Watched (a MCSM fanfic)

Chapter 44: TNT Cannon

Ocs:

As Rush was getting water bottles from the other room, the rest of the group discussed what type of TNT cannon to build. The group dumped out all the inventory they had that could be used to build it. This included wood, cobblestone, some dirt, various redstone parts, and lots of TNT.

"Well, we don't have any shortage of ammo, it seems," Purple remarked.

"Should we make it automatic, or manual?" Petra #2 wondered.

"And which direction?" Ashio considered. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have TNT flying in every possible way."

"I think automatic," Axel said. "Since we're trying to clear a path, it would be hard if we had to have to reload it every time. Although I'm not sure which way."

"I think we should aim at the entrance," Morgan answered. "We don't know if the other sides lead to anything, and if the mobs outside are already going to hear the TNT, we might as well blow them up in the process."

"Psst! Down here!" Rush was back.

"Did you get the water bottles?" Ruby asked.

"Yep! And I got some cauldrons too," she added, pulling out everything she had looted from the room.

"Great! Let's build!" River exclaimed.

Suddenly, a grunt sounded from outside, followed by a bunch of other mob sounds. Everyone looked at each other nervously. It had been silent from the outside mobs before. Now it seemed like they were getting agitated and angry.

"Can you go see what's outside?" Lukas asked Rush.

Rush looked uncomfortable. "I would, but invisibility only makes me see through, not feel through. There's too many mobs outside that they would still be able to feel me moving, even if they can't see me."

"I could go," River said quietly.

All heads turned to her. "How?"

"I can shapeshift," she explained, turning into a pigman for a second, then back.

"What? How?! And you didn't mention it before?" Olivia exclaimed.

"Well, I don't use it much, only when it's really needed. And it's more like a last minute power. I don't flaunt it in front of my enemies, and it's used like a surprise attack," River explained.

"Well, I'd say this is a necessary situation," Petra #2 said. "But how are you going to get outside?"

"One of you guys watch through the door, and I'll take the tunnel Rush dug," River instructed. "When no mobs are watching, tell me, and I'll dig up and join them."

"Alright. I'll watch the doorway with invisibility," Rush said. "So the mobs don't get too suspicious that one of us are just standing there. The rest of you guys start building."

"Then it's a plan," Ruby nodded.

Lukas, Petra, Olivia, Axel, Morgan, Ruby, Purple, Ashio, and Petra #2 started building the cannon. Lukas, Petra, and Ruby were building the framework of the cannon, as well as some safety walls (well, as safe as could be, it was really just a 2 block thick small barrier) in case the cannon blew itself up and TNT went everywhere, while Olivia started setting up the dispensers and redstone as they built. Petra #2 started pouring the bottles of water into the cauldrons, while Ashio experimented to make sure the water could be taken out of the cauldrons with magic. Axel, Morgan, and Purple had also taken some blocks, and were working on the trajectory, angling it in certain directions to predict where the TNT would go.

"Coast clear," Rush whispered through a hole to River, who was already underground.

"Okay, thanks." And with those words, River slipped out of the room as a pigman, blending in with the mobs. Rush rejoined the group

"I wish we could test this," she said nervously. "We have no way of knowing whether or not this will even work. And once we light it, we have one chance to escape, or we're all dead."

"Well, we can't test the trajectory, but we should be able to see if it works with some other items," Purple said. "We could throw some of the leftover items in it, and activate it, just to see if the items drop."

"That's a good idea," Ashio said. Right now there was a block of water hovering next to her, which she kept carefully in the air, to make sure it didn't drop and spill everywhere. "Where should I put this?"

"Right here," Olivia pointed out the small channel in the structure that showed where the water would be placed. "Although we don't need it right now, since we're not launching anything."

"Then I'll just hold on to it for now," Ashio replied. "Just in case."

"Okay." Lukas took out a few blocks from his inventory, and placed them into the dispensers, before flicking the lever that activated the redstone. The machine burst to life, spewing out the items that Lukas's had put in in a rapid fire. "Yep, it works."

"Guys!" River burst back through the tunnel. "Are you done? The mobs are coming!"

"What?!" Ruby yelled.

"I'm not sure why, but they're all coming back. And they don't look happy," River said, panicked.

As if to accent her statement, there was a pound of something hitting the iron door.

"Well, it's now or never! Load the cannon!" Petra #2 yelled. Morgan, Axel, and Purple quickly dispensed all their TNT into the cannon, and Ashio threw in the water, which–thankfully, stayed.

"Hit the lever!" Lukas yelled as everyone else dove behind one of the multiple safety walls they had built.

Rush ran for the lever, slamming her hand down on it and sliding behind a wall, just as the door burst open.

There was a stunned four seconds of silence, just enough for the TNT to ignite and explode, dusting the first few mobs on the spot.

And then everything was chaos.

So, I guess I'm kinda back? Got enough motivation to write this next chapter, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish another one by next week. The problem when you get into new fandoms...an I've got a school trip over the weekend, so no time to write or edit.  I'll see if I can get a chapter done by the next Tuesday though. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
~Athenaᾦ