The Wooden House - Part I
OffTheAir
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The Wooden House
by OffTheAir
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Prologue
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"Stop it! Stop it!" A young woman cried, slashing two Endermen with a
damaged sword.
One Enderman turned around angrily, and knocked her to the wall with a
tremendous force.
"He saw this coming! No mortal is allowed to trespass among
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The Void's fortresses!" The other Enderman yelled.
They had been thrashing a man, armed with nothing but a wooden sword and chain armor...and an enchanted book!
"Give it to us!" An Enderman commanded. "The
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Creeper King forbids anyone to have knowledge about the secrets within that book!"
The man was about to faint, but he tried with all his might to speak to the woman, even though he was still being harmed.
"Katherine...get out of here...take the
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minecart and get out!" The man ordered to the woman.
"But...Vick..." The woman replied in tears.
"Go now! Before you get involved into this situation as well!"
The Woman tried to resist the man's orders, but she finally understood she had to leave
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him behind, and left, right before the referenced Creeper King entered the room.
"That'sss enough soldiersss," The Creeper King said with a vile hiss. Once the Enderman were given this order, they vanished.
The Creeper King
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was a typical Creeper, except for a few minor characteristics. He had a golden crown with emeralds forged within it. He also wore a luxurious, red robe and a shimmering golden necklace.
"Are you ready to give up the book? Or shall I make you
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with force?" The Creeper King asked.
The man grinned, and got up, even after he was almost killed by the two Endermen.
"Yes," He answered. In response, he quickly brought out a mysterious device and shoved the enchanted book inside.
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The Creeper King had a look of fear on his face, and jumped towards the device. It was too late though, for it vaporized and was quickly thousands of blocks away from The Void fortress. It had teleported the book to another being.
"No!" The Creeper
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King cried, stomping on the ground with it's four small feet. He frowned at the man, who was filled with glee that the book was out of the king's reaches. "I would blow you up right now if I didn't suicide as a result."
The man laughed.
"But seeing as
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though i'm of royalty, I can pay people to do that for me," the Creeper King said. With that, the same Endermen teleported back to the room, this time with TNT in their hands. They chained the man to the wall, and set TNT all over the room.
"Goodbye
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Vick, sssee you in hell, or in this case, The Nether." The Creeper King grinned. He then lit the TNT with flint n' steel and vanished along with the endermen. And after a large explosion as a result, he was dead. Kaline, his brother, woke up
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that exact second.
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Part I: The Key to the Coroq Gates
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Chapter 1: The Funeral
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"Everybody please settle down," an NPC Villager requested from a noisy
crowd. "The funeral is about to begin."
The crowd settled.
"I am proud to introduce the ruler of everything in existence, Notch!"
The NPC Villager announced. The
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crowd clapped with somewhat of a delight, after all, it was a funeral.
"Vick was an impressive miner, one of the best in the land," Notch began. "I am honored to be here reading his will, and I will forever long his absence. Now, let's begin"
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After a couple of hours went by, Notch read the names of the people to which Vick had left valuable items to.
"We are down to the final item everyone," Notch said, "and Vick adressed this special object to his only brother, Kaline."
The crowd
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silenced, as Kaline stood up from his seat. He walked across the red wool leading to Notch with no emotion whatsoever.
"I'm sorry for your lose, Kaline," Notch apologized. He handed him the final gift. "That is the conclusion to this
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funeral, Notch out!" He then bursts into light and went up into the sky.
Kaline Woolcraft never wanted to go through this. He had millions in diamonds before his home was captured by the Creeper Empire. It was a mansion then. Everything was
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robbed from him, even the materials he had used on his sancturary. Now, he lives in a simple wooden house with his wife, Crystal, slaving away to gather emeralds for the Creeper King. For if he didn't, he would be lose his home, and put himself and his
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wife through the same fate as Vick, blown up and tossed into The Void.
Kaline placed a button on some spruce wood, which stood out from the oak wood that made up his house. An iron door opened, and he quickly entered the household, with
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the gift Vick left to him. Crystal greeted him, and gave him a hug, an obvious indication that she felt sorry for him.
"I can't believe he's gone," Kaline weeped. "Why did he have to look for trouble? Why?"
"He's an explorer, Kaline." Crystal
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replied. "His curiosity got the better of him."
"It always did," Kaline admitted. He looked at the gift he achieved from the funeral.
"Open it up, Kaline," Crystal suggested.
Kaline ripped away the wrapping, and inside was a familiar object...the
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enchanted book! His eyes widened, he was familiar with this book. He had to remember what it was, it wasn't entirely clear to him. He opened up the book, and began to read.
"In the beginning..." He began.
Him and his wife quickly gawked, and a loud
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pounding on the door was heard. The Creeper King was outside.
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Chapter 2: A Deal is Made!
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"Hurry up Kaline! Read the rest!" Crystal panicked.
"That's all it says! Literally, just one single sentence," Kaline
replied.
A zombie villager, wearing a suit filled with holes and rips, and an
eyepatch over his eye destroyed the
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iron door with a pickaxe. The Creeper King then entered, not amused.
"Alright Kaline," He spoke. "I'm not in the best mood, so hand me your daily pay in emeraldssss."
Kaline looked at Crystal and nodded. She had an understanding on
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what he wanted her to do. She went into the back of the wooden house and broke a block of red wool, which was used as for their carpeting. As a result of this act, a lever was revealed. Crystal pulled it, and the reaction signaled a group of pistons,
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built to act like an elevator of some sort. Up came a chest, which was their hiding place for the emeralds they had worked hard to achieve. However, it was empty.
Crystal looked back at Kaline with a look of worry. As a response, he
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shook his head in dissapointment.
"Well?" The Creeper King said impatiently, "I don't have all day."
Kaline walked over to the Creeper King. "We have no emeralds to spare."
Minutes passed with silence. Until the Creeper King made a loud hiss, and
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was actually close to exploding. But he quickly calmed himself, to prevent unexpected death.
"What do you mean you have no emeraldssss?" He grumbled.
Kaline and his wife said nothing.
"I could have you killed for
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thissss!" The Creeper King yelled. " I would make sure you two experience a death one million timessss worse than Vick!"
Kaline and Crystal began to weep once more after the Creeper King's recent statement. Surprisingly, the
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Creeper King felt emotion and was actually hurt by what he had said to the two. He then shook his head violently and returned to his angered mood.
"You have by the end of this week to gather a stack of emeralds," The Creeper King instructed. "I will
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return to this despicable household then, and if no emeraldsssss are in your possession..."
The Creeper King walked over to a golden apple sitting on a table within the wooden house and bashed it with his head.
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"You get the idea," He smiled devilishly. "God that hurt! Sometimessss I dread the fact that I lack armsss."
He walked out of the household, but his Zombie Villager companion stayed. He looked at the couple and tossed them two emeralds.
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"...Just to get you started." He grunted.
Kaline smiled. "Hey Zane."
The Zombie Villager sniffed and walked out the iron door.
"Haven't seen him around these parts in a while." Crystal spoke.
"Yeah, it's nice to
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see that he's not completely infected...at least not yet..." Kaline replied.
Crystal returned to the previous topic. "What are we going to do Kaline? How are we going to get a stack of emeralds in a week?!?!"
"Forget about it." Kaline
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responded. "Once this book reveals to us the secrets that it wields, we'll be able to take down the Creeper King and his empire."
"Kaline, he could have us killed!" Crystal yelled. "What could this book possibly do? Barely anything is written in
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it!"
"It's not the words that matter." Kaline noted. "It's what the book can unlock. It's the key to Coroq Gates!"
"You mean the rusty gates in the center of Witherox?" Crystal asked, "Nobody dares set foot in there!
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Heck, nobody even knows what lies behind those gates."
"Well it's time we found out." Kaline said with a sense of adventure in his eyes. "We need to find Archie the Iron Golem."
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Chapter 3: Archie the Iron Golem
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Kaline made a quick trip down the Extreme Hills where his Wooden House
stood and reached a small NPC Village by the name of Rush. It's called
Rush for its involvement in several diamond rushes over the past few
centuries. Archie the Iron
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golem, whom Kaline longs to speak to, is the beloved mayor of the village. As soon as he made his way through the main gate, he was greeted by many villagers. Suddenly, three villagers whose clothes were covered in filth approached
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Kaline. Their heavy hard hats with bright glowstone inside indicated that they were miners.
"Hi boss!" One of them said happily.
Kaline smiled. "Blake, Nick, and Orio, I need you to do me a huge favor."
"Sure boss!" Orio replied. "What do
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you need?"
"Me and Crystal are on to something big and the Creeper King demands we give him a stack of emeralds by next week," Kaline explained. "I need you three to mine at least a fraction of that amount, can you do that?"
"We'll get right on
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it, boss!" Nick spoke.
"Yeah, we won't let that nasty Creeper King harm you." Blake added.
The three miners took out their shovels and dug down through the dirt, closing it up soon after they were out of plain sight. Afterwards, the sound of a
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clicking button silenced the village. A large door opened, and a colossal figure stepped out into the open. It was an iron golem, two times as big as a natural one. He had a beard and a mustache to go along with it, and his eyes were blue rather than
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red. He caught glimpse of Kaline and walked towards him, taking large steps that shook the entire ground. Once he was a few inches away from Kaline, he held out...a rose. The golem's name was Archie.
"Thanks Archie," Kaline said, "Vick
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would really appreciate this."
Archie smiled. It was clear that he was upset over the death of Kaline's brother, Vick.
"What brings you here?" Archie asked in a deep, yet overall quiet voice.
"I recieved a book from Vick at his
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funeral," Kaline responded. "I believe it's the same book that was created to lead us to The Climax."
The Climax is a dimension that has only been concieved in fiction. It is believed to lead to a mob that every being in the Minecraft
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Universe fears. He is described as being twenty blocks high, having four legs, and having a body completely made out of fluid that changes color periodically. He has claws and long arms, and a gigantic mouth with jagged teeth, as well as glaring red
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eyes. The story goes that he was a mob that thrived in the "beta" times, but was only viewed by few people and eventually claimed to be a hoax, much similiar to Herobrine. Truth is, "developers" felt no need for his presence and
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sealed him away in The Climax, a shadow-like dimension that serves as the home for abandoned mobs.
"In the beginning..." Archie read from the enchanted book. "You have done a great job, Kaline, this is the book. Tomorrow morning we shall journey to
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Witherox."
Archie handed the enchanted book back to Kaline, nodded, and went back inside his home.
Crystal came running to the NPC Village and met up with Kaline.
"So...Why did you need to talk to Archie?" She asked.
"Because long
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ago, The Wither and the Iron Golem race were allies. Iron Golems helped construct their monuments and The Wither rewarded them with daily needs," Kaline answered. "Archie is the only person who can unlock Coroq Gates with the book."
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"Incredible!" Crytal said in amazement. "I always wonder how you get him to talk to you, he doesn't talk to anyone, now that his creator is gone."
Kaline watched Archie getting prepared for the Witherox trip within his house. He frowned. "The Creeper
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King is a monster."
Zane Helmframe was Archie's creator. He constructed him using four iron blocks and a pumpkin, and trained him to be a master in weaponary and a dedicated adventurer. The Creeper King feared Archie's power
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and wanted to destroy him. To do this, he tampered with his enchantment table and made a horrid enchantment called "Zombie." Archie was the one who commonly enchanted the village's weapons and armor, at the time however, he was away and Zane was left
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to do the job. Because of this, he was transformed into a zombie villager, and only has faint memories of his friends and family. Zane Helmframe was corrupted with evil, and the Creeper King took advantage of it greatly. Although it wasn't the result
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he expected, the Creeper King killed Archie the Iron Golem, but on the inside, for he dreads the fact that his master will never be with him again.
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Chapter 4: Kaline Vs. The Nether
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"Kaline look out!" Crystal cried.
Kaline looked behind him and found a Creeper sneaking up to him, about
to explode. He was terrified and slashed it away with a sword. It
exploded, but at a distance where he was not harmed. Kaline was
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relieved, and brought out a crafting table.
"Alright Crystal, how much iron ore did we collect?" Kaline asked.
"Here." Crystal said, throwing the pieces of iron ore to Kaline.
"About two stacks. Perfect!" Kaline replied. "Put it in
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the furnace while I make some more diamond pickaxes and swords. We need to be prepared if we're heading into a dangerous place like Witherox."
After minutes of smelting, Crystal used the resulted iron ingots to make two sets of iron
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armor on the crafting table.
"Seven...eight...nine..." Kaline counted. "Ten diamonds. That's enough to make each of us a diamond sword and pickaxe."
Crystal and Kaline equipped the armor and stored the pickaxes and swords in a "on the go"
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chest.
"Let's go rendezvous with Archie." Kaline insisted.
Kaline and Crystal left the mine that they had been exploring and made their way back to Rush. When they came back, they were surprised to see Archie with blocks of obsidian
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in his hand.
"What is all this?" Kaline questioned.
Archie looked towards Kaline. "If we're going to Witherox, we're going to have to make a portal. The portal to Witherox requires fourteen blocks of soul sand, which can only be found in
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The Nether."
Archie began constructing a Nether portal out of the fourteen blocks of obsidian he had in his hand.
"I don't know Archie, The Nether is well...hell nowadays," Kaline complained.
"Yeah," Crystal agreed. "The
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Creeper King has alliances with Ghasts, Blazes, and even Zombie Pigmen. They will destroy us!"
"I know it's a dangerous idea, but we can't just get soul sand out of thin air," Archie stated. "Rush has a bedrock outpost nearby, if we can get there as
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quick as possible, we won't be harmed."
Kaline and Crystal thought for a few minutes and realized there was no other choice. They agreed to enter The Nether. Archie made a quick grin, and lit the structure with flint n' steel, creating the portal. All
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three held hands, and jumped through, and with a quick purple flash, they were in the hellish dimension. Oceans of lava lied benath them, and flames roared on the tops of Netherrack as the red sky failed to indicate day or night.
"Over there!"
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Archie cried, pointing to a small bedrock structure across a bridge. It was only thirty blocks away. "Run!"
All three of them sprinted across the netherrack, when they reached the bridge in a matter of seconds, they felt confident they
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would make it...they were wrong. A loud screech was followed by a huge fireball that blew up part of the bridge, cutting them off from the outpost. Kaline, Crytal, and Archie stopped in their tracks. A Ghast came up from under the bridge. It wore a
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cape with the Creeper King's symbol painted on the back.
"Going somewhere?" The Ghast grunted.
Several blazes circled around Kaline, Crystal and Archie as a zombie pigman came and put dispensers on their hands.
"It was the only
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thing we had," The Zombie Pigman groaned. "After all we have no handcuffs."
The ghast made an angry look at him, and shot a fireball, quickly annihilating him.
"Take all of them to the Nether Fortress," The Ghast ordered. "I'll
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report them to the Creeper King and see what torture he has in store for them."
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Chapter 5: Creeper King Perspective #1: The Creeper King's Fate
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Moments after our heroes were captured in The Nether, an important
meeting was being held in the center of the Minecraft universe where a
set of gigantic fortresses surrounded an overlooking castle. The Creeper
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Empire's home was here. The Creeper King was in an odd behavior. He was furious, not at any of his subjects, but at himself. For some reason, he had not been able to sentence Kaline and Crystal to death, which has never happened
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before. Killing people was his all time favorite hobby, although coldhearted, he was filled with joy out of it.
An Enderman shined the emeralds on the Creeper King's crown and placed it on his head. Afterwards, the Creeper King took
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a deep breath and walked through two wooden doors leading to a large room. A table stretched across the room, filled with multiple types of mobs. He sat down in the largest of the chairs. Each mob at the table then stared at him with a puzzled
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look.
Minutes passed, and the Creeper King finally became enraged. "What isssss it?!?!" He yelled.
"This is unlike you, Baxtroff," A skeleton with a gold tooth admitted. "Letting a mortal off the hook, especially one
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who has been ordered to present emeralds each day. You know we need them for the project!""
"I'm aware of the project!" The Creeper King scolded. "After all, I created it!"
"We know," An Enderman suited
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in gold armor assured. "But we're afraid you've been getting side-tracked and not focusing on it more."
"This project is the whole reason we have given you all our armies, mining crews, and superior materials!" A gigantic spider snapped.
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All of the mobs began to yell at the Creeper King and pound on the table.
"Shut up..." The Creeper King begged, but the mobs would not listen. "I said shut up!"
Everyone became silent.
"I jusssst...couldn't kill Kaline
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Woolcraft," The Creeper King admitted. "Don't think i'm giving up on the project, i'm not. That'ssss why I sent him to collect a stack by thisssss week."
The mobs were delighted and clapped.
"A stack, why that almost completes
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the amount we need!" A Zombie in a robe said. "Good show, Baxtroff. Forcing this subject to collect emeralds was a brilliant idea, we just thought you let him off the hook for no reason whatsoever."
"It'sss not right though!" The
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Creeper King snapped. "I've never felt so weak in my entire life. I can't explain to you how much I wanted him dead, I just made the emerald deal as an excuse for my failure!"
A creeper in a vest came into the room. "I think you're all
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stupid, if this guy collects emeralds, why would you want him dead?"
The Creeper King looked back with a furious look and signaled the Skeleton King, who quickly shot him...head first.
"Kaline gives the people of Rush hope," The
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Creeper King explained. "Besides, he never collects the emeralds, his mining crew does. I promise, if he doesn't have a stack of emeralds by the end of the week, I will end his life."
The mobs listened carefully.
"Honestly he's a good slave to me,
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but he's a brother to Vick." The Creeper King continued.
"The one who knew the secret of The Climax?" The Skeleton King questioned.
"Correct. I assume that Vick found a way to tell him about the subject, but if I kill Kaline for that reason, and he
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didn't know anything about The Climax, neighboring empires not in alliance with us may rebel."
"So let me summarize this..." The Blaze King began. "You want Kaline dead because he gives the people of Rush hope and he may know the secret of the
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Climax?"
"Correct."
"But...you couldn't kill him for some reason? And the entire emerald thing was just an excuse?"
"Correct."
"I just figured out something! If Kaline doesn't give you a stack of emeralds by this week, you
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have an excuse to have him dead!"
"Brilliant! That makes everything work out!"
Multiple creepers brought in glasses full of lava for the mobs. "Don't worry, it's just punch." One of them said.
"Cheers, to the potential death of Kaline Woolcraft."
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The Creeper King grinned.
"Cheers!" Every mob in the room said.
That night, the Creeper King put on a night cap and entered his bedroom, exhausted from the gathering of the empires. He was about to get into his bed when...
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"Something's not right..." Zane Helmframe said.
"Ahhhhh!" The Creeper King screamed. "Don't...do...that..."
"I can see how your little emerald deal is working out, but you know you wanted to kill Kaline. You weren't thinking
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about the project at all." Zane predicted.
"I wasn't," The Creeper King admitted. "If I killed Kaline, it would probably be harder to collect emeraldssss, after all, he'sss found the mossst. But if I told the other leaderssss that, they would be
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furious."
"So why didn't you?" Zane asked with a devilish grin.
"I don't know, okay!" The Creeper King yelled. "I would any other day!"
"Well here's your chance, the Ghast King is sending a transmission." Zane said.
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The Creeper King gasped as the Ghast King's face came up on a large screen within his bedroom.
"Ah Baxtroff, glad to see you're awake." The Ghast King smiled.
"What do you want?" The Creeper King asked.
"I have three
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prisoners, are they familiar to you at all?" The Ghast King replied. He showed a snapshot of Kaline, Crystal, and Archie.
The Creeper King was shocked. "Yes, what of it?"
"Well, one of them was holding the enchanted book. You know, the one we
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sealed away in the Void Fortress." The Ghast explained.
"WHAT?!" The Creeper King screamed. "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"
"I don't know, but i'm awaiting your approval to dispose of them." The Ghast King said.
Zane looked at the Creeper King, who
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began to sweat. He began shaking rapidly after this question was concieved to him.
"N-N-No...Ju-Jusssst keep them hostage..." He managed to say.
"Roger that." The Ghast King approved. The transmission then ended.
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"You failed to kill Kaline again." Zane said, shaking his head in disgrace.
The Creeper King stomped on the ground. "I now know what became of the Coroq Gatessss book....That idiot Vick transported it to Kaline...He knew he would carry out
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hissss mission!"
Zane observed the Creeper King as his anger began to build up. "I wouldn't talk trash about Vick like that Baxtroff."
"Why?! Don't you see! Our entire ultimatum is in jeopardy! I must inform the other empiressss immediatly! While i'm
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at it, i'll snatch Kaline's mining crew and make sure he doesn't collect the emeraldsssss by the end of the week! Yes...I'll make them his replacement, make sure they collect as many emeraldssss as I want them to collect." The Creeper King
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laughed.
"Because Baxtroff...Vick Woolcraft is still among us. Part of him is inside you. Part of him is preventing you from destroying Kaline once and for all." Zane explained.
"V-Vick...I-inssside me?" The Creeper King stuttered.
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"Yes. Before you killed him, his wooden sword must've had the enchantment, "Final Request." Which provides any being with a power to carry out a final desire. Vick's final desire was to make sure you stay out of Kaline's way so he can reach The
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Climax, mine the Wither Colossus, and make sure the Creeper Empire doesn't activate it with its soul power source, emeralds."
"And I was the last one to be hit with it..." The Creeper King finally realized. "What do I do Zane? He can't win! He can't
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defeat me...I need to form an alliance with the Witch Empire...Only they have the power to relieve me from this hellish fate."
The Creeper King removed his night cap and once again put on his emerald crown and robe.
"Inform the empires on what has
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happened!" The Creeper King ordered. "And ask the Skeleton King if I can borrow Dav."
"The assassin?" Zane questioned.
"Yes, if I can't kill Kaline, somebody else is going to have to. And make sure he retrieves that book!"
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Chapter 6: Vick's Transmission / A Silverfish Rescuer!
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Thousands of blocks away from the sanctuary that our heroes had hoped to
stay in, under a deep ocean of fiery lava layed a castle made from
blocks of Nether Quartz. Within this castle, Kaline, Crystal, and Archie
were in the confines of a bedrock jail
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cell, with no chance of escape possible, and no help for miles.
"This is unfortunate." Archie muttered.
kaline acknowledged Archie's remark with an upset nod. "It's hopeless, we can't escape bedrock. Even if we could, we would easily be captured or
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burned in the lava ocean outside if we tried to escape."
Suddenly, a booming voice was heard, presumeably from an intercom somewhere in the castle.
"Ghast King speaking," The voice indicated. "You three are lucky, the Creeper King has refused
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to issue a punishment. Nevertheless, I will make sure you are secured within this cell 24/7 and let nature do it's thing."
The intercom stopped after that announcement, but came on minutes later.
"Uh...yeah, by that
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I meant you're going to rot in this cell..." The Ghast King explained. "Just wanted to make sure you're fate was clear and...uh...bye."
The intercom finally ended.
Kaline slammed his fist on the bedrock wall. "I'm so sorry I brought you guys
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into this."
"Kaline...It's not your fault!" Crystal objected. "You risked your life to do what your brother Vick requested, you're a hero!"
"But you...my loving wife, and Archie, my best friend..." Kaline weeped. "I never wanted you two to
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risk your lives, it's clear to me now that I failed in keeping you safe."
Silence was present in the room for the remaining hours of containment, up to the point when an explosion was heard outside the castle walls.
Kaline, Crystal,
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and Archie were all spooked by the sudden uproar. The slashes of bows and shooting of arrows could be heard outside, as well as the cries of Blazes, Ghasts, and Zombie pigmen that were protecting the castle.
The intercom went
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on again. "Intruder alert! Intruder...! O-Oh no! Ahhhhhh!"
The speaker on the intercom had been knocked out by someone, and the announcement was halted.
"What is it?!" Archie questioned with an alarmed expression.
Soon, the
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mysterious presence was in the bedrock prison...approaching the cell that Kaline, Crystal, and Archie were in!
They were filled with fear, assuming that it had been a mob out to destroy them. Luckily, that was not the case. A silverfish squeezed
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through the bedrock walls, making a tiny noise as he did. He was equipped in miniature diamond armor and had a purple bandana around his head. He layed silently on the ground for a while, and Kaline, Crystal, and Archie just stared at him. No
#pgx125
movement was detected whatsoever.The silverfish observed the three heroes, and finally noticed the enchanted book within a pocket of Kaline's pants.
"Ha!Ha! I've finally found you!" The silverfish cried with a childish, squeeky
#pgx126
voice. "Kaline! Your name is Kaline, yes?"
"Yeah," Kaline answered. "Who might you be?"
"My name is Zerrel," The silverfish replied. "I've been ordered by your brother, Vick, to come and rescue you!"
"You know Vick?! Is he still alive?!" Kaline
#pgx127
asked with hope.
"Sadly, no." Zerrel admitted. "It was a transmission from him minutes before his death."
Zerel brought out a small device and placed it on the ground. With the push of a button, Vick's image appeared and began to speak. He
#pgx128
was wearing severely damaged armor and was beginning to grow a beard. His hair was messed up and greasy, and he had bruises across his face.
"Hello fellow comrads," Vick greeted with a small grin. "I have recently gotten into
#pgx129
trouble. I have entered the Creeper Empire's Void Fortress and have stolen the sacred enchanted book, or as I would like to call it, The Book of the Wither."
Kaline watched the transmission with excitement, he had finally been able
#pgx130
to catch one final glimpse of his brother.
"Within a matter of seconds, the Creeper King's goons will find me and most likely end my life," Vick continued. "I plan to send the book to my loving brother, Kaline, and hope that he succeeds in
#pgx131
interpreting the book's secrets and ending the Creeper Empire once and for all!"
"Vick would appreciate what you're doing," Zerrel smiled. "What you're doing is all he ever wanted after he died, nothing else. He wanted safety for
#pgx132
everyone, and you're close to achieving it. He really loves you Kaline."
Kaline nodded happily.
"Oh!Oh! This is the part of the transmission that I was given my mission!" Zerel yelled out.
"Zerrel and the rest of my alliance,
#pgx133
please ensure that Kaline and his friends are safe on the journey to The Climax," Vick requested. "And Kaline..."
Kaline was alarmed by the mention of his name and listened carefully.
"If I die, I just wanted you to know that
#pgx134
my life would never have been joyful if you weren't in it," Vick said. "I miss you, brother."
He made a small grin and the transmission ended.
Kaline was completely still and silent. Archie, Crystal, and Zerrel looked at him. Finally, he stood
#pgx135
up and clenched his fists.
"Come on," Kaline spoke. "Let's get out of this hellish dimension, collect some soul sand, and enter Witherox."
They all cheered.
"That's what I like to hear!" Zerrel laughed. He then brought out a
#pgx136
mystical block with a blueish glow.
"What is that?" Archie asked.
"May I present to you Zerrel's Overpowered Optimum Machine! Or as i'd like to call it, ZOOM." Zerrel responded. "This hunk of metal will take us anywhere, so long
#pgx137
as we provide it with specified coordinates or details. Let's get out of here and back to the Overworld!"
"Hold up silverfish, we can't leave The Nether unless we collect fourteen blocks of soul sand." Crystal complained.
"Not a problem, in
#pgx138
fact, it's a perfect time to demonstrate old ZOOM here." Zerrel decided. He knocked on the block and a screen popped up on the top of it.
Archie reacted quickly and looked towards the door. Faint voices could be heard, and as they grew louder, he
#pgx139
knew that whoever was making them was coming towards the cell.
"You may want to hurry up!" Archie yelled, beginning to rush Zerrel.
Zerrel began to hear the voices too and listened.
"He went into there!" One voice
#pgx140
shouted.
Zerrel panicked and typed in the coordinates faster. As the cell door busted open, he activated the block out of fear, and all four of the heroes were teleported out of the bedrock cell. They were free.
...That is, until they
#pgx141
were teleported right above an ocean of lava.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" All of them screamed.
"Oh my Notch! Oh my Notch!" Zerrel yelled. He punched in details rather than coordiantes this time, and as fast as he could. The block read:
#pgx142
TO THE NEAREST SOUL SAND PATCH
Instantly, the four heroes were teleported once more, this time onto land rather than an ocean of boiling lava. They reached a patch of soul sand with enough blocks to achieve the goal of fourteen, and
#pgx143
began to mine them.
"Witherox here we come," Kaline said with determination.
"I hate ZOOM." Archie shared, clenching his chest as though he had gotten a heart attack from the recent experience.
#pgx144
Chapter 7: Witherox Portal
#pgx145
After successfully gathering enough soul sand to construct a Witherox
portal, Kaline began to arrange the fourteen blocks into the significant
shape that would bring them to the gloomy dimension.
"No, no! What are you doing?!" Zerrel
#pgx146
barked at Kaline.
"Uhhh...constructing the portal," Kaline answered, "We need to get into Witherox as fast as we can! We're already behind schedule."
"Look, this may sound stupid, but Witherox is a bigger hell hole than the Nether," Zerrel explained.
#pgx147
"A ghast could easily blow up this portal and BAM! Trapped."
Kaline finally realized that Zerrel was correct, and was thankful that he didn't make one beforehand. Maybe it was a good thing that him and his friends were held captive in the bedrock cell.
#pgx148
If they weren't, they wouldn't have met Zerrel.
"Let me take you to Vick's Mining Headquarters," Zerrel suggested, "I'm sure the other members of the alliance would love to meet you, seeing as though you're technically
#pgx149
co-owner. Let's go!"
Zerrel punched in coordinates for the headquarters into ZOOM.
"Don't worry guys," Zerrel assured, "Old ZOOM here won't put our lives in danger again."
Archie pulled out a fire resistance potion and drank
#pgx150
every last drop of it.
"Here we go!" Zerrel shouted. He then knocked on the block and a blinding flash teleported them out of the Nether. In that split second, a flaming arrow pierced into the netherrack block that Kaline was standing on before he was
#pgx151
teleported. On a cliff, a skeleton equipped with a torn cape and iron chestplate, wielding an enchanted bow pounded his fist on the wall. In one of his empty holes where an eye once was, a glowing ord was present. He also had small, pointy teeth
#pgx152
completely made out of diamond. Dissapointed about his recent failure in trying to shoot Kaline, he pressed a small button hidden on the top of his bow, and dissapeared in an eerie, black mist.
A few minutes later, Kaline, Archie, Crystal, and
#pgx153
Zerrel successfully reached Vick's Mining Headqurters. They were standing in a lobby of some sort made out of iron blocks. Redstone Lamps saturated the place, and were basically a main source of light. Along with that, a fountain spewed glistening
#pgx154
water that a pack of wolves began drinking out of. In tribute to Vick, paintings that portrayed him hung on the wall.
"I haven't seen this place in so long," Vick smiled, "it's glad to see how nice it's coming along."
"Zerrel!" An
#pgx155
unfamiliar voice said. Kaline looked around to identify who might have said it, but it was not clear. Suddenly a bat flew from the cieling and landed on Zerrel's head.
"Hey! What's up man?" Zerrel questioned with glee, "It's nice to see you Lars,
#pgx156
where are the others?"
Lars burst out laughing. "They're right behind you, they're invisible!"
Suddenly, three different mobs tackled Zerrel. After the small encounter, Zerrel finally introduced them to Kaline.
#pgx157
The first introduced mob, which was a bat, was named Lars. Although very small, Lars is actually a master at redstone and is responsible for making all the machinery that Vick's mining team uses. He also produces minecart systems that go on for
#pgx158
thousands of blocks.
Second, a witch named Rodona. Although the Witch Empire never liked the Creeper King, she became an outcast and retreated from her comfortable hut in the swamp when she heard that they were planning to team up. Rodona is a
#pgx159
master brewer and can make potions that no one has ever seen before.
Third, an ocelot named Forrest. Forrest is notable for being the only ocelot in the Minecraft world at this time. The Creeper King captured his entire empire and he was the only one
#pgx160
that escaped. Forrest can run really fast and he's a master at crafting. He knows recipes by heart and even has some that have never met minecraftian eyes.
"Lars, Rodona, Forrest, this is Kaline," Zerrel introduced, "he's
#pgx161
Vick's brother."
They all gasped.
"Wow! I've been waiting to meet you!" Forrest cheered.
"Yeah," Rodona replied, "we're really honored to have you here, and glad that you're participating in the alliance against the Creeper Empire."
#pgx162
"It's nice to meet you all too!" Crystal replied.
"What about me?" A near voice asked.
Suddenly, out of the shadows came a typical minecraftian. He had green eyes and black hair. He wore a red jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, and
#pgx163
held a cane with a golden creeper head on both ends. His shoes were emerald encrusted, and he wore jeans. Along with that, he also wore headphones.
"Oh, hey Pierce," Zerrel greeted with an annoyed sigh.
"Who?" Kaline questioned.
#pgx164
"I'm Pierce," Pierce snapped. "I am the powerhouse of this mining team and overall leader of the alliance."
Kaline frowned, "Vick put you in charge?"
"Let's just say I worked my way to the top," Pierce grinned. "Alright, i'm done here. Get back to
#pgx165
work."
Pierce walked into a small piston elevator and was gone.
"What a creep, how did he get put in charge?" Kaline questioned.
"It's not important, Kaline," Lars said, "what is important is that we get you to Witherox!"
#pgx166
"He's right Kaline," Archie agreed, "it's time we finally construct the portal.
Kaline nodded. And with help from Archie, Crystal, and the entire alliance, the fourteen soul sand blocks were constructed into a portal shape.
#pgx167
Forrest walked over to Archie and offered him a full set of iron armor. He was the only one who wasn't equipped with any.
"Do you need it, Archie?" Forrest asked.
Archie shook his head, "I'll be fine out there."
#pgx168
Kaline took out the "on-the-go" chest full of the supplies that he had packed before entering the Nether and pulled out a flint and steel. He nodded at his wife, Crystal, and then at his friend, Archie. He lit the portal, jumped inside the black wisp,
#pgx169
and within a few seconds the heroes were in Witherox. The sky was pitch black, and the entire ground was made out of a grayish stone. It was a very mountainous world, and a harsh snowstorm reaked havoc on it.
"I can't see
#pgx170
anything!" Kaline cried, using his sword to block his eyes from the snow. "Archie?!Crystal?!"
"Kaline!" Crystal yelled from a couple blocks away, "Look out!"
A loud screech was followed by a soaring wither head that hit Kaline directly in
#pgx171
the head with an explosion.
"No! Kaline!" Archie yelled, running towards the explosion.
The source of the attack lead to the monster known as The Wither. His three heads laughed with joy as Kaline fell to the ground in
#pgx172
pain.
"And thus the hero fell...ending all the hope for his allies...his friends...and the entire Minecraft universe," The Wither spoke. "Oh what a pity that an experienced soldier such as this...must fall. Ha! Kaline
#pgx173
Woolcraft...Crystal Woolcraft...Archie the Iron Golem...What a joke. We die of laughter. No matter, we will soon be treated with a feast in three.....two.....one....."
Kaline Woolcraft withered away.
"Destiny has spoken," The Wither laughed. "We win."
#pgx174
Chapter 8: The Blank Reality
#pgx175
"Vick! Don't go, please!" Kaline cried from the entrance of his wooden
home.
"I'll be fine brother," Vick assured, raising his diamond pickaxe into
the air. "When I return, the Creeper Empire will leave the village of
Rush in peace, just like you
#pgx176
always wanted!"
"But Vick..." Kaline wined. "It's too dangerous, you might die..."
"Have I ever let down on a promise, Kaline?" Vick asked.
"No, never." Kaline answered.
"I promise I will be back," Vick smiled. After a quick
#pgx177
goodbye, Vick and his wife Katherine went down the mountain and into the NPC village known as Rush. Suddenly, there was a quick flash, and Vick was in the presence of the Creeper King.
"Goodbye Vick, sssee you in hell, or in this case, The
#pgx178
Nether," The Creeper King grinned. Immediately after speaking, he left the room and two endermen piled TNT around Vick and lit it with flint and steel. A giant explosion resulted, and with that, Kaline woke up.
"Vick, no!" He yelled in despair. After
#pgx179
he realized it was nothing but a dream, he rubbed his eyes and was curious as to where he was. Everything was completely white. The sky, the ground, everything.
"W-What is...?" He managed to ask himself. He barely moved, horrified
#pgx180
as to what would happen if he did. After a while, he put his foot on a block. Nothing happened. Afterwards, he began to walk around the strange world that he was brought into. Suddenly, he saw the silhouettes of a familiar iron golem and young
#pgx181
woman.
"Crystal! Archie!" He said with hope. But his hope quickly faded away. They were indeed Crystal and Archie, but their entire bodies were completely white just like the world, and they were frozen in place. Kaline also saw the Wither
#pgx182
hovering in the sky, but he was exactly the same as the others.
"This can't be real...It isn't real!" Kaline said to himself. He began to walk some more across the world, and finally realized something that stood out. It was the Witherox portal!
#pgx183
He could see the soul sand clearly, color and all, and the portal was active! Seeing as though there was nothing else to do, he jumped inside the black wisp. Once Kaline was back in the Overworld, he was introduced to the exact same world. It was
#pgx184
indeed Vick's Mining Headquarters, but completely white...
"What is going on!?!" Kaline yelled out. He fell to the ground, it was hopeless... no one could hear him.
Kaline walked helplessly around the world for days... of course, he couldn't tell.
#pgx185
Nothing existed in the unknown world that Kaline had been plunged into. No moon, no sun, no mobs, no tools, and no blocks. No anything. Kaline then walked into an NPC village which he assumed was Rush and climbed up the tall mountains that lead to his
#pgx186
wooden house on the peak. He explored the household and approached the room where Vick once slept before he died. When he did, he saw a man sitting on the bed. He was alive and not frozen, and he had color! He was wearing a straw hat and had stubs of
#pgx187
hair that were beginning to form a mustache. He was wearing a jacket and jeans and was fiddling around with a diamond pickaxe.
"This is a nice little tool," He said as Kaline simply gawked at him. "I bet you do some fine mining with this!"
#pgx188
"Who are you?! How did you get in here?!" Kaline asked with confusion.
"....I....I don't know..." The man answered unknowingly.
"You can't remember your name?" Kaline questioned in shock.
"Nope. But some people like to call me Moral," Moral
#pgx189
replied.
"Who? There's nobody around here except for us," Kaline noted.
"Well... you can," Moral smiled.
"Alright Moral, tell me..." Kaline began. "What is this place and why are me and you the only ones who are alive?"
"Alive?!" Moral
#pgx190
laughed, "We're dead!"
"D-D-Dead...?!" Kaline stuttered.
"Welcome to the end of Minecraft my friend!" Moral explained, "you're currently in an opposite reality of what was Minecraftia. This is where you're judged based on your actions as to
#pgx191
whether you spend eternity in The Nether, The Aether or a return to the Overworld in a process Notch calls Respawning."
"Then... was Vick here?" Kaline asked.
Moral made a puzzled look. "I've never seen or heard of a fellow named Vick walking
#pgx192
around these parts."
"Oh..." Kaline said with dissapointment.
"But anyway, what you're standing in now is simply a waiting room." Moral spoke.
"A waiting room?" Kaline repeated.
"Yep," Moral replied, "once you hear a loud beeping noise, a person
#pgx193
will be sent to the Greyscale Judge to determine your fate."
"Greyscale Judge who-" Kaline tried to say, but was then interrupted by a loud beeping noise that Moral had just described.
"That's you! No time to lose, good luck!" Moral exclaimed.
#pgx194
Kaline suddenly began to glow and went up at an incredible speed into the sky. Within seconds, he landed on a platform in what seemed to be space. The Greyscale Judge sat in front of him, which was a giant, bird-like mob with a cloak and a large
#pgx195
staff. Kaline looked around in astonishment at the glistening stars. The greyscale Judge waved it's staff at Kaline and a small screen appeared over him, measuring whether or not he was worthy enough to be respawned. He looked at it with
#pgx196
fear, and crossed his fingers. Luckily, it indicated that he was fit to be brought back into the overworld!
"Well," The Greyscale Judge spoke, "looks like it's your lucky day. Try not to get killed this time!"
"I won't," Kaline smiled with relief.
#pgx197
"By the way, who was that man in the... um... waiting room? He told me his name was Moral and he was really a big help. I do hope that he will get to be respawned just like me."
"What man?" The Greyscare Judge asked. "You're the only one who was
#pgx198
down there, no one has been here in quite a while now."
Kaline's eyes widened. He looked down at the opposite reality known as the Waiting Room and debated whether or not his conversation with Moral was even real. Nevertheless, he had been
#pgx199
granted with a superior gift, and was ready to be respawned and join his friends back in Witherox.
#pgx200
Chapter 9: Creeper King Perspective #2: Seven Days Have Passed...
#pgx201
As our heroes ventured into Witherox and dealt with the Wither's slaying
of Kaline, who later was allowed to be respawed, the Creeper King was
visiting the Skeleton Empire to address a major issue that involved The
Book of the Wither.
#pgx202
"The other empires are furious Baxtroff!" The Skeleton King argued, "If the book isn't returned to the Void Fortress soon, there's a possibility of war!"
The Skeleton King paced in his throne room furiously as the Creeper King sat
#pgx203
on a large couch, sipping on a glass of milk and constantly looking at a clock that hung on the cieling.
"Oh come off it," The Creeper King rolled his eyes, "Why would they ever attempt to face me?"
"Don't you see Baxtroff?" The
#pgx204
Skeleton King asked, "They've given you everything they have in order to ensure the protection of this project and make sure it goes through successfully. To be honest, some of them dislike you, but you've given them a chance to reach a glimpse of
#pgx205
power and succeed in these tough times."
The Creeper King hissed, "I'm sssick of all of you losssing trussst in me! It's not my fault Vick was one step ahead of me."
Suddenly, an eerie noise ran throughout the corridors of the castle where the
#pgx206
two monarchs were in. The Creeper King smiled and looked at the clock. Kaline was out of time to collect a stack of emeralds, a week was up.
"Besides..." The Creeper King laughed, "His time is up. He'll have to return to his disgusting
#pgx207
household if he wants to return the emeralds, whether he has them or not. And when he does, i'll make sure he'll never see the book again!"
After speaking, a black mist appeared behind the Creeper King, and the same skeleton that attempted to kill
#pgx208
Kaline in The Nether appeared. His glowing orb for an eye glistened as he reached out his bony arm towards the Creeper King.
"What's thissss?" The Creeper King asked furiously.
"Impossible," The Skeleton King spoke with shock.
#pgx209
"What? What's going on?!" The Creeper king demanded.
"Dav didn't kill Kaline," The Skeleton King revealed, "He never fails to assassinate a target."
"Pay. Now," Dav commanded.
"I gave you two stacks of diamonds you cheap piece of-"
#pgx210
Dav then pointed an arrow directly at the Creeper King's forehead. "If I were you I would pay up. I'll make it easier for you this time, I want four stacks of diamonds and i'll decide not to end your life. Deal?"
The Skeleton King was suprised, The
#pgx211
Creeper King had never been scared of anything in his entire life. It seems Dav fit the bill for that category, he was his first biggest fear."
The Creeper King walked towards an ender chest and pulled out four stacks of
#pgx212
diamonds. He then handed it to Dav, who quickly threw them into a small lava source.
"I don't take diamonds," Dav grinned, "This time I want some of this armor enchanted. Get to it."
He took a full set of diamond armor
#pgx213
and piled it on top of the Creeper King, who quickly fell to the ground.
"Y-y-yes...I'll get to it..." The Creeper King stuttered, "Subjects!"
Suddenly, two creepers entered the throne room and replied, "Yes, sir?"
"Take this set of
#pgx214
armor and enchant it to the highest level we currently have," The Creeper King said, handing them the armor.
Dav brought out a chest and placed it on a block. "And when it's enchanted, put it in here and i'll pick it up later."
The two creepers
#pgx215
nodded and walked off with the armor. Dav bowed to the Skeleton King, pressed a button on the top of his bow, and dissapeared in the black mist once more.
"I've known you since I was a child, Kullij," The Creeper King said, "How could a nice guy like
#pgx216
you have a serveant as dispicable as him? Dav is truly a horrifying mob."
"Lots of fighting experience and training turned him into the ultimate assassin," The Skeleton King replied, "He's simply loyal to all skeletons, let's
#pgx217
leave it at that."
"Well, I need to head to Rush and hopefully meet up with Kaline at his wooden home. If not, Dav would've killed him and retrieved the book." The Creeper King said.
That Night...
The ground trembled violently.
#pgx218
"Where's Archie?! Where's Archie?!" A villager cried.
"Look out!" Another yelled.
Thousands of Creepers entered the village of Rush. They made a small path where the Creeper King walked up to the front of them.
#pgx219
"Lisssten up!" The Creeper King announced, "I don't know if any of you are aware, but Kaline has reached the end of his time limit. I demand to see him this instant. And if he's still in Witherox, go fetch him!"
"Wait!" Orio, one of Kaline's miners,
#pgx220
cried. "We have collected a stack of emeralds! Here they are!"
Blake and Nick brought out a minecart full of emeralds. Sixty-four of them were present, an entire stack.
The Creeper King smiled, "How
#pgx221
promising, but he mussst be here to present them to me."
Every villager in Rush was terrified and remained quiet, fearful of what may happen if they weren't. The Creeper King lost patience within a simple matter of minutes, and directed a soldier
#pgx222
in his army towards a small house in the village. The Creeper army nodded as a substitute for a salut towards the soldier, and he exploded, taking the house with him. The villagers gasped.
"Every hour Kaline is not in this village, I will explode one
#pgx223
of your precious homes." The Creeper King dictated. "Subjects, build me a temporary base that I may stay in for the night. That is all."
As multiple Creepers of the army began to construct a large structure to serve as the Creeper King's base, a
#pgx224
familiar being heard the entire announcement from the top of a hill. It was Pierce. He shook his head in disgust and stomped on the ground. Afterwards, he took out a device that resembled ZOOM, and entered the coordinates of Vick's Mining
#pgx225
Headquarters.
"This can't go on," Pierce said, "Kaline needs to return to Rush as soon as possible, even if his life may be at risk."
He pounded on the block and teleported away from Rush. Smoke began to rise into the sky, and flags were put up
#pgx226
around the village that had the Creeper Empire's symbol on them.
#pgx227
Chapter 10: The Wither's Boom
#pgx228
Kaline blinked and began to yawn.
"K-K-Kaline?!" Crystal weeped.
Kaline nodded with a smile.
"Oh my Notch! Kaline! You're alive!" Crystal said happily. She began to
cry with tears of joy.
Kaline was back at Vick's Mining
#pgx229
Headquarters. Apparently, Archie and Crystal quickly retreated from Witherox after the attack, and they brought Kaline with them.
"Glad you're back, Kaline," Zerrel added, "Don't worry, we won't let you go back there again."
#pgx230
Kaline shook his head in disagreement, "If anything, we are going back."
Vick's crew gasped.
"You were only there for three minutes and the Wither destroyed you!" Forrest responded, "Besides, you have a bigger issue to attend to!"
#pgx231
"Huh?" Kaline asked in confusion. The crew remained silent after that, however, Zerrel revealed the truth.
"The Creeper King is in Rush, and he's threatning to destroy the entire village unless he sees to it that you give him a stack of
#pgx232
emeralds."
"How dare he go back on our deal!" Kaline yelled furiously, "It's only been four days!"
"Wrong," Archie disagreed, "Wherever you went after you were killed by The Wither, three days passed, making a total of seven
#pgx233
days. It's been a week, Kaline."
Kaline began to feel dizzy and he sat down. He could not believe what had happened while he was in "The Waiting Room."
Suddenly, he felt an urge of braveness and proudly spoke, "Well who cares! If
#pgx234
I approach him he'll kill me anyway, more importantly, he'll take the enchanted book! I've worked too hard to get this far, you guys should be ashamed, Vick would never want this."
The crew was dissapointed, and they finally realized that Kaline was
#pgx235
making his own decision and they had no right to interfere.
"You're right Kaline," Lars agreed, "Come on guys, we'll defend Rush from the Creeper King and hold him off until Kaline unlocks Coroq Gates!"
The rest of the crew cheered, which
#pgx236
made Kaline overjoyed.
"Thank you," He said as he entered the Witherox Portal once again.
"Wait Kaline!" Forrest shouted. He handed him an enchanted bow, arrows, a communication device, and ZOOM#2. "You'll need these
#pgx237
if you ever stand a chance against the Wither and his minions. His throne room coordinates are 355-2344-23, ZOOM#2 will get you there easily. Good luck!"
Kaline nodded and then looked towards Archie, who was looking at a sword
#pgx238
being mantled on the wall. "Something wrong?"
"I want to help them, Kaline," Archie answered, "Rush is my village, if the citizens are in trouble I must lead them to safety or claim victory."
"I understand," Kaline said. He made sure he had all the
#pgx239
required gear and held Crystal's hand. Afterwards, he jumped into the portal, dissapearing in a black wisp.
Inside The Wither's Castle...
"It feels nice to destroy," The Wither lectured, hovering over a wooden table where hundreds
#pgx240
of Wither Skeletons sat, "Now that Kaline Woolcraft is gone, The Wither Empire can sleep peacefully knowing that Coroq Gates will be secured."
The Wither Skeletons cheered in the pitch black throne room of the castle. The only light source were
#pgx241
dim, redstone torches. The Wither floated over to a wall full of Minecraftian heads on item frames, he then placed a head that resembled Kaline's on an empty one.
"A new addition to collection!" The Wither laughed. Suddenly, two
#pgx242
beings were transported into the room, attracting the attention of all the skeletons, including The Wither. It was Kaline and Crystal.
"Impossible!" The Wither screeched, as he did the item frame where Kaline's head was planted melted. "I-I-I killed
#pgx243
you! This can't be!"
Kaline and Crystal brought out their diamond swords. The Wither gave them an angered look, constantly glaring at them with his blank eyes. "Subjects! Leave me!"
All the Wither Skeletons in the room instantly got up
#pgx244
and sprinted to trapdoors in each corner of the room. They jumped in and every single one was out of sight and not a threat whatsoever. The Wither made a clicking sound with his bony torso and redstone lamps flashed on, brightening the
#pgx245
surroundings. The table flipped over and left a rug made of red wool where it once was. Lastly, the nether brick walls transformed into pure bedrock.
The Wither's three heads laughed cheerfully, "It's time we finish this, one on one, to the
#pgx246
death!"
Crystal refused to let Kaline fight the Wither by himself, but Kaline notioned her to stay back and simply spectate. Kaline and The Wither looked at each other carefully, waiting to see who would make the first strike. Kaline then brought out
#pgx247
his bow and shot The Wither as quickly as he could, resulting in a direct shot in the ceneter head.
"You little- I'll kill you!" The Wither screeched in pain. He attacked for the first time, and began to shoot heads towards Kaline, who managed to evade
#pgx248
them. Kaline sprinted towards the Wither, who hovered away and continued to shoot heads in Kaline's direction. As he ran, Kaline shot flaming arrows at The Wither, which struck him each time.
"STOP IT!" He yelled furiously, suddenly, he changed his
#pgx249
motive of attack. His eyes glowed and all the bones that made up his body rattled. Immediatly after, a black beam was shot at Kaline and he was thrown towards the wall with a large force and began to be withered. He was knocked out instantly.
#pgx250
"I must say," The Wither began, "You are nothing like my past meals, you show courage and strength...Hahaha! How sad! Prepare to die, Kaline Woolcraft!"
The Wither prepared to fire another beam at Kaline, which would most likely kill him. But Kaline
#pgx251
tried with all his might in order to stand up. Once he did, he threw his diamond sword straight into The Wither's chest.
"Gah!" The Wither cried. Kaline ran circles around The Wither, constantly shooting him with flaming arrows up to the point in which
#pgx252
The Wither began to drift slowly towards the ground. Kaline jumped on him, pulled the diamond sword out of his chest, and slashed him in the head. The Wither was still, and fell to the ground. Kaline breathed heavily and felt proud about his victory
#pgx253
over the ghastly villain, Crystal cheered with glee.
"H....Ha....Haha....HAHAHA!" The Wither managed to laugh. He couldn't float, but he sat up and balanced himself on his torso, seeing as though he had no legs. "I...I...I guess....This is
#pgx254
it....Correct?"
"Explain yourself," Kaline demanded.
"W...We die here," The Wither grinned. He hopped over to a small switch and pulled it. As a result, the cieling slid into the wall and revealed a chandilier completely made out of TNT. "We've
#pgx255
known about your trip to Witherox for a while now...A-After you achieved The Book of the Wither, we assumed you would come to unlock the secret that lies beyond Coroq Gates...th-they wouldn't let us....they wouldn't let us allow your entrance
#pgx256
into the gates..."
"Who? Start talking!" Kaline asked, hoping for an answer.
Crystal looked towards the TNT chandilier and notcied a small symbol implamented on it. It was the symbol of the Creeper Empire. "Kaline! The
#pgx257
Creeper King was here!"
Kaline noticed who The Wither was talking about.
"H-H-He's more powerful t-than you think, Kaline..." The Wither warned, "We tried not to let him know the power that The Book of the Wither could
#pgx258
unlock...But we couldn't stop him...He wants to rule the Minecraft Universe...he needs to die...he must die..."
The Wither began to fade away.
"Wither! Don't leave now, where's Coroq Gates? What is the Creeper King planning to do?!"
#pgx259
Kaline questioned.
"The book will tell you everything..." The Wither replied, "We grant your permission, Kaline, g-good luck...Wish we could say more...but we will be gone in.....3.......2.....1...."
An arrow pierced the Wither and his body burst
#pgx260
into flames.
The Wither was shot by Dav.
"What?!" Kaline said in astonishment. Dav, the skeleton assassin, entered the room and approached Kaline and Crystal.
"Finally..." Dav spoke, "I've found you...Kaline
#pgx261
Woolcraft."
#pgx262
Chapter 11: The Golem, The Book, and Coroq
#pgx263
After defeating The Wither, somewhat, dark skies loomed over the castle
of nether brick as Kaline met face to face with a new villain, Dav.
"I must say," Dav spoke, observing the throne room as he drifted ever so
closer to Kaline.
#pgx264
"The Wither was a loyal slave to the Creeper Empire if he actually constructed a TNT chandilier for my personal use in this fight."
"So," Kaline chuckled, "The Creeper King sent you, I guess he really is out to kill me. And to do so he sent a weak
#pgx265
subject like you to do his bidding."
Dav laughed, he was not at all offended by Kaline's comment. "Somewhat, he does want you dead, but his main prize is that there book."
"Well i'm sorry to break it to you, but you're never taking this from me,"
#pgx266
Kaline snapped. "The Creeper King ended my dear brother's life, he will not get me too. I will fight and make my brother's dream a reality, making sure punks like you taste the ground of The Nether and ending this foresaken empire."
"I see you're
#pgx267
determined to do that," Dav replied, "But i'm sorry to break it to YOU, I don't care whether or not I get that book, I just want kill you and make sure nobody in the entire Minecraft Universe knows that Kaline Woolcraft escaped the great skeleton
#pgx268
assassin...me!"
Dav quickly took out his bow and pressed the button on the top of it, resulting in his sly dissapearing trick in which a black mist was produced. Kaline and Crystal, both wielding diamond swords, looked closely in each direction to see
#pgx269
where Dav had escaped too.
"Kaline look out!" Crystal warned.
Dav came out of the black mist behind Kaline and punched him in the back of the head with a great force. Kaline fell on to the red wool carpeting. He quickly got up and picked
#pgx270
up a table constructed of a wooden pressure plate and fence post and smashed it across Dav's face. Kaline was proud that he had got a mighty hit on the vile skeleton, but he was wrong. Dav simply cracked his neck and spit out a diamond
#pgx271
tooth, then punched Kaline again, this time in the jaw. Crystal couldn't bear to watch Kaline suffer, in an attempt to save her husband she slashed her diamond sword into Dav's skull. After the impact, he showed no movement whatsoever and
#pgx272
was silent, until he pulled it out with his bony arms and threw it at the bedrock wall, where it shattered. The large cut on his skull then began to heal!
Kaline was horrified, not only for his healing technique, but the fact that his power was so
#pgx273
incredible that he could shatter a diamond sword just by throwing it at the wall.
"W-W-What are you?!" Kaline questioned.
Dav made an evil laugh, "This is why none of my opponents escape me Kaline, I am invincible."
Kaline, who was
#pgx274
unable to get up because he had been severly injured, tried to make one final blow at Dav with his diamond sword, which was still available, but Dav quickly grabbed it from him and tossed it on the ground. Suddenly, he took out his enchanted bow
#pgx275
and pointed a flaming arrow directly at Kaline's blocky head.
"Kaline!" Crystal screamed.
With that, the sound of an arrow piercing a target echoed throughout the room. However, it did not belong to Dav, it belonged to Archie the Iron Golem. He
#pgx276
had shot a flaming arrow engineered with Power V directly into Dav's chest. He turned around furiously and glared at Archie.
"Who dares interrupt this-" Dav managed to say, until Archie charged at him and tossed him into the bedrock wall.
#pgx277
"Good timing," Kaline smiled. He patted him on the back.
"Well it's a good thing you had Forrest's communication device on that entire time," Archie replied, "I could hear everything that was happening, therefore I left Rush and rushed to
#pgx278
Witherox as soon as possible to rescue you. By the way, we were able to hold The Creeper Empire off until your return to Rush, so let's find Coroq Gates!"
"Right," Kaline agreed.
Dav regained consciousness and looked towards
#pgx279
the reunited team with disgust. He grabbed his damaged bow and shot a flaming arror at one of the TNT blocks in the chandilier. It went off and it was only seconds before the entire throne room would be destroyed, except for the walls of course, which
#pgx280
were bedrock.
"This is not over Kaline Woolcraft, I will defeat you sooner or later," Dav vowed. He pressed the button on top of his bow and vanished once more, this time out of the dimension.
"That fool!" Kaline yelled.
"Come on!" Archie
#pgx281
ordered. He grabbed both Kaline and Crystal and sprinted towards one of the trapdoors that the Wither Skeletons jumped into earlier. Without any desire of stopping, Archie immedietly jumped in and met with an enormous fall to assumed death. As
#pgx282
explosions rocked the throne room above them, the heroes screamed as they fell to their doom, of course, they only fell in a patch of water and were not harmed.
"That was so close," Crystal said, relieved.
"Archie...What is
#pgx283
this place?" Kaline asked as he finally took a look around at the place they had fell in. It was a giant room, about ten times larger than the throne room, and it was pitch black. The floor was mycelium and stone bricks covered the walls and cieling.
#pgx284
But in the center was a path made out of gold blocks that lead to a fountain that spewed lava. And behind that, was a gigantic gate made of iron bars, it was Coroq Gates.
"Kaline...This is it..." Archie answered.
Kaline gasped. "Coroq Gates!"
#pgx285
Kaline brought out the enchanted book and he ran towards the entrance of the gates, Archie and Crystal following behind him. He approached a small pedestal that stood out from the rest of the structures in the room, it was eminating a blueish
#pgx286
glow.
"This is it, hand me the book Kaline." Archie requested.
Kaline handed Archie the enchanted book. Archie took a deep breathe and set it in the center of the pedestal. In an instant, the entire castle began to shake violently.
#pgx287
"What's going on?!" Crystal asked hanging on to the pedestal with the other heroes for she was unable to keep her balance on the shaking ground.
"I don't know!" Archie answered, "This is kind of a first for me! I may have constructed this
#pgx288
place, but i've never had the book to see what the results would be!"
Outside The Wither's castle the blocks of grey stone transformed into glowstone and the winter storm diminished and eventually dissapeared
#pgx289
leading to a clear, red sky. Beams of blueish light then shot out of the castle and at that very moment...silence. Everything became calm.
Kaline, Crystal, and Archie looked at the gates with curiosity, waiting to see what would happen.
#pgx290
Suddenly there was a loud bang, and the gates creaked open. Once they came to a halt, a portal opened up on the other side of them and out of it came...a minecraftian.
Kaline was angered, "What is this?! He's just a newly spawned weakling!"
Kaline
#pgx291
knew this for the minecraftian was clearly dressed as steve and was only equipped with a stone pickaxe. Archie slammed Kaline across the head.
"Silence!" He yelled, "This is no ordinary minecraftian, this is Coroq!"
"Coroq?" Kaline
#pgx292
asked with confusion, "Why does he look like Steve then?"
"In the ancient Iron Golem language, Coroq actually means Steve!" Archie revealed.
"Who has summoned me?" Steve snapped, "I was busy refreshing
#pgx293
myself in my luxrious home on the highest cliff of Mushroom Island and now i'm at the gates that were named after me like five versions ago. Speak!"
"Steve, this is a huge honor," Archie spoke, "It's me, Archie, I constructed these gates with
#pgx294
The Wither, don't you remember?"
"Oh, right," Steve replied. "Well, good to see you again Larry. Now, who has brought my fabled enchanted book into this chamber?"
"I have sir," Kaline answered. "I have a desire that you will reveal the
#pgx295
secrets of this book to me so that I may journey to The Climax, mine the Wither Colossas, and carry out my brother's dream in ending the Creeper Empire."
"Eww, The Creeper Empire? The Wither Colossas? I hate both of them, therefore I like you," Steve
#pgx296
smiled. "You've gotten my attention, Kaline Woolcraft."
"How did you-" Kaline tried to ask.
"Yes, yes I know your name," Steve interrupted. "Anyway, this enchanted book means nothing, it was just a failed attempt to make a
#pgx297
successful novel back when I had a dream of becoming an author. So to hell with this."
Steve then grabbed the book and crushed it in his hand, where it burst into flames. Kaline, Crystal, and Archie all gawked.
"In exchange for my...er...novel. I
#pgx298
hearby give you, Kaline Woolcraft, this second enchanted book. This one will concieive to you everything you will need to do in order to get into The Climax." Steve explained.
"Awesome, thanks so much!" Kaline said, but Steve was no longer in front of
#pgx299
him. Kaline shrugged and began reading the second enchanted book.
"What do we do now, Kaline?" Crystal asked.
"In order to construct a Climax Portal we need fourteen Klouncine Blocks," Kaline explained. "As said
#pgx300
in here, they are extremely rare and are scattered throughout the Minecraft Universe and its dimensions."
"I bet the Creeper Empire has those gaurded pretty well." Archie sighed.
"No bother, this book gives details on where each one is
#pgx301
located, plus, it gives us more information that the Creeper King doesn't know..." Kaline continued. "For once, we are a step ahead of him."
Kaline looked up towards the cieling. "Don't you worry Vick, we're almost there..."