Disclaimer: I own nothing of the actual game of Minecraft, no matter how much I wish I did.
Rockwell stood still for a moment, puzzled by this news. He wasn't upset, but he wasn't sure he liked this..."Matthew" character, despite never having met him. He looked a Patrick who shrugged and said,
"Tough luck."
"What do you mean, tough luck?"
"She's not single, and that seems to bother you."
"Be quiet. You're a soldier, just close the portal after you go through and say no more."
"No need to be so snappy."
Rockwell didn't reply to Patrick, and instead just stepped through the portal. He closed his eyes as everything became purple and wavy before he was expelled from the portal and onto a hard, red surface. Screeches could be heard in the distance, along with the clank of bones and bubbling sounds of lava. He stood up, brushing himself off and looking around. In the distance, he saw a nether portal at the end of this crimson hallway. He turned around to see Patrick step through the portal confidently. He turned around and struck at the obsidian base of the portal until one of the blocks was removed. He picked it up gingerly and placed it in his pocket. Turning to Rockwell, he gestured to the other portal and said,
"After you, then."
Rockwell jogged down the hallway, making good time. He was only concerned with the sounds of clanking when a large, black skeleton, taller than him emerged from around the corner, wielding a stone sword which it raised up and brought swiftly down, hitting Rockwell in the chest and sending him backwards. He felt oddly sick and clutched his chest where the blade had sliced him. Patrick rushed forward, taking Rockwell's sword in one hand to accompany the blade he already had.
Patrick yelled as he slashed one sword across the monster's skull, and he used the other blade to hack at it's bony torso. Leaving one blade lodged between two ribs, he stabbed its skull and it evaporated, leaving behind a piece of coal and...
"Neat! A wither skull!" Patrick said, putting it on in place of his leather cap. He turned around and remembered Rockwell, who was lying on the floor. Patrick raced to help him, sheathing his sword to help Rockwell to his feet. As he hauled him up, he saw on Rockwell's forearm, three red hearts and three pieces of meat on a bone. He knew what that meant, he had learned of it at the spawn point. He had a low hunger level and was fairly close to death. Patrick heaved Rockwell up and pulled him along, making sure to pick up Rockwell's sword.
They burst through the portal and Patrick tossed the diamond pick to another soldier while he placed Rockwell on a horse.
"Two story shop on Sandstone avenue." He said, and the horse sped away, with Rockwell loosely holding onto the reigns. Patrick watched it go, hoping that it would arrive to the shop with a living Rockwell and not some inventory pieces. He turned around and went back into the base, hoping for a little bit of sleep. Sticky pistons squeaked and slammed the gate behind him.
Meanwhile, Rockwell was rounding a bend sharply and scattering a flock of chickens. He breathed a sigh of relief as a sign for their group's shop came into view. The horse stopped, dropped him to the ground, and turned around, galloping away down the road.
Rockwell stood up and stumbled to the door and knocked. A pair of eyes looked through the door before a voice said,"Open the door, quick!"
"Thanks." Rockwell said as Michele helped him inside. Amelia and the others were there, except for Nicholas, who must have been down in his laboratory. They placed Rockwell at a seat and Dyllon rushed over with some bread, placing it in front of him to eat. Rockwell tore into the food and felt himself getting better, but he knew it would take a little bit. Someone else knocked on the door, and Rockwell had an idea of who it could be.
"It's some strangers. There's a girl and a boy." Amelia.
"Let them in." Rockwell said, standing up slowly. He pulled the black sweatshirt he owned over his head to hide the cut that still lingered there.
"Hi. I'm Lucille, a friend of Rockwell's. This is Matthew, my boyfriend. Rockwell invited me to have dinner with you, and Matthew decided to tag along."
"I see." Michele said, turning to the table,"Well, we have plenty of food here, we just need to set it out. Make yourselves comfortable." The table, which normally held items for sale, was now empty. Matthew took a seat at the head of the table, and Lucille sat close to him. Rockwell sat opposite from Matthew and stared at the ceiling absentmindedly. Dyllon brought over cooked chicken and bread, Amelia brought baked potatoes, and Michele brought bottles of water. Nicholas poked his head out from his lair and smiled.
"I thought I smelled baked potatoes!" He said, taking a set near Rockwell. Michele and Amelia took seats next to each other, which left no room for Dyllon, who sat behind the store counter instead.
"So how'd you meet?" Michele asked.
"We spawned together." Matthew responded.
"Thanks, but I was wondering how Lucille met Rockwell."
"Oh. We met when we bumped into each other on the way to work. Quite literally, in fact."
"Come on, Rockwell, you can't run people over just yet! That's not how you make friends, at least usually it isn't." Dyllon announced from behind the counter.
"Rockwell, I have a rather distinct sense that you have a lot of information that they want. Prepare for a line of questioning." Nicholas whispered.
"I said that I have a distinct sense, a distinct instinct." He said,"Which makes for a good tongue twister."
"I hope you're wrong."
"However, that's not likely. I'm nothing one to make inaccurate predictions."
"Rockwell,is it? I have a question. What exactly happened today?" Matthew asked from across the table,"I think we'd all like to know."
Nicholas gestured to Matthew and the took a bite out of a baked potato. Rockwell wondered where to begin.
"Well, we were mining along when I stumbled upon a cave. We entered the cave and then a putrid smell hit our noses. In just a few seconds there was a horde of zombies coming after us. We were pinned against this lava pool, fell/jumped off of our platform, and landed next to the lava. Then, some miners dug their way through the wall. Lucille got into a fight with one and lost. I rushed the miner who beat her and was defeated. Then they took us down a tunnel and into the kingdom."
"Which kingdom?" Amelia asked.
"Mesa biome."
"Ah. Yes." She said, turning to Michele.
"Either way, you guys will never guess who the King was of the Mesa biome."
"Fine. If we can't guess ourselves, who was it?" Nicholas asked.
Rockwell shot him an irritated look,"It was Mitchell." He said, basking in the shock and surprise that followed his words. Dyllon was now gone from his place at the counter and was listening from the second story.
"How?" Dyllon asked,"He died, right?"
"Who's Mitchell?" Matthew asked.
"A friend."Amelia responded.
"He wasn't dead. He nearly died, though. Soldiers from our biome showed up and accused him of aiding and helping the criminals who attacked that big tower in the centre of town."
"That seems unlikely." Nicholas said.
"Enough out of you, Nicholas."
"Fine." He said.
"Either way, he showed up later, attack us, threw Lucille off of the tower, and then I fought and beat him."
"No offence, but did that really happen?" Matthew asked, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, it did. Can I finish?" Rockwell responded.
"Yeah, you can." Matthew retorted snappily.
"Not much happened after that. Lucille and I found each other, found Patrick, and went home."
"How'd you get hurt, though?" Dyllon asked.
"Not important. I was just startled." Rockwell said, walking up the stairs,"I'd like to get some rest now, so I'm not taking any more questions."
