Chapter 3

Chapter 3 SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN THE STATE OF MINECRAFT.... Po wondered if his wizard face showed just how upset he was. Maybe the beard hid his frown? He didn't get angry very often. Usually, he tried to laugh about stuff that bothered him. But today, he was angry. "I don't understand how your parents could do this to you," he said. Ash's avatar just shrugged. "It wasn't really their decision. MY MOM'S JOB MAKES HER MOVE SOMETIMES."

"Could she get another job?" asked Harper. "Could she do her job remotely?" asked Jodi. "EVERYTHING IS VIRTUAL THESE DAYS!" Despite his anger, Po chuckled at that. Everything certainly was virtual, where they were standing. "My mom's definitely not going to get another job," Ash said. "And she has to work on-site, but she likes that. She's an engineer. It's her dream job." Ash had broken the news to them throughout the day, one at a time. They had decided to have a group meeting to discuss it…and to have their meeting in Minecraft, where they had some privacy. The group also had

important work to do. "Now, who has the wither skeleton skulls?" Ash asked. "Ha!" said Po. "That's one way to change the subject." "I'VE GOT THE SKULLS," Harper said. "I picked them up along with lots of soul sand and other items when we were in the Nether. You never know when soul sand is going to come in handy." "We only need three," said Morgan. "You'll need to place them in a row on top of the soul sand." "But not until we're ready!" Ash said. "We're in for a real battle here." "IT'S A VERY STRANGE PLAN," said Jodi.

"Are we really creating a monster that's going to try to destroy us?" "Well…yeah," said Morgan. "When you put it that way, it's a weird plan." "We need to talk to the Librarian," Ash said. "And I think building a beacon is the best way to get her attention." "AND TO MAKE A BEACON, WE NEED A NETHER STAR," said Morgan. "AND THE ONLY WAY TO GET A NETHER STAR IS BY DEFEATING A WITHER," said Ash. "And a wither is…what, again?" asked Jodi. Morgan looked sheepish. "IT'S A SUPER- HOSTILE, FLYING UNDEAD BOSS MOB WITH THREE SKELETAL HEADS." "Oh, good. I was worried it was going to be something bad," Jodi replied sarcastically. "Perhaps we should invite it over for dinner." "We can handle it," Ash insisted. "EVERYBODY GET YOUR WEAPONS READY. Harper, go ahead." Po held his breath. He watched as Harper placed three pitch-black skulls in a row. Then she took a

big step back and drew her sword. Nothing happened. "IT'S NOT WORKING," Morgan said. "Typical!" said Po. "The one time you want to face a hostile mob, it doesn't happen." Ash poked at one of the skulls. Morgan kicked at the soul sand. Po had a sinking feeling. He still couldn't change his avatar skin. He hadn't mentioned it to the others, because it seemed like a minor problem in comparison to everything else they were dealing with. But now he wondered: broken wither, broken

skin library. Was it a coincidence? He pulled an ax from his inventory. He took a swing at a nearby tree. Again: nothing happened. Once, when Po had been new to the game, he'd tried to cut his way into a mountain using a wooden pickaxe. It had taken forever to even make a dent. Back then, he hadn't known that you were supposed to use a stronger tool to cut through stone. He swung again and again, but if the ax was doing anything, he couldn't tell. And this was a diamond ax that he was using. It should have cut through pretty much anything. It should certainly have been able to chop through a tree! He tried several more times to be sure. Still nothing. "Uh, you guys?" he said. "Am I doing this the right way?" "That's strange," said Harper. She pulled an iron shovel from her own inventory. She tried to use it to dig into the ground, but the shovel was useless. "I don't understand this."