The Wooden House - Part II
OffTheAir
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The Wooden House
by OffTheAir
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Part II: The First Klouncine Block
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Chapter 12: Sixty-Four Emeralds
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"If Kaline did somehow sssurvive Dav..." The Creeper King spoke. "I want
a motive that can kill him, since it is obviousss now that I can't..."
The Creeper King and his army stood upon the mountain where Kaline's
wooden house was, overlooking
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Rush. They have been waiting to see if Kaline was somehow alive, and when he would enter the village and present the stack of emeralds to The Creeper King. Recently, Kaline had defeated both The Wither and Dav and unlocked the secret of Coroq Gates
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within the dimension of Witherox. The prize happened to be Steve, the actual one, who gave Kaline yet another book. However, this one possessed actual power and instructed Kaline to gather fourteen Klouncine Blocks so that he could construct a
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portal leading to The Climax.
"May I suggest the Creeper Empire's finest weapon, The TNT Magnum?" Zane suggested. He turned the Creeper King towards a gigantic machine that resembled a giant shotgun. There was a small piece of
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string on the top that, once lit, would send a gigantic blast towards any coordinate point, no matter how far. "Engineered by the finest crafters within the Minecraft Universe. She's a beauty, yes?"
"Beautiful, good work Zane, you seise to
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impress me." The Creeper King replied. "However, no matter what orders I give to you, you must not let your aim down. I want Kaline dead."
"Look!" A Creeper Soldier called.
Suddenly, on the opposite side of the mountain there was a huge flash, and
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out of it came Kaline, Crystal, Archie, and the rest of Vick's mining crew. Half of Rush was destroyed, and the other half was on fire. Seeing as though most of the architecture was wood it was easy to spread.
"You are a fool!" Pierce insulted.
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"If you took one second to come to Rush and hand the king those stupid emeralds, none of this would have happened, Kaline!"
"Stop it, Pierce!" Zerrel replied in anger. "Even if Kaline did give the emeralds to The Creeper King earlier, he would
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still destroy Rush! He's a very vile mob."
Pierce sniffed. "Well, what do you propose we do?"
Kaline turned to Vick's mining crew and his friends. "Stay here, I know what i'm doing."
Crystal tried to run up and stop Kaline, but Archie comforted her
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and convinced her he would be alright. Kaline walked slowly on the gravel path through the center of Rush, drifting closer to The Creeper King and his army who were now at the bottom of the extreme hills. Blake, Nick, and Orio quickly approached
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Kaline.
"Here you go, boss." Orio said, handing Kaline the stack of emeralds that he had placed in his minecart.
Kaline smiled and nodded as a sign of thanks, and soon enough he was in the presence of The Creeper King.
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"It'sss been a while, Kaline," The Creeper King hissed. "You're quite late, you had better hope you have those emeraldssss with you."
Kaline showed the Creeper King all of the emeralds he had collected, there were exactly sixty-four. "Here, now leave
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these innocent villagers alone and get far away from Rush."
The Creeper King tossed the stack of emeralds in a small bag and handed it to Zane Helmframe, who was standing right behind him. Zane then gave a thumbs up to a soldier on top of
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the extreme hills. When he recieved it, the soldier pushed multiple stone buttons and fired up the TNT Magnum. A huge whirring noise filled the entire premises.
"What the...?" Kaline questioned with horror as he looked towards the
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extreme hills only to see the giant gun ready to fire.
"Goodbye K-K-Kaline...?" The Creeper King stuttered. He then began to shake rapidly. "S-Stop! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
"Don't do it," Zane ordered. "He told
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us not to go forward with his commands."
"P-Please! Stop it!" The Creeper King yelled. "I'm ordering you! TURN THAT THING OFF NOW!"
The soldier was horrified by the Creeper King's anger and quickly aimed to shut off the gun.
"You idiot!" Zane
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yelled. He pushed the soldier out of the way and turned towards the TNT Magnum's control panel. He panicked and fired the gun with the power it still contained before shutting off. Sadly, he was too much in a hurry to notice that his coordinates
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were not pointed at Kaline, but at the village of Rush. The gun shot a small beam and within milliseconds it hit Rush and caused a fiery explosion equivalent to about fifty TNT blocks. Everyone gasped, the village was gone.
"Promising..." The
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Creeper King admitted, "But wrong target you idiots!"
Kaline was furious. He loomed over The Creeper King and punched him to the ground, knocked out. The Creeper Army was shocked and springed into action. Once Vick's crew noticed this, they
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attacked as well. As for Kaline, he simply ran towards the spot where he had first entered Rush moments ago. The charging crew of Vick were confused by his action.
"What are you doing?!" Pierce asked.
"Leave them be!" Kaline replied, "I
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know what i'm doing, trust me!"
The Creeper King woke up, his vision blurred. He got a clear image of Kaline running, and noticed the second enchanted book that he had got from Coroq Gates.
"That's not The Book of The Wither..."
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The Creeper King managed to say, "He...actually did it...he met Steve...h-he's going to enter The Climax in no time!"
Back with Vick's crew...
"You're just going to abandon Rush like this?!" Pierce questioned furiously.
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"Wait," Crystal spoke. "Kaline is not like this, something is obviously going to happen."
Zerrel slithered toward Pierce's boot and looked up at him. "Please Pierce, trust him."
Pierce was not convinced Rush would be saved, but
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since his crew believed Kaline was doing the right thing, he followed them back to their entrance point. ZOOM was placed on top of a grass block.
"Everyone grab on!" Zerrel ordered. When everyone did so, Zerrel punched a set of coordinates
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and they teleported to Vick's Headquarters.
Meanwhile...
"I can't believe thisss...' The Creeper King moaned. "All he needs to do is collect those Klouncine Blocks and he'll be able to enter The Climax and foil my plot!"
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"Oh come of it." Zane replied, rolling his eyes.
"No, I refusssse!" The Creeper King hissed. "He now has their locations, he can find them Zane! We still have yet to make a portal to The Climax, and we have NO Klouncine blocks collected yet! I've
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been using all my power to deal with this brat!"
"Sir," A Creeper soldier said. "Something's odd about this village...The villagers are...squishy and made of fire."
The Creeper King and Zane both looked at the soldier with an
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odd look. "How much milk have you been drinking, soldier?"
"Look i'm not insane," The soldier replied, "See for yourself!"
The Creeper King looked towards the village of Rush. Suddenly, all of the buildings and villagers began transform
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into...magma cubes!
"WHAT?!" The Creeper King screeched.
"Wow," Zane said, "Magma cubes, they're masters of disguise. Kaline Woolcraft definetly knows what he's doing if he got their assistance to make an exact replica of the village using
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them. I can see how this situation worked out, the Magma Cube Empire has trained hard enough to become immune to fire and explosions."
"W-What...?" The Creeper King gawked. "How could someone trick me...?"
All of the magma cubes hopped towards
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the Nether Portal that Kaline had constructed a few days before in order to collect soul sand. A giant magma cube with a golden crown turned towards The Creeper King.
"You smell that?" He sniffed. "That's the smell of revenge, Baxtroff."
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As the last of the magma cubes entered the portal, the Creeper King stood perfectly still and became extremely angry. "Kaline Woolcraft...I sware to Notch that I will get you...Zane, rally up the empires for another meeting. The rest of you, back
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to the castle!"
Flashback to when Kaline and his friends were within the bedrock jail cells...
Kaline sighed, Archie and Crystal were sound asleep. It was late at night in The Nether, although it was hard to tell from the outside.
"Still awake too,
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huh?" A mysterious voice asked.
Kaline followed the sound of the voice to the bedrock wall on the left of him. It was coming from another cell right next to his. "Who are you?"
"Oh...Haha...I'm actually the king of the Magma Cubes," The Magma Cube
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King explained, "But some call me Moulicon."
"Nice to meet you, i'm Kaline Woolcraft." Kaline introduced.
"Oh I know," Moulicon replied, "I could hear you and your friends over the course of the day talking about your future journies to Witherox. I
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was great friends with Vick Woolcraft."
"You were?" Kaline questioned happily.
"Yeah, he was a good man." Moulicon said.
Kaline thought for a moment. "Without a doubt the Creeper King will be waiting for me to give him my stack of emeralds, when i'm
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not there he's going to terrorize the people of Rush...What should I do Moulicon?"
Moulicon came up with an idea. "We magma cubes are a master of diguise, Kaline. If you can break me out of this hellish cell I will gladly reunite with my army and we
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can establish a clever plot...A plot in which we disguise ourselves as your entire village."
"Brilliant! It's a deal!" Kaline agreed.
Moments later when Zerrel has teleported Kaline and his friends to the soul sand patch...
Archie and
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Crystal began mining the soul sand and Zerrel stood on the side admiring his creation, ZOOM.
"Oh I almost forgot!" Kaline realized. He took ZOOM, punched in the coordinates for an area just outside the bedrock jail cell he was trapped in, and
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teleported away.
"What gives?!" Zerrel cried.
Back at the Bedrock cells...
Kaline brought out his diamond pickaxe and dug below the bedrock cells, being catious as there was lava all around him. He dug into Moulicon's cell. He finally got
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a glimpse of the king, he was a colossal magma cube with a shining gold crown.
"Thank you, Kaline Woolcraft." Moulicon grinned. "Now to gather up my army! We shall set course for Rush and plot our replication scheme. And don't worry about the
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villagers, we will escort them to a temporary home and ensure they are safe."
"Sounds good," Kaline replied. "The Creeper King won't know what hit him."
Kaline walked over to ZOOM and teleported back to the soul sand patch so he could
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meet up with his friends. Soon after, fourteen blocks of soul sand were collected. And in time, The Creeper King didn't know what hit him. Kaline's brilliant scheme saved Rush from pure destruction and got him a step closer to The Climax.
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Chapter 13: The Campfire
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In the Blank Reality, referred to most as The Waiting Room, an alternate
reality of Minecraftia where the dead are judged on whether they live or
stay dead, Moral, whom Kaline met earlier after The Wither killed him,
lays happily within the alternate
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version of Kaline's wooden home, reading the newspaper.
Moral looked towards the opposite direction he was facing with astonishment. "Oh hi, didn't see ya there. For those who don't know me, my name's Moral. I don't know who I am, how I
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died, or how I even got inside this wooden house, but what I do know, is that our pal Kaline has went through a lot in the past couple days."
"Why are you talking to me?" A random skeleton asked with an odd look, sitting patiently in a chair waiting
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to be taken to the Greyscale Judge to see if he would be respawned or be doomed to The Nether.
"Yes," Moral continued, "His second chance at life proved to be a very worthy fate. After he vanquished Dav and met with Coroq, or
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Steve, he quickly made his way back to Rush where he gave the sixty-four emeralds he was ordered to fetch to the Creeper King, saving his own life and his home."
"Creeper King? Steve...K-Kaline?" The skeleton questioned. "What does all of
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this mean? Who are you?!"
"Let me finish!" Moral snapped. "After he tricked the Creeper King, he quickly made his way back to Vick's Mining Headquarters, where he plans to prepare for a second journey in an attempt to
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retrieve fourteen klouncine blocks in order to construct The Climax portal."
"Who the heck is Kaline?!" The skeleton continued to question.
"But that's only a summary," Moral said, "I apologize, i'm supposed to be getting to the main
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plot of today's chapter. Sorry to waste your time, readers."
"Oh my god, please just kill me." The skeleton sighed, "this man has obviously had too much milk."
"In today's chapter, number thirteen, Kaline, Pierce, The Skeleton King,
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Archie, and The Wither's head will all gather around a campfire and speak what's on their mind. Enjoy." Moral revealed happily.
"Are you telling me a fairy tale? Cause if it's one, it sounds like nothing i've ever heard before." The skeleton
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replied.
"That's because it's no fairy tale," Moral said, "It's a frequently updated fan fiction on a forum!"
A loud beeping noise filled The Waiting Room, and the skeleton was called to see the Greyscale Judge.
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"Yes!" the skeleton cried, "Yeah, i'm pretty sure everything you're saying is absolute crap, so make sure you get LOTS of rest man, you need it."
The skeleton was lifted into the air by an incredible force.
"Shame he thinks i'm crazy," Moral
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chuckeled, "I am foretelling the truth, shame he didn't want to hear any of it, because his fate, well, ends up not being so well."
"A skeleton hmm...?" The Greyscale Judge's booming voice said from above, "Destiny says your fate is
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death! To hell with you!"
"Haha!" Moral laughed, "Told ya, anyway, let's get on with the story."
Chapter 13 Begins at Vick's Mining Headquarters, a day after Kaline retreated from Rush after they tricked the Creeper King
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by having magma cubes replicate the entire village. He prepares for his journey to find the first klouncine block.
"Kaline! Kaline!" Lars and Forrest cried as they ran towards the lobby of the headquarters.
'What's up guys?" Kaline asked,
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turning from Crystal and Archie whom he had been talking to.
"After translating the enchanted book from golem language to minecraftian language, I discovered that the first klouncine is not too far from one of the swamp stations on my rail system.
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Using a minecart, you can get there within only a matter of minutes!" Lars explained.
"That's awesome!" Kaline replied. Crystal and Archie were delighted as well. "What do you have to say Forrest?"
The young ocelot
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was nervous and could barely manage to speak. Therefore, he simply handed his creation to Kaline, it was an emerald sword. "I...um...made that for you, it has double the durability and power of a diamond sword...Nobody knows how to make one
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except for me..."
"Wow...Thanks Forrest, this is incredible." Kaline smiled, observing the glorious blade.
"I didn't even know those existed," Archie said, "Emeralds are almost impossible to craft with, Forrest is a very talented
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kid."
Zerrel approached the gang. "Alright guys, I got some bad news. We're going to have to make the trip next morning, and early too. The Skeleton and Witch empire have both expanded and are extremely close to the first klouncine
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block. To ensure they don't mine it before us, we have to get there first."
"Sounds good Zerrel, i'll get my stuff ready." Kaline replied. As Zerrel took the attention of everyone, Kaline looked towards one of the glass windows to see the night
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loom over the desert biome. As he did, curiosity struck as he noticed a dim light and smoke going into the sky. His first assumption was that it was an enemy, so he grabbed his newly crafted emerald sword and exited through the back door quietly so he
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made sure nobody got worried.As Kaline trudged through the sand, he looked back at the heaquarters to make sure he was not being followed, but when he turned around, Archie was right in front of him.
"Oh my Notch!" Kaline yelled.
"What do you think
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you're doing?" Archie asked suspiciously.
"Shhhh..." Kaline ordered, pointing to the dim light in the middle of the desert biome. Both of them dived behind a dune.
"W-What is t-that?" Archie stuttered.
"I'm not sure, but it has to be something bad,"
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Kaline assumed. "On the count of three, we attack."
"1..."
They crawled closer to the mysterious light.
"2..."
The emerald sword was drawn and Archie grabbed out a diamond axe.
"3!"
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Archie and Kaline jumped from the dune and sprinted towards the light, which they soon realized was a campfire.
"Ahhhh!" Pierce yelled out of absolute fear. He was soon trampled by the two heroes.
"P-Pierce?" Kaline said, suprised. "What are you
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doing out here, man?"
Archie and Kaline got off of Pierce, he was horrified, but regained his natural behavior within a matter of minutes.
"Oh, so they didn't tell you yet," Pierce groaned. "Every other weekend I come out here in the night, set up a
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little campfire, and think about the current events unfolding in life. Please, take a seat on a log."
Kaline and Archie looked at one another and both agreed to join Pierce. They sat on oak logs set up around the
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campfire. There were four of them. For a few minutes, each of them just sat quietly in the darkness and did not even look at each other.
Finally, Kaline spoke. "So Pierce...Lars identified the location of the first klouncine block...we're all gonna
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set out in the morning...Just figured you might want to know."
"Whatever..." Pierce sighed.
Kaline finally got annoyed by Pierce's constant attitude. "Okay, look, I can obviously see that you don't like me around the
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headquarters or even the crew. Please, explain to me why you just can't respect the good i'm trying to do for everyone!"
"Good?!" Pierce snapped back, "Look Kaline, I understand you're trying to prevent Vick from dying in vein, but
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let's face it, you're playing with fire!"
"What are you talking about? We've done okay so far in vanquishing the Creeper Empire, now all we have to do is mine the Wither Colossus!" Kaline replied, both him and Pierce were standing up now.
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"What? A small trick back at Rush convinced you that we can beat them?" Pierce added.
Kaline was silent.
Pierce sat down and put his blocky hand on his forehead. "Kaline...I didn't tell you this before and Vick probably didn't either, but I was
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second in command of the crew back when he was still alive. When he approached me about the topic of retrieving the enchanted book in the Void Fortress, I agreed and went with him and his wife. I was there to see him die, Kaline...You don't understand
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how horrifying that experience was...my best friend...gone...right in front of my eyes. You may be his brother, but I feel the same pain as you do."
"I-I didn't know Pierce..." Kaline said, "But why wouldn't you want to avenge him?"
"Because Kaline,"
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Pierce answered, "We're not an army, we're just a small group of miners. Although we have special talents, that doesn't even compare to the many empires out to destroy us who have millions at their command. With Vick gone, I vowed to
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take care of his crew, and that's what I will continue to do. Putting them up against the Creeper Empire...it's just...how do we have a chance?"
"Well..." Kaline replied, "I guess that's up to you Pierce...I can't force the crew to go along with me
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and fetch the fourteen klouncine blocks, that's your call. If you feel they aren't a match, than that's fine by me."
Pierce sighed, "Kaline..."
Suddenly an arrow was shot out of the bow of a nearby figure.
"Look out!" Pierce
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cried. He pushed Kaline out of the way and the arrow missed and dug into the sand.
Kaline, Pierce, and Archie all looked toward the source of the fired arrow to find a masked skeleton. But it was not just him, behind him were
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hundreds more, and they were all armed with armor, swords, and bows. All at once, the skeletons drawed their bows and were seconds away from shooting arrows that could instantly kill the three.
"Stop!" A deep voice ordered.
A taller skeleton
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with a gold tooth and crown walked out of the crowd of skeleton soldiers and approached the campfire.
"My god...It's Kullij, the Skeleton King..." Pierce said, not moving a single inch.
"But my king, that's Kaline." The masked skeleton stated.
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"I can see that you dolt," The Skeleton King replied, rolling his eyes. "All of you! Back to the castle, I shall finish this mess. And do not let the Creeper King know of this unexpected encounter."
"Sir!" The entire army of skeletons cried, making a
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salute. Afterwards, they marched in the opposite direction of the campfire.
"What do you want...?" Pierce glared.
Kaline reached for the emerald sword.
"Relax, relax," The Skeleton King chuckled, "I'm not here to murder you, not yet atleast, I
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would like to join your little campfire gathering, if that's okay with you three."
Kaline put away the emrald sword, he had believed that the Skeleton King was not here to kill him if he sent his entire army away. "How did you find this place so
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quickly?"
"Actually I was just on my way to the Creeper Empire to deliver, this." The Skeleton King admitted, reaching into he recently placed. He pulled out one of The Wither's heads.
"Help!" It yelled.
"My god! It's The
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Wither!" Kaline yelled, "Put him down!"
"Wrong, this is not The Wither, this is merely one of his heads that survived the explosion back at Witherox. I'm taking him to the Creeper King so he may share what he knows." The Skeleton King
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replied.
"You're horrid," Pierce scolded, spitting at the ground where the Skeleton King's feet sat.
"If you're not here to kill us, why are you so interested in sharing information with us by the campfire?" Kaline questioned.
The Skeleton King
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sighed. "What you're doing is very brave, Kaline Woolcraft. I guess you can say I feel your pain. Years ago, I lost my brother to the Ender Dragon, and after that tragedy, I vowed to avenge him by slaying it...which I did."
"That's true," Archie spoke,
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"The Skeleton King is the slayer of the Ender Dragon."
"Indeed," The Skeleton King nodded, "Anyway, I've never seen someone like you. You're giving everything you got despite the enemy's large advantage against you, and that is one amazing
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sight. Sure, I may be a vile king and destroyer of hope, and i'm in alliance with the Creeper King, Baxtroff, but I would never do something as terrible as he is doing."
"Than why do you continue to help him?" Kaline asked with a disgusted glare, "
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I know you're the one who sent Dav after me."
"You're right, Dav is loyal to me," The Skeleton King admitted, "but it was Baxtroff who payed him to kill you, not me. I'm sorry Kaline, but I am loyal to Baxtroff, even though he's working towards a
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goal in destroying Minecraftia and starting a destructive dictatorship. I don't go through with his plot because I want to see it happen, I just don't want my empire to be destroyed as a result of disloyalty...He's got so much power,
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Kaline...Just one order and me and my empire are finished. I can't bear to see that happen."
Pierce, Archie, and Kaline all stared at the ground.
"So sad..." The Wither's head sniffed.
"I never knew it was like that..." Kaline said, "My whole life
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I thought the kings of the empires were all just as vile as The Creeper King."
"Don't say that..." The Skeleton King snapped at Kaline.
"What?" Kaline questioned.
"I am crushed by the fact that The Creeper King is viewed as such a
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tyrant," The Skeleton King replied. " I mean...he is but...Ugh, i've known him since I was a child...He used to be so kind-hearted."
Pierce put his hand on The Skeleton King's shoulder. "Please share."
"Baxtroff Kolligar," The Skeleton King
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explained. "That's his name. When me and him were children we used to be best friends. At the time, The Creeper Empire was known for being the most giving empire, there was nothing evil about it. The time came when Baxtroff's dad, king at the time, took
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his other son, Akolo, Baxtroff's brother and the next in line for the throne, on a trip to visit the Ender Empire and create an alliance, which was not made at the time. I remember that exact day, me and Baxtroff actually went to Rush to play. The
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King's trip made Baxtroff the way he is today. What happened was, the king and Akolo had not been focusing on the path they had been taking. As a result, they plunged into a ravine and died from the fall. It's known as being the most unexpected
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death in the history of all the empires. Because the king and prince were both dead, Baxtroff became the next king. He was never the same when his father and brother died, and it's like all the good within him became evil. When he took the throne, he
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immedietly became power-hungry. He took control of all the empires, but he wanted more. Eventually, he sent his army and conquered more and more land, killing people along the way. That leads to the issue at hand now, Baxtroff will not
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stop unless all of Minecraftia is at his command. That's why he decided to become interested in the Wither Colossus and how to harness it's power, so he can use it to destroy everything and everyone.
"That's absolutely terrible..." Kaline
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said.
"Now you know..." The Skeleton King groaned. He stood up and walked over to Kaline and put his bony hand on his shoulder. "I wish you luck, Kaline Woolcraft."
After looking at the three heroes for a few minutes, the
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Skeleton King bid farewell and set off to The Creeper Empire to deliver the Wither's head. Minutes passed and silence lingered around the campfire once again.
Pierce looked towards Kaline and smiled. "Kaline, I was wrong to ever doubt you."
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"Huh?" Kaline said with an odd look.
"I have confidence that we will have victory over The Creeper Empire and mine the Wither Colossus. I am with you all the way, and...I trust you." Pierce replied.
"Thanks Pierce, that means a lot..."
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Kaline grinned.
The moon had gone down and the sun layed over the horizon. It was almost morning. Pierce stood up and put out the campfire, and made his way back to Vick's Mining Headquarters. Kaline was about to make his way back aswell,
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but noticed Archie was still sitting on the oak log, holding something mysterious in his hands.
"Something troubling you Archie? I didn't hear from you much tonight." Kaline asked.
Archie looked up towards Kaline and showed him the
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items he was holding. In his hands were a golden apple and splash potion of weakness.
"This campfire has encouraged me to mend the tragedy that occured in my life Kaline." Archie spoke. "With a single golden apple and splash potion that
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Rodona gave me, I think I can cure my beloved master, Zane."
"I hope so, Archie," Kaline smiled, patting his back. The two then made their way back to the headquarters.
Meanwhile, farther out in the desert biome...
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The Skeleton King dragged The Wither's head through the hot sand as the sun beamed down upon them.
"That was a legendary conversation you had back there, kullij," The head spoke. "Who knew there was some good inside you."
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The Skeleton King looked down at the head. "Yeah, yeah just come off it already."
Once The Skeleton King looked back up, The Creeper King's dark figure was right in front of him.
"What conversssation, Kullij?" The
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Creeper King hissed.
"N-Nothing Baxtroff," The Skeleton King stuttered. "Here."
The Skeleton King threw the Wither's head into a bag The Creeper King was holding.
"Kullij please! Don't do this, I know you can change!" The head cried.
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"What'ssss all thisss about change and good, Kullij?" The Creeper King questioned with an evil glare. "I hope you weren't doing anything other than putting that device on Kaline."
"The tracking device was delivered successfully,
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Baxtroff, no need to fear." The Skeleton King ensured.
"Excellent!" The Creeper King said with delight. "Kaline will lead us directly to the klouncine blocks! This calls for a feast, come Kullij, I had my servants bake you up your favorite...pumpkin
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pie!"
The two kings walked towards the Creeper Empire's castle.
The Skeleton King looked towards the direction where Vick's Mining Headquarters had been. "Kaline, I apologize..."
#pgx120
Chapter 14: The Untouchable Lockdown
#pgx121
In the middle of the ocean, a mushroom island lays peacefully, millions
of blocks away from any threat. Upon this mushroom island, a mansion
made out of quartz stands, housing the legendary minecraftian known as
Coroq, or,
#pgx122
Steve.
"Life does not get any easier than this!" Steve bragged, sipping from a small glass as two villagers fanned him with giant leaves. "Hey! I don't pay you to do a lousy job! Fan faster! I'm dieing out here!"
The villagers did as Steve ordered,
#pgx123
and as he was refreshed by the cool breeze they provided him, they were sweating. Within a few minutes, Steve grew tired and dozed off on his lounge chair. However, an event of pure chaos caused him to awake...the villagers had stopped
#pgx124
fanning him.
"Hey!" Steve yelled angrily, "I told you to fan faster, not fan at all!"
The villagers made no response, and stood perfectly still, motionless. They were staring into the sky, gawking. Their leaves...on the ground. Steve got
#pgx125
up from his lounge chair and glared at them.
"You morons! I demand that you fan me this instant before I die from the heat!" Steve ordered, once again. Soon enough he got frusturated by their ignorance and punched one in the face. However, no
#pgx126
pain was felt by the villager, he did not even budge. He simply fell to the ground with the same exact look on his face.
"Oh my Notch..." Steve said, finally realizing what had happened. "They-They're dead!"
Suddenly, a large breeze blew in
#pgx127
from the North and dropped the tempurature on the island to a chilling 10 degrees. Steve was instantly freezing and went into his mansion to fetch a sweater.
"Who's doing this!?" Steve yelled at nothing. "I got a stick and i'm not afraid
#pgx128
to use it!"
The blue sky that loomed over the island faded to grey and snow began to fall from the clouds that recently formed. At the same time, all the mycelium that made up the island shriveled away and was replaced with bedrock. Steve
#pgx129
ran out to the middle of the island and looked in every direction. He was convinced someone, or something, was out to get him.
"Show yourself!" Steve ordered, equipping himself with iron armor and using his stick and two diamonds to craft
#pgx130
a diamond sword.
The breeze became more powerful, and a whistling noise was heard throughout the island. To make matters worse, a dense fog covered the island. Steve could not see a thing. He was getting more frightened by the second, and this
#pgx131
was rare for the famous warrior, who had never been afraid of anything in his entire life. Steve was shivering and had his arms around himself, struggling to keep warm. He traveled across the now, "Bedrock Island," for all the mushroom trees
#pgx132
and mycelium had vanished. Suddenly, he saw two bright lights in the distance that were covered by the fog. He stared at them with curiosity and assumed that it was a coast gaurd boat that had come to rescue him from the madness that consumed his
#pgx133
island. However, it wasn't.
"Hello?" Steve questioned. "Who's there?"
As he got close to the two bright lights, a face began to from in the fog. When this happened, Steve immedietly began to hear an enormous buzzing sound
#pgx134
and became nauseous. He grabbed his head, which had just gotten a searing pain out of nowhere and his vision became impaired.
"Ugh!" Steve yelled. "What is this?! Stop it!"
He dropped to the ground, his head staring at the
#pgx135
bedrock. Soon, two feet entered his line of sight. Steve looked up, and as soon as he saw who it was, he was horrified.
"You!" He cried. And within seconds, Steve was gone, and all the unnatural effects that occured on his island vanished, and
#pgx136
everything was normal again.
Back with Kaline and friends...
Vick's Mining Crew had finished preparing for the trip to the swamp where the first Klouncine block had been located. Zerrel had chosen Forrest, Rodona, and Lars to
#pgx137
accompany them on the trip for they were all needed. Pierce had not changed his decision from the campfire and was still in agreement to join Kaline on his adventure without any complaint, hesitation, or regret. Lars, being a master of
#pgx138
redstone and a constructer of one of the biggest minecart rail systems ever created, showed the crew to the station where a group of minecarts were already set up. Everyone entered the carts and within a matter of minutes they were blasted
#pgx139
from the station and moving quickly across the track. It was not long before the crew reached the swamp, and were already on foot, heading to the coordinates where the Klouncine block would be found.
Lars lead the group, for he had been
#pgx140
the one who translated the book from golem language to minecraftian language and was aware of the exact location of the block.
"Stop!" Lars commanded.
Everyone froze.
"We're here!"
The crew had stopped in front of a
#pgx141
gigantic lake that was in the exact center of the swamp biome. Within the lake was a stone structure with redstone lamps. A lever sat on top. Surrounding the structure were a ton of golden lilypads.
"Wow," Rodona spoke. "Such a simple spot to place a
#pgx142
Klouncine block, this place stands out from the entire swamp."
"There's no way it's this easy," Archie added. "There has to be a catch. But for now, Kaline, go flip the lever."
Kaline jumped into the muddy swamp water and swam towards
#pgx143
the stone structure. He climped on top of one of the golden lilypads and hopped onto the structure. When he did this, he pulled the lever. As a result, the ground began to shake and the stone structure began to crumble.
"Kaline! Get out of there!"
#pgx144
Crystal cried.
Kaline quickly jumped off the structure and swam to land. As soon as he was safe, the lake's water made a bright glow and was drained away. At the bottom of the now empty lake was the first Klouncine block. The block was bright orange
#pgx145
and had small, red rings orbitting around it.
"There it is!" Kaline said happily. "Come on guys, let's get down there."
A stone slab staircase appeared out of nowhere for the crew's convenience. They walked down to the
#pgx146
bottom of the lake and stomped onto the wet soil. However, when they got down to the bottom of the lake, their recent happiness transformed into hopelessness. The klouncine block had been trapped inside an ender crystal, a powerful item
#pgx147
found only in The End.
"This ruines everything!" Zerrel moaned.
"How could this be?" Kaline questioned. "How could someone have beat us here already?"
"Look." Pierce pointed.
On the ender
#pgx148
crystal was a painted symbol that had been used by the Witch Empire. They had complete control over the Klouncine block but had not mined it yet, a possible indication that they had no clue what it was. Therefore, they had not been notified by the
#pgx149
Creeper King to search for them.
"Guys, calm down." Forrest said. "This is a simple solution, just like we do if we're facing the Ender Dragon, we shoot an arrow at them!"
Forrest got out a bow and aimed it at the ender crystal.
"Don't you dare!"
#pgx150
Archie screamed. "If you shoot that ender crystal, not only will it blow us up, but it will completely destroy the Klouncine block. And you know what that means? We can't construct The Climax portal and we are doomed! Basically, you're doing the Creeper
#pgx151
King a favor."
Forrest was frightened and put his bow away. Everyone remained quiet and thought of a resolution.
"There's not really much we can do," Zerrel spoke. "But hear me out, what if the Witches aren't in alliance with the
#pgx152
Creeper Empire? They could still be good! All we need to do is convince them that we need the Klouncine block and we can even get Rodona to negotiate with them, she's a witch!"
"That's brilliant!" Rodona complimented.
#pgx153
"Good Job, Zerrel!" Kaline said. "But I think it would be best if we wait another day before we do so. Let's head back to the headquarters."
Everyone agreed. Soon enough, the crew head back to the minetrack and traveled back to the headquarters.
#pgx154
Later that night, while everyone was asleep, Kaline went into the empty lobby to get a drink of water and was suprised by an unexpected appearence.
"Kaline!" Moral cried.
"Ahhhh!" Kaline screamed, dropping his glass of
#pgx155
water. "Moral?! What are you doing here? Don't do that!"
"Actually," Moral replied. "I'm not technically here, this is just a hologram i'm using so that I may communicate with you."
"They allow the dead to speak to the living at the Waiting
#pgx156
Room?" Kaline asked.
"Yeah, sure, whatever, but that's not the point!" Moral replied. "I didn't just put this together just to scare you, I need to talk to you! It's important!"
Kaline took a chair from a table and sat down, ready to hear what Moral
#pgx157
had to say.
"Okay," Moral began. "I know you don't know this, but i'm going to be a very important person during your quest. I have advice you need to hear if you ever want to beat the Creeper King. First off, you can't go to the Witch Empire, Kaline,
#pgx158
you can't!"
"What are you talking about?" Kaline snapped. "In fact, what do you know? You're some bum I met in the afterlife. How do YOU know what decisions I can make to benefit my journey?"
"Because i'm aware of what you need to
#pgx159
do to accomplish your goal!" Moral replied. "I bet you didn't know that the witches ARE in alliance with the Creeper Empire! Their entire plan with trapping the Klouncine Block was that you could go approach them about it and they could ambush
#pgx160
you!"
"Oh man..." Kaline gasped. "Well...I don't know Moral, what should I do?"
"First off you need to keep in mind that you MUST retrieve emeralds so that you may keep the wooden house." Moral explained.
"What?" Kaline
#pgx161
quesitoned. "That's suicide! The Creeper King wants my head, I can't just go up to him with emeralds!"
"I didn't say that." Moral sighed. "You need to find a messenger of some sort that can deliver them. The Creeper King has to give you permission to
#pgx162
use the wooden house if you give him the required emeralds because he promised to doing so. He's aware that if he attacks you for doing what he promised you had to, then neighboring empires will notice that as a threat and attack him."
#pgx163
"Why is the wooden house a big deal now?" Kaline asked.
"Because as you know, your brother, Vick, constructed it. What you don't know is that it holds some secrets. Powerful secrets that you must intend on harnessing" Moral continued.
#pgx164
"Woah, woah, woah," Kaline interrupted. "How do you know ANYTHING about my brother?"
"I just do, Kaline." Moral answered. "Now, what you need to do in order to get the Klouncine block is-"
Moral was gone.
"Moral?" Kaline
#pgx165
questioned. "Moral!!"
In the Blank Dimension, or, "Waiting Room"...
"Kaline! Kaline?! Can you hear me?!" Moral yelled into a telephone that had been transferring his hologram.
The line had been cut. Moral turned around and saw the
#pgx166
Greyscale Judge looming over him.
"An on-the-go, hologram transferring telephone...hahaha...fool." The Greyscale Judge laughed. "Looks like Kaline Woolcraft was right, there is a being down here that had evaded me this entire
#pgx167
time. I don't know how you did it, but I must applaude you. Honestly, I don't even know who you are, care to share it with me?"
Moral didn't speak.
"Whatever," The Greyscale Judge sniffed. "I hope you know that talking to the living is
#pgx168
strictly forbidden by not only me, but Notch too."
The Greyscare Judge pointed his giant staff at Moral and zapped a beam that obliterated the telephone.
"I'll see you soon," The Greyscale Judge grinned. "And when I get back, i'll be
#pgx169
determining your fate. And from the action you just committed right now, i'd say you're leaning towards a nice, easy going life in hell."
"You idiot!" Moral yelled. "I need to tell Kaline what he needs to do in order to get the first Klouncine Block
#pgx170
or he's doomed!"
The Greyscale Judge had already flown to his judgement room in the skies above the Blank Dimension.
"Get back down here!" Moral yelled. He pounded his fists on the ground.
"Dude, take a chill pill." A random being suggested.
#pgx171
"Huh?" Moral questioned. He looked up and saw a familiar face. "Steve!"
#pgx172
Chapter 15: Steve and Moral
#pgx173
Finding the first klouncine block led to a shocking turn as Kaline and
friends saw that it was locked within an ender crystal. Anything that
touched the crystal would result in its inevitable self destruction,
which in turn would remove the first
#pgx174
klouncine block from existence. After Zerrel had suggested that the crew approach the Witch Empire, who have the key to disabling the crystal, Moral approached Kaline through a holographic image of himself later that
#pgx175
night to convince him that the plot would prove to be disastrous. However, the Greyscale Judge soon found out that Moral was indeed in the Waiting Room and vowed to judge him on whether or not he would go to the Aether or the
#pgx176
Nether. Now, Moral has encountered the famous Steve, also known as Coroq, and hopes that he might be able to help him.
"Steve!" Moral cried. "You couldn't have picked a better time to be here my friend!"
"I wish I didn't have to pick a time at all!"
#pgx177
Steve snapped. "Where the heck am I?! There's no people, no grass, no sky, no color. What is this place?"
"You don't know?" Moral questioned.
"What kind of question is that?" Steve replied. "Just because i'm famous and "all-knowing"
#pgx178
doesn't mean I have to know everything."
"Alright..." Moral said with a confused look. "Anyway, you're in the Blank Reality. It's basically where you wait to be judged on whether or not you live or die."
"That's not possible..." Steve argued. " I'm
#pgx179
not supposed to die!"
Steve grabbed Moral by his jacket and held him in the air.
"What sort of trickery is this you bum?!" Steve growled.
"Steve, please!" Moral cried. "Now isn't the time to question the obvious! I need your help! Me, Kaline, and
#pgx180
even countless others have lives that could be in jeopardy!"
Steve dropped Moral onto the blank floor. "Did you say Kaline?"
"Yes!" Moral replied.
"The name rings a bell...Ah, yes! Kaline Woolcraft!" Steve realized. "He's the guy I met at the
#pgx181
Wither Castle. I had to give him the locations to the klouncine blocks. He was traveling with that iron golem, Alex, and his wife, Jessica."
"That wasn't their names...But whatever, you're right!" Moral said happily. "They successfully
#pgx182
found the first klouncine block. Sadly, they have made a plan to go confront the Witch Empire in an attempt to deactivate the ender crystal it's locked in! If they do that, they'll be ambushed and most likely be destroyed. I need to contact Kaline and
#pgx183
tell him what he needs to do. But the Greyscale Judge cut me off!"
"The Greyscale Judge is in this dimension?!" Steve responded. "Me and him go way back. But what's this you say about contacting Kaline? Didn't you just say this is the dimension where
#pgx184
you wait to be judged? You're dead! I cannot go against the Laws of Notch and allow you to contact the living. The answer is a no, good day, or night, whatever it is here."
Steve no longer paid attention to Moral and walked away. He then took a seat in
#pgx185
a nearby chair and picked up a newspaper from a stack that was conveniently sitting on a table and began reading it. Moral started to become angered by Steve's little attention to his issue.
"Hey!" Moral called. "Get up! I need you
#pgx186
to help!"
Steve ignored Moral.
"Steve! This is important! Lives could be lost!" Moral continued.
"Enough!" Steve snapped, throwing the newspaper on the ground and standing up. "There's no way to contact Kaline without doing it
#pgx187
illegally, dude. But if you're so convinced that doing so will show no issue, let's make a deal."
"Alright, shoot." Moral said.
The Blank Reality began to tremble violently and the ground surrounding Moral and Steve crumbled away,
#pgx188
leaving one giant arena. Steve raised both of his hands into the air and his eyes made a blueish glow. As a result, fences fell from the sky were placed around the entire edge of the arena. Suddenly, diamond armor equipped itself on both of the
#pgx189
Minecraftians. Along with that, diamond swords flew into the hands of both.
"What's going on down there?!" The Greyscale Judge yelled from the skies, unable to hear the music on his headphones do to the tremors.
Steves eyes
#pgx190
returned to normal and the tremors that rocked the Blank Reality came to a halt. "If you can defeat me in a PVP match, I will let you contact Kaline Woolcraft. Get ready..."
Moral and Steve both got into a warrior-like
#pgx191
position.
"Get set..."
"This is impossible..." Moral thought to himself. "Steve is a professional fighter, how will I ever defeat him?"
"GO!"
Moral and Steve raised their swords into the air and charged towards
#pgx192
one another. Within a matter of seconds, both of their swords clashed. Steve made a confidential smile and his superior power knocked Moral to the floor. Steve grabbed his sword with both hands and was ready to strike Moral while he was down, but Moral
#pgx193
rolled away just in time, causing the sword to strike the ground. Steve yanked the sword out of the ground and walked over to Moral, who was still getting up, and kicked him in the face. Struck with fear, Moral fled from Steve, only to have Steve run
#pgx194
after him.
"I must admit," Steve laughed. "You have some pretty impressive moves...Shame that won't save you."
Steve threw his sword and the end of it smashed Moral in the back of the head. He was knocked out. Steve was ready
#pgx195
to make the final blow that would destroy Moral, but as he was temporarily knocked out, Moral considered all of the consequences at hand and was filled with confidence and strength. He awoke, and as Steve got closer, he did a backflip and
#pgx196
kicked Steve right in the face.
"I beg to differ." Moral replied. "You will help me, Coroq."
Steve rubbed his nose, which was bleeding a bit. "We shall see."
The two engaged in a swordfight. Each was neck and neck, and it was not clear who
#pgx197
would be victorious. Their power was equal.
"This isn't possible!" Steve yelled.
Moral took the upper hand, and without any sign, he swung his diamond sword and knocked Steve's off of the arena. He was defenseless. Moral grinned and set
#pgx198
his diamond sword on the ground.
Steve chuckled. "You are no ordinary person, it seems."
"I'm Moral." Moral replied. He made a fist, and socked Steve in the jaw, throwing him over the fences and off of the arena.
"Nooooooooooo..."
#pgx199
Steve cried. "...Haha"
Moral blinked. The Blank Reality was back to normal. Both of their bruises and scars had vanished, as though they had never fought. Steve had his hand on Moral's forehead.
"It seems that...If we ever fought, you would be
#pgx200
victorious." Steve smiled. "I've never foresaw such an outcome before...You're incredible."
"Wha- What was all that?!" Moral asked.
"All a vision," Steve answered. "You could see and feel everything that happened, but it
#pgx201
was not reality. I can do a lot of awesome stuff, you know."
"Apparently," Moral admitted, rubbing his head. "Does that mean I win? Can you allow me to contact Kaline?"
"Oh, that wasn't the challenge." Steve laughed.
Moral groaned.
"If you really
#pgx202
want my help, you must answer my question." Steve explained.
Moral made an odd look.
"I've dwelled in the Minecraft world for ages, and I have knowledge of every being who has existed in the world. But your disguise is so convincing, who
#pgx203
exactly are you?" Steve asked.
"That's a dumb question, i'm Moral." Moral replied.
"Who are you fooling?" Steve frowned. "I know you are lying. I will ask once again, who are you?"
Moral sighed. He didn't answer the
#pgx204
question, but instead he showed Steve who he was. He took off his straw hat and trimed the stubs under his nose.
Steve was suprised. "It's you! Everything is so clear now..."
He handed him a telephone.
Back at the lobby within Vick's Mining
#pgx205
Headquarters...
"Moral!" Kaline called. "What do you need to say? Tell me!"
Moral's hologram appeared once again in front of Kaline
"Kaline!" Moral replied.
"You're back! What happened?" Kaline asked.
"No time to
#pgx206
explain," Moral said. "In order to release the klouncine block out of the ender crystal WITHOUT going into the Witch Empire, you need to attend the annual "Creeper Empire Ball." It's a celebration where everyone across the world is invited to
#pgx207
party within the Creeper King's castle. There, you can successfully sneak into the control center of the castle without anyone knowing and disable the ender crystal."
Kaline fell silent for a couple minutes.
"You want us to enter the Creeper
#pgx208
Empire? That's suicide!" Kaline complained.
"I know, I know, it sounds stupid!" Moral agreed somewhat. "But trust me, everything you need is within the wooden house. Like I told you earlier, you need to find a way to keep paying the
#pgx209
Creeper King in emeralds!"
"I-I don't know..." Kaline sighed.
Moral became worried. "Kaline...please just trust me on this one. Within the wooden house is a batch of specially made invisibility potions! All you need to do is
#pgx210
get Rodona to increase the timing on them so you have more time to dwell inside the Creeper King's castle without getting caught!"
Kaline wasn't convinced.
"Kaline..." Moral continued, "Vick believes in you, and...he would
#pgx211
want you to do this too."
Moral pulled a pickaxe from his jacket that had the name "Vick" inscribed within it.
"Where'd you-?" Kaline questioned, suprised that Moral had Vick's pickaxe in his possession.
"I met him." Moral smiled. "Now
#pgx212
please Kaline...are you with me on this one?"
Kaline looked up to the cieling and viewed the night sky through a glass dome. He took a deep breathe. "Alright Moral, I think I trust you...If Vick trusted you with...that....then I trust you."
#pgx213
Moral was delighted and his hologram dissapeared.
"Vick..." Kaline whispered to himself. "Are you still alive? And why Moral...How can someone like him have such a great understanding of the situation at hand? How does he know so much about me and
#pgx214
you? Why is he helping us? Ugh...This is such a tough situation we're in..."
Kaline continued to stare at he cieling, and a shooting block flew across the night sky.
"Alright," Kaline smiled. "Let's do this."
Back in the Blank Reality...
#pgx215
"Well..." Moral said. "That's that. Thank you, Steve."
"My pleasure...Moral." Steve winked.
A beeping noise ringed throughout the entire Blank Reality. Suddenly, the ground shook as the Greyscale Judge jumped from the skies and slammed
#pgx216
into the ground, landing on his two giant feet. "Moral, your time is up. Time for your judgement!"
"Greyscale!" Steve yelled.
"Steve!?! I uh- Wow...this is so unexpected." The Greyscale Judge gulped. "What are you doing here?! How
#pgx217
did you die?!"
"That's not important! I refuse to let you deem this good soul to the depths of The Nether!" Steve growled.
"B-But Steve...It's my job." The Greyscale Judge responded.
Steve walked up to the Greyscale Judge.
"Look," He
#pgx218
whispered into his ear. "Moral has broken the law and spoken to Kaline, but it was only to help him face off The Creeper King. Please, please allow it Greyscale. He's not a bad guy, he's only hidden himself from you so he can remain undercover and
#pgx219
help Kaline along the way. To be honest, I did help him continue his conversation. So if anyone is to go to The Nether, send me."
Steve turned around and looked at Moral, and gave him a thumbs up. Moral waved.
"Absolutely not!" The Greyscale Judge
#pgx220
refused. "I will not send the great Steve to The Nether! If this whole situation is alright with you, Steve, I see no harm on why Moral can't stay here a bit longer."
"Thank you!" Steve said happily. "This means a lot, Greyscale."
#pgx221
The Greyscale Judge looked towards Moral. "I'll be keeping an eye out on you though, don't forget. Also, Steve, i'll contact Notch and make sure you get an immediete respawn. After all, you were granted immortality, you shouldn't be here!"
#pgx222
The Greyscale Judge flapped his giant wings and flew into the skies of the Blank Reality.
"Wow this cleared up everything!" Moral spoke. "But wait...immortality?"
"You heard right," Steve nodded. "I am immortal, nothing can kill me. That's why I
#pgx223
didn't know what this place was when I first got here. And yet...I died....It's such an odd situation, i'd rather not talk about it."
"Coroq...I mean, uh, Steve," Moral said.
"Huh?" Steve questioned.
"Who or what killed you?" Moral
#pgx224
asked.
Steve made a grim look. "Herobrine."
#pgx225
Chapter 16: Creeper King Perspective #3: Descent Into Madness
#pgx226
The Creeper King sat in his thrown and sulked. He was still upset that
Kaline Woolcraft was able to outwit him and his entire army back at the
village known as Rush. There, Kaline had used magma cubes to replicate
the entire village. This gave him the
#pgx227
chance to pay off his debt, save the entire village and the people that lived there, and manage to escape back to Vick's Mining Headquarters unharmed. His entire throne room was silent, as no one had even dared to disturb him. Except for Zane
#pgx228
Helmframe, who entered the room so that he could speak to the king.
"Get out!" The Creeper King hissed. He got up and used his small feet to kick a glass that had been placed on the ground at Zane. It missed and shattered upon hitting the
#pgx229
wall.
"Settle down, Baxtroff," Zane spoke, rolling his eyes. "I just wanted to let you know that the leaders of the other empires have been downstairs waiting for you so that the meeting may commence."
The Creeper King
#pgx230
groaned and fell back into his throne. "Why musssst they be here now?!"
"Because you told me back at Rush to call them over!" Zane snapped. "You said this meeting was "urgent" so get your robe and crown on and get downstairs immediately!"
#pgx231
Zane left the throne room, closing the giant wool door behind him. The Creeper King remained still for a while and suddenly decided to get prepared. He got up and went into the bathroom. After he put his crown and robe on, he put his
#pgx232
head in the sink and soaked it in water. After drying his face with a towel, he looked up at the mirror that was hanging above the sink to see his reflection. However, the reflection he saw was none other than Vick's.
"Vick!" He gasped.
"What's the
#pgx233
matter, Baxtroff?" Vick questioned with a devious grin. "Scared to see someone you murdered?"
The Creeper King blinked. "No...No! You're not real! Go away!"
Vick laughed. "Oh I am, Baxtroff. Do you not remember Zane explaining to you
#pgx234
that I had used an enchantment on my sword called Final Request? Well...My final request was to do anything in my power to prevent you from destroying Kaline. I am within you, Baxtroff. And there's nothing you can do to get rid of the only fear that
#pgx235
you will EVER have...me!"
The Creeper King began to shiver. His bones ached, and he became dizzy. He shook his head. "Stop it! Go away! You're not real, you can't be real! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
The Creeper King, having no arms,
#pgx236
used his head to bash a glass container that had been holding an emergency diamond axe. He grabbed it under his chin and threw it at the mirror, instantly smashing it into hundreds of little pieces. He breathed heavily, and soon became relieved.
#pgx237
The reflection of Vick had vanished.
An enderman ran into the throne room and noticed the Creeper King and the broken mirror within the bathroom. "Sir, are you okay?!"
The Creeper King looked over at the enderman. "I-I'm fine...I...I'm fi-"
#pgx238
He fainted. When he woke up later that evening, he had been hospitalized and laying on top of a bed.
A voice had been calling his name, but he couldn't hear it. "Baxtroff? Baxtroff, wake up!"
Soon enough, The Creeper King woke
#pgx239
up, and he had been perfectly fine, as though nothing had happened.
"Ah, at last! You're awake!" Kullij, the skeleton king, smiled happily.
"Wah-? What are you all doing here?" The Creeper King questioned. In front of him were all the
#pgx240
leaders of the neighboring empires that had been in alliance with the Creeper Empire.
"Well," The Enderman King spoke, "By the time the meeting started you had been on an ambulance pig and on your way to the hospital. You were unconscious for
#pgx241
about two hours. It's weird, none of the doctors knew what had caused it!"
"Unconsssscious?" The Creeper King questioned with confusion. "How could that be? I was just about to head down, I was as healthy as any creeper could be!"
"Obviously, you
#pgx242
weren't." The Blaze King said. "One of your enderman soldiers said you had not appeared to be normal when he found you in the bathroom. But that's in the past, let's get this meeting started."
The leaders sat down in small chairs that the doctors had
#pgx243
supplied for them.
"First of all, it appears your assault on the village of Rush was a complete failure." The Spider Queen began.
"Not only did your let yourself be outwitted by a mortal, but your TNT Magnum destroyed an enormous amount
#pgx244
of land that had been owned by the Cow Empire. They are FURIOUS now." The Zombie King added.
"What'ssss your point here?" The Creeper King asked with a worried tone.
The leaders looked at each other.
"Well," Kullij spoke, "We no longer have to
#pgx245
waste time gathering emeralds for Kaline has completed our amount through the stack he gave you back at Rush. And since you have proven you cannot keep good control of an army, we have no choice but to withdrawl our soldiers from
#pgx246
yours."
The Creeper King became furious. "You can't do that! I need those soldiers for very important reasons!"
"I'm sorry Baxtroff," The Spider Queen apologized. "But for now on you're on your own when it comes to
#pgx247
offense. We will continue to supply you with materials, but other than that, you will recieve nothing else from us."
The leaders got up, gave The Creeper King "Get Well Soon" cards, and left the hospital. The only visitor left was
#pgx248
Zane.
"What the hell just happened, Zane?" The Creeper King asked with a blank expression. "I lost about 50% of my firepower...How will I defend against Kaline's little force now?"
"The leaders have spoken,
#pgx249
Baxtroff." Zane snaped. "Servers you right, it appears you have become obsessed with destroying Kaline Woolcraft yet your mind won't let you! How can you be trusted with an army if you behave in such a matter? You're going insane! It's time
#pgx250
for you to wake up!"
Zane left the room, but quickly returned after he had forgotten to inform the Creeper King about a package he had been given. "Also, a silverfish wearing a bandana approached me this morning and gave me this."
#pgx251
He tossed the package on the Creeper King's hospital bed.
"It contains the daily fee of emeralds that Kaline used to give you," Zane explained. "Might want to look up on this random predicament."
The Creeper King was shocked and
#pgx252
immedietly took out a small device that pinpointed the location of the tracking device Kullij had placed on Kaline's back at the campfire. "He'ssss ussssing my own weakness againssst me! It seems Kaline has found out that if I go against the
#pgx253
deal I made him, I will be stomped upon by neighboring empiresss not in alliance with me."
The Creeper King laughed devilishly. "Very well, Kaline. Take your wooden home. But just know that each emerald you present me with only makesss me
#pgx254
stronger! For what you and Vick don't know is that the Wither Colossus is powered by thissss very material! Hahaha!"
Zane rolled his eyes.
"I don't care what you have to say." The Creeper King hissed. "Now, notify the soldiers back at Rush that they
#pgx255
may go home! Kaline can enter his home...for now."
Zane nodded and left the room. After he did, The Creeper King took out a second device. Three letters had been scratched in by a claw of some sort. It spelled out "DAV." The Creeper King pushed a
#pgx256
small button on the device and within a few seconds an explosion of black mist filled the room. Dav, the skeleton assassin, had appeared before him.
"Thirty diamond blocks. Now." Dav immediatly demanded.
"I see you're still
#pgx257
cheap." The Creeper King snapped. "Very well, they're in the left pocket of my robe. It's sitting on that hanger over there."
Dav looked over at the wooden hanger in the corner of the room where the Creeper King's very expensive looking
#pgx258
robe had been. He took out his bow and shot a flaming arrow at the robe. Soon enough, it had burned into a pile of ash, leaving only the diamond blocks and a few other materials.
"I'll take those too." Dav laughed. "This is going to be a very exciting
#pgx259
revenge."
With that, he pressed the button on top of his bow and dissapeared in an explosion of black mist...again.
"I hate that guy," The Creeper King sighed. "Well, not much to do now but prepare for the ball coming up. Hopefully by then
#pgx260
Kaline either supplies me with more emeralds or Dav will actually be of use and kill him. Either way, it's a win for me. I can already see myself in control of the Wither Colossus...Stomping on the world below me, citizens everywhere bowing in my
#pgx261
glory, and Kaline's grave by my doorstep."
Suddenly, the happiness that The Creeper King had gotten from his thoughts diminished and soon turned into fear. "I didn't believe Zane at first...but now...I think i've been drawn to the
#pgx262
conclusion that Vick actually has some control over me...that reflection in the bathroom, and then...my fainting...? According to Prime, the Enderman King, I was unconscious for two hours! What am I going to do...I-I need to end it...I need to destroy
#pgx263
it...but...it's me! It's me that I would be destroying!"
The Creeper King's dizziness returned and he was drawn out of his bed.
"Ugh," He groaned, "I need a drink."
He walked out of his room and as he entered the hallway and felt the touch
#pgx264
of sunlight through the glass window, his shadow appeared before him. It was Vick's shadow, at least, from his perspective.
#pgx265
Chapter 17: Bone Kaline / Spectators of the Blank Reality
#pgx266
Forrest, Rodona, and Lars sat in the cafeteria of Vick's Mining
Headquarters grabbing a quick breakfast before their journey to the
Witch Kingdom. There, Rodona would try to convince the king to
deactivate the ender crystal and allow the crew to mine
#pgx267
the first klouncine block all according to Zerrel's master plot. Archie and Crystal walked over to the cafeteria table and joined the three mobs.
"Hey guys!" Crystal greeted.
"Hi Crystal!" They all said at the same time.
"Have you seen
#pgx268
Kaline by any chance?" Archie asked.
The three looked at each other.
"No, actually," Lars answered. "We figured he was with you."
"No," Crystal said with a worried look. "We haven't seen him since yesterday
#pgx269
evening."
"I know where he is!"
Everyone looked towards the entrance of the cafeteria. It was Zerrel. He had a frightening look on his face, as though he had seen a ghost.
"Zerrel!" Rodona cried. "You look horrible! What
#pgx270
happened?!"
'I just came back from the Creeper Empire!" Zerrel answered.
Pierce had been nearby and overheard the entire conversation. "What?! Are you out of your mind?!"
"I heard Kaline talking to someone last night..." Zerrel
#pgx271
explained. "Apparently he had his own plot to get the klouncine block out of the ender crystal. It involved paying the Creeper King in emeralds so that he could keep his wooden house. He's going to Rush right now and he plans to use an invisibility
#pgx272
potion to sneak into the Creeper Empire Castle during the Creeper King's Ball and deactivate it. According to him the Witch Empire was going to ambush us if we ever stepped foot into their territory. He needed someone to deliver the emeralds...so I
#pgx273
volunteered. He didn't force me! No harm was done!"
"That's crazy Zerrel!" Pierce yelled. "You could've been killed! Even worse, they could've followed you here!"
"It's fine, Pierce!" Zerrel replied. "I gave them to this nice Zombie Villager
#pgx274
who is basically the king's apprentice. He told me that I had made a smart decision. If the Creeper King lays a hand on Kaline even though he paid his fee in emeralds, empires not in alliance with him will rebel!"
Everyone was delighted.
#pgx275
"That's brilliant!" Archie said joyfully. "Who was this mysterious being Kaline spoke to?"
"I-I don't know...It seemed like a hologram of some sort." Zerrel shrugged.
"Well what are we standing around for?!" Forrest
#pgx276
questioned. "We should get prepared and head out to Rush! Kaline needs us!"
Everyone agreed. They got up from the table and walked over to the locker room where they began to gather supplies. Pierce, however, walked slowly to
#pgx277
his office and shut the door behind him.
"I understand that Kaline is trying to do what's best for us..." Pierce thought, fiddling with sticks on top of his desk. "But I can't go through with this sudden resolution he has come up with. Going to the
#pgx278
Creeper Empire is suicide! I can't let him endanger Vick's crew."
Pierce looked out the glass window in his office towards the swamp biome where the first klouncine block laid as well as the Witch Empire.
"I can reason with Dar." Pierce
#pgx279
decided with a grin. "That old warlock can't be that big of a threat, and i'm sure he has no understanding on what that klouncine block even does. That fool. Maybe I can mine the klouncine block before Kaline goes to the ball with my crew. Yes, I can
#pgx280
save them! They'll realize who the true hero is. I know I agreed to go along with your tactics at the campfire, Kaline. But this is a dark situation, and my crew needs to know what's best."
Pierce put on iron armor and grabbed a backpack.
#pgx281
Afterwards, he went down to the minecart rail system. He placed down a cart, hopped in it, and sped off to the swamp without anyone knowing about his absence.
Meanwhile at Rush...
Kaline walked into the village of Rush with a big smile on his face.
#pgx282
The Magma Cube empire had been successfully returning the village to its former state and villagers had been exiting from the Nether Portal that Kaline had made during his trip to The Nether. They had retreated to the hellish world for
#pgx283
shelter when the Creeper King stormed into the village with his army.
"Boss!" Blake called. The trio of miners ran up to Kaline with great news to share.
"What's up, guys?" Kaline asked with a grin.
"It's incredible!" Orio began. "The
#pgx284
soldiers withdrawled from the village! And according to them, they agreed to leave your house untouched!"
"That's great!" Kaline replied. "Sorry to leave you guys with such a short conversation, but I have to go there now and get some
#pgx285
stuff. Best of luck to you guys!"
Kaline continued through the village and greeted the Magma Cube king, Moulicon. After a quick talk with him he made his way up the peak of the Extreme Hills where his wooden home sat peacefully. He
#pgx286
took a deep breathe of fresh air when he got up to the top and saw that his house had no damage to it whatsoever. That brought a happy thought to him. However, when he placed a button on the spruce wood that opened the iron door of his home, he was
#pgx287
shocked. Dav was standing in the middle of the hallway.
"You!" Kaline gasped.
"Hello, Kaline Woolcraft." Dav smiled devilishly. He held out his bony hand and black mist formed the shape of a bone. When the mist faded away an actual bone was present,
#pgx288
solid and everything. He grasped it with all his might and smack Kaline in the side of the face with it. Kaline went flying and almost plummeted off the mountain. The bone Dav had been using as a weapon had been enchanted with Knockback II.
"I've
#pgx289
decided to change up my melee attacks." Dav spoke. "You are impressed, I assume?"
Kaline remained quiet and rubbed the blood off of his cheek that had resulted from the piercing blow from the bone.
"No comment, huh? No matter." Dav
#pgx290
grunted. "I'll make this quick and VERY painful. Nobody picks a fight with me and lives to tell the tale!"
Dav ran out of the wooden house and had planned to hit Kaline off the side of the mountain. Kaline jumped out of the way leaving Dav to almost
#pgx291
run off as he could not halt in time. Sadly, he kept his balance. Kaline brought out the emerald sword that Forrest had made him and struck Dav. Both of their weapons clashed.
"Apparently the Creeper King is too scared to fight me because of his
#pgx292
reputation with the other empires. So he sends a joker like you to deal with me just so he gets away with it!" Kaline shouted.
Kaline's sword prevailed and shot the bone into the air. As gravity launched it back to the ground, Kaline jumped up
#pgx293
and grabbed it. When he successfully held it in his hands, he turned to Dav and hit him with it. Dav was launched to the edge of the mountain. He tried to maintain his balance, but Kaline managed to run up to him before he could and push him off the
#pgx294
mountain.
"N-No! That's Impossible!" Dav cried as he fell off the mountain and slammed into the ground with a gigantic crash.
Kaline sneaked and looked down to the ground. A huge crater had resulted from Dav's plummet to the plains below
#pgx295
and smoke was rising into the air. The villagers of Rush were alarmed and looked over to the extreme hills with curiosity. As he looked closer, Kaline could see that there was some movement in the crater. The assassin was still alive.
#pgx296
In the Blank Reality With Steve and Moral...
"I sense that Kaline is in a pretty sticky situation at the moment as he tries to find the secrets within the wooden house." Steve spoke.
"What?!" Moral said in shock. "Has the Creeper King not
#pgx297
realized that if Kaline gets hurt the other empires will rebel?"
"It's not the Creeper King," Steve explained. "It's a skeleton assassin known as Dav."
"Well, we need to see how this turns out!" Moral said pounding on the colorless walls.
#pgx298
"Calm yourself, Moral. There's a way we can do just that!." Steve assured.
He spawned a stick from his bare hands and touched the wall with it. Wherever the stick touched, black ink appeared. Steve drew a circle on the wall using the stick. As a
#pgx299
result, an entire picture formed within the border of the shape. It was Rush, and they could see everything that was going on!
"I call it the Reality Ward." Steve said.
"That's incredible!" Moral complimented.
"Don't be so amazed," Steve frowned.
#pgx300
"Dav isn't showing his full potential in this fight. His strength is far superior than Kaline's. He's planning something..."
Moral made an odd look and watched the entire situation unfold within the circle Steve drew.
Back at Rush...
There was a huge
#pgx301
flash within the crater and a loud whirring noise could be heard. Dav flew out from the smoke and was soon directly in front of Kaline, hovering gently in the air. He had been wearing chain boots that had the ability to propel him with giant flames as
#pgx302
though they were a jet pack.
"Hahahaha!" Dav laughed evilly, "Oh please Kaline, you and me both know that if I were to actually fight you, I would be the victor. To save time and ensure that my revenge is successfully, I will introduce you to
#pgx303
someone of your own might...yourself!"
The glowing orb that Dav had used for an eye glowed and a red beam was shot towards Kaline. Suddenly, Kaline's entire body glowed red just like the beam as though he were being scanned. Within a matter of
#pgx304
seconds the beam retracted back into the orb. Dav then looked towards a grass block and unleashed the beam out of his eye once again. This time, the area that it hit began to shirvel and a black mist rotated like a tornado. Kaline covered his eyes
#pgx305
as sand particles began to form into the black miss. Suddenly, body parts began to form out of the sand. Kaline could picture a hand, a foot, and a chest all spinning around in the black mist. Soon enough the mist vanished and what was left was an
#pgx306
incredible sight. It was an entire figure constructed out of bones. In fact, it was Kaline. The skeletal figure in front of him had his same, flowing brown hair and his same outfit, which included jeans and a t-shirt. His eyes were red instead of brown,
#pgx307
however.
"Meet Bone Kaline." Dav grinned. "Well, I should get going. Send me his head, Bone boy."
Dav flew off towards the Creeper Empire. As he did, Kaline and his skeletal double simply stared at one another. The fight then began when a
#pgx308
giant spear formed in Bone Kaline's hands.
"Only one..." Bone Kaline hissed.
He sprinted towards Kaline and began to strike him with his spear, but Kaline blocked with his emerald sword. That didn't last, sadly, as Bone Kaline dropped to the ground
#pgx309
and tripped Kaline with his foot. Kaline was rendered useless, and Bone Kaline prepared to strike him with his spear. But Kaline struck first and threw his emerald sword into the skeleton's chest. He wobbled backwards and dropped his spear. Kaline got
#pgx310
up and ripped the sword out of his double's chest. As a result, a giant hole was left in his chest and hundreds of bone fragments fell to the ground. Kaline was pumped up and struck Bone Kaline multiple times with his sword. Pieces of Bone Kaline's body
#pgx311
began to crumble and fall to the ground.
In the Blank Reality...
"Kaline's getting the hits on this guy!" Moral said happily.
"He is," Steve agreed. Suddenly he realized a small device that was on Kaline's back. "Wait, what is that thing?"
Moral
#pgx312
looked closely and noticed it too.
"My notch, it's a tracking device!" Steve gasped. "That's how that skeleton powerhouse found out where Kaline was heading! And what's worse, there's probably many things that it can do to Kaline."
#pgx313
Back at the fight...
Dav was observing the battle from a far distance and noticed that Bone Kaline was not winning.
"Gah, this pest just doesn't quit." Dav groaned. He pressed a small button on a device.
All of a sudden, Kaline felt a piercing
#pgx314
shock and fell to the ground instantly. The tracking device Kullij had placed on him was the source of it, and as long as that was still on him, he couldn't do anything. Bone Kaline smiled and picked up his spear. He raised it into the air, vertically,
#pgx315
and prepared to strike Kaline right in the head. Kaline tried to stand up and defend himself, but the shock was so powerful he was not able to.
"Yes....YES!" Dav shouted happily.
All of a sudden, the tracking device on Kaline's back
#pgx316
imploded and the shocks came to a halt. Bone Kaline began to strike, but Kaline was able to move his head at the last second before the spear dug into the grass. Kaline punched Bone Kaline and he became unarmed. Kaline had managed to take
#pgx317
his staff right from under him. Bone Kaline became enraged and charged after him, grabbing him by the shoulders. Before he attempted to headbutt him, Kaline took the spear and jabbed it into Bone Kaline, immedietly taking it out soon after he did. Bone
#pgx318
Kaline's red eyes faded into black holes and his hair and clothes vanished. He had become a regular skeleton, and when this happened, light shined out of cracks in the bones and the entire body became a pile of sand that was soon blown away by the wind.
#pgx319
Kaline was exhausted and tossed the spear he had recently stole on the ground.
Dav grinded his sharp teeth in frustration. "Fine Kaline, stay alive...for now..."
He pressed a small button on the top of his bow and he dissapeared in a black mist, as he
#pgx320
does every time.
In the Blank Reality...
Moral and Steve continued to watch Rush through the Reality Ward.
"Well," Moral spoke. "Kaline proved victorious against Dav once again. But the question is, how? The tracking device malfunctioned or
#pgx321
something?"
"No," Steve said. "My killer strikes again. It was none other than Herobrine. Look."
Moral looked towards a small hill right behind Kaline's wooden house and noticed a figure that looked exactly like Steve, but had pure white eyes.
#pgx322
"What sort of joke is this?" Moral said. "Why is this Herobrine character getting involved in our business all of a sudden? First he kills you, now he's mysteriously helping Kaline?"
"Because Moral," Steve explained. "I am his creator. It
#pgx323
happened when me and "The Gods of Minecraft" collaborated to make it so each newly spawned person gets a skin. My look was chosen as the default look, mainly because...well...i'm obviously handsome and absolutely awesome. What
#pgx324
happened was, I had to be cloned first so that my look could be transferred to every new minecraftian. However, my "clone" grew consciousness and became Herobrine. All this talk about him being "Notch's Brother" is completely
#pgx325
ridiculous and invalid. Anyway, me and him became the perfect duo. We brought peace to the world and even started an incredibly successful economy. This is mainly because he's exactly like me in every way."
"But why is he so
#pgx326
evil?" Moral asked.
"When the iron golems and The Wither began constructing Coroq Gates, Herobrine got into a fight with The Wither. Soon enough, the two brawled. Keep in mind that since he is a clone, Herobrine is about 10% mechanical. When The
#pgx327
Wither's projectiles struck him, his entire mechanical half was overshadowed and he became pure evil. He's filled with wither energy, the most vile force in the entire universe of Minecraftia. Herobrine has my same warrior skill, my high intelligence,
#pgx328
and my knowledge of The Climax, including the klouncine block locations. Herobrine probably killed me so that I could not pose as a threat to him. He must be planning to conquer the Wither Colossus just like The Creeper King. However, he plays with the
#pgx329
minds of anyone. There's not really any enemy or friend of him, everyone is just his puppet. So why is Herobrine involved with this all of sudden? Sooner or later he's going to try to get his hands on the klouncine blocks, and he'll do anything to do
#pgx330
so."
Moral was shocked.
Back at Rush...
Vick's mining crew had recently entered the village of Rush with the help of Zerrel's creation, ZOOM. The crew entered the village, greeting everyone they saw. Archie was happy to see that his
#pgx331
citizens were not harmed at all and talked with them as the rest of the crew made their way up the extreme hills biome to the wooden house so that they could help Kaline. Forrest didn't notice the large crater that Dav had made when he plummeted off
#pgx332
the mountain and fell into it. He rubbed his head and began to climb out, but a figure jumped out of the smoke and grabbed him. Rodona ran back down the mountain to see if Forrest was alright.
"Forrest?" Rodona questioned. "Are you okay? Do you need
#pgx333
help?"
Forrest came out of the crater and was in front of Rodona.
"No, no. I'm perfectly fine!" He smiled. "I'll meet you up there!"
Rodona nodded and began to head up the mountain once again.
"Yeah..." Forrest grinned. "I'm fine..."
His eyes were
#pgx334
pure white.