Hey rayminers! I'm back! I have an important AN at the end of the chapter, so make sure you read that!
Ray POV
I had trekked for a day from the building. With no clue on how to return to the Sky Army base, I chose to set up a campsite where some old one had stood.
One night, I laid rolled on my back, staring up at the leaves of a tree. I couldn't sleep. There were so many things rushing through my mind at that moment. I couldn't concentrate… I couldn't think…
Eventually my eyes closed on their own, leading me into a dream-like state.
My eyes opened again, but this time I couldn't tell if it was real. The night sky shined stars, reflecting light onto my location. I held onto a tree branch as I got onto my feet. The same fog back in the prison of the Nether appeared in front of me, causing me to squint. A figure was engulfed in the fog, similarly to my incident only a day before.
The figure smirked and motioned its finger for me to follow. I practically dropped everything but my sword, pickaxe, and bow set and dreamily took the figure's tail. He stopped once we reached a bridge over a river of water, pointing towards a closed iron gate. The fog and figure vanished in front of my eyes. As I stumbled closer to the gate, a strange building came into sight. Ivy grew over its side, and it seemed not to be touched in years. My hand touched the gate, and I blacked out, falling to the ground.
"Oh my Notch!" a guy's voice yelled, "There's a girl here! Wait… she has a pickaxe! We can get outta here!"
A girl's voice annoying replied to the first, "Give it a rest. Let's just unlock the gate first with the pickaxe and then we help the girl. Got it?"
"Sure," the first acknowledged the second, "Eh…" A hand reached for something at my side. My first instinct was to grab the hand, "OW!"
"Whoa. She's awake," the girl chuckled.
"She almost killed me!"
"Ty… no she didn't."
The boy, Ty, groaned.
Finally opening my eyes a bit, I found a boy's, most likely Ty's, hand gripped around the handle of the diamond pickaxe. I let him drag it inside of the gate. A gate accidentally hit my head, forcing me to rub out the pain.
"Sorry!" the girl exclaimed, rushing over to me. She realized I had completely woken up and helped me prop onto the gate. She had platinum blonde hair that covered one of her eyes, and wore a lot of blue, "I'm Emma. What's your name?"
"Rach… Rachel…" I mumbled out, continuing to rub my head.
"Thank you for showing up. I've no clue how you got here, but you just happened to save our lives. We've been stuck in there for three days, and only just ran out of food."
"I… I need to get back…" My hand let go of my gate, and I almost fell, but Emma caught me again. My eye caught one of hers. They were bright blue. Reminded me of a diamond… like Betty…
I forced my sight away from her eyes, sitting down. A tear rolled down my cheek, and I buried my face into the sleeve of my jacket.
"Did I do something wrong?" Emma whispered to Ty.
Ty shrugged, "No idea."
"You didn't do anything wrong," I grumbled, glancing up at the pair with tearstained eyes, "I need to go back…"
"Back where?" Emma kneeled down to my level, and tried to be as friendly as she could. It somehow worked.
"The Sky Army."
Ty instantly widened his eye, picking up the diamond sword.
Emma glanced up at him, confused, "What're you doing?"
"We're leaving."
"What?! Without Rachel?!"
"No. With her. We're going to the Sky Army."
"And why would that be?"
"Cause… we just do…"
Emma sighed and took a hold of the pickaxe. She gave me the bow.
"We're heading there too... I guess," my new friend told me. I faintly smiled and accepted the bow, "But you're gonna need this in case we run into anyone unexpected."
Emma smiled, stood up, helped me back to my feet, and raced over to Ty, "What is wrong with you?!"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you. Freaked me out. What is your business with the Sky Army?"
"Why is it your concern?"
"You could've told me!"
"I didn't have an opportunity!"
"Dang it!" Emma growled and returned to me, "Sorry about that. A bit of a misunderstanding."
Ty's voice interrupted hers, "You got that right!"
"Shut up, Ty!"
He mocked her attitude, "Shut up, Ty!"
Emma growled, "Ignore him."
"I am," I replied, my head hanging down. She got very quiet.
"Do you need any help walking?" Emma questioned in a soft voice. I shook my head, and she let go of my arm.
Ty started walking on a nearby dirt path, placing the diamond sword in a holder on his right side. Emma rolled her eyes, walking behind him and me. Somehow I got put in front, although the duo seemed the know the path better than I. Ty ran up to me. I glanced over towards him and smiled.
"So…" Ty begun, "How are you a part of the Sky Army?"
"Mitch and Jerome saved me and my sister from a squid attack."
"Oh… why were you crying?"
I paused, "Nothing."
Ty tilted his head, "Nothing?"
"Nothing," I blatantly replied.
"What were you doing out here in the forest?"
"I was a prisoner in the Nether, and something busted me out. It led me here."
"Um…" Ty bit his lip, unsure of how to reply.
"It's okay. It's weird. I know. He gave me the weapons too."
"He?"
I nodded, "I'm pretty sure it was a man. He was hidden behind a fog though… so I couldn't tell who he was."
He gulped and slowly turned to face Emma, who shrugged him off. Ty returned to his conversation with me, "Did he say his name…?"
"No… he said my name though. And that I needed to get out of the Nether."
"Well that's obvious… wait… your name? Had you met him before?"
I shook my head, "Nope."
"How'd you end up in the Nether?"
"A few of the recruits went into the Nether to search for the Jewel…" I immediately figured out what I said and covered my mouth. Emma seemed to have noticed, however, because a moment later, she was at my side.
"Jewel?" she asked.
I dared to answer, replying only in a nod.
Emma continued with the questions, "Which Jewel?"
"Jewel of Notch."
"You were looking for the Jewel of Notch?!"
"Yeah…"
"Which recruits?" Ty queried, nervous.
"Mitch, Jerome, Fia, and Sleek."
"Did they get caught?"
Before I could answer, Emma piped in, "Where have you searched?"
Ty turned to Emma, "Stop asking her questions! Can't you see she's freaking out?!"
"But… Ty! This is important!" Emma whined.
"Important? I want to make sure my friends are okay!"
"Friends?"
"I'm a general of the Sky Army! Now no more questions! I need to know!" Ty groaned and faced me again.
"No…" I shakily replied, "I was the only one who got caught. They all went out… I hope. Couldn't tell."
Ty sighed, "Let's just hope they made it back to base."
"Hope."
Well, the answer to Chapter 18's question is d!
What happens next?
a. Ray, Emma, and Ty find the Jewel of Notch.
b. They find Sam, Ava, and Carmen.
c. Ray gets caught by Cassandra again.
d. They find Sky and Sleek.
e. other - type your own theory
Ok, this is important. School starts tomorrow and I'll have very little time to write. So, Legend will not be updated every day, although I will try. You will get Chapter 22 tomorrow and Chapter 23 on Tuesday. I cannot promise you 24 on Wednesday.
I had originally planned for Legend Part 1 to go on hiatus after this chapter, but... instead... I have that plan. ^^
Also, I told you in an earlier chapter that Dreams will upload at the Chapter 30 special, but I've chosen a final decision: Dreams will be up after the finale of Legend Part 1. I have a huge cliffhanger at the end of this story that you'll just have to wait to find out! But, again, no worries!
See you guys on the flip side!