Running back through the open portal to the Nether, the traveling groups split ways on the tracks. Jane, Olivia and Reuben going to Redstonia while Jesse and Axel traveled to Boom Town. The two boys sat in their mine carts, listening to the click-clack sound of the tracks. The journey to the overworld alone was difficult, due to the Ghasts they had to fight off in the Nether just to get to the portals. But after arriving at their destination in the overworld, they discovered their dry, desolate surroundings pretty quickly. The air was stale and full of dust, which they discovered quickly upon their first breath after arriving. Around them existed a town, equivalent to a small city, but the buildings were far from properly structured. Perhaps they were secure at some point in the past. Not anymore. The sounds of explosions met all of their ears quickly, and after meandering through the town, both Jesse and Axel discovered the many traps and people that were associated with TNT. How anyone survived in Boom Town, they didn't know. The place was full of griefers; destructive people who destroyed anything and everything in their path without any guilty consent. Jesse hated the concept. Axel didn't care. He was only excited to meet Magnus.
The pair walked through the town filled with utter chaos and loud explosions. Jesse was hoping to find someone who could help them find Magnus. He held the Order's amulet tightly in his left hand, almost feeling bad for taking it. He knew it would've helped Jane a good deal, but he also knew she had Reuben and Olivia. His sister would be alright, despite her hint of ambition. It wasn't quite as reckless as Petra's but it was there, although she hid it most of the time. As the group walked, the amulet glowed a brighter green the further they meandered, helping them to locate faster where Magnus was, which turned out to be in a large spire located in a far corner of the town. The amulet was quite useful, especially since it was hard to ignore the chaos.
"Hey there, new people!" A teenage girl called out as she waved while running up to Jesse and Axel. Her hair was in pigtails, with a tint of indigo dye in her locks. Her t-shirt was striped with pink and white and she wore torn brown jeans. The only surprising feature about her was the black bandit mask that she had covering the top half of her face. "You looking for Magnus?" She asked, clearly wanting information, "All the griefers here in Boom Town wanna find Magnus, y'know."
Jesse nodded slowly, "Yes, and we believe we know where he is."
"We're on important business, so back off!" Axel commanded with his arms crossed.
The girl just rolled her eyes, "I hope it's not to give a fashion consultation because... sheesh!"
"What's going on?!" Someone shouted from on top of a roof of a collapsing nearby building.
"Nohr found some noobs with a thingy that can find Magnus." Someone with a gruff voice replied as he crawled out of an alley. One by one, dozens of griefers came, inventories loaded with explosives. Their faces were either painted or covered with masks enough to slightly disturb anyone, and their clothes smelled like gunpowder. It was so strong, both Jesse and Axel smelled it.
The girl, Nohr, scoffed, "Bunch of scavengers, this drop is mine!"
"Everyone just back off, alright?!" Jesse yelled, "We need this amulet to find Magnus, and-"
"Hey, we all wanna find Magnus, friend-o." The man with the gruff voice interrupted, trying to sound as intimidating as he possibly could. As if his red devil mask wasn't enough. Nohr took advantage of the distraction by swiping the amulet from Jesse's hand and running off. A chase instantly broke out. The griefers all began working together, trying their best to keep the amulet from Jesse and Axel. It was a frustrating chase, and Axel was starting to actually dislike Boom Town.
Jesse and Axel split up, looking for the person who had the amulet, since Nohr had passed it on to another during the chase and so on. Explosions erupted here and there, buildings only continued to collapse, and there were indefinite injuries. The frustration only continued. With a clenched jaw, Jesse was nearly ready to knock out cold the person who held the amulet. Running down sandy paths under the baking hot sun, continuing to doge falling TNT, he found her. Nohr. The amulet was back in her possession. And so he chased her with all the anger and frustration he could take out on anyone at this point.
Climbing up old buildings and running on the rooftops, Nohr shouted, "I've been trying to find Magnus for way too long for you to stop me now!"
Tackling Nohr, Jesse tried to pry the amulet out of her hands. He had a slight advantage, being he was a man and she was a teenage girl, but she was feisty! She even tried biting him once just to get away. It didn't work however, and the amulet was back in Jesse's possession quickly, much to Nohr's frustration. It didn't take long for her to light TNT. Jesse jumped off the roof, catching up with Axel as they ran to the spiral, working to lose the griefers that were on their tail.
After losing the troublemakers and arriving at Magnus' tower, they entered, looking around at the obsidian walls, roof and floor before falling down a trap. It landed them in a hidden room underground, but it was rough. The amulet fell out of Jesse's grasp, rolling across the floor to the other side of the room. The floor was merely a bridge over flowing lava, which made the room unbearably hot. Just as Jesse was about to run across the obsidian floor bridge and retrieve the amulet, he was stopped by a man entering on that exact side. The man was bald with a black bandit mask, much similar to Nohr's, and he wore green and gold robes.
"You are completely surrounded by death traps." The man threatened as he stood by a patch of levers on the wall, "One step closer... and KABOOM!" He pulled a lever, dropping unlit TNT. He laughed to himself at his genius traps while picking up the amulet, examining it with curiosity.
"It's Magnus!" Axel cheered, realizing who the man was, "We totally got caught by Magnus! Er... I think we're gonna die now."
"Did you really think you could sneak up on me?" Magnus scoffed, "Ha! You're two of the worst griefers I've ever met."
Jesse held his hands up, "We mean no offense! Honestly, we come here in peace."
"Uh huh uh huh, sure." Magnus' tone dripped with sarcasm, "So you're not a couple of griefers here to catch me unawares? Because, haha, lemme tell ya... I mean, that guy, he's got 'griefer' written all over him." He was referring to Axel, who looked shocked. Jesse knew Axel was Magnus' biggest fan, but he was not about to say that just yet.
Magnus was still more than sceptical, "So tell me something, 'Not Griefers'. How'd you find me? Who are you working for? You working with someone, or maybe you bribed another griefer? Heh, for two noobs, I'm impressed you found me."
"Gabriel sent us on this mission!" Jesse blurted out, not willing to hold back any information from him.
"Gabriel?!" Magnus scoffed again, "Ha! You're seriously telling me you're buddy-buddy with Gabriel? You know how often people try to tell me that one?" Dropping down another layer of TNT, he shouted, "Who are you really?! Why are you here?"
"The world is being destroyed!" Jesse exclaimed, nearly pleading.
Magnus raised an eyebrow, "You have me intrigued. Go on." He pulled a lever, throwing aside the TNT to allow Jesse and Axel to fully approach him. Jesse began to explain,
"There's a huge monster eating up the entire world, and nothing can stop it! That's why Gabriel told us to reunite the Order. Magnus, you've got to come with us. You might be the only chance we have!"
Magnus narrowed his eyes and dropped the TNT again, "Give me one reason why, for even a second, I should come with you. I am the ruler of this place."
"Boom Town, this place you've built up and are known for... it's about to be destroyed." Jesse nearly whispered, thinking about all the lives that would be taken away, "But if you come with us, we can still stop this."
Magnus crossed his arms, "All this stuff you've told me... you expect me to just take your word for it? Two strangers with wild stories, and nothing to show for it."
"Are you that paranoid?! Do you really not trust anyone?"
"That's how I've survived this long." Magnus growled.
"Please..." Jesse begged, "Just trust us for a minute, okay?"
There was a moment's pause as Magnus took a deep breath. They all waited in anticipation before he announce, "Okay okay, you sold me. I'm in." He threw aside all the TNT before continuing, "Oh, but we might have a little bit of a problem getting out of here."
"Huh?" Axel was confused, "You're Magnus. You can just walk outta here."
Magnus rolled his eyes, "Hello?! I don't know if you've looked around this place, but it's kinda full of griefers."
Axel shrugged, "But that's kinda awesome, right?"
"Hehe no. You've heard about 'Challenging the King for His Crown' thing, right? It's like their thing. So long as I'm king, I can't leave this tower. Simply put, that's life as King of Boom Town! Hahaha! Not as fun as you'd think. But the reality is, until a worthy challenger beats me, I'm sorta stuck. But you... you're the newcomers with the golden amulet. By now, there'll probably be all sorts of rumors about how awesome you are. If you beat me, then I'll be able to leave. Can't believe I didn't think of it before!"
Jesse shrugged, "Yeah, but assuming I won, wouldn't I be stuck here then?"
Magnus shook his head, "Nah, you're not as legendary as me. Should be easy enough to throw another fight or just give up the crown with way lower level griefers. The trick is, don't become a legend. But looking at you... well, anyway, I'm actually excited about this! But we gotta make sure it looks legit. The Death Bowl has never seen the carnage that we're about to create."
The Death Bowl? Both Jesse and Axel were confused at first, but they learned quickly. It was the match that would decide the fate of Magnus. Jesse was going to beat him, but it would be faked. Just for the sake of escaping Boom Town. The griefers gathered around outside where the match was to be held, screaming and cheering like wild animals. Both Jesse and Magnus built up their platforms and began to throw eggs at each other. Everything was going according to plan, until Magnus nearly hit Jesse with a pack of TNT.
"What about the plan?!" Jesse yelled at Magnus.
"NOBODY MESSES WITH THE BOOM MASTER!" He shouted, building up a canon. It was as if Magnus suddenly went crazy, and his eyes seemed to flare fire. Axel shouted for Jesse to hurry up and build a defense, which he did, but the canon Magnus constructed was beyond conceivable. Explosives began flying in all directions, grazing Jesse from time to time. In moments, he feared for his life. Magnus was supposed to throw the fight! Throwing up a bow and arrow to Jesse, Axel thought fast, hoping Jesse could set off the TNT resting behind Magnus. He did so, ending the chaotic fight faster than it began. The explosions rang in Jesse's ears, and he began to feel lightheaded. Nevertheless, he won, and the guilt on Magnus' face could be clearly seen.
"HOLY CRAP!" Magnus shrieked as he suddenly stood up, interrupting the cheers of the crowd. Thunder could be heard, and approaching the town was the Wither Storm. It had found them. The cheers interrupted into frightening screams as griefers became extracted through the tractor beam. The town was lost. Magnus continued to scream, and Jesse looked for a way of escape.
"Magnus, Axel, c'mon!" He shouted, pulling them away as they ran. The Wither Storm growled and roared from its three heads, eating everything in its path. Jesse searched for the portal, trying to dodge the crumbling buildings. Staying balanced was an issue as well, due to the tremors that rumbled through the ground. But as the portal was finally in sight, their adrenaline and fear gripped them as the trio jumped through.