WARNING: Pain. Just a bit, not much.

Games

Ch 13: I've Got the Magic in Me

"I SWEAR TO NOTCH, IF YOU TRY TO SPAWN ANY MORE OF THOSE CREATURES, I WILL TURN YOUR BODY INSIDE OUT AND ALLOW WOLVES TO DEVOUR YOUR INNARDS!" Seto threatens, holding his hands out palms up and glaring at the GameMaster.

The GameMaster's face holds an expression that falls somewhere between confused and terrified. "How in Minecraftia do you still have your powers!?" he shouts. Seto shrugs, not lowering his hands. "It was bad enough that Skybrine managed to get through with his powers still intact, but now you've done it, too!?" Seto shrugs again, and the GameMaster narrows his eyes, glancing around the circular room until he finds me. "Skybrine helped you, didn't he?"

"Are you kidding? How would I even do that!?" I ask, standing up and meeting the GameMaster's angry gaze with one of my own. Ty stands up as well.

"It wasn't Sky," Seto says.

The GameMaster ignores him, still staring at me. What is his deal? Why does he hate me so much!? "You've broken rule number one, Skybrine." He starts to wave his hand toward me-

"I said, 'It wasn't Sky,'" Seto hisses, pressing his palm forward and freezing the GameMaster's hand midair. "I am a sorcerer. No matter how many times you remove the magic from my body, it will eventually regenerate in my soul."

The GameMaster makes a face at Seto. Oh, wow, real mature. "Thank you for the lesson, Seto Sorcerer, but school is dismissed." He starts to cast something on Seto-

And three milliseconds later, the GameMaster is dangling upside down from the ceiling. "Can you fly, sir?" Seto asks in an overly innocent voice. "Because if you can't, I can help you out." He blasts a small hole in the ceiling of the round room, threatening to throw the GameMaster out of it.

The GameMaster grits his teeth. "Yes, Seto, I can fly. I can match your powers perfectly."

"Is that why you're hanging from the ceiling against your will?" I ask. Ty giggles but elbows me anyway, signaling that I should shut up.

"That is exactly why I am hanging from the ceiling against my will," the GameMaster answers through clenched teeth. "My powers not only match Seto's but also exceed them. It is against the policy of 'Challenge Times Eight' to physically harm a player outside of the full Challenges."

"Are you kidding me!?" I splutter, thinking of my two mini-challenges.

"It is against the policy for me to physically harm a player without healing them afterward," the GameMaster corrects himself. "If I used my full power on Seto, he would be dead before anyone could heal him." Yeah, right. Excuses, excuses.

"What about the mini-mini-challenge?" I ask. He didn't heal me after that.

"The policy does not apply when you are involved because I greatly despise you."

"What!?" Ty exclaims, stepping in front of me. "How does that work!?"

"I don't like Skybrine, therefore I will not take as many precautions to attempt to prevent his death in this game."

"But that's not fair!"

"Tough luck, buddy."

"No, just- no! You can't do that! Why do you hate Sky so much, anyways?"

"Because he is just like his father," the GameMaster replies casually. I reel back. What!? I am nothing like my father!

"He is nothing like his father!" Ty protests. Thank you, Ty!

"Oh, but he is," says the GameMaster. "He is his father's son, and nothing can change that." He looks back over at me. "Come on, Skybrine, look me in the eye and tell me that you've never once imagined your friends being murdered – by you."

The eyes of everyone in the room shift to me, and I wince. "Well, okay, I- Like, every other month- or, I don't know, maybe every month, I, I sort of kind of have these weird little dreams where I, um..." I lower my voice slightly, looking down at my feet. "I kill you all in the most gory and painful way possible." My friends' eyes widen in horror. I raise my voice again. "But it's just a dream, it's not like I actually want that!"

"They say dreams show one's goals and desires in life."

"Dude, no. That's sick."

"That's who you are."

"It's who my father wishes I was."

"It's who you wish you weren't."

"I'm not- No. I'm not like that, and I never will be," I insist, but even I can hear the uncertainty in my voice. What if he's right? What if it's just a matter of time until my Herobrine instincts take over and I end up killing all of my friends? That can't happen. I can't let it happen.

"Whatever you say, Skybrine."

"That is not my name!" I shout, shooting daggers at the GameMaster with my eyes.

"It is, it always has been, and it always will be."

"Stop! It is not! My name is Sky, and I am nowhere near as evil as my terrorist of a father."

"So you admit that you are evil, at least a little?"

"What? No!"

"Skybrine, calm down. You just need to take a deep breath, stand still for a moment, and accept the fact that, when you are older, you will take your father's place as the evil god of the Nether."

I grind my teeth together. "No. No, no, no! I will never be like him, I will never take his place! The only 'god' I'll ever be is the Budder God."

The GameMaster narrows his eyes threateningly, sending me an icy glare. "What was that, Skybrine? Did I hear you say 'budder?'"

"Did I hear you say it?"

He growls. "That's it, boy, prepare for ultimate pain!" He breaks Seto's magic connection and jumps down to the floor (yes, he was dangling from the ceiling during that entire conversation) before splaying his hands out towards me. Suddenly I'm unable to move at all – I can't even breathe. The GameMaster makes a 'down' motion with his hand, and then I'm falling to my knees and gasping for air and wishing I still had my Skybrine powers.

"Sky!" someone shouts, and I think it's Ty, but I can't really tell, because my vision is blurred and nothing sounds like it should and there are black splotches dancing across my already highly impaired vision.

I close my eyes, since leaving them open is not benefiting me at all. "Leave him alone!" someone shouts.

"Stop it!" somebody else screams.

"Let him go!" another person yells.

Suddenly, the GameMaster's invisible grip on me disappears, and I shudder as oxygen flows into my lungs again. Air... Oh, thank Notch... I suck in several quick breaths and then open my eyes. The black splotches are gone. That's good, I guess.

You know what's not good?

Opening your eyes to see the love of your life being thrown against the wall by the GameMaster's magic.

I gasp and scramble across the room to sit by Ty, gently lifting him into my lap and tilting his head slightly to look for damage. He hit the wall pretty hard. Oh, look at that, he's unconscious. But he's breathing, so everything is fine-ish.

"What the Nether is your problem!?" I yell at the GameMaster, though I'm still out of breath and probably shouldn't be challenging him right now.

"He tried to stop me."

"He did stop you!"

Seto's voice sounds in my head, literally. "Shut the flip up, you idiot. Don't make it worse."

I sigh, glancing down at Ty's limp body. He got hurt protecting me. A tear slips down my face, and I hold Ty more tightly. It's sort of acceptable when the GameMaster hurts me, but he is not going to hurt Ty. That's not allowed. I won't allow it.

"Sky..," Seto's voice says warningly in my head.

"Just go back to the Living Quarters," the GameMaster orders. "Except for you, Seto. I'll just have to remove your powers every other day."

Seto nods, shooting me a warning glance, and Mitch and Jerome speed-walk over to Ty and me. "Do you, uh, need help carrying him?" Mitch asks quietly.

I shake my head as I slowly rise to my feet, pulling Ty with me. I shift him so that I'm carrying him bridal style, and then I turn towards the dark oak door that just randomly appeared on the other side of the round room. "No, I've got it," I answer, and I'm surprised by how firm my voice sounds. I honestly expected it to crack or come out shaky or something.

Ian grabs Quentin's hand and tugs him towards the door, ignoring Quentin's fearful protests. "Shut up, Quentin, we're going to our room, alright?" Then, after hearing something Quentin said that was too quiet for me to hear, he adds, "Good Notch, Quentin, I'm not going to kill you!" Quentin whimpers but walks with Ian anyways.

Jason jogs up behind us as we exit the round room and come out onto a plains biome. "Are you alright, Sky?" he asks.

Ian, who is walking on my left side with Quentin trailing behind him, asks, "Is Ty alright?"

I nod. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. As for Ty..." I shrug. "I think he's fine. He's alive, and for now, that's good enough."

So, what do you think the deal is with Mr. GameMaster? Why do you think he hates Sky so much? Like, come on, the GameMaster must have a REALLY big issue with Herobrine if he hates His son THAT much...