Chapter 11

Chapter 11 THE ENDERMONSTER IS WHAT? YOU'RE PULLING MY STONE LEG! Theo didn't put the pumpkin back on his head. He wanted the Endermonster to really see him. Maybe the part of it that was once the Evoker King would recognize Theo as a friend. He would just have to avoid making eye contact. He wanted to be very careful not to anger it again, now that the mob had finally calmed down. He could feel his friends' eyes on him as he descended the ladder into the pit. They were nervous. Morgan, especially. Because Morgan didn't like it when things were out of his control. And this time, it all came down to Theo.

Once he was off the ladder, Theo kept his eyes on the ground. The soul sand was eerie. As if this situation weren't frightening enough! "I, uh, I come in peace," he said. "I JUST WANT TO TALK." The Endermonster didn't say anything. But it didn't attack, either. "Do you remember me? I'm Theo. We were both going to be 'the new kid' at the same time." He took a shuffling step forward. "YOU CALLED YOURSELF THE EVOKER KING." The mob made that horrible shrieking sound. Theo flinched, and he held his hands up in front of him. But he kept his eyes on the ground. The shriek faded. And the Endermonster spoke. "Not Evoker King," it said. "Evoker King's… FEAR." "Fear?" Theo felt it himself. "I don't understand."

"Evoker King…was ONE. Evoker King…is SIX." It took Theo a moment to make sense of what the Endermonster was saying. He gasped as the truth sank in. Did he understand correctly? Was such a bizarre metamorphosis possible? The Evoker King hadn't just become this new mob. He had become six new mobs. Theo remembered the moment when Jodi had convinced the Evoker King to be their friend. The

Evoker King had been scared. He was terrified of change. Was the Endermonster that piece of him? The part of him that was afraid? "Listen to me," Theo said. "I know what it's like… to be afraid. I know what it's like to not want people to see you. Because what if they don't like what they see?" He took a deep, shaky breath. "It feels safer to be invisible. SAFER…BUT IT'S SO lonely. Aren't you lonely?" The Endermonster didn't say anything. But Theo could hear it making the strange, otherworldly sounds of an enderman. It was close.

He took another small step forward. "I'm going to look at you now," he said. "I know it's scary. But I want you to be brave. Because I'm your friend. And you have to let your friends see the real you." Theo raised his square chin. He gazed into the Endermonster's face. He looked right into its bloodred eyes. "Not afraid," it said. "Good," said Theo. "That's good." The mob's eyes glowed red. Its whole body glowed. It leaned forward and whispered something in Theo's ear. Theo didn't have a chance to respond. The Endermonster was engulfed in a burst of light—light in the shape of blocky, pixelated butterflies. There was a swarm of them, and they washed over Theo, filling his vision with color. He had to shield his eyes and look away.

When the butterflies had all faded or flown away, Theo saw that the Endermonster was gone. Where it had stood just a moment before, there was now a long, rectangular block. "What is that?" asked Jodi. "It's a leg," said Theo. "IT'S THE FIRST PIECE OF THE EVOKER KING." "The first piece?" said Ash. "You mean…that was just the beginning?" Morgan asked. "I'll explain everything," said Theo. He poked the leg. "But first, we need to figure out who's putting that leg in their inventory."