At about three in the morning, I helped my dad, who was absolutely hammered, up the steps to our squat little hut. I could barely understand a word he said. But what I did decipher was something about three little turtles and a few shots of Vodka. What the heck is a turtle?

"C'mon, dad. In we go." I said.

"Hmmmmpha mmmmmphh." He responded. I guided him over to the couch, and laid him down.

"You're too much like your mother. I'm just not shure if that's good or bad yet." Dad slurred. I shook my head.

"Sleep." I said, and climbed upstairs to my own room.

"Aye now, the king is dead!" Dad bellowed out an old drinking song. But not a Pigmen one. Who?

"Bring the chief in his stead!" Ah. Piglins. They were the only nation with a chief. My eyes grew heavy as he bellowed out another verse.

"Aye, now, the Warlord's here, knockin at our doors!" He cackled. I drifted off with the sense that I just missed something important.

. . .

I woke to my bed shaking like crazy. Rubbing my eyes, I rolled out of bed and pulled on a white undershirt.

"Dad? What's shaking?" I yelled. I heard him pounding up the stairs, and he burst into my room. I was surprised to see his massive golden sword in his hand.

"Don't yell. They'll find us." He said, looking tense.

"Who? Dad, what-!"

"Take this. Get to the gate. You need to get outta here." Dad said, and handed me a gold sword. Mom's katana. Berserker.

"First tell me what in the name of Galan is goin on!" I said. He grabbed my shoulders, panicked.

"No time to explain!" He slipped something else into my hand. "Take this to the Piglin Chief. I've arranged a guide for you. His name is Coulter. He'll be waiting for you at the main gate." He put a backpack on me. A window broke downstairs, followed by shouting. Dad shoved a backpack into my hands, and lifted his sword.

"Go! I'll buy you time!" Dad barked. Knowing not to argue, I slung the pack on, and climbed out the back window onto a tree. I clambered down as fast as possible, and took off running. Sarah's house was right by Big Dougs and Ricks, and that was only a few blocks away. I didn't care what was happening, but there was no chance I was leaving them behind.

Another explosion rocked the cavern, and this time I saw what was causing it. Glow Missiles. Made of Glowstone, they were near weightless, small, and deadly. Their explosions caused blasts of lightning to go shooting in all directions. I had never seen them in use before, just being shipped by.

I made it about two blocks before I saw what looked like a guard. With luck, Rick's dad.

"Hey! Help!" I yelled at the figure. I ran towards them. They turned, and I froze. Where typically there was pink skin, they had a deep tan flesh tone. Scars and tattoos covered their exposed arms like a painting. Their arms were extremely thick, showing that they could probably snap me over their knee like a twig. A mask covered their face, but the sharp tips of tusks still protruded from the top. A double-headed golden war axe bejeweled with blood-red rubies rested on their shoulders. Hoglin furs covered them from head to ankles. They wore heavy leather boots, and an equally heavy leather belt looped around their waist.

A Piglin. A Piglin Brute, if I knew any better.

Wait.

The Piglins were attacking us?

The brute pointed his axe at me, and slowly began walking towards me. I turned, and ran as fast as I could. My heart pounded. I stood no chance against a brute. They were the best of the best. The Wither Legion broke apart and ran just at the sight of them. And now one was chasing me. No, not chasing. Hunting.

I ducked behind a wall, and covered my mouth to hide my heavy breath.

Footsteps echoed down the street, slowly getting closer to me. I pinched my eyes shut, and prayed the brute couldn't hear my heart beating like a marching band. Smoke obscured my vision. Now they sounded right by me. Then stopped. I could hear it breath. I stood perfectly still, sweat running down my back and forehead. It grunted, and the footsteps moved on. At this angle, all I could see were footprints. Barefoot prints. I took a sharp intake of breath. That hadn't been the brute. Something else. So where was the brute?

A powerful hand clamped over my hand, and I was forced backwards.
They had snuck up from behind.

How could I have been so stupid?

My screams were muffled by their rough hands as the brute pulled me further into the alleyway. To kill me, I supposed. My heartrate picked up again, somehow.

"Will you shut up? I'm trying to help, kid. What, you think I'm gonna kill a little runt like you? No meat on your bones. Bad eating." He growled. I stumbled for a moment. He was gonna EAT me? He snorted.

"It was a joke, Dean. My name is Coulter. I'm here to help. I'm an old friend of your dad's." He whispered. I stopped struggling, and bit his hand.

"Ow! Wha-!" Coulter said, releasing me. I quickly spun away, drawing Berserker. Coulter looked amused.

"Your dad is right. You're like your mom. Might be good, might be bad." Coulter said.

"You knew my mom?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Yeah, she was stubborn as absolute hell. Didn't take no for an answer. Then she decided it would be a good idea to take on two Nether Warlords at once. She was a good friend. And now-" He looked at something over my shoulder, "You need to duck!"

"What?" I asked, and he swung his axe at my head. I ducked, and I heard a bone crunch behind me. Coulter grabbed my arm, and pulled me away.

"And that's our queue." He said.

"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked, trying to see what was behind us.

"You don't. But what other choice do you have right now?" He said. I couldn't argue with that. He pulled me into the street, and stopped abruptly.

"Stay behind me." He said, once more lifting his axe and a hammer I hadn't noticed before.

I looked at what was in front of us. About seven feet tall and holding two Netherite swords, my worst nightmare in the flesh stood a few feet from me. Well, in the non-flesh. A Wither Skeleton.
Two metal, clawed three-fingered hands with little orange dots in the palm rose above its head from a metal box on its back.

"Been a long time, Warlord." Coulter said. Warlord?

"Your little revolution ends here, Argos-Borne. I kill you, The Phoenix dies forever." The 'Warlord' said.

"Last I checked, our 'little revolution' has more than 8,000 members as of today." Coulter said, then looked at me.

"Meet me outside. I'm the guide your dad arranged." Coulter said, and charged the Wither Skeleton. Two twin beams of orange light blasted from The Warlord's artificial hands, and Coulter's hammer unfolded into a shield.

I bolted. First find my friends, then the gate. I followed the alleyways, avoiding the streets. If my mental map was right, Sarah's house was only a few houses away. I hopped a fence, and into some nice old man's backyard. The guy was lying dead in his favorite rocker. I took a deep breath, raised my sword, and stepped into the street.

Sarah's house sat burning.

"No!" I yelled before I could stop myself.
They were gone.

Then a figure emerged from the smoke. Another Wither Skeleton, this one with a gauntlet over his left hand. I stood with Berserker in a combat ready stance. He just laughed.

"I was trained to fight PigMEN boy, not runts like you. The outcome will be the same, though. You lying dead at my feet." He said, and pressed his thumbs together. His gauntlet caught fire, and he drew a oil-black sword from seemingly nowhere.

Every survival instinct I had screamed to run. And yet I still lifted my sword with determination.

He swung his blade in a heavy downwards arc, and I was just barely able to block. The sheer force of the blow left my arm numb. Before I could even think, his sword was aimed at my side. Instinct took over, and I parred it away, and followed with a sharp jab at the middle. He lunged back a bit, then launched into a flurry of blows that I was just barely able to deflect. And without even realizing it, my blade clattered to the ground.

"Well! That lasted a few seconds longer than I thought it would! I gotta say, I'm impressed." He said. I raised my fists. I was ready.

He raised his blade, and just before he brought it cleaving down, a crossbow bolt sank into his shoulder. He dropped his sword, and it disappeared in a burst of flames.

I turned, and a Piglin stood across the street from us, already aiming at him again.

"Open wide, Mother F-!" She let the bolt fly, and the Wither Skeleton lept back into the house. The bolt flew into the flames. She jerked her head at me, and I followed her.

"I thought Coulter told you to wait at the gate!" She barked.

"I-!" I stammered, but she pulled me into the alley. She shushed me.

I looked where she was, and my heart almost stopped. The Warlord marched across Main Street, leading a Pigman. My dad. A low hiss escaped my lips. I wanted to charge out there and plunge my sword into The Warlords back.

"I take great pleasure in this. Your death will be a critical blow to the Revolution." The Warlord growled.

"How 'bout I give your mom a critical b-" The Warlord rammed his fist into dad's gut before he could finish. I tried to run out to help him, but the Piglin stopped me.

"You attack him, you die." She hissed.

"If I don't, he dies!" I whispered harshly.

"There's nothing we can do. It's The Prophecy." She said. Before I could respond, more Wither Skeletons leading Pigmen marched onto the street. They pushed the Pigmen to their knees, and forced them to look up at The Warlord.

"Today marks a historical hinge in the Nether, Comrades. Here are the mighty Pigmen, forced to their knees. We will show them The Last Pigmen will NEVER come to pass. The Warlords will rule forever!" The Warlord bellowed, and, simultaneously, all the Pigmens throats were cut, except my dad.

"I wanted you to watch that, Blackstone. I wanted to see the pain it would cause you and now;" The Warlord said, and pressed the tip of his sword to Dad's gut, "You join them." He ran him through.

Dad coughed red, and looked up into the Warlord's face.

"You may have won here, Warlord, but... we will... always... rise again... The Last Pigman is already here..." He smiled. "My... son." Dad said, and the Warlord pulled his sword out, and flicked the blood off. Dad slowly fell to his side.

The Wither Skeletons dropped the Pigmen, and began walking away. I waited until they were out of sight, then rushed to my dad's side.

"Dad!" I yelped. He looked at me weakly. He reached up slowly, and rested his palm on my face.

"Dean." he looked at the Piglin. "Sadie. Get out of here. Get to the Piglin Chief. Dean, do... you still have that paper I gave you...?" I nodded. "Good. Don't read it. Give it to the Chief. He can help us... Dean, bring down the Warlord's regime. You... are the Last... Pigman..." Dad said, and he went limp.

"...Dad?" I said, and Sadie pulled me up.

"We gotta get out of here." She said sadly. I nodded numbly. She kneeled next to him, and whispered a prayer: "Colter Blackstone, may you rest well in the Hall of Argos,where the brave may live forever. Take your place among heroes, and feast with Kings and Gods."

She stood slowly, and exhaled softly.

"Alright, Dean. Coulter is waiting outside for us. He can fill us in about what the plan is. And from here, you're on the run. Just like the rest of us. Sadie sighed, and led me away from the bodies of my people.

My dad was right. I was the last of the Pigmen. And I would bring the Warlords Regime down. Even if it cost me my life.