Chapter 35: Hurt

Warning Tags: Mentions of blood and foul language

Back in the abandoned city where the remaining army of Sky recruits hid in, everyone has tried to settle down from the arrival of the newcomer, but some are still suspicious about the dull-gold Bacca in the medical tent and demand that the creature gets executed, but soldiers are certain that he doesn't mean harm to them and is only one of the million victims of Taint right now. The recruits remained inside the city, not willing to leave the abandoned district and face the dangers the outside world has to offer. However, one recruit couldn't stand on being inside the city any longer.

Louise had left the apartment she and Vengelfe shared with other recruits and is currently strapping on supplies and chests onto Storm. Moments after she puts on the last chest, Annie leaves the apartment and is shocked to see Louise geared up in armor and gathering up supplies onto Storm. She runs over to the woman and questions in shock "Louise?! What-what are you doing?"

Louise sighs heavily before facing the elf and starts explaining "Annie, I can't waste any more time here. My Jerome is out there, causing chaos to the world. He wasn't meant to be like that, which is why I'm leaving to go find him and talk him out of what he's doing".

Vengelfe points out "But Louise, you don't know what Jerome might be capable of. He could kill you if he saw you as a threat! And I don't want to live with the fact that you got murdered by your own boyfriend!"

Louise turns away from the elf woman, glaring down at the chest she attached to Storm, filled with food essentials and a diamond sword. She shuts her eyes tightly together for a moment, holding back tears that threatened to start appearing in her eyes. She slightly looks over her shoulder at Vengelfe and responds with "I'm sorry, Annie. But I can't waste any time just sitting here, letting all of the evil of Herobrine ravage over our land. Someone has to take a stand, and I'm willing to go out there in the world and face what it has to throw at me". With that, Louise throws herself onto Storm's back and grabs the reins. Annie runs over to Storm, hoping to get the stallion to listen to her.

"Storm, can't you do anything to convince her not to do this?", Annie begged the horse. Storm looks over at her and shakes his head.

"I'm afraid not, Annie. Plus, I've been doin' a lot of thinkin' myself, and I'm just as worried as Louise is about my lover, Amor. We got separated at that path that led us here. There's no doubt in my mind that Amor is out there somewhere, probably hurt or hungry. Even I can't stop thinkin' about it. If chances are that if we find Jerome, we'll probably even find Amor", Storm explained, his Southern accent still radiate in his voice, despite having not talked to anyone in a while.

"Anyway, I probably won't be back in a while. Annie...please...just go on without me if I don't come back", Louise stated sadly. Without another word, she signals Storm to take off. The stallion starts galloping down the street, nearby recruits look in surprise as the duo make their way towards the limits of the city. Annie tries to call out for them, but it's too late as she sees them become just a tiny dot in the distance.

"Please be safe", Vengelfe whispered out, fearing what her friend and Storm might face ahead with the world becoming Tainted.

Meanwhile, back in the forest, Duskables stands a few feet away from Sky and the others while Amity is laying beneath her, crying out as blood begins to puddle around her collapsed body. Inker becomes extremely furious at the woman who give birth to his childhood friend and in the end, stabbed her with no mercy. But he couldn't blame Dawn; it was the Taint that caused her to become a corrupted version of herself and led her to do this horrible act. He runs towards the woman, but Duskables lifts up one of her feet and aims it right for Amity's head.

"Not so fast, aquatic freak!", Dusk yelled out, making the squid hybrid stop in his tracks. He gasps when he sees Dusk's foot hover dangerously close to Amity's head, the young teen and only look up with her eyes and shut them to wait for her fate to be sealed. Inker growls as he can't think of anything else to stop the woman and at the same time, prevent Amity from getting any more injures. Dusk chuckles darkly as she has the squid and the others where she wants them.

"Any of you take one step closer and I'll splatter this girl's brains all across the ground with my foot!", Duskables described disturbingly. Amity whimpers in fear as she can only hope one of her family members or friends will come and save her.

Sky growls, having just had about enough of just sitting back and watch his friends get corrupted one by one. With anger building up, Sky slowly moves his hands behind his back and starts forming the most powerful golden orb that he had ever conjured up before. Duskables looks at the Butter God, noticing that his hands are behind his back.

"And what are you doing there, Sky?", Duskables questioned, not expecting the god to do anything in particular to save his daughter.

"Doing what I should have been fucking doing this whole time...be a hero", Sky scowled, bringing his sight up to face his corrupted wife. Without warning, Sky swings his hands over his head and aims them directly at Dawn, a large golden sphere gathered up in his hands. He releases the glowing orb, making it zoom at a high speed toward Dusk. The corrupted woman has little time to react as she is thrown several feet away from Amity, shrieking at the top of her lungs as the effects of the golden orb rips through her entire dark being. Immediately, Inker runs over to Amity and kneels down next to her. Sky takes off as well, making sure that Inker didn't try to hurt Amity anymore.

When he gets to them, he sees the squid hybrid slowly pulling the knife out of Amity's body and tossing it away, gently rubbing the girl's arm to give her some comfort. The young girl winces in pain as more of her clothing begins to get soaked in blood. After seeing this take place, Sky quickly improvised a plan in his head, but he felt doubtful about it. However, the situation right now just couldn't wait. He gently taps Inker on the shoulder, making the Butter Squid glance up at him. "Inker, can I trust you with a task so important that a life depends on it?"

"You know that you can trust me, Sky. I may be your worst enemy, but I am your daughter's best friend", Inker said sincerely. Sky gives the squid a faint smile, but loses it when he glances over to his group of friends.

"Jason!", Sky called out. The spaceman immediately runs over and joins the trio. When TrueMU gets there, Sky begins to state the plan.

He explains "Okay, Jason. I need you to jetpack over the forest and locate the ex-recruits. There's no doubt that they might be in the vicinity of the woods. And Inker, I need you to carry my daughter and follow Jason while he is in the air. Once you guys find them, either plead with them or force them to help Amity with her injuries. Via will probably still be with them, so she's the only one who can help. Got it?"

"Loud and clear", Jason replied before shooting himself into the air with his jetpack. Inker gently moves his arms under Amity and gently lifts her from the ground, holding her close to his body. But then, Inker gets curious as to what Sky is gonna do in the meantime with Duskables.

"Wait, Sky? What about you?", Inker questioned, turning towards the Butter God.

"Me? I've got a certain someone to deal with", Adam answered back, watching as Dusk stumble to her feet and shaking her head to get her vision focusing again. She growls deeply as she faces her husband. Sky looks back at the squid hybrid and states to him "Just get going! Save Amity while I save my friends!"

Inker flashes the general a smile before taking off with Amity, following Jason as he zooms through the dark sky. Adam turns his sight on Duskables, who is glowing with a pink and green aura surrounding her body. The woman brings her hands into the air and lets the power coursing through her entire being begin to get stronger and more noticeable. "I will not be defeated by my ungrateful partner. Now, face the power and rage of Giga Ender Titan!", Duskables yelled out before a massive explosion of pink and green comes out.

The force of the blast blows Sky a few feet away, his feet skid across the ground and leaves a trail in front of him. When the explosion dies off, Adam glances forward and is shocked to see Dusk is no longer present, but a pair of giant pink-and-green feet took her place. He slowly shifts his head upward, the pair of feet belonging to a giant replica of the extinct Ender Titan. At the very center of its head is Duskables, who acts as the controller of the gigantic monster. Behind him, the others hide themselves amongst the bushes of the woods.

"Sky, please tell us you know how to deal with this!", James called out, hiding himself within the branches of a tree.

Adam slowly glances over at his friends, a smirk presented on his face. Without an explanation, Sky looks back towards the pink-and-green Ender Titan, his amulet exploding in a rainbow of colors as the essences begin to glow, the Darkness Essence glowing brighter than the others. Then, a bright golden stream surrounds the Butter God and begins to grow taller and bigger. The others watch in amazement as the stream eventually morphs itself until it is at the same shape and size as an Ender Titan, only glowing golden in color.

At the center of its head is Sky, also in control of the beast he was able to conjure up. The Ender Titan across from him roars violently, getting ready to attack. The golden Ender Titan raises its arms, unsheathing razor-sharp claws at the ends of its hands. After a brief stare-down between the two Ender Titans, Sky and Dawn lunge forward. This actions causes the Titans to lunge as well, Adam makes his Ender Titan grab onto Dawn's Ender Titan by its arm. The two giants engage in a fierce battle, Dawn's Ender Titan swipes furiously at the Titan in front of it while Sky's Ender Titan dodges the swipes and keeps a firm grip on the other's arm.

The others below the fighting Ender Titans stay in hiding as the battle carries out above them.

"What are we suppose to do while they're fighting?", Caveman questioned, gazing at the giants trying to take a swipe at each other, primarily at their heads to take out the one controlling them.

"I don't know about you, but this is gonna be the most epic battle ever!", PewFace exclaimed in awe at the fight, then proceeds to start chewing on a bone he found. Nacho and Butter gaze at each other in confusion while Caveman just rolls his eyes before sighing deeply.

Meanwhile, back at Herobrine's castle, Herobrine paces around the main part of the castle as he awaits Enderlox's arrival to hear how many victims he had taken. But another part of Herobrine's mind made him think of something that he really didn't want to be thinking about. Although he often shrugged off the feeling, this time was much stronger than the other times he's felt it. Every time he looked at Enderlox, he saw a monster of nightmares, the ruler of Taint, and overall the most powerful thing to exist in the world.

If so, then why did Herobrine is so wary of Enderlox now? Could it be that he's about to reach his secondary form? Becoming even more powerful than he was before? Before Herobrine can come to some kind of conclusion, the main doors into the castle opens and Enderlox walks in.

"Guess who's back from Tainting?", Enderlox questioned out loud with a smirk. He walks across the room, Herobrine stops his pacing and looks head as his creation walks towards him.

"So, how many victims you get?", Herobrine asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Heh. I lost count, but I think more than a thousand so far. Half of them just died on the spot while the others were turned into Negative Feelings, spreading their power across the world. In no time, everything will go according to plan, Herobrine", Enderlox announced, feeling confident in himself after all of the chaos and pain that he had caused before returning back to the castle.

"Good. So, any Emotioners come up so far?", Herobrine questioned, hoping to get another member on the Dead Army side.

"Well, earlier on, I did find Sky and his group of friends and got Adam's daughter. Unfortunately, someone got in the way and took the full force of my Dark Bite attack", Enderlox said reluctantly, remembering back at the incident in the desert.

"And...who would that be?", Herobrine asked, lifting an eyebrow questioningly. Before the dragon hybrid could reply, the doors that Enderlox entered through are slammed opened with such force, the entire room that Herobrine and Enderlox are in shakes a little. The duo are slightly startled by the loud noise and glance towards the doorway.

There is no one present there. But just before they can go outside and investigate who was responsible for the doors being opened like that, a head pops out from outside, above the doorway. A large grin is stitched on his face as a pair of glowing eyes, red and blue, emit from his face. Enderlox sighs heavily as Herobrine stares at the new face in complete shock. "You have got to be kidding me...", Herobrine muttered to himself, watching as Slashur crawls into the room, climbing up the walls with ease.

"How is he able to do that?", Herobrine asked, watching in amazement.

"He's half-spider...that's all I have to say", Enderlox replied dully, shocked that the melon didn't die at all from being Tainted.

Slashur crawls across the ceiling of the castle, digging his bladed hands into the netherbrick as he makes his way over to Herobrine and Enderlox. The two beings of power watch in curiosity as the animalistic melon finds a path down a nearby pillar. He lets go mid-way and lands on his feet. He walks over to Herobrine and Enderlox, immediately recognizing the former Nether God and bows down to show respect.

"Master Herobrine...it is a pleasure to meet you", Slashur hissed in delight, looking up at the god. Herobrine looks down at the melon with a confused expression on his face before glancing over at Enderlox, who turns to him and nods.

"Yes, this is the watermelon's outcome when he got infected with the Taint. I was shocked as well, but he can prove worthy of joining the Dead Army", Enderlox explained, looking at the Tainted melon who glances up and stares at both him and the eyeless god.

"Very well...what Negative Feeling, Emotion, or Sin do you represent?", Herobrine questioned to the the humanoid fruit.

Slashur pulls himself into a standing position and explains proudly "I represent the Emotion of Insanity. I'll wreak havoc and madness to anything and anyone who stares to get in my way. And once everything is gone, I will drive who gets in my path into the very edge of insanity". The melon chuckles manically to himself as he runs his bladed hands across each other and sharpens them. Then, he states "Plus, I come bearing news about Sky and his friends".

"Which would be?", Herobrine asked unsurely, wondering if to believe what the monochromic melon is saying.

"They are on their way to Mount Foreverest to come into contact with someone, don't know who their name is, it kinda slipped my mind", Slashur answered, mentally frustrated with himself for forgetting a possible vital piece of infomation.

"Eh, makes sense. I did bite a chuck of his already-bitten head off before I corrupted him. I knew he would have memory problems", Enderlox pointed out, remembering back in the event where he was suppose to corrupt Amity, but Bashur had gotten in the way of his process and Tainted him instead.

"Wait a second!", Slashur exclaimed suddenly, making Herobrine and Enderlox focus their attention on him, thinking that he may have been able to remember something. However, the response isn't what they had hoped.

"...How in the Nether was I able to climb up a wall?", Slashur questioned, turning around to look up at the ceiling and entryway where he had entered through. Herobrine and Enderlox exchange glances with each other, Enderlox makes a circling gesture near his head with his finger to show how much Slashur has lost every ounce of sanity immediately after getting Tainted.

Herobrine turns back to the melon "Okay, Slashur, I think I've heard enough. We've already heard enough from you to come up with a hypothesis as to what Sky and the others are planning. In the meantime, help yourself to one of the main rooms in the upper level".

"Why, thank you, master. Whenever you need me, I shall be available...when I'm needed...to be needed", Slashur babbled on, then turns and climbs up a nearby pillar, reaching the top floor within seconds and jumps over the railing.

Once he is out of sight, Herobrine comments "I understand that the Taint is suppose to corrupt and change them into their opposites, but he is over-the-line mentally unstable".

"He was already crazy, now he's just practically psychological insane. As much of a nuisance that I think he might be to us, he does represent an Emotion and even those are more vital to us like Sins. Negative Feelings could be better", Enderlox mentions.

"Indeed. Right now, the only thing I have to worry about is Sky and his friends reaching Mount Foreverest. No doubt that they are trying to get into contact with Regina", Herobrine pointed out, turning away from his first creation and walks towards a large window, glancing out and seeing an entire army of Dead Army soldiers.

Enderlox walks up to stand beside him and exclaims "That's ridiculous. Didn't you tell me that Regina is the Valkyrie Leader? That's basically her job!"

"Yes, but she has much more than leadership on her shoulders, Enderlox. Before I got banished into the Nether, she was well-known around the Aether for creating the most complex and fascinating antidotes for incurable poisons that existed during the Cold Age, to which majority of them have gone extinct. No shadow of a doubt in my mind tells me that she has the cure for the Taint. If Sky and the others reach her and use the cure on everything that's Tainted, from vegetation to human life, our entire plan will fall apart", Herobrine explained throughly before looking away from the window to gaze at the dragon hybrid, who looks back at him.

"So, what do you want me to do? Basically attack and Taint all of his friends and in the end, Adam? Although I must say, I am getting rather bored with the long process it takes to corrupt a person from their conscious. Having to travel back and forth through time isn't easy", Enderlox grumbled, baring his teeth in agitation.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore. You see, I've been reading some of your blood samples as of recently, and you're starting to show signs of reaching your secondary form soon", Herobrine stated proudly, much to Enderlox's surprise and hope.

"Really? Yes! Finally! I'll be even more stronger than before!", Enderlox praised out, so thrilled to hear that he will be reaching his secondary form. Then, he glances up at Herobrine with determination waving through his eyes and asks him "So, what's the plan gonna be about Sky?"

"Well, the cure that Regina might have for the Taint can only be used by a god, to which Sky happens to be. With Notch out of the picture, it'll be a piece of cake. What I want you to do is capture the remaining people of Sky's group, bring them back here, and deal with the rest. I have developed new methods of Tainting them, quick and effectively. Once Sky is all alone, capture him and bring him back...dead or alive", Herobrine described, picturing images in his head of the ways he is going to torture all of Sky's friends slowly and in the end, Taint them to the point where they will instantly corrupt themselves without Enderlox's assistance.

"Excellent, Master. In the meantime, I'm going to consume as much Taint as I can until I reach my secondary form. And eventually, my final form will come and I will be the most powerful being to exist in the world, maybe even in the whole universe!", Enderlox preached, cackling evilly afterwards.

"Well, second behind 'cause that title belongs to me", Herobrine pointed out, to which causes Enderlox to end his laughter with a shocked look. He glances over at Herobrine, tilting his head in confusion.

"Yes, unfortunately, I happen to have more power than all of the Dead Army soldiers combined, plus the current sinners that exist out there. Of course, you don't mind that, do you?", Herobrine questioned.

"Eh...no, of-of course not, Herobrine. After all, you were the one who created me, so even that is more than what I can do", Enderlox unsteadily responded, letting out a weak chuckle in the end.

"Good. I'm glad that we're in agreement with each other. Anyway, I must be off. DeadlyVenom is contacting an experiment with CyberCanadian, something about upgrading him into Cyber 2.0. I must be there to see if everything goes without a hitch. As soon as I'm done, I'll be back to give you your first task", Herobrine stated before turning his body slightly to face the door that enters deeper into the castle. Enderlox just nods silently and watches as his master walks away and goes through the door. But seconds later, Enderlox lowers his eyes into a intense glare, growling in his throat as he is extremely enraged. Moments later, his view is obscured by the face of Slashur, who appears with his head upside-down.

"BALLS!", Slashur yelled out, much to Enderlox's fright as the dragon hybrid jumps backwards from the melon.

"Nether!", Enderlox yelled out, shaking for a moment before realizing that Slashur is hanging upside-down from the ceiling of the upper level hallway, a white web-like substance spread out across the wood. Slashur hangs onto the web as if it was rope.

Enderlox regains his stance before questioning "How long were you up there?"

"Oh, pretty much all, including to the point where you just got pissed off for no reason when Herobrine left", Slashur exclaimed insanely, giggling a bit through his sentence. "Want to tell me what that was about?"

Enderlox replies "It was nothing. I'm just frustrated with the way things are going so slowly right now. Enough of me! How in the Nether did you create that web...you know what...I don't even wanna know".

"What? I'm half-spider, aren't I? But, the web part is a super spider secret", Slashur replied mischievously, letting out a short giggle afterwards.

"You know, Slashur, you make me wonder whether or not I should have bitten your entire head off instead of just a chuck of it", Enderlox said in all honesty. Slashur, however, is unaffected by this.

"Oh, come on! You know you would miss me!", Slashur said out cheerfully.

"Trust me: I wouldn't", Enderlox bluntly responded. "And by the way, what are you doing besides just eavesdropping?"

"Oh, you know...just hanging around", Slashur casually said, pretending as if nothing was out of the ordinary. An awkward silence fills the room for a moment before Slashur speaks up.

"But seriously, what's got your tail tied in a knot?", Slashur questioned, somehow able to remember back at the previous question he asked the dragon hybrid. Enderlox sighs as he knows that if he doesn't tell the melon what's going on in his mind, the monotonic melon may never stop asking him. However, Enderlox wondered if the melon was going to understand what he had in mind and was going to go along with it. The thought of a person agreeing to his ideas was something that he hoped will happen. So, despite the risks that might come, Enderlox comes to a decision.

"Very well. I'll tell you what I have in mind. But...if you so much as breathe a word about this, your slashing days are over! This stays between you and me", Enderlox growled at the melon, making sure that he scared the melon enough to get him to agree to the decision truthfully. And just as planned, the melon flinches back and nods his head furiously. Enderlox smirks, then signals the melon to get closer. Slashur crawls closer to the dragon hybrid, then gasps when Enderlox grabs the side of his head and turns it slightly. The hybrid begins to whisper to the melon, Slashur makes a few expressions on his face now and then as he listens to Enderlox's words. At the very end, Slashur widens his blue-and-red eyes in shock before Enderlox moves away from him.

The melon looks over at him and exclaims "No way! Are you for real?"

"As real as the Taint is here in the Overworld", Enderlox stated.

"Wow...that quite a vision you got there. But...are you so sure that it's gonna work in the end? When everyone has reached their final forms?", Slashur wondered about what Enderlox had explained to him.

"Trust me. I'm the one who is the main source of the Taint that spreads across the land, water, and air. In the end, all of the Taint that is consumed by everyone and everything will take over their minds and every Sinner, Emotioner, and Negative Feeling soul will come crawling to me", Enderlox answered back, bringing his hands up and summons two clouds of Taint in his hands. The swirling orbs emit large amounts of Taint as images of screaming ghosts seem to appear and disappear from them. Slashur stares in awe before Enderlox shuts his hands and lets the clouds disappear into nothing.

Slashur smiles before stating "Don't you worry, Enderlox! Your secret is safe with me! And I'll support you all the way, even until the end".

Enderlox smirks before saying "Good. It's always beneficial to start small and slowly work your way up. Slashur, you're okay in my book".

"Oh, you're writing a book?", Slashur asked in curiosity. Enderlox sighs before shaking his head side to side, answering the melon's question and purely out of frustration.

"It's a figure of speech. Anyway, I'm going to go consume more Taint. I'll be reaching my secondary form soon. I suggest that you do the same as well while living up to your Emotion", Enderlox explained, then process to turn away from the creature hybrid melon and towards the doors.

But before leaving, he hears Slashur ask him "But wait...what about you? Don't you wanna live up to your Sin of Wrath?"

"Slash...when it comes to the Sin of Wrath...I'm always angry. Angry at my former friends, angry at the people who betrayed me, and angry at how pathetic this world is...but in the end, I'll rejoice when every nook and cranny of this lifeless globe is covered in Taint", was Enderlox's only response before the dragon hybrid opens the doors and quietly walks out of the castle. Slashur remains where he is for a moment, then shrugs off the conversation he had with Enderlox and crawls away to a different area.

However, right above where the duo had their conversation, three familiars had overheard every work that was spoke in the conversation.

Zeta, along with Sigma and Alpha, gaze at each other, their eyes emitting no type of emotion whatsoever.

"Did you guys hear that?", Zeta questioned, looking over the rail and watches as Slashur crawls into a different hallway.

"Every single word, Zeta. There's no doubt in my mind that Enderlox clearly has something big planned", Sigma commented, turning his gaze over to his white-eyed comrade.

"But without his master's consent? That's clearly a rebellion right there", Alpha exclaimed in shock.

"This can only mean one thing, Sigma and Alpha...Enderlox is starting to lead his own plans, which can only mean something big will happen once everyone is Tainted and reach their final forms", Zeta concluded, stepping away from the railing and turns around to face the other cloaked souls.

"What should we do? Truthfully, I think we should tell Herobrine about this", Alpha suggested.

"Hold on. We may be the servants of the former god of the Nether, but even his own creation is starting to show signs of true leadership and planning. Perhaps we can hold off telling Herobrine about this and see just how far Enderlox can go on his own", Zeta stated. Alpha and Sigma exchange skeptical looks with each other before facing towards their comrade.

"And if Enderlox fails to get himself and the other sinners stronger..?", Sigma questions.

"We simply tell Herobrine and watch him unleash his full punishment on the hybrid", Zeta answered back.

"But if he somehow succeeds to reach his final form, taints the entire world, and is able to get his team of sinners up to their final forms?", Alpha also asked.

"...Then, we will have to come to a consultation with the hybrid about...certain changes made in sides", Zeta replied. "After all...there's nothing wrong with a little rebellion, is there?"

Alpha and Sigma pondered about the subject for a few moments. Zeta waits patiently as his comrades finally come to a decision. Sigma just nods silently while Alpha answers out "Alright then".

"Good. Now, let's head outside and bask in the early Taint storm that will be arriving soon" Zeta suggested before walking away. Sigma and Alpha eagerly follow their leader outside, the sounds of heavy thunder and loud gusts of wings can be heard outside as the cloaked souls make their way out of the castle.

Meanwhile, back in the forest where Sky and Dawn are still facing off against each other, several miles away, Inker pants heavily as he keeps Amity held tightly in his arms as he dashes as fast as he can through the forest. He keeps glancing at the sky now and then, following Jason as he zooms over the forest with his jetpack and leaves behind a smoke trail in his path. Inker looks down at Amity, gasping as he sees her gaping wounds bleeding out in massive portions, his golden hands getting slightly stained with her blood. Amity also appears unresponsive, her head hanging limply in his left arm as her eyes are shut.

Inker suddenly gets a horrible thought in his head. He frantically shakes it off and proceeds to run even faster, ignoring the burning feeling in his legs and breathing as fast as he can to keep himself going. In his arms, Amity slowly begins to gain some consciousness, enough to the point where she can weakly open up her eyes and lift her head up. She lets out a weak groan, which alerts the squid hybrid immediately that she is awaken. "I...Inker?", Amity weakly asked. Inker quickly shushes her, trying to get her to keep her energy.

"Shh, Amity, don't say anything. Jason and I are gonna get you to Via and the others. They might be in the forest and Via will help you, whether she likes it or not. I'll threaten her if I have to get her to help you!", Inker said in determination, not taking refusal from the apprentice of a deceased doctor. Amity feels herself getting weaker and weaker, looking down and sees half of her outfit already stained in her own blood. Fearing that the worst will soon come to her, she decides to get a few words out to her childhood friend.

"Inker, if I die-", Amity spoke out, but she immediately gets cut-off by Inker.

"You're not gonna die. I'm gonna save you. That's a promise and I'm damn well keeping it", Inker responded to her, tears gathering up in his glowing golden eyes.

"But-but I'm nobody special. I'm not even important", Amity insulted herself, wondering why Inker was wasting his time saving her when he could be saving himself from possibly getting Tainted while being out in the forest.

Inker stops in his tracks, ignoring the fact that he is suppose to be following Jason, and exclaims to her "You are important to me! And...and you are special...to me". The squid hybrid is unable to hold back his tears as they begin to stream down his cheeks. Amity slowly looks up at her childhood friend, a faint smile appears on her face as she weakly lifts one of her hands up and wipes away a tear from Inker.

Inker grins back at her. Suddenly, he hears Jason call out "Inker!"

He glances up at the sky and sees Jason hovering a few feet away from him. The spaceman cries out "I found Via and the others! They're just a few feet away from you!"

Inker nods before taking off again. After following the path as it takes a curve around several bushes, he looks ahead and sees Sierra leading the others out of the forest. He increases his speed, getting closer and closer to them. Sierra glances up and gasps when she sees Inker running towards her and her friends, but is even more shocked when she sees a bleeding Amity in his arms.

"Inker? What are you doing here? And what did you do to Amity?!", Sierra asked in shock, running towards him and looks over the semi-conscious girl.

"That's not important right now! Amity got stabbed by Dawn! Now I'm not leaving until she gets the medical care she needs right now!", Inker exclaimed as fast as he could. Sierra glances over Via, who seems at first reluctant to give Amity medical attention after quitting the Sky Army.

"But Inker, I'm no longer on the Sky Army side now", Via explained, but Inker is far from convinced by that statement.

"That doesn't mean jack shit! Now either you treat her or else you'll never see the sun that might finally peek over the horizon and gives us the damn sunlight we need and that you'll never experience!", Inker exclaimed angrily, tears streaming like waterfalls down his cheeks. However, his anger is replaced with sadness as he lets out a few choked sobs. He hangs his head over Amity, who is slowly falling into unconsciousness again. Via turns her sight on the young teen being carried in the squid's arms.

She glances over at Alix, who is supporting Aver with one of his arms. The miner just shrugs his shoulders, unable to give a response. Via looks back at the girl, trying to comprehend whether or not to treat the Sky Army general's daughter when her cause no longer lied with him or just leave and let the most innocent and precious girl that she grew up with die at such a young age.