Hey guys, I managed to write this up for you guys at least three days early,so here you go!

Kyrallei

The Search Begins

Zoey was crying in the mineshaft, her face illuminated by the dim torches on the walls. She had already been there for a few hours, crying her eyes out. He didn't tell her. Why? She hid her face in her hands, the tears seeping through the cracks between her fingers. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were sopping wet.

Biting her lip, she tried to stand up and get her way out of here, but her legs gave way and she fell back down again, onto the stony ground. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. She couldn't believe him! He was her best friend. Was. Another tear trickled down her cheek. She brushed the tear away, her bravery showing through.

Shakily, she stood up and made her way to the rush of water from the well. She flew through, and saw Teep waiting for her at the side of the well. He was the Best Dinosaur in the World.

Moments later, Zoey was panicking.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God! Where's Rythian?" She was running around the stronghold, out of her mind with anxiety. Teep was watching her run around, rolling his eyes.

"What Teep? What's wrong with you? Where's Rythian?" Zoey flew to Teep and shook him by the shoulders, making him slightly dizzy. Zoey suddenly stopped shaking him, inspiration glinting in her eye.

"It was my fault he ran away." Her panicky, excited mood gave way to a sullen, quiet attitude.

"I shouldn't have said that he was… that he was a monster." She sat herself on the floor, opposite Teep. After a few minutes' silence, she sprang onto her feet.

"We've got to get him back." She fled down the stairs, Teep huffing and puffing behind her. It was only when Zoey was quite a while away from the stronghold that she realised she left Teep behind. She flew back to the stronghold, arriving to see a very annoyed and disgruntled Teep.

"Oh sorry Teep," she said sheepishly. "Where do you think we should go?" She faced Teep, trying to get an idea. As a way of answer, Teep then got some dirt blocks out and placed them on the ground, seemingly in a random order.

"Teep, what are you doing? We should be figuring out where to – oh." Zoey read the words made with dirt.

"Lalna? We should go to Lalna?" Teep nodded.

"Right. I think, I think you need a flying ring." Zoey then ran into the magic room, quickly crafting a flying ring for Teep. Running outside, she tossed it to him before shooting upwards and flying to Duncan's base, Teep following close behind.

Zoey jumped off the minecart and jogged to the front gates, her fiery hair swishing from side to side as the sunlight glinted off her gold-tinted goggles.

"Lalna! Are you there?" she called. The wood-and-iron gates loomed, intimidating, over her, the large form casting a dark shadow. They were silent. She tried again.

"Lalna! Help! Open the doors! There are zombies outside!" she squealed. This time, the gates opened in a flash, with Lalna in his nanosuit and wielding his red matter sword.

"Zombies? Where?" He was looking around, ready to fight the mobs. Zoey waved at him sheepishly, strolling into the castle. Lalna had an annoyed look on his face.

"Lalna, we need help." Zoey and Teep were facing him, determined looks on their faces.

Lalna turned to face them, taking off his helmet. His blonde hair stuck up in a tuft on the back of his head, probably since he only just woke up when Zoey started calling for help.

"What do you need?"

"We need to find Rythian," said Zoey, defiantly.

Lalna was surprised.

"Rythian? Why?" Zoey hesitated.

"He disappeared," she replied, reluctant to tell him the truth.

"Right…," said Lalna. He invited them in, and bade them sit down and have some tea.

"So how did he 'disappear'?" Lalna was sitting on a red armchair, his legs crossed.

"He just did. I can't find him," said Zoey. Teep was nodding, but, being mute, he couldn't contribute to the conversation.

"So can you help us?" Both she and Teep were looking at him in forlorn, pleading looks.

Lalna paused. Help her? He wanted to help her, but not Rythian. But helping her would be helping Rythian. He made his choice.

"Oh fine." He scanned the room, thinking.

"Right guys, I think we should be well stocked up on food, weapons and other stuff that would be useful if we were to find…" Duncan winced at the name. "Rythian. I think we should start searching close to Blackrock, since it was where he went missing."

He strapped on some light green Nano-armour and fitted a helmet onto his head. Passing Zoey and Teep some armour, Zoey gratefully strapped some on as well, but Teep shoved them away from him like they were pests. Duncan shrugged at the movement, but continued to pick up some weapons and pass them around. Teep, being Teep, picked up a sniper rifle as well as a pistol for short range shooting. Zoey took a while to make her choice. She chose a bright red lightsaber-like sword, stones of ruby and lapis embedded onto its handle. It crackled with burning energy.

"I think I'll take this one, and – Ooh! Look at that!" she said. She pointed at a lime green laser gun which Duncan snatched up immediately. He quickly slipped it into his pocket.

"You can't take that…," he mused, "I made it especially for me." He looked at Zoey with a smug smile as she rolled her blue eyes at him and huffed. "We need to go soon; I think we should hurry up. The desert's at least as far as we could go before sunset," he said, looking outside through the window. The sun was still high in the sky – yet a slight hint of red could be seen in the horizon.

Duncan led them out onto the TNT launcher, a breeze blowing through Zoey's fiery red hair. "So…," said Duncan, "Which way's Blackrock again?" he asked, his blonde hair ruffling in the breeze. He managed to flatten it slightly before having it stick up again. Zoey laughed at his attempt, her giggles echoing.

"It's that way," she said, pointing towards Blackrock. Duncan nodded, and they jumped off the platform and flew to that direction.

They were flying for a few hours, seeing no sign of Rythian through the vast expanse of desert that was stretched out before them. Zoey was getting more worried by the minute, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. The sun was going down quickly, much quicker than what Duncan would have liked. He would rather be sleeping under some trees then out in the open sand, but oh well.

When the last glimmer of sunlight faded from the sky, they started to land. They had no other choice but to land in the desert, since the forest was miles away. As their feet touched the cool, soft sand, the clouds finally moved away from the moon, showing its beautiful pale white light. Duncan and Zoey were placing torches down while Teep set about building a campfire.

After the torches were set down and lit, Duncan decided to survey the area for any mobs that might have spawned in. As he scanned the desert, he often took quick looks at Zoey, a sign of the fact that he was developing unwanted "feelings" for her, unwanted because it could not possibly be dealt with since he was her best friend's mortal enemy. He glanced at Zoey again, for longer this time. Her hair seemed to glow a pale red while her beautiful baby-blue eyes shone in the darkness, illuminating her heart-shaped face and full, pink lips. She was stood facing the moon; the soft moonlight accentuating her slender figure, her leather boots emphasising her long legs. He stared at her, taking in her breathless image before he was attacked by a spider from behind.

"Argh!" he yelled as he tried to push the crawling spider off his back. He felt a thump and the spider went limp, sliding off his back and onto the sand with an arrow sticking out of its back. Duncan turned to look at Teep, muttering a quick "Thanks" before taking his place by the campfire and roasting his raw pork.

After eating their dinner, Duncan volunteered to keep watch for the night, and nobody complained. Teep lay down on the sand on the other side of the campfire, and Zoey curled up to sleep by Duncan's feet. Duncan was sat on a lump of limestone, staring at the horizon. Only when he heard the soft snoring of the girl by his feet did he decide to look at her.

She was beautiful in her sleep; he was surprised at the fact he only just realised. He pushed a strand of her hair away from her face, stroking her soft cheek in the process. He smiled sadly, looking up at the stars. After shaking his head for a moment or two, he resumed his position of watch keeper, he stared at the horizon, thinking.