Zoey knew that Rythian could get angry. She had heard anger turn his usually smooth voice steely, and she had seen his eyes flash that toxic shade of violet before, but she had never seen him truly furious, truly vengeful.
It had started the night before. He had sat bolt upright in bed in the middle of the night, shoulders stiff, eyes searching the desert darkness outside their shelter. Zoey had looked as well, straining her blue eyes but seeing nothing other than moonlight and the normal items that sat scattered around their base.
"Rythian, what is it?" she'd tugged lightly on his sleeve as he'd gotten up out of bed, trying to persuade him to stay next to her where it was warm and safe.
"Something is coming." Had been the short reply; heedless of her pleas, he had left the tent and looked around the desert encampment, his violet eyes roving over the benches, pens, and chests as if expecting to see enemies at every turn. Zoey had wrapped one of the blankets around her shoulders and had stepped into the cool night, following him anxiously as he patrolled the perimeter of their new home. Even Tee was abed at the late hour, and no light came on in his tower as the two minecraftians passed beneath it. Rythian stood on the wall, his face turned towards the faint light that marked the newly named Cabertown in the distance.
"There's nothing out here." Zoey had murmured, a breeze pushing her red hair around.
"Not yet there isn't." He growled, "Maybe not for another day or so."
"Then come back to bed, please." She pulled at him, and reluctantly he allowed himself to be led across the sands and back into their shelter, where he tossed and turned restlessly for the remainder of the night.
The next day the enderborn was tense and constantly looked around their walls, his sword drawn and his eyes sharp. Tee, sensing something was amiss, gleaned the story from Zoey and went to talk to Rythian. To Zoey's surprise, after a few gesticulations and some hushed murmurs from Rythian, Tee began to look more vigilant than normal. The dinosaur went out into the desert a ways with his gun cocked and loaded, scouting the area for any enemies that could be lurking. The tense atmosphere reached Zoey, who went about her daily tasks nervously, and didn't stray far outside the walls.
As far as she could see, there was nothing amiss. The sun burned hotly overhead, and heat waves shimmered across the sand in hypnotic patterns, creating images where there was nothing. Ringo was quiet in his enclosure, and the iron golems seemed mostly at ease. A few birds winged overhead, heading for lusher turf, and even the cacti seemed to wilt in the scorching midday heat. As the day wore on, Zoey felt much of her anxiety subside. She hummed softly as she prepared dinner, and took the boys their portions with a hesitant but hopeful smile on her face. Tee ate little, Rythian ate nothing.
Slowly the sun had crossed the sky, heading ever westward in its journey and gradually dipping towards the horizon. The azure blue sky, which had only contained the barest of clouds, became stained with oranges and pinks as sunset approached. The air began to cool, and the occupants of the desert base gained welcome respite from the heat. As the light began to fade, however, Zoey felt her fears returning. She found herself longing for the relative safety of the day as the sand turned from golden to silver in the changing light. Stars began to glimmer in the night sky like fireflies in the darkest forest.
The girl had retired to the tent, but after tossing and turning on her own, she had given up, and now lay awake as Rythian prowled around the campsite with Tee in tow. The moon rose slowly, looking like some giant egg that would hatch the largest of birds if it were to split. The silvery moonlight shone in through the tent entrance, and finally Zoey stepped out to meet it. As she did so, she heard Rythian's voice from across the camp.
"They're here."
Feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up, Zoey raced to him and followed him up the wall. "Who's here?"
Endermen. Over sixty of the tall black monsters stood not fifty feet from their wall, their violet eyes staring ahead at the camp and its occupants. Their black bodies seemed to shimmer in and out of focus as they blended into the fabric of the night around them. Here and there one would teleport a few paces, leaving a swirl of purple particles in its wake.
"Scum." Rythian spat under his breath. Stepping forward, the man drew Enderbane and wielded it aloft. Moonlight glinted off the blade and caused the endermen to pause, a muted hissing arising from some of them.
One of the front monsters stepped forward two paces. Its lower jaw dropped to reveal the empty mouth and blackened teeth. Zoey took in a sharp breath as a hideous voice issued from the mouth. "Enderssssborn, how daressss you raisssse a void blade at ussssss."
"You dare come here to my home in the night in numbers and then question me for defending it?" Rythian's voice was clipped.
"You havesssss essscaped punisssshment for too longssss. The majesssssty demandssss jusssstice."
"I have already delivered justice, and less of it than she deserved."
Zoey looked at him in surprise, this was the first she'd heard about it.
"Traitoroussssss sssssscum." The enderman rushed forward only to fall with a hoarse cry as Tee's rifle cracked in the silence.
The rest of the endermen surged forward, teleporting around and taking blocks from the wall. Rythian vaulted down onto the sand and began laying about with Enderbane. He was like lightning, thrusting, whirling, ducking, swinging, the blade like a living thing in his hand. Purple cloak billowing out behind him like a flag, the enderborn pirouetted among the monsters, severing their connection to the end with a single swipe. Tee's rifle sent bullets whistling through the air, and several of the endermen fell with screams of pain. Zoey watched in distress, wanting desperately to help but not possessing any weapons capable of killing one of the monsters.
Suddenly icy cold skeletal fingers closed around her good arm, and Zoey shrieked as she was dragged from the wall into a freezing grip. Darkness swirled around her, and she felt nausea envelope her as they teleported the short distance to the ground. That was nothing like teleporting with Rythian, she thought as they landed. Letting out another furious shriek as the thing's grip on her tightened painfully, Zoey thrashed and squirmed to try to escape. The battle fell into a lull as Rythian snapped around and focused on her.
The enderborn's eyes narrowed dangerously, glowing a violent purple. "You. Will. Release. Her." He gritted out.
"You willsssssss come with usssss." Her captor retorted.
Tee aimed his rifle at the enderman's head only to have it struck from his grasp where it fell broken onto the sand. Rythian stalked forward a few paces, only to freeze as the enderman dug its fingers painfully into Zoey's arm, causing her to yelp.
"You have one chance to let her go." Rythian's voice was icy, devoid of the warmth and compassion that Zoey was used to. "Only one, and you will take it or you and your soldiers will suffer dearly." It didn't sound like an idle threat.
"We do not take ordersssssss from the likesssss of you."
Rythian didn't even reply; he just disappeared. The endermen gave a cry of surprise as the man vanished into thin air; that cry was echoed by Zoey's captor as Rythian suddenly reappeared and shoved Enderbane straight into one of its purple eyes. Zoey stumbled away as the creature released her, clawing at its eye which was weeping purple fluid and smoking.
"It burnssssss me!" It wailed "Burnssssss!"
Zoey covered her mouth with a hand as the monster sank to its knees and fell onto the sand, giving a shudder before it lay ominously still. Rythian whirled, facing the remaining endermen, who now watched with some trepidation.
"I gave you one chance and one chance only. Now you will suffer as I promised." He raised both hands to the sky, and there was a flash of purple before a rush of wind swept through the desert, blowing sand around in eddies and swirls.
It began to rain. Huge droplets pounded down from the heavens in an almighty deluge, darkening the sand and soaking everything. Zoey watched in horror as the endermen began to scream, their flesh smoking and hissing as the water came into contact with their musty skin. The few who could teleport tried to escape, traveling in spurts, trying to find shelter in which to concentrate so that they could return to the End; there was no shelter in the desert. Rythian pursued them, swiping across them with Enderbane and severing their connection to their home world. The rain pounded harder, and the endermen screamed louder, wailing in agony as their flesh was seared. Tee approached Zoey and stood beside her as she tried to block out the screams of the dying monsters.
Rythian simply stood and watched, his eyes devoid of any emotion. Water dripped from his hair and ran in rivulets across his face, cleansing the soot darkened blade at his side. Only when the last of the endermen lay still and dead did the rain stop, and only then did Rythian turn away, sheathing Enderbane with a hiss of metal. The desert was silent once more.
Zoey felt her feet move of her own accord, carrying her around the killing ground and over to Rythian, who stood with shoulders hunched, staring off into the distance. Her shoes sank into the damp sand as she walked leaving footprints behind that slowly smoothed out. When she reached Rythian, she didn't recognize the look in his eyes. They looked so empty, lacking the spark of good humor and the something more that blazed to life whenever he usually turned to her.
His empty eyes slowly came back into focus as her hands fluttered all over his body, plucking lightly at his clothes and ghosting over his hands and arms.
"What are you doing?" his voice was soft.
"They didn't get you, did they?" she met his surprised expression with a determined one of her own. "You're not bleeding anywhere are you?"
"No." he reached out and brushed her arm with his fingertips, causing the black marks on her skin to fade and disappear.
"Good." Zoey nodded in satisfaction. She could see the beginnings of shame in his eyes, and quickly reached up to turn his face to hers when he began to turn away.
"Rythian." His eyes skittered away from hers. "Rythian. Look at me." She ordered; slowly he met her gaze, seemingly made meek by her firm tone.
"Yes?"
"I'm going to be honest with you." She took a deep breath. "What you did was… cruel. That was a horrible way for them to die." Rythian curled in on himself, looking miserable, his eyes fell away from hers again, and she shook him lightly to get his attention. "Look at me!"
"What you did was cruel, but, I know why you did it." A small seed of hope kindled in his purple eyes. "You were trying to help me, to save me. I appreciate it, but please don't do that ever again. It was scary and mean and they were screaming and it was horrible and nasty and I don't want to see anything die like that ever ever again."
His gaze turned hard for a moment. "If I ever have to choose between scaring you and saving you, you know which one I'll pick."
"I'm just saying, look for some alternatives next time." She reasoned gently. "I'm scared by what you did, but I could never be scared of you." Leaning in, Zoey wrapped her arms around him in a reassuring hug, smiling as he hesitantly enfolded her in his own arms.
She pulled away finally. "I'm ok, you're ok, I'm pretty sure Tee's ok." They looked to their friend, who was studiously giving them their space. "What about the….."
"The endermen?" Rythian blinked. "They'll be gone by midmorning; the sun will burn the bodies away."
"Good." Zoey shivered. "Now how about some dry clothes? I'm soaked."