(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

(JESSE'S POV)

Jesse landed onto ground, Fred following him. The place they landed in was creepier than Jesse imagined. There were towers of obsidian surrounding them and the sky in the distance was nothing but purple.

"Whoa!" Jesse exclaimed.

Lukas appeared next.

"Oh, great. It just keeps getting better!" Lukas commented.

Olivia, Reuben, Petra and Gabriel appeared next to them, Axel was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Axel? He was right behind me?" Olivia questioned.

On cue, Axel appeared and landed on top of Lukas, again, knocking the amulet out of his hand.

"HA! See? I told you I'd pay you back." Axel said as Jesse picked up the amulet.

"Get off." Lukas struggled as he sat up. Immediately he began to cover his eyes.

"Oh, jeez." Lukas exclaimed. "Oh, man. Wh—I-I—Uh—"

"Are you hurt?" Jesse questioned, concerned by Lukas' reaction.

"What? No, I'm not crying, just—look!" Lukas pointed behind Jesse.

Taking a proper look around, Jesse saw that the place was filled with Endermen. So that's what Lukas was covering his eyes for.

"Hide." Jesse whispered, covering his eyes and running towards cover. The rest of the group did the same.

"So, what do we call that?" Lukas asked. "A 'herd' of Endermen? A 'flock' of Endermen? A swarm?"

"The proper collective noun for it is 'haunting' of Endermen." Fred answered.

"We might want to hold off on the grammar lessons until later." Olivia added. "Which way are we headed, Jesse?"

Jesse pulled the amulet out, the white light was glowing, but flickered off immediately.

"The amulet does not work in the End." Gabriel pointed out.

Lukas gave a sarcastic laugh.

"Great, whoo, man. So, we were trapped, and now we're lost. So, we go from, uh… a death machine, that almost drowns us, and we land here. In the End."

"At least we're alive." Jesse pointed out. "And well."

Petra covered her head in what seemed like a headache.

"Yeah." Lukas agreed.

"We just have to keep on truckin' till we get to Soren." Jesse continued.

"Face it Jesse, we might never find this guy." Lukas reasoned.

"There he is." Axel pointed towards a distant staircase which a ginger-haired figure was climbing. That must be Soren.

"Did that just happen? I can't believe that just happened." Lukas said, disbelievingly.

"Where is he going?" Jesse observed.

"Only one way to find out." Petra responded.

"We've gotta go." Jesse said quickly.

Fred, who had finally realized that they weren't on the surface anymore, and that Romeo's threat was non-existent here, decided to step up. He waved his hand and a pumpkin appeared on his head.

"I'll take the lead, grab my hand and I'll lead you over to the other side." Fred instructed.

Jesse and the others complied. After what seemed like hours, they finally managed to make it to the stairs that Soren was climbing.

"Nice one there, Fred." Petra complimented.

"Thanks." Fred replied. They passed the exit portal and began to climb the stairs, which was no easy feat. These stairs felt much more steeper than normal ones.

"I hope that someday, I'll love something as much as Soren seems to love stairs." Axel panted.

As they began to climb the second set, Jesse noticed that Petra and Gabriel were falling behind.

"Jesse, can you give me a sec?" Petra asked, catching her breath. Gabriel nodded in approval.

"Need a hand?" Jesse asked.

"No, no. We can manage, thanks." Petra responded. Jesse wasn't convinced.

"Really, I'm fine." Petra insisted. "I'm good, I'm good. We can keep moving."

They eventually made it up to the top of the stairs, which contained a ladder leading up to a trap door.

"So many stairs." Olivia complained.

Jesse saw the ladder.

"There's a ladder."

"It better not be a long one." Axel responded.

"Whatever this is... looks like that's the way in." Petra commented.

"After you, dude." Axel gestured toward the ladder.

"Here goes..." Jesse said before climbing the ladder. Reaching the top, Jesse pushed open a trap door before climbing up.

Jesse wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or not. The room that he had just entered seemed to be a faithful recreation of the overworld that they had just left.

"What do you see?" Lukas asked.

"Please don't say more stairs." Gabriel pleaded.

"I think I must be… seeing things." Jesse commented. Whatever this recreation was, it was very accurate. "It's like another world up here. A brand-new, totally unspoiled world."

Lukas came through.

"Ah, so bright." He complained, shielding his eyes. Olivia followed him in.

Fred, Petra, Gabriel, Reuben and Axel finally entered. Axel took two steps forward before catching his foot on something, sending him tumbling down the hill right on top of Lukas again. That was the fourth time he has done this.

"That's my body, Axel. My broken, battered body." Lukas said, not caring anymore.

Jesse took a close look at a tree.

"Hang on a second."

He moved to touch it and found out it was made from wool.

"What in the- it's made of wool!" Jesse commented. "The tree, the grass, it's all wool."

Lukas was not pleased. "You've been telling me, we've been resting all our hopes on this guy, and the whole time he's been building some TOTALLY ARTIFICIAL HAPPYLAND?!"

"Yeah, I have to admit. Soren was always a little off, especially with his obsession with Endermen. Seems all that time spent alone in isolation has just made him even more cuckoo." Fred agreed.

"We came here for nothing." Lukas angrily shouted, throwing a wool block down. "What are we even supposed to do now?"

"What's the matter with you? Why are you acting like this?" Jesse asked.

"Just look around, Jesse! If the greatest builder of all time has spent years working on 'this', what are the chances he's even gonna have that bomb, huh?" Lukas responded, irritated. "I've had enough crazy for one day!"

"What's his problem?" Petra asked. "He seems pretty upset."

"Just give him some space." Jesse instructed. "He'll be okay."

The group wandered off in their own directions. Looking up, Jesse saw a group of redstone lamps flicker off. Intrigued, he approached them.

"Noticed it too? Huh." Fred asked, startling him.

"Yeah. What do you make of this?" Jesse asked.

"Well, there is a button slightly off center below the lamps, and I don't see Soren anywhere, so I'm guessing that must be a secret door." Fred observed.

Jesse nodded. Approaching the button, he gave it a push. Nothing happened.

"It didn't so anything." Jesse stated.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Fred retorted. "If I were you, I'd see if I can find out how to get those Redstone lamps to light up again. Seems like they have something to do with it."

"Any idea what's eating Lukas?" Jesse asked.

"Well. We did come all this way just to find this little crazy wonderland instead of a Super-TNT. It wouldn't be a surprise if people got a little annoyed at that." Fred answered. "I would suggest talking to him."

Jesse nodded. Before talking to Lukas, however, he saw a lever on a fake tree near the redstone lamps. Flipping it, he saw that 9 of the lamps in the middle lit up.

"Cool!" Jesse commented.

"Seems that was triggered by a lever, have a look and see if you can find all of them." Fred instructed.

Jesse approached Lukas.

"What do you want?" He asked, bitterly.

"Fred seems pretty worried about you there." Jesse answered.

Lukas gave a frustrated sigh. "Listen, I know I've been prickly, okay? But... Jesse, I think something's wrong. With Gabriel and Petra. You have to have noticed. The lack of energy. The labored breathing."

"What, exactly are you saying, Lukas?" Jesse asked, playing dumb.

"There's something wrong! Okay? Something… big." Lukas answered. "It's not fooling anybody. At least not me."

"Look, Lukas. They're sick." Jesse admitted.

"How long have you known?" Lukas asked.

"A while, but they asked me and Fred not to say anything!" Jesse added. "The wither infected them with something."

"So... everything I was worried about - is true!" Lukas said, going wide-eyed. "This is my fault, Jesse!"

"Gabriel and Petra's wither sickness, it's because of me." Lukas continued, sitting down.

"So that's why you've been so angry? Because you feel... guilty?" Jesse asked.

"If I hadn't choked, you and Fred might've been able to pull them out of those tractor beams sooner." Lukas stated.

"For all we know, they didn't get sick until way after that!" Jesse said, attempting to erase Lukas' guilt.

"Maybe... you're right." Lukas conceded.

"If two of our best fighters are sick – do we even stand a chance anymore?" Lukas asked, wide-eyed. "Not like we haven't dealt with some grade-A problems before..."

"It just means you've gotta step up," Jesse answered, putting his hands on his hips. "more than you have been already. Okay?"

Lukas got up.

"Okay." He nodded. "I just kinda wish they would tell everybody. It would just make things, easier."

Jesse noticed that Lukas was standing in-front of a lever.

"I, uh, kinda need to get to that lever you're blocking." Jesse informed.

Lukas moved aside.

Jesse flipped the lever. The Redstone lamps on the right side of the middle set lit up, leaving only the ones on the left dark.

Looking around, he saw the third lever next to where Petra and Gabriel were standing. Approaching them, he gave them a nod before flipping it. The rest of the redstone lamps lit up.

"Seems like you've got this figured out, Jesse." Fred commented when Jesse approached him and the button.

Trying the button again, Jesse saw that this time, the wall in-front of them lowered, to reveal a room with fountains.

"Hey, everyone! I think I found Soren's way out!" Jesse announced.

"Way to go, Jesse!" Lukas commented.

"Nice sleuthing, Jesse. Sorry we weren't more help back there." Petra complimented. "When I think back to how I ran all over EnderCon looking for Ivor."

"I'm just happy you're with us." Jesse assured, not letting Petra finish.

They entered the secret passageway.

"We'll see what we can find in the rest of the house. I just hope we don't discover Soren as he's getting ready for bed... he always wore the most - revealing bathrobes!" Gabriel commented.

The place didn't seem like it had anything of interest, until Jesse approached Olivia and a door that sounded like it contained the source of the music that Jesse could hear.

"Let's see what's going on behind this door." Jesse suggested.

Olivia nodded.

Carefully stepping into the room, Jesse was startled by a new voice talking.

"And I call that one, Symphony in E. A new composition to celebrate my newest discovery!"

"That's him!" Olivia exclaimed.

"Soren!"

"This time, I observed one place a block on top of another block. Rudimentary, yes. But a sign of undeniable intelligence!" Soren's voice continued. It was coming from a jukebox.

"What the-?" Olivia commented, talking over Soren's voice.

"It's just a recording!" Jesse added.

"After all that! He's not even HERE?!" Olivia complained. "We came all this way and for what? We're no closer to Soren than before!"

"Well, this record didn't turn on by itself..." Jesse pointed out.

"Hmm. Good point. I guess he really likes the sound of his own voice, then." Olivia agreed.

"Maybe there's something useful on this record, if I can figure out what he's talking about." Jesse added.

"I've worked up a simple set of building instructions to 'inspire' them." Soren's voice continued. "I will disguise myself and hide among them in order to observe them more closely."

"Huh. 'Hide among them?' Hide among who?" Jesse asked, confused.

"Uh, Jesse? Do you think Soren is talking about… them?"

Olivia pointed outside. There were large bunch of Endermen standing there.

"Then again, everything else about this guy has been pointing to crazy." Olivia continued.

"I guess everybody needs hobbies. Even if they are really, really, REALLY dangerous." Jesse agreed. "You think he's actually training Endermen to build stuff?"

"I think HE thinks he's training Endermen to build stuff." Olivia stated.

"Let's look around." Jesse suggested. "See what we can find out."

Olivia nodded.

Jesse approached an armor stand that had a black costume on it and an empty taller armor stand. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to resemble the Endermen outside.

"Olivia! Check it out!"

"An Enderman… suit?" Olivia asked uncertainly. "Either Soren's got a very unique fashion sense, or-"

She paused upon realization. "Wait a second…"

"Looks like a taller one was hanging there, but it's missing." Jesse observed.

"Because Soren must be wearing it!" Olivia pointed out. "THIS is the disguise he was talking about!"

"You mean-"

"In order to WALK amongst the Endermen, you have to BECOME an Enderman!" Olivia finished.

Getting an idea, Jesse walked up to the suit stand and put on the Enderman costume. The smell wasn't appealing, but it was the best idea he could come up with to get Soren's attention.

"Kinda stinky! But it fits!"

"Ugh, more than 'Kinda' stinky, I'm sorry to say." Olivia added. "It's so weird. I know it's you in there, but I still don't want to look at you."

But here was the next problem. How to get Soren's attention without gathering the attention of the other Endermen.

Digging through a chest, Jesse pulled out a crafting recipe.

"Found something." Jesse announced to Olivia.

"Whatcha got?"

"It's definitely some sort of crafting recipe." Jesse commented. It looked simple, but it wasn't a recipe he had ever seen before. "But why would someone as brilliant as Soren need a recipe for a shape that simple?"

"Because they're not FOR Soren, they're for the Endermen!" Olivia explained. "This must be what he's trying to teach them to build!"

Jesse felt so stupid right now. Of course. He had just heard five minutes ago that Soren was trying to teach Endermen to build stuff. How could he forget that?

"Okay, so. If Soren is using those blueprints to teach the Endermen to build, and there's a disguise missing from the stand…" Olivia began.

"He must be conducting his experiment right now!" Jesse finished.

"Of course! The missing disguise is the one he had to put on before going outside!"

"Which means if we want to get to Soren…we have to go out THERE to do it." Jesse groaned.

Looking back down at the crafting recipe again, Jesse saw that it required six blocks, five of which were aligned in the shape of an 'L' at the bottom left-hand corner and the sixth being in the top right-hand corner. Looking around, he saw four clay blocks on the level he was on right now.

Before proceeding with picking up the clay blocks, Jesse moved to go outside to see where he needed to put them.

"Hang on a second. Soren-in-disguise looks like any old Enderman and so will you." Olivia pointed out. "How are you going to find him? Walk up to every Enderman out there and say, 'Hey, are you Soren?' The whole point of the disguise is to AVOID that kind of attention."

"We, um, just need to get his attention without riling up the Endermen." Jesse explained.

"Try not to die, okay? I'd really hate to have to watch that, from behind this protective glass."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Jesse responded. He turned around and headed outside.

"Okay, we've just gotta get Soren's attention," Jesse told Reuben. He looked up. "and avoid attracting theirs."

An Enderman looked in their direction and approached them. Reuben took off and headed back inside. The Enderman leanded down and peered it's face into Jesse's, as though checking to make sure he was a real Enderman.

Eventually, it made a satisfied noise and stood back up, walking away. Jesse breathed a sigh of relief.

Jesse saw an Enderman holding one of the clay blocks, exactly the same as the others he found back inside.

"I need 6 blocks to finish that shape in Soren's instructions, and this guy's got the only block around." Jesse said to himself.

Taking a huge risk, he walked up to the Enderman and grabbed the block. The Enderman had a strong grip, but with a huge pull, Jesse managed to tug it free. Apparently the Enderman didn't like that, as he began to make loud vocalization and screaming sounds.

"Uh, oh." Jesse commented. He quickly walked away and headed back inside, intending to fetch the other 5 blocks needed for the crafting recipe.

"Cracked it yet?" Olivia asked.

"Not yet, but I'm getting closer." Jesse replied. He walked to the clay block sitting by the window.

"Those instructions called for clay blocks, just like this one." He said, out-loud. After grabbing all four blocks on this level, Jesse climbed the ladder near the window, looking for the last clay block. He found it on the top level.

"Looks like this is the last block in here." Jesse said as he grabbed it.

Returning outside, he saw that almost every Endermen standing around seemed to be shaking as though someone had taken a block from them. This was not good.

After looking around, Jesse saw a grid of glass and redstone lamps that seemed to resemble the grid seen on a crafting table. Satisfied, Jesse began placing blocks down in the order that the recipe said: 'L' shape in the bottom left corner with the sixth block in the top right corner.

"I just hope that Soren's watching. Where-ever he is." Jesse said as he placed blocks down.

"False evidence of Endermen intelligence: accomplished!" Jesse commented as he placed the last block down. Looking around, he saw that the Endermen were really riled up now.

"Uh, nothing to see here, guys. Just walk away." Jesse said to the Endermen as they approached him. They didn't seem to hear him. "Okay, they're not walking away. Definitely not walking away."

An 'Enderman' approached from behind him, raising its arm.

"I am sorry about this, but… it has to look real."

The 'Enderman' knocked Jesse out cold.

Author's Notes: So that just happened.

Usually I try to aim for 2500/2800-ish words per chapter, however this one is 3000 words, so it's a little bit long. I know some people write chapters longer than that, but this is my personal preference.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.