Warnings: Slight gore

~Rob's P.O.V.~

"So you're telling me... my spell didn't entirely work... and now you're a zombie hybrid. And not only can you shapeshift, but now you can talk to hostile mobs?"
       "Correct."
       "And you met an enderman outside, and he told you about all the mobs being mind controlled, and that we have to hurry and help the other three white gems fight Plague before they die?"
       "Yup."
       I grin. "Well, well, well! I guess my failure of a spell wasn't terrible after all- Ow!"

I hiss in pain as a drop of hot lava lands on my neck. The droplet of lava rolls off my blue hoodie, plopping onto the ground, and crawling back into Preston's body. What? I mouth as he sends me the most disapproving look possible. His eyes flicker towards Vikk, and mine follow. Vikk looks incredibly crestfallen all of a sudden, and is picking subconsciously at a patch of rotten flesh on his hand. Oh. Oops.

       "I'm sorry, I-"
       "-ANYWAYS. Welcome to the mob-squad Vikk," Preston jokes, flashing a bright smile, "glad to have ya."
       Vikk attempts a smile. "Thanks."

       Silver yips her encouragement, trotting a couple circles around Vikk, and then plopping down in front of him. Tongue lolling out, tail thumping, she tilts her head and looks up at him, like a child begging for candy. Vikk grins, kneeling down in front of her. Dogs... truly mans best friend. Not only are they loyal, but they don't judge you either. I note, watching Vikk scratch her lightly behind her fluffy white ears. Silver barks in delight, leaning into his touch, and thumping her back paw. Quite adorable, may I add.

       "Can you understand her, too?"
       Vikk shakes his head, giving Silver one last pat before rising up again, "No, only hostile mobs, sadly. She's a cute pupper."

       I watch with an odd sense of warmness and pride as Silver stands up, tasking herself with sniffing every inch of my basement. Like a father watching his child. Or, a really cute dog.

       "So Rob... considering I risked my life for this, what's in the satchel anyway? You said it could help us?" Preston inquires, nodding over to where the black satchel lays abandoned on a chest.

Oh yeah. That exists, doesn't it? Hm. Kinda sorta forgot about it with all the chaos going on... Striding over to the chest, I scoop up the satchel gently into my arms, and carefully reach my hand into its velvety depths. Preston looks like he's about the explode with anticipation, and Vikk looks somewhat lost but intrigued nonetheless. Just to tease them, I make the items reveal painstakingly slow,

      "Gentlemen, I present to you..."
       "An enderpearl?" Vikk finishes, brows furrowed as I display the deep turquoise orb.
       Preston frowns. "I risked my life... for an enderpearl?"
       "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Not just any enderpearl," I correct, beckoning them closer, "look closer."

       Preston and Vikk step forward, squinting closer at the pearl. I hold it closer, showcasing the faint purple aura that mists off it, and the thin veins of purple and gold lacing it's depths. Silver pads over, sitting back on her hind legs, coal black nose twitching as she sniffs it.

      "This is an enderpearl Seto developed, along with Chimney and I. There's only three in existence, the other two belonging to them, of course. It may not look like much, but essentially using this you can teleport anywhere in the world instantly. Just picture where you want to go, slam that sucker into the ground, and bam you're there. Also, you can teleport as many people as you want at the same time, so long as they're connected to the person throwing the pearl." I explain, watching Vikk and Preston watch in silent awe. "I wanted to use it to see if we could bypass this whole key-holder nonesense but... it looks like we're gonna have to put it to use sooner than later. Cmon boys, we've got a Wither to kill."

~~~

Wailing. Before anything else registers, the blood curdling wail of a chaotic battle rings in my skull. A chorus of screams and growls and hisses and groans echo ominously off the walls of this underworld cavern. Next comes the heat. The awful, sticky, suffocating heat that punches you in the face in a way only the wasteland that is the Nether can do. Following soon after is the musky smells of burning flesh, hot earth, and blood. As the last of the purple particles vanish into the humid air, my eyes adjust to the dimness, only lit by the lava plaguing this entire dimension. Beside me Vikk and Preston are also shaking off the effects of teleporting. Preston's arm is morphed into a razor sharp lava blade, and Vikk carries a diamond sword enchanted with the highest levels of sharpness and sweeping edge. I, of course, am simply relying on my magic to get me through whatever it is we just teleported ourselves into. None of us wear armour, favouring mobility and coolness over protection. Besides, we all have our respective powers, so we should be fine.

Before us looms the massive structure of the Nether Fortress. Only a few chunks away, I can clearly see the chaotic mess of a battle raging out front. Mobs of all sorts are pouring out of the entrance to the fortress, overworld and Nether alike. They all have gleaming red eyes that cut through the darkness, pushing and climbing back one another to ruthlessly throw themselves at their opponents. In the thick of the siege dance three distinct figures, who it's clear the mobs are attacking at full force. However, they are largely unsuccessful. The bright gleam of the white lines spurting from my gem and converging at their point confirms that these are our partners from now on. Like us, they don't wear any armour.

One is a brown furry humanoid creature that I believe belongs to a nearly extinct race called baccas. Wearing a black tuxedo, which is interesting apparel for the Nether, he wields a diamond battle axe. Muscles rippling, the bacca snarls in pure blood lust, lashing out with axe, teeth, fists, and claws, throwing and slashing aside mobs of all kinds like twigs. In a moment a pile of spiders launch themselves from the roof of the fortress, legs stretched and fangs beaded as they ambush him. In a heartbeat the bacca whirls towards them, jaw gaping open and emitting a blasting roar that rises far above the cry of the battle. It literally blows the arachnids to pieces, blood and guts raining down on the ground, and knocking any mobs in the surrounding area to their feet.

The second one is a fit looking boy with hazel hair, a checkered hoodie, and dog tags. Swooping on mighty translucent white wings that look to be made of light, he dives and slashes at the mobs below, picking off any that come anywhere near to sneaking up on his friends. A diamond sword in each hand, mobs practically throw themselves at him only to be cut down effortlessly. A flock of phantoms followed by a ghast soar from the fortress, a chorus of shrill cries filling the air. He turns towards the sound, besting his wings to rise higher into the air, and swapping out his dual swords for a bow. Performing a barrel roll to avoid a striking phantom, he grabs it by the tail, stabbing an arrow through its skull and tossing it into a pit of lava where it boils alive in a pool of dark blue goop. Then notching two arrows at once into his bow, he spears the remaining two phantoms. The ghast fires off a fireball at his wings, but it passes right through them in a blazing trail. The winged boy pivots, shooting an arrow as the ghast opens its mouth to fire again, causing it to explode inside the white creature and killing it on the spot.

Is that... Prince Lachlan...?? I ponder, surprised as my eyes travel to the last of the white gems. Golden blonde hair drenched with sweat, the royal teen lashes out, his limbs and body stretching to impossibly lengths like a rubber band as he works efficiently to strangle, decapitate, and destroy mobs. A ravager charges towards him, horns pointed to impale the prince as it tears up the ground under its callused hooves. Lachlan simply stretches his legs apart, and the beast goes ramming into a pack of skeletons bending him, scattering them like bowling pins before goering a creeper with its horns and coming to a quite explosive demise. A zombie scratches at Lachlan's leg and so in return he lowers himself to the mobs height, coiling his arms around its neck before promptly snapping it.

But where is Plauge?

"Earth to Rob! Let's go!" Preston shouts, snapping me back into reality.

I snake my head violently, noticing a Vikk is already diving into the midst of it all, ditching his sword to morph into a half-dead horse and trampling several mobs under his lashing hooves. Preston doesn't notice a corrupt wither skeleton behind him, sword poised to kill, and I blast it to pieces with an energy blast before it an move an inch. I flash him a grin, winking.

"I gotcha"

Running side by side, Preston and I lunge into the battle. Heart hammering, overwhelmed with the notion of being surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of mobs, I thrown up a defensive spell that surrounds me with a whirlwind of stone spikes, impaling any mobs that steps too close. My eyes are drawn to the checkered hoodie boy as a blaze fires off a barrage of fire balls. He turns around too late to evade the projectiles, all he can do is curl up, and they slam into him in rapid succession, blasting him from the sky. Adrenaline spiking, I wave out my hand, telepathically catching him before he crashes into the ground.

"Looks like you could use a hand!" I call, waving.

Dusting himself off, the boy shoots a confused glance in my direction. When he sees the white gem on my hand, he perks up, saluting and shooting back into the air.

"Vikk, see if you can get control of these mobs!" Preston yells, melting into a puddle of lava to avoid an endermans swing before scorching it alive with his hot skin.

Vikk leaps into the air, turning into a bat, and perching upside down on a hanging stalagmite. He squeaks in frustration, floating back down.

"It's no use! They're too far gone.. I can only communicate with the ones trapped inside still but-"
"Well, well, well... this is quite the pleasant surprise."

       A new, hollow, scratchy voice booms, both quiet yet demanding and clear. Immediately all motion stops, every single eye focused on this new arrival. I gasp.

        "...Plauge!"
        "Yes.. that's my name. Don't wear it out"

~~~

Question of the chapter:

Who's hyped for the fightttt