Destruction: The Hacker and the Spirit

7: Wait, so Sky can do what now?

I woke up tucked in my bed with the sheets pulled over me. I rubbed my eyes, remembering that I had fallen asleep on top of the sheets, not under them. Tumbling out of bed, I pulled on some clean clothes, pulled a brush through my hair and made my way down the stairs. The smell of pancakes woke me up properly and I ran into the kitchen, narrowly beating Bajan and Jerome. Sub was sitting at the table, his eyes locked on the pancakes. Sky was cooking and he already had two plates served up.

"Pancakes!" Bajan yelled, reaching for the nearest plate.

"Hey! Not those!" Sky said, batting away Bajan's hands. "Those are mine."

"What's different about them?" I asked, noticing the yellowy colour they had.

"They're butter flavour."

Sky finished serving the pancakes and we ate them quickly. Sub seemed to inhale the pancakes and eagerly held his plate out for more. Sky gestured to the left-over ones that were still in the frying pan and Sub ate those too. Herobrine then walked into the room.

"Where's my pancakes?" he asked jokingly. Sky, his mouth full of butter pancake, pointed to a plate that was still on the bench. Herobrine went over to it and lifted up the cloth that covered it.

"You made pancakes for me? Awesome!" Herobrine brought his plate over and sat with us. Everyone was silent for the next few minutes as we devoured the pancakes. Honestly, it was one of the best breakfasts I have ever had.

"I didn't know you could cook so well Sky,' I commented as I polished off my plate.

"I'm offended Riley," Sky said jokingly. "I learned the art of cooking from an ancient recipe that has been handed down through my family for generations"

"Really?"

"No."

We all laughed, even Herobrine. When the plates were cleaned and put away, Herobrine clapped his hands together.

"Right. Today we'll do training with a twist. I want you guys to figure out your gift and how you can use it."

We went back down into the training room and Herobrine led us to the desert area. He flicked a lever and a section of the wall rose up, revealing another room with the walls lined with various weapons. Bajan and Jerome went nuts, Jerome sprinting for the axes while Bajan admired the bows. Sub was hot on their heels, going straight for the sword section. Sky and I followed more slowly. I looked around, marvelling the wide collection of weapons and wondering how long it took to get them all. Sky kept his head down and dragged his shoes as he walked.

"What's wrong Sky?" I asked, not used to seeing him so down.

"It's just that.... I'm not good with a sword. Or an axe. Or anything really. I know that Herobrine said that we're all here for a reason but I'm pretty useless if I can't fight," he said.

I felt bad for him. "Don't worry, I'll help. There's got to be something in here that will suit you."

So we went to the swords area, since Sky said that a sword was better than anything else (but that wasn't saying much). I got him to hold various swords of different sizes and shapes, but he put each of them back, getting more and more dejected with each one. Eventually, he gave up.

"Forget it Riley. I'll never find the right sword. Never!" In his anger, he threw the sword he was holding against the rack on the opposite wall. Several others fell of the rack and made a massive clanging sound. Everyone heard and ran to us.

"What's wrong?" Bajan asked.

"Sky can't find a sword that works for him," I explained.

"Sky, you're just not accustomed to a sword yet. Everyone learns at different rates, you'll get used to it," Herobrine said.

"But I won't. I can just tell. I might get slightly better but I won't be any good against Entity," Sky answered, crossing his arms across his chest.

"There will be something that you're good at Sky. None of us can succeed without the others."

"You keep saying that," Sky grumbled.

"And I'm going to keep saying it because I know it's true," Herobrine said calmly.

Sky sighed. "I guess. Hey, what's that?" he asked, pointing to the sword rack behind Herobrine. I didn't see anything except the normal swords. Sky went over and rummaged behind the rack, pulling out a sword that was different from all the others. It was a golden colour and it glimmered in the light. I noticed that it was the same colour as Sky's necklace.

"What is it?" Sky asked.

"A golden sword," Herobrine told him. "They're not very useful because they break easily, that's why they're not common."

"I like it. I'm gonna call it a Butter Sword." Sky swung it experimentally. "It's really light." He flicked it straight up into the air. Everyone stepped back as the sword caught the light caused by the flickering torches. It came back down and Sky caught it easily by the handle. He nodded as he felt the weight and ease at which he handled it. "Can I use this?"

Herobrine shrugged, smiling knowingly. "Sure. But I want to test something first. Follow me."

He took us out of the room and stood Sky in front of the dummy. I out my back to the wall, Sub beside me. Jerome and Bajan were shoving each other around. Herobrine gestured to the dummy.

"Show me what you can do," he said to Sky.

Sky obediently did the moves that Herobrine had been drilling into him but now, he was better. He wasn't awkward with the sword and he didn't come close to dropping it, not once. In fact, he performed better than Bajan could, beheading the dummy in only a few moves. Herobrine smiled and went back to the armoury, coming back with a golden axe and a bow with a golden arrow. He gave them to Sky and told him to do the same thing with a different dummy. Sky obeyed and behead another dummy with the axe, even though he had never trained with one before. He also managed to shoot a target that was halfway across the room. Bajan was having a great time.

"How are you doing that dude!" he exclaimed, slapping Sky on the back.

Sky smiled shyly. "I don't know. It just feels natural to me all of a sudden."

Herobrine came up to him and handed him a normal arrow. "Try to shoot the same target with this arrow."

Sky repeated the moves, except he was a lot more clumsy. He almost dropped the arrow and missed the target completely.

"How did you miss it?" Jerome asked.

"Because Sky works better with golden weapons. They are natural to him, just like swords and axes come naturally to you," Herobrine said, gesturing to Bajan and Jerome. "Everything seems very clear when you are holding a golden sword right Sky?"

"It's butter and yes."

"Wait, so Sky's found his gift?" Bajan asked.

"Yup," Herobrine answered. He then gestured to the dummy. "Who's next?"