Separated

Chapter 36: Evils in the Night

"HOT! VERY VERY HOT!"

Honeydew began running around in circles when one of Finbar's fireballs had managed to set his long ginger beard aflame. After moments of sheer panic, the Dwarf noticed something oddly out of place. A melon farm? What was it doing next to this...thing all the way out in the middle of nowhere? Still, the irrigation trenches were still filled with murky water, and he rapidly dove for the muddy puddle and stuck his head under. Honeydew then sat up and gasped in a long breath, his loss of air caused by both holding his head underwater and the fact that he had been screaming bloody murder when his beard was still alight.

Meanwhile, Knight_Peculier was in far better condition than Honeydew was. The knight expertly weaved in and out of the rain of fire from above, occasionally raising his sword to deflect the projectiles and send them flying in multiple other directions. The spark of determination in his eyes was as bright as the flames falling towards him, and with each precise swing of his family's iron rapier, that spark only seemed to grow brighter and brighter. Soon the fireballs ceased, and King_Finbar was nowhere to be seen up above. Wherever he had gone, neither KP or Honeydew knew.

Honeydew finally stood after recovering his breath and squeezed the dirty water from his beard, most of the orange mess now charred and black. Honeydew sighed, his magnificent facial hair ruined. KP sheathed his sword on his belt before jogging over.

"You alright, friend?" He asked. Honeydew looked up to see worry and concern etched onto the knight's chiseled features. After a moment, the Dwarf nodded.

"I'm fine. Me pride's just a little bruised, that's all. How are you holding up?" He asked. KP shrugged as a way of conveying that he was fine. The two then finally got a good look of where the mine carts had dropped them. Surrounding them on all sides was a lush green valley until the terrain shifted upwards and formed rocky hills in the distance, a few of the peaks dotted with white snow. Within the valley were a few patches of oak trees, but little plant life remained around The Spire and the small fortress surrounding its base. Tall cobblestone walls with more barb wire lining the tops formed a rectangle around the strange construct, and the only gate they could see from their position was an old steel door, apparently rusted shut from years of neglect. The two adventurers took another look around, and this time Honeydew noticed some odd displacement of the land off to their left.

"Hang on, what's all this?" The Dwarf turned to walk closer to the wreckage, KP following close behind. To the left of the small fortress was a huge crater, vaguely forming a triangle in the ground. The deepest part of the rut, the base, was located near the fortress' left wall. There was little wall left after whatever caused the crater had done its job. The triangular hole grew shallower as it grew closer to the "tip" of said triangle, leaving a wasteland of burning logs and churned up dirt. Sitting in front of the "tip" was a metal monster, much like the drill the two had found back in The Deepcore, but this one looked far more deadly. The thing resembled an early design for a battle tank, but far more menacing. From the jagged steel frame extended a long, slender nozzle where the blast that destroyed this part of the landscape most likely originated from. More tire treads served as its feet, but these treads had spikes that could be used to dig into both uneven terrain and the frail bodies of the machine's enemies. Honeydew and KP stood in silence for the next minute or two, simply taking the sight in.

"Oh...dear." Peculier finally managed to get out. "It appears the dwarves have absolutely devastated this place..."

"You don't have to say that again." Honeydew sighed. King_Finbar and his army of zombified dwarves were certainly not putting his race in a good light. After a quick discussion, the two then turned and entered the cobblestone fort using the hole the large battle tank had created. Inside the rectangular space was fairly simple. Besides various piles of rubble and a stretch of cobwebs here and there, within the walls was nothing more than the base of the spiraling double helix and a small room off to the side. Whilst looking around, both Honeydew and KP noticed something sitting near a pile of dirt and gravel. It was a chest, the wood once again beginning to be picked away by rot. The two shared another look before approaching cautiously, not wanting another incident like the Silverfish to occur once again. Honeydew bent down into a kneeling position and carefully lifted the chest's aged lid. Inside was an odd little gizmo. Spherical in shape, the strange metal was greyish-blue while the gemlike grooves in the sides of the contraption were colored aquamarine. Beside the gizmo was a small piece of parchment, neatly folded into two. The Dwarf reached in and grabbed the strange sphere while KP grabbed the paper and unfolded it.

"This is another piece of the map fragment!" The knight exclaimed after giving the parchment a good examination. Honeydew nodded, although clearly distracted, too busy fiddling with the odd orb in his gloved hands.

"I wonder what this thing does... AHH HOLY SHIT!" The aquamarine grooves suddenly lit up, their light was bright enough to cast visible beams in all directions. This caused Honeydew to drop the strange little thing, and once the gizmo had settled in place on the ground, its gleaming focused upwards, and a spectral figure appeared before them. The old man was balding, save for a long brown beard, and a scar cut through his milky left eye.

"Verigan?!" KP exclaimed again. The old man gave no reply as it began to speak.

"For those of you who find this," Verigan began. "I, Verigan Antioch, have made hard decisions to protect this world. This, my friends, is one of them. To protect this land from a terrible evil, the dwarves of Stoneholm and I have put together t-t-t-this machine." Verigan stammered as his image became fuzzy and blinked out for a moment. "The machine that awakened The Beast Under The Sands in the first place... Now, through The Wall, it keeps Him chained. If The Wall was ever to fall, the world would surely be doomed. This facility is hidden from view. The only way past the many hills surrounding it is through The Deepcore, which will soon be sealed off forever. But, if you are hearing this, that means something has g-g-g-gone horribly wrong-ong." Again, Verigan's image struggled to stay manifested, and the audio lagged because of it.

Verigan's hologram seemed to glance between the two for a moment before he continued his speech.

"If you are pure of heart, maybe you could do what I could not. Take this map piece included in the chest you found this message in. It will guide you in your endeavors. Good luck, whoever you are. This is Verigan Antioch, signing off."

With that, the image of the old war hero flickered out, and the glow of the strange orb died away. Again, both heroes stood silently for another moment or two, taking in the old man's words before they shared an uneasy look.

"This message from Verigan... It is bad news." The knight concluded. He tucked the map piece in his pant pocket before turning to investigate the small room off to their right. "Quickly. We must finish up here and return to Adaephon."

"Good plan." He replied. He absently wondered if Xephos had found the final map fragment out on his own. The Dwarf followed KP into the control room, where a large, outdated computer terminal was crammed within the room's tight layout. After brief inspection, the two found that there was a panel torn away from the terminal's base, and a fuse had been ripped from its spot. This minor change in the configuration was enough to render the entire thing useless.

"We have to get this thing working if we want The Wall to return to normal. Where do you think we can find a replacement?" Honeydew asked. KP gave a hum of thought as he stroked his chin, a 5 o'clock shadow starting to make its way onto his face. The knight looked in the direction they had come from.

"Perhaps Finbar's metal machine has a fuse we could use." He proposed. Honeydew nodded in agreement before the two left the cramped control room and moved out into open air again. They left the inside of the compound using the breach in the wall again before they hiked over to Finbar's tank, avoiding any flaming rubble strewn around them. The sun, which had been sitting just above the western hilltops when they first exited The Deepcore, had now finally set, and the black sky lit up brightly with stars. The moon was nowhere in sight, most likely due to it being a night of new moon. Still, the fires lit up the area well enough, and soon the heroes grew close to Finbar's metal monstrosity.

"Why, it's even bigger up close." KP mumbled, scratching his head under his iron mining helm again. He was still wearing it even after so violently being tossed out of The Deepcore through the rail system. Honeydew gave another nod of agreement as he began to circle the thing in search of a way inside. He didn't have to look for long. A few steps that led up to the tank's entryway were located where the massive spiked treads separated from front to back. Prying the locked metal door open with his pickaxe, he and KP stepped inside and took a look around.

The war machine's control room was rectangular, and seemed to be the only room on board. No other entryway or exit could be seen. The main control panel was located at the front of the tank. A single leather chair was bolted to the wooden floor, and the control panel itself was covered in many buttons, levers, and a steering wheel located at the center. KP approached the panel and bent down beside it. He quickly found the maintenance hatch, opened it, and started searching the mess of wires and circuit boards for a compatible fuse. While the knight handled all that, Honeydew found himself staring out the tank's rear window. The tank appeared to have trampled over another mine cart rail, for the treads' deep marks having either crushed parts of the tracks underneath the machine's weight or buried them completely in mud.

It was then the Dwarf noticed something odd. Blending into the darkness were two tall black masses. The only reason Honeydew had noticed them in the first place was because of a faint purple glow that surrounded their lean, humanoid bodies. These creatures appeared to be at least eight feet tall and had very jagged bone structures. Their knees, elbows, and shoulders sharpened into points, and their long upper limbs almost stretched down and dragged across the ground, stopping at the creatures' upper calf area. Their claw-like fingers were stained the same violet color as the aura surrounding them, and their long, flattened faces lacked noses and ears, almost resembling a skull of some sorts. The two monstrosities were busy playing with two long-forgotten mine carts, picking them up and examining them like curious schoolchildren. One didn't seem to like its mine cart, so it used its lanky arms to crush the thing like a soda can before it discarded it by throwing it into the ground. The force was strong enough to leave behind a small crater.

Suddenly, Honeydew noticed the two things begin to glance in his direction. Before he and the creatures could lock stares, the Dwarf was tackled from behind by Peculier.

"Avert your eyes!" He commanded, currently having the Dwarf pinned down under him. Honeydew, obviously confused, shoved the knight off and sat up.

"What for?" He asked, brushing himself off. It was Peculier's turn to look confused.

"Have you not heard the stories? Those are Endermen! Real live Endermen, Honeydew!"

"Ender-what?" The Dwarf asked. KP sighed.

"So it is true you do not know." He began. It appeared that he was about to continue when a new sound echoed around them. It rose up from inaudible ranges of sound and slowly grew into a loud drone. Mixed in with the sound were a few other guttural moans and odd clicks. All these things mixed together into one awful growl. KP then grabbed Honeydew again and slid him back up against the back wall of the tank, another hand over the Dwarf's bearded mouth. Honeydew was about to protest until he saw a shadow suddenly appear before him through the window. Not slowly become visible as something stepped in to block out the starlight, but appear. The shadow depicted the bony frame of one of the creatures from outside. Honeydew watched as the shadow's head seemed to scan the inside of the tank, its deadly hands pressed up against the glass. The odd inhuman growl sounded again, but this time much more softly, as if the creature was muttering to itself. With an odd flashing sound, the shadow disappeared again like it had never been there in the first place. Both KP and Honeydew slowly peeked up to glance out the rear window. Both of the monsters had vanished.

"What in Minecraftia were those?!" Honeydew exclaimed once they were sure it was safe. KP turned to the Dwarf once again, a distressed look on his face.

"I already told you. Those things were Endermen. They used to roam the land like the other mobs of Minecraftia, but they proved too dangerous. Locking eyes with them will send them into a blind fury, and then there's no stopping them after that. They will chase after you until either they or you dies. The wizards of old sealed these things in their home dimension long ago, hoping that they would never return. Obviously, the seal has been broken, and now they roam the land once more."

"Huh. I wonder if Israphel's tampering broke the seal somehow." Honeydew wondered out loud. KP just shrugged as he held up the fuse they had been looking for.

"This should get that spire thing up and running again." He said, standing. "C'mon. The Endermen's return only adds to the things Israphel will bring if he is not dealt with. Let's get going, and keep your gaze forward. We don't want to accidently lock eyes with more of those creatures if we turn our heads."

"Alright. Lead the way."

The two then exited the tank and stepped down into the mud again. Quickening their pace, both Honeydew and KP focused forward and made their way back towards The Spire. The Dwarf looked upwards ever so slightly to admire the strange double helix, and that's when he noticed it. He stopped.

"Hey KP, there's a Portal up there!"

"Hmm?" The knight stopped and looked upwards as well. "By gods, you're right! That must be how Finbar escaped!"

"Let's get this thing activated and go up to stop him!" Honeydew exclaimed. KP nodded in agreement before the two broke off into a sprint, hurrying back through the breach and into the control room. Fastening the fuse into its place, the ancient terminal instantly lit up once power was restored. A few encrypted commands popped up on the screen before it suddenly became a lot brighter back outside. Both Honeydew and Knight_Peculier stepped out to see that The Spire had been reactivated. The double helix glowed with an astonishing white light, and some form of magical, spiraling cloud formed at the top, looking somewhat like a spinning pinwheel. Waves of energy could be seen pulsing through both spirals of machinery before the impulses headed underground and disappeared, heading off to work their magic on The Wall. The two shared a smile before they tilted their heads upwards in an attempt to see the top of the towering machine before them.

"Now, how do we get up to the Portal?" Honeydew asked. KP finally took his mining helm off and tossed it aside, finding it useless now. The knight gave a hum of thought before he snapped his fingers, getting an idea.

"We could just do what Finbar did and follow a helix up." He proposed. "The machinery looks wide enough to walk on."

"I guess that will have to do. C'mon."

The two then spent the next ten minutes or so slowly winding their way up towards the Nether Portal atop the great spire. The air grew thin as they neared the top, and during one of their short breaks, Honeydew looked out across the land to see a glowing strip of machinery stretch out over the terrain. It too pulsated with energy, the waves slowly cascading out through the hills and beyond. Just at the very tip of the horizon, he could barely make out the tall towers of The Wall, each beacon silhouetting the cobblestone structure against an otherwise black backdrop. The last line of defense from The Sands was definitely reinforced now.

Eventually, the two heroes made it to the very top of The Spire. The Nether Portal sat before them, the ominous wails and cries of demonic beings from the other realm calling them forward. Honeydew and Peculier stopped to contemplate the situation briefly.

"Should we break it or head through?" Honeydew asked. KP didn't even pause to think about his answer.

"We need to head into the hellish place. Finbar needs to pay for what he's done, and my gut tells me he's waiting for us. Plus, I don't think we can go back the way we came. We have no choice in the matter."

"Well then, in we go!" Honeydew raised his pickaxe and triumphantly charged through the Portal. KP, rapier in hand again, was not too far behind. After seeing nothing but a dark, swirling shade of purple for a moment, the two emerged on the other side. The same thick black metal that Xephos and Honeydew had first encountered on their trip into the Nether surrounded them, but this room was much bigger and had many more computer screens than the first. Before them, the entire opposite wall was taken up by multiple computer screens, some on and some off so the glowing green monitors resembled the frowning face of a creeper. In front of the ominous sight stood King_Finbar, smirking as the two put together what was going on. He gave a deep laugh and pointed his diamond scimitar towards the two. With his free hand, he snapped his fingers, and the Portal behind them instantly died. The two were trapped, their only route back to the Overworld gone.

"I see the infestation problem has finally arrived." He began. "You are too late, fools! Our Dark Lord's plan is almost complete!"

"Nonsense! You are just bluffing!" KP cried, pointing his own sword towards the dwarven king. Finbar just laughed again, an evil red becoming apparent in his irises.

"Am I? While you toiled away at collecting your precious map pieces, our Master grew stronger with each passing day, watching, waiting for the day in which he will rise into absolute power and reform the world in his own dark image!" He paused to laugh again, keeping the tip of his scimitar pointed towards Peculier's heart. Honeydew, although he had been standing defensively with his pickaxe out, did not expect the other dwarf to swing his blade and send a ripple of fire in his direction. He quickly jumped back in an attempt to avoid it, but was caught off-guard when a hatch opened up under his feet and sent him tumbling down into a pit. Thankfully, Honeydew swung his pick forward as he fell, and it managed to catch the side of the hole and dangle him precariously off the side. He reached up and pulled himself back onto the edge, but struggled to find footing on the smooth metal to get himself fully up over the side again.

"Hero!" Knight_Peculier cried out, momentarily distracted by Honeydew's current situation. Finbar saw the opportunity and lashed out at Peculier, but the knight was quick and brought his own sword up to defend his chest area. The two locked swords as diamond and iron grinded against each other. Honeydew watched as both swordsmen struggled to push the other back.

"Give up, Finbar! Your time has come!" KP shouted, leaning forward into the dwarf's blade in an attempt to keep him back. Finbar just smirked again as the two pulled away momentarily. They jumped back and readjusted their grips on their weapons before they clashed again, once again locked in a stalemate.

"Why should I? Master Israphel will soon have his way." Finbar then slipped away again and swung a leg to trip Peculier over. The knight foresaw the incoming attack and jumped to the side, quickly rebounded, and leapt forward in an attempt to skewer the dwarven king through his exposed stomach. Finbar then turned his sword to catch Peculier's rapier before he guided it, along with its wielder, past him. KP turned and locked swords with Finbar again before the dwarf could stab through his diamond chestplate and into his spinal cord. By the look on his face, Honeydew could tell that KP was getting angry.

"Where is my father? My mother? WHERE IS DAISY?!" He yelled. King_Finbar smirked and pulled away from the stalemate again, now standing in a defensive position.

"That tasty morsel will be the final sacrifice needed to complete Master Israphel's plan. Like I said, you're too late, fool!"

Finbar's comment was the last straw for Peculier. Honeydew witnessed the usually calm and reserved knight tighten his fists and let out a cry of frustration before he raised his rapier and barreled towards Finbar. The dwarf was obviously not prepared for the knight's sudden charge and could not defend himself appropriately. With one swift swipe, Peculier decapitated the corrupted king and sent his body flying into the wall of monitors with a powerful kick. Many of the glass screens shattered to pieces on impact, and the king's body remained tangled in a mess of electrical wires within the wall. Finbar's head lay off to the side, a look of shock still on his dead face. Honeydew's eyes widened in surprise.

"Holy shit, man!" He cried. The Dwarf finally managed to find a decent footing to pull himself up over the ledge again. "I didn't know you had that in you!"

KP did not reply. The man was still seething with rage, shoulders rising up and down with each quick breath he took in as he stared at Finbar's body in front of him. Honeydew was about to say something when he noticed tears running down the knight's cheeks, and KP gave another loud, anger-filled cry before he dropped his bloodstained sword and fell to his knees. Honeydew was practically dumbfounded when he saw Knight_Peculier, one of the strongest and most reserved men he knew, suddenly burst into tears as he sobbed on the floor.

"We are too late..." The Dwarf managed to catch through the man's pitiful sobs. "It is done. The evil my father and my grandfather died to seal away has returned to Minecraftia once again. I have failed them. I have failed the world..."

"Hey now, don't talk like that!" Honeydew knelt beside his friend and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He had to admit he felt pretty awkward comforting Peculier of all people. "Turn that frown upside down, mister! We have a Daisy to save!"

Peculier sniffed and wiped his nose before looking off to his right. One of the monitors on the wall had a status update on it:

TIME UNTIL FINAL OPERATION:

3 DAYS, 7 HOURS, 56 MINUTES

"...Three days?" Peculier mumbled, mostly to himself. He looked forward and stared upwards and the broken creeper face in front of him. "Enough time to cross half the world? Enough time to seal away an ancient evil? It seems...impossible."

KP's attention was recaptured when Honeydew playfully nudged him with his pickaxe.

"Wow, you can be a real downer, can't you?" The Dwarf smiled towards his crestfallen companion. "C'mon now, we've been in tougher situations than this! What about that time at The Wall? You and I kicked Israphel's scrawny white ass with nothing but a sword and an old crossbow! How much harder can it be with all of our experience now, or maybe a few of our buddies backing us up this time?" He paused to smile at Peculier again. "You're the best knight I've ever met, KP. Granted I haven't met very many, but that honor still holds up. If anyone can do it, you can!"

Peculier stared back for a moment, studying his friend's smile silently. "You...really think so...?"

"Of course! And if Ol' Xeph was here, I can bet you he'd say the exact same thing." Honeydew replied. He could almost see Xephos on the other side of KP, his own hand on the knight's other shoulder with a smile on his face. Peculier sat silently for a moment before a smile crept back onto his face, and the knight shot back up onto his feet with a renewed spirit.

"What the hell am I doing moping around here for? There's a whole world out there counting on us, Honeydew! We've already wasted enough time! There's bound to be another Portal back to the surface somewhere around here!" Peculier grabbed his sword off the ground and raised it confidently into the air. Honeydew's smile grew slightly bigger as he raised his pickaxe and crossed it with Peculier's weapon.

"For Daisy!"

"For glory!"

"For Minecraftia!" Both men shouted in unison before they turned and examined the chute Honeydew had nearly fallen into. Seeing it now, they realized it wasn't that far of a drop. The two shared a look and another smile before jumping down into the pit, off to save the world once again.