Mission to the Moon Read online

  With a nervous sigh, Gameknight slammed the door shut, then hit the red button that began the countdown. He knew it always started at twenty, but this time, the numbers scrolling through his head seemed to proceed with an aching slowness that chiseled away at his patience. Finally, the ship shuddered and began to climb into the air, leaving his friends to wait on the surface of the moon, their air slowly running out.

  CHAPTER 9

  ENTITY303’S CREATION

  After destroying a nest of spiders, a large group of zombies, and a handful of creepers, Entity303 was now satisfied the crater was clear of threats. He moved into the recession, taking huge leaps in the reduced Martian gravity. With two mighty jumps, he landed next to the dark hole that extended downward into the darkness.

  Peering down into the shaft, Entity303 thought he saw something moving through the gloom.

  “More monsters … perfect,” he said to the empty landscape.

  Drawing his glowing yellow sword, he smiled as he thought of the creatures he was about to destroy.

  “Get ready for Entity303!” he shouted into the the hole, then jumped down.

  Using his jet pack, he slowed his descent, landing on a block of stone near the bottom of the passage. Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out a splash potion of night vision and shattered it at his feet. He then removed the jet pack and replaced it with the Alpha Yeti armor, the enchantments on the chest plate lighting the area. Below him, he could see spiders staring up at him, their green eyes glowing with excitement.

  “Ready or not, here I come.”

  He stepped forward, drifting slowly to the ground. Even before he touched the ground, his sword was already flashing through monsters, tearing HP from their terrifying bodies. With a pair of spiders quickly destroyed, he moved toward a group of zombies. His blazing yellow sword tore through the creatures as if they were made of paper. They fell to the ground, then disappeared with pops. A creeper tried to sneak up behind him, but the idiotic monster hissed like a leaky tire. Entity303 made short work of the green creature.

  One last zombie shuffled forward. It was a small monster, probably younger than the others. He had just stood there in the corner, shaking as he watched the slaughter of the other monsters right before his eyes.

  “You, zombie … are you going to attack me too?” The evil user pointed at the beast with his glowing sword.

  The zombie shook his head.

  “This zombie does not want to fight.”

  “You don’t want to fight? Does that mean you want to help … and live?”

  “Yes,” the monster moaned.

  “Very well,” Entity303 said. “Stand there and don’t move.”

  The user moved to the corners of the room, where the spawners were located. Keeping an eye on the zombie, he dug them up with a pickaxe. But instead of leaving them floating on the ground, to eventually disappear, he put the dark cages into his inventory.

  “I have a little idea about how I can use these spawners to make a little surprise for anyone who might be following me.”

  “What?” the zombie asked.

  “Nothing.” Entity303 moved to the second spawner, broke it, and shoved it into his inventory.

  “What’s your name, zombie?”

  “This zombie is called Da-Rir.”

  “Da-Rir, huh. That’s a stupid name.”

  The zombie child said nothing.

  “Very well, Da-Rir. You are my new scout. You’re going to go into each room and tell the monsters there that I’m a friend … that is, if you wish to live.”

  Da-Rir shook ever so slightly as the evil user approached, the glow from the yellow sword pushing back the darkness.

  “Now move it. Take me to the next room. If you are foolish enough to warn the monsters, you will be the first one I’ll destroy. Do you understand?”

  The zombie nodded his scarred head.

  “Good … now go!”

  The zombie shuffled off through the passage with Entity303 walking right behind. The passage was lined with strange green bricks, and torches were placed on the walls, but they were all extinguished. Entity303 smiled. He’d released his tainted virus here on Mars long ago. The self-replicating segment of code had spread across the planet, destroying the life that once flourished on Mars. The last thing to be destroyed was the atmosphere, forcing all the monsters to evolve and develop their own oxygen gear. Now Mars was a wasteland, all courtesy of Entity303 and his programming skills. He’d done this everywhere in the solar system with the exception of the Overworld, and now he needed to check on those planets.

  “Why do you seek the Mars Boss?” Da-Rir asked.

  “He has something I need and I’m going to take it from him.”

  “What could the Mars Boss have that a user needs?”

  “A ticket to deep space, zombie. That’s what I’m here for.”

  “But the Mars Boss has never been defeated. This zombie has seen many challengers try, but none have survived.”

  “Don’t you worry your little decaying head. I can take care of myself.” Entity303 stopped walking and whispered to Da-Rir. “Here’s the next room. I want you to go in there and tell them I’m just passing through and won’t hurt them. If what you say is true, then the Mars Boss will destroy me and none of your kind needs to get hurt. Agreed?”

  “The user is just passing through the next room?”

  “Of course … I wouldn’t just destroy living things for no reason. Now go.”

  “Wait until Da-Rir calls.”

  The young zombie shuffled off down the passage. Entity303 watched with his enhanced night vision as the child moved into the next chamber and talked with the other monsters. He pointed into the passage as he explained, then let out a sad moan and waved for Entity303 to enter.

  The user sprinted through the green, brick-lined tunnel and into the room. The monsters foolishly just stood there and waited as he approached, their claws withdrawn, their guard down.

  Entity303 burst into action as soon as he entered the room. In seconds, he destroyed a cluster of spiders. Turning, he slashed at a group of skeletons, ignoring the confused and terrified expressions on their bony faces. The zombies growled and advanced, but they underestimated Entity303’s skill with his sword. Kicking one aside, he brought his glowing blade down upon the largest of the monsters, striking it with a flurry of attacks. The creature cried out in terror as its demise approached, then vanished into oblivion. The vicious user destroyed more zombies with ease as if he were swatting away insignificant bugs, leaving Da-Rir in shock as a whirlwind of destruction flowed around him

  “What is happening?” Da-Rir shouted in shock.

  Entity303 ignored the zombie child and attacked another group of skeletons. Their arrows bounced harmlessly off his Alpha Yeti armor, the Projectile Protection enchantment on his chest plate making their shafts completely harmless. He tore through their pale bones with reckless abandon, shattering their HP in seconds. Turning, he dove at a group of zombies that were assembling near a spawner; they didn’t last fifteen seconds. With the last of the monsters destroyed, he pulled out a pickaxe and dug up the spawners, sticking them into his inventory.

  “The user told Da-Rir he would not kill for no reason.”

  “I told you the truth, fool. I destroyed those monsters for a reason … because they were in my way.”

  Entity303 hit the zombie child lightly on the arm. The glowing yellow blade dug deep, causing the monster to moan and flash red as it took damage.

  “Now, if you want to stay alive, you’ll put on the same act in the next room.” He took a step closer. “If you don’t play your role well, then I will make you suffer terribly before your HP is exhausted. Understand?”

  The monster nodded, cringing.

  “I like you, zombie. You have a good head on your shoulders,” Entity303 said, his cruel voice barely a whisper. “Let’s see if we can keep it that way. Now go.”

  Da-Rir shuffled off through the next passage. They r
epeated their little play until they’d destroyed all of the monsters in the dungeon, save for the Mars Boss.

  In the last chamber, Entity303 used his pickaxe to dig into the wall, enlarging the chamber. He then dug up the brick floor and placed all the spawners in the ground. Using the brick from the floor, Entity303 built a wall, hiding the presence of the tiny metallic cages so they would be difficult to find, but also allowing the monsters to congregate without being seen. He then moved through the next passage and started building a wall of cobblestone behind him, sealing off any escape from the spawners.

  “Why did the user place the spawners back in the ground?” the zombie asked.

  “I have a little friend following me,” the user explained. “This will be a surprise for him. Nothing like stumbling into a bunch of monsters when you don’t expect it.”

  The zombie seemed confused.

  “That fool, Gameknight999, will try to get through that room, see all the monsters, and just run away, but then they’ll end up at this wall with a bunch of monsters at his back, and he’ll have nowhere to go. I’m sure he’ll survive, but how many of his friends will perish in the battle?” He sighed. “I’d love to be here to watch.”

  “This zombie doesn’t understand. If it is a friend, won’t the monsters attack them?”

  “You don’t really understand sarcasm, do you?”

  The zombie appeared perplexed.

  “Anyway, you said you’d get me to the boss chamber, and here we are.”

  “Then this zombie will be set free?”

  “That’s right, you are now a free zombie,” Entity303 said with a malicious smile.

  “But how does Da-Rir get out of the dungeon?” the zombie asked.

  “Ha ha ha … that’s not really my problem, is it?” the user said. “Now stay out of my way or I will change my mind and test my sword on you.”

  a-Rir stepped back until he bumped into the cobble-stone wall the user had just built.

  Entity303 turned his back on the zombie-child and moved to the edge of the Boss Chamber. The room had a few glowstone blocks around its edges that cast a yellow glow on the walls, but left the center of the room still cloaked in darkness.

  When he stepped into the room, a sparkling thing materialized at the shadowy center; the Mars Boss had spawned. At the same moment, the evil user’s night vision potion finally expired, leaving the darkness complete and impenetrable. The Mars Boss was barely visible. It was clearly massive, easily twice the evil user’s size, but Entity303 knew that made no difference. Across the monster’s skin, sheets of electricity danced and sparkled, giving only a hint to his shape. But Entity303 knew exactly what this creature was, and it made the vile user smile.

  I can’t wait until this creature meets Gameknight999, he thought.

  “WHO DARES ENTER MY CHAMBER?” the Mars Boss boomed.

  “It is your creator, Entity303.”

  “MY CREATOR?”

  “Yes, I planted the self-replicating virus that spread its tainted evil across this world, destroying all life and causing the monsters to evolve so they could survive. The diseased virus flowed through your villages, destroying everyone, but leaving the last villager alive … you. My gift changed you into the creature you are now. You are my creation, and I am here to give you commands.”

  “I REMEMBER SOMETHING OF WHAT YOU SAY,” the Martian said, his voice then becoming soft and uncertain. “There was a time, before, with a … family … and friends, but those memories are difficult to grasp in my mind.”

  “That’s right, I freed you from your pathetic existence and made you the king of Mars. Now do as I command; give me the key to the chest.”

  “I WILL NOT,” the Mars boss growled, his voice booming again. “MY TASK NOW IS TO PROTECT THAT CHEST.”

  “Of course it is, you fool—I programmed you to protect that chest until I returned. But now I am here, so give me the key.”

  The sheets of electricity pulsed around the monster like a blue curtain. It made the details of the creature’s body hard to see, but Entity303 knew what stood before him.

  “I AM THE BOSS OF MARS. I RULE HERE, AND I WILL NOT TAKE COMMANDS FROM THE LIKES OF YOU.”

  Entity303 sighed.

  “You’ve just made this unnecessarily difficult, and you’re delaying me. I have important things to do, and cannot be bothered with you anymore. This is your last chance. Give me the key, or I will take it from your cold remains.”

  “YOU WILL GET NOTHING FROM ME,” the Mars Boss bellowed.

  “Very well … prepare to meet your fate!”

  Then Entity303 doused himself with a potion of swiftness and dashed toward the sparkling creature, his glowing infused sword streaking through the air like a bolt of yellow lightning.

  CHAPTER 10

  LEAVING THE SOLAR SYSTEM

  The ground shook as if a nerve running through the flesh of Minecraft had just been electrocuted. It was more like a pained convulsion than an earthquake, as Mars reacted to the destruction of its Boss. Entity303 didn’t care. All that mattered was that he had been successful again, and was now one step closer to his goal.

  Glancing around the boss chamber, Entity303 smiled. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and under his armor. His breathing was heavy with exertion. The Boss of Mars had been stronger than he’d remembered, making the Lunar Boss seem pathetic by comparison. Checking the corners, the user made sure he’d destroyed the last of the Mars Boss’s little minions, then finally breathed a sigh of relief; the room was clear.

  The cruel user yanked his sword out of the ground, where he had plunged it after defeating his enemy. The ground shuddered again, as if withdrawing the blade hurt the world as much as it had going in … good. With a triumphant expression on his square face, he walked out of the chamber and into the connecting tunnel that led to the treasure room.

  “I think maybe I made that boss a little too strong,” he said to the empty room. “And I totally forgot about adding those little ones to the code, so they were a bit of a challenge; they’re hard to see and really quiet. I hope the Loser-that-is-a-loser, Gameknight999, makes it to this chamber. I’d love to see what happens when the Boss respawns and sees another user like me. I don’t think that Martian will be very happy. Ha ha ha.”

  The thought of Gameknight999 having to face the monster brought an evil smile to Entity303’s square face.

  “He doesn’t stand a chance against my creation.”

  Entity303 laughed again, his hollow chuckles echoing through the empty passage.

  “Now, for the treasure.”

  He ran through the brick-lined corridor, following the seemingly random turns until it ended at a chamber lined with cubes of glowstone. The glowing columns sat nestled in the corners of the room, filling the area with yellow light. At the center sat an ancient chest. Entity303 removed the key the Martian Boss had dropped and inserted it into the lock. A satisfying click sounded when he turned it, allowing the lid to flip open. Inside, he found what he’d stashed so long ago when he’d made the original changes to the Galacticraft mod.

  Reaching in, Entity303 lifted out a single sheet of paper. There were mechanical drawings all across it, the black ink standing out against the white parchment. Carefully, he closed the lid, then stared down at the chest.

  The evil user smiled, pleased with himself.

  Glancing around the chamber, he made sure he was still alone, then removed his Alpha Yeti chest plate and donned the jet pack. Moving to the corner, he flew up to the ceiling, then used the pickaxe to tunnel his way to the surface, just as he had on the moon.

  Flying across the rusty, red landscape, the user quickly found the entrance to the dungeon, then backtracked to his base. With the plans to the tier-four rocket in hand, he quickly constructed a new ship with the supplies he’d brought with him into Galacticraft. Once the fuel tanks were topped off, he broke down his base once again, storing the leaves and oxygen generation equipment in his inventory.

  Ent
ity303 glanced up into the sky. “I wish I knew which one was planet Diona, but I’ll be there soon enough, hopefully without Gameknight999. I bet the Mars Boss is plenty angry at his defeat. Hopefully, when that monster respawns, he’ll give those pests following me quite the violent reception.”

  He stepped into his ship and closed the hatch.

  “Goodbye Sol, and hello Sirius solar system. Diona … here I come.”

  He laughed a wry, violent laugh as he soared into the sky and headed deeper into outer space, closer to the edge of the Far Lands, where the destruction of Minecraft was soon to begin.

  CHAPTER 11

  MARS

  Gameknight slowly drifted through the cold reaches of outer space toward the red planet below. He held Tux tightly under one arm as they descended, but this time they did not see a lunar lander around them like they had on the moon. And they couldn’t see a parachute slowing their descent, which is what happened when landing on most planets in Galacticraft. In fact, they couldn’t see any stars around them at all, because they were now encased in what looked like a bunch of giant balloons.

  As soon as the rocket neared Mars, the ship they were traveling in had disappeared, and in its place had appeared groups of massive, white balloons. Reaching out, Gameknight pressed against the wall of the container they were in. It now felt soft and bouncy, like being trapped in a huge ball of bubble-wrap. As they fell through the thin atmosphere of Mars, they tumbled and rolled, making it impossible to tell which way was up. In outer space, up was wherever your head was pointing; north, south, east, and west didn’t matter. But near a gravitational body like Mars, up was as easy to identify as it was on the Overworld, and tumbling around as they descended was like being on a bad carnival ride.

  Squawk, squawk! Tux shouted.

  “I know, girl, I don’t like it either, but soon it’ll be over.” Gameknight said reassuringly, hoping he was correct.

  Squawk!

  Just then, they landed with a thud against something solid. Gameknight assumed it was the Martian surface. Just as he was about to search for a door in the huge balloon-thing, they bounced back high into the air again, flipping and spinning. They hit the ground, then sprang back into the air and bounced several more times until finally coming to a rest. The User-that-is-not-a-user finally found a hatch and shoved it open. Instantly, the balloon thingy began to deflate, and he and Tux climbed out.