Disclaimer: I'm not creative enough to own Minecraft

Chapter 20: The Deep Dark

Blaze and Elda hadn't come back when we woke up.

"Should they be out this long?" Katie asked.

"They were just making a path" Shara said "they should have come back"

"Well, no sense in waiting" Even said, grabbing the nearest sword "let's go make sure"

We nodded and all of us went through the portal. We arrived in a large room with torches everywhere. Surprisingly, there were no enemies. In fact, the whole area, including the tunnel out, seemed deserted…except for the torches every few feet.

"It shouldn't be this empty" Shara said.

"Well, maybe it's just our location" I suggested "come on" we walked along the tunnel, moving down as it declined.

After a bit of walking, the walls opened up, and we saw a large cave…but there was no creature in sight.

"Where is everything?" Aqua asked.

"This usually doesn't happen" Shara said, worry clear in her voice. We were already on the ground, after walking along a staircase-like path.

"Well, all the more reason to be careful" I said. We started walking along a line of torches, all of which had been put down before.

After a bit of walking, the trail of torches ended. And a few steps outside the light were Elda and Blaze…both on the floor unmoving.

"Elda! Blaze!" I called. I ran over to them, ignoring the voices of the others as they tried to call me back. I just wanted to make sure they were alive at this point.

I got to them, and saw they were still breathing. Before I could turn back though, I was knocked down as something hit me.

"Ow!" I screamed, trying to hit it back, but hitting nothing. I got hit again…and again… they didn't hurt too much, but they became more frequent, and I could feel myself getting dizzy.

I used my power tool to make a light from the flux capacitor, and the pain stopped…but there was a shadowy figure now. It hissed at me, crouching down as if ready to attack. I slowly backed up towards the others as she glared at me.

"That must be the Shadow Princess" Shara said.

"Why is she so angry?" Aqua asked.

"Do you want to ask her?" Evan asked sarcastically, which prompted a light punch from Katie.

The Shadow watched us, probably trying to figure out who to attack first. I decided to try a friendly approach, and stepped forward "hi there" I said.

She looked at me, surprise mixed with anger now. Whether because she didn't want to, or she couldn't, she didn't say anything.

"I'm Alex" I said "and we just want the two people that are passed out behind you"

The shadow looked at them, then looked back. She seemed calmer, though still upset. I decided to keep talking, since it seemed to be helping.

"I'm going to take a risk and say you're a Shadow Princess, am I right?" I asked. She nodded, which I took as a good sign "well, the two people are also princesses. They were exploring so we would have an easier time."

I saw understanding in her eyes now. She pointed at the others, as if asking about them.

"Oh, most of them aren't princesses, though one of them is." I said. Shara waved "one of them is an airship girl, and the others are humans, like me" Maillie waved when I referenced her.

"I'm Shadow" the shadow said. Her voice was surprisingly human, though it was whispery…like a shadow "and sorry for attacking your friends, I thought they were invading"

"You didn't kill them, did you?" I asked.

"No, they're just unconscious" she said "I've kept the shadows away since it seemed like more people were coming, and I wanted to know why"

"And you think making them unconscious will do that?" I asked

"No" Shadow said "that was the other shadows, I was just trying to get them to stop moving" she pulled Elda and Blaze into the light.

"How long will they be like this?" I asked.

"A couple hours at most" Shadow replied.

"Thank you" I said "we'll leave you alone now"

"Wait!" she said.

I looked at her curiously "yes?"

"I want to see what the Overworld looks like!" she said.

I blinked, my thoughts whirling "you want to come with us?" I asked.

She nodded "my items are mainly floppy disks, but I can fight like no one else!" she said.

"Do we even have enough room for her?" Even asked "the house is already pretty crowded"

"We can make more rooms" Maillie said "besides, having a shadow as an ally would be great when we go after dungeons"

"Plus, Shadows can't die" Shara said "she'd just be sent back here, and we can come get her"

"It still hurts" Shadow said nervously.

"Relax Shadow" I said "we wouldn't let you get killed"

"So, it's agreed that she's coming with us, right?" I asked. They all nodded "great, then lets head home for now"

We walked up the staircase, with Shadow following happily. Each of us used the portal, and when we got through, Shadow stumbled out.

"It's so bright!" she complained.

"The Overworld is the brightest world, besides maybe the Nether due to its fire" Maillie said.

I noticed the sun was starting to set "you won't have to stay in this bright light for long, it'll be dark soon" I said.

Her eyes lit up "how dark?" she asked

"Light level 9" Maillie replied "sorry Shadow, not dark enough to phase out"

"Phase out?" I asked.

"Shadows are phased out, that's why we can't hit them" Shara said "Shadows only phase in to attack, then phase back out quickly."

I yawned "cool" I said "let's see what we do tomorrow, right now I'm going to bed"

"I think we all should" Aqua said "night guys"

"Night!" everyone coursed, going to their respective beds.

Elda set up a bed for Shadow so that she could sleep, and we all fell asleep quickly.

Yay! I finally finished my next chapter! In case anyone forgot, here's a list of all the characters: Alex, Aqua, Blaze, Elda, Maillie, Shara, Evan, Katie, and Shadow. If I forgot any characters, please tell me! Remember that I do better if I get reviews, so review people! Remember: I love criticism, reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. OC's are welcomed, and encouraged. Bye for now!