Okay, time for a little break from writing "You Versus The Universe" to write a, simpler story. Heh, I am super excited for it though. I've already written 3K words in the latest chapter -- the last one -- and I'd say I am nearly at the half way point. ^v^

Next day update: I wrote more of "YVTU," now past 5k words.. and I still haven't even touched this! XD
Except for future scenes that won't be coming up in a while. 😅

Finished "YVTU!" at a 9,000+ word long chapter! Time for the sequel! 😂 ...I am only partially joking.

Anyways! On with this story!
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Section 1:

     "Everyone, please?! Gather around!" It was the break of dawn, and the sun had just risen. I, with Hokeson not far behind, ran to the fountain in the very center of the village. Hokeson must have thought I had seen an Illager by the way his head twisted this way and that on high alert. I hadn't told him why I was calling everyone together yet. I didn't have time to waste my voice. I would have to use what I had learned in public speaking here. Once in the center of town, I jumped onto the ledge of the fountain, where already several had gathered around the sound of my panicked voice. I had made sure to cause a commotion, running all around the village shouting at the top of my lungs. I waited a moment, standing now eye level with the crowd, observing their wide array of faces. From fearful to peeved.

     "What is it, Tim?" Hokeson finally asked what everyone else wanted to know. I still waited a short moment for those still walking towards the crowd before I finally spoke.

     "You all know the human, right?!" I called out.

     "Ugh, can't you wait for the debate, kid?!" An irretated voice from a butcher in the crowd groaned.

     "No! This isn't about the debate!" That seemed to catch the attention of those who had begun to wander. "Tell me! Does anyone here actually know where he is?!" I watched as faces exchanged looks as slowly they began catching on. "I am telling you, he should be back by now! It has been nearly an entire week! He has never been gone this long before!... Something must be wrong! What if he is hurt?!"

     "And so why should any of us care?!" A voice suddenly shouted up to my level, catching everyone else's attentions. All heads turned in disbelief to the one who had spoken. It was Drake! His green robe stood out like lava in a swamp in the crowd. He didn't seem to be speaking directly to me as he was to everyone else. My mouth was quick to close, seeing he had more to say. "I mean.. Come on, guys! We don't need him! Us villagers are perfictally capable of taking care of ourselves! We shouldn't lean on him as much as you claim we all have to! Beyond that, the human has done nothing for us but the things some of us were too lazy to do!.. Making things worse, he was the one responsible for the zombification of Sarah and Koby! They would be fine if it weren't for him! And- and, he has only imprisoned us! Can't you all see it?! We are trapped here! We can't even leave the village! Now, go ahead and tell me he is good! Go ahead and stand up for him, but both me and Tim know what the human is really like, don't we, Tim?!" Suddenly his eyes were directly on me. Suddenly, all eyes followed, landing right on my small form.

     "..W..well. I agree that the wall thing could have been done a little differently..-"

     "See?! This human isn't one of us! He doesn't really care! We don't need him!!" Drake clarified his own previous words, enabling dead silence to follow. Many faces, all full of thought, looked upon the green robed villager.

     "Booo! Don't pick on the human like that!" One in the crowd interrupted their silent thinking, provoking many more retorts.

   "Booo!"
   "Boooooo! You are just saying that because he isn't here to defend himself!"
   "Get out of here, nitwit, nobody cares!"
   "The human did nothing wrong!"
   "Boooo!"
   "He has done nothing but help!"
   "Booo! No nitwits allowed to talk in public!"
   "Stupid! When did you care?!"
   "Go back to your cave!"
   "The human saved us! Booo!"

     It wasn't long before I had had enough. "Alright, everyone, ENOUGH!" That was thankfully able to silence them.. most of them.

   "Boo! You stink!-"

     "Drake is just like the rest of us, in fact, he is probably even better! Especially better than the jerks like you who have no regard for others' feelings!!" I could feel the following I had gained drop the moment I burst. Drake just looked up at me puzzled. "Listen, you are right. The human has just been trying to help, but that doesn't mean we should boo someone like Drake!"

     I watched as Drake's expression slowly shifted to one I hadn't expected. Saddened. "...Tim.?" He barely whispered.

     "But.. that is for another time, because I called you all here so we can figure out where the human is, and bring him back!" A few seemed to join back in, cheering as I announced the idea of acting for the human's sake. Excited by their willingness to cooperate, I began hatching a plan, a very simple one. Basically, everyone would scour the village in search of any clues as to where he may have gone exactly. As I shared with them the plan, seeing it come together much better than I thought it would, I hoped Drake would look up at me.. and smile. However, all I could see of him when I scanned the crowd, was his lowered head, back turned to me, slowly walking towards his house. As quickly as I could, I finished up what I was saying, before jumping down and catching up with him right as he was nearing the front door to his house. "Drake! I am sorry if I said anything offensive! I didn't mean to!" I apologized right away, skidding up to stop him before his door.

     With a droopy head, he spoke dully, "They had said for me to go back to my cave.. so.. that is exactly what I am doing..."

     "Wait! You can't really be listening to those meanies now?! Remember what you always told me?!-"

     "If they keep pushin' then better let them in.." Drake pushed past me, opening the door and slowly making his way through it.

     "..No.. I don't remember you ever saying that..." I was thoroughly confused. "Drake..?"

     "What? I heard you. You don't really care what I think. You just follow the crowd, just like the rest of them." What he said, really hurt.

     "Drake..? You know I care. And I don't just follow the others, I just did a little research and-"

     "-And you found a way to prove me wrong? You came up with some brilliant, life changing idealism that surpasses anything I could ever hope to achieve? Well news-flash, Timbo, I don't have to change my ways to be happy! And there's nothing you can say to make me believe differently!!" With that short outburst, Drake flopped face first onto his bed, waiting for me to leave or something. Instead.. I scooted some items to the side on his crafting table, and sat on it just beside his bed. There, I waited silently. The sun began shining through the colored glass again, bouncing beautiful rays of light around the house, filled with a calming atmosphere, mostly created by the lovely paintings and items scattered about, but not cluttering the space. After some time, I heard a weak sob break past Drake's pillow, which I noticed was soggy the moment I looked back down at him. I continued simply waiting there, silently, looking around the 'L' shape house he knew so well as home. "..I- I'm sorry I shouted, Timbo... It's just-.." He pressed his face back into the pillow once again, trying to regain his composure.

     I leaned over my friend a little and patted his shoulder. "It's okay, buddy.. I can imagine it wouldn't be fun, being called a nitwit all the time.." I spoke to him softly. "Just know that I won't change.. I would never, in all the world, give up being friends with you.. You're the best." I sat back up, leaning my back against the wall and allowing him to let it all out. Soon after that last comment, he managed to sit up in bed and lean against the wall as well, pulling the covers over his knees as he kept crying weakly, cheeks and eyes both reddened as tears continued to puddle in his eyes. I just continued sitting in silence, not even looking at him, as I knew that would just make him feel uncomfortable. After what had likely been a few more minutes, Drake slowly fell to his side, allowing his head to rest on the crafting table I sat on, where I gently pat his head.

     "Thank..you, Timbo... I could never ask for a better friend.." He said, sniffling a little, wiping away the last of his tears with the corner of his blanket. I smiled, looking down at his big bald head, mine no different, 'pfff!', and continued sitting in silence, this time Drake joining me in looking around at the pretty splashes of color and peaceful, quaint, scenery of the simple house. Before long I could hear soft snoring from the green robed villager, and got up from the crafting table. I knew how deep of a sleeper he often was, but still I made sure my steps were quiet as I snuck around him, grabbed his pillow, snuck back around, and lifted his head slightly, sliding his pillow under it... There. Much more comfortable.

     Satisfied, my mind turned back to the next big thing. The human was still out there. We still needed to find him, or at least try. Tiptoeing to the door, I spun around once it was opened, and peered back at the dozing villager, mouth sliding open with his snores. A small smile resting on my face, I backed out of there slowly, quietly shutting the door behind me. He would likely sleep until the next morning. That big brain of his needed lots of rest afterall!.. Once I had successfully snuck away, I turned my attention immediately back onto my new mission... I just hoped the human wasn't really in any trouble.. Best to be safe anyways.

Section 2:

     "It isn't much, but.." Mr. Garber set an old pickaxe on the table that me, Hokeson, and a few others were sitting at. "It was an item the human had traded along with a couple emeralds, likely wanting it repaired. He left before I could finish, though, so he must have been in a hurry."

     "Thank you, Mr. Garber. Anything else?" Hokeson spoke up, sitting directly across from the presenter.

     "Nothing but the exit he took, which I am sure you all know already: he left through the east exit." Mr. Garber reinformed, proving further that that had been his last seen location, since everyone else questioned had said pretty much the same thing. Hokeson placed a hand to his chin, eye transfixed on the books Ms. Tabby had said she saw him last reading. They were basic books, about some of the rarest biomes. Something I would have to translate sometime soon. Sounded interesting. So far, the things on the table didn't seem to add up to anything; anything but a big mess which now cluttered poor Mr. and Mrs. Tierson's home. They were the only ones with a large enough table to hold such a meeting, as well as such kind hospitality.

     "Hhhh, alright.." Hokeson began in a weak huff, rubbing his cranium as his eye grazed over all items and villagers at attendance. "how about we start off with the basics, and overview everything we have?" All heads nodded in agreement.

     "First off, my wife noticed some more than strange behavior in the human, as he spent more and more time in the mines." The gruff voice of Mr. Tierson spoke up. "She believed he must have been looking for something specirfic, since on her way to and from school," Mrs. Tierson was my teacher if you didn't know, "she would catch him dumping everything he had gathered into chests, and I mean everything! Even a diamond!" He affirmed.

     "Alright. So he was looking for something. Anyone know what that could be?" I sat up straighter with the question coming out my mouth. I could see there were still some confused faces every now and then about my being there, but by then most had settled knowing it was just destiny that a smart kid such as myself would be apart of such a big ordeal.

     "I did hear from a few that the human was trying to trade with them, coming up empty handed since no one could understand what he wanted. From the gestures he gave, though, it seemed he wanted some kind of stone." Someone informed. I nearly face-palmed. That piece of information wasn't any help! I just waited silently, hoping someone else had more to say. My eyes closed, forehead in palm; my eyes flashed open at the sound of paper being flipped. Lifting my head to view Hokeson, I saw him turning through pages in one of the books that had been on the table. The one he had said was about some of the rarest biomes.

     "Hrmmmm..." He mulled over the symbols as he had his translating piece of paper out to decipher what was written inside. "Hmmm, yes.... Uhhu.... ah, I see."

     "What? What is it?!" I asked, excitement beginning to swell.

     "In here it says that some biomes are much more abundant in certain minerals. Some even have ones like coal practically sticking out of the ground.. Perhaps, if we can find out what he was looking for, we can figure out which biome he left to go find.-"

     "That's perfect!" I exclaimed, getting a great new idea. "All we need to do now is look through his stuff, and see what he is so short on!"

     "Yeah- but I don't exactly like the idea of snooping... Oh, okay." Hokeson agreed. Immediately, I shot up from my seat, finally having a reason to see what treasures the human really posessed.

     Digging into chest after chest, me and Hokeson both realized just how messy his storage system was. We may have not been master sorters ourselves, but no one puts melons, feathers, gun powder, and raw eggs all in the same chest! He literally did just dump everything in these things, didn't he?!

     "Heh, I was kind of hoping he would have all this sorted by now." Hokeson chuckled, pulling out string and spider eyes from what he assumed was originally where all the food was supposed to go. I chuckled with him as well, pushing past loudly clanging iron. He had a TON of iron! At least a stack in every other chest! "Having any luck?"

     "Eh. Kind of hard to look for things that aren't supposed to be here in the first place." I shrugged.

     "Hmmm, he was looking for some kind of mineral, right?"

     "Yeah.."

     "Then let's look for all his minerals. Go ahead and say aloud which ones you find a good amount of." Hokeson thought up a basic plan. What a smart brain behind that eyepatch of his.

     "Hmf. Definitely good on iron!"

     "...A lot of coal here too."

     "..He clearly doesn't use redstone, but he still has about half a stack over here."

     "...Quite a bit of lapis over here.."

     "Looks like he is hogging all his diamonds away in this little chest. He has fifteen!"

     "Fifteen?! In total?"

     "Yup!.... Oh, and he has a lot of emeralds in this same chest.. almost a full stack too.~"

     "-Remember, Tim, these items are rightfully his. So no stealing."

     "Oh come on. Not even one?~"

     "Nope."

     "Aw, you're no fun."

     ".....Hmm, what on earth could we be missing?" Hokeson finally straightened, hand to his chin again as he looked around at the small house filled with chests and three beds. After rethinking the checklist in my head, an answer hit me.

     "Gold, perhaps?" I watched as the weapon smith's eye lit up to that, fueling him to quickly search through the chests again.

     "Aha! I think you may just be right! I can't find a single gold ingot!" Hokeson concluded. "That MUST be it! Hurry! Before the day is over! We need to find out which biome holds the most gold!"

     "Uh, Hokeson?"

     "Yeah?"

     "It's not even past lunch yet."

     "...Oh, well that was fast!"