Chapter Two - Adventure Mode

"There she is..." Steve muttered as he crested a top of a large hill, looking down into the valley below. A cool wind rushed by him as he stared at the trail he had taken many times before. Steve stood up on the hill for a moment, looking down at the village that laid below. A simple plains village, taking up nearly a fourth of the valley. Even from his current distance he could make out the villagers running about, farming and trading, simply living their lives, trying to survive. A smile flickered onto Steve's face as he headed down the hill, simply glad he was going home.

His first time going home without Sol.

Steve's stomach tightened at the thought of his wolf, but he forced himself to keep going. He had seen the concern in the villagers' eyes when he had left to fight the Ender Dragon, he didn't deserve to keep them waiting any longer.

Steve hopped down from the hill, his feet hitting the path that lead into the village. He forced a smile onto his face as he entered, standing tall, sword resting in his hand as he past the wheat fields.

"Hey there!" A voice called, "That you, Steve?"

Steve lifted a hand, waving to the farmer, "In the flesh, David!"

David let out a hearty laugh, dropping his stone hoe and rushing towards the player. Steve slipped his sword away, bracing as the farmer threw his arms around Steve, bringing him into a bone-crashing hug.

"We had no word from you for a month!" He cried, releasing Steve and stepping back, scanning the player, "Course we didn't assume the worse or anything, but we still were darn worried about you, boy!" David smiled, "Especially that mom of yours," He slapped Steve on the back, laughing, "Why don't we go tell the rest of the village of your safe return!" His eyes sparkled, "And of your success, I assume?"

Steve gave a short nod, and David's grinned widened even more. Steve allowed himself to be guided by the villager away from the farms and towards the main market of the village, more farmers joining them from the field as traveled on. Moments like these felt like mere blurs to Steve however, it a welcome that he always got whenever he returned home. The villagers admired him, and it was for more than being the adoptive son of their chief.

They saw him as a protector- he and Sol were the ones to fight alongside the two iron golems of the village, driving back the zombies that attempted to claim the village. He was the one that could craft, creating tools in moments when it would have taken the villagers days or even weeks to create. Steve was the one that explored beyond the valley, creating safe houses and mapping foreign areas, bringing back resources that villagers hadn't even heard of.

He was the one that slew monsters that attacked, learning how to defend from each of them. He was the one that brought back the ingredients and resources to make potions of weakness that his mother could brew- them alongside a golden apple, they were the cure he and his mother had discovered to free villagers of their zombified state. The villagers felt safe around him, they were able to see beyond the dangers of the world, and start to appreciate the wonders instead.

But most importantly, the village was family to him. They were the ones that took him in when he was young, sheltering him from the dangers of the night. Steve shivered, remembering as far back as he could, his first moments in this world. He had only been a child in his farthest memories, no recollection of anyone like him. He didn't know quite how he came to this world, but he was grateful that the village had found him. He sure he wouldn't have survived without them, even with Sol accompanying him.

Sol would never accompany him anywhere again.

Steve clenched his fists, trying to hold back the painful memories.

"Here we are Steve!" Leah, a librarian cried, and Steve looked up. He was now standing in front of the village church- a tall building made of cobblestone. Steve blinked, trying to take in the idea that he was now finally home. Steve looked around, the whole village was currently with him, all wanting to celebrate his return, to hear his stories. Steve refocused his gaze on the church, watching as the door swung open.

The crowd fell silent as a priestess strolled out of the church, her dark purple robes dragging across the ground. She looked out over the entire village that had gathered around her church, blinking her dull purple eyes as she looked around. The villagers lowered their heads respectfully towards their priestess and chief, the leader of their village.

"Priestess Sharara," Leah said, "Your son has returned."

Sharara's eyes lit up, scanning the crowd once more, and her eyes fell on Steve. The player gave her a small wave, and a smile spread across the priestess's face. She ran down the steps of the church, wrapping her arms around Steve as she reached him. Steve returned the hug, all of the pain of Sol's death seemed to melt away for just a moment as he embraced his adoptive mother.

"Mom," Steve whispered, closing his eyes.

Sharara pulled herself out of the hug, placing her hands on Steve's shoulders, "You have no idea how worried I was," She whispered, "For a while I was regretting telling you about the End realm and the dragon- your adventures to the Nether were dangerous enough!"

Steve grinned, "What, you thought a dragon was too much for me? Yes, she put up a fight, but she fell in the end."

Sharara's eyes gleamed with excitement, "So- so you truly did it? You defeated the Ender Dragon?"

Steve nodded, and the entire village erupted into cheers. He had done it again, he had slain a monster, one much greater than any of their imaginations. He had purged the End realm of the demon dragon that their legends had told of. Steve felt himself being dragged back into his mother's arms.

"Your potions were a lifesaver in that battle," Steve muttered in her eye, barely hearable over the cheers of the villagers.

Sharara grinned, "They are my specialty," She replied, looking over him once more, "So it's truly gone, that beast?"

"No trace of it remains," Steve confirmed.

Sharara's grinned turned into a smirk, "I never doubted you. Steve, you have done well, it's almost ti..." She shook her head, sitting up straight, "We will have a celebration tonight!" She declared to the village, "In honor for the hero of our village! The slayer of the foulest of beasts- my son, Steve!"

The village let out another cheer, and Sharara looked at Steve, who glanced away, and she finally seemed to notice the crestfallen look on his face.

"Is everything alright?" She asked quietly.

Steve looked away, "...The dragon killed Sol," Steve muttered, "H-he saved my life once more."

Sharara's gaze softened, "I see," She glanced at the enthusiastic crowd, "Why don't you go into the church, I'll make sure everyone gives you the space you need."

Steve gave short nod, "Thank you Mom, though I think I'd rather go to my house, I need some time to think."

Sharara nodded, then turned back to the villagers, "We will celebrate at sunrise! But for now Steve needs to rest from his travels," Her eyes gleamed almost dangerously, "You will all give him the space he requires!"

"Yes madam!" The villagers replied, eyes flickering towards Steve curiously. The player gave them no heed, simply heading down one of the paths that lead to the edge of the village- where he had built his home. Right on the edge, right where adventure could be right around the corner.

But for now Steve just wanted to rest.

He pushed open the wooden door, looking around the place he called home. There was no dust, a sign that his mother had looked after his place while he was gone. A small smile pressed on his lips, and Steve shut the door behind him.

He glanced around at the windows, but true to his mother's words none of the villagers had followed him to or near his house. With a sigh of relief, he closed his eyes, reaching into his inventory. His hand closed around the obsidian 'stone' he had brought back from the end. The dragon egg gleamed in his hand as he brought it out of his inventory.

He studied it, a strange feeling settling in him as he turned it over. He felt... almost drawn to it. Steve blinked, starting to wonder if it had been a good idea to bring it to this realm, he had no idea the powers this 'stone' could have. It didn't seem to be dangerous, besides the strange way it had teleported around in the End.

Steve sighed, before setting it down. He stared at the egg as it expanded from an item to its full size on the table, particles gleaming around as it sat there. Steve stared at it, not quite sure of what to do now. He had slain the dragon, the most powerful creature he knew of. What more could he do now? What more adventures could he seek out after the one he had just accomplished?

And why would he want to seek out another, now that Sol was gone?

Zzzzht!

Steve froze of his heard the sound behind him- one that had haunted the End. The sound he had heard when hunting down Ender Pearls to make Eyes of Ender. His hand closed around his diamond sword, heart racing. Perhaps it was just his imagination- from being in the End so recently- because he knew these creatures rarely approached other mobs. Why would one come into the village- let alone his house?

Steve spun around, sword drawn, eyes leveled towards the ground. His heart was racing as he found himself staring at the cool, black body of an Enderman.

"Player."

Alex let out a small groan as the gruff voice echoed through the room. She forced her eyes opened, blinking in the sudden firelight of the small cell she was resting in. The soul sand below her hindered her movement as she forced herself to sit up, squinting her eyes as the fiery torch was swung closer to her cell. A gleaming row of iron bars separated her from her captors.

"What do you want, your highness," She snarled at the pink creature standing outside her cell. His two guards stiffened at her tone, reaching for the stone swords on their waists, but the creature simply held up a hand, and they went still.

"You will not speak to me in such a manner," The creature told Alex, tone not wavering. Her eyes had started to adjust to the sudden light, she was only used to the glow that came from the lava outside of the room her cell rested in. After a moment she could finally make out the shapes in front of her. It wasn't like she needed to- she had see them so many times that she knew what they looked like even more than she knew her own reflection.

It had been a long time since she had seen her reflection.

Alex glared at the Pigman outside of her cell. An enchanted gold sword sat in one hand, his second sword swung across his back. He held a torch in his other hand, the bright red flames throwing light across the dim prison. Alex pushed herself to her feet, attempting to stand level with the Pigman. Unlike his brethren that ruled the waste lands of the Nether, this Pigman was not zombified. His dark pink flesh had been tanned by the lava that flowed through the Nether, the sun having never touched this realm. His dark eyes glared at the player behind the bars, and he set the torch on the wall.

"...Very well then, Travis," She dragged out his name in the same mocking manner she had done with 'your highness'. The two wither skeleton guards stiffened again, but the Pigman gave them a few grunts, and they stepped back. Alex had never been able to understand the speech of the hostile mobs, but a neutral mob such as the Pigman could speak both the language of hostile and peaceful mobs. Alex had been tempted many times to ask if he could speak to animal mobs as well since he was a Pigman, but more to spite him then to actually know. But she wasn't even sure if the Pigman prince had seen an animal based mob before in his life, since those only spawned in the overworld, and she wasn't about to waste her breath on him.

"Any Pigman would have beaten you for even considering to speak to me that way," Travis said slowly, "Even the wither skeletons hesitate with listening to my orders to stand down. You are dancing a thin line, Player."

Alex shrugged, "This prison is torture anyways, I really don't care anymore."

Her prison was truly a miserable place, a three-by-three block floor of energy-draining soul sand lined the bottom of her cell, leaving only a two block tall walls and ceiling of nether brick surrounding her, a set of iron bars trapping her in. Nether wart and mushrooms were slowly spreading throughout the dark dungeon. In one corner of the cell sat a crafting table, cracking in the heat of the Nether. Near the bars sat a cauldron of water, one of the few containers that could hold the substance in this realm. No water flowed naturally in the Nether, the heat of the blocks simply evaporating the liquid upon contact.

"If you'd rather be moved into a pool of lava, I'm sure that could be arranged," Travis said coolly.

She scanned the Pigman, not even startled by the threat, "Looks like you aren't dressed to your father's standards today, little prince."

He shifted, and Alex smirked. The Pigman prince was wearing a simple red robe, his golden cuffs that usually rested on his wrists nowhere in sight. In her time in this Nether prison she hadn't seen much of the king of the Pigman, but she despised him with every fiber of her being, he had been the one that ordered her confinement to her pitiful life. Alex prayed everyday to Notch that the king would finally decide to kill her, that she could be free from her imprisoned state, but everyday was simply the same as the last. As a player she was suppose to be connected to the great being called Notch, but Alex was sure he was the one that had put her in her cursed state in the first place.

She shivered at this thought, inching back from the bars of the cell. She was a player, she was suppose to be able to break through these blocks as if they were nothing! To tame the elements of this world and rise to the top! But she was nothing but a cursed being, a half creature, a mere shadow of what a legendary player was suppose to be.

"I went beyond the walls today, Father understands dressing for the occasion," Travis replied.

Beyond the walls, beyond the last active fortress in the Nether. The very last settlement of the Pigmen. She had wondered what the occasion had been for the Pigmen to send a group out- one that included the heir to the throne. Alex knew what was at risk if they stepped out beyond the last settlement of the Pigmen.

The virus.

Alex knew all too well what zombie Pigmen looked like- they crawled through the Nether like spiders in the overworld. Half beings which could barely string a sentence together, creatures whose only instinct left was to fight together when threatened.

Alex flinched as the sound of items being thrown through the bars. She looked up in time to see a pile of gold ingots floating above the soul sand, sticks scattered between them. The items jumped into her inventory as she shifted, and Prince Travis didn't even have to say what they wanted. She may be a cursed player, but there was still one thing she could do, and that was craft.

"I'm going to leave you alone, Player, as you craft those swords," Travis told her as Alex turned towards the worn crafting table in the corner of her cell. She closed her eyes as Travis continued, "Don't try to hide anything you craft from us again, we counted out the amount of gold in there this time around. If there's even one sword less I won't be able to protect you from Father's punishment. I hope you are smart enough to realize that it is foolish to resist our orders."

"Perhaps it's my only way to stay sane," Alex whispered, laying out two ingots on the table.

Even though she wasn't facing Travis, she could feel him glaring into her back, "You are nothing Alex," He said, and she stiffened as he said her name, "As the last player in this world, you do nothing but shame the ones that came before you," Alex had heard words like this so many times before, but that still didn't stop tears from stinging her eyes. She was worthless- she got it! Did every moment of her life have to be spent reminding her of that! "A player trapped in adventure mode," Travis mused quietly, "If it wasn't for your ability craft you'd be even more worthless than a piece of netherrack."

"Yeah, but I'm not worthless!" Alex snarled, wheeling around to face him, "Instead you get a lovely little slave to keep down here!" Several strands of hair fell in front of her face as she shook with rage, sweat sliding down her neck, "So instead of getting a nice little death sentence, I get to spend every moment of my miserable existence in this cell!"

"Is that why you resist so much?" Travis asked quietly, "Hoping to push us far enough to snap? Because it's not going to work, fighting will only make your situation worse Alex. Please, just do as you're asked."

"Go away," Alex whispered, tossing her first finished sword to the ground, and she placed another stick on the crafting table.

"It's quite a shame," Travis said, turning to leave. He left the torch on the wall as he headed towards the door of the prison, "For someone on what's called adventure mode, you've never been able to take a step out of this room since we've found you."

Alex wheeled around, ready to hurl her worst insults at the prince, but the Pigman was already gone. By the time she had opened her mouth the iron door had been yanked shut by the wither skeletons, leaving her alone in the room. The torch crackled on the wall, providing light to the dim prison, but also raising the nearly unbearable heat even higher. She slammed two golden ingots onto the crafting table next to the stick, not even surprised as it popped into a sword. An amazing ability she had, able to forge weapons by simply having the ingredients, but it meant nothing to her.

She picked up the golden sword, looking over it. Oh, how she wished she could actually use it, tear the Pigmen apart. Make them pay for every moment of misery they had ever given her! Especially Travis- the stupid prince who found every excuse to come to her cell. Who acted like he was protecting her, politely 'asking' her to comply with them, trying to 'shield' her from the king.

Alex trembled, hatred building up in her. Hatred for the ones who had thrown her into the Nether- leaving her to die simply because she was stuck in adventure mode. Because she wasn't good enough for them- as if she were just some object! She even felt anger towards her adoptive father- who had jumped into the portal after her. He would have lived if he wouldn't have followed her down here... The Blazes would have never killed him, she would have never seen the only person she cared about die...

But most of all she felt anger towards the Pigmen. Who had captured her, dragged her back to their kingdom, all with the intention of killing her for being a player. As if she had decided to be born a player!

But she couldn't even get her freedom through death.

Adventure mode. She hated it, she hated everything about it. Blocks were nothing but solid walls to her, she couldn't even place a block even if one fell into her inventory! Now the Pigman had used her cursed state to their advantage. She was unable to escape, and she could craft in moments tools that could have taken them weeks to forge otherwise. She was a slave to them. After a childhood of being reviled and hated by the villagers, she was a slave.

She wondered how long she had been down here in the Nether... Several years, at least. There was no end in sight either.

Alex took in a deep breath, the air hot and full of ashes. This was her life, she might as well live it out.

But Alex still couldn't help but look back on the days she had been with her father, back in the cool, safe overworld.

Well, there's chapter two. I hoped you guys enjoyed it. We've been introduced to another main character, Alex, who is trapped in the Nether, along with being trapped in adventure mode. While Steve can break blocks and enjoy Minecraft to almost its fullest, Alex is unable to break any blocks around her, leaving her quite helpless.

In this story, "crafting" is not the only way to create objects. With the right tools, knowledge and supplies, any creature in Minecraft can create something, but similar to our world it would take time an effort to make it. But then you have "players" who have the ability to "craft". As long as they have the proper supplies and a crafting table, they are able to create things in moments, just like in the game. This is why the Pigmen keep Alex alive- she can craft things in moments for them. So like having a large inventory, "crafting" sets players apart from mobs and makes them much more powerful.