Chapter 10: High Tension


Panic. Fear. Terror. Worry. These are the emotions swirling through my heart at the moment as I dart through the jungle, heading towards the break in the biome where it ends and the forest begins. The howling of the wolves was unmistakeable- someone has died. But there is one more feeling rising up within me- hope. Hope that I am wrong, and I misinterpreted the wolf's cry. Hope that maybe it wasn't anyone important. It's the only thing that can quell my fear.

I skid to a halt, throwing up dirt, leaves, and bits of grass around my feet as the sight of a Nether Portal came into view. This one probably just appeared not too long ago.

Before I can move, however, a figure appears in the obsidian frame and steps down in front of me. His face is down, and his form is covered by a long grey cloak, but I would recognize him anywhere.

"Bracken."

The Nether Lord glances up in surprise- I guess he didn't expect me to be so close to the portal. There's almost a half-second where he falters in his composure before his face becomes unreadable again. But I catch something in his eyes in that little window of time. Grief.

"Mini," he replies, straightening up. "I was looking for you."

"Well, you found me." I let out a half-hearted snicker, feeling the dead weight of the air settle around us. This really isn't the time, place, or mood for jokes, but I can't stand the tension. "What's the occasion?"

He shifts nervously on his feet, avoiding my gaze. "The wolf call. You heard it, right?"

I stiffen. "It . . . it couldn't be him . . . right?"

I already know the answer, but I have to try.

Bracken shifts again, and then lifts his left arm up into the air beside him. The cloak falls backwards behind it, revealing the hanging corpse of my brother, Liam.

I let out a sharp gasp, stumbling backwards and somehow end up catching my weight against a tree right behind me. My heart is racing, my breath is wheezy- it's not fear, though. It's anguish. Even as Bracken folds back his cloak to hide the body from my sight, it's still burned into the back of my eyes.

"Who did this?" The words barely come out of my mouth, and even when they are, one could potentially mishear due to the tears lacing my voice.

". . . Shado." Bracken scoffs, glancing to the side. "She sends her regards."

". . . Aly . . .?" No. It couldn't have been. We were friends, back in the old world. She was never capable of something like this back then. But that corpse that was once my brother- the image etched plainly into the back of my brain- that's the truth. And Bracken's words are the only thing connecting the truth to the culprit.

I weep. Openly, because I can't hold back my own pain anymore. I cry for our stupid fights and the times we've actually gotten along. I cry for our parents, how they've missed us for the past years and how they probably won't be able to see either of us again.

Bracken tries to console me, but I shrink away from him, no go away get the body away from me. I don't want to look at it again.

"The body's gone."

"-? What?"

"It's gone," he repeats, holding up his arm. Sure enough, the tethers hold it together are loose, and where the corpse once hung is now replaced by air.

"How . . .?"

"Something implemented in the game." He shrugs. "But what I do know is that he was returned to the real world."

I try to brighten up at his words, but I can't. It'll take a while, I think, before I'm able to. But I do manage to wipe my eyes after a few moments and slow my breathing down a little, even if I still can't get that image out of my head. Bracken's hand rests on my shoulder after a moment, and with quiet consolation I'm able to calm down almost completely. Still shaky, but a lot better than what I was not five minutes ago.

"Other than that, though . . ." He stands back up, holding out his hand for me. I take it and pull myself up before he speaks again. "I was wondering if you would join me."

"With what?"

"An army." He lets go of my hand and spreads his arms out wide almost dramatically. "You've been in the jungle the whole time, so I don't think you know about this. But there are things Shado has done- she's formed her precious Endermen into an army, and have been leading attacks on players, destroying settlements, other things like she's done to your brother. Hell, she's even summoned Herobrine atop everything else." While he was monologuing, his hands have been moving around almost frantically. "And personally, I will not sit around and watch these people die."

Here his hands stop moving around, and he holds one out to me. "What do you say- you in?"

". . .I don't have much to offer, but . . ." I grab his hand. "Yeah."

"Good enough." His grip tightens and he starts to drag me into the portal, leaving me to stumble along.


I'm the first to step onto the Endstone when we return en masse back to our home. A cheer goes up from the people behind me, and even if everyone else is joining into it, I don't. Something's making the code jump off my arm and into the air- accident? On purpose?- and after a single moment of tracing it back, I yell out, "Who's there?"

The cheer dies down almost immediately as another voice calls back to me. Took you long enough.

And everyone else hears it.

Almost like a single mind, everyone turns to face the castle, where a lone figure sits off the balcony, looking down at us. From the distance I couldn't see them very well, but I intend to find out who they are. So I take a step forward, my sword appearing in my hands from my inventory and holding it to the side. "Who are you?"

Thought you, of all people, would recognize me, the figure stalled, leaving me to growl audibly at them. Their voice was ringing in my head- I couldn't place who's it was. Frustrating to no end. Queenie.

"Ay-! Ay, you're not allowed to call me that." God, how I hated that nickname. "No one is."

They snicker. I'll call you whatever I want.

And with that, I start to lunge forward, teleporting mid-step up to them with the intent of slamming the blade onto the obsidian right beside their head. You know, just as a bluff. To scare them.

To my surprise, they're up and standing, and they block the blade with their own weapon. That's when I'm able to catch a glimpse at their face- or, more specifically, their eyes. White and empty, with the exception of two irises staring up at me with an almost unnoticeable blue hue.

The person- the girl- shoves me backwards with surprising strength, and I fall for a split second before teleporting back to my spot on the ground. Some of the Endermen move forward to attack, but I hold up my hand as a motion to stop them. The girl saunters down a few blocks away from me, twirling a knife in her hands.

My name is Spiritbrine, she states. I'm looking for my father.

I know immediately who that is.

"He's not here," I answer, holding my sword at the ready. And honestly, I was telling the truth. Herobrine isn't here, and wherever he was isn't my problem.

Spiritbrine, however, was not convinced.

I have the power to destroy your entire army, you know, she warns, finally catching her knife and holding it still.

"And so do I," I taunt. "Which means I could destroy you."

I'd like to see you try!

"Gladly!"

But I don't even get the chance to move before an unknown force shoves me back and a familiar figure appears in the space between us.

Young lady!

Dad!

"Wait, what?"

Herobrine stands in between me and Spirit, and I can tell neither of them were expecting the other at all. Or, at least, not any time soon. And they apparently haven't closed off their mental connection, because I can hear their entire conversation.

What are you doing here?

I-I was looking for you! She sounds almost desperate, and knowing me, I stifle back a giggle. The whole ordeal was almost comical. Your energy signature was here, so I just thought . . .

Herobrine gives an almost exaggerated sigh. This isn't any place for a kid to be around.

"Rude!" I call out.

What about Eva? Spirit retorts.

That was two years ago, and you- he turns directly to me and gives me such a glare that I straighten up and shut up instantly- are in no position to be part of this conversation. You know what-

He grabs Spiritbrine by the shoulder and pulls her to the side, with her to give a tiny yelp in response. We'll continue this conversation in private.

And then they disappear, leaving me and everyone else either dumbfounded or cracking up. The moment of tension soon passed, and everyone wanders off to do their own thing. Better for me. Time to myself is a gift.

Eventually, though, one of them return to the End- well, more like interrupt me in the middle of my practice, leaving me to almost slice her in half because she was standing directly behind me.

Whoa whoa whoa-! Chill, Queenie. Spirit's voice gives away hints of being startled, but she should know better than to sneak up behind me when I'm sparring with someone else. Everyone should know that. And if you don't you deserve what's coming for you. I'm not your enemy.

"What are you, then?" I nearly snarl, holding my sword to the side. The player who I was sparring with sheaths their weapon as well- I can hear the two metals scraping together, and it almost makes me wince.

I'm here to join you.

I can feel the expression of surprise on my face. "Why?"

Stupid reason, but . . . she holds her arm, glancing to the side. I'm jealous of you. I've been trying to summon Father for the longest time and he comes back for you, of all people. So . . .

"Can you fight?"

What?

"I asked if you could fight." I end up twirling my sword around in my hands out of habit. "You did say you had the ability to 'destroy my entire army'. . ."

Of course. She flips out her own knife, and I see now the material's darker than obsidian. Absently, I wonder what kind of ore it is.

"Then show me."


Frozen's rather quiet as she unwraps the bandages around my arm. It's been a few days, I think, and the skin around it had started to rot away. Of course it wasn't normal. It didn't hurt, though. Just sort of a strange phenomenon.

Heh. Seems Guardian has been rubbing off on me.

However, when the bandages come off, Frozen almost does a double take and I'm more than mildly surprised. All the skin and the muscle has just fallen off, leaving only the bones that've been blackened and cracked and leaving me to wonder how they stay together without any joints.

Like a wither skeleton.

"You said that out loud."

"What?" I glance up at Frozen, and I'm shocked to see that her eyes are a light red color instead of their normal hue of brown.

"You said that out loud," she repeats, blinking once. "You're aware of what's happening?"

"Nah." I raise the withered arm into the light, moving the fingers to see if they still work. To my surprise, they do. "To be honest, I'm not even scared. Can't feel anything."

"That's because the nerves are gone now, so there's no pain. The withering has eroded them." She bites her lip. "Did you fight with any wither skeletons lately?"

"Nope."

"That's not the answer I was hoping for, but . . ." She lets out an almost imperceivable sigh, standing up absently. "I'm gonna need to check something out. Wanna come?"

I stand up as well. "Yeah."

"Good. We're going to spawn." She darts into another room, and after a moment's hesitation I peek in. "That's the only place where we can server hop. Here." She flings something at me and it wraps around my face before I scrabble to pull it off. It's a dark grey hoodie, which would've been inconspicuous if it didn't have a skeleton's face on the hood.

"What's this for?" I ask, holding it out completely. Measuring it quickly, it fits me almost perfectly.

"Covering up your arm." She stands up, dusting off the cover of a medium-sized book. I don't get to see the title of it before it disappears into her inventory and she motions for me to step out of the way. I do, and she starts to head out of the house, leaving me to scrabble behind he while hurriedly pulling the hoodie over my head.

Doesn't take too long to get to spawn, but with the amount of people here it takes a bit more time to get through it. Eventually, though, we reach the center of spawn, and before I know it we're whisked away from the hub world and to another server entirely.

Where we find ourselves is in a large, spire-like place, completely with lapis accentuating the walls and above us a curving glass roof. The stone brick staircases are floating high off the ground, and we seemed to have spawned on one of the platforms that hang in the center of the room. A couple flights up and there are landings leading to who knows where. A couple flights down and there's a waterway below us. When I peek over the side, I see a fountain with the water flowing through openings in the wall. The place is lit by floating torches, yet the fire is blue, giving the place a more cobalt hue.

Frozen is already heading towards one of the large platforms deeper into the area, and given my lack of choices, I follow after.

We go through a darkened corridor, and despite the only low amount of blue-flamed torches within, I can see quite well. The trickling of water from far below us is also present. To be honest, if it weren't for the stone surroundings, it would be easy to fall asleep in this place.

Eventually, on the other end of the tunnel, the world around me is nearly silenced as the place opens up into a rather large library. Wait. Large doesn't do it justice. What's the word?- Grandiose. Yes. Big words for a big library.

The walls are covered ceiling to floor in bookshelves crammed with an infinite variety of books; tones large and small, hardcover and paperback, from novellas to textbooks. The bottom of the shelves all have stacks of books in varying sizes, and there are large windows on two sides to let in light. The entire place is furnished with dark oak wood, giving it a warm feeling. And in the center, a wide hole, complete with a golden railing and a winding staircase leading down to the lower floors.

Frozen almost drags me down the staircase, and as we go along I notice each floor gets subsequently wider than its predecessor, like layers on a cake. I spot a few players here and there and once I even catch sight of a floating book or two.

The farther we go down, the colder it gets, until we're finally at the bottom floor. Here she leads me into another passageway in the wall, albeit shorter this time, where we reach a dead end.

I tug on her jacket and notify her of this fact.

"I know, hold on." She takes a step forward towards the wall, pressing her hand against the surface. "Keeper."

Her hand starts to glow slightly, and after a few seconds, there's a sudden gust of wind right above my head that makes me instinctively duck. She pulls away from the wall and another figure takes her place- a figure with large raven-like wings, feathers growing all over their body, talons for fingers and a long black trench coat covering them almost completely.

Too much black.

"Welcome back, Symone," they greet, nodding to Frozen. "Do you require access into the Vault?"

"Yeah." While her answer's immediate, I still can't get over the bird person over here.

And lo and behold, they glance over at me. "And who might your friend be?"

"Another player, and he's kinda the one stuck in the middle of this whole mess so he needs to be here too."

The bird-human opens their mouth as if they were to speak, but Frozen cuts them off with, "And before you say anything about security, let it be known that I'm generous enough to abide by your rules and not just break down this wall when I want to."

"I-it's bedrock," they stutter. "You can't break bedrock."

"Explosions can break bedrock."

"No, they can't."

She lets out a sharp hiss, which makes Birdbrain take a step back. "Would you like to see me try?"

"N-no! No, it's perfectly fine. I-I'll let you both in."

It's a second before they disappear in a flash of feathers, and soon after I hear the familiar muffled clicks and whirrs of a redstone contraption starting up. Soon enough, a rather large hole appears in the wall, revealing a circular place made out of stone brick of different types and lit by white-flamed torches. Bookshelves are also present here- rather, they're the only other thing in the room- lined up by rows and stuffed with huge tomes within them.

"Who was that?" I ask as Frozen starts to tug me into the room. The whole place is quite dark, despite the torches every now and then casting a bit of a glow and my weird enhanced sight. If anything, the slight darkness sets the mood.

"Keeper of the Vault," she responds, pausing for a moment to take a torch out of its holder and carry it with her. "They usually go by Keeper, even though I call them Birdbrain every now and then."

I pause. "Are they a boy or a girl?"

"Yes."

She lets go of me and takes off down farther into the Vault, leaving me to linger back on my own. After a few seconds I start to walk at a slow pace, taking in the surroundings as much as I can. My fingers brush against the spine of the books, and I notice some of them have gold lettering that reflect the light when tilted just right. Most of them have a thick coating of dust on them, like they haven't been disturbed for a very long time. I pull one out and brush off the cover, which reads Tales of the Abyss; Legend of the Void People. When I open it up, however, a silverfish scuttles out from the pages, making me yelp and drop the book. The silverfish scuttles up my arm and seems to rest on my shoulder, making the odd noises it makes as if it was trying to get my attention. Absently, I wonder why it isn't attacking me.

The sound of another book slamming echoes throughout the place and makes me jump once again, the silverfish darting off my shoulder and under a bookshelf. A couple moments later and I hear Frozen's voice call me over to her direction, and I start to follow the voice to where she is.

She's sitting on a pile of books taller than myself, made into something that resembles a throne. In her lap are two different ones- a large, hardcover book with yellowing pages, and a bit to the side that brown one from earlier. The torch is being held up in the air as she uses its light to read from both books back and forth.

"So from what I've gathered," she states as I draw near, "your arm having withered away isn't just something random."

"What is it, then?" I ask, standing a few blocks away from the pile and looking up at her.

She glances up here, and I notice her eyes are still that strange red hue. "Few questions first. How well can you see in the dark?"

I pause. "Um . . . kinda well, actually. I never really notice when it gets dark anymore."

"Like a potion of night vision?"

"Not . . . not exactly."

She makes an odd humming noise. "Have you been attacked by any hostile mobs at all lately?"

"Nope."

"Even after dark?"

"Not at all."

"You're sure?" She gives me an interrogative glare.

"Yeah."

"Absolutely sure?"

". . . No." I grin sheepishly and she smacks her hand against her forehead. "At least, not that I know of. Haven't been really paying attention."

"Close enough." She closes the hardcover book on her lap with one hand and moves it to the side, hopping down with the torch still in hand. "Still need to check some things out, but from what I know, you're becoming a Moblord. Like me."

I'm definitely shocked here, stumbling back slightly. Thoughts whir through my head. Me? Someone like that? They're cool and all, but I can't possibly be one of those who rule over a mob. I'm just a Player.

Eventually, I manage to grasp onto one tiny detail. "L-like you?"

"Yeah." She flashes me a grin. Here is where I notice the green tint to her skin for the first time, and I connect that and the strange color of her eyes to a certain enemy before she answers the question I was asking in my head. "I'm the creeper Moblord."