Stephan

Chapter Nine - Caught

[1 Player Online]

The admin rested his chin in his palm, frowning at the console page for his private Minecraft server. He was the only one online, and the console confirmed that. So why had he just seen a door open and close on its own?

This wasn't the first time he had seen signs of another player. Shiba had seen a door open and close in front of her as well, and no one online had confessed to being responsible yet. She'd also said she'd seen a flash of invisibility particles, then running particles as the guilty party had presumably run off. Fangirl and Soulless had also reported thinking another player was online, one of them having apparently seen a potion floating in the air for a split second.

It was time to get to the bottom of this.

The admin had gone into spectator mode, and was scouring the area where he had seen the door move on its own. So far there had been no other activity, and he wasn't sure if the mystery player (if they even existed) was still in the area. Still, he kept circling around, keeping an eye on the chaotic shopping district. Perhaps, he concluded, if he stayed quiet long enough, the player would grow more bold.

He had circled around the shopping district twice more when he spotted movement.

Below him, a pickaxe appeared for a split second, removing a block that sectioned off a doorway. The door then opened, then shut again. "Now I've got you." The admin muttered. Switching into creative mode, he spawned himself a crossbow, an invisibility potion of his own, and spectral arrows. Then, he sat in front of the doorway and waited, crossbow poised to fire.

The moment the door opened, he let it loose.

Immediately, he heard a ding!, followed by the silhouette of a player appearing before his eyes. The player froze, and the admin took the opportunity to type out a message in the chat.

[Philinator]: Who are you, and how did you get on the server?

The player bolted.

The admin promptly took chase, following the glowing outline as the player ran from the shopping district. He fired another arrow, but missed, and the player started weaving wildly in order to avoid further shots. Unfortunately, he stood little chance against a player on creative mode, and the mystery player had soon sustained two more bolts from his crossbow.

[Philinator]: Stop

[Philinator]: Or I'll keep shooting you

The erratic running came to a halt. Slowly, the intruder turned, facing him as the admin drank a bucket of milk to reveal himself. He followed it up by tossing another bucket to the intruder, along with a command to

[Philinator]: Drink it.

It was obeyed. The figure that appeared was a standard Steve skin, with the name "Stephanus" hanging above it. He stood still, holding the now-empty bucket in one hand- both of which, to the admin's immense confusion, were raised above his head. What kind of hack was this?

[Philinator]: How are you doing that with your arms?

Again, no answer. "Stephanus" only stood still, as if awaiting further orders.

[Philinator]: How did you get on the server?

The player didn't move for a moment. Then, he seemed to gesture a bit.

[Philinator]: Hello?

The player placed down a crafting table. The admin was immediately on the alert, drawing his crossbow again, but Stephanus only crafted a sign, placing it before him and writing,