Act 1: Death
Chapter one: Alliance
Captain Raulyn,
You are not aware of the details surrounding the events of this night. Few are. This message will answer some of your questions.
Three weeks ago
Jack woke up with a start. He sat up, gasping. Sweat coated his face and stuck his clothes to his body. He was shaking.
Only a dream, he told himself. Only a dream…
He leaned forward, his head in his hands, trying to calm his breathing. That alone took a few minutes. The dream, vivid and turbulent, still echoed in his head. Not even twenty-four hours in the Fallen Realm, and now he had mental problems to deal with. The Overworld was finally getting to him.
After calming down, he rose from his makeshift bed with a sigh. His room was really just a tiny cave in the Realm's enormous wall, with the bed being a mess of dirt and grass. The mobs had the same conditions, but he suspected they still slept better than he did. They were used to it, after all.
He took off his sweaty shirt and changed into something fresh. Shortly after reaching the Realm, Andr had used her teleportation to quickly visit a few human villages, where she'd stolen some food, clothes, tools and even books. She didn't bring back much, but at least Jack got a shirt out of it.
He grabbed his black leather jacket and left the room. The outside greeted him with a chilly air and few stars. The moon was mostly obscured by clouds.
He strode forward. The entire Realm was surrounded by a giant wall, which had taken them roughly three days to pass through. How the ancient Overworlders could reliably visit and leave the Kingdom's main capital with that maze around it was beyond him.
He passed a wall of trees to see the lake beyond. He'd seen this when exploring the Realm with the others. There were more lakes around, but this one was closest to his room.
In the darkness, he noticed a small figure crouched by the waterside. It shifted and turned when Jack entered the ring of trees. Jack hesitated, but soon relaxed when he recognized the figure.
"Jack?" Yaebi said.
"Hey, kid," Jack sighed. Right—Yaebi and Athena could only go outside at nighttime.
Jack sat down next to Yaebi and looked over the lake. The clouds before the moon had moved a bit, allowing the water to reflect its light.
"Can't sleep?" asked Yaebi.
Jack grunted in affirmation.
He felt Yaebi's awkward gaze on him. "That… That thing you said a few days ago? About being from…another world?"
"Earth," Jack sighed, not looking at him. "It's called Earth." He found he didn't like talking about it. Not only did it remind him of everything he'd been separated from, the subject itself had also made some of the mobs act more distant towards him. None of them had known of his true origins until just a few days ago. It was a secret he'd kept all this time.
Andr had said that most of them had already moved past it, but Jack wasn't too sure about that. At least he had her and Cupa to talk to.
"Athena said that…maybe…" Yaebi fidgeted. "Maybe you know what the sun is?"
Jack looked at him. That wasn't something he had expected to hear.
"Since your world is all technological and stuff," Yaebi said. "She thought you'd know a lot more about things like that than us."
Jack paused. He guessed Yaebi was around eleven years old, but the kid had grown up more quickly than any eleven-year-old Jack had met on Earth. Part of a mob's life. Even so, Yaebi occasionally showed a curiosity—and a timidness—that caught Jack by surprise.
"There are people who know things like that, yeah," Jack finally said. "But I'm not much of a scientist myself."
"Oh."
Jack turned back to the lake, and a silence fell.
"… It's a star," Jack finally said.
Yaebi looked at him. "Wait…what?"
"I don't know for sure if it's the same for the Overworld," Jack said. "But the sun Earth moves around is a star."
"No way! Stars are so much smaller than the sun!"
"No. The sun's just closer. A lot closer. That's why it looks bigger."
Yaebi smiled incredulously and looked up at the stars. "That's so weird!" He paused, then turned to Jack again. "Does that mean every star has an Overworld?"
"I think some stars have a world. Or several. But I don't know how many of them have life on it. We haven't found any other inhabited planets so far…"
Yaebi hesitated. "Do you think Earth might be one of them?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well… We thought it was only possible for you to come here by magic. But what if all other worlds are just…" He gestured to the sky. "Up there?"
Jack looked at the stars, chewing on the boy's words. He had assumed that the Overworld was a completely different world than the one Earth was in—something that could only be accessed by magic, like Yaebi said. But what if Earth and the Overworld were just two different planets in the same world?
Could that even be possible? Both worlds had a sun, a moon, and just the right conditions for life to exist. Heck, both worlds had humans that spoke modern English, and the Overworld's level of technology was reminiscent of Earth's Middle Ages. Could a coincidence like that even exist without some magical or supernatural influence making it that way?
"You think they're looking for you?" Yaebi asked. "Your people?"
Jack imagined police swarming his house, looking for clues as to his whereabouts. There was no way his parents wouldn't have reported his disappearance, right?
"Oh, they're looking, all right," he muttered, staring up at the moon. "They're just looking in the wrong place."
Present day
"Never," Bernard said, his arms crossed. He and the other Hunters had taken up one side of the room; none of them were seated.
From the other side, the younger of the two purple-haired mobs glared at him. "You think we're here for fun? If it weren't for that truce your boss offered—" She gestured to Raulyn. "—none of us would've come."
"Mind your words," Bernard warned. "You are in our territory."
"We could still kill you," the Nether mob with yellow eyes spoke up.
The archeress mob with grey hair raised a hand. "Which we're not going to do."
Shutting out the many arguments that passed through the room, Raulyn looked at the yellow-eyed mob. The Blaze, as the files called it. He still found it hard to believe that he was facing the one who had killed Azer. If it were not a mob, he would actually admire the creature. It was already considered a hero by some.
"If you kill us," Galen said, ignoring the archeress, "you will never know where the Aether portal is." He held up the letter—the one Herobrine had supposedly left for Raulyn following the incident in Ironhand, less than two days ago. "You have all read this. The captain is the only one in this room who knows where the portal is located."
"I bet I could figure it out," the witch said. Mystia. She was a human and a sympathizer, but no less dangerous than a mob. A genius alchemist.
"And by the time that you have," Ilyoin said, "Snyder will be dead."
"Possibly by his own stupidity," added Bernard.
"Enough!" bellowed Raulyn. The entire room fell silent. He had that effect on people, despite being younger than half of the other Hunters in the room. Even the mobs suddenly looked uncertain. "We are getting nowhere with this. My goals are to see Tristan alive and the Rogue in prison—alongside Snyder, preferably." He pointed to the mobs. "What I am interested in is what you can offer us in that endeavor."
"Wh-what?" Zane said. "But…sir—"
"I'll go to the Aether," the tall mob immediately spoke up. It was the same teleporter who had saved Raulyn during the Ironhand incident. "You can't kill me, and I can't kill you without losing Jack."
Raulyn narrowed his eyes at it. The teleporter, too, had been recorded in the Hunters' files, known as 'the Ender'. Teleportation, a sense for incoming danger, greatly enhanced physical abilities and vision in the dark. Even if it were sleeping, any assassination attempt would trigger its danger sense and a subsequent teleport reflex.
The mob was clutching Snyder's jacket against its chest.
"You?" Raulyn said. "No. You are too powerful."
Its gaze darkened. "I saved your life."
"On Snyder's command—and he possessed the power to invade minds at the time."
The Ender's grip on the jacket tightened. "I'm not asking permission…"
"Captain," the archeress spoke up, its voice calm with a hint of melancholy. The Hunter files called this one the Skeleton, but many called it the Stray to avoid confusion with its Nether counterpart. "Right now, we have the same goal: The Aether."
Bernard scoffed. "Our goals are—"
"Silence," Raulyn ordered him.
The Stray nodded. "We both want to go to the Aether," it continued. "You know where it is, but Herobrine said that you need us to help you get there."
Raulyn did not deny that. If he did not believe the letter, he would not have had any reason to go to the Aether in the first place. Or to let the mobs inside the Hunters' headquarters.
"If we're going to do this, though," the Stray continued, gesturing to the Ender, "she's coming with us. She's the strongest mob we have. We'll need her."
"William is dead, Captain," Zane cut in. "He died during the incident; Snyder either failed to save him or refused. I am prepared to follow you to the Aether, but not with the things that accompanied the man who may very well have killed one of our own."
Several other Hunters made sounds of agreement.
Raulyn turned to them. Finally he turned to Tvusn, who had not said anything so far. "Tvusn. Did Snyder not save your life?"
Tvusn nodded. "He did, Captain. I do not know if it was his own choice or not, but he did."
"And what are your thoughts on this debate?"
Tvusn hesitated. "Whether you go to the Aether or not, and whether you bring the mobs with you or not, is your decision. I do not trust myself to make a choice here."
Raulyn nodded. Tvusn feared that his experience during the incident made him biased. Raulyn respected the man's willingness to admit that to himself.
Raulyn turned to Kai, who had also remained silent. The Hunters' second-in-command was roughly Raulyn's age, but no less competent. It was funny how two of the youngest Hunters were also the most skilled. Both had begun training and hunting since birth, whereas the others started at a later time.
"… I do not know, Captain," Kai quietly said, answering Raulyn's unspoken question. "I am prepared to make the journey with you."
"But?"
"But we know nothing about the Aether. Venturing into unfamiliar and potentially hostile territory may require…help." He glanced to the mobs.
"You think that we should head to the Aether with them?"
Kai nodded. "Yes, sir."
Raulyn turned to the mobs. "You do realize," he said to them, "that I will kill Snyder when I get the chance?"
"And you realize," the Wither Skeleton said, "that we'll turn Ironhand into a ghost town if you try anything like that?"
Raulyn said nothing. He suspected they could do that. The mobs might lose some of their own, but their destructive potential would likely be enough to overwhelm the town. He never thought they would let him take Jack in without a fight anyway; he just wanted to see their reaction to his threat.
He noticed some of the other mobs glanced at the Wither Skeleton, and he detected slight discomfort in their gazes—as if what it just said was a terrible act, even for them.
"Captain," the Stray said. "We have the same goal. Without you, we can't get to the Aether; without us, you and your men will be more at risk."
"Also," Mystia said, "we'd still follow you even if you went without us."
Ignoring her, the Stray continued, "With our powers, I'd reckon you'll have a bigger chance of survival. Wouldn't you agree?"
"And why would you help us survive in the Aether?" asked Flamma. "Once we make it there, you will have no reason not to turn against us."
"We also had no reason not to kill Captain Raulyn after he fought Jack," the Stray calmly said.
"That is true," Raulyn admitted. "They could have killed me and Bernard that day." He gestured for Galen to hand him the letter. "Mind control or not, Jack and Herobrine's actions may have saved Ironhand. One of them left this message, stating that I need the mobs' help to limit casualties. And possibly to fight the Rogue."
"With respect, sir," Flamma said, "how do we know the letter comes from Herobrine?"
"Because before today, I never told anyone about the portal I saw—not even Drake and Tristan—yet Herobrine explicitly states that I did."
"How does he know?"
Raulyn hesitated. "Some consider him a god."
The Blaze scoffed. "Herobrine, a god? That's not what I'd call him."
"Followers of Elyfotism do," Kai quietly said.
"Then they're crazy."
Wisely, Kai said nothing. A sign of restraint from a man who had been born and raised in a pious community.
"Either way, god or not," Raulyn said, "the letter mentioned me and the portal. I suspect Herobrine knows more about the Aether's dangers as well." He looked the Stray in the eye; it was the closest thing the mobs seemed to have to a leader. "Fine—I will trust the letter, and you will have your alliance. I will assemble a small team of Hunters to accompany us to the Aether. I suggest you do the same with your group. I expect a group of five mobs at most."
That drew every gaze in the room towards him.
Then the Hunters burst out in protests and arguments.
Raulyn looked into the mobs' shocked eyes. As far as he could see, they were still suspicious of him, but there were also signs of relief and satisfaction.
He himself questioned if he had done the right thing, but he was ready to take the risk. When Raulyn fought this mob group, he ultimately found himself at their mercy, and they had spared him and the mob hunters from Glassway—all but ignoring the fact that he had tried to kill them. Jack and the Ender could have easily killed him during the Ironhand incident as well, but he was still alive now. Jack and Herobrine had taken control of his mind, yes, but only as a means to an end.
Raulyn hated mobs. That included the ones he now faced down. But if there was any truth to Herobrine's letter—if Tristan, Karles and the Rogue were in the Aether, and if it was as treacherous a place as the message claimed—he would need them.
If he were to work with mobs, he would do so with the group that had chosen to spare him in the past.
"Quiet!" Kai roared over the sounds of arguing Hunters. "Quiet!"
The noise slowly died down. Despite being close to Raulyn's age, Kai's voice was significantly less effective than the captain's. It was a matter of reputation; Raulyn was more well-known, while every other current Hunter had only recently joined up.
Raulyn gave Kai a nod, then turned to the Hunters. "I have made my decision," he said. "And you will live with it." He turned back to the mobs. "Leave. We will meet again this evening."