corrupted future, prequel book 2 (Rainimator/doctor who)

remains of the nether bane

POV Ceris

I was falling from the Doctor's TARDIS if he really was the Doctor, but that wasn't what was important, the ground was quickly catching up to me, I focused and teleported, a village, it looked destroyed more than once, the buildings were like patchwork as if whoever was living here had repaired the buildings time and time again. But now it was empty, no signs of life, even the crops were dead with no one to farm.

Nether rack and soul sand littered the ground, a problem is, that if a time machine is broken, you could be anywhere or anywhen, this could be the middle of the nether/overworld war. I searched for anything here, looking through buildings, but nothing.

"Hello?" I called, but no answer. I wasn't going to sit around and wait, I need to learn when I am. Maybe a trip to the end will tell me. I tried to teleport back to the end, but something was stopping me. I was trapped in the overworld again. 

I continued to walk, I decided to follow the nether rack paths, which lead me to a group of slaughtered piglins, freshly slaughtered, the bodies still warm, someone jumped out of the shadow. I teleported out of the way dodging the katana that came my way. 

A woman in a red dress of some kind, it took me a few moments to recognise the woman currently trying to get me. Ciara her skin had colour to it, and her eyes were different. this was Ciara before her death and reviled by Lance's totem of undying. she swung at me again, I summoned up my energy blades and blocked her. Ciara stopped and paused to look at me. "You're not with the nether?" Ciara asked. 

"Do I look like I'm from the nether? I am an enderkin, not a netherkin, I'm from the end," I told her. 

Ciara looked at me confused, raising her sword, "Bullshit, the end was whipped out centuries there are no enderkin anymore," 

My eye went wide. "WHAT!" Ciara shrugged.

"It happened long before I was born, never cared much for history living in the now rather than the then," Ciara said, she pointed her sword back at me, "now tell me, who are you really?" 

I rolled my eyes pulled my mask up and teleported behind her. hitting her, then next to her grabbing her arm, ripping the weapon from her and knocking her into the tree. standing over her pointing the katana at her. 

"Well if you're going to kill me then do! I don't have anyone or anything left, Everyone I love is gone, so JUST DO IT!" Ciara yelled at me. I flipped the katana so the handle was facing towards her.

"How about instead we take the fight to the nether, I have a feeling a friend of mine is going to be there," I said, helping her to her feet, "I am what I say I am, an enderkin, but I can not explain how I am here, but I can try to help fix all this," 

Ciara stood up, putting her katana on her back, "This friend of yours, is he also an enderkin?" She asked. 

"No, he is something entirely different, he calls himself the Doctor, and he is a very confusing man, he has had three different faces," I explained. 

"Like different disguises?" Ciara asked

"No, he has the power to change his face, but I am yet uncertain how that works," I answered her. "What of you? I have heard legends of the nether bane, and of your leader, Kane, but not much else," 

Ciara froze, her hands gripped the handle of the weapon, "I never mentioned the netherbane," she mumbled. "How did you know I was a part of it?" 

my heart stop for a beat, 'I should have chosen my words more carefully,' I thought, "You're name, Ciara, I know it from the stories I've been told," 

Ciara drow her sword, pointing it at me, "I haven't told you my name yet, SO how do you know all this?" She asked.

"Ciara, Listen I can not explain..." the netherbane assassin attacked me, I teleport to avoid the strike, "I do not want to fight you, I wish to help you," that did not calm her, she continued to strike at me, and I continued to teleport, I grow overconfident at avoiding her. and she got a hit off knocking me to the ground.

"Explain now, is this a trap? by the nether to kill me? answer?" she barked. 

"I am not with the Nether, I will never be with the Nether, I know you, and Kane because I come from a different timeline, my friend, well my friend is a lose a term, ally the Doctor, he is the key to fixing this," I explained. 

Ciara stared at me, the look on her face said it all, she didn't know me, she didn't like me, she may even want to kill me but something was telling her to trust me, "Fine, let's say I believe you, what do we do? how do we find this Doctor?" 

"That is a good question, I do not know much of the doctor, but I can guess by now he's found himself in the nether likely a prisoner," I answered. 

Ciara put her sword on her back as I stood, "So we're going to the nether? we'll need a portal, these Piglins were on their way to see the king, they had more gold for his project,"

"for Porksine? what project?" I asked. 

"Don't be stupid, Porkshine's been dead for years, the nether king has some massive project with gold," Ciara informed me. 

"Naeus wants the gold for what?" I asked. 

Ciara laughed, "Naeus isn't the king of the nether, no it's led by a warlord named Rainimator," 

I paused, stopping us as we followed the trail. "Rain is the king of the nether? but...but he is meant to be..." I trailed off, "Come, we are in a lot more danger than I first thought," 

We continued on, Ciara catching me up on what details she know, not a lot but enough for me to get the basics, that's when the village was in view, three walls of nether brick, a gate in front, 4 wither skeletons stood on guard, a few blazes and ghasts floated about. we couldn't see how many were inside. "We're going to have to go through that if you want to reach a portal," Ciara answered. 

"We are a pair of highly trained fighters, we'll be fine a few withers and pigmen," I said, already planning on how we could wipe out this fortified village. when the gate opened, and a large white skeleton walked out.

"Oh crap," we both said. 

"Infernius will not be easy, I faced him before in my timeline, I struggled, but this time I have the drop..." As if some kind of cosmic karma the bush next to us caught fire. Infernius led a nether attack at towards us. 

"you were saying?" Ciara said. 

"This really does sum up my day," I mumbled, "I'll deal with Inferius, you take his soldiers," I ordered. 

we sprung into action, I charged forward, as Infernius launched a fireball, I teleported behind, Ciara fighting the remaining nether forces, I swung my blade aiming for Skeletons neck, but the hulking skeleton punched me in the stomach with a fireball, I went back in pain. and teleported behind, stabbing him in the back, swiping a second blade and taking his head off. 

Ciara finished off the nether soldiers, and we walked into the fortified village, pigmen and wither skeletons stared at us, going for their weapons. we looked at each other and nodded. 

5 minutes later, we were the only two standing, "Well that was fun," Ciara said whipping the blood off her sword. "Well that's the portal, let's go and save your friend," 

"He's still not my friend," I said walking to the portal, we stepped through and found ourselves in the middle of nowhere in the nether. "yep this day just gets worse and worse," I mumbled. 

"This away, we're hours from the nether fort," Ciara said walking over a nether rack mound.