectives of all the cameras that had been in the castle. Soon enough, he looked behind the Creeper King's throne to find an iron door, which stood out from the rest of the wool doors in the room. It also had a sign that read:
CONTROL ROOM: ANY TRESPASSERS WILL BE EXECUTED
He pondered for a moment. Then, he took out his pickaxe and simply broke the door. Within the dim-lighted control room filled with cob-webs, were many levers and buttons that operated not only the Creeper Empire Castle, but other Creeper Empire related places. However, he only had use for one lever, and soon enough he discovered it. The lever he had his eyes on controlled the ender crystal of the Witch Empire's swamp, the same ender crystal that the first klouncine block was contained in. He disabled it, and with that, his mission was complete. He made a quick cheer of success, and turned for the door, but as he did, milk was splashed onto him by a mysterious source who had a bucket. His invisibility had been corrupted, and afterwards, the same figure tossed him out of the control room and onto the red carpet of the throne room.
Kaline shook his head and rubbed his eyes, then turned around in shock to see who had discovered his presence.
"You!"
The Creeper King towered over Kaline, with a very displeased look. "And so we encounter each other once again, Kaline. I musssst say, you put together quite a clever plan. In fact, you may have gotten away with it if I didn't recently just discover your little crew being foiled by DJ Cowz's famous "milking." Haha! Look at the failure!"
The Creeper King enlarged the camera view of the main corridor so it took up the entire screen of the flat-screen, then rewinded it to the moment where Crystal and Vick's Mining Crew's invisibility wore out. "Sadly, my security didn't destroy them. They got away. Worthless staff, I need to get more help."
Kaline was relieved by that news, but sulked over the fact that he had been caught red-handed.
"You know what mussst be done now, correct?" The Creeper King asked. "There will be no tolerance to the collection of even one Klouncine block! I've come too far to be stopped by you, Woolcraft! I will make sure that incident at Rush will never be recreated!"
"Oh, I know what must be done," Kaline frowned, standing up. He took out his emerald sword. "You must be destroyed, you murderous...you heartless...fool! You bring down suffering not only on everyone in this world, but even on your own alliances! And you act like it never happened by holding these balls! Your pretend peace is fiction!"
Kullij the Skeleton King, Zane Helmframe, and Dav rushed into the throne room.
"Baxtroff!" Zane cried, "What's going on here?! Is that Kaline?!"
"Leave us..." Baxtroff ordered.
Dav took out his bow and aimed the arrow at Kaline's chest.
"Leave us!!!" Baxtroff yelled in fury.
Kullij nudged Dav, and he put his bow away. The three left the throne room without any hesitation. The Creeper King walked over his throne and looked over to the side of it. There was an odd contraption being held on two hooks. It was a metallic arm. He quickly equipped it to the side of his torso where an arm would typically be, if he even had any.
"If you and I are to brawl, at least make it a fair fight. This temporary arm will aid me in holding weapons...including THIS!" The Creeper King explained, suddenly taking out a small, diamond dagger and slashing it at Kaline.
Kaline was able to dodge his attacks, and with the swing of his emerald sword, he quickly unarmed the Creeper King of his dagger. However, that didn't protect him from The Creeper King using his metallic arm to sock him in the face. His nose bled, but he ignored it. Kaline fought back and punched the Creeper King, knocking him off his feet and onto the floor. Kaline charged towards him, and was ready to stab him with his emerald sword. However, the Creeper King whistled, and a rope lowered to his position. He pulled it quickly, and as a result, a trap door on the cieling opened, and hundreds of beacons dropped down and fell on top of Kaline just as he was about to end him. Kaline was knocked out.
"At last!" The Creeper King laughed devilishly. "Guard! Hand me my prized sword, I shall make this quick and enjoyable!"
A creeper guard walked into the room with a ruby encrusted sword. The handle was imprinted with the Creeper Empire's symbol. The Creeper King thanked him, and with his metallic arm, he raised the sword into the air. He aimed it precisely at Kaline's neck, and with that, he brought it down with all the force he could and...he stopped. His arm began to shake violently, and the sword dropped straight out of his hand.
"No! Not this! Not now!" The Creeper King yelled. "I've reached the moment I have most anticipated! DO NOT TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME VICK! YOUR BROTHER MUST JOIN YOU!!"
Kaline's eyes opened wide. Reacting quickly, he regained grip on his sword, kicked the Creeper King down on the ground, and pointed it at his face. His anger had reached its boiling point, he had no sympathy for the king.
"K-Kaline..!" The Creeper King stuttered. "Don't do thisss!"
"Shut it you snake!" Kaline snapped.
"Do you really want to go through with ending me, Kaline Woolcraft?! Or would you much rather see Pierce alive!" The Creeper King sneered.
Kaline lowered his sword. "What have you done?"
The Creeper King was relieved and laughed. "Sssssee for yourself! Look to the screen!"
Kaline turned around to view the flat-screen. Suddenly, the view of a dungeon was pictured, and the one who had been in it was none other than Pierce. He was chained up, and he appeared weak.
"Kaline!" He cried. "I-I've screwed up! I-I'm sorry...But don't give in to his tricks! Don't do whatever you're thinking! I'll get out of this! I know it-"
The visual on the dungeon faded into static. Pierce was gone.
"Pierce!" Kaline yelled. He looked at the Creeper King with anger. He gripped his sword as though he was going to kill him, but he knew he couldn't due to Pierce's condition. The Creeper King would still live.
The Creeper King's grin faded. "I am untouchable, Kaline Woolcraft. I can destroy my enemies physically and mentally, but they can't destroy me! You've lost this round, and you will surely lose the war."
Kaline stomped his feet on the carpeting and threw The Creeper King's ruby-encrusted sword at the wall. with that, he sprinted out of the throne room.
The Creeper King nodded and then walked into the control room. "Now to regain life to the ender crystal that will continue to make a hole in Kaline's path."
The Creeper King tried pulling the lever, but he could not. Kaline had jammed it. "WHAT IS THIS?! NO! Gah...get a hold of yourself, Baxtroff...you're still here, and that's all that matters. Kaline and his so-called crew are surely going to head to the Witch Empire and retrieve that Pierce fellow...They won't stand a chance... Great, now I have to get a new sword..."
Kaline was filled with fear as he ran out of the castle. He managed to get past the Creeper King's goons and reunited with his friends who had been in the same spot as they were in when they first reached the castle.
"Kaline!" Zerrel cried. "You're okay! Hurry! We need to get out of here before-"
"The Witch Empire captured Pierce!" Kaline wept.
Everyone gasped. After explanation, everyone realized that they had to return to the Witch Empire as quickly as possible. They got onto the horses and rode away from the colossal castle, just before the guards had come to eliminate them.
Hundreds of people poured out of the castle, many exhausted from a long night of partying.
The Creeper Empire Ball had concluded.
Chapter 20: Why Do You Live?
"Ugh..." He groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "W-What happened..? Where-Where am I..?"
The blur was gone and his vision was now clear. He was in a large cave, but it was definetly not natural. Some notable things he saw were- bleachers. Bleachers full of thousands of cheering witches stomping their feet to the melody of distant noteblocks, and throwing bottles of enchantment into the air with excitement. On the ceiling were blocks of glowstone hanging on fences, the obvious source of light in the cave. And lastly, in front of Kaline, was a red carpet leading to a tall, golden chair. But that wasn't important, what was important was a small, hunched figure walking towards Kaline. He reacted quickly and tried to bring out his emerald sword, but was shocked to notice he couldn't even with all his might. Chains had prevented him from doing so. The figure was now in his face. He looked at Kaline with much interest, then, suddenly, ran a bony and shaking finger across his neck. He was very old, had a large white beard, and a ridiculously tall black hat.
Kaline made a curious look at the figure, then observed his surroundings. He took account of the many witches present in the area then had an idea who the person in front of him might be. "Are you...the leader of the Witch Empire?"
The figure nodded with a grin, "Indeed, young one. I am Dar, only warlock amongst this world and head of the empire of witches."
"No, no. I can't be in your presence," He replied, shaking his head. "All I remember is leaving the ball...then entering the swamp. I had to save my friend...Yeah...Pierce! Where is Pierce?! Come to think of it...Where's everyone else?! How did I get here?!"
Dar moved his hand slowly to the left, and exactly as he did, a zipper closed Kaline's mouth shut. He couldn't speak.
"Slow down!" Dar snapped. "I swear, you young people and your millions of questions and fast language. Look, Kaline of Woolcraft, me and my empire had no beef with you until you and your little party barged through our hut and attacked. Kept yelling at us to present you with this Pierce fellow. We got annoyed, so we through some splash potions of sleep at you. If you're referring to the tempered one who tried to reason with me to release that klouncine block within our biome, he is over there. And your party, they are rather close, in fact, they're above you!"
Kaline looked upwards and saw a wooden cage. Inside he could only assume was Archie, Crystal, and Vick's Mining Crew. He then looked towards the direction Dar had pointed to and saw Pierce within fiery bars.
"Kaline!" Pierce shouted. "This is all my fault! I should've been true to the promise I made, I should've put trust in you! But I was too blind by the fact that only my way could help my crew. And all that happened was that I only doomed them more, along with you, and maybe even the entire Minecraft world. He's going to kill us Kaline. KILL US!"
"Pierce!" Kaline cried. He then looked back at Dar in disgust. "If you didn't have beef with us before we came into your territory, then why did you lock Pierce up and then have the Creeper King use him as an excuse to ignore his business and come here? Speak!"
Dar laughed. "Well, when you think about it foolish one, we didn't have beef with you before you came here because, well, you weren't much of a target then! This was a back-up plan, you know. We wouldn't have had any business with you if this fellow, Pierce, hadn't come along and caught the attention of Baxtroff!"
"So you are in alliance with the Creeper Empire? This neutrality state is history now?" Kaline questioned, making a very fierce look at the old man.
"My philosophy is," Dar began, "that this world needs a universal leader in order to be at peace. Baxtroff is just the person we need to do that job. He knows how to rule with an iron fist. Sure, people will die, many, but in the end it will be hundreds of thousands less than the typical amount we have today! Plus...He offered me a huge expansion in territory, along with a bigger supply of potions. Come to think of it, I think that last reason is the main reason I gave in, haha!"
"Why do people like you live?" Kaline glared.
"Well, right now I can only assume I live to be a billionaire brewer, give my empire of ladies a lifestyle of luxury, and be the one to kill the great Kaline Woolcraft!" Dar laughed.
"Old fool! You won't be killing him, your silly little contraptions will! You're blind as a bat!" Pierce yelled.
"Blind?" Kaline questioned.
"Yes, old age has had a toll on my eyesight," Dar admitted. "But no matter, let's get to it shall we!"
The witch spectators cheered. Dar waddled to his throne and sat down, then raised his arm into the air. A magical substance was emitted from his hand. It began to swirl and within a few seconds it exploded and sent small particles flying across the cave. Kaline looked around to see if something happened, but it didn't seem like anything did. However, he was wrong. Five stone blocks in front of him, each two blocks apart, flipped over and revealed gold blocks. Situated on top of those gold blocks were pressure plates.
"You see, Kaline, I like to have fun with my enemies, I like to see them become so nervous they sweat and cry, because they're so desperate to live," Dar explained. "Each of these levers in front of you activates something in this room. If you don't use the correct strategy these levers require in order for you to keep your life, you, of course, die. Oh, so does your friends, figured i'd make that clear. Sadly, I couldn't set up anything to kill Pierce since we locked him in that jail cell, so i'll drop a couple hundred splash potions of harming on him later."
The chains restricting Kaline's arms vanished, he was free to move them now. He stood in front of the levers and stared at them for five whole minutes. He gulped. So much was at stake, he couldn't focus. Without even thinking he pulled the lever further to the left. A distant noise was heard and a blaze rod dropped from the cieling. Kaline dodged it and it melted through the stone floor. He looked through the hole it made in the floor and through it he could see a pit full of boiling hot lava. The floor had only been 1-block thick.
"Oh Notch..." Kaline said in horror.
Dar chuckled.
As time passed, Kaline managed to pull four or the five levers. Dar and the rest of the Witch Empire had watched with anticipation. One lever spawned a piston connected to a wooden platform, a second one gave Kaline redstone along with a torch to activate it, and a last one was a bucket of water in a dispenser. Nobody had died yet, luckily, but one lever still remained.
Kaline took a deep breath, put his hands on the lever, and pulled it. Suddenly, the ground below him opened up to reveal the lava pit and Kaline fell in.
"HAHAHAHA!" Dar laughed devilishly.
An immediate death was prevented as Kaline grabbed the stone floor and pulled himself up. Afterwards, he noticed that the lever he pulled also put a counter on the side of the cage holding his friends. He had exactly four minutes, once that time was up, the cage would be dropped into the fires below. Kaline grasped his skull, he didn't know what to do. He looked at each of the products the lever provided him with, then, with a minute to spare, he discovered what to do.
"Okay..." Kaline whispered to himself. "The wooden platform and piston mean nothing, but the redstone, water bucket, and that blaze rod do... The hole the blaze rode created as it melted into the ground gives access to the lava pit..."
Dar raised one of his eyebrows in suspicion.
"All I have to do is let the water flow into that small opening, and the lava will turn to obsidian! Everyone will survive! The cage will simply fall onto the obsidian!" Kaline continued.
That's exactly what he did. Kaline took the water bucket out of the dispenser and dumped the water next to the block that the blaze rod had burnt through. The water successfully flowed through, and he could hear the lava transforming into obsidian. Within seconds of this action, the cage fell into the opening in the floor, but landed with no damage done to the crew. Kaline turned back to face Dar and made a grin.
"Kaline you did it!" Pierce cried happily.
"N-No...It can't be...NO! WHY WAS THIS SO EASY TO SOLVE?!" Dar yelled clenching his head.
Kaline brought out his emerald sword.
"Bah! You were lucky boy, but don't think that next time we cross paths you will be able to save yourself so easily!" Dar hissed. "With all the time you spent here, Baxtroff has probably already set his sights on the next phase of his plan! So take your silly Klouncine block, it's the only one you'll get!"
Dar took one last look at Kaline then clapped his hands. A vortex of sugar swirled around Kaline, Pierce, and the mining crew and within almost an instant they were outside of the cave and at the location of the first klouncine block. Birds chirped and the sun shined. Everything was quiet and peaceful.
Kaline put away his sword and looked at the Klouncine block in amazement.
"Kaline!" Pierce called, running over to him. "We've done it! The first klouncine block, right here! Ours for the taking!"
Everyone began to slowly recover from the effects of the sleeping potions.
"Ugh..." Zerrel groaned. "What the heck happened?"
"I feel like a snow golem right now," Archie spoke, rubbing his eyes. "Slushy and weak."
"You're all okay!" Kaline said with a smile. "Take a good look guys! We've done it!"
"Indeed," Archie replied. "All that trouble for one klouncine block. It's still a great success, but we still have thirteen more to go so let's not celebrate. Mind if I ask what happened back there? I may not know what went down after we stormed the witch hut and fell into slumber, but I am positive you faced the warlock."
Kaline had hugged Crystal, his wife, then turned to face Archie again. "I did. He was definetly off his nut. He gave me this very degrading puzzle, had to use strategy in order to save us. I completed it, and then he used his magic to send us back here. I can't help but think it was too easy though, like everything I endured in there was simply a distraction. I was told how dangerous it was the go to the Witch Empire, even Moral said-"
"Woah, hold up," Archie interrupted. "Who's Moral?"
"He- I don't know- Nothing, Archie." Kaline replied, struggling to find an answer.
"Well, that doesn't matter," Crytal said with a smile. "You do the honors Kaline, mine us the first klouncine block and guide us one step closer to getting to The Climax."
Kaline nodded then turned to Pierce. "Are you with me now?"
Pierce rolled his eyes at the remark but then grinned. "Yes, Kaline. I am."
"Good." Kaline said. He brought out his pickaxe and approached the klouncine block, sitting peacefully in the deactivated ender crystal.
With that, the first klouncine block was obtained.
It's a rather turn in the story.
I'm also organizing the story into parts so it doesn't get too confusing in the future.
Hope you guys enjoy it!
What a mess for our heroes!
TT2000, you are genius.
Was in a good mood!
This is a long one! Didn't realize that until it was published, but there was a lot of information to reveal!
This Fan Fiction isn't really close to being done, but Chapter 5 is an important part of the entire thing.
It does get a little confusing, but you'll get used to it towards the end.
I hope you enjoy it! These positive responses are driving me to update it more often.
Thanks!
I was really aiming to make Chapter 5 a primary part to the story. I plan to make the next few chapters just as good!
Sorry for the long wait, been away from the computer for a while. I'll be sure to update the story more commonly now.
**Small Update**
I re-read some previous chapters and fixed some spelling errors. Don't know if anyone cares, but some were pretty silly. So yeah, a lot of them are fixed.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the recent chapter!
*Laughs to death*
TT2000, you are genius.
Where Chapter 6 was more of a funny and cheerful chapter, Chapter 7 really returns to the dark nature of the story.
This recent chapter puts the heroes in a difficult situation again, but this time it's much worse than the event that occured at the end of "Kaline vs. The Nether." And yeah, they go to Witherox. I personally like this chapter. I enjoyed writing it almost as much as I did with Chapter 5.
I hope you guys enjoy!
TT2000, you are genius.
Basically. He does become a main part of the story in the future. Chapter 8 also describes how the main character gets back and stuff.