Minecraft: Ironsword Academy/NowNether1CHP
Prologue
After only being in the Nether for a quarter of a second, Eek is adored by how it looks with everything in red: dirt, wood, and even leaves! Upon taking his next step, however, he notices a piglin snorting at him. Eek waves his garden hoe to greet it, but more piglins soon appear and slowly walk up to Eek, backing him up to a cliff. As the piglins lift their swords and raise their crossbows, Eek finally realizes that he is in danger. Just then, the skeleton that Eek thinks is his friend shields him from the arrows fired from the piglins, killing it. The piglins then turn their attention back to Eek, preparing to kill him.
Chapter 1: Does It Count as a Food Fight If You’re Only Fighting Near the Food?
In the cafeteria at Ironsword Academy, Po, Theo, and Harper, Morgan, and Jodi are acting out with foam swords when Will Knight, the president of the student council at Ironsword Academy, informs them that the table they are sitting at is reserved for the student council. Po plays along, saying that he is a part of the student council, but Will playfully informs them that the Woodsword student council has no power here. Everyone else pulls out their foam swords, including the members of the Ironsword student council, and they playfully clash it out until Principal Ferris interrupts them, saying that what they are doing is unacceptable and against the rules. After the principal confiscates the foam swords, he informs everyone in the cafeteria to see him in his office immediately after school. The students return to their seats as Po is worried that he and his friends might not be able to play Minecraft in the computer lab anymore.
Chapter 2: Thinking Outside the Box Is Easy! Most Things Are Outside of Boxes. Unless You’re Moving Far Away, of Course.
Meanwhile, Ash, who is a member of the Wilding Scouts, is preparing to move once again, making this her third time moving in less than three years. She hates the idea of putting her sash in a cardboard box and decides to keep it on. Her sash consists of various patches, including for reciting one hundred numbers of pi, reading, and tap dancing. Ash is then seen arranging her moving boxes like Minecraft blocks, and not long after, she begins to wonder as to where Morgan and everyone else is. Her phone shows no messages, making her realize that they are late. Fortunately, her new school doesn’t start their year until next week, so she decides to log into Minecraft herself and join the server that they would normally be on around this time. Ash calls out to Eek, but there is no answer. She then heads out the base and descends the stars to a nether portal that has been activated while they were away. She then goes through the portal, only to be greeted by a dozen piglins lined up next to each other in boats, all facing the same direction. Ash then finds Eek waving at her, who informs her to put on a golden helmet. She does so without asking, but lets out a “what”. Eek then says that they are remembering a friend that they had lost, gesturing to a structure of a skeleton made out of moss blocks, and asks for Ash to take a seat in an empty boat.
Chapter 3: In Their Defense, Sword Fighting After a Meal Is Great for Digestion!
Meanwhile, Morgan, Jodi, Po, Harper, Theo, and Will are in Principal Ferris’ office, with him asking Morgan and company as to what else they could be doing in the computer lab. Morgan says that they aren’t doing anything except playing Minecraft, and Principal Ferris reiterates to everyone that there is a right way to do everything, and the students at Ironsword always do things that way, asking Morgan if sword fighting is a right way to bring people together. Morgan replies that it isn’t, and Principal Ferris is also disappointed at Will, asking him to keep his distance from Morgan and his friends. Will agrees, though he doesn’t sound like he means it. Principal Ferris then gives Morgan and his friends a sheet of paper that looks like a to-do list as part of a "school tour". He explains to them that the tasks are designed to show them the beauty of a school kept clean, orderly, and perfect. Morgan attempts to say that they already understand that this school is different from Woodsword, adding that they want to go back into the computer lab, but as Principal Ferris suggests tossing out all the equipment, Harper speaks up, adding that they need the equipment for the experiments to be done by the end of the week.
Principal Ferris then suggests that they work as fast as they can to complete their tasks, adding that he has hidden an item at each their location, turning toward a cabinet and opening it to reveal hundreds of figurines of pigs. Morgan seems confused, but Principal Ferris explains that the figurines of pigs he has are clean and polite, whereas pigs in the wild are messy and noisy. He adds that one of the figurines are hidden at each place on the list, and only by completing the tasks will the students find them. Principal Ferris then asks Will to stay behind for another job as he says to the others to bring the hidden pig figurines back to him. Morgan then looks over the first task: processing returns in the old library. Will says that it is in the basement, and Morgan thanks him before he and his friends leave the room. Harper concedes that these tasks seem long, adding that they might not be able to play Minecraft. Theo then asks if anyone has talked to Ash, and nobody responds. He then suggests that they make a quick stop at the computer lab, adding that he has an idea.
Chapter 4: All That Glitters Does Not Protect You from Piglins. But Gold Does!
Meanwhile, in the Nether, Eek places his hand on the skull of moss and takes a deep breath as he finds his words. He then speaks, remembering the skeleton that he believed was his friend, as the piglins watch on in their boats. Eek then asks for the piglins to apologize, and they all seem to snort in acceptance. Eeek then adds that they do not need to be sad, adding that the skeleton is not really gone, but had turned into something different. This makes Ash realize that Eek had built the moss skull himself, as he was made inside Minecraft, meaning that he didn’t treat it like it was a game. Eek then concludes that he misses the skeleton, but will remember it as a hero that saves his life. As he bows, Ash claps, and the pigs snort in their boats. Ash applauds Eek for the memorial, and he says that Po taught him those words. However, Eek admits that he wasn’t supposed to go to the Nether alone. Nonetheless, Ash is glad that he is safe, and considers making a base around the portal to avoid being attacked by hoglins. As they make their way back to the portal, Ash notices a bastion remnant on the other side of the hill behind the portal. She explains to Eek that the building is full of treasure, and he is already walking down the hill toward the remnant. Ash quickly blocks his path, saying that they don’t really need treasure to get to the End, but blaze rods instead. Eek insists that they go get them, but Ash insists they don’t adding that the Nether is dangerous to wander around in without a plan. The two then start building a base, with Eek building more boats, and Ash building the walls of the base. While doing so, she texts a message to Morgan asking if he is okay. Eek then asks Ash as to why she is being quiet, and she says that she is just worried about her friends, adding that it is hard to live far away from them. Eek agrees, saying that all of his friends live in a different world and that he was worried about Ash until she came back. Just then, Ash’s headset makes a noise, and she then hears sounds of a microphone, followed by Theo’s voice coming through.
Chapter 5: Where There’s a Theo, There’s a Way! Hmm…That Doesn’t Sound Right. Maybe That’s Someone Else.
Theo immediately explains their situation to Ash, saying that they got in trouble and have to clean the school, and that no one can play until the list is done. Nonetheless, he hopes that he can get other people involved, just as they did to save the Evoker King. Eek feels excited at this, wanting to meet some new friends. Theo then says that he, Harper, and Morgan won’t be able to log in because their in-game avatars died, but hopes to find someone else to test it. Just then, Will appears, with Po being flabbergasted by his appearance. Will says that Principal Ferris is always mad about something, and he himself just wanted to check how everyone was doing, and was interested in playing Minecraft. Po explains that they need more players to log on to help Eek, and Will prepares to do so, logging into his own account, but he ends up getting the same error message that the others got. Everyone is surprised at this revelation, especially Theo, who paces around the room, thinking to himself that the Evoker King would intentionally do something like this despite his own doubts. Will then apologizes, but Po says that he doesn’t need to apologize, adding that it isn’t his fault.
Will then leaves to try to get their foam swords back while Harper walks over to Theo, who thinks that they are off about what the Evoker King wants. Harper thinks that something on the server might be broken, recalling that Doc said that moving the server was dangerous, and she had already moved it once before. She then adds that they wish they could inspect it, but Doc ends up forgetting half of what she did, and never makes blueprints. On a positive note, Doc also has a set of earbuds that could connect to each other from up to a mile away, so they decide to use them to keep in touch with Ash and everyone else. Ash then asks as to what they should do, and Harper suggests that they collect more resources back in the Overworld to stall for a bit. Morgan and the others then leave the computer lab and head down to the basement where the old library used to be.
Chapter 6: Nothing Better Than the Smell of Old Books. One Long Sniff and—A-a-achoo!
Morgan, Jodi, Harper, Po, and Theo take the central elevator down to the basement of Ironsword, leading them to a door labeled "LIBRARY". Opening it reveals a near-pitch-black room, save for a dim light somewhere in the distance. Harper then finds the front desk and flips a switch nearby, flooding the front half of the old library in light. Morgan thinks back to the list of tasks, knowing that they need to process returns, and Harper says that the book on the front desk are all returns. They start to come up with a plan; Theo notices that the books are organized by subject as they are all non-fiction books, but Po notices that the shelves are labeled with numbers. Morgan finds a few books and brings them to Harper, surveying anything to help them, and she soon finds the publication date, meaning that the books are sorted by when they were first released. Morgan then decides to head to the other side of the library as Po says he noticed something move in the darkness, while the others get to work on sorting the books. Heading deeper into the dark, Morgan hears a voice giggling, and carefully holds up a large dictionary to act as a shield. Turning a corner, the bright light catches him by surprise, making both him and the figure scream. Jodi, Harper, Po, and Theo head over to help him, but the voice mentions Morgan by name, who lowers the dictionary, revealing Ms. Minerva to the surprise of everyone, who asks as to what they are doing here. Morgan says that they are putting books back for Principal Ferris, before asking her as to what she is doing here. Ms. Minerva says that this is her favorite reading spot, adding that the books back here are old and interesting. She then pulls something off the shelf and hands it to Morgan, that being figures of pigs holding hands on an ice skating rink, giving Morgan the giggles. He then shows it to everyone else, and they all laugh. Everyone then gets back to sorting books as Morgan checks in on Ash and Eek, with the former saying that they are fine with nothing going on.