Home [Ch. 20]

There was nothing but quietness as the DreamChaser sailed across the sea. Lola and Maximus were brought back to the DreamChaser after fleeing when the trench monster showed up. Daniel and Calvin were sitting over by Ava and Annabelle, while Martin and Nathan were sitting over by King Xavier.

Exhausted, tired, and anxious. That's how everyone felt. There's something about sailing across the ocean that no one ever wants to experience again. The possibility of anyone ever returning to the sea was crushed when the Sirens began to intervene. Everyone has been through so much these past few weeks; past few days even.

"Once we find land, are you guys going to stay with us?" Daniel asked Calvin.

Calvin looked over to his right at Daniel. He faintly smiled as he placed one hand on Daniel's shoulder. He sighed as he shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid we can't," he said, "we need to return to MineLantis."

Daniel frowned and lowered his head. He was looking down at his feet. "Oh--okay," Daniel said.

Calvin tilted his head slightly as he took his hand off Daniel's shoulder. "The King wants to return to MineLantis and make sure everyone is okay. Besides that, we'd love to stay with you guys. But this voyage was never intended for us; only for you guys. We have a home already."

"Well, can you promise me one thing then?" Daniel asked as he raised his head to look back over at Calvin.

"Yes, anything for you. You're my friend," Calvin said with a bright smile on his face.

"Will you come visit?" Daniel asked.

Calvin scoffed and laughed. He smiled and nodded his head. "Of course," Calvin responded, "we'll come to visit when we can."

"Can I at least keep the trident?" Daniel asked.

Calvin shook his head. "That's not up to me pal," he said, "you'll have to ask the King. That was his great-great-grandfather's trident. I don't think he'll object to you keeping the trident. The power you displayed back in MineLantis and then again while fighting the Sirens--that's something only a select few can do."

Daniel tilted his head. "What do you mean only a select few can do what I did?"

Calvin shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know much about the trident and its history, but the things he did know about it were scarce.

"In order to wield the power of the trident, you need to be a MineLantian," Calvin explained, "and you, my friend, are part MineLantian. That much is for sure!"

Daniel's eyes opened up wider. He didn't know what to think about what Calvin had just said to him. Daniel suddenly had so many questions. How would he know for sure that he's a descendant of a MineLantian? Were Bentley and Patricia even his real parents? Or were his real parents MineLantians? So much to learn, so much to discover.

"I'll leave that up to you to find out," Calvin continued on to say.

As everyone sat on the main deck, as quiet as a fly, Darron shouted abruptly. Everyone sighed and complained. They were all enjoying the complete silence. Hearing the waves crash up alongside the ship, the wind blowing through their hair, and Ava and Annabelle talking to each other quietly.

"Hey everyone, look!" Darron shouted as he turned around to face everyone. He began jumping up and down with joy as he pointed out in the direction of what he was seeing.

Everyone looked over at him. Daniel and Calvin glanced at each other once more before looking back over at Darron. They both got up and started walking over to Darron. But as they were walking over to him, a large shadow of a flying creature loomed over the DreamChaser, blocking out all sunlight. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up into the air.

"Ahoy down there!" A familiar voice shouted from above, "hear ye, hear ye. Land ho!"

The blockhead shouting down at them was Merlin. He was riding on the back of Luna, with Leona next to him. They had left after the volcano had erupted. The task they were given was to find a habitable island with no volcanoes, and no hostile, native blockheads that inhabited the island. Well, luckily for them, they managed to find somewhere safe. An island to call home, a place to rebuild and start over. A place where no evil exists, and no dangerous mobs roam. Sounds like a beautiful and peaceful place doesn't it?

"Merlin?" Daniel shouted, "is that you?"

"No buttercup, it's your mom," Merlin said, "yes it's me silly!"

"How did you survive the blast?" Daniel asked. "Were the Golem Monster and Nightmare stopped?"

"This isn't the time or place to talk, old friend," Merlin said.

Luna then began flapping her wings even faster, flying faster and further ahead of the ship. Everyone watched Luna fly over to a nearby, large island. The island had a tall mountain. Tons of stone, dirt, and other useful resources like coal and iron, could be seen from here.

A beautiful clean beach extended from one side of the island to the other. Because the mountain was so tall, it stretched far above the clouds. The thick, white clouds were floating around it. There was also a waterfall nearby the mountain. Daniel speculated that there was a lake or river or something on the island somewhere. But the only question was--where? In time, they'll get to explore their new home.

Because Merlin and Leona were tasked with finding a new island to call home, they had taken an additional task on as well. That task, you ask? Building new homes, gardens, two libraries, a blacksmith shop. Everything they had a while back. They had built these new buildings near the beach, giving everyone who lives in it a beautiful view of the ocean.

As the DreamChaser got closer to the island, the water began turning from a dark blue to a light sky blue color. The water was so clear that you could see the sandy seafloor, the tropical fish swimming about, and small coral reefs as well. Truly an amazing sight to see.

Everyone that was sitting down, all stood back up. They all walked over to the bow of the ship where Darron, Daniel, and Calvin were standing. Once everyone made it over to the bow, they all witnessed the beauty of their new island; their new and hopefully permanent home. On the beach, small red crabs crawled around, digging down into the wet sand to burrow themselves and hide from the seagulls above.

The first sign of land was always spotting out seagulls or other birds. Birds don't travel far from their nests. Staying close to their nests ensured they wouldn't venture far from their babies. Protecting their young ones was very important and not an easy job either. Wherever they went, or wherever they lived, there was always the chance of being attacked by a vicious predator. Their babies were always in danger because they were defenseless and vulnerable. They also made a good meal for those predators that did manage to attack the birds' nests.

At the edge of the beach, a dense jungle was seen. The jungle trees were tall, had green vines growing on their trunks, and were home to hyper-active swinging monkeys, and spider monkeys. Some of the monkeys had their young ones holding onto their backsides. Their calls were so loud, that everyone could hear them loud and clear from the ship.

Oo oo, ah ah. Oo oo, ah ah.

"I have a good feeling that this island will be our new home. I'm sure of it," Daniel said as he looked over to his left at Calvin. He smiled. Calvin glanced back over at him and nodded his head. He was just happy that everyone was okay and happy that they'll finally be able to get off this ship. After weeks of sailings, and days of surviving the harshness of the ocean, they finally found an island they can now call home.

"You're going to be happy here," Calvin mentioned, "it is one of the safest islands I've ever seen. You're all going to be safe. All of you can finally have the chance to restart and rebuild what was taken from you all."

As everyone was taking in the amazing views of their new island, the DreamChaser had come to a complete stop in the water. Borris had leaned over the railing, looking down into the crystal clear water. He shouted down to Lola and Maximus. They opened their mouths to let go of the ropes.

"You both can go now," Borris stated.

Lola and Maximus popped their heads up out of the water. They looked straight up at Borris as he was looking down at them. He smiled brightly. "Good job you guys," he said to them, "thank you for helping get them with pulling their ship."

Lola and Maximus squealed at him a couple. They blew air out of their blowholes. After they did that, they quickly dove back underwater and swam away quickly. Borris leaned back in, turning around to face everyone else.

"Now who's ready to get off this ship?" Borris asked.

Everyone quickly raised their hands. Borris chuckled and smiled. "Well, what are we waiting for then?" Borris asked, "let's go explore your new home."

Later Today….

Afternoon

The night had seemingly gone by so quickly, that everyone had lost track of time. But they all had their excuses. These past three days have overwhelming and chaotic in many ways. From the sinking of the DreamChaser to battling against the Sirens. This is why they had all lost track of time.

"It's perfect, isn't it?" Merlin asked as he glanced over at Daniel and Ceres and Notch. They were all blown away by the immense beauty of the island. From the free-roaming monkeys to the wild hogs oinking, everything about this island seemed so peaceful that Daniel suddenly realized that this place was going to be their new and permanent home. Safe and out of dangers way.

"Truly breathtaking," Daniel answered.

"That it is," Merlin said with a smile on his face, "that it is," he repeated once more.

Calvin, Nathan, Borris, and Thomas were all huddled over by King Xavier, talking amongst themselves. Daniel couldn't hear what they were talking about, but he was curious to find out why. As for everyone else, they were wandering around the small village. Examining the multiple buildings that Merlin and Leona had built.

Amazingly, these buildings looked exactly like a village's buildings and structures did. This truly felt like home; a fresh start even. There was something about this place that made Daniel happy. He couldn't figure that part out just yet, but in time he will.

Calvin, Nathan, Borris, and Thomas all dispersed and walked over to Daniel. He didn't see them walking up, so when he turned around he was surprised to see them. Merlin had walked away to go talk to some of the others. He wanted to hear their stories, the crazy adventure they've been on, and everything else.

"Daniel," Calvin mumbled as he tilted his head a couple of times, signaling to Daniel that he needed to look over at King Xavier. "This is your chance. Go talk to him. He's been asking a lot of questions about you since we arrived. He's eager to meet you."

Daniel raised his right eyebrow as he looked over at Calvin. "He is?" He asked.

Calvin nodded his head a couple of times, "yeah! Go say hi. Talk to him."

Daniel glanced over at King Xavier. He gulped once as he shook his arms and tilted his head from left to right. He then exhaled, glancing over at Calvin once more before he walked over to King Xavier. Calvin smiled brightly and enthusiastically at Daniel.

"Here goes nothing," Daniel whispered quietly to himself as he began walking over to the King. As he approached him, King Xavier turned his head to his left to look over at Daniel. When he saw that Daniel was walking over to him, he smiled and held his arms straight out in front of him.

"So you're the Daniel, huh?" King Xavier asked, "the one Calvin and Borris won't stop talking about, aren't you?"

Daniel slowly nodded his head. He put his hands behind his back. King Xavier walked over to him, wrapping his arms around Daniel's upper body. He was giving Daniel a big, welcoming, and thankful hug. After he stopped hugging Daniel, he patted him on the back three times. After he did that, he took a few steps back from Daniel.

"I am," Daniel responded in a shy, and nervous tone, "the one and only."

"Good," King Xavier responded, "what you did back in MineLantis is something I will forever be in your debt for. You helped keep the Kingdom safe. If it weren't for you and your friend, I don't think Minelantis would still be around today."

Daniel scoffed and rolled his eyes. He smiled thereafter.

"It's the least I could do," Daniel responded, "I am a hero after all. That's one thing heroes, like me, do. We lend a helping hand to those in need, no matter what the situation is. Good or bad."

"You know, Daniel," King Xavier said, "Calvin had told me that you wanted to keep the trident, is that correct?"

Daniel hesitated to respond to King Xavier's statement. But he was hoping he could keep it. There's still so much to learn, and so much to discover. Not just about the tridents history, but MineLantis' history as well.

"I was hoping I would be able--," Daniel said as King Xavier suddenly interrupted him.

"Yes," he said, "you can keep the trident. Consider it a gift of gratitude from us MineLantians."

Daniel scoffed once more like a bright and happy smile appeared on his face. He was, on the inside, jumping with joy. This was the best day of his life. Because King Xavier had allowed him to keep the trident, Daniel could finally start digging deeper into its past, along with MineLantis' past too.

"I can't quite remember what Calvin had said to me, but I do remember one thing though," Daniel explained.

"And what did he tell you?" King Xavier asked, "he told me that only a select few were able to wield the trident and harness its power. I'm still stumped about the whole being half MineLantian, half normal blockhead. That's what he told me anyway."

King Xavier smiled brightly and noticeably back at Daniel while also nodding his head once. "He's right," King Xavier said, "believe it not, you're one of those select few blockheads. In order to obtain the trident, you have to be either a full MineLantian or half MineLantian. Whichever is which."

"So you're saying that I'm a MineLantian? Is that right?" Daniel questioned.

"That's correct my friend," he responded back to Daniel with a faint smile on his face. "That trident is extremely powerful and dangerous. Abusing its abilities can lead to mass destruction. Use it wisely and don't abuse its ancient powers."

Daniel smiled. "I won't let you down, your majesty," Daniel said, "thank you for allowing me to keep the trident."

King Xavier shrugged his shoulders and sighed lightly. "It's safe in your hands," King Xavier said, "the for the best. It's safer with you than back in MineLantis. Who knows how many more times the Sirens would've come back for it. Not only will MineLantis be at peace once again, but the entire OverWorld as well."

"It'll be safe with me, I assure you," Daniel reminded King Xavier, "I won't let it out of my sight."

"Good," King Xavier responded. He lifted his right arm, extending it out a little bit so that he could set it down on Daniel's right shoulder. As everyone continued to walk around and talk to one another, Romeo and Freddie came walking back over to the beach.

They stood nearby the jungle forest's treeline. They both shouted over at Daniel. Daniel quickly turned his head to look over to his right. He saw Romeo and Freddie standing next to each other. He tilted his head slightly at them.

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel," Romeo shouted loudly, "there's something you need to see. Common. Follow us."

Daniel frowned as he ran over to Romeo and Freddie. Once he stood in front of them, they glanced over at him. "What's going on? What happened?" Daniel asked.

"Just come with us," Freddie said, "you'll see what we're talking about in a minute."

Romeo and Freddie both turned around and proceeded on to walk back into the jungle, with Daniel following right behind them. As they ventured deeper and deeper into the jungle, the darker it got. Thanks to all of the trees' thick leaves, they blocked out the majority of the sunlight.

Daniel was looking all around at everything, including their surroundings. Tall bamboo trees were scattered all throughout the jungle, and tons of vines hung from the trees.

"Hey, Daniel?" Romeo said as he looked back over his left shoulder and over at Daniel. "Look."

When Daniel looked back over at Romeo and Freddie, he now understood what they were talking about a moment ago. As they all stared at this strange anomaly, they all began asking each other questions. They all wanted to understand what this thing really was and why it was here.

"What is this thing?" Freddie asked.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure," he said, "but it does look like a portal."

"A portal to where?" Romeo asked.

"I don't know. The portal could lead anywhere," Romeo said, "but where to is the real question."

Daniel began creeping cautiously over to the portal. The portal was making whooshing sounds. As Daniel stood directly in front of the portal, he suddenly felt himself being pulled in closer to the portal.

"Be careful, Daniel," Romeo said.

"I'm fine," Daniel responded, "don't worry about—," he continued as he was suddenly sucked right into the portal. Romeo and Freddie shouted Daniel's name loudly.

"DANIEL!" They both shouted in unison. They both look at one another. They were shocked and stunned as to what just happened.

"Uh oh," Romeo said, "this isn't good."

"You can definitely say that again," Freddie responded. "What are we going to do? We shouted go after him. What if he's in danger? Heck, we don't even know where this portal leads to."

"We'll figure something out," Romeo responded, "but for now, he'll just have to be patient and brave."

As they stood next to one anothe, they continued staring over at the mysterious anomaly, Daniel had hit the hardwood floor on his stomach. The wood was dark, made from dark oak trees. The walls of his new surroundings were painted a dark blue color. In the right corner of this room, there was a small white bed. On the floor by the bedside was a smal oval shaped rug. That rug was a bright yellow.

As Daniel got back up onto his feet, he turned in a full 360 to get a somewhat better look at where he had been teleported to. No, this wasn't a house in the beachside village, nor was it a room on the DreamChaser. In fact, he's never seen this place before.

He quickly turned around to see if the portal was active. Suddenly, it had just vanished. Vanished into thin air, leaving behind no trace of its existence. He examined this object from side to side, and up and down. Daniel saw that there was a name at the bottom of it.

"Samsung," Daniel mumbled to himself. "Samsung? What does that mean?"

When he looked back up from looking down at the name on this object, he saw that there was a still image being cast on this object. As he examined the still image, a loud clattering and banging sound was heard. Daniel quickly turned his head to look over to his left. Standing up against the wall was a young girl. She had long brown hair, green eyes, and was wearing a semi-short white dress. She screamed loudly.

"Who are you? Where am I? What have you done with my friends, hmm?" Daniel asked this mysteriously suspicious little girl. On the floor by her feet was a small white bowl. There was noodles spilled everywhere on the floor in front of her.

"You--you just came flying right out of my tv," the girl said, "who--who are you?"

"What's the matter sweetheart?" A loud male voice said as a tall man walked into the bedroom. Behind the man was a woman. They walked over to the little girl to make sure she was okay. But when they looked over at Daniel, they frowned. They had no idea who he was or where he came from.

"Who are you? How'd you get inside her bedroom?" The man asked. "Explain yourself, or I'm calling the police to report you."

"I'm--I'm Daniel," he said, "I don't know how I got here, but I do not mean to cause any trouble. There's no need to be alarmed. I'm as confused as you are. I'm stumped. What's your name?"

The man and woman looked at eachother, and then down at their daughter. After exchanging looks with each other, they all glanced back over Daniel.

"I'm Steve and this is my wife Alex," Steve said, "and this is our daughter Ruby."