Alright, so within the couple of months I've become a Yogscast fan. One of my favorite stories they tell is "Shadow of Israphel." They spin the tale so well that surprises come out that I don't even expect.
For those who watch, I was struck by an unexpected surprise in the last one they had put up at the time I posted this (Episode 38). While we still have yet to know what is to happen next, I have a thought as a possible "what could happen." Knowing what I do of the game and of their story, I know it probably won't actually happen. This is purely a what if one-shot that takes place later on once they get out of the black metal hand.
Disclaimers:I do not own Minecraft – that belongs to Notch! I do not own anything from Star Trek – that goes without saying. I do not own the name Khaz Modan. I own no characters or places named in this story. Xephos, Honeydew, Verigan Peculier, Icaria and all of the like are the creations of Lewis, Simon and those of the group known as the Yogscast. I am not a member of this group, don't ask me for anything from them.
Shadow of Israphel: Entering Icaria
It was sunrise as the two entered the waterside city of Icaria. It had been a long hard and tiring journey from the desert near Verigan's Hold. Their hearts were heavy with sadness. How would they tell their friends? How could they tell Isabel?
William Riker had been left on Minecraftia for a while now. He went under the name Xephos to try to fit in better with the people of the planet. He wasn't sure when Picard would come back with the Enterprise. It had been months, seemed almost like a year to him. He had made a companion near instantly who helped him around, taught him the ropes, and helped him to survive.
Honeydew was the name of the one who helped the man from another world. He was a very charismatic dwarf from the region of Khaz Modan. He was strong of back and was more than willing to go into battle (except when there were certain mobs involved). The male had found the spaceman and as time passed they grew to be fast friends.
However their trouble started on the day they built what appeared to be just a normal portal out of obsidian. They didn't know that they had released an evil into the world that had been sealed away for many decades. Many a time they had been nearly killed by the instigator of this evil, dodging arrows that were shot at them. They chased the figure many times, the final time ending them in a town called Terrorvale.
It was here that they met a man named Verigan Peculier, however he requested to go by Old Peculier. He seemed old and haggard. He'd had a hard life it seemed, as he had told the story to his two new comrades. As they traveled together they learned more about the history of Minecraftia and Peculier's family, including his true name of Verigan Antioc. His sister had become a pirate – supposedly one of the most feared in all of the world, even though she was truly a dear. His father, grandfather and uncle had been the ones to save the world from the endless summer and the desert. They had met comrades from that time as well – Granny Bacon, Adaephon Antioc, Spacker LeChuck and the wizard Fumblemore.
And then it came to the period when time started to run short. They had only three days to save blacksmith Daisy Duke from becoming a sacrifice for the summoned evil entity known as Iraphel. They returned to Verigan's Hold only to find that they had to venture into the dreaded desert. When they did there was a metal hand that appeared as though is were clawing its way out of the sands that had buried it. They entered the thing, only to find haunting messages from Professor Griswald and a templar scientist named Enoch.
After the last message was found from Enoch – along with some rather disturbing remains – the three found some strange minecart tracks and decided to take them and see where they went. They got separated, but not before Honeydew and Riker heard a cry from their friend before he fell to his death into what appeared to be radioactive lava. The human and the dwarf had watched and could do nothing. Their hearts sank. They couldn't save their friend and they were forced to move ahead in their journey with heavy hearts and minds.
Everything went by quickly that nothing could be remembered. They were numb from the loss. And they knew that they would have to tell their other comrades about what had happened. They weren't looking forward to it.
Their bodies were bruised and their minds were tired as they trudged along the streets of Icaria. All of their food was gone and all armor had been destroyed. They were lucky even to still be carrying an iron pick and a stone sword.
It was when they had reached the fountain in the middle of town that they finally collapsed. Exhaustion had taken over and their legs gave way. The heroes the world knew as the dwarf and the spaceman had finally fallen victim to their own weariness.
"Heroes!" a voice cried nearby. Riker looked up weakly, black slowly creeping around the edges of his blurred vision. He could see the blue cloth covered with stars.
"Fumblemore..." his voice rasped. The Starfleet officer fought the urge to cry. It had been near an eternity that they had last seen – let alone heard – from the wizard. Honeydew groaned as he looked up at the elderly man as well.
The man before them turned around.
"They're here!" he shouted, "Xephos and Honeydew have arrived in Icaria!"
Doors opened from all sides as the two felt their consciousness fading. Both men tried to stand, but they had no strength left. The two instantly fell back, allowing the supposed bliss of the darkness take them even before they hit the ground.
It was many hours later when Riker finally awakened in a bed. He looked around his surroundings. He was in a house. Upon taking a closer look he noticed that someone was waiting for him. It was a familiar metalic pirate.
"Tinman," he uttered. The robot nodded, then went to the door and left the room.
"01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01110000 01100001 01100011 01100101 01101101 01100001 01101110 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01100110 01101001 01101110 01100001 01101100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01100001 01110111 01100001 01101011 01100101 01101110 01100101 01100100," the pirate spoke aloud. There was shuffling and chair scooting against wooden floors.
"Xephos is awake? Let me speak with him!" a female exclaimed.
"'Bout time 'e finally woke up. I was stahtin' ta wonda if 'oneydew an' I would hafta dig a 'ole fo' 'im," a gravely voice broke out before sounding like it was coughing up a lung.
"Spacker! You know better than to speak like that about a comrade!" a clogged sinus-sounding voice sounded unpleased.
"Oh, you know I'da dun nuthin' of tha sort, Fumblemore. No' like you an' your constant use of TNT."
There was a bit of scuffling heard while a female entered the room. It was who the woman was that caused Riker to nearly shut down again.
Isabel stood before him. She gazed at him, scanning him with her eyes. He fought back tears as he stared at her. It hurt just too much.
"Tell me what happened... Where is my brother, Xephos?" the dread pirate asked.
The spaceman looked down. He didn't really have a choice now. The story had to come out. It hurt him to even think about it.
"Verigan... He... He didn't make it," Riker's voice nearly cracked as he spoke.
She rushed over to him. Strong yet delicate hands gripped his arms and she forced him to look into her eyes. He felt his hearts sink further.
"How? How did he die? Tell me! At least say that he died in battle."
Riker looked to the side as his heart pounded.
"We had found the metal hand in the desert. We went to investigate it. When we found Templar Enoch's remains soon afterward we found some minecart tracks... We were trying to figure out how it was connected to Israphel, because we knew it was somehow," finally left his lips.
"He died... by riding on a minecart?" she screamed.
"Into radioactive lava," he finished, "The track was broken. We couldn't do anything to get to him in time!"
He was rewarded by a hard slap to the face. Tears poured down her cheeks. The Federation member hated seeing women cry. He wasn't sure how to finish.
"Isabel," he tried to speak calmly as the person in question had already crossed the room and was about to leave, "Verigan knew what he was getting into. We joined him knowing that at some point we would all risk our lives. He told us that if something were to happen to him, that we should go on without him. We didn't want to, but it was at his request. Also investigation we did into the metal hand was vital in that it gave us more information about the enemy and what he does to his victims. The discovery of the lava and how the sand used to be good is more a help than a hindrance."
The female pirate had stopped in her tracks. She hated to admit it, but he was right. Her brother had known that something was going to happen. She was only upset because she never had a chance to say goodbye.
"Xephos," she spoke softly, "this coming battle..."
"It will make it so that he had not died without reason," the spaceman finished, "He shall be remembered by all of us. This will be fought for him. Not only will it be for us and for all of Minecraftia. It shall be for your brother."
"For Verigan," she nodded as Riker came up to her. He took her hand and squeezed in in reassurance. Then the went into the other room, where the others awaited the heroes of the world so that they could all finally sit down and plan for what they hoped would be the final battle.