Confronting the Dragon Read online

  And then Gameknight999 explained his plan. As he described what he intended to do, fear rippled through his soul. Images of what might happen flashed through his mind, but instead of focusing on the what-if’s, he concentrated on the now, but he was still filled with trepidation and uncertainty. And then something that Crafter had said to him long ago, echoed through his mind.

  It’s not the deed that makes the hero; it’s how they overcome their fear. Crafter’s voice echoed in his head, making him feel . . . stronger, somehow.

  I’m going to overcome my fears.

  Looking up into Hunter’s square face, he could see the worry in her eyes. He knew how dangerous this was, as did she, but this was their only hope.

  And then the User-that-is-not-a-user lay back on the ground and went to sleep.

  A silvery mist flowed across the battlefield, wrapping the combatants in its delicate embrace. Gameknight sat up and could see Hunter and Stitcher standing over him, both of them with their enchanted bows in hand, arrows notched. They had a transparent appearance, as if they were not completely there; not part of the Land of Dreams. Standing, he walked to the top of the stairs and looked down at the terrible battle that was raging before him. The monsters and defenders had the same transparent look as they fought on the steep stairway.

  Walking down the steps, Gameknight moved harmlessly past zombies and spiders as he headed toward his objective. He could see him in the distance, a vile, eerie smile painted on the creature’s face. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about his task, but he knew he had no choice; he had to do this to protect his friends and family.

  Gathering his courage, he moved toward his enemy. Walking carefully down the steps, he wove a path around monsters and defenders, snaking his way through the battlefield. When no path existed, he just walked through them, his solid form passing through the transparent shadowy bodies as if they were made of smoke; he was in the Land of Dreams, and anything was possible. Stepping through a group of giant spiders, he carefully approached his foe. Suddenly, Erebus turned toward the User-that-is-not-a-user. As he moved closer, the King of the Endermen moved his head as if he were tracking the dream-walker, his burning red eyes focused on Gameknight.

  It made him shudder.

  Finally, when he was within ten blocks, he stopped and faced the dark monster. The silvery mist floated about Erebus’s transparent body, curling around his long legs, making it look like he was floating. The red glare from his eyes gave the fog a faint reddish hue as if the swirling clouds were hiding the flames of some smoldering fire.

  And then suddenly the enderman solidified. He was fully present in the Land of Dreams and glaring at Gameknight999.

  “So, User-that-is-not-a-user, you have finally built up the courage to face me,” Erebus said in a screechy voice. “Excellent.” He cackled a spine-tingling laugh that made Gameknight cringe. “I will enjoy destroying you with my own hands.”

  “We shall see, enderman,” Gameknight replied. “We shall see.”

  Slowly drawing his enchanted diamond sword, he held it out before him. This only made Erebus laugh. Then he did something that stopped the enderman’s cackling. Gameknight threw his sword onto the ground. He then pulled out his axe and threw that to the ground, and then his shovel . . . anything that could be used as a weapon, he discarded. Standing before Erebus, User-that-is-not-a-user squared his jaw and glared defiantly at the King of the Endermen. It was well known in Minecraft that to stare directly at an enderman was to invite their rage, but Gameknight didn’t care. He was tired of being afraid of Erebus and his monsters from the Overworld.

  I hate this. I’m done being the victim, he thought. I just want to be me.

  It was time to face his nightmare and push it back into the shadows.

  “I’m not afraid of you anymore, Erebus,” Gameknight said as he stared at the monster. “I won’t back down and I won’t run away.”

  “Then you invite your own doom,” the enderman screeched.

  “Yeah?” he said, a confident, defiant look on his face. “Let’s dance.”

  Erebus charged toward Gameknight, but the User-that-is-not-a-user stood his ground and did not move. His sword floated on the ground at his feet, but he made no move to pick up the weapon. Instead he just glared at the approaching enderman, a look of confident disdain on his face. Erebus reached him in four large strides and attacked. Dark fists hammered into Gameknight but he made no attempt to defend himself. He could feel his diamond armor buckle under the assault, but he still stood his ground. Fear filled his mind as the dark fists slammed into him, but he had to endure . . . for his friends.

  I believe that I can do it, he thought to himself. I am strong enough.

  His helmet shattered and disappeared, unable to stand up against Erebus’ rage. The dark creature turned his blows to Gameknight’s legs, the long dark legs raining damage all along the User-that-is-a-user’s diamond leggings. He could hear them crack and started to shake as shadows of fear began to fill Gameknight’s mind. And then his leggings shattered.

  I believe that I can do it, he thought to himself. I am strong enough. I am brave enough.

  Erebus continued to hammer away at him, his relentless attacks striking him all over. The dark fists and feet were a blur to Gameknight, the speed of the attacks impossible to follow. The serpent of fear that hid deep within Gameknight started to coil around his soul, its sharp fangs getting ready to strike at his courage. SNAP . . . his diamond boots shattered, leaving him almost defenseless.

  The serpent of fear struck, stabbing at Gameknight’s courage, making him doubt his worth, making him question whether he was good enough or not. But no, he would not yield.

  I believe that I can do it, he thought to himself. I am strong enough. I am brave enough. I AM GAMEKNIGHT999!

  Gameknight looked at the ground at his shattered diamond armor, then looked up and glared at the monster, daring him to continue. Erebus stopped the flurry of punches and stepped back to look at his victim.

  “What are you doing?” Erebus screamed.

  “You cannot defeat me,” Gameknight said, “because I’ve finally realized what my real strength is and it is something you will never understand.”

  “What . . . what is it you know that I do not?” the King of the Endermen screeched. “I know everything about Minecraft and the Land of Dreams. I know all there is to know about the Prophecies and about the Nether and about The End. I understand every facet of Minecraft.”

  “But you are unable to understand where real strength comes from.”

  “And where does your mythical strength come from, Loser-that-is-a-loser?” Erebus snapped back.

  “You hurt others to make yourself feel better, to make you feel like you’re in control, but all it does is separate you from real friends and real relationships. You pick on those smaller than you, the weak, the fearful, and it shows your cowardice. Those around you don’t respect you, for they too see your cowardice. They don’t really like you. They think you are pathetic and weak, but are just too afraid to say anything. They’re just glad that you haven’t turned on them . . . yet. You are nothing. You are alone in your pathetic life and you don’t even know it.” Gameknight paused to let his words make Erebus even angrier, then continued. “My strength . . . it comes from my friends that I’ve made by helping others. That is something you’ll never understand because you are just a bully, a pathetic lonely bully and for that I pity you.”

  “You pity me . . . EREBUS, THE KING OF THE ENDERMEN,” the monster screamed.

  The dark creature then screeched a high pitched sound and charged again, attacking the User-that-is-not-a-user with a flurry of punches and kicks . . . and again, Gameknight stood his ground. The more he did nothing, the angrier Erebus became until he was out of control.

  SNAP . . . his chest plate shattered.

  The blows were now landing on Gameknight’s flesh. Pain radiated through his body, but still, he held his ground. And as Gameknight’s HP droppe
d, he started to laugh, driving Erebus into a frenzy. And just when his attacker was completely overcome with rage, Gameknight leapt forward and wrapped his arms around the monster, holding the clammy dark body against his. Extending his thoughts into the Land of Dreams, he imagined his arms getting longer, curling around the King of the Endermen like coils of steel. Gameknight’s arms wrapped around Erebus again and again pinning his long black arms to his side until the creature was trapped, unable to escape and to Erebus’s surprise unable to teleport away.

  “Hunter . . . NOW . . . WATER!” he screamed, his voice resonating throughout the Land of Dreams.

  Hunter suddenly appeared floating above the Enderman, a bucket of water in her hands. She poured the cool liquid on top of them both, then dropped the bucket and poured another. Erebus flashed red as the water hit his skin. The liquid caused tendrils of smoke to rise from his dark body; water being one of the few things that can harm endermen. Suddenly, Stitcher was at Hunter’s side, pouring her own water on top of the monster, a huge smile on her face as Erebus flashed red even faster. Erebus struggled, trying to get out of Gameknight’s grasp, but he was unable. The User-that-is-not-a-user held on tight and allowed the water to flow over both of them. He could see panic fill Erebus’ eyes as his HP fell lower and lower.

  “You know why I am destined to win and you lose, Erebus?” Gameknight asked as he moved closer to the monster’s terrified face. “Because I have learned to believe in myself and believe in my friends. I will do anything to help them and they will do anything to help me.” Splash, another bucket of water . . . flash . . . flash . . . flash . . . “I just had to wait until you were overwhelmed with anger and hatred for you to forget that this is just a dream . . . but as you know, if you die in the Land of Dreams you also die in Minecraft.” Splash . . . flash . . . flash . . . flash. “And today is your day to die. I won’t let you hurt my friends anymore.” The look of rage in Erebus’ eyes suddenly turned to fear, then panic. The dark monster struggled to escape Gameknight’s grasp, then started to whimper and beg, but the User-that-is-not-a-user held on with all his strength.

  “Erebus . . . game over.”

  And with that, the enderman flashed one more time and then disappeared, dropping a bluish sphere on the ground.

  Erebus, the King of the Endermen, was dead.

  CHAPTER 36

  GOING HOME

  Gameknight sat up, Hunter and Stitcher at his side. Standing, he ran to the top of the stairs and looked down on the battle. The endermen had seen the defeat of their leader and their courage was now wavering.

  I have to get the monsters to stop.

  Reaching into his inventory, he found the strange, bluish sphere. It had a strange look to it, like it was some kind of blue pearl, but there was something at the center. Looking closely, Gameknight found what looked like a blood red eye staring back.

  This was Erebus’s ender pearl.

  Holding it up high over his head, he walked through the battlefield. Monsters saw the ender pearl in the hand of the User-that-is-not-a-user and instantly stopped fighting and looked frantically around for their leader. A look of panic spread across the monster faces as Gameknight999 walked toward the battle lines. The endermen were the first to retreat. Initially only a few disappeared in a cloud of teleportation particles, but them more and more of them teleported away, the dark creatures disappearing in a cloud of purple mist and reappearing near the portal on the far side of bedrock plain. The zombie-pigmen and their Overworld cousins, all of them, followed them, pushing past NPCs and users as they ran for the portal that would take them away from here.

  Now Gameknight could feel a collection of warriors behind him, NPCs and users all walking slowly down the steps, every one of them ready to jump to the User-that-is-not-a-user’s defense. A spider charged at him, but Hunter’s and Stitcher’s arrows plunged into the fuzzy body before it could get close enough. That convinced the other eight-legged monsters to retreat, turning and scurrying down the steps. Soon, all of the monsters were in full retreat, moving as fast as they could to the portal and away for the one that had destroyed their leader. Looking behind him, Gameknight smiled at those that were following him, many of them starting to cheer. The monsters of the Overworld and the Nether all retreated from the User-that-is-not-a-user.

  But then thunder started to fill the air as the stairs shook. Turning around, he was suddenly face to face with the Golem King, his dark eyes glaring down at Gameknight999. Reaching into his inventory, he withdrew the Iron Rose and held it out to the metal giant, fully expecting to be squashed by his massive iron fists. But instead of attacking, the King of the Golems took the rose, turned, and headed back to the portal.

  As he watched the metallic creatures lumber away, he saw Herder approach, the survivors of his wolf pack walking protectively around him. Running to him, Gameknight leapt forward and gave Herder a giant hug.

  “I’m so glad you’re OK,” Gameknight said. Looking about at the pack of wolves, he reached out and patted the lanky youth on the shoulder. “You saved us with your wolf pack and the golems. We would have never survived without you.”

  Herder blushed, his blocky head turning a warm shade of pink.

  “As I said back at the stronghold,” Gameknight said as he addressed the warriors. “This is my friend and his name is Herder!”

  The warriors cheered and all moved forward to pat the boy on the shoulder and pet the wolves.

  “I thought you were running away, Herder. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s OK. I was just doing what I knew I had to do, so that I could help you and help Minecraft,” the boy said. “When I came back to the stronghold, I found the Golem King there with his followers. He liked me because of all my wolves and agreed to help me destroy the monsters.”

  “Herder, only you could have convinced the King of the Golems to help us,” Crafter said as he approached the young boy. “Without you being you, we would have been lost. I think I can speak for everyone here, we don’t want you to be anything other than Herder, for you are the best Herder there can ever be.”

  A cheer rang out across the army as the NPCs started chanting Herder’s name.

  Crafter then moved to Gameknight’s side. “You notice anything?” Crafter asked his friend.

  “What?”

  “He isn’t stuttering,” the young NPC with the old wise eyes said. “I think Herder not only found this wondrous pack of wolves while he was away, I think he truly found himself as well.”

  Gameknight turned and looked down at the boy and was greeted by a gigantic smile on the boxy face.

  “I’ve decided to be who I am; Herder, the keeper of animals, and I’m going to be the best Herder that I can be. People will have to accept that, because I’m not going to change just to fit in. I can fit in by being me.”

  “You are wise beyond your age, Herder,” Stitcher said as she stepped forward to give the boy a hug. “I think you can teach us all a lot.”

  Herder beamed.

  Gameknight smiled and put his arm around the boy. The wolves howled as Herder turned and hugged his friend.

  “Come, to the Source,” Woodbrin said as he pushed past Gameknight and ran up the steps.

  The army followed the strange light-crafter up the stairs, everyone running to keep up with Woodbrin. When he reached the top of the stairs, Gameknight found the light-crafter standing in front of the Source, his eyes filled with wonder as he looked up and followed the shaft of brilliant light up into the air. Gameknight moved to Woodbrin’s side and looked at him.

  “How are these NPCs supposed to get back home?” Gameknight asked.

  Woodbrin tore his gaze from the Source and looked up at Gameknight999.

  “They will ride their server beacons back to their servers.” He pointed out to the field of dark beacons. “You must light them.”

  “What?” asked Hunter.

  “The User-that-is-not-a-user must light the beacons, so that all can get back home,” Woodbrin explained
.

  “How do I do that?” Gameknight asked.

  “Put the Dragon’s Egg in the Source and hold it there,” Woodbrin answered. “Minecraft will do the rest.”

  Hunter moved to Gameknight’s side and looked up at him.

  “Are you strong enough after that battle with Erebus?” she asked. “Can you do this thing?”

  Gameknight looked into her dark brown eyes and tried to give her a reassuring smile . . . he didn’t do a very good job.

  “I must survive. Look around, there is no food, no water. These NPCs cannot survive here; they have to get back to their servers, to their homes. I have to do this.”

  Turning from his friend, he stepped up the diamond blocks and stood before the blazing shaft of light. Pulling the Dragon’s Egg out of his inventory, he held it forward and slowly moved into the Source. As first, his skin started to tingle, but then the sensation turned to needles poking him lightly all over his body, then it changed from needles to fire. It felt as if he were aflame, burning him from the outside but also from within.

  “I can do this,” he said aloud, gathering every bit of strength he still possessed.

  Taking another step forward, he extended his arms into the brilliant pillar of light. It was so bright that he couldn’t see anything, but he could feel where he had to place the egg. Moving a little farther into the shaft of light, he reached out and placed the egg into the central beam.

  Suddenly, there was a great flash and he was thrown backward, the Dragon’s Egg slipping from his grasp. Flying through the air, Gameknight crashed into a group of users, the force of his impact knocking Pips, Shin and SgtSprinkles from their feet. His whole body tingled as if he’d just been electrocuted. Looking down, he expected to see his arms scarred and burned, but they were pristine and square.

  A pair of large hands reached down and pulled him to his feet. Looking up, he was greeted by Mason’s bright green eyes, a huge smile painted on his face.