Natural Born (Minecraft)

Underground

The base Ash took me to couldn't have been less interesting if it tried. It was practically a hole in the side of a stony cliff. The only furnishings was an oak door, an empty wooden chest, and a two by four wall of dark furnaces.

"Some base," I told Ash. He shrugged.

"It's an entryway," he said. He moved to the back wall where the furnaces were stacked. In his hands were four torches. He placed them in four different furnaces as I watched.

"Torches don't do anything in furnaces," I told him. "This is all a big waste of my-"

As the last torch was placed the floor fell out from beneath us and we fell into the darkness.

This is how I die, I realized. Following a murderer into a stupid base and falling down a very dark hole into a bottomless pit.

I could see dim red light below us before I landed in an icy pool of water which splashed up and over my head. I could feel myself sinking lower and lower, farther from the red glow. Everything was getting darker.

Then a pair of arms wrapped around me and I was being pulled upwards. My head broke the surface and I was brought out of the water and onto the stony ground. I coughed and shuddered as the water began to leech the warmth from me.

"Wow, real impressed with what you brought back with you," a female voice said sarcastically.

"I thought she knew how to swim," Ash's voice responded.

"Is she alright?" a new male voice asked.

"She's fine," Ash responded. "Come on, Cupcake. Time to get going."

"You're trying to kill me," I coughed, sitting up and glaring at him.

We were in a natural stone cavern. Redstone torches on the walls supplied the only light. Most of the room was filled with a pool of dark water.

Ash was standing next to a girl with blue hair and azure eyes. She was wearing iron armor and carried a diamond sword. A guy was standing above me. He had gray eyes and blond hair which was plastered to his head from water. He was wearing iron armor like Ash and the girl, but he didn't have a weapon on him.

"I'm not trying to kill you," Ash told me while rolling his eyes. "It's just the shock from the water. You'll feel better once you get moving."

"Ash, she's freezing," the blond guy protested. "Give her a minute. Where were you planning on taking her anyway?"

Ash shrugged.

"I don't know. Steve, I guess. At the moment I was more worried about getting her away from the Admins."

"You ran into Admins?" the girl demanded. "What part of undercover solo recon don't you understand?"

"I didn't run into Admins, I ran into a Player. It saw too much, what else was I supposed to do? I had to make it think I was a Griefer."

"He's not an it, he's Gasher," I muttered. "And you killed him. And all you've told me is he'll respawn, which I don't even know what is. Why would Gasher respawn when my mother didn't?"

I had angry tears in my eyes and was nearly shouting by the end. They watched me in silence for a moment.

"Respawn is what we call it when a Player comes back to life," the blond guy explained slowly. "Natural Born like us don't respawn."

He glanced at Ash again.

"Don't take her to Steve," he said. "He'll want to draft her right away. And there's so much she doesn't understand. She'll be dead in a day."

"I'm not gonna hide her, you want me exiled?" Ash retorted.

"Then I'm coming."

Ash shrugged and started walking away.

"Whatever. Come on, Cupcake."

The blond guy helped me stand. Together we followed Ash deeper into the caverns.

"I'm Theadore," the blond said. "But you can call me Theo or TJ. Everyone else does."

"I'm Kessie."

"So Cupcake's the annoying name Ash gave you?"

"How'd you guess?" I asked dryly. Theo laughed.

"He gives one to everybody until he decides you've earned enough respect to use your real name."

"So what's yours?"

"Well, he calls me Theo now, but it used to be Tipsy. And he called Sky Teardrop."

Theo jerked his head back the direction we had come, and I assumed Sky was the blue haired girl.

"Who's Steve?" I asked.

"He's the first Natural Born. The original, if you will. He's been alive for ages. He's the one who started all the battles with Admins."

My next question died in my throat as we stepped into a giant stone cavern. Lava poured from the ceiling and into pools below, casting a red glow over everything. Cobblestone buildings dotted the area, but the real center of attention was an obsidian tower in the middle of the cavern.

"That's where Steve lives," Theo said, gesturing towards the tower.

"Coming, slowpokes?" Ash called back. We followed him down the stone trail towards the tower.

As we walked, people began to appear in the doorways. Men, women, even children. None of them had names above their heads. Almost all of them wore armor or carried pickaxes.

"Why are they all staring at me?" I whispered to Theo.

"We never have visitors," he replied. "Only prisoners. And we've certainly never had Natural Born come from the outside."

We reached the foot of the great tower and Ash pushed open the heavy door.

The inside of the tower was dark. A man was standing with his back to us. He was wearing a teal shirt and blue pants.

"Who is it?" the man demanded. "I said I was not to be disturbed."

He turned to face us and paused, looking me up and down carefully.

"I don't believe it," he said slowly. "It's as if the thief is back from the dead. Which must mean . . . you're Scarlet's daughter."