Kai and Alex reach the nether, their eyes are hit by the light of falling lava and fire. The scenery consists of an open nether wastes biome, red fog and a bit of blue in the distance.
Al: Wow, this is so weird.
K: Oh, would you look at that! We're near the place we have to get to.
Al: This entire area looks extremely dangerous.
K: Yeah, just stay close and watch out. The life forms here tend to be hostile. First, we need some endermen. They tend to gather in warped forests.
Al: Where… Is that?
K: That blue area right there is what we're looking for, follow me.
Kai walks along the netherrack, making sure not to step on fire or a hole. Alex follows behind her hesitantly.
Alex's battle skills are about to be tested. There isn't a way to determine how many endermen she will have to fight. She looks for reassurance from Kai.
Al: So, how many endermen do we need?.
K: Uh… at least 16 pearls. Some endermen don't have pearls so, like, 32 more or less.
Al: All of that? I'm not sure I can do this. We can't even use a bow to fight them, right?
K: Yeah no, they have an instinct to teleport away from projectiles. But there's a technique I learned.
They get to the warped forest, looking down so they don't provoke the endermen.
Al: This blue thing, what is it?
K: Warped fungus, a native species. Doesn't really look like it because of how much its color contrasts with all the red, black and gray. I don't recommend eating it. Maybe we can bring some mushrooms back home and cultivate them.
Al: Mhm.
K: Time to do the thing I mentioned earlier.
Kai takes a pickaxe and carves a hole into a wall of netherrack. It's really wide and goes deep into the wall, but is very short. Alex and her get into the hole.
K: Now, uhh, let's go then. You'll stay on the left corner, I'll be on the right.
Al: Mhm.
K: I'll look at an enderman and it will be angry at me. You kill it while it's too distracted trying to reach me.
Al: That– doesn't make a lot of sense.
K: Their backs and knees aren't really that flexible. They can't bend down to reach me.
Kai peeks out of the hole and looks an enderman in the eyes. The creature unhinges its jaw and starts going after her. Kai goes deeper as the enderman teleports closer.
K: Now!
Alex swings her sword, hitting the creature's torso, eventually ending its life after more swings. The humanoid's body disintegrates, leaving no trace.
K: There we go. This one didn't have a pearl, which is kind of a bummer. But, hey…
Kai looks outside and stares another enderman in the eyes. It senses her gaze from afar and gets aggressive.
Al: I can do this.
Kai and Alex spend hours in the warped forest, with a couple of breaks for stretching and meals. They kill a total of 34 endermen before reaching the required amount of pearls.
Al: How… Many pearls do we have? I think I'm dying a little bit.
K: We got 17 pearls. We're good to go, it's almost time to go to bed.
Kai and Alex make their way towards the nether portal and get back to the overworld. Efe is sitting outside waiting for them.
E: Woo, you're back! How was it?
Alex walks past her and goes straight to her tent to get clothes.
K: Oh, we got all the pearls we needed to get. We used a technique to make the process easier, but there was still a lot of effort on Alex's part.
Al: I will need some rest, man. What are we doing tomorrow?
K: Oh, we're… Don't worry about it now. Go take a bath, I'll see here.
Alex goes inside and goes to the bathroom.
E: So… What ARE we doing tomorrow?
K: I think we can pull this off. We need blaze powder to make the eyes of ender and for potions. We will raid a nether fortress.
Ari comes out of the house. Kai writes in her notebook and comes to a conclusion.
K: We will… I– let me see…
Ari sits beside Kai and Efe.
K: We will need potions. I'm thinking about… The four of us going into the fortress.
Ar: Are you…
E: Okay… I want to see where this goes.
Ar: What do you mean fortress?
K: I think you and Alex can go look for blaze powder, while me and Ari look for nether warts and brew the potions..
E: Hmm… I don't really… This blaze thing, does it have to do with fire?
K: Yes. It's mostly made of fire, the other parts are smoke and plasma.
E: Not really confident about this.
Ar: I don't want to be too involved in anything, how dangerous is this place?
K: Blaze powder is crucial for getting to the dragon and for brewing potions.
Ar: How crucial?
K: We need it to make the eyes of Ender, which will guide us to the portal and open it. Also, blaze powder serves as a catalyst for the elements in the potions. Potions will be useful for the fight with the dragon. Also, we can brew potions of fire resistance to fight the blaze.
E: I– aw man. I think it's worth the risk.
K: To be honest, Ari doesn't have to go.
Ar: I don't know… I think I can take it.
K: But you will make everything a lot more efficient by organizing the materials, carrying supplies and managing our resources. We will be in a constant struggle after all, you can significantly make everything a lot better.
Ar: Yeah, I think it'll be fine.
K: But you don't have to, we kind of dragged you into this. You can just stay and help from here.
Ar: No, no, I think I can handle it. At least enough to stay out of your way.
Alex comes out of the house, she hangs one of her towels on the clothes hanger. Another one sits on her head. She sits beside the other girls.
Al: So… What are the next steps?
Kai gets up.
K: We will raid a nether fortress tomorrow.
Al: Nice. I think I'll go to sleep then, we have a lot to do tomorrow. What time do we get up?
K: Oh, whenever we want, as long as it's before lunch. We can rest for a bit.
Kai gets her clothes and goes to bathe, while Efe gets ready to sleep.
The Moon moves a couple of degrees across the sky and the night progresses, eventually turning into a beautiful morning.
The Sun starts to rise in the east, Kai gets up and proceeds to do nothing but read and write for a couple of hours. Later, she eats breakfast and helps Ari with a couple of chores. Kai goes over the plan one last time over lunch.
K: Ok, after we finish here we're going to the nether. Ari and Efe, I just need to know if either of you is willing to go with us.
Ar: I'm going with you.
E: Yeah, I'll go too.
Ar: Just to make sure - all I have to do is carry stuff, right?
K: Correct.
Ar: Right.
E: And I…
K: You will help Alex with the monsters.
E: How… Dangerous are the monsters? I don't think we went over this yesterday.
K: We will run into… Wither skeletons, magma cubes… Ghasts… probably some other guys on our way there. But as long as we keep our distance we'll be fine.
After dinner, the girls put on the armor that Efe and Ari made. Ari doesn't wear a leather cap, as it makes her uncomfortable, but she brings it with her either way. The girls each take a wooden sword, Alex takes her sword and her bow. They prepare to go through the portal.
The girls step through the purple light and are met with a red, scorched wasteland. Ari loses a bit of the confidence that she was already lacking.
K: Welcome to hell.
E: Weather's great here…
Ar: Where do we go?
K: Okay… We need to go to the left. If we go through the right we will meet a dead end.
Ar: This place does not look… It does not look like somewhere where things can survive.
K: Yeah… A lot of species here are intrusive. But we got some native little guys; like the striders, warped and crimson fungi and the piglins…
E: What does the fortress look like?
K: Blaze and magma cubes too. Uhh… The fortress just– It's just a bunch of bridges and pillars. Let's hope the one we find is at our level and we don't have to climb.
On the way to the fortress, there's an encounter with a couple of medium-sized magma cubes, which are quickly dealt with. Kai collects the magma cream.
After walking for a bit over ten minutes, a fortress is seen emerging from the fog while the girls walk on a netherrack platform. Luckily the fortress is established below them and the main structure is not far. The girls jump onto the walkway and prepare for a tough time.
K: Okay, first we need to get some shelter. Do you see that area right there?
Kai points ahead, there is a covered hallway, which connects to others.
K: Let's get there. Keep your eyes peeled.
The group gets to the hallway and starts looking around for either a blaze spawner or nether warts. They encounter a blaze on the way, it shoots fireballs, which are deflected by Alex's shield. The blaze is then killed and its rod is taken.
Eventually, the girls get to a staircase with nether warts on either side of the bottom. Kai and Ari stay, while Alex and Efe go find the blaze they need.
Kai gets the materials she needs from one of the bags Ari is carrying. She carves the blaze rod into a vial, then takes three coaster-like objects made of stone from the bag and attaches them to the bottom of the tube. Kai then puts a little structure made of metal at the tip of the rod. It has three tubes which curve down into the stone holders.
K: Alright I messed up.
Ar: WHAT?
K: Chill, it's not that serious. We need to go back to Efe and Alex for another blaze rod.
Ar: Alright, let's get going.
K: I'll take some extra warts and a bit of soul sand so we can cultivate this at home.
The girls get up and go on their way to find the other duo.
Ar: Hold it, did you say soul sand?
K: Yeah, the wart kind of needs spiritual energy to grow.
Ar: That's… freaking weird.
K: The nether wart is kind of an ancient life form. It came before the environment in the nether became… Okay enough for things to survive. So it didn't have a lot of nutrients to extract from the soil, at least not of the physical type.
Ar: But… Where does all the soul energy come from?
K: Dead people's souls. Long st– Chest.
Kai finds a chest at a corner where the hallway turns 90 degrees to the left. She opens it, hoping to find nothing of interest.
Ar: What is in it?
K: Pieces of horse armor, four pieces of obsidian and two diamonds!
Ar: Wow, I've never seen any in my life.
K: I have seen some… And I know exactly what to do with them. Here, we're taking them and the obsidian too.
The two keep walking, eventually finding the two they needed to find previously. Alex and Efe are found fighting a group of blaze on an elevated platform with a blaze spawner.
Al: Oh, looks like they're already done.
K: Hey. How's your whole thing going?
E: It's pretty nice.
Alex kills the last blaze in the group, her and Efe go down the stairs to the platform by two steps.
K: Have you gotten any more blaze rods? We need an extra one.
Al: Oh, sure. Here you go.
Alex tosses a blaze rod to Kai.
Al: Hide behind the wall to your left, please.
K: Sure…
Another group of blaze appears out of thin air. Efe gets behind Alex, who blocks the first barrage of fireballs with her shield. They then advance and attack the monsters while trying not to get touched. Efe's attacks deal greater damage due to the weight of her axe, while Alex's attacks manage to hit more enemies at the same time as her sword is lighter.
Kai crushes the blaze rod into blaze powder and pours it into the vial made previously. She puts water bottles in the holders and pours a handful of nether wart into the vial. It starts to heat up and burn. The smoke goes up and into the metal tubes and then down into the bottles, Kai sits there and waits for the wart to burn completely. She then pours some of the magma cream into the vial.
Meanwhile, Ari can't decide between watching the fight and Kai brewing the potions. The blaze stop fighting, they burn brighter. Alex gets to a corner with her shield up, Efe goes behind her. The blaze rise slowly and shoot another barrage of fireballs, which get blocked. Alex's shield breaks from the last impact. Her and Efe fight and kill the last of the monsters before retreating down the staircase.
Al: Okay, I think it's time for us to go back, my shield is done.
K: Nuh uh.
Kai takes two bottles from the brewing stand as the magma cream evaporates completely, and hands them to Efe and Alex.
K: Drink this. It doesn't last too long, but you two should be finished before the effect runs out. You gotta drink it all in one go, by the way.
Efe drinks out of the bottle and starts coughing. Alex drinks her portion too.
Al: It's spicy. But… Not in a good way… It tastes like…
E: Lava, it tastes exactly how I thought lava would taste like.
K: Well, you got it right. The potion is made with magma cream. Now go and finish off those things.
Ar: Why would anyone question the taste of…
Efe and Alex spend a couple of minutes fighting the blaze. While they're immune to the extreme heat of the fireballs, they're not immune to the physical attacks dealt by the creatures.
The potion's effect eventually runs out, the girls feel the heat of the fire around them and run down the stairs.
Al: I think it ran out.
K: Alright, I don't think we need any more rods. How many do we have?
E: 11
Kai hands Alex the third potion.
K: Alex, you think you can get us to 16?
Alex takes the potion and chugs it.
Al: I'll get to 20.
Alex proceeds to fight for the next couple of minutes, while the others watch. Kai finishes brewing a couple of health and strength potions from the glistering melons and the leftover blaze powder.
After the potion's time runs out, Alex comes back down the staircase.
Al: Okay, we're done here. I need to wash myself.
The girls go back out of the fortress without much struggle other than a small magma cube. They begin their walk back to the portal.
Ar: This was an experience. I don't think I wanna do this ever again.
K: No, yeah. I don't really want to have to come back for a while, we just need one last thing.
E: Uh huh, what is it?
K: I think we have time. Alex, you have your bow, right?
Al: Yeah.
K: You see the crying things floating around?
Al: Yeah…
K: This is going to be dangerous, but I need you to shoot them. Then we need to kill it when it gets very close.
Al: You got it!
K: Efe and Ari, Can you resume your walk to the portal ahead of us? Try to walk a bit faster.
E: Gladly. Here, let me carry a bit of the weight.
Efe takes a couple of Ari's bags and they both continue their walk to the portal.
K: Okay, shoot and prepare to run.
Alex draws her bow and shoots, hitting the ghast at an impressive distance. The monster is made aware of its new foe and starts moving closer.
K: I think… Here, drink this.
Kai hands a strength potion to Alex, who drinks it.
K: I don't remember if it does anything to your arrows, but it should help.
Alex drinks the potion.
Al: Holy– this manages to be spicier than the other one.
K: Okay, walk to the right. The ghast is getting closer.
The monster shoots a fireball at the duo.
K: Run.
The ball hits the ground and explodes, leaving a flaming hole in the ground.
Al: Wuh– Why, how!? Why?
K: Just keep running and wait for it to get closer.
Another ghast appears from the fog.
Al: There's no way!
K: Now go back around the fire!
Alex complies, the ghasts keep spitting fireballs. Eventually, Kai and Alex run far enough that one of the ghasts has to get above land to reach them.
K: Okay, it's close enough. Shoot it!
Alex shoots the ghast with a second arrow, killing it. It disappears and leaves behind a handful of gunpowder and a tear.
K: Alright, that's the thing we need. Can you get the second one?
Al: Yeah, I think so.
Alex draws her bow, but it's old and doesn't stand the tension. The bow finally breaks after a couple of months of use.
Al: Alright, we're done.
K: Sister, just run.
Kai and Alex run amidst the flames on the ground and the fireballs in the air. Kai takes the ghast's tear from the ground and doesn't stop. The ghast's cries and screams fade into the distance. The last explosion is heard, Kai and Alex don't stop running until they reach the portal. They are hit with a hard transition from the bright flames, lava and glowstone to the dark sky of the overworld. Efe and Ari await them near the portal.
Alex and Kai lay on the ground for a while.
K: We needed glowstone.
Al: I'm not going back in there.
K: No, it's fine. We don't need it.
E: What was that? I didn't see anything, but that sounded like it was a fight and a half.
Ar: The screams and explosions…
Ari shudders as a chill goes up her spine.
Ar: And there's a portal to that right here in my front yard.
K: Oh, yeah, we can get rid of this.
E: Perfect.
Efe takes her diamond pickaxe and breaks a piece of obsidian, closing the portal completely.
The girls go inside to bathe and eat, then go to bed.
On the next day, Kai talks to Efe after breakfast.
K: Hey, Efe, I was wondering if you could help me with something down into the caves.
E: Oh, yeah, I need a break from combat. That thing is not for me.
K: Can you get me some lapis lazuli?
E: Aw… I already got some. I was hoping to go underground for a while today.
Efe walks up to one of her bags filled with ores and opens it, revealing a ton of pieces of the stone.
K: Woah, that's a lot. We really won't need much.
Kai goes up to Ari.
K: Ari, please tell me you have a book.
Ar: Huh?
K: Okay, wait, I gotta say it better. Do you have by any chance a book that you are willing to not use anymore? It has to have at least 100 pages and can be empty.
Ar: Oh, yes. I made a couple of books sometime ago. Never learned to do it right, so I tried to perfect the technique a while ago. Let me get one for you.
K: Yes!
Kai takes the book, the obsidian and the diamonds and makes an enchantment table. Magic runes fill the pages in the book. The other girls watch in confusion. Kai places her chestplate on top of the table and the book fips through its pages. Three paragraphs are highlighted at random. Kai deciphers the runes and reads one of the paragraphs out loud. Runes appear out of the air and gather around the chestplate, spelling out "Protection I".
A purple glint now surrounds the armor piece.
K: Oh, I did it! I never thought I would ever learn to enchant stuff.
Kai takes her leather pants and repeats the process. She stops a while and calls for Efe. She teaches her to read the runes and they spend a lot of the morning enchanting as many pieces of equipment as they can.
They take a break for lunch.
Ar: So… What was it that you were doing earlier?
K: Enchanting some of our gear. Not 100% necessary, but it'll help a bunch in the fight.
Al: Wow. That's really cool.
K: Okay, Efe, I think you already did enough. Do you mind spending the day forging a couple of weapons? I think Alex can do the rest of the enchanting while I brew potions.
Al: Wait, I don't even know how to do the stuff.
K: Don't worry, it's the basics. You just gotta learn a new alphabet and read it out loud. If you want to, that is.
E: By the way, how does this thing work? The enchantment stuff?
K: It's simple. You just gotta have experience points.
E: Experience points?
K: You get points whenever you complete very specific tasks. You most likely have a lot of them from mining and smelting ores. Alex probably has a ton, since she spent so long killing monsters. Ari Must have a bunch too from breeding animals and cooking so much. I, on the other hand, don't have much, since I haven't done much. After you enchant for the first time, you are able to see the experience orbs that those specific tasks generate.
Al: That's actually so cool.
K: After a while, you're able to know your level of experience, then other people's levels too. Oh, yeah, you use up points when enchanting.
E: Does that mean I will be able to see, like, things just floating around whenever someone does things?
K: Correct. But you lose the ability after a couple of days, and you gotta enchant a lot if ya want to have the thing permanently.
Ar: That's really interesting.
Al: Yeah, I think I will enchant some stuff. Do we not have anything else to do today?
K: Nope, just an enchanting break. Today is the sixth day of the ten we have. We gotta leave soon.
The girls spend the rest of the day preparing to leave. Alex takes on the enchanting, while Efe forges four iron swords and crafts a new shield for Alex. Kai spends the day brewing potions of healing, strength, and regeneration. Ari prepares first aid kits and food for the trip to the end portal.
The Sun sets with the girls tired and accomplished, anxious and ready for the fight against the dragon.