Invasion of the Overworld

by Mark Cheverton

  “It’s time,” he yelled to his friend.

  Shawny nodded, then turned to HoneyDon’t, ready to give the order, the blocky hand already on the switch. Before HoneyDon’t could move, an enderman appeared at his side, reached out with its long black arms, and took the block of dirt on which the lever was placed. The switch fell to the ground along with the redstone that was placed behind it. It floated momentarily on the stone and then fell into the lava; the lever was gone. Another enderman appeared to take more dirt blocks, its maniacal chuckle driving spikes of fear into those nearby, then disappeared in a cloud of purple particles, more redstone floating on the ground.

  “The redstone,” HoneyDon’t yelled to Shawny, his British voice still sounding humorous, even at this moment, “it’s destroyed!”

  Shawny ran across the bridge, pushing through the defending archers on the narrow ledge and stood next to HoneyDon’t. The redstone circuit was completely destroyed.

  “Does anyone have any levers?” Shawny yelled.

  No one did.

  “We have to close off the monster’s escape. Destroy the far bridge,” Shawny said, fear in his voice, “or they’ll escape.”

  They all knew if the monsters escaped then this battle was for nothing and would have to be replayed again, somewhere else on this server, that is, if they survived the battle at all.

  Running back onto the island, Shawny called to his friend. Disengaging from the battle, Gameknight and Crafter came near, their armor scratched and dented from the blows they had received.

  “The redstone trigger for the far bridge is ruined,” Shawny explained. “We can’t destroy their escape route. The monsters will be able to get away when we trigger the trap; the plan’s a failure.”

  Lowering his gaze, Shawny looked to the ground in defeat, an arrow streaking overhead, just barely missing his helmet. Gameknight glanced at the far bridge, then surveyed the battlefield, the rocky island littered with the armor and weapons of the fallen. The monsters were pushing forward, driving their swordsmen back to their side of the island. Their users were shooting from the narrow ledge, firing arrows as fast as they could, slowly reducing the mob army, but there were so many monsters and so few defenders that it looked as if they had little chance.

  “Without destroying that bridge, the plan will never work,” Gameknight said solemnly. “You should retreat. Take the tunnels out the back of the cavern and run.”

  The taste of defeat sat bitter in his mouth. They’d lost; he’d lost. This world of Minecraft would be destroyed and these mobs would get closer to the Source, closer to his family, his little sister. What had he done? If only more had come, if only he hadn’t been such a jerk to all those other players, maybe . . . maybe . . . and then the sound of Erebus’s chilling laugh resonated throughout the chamber. Turning, Gameknight stared across the cavern and locked eyes with the dark red enderman. The mob king was actually smiling somehow, with an eerie toothy grin, like a snake about to strike. Then Ere-bus laughed again as all hope left Gameknight999.

  CHAPTER 16

  THE MEANING OF SACRIFICE

  “N

  O!” Crafter yelled. “There can be no defeat. We don’t give up. There are too many people relying on us to protect them.” He then raised his voice so that all the defenders could hear. “Defeat is not an option,” and then the NPC yelled with a strength that shocked everyone in the chamber, monster and user alike, “MINECRAFT!!!” His battle cry reverberated throughout the chamber like thunder.

  And then Crafter did something that no one could believe. The battle actually paused as both attackers and defenders stopped fighting to watch the unbelievable. Crafter sprinted out into the battlefield and crossed the monster-crowded island, pushing past giant spiders and shoving aside zombies and slimes to reach the far end. Running through the entire, thousand-strong mob army, he crossed onto the bridge full of creepers, striking out at the green mottled creatures, making one start to hiss and blink, the deadly explosive fuse now lit. He then turned to another and hit that one, starting another walking bomb as well, then another, and another, until at least half a dozen creepers were blinking, glowing bright. In a burst of sound and flying blocks, the creepers detonated, blowing apart the stone bridge and revealing TNT buried underneath, which also started to blink, the black and red blocks readying their own explosive gift. The TNT then exploded in an even larger ball of destruction, taking with it the entire bridge and all the occupants standing on top, including Crafter; the rear escape route from the island was now destroyed. The monsters were trapped.

  “Nooo!” Gameknight screamed as he watched his friend’s body fly up into the air, surrounded by the glowing balls of XP from the deceased creepers, his armor shredded and his body blinking red with damage.

  To Gameknight, it looked like it was happening in slow motion, his friend’s body slowly being thrown upward into the air, the glowing balls of XP flowing into him in a whirlwind of color as his grey hair streamed behind him like a silvery flag. With every muscle tensed, his breathing shallow, and his heart pounding away in his chest, Gameknight locked eyes with Crafter as he flew upward. A look of overwhelming sadness mixed with terror washed over Gameknight’s face. His friend, he was dying.

  “Crafter!” he yelled, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. “CRAFTER!!!”

  And then, Crafter did something that Game-knight knew he would never forget . . . he smiled. A look of satisfaction seemed to wash over the old NPC as his body flashed red over and over again, his health quickly decreasing. As his friend’s last bit of health ebbed away, Gameknight could tell that he was humming that melodious tune that he always seemed to enjoy. Then he closed his eyes and vanished from sight.

  Crafter was dead.

  Gameknight fell to one knee, overwhelmed with grief. His friend was dead. A pain like nothing he’d ever felt before pulsed through his very soul. Worse than the black claws of the spiders or the razor-tipped fingernails of the zombies, this pain encompassed every aspect of his being: his body, mind, and spirit were crying out in agony and hopeless despair. His eyes had been locked onto Crafter’s as he died; the smile and look of satisfaction on his friend’s face were something he’d never forget.

  Someone picked Gameknight up and dragged him off the island, he wasn’t sure who, as sorrow and grief flowed over him like a terrible storm. He thought it might have been Zefus, or maybe Sin, but he wasn’t sure and didn’t care. And then Shawny was at his side.

  “Crafter is dead . . . my friend, dead,” Game-knight said as he wept, square tears flowing down his face. “Why did he do that? Why did Crafter sacrifice himself like that? He had to know that he wouldn’t survive.”

  “I don’t know,” Shawny said solemnly. “Maybe he thought he could kill those creepers and still survive.”

  “But why? He knew he wouldn’t survive, knew he’d be killed. How could he do that?” And then understanding burst forth; Crafter had sacrificed himself because of the love he had for his family: his friends, his village . . . Minecraft. He’d willingly sacrificed himself for the ones he cared for, because he held their love so dearly that losing his own life to the explosive tempers of the creepers was a worthy exchange. Crafter acted because he had known that he might be saving those that he held most dear. A feeling of pride flowed over Gameknight, knowing that such a noble and brave person had been his friend. Somehow, Gameknight felt stronger and braver with this realization. “I won’t let your sacrifice be in vain, Crafter,” he said aloud to no one, to everyone. “I won’t let you down.”

  Drawing his shimmering diamond sword, Game-knight stood up and faced their enemies. The mobs were trying to get across the last remaining bridge, swordsmen holding back the vile monsters from the stone causeway, but just barely. The archers on the narrow ledge that ringed the island were pumping arrows into the beasts, aiming for those that were charging the bridge, lending support to the swordsmen, but they could not hold on for much longer; the wave of monsters just too great. When one f
ell, two more took its place. But the users still had one more surprise left in store for the mob.

  “Get ready to throw the switch,” Shawny yelled over his shoulder.

  Gameknight turned and saw AntPoison standing at another redstone lever, his blocky hands ready. Suddenly, an enderman appeared in a purple haze of particles, teleporting from the other side of the cavern. The dark creature pushed AntPoison, shoving the diamond-clad user into the lava, then reached out and took the block on which the lever was placed, it too falling into the molten rock. Users rushed to attack the creature, their swords swinging, but the tall monster just teleported away again, its maniacal laugh echoing throughout the chamber. Their last trap—their last hope—was now destroyed.

  “What are we going to do?” Shawny said, his voice shaking with fear.

  For the first time, Shawny didn’t seem in control, his confidence shattered. This uncertainty quickly spread through the surviving users, all of them eyeing the tunnels at their back that would lead to the surface, to safety, and to defeat. A few started to run away.

  “No, we can’t retreat!” Gameknight yelled. “We have to fight.”

  “For what?” someone answered. “To get banned from Minecraft forever, when we can just go find a safe place and disconnect?”

  “Yeah, why should we destroy our own chances to play?” another voice complained.

  “You don’t get it!” Gameknight answered, yelling at the top of his voice. “This isn’t just a computer app. These people in Minecraft are alive and have suffered just so that we can play this silly game. Now we have to give back, do something for them instead of for us.”

  A voice near him laughed.

  “Ha ha ha, Gameknight999 doing something for others instead of himself—that’s a laugh,” SkyKid said, his sword now sheathed as he slowly backed away from the battle toward the escape tunnels at the rear. “Besides, we can’t fight that many monsters and survive. It’s suicide. We had the trap set, and it didn’t work. What are you going to do, magically set it off and destroy all the monsters? How are you gonna do that . . . huh? Are you gonna run out there into that mob of fangs and claws and get torn to bits?”

  Silence filled the room. The battle paused to hear the exchange, Erebus now standing at the head of his army. He chuckled a spine-tingling laugh that only an enderman could make.

  “Yes, User-that-is-not-a-user, what are you going to do?” Erebus said in a shrill, dangerous voice, his eyes burning bright against his dark red face.

  Defeat seemed to wrap around him like a funeral shroud, the bitter taste filling his soul. He’d failed Crafter, Digger, that little village girl . . . his sister. He’d failed them all. Slowly, Gameknight lowered his head as a feeling of despair flowed over him like a relentless thunderstorm, feelings of abject failure thundering throughout his soul, driving all hope from him. Erebus laughed, the cackle echoing in the now silent chamber, but then the playful tune that Crafter always seemed to be humming started to percolate up through Gameknight’s memory, pushing away the maniacal laughter. It was a song of happiness, a melody that celebrated the beauty of life and being alive in this wonderful world of Minecraft. And at that instant it filled Gameknight with hope. He now understood his friend, his overwhelming delight at being on this journey, serving his village with his last breath; and then clarity came to Gameknight. Images of Crafter, his joyful smile, and his love of life floated through his head as he finally understood what he must do, fear and apprehension filling his soul.

  Slowly, he put away his sword. Triumphant laughter came from Erebus and then started to erupt from the mobs, a cackling that filled the chamber, making the users shield their ears from the cacophony. Shawny lowered his head, as did the other users, defeat painted across their faces. Some of them started to move to the escape tunnels, looking for a safe place to disconnect without getting attacked. But to everyone’s surprise, Game-knight started to hum a joyful tune, Crafter’s song, the harmonious notes cutting through the laughter of the monsters like a blade through butter.

  Slowly pulling out his pick, he glanced down at the dull iron tool. He could see that it had chips and cracks all across its surface; it was almost used up . . . like himself. Raising his head, Gameknight looked straight into the glowing eyes of Erebus and smiled. The enderman started to shake as the User-that-is-not-a-user’s glare started to provoke the dark beast, and then he sprinted for the center of the island. As with Crafter, the mobs were shocked at what he was doing, running into the middle of the attacking horde, brushing past spiders and zombies, even shoving aside a few endermen, but Game-knight didn’t care who he provoked or angered. He had only one thought in mind: save Minecraft.

  Reaching the center of the island, Gameknight started to dig straight down—a cardinal sin, a noob kinda thing to do, but he already knew what was underneath this single layer of stone: salvation for all . . . except him. The monsters realized what he was doing and fell on him like a swarm of angry wasps, all of them reaching out to sting him with their jagged claws and sharp teeth. Pain radiated throughout his body as he felt the monsters tear at his flesh. His armor fell away quickly; the iron plating unable to stand up against the onslaught; then the real agony began. With claws slashing at him from all around, Gameknight felt as if his nerves were aflame, all of them screaming at him simultaneously, telling him that he would soon be dead, but he didn’t care; digging was all he thought about. And so he dug down, quickly punching through the stone block, revealing TNT underneath, an intricate pattern of redstone connecting all of the black and red blocks together.

  Dropping his pick, Gameknight pulled out flint and steel and started striking it. He wasn’t sure when he’d gotten the fire maker and didn’t care. Shooting sparks out, the TNT blocks instantly caught fire, starting to blink, and then flame caught to the next one, and the next. The monsters saw this and stopped their attack. It didn’t matter; he was sitting on Minecraft’s biggest TNT bomb. He’d be dead soon, but at least the claws and teeth had stopped tearing at his body.

  Then the world turned white as the explosion threw him up into the air in a cloud of stone blocks and monster bodies, his own laugh adding to the thunder. Now he understood Crafter, his desire to help others at his own expense. This felt right. More of the TNT detonated in a chain reaction that consumed the entire island, allowing the lava lake to flow in, taking any that survived. As he flew through the air, Gameknight could see Erebus flying up to hit the ceiling as more blocks exploded, his eyes glowing with hatred and violence. The dark nightmare then evaporated into a haze of glowing XP spheres as his HP quickly extinguishing, the burning white eyes seeming to be the last things to disappear, still fixed on him. The other monsters also died, their XP adding to the confusion. Many of the tiny balls fell into him, his own XP growing exponentially. His laughter continued as he saw the other mobs die, the other users standing at the edge of the cavern, shocked at what they were seeing, disbelief in their eyes.

  He’d done it; he’d saved this server and all the digital beings that were living their lives here. He’d finally done something completely selfless, and the sense of pride that welled up within him was overwhelming. More XP streamed into him as his life ebbed away. If only he had the chance to continue this, he would show others that he could be something other than a griefer and a troller . . . if only . . . and then darkness took him as Gameknight999 died.

  CHAPTER 17

  CLOSER TO THE SOURCE

  G

  ameknight slowly woke, his mind foggy, as if reality had somehow merged itself with his fading dream, but what had he been dreaming?. . . Something about a battle . . . or had that been real?. . . He remembered something loud and bright, with creatures floating all around him, each disappearing with a pop and leaving behind glowing balls of light, the colorful spheres flowing into him as if pushed by a mighty tornado, the swirling colors followed by calm, sweet darkness. And then he woke here, but where was here?

  Looking around, Gameknight saw blocky tree
s in the distance, their square leaves swaying in the breeze—and cows, lots of cows, each one identical in form and color, their square heads and rectangular bodies fitting in somehow with the terrain.

  Minecraft . . . he was still in Minecraft. He sighed. Memories flowed through his mind: the battle with the mobs, Erebus, Shawny and the users, Crafter . . . oh no, Crafter. The image of Crafter’s death replayed itself in his head over and over again until he felt a tear start to trickle down his face, his soul filled with an overwhelming sadness. He missed his NPC friend.

  Standing, Gameknight999 surveyed the area, trying to push the sadness deep down in his soul. Looking around, he saw that he was amidst low rolling hills that were sparsely decorated with oak trees, their mottled bark standing out against the vibrant green grass, the occasional red and yellow flower adding a dash of extra color to the scene. Yep, he was definitely still in Minecraft; he hadn’t disconnected. Well, at least he wasn’t dead, that had to be on the plus side, but Crafter . . . he dearly missed his friend . . . his smile . . . his humming . . . his joy for life. . .

  “CRAFTER, YOU DIDN’T DIE IN VAIN!” Game-knight said at the top of his lungs for all to hear, though there was no one in sight. “WE WON THE BATTLE AND SAVED YOUR WORLD.”

  “Well, that’s good to know,” a high-pitched voice said in the distance.

  Turning toward the voice, Gameknight saw a young boy, a villager, with hands locked across his chest approaching.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I said, that’s good to know,” the young boy replied as he approached.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t you know who I am?”

  “What do you mean?” Gameknight asked. “I’ve never seen you before.”

  The boy was short, at least half his height, with long blond hair reaching down to his shoulders. His blocky face was fair in complexion with a gentle smile and a long dark unibrow that spanned his face, standing out in contrast to his dazzling blue eyes. They reminded him of the sky in Minecraft, bright and pure.