Hey ya'll, it's Enderdeath! I hope you're having a great day, and I hope to make it even better with this new chapter! This chapter has 1,178 words. NOTE: I do not own Mianite, any YouTubers mentioned, Minecraft, and really, I don't own anything except the idea.

Chapter 7

Linden was more scared right now than she had ever been in her life.

Seeing Ryley teleported back in his broken, sobbing state had made her heart sink to her feet in despair.

Ryley still hadn't fully recovered after seeing his horse be killed right in front of him. He had refused to talk, just sitting with his back against the nether brick pillar and staring into nothing.

Linden gnawed on some of the rotten flesh they had been given, wrinkling her nose at the taste. Sure, it was disgusting, but it would keep them alive. She glanced at Ryley, worry filling her gaze. He hadn't eaten anything.

"Ryley," She begged. "Please. Just eat something."

"There's no point," Ryley's voice was raw, and he coughed after he spoke. "We're never getting out of here."

"We – we can't think like that!" Linden protested. "We have to have hope!"

"What hope?" Ryley winced. "There's no hope to be had here, in the Nether."

"What about your friend? Declan, wasn't it? You told me he was a demigod – a son of Dianite," Linden prompted. "Maybe Dianite will find us. After all, he despises the demon civilization."

"There's no way he'll ever find this dungeon," Ryley murmured bitterly. "Besides, we'll probably be killed before he does."

Linden sighed, giving up on trying to persuade Ryley to be optimistic. Give him time, she thought. His horse was just killed.

But something told her they didn't have time. There was no way of proving if Linden's instinct was true, but she felt it deep in her bones – if they were to have one chance of survival, they would have to escape tonight.

Linden glanced back at her own chains, noting that the metal attachment had loosened slightly from the nether brick pillar. Maybe, just maybe, if she could wedge the metal plate out a little more from the bricks…

Linden shot another glance at Ryley. His eyes were closed now and he was slumped against the pillar, breathing slowly. At least he was sleeping, though from how he kept flinching, Linden could only guess that he was having nightmares.

Linden shuffled closer to the pillar, wincing as her fingers touched the burning hot bricks. She slowly started to pry the plate away from the pillar, the scalding metal burning her hands.

At first, the metal plate was unyielding, staying firmly fastened. But as Linden applied more pressure to the loose side, it gradually started to shift. Linden gritted her teeth and tugged at the plate harder, hearing faint grinding noises as the fastened bolts became loosened.

"What are you doing?" Linden jumped, her fingers slipping from underneath the plate. Ryley was staring at her, his eyes haunted and his hands trembling. The plate grated slightly against the pillar as they moved, drawing Ryley's attention to that.

"Hush," Linden hissed. "I'm trying to escape this place. So unless you want to be stuck here forever, I would suggest staying quiet."

Ryley fell silent and watched as Linden started to wedge the metal plating off again. She slowly felt it slip and grabbed it as it fell off completely, not daring to let it clatter on the ground.

Within minutes, she had used a sharp corner of the metal plating to pick the locks off of hers and Ryley's shackles. Ryley stood up shakily, slipping off his own handcuffs. The demons that had been watching them when they first arrived in the dungeon were long since gone, and Linden was able to pick the lock on the cell without too much more difficulty.

Linden cautiously stepped out of the cell, looked around, and finding the coast clear, led the way to the opening down at the end of the long cavern. Ryley followed on soft feet, constantly checking behind them. Linden felt safer, knowing that her friend was on lookout.

Surprisingly, the long system of netherrack caverns was empty of all demons. That did nothing to ease Linden's tension and she felt even more nervous with every vacant corner she rounded.

"Why is it so empty?" Ryley whispered, nearly making Linden jump out of her skin. She hadn't heard anything from him in so long.

"I don't know," Linden hissed. "But I don't like it."

Linden's eyes widened as they passed by an armory. Nearly all the armour and weapons were gone and there were many, many footprints in the netherrack floor.

"It's like they were planning for an attack," Ryley murmured. "Or making one. But who would they have a battle with here, in the Nether?"

"Dianite," Linden breathed. "Dianite has always been in conflict with the demons. Every few years they'll make an attack on his kingdom."

"How do you know this?" Ryley asked, picking up a badly bent iron sword. He studied the dull blade, giving it an experimental swing.

"Word gets around, even if you're travelling all the time. I didn't really care at the time that I first heard about it, since I hate anything to do with the Nether," Linden watched Ryley. "But I would assume that if every demon has been cleared out, then they're hitting Dianite with their full force. The demon civilization is large and always growing. They pose a very prominent threat to Dianite."

Ryley didn't say anything for a while, but he wandered around, inspecting swords. He picked up another two slightly bent swords, both diamond blades, and still very much usable. He looked up at Linden, the grief in his eyes replaced with a burning determination.

"Well let's find our way out of here and do what we can to help," Ryley tossed Linden one of the swords which she caught easily, eyes widened in surprise. "I don't like Dianite either, but I like the demons less. If they have a chance to overpower him, I feel like I need to help."

Without another word, Ryley turned and walked out of the armory, disappearing down another tunnel in seconds. Linden stayed rooted in place, staring after Ryley, her thoughts conflicted.

Ryley was most likely throwing himself into a death trap. Linden didn't have to follow him; didn't have to put her own life at risk for something she didn't even want. Why should she help Dianite; the most aggressive of all gods?

She shouldn't. But she knew because Ryley was friends with Dianite's son, he felt some dedication to the god. And for that, he was going to go charging into battle – alone, if she didn't follow – and throw himself under a sword. He would die to the demons, knowing that he had tried and failed.

Linden gasped. If that happened, if she didn't help, then there would be no chance for Ryley to ever see his friends again. There would be no 'last goodbye', there would be no saving grace, and there would be no happy ending.

But maybe, maybe if Linden helped…

She could help a happy ending come true.

And without anymore hesitation, Linden followed the path Ryley had taken, ready to fight beside her friend until the end.

Aww, so sweet! Linden is just the best!

Random Observation: So last time, I asked you to watch some of Ryley (Champwan's) videos... did you learn anything about his name? ;)

ironhideandratchet4ever: Technology can sometimes just be so - ugh...

TheAmazingQwerty: IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I TRULY KILLED OFF A CHARACTER I JUST NEEDED TO GET IT OUT OF MY SYSTEM MUAHAHAHAHA - *coughs* Whoa. Sorry about that.

MyBrokenHeart123: I feel you...

RusYRP: You know what kind of storm it is? IT'S DARUDE SANDSTORM! LOLOLOLOL! (Yeah... I just watched CS stream for two and a half hours so I'm kind of brainwashed with bad puns... XD)

DiamondScribe: Sometimes, the feels just need to be a little stronger... *grins evilly*

Lieutenant Side Salad: Thanks! And fun fact: usually I have most of the chapters in a story all planned out but this chapter was almost completely improvised! XD