Hey ya'll, it's Ender! I hope you're having a great day and I hope to make it even better with this new chapter! 2,630 words this chapter. NOTE: I don't own Minecraft, Mianite, any YouTubers mentioned, and really, I don't own anything except this story.
Review Replies up top because I wanted them to be.
MyBrokenHeart123: Aw, don't be like that! Some Mianite characters will be returning in the new story! ...And get killed off in the same chapter that they were introduced in... XD
ironhideandratchet4ever: Nah, it'll be fine! ;)
OstrichLord4Lyfe: Maybe I will! It's more of an 'update-when-I-feel-like-it' sort of thing though - not an actually 'serious' story. And I dropped Diamond a few hints about this chapter previously so that's why she wants to see it so badly!
RusYRP: Thank you! And about the sax - I tried to play it the next day but failed miserably. XD So much for that!
DiamondScribe: Naw, you won't need to do it. Just embrace it. Let it carry you away like an ocean wave... the ocean of tears. I don't know. I'm just being random at this point.
IaniteTC: What, you mean you're not going to stick around for 'Amulet'? ;) There's going to be even more YouTubers and even more fun!
Chapter 7
"Now User, if you want to defend yourself against the dragon, you need to be brave enough to fight and not fall into a flashback," Syndicate pulled an iron sword out of a chest and tossed it over to User, who just barely managed to catch it before it smacked into him. User stared at Syndicate in mild shock, fear beginning to creep into his heart.
"Wha – what?" User stuttered, hesitant to fight anyone or anything. Syndicate frowned at him before grabbing another iron sword for himself.
"Listen User, I know you've been through a lot. I know it's hard for you to cause or see death. But that's what makes this all the more urgent," Syndicate stared at User. "That dragon is out to kill. He will not hesitate to rip you apart if you can't fight back."
User shuddered and tried to back away from Syndicate as the mortal walked towards him. Syndicate grabbed his arm and tilted his head with a slight smirk.
"Where do you think you're going?" He asked lightly. "It's time to train. You need to become a fighter, not a 'fraidy-cat. And the only way to do that is practicing with a sword. Trust me; you'll get braver over time."
"You really think so?" User snorted, doubtful. "You really think it will be so easy for me to – to shove my memories aside?"
"Not easy – but I know you can do it," Syndicate smiled confidently. "You're stronger than you seem User, I know you are. Others might not see it. They might think you've been broken for good. But one of my favourite quotes has always been 'Count the garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall. Count your life with the smiles and not the tears that roll.' That's what gives me hope when I most need it. I know you can get past this, User. I believe in you."
User smiled gratefully at Syndicate, and didn't protest as the mortal led him out of the armoury, iron sword in hand. He followed close behind, ascending the stone brick staircase and tiptoeing quietly past Twisted, who was passed out on Syndicate's kitchen table, exhausted. Almost immediately after he had gotten back and passed on the news about the dragon to Syndicate and User, he left to go work on some strong fortifications for the other mortal's houses. Even now, a day later, he was still tired. Building with powerful magic had always drained his energy quicker than the others in the FyreUK group – mainly because he wasn't a full wizard.
"Do not tickle the sleeping beast," Syndicate whispered to User as they passed Twisted, grabbing a rucksack that was seemingly filled with supplies and lying at the door. "If thou should tickle and awaken him, I would have to fear the worst for you, my friend."
User had to stifle a snort of laughter and continued to follow Syndicate as they left his house and ventured off to the 'training grounds.' It seemed to be far away in the desert, well past the Coliseum and even Dine-at-Nite.
Finally, Syndicate stopped near a desert temple, the old sandstone structure looking as though it would crumble at any given second. User felt a twinge of unease, but thankfully Syndicate didn't venture inside the ancient temple, instead dropping his rucksack next to the structure.
"Now," Syndicate whirled to face User, brandishing his sword. User stepped back and away from the sharp blade, heart pounding in fear. Syndicate frowned at User's negative reaction before shrugging it off.
"First lesson of bravery in battle – you have two seconds or less to think of a plan which involves your strategy for the next five minutes of fighting because that's probably how long it will be before you have a chance to make your next plan," Syndicate explained quickly, leaving User's head in a whirl. The wizard nodded, getting the gist of what Syndicate was trying to get across. "Now, I'm going to be lenient and give you five seconds to think of a plan before I attack you. Go."
User tried desperately to concentrate on formulating a plan but all he could think about was what would happen if Syndicate's sword accidentally slipped… if the shining iron blade just sunk deep into User's chest… if the world faded around him before Syndicate could even call for help…
With a ferocious battle cry, Syndicate leapt forwards, surprising User out of his terrified trance. Desperate, User parried Syndicate's sword with shaking hands, barely managing to hold on to his own blade as Syndicate performed a fancy maneuver that nearly knocked User's sword away. He tried to make his own attack against Syndicate, but his strikes were clumsy and poorly aimed.
"Enough!" Syndicate demanded, barely winded. However, User, even after such a brief session, was panting for breath, the exhaustion from very little sleep and the lack of proper nourishment from not eating enough finally catching up to him. "User, you weren't even thinking about a strategy were you? You were thinking about death in battle. You've got to stop that," Syndicate didn't sound angry as much as just disappointed. "Stop living in the past. Focus on the present. You have to live your life, not dwell on it. Remember: life's too short – make the most of it. Now let's try again, and this time, concentrate."
Syndicate and User trained for a few more hours and User found that even though he was completely exhausted and his muscles were aching, he was improving rapidly with his sword skills. He wasn't even thinking about death anymore – he was just focused on beating Syndicate, who had hardly let User take a break yet remained as fresh and alert as ever himself.
"Alright," Syndicate slipped his sword back into its sheath as User failed for the umpteenth time to disarm the mortal. User was trembling slightly, but it wasn't from fear or panic this time – it was from adrenaline and excitement. "Let's move onto bows. You look about ready to collapse, User. But I would assume that you are very good with bows since you go hunting and all."
"I'm alright," User shrugged. "I taught Ryley a couple tricks a few years back, but I haven't actually gone hunting in quite a few months now. Not since before the whole incident with Dec and me."
"Well it's time to get back into the swing of things with the bow then," Syndicate cautiously padded into the desert temple and reemerged a few seconds later, holding two bows and several quivers of arrows. He tossed a bow and quiver over to User, who was able to catch them much more smoothly than his fumble with the sword. User immediately slung the quiver over his shoulder, the familiar weight providing a sense of comfort, as did the gleam of polished flint and the pine-sap smell from the stick.
"I've got a couple apples here," Syndicate dug through his rucksack until he found some of the rounded red fruit. "Throw and shoot technique, let's try that for starters okay?" User nodded and nocked and arrow, keeping his eyes trained on the apple in Syndicate's hand.
Syndicate took a deep breath and tossed the apple high up into the air, watching it with gleaming black eyes. User narrowed his eyes and drew back his bow, and with one swift motion, shot the apple dead center at the peak of its toss, sending apple juice splattering into the sky. The apple fell to the ground, the feathery end of the arrow sticking out of the fruit.
Syndicate stared at the apple in shock and amazement. "You call yourself 'alright'?" He breathed. "That was insane! How were you even able to make that shot?"
"Practice," User shrugged, feeling a bit of pride. "If I wanted to, I could probably hit a squirrel dead center between the eyes from thirty meters away. I've done it before."
Syndicate opened his mouth to say something else, but was drowned out by an earth-shaking roar. User flinched, jumping back as he jerked his head around, trying to find where the noise had come from.
There. There it was. The dragon that Tucker had told everyone about, silhouetted against the golden afternoon sun. There was no doubt about it – this dragon was not normal. For one, it was at least twice the size of a regular Ender dragon, and for another, its path was straight and unwavering, incredibly different from an Ender dragon's wayward route.
The dragon sped towards Syndicate and User, its mouth half open and its dark purple eyes burning with the fire of hate. It swooped low to the ground and opened it's dark maw just a little wider. User's eyes grew terrified as he realized what the dragon was about to do.
"Move!" He screeched, barging into Syndicate, who was frozen in terror, and knocking him out of the way just as the dragon breathed a blast of white-hot flame at them. Syndicate seemed startled into action and scrambled to his feet, drawing his iron sword. User readied his bow and swallowed down with terror. At least if the dragon were to kill him, he would die with honour this time.
User knew that just him and Syndicate, one armed with an unenchanted bow and the other armed with a simple iron sword, would not be able to take down this monster. It was a hopeless fight. But they had to try. They had to for the sake of everyone in the Overworld.
Syndicate charged forwards without hesitation, screaming out a furious battle cry. The dragon whipped its head around to glare at Syndicate baring its fangs threateningly. User saw his chance and shot an arrow at the dragon, hoping that the projectile would at least be able to pierce its thick hide. Instead, his hopes were dashed as the arrow shattered on impact against the dragon's hard scales.
At least it was enough to turn the dragon's attention away from Syndicate, and it focused on User. It was about to shoot more deadly fire at User before Syndicate gave a mighty leap and clambered up the dragon's flank like it was no problem. The dragon snarled and jerked around, trying to throw Syndicate from its back. Syndicate managed to hold on, and with a cat-like agility, sprinted up the dragon's weaving neck and crouched on the mighty beast's head. The dragon roared in anger, but before it could even shoot fire, Syndicate had buried his sword deep in one of the dragon's glowing purple eyes. The dragon howled in agony and thrashed around, rearing up to try and get Syndicate off.
That's when User saw it.
The chink in the armour.
Right on the dragon's underbelly, there was a scale that was slightly off, leaving just a bit of exposed flesh. It was small, yes, but big enough for a well-placed arrow to slip through.
Syndicate suddenly screamed and User's attention was thrown back to the battle of life and death with the mortal and the dragon. User's heart caught in his throat as he saw what had happened.
The dragon had Syndicate held tightly in one paw, its silver claws wrapped tightly around the zombie-man. It growled, staring at User and ignoring Syndicate's futile struggles.
"This mortal will be the first of many," The dragon snarled, its voice deep and masculine. "Better say goodbye, wizard. Your time is up."
And just like that, the dragon forcefully tossed Syndicate at the desert temple, sending him crashing through the weak sandstone supports. Time seemed to slow down as the stone crumbled, and with a horrible groaning sound, collapsed…
Right on top of Syndicate.
User heard a scream, though at that moment, he didn't know if it was from him or Syndicate. Ignoring the dragon, who was laughing cruelly, User ran to the collapsed temple, now just a pile of sandy ruins.
"Tom!" User cried, calling the mortal by his first name in desperation. He spotted a bit of blood behind one of the pillars and ran over, tears blurring his eyes and catching in his throat.
There lay Syndicate, utterly crushed and broken under the crumbled pillar. There was a thin stream of blood trickling from his mouth and he was limp, every single bone in his body shattered from the impact alone. He opened his eyes slowly as User drew closer to him and stared at the wizard, pain glistening in his dark eyes.
"User?" Syndicate whispered, his voice weak. "You… have to kill the dragon…"
"No," User begged, tears starting to stream down his cheeks. He fell to his knees next to Syndicate and gently took the mortal's bloodied hand. His body was almost completely covered by the collapsed column and User knew that no one could save Syndicate from death – not even a god. "I – I can't without you."
"You have to," Syndicate breathed. His eyes fluttered and he appeared to be struggling to not let them close. "Please… User… remember... make - make the most of life…"
Syndicate's voice faded away and his eyes dimmed, clouded over with the shadow of death. User sobbed, letting himself grieve – grieve for the only friend he had ever told about the horrors he had seen in the land of the dead.
The dragon roared again outside and User felt a steely determination fill his heart. Syndicate was dead because of this monster. He couldn't let anyone else be hurt or killed because of this horrible beast.
Shaking slightly from rage and sorrow, User picked up his fallen bow. He slowly drew an arrow out of his quiver, knowing that he would only get one chance at this. Taking a deep breath, User realized that he didn't feel any exhaustion. He didn't feel any adrenaline. He only felt a burning determination to avenge Syndicate's death.
And if he was killed as well, then he was going to take that bitch-ass dragon down with him.
"Hey! Stupid-scale!" User cried, darting out into the open. The dragon roared furiously and swung around to face User, lifting up slightly into the air, his wings pounding heavily against the hot breeze. User readied his bow and fixed his eyes on the chink in the armour. This was it. This was the final battle.
"Come and get me, you hideous beast!" User roared, and as the dragon swooped overhead, exposing the weak spot on its underbelly, User let the arrow fly.
It hit its mark perfectly, embedding itself deep into the dragon's hide. The dragon screamed, a horrible screeching noise filled with agony, surprise, and a sense of doom. The dragon flew higher up into the air and User collapsed to his knees on the sand, watching the dragon's unsteady flight with dull, unfocused eyes.
Then the dragon grew limp. Its wings stopped beating and it almost seemed to hover for a second. Then the dragon slowly fell, tumbling down to the ground in a mass of black scales and leathery wings, gaining momentum with every passing meter.
3… User counted the seconds. He was directly under the falling dragon.
2… User collapsed onto his back, bracing himself for the impact.
1… User closed his eyes as the dragon landed directly on top of him, crushing his body under several tons of scaly dragon carcass.
0.
TOMMMMMMMM! USERRRRRRRR! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! *sobs*
Random Observation: So yeah, I kind of tossed aside that whole 'between 1,000 and 2,000 words' rule - but I wouldn't split this chapter for anything in the world!