The New Order, page 22
“Okay,” replied Charlie. “All in favor of the plan?”
And, for the first time in as long as Stan could remember, all nine hands on the council raised up into the air.
CHAPTER 19 THE SPLEEF WORLD FINALS
The two weeks between the bombing of the Tennis Machine and the Spleef World Finals were two of the most stressful weeks in Stan’s life, rivaling all that had happened since Elementia Day.
As soon as the council meeting had officially concluded, Stan had ordered a Proclamation Day and made DZ’s announcement to the people of Elementia. He told everybody about the declaration of war on the NNA, the Double Draft, the Noctem threat against the Spleef arena, and that the match would go on anyway. However, long gone were the days when any announcement that Stan made was greeted with thunderous applause. The crowd was loud, but now it was a mixture of shouts of admiration, screams of outrage, and everything in between. Not one person was silent. Each person had their own opinion, and the need to express it loudly.
Multiple protests against the Double Draft, as well as the war altogether, erupted throughout Element City over the two weeks after the bombing. One of these protests turned violent, and the new troops were given their first foray into action as they shut the protest down. The violent protesters who were arrested had to go into jails throughout Element City, because Bill had yet to take back Brimstone Prison from the Wither Skeletons.
Bill and Bob had used their new troops from the draft to launch massive offensives on both of the Noctem Alliance’s footholds. Bill was the leader of the Hot Front, which was the code name for the invasion of the Nether. Bob was in charge of the Cold Front, or the attack on Nocturia. The Cold Front wasn’t entirely in the cold of the tundra, since the Noctem Alliance had managed to force Bob’s troops back as they approached Nocturia. Some of the Elementia soldiers had been forced all the way into the Ender Desert. The Cold Front now consisted of various strong posts surrounding Nocturia in the tundra and the desert, with both sides fighting sporadically and not gaining any distance.
While his brothers were out fighting on the fronts, Ben, as the last remaining chief of police, oversaw all the operations that needed to be done away from the war zone, including in Element City itself. It made Stan’s heart heavy to see troops patrolling the streets of his city, launching interrogations off tips, and putting fear on the faces of his people.
By far, the most stressed-out department of the military were the detectives, who were in over their heads with major investigations. The most important of these was identifying the spy within Element City. All the employees of the castle, as well as visitors and even the council members were subject to interrogation. Stan was surprised one day when a detective told him that it was his turn for interrogation. Needless to say, Stan complied and answered all the cop’s questions truthfully, and it was determined that Stan was innocent of the crime. Unfortunately, so were all the other questioned players, and so the investigation went on.
A lot of time also went into investigating the cause of the leaks, which were still to be resolved, as well as trying to figure out how the bombing of the Tennis Machine had happened. It was quickly determined that they were both likely linked to the spy, but the detectives weren’t about to assume anything.
Ben was also in charge of sending scouts out into the server, trying to locate the Specialty Base. These scouts swept over huge areas of land, trying to locate any clues as to where the Specialty Base might be. Over the two weeks, no news surfaced. Ben reported this to Stan, who insisted that the search continue.
All the council members were kept busy, all day every day, for the whole two weeks. Most of them spent their time volunteering with the military and doing whatever they could using their talents. The Mechanist told Stan how he had set up and activated a complex wiring trap to blow up a desert temple that had been turned into a base by the Noctem Alliance. Jayden told Stan about his visit to fight on the Hot Front, and showed Stan the burn wound on his arm from where an invisible Noctem soldier had hit him with a splash of Potion of Harming.
Kat spent most of her time down at the headquarters of the police, constantly training new troops. For the first time since Elementia Day, Kat brought Rex with her everywhere she went. She had loaned him to the police department while she had been sitting on council meetings and making voyages into the Nether. During that time, he had met another wolf named Diamond, and the two of them had become very close. This had given Kat an idea. Using the police department’s store of rotten flesh, she had coaxed Rex and Diamond into having a litter of puppies. After being fed some rotten flesh, the puppies grew up into fully fledged wolves. The new recruits were able to use the store of bones to tame the adult wolves, thus gaining a companion to accompany them into battle and beyond. When she wasn’t helping with the wolves, Kat spent every spare second she had training with DZ and Ben for the Spleef World Finals.
Charlie did his volunteer work around the city, preparing people for the finals. As he did so, he was surprised to find that many players were almost more angry with the finals going on than they would have been had they been cancelled. It didn’t even have anything to do with the looming threat of the Noctem Alliance. Rather, many citizens were under the belief that the Skeletons should be declared the champions automatically, since the Zombies had already lost once and were only reentered into the tournament on a technicality.
Determined to keep the spirits in the city high, Charlie took advantage of this discontent and formed two clubs, one of which supported the Zombies and the other the Skeletons. Both clubs had nightly meetings. Charlie used the rivalry between the supporters to rally the city into high spirits all the way up until the match.
Stan spent his time doing a variety of things. Whenever he received word from Kat that a new shipment of drafted recruits had come in, he would personally go over to the police station and thank them for their service to their country before they went off to war. Stan was surprised to see that it really did boost their morale to have their president personally address them.
He also spent a good portion of his time trying to contact Sally, but this proved to be in vain. Somebody in the Noctem Alliance clearly knew their way around a computer, because although Stan managed to hear his name erupt through the static of space a few times, he wasn’t able to have a full conversation with her.
Most of Stan’s free time, however, was spent with Oob. After Stan had announced to the public that Elementia had declared war on Nocturia, Oob was terrified and told Stan that he wanted to go home. Oob’s village was all the way across the Ender Desert, which had become a war zone on the Cold Front. Stan knew it would be far too dangerous to bring Oob through the desert now. The trains that passed through the desert were for the transport of military personnel and materials only, and even they had to travel in convoys with armed soldiers. Stan still had his three men positioned in the village to defend it from the hostile mobs, but it seemed extremely unlikely that the Noctems would attack it. Stan had made sure to tell the rest of his men to stay away from NPC villages at all costs, to keep them from becoming targets.
Because he couldn’t go home, Oob tagged along with Stan most of the time, occasionally visiting with Kat, Charlie, and DZ. When he was with Stan, the question that wouldn’t stop bursting from his mouth was “How long must I wait until the Spleef World Finals?” Stan became so fed up with this that as payback, when the day finally arrived, he didn’t tell Oob until they were on their way to the stadium to watch the match.
After two of the hardest weeks in the history of Element City, the day of the Spleef World Finals finally arrived.
Since he was a member of the team, Ben had put a member of his police force in charge of the defense of the Spleef arena. Before the match, the entire building had been searched, with every last possible hiding place for explosives or Noctem agents checked. Though they found nothing, the police continued to prowl about the arena, on the lookout for anything suspicious. The match was at night, but fans began to flood the Spleef arena at midday, and every single player who entered the arena was frisked by a police officer, looking for explosives or weapons.
Kat was on her way to the arena. Her time helping out with the wolves at the police station had run a bit late, and so Kat slipped into the side door of the Spleef arena hastily. She sprinted up a plain corridor made of cobblestone that led up to where DZ and Ben were waiting for her. She took the second left turn toward the stairs, and as she rounded the corner she saw a figure leaning against the wall next to the door to her room. The full white leather armor and red lips that took up half the player’s pale face filled Kat’s stomach with acid.
“Well, hello there, Kat, darling,” simpered Cassandrix, a smug grin on her face.
“Shouldn’t you be over in your room on the other side?” Kat grunted.
“Oh, don’t worry, my darling.” The words slid out of Cassandrix’s mouth. Her upper-class accent was particularly irritating tonight, Kat noticed bitterly. “They won’t start the match without me, I’m rather important, you know. Unlike some people, I actually earned my spot in this match, it wasn’t handed to me by default.”
“Well, seeing as you were the one who handed it to me,” seethed Kat, infuriated that she couldn’t say that Cassandrix was wrong, “I would shut up about it if you know what’s good for you.”
“Well, dear, I’m sorry that you lost the semifinals, but really, are you surprised? Correct me if I’m wrong, but you only practiced three times between the quarterfinals and semifinals, yes? Well, if you really think that’s putting your best foot forward . . .”
“Okay, you obnoxious little snob, listen up,” snarled Kat, stepping right up and pushing her face into Cassandrix, who was still grinning widely. “First of all, we’ve been practicing all day every day for the past two weeks, so let’s see how smart that mouth of yours is after you’ve fought us in top form. And second of all, the only reason that we could only practice three times between the last two matches is because we were all busy defending your sorry butt from the Noctem Alliance!”
“Oh, yes, and you’ve done swimmingly in that department,” Cassandrix said, chuckling. “Yes, fighting a war on two fronts and taking people against their will to do it . . . very noble, Kat, that’s defending the cause of justice.”
Kat couldn’t control herself. Her rage had broken the limit. She pulled her fist back and was preparing herself to sink it as hard as she could into Cassandrix’s face when an unseen force pulled her back from behind. Kat struggled to get free, but before she knew it, she had been dragged into the preparation room. The iron door had shut behind her, closing out Cassandrix’s manic laughter. She seethed at Ben, who had pulled her back, preventing her from throwing what would have been an extremely satisfying punch.
“I am going to kill her!” snarled Kat.
“Calm down, Kat,” said Ben steadily. “She’s just trying to get under your skin and unhinge your focus. The best way to get back at her is to show her up in the Spleef arena.”
Kat took deep breaths, trying to tell herself that Ben was right, but all she could think of was Cassandrix’s face and how she wanted to cause her as much pain as possible. She hardly noticed when DZ gave her a cheerful hello, only returning it with a solemn grunt. She threw her armor on haphazardly, not realizing that her helmet was on backward until DZ pointed it out.
When the iron doors finally swung open, indicating that the match had begun, Kat snatched up her diamond shovel and burst out onto the snow. She drew in strength from the roar of the crowd, and then shut everything out of her mind except for her teammates, the flat arena of snow blocks, and the white-clad figures standing across the expanse.
“Okay, guys, this is it,” said DZ, no hint of cheeriness in his voice now. It was game time. “Engage Operation Hero’s Flank K.”
Kat and Ben nodded and took off alongside DZ. Ben cut softly to the left, while DZ did the same to the right and Kat charged down the middle. The K in the name indicated that Kat was to be the center of the Hero’s Flank Operation. Kat smirked. DZ must have been aware of her animosity toward the other team, and decided to let her tackle them head-on. Well, she wasn’t going to disappoint him.
The Skeletons were sticking together in a group as they sprinted forward. Kat knew that they were going to adopt their signature strategy: stay back to back and lash out as a team toward anybody who comes close to them. Kat smiled even larger. They had been planning for this, and had adopted the Hero’s Flank strategy specifically to counter them.
Just as Kat was about to reach the Skeletons, she hopped back and swung her shovel down, cutting a wide ditch in the snow. The Skeletons cut their sprint short to avoid tumbling into the ditch, having no space available to jump it. This allowed Kat, through a series of fancy footwork and quick shovel swings, to arc two smaller ditches into the snow, creating a curve that connected to the two other ditches created by DZ and Ben, who had been circling around. The Skeletons spun around in shock as Ben’s and DZ’s shovels connected, completing the ring of nothingness around the Skeletons. The three Spleef players were now standing in the middle of a snow block island, surrounded by a ring that led to a fall into the watery pit below.
Okay, thought Kat, picking up a snowball from the ground as the Skeletons urgently whispered in one anothers’ ears. Let’s get this party started! And with that, she pitched a snowball right at Cassandrix.
The unidentifiable power that the snowballs of Minecraft hold took effect, and Cassandrix was knocked backward off her feet, flying through the air and right into a shovel swung by Ben. The blow connected with her chest, and she tumbled backward into the hole. She would have fallen into the pit, too, had her teammate not sprawled to the ground and grabbed her hand. Ben lunged forward to knock them both into the pit, but Cassandrix swung herself up onto the outside ledge, kicking Ben in the stomach as she did so.
Ben tumbled backward onto the ground, and Cassandrix pursued him, shovel raised. One of her goons jumped over the ledge to assist her, but he was caught across the stomach by a shovel blow from Kat. Kat was astonished when he didn’t fall backward into the pit. Rather, he caught onto the edge with his hand and propelled himself into the air, his foot hitting Kat’s hand and knocking her shovel far into the distance.
Man! thought Kat. These guys are good! Kat sprinted over to pick up her shovel, her opponent choosing to double team DZ with his teammate rather than pursue her. Desperate to assist him, Kat was about to sprint over to DZ when she saw it.
A figure, clad entirely in black, standing on the uppermost bleacher of the Spleef arena . . . a bow raised in his hand, an arrow, flying through the sky, toward the two players closest to her.
“Look out!” screamed Kat as she launched herself toward Ben and Cassandrix, engaged in shovel combat. They barely had time to look before Kat slammed into them, knocking the three of them to the ground, the arrow grazing Kat’s shoulder and sticking point-first into the snowy ground.
Kat twisted her neck around, becoming aware of the screams ringing out around the arena as she looked over at the others. One of Cassandrix’s goons fell face-first to the ground, an arrow sticking through the back of his leather helmet. An instant later, two more arrows sunk into the ground next to Kat’s head, and immediately afterward two more found the heart of the other Skeleton, sending him to the ground. An arrow sunk into DZ’s arm, and the force of the attack sent him backward and through a hole in the ground.
“Get off me!” growled Cassandrix, pushing Kat to the ground. “What are you playing at?”
Kat regained her footing. She sensed an incoming danger, and ducked just as something whizzed over her head. She heard a screech of pain as the arrow pierced Cassandrix’s leg. The white-clad player flew backward and into a hole in the ground.
Kat was unable to help Cassandrix, or even think about her. She was only able to think about the black figure who had appeared in the middle of the Spleef arena in a burst of purple smoke. The Noctem agent pitched fire charges to the ground, using them to burn a circle in the snow blocks around himself until he was suspended on a single snow block in midair. Down below, DZ and Cassandrix could be seen struggling, trying to cure their wounds and stay afloat at the same time. The figure was far from the edges of the snowfield. There was no way to get to him.
As the black-clad figure pulled off his helmet, Kat noticed a black shawl draped over his shoulders, and when his face came into view, Kat saw, with a twinge of fear, that it was Count Drake standing in the midst of the arena. As he spoke, his voice, oily and snakelike, seemed magnified. “You had your chance to listen, people of Elementia,” the voice boomed through the air. “We warned you not to toy with the Noctem Alliance, and now it is time for you to pay for your impudence. I call upon the great power of the Noctem Alliance now, to summon the punishment of the people of Element City! VIVA LA NOCTEM! Bring on the fire!”
And with that, Count Drake pulled a blue-green orb and pitched it far into the distance. All Kat could do was watch in helpless horror as Count Drake turned around, caught her eye, grinned an evil smile, and disappeared in a puff of violet smoke.
Then, all at once, the Spleef arena erupted into a radiant light, immediately followed by screams of terror. From the tops of the bleachers of the arena, molten lava was pouring from some unseen source. As Kat stared at the liquid fire in shock, she realized it was pouring out of the dispensers that usually shot off fireworks during a victory.
Standing in the middle of the arena, so far away from everybody else and armed with nothing but a shovel, there was nothing Ben or Kat could do but stare as the massive wall of molten fire rolled down the stands and toward the center of the arena. The wave of lava was preceded by a wave of players, sprinting down the stands, over the bleachers, and over one another, trying to escape the fiery death that chased them. They saw some players trip and immediately be trampled under the wild herd of players. Others fell behind, and the lava caught them, drowning them in magma.
