Skelly stood up, her knees wobbling from the residual fear, but her eyes locked firmly on Andr. She gritted her teeth and steadied her breath.
"No more shaking. Silk, don't be afraid," Skelly said, raising her voice with conviction. "This, this is what we've trained for! We can beat her!"
Silk stopped trembling. Her eyes widened at Skelly's courage. Slowly, she nodded. "Right, you're right." She turned to face Andr.
But Andr only smirked with arrogance, folding her arms across her chest.
"Oh please, really? Even if you crawl into your little Boss forms, you won't touch me. I don't even need mine to squish you like the insects you are," she taunted, her tone dripping with amusement.
Silk gulped and looked sideways at her skeletal friend.
"Skelly I'm not strong like you are. Not in my human body. Should I, should I change?"
Skelly gave a solemn nod. "Do it. This isn't practice anymore, Silk. We're fighting her Andr, the Princess of Endermen. The daughter of the Ender Dragon. We won't get a second chance."
Silk hesitated for only a second longer. "Aren't you gonna transform too?"
"Eventually," Skelly muttered, eyes focused on Andr. "I'll hit her with everything I've got first. When all else fails then I'll go Boss mode."
Silk inhaled deeply. "Okay here goes nothing."
As Silk closed her eyes and raised her arms, Skelly added quickly, "Wait! Remember, Silky your Boss form eats away your energy fast. If you stay transformed for too long you'll faint."
"I know," Silk whispered. "I'll be careful."
She began to chant
"From the ground lie the Spiders sleeping on their webs,
Listening for the prey that lands unaware,
They bare their fangs and feast without care
Oh Spiders of the land, take me and accept me,
Let me become the Arachnid that devours our prey!"
Her eyes flew open, now glowing a demonic red. Eight long, sleek spider legs burst from her back with a sickening snap. Her jaw cracked and twisted into a monstrous mandible, complete with long, blackened fangs. Six more eyes opened across her forehead, burning crimson.
And in seconds, Silk towered before them a nightmarish black widow the size of a sedan, red hourglass gleaming on her abdomen.
"Whoa Silky " Skelly said, blinking in awe. "You look badass."
Silk turned her head. Her voice now sounded like it was coming through a distorted speaker low, vibrating, and eerie. "Thank you, Skelly"
Andr laughed mockingly. "This is your Boss form? Cute. All I need is a giant boot to squish you like the weakling you are."
"You're going down, Andr!" Silk growled.
She looked at Skelly. "Buy me time. I'm going to lay an Egg Sack and swarm her with my children."
Skelly gave a brisk nod. "Got it." She raised her bow and began firing.
Andr teleported, weaving effortlessly between each shot. "You really think arrows are going to stop me they didn't work last time?" she sneered.
Meanwhile, Silk spun a massive web behind her, anchoring it between two dead trees. "It's almost ready just a little more now!"
With a deep rumble from within, Silk's abdomen released a massive white Egg Sack the size of a bus. She slashed it open with her mandibles. Thousands of black widow babies spilled out, hissing and screeching.
Unlike the blocky creatures of Minecraftia, these spiders looked real. They were hairy, quick, vicious.
"Aw, look at the little darlings," Andr said mockingly. "Too bad I'll have to crush them."
"Attack, my children!" Silk roared.
The babies swarmed Andr like a living tide.
"Twisting Shadows" she whispered.
Darkness exploded from her body 26 swirling tendrils of shadow energy shaped like daggers spun into the air and began slicing through the spiders like a blender in overdrive. Every 3 seconds, over a hundred babies were diced into ribbons.
Still, they kept coming.
A sharp shriek rang out as one of the spiders managed to sink its fangs into Andr's shoulder.
"Argh! You little bastards!" she snarled, ripping it off and healing the wound instantly. More shadow blades erupted from her back now 51 in total and she fought with the fury of a storm.
Two minutes of slaughter passed. Silk stared, trembling, as the last of her babies was shredded.
"No" she whispered. "You, you killed them all?"
Andr stood in the carnage, breathing slightly heavier. She looked at Silk with a twisted smile. "Yes. And you're next."
She glanced at the horizon. The faintest light of morning was peeking over the trees.
"Tch. Sun's coming up. Gotta end this quick."
She pressed her hands together and closed her eyes. A dark wind began swirling around her, and a deep violet aura flared like a corona.
"Torment" she whispered. A small, bright purple ball formed in her hand.
Silk's many eyes widened. "Skelly! Help!"
"On it!" Skelly shouted. "Elemental Arrow: Fire!"
A blazing arrow whizzed toward Andr, but she vanished in a flicker of shadow.
"Explosion Arrow!" Skelly followed up. The arrow turned crimson and exploded near Andr, knocking her slightly off balance.
Silk seized the moment, firing a sticky web that hit Andr's chest.
"Got you!"
SHRING!
The Twisting Shadows tore through the webs. Andr blinked behind Silk.
"LIGHT'S OUT, SPIDER BRAT!" Andr bellowed and slammed the energy orb into Silk's head.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion shook the forest. A huge cloud of black smoke covered the battlefield.
"Silky!!" Skelly screamed.
As the smoke cleared, Silk lay in a massive crater, unconscious and back in human form. Her body was motionless.
Andr cracked her neck. "One weakling down down another to go."
She turned to Skelly. "Your turn, you big breasted bone bitch."
Skelly narrowed her eyes.
"No choice"
She closed her eyes and began her chant.
"From the Darkness, comes the Arrow flying through the wind,
The Skeleton stands unyielding, undying,
By the Bone Lord, let me become Death.
Let my foes fall before me. Let them feel despair."
Her body began to change.
Her creamy pale skin fell away. Her bones grew larger, denser, more jagged. Her face melted into a skeletal grimace with rows of sharp, white teeth. Grey flames roared from her eye sockets.
Her voice echoed like a spirit trapped in the void.
"I am the Skeleton Reaper."
Andr watched with a smirk. "Not bad. Still not impressed."
"The feeling is mutual," Skelly said darkly. "Bone Spike!"
A massive arrow made of bone formed from her chest, crackling with dark energy.
Andr raised her right hand.
"Ender Blast."
Dark energy mixed with black lightning exploded from her palm.
"TAKE THIS!" Skelly screamed.
"EAT THIS!" Andr roared back.
The Ender Blast shattered the Bone Spike in mid air and slammed into Skelly's chest.
"GAAAAHHH!"
KA BOOM!
The ground cracked. Smoke and ash filled the air.
Skelly lay unconscious, her bones slowly reverting to pale flesh. She collapsed beside Silk in silence.
Andr sighed, cracked her knuckles, and looked up at the sky. "Mmm Sun's almost up. Better hurry."
She walked over to the girls, gently picked them up, and teleported to the house.
Theron was worried for both girls who seemed to only be unconscious.
I stared at her. Andr appeared in front of me, placing Silk and Skelly gently on the wooden floor.
"Can you please not kill them I would offer myself up instead," I whispered.
Andr looked into my eyes. I expected cruelty, maybe a grin, but instead I saw sincerity. Her smug aura faded, replaced with something softer.
She walked over and hugged me.
I stood confused.
"You're not going to kill me?" I asked.
"No," she said quietly. "You've had a long night. You deserve to know the truth."
"What truth?" I asked, heart racing.
She looked over at Skelly and Silk. "We're not mostly human. None of us. But you already figured that out, didn't you?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "The monster forms kind of gave it away"
Andr chuckled and summoned two bottles filled with glowing red liquid. "Here. Healing potions. Get them to drink these. And keep Skelly out of the sunlight. She'll burn after a while."
"Why are you helping me?" I asked softly. "Why now?"
Andr hesitated.
"Because I'm not evil," she said. "I act smug. I sound cruel. But that's just how I was raised. My dad's the Ender Dragon, after all. But I don't want to be a monster."
"I kind of knew that, you never truly hurt me before you even should how much you want me," I said quietly.
Andr glanced toward the rising sun.
"I have to go. When they wake up ask them anything you want. They'll tell you everything."
She stepped closer and kissed me. Softly.
My face went red.
"Good night my love," she whispered.
WARP!
Andr vanished in a flash of purple light.
And I was left alone, staring at the sleeping forms of Skelly and Silk wondering just what I'd gotten myself into.