Sky POV—

I was back-to-back with a strange girl, staring at some strange glowing beings that were surrounding me in the snow. They were glowing an eerie blue, shifting and starting to take humanoid forms. The whispered to me. I grit my teeth and tried to ignore them, but I caught a few words.

"He fights with the abomination..."

"The hybrid..."

"The traitor..."

"The one who deserves to die alone..."

The girl growled, almost sounding like a deep animal growl. "Fucking vapor-entia! Shut up!" She put away her knives and replaced it with a bow, notching an arrow to kill. "FUCK OFF!"

One of the vapor-entia lunged at me, and I quickly sliced it down the middle. It hissed and dissipated, but only regrouped like mist. I clenched my jaw as I sliced through another one. It did the same thing. The girl behind me kept firing arrows, only for them pass straight through.

I swung my sword at another being and cursed. "Squid shit. Do these things die?"

"Yeah! But something's preventing them from! They usually sink back to the Nether," she yelled back, firing another arrow.

I sliced through two at once, making them hiss. One of the vapor-entia giggled like a little girl and passed through my chest, pain erupting from where it touched me. I yelped and sliced my budder sword through the being. It hissed like a blaze and backed away, orbiting around us both. I felt something pumping through my veins, but it wasn't adrenaline. I started to see doubles of the moon and my own sword. Pain was wracking my body.

"Shit! Sky, don't move!" the girl ordered. She shot another arrow before tossing me a healing potion. I caught it and forced down the concoction, feeling the pain instantly fade then disappear.

"What the Nether was that?!" I demanded, raising my budder sword again to fight.

"Wither Effect. A kind of poison that hurts like nothing you've experienced." she answered, reaching for another arrow only to realize that she didn't have any.

This kind of fighting went on for a while; us trying to kill the vapor-entia only for them to dissipate then reform. Slowly we both began to tire, and the beings started to giggle with glee. "You slowly begin to exhaust. Shall you give up and let us take you to our masters' realm?"

"FUCK NO!" the girl screamed, lunging at the vapor-entia with her twin daggers. She missed, and the beings surrounded her.

All I could hear now was her pain-filled shrieks. The beings were passing through her, poisoning her and giggling. "Give up hope! Let us take you to our masters' realm!"

I ran to try and help her, but one of the things passed through my chest, and I collapsed onto my hands and knees. Adrenaline pumped through my heart as the poison filled my lungs, making me cough and grasp my throat. The silver moonlight started to dim, and I fell completely onto my stomach. My body was desperately fighting the poison.

As for now, sleep felt inviting. The snow would make a soft white blanket around me...


Athena POV—

I screamed as the vapor-entia—or vapor-spirits—started to poison me, pain wracking my whole body. I had experienced the Wither Effect so many times in the past, but not as much as this. I could feel myself dying, life slipping from my grasp. I dropped to my knees, letting go of my daggers and clasping at my throat. I was burning from the inside, unable to breathe...

Athena! Don't go! You can't die now!

"E—Eris...?" I gasped through my excruciating pain.

Don't die! Not now! Please! Do this for me!

My sister. But she was dead.

"Let us take you to our masters' realm without any struggle, and we shall not let you suffer!" the vapor-entia whispered.

I clenched my jaw. "You... killed... my only... remaining... fucking family!" I screamed, quickly picking up my knifes and lashing out at the things. One of them had a direct hit to where the heart should have been, making it shriek and start descending to the Nether.

Fantastic. Five more vapor-entia to go, and these ones were almost impossible to kill. Fan fucking-tasic! I executed a spin and stabbed two in the "hearts." The thing about me: when I'm in rage-mode, I'm basically unstoppable. Nothing can touch or kill me, and I can only kill. Again, I was a hybrid, so this made sense...

...almost.

I slashed two more where their heads would have been, making them start their descent to the Nether. The last one tried to get away, but with a flick of my wrist, I summoned a wither skull to my hand. I chucked it at the entity, and it exploded on impact. The vapor-entia hissed and stopped moving, and I stabbed my budder daggers through where it would have a chest.

I'll explain the wither skull later.

"Don't mess with me, assholes," I spat. I sheathed my daggers and looked around.

Where's Sky? I couldn't see him.

"Sky?" I squeaked, a little scared. "Where are you?"

I heard a weak moan to my left. "Dawn..."

My attention snapped to the voice, and I saw the tip of a budder sword sticking from the snow. I started to walk over, but the second my boot put weight on the snow, I sunk down to my knees. The snowfall had picked up very quickly and heavily, and it had already buried Sky. I was positive that if it kept going at the rate it was at, it would be up to my thighs in less than a minute.

"Squid shit," I muttered, and I quickly pulled out a flint-and-steel. As much as I hated myself for what I was doing, I had no choice.

I adjusted myself so I was laying on my back, on top of the snow instead of in the snow. I began to roll to the closest tree near both me and Sky, my flint-and-steel ready to use. After I did this, I would have hurry and find a temporary shelter, knowing that I probably couldn't make it to Sky Army. Heck, I didn't even know which way Sky Army HQ was in. With the flint part in one hand, the steel in the other, I struck them together, creating a single spark.

The tree burst into flames, instantly melting the snow around and on top of Sky. He obviously had the Wither Effect, his chest barely rising from his body using too much energy to fight the poison. That was how the Wither Effect worked: it didn't really physically hurt you, it just caused a crap-ton of pain. But your body was tricked into thinking that the poison was really doing harm, so it would fight the effects. Your body would use too much energy trying to fight the poison, and you would be too weak to go on unless you got help.

I pulled the budder sword from his fingers, putting it through one of my belt loops for later. I grabbed Sky's arm and hoisted him over my shoulders and onto my back. He moaned in pain, but I ignored it for a minute. I would have to focus on getting a temporary shelter and fixing him up before his body gave out. The tree I set fire to was almost completely burnt, and I began to walk in a random direction.

Notch. I may not be the best person, and I may be too selfish to think for others' safety, but all I ask is that you help me. I just need a safe place to go with to heal Sky until morning, I silently prayed.

I felt my legs sink into the deep snow, shaking from the cold and the strain they were going through. I only clenched my jaw and kept pushing. Sky began to moan more, the pain obviously horrible. I grit my teeth.

Please, Notch. This is all I ask. I swear I will never try anything risky without your permission. Please. Sky will die unless you help me!

I kept walking for the next five minutes, the snow finally up to my waist. Sky was half-dead now, barely breathing. The cold was overwhelming to me, almost freezing me into place. But it wasn't long until I spotted a small cave. It had an iron door that was about iced shut.

I didn't care. I ran over and pounded my head against the door. "OPEN THE DOOR! PLEASE LET US IN! I HAVE A WOUNDED! ANYONE IN THERE?!"

A man quickly answered, pulling us into the cave. It was pretty warm, and I was grateful. The man helped get Sky from my shoulders and place him on a stone table. "What happened to this man?"

"The Wither Effect. He's on the edge. Do you have anything that can help him?" I gasped.

He nodded, a grin erupting on his face. "Yes, yes! I can help him! Give me a moment!"

I sighed and leaned against a wall tiredly, closing my eyes for a moment. "Thank you."

"This might feel a little painful..."

My eyes snapped open and I instinctively dove to the right. The man was holding a syringe filled with something orange, an insane smile plastered on his face. I now got a good look at him.

He had wild brown hair and a full grown brown beard, tangled and messy. He had a blue jacket, dirty tan jeans, and his eyes were different colors. One was sea blue and the other was dark purple. That grin explained everything else, because I recognized who he was.

"Shit!" I exclaimed. "You're Vic! I know who you are!" I yelped, just as he tried to stick the syringe in my arm again. I dodged and pulled out my daggers. "I just want you to help my friend and we can go! Don't hurt us!"

Vic was an alchemist. He was a very smart man honestly, good with medical situations and fighting. But he was insane. Literally. I only knew him because I had met him in the past. Most of the people who knew him called him The Alchemist.

The Alchemist laughed. "Oh, I can help your friend. I just need your blood."

My nose flared with sudden disgust and anger. "What the fuck do you need my blood for?"

"I know who you are, Athena Artemis Muldrow!" he laughed.

I felt my fists tighten. "How do you know my full name? No one knows my full name!"

The Alchemist laughed. "I know a lot of things, like your friend over there is Sky; Leader of the Resistance Against Squids. You had a sister who you loved dearly named Eris. Plus, you have a plan that could destroy all of Sky Army."

I flicked my wrist and summoned a wither skull. "So... can you help Sky here and save his fucking life; or are you gonna try to kill me and let him die!?"

He chuckled. "I will help him, yes. But I need your blood. I know who and what you are, Athena!"

My only thought at that moment:

Shit.


Sky POV—

I coughed and sat up, clutching my throat and snapping my eyes open. "Holy shit!"

I felt a slight stinging sensation in my right arm, and I saw a man holding a syringe. He had a creepy grin on his face, and his appearance told me that the man was clearly insane.

"HOLY SQUID SHIT!" I reached to where my budder sword would have been, but I was grabbing at empty air. Adreniline pumped through me again, and I started to kick myself away from the man. I then fell onto my back from a stone table.

"Nice to see you're awake, General Sky," the man said.

I backed into the wall in fear. "GET AWAY! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH DAWN!?"

Someone grabbed my wrist. "He didn't do anything with Dawn..."

The girl from earlier was standing next to the other man, almost as pale as the beings that had attacked us before. She was shaking, her legs barely supporting her. In fact, she was leaning heavily against the wall.

I squinted through my sunglasses. "I never really got your name," I said.

She coughed before answering weakly: "Athena."

"Athena? What kind of name is that?" I asked.

"A name of a girl who saved your life." The man with the syringe from earlier walked up to me. He held a fresh needle filled with an blue substance. "You should be grateful."

I stared at them both in a mix of confusion and fear. "Where am I, first off?"

The man with the syringe smiled and bowed. "I welcome you to The Alternate Army. I am Vic; Head Medic and Alternate Army general."

Athena leaned in close and whispered into my ear: "Be careful around him. He's insane."

I nodded. "Ooooo-kay."

Vic smiled. "Come. I have a feeling you might want to look around."