Chapter 6: Suspicions Rise

Deci cautiously walked out into the sun, wearing an iron helmet. She couldn't sleep. Something was nagging at her, as if she'd felt an unfamiliar presence nearing.

"Hello?" she asked, putting her hand up to block out the sun. It was much too bright today. "Is anyone there?"

Deci didn't hear anyone at first, and was about to go back into the cave, when she heard some voices from behind the trees.

"S-she speaks Entitian?" one voice said, obviously a skeleton.

"Shut up and take the shot, archer." Another voice said, this one harder to place. "Take the shot! She's going back in!"

"Don't rush me!" the skeleton clacked again.

"You guys know I can hear you two, right?" Deci called out into the forest. She popped an Ender pearl into her mouth, applying sudden pressure to it. After years of practicing this, her jaw could now crush the pearls easily, so the rush of energy she felt no longer came with a toothache. Her senses went into overdrive mode, and she felt every single thing moving and shifting around her. The skeleton behind the trees, 5.023984 blocks away, drawing its bowstring back. The gray-skinned villager creature which clutched an iron axe tightly in its hand. The axe had no enchantments.

The arrow was released from the skeleton's grip, and time slowed down. Deci opened the rift in space in her mind, and appeared behind the two mobs, just as the arrow would have reached her.

"What the—" the Illager said, gawking.

"What the Nether do you two think you're doing?" Deci said, brushing herself off as she stood up again. "You could seriously hurt someone with those arrows!"

The two mobs spun around, and raised their weapons. The Illager held his axe high over his head, while the skeleton drew back its bowstring once again.

"Woah, truce! Trust me, I don't want to hurt you, I just—" Deci said, but the mobs weren't listening. Deci teleported to a different angle as the skeleton's arrow tried to pierce her again. The Illager's axe landed with a thud into the ground where she had been standing, and he scowled.

"Archer, stop taking the shot! Stop taking the shot!" The Illager said, retrieving his axe and turning to rush towards Deci again.

"Seriously, I don't want to fight you guys!" Deci said again, teleporting out of the Illager's reach.

"You'd better. It's the only way you're going to survive this." The Illager said.

"But I'm a mo—" Deci began, before realizing that she was not actually a mob. "I'm a Player who loves mobs! Please don't make me hurt you!"

"We know, that's why we're here to kill you. Now hold still and fight!" the Illager said.

Deci drew her diamond sword and parried the Illager's axe. "What? You're here because I like mobs?"

"We're here because you are a Player, who was raised by mobs. Players and mobs, I don't know if you realized, are mortal enemies, dummy." The Illager said, panting as it tried again and again to lodge its axe in Deci's chest. The very fact that she was teleporting around so much like an Enderman seemed to elude him. "You have to die!"

Deci felt something inside her snap. She scowled. "No!"

She teleported behind the Illager, and brought her sword down, severing the leg below the Illager's left knee. The Illager grunted in pain and fell to his other knee.

The skeleton drew back its bowstring, hoping Deci wouldn't notice until she already had three arrows in her skull. But it simply wasn't that lucky, and Deci noticed. Before the arrow could reach her, she teleported in front of the Illager, and the arrow flew directly into the Illager's head, killing him instantly. The skeleton's jaw went slack as it realized what it had just done.

"Will you accept my truce? Maybe call it off? I really don't want to hurt you." Deci said, still gripping her diamond sword.

The skeleton felt its resolve harden, and its bony hand flashed to its quiver, searching for another arrow. Before it could lift the arrow to the bowstring, Deci teleported in front of it, and stabbed downward with her sword, impaling the skeleton through the ribcage. The skeleton fell over, and Deci watched as both bodies disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind only a few bones, and a stray emerald.

Deci stood there for a few moments, contemplating the bones and emerald. Then the shock hit her.

She had killed her first mobs.

She sat down, staring hard at the bones and emerald, which spun around in a circle as though taunting her. What was she going to do? What was she going to tell the other mobs? Would they be mad with her? I mean, she had offered them a truce, and they had declined, but… she had still killed mobs.

What was she gonna…

Well…

It's not like they had to know, right?

Obviously she would tell the truth if asked, but how would they know? Even Ender was asleep at the moment, and she was pretty sure nobody would notice if she had found another emerald or so, and some spare bones.

Deci picked up the drops and put them in her inventory, out of sight. She'd have to bury them later, perhaps. Hm. This seemed bad.

More rustling from the brush behind her. Deci spun around, panic making her usually calm senses go into adrenaline-filled overdrive. She wasn't calm enough to reach her senses out using her End force, but drew her sword instead, hiding the bones and emerald behind her as much as she could.

Flynt's head broke through the brush.

"Hel—GAH!" he said, jumping backwards as he just barely dodged Deci's swinging diamond blade. "Watch out!"

Deci stopped herself, seeing who it was.

"Flynt?" she asked. She was mildly surprised to realize that this was the person she wanted to see the most right now, even if he couldn't technically be allowed here yet. "What you come?"

"Well, I was just walking nearby and I heard some Illagers grunting, decided I'd check it out. Then there was some bones clacking, and I figured… where are your parents?" Flynt asked, looking around him cautiously.

"Sleep." Deci said. She walked a few steps away, before sitting down. She sighed.

Flynt could see that something else was up with her, though. "Deci, are… you… ok?"

Deci looked over to see his gestures. She nodded. Then thought better of it and shook her head.

"Flynt…" she began. She didn't know how to word this, especially in Player. "I…I kill…"

Flynt eyed her diamond sword and backed up a step, but Deci waved for him to listen. "I kill, uh…" she said, trying to think of what the word was. She stood up and mimed out a skeleton and pulled out the bones and emerald. "I kill these."

Flynt handled the emerald and bones, studying them. He was no expert, but to him these looked like Illager drops and skeleton drops.

He realized what Deci was trying to say.

"You killed mobs?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Mobs." Deci said, making a mental note. The Players called them mobs. Just to make sure, she raised a block over her head. "Enderman is mob?"

Flynt nodded, and Deci put the block down, before sitting back down on the ground and placing her head in her hands.

"Flynt… what I… what I—"

"What do you do?" Flynt asked. "Well…"

That was a good question. Why did this look like it hurt her so much—

Right. Raised by mobs. He'd have to get used to that.

"Have you told your parents?" Flynt suggested. That seemed like a good way to go.

Deci shook her head, before letting loose a string of her mob-ese, whatever it was called. The she turned back to Flynt and obviously remembered he didn't speak mob. "I kill… m-mobs, but…no t-try to." She said, uncertain.

"It was an accident?" Flynt said, looking around him. In the ground nearby, he saw several places that an iron axe of an Illager would have fit nicely into. He began piecing the fight together in his mind, though bits and pieces were missing. Deci probably would've asked them what they were up to. The mobs weren't used to a Player who spoke their language, but evidently tried to attack anyway, Deci used her sword in self-defense…

Now she was worried about what her family was going to say.

"It was self-defense, I'm sure they'll understand." Flynt said, sitting down next to Deci. Deci looked at him with confusion. Oh right. Still a language barrier. "Parents will be ok. You are safe."

Deci sighed. "How?"

"Because… that's just what parents do." Flynt replied, leaning back. "They know when something was an honest mistake."

Deci fell silent for a few moments. Flynt closed his eyes and let the shade of the trees overhead cool his sunbaked skin.

"Flynt… parents want…" Deci began, trying to piece together another sentence. "…parents want y-you to…"

She flopped backwards, speaking more of her mob-ese. Judging from her posture, she was cursing in whatever language it was she spoke. Something like that, anyway.

Flynt began racking his brain, trying to think of how to make this easier. Or possible, actually. Deci and he couldn't communicate on the level that was evidently necessary. If only there was a translator who might know her language…

Flynt opened her eyes. Well, there was one person he might know of…

"Deci." He said. Deci sat up and looked at him. "Are… your… parents still sleeping?" he said.

Deci looked back at the cave and nodded.

"Deci." Flynt said, turning to her. "Do… you… trust… me?"

Deci understood his intentions, even if his communication of them could have been better.

That was a good question. Did she trust him? He did kidnap her almost twice, even though his intentions had been honorable, so she believed.

If her parents, or even Ender woke up right now, and found her gone, they'd go into full-crazy mode trying to find her.

But it was daytime. Almost no mob would be awake right now, much less out and about.

Flynt's suggestions, whatever he was planning, was beginning to sound pretty good.

Deci slowly nodded. Flynt reached out his hand.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Deci said. Ugh, this language barrier was really beginning to grow annoying.

Flynt said something to her in Player, but she couldn't understand. She would just have to decide whether or not to trust him.

Slowly, she reached up and took his hand. Flynt smiled and said something else. Then he reached into his inventory and pulled out an Ender pearl. He threw it in a different direction, off to the side.

The two of them appeared in a small clearing. In front of them stood a village, bustling with many entities walking around. Cows, pigs, sheep, Villagers…

…Iron golems…

Deci yelped and hid behind Flynt as the Iron golem thundered up to them, studying them. It leaned to the side and saw Deci cowering behind Flynt. Those metal eyes of the golem softened somewhat, and slowly it reached down, offering Deci a red rose.

Images flashed through Deci's mind of when she was young. A huge mass of metal that stood far over her head. A red poppy. Running. Pounding.

She slowly reached out and took the rose, nodding her thanks to the iron golem, which began thundering off. She was nearly dumbstruck, as once again she was reminded she was a Player. Evidently, the Iron golems didn't sense her like they did the mobs.

Deci looked into the Village and saw to her surprise another Player walking about, a diamond sword strapped to his belt. He had an eyepatch over one eye, but despite first impressions, she sensed that he was a nice person. He had a strange aura around him, however. One that Deci had not felt before with her 'End force'.

She stepped out from behind Flynt and began walking towards the stranger, as though in a trance. This mysterious man was so intriguing to her, and she didn't even know why. Flynt began walking behind her, as though simply following her.

The man must've heard them coming, and turned around as they approached. He said something to them in Player, but Deci couldn't understand. Flynt said something back, and the man's eyes widened. Deci only caught snippets of their conversation. "Deci", "mob", "Enderman"… stuff like that.

The man turned to her.

"You speak Entitian?" he said.

Deci screamed and jumped backwards, her initial surprise at this Player knowing her language frightening her for no particular reason. The man laughed, and backed away a step.

"I don't mean you any harm, don't worry. Your friend here was telling me about what he knows about you." The man said. "My name is Adam. I am an Admin, but I'll admit I'm not a very powerful one. Nice to meet you, Deci."

Deci cautiously walked forward, and shook the man's hand.

"H-how do you know Entitian?" Deci asked.

"Well, I may not be very powerful, but I actually specialize in knowing the other languages of Minecraft, and so far it's served me well. The Villagers and I get along quite well, and we live a very peaceful life here." Adam said. "Anyways, as to why Flynt brought you here. He knows what I do, and he wants me to make you both armbands, so you two can communicate with each other. Do you also want this?"

Deci could barely believe it. Flynt had had the same sort of idea that she had had, but he knew somebody who could actually do it. She nodded, and the man smiled.

"Just give me a second…" he said, closing his eyes. Deci watched with wonder as she could've sworn his eyes flashed with a white light, and in an instant, he was holding two golden armbands in his hands, handing both Players in front of him an armband. Deci snapped hers on quickly, and Flynt followed suit.

"So, how did you find yourselves raised by mobs?" Adam asked.

"Well, my parents always told me that they found me in a burning village, and they all just took pity on me, because I wasn't scared of any of them." Deci said. She saw Flynt's eyes widen in her peripheral vision. She turned to him, excitement rising. "Flynt, can you understand me?"

"Y-you sound like you're speaking Player to me." Flynt said, sounding to Deci as though he was speaking perfect Entitian.

"The armbands will make the language of the other sound like the wearer's native language." Adam said. "This way, you will be able to talk to pretty much anyone."

"Thank you so much, Adam! I can't tell you how much I appreciate this!" Deci said, wrapping her arms around the Admin.

"It's no trouble. Flynt and I got in a pickle a little while ago, and ashamed as I am to admit, my powers were of no use to us there. I owed him a big one."

"You can consider it paid." Flynt said, turning to go. "Thanks again, Adam."

"Don't sweat it. See you around, you two!" Adam said, turning back to wherever he had once been going. Flynt grabbed Deci's hand, and threw an Ender pearl back the way they had come. This time, however, his aim was a little off. The appeared on top of a small tree.

"Agh!" Deci said, falling through the branches. She hit the ground, her back making a painful popping sound, but she was sure it wasn't broken. "Ouch!"

"Sorry." Flynt said, dropping down next to her. "Do you know which way it is to your cave again?"

"It's this way." Deci said, getting onto her feet. Her back still hurt like nuts, but an apple in her cave would fix it up.

They began talking as they walked.

"So what I was trying to tell you earlier, Flynt, is that my parents are ready to allow you to come around, but under conditions." Deci said.

"What conditions?" Flynt asked, ducking under a branch.

"One, make sure you are NEVER followed, by either Player or mob. Either one, and we have to move away." Deci began. "Two, you can only come at night. My parents were all for killing you, but once I convinced them not to, they at least want to keep an eye open on me at all times."

"That's legit." Flynt said, following close behind.

"Aunt Crea doesn't want you to bring any cats, and you're not allowed to bring any weapons inside a bowshot of the cave." Deci said.

"Okay, I can understand those. Who is 'Aunt Crea'?" Flynt asked.

"Oh, Crea is a Creeper's name." Deci said. "I just call her Aunt Crea, because she likes it."

"Oh, ok." Flynt said. He looked around him. "Uh, they won't attack me though, right?"

"That's the last one. If you make any sort of aggressive moves against any of us, we will all retaliate." Deci said. "But as long as you remain non-threatening, you should be fine."

"Should be, or will be?" Flynt asked nervously.

"With any luck you will be." Deci answered, quietly.

Deci came out from behind a tree. The cave stood before them, but something was wrong.

The surrounding landscapes were riddled with small craters and arrows. There were a few pieces of rotten flesh floating around, and one or two bones. Deci surveyed the landscape with a growing anxiety.

"Uh, is this supposed to look like this?" Flynt asked, his eyes widening.

"No." Deci said, adrenaline rising in her as she drew her sword. She began rushing forward. "No it isn't."

She rushed into the mouth of the cave. The inside of the cave was just as battle-scarred as the outside. She rushed about, trying to find the mobs she cared about so much.

"FATHER! MOTHER! AUNT CREA! UNCLE BONES!" she shouted, running about, trying to salvage items that had fallen out of the item frames. "WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Deci, they're not here." Flynt said, trying to appear calm for Deci's sake. True, he didn't feel the level of affection for the mobs that Deci certainly did, but he wasn't a complete jerk. "Could they have gone to go, I don't know, hunt something?"

Deci looked over at Zoe's corner. Her iron helmet still stood there in its item frame. "No, Mother is never outside without her helmet."

Deci popped an Ender pearl into her mouth and shattered it. She scanned her surroundings, adrenaline and fear mixing with the power thrumming inside her, and she saw the battle through the eyes of the 'End force'. Her parents had put up a fight when suddenly other mobs had entered their home, insisting that they had a Player living with them. Though her parents could not find Deci there, they still denied the claims, but the intruding mobs wouldn't hear of it. The four mobs were dragged or teleported off by their respective kinds.

They were captured.

Deci looked at Flynt with tears gathering in her eyes. "They're in trouble, Flynt. Because of me."

Flynt looked around him. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something had taken them. He looked back at Deci, and he felt angry. Whatever it was that took her parents had no heart whatsoever. How dare they capture her mob parents, just because Deci was a Player?

"Follow me. We have to get you ready." Flynt said, striding out of the cave. Deci rushed over to him, her eyes wide.

"Get me ready for what?" she asked.

"We're getting your parents back, and you need to learn how to fight mobs." Flynt said, throwing his last Ender pearl and grabbing hold of Deci's hand. He looked her in the eye. "You need all the help you can get if we're going to rescue them."

The pair vanished in a puff of ender particles.

The End watched this with interest. Though it was supposed to be unbiased, this particular Player intrigued it. It was always watching her.

Watching and waiting.

Hey everyone, sorry for such a long wait for this chapter! With any luck I'll be faster in making the next chapter!

-DragonHighElder