I Blame My Evil Clone

Bonus Chapter

Even though this is technically a bonus chapter, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT. Seriously, if you don't read this, Book Two is going to be very confusing. I might even end up making this the prologue or something. (EDIT: It is going to be the prologue of book two.) I DUNNO. JUST READ IT, RULERS.

Bonus Chapter

Time: five years earlier

Place: in a dungeon inside some mine

Sky's POV

I kill the eight skeletons (do you know how hard that is?) that have spawned in the dungeon and then place a torch on top of the spawner. Wiping some sweat from my forehead with my glove, I turn toward one of the chests and start to rifle through it, searching for something useful.

Someone coughs.

But I went mining alone.

I jump up and spin around to face the entrance to the dungeon. There stands a grey-haired woman with hunched shoulders and a defeated look on her face. When she sees me, though, her eyes light up, and I realize something unusual about her- her eyes.

They're bright red.

My own eyes widen as I try to take a step back, only to be met by the mossy cobblestone walls of the dungeon. I could turn and mine a way out, but then I'd have to turn my back to her, and that doesn't seem like a good idea. She steps closer to me, and I struggle to keep from freaking out.

Of course, if I die I'll just respawn. Or so they say. I mean, I've died before, I've respawned before. But I always wonder, what if the respawn machine broke and no one knew about it? What if someone was being reckless and they jumped off a cliff or into a pit of lava just as the respawn machine was disabled or broken? They'd be gone. For good.

I've never liked that idea, so I try to avoid dying altogether.

The woman gets closer and closer until I can feel her hot breath on my face. "Hello. Are you the one called 'Sky?'" she asks with a rough voice.

I nod, not trusting my voice. If I tried to speak, my voice would probably crack with fear.

She smiles. "Good." Then she points to her neon red eyes. "See them, Child? They are red. They signify my importance to the world. There is a group of evil people, dear boy, that cause nothing but destruction and pain. The prophecy states that a budder-loving Minecrafter with Red Eyes will relieve the world of these evil folk. I have searched for these people my entire life, Sky, in order to fulfill the prophecy which I am a part of. But I have failed to locate them, and now I am too old to continue. Despite Notch's reassurances that, with the technology used for the respawn machines, we can live forever, those affected by the prophecy are destined to die eventually. I will die soon. I must pass on the Red Eyes to someone else. I need someone else to carry out the prophecy.

"You are that someone, Sky. I apologize for putting a definite end to your life, but it had to be done. You must stop these evil people. Do what I could not." She reaches forward and pushes two fingers from her right hand against my right eye, and two from her left against my left eye. I immediately close my eyes to avoid getting them poked, and she presses her fingers into my eyelids. Suddenly, my body is filled with this vibrating sensation that quickly fades when she removes her hands. When she looks at me, I notice that her eyes are no longer red, but green. She offers me a glass pane to see my reflection in, and I reluctantly accept it. I cautiously look at myself in the mirror. My eyes...

I have Red Eyes.

The lady shrugs as if to apologize again. "You may want to cover them, Child. Others may see them as scary rather than special." She hands me a pair of dark sunglasses, which I quickly shove onto my face. "Good luck, Sky," she says softly, heading for the exit. "Notch bless you."

I blink, and she is gone.

"Wait!" I call out. She peeks her head back into the dungeon. "Please, there are things I need to know."

She hesitates, as if weighing her options. Should she run away and be done with the prophecy forever? Or should she stay a few more minutes to talk?

Talk it is. The lady slowly moves over to sit on the monster spawner, breaking the torch. I hastily put up several more on the walls. "What do you need to know?" she asks.

"You said we were destined to die eventually, but, what exactly does that mean? Like, I get that I'll start... growing up... but do the respawn machines work for me at all? If I die from fall damage, will I respawn?" I ask.

The woman looks up at me. "The things that will permanently kill you are as follows: Oh, wait, you might want to write this down." I nod quickly and pull a book and quill from my backpack. Since squids drop ink, I have way too much ink, and I end up making a lot of books and quills since it's like, the only thing ink can be used for besides dye. I nod again to signal that I am ready to write. "Okay, Sky, you need to avoid these situations at all costs. 1: If you are shot by skeletons from five different angles at the exact same time, you will not respawn."

I glance warily at the skeleton spawner. No more dungeons for me.

"2: If you are killed by a diamond sword that is enchanted with Bane of Arthropods III, Knockback V, Smite IV, and nothing else, you will not respawn."

I nod again, making a mental note to avoid diamond swords altogether and just use budder.

"3: If a tornado blows you into a lava waterfall, and you manage to swim out of it but then die from fall damage, you will not respawn."

"Why are these things so specific?" I ask.

"They just are. Now shut up, this is important. Do you want to hear it or not?"

I nod quickly with wide eyes.

"Okay. Number 4: If a spider jockey attacks you in the jungle while you stand directly beneath two cocoa beans, you will not respawn."

I raise an eyebrow. This is crazy.

"Do not doubt, Child. These are facts. Number 5: If exactly 29 squids overwhelm you all at once, and you fail to slay at least ten of them, then you will not respawn."

"Please tell me that's it."

"It's bad luck to end on an odd number."

I sigh. "All right, then, let's hear it."

"6: If a ghast fires at you and knocks you into a baby magma cube, and then an older magma cube finishes you off, you will not respawn."

"Okay. Got it. So, those are the only ways I can permanently die."

"Unless someone actually disable the respawn machine... then yes, those are the only ways you can die."

I narrow my eyes. "Why did you hesitate? Are you sure those are the only ways?"

She sighs. "There is one other way, but if I told you it would be number 7, and it's bad luck to end on an odd number. You need all the luck you can get to find the Evil Folk and demolish them."

"But what if I accidentally fall into this extremely specific situation without knowing it? I can't stop these evil peeps if I'm dead!"

She sighs again. "Fine. Number 7 is this: If ever you battle the Enderdragon and win, but then go through the portal without carrying the Ender Egg, then you will never make it back to the OverWorld."

This one is different than the others. I wouldn't even have to officially die. Okay, note to self, no matter what Ty says, I get to carry the egg.