[CH.001] Living Nightmares

On the couch, Daniel slept. Not soundly. Not comfortably. Tossing and turning. Moaning and groaning. Mumbling. He was reliving his past in one prolonged nightmare. From the time Petra died, to the night the DreamChaser sank. He was reliving it all in his sleep.

"I can't hold her steady any longer," Notch shouted as he suddenly lost his grip on the wheel. He too went sliding in the same direction as Merlin and Leona, also screaming and shouting.

"AHH!" He shouted, "help me! I'm going to go overboard! Someone help, please!"

As Daniel and Ceres continued to open the two closed sails, it was becoming extremely difficult to finish opening them up. But even doing that wouldn't do anyone any good. Without Notch holding the wheel steady, there was no use in opening the sails. It was too late.

Just before Leona, Merlin, and Notch were due to slide overboard, they suddenly stopped sliding. All three of them were confused. How did they suddenly stop sliding? Were they caught on something that was preventing them from going overboard? Or was it something else.

"Don't worry. We got you guys," Victoria said as she and Petra were holding the three of them tightly within their grasp.

But Victoria and Petra weren't the only ones who came to their assistance. Two other Gods and Goddesses were present as well. One, who was a male blockhead, was turning the wheel back over to the left, while another was guiding the others up to the stern of the ship. Staying on the ship as long as possible was key. Managing to do so would stall everyone from becoming the Siren's next feast.

The center mast, which was charred and almost entirely burnt at its base, began cracking. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK!

Daniel, Ceres and everyone else who was standing near the mast quickly began backing away from it in fear and utter shock. Just before the mast collapsed and topped over, everyone began running away as fast as they could. Luckily though the mast fell in the same direction of the slant. No one was standing in its way.

When it eventually toppled over, it fell onto the deck. More cracking sounds were heard as more sections of the mast broke. Flapping sounds were heard as the sail broke free. When it did, it was flying away through the air in the direction of where the wind blew.

"Everyone!" Daniel shouted, "go up to the stern! RUN!"

No one hesitated on listening to Daniel. As the last remaining blockheads had made it up onto the stern, everyone began holding each other's hands. Victoria, Petra, and their fellow God William had done all that they could to help. If only they could fix what was damaged, and heal who was wounded. But doing those things wasn't possible. Even the Gods and Goddesses had their limits. And sadly, those were some of them.

Everyone watched as the bow began to slip beneath the water. As that happened, they all began screaming and crying out for help. Some began praying. Praying that this was all just a bad dream. But even that wasn't true. This was real, not fake. This was as real as it was going to get.

Then, suddenly, the ship stopped sinking. For a moment, everyone had thought that maybe the bottom of the ship had hit the bottom of the ocean. But that wasn't the case. After a moment of stalling, the ship resumed sinking. As it sank lower and lower, the water crept closer and closer. Not only did the water inch closer, but so did the hungry and vicious Sirens as well.

All of the Sirens were hissing and growling, growing evermore anxious to get their hands on these doomed blockheads. But just as everything was preparing themselves for the end, a firework had detonated in the sky. The color of the firework was a bright blue. The loud boom sound it had made captured the attention of everyone, including the Sirens.

As Daniel continued to sleep, he tossed and turned on the couch. Talking and mumbling in his sleep. As he revived the nightmares of his past, Steve and Alex were awoken by him. They are hesitant to wake him because they didn't want to frighten him anymore than he already was. So, with that, they sat down at the dining room table to watch in silence.

"Should I—should we—wake him?" Alex asked as she looked over at Steve. He glanced back over at her, shaking his head.

"No," he whispered. "Let him go through it. He'll wake up sooner or later."

Fwoosh!

Back in Daniel's nightmare, it then transitioned into another memory. This memory was also recent. He was now dreaming about the death of his enemy turned friend HeroBrine's heroic death.

Once HeroBrine realized that time was now quickly running out for him and Notch, he looked back over at the Golem Monster. He was still smashing the castle and everything else into smithereens. HeroBrine knew that once the Golem Monster had finished destroying the Kingdom, there would be nothing left to return to once all of this was over.

HeroBrine had made the tough choice of leaving Notch behind. HeroBrine could either stay and fight and possibly die, or he could leave and spare himself to live another day. As he limped over to the portal slowly, Daniel and EnderBrine watched him.

Right before the portal closed, HeroBrine jumped through at the last minute. He landed on the other side of the portal on the ground. Daniel and EnderBrine ran over to him. Daniel got down onto his knees. EnderBrine did the same. Together, they turned HeroBrine upright. He was now laying on his back. Thankfully though, he wasn't dead, but he was severely injured.

HeroBrine's eyes were completely closed. The burn marks on his blue shirt worried Daniel and EnderBrine. Daniel especially. After he had coughed a couple of times, he slowly opened his eyes. EnderBrine knew that HeroBrine was barely conscious. Daniel was holding HeroBrine's right hand tightly.

"It hurts so bad," HeroBrine mumbled just loud enough for Daniel and EnderBrine to hear him talk.

"What does?" Daniel asked as he looked down into HeroBrine's eyes.

"Everything," HeroBrine answered as he began coughing again.

Once he was done coughing, he looked back up and into Daniel's eyes. He faintly smiled at him.

"I hear you mother," HeroBrine mumbled, "I'm coming."

Right as he had said that, Daniel realized what was to HeroBrine. Everyone else who escaped the Kingdom all huddled around Daniel, HeroBrine, and EnderBrine. They all grabbed hold of each other's hands. Some blockheads were starting to get emotional.

"Try and stay with me HeroBrine," Daniel said, "please!"

HeroBrine turned his head to his left to look at EnderBrine. He faintly smiled at EnderBrine. HeroBrine lifted his hand up so that he could hold hands with him. In return, EnderBrine gently grabbed his hand, holding it gently.

"I always knew you had a good side," HeroBrine said, "You really do have a heart."

EnderBrine was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say back to HeroBrine. So, all he did was continue to hold hands. HeroBrine then turned his head over to his right and looked up at Daniel.

"A true hero you are," he said, "I could have not asked for a better friend than you Daniel. Be strong. Don't grieve and mourn. Show strength and fight. Save the OverWorld!"

Daniel nodded his head slowly as he looked away because he couldn't bear to look at HeroBrine. The painful memories suddenly returned inside his head once more. The memory of losing Petra also resurfaced inside his head.

"You did the best you could," Daniel responded, "You're the hero too you know," Daniel continued on to say.

HeroBrine scoffed as he looked away from Daniel, looking straight up into the night sky. "I'm coming home, mother. I'm coming home."

After that, HeroBrine's eyes slowly closed. His entire body then vanished. Small, white particles rose into the air after his body disappeared. HeroBrine's entire inventory spilled out onto the ground. He had so much stuff. There were four white pieces of paper with writing on them, a glass of potion of invisibility. The liquid inside of the glass bottle was a light blue color.

Daniel collected the items that were inside of HeroBrine's inventory. Once all of the items were safely in Daniel's inventory, he got back up onto his feet. EnderBrine got back up too. Everyone around them let go of each other's hands.

"Herobrine…no!" Daniel mumbled as he turned onto his stomach on the couch.

The trident Daniel had in his possession began rattling and shaking. It was lent up against the wall over by the front door coat closet. Steve and Alex both looked over at it, curious and somewhat startled.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Alex asked as she looked over at Steve again.

"I don't think so, no," Steve answered. "But that name—that name sounds familiar now that I think about it."

"What name?" Alex asked.

"Uh—HeroBrine I think is what he said," Steve told her.

The trident was a prized possession of Daniel's. After helping defend Minelantis, he was deemed worthy to wield the trident. Not only that, but the Minelantians helped raise his sunken vessel; the DreamChaser. But amongst all the painful memories, there were some positive ones too. Raising the DreamChaser was one of them.

As Daniel turned onto his right side, the trident fell over. It caused a loud bang. Daniel, however, didn't wake up.

"I wish I could sleep like him," Alex joked, "as restless as he is, he's a heavy sleeper nonetheless."

Steve got up from his chair and walked over to the toppled trident, now resting on the floor. He leaned over to pick it up. But when he did, an instant burning effect occurred. It burned his hand, causing him to drop it.

"Dammit, that hurt," Steve said as he flicked his hand to make the pain go away, but to no avail. He glanced down at it, scoffed, and then walked back into the kitchen.

"Honey," Steve said, "can you help me with this please?"

Alex had drowned out everything around her as she was purely focused on Daniel. There was something about him that seemed off. Something she couldn't quite grasp her head around.

POOF!

The trident then vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of it ever being here behind. Alex jumped from being startled. Steve turned around just in time to see her reaction.

"Where'd it go?" Steve asked.

Alex turned around to look over at him. She shrugged her shoulders because she was just as clueless as he was.

Outside, the sun was beginning to rise; its light started to penetrate the living room through the thin white curtains. Steve gestured to her by showing her his burnt hand. She walked over to him, as he stepped back to let her open the freezer to get ice. All while Daniel continued to sleep and dream his dreaded nightmare.

Only this time, he was dreaming about the time Elderon died and EnderBrine sacrificed himself to save everyone. By staying back on land, EnderBrine would ensure the TNT bomb would detonate, he gave his life for the greater good. In the end, he became a hero.

"Daniel," EnderBrine said in a soft and somber tone. He could feel the pain that Daniel was in. No one should have to experience what he's experienced throughout his life. "We should leave. The T.N.T is going to detonate any minute now. When it does, we mustn't be anywhere near here."

Daniel slightly turned his head and looked over his shoulder and back at EnderBrine. If one thing was certain, it was that EnderBrine was right about escaping the area. He nodded his head once, acknowledging that it was time to go. Leaving Elderon behind was the last thing Daniel had wanted to do. But knowing that Elderon was going to a better place, somewhat eased Daniel's feelings. But this doesn't mean Daniel's still upset about everything.

"How could I have let this happen?" Daniel questioned.

"This," EnderBrine said as he looked all around him and back at Daniel, "this isn't your fault. None of us saw this coming. No one thought something this dangerous would ever occur."

"If only I had found out sooner that Nightmare was posing as Merlin," Daniel said, "this could have all been avoided."

EnderBrine sighed heavily as he began scratching his head a couple of times. He understood why Daniel was questioning his actions. He was blaming himself for what had happened. HeroBrine and Petra would still be alive. All would've been good around the OverWorld. Peaceful and evil-free besides the Zombies, Skeleton's and the occasional Creepers.

"You've gotta stop blaming yourself for all of this," EnderBrine stated, "you did nothing."

Daniel scoffed and began shaking his head slowly. That's when he suddenly realized something. Maybe EnderBrine was right afterall. This wasn't his fault. But this doesn't mean he's going to forget about what had happened here tonight. Moving forward, he would try his best to try and forget about what happened. These memories were to be with him for the rest of his life.

Then, suddenly, Daniel realized that Elderon was no longer breathing. He looked over at Elderon's head, hoping and praying that he was still somewhat conscious.

"Elderon?" Daniel questioned as he walked over to Elderon's head. He got down on his knees, dropping his shield and diamond sword onto the ground. He lowered his head, not knowing how to react to Elderon's death.And so, he began to cry. No longer could he hide his emotions. Enough was enough. Nightmare and the Golem Monster are going to pay for what they did to Elderon. Such a formidable dragon he was. Yet he was taken down so quickly. He sniffled and continuously rubbed his eyes. Tears slid down his cheeks, dripping onto the ground. When the tears landed on the ground, they were instantly absorbed into the sand.

"Daniel," Enderbrine said as he took one step closer towards Daniel. Daniel quickly lifted his head and looked back at EnderBrine.

"What!" Daniel shouted at EnderBrine, "can I just say goodbye?"

EnderBrine raised his hands up into the air, taking a couple of steps backwards away from Daniel. The way Daniel had responded to him, somewhat spooked him. As far as Enderbrine knew, Daniel never acted out like this in the past. But he also understood why Daniel was acting out now.

When Daniel turned his head back around to look back at Elderon, a bright blue light was seen. Both EnderBrine and Daniel looked up at the blue light. When they did, they both noticed a male blockhead exiting Elderon's body. Daniel tilted his head slightly as he stared up at the blockhead.

"At last, I can finally reunite with my family," the blockhead said with a faint smile on his face, "after all these years, I'm finally able to go home to them."

EnderBrine raised one of his eyebrows. He crossed his arms. "Who are you?" EnderBrine asked, "you're not Elderon's spirit."

"My name is Jack," he answered, "I've been trapped in the form of a dragon for hundreds of years now," Jack responded.

Daniel and EnderBrine both were bewildered. What Jack was telling them didn't quite make any sense. The two of them were having a hard time understanding Jack. They were only confused with the fact that Jack had been stuck in a dragon's form for many, many years.

"I'm confused," Daniel said, "so does this mean you weren't always a dragon?"

Jack nodded his head once. "That's right," Jack responded, "I was like you once. Happy. Adventurous. Heroic. But after King Miraz slaughtered my family and my entire Village, I was emotionally broken. I wanted revenge for what he did. I wanted him to pay for what he did to my family and Village. The only way I could do that was if I turned into a formidable dragon."

Daniel got back up off of his knees. He leaned over to grab his diamond sword and wooden shield. But when he finished picking those things up, he looked back up into the sky. But when he did that, Jack was gone. Nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd he go?" Daniel asked as he turned around to look at EnderBrine, "where is he?"

EnderBrine unfolded his arms, pointing straight up into the night sky. Daniel looked up, realizing what EnderBrine was telling him. Daniel sighed heavily once more. And just like that, Jack was gone. Then, from behind Daniel, a loud poof sound was heard. When he turned around, Elderon's body was gone. Small white particles were floating up into the air, eventually disappearing into thin air.

Daniel now realized that he was all alone. The three most important blockheads in his life were gone. He had felt like there was nothing left for him in the OverWorld. A sudden rage began building up inside of him. How was he going to proceed moving forward without his friends?

"Come on," EnderBrine said in a soft and almost quiet voice as he looked over to his left at the T.N.T block. The fuse was about to be extinguished. Time was just about to run out. If they didn't leave now, they would be victims of the explosion as well.

Daniel approached EnderBrine, putting his sword and shield back into his inventory. After he had done that, he grabbed EnderBrine's hand. After that, EnderBrine and Daniel vanished into thin air. As the Golem Monster and Luna continued to fight, Nightmare and Cerce were still fighting as well. Because they were so busy, no one noticed that the T.N.T was about to explode.

When the two of them reappeared, they were now at a beach with a wooden pier on it. Docked and moored to the pier was the massive ship Daniel and the others would get on to escape before it's too late. Almost everyone was on the ship. The last remaining blockheads were walking up the ramp. EnderBrine let go of Daniel's hand and began backing away from him slowly.

When Daniel realized that EnderBrine was trying to get away silently, he looked back at him. "Where are you going?"

EnderBrine stopped taking steps backwards. Guess he wasn't that good at trying to sneak away from anyone. He knew exactly why he was leaving Daniel. Should he remind Daniel as to why he can't leave?

"Someone has to stay behind," EnderBrine said, "it's the only way make sure the T.N.T blows up,"

Daniel frowned after EnderBrine had said that to him. Was EnderBrine's name going to be added to the list of friends Daniel had lost? Was he going to come back and escape along with everyone else? Why did he choose to stay behind? He didn't have to.

"Please stay," Daniel begged EnderBrine, "please don't leave me. Come with us. But don't just abandon us. We need you, I need you. You're the only friend I have left."

EnderBrine was slowly shaking his head, being very adamant on staying behind. Like he had said before, someone must stay behind to witness the explosion happen. He knew Daniel wasn't going to like his decision. But it was final. He wasn't going to budge or give-in on changing his decision.

"I'm sorry Daniel," EnderBrine said, "but it must be me who stays behind."

"Why?" Daniel asked.

"I've lived my life," EnderBrine responded, "I have nothing more to offer to the OverWorld. Besides, this is a way of redeeming myself, showing the others that I can be a good blockhead. You still have much to explore yet. You still have a full life ahead of you. Like I said, I've lived my life. I'm willing to sacrifice myself so that you all can escape."

Daniel frowned. He walked on over to EnderBrine and held his arms out front of him. Once he was close enough, he wrapped his arms around EnderBrine. In return, EnderBrine wrapped his arms around Daniel. Together, they hugged one another. Saying goodbye wasn't easy or fun. It was sad and upsetting. Once they stopped hugging, Daniel took one step back from EnderBrine. They stared into each other's eyes, hesitating on saying their final goodbyes.

"You surely have changed," Daniel said, "I'm going to miss you so much. You know that right?"

EnderBrine scoffed as he rubbed his head. When he stopped rubbing his head, he looked back over at Daniel. He pointed at him.

"I'll always be with you," EnderBrine said as he pointed at Daniel's heart, "in there."

Daniel looked down at his beating heart. He set his left hand over his heart, feeling it beat continuously.

"You're someone who I can now call my friend," Daniel said, "surely it wasn't like that back then, but you've changed dramatically. From bad guy to good guy. From foe to friends."

EnderBrine scoffed as he began rubbing his chin. "I guess I have, haven't I?"

Daniel nodded. "You've done a complete 360 transformation," he said, "I'm proud of you. Even when you were a bad guy back then, I had a feeling there was some goodness in you somewhere."

"I guess so, huh?" EnderBrine said, "I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for you. You helped me transition into someone who blockheads could now call a hero."

"You were always a hero," Daniel said, "but you kept the goodness inside of you, letting your evil intentions get the upper hand."

"Come on Daniel!" Notch shouted from the ship.

Daniel turned and looked over his left shoulder. When he looked back at EnderBrine, he made direct eye contact with him once more. EnderBrine faintly smiled as his entire body began glowing a bright purple. Even his eyes were purple. He smiled as he looked back over at Daniel.

"You take good care of everyone for me, okay?" EnderBrine said, "lead them, guide them, and show them the way when they need it. They're going to need a fighter like yourself to protect them."

Daniel shrugged his shoulders as he lowered his head to look down at the sandy ground. "Be strong," he said, "not only for me but for HeroBrine, Petra, and Elderon. That's the least you could do for us. Think you can do that?"

Daniel nodded.

"Good," EnderBrine responded, "take care friend."

And just like that, EnderBrine vanished into thin air with purple particles floating upwards into the air. Daniel sighed as he turned around to begin walking towards the ship. He walked down the long and narrow wooden pier and over to the ramp that would allow him to board the ship.

Once he was onboard, two other blockheads pulled the ramp up and onto the main deck. Some other blockheads were tossing the ropes overboard, freeing the ship from the pier. The sails were opened up. Once the sails caught the wind, the ship slowly began moving away from the pier.

Daniel walked up a small flight of stairs and over to the helm of the ship. Notch approached him. He wanted to make sure Daniel was okay. Even though they didn't know each other that well, Notch still cared for him. He's been through a lot recently. Notch understood that.

"Daniel?" Notch said, "are you okay?"

As Daniel grabbed the helm, he turned his head to look over at Notch.

"No, I've lost everything. My friends, Petra, my home. Everything. It's all gone now."

As the ship began sailing away from the land he and everyone else once called home, a massive explosion sent ripples across the ocean, followed by a massive gust of hot air and smoke. Right then, Daniel knew that EnderBrine…was gone. A tear slipped down his cheek as he looked away from Notch.

The nightmare then switched to another memory. The time Petra died right in front of him. His best friend from childhood was dying as he sat by her.

"Don't promise me anything. You're going to feel better," Daniel responded, "I'm sure of it. Suzanne is going to take good care of you."

"But what'll happen if she can't?" Petra asked.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Daniel said. "One step at a time."

Petra coughed heavily. She was growing weaker by the second. Time was not on their side right now. Petra turned her head to the left. In the corner of the room, stood a woman. She was wearing a white dress and golden tiara. She had blonde hair and wore no shoes. Petra recognized the woman.

"Victoria?" Petra questioned, "is that really you?"

Daniel examined the room. He knew who Victoria was, but he couldn't see her. Was Petra hallucinating? How is it that she could see Victoria, but Daniel couldn't? Daniel suddenly realized why only Petra could Victoria.

He glanced across the bed at Suzanne. Suzanne looked back at him. "On second thought, let her be. We can't help her no matter how hard we try."

"What?" Suzanne said, double checking to see if she heard Daniel correctly, "you don't want me to help her?"

Daniel slouched his head, shaking it from side to side slowly. "As much as I want to save her, I think it's best we let her move on."

"Are you sure?" Suzanne asked.

"Yes," Daniel answered, "may I have a moment alone with Petra please?"

Suzanne frowned. She was beginning to feel bad for Daniel. Knowing that she could have saved Petra, made it even harder for her to bear with Daniel's decision to let her move on.

"As you wish, your majesty," Suzanne said as she looked at Robert and Elena. They all walked back outside, giving Daniel a moment alone.

Petra turned her head over to her right and gazed into Daniel's eyes. He could tell she wasn't going to hold on much longer. Being emotional was quite difficult for Daniel. He needed to be strong for Petra, showing her that he wasn't a softie.

"Thank you Daniel," Petra said softly to him.

"I only want what's best for you," Daniel responded.

Petra smiled faintly. "You've always wanted what's best for me. Thank you for letting me go."

"I don't want you to leave. There were still so many adventures for us to embark on together. Now that you won't be around, who else am I supposed to travel the world with?" Daniel asked.

"You're a smart man Daniel," Petra said, "you'll find someone. I'm sure of it."

"They're going to have big shoes to fill," Daniel said.

"Indeed—they will," Petra said as she smiled faintly once more, "thank you for everything. Thank you for being my friend, Daniel."

Daniel closed his eyes and began breaking down. He couldn't bear the fact that he was losing his best friend. He grabbed Petra's hand and held it tightly. Petra's grip on his hand loosened. That's when he opened his eyes to see that Petra was gone. She had crossed over into the afterlife.

He started crying. Petra was officially gone. But he knew she would be in good hands. If Victoria, a Goddess, was present, that meant she was taking Petra up to the Heavens above. After a few seconds passed, her body vanished into thin air. White particles appeared and ascended into the air before disappearing again. The bed was now empty once more.

Ruby screamed from her bedroom. Steve and Alex ran out of the kitchen and down the short hallway and into her bedroom. Daniel was still sound asleep. How? Who knows.

"Baby?" Alex said in an elevated, stressed tone of voice. "What's wrong?"

Ruby buried her head in her moms arms and pointed at the anomaly over in the corner of her room. There is a tear in reality; with the other side of the anomaly being in a pixelated, blocky world: the OverWorld.

Steve and Alex stared at it with amazement and curiosity streaming through their eyes. A female blockhead was seen running towards the anomaly. Although her body was transparent with a blue haze glowing around her body.

When she saw Steve and Alex staring at her, she ran faster towards the rip in reality. She leaped through the portal, landing stomach first onto Ruby's bedroom floor. She gasped and turned around to look back into the world in which she came out from.

"NO!" She yelled.

Vwoosh!

The anomaly then closed shut like a zipper on a coat. Steve held his hand out to help the girl back up onto her feet. She accepted and grabbed his hand. He assisted her and helped her back up.

She's no longer transparent like she was a moment ago. She's in solid form. Flesh and bones like everyone else.

"Who are you?" Steve asked, "where did you come from? How'd you get here?"

As she sighed in relief, she answered Steve's many questions.

"Where's Daniel?" She asked.

"You know him?" Alex asked as she picked Ruby up to carry her in her arms. "What's your name?"

"Petra," she responded.