The afternoon sun shone through the window as the blue-suited spaceman paced around his room, muttering incoherent phrases to himself. Sky and Deadlox had been missing for two days already. The door opened, revealing Quentin. Jason looked at him hopefully, but his face fell when he saw his defeated expression. "Did you find them?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. Quentin shook his head. Jason sat down with a sigh of frustration.
"I found this, though." the blue mudkip said, giving Jason a piece of paper. "It was was attached to a cactus with an arrow."
"Dear Sky Army," Jason read aloud, "We have kidnapped your general and lieutenant. You will never find them again! We are more powerful and smarter than you can ever imagine. We are unstoppable! First we will conquer your army, and then all of Minecraftia! Sincerely, King Derpollolus II." Jason put down the paper thoughtfully. "Hmm. At least we know it was the squids who kidnapped Sky and Deadlox."
"I hope Ian and Jerome have better luck finding something more useful, though." Quentin replied.
A while later, Ian returned. "I was looking for a squid to capture for info, but I couldn't find any!"
"None at all?" Jason asked, shocked.
"Yeah! It was like they all vanished or something!" Ian replied. "It's so weird!"
"I found this note." Quentin said, giving it to Ian to read.
"Squids," Ian said, shaking his head, "they never learn, do they?"
"Well they've learned that they should hide from us." Jason said. "Why must the squids get smarter everytime?"
"Sky?" a voice whispered. "Psst. Sky. Wake up." Sky groaned and opened his eyes to see red ones staring back.
"T-Ty?" Sky murmured as he sat up. "Ow!"
Ty winced. "Don't look at your arm." Sky looked at his arm and screamed. It was covered with a sling, but it still hurt like the Nether and he couldn't move his hand. "I think it's broken. I had to use your shirt for the sling, sorry."
"It's okay Ty." Now fully awake, Sky looked around. He and Ty were in a giant cage that hung above a large pool of water. There were many tunnels of water that led to the tall room. Sky glared at the two large squids that were swimming below them. "Is this the Squid Army's base?" he asked them.
"YES." they said in unison. "IT WILL ALSO BE YOUR FINAL RESTING PLACE AND YOUR DOOM. YOU WILL PERISH, BUTTER KING, FOR WE ARE-"
"Okay, okay, I get it." Sky said with annoyance.
An even bigger squid swam from one of the tunnels. A giant butter crown was placed on his head and his derpy eyes glared at the cage. Sky felt sick just looking at him. "Sky," the squid said, "do you know who I am?"
"An ugly squid?"
"No. I am King Derpollolus II."
"An ugly squid." Sky repeated.
"You won't be so brave when you hear what the leader has in store for you."
"Wait, you're not the leader?" Sky said, confused.
"No..." the mysterious voice said, purple particles floating into the room. "I am."
"Why did you bring us here?" Deadlox asked.
"All will be answered in due time. But for now, you should eat." Two squids entered the room, opened the cage, and threw two labeled boxes in. Deadlox's had a bucket of fresh water and ten cooked fish. Sky's had a bucket of stale water and five raw fish.
"That's not enough for him!" Deadlox said indignantly. "Why did I get the better food?"
"Because I want him to slowly perish as he watches his 'army' crumble. You, on the other hand, will need to thrive to be useful." Deadlox ignored the voice and gave Sky one of his fish. "Stop."
"No." Deadlox said defiantly as he passed Sky another one.
One of the guards held down Deadlox while the other grabbed Sky's broken arm. Sky screamed in agony as he felt his bone pierce his skin.
"Stop!" Deadlox cried out. "Let go of him! I'll eat the damn fish, just stop hurting him!"
The guards let go of Sky, who panted as he lay limply. "When will you ever learn that resistance gets you nowhere..." the voice said as he left the room.
"I'm sorry Sky..." Deadlox said quietly. Sky said nothing as he held his broken arm and tried to stifle his whimpers of pain.
Everyone turned to the door as someone opened it. Jerome ran in, carrying someone in his arms. "This guy needs medical attention, fast!" the bacca shouted.
Jason, Quentin, and Ian immediately stepped into action. "Lay him down on the table!" Jason ordered. "Ian, get the medical supplies!
"I'm on it!" he said as he ran out. About half a minute later, he came back.
The wounded person fought weakly against Quentin and Jerome, who were trying to keep him on the table. Tears leaked out from his amber eyes, which darted nervously around the room. His face was ghostly pale. "D-d-don't hurt me..." he stammered, his breathing very shaky. His sandy-brown hair clung to his face, which was slick with sweat.
Jason removed the patient's red-and-black checkered hoodie. He was covered in bruises and scratches. There were deep cuts on his arms and legs and there was a big slice on his hip. He was losing blood fast. "Oh my Notch, what happened to him?" Quentin asked when he saw the numerous injuries. Jason remained silent as he started cleaning the wounds and bandaging them.
"Go away..." the minecrafter said weakly. He shivered and took several shuddering breaths. "Leave me alone..."
"I'm trying to wrap up his wounds, but he won't stop shaking!" Jason said urgently. "He needs to calm down."
"Shh, it's alright." Ian said, patting his head soothingly. "Relax, you're going to be fine." The patient merely shook his head and whimpered.
"Leave me alone..." the minecrafter repeated as he covered his eyes with his hands. "Please... I didn't even look at you..."
"We're not going to hurt you." Quentin said.
"Yeah! We're just trying to help you." Jerome said. "I saved you, didn't I?"
"I'm Ian, the bacca's Jerome, the mudkipper is Quentin, and the guy in the spacesuit is Jason." Ian said. "We're part of Sky's Army, there's nothing to be afraid of."
"I'm M-Mitch..." he said fearfully, his muscles tense.
"Okay Mitch, how old are you?" Jerome asked.
"Nineteen..." Mitch said as he started to relax a little.
"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" Quentin asked.
"Eleven..." Mitch mumbled. Jerome winced.
"This cut on his hip won't stop bleeding!" Jason said. "I think he'll need stitches!"
"Am I going to die?" Mitch asked, his eyes glued to the ceiling.
"No, you won't." Quentin said. "Not if we can help it. Get him anaesthesia!" Jason filled the syringe with clear liquid and injected it into Mitch's arm.
He stopped shivering and his eyes slowly closed. "Th-th-thank you..." Mitch whispered. "No... More... Pain..." He fell asleep. The room was silent for a moment.
"Holy Nether, what happened to him?" Jason asked as he started stitching up the wound.
"I was in the trees when I heard screaming." Jerome explained. "When I got there, Mitch was already half-dead, and there were a ton of Endermen attacking him. I think I even saw more Endermen teleporting to the scene to help. I scared them off though. I watered them a question. Wait, that doesn't even make sense."
"Did Mitch look at all of them?" Ian asked.
"Not likely." Jason replied. "We'll have to ask him when he wakes up. Jerome, move him to the infirmary."
"The infirmary blew up, though. Remember that creeper attack?" Jerome replied.
Jason groaned. Ever since Sky and Deadlox had disappeared, he had been forgetting a lot of things. "Are you okay with having Mitch in your room?"
"Of course, buddy." Jerome said as he left with Mitch in his arms.
Jason looked out the window and was surprised to see that it was almost nighttime. "We should eat, and then start searching again the next morning. We need to find the Squid Army's home base."
"Could we discuss this over dinner? Because I'm starving." Ian said. As if on cue, his stomach growled. Quentin chuckled.
"I'll be down in a minute." Jason said. "I gotta feed Jeffrey first." When everyone left, he took out a sheet of paper and quickly scribbled a note on it.
Seto,
We need you to come back to home base ASAP. Sky and Ty taken by squids. Require your assistance.
From, Jason.
The spaceman opened the window and whistled. The leaves of a tree rustled as a dark figure hanging from it uncurled. Dillon screeched and flew up to the window. "Send this to Seto as fast as you can." the spaceman said. "He's somewhere in the taiga biome." The bat took the note and flew away into the night.
"In the beginning, there were four brothers. There was Lord Notch, the eldest and the wisest, the most powerful being of the entire universe. He carried a special spark -the spark of life- and passed it down to this once empty world. His kingdom is the Overworld, and he ruled it with fairness and virtue.
"The second eldest was Lord Herobrine, with his eyes that glow pure white. Fearsome he may be, but evil he is not."
"He's not? But the kids at school all say he is!"
"No, Mitch, he is not. It was he who brought the warmth of fire to our cold world. He oversees his world of lava; the Nether.
"Then there was Lord Aris; his intentions as pure as water, but his heart easily swayed like a feather in the wind. He created those two elements and ruled his dimensions in the heavens; the Aether.
"The youngest was Lord Ender. His magic was the most inexperienced, but he was the most cunning of the four, and perhaps the most ruthless. His dimension is the End, the place where they say your darkest nightmares come from. And perhaps it is so, for many brave adventurers met their end in that cruel world."
"I thought it was Lord Herobrine who created the End."
"That is a lie. I will explain why late. Anyway, the four brothers ruled Minecraftia together for many millenium, and so the world thrived and prospered. It was the Golden Age of Glory, but all that glitters is not gold...
"As the years went by, Lord Ender's heart grew as cold, dark, and bitter as the world he had created. Every human friend he had would eventually turn murderously insane, and he realized that it was because of the influence of the darkness of his soul. But instead of trying to stop it, like his elder brother Lord Herobrine did, he allowed the darkness to take him over completely. He was poisoned by his own jealousy and ambition. Lord Ender envied his brothers and was not content with sharing the power. He wanted to see fear and grief around the worlds under his rule, but he was not foolish enough to challenge all three of his brothers alone.
"For reasons no one except his brothers know, Lord Notch was forced to leave this universe, bequeathing the Overworld to Lord Herobrine. Now with only two brothers to go against, Lord Ender persuaded Lord Aris to join his side. At first the Aether Lord refused, but Lord Ender convinced him that he could purify the world and rid it of its imperfections. And so Lord Aris agreed to share half of Minecraftia. He would rule the Aether and the Overworld, and Lord Ender would rule the End and the Nether.
"Lord Herobrine, unaware of his youngest brother's corruption, gave Lord Ender magical crystals that he had found from the far lands where the Four had come from. But the youngest brother eventually discovered that the Ender Crystals would give each user a unique power. Lord Ender's power was the ability to heal himself drastically.
"With his new powers, Lord Ender betrayed Lord Aris and sought out to dispose of him. The Aether Lord fought, but he was no match for the Ender Crystals. As a last defensive resort, Lord Aris divided his soul into millions of squids, creatures of water. But this left Lord Ender with the control of both the Aether and the End.
"Alarmed at the sudden defeat and betrayal of his two brothers, Lord Herobrine was at a loss. At first the Nether Lord tried to convince Lord Ender to cease fighting, but he was drunk with power and would not heed his words. The resulting battle lasted for days. Fierce, terrifying monsters plagued the Overworld. Families were separated and loved ones were lost. But still Lord Herobrine refused to fight his only remaining brother.
"And then one day he was forced to realize the only option he had to save Minecraftia. Reluctantly, Lord Herobrine defeated his brother and destroyed the Ender Crystals, which shattered into a million pieces. He encased his brother in an egg and imprisoned him in the End. Peace was restored amongst the lands, and the Second Golden Age began."
"So why does everyone say he's evil if he's not?"
"Because of guilt, Mitch. Lord Herobrine felt that he could have prevented the betrayal of the Lord of the End, and so he convinced everyone that he had been the one who had tried to take over Minecraftia instead of his brother. And with time, Lord Ender and his sins were forgotten, and the blame was Lord Herobrine's to bear."
"Daddy?"
"Yes, Mitch?"
"What if Lord Ender comes back? What if he tries to hurt me?"
"Your mother and I will never let that happen, Mitch. I promise."
The memory suddenly crumbled away as a dragon roared menacingly in the shadows.
"DADDY, NO!"
Mitch jerked awake, his scream escaping his mouth. He breathed heavily as he looked around the unfamiliar room. There were axes of all kinds of materials displayed on the walls. Golden armor hung on the wall in front of Mitch. He looked down and saw that he was covered in bandages. His wounds still ached, but not as acutely as before. Mitch lifted up his shirt and lightly ran his fingers over the neat stitches on his hip, wondering who had done them. All he could remember from the day before were flashes of purple, growls, and lots and lots of agonizing pain.
"What's wrong, biggums?" someone asked, and Mitch saw a bacca in a business suit standing right next to him. Mitch screamed, grabbed the nearest diamond axe, and swung it at Jerome. It would have sliced his head clean off if Jerome hadn't had fast reflexes and ducked. "Woah! What was that for?"
"You're a bacca!" Mitch yelled as he stared at Jerome's sharp fangs in fear. "You're gonna eat me!"
Jerome looked offended. "Hey, just because some baccas eat humans doesn't mean they all do."
"They, they don't?"
"No, I'm Jerome: an honorable man of the bac! Plus, wouldn't I have eaten you already?"
"Oh. Yeah." Mitch's face turned red as he slowly put back the diamond axe on the wall. "Sorry."
"It's okay. So, what were you screaming about? Did you have a nightmare?" Jerome asked, concerned.
"No." Mitch lied.
"You're crying." Jerome replied skeptically.
"No I'm not." Mitch said, putting a hand to his face. He was surprised to feel tear tracks. "Oh."
Jerome decided to drop the questions for later. "I think Jason would like to see you. We were just eating breakfast. Are you hungry?"
Mitch licked his lips. "Starving."
He tried to stand up, but Jerome stopped him. "Mitch, you were beaten up by multiple Endermen yesterday. I don't think you should try standing up anytime soon. I'll get Jason to check you up."
"Where am I, anyway?"
Jerome smiled. "Welcome to the home base of the Sky Army, biggums."