Battle with the Wither Read online

  He gestured toward the doorway. Just outside the house was a garden full of Jack o’ Lanterns.

  “You’re going to hide who you are by putting a Jack o’ Lantern on your head!” I said, realizing. Yancy had disguised himself in the Overworld that way before too. The only problem was that it was very hard for him to see out the eyeholes in the pumpkin. At this point, though, we were all willing to take that risk.

  The next thing I knew, Alex had stormed into the house. “Yancy!” she shouted. “You don’t get to run away! We need all the help we can get!”

  My heart leapt excitedly. Now we didn’t have to go looking for Alex! I told her our plan, and she immediately said, “Count me in. Here.” She shoved keys into my hands. When I gave her a baffled look, she said, “One of those keys is to the dungeon! My mom gave me the village keys to get more weapons from warehouses, but your idea sounds better. I’m going to run and find my mom. She has a diamond pickaxe that will make short work of that Nether portal!”

  I nodded eagerly, hoping we could make this work. Yancy was setting the Jack o’ Lantern on his head and it made him look ridiculous. “Do I look like I’m from another world?” he asked, striking a pose with his hands on his hips.

  “Model later,” Alex said, shoving him out the door while Dad and I quickly followed. “Let’s do this!”

  CHAPTER 18

  DAD HANDED MY DIAMOND SWORD BACK TO ME, and then we went skidding through the rust-tinted landscape, dodging magma cubes and jumping away from ghast fireballs. We didn’t have time to stop and fight. We needed to get to that dungeon!

  The Wither saw us running and howled with laughter. “Look, the boy with the portal is fleeing again!” the middle head said.

  “He must be looking for another pathetic wooden sword,” the left head said.

  “Run, boy, run!” the right head said.

  The dungeon was on the edge of the village, not too far from us. A few blocks had been knocked from its top edges, like bites taken out of the stone; other than that, though, it was in one piece, which was pretty amazing. Most of the building was underground, with more blocks on top of it, preventing people from escaping.

  We ducked behind the building, out of the Wither’s sight. Balancing my diamond sword in one hand, I desperately went through the keys Alex had given me. There were so many, and she hadn’t told me which one opened the dungeon! I started trying key after key, in order. None of them were working.

  While I did this, Dad kept us safe. Some wither skeletons skulked up, and when I started to turn, Dad said, “Never mind them! Find the right key!”

  He ran toward the wither skeletons with his diamond pickaxe and defeated them in a matter of seconds. Despite the fact I only caught it out of the corner of my eye, I was impressed. Even though I’d had some moments questioning what Dad did, his fight with the wither skeletons reminded me what a good mob slayer he was.

  Finally, I inserted a key that worked. The door to the dungeon opened and Dad and I rushed inside, closing the door behind us.

  Inside the dungeon it was dank and scary. The red light from outside made the bars create strange, creepy shadows on the ground. Just like before, the dungeon was littered with all kinds of random materials people had discarded here.

  “Get to work!” Dad said.

  I picked up some blocks. How were we going to make this happen? None of the blocks matched.

  “Just stack the blocks,” Dad said, seeing my hesitance. So I did. I created the outline of a portal, while Dad got us some bars from the windows. He put the bars along the edge of the “portal,” making it look especially vicious, even if the blocks didn’t fit together.

  “What do we do for the middle?” I asked. Normally, if I were making a portal I’d use flint and steel in the middle. My eyes fell on the few torches that lined the dungeon walls, and that got me thinking. Snatching up the torches, I outlined the center of the “portal.” This didn’t spark up a real portal, but it made an eerie glow. It also made the rest of the dungeon even darker, so that the glowing in our make-believe “portal” seemed all the more bright and believable.

  We stepped back and looked at our work.

  Dad seemed to know what I was thinking. “It doesn’t have to look good as long as it works as a trick,” he said. “What’s going on outside?”

  We pushed some blocks over to a still-barred window so we could stand on them and look outside. In the far corner of our vision, I could see Alex rushing over to Aunt Alexandra, who was still trying to get her soldiers in order. Alex was jumping up and down, and when Aunt Alexandra heard her words, I saw her eyes widen.

  And then there was Yancy, walking right up to the Wither.

  I think Yancy was trying to strut in that cool, confident way of his. Unfortunately, the Jack o’ Lantern mask wasn’t really helping that effect. It was messing up his eyesight so much that he was moving in a tipsy, funny manner. He also had his cell phone making all sorts of noises, acting as if it were coming from him. I heard a duck quack, an alarm clock go off, and a police siren start blaring. Oh, Yancy.

  As he drew closer, all three pairs of the Wither’s eyes landed on him.

  “Who—or what—are you?” demanded the middle head. “Your body and way of speaking are strange to us.”

  Yancy stopped walking and examined his fingers. I bet he couldn’t actually see his fingers, but he was using a gesture I’d seen people use in Earth movies. He was acting like he was so bored that he was checking out his nails.

  “Oh, I’m just from a different world,” Yancy sighed, his voice a little muffled by the Jack o’ Lantern. “I wondered why you didn’t chase after the boy with the portal.”

  “We have no more use for that boy,” the middle head replied. “We have his portal.”

  “You have a portal,” Yancy said. “But that Stevie guy, he doesn’t just have portals to one world.”

  “You mean he has a portal to the End?” the left head asked.

  “No, no, I mean he has a portal to Yancytopia,” Yancy said.

  Even though it was a heart-pounding moment, I wanted to roll my eyes. Leave it to Yancy!

  “Yancytopia?” the three heads asked one another, dumbfounded.

  “It’s a new world, one even Herobrine didn’t know about,” Yancy said. “I’m from there. They call me King Yancy.”

  Dad turned and looked at me in frustrated disbelief. “This is who we’re counting on?” he asked. “He still thinks this is a game!”

  “Why are you telling us this?” the right head hissed.

  Yancy examined his nails some more. “Oh, because I’m awfully tired of Yancytopia the way it is. I think it’d be a lot more fun if it had Nether mobs running through it. Or maybe you could come visit too.”

  “You want us to destroy your world?” the middle head asked in surprise. It started to look skeptical.

  “Or, you know, you can just do this whole red thing, with lava and fires and wither skeletons,” Yancy said. “I think it’s some nice interior decorating.”

  The Wither heads all looked at one another again.

  “Can you believe this?” asked the left head.

  “His world probably would look better with lava and fires,” said the right head. “Look how ugly he is. I can’t imagine how ugly his world would be.”

  “Stevie didn’t really run away,” Yancy went on, ignoring all that. “He just went to try to hide his other portal from you. I’d like to show you where it is. I figure maybe the two of us could work together. Or would it be the four of us? Does each one of your heads count as its own person? Never mind.”

  “We are interested in this portal,” the middle head said. “Take us to it.”

  It began to rise up from where it had been hovering, leaving the Nether portal and Earth portals behind. Yancy was being his usual weird self, and the Wither was falling for it!

  “It’s right this way,” Yancy said, starting to jog toward the dungeon.

  As Dad and I watched, barely br
eathing, Yancy and the Wither drew closer. Once the Wither had gotten out of the immediate area it’d been staying in, I saw Aunt Alexandra and Alex rush for the Nether portal, battling against ghasts as they went. Would they make it to the portal? Would they get rid of it in time?

  We had no idea, because suddenly the whole scene was blocked from us by the approaching Wither. Yancy reached the dungeon and pointed to it. “Stevie and his dad are hiding right in there,” he said.

  The Wither lowered its three heads. Dad and I ducked down from the window and pressed ourselves against the dank dungeon wall so that it wouldn’t see us.

  “There is a portal in there!” exclaimed the left head. “It’s the strangest looking portal I’ve ever seen.”

  “He’s not lying, but I don’t trust him,” said the right head. “Why would he lead us to his portal?”

  “Thank you, King Yancy of Yancytopia,” the middle head said in a lordly voice. “We will enjoy using this portal to your world.”

  “No problem,” Yancy said.

  It was working so well! Slowly I peeked just the top of my head over the window. The Wither had straightened its body and was looking at Jack o’ Lantern Yancy.

  When I saw the smiles start to spread over all three of the Wither’s faces, I knew that something bad was about to happen.

  “There’s one more thing, King Yancy,” the middle head declared. “We have to give you a reward for showing this to us.”

  “Yancy, look out!” I shouted as I saw the three Wither mouths opening to shoot a barrage of skulls. Yancy tried to run, only to stumble and trip because he couldn’t see well. He fell on his hands and knees—helpless before the Wither. And then it seemed as if the world exploded.

  CHAPTER 19

  “YANCY!” I SHOUTED AGAIN. DAD GRABBED ME and threw us both to the ground. Two of the skulls the Wither had hurled hit the dungeon, knocking blocks away to make room for the Wither’s entrance.

  “Stay down!” Dad ordered when I attempted to scramble back up.

  “No!” I said. “No! They hit Yancy!”

  The next thing I knew, more blocks had been blown out of the dungeon wall, and the Wither’s three heads were pushing into the underground room with us. Almost at once they saw where Dad and I were crouched down.

  “This portal is ours!” shouted the middle head, hissing at us.

  A new rain of skulls came bursting out of the Wither’s mouths, destroying blocks behind us and around us. But the dungeon as a whole was staying in place, and the low ceiling prevented the Wither from being able to move much.

  I realized there was no chance I could get to Yancy with the Wither in the way. Our only hope was to defeat the Wither and then rush to my wounded friend’s aid. Hold on, Yancy! I thought, as if he could hear me. We’re coming for you! Dad and I were dodging the Wither’s skulls, trying to get close enough to the Wither to attack it with our weapons.

  Another blast! I leapt away from a skull and it hit the wall behind me, exploding. The Wither was pushing itself deeper in at the same time that it was trying to hit us. Dad managed to reach one of the heads and he drew back his diamond pickaxe and struck hard.

  “There’s no use fighting us!” the middle head roared. “You’re all doomed, and that new portal is ours!”

  I rolled to dodge a skull and found I’d rolled right up to the left head. Before that head could respond, I was slashing at it with my sword. The Wither hissed and jerked away, letting loose another skull. However, with the Wither so closed in now, it was having a harder time moving its heads where it wanted. That meant it had a harder time aiming the skulls.

  Then the Wither emitted a hideous screech of anger and shock. It was so loud Dad and I both automatically jumped back, as if we expected the screech to hurt us. The three Wither heads tried to look behind it, to see what was going on outside.

  And I couldn’t believe it. Through the holes in the walls, I saw a blue sky! The Nether mobs had all vanished! In the distance were Aunt Alexandra and Alex, their weapons still at the ready, standing next to where the Nether portal had been. They’d destroyed it!

  “No!” the Wither heads shrieked all at once. “My portal! How did you know that’s what held the power to create a Nether in the Overworld?”

  Then the three heads turned and looked at Dad and me with renewed fury.

  “You might have taken my Nether portal, but I still have the Earth portal!” the middle head shouted. “And I’ll get that portal to the new world!”

  “Just you try!” Dad shouted back.

  The Wither screeched and dove forward, but I could see that its body was shrinking, as if its power was running out. I’d been right that the Nether portal, the Nether landscape, and the Wither were all connected!

  “Stevie, now!” Dad yelled.

  I rushed at the Wither, slashing at it with my sword so fast the blue blade seemed as if it were flying.

  Outside, the villagers were realizing there were no more Nether mobs to fear. Maison jumped out of the Earth portal, followed by Destiny, looking around. They must have noticed no more mobs were coming through the Earth portal, and come back to the Overworld to investigate.

  Almost at once the villagers, Aunt Alexandra, Alex, Maison, and Destiny caught sight of where the real battle was. And almost at once they all raised their weapons and came running toward the Wither.

  The Wither heard the shouts of the villagers as they were dashing toward us. This made it all the more angry. When the left head saw its skulls weren’t reaching me, it tried to seize me in its mouth. I jumped out of the way, accidentally dropping my toolkit in the process.

  “You haven’t won yet!” the middle head thundered at Dad. “I took your diamond sword! I took your house! I will take your son next!”

  All three heads veered toward me, open-mouthed. I vaulted to the side, knocking myself against the wall, but missing their bites. Villagers were crowded around the dungeon from the outside, shooting arrows. I heard someone shout, “The arrows aren’t working anymore!”

  “That means it’s at half strength!” Dad exclaimed. “We’ve almost got it! Only weapons like swords can finish a Wither off at this point!”

  The villagers put down their arrows and rushed in with swords.

  “You can take my diamond sword and you can take my house, but you’ll never have my son!” Dad hollered as he dove at the Wither with his pickaxe. Raising my sword, I followed. Everyone was attacking the trapped Wither at once. Dad and I both charged with our weapons, striking the hissing Wither. The Wither let out one final cry of vengeance, but it was too late. It vanished into the air, dropping a Nether star on the dungeon floor.

  CHAPTER 20

  THE VILLAGERS BEGAN CHEERING, JUMPING UP and down. But my eyes instantly sought out Yancy, and I saw him still lying right where he’d fallen. In the explosions, he’d lost his Jack o’ Lantern mask, and his pale skin had gone so white it looked like the clouds drifting overhead. He wasn’t moving at all.

  No! We’re too late!

  I pushed through the villagers, needing to reach him. People were in my way, too excited about their victory to see the wounded person on the ground.

  Alex, Maison, and Destiny were all standing together cheering on the other side of the dungeon because they didn’t even know what had happened to Yancy. When they saw my frantic face, their eyes must have followed where I was going, because then I heard Alex cry, “Oh no, Yancy!”

  I pushed through more people and then I was standing over Yancy’s body. I was stunned at what I was seeing. “Dad!” I said.

  Dad had been the first to reach Yancy’s side, and he was slowly lifting him up. Yancy’s head fell back, his hair especially dark against the whiteness of his face. His eyes were peacefully closed and his mouth was slightly open.

  Then I realized Dad had grabbed my tool kit from where it had fallen in the dungeon. As I watched, he pulled the Potion of Healing out of it. Gently, as if he were nursing a wounded soldier back to health, he poured the
contents into Yancy’s mouth. I couldn’t believe the look on my dad’s face as he tried to heal Yancy—he was like a totally different person from the one who had scowled at Yancy earlier.

  “What happened?” Destiny cried, falling on her knees next to Yancy and Dad. “Is he going to be okay?” Yancy was her cousin, and I could see she was struggling not to cry. Alex and Maison stood overhead, horrified and speechless.

  “He led the Wither over to the dungeon so we could trap it,” Dad said. “And the Wither hit him before he could get away.”

  “Yancy!” Alex got down and yelled in his ear. “This isn’t funny! Wake up!”

  “He did a very brave thing for us,” Dad said quietly. “I was wrong when I accused him of thinking this was all a game.”

  The battle wasn’t supposed to end like this! We’d beaten the Wither, but I couldn’t celebrate with Yancy in this sort of shape. I remembered how I used to hate Yancy, how we’d been enemies. Then we’d become wary allies, then finally friends. And after all that, I was just going to lose him?

  That’s when Yancy started to cough. As we all watched in wonder, he sat up hacking and sputtering, the color rushing back to his face.

  “Oh, Yancy!” Destiny said, still looking as if she could cry, but now from relief and joy. I saw Maison breathe a sigh of relief and Alex just about jumped on Yancy, shaking him by the shirt and exclaiming, “Don’t you scare us like that! You’re always scaring us! It’s not funny, you know!”

  “Wow,” Yancy said. His voice was kind of frail. “I didn’t know I’d gotten so popular.”

  I smiled. Clearly Yancy was going to be okay, with the help of rest and food.

  Alex huffed. She would never outright say she was glad Yancy was safe, but judging from Yancy’s small smile, he knew we were all glad for him.

  “This is nice,” Yancy said softly. “Having people who really care about you, I mean. I feel like I went for years without having friends. And now …” His eyes trailed over us and he just smiled more. “Thank you, guys.”

  “And that,” Dad said to me, “is why you always bring along a Potion of Healing.”