The Return of the Rainbow Griefers Read online

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  Copyright © 2015 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

  Cover photo by Megan Miller

  Print ISBN: 978-1-63450-599-4

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63450-600-7

  Printed in Canada

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: Grand Opening

  Chapter 2: Hide and Seek

  Chapter 3: The Dashing Coaster

  Chapter 4: New Recruits

  Chapter 5: Remember Me?

  Chapter 6: Choices

  Chapter 7: Not the Nether

  Chapter 8: Back in the Overworld

  Chapter 9: Almost There

  Chapter 10: Struggle in the Sand

  Chapter 11: You’ve Got a Friend

  Chapter 12: Greedy Griefers

  Chapter 13: Déjà Vu

  Chapter 14: Returning the Favor

  Chapter 15: Grand Reopening

  Chapter 16: Creepers!

  Chapter 17: A Wild Ride

  Chapter 18: Fun House

  1

  GRAND OPENING

  “That was fast!” Noah could hardly catch his breath as he stepped off the Dashing Coaster. The epic, superfast roller coaster was the main attraction at the new amusement park that had opened right outside Violet and Noah’s town.

  “I want to ride this next,” Violet exclaimed as she hurried toward the purple Ferris wheel.

  “The Ferris wheel? That’s boring. I want something that goes superfast!” Noah loved thrill rides.

  The new amusement park was called Supersonic, and people traveled from all around the Overworld for its grand opening. Violet was excited because she helped craft the Tilt-a-Whirl ride. She also had designed the food court for the amusement park. Her good friend Valentino the Butcher owned a restaurant in the food court, and Violet went to visit him. Valentino was serving some customers.

  “Can you take a break?” asked Violet.

  “Not at the moment,” Valentino replied.

  “We wondered if you’d like to ride the Dashing Coaster with us,” Violet said with a smile.

  “I think we’ve been on it at least ten times. I’ve lost track,” added Noah.

  “It sounds like fun, but I have to cook right now.” Valentino frowned.

  “If you find time for a break, let us know. We’d love to ride the coaster with you.” Violet was disappointed Valentino couldn’t join them, but she was also eager to explore the rest of the amusement park with Noah.

  There were so many rides they hadn’t tried out. All the rides used command blocks, so they got to go superfast and some blocks were able to teleport. Violet pointed to a ride shaped like a large pirate ship, which swayed back and forth. “Let’s go on that one!”

  Noah agreed and they climbed aboard the pirate ship. When Violet was high up in the air on the ship, right before the ride’s severe dip caused her stomach to jump, she saw a flash of pink in the distance. She was very quiet when she stepped off the ride.

  “Didn’t you like the ride?” asked Noah.

  “I did. But I thought I saw something strange when we were on the ship. I think I must have been imagining it.” Violet looked off in the distance, but she didn’t see anything suspicious. She hoped the pink wasn’t from a rainbow griefer’s skin; maybe it was just someone walking with colorful cotton candy.

  “It’s time to go to the opening celebration event,” Noah told Violet, and the two headed for the center of the park.

  Katie and Leo, the partners who developed the amusement park, stood on a podium and addressed the crowd.

  Katie announced, “Welcome to Supersonic. We are all happy to have you here. This park took a lot of planning, but now that it’s finished, we want you to enjoy all of the rides!”

  The crowd cheered.

  Leo stood in front of the log flume. “We are opening the flume now. Line up and be the first to experience this awesome ride!”

  Noah and Violet walked to the front of the line. Violet loved the log flume. They sat next to each other, and they both screamed when the flume went down a huge drop with a big splash.

  “I think that was my favorite ride,” declared Violet when exiting the flume.

  “There are so many more rides to go on. I don’t think we can pick our favorites yet,” replied Noah.

  Violet noticed her friends Hannah and Ben walking in the distance and called out to them.

  Hannah ran to join them. “Violet and Noah, you have to come with us!”

  As Violet and Noah followed Ben and Hannah, Violet asked, “Where are we going?”

  Noah didn’t like this change in direction. “We went on all the rides in this section of the park already,” Noah complained. He was impatient because he wanted to explore the rest of the park.

  “We’re not going on a ride . . .” Hannah tried to catch her breath.

  “We saw something by the Dashing Coaster,” Ben told them, “and I think it was a pink—”

  Violet interrupted, “Rainbow griefer?”

  “Yes!” Hannah was upset.

  “I thought I saw a pink rainbow griefer when I was on the roller coaster. I was hoping that I imagined it,” Violet exclaimed as she scanned the horizon for the griefer.

  “But we disbanded the rainbow griefer army,” protested Ben. He didn’t understand how they could return. All the rainbow griefers had changed their skins and were living peacefully in the village.

  “And we trapped Daniel in the bedrock house. You promised us that he couldn’t escape.” Hannah looked at Violet as she spoke.

  “We have to return to the bedrock house to see if Daniel is still there.” Violet headed for the exit.

  Kaboom!

  “Was that thunder?” Ben stopped and looked up at the dark sky as rain began to fall on the park.

  “Zombies!” Hannah shouted.

  The amusement park visitors tried to seek shelter from the rain and the zombies. Hordes of people ran toward the food court. Violet, Noah, Hannah, and Ben suited up in diamond armor and charged at the zombies that surrounded Katie and Leo.

  “Help us!” Katie called out in terror.

  Noah struck a zombie with an arrow
. Ben raced toward the zombies with his diamond sword, striking two.

  A zombie attacked a villager working at a cotton candy kiosk, transforming him into a zombie villager. Violet used her diamond sword to destroy the zombie, then she gave the zombie villager a golden apple and splashed a potion on him to save him.

  “Thanks!” the villager called to Violet, as she rushed over to help Katie and Leo next.

  Katie and Leo tried to fight back, but they didn’t have diamond armor. A zombie struck Katie. She was losing energy. With one more hit from the undead beast, she would be destroyed.

  Noah hit the zombie that threatened Katie—“Bull’s-

  eye!”

  Violet gave Katie some milk to regain her strength.

  The sun peeked through the clouds and the zombies disappeared.

  “Now I am sure that was a pink rainbow griefer by the Dashing Coaster,” Violet exclaimed as she looked at the sky.

  “What’s a pink griefer?” asked Leo.

  Violet described Daniel’s griefer army and told Leo and Katie the story about how the gang had helped dissolve the evil army.

  “Why do you think this is Daniel’s fault?” questioned Katie.

  “I have a feeling that zombie attack was staged by Daniel. It’s a typical move of his. I’m sure he wants to destroy this amusement park.” Violet’s mind was racing. She wanted to stop Daniel before he did any damage.

  “Why would he want to destroy Supersonic? This is a fun place for everyone in the Overworld.” Leo was confused.

  “That’s exactly why he would destroy it. He doesn’t want anyone to have a good time,” replied Ben.

  “When our village hosted the Olympics, Daniel caused all sorts of trouble. The only way we could stop him was by trapping him in a bedrock house. We need to see if he’s still there. I usually go by and check, but I was so busy working on the amusement park, I didn’t have time.” Violet had many excuses for not visiting Daniel. She disliked traveling outside of town and having to check on him.

  “Lead us to Daniel,” Katie insisted. “We need to stop him before he stages anymore attacks on Supersonic.”

  But it was too late. The gang heard someone from the Fun House shout, “Lava!” People poured out of the Fun House as the group rushed toward them.

  “What happened?” Violet called to the crowd outside the Fun House.

  “Someone flooded the Fun House with lava,” a man in a red hat called out.

  Leo tried to bring order into the chaotic scene. He told everyone to stay calm and move away from the building. People were still stumbling out of the Fun House as a pool of lava oozed out the front door.

  Leo hollered, “Stand back!”

  Violet looked at the grassy meadow outside the amusement park. Daniel’s bedrock makeshift prison lay just beyond the bucolic landscape. She took a deep breath before heading toward the bedrock home. She wasn’t sure what she’d find when she got there.

  2

  HIDE AND SEEK

  Evening approached as Noah, Violet, Hannah, Ben, and Katie made their way to the bedrock house to see if Daniel had escaped.

  “Should we turn around?” asked Ben. “It’s getting dark.”

  “No,” Violet replied and she took some wood planks from her inventory. “I’ll build a shelter quickly.”

  “Maybe we should go back. I wonder if Leo has gotten the lava situation under control,” remarked Katie.

  “We’ll find out tomorrow. I think it’s too dangerous to travel anymore. There are too many hostile mobs at night, and we need to conserve our energy.” Violet placed the wooden planks on the ground.

  “How can we help you?” asked Hannah.

  Violet gave her friend detailed instructions on what she needed to do to help build the house.

  The others listened and joined in, and very quickly the house was constructed. The friends each crafted a bed and crawled underneath their wool blankets.

  “There is a part of me that hopes Daniel is in the bedrock house, and there is also a part of me that wants him to have escaped,” confessed Violet.

  “What?” Noah was shocked. “You’d want him to escape?”

  “If he didn’t escape, that means there is another person who took Daniel’s place as the head of the rainbow griefers. I don’t want to battle any more people,” explained Violet.

  “I think I understand you,” Noah spoke slowly. “At least we know Daniel, and if he is the one creating all this havoc, we know how to battle him.”

  “Yes, we do,” added Hannah, “but it seems like he’s always striking back.”

  Ben yawned and said, “Daniel is the master of revenge.”

  “I wonder how he recruited a new army?” Violet pondered, but there was no reply. Everyone had fallen asleep. Violet closed her eyes. She would have her answer in the morning.

  At daybreak, the sun shone brightly and cows grazed outside the window. Violet was the first to wake up, and she grabbed some carrots from her inventory and ate them for breakfast.

  “Are you up, Violet?” asked Noah.

  “Yes,” she replied as the others emerged from their beds.

  “We have to find Daniel today,” Noah stated as he looked out the window. The day had just begun and they had a lot to accomplish.

  The gang walked across the field. Violet could spot the bedrock house in the distance.

  “I hope Daniel and Mac are still trapped in that house,” Violet said as they approached.

  Noah hurried toward the small window on the side of the bedrock house. “It looks like someone is in there.”

  Violet and the gang caught up with Noah. Violet peeked through the window and exclaimed, “That’s not a person!”

  Daniel had hoped to trick them into thinking he was still in the house. He had left diamond armor on an armor stand in the center of the bedrock room, making it look like the house was still occupied.

  Violet opened the door and gasped. “How did he escape?”

  Noah inspected the empty bedrock house. “I guess he used pistons to escape.”

  “I knew we should have kept a guard here.” Violet was upset.

  Hannah put her arm around Violet. “There was no way we could have found someone who would stay here and guard Daniel. This isn’t anyone’s fault.”

  Ben added, “At least we had a short period of peace and harmony in the village.”

  Everyone agreed that discussing how Daniel had escaped was a waste of time. They needed to come up with a plan for finding this epic trickster.

  “Ouch!” Violet screamed.

  An arrow had pierced Violet’s skin. Within seconds the gang was bombarded with a sea of arrows.

  “Looking for me?” Daniel called out, as he stood in front of an enormous army of colorful rainbow griefers. “Fire!” Daniel instructed his army.

  The gang wasn’t even suited up in diamond armor, so the surprise attack weakened them.

  Violet was glad she had some carrots that morning, since she had a bit more energy to fight, but even she was losing hearts. Violet tried to dodge the arrows. She grabbed an arrow from her inventory and shot at the rainbow griefers, but it seemed pointless.

  “I can’t take any more hits,” Hannah called out. She was also trying to battle the griefers with her bow and arrow, but it wasn’t working. Two arrows struck Hannah and she was destroyed.

  “Oh no!” Ben cried, as he, too, was destroyed.

  Katie, Noah, and Violet were the only ones left to battle Daniel and the griefers.

  Daniel laughed as Katie was destroyed. “And now I’m left with my two favorite people.” Daniel ordered the rainbow griefers to stop shooting arrows.

  “What do you want from us?” demanded Violet.

  “You thought you were trapping me for life, didn’t you?” Daniel laughed again. This time his laugh was quite shrill and piercing in Violet’s ears.

  “Stop terrorizing us,” Noah shouted at Daniel and his new army of rainbow griefers.

  “Never,” Dan
iel said with a sinister smile. “It’s time for revenge. You guys are going to pay. If you thought I caused a lot of trouble at the Olympic games, wait until you see what I do to your new theme park.”

  “Leave us alone!” Violet didn’t want to beg, but she was exhausted and just wanted Daniel to stop.

  Daniel took his diamond sword out of his inventory and walked over to Violet, striking her with his sword. Violet was destroyed. When she awoke in the small cabin, she saw Noah respawning in his bed.

  “I guess Daniel destroyed you, too?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Noah said as he sat up in the bed. “I can’t believe how many new soldiers he has working for him.”

  Ben shook his head. “Me neither. This isn’t going to be an easy battle.”

  “We’ve beat Daniel in the past, and we can do it again.” Hannah was the only one who seemed hopeful.

  “I worked so hard to create this amusement park and I’m not going to let Daniel destroy it,” said Katie.

  There was a knock on the door. The gang suited up in diamond armor before they opened it. They had to be prepared. They didn’t know who was on the other side of the door.

  3

  THE DASHING COASTER

  Violet ran to the door. She held her enchanted diamond sword in her hand while she slowly opened the door.

  “Katie! Someone has blown up the Dashing Coaster!” Leo stood at the front door.

  “What?” Katie was appalled. “I’m sure it was Daniel.”

  “How’s the Fun House doing?” asked Hannah.

  “This morning, I went to the amusement park to clean up the Fun House and remove the lava. When I arrived I found the Dashing Coaster was completely destroyed.”

  “That’s awful,” said Ben. “We have to go back to Supersonic and help rebuild.”

  “We also have to come up with a plan to fight Daniel.” Violet knew rebuilding was pointless if Daniel was just going to destroy the park again.

  A voice boomed from outside the door of the cabin. “Surrender! We have you surrounded.”

  “It’s Daniel!” Violet called out.

  “I have a plan. It may seem crazy, but trust me.” Noah pulled out some command blocks.

  “What are you doing?” asked Violet.