? POV: They failed. Just as expected. Those pathetic noobs don't know what they are doing. They don't know the rules of don't trust anyone. Many mortals these days are so foolish. But I must not let this minor problem stop me. I should have never let a group of noobs do the job of someone like me.
But I should not be so wasteful. Everyone is not perfect. But I will make them perfect. All I need to do is start with the right cards. Some low-leveled ones, like the noobish bounty hunters. And a few high-ranked people, to. For example, that other girl. The one who now serves my brother. She is a perfect example. I will confront her later on.
My brother is someone who appears in stories, prophecies and legends more frequently than I. That makes sense. No one does know who I am yet. He always said death and destruction was the way to rule. That is not true. Real strength is having control over your subjects. I am not evil, like he is. I am resourceful. Everyone will understand what I am doing. They feel emotions, have personalities. But all these personalities have corruption in them. When I go into the open, they will fear me. But once I get to them, I can calm their fears. Erase any doubts or problems, and only peace and joy will remain. The corruption and imperfections will be gone. And they will thank me, for bringing them to paradise. No one will feel different.
When one of us dies, we will find the strength to avenge that lost life. We will be endless, and any rebels will be absorbed into our system. Once all problems dissapear, the world will be calm again. No more war. No more pain. Just perfection.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Hack's POV: "This is it, right?" I ask Game, as I beat my highscore on Flappy Chicken on my phone.
Then I hit a green pipe before I can reach 5, and I throw my phone into the ocean in rage. It skims along the surface of the water a couple of times, before hitting a dead squid and sinking back down into the water. Hopefully some fish will be able to find it and feel the same rage I feel.
Game rolls his eyes as he drives. "You think I'm noobish enough to NOT know where my sister's HQ is?"
"Yes, I do, actually".
"Says the one who can't get to 6 on Flappy Bird".
"Dude, just because you've reached 121, it doesn't mean everyone else sucks. That game was tough, OK?"
Game laughs. "Whatever. We're here".
The boat slows down. I can just see the temple below us, despite all the ink.
"Why couldn't we just have set up a checkpoint here so we could teleport?" I ask, as I hop into the ocean.
I put on a mask just in case. I know you can breathe and talk in these waters, but it's more for a hygiene reason. I don't need ink in my lungs.
"I dunno," Game replies as he slowly dips one foot into the sea, "I thought you made this place, don't ask me. My turn to ask a question. Why did she tell us to come here? The deal maker, not my sister. Do we collect the prize here?"
"Just call her Dealer, OK? Even she said so herself! But to answer the question, probably that. Too bad Crash isn't here. I don't know where the Derp she even is. Where is she, the Aether?"
Since the power outage, Crash was nowhere to be seen. I assumed she had just gone to her room, but now I'm not so sure. All my tracking hacks have been hacked. The hacker has becomes the hacked.
Game shrugs. "Well, at least we get more diamonds. Too bad she misses out. The only thing is I'm bad at dividing in thirds".
"Race you!" I unexpectedly shout.
I shove Game backwards and swim away quickly. Game curses, then paddles to catch up.
Even with the head start, he beats me. Game punches me on the forearm and smirks. It doesn't hurt, due to my hacks, and the water slows down the punch, but I still rub the impact zone.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You beat me. GG" I grumble. "Now where is that secret entrance you told me about?"
"You were the one who installed it in the first place, noob! But whatevs, the switch is over there".
Game points to a small lever on the wall of the underwater temple. I swim over to it, and flip it up. Rumbling comes from the wall, and eventually a passageway is revealed, preventing us from having to go through a maze.
"Fancy" Game nods.
I grab on to the wall and pull myself in. I pull out my hand to help Game follow, but he handles it himself.
"I'm not your girlfriend, you don't have to do that!" Game scoffs.
"Well, in a world where we do bad things there is such a small opportunity to have at least a few manners" I mutter. "We're not that evil, it's just our job. Too bad it's always the bad guys who tell us what to do".
Hacking into the Mojang office was a great idea. This was the very first ocean temple. I duplicated the model from the Mojang database and tweaked it, so it's more protective as well as good looking. When 1.8 was released, that meant this place could be hidden more easily, because the outside looks very similar to the other normal underwater temples.
I snap out of my thoughts when Game nudges me.
"You goin' to la-la-land again? You braggin' to the readers?" He says, "Look, you're my brother and I love you heaps but you need to get your head out of that cave or a zombie will come and eat your brain".
"You're not my brother and we don't love each other".
"Whatever".
"But you DO act like you do..." I grin.
"Shut your chat!"
We enter the main part of the temple, the middle of the maze, before we can start a fight. It's just like I last saw it. The pile of gold, prismarine pillars, and the air bubble so it's dry. But then I notice a few changes. Cracks in some places, a bit of blood, arrows sticking out of the ground. The blood looks fresh. The big change, however, is a missing presence of life.
"Hey, where's Aqua?" I ask as I remove my mask.
"I dunno, this place is huge".
Then I notice someone sitting on a block of gold. Twisting a sword in their hands, letting the light reflect off it. Wearing a purple shirt and grey pants, and the too-familiar hood.
The Dealer.
"Hello, miss" Game says, softly but casually. "We're here".
She doesn't pay any attention, not turning her head towards us. She just keeps playing with her sword. I'm about to tell Game to speak louder, but then two blocks of gold from the pile begin to levitate. They slowly float towards where Dealer is, and eventually plop down two blocks in front of her. They look like stools.
"Sit down" Dealer says. Her voice is stern and cold.
"Um..."
"I said sit down!"
Game and I choose a block of gold to sit on very quickly. Dealer stops playing with her sword, and puts it back into her inventory. We sit in awkward silence for a few seconds.
"Hey, I'm sorry about this, but both the default and the Endergirl have escaped. So if you need to lower the price, I'll be fine. At least Aqua's got the others, right? Speaking of Aqua, where is she?" Game breaks the awkwardness. "And Crash, we have no idea what she's doing".
Another silence. Then Dealer speaks.
"James 'Hacker' Evans and Howard 'GameMod' Ford, you both are clueless to everything, despite your special advantages".
How the DERP did she even know our real names?! I do my best to hide the blush on my face. Game looks as if he's trying to cover his shock. Out of all the dealers we've had so far, this one is the most scary. Dealer continues, completely ignorant of our incredulous looks.
"But I must say that both of your sisters have betrayed you. Heather 'CommandCrash' Evans was the one who caused the power outage that resulted in the Endergirl and default escaping. And then the Endergirl convinced Sharon 'Aquarius' Ford to release the rest of the people and escape".
I feel a pang of betrayal in my chest, and I have a feeling Game feels the same way, even if he doesn't show it. It disintegrates when I realise Dealer's showing off.
"Don't worry, Howard. I sense doubt in Sharon" Dealer says.
"So you're saying we failed?" I gulp. "And please stop calling us by our real names".
"Yes, you have failed, Hack".
"So, we don't get the diamonds, don't we? I guess that makes sense" Game shrugs.
"No, you don't," Dealer shakes her head, but then says something that makes me perk up. "But I'm giving you a second chance".
"What?" Game's eyes widen. "We get another chance?"
"Didn't I just say that? Should I send you to the ear doctor?".
Game shrinks in his seat.
"Anyway, what I was saying was I am giving you a second chance. With a fresh new plan. And a fresh new start" Dealer raises a hand before we can speak. "I can make you stronger. More smarter, skilled, faster and more powerful. All you need to do is listen and do as told. That probably won't be a problem once you agree. I can tell all four of you left your old lives, and identities, behind to go bounty hunting. So I'm sure you're familiar with change".
Dealer stands, while we just stay sitting. Suddenly, she swings her arm in one quick motion, as if pushing something. And Game is sent flying. Before he can activate his defences or manoeuvres, he slams into a pillar. It cracks slightly from impact. I stand quickly, but I can only take one step before I feel a strange chill all over my body. I can't move at all, despite all my cheats. Dealer has her arm out, the palm of her hand facing towards me, like someone saying 'stop'. I attempt to move, but I only twitch. Game grimaces, and fires a plasma beam from his bionic arm. Dealer is still focused on me, so the beam will probably hit her, and maybe even kill her. However, she turns her head towards the beam, and uses her other spare hand to deflect it. It bounces and burns part of a wall.
"What even ARE you, some sort of Sith?" Game says.
"That's only part of me, friend" Dealer grins. "But with you, I'll have so much more".
At first I'm confused, but then it dawns on me. I sigh in relief when I realise I can still talk.
"Wait-are you actually going to do what I think you-" I start.
"Yes, I am. Don't worry. You will still live. But then you will remember everything. And once I do this, you will feel like the best thing has ever happened to you".
"What do we have to remember? I have perfectly capable memory that remembers everything since birth" I say. "And my life is good enough already, why should I?"
"You'll find out. Just take that first step towards the right path. I have hurt you now because I want to see if you can trust me. You can either do this the easy way or the hard way" Dealer smiles at me, purely. "You'll feel better the easy way. The hard way may change you completely".
I shake my head slightly, and continue to stare at her.
'Don't trust her, I don't like her' I think to myself. 'Something isn't right about this set up'.
Game hasn't said anything yet. The only thing he's done since getting up from the wall is nod a couple of times. I turn to him, and he looks at me.
"Game," I warn quietly. "Don't do it. This isn't right".
He looks at me, but shakes his head. He starts walking towards Dealer, strangely calm. Dealer pulls out her hand as Game gets closer. All I can do is stand in shock, full of betrayal. Eventually they are face to face. Game looks at her hand, then back at me.
"I'm sorry if I'm abandoning you, man. It's just- I need a new start. Who cares if I lose all my memory, I need this" He says.
Game turns away, back to Dealer. They shake hands. Nothing happens. Then I hear some sort zapping sound. And then my former friend turns to me.
"Dude, you're making a really bad mistake not doing this the easy way!" He says. "Come on, it's fine, you won't get amnesia".
I'm stunned to see my friend like this. He walks up to me. At first, I don't see any changes. But that's when I notice one small change. His eyes are glowing white.
"You want all the bling? Then just do this thing, man! Accept this new deal and we can literally become billionaires! And powerful. Seriously, I feel a lot more better than usual! Come on, it'll be cool! Just you and me, helping craft a better future!" Game exclaims.
"Wait- Crafting a better future?"
"Well, duh! What do you expect? There are some really bad people out there, like the ones that nearly killed me and you and Aqua. We can make them stop being evil! With her, we can change the world and make it way better. They can join us, and they'll understand what mistakes they have made. In fact, the entire world can follow. Be part of history!"
Without any hesitation or warning, I charge towards Game. Before I can get to him, however, Dealer launches a punch at me. But instead of the hard feeling of being hit, an icy cold feeling travels up my spine as her fist goes straight through me. I think this is a good thing, at first. That changes when she pulls her fist out, holding a blueish-coloured orb. And I collapse to the ground, and the world begins goes black as the Void.
Dealer pulls up her hood just a little bit, exposing her eyes. Her glowing white eyes.
"My name is Herabrine, sibling of the infamous Herobrine. And I'm starting a revolution that you will be part of" She says.
And I feel like doing nothing but being obedient and mindless.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
DK's POV: "Are we there yet?" Alex asks for the 12th time, waking me up.
I must have napped longer than I should have, because when I look up the sky is orange-red, with the sun setting to start the night. Also, I'm nearly about to fall off Shadow, Misty's dragon. I quickly sit up. Crash is pale and not looking down. Aqua is laughing at her. Edwin and Allen are teaching other new skills. Icy has her hands in the air, laughing, while Piper is trying not to throw up. Miner and Creep are talking to each other, in some other hissing creeper language. Cheese is playing with his cheeslings, while I wonder how we can all fit onto one dragon.
"No!" Misty rolls her eyes. "Wait- YES!"
I look to where 'there' is. We are flying towards a dense forest, almost a jungle, full of trees of many variety. I've never seen so many different trees in the same biome before.
"Hold on tight, we're landing!" Misty yells.
I feel my ears pop as we slowly begin our descent. At first, I think we're going to land in the trees. I dismiss that thought quickly, Misty isn't noobish. Sure enough, we land on a small clearing, just large enough for Shadow to land perfectly on. Like it was made for that purpose.
I jump off Shadow, and the grass is actually softer than I thought. Like sponge. I double check to make sure it's not actual sponge, then I help Steve carry Alex down. Crash rushes to get on solid land, and starts hugging the ground, ignoring Aqua as she teases. Piper hides behind some bushes and I can hear a heaving sick noise. She comes out, a bit queasy. Cheese starts jumping up and down on the ground while Icy pokes it with a stick. Creep and Miner are still chatting in creeper language, but then I realise they are debating about something. They're laughing, though, so it must not be serious. Edwin and Allen are pretending to be part of Star Wars, using their wands as lightsabers. At one point, Allen programs his wand to act as a real lightsaber, making Edwin jump back, Misty strokes Shadow, then nods to him. He flies away, leaving us here.
"I thought you said we were going to the Nether" I ask Misty.
"I was just being sarcastic" Misty replies. "Hello, Steve. It's been a while".
"You to" Steve replies. "So, we're setting up camp here for the night?"
Misty nods. I have to shout a couple of times to actually get everyone to start making themselves useful. But eventually, we do it. We all have our own mini-tents, there's a campfire, and everyone is back together. Acting as if nothing that happened the last few days even existed. There's only one problem though, we're all starving. I reach into my inventory and smile when I find the right objects.
"Hey guys, please don't try to invade my personal space when I say this, but I have 2 cakes" I say, and everyone intensely stares at me. "One problem though, 13 of us, 12 slices of cake. Someone's going to miss out".
"Draw sticks?" Piper adds.
I dig a little more into my inventory. "Nevermind, you guys can get the cake, I'm going to help myself to some healthy protein-filled fish!" I lay out the cake. "Well, what are you guys waiting for? Let's eat!"
Then the sound everyone eating echoes around the forest (You know, that munching sound you make just intensified). I cover my ears, that was loud enough for anyone to hear.
"Ssshhh! We don't want to attract the monsters!" Icy whispers, but loudly and in a way you would tell a story.
"Or the wolves!" Allen pokes Edwin, who gulps at the mention of wolves, but punches back.
We all laugh, and tell more jokes, but it's been a rough day. We're all tired and a little bit injured. Misty cracks her knuckles and says, "Let's go to bed. Today was a big day for you guys, so it'll probably be the same thing tomorrow".
I nod, and finish the remains of my cooked fish. Then I toss the bones away as I head to my tent, which I share with Icy. It's a blue one, with a red stripe. I take one last glance at the strange terrain around us with the sponge-like dirt and the variety of trees, and then slip into the tent. Icy follows suit, coming in only just as I take off my shoes and tuck myself in.
"You know," I say. "I still don't understand why they wanted us. Hack, Game and formerly Crash and Aqua. Why did they want us?"
"Probably they got paid to. I mean, they ARE bounty hunters, so no doubt they made a deal with someone out there. But that still doesn't answer the question. It just changes who wants us. Why did the guy who recruited them want us? What do we have that they want?" Icy quickly sharpens her sword.
"Who knows? Maybe only a few of us are the real deal, but they might be dragging in anyone involved. I don't know, my mind is too mushy to think about it. Goodnight, Icy".
"Goodnight".
I throw my head onto the pillow of the bed, and I quickly fall asleep. However, I wake up in the middle of the night, and I hear voices outside.
'Ignore them, just your friends refusing to enter their tent or having a bathroom break' I think to myself. 'Go back to sleep'.
But I don't ignore them. So I slowly exit my bed, tie my hair up, and peek through a gap in the tent to where the noise is.
"DK!" I hear Icy whisper behind me. "It's, like 1:00 at night! What are you doing?"
I shush her, and she can tell I'm serious. She, to, tries to take a look.
Crash and Aqua are outside, next to the dying fire, arguing. They are whispering, but I can tell they are having problems keeping their voices down. I can't hear anything they're saying, though. It's too unclear and rushed. I'm about to step out into the cold open and ask what they are doing, when Aqua snaps her fingers, causing Crash to pass out. Icy and I look at each other, wide eyed. We make a dash to leave the tent, but Aqua sees us immediately. Icy's feet are frozen in place as soon as she leaves. She rolls her eyes and groans.
"Aqua, what are you doing?" I hiss. "You're going to wake everyone up if you don't tell me what's going on".
"Mind your own business. This is something I have to to, OK? So be a good endergirl and go back to your tent. And... You know what they say... Or else!" Aqua says.
I'm about to reply, but that's when I notice her voice is a little bit in monotone. Like a robot. Not like her normal voice. That makes what she just said not as frightening.
"What are you DOING?" I ask again.
"I'm trying to bring family back together. Thank you for everything, but if we're being betrayed, that means we need to help Game and Hack, to".
I roll my eyes.
'Their real names'
What was that?
'I know their real names'
Since when did I think that?
The words shoot out of my mouth; I didn't mean to say them, but at the same time I did.
"Sharon Ford!" I randomly say.
Aqua stares at me, well, not in my eyes.
"What did you say?" She says, intense.
"That's your name, isn't it? And Crash, she's Heather Evans. Your brother and Hack, Howard and James. Those are your real names" I reply, slightly confused how I can sound so sure. Maybe it's that gut feeling that everyone talks about.
Aqua, aka Sharon, hesitates before speaking.
"Yes, they are. But we left those names behind, making them have no meaning. And just saying, good luck to you guys".
Without warning, she charges at me and punches me in the jaw. I fall to the ground. Ow.
"Wow, you're harder to knock out than I thought with just your fists. Oh well, I'll leave you like this so I have one less reason to brag about. That's a good thing for you, right?" Sharon rubs her hand, steals one of Crash's command blocks, and with that they are gone.
Icy is now out of range from Sharon. She can now move. Icy stares at me, and rushes over. I play with my jaw, making sure it's still in place. That was a tough blow, for someone who only uses her eyes. I will put that in the 3rd spot in my top ten hits to my face.
"Did you hear all of that?" I ask Icy, as she hands me some packed ice wrapped in wool. She nods.
"Those are nice names. But Aqua- I mean, Sharon- Betrayed us" Icy sighs. "Not really betrayed, she just went her own way".
"Let's stay on guard tomorrow, in case her way involves warning James and Howard".
Edwin and Allen appear from their tent.
"Dude, I heard some crazy noises out here! I swear!" Allen says to Edwin, then looks at us and says, "Oh Notch".
"Yeah yeah, and I'm just the toothfairy" Edwin jokes, but becomes serious when he realises Allen is right. "What just happened out here?"
"Aqua just got away with Crash. And now we know their real names. Aqua is Sharon, Crash is Heather, Hack is James and Game is Howard. But I don't understand how DK knew" Icy shrugs as if it were no big deal.
But it is a big deal. How did I know who they actually were?
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
So, yeah. I'm updating this at 9:00 in the morning which is not actually that early. So we now have a plot twist with Aqua, Sharon, whatever you want to call her is still a bad guy!
DK: Take me to the nurse!
Sharon: I punched her in real life instead of acting!
Me: That's what you're supposed to do! Whatever, take her to the hospital. Anyway, happy new year! Not yet, but soon! But that's only true on the day I'm writing this. Soon it'll be new year, then Easter, then...
You know what I mean. Keep calm and Mine on!