The Withered Rose

Chapter 3: Battle of the Ages - The Battlefield

"Snipers are in place, and Jason is guarding the one back entrance himself," Tristan announced in a whisper, "And Predator needs to know- where should the spider jockeys take position?"

"Anywhere they'll fit," Yazmyne replied, "Clearly, our dear King has outdone himself on the amount of our forces this time..."

Hiding among the roof spires of another one of Notch's buildings, Herobrine, Yazmyne, and Tristan all crouched, waiting for the big moment. Herobrine chuckled, simply giddy with the prospect of killing their greatest enemy.

"Ah, yes, there's no such thing as too many mobs....and besides, this is the last time we'll have such an enormous battle on our hands. Might as well pull out all the shots, hmm?"

"Yes, indeed," Yazmyne agreed, fondling her assassin blade, "I've wished for far too long to be free of those pathetic thorns in our sides....those armies will shrink the time it takes to fight our way to the real prize of this fight: finally spilling the blood of the one who tried to remove you, and ruined both our lives..."

A slight rumble began to shake the ground beneath them. Tristan ran off to take his place in a farther-on hiding spot, holding his pistols at ready.

"And that would be the zombie hordes approaching," Herobrine declared, growing more serious, "The time is nearly upon us- but for now we wait, and watch..."

Yazmyne drew her Rift Stone from her pocket, making sure it was ready for use.

"No cracks, no damage...still glowing...good. Its all set, ready for Notch."

The rumble grew louder and louder, until it had reached the volume of a full-on earthquake. Shouts and clattering could be heard as Notch's warriors finally poured into the courtyard below; the pathetically underprepared batallion of armored Craftians marched to their places around the base, only to be scattered again as Tristan and Jason's contribution of fighters began picking them off with lethal accuracy. Finally, the zombie wave reached the buildings- Herobrine and Yazmyne watched contentedly as the rotted creatures, all heavily armored, tore through the opposing warriors with nearly no effort at all; bodies were thrown in the air as a few dozen enchanted Endermen joined the fray. Those who the Endermen tossed about suffered various fates- some were teleported high above and dropped so hard they broke their necks, while others managed to survive the fall...but were stunned for too long a time to reach their weapons before a zombie came to tear their faces or limbs off.

More warriors poured from the base, but not nearly enough to make a difference- Notch's forces were only barely keeping the mobs at bay.

"Lets speed this up, shall we?" Herobrine suggested, nodding to Yazmyne. She smiled, and whistled for her enchanted Phantom- the beautiful creature came immediately to her call, understanding the signal.

"The Phantom troops are in formation and ready to dive, my Queen!" the creature reported, "Is it time?"

"Yes, it is! Make those foolish warriors wish they were never born!" she replied. Yazmyne was brimming full of the thrill of the fight, her every instinct making her wish so badly to join the fray- but alas...she had to wait. The Phantom nodded and shot into the sky, disappearing into the clouds.

The bright flash that the Phantom made as it disappeared was enough to draw the attention of the warriors and zombies down below- at once, the zombies retreated a safe distance to clear the area for whatever came next. Notch's warriors looked about them in confusion, a note of hope rising in their hearts as they began to think the mobs were retreating.

And then....they looked up.

The dark clouds above the battlefield began to glow with a soft green haze- then, the haze formed into two immense emerald eyes, glowing so brightly it cast a slight green hue over the entire battlefield. Without another moment, the clouds became alive- a swarming, hissing mass of Phantoms formed together, to create the illusion of one enormous Phantom looming in the darkened sky.