The Dark castle was more like a fortress than a castle. It was made of nether brick and had iron bars for windows. There were no torches or sources of light anywhere apart from blocks of redstone scattered around the castle. Two large obsidian statues stood on either side of the castle, looming over the armies of the End, Wither and Ruler. There was activity inside the castle and Dark Warriors were forming up outside.

The command group stopped while the rest of the army formed up in front of them, facing the castle. Martin quickly got the group together and reviewed the plans that they had made the night before.

"Alright, Ender and W, your forces and mine will attack the castle and distract the Dark Warriors. Hero, Blade and Notch. You three and your team will teleport into the castle using the ender pearls that the End Forces gave us. Get in there, find Steve and Alex and get them out. As soon as you're back, we'll retreat."

They all nodded. It was a simple plan, but simple plans worked best. There were less things to get wrong. Everyone (except for Hero) was in their armour. The three armies slowly started advancing across the rocky ground that was about to become a battlefield.

Then, the two immovable obsidian statues started to move. They both rose up, their closed eyes opening. Black lines of magic wound their way around the two statutes like blood and their eyes were deep black and soulless. The entire army faltered but the Dark Warriors took no notice of the two moving rock statues.

"What the heck are they?" Blade asked.

"They are the Protectors of the Dark," Hero said slowly. "I was kinda hoping they weren't 20 metres tall and made of rock though."

"Wait, Protectors of the Dark? I thought only the Light had Protectors," Martin said.

"Well of course the Dark has Protectors." Hero sighed. "Guess I'll have to keep them occupied. Make sure you get Steve and Alex out unhurt."

"Woah woah, you can't expect to-"

"Entertain some giants?" Hero finished. "I've got no choice. Besides, I'm not as defenceless as you might think."

Blade remembered the flash of light she saw when Hero was fighting the Dark Warriors in the forest. Maybe Herobrine did have this covered after all.

"We're wasting time, we need to move," Martin said. "Jordan, sound the advance."

The trumpeter blew his trumpet and the army moved off again at a walk, and then a jog. Blade had left her horse behind and was jogging next to Notch, her hand holding her sword sheath to stop it banging. The night before, Neil had given her a last minute instruction and his words echoed in her head.

"Whatever happens, your job is to protect Notch. No matter who's in trouble, no matter how close you are to safety, don't let Notch get hurt. Understand?"

Around Blade jogged a dozen men in diamond armour. They were going to go into the castle with Notch and Blade. Blade wondered briefly how many of them would survive.

Across the rocky platform, the Dark Warriors also started to advance, the two obsidian statues blocking the path into the castle. Out of the corner of her eye, Blade saw Hero start to levitate above the ground. With a roar of defiance and courage, the three armies clashed against the Dark Warriors and swords started to fall. Hero was somehow flying above the armies, heading straight for the two statues, his hands glowing with white fire.

Blade and Notch were a few lines deep in the army, so only a few scattered Dark Warriors got to them. Blade's sword was in her hand as she watched, waiting for the moment when they could teleport into the castle or when a stray Dark Warrior came close. Blade imagined that she could see two glowing black eyes at the top of the castle, but they were gone in the blink of an eye. Two trumpet blasts echoed around the battle, one long followed by one short.

"Ender pearls ready!" Notch called.

14 people each took out an Ender pearl and threw them into the Dark Castle. Blade waited anxiously until her Ender Pearl hit the ground and her world dissolved in purple particles as she teleported into the Dark Castle. As the world rematerialised, Blade had a moment of disorientation but readied her sword in case they were attacked. Notch was behind her, three of the men were next to her and the other nine were scattered across the courtyard. One of the men had landed in a random hay stack and was dusting himself off.

"What was that Adam?" one of the men close to Blade laughed.

"I was off balance when I threw Ty!" Adam called back.

"Focus," Notch ordered. The men formed up around him and Blade, two in front, two either side and eight behind them. They jogged into the castle, swords ready for any Dark Warriors that might attack.

"Look for anything that could lead to a dungeon," Notch said. "That's most likely where Steve and Alex will be."

Blade noticed a glowing white light in the corner of her eye. She looked at it and saw a torch with glowing white fire in the bricks of the castle, next to a door. She nudged Notch quickly. "Over there," she said, pointing.

Notch turned and saw it. The men saw it too and without a word being said, they followed the torch. It disappeared as they came close. Adam opened the door, his sword up to protect his body. The door opened up to a staircase spiralling down to the right, and the white fire torch was placed in the wall again.

"These stairs are going to be a problem sir," Ty said. "We would have to show our entire body while any attackers only have to show their arm."

Notch considered the problem for a moment. "Do we have any left handed men?" Three people raised their hands. "You three go first. That way, you only have to show your left arm and not your whole body."

The three men smiled as they realised what Notch was saying. They went first, and Adam slapped the shoulder of one as he passed.

"Be careful Jason," he said.

Jason smiled back. "I'm always careful Adam."

With Jason in the lead and the other two lefties following behind, they started down the staircase. It went deep into the rock and it took them several minutes to reach the bottom. No Dark Warriors attacked them on the way. At the bottom was a small room with a single door. One of the lefties put his ear to the door.

"I hear people moving on the other side," he whispered. "And what sounds like armour clinking."

"Everyone get your weapons ready," Notch whispered.

The leftie put his hand on the door handle. He mouthed the numbers as he counted down.

3

2

1

Go!

He threw open the door, charging through on the other side. Everyone charged through behind him. Blade had her sword up and stayed next to Notch. Her eyes were scanning the line of Dark Warriors that her force quickly engaged. She felt Notch stop all of a sudden beside her and she also stopped, glancing at him. He was staring at something ahead of them, horror on his face. Blade quickly looked at what it was and when she saw it, her heart skipped several beats.

In front of them, leading the force of Dark Warriors, was Alex.

Slimey: AWFHJAFOIAJWDOI AWJDAOIWDJAOIWDJAWDIA WD STORM!

Me: *runs and hides*

Slimey: YOU'RE SO MEAN!!!