//------------------------------// // A Crafter's Dream Ch. 26: Thanks for the Nightmares // Story: A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) // by ruthim345 //------------------------------// Now, without further adieu, I present, “A Crafter’s Dream” Steve stood, a frown present on his face. Although he looked calm and collected, inside was a different story. His heart pounded in his chest, blood roaring through his veins as adrenaline coursed through his body. His hands were closed into fists, knuckles white and palms sweaty. His teeth were grit so tightly, one could wonder how they hadn’t already become nubs. His opponent stood facing Steve, glowing eyes simply staring at Steve. Herobrine had a small frown on his face, eyebrows furrowed. “I thought, y-you were dead.” Steve said, mentally cursing at himself for stuttering. The words caused the frown on Herobrine’s face to slowly tilt upwards into a small smile. “I nearly was, thanks to you.” He spoke, a small amount of anger present in his voice. “But, death was, and is, a foreign concept to me. A god, after all, does not so easily die.” Steve had enough nerve to smirk. “Gods don’t bleed, asshole.” Herobrine frowned. Circle: Dodge Steve jumped to the side as a large beam of white light cut through the darkness, nearly hitting him. Pulling back his fist, he dropped low, getting into his fighting stance. Herobrine laughed, a cold, malicious laugh, that only promised one thing. Death. “Hahahahaha.” His laugh sent a chill down Steve’s spine. “You always were a fighter. Maybe, that will come in handy for you, one last time.” Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Herobrine snapped his fingers. Suddenly, seven doors popped into existence, making Steve take a step back, gaze narrowed. “Behind each of these doors, a soul lies, trapped.” Steve’s gaze followed along the doors. “Behind one, the Princess, Celestia. Another, General Trench, Behind another,” Herobrine smirked. “Your friend, Derpy lies, trapped in a sleep, like death. The same can be said for Rainbow Dash.” Steve felt a blistering anger well up in his stomach. Already, his mind raced to come up with a plan, some way to beat his opponent’s pasty ass and rescue his friends. “You will have to make your way past traps, enemies and deceptions in order to rescue them. If you fail, you, as well as your friends will die, trapped in a coma they will never wake from.” Steve raised an eyebrow in confusion. Herobrine, wasn’t going to fight him, and probably kill him? Why? The Herobrine that Steve knew would never pass up an opportunity to kill those who stood in his way, so why wasn’t that happening now? Suddenly, Herobrine laughed. “Ah, you are wondering why I am forcing you to play my little game?” Steve just glared at him. “Well that, my friend, is something I don’t have to tell you.” Herobrine finished, a gleam present in his eye. Steve frowned heavily at his words, teeth grit. “I wish you the worst of luck.” Herobrine stated, before, just like that, he was gone. For a while, Steve remained motionless, mind trying to process what had just happened. Thinking it over, he absentmindedly walked to the first door on his right. Rubbing his chin, he muttered to himself. “That, fucker, just wants me to play his game. I don’t want to know what horrors he had planned for me.” Giving an nervous sigh, Steve didn’t see much choice but to play along, at least for the time being. Gripping the door handle, he pulled the door open. Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside. * * * * * Steve walked, the blackness being quickly replaced by landscape as he walked. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. It looked like a town, if the town was built of pure and utter depression. There was no color, anywhere. The homes and buildings were seemingly all built of sad, gray brick and wood. Even the thatched roofs, which were supposed to be yellow, were a dead, blonde color. As he walked, Steve couldn’t help but feel sad and miserable. A frown was ever-present on his features as he walked, looking for something, well, anything. Suddenly, he heard a sound. It sounded dreadenly like a scream. Even from so far away, he could hear the pain and anguish in it’s tone. Not hesitating for a second, he took off, running down the street as fast as he could. It was only after he had turned off of that street and onto the next one that he saw it. The cause for the screaming, probably. Bodies. Dozens, perhaps even hundreds of them. They littered the street, blood pouring from their wounds. Steve’s eyes widened as they took in the horror. He slowed down to a walk, momentarily forgetting about the scream. His mouth dropped open in a look of dismay. But, that wasn’t the worst part, if it can be believed. The worst part was the ways some of them had died. One, a unicorn stallion, had two arrows in him, one imbedded in his chest, the other piercing his skull, eyes stuck in a fixture of terror. Another, a mare this time, was severed in half, the two pieces about ten or so feet from one another. Yet another, a stallion earth pony, had his head twisted at an unnatural angle. There were many, all lying dead on the road. Steve covered his mouth, eyes slammed shut. He fought to keep himself steady, his brain a horrid mixture of emotions. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again, this time refusing to look down. Suddenly, there was another scream, this time much closer, in front of him. Without hesitation, Steve took off, trying to avoid the bodies beneath him. After only a minute or two, he came across the source of the scream. It was General Trench, sitting among the bodies, still very much alive. He sat, facing the sky, spear clutched in his hoof. He didn’t move, nor show notion that he had noticed Steve’s approach. “Trench.” At this single word, Trench’s head snapped in Steve direction. His eyes were filled with fear and his voice shook. “C-creature? What are y-you doing here?” Steve held his hands in front of him in a placating matter. “Trying to find you, I guess.” Steve responded. Trying to ignore the bodies, he continued. “What the Nether happened here?” Trench sniffled a bit, tears beginning to fall. “I failed them. I promised to protect them, and I failed. Now they’re, g-gone.” The stallion began to sob, his choked cries the only sound present. Steve could only look at him in empathy. In truth, he’d been there, once before, after the Final Battle. When he’d looked around and saw all of his friends lying lifeless on the ground. Steve stepped forward, to offer a small amount of comfort, before his ears picked up the sound of footsteps. Whirling around, he saw black, mist-like creatures, akin to wolves, slowly making their way to the pair. They had glowing yellow eyes, and green, cruddy teeth. Even the air they exhaled was tinted lime. Steve stood up straight, turning to face the monsters. Looking around, Steve groaned as more appeared alongside their kin. More and more appeared, until the entire road looked like it was made of pure black mist. Turning back, he saw Trench, still sobbing, completely oblivious to his impending doom. Steve gritted his teeth. “Trench! Get up, or you’ll die!” No response. He seemed to be really out of it. Letting out an irritated sigh, Steve tried to open his inventory. However, to his horror, he found he was unable to. Trying again, he was met with the same result. Cursing, he pulled back his fist, dropping into a fighting stance. “C’mon then you fuckers!!” Steve yelled, which was all the incentive needed for the fight to begin. They swarmed forward, a single large, black mass. Ready? Fight!! Square x 4: Punch Combo Triangle (Hold): Roundhouse Kick Dashing forward, Steve sent his fist rocketing forward, caving the muzzle of the mist-wolf. Rolling over that one, he sent two more crushing blows, taking them out as well. Bringing up his fists, he smashed them down, taking out another one. Spinning, he knocked another aside with a roundhouse. While he did so, one of the mist-wolves got lucky and chomped down on Steve’s arm, tearing through the flesh of his forearm. Damage Received - 3 damage. 17 health remaining. Triangle: Kick Shaking it off, he gave it a solid kick, making it fizzle and disappear, like it’s defeated brethren. Groaning, he stumbled back, facing the horde that’d he’d barely made a dent in. Pulling back his fist, blood dripped down onto the cobblestone road. Circle + Square: Tackle Square: Punch Triangle: Kick Dodging another attack, he tackled a mist-wolf, holding it in a choke-hold. Twisting, he heard a soft, “Snap!” as it’s neck cracked, causing it to go limp in his grasp. Throwing the body aside, he punch an attacking mist-wolf, then drop-kicked it. All of the sudden, Steve was tackled to the ground, feeling teeth in his torso as one of them bite down. Damage Received - 3 damage. 14 health remaining. Yelling in pain and anger, mostly anger, Steve twisted his body, managing to throw the monster off. Shooting to his feet, he back-pedaled to give himself some distance. Blood dripped down his side, as well as his arm, serving to remind him of his injuries, as well as how outnumbered he was. Gritting his teeth, he reinforced his stance, and prepared himself. The horde edged closer, seemingly taking their time. Their numbers were quite extensive, as shown by the thick mass of black that covered the street. Then, like an arrow from a bow, they all lunged. X (Hold): Power Jump Steve leapt high above the mist-wolves, looking down with a look of determination. Bringing up his leg, he brought it down with every ounce of strength that his body would allow. He smashed into the ground with enough force to crack the road beneath him. New Move Learned! X (Hold) + Triangle: Curb Stomp. The wolves didn’t fare well against the attack. Any that were close enough were killed on impact. Any that weren’t were thrown back, creating a crater in the mass of black. Standing straight, he smirked. The mist-wolves reoriented themselves, snarling at Steve, then attacked again. Circle: Dodge Circle: Dodge Square: Punch Rolling under a lunge, Steve got back onto his feet, only to sidestep another. Pulling back his fist, he punched a wolf in the face, sending it rolling. Suddenly, Steve felt pain flare up in his leg. Snapping his gaze down, he saw a wolf chomping down on his calf. Before he could do anything about it, another mist-wolf gripped his un-injured forearm with its nasty teeth, then pulled down, sending the off-balance Crafter to the floor. Damage Received - 7 damage. 7 health remaining. Shaking them off, Steve rolled as he was nearly beheaded by a wolf’s bite. Stumbling back, Steve groaned at the pain. Looking up, he groaned in pain and frustration as he saw there was still a large number of wolves left. Glancing behind him, he saw Trench was still there, though his crying had stopped. Now he looked at the ground with a blank stare. Steve grit his teeth. “Trench!! You need to get out of here!! I can’t hold these things off!! They’ll tear you apart!!” He shouted, trying to get through to the dazed stallion. Square: Punch Another wolf jumped on Steve's turned back, but he punched it away. Hobbling towards Trench, he was pushed down on his stomach. Rolling over, he was swiftly scratched by the wolf's claws. Damage Received - 2 damage. 5 health remaining. Crying out in pain, Steve pushed it off. Getting to his feet, he huffed, pushing through the pain, ignoring the blood that fell. Grimacing, he got into his fighting stance, preparing for his final stand. Only for a spear to impale two mist-wolves at once. The mist-wolves were as shocked as Steve was. He was even more shocked when he heard a vicious yell from behind him. Whirling around, he was just able to see a gray stallion leaping past him, a look of rage present on his face. Landing, Trench picked up his spear and immediately thrust it into the nearest mist-wolf, killing it on contact. Not waiting a moment, Steve joined the fight, pummeling the dark creatures into oblivion. For the first time since he'd arrived on that world, Steve fought alongside a pony. * * * * * Steve crushed a mist-wolf beneath his feet, satisfied to see it twitch and fade away. Looking up, Steve saw Trench sitting across the way from him, huffing in exhaustion. His spear lay on the ground beside him. Getting up, Steve groaned in pain from his wounds. Hobbling over, he gingerly sat down beside the stallion. They sat in silence for a moment, simply taking in the quiet. Eventually, Trench spoke. “Thank you.” He said quietly. Steve gave him a sideways glance. “No problem, I guess. Just don't ask me to do again for a while. At least until I'm healed up.” Steve said, wincing as he held his side. “I can treat your injuries. It was one of the many skills I learned over the years.” Steve narrowed his gaze at the General, for a moment, before sighing. “Sure, fine.” Trench nodded, before setting to work. Not long later, after scavenging some nearby houses, he came back with supplies. After a good ten minutes, he was finished. Regeneration Effect Gained. +1 health per 20 seconds. Steve closed his eyes and sighed as the pain, slowly but surely, began to fade. Opening his eyes, he looked around at the death and destruction. “Hey, Trench. Do you know where we are?” The stallion sighed, looking around. “No, I don't. But frankly, I don't want to. It looks like something straight out of my worst nightmare.” This statement caused Steve to stop as something occurred to him. “Wait, hold on. Your nightmare?” Trench looked up at Steve with a curious gaze. “Yeah, what about it?” “The guy that put us in here said I, and by connection you, are in the Mindscape. If my gut is correct, which it usually is, we probably just fought a physical representation of your nightmare.” Before Trench could respond, there was sudden, “BING!” Then, a large wooden door, exactly like the one Steve had used to enter appeared. Getting to his feet, Steve slowly walked forward, stopping right in front of the door, Trench following close behind. Taking a deep breath, he reached out a hand and turned the knob, causing the door to click open. Without a word, Steve stepped through, into the unknown.