AN: Another Chapter. Getting reeeeeeal close to 100. and I was kinda hoping I'd be further along the story than this. Ideally I wanted them to be in Zeppil by 100, but I guess nothing ever goes as planned.
Still, I think I did pretty good with this Chapter. I'll talk about it more in-depth at the bottom Author's Note.
Mirrorbrine, to answer your riddle, I'm guessing the building with fifty stories but one floor is a library.
Speaking of riddles, here's one for you readers. Again, whoever answers it first correctly gets a Victory Cookie (::) and acknowledgement next Chapter. If you guess wrong or guess too late, you get a Negative Cracker [::]. They're salty and bitter and there's no water to wash them down with.
Answer at your own peril.
Puzzle: How far can a fox run into a grove?
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd add Killer Stingrays that fly around trying to kill you.
...
What's that? They already have that set up for the next snapshot? ...Really?
Huh.
Chapter 97
Change
Previously, on My Craft…
"Stomp hiiiiiiiim!"
And now, the continuation…
[Cobb]
Brain: So we're not gonna talk about how leading the threatening Hacker towards a place where inexperienced innocents spawn is a bad idea? …No? …Ok then.
Blood: I approve of this idea… let the Heads roll… we can kill the Hacker in the confusion…
Liver: W-we don't stand a chance without a Creeper. Maybe if we hide in the Origin Zone, he'll eventually get bored and leave.
Brain: That argument is just flimsy enough to wipe my ass with. Well done, Liver.
Liver: I was only trying to help! *SOB*
Brain: Don't sob, you S.O.B. In case you didn't know, S.O.B. stands for—
Heart: Silly Old Bear?
Bladder: Sexually Oriented Business?
Blood: Satan's Own Bosom?
Stomach: Shortness of Breath?
Lungs: *SIGH*
Brain: Uh… the last one.
Would you guys quit clowning around and help me figure a way out of this mess!?
The four of us were still running through the pitch-black forest. It was all I could do to keep checking the map to ensure we were going the right way. Mobs would occasionally try to impede us, but Lenz, being carried aloft by Soul and Floyd, would take them out with well shot arrows.
Turns out, the voices of real people had better suggestions than the warped voices of my psyche.
Brain: Ass.
"So you've been a Hacker this whole time?" Soul asked, much to Floyd's discomfort. "And you never told us? You never—"
"I didn't know until Nitebane, and even then it was more of a sink-or-swim reaction." Floyd quickly answered. "I used it on Teal to get her to let go of you." He paused for a second before adding in a small voice, "I didn't have it for Silent…"
Soul growled under his breath, but accepted the words for what they were. "Then couldn't you use it against—?"
"No!" Floyd cut him off with narrowed eyes. "I'm not using it."
"Why the hell not? Fight fire with fire and all that!"
"No! I… I don't know what will happen. There are risks." He replied evasively. "It isn't an option."
"What type of risks?" Lenz asked from above the blue-nette. "Any weaknesses that we can exploit? Any information could prove useful in defending ourselves against Thed_Hearst."
"Well… um…" Floyd glanced back to see if Thed was pursuing at all. There was nothing. "I know a bit about his Hack. One of them at least."
"One of them?" I asked with a bit of worry. "You mean he has more than one!? I just thought I was seeing things with those smoke slashes…"
"I have the bruises that say otherwise." Soul grumbled. "From what I could tell, he has regeneration, some kind of teleportation, a strength that packs a punch, and those airborne slashes."
"Regen. Blink. Strength. Reach." Floyd summarized succinctly. "Blink isn't really a type of teleportation. It's more like… damn, it's hard to explain… he takes his soul—"
"Hmm? What?"
"No, I didn't mean Soul, your name, I meant like an actual soul—"
"How can a soul be an actual anything?" Lenz chimed in. "By definition, it is the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being—"
"One more word and I'm dropping you." Lenz wisely shut his lips. "Anyway, he separates his soul and body when he Blinks. We can see and harm his body, but not his soul. His soul can't hurt us, not until he decides to put his two parts back together, and when he does, his body moves to where his soul is positioned."
"…That sounds like a complicated way to say teleportation."
"It's not teleportation!"
"Alright, alright. Not teleportation, then."
I could see Soul's point. It did sound a lot like teleportation. I'm just glad he said it and not me.
I knew there was a reason for keeping him around!
"Just a little longer, guys. It's just up ahead."
Bursting through the clearing, the four of us rush out, determined to cross into the safety of the Origin Zone a mere fifty blocks away. I see it, Soul sees it, Floyd sees it. And so, like moths drawn to flame, we only see our objective and, with tunnel vision, put on a final burst of speed.
Lenz, however, being carried between two of us, has no such tunnel vision and is able to see everything. He flinches and quickly waves his arms to the right.
He's just in time to draw our attention to the incoming slash.
I jump aside and the others jump back, even as the slash carves a deep furrow into the dirt. I look up in time to catch a glimpse of Thed just before he not-teleports before me and rams his knee into my face.
My vision is a blur of vague colors and shapes as I'm thrown across the clearing like a ragdoll. It takes a second for my senses to catch up with the pain, and when they do, it feels like my nose is broken. How a nose could get broken in the first place when it's just cartilage, I have no idea. All I know is that it hurts like a bitch.
I can't actually see either. It's like I ran face-first into an iron pole and my whole face feels hot and cold and I can't see past the pain. All I can do is hear shouting and curses that could be either friend or foe as I feel completely helpless.
Only one question is at the forefront of my mind.
How the hell did Thed beat us back?
[Soul]
"How the hell did you beat us back?"
I couldn't help it, I was curious. Even with the limited effect of the Paralysis Potion combo, we should have had at least a thirty second head start on the Hacker. And we had been running at full speed—well, as full speed as two Crafters carrying a lethargic nerd could be—but that still didn't explain how he caught up so fast. Not only that, but Douglass was with him too! He was hugging the ground fiercely, but neither he nor Thed looked winded in the slightest.
So how had they beaten us back!?
"Isn't it obvious?" Thed replied in a superior tone, dark smoke radiating off of him. "Are worms known for their stupendous speed? No. They crawl and hide in the dirt, as you should have done. You can't escape a Hacker."
"Oh yeah? Well, you know what else worms are known for?"
"No. What?"
"Kicking ASS!"
"…Really? That's the line you start out with?"
"Shut it."
I dropped Lenz onto Floyd and withdrew my axe before charging the Hacker. I angled myself so I'd be between him and the recovering Cobb, while also poised to push him to the left so that the others could sneak into the zone. As soon as we got in there, he wouldn't be able to hurt us.
Thed was on guard immediately, his arm pulled back before he spun on the spot, his diamond sword spinning and smoking with him. It lacked any form or style of combat, but his 'technique' let loose a series of those same airborne slashes right at me.
Knowing how much damage those strikes caused after seeing what they did to the trees and ground, I twisted myself out of the way at the last second. One of the smoky slashes nicked my boot and another caught a few strands of my hair, but aside from that I dodged them pretty well.
Only to see that Thed was frozen in place.
"Whoa!" I shouted as I suddenly dropped to the ground, expecting an attack at that precise moment.
…
Nothing happened for a little while until Thed finally Blinked standing over me. He stared at me flatly for a few seconds before bringing his foot crashing into my back with a devastating stomp.
Okay… may have mistimed my dodge, there… I coughed painfully, even as he continued to crush my back.
"Look at you, squirming in the dirt where you belong." Thed mocked, bringing his foot up only to slam it back into me. "I hope you're watching this, Brother! This is where the lesser mortals belong! At our tender mercy!" He punctuated with another crushing stomp. "…Brother?"
Thed looked up before letting out an irritated noise. I followed his gaze and saw that Floyd was helping Cobb up. As for Lenz…
"Brother! Pay attention to—Gah!" He suddenly flinched back as an arrow caught him in the shoulder, knocking him off of me. Lenz was on the other side of the clearing, shooting arrows at the Hacker. I took the opportunity for what it was, stripping off what remaining armor I had and downing a Potion of Invisibility.
Thed tried to finish me off, but, with a cheeky wave, I vanished from his sight. From everyone's sight, really.
Thed whipped his head back and forth, trying to figure out where I had gone and failing miserably. "Gah, if only Sandra was here. She could find you in a heartbeat—GAH!" Another arrow hit his shoulder and he turned his full attention to the archer. "Enough! REACH!"
Thed swung his sword, smoke cascading off of it in a massive slash sent right towards the archer. He'd be reduced to a pile of items if that hit!
However, the engineer made no move to evade. He looked on with wide-eyed nervousness, but remained rooted in place.
Just as the strike was about to hit, it crashed and fizzled out, as if striking some invisible barrier.
Ah, Lenz was within the Origin Zone. Seems like its protection also applied to weird smoky powers. His arrows could reach outside and hurt Thed while safe from the Hacker's retaliation.
And, in an un-Lenz-like manner, the archer pulled back an eyelid and stuck out his tongue mockingly. It was probably more Captain Lesbian's influence than anything else.
"Aha! You cannot strike the Gray Eagle!"
Yep. Definitely Veronica's influence.
So, with Thed busy glowering at the engineer, I went all Phantom Menace with my invisibility and snuck up behind him. He was making it easy, not even bothering to watch his back. Honestly, how overconfident was he to just stand in place? I took out my axe and quickly swung it into his side so he wouldn't notice the floating weapon.
It struck.
…
But he didn't budge.
He didn't make any noise either. There was no response whatsoever. I just buried an axe into his side! Surely something!
I pulled the axe back, and just as I did, Thed winked out of existence only to appear ten meters away, closer to the Origin Zone, and clutching at his side painfully. Lenz's eyes widened at how close the Hacker had gotten without him realizing.
"Comparators! It is that Blinking ability!" Lenz summarized while distancing himself further into the zone. "Soul, wherever you are, wait for my signal! If he can only Blink when he is motionless, we can time our attacks—Hoppers, he is doing it now! Hit him now!"
Lenz pulled back an arrow and shot at Thed's crouched and immobile form. I did the same with my axe, and both attacks hit him without him showing any response. But the next instant, he winked out of existence and reappeared a little further off, this time clutching the shoulder I struck and with an arrow sticking out of his eye.
It vanished soon after when his regeneration healed him up completely. His smoke swirled around him more fiercely as he got back onto his feet, diamond blade coating with smoke. He glanced between Lenz and the invisible axe that was me, trying to decide which one to hit.
"Mr. Lenzington?" A quivering voice dispelled the heat of battle. "What is going on?"
I turned to the Origin Zone to see Lenz accompanied by the newbs. Troy, Gina, and Guile, with Helena following along.
"…Why is that guy smoking?"
"All of you need to stay back!" Lenz turned and swept his arm back towards Helena's house. "There is an enemy out here and he is too dangerous."
As I watched Lenz talk to the fresh spawns… I realized that I was watching him talk to the newbs.
Both of us had taken our eyes off of Thed.
I turned back to him and, sure enough, he was deathly still. I raised my axe to hit him, but he had already Blinked before I could do anything.
"Wah!"
My head shot to the Origin Zone where I saw a reappeared Thed with a tight grip on Lenz's arm. Smoke swirled around his arms as he pulled back and threw the engineer over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. Lenz floundered through the air and passed back out the Origin Zone's barrier. He was just about to hit the ground before I rushed in the way and caught him.
"Thank you, Soul." He weakly patted my arm.
Before I could say anything, two shrill cries hit my ears.
"Let go!" Gina shouted as she was dangled off the ground by Thed's Hacker strength. Guile was in the other, hanging by his shirt collar. His powers may have been unable to do harm in the zone, but that didn't mean they couldn't be used.
Even using one arm, his Hacker strength was enough to throw each newb outside of the Origin Zone. I was only able to catch Gina. Guile landed with a crash atop Lenz.
"…My back." He whined piteously.
"Oh my God! Ghost axe!" Gina cried out from within my arms, flailing and kicking. One of her fists hit my invisible face. No good deed went unpunished. I pushed her off of me and she started to crawl away.
"Let's see you worms wriggle out of the way now." Thed spoke, stepping out of the Origin Zone, dark smoke radiating off of him before he launched a slash at the floating axe that was me.
I was about to leap out of the way, when I saw Gina, wide-eyed and scared, as the slash approached her.
"Damn it!" I cursed as I stood in the way, with my axe held defensively. The slash struck, bypassing my hastily made defense and making me feel like someone was taking a chainsaw to my chest. I screamed out in pain and frustration before getting knocked back into Gina and sent tumbling over her.
The lack of armor to remain invisible hurt me more than helped me in this case. Burning pain assaulted my chest and I had trouble taking in breaths.
"Mr. Ghost Axe!" Gina cried out, rushing to my weapon's side more than mine. "Are you alright!?"
"…No." I didn't have to glance at my Health Meter to know I was low on the stuff. Thankfully, I had three splash Potions of Healing that… could…
I felt around my belt for a bit, frowning to myself.
Or just one. Huh. I could've sworn I had three of these…
[Cobb]
After swallowing a good portion of food and letting Floyd help me, I finally was back in peak condition.
The way I stumbled to the left was nothing, honest.
"Okay. We need a Creeper or a cliff. Or a ton of iron. We got anything like that?"
"We have one ingot between all of us, I think."
"Ugh… fine, let's just distract him long enough to hide in the Origin Zone."
I pulled out Backlash and whipped it towards Thed while he was in the middle of launching slashes at Lenz. I tugged him back while Floyd withdrew his own sword and ran up to him.
"Brother, I don't wish to fight you!" Thed shouted, making no move to defend. He took the slash hard, but fought through the pain. "Please stop this! They are forcing us to fight one another—"
"You attacked them first!" Floyd shouted, delivering another slash to the Hacker's body. "If you want me to listen to you, then stop trying to attack them."
He narrowed his eyes. "I'm afraid I can't do that, brother. They've already sunk their claws into you. There's only one way to free you."
Floyd prepared another slash, but Thed countered with a strong grapple that had Floyd's arms pinned to his side. With a mighty heave, Thed threw Floyd across the clearing where he hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop.
"I am sorry, brother!" Thed called out before dodging a floating axe that would have hit him. "You will die first axe-wielder!"
I ran over to Floyd's downed form. "Floyd, are you okay to get back up?"
But something was happening to the blue-nette. Smoke was starting to seep from his eyes, and I reflexively flinched back when I saw it emanating off of him like steam. Floyd noticed too and was quick to clutch his head and cower on the ground.
"No… no it's coming back!"
"What is?" I asked worriedly, not wanting to get too close. "Your Hacker powers? Are they trying to emerge or something?"
"It… it wants to fight… it wants me to use it… I can't… I got… to fight it!"
The smoke came off him in small puffs, sporadically alternating between surrounding him and fizzling out. He was struggling to keep it under control.
But maybe… maybe it was just what we needed.
"Floyd, don't hold it back!" I shouted, causing Floyd to twitch his head. "Just let it out. Let it out and direct it at Thed. Whatever your Hack is, it's not like it can hurt our chances against him."
"I... can't take… the risk… don't know… what'll happen…"
"We don't have a choice here, Floyd!"
Just as I said that, Lenz went sailing through the air, courtesy of one of Thed's slashes. Soul screamed out his name, but the engineer hit the ground, motionless.
"Lenz!" I shouted, before turning back to Floyd. "Please, Floyd, you're our last hope!"
"Ugh…" Floyd peeked an eye out and I saw how the sclerae was shifting from white to black with each puff of smoke emanating off of him. "…glass…"
"What?" I leaned in closer.
"Douglass… he… he accepted the offer without a second thought…" Floyd chuckled humorlessly. "And all those other Hackers that spawned… they went along with them too… urgh… the only ones that refused weren't… weren't even given the offer in the first place."
He fell to his knees, scrunching his eyes closed as he resisted.
"You were right, Cobb. They're all the same." He mumbled weakly. "They all chose power. They all chose to band together and hurt others just for being weaker. And I… I'm just like them…"
He gripped at the grass below, nearly tearing it up as he fought some internal battle against the rising smoke.
"I'm just like them…" He repeated, tears welling up. "And if I use this power… it'll only cement it. I can't. I won't! I don't want to join them. I don't want to attack weaker people. I don't want to throw my friends away! I don't want to be the bane of Minecraftia!"
"Forget all that stuff I said before!" I tried to comfort him, even as Thed crushed the others with ease. "I—what do I know about Hackers, right? Minecraftia wanting a group of people to die for being different? I was talking crazy!"
"No… I don't want the power… I don't want to be evil like them… I don't want you all to hate me…"
"Floyd it doesn't bother me! Really!"
"You're lying. After what Alec did… after Nitebane… the world hates me for it. So I won't give into it. I'll fight it every step of the way. And win without it!"
I worked my mouth in an attempt to find the right words. I looked to Lenz, but he was motionless on the ground. I looked to Soul, but he was back to being visible, leaning on his axe and panting heavily, just before Thed delivered a punch to his chest that sent him down for the count.
"I… I don't need it…"
I clutched at my hair, biting my lip as I struggled to find a way out of this. A way that didn't involve Floyd's Hacks. A way that could utilize my stupendous fishing rod. A way that could reduce Thed's Health to zero.
There were a hundred-and-one things I could have tried.
But only one of them could defeat Thed AND solve Floyd's insecurities.
"Okay, I admit it bothers me!" I suddenly shouted, causing Floyd to tilt his head up, barely holding off his powers.
"It bothers me that you're a Hacker! It bothers me… and I hate that it bothers me! All the time we fought side-by-side through certain death shouldn't be swept aside just because you have a smoking problem! But whenever I look at you and see that smoke… I see Alec trying to kill Wynn."
Floyd winced and scrunched his eyes shut. "I know… that's why… I'm trying to—"
"But I also see you protecting me!" I cut him off. "You saved me from Spring and Parker. From Mobs. From Carys. From… from… shit, I can't even remember all the things you've saved me from, there's too many!" I laughed with a watery smile. "I cried when I thought you were dead and I'd cry if you died now. You're nothing like Alec! You're not cruel, you're not a monster, you're not some all-powerful God! You're just Floyd to me."
'There is no always. There is no certainty. Things change. People change. We're not all one-dimensional beings. We go through trials, we evolve, and we get stronger and weaker. We change.'
Just like Soul had said. Well if people could change, then so could Hackers! Everyone could be good or evil, right?
"But… my powers… they'll always be a reminder of what I am… my heritage—"
"Fuck your heritage! You don't have to be like them at all! You can change!" I saw Thed turn his attention towards us after my latest rant.
"Stop filling my brother's head with lies, you worm!"
"I said all Hackers were evil," I continued, even as Thed reared back his smoky blade and aimed for me, "but clearly I was wrong! Because you're a Hacker too. And even if all the other Hackers in the world have blackened souls, I won't say it's because they were made that way… I'll say, 'It's because they're not Floyd'."
People can change.
"I… I…" Floyd relaxed his grip on the grass and eased his breathing. "I… I want to be different…"
Thed launched a series of airborne slashes at me.
"I want to change…"
Floyd looked up, his sclerae pitch black.
There was a rushing of wind and a jar so disorienting my brain couldn't fathom it. One minute I was facing down several slashes…
The next, I was kneeling within the Origin Zone, blinking stupidly.
"Wha?" I slurred out dazedly before, in another rush of wind that caused me to shield my eyes, Soul and Lenz were laid out beside me. Lenz was unconscious, but Soul was still awake, and looked just as confused at the sudden displacement. There was also a faint whiff of smoke that dissipated in the air.
What just…?
Another rush of wind, a faint trail of smoke, and Gina and Guile were laid out beside us as well. That was when I saw him. Floyd stood tall, his iron sword drawn with a rasp of steel. Smoke was swirling all around him and his back was facing us, all of his attention focused on Thed.
"Floyd…?" Soul mumbled, causing the blue-nette to spare one black-sclerae eye to regard him. "Is that… is that you?"
Floyd tightened a fist before him, considering the answer. "No." He finally said before turning with a confident smile. "I'm not the same Floyd. I've changed." He turned back to face Thed. "You guys just wait there. This is a family matter."
Floyd readied his sword for combat, smoke still coating him like aura. Thed took a step toward him; his face looked like his entire world had fallen out from under him. The diamond sword hung limply at his side.
"Brother…" The Hacker whispered breathlessly before biting his lip. "To use your Hack for those worms… this has to stop!"
"Fine by me. Soon as you stop attacking my friends." Floyd replied before vanishing in a rush of wind and reappearing before Thed. The Hacker's eyes widened in shock, before his head suddenly jerked back as if struck. He went sailing backwards, but… I hadn't even seen Floyd attack!
"He's… fast." Soul mumbled, watching the fight intently.
After Thed recovered from the initial shock and hit, he froze in place, obviously Blinking. But Floyd was there in a rush of wind where he delivered a series of sword slashes too fast to track to his defenseless body before it Blinked away.
Thed cried out, only having moved a few blocks away. And he didn't even have the time to defend before Floyd was on him with incredibly fast sword attacks. Floyd was just too quick.
"Brother! Stop this!" Thed shouted. "You're being manipu—OOF!" A fist sunk into his gut, doubling him over and opening him up to a series of high-speed jabs.
"How many times do I have to tell you!?" Floyd shouted between strikes. "They're my friends!"
So, by this point, it was obvious Floyd's Hack was super speed.
And Floyd… Floyd was actually pushing him back!
"It's his favorite potion." Soul spoke, though he was unable to draw my attention away from the fight. "Floyd always loves his Swiftness Potions. I guess his Hacker powers took that into account. He used to be a blue blur. Now the guys a black-and-blue blur."
Even with Thed's Regen undoing the damage, even with Thed unwilling to attack back, Floyd was moving faster than anyone could have been able to hit. His whole being seemed to vibrate in a smoky blue blur that pursued Thed relentlessly.
Thed's eyes strayed to where we were, and I saw them narrow in fury. He Blinked again, allowing Floyd to strike him over and over and over, but he wasn't Blinking back. He was fighting through the pain, probably, to reach us.
Floyd noticed this, but kept dishing out damage at super fast speed. I tried to keep track, but for every one hit I counted, there were probably ten. Slash after slash, a never-ending assault on Thed's frozen body.
Finally, with a loud cry, Thed reappeared mere feet away from the zone. He was clutching at his whole body in agony. He looked up between narrowed eyes and made a desperate reach for us.
Floyd grabbed his extended hand, having appeared next to him in a rush of wind. He pulled him up, spun him on the spot, and delivered a high-speed slash to his torso. Then, as Thed went sailing backwards from the blow, Floyd ran alongside him, matching the speed perfectly, and delivering a barrage of slashes that carried the Hacker further and further back, building momentum, leaving a trail of smoke and scorched grass. Screaming in building intensity, Floyd pushed harder and harder, faster and faster, the very air behind him seemed to bend outward, and sounds like explosions followed his super-sonic wake. Until finally, with one final ripple of wind, Floyd unleashed a straight jab that broke the sound barrier.
Brain: I swear all this fight is missing is blond hair, power levels, and more screaming.
Thed was rocketed into the forest, unconscious and dark smoke wavering, as he broke through two… five… eighteen… too many trees to count. We'd have to wake Lenz just to get an idea of how far he flew.
More crashes rang out, echoing through the night as they grew more and more distant before finally coming to a stop.
"Holy shit…" Soul accurately described the fight in two words. "Holy shit! That was a sonic boom!"
Floyd's chest rose and fell as he panted from the exhaustion of what he'd done. He watched the forest for a moment, smoke still enveloping him, before turning back to us.
That was when the smoke extinguished.
It fizzled out completely. No longer did it cling protectively to his body. It just up and vanished without any warning or indication. The shock on Floyd's face said as much, even as he fell into the dirt, unmoving and still.
"Oh, God. What's wrong with him?" I got to my feet and ran out of the zone, a recovered Soul right behind me. "Floyd!" I shouted out.
He didn't answer.
What have I done? I should have never forced him to use it! He could be dead now! Or worse!
"Floyd!" I shouted again, falling to his side while Soul took the other. The axe-wielder lifted his body and turned it over…
Just in time to catch Floyd spitting a tuft of grass from his mouth. "Yuck… I'm fine…" He mumbled drowsily. "Just… really, really tired."
Was he really okay? I checked his Health. Full. His Hunger. A little lacking, but Soul was already feeding him chicken. His eyes were back to normal. No smoke was pouring out of him. The only sign that he was a Hacker were the lines over his eyes.
He really was fine. No, he was better than fine. He may have been a Hacker, but he was still my friend. "Floyd, you were amazing!" I cheered instantly.
"Really?" He asked with a yawn. "It just felt so exhilarating that I had to push myself. I only wish it didn't turn off at the end." He chuckled weakly. "Made me look a bit wimpy."
"Floyd, you broke the sound barrier." Soul commented. "Trust us, you looked anything but wimpy." Soul glanced to the side and began to grin. "Looks like Douglass thought so too."
Floyd and I turned our attention to the only other Hacker in the clearing. Douglass was on his hands and knees, looking at the trail of destruction left after Floyd turned Thed into a human-sized meteor. His mouth was working like a fish struggling to breathe.
"That's good." Floyd mumbled. "Maybe… maybe he'll change too…"
"Well, after what you did to Thed, I'd say he'd be considering it." I laughed. "Man, you sent that Hacker flying!"
"Yes, he did."
Our eyes all widened just before an airborne slash struck us from above. Both Soul and I were hammered into the ground, my iron leggings breaking from the impact. I coughed painfully before a boot took up my vision and kicked me back.
Thed, with smoke swirling around him, hovered in the air for a moment before touching down. He hovered. And he had gotten above us… Suddenly the means to how he beat us to the Origin Zone with Douglass in tow were made clear.
He could friggen fly.
[Noman]
The downstairs area was already starting to catch fire by the time I got down the steps.
The wooden farmhouse was the perfect kindling, especially in a dry, mesa biome. I brought up my arms to shield myself against the flames blocking the front door as I made my way into the kitchen. I withdrew my bucket and ran to a hole nestled in one of the corners. Since the river that fell from the mesa ran underneath the farmhouse, it supplied Bailey with a convenient water supply.
I filled up the bucket and carried the contents over to the front before pouring it out. I kept repeating the action, over and over, until the flames were mitigated.
"Old Man Bailey?" I called out, wondering where he had gone. I glanced out one of the windows and gasped when I saw the man facing down the same Crafters that set the house ablaze. He was hopelessly outnumbered.
I passed through the charred front door, sword held at the ready. Whoever they were, they meant trouble. Bandits, most likely. But the problem was that if I fought them, there was a good chance I could kill them. I didn't want that. And if I held back, they'd hurt not only me, but the old man that called this place home.
What should I do?
Smoke obscured my vision from the dying flames, but already, I was hearing grunts, shouts, and the sounds of combat. I recklessly pushed through, however, and came across the group of bandits…
Getting beaten by Bailey.
"Huh?" I voiced aloud as I watched the old man strike one of the bandits with a stick before lashing out at another's arm, forcing him to drop his sword with a yell.
Bailey's movements were focused and deliberate. It was the same as when he fought those dried Zombies earlier. He swung his stick like a staff, tripping the bandits by their legs or snapping the wood against their wrists to disarm them. It didn't matter that he was outnumbered. He kept himself in the center of them all, with his head held down.
Yet he always seemed to know when and where the attacks would come from.
I couldn't take my eyes off those movements. Not only was he fighting them, but he was doing it without killing any of them. He never bothered to pick up any of the dropped swords or weapons. He relied only on his stick.
After knocking a bandit on his butt for the umpteenth time, the rest of them got the hint that they weren't getting anywhere. Bailey didn't press his advantage, though. He remained between the bandits and his farmhouse, eyes narrowed resentfully.
One of them stepped forward. "Give it up, old man. Just because you beat us today, doesn't mean you'll beat us tomorrow. Your land will be ours."
Old Man Bailey didn't look intimidated. "I know who you're taking orders from. You tell that no-good scoundrel that if he wants this land, he'll have to take it from me, face-to-face! No more sending you goons to do his dirty work."
The bandits bristled at being called 'goons', but they made no move to attack. Instead, they got back onto their horses and rode away, spitting out curses that made me want to scream 'Language'! But they got away before I could.
Old Man Bailey breathed a sigh of relief before he returned the stick to his belt. He turned around to face his farmhouse, but then took a step back when he saw me standing there. His eyes widened.
"Er…" He glanced aside. "I'm guessing you saw all that, didn't you?"
I nodded my head, still speechless at his display of skill. He was able to drive them off without killing anyone. With just a stick!
He let out an aggravated sigh. "You should probably leave. Those Griefers won't try anything after being thwarted twice in one day."
"Griefers…" That was the time a lot of Crafters threw around. From what I could tell, it was synonymous with bandits. They were lawless men that pillaged and killed. Definitely not the sort of people I would have wanted to run into. "Have they been troubling you for a while?"
"That's not really any of your business." He interrupted as he walked around, picking up the swords and weapons he had disarmed from the Griefers. Iron, stone, wood, gold. He gathered them all up into a big pile and set fire to them. Once that was done he walked past me to assess the damage to his home. He hummed thoughtfully. "Thank you for mitigating the damage. But you really should leave."
"Hold on a moment." I called out, causing Bailey to stop. "What was that fighting style you used? I've never seen anything like it. The way you disarmed them and kept them at bay—It was incredible!"
"It was nothing." He replied gruffly. "Just some fancy stick work. Tending farms for a living will do that to you. Now if you'll be so kind as to leave."
I could tell he wanted me gone, but I was too taken with the style he had used. A way to disarm and repel Crafters without killing them? It was the answer to my worst fears! I reached into my backpack and rummaged around until I relinquished a stick. "It was sort of like this…" I tried in a poor imitation of his style. I swung the stick around with both hands, sweeping low like he had done.
Almost immediately, the stick was knocked free by Bailey's.
"Don't try to emulate me, boy." He growled while my stick clattered to the ground. "It's not anything worth learning."
"Well I disagree." I returned, frowning. "I think it's a very valuable skill, especially for defending oneself. And surely you'd agree, given how it helped you against those Griefers."
"Griefers would fall to a stiff breeze they're so lousy." Bailey shot back. "Any technique would have taken them down. There's nothing special about mine."
"I thought you said it was more fancy stick work learned from farming than a technique." I countered with a raised brow, causing Bailey to curse. "Language. So which is it? A technique or a byproduct of farming? And what did those Griefers want with your land?"
"…Just get out of my sight."
I scowled, realizing I wasn't going to get any answers from him. I decided to take a gamble with what information I had.
"Does your technique have anything to do with the Art of Peace?"
I saw his eyes widen at the words, and he regarded me warily. "You… know about the Art of Peace?"
"Not much." I admitted. "I found a book on it in the chest upstairs." And hadn't there been a stick next to it? The pieces were already starting to fall into place.
"I knew I should have cleaned up better…" Bailey grumbled to himself before shaking his head. "Fine. It's a technique."
"What is?"
"Aikido." The word sounded strange to me. "It means the 'Art of Peace' and it's a way of self-defense that also defends your opponent from harm. Redirecting momentum, moving around instead of through your opponent, disarming or disabling their movements. It's a philosophy and religion too. I only took it up because I followed its beliefs. Learning the martial art came later."
"I see." I rubbed my chin, already liking the sound of the technique. I could almost imagine myself knocking away cultist weapons with nothing but a stick, reducing the cutthroats to helpless masses with no way to harm anyone.
It was a nice thought. And suddenly, Bailey's aversion to swords and his near-vegan lifestyle started to make sense.
"And the Griefers after your land?"
"The Griefers have hit every farm, every village, and every homestead in this region, son." Bailey explained. "Being on the outskirts of Akasha makes this whole place lawless land. The guards of the Kingdom are too busy rounding up cultists in the heart of it to be worried about us. Meanwhile, the Griefers need farms, animals, and food to sustain themselves."
"Well… I can understand why the cultists would be a larger issue." I spoke aloud, thinking of all the damage they could be doing. For some reason, it made Old Man Bailey laugh bitterly. "What's so funny?"
"The 'cultist issue' is more complicated than I care to go into, son." He shook his head with a bitter laugh. "Let's just say, there's a reason I chose to live in this lawless slice of dry hell rather than the core Kingdom itself."
"Language."
"Hell isn't a curse, son."
"So the Griefers are only attacking you because they're hungry?" I asked. "Why not just work their own land?"
"Because Griefers, on principle, are Crafters that couldn't be bothered with learning all the crafts of Minecraftia." Bailey spoke like it was obvious. "They chose to be lawless thieves because they were bad at everything else save wielding a weapon, and even then they're poorly. They only know how to take from others. Between the lot of them, they probably don't know twenty crafting recipes. Farming or sustaining themselves is out of the question for them."
"Are they going after anyone else's land?"
"Son, you said yourself how you came across empty villages and ransacked farms on your way here, didn't you?" My eyes widened in realization. "My land is the last bit left. And those Griefers want it bad."
I thought of all the Testificates and Crafters that had to flee or get killed as Griefers ran them out. And then they would just dump the useless land without even trying to sustain it?
"How… how could this have happened?"
"Well, the Griefers got someone smart leading them." Old Man Bailey shrugged. "Someone that rose to the top and barked out orders so that they could all band together and organize raids. They're efficient with their tactics." He let out a weary sigh. "It's only a matter of time before they take this place, too."
"Not with your Aikido, though." I commented, causing the man to grimace. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"
"…Sortof." He mumbled before scratching his wiry white hair. "You got your answers. So would you just leave?"
"Actually… I was wondering if you could teach me that technique? Aikido?" He frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Or you could… just… point me in the direction of someone else who might know it? Maybe?"
"The Art of Peace isn't some game, son." Bailey growled. "It's a strict philosophy. An ideal resolution in which the attacker and receiver are both spared harm. If you're hoping for it to be an edge in a fight, then learn it somewhere else. Zeppil has a few schools dedicated to the poor imitations of the style you'd no doubt be looking for. Try there."
"Alright, I think I'll do that. Thank you." Poor imitations didn't sound very promising, but if it was anything like the core belief, it should have a way to fight people without hurting them.
I glanced at his ruined front door. "Do you want any help fixing that?"
"No I—ugh… actually that sounds like a pretty good offer, son." He reluctantly accepted. "Back to the grove to chop down trees, I suppose…"
As we entered the house to assess the damage, I noticed that the picture of the dark-haired young man had been knocked down by the flames. Old Man Bailey noticed too, for he quickly placed the frame back up with the picture, nodding to himself that it was properly in place before going off to search for an axe.
"Who is that in the picture?" I asked for the second time.
"Nobody." Bailey repeated for the second time as he rummaged through a chest.
"But then… why do you have a picture of—"
"Can we move along, son? We're burning moonlight." He gestured outside. "It's dark and I want to get this done before I fall asleep. So quit your lollygagging."
"…Yes sir."
He left the kitchen first, but I lingered to glance at the picture again. The dark-haired youth was smiling proudly, and I only just noticed that there was the edge of a stick poking out of the corner of the frame. The youth must have been holding it.
My thoughts strayed to the room upstairs that Old Man Bailey had given me. The room that had an old set of leather armor hanging on a stand. The room that had a chest containing a stick and the Art of Peace. I looked at the picture one more time.
"I wonder if that was his room." I questioned aloud before following Old Man Bailey into the night.
[Floyd]
"So how many Hacks does that make!?" Cobb shouted angrily, more out of exasperation than anything. "Or can you breathe fire and turn iron to gold too!?"
"I'm a Level 5 Hacker… worm." Thed spoke with a bit of a wobble. "I shouldn't… be bothered… informing you of my… my… powers…" His flannel shirt was covered in splinters and dirt and he looked like he was barely clinging to consciousness. Even so, smoke was covering him completely.
Just how much stamina does this guy have!?
"For a Level 1 to damage me so much…" Thed teetered as he glanced at me. "You have a strong Hack. I've never been this proud… and ashamed… at the same time. Good on you, brother..." He took a shaky step towards Cobb, his diamond sword dragging in the dirt behind him. "But worry not. After I've… dispatched these worms… I can take you to your brethren… and we… we can… we can… squash their influence… worry not… worry n-not…"
He was swaying as he walked, but his Hacker smoke remained strong. So long as it was active, we wouldn't be able to touch him. Not that I could do anything at the moment anyway. I was paralyzed. This being the second time, it was clear it was a side-effect of my Speed Hack. I hadn't been counting in the heat of the battle, but it had to have been less than minute. Just like with Teal, the smoke had fizzled out after hitting a certain limit.
"It seems… your Hack has drained you… brother…" Thed commented as he noticed me unable to move. "There's a reason… we Hackers don't just employ our power 24/7. They are taxing. Muscles tire… and Hacks are no different…" He laughed as he fell to a knee. "I can barely stand keeping it up… but I must…"
"No you don't." I called out desperately. "You can stop this. You should stop this."
"Oh, I intend to." He whispered, as he kicked Cobb's arm aside and raised his blade. "I'll stop this manipulation… right now!"
"If you kill any of them, I'll never accept you!"
Thed's blade stopped mere inches from Cobb's face. The fisherman breathed heavily as his pupils tracked the razor sharp edge.
"You… you don't really mean that…" Thed mumbled with an exhaustive pant. "You may think you do… but you're—"
"Being manipulated?" I filled in, desperately doing the only thing I could, given the circumstances. "Am I mistaken in some way? Has everything I heard about Hackers been a lie?"
"Crafters—jealous worms, the lot of them—have always sown lies in the tales about us. They cannot be trusted."
"Is that so?" I questioned skeptically. "So Nitebane hadn't been taken over by Hackers? Hackers who let Griefers do unspeakably horrible things to the people there?"
"…No."
"And Alec didn't attack Daymonte's villages?"
"…He wasn't—"
"Everything I've heard about Hackers is actually wrong and it's the Crafters at fault for being attacked, robbed, and killed?"
"They're only worms!" Thed spat, spinning and removing his sword from Cobb's throat. "They measure you be how much they can use you. They have no loyalty or bond to us. Only our own kind can be trusted. We're leagues above them all. Better than them in every right! Why should we care if they get culled?"
"Sympathy?" I threw out. "Compassion. Decency. Humanity."
"Humanity." Thed spoke with disgust. "That term was only coined so that common beings would have something to keep them from eating each other. It's no different from the code we Hackers follow to never kill one another. We are capable of compassion! Just for beings worth it."
I closed my eyes at his words, trying to come up with a reasonable argument. "…What makes you think I've been brainwashed? What can I do to prove otherwise?"
"Kill all these worms laid here."
"I'm not doing that." I sighed. "Let's go back to the first question: What makes you think I'm brainwashed? Is it because I'm against your ideals on Hackers and Crafters?"
"No... I mean, yes! Yes, they've whispered lies into your ears and made you think you're more like them than us!" He gripped his sword tightly. "It's the only possible explanation!"
"…Am I the first Hacker that turned down the Clan?" I took a gamble.
"…Yes." Thed admitted. "Every other Hacker… they joined as soon as we told them the truth… we told them they were born for greatness… that they had superb abilities that put them in the realm of Gods. That they were destined to—"
"Did you whisper that into their ears?"
"I—" Thed's eyes widened. "No… no, no, no. That is not the same thing. It's not. We only told them the truth of the matter."
"My friends never knew about me being a Hacker. So everything they told me was as genuine as it gets." I narrowed my eyes. "Saying they brainwashed me is the same as saying you brainwashed all those Hackers."
"But we didn't! We gave them a choice!"
"You told freshly spawned newbs about a world full of things trying to kill them and that they had an amazing power only your Clan could hone." I raised an eyebrow. "How is that a choice?"
"Then what about you, brother?" He turned his attention to me. "How are you so certain your 'fair-weathered' friends weren't manipulating you from the start? How can you guarantee that they weren't trying to use your power for themselves? Hmm?"
My gaze fell to the ground. "Because… one of them gave his life for me."
Thed suddenly went quiet.
"His name was Silent." I continued. "He was a kind Crafter that led Soul and I from the Origin Zone. He was killed protecting us from cultists, and instead of avenging him, I ran away like a frightened coward, abandoning Soul to his fate." I narrowed my eyes. "In that moment, I wasn't a God amongst worms. I wasn't some almighty power. I was a scared boy, struggling with crippling guilt. In what ideal plan could Silent giving his own life benefit him?"
"…" Thed had nothing, so I continued.
"I could've been approached by a Hacker." I admitted. "I could have joined your Clan. Your offer would have been too good to refuse. Instead, you weren't there—"
"I would've if I had only kn—!"
"But you weren't!" I cut him off, causing him to shrink in on himself. "You weren't there, and so I had to face the world. Silent and Soul were there, so I faced it with them! I made friends that weren't Hackers, but they protected me just as I protected them. They were willing to give their lives for me. They cried for me. They got angry at me. They forgave me. They were all I needed. They were all I wanted. And now, here you finally stand, intending to kill them just because they were here for me first. And you think I'd accept that? If your Clan had picked me up first, and some random person showed up for me, do you think I would have gone along with him if he killed all of you?"
"…No." Thed said, looking at the ground with pain in his eyes. "No, I wouldn't expect that from any brother."
"…Yet that's what you want from me. Right?"
Thed let loose a world-weary sigh. "I see your point, Floyd. But…" His eyes looked up hopefully, the icy blue orbs surrounded by darkest night. "But I can make this right! Please! I'm sorry I wasn't there, but you can't go off on your own! You're family! We need you with us! We need your strength, your courage, your spirit!"
I shook my head before locking my eyes with his. For some reason, I called my Hacker power out. I knew it was exhausted, but I only needed enough to change my eyes. The faint bits of smoke in the corners of my vision told me they had changed. It felt like the right thing to do.
"I'm sorry… brother… but I'm not going with you."
Thed's eyes quivered as he looked into mine, searching for some shred of hesitation or doubt. Something he could latch onto and leverage to change my mind. But after a few moments of fruitless searching, his head fell. The dark smoke swirling around him extinguished itself a second later.
"No… no I don't think you will."
His sword hung loosely in his hand and he brought up a hand to wipe away the small traces of tears threatening to show.
"…Thed?" Douglass asked with uncertainty as he approached us. He held out a hand, unsure of what to do. "Are you…?"
"…Ha."
"Thed?"
"Ha… hahaha…" Thed began to laugh, a hand clutching the side of his face as he struggled for breath. "Hahahaha!"
"Oh God, he's lost his mind." Soul whispered from the side. I shot him a look to tell him to shut up. Now was not the time to antagonize the guy.
"Thed… you're laughing?" Douglass asked.
"Ignore me." He waved off between chuckles. "It's the sheer amusement of a man who got rocketed through a forest and fought tooth-and-nail for nothing. Hahaha!"
He fell onto his butt, a combination of his exhaustion and mirth knocking him over. His face was bright and serene, all traces of his intimidating Hacker stature lost. It was honestly frightening this was the same guy.
After his laughs died out into chuckles, and then just belabored breathing as he fought for oxygen, he tilted his head up to look at the stars.
"That Silent fellow you talked about…" Thed spoke suddenly, addressing me. "He sounds like a beetle among worms."
"Uh… thanks, I think?"
"It's the best complement one of his kind could receive from me." He explained before picking himself back up. "As for you two…" He turned to Cobb and Soul, and I noticed how his grip tightened on his sword.
Was he going to…?
"Cobb!" A feminine voice called out as Helena, the only one brave and conscious enough to approach, hurried over.
"Helena… stay back…" Cobb tried to warn her, but the Testificate ignored him as she stood between him and Thed.
"I don't know how you did all those crazy smoke things," Helena spoke, her gaze shifting from the destruction I caused to Thed, "But this has gone on long enough! You've clearly won, so please leave!"
She had absolutely nothing to make him listen to her demands. She was helpless outside the zone, and even then he had Hacker powers. But Thed paused, his eyes narrowing.
"You keep track of all the Crafters, no?" Thed suddenly asked, causing Helena to flinch.
"Er… yes, I do."
Thed suddenly pointed to Cobb. "Tell me. Is he the Billionth?"
My eyes widened, and I saw Cobb's do the same. If Thed knew that Cobb was the same Billionth that killed a Hacker, he'd kill him on the spot. And we were all too weak to stop him—
"No, he is not!" Helena huffed to herself. "Honestly, everyone seems to think I can't do my job. He is number nine-hundred-and—"
"That's all I needed to hear." Thed rudely cut her off, causing her to falter and then simmer in thinly veiled annoyance. Thed turned his attention back to Cobb. "It seems… my brother has found some very loyal Griefers."
"We're not—"
"Very loyal Griefers." Thed cut off. "Griefers who I, in my infinite mercy, am willing to forgive for their offensive slights against me, so long as they give me no reason to think they are anything BUT Griefers. Am I clear?"
Thed tapped his fingers against his diamond blade for added effect. He needn't have. Cobb got the message. "We are loyal Griefers. Sorry loyal Griefers. Thank you for your infinite mercy." He spoke almost robotically.
"Good." Thed accepted it with a content nod before turning to Soul. "And you?"
"You're… lucky I'm too tired to fight back!" I groaned aloud and I saw Cobb's head hit the grass softly in the equivalent of a facepalm at Soul's defiant growl.
"Wow. You really have no sense of self-preservation at all, do you?" Thed asked incredulously.
"Nope."
He hummed in thought. "I guess that's a good quality to have in a protector. No regard for their own life." He turned to both Cobb and Soul. "Should anything happen to my brother while he is in your care, I promise that I will take care of you with brutal efficiency. Am I understood?"
"Yeah…"
"Fuck you…"
"You will show manners and refer to me as 'sir'."
"Yes sir."
"Fuck you, sir."
"I suppose that's the best I can get out of you." He sighed before hobbling over to an awaiting Douglass. "Come Douglass. The Clan awaits our return."
"Wait you're…" He glanced back to me. "You're just gonna let them go?"
"That is exactly what I'm going to do. And it is exactly what you're going to keep quiet about, brother." He spoke with absolution. "Is that a problem?"
"Why should I keep quiet about you letting a brother go?"
"Do you know which direction the Clan is?"
Douglass opened his mouth, but then froze with it hanging open. He looked north. Trees. He looked west. More trees. He looked east. Trees again. He looks south. So many trees.
He slowly turned back to Thed, looking small. "…I'll keep it a secret."
"See that you do. I would hate for one of my brothers to be a liar." He held out a hand, causing Douglass to flinch.
"Oh no… not flying…"
Thed snapped his fingers incessantly, smoke already swirling around him.
Douglass let out a weary sigh before grabbing Thed's hand tightly with both of his.
"Know that, should this rebellious phase of yours ever pass, brother," Thed spoke to me, "you will always be welcome with the Clan."
I looked between Cobb and Soul, before smiling. "I think I'll be good, thanks."
Thed closed his eyes with a sad smile. "Can't blame a Hacker for trying."
And, with a strong push off the ground and an alarmed cry from Douglass, Thed flew into the air. The smoke trailing off him blended well with the backdrop of night as he rose into the sky before angling to the southwest. In a moment, his red flannel shirt whipping in the wind vanished from sight.
He was gone.
"Yeah you better fly away…" Soul shouted, before rolling onto his back and letting out a low groan. "Oh God, everything hurts…"
"Suck it up." Cobb groaned as he rolled onto his back. "Even if we technically lost, nobody died. I'd call that a win." He breathed a sigh of relief, and I couldn't help but agree with him.
Being alive after all that... Being accepted after all that…
It felt too good to be a loss.
Inventory (Cobb): 1 Fishing Rod {Backlash} [Knockback II, Luck of the Sea III, Unbreaking III], 1 Stone Pickaxe, 1 Stone Sword, 1 Golden Shovel [Silk Touch I, Unbreaking III], 1 Flint and Steel {Weak}, 13 Cobblestone, 2 Ender Pearls, 12 Torches, 5 Coal, 2 Oak Wood Planks, 1 Stick, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Clock, 1 Bucket, 4 String, 40 Steak, 60 Cooked Mutton, 45 Baked Potatoes, 1 Pumpkin, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Green, Unbreaking I], 1 Iron Boots, 40 Emeralds, 1 Map {Ringwood Region}, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}
[EXP: 19]
Inventory (Floyd): 1 Iron Pickaxe {Weak}, 1 Iron Sword, 3 Iron Ingots, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Potion of Fire Resistance {8:00}, 2 Flint, 8 Rotten Flesh, 6 Gunpowder, 20 Cooked Chicken, 32 Apples, 3 Wool, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots {Weak}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Entry Pass}, 4 Emeralds
[EXP: 25]
Inventory (Lenz): 1 Bow {Weak}, 1 Shears, 2 Levers, 1 Flint and Steel, 1 Stone Button, 5 Redstone Torches, 9 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 15 Redstone, 1 Hopper, 5 Pistons, 21 Cobblestone, 25 Dirt, 1 Minecart, 6 Compasses, 25 Gunpowder, 37 Steak, 1 Leather Cap [Dyed Green], 14 Arrows, 20 Wooden Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Pumpkin, 39 Paper, 6 Ink Sacs, 4 Leather, 4 Feathers, 64 Emeralds, 14 Emeralds, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Book {Airship Piloting 101}, 1 Book {Notebook}, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}
[EXP: 8]
Inventory (Soul): 1 Iron Axe, 1 Wooden Pickaxe, 1 Stone Pickaxe {Weak}, 2 Ender Pearls, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Milk, 1 Iron Helmet {Weak}, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 5 Dirt, 64 Cobblestone, 10 Coal, 7 Oak Wood Planks, 9 Emeralds, 12 Cooked Chicken, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Map {Ringwood Region}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}
[EXP: 38]
Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Shield, 1 Bow [Infinity], 34 Birch Wood Planks, 35 Iron Ingots, 19 Sticks, 13 Torches, 1 Bucket, 1 Crafting Table, 64 Beetroots, 64 Bread, 1 Birch Fence, 1 Bed, 1 Book {Notch Mission II}, 1 Book {Artifact List}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Dover Plains Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Dover Plains}, 1 Map {Mesa}, 1 Compass, 64 Arrows, 2 Glass Bottles, 12 Sugar, 7 Enchanted Golden Apples, 1 Diamond Helmet, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Blue] {Weak}, 1 Diamond Leggings, 1 Diamond Boots, 64 Emeralds, 64 Emeralds, 64 Emeralds, 64 Emeralds, 22 Emeralds, 2 Bones, 14 Rotten Flesh
[EXP: 7]
Carrot the Horse
AN: I may or may not have been playing Dragon Ball FighterZ before writing that fight scene between Floyd and Thed. Does it show?
Anyway, this Chapter was... conflicting to were a lot of choices I debated with.
First off, I toyed with the idea of having Soul by the one to give Floyd the 'you don't have to be like them' speech, not Cobb. Soul had been absent from the last fight, so I wondered about giving him a bigger role here. Yeah, he fights against Thed and shows his bits of brilliance with potions and protecting the fresh spawns, but I wanted him to have a bigger role. But then, thinking back, it made more sense for Cobb to give the speech since he was thinking of the words Soul had said to him. And Cobb was still struggling with the idea of anyone being good or bad, like with the cultists. Him accepting Floyd for his Hacker powers kinda tied the two problems together better than if Soul said it, so I went with that.
Second, I was getting tired of the good guys always winning the fights. Cobb won the day against Alec and the Cult, so I figured now was a good time to have him lose... in a way. Thed could have killed them, but the Beginners had to talk to resolve the problem instead of punching their way out of it. And Thed is just understanding enough to follow Floyd's logic and admit that, yeah, he was being an overprotective dick. As Cobb eloquently put it, the Beginners technically lost, but they all live to fight another day.
The Noman bit made more sense of Old Man Bailey and the way he is. For that, I'm testing out a new way to present information to a reader. More of a figure it out yourself kinda deal.
The Identity Arc will wrap up next Chapter, and then the group will be heading to Jolin for supplies. Then Zeppil for airship. And God do I really want them to get to Zeppil.
Fav, follow, review, what have you.