Chapter 15. Ender Rising

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Ranger and the three others walked along behind Mineral. As they came to the mouth of a cave, Ranger asked "Are we going in here?" Mineral nodded and said "Yes. I have a Nether portal set up in the cave." Ranger nodded and said "Lead the way."

And they followed behind Mineral, filing into the cave one by one. They walked by lava pools, water fountains, sinkholes, and a zombie spawner. Finally Mineral stopped on the edge of a water pool. "Across this underground lake is the Nether Portal." They nodded and splashed into the ankle-deep water.

But Ranger remained frozen on the bank. She crafted a boat and set it down, sailing instead across the water. Once she met the other side, she built a dock and placed the boat by it. Steph asked "Are you afraid of water or something?" Ranger looked down at her feet and mumbled "I guess...you could say that."

Steph nodded. This wasn't the time or place to launch into a lengthy conversation. Mineral broke off a piece of the wall and revealed the Nether portal hidden behind the stone. Ranger said "Alright, I want to go first. After me, anybody can come." They nodded.

Ranger put a tentative hand into the Nether portal, then pulled it back hurriedly as nausea swept over her. She took a deep breath and stepped inside. After a few seconds, she vanished. Then Mineral, Steph, Dave, and Pro went inside. They came out in the Nether. They looked around, carefully mapping the locations of lava pools and overhangs.

Suddenly, a flash or orange light came from overhead. Then somebody was falling. One second Ranger was by Steph; the next she had caught the falling person. It was Toxic. Ranger looked around at the others and realized they were staring at her, something between fear and curiosity in their eyes.

"You...you teleported!" Steph choked out. Ranger hung her head and said "Looks like I have some explaining to do." She set Toxic down. When Ranger walked to the center of the group, everybody unconsciously stepped back a pace. When she reached the middle, she cleared her throat.

Everybody was watching her intently, waiting for an explanation. Ranger mumbled "I can teleport because...because I'm an Ender Hybrid."

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