That Sneaky, Sneaky Witch

Swamp Biome, OverWorld

Night

"We should've waited until dawn to venture out of town," Petra said, "I've ventured into the Swamps before. Let me tell you this...the swamps are not somewhere where you want to be stuck in."

Elena pulled out her map from her inventory. She looked down at it to see where the Snowy Tundra Biome was. That was where the last active Nether Portal was located.

The swamp was no place for a rightful King and Queen. Daniel and Petra knew that for a fact. Witches roamed the swamps, as did slime. Bats squeaking could be heard all around them. The murky water was being disturbed as slithering snakes and fish swam around in it.

"If I'm correct, we need to venture west," Elena said, "that's where the Snowy Tundra Biome is. Stay close and stay sharp."

Elena and Daniel began walking. Petra saw them walking away and hurried over to them. She didn't want to be left alone. Out of all the biomes, the swamps were Petra's least favorite one to be in.

As they continued to journey through the swamp, Elena stopped walking. Daniel and Petra did too.

"Quick," Elena whispered, "hide behind a tree!"

Daniel and Petra ran over to a tree and hid behind it. Elena did the same. What Elena saw was a Witch. If they were to be spotted by the Witch, she wouldn't greet them very nicely.

"Be as quiet as possible," Elena said as she crept out from behind the oak tree. Daniel and Petra quietly followed behind her.

They were now very carefully venturing through the swamps, trying not to disturb the witch. But that didn't go as Elena had hoped. Elena was in front, with Daniel behind her, and Petra behind him.

Without noticing it because it was dark, Elena accidentally stepped on gravel. When she did, the Witch nearby heard it and turned around. It saw Elena, Daniel, and Petra and immediately began running towards them. It quickly grabbed a potion of harming out and held it in its hands.

"Run!" Elena said.

Elena, Petra, and Daniel all began running away from the Witch in a hurry. As they were running, Petra looked over her shoulder. The Witch vanished into thin air. A momentary sense of relief overcame Petra.

"She's gone," Petra said as she turned her head back to the front. When she did, the witch appeared right in front of her. The Witch grabbed Petra's arm. She screamed.

Elena and Daniel both stopped running. They both turned around to see Petra being held captive by that sneaky, sneaky witch. "Petra!" Daniel said.

"If you want her back, you must do something for me," the Witch said.

"We don't help bad blockheads like you," Daniel said, "do you know who I am?"

"Should I?" The Witch responded.

"I'm a King!" Daniel said.

"Don't care," the Witch said, "you're all the same to me—weak!"

"What is it you need? We'll do anything," Elena pleaded to the Witch.

"I need some glowstone dust from the Nether. Oh and some nether wart too," the Witch said, "bring me these items by dawn and your friend lives. If you do not return with these items, your friend's head would make a nice centerpiece for my table."

"You wouldn't dare," Daniel said, "monster!"

"I mean, I would go and fetch those items myself but...seeing that you banished EnderBrine to the Nether, I swore to never go there again," the Witch said.

Elena grabbed Daniel's arm and very gently pulled it. "C'mon Daniel. We must hurry. HeroBrine isn't too far behind us."

Daniel slowly started backing away from the Witch, as was Elena.

"Remember. By dawn!" The Witch reminded them.

Daniel and Elena turned around and began running away. As they did that, they heard the Witch laugh evilly. Daniel looked back over his shoulder. The Witch waved at them as they departed the Swamp. Then she and Petra both vanished into thin air.

"Daniel," Elena said, "I would like to ask you something."

"What's that?" Daniel asked.

"How's he doing?" Elena asked, referring to her friend Merlin.

"Merlin?" Daniel questioned, "oh. Uh. He's doing okay I guess? He's still mourning the loss of you. He thinks you're gone."

"Sadly, I'd like to keep it that way," Elena said.

"Why is that? He needs you. You need him," Daniel said.

"When I feel the time is right, I will reveal myself to him. But for now, he must still think I'm gone. I know it's upsetting to say the least, but you have to understand my point of view," Elena said.

"Fine," Daniel said, "if you must."

"How did you win the battle against EnderBrine and NetherBrine?" Elena said, "there's been chatter amongst my people about the battle for the OverWorld."

Daniel sighed. His memory was still coming back to him. He had a lot on his mind. The main thing he was worried about was getting back to the Kingdom to save his people. But he did remember some memories of the final battle.

"We received help from a dragon, and the people of SkyWorld. Together we fought against the evil that threatened our world and won. It's simple really. They never stood a chance," Daniel explained.

The end of the Swamp Biome was near. The Snowy Tundra was coming into view. Elena glanced down at her map once more. A small red dot on her map showed where the last portal to the Nether was located.

"I can't believe we agreed to help this witch," Elena said, "and because we did, we won't be back to town by dawn."

"She gave us no other choice. If we want to save Petra, we have to stick to our agreement and fulfil her terms," Daniel mentioned.

"I guess I agree," Elena said as they left the Swamp biome and entered the Snowy Tundra biome. "The portal should be around here somewhere. Keep an eye out for it."

As they continued walking, the ground suddenly shook, followed by a loud roar. Elena and Daniel stopped walking. The creature roared again, pounding its chest like a gorilla would. Daniel and Elena turned around.

What they saw was a yeti. A tall, white furred aggressive yeti. It began running after them. Daniel and Elena started running as fast as they could. A short distance in front of them, was the nether portal.

"Look! There it is!" Elena said. "Keep running!"

"Didn't plan on stopping," Daniel responded.

The yeti was getting closer and closer to them. They were losing distance between them and the angry yeti. The yeti roared again, breaking down trees and any other obstacles that stood in its way.

"When I say jump, we jump. Got it?" Elena said.

The nether portal was only a few blocks away. They were closing in on it as fast as they could. The yeti was almost on top of them.

"I'm going to distract him. Don't wait for me. I'll be right behind you," Elena said as she reached into her inventory and grabbed a salmon out.

The yeti stopped abruptly in its tracks. It stared down at Elena, more specifically the fish she was holding in her hand. She waved it around, back and forth. After she got a hold of it's attention, she tossed the salmon as far as she could. The yeti went running in the direction of which she threw the fish.

Daniel was standing by the portal waiting for Elena. "Go. Go through now!" Elena said as the yeti finished eating the fish he had found.

He looked over at Elena running towards the portal. Daniel saw him charging towards them again. The fish was only a temporary distraction. But it gave them enough time to jump through the portal.

Elena, right before she jumped through the portal, grabbed Daniel's hand and pulled him through with her. They landed on netherrack and rolled in circles a few times before stopping.

They got back up onto their feet and looked at their new surroundings. It was hot. Fires burned on the netherrack. Moglins, and Zombie Pigmen could be seen roaming. Wither Skeletons could be seen roaming the Nether Fortress nearby.

"Well, well, well," a familiar voice said.

Daniel and Elena looked up. It was EnderBrine. He was slowly descending upon them. He landed on the ground and smiled.

"Told you we'd meet again," EnderBrine said.