Biggest chapter yet? I think yes. By spending nearly all day on this oh-so important part of the story, I was able to add a lot that I never actually intended to add. Just as a little hint, this chapter contains death, two fights, serious character development, and a villain is introduced.
Without further ado, I present WATERSHIP UNDERGROUND.
Moderator Bastil sat upon his throne in the higher floors of the Imperial Castle at the far end of the city, admiring his massive throne room that was filled with bookshelves and all the trap doors he could hope for. The 20x60 cobblestone area had been built, along with the rest of the Imperial Castle, before the rest of the entire city was founded. Using the massive building as a place of government for the majority of Anascentia, the dawn of the brand new server supposedly began there. However, life beforehand had always been discussed heavily between scientists, archaeologists, and Moderator Bastil himself.
"Lady Serenade, what happened to my guards Roth and Wheat? I don't recall sending them beyond the castle gates, or the Imperial City gates for that matter." Bastil asked, donned in his red velvet clothing with a black beard and long, stringy hair.
A young woman, wearing a pink dress with red hair, walked out from one of the corners of the room, "As I recall, your honor, it was not you but your loyal subjects who sent them out."
"Burnley? Blimey, screw that fellow."
"Your honor, that's no way to treat those who help lead your empire! Try to be a bit more respectful. After all, you never know when they could become another Redstone Rebellion."
Moderator Bastil jumped from his throne and hit Lady Serenade, sending her into the bookshelves on the wall of the room, "Never compare my regime to that of that scoundrel Obsidian666! My word, the fact that someone as close to me as you, thinking that my very own commonwealth could deteriorate to the point where we become our own rebellion. At that point, might as well join with those Redstone rebels and make a new empire. Oh, but wait, who would rule? That's right, another war right there. Brilliant!"
"You think too much, your honor." Lady Serenade stated.
Just as the pair's argument came to a close, the front wooden doors burst open, the two guards Wheat and Roth walking in through with Sabre_Mace, SunRose, and Garfunkel behind them, beaten and without any of their items.
The Moderator simply laughed and sat back in his throne, "My word, what have my loyal subjects brought me today? More rats from the sewer?"
"Professor Burnley sent us to investigate reports of grieving in the Northern Sands. Upon inspection, your honor, we found these scum lurking around and dealt with them properly." Roth reported, the two guards giving a salute.
Sabre_Mace spat at the guards, "We didn't grief the catacombs, we swear!"
"Shut your mouth, scum." Roth demanded and kicked Sabre_Mace, sending him to the ground. Garfunkel and SunRose looked at Bastil with terror filling their veins as they had never before had to face the moderator of the Imperials.
Bastil chuckled, "Interesting. What business did you scum have in the Northern Sands? Perhaps assisting in setting up a spy outpost for the rebels, eh? Or maybe you just wanted to feel the pleasure of destroying a masterpiece the precursors of this wonderful land built for us."
"I tell you, your honor, it's nothing like that! SunRose and I are archaeologists and we merely went to the Northern Sands to investigate reports of ancient hieroglyphics. It was the bloody rebels who grieved the place, not us!" Garfunkel argued, dropping to his knees.
"I see. Then who's the young man with you?" Bastil asked, pointing to Sabre_Mace, who was beginning to fall unconscious on the floor.
Garfunkel looked over and jumped at how much blood Sabre_Mace was losing, "We found him in a pit in the midst of the desert. He was brand new to the server, so we decided to be nice gentlemen and bring him along with us!"
"Is that so? Well, looks like your case checks out." Bastil said.
"...Really? That's it? You believe us?" Garfunkel asked in shock. Sabre_Mace instantly sat up in surprise.
Bastil nodded and stood up, "It wasn't Burnley's authority to send my men out to the Northern Sands in the first place. Besides, I doubt an old wise-crack like you, old man, could ever get away with grieving." He laughed.
Garfunkel smirked and nodded, not wanting to get on the moderator's nerves, "Well, yes. Are we excused then, your honor?"
"Well, you say your archaeologists, eh? Maybe we can put you to some sort of use now that you are in the presence of Bastil the Great." Bastil said, pacing along the bookshelves on the side of the room.
Garfunkel stood up, helping Sabre_Mace to his feet, "What do have in mind, sir?"
"An underground watership in the sewers of the Imperial City has suddenly stopped working and I need someone like yourselves to investigate. Are you up for the job?" Bastil asked, taking out a book and flipping through the pages randomly before placing it back on the shelf.
"You want us to be plumbers for the day? I thought we were archaeologists, Mr. Garfunkel!" SunRose asked.
The elderly archaeologist cleared his throat, "Yes, well, it seems that it was an order by the moderator himself to inspect this predicament. What's the worst that could happen, Miss SunRose? It's only inspecting a watership, nothing more."
"Not to be an idiot here, but what is a watership?" Sabre_Mace asked, obviously better than he was before.
Lady Serenade stepped into the conversation, "A watership is a dam-like machine that continues the flow of the sewer water in any direction you direct it to."
"So, it's a dam?"
"That's why I said dam-like! The machine's been there since before we even began the Imperial Empire, so it was laid down by the ancestors of Anascentia. Why they chose the name watership, I have no idea, but it's the way they made it so we just have to go with the flow." Lady Serenade finished.
Sabre_Mace nodded in understanding, "Alright, doesn't sound too bad. How do we enter into these sewers then?"
"There is a college southwest of the castle, towards the city walls. Go inside and meet with Professor Burnley and he should be able to direct you to the sewers entrance. If you can do this for me, then I may have some respect for you after this supposed misunderstanding. Screw up, and your head will be my dinner for tonight and leftovers for tomorrow!" Bastil said, ordering everyone, even Serenade, out of the room before shutting the doors and replacing them with stone.
Serenade stared at the blocked off door as everyone began leaving, "How peculiar. He usually always wants me by his side."
"Oh well. We've got other things to worry about." Sabre_Mace said as the group of archaeologists and guards descended the steps of the castle to the cobblestone foyer below. Paintings and small trees decorated the otherwise bland room that should have shown off what the Imperials were made of. The vacant room, however, only gave those who entered the impression that they were all business. Stepping through the double wooden doors, the view of the rest of the expansive Imperial City shocked Sabre_Mace as he had never gotten a good view of the capital city before. The many buildings that served as house and shop were made of all sorts of materials that usually explained what they were about: clay buildings usually meant that it was low income, wooden planks meant medium, and brick was meant for the upper class of the city. The streets were jam packed with citizens and even some friendly mobs such as zombie pigmen and skeletons, which was highly unusual for Sabre_Mace.
As the group stepped down to ground level from the massive porch of the cobblestone castle, Sabre_Mace leaned towards Garfunkel, "What is up with the mobs? What are they doing in here?"
"Simple, my dear associate. Several years ago, during the uprising of the Redstone Rebellion, the moderators throughout the land learned of the fear that the natural mobs began to develop towards the newly formed rebellion. After much discussion and debate, a proclamation was crafted by the users and we decided to accept the tamed mobs into our societies. However, those bloody hostiles are still in the wild and cause much danger and harm to us." Garfunkel explained as the group walked through the crowded Main Street where the majority of the shops were.
SunRose eyed almost everything that they passed by before looking over at Wheat and Roth, who were still with them, "What are you guys doing here? I thought you had work to do!"
The two stopped in their tracks, scratching their heads, "Yeah, well, um, about that..." Roth began.
"It's pretty common for the moderator to send us to accompany those who must serve time in order to make sure they don't escape or... Something..." Wheat trailed off.
Garfunkel laughed whole-heartily, "Now, now, Miss SunRose, there's no need to become stern towards these young fine gentlemen. They're causing no harm and are only doing their jobs. Now, let's go find this college, shall we?"
Everyone nodded in agreement and began to try to make their way through the massive crowds of Imperial City towards the ever looming college in the corner of the city.
"This it?" Sabre_Mace asked, walking up to the single wooden door that served as the entrance to the dark, cobblestone building that was nearly as tall as the castle. Black wool was used as the roof while few windows were scattered across the blank walls of the outside. A sign next to the front door read "College of Sir Naught of Imperial Duty" with a steel asterisk placed under it as the symbol of the vicinity.
Garfunkel nodded and pushed through the wooden door, the guards and SunRose following behind while Sabre_Mace continued to inspect the interesting architecture of the building. As the elderly archaeologist stepped up to the front desk, an old woman with purple hair looked up from the desk. Stone doors were placed nearly everywhere on the walls, adding a bit of surrealism to the building.
"What's it gonna take to get you out of my sight?" The lady asked.
"Excuse me? That's no way to treat your elders." Garfunkel noted.
"Elders? I'm older than you by two centuries dear, or at least I look the part. What do you need or are you here to troll me into oblivion?" The lady asked as young student began exiting from the simultaneously opening doors around the room. They all passed by the large group and left the building, most likely returning to their homes.
SunRose stepped in front of Garfunkel, "We need to see one Professor Burnley."
"The professor is on the second floor. However, pissing him off will surely get your head on a platter as he's very persistent on manners." The cranky lady warned before standing up and disappearing behind one of the doors.
The group were appalled at how offensive the lady was but continued on to a set of stairs on the right wall. Just as they began ascending, Sabre_Mace entered into the building and followed behind. The second floor was a single hallway with a wooden plank floor and smooth stone walls. Classrooms were placed all along these walls but, interestingly, without doors. As they approached the far end of the hallway and were about to turn around, a voice called from the last room on the right.
"Gentlemen, in here!" The voice called.
The group entered and saw a short man in a black suit and no hair, holding a wooden stick and staring at a black chalkboard, "Professor Burnley, it's a pleasure to see you again." SunRose said.
"Ah, Madame SunRose! I haven't caught sight of your perfectly straight brown hair since the last exam last year. Are you here for a quick review?" The professor joked before seeing Roth and Wheat, "Oh, is something the matter?"
"We were ordered by the moderator to inspect the watership in the sewers. I don't understand why, but he said to meet you and have you lead us to the sewers. If you are ready to lead us in the correct direction then we might as well take off." Garfunkel explained, inching closer to the door.
Burnley nodded, "I see. Very well, follow me to the basement."
"What?" Everyone shouted.
"Yes, not quite a confusing plot point but the only entrance to the sewers is through the basement of the college. It was made that way because the control panel of the watership is actually in my home towards the other side of the city. There was no need for the entrance to the sewers so we built this college on top of it to keep it shut off. Sadly, the control panel can't fix the watership for whatever reason, so someone is needed to go down into the depths of the sewer and-" Burnley was cut off.
"Alright, we get it, you can't stop it with the exposition. Where's the basement?" Sabre_Mace asked.
Burnley rolled his eyes at Sabre_Mace's rudeness and left the room, leading the group back to the front desk and to the same door that the elderly lady went through. A long set of stone steps descended into complete darkness, spiraling at random points to give whoever decided to use them a sense of disturbance in the ancient sewer tunnels. Before allowing the group down the steps, he turned to Garfunkel and handed him a metal key, "Use this to unlock the door at the bottom. The rest is up to you." With that, he exited the building.
"Well, let's get going now," Garfunkel began, turning to Roth and Wheat, "you two are coming with us, correct?"
Roth scratched his black, buzz cut hair while Wheat stroked his shaved blond beard which matched his short, messy blond hair, "Well, you know, we might as well
and-" Roth began.
"Yeah, we'll go with you!" Wheat shouted, sprinting down the steps and out of sight. Roth almost instantly followed behind. A sudden 'Oof!' was heard and gave the others a clue that one of them had tripped and began rolling to the bottom.
Sabre_Mace sighed and began descending the steps, "This is pointless. Why couldn't Burnley do this?"
"Burnley isn't in the best shape at this point," SunRose said as they walked down the long set of stairs, "I was taking one of his Ancient Studies class when he was called in for examination of something. He returned a month later with a robotic leg."
"My word, a robotic leg? What happened?" Garfunkel asked, intrigued.
"I don't know the absolute truth, but rumor has it that he was somehow poisoned when he was younger and it had just begun to spread through his body. People think that it may have something to do with his amnesia when he first arrived here." SunRose explained.
Sabre_Mace's attention was grabbed, "Amnesia? Like mine? Are you saying that he-"
"I guess he did have sort of the same thing as you. However, I'm not completely positive." SunRose said.
Garfunkel nodded and began to think of something, "But if they both awoke in this world with a case of amnesia, wouldn't that mean the same side effects would occur like the poison?"
"Gah! I don't wanna robotic leg!" Sabre_Mace cried and began running down the steps, a sudden 'Oof!' sounding later.
SunRose chuckled, "Well, at least he's not as mad as he was when we were brought in to the moderator."
"Agreed." Garfunkel laughed.
The group regrouped in front of a large, stone door that separated the college from the actual sewers. A large, wooden lock held it shut. "Well, we just have to mine this wood and we're in, right?"
"Easier done than said, Master Mace." Garfunkel said, quickly mining the wooden lock and pushing the door open. On the other side was a large platform protecting its bystanders from the murky river that barely flowed its path. The river extended for miles both ways, the platform always extending alongside it with the occasional bridges leading to other parts of the sewers.
SunRose walked out and looked closely at the water, which was dark and dirty, "I see why this is so important. If the flow of river slows, then it will mix with the sewage which could cause a disease and a lot of death. It's best that we hurry and find this watership."
"What does a watership look like, anyway?" Sabre_Mace asked.
Roth and Wheat stepped out beside the rest of the group on the edge of the platform, "It's huge! It's like a mixture between a dam and a windmill and-" Roth began.
"It makes a lot of noise so we just have to follow the noise!" Wheat finished.
Garfunkel nodded and noted the two bridges on either side of the platform, "Well, this seems cliche, but it looks like there are two paths that split here. Shall we split up as well?"
Sabre_Mace counted the number of people present, "But there are five! It'll be uneven!"
"Don't forget me!" A female voice called from the other side of the stone doors.
The group turned and saw Lady Serenade step out, holding a diamond sword in her hand. She was still in her blue dress but she looked to have put on a bit of make-up.
"No offense, Ms. Serenade, but you aren't what we were expecting in the adventure type." Garfunkel said.
"Nonsense. I was born into a wandering family. You Pack of Wanderers could really use someone like me." She said and stepped out, waving her rare sword around like a show-off, "So, can we get a move on?"
SunRose nodded, "It can be me, Sabre_Mace, and Garfunkel and you three since you actually know each other."
"Aw, but that's so stupid!" Serenade whined.
Turning red with anger, SunRose raged, "What do you mean stupid!"
"I mean that this should be a way to get to know each other. How about me, Sabre_Mace, and Wheat and then the rest of you are the other group." Serenade suggested to which everyone agreed except SunRose.
"So, basically we just switched Sabre_Mace?" SunRose questioned.
Everyone nodded.
SunRose sighed, "Fine, whatever. Let's go, guys." She began walking to the bridge on the right, Garfunkel and Roth following behind. As the two groups began to separate, SunRose looked back and took one last look at Sabre_Mace before both groups being blocked by the clay walls.
Lucky for both groups, torches were still present from when the sewers were first built. Unlucky for both groups, the stench was still present as well. The horrendous smell of the sewage from all over the sewers was the strongest scent that they had ever picked up, giving them upset stomachs almost instantly.
"This place reeks!" Sabre_Mace insulted, clenching his nose tight to hold back the smell, "Why can't they have some sort of septic tank cleaner come down here and spray some air conditioning once in a while?"
"That was never needed since the sewers were blocked off when construction was finished." Wheat explained.
Serenade rolled her eyes and slapped both of them, "You idiots! Can't you be serious for at least a moment?"
Sabre_Mace cursed, "Did you see me when that other guy kicked me? I was pretty damn serious back then!"
A strange growl echoed through the tunnels.
"Shut it. We're not alone," Serenade ordered, crouching down and walking down the platform. The other two looked at each other in confusion but followed. They quietly stepped down to the corner at the far end of the platform and looked around. No other platforms were nearby nor were bridges. Only a large lake of sewage could be seen with a tall hill in the middle, "we're almost there."
Both Wheat and Sabre_Mace stared at the lake in shock, "Do we have to swim through this?" They both asked, nearly throwing up at the thought. Several dead fish began floating up to the surface of the sewage before randomly sinking and disappearing, the growl from before returning.
"What was that?" Sabre_Mace questioned.
Just then, the sewage water flew up in a wave like fashion, spraying all over the trio. A massive red squid flew out of the murky water and began swimming around the lake viciously before swimming back into the depths of the lake.
The three were silent.
"Again... What was that?" Sabre_Mace asked, his voice taken away by shock of what he had just witnessed.
Serenade pushed the two back the way they came, "It's a squid. Have you not seen any before?"
"Not any of that size!" Wheat cried.
"It acts just like any other squid, I'm sure. Come on, let's get out of-" Serenade began before more sewage water flew over her and the other two. The squid appeared right beside them, obviously learning of their presence, and began thrashing its large tentacles on the platforms, causing miniature tremors everywhere.
The trio fell to their knees, crawling and trying to keep away from the massive creature as much as they could. The deep, threatening growl it emitted constantly gave them reassurance that they were about to die.
"We need to kill it now!" Wheat shouted to the other two, who were far behind him as they tried to make their way to the sewers entrance.
"None of us can fight! I only brought this sword because it's the only weapon I have!" Serenade yelled before bawling her eyes out, curling up into a ball and waiting for the squid to strike her dead.
Sabre_Mace remained silent, sticking close to the wall and staying out of sight of the monster as it began to sink the platform, water flooding their bodies. Hearing the cries of both his comrades, he put his hands to the wall and pushed himself to his feet. Without much thought, he ran to Serenade and grabbed her diamond sword, which was about to fall into the river and sink to the bottom of the sewers, and pulled the attention of the squid to him, "Hey, ugly bastard! How about you go for the easiest one right here!"
The squid's massive yellow eyes fixated on the user as it lifted up one of its humongous, throbbing tentacles. Another earthquake followed as Sabre_Mace leaped out of the way of the tentacle, barely keeping his balance, and leaping onto the arm of the sea monster. The tentacle receded, but the squid knew that he had a passenger and began to wave it around rampantly. Sabre_Mace, barely catching on to the squid's maneuver before it became wild, stabbed the diamond sword into the middle of the tentacle and held on tight as the beast thrashed it against the walls and wildly in the air.
Wheat, seeing Sabre_Mace's sudden bravery, jumped to his feet while the squid was distracted and ran to Serenade, picking her up and putting her on his back, "We need to get out of here!" He shouted, looking for a way to go.
"There is no way to go!" She cried, pointing to the rising water.
Just then, a long wooden canoe appeared out of the corner of the lake and began rowing towards the group. The wooden boat was being controlled by none other than Garfunkel and Roth, with SunRose merely wide-eyed and shocked by the sheer size of the opponent monster, "Wheat, over here!" She shouted.
Wheat saw them almost instantly and ran over, jumping onto the boat and setting the panicked Serenade down. Looking back at Sabre_Mace, who was still trying his best to hang onto the insane beast, he couldn't help but feel that he could do something.
Looking back at the others, Wheat leaped back onto the platform just as they were about to distance themselves, "I've got an idea! Get everyone to safetyyyyyyyy!" He cried as he fell flat on his face from a tremor from the tentacles of the squid. The growling of the gargantuan beast shook the water this time, shaking the canoe and sending them off course and the opposite direction of the battle scene.
"Sabre_Mace!" SunRose cried as they floated off into the distance.
Wheat, getting to his feet with a bloody nose, looked back at the group who were about to disappear into the distant fog of the sewers, "This has got to end," He spoke to himself and looked at the squid, who paid no attention to anyone but Sabre_Mace, "Hey! Look over here, you son of a gun! Another challenger approaches you and he is a real fighter!" He yelled at the squid.
The squid saw him, the growl from its bowels getting louder and stronger, and sent another tentacle down in his direction. Wheat, at the sight of an incoming massive object, dove into the water and began swimming away, keeping his nose, eyes, and mouth shut from the sewage that developed in.
Sabre_Mace smiled as the squid had calmed down from trying to strike Wheat with the tentacle. He drew the sword from the tentacle of the squid and positioned himself perfectly so that he could leap from his position and onto the large, bulbous head of the sea monster. The squid caught drift of his actions and receded its other tentacle, but not before it felt a thump on its forehead.
The squids growl turned into a deafening cry as Sabre_Mace, without remorse, drove the diamond sword directly into the squids forehead. A mixture of ink and blood began to shoot out all over the water, walls, and what remained of the platform. Before the squid could collapse into the wall, Sabre_Mace leaped off of its forehead and headfirst into the murky water below, disappearing from sight. The sea monsters loud cry suddenly turned into a louder roar as he leaned forward, sending its head into the wall and giving in to the two heroes who had slain him.
A few seconds later, Sabre_Mace resurfaced and climbed onto the remains of the ravaged platform, seeing Wheat sitting against the wall, soaked from head to toe. His blond hair dripped with water as Sabre_Mace held out his hand, helping his in-combat partner to his feet, "What made you assist?"
"I knew something could be done. Besides, you would get all the attention!" Wheat joked. The two stood, laughing loudly before other voices interrupted.
The two looked over and saw the canoe stop beside the destroyed platform, SunRose and Roth jumping out of the boat and running towards the other two. SunRose hugged Sabre_Mace as Roth nearly knocked Wheat over, "Why did you put your life in danger?" SunRose asked.
"Why didn't I?" Sabre_Mace said, "Come on, we have a mission to finish." He said, pushing SunRose aside and jumping onto the canoe. SunRose, sad by Sabre_Mace's rudeness, turned around and saw Wheat and Roth talking.
Roth looked surprised, "You helped him take it down? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, but the whole thing was all him. I would have never been brave enough to climb on top of that thing." Wheat replied as the two walked back to the boat. SunRose followed, slightly depressed by Sabre_Mace's ignorance to her warm welcoming, and boarded the boat.
Garfunkel gripped the front paddle as Roth grabbed hold of the back, "Everybody ready?"
Everyone replied with a loud "Yes!"
"Let's get going, then. I swear, I didn't come down here to slay a bloody monster." Garfunkel groaned as the canoe pulled away from the platform, the mist on the lake devouring them.
About half an hour later, the watership was said to be finally located by Garfunkel and Roth. Sabre_Mace, who sat in the middle beside Lady Serenade, was forced to be her pillow for the ride as she was still out cold from fainting from the massive squid. Soon, the canoe turned around a corner and faced a dark tunnel, blocked off by bars. A metal door was placed beside it, the button unlocking it out of sight.
"Hurry, everyone, find that button!" Garfunkel ordered as everyone got off the boat. Serenade, who had finally woken up from the old man's sudden booming voice, stumbled onto the platform, falling to her knees against the wall and resting calmly.
SunRose, who was standing by the door, looked at the ground as everyone wandered around aimlessly, "Mister Garfunkel, there's a pressure pad!" She shouted.
Garfunkel turned around and gave her a thumbs up, "Good idea!" He replied and turned to everyone else, "Everyone, look for a pressure pad!"
SunRose leaped at him and knocked him over, "No, a pressure pad is right in front of the door!"
Whilst fixing his archaeologist clothing, Garfunkel got up, slightly shaken, and nodded in apology, "P-Please forgive me, Miss SunRose!" He replied, turning back to everyone who had probably ignored him the first time, "Everyone, return here at once! There was a pressure pad all along!"
A minute later, everyone had regrouped in front of the door, taking turns entering through the door and into the hallway on the other side. Following through the other side of the hall, which there was no door, they found themselves in another wide open lake area, a large water wheel situated at the far wall. The group admired at the intense size of the machine, comparing it to an average dam. They immediately noticed, however, that it was not spinning or operating correctly. The wooden structure was in front of a tall, smooth stone tower that was there for an unknown reason to the group.
A wooden bridge extending all the way to a platform by the side of the watership stood before the group. They crossed it at first sight and were at the massive structure in a matter of moments. They stopped by the tower, admiring its complex structure and how good of a condition its been left in.
While looking all over the watership, Sabre_Mace felt something warm grasp his hand. Slightly looking over, he barely saw Lady Serenade standing directly beside him. At the feeling of her warm hands and her beauty, his face turned red and he gulped, looking forward as Garfunkel began inspecting the machine to discover what was wrong with it.
"There appears to be a missing battery from the machine," He reported after climbing through a small hole in the bottom, "of course, its not just any battery. This type of battery looks to be a molecular battery, one that comes in such a petite size but packs a powerful punch indeed. Where it could have gone, I haven't the slightest clue."
Quiet footsteps caught the attention of the group. Everyone turned around, Serenade removing her hand from Sabre_Mace's, and spotted someone in a red cloak, not bothering to show his identity. Sabre_Mace and Wheat jumped to the front of the group, prepared to protect them.
The unknown figure stuck his hand out, a circular machine in his hand. Garfunkel gasped and jumped in front of Sabre_Mace and Wheat, "That's the molecular battery! He stole it!"
"This? You want this? Come and get it." The figure taunted.
Before Sabre_Mace could make a move, Wheat pushed him back and sprinted at the figure. The leg of the figure stuck out from the cloak, digging into Wheat's incoming body, and flinging him into the nearby lake.
Sabre_Mace drew the diamond sword and prepared to attack before Garfunkel stopped him, "Don't bother if he's going to act violent."
"Smart one, that old man is," The figure joked, "but I am here on behalf of those who will suffer from your wrath." He spoke in a deep, unrecognizable voice. He chucked the battery over to Garfunkel, who just barely caught it, and the old man backed away.
Sabre_Mace was in front of the group again, "If you want a proper conversation, then show us who you are."
"What the hell is the point in that? Its like marrying someone you will never see again. You Pack of Wanderers think of some of the most hilariously awful things in this forsaken world. Tell me, why live when the apocalypse already occurred? We should all be dead right now. However, those who believed in heaven and hell thought that they would go there when they died. This, ladies and gentlemen, is our hell." The man said.
The group were extremely confused at what the man was trying to point out. Sabre_Mace drew his sword again, "What are you trying to say? That the Tech Apocalypse was meant to punish us?"
The man laughed, cackling loudly and letting the echo ring in every one's ears, "At least you get the gist of it. You, with the sword," the figure said, pointing his white finger at Sabre_Mace, "you woke up in the desert, new to the server but without a single thought of where you came from. Why do you think that is?"
"Perhaps the same reason it happened to Burnley." Sabre_Mace answered.
"I knew you might say that. But the fact of it is that Burnley as you know it never had amnesia but was merely faking it for reasons your deteriorating minds can't understand. You, however, are different for you weren't faking it. Waking up in the strange land of Anascentia without your name, origins, but yet the only thing you knew was the historical Technological Apocalypse. Tell me, you do remember that, right?" The man asked, stepping closer to everyone.
Sabre_Mace looked at the ground, thinking hard as he had never bothered to ask anyone what it was since, deep down in his thoughts, he had the feeling that he did know, "I... I..."
"You... don't remember?" The man asked.
"It's where the advanced technology of our old world... It developed to the point where it controlled itself and consumed us entirely... We were forced to escape into the technology, abandoning our old habits and lifestyles to adapt to those of what we built." Sabre_Mace explained, surprised that he randomly knew it all along.
The man sighed in relief, "Thank goodness, I thought you might not have known. But since you do, it is settled: You were brought into Anascentia with a purpose, a destiny, and that destiny involves our rebellion. I, however," the man began to shout, drawing a previously hidden blade from his belt. The sword was small at first, but suddenly expanded into a much larger blade, completely black and made of obsidian.
Sabre_Mace jumped against the wall as everyone ran for their lives. Lady Serenade followed Sabre_Mace to the wall as he began to panic heavily, "I thought it was impossible to craft with obsidian!"
"He's a Redstone rebel, they can practically do anything!" She cried and ran away as the figure drove the sword toward Sabre_Mace. He barely moved out of the way, letting the large sword drive itself into the wall.
The man propped the sword onto his shoulder, staring at Sabre_Mace as he wielded the diamond sword, "Thank god for the apocalypse. I, along with other users of the Anascentia server, were forced to the limitations of the prior Minecraft world. Now that the end has been brought into play, everything from the real world collided with ours: graphics, weaponry, and best of all- realism." He shouted, slamming the massive obsidian sword into the ground. Sabre_Mace flipped backwards and readied his sword, preparing for an opening to attack the still unknown man.
"Yaaah!" A voice cried from behind the figure. Both the figure and Sabre_Mace looked to see Wheat, sprinting to the enemy, and leaping into the air to tackle him. However, the man simply swung his sword around, the edge of the blade slicing through the very spine of the Imperial guard. Blood flew through the air, landing on the obsidian blade and the already red cloak of the enemy. The body of Wheat collapsed to the ground, the skin tone turning completely white.
Everyone around looked in shock as the man in the cloak showed no remorse for the innocent life he had just taken. Sabre_Mace, staring numbly at the pale face of Wheat, gripped the diamond blade with even more force, the veins in his hand popping out. Before the heartless enemy could turn around to protect himself, he felt the sharp pain of the diamond blade drive through and into his back, forcing him onto his knees as he began to cough up blood.
Sabre_Mace stood in place, the sword still positioned in the enemy's back, as he began to watch the figure stand back up, "I see that the Observer has been giving us correct accusations of you. Your strength, wit, courage, and skill are all as he explained to us." The figure said, reaching to his back and manually pulling the sword away. He turned around, pulling off his cloak and showing off his hideously scarred face. A thick, black line ran around his upper head behind medium length white hair, sticking out all over the place. Bloody scars covered his cheeks and neck, and his red eyes stared malevolently at Sabre_Mace, "Now that you and I know each other, we expect our next encounter to be our final, correct... Sabre_Mace, wasn't it?"
Sabre_Mace jumped back, dropping the diamond sword onto the ground, "You know who I am... But I don't know who you are."
The man smirked, picking up his obsidian blade and returning it to its smaller, more convenient form, "You can call me whatever you like, but I would prefer Exile." He said before disappearing in an explosion of red group gathered together, all looking at Sabre_Mace, who was still in a state of shock of what had just happened.
Garfunkel looked at everyone before taking out the molecular battery, "I'll... I'll go put this into the watership now. You guys should go get back on the canoe. I'll be right there." He said before crawling back into the large, wooden structure.
Picking up the diamond sword, Sabre_Mace handed it back to Lady Serenade with a smile, "Take this before I forget to give it back to you."
Serenade shook her head, "No, you keep it. I... Never had a need for it in the first place. You proved yourself worthy by protecting us... You deserve it."
Sabre_Mace nodded, turning to the dead body of Wheat, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Wheat..." He solemnly said to himself before walking back to the entrance of the room. Everyone, looking at each other with worry about what he was going through, followed him back to the canoe. Soon, the motionless river came to life with multiple tides every ten seconds. Garfunkel was just barely able to get onto the boat as it was pushed along the tides down the river.
Hours later, as night approached the world of Anascentia, Lady Serenade returned to the castle, the throne room doors back and Moderator Bastil reading a large book in his throne room. As she opened the door, he threw the book across the room and smiled. However, that smile disappeared as he noticed how dirty she was, her dress a dark brown now and her hair a complete mess.
"My dear, what happened to you?" The moderator asked, rushing over to her and straightening her clothing.
"I went into the sewers with them." She said quietly.
"You what! Why? You could have been killed!" Bastil raged.
"Indeed, but that didn't happen to me... But to Wheat."
Bastil was silent, "Wheat... is dead?"
"A man from the rebellion called Exile killed him. We're all shaken up about it, especially since Sabre_Mace had to save us all multiple times down there." She said before starting to cry, taking a seat on the throne.
"Sabre_Mace? The rude little brat?" Bastil asked.
"He's not rude, he's nice and brave! He scaled a massive squid and slayed it with my diamond sword! He protected us from Exile and kept us all from turning out like... Like Wheat." She cried.
Bastil hugged her, shocked by the sudden events that had taken place without his knowing. Was the Redstone Rebellion up to something that had to do with Sabre_Mace? "Don't you worry, Serenade. Your daddy will handle things."
"About time you act like a father. I'll be in my room." She whimpered before exiting the room.
Bastil, watching as his devastated daughter left his sight, clenched his fist and began rabidly kicking his throne seat, cursing loudly before falling into his seat, tears streaming his face, "Stupid, stupid me... How could I be such an awful father?"
Thought that was awesome? Leave a comment/review. Didn't like it that much? Leave a comment/review. Want more of this or my Ed Edd n Eddy stories? You guessed it: Leave a comment/review. I may take a break from the story until after Christmas, but that isn't in stone just yet. Doesn't matter too much, actually, but whatever.
