(One Month Later.)
(Somewhere Deep in a Jungle.)
[Jesse's POV]
(As I staggered out of the bush, the noise I made caused a few ocelots nearby to sprint away. I mentally scolded myself. Damn it, Jesse! If you keep stomping so loud, you'll wake up the entire biome! I chuckled at my own mistake as I continued walking further towards my destination. I pull out the map again to make sure I'm still on the right path. If I went the right way, then it should be right in front of me, right? My expectations were fulfilled as I moved some vines out of my way to reveal the view of an old temple a few dozen blocks away from where I am. But the moment is cut short, as the temple wasn't the only thing I found; between me and the temple were a few dozen mobs blocking my path. I duck back behind one of the nearby trees. Well, it was nighttime; what did I expect? Guess it's time to test out that new weapon Ivor gave me. Since the super weapon I used against the Wither Storm had the power of the Command Block itself, destroying the Wither Storm caused it to get destroyed as well. So I had Ivor create a new diamond sword for me. It doesn't look as cool as the super weapon, but the enchantment in it is what pays off. I pull out the enchantment diamond sword and, after a short pause, run out from behind the tree, charging at the crowd of mobs. With a powerful swing, I slice through the first three zombies in front of me. As I get in position to finish them off, the zombies suddenly turn to dust and disappear, even though I've only hit them once. What kind of enchantments did Ivor put in this?! Oh well, it makes my job easier if I can just one-shot them, so no reason to complain! I charge at the next set of zombies and annihilate them in the same way. With no effort, I mow down the next pair of zombies. Wow, it feels so weird to just be able to do that. I feel like I'm turning to OP for my own good. Is that a good thing? My train of thought is interrupted as I hear skeletons straightening their bows behind me.)
Petra: "Look out!"
(Petra suddenly merges out from the top of a nearby tree and jumps down, making a war cry with her own enchanted golden sword. She crashed into the first skeleton, destroying it, before charging at the second one, ramming into it and causing it to fly towards me. The now-flying projectile catches me off guard for a second, with me barely having time to slash it to bits before it hits me.)
Jesse: "God damn it! You should've warned me beforehand that you'd hurl a mob towards me!"
Petra: "Oh, c'mon on! We're in the middle of a fight; you have to be prepared and need to act quickly when something attacks unexpectedly!"
Jesse: "I know, I know, I'm trying to get used to it, but a gesture would've been nice!"
(Petra shakes her head, disappointed.)
Axel: "Hey, guys! Check this out!"
(We turn our heads to see Axel approaching us, carrying two zombies.)
Axel: "Aaaand 3, 2, 1... POP!"
(The zombies that were stuck between his armpits suddenly burst, causing body parts to fly everywhere.)
Axel: "Haha! Pretty cool, right?"
(Axel stands there proudly with his armor now soaked in green, dried zombie blood.)
Petra: "Note to self: Never let myself be hugged by Axel again..."
Jesse: "Agreed."
Axel: "Oh, don't be like that; you can try it too if you-"
Jesse: "Axel, duck!"
(A zombie started sneaking up behind Axel, so I had to run over before it could reach him.)
Axel: "Duck? Where???"
(Axel started looking around, confused. My warning didn't work, so I had to push him out of the way as I charged at the zombie, causing it to crash into a tree trunk.)
Axel: "Oooohhhh, THAT kind of duck!"
(Axel chuckles while I facepalm.)
Axel: "Dude! You're getting pretty good at this!"
(I hesitantly hi-five.)
Olivia: "You guys are working way too hard!"
(Olivia suddenly emerges from the shadows, accompanied by a wall of dispensers. She sent an evil smirk in our direction as she activated the machine, mowing down the rest of the mobs right in front of our eyes.)
Petra: "There goes my lead..."
Olivia: "Looks like today's winner of 'Who can get the most kills?' goes to me... again!"
(Olivia poses in an annoying manner, like she wasn't already acting cocky.)
Petra: "No fair! You can't just speed-build random machines that do all the work for you!"
Olivia: "I guess brains are better than brawns."
Jesse: "You're always looking to one-up us, aren't you?"
(Olivia chuckles.)
Olivia: "Guess you know me better than anyone."
Axel: "Jesse, duck!"
Jesse: "Eh?"
(Right then, a zombie attacks me from behind as Axel sprints over to finish it off.)
Axel: "That was a close one."
(I look back at the defeated zombie that's now lying on the ground. Damn it, how did I not notice that one?!)
Jesse: "Guess we're even now. We really should learn these quick gestures for this type of situation, huh?"
Axel: "Yeah... but I think I'm probably gonna forget them either way."
(I sigh.)
Olivia: "Anyway, let's head inside the temple before more show up; we didn't come here just to fight mobs, right?"
(We nod. Since we were busy fighting, I didn't actually get the time to fully admire the temple until now.)
Jesse: "That is one seriously cool temple!"
Petra: "Yeah, points for Ivor, I guess. This was a good tip."
(I think back to how we came to this point. After the whole Wither Storm situation, Petra suggested that we go adventuring together to get our minds off things. When Ivor found out about our new hobby, he suggested we investigate a rumored temple to find out more about it on his behalf. We've been to a few places before this one, but this one really did look more spectacular than the ones we've seen before. Something told us this adventure trip would be different than the last ones.)
Axel: "So... are we heading in?"
(I pointed my weapon towards the entrance.)
Jesse: "Order of the Stone, let's find out what this temple has to offer!"
(And with that, we run in. Inside, we're met with a really bare-bones stone room with three weird-looking lava fall devices on the three walls.)
Axel: "Well, the inside doesn't look as spectacular as the outside implied it would be."
Petra: "sigh And I thought we'd find some awesome treasure..."
Jesse: "Come on, you know how these places work. The treasure's never just out in the open! Unless it's a trap, but that's beside the point. Let's fan out and search the place."
Axel: "How bout those weird lava falls?"
(We go over to one of them as Olivia starts inspecting them. We noticed that all of them are equipped with a lever. Olivia flicks one of them, which causes the lava to start flowing down a tube towards the middle of the room. Thinking we're going in the right direction, Olivia starts to flick the second lever. As expected, the lava from that device started flowing down as well, but suddenly, something from the first device got triggered, and the lava there stopped flowing.)
Olivia: "sigh There's a 99.99 percent chance this is going to be some overly complicated puzzle."
(We groan.)
Petra: "Not those kinds of puzzles; why can't we just brute force every single wall, ceiling, and floor open until we find the hidden door?"
Olivia: "Let's not resort to violence that quickly; let's at least try to do the puzzle."
(Petra just sighs aggressively.)
Jesse: "C'mon, it can't be that bad? Let's try the last lever."
(I urge her to come over.)
Petra: "Fine..."
(We walk across the dim room.)
Jesse: "Sooo... how have you been feeling lately?"
Petra: "Wither Sickness free. I hope? Now I'm just trying to get used to having 'teammates' and 'people who worry about me'."
Jesse: "You're not used to working with other people?"
Petra: "Not really. Axel's been really nice to me lately. While I do appreciate it... I don't know. It doesn't feel exactly... right."
Jesse: "What do you mean? Isn't it nice to have friends like that?"
Petra: "Well.."
(Petra pauses.)
Petra: "I don't know... Usually, I am the one who does things for other people. It doesn't feel right to just accept that much kindness when I can't return it. I still feel guilty for not being able to do anything back then..."
Jesse: "It was a chaotic time back then; no one's mad at you or anything. You know, it's not a bad thing to rely on others, right?"
Petra: "...Maybe for you, but... this all feels a little too unfamiliar to me..."
Jesse: "Just... try for a change. It's not bad to have friends you can rely on, and vice versa. I'm pretty sure no one wants to be alone forever, right? Sorry... that was planned out better in my head."
(Petra stared at me for a while before making up her mind.)
Petra: "...Fine... I'll keep it in mind... Maybe..."
(I nodded back.)
Petra: "Well, what about you? How have you been feeling lately?"
Jesse: "Eh? Oh, I guess fine?"
Petra: "That didn't sound so reassuring?"
Jesse: "I'm trying my best to make things go back to normal, okay?"
Petra: "Just asking. I suggested this to make you guys feel better, remember?"
Jesse: "Yeah... I know, sorry."
(We sat in silence for a while until Olivia broke it.)
Olivia: "Jesse! Can you activate that lever?"
Jesse: "Oh, yeah, right."
(I flicked the lever we were next to. In response to that, a hole suddenly starts opening up in the middle of the room.)
Axel: "Whoa, how did you know the right combination?"
Olivia: "Brute force. The person who built this probably should've set up more devices. There were only six possible combinations either way, so even if I was wrong, we would've just gotten it sooner or later."
Jesse: "Ah yes... the old reliable. Brute force."
(We approach the edge of the hole to look down. We could see the three lava falls flowing down the hole from here, along with a spiral staircase leading down the vertical tunnel. Since the lava was the only thing lighting it up, we couldn't see much other than vines everywhere. This temple must have been abandoned for some time.)
Axel: "I think I actually would've been disappointed if the floor DIDN'T open up into a dark, creepy passageway."
Olivia: "What do you think is at the bottom?"
Jesse: "Only one way to find out!"
(We start descending the old, creaking staircase, spiraling around the lava that's flowing down.)
Petra: "This kinda reminds me of when we first found the Order's Temple."
Jesse: "Yeah, that felt like it was, I dunno, a million years ago. We've packed a lot in since then."
Olivia: "And to think, that was just the beginning to..."
Axel: "Yeah. That was before we'd fought Wither Storms, hung out with Endermen, reunited the Order... So crazy."
Jesse: "Yeah, to think how much has changed since then..."
Olivia: "Yeah..."
(After a long walk down, we arrive at a large, dim, cave-like room. Looking around, it didn't look like it was anything beyond a normal cave. The lava poured down to a normal pool in the middle, so there was nothing there either.)
Axel: "That's weird; this passageway leads to nothing!"
Olivia: "Wait! Look behind the lavafall!"
(From where we are standing, there is a blind spot we can't see since the lava is in the way. When we navigated around it, we stumbled upon four chests hidden out of sight.)
Jesse: "Bingo!"
Petra: "And I thought we'd go home empty handed..."
Jesse: "All right, let's see what we've got."
(The four of us chose one of the four chests and opened it.)
Olivia: "Some cocoa beans! I've always wanted to have my own cocoa farm!"
Axel: "Sweet! I got some emeralds!"
Petra: "Really?! All I got are some stupid bones and rotten flesh! This is bullshit!"
(Petra angrily throws the chest into the lava.)
Axel: "Well? What did you get, Jesse?"
(I opened mine, and the first thing I saw was... cake?)
Jesse: "The heck? How is this cake still so fresh? Wasn't this left here for who knows how long?"
Axel: "Oh, man!"
(Axel hurries over to me.)
Axel: "This reminds me of that time when you got a cake from that witch's hut, and I was super jealous of you!"
Jesse: "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that..."
(As I was about to put it in my inventory for future use, I couldn't help but notice Axel staring at it viciously.)
Jesse: "Y-You're not thinking of eating right now, r-right?"
Axel: "Plllleeeaaaassssssse...?"
(Axel lifts his head up, staring at me with puppy eyes.)
Jesse: "Urgh... fine... here you go..."
Axel: "Yes!"
(I throw the cake in Axel's direction as he catches it midair and starts munching at it like a dog.)
Olivia: "Sometimes I wonder if he's really human..."
(I go back to my chest.)
Jesse: "Huh. A pumpkin. Not bad. I suppose that could be useful if we run into Endermen... and... eh...?"
(I rubbed my eyes to see if I was seeing things or not, but when I looked into the chest again, there was something weird shining at the very bottom, buried in more bones and rotten flesh. I took the glowing thing out. The others noticed the weird thing and ran over to look.)
Olivia: "What'd you find?"
Axel: "What are you guys talking abou--? Whoa. That's super cool!"
Petra: "What the heck is that?"
(We took a closer look.)
Jesse: "It looks like... Flint and Steel...?"
Petra: "I've never seen Flint and Steel like that before..."
(The flint and steel had this blue glow to them, similar to other enchanted weapons.)
Jesse: "That glow... is it some sort of enchantment?"
Olivia: "I don't know... I've seen people put an Unbreaking enchantment on a Flint and Steel before... but that's not Unbreaking."
Petra: "You could give it a shot and find out what it does."
Jesse: "Okay, everyone, stand back; I'm lighting it."
(Everyone took a step back as I rubbed the two things together. But the moment the flint struck the steel, a powerful shockwave engulfed the room, causing me to almost lose balance.)
Jesse: "What the?!"
(At the same time, the ignition brightened the room, revealing a herd of zombies hiding all over the once-dark room.)
Axel: "Well, I've definitely never seen flint and steel do that before."
Petra: "Uh, guys? They're surrounding us!"
(We tried to flee towards the stairs, but the zombies were already blocking our path. We looked at each other and sighed.)
Jesse: "Order of the Stone? Looks like some monsters have a death wish."
(Petra and I grabbed our swords as Olivia pulled out her bow, while Axel got his fists ready.)
Axel: "So... what's our plan? If you ask me, it seems like a good time for a 'secret handshake!'''
Jesse: "Olivia! Prep the Redstone Rap! We'll distract them till you're done!"
Olivia: "On it!"
(As Olivia pulls out her stuff, Axel fishes out some TNT from his pocket.)
Axel: "Jesse! Let's do the move we've been practicing!"
Jesse: "The Griefer Grab? You're on!"
(I climb on Axel's hand as I grab the TNT. With all of his strength, Axel launches me towards the zombies. As I fly over them, I ignite and drop the TNT down, exploding the undead mobs to bits. After that, I crashed back to the ground.)
Jesse: "Damn it, I still can't get the 'landing' part right!"
Petra: "Jesse! You're being surrounded!"
Jesse: "Uh oh..."
(Since I'm far away from everyone else now, the zombies seem to have changed targets.)
Petra: "Axel, throw me over there!"
(With no time to waste, he obliges and starts to spin Petra around.)
Petra: "Whoooooaaaaaa!"
(After getting enough speed, Axel lets go, causing Petra to be flown across the room. As she approaches me and the flock of zombies coming towards me, she gets her sword ready and proceeds to ram her way through the mobs, slicing them apart.)
Jesse: "Wow! That's amazing!"
(As she hits the last zombie, she uses it as a cushion to land safely.)
Petra: "And that's what I call: 'The Warrior Whip!'"
Olivia: "Okay! I'm nearly done! Get out of the dispenser's sight!"
Jesse: "Let's head back!"
(The two of us run back as we push away the remaining zombies towards the machine's line of sight. As we reach and duck behind the wall of dispensers, Olivia immediately activates it, causing the remaining herd of zombies to get bombarded by a barrage of arrows.)
Olivia: "I've set it to auto; it should buy us enough time to escape!"
Jesse: "Then let's leave!"
(After checking if we have everything in our pockets, we make a run up the stairs. As we run up, however, we're stopped in our tracks as a hole in the wall opens up in front of us, causing more ugly green weirdos to spill out. As we looked back, we could see more holes appearing throughout the place. In front of us and behind us, they were everywhere.)
Olivia: "Ugh, all these mobs. Where does it end?!"
(While Olivia, Petra, and Axel held off the ones behind us, I engaged with the ones coming from above. With my new trusty sword, I slice the mobs apart with ease. With the path cleared, we continued going up the tunnel. That is, until a few skeletons started firing from above us. Fortunately, a lava fall flowing down burns them first, saving us time.)
Axel: "Ha! The lava took them out!"
(Unfortunately, the same lava fall also started burning the wooden stairs we need to take.)
Olivia: "Aaaaand there go the stairs..."
Jesse: "The place's starting to overflow with more lava; we need to get out of here. NOW!"
(Quickening our pace, we narrowly avoid more lava as it destroys the stairs behind us. As we climb further up, the stairs start to look more and more destroyed. At one point, the damage was so bad that we had to jump over the hole to reach the rest of the staircase. One would think it couldn't get worse, until we reach a dead end, where the gap between the stairs was too large to jump across.)
Axel: "We're trapped! Now what!?"
(We frantically looked around. The only other escape option we found were the vines that had overgrown this place.)
Jesse: "Quick! Onto the vines!"
(The stairs disappear behind us while we continue our way up with the vines. Looking up, we could finally see the top from here; unfortunately, before we could reach it, there was another hole in the way, this time spilling out cave spiders.)
Petra: "Cave Spiders... Why'd it have to be Cave Spiders?!"
Jesse: "The only way outta here is through them, so get ready!"
(To make sure I don't fall, I tangle my right arm in the vines to secure myself. That way, I can freely ward off the mobs with my free hand. With my sword, I proceeded to shove the wriggly spiders down the shaft. Just when there couldn't be more things preventing us from escaping, Axel had to point something out.)
Axel: "Um... is it just me or is the tunnel closing?"
Jesse: "Goddamn it!"
(The only way to stop it from here is to get something to jam it from closing completely. The only thing I have in my hand right now is my sword. I sighed.)
Jesse: "Don't fail me now..."
(Taking aim, I threw the sword up.)
[To Be Continued...]