Chapter 14

Chapter 14 GREETINGS FROM THE NETHER! A BAD PLACE TO VISIT, A TERRIBLE PLACE TO LIVE! Po watched as his friends Harper and Ash disappeared into the Nether. "I hope they don't run into any trouble," he said. "Right now, we have to focus on the trouble in this dimension," said Morgan. "I hope your plan works." "Hey, guess what?" Po said. "Me too!" "I CAN HEAR THE PIGMEN," Jodi warned. "They're just around the corner." "We should lead them away from the portal," Morgan said. "Just in case."

Po nodded. "LET'S DO THIS!" As soon as he rounded the corner, Po saw that the next room was full of zombie pigmen. But they made no move to attack. They seemed to have given up the chase as soon as Harper had disappeared. "WHEW," he said. "Harper was right." Then Morgan shoved him—just as a fireball came crashing to the ground. "Up there!" Jodi cried. And Po saw the ghast hovering in a far corner of the room. "Okay," Po said. "JUST LIKE WE PLANNED. RUN!" Po took off running. He went in a circle around the edges of the room. Morgan ran in the opposite direction, while Jodi weaved all around the peaceful

pigmen. The ghast appeared confused by all the movement. It followed Jodi for a moment but drifted the other way when it caught sight of Morgan. It uttered a spine-chilling scream that sounded to Po like the cry of an angry cat. Then it shot another fireball just as Po and Morgan passed each other. They were moving too fast. The fireball missed them entirely. It hit a zombie pigman instead. The pigman burst into flames. And all the other pigmen turned angrily toward the ghast. "Oh man," Po said. "THAT THING IS TOAST." "Jodi!" Morgan cried. "Let's get out of here!" As they fled the room, chaos erupted. The pigmen swarmed the ghast, which launched fireballs in rapid succession to defend itself. The ghast was far stronger. But there were too many pigmen. There was no way the ghast could win.

Morgan, Po, and Jodi hurried back to the room with the portal. Though the sounds of battle raged on, no mobs followed them. Morgan breathed a loud sigh of relief, and Jodi cheered. "Po, it worked!" she said.

"NOT THAT BATTLING ENDLESS MOBS DANGEROUS MONSTERS ISN'T FUN," Po said, taking a few breaths. "But I'm more than happy to let the pigmen do the hard part for us." "THE OTHERS AREN'T BACK YET," Morgan said. "Should we go after them?" Before Po or Jodi could respond, Harper and Ash poked their heads through the portal. "Everything good in this dimension?" Ash asked.

"All clear," Po confirmed. "Good," said Harper. "BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO WANT TO SEE THIS." The Nether was every bit as frightening as Po had expected. The rocky terrain was uneven and surrounded with glowing, viciously hot lava. Everything was the color of old blood. "This place gives me the creeps," Po said. "That makes sense," Ash said. "It's not at all like home." "Or is it?" Harper asked. She gestured toward the edge of a cliff. "Look down there." Po and the others peered over the edge. His jaw dropped at what he saw below. Minecraft was for building. Everybody knew that. Given enough time and the right materials, a person could build pretty much anything here. A castle. A spaceport. Even a school. "IS THAT…WOODSWORD MIDDLE