Ruben's Adventure
Chapter 6: Introductions and Farewells
Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft, just the characters in this story.
Ruben and the others gathered at the gate to the city as the dust cloud drew closer. He, Adam, and Blake clamored up the ladder to get on the walls and draw their bows.
"Get ready!" Jack shouted as the others all drew their weapons.
The dust cloud was only twenty blocks from them now and they could clearly see the black-clad figure Ruben had spotted earlier. He produced an Ender Pearl from his belt and threw it over the wall, a few other pearls joined him.
"He's got company!" Ruben shouted to the group as the pearls began to descend past the walls.
In an instant three figures were standing in the city's square. The black-clad figure drew an enchanted Diamond sword and sprinted toward Jack's group on the ground while another figure in enchanted Iron Armor drew his iron blade, also glowing with magic and joined the first. The third figure, a robed individual produced a pumpkin and some iron blocks from his pockets.
"Summoner!" Adam shouted as he and Blake began to fire arrows at the trio.
Martin leapt over Sarah as she ran up and attempted to slash at him. He cut her across the back knocking her down, she rolled out of the way as the Spellblade attempted to stab her. Bill and Grrr drew their weapons and tried to sandwich Martin with a pincer attack but he leapt up out of their reach and they ran into each other. Paul drew his blade and he glared at Martin as he landed on Bill and Grrr's shoulders. He kicked off them again and flew over Paul's head, landing next to the lever of the gate. He flipped the switch and the gate opened. Paul took off to attack him.
Ruben had watched all this in amazement, but the sound of the gate's pistons snapped him out of it. Looking out into the desert he saw that the dust cloud was still fast approaching.
"More are coming!" He shouted as he drew his bow back and began to fire at the dust cloud.
Jack had rushed to Sarah's aid when the Spellblade had attacked her. As he heard Ruben's call he knocked the man's sword away and slashed him across the chest, gouging out a line in his armor. Jack turned to see Paul fighting with Martin in front of the lever. He rushed over to help him.
"Paul, out of the way!"
Paul couldn't hear him, he was currently engaged with Martin in a very one-sided fight. Martin easily deflected Paul's attacks and in return would strike back dealing damage to Paul through his armor.
Blake looked down to see the fight and growled.
"Cover the entrance, I'm going to help them down there," Blake drew his sword and slid down the ladder.
Adam sighed as he turned to help Ruben fire into the approaching dust cloud. The sound of horse hooves was now evident amongst the roar of metal and fighting below. Elizabeth had gone and found her golems that were defending the city, and after overriding their defense commands she sicked them on Martin's summoner whom Samuel had tried to engage, but kept getting pushed back by his Snow Golems. Mark had fled to the animal pens, looking to stay out of the fight since he wasn't good with a weapon.
Grrr disentangled himself from Bill and whistled so loudly it echoed across the city. Soon the sound of a multitude of wolf paws echoed off the walls as his herd arrived.
Grrr growled in an aggressive fashion and pointed toward Martin and the Spellblade. The dogs surged forward in a wave of white and gray. They soon overcame the Spellblade and he screamed as the dogs bit into him and ripped him to shreds. After a minute gray smoke clouds erupted from where his body had been, leaving his armor and weapons floating just off the ground. Grrr followed his pack as they rushed toward Martin who was currently fending off Jack and Paul. The pair heard Martin mutter something before he disappeared with a quick Ender Pearl throw, appearing about ten blocks away, standing next to the Summoner.
"Now," he told him.
The man grinned with an evil look in his eye as he produced some materials Ruben had never seen.
Elizabeth screamed in fear as she saw the materials, the others instantly surged toward the pair, but Martin grinned as he produced a strange looking egg from his pocket. It was green with black stripes on it. He grabbed the Summoner who had placed four pieces of brown colored sand in the same formation for an Iron Golem, only instead of a pumpkin three black skulls had been placed on top, the whole formation began to glow as it merged into one form. Martin threw the egg on the ground and instantly used an Ender Pearl and teleported himself and the Summoner over the wall of the city.
"What is that!?" Ruben shouted over the rising sound of the creature forming.
A hiss and explosion sounded below him and for a fraction of a second he saw a Creeper blow up the gate of the city. The dust cloud was on the walls now and the citizens were horrified to see Villagers tied to horses with string, and leads were tied to the horses tails as Zombies flooded in behind them through the open gate.
As that happened another explosion occurred in the middle of the city and Ruben heard a metallic clang against the wall below him. He looked over the wall to see Samuel had been blown into the wall by the second explosion. A black boned, skeletal creature with three heads began to float over the city. It looked down at the group.
"What is that!?" Jack shouted to the group.
"Wither!" Blake shouted back "Find cover!"
The Wither released a black skull at Blake which exploded when it came into contact with the ground sending him flying into the wall. A black ooze had come out of the explosion and Blake was covered in it, he continued to grunt in pain as he reached for a Healing Potion that Sarah had given him.
"Don't let it hit you!" He shouted before he downed the potion.
Ruben and Adam drew their bows and began to fire at it. The creature released an echoed hissing sound as each arrow hit it. The rest of the group ducked into cover as the Wither tried to spot them. It fired the skulls again and again, each one destroying another portion of the city, revealing some of the citizens as their cover was destroyed.
Adam growled as another arrow drove itself into the beast. "I'm out!" He shouted.
Ruben handed him a spare set of arrows he'd been carrying and the firing resumed. After what seemed like hundreds of arrows the Wither began to glow with a shimmering aura of white energy. Lowering itself to the ground the citizens who'd been revealed had ducked from cover to cover and were fighting off the Zombie horde that had invaded the walls. As the Wither lowered to the ground Grrr and his wolf pack sicked on it and began to beat at it with axe and teeth. Adam's dog had also joined the fray along with Ruben's. After a moment the Wither looked down and fired a single blast causing the dogs and Grrr to be sent flying while covered in the black liquid. The dogs quickly began to fall over and disappear into puffs of smoke with pained cries and Grrr landed next to a Zombie which bit into his weakened form. He shouted before he went limp.
"Grrr!" Ruben shouted as he watched his friend be attacked. With renewed vigor he fired an arrow at the Wither but it bounced off the shimmering field around it, and drew its attention.
"Get down!" Adam shouted as a skull was sent hurtling toward them, he tackled Ruben out of the way but the skull hit the wall before where Ruben had been standing and the wall collapsed in that portion sending Adam down to the ground ten blocks below. Ruben heard a sickening crunch as Adam hit the ground, and then a scream of pain. He looked over the wall's edge and saw that a zombie had began to attack him.
"Adam!"
Jack sprinted out from cover along with Samuel, Paul, and Blake. The group charged at the Wither and began to hack away at it with their swords weakening it significantly, but not enough to stop it from firing more skulls at them sending them flying away. Samuel and Paul landed on top of a zombie, and each other. Another nearby zombie kneeled down and began to dig in while Blake and Jack landed on top of one of the houses.
Elizabeth screamed as a zombie grabbed her while her golems attempted to defend her. The golem slammed its arm into the creature sending it flying away as it ripped off the sleeve of her robe. Sarah rushed over to check on her and make sure she was ok, dispatching a zombie with a quick sword slash as she went. Black and Jack stood up as Black grabbed an Ender Pearl.
"Hold on," he told Jack as he grabbed his wrist and threw the pearl at the beast.
"Wait a minute!" Jack shouted before he and Blake appeared on the ground in front of the beast.
"Finish it!" Blake shouted as he lodged his sword into the Wither. Jack shouted as he did the same. The beast seemed to stop for a moment before it looked down at them.
"Oh no," Jack said as it blasted them again. They flew and slammed into the wall of the city.
Ruben had ran around to the far side of the wall and leapt from it to the roof of the Blacksmith's shop. He looked down to see some of the horde was trying to beat down the shed that led to the paddock.
"Mark!" He shouted as he drew his two diamond swords and landed on the ground. He cleaved through the horde with a few slashes until the doorway was clear.
"Thanks Ruben!" Mark shouted from the shed.
"Stay here, I'll be back for you," He said.
"I ain't goin' anywhere!" he shouted back as Ruben took off toward the Wither "Be careful!"
Ruben sprinted across the walkway and snuck up on the Wither from behind he switched to a Strength Potion he'd made with Sarah the other day, she said it was the strongest brew she'd made yet. He down it in one gulp and drew his second sword back out as he felt his muscles surge with power.
"Die!" He shouted as he leapt onto the Wither's back and lodged his swords in its two heads. They hissed before disappearing into clouds of smoke. With his blades free he turned to them inward and slammed them together across the Wither's main neck as the head turned to him, it continued turning as it flew off into the grass behind him. The body fell over as Ruben jumped off and landed on the grass. He looked up to see Elizabeth and Sarah be overrun by the horde.
"No!" He shouted taking off in that direction. The golems all fell to the zombie bites as he got there.
He began to hack his way through to his friends only to find they were laying lifeless on the floor. He clenched his fists on his swords before turning to see if anyone else was ok. Jack and Blake were attempting to fight off a few Zombies when Ruben heard a door break. He looked to see Mark's shed had been broken into by a new group of Zombies.
His hearing began to dim as he looked around and took in his surroundings. His home was burning and half destroyed, his friends had been slain and eaten left and right. He couldn't bring himself to move, even as a Zombie began to walk toward him.
"Ruben!" A dulled voice shouted at him.
The Zombie reached forward to try and bite him but an arrow sent it toppling over.
"Ruben!" the dulled voice called again.
Ruben remained standing there in shock as Blake and Jack approached him. They began to push him into one of the nearby houses as the Zombies crowded around them. Blake slammed the door behind them.
"That won't hold long, how are you holding up?" Blake asked him.
"I'm alright, that liquid crap the Wither was spraying us with evaporated," Jack told him.
"Good, that liquid can kill you if you aren't careful. Here, you look a little bruised up," Blake handed him a healing potion and Jack nodded as he downed it.
Sighing with relief he stood up and readied his sword as the door began to bend inward.
"Ready?" Jack asked.
"As I'll ever be," Blake drew his sword.
"Ruben?" Jack asked him.
Ruben didn't hear him, his mind had wandered from the shock, he was sitting in the corner of the room, his twin swords cast aside.
"Ruben!" Jack shouted at him.
Ruben was remembering when he'd first met each of his friends, from Jack in his castle to Blake teaching how to sneak in the desert. He couldn't hear Jack, or the shouts and grunts as the Zombies broke in and the pair fought to protect him. Blake and Jack did their best, but the sheer number of zombies was too much. Blake was soon overrun, but before he went down he shouted at Jack.
"Hidden trapdoor! Under Ruben! Get out!"
Jack looked to see the trapdoor he'd missed when he pushed Ruben inside. He quickly ran over, pocketed his sword and shoved Ruben out of the way before opening the trapdoor.
"Sorry kid," Jack said as he lifted Ruben and kicked his swords into the hole. Tossing Ruben down first he went to climb down himself but a weight pressed on him from behind and slammed him into the wall as a Zombie bit him.
Jack's screaming brought Ruben back to the present, that and the sudden impact from the ground.
"Huh? What?" Ruben looked up to see Zombies were overrunning the house, and he saw Jack.
"Jack!" He shouted.
"Don't worry about me kid, get out of here," Jack said as he drew his sword and stabbed the Zombie that had bit him. He shouted again as he disappeared. Ruben heard sword slashes from above, and then nothing but zombie groans.
His eyes misted up as he watched the Zombies walk around in the house, but he didn't stop. He grabbed his swords and began to sprint down the tunnel. After a minute he managed to escape and reached a cave. Exiting the system by following some torches set into the wall he saw the city from a distance, smoke rose up into the sky and huge holes had been blown in the walls. He watched as Martin and his Summoner fled the scene on horseback. A seething anger filled him, but he knew he couldn't fight Martin as he was. He looked back at the city and walked toward it. A few minutes later he entered from the destroyed gate. He quickly dispatched a few roaming zombies.
As he knocked down the last one he heard another growling behind him and turned to see it was Grrr, but… he was a zombie. Ruben froze.
"Grrr…" he said sadly. He couldn't bring himself to cut down his former friend, and instead he began to wander around the city, leading Grrr around. He searched each of the houses for anything useful and packed up the necessary supplies, as well as a few books Elizabeth had brought with her when she and Samuel arrived. As he walked out of the houses he saw the sun was beginning to rise.
"Oh no!" He shouted looking at some of the zombie horde that was already catching fire. He turned and saw Grrr had been joined by most of his friends in zombified form. He shouted and drew their attention, rushing to the house Blake, Jack, and he had made their last stand in. He saw it was more or less empty of Zombies except for two… Blake and Jack. He stopped as he saw his mentor and closest friend growl and try to come at him. He gripped his swords tightly before sheathing them on his back and dodging the attack. He shouted again, drawing all of his zombified friends to him. He rushed around behind the house as the small herd followed him. He broke the door off of the next house over and yanked two pieces of dirt out of the ground. He walked into the house and set the door into place, leaving it open. He walked to the back of the house and waited until they began to enter. In a second he was back down in the trap hole, closing the trapdoor behind him he sprinted down the tunnel.
"Please still be there, please still be there," he shouted as he rushed back to the city from the cave. As he stepped in front of the doorway of the house he sighed with relief, everyone was still accounted for. He slammed the door shut and put the two blocks of dirt up in front of it.
"I'm sorry guys… I'm so sorry," he said as he slid down the dirt tower in front of the house. He put his arms up on his knees and tucked his head into them… and he began to cry.
