Battle for Time Read online

  “There are too many of them,” Alexandra said as she struck a soldier in blue. She was down to two hearts and was exhausted.

  As Poppy slammed her sword into another soldier, she realized her plan wasn’t that good. They had to find another way to get rid of Anya.

  Pete came up with an idea. As he struck a blue soldier, the soldier begged him to stop, and Pete listened. “I don’t want to hurt you,” Pete said, “but you guys are leaving me with no choice. I have to defend myself.”

  The blue soldier shocked Pete when he said, “I am not going to attack you anymore. There is no reason to defend yourself.”

  Pete wasn’t sure if this was a trick. He looked around and saw all of his friends battling blue soldiers, and he wondered why his soldier had chosen to end the battle.

  “Why?” Pete asked.

  “This isn’t my battle. I am not going to destroy myself for Anya. She forced me to change my skin, and because of her and her command blocks, we are living in an inhospitable environment.”

  “Command blocks?” asked Pete.

  “Yes, she has them set up in the basement of the castle. That is how she is controlling the temperature of the Overworld.”

  Pete said, “We have to stop her.”

  “I would love to, but how?” asked the soldier.

  Pete said, “Please call out to your friends and have them stop battling us.”

  The blue soldier called out, “Stop!” His voice was so loud, it created a wave in the lava river.

  The sound of his voice made everyone put down their weapons. One soldier called out, “What’s the matter?”

  Poppy and the others pointed their swords at the blue soldier. Pete told them to back off. As Pete said those words, the soldiers started to advance toward the lone blue soldier.

  The blue soldier said, “Destroy me if you must, but please let me speak first.” The soldiers backed away, and he spoke. “I don’t want to battle these people because they have the same dream I do. They want to stop the ice age. I don’t want Anya controlling me. If you agree with me, please put down your swords, and I will tell you my plan to save the Overworld.”

  Everybody put down their swords.

  “I want to go back to Anya and act as if we captured these people. Once we get there, I want to overthrow the castle. I want to break the command blocks and end the ice age. I want to go back to wearing my old skin.”

  The soldier was shocked when the crowd cheered him on. “We want our old skins back too!”

  Poppy marveled at this turn of events. She didn’t imagine this happening at all, and she looked over at Pete and smiled.

  Pete and Brett didn’t trust this turn of events. It seemed too easy, and they wished there was a way these soldiers could prove their loyalty to this idea. Their wish was granted when a group of ghasts swooped down and began to attack the group with fireballs. The gang had to fight back together.

  Brett aimed his bow and arrow at a ghast. Then he tripped and was about to fall into the lava waterfall until one of the soldiers helped him avoid splashing into the lethal lava. Brett realized they were all working together, and soon they would stop Anya.

  The soldier had finished lecturing everyone on his plan. They were to hop on the portal and show Anya how they had captured these rebels and would take them to the changing room. Once they made that announcement and she was happy, they would stage their surprise attack.

  Everyone agreed they had to attack Anya, and they huddled together on the portal. They hoped it was going to work. As they emerged in the cold Overworld, they shivered.

  The blue soldier walked into Anya’s castle and announced, “We got them.”

  “Good job,” said Anya.

  “Thank you,” the soldier said and smiled.

  Anya lectured the group, “You tried to escape. You know there will be a punishment for this. But first you must change into your new skins. I know you don’t want to and you feel as if you were defeated, but I assure you that once you are in your new skin, you will be much happier.”

  “They will be,” said the blue soldier.

  “I know,” said Anya. “This is the center of the Overworld, and they will be involved in changing history.” She pointed at Poppy. “You will start constructing the building first thing in the morning.”

  “She will create a stunning skyscraper,” said the blue soldier.

  “Of course she will. Now lead them to the changing room,” she ordered.

  As they walked down the hall toward the room, the soldier didn’t attack Anya or any other soldier there. The other soldiers that followed behind seemed confused. They were waiting for the soldier to follow their plan, but as the gang walked into the changing room and picked out their new skins, they wondered if they had been tricked.

  13

  FOLLOWERS

  Brett thought about the soldier who had helped him when he was about to slip into the lava lake. He trusted these people. How could they have turned on them? Brett had chosen his skin when the soldier said, “Are you ready? Then we will attack?”

  Brett said, “We are fighting in new skins?”

  “What?” Poppy was confused.

  “Yes,” the blue soldier responded. “We all have to look the same. Once we defeat Anya, we can all go back to our old skins. I remember mine. I wore an orange shirt and yellow pants. I can’t wait to wear them again.”

  Having them all change skins to battle Anya made sense, but Brett felt giving up his skin for a battle was a hard sacrifice to make. He liked wearing his old skin because it was the one he had chosen ages ago, and he felt comfortable in it. He also feared that once he changed into the skin the soldiers would turn on him and he’d be trapped wearing blue pants and a blue shirt forever in a cold world.

  Claudia was the first to change her skin, followed by Alexandra and Carl, but before Poppy, Joe, Pete, and Brett could get their skins changed, the uprising had begun. An impatient blue soldier lunged toward Anya and slammed his sword into her, taking her by surprise.

  “Stop!” Anya shouted and called for more troops.

  Blue soldiers stormed into Anya’s room and looked for her attacker, but they couldn’t find them. Since everyone was dressed the same, they had no idea who was the one who had tried to overthrow Anya.

  The attacker snuck behind Anya and struck her again. “Stop!” she called out, but nobody had been looking when the soldier had quietly made his way toward Anya, and again they had no idea who had attacked her.

  Anya had one heart left. She went to pull a glass of milk from her inventory, but it was empty. She didn’t want them to know she had an empty inventory. It had been a long time since she had to acquire items. She was used to people bringing things to her, and she was rusty both in keeping her inventory stocked and in battle. She couldn’t admit this, so she ordered everyone, “Get in one line. I want to meet with each of you and find out who is attacking me. You will be found, and you won’t get away with this.”

  The blue soldiers listened. They stood in a single-file line, and Anya walked up and down staring at each soldier. After walking up and down the line a few times, she realized that she had no idea who was behind this attack, and she had to find another plan.

  “Where are the new people? Where is Poppy?” Anya questioned the crowd.

  “They have changed their skins. You told us to bring them to the changing room,” replied the blue soldier.

  Anya realized her mistake. Now she had no idea who Poppy and the others were, and they could attack her at any minute. In the past, she didn’t care about the soldiers’ individual traits, but now she needed to know who the newcomers were and if they were the ones who were attacking her.

  Anya announced, “I want everyone to go back to their old skins immediately,” as she marched them all to the changing room.

  Anya was the only one who didn’t need to change into her old skin. She was wearing her original skin, which was a dark blue shirt and pants. The soldiers wore the same outfit
in a shade of lighter blue. Anya watched as the soldiers emerged from the room in their normal skins, but as she stood watching the rows of soldiers transform, she didn’t realize people were lurking behind her. She felt something press against her back.

  “Don’t move,” said Brett.

  “I won’t,” Anya said. She only had one heart left, and she didn’t want to be destroyed.

  “You will lead us to the command blocks,” ordered Brett.

  Anya replied, “Okay.”

  “Now,” Brett said.

  Anya turned around to see Brett, Poppy, and their friends dressed in their old skins.

  “You were never dressed like the soldiers?” she asked.

  “No,” replied Poppy.

  “Then who was attacking me?” asked Anya, but as she said those words, she knew she didn’t want a response because she dreaded the answer. It was her own people and that meant that she would no longer be able to rule her cold town. However, she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. There were definitely people who believed in her cold way of life, and they would defend her.

  The gang marched her toward the room that held the command blocks; then they heard screams. A group of people didn’t want to change their skins from their blue soldier uniforms. Anya knew she had loyal followers, and she knew her battle wasn’t over. It had just begun.

  14

  MOB INVASION

  Three people remained in blue skins. Anya wished more people would have stayed with her, but she was glad she had this army of three. They could help her escape and stop these intruders from destroying the command blocks. She stood by the door where she housed the command blocks. She only had one heart left, but the three soldiers charged toward Anya and blocked everyone from attacking her. One of the blue soldiers handed her a potion of healing, which she gulped down.

  “Stand back!” she ordered, but nobody listened. The three soldiers were no match for the dozens of attackers.

  Poppy hurtled toward Anya and called out to the crowd, “Stop!”

  Anya was surprised. “What are you doing? Have you finally come to your senses and joined me?”

  Poppy asked, “Why are you doing this? Why would you make the Overworld freeze?”

  Anya didn’t respond.

  “Answer her!” Brett called out.

  Anya was about to speak when she cried out in pain. An arrow shot through her arm, and then another arrow hit her leg.

  Skeletons spawned in the castle. During the battle, the sun had set and it was night. They weren’t prepared for the hostile mob attack. A spider jockey stood at the entrance to the castle and was about to make its way in. Anya used this opportunity to escape. She sped out of the castle with the three soldiers. The gang wanted to fight her, but they couldn’t because they were under attack from the skeleton army and the spider jockey.

  Alexandra and Carl fought the spider jockey. They worked together and aimed their bow and arrows at the skeleton atop the red-eyed spider. Their arrows destroyed the skeleton, and then they both traded in their bow and arrows for swords. They collectively slammed their swords into the spider, destroying it.

  More skeletons filled the castle, and the group was exhausted from battling the bony beasts. It seemed as if once they destroyed a skeleton, another would spawn in its place. The battle seemed pointless and never-ending. It became more complicated when a cluster of vacant-eyed zombies lumbered toward the castle door. The smell of rotten flesh overwhelmed the group, and they tried to hold their breath as they battled the undead beasts.

  “We have to find Anya,” said Poppy.

  “I know,” replied Brett, but he knew they had to destroy these hostile mobs before they could leave. Also it probably wasn’t a good idea to travel at night. There were more hostile mobs, and if the group used their remaining resources battling them, they wouldn’t be able to fight Anya.

  When the final skeleton and zombie were destroyed, Poppy said again, “We have to find Poppy.”

  “In the morning,” said Brett. “It’s dark, and we need to rest.”

  “Where will we stay?” asked Poppy.

  “You can stay at my house,” said Cara.

  The gang followed Cara as they hurried through the cold town in the dark. Cara led them to a large glass house.

  “You built this?” asked Poppy.

  “Yes,” said Cara, “years ago.”

  Poppy was impressed with the design. “I’ve built a glass house before, but this one is incredible.”

  “This isn’t the time to talk about building,” Brett reminded her. “We have to get to bed.”

  Cara offered her guests any room in the house. There were multiple rooms, and there was enough space for everyone. Brett chose a room off the living room. He climbed into a bed and looked out the window of the glass house and could see the entire town. He didn’t see any hostile mobs, and he closed his eyes and went to bed. He dreamed about Anya. He saw her show up in the glass house and order them to leave. She had replenished her army, and they were stronger than before. When he woke up, the sun was blazing through the window of the house. Brett touched his head, and sweat was on his fingers. He felt hot.

  Brett hurried out of his room to find Pete writing in a notebook. Pete said, “Good morning. I’m getting so many notes for this article. Nobody is going to believe that I saw a piece of history and was able to time travel. This article is going to win an award.”

  “Pete,” Brett asked, “do you feel hot?”

  Pete stopped for a moment. “I do!” he exclaimed. “I feel hot.”

  “I think someone has destroyed the command blocks,” said Brett.

  Poppy and the others rushed into the living room and announced, “I think the ice age is over.”

  Cara said, “We have to go to the castle. I bet the townspeople have taken control of it and have broken the command blocks.”

  “I hope they trapped Anya,” said Carl.

  “Me too,” said Alexandra.

  A rush of cold air blew through the room and the front door opened. A voice boomed through the living room. “Don’t get your hopes up. I’m not trapped,” said Anya.

  Behind Anya was a large group of people dressed in blue. It was just like Brett’s dream, but this was something he couldn’t wake up from.

  15

  MISSING HISTORY

  “It’s time to surrender,” Anya announced to the group.

  Brett was battling the army, but the frigid air that blew through the living room distracted him. Had the command blocks been destroyed and then rebuilt? Or did the house just feel warm because of the direct sunlight coming through the windows? All of these questions swam through his mind as he battled in this surprise attack.

  Poppy didn’t realize that she was down to one potion and had no food left in her inventory when she was struck by a blue soldier’s sword. She had one heart left and no way to replenish her health. The only potion in her inventory was a potion of harming. She splashed it on one of the soldiers, which weakened him but didn’t destroy him.

  Anya spotted Poppy from across the room and noticed she was down to one heart. She ordered her soldiers to end the attack.

  “There is no more fighting. Please take the prisoners to their new home.” She walked over to Poppy and said, “You are coming with me.”

  Poppy looked at her friends being led in another direction and asked, “What do you want from me?”

  “You know what I want,” Anya said. “I want you to build the skyscraper.”

  “I can’t do it alone.”

  “I know,” said Anya. “I found a team to work with you. They are handpicked from across the Overworld and from various time periods. Unlike you, they didn’t put up a fight. They thought it was an honor to build a skyscraper for me.”

  Poppy didn’t respond. She followed Anya to the castle and looked around for her friends. Anya noted, “If you’re looking for your friends, they aren’t here.”

  Anya led Poppy into a room where there were oth
er people still dressed in their old skins. “This is your new team,” said Anya.

  Poppy didn’t recognize any of these people. She wondered what time periods they came from. She also wondered how all of this was left out of history books. She had learned about the ice age, but it was just seen as a freak occurrence. There was no mention of Anya and her control over the ice age. Anya said, “You are all about to start on the skyscraper. I will lead you to the spot where I want it to be built, and I will provide you with all of the supplies.”

  A girl with red braids said to Poppy, “You’re Poppy, right?”

  “Yes,” Poppy replied. “Why do you ask?”

  “Anya has been waiting for you for a long time. We have been in this room for ages. She has been trying to track you down. I am so glad you are finally here so we can start and finish this project.”

  “What do you think will happen to us when the project is finished?” Poppy asked the girl.

  “We’ll probably build something else,” she replied.

  Another person added, “We will be her team of personal builders.”

  Anya overheard their conversation. “You are my team of builders. This is your job forever.”

  Poppy wasn’t happy about being trapped with Anya, and she had to find a way out. She wondered where the people who had turned against Poppy had gone. She hoped they were planning an attack. However, she couldn’t just wait around for someone else to save her. She had to think of her own plan. She didn’t know what she was capable of doing since she only had one heart. Anya was also keeping a close eye on them, so she couldn’t plan an uprising with the other builders.

  “This is where I want the skyscraper to be built,” Anya said as they approached a large patch of land near a frozen farm.

  “I don’t understand why you are freezing the Overworld,” said Poppy as she stared at the farm. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “Don’t concern yourself with what I am doing. Your only job is to build this skyscraper,” said Anya as she handed Poppy supplies.