Hello readers, I am Vinarth! This is where the story starts to get interesting... Please review! (It motivates me to write faster)

Chapter 3 - The Stone

_Cupa sighed as Steve lost consciousness again. He's as good as dead, she thought, if only I had saved him sooner. My abilities could've made it possible. He's my only companion, and if he dies, I'm alone in this world. Well, not entirely alone... there's always Teacher.

_"That's it! I'll take him to Teacher!" She exclaimed as she came to a sudden realization. "Teacher will know what to do! Come on Steve," Unable to carry him, she grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him along, "We're going deeper into the caves!"

- [ ] -

_Cupa dragged Steve back into the lava room. She grabbed a large piece of bark, big enough to support Steve, and rolled him onto it. She then dragged that instead of his wrist before continuing the trek through the caves.

_It was dark. Pitch-black actually, but Cupa was able to see just fine due to her… abilities. Tired of pulling, Cupa stopped to take a break about 15 minutes in. She sat down next to Steve, and although there was no light, she could've sworn she saw some sort of shadow on the wall.

_A few seconds later, she continued on her way, but was now cautiously looking around. A moan was the answer she was looking for.

_"Damn! I was almost there too... Come out and fight me like monsters!" Even Cupa couldn't see a whole lot, but when she felt something brush up against her, she exploded, careful not to hurt Steve. There were only two in that pack, which means I need to get to Teacher before the rest show up. Cupa gave up with the bark and instead threw Steve over her shoulders. "God! Why are you so heavy?" She complained, struggling under his weight.

_The caves started to brighten again as they approached a sort of underground temple. Cupa gasped when she saw a pack of seven between them and the entrance of the temple. There was no choice now; she had to turn into monster form in order to drive them off. A flash of white light and an explosion later, all of the zombies were knocked out, but Steve had woken up.

_"Uggg... What's going on?" Steve dizzily sat up and looked around. The first thing he laid his eyes on was Cupa; in creeper form.

_"Ahh! G-get away from me!" Steve got up to run and immediately fell down again. The Creeper walked closer to Steve and could see the fear in his eyes. It started to glow white, but instead of exploding turned into Cupa. "Wha... Cupa?"

_"Yes"

_"You're a–"

_"Yes. Look Steve, I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earlier, but–"

_"Get away from me!" Steve pushed her off of him and tried to crawl away.

_"You don't trust me?"

_"People who trust anyone other than themselves die in this world! I'm better off on my own!"

_"Yes, but if you're on your own then no one can help you. I want to help you, it's only a few more–"

_"You're one of them!"

_"No I'm not! I have consciousness! I have sentience!"

_"A self-aware creeper is the last thing I need! I'm leaving."

_"I'm just what you need! You can't possibly make it out of these caves by yourself Steve! I don't want the only human I know to die!"

_"If that's true then why are we in these caves in the first place?"

_"To heal you!" Cupa was starting to cry "I risked my life coming down here in human form, just to save yours! You ungrateful, ignorant jerk! If I was going to kill you, why did I save you from that enderman! I hope all humans aren't complete assholes like you!" Steve, just stood there, stunned at her outburst and angry at the fact that he hadn't made this connection. "Come on, *snif* we're almost there"

_Both of them walked into the temple in silence. It was an enormous structure; spherical in shape and had a golden pedestal in the center. Lit by rows of fire up the walls, everything was clearly visible. As they walked down to the center, Steve looked over at Cupa. Her face was red and she wiped away a tear, obviously hurt at what Steve had thought of her. I'm an asshole, Steve thought, but for some reason, I still can't bring myself to trust her.

_As they approached the golden pedestal, it became clear that there was a blue, translucent stone sitting on it.

_"What is that?" Steve said as he gestured to the rock.

_"That," Cupa said, "is Teacher"

_"Teacher?" Steve asked

_"Yes, Teacher," a third voice said. And the room started to spin.

_"Cupa! Is the room spinning or is it just my head?"

_"The room is spinning Steve."

_Their platform did not move, but the room around them really started to move. The wind started to pick up and the fire danced on the walls. As the speed increased, the flames created elaborate, mesmerizing patterns. All this happened in a few seconds before everything stopped and both Steve and Cupa blacked out.

- [ ] -

_"Steve! Rise!" A strong, male voice commanded. Steve opened his eyes and stood up. He seemed to be standing in a field, back on the surface and looked around for the source of the voice. He soon had his answer as an owl with a 5 meter wingspan landed in front of him. It was also a translucent blue, like the rock.

_"Your body is right where we left it, your mind is here in the Subconscious Plain! I am Magister, or Teacher in desired form, at your service! If you haven't received a proper greeting yet then I have one for you now; welcome to Minecraft!"

_"Welcome?"

_"Yea!"

_"Welcome!?"

_"Yes!"

_"Welcome!?"

_"Uh... I think so?"

_"Let me tell you something here Teacher. I lost my old life coming here! I lost home! I lost things! I lost friends! I lost family! I was placed in a savage world destitute! And you tell me WELCOME?"

_"Yep."

_"Tell me why"

_"I can't; not now"

_"Well then what was the point of bringing me down here?"

_"To rejuvenate you," teacher stated.

_"What?"

_"When you regain consciousness you'll find that your skull has healed, you'll have a full stomach, and you will have muscle mass and other physical characteristics reverted to how they were when you got here a little over three weeks ago."

_"Oh. Thank you."

_"I'm not the one you should be thanking; you should be thanking Cupa."

_"Huh?"

_"I have a limited range of influence; about 50 meters, so although I am almost omniscient, I can't move (and require large amounts of energy to run.) So Cupa had to bring you down here in order for me to heal you. She risked a lot; she traveled almost 300 meters in pure darkness, in human form, dragging the piece of bark carrying you behind her."

_"She could've died! Why would she do that?"

_"Are you lonely Steve?"

_"What does that have to do with anything?"

_"Are you lonely?"

_"A little at times"

_"Guess who else is lonely?"

_"Cupa?"

_"She's lived here her whole life of fifteen years; never once has she seen another human. I'm the only other sentient life she's ever known! I've been filling her up with information on humans in hopes that one day, she might run into one."

_"So?"

_"Steve! There is a difference, a big difference, between surviving and living. Just because this world is evil doesn't mean the people in it are! Cupa wants to live! That's why she risked her life to save the only person she knew! She's lonely and has finally found a companion"

_"I wish I could say I would do the same for her..."

_"That doesn't matter! Now whether you choose to apologize to her or not is up to you, but I strongly recommend that you cooperate with her; it would help both of you out. That is all. Return to Minecraft!"

_Steve woke up and looked around. He was still in the temple, but he felt great! He didn't have a near-seizure headache, he wasn't hungry, he wasn't tired, and he could stand on his own! He hadn't felt this alive in a while.

_"Thank you Magister!" Steve called out, "No, thank you Cupa! Where is she?" he looked to the pedestal and found Cupa floating in the air next to the stone, staring at it in a trance.

_After a few minutes, they did come down; the stone returned to its previous location, and Cupa was gently placed on the floor. A few seconds later, she woke up. Steve was kneeling over her and she immediately looked the other way, holding her grudge.

_"Hey Cupa," Steve started.

_"What do you want?"

_"Are you still mad from before?"

_"Why shouldn't I be?"

_"Listen, I'm sorry about before, I get that way sometimes. I've been stuck in hell for what seems like forever, so when I got a blessing, I didn't recognize it at first and pushed it out of the way. I apologize for being self-centered and rude. Will you forgive me?"

_Cupa blushed a little but then straightened her face before answering, "only if you treat me like a human rather than a monster"

_"Of course I will, thanks for bringing me down here!''

_"Come on, let's go" Cupa got up and started to walk out.

_"Wait!" The third voice said. Both of them looked at the stone. "Two things, One; Steve, good job, I know that saying sorry is hard for you! Two; take me with you."

_"What?!" They both said together.

_"Take me with you."

_"Why?" Cupa said

_"Because I'm bored."

_"Good enough reason as any, welcome to the team!" Steve said and Cupa rolled her eyes.

_"Thank you, I feel welcomed. If you look on the underside of my pedestal you will find that you can pull out the bronze sword that is stashed there. It may help. I'm going to sleep now."

_Steve put the stone in his pocket and grabbed the sword. Together he and Cupa walked out of the cave system, ready to face the world. The World of Minecraft.