Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. I appreciate that you guys have been patient with me, and I promise this: the story line will FINALLY, TRULY come into place in this chapter. Mark and his friends will closer to the Glitch than EVER before.
Anyway, before the story continues, I am going to reply to your reviews.
Replies To Reviews...
CSICreeper: That's actually happened to me before, but only when I first got a Facebook. Basically, I would go to the login screen, and just on that page it would always freeze instantly, and there wasn't anything I could do about it.
Dirt BlockZ: Olivia really isn't an important character, actually.
Volcanic the hedgehog: Oh, that's fine! :D
BfheadGamer: My favorite Tobuscus adventure is either the one where they fight the zombies or the Manventure.
Anyway, let's get ON WITH ZE STORY!
Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark's friends fled the scene at Diamond University. Meanwhile, Mark himself explored the Nether for any sign of people. MEANWHILE, meanwhile, Herobrine was raging inside his Nether fortress about the waging war, unable to avoid questions about it from his subjects. Then we went back to Mark's POV and watched as he found an empty house. He explored further and found a girl stuck inside a cave, and he too ended up being taken captive by insane magma cubes. He and the girl almost got incinerated by lava during a therapy session, but Mark got their butts saved because of his prayer to Farixz. He took the girl home, and found out that her name was Olivia while trying to find a way to heal her singed feet. Finally, Mickey contacted him from far away in the Overworld and directed him to a tribe of healing slimes he knew, who healed Olivia's feet. Now that Mark is back up in the Overworld, he knows exactly where his friends are, so we get to watch as he rushes to meet them, and as several interesting conversations break out between him and the two girls who want to win his heart.
Now, let the story commence!
Chapter 26: Extinguishing The Flame
They ran for a full minute, and then, just as they reached the edge of a tall sand dune, Mark noticed a group of people walking around far off in the distance. He quickly pointed a finger towards them for Olivia to see, and she squinted her eyes to see properly.
"There they are!" he said excitedly.
"But I don't—"
Mark grasped her by the hand and they ran down the other end of the sand dune. He wouldn't stop until they reached the group again. Mark and Olivia ran at top speed—well, Olivia was dragged more than she ran out of her own free will—towards the others, who slowly became clearer and closer in the distance. Finally, when they were just forty blocks from the traveling group, somebody shouted out to them. It sounded unnervingly like Raven, and Mark stopped in his tracks. Olivia hopped from one foot to the other.
"Can we keep moving, please? The sand is hot..." she said in a voice that had yet to ever become heightened.
Mark could see a dark figure racing towards him. It was Raven and her flowing black hair, which trailed behind her as she flung herself towards Mark. Olivia kept hopping from foot to foot, and when Mark noticed that she was doing so, he snapped back into reality and said,
"Okay, I'll just carry you until we can find you some shoes."
This was less out of concern for Olivia, but more for the sake of his love life. If Raven saw him carrying another girl, she'd get the wrong idea and maybe stop liking him. He just wanted to get back to Kelsey; although, he still hadn't figured out how to do so, exactly. Mark carried Olivia across the sand, and in under twenty seconds Raven finally reached them. She froze in her tracks when she saw Mark carrying Olivia. She put on a sneer when she glanced at Olivia and said,
"Who's the slut?"
Mark's mouth dropped in horror. Olivia's reaction was more emotional, and tears leapt into her eyes as she jumped from Mark's arms and ran crying in the other direction. He whirled around and shouted out to her,
"Wait! Olivia!"
But Olivia was much too fast, and within seconds she was out of sight, and he never saw her again. Mark whirled on Raven and screamed,
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
Raven smiled with a somewhat wicked look and walked towards Mark.
"Hey, it's no big deal! Besides, we don't want another ugly face intruding in on our relationship, right?"
Raven put a hand on Mark's shoulder and started to pull him forward, but Mark pushed her away. He had had enough!
"That's it! I can't do this anymore! I couldn't in the first place!" screamed Mark, his voice loud and resonating and ANGRY. "Raven, I don't want to be in a relationship with somebody who goes off calling perfectly pretty girls sluts! I don't want to be in a relationship with someone who wants to take it to a whole 'nother level when it's not the right time! You have been driving me CRAZY with all this attention! The woman who matters most in my life is KELSEY! KELSEY is the whole reason I'm even surviving now, and if I don't have her I don't know what I'll do! I just can't be in a relationship with somebody I haven't known for a long time! Kelsey is MORE of a friend than you'll ever be to me! She and I have a long past, we both came from the same first life! We both lived on Earth! We were already in a relationship while we were there! And you know what happened?! I KILLED HER! It was my fault that she ran into the back of a truck, and do you honestly think I can handle losing her a SECOND TIME?!"
He stopped and caught his breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly, his head pulsing. Raven stood transfixed with shock, her normally cool violet eyes alit with horror. Mark sighed angrily and looked her straight in the eye.
"Raven, I can't be in a relationship with you. My life is falling apart without Kelsey, and I really can NOT lose her again... I'm sorry."
Mark walked past her without looking back. He knew he couldn't be soft towards her any longer. He just could not. He kept walking until he reached the rest of the group. They had been attempting to watch them from a distance. Adrian quickly approached him with a skeptical look and said,
"Er... What did ya do ter Raven? Wasn't she yer new fiancée?"
Mark shook his head grumpily and looked down at his feet, fixing his gaze.
"Let's just say we broke up, that it is by my choice, and that I don't want to talk about it. Okay?"
Adrian squinted into the blinding sands over Mark's shoulder, shading his eyes with his frying pan.
"It looks like she running the other way."
Mark turned around for a moment and saw that Raven was indeed running away. She ran for another ten seconds before she disappeared over the top of the sand dune. Mark turned back around and walked with the rest of the group.
"Forget it. She can run away if she wants, I don't care." he mumbled.
Before Mark could react, a blur of curly red hair flew towards him and caught him in a hug.
"MARK!"
Mark looked down and to his surprise saw Vanessa hugging him around the middle.
"I w-was worried you'd d-died!"
Mark stroked her hair comfortingly and said,
"It's okay, I'm fine..."
He was still in a bad mood, but for Vanessa's sake he acted consoling. When Vanessa let go of him she looked up into his face with reddened eyes.
"W-what happened to y-you?"
Mark gave a quick summary of the events since his disappearance, starting with him creating the Nether portal and ending with the part where he found them again. He skipped the whole Raven thing; it was better to save that one for later. Vanessa sniffled and backed up, respecting Mark's space. Then she smiled weakly and said,
"I know y-you've been missing K-Kelsey, but... Well, just see for yourself."
She backed away, and the next moment Kelsey came forth. She and Mark stood a foot apart, both red in the face, both extremely awkward. Kelsey's lip quivered as she looked at Mark, and then she started crying. Mark wasn't sure what was the right thing to do, so he slowly walked forward and carefully put his arms around her. Even if she didn't turn out to be his girlfriend, he at least wanted her to be his friend, and that meant staying with her. Kelsey cried for a good two minutes without speaking. Then she looked at Mark with even redder eyes than Vanessa had.
"Mark, while you were over there w-with Raven, I heard you y-yelling, and... And I h-heard every word. I need y-y-you to tell m-me now," she pulled him close so that they were touching noses and both staring deep into each other's eyes. "what happened? I need you to tell me exactly what happened between you and Raven this whole time. I NEED to know, even if it'll k-kill me..."
Mark looked around at the rest of the group. They had been diminished a great deal. There was him, Vanessa, Kelsey, Adrian, Rexum, and Astrid, and that was it. Even so, he decided that it was about time everyone knew exactly what happened, so he told them all. He told them everything that ever happened in his history with Raven. He started with Lucas's nasty dare, going through every detail of Raven's high acts of love towards him, all the times he ever wanted to get back to Kelsey so desperately, and ended with repeating the words he had said to Raven just four minutes ago. Once his tale was over, everyone remained silent in respect.
Mark looked back down at Kelsey, who still looked up at him with widened eyes. But her eyes were now calmed, not worried, and she seemed as though a burden had been lifted from her. She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then pressed her face into Mark's chest.
"I'm just happy to have you again."
Mark smiled and hugged her as well, embracing her tightly.
"Me too."
The Glitch roared in anger as it flew this way and that through the Void Palace. It crashed through buildings, breaking them and avalanching the virus thugs that slithered below. It continued to screech, flying this way and that, and then rocketed back to its throne room. It crashed through the side wall, burying the throne inside with black rubble.
"HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!"
The Glitch screeched again and launched out a wing, picking up the throne and throwing it at a wall, shattering it into pieces.
"DAMN!"
Ben emerged from the darkness in the room's corner. He was now completely blackened; there was no longer an ounce of good left in him.
"Lord Glitch..." said Ben, bowing down with his dark wings folded together.
The Glitch whirled around and towered over Ben.
"DO NOT SPEAK TO ME! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
It launched forward and slammed another wall with its massive wings, destroying it completely, and half of the throne room collapsed down inside its tower, unable to support its own weight. The Glitch stood high inside the half-destroyed tower and looked down at its thousands of virus subjects. They marched in straight rows, not blinking, no free will at all. How minor of clones they were.
"How could I have let Salutem go?!" it growled, eyes flashing so angrily that ten rows of viruses below him disintegrated on the spot.
Ben approached the Glitch cautiously and spoke quietly as to keep from upsetting it again.
"Lord Glitch, if you focus upon the past, nothing will progress. You must focus on retrieving the Balance Core and killing Markus Cobweb."
Just then, three people burst in through the doors of the demolished throne room. Those three people were the cloaked figures of Jenx, Brizarg, and Eragariss.
"Lord Glitch!" declared Jenx, rushing forward to his ultimate master and getting down on his knees. "We have located the Markus Cobweb and the Balance Core!"
The Glitch spun around and glared down at Jenx with malice that made him and his two companions flinch.
"Where?! Tell me where or die this instant! SPEAK UP!"
Jenx swallowed hard and tried to keep the Glitch's horrifyingly fixating gaze.
"Th-they are approaching the Void Transport from the east. They have only nine and three quarters miles until they reach it, and then they will surely travel up and come here. They must know that you are the only one with connection to the Aether, and I believe that their goal is to return the Balance Core back to its pedestal in the Aether Palace."
The Glitch's eyes flared and its bent down, its eyes only an inch from Jenx's terrified face.
"You idiot! Of course they know, it's in the third chapter of the Divination of Dimensions; the Core Saga! Mark would have surely read that chapter already!" the Glitch swiveled around and looked down upon its shadowy kingdom. "Now, there is the matter of stopping these fools..."
Jenx crawled closer to the Glitch with expecting eyes.
"Please, Lord Glitch, we have prepared an attack that will surely wipe out Mark and his foolish friends! Just watch, I beg of you!"
"Alright, let me see this "attack" of yours." muttered the Glitch, turning back around to see.
Jenx, Brizarg, and Eragariss all came together and performed their "attack", and it was so great that they pulsated with a Dark aura that seemed impenetrable. The Glitch's eyes widened in delight and it folded its wings together, making a loud clap.
"Ah, yes! That will be perfect!" it declared wickedly, its grin broadening. "Now, how about you go and put your "attack" to the test. Kill Mark and his companions and then bring the Balance Core to me. I WILL achieve my perfect form; I will see to it that everything goes according to plan. And," the Glitch looked down upon Jenx. "I will give you a small portion of my power as a gift for when you fight the Ultra Hero and his Great Heroes. This is your final chance, do not let me down, Jenx."
Once he received his power, Jenx and his two thugs zoomed out the door hurriedly. The Glitch swiveled back around and stared down at its merciless warrior viruses, which still slithered in straight rows. They were merely pawns in the wide scheme of things, really...
"Lord Glitch, I sense that you desire to launch the next attack now." murmured Ben from behind.
The Glitch's criminally corrupt smile stretched again.
"Mmmhmm, I do believe you are correct, Ben. It is about time I gain a little more power by sucking up the Redness Soul, don't you think? Soon enough, I will have obtained all three Souls, and THEN my master plan will be complete! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The Glitch spread its massive wings on either side, letting their crackling energy burst forth in a blinding flash. Every one of the thousands of virus minions below stopped moving and swiveled around, facing upward towards their creator.
"All hail Lord Glitch!" they chimed monotonously.
With its wings spread wide, the Glitch's slender, black, double-ended scythe materialized in its clutches.
"Ah, my faithful warriors! We rise again tonight, for it the time has come to launch our second attack, and I know you ALL are very, very hungry!"
Bloodthirsty cries blasted from the dark mass of black bodies and red eyes below.
"Now, my wonderful minions, GO! THE TIME HAS COME TO CONQUER!"
Somewhere in the distance, "All The Right Moves" by One Republic began to play.
Mark let go of Kelsey and looked around at the rest of his group. They had finally gotten back on track. No longer were there distractions to keep them from moving on with the quest. Also, Mark sensed that they were nearer than ever to their next destination.
"So, did anybody grab my Blockpack?" asked Mark, looking around.
Astrid suddenly popped up from the back of the crowd holding his Blockpack. He had almost forgotten that she'd come with them, so he was slightly surprised. Mark walked forward and took his Blockpack, immediately searching through it for the item he hadn't used in so long that was supposed to be his key to survival. He then pulled out the Master Compass and held it before them. Watching it, he noticed that it was vibrating and pulsing ever so lightly. The black and white needle inside spun around twice and then faced west. He knew what this meant; nobody needed to tell him that they were getting close to the Void Transport.
Mark then took the Balance Core from out of his hotbar and stared at it. He had to hold it in his left hand; he'd burn himself on the still-heated, disfigured, glass bottle without the Glove of Glad's protection. The glass had fused itself over the Balance Core inside like a protective layer after being touched by the Glitch—Mark wasn't sure if this was a good change or not, but it probably wasn't.
"Alright, we're getting very close to the Void Transport now." he said aloud, glancing at every one of his teammates and friends.
He looked up into the sky and saw the sun starting to set already. Had time really gone that fast while he was in the Nether? Either way, they had to keep going as far as they could before night fell. Mark put the Balance Core back inside his hotbar and then zipped his Blockpack shut. He only kept out his diamond sword and the Master Compass.
"It's time to get back on track, everyone!" he declared excitedly. "So, let's follow the Master Compass for the first time in what seems like forever."
It was true, for everything had gone back to normal. Just like in the past, they were walking and following the Master Compass's direction. Mark walked forward at a steady pace, Adrian standing to his right, Kelsey and Astrid to his left. Vanessa stayed back and walked with Rexum, murmuring quietly. It felt good to be back with his real friends. It felt good to be on the right road again. It felt good to have Kelsey back on his side... Mark was happier than he'd been in a long time. Plus, in a very short time they'd finally reach the Void Transport, and he'd be closer than he ever was to getting his old life back.
They continued to walk for another hour without rest, because Mark knew they'd reach the Void Transport after a couple of miles, he could just tell. As they got closer and closer to their destination, the Master Compass would vibrate and glow even harsher. It was even getting difficult to hold onto.
Mark looked to his side at the horizon along the desert hills beyond and saw that the sun was already touching it, sending an orangish glow across the sky.
"Oh man," he muttered. "we're gonna have to stop soon, guys."
He felt a hand on his left shoulder.
"Wait! Look over there!"
Mark turned his head back to the direction they faced and his eyes widened greatly. There was something massive coming up. Mark ran for it, looked down at his insanely-pulsing Master Compass as it shook, and then stared straight ahead. He stopped after running about forty blocks as the entire figure came into view.
The structure that Mark was looking at was at least a couple hundred blocks tall, and went up into the clouds. It was a pyramid made completely of glowing bedrock. Heavy ripples in the air pulsed from its center, making everything around it shift. There were massive and detailed heads built into its slanted black walls, sculpted to look like Notch, Herobrine, Queen Enderdragon, and Salutem. When Mark looked high up at the tip that was so far away he could see some black light bursting out of it. THIS was the Void Transport.
Adrian caught up with him first, and then came Astrid, Kelsey, Rexum, and then Vanessa last. All but Rexum stared in awe at the great bedrock structure that was the Void Transport; Rexum stayed solemn as ever. Mark turned around to face them all. Feeling an important moment coming on, he spoke in a tone of finality.
"Alright, everyone, we've made it!"
Cheers erupted from their small group and many high-fives were exchanged. Once they had quieted down, Mark continued.
"Although, we will NOT be climbing this thing tonight."
Rather contradictory to what had just happened seven seconds ago, Mark received a whole chorus of groaning.
"We need to get a good night's sleep before we go up there; can you imagine what would happen if we went up into the Void Palace and fought the Glitch if we were tired?"
There was a small murmur of assent that passed through the group. They set up their beds next to the massive bedrock structure as the sun dipped completely below the horizon, and Rexum put up their force field once again. Nobody wanted to be bothered by mutant for the rest of the night.
Mark and Kelsey put their beds right next to each other to make a double bed. They both got in, and when Mark put his head down, Kelsey set her head on his chest and closed her eyes, sighing heavily. Mark smiled to himself as he looked up into the starry sky, enjoying the moment.
But then a feeling of dread overcame him as he thought about the following morning. Once morning came they'd already be going up into the Void Palace where the Glitch was. How WOULD they sneak past all those viruses and find the things they needed? Mark remembered Salutem saying that the two items they needed—the Glove of Gloom (or rather the Glitch's tear of sadness he needed to craft the Glove of Gloom) and Notch's Hammer—were in a secret room underneath the throne room. Well, he wasn't exactly sure if Notch had been stolen from yet, so that was another unknown factor.
Still, he knew that he could count on his friends in order to help him get through it all, so he shouldn't just keep worrying. Then HE wouldn't get any sleep, so he'd be going against his own orders.
So instead of thinking of his worries any longer, Mark closed his eyes, listened to the soft breathing of Kelsey, and put his arms around her. The next moment was filled with instant sleep.
Herobrine rocketed through the air on his cloud of dark smog, his temper flaring. As he stared below him he could see the war waging on between the royal army and those dreaded viruses. Not only had General Blackflame ignored his demand for a real report, but he had ALSO let the Glitch's army invade the Nether!
He lifted his hands and formed a massive fireball above his head, and threw it down into the black crowd below, creating a fiery explosion that disintegrated many and created a large crater. He continued this method of fighting and dodged oncoming blasts of plasma as he flew. Herobrine flew on whilst fighting until he spotted General Blackflame nearby. The general was a pitch-black Ghast with glowing blue eyes of fire, and he was the size of twenty-seven ghasts combined, not including his tentacles. He had forty of those long, black tendrils, which were forty blocks long each. He would've been a pretty impressive general if it weren't for his communication skills...
Unfortunately, as Herobrine looked at General Blackflame for that one second, a beam of black plasma grazed his cloud, destroying it in a puff of particles. Herobrine fell down through the sky, right above a lake of lava. While freefalling, Herobrine thrust his hands downward, then back up again, and a geyser of lava shot up, catching him as he fell. He balanced on top of it, dodged another blast, and then sent his own tidal wave of magma over the black army. This gave his army a chance to charge forward through the lava waves unharmed and attack. He had the advantage—for now, at least.
With the distraction at hand, Herobrine leapt off the lava tower and formed the black smog cloud beneath him again, rocketing off once more. He reached General Blackflame within seconds, and once he was close enough he cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted angrily.
"HEY! GENERAL BLACKFLAME!" the general turned and glared over at Herobrine with burning, cobalt eyes. "HOW COULD YOU HAVE LET THIS ALL SLIP?!"
General Blackflame yelled back in cross between a hiss and a human's voice.
"I told you that I am very busy right now! When was I supposed to get that report?!"
Herobrine swerved out of the way to avoid another plasma blast and retaliated with his own fireball.
"You COULD have considered its importance!"
"I'm sorry, I had other obligations! Just think of MY family for a second!"
"Military matters come first, you should know that!"
"My little daughter wanted to go bowling, what was I supposed to say?!"
"WHY ARE YOU BOWLING?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FULFILL YOUR DUTIES AS GENERAL!"
"Never mind! Let's just get rid of this army!"
Herobrine sighed angrily and flew away from General Blackflame. He wove in and out of his tentacle storm, blasting the viruses beneath him every chance he got. When he came back out, he looked back at the path of wreckage he created and laughed heartily.
"Take THAT, you fiends!" he declared, lifting his sword into the air heroically.
"No, Lord Herobrine, take THIS!"
Something icy-cold wrapped around Herobrine's wrist and he was wrenched off his smog-cloud. Herobrine yelled in surprise and focused all his power on getting away, but the more he tried the worse the cold became, and when he looked back to see the cause of it, his lungs froze. A black tendril of plasma from the Glitch's wing was curled tightly around his wrist, and the Glitch itself was flying upward into the sky, taking Herobrine with it. The Glitch's evil eyes flashed wickedly down at Herobrine, who was fixated in fear himself. He had feared that this moment would come!
The Glitch stopped ascending, letting Herobrine dangle over the orange sea below. Herobrine struggled, his arm completely numb.
"Herobrine! I have long awaited the moment when I would take your soul!"
It whipped the tendril, launching Herobrine back down to the ground. Herobrine slammed heavily into the Netherrack ground, scattering his own army. Before he could even catch his breath, the Glitch leapt out of its position in midair and landed even heavier on top of Herobrine, pinning him into the ground like a helpless insect. The Glitch's left wing shifted, turning into a massive hand with sharp fingernails. A forefinger lowered down and set itself on Herobrine's chest, which was rising and falling quickly, but then slowed. Herobrine stared up into the Glitch's piercing eyes, eventually maintaining a determined expression.
"Why so serious?" said the Glitch, noticing his inert face. "You should be happy that this day has come! You are helping me, and even for a worthy cause..."
A wave of Herobrine's mobs came in from the left, shouting their emperor's name, ready to sacrifice their lives to help him. The Glitch merely waved its wing, and all of Herobrine's forwarding subjects disintegrated, leaving the Glitch to eat their souls as another quick snack. It paused for a moment, and then looked back down at Herobrine.
"Now, where were we, hm?"
The sharp finger pressed down, puncturing Herobrine's chest, and he gasped in pain, and blood spurted forth.
"Oh yes, I was about to suck up your soul..."
The finger deepened, and as it touched Herobrine's heart, the organ merely ceased to exist. As the glowing red soul of Herobrine rose out of his body, the Glitch licked its lips and eyed it gleefully, and the might god drew his last breath.
"Goodnight, Lord Herobrine."
Herobrine died at that moment, his soul dying within the Glitch's black hole, and so he too ceased to exist. ...Herobrine was no more...
Ohhhhh noooooo! First Queen Enderdragon, and now Herobrine?! Is Notch next?! O_O
QAA, anyone?
To Notch: Get Finn and Jake from Adventure Time and pair 'em up with Mark & friends.
Notch: Ha! For one, they aren't in the prophecy. And two, even if they WERE in the prophecy, they wouldn't be powerful enough to defeat an all-consuming virus! *hearty laugh*
To Mark: How bad do you want Kelsey to forgive you on a scale of 1 to 10?
Mark: Over 9000... Enough said.
Kelsey: how much did it hurt to see Mark and Raven making out on a scale of 1 to 10. For both of you if the answer is 8-10 then that's hardcore LOVE. Get back together!
Kelsey: It hurt me more than anything in my life... It hurt me even more than the time I cut open my hand in a blender... You must understand how bad that is.
To Mark: *telepathically* Mark Cobweb! I'm glad you're safe. I have been battling the Glitch but now I'm horribly injured. I will heal soon but you need to stay safe.
Mark: Yeah, that's what I've been trying to do, if you hadn't noticed. *sarcasm*
To Herobrine: Ha! Your name's Herb! Your name is geeky and nerdy! Hahahahaha!
Herobrine: *no comment*
To the Glitch: You don't even know what Star Wars is, do you? I bet if you traveled to the Star Wars Dimension the Jedi and Sith would kick your butt and send you crying to your imaginary mother you made up when you were lonely!
The Glitch: How clever. I am simply teeming with anger. Rawr. Blah. Yell.
What kind of powers will the Glitch obtain now that it has sucked up Herobrine soul, or otherwise known as the Redness Soul? Will Mark and his friends be able to reach the throne room, grab a tear of the Glitch's sadness, possibly take Notch's hammer, AND get out of there through the Aether portal? Find out next chapter in VOiD! But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twenty-seven!
*throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar*
Byyyyyeeeeee...
~Pastrinator64 [~]