Turning Point [Ch. 7]

Northern Plains Biome, OverWorld

Village

Fires were raging, burning the homes, libraries, barns, and blacksmith shops. Farmers' fields were decimated and destroyed, and animals slaughtered. Corpses of those who had been killed in the fight for their home, now lay on the grounds and paths in the Village. Some Villagers, however, managed to survive the fight. But that didn't mean they were going to see another day.

Miraz, with his newfound powers and capabilities, had made the rash decision to attack anyone and any village that opposed his rule. This Village, sadly, was one of those places where the inhabitants despised King Miraz and his family.

"You all must've known you wouldn't be able to win," Miraz said as he slowly walked around explaining his plans for what he was going to do next and going forward. "Your iron golems failed you. Now look where we are? Your meaningless lives will be forgotten, I'll make sure of that. Your deaths will be quick; you have my word."

A female blockhead, who was leaning up against a wooden fence to what used to be the pig pastures, watched Miraz walk around. Giving him the look of disgust and hatred, she had no respect for him. She had her left hand resting on her stomach, covering up the wound she had succumbed to during the fight.

"What happened to you? You're more ruthless now than you were before," she pointed out.

Miraz stopped and turned his head slightly to where he could hear her and what she had to say. He didn't respond to her disgusting response to him, but that didn't mean he didn't hear it. His companions, Lord Enderman and other Endermen were walking around making sure no one would get back up and try anything stupid.

"I've been gifted," Miraz said, "given to me by the Gods and Goddesses of the OverWorld."

"Hogwash!" She shouted loudly enough to where Lord Enderman could hear her. From a short distance away from where she was, he turned his head to look over at her. He squealed and suddenly vanished. Other Endermen noticed him vanish, following suit and vanishing too.

"I'd be careful with how loud you speak," Miraz said, "don't want to frighten my friends anymore, do you?"

Miraz turned fully around to where he was facing the female blockhead leaning up on the fence. He slowly walked over to her, holding out his right hand. Black smoke was emitting from his hand as it glowed purple. She gulped when she saw his hand doing that.

"This all could've been avoided if you would've just succumbed to my rule," Miraz stated, "we could've been allies. Quite honestly, your blockheads would've been useful to me during the war."

"A war in which you won't win," she blurted out.

Miraz tilted his head slightly, smiling and laughing sarcastically at her bizarre comment. He was now standing directly over her, still holding his hand out to his side.

"What's your name, darling?" he asked.

"Francine," she answered.

"Follow up question Fracine: do you have any children?" Miraz asked as he stared down at her waiting for her to respond to his question.

"I do not, I'm afraid," Francine said, "if I did, you wouldn't know where to begin to look for them anyways."

Miraz smiled faintly and shook his head. He looked down at the charred black grass on the ground.

"That's too bad," he said, "I would've spared Jacob if you would've just told me the truth," Miraz continued as he raised his right hand higher into the air, holding it just over his head. A small, young child suddenly appeared floating in the air right above his hand.

Francine gasped, looking directly into her son's eyes. Knowing that Miraz was going to do something to him, something she didn't know and couldn't predict. The only thing she knew was that it would be something that would break her mentally and emotionally.

"Mommy!" Jacob shouted as he held his arms out in front of him, begging for her to take him away from this scary monster. "Help me mommy!"

Unable to get back up onto her feet, she was stuck on the ground. Her chest wound was so painful, even the slightest movement would make it throb.

"So you do have a child?" Miraz questioned, "you lied."

"I'm only doing what any mother would do," Francine responded, "a mother's purpose is to protect their children at any cost, no matter the situation."

Miraz didn't respond right away. In his head, he was thinking about his wife Queen Mileena and their only child; Quintin. All of the happy memories they've shared, all of the stories told before putting Quintin to bed when he was younger. All of those memories came flooding back into his mind as he held her son against his will. Is this something he should do? Take her child away from her? What if it were his son Quintin? What if he was in this exact situation? How far would he go to save his son? He thought about that for a brief moment before coming back to reality.

"I'll spare your son's life, but under one condition," he told Francine. She nodded her head frantically, telling him that she'll do anything to save her son.

"Yes, yes, anything," Francine said, "anything at all. Just let him go, please!"

Miraz smiled and nodded his head once as he lowered his hand. When he did, Jacob slowly descended back down to the ground, landing on his two feet. But he wasn't able to move. He wasn't able to look away, muchless act on trying to save his mother.

Suddenly Miraz's loyal companions, the Endermen, appeared alongside him, blocking her son from seeing what they were going to do to her next.

"Help her up onto her feet, would you?" Miraz said as two Endermen walked over to her and grabbed both of her arms. Together, they pulled her back up onto her feet. From behind Miraz, Jacob began crying out for help.

Once Francine was standing again, the two Endermen wouldn't let go of her arms. As much as it hurt to even stand, she couldn't free herself and try to flee. She was now being held against her will. What was Miraz going to do to her? What lesson was he going to show Jacob?

"Just get it over with," Francine said as she looked over Miraz's right shoulder. Jacob was standing in place with a light purple haze glowing around his entire body.

"With pleasure," he responded to her as he held his arm straight out in front of him. When he did that his hand began glowing purple again.

Jacob and Francine both made eye-contact with each other. From behind, Jacob couldn't do what Miraz was about to do to his mother. He's unaware at the moment that this memory will haunt him for the rest of his life. Feeling helpless. Shouting wouldn't do anyone any good, and neither would trying to get out of the trap he was in.

"Don't worry Francine," Miraz said, "this will only hurt–alot!" He continued, warning her of the immense pain she was about to feel. It all happened so quickly. He set his hand down on her chest. And when he did, a black substance began spreading up and down her entire body, starting off my spreading around on her chest. Francine instantly began screaming and crying out in pain.

Lord Enderman and the other Enderman let go of her arms, causing her to collapse back onto the ground. She was weak and couldn't do much to stop this substance from spreading. Suddenly though, her entire body began shaking dramatically.

"The more we have, the better our chances will be in winning the war," Miraz mumbled to himself as he waited for her to mutate into an Enderman.

Jacob, still trapped, screamed out loud and began crying. He couldn't bear to see his mother be taken from him in this cruel, ruthless way. He looked away and glanced down at his feet. When he did, the purple haze around him suddenly vanished. He quickly looked up and over to his right, and then to his left. Holding his arm out to make sure the haze was gone, he realized he was free.

As his mother, Francine, continued to be tortured in front of him, he gazed over at her one last time. Sure, he may just be a young blockhead, but he's smart. There's something about him that no other young blockheads have: redstone experience. He's familiar with how it works, and what uses it has, and how it works and whatnot. As he looked away from his mother and at the blockhead who had given his mother some substance that would transform her, one of his loyal companions screeched and pointed directly at him.

"Oh, hay bales!" Jacob mumbled to himself as he froze. King Miraz slowly turned around, lowering his head to look down at Jacob. He was now facing him.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Miraz said as he raised his right hand slightly, "how did you—escape?"

"You're just stupid, that's why!" Jacob replied, knowing that what he just said really pissed his evil and twisted King Miraz off. Miraz took a step forward to try and grab Jacob and put him back in the trap he was trapped in a moment earlier. "Don't you even think about–," Miraz said as Jacob suddenly began running away.

The thought of leaving his mother behind would haunt him for the rest of his days. He may not know it now, but he'll discover a way he would be able to avenge her death. But for now, the only thing he could do was run. Run as fast as his two little legs could take him.

"The forest," he mumbled to himself in between heavy breaths for air, "I could lose him there."

As he continued running, he constantly looked back over his right shoulder at Miraz. Jacob knew that he could teleport at any moment. That's why he checked behind his back frequently. If Miraz was to do that, he could be captured once again. His punishment for trying to flee could come back to haunt him if he was to be recaptured again. But he was determined to not let that happen.

Now being the smart blockhead he is, Jacob suddenly realized something. He had forgotten all about it, but was happy when he did remember it. Reaching into his inventory behind his back with his right hand, he pulled something of use to him and his fleeing efforts. What he pulled out was something of his own creation.

Holding a glass bottle in his hand, he pulled the cork out from the top of the bottle. He smiled mischievously as he turned around to look over his shoulder once more. Miraz was running close behind him, shrinking the gap that was between them. As long as he continued to run and not stop, he'd be able to keep a short distance between the two of them.

"Special delivery," he said as he then threw the bottle over his left shoulder. Because Miraz was running so fast, the bottle hit him right in his face.

"OW!" He shouted, growling and shaking his head. The liquid that was in the bottle was all over his face and his pulsing golden armor. Jacob smiled and looked back in front of him and away from Miraz behind him. "That ought to do the trick."

The potion bottle he had thrown had slowing effects on Miraz's entire body. His running began to slow down fast, widening the gap between him and Jacob. Phew, what a relief huh? That was a close call. The further Jacob got away from him, the happier he became. Not only did that potion slow Miraz down, but it also prevented him from teleporting too. How convenient, right? He just happened to have the right potion for the right threat. If only this was the case for every situation, huh?

"Sayonara loser!" Jacob shouted back over his left shoulder, "You stupid blockhead!"

Those comments made Miraz even more mad and upset. They angered him, filling him with rage and frustration. Before disappearing out of sight, he could just barely hear Miraz's last few words. The slowness potion was making him speak very, very slow.

"Don't you think that this is over yet," Miraz warned, "because it's–," he continued on to say as Jacob could no longer hear him. He had gotten so far away that he couldn't even see Miraz anymore. Thank goodness.

As Jacob ventured further away from his home, the more scared he became. It wouldn't be long before the sun finally sets. Alone and vulnerable he'll become as night settles in; the moon just now begins to rise up on the horizon. Let's just hope he'll find somewhere safe. A place to hide from mobs, and a place to hunker down for the night. Sure, he may only be a young blockhead. But that doesn't mean he wasn't smart.

Not knowing where to venture, or which direction to go in, Jacob quickly became lost. Persistence. That's the key to staying hopeful and optimistic, right?

Elsewhere, in the Mountain Biome, Stanley, Amelia and Melinda just arrived by teleportation. A bright white light flashed before fading away and darkness returning to the immediate surrounding area. As the wind blew through the mountains, it howled. Spooky! Unlike the Swamp biome, where there was no fog, the mountains were covered in a thick blanket of fog. That made seeing things much harder; spotting caves towards the tops of the mountains difficult.

Stanley turned around to look back at Amelia and Melinda. He gulped and raised his right hand to rub the back of his head.

"This is the Mountains biome?" Stanley asked. "It doesn't look like it."

"Oh it is, dear," Amelia said, "it's always foggy here in the Mountains."

This was it. Tonight was going to be the night where Stanley's life changes forever. In a good way? Maybe. In a bad way? Possibly. Meeting his grandfather was something he'd always dreamed of, even if they've never met before. Dragon or not, Stanley would still love him no matter what. He's family. But the real question is will Jack know who he is? Stanley turned around and gazed upon the thick cloud of fog. It stopped right where the biome stopped. The bordering biome, the Outback Biome, was where the fog stopped. Weird. It's as though it's a strange phenomenon, something Stanley's never witnessed before in the moment.

"Well you're not going to find him and meet him by just standing here kid," Melinda said, "don't be scared. Don't believe the whole "he's the fiercest dragon there is" rumors. Deep down, he's still Jack."

Stanley turned around again to look at them once more. He reached behind him into his inventory to grab something useful out. What he grabbed was an unlit torch and some flint and steel.

"Melinda, dear!" Amelia said as she smacked Melinda's right arm, "he's just nervous. If we were in his shoes, we'd feel the same way. Be nice!"

"My apologies," Milenda said as she looked over at Stanley and apologized to him too, "I'm sorry honey. Here, let me help you with that."

She approached Stanley. He handed her the flint and steel. He held out his right hand far enough away from him, the torch being held at an angle. Melinda held the flint and steel out in front of her, directly above the torch. She rubbed the flint and steel together three times, creating small sparks. Those sparks fluttered down onto the torch, instantly igniting it. The sudden igniting of the torch blew a puff of hot air into her and Stanley's faces. They both turned their heads away from the hot puff of air.

Melinda gave the flint and steel back to Stanley, resting one hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to look back at her. He smiled and nodded his head once.

"Thank you," Stanley said as he looked up at her face. When he did, he instantly covered his mouth and laughed.

"What?!" Melinda asked as she turned around to look back at Amelia. She was laughing at her too. "What? Tell me!"

Stanley and Amelia continued laughing for another moment before Melinda had heard enough of their giggling. She closed her eyes and held out her hands. Doing so made her body begin to glitch. Phasing out of her real body, was a projection of herself. Same clothes, same hair, same looks. Everything was the same. The projected self turned around, making eye contact with Amelia first, and then Stanley. After it did that, it looked over at it's real self.

"Woah, what happened to your eyebrows Melinda?" The casted projection asked. Melinda opened her eyes to find herself standing before herself. Sounds confusing, I know. We'll keep it as simple as we can, promise.

"My eyebrows?" Melinda questioned as she touched her forehead with both hands, feeling around to see if her eyebrows were actually still there. When she realized they weren't, she suddenly realized why Stanley and Amelia were laughing at her. "Haha, very funny guys. Is that why you're laughing?"

"We'd be lying if we weren't," Stanley said, "wait just a second. Do I still have my eye–," he said as Melinda suddenly interrupted him. Both Melinda's looked over at him and began laughing at him.

"Unfortunately, yes," Melinda said with a sigh and shaking of her head.

"Phew, good one. You almost had me there for a second," Stanley admitted.

The projection looked over at Stanley and then over at Melinda; otherwise known as herself.

"Well I'm no longer amused," Melinda's mirrored projection said as she looked at each one of them, "the only thing that's funny was seeing you without eyebrows."

"She's not wrong darling," Amelia said as Melinda rolled her eyes and shook her head, "she doesn't have eyebrows. Laugh at her too!"

"We can't," Amelia responded, "it's just too funny, that's all."

Melinda rolled her eyes once again and waved her hand in the air. Her projection fizzled away, turning into small floating particles.

"I think we've procrastinated long enough," Melinda finally pointed out to the both of them. "The sooner we find him, the sooner this stupid night ends."

After begging for the two of them to stop laughing, they stopped. Because they were loud, they didn't realize that they had just awoken the sleeping giant; Elderon the Dragon. That's the name given to him by many blockheads all over the OverWorld. But what they didn't know was his real name. They only ever knew him by that name, while Stanley knew him by the name Jack.

Suddenly the ground rumbled beneath their feet. Loud cracking and tumbling sounds were heard from within the Mountains biome. Everyone suddenly stopped talking to each other, all turning their heads to look over in the direction of the Mountains biome.

"You felt that too, right?" Melinda asked.

"Yes," Amelia said.

"Yeah.What was that?" Stanley asked.

They huddled close by each other, keeping a keen eye on the skies above, and the areas around them. Stanley held his torch firmly in his hand. Their backs were resting up against one another's. Flapping noises were heard, followed by a sudden cool downdraft. Looking up into the sky, Stanley pointed at a specific spot high above the ground.

"We woke him," Amelia mentioned.

Stanley turned his head to his right to look over at Amelia and Melinda. They lowered their heads and looked back over at him. Just as Stanley and them made eye-contact with each other, a loud roar was heard from above. They didn't even say anything. Looking up at the night sky, Elderon the Dragon came speeding out from the thick, dense fog.

Elderon continued flapping his wings as he looked down at the ground beneath him. He roared again, only this time smoke was coming out of his mouth and nostrils.

RROOAARR!

"Run!" Amelia said.

Elderon quickly began descending towards the ground, taking a deep breath in. After roaring again for the third time, he was closing in on his targets.

"Whatever you do, don't stop!" Amelia warned, "and this is exactly why we should've left when we had the chance."

Stanley turned his head to his left, he frowned and tilted his head. "I knew I was getting in over my head."

"But then you would've never met Jack," Melinda mentioned, "what would you do if that were the case?" She continued on to ask him.

"I've lived without him for years," Stanley mentioned, "so much for meeting him now. That plan is out the window. I'm still determined to find a way. No matter how long it takes me, I will find a way. You'll see!"