Author's Notes

I meant to upload the chapter sooner today, but eh... pfffhere it is!

Now, Reviews!

GiggiEba, thanks for the support!

ThinMint, thank you for not spoiling anything! And for the support. :D

Off The Pizza, Yoink.

Anywho, let's get on with the story!

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Third Person Perspective; Edge of the forest.

The monster landed with a resonating thud on the cold earth. It looked around, wondering if his target was nearby. It had been five days since Darkness had sent him off, and the creature was a little lost. A few pale specks drifted onto it's face, and it began swiping them as they fell.

The monster groaned in frustration. It wandered into the forest, knocking trees and rocks out of its way. A few creepers were roaming the valley, and they scattered like wildlife upon sighting the large zombie. A few skeletons were stitching ragged cloaks together and stopped to stare at the lumbering giant.

It groaned again, the sound making nearby flora shake. It pushed a tree down, it's old wood splintering with ease. There was a small, bright gap between all the trees. The monster placed an open palm to his head, trying to shield his eyes from the glare. Curious, it walked closer.

Now that it was closer, it could see a large wooden building through the thick foliage of the forest. It growled in satisfaction and began stumbling towards it, determined to bring the building down. Darkness would be so pleased. That house would never stand a chance.

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Jack's POV

I stared at the sky as tiny white flakes fluttered gently down. My hands were tucked into my padded jeans pockets. Valory and Lila had made everyone new, warmer clothes. They even made me a new cloak. Kaitlin walked up beside me and looked at the falling snowflakes.

I took a deep breath. "Winter is upon us." I smiled. "I've always wanted to say that."

Kaitlin sighed and shivered. "I don't know how a realm this cold could get even colder."

I chuckled and turned to look at her. "And I don't know how you can complain about the cold with all that on."

The blaze princess was wearing a heavy dark red coat lined on the inside with soft wool. Beneath that was a thick black turtleneck sweater, and beneath that were at least two layers of shirts. She wore the same padded jeans as everyone, and her boots were also lined with wool.

Kaitlin shrugged, hugging herself. "I'm a blaze, not a polar bear..."

"To be fair, we don't have massive lava lakes everywhere."

"That's true."

Eba walked up to us, Blight in tow. I had gotten used to the demon, and he was actually a pretty nice guy. The endergirl opened her mouth and caught a few snowflakes on her tongue. Kaitlin blinked in surprise.

"Why are you doing that?"

The endergirl stopped and turned to look at Kaitlin. "Do what?"

"Stick your tongue out. Doesn't it freeze?"

Eba giggled. "No. They're just snowflakes, and it's not that cold."

"But why do you do it?"

"Cuz it's fun! Try it."

Kaitlin chuckled nervously and took a step back. "No thanks. I'll pass."

Eba shrugged and went back to eating snowflakes. Blight was simply staring at nothing, lost in thought. All the Creeper craters had been filled up, so we had nothing to do at the moment. The airships rested unused in their makeshift airfield.

I walked towards Lila and Adrian, who were chatting under a tree. The grass crunched with frost at every step I took. Soon it would be covered in a soft blanket of wool. The cave spider simply nodded, but the wither skeleton greeted me with a smile.

"Hello Jack."

"Hey guys. Watcha talking about?"

Lila shrugged. "Nothing in partícular."

"Okay. Is there anything you wanna do that I can tag along with?"

Adrian opened his mouth to speak, but Lila interrupted him. "No, not really."

"Ah. Okay. We'll, see you later then." I hid the hurt behind a poker face and walked off. Lila never wants to do anything with me unless it's absolutely necessary. She and Adrian so stuff all the time. But they're just... they're just friends. Why won't Lila give me a chance? Thomas and Simon where discussing something nearby, so I wandered over to them.

"... metal plated roof and walls. The floor could be marble or something. We could get it off the mountains."

"Are you sure the forge won't burn the house down?"

"We can add stone or dirt as insulation so the roof doesn't heat the wood enough to set it on fire."

"Okay... how much metal would we need?"

"Quite a lot. Much more than we currently have."

"Should I organize a mining run?"

"Yes, you should. I think Eba would love to take the MK II for a ride."

I stood beside them. "What's going on?"

Simon pulled the cuffs of his hoodie's sleeves over his leather flint-n-steel gloves. "Thomas and I were planning on building a workshop under the house, somewhere we can forge tools and weapons. And armor. And more complex materials."

I nodded. "What can I do to help?"

Thomas was already walking towards the house. "You could help Eba. Y'know, be part of the crew. We need lots of metal and marble from the mountains. Simon will be piloting the awee... wawi... the other airship."

I smiled. "Sure. I'll go get Eba."

Simon walked over to the airfield, which was close to the forest's edge. "I'll check the ships first to make sure everything is in tip-top shape."

As soon as the creeper boy finished talking, I heard growling coming from the woods. Simon must have heard it too because he stopped. I turned to search the dense foliage and found nothing odd.

Simon backed off. "I officially hate the forest now." He spun and dashed towards the house. The second he turned his back on the forest, a large shape broke through and roared. Everyone stared in surprise as the monster beat his chest with large muscular hands.

Sarah drew her bow and began firing. I didn't have mine, but I pulled my shortsword from it's sheath. The mutant zombie roared again, plucking arrows from its chest, and ran clumsily towards the house. Simon came back out carrying everyone's weapons in a small cart.

The mutant zombie got temporarily distracted with the snowflakes that were still falling from the sky. Simon took the opportunity to dump everyone's weapons on the ground. He tossed me my bow and quiver. I sheathed my shortsword and drew my bow, nocking two arrows in.

The monster growled and abandoned his fight with the snowflakes, heading towards the house once more. I began firing as fast as I could. The zombie didn't seem to care about the arrows, though. It only had eye sockets for the house.

Simon dashed in with his twin shortswords, cutting up the zombie's legs and knees. The monster roared and swiped at the creeper boy, who just about managed to avoid getting caught by the monster's big green hand. Kaitlin was throwing fireballs at the monster, and Lila was chucking her throwing knives at it.

Simon ran back to avoid another blow and lit a stick of dynamite. "Stand clear!" He threw the red explosive at the mutant zombie, but the monster caught it effortlessly. He curled his hand into a fist and the dynamite exploded within. The zombie shook soot of his hand and roared again.

Simon was beside me, shortswords out and at the ready. I turned to him, still surprised. "You gotta admit that was badass."

Simon breathed deeply and got ready to dash back in. "No kidding."

The mutant zombie was getting closer and closer to the house. Thomas and Adrian were attacking the zombie's legs just as Simon had, and the large monster turned around. He knocked Adrian down with a backhanded slap and tried to crush Thomas with a closed fist.

Valory and Falconheart ran at the mutant zombie. The phantom swooped over and around the monster, causing it to become distracted once more. Val used her spear to make more gashes in the monster's leg, but the creature did not fall. Simon took a step forward and stopped.

"We can't beat it like this."

I stared incredulously at the creeper boy. "What do you mean?"

"Neither the arrows or Kaitlin's fireballs are stopping it. Our friends could get killed trying to cut its legs off from underneath. It caught a stick of dynamite for fucks sake! We need to find another way to kill it."

"Maybe Eba could do whatever it is she did with the creeper?"

"Perhaps. Go ask her, I've got another idea."

I nodded and dashed towards the endergirl. She was also attacking the monster's legs, but her rapier didn't seem to do anything. She teleported away just as the zombie brought his fist down where she had been standing.

I stopped beside her. "Eba, could you perhaps do the thing you did last time and get this over with?"

She stared at me with confused eyes for a moment before realizing what I meant. "I'm not sure. I can only use the Dreadnaught armor for a few minutes at a time. And the monster is still bigger than me."

A second Blight appeared beside her. "So was the creeper. I think it's our only chance, Eba."

The endergirl hesitated for a second. She took a few deep breaths and nodded. "Okay. I'll do it."

I turned just in time to see Thomas flung back by a hard blow. He got up almost as soon as he landed and got back into the fight. Kaitlin was in her 'fire princess' mode, flames coming off her hair and eyes, flying from her hands like dragon's breath. The zombie waved at it in irritation.

I could not see Simon anywhere. Arrows, fireballs, and knives kept flying, but the monster simply ignored them. It was almost at the front door.

Kaitlin ran forward and stood between the monster and the house. The mutant zombie stared at her in bewilderment. Kait was scowling fiercely at him.

"You are not going to destroy our house! We live there! My creeper egg is in there! If you want to knock it down, you'll have to knock me down first."

The zombie roared again and took another step forward. The flames coming off Kaitlin rose into the air. She pushed the monster back with massive fireballs, her necklace shining like a thousand stars. The monster growled, backing away from the blaze.

Kaitlin ran up to it again, her eyes not only blazing from the flames coming out of them. The monster roared at the blaze princess, but she didn't even flinch. Kaitlin took a deep breath.

And exhaled a tornado of fire.

The zombie looked just as surprised as everyone else, trying to shield itself with a forearm. But Kaitlin didn't stop, just kept torching the mutant zombie. She ran out of breath soon enough and slumped on the ground panting. Eba teleported to her side, trying to help her up. The flames that were coming off her were gone.

I turned to the zombie. It was wobbling, his charcoal-black arm still shielding it's head. I nocked two arrows into my bow. The monster lowered its arm and took a single step forward before dropping on the ground. All was quiet.

Then it moved. The mutant zombie used its unburnt arm to push itself up, growling menacingly. Eba teleported Kaitlin and herself away, and I started flinging arrows again. We all got back into the fight, except for Kaitlin and Simon. Where the fuck is that creeper at?

The zombie roared and charged clumsily at the house, falling multiple times. A different roar answered it, coming from the opposite side. I turned to see Simon piloting the second airship towards the mutant zombie, the roar probably being the engine coming to life.

The zombie turned a curious gaze towards it and growled. Simon dashed belowdecks, and I could see him behind one of the cannons stationed there. We kept attacking the monster, hoping to distract it enough so Simon had time to fire the powerful weapon.

Valory plunged her spear through the zombie's knee, but it simply kicked her out of the way. I had run out of arrows, so I pulled out my shortsword and ran in to help the rest of the gang. The zombie was a relentless mess of brute muscle, easily capable of overpowering us if it weren't for our supperior numbers.

It swung its burnt hand at Adrian, knocking the wither skeleton to the ground. Lila was beside him in a flash, and I got there a second after. Sure, I was jealous of their time together, but Adrian is still my friend. We helped him to his feet, and he looked around in a daze.

"Where's the sword?"

"The sword?"

"M-my sword... where's it gone?"

Lila bent down and picked up the heavy obsidian broadsword. "Here it is. Don't panic."

Adrian pretty much yanked it from Lila's hands. "I'm not panicking. I just can't afford to lose it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Lila pulled the wither skeleton away. "He can tell you later, right now we have more important matters to deal with!"

I nodded and got back into the fight. It looked like Simon was taking his sweet time getting the cannon ready. The mutant zombie roared in frustration and knocked us all out of the way. I hit my head hard, and spots were dancing across my vision. Somebody was helping me up.

"Come on, Jack! Get up!"

The sun was in my eyes, and for a second, I thought it was Lila. Blinking a couple times made me realize it was actually Valory. The spider was looking me over worriedly.

"Are you okay?"

I coughed a couple times and sat up. "I think so. Nothin's broken... I'm okay. Wh-... where's Lila?"

Her worried expression turned into a frown for a split second. "She's fine. Come on, we need to stop the zombie!"

I stood on my uneven legs and poked around. The zombie was shuffling towards the house, holding it's burnt arm in pain. I reached for my bow, but it was no longer slung over my shoulder. My shortsword was missing too. Valory grasped my hand gently.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Just a bit wobbly, but I'll be fine. How are you?"

"Not hurt. FalconHeart helped me keep my balance."

The large phantom shrieked at the mention of his name, swooping down and landing beside Valory. The spider rubbed his head affectionately and pulled me forward. "Let's go! The zombie!" I picked up an arrow that was on the floor and followed her. She gave me a confused smile.

I shrugged. "It's better than nothing."

Valory almost laughed but kept her posture. She drew two rusty shortswords and gave me one of them. "Come on!"

The zombie had fallen for the umpteenth time, and was slowly getting back up. Valory kept swinging at its legs, and I hopped up on its back. It growled and began turning in place while trying to knock me off with its hands. Valory was still trying to chop off its leg, but the zombie just didn't give a shit.

"CLEAR!!!"

I looked up, and the monster turned in the direction of the voice. The second airship was pretty much right in front of us, and both its cannons had lit fuses. I jumped/fell off the zombie's back, landing on the grass with a dull thud. The zombie roared at the airship.

And the cannons roared back.

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Simon's POV

"... go ask her. I've got another idea."

Jack and I split up, him running towards Eba and I towards the airfield. The mutant zombie kept whacking people away, growling as it did so. I had just reached the MK II when I heard a thunderous roar. I turned around and watched as Kaitlin burned the mutant zombie down.

I thought we had won for a second, but then it got back up. "Ah, shit." I shimmied up the airship's rope ladder as fast as I could. Another roar shook the forests, but I couldn't afford to waste time by looking. Once I was up there, I ran towards the steering wheel and flicked on the ship's engine.

It came to life with a mechanical roar of its own. I pushed the throttle halfway and began turning towards the ongoing chaos. The zombie growled at the airship and I ran belowdecks. The airships were, currently, my proudest achievement, so I always had them clean, operational, and fully stocked.

I picked up four of the gunpowder charges and walked up to the left-side cannon. I dragged the cannon back so it could clear the hull and turned it to face me. The cannonballs I kept right beside the cannons, and I stuffed one into the heavy weapon. This is actually harder than you'd think.

When that was done, I pulled open the compartment behind the cannon and shoved two of the charges in there. I put the cannon back in position and ran to the other one. The zombie used its good arm to bring everyone to the ground. I frantically searched for Izabell.

Where are you? Please be alright.

When I couldn't find her, multiple thoughts whirled in my head. She's either under the monster, somewhere I can't see her from this angle, or in the house tending to Kaitlin. I decided it was best to hope for the last one to be true and began loading the cannon.

I could see Jack, Valory and her new phantom trying to hold back the abomination threatening our home. I brought out fuses from a box in the back and stuffed them into their slots. I began tying fuses together to make one long fuse connecting both cannons.

The zombie was almost at the house, but it suddenly started dancing in place, reaching at its back.i snapped my fingers next to the fuse, waiting for a spark to fly from my gloves.

Come on, come on! Whenever it's important these stupid things just won't-

The fuse caught fire, making me jump back in surprise. The thin strings of paper were burning up fast. I leaned out the window where one of the cannons was stationed and shouted at the top of my lungs.

"CLEAR!!!"

I immediately jumped back and covered my ears. The zombie roared at the airship, and mere seconds later, the cannons fired. The thunderous boom of the cannons left a painful ringing in my ears. I stood up to the best of my abilities and shuffled over to the window.

The zombie was sprawled on the floor, the two cannonballs lodged in it's chest. I breathed a sigh of relief. My whole body felt as if it was going to collapse on itself. I stared from my vantage point in the sky, looking to see if nobody had gotten hurt. Or, seriously hurt at least.

And then the zombie got back up. It rolled slowly until it was face down and pushed itself up with its good arm. The zombie was growling menacingly. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Motherfucker just won't stay dead...

I scrambled up the stairs and got behind the wheel. The zombie roared once more. I willed the airship to rise faster. The monster was limping towards the house, still determined to bring it down. Once I was far enough, I left the wheel and walked unevenly towards one of the Gatling bows.

The zombie fell with a loud and dull thump. I blinked the fuzzy feeling fogging my thoughts away and grasped the handles of the Gatling bow. I lined up the front and back reticle, aiming the weapon at the mutant monster. It was getting clumsily back on its feet, grumbling in annoyance.

I flicked the switch. The zombie turned to look at me, attracted by the mechanical noise of the weapon. I picked up a section of an 'arrow strip', which is the Gatling bow's ammunition, and plugged it into the weapon. The rhythmic clacking turned into furious whirring and arrows began flying from the barrel.

The monster narrowed its eye sockets, using its burnt arm as a shield. I connected another arrow strip to the end of the current one so I wouldn't have to reload. I grasped the handles again and wiggled the Gatling bow a little, increasing the arrow spread. The zombie growled and shoveled some dirt out of the ground.

I knew what was going to happen so I turned it off and began hastily unhinging the Gatling bow. If dirt got into its mechanisms, I would have to open it and clean each gear individually. The monster growled and threw the clump of dirt at the airship, bathing its deck and hull in cold dark filth.

I felt a few stones battering my back as I ran belowdecks, hoping to avoid most of the dirt. Some of it got in through the cannon's windows. I sighed and placed the Gatling bow on top of a clean box.

"At least I managed to save one," I muttered to myself. The zombie roared triumphantly and continued limping towards the house. I stared helplessly as it reared back with one fist. Valory's phantom swooped down out of the blue with a shrill call, startling both me and the zombie.

Valory, Eba and Thomas were running at the monster. Eba was wearing the heavy black-purple armor and wielding her silver broadsword. The zombie sort of slumped as if exhausted and roared at them. My friends split up, Thomas and Val running around the zombie and Eba meeting it head on.

The zombie swiped at Falconheart but was unable to hit him. Eba swung and punched at the zombie, causing it to stagger and growl. Thomas did almost as much damage with his broadsword, finnally managing to shatter the rotten bone of the zombie's leg. It fell on one knee with a pained 'gruh' and tried to pick him up.

Eba cut off two of the zombie's fingers, causing it to roar into the sky. It faced the endergirl with poison in its eyes. She stood her ground, longsword at the ready. The mutant zombie roared again and threw a punch at her with its burnt hand. Blackened chips of dead skin had been falling off it and now showed the bone beneath.

The endergirl wasn't fast enough to avoid the blow and got knocked back. The zombie dragged itself towards her, alternating punches from both its hands. Eba sidestepped neatly after two painful attacks, dodging the zombie's large hands with ease.

It roared in frustration and brought his fist down on the ground so hard that the earth in front moved, shifting and cracking like an ocean wave. The sheer force of the attack left Eba on the ground, crying out because of the rocks and dirt that were surely jabbing at her from beneath.

The zombie growled and raised a fist, aiming to crush Eba under the same force that moved the frozen dirt and grass. Thomas drove his sword into the monster's side, causing it to grunt in surprise. Instead of squashing Eba, it swung its raised fist towards Thomas. The blow knocked my friend back several meters, and he landed on the ground with a drawn-out groan.

Valory dislodged her spear from the zombie's kneecap, making it grunt again. It used its burnt hand to turn and lean towards the spider, its other arm already raised and ready to swing. Eba slowly got to her feet. Valory dodged the strong punch but was knocked to the ground by the shockwaves that came from it.

Eba looked tired, using her sword to stay upright. The mutant zombie roared in satisfaction and got ready to crush Valory under its fist. The endergirl began walking toward it on uneven legs. I could no longer just stand and watch. I dashed back up, lit a stick of dynamite, and chucked it down at the zombie.

The red explosive bounced harmlessly off the zombie's back and then exploded. The mutant monster fell on its chest, roaring in pain. Eba shuffled over to it. The zombie started to get up and glared at her with its empty eye sockets. The endergirl raised her longsword. The mutant zombie growled.

Eba was breathing heavily. "Leave... my friends... alone."

She brought the sword down hard. It cut cleanly through the monster's head, splitting it in half and spilling a rotten mess on the grass. The now headless body slumped to the ground. Suddenly, the doubly dead remains went up in flames, disappearing in an instant. A large old hammer rested on the ground where the zombie once was.

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Eba's POV

I fell to the ground feeling beyond exhausted. The Dreadnaught armor dissolved beneath me. Blight appeared beside me, a stern and worried look on his shadow's face. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah... I'm fine... just... tired..."

I looked up to see the airship drifting towards the airfield. Thomas, Sarah, Adrian, and Valory walked over to me. They had cuts and bruises all over their bodies, but nobody seemed too badly hurt. Thomas reached me first. He sort of fell on one knee and gave me a tired smile.

"Hi... you did amazing Eba."

"Th-thanks... how... how is everyone?"

Sarah kneeled down beside Thomas and gave me a gentle hug. "We're all okay, Eba. Come on, we need to get you inside."

Simon was running towards us from where he parked the airship. He looked very much worried. I smiled and waved at him. The creeper boy nodded and waved back. Thomas and Jack were helping me up, and he joined their efforts. Izabell was staring at us from the front door.

Simon's eyes lit up and he immediately ran up to the slime girl. She was on the verge of tears, hugging him tightly. Simon peppered her face with gentle, reassuring kisses. I picked up on their conversation once we got close enough.

"... one's fine. They're alright. Shh, it's okay, it's okay. Don't cry."

"Are you sure you're okay? Not gashes o-or anything?"

"You looked me over, Z. I'm alright. Everyone's alive, nobody's seriously hurt. We're all just tired."

"Okay... okay... oh lords..."

"Shh... calm down Z. It's okay. Shh... it'll be fine."

We reached the couple and Izabell looked us over. "Is anybody hurt badly?"

Thomas grimaced. "My chest hurts, but I'll live."

Izabell dragged Simon over and ran an expert hand down Thomas's chest. "You've broken a rib. It'll take a long time for that to heal. Anyone else?"

Jack limped up. "I hurt my ankle jumping off the zombie's back. But I don't think it's anything mayor."

Izabell touched the stray's ankle with a foot, causing him to wince. "Okay. I'll check it over inside. Come on."

We entered glumly, heading for the med-bay. Kaitlin was sitting on one of the beds, holding the large creeper egg to her chest. I nodded at her and flopped onto another bed. Thomas and Jack sat down on individual beds. Izabell began inspecting them more closely.

What can I do to help?

I'm just tired Blight. Don't worry.

Are you sure? Doesn't your back hurt?

Well, yeah, but not that much. I'll be fine.

Izabell checked me for injuries while muttering to herself. Then she walked over to where she kept her medical supplies. It was mostly bandages and bottles with 'clinically purified water'. Which means boiled and filtered water. She took out a few dressings and began bandaging everyone's wounds.

I put my head on the soft pillow that was at the head of my cot and sighed. Izabell inspected me once more, found no injuries that needed bandages, and moved on. I closed my eyes.

Rest, Eba. I'll wake you up if necessary.

Thank you. You're a good friend.

I drifted off before I could hear his response, if he gave any.

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Author's Notes

Right! Another battle chapter! How did I do? I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Thank you for your time and support, have an awesome day!

~ LeMafiaKreb