Minecraft: Mob Squad: Never Say Nether/2CHP

=== Chapter 9: Jarro ===
Switching to Jarro’s POV, he bolts awake upon hearing moaning, and begins to think that a zombie had spawned inside their shelter, but is relieved when the moaning sounds come from Mal, who asks Lenna for some cookies. Lenna says that she can have chicken instead as it’ll help her heal faster. Mal then asks if Jarro is OK. He says that he is fine, albeit with one less eyebrow and some mild hearing loss thanks to the creeper explosion. Mal, Lenna, and Chug talk for a bit before they fall back sleep. Jarro does so as well soon after, waking up to Chug opening the door. Jarro follows Chug outside, who is feeding Thingy potatoes. Chug then asks Jarro if he is able to walk, and Jarro says that he can, albeit with his feet being a bit sore. Chug then mentions that on his first adventure, he had to ride Thingy for a few days because of getting injured. Jarro then asks as to what he can do to help for today, and Chug says to have his axe ready to kill some sheep, cows, and chickens for food. Jarro obliges and heads out, soon finding something that appears to resemble a cow. Another figure that resembles a cow appears nearby as Jarro prepares to swing his axe at it, but he doesn’t have the courage to do so. Jarro instead uses the lead that he has to lure the figure resembling a cow back to the shelter, exclaiming to everyone that he had found a cow. Mal’s jaw drops at the sight of the figure. As Lenna begins to explain that the figure is not a cow, Mal cries in delight that the figure is of a horse.
=== Chapter 10: Tok ===
Switching to Tok’s POV, he mentions again that he was blindfolded, gagged, and was sent to Elder Gabe’s shop by the strangers that had abducted him (a woman, a man, and a few others), allowing Tok to see what the strangers wanted to see. The woman asks Tok to find any ingredients that could be used for potions, but Tok could only spread his arms to indicate that everything in Gabe’s supply closet could be used. As the chests are opened, Tok is blindfolded once more, but once they are back outside, Tok soon hears someone screaming about berries, realizing that it is Jarro. The strangers start plucking the berries from Jarro’s family farm as they blindfold and gag Jarro, and then they start walking away from Cornucopia. Tok decides to drop berries about every one thousand steps, hoping that someone would notice, but he soon runs out, and starts to drop iron ingots, and then coal, every two thousand steps as he is put on a horse. As night becomes day and then night again, the strangers come to a halt and feed Tok some mutton on the condition that he does not speak. Realizing that he is starving, Tok nods as the gag is taken off of him. As he eats, he watches on as the strangers build shelters for the night, and is soon ordered to sit by a wall, falling asleep soon after. The next morning, Tok is awoken by the strangers who give him bread and mutton to eat before heading off. Tok begins to realize that the strangers want him for his crafting skills as he starts to drop random items from his pockets every two thousand and then every three thousand steps, knowing that dropping a gold ingot would be noticed immediately. Tok hopes that he’ll be able to escape on his own, realizing that Mal and company will never be able to catch up to him on foot.
=== Chapter 11: Chug ===
Switching to Chug’s POV, he says that he really isn’t a fan of horses, but Mal is still squealing in delight at seeing one, wondering if Jarro had ever seen a cow. Jarro says that he has, and was just thinking that wild cows maybe looked a little different. Lenna wonders as to why Jarro is never allowed out of the Hub, and Jarro agrees with Mal that his mother is strict, not wanting him to be out of her sight. Mal then asks everyone if they have a saddle, and Chug sheepishly shows that he had three of them, much to the group’s delight, and mentions that he got them because Inka accidentally traded emeralds to a leatherworker for them. Lenna then opens up the Mobestiary, and mentions that horses can be tamed by riding them out a few times. Jarro decides to climb up on the horse, naming it Speckles, and succeeds after a few attempts. Eventually, Jarro is able to saddle three other horses, named Dotty, Bee, and Melvin, respectively, with Jarro riding Speckles, Lenna riding Dotty, Chug riding Bee, and Mal riding Melvin. The group then head off, soon noticing horse-tracks, making them realize that they have to catch up to Tok.
=== Chapter 12: Mal ===
Switching to Mal’s POV, she mentions to the reader about how she dreamed to ride a cow when she was a kid, as well as how she still feels injured from the creeper explosion from yesterday. Nonetheless, she is hopeful that the group will be able to find Tok’s captors now that they are on horseback. The group make it to the village just before sunset, deciding to hack out a paddock to make sure the horses don’t run off. As the group head into a building, Lenna explains to Jarro about the villagers while handing Mal some raw mutton to eat. Just then, one of the horses whinnies from outside, making Mal begin to realize that Tok and the strangers might already be here, so she sends out Lenna to look around. Chug soon comes back from trading with the villagers, showcasing to Mal and Jarro an arrow of healing, steak, rabbit stew, and some pumpkin pies. Lenna soon returns, relieved that Tok and the strangers aren’t here, and so everyone sits down and eats. Lenna also shoots the arrow of healing at Mal, healing her completely from the creeper explosion. Chug then crafts two beds with the wool and wood that he has, with Lenna taking the first one, and Jarro taking the second after beating Chug in a game of "bedrock-paper-sword". As the group prepare to fall asleep, a zombie bangs on the door, startling Jarro, but Chug calmly mentions that the zombie can’t enter as the wooden door was built by Tok. Relieved, Jarro and company fall asleep. The next morning, the group remount their horses and prepare to head off toward the woodland mansion, which Mal believes is where Tok and the strangers are. Just then, Mal remembers that there was a hole in the ground in one of the underground shelters that had been made on the first expedition, which led to a fortress, which in turn led to rails that led directly to the mansion. Mal then asks Chug if he can craft a minecart.
=== Chapter 13: Lenna ===
Switching to Lenna’s POV, she feels surprised that the group now has to travel underground, and mentions to the reader about always feeling at home in the dark due to being descended from miners. Nonetheless, she and company make it down into the chasm that was found on their first expedition, using a ladder to do so while leaving the animals behind in a pit above ground. Jarro wonders if the horses will be okay, and Lenna says to him that they will, knowing that hostile mobs don’t really care about animals. Jarro then trembles as he looks down into the hole, wondering if it is safe to do so, and feels worried about falling off the ladder or being attacked by a hostile mob. Lenna then says to Jarro that he is telling himself stuff that hasn’t happened yet and says to think of a story with a happy ending of sorts. After some more discussion, Jarro eventually does climb down the hole after Lenna says that they’ll leave him behind if he doesn’t. After crossing a ledge, the group soon make it to one end of the rail track leading toward the woodland mansion, mentioning that the Elders destroyed the track partially as a means of preventing illagers from reentering Cornucopia. As Chug gets to work on crafting a minecart, the others keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Jarro feels worried and explains that his mother would never let him use a weapon, and starts to explain about how his dad died in a maintenance accident involving his house’s roof before interrupting himself, and going back to his mom being very strict, from not allowing him to leave the Hub to not even being able to use a knife to slice bread. Mal then asks Chug as to how the minecart is coming along, and he says that he needs more iron, so Mall begins mining away at a stone wall. Just then, the group hear a skeleton and a zombie, and, despite pep talk from Lenna, Jarro refuses to kill them and ends up being bitten by the zombie. Lenna ends up killing them both, with the zombie dropping an iron ingot, thankfully allowing Chug to craft a minecart.
=== Chapter 14: Jarro ===
Switching to Jarro’s POV, he mentions to the others about the zombie biting him on his rear end, which makes the others burst out laughing. Jarro, now in a fit of rage from the laughter, says the the group are not heroes because of them allegedly being mean, acting like royalty, and knowing information that others don’t know about. Mal asks Jarro if he really feels that way, and he says that he is, along with "a lot of other people". Mal then starts to bring up as to how they saved the town from the illagers, but Jarro says that the people at the Hub don’t see it that way as they fought the illagers themselves. Jarro then asks the others to start treating him better, and Mal and Lenna say that they’ll try to do so. Chug then crafts a furnace as Mal finds more iron, which Chug smelts in the furnace to craft another minecart. Mal and Jarro get into the first one, while Lenna and Chug get into the second, and soon after, the two minecarts head down the rail track. Along the way, Mal asks Jarro if he is feeling any better, and Jarro says that he is. Mal then offers him another cooked chicken, but he asks for something else. Mal then says that they already ate all of the steak they had, so Jarro ends up eating the cooked chicken anyway. Mal
then mentions about how she felt when Jarro and his friends stole her lunch at school, always coming home with stomachaches. Jarro apologizes for that, but also brings up again how Mal and company laughed at him for being bitten by a zombie on his rear end. Mal mentions that friends laugh together, and asks Jarro if he would laugh if something similar happened to Chug. Jarro says that he would, and Mal says for him to learn to laugh at himself. Eventually, the four make it to the end of the track and traverse through the underground fortress underneath the woodland mansion. After hitting several dead ends trying to find the door leading up to the mansion, Jarro suggests to the group that they go to the highest point and mine up to the mansion from there. The whole group agrees, and not long after, they make it to the highest point, with Mal mining upward toward the mansion.
=== Chapter 15: Tok ===
Switching to Tok’s POV, he realizes that the strangers have taken him to the village for something, and then away from it. The strangers soon come to a stop, hoisting Tok down from the horse and steadying him to stand up. Tok then mentions to the strangers that they must’ve been spying on him before planning to take him, and the man says that he did, and almost considered taking a pet pig as well. This makes Tok realize that the man is the leader of the brigands that stole Tok’s friends' stuff at the river crossing on their first adventure, and the man says that he is. Tok then says that he’ll explain how he got outside the wall if the blindfold is taken off of him. The man obliges and sets the blindfold down to his neck. After some discussion and a brief break, the brigands mount up on their horses again, head down the mountain pass by the river, and soon arrive at the woodland mansion in the middle of the dark forest. The brigands take Tok up to the top floor of the mansion, where the blindfold is taken off of him. Tok is stunned at what he sees.
=== Chapter 16: Chug ===
Switching to Chug’s POV, he and company soon mine up into the woodland mansion, specifically the room housing the wool statue of a chicken. The group soon find the area behind the stairwell near the entrance and fall asleep, despite Chug’s objections. By morning, everyone is given cookies and is assigned armor; Chug with the diamond helmet, Jarro with the diamond chestplate, Lenna with arrows, and Mal with a sword. Everyone is also given a piece of gold armor, and Chug gives Jarro his shield. As they leave the area behind the stairwell, Chug notices the horses belonging to the brigands outside the front door, so Mal and Jarro take the saddles off of them so they can’t escape easily. From there, the group go through the first floor of the mansion, only taking down hostile mobs. Chug then thinks that Tok and the brigands might be on the roof, so he starts to craft some ladders. Jarro wonders as to why, and Mal says that the stairs might be guarded by the brigands. Chug then places the ladders on the outside of the mansion and climbs up to the roof, but Tok and the brigands are nowhere in sight. As Chug starts to climb down, he notices a "mass of black stone" with something purple in a room on the second floor. Lenna realizes that the room is a secret room as there is no door leading to it, and so the group bust into the room by breaking glass panes. Chug finds a block of diamond in the corner of the room and stashes it as the group admire the mass of black stone and something people, which is a nether portal. Just then, one of the brigands appears through a trap door and orders the group to get away from it. Chug and Mal then draw their weapons and prepare to fight.