Chapter 3

Chapter 3 THREE HINTS ABOUT WHAT'S IN THE WATER: IT'S AN AMPHIBIAN. IT'S A PASSIVE MOB. AND IT'S DIFFICULT TO SPELL! PO wasn't happy to learn that Shelly Silver wanted to be class president, too. He had hoped to be the only person on the ballot. Now he would have to plan a real campaign. He had to convince everybody to vote for him…somehow. He expected to be grumpy about it for the rest of the day. But that afternoon, when he and his friends reconnected to their shared Minecraft server, he forgot his irritation almost immediately. The lush cave biome was just too awe-inspiring for his rotten mood to last.

He had spent a lot of time underground. Usually that meant being surrounded by gray diorite, gray andesite, gray deepslate…and occasionally some bright-orange lava. But this cave had plants. Flowers! Faintly glowing berries grew upon long, hanging vines, and tree roots hung from the stony ceiling, like fingers reaching down for him. "Should we take some of the roots with us?" asked Theo. He had removed a pair of iron shears from his inventory. "Sure," said Harper. "Let's take a little of everything! You never know what we might be able to use later. Po, grab that flower!" "On it," said Po, but before he had a chance, he heard Jodi call for him. "Po!" squealed Jodi. "Harper! COME HERE, QUICK! YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS!"

Po and Harper shared a grin. Then they rushed over to see what had made Jodi so excited. "Look!" she said. "IN THE WATER!" Po stepped right up to the edge of the underground lake. He bent over and peered into the water. Nothing could have prepared him for the strange creature that peered back at him. THERE IN THE WATER WAS A LONG, SKINNY ANIMAL WITH BRIGHT PINK COLORING. At first Po thought it must be a fish—maybe an eel—but that wasn't right. Unlike a fish, it had limbs. Its face almost reminded him of a puppy's. Jodi gripped his arm. "It…it…" She took a steadying breath, then bellowed, "It's even cuter than a llama!" Before Po could stop her, Jodi dove into the water. Luckily, the mob appeared to be friendly. It swam right up to Jodi as if curious, and she chased it, laughing.

"WHAT'S THAT THING?" Po asked. "It's an axolotl," answered Harper. "It's an amphibian—a type of salamander. Some people call it a 'walking fish' because, well, that's sort of what it looks like." "I don't think I've seen an axolotl in Minecraft before," said Theo. He and Morgan had joined them at the edge of the water. "Are they safe to be around?" "Sure," said Morgan. "THEY'LL ATTACK SOME UNDERWATER MOBS, but they're passive toward players. And fun fact: they can heal when they get damaged." "Just like in real life!" said Harper. "Axolotls can regrow lost limbs—or even organs. They're like little miracles. Unfortunately, they're endangered…." As fascinating as all this was to hear Po found himself increasingly jealous of the good time Jodi was having. "Sorry, everybody," he said. "I've got to see it up close for myself!" And he dove into the water. There were two axolotls now, swimming in circles around Jodi. One was pink, and one was gold. Po joined the swimming, petting the axolotls when they got close. They were weirdly adorable, and Po wished he could just stay down there and never come up for air. All his problems

were above the water's surface. Down here, it was a party. But then he caught sight of Jodi. She looked worried—panicked. She was flapping her arms madly, trying to tell him something. But they couldn't talk underwater, and their block hands made it difficult to communicate with gestures. What was she trying to warn him about?

THEN, SUDDENLY, PO WAS FALLING THROUGH OPEN AIR. Oh, he thought. Waterfall. That was what she'd been trying to tell him. That underground lake had been more of an underground river, and he'd been swept up in the current without even realizing it! Po flipped head over rump, and before he had a chance to worry about where he would land, he splashed down into a true underground lake. He swam to the surface, but it was hard to see anything. He was really deep underground now, and except for the light of the glow berries high above him, it was dark. "Po!" came Morgan's voice from above. "Are you okay?"