A/N: Usually I put my author's notes at the end of the chapter, but I just wanted to thank each and every one of you for helping me get 1,000+ views on this story as of last chapter. It means a lot to me, and I just wanted you all to know how much I appreciate it. Thank you. ;)

Book 1: The Mob Invasion
Chapter 10: Recollections

Days Since the Mob Invasion: 749

The Capitol City.

Originally built by the first settlers of Minecraftia hundreds of years ago, the Capitol has gone through many changes since its first construction. As various warlords and barons fought and died over ownership of the city during the turbulent years of the Baron Wars, each leader added a piece of his own culture and society to the growth of the city. The paved roadways and sewer systems were added by the Baron of the Edgelands during his occupation, the King's Castle was constructed by the King of Monteian over a hundred years ago, the Councilors' Chambers and the Capitol University were added by Grand Chancellor Rodrik of Ravenscroft after taking the city from Monteian, and then finally the city's giant, stone walls were built under the rule Emperor Notch when he took the Capitol City and used it as the center of his expanding empire. This resulted in the Capitol being a very multicultural city, both in construction as well as society, and it became the first true melting pot of diversity in Minecraftia with over 100,000 residents living within the city walls during its peak years.

Looking at it now, though, Zoe felt an intense state of melancholy as she peered over the countryside at the city's current state. The Capitol City was the first to fall the night of the mob-invasion. Only a few hundred survivors made it out, most of them being Imperial military. The rest were either eaten alive by the mobs, trampled to death in the confusion, or burned to death from the city-wide wildfire that spread during the mobs' attack. Zoe shuddered as she remembered the name that a few Capitol survivors had given the city after they escaped.

The Scorched City.

Zoe looked over at Rinoa who hadn't taken her eyes off of the city since they first saw it on the horizon. They were a couple of miles away from it now, but even at that distance the city walls and castle were still easily viewable. Rinoa could see the black char marks from the fire along the walls. If she looked hard enough, she could see little specks moving around outside of the city in a small horde. Zombies. The sight of a city that used to fill her with a sense of safety as a child now filled her with dread as she looked at the empty shell of her childhood home. The streets that were once filled with merchants, street performers, fellow students, and happy citizens were now filled with burnt bodies and mobs. The longer Rinoa stared, the bigger the knot in her stomach got.

"Does, uh, this bring back any memories for you, Rin?" Zoe asked in an attempt to strike up conversation as she noticed Rinoa's rather serious demeanor.

Silence was the only response.

Later that night, the two of them found themselves in an abandoned tobacco barn for shelter. The barn was big enough for them to bring their horse in with them, and the roof over their head was partially collapsed in on itself so they were able to build a fire in the middle of the barn's floor for warmth.

Zoe peered up from stoking the fire and noticed Rinoa staring deep into the flames. She hadn't said anything ever since they saw the Scorched City. In fact, since Rinoa and Zoe's argument the day before, they had barely spoken at all to each other. As they made their way closer and closer to their destination, the only noise they had to keep them company was the gentle thuds of their horse's footsteps during the day.

Rinoa lying about her past was more than enough reason to cause Zoe to be suspicious of who she was traveling with, and Zoe's clear lack of experience with mobs and the world post-mob invasion made it hard for Rinoa to relate to her or even get attached to her. As of right now, they were both hoping that they would soon find a settlement to drop Zoe off and let Rinoa carry on her way alone.

Finally, Zoe realized that enough was enough.

"Rin," she called out. Rinoa didn't respond. "Rinoa, please, just talk to me," she pressed, firmer this time.

"What's there to talk about?" Rinoa didn't even bother to lift her head up. Sitting curled into a ball with her knees tucked under her chin, she looked almost defeated. The spark of determination that was driving her forward to Hunter's Watch was gone. It was as if seeing the Capitol earlier that day had taken more out of her than she was willing to admit. Regardless, Zoe continued on.

"Look, I'm not going to pretend to understand what you've been through. I know that being able to live behind Monteian's walls has sort of... shielded me. I don't think I would have made it this far without you, but..." Zoe hesitated, unsure with how to delicately word this, "...Rin, you've killed someone. The witch accused you of it, and I thought she was just toying with us, but you didn't even try to deny it."

Rinoa sighed as she shook her head. "No point in denying something that's true."

"Still... Look, Rin, I'm thankful for you helping me out these past few days, I really am. But, if we're going to travel like this, I need to trust you. If you would just tell me what happened, maybe I could understand, or at least try." Even though she didn't necessarily trust Rinoa right now, Zoe still considered her a friend. She's the only person she had seen since Monteian fell, and overall she felt like Rinoa really was a good person. But... murder? There had to be some explanation. She wanted a chance to hear Rinoa's side of the story.

Rinoa thought over what Zoe said for a long time as she stared into the flames. For awhile, Zoe thought that that she was just giving her the silent treatment again, but finally Rinoa looked up into Zoe's eyes as the fireplace illuminated both of their faces in the dark.

"Alright then," Rinoa nodded reluctantly. "Let's start from the beginning."

Hours Since The Mob Invasion: 2

"We have to go back to get Mom and Dad!"

"The entire city's on fire, Lana! Keep running! Sofie, is your ankle still holding up?"

"I-I think so, Rin!"

"We have go back for Mom and Dad!" Lana repeated, nearly in hysterics as they sprinted away from the city.

"Keep running!" Rinoa firmly instructed.

They were about a mile out from the Capitol, but even from that distance the fires from the city lit up the night sky. Screams pierced the silence as the three sisters were forced to listen to their fellow citizens be burned alive within the city's walls. Along with the screams, small explosions could be heard going off, one right after the other. At first, Rinoa thought that it was TNT. That changed when she witnessed a mother and her two children who were fleeing from the city be blown to pieces by a pack of those horrible, green monsters.

"What the hell are these things?!" Rinoa screamed in clear shock as a mixture of tears and sweat streamed down her face.

She looked around them. They were in the vast countryside that surrounded the city. All around them she could see dark figures running, limping, or crawling. She wasn't sure which were the monsters and which were just people like them. At any rate, she wanted to stay far away from either of them right now.

Rinoa wasn't sure what this attack even was. An surprise-ambush by the Zombie pigmen? Impossible, Notch conquered them all years ago. An invasion from the Edgelands? No, the war was over, the Empire had won. And even then, the Edgelands couldn't possibly pull something like this off. Nobody could.

Dammit! Rinoa thought to herself. What the hell is going on?!

"Wait!" Lana pleaded as she stopped running for a second, nearly keeling over as she took long, exasperated breaths of night air into her lungs. "I can't... I need a minute," she let out in between gasps as sweat dripped down her forehead.

"We got to keep moving, Lana. Those things will kill us!" Rinoa interrupted. She was nearly out of breath too and her lungs felt like they were about to explode, but she knew that a few seconds of rest was a luxury none of them could afford right now.

"And what then, Rin?" a clearly frustrated Lana responded. "Should we just run until one of us passes out? And what about Sofie?! She was nearly trampled to death in there!" Lana was meaning to whisper, but the shock of everything that had transpired mixed with the adrenaline of fighting to stay alive resulted in her screaming at her nearby sister.

"I'm... I'm fine..." Sofie winced out in pain as she hobbled close behind them. Rinoa looked over at her younger sister and immediately knew that Sofie wasn't fine. She had clearly sprained or broke her ankle in the rush out of the city, and her head was busted open when she was trampled under the feet of frantic civilians trying to escape the city's fire and the monsters within. Her light-brown hair was now covered in blood which ran down her face and into her right eye, forcing her to keep it closed. It was a serious injury, but it was nothing compared to what would happen to them if they didn't get a move on. As much as Rinoa hated it, they couldn't stop for her.

"Here," Rinoa said as she bent down in front of Sofie. "Jump on my back. Wrap your arms around my neck and I'll hold your legs, okay?"

Sofie hesitated a bit, not sure about the plan. "I'll only slow you down..."

"Do it!" Rinoa commanded, fully aware that at any moment they could be surrounded by the monsters.

It took Sofie another second to comply, but eventually she hopped onto Rinoa's back. Rinoa wasn't sure if Sofie was lighter than she thought she was, or if the survival instinct was pushing her body to its limits, but Rinoa was able to stand up with moderate ease as she walked over to Lana.

"Ready now?" Rinoa asked as Lana appeared to have regained her breath. Lana nodded, realizing Rinoa's plan.

"Ready. We'll carry Sofie in shifts. When you get tired, just let me know, okay?" Lana smiled wearily.

"Enough talking, let's move!" Rinoa responded as she noticed a group of monsters heading their way. They bolted in the other direction as Rinoa followed Lana, and Sofie firmly attached herself to Rinoa's back.

Rinoa felt Sofie as she rested her head against her shoulder.

"Thank you, Rin..." she whispered.

In that instant, Rinoa was filled with newfound resolution as her legs began running even faster away from the city.

"I'll always protect you, Sofie," Rinoa whispered back. "I promise."

We were able to make our way to a Imperial refugee camp outside of the Edgelands. Sofie got medical treatment for her leg and head, but I knew we weren't safe there. With how close we were to the Capitol, I knew the mobs would be on top of us in a matter of days. Lana, Sofie, and I left to head South the first chance we got. We stopped at several refugee camps along the way, restocking on food and supplies, but we never stayed long. The mob horde was always right behind us. We kept going south until we couldn't go south anymore.

That's when we made it to Spawn Pointe.

Days Since the Mob Invasion: 213

Walking down the streets of Spawn Pointe, Rinoa was grinning ear to ear. A polished iron hatchet in one hand, and a coin purse full of gold in the other gave Rinoa plenty of reason to be happy today. Spawn Pointe residents took one look at her and immediately turned their head and quickly moved out of her way.

"Perks of the job, I guess," Rinoa chuckled to herself as she saw a small group of guards who were marching down the street immediately split down the middle to allow her to pass. "Evening, gentlemen," Rinoa gave a curt nod and a mischievous smile. The guards looked to the ground and didn't say anything in return as they passed her.

Truthfully, she kind of liked it. Ever since she joined the Redstone Ocelots, she had been making very good money and people treated her with respect. Or maybe that was fear? Which, as far as Rinoa was concerned, fear was just as good as respect in this day and age. She wasn't just a measly refugee anymore, and she made more than enough gold to pay rent in the small shack that her, Sofie, and Lana were staying in.

Of course, as a Redstone Ocelot, Rinoa had access to the uniform: A sleeveless, black leather cuirass that exposed her midriff, and some skin-tight black leather pants and boots with red trimmings. The armour itself was rather impractical, and Rinoa always joked that the cuirass looked more like a tight, leather brassiere than anything else, but it was more for recognition and intimidation purposes than actual armour. The armour that the Redstone Ocelots wore on their actual missions was much more practical, if not a little less showy.

Walking up the stairs to her house, Rinoa used her key to open the door before walking in. The house itself wasn't anything to be particularly proud of. A single, one-room shack that was fairly cramped for three people. There was a small fireplace and chimney, a tiny table with three wooden chairs set around it, a kitchen counter so small it might as well just be a glorified coffee table, and three bedrolls positioned side to side in the corner of the room. Other than that, the creaky floorboards and thatch roof was all that was left of the home.

Rinoa shook her head. Ever since the mob invasion, prices became so inflated that the money that she was spending on this shack could have nearly paid for a damn mansion just a few months earlier. She wasn't complaining, though; it was a lot better than the refugee camps. Having to share a single tent and a bucket with two different families. It was hell. At least with this, they had privacy and a little bit of wiggle room.

"Guess who's home?" Rinoa called out, closing the door behind her. Lana was reading a book at the table, but looked up when she saw Rinoa enter.

"And where have you been?" Lana asked in an accusatory tone, snapping at Rinoa. Sofie, who was sitting at the fireplace, stood up and smiled at the sight of her sister.

"Hey, Rin," she greeted quietly. Rinoa smiled back at Sofie and nodded before sitting down at the table across from Lana.

Lana raised her brow, not amused with being ignored. "Well?" she asked again, hoping to get an explanation from her sister.

Rinoa smiled, allowing for a few seconds of dramatic suspense before she answered by throwing her coin purse onto the table in front of Lana.

Clink!

"Count 'em. Enough gold for this month and next month," Rinoa beamed proudly. Lana looked at her, slightly skeptical, but eventually gave in and opened the pouch. Her eyes widened as she saw the shiny gold coins staring back at her.

"Wow, Rinoa!" Sofie exclaimed, wide-eyed as she walked over to the table and picked up one of the coins. "Where did you get all this?!" Sofie was amazed. She had never seen so much gold before since the mob invasion.

"Hah, don't worry about it, sis," Rinoa chuckled. "What matters is that we're taken care of. Go ahead, take two for yourself. We can buy something when we go into the market tomorrow." Rinoa smiled as Sofie gratefully took two of the gold coins and put in her wallet.

"Thank you, Rin," she smiled as she hugged her sister.

"No problem, Sofie," Rinoa reassured as she returned her sister's hug. She looked over at Lana who had an oddly perturbed look on her face. "Haha! You can take some too, Lana, I didn't forget about you," Rinoa laughed at her sister.

Lana didn't respond but instead continued to stare at Rinoa, examining her face for her expressions. Eventually, Rinoa got a little uneasy at this and looked away.

"Hey, what gives?" she asked.

Lana sighed as she slowly retied the string around the coin purse before sliding it back over to Rinoa.

"Keep it."

"What? Why?" Rinoa asked.

"Because I don't want your damn blood money," Lana hissed as her face filled with anger. Rinoa, taken aback by this, wasn't sure what to say.

"What-...what do you mean?" she asked uncomfortably.

"What are you talking about, Lana?" Sofie asked, confused by Lana's apparent ungrateful attitude. Lana looked over at Sofie.

"While I was volunteering at the refugee camp today, I heard a rumor by one of the guards that one of their banks this morning had been robbed by the Redstone Ocelots. Two guards were killed in the heist." Turning back to Rinoa, Lana's eyes were shooting daggers at her sister. "Is that true?"

Composing herself, Rinoa sat up and spoke calmly, "Look, I already told you that I don't do that stuff. I just do small-time mercenary work and private security for them, nothing more." Rinoa's attempts to reassure her sister didn't seem to work as Lana shook her head, clearly not buying it.

"They used explosives, Sofie. TNT," Lana explained.

"TNT?!" Sofie exclaimed, as she looked over at Rinoa, clearly shocked. Rinoa sat there, looking down at her hands.

"That's right, Sofie," Lana continued as she stood up and leaned against the table with her hands. "And I only know one person in the entire city that knows how to make TNT and also just so happens to work with the Redstone Ocelots." Lana's eyes narrowed as she looked down at her younger sister. "Tell me the truth, Rinoa... Was it you?"

Rinoa avoided her sister's gaze as she stared at the coin purse on the table.

"Yes," she confessed. "I made the TNT... But I wasn't there when they robbed the bank!" Rinoa hastily explained as she looked back up at her sister. "I just supplied the stuff, honest!"

"Rinoa..." Sofie's face dropped and her shoulders slouched. She was clearly hurt by this news.

"You think it fucking matters, Rinoa?! So what if you 'just supplied' it?" Lana scoffed, clearly disgusted from Rinoa's answer. "These people are griefers, Rin! Terrorists! Two people died today because of them!" Lana couldn't believe how stupid her sister was being. She knew that the Redstone Ocelots were a bad crowd, and she held her tongue as long as Rinoa was only doing small security work for them, but this was taking things too far. "You need to quit. Immediately," she demanded.

"What?!" Rinoa jumped, starting to get angry herself. "The Redstone Ocelots are the only reason we have a roof over our head right now. Do you really want to go back to the refugee camp?" Rinoa also stood up from the table as her and Lana were now eye level with each other with only the table separating them.

"What I want is my sister back, Rinoa," Lana argued.

"Well I don't see you doing anything to help! All you do is volunteer at the refugee camp all day for copper bits and spare food. One of us has to make the gold and pay the rent around here, Lana!" Rinoa yelled as her face started to turn red from anger.

"I don't do anything to help?" Lana mocked. "Rin, I help people all day. Why don't you think about others for a change?! You and your friends are nothing but fucking murderers!"

Murderers.

The word bounced around in Rinoa's head as she opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out. She looked over at Sofie who appeared frightened by the sight of her two big sisters fighting. Rinoa sighed, as her muscles began to ease. She looked back over at Lana scornfully.

"I'm going out," she simply said as she turned tail to leave. Walking out the door, she could hear Sofie call out to her.

"Rin, wait!"

"Let her go, Sofie," Lana responded, annoyed. "This isn't over, Rin!"

Slam!

Rinoa knew she should probably be more careful slamming the door seeing as it already looked like it was about to rot off of its hinges, but she didn't care. It made her feel better, albeit slightly. She let out an angry groan as she began walking.

Behind their house, there was a large, stone terrace built on top of a hill that was originally going to be used as the platform for a new watchtower for the Imperial Garrison. After the mob invasion, the plans for the watchtower were put aside. However, it just so happened to be Rinoa's favorite place to go and collect her thoughts.

Climbing up the stairs of the terrace, Rinoa felt relief when she finally reached the top. Looking out over the city, she could see for miles on top of the hill. Almost every part of the stone city was in her sights. Spawn Pointe was large. Not as large as the Capitol, but large nonetheless. She could see the market, the refugee camp, the southernmost stone wall, the dockyard full to the brim with boats, and perhaps her favorite view, the ocean. She grinned, watching the sunset reflect off the waves of the water. With a view that beautiful, it was easy to sometimes forget that there even was zombies or creepers or mobs in this world. How could such evil exist in a world with such beauty at the same time? She sat down as she watched the sun slowly descend into the water. Finally, after about an hour, the sun was completely set below the horizon of the ocean, and darkness soon began to take its place.

"I thought I would find you up here." A soft voice interrupted Rinoa's train of thought as she jerked back into attention. She looked over to see Sofie climbing up the stairs of the terrace. Rinoa eased up, thankful that it wasn't anybody else.

"Hey, Sofie," Rinoa greeted. "You didn't have to come up here, you know. I mean, it's dark and I was just about to leave anyway."

"I know," Sofie nodded. "But I wanted to talk to you," she smiled as she sat down next to Rinoa.

Rinoa shrugged, "Alright. Suit yourself."

For awhile there was silence, then Sofie finally spoke up.

"She cares, you know. She wouldn't get so angry otherwise." Sofie hated seeing her sisters fight, and whenever they did (which was often,) she liked to act as the mediator between them. She felt like it was her duty as the youngest, but she didn't mind.

Rinoa shook her head, "I just wish... I just wish she showed a little bit of appreciation. Or understanding at least." Rinoa rubbed her brow, unhappy with the way things turned out today.

"I know," Sofie said as she placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "I know," she reassured.

"The bank robbery was a botched job, but that's not my fault. It was supposed to be easy money, nobody was supposed to get hurt. Then two of the new guys got jumpy and ended up killing two of the guards," Rinoa explained the situation as best she could to her younger sister. Even though Rinoa wasn't there during the robbery, her boss had relayed the news to her when she got her cut of the pay.

"Don't you feel, I dunno, sort of guilty or anything?" Sofie asked. Unlike Lana, she didn't sound like she was accusing Rinoa of anything, but instead genuinely curious and concerned. Rinoa thought that it was refreshing.

Thinking for a moment before answering, Rinoa stared at her sister for awhile. Finally, she stood up and stepped close to the edge of the terrace as she looked over the city. The city was even more beautiful at night than during the day. Looking at the moon's reflection on the ocean in the distance, she finally answered.

"Remember when we first got here? How we had to stay at the refugee camp?" she quietly asked. Sofie thought for a second, then nodded. She remembered. "One day," Rinoa continued, "I was coming back through the market with our rations for the day, and I saw a young girl standing in an alleyway, no older than you." She let out a long breath before she continued. "She was-... she was offering to sleep with anyone that she saw. Didn't matter if they were a man or woman. She didn't want money for it... she just wanted food. She had a hurt leg, so she was always pushed aside at the ration line. She was starving," Rinoa choked back tears, becoming emotional as she recalled the memory.

Sofie, now standing, rubbed her sister's back as she retold the story. "What happened?" she asked.

"I-I wanted to give her some food, but I showed up late to the ration line that day, so I only had two rations, one for you and Lana," Rinoa admitted, calming herself down with deep breaths. "The next day, I showed up early to the ration line. I fought and clawed and bit my way to the front of the line, and I was able to snatch four rations. I immediately ran back to the market to find her again... but she wasn't there. I never saw her again. I don't know what happened to her."

"Rin... I'm so sorry, but you need to understand that's not your fault," Sofie said as she pulled her sister in close for a hug, which Rinoa happily embraced.

"I found the Redstone Ocelots' recruiter the next day," Rinoa said, burying her face into Sofie's shoulder, not wanting to let go from the hug. "I knew they were dangerous, but it didn't matter. I never wanted you or Lana to ever be in the same position that girl was to survive. That's why I did it... that's why I do it." With her hands on Sofie's shoulders, Rinoa pulled back enough for her to look in her sister's eyes. "I'll never feel guilty for keeping you and Lana safe, Sofie. No matter what."

Sofie smiled warmly at her sister, seemingly appreciative, but Rinoa could see there was something else she wanted to say.

"What if there was another way?" Sofie asked.

Rinoa cocked her head to the side, confused. "What do you mean?"

Sofie reached into the pouch attached to her belt and pulled out a handful of silver coins.

"I, uh, went to the market yesterday while you and Lana were at the ration line," Sofie explained as Rinoa looked at the money in her hand, dumbfounded.

"Sofie, where did you get that?" Rinoa asked, slightly concerned. Sofie and Lana were both volunteers at the refugee camp, so their pay was nominal at best and nonexistent at worst.

"Herbalism," Sofie cheerfully responded. "I used the spare change I got working in the refugee camp to buy some plants, and I used a mortar and pestle to make them into some herblore potions. I went to the market and sold them," Sofie explained. She could see a hundred different questions running through Rinoa's head. It made her laugh.

"Herbalism? How do you know herbalism, I thought you were studying alchemy? And aren't alchemy potions better than herblore potions? Why didn't you tell me?" Rinoa's tirade of questions came out seemingly all at once.

"Hey, I may be an alchemist, but that doesn't mean I didn't have a few herbalism courses at the university as well," Sofie winked. "And yes, alchemy potions might be more effective, but they're also more expensive, which nobody can afford nowadays. Besides, where would I even find a blaze rod to make a brewing stand?" She slipped the coins back into her pouch. "Thing is, Rin, even though I was selling the potions at a price that barely turned a profit, there's still so many people out there that need medicine that I sold out in less than an hour. I'm pretty sure I could buy more next time, and more stock means more coin for us," she explained. "Aaaaand, I didn't tell you because I knew you'd try to stop me," Sofie grinned mischievously as she finished.

"You can't go to the market's by yourself though, Sofie," Rinoa half-explained, half-scolded. "It's dangerous."

"I know, I know... which leads me to my proposal," Sofie grabbed Rinoa's hands in hers and looked into her sister's eyes hopefully. "Leave the Redstone Ocelots and come with me during the day to the markets. You can be my bodyguard. I know we won't be making as much money as you do with the Ocelots, but we'd have enough to be comfortable. We'll be able to pay the rent and eat every day, and isn't that enough?" Sofie pleaded, searching Rinoa's face for an answer. "Isn't it?"

Rinoa could barely believe what she was hearing. She knew Sofie was smart, but she never seemed the like type to take the initiative like this. It's true that money she made in just one hour of selling those potions wasn't anything to shake a stick at. Still, Rinoa had her doubts.

"I don't know, Sofie... do you really think this would work?" she asked. Sofie just smiled at her and nodded her head.

"I know it will," she responded. "I promise."

So, I left the Redstone Ocelots the next day. They didn't try to stop me, they already had my formula for making TNT, and as far as they were concerned I was just one less person that they had to share their cuts of loot with. Still, they did let me keep the uniform, which came in handy as Sofie's bodyguard in the market. It made sure no assholes tried to give Sofie a raw deal, what with me being her former Redstone Ocelots sister and all, heheh... And for awhile, things were going well... Until the rations ran out. Turns out there was a whole conspiracy of Spawn Pointe government officials hoarding food for themselves while they let the rations for their citizens and refugees dwindle to the point of starvation. And once the food was gone, people went berserk. Mass riots and hysteria filled the streets. Luckily, I still had a few friends in the Redstone Ocelots, and they were able to smuggle me, Sofie, and Lana out of the city during the rioting... for a reasonable price, of course. Not that the money was much use for us out of the city anyway. I found out that the city walls fell about two weeks later, not from the mobs outside, but from the rioting inside as people tried to escape. Ironic, huh, Zoe?

Eventually, we made it to a little town by Lake Calamari called Hunter's Watch. They seemed like good people. I thought they were good people. Things were going great there... Then one day Sofie shows up on the other side of the wall... dead. They said that she was gathering alchemy supplies and she got ambushed by some mobs, but I wasn't buying it. She would have told me, she always told me. There was too much suspicious behavior by her boyfriend, William. He did it. I just knew he did... There was something in my gut, an instinct. I can't explain it, but it was there... One night he was on patrol by himself... I couldn't stop myself from what happened next...

Days Since the Mob Invasion: 734

Thwack!

A large chunk of William's neck was slashed out by the blow. The cut was deep enough to tear through his windpipe as well as his veins, and he fell over to the ground as blood started pouring out of his neck. His eyes opened wide as he looked up at Rinoa in horror at his impending death.

Rinoa stared back into his eyes completely uncaring. She pulled him by the hair as she positioned his head to hang over the side of the wall. This way, the blood would drip from his neck to the ground below on the other side and it wouldn't stain the wood. She took her hatchet and wiped the blood off on William's clothes. There would be no evidence that he was murdered. This was just an accident. She watched as the life in his face slowly faded, and his eyelids softly closed. He was dead.

They were on top of the wall overlooking the gate. Usually, Daren had the night shifts, but he had come down with a case of the flu this week, but he didn't want to waste a potion of health on it, so William was forced to take his place. Convenient for Rinoa, but very inconvenient for William.

Rinoa showed no signs of emotion as she kicked William's body over the edge of the gate. A nice group of zombies had shown up on the other side of the gate, and Rinoa watched on as they greedily tore William's lifeless body apart during their feast. Having seen enough, Rinoa turned to go, but stopped almost as if she forgot something. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out a flat, pocket-sized bottle of whiskey. She poured half of it out on the ground, took a swig of it herself, then left the rest of the bottle opened next to the seat that William was previously sitting in while on guard duty.

You always were a bit of a drunk, Rinoa thought to herself as she took one last look at William's corpse being devoured under the moonlight. Goodbye, William.

Calmly walking down the steps, Rinoa quietly walked through Hunter's Watch as if nothing had happened. She didn't bother trying to hide herself even though she knew if she got caught it would be found out that she killed William. But she also knew that everybody else was asleep this late at night. The only people that had been awake were her and William...

Now it was just her.

Eventually, she made it to Lana's house and quietly knocked on the door. No answer. She waited a few seconds before knocking again, slightly louder this time. She heard movement coming from within, and after awhile the door cracked open.

"Yeah...?" Lana asked sleepily as she peered through the crack in the door, still wearing her nightgown. Seeing that it was Rinoa, she quickly opened it all the way. "Rinoa? What's wrong?" she yawned, still half asleep.

"Let me in and be quiet," Rinoa whispered in a monotonous voice that Lana wasn't used to. Lana furrowed her brow at this, clearly confused, but she still complied as she stepped over to the side to allow Rinoa to walk through the door.

"Thank you," Rinoa said as she sat down in one of Lana's chairs in the living room. There was a dim light coming in from the windows due to the moon, but other than that they were in complete darkness. Lana closed the door behind them and sat down in a chair directly in front of Rinoa, curious as to what the late-night meeting was really about.

"What's going on, Rinoa? Why do I have to keep quiet?" Lana figured it was a reasonable question. Rinoa did interrupt the few hours of sleep she was able to get, after all, so an explanation would be appreciated.

"I killed William."

The answer was so blunt and straightforward even Rinoa was slightly surprised by herself for giving it. Lana recoiled at this, taken aback by Rinoa's apparent sense of dark humour.

"Heh, w-what? That's not very funny, Rin."

"I'm not joking. I killed William." Rinoa, once again, spoke calmly and bluntly. That's when Lana slowly started to realize that Rinoa was telling the truth. In complete shock, she opened her mouth to say something, but only one word could come to mind.

"Why?" she shakily asked.

Rinoa then explained what she did and how she did it. Catching William off guard, making sure none of his blood was spilled on top of the gate, letting the zombies have his body, the whiskey bottle to make it look like he got drunk and fell over the side. She explained everything.

"He killed Sofie, Lana," Rinoa assured. "I'm positive he did. Her neck was snapped, mobs don't do that. He was acting way too suspicious." Even in the cover of darkness, Rinoa could tell that Lana was crying from her rapid breathing.

"I... I don't even know who you are anymore," Lana confessed in a hushed whisper as tears freely streamed down her face.

"If you tell Frederick or the others, they'll kill me. Are you going to tell them?" Rinoa simply asked. She was prepared for either answer.

"Don't you dare put this on me, Rinoa, this was your own doing!" Lana shouted, maddened by Rinoa's audacity.

"Are you going to tell them or not?" Rinoa repeated her question, clearly not caring about Lana's feelings about the matter.

Lana didn't respond right away, still trying to wrap her head around the situation. Finally, she looked at Rinoa's face illuminated in the moonlight as she seethed in anger.

"I won't tell them for the time being," she answered, furiously. "But you need to get the hell out of my house while I think about all this. Now." She stood up and pointed toward the door.

The answer came as a surprise to Rinoa who, frankly, had already resigned her fate to the worst. "You won't tell them?" she asked in disbelief as she stood up to leave.

"Out. Now!" Lana barked, pointing to the door. Rinoa obeyed as she walked over to the door and opened it to let herself out.

"Lana," she stopped the door from closing with her hand as she turned back to look at her sister. "You really won't tell them?" she asked, still confused. Lana seemed almost unwilling to believe that Rinoa would have the gall to press this after what she just told her, but as of right now she just wanted her gone.

"No, Rin," Lana responded indignantly as she looked through the doorway at her sister. "I promise."

Needless to say, she did end up telling somebody. One of our friends named Hunter. Which, if she was going to tell someone, he was probably the best person to go to. Frederick would have just gotten Zeke to kill me since William was his nephew, and Daren would have probably impaled me on the spot if she told him. So yeah, once Hunter found out about it, he decided to take matters into his own hands. A few days later, he's taking me on a trip to get supplies using a nether portal. We traveled in the Nether for three days. Once we popped out, he tells me that he's exiling me for William's murder and he tries to take my compass. I figured that while he's doing this, Lana is busy telling everyone in Hunter's Watch what happened while we were away. Hunter and I got into a bit of a scuffle, and I manage to snag his compass, but he escaped and closed the nether portal behind him, and I was left about a month away in the Overworld from Hunter's Watch with his compass to guide me and a few spare items in my bag. I started following the compass, and a couple of days later I met you.

Now

The fire was slowly starting to die down as Rinoa finished her story to Zoe who had listened to the entirety of it in complete silence.

"So, there you have it," Rinoa wrapped up. "That's it. All there is to know, from beginning to end. Couldn't tell you any more if I wanted to."

Zoe looked into the embers of the fire, clearly saddened by Rinoa's tale. She had been through so much... too much.

"You really worked for a group of griefers?" she asked.

Rinoa nodded. "I did."

"And William... I mean, you just killed him like that?"

Once again, Rinoa nodded. "I did." She was tired of trying to hide her past to Zoe. If Zoe truly did have a problem with it, she could walk out the door and leave. Not that Rinoa would blame her for it.

"That's... wow... I mean, I guess if what the witch said is true, he really did kill your sister and all, but man..." Zoe exhaled deeply, not entirely sure what to say.

Rinoa shrugged. "If I could do it all over again, I'm not sure how I would do things. But one thing's for certain: I would survive. That's the only thing that matters anymore."

Seeing things from Rinoa's point of view, Zoe nodded. "So Hunter's Watch is your revenge mission? A chance to get back at the people that covered up your sister's death and sided with her murderer?" Finally, Zoe felt like she was beginning to understand Rinoa. Listening to her story, everything about her personality; the paranoia, the aggressiveness, the slow-to-trust attitude that she had, it all began to make sense now.

"My sister was killed by William. And, from what the witch said, somebody else from Hunter's Watch was involved too. And honestly? I don't know who it could be," Rinoa brought the compass back out from her pocket as she stared at the line of redstone that was perpetually pointed in front of her toward the direction of Hunter's Watch. "But I will find out who did it, and I will get justice for Sofie's death. I promise you that."

Zoe nodded. That seemed a fair enough answer to her. Rinoa didn't appear to be the murdering type, but Zoe could understand how the loss of a sibling could affect someone like that. All things considered, Zoe actually thought Rinoa was justified. There isn't any jails or Imperial troops to make arrests now. If you want justice anymore, you have to take the matter into your own hands.

"So," Zoe slowly asked, "What exactly are you going to do when you get there? When you get to Hunter's Watch?" Zoe had a feeling she knew the answer, but she couldn't help but ask anyway.

Rinoa stared into the smoldering embers of the fireplace as they emitted a little bit of light to fill up the room. Her complexion glowered as she looked up into Zoe's face, her eyes determined and fiery as they reflected the light from the embers.

"Burn." Rinoa shook in anger as her words spewed out like venom. "I'm going to burn them all!"

Next Chapter: Unimaginable Loss

A/N: Almost one year ago, I had a dream/vision one night while I was sleeping. In that dream, I saw three people who I knew were sisters as they ran away from a burning city. I woke up that morning and thought that it was nothing more than just a weird dream. Days went by, but I couldn't get the image out of my head. Eventually, I started asking questions. "What are the sisters' names? Why is the city on fire? Where are they going? What will they do?" Before I knew it, I was building a small little story in my head around these girls. Eventually, I realized I couldn't keep this bottled up inside me anymore, and I knew I had to write a story about it. I decided to use Minecraft's universe because it left a lot of room for me to tell my own story, but it also gave me a solid foundation to build up on as well as elements and "rules" to use (E.G., alchemy, diamond weapons, redstone, and, of course, the mobs.) That, and I used to play Minecraft a lot back in 'da day, so I had some knowledge of it. And so after a month or two of brainstorming, I began writing for "One Step Closer."

I know flashback chapters aren't that popular (for good reasons,) but I honestly feel like this is the most important chapter that I've written. I feel like I've come around full-circle finally. I mean, I still got a long ways to go before the story is ever over, but right now? I feel very good. Thank you all once again for getting this story to 1,000+ views, and I look forward to hearing any feedback. Thanks again.