Hello once more, faithful readers!

With the group of four assembled, what could Alex's next dream be? Why am I asking you? One of these questions will be answered! You can probably tell which one, but nevertheless...

I named this chapter after a Rush song because I sought that it was time to do that.

SPOILER: One chapter later in the story will be named after the Iron Maiden song 'Only the Good Die Young'. And I suppose that the first chapter was a Megadeth song. I don't really like Reckoning Day, though.

Also, make sure you guys check out the Google + page! Like, for reals! It's awesome, and I'd like to thank FMF for being the only one on there so far... :( I want more people!

Has anyone seen the new Black Ops 2 trailer? The one that just came out today, I mean. It's going to be written by the co-writer of The Dark Night and The Dark Night Rises. I forgot the guys name, and I don't feel like watching the trailer again to look it up. But in your reviews, tell me what you think of it! I want to see if anyone else is super pumped for its release!

Also, any word on the release of Minecraft for the PS3? There are dozens of rumors that its going to be out this fall, but I need to know if they are true or not. Thanks!

To non-users of the site who want to review: I'm not going to moderate yes, just for the sake of spam. But seriously, and I think I posted this on the G+ page, don't make things up about the story just for the sake of pointing out flaws. I mean, seriously. And also, I want to ask you guys something, and I want you all to be honest:

Is the only reason you are reading this the fact that I 'promise sex' later on in the story?

Because: 1) I don't. Slightly sexual is something like a kiss and suggestive jokes/thoughts. 2) Someone actually accused me of that. I mean, seriously.

On that angry note, let's move on to the review responses.

Curtisimo: I understand your concern about the pet question, I actual changed it to 'a pet that is not dumb'. Because Timothy is as dumb as a rock. Also, what is with the Baron Von Porkenhousen?

Shayor: Sorry, but the info is Google Plus exclusive. And the term in Minecraft is chestplate, at least when I've played. They might have changed it in a snapshot, I don't keep track of those other than what I hear from word of mouth.

FullMoonFlygon: I actually have never written romance before. Don't criticize, but I'm serious. Also, I'm surprised about the reception of it. The death scenes so far have been pretty fast-paced, so I haven't really been able to write a good one. I will eventually, because as you all know, more people will die! And when it comes to writing so fast, I see that as one of the greatest blessings from God I have. Oh God, I'm going all bible thumper. All right, that's done. So here is to us indeed! To TPoM and The Miner's Destiny! So read them both, everyone! And be amazed!

Mdog30: Funny that you mention Herobrine... Also, what are Vechz?

Sea of Fire: Indeed, I am random also. And the kiss was amazing on my part, wasn't? I love boasting about it. TO THE COMMUNITY: we should come up with a code name for it, and spam everyone else with it! MWAHAHAHAHAHA See, I'm random too!

Exb756: So many possibilities? What do you mean, so many possibilities?! Thanks for the reviews, anyway.

Night wl: Here you go: a new chapter. Short and sweet, URA!

Sweet Apple Lane: I told you in a PM, that is kind of neccesary for the story. Read chapter 9. Read it. Get it. Love it.

From now on, that's my new catchprase for the story. Huzzah!

And now, let the story commence!

Chapter 11

Armor and Sword

My imagination would not let me sleep. I was constantly having active dreams, and tonight just added to the spectrum.

As I came to consciousness, I groaned. Instead of waking up in the comfort of my bed, I was lying on a hot stone floor. And it wasn't warm; it was hot. I quickly jumped to my feet, and examined the floor. It looked like molten rock, except it was solid. I felt it again and pushed down, trying to see if it was squishy. That's what molten rock would be, right? But it held it's form, so I withdrew my hand and sucked on my index finger, which was burning hot from this mysterious ground. I didn't think I was in the Overworld anymore.

"Well, this wasn't the image I saw of our hero, is it? Sucking fingers and standing in the middle of the Nether without any tools or armor, what has this world come to, I wonder," taunted a figure in front of me. I quickly withdrew my hand from my mouth and looked down. For some reason, I didn't have my armor or toolbelt, and was left with the bare minimum of my clothes.

I looked back up in front of me. It was a man, standing on the molten rocks. He wore the clothes of a zombie, but they were not torn. His long arms were burned in some places, and is brown hair was scraggly. The strangest thing about the man were his eyes: solid white, and missing a certain kind of dot called pupils.

"Well, I did have armor, and now its all gone!" I protested, and the man smiled slightly.

"Don't worry. You don't retain your things in dreams, Alex. You're still safe in your bed. However, you also happen to be here," the man explained, waving his hand at the scene around us. The sky was consumed by a red fog, but there was a rocky ceiling that spewed waterfalls of lava at random spots. Over the crest of a hill that me and the figure were on, there was an enormous sea of fire. I was in the Nether.

"Who are you? Why am I here?" I sputtered.

"I am the Guardian of the Nether. I am-" he started, only to be interrupted by me.

"You're Herobrine," I guessed, and felt a wave of fear pass over me. There were many legends of him in the Overworld, haunting innocent people and building sculptures that shouldn't exist in the world. To have him standing before me gave me the jitters. "You were the one who sent me the dream last night?" I guessed again.

Herobrine shook his head. "That, as you might have guessed, was my brother. But this dream, or whatever you may call it, is all my doing," he answered.

"Why am I here? Why am I not allowed to sleep peacefully anymore?" I complained.

"Please, hold on. I will explain what I can. You are here because you wouldn't be able to continue without having any direction from us. I'm afraid to say that your wandering around will not do you any good," he responded calmly. This was not the man I envisioned to be Herobrine.

"Hey! We were planning on making a town where we could survive together!" I exclaimed.

He shook his head, like I was a child who didn't understand anything. "Alex, what would you do from there? Would you all stay in your town, waiting for the Endermen to unleash their armies on you?"

I thought for a moment. It seemed that he had me stumped. "We could build fences..."

Herobrine laughed at the obscenity of the suggestion. "My friend, there are many things you don't know. Things that I am only beginning to understand. You aren't naïve, but rash. Rash in how you make decisions, but don't think about the consequences. Have you considered the Endermen building mob camps around the entire fort, leaving you to be stranded inside? And the Endermen themselves could teleport in with a will great enough! And don't you know about the prophecy? The betrayal would be awfully gruesome if it happened to come at that time."

I opened my mouth to spurt out some other ill-minded comeback, but no sound came out. I focused on the ceiling for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued to speak. "OK, so if you are here to give me direction, then what is it I need to do?"

"Child, you must not be quick to the answer, but think over what must be done," he responded. I balled my fists in frustration. This Guardian of the Nether, as he called himself, was really pissing me off.

"I AM NOT A CHILD!" I screamed in fury. I was breathing hard, too. "What does that even mean?! Think over what must be done? How can I do that if I don't know what to do?!"

"Alex, you do know what has to happen. Think about the prophecy," he responded. Herobrine waved his hand, and the book containing the Prophecy of Minecraftia appeared in my hands. I read over the lines again. "Travel to the End?" I questioned, but he shook his head. "Farther back. Where are you now, Alex?"

I thought. We had skipped the heralding of the survivors, so I guessed that would come in some final fight or whatever. Honestly, I almost didn't care. Reading through, I realized. "And one will die in a distant land."

Herobrine nodded, and I looked up at him. "We have to travel to the Nether? But why?" I queried.

He waved his hand again, and the book disappeared from my hands. "You must achieve two goals. You must find a Nether fortress and acquire six blaze rods. And, unfortunately, along the way you must lose one of your companions." Herobrine snapped his fingers and three orbs appeared above us, floating in the red fog. Each one held peaceful images of Anna, Will, and Prae sleeping soundly in their beds. I lost focus for a moment and thought of Prae. If I lost her...

"Herobrine, is there any way to control which people have each destiny?" I asked, and he shook his head soundlessly.

"I am afraid not, Alex. What happens in my realm, happens. Whether it be the one who fears this world, the one who embraces the opportunity, or the one who feels bad for the entities stuck here, one of them will die. But before you come here, make sure you are prepared."

"I have the iron armor, and so does everyone else in the group. We really just need more diamonds for weaponry. And we need them anyway to mine obsidian."

Herobrine sighed, and turned around and stared off into the distance. "Alex, armor and sword are not all that is needed to survive the Fourth Realm. One must be ready in the mind, and also have the resources to accomplish the goals."

I stood for a moment, facing his back. I still had two questions. "Herobrine, will I have to kill any of my friends?"

There was silence. I watched a ghast fly through the cavern, spewing balls of fire at anything that was careless enough to anger it. For example, a zombie pigman that happened to stare at it for a moment too long. These mobs of the Nether, I couldn't believe that I had seen them in my life. Traveling to one of the other dimensions was always regarded as a feat only achieved by the greatest of the heroes. I also supposed that if I did achieve the prophecy, then I would be one of the greatest heroes in history. At least, I hoped so.

"I can not see the answer with the information that your brother has provided me, no matter how hard I strain the mind of one as great as mine. But I must say that that would be a cruel thing, something I have only seen once before. But the Creeper Wars were a gruesome time, so I do not believe you will meet the same fate," he answered after a minute or two.

"And also, Herobrine, are you a god?"

This question appeared to be much easier to answer. "Alex, the answer to that is yes, I can't lie. But the nature of it must remain confidential. My brother would be awfully angry to learn that I had spoken about such things with you. But now, you must wake! I hope to find you in my realm soon!"

TPoM

In a matter of seconds, I was once again awake in my bed. The wool covers gave me warmth, but I didn't appreciate that after being in the Nether in a dream. I moved out from under it, and set my bed once more. It was still about four o' clock, so I had a lot of time to kill. I walked over to my workbench and made a good amount of sticks and assembled them into a bunch of fences. I also created a stone slab. Using these, I placed the fence and the stone slab on top of one another in the front right corner to make a table.

I was bored now. My house looked very homey now, and I looked out my window that faced the forest. There weren't any mobs at first sight, and I looked closer. There didn't appear to be anything, until I heard a footstep. Or rather, a couple.

"Bark!" called a wolf. There was a wolf sprinting out of the forest, being chased by a skeleton. I quickly made sure I had my sword with me, and then I sprinted out the door to save the animal.

Timothy was sleeping leisurely outside of Anna's door, and the wolf scurried over to him to seek cover. I brandished the diamond sword, which I still hadn't named, and took a swipe in mid-air to knock away an arrow headed directly at the innocent animal. The skeleton noticed me and shot one of the projectiles at my arm, but I swiftly dodged it. The arrow landed innocently on the ground.

The skeleton strifed me on the left, and I jumped up and slashed the sword into his shooting arm. The bones clanked around, and his arm fell to the ground. Skeletons don't have pupils, but if they did, this one's would've widened in terror. I brought the sword down into its skull, smashing whatever was left of it apart. It crumbled into dust, leaving a bone on the ground and a rare drop: a bow!

I picked up the weapon, holding the slender wood in my hand. The string was thin and agile. I pulled back on the string, lodging a spare stick in an arrows place, and pulled back.

I was aiming for my door, but the stick instead flew and thudded into one of the windows of the common room. The stick thudded to the ground aimlessly, and I was glad that it hadn't shattered the glass.

After putting my stick back on my toolbelt, I walked over to the wolf. Timothy was still snoring obnoxiously, and the wolf was on it's knees next to it. I held out the bone, and it kicked off of Timothy to jump up and snatch it. The wolf closed its mouth around it, and fell to the grass, gnawing on it. Timothy stalked over to Will's house to get some uninterrupted rest. Why had he been at Anna's anyway? It seemed that he was pretty loyal to Will.

The wolf stood back up and brushed against my iron coated leg contently, the bone hanging in between his teeth. After some awkward inspection, I discovered that the wolf was a boy. It was walking in circles around me, biting the bone heartily. He must have been chased over from the tundra where I saved Anna. I patted him on the head, and noticed a small collar on his neck. There was a dog-tag there as well, and I thought about what to name him.

"Is that a wolf? I've always wanted one," exclaimed a voice from above me. I turned and saw that Anna had opened her door, and was watching me as I scratched my new wolf behind the ears. "Er, sorry to sneak up on you like that," she murmured awkwardly.

"That's OK. It is kind of weird that I'm over here. I just, kind of, saved this wolf from a skeleton, and he's taken a liking to me," I explained. There was something about Anna that made me talk kind of weird. I went red in the face.

"And how do you know that the dog is a boy?" she taunted, making me go even more red.

"Er, I was just wondering what to name him," I told her.

"Him?"

"Shut up, Anna."

"Well, I have always liked names that start with 'D's and 'M's, like David and Maxwell," she suggested. I thought for a moment, hoping to find something original that I liked.

"I've got one. Gavin!" I said, finalizing it. Gavin wagged his tail, and gave a short, high-pitched bark.

"That's a cool name. It fits the dog," Anna commented. Gavin was hopping all over me, and I scratched his belly. The sun was rising over the horizon to my right in the desert. The dog bounded over to the river, presumably to wash itself and drink some water.

Anna and I entered the common room to meet with everyone else before we all went to our jobs. Will entered after about five minutes, and Prae walked in a few moments after that.

"I hate being the last one," she said matter-of-factually.

After a brief breakfast of fish that Will had caught yesterday, we all headed out to our respective jobs for the day. After they were done, I decided I would explain my dream to the group and we would mine some obsidian and flint for a portal. Will headed off to the river, and I quickly changed the date to June 11th.

The water flowed out away from the desert, heading west and snaking around many bends and turns. Gavin was sloshing around in the water in front of me, and Will was waiting for me on a pier that I assumed was for fishing. Timothy was sleeping at his owner's feet, snoring loudly. I walked down onto the pier, which branched out into the water about halfway.

"Hey Will, do you have a hoe and some seeds so that we can start the farm?" I questioned him. He was holding some dirt, and looked prepared to begin building the dirt for the wheat to grow on.

"I have ten seeds and a stone hoe. I'm going to branch the farm off of the pier, with three rows that are five blocks long each. I'll also add another pier on the edge. Does that sound good?" he confirmed, and I nodded yes.

"You do that, and I'll go collect some more seeds," I told him. He began to placed down the dirt with a row of water on either side of every dirt row. I climbed up the hill that led down to the river and inspected the plain grass. There were some spots where it grew taller, and I inspected these carefully. Once I had found five different good lumps of seeds and stowed them away in my toolbelt inventory, I headed back down to the river. Gavin headed up to me and walked at my side.

"Gavin, stay with me so I know where you are," I told him, and he gave a loud bark to show his recognition. Will was finishing up the pier, and the dirt rows had become farmland. There weren't any seeds in them, though.

"I thought that if we waited for all of the farmland to moisturize, the seeds would grow faster," he explained after walking over to me. The other dock was finished, 4X6 and lined with fences on the sides facing away from the farm. We stopped to eat a small snack while the farmland fertilized itself. After some bread, we planted all of the seeds, where they lay in the dirt, ready to sprout.

"I'll put up a torch on either side so that they have light during the night time," suggested Will, and he did as he said on the top of the end of the fence next to the water.

We were done with our job, so we headed up to the common room. Anna was there, and we got a brief glimpse of a building made of cobblestone and glass behind her house. On the east side of the town, Prae was planting saplings. The method was a dirt block every five blocks either way, with glass surrounding it and torches under the glass. Everything else was wooden to make a better-looking walkway.

When she was done, we all grouped together in the common room like before. Anna seemed ashen, and Will stood next to her with a frown on his face. I think that they had been talking this morning, and that's why Timothy was there. Speaking of Timothy, our two pets were tussling with each other outside of my house, Gavin the easy winner.

"So what now?" asked Will, his voice low and grumbly. It seemed he was a different person with Anna than alone with me.

I decided that it was no or never. "Guys, we have to travel to the Nether," I started, meeting their estranged looks with a casual indifference. I filled them all in on how Herobrine had visited me and told me to acquire six blaze rods. I left everything else out though, as to not let Will and Anna in on how someone was going to die.

After explaining this, Will piped up. "No! I can't go to the Nether!"

This left him with a good amount of surprised looks from around the room. "Why not?" Prae asked, fearless as always. I remembered how it was right here that she had kissed me last night. If she was the one to die in the Nether, what would I do?

"Because... because..." Will couldn't finish the sentence, so he instead lifted his iron chestplate off and left it exposed for us. His white shirt was severely torn on the right, and there was his skin underneath. Except... it was black and red, giving it the look of something charred in an oven.

"I almost died in a lava pit once. I can't go to the Nether!" he protested. So he was terribly afraid of fire. Something new was learned about this guy everyday, it seemed.

"But all four of us have to go," Anna choked out. I noticed she was crying now, tear streaks along her face. She caught me looking, and then darted out of the room and slammed the door on her house.

"What in the world was that about?" I questioned, and Will shook his head. "I'll go and talk to her," he said, and left for their house. Prae and I were alone again. The scene was too odd for any romance, though. I waited, my eyes fixed on Anna's house. After a half hour, Will trudged out of the door. Timothy walked over to him, but was pushed out of the way haphazardly.

"Well?" Prae queried. Will's eyes remained transfixed on the ground.

"I'm going with you guys," he started. "And I probably will meet my doom. Anna... she had a vision while she was waiting for us. The Blazing Angels visited her..."

That was enough to be said. The Blazing Angels were another one of the legends of Minecraftia, about a group of Aetherian angels that went back down to the Overworld without permission. Their punishment was a job, as the Blazing Angels that came down to the Second Realm to alert the good people that their most beloved one was dead.

"It was her sister. They knew they were sisters because of the priest in her town, but she must have died in her escape. You know how she escaped from the village? Her sister made it out with her, but they were separated in a nasty thunderstorm a couple days later. I think Anna just needs the day off," Will finished. "And, um, never mind."

Will stalked off into his house, and Prae turned to me. "Suspicious as always, isn't he," she joked. I wasn't in the mood for jokes, though. I had to get the obsidian.

Prae followed me into my house. I worked on my crafting table and created the greatest tool in history: the diamond pickaxe. I held it high above my head in an elegant fashion. "Let's go get some obsidian!" I ordered, sounding heroic and dorky at the same time.

Prae organized some iron, and she made a flint and steel for later. We walked down into the mineshaft Anna had created. We didn't have much time, though. The sun was already hanging above the horizon threateningly. Climbing down a ladder to the ravine floor, I noticed the area where the lava and water met. I blocked off the lava and water with stone, and walked up to mine the obsidian.

The rock was extremely hard to mine, but my back-bone effort kept me going at a good stride. Prae watched for mobs beside me, gripping murder with intensity.

After I had mined up fourteen blocks of obsidian, the pair of us hurried back up into the town. The moon was rising above the horizon, and I could see mobs in the distant fields far out. We paused at the door to the common room.

"Alex, I want you to know I'm not the traitor. I can't be, and if I am, kill me," she sputtered, leaving me flustered.

"OK? What was the point of that?"

"I want you to know that, because I'm afraid of the Nether too. The ghasts, and the fire..."

"I'll be there," I assured her, and our lips locked once more. It was just as sweet as the last night, maybe more so. We broke apart and held each other in our arms.

"I'm afraid too, for all of my friends back home. I don't think any of them survived, but still." I wasn't afraid to admit I was worried. A sense of dread was looming on me as we prepared to enter the Nether to following morning.

"Do you think that any of us will get out alive?" she queried worriedly, and I nodded in response.

"There has to be a prophecy, doesn't there? Besides, I won't be too bad. We can build walkways guarded by cobblestone, so the ghasts can't get us."

"Alex, you know that won't work."

I stopped to think for a moment. "Last night, Herobrine told me that armor and sword were only the beginning of what is needed to triumph the Nether. I wish I knew what else..."

And with that, we broke apart, and said our good nights. I held the obsidian in my toolbelt, she had the flint and steel in her backpack. Herobrine was right. We needed the mind, but we needed to be prepared with what we brought with us.

Slumping on my bed, I decided that I would pack in the morning. I didn't feel like it at all right now. Gavin hopped into my room, and curled up at the foot of my bed. I closed the door and got under the covers. "Good night, Gavin," I said absent-mindedly.

The small bark was all I needed to hear to know that we were both safe.

We have now had our first visit from a god now, and it happens to be Herobrine. So hooray for that.

Will Gavin and Timothy have mysterious powers to let them go to the Nether? How will Anna cope with knowing her sister is dead? And when will Notch visit Alex with a message for him? Find out next time, only on the Prophecy of Minecraftia!