Well, I'm done with my tiny break, so I'm making another rather lengthy chapter this time. Expect some action, and of course, some sex appeal.
Enjoy.
The sun of the rising next day shined, as we see our group inside the home.
Joe had on his gear, with his backpack, weapon and tool holster, all filled.
The girls, were practically huddled around him, as they all had looks of worry on their faces.
"A-Are you sure you want to keep mining? Its only been a few days since you last went…" Cupa said, looking at Joe.
"I have to. We're running low on coal, and I need to find more diamonds." Joe replied, fitting his gear.
"The coal, we understand. But why do you need diamonds?" Andr asked, slightly concerned at Joe's answer.
"I need it for tools. It'll make work a little better, so I don't nearly die everytime I go gathering." He joked, slightly chuckling.
"D-Do you need me to come with you? I could support you at longer ranges…" Ria asked.
Joe waved his hand in a declining fashion. "It's alright, I'm sure I'll be fine. I've been practicing." He said, patting his bow.
"We're just scared you'll come home beaten and bruised!" Lily exclaimed.
Joe chuckled. "I've been training by myself for a bit. I'll be a little prepared if I get in a fight."
"Do you not understand how worried we are right now!?" Cupa exclaimed, slightly making Joe flinch.
Joe sighed, as he put his hand on Cupa's head.
"Don't worry, I'll come home safe. I promise." He said, smiling at everyone.
The girls all looked down, as Joe adjusted his backpack.
"I'll don't know when I'll be back. Can't really tell time in the caves. But I'll hopefully be back by sundown." He said, looking everyone.
Cupa then walked over to Joe, and pulled something out of her pocket.
She held it out to him, holding it with both hands.
"Here, we thought we should make this for you." She said.
Joe looked at the object, and found it was a small lump of what looked like crushed plants in a small sheet of paper.
"This combination of herbs should serve as a cure for any negative ailments you might experience. Poison, movement impeding ailments, it should cure them." Nia said, crossing her arms.
Joe was a tad surprised, as he smiled.
"Thanks guys. I don't know what I'd do without you." He said, taking the herbs.
He crumpled the paper into a tight ball, and slipped it in his pocket, making sure it wouldn't spill.
"You guys are the best. I'll make a huge feast when I get back, I promise." He promised, smiling.
This excited Lily the most, as she started jumping in the air, yelling "Feast, feast!"
Joe chuckled, as he looked over everyone.
"Dont worry, I'll be back."
He had a unison nod from all the girls as he walked towards his door.
"J-Joe-kun…"
He turned his head back to Cupa.
"...Be careful."
Joe gave a thumbs-up, as he stepped out of his door, into the outside.
After stepping out of his home, he started on his path towards the cave, still taking in every sight around him.
He walked for a few moments, until he reached the entrance of the cave.
He stepped into the mouth of the cave, and readied his pickaxe.
As he walked through the dimly lit cavern tunnels, he was able to spot more coal and iron ore along the walls of the cave.
But he knew he had to go deeper to reach diamonds, so he descended down the cavern, it getting darker with each step.
As he walked through, he thought he was hearing noises.
He looked behind him, but found nothing.
"Zombie? Skeleton?" He said, gripping his sheathed sword.
There was a small silence, as Joe let go of his sword, and sighed.
"Probably just the wind…" He said, as he continued down his way.
As we walked on, the noises seemed to be getting much more detailed and louder.
He turns a corner and sees a purple light down the cavern.
"The hell is that?" He asked himself, his curiosity getting the better of him.
He walked closer down to the light, and heard a series of sounds vaguely sounding like whispers.
"No way…" He said, partially sure of his suspicions.
He turned the corner, and noticed what looked like a doorway of some sort made of a jet black and purple stone, and between the blocks, a purple haze, seeming to swirl.
"A Nether Portal!?" He exclaimed excitedly.
It was a great surprise to him. Never has he seen a Nether Portal already built. He was happy to see that something had done the work for him, but when he thought about it, it send a shiver down his spine.
"If I didn't make it….who did?" He asked himself, looking around himself, making sure he was alone.
His excitement seemed to turn into worry, as he looked into the portal, gazing at the purple haze.
"Huh. Thought it would be paper-like, like in the game." He said.
He continued to hear the whispers, as if they were beckoning him to come.
He gulped. "Man, this is more creepy than I thought…" He said, scratching his head.
He hesitated, then stepped up to the portal.
The air around the portal was thick, he felt like he could barely breathe.
He made a few deep breaths, as he stepped into the haze.
At first, nothing. As time went by, he started to feel a tad nauseous. His vision was starting to blur, having the purple haze covering his eyes.
All that happened then, was he seemed to practically black out, as the haze seemed to consume him, as if he vanished.
Meanwhile, over the corner, a shadowy figure making a dastardly grin, watching over the portal.
A few moments pass, as Joe's vision seemed to return. He snapped back to his senses, as he looked around him.
All he saw was red, red, and more red. He was sure it was Netherack, but it seemed even more unappealing than he thought.
The air was hot, extremely musky, and thick, and the scent smelled of brimstone.
"This is the Nether alright…" He said to himself, as he pulled out his water bottle.
The Nether was a rather peculiar place to Joe. On one hand, it seemed very appealing to him, with the atmosphere dark, brooding, making an amazing sense of worry and dread.
On the other hand, the worry and dread was true, as practically everything in this dimension wanted to kill the player. Meaning him.
He sighed, taking a swig of his water bottle.
"Well, Blaze rods aren't gonna collect themselves…" He said, as he started on his way.
He emerged from a Netherrack cave to see a pretty accurate rendition of Hell.
Lava, lava pillars, fire in random places, and Zombie Pigmen roaming around. He could even see the Ghasts flying around.
Shit. Ghasts.
He immediately crouched down, as he watched the Ghast flying around, hoping it wouldn't see him.
He stayed in this position for a few moments, as he watched the Ghast fly behind a cliff of Netherrack and Glowstone.
He sighed in relief, as he continued along the cliff, which ended by a very long way to a sea of
lava.
Along his way, he encountered what looked like a group of Zombie Pigmen, and they seemed to be aimlessly wandering around, all with golden swords in their hands.
He took a deep breath, as he continued walking. He knew if he didn't disturb them, they wouldn't attack him.
He stepped into the area of the pigmen, until he was in the middle of the group.
He looked around, and found they paid no attention to him.
Suddenly, one seemed to wander right in front of Joe, and stopped, looking straight at him.
Joe had a surge of tension hit him, as he looked back at the pigman.
They had a tense staredown, until the pigman turned his head and walked to its left, out of Joe's way.
He sighed in relief, as he looked around at the remaining pigmen, who seemed to be doing the same thing.
He then stepped forward, and they still didn't notice him. He then kept walking, until he was a few feet away from the closest pigman.
He continued along his way, as he felt the heat of the Nether get to him, as he stopped and sat on a block of Netherrack.
"Shit, its hot…" He said to himself, as he pulled out his water bottle, and took another swig.
He looked at the bottle, and sighed. He leaned his head forward, and raised the bottle over his head. He then poured the rest of the water on his head, cooling his head down.
He shook water out of his hair, as he put away his empty bottle.
His mind, seemingly cooled off, then turned back to his home, back on Earth.
"It's almost been a month since I've been here...I wonder what's going on back home…" He said, remembering how he even got to this world in the first place.
His mind then went to the girls back home. He was in the Nether for about a half-hour, but time in the Nether was different than the overworld. It could be three days in the overworld for all he knew.
"I hope I'm not here for too long…" He said, as he stood up and continued on his way. "I've got a promise to keep."
About another hour of walking passed, as Joe looked over a cliff, and saw a structure that seemed to be made above the sea of lava, with pillars and support beams built in the lava.
"Finally, a Nether Fortress. Maybe I can find some Blazes and Nether wart here." He said, as he walked along the cliff towards the nearest entrance to the fortress.
He walked until he met the mouth of the entrance, in which he jumped down the small cliff, onto the Netherbrick.
He took a deep breath, as he pulled out his sword, and continued along his way.
He walked along the brooding corridors of the fortress, finding staircases, lined with Netherwart. He also took the Soul Sand with him, so he could grow more Netherwart.
As he walked along the long corridors, something struck him as odd.
Why were there no Wither Skeletons around? They usually guard these corridors, but he found no problem along his way.
"Weird…" He said to himself, as he continued walking along the way.
He walked on, encountering a few chests filled with random items.
He could hear a few sounds, as if bones clattering.
"There you are…" He said, readying his sword.
He turned the corner, and his suspisions were right. An small squad of Wither skeletons, and they were all looking at him.
The placed both hands on his sword, readying himself, as the Skeletons seemed to be...running after him.
"W-Wait, what?" He said in dread, watching the skeletons sprinting at him.
He expected them to walk like regular skeletons, but they had full movement, as they ran down the corridor.
One of them seemed to jump at him, with its sword raised.
"S-Shit!" Joe exclaimed, as he raised his own sword, blocking the skeleton's attack. Their blades were locked, with both pushing.
He then realized the skeleton was rather taller than him, almost by a whole foot.
This was also shown in the skeleton's strength, as it started to push him down.
Joe mustered all his strength, as he pushed back the skeleton with a swift swing, leaving the skeleton open.
He took this chance, as he swung his sword at the skeleton, slicing it clean in half.
Then then jumped back, landing on his back, as he sat up, and looked forward at the other skeletons.
They seemed to stop at the body of the killed skeleton, as they seemed to be in a slight bit of despair over their fallen comrade.
The leading skeleton then looked at Joe dead in the eye, as he swear he could hear a voice.
"Death is too good for you…"
This made Joe jump. Did the Wither Skeleton just talk?
"W-What!? H-Hey, that was in self defense!" Joe yelled back.
In that moment, he heard more clattering of bones, as the other corridors were then filled with more skeletons.
"Oh shit…" He said, knowing he was surrounded.
"Take him to the princess. She will decide his fate." Came the same voice.
The skeletons then walked closer to him, getting closer with each step.
"G-Get away from me!" Joe yelled, wildly swinging his sword.
His wild swinging was then stopped, as he looked at a skeleton looking straight at him, holding onto the blade of his sword.
With that moment, the skeleton yanked the sword out of his hand, throwing it to the side, leaving Joe armless.
"O-Oh f-fuck…" Joe stuttered, as he was met with the pommel of the skeleton's sword, knocking him unconscious.
All we see is the skeletons carrying the unconscious body of Joe, down the deep dark corridors of the Nether Fortress.
Ooh, a two-parter! I'm actually kind of excited!
I'm glad I could squeeze this in, as I'm rather tied up with my schedule.
Thank you for your time, I will see you in the next chapter.