AN: This Chapter only has three perspectives. Isn't that great!?
For some reason, I thought this Chapter would be shorter than it was. Then, after I finished, I saw the word length and balked.
It's weird.
Anyway, nothing epic unfolds this Chapter. You can just skip it.
Also, a lot of people enjoyed the mountain of words that was last chapter. Despite my warnings not to read it all at once... a lot of you read it all at once. I was hoping you would pace yourselves to stretch out this Virus period, but whatever, I'll just write more for you hungry readers.
Congrats to redsynced for getting last Chapter's riddle correct. The answer: December 31st! Enjoy your Cookie and your acknowledgement.
(::)
Puzzle: A girl has as many brothers as sisters, but each brother has only half as many brothers as sisters. How many brothers and sisters are there in the family?
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd add Firebombs.
Chapter 150
Where There's Smoke…
[Cobb]
*KABOOM!*
An initial explosion, followed by several subsequent explosions sounded above. The harder, denser sandstone and wooden pillars holding up the ceiling buckled and folded, allowing sand and red sand, blocks affected by gravity, to collapse in a smothering avalanche that blanketed the library and bookshelves.
I covered my head as I scurried over to Alexicon and tackled the pocket librarian out of the way. The sand landed with a crushing hiss, like steam escaping a pipe. The floor became covered by mountains of the stuff, but the sand broke upon contact with the rails. It looked like blocks affected by gravity broke when falling on rails, similar to how it did on torches.
That meant the rails were safe!
I dragged Alexicon to stand on the rails… only to jump aside as a minecart with a hopper nearly ran us down.
Okay, maybe the rails weren't so safe.
"Booketh Pres'rvation Precautions." Alexicon explained. "Lest of em'rgencies, the carts shall carryeth all the books to safety outside the library."
"Then let's hitch a ride and get going before they bury us alive!" I took a quick glance in my backpack, looking in vain for a minecart. Lenz would have one. "Does Arquero know about these escape rails? He's with Lenz and Noman, right?"
"Aye, he—" Alexicon was cut off by another explosion, followed by flashing bits of TNT raining down with the sand this time. Right towards the Herobrine section. "NOO!"
Alexicon's wail did nothing to stop the TNT from detonating next to the chests, scattering their contents everywhere and destroying a portion of the rails. The hopper carts and minecarts with chests that had been rolling to move the books could only fly off the tracks, losing momentum and piling up like a traffic jam.
The librarian was moving before I could stop her.
"The books!" She cried, falling to her knees in the pile of Herobrine books—not just the Journal Entries I had read through, but any book and their copies written by the man—and starting to frantically scoop them into her backpack and belt. It was an exercise in futility. The Herobrine Section was full of books and chests that could no longer be moved, and her Inventory space was finite. There was no way she could save them all.
"Alexicon, we need to go!" I urged as orange-garbed figures descended on falling water sources near the outer edge of the library. ACC members. Of course today would be the day they chanced upon the hidden library. What were the odds?
"Nay. Nay, not again." She murmured, cramming as many books into her belt as she could… and when that failed, dumping her Inventory. Emeralds, paper, feathers, potions. Everything was hastily thrown away with both hands to make space for more books. "Those daws can't doth this again. I wonneth't alloweth…"
There were more explosions, more raining sand, and more flashes of orange on the outskirts… only this time, the orange licked at the bookshelves, glowing, and an intense heat began to build.
"Alexicon, they're going to smoke us out." I warned. I tried pulling her away, but she fought me more savagely than I thought her capable of. "They're just books—"
"THEY ART THE ONLY ONES LEFT!" She snapped, whipping her head so fast that tears flicked off her face and onto my hoodie.
Herobrine's last writings. Nowhere else in Minecraftia could we find a collection like the one here. She was the only one who gave the hated books a home—the rest of the world having burnt them long ago. She jeopardized her library and became a criminal just to protect them. She was their guardian, and she wasn't about to let the ACC burn her collection a second time.
If she hadn't have protected them for all that time… would I have known the story of Herobrine?
She turned to me, her arms spilling over with books, and pleaded. "HELP ME!"
My face must have been a conflicted mess, but I tore open my backpack and took out one of the ender chests Jade had let me keep. I had plenty of free space, and maybe she did too.
"Cram them in here. We only need the original copies."
She lingered for a moment before nodding decisively and dumping books into the ender chest. I moved past her, kneeling in the pile of Herobrine books and grabbing as many as I could hold before doing the same. My backpack was so full of garbage. I should have cleaned it out before coming down there.
More explosions sounded and the flames were sweeping through the bookshelves. I could hear minecarts zipping down the aisles and I vaguely wondered what other sections were experiencing book evacuation delays due to damaged rails.
I was on my third trip when Lenz, Noman, and Arquero showed up, weapons at the ready.
"Alexicon! What are you still doing here!?" Arquero raged. "The Portal is close! You should've evacuated the second the alarms started blaring!"
"Not without the books!" She cried, heaping more Herobrine books into the ender chest. "King_Cobb, I needeth m're space!"
"Guys," I ordered, "make yourself useful and start stowing books away. Double time!"
Arquero wordlessly complied. Lenz and Noman shared a look before joining in, grabbing and stacking books and depositing them into the ender chest.
"The 'riginal copies!" Alexicon gasped, turning to a portion of the Herobrine section half covered in sand. "The Mob booketh trilogy!"
"I got it!" I volunteered, running and parkouring over debris to get to the chest atop the altar. I opened it up and found three lone books. The original copies of Herobrine's Mob books. How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts, Advanced Mob-Slaying, and Mobs of the Nether. I scooped them all out and dumped the four gravel taking up space in my Inventory so they'd fit.
Not a second too soon. Another volley of TNT fell from the sky, demolishing the altar and then burying it in red sand. I offered it a fleeting glance before hurrying back to the others. By the time I got back, they were halfway done with moving the books.
They were also out of space.
"Alexicon, there's nothing more we can do!" Arquero tried to convince her, pulling on the librarian's hair. She wouldn't budge. I put the original copies in my ender chest before trying to help Arquero move her.
"Just a few m're! We can saveth just a few m're—!"
*KABOOM!*
"Look out!" Someone cried.
Several flashing units of TNT descended upon us, one of them detonating close to Alexicon, simultaneously destroying what was left of Herobrine's books. Her body was blasted hard into my chest and I felt my breath burst out of my lungs. Someone shouted something, there was an avalanche of red sand…
And then I found myself lying in a pile of sand, hurting, with a crispy and unconscious librarian draped over me.
"Cobbert!" Lenz exclaimed, hurrying over with his bow drawn. There was a shout from somewhere else, and Lenz actually fired his bow in that direction. The ACC must have been closer than I realized.
"Noman… Arquero…?" I asked, groaning to my feet.
Lenz shook his head, turning slightly to the wall of sand that hadn't been there before but was now dividing the Herobrine section.
"Cobb!" A voice cried from the other side of the sand wall. It was Noman!
"Noman!" I coughed to clear my lungs. The fire was spreading and so was the smoke. Bookshelves were going up in flames amidst the explosions and fallings sand. It was a three-way tie for what would kill us; the fire, the sand, or the explosions. "Noman! Can you hear me!?"
"Yes! Arquero's with me!"
"What happened to Alexicon?" Arquero called.
I turned and took in the librarian's injuries. "She's alive, but banged up. I don't think she can walk!"
"Damnit!"
"Language!"
"Listen, King_Cobb!" Arquero shouted, his voice serious. "You need to get her out of here. She's no fighter and we've got ACC mooks incoming! The Portal should be on your side. Take it and follow the signs! And for God's sake protect Alexicon with your life!"
"W-We cannot leave Nowhere_Man!" Lenz argued. "The both of you will be cooked, killed, and buried alive!"
"We'll find a way out!" Noman assured before adding, for my ears only, "I've got the boots!"
"Boots? What boots?" Lenz questioned, though I was already folding the librarian's knees and slipping an arm beneath them.
"Help me get her in position." I urged the engineer, to which he complied. I then shouted to the sand wall. "I'll keep her safe, I promise! We'll meet up later with our maps! Be careful, Noman! Don't be afraid to wear your armor!" I hinted vaguely.
He didn't respond beyond a simple, "Be safe!"
With Lenz's help, I managed to slip another arm under her left armpit and lift her into a cradle carry. It was a good thing she was so small and my EXP strength was at twenty-seven. I could hold a weapon if I wanted to, but it was unlikely I'd be able to swing it unless I used a fireman's carry.
"There they are!" A voice shouted. I turned and paled when I saw an orange-garbed ACC member. "It's the librarian and that Executive—AGH!" An arrow stuck the guy in the knee and he collapsed in a pile of red sand.
"Time to move!" I decided, hitching Alexicon up so I could hold her better before moving at a half-walk, half-jog pace towards where I remembered that glowing purple portal to be.
We got there and Lenz looked at it with trepidation. "Cobbert, I… I have never been to the Nether before."
"That makes two of us." I winced. In my head I couldn't help but remember Herobrine's Journal and the five weeks he spent there. He had written that the place was bad, but the ACC wasn't giving us much of a choice. We had to either leave or die. "Stay close. Follow the signs. And keep us safe."
The engineer nodded, his bow at the ready.
I stepped right up to the Nether Portal, my nose an inch away from the swirling purple lights. The evil sounds it was making were lost in the echoing explosions all around us. Steeling myself and hoping it would be just like jumping into a freezing cold pool, I walked in. Lenz right behind me.
[Floyd]
"What the—?"
I skidded to a stop, leaving a forty yard dust trail in the wake of my Hacker Speed. My blackened eyes looked closely at the map between my fingers.
Two of the white blips had disappeared.
That meant they had either dropped their maps or they were… they were…
I clenched my teeth before hurrying down the street at double the pace.
They've gotta be fine. I kept telling myself. Cobb's killed a Hacker before. There's no way he would die to Winslow.
But then… it didn't have to be Cobb. It could have been Lenz and Noman who…
URGH! Where the hell was the map taking me!? I was right on top of the last blip of the trio, yet my friends were nowhere to be found. Even if the Akashic Records were underground, it didn't look like the entrance would be where they were. It was likely elsewhere. Without Sandra's X-Ray vision to specify, I'd have to dig down just to get to them.
But there was no telling how many tons of sand I'd have to dig up to reach them.
I sped by the houses anyway, searching them for any sign of an entrance to a library (whatever that would look like). I was stumbling in the dark, getting nowhere, and Sandra was probably watching me with her blasted X-Ray eyes, waiting for me to tire so she could retrieve me herself.
Forty seconds had gone by fast, and I quickly stashed myself in a dark alley to recover before my Hacker smoke extinguished itself and I went limp.
I tried to calm myself while lying in that alley. I had time before Sandra caught up and my cooldown took less time thanks to all that training. I just needed to think of a better way to find Cobb and the others underground before Winslow did.
He was a Level 3 Hacker and I had a good idea of what his Hacks were. Flight, Regen, and GhostHand. Nothing overly destructive like what Thed had. And Sandra might've been one level higher, but most of her Hacks were eye-related. She could see long distances, through walls, through invisibility, and she had Regen. Cobb had overcome a Hacker's greatest defense using a Charged Creeper, but how was he going to do that again?
The next thing I knew, a pair of splash potions struck my neck and back. My pupils dilated before darting left and spotting a smug Sandra standing over me.
"I told you, brother," she tapped her eyes awash with that smoky black aura, "I've got my eyes on you."
"H-How did you—?"
"Catch up? It's quite simple." She held up an ender pearl, tossing it lightly. "Ender pearls have a nasty Health cost… but, as Gods, we can easily restore the Hearts lost. Yet another reason why we're superior to Crafters."
"You're wrong." I gritted out, putting together that those splash potions she threw induced paralysis. My cooldown wasn't yet done, but I was immobile all the same. "Hackers aren't invincible."
"You want to bet? How about I narrate the fight below so you can see just how superior Winslow is to your 'friends'?" Smoke covered her eyes as she directed her gaze downwards, peeling back the tons of sand and sandstone with her X-Ray vision to see the Akashic Records and those within. "Hmm, well the ACC have certainly made a stellar preemptive strike. The library is burning and half-buried in sand."
I wanted to tune her out, but I was too curious as to Cobb's fate. She'd want to let me know the second they were dead.
"Hmph. Looks like the Billionth fled into the Nether with that archer. Even my vision can't find him there." She scowled as I felt a shred of hope. "I would have loved to be the one to kill him, but if the ACC does it for me, I can't complain. How could you have stood by him, Floyd?" She demanded. "How could you have worked with a man who killed your own brother?"
"Alec wasn't my brother." I shot back. "Just like you're not my sister. Not anymore."
"We're bonded by our powers—"
"You're killers and you don't care who you walk over!"
Her lips drew back in a snarl before she refocused her vision. "Ah, it looks like Nowhere_Man is still around. At least Winslow might have someone to entertain himself with."
[Noman]
"Die cultist!"
"Not a cultist." I countered verbally before countering physically. My aikido lessons took over and I diverted the slash to the right and into the sand before reaching out and grabbing the back of the ACC member's head. I then yanked forward, banging his nose on the edge of my shield. There was a wet crunch that had the man howling in pain before I wrenched his sword away.
Weaponless, the man threw a punch which I sidestepped before smacking the top his head with my shield. He crumpled, but defiantly propped himself up with one arm. I kicked it out and allowed his head to bump onto the ground. He went still after that.
Another two orange-clad men stepped up while a third stood back with a bow. He fired and I blocked the first shot by hiding behind my shield. The other two spread out to surround me.
I looked down to keep both of their feet within my sight. When one made a daring advance, I spun and swung my shield for their fingers. The slapping of wood on flesh targeted those bundles of nerves and made him drop his weapon out of reflex. I kicked it aside before it could touch the ground and spun fast to divert the second attack, locking the sword between my shield straps and my free arm.
An arrow was launched and I twisted under my shield to avoid it, twisting the other man's sword arm in the process. He winced before crying out as I stepped closer, twisting the arm further behind his back and making him drop his weapon.
"Fuck you!" He cursed.
"Language."
I kicked out his knees. He toppled forward where I rolled off his back before squashing him down with my shield. He let out a muffled protest into the sand before going limp.
The archer took a third shot and it actually landed, screeching against my diamond leggings, but leaving me marginally unharmed. I looked up and the archer seemed to pale.
"…Sorry."
A thrown shield cracked against his face before I finished him off with a leg sweep and slamming the back of his hand into the floor.
Behind me, Arquero was taking shots at the ACC members while invisible, sowing confusion and pain amongst them. A few of them, I noted bitterly, were killed.
I retrieved my shield fast and knocked out the other ACC member. I caught the sound of heavy footfalls behind me and turned just in time to intercept a massive sword. The force behind it, however, proved to be too much, and with a guttural battle cry, Captain Obsidian's swing sent me flying off the ground and into a flaming bookcase. I toppled head over heels over it, my clothes catching fire and burning a bit of my Health before landing with a muffled thud on my back.
I hissed and groaned from the sizzling pain before consuming one of my precious Enchanted Golden Apples. Colored particles began to swirl around me. Redwood, amber, pink, and azure. The burning pain ceased, my Health regenerated and went beyond, giving me a buffer of eight extra golden Hearts. My blue eyes narrowed in determination before I pulled myself back to my feet.
An explosion shook the library as I stepped around the burning bookcases and brought up my shield between the Captain and me.
"What sort of coward hides behind a shield?" Captain Obsidian asked gruffly, hefting his iron cleaver and leveling it at me. "A real man brandishes a big honking sword. The bigger the better."
"There's more to fighting than striking down everything in your way." I said, thinking back to the Severe Shield and its deadly potential. "Burning down a library hardly seems to be something a man would do."
"These books are a threat." He swore. "I won't allow that devil's dangerous teachings to inspire more cultists to take up his cause. Better to let it all burn."
"We'll have to agree to disagree."
A floating bow shot several arrows at Obsidian. He brought his sword up, deflecting all but one arrow which struck his armored chest. He shrugged it off like it was a fly before lunging for the floating bow that was Arquero.
"BOOK BURGLAR!" He howled.
The bow was stowed away, cloaking Arquero fully as the cleaver swung at the air, hitting nothing. I got in close, aiming to disarm and targeting the Captain's thick fingers.
The shield slammed sharply… but Obsidian refused to let go. His grip was like iron and his fingers were so calloused they could take it.
He punched my shield, spinning me from the force. I moved with the momentum, bringing my shield up again to block his heavy overhead strike. I could feel my legs crack as my back bent and I was forced to take a knee. I grit my teeth, digging for strength to hold back his cleaver.
Another arrow struck Obsidian from the side before he could double down. It was a tremendous relief when he lifted that sword, but he followed up with an armored kick to my side. The Resistance effect from my Notch Apple bled off the damage, but I found myself hacking up a lung from where I was struck. I wasn't wearing armor like Obsidian.
I could've been. Just like I could've made short work of the Captain.
I fought back those thoughts before rolling back as a massive sword slammed into the floor where I'd been.
I slipped on the Bottes Zephyr as Obsidian pressed his attack. The sword reared back to slice me in two and I performed a leg sweep just in front of me. The invisible blocks were placed…
The sword was rebuffed by an invisible wall, making Obsidian's eyes go wide. The invisible blocks then despawned and I leapt forward, clotheslining the taller Captain with my shield. He landed hard on his back before rolling to his feet and backpedaling.
"The heck was that…?" He eyed me warily before blocking a flurry of arrows, courtesy of the invisible bow.
"Stop this, Obsidian." I tried. The explosions may have stopped with all the ACC members around, but the fires were getting out of hand. We had to escape. And, like Soul had said, at the end of the day, Obsidian was just being manipulated into fighting the wrong people. "I don't want to fight you."
"I wouldn't want to fight me neither!" Obsidian growled, running forward with his cleaver dragging behind him.
It came up fast and slammed against my shield, locking there, the two of us engaging in a battle of strength. A battle I was losing. I found myself skidding backwards at the force the Captain was putting behind his charge. The man was like a rhino!
My back struck against a flaming bookcase and I caught fire, though the Fire Resistance from my Notch Apple was keeping me flameproof. I felt a knee strike me in the groin once, then twice as the Captain sought any opening he could. He was a savage brute and I felt my arms going numb just keeping his cleaver at bay.
"Back off!" Arquero shouted, the invisible bow rising from my left. Obsidian raised his shoulder to tank the arrows, but they never came.
Instead, I watched, baffled, as a pair of smoky hands wrapped around near the base of the bow where an arm would have been before lifting it up into the air. Arquero let out a shout of protest before his potion wore off, revealing the Book Burglar to be dangling in the air by those smoky hands clutched around his wrist.
A little higher, swathed in a smoky aura and looking down on us all, was the Hacker Winslow_Downes.
"Never send a worm to do a Hacker's job." He sighed before flicking his smoking hands to the left and sending Arquero hurtling into several burning bookshelves.
"Arquero!" I shouted helplessly before an absence of pressure on my shield had me stumbling right into the Captain's elbow. Something fractured in my skull and I fell onto my stomach, hurt and disoriented. I knew I probably blew those extra Hearts from the Notch Apple. I couldn't really assess the damage too well.
"Make yourself a useful worm and tell me where King_Cobb slithered off to." Winslow demanded as he hovered above.
The Captain turned to the Hacker, but refused to bend knee. "This is ACC business." He stated defiantly, leaning the cleaver on one shoulder. "What right does a Hacker have butting in?"
"Butting in? Who do you think tipped you and those other monkeys off, huh?" He countered, smoke flaring from his eyes. "You were supposed to kill King_Cobb, but clearly you Crafters can't be depended on to do anything right! Kneel before me right this instant and tell me where that bastard slinked off to and I might just forgive your rude behavior."
Obsidian sank his sword into the sand and leaned on it, glaring up at the Hacker. "I'm not intimidated by thugs."
"That's it! You're dead!"
Winslow swooped down fast with his flying Hack, his GhostHands flying even faster as they shot for the Captain. He brought up his sword, but the GhostHands merely flew through it and punched him in the jaw and sternum respectively. Then Winslow flew in and lashed out with a kick to the Captain's neck before flying off.
The triple blow had the Captain stumbling back, but he didn't fall. Instead, he whirled around and leveled his sword, tracking the Hacker as he flew through the smoke-filled library.
Meanwhile, I slipped a hand into my belt and downed one of my precious Potions of Healing II, the red liquid fixing my cracked skull and restoring me to full Health.
Winslow descended from the smoke and ash like a missile, his GhostHands corkscrewing towards the burly Captain. Again, the Captain tried to slice at them, but they phased right through before delivering a pair of targeted blows to his face and chest. Then Winslow brought out a diamond sword and spun in a blur of smoky black and crystal blue.
The strike shattered Obsidian's diamond chestplate, but the Captain stood firm, refusing to bend knee despite the pain.
"Persistent…" Winslow cursed before waving his smoky hands to dart around the defiant Captain. The hands pummeled and punched the Captain from every available angle, looking more like a swarm of angry bees. Obsidian swung his sword to try and dispel them, but the GhostHands merely phased through his attempts before solidifying right before a punch. The Captain could do nothing to counterattack while Winslow hovered out of reach.
Growing bored, Winslow ordered his hands to grapple onto Obsidian's cleaver and pull upward, dragging the Captain into the air as he refused to let go. The hands yanked higher and higher, jerking around to try and dislodge him from his weapon. On one powerful jerk, Winslow swooped in and axe-kicked the Captain's shoulder, forcing him to loosen his grip and relinquish the blade.
Obsidian plummeted to the library floor, the damage and fall forcing one of his knees to brush against the library floor. He stilled, struggling to find the strength to pick himself up.
"Die by your own blade!"
The GhostHands hefted Obsidian's massive sword before shooting forward to decapitate him.
I threw myself forward and blocked the killing blow, my arms straining under the strength of Winslow's GhostHands. The Captain glared at my interference.
"I didn't ask for your help!"
"All life matters." I gritted out. "Even my enemy's!"
He looked confused. "What sort of cultist are you…?"
"I'm NOT!" With a cry of exertion, I flung the cleaver back. The GhostHands let go and returned to settle over Winslow's palms.
"I'll never understand you worms." The Hacker frowned. "You'd jump in to save the man who tried to kill you? And how do you hope to stand up to me without a ranged—"
I kicked up into the sky with my Bottes Zephyr and, for one second I would never admit to, relished Winslow's expression as it morphed into baffled shock when I challenged him in his own element.
He tried to dart aside, but I darted faster in midair, swinging my shield at the same time he threw out his GhostHands. We traded blows. I cracked him across the face and he phased through my shield to punch me in the nose.
We rebuffed one another, but remained afloat with our respective tools, glaring one another down. The Hacker touched his bruised lip before the damage fixed itself in a second.
He couldn't look down on me anymore. We were at the same level.
"You… dare… strike… ME!?" Winslow snarled before his GhostHands shot forward.
[Floyd]
"What the… he's... flying…?" Sandra looked taken aback as she observed whatever was unfolding in the Akashic Records. "How…? What is he?"
She was so preoccupied, she didn't notice the axe-wielding Crafter who showed up at the other end of the alley behind her. Soul lowered his map and took in the situation in an instant. My prone form. Sandra standing over.
I locked eyes with him, and that look was all he needed to whip out his axe and throw it at the distracted Hacker.
"Eeeyah!" She shrieked as the axe cut her across the forearm. She whipped her head towards Soul, her eyes gushing smoke like twin volcanoes. "YOU!"
She took out a bow and fired twice, the arrows sinking into the forearms Soul threw up to block.
That was when my cooldown ended. I was still paralyzed, but after my fight with the Paragons in Zeppil, I learned of a trick I could do with my Speed Hack.
Smoke poured from my eyes and enveloped my body, speeding it up to counter the Slowness effect Sandra inflicted upon me. My attack strength may still have been weakened, but I could move at a regular pace now.
I picked up the diamond axe Soul threw and—while Sandra was kept busy—I jogged forward and slashed her across the back. She screamed again, though the attack was lacking my usual intensity.
"Brother—how could you!?" She whirled around and fired at me, striking me in the chest. "After all I've done to help! You'd hurt me!?"
"All bets were off the second you went after Cobb." I countered, passing the axe to Soul.
"Cobb! That's right!" Soul remembered. "The ACC are hunting for him. Someone tipped them off. Two of the blips vanished and Jade tore off after them."
"I'm betting Winslow was the one who tipped them off?" I asked Sandra, to which she nodded.
"He may have escaped into the Nether, but he won't last long." Smoke gathered at her eyes as she tilted her head down. "They're sending a force fifty strong after him. The Nether will be his grave!"
"And this alley will be yours!" Soul charged in and I followed, despite the hard truth bouncing around inside my skull.
With her Regen, Sandra was unkillable.
[Cobb]
I thought, after reading Herobrine's first experience with the Nether, I would at least be somewhat mentally prepared for it. I couldn't have been more wrong. The Nether was almost unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I say almost because of that one lava-filled chamber in Mt. Mur where Carys nearly killed me.
Herobrine was right calling it hell. There was more lava than blocks to stand on, but everything was dyed in red. There were flickering fires dotted around what I assumed was Netherrack and rotting pink Mobs wandered about brandishing golden swords. Lava streamed down from the ceiling to join the veritable sea of molten death below us and, in the distance, there was something large floating in the sky, making a wail similar to the Hybrid we encountered in Shansi.
At least I had a mental picture going in. Lenz was silently freaking out beside me. I could tell because his mouth was open and his head was jerking around like a spastic animatronic. The portal swirling at our backs looked like a tempting escape from this hellhole, but we couldn't. The ACC were after us. We didn't have a choice, nor the luxury to gawk.
I hitched Alexicon up to jostle myself into action. "Arquero said to follow the signs."
"R-Right." My words seemed to spur the engineer as he did a quick scan with his vastly superior vision and pointed out towards an incline of netherrack. "There's the first one. I'll take point."
He took the lead and I followed at a slow jog, Alexicon's head bumping lightly against my chest as we went. We kept clear of the rotting pink Mobs that I was sure were Zombie Pigmen. They snorted and oinked, but seemed to ignore us.
I thought back to the part in Herobrine's journal where he ventured through the Nether to find his friends. The Pigmen didn't attack him then either.
Just as we crested the incline and touched the first signpost, an arrow stuck in the netherrack to my left. I whipped around and saw the orange-clad ACC members pouring out of the portal. Good God, there had to be at least fifty of them! One of them had green hair, but, to my disappointment, it wasn't Jade. It was Nephrait.
"After them!" She shouted, leading the members with Jade's diamond cutlass. Her having it made my blood boil.
"Cobbert, my-my compass… it is not working!" Lenz panicked, watching as the red arrow atop the silver disk spun and spun without any direction. "This dimension is truly evil to throw off redstone like this!"
"Bigger problems right now!" I grunted, pushing myself to run faster while bridal carrying the unconscious librarian. Lenz hung back, shooting arrows to try and slow down our pursuers. I would've preferred him up front to handle dangerous Mobs like—
A gelatinous cube of magma leapt into sight with eyes like glowing coals. It was twice my size and looked hungry as it hopped for me. This must have been the Magma Cube in Herobrine's journals. I ran at a slant to avoid it and shouted to warn Lenz. He was about to shoot it, but I told him to let it be.
"Better to make it the ACC's problem."
We reached the next signpost with Lenz shooting down the arrows the ACC were sending our way. They ran right into the Magma Cube and it delayed them for a little while before they killed it and resumed the chase.
"Cobbert, my arrows are wearing thin!"
I figured. The last time we stocked up on arrows was in Zeppil. I had the necessary materials to make more, but that would require stopping, setting up a table, and giving up our lead. The ACC would be at our throats in a heartbeat.
Worse, when it came to stamina and long distance running, Lenz would lose. And I couldn't sprint while towing Alexicon.
In my head I was going back and forth between the pros and cons of running or standing our ground and fighting. They had fifty people armed to the teeth. Lenz and I could maybe handle twenty of them if they came at us one at a time, but if they surrounded us or caught and threatened Alexicon unless we surrendered, we'd be dead.
We couldn't fight. We couldn't run forever either.
What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?
We touched the next signpost and came across a netherrack bridge built over an inlet of lava. The bridge connected to another mass of netherrack on the other side.
It gave me an idea.
"We'll break the bridge." The words made the idea grow into something possible. "Yeah, we'll cross and break it to slow them down." I glanced to the right and saw that the inlet narrowed into a flat plain of netherrack full of Zombie Pigmen. They would have to go around through that to reach the other side. By then, we'd be long gone—
*UehuehEEEIH!*
A caterwauling wail came from up and to the left and I had to duck to avoid a fireball that destroyed my iron helmet. Lenz and I were quite familiar with that sound, and of the fireballs its owner threw.
A Ghast.
It was my first time seeing one not a grotesque hybrid of man and Mob. It was large and pale with nine tentacles hanging below it. Its face was like bleached leather and its eyes were a bloody red when it screamed and spat fireballs at us.
Lenz shot it once with an arrow, but more of them started to gather and fire at us.
"Forget shooting them!" I shouted over their screams. "Just run! Run across the bridge before they—!"
Three of their fireballs blew up large chunks of the bridge, the netherrack breaking and falling into the inlet of lava below. Even with Jade's level of parkour prowess, there was no way to cross. We didn't have a single ender pearl either. Even if we did, we'd have to leave Alexicon, who was in no shape to throw, behind.
*UehuehEEEIH!*
The Ghasts' screams sounded like taunts as they blasted more of the already uncrossable bridge. Lenz unleashed a few arrows in anger, but they only ever killed one of them while the other two kept blasting away.
Maybe we could build across with blocks, but all it would take is one fireball to undo all our work and drop us into lava. We'd die screaming.
"We got them!" I heard Nephrait whoop excitedly. Her and her ACC members were at the last signpost before ours, but they saw how trapped we were. "Nowhere to go, assholes!"
"What do we do, Cobbert?" Lenz asked, worriedly.
I-I didn't know. My breathing was picking up, but I kept drawing blanks on how to outrun them and get to the other side. Alexicon had no suggestions. Her head just rolled slightly against my frantically pounding heart.
My hair was a mess with my iron helmet off. Covered in sweat from the unbearable heat of the lava and fire and Nether. Ghasts were screaming, ACC members were getting closer, I couldn't think of a single way out.
Everyone was looking to me for answers, but this was all new territory for me! I couldn't protect them! The world around me seemed to darken and the sounds and sensations became muted as I nearly broke down in despair.
Right there in that moment, I felt like a scared little Newb again. Just like that first night I spawned, against those Zombies!
…
…But then I read a book, and learned how to fight them.
In the muted darkness of my mind, new voices started to chime in.
'Cobbert, just because the man may have been bad does not mean the knowledge is bad.'
'You must feel something about Herobrine.'
'Knowledge is neith'r valorous n'r evil. T doesn't belongeth to any one p'rson any m're than this collection of knowledge belongs to me. T's neutral and belongs to all who chooseth to readeth and writeth.'
'These books, writ by a bad hand, can still doth most wondrous good… if thee chooseth to useth t.'
'I suppose I could finish making my Mob books. Publish them and give all Crafters a better chance at what was killing them.'
'I enjoyed teaching others how to survive. I enjoyed passing down my knowledge… What could be a greater purpose than that?'
And then, I was back at the Origin, a lifetime ago, steeling myself for what I was about to do.
Reading.
My head cleared and all the sounds and sensations returned with a start. I was in the Nether, facing an impossible situation with my back against the wall and no one to turn to.
But it wasn't just the three of us out there.
I had a fourth ally, even if I didn't care to call him one.
I still hated him. He broke my trust. He was more brine than hero.
But as much as I hated him…
Man knew his Mobs.
I put Alexicon down for just a moment, knowing the librarian would be wearing a shit-eating grin a mile wide if she ever saw this. I reached into my back pocket and drew out Mobs of the Nether, Herobrine's third book and the one that I didn't bother to read right away. I couldn't then.
But now?
Now, I had to.
For the sake of my friends… for the sake of my World… I would swallow my hate.
I flipped open the book and lifted Alexicon back up into a bridal carry, holding the pages open with my fingers. Like this, I could read and carry her at the same time.
I found the section I was looking for and gave it a quick once over, trusting my eidetic memory to catch what I couldn't.
[ZOMBIE PIGMEN]
[Description: Bipedal pigman with decaying skin and an exposed skull. Covers its modesty with a loincloth and wields a golden sword. They snort and oink like any pig, but they are far more lethal when provoked.]
[Tips: Zombie Pigmen spawn in the Nether, though there have been cases where they entered Minecraftia through a portal. They can also result whenever a pig is struck by lightning, the phenomenon similar to how Witches are made from Testificates. They travel in packs, roaming the netherrack landmasses, but not in search of violence.]
[In fact, Zombie Pigmen are neutral until attacked. Pacifism is the path of least resistance if you want to safely explore the Nether, because the Pigmen are highly protective of one another. Attacking one will call them all down upon you, and they are fast, vicious, and relentless.]
[Though they wield a paltry gold blade, each Pigman can attack for 6 Hearts of damage. Their Health is the standard 10 hearts, but a mob of these Mobs is what's truly terrifying. And they do not forgive so easily. Striking one is close to suicidal; I cannot stress this enough.]
[They drop rotten flesh, gold nuggets and ingots, and golden swords on occasion. They are immune to lava and fire as they are at home in the Nether, but as undead Mobs, they share the same weaknesses as Skeletons and Zombies. They are harmed by Splash Potions of Healing, and healed by Splash Potions of Harming.]
[Since these Mobs move faster and hit harder than Zombies, it is ill-advised to provoke them. Save your blade for the more aggressive Mobs that always attack first.]
[Weakness: Splash Potion of Healing, Pacifism.]
Just like in Herobrine's journal. The Pigmen were harmless unless provoked. So long as we didn't hit them…
My eyes returned to the narrowing inlet of lava… and the plain full of Zombie Pigmen nearby.
"We're going around!" I commanded, jumping off the netherrack bridge and onto the edge of the inlet, jogging along and keeping the lava at my left. Behind me, Lenz stuttered in alarm.
"Cobbert! We will never make it to the other side before the ACC reaches us!" He struggled to catch up, taking fearful glances over his shoulder. "And what about all those Mobs? How will we get around them?"
"We're not!" I grinned savagely. "We'll slip right past them!"
"Wha—how?"
"With a little book smarts!"
The ACC were gaining, but we were a lot closer to the plain of Pigmen, and it was packed with the rotting Mobs. We passed real close to one, and I bravely walked right up to it, defenseless with Alexicon bundled in my arms. The Pigman didn't even give me a snort.
My bravery calmed Lenz down and made him more receptive of the idea of passing by. He held out his bow, but I warned him not to.
"They'll ignore us for now, but the second you attack one, we're dead. Channel your inner Noman, and avoid a fight."
Lenz accepted my terms, stowing the bow away and hurrying after me, deeper into the Pigman-invested plain. The rotting bodies began to thicken on all sides, but I squared my shoulders, hitched Alexicon up a bit higher, and walked through the crowd. Lenz held his hands up high overhead as if they were covered in filth and this was all just a pristine bathroom he didn't want to get dirt on.
As we waded through, the stale smell of meat gone bad invaded our nostrils. We were surrounded by hot, sweaty pig people, and I didn't even want to think about what those loincloths were covering. Forget the eyes of an Enderman, that was something not meant to be seen.
Behind us, I heard some protests as the ACC members stopped at the outskirts of the wandering band of Pigmen.
Let's see if those ACC goons know their Mob trivia.
Nephrait was at the front, but she made no move to follow, instead pointing with Jade's cutlass. "Well go on, after them!"
"Ma'am, we…" One of the ACC members balked. "You can't expect us to pursue them. One wrong swing and this whole plain will be on us."
"Yeah, it's too risky!"
"You'll be fine, you sissies!" Nephrait huffed. "Honestly, what would the Captain say if he saw how spineless you all are? Just go out there and drag them out! Simplest thing in the world."
"Then why don't you do it?" One member challenged.
Nephrait frowned before turning to look as we waded deeper and deeper into the crowd, brushing past Pigmen and holding our breath that we didn't accidentally injure one.
"Well?" The same ACC member challenged.
"Alright, fine!" Nephrait snapped, stepping back from the Mobs. "Everybody back up. Those boys want to take their chances with the Pigmen? Let's show them how bad an idea that really is."
"I do not like the sound of that." Lenz commented, his hands still high in the air.
"We'll be alright." I assured. "Keep moving."
Despite my assurance, I kept an eye on Nephrait and the fifty ACC members as they backed off. They were far enough away from the Pigmen, but they didn't look ready to give up just yet.
Nephrait started barking orders and then two of the members pulled out bows.
My eyes widened. "Shit! Move!"
Lenz shrieked and we both started brushing past the Zombie Pigmen faster. The bows were loaded and fired, aiming to provoke the Pigmen into a feeding frenzy with us in the middle!
Lenz managed to intercept one of the arrows with his own, but the second one aimed true and struck the intended Pigman in its exposed skull. The effect was immediate. The Pigman let out an angry oink which broadcasted to all the others like a radio signal. In seconds, they were all incensed, snorting and oinking angrily and raising their golden swords around us. Lenz cowered and I shielded Alexicon with my body as the entire band of Zombie Pigmen—
Jostled roughly past us in their mad dash for the ACC.
There were cries of alarm in the distance and I think the archer who landed the blow paled as every Pigman in the plain went to him like a swarm of hornets.
The Zombie Pigmen ignored us entirely, battering us around like it was a mosh pit in their single-minded hatred towards the archer who hurt one of their own. You messed with one Pigman, you messed with all of them.
What was once a packed plain soon became a desolate no man's land on our side. On their side, the Pigmen were gathering in a crescent formation with all the speed Herobrine forewarned me about.
Had they sacrificed the archer to the hoard, they may have been spared. Instead, some brave ACC members got between the Pigman and their target, slashing with swords that only multiplied the Mobs' targets. First it was five, then ten, then twenty, and then every ACC member was fighting the encroaching mob of Mobs. Nephrait was right in the thick of it, swinging the cutlass with reckless abandon to try and cull the Pigmen's swelling ranks.
We waited until Inventories started scattering across the ground before crossing to the safer end of the plain. With the Pigmen cleared out, it was smooth sailing.
"Damn you, Executive!" Someone cried out before a chorus of angry oinks smothered him.
"I feel slightly bad…" Lenz rubbed his elbow.
"They were trying to do that to us." I shot back before softening. "But yeah, I get what you mean."
I glanced at Mobs of the Nether still clutched between my fingers.
Guess I owe you again… Herobrine.
We rounded the other side of the inlet and made it to where the bridge connected before resuming our path. The next signpost led us to the base of a steep netherrack cliff face. At the top, Lenz pointed out a black portal frame. The way out! As for how to get up there, stairs of a maroon brick had been carved into the cliff.
But they were destroyed.
"Wasn't this supposed to be for evacuations!?" I shouted in exasperation. "There's nothing timely or orderly about this! Evacuations are not supposed to have this many roadblocks!"
At this point, I was tempted to just throw Alexicon at the cliff. Maybe that would help fix things.
Instead, I heard the tell-tale screaming of a pair of Ghasts. The same ones that exploded the bridge, no doubt. They floated close, cornering us against the steep cliff and spitting fireballs we could barely avoid.
UGH! I've had enough of these oversized squids wrecking everything!
I set Alexicon down and tore open Mobs of the Nether once more, spotting the appropriate section about how to deal with these flying headaches.
[GHAST]
[Description: Pale, bleached skin with sorrowful eyes that only open to reveal blood-red pupils when launching an attack. They are eight times larger than a Crafter with nine tentacles that propel them through the airspace of the Nether. I suspect their anatomy is similar to that of a hot air balloon, and that there is some gas within them that keeps them airborne. Their passive whines turn to ear-splitting caterwauls while in combat. It will scare the bejesus out of you.]
[Tips: This Nether inhabitant is relatively weak with only 5 Hearts of Health. However, the explosive fireballs it spits are nothing to sneeze at. Getting hit directly by one of them is safer at only 3 Hearts of damage. The explosive blast of one, however, can inflict 12 and a half Hearts of damage. They drop Ghast Tears and Gunpowder.]
[Ghasts have a high search range, capable of detecting a Crafter from a hundred meters away. With deadly accuracy, they spit flaming projectiles that explode on contact, destroying Netherrack and less sturdy blocks, and anything caught within the explosive radius catches fire. The fireballs, however, are slower than arrows and can be avoided if you're careful.]
[Hitting the Ghasts themselves isn't easy as they strafe from side to side and hover out of reach. Bows are your safest bet—their Health so low that a few shots can kill it—but if you're lacking projectiles or long-range weaponry, one tactic always works.]
[Knock the fireball back at it.]
[Once a fireball is launched, it can be deflected with a projectile, fishing lure, or melee attack. Even a simple flower would suffice in bouncing back the flaming projectile. And what's more, if a fireball is deflected into a Ghast, it deals enough damage to kill it instantly, but only to the Mob. So remember to angle yourself appropriately. One good swing and the Ghast is tasting its own medicine.]
[Weakness: Arrows. Its own deflected fireballs.]
"Cobbert! Look out—!"
The swishing of Backlash cut off the engineer as I flicked the bobber straight at the oncoming fireball. As expected, it was knocked right back and struck with a satisfying explosion and death wail. The Ghast was dead.
Brain: I mean, the book did say fishing lure.
"…Never mind." Lenz finished lamely before I killed the second Ghast in much the same way.
"HA! That was so easy!" I laughed, half wishing there were more Ghasts to fight. Sending those troublesome fireballs back at them was so cathartic! I had had enough of that back at the Wailing Vale with that Hybrid monstrosity. Herobrine really knew his stuff—!
At once, my good mood dulled. I looked to the book in my hand. His book.
I waved it slightly, tapping it against my thigh, as I considered it.
It was written by Minecraftia's greatest enemy…
But Herobrine had wanted these books out there five-hundred years ago to give Crafters a chance at fighting Mobs. He wanted them to have the knowledge he picked up from years of fighting and researching the monsters of the night.
If I could just think of that Herobrine… of the Herobrine I looked up to and respected instead of the ugly thing he became… then maybe… maybe I could…
I pocketed Mobs of the Nether, the book bumping up against How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts and Advanced Mob-Slaying. They all sat comfortably in my backpack.
I'll remember him as he was, and use these books as he intended.
I owed Herobrine that much. After all, the knowledge saved me and my friends more times than I could count.
With all the Ghasts out of the way, we were finally free to tackle the steep netherrack wall before us. The exit Portal was at the top, but I wasn't feeling like rock-climbing with Alexicon balanced on one shoulder.
I set down a Crafting Table and—with the spare time I now had—topped up Lenz's arrow supply with what little feathers, sticks, and flint I had on me. Eight arrows wasn't much, but it was something. Something which Lenz gratefully accepted. We also took a small snack of mutton to replenish our Hunger Meters.
As for getting up… I had just the useless block for the job.
I held up the blocks with an earnest open-mouthed smile.
"Gravel!"
[Floyd]
Fighting Sandra was unlike anything I could ever describe.
Most of her Hacks were based on her eyes and she was fighting two opponents, close-range, with a bow. In any other situation, the fight would already be over.
But Sandra's damn Regen Hack kept fixing her up. We would land maybe ten hits in a row before an arrow pierced Soul, but Sandra's health Meter was always full, filling back up the second she wasn't taking a hit.
Cobb overcame this, but how could we?
What was worse was that we were running out of steam. I had forcibly used my Speed Hack so I could move while paralyzed by her potions, but now that the potions had worn off, my Speed was on full blast and I was exhausting myself. I let loose a flurry of slashes into Sandra, pummeling her outside the alley and into a nearby restaurant, but the smoky aura enveloping her refused to falter, healing her over and over again.
Crafters panicked when they saw the smoky auras and fled the scene, bumping into Soul as he ran over to help.
After forty seconds of getting nowhere, my Speed timed out and I collapsed right into Sandra's kick.
I flopped across a table before a pair of arrows tore my cursed leather pants. At least I wouldn't have to wear those no more.
Soul roared as he charged in, swinging his axe, but Sandra had seen him coming long before he entered the smashed restaurant. Her eyes flashed with smoke as she fired precise shots into Soul's kneecaps. He clenched his teeth through the pain, but his legs couldn't hold up anymore and he collapsed over a chair before a Splash Potion of Weakness struck him.
"You Crafters are weak enough as is." Sandra taunted, sauntering up to Soul with her bow put away. "But a potion never hurt." The axe-wielder made a feeble attempt at a swing, but the axe tumbled out of his weakened grip before it could connect. Sandra was faster and grabbed Soul's arm before spinning around and slamming his face into a table. The axe-wielder cursed and spat, but he couldn't get his other arm free with how weak he was.
Sandra stooped down and held Soul's own axe to his throat.
"N-No!" I shouted. "Sandra, stop!"
"You see, Floyd? This is why we're superior to them!"She crooned contentedly, her smoky aura flickering languidly with her mood. "Your friend can't beat me, just like your other friend can't beat Winslow. Ohoho, don't think I took my eyes off that fight." She laughed, her eyes glowing as she leaned down. "I've seen it all, I saw it coming, and it's about to end just like this one. Winslow is about to deal the killing blow. Your Nowhere_Man is about to become a real Nowhere Man! And, come to think of it, Lost_Soul will turn into a reeeeeal Lost Soul!"
"…No." I gritted, a familiar power bubbling deep within as my smoky aura spiked.
[Noman]
I crashed into the library's floor hard, having been knocked down by the Hacker's GhostHands. No matter how I tried, I couldn't get any of my attacks to stick. None of my attacks seemed to do anything to Winslow!
"I can't believe I let such a weakling delay me." Winslow simmered, flying high above and out of reach. The smoke was enveloping him in full force, his eyes pinpricks of light in a sea of black sclerae. "Such an embarrassment is too much to take!"
He raised his hands and the GhostHands heeded his command, lifting higher and higher. The smoky hands linked together before hurdling down into a double axe handle slam aimed directly at my head. I watched it in slow motion, realizing that if it hit, I'd be a goner.
I needed to endure it. I needed more Health!
I quickly put on the Severe Shield and watched as my Health quadruple. With it on, I knew I was untouchable. I could survive anything! I'd keep it on to wear Winslow out until I was ready to escape with the Bottes Zephyr.
I didn't even consider the GhostHands as part of Winslow's body.
The moment they connected with the diamond surface of the chestplate, both the GhostHands, and Winslow_Downes, exploded in a burst of black smoke. I looked on in blank shock as tendrils of the vapor clung to Winslow's items as they plummeted to the library floor.
His smoldering Head touched the ground last. Its empty eyes looked past me, unknowing.
I fell to my knees, paradoxically broken yet pristine within my invincible diamond shell. After all I thought I learned about aikido and non-violence, I killed again.
I was weak.
I just knelt there in the sand, caring little for the fires consuming the bookcases. It wasn't like they could hurt me anyway. I was invulnerable while wearing the Severe Shield. Anything that hit me would die.
I didn't even care that a wisp of dark smoke swirled around Winslow's fallen Head before shooting off into the ceiling, leaving a darkened contrail behind that slowly faded, much like the Hacker's life.
[Floyd]
"…Wins…low?"
Sandra's breathless gasp was feeble and scared. The color drained from her face as did the smoke from her eyes and body. Whatever she just witnessed, it made everything she ever knew about turn on its head. Tears leaked and her head shook, her grip on Soul slipping.
Meanwhile, I could feel my rage bubbling to the surface and spilling over like an active volcano! I was so overwhelmed by my own helplessness to save Soul or Noman! I was overwhelmed by that blasted hacker mentality! I was overwhelmed by how Sandra refused to STOP! Why couldn't she just STOP!?
WHAT DID I HAVE TO DO TO MAKE HER STOP!?
Dark smoke poured from my eyes and enveloped my body, spiking at the edge as I glared at Sandra, demanding she answer my burning questions. What would it take her to stop!?
The spikes across my body sharpened and a cry tore loose before I could stop it.
"MULTIAURA!"
Bolts of solid smoke shot out in all directions, puncturing the walls and furniture of the restaurant. Some chairs even splintered from the force it was so intense.
Soul had the sense to slam the back of his head into Sandra's nose before wrenching her around so that she was his human shield from the spikes. Sandra glared at the attack… though there was a noticeable tremble to her lips as she spoke.
"H-Hackers are… invincible…?"
The smoky aura flickered slightly around her body, but snuffed out almost immediately. She faltered. She didn't believe she was invincible anymore.
Her failing Regen reflected those thoughts.
The spikes sunk into the front of her whole body, tearing free an agonized scream that cut off abruptly when she exploded in a shower of gear. Soul's hands fell at the lack of resistance as the body he had held was consigned to oblivion. A Head tumbled free and clattered to the floor.
The dark spikes covering the restaurant's interior dispersed into smoke which wafted to the ceiling. Sandra's Head smoldered with the same dark vapor before it started whirling around the Head at a high velocity. It spun wildly until shooting out of the hole I made in the restaurant and out into the night sky.
Towards the Origin, like our theory believed.
We'd know if it were true if there was a Bounty Day next week.
After expelling my MultiAura and killing the woman I considered a teacher—and who considered me her brother—my brain had decided it had had enough trauma, and I slipped into sweet unconsciousness.
[Cobb]
Making a staircase out of gravel was a very costly project.
Since gravel was affected by gravity, it wasn't the best material to reach greater heights. Fortunately, I had three stacks of the stuff taking up space in my Inventory. I think I got it back at the Wailing Vale when we were buried in that gravalanche.
Anyway, I made the staircase, had enough to spare, then threw it into lava because I didn't want any to spare. Maybe I was being wasteful, but I already had enough flints, and the Nether's sea of lava was just too tantalizing a waste bucket not to utilize. The Nether was looking better and better now that I didn't have to fear the Mobs anymore.
Anyway, with the gravel staircase completed, we ascended to the top and found the exit portal waiting for us.
"I hope this portal is safe." Lenz commented, approaching the portal tentatively. He was probably thinking of how portals could warp you outside the Border, but Alexicon must have set it up to connect with the secret bunker she evacuated all those books to. It looked fine, but there was really no way of knowing besides taking the plunge.
Carrying Alexicon forward, I was stopped by a scream that didn't sound like any Ghast.
I turned around and squinted over the inlet. The Zombie Pigmen were still in a frenzy, which meant there was one last ACC member who attacked them and would soon die.
It was Nephrait.
Of course it was Nephrait.
"SOMEONE HELP!" She cried out, fleeing from the Mobs with a noticeable limp. She still had Jade's diamond cutlass—of course she did—and was doing her best to ward off the undead pigs. But they were unafraid. They were like a pack of piranhas in a feeding frenzy and Nephrait was on the menu.
I snorted, turning back to the portal. It served her right for attacking us and destroying Alexicon's library. It served her right for stealing Jade's weapon with the intent of planting it and framing us. It served her right for all the innocent Crafters she framed and got thrown in jail. I could walk away with my head held high and not lose a wink of sleep over her death.
"HELP ME!" She cried pitifully. Screaming!
"GOD, PLEASE! ANYONE!"
"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
I bit my lip and spared her another glance. Damn her for looking like Jade!
…I couldn't do it.
"Here." I hissed angrily, shoving Alexicon towards Lenz with little regard for his inability to carry a body. I turned on my heel and parkoured down the steps, heedless of Lenz's shout of bewilderment.
My eyes took in the scene and locked onto the destroyed Netherrack bridge. It was high enough over the inlet to serve my purposes. Herobrine's journal had taught me a neat trick to clearing out a horde of angry Pigmen.
"Over here!" I shouted, waving wildly to Nephrait. She heard me and started her half-sprint half-limp over to me with the Zombie Pigmen hot on her heels.
In preparation, I crossed over to the ruined portion of the bridge and used my diamond sword to break a few connecting blocks of Netherrack. I kept at it until I was left standing on a suspended island of the red block, and there was a large enough gap to jump, but not to walk across.
By then, Nephrait was hobbling up to the bridge with a comical horde of Zombie Pigmen right behind her. I reached out my hands and beckoned for her to jump to my island.
She took as good a running start as she could muster and jumped across, though not without her limp tripping her up. She would have fallen short into the lava if I hadn't reached out and grabbed her hand. I braced my leg as I held her swinging body, struggling to pull her up.
The Zombie Pigmen, in their single-minded thirst for vengeance against the green-haired girl, fell through the gap with angry oinks and squeals. It was like watching a waterfall of rotten sausage. They all fell straight into the inlet of lava, though they didn't perish as they were fireproof. No, they just swam around gaily, congregating under our floating island of Netherrack, still gunning for Nephrait.
Herobrine did the same thing to save Notch and Jeb from the incensed Mobs. The very first time he visited the Nether.
As more Pigmen emptied into the inlet, I reached down and grabbed Nephrait by the collar of her top before hoisting her to safety. She collapsed onto her back, gasping for breath and shielding her eyes with a draped arm. Shaken, but alive.
"You… saved me…"
I thought about saying I only saved Jade's cutlass, but I let it go with a sigh, turning to make sure the Pigmen didn't defy my expectations and leap to get at us. They were slowing to a trickle now. A little bit longer and it'd be safe to jump over—
Pain lanced through my back, drawing a cry and a reflexive swing that never connected. A sandal-clad foot stepped into my back and pinned my to the Netherrack, my wide eyes staring in shock at the crowd of Pigmen splashing in lava below.
A mouth leaned down to whisper in my ear.
"My hero~"
And then Nephrait's other foot cracked against my skull and I blacked out.
Inventory (Cobb): 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Green, Mending I, Unbreaking I], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Boots, 1 Fishing Rod {Backlash} [Knockback II, Luck of the Sea III, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Sword [Sweeping Edge III], 1 Banner {Beginners}, 64 Cobblestone, 61 Cobblestone, 1 Feather, 1 Bed, 36 Dirt, 7 Coal, 22 Flint, 12 Jungle Wood Logs, 56 Jungle Wood Planks, 7 Torches, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Clock, 1 Lava Bucket, 1 String, 60 Emeralds, 1 Ender Chest, 4 Snowballs, 9 Gunpowder, 9 Cooked Mutton, 27 Rotten Flesh, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Mobs of the Nether}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 27]
Inventory (Floyd): 1 Mob Head {Creeper}, 1 Diamond Chestplate [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Leather Boots [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 3 Iron Ingots, 47 Dirt, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 18 Cooked Mutton, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Emerald, 1 Iron Sword {Weak}, 1 Diamond Helmet [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Boots [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Leggings, 16 Gunpowder, 4 Ender Pearls, 1 Splash Potion of Invisibility {6:00}, 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 32]
Inventory (Lenz): 1 Leather Pants [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Leather Boots [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III], 1 Bow {Weak}, 1 Shears, 2 Levers, 5 Redstone Torches, 1 Bed, 9 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 23 Redstone, 17 Blocks of Redstone, 2 Hoppers, 3 Pistons, 2 Sticky Pistons, 48 Cobblestone, 1 Minecart, 1 Compass, 25 Gunpowder, 17 Arrows, 16 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 25 Cooked Mutton, 64 Emeralds, 16 Sugar Cane, 8 Paper, 5 Ink Sacs, 3 Leather, 1 Book {Airship Piloting 101}, 1 Book {Notebook}, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}
[EXP: 15]
Inventory (Soul): 1 Diamond Axe [Sharpness V], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 64 Iron Ingots, 52 Iron Ingots, 20 Flint, 12 Gold Ingots, 1 Milk, 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Crafting Table, 1 Bed, 1 Furnace, 24 Torches, 34 White Wool, 58 Dirt, 64 Cobblestone, 62 Cobblestone, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 32 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Armor Stand, 1 Ender Pearl, 45 Cooked Mutton, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}
[EXP: 27]
Inventory (Jade): 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV], 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV], 1 Leather Boots [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Diamond Chestplate [Protection IV], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV], 1 Iron Sword, 1 Bed, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 16 String, 21 Cooked Mutton, 14 Torches, 30 Jungle Wood Planks, 64 Cobblestone, 34 Cobblestone, 30 Emeralds, 24 Obsidian, 2 Buckets, 1 Compass, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Clock, 9 Ender Chests, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Dover Plains Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Lazuli Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}
[EXP: 36]
Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Leather Boots {Bottes Zephyr} [Dyed White], 1 Black Shield {Slight Shield} [Blue Cross] {Weak}, 1 Flint and Steel, 1 Bow [Infinity], 28 Birch Wood Planks, 34 Iron Ingots, 18 Sticks, 1 Bucket, 1 Crafting Table, 10 Cooked Mutton, 4 Ender Pearls, 1 Potion of Healing II, 1 Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Potion of Water Breathing {8:00}, 1 Bed, 1 Book {Artifact List}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Zeppil}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}, 1 Compass, 1 Arrow, 3 Sugar, 14 Bookshelves, 5 Enchanted Golden Apples, 1 Diamond Helmet, 1 Diamond Leggings, 1 Diamond Boots, 64 Emeralds, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 18 Bones, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 49 Gravel, 9 Flint
[EXP: 25]
AN: Where there's smoke, there's fire.
Also, I didn't purposefully have Alexicon unconscious throughout this Chapter so I wouldn't have to write her annoying Shakespearean verbal ticks.
(9_9)
Noman and Floyd: I've been twaumatized!
Fav, Follow, Review. PM, Forum, Discord, Minecraft Server. And stay healthy.