A Virtual World Turned Real (An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure)

chapter seventeen: Finish The Fight

Two minutes earlier...

I stood next to London on the dragon nest, our bows firing constantly at the dragon. "Nice of you to join me." I said, not taking my aim off the dragon. Just then someone hit a crystal in top of one of the obsidian pillars which surrounded the dragon nest. I realized what we had to do next.
"Shoot the crystals!" I yelled just as the dragon let out a vicious roar. "They heal him if we don't! Aim for them first!" We all adjusted our aims towards the crystals, trying to hit them. After a few tries and a dozen or so arrows, almost all the crystals -- except for two, which were too high to reach for arrows -- were destroyed.

I already was formulating in my mind when Kelly yelled, "How are we supposed to hit those?"
I pulled out some cobblestone that I had on me, and turned to London. "Wait here. I'll get them." I didn't wait to a response from her, I just ran for the nearest of the two obsidian pillars. Once I reached the side of the pillar, I began to pillar-jump up the side of it. It wouldn't be easy going though, between the dragon and the fact that the pillar was 25 some blocks tall. London yelled something incoherent, but I didn't bother to stop and wonder what she said, I just kept on going up.

Once I reached the top, I drew my sword and looked at the crystal. Although I had seen it so many times before, it looked so much more realistic than in the regular game. The dragon let out another roar, snapping me back into the reality of here-and-now. I raised my sword and brought it down on the crystal. It detonated violently, the explosion knocking me backwards a bit, but my armour helped.
I regained my footing and readied for building over to the other tower. Just then, the dragon let out a ferocious roar and I heard London yell from below, "JACE LOOK OUT!" I turned just in time to see the dragon bear down on me, crashing into the tower and snatching me in one of its massive claws.

It flew up and away from the tower, me in its claws. I struggled to free myself when I looked down to the ground. It was a fatal fall, no question. The height of it spooked me. The dragon let our a roar and, in one motion, flung me from its grasp. I flew through the air, terrified beyond reason. During my free fall, time slowed down to an achingly slow pace. I saw London and the others standing on the ground. London looked petrified with fear, as did many others. But as quickly as I saw them, they disappeared from sight, obstructed by the End landscape. I realized then that I was falling over the edge and towards the void.

So this is how it ends, I thought to myself with finality, This is how I die.

I thought of the irony of this situation. A well-educated and prepared Minecrafter like myself, bested like a complete noob. Wait... prepared?
I sifted through my inventory lightning quick, searching for the only thing that could save me now. I found it and pulled it out. Ender Pearls.

I took one in my left hand, looked frantically about for the End island and focused my gaze on it. I would likely only get one shot at this. I drew my arm back, steadied myself as best I could while falling to my doom, and finally swung my arm as hard as I  could, throwing the Ender Pearl from my grasp.

I watched the pearl fly through the air, clinging to it like it was my only hope of survival. Oh, wait... it WAS my only hope for survival. I just hoped to Notch that it reached the End before I reached the void. I began to feel a burning sensation on my back, the void starting to take my life away. I closed my eyes and waited for whatever fate had in store for me.  Just when I thought it was all over, I felt a sensation of being in two places at once, and then an explosion of blunt force on my stomach.

I shot my eyes open and found myself half on and half off the edge of the End. I was elated. I was ALIVE. I survived the void. I began to slip and fall again. I did not go all this way to die now. I struggled to get a grip on the End stone around me. I finally found purchase right on the edge of the cliff with my one hand. Dangling on the cliff side, I looked down for some reason. Maybe to see what I had escaped. Maybe not. I wasn't sure. All I knew is that I still had lots of fight left in me.

I pulled myself back up onto the End and righted myself. I saw the dragon flying around the pillars, spitting it's acid fireballs down towards its nest, no doubt where my friends were making their last stand. Not anymore they weren't. I ran back towards them, taking another pearl in my throwing arm. When I was certain I could reach the top of the last tower with my throw, I hurled the pearl from my hands. I stopped dead in my tracks once it left my hand to keep from running off the edge of the tower when I teleported on it. Soon, I found myself standing on the tower, right next to the only remaining healing crystal. Even in my disoriented state, I managed to draw my sword and slam it into the crystal. It shattered and exploded. The dragon let out a violent roar. I turned in time to see the dragon dive bomb it's nest, where London still stood.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" I yelled, my anger boiling over. I wasn't about to let the dragon kill London. I drew another pearl and whipped it toward the nest. Instantly I found myself standing on the End stone ground, two blocks away from the nest. I sprang forward and dove just in time to colide with London just as the dragon slashed at where she had stood only a split instant before. We crashed into the ground, me on top of her. I peeled myself off of her but stopped when I saw her expression. She looked shocked, happy, and confused all at the same time.

"...Jace?" She managed to say, nearly speechless.
I nodded. For some reason, in that moment, I was comepletey at peace. As if nothing bad was happening. But then the moment passed and I darted to my feet and spun to face the dragon. It hovered just over its nest, roaring and slashing about with its massive claws.

Time to finish this.

I sprang at the dragon, ready for melee combat with a being many times my own size and strength. I slashed at it with my sword, scoring early hits. It roared in pain and swung one of its claws at me. I pulled out my shield in time and let the attack smash into my shield. I continued my attack, relentlessly hammering the dragon with my blade. "HIT HIM!" I yelled to my friends. "ATTAAAACK!!"

Suddenly, a hail of arrows fell on the dragon, pounding it from above. The dragon roared in fury, taking attacks from both above and below. It swung about viciously, trying desperately to hit something to lessen the attacks, to no avail. I was right in the thick of it, slashing with my sword, blocking attacks with my shield and dodging whenever the dragon tried to breathe it's acid breath on me. I had never fought harder before, or with such fervent lethality. With my friends lending ranged support, the dragon didn't stand a chance.

The dragon's attacks began to slow and falter, it's health diminishing under constant barrage. It's roars changed from ones of rage to one of pain. We were getting close to defeating it. We kept up the attack, not giving the dragon a moment to rest. I stabbed at the dragon with my diamond blade and a shafts of light appeared out of the wound, followed by many more around its whole body. The dragon let out a sad, dying moan as it began to float up into the air, shafts of light exploding outward from its body in every which direction. I watched in wonder at the spectacle, knowing absent-mindedly what it meant. The dragon's health was gone, meaning that the fight was over. The dragon dissolved away, and from it a shower of experience points rained down on its conquers. At the time, it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.

When the last of the experience balls hit the gtound, the portal that hid in the dragon's nest activated, followed by the appearance of a few torches on the central pillar in the nest, and the Ender Dragon's egg. Normally, users began to run around and collect all the loot that had just fallen upon them, but I just stood there, locked in a stupor.

The Ender Dragon... was no more.