A/N: Hey guys, Henderschmidt11 here and...I'M BACK! After a long week, I have finally gotten to this. I apologize for the wait, SO in return I give you this (incase you didn't know) over 4,000 word chapter!
'~ CHAPTER 14 ~'
~~~West Side~~~
MinecraftUniverse's POV
"I'm starting to regret this decision," I drag out while Katz was dragging me.
"Oh come on, TrueMU!" Katz pleads tugging at my right arm, "It'll be fun! You're saying you haven't played one game of survival games? Where only one tribute remains, claiming all the glory one can possibly hold?" Katz finishes doing one of those arm motions when showing someone a view of the horizon.
"Not in a while…" I uneasily respond, warily eyeing the gigantic dome that Katz, Annabel, Ray, and I were about to enter into.
"Don't be so scared," Annabel playfully punches my other free arm, "I'll team with you, and Ray can be with Katz that is if he wants to."
"If you say so," I respond, taking my first step into the arena. We four then wait in a lobby waiting for our turn to get into the games, but as time went on, the nerves were getting to me. Katz and Ray were discussing tactics they could use, while Annabel was patiently and quietly standing beside me, as we both leaned against a wooden pillar. I couldn't just stand here…
"Hey, Annabel, want to do the parkour near the bridge?" I point to said spot before my arms went stiffly at my sides, "It'll help, uh…pass the time."
"Sure," she smiles, making her way over, and I follow close by her side. I wish that I could have the same calm state as her right now.
"So is this one of your first time playing in a hunger games tournament?" I shyly ask Annabel, letting her go in front of me in the line to do the parkour. It was just lily pad parkour, so what could go wrong?
"Well, my fourth time, if you really want to be specific," she laughs watching the person in front of her attempt to do said parkour course before he tripped on the second jump, "But yeah, it's still one of my first times, and I'm still a noob. I'll warn you first."
"I don't think you'll be that bad to call yourself a noob," I shook my head, taking my first sprint jump, determined to not get my space suit wet.
"Oh-ho…don't jinx yourself, MinecraftUniverse," she chuckles back, "Not just yet. Yes! I did it!" she victoriously cheers after jumping the last lily pad, "Now your turn." I look down in front of me to see a three-spaced jump. 'I can do this…I can do this…' I chanted in my head 'Don't want to embarrass yourself in front of a girl.' I took my 'leap of faith' and made it just by the tip, tumbling into Annabel's arms. I wasn't only just amazed at how I did it, but how Annabel managed to catch…and hold me.
"Wow, that was quite a jump," she laughs, as I look up, "You ok?" she asks after noticing that I had kept staring at her for a while.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I rush out, just as fast as I escaped from her touch, "I'm fine…"
"Maybe the nerves really are getting to you huh, TrueMU," she chuckles, going to another parkour course across the bridge in the center of the room.
"Yeah…it's those nerves…"
~~~Line Break~~~
"This is it," Ray rubs his hands together in excitement, as he and I bring our attention to the countdown gun shots ringing around the whole arena, starting at ten. Everyone got into their starting positions, as well as Ray and I. Obviously I was to Ray's right, while Katz and Annabel were one person apart on the other side of the starting circle. While getting in her starting position, Annabel nudged her head behind her, telling me that we're going to run that way, and I nod in response. The final gun shot rang, and everyone was off. I watched Annabel's blond hair flow, as I was catching up to here. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Ray and Katz had gone for the middle, making me laugh on the inside. Never thought that those two siblings could be so daring, compared to when I first met them.
"Ok, it doesn't seem too far apart," she tells me once I have caught up with her, "You go check that chest by the tree and I'll take the one on that train," Annabel points to said chests. I nod going to the left while she went to the right. Tilting my head down, I reached inside the chest gathering everything it held: 'string…a stick…ooh, a gold chest plate and-'
"A wooden axe," I mutter, getting a good grip on the weapon. I forcefully closed the chest and ran to where Annabel had gone. A feminine war scream was heard, as I was tackled down by someone. That someone being Annabel.
"Hi, TrueMU."
"Hi…Annabel," my muffled voice responds, as she gets off my back, "Wow, that was a jackpot chest I see," I eye her lingerie helmet and boots along with a wooden sword.
"Yeah, got some raw fish too," she adds, showing me the food loot, "TrueMU, look, there's our first victim," Annabel points to another Minecraftian searching another chest a way off. I smile, nodding at the same, as we both crouch going to both sides of the unsuspecting Minecraftian. Once we were near, Annabel slowly wielded her sword as did I. But before we could jump the guy, who had just put on a budder helmet, something got him first, and a cannon was heard. We both knitted our eye brows together, slowly getting up as we stared down at what the guy had.
"What the Nether was that?" Annabel asks, picking up the helmet along with some raw beef and a budder axe. After she had given me the helmet, she watched my back with the budder axe wielded with a firm grip, "Do you think it's another tribute?"
"Just might be," I shrug, placing my back close to hers, facing the other direction, "But I've never seen someone this good, if I've ever seen one or if it's even possible in the first place." And suddenly, a wind whirled behind me next eliminating Annabel, and another shot rang out.
Third Person's POV
"Annabel?!" MinecraftUniverse calls out in a panicky tone. He quickly picked up her items and sprinted, desperate to find a hiding spot. He soon found one under a stone bridge behind the train and began to sort out the loots.
Annabel was currently in 'spectator mode' and teleported to TrueMU. She flew out a ways, watching him now peek out from the bridge making sure if the coast was clear. Sadly, she couldn't do it for him. But what she couldn't see was on a tree, that stood very near the edge of the arena, was the person who had eliminated her from the round. A male Minecraftian stood, holding onto the oak tree's branches, spying on the spaceman targeting him next.
The unknown figure jumped from the tree, using his 'built-in' invisibility potion. As he would usually do, he would become visible at the last second, knowing that his victim would be killed before the victim even had a glance. But TrueMU was a lucky one, as he caught only a slight glance before he was now eliminated. Annabel furrowed her eye brows before she returned to the lobby, meeting TrueMU and Ray there.
"Did you see anything?" Annabel asks, facing TrueMU.
"It looked like another participant, that had a speed potion of like one hundred," TrueMU scoffs.
"Anything else; any other features?"
"Hey, you guys died already?"
"Well," TrueMU ponders, as the two ignore Ray's presence, "It looked like there was something…red on his face and he was wearing mostly black." Annabel thoughtfully looked down before joining the same arena going back into spectator mode.
~~~A Few Moments Earlier~~~
A victorious smile spread across the figure's face, as he had just taken out another tribute with a blue space suit on.
"I love doing this," he sighs in pleasure, waving out his friend.
"You're telling me; trolling these people. Ha! Priceless," his now visible friend responds, "I can now tell why you got your name, CaptainCrazy."
"I figured that you'd know that by now Bryan," Crazy replies, picking up their latest victim's items.
"Say, did you…feel something when you took out the girl, something different?"
"Yeah, now that I think of it, I did. Like a surge of energy," CaptainCrazy nods his head at his friend, "You think she could be a person of interest concerning Notch? Because I have never, in my time here, had ever felt anything like that."
"Looks like we have to hunt down this girl, maybe even her friends," Bryan raises a sly brow, "There's something different about her…"
~~~Back in the Overworld…~~~
Third Person's POV
"Pl-Please, no more," SetoSorcerer pleads, "I can't take any more!"
"Maybe you should have been more aware of what you were making," Skar sings and chuckles at the same time, taking out the next potion, "Besides…we're just getting started."
"Drink this," Skar shoves a potion bottle in the maker's hands. Seto was afraid to look down at what Skar had placed in his palms but finally looked. A part of him calmed down, knowing the potion which lied in front of his eyes. But the other side of him kept his nerves up still not wanting to drink the unstable potion, "Drink it! Or I will shove the bottle down your throat!" Skar yells again, making Seto jump. He swallowed the lump in his throat to make way for the potion and he drank it.
A few feet away stood SSundee, Husky, and the two new helpers. The foursome crouched behind some spruce and oak tree trunks and roots. As Sparklez and xRpMx13 curiously watched Seto with knitted eye brows, SSundee and Husky watched instead with worry.
Seto finished the blue and purple colored potion and carefully placed it down on the grass. Seto shook his head briefly, like one would shake some dust out of his hair, feeling the potion course through his veins. Skar's friends took either a step or two back, all of them not knowing what the potion would do.
"Now…attack Seto," Skar simply says, crossing his arms. Those three words were enough to confuse and shock the five in Skar's presence, even more so in SSundee and Husky's point of view. The first one to make a move was BONJerome, who shrugged his shoulders, as he took out his fire aspect axe. Giving the axe a spin in the evil bacca's hand, he got a good grip before he threw the axe with much force Seto's way. Seto's eyes widen and his arms crossed like an 'x' out of reflex, but his body soon relaxed.
Skar raises a sly and skeptical eye brow, as he takes a slow stroll around where Seto stood. Jerome's axe had stopped mid-air, aimed at the sorcerer. What shocked Skar and his friends, along with the unknown observers, was when the axe stopped in the air a wave of blue and purple encircled SetoSorcerer almost like a force field. Skar then turned to Lavalox and nudged his head to Seto before paying attention to said Minecraftian. Lavalox smirks, as he forms a lava ball in his hand and throwing it at the sorcerer. Seto cowards again but not as much, as the lava splattered around the sphere of energy and it slowly faded away. And suddenly, Seto and his secretly spying friends' nerves were downed…just a bit. Growing impatient, Skar gave a 'look' at all four of his minions, and they all took out their weapons, aiming at Seto at four different angles.
"Let's see how your little protection shield helps you from more than one weapon. Fire!" Skar orders, jabbing a single pointed finger at Seto. And all at once Lavalox's…lava and BajanNethernian's arrows flew, BONJerome's second axe and TrueNU's swords were tossed, along with Skar's very own fire ball, might one remind that's something only he and Herobrine could do. If this was put in slow motion, you would see that everything fired landed on the force field at the same time, causing Seto to fly a few feet. The amount of force on the weapons disabled the shield…and was heading towards Seto. Thinking quickly, Seto rolled to his right, then back, and up on his feet. About to turn and run, Skar appeared in front of Seto again taking him by the throat.
"I didn't give you that potion to drink to see it worked. I came to see you fail," Skar finishes, tossing Seto back down near where the weapons fell to the ground, "And I didn't say you can go yet."
"But we do," a courageous voice interferes coming from behind Seto. Skar looked up to see SSundee, Husky, CaptainSparklez, and xRpMx13 in a line, "Let SetoSorcerer go now, and we won't hurt you," Husky continues, as he and the group take a few steps closer to the new dimensional people.
"Oh…how cute," Skar mockingly says, "Fellas, take care of them." Skar continued to hold Seto by the collar of his cape and dragging him away from the others, as Seto struggles to get out of the demon's grip.
"Don't fight them!" Seto somehow yells at his friends, "You don't know what you're up against!"
SSundee and Husky looked at each other before, glancing back at the four evil versions of their friends, all of them in fighting stances ready to burst out like fired up rockets. SSundee bit his bottom lip before yelling:
"Split up!" Unknown to SSundee was Sparklez and Ryan's confused looks but didn't question or rebel against his will and split. SSundee went to the right with BONJerome behind him, the Mudkip went to his left with BajanNethernian, Ryan went to the north with NetherUniverse, and Sparklez stayed where they were with Lavalox. Lavalox's smirk grew, as he watched Sparklez's confidence die down to fear.
"How the Nether did I manage to agree to this?" With that being said, Lavalox took his first shot, but missed as Sparklez, who is light on his feet, sprinted as fast as he could to the direction Skar took Seto.
~~~North Side~~~
Darx's POV
"Welcome back, Darx," Catalin smiles, greeting me before I even reached the door, "Any animal kills today?"
"Nah," I waved my hand dismissively, "Just a stroll today."
"Aw, come on, Darx," Catalin lightly punches my left arm, "Something always happens when you're out hunting. There must be something of interest that I can hear." 'Damn, this girl's good…'
"Ok, you caught me," I admit, my shoulders drooping and my arms loosely swinging by my sides, "Something did happen while I was 'there'. Charity was there also," I tell her whispering the last part.
"Charity, as in our Charity?" she whispers back, subtly guiding me into the north building and closing the door.
"Yes, that Charity," I nod, raising my voice just a bit, "She had a special bow with her, a fire aspect one too might I add. She was looking for Deadlox, but I had a feeling though that it wasn't so she could return him back to the east side. She sounded like she wanted to kill him. I could hear the strain in her voice as she was calling for him at random times in the forest."
"So, do you want Annabel, Twister, Kittens, and I to take pursuit on her or wait?"
"You guys should wait," I calmly reply, "Maybe if we tail her a few times then we can possibly uncover some other things that Charity is hiding."
~~~Southern Territory~~~
Deadlox's POV
A groan escapes my lips, as I slowly gained my consciousness back. It was a typical feeling I felt when I first woke up very early in the morning…much like the day we got sucked into this unknown and noticeably tougher dimension.
"Great, you're awake," a voice gratefully sighs, walking over to me. I was laid down on a bed, a really comfortable one too, "I was getting worried for a minute or two there."
"What happened to me?"
"No, no, don't get up just yet," he warns fervently, shocking me, and I slowly lie back down, "I-I'll explain, just don't get up. That was some blow you got back with those forest spiders."
"Forest spiders?" I repeat confused even more, and that already was too much.
"Yes, um…you aren't from here…are you?" he carefully asks, as if I was going to lash out at him.
"No, I'm not," I lightly laugh, "My name's Deadlox."
"ServileSorcerer," he smiles back, "I'm sorry about that, you just...your appearance resembles someone I know."
"Oh, is it a friend or…"
"No, it's not," he looks down, paying attention to his potions and other various things, "He's more of an enemy, and that's not just to me but to a few of the residences here too." As we stay quiet for a few moments, I take the time to overlook this potion maker. He did look a lot like my friend SetoSorcerer, making me wonder if the two may be related. The only exception was his cape with was a crimson red and the creeper face was purple. Aside from his choice of clothing, all of his physical features were the same, only his eyes weren't a light brown but more of a hazel color.
"Who is this person, I'd assume, that resembles me?" I finally ask or the suspension would have killed me.
"His name is Lavalox," ServileSorcerer responds, like he was explaining a flashback or something he'd regret saying later, "He has the same clothes as you, the hair, but his eyes are bright red when angered or threatened and has a power that most could only wish for, except he was born with it to everyone's dismay."
"Lavalox," I mutter, letting the name sink in, "So this…power, I'd think it has to do something with lava right?"
"Yeah," the sorcerer nods, "he can shoot it from his hands." Well, that caught my attention, "And before you 'freak out' about it, it is true. He can also morph into the substance and he would be fine. He and his friends have lived here too long, that the residences here have gotten used to it. Those cruel demons bossing the people who had dared come down here to the forbidden territory as it is called even today."
"So, what are you doing down here, if that is the case?" I question, turning my head so I could face him.
"I would have asked you the same thing, but I didn't question you have I?" ServileSorcerer shot back, "I was once part of Lavalox's friend's group, but one day I couldn't take it anymore."
"How did you get out of it then? Because so far most people we have encountered were evil and had shining red eyes," I inform him, shuddering afterwards.
"Something or someone must have added something to one of my potions in-the-making," Servile replies shrugging, "I don't know what that person did, but it seems like it washed the bad right out of me."
"It's almost done," ServileSorcerer talks to himself, looking back and forth at an empty potion bottle and the new unfinished creation, "Just one more ingredient…" ServileSorcerer traveled a few steps to his cabinets. It was set up just like back at Seto's basement, the two pieces of furniture cuddled together against the right wall, "Are you kidding me? I am out of bones?" the evil sorcerer disbelievingly says, "Whatever, it's night time anyway." Servile heads to a chest near the single bed down there and out he takes a new iron sword and he goes out the back door slamming it shut.
On the opposite side of the building stood another man by the name of Notch. The Aether dweller opened the window of which he was observing the potion maker and climbed through the window, stumbling as he successfully entered the basement. He took one more glance through the doors small square holes, making sure ServileSorcerer was gone.
Assuring himself that Servile was officially gone, he glides over to where the almost finished potion stood and took out a shining, yellow and purple potion from inside his brown shirt, adding it to the sorcerer's potion. One it a drop of Notch's potion touched the sorcerer's it shone keeping it's purple hue, as a puff of lavender purple rose before settling back to how it was before. Smiling in satisfaction, Notch nods and heads back out the open window, closing it back and sprinting back to his house.
"Ugh, stupid…skeletons," ServileSorcerer grunts yanking out an arrow from his left arm and tossing it on the ground. He sighs watching the wound heal one hundred percent in a matter of seconds before returning to his work. He took the five skeleton bones and dumped them into his cauldron, his smile widening as the color changed to a menacing shade of green. He grabs the empty potion bottle, filling it to the top and closing it with a cork. He then took another empty bottle and filled it about halfway, staring at the bottle afterwards.
"Ok, this has got to be it," he mutters in a softer tone, as he swirls the liquid in the bottle, little splashes and swooshes to be heard, "I swear to Herobrine if this isn't right…" he couldn't finish the sentence, not even daring to think of what SkartheDemonHB would do to him. This potion was already overdue and this was Servile's last chance, "Bottoms up," he finishes, drinking the potion.
Suddenly…he froze dropping the potion bottle causing it to break. Servile closed his eyes as tightly as he could, feeling like something was being ripped right out from him. It went from his chest all the way to his finger tips. Something certainly wasn't right. With his arms stretched out his knees bent, sending him down to the ground, and he finally let out one scream. He couldn't hold it in anymore. But right as if the pain couldn't get any worse, it stopped, and Servile felt like an angel lying on a cloud, like he was as light as a feather. Servile fell completely to the ground and flipped on his back, releasing a deep breath that he had somehow managed to hold. His hazel eyes blinked rapidly, as he composed himself and slowly sat up. His eyes widened taking in the place he was in; the potions, the big cauldron in the center of the room, the bloodied sword from his mob fight earlier, and the eeriness.
"What is this…?" a new Servile mumbles out of total confusion.
"The next day Skar came over for the potion that I had sampled myself. Till this day I have no idea how I escaped all five of them," Servile lightly huffs, "But I know they're still after me."
"Why stay here then?" I ask, "Go and find a place up at like…the North side or something."
"That's exactly what they'd expect me to do," Servile calmly reasons, "so I stayed where I was." I followed Servile's gaze to the bottom of the cauldron to a blue splotched stain, "That night gave me a chance to restart my life…and I did."
"So, did that change anything concerning your physical features?"
"Well…I can still do this," The sorcerer says, his eyes glowing red…
~~~Nether~~~
Third Person's POV
"So, any luck today?" DJ asks, as Katz, Charity, and now Avernus gather 'round in a somewhat decent circle.
"No sign of Deadlox on the north side," Aver first replies. Then DJ turns to Katz.
"Nothing on the west side either."
"Charity?" DJ asks, in a tone telling that she is losing hope.
"Nothing on the south side," Charity sighs, "I did hear a disturbance around there when I went around upward in the forest, but it must have been my imagination."
"Ok, there is still that possibility that it was Deadlox that you heard," was DJ's reply to that, "If that's the case, then he shouldn't be far."
"But since we have to stay here just tonight then shouldn't Deadlox be able to travel further out?" Katz questions, looking back at the other three, interested in their responses.
"Katz has a point," Aver points a thoughtful finger at her, "But where would Deadlox usually go first? He barely knows this dimension."
"My first instinct is to go back to my place, so since he's staying with me and a few others in east side, he's instinct should be to head there first incase the others had the idea that he was kidnapped or something."
"Ok," Charity talks right after DJ, "first thing in the morning, we head to east side and keep an eye out for Deadlox. We have to make sure he doesn't come in contact with anyone but us."