MC:SM Rewritten: Book 1

Chapter 2: Preparation

So, this chapter is actually filler, because I believed the story needed detail. But worry not! This will lead to better chapters farther on! Every little bit counts! Who knows, you may find something in this chapter you might like...*cough-cough ships*

Nikki's POV:

Nikki could hardly believe it—her first EnderCon! There had been a close call back at the treehouse, where Jesse had shown some concerns for her, but, when they talked it all out, she and her friends were now on the way to the building competition.

"Let's roll," Axel said once the siblings were down.

"Yeah, dude. Roll," Olivia replied skeptically, looking at their blocky features.

"I heard a pretty juicy rumor about the building competition, but you guys have to promise not to say anything about it," Axel told the group. Nikki and the other two chorused "Okay."

"Also it's in two parts, each one more exciting than the last," he went on.

"Spit it out, Axel," Nikki ordered impatiently.

"Part one: the special guest at this year's EnderCon is none other than Gabriel the Warrior him-freaking self,"

"Whoa! What's part two?" Nikki enthusiastically asked, the suspense already killing her.

Axel's POV:

His friends looked just about prepared to hear the rest of his news. Axel was glad they had the reaction he wanted. "Part two, according to my sources, the winner of the building competition is gonna get to meet him!" At this, each of his friend's mouths dropped open.

"Catch me, sis. I'm going to faint!" Jesse whispered eagerly. He tipped backwards, only to land flat on his back. "No, you didn't catch me," he mumbled.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know you'd do a trust fall exercise all of a sudden?" Nikki retorted playfully. Everyone enjoyed a good laugh, even Jesse, and then continued on.

"It doesn't mean anything if we lose," Axel kept going. "But if we win...oh man...this would make up for all the losing."

"Meeting Gabriel would be a dream and an honor," Jesse sighed.

"Ditto to that," Nikki agreed. "This is a HUGE deal."

Olivia's POV:

Olivia was glad Axel had given them that heads-up, but she still wondered: who even told him such an important thing? "Well, he's clever," she guessed. "And very sweet. It was nice of him to tell us. He's also very funny and--"

Olivia stopped herself. What was she doing? Why was she all of a sudden thinking so deeply about Axel? He was just a good friend—right? That's when Olivia caught sight of something pinned on a tree trunk behind them, and found Axel's real "source."

"Sooooooo, does this 'source' of yours make posters for a living?" she asked her giant friend. The group then came to a stop in front of a small grove of trees that had EnderCon banners plastered all over them.

"Yeah, um...my source...doesn't exist. You guys are my only friends," Axel admitted.

"Of course we are," Nikki sighed, which earned her a deep glare from Axel.

"Guys, let's stay focused," Jesse reminded everyone. "We have a competition to win."

"But we never win," Olivia told her friend. "And this year we've got Reuben with us," she added, pointing to the dragon costume-wearing piglet walking behind them. "We basically have no chance." Offended, the pig let out an indignant oink.

"Faith, Olivia," Nikki said out loud.

Olivia turned her head to the young girl. "What?"

"A little portion, a small slice, a sliver. That's all we need to win,"

"You can't be serious, Nikki,"

"No, no," Axel jumped in. "I'm with that."

"I am too," Jesse agreed. "I should know."

Olivia looked at her three friends, who all seemed confident and bright. Maybe they DID have a chance. "All right," she said, smiling and feeling better than before.

Jesse's POV:

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Jesse realized just then.

"Waiting a minute," Nikki answered, grinning.

"Hardy-har-har. But still, we're thinking about this all wrong,"

"We are?"

"Yeah! You don't just have to build something. You have to DO something to get noticed by the judges,"

"Okay, then. So how do we do this?"

"We don't just build something functional. We build something fun. After we finish the fireworks machine like we planned, we build something cool on top of it!"

"If you want a reaction out of the judges, you build something scary," Axel was already thinking the idea over. "So I say we build a creeper."

"Wouldn't an enderman be better?" objected Olivia. "I'm more scared of enderman than creepers."

"How about a zombie?" Nikki asked. "They act like us—when working together, they can REALLY pack a punch."

"That might work, but let's go with a creeper," Jesse decided. "Axel's right—we need a big reaction."

"You're going with Axel's idea?" Olivia complained openly.

"What's wrong with my idea?" Axel growled.

"Nothing is!" Nikki quickly said, seemingly sensing trouble. "It could totally be cool." "It IS cool,"

"Yeah," Olivia had to say. "I think this is the first time we've decided on what we're going to do before we get to the competition. Think we got everything we need?"

"It wouldn't hurt to grab a little more," Nikki figured.

"Let's get with the grabbin' then," said Axel.

Jesse was suddenly so pumped. "We are so prepared. We can't possibly lose. Cannot. Bring it in!" He stuck out his hand. Nikki laid hers on top of his, then Axel, and Olivia, and even Reuben reared up on his hind legs to join in.

"Dare to prepare, on three!" Jesse said. "Nonono, wait, preparing is daring. No, that's the same thing--"

"Forget it," Nikki chimed. "Team. On three. One, two, three—Team!" At her word, the four friends (and Reuben!) went off in different directions to go collect the extra items.

Some of you might've already noticed it, but I'll just come right out: Olixel is the first ship seen in the story. But is it the biggest? (Hint: NOPE).