The Arrow & The Blade | A Minecraft Story

Chp 7 | Interlude

The City | 1200 Hours | Andre's POV

Ronin is healing, the base is being fixed, all evidence of any fight has been removed. We've covered our tracks, mass panic has been avoided. However, what cannot be avoided is what's coming. We failed to get the command block back, and now Erebus has all he needs in order to summon a literal planet eater. We're out of ideas. I'm out of ideas.

I stand on top of a skyscraper, looking over the city, only I don't see a bustling one full of bright lights. I see one on fire, the streets filled with screaming city folk, the buildings coming undone. Above this city is a black behemoth with purple eyes, and him at the center of it all. 'Fuck man, what else do we do. His trail has run cold, his notes don't-. I stop my inner dialogue, his notes, there may be something in there, in retrospect I never looked at every page.

I fly back to headquarters and through the glass window Ronin broke previously. I find the notes and run through every page. Same things I've already seen, until I keep flipping. There it is. A paragraph or so of words that just may save this city, and the world.

"The blue sky will become black, and streets will run red. Skyscrapers will fall, along with those who refuse to bow down, enemies and all. Darkness will reign once again, and forevermore. Where the land runs blood red, where the seas remain dead, replaced by the glass created by that which destroyed Pompeii. Where there is no shadow in the midst of light because darkness has taken its place. Where red soldiers of the grounds below congregate. Upon that rock, I shall build my church, and take my place, as ruler of all that shineth upon my face."

"Bingo" I say. The final piece to the puzzle. I find this place he described, I find him, and put an end to this, for good.

However, there's a certain swordsman I must visit.
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TF007 Headquarters | Training Room
IB: "Restless are we?"

R: "Oh hey, yeah."

IB: "Good to know you're not tapping out anytime soon."

R: "No surrender. So, any news?"

IB: "A little. That book of notes had a great deal to say, it was like essentially a self-made prophecy. It describes an area where the river has turned into obsidian, and the land has turned blood red, and undead soldiers are of the same color. Upon that land, is where his base is, supposedly."

R: "Well let's go, we can put a stop to this guy right now."

IB: "It's... pointless. Even if we did, we'd be on a wild goose chase for who knows how long, and by then he could've sent the Storm here, destroyed the city, and moved on to the next. We may have an indicator, but it's useless without direction."

R: "We might have something to help with that. Follow me."

We leave the training room and head to a room on the first floor. Same woodland mansion layout, but the walls have maps plastered over them. Some of the city, some of places I've never seen, and others of places I'm all too familiar with. Ronin looks at every map, searching for the indicator I mentioned. No dice.

R: "Not on the maps here, must've been man made."

IB: "Most likely, and I doubt it would've been on these maps."

Ronin makes his way towards a chest. Within it, blank locator maps of lands uncharted. "So we use these." he says as he hands one to me. "Travel until we the map isn't blank anymore, and hope we find something."

IB: "We?"

R: "Yeah?"

IB: "There is no we, this time. You've still gotta go through some rehab. After you do that, you've gotta improve your skill even more. I made the mistake of overestimating your abilities, and it almost got you killed. I can't have that happening, not again."

I was expecting a response, but I was left with silence. As much as he wanted to argue against that statement, he knew I was right. Nothing he could say would ever change my mind. "You've had the most experience with him, so why don't you train me?" he asks. He had a point, but doing that means I've got to give someone else the task of finding Erebus' stronghold. Fortunately, I know just the guys.

I run out of the training room and search for Rodrick and Jamie, who I eventually find eating.

IB: "I have a favor to ask of you two."

RD&J: "Shoot"

IB: "Towards the end of this book is a "prophecy" written by Erebus that somewhat indicates the location of his base. I need the two of you to use these empty locator maps and search for said area. Could you do it?"

RD: "What's in it for us?"

IB: "Hmm lemme think, oh, what's in it for you is that you don't die!"

J: "Yeah, right. Well we'll get on it heh."

IB: "Good men. Thanks."

I return to the training room, where I find Ronin back at it once again. I take out all of my weapons, and grab some arrows from the nearby chest. "Put on some armor." I yell, "You'll need it."
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Training Room | 1600 Hours
"Shit!" Ronin yells as he runs from the arrows I'm firing at him. He ducks for cover behind a wall, so I stop firing and begin gradually advancing. He surprise me by jumping over the wall and being his sword down on me, but I'm able to block with my shield. I push him off and shoot him with my piercing enchanted crossbow repeatedly, watching as he deflects most of them. He charges toward me but I jump to the side and hit a 180 and hit him in the side, knocking him back. I then take out my other crossbow and shoot upwards in quick succession, watching as he scrambles for cover as the arrows rain down. I took the chances to shoot him with my bow and other crossbow, switching and firing rapidly. He deflects some of them, but gets hit by the ones raining down, and vice versa.

"Erebus will not play fair, as you've probably noticed. Therefore you must learn to combat that in anyway you can. Even I could survive this." I say whilst smirking. "Bullshit!" he replied, clearly a bit irritated. Suddenly, he throws his sword at me, breaking my chest plate and knocking me backwards, which also makes me drop my bow. I try to get up to grab it, but he's closing in too fast, so I take out my piercing crossbow and shoot him, which breaks his helmet and slows him down. I then get up and grab my bow, and begin shooting. He throws his sword at me, so I drop my bow and catch it, throwing it back to him. He strafes left and grabs it, spinning around before his blade meets my chest, and my arrow meets his head.

We stare at each other for a bit, neither of us moving a single inch. "I do believe thou art ready." I say, breaking the silence and uncocking my bow. He pulls his sword back and up over his shoulder, "That was, intense. Even I doubted I'd last. Thanks." he replies with a sigh, to which respond with a shrug. As we leave the room, we start to hear a rumbling noise, followed by the sounds of lightning striking in random areas. A storm, but no ordinary one, as we'd soon find out.