Destruction of the Overworld

by Mark Cheverton

  “Activate the first dispensers,” the User-that-is-not-a-user yelled.

  More levers were flipped. Underground, redstone circuits activated, sending signals to the dispensers, each one holding a single bucket of water. As the liquid spilled outward, a block of TNT exploded under the dispenser, creating wide craters in the ground that the water quickly filled. In an instant, a circle of water twelve blocks wide and as many deep surrounded the village and castle on all sides.

  “Go to the next ones,” Gameknight shouted as he stared at the dark monsters.

  More water flowed across the landscape, covering the ground with the thing deadly to all endermen. With their escape blocked and explosions still tearing away at the ground around them, the monsters were forced to move even closer.

  “OPEN THE GATES!” the User-that-is-not-a-user shouted.

  Slowly, the doors to the castle and village creaked open, giving the monsters access to the interior. But the monsters did not take the bait.

  “More minecarts!” Gameknight screamed. “Send them all out!”

  A constant flow of rolling bombs moved out onto the battlefield. The blinking minecarts crashed into the monsters and came to life. The explosions tore great holes into the enemy formations. The monsters’ numbers fell as the TNT took its toll.

  “Activate all the dispensers outside the walls!” Gameknight shouted. “Everyone to your positions.”

  The NPC at the control board flipped all of the levers, then ran to the walls. Watching the village, Gameknight could see everyone following suite, moving away from the open area of the village and hiding behind protective structures against the walls.

  Suddenly, the land outside the walls erupted with watery explosions as the dispensers disgorged their contents, then disappeared as the block of TNT hidden underground burst into life. The battlefield was now covered with water and craters. Many of the zombies and skeletons survived the blasts, but the endermen took serious damage from all the water. With no place else to run, the endermen teleported into the castle and village. As they materialized, a mist of purple particles surrounded the terrible monsters. Glaring at the villagers surrounding them, the lavender sparks quickly turned to a sickly yellow and the monsters did the unexpected: they attacked.

  “They’re attacking!” one of the NPCs yelled.

  Some of the endermen charged toward NPCs, slamming into the villagers with lightning fast blows. The villagers slashed at the endermen, careful to stay near the walls. As usual, the dark creatures teleported away when they saw blades streaking toward them.

  “How can that be?” yelled another.

  The endermen all chuckled eerily. It caused tiny square goosebumps to form on arms and necks.

  Gameknight held up his hands as he looked down on the monsters.

  “You are not welcome here, you never have been, and you never will be!” Gameknight shouted.

  The dark creatures’ eyes glowed white with rage, and the yellow particles grew brighter. They stared up at Gameknight with venomous hatred. But just before they attacked, the User-that-is-not-a-user smiled, then flipped a lever that sat on the block next to him.

  CHAPTER 29

  FACING THE ENDERMEN

  Redstone circuits suddenly came to life. Bright red lines lit the top of the fortified walls, repeaters glowing bright all around the castle and village. Instantly, the dispensers that pointed inward toward the center of the village came to life and belched out their contents, firing a nearly constant stream of splash bottles, each filled with water. At the same time, dispensers facing outward from the walls started firing splash potions of healing down upon the struggling monsters.

  The water covered the endermen, causing their skin to sizzle and smoke as they flashed red with damage. Teleporting from place to place, the shadowy monsters tried to avoid the fragile glass bottles, but the deadly dispensers had the entire courtyard covered with their overlapping fields of fire. They had nowhere to hide.

  Outside the walls, the healing potions were having the opposite effect, as they were intended for NPCs. The medicinal liquid, though beneficial to villagers, was deadly to the zombies. The splash potions rained down upon the green creatures, causing them to flashed red with damage as their HP was slowly consumed.

  “Archers, open fire on the endermen and the skeletons,” Gameknight shouted.

  Signaling to the NPC high up in the watchtower, the User-that-is-not-a-user crossed both his swords over his head and a blue banner draped out the window above him. The archers saw the flag and turned their pointed barbs upon the endermen and skeletons.

  Firing as one, half the NPCs loosed volley after volley of arrows down upon the endermen from the fortified walls, while the other half focused their attack upon the bony creatures struggling through the watery pits outside. The endermen flashed red as they teleported about the courtyard, but it did not help. Arrows still found dark bodies as hundreds of pointed shafts fell down upon the monsters.

  One of the dark monsters teleported to the top of the wall to escape the hail of arrows and water and charged toward Gameknight999. With his swords already drawn, the User-that-is-not-a-user blocked a dark fist as it shot toward his head. Jumping high into the air, he struck down on the creature with both swords, but the monster teleported behind him. Before the monster could attack, Monkeypants was there with his own blade, tearing into the monster’s HP until it disappeared.

  Looking across the castle courtyard, Gameknight could see more endermen vying for the safety of the catwalks, only to meet sharp blades when they materialized. Glancing at the village, Gameknight could see Crafter on the fortified walls, directing the battle. They, too, had endermen within the walls, but now the ground inside the village was covered with as much water as was beyond the walls. The endermen had no place to run. Some tried to teleport to the tops of the village homes, but the onslaught of arrows from the ring of archers around them soon wore them down to nothing. After five minutes of intense fighting, the last of the endermen were gone.

  Outside the walls, the skeletons were faring better, as they could fight back, but it wasn’t the plan to destroy them, just keep them busy. The monsters fired up at the NPCs, forcing the villagers to hide behind blocks of cobblestone. Peeking out behind the blocks, the archers fired into the collection of monsters, not even bothering to aim.

  Zombies were mixed in with the skeletons. With the constant rain of healing potions, the monsters flashed almost continuously as their HP evaporated. Eventually, the last of the zombies perished, leaving only the skeletons behind.

  Glancing to the village, Gameknight could see there were at least two hundred of the pale white creatures firing back up at the fortified walls, and at least a hundred in front of his castle. They would not be able to trade arrow for arrow with these creatures; it would be too costly to his friends. But he had anticipated this situation and gestured to the light-crafters standing near the entrance.

  “Icebrin, now!” Gameknight yelled.

  The strange light-crafter stepped out of the gates and plunged his hands into the flowing waters that now surrounded the castle and village. Instantly, the water turned to ice, releasing the skeletons from the slowing currents, but also freeing up the villagers, as well.

  Looking up to the watchtower, Gameknight signaled with his diamond sword straight up, and his iron sword out to the side. A white banner came out of the window, replacing the blue. NPCs responded, pulling horses out of sheltered corrals, and mounting their steeds with swords drawn and armor shining bright. Glancing to the village, he could see Crafter waving his own sword high over his head; they were ready. Turning to the NPC in the watchtower, Gameknight raised his iron sword so that both swords pointed skyward. The white banner was replaced with an orange one, signaling the charge.

  The ground shook with thunder as a hundred warriors rode out of the castle, the same number leaving the village. With the water frozen, the horses were able to move quickly toward the monsters. The skeletons turned and
fired upon the advancing cavalry, scoring many hits and leaving horses riderless, but as soon as the warriors closed the distance, the bows were no match for blades. Tearing through the formations, the warriors struck hard and fast, causing skeletons to flash red with damage as their HP was consumed.

  Gameknight wanted to be out there leading the charge, but he knew his place was here, orchestrating the attack. He wished they had the legendary Smithy of the Two Swords with them, a courageous leader from the first great zombie invasion that he’d heard so much about. With Smithy out there leading that charge, maybe more of the horses would still have riders.

  But he knew he had to stay in the castle, for this wasn’t even the real attack. Gameknight knew that the Last Battle was far from over, and he shook with fear when he thought about what still stood between them and victory.

  After three passes of the cavalry through the skeleton formations, the bony white monsters were gone. Gameknight could see Digger leading the charge, mopping up the last of the skeletons.

  They’d won.

  A cheer sprang up across the landscape as the NPCs yelled with jubilation. Gameknight glanced across the battlefield and thought it almost looked beautiful; hundreds of glowing balls of XP floated all across the plain like sparkling lights, each one shining bright with color. But then he noticed the piles of armor and swords that lay on the ground near the bones and zombie flesh. There had been a cost to this victory and it had been dear. And this was just the first wave.

  Looking up at the watchtower, Gameknight held both swords straight out from his sides. The NPC nodded and placed a green banner on the wall.

  Instantly, shouts rang out from the fortified walls, calling the cavalry back to safety. Instead of riding back into the enclosures, the warriors dismounted and ran back to the castle, slapping their horses on the rump to send them running away, the cavalry near the village doing the same.

  Watching those in the village, Gameknight could see the NPCs all running for a set of wide stairs leading underground. They disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel, running as fast as they could. At the same time, the villagers within the castle sprinted for the large keep that stood at its center. With weapons in hand, the defenders vanished behind a set of iron doors. Gameknight knew the NPCs from the village would emerge from the underground tunnel and would soon be safely within the keep as well, leaving only Gameknight999, Monkeypants271, and the light-crafters standing on the fortified obsidian wall.

  “When will it happen?” Monkeypants asked.

  “Soon,” Gameknight replied.

  “Are you sssure he’s goinggg to do wwwhat you expect?” Grassbrin asked in his sing-song voice.

  “I don’t know,” Gameknight answered. “If he doesn’t do what we’ve planned for, then we might still lose this war.”

  “Grafapted, Gameknight,” Treebrin grumbled.

  Gameknight looked at Grassbrin, confused.

  “He sssaid ‘Have faith, Gameknight,’ which I thinnnk is good advissse,” Grassbrin replied.

  “All we can do is wait and see what happens,” Monkeypants said.

  Suddenly, an ear splitting roar erupted from the forest. Glancing toward the sound, Gameknight could see Herobrine’s hulking body smash through the trees as if they were just sticks, his eyes blazing with hatred, their gaze fixed directly on the User-that-is-not-a-user. And as the monster raised its massive head up high, Gameknight999 shook with fear.

  CHAPTER 30

  A FRIEND’S FATE

  The dragon slowly settled to the ground outside of arrow range. Moving up next to him, Xa-Tul and Reaper glared up at Gameknight999.

  “This is not over, Fool!” the zombie king yelled.

  “You’re right, it’s not over yet,” Gameknight replied. “You three are still alive, and you must still be punished for your crimes against Minecraft.”

  “There are more than three here,” screeched a voice from behind the dragon.

  Slowly, Feyd rode around Herobrine and moved to the Maker’s side. Behind him walked at least a hundred endermen, all of them sparkling with sickly yellow sparks.

  “M-m-more endermen?” stuttered Icebrin, his voice filled with trepidation.

  “The endermen are a distraction,” Gameknight said, trying to sound confident as his voice cracked with fear. “Focus on the plan.”

  Taking in a deep breath, the User-that-is-not-a-user turned to Icebrin and nodded. The light-crafter slid down a ladder to the ground level, then moved outside and plunged his chilly hands into the ice that covered the landscape. Instantly, the ice turned to flowing water again, the liquid barrier impassable by the shadowy creatures.

  “If you think that will do any good, you are as stupid as you are foolish,” Herobrine boomed.

  Gameknight said nothing. Sliding down the ladder himself, he moved to the iron doors and waited for Icebrin to come back into the castle. Once he was inside, Gameknight closed the doors, then moved to a nearby block of obsidian next to the wall and stood there. Looking up at his father and the light-crafters, he motioned them to come down from the fortified wall and stand on other blocks of obsidian.

  “Quickly,” Gameknight999 said. “Get to your blocks.”

  His father and the light-crafters each chose a dark block and stood on top of it. Now all of them stood next to the obsidian wall that surrounded the castle, well hidden under the raised walkway that ringed the courtyard.

  “Now we wait,” Gameknight said.

  Glancing through the iron bars that had been placed in the dark wall, Gameknight looked at the dragon and monster kings. The endermen just stood there, unable to approach because of all the water that flowed around the castle, their bodies bathed in sickly yellow embers, ready to attack.

  Releasing a loud guttural growl, Herobrine flapped his huge wings and shot into the air. Flying in a great circle, he flew around the castle and village, looking for more traps. Gameknight knew he would see none.

  Swooping down to the village, the dragon flew directly toward the fortified cobblestone wall. Picking up speed, Herobrine smashed into the cobblestone, shattering the barricade and making the interior now accessible. Banking in a sharp curve, the dragon then flew toward the Gameknight’s castle. Diving straight toward the dark wall, the dragon smashed into the fortifications, but did no damage—the flying reptile just bouncing off the dark purple-black wall. Turning, the dragon tried it again, whipping his tail so that it crashed into the obsidian barrier, and again, the battlements remained unchanged. With a growl, Herobrine flew back up into the sky.

  “Why can’t he break through?” Monkeypants asked.

  “Anyone who has gone to The End and fought the dragon knows that nothing from the Overworld can survive the dragon’s touch,” Gameknight explained. “But obsidian is End material; the dragon cannot break it.”

  Monkeypants nodded then smiled, pride flashing across his silly monkey-face.

  “Leave us alone,” croaked a voice from the keep.

  Gameknight could see Farmer running out of the rectangular structure and toward the castle gates.

  “No, get back!” Gameknight yelled, but the old woman ignored him.

  Stitcher sprinted after her, but the young girl had clearly been surprised by the elderly NPC’s speed, for the old woman was almost to the castle wall before Stitcher made it out of the keep.

  Gameknight looked at Stitcher and readied a charge toward the old woman, but the young NPC raised a hand and stopped him.

  “Concentrate on the battle, Gameknight,” Stitcher yelled. “I’ll get Farmer.”

  Fear pulsed through his veins as he watched the bizarre race.

  When Farmer reached the castle wall, she pressed the button, causing the iron doors to swing open. Drawing an iron sword from her inventory, the old woman waded out into the flowing waters.

  “You leave our village alone!” she screamed in a scratchy voice.

  Peering through the iron bars, Gameknight scanned the skies, frantically looking for the m
onster that he knew was somewhere overhead. Suddenly, a ferocious roar split the air like titanic thunder. Streaking across the battlefield, the Ender Dragon soared down to the ground, pulling up at the last instant and gliding ominously a few blocks above the churning waters that surrounded the village and castle. As he flew, Herobrine spit his venomous purple poison onto the ground.

  “Oh no,” Gameknight said.

  Stitcher shot through the doors and grabbed the old woman. Knocking the sword from her hand, she pulled her back into the castle as the sparkling transformation wave approached.

  “You leave us alone!” Farmer shouted as she struggled to escape Stitcher’s grasp to charge at the dragon.

  “Farmer, get inside!” Gameknight shouted.

  “Come on, Farmer, the transformation wave is coming,” Stitcher said, pulling harder on the old woman.

  Giving up her struggles, Farmer turned and headed back into the castle, her old legs moving slowly after the exertion.

  “It’s coming. Hurry!” the User-that-is-not-a-user shouted. “Get onto a block of obsidian!”

  Gameknight looked through the iron bars and could see the transformation wave coming fast, the purple and yellow sparks lighting the ground with colorful, deadly embers. Water, grass, soil, trees . . . everything turned into the pale yellow cubes. He could almost feel the fabric of Minecraft cry out in despair as the landscape slowly died.

  Stitcher first helped Farmer onto a dark obsidian cube, then turned and ran to her own, but Gameknight’s heart sank when he saw the wave pass under the castle wall.

  She’s not going to make it, he realized.

  Stitcher took two long strides and was about to jump to the dark stone when the sparkling wave touched her foot. She screamed as the transformation wave passed over her body. Gameknight watched as all the muscles in her body tensed as though she were overwhelmed with pain. Then she disappeared in a cloud of purple and insipid yellow particles as the wave moved over her body. When the particles finally disappeared, Gameknight could see his friend was gone. Standing in her place was an End Stone statue of Stitcher, her crimson curls now pale yellow.