A/N: Hello and welcome to my story. I have 27 chapters of this prewritten so you won't have to wait long for updates. There will be one more chapter of this uploaded today. After that I will upload one chapter every Wednesday and Saturday.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs.

Third Person POV

A young girl grins wildly as she plays with a boy a few years older than her. The boy runs forward and jumps off the edge of a land mass onto an island of cloud. The girl runs after him trailing behind slightly.

"Jaaaaaaaammmmeeeeeessssss!" The girl calls out. "Wait for me!" The boy ignores her and keeps running.

As they run the scene changes. The random Aether islands of land and clouds turn into the twists and turns of a dungeon. The boy becomes a man and the girl becomes his two friends. The man is a yellow were-lion with a tan patch of fur covering his stomach and chest. His friends are an adventurer with one green eye, one purple eye, and a magic tooth and an ordinary man dressed in a blue slime shirt and jeans.

"Claaaaaaaaaaaaaaash," the man, Double, whines. "Slow down!"

"We're supposed to stick together this time," the adventurer, Chim, adds.

The were-lion, Clash, stops and waits for them to catch up. once they do, he says, "Sorry. I didn't think I was that far ahead."

"It's fine," Chim replies.

"Are you okay, man?" Double asks.

"What do you mean?" Clash questions.

"I don't know. You just seem kind of off today." Double explains.

"Yeah, I've noticed too. Is something wrong, Clash?" Chim asks concerned for his feline friend.

"It's nothing. I'm just a little distracted is all." Clash attempts to quell their concerns.

"Come on man, you should be happy!" Double tells him.

"Easier said than done," the were-lion mutters thinking they won't hear him.

"What do you mean by that!? What's wrong!?" Double demands.

Clash sighs. "On this day, ten years ago, my little sister went missing."

The two humans are dumbfounded. "I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

"It's fine, Double. You didn't know because I never told you."

"What happened?" Chim asks.

"Can we get out of here first? Then I'll tell you." They both agree and the trio turns around heading for the exit to the dungeon. Well, technically, they are heading back out the entrance. A few minutes later they are back on regular Aether soil. As they walk to their home, Clash tells his story. "This isn't the first time I've been to the Aether," he admits. "A long time ago, I lived here with my family and other were-lions. Everything was peaceful. Until one day, Notch made grave mistake and changed it all for the worse."

Double and Chim give him a look that says 'you're in trouble'. Double looks around nervously. "Dude, if Notch heard you-"

"It's quite alright," A voice interrupts him causing the three friends to jump at the man's sudden appearance. They stop in their tracts and face the bearded man. "He is right after all. I made a terrible mistake."

"Is it really you... I mean..." Double stutters unable to voice his thoughts. "Are you really..."

"Notch," Chim finishes for him.

Clash laughs at his two awestruck friends.

"Yes," the man confirms their thoughts. "I am the one known as Notch. I believe the two of you are Ryan Double and Chimney Swift, correct?"

"Yes!" They say in unison.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Notch smiles politely. He then turns to Clash. "How are you, James?" He asks referring to the were-lion by his formal name.

"Not bad, I suppose. You?"

"The past few years have been rough but they're getting better."

"You've met before!?" Double asks Clash surprised.

"Yes," Clash replies as if it's nothing.

"What!? How!?"

"I've known James since he was born. His father is a good friend of mine." Notch explains.

"Woah.."

"It's getting dark out." Clash comments offhandedly gazing at the sky around them. "If we start walking now we should make it home before nightfall."

"Lead the way." Notch smiles.

The trio heads home. This time with an extra person. Well, an extra god. Another conversation starts up along the way.

"Clash said you made a mistake?" Chim inquires.

"Yes. I made a horrible mistake and I pay for it everyday. I am trying to rectify it but that's a lot easier said than done."

"What'd you do?"

"There was a time not so long ago when the access to the Aether was limited much like it is now. I thought the Overworld was doing well and the people who lived there deserved some sort of reward. I thought the people of the Overworld would be able to get along with those of the Aether. So, I opened the doors of the Aether to everyone. I allowed anyone and everyone, no matter what race or species, into the Aether. That was the biggest mistake I've ever made. For the events that followed were devastating."

"There are people born in the Aether?" Double asks curiously.

"Yes."

"Who?"

"Were-lions." Clash answers.

"What?"

"Were-lions are of Aetherian decent."

"So you were born in the Aether."

"Yes, I was."

"That's so cool!"

"What happened after you opened the Aether to everyone?" Chim brings the conversation full circle.

"First, I need you to understand that when I say this, I am not referring to everyone who lives in the Overworld. I am only referring to those that have done these things."

"Understood!" Chim and Double declare.

"Do you remember when I said I thought the people of the Overworld would get along with those of the Aether?" The two nod. "I thought wrong. When those from the Overworld came to the Aether, they feared the were-lions. They thought they were a menace and had to be gotten rid of. So they went on a killing spree. They slaughtered hundreds of were-lions and there was nothing I could do to stop them. I just couldn't get the situation under control. Eventually, the killing stopped. Everything was peaceful for a while. But then it started again. Except this time instead of killing the were-lions, they kidnapped them."

"Why'd they do that?" Chim asks confused.

"I do not know."

Clash.. Your sister.. Was she?" Double doesn't finish his question. He can't bring himself to say it.

"Yes. My sister was one of the were-lions that were kidnapped." Clash replies sadly.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault."

The rest of the journey back home is walked in silence. After about twenty minutes, they finally arrive at their house. Notch looks around.

"This is a nice place you have here." He compliments. He doesn't get a reply.

Clash leads the way to the door of the house but stops just before getting there. He's staring at something on the ground.

"Everything alright, Clash?" Chim asks. Clash doesn't answer. He picks up the object and examines it in his hands. Chim looks over his shoulder at it. "What is it?"

"A book." Clash answers sarcastically.

"No dah. I meant what book is it?"

"Read the title dumbass."

"I can't. I don't know what language it's written in."

"It's not written in Craftian?" Double asks curiously looking at the book. It's small, brown, and leather bound. A title is engraved on the front but there's no author.

Clash flips through the pages of the book. "It looks like Craftian to me."

"You can read that?"

"Yeah."

"Let me see it," Notch requests. Clash hands him the book. Notch examines it carefully before handing it back to Clash. "It's written in Therian."

"Therian? What's that?" Chim questions.

"Therian is the language taught in the Aether, much like Craftian is taught in the Overworld. Therian is actually based of Ancient Craftian and is very similar to it. Many people that can read Ancient Craftian can read Therian."

"Oh. So, what's the book say?"

Clash reads the title. "My Last Hope."