Rescuing Ava [Ch. 7]

Daniel and Darron were standing over by the door to the basket. The basket door was open. Both Daniel and Darron leaned slightly over the edge of the basket, looking down. They were so high up. Darron gulped, starting to second-guess his decision. Should he still help Daniel? Or should he back out of mission and stay behind? After all, Daniel did say he didn't need any help and that he could rescue Ava on his own.

The wind was extremely strong at this altitude. If Daniel and Darron were going to safely skydive, they must remain extremely careful and mindful of their surroundings. If either one of them somehow messed something up, the mission would fail. And trust me, they didn't want that to happen. The only way to get through this situation was to persevere. That's really the only thing they could do.

"It's okay to be scared," Daniel said as he glanced over at Darron. "This is my first time skydiving too."

Darron nervously chuckled and nodded his head. Darron was so scared that he was shaking really badly. He too, must overcome his fear of heights. Maybe following through with helping Daniel would make Darron look like a hero to everyone else too. In the past, Darron didn't have many friends. But hopefully by doing this that would all change.

Daniel and Darron both turned around to face everyone else who was on the balloon. There was nothing but silence. The only things making sound was the howling wind and the balloon's leather flapping around in the wind. Daniel looked over at the female blockhead who had informed him about Ava being left behind.

"What's your name?" Daniel asked.

"Natasha," she responded, "I'm the adoptive mother to Ava. Her biological parents were--," Natasha explained as she became emotional. Her husband, who was standing next to her, finished what she was trying to tell Daniel and Darron.

"Her biological parents sacrificed themselves to save Ava during a forest fire. Once the fire was extinguished her biological parents were never found," Natasha's husband said, "all we ask of you is that you bring her back to us safe and sound. Can you do that?"

Daniel faintly smiled and nodded his head. Deep inside, Daniel felt a lot of sympathy for Natasha and her husband. He also felt a lot of sympathy for Ava as well. No child should ever have to go through what she went through. One thing was for certain though and that was that Daniel was going to do everything he could to save Ava.

"We'll bring her back safely, I promise," Daniel said as he turned around. His back was now facing everyone. Darron turned around too. Daniel glanced over to his right at Darron, holding his hand out.

"Ready?" Daniel asked as Darron looked back at him. He grabbed Daniel's hand, holding it tightly.

"I think so," Darron responded.

"Alright. Here we go," Daniel said as the two of them leaped out of the basket, beginning their freefall through the sky. The wind was rushing through their hair. Their shirts flapped around in the wind. They continued to hold each other's hand. There was no turning back now for either of them. They had to follow through with the mission.

As they continued to fall from the sky, everyone back up on the balloon ran over to one side of the balloon. Natasha and her husband leaned over the side of the basket to try and get a good look at where Daniel and Darron were. But just as they looked down, Daniel and Darron had disappeared into the clouds.

Notch and Ceres were standing next to them.

"Don't worry," Ceres said, "Daniel knows what he's doing."

Natasha and her husband looked over at Ceres. They both sighed heavily. "We hope so. She's the only person in this world we care about deeply. We can't lose her like we did with her parents."

"Were her real parents friends of yours?" Notch asked.

"In a way, yes," Natasha responded.

Notch and Ceres both nodded their heads as they suddenly had a thought come to mind. Sure, the elytra wings could get them down to the Village safely, but how would they get back up to the balloon's? In order to fly back up to the balloon, Daniel and Darron would need to find high ground to jump off of. And even after they do that, there's no way they'd be able to climb altitude.

"We need to lower the balloon," Notch said as he quickly turned around to look at the blockhead who was controlling the hot air being released into the balloon. "They won't make it back up to the balloon. It's not possible. We need to go down and wait for them."

"Are you two out of your minds?" Natasha said as she turned around to look at both of them. She had her arms crossed because she was a little upset and agitated. There was no way they were going to let Notch or Ceres bring the balloon back down to the Village.

Ceres turned his head so that he could look over at Natasha and her husband. "Do you want to see your daughter again? I hate being so harsh, but this is the only way you'll be able to see her again."

"Do what you must," Natasha said as she unfolded her arms and took a step back from Ceres and Notch. She backed away so that she wouldn't escalate the disagreement between them. They were right after all. There was nothing more to be said.

"Lower the balloon, would you?" Ceres told the blockhead holding onto the handle in the middle of the basket. He stopped feeding hot air into the balloon. Not a moment later, the balloon slowly began descending back down towards the Village.

"Trust us," Ceres said to Natasha and her husband, "we know what we're doing."

As the balloon continued it's descent, Daniel and Darron were nearing the end of their freefall. They let go of each other's hands. When they did that, they began getting further away from one another. They both opened their elytra wings, giving them both more control over where they flew and what direction they flew in as well.

But as Daniel got his wings open, Darron on the other hand was having trouble getting elytra wings opened. Darron began yelling loudly. He somehow managed to get his right wing open, but his left one was stuck somehow. He continued yanking on the cord that would open the wing, but nothing. Because he had one wing opened up, he began spinning out of control. No longer was he able to try and open his left wing. As he continued to spin out of control, he also began falling faster.

The Village was now almost upon them. The ocean was getting closer and closer. Daniel finally noticed that Darron was spinning out of control. He leaned to his right, which in turn made him fly to his right. As he got closer and closer to Darron, he held his arms out straight in front of him. Just before he could grab him, Daniel had to back out on trying to save him. If he wouldn't have done that, he would've flown right into a small house. Darron face-planted into the wooden walkway. He slid for a moment before coming to a complete stop.

Once Daniel landed, he ran over to Darron. He gently flipped Darron over onto his back. When he did that, he realized that Darron was still unconscious. Daniel began feeling around for a pulse. After checking Darron's wrists and chest, Daniel felt for a pulse on his neck. There was, luckily enough, still a pulse. It was weak, but still noticeable.

"Hang in there buddy," Daniel said as he got back up onto his feet. He began looking all around him, trying to find out where Ava was located. As he was falling, he saw Ava standing out in the open somewhere. But he had forgotten where she was because he got distracted in trying to help Darron.

"Ava!" Daniel shouted, "where are you? Call out to me."

From nearby, Ava's voice could be heard. "I'm over on the pier," Ava called out, "hurry up! The wave is getting closer!"

Daniel ran over to the pier, following Ava's voice. Once he arrived at the pier, he saw why Ava was trapped. She was being held captive by a Siren. Daniel quickly reached into his inventory to grab Petra's golden enchanted sword out. The Siren gasped sarcastically and began laughing.

"A life for a life," the Siren said, "you killed our Queen, we'll kill this girl!"

"What good will that do for you? Is this really the only option you have? How is her death going to avenge your Queen's death?" Daniel asked, "She's just a girl."

"Anyone I kill will avenge my Queen's death," the Siren answered while not answering any questions Daniel had for her.

The rogue wave was getting closer and closer, and bigger and taller. The crescent at the top of the wave was beginning to form, meaning the wave was going to come crashing down any second now. There was literally no time left. He knew what the Siren was doing. She was stalling. Stalling so that once the wave does come crashing down, it'll not only take Ava's life, but his and Darron's lives as well. Three birds with one stone.

Daniel was squinting his eyes. He had noticed two masked blockheads riding their dolphin's at the top of the wave. As he looked up at the blockhead, the Siren looked up at the blockhead as well. She gasped, suddenly letting Ava go.

"They're here," the Siren shouted very loudly as she slithered back over to the edge of the pier and jumped back into the water.

The rogue wave was beginning to block the sun's light from shining down. The shadow of the wave was quickly moving across the surface of the ocean. Rain droplets began raining down as the wave was beginning to crash down. Daniel ran over to Ava, quickly wrapping his arms around her. Before he did that though, he put the golden sword back into his inventory.

"Close your eyes!" Daniel shouted as they both closed their eyes. The wave then came crashing down on top of them.

But just before the wave could submerge them underwater, one of the masked blockheads stepped out in front of them. He slammed his golden trident down onto the pier. It made a loud banging sound as he did that. As the water came crashing down on top of them, a big enough air bubble formed around the three of them. The golden trident was glowing bright in a pulsing manner, similar to a heart beat.

When Daniel and Ava realized that they weren't getting wet, they both opened their eyes. The first thing they did was stare at the mysterious masked blockhead. He was wearing shiny golden armor from head to toe. Although, his boots were yellow. They were green as were his gloves. Every other part of his armored suit was gold.

He looked back over his left shoulder at Daniel and Ava. They were both in awe as they examined the air bubble that was protecting them from the rush of water over them. How was something like this possible? How was this blockhead pulling this off? Where did he come from?

"Are you two alright?" He asked, "did they hurt you little one?"

Ava shook her head as she briefly looked back at Daniel. "No," Ava answered, "they were about to though I think."

"Well I'm glad the two of you are alright," he said, "your friend is safe as well. Don't you worry about him. Borris, my friend, is protecting him."

That was a huge relief to Daniel. That was one thing he was really worried about. Because he had saved Ava, there wasn't enough time for him to run back and try to save Darron too. If he would've done that, they all could've been washed away with the water.

"Oh thank goodness," Daniel said as he calmed himself down. Knowing that Darron was okay made Daniel feel much better about not being able to get to him in time.

"If you don't mind me asking," Daniel said, "but who are you? Where'd you guys come from? How did you make this air bubble around us?"

The blockhead took one hand off of his trident, while keeping the other one steadily attached to it. With his free hand, he grabbed his golden mask and slowly pulled it off of his face. His true identity was revealed. He had bright green eyes, and blonde hair. His beard was also blonde as well.

"My name is Calvin," he said, "Borris and I come from MineLantis, the underwater Kingdom. As for your last question about the air bubble, that was made possible due to my magical golden trident. No need to worry, we aren't the bad guys. We mean no harm once so ever."

Daniel scoffed. He knew that they didn't mean any trouble. When he had first spotted them, they didn't give off a weird feeling of being bad or evil. Quite the opposite. They truly did mean nothing but good. The one thing Daniel was extremely curious to hear more about was this underwater Kingdom called MineLantis. Sure he's heard stories of an underwater Kingdom from books he's read in the past, but none of those books ever mentioned a Kingdom that was called MineLantis.

"MineLantis?" Daniel asked, "I've never read about an underwater Kingdom called that before I believe. I could've easily overlooked it, but I'm interested in learning more about your Kingdom."

As the water continued to rush over and around the air bubble, it finally began receding back into the ocean. The amount of water that was above the air bubble was dropping quickly. As far as Daniel knew, he and Darron and Ava had all just survived a dangerous and deadly rogue wave.

"Well we like to remain hidden from the rest of the OverWorld as best as possible. The treasures we possess and the power we wield are sought after by many treasure hunters and blockheads who mean no good," Calvin explained.

"So that's why you remain hidden, isn't it?" Daniel asked.

Calvin faintly smiled as he nodded his head. "Yes," he answered.

The water had now receded to the point where it was safe to come out of the air bubble. Once Calvin lifted his trident up off of the pier, the air bubble that had protected them from the water dissolved and vanished into thin air. Daniel got back up onto his feet, holding Ava's hand gently. There was nothing more important than keeping Ava by his side at all times.

"Where's my mama and papa?" Ava asked as she looked up at Daniel. Daniel looked down at her and faintly smiled.

"I'm sure they're on their way down now," Daniel said, "shouldn't be too much longer. Patience kiddo."

"I'm just excited to see them again," Ava responded.

Calvin and Daniel looked down at Ava. In the meantime, while they wait for Ava's parents to arrive, maybe it'd be a good idea to get to know each other? Doing so would make the time go by more quickly.

"Say Ava," Daniel said, "why don't you tell us a little about yourself. What you like to do for fun, your favorite biome in the entire OverWorld and other similar things."

"Well I like to read a lot of books, paint pictures, and play with my friends," Ava answered.

Daniel was not expecting that answer from her at all. He was thinking of other things. It wasn't very often that Daniel met children who were into reading books. There was something special about Ava, and he was going to figure that something out. No matter how long it took him.

Calvin happened to look up at the sky. When he did, a single hot air balloon was emerging from within the clouds, slowly descending down towards them. He pointed up at the incoming balloon. Daniel and Ava did the same. Ava began jumping up and down while waving her hands above her head. What she was trying to do was capture the attention of everyone who was on the hot air balloon.

"Mama! Papa! We're over here. Right here!" Ava shouted as loud as she could.

As the balloon continued its descent, Borris was helping Darron back up onto his feet. Once he was, he looked over at Borris. He scratched his head a couple of times because he was confused. Darron had the slightest clue as to who Borris was.

"Where's Daniel? Who are you?" Darron asked as he began patting down his stomach to make sure he wasn't badly injured or something. Luckily though, he only had minor snitches on his arms and face. Other than that, he was fine. He was still extremely sore from when he had crashed. That should wear off sooner or later.

"Borris," he answered.

"Well Borris. Care to catch me up to speed on what happened? One minute I was freefalling from the sky, and the next moment I woke up to you standing over," Darron mentioned, "what happened?"

"The rogue wave came crashing down into the Village. But just before it did, my friend and I enclosed you all in air bubbles to protect you from the current the wave had caused as it flooded the entire Village," Borris explained.

"You're welcome by the way," Borris added as he then walked away to go and find his friend Calvin, leaving Darron all alone in the center of the Village. He was stumped on what he should do. Should he follow Borris? Or just remain where he is now? After quickly thinking about what he should do now, he suddenly made up his mind.

"Wait for me, Borris," Darron said.

As Borris walked down the pier, approaching Calvin, Daniel, and Ava. He stopped walking so that he could introduce himself to Daniel and Ava. Daniel and Ava both looked over at Borris.

"Hi, I'm Borris," he said, "it's a pleasure to meet you both. Are you two alright? You're not hurt, are you?"

Daniel and Ava both shook their heads.

"No, actually," Daniel responded, "we aren't. But Darron. Is he--."

"Is he okay?" Borris said to finish Daniel's question.

"Hey!" Darron shouted loudly as he ran towards everyone, "wait for me," he continued as he was catching his breath. All of that running had worn him out.

"Does that not look okay to you?" Borris said as they all looked over at Darron. When Darron lifted his head, Daniel made a note about Darron's red cheeks. He also wrote down what other things he was seeing as well.

"Are you okay Darron?" Daniel asked.

Darron rolled his eyes and shook his head a couple of times. He scoffed.

"What does it look like, you fat dink!" Darron said as was joking around with Daniel, "of course I'm fine. Just a little sore is all. I'm not gonna let my soreness stop us from continuing the rescue mission."

"No need," Daniel responded, "the mission's over. Ava's parents are on that balloon that's coming down to us."

"What do we do after that?" Darron asked, "isn't there something we could do? Where did that rogue wave come from anyways?"

"I know," Calvin said, "I know exactly where that rogue wave came from. No it wasn't spawned naturally. It was spawned by the Sirens. The only question I have is why and how?"

"Well maybe, instead of just standing around here, we should go find answers. Our questions we have won't answer themselves you know," Borris said.

"You make a valid argument, Borris," Calvin said, "it's settled then. Once Ava is reunited with her parents, you two are welcome to come along if you'd like."

"I'd like to come," Daniel said.

"Me too," Darron said.

"Alrighty then," Calvin responded, "we'll leave shortly. Are you ready to travel back to MineLantis with us?"

"Heck yeah I am!" Darron said.

"I am as well," Daniel said.