Minecraft Kingdoms AU

Chapter Six:

Attack on Squids

-...-

Bashur wasn't able to hear the footsteps walking into the room the next time it happened. He was half asleep, rings around his eyes. Hungry too. He couldn't remember how long he'd been in there, but it was probably a day if not more. It was still dark and dusty and terrifying silent. He felt so alone and so scared. He wanted to go home, but the danger he was in was all too real.

Bashur finally awoke when he heard the bars ring. His eyes jumped open and he gasped, sitting up on the cold hard floor. At first, he shook in fear, but then he saw those odd colored eyes again, glowing in the dark, and then he only shook for it was cold. She didn't say anything at first, only placing a tray of food in the position to slide it into the cell. Bashur scooted closer and reached for the food, which he craved at the moment, and the woman gave it to him.

Bashur was quick to eat what he had, the woman watching him. At one point, Bashur nearly choked on a piece of bread. The woman sighed, and knelt down to be eye level with the melon. Bashur looked up to her, and they stared at each other. The woman lost her words, and had to find them again.

“E-Everything is going to be okay.” She said.

Bashur wasn't going to be as starstruck as he was last time.

“What do you mean?” He asked quickly in reply.

The woman paused. Her words, lost again. She shook her head and stood up.

“My name is Alesa.” She said, and turned to walk away.

“But what did you mean!?” Bashur shouted, begging for an answer, but Alesa left, and Bashur became alone again.

Bashur turned to his food, and stared at it. What did she mean it was going to be okay? Everything was literally dark around him.

-...-

Alesa walked down the hallway, his mind a mess. She didn't have a plan of action yet to stop King S, and she was worried about so many things. She also had daily chorus that stressed her out, and people to pay attention to. It was light outside, with a few storm clouds here and there. Rain was always nice.

Eventually, Alesa reached a corner, and turned to continue towards the stair wells. She stopped when she saw exactly whom she didn't want to see, walking her way. It was King S, listening to one of the generals talk. Alesa was about to turn around, but the two saw her, and King S left the guard's side to walk over to her. Alesa had no choice but to stay put.

“You look tense, dear Alesa.” King S said.

“I'm fine.” Alesa said, shaking her head.

“Ah, well good.” He replied, and the general joined them. “Maybe sharing the news would bring a bit less pain to your day.”

“News?” Alesa asked, facing him.

King S motioned to the general, and Alesa turned to him. The General was a tall squid man who wore blue and silver armor. He was pretty tough looking, and very intimidating.

“My lord's plans are going well. A small army was gathered and successfully sent on an attack mission to the kingdom of Minecraftia. We should receive word on the results no later then seven tonight.”

Alesa's eyes widen, and she turned to King S.

“Really?” She asked.

King S nodded. “Yes. It's a bold move, I know, but it'll pay off. I only set the biggest and the best.”

Alesa frowned. “You're attacking right at the heart? Are you sure it'll work out for you?”

King S frowned at the shorter squid's disbelief. “I have no doubt, dear Alesa.”

Alesa couldn't reply anymore. This was bad. Very very bad. And there was nothing she could do to stop it. She had to let that defeat go, and focus on saving Prince Bashur.

“While our troops are out for the cause, why don't we focus on what's at home.” King S turned, and started walking down the hall that Alesa came from. The general followed, and Alesa did shortly after.

“What are your plans now?” Alesa asked.

“I had a few guards visit the underground prisons. If they did what they were told, we should find out little melon friend being held in the experimentation room.” King S said.

Alesa felt even worse now. She had just seen Bashur! What were they going to do now!?

“What do you plan to do with the prince?” Alesa asked.

King S smirked.

“You'll be impressed.”

Again, something bad. Alesa followed them to the experimentation room, down the hallway, to the right. The room was small and rectangular, and had bookshelves and technology that was new to most of the the realm. There was one squid there that looked like a sorcerer, and a few other guards. Two guards had Bashur held down between them, and the sight of the young melon was pitiful. It made King S happy.

“Now this won't be the first time we've done this, but to a melon, it will be a first.” King S began.

“What are you doing to me?” Bashur's tired voice replied.

King S narrowed his eyes. “I'm going to experiment on you, and if all goes to dust, you'll end up our next feast.”

Bashur shook his head.

“N-No!” He shouted.

One of the guards kicked him in the back, and he coughed. Alesa flinched.

“Today, men, we will be continuing our research on the ability to turn one species into another.” King S announced. “We've clearly viewed that these new powers can work on humans, but it's time to find out what it'll do with another race, another species. It's time we find out what happens, when you turn a melon into a squid.”

Bashur coughed. “NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“Throw him into the circle!” King S demanded.

There was a circle painted onto the floor by the sorcerer, and the two guards holding down Bashur roughly dragged the melon onto the circle. Before the melon could revolt, tears starting to fall from his eyes, he was tired to a few bricks that held him down inside the circle.

Bashur looked up just in time to see King S grinning, as well as the squid sorcerer, who pushed down a leaver. A humming noise could be heard, and a few dull lights turned on. The sorcerer then approached the circle, and started to sing a string of words. The purple circle around him started to glow, and his head ache grew. Everything hurt, and pain overwhelmed his body.

Bashur's breath was beginning to shorten, to the point where he was panicing. He tried to move, he looked around, but the more he did, the worse his vision got. As his head swung around, dizzy, his eyes looked up one last time. The last thing the poor melon saw before blacking out was the horrified look on Alesa's face.

Bashur fell to the floor, everything black.

-...-

Back at the kingdom of Minecraftia, the sky was blue, and there were a few clouds, and no sun to blind the people. A nice wind flowed softly across the land, and up on a hill beside the kingdom, Tyler and Sub sat down, enjoying the piece. They had a beautiful view of the town below them, and of the castle to the side. The tree they sat below was an apple tree, so the two both had a snack to munch on.

Tyler was talking about something, maybe something to do with Kyle and Aunt Janet, but Sub wasn’t really listening. He had tuned out a while ago. Staring into space, the assassin had other things on his mind. The tree they sat up brought him memories, once that he couldn’t ignore. Ones from his childhood. Ones that hurt.

-...-

“Slow poke, slow poke!”

A young, 7 year old Sub watched as his 8 year old friend, Sketch, poked fun at him from behind an apple tree. The little Sub was out of breath, but he still had all the time In the world to play with his best friend.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Sub yelled out in response, his voice soft.

The young boy with big green eyes and short brown hair raced after Sketch, the young boy with short dark brown hair and amber eyes. Sub raced around the tree, Sketch running away from him. The two played tag for hours, it seemed. Until the sky started to turn orange. By then, the two were out of breath, resting under the apple tree, munching on apples.

“You suck at this game!” Sketch laughed, however only playfully.

“I’ll get you next time!” Sub smirked, biting into the apple only to get his teeth stuck.

“Ahah!” Sketch grinned, pointing at Sub.

“Ahh!” Sub tried to pull his teeth out, but the apple in particular was a tough one. One a child would have the hardest time eating alone.

“You need help?” Sketch asked, watching, amused.

Sub shook his head, and with one big tug on the apple, he was able to get the apple off his front teeth. But now his teeth were sore, and he rubbed them a little with his sleeve. He placed the apple on the grass, as he didn’t want it anymore, and the ants and creatures below could have it later. Sketch giggled, and finished off the last of his apple before placing what was left beside Sub’s.

The two sat there, Sketch rambling on and on about things and Sub listening and giggling as well. They enjoyed eachother’s company. After a while, Sketch yawned. The two were getting sleepy. Sub following, the two boys sat up, and began walking down the hill to go home. They reached the town, walking in between buildings to reach the center, but what they found scared them. Citizens running, crying, screaming. The two boys stayed close, confused, and tears in their own eyes. They stepped out from a corner, watching people they knew fleeing. But from what?

A few guards on horses made their way against the crowd, the two boys seeing the symbols of their kingdom on the men’s armor. They raced passed, and the two boys watched as the guards went towards battle. When the crowd of people lessened, the two boys were able to catch a glimpse of the attackers. Squids.

“Gah!”

Sub turned around to see Sketch being snatched by a tall squid man who had snuck up behind him. The man ran back between the houses, Sketch screaming and kicking in his arms. Sub gasped, and ran after the two. His breath was everywhere, and his legs were tired, but he ran as fast as he could for his friend.

“SKETCH!” Sub screamed, and then cried.

“SUB! AHHHHHHH!” Sketch soon vanished from Sub’s vision, as well as the man, but the last thing Sub heard from his friend echoed in his mind.

Sub finally collapsed behind one of the buildings, unable to run any longer. He curled up on the stone ground, crying. Sketch was gone, and he was alone. He could still here the sounds of battle not far away, but in his small little corner, he was there. Crying. Alone.

-…-

Sub was 12 years old, and was different. He had grown, and was a bit skinnier, but the main change was bigger. He didn’t talk, and he avoided any eye contact. In fact, the boy wore a cloak with a hoodie, which he constantly pulled over his face. He didn’t like interacting much with others, and he was still a very lonely boy.

He’d never forget Sketch. He had never made any other best friends since his friend’s kidnapping. Nobody ever found sketch, and honestly he hadn’t even spoken to Sketch’s family since that tragedy. His own parents worried for him, and constantly tried getting his looked at by the kingdom’s doctors. But nothing, other than depression, was wrong with the boy.

Sub walked towards the castle, holding his hoodie over his eyes. It was a bright day, one that was hot and sticky. But today, he had plans. At one point, his parents had even tried getting him to have an appointment with the royal sorcerer, just to see if he could find something wrong. The sorcerer seemed too busy to properly find anything.

Sub was going to visit the sorcerer, but not about his problems. Sub had a request. One that might actually help him. Sub crossed the bridge, looking at his reflection in the clear waters. He didn’t like it. He reached the golden gates, and saw at the least four guards. But Sub had a skill, one that nobody else had. Sub kept close to the edges of their vision, and walking slowly, making no noises at all, Sub was able to get past the first two. Inside the gates, the boy quickly ran over to the walls beside the big front doors, where the next to guards stood.

But sub couldn’t get inside the doors without being caught. So he walked around the castle, finding a wooden door to the side that had a path to the back garden. This door was not guarded, and opened with a creek when he stepped inside. Slowly closing the door to be quiet, Sub found himself in the kitchen of the castle.

Sub snuck out of the kitchen and found his way into the hallways. Like a videogame, he was able to get past the guards walking the halls, with time that is, and found his way to the stair well. He remembered the sorcerer’s office was either on the second or third floor. Sub got to the second floor, and peeked around the corners. Then, when nobody was paying attention to his direction, he stepped out, and walked around a corner, into another hallway.

And the boy ran into just who he was looking for.

Sub’s green eyes looked up to meet the eyes of the sorcerer, whom was surprised to see him. Sub quickly pulled down his hoodie, and shook.

“How’d you get in here?” The sorcerer asked.

“…” Sub looked for words to say. He didn’t talk a lot, so his language skills had probably dropped a lot.

“What’s wrong?” The sorcerer asked, kneeling down.

“I…I have a….a request.” Sub began, his voice soft and hard to hear.

The sorcerer looked worried. “Yes? What is it, Sub?”

“…” Sub paused.

“I…I want a mask.” Sub coughed.

Seto, the sorcerer, stood back up.

“A mask? I can’t help you. Look, you shouldn’t be in here.”

Sub shook his head.

“I want a mask that hides my face! One that I can still see through and breath through!” Sub said, his voice getting louder, but also more hoarse.

Seto paused.

Sub shook, embarrassed.

“I want one that only I can take off…one that will never break.”

Seto remembered the boy from their last meeting, but didn’t think he’d ever see the boy again. But here he was, and he had found some solution to his problems. Hiding. Seto frowned.

“…Why?” Seto asked the boy.

Sub looked up at Seto.

“So I can focus on other things.” Sub said, taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

Seto looked at the boy. He knelt down again, facing him. What he asked for was something Seto had never tried to do before, and honestly could be impossible, but the boy had found his way to the second floor of the castle without being caught. It was worth trying to help him out. He had skill.

“I will try my best to create this mask.” Seto said. “I don’t know how long it’ll take, though. For now, why don’t I escort you back home. Is that okay?”

A small smile appeared on Sub’s face, and he nodded his head. His request had gotten through.

“Alright now.” Seto stood up. “Why don’t you lead the way?”

-…-

Sub’s memories were ended when a loud bang shook him back into reality. He looked around, to find Tyler gone. Beginning to panic, he stood up to find Tyler had switched sides, and was now standing to his right.

“Sub! Did you hear that!?” Tyler gasped, looking worried.

Sub shrugged. Yeah, but what was it?

“It came from the village!”

Tyler pointed out at the town, and the two both saw smoke. There was fire. Something bad was happening.

“Come on!” Tyler shouted.

Sub got up, and with his quick speed, he ran ahead of Tyler, towards the front of the castle. It was happening again. Tyler followed, but couldn’t keep up. Sub reached the golden gates infront of the palace to find that Brice and some of the guards were running towards the center of the village. Sub felt his stomach drop, and turned when he heard the front doors of the castle open. Sky walked out, with Seto and Ty following, as well as a few Sky Army guards.

“Sub!” Sky spotted Sub, and Sub jumped over, his movement similar to a stereotypical ninja’s. Sub stood in front of the king, and saluted.

“The squids are attacking! I need you to help evacuate the citizens!” Sky commanded.

Sub nodded his head, and ran off towards the town. Seto and Ty followed, having already gotten their orders. Tyler came running, reaching the bridge. He watched as Seto, Sub, and Ty were walking his way. The sounds of screaming and battle took place not far away, and Tyler wasn’t sure what to do.

“What do I do?!” Tyler asked, stopping the three.

“Keep yourself safe! You are a citizen!” Seto commanded, and the three continued to make their way to the town.

“Tyler!”

Tyler turned to see Sky, and he ran to Sky.

“Let me help!” Tyler begged.

Sky paused, unsure, but he trusted Tyler, and so motioned for one of the guards to hand Tyler a sword. Tyler smiled, and awaited orders.

“I need to you help evacuate the citizens. Keep yourself safe!” Sky ordered, and then ran past Tyler when a few screams grew louder than others.

Tyler followed closely behind, but stopped when he saw something odd. Standing alone by the river that the bridge went over, a man in a dark blue cloak was. Tyler frowned, when the man noticed him. Something was off. Tyler approached the man, but when he got closer, the man reached out his arm, over the side of the brick, over the river. There was something in his hands.

“NO!” Tyler shouted, his eyes widening, when he realized it was a squid.

The squid dropped a large round object into the water, and after a few seconds, the squid man taking cover, there was an explosion. It was loud, and water blasted everywhere.

Tyler fell back, hitting his head on the cobble stone. When he got back up, he faced a monster. The monster was huge. It looked like a normal squid mob, but it was big enough to sit in the river and still tower over everyone. A mix of sorcery and experimentation and creating such a beast wasn't all that unlikely. Tyler's body began to shake with the monster's tenticals waved everywhere, tugging at the golden gate on one side of the bridge and crushing a building on the other.

Tyler noticed the squid man trying to run away, and Tyler frowned, sprinting off, after him. Tyler was pretty fast, the sword he had being pretty light. He was running in the reach of the monster, beside the river, when the squid man turned a corner and could be seen no longer.

“HEY!” Tyler shouted, but something stopped him.

One of the large tenticals of the beast grabbed him, and lifted him into the air. This sudden change spooked Tyler, who left his chest grow light. His eyes widen as he tried to use the sword to free himself, but couldn't just yet.

“TYLER!”

Tyler could see the whole town from his height. He looked out to see even his friends hiding behind barrels. His attention turned to see Sky and Ty, whom had heard the explosion and come running back. Tyler saw Seto and Brice in the city, looking back his way, but in no position to join Ty and Sky. Tyler looked for Sub, but couldn't find him.

Time slowed down as the monster waved Tyler back and forth. Getting light headed, Tyler turned his attention to tuning out the sounds around him and focusing on using the sword to free himself. He wiggled around a bit to the point where he could free one of his arms, and hold the sword up. He used the sword to free his other hand, and with both hands free to use, Tyler held the sword up, and stabbed the monster. The sword dug into the monster's flesh, and blood dripped down into the water below.

The monster roared. It was injured and mad. Tyler suddenly felt himself being swung around in the air at a dangerous speed. He dropped the sword, and couldn't focus on anything. He thought that maybe he could hear somebody calling his name, but he wasn't sure. Tyler tried to steady himself, and reached out, his hand grabbing onto the cut by mistake, and hurting the monster even more. Tyler pulled back his hand, now covered in blood, and realized what he had done was a mistake.

The monster was done with the pest in his grasp. Having no care at all about Tyler anymore, the monster literally threw him into the air, towards the forest to the side of the kingdom. Tyler screamed, at a height and speed in the air that he wouldn't make it once he collided with the forest grounds.

“Tyler!”

From the ground, Sky and Ty could only watch in horror, as well as the other guards, as they tried to tame the beast. Sky's heart sank, scared about his friend's position, but then something happened. However, only a mere second after Tyler was thrown away, a blur of green ran past Sky, jumping onto the edge of the bridge at it's highest point, and then jumping onto the monster. Sky's eyes widen when he saw Sub the assassin climb the top of the monster in record speed, and then use the monster's height to launch himself after Tyler. The whole time being nothing but a blur.

Sub's hand grabbed Tyler only moments before the two crashed into the forest, and onto the forest floor. Sub softened the fall, and the two tumbled on the ground. Both of them lay motionless only a few yards away from the other. The forest became silent again, and the two did not get up.

-...-

Tyler awoke to a coughing fit. His eyes fluttered open from blackness, only to find himself in a forest. Sticks and leaves and rocks made the ground he laid on uncomfortable, so he slowly got up. His head hurt like hell, and his arms were sore. He blinked a bit and picked leaves off himself, and looked around more, stepping to the side.

Tyler then heard a noise, and turned around to see Sub. Sub was awake, and knelt over something in the leaves. Tyler was confused, but then realized something about Sub. Tyler's eyes widen, and he stood like a dear in headlights. Sub wasn't only bleeding and injured, but his mask was also broken. Tyler's eyes met Sub's green right eye, and they stared at each other for a few moments.

Sub then looked back down at the grass and felt around until he found the broken pieces of his mask. Tyler then shook his head and stepped closer. Sub tried sticking the broken pieces back in place to see what would happen, but the mask wasn't fixing. Sub got up, and in panic, shoved the pieces into his pocket, and pulled his hoodie down over his right eye. Sub then looked up at Tyler. Tyler could no longer see Sub's eye.

“T-Thank you...” Tyler coughed out. “A-And I won't t-tell anybody.”

Sub tilted his head to show confusion.

Tyler shook his head. “Nevermind.”

Sub started walking back towards the kingdom, and Tyler followed. The two had no clue how long they had been out, and Sub needed to get his mask fixed. The setting was silent, and there were no longer distant sounds of battle. It was time for the two to find out the aftermath of the attack.

-...-