Chapter 21 : What happened ?
Hey guys Agithos here for another chapter. This chapter has been incredibly hard to write. Took me two month to find the inspiration to fight and surpass my writer block. Well, without further ado, enjoy.
Present time, Lower part of the city, Mickael POV
Ari, Menos and I were stunned by the bloodbath that happened right in front of our very eyes. Ben just took five guards by himself and got out with just an arrow in his back, and he didn't even seem fazed by it. Ricka just giggled and slipped out of my arms. Then, she runned to her brother.
"Ricka, wait !" I whispered to her. Unfortunately, she didn't hear me.
"Big bro !" Ricka said as she called her brother.
The rest of us stayed hidden. Upon seeing Ricka, Ben's eyes widened. I could tell he was surprised but also a little bit annoyed at her.
"Ricka, what in the nether are you doing here ?" He began to scold her "You know it is too dangerous here, you should have stayed home !"
The little girl just looked at her feet before she spoke up again.
"I am sorry Ben, but...it was getting boring out there by myself !"
The man in the black armor sighed but smiled.
"At least, I am happy to see you safe and sound. How did you find me ?"
"I got help from some strangers !"
Seeing there was no point in hiding now that the little girl had revealed our presence, we stepped out of the alley and we walked to rejoin Ricka and Ben. Ari began to walk faster than Menos and I as she rolled up the sleeves of her pull over.
"Hey you !" She shouted at the black armored man "You and I have some unfinished business !"
Ben and Ricka turned toward us. Upon seeing us, Ben frowned. Not at Ari like you would expect, not at Menos or even at us in general, but at me. No matter what Ari was saying to him, he continued to stare at me. A few seconds later, he suddenly rushed at me, running past Ari. When he arrived in front of me, I saw the blade of his wrist-blade coming out, going straight for my throat.
"MICKAEL, PARRY !" I heard Notch screaming inside of my mind.
Acting out of instinct and following Notch's order. I quickly made Nightfall come out of its sheath, in my arm's armor. With a swift motion of my arm, I managed to deviate the blade from going through my jugular. It grazed my cheek before penetrating the wall at my right.
"Wow, that was a close one !" I thought.
"Indeed !"
Ben pulled out his wrist blade from the wall and took a step backwards.
"If you want to live, I suggest you follow me right now !"
"Why should I ?" I asked.
"You, Mickael Tabor, are a wanted criminal. The bounty on your head is worth 7000 emeralds. You can either follow me nicely or I will be dragging your corpse with me to collect my reward !"
I placed "Nightfall" in front of me, ready to parry any kind of attack.
"I am sorry but, first of all, I don't like being threatened. Second of all, I don't have time to waste with theses kind of things !" I responded.
"Fine, we are doing this the hard way then !"
We were face to face, weapon drawn and inspecting each others. I noticed he was slightly smaller than me. We were about to rush at each other when a little girl's voice stopped us in our tracks :
"STOP !" Ricka shouted before placing herself between Ben and I, facing her brother.
"Ricka, what are you doing ?" My opponent asked "Step aside, this man is a wanted criminal !"
"Maybe, but it is him ans his friends who helped me find you. They are very kind, even if the spider one has a grudge on you...I don't know why though !" She replied.
Ben's gaze switched between his little sister and I several times. It looked like he was divided between two thoughts: fighting me or listening to his little sister. He sighed and his wrist-blade retracted into his armor.
"Very well, I am going to spare your live for this time, but if we meet again, I won't be so kind !"
He placed Ricka on his shoulders and began to walk away.
"HEY COME BACKHMPF !" Ari managed to shout at Ben before Menos covered her mouth With his hand.
I continued to watch them as they disappeared into a nearby alley. Then, I turned toward my two friends. Menos had released Ari, who was now pouting like her little would when she was upset. He was now staring at the guards's corpses laying on the street.
"We should go. There could be another patrol coming this way and I don't want to be there when they arrive !" He said "We should go back to the entrance of the city. Jade and Charloette must be waiting for us !"
"Indeed !" I nodded "I hope the meeting did go well !"
"I hope so too..."
Thus, we returned to the entrance of the city. The streets were still empty, there was not a single living soul, not even a single cat to be seen. In the houses, all lights were out. It was like everyone living here just left.
"It is slowly getting really seedy over here !" Ari remarked, looking around her.
"I have to agree. I wonder where they are..." Menos continued.
After a minute of walking, we arrived at the gate of the city. They were opened and there were no guards around to watch it.
"Strange...hey Notch, do you think Herobrine have something to do with this ?" I asked him.
"No...Neither me or him have the power to teleport this huge amount of population in such a short time. We may be gods but we also have limits !"
"I see...So what do you think happened ?"
"I don't know but, do you remember the strange woman who came to talk to you this evening ? She may be our only clue !"
"Well, she told me to meet her tonight, in the forest outside of the city !"
In front of me, I noticed Ari passing throught the entrance. Then she turned toward Menos and I as we were following her outside.
"Hey guys, Jade and Charloette are not there. Could it be they are still talking to the king ?"
"Let's just hope so..." Menos responded.
On the horizon, the sun was setting, letting the moon to take its place into the almost dark sky. I found myself staring at the forest next to us. The woman told me to meet her there.
"So, what do we do now ?" Ari asked me as I turned to her.
"Let's just wait here for a while !" I responded.
Thus, Menos, Ari and I sat on the ground and waited for Jade and Charloette to come back. We stayed like this for almost an hour but there was still no signs of the two women. It was becoming unbearable for Ari to stay like this.
"Come on. Can't they speed up a bit ? It has been hours already !"
"I agree. I don't know how politics works around here but they should have either convinced the king or came back by now !" I continued.
"I don't know about you, but I think we should go back and see if everything is alright !" My spider friend suggested.
We all nodded and we got up on our feets, exept for Menos who could float above the ground. Just as we were about to leave, we heard someone behind us speaking up :
"Mister Tabor ?"
I turned around to see a man in leather armor. He was holding a torch and didn't appear to have any weapons on him.
"I have been sent by our commander to come and find you. Now if you are willing to follow me. I shall bring you into our camp !"
"Wait a minute !" I interrupted him "Who are you and how do you know my name ?"
"I am sorry, my bad. My name is Rico and I know your name because one of your friends is with us at this very moment. A girl named Jade..."
Our eyes widened when we heard Jade's name.
"What is she doing with them ?" I thought.
"...but you don't have to worry about her. She is in good hand. We took her in as she was running away from the city. Your friend said she was looking for you and it was urgent !" The man known as Rico explained.
"She was looking for us ? Does that mean the negotiations were finished long ago ?"
"It seems so, but I doubt they went well..."
Before Ari and I could respond to the man in leather armor, Menos spoke up with a panicked voice :
"Was...was she in the company of a ghast when you found Jade ? A young woman with white hair and red eyes...in a white wedding dress. Please, tell me she was with her !"
"No, I am sorry young one. I am sure she was alone !"
Hearing Rico's answer, Menos's face crumbled. His skin became pallid, even for a ghast. I think I could see tears filling up his eyes. I turned to Ari and I understood from the look in her eyes she was as determined as me to find out what happened to Charloette. There was only one way to find out.
"Take us to our friend !" I said to Rico.
The man nodded and asked us to follow him through the forest until we reach our destination. We did as we were told and we began to walk after him. The forest was very dense. There was only a ray of sunlight every fifty meters around. As the result, the said forest was very dark. I even had to use my mob eye to avoid tripping on some roots and dead branches laying around the area. I wish I was like Menos, he was just floating slightly above the ground.
It have been ten minutes since we had entered the forest when Notch contacted me :
"Mickael ?"
"Hm ? What ?"
"Ask him if he knows something about the disappearance of a big part of the population. Only information will be valuable if we want to know what happened in the city !"
"You may be right !" I said before asking our guide :
"Hum, Rico ?"
"Yes ?"
"There have been strange disappearances in the city lately. Do you know anything about it ?"
I heard Rico chuckle as he turned his head toward me. A smirk was visible on his face.
"Don't worry, everything will be explained once we arrive to the encampment !" He simply replied.
"Huh ? What encampment ?" Ari asked.
"This encampment !"
Ari, Menos and I's eyes widened when Rico pushed a bush aside to reveal a huge camp made of dozens of tents. We could see a lot of people walking by, carrying various materials in their hands. There were also childrens playing with a pine cone. There were also some guards in iron armor.
"Wow..." I heard Ari whisper next to me.
Seeing our faces, Rico laughed a little.
"Alright, I shall bring you to our leader now !" Our guide suggested before walking toward a woman walking by "Excuse me, where can I find Miss Sandra ?"
"She is probably still in her tent with our guest !" She answered.
"Thanks !"
Rico made a gesture for us to follow him. I replaced my eyepatch over my mob eye before entering. We walked through the camp until we found ourselves in front of a big red tent. It looked like those giants roman tents I saw in history books. Rico turned toward us and raised the palm of his left hand toward us, telling Ari, Menos and I to stop.
"Stay right here, I am going to warn Miss Sandra about your arrival !"
Our guide entered the tent. A few seconds later, I heard some whispering coming from inside although I couldn't make out what they were saying. At one point, Rico came out of the tent.
"You can go now, she is waiting for you !" He said to us.
Thus, us four, including Rico, went in the tent. Inside, we were greeted by a man in iron armor, a young woman, sit behind a desk. She was wearing a hat, hiding her face. Finally, there was Jade, who was sitting on a bench. Upon seeing us, she quickly got up.
"Menos, Ari, Mickael. You are here !" She exclaimed.
"Well, yeah. Can you tell us what happened back ther..."
"Please Jade. Tell me. What happened to Charloette ? Where is she ? Is she alright ? Why isn't she with you right now ?" Menos interrupted me as he gripped Jade's hands.
For response, Jade avoided Menos's stare and looked at the ground with sadness in her eyes.
"I-I don't know. We...we got separated. I don't know where she is or even if she is alive right now. I am sorry Menos, so sorry !" She replied with tearful eyes.
For Menos, his world was destroyed. The ghast girl he loved was missing and he didn't know where to look for her. He let go of Jade's hand. He fell on his knees and begin to cry.
"Jade, what happened after I left the throne room ?" I asked her
"Well..."
Three hours ago, The throne room, Jade POV
I just sent Mickael away from the throne room. He nearly blew everything up with his little trick. That meant there was only me and Charloette into the room. As for the noble, it took at least a minute for him to recover from the scare Mickael put him through. He took a tissue and wiped the sweat dripping of his forehead.
"Miss, I suggest you to choose your ambassadors better. If it wasn't for you stopping that...thing. I would have had him executed right now !"
"Excuse him, my king. My friend just has been through a lot these past few weeks. He almost died when the monsters attacked our village and we spent a week, traveling to warn you about this. Herobrine is back and we need all the military forces to defend our home !" I explained.
The king began to lose his temper.
"I already told you I won't send troops to fight a threat that doesn't exist. I hoped I made myself clear before your monstrous pet threatened me, in my own throne room !"
"Mickael is NOT a monstrous pet. He is our friend !" I heard Charloette say loudly.
The noble turned his eyes toward her and asked with a haughty voice :
"Oh, and who might you be ?"
"My name is Charloette, I am a member of the ghast kindom. In other words, I represent the Nether world during this negotiation here !" She replied.
"So you are a ghast I presume...and a pretty one on the top of that !" The noble stated as he licked his lips.
"Ugh, gross..." I thought as I noticed how he was looking at Charloette : like a dog in front of a beautiful piece of meat. I turned toward Charloette and I saw clearly that she was embarrassed by how things were turning out.
The noble got up from his golden throne and walked toward us or, rather toward Charloette to be exact. He began to walk in circles around her, taking a closer look to her nice curves. I have to say, Charloette is a very beautiful ghast girl. Menos is lucky to have her. But at this moment, it was an old pervert that was looking at her. My ghast friend was looking at her feet, probably wishing for this to be over as soon as possible.
Suddenly, the noble took Charloette by the hand. Being startled, she made a little 'eeep' sound. I bet I would have found it funny if the situation wasn't crucial. No need to remind you that time was against us. The noble kissed the hand of Charloette before looking at her straight in the eyes.
"You are a very beautiful woman. You would make a perfect maid !"
"You disgust me !" I really hoped I could say that all loud without the risk of the other finding me in a dungeon.
"I am sorry. I am honored by your...offer but I have to decline. I am getting married in a few weeks !"
"Aah, that's too sad. You would look so cute in a maid outfit !" He replied as he pointed to a nearby girl. She had red hair and black eyes. She was currently holding an empty plate in her hands. As for her clothing, she barely had anything on her : Just a bra and a very small skirt. She also had some handcuffs around her wrists and had a pumpkin on her head. Snowflakes were falling on the ground were she was stranding.
"HEY !" He began to scream at her, scaring her. I am sure I saw some tears going up her eyes "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO NOT STAY IN ONE PLACE FOR TO LONG ? YOU WILL RUIN THE CARPET WITH YOUR DAMN SNOWFLAKES !"
The maid quickly bowed her head toward us.
"I-I am sorry, master. It won't happen again !"
"It better not !"
Then, the young girl left the throne room, leaving me, Charloette, the king and a few guards within the room. The 'Son and heir of the Gods' turned toward the ghast girl once more.
"Ehehe. She is one of my newest maid. I recruted her two month ago. She is still clumsy but I am sure she will be a great maid someday. So, what do you say ?"
I couldn't bare to watch this scenery anymore. I tried to stop it before it could get out of hands. I approached the king and spoke up.
"Hum, my king, I think we should..."
"Be quiet !" He nearly shouted at me "Can't you see that I am trying to speak to this young lady ?"He turned toward Charloette "So, I am waiting for your answer !"
The ghast woman scratched her cheek.
"I am sorry !" She responded "My fiancé must be worried sick about me. I need to rejoin him as soon as possible !"
"Oh that's too bad. Well I guess it can't be helped !" The noble sighed "At least, will you pass by my bedroom before leaving ?"
And, as i feared, things really started to get out of hands. As soon as the king finished his sentence, his slapped Charloette's hips. Her face became completely red from embarrassment . Acting by complete reflex like any other woman would, she slapped the king with her free hand, leaving the big red mark of the palm of her hand on his right cheek. Immediately after that, Charloette covered her mouth with her hand.
"I-I am sorry !" She apologized.
The 'Son and heir of the Gods' seemed too stuned to respond. I guess no girl have ever laid a finger on him. After a few second, he finally turned toward me and Charloette with rage, anger and frustration visible in his eyes. He let go of Charloette's hand and walked a few feet away from us. Then, he snapped his finger and a dozen guards appeared in the room.
"Is our service required, 'Son and hair of the Gods' ?" A man in iron armor asked. I figured it was a captain because of the golden shoulder pads.
"Yes !" The noble answered "These two just hit me. I want you to..."
Just before he could finish, the door of the throne room opened and the maid from before entered. She walked toward the noble before bowing her head toward him.
"Master, your friend just arrived at the castle !"
"Then, don't just stand here. Lead him to my private room !"
The maid bowed a second time before leaving the room. The noble turned toward his captain.
"As I was saying before she interrupted us, just throw them into the dungeon. I will deal them later. I have a friend to meet !" Then, he winked toward us "See you later, young ones !"
The king left the room, leaving me and Charloette against some of his guards.
"This is bad...really bad !" I thought as I saw the captain drawing out his sword.
"By the order of the 'Son and heir of the Gods', I have to put you under arrest. If you try to resist, we will have to use the force !"
Charloette turned toward me.
"Jade, run. I will hold them back. Find Mickael and the other !" She spoke up with determination in her voice.
"But...What about you ?" I asked.
"I'll be fine, now go !" She responded as she began to float in the air. I saw her forming a fireball in her left hand.
Charloette throwed the fireball onto the ground in front of us, creating a small explosion in front of the guards who backed away. I nodded at her before running toward the door. As I was running away from the throne room, I could hear some explosions in the background.
"I need to find them...fast !" I thought as I passed the front gate of the castle. Panting, I began calling them into the streets "MICKAEL, ARI, MENOS !"
Hearing no answer to my callings, I runned toward the entrence of the city. Before Mickael left, I told him we would meet them outside of the town.
"They have to be over there !"
After a few minutes of constant running, I arrived to the entrence of the city. I was panting and out of breath. I looked around only to find there were no signs of them. Exhausted, I let my body fell on the grass. I stayed like this for a few seconds until I saw a woman leaning above me.
"Are you alright dear ?"
Present time, The camp, Mickael POV
"...When I told her I was searching for you three. She said that she already send you a message when she was into the city. Then, they brought me here and told me to wait !"
There was a small moment of silence before Ari spoke up.
"So...if I understand right, Charloette have been captured by this king. We just have to get into the castle and kick his ass...right ?"
"And that's why we are here, young spider girl !" The woman behind the desk said, her hat still hiding her face. We all turned toward her and Ari was wearing a big smile on her face.
"You are Miss Sandra, I suppose...What is this place ?" I asked her.
The woman in front of me removed her hat and placed it on the desk in front of her. The woman had yellow hair and green eyes . After a few seconds, it striked me : It was the same woman that we met in the city.
"Yes, it is me and, as for where you are standing right now...let me ask you a question. Did you notice anything strange recently ?"
"Well..." My eyes widened. If the citizen were not in the city anymore. It was because they were in these camps. "You all come from the city, that's why there is nobody in the lower part of the city anymore. Am I right ?"
Sandra just nodded before answering :
"Indeed, all the men, women, childrens and even mobs comes from the city. We are not the only camp out there, there are many others around the city and we managed to stay hidden for the moment. The king doesn't know about their existences. All these people are peasants, astisans, traders. We even have some nobles and quite a bit of guards backing us up and hiding our multiple night out. We all ask for the same things : Justice, equality and tolerance. You know what we are talking about Mickael, we are trying to start a revolution. Mickael, you told me you were friends with mobs, so I am going to ask you a question. Are you with us ?"
"I am in, I won't let this slavery continue !" Ari immediately answered as she raised her fist in the air.
Menos get on his feet and dried his tears before speaking up :
"I am in, I am going to save my future wife. I will not leave her between the hands of an old pervert !"
After Ari and Menos agreed with Sandra, all the eyes were turned toward me.
"Notch, I know an alliance is importante but no one captures one of my friends and gets away with it. Don't try to stop me this time !"
"I won't..."
"Wait what ?" I asked him in my head. Since we arrived, he kept telling me to not do anything that could ruin the hope of making an alliance. And now, he was letting me take part into a Revolution.
"It pains me to say it, but there is no hope of making an alliance with a king such as him. On the top of that, I surely wouldn't stop you for trying to save one of your friends. So...do what you want. I'll be here if you need me !"
"Well...thanks Notch !" I thanked him
"Hey Mickael, are you there ?" Ari asked as she was waving a hand inches away from my face.
"Hum yeah yeah...I am in !" I answered as I cracked my knuckles "We are going to bring this 'Son of the Gods' back to reality !"
"That's the spirit !" Ari laughed.
"Thank you !" Sandra bowed to us.
"So, what are we going to do ? I asked.
Sandra took a map of the city and placed it on the desk. Then she looked at the man in iron armor next to her. He cleared his throat before speaking up :
"My men and I will go for the prison. Once we freed all the prisoners inside, we will try and take the city. On the top, we need an infiltration team to directly attack the castle and prevent the king from escaping. Any means will be necessary. Since the majority of the guards will be occupied by us, the castle should be relatively unguarded for you to enter. Even so, there could still be some royal guards. You leave in thirty minutes !"
"Wait wait wait !" Ari spoke up "WE are the infiltration team ?"
"Well, you have a friend to save, don't you ? Plus, you said you wanted to kick the king's ass !" Sandra smiled.
"Alright, I get it !"
"Don't worry, though. You won't be all by yourself. There is someone here who really wants to take part into this mission. He wouldn't take no for an answer and even so, I am sure he would have followed the infiltration team anyway. However, he didn't want to tell me why !"
"Who is he ?" I asked
Sandra made a gesture to Rico. The man in leather armor nodded before exiting the tent.
"You'll see. He is rather...special !"
Menos, Ari and I looked at each other. We shrugged at the same time. I was kind of anxious about what she meant by 'special'. I just hopped it wasn't someone totally insane. However, after approximately thirty second of waiting, the said person who entered into the tent made me reconsider what I just thought.
"On second thought. Maybe I would have prefered someone insane !"
In front of us was none other than the man in black armor from earlier : Ben, with his little sister Ricka still on his shoulders.
"Hi you three, long time no see !" The little girl greeted as she waved at us.
"Hi Ricka !" Menos responded.
As for Ari and I, we were staring at Ben with an annoyed look on our faces, and he was gladly sending it back to us. Sandra gaze kept switching between us and him.
"Hum, I suppose you do know each other ?" She asked.
"Yes !" I answered before whispering "Unfortunately..."
Ben lifted his sister of his shoulders. Then, he placed her on the ground.
"Aww, I wanted to stay up there !" Ricka pouted when she felt her feet touch the grass.
Ben just petted her head before turning toward Sandra.
"Why should I work with them ?" He asked in a serious and annoyed tone.
"Because I am asking you to. They will go infiltrate the castle whether you like it or not, so I suggest you cooperate with one another for the mission to be a success !" Sandra answered.
Ben was gritting his teeth. It was clear that he was annoyed to have to work with us. It wasn't totally surprising considering we nearly fought to death three hours ago. One of us would be dead right now if it wasn't for Ricka stopping us. The man in black armor walked toward me until we were face to face.
To my surprise, he only sighed before raising his hand toward me.
"Just to tell the truth, we are not friends or even allies in this mission. We shall be just teammates until all of this is over. After that, we will get back to being ennemies. Is that clear ?"
"Yes, all clear. At least, now, I know you won't stab me in the back once we reach the castle !" I replied as I took his hand to do a handshake.
Then, Ben called his little sister who was playing with Menos. The little girl, hearing her name, she got in her feet and runned to her brother before hugging his chest tightly. Ben placed his sister in his arm.
"Come on Ricka, you should be asleep right now. Your bedtime is long past !" I heard him say as he walked toward the exit.
"Awww big bro, I am feeling slee...aaaah..." She tried to disagree with her brother, but a wild yawn appeared from nowhere and betrayed her.
"See, you are tired. Let's go I'll help you make your bed !" Ben replied as he gently pinched his sister's nose before exiting the tent.
I have to say. Ben here was unexpected and the fact that he absolutely wants to be part of the infiltration team made me kind of curious. But right now, I had another question in mind
"Why Ari didn't express her anger toward Ben like she did last time ?" I thought.
I turned around to see that Ari has been gagged by Menos. She had a piece of paper in her mouth. After a few second, she managed to spit it out of her mouth and she began to scream'at Menos.
"Oh, I guess that's why..."
"I think you should still be cautious around that Ben, Mickael !" I heard Noth say in my head.
"Only time will tell, I suppose !" I turned toward the entrence of the tent "For now, let's pack everything we need for the mission !"
TO BE CONTINUED Our heroes are now in a part of a revolution against the king of this city but what happened to Charloette. Find it out in the next chapter...probably. So as always PM or review to tell me what you think of the story : good or bad. And if you have any suggestion for the story, feel free to contact me. See you next time
So now, here is the CPB of the next chapter
This is how it works. Each time I'll post a new chapter, I'll also post the "Chapter Progression Bar" for the next one. Also, when I'll write the chapter on my computer, I'll update the CBP at the end of the day, so you can know how fast the chapter is progressing. Don't worry, when I'll finish one chapter, the "CPB" of that same chapter will be removed and replaced by the chapter itself.
The CBP will consist of 2 lines going from 0 to 100% and two line with just In progress or Done
-Imagination - This consist of what the chapter will be about and what I'll say in it. If it reach 100% then, I got all that I need to write a chapter
-Writing - Well, you know what that means, if it reachs 100% then I finished to write the chapter in question. If the line is on 99 it means I have reached my minimum of 5K word but the chapter is not finished yet.
-Final Finition - This consist of all the détails I can put to make the story better or more coherent. I can work on it before even finishing the writing
-Correction - This one is pretty much useless because, normally, I don't wait tomorrow to put the correction on a chapter but you never know. But it also mean correcting some part that may be illogical or confusing in the chapter. Like with the Final Finition part, I can work on it before even finishing the writing
So now for the Chapter Progression Bar of Chapter 22
-Imagination - 0-10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100 /
-Writing - 0-10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100 /
-Final detail - In progress- Done /
-Correction - In progress- Done /
Well, that was all I wanted to say. See you guys on the next chapter ;)
