"Alright friends. We ride at midnight!"

"You make that sound so exciting. We're just using some old boats to cross a lake, that's all."

"Shut up Steve! This is exciting! We're going to steal those diamonds from the new girl!"

"I still don't really like what we're doing, Karl. Alex worked hard for that ore."

"Well, you're a scared noob then. Dax and I have been preparing for this for a whole day and a half. If you don't want to come and help, you're missing out on diamond power."

I stood motionless as the three friends argued. Well, Steve probably wasn't really their friend. But all of his old ones had moved to other lands. If it wasn't for Karl and Dax, Steve would be lonely like Alex. Like me. And players aren't supposed to be lonely.

"All right. I'll do it." Steve finally agreed.

"Then let's go back to my base and load up the gear!" said Dax, with a little too much enthusiasm.

I followed the three people carefully and quietly. Dax's house looked small and plain from the outside. I soon discovered that the interior was a lot more impressive. The place was lined with redstone wire and circuitry. The door to the storage room was set up with a button code. But I slipped in behind them effortlessly.

Dax was passing out pickaxes and flint and steels to Karl and Steve. I barely had time to move out of their way before they rushed out again. I continued stalking them all the way to the lake. Each player boarded a boat and sailed away.

I shivered as I stared at the water. Menacing waves rippled across its surface. I couldn't see to the other side of the lake, but there were a few islands I could use.

I took a deep breath, stretched my internal ender pearl, and ZIP! I landed safely on a block of sand. Now to the next block... and the next... and the next.

The moon hadn't even risen halfway to the top of the sky when I completed the journey. Karl probably didn't have the best planning skills. I warped around trees and around small hills, staying out of sight. The radiant moon lit up the house in the valley below. I picked a suitable hiding spot. This was going to be good.

"Alright Dax, you got the end-of-show TNT?"

"Yep! Steve, you're going to use the pickaxe, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Let's do this."

One by one, the three players sneaked into Alex's house. They passed a couple crafting tables, some bookshelves, two empty beds, and a line of furnaces. The ore-smelting machines still had a few pieces of coal in each one. Next to the furnaces was what the players had come for- three diamond blocks.

"I wonder why these are out in the open." pondered Steve. He opened up a chest nestled in the corner.

"Oh, this chest was already filled up. Cobblestone, tools, iron, redstone- Hey! She found some gold too!"

Karl and Dax sprinted over to check out Alex's treasure. Their backs were turned to the diamonds.

I popped up next to the shiny blocks. Five blocks, about fifteen seconds until the players turned back around, and maybe ten seconds until Alex came down the stairs according to those footsteps...

"Hey!"

The three boys whipped around.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh no," whispered Karl, "it's Alex. Quick Steve, get those diamonds!"

The room did not contain any valuable blocks.

A scream came from upstairs.

"ALEX! THERE'S A MONSTER UP HERE AND HE HAS YOUR STUFF!"

"Hold on Nell, I'm coming!" Alex exclaimed. She equipped an iron sword and sprinted back up.

Karl and Dax looked at each other. They bolted out of the room and out of the house. Steve was not following. Then, Alex and another person he didn't recognize returned from above. Steve had no idea that this "Nell" lived here too.

"Um, so the diamonds are up there?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. There was an Enderman moving them around. But I took care of him." Nell held her own sword menacingly. "Why were you and those other two in here?"

"Uh... We actually saw the mob wandering outside. We saw it go inside your house, and I told them that we should make sure it didn't hurt anyone. But they ran off. Because they're scared wimps."

Alex opened the chest and grabbed a couple gold ingots. "Here, you should have these. I'm glad I have such caring neighbors."

Steve, stunned, slowly picked up the gold. He wasn't a neighbor. Not even close. But Steve moved around a lot. He could pack everything up and move closer within a week.

"Thank you, Alex. I'll be back."

I respawned, surrounded by towering piles of sand in a desert. I picked up a block and began to find my way back to Steve. To my surprise, his house looked like it was dismantled. Maybe Steve didn't want to live close to Karl and Dax anymore?

The man in blue was going through his inventory, tossing the occasional item into a hole. I crept up behind him, dropped the block of sand, and whisked behind a tree. Steve turned around and noticed the block.

"What the... Where did this come from?"

He mined it and held it in his hand.

"Why does stuff keep getting moved?"

Steve looked up and stared right at my tree. I tried not to tremble at the eye contact. My jaw began to unhinge. Look away, look away!

"I wonder if it's him." Steve said to the sand. "The one I followed to The End."

He smiled faintly and finished sorting through his inventory.

"It's time to see Alex. And Nell."

Once Steve was gone, I came out of hiding. Maybe someday I would be abke to look hin in the eye and smile. But I was still able to help him, in more ways than one.