Fisherman Ruins Some Perfectly Good Food

Before this, I'd never seen someone make a fishing rod look so menacing.

Fisherman grinned. "So. You're her sister. You two look practically identical. The blue eyes, the brown hair…though I guess the other girl's hair is a bit shorter and messier. But ah well. All siblings have their differences."

All of a sudden it felt like an anvil had been dropped on my chest. "Cal's alive?"

"Whatever her name is." Fisherman fluttered his hand at me.

I was shell shocked. According to this guy, Cal was alive and kicking? But how? And…under what circumstances had my sister met this person?

"Listen up, kid." Fisherman snapped his fingers. "Right now, my henchmen LHM and RHM have your friends captive. I have orders to take you in alive, or dead. Preferably alive, according to Klith. So…apologies for the cliche, but...we can do this the hard way, or the easy way."

I snarled. "You better not hurt them. If you do..."

"What? You going to zap me with your powers? Go ahead!" Fisherman spread his arms and grinned.

Fuming, I raised my palm.

Nothing happened.

"I didn't think so." Fisherman dropped his arms, and Rafi, who was still on the ground, whimpered.

"Shut up, Rafi. You know, I've been so bored lately. Especially because Klith keeps sending me on these stupid errands." Fisherman scowled for the first time since I'd met him, but his expression quickly changed back to a smile. "But now that you're here...boy, oh boy! Now I get to sate my urge to stab people and get revenge on your sister! It's a two for one deal! Now, if you'd just stand still…I can make this quick!"

Fisherman flicked his fishing rod, sending his hook flying towards me.

I howled and grabbed the hook. Before Fisherman even knew what was happening, I sent a surge of electricity down the fishing line, blasting Fisherman backwards into the crowd, making them scream and scatter. Rafi scrambled to his feet, and before I could stop him, he ran towards the map store.

I turned on my heel and began to follow him when I saw a hook fly past my head and plant itself in a vegetable cart in front of me.

I ground to a halt just as the vegetable cart flies towards me. I dashed back as the cart smashed into the spot I'd just been standing on, sending a splatter of vegetables all over the ground.

I turned and watched as Fisherman got to his feet and grinned gleefully as he raised his fishing rod. "The hard way, huh? That's good. I like a challenge."

Jax

I groaned and sluggishly got to my feet, bracing myself against the wall. Everything looked like it was spinning.

"Toni," I groaned as I clutched my head.

Where's Toni? I have to find her. No, I have to find Rafi. Who's the bigger priority here?

The answer quickly came to me in the form of an arrow, smashing through a window and planting itself in the wall directly in front of my face.

"We're supposed to take him as a hostage, not dead, you moron!" someone shouted.

I turned as three more arrows whistled through the air, homing in on my chest.

There was a flash of titanium as I swung my sword off my back and sliced them out of the air. The shattered arrow shafts fell to the ground, the flint tips dripping a grey liquid.

Weakness arrows.

I heard someone curse, and another one of the windows shattered as someone jumped through the window with a glowing iron pickaxe. The man was wearing enchanted iron armor, and dark red colored swirls were emanating off of his body, indicating that he had drunken a strength potion.

The man sneered at me. "Listen here, kid. You surrender and I won't bash your skull in."

In answer, I pointed my sword at him.

"Alright then." the man charged, bearing down on me like a rhino, and I charged forward.

The man bellowed and brought his pickaxe crashing down, and I dodged to the right as the iron pick shredded through the stone floor. I lifted my sword and raked it across the man's chest, making him grunt in pain and stumble backwards into a shelf, which collapsed under the man's weight. I backed up, but ran into another shelf.

There's not enough room here. The shelves are too close together.

I glimpsed out of the corner of my eye a hand emerging out of a pile of maps, books, and wood. Trevor burst out of the pile, groaning.

He wasn't the only one who got up, though. The man quickly recovered, lifted his pickaxe, and glared at me.

"RHM! ARE YOU GOING TO HELP OR NOT?" the man bellowed before charging at me again.

I made to dodge again, but an arrow flew out of nowhere and slammed into my chest. I gasped in pain and I grabbed the arrow's shaft as a burning pain like acid spread through my chest. I pulled it out with a yell and dropped it.

A green liquid dripped from the arrowhead, and I only had time to gasp "Poison," before the man lifted his pickaxe and smashed it into my chest, throwing me backwards into a shelf. I slammed into the shelf with a loud 'crack', but I wasn't sure if that had been the bookshelf or one of my bones.

The man raised his pickaxe to finish me off, when a smoking arrow flew out of nowhere and struck the ground in front of the man. He stared at the arrow, and it began to glow and hiss.

"CLOSE YOUR EYES!" Sam bellowed, and I obliged. Not a moment too soon, as I hear the arrow detonate with an explosion as loud as a jet turbine. I could see the flash of light, even through my eyelids. I heard paper rain down around me, and I flinched a little as debris rained down on me. I opened my eyes to see the man stumbling back, holding his head. A stream of arrows slammed into his chest, sending him crashing to the floor.

I turned to see Sam, holding a bow with shaking hands. She tried for a smile. "You're welcome."

Before I could respond, an arrow pinned her sleeve to the wall, and someone jumped through the window behind me. The man was holding a crossbow, and he aimed a crossbow at me and fired an arrow at me. Mid air, that arrow split into three arrows. I knocked all of the arrows out of the air, and the man loaded another arrow into his crossbow and aimed at me.

I yelled, and a spike of obsidian erupted out of the ground and speared the man's crossbow to the roof.

He gaped at the crossbow stuck to the roof, and I ran towards him with the intention to grind him into the ground.

Toni

Fisherman laughed maniacally as he hurled a bunch of barrels, boxes, and even food carts at me.

I was having a tough time dodging them all, and the slippery pulp of vegetables, fruits, and other foodstuffs coating the ground didn't help either.

"Oh, this is hilarious!" Fisherman cackled. "I don't think I've had this much fun since the mineshaft chase!"

I tried a charge forwards, only for my feet to be swept out from under me by a diagonal slash from Fisherman's hook, making me land heavily on my back.

Before I could get up, the hook snagged my shirt and yanked me towards Fisherman. As he dragged me towards him, he punched me in the face, slamming me back onto the ground.

I growled and kicked off the ground, punching him in the stomach hard. Fisherman, who was in the process of laughing, choked and stumbled backwards.

Eyes blazing, Fisherman straightened up to slash at me with his hook.

I quickly dodged, but he wasn't aiming for me. He was aiming for my sword, which laid abandoned on the ground after Fisherman had dragged me towards him.

He yanked it back, and I yelped as the diamond sword narrowly missed my nose and landed in Fisherman's hand.

"Hey!" I shouted.

Fisherman glared at me. "No more playtime." he said, throwing the sword behind him.

And before you could say 'Oh crap, I'm going to die' Fisherman threw down a speed potion and ran at me.

"Oh crap, I'm going to—oof!" I grunted as Fisherman punched me in the face, the chest, and everywhere else in quick succession.

I staggered backwards as Fisherman pulled out an iron dagger and ran towards me.

He struck out at me, and I somehow managed to dodge all of his slashes except for one, which scraped my shoulder and made me hiss. Fisherman swung again, and I managed to grab his arm, kick him in the leg, and then punch him in the face, knocking him down. I then ran towards my sword, only for my pant leg to be snagged by Fisherman's hook. Fisherman yanked, and my foot was pulled out from under me, making me face plant.

I rolled onto my back to see Fisherman lifting his dagger into the air. I rolled away, and the dagger raked across the stone ground.

I scrambled to my feet and began to run away, until a hook snagged me by my shirt.

"Oh, come on!" I shouted.

I was dragged into the air and whipped around like a kite on a windy day before being flung sideways into a meat shop. I smashed through the meat shop's window and slammed into the counter, rolling onto the floor.

I gasped as I got to my feet. The sound of Fisherman's hook dragging against the ground pierced my ears, and I spotted an iron axe on the counter.

I grabbed the axe and glanced at the butcher, who just looked at me with a terrified expression. "Mind if I borrow this?" I said, holding up the axe.

He didn't argue.

I jumped over the counter and charged at Fisherman, screaming and lifting my axe.

I startled him at the most, and he just swung his fishing rod towards me, sending his hook towards me once more. I grabbed the hook out of the air, and felt it's sharp edge grate against my skin. I violently pulled the hook and lifted my axe at the same time. Fisherman's eyes widened with shock as he flew towards me. I smashed him in the chest with the dull end of my axe, making him yell out in pain and crash to the floor.

"Doesn't feel too good, does it?" I yelled.

A flash of metal, and Fisherman was barely an inch from my chest, wielding a dagger—

I barely managed to block the strike with my axe. Fisherman leaned in, making me grunt in effort. He headbutted me in the nose, making me cry out in pain. He swept the axe away and struck true with his dagger.

A rush of adrenaline, and a single thought: I need my sword.

I had a brief flashback of me zapping through the air and falling into a pool of water at the bottom of a ravine as the edges of my vision turned a pale blue and I teleported towards my sword with a crack of lightning.

Before Fisherman could do anything more than look stunned, I slashed my sword outwards, and a wave of electricity burst out of my sword and slammed into Fisherman. He howled as he was suspended into the air for a split moment, writhing in agony, and fell back to the ground crumpled in a heap.

I just stood there for a moment, until I saw a paper in Fisherman's pocket. I don't know what made me take it, but I did. I stared at it.

It was...a crafting recipe?

I was snapped back to reality when Fisherman grunted. I recalled what he said earlier:

Right now, LHM and RHM have your friends captive.

I ran in the direction of the map shop. If my friends were still unconscious, they were in danger.

Jax

The fight wasn't going well.

There was now plenty of space now for me to swing my long sword. However, there was an assortment of wood, paper, and books on the floor, which made it a little hard to move around without tripping and/or slipping.

I swung my sword toward LHM, only for him to block with his pickaxe and throw a splash potion at my feet, which I dodged rather ungracefully, slipping backwards on the wood and the paper.

LHM charged and swung his pickaxe down with deadly force, and I quickly dodged the blow and slammed my sword into his ribs. He growled in pain, but kept advancing. I was dodging pretty quickly, but eventually he got a lucky shot in and slammed his pickaxe into my chest, making my chest explode with pain and throwing me backwards into the wall.

Sam, who was still struggling with the arrows pinning her to the wall, could only watch as RHM cackled evilly, firing arrows that only barely missed Trevor. He wasn't missing—he was playing with his prey.

Sam had two arrows pinning both of her sleeves to the wall, and it wasn't easy to tear them away, considering she was wearing a leather jacket.

Eventually, RHM got bored and fired an arrow that stabbed Trevor in the foot, making him yell in pain and topple over. RHM then raised his crossbow and whacked Trevor across the head with it, effectively knocking him out.

Sam shouted an obscenity that I won't repeat, and tore one of her sleeves free.

Sam pulled out the arrow pinning sleeve, freeing herself from the wall. She threw one of the arrows, and while she didn't have as good aim with a bow, she still hit RHM in the chest, making him yelp in pain. As he pulled the arrow out, Sam picked up her bow and smashed it across RHM's head, sending him crashing to the ground.

At the same time, LHM grabbed me by the neck and lifted me into the air, making me choke. I snapped my fingers and LHM dropped me as spikes of obsidian erupted all around him, entrapping him in a cage of obsidian.

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?" Sam screamed, but before I could respond RHM had gotten back up and punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground. At the same time, LHM squeezed through a gap in the obsidian and charged towards me.

RHM grabbed an arrow off the ground and lifted it, ready to stab Sam.

Until a bolt of lightning struck him in the side, blasting him sideways into the wall, sending part of the roof crashing down on him.

Toni ran into the map shop, lifting an iron axe. She threw it, and it crackled with electricity as it slammed into LHM's back, making him howl in pain and drop to his knees in front of me. I swung my sword as hard as I could, slashing him across the face and knocking him onto his back.

"I hope I'm not late," Toni said. "You guys okay?"

"Well, I'm emotionally distraught and I've been hit in the head a number of times, but apart from that I'm feeling great." Sam said sarcastically as she got to her feet.

"Yeah, sorry to rush you guys, but we're probably being chased and Fisherman is going to wake up any time now." Toni informed us, and I did a double take. "Fisherman?"

"Yeah, he's some psychopath with a fishing rod and sent those two after you. By the way, have you seen Rafi? I think he ran over here." Toni said.

Sam's expression turned stony. "No, we haven't seen the snake."

"But then," Toni said, confused, "where's—"

Before she could finish, a board of wood cracked over her head, and she fell to her knees. Rafi held a sharp shard of wood to Toni's neck.

"Don't move," Rafi said. "Surrender."

"Rafi." Sam growled. "Drop her. Or I'll drop you."

Rafi tried for a smile, which wasn't a very good idea. "Sam, please. We…we've known each other for—"

"It takes years to form a friendship, but only a few hours to break one." Sam recited. "Know where I heard that one? A book you gave me. Ironic, eh?" She picked up and arrow and nocked it in her bow. "Drop her or I'll shoot you in the head."

Rafi paled. "Sam. You wouldn't."

RHM groaned.

Sam's face twisted in disgust. "I don't know why I befriended you." She aimed at Rafi's knee and fired. The arrow sank into Rafi's knee, making him scream and drop to the the ground.

Sam pulled up Toni. "Get up. We need to go. I don't think the locals will be very friendly towards us when they find us."

Toni staggered a little. "Thanks, Sam."

For a moment, there was a strained silence.

"You know," Toni began, and then we all heard shouts coming from a little bit away.

"Oh. Right. I don't think I mentioned this, but I'm pretty sure everyone in this town has seen me fight Fisherman, so we may or may not be arrested and sent to juvenile." Toni added.

"Let's get out of here." Sam said.

"Wait, but the map—!"

"Screw the damn map," Sam snarled. "We haven't got time!"

The shouts and yells were getting closer.

Toni wavered, unsure.

"I SAID LET'S GO!" Sam bellowed, and Toni snapped out of it.

Sam hoisted Trevor onto her back, and all four of us ran out of the map shop.

We were quite the group—one of us with a broken rib, one of us with a headache and a sore throat, and one of us carrying an unconscious person on their back.

And for the second time, we ran out of a town being chased by multiple people who wanted to capture us. It was practically deja vu.

And of course, it didn't help that the ground was slippery with slush and snow. And just when I'd thought our days of slipping and sliding on slippery and/or lumpy ground were over.

When I looked back, it was confirmed that the authorities had come to arrest us, which meant that we were toast if they caught up to us. And they were, fast.

"There!" Toni pointed to the stables, where more than one horse was kept just in case of an emergency.

And boy oh boy, emergency was one way to describe us.

We got to the stables door but it was locked, at least until I cut through the lock with my sword.

But it looked like there was another lock inside, so I just decided to smash through the door entirely, swinging my sword like an axe.

The sword cut through the door easily, and we immediately burst in. I turned and rose my hands, and the doorway was blocked by a wall of obsidian that burst out of the ground.

Everyone got on their respective horses, (except for Trevor, who was still unconscious,) and Sam pulled an arrow out of her quiver and threw it at the back wall.

The arrow exploded, blasting a hole in the wall, and we all charged out of the back of the stables.

By the time they noticed, we were gone.

Toni

As soon as we were sure we got out of Hiemx, we began to slow down, slowly trotting into a deep forest. After going for at least fifteen minutes, we found a cave to hunker down in for the night.

Jax started a campfire, and we all sat around it, grateful for the warmth.

We sat there for another five minutes, completely silent, before Jax broke the silence. "Toni. Why is Fisherman trying to kill us?"

"You're talking like you know him." I frowned.

"He's kind of infamous." Jax said. "He's a mass murderer that kills, steals, and destroys whatever and whoever he wants if it means he gets something out of it. He has a kill count of like three hundred people."

"Oh."

"That's all you have to say to that?"

"I mean, what am I supposed to say to that?"

"But I'm getting off topic. Toni, did he say anything about why he attacked us?" Jax questioned.

"Well, he said that Klith wanted to capture me. And that Klith was sending him on some...errands? That's what he said, anyways." I shrugged.

"So Fisherman's working with Klith now. That's not good." Jax sighed.

"Oh, and that reminds me. I found this in his pocket." I pulled out the paper.

Jax frowned and took the paper from my hands. "It's a recipe. But for...what? What is all of this? Bottled soul fire. Cobalt acid. Radioactive titanium?"

At this, Sam's head shot up. She grabbed the paper out of Jax's hand, nearly ripping it in the process.

"Hey!" Jax glared at Sam, but Sam ignored him as per usual.

Sam hadn't talked since we'd set up the campfire, but now she looked horrified.

"Errands. Klith's been sending Fisherman on errands. To collect these, I'm assuming." Sam tapped the paper.

"Well, that's a no brainer, isn't it?" Jax said sarcastically, but Sam didn't even respond, to which Jax started taking her more seriously. "Wait, do you recognize this recipe?"

"Yes. Yes I do." Sam clenched the paper so hard it crumpled. "This is...this is a Hellfire Storm."

Jax paled. "It's what?"

"Wait, what am I missing here?" I asked them. "What is a Hellfire Storm?"

"It's the most powerful bomb in the world." Jax said numbly. "Hellstorm for short. The recipe was erased from history long ago because it was too dangerous. It has so strong of an explosion that it could wipe out the entire world if detonated in the right place."

"The center of the world." Sam said.

The impact of this discovery shocked us all into silence.

Trevor groaned loudly and sat up, clutching his head. "Oh, god. I think I have a concussion." He stopped at the sight of us. "What, are we at a funeral or something? What's with the expressions?"

"Klith's collecting the ingredients for a Hellstorm." Sam told him.

Trevor suddenly got a look on his face as if he'd just remembered that he had a major test the next day but hadn't studied. "Oh."

We were all silent.

"Well, at least some good news come out of this." Trevor said.

"What!?" Sam shouted. "What good news could you possibly draw from this?"

"Well," Trevor said, "I was thinking the way back to Hiemx. What could the center of the world be referring to? Well, I was thinking pretty hard, and then my mind went back to the First Great War."

"The First Great War," I said. "As in, the first major battle between Klith and Notch's forces."

"Yeah," Trevor said. "Well, it just occurred to me. In the First Great War, Klith set off a bomb."

"A bomb?" I repeated, and Jax's head shot up.

"Yeah, right in the center of a town. But the bomb must have malfunctioned, because it only did a third of the damage it was supposed to do." Trevor said. "Of course, a lot of people still died, but that was also where Klith was defeated. In honor of that event, they rebuilt there and called the town Cratre. Well, maybe he wanted to do that again."

Jax looked stunned. "No way."

"Well, when I was buried in that pile of books and maps…" He withdrew a map from his pocket, almost sheepish. It was labeled 'Cratre'.

We all stared at him.

Sam laughed uproariously and wrapped her arms around Trevor. Jax slapped him on the back with a grin, and I smiled tiredly.

I didn't think it was possible. But.

If we play our cards right...we might stand a chance.

Fisherman walked amidst the wreckage of maps and wood and stopped at someone's feet.

It was LHM, and he was groaning.

Fisherman reared back and slapped him in the face.

"Get up," Fisherman snapped.

LHM's eyes opened, and he focused on Fisherman. He looked fearful. "Sir, I—"

"—lost them." Fisherman finished. "Didn't you?"

LHM opened his mouth to answer.

"It was a rhetorical question." Fisherman snapped. He turned away from LHM, rubbing his forehead. All of a sudden he snapped, stomping and kicking at a single wooden board until it was just splinters on the ground. He turned around, his eyes wild with rage.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE!" he screamed. "WHAT--IN THE NAME--OF 303 DO I PAY YOU BUFFOONS FOR?"

Fisherman turned back to LHM, breathing heavily. "We're not finished. Burn this place down and let's go."

LHM pulled out a torch. "What for, sir?"

"Not because I have to. I just want to." Fisherman's thirst for blood had not been quenched, and even though no one would actually die when Fisherman burned it down, it would still be satisfying to watch. Even as a child, he enjoyed just tossing paper into campfires and staring at how it curled up and turned to ashes.

But he was knocked out of his thoughts, quite literally, when LHM shouted a warning too late and a plank of wood broke over his head.

Fisherman dropped to his knees, holding his head. He felt blood run down his forehead.

Enraged, he turned to see a terrified Rafi.

Rafi turned to run, but Fisherman pulled out his fishing rod and his dagger. He sent the hook flying towards Rafi and hooked the back of his shirt, and reeled Rafi back.

Right into Fisherman's dagger.

Rafi's eyes widened, and Fisherman pulled out the dagger, letting Rafi drop to his knees.

LHM rose his pickaxe to kill him, but Fisherman held out a hand. "Stop."

LHM halted.

"Give me the torch." Fisherman took the torch out of LHM's hands.

He bent over and whispered into terrified Rafi's ear.

"You should have run."

Fisherman lifted the dagger and drew it across Rafi's chest. As he fell to the ground, Fisherman crumpled up the map and stuck it down Rafi's shirt. He lifted the torch and held it to Rafi's chest.

Rafi's agonized screams pierced the shaken town of Hiemx.