Sorry it's been so long since the last update! I hope this doesn't happen again!
Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Three - Bedrock
A figure made their way down a cobblestone corridor, their feet tapping against the floor as they headed in further. They paused as they reached the end of the tunnel, glancing behind them as if afraid of someone spotting them. With no one in sight they uncrossed their folded arms, flipping a lever. The sounds of pistons could be heard, and the wall in front of them was pulled away, revealing a hidden room behind it.
The figure smirked, reaching back and tugging a hood over their head. They bowed their head for a moment, muttering a chat before they entered the room. They shuffled forward, head still bowed respectfully. In front of them stood a chamber lined with nether rack, fire crackling on the highest of pillars. A brewing stand sat in one corner, scattered potions and ingredients littering the blocks around it.
The figure didn't even glance around the room, simply headed towards a painting hanging on the wall. Once more she glanced around, before pulling the painting aside. An dark tunnel hung beyond the painting, the narrow passage ending a ways in. The figured entered, feet echoing against the ground as she approached the faint glow at the end of the passage.
A glowing white diamond-shaped object rested under a glass cover, on top of an obsidian display. The beacon glimmered, the only source of light in the dark room. The figure pulled off the glass covering, hesitantly reaching out with one arm towards the Nether Star resting within.
She paused when her hand was a few inches away, hesitation covering her face. A small bead of sweat ran down her brow, and she closed her eyes, forcing herself to touch the Nether Star.
The figure let out a hiss of pain at the contact, struggling to keep a scream at bay. A glow surrounded her, the figure writhing as it took hold. Her eyes were forced opened, the once purple orbs now glowing an empty white. Saliva dripped from her mouth as she opened it, several words escaping her tongue:
"Master... it is done... the dragon has been slain..."
Okay, Dusk knew that she had made a stupid mistake.
The Enderman stared down at the player, who was staring back– except his gaze was glued to her feet. Dusk didn't blame the player, her kind as known to attack upon making eye contact, but it was a bit unsettling to be only looking at the top of the player's head.
Dusk's eyes flickered towards the dragon egg, which was resting on the player's table. Dusk had been so patient when following the player– staying as far back as she could as he traveled back to the village, waiting for the moment she could swoop in and reclaim the egg. Despite her stealth up until now, she had teleported straight into his house as soon as she had sensed the egg– leading to her current encounter.
She cursed silently as she watched the player quietly draw his diamond sword, which was gleaming with it's own light. The Enderman teleported back a few blocks nervously, which caused the player to look up to see if she was gone.
And he looked right into her eyes.
Shivers ran through Dusk as they made eye contact, fear racing through her. Eyes, her most vulnerable, yet most powerful part of her, the source from where she drew her power. It took her entire willpower not to teleport away, not to shield herself and strike from the simple glance. The player's eyes widened, the realization of what he had just done sinking in. He quickly raised his enchanted sword, ready to fight.
Dusk zipped away as soon as the sword came slashing down, striking through empty air. Dusk reappeared behind the player, knowing that she couldn't flee without the egg. Her whole body was shaking with anger, mouth starting to open as the player wheeled around. This player had slain her queen! This player had slaughtered who knew how many of her kind to reach the End realm! Dusk's eyes starting to glow a deep purple, trembling as she struggled to keep the blinding anger back, Dusk seized the nearest block, a set of wooden planks that made up part of the floor, holding it up as Steve came charging.
The diamond sword sank into the soft wood, and Dusk quickly teleported away again as the player struggled to free his sword from the block. Dusk's rage was only growing, pricking under her skin, telling her to attack. The Enderman stumbled back, trying to keep the boiling hatred under control. She couldn't be reckless! She had to get the egg!
The player pulled his sword free from the wood, turning around to face her once more.
'Wait!' Dusk cried, hoping to get him to stop, but immediately cursed as she spoke. Players didn't understand the speech of hostile mobs! Dusk tried to keep her gaze away from the player's, but he seemed no longer afraid to make eye contact since they were already battling. She quickly zipped away again as he came charging, trying to compose herself.
"Over here!" The player snarled, readying his sword. Dusk blinked, her anger slipping away somewhat. What was he doing? Did he want her to attack or something? Were players simply that bloodthirsty?
"W-wait!" Dusk cried again, her voice cracking as she slipped into the speech of peaceful mobs. As a neutral mob she could speak both naturally, but never before had she needed a reason to talk to a peaceful mob. Well... player in this case, but they only spoke peaceful anyways.
The player froze mid-charge, eyes widening as he heard the word escape her mouth. He came stumbling to a stop, sword still gripped in his hands. He stared down at the floor, clearly startled. His eyes flickered up towards her, before quickly redirecting his gaze to the ground.
"D-did you just talk?" The player whispered, voice tense.
Dusk shifted, eyes flickering around the room, "...All m-mobs can talk..." She replied quietly, wondering why she was replying. She had just spoken to get him to stop attacking– it was suppose to give her time to grab the egg and flee– then get back to the End Portal! But instead she made no move towards the egg, scanning the player's home, and then the player himself.
The player blinked, his gaze still angled away from her, "...In all my years the only other mobs I've ever heard speak are villagers..." He muttered, then he shook his head, glancing over Dusk. "...Am I dreaming or something...? That dragon fight really did take it out of me, didn't it...?"
"Did you truly think that p-peaceful was the only l-language?" Dusk asked quietly, quivering as he mentioned her queen. "No w-wonder your kind slaughter so recklessly!"
The player rubbed his head, "...Yeah... Either I'm way out of it or I'm hallucinating... So, um... Mr. Enderman, if you're truly here could you just go to a cave or something? I'm exhausted..."
"I'm a girl!" Dusk snapped, eyes flaring to a dark magenta, mouth quivering open, and the player flinched at the action, raising his sword. Dusk managed to get herself under control, and didn't move. But she had the energy to teleport ready, just in case he decided to attack again. "And of course I'll l-leave– as soon as you g-give me the egg!"
The player blinked. "...And you now you have genders...? Whatever," He muttered, sheathing his sword. Dusk blinked, startled that he was just putting away his only means of defending himself so quickly. Perhaps he was exhausted as he claimed... "And eggs? Go bother Randel for that– he's the egg farmer..."
'No!' Dusk snarled in hostile, causing the player to recoil. "N-not a..." She struggled to think of the mob's peaceful name, "Not a c-chicken egg! I want that egg, the one you stole!" She raised a thin, blocky arm towards the table, pointing at the obsidian-colored dragon egg. The player's eyes flickered towards the egg, and he looked at it for a moment.
"...That's a rock," He said, rolling his eyes. "Eggs don't have a block form."
Dusk could only stare at the player in disbelief. Was this idiot truly the same person that had slain her queen?! This thickheaded creature was a legendary player– the great beings she had only heard about in myths! Yet he seemed to have the same level of intelligence as some animal mob!
"...You i-invade my home..." Dusk growled. "Kill my qu-queen, and take her egg– dragging it back to the overworld– only to call it a r-rock?!"
He blinked. "I guess..." The player let out a yawn, eyes flickering. "Look... if it means that much to you, then just take it... I'm honestly not in the mood to fight another End creature..." He turned away, a bitterness entering his eyes. "You've taken enough from me already."
Dusk closed her mouth, trying to keep herself from lashing out. He was just giving it to her– he didn't truly understand what it was. She just needed to take it and get out of here, since there was no way she could defeat him in a fight. She teleported over to the egg, carefully examining it, but she saw no immediate damage. Sighing in relief, she carefully scooped up the egg into her long and slender arms. A warmth spread through her as she came in contact with the shell, all of her tension melting away. She had the queen's egg, everything was going to be okay...
The player blinked a few more times. "You know..." He muttered. "This probably isn't a dream of any kind, because it's not really a nightmare... and that's all I've been having lately," He looked up at her, and Dusk stiffened as their gaze met for a few seconds, and he quickly looked away. "...But that means there's a talking Enderman in my house..."
Dusk took in a deep breath. "I wasn't p-planning on speaking to you..." She muttered, hugging the egg close. "I have full plans on leaving now," Her eyes narrowed. "If I was s-strong enough I would kill you, for what you did to my queen, but I have more important duties now."
Dusk looked down at the egg, she needed to get it back to the End as quickly as possible. Back into the cool safeness and darkness, far from the burning sun and toxic water. She could still sense the player watching her, clearly still in a state of confusion. Dusk was just starting to realize how lucky she was, at any other time he would probably be fully ready to fight her, but she had caught him off guard while he was still recovering.
Crack!
Dusk nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard the sound, chills rushing through her. She tightened her grip on the egg, fear running through her. She stared down at the egg, panic building as she saw the tiniest of cracks appearing along the obsidian shell.
Zzzht!
Steve stumbled out of the teleportation, stomach churning. Sure, he had used Ender Pearls a couple of times, but never had he felt teleportation so unexpectedly. He raised a hand, bracing himself against a stone wall as he tried to keep himself from throwing up. He hadn't know that Enderman could teleport other mobs around, but apparently so!
Then again, this one could talk...
Steve raised his head, startled to find himself in a cave, it's dark shadowy passageway surrounding him. Several torches were on the wall, showing that he had been in this cave system before. Standing right in front him was the Enderman– who was still holding the stone she claimed to be an egg. She was staring down at it with wide eyes, panic on her face.
Steve looked around, his own eyes widening as he realized that the floor wasn't all stone– several black and gray blocks were visible every few steps.
"You took us to bedrock level?!" Steve cried, pointing towards the unbreakable stone– the blocks that kept the overworld separated from the deadly void.
She let out several garbled cries, the eerie sounds of an Enderman that sent chills down Steve's back. Yet he didn't feel threatened– she had only tried to flee before when he had attacked– even after he had looked into her eyes. That had never happened to him with an Enderman before, and honestly he was intrigued.
"Um... hello?" Steve asked, waving a blocky hand. "You teleported me too– can you take me back? And, um, speak like the villagers again?"
"It's... hatching..." The Enderman whispered– it was just so weird for her to be speaking like a villager!
"Um, cool," Steve said, shifting. This was not what he had in mind when planning on trying to get some rest! "Look, you have your rock-egg thingy, so can you please get me out of this cave?"
The Enderman looked towards him, though she didn't make eye contact with him. "D-do you understand, Player? It's h-hatching! The egg is hatching! There's going to be an Ender Dragon in the o-overworld."
Steve blinked as she said this, trying to take in the words. Player? What was that? And hatching... this rock really was an egg?
A dragon egg?
This seemed to snap Steve out of his stupor, and he jumped back as he heard a crack coming from the obsidian egg.
"W-wait–" He began, staring at the expanding cracks. "You mean that there's another dragon?! In that thing?!"
Unfortunately the Enderman didn't seem to be listening to him. She was cradling the egg close, muttering strange sounds to herself, pacing. Steve flinched as another crack appeared on the egg– perhaps this really was just another nightmare of his? There couldn't be another Ender Dragon– not when he had just already killed one of those demons!
There couldn't be another one of those creatures that had killed Sol.
The Enderman let out a warble of fear and the egg cracked one more time, the shell crumbling away.
Steve whipped out his sword, the enchanted diamond blade gleaming in the dim cave. He aimed it towards the Enderman's arms, paling at the creature he saw in her grasp. Chills raced up Steve as the being raised it's head, those sharp violet eyes looking into his purple ones.
The young Ender Dragon was tiny compared to it's mother, it's slim body only the size of a cat. A long neck craned up, those eyes peering towards Steve. The dragon's long tail was swinging side to side, a pair of large wings unfurling. The Enderman stumbled as the Ender Dragon shifted, clearly not knowing what to do with it.
The Enderman looked towards Steve, her eyes flaring up as she noticed the sword in his hand. He shivered as her mouth started to open, purple particles surrounding her.
"Put that thing away!" She screamed at Steve, causing the baby dragon to flinch fear. It looked up towards Steve desperately, attempting to escape the Enderman's grasp.
"I'm not letting that monster set step in the overworld!" Steve cried. "Put it down so I can kill it!"
"No!" The Enderman screamed again, turning away, hugging the Ender Dragon close. "I will not let you slay our future queen!"
"It's a monster!" Steve cried.
"It's a baby!" The Enderman cried back, spinning around to face him. She held the hatchling close, which was currently struggling to free itself from the Enderman. The dragon raised its head towards Steve once more, whimpering at him. "Would you kill a baby?!"
Steve's heart was racing... it was a dragon. They were demons– devils! His mother had told him all about them, they were heartless beasts that sent Enderman to terrorize the overworld! They couldn't be trusted or allowed to live– it would only kill!
But it was a baby...
Images flashed through Steve's mind– Sol as a baby wolf, bounding at his heels. Playing with the young villagers growing up, and watching the young ones now that he was grown. He pictured the harmless babies of the animal mobs that came every spring, sweet and innocent.
Steve's hand trembled, but he lowered the sword.
He couldn't kill a baby.
"It can't stay here," Steve growled. "Dragons do not belong in the overworld."
The Enderman snorted. "Says the one that brought it here."
"Ra!" The dragon yipped, once more trying to break free of the Enderman. She hesitated, glancing at Steve. He gulped, but slipped his sword into his inventory. The Enderman knelt down, carefully setting the Ender Dragon on the stone and bedrock floor. It let out a happy coo, and stumbled forward.
Steve took a step back, not wanting to be anywhere near it. "Hey, I had no idea that it was an egg! I thought there was only one dragon!"
The Enderman rolled her eyes. "Only one dragon at a time– a new queen always rises when the last one falls. Except for this little dragon was suppose to hatch in the End like all dragons– not in the toxic overworld!"
"Hey, I don't want it here either," Steve said. "We need to get it out of here!"
The Enderman sighed. "Already one step ahead of you– I had no plans on staying here. As much as I want to kill you for slaying my queen, I know I don't have that power. If you swear not to bring anymore harm to the creatures of the End, then I'll take the young queen here and leave for the End portal right away."
Steve backed away again, only because the dragon was inching it's way towards him. Luckily she wasn't use to her feet just yet, and was only moving several inches at a time.
"Do you even know where the End portal is?" Steve growled.
The Enderman bristled. "Of course, I followed you here from it. Besides, my eyes can make out any End energy, they'll lead me right towards it."
"So you can take that thing out of here then," Steve mused. "So if I promise not to bring any harm to that devil, then you'll take it back to your realm?"
"Yes," The Enderman hissed. "I'll even teleport you back to that horrible place of wood. Just swear you'll never harm a being of the End."
"You Enderman have attacked my village before," Steve muttered, glaring at her.
"We never start fights!" The Enderman snarled. "So unless you threatened us, we would have never attacked you!"
"All you Enderman attacked me when I went to the End!" Steve countered.
"Oh wow!" The Enderman exclaimed, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "You come to our home and kill our queen– and what do you know? We defended them!"
Steven opened his mouth, but he found no counter argument. He paused, realizing after a moment that she was right– he had intruded into their home.
But it had to be done, he had to rid the world of that demonic dragon.
Steve eyed the Ender Dragon at his feet. This one was just a child though... much different from the adult he had slain. This Enderman had proved that it was intelligent enough, so perhaps if it was the one to raise this dragon it wouldn't grown to become dark like it's mother had...
"You take me home," Steve said. "And then take yourself and that dragon back to your realm right away– and promise that your kind will never set foot near the village again– then I will promise not to harm either of you. Does that sound fair?"
The Enderman gritted her teeth. "I cannot speak for all of my kind, but I swear neither me or Umbra will bring you harm."
"...Umbra?" Steve asked.
"Yes, Umbra. That was what Her Majesty wished for her daughter to be named... Umbra! What are you doing?!"
"Agh!" Steve cried, staring down at his feet. The Ender Dragon– Umbra– had coiled around one of his legs, rubbing her head against him, letting out a small rumble. The Enderman suddenly teleported forward, grabbing the young dragon, before zipping back.
"Rah?" Umbra whimpered, confused. She looked towards Steve, tilting her head.
"K-keep that thing away from me!" Steve cried, bolting back. "Just go, alright?! Just go, I promise I won't slay anymore Ender creatures unless they attack first, okay!"
"Yes, we're leaving," The Enderman growled, holding the Ender Dragon close.
"Rhhh!" Umbra cried out in alarm as the Enderman teleported back a few blocks. Once again the dragon struggled, the back of her throat starting to glow purple. Steve's eyes widened, recognizing the breath attack that the adult Ender Dragon had used on him. The little Ender Dragon let out a sneeze-like sound, launching the sphere of glowing gas.
The attack hit the ground, the light flaring up to the bright purple. Steve quickly raised his hand to block out the harsh flare as it exploded, and slowly lowered it after a moment to take a look at the damage. To his surprise the gas had actually destroyed several of the ground blocks– looking like a miniature Creeper had just exploded.
But it was what block had just been destroyed that made Steve freeze up.
"That's... not... possible..." Steve whispered, and the Enderman looked just as shocked.
"Hrr?" Umbra tilted her head, whimpering slightly.
"That was bedrock..." The Enderman whispered. "Sh-she just... she just destroyed a piece of bedrock..."
Steve cautiously stepped forward, looking at the small indent. It looked like several pieces of stone had been vaporized in the blast, but he wasn't blind. One of the blocks that had just been there was bedrock– but now it was gone.
Bedrock was suppose to be unbreakable. This wasn't possible.
Steve ran his hand over the small hole, relieved to see another piece of bedrock below.
"It didn't break all the way through– the void is still sealed off," Steve muttered with a sigh of relief. The void was a mass of pure chaos and destruction, if it had been opened up to this world...
"H-how..." The Enderman muttered. "N-not even Her Majesty could do that..."
She looked down at the small dragon in her arms, who let out a toothy yawn.
Steve, who was both too exhausted and too stunned to even realize the disbelief running through him, looked towards the Enderman. "Get it away from the bedrock level– take that thing back to the End!"
The Enderman grunted, and she raised an arm. "Trust me, you don't need to say that. I'm going to send you back to that house of yours– remember your side of the deal."
Steve said nothing, closing his eyes. Purple particles surrounded him, and he felt the familiar sensation of teleportation wash over him. His whole body twisted, and suddenly he vanished from the cave with a flash.
He stumbled as the teleportation sensation faded away from him, and he opened his eyes. His world was still spinning around him, but he recognized this as his house. Letting out a small sigh, he closed his eyes again, dizzily stumbling towards his bed in the corner. He collapsed onto it, placing his blocky hands on his head.
What in Notch's name had he just witnessed?
'Master... it is done... it has been slain...'
The voice echoed through the emptiness, reaching the farthest corners of the being's mind, one that had been in a slumber for so long. It shifted as it heard the voice, eyes slowly flickering open.
They were a void.
A white void of nothingness. A faint glow pulsed through the eyes as the being slowly gathered energy around itself, trying to solidify. The energy around it flickered and crackled, as if about to slip away from it. An echoey groan came from the being, trying to stay in control.
It's whole image flickering, the being took shape, feet slipping from the dimension it had been sleeping in, at last slipping into the overworld. It took in a strangled breath as it stumbled through the stronghold, following the low sounds of the portal. It's body kept flickering in and out of view– threatening to slip back away into the realm it had come from.
The being's empty eyes glowed brighter as it stared at the the portal to the End. The starry abyss gleamed up at him, lava boiling far under it. This world's only connection with the End, the portal frames unbreakable.
To most.
The being felt its image flickering once more– it could not remain in this realm for much longer. It's feet started to disappear, the fading slowly working its way up its legs. A moment of panic crossed its face, and the being lashed out. Blocky fists hit the portal frames, shattering the unmovable blocks with a single blow.
The starry portal energy vanished as the portal was broken, the bridge between the two worlds gone in a single second.
A glow engulfed the being, its whole body pulsing in and out of view. With a flash of white light the being vanished completely, slipping away back into the realm it had come from. It flickered into view for one last moment, a smirk on its face, empty eyes gleaming as he faded away.
Like Steve said, the void is a known force of chaos in the world of Minecraft. It surrounds the End and Nether realms, while lying underneath the overworld. The void destroys and kills anything that touches it– including players in creative mode.
In both the Nether and the overworld the void is held off by a special block known as bedrock. In this story bedrock is unbreakable no matter what– even in creative mode. So the fact that Umbra, the baby Ender Dragon, can break it is something beyond even the powers of creative mode.