The Blaze flicked its head around at the sound of us charging towards it. It launched itself into the air, floating towards us almost lazily. The skin around where its mouth should have been tore open grotesquely and its cheeks bulged, spitting out a ball of flames at us with a raspy roar. I jumped out of the way and two more followed, missing us by inches. I grabbed the knife from my belt and sent it whizzing through the air towards it, lodging itself in the side of its head. Miraculously, it didn't die, but it brought it thudding back to the ground. It shook itself like a dog and picked itself up. I ran at it, plunging my sword into its head.
It dissolved, the smoke disappearing, leaving behind several Blaze rods. I cautiously tapped one with my sword, then prodded one with a finger, but it had cooled down quickly and was now only warm. We each put a couple in our backpacks, but we needed more. Waiting by the spawner, we saw the remains of the Blaze lift off the ground, divide into three sections, and float towards the Spawning Cage in three streams of glittering orange. As we watched, they entered the Spawning Cage and formed into three black shapes that looked suspiciously like...
"Bill... How many Blazes can be made at one time?" I asked him in a quavering voice. He swallowed audibly.
"It can be anything from one... to three..." he responded quietly. I re-gripped my sword.
"I vote we back away... slowly," I said under my breath. We looked at each other, turned and raced at breakneck speed for the stairs.
Just as we got to the top, we turned around and saw a Blaze being spawned. It was quickly followed by its brothers and they milled about with no apparent purpose, as they had not seen us yet.
"It's getting late," Bill commented. "I vote we call it a night and stay here for a while." Chris and I agreed, and we all dropped our bags. Bill took some matches and the envelope, took out the note and set them alight at the back of the room - they were coated in some sort of shiny varnish, protecting them, which burned slowly and effectively. He positioned the Nether Wart over the flames to slowly roast and sat by the entrance, being certain that the Blazes could not see him.
"They'll be done soon," he commented. We nodded and I sat with my back against the wall, far away from the flames - I had no need of extra heat in that sauna-like place. We sat in companionable silence until the mushrooms turned golden brown, then hungrily gobbled down our meagre portions.
The Nether Wart was nothing like I expected. It was sweet and sharp, juicy like meat and smooth-textured. The wide caps served as a greater meal than they appeared, and by the time I had finished my meal I was full and sleepy. Bill offered to take first watch, and I simply fell asleep where I sat. I slept deeply until Chris woke me in the morning. I woke up refreshed and energetic, ready for whatever the day might hold. Bill had wisely held back half the mushrooms for the morning, and the thick flesh of the vegetable left a surprisingly good mood in me, considering where we were.
After replenishing our energy with the meal, we decided to try again at getting blaze rods. Picking up our swords, we cautiously walked down the stairs. The Blazes ignored us until we were two thirds of the way down, then the head of one flicked around to stare at me. It made one of its rasping noises and the others turned to look at us. As if they were one organism, they rose into the air and flew towards us in a perfect triangle.
Chris tossed his knife at the closest one. It hit it on the side of the head and the momentum spun it around and sent it back to the ground. The other two shot their triplet of attacks at us. Chris successfully dodged them; Bill escaped with nothing more than mild burns; but I received worse injuries. A ball of fire the size of a small apple smashed into the rock beside my leg. I barely felt the pain, I was so filled with adrenaline, and I ran forward, limping. The Blaze flitted down to my level, and I embedded my sword in its head. It screeched and exploded in a flurry of orange dust. The other two flew back, regenerating their strength. I took the opportunity to shove some more Blaze rods into my backpack and grabbed Chris's arm.
"We need to get inside! They're out of reach when they fly up, it's our only chance!" Chris nodded and I yelled for Bill to follow. Leading the way, I flew across the bridge and inside the cliff face, flinging myself around the corner before turning back, expecting my friends to appear. Chris rocketed into the wall, flattening himself against it next to me out of sight of the Blazes. Agitated, I demanded to know where Bill was. Chris shook his head sadly.
"He stayed behind to hold them off," he replied.
"What?" I screeched, starting towards the bridge. Chris followed behind me.
Bill was on his knees on the floor, the Blazes at his back. He scrambled across the smooth rock, but to no avail – the Blazes were too close to escape from. One of them flew forward to make the killing blow, and the other flitted back to watch the gruesome spectacle. The front Blaze looked down almost reflectively, and its rods swirled faster than usual. It launched itself into the air, about to attack.
"We can't help him!" cried Chris, tugging on my arm. "We have to move – now!" I tore my eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of me and turned, rounding the corner to be immediately presented with another problem. A quick glance around the short tunnel revealed no further openings – we were trapped.
I threw myself at the rock, trying desperately to find a seam, a crack, a loose brick – anything we could use to escape. But the wall was unrelenting, and I heard the Blazes closing in. Two attacks thudded into the wall near us, hissing. Another quickly followed, and melted a hole in the floor. Chris poked his head around the corner. His eyes widened almost comically, and he ducked back around just as the next one whizzed barely an inch past his head.
"Together?" I asked him grimly.
"Together," he replied, raising his sword. I charged around the corner, my sword firmly gripped in my hand. One of the Blazes shot a fireball at me and I reacted instinctively, batting it away with my sword. It melted partially, leaving the bottom half of one edge blunt and useless. I flipped it over in my hand and shoved it up into the cloud of smoke and firmly into the monster's head. It screamed and exploded. I reached down and slipped the dagger Chris had thrown into my pocket. Turning away from its glowing remains, I smashed my way through the swirling rods of the Blaze attacking Chris and sliced open its head. It dissolved and I stood over its ashes, panting.
Suddenly, pain shot through my head as something hard slammed into it. Caught off guard, I was knocked to my knees. Before I could react, it hit me again, knocking me flat. A red haze came over my vision as I struggled to call out, to cry for help. I searched my field of vision frantically, looking for my attacker, making nothing but small wheezing noises.
Chris knelt beside me, his mouth set in a grim line.
"Chri... Chris..." I tried to get him to understand that we were under attack, but he seemed oblivious to the threat. I pushed myself to my knees, shaking and leaning against the wall. Chris looked at the entrance and shoved me down again. A lone Blaze was floating about the bridge, looking at us inquisitively. It sent a fireball at us, but missed and hit the bridge supports.
They were already thin and weak from the intense heat, and the fireball was the last straw. With a shuddering groan, the bridge collapsed, sending the entire complex crashing into the abyss. The Blaze spawner disappeared, along with the Blaze.
My head was ringing from the hit. Through the roaring in my ears, I heard a peculiar sound. It sounded like someone laughing. I looked around the room, sending searing stabs of pain through my neck, and saw nothing. Until my eyes landed on Chris, that was.
He was quite clearly trying to stop himself laughing. He hiccupped a little and stopped, finally, a small smirk turning up the corners of his lips. His hearty chuckling at a time like this was thoroughly unnerving, and I found myself drawing back from him.
"Stay down," he instructed me. I shook my head, pushing myself up to my knees again, then to my feet, leaning on the wall for support.
"I said," he said, his voice turning to a snarl, "Stay down!" He raised his sword and brought the hilt hard down on my temple. The pain blinded me, turning my vision to a red oblivion. I felt myself hit the floor. Darkness tugged at me and I almost lost consciousness, but managed to hang on to reality.
It felt like I had a ton of lead on my back, but I managed to prop myself against the wall, gasping for breath. Chris frowned.
"I put a lot of effort into that hit. The least you could do is faint," he grumbled.
"What... are you... doing?" I wheezed. Chris laughed again.
"You really haven't figured it out?" he asked me. When I didn't reply, he sighed.
"I knew you weren't the cleverest, but I thought you would have worked it out by now. I mean, there are not many reasons for me to attack you. Zoey figured it out early on, but unfortunately the Pigmen got her. I wonder why. And then Bill. Taken by the Blazes. So tragic..." The pieces were falling into place, but in my befuddled state of mind I struggled to make sense of them.
"You... did you...?" I asked weakly. He nodded, a huge smile on his face.
"The Council said not to bother with them, that they would die in the Nether anyway. They were wrong – Bill may be a decrepit old man, but he knows his way around a weapon."
"The Council? What have they got to do with this? What do you mean?" I snapped, managing to keep the truth from my mind.
"I killed them, Mike. Bill and Zoey. Others, too, before. All on the Council's orders. They rewarded me handsomely, of course," said Chris, tossing his sword from hand to hand as if chatting about an everyday occurrence. I gasped in shock.
"You what?" I yelled. I struggled to my feet, pain almost sending me back down. I raised my sword and charged at him, blind rage taking over. His expression changed and he brought his sword up to parry my blow. It reminded me, in a second of madness, of the sparring we had enjoyed when training – only much more real, and much more deadly. I attacked wildly, seeking not to kill – I might need him later – only to injure him. He was clearly jarred by my sudden recovery, but I had suffered many injuries and concussions over the years. I was used to it. I sliced at his chest and he threw himself backwards to avoid it, but overbalanced and fell back onto the hard stone floor. The breath was knocked out of him and in the moment it took him to regain it, I had my sword pressed into his throat.
Cold rage took me over. I gradually applied pressure, slowly but surely. He murmured something that made me freeze in horror.
"Such a shame, about Firenze," he said quietly.
"Shut up," I told him.
"He was brave, I'll give you that. It took a lot of pain to break him." My heart skipped a beat.
"What are you talking about?" I snapped, though I already knew. The bruises. The cuts and gouges on his arms and face. Firenze...
"Of course, he didn't want to tell me. But I have my ways," said Chris, smiling surprisingly comfortably considering he was lying on the floor with a sword to his throat. "A bit of truth serum, a lot of torture, and he was singing like a bird. Screaming like one, too. I barely got past the bone breaking before he started. Honestly, I thought he would have been braver than that. And you really should be more careful. You never know who's following you..."
"Shut up!" I yelled. "Shut up!" I stumbled backwards, shell-shocked by what I was hearing. Chris grinned and jumped up. He had attempted to jolt me, to shock me out of my murderous rage, and succeeded. I was unhinged completely. A memory of Firenze – late afternoon on the dock, his rich clothes glowing in the setting sun, laughing at one of my terrible jokes – flooded into my mind, pricking my eyes with tears. I fought to remain in control. I had to. I would die if I didn't.
At that moment, Death seemed attractive. To be with the ones I loved again. Firenze. Friends who had died in the mines. My parents. My sister. I shook my head clear of those thoughts, not wanting to consider it, and focused on the present. Chris retrieved his sword from where he had dropped it and approached me at a leisurely pace, bringing back his sword to plunge it into my stomach. I slipped the dagger out of my pocket. Any doubts I would have had were instantly quelled by my anger for Firenze – no, anger is not the right word. It was an all-consuming rage. Even if I had wanted to stop, I couldn't.
Just as he gripped my shoulder to thrust his sword into me, my head snapped up and I sank the blade of the dagger inbetween his shoulder blades. His expression turned to one of the utmost shock. His sword clattered to the floor and he took two steps backwards... straight over the edge of the broken bridge.
He didn't have time to scream.
I kicked his sword over the edge. I was emotionless. A zombie. Almost on autopilot, I double checked the room – no exits. But as I turned around, I spotted an irregularity on the wall. I crossed the room and examined it – a small hexagonal hole, shallow and unassuming. I bent over to look closer, and something fell out from the collar of my shirt.
It was the amulet Firenze's housekeeper had given me. It seemed to float away from me, restricted by the braid around my neck. I took it off and examined it – it was the exact same size as the hole. I unwound the braid from the top and slotted it into the hole. The entire wall slid apart, revealing a dark passage.
I smiled shakily, retrieved the amulet and walked down it. It was long, and it took a long time to reach the exit. It finished at a wall with a lever next to it. I pulled the lever, and the wall slid apart, revealing a small room with a Portal in the centre.
It was already lit, and I searched the room for any clue as to where it led. A scrap of paper was lying on the floor, with a broken glass inkwell next to it. It was soaked in ink, and I only made out a small amount of words.
"Back to the centre... the others... closing... centre being destroyed..." I read. No doubt the portal led to this "centre". I took a deep breath and stepped in.
When I materialised on the other side, I managed not to pass out. I was spat out into a small room, the walls made of metal. I could tell immediately that I was underground – call it a miner's instinct. There were tunnels leading out.
I explored the "centre". Everything had been removed or destroyed, but it was clear what this was by the number of portals. It was a centre for transportation or travel. I entered the last room of the corridor and was confronted with two more portals. One had no label or sign on it. The other was marked "Kakonatos".
Struggling to keep myself under control, I felt the amulet vibrate in my hand. I looked down at it and it split open, revealing a folded piece of parchment. I opened it and saw a short note, written in Firenze's writing.
My dearest friend, Mike,
If you are reading this, then I am dead. Do not grieve too much for me. I had a good life.
At the end of your journey is a portal, marked Kakonatos. You should know that, much like the body and mind, one Portal cannot survive without the other. Destroy it. I believe there is a storage room across the corridor.
Life well, Mike. You deserve it.
-Firenze
Tears slipped silently down my cheek as I looked for the storage room. I found it and searched it, finding a heavy metal box of a dark purple-black substance. I jumped back – it was Kyronate.
Kyronate was the most dangerous chemical anyone knew. A gram of it could blow a person up. A box like this would demolish the entire building. Beside the box was a fuse starter. I knew exactly what I had to do.
Positioning the box at the bottom of the Kakonatos portal, I connected the fuse and dragged it over the room to the other portal.
I took one final glance at my home world, stepped into the unmarked portal, and pressed the switch. The fuse burned down... down... down... until it reached the box, destroying my last passage to Minecraftia. The portal pulled me away as the world turned into a seething mass of fire.
D: CHRIS KILLED FIRENZE? NOOOOO FRICKABAGHARAHGAH! - (My friend's reaction)
And I reckon that's about it from this story, readers. Thanks for reading all this way through, please review it!
If, and only if, my dear reviewers (That could be you!) want me to, I might write a sequel. Let me know what you think!