//------------------------------// // Back to the Nether // Story: Minecraft: A New Adventure // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// Upon their return to the village Pinkie made sure to double check everything that was on the recipe, just to be sure she had everything that was available to them right now, while Steve and Alex tended to the village itself, helping the Villagers out while making sure the walls were still intact. Octavia, on the other hand, returned to her tower and got to work once more, going over the research she had done so far and what she still had to do while keeping an eye on her supplies, which she knew Pinkie had improved at some point before this point. She discovered ways to make Essentia with her materials, the fact that using Alumentum would improve things drastically, a few other things since there were many crossing her mind right now, and some sort of levitation device that might be useful for entering the tower without having to walk all the time. With the plans in mind she went about making the device that the tome told her about, carefully making it so she didn't bother anything with her experiments, and when she completed it she put it off to the side for now as she turned towards the rest of the tower. From there she started to renovate the tower and the surrounding area, where she slowly and carefully terraformed the area around the base of her tower and move it up into the sky, making it more like a floating island, while using a bucket to fill the crater she left with water. She also made a hidden tunnel connecting the base to the crater, allowing her to link up the two areas with the new device, where Octavia used a translucent material that next to no one could see to construct the path, though since it only went so far she pushed it to the limit and constructed the base of the new tower to house an area she could safely land in. From there it was a simple matter to hide the new section of the tower with stone and dirt, just to make it look like everything had been moved into the air, as if she had ripped everything out of the ground, before she got to work on the actual tower, widening it so she could store more on each floor. Octavia also made sure to add stairs as she went about figuring out how to make each floor work without getting in the way of the others, while determining where to set her new bed, her workshop, and everything else she might need, including sections that housed her resource centers. When morning rose, however, Octavia groaned as she realized that she must have worked herself to exhaustion and fell asleep on the floor at some point, but she dusted herself off before jumping down to the edge of her base, as she found that when she landed in the water none of it stuck to her, allowing her to be dry when she left it. You know, you wouldn't have to do that if you just embraced our power. the Voice commented, reminding Octavia of her passenger, which seemed to come and go based on what she had seen so far, speaking whenever it wanted to while having no regard for her personal privacy, but she imagined that some shadowy figure was floating around her when she heard the Voice speak, We could give you whatever power or knowledge you desire... wings to fly, augments to make your body far stronger for the future, magic to ensure you survive the trials that you'll be facing. And I said that I would never ask you for aid! Octavia replied, where she rounded on the area that she imagined the speaker was coming from, because it made things easier for her mind when she followed the motions, even if it might make the Villagers or her friends think she was going insane, which she would have thought had she not felt the small bit of power when her hand shifted earlier. Come now, Octavia, we both know that's a lie. You LIKED the power you felt, even if you were scared of the form that you were given... we can fix that. the Voice continued, showing her that whoever was in control of the parasites, not the Admin that created them anyway, wasn't going to stop until she bowed her head and gave her access to her body or her mind, or whatever it was that they wanted from her, and that it was more than willing to do whatever she wanted to fulfill it's goal, Tell me, what sort of form do you want to be given? We can do whatever you want, even make you the Queen of the Lost Dimension, as you call it, if that is what you desire from us... we all know that you would do great things with the power I'm offering you. Like I said, you won't be getting anything from me. Octavia stated, where she turned and headed for the village, but a part of her did have to wonder whether or not the Voice was telling the truth, even if she suspected part of it was a lie to trick her into submission, given what little she had seen of the dimension the parasites lived in. As you wish. We are patient and I know you will come to us in due time. the Voice said, which freaked Octavia out, as she was hoping that the figure would do away and it seemed like it intended to stick around until she gave in, no matter how long it took for her to do so, but before it faded she felt the Voice pause for a second, I will tell you this: Beware the Pink One, for she bares allegiance to a power that rivals that of the Admins, one that spells doom for your world if she is allowed to do whatever she wants. Octavia had no idea what that meant, as the parasites were a creation of an Admin and there were only three of them in existence, that they knew of based on what she recalled, and yet it sounded like the Voice was suggesting that there was another one out there, one Pinkie found or had contact with, before she pulled herself out of her thoughts as she joined the others in the center of the village. "So, what's next on our agenda?" Octavia asked, as she could tell that her friends were wearing their armor and weapons, just as she was, meaning it had to be somewhere dangerous, especially since Pinkie was building something that needed all sorts of materials, but she suspected that she already knew the answer. "The Nether... Pinkie says it's time for us to finally explore it for the items we need." Steve answered, where she found that he and Alex were clearly worried about things, especially since this world's Nether was already different from the one they were used to, with an army of monsters roaming the fiery pits, "All we need are some Blaze Rods, which we can break and make powder from, then we can get out of there... provided the monsters don't track us down and fight us. After that we just need to combine them with a couple of Ender Pearls to make the Eyes we need to locate the Stronghold, which will give us the ability to open the path to the End and, more importantly, the Ender Dragon... and all the dragon's breath that Pinkie might need." "Gems, crystals, and even dragon's breath... it's like she's trying to become a dragon, though given her abilities it wouldn't be too hard to pull off." Alex commented, referring to the treasure aspect that the winged beasts seemed to have, as the ability to have an infinite amount of items meant if Pinkie did transform into such a beast they wouldn't have to worry all that much, as she'd be able to keep that side of herself down. "Okay, I'm ready to go." Pinkie said, where she emerged from her workshop and Octavia found that her hair was back to it's original fluffy state, and not the straight style it had taken after their visit to the Lost Dimension, but she said nothing as Pinkie closed the door behind her. Octavia could tell that their new friends were curious about the nature of Pinkie's hair, how it could change so suddenly and without warning at times, but she really had no idea, it was one of her mysteries when she considered it, so she said nothing as they followed Pinkie out to the Nether portal and found that it was untouched. As such they headed through it, quickly reappearing in the dangerous spot they had found when they first entered this place, something that caused the group to stop as Pinkie set up a stone but of sorts around it, keeping it safe while making sure no one fell into the lava, in case one of them came through without the others. Once she was done Ocvatia asked Steve and Alex what sort of place or item they were looking for this time, where she learned that this time they needed to find a Nether Fortress, which was a reminder that she needed since she had been busy since their visit to the Lost Dimension, but finding one was hard, if not impossible at times. That told Octavia everything they needed to know, as there was no telling how long they would be in this dimension, fighting off the monsters as everyone kept an eye out for the structure they needed to find, even if there were Bastions that weren't all that important as well. As she opened her mouth to say something, about how impossible this all sounded, she and the others found that Pinkie was glancing around the area they were currently in, almost as if she was listening to someone talk, making her wonder if the Voice had been right, about her being linked to another power, before she stopped and faced the west. "Whose up for some fun?" Pinkie asked, sounding like herself and not someone that Octavia didn't know, where she had a smile on her face, though before the others could react she gripped her scythe and fell forward, opening her wings as she rushed at the fiery monsters that called the Nether home. Octavia and the others followed after her, using the edges to the side so they could avoid the lava that Pinkie was flying over, even if she was clashing with the monsters of this dimension and seemed to be doing well on her own, though she had to snap back to reality as more appeared in front of her, Steve, and Alex. She and Steve were good as a team and with Alex protecting them it was easy for them to carefully lure monsters closer to them, taking them out one by one, but the marvel continued to be Pinkie, moving almost as if she was dancing, tearing through monsters and collecting new items in no time at all. Octavia had to admit that she was a little jealous of her friend, that she had the power to do all that while she, for the time being, was still working through the pages of the tome she had created a while ago, and she could almost hear the Voice whispering in her ear, promising both physical and magical power, just like it always did. Of course she did her best to ignore it as she focused on cutting down wounded enemies or wounding them enough for either Steve or Alex to take down on their own, allowing them to keep up with Pinkie, to a degree since she was several leagues beyond them, based on everything she was seeing right now. Such a thing went on for some time, they would fight monsters, regroup whenever they found a wall, then dig into it until they found a new area to fight their way through, before stopping for some water and food, until they finally discovered a deep red brick structure off in the distance. Steve confirmed that it was the Nether Fortress, or at least one of them since their Nether had three when they took the time to explore it, where this time around, when they reached it, they took the time to carefully explore it, seeking Soul Sand, Nether Wart, and the Blazes that would drop one of the pieces that they needed for later. They also needed to be careful of the Wither Skeletons, as the blackened things were wandering most of the fortresses and had a nasty enchantment on their weapons, one that really hurt and continued to for a time, plus they had to worry about the Wither, as three Wither Skulls and some Soul Sand would make one of the creatures they were planning on fighting. Octavia made a note of that, since it seemed like they could summon the Wither whenever everyone was ready for such a fight, though since they were getting close to dealing with the Ender Dragon she had a feeling they might take out the Wither in no time as well. It took them some time to actually find a Blaze, and the Spawner that some came out of, though Pinkie, Octavia, Steve, and Alex took turns fighting the creatures they were here for, each one collecting a few Blaze Rods even though they knew Pinkie was the only one that really needed to pick them up. "Hey Pinkie, how'd you know the direction we would need to move in?" Alex asked, as that was something that had been bothering her since they started looking for the Nether Fortress, which they still found in record time when she thought about the time it took her and Steve to find one in their world. "Ever since the Lost Dimension I've... well, I've been talking with someone who wants to bring down the Admins for what they did to her, and she's been helping me out." Pinkie answered, figuring that there was no harm in telling them, in fact she found that it was perfectly okay with the trapped figure she was referring to, all while Octavia found that the Voice had been right, as odd as that sounded, before she pulled out her Blaze Rods and juggled them, "She's been telling me about her brothers, the Admins we were told about, and how they treat the worlds they watch over as nothing more than toys for their amusement. We've entered into an arrangement of sorts: she'll help us track down what we need so we can take down each and every toy her brothers have unleashed upon this world, and the dimensions connected to it, and in return she wants the utter destruction of the parasites... plus she wants to either kill or imprison Hero, Null, and Entity. That's why I knew the direction to move in, because we have an ally who wants to see us win over her foul brothers." Octavia wondered what role the dragon items played in that sequence of events, something she figured they would learn in due time, but kept her thoughts to herself as she wondered what they were going to do next, as she had a feeling the next day or two were going to be more interesting than their trip to the Nether.