Minecraft: Mob Squad: Don’t Fear the Creeper/3CHP

=== Chapter 17: Lenna ===
Switching to Lenna’s POV, she feels gratified to know that her instincts were correct about them being followed. The group are heading towards some mountains when they stop by the shore to build a double-shelter. Once complete, everyone does their usual tasks and then head inside as the sun sets. They soon fall asleep, but are woken up when Tok’s trap is triggered. They burst open the door, but only find a sheep under the effect of two potions of slowness. Tok mentions that the trap was set off by a pressure plate, and speculates that Creeperhead might’ve put the sheep on the trap to trigger it. The group then decide to sleep in shifts with Mal taking watch first, followed by Chug and so on, and the rest of the night goes by without incident. The next morning, Jarro notices words lit up in netherrack that read "Nice try", making them realize that Creeperhead is still following them. They speculate that it could be Jami and Lars or Orlok and the brigands, but decide to remain calling him Creeperhead for now. After a breakfast of cookies and bread, the group gallop toward the mountains.
=== Chapter 18: Mal ===
Switching to Mal’s POV, she is excited that they’ll be able to reach the cave by nightfall. A plan begins to form in her head, knowing that Creeperhead could possibly either wait outside the cave or take their horses, and they couldn’t bring the horses in the cave because of hoofprints. When they stop for lunch, Mal, at first, suggests that they ambush Creeperhead in the mountains, but when everyone objects, Tok instead decides to set up a different trap, hoping that it will work after scouring through Efram’s book. After mounting their horses once again, Tok soon finds an area to set up the trap, and has Jarro hide the horses and pets. Lenna, Chug, and Mal also get into position as Tok sets up the trap. Chug and Mal begin to speculate on who Creeperhead could be, ultimately suggesting that it might be Orlok and his brigands. Once the trap is set, everyone gets into position, but nothing happens as the sun sets. Just then, something explodes out of Mal’s view, and she and Chug notice a "terrifying monster".
=== Chapter 19: Tok ===
Switching to Tok’s POV, he was excited to see his trap work, but his "blood runs cold" as he notices the wither approaching him. Mal shouts at Tok to get Jarro and run for the tunnel, which he does, and it isn’t long before Jarro, the horses, and the pets are all inside the cave. Tok notices Lenna shooting the wither with arrows, barely draining its health, and then notices Chug motioning for him to get away. Tok asks for Chug to give him his armor so he can let Lenna know they need to retreat, and Chug reluctantly swaps his netherite armor for diamond armor. Tok then climbs up the cliffside and creeps around the ridge, eventually finding Lenna. He attempts to run toward her, but trips and skids across the stone. Lenna notices Tok, who then says to Lenna that they need to go to the cave. She says that she can’t because of firing arrows at the wither, so they decide to distract it by making it focus on Creeperhead. Just then, Tok is hit with a blue wither skull, making him fall under the wither effect. Lenna then fires a flaming arrow toward Creeperhead, making the wither focus on him. Eventually, the group make it to the cave, and Mal closes the entrance to it as if an opening never existed.
=== Chapter 20: Chug ===
Switching to Chug’s POV, he doesn’t know as to what is wrong with Tok, but Tok mentions that he is under the wither effect. The group offer potions, but Tok realizes that they won’t work. Chug then realizes that Tok needs milk before realizing that they don’t have milk. Unbeknownst to Chug, Jarro had milked a mooshroom when they visited the mushroom island, and gives Tok the bucket of milk to drink. Tok eventually drinks down the milk and returns to normal. Mal then says that the first priority is to find the enchanted golden apple, but realize that they can’t just leave a wither flying around. Tok hopes that the place they intend to loot has chests, hopeful that they’ll find some better armor and weapons, or even enchanted ones. Once the group fills up on food, they leave their horses behind as they head further into the cave. Chug asks Lenna if she still feels like that they are being followed by Creeperhead, and Lenna is hopeful that he didn’t follow them through when the entrance to the cave was open. The group soon come across a lush cave with glow berries, axolotls, and dripleaves galore, and take a few glow berries before heading further into the cave.
=== Chapter 21: Jarro ===
Switching to Jarro’s POV, he wishes that they could be in the lush cave forever, but understands that they are on a mission to save Nan. Eventually, the group come across an ancient city in the deep dark, and realize that making noise results in a shriek and their view going dark for a few seconds, so they end up sneaking around the place, making sure they only walk on wool or carpet. Searching through chests in the area reveal nothing of significance, but the group eventually come across a giant portal-like structure with reinforced deepslate, and soon find a chest with what they are looking for: the enchanted golden apple. The group then attempt to leave, but Chug talks a little bit too loudly, causing them to hear the shriek again, and their world goes dark.
=== Chapter 22: Lenna ===
Switching to Lenna’s POV, she feels like she wants to sketch out the entire place, but soon realizes that with this shriek, it feels like something is wrong. She pulls out her bow and arrow, and it isn’t long before the warden emerges from the ground. As the rest of the group run away, Lenna distracts the warden with her bow and arrow and snowballs before catching up. Lenna then asks Jarro for all of the wool that he has, and he gives it to her. Lenna then throws another snowball at the warden before placing the wool blocks down as a wall so the noise from the group would be nothing but silence. Eventually, the group make it back to the lush cave, eat some bread to recover, and then build a shelter so they can sleep. Lenna then mentions to the reader about how they at first didn’t know anything outside of Cornucopia, but when they did, if felt both wonderful and scary. Lenna also learns a lesson for this adventure, that no matter how good a person is, that there are still some things that are too big for them to face, that fighting isn’t always the answer, and that there is nothing wrong with running away if it’s the best choice. Lenna feels hopeful, however, that the group will fight the wither and live.
=== Chapter 23: Mal ===
Switching to Mal’s POV, she says to the reader that she feels like the person that would wake up ready to go, stating that today feels like she is ready to head out of the cave to go after Creeperhead and the wither. As the group pack up their beds and tear down the shelter, they head toward the cave entrance and formulate a plan, with the animals remaining in the cave, Mal and Lenna going undercover to find the wither, and Tok, Chug, and Jarro finding Creeperhead. Tok also makes some bows and arrows using every bit of wood they have, while Chug and Lenna sort through their pockets to make sure their weapons are easily accessible. After breaking the two dirt blocks, Mal and Lenna charge out first and go opposite directions, with Lenna hiding behind a boulder and Mal climbing up a tree. Chug is next, followed by Tok and Jarro. Just then, an explosion is heard beneath the tree that Mal is hiding in, and Tok shouts that Creeperhead is throwing TNT. As Mal prepares to fire an arrow at Creeperhead, who is on the ridge above Lenna, another explosion is heard high up in the mountains, revealing the wither.
=== Chapter 24: Tok ===
Switching to Tok’s POV, he understands that he needs to focus on going after Creeperhead. Tok then asks Chug if he can throw a potion and hit Creeperhead from where he is standing, and Chug says that he can’t. Tok then asks Jarro if he can do so, and Jarro says that he can’t either. With no other options, Tok rushes over to Mal and attempts to explain to her that she needs to shoot an arrow at Creeperhead when he has TNT over his head, but Tok’s remarks end up distracting her, and she is hit with a wither skull. Chug carries Mal back to the cave as Tok collects her bow and arrows. The wither is already down to half of its health, making it immune from arrows, much to Lenna’s disgust. The group have no choice but to retreat back into the cave. Just then, Creeperhead appears between the group and the cave. Tok asks as to who he is, and Creeperhead begins to speak before Lenna fires an arrow at the TNT over his head, throwing him back against the mountain. She shouts at the group to run, and they do.