As they approached, Herobrine thought about what he would do to them. Likely the blacksmith would attack him first, but that fool had no idea what he was up against. With his teleportation powers, Herobrine would just disappear, and then materialize again at the idiotic villager’s back, slicing him from behind with his sword. When he turned, Herobrine would teleport again, always appearing at a vulnerable side. These foolish villagers didn’t stand a chance.
The footsteps grew louder … they were close.
Closing his eyes, the shadow-crafter listened to the forest. He could hear a group of cows in the distance. A sheep bleated a loud complaint, then munched on some grass. A pig squealed as it ran through the forest. The leaves in the trees rustled overhead as a breeze pushed them like gentle, green wind chimes.
It all made him sick. All this life … all this peaceful contentment … it was disgusting. Soon he would remake Minecraft the way it was meant to be, but first he would deal with the blacksmith and his pathetic village.
The footsteps grew louder and louder, then suddenly skidded to a stop. Opening his eyes, Herobrine found three adult NPCs and a child standing in the clearing, staring at him with fear in their eyes.
“So, you wanted to spy on me?” Herobrine growled. “Or perhaps you came to apologize for excluding me from your village? Is that so, blacksmith?”
“You and your monsters are not welcome in our community,” Smithy replied.
Herobrine laughed.
“It does not matter what you say, blacksmith. I take what I want, and I have decided that I want your village.”
“Why?” asked the strange NPC with light brown hair and a small nose. “What is it you want from the village?”
“You are truly foolish,” Herobrine replied. “There is nothing I want from your village, other than to see it burned to the ground.”
“You always have been a creature of destruction. I can see you’re no different here,” the small-nosed one said.
“Who are you?” Herobrine snapped.
“He’s the First-User,” the other NPC chimed.
“Fencer, not now,” Smithy said in a low voice, but still loud enough to be heard.
“So you are Fencer, and of course we have Smithy, the blacksmith, and now we have the First-User. My, don’t we sound important.” Herobrine smiled a vile, malicious smile, like that of a snake about to strike. “And who is the small one, perhaps someone you brought along to sacrifice so that you three can escape?”
“I’m Weaver, and I’m not afraid of you,” the young NPC growled.
“Oh my, the pup has teeth … how frightening,” the dark shadow-crafter mocked.
“Move aside and let us pass,” Smithy said.
“No,” Herobrine snapped. “It is time you learned exactly why you should fear me.”
“NOW!” the light-haired one shouted.
The three NPCs suddenly moved back-to-back, circling around the young NPC to protect him. At the same time, Herobrine gathered his teleportation powers and appeared directly in front of Smithy. His sword reached out for the blacksmith but was blocked by the light-haired NPC with the small nose.
Smithy then swung his own iron blade at Herobrine. At the speed of thought, the dark shadow-crafter disappeared, then materialized before the one named Fencer. He slashed at the NPC, but the villager with the small nose blocked his attack again, then jabbed with lightning speed, scoring a hit to his side. Pain erupted through Herobrine’s body as the strange villager’s sword cut through his smock and found soft flesh.
He became enraged. How dare that villager cut me!
Herobrine’s blade became a blur as he teleported around the trio, but at every turn there were two swords defending against his one. Somehow, these villagers had known about his teleportation tactic and already knew how to counter it. This infuriated the Maker.
How is this possible?! Herobrine thought.
Teleporting again, he appeared in front of the light-haired one, then zipped to attack Smithy, then back to the small-nosed one again. At each turn, the villagers worked together to watch each other, one defending while the other attacked.
This isn’t working, the evil virus realized.
Herobrine teleported to the edge of the clearing and stared at the villagers. The one with the small nose smiled up at the Maker, as if he somehow thought this was a victory.
“I know you, Herobrine,” the strange villager said, “and I’ll make sure these villagers are prepared.”
“You know nothing!” he spat.
“We’ll see,” the villager replied with a smile.
Herobrine grew angrier, his eyes glowing bright white with rage.
“There will be another time, Smithy, when you won’t have your friends here to protect you,” Herobrine threatened.
He closed his eyes and disappeared, materializing in the shadows of the birch trees, outside the basin where all the monsters were gathered. As he opened his eyes, Herobrine could see the skeletons were just returning from the chase, many of them looking exhausted.
How did those villagers know of my teleport-attack technique? Herobrine thought. It seemed as if the one with the small nose already knew what I’d do.
“How was that possible?” the Maker said aloud to no one. “He acted as if he knew me, yet I’ve never seen him before.”
The sound of metal plates banging against each other echoed through the woods as the zombie-king approached.
“What did the Maker say?” Vo-Lok asked.
“One of the villagers, the light-haired one, seemed to anticipate what I was going to do,” Herobrine said.
“The NPC was just lucky,” the zombie-king growled. “None can stand against the Maker and survive.”
“Perhaps, but there is something about the small-nosed one that I instinctively hate, nearly as much as the blacksmith.”
“Then they both will perish,” Vo-Lok added. “Were the other villagers destroyed?”
Herobrine glared at the zombie king, then slowly put away his sword. He stepped into the clearing, then scanned the monsters that were in the basin. There were too few to attempt another attack right away. He needed all of these monsters to go out and collect more of their brethren. But first they needed to be properly motivated.
“The villagers are not destroyed … they escaped because none of these monsters were fast enough to catch them.” Herobrine stared at the monsters in the clearing, his eyes glowing dangerously bright. “But I did talk with them, and that foolish blacksmith told me his plan.”
“What did the villager say?” the zombie king asked.
Herobrine waited for the monsters’ curiosity to grow. Some of them stepped closer, anxious to hear what their enemy said.
“The NPCs told me they are going to exterminate all monsters from the face of Minecraft!” Herobrine lied. The monsters seemed shocked … even the spiders that stood listening on the edge of the clearing. “The blacksmith said that you monsters are a disease that must be eradicated from the Overworld. They are going to first destroy all monsters in this army, then they will find their families and destroy them as well.”
The monsters were shocked. Zombies growled while others gave off a sad moan. The spiders clicked their mandibles together angrily as the creepers hissed.
“They said every villager has sworn an oath to destroy all monsters … even the children, so that they can take all of the Overworld for themselves,” the Maker added.
“They must be stopped,” Vo-Lok growled.
“The NPCs cannot do this!” cried another monster.
“They are evil,” said another.
Panic and rage spread through the monster army as the creatures thought about their families hiding in a tunnel or cave in some hidden corner of Minecraft.
“We must stop them,” Herobrine said, his voice getting louder. “But only you monsters can do it.” The creatures stopped talking and all stared up at him. “We need more warriors so that we can destroy that village. All of you
must go out and bring more monsters back here, so we can mount a proper attack. Then we will destroy that blacksmith’s village and stop their insane plot.”
The monsters cheered.
“Go and bring back every monster you can find,” Herobrine said. “If any refuse, then they must be working for the enemy and should be destroyed. Every monster must help stop this injustice or everyone will be at risk. We attack with the setting of the sun, now GO!”
The monsters growled, shouted, moaned, clattered, and clicked as they dispersed, hunting for the tunnels and caves where their kind would be hiding. In minutes, Herobrine was alone.
“Soon, I will have my army, and then I will have my revenge against that pathetic blacksmith and his friends,” Herobrine mumbled to himself. “They cannot stop the great Herobrine!”
He cackled an evil laugh as his eyes burned bright with hatred for his enemies.
CHAPTER 9
PREPARATIONS
Gameknight was grateful when they finally reached the top of a grassy hill and stared down upon the village in front of them. They’d traveled far enough that they felt confident there were no monsters immediately on their tails, but the User-that-is-not-a-user still felt safer within the community—that is, if they would even let him in this time.
He glanced at the sun and saw it was still high in the sky, near its zenith. They still had a lot of daylight left for their preparations, but it was vital they begin soon. There was so much to do and so little time to do it.
“Come on, we need to get started,” Smithy said as he began walking down the hill.
“I have some ideas that will make things difficult for Herobrine and his horde of monsters,” Gameknight said. “First we can—”
“Why is it you know so much about our enemy, Herobrine?” Fencer asked suspiciously. “Maybe you two are working together.”
“Fencer, don’t be ridiculous,” Smithy snapped. “He told us about his teleportation capabilities, and he also showed us how to defend ourselves against him.”
“Seems a little convenient,” Fencer accused.
“I told you I was brought here from the future,” Gameknight replied. “And in my future, we had to fight Herobrine many, many times. I’ve seen all his tricks and I know how he thinks.”
“What I don’t understand is … what is he?” Smithy asked. “He’s clearly not a villager. He acts like a monster, you know, wanting to destroy everything, but he—”
“He is a computer virus,” the User-that-is-not-a-user explained. “I think someone sent him into Minecraft to destroy it. But as I understand it, he is some kind of advanced artificially intelligent software, and that intelligence, I think, is what brought all of you to life.”
A vile, almost sick look came across Fencer’s face. “You mean we have him to thank for the ‘awakening’?”
“I think so,” Gameknight replied.
Fencer scowled, and for the first time, it was not directed at the User-that-is-not-a-user. “I still don’t like it,” he said. “The First-User here, appearing right after Herobrine did … it all seems a little too suspicious.”
“Don’t call me that!” Gameknight growled.
Fencer laughed, then turned and headed down the hill toward their village.
Gameknight moved next to the blacksmith. “You should have people build walls and archer towers first,” he said. “I know the other villagers don’t trust me yet, but I know how to fight Herobrine, and defenses around the village will even the odds a bit.”
“Perhaps walls and towers would be best,” Smithy replied. “And just so you know, not everyone is suspicious of you … I trust you.”
“Thanks, that means a lot coming from you,” Gameknight said.
Suddenly, a cheer rang out as the four companions approached the village.
“Wait, my iron,” Gameknight said. “Smithy, I’ll be right there.”
Before the blacksmith could answer, the User-that-is-not-a-user veered to the right and headed for his underground base, Wilbur following on his heels. When he found the hole in the ground, he bolted down the steps until he came upon the hidden chamber. Moving to his furnaces, he pulled out all the iron. He had thirty-four ingots of the metal. With the crafting bench right next to him, he turned and placed the iron into the pattern he’d used so many times before, creating an iron chest plate. But when he’d completed the pattern, the ingots just sat there instead of forming into a new piece of iron armor.
“Maybe I did it wrong,” Gameknight said aloud in confusion.
“Oink,” Wilbur replied.
He looked down at his pink companion and smiled, then redistributed the iron, making a set of iron leggings. Again … nothing happened. Apparently, he couldn’t make iron armor.
“That probably means diamond armor is out as well,” Gameknight said. “Maybe armor hasn’t been added to the Minecraft code yet. Oh well.”
He put all his iron into his inventory, then gathered all the coal and cobblestone. With his axe, he broke the crafting bench, put it into his inventory with the other items, and headed up the stairs. Running across the grassland, he headed straight for the village, the little pink animal running at his side. As he ran, he pulled out an apple and ate it, then another, which reduced his hunger.
When he reached the edge of the village, Gameknight slowed to a walk and approached the village cautiously. Instantly, a line of villagers formed in front of him, barring his entrance.
“What’s this?” Smithy said. “Gameknight999 is a friend. He fought to protect this village and helped to protect us from Herobrine. Let him into the village, right now!”
The NPCs moved aside, reluctantly granting him passage, but they all glared at him suspiciously. As he moved toward Smithy, he could see them murmuring to each other, saying things about him. It made him feel completely unwelcome.
“Come, Gameknight, I have a task for you,” Smithy said. “You will start building the watchtower with Weaver and the other kids in the village. The sleeping chamber is already complete, but we need you to make the tower itself. The other adults will begin work on walls and archer towers.”
“OK,” the User-that-is-not-a-user replied.
“Hey, First-User, you have anything that might help us out, other than all your experience with your friend, Herobrine?” Fencer called out mockingly.
“First of all, Herobrine is not my friend,” Gameknight replied with a scowl. “Secondly, my name is not First-User.”
“OK, First-User, anything you say,” Fencer replied.
Gameknight scowled, then reached into his inventory. Fencer tensed, as if he were expecting Gameknight to grab his weapon. But instead, he pulled out the ingots of iron and tossed them on the ground.
“Here, you can use these to make more weapons for the other villagers,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “Everyone’s going to need to work together in order to stop Herobrine.”
Without waiting for a reply, he moved to the center of the village and started building an outline of the watchtower. Suddenly, a hand slapped him on the back. Gameknight spun, only to find the smiling face of Smithy standing behind him. He never noticed before, but they were nearly the same height. Because of his commanding presence and confident nature, Gameknight had assumed Smithy was much taller, but that was not the case.
“That was nicely done, giving up all that iron,” the blacksmith said.
“I meant what I said,” Gameknight growled angrily. “We all need to work together and gather all the resources of the entire village in order to stop Herobrine and his horde.”
“Why did you have all that iron?” Smithy asked.
“I was going to make some iron armor, but it wouldn’t work.”
“Iron armor? I’ve never heard of that,” the blacksmith replied. “But here, you can have some of the first leather armor. I have Tanner working on more right now.”
Smithy handed over a complete set of leather armor. Quickly, Gameknight put it on, then moved about, testing it
. He was used to wearing iron or even diamond armor. The leather tunic and leggings were much lighter—so light that it felt like he didn’t have any armor on at all.
Just then, he remembered something that an old NPC had told him.
“Do you have some red dye?” Gameknight asked. “And maybe an ink sack from a squid.”
“Sure,” Smithy replied and handed over the items.
Gameknight pulled out his crafting bench and then placed the armor on it. Using the red dye, he quickly dyed the leather so that it was bright red. Then, using the ink sack like a big squishy marker, he added lines of black here and there, giving the leather a more rugged look. Once he was done, he quickly put the armor back on.
“Why did you do that?” Smithy asked.
“We had a Tanner in my time. He was an old and wise NPC, and he told me, ‘Never underestimate the value of fancy armor, young man. Your opponent might think you are some kind of elite warrior because of a set of impressive-looking armor. It might just give you the smallest advantage.’ So I added the red color and black lines in hopes that I might intimidate the monsters.”
“Hmmm … interesting. At least it makes you easy to spot in a crowd.” Smithy said, his square chin cupped in his hand. He started to walk away, then turned and faced Gameknight999. “Look, the villagers are starting to build the walls.”
“Good, but walls will not be enough,” Gameknight warned. “We need more troops. Send out your fastest runners to the other villages. We can build a chamber under this watchtower to keep them hidden from Herobrine and his monster spies.”
“I’ll get the diggers started,” Smithy said. “Let us know where you want them to start.”
Gameknight moved to the corner of the cobblestone tower outline and dug up a single block.
“Have them dig straight down for maybe twenty blocks, then go horizontal for a while,” he explained. “We’ll need a large, round room for meetings and steps that will lead down to a massive crafting chamber.”
“Got it,” Smithy said. He then turned and ran off to find some diggers.
Weaver and some of the other kids had arrived and were already placing blocks of cobblestone on top of Gameknight’s outline.
The Great Zombie Invasion Page 6
