Magic Meets Might

Only Dreaming

I collected the wood from the fallen tree and slung my axe over my shoulder. As I walked back to my small cottage, I noticed a sign has been put up in front of my fence gate:

Did you like those diamonds my dear? Let me know if you're running out again. -H

I paled, remembering the random diamonds I'd found in my chest earlier that day. H stood for Herobrine, every person knew that. Why would the evil god take an interest in a semi-magical girl who lives alone in the woods? I quickly looked around, paranoid that I might find two white eyes glowing somewhere in the shadows. Seeing nothing out of the calm ordinary, I pulled the wood to the side of my cottage and hung the axe on its old rusted pegs.

I whistled out to the backyard and the familiar brown face of my dog, Marty, came running. I knelt down and ruffled his ear fur. Marty nudged my hand away and rolled onto his back, begging me to rub his belly. I obliged and ran my hand over his soft underbelly.

"Hey Marty, did anyone come and put down that sign?"

Marty rolled to his feet and trotted over to the sign. He stuck his nose to the dirt around the sign and his ears shot up. I followed Marty to the edge of land I'd cleared and patted him on the head. Marty whined and walked back to the house.

In the dark glowed two white eyes.

"Is she awake yet?" A cold cloth rested on my forehead and the voice was hauntingly familiar. The cloth was shifted and something brushed against my skin.

"No not yet...Why would He do this?"

"You know how he is. I'm honestly surprised she wasn't found by him sooner."

"I'm surprised she's alive."

"Cass is a trooper, she'd never give up just like that. Still, it wasn't easy. We're almost out of healing potions at this point."

"Dudes, look at this," paper rustled off to my right, "She's almost covered the whole of Minecraftia. I've never seen anything covering this much ground before."

Sky...Seto...MU...Deadlox...Mitch? The Team?

I sat bolt upright, instantly regretting my decision because of the headache that followed. I reclined back onto the surface that was now recognizable as a med cot and sighed. "How are you all alive?! D-didn't He kill you? The c-castle! Th-the crowning! You all died in the attack, I thought!" I whisper-yelled.

Seto's face loomed into view. "One at a time." I felt sorry for him, the man looked so tired...so done with everything, like he wanted this whole conflict to end. But a tiny glimmer of hope shone in his eyes. The sorcerer missed me. "Simple, we didn't die...even more shameful, we ran. I-I didn't have time to go after you, we had to go as soon as possible."

From behind him, Sky spoke up. "I'm sorry Cassandra, er, River, but we had to go, Herobrine showed up, we couldn't risk it."

Deadlox chuckled, "Easy for you to say, who got a black eye from trying to drag Seto away before he would've run back for you."

I frowned. "W-where is Jerome?"

The small room fell silent.

Mitch removed the cloth and clasped his hands together. "Herobrine killed him, as an example...to all of us. To show us we have no chance."

My eyes filled with hot tears of anger. I clenched my fist, trying to keep from releasing a burst of magic. When I spoke, my voice quivered. "I'm going to enjoy killing you." I closed my eyes and a pair of white ones stared back at me. I would not rest until I saw those eyes full of fear.

A wrenching feeling in my stomach made me groan. Purple dust floated and whirled around the Team and I. As my surroundings became obscured by the magic, I squeezed my eyes closed.

Upon opening them, I looked around to see the rest of Team Crafted, all chained against a netherbrick wall. As was I, and I didn't like it one bit. Seto seemed worst off, the magic-stealing abilities of the netherbrick obviously affecting him. He looked up at me and gave a small nod.

"Hilarious Cassandra, as once I learned of your survival, I said those same exact words."

I turned my gaze to a chuckling figure across the room. His white blank eyes were the only source of light in the room, bright, powerful, and insanely glad that we were here.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to my Fun House!"

-Moo