"You!" Sjin cried. He quickly drew his diamond sword. Kim and the others did the same. Rythian held his Thaumium sword in front of him, and Duncan powered up his mining laser.
"You've found this place, and uncovered my secrets. Good job," Strawfingers said almost lazily. Sjin narrowed his eyes. Why wasn't the bastard worried?
"Your reward, death." Strawfingers pulled out a remote control. Sjin's eyes widened in horror.
Too many things happened at once.
"Hurry! Someone get that remote control!" Duncan shouted.
Rythian ran to Strawfingers and attempted to tackle him. The scarecrow leaped back with unnatural speed and chuckled softly as Rythian hit the ground, hard.
"Goddammit… that guy is fast…" Rythian muttered.
Sjin charged towards Strawfingers. The scarecrow jumped away from Sjin too, but this time, Kim was waiting for him.
Kim elbowed the scarecrow in the face and tackled him to the ground. Strawfingers fell to the ground and skidded a few feet back. He recovered as quick as lightning and dodged a swing from Kim's sword.
Strawfingers drew his own sword and met Kim in combat. Steel clashed against diamond, and the clang of metal echoed around the cavern.
Duncan trained his mining laser on the two, but he was hesitant to fire; he might hit Kim. Rythian was standing on the sidelines, his face screwed up tight in concentration. Sjin knew that he was using his magic to protect Kim, but he didn't know how much of it would help since Rythian's magic was still so weak.
The farmer drew his own sword and tried to enter the battle that engulfed the apprentice and the scarecrow, but Kim shouted, "Don't interfere, Sjin! This is between me and him!"'
"But-!" Sjin sighed and stepped back, obeying Kim's wishes. He understood. Kim wanted to get back at Strawfingers for using her. But Strawfingers was a very experienced fighter. What would happen if Kim couldn't keep up with him?
xxXxxXxx
It was minutes into Kim and Strawfinger's duel, and no one had landed a blow yet. Kim was holding up quite well, in her opinion. Strawfingers was strong and fast, but Kim was small and could duck around him easily, avoiding his attacks. But she was getting tired, but Strawfingers showed no sign of fatigue. She didn't know how long she would last.
The scarecrow swung at her head and followed up with a low kick in the same direction. Kim ducked, but Strawfinger's kick swept her off her feet. She collapsed to the ground, but her armor cushioned most of the damage. Still, it was more than enough to allow the scarecrow get the upper hand. Strawfingers pinned her to the ground with a foot and towered over her. He smiled wickedly and raised his sword. The steel gleamed evilly in the torchlight.
No!
Kim scanned the cavern quickly, and her eyes landed on Duncan's hand. He had lowered his mining laser during their battle and was holding the forcefield button in his hand. They were inside the forcefield range. Kim suddenly knew what she had to do.
She threw her sword at Duncan's hand. The blade shot through the air and the point pierced the red button, pressing it down. Before Strawfingers could react, the forcefield activated and encased the two in an impenetrable circle of blue energy. Next to Kim, the nukes started the countdown.
10.
"NO!" Strawfingers screamed. He turned all attention away from Kim and ran next to the nukes, trying everything in his power to stop them from blowing. He only made it worse, and the countdown sped up.
5.
"Strawfingers, you are not getting away this time!" Kim shouted. She leaped up and tackled Strawfingers to the ground. The scarecrow's head hit the ground first, rendering him unconscious. Kim winced as warm blood splattered on her face.
4.
3.
Time seemed to slow down for her. The forcefield muffled the voices of her friends outside, but she could tell that they were frightened for her from their panicked voices.
2.
She locked eyes with Sjin for a second. Those blue eyes of him only showed concern, worry and fear. It was odd. They felt the things she should've been feeling, yet she didn't feel them. Instead, she felt content, even a little bit peaceful, in spite of her grave situation.
1.
Kim looked at Sjin for a second and felt a twinge of sadness. She was sad that she had to leave so soon. She was looking forward to the new adventures they would've gone on. But it was okay. She would be in a better place soon, and Sjin would move on. He would be strong, she knew it.
0.
"Bye, Sjin," Kim whispered as darkness engulfed her.
xxXxxXxx
Kim opened her eyes. She was floating in a world of black. Strawfingers was nowhere to be seen. Her friends weren't there either.
"Where am I?" She wondered aloud.
A voice spoke in her head. It had a calming tone to it. You are in the Void.
The what? She asked.
The Void. The fabric of space that spirits enter when they die. The voice explained patiently.
The Void? What do I do here? Do I stay here forever? Kim thought. It would be quite boring, really.
No, you are not staying here. The voice said. Notch gave you a second chance. You are going back. Back where you first started.
Immediately, Kim's vision started blurring, and she succumbed under the overwhelming feeling of weariness. Before she lost full consciousness, she released one last thought.
Thank you.
xxXxxXxx
Sjin looked at the bright blue sky morosely. Kim had left the face of Tekkitopia the other night, and he couldn't get his mind off of her for one second. Even though his farm was saved, Kim's sacrifice seemed very unnecessary if Strawfingers wasn't in the equation. He hated the scarecrow's guts to the core of his being, but had to content himself with the fact that the scarecrow was no more. Kim made sure of that.
As he worked, his mind wandered off to other thoughts, but most of them centered on Kim. There were so many things he could have taught her.
Rythian and Duncan left in the morning after comforting him all night. It seemed the three had fully forgiven each other, but Kim's absence didn't need to ensure that. He thought of the parting words the three exchanged before leaving.
"Kim will come back, Sjin. It'll be okay," Rythian assured him.
"See you later, mate." Duncan smiled.
Sjin waved goodbye to the mage and scientist. "Stay safe. I'll do my best to forget."
Forgetting. Sjin could never forget. But who could blame him? He saw his apprentice get blown up by nukes, and he couldn't do anything about it. Those two survived in that tower, through thick and thin and forged an iron strong friendship.
That tower… the only thing that reminded him of Strawfingers. Anger invaded his mind, and before he knew it, the farmer grabbed several bundles of dynamite from the chests and headed to the Nether Portal, intending to blow it up.
Sjin walked through the Portal, preparing himself for the dizzying journey through the two dimensions.
xxXxxXxx
Kim woke up from what felt like a restful night's sleep, something she didn't have in quite some time. She yawned, rubbed her eyes and looked around. She was on the roof of Strawfinger's tower again, lying next to the same fencepost she was on when she first met Sjin.
A clear string of curses flowed through her ears, and what she could decipher from it, most of it was directed to her deceased scarecrow friend. She was still half-asleep, so she was quite confused as to why someone in the Nether would go around cursing Strawfinger's name. A wave of drowsiness erupted within her, and a loud yawn escaped her mouth. Her eyes watered up slightly, and she quickly wiped away the tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes.
The string of cursers stopped suddenly, as if the speaker had heard Kim's loud yawn. Hurried, loud footsteps reached Kim's ears, but not before Sjin reached the roof of the tower, holding a bundle of TNT under his arm.
Kim swore that her face showed as much surprise as Sjin's did. For a few seconds, the two just stared at each other, jaws agape. As much as Sjin's presence surprised her, what surprised her more was that the man had the nerve to run over and hug her.
"Sjin! Get off me!" Kim gasped. The farmer had hugged her so tightly that he was cutting off her air supply.
Sjin released Kim from the hug and smiled sheepishly. "Heh… sorry Kim. I'm just so happy you're back!"
Kim beamed up at him. "I am back, thanks! It wasn't fun, getting blown up, but when I was in the Void, the voice said that Notch gave me a second chance. Isn't that crazy?"
Sjin smiled back at her and scratched his beard. "Yeah, that is pretty cool." Having died several times, he knew exactly what she meant. "You should go talk to Ridgedog later and let him give you the power to respawn. That way you can die and come back every time, yeah?"
Kim nodded eagerly and looked down at the block of TNT Sjin had by his side. "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Huh? This? Oh, I was just going to blow up the tower. Do you want to do the honors?" Sjin grinned.
"I would love to! We can slowly walk away from the explosion and look really cool and all that!"
Sjin chuckled at the idea. "Ha ha, that'll be something. Okay then, let's go." He dropped the last chunks of TNT, and the two friends climbed down the stairs and out of the tower. Sjin gave Kim a piece of flint and some iron. She struck the two together, and lit the fuse for the nearest stick of dynamite.
The farmer and the apprentice walked away just as the tower exploded behind them, tearing the Nether brick and cobblestone apart. Kim could hear the flames crackling loudly, eating up the rest of the debris.
"That was pretty brave of you, ya know, sacrificing yourself for everyone," Sjin commented.
"It isn't that big of a deal," Kim shrugged. "I'm just glad that nothing really bad happened in the end."
Sjin nodded silently, and the two wordlessly passed through the Portal.
"Hey, now our job is done here, what do we do now?" Kim asked Sjin.
"Well, I still need to prepare my Sjindig, and we have to teach you a few more things about farming. I think… it should take us about another week, and then we can have the Sjindig and invite everyone over!"
"Can I help you? I know quite a lot about farming now." Kim raised her eyebrow at Sjin. She didn't know why, but the farmer laughed.
"Of course you can, Kim."
A/N: So sorry for the long delay, school, writer's block, and everything kept me from writing this chapter! This story is finally over! Thanks to everyone who read it, reviewed, followed and favorited! It means so much to me! The next story I'm planning was hinted in this chapter, so if you think you know what it was, drop a review with your guess! Phew, this is finally done!
Havs, out!