Adam hadn't expected the group to reach the plains so quickly. From what Raven had showed them from the map earlier, they had to cross a meadow before reaching the woods that would lead to Lapin's home. The woods also led in two other directions; the Hostile Woods and one of the larger towns in the world. Raven said it was commonly thought of as a sub-capital while the real capital was the city that surrounded the castle. The castle which 'You-Know-Who' lived.

Adam bit his lip. He had wanted to ask Raven about the world's controlling ruler's name, but with all the events that had transpired he had forgotten to ask. He looked up and opened to speak but stopped as he noticed Raven's appearance.

She was focused on the map in her hands, her eyes flickering across it at the speed of a bull. Her shoulders were hunched up and she had a far off look in her eye. Knowing that was a silent message that said 'Don't interrupt me, I'm busy', Adam averted his focus to the landscape around them.

The plains appeared to go half a mile in every direction, forests surrounding it on all sides. Tall grass, sunflowers, and flowers were scattered around in large clumps. The group was currently walking through a sea of tall grass, only being able to see about halfway up their torsos. Adam narrowed his eyes and looked across the landscape, trying to see the forest's edge through the light of the sun.

A faint sound of animals came from the far left. Raven whipped her head in that direction and waved to them. "I found it!" She turned and broke into a run, following the sound.

"Raven, hold on!" Mitch called, he and Jerome following after her. "Wait for us, for Pete's sake!"

Raven didn't turn around despite her friend's protests and she broke through the clearing. She stopped right outside the field and stared. There was a large cluster of sheep scattered around the meadow. A mother was walking by, a few lambs following her from behind making high pitched baas as they walked.

"COMING THROUGH!" Raven turned just in time to see the group running blindly through the grass. Right towards her…

"Wait, wait! Guys, st-"

WHAM!

The guys cried out as they all fell on the ground on top of each other. A few sheep nearby them glanced up and made confused glances at each other before continuing to graze.

"Okay, maybe we shouldn't have all run in the same direction at once…" Dan grumbled, lifting his hat out of his face. Jason groaned, lifting Mitch leg off of him and glanced at him.

"Yeah…"

"Wait, where's Raven?" Adam asked, noticing that their friend was nowhere in sight.

"Okay, you all have five seconds to get off me before I take this sword and SHOVE IT IN YOUR EYES!"

The guys all made eye contact and a moment later, they collectively scrambled off of each other. Raven was sprawled out on her back, the wind knocked out of her. She glared at all of them before sitting up, groaning. She gagged and pulled some brown fur out of her mouth, turning to Jerome murderously. The bacca took a step back fearfully, holding up his hands in a surrendering motion.

She got up and brushed off her sleeve. "Okay, from now on, don't run in a freaking line." She turned and gestured to the giant herd. "Alright, kids. Welcome to Animal Daycare."

Raven turned back to them. "We're looking for a male sheep. About the size of a baby wearing a red collar. Brown and normally-aligned eyes, has a tendency to make sarcastic comments. Got it?"

"Got it!" The group replied. She nodded and ran off to the herd.

"Let's go find ourselves a talking sheep!"

30 minutes later…

"Sheep? Sheep…" Mitch called, his voice sore from calling for so long, walking through the herd. Jerome took a few more steps before sighing.

"Buddy, I think we just have the worst eyesight in the world."

"We have to keep looking, Biggums, even if it takes the whole day. Sheep means more to Raven than you'd think."

"Well, I got that, but I can't help but feel like it something else. How close are they, like, really?." Jerome replied, sitting down on the grass beside Mitch. The Canadian rolled his eyes at the bacca's move and crossed his arms.

"They're relationship isn't just the friendship of a pet and its owner, Raven was the one who found Sheep when he was thrown out as a 'Failed Experiment'." Mitch explained. Jerome's eyes widened at that.

"She found him?"

"Yeah. The poor guy was practically dead, you could see his ribs and he was as pale as snow. Well, more than he already is, I mean…"

"I didn't know that..."

"Well, Raven only told me, so that's probably why. Anyways, she took him in and the two found Lapin together. He took them both in after that and the three of them are all now a happy, slightly weird family."

"Who is Lapin, exactly, Mitch?" Jerome asked, not noticing a small baby make its way over to him.

Mitch paused, rubbing the back of his head. "Um, it's actually a little hard to explain. So, Lapin's father, Arthur, was neighbors with Raven's parents before the village got burned down. Lapin had never met Raven's parents, since he was in another town and never really visited."

"Why was he away from his dad?"

"He went to school to study brewing and redstone machinery. He didn't know that Raven was his father's neighbor's daughter until she had brought it up."

"That's a little weird if you think about it, though." Jerome commented. "I mean, you're adopted by the son of your neighbor, I mean, that would things a little awkward, wouldn't it?"

"Surprisingly, no." Mitch replied. "You'd think it would, but since the two never knew about each other's existence there wasn't any pre-impressions of each other. So, they were basically strangers when they met. One year later and Raven's last name was legally changed to Lazuli."

"I heard Raven mention something about Lapin being a little, um, 'off'. Is he… alright up here?" Jerome pointed to his head and Mitch chuckled.

"Yeah, he's fine. A little hyper and obsessive, sure, but he's not mentally imbalanced. He just sometimes gives off that vibe. Well, and the fact that he tends to stare intently quite a bit would set a few people off."

"Staring intently?" Jerome questioned. Mitch started to reply but stopped and snorted as he noticed the area Jerome sat in. The bacca looked down and noticed half a dozen lambs crowded around him, looking up at him.

"What, never seen a bacca before?" Jerome asked. One of the sheep moved forward and felt Jerome's hand that was rested on the ground. It baaed and nuzzled it happily. The others followed its lead and made a nest around him.

"Hey, what's the big idea? Get off, I'm not your mom!" Jerome complained, trying to brush the lambs off of him. Mitch watched amused as a few more sheep noticed and started making their way over.

"Mitch, help me! I'm being smothered by tiny, white beings of death!" Jerome cried, waving his arms as more lambs snuggled around him.

Mitch moved forward to help him before he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and froze, turning pale. "Um, Jerome…"

"What?"

"I think our break's over…"

Jerome followed Mitch's gaze and paled as he saw dozens of sheep, some lambs and some adults, making their way towards the duo. The bacca and Benja shared a look of fear.

"Oh sh-"

"AAAAHHHH!"

Raven and Dan perked up and turned just in time to see Mitch and Jerome frantically running past them. Raven looked in the direction they came from and gasped, seeing practically half the herd chasing after them. Dan noticed that she was standing directly in front of the oncoming highway of death and just had enough time to reach out and pull her out of the way.

The two backed up as the herd ran past them, baaing loudly as the Benja and bacca screamed fearfully up ahead.

"What the Nether did those two do?!" Raven cried out, watching as the duo ran to the nearest tree and climbed up it, barely making a safe distance up before the mob of sheep reached the tree's base.

"I have no idea…" Dan murmured, confused to how the two could have possibly made things this chaotic.

Raven sighed and waved Dan over. "C'mon, let's go get the others and save the Dumbtastic Duo." Dan laughed and followed her lead as they went away from the tree and towards the area Adam and Jason had gone off in.

Mitch and Jerome were grasping the tree's branches, looking down as the sheep crowded around the tree looking up at them.

"I never thought I'd be afraid of the Minecraft sheep." Jerome remarked, sharing a look with Mitch. The Benja nodded in agreement.

"Alright, alright! Move it, folks, these two aren't up for show and tell!"

Mitch and Jerome gasped and looked down, watching as something obscured from view pushed the sheep away, making a small path towards them.

"These two nimrods are mine, you hear? Now, move it!" A small, white sheep, wearing a red collar, snapped, moving until he was directly under the tree. The herd made surprised looks and hesitantly started moving away from the tree and dispersing.

"Yeah, that's right, beat it! You too, junior, come on, move it. That's it, go." Sheep ordered, nudging a lamb back towards its mother before turning and looking up at the Benja and bacca. "Now, what in the Nether are you two doing up there?"

Mitch and Jerome blinked before climbing down and standing beside Sheep. "Sheep, where the balls were you?! We searched the entire herd for you!"

Sheep shrugged. "I dunno, I'm just hard to find sometimes." He raised an eyebrow and glared. "What, you joking about my size?"

"No! No, no, no!" Mitch exclaimed, waving his hands, making Jerome stare at his friend confused. The Benja turned and whispered to him. "Note to remember; Never joke about Sheep's height. The dude could bite your finger off if he wanted to."

"SHEEP!"

The three turned and saw Raven running towards them, the others following behind her. Sheep blinked before smiling.

"Oh, hey Raven. What's u-OOF!" He got cut off as Raven scooped him up into her arms and embraced him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh my Notch, I was so worried about you!" She exclaimed, smiling happily. Sheep gasped and lifted a leg out from behind her arm, whacking it frantically. Raven looked down and loosened her grip. Sheep's head poked out, gasping for breath. He looked up at her.

"For Notch's sake, Raven, don't do that!" The two stared at each other blankly before breaking into chuckles and embracing each other. Raven patted his head.

"Glad you remembered the rules, buddy."

Raven reached into her satchel and pulled out a leash. She locked it around Sheep's collar and set him on the ground beside her. He glanced down at the leash and looked up at her, raising a brow.

"A leash? Really?" Raven shrugged and gently tugged on it.

"You know that I know that you get a little excited when you're outside. I'm not losing you again."

Sheep sighed. "You run out of sight once and you never hear the end of it."

Raven crossed her arms and glared down at the mob. "You're the one who ran into Hostile Woods and nearly killed both you and me."

"That apple tree looked so irresistible!" Sheep exclaimed, throwing up his forelegs. Raven rolled her eyes and tugged on the leash, leading Sheep towards the forest on the far side of the meadow.

"C'mon, brainiac, let's go get William and get to Lapin's. The sun's gonna set in only a few hours."

The sheep reluctantly followed her, gesturing for the guys to follow them. The group made their way through the crowd of sheep and into the opening facing the approaching woods. As they got closer, a gray stallion came into view. Raven broke into a smile and whistled. The stallion perked up and trotted over to the group, neighing.

Raven patted William's head and gave the stallion a warm smile. "Hey, buddy. Nice to see you both are okay." The horse whinnied and motioned towards the woods with his head. Raven nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, we're heading to Lapin's." William turned and started trotting towards the woods, Raven holding onto his reins with one hand and Sheep's leash in the other. Dan caught up and held the map up so she could see it, the brunette thanking him gratefully.

Mitch shoved his hands into his hoodie's pockets and walked alongside Jerome, following behind Jason and Adam. The group approached the loaming spruce forest, the guys suddenly felt a mixture of cautiousness and comfort.

The tall, dark brown trees towered over them almost threateningly, it's lush green leaves contradicting its feeling of darkness completely. A coarse dirt pathway weaved its way in between the trees a little ways ahead of them. The path looked worn with wagon marks and footsteps, some normal like Raven's while some had some abnormal shapes about them. Some were extremely thin while some came in groups of eight.

As Raven led the group onto the path, a feeling of comfort came through the group. The guys jumped as a thin mist, like the kind from rain, appeared seemingly from nowhere and covered the air around them about thirty feet in any direction. The air smelled like pine and fresh rain, the air feeling moist and heavy with water.

"Is it always like this is here?" Adam asked, looking up and noticing the blue sky from the meadow had been consumed by light gray clouds shrouding the light from view.

Raven nodded, gesturing to the woods. "Yeah, these woods are known to have the largest amount of rainfall than anywhere else in the world. Some say that even the Obsidian Cliffs don't even get this much rain."

"Obsidian Cliffs?" Jason repeated, looking at Raven curiously.

"Yeah. The cliffs are right along the border of the volcano by the eastern edge-"

"YOU GUYS HAVE A VOLCANO?!" Jerome cried out. "A FREAKING VOLCANO?!"

"Relax, Jerome, it's been inactive for nearly a century." Raven replied, biting back a laugh.

The bacca visibly relaxed and sighed. "Thank God, I was gonna have a freaking heart attack if you said it was still active."

"Well, yeah, the valley's volcano is inactive, for sure, but not the one about a biome over." Sheep replied nonchalantly. "That one is still very active. Lapin said that he expected it to erupt any day now."

"Sheep!" Raven scolded, glaring down at her pet. "Quit giving the poor guy a heart attack!" She looked up and frowned sympathetically at Jerome's horrified expression. "Jerome, he was kidding. The only volcano in this land is inactive and is nearly on the opposite side of the world."

Jerome let out a loud sigh, dragging his furred hands over his face. His hands dropped to his sides and he shot Sheep a look that was nothing short of a death glare. Sheep only grinned evilly and shrugged.

"What? You guys are brand new to this, when else would I get an opportunity to scare you like that?"

Sheep cried out in pain as Raven flicked his head harshly. She glared down at him and crossed her arms, silently ordering him to apologize. He glared back before breaking under her angry gaze and sighing. "I'm sorry, Jerome."

"Say it like you mean it!" Raven barked, her gaze changing from anger to annoyance. Sheep shot her a look before rolling his eyes.

"Fine. I'm. Sorry. Ok? I was just joking around, I didn't mean to scare you that badly." He looked up at her. "There, I was completely honest. Happy?"

"Very." Raven replied, dropping the angry look almost immediately and smiling back at Jerome, winking.

Adam and the others, who had watched the whole scene, silently leaned towards Jason whispered. "Dude, she's scary when she's mad." Jason smiled and watched as Raven gently tugged on Sheep's leash, encouraging him to catch up.

"Yeah, she really is…" The astronaut replied.

Adam's eyebrows rose at Jason's admiring tone in his voice and glanced at his best friend, noticing the gaze he was giving Raven. The gold-lover's eyes flickered between Jason and Raven before his mouth turned into a sly grin. "I know that look..."

"What?" Jason asked, snapping out of his gaze and looking away, his now-red cheeks thankfully hidden by his helmet's orange tint.

"Nothing." Adam quickly replied, looking away and tightening his gloves.

Jason stared before turning back to the road, walking alongside his best friend. It was long before the astronaut's blue eyes slowly moved back to Raven, walking just ahead of them. He smiled shyly and rubbed his arm, glancing back at his taller friend next to him. Adam was walking next to him, looking at the woods they were passing by and not paying attention to him.

Jason glanced back at Raven and his friends before smiling with content. You know, I think us being transported here isn't such a bad thing after all. He thought, not knowing far away, in another realm of the world, a tall man was watching the scene intently, observing as six green dots with the group's names above them moved across the wood's path. He smiled warmly and turned away from the bird's eye view map of the group that lay before him.

"Glad you think so, Jason." He spoke before a beam of light came down and enveloped him. Moments later, the light faded and the man had completely disappeared without a trace.

Somewhere across the large map, in the darker section tinted with red, labeled with the words "NETHER" a small sound was heard. Around the multiple dark black dots that moved around it, a small, faded green dot blinked tiredly. It flickered for a moment before returning to its previous state, its glow only slightly brighter than before. The words above it brightened a little, its pure white letters being the center of attention in the entire section of the map.

"STEVE"

Wow, what a boatload of info, holy snot! So, a lot has happened in this chapter. Some funny, some drama, and some at the end that has A LOT of importance. If you think that person will be introduced relatively quickly, I can confidently say no, that person will not be back for quite a while. Maybe once or twice, but you'll finally see them at the end of the book. Speaking of, I don't know if you guys are aware, but this story is long. I don't mean like 20 chapters, I mean like 40, 50, maybe 60 chapters long, with like 100,000 words. It's a long-ass story. With that being said, I'm giving you all a big round of applause for sticking with it this far. Granted, it's not insanely far, but if you're here that means you stuck with it for at least this long, which means a lot to me. You guys are amazing and I love you all! Kisses for everybody! *throws Hershey Kisses*

Oh, and this is the last chapter I've had to completely rewrite. You know what that means? It means you guys will get like ten new chapters at a way faster pace than before! Yay for more storyline! Expect one or maybe two chapters a week for the next few weeks. The story is just getting started, people!

If you like the story, follow or favorite it so you can stay up to date with it and get an email every time I post a new chapter. Also, feel free to leave a review, I love hearing you guy's feedback, and if you see any grammar or spelling errors, feel free to tell me via PM. I know I'm decent at both of those things, but if you see an error that happened to go over my head feel free to tell me. That's all I gotta say, so until the next chapter:

Stay awesome! -Five