Chapter 20: More to Come

Pickaxe thought it was a dream when he woke up.

Of course, Jewel and Sarah were there to tell him otherwise. "Check your inventory," they commanded. Pickaxe ended up pulling out the enderpearl… and the block of mycelium it dropped. "Welp, that happened," was all he could say at this point. Both girls nodded. So Pickaxe had killed an enderman… and he lived. He was just waiting for someone to tell him it was all a joke. Instead, Stan appeared at the door. He said, "Mom wants to see you."

Okay, not a dream.

Sabrina was waiting for him in the kitchen. Her face brightened when she saw him. "Oh, Pickaxe! Please, do take a seat." Pickaxe did so, as Sabrina began to look for something in a chest. She picked out two pumpkin pies. "Hope you're hungry!" she said, giving Pickaxe one of the pies. Before he began eating, he mentioned, "Stan said you wanted to see me?" Sabrina nodded, wiping off the pie crumbs from her face and hands. "Well… I just wanted to say… thank you…" she thanked. Pickaxe didn't quite get it. "Thank you," she continued, "For protecting the village… and Reed…" Oh, right. Reed almost died at the enderman's hands. Sabrina felt like she needed to change the subject.

"Um… do you… like my daughter?"

Pickaxe nearly choked on his pie. Sabrina was asking him THIS question!? "By like, do you mean…" "YES, I do mean LIKE like!" Sabrina confirmed. Great… "With all do respect, Sabrina," Pickaxe managed to say, "I think your daughter is a wonderful person. She's a great friend. I personally think of her as a sister. But…" "You don't LIKE like her, per say," Sabrina finished. "...yeah. I mean, I really don't see her and me in that kind of relationship. I like to think of her as a sister, but that's about it. I do care about her, though. I'd protect her for as long as she needed i-" Sabrina raised her hand to demand silence. "I understand," she assured. "But just know that whether or not you like my daughter, the way you see her as a sister…" She drew close to Pickaxe, putting her arms around him, "Is the way I see you as my son."

As Pickaxe left the kitchen, he could've sworn he saw Reed and Stan nodding in approval from one corner in the house.

At this point of the day, the village was busy as usual. Some were in the mines, others were tending to the fields, a few were building, and some were trading. Not far from the house, Pickaxe's friends were busy talking with Endre. "Hey, Pickaxe!" called Texik. He joined the group as soon as he could. "Have any plans?" asked Endre. "Well," Pickaxe admitted, "I was originally planning to head back home, but… I could consider staying here in the village." "Sweet," approved Madison. "At the very least a few days," he continued, "I could help with mining." "Good, we desperately need more diamonds," Endre commented.

"But what about the rest of you guys?" asked Pickaxe.

"Well, I plan to help my family out a bit," said Jewel, "Maybe even head back to the Nether." "Ditto on that," added Madison, "The Nether has monsters." "Eh, I'm more into trading," Texik commented. "I plan to help manage the Nether resources," Sarah pipped in. "Good!" Endre applauded, "I personally plan farming…" "Hey youngsters, get over here!" shouted Reed. He, Sabrina, and Stan were all standing behind some chests.

What's in them?, thought Pickaxe.

"Everything you need to get started building a home!" announced Sabrina. "Wood, crafting tables,beds, furnaces, chests…" "Don't forget the torches!' added Stan. "The only question is: where are you gonna stay?" Reed asked. Pickaxe looked around the island. He noticed a large brown mushroom in the distance. His eyes gleamed with determination. "Oh boy…" muttered Texik, seeing what Pickaxe was planning to do. He grabbed the resources, and ran to the mushroom.

Time to craft some ladders.

Within the course of several minutes, he had crafted his second home. The ladders were placed on the stalk, leading up to a trapdoor that allowed entryway into his home. On top of the mushroom, he had filled in the missing corners of the flat surface with cobblestone, and used the remaining wood and stone to create the walls and roof. He also added windows and torches where they were most appropriate. Finally, he placed his bed, chest, furnace, and crafting table in his new house.

Not bad for a miner. Not bad.

He stumbled out of bed when he heard the sound of note blocks in the morning. From his windows, he could see the entire village was gathered around one miner and a Nether portal in the center. The miner had white hair and light grey eyes from what he could see. He was even paler than Endre, and he was shaking and fidgeting like a madman. What's more, he looked like he had the poison effect… oh no. He flew down the ladder, desperate to get the center. Over the sounds of the miners' nervous chatter, he could hear Reed's voice: "What happened? Please, answer me!" "Dad!" he heard Endre say.

Oh crud, thought Pickaxe, this just got real.

"Parker… gone… rouge," the miner croaked. Pickaxe could get a better look at him now. He wore a black shirt and purple pants. He wore no shoes, and an flint and steel was being weakly carried in his hands. "What do you mean?" demanded Reed. "Plans… to take… village… over." The miner was looking worse as he tried to speak. "Look at me, Dad!" Endre begged, clutching his dad's shoulders. He could barely focus on him. "It's gonna be okay, it's just poison" Endre stated, trying to keep him sane. "No," he whispered, "Parker… made… alliance… kill… anyone… in… his… way…" Endre looked like he was about to cry.

Suddenly, Endre's dad threw him out of the way, as an arrow struck his chest.

The village watched in horror as Endre's father slumped to the ground. The Nether portal's purple energy combusted, leaving no way to enter where the arrow had come from. Pickaxe was barely able to comprehend the events himself. He just saw Endre's father get shot, possibly to death. "Son," he managed to utter, the light in his eyes fading. Endre was immediately by his father's side. "Don't… go down… without… a… fight…" Those were his last words.

Endre's father disappeared into dust, leaving the flint and steel, as well as a stone sword, among other things.

Endre just slumped there, motionless. The village didn't know what to think. Pickaxe didn't know what to think. Whoever this Parker guy was… he needed to be taught a lesson. You couldn't just kill an innocent man in cold blood and expect to get away with it. And he was plotting to overthrow the village? Oh no. Not on his watch. He looked toward his friends: Jewel, Madison, Texik, Sarah. They all nodded their heads in agreement. Pickaxe walked up to Endre. He extended his hand. Endre looked up, and took his hand. "We're off to the Nether," he declared.

Pickaxe was ready. After all, when one story ends, another one begins...

End of Book One: Overworlder