Chapter six: Dismissed as trickery

As you read this, you will scoff. You see no reason to find Snyder or join forces with his group. But you will take one thing into consideration. You will initially not believe me as you read this, but you have my word that it is true.

Three weeks ago

Jack stumbled out of his bedroom and into the Realm's open air. He embraced the mild morning chill, letting it shake him awake.

Same nightmare. Again. It was beginning to feel like more than just a subconscious way of processing his predicament. It felt like…something was calling him.

Straightening his back, he started towards the center of the Realm. He wasn't really sure what he was going to do today. He wanted to help out with other chores—maybe resume his work on the storage. He would have to ask the survival experts that accompanied him about what the best course of action was.

He wiped some lingering sweat off his forehead. The nightmare made him move in his sleep a lot, as evidenced by the makeshift mattress and his jacket—which he used as a blanket—always being messy and tangled up in the morning.

He lowered his arm. Well, at least it was daytime now. No nightmare would hurt him—

He stopped, looking at the red smear on his hand. Blood…?

He examined it with a frown. Then he wiped his forehead again with his other hand. More blood. He was bleeding—?

In the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a figure looking at him from a distance. A dark figure. Dual red eyes. Tattered robes.

He snapped his gaze up to it.

And it was gone.

He blinked. Had it been his imagination?

He looked at his hands to see that the red stains were gone. Replaced with sweat.

"What the fuck…" he whispered to himself. He knew for sure he had blood on his hands moments ago.

And the figure… There was something about it. In fact, the more he thought about it, the less he could recall. He knew he'd seen the figure's eyes and clothes, but now he found himself unable to remember what they looked like. As if they'd been wiped from his memory.

Am I going crazy…?

"You looking for something?"

He whirled around to see Cassandra sitting in a nearby tree, effortlessly balancing herself on a protruding branch. She glared down at him with judgmental red eyes.

He breathed out. It was just her. Was she the figure he'd seen moments ago? But why couldn't he remember what the figure looked like? And why hadn't he recognized her…?

"Hey!" she called. "I'm talking to you!"

"Shut up," Jack blurted out. He looked down at his hands again. No blood. He turned to where the figure earlier had stood. There was no way Cassandra had moved from there to here in such a short time. Even she wasn't that fast.

And she didn't instill the same sense of unease.

He heard her scoff. "Don't worry, you paranoid idiot," Cassandra said. "There's no one else here. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who's onto you."

He turned to her. "What?"

"You might as well be honest with me now," Cass said. "No one else is around. How long are you going to keep up appearances?"

What was she talking about? Did she know more about his dreams?

"What's your game?" she continued. "You with the humans? Or with some group from your world we don't know about?"

"What are you talking ab—?!" Jack stopped, realizing what she meant. "Oh. What, you think I'm a mob hunter, now?"

"Or you work for someone from your world. Which is it?"

Jack sigh-growled. It seemed Cassandra was still mistrustful of him. He couldn't say he was surprised; when he finally told everyone the truth of where he came from, she'd reacted the harshest.

Andr had been wrong when she said the others had made their peace with his secret.

"If you're here to slander me," Jack said, "just…stop. Stop talking. I don't have time for you."

"Because you're so busy doing other important things, right?"

He began to walk away.

She jumped from tree to tree to keep up with him. "Nothing?" she challenged. "No defense? Nothing about how you helped us get here in one piece?"

"Would it matter?"

"Not really. I'd guess you're smart enough to know you can't beat us when someone in our group can sense danger before it hits."

He frowned. "What? Who?" Did Cassandra have a Spider Sense?

She raised an eyebrow. "… Andr. You didn't know she could do that?"

Jack stopped to face her. "Andr? But she got hit by a raindrop sometime during our travels."

Cassandra froze, as if she'd said something she wasn't supposed to. "That…" she said. "That was on purpose. To see if she could take it."

Jack doubted that; at the time Andr got hit, the only people who were with her were Cupa and Jack himself. Was Cassandra just trying to scare him with this Spider Sense thing? Or…Ender Sense, he supposed. If anything, he'd be happy if it were true. He didn't want to see Andr hurt…

"Whatever," Cass said as she followed. "It's not like you could do anything."

He ignored her and walked away.

She scoffed, but thankfully jumped to a tree away from him.

Jack wondered how many other mobs still mistrusted him. Maybe Athena was right, and he should check. If he continued keeping his distance, it wouldn't exactly help his credibility.

Present day

A light 'click' sounded from where Kai's hand met the wall.

He stopped.

Then the floor beneath their feet shot down.

The ground descended, leaving them between four walls. Athena almost fell over at the sudden motion.

The ground above them closed, separating them from the cave they were in moments ago.

"No…!" cried Kai as the floor continued its descent.

Then they saw light. And the floor stopped moving.

Shocked, Athena looked around and past the metal bars that surrounded them. They were in a cylindrical cage in another cave room—one with an arched ceiling and a soft dirt floor. Bright glowstone lanterns hung at the four walls, each one flanking an entrance to a hallway. Bales of hay, piles of wool and pieces of rock and wood were strewn about the place like makeshift seats and beds.

The lowest of the metal bars that surrounded them sunk into the ground, allowing them free passage into the room itself.

Silence.

Athena slowly walked off the lift and into the room, looking around with wide eyes. Kai followed; he was just as surprised as she was.

"Merciful Kervan," the Hunter whispered.

"An…abandoned mine…?" Athena said.

Kai turned to her, looking bewildered.

"What…" Athena whispered. "What just happened?"

Kai looked up at the elevator shaft they just stepped from. The floor didn't go back up; seemed the lift was stuck.

"Some sort of contraption…" Kai said. "Redstone, probably." He looked around the room. "Is there a switch here that will reactivate it? Buttons, levers, pressure plates…"

They checked. Athena didn't know much about how redstone worked, but she did know it could be used to make some pretty complicated machines. Jack claimed that they had something similar on Earth—something based on electricity, supposedly even more complicated. The mobs had found it hard to believe that lightning could be harnessed like that, but Jack had insisted that it was true—alongside the other outlandish claims he made.

"Here," she said, finding a stone lever. It was so worn that she initially didn't recognize it as one.

"Switch it," Kai ordered. "But be careful."

She did, listening carefully for the sound of shifting pistons—frequently used components in redstone contraptions. Nothing happened.

She switched it again, and again. "It's not working," she said.

He sighed. "I was afraid of that. Mines like these have not been maintained for a long time. There is a chance that the redstone system is somehow damaged."

"How?"

"Who knows? Some people actively look for contraptions like these to raid them. Redstone can be valuable. Or maybe the cave collapsed somewhere, blocking the signal."

"So we're going to have to look for another exit, then," Athena sighed. "I've lived in a mine like this. If you don't know the layout, it's a maze."

"Then we should start exploring quickly."

They paused, examining the four hallways. One was darker than the rest, the only source of light being a broken glowstone lamp on the ground. Another had collapsed further in.

The third and fourth were well-lit. To Athena's eyes, they looked quite inviting. It reminded her of her old home, before the Fallen Realm.

Kai walked towards one of the two. Athena glimpsed a frown on his face. She followed his gaze, but there was nothing there save for a glowstone lantern that hung on the wall.

Kai walked up to the lantern and held his own next to it. Then Athena realized what he was seeing.

Kai's lamp, while in decent condition, was more rusty than the one on the wall. That lamp's metal components were shiny enough to reflect light.

Kai touched the lamp on the wall. "This…" he whispered, running a finger over it. "It has been oiled. Recently." He looked at her.

A silence fell as dread set in. As small as it was, this little detail contradicted the cobwebs, the worn support beams and the overall damage in a way that made Athena uncomfortable.

"Mobs?" Athena whispered, suddenly on edge. "They don't always care as much about cobwebs."

"It could be mobs. Or stray humans. Possibly bandits." He turned to face the hallway ahead. He hesitated, then turned back to her. "For the sake of convenience, I need to know your name."

"Athena," she responded, mildly surprised. Most mob hunters weren't interested in learning a mob's name, even in a situation like this.

He gave a nod. "Athena," he quietly repeated.

"Let's go," she said, nodding to the hallway. "I want to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"Agreed."

They slowly started walking. Athena held her bow while Kai brandished a hand-and-a-half sword. Athena used her ears as much as her eyes. There was someone here. There had to be. How else could that lamp have oil on it? And she was walking around with a human. If they met the cave's inhabitants, chances were they'd get in trouble.

They encountered turns, crossroads, dead ends, dark or collapsed hallways and streams of water. Some corridors ended in a ravine—where they connected to bridges, all of which were destroyed. There was surprisingly little choice in terms of where to go, as most hallways just didn't go anywhere. Even so, there was just enough choice to make the place a labyrinth.

They ultimately found a way around the ravine, allowing them to explore the mineshaft's other half. Though the place was reminiscent of Athena's old home, it was…messier. Not as well preserved. Save for the lamps, that was.

Eventually they found a smaller room with makeshift seats. It reminded Athena of her old breakroom.

An open chest sat in the corner. Kai approached it and peeked inside. He frowned.

"What is it?" Athena asked.

Kai glanced at her. Then he reached into the chest and took out a white-yellowish piece of clothing.

Athena approached. "That looks expensive."

"It is. These kinds of clothes are typically worn by the rich." He dropped it back into the chest, where Athena sighted other items—liquor, jewelry, a sword scabbard…

"Stolen from a local town, probably," Athena said. "Or a carriage. We mobs have a tendency to do that. Makes surviving easier."

"I am aware. But human bandits are known to do this as well. I do not understand what use mobs would have for jewelry."

"Some have trading systems. They're usually not very sophisticated, but they do use currencies. I met one group like that once." She paused, then added, "We should sit down here and catch a breather."

"I am not tired."

"Me neither, but I think we should take a moment to get our heads straight."

Kai hesitated. "I suppose…"

They each sat down, keeping an eye on the room's entrance. Athena made sure to keep a second chair close to her; it might provide cover if they were attacked. Interestingly, Kai did the same.

They sat there for a moment in silence. Athena listened; no approaching footsteps. That didn't mean much if there were mobs here though; Cupa could walk so quietly that even Athena couldn't hear her.

She glanced at Kai. He was watching the entrance too, barely paying her any heed save for the occasional glance. Seemed like he didn't think it necessary to keep an eye on her; he was far more worried about the cave's inhabitants, even though Athena was closer to him. Not all humans would do that. Kai really trusted that she didn't want him dead.

As if his calm attitude towards her wasn't strange enough, now he actually started to trust her…? Or was she reading too much into this? Maybe Kai just didn't know when to watch his back and when to let his guard down…

She opened her mouth to ask, but hesitated. How was she going to ask about something like this?

"You act differently towards us than most mob hunters," she finally said. "Even when I accompanied you when you…needed to go, you didn't throw any insults or threats at me."

Kai didn't respond immediately. His eyes, still directed towards the door, turned grim. "As a human," he finally said, "one is taught that mobs are naturally evil, and one comes to regard them as such. Given your experience with humans, I imagine you view us in a similar way." He paused, then added, "Keep that view. Most humans will not hesitate to draw your blood. Any good deeds you do will be dismissed as trickery. We do not deserve your sympathy."

She waited for him to continue, but he didn't say anything else. "That doesn't really answer my question. Do you think I'm tricking you right now? Is that what you're saying?"

"No, it is not," he said. "You might be tricking me, of course, but I do not think it happens as often as humans think."

That shocked her. "You don't…? But half the reason humans fear mobs is because they think we're deceptive and lack a conscience. If you don't believe that, why still hunt us?"

He gave her a long hesitant glance.

"Tell me…" she requested.

Kai sighed. "I suppose there is no harm in that," he finally said. "Three years ago, I was confronted by a mob. Most know her as 'the Charged,' but her real name was Elektra…and she was insane."

"Insane?"

"Ruthless. Destructive. Manipulative. She was what most humans think mobs are, albeit without subtlety. It is because of mobs like her that I continue to hunt. Yes, maybe Elektra was simply tired of being persecuted because of what she was, and maybe she had a right to be angry, but I do not want to leave humans at the mercy of people like her."

"But you just said we're not as deceptive as most humans think we are. You're more openminded than the others. How? How'd you become like that after you had to deal with people like Elektra? Shouldn't you be more like Raulyn?"

He said nothing.

"You used to be like him once, didn't you?" Athena continued, remembering what she had heard Rayallv say. "There was a time when you killed mobs by the dozens, just like him…but you changed. Something caused you to change."

Kai glanced at her grimly. Then he stood up. "We should continue. We cannot waste time."

Athena stood up as well and followed him to the hallway outside, not objecting. He didn't want to share more about his past, it seemed. Part of her thought she should be thankful that he was so openminded at all, but her paranoid side protested. Something must've convinced him that mobs weren't the monsters humanity said they were. But if Elektra had really been that evil, what could've possibly changed his mind like that?

There were only two possible explanations: Either something else happened that he didn't talk about, or his friendly demeanor was just an act to butter her up.

She hoped it wasn't the latter. Because if it was, it would mean there was a human in the Overworld who could fool her.

As Andr searched the room, she also searched through her own mind.

In the past few days, she had noticed Athena giving her the occasional glance. The archeress had probably noticed her odd behavior. Andr wasn't sure whether to talk to her about it.

Some part of her—the part she'd been trying to suppress—didn't care. It wouldn't matter if Athena came to know about Andr's secret or not. Cupa and Jack knew, and they weren't scared. It would be little more than a distraction during the trip—a distraction they shouldn't pay any attention to.

That side of her had remained more or less dormant during the journey to Ironhand. But after talking to Jack and then losing him again, it had really begun to act up. More so than ever before.

And that scared her.

"Sir," one of the Hunters said. "I found something."

Andr turned. Raulyn approached Rayallv, holding a lamp. Rayallv was pointing to what seemed to be a button. It was made of stone, giving it some measure of camouflage in the cave wall.

"Everyone," Raulyn ordered. Hunters and mobs gathered around him. Andr kept back, but listened. "There is a switch here. We may have found the cause of their disappearance."

"So it is redstone," Mystia spoke. "Assuming this is what caused their disappearance in the first place."

"It would be quite the coincidence if it was not," Rayallv dryly said. "Regardless, this is all we have found so far."

"Let's go," Minerva urged.

"Wait," Raulyn said. "I do not want to take any risks. We will wait over there, where this corridor meets the main room." He then turned to Andr. "Then you will press the button and see what happens. You are the only one who can do this without risking your life."

"Alright," Andr simply affirmed. She didn't have any objections.

Everyone else moved back. When they were in position, Raulyn nodded to Andr.

Andr strode over to the button and pressed it. At first, nothing happened.

Then the floor below her feet descended. An involuntary yelp escaped her as she was lowered several meters below the surface of the ground. The floor above her head closed shut, leaving her in darkness.

She descended further until she found herself in a cave room. Glowstone lanterns, hallways, and the central elevator shaft she found herself in greeted her.

The moving floor descended to the level of the cave's flat ground. Then it stopped and the bars right before her moved, allowing her free passage to the room.

She stepped forward and examined the lift with awe. What was a contraption like this doing in a random cave? She seemed to be in a mineshaft judging from the supporting beams and lanterns; whoever used to work—or live—here probably liked having a fast way up and down.

She walked around, scrutinizing the room for a switch. It'd make sense if there was one; a lift went two ways, after all. She eventually found a stone lever and switched it, but nothing happened.

She returned to the others. All but Mystia—who was used to dealing with her teleporting around—flinched at her sudden appearance.

"It's a lift," Andr informed. "But I think it's stuck like this now. I found a lever, but it doesn't seem to do anything."

"Considering Athena and Kai used it," Mystia said, "it's bound to reset somehow, right? Maybe its time-based?"

"Or perhaps there is a secondary reset switch," Rayallv suggested. "Out of our reach."

"Not a problem for us," Mystia said. "Andr can teleport us all down there, and Blazette can fly down the elevator shaft."

"Actually," Rayallv said, "the Blaze cannot accompany you down there. Not until the lift is reset."

"And why is that?" Blazette asked challengingly.

"Because that button there does not open the floor," Rayallv reminded them. "It only lowers the platform. Right now, the platform—the lift—is already lowered. The floor is sealed shut; you may press that button as many times as you want, but this secret entrance will not open until the lift resets. Unless you can pass through solid matter."

Andr strode to the button and pressed it again. Sure enough, nothing happened. And she couldn't teleport Blazette down without the blonde losing consciousness.

"Seems like he's right," Mystia muttered. "Unless you can pass through solid mat—"

"I can't," the Blaze snapped. "I'll have to stay here with these…these fools!"

"Unless," Raulyn said, "you find a second switch."

Mystia shook her head. "Even if there is a second switch, someone else should stay here with Blazette and the fools. Or we should all go down and guard Blazette until she wakes up."

"No," Andr said decisively. "I'll go alone. No offense, but exploring the place will go faster if I can teleport around without having to watch anyone."

"Now just hold on," Minerva spoke up. "You think you're our babysitter now…?"

"She's right, Andr," Mystia said. "Even you have your limits."

Andr looked at her with narrowed eyes. The way Mystia said that made her feel…annoyed. "Ari said the same when I wanted to go to the Nether on my own. This is different."

"Oh yeah?" Blazette challenged. "How's that?"

"Because there's no Herobrine waiting for me down there."

"Really? Well, you know, there could be something else waiting for y—"

"I'm going," Andr snapped.

The mobs flinched at her tone. She didn't care. Her way was the safest and easiest; if they were too stubborn to accept simple facts like that, she'd be better off teleporting them back to the Realm and—

She then noticed how scared everyone looked. She blinked. Did she just…?

"I… I'm sorry. I…" She sighed, looking away. "I can do this."

"You did have a point earlier," Mystia said after a moment of silence. "About how this is…not the Nether. Alright, fine. Go. Bring them back here when you can."

Andr nodded, trying to force down her embarrassment. Then she teleported back to the cave below.

She clenched her fist. This…this thing inside of her… It had taken her over for just a moment—long enough to show itself to her friends.

It wasn't evil—it just wanted to find Athena and get to Jack as soon as possible, then go straight to the Caverns and leave the Hunters behind.

But it also wanted to show that Andr was the most powerful one among them. The strongest. The one who could take anything she wished if she set her mind to it.

A silence fell as Andr vanished.

"That…" Minerva finally said, loosening her grip on her sword a tad. "Was that normal?"

"None of that was normal," Mystia said grimly. "I've never seen that before. I didn't even know she could do that."

"Whatever it was," Raulyn added, holding up his lantern, "it…clashed…with our glowstone."

Mystia frowned. "What do you mean, clashed?"

"I saw it too," Minerva said. "It was like light, but it acted more like darkness. Those lanterns seem fine now, though…"

"So…two lights canceling each other out?" Mystia questioned skeptically.

A brief silence. "She's seemed pretty calm so far," Minerva said. "Does she get angry like that often?"

Mystia grimly shook her head. "She's been acting strangely since Ironhand. Brooding."

"Should we be worried?"

"That is an excellent question," Rayallv cut in. "Madam witch, should we be worried that the inhumanly strong teleporter is going to rip us apart in a fit of rage?"

"Don't worry," Blazette told him. "With that attitude, you'll be far more likely to get burned alive."

"Much better. At least statistics are on our side."

Athena walked next to Kai through the tunnels. The silence was unnerving, but they both felt it was a bad idea to start a conversation. Best not to risk alerting the place's residents.

Athena glanced over her shoulder—a habit she'd been humoring all her life, and for good reason.

They approached another turn. They slowed their step and shared a glance, after which Kai took point. He carefully looked around the corner.

Athena glanced back again to ensure no one was there. When she turned back forward, she noticed something hanging on Kai's belt.

She frowned and looked a little closer. A black metal K, rotated sideways. It was suspended by metal wire; chains would make too much noise.

She then noticed Kai had turned his head to see her look. She also realized she'd stepped closer to him than she initially intended. She quickly made some distance between them and straightened her back.

"You're an Elyfotist," she guessed.

He gave a nod. "Slaenone is a pious town."

Footsteps and voices. Too quiet for a human to hear, but not Athena.

She froze, grabbing Kai by the shoulder. "Mobs."