... ... ... so ... ... ... I'm back now. I guess? ... I'm so sorry you guys D: school started and everything just kind of... yeah. XD High School's a lot harder them I was expecting it to be. (And time consuming as well...) I know I've probably missed a bunch of updates and I'm going to try and review most of them... hopefully...? :/ Yeah. Well and back now and the next update won't take nearly as long. I am NOT giving up on this story I'm just super busy right now. *Sighs* Yup. Now back to the story!

Two days later...

"Tyler! What part of sit down do you not understand!" Apricot screams as the teenager continues to evade her. "You have to tell us what's going on!"

Tyler simply ignores the comment and slips through yet another passageway. Brandon watches the two with a blank expression. He doesn't even blink when they turn the corner for the fourteenth time; you'd think one of them would realize they were running in a rather large square.

"Yeah... but maybe I don't want to tell you. What'll you do then!" Tyler replies with a grin. He ducks behind the corner as multiple cobblestone blocks slam into the wall behind him. "Missed me!" Tyler bolts toward the others and leaps onto the couch and landing right next to Stripes and Brandon. He gasps at the rough landing and quietly adds, "why haven't they made wool stair blocks yet? Cobblestone is not very comfy-"

Apricot stops a few blocks before the couch, leaning over to catch her breath while continuing to glare at the fifteen year old. Brandon glances at Apricot before turning back towards Tyler. "I know you don't want to talk about it right now... but we need to know what happened."

He motions to the door at the end of the very end of the hallway. "What happened? Where Steve and Herobrine? Why Has Maria been in her room for almost eight hours-"

"Two days," Tyler cuts in with a sigh and shifts his gaze towards the floor. "She's been in there for two days now."

Brandon pauses at the comment before adding, "Ok... two days... but why is she in there in the first place?"

"Oh... she just gets kind of moody sometimes." Tyler answers casually with a halfhearted grin. "She's just.. calming down... because she had this really awful sea food and got really angry at the waiter."

Apricot glares at the teenager even more and yells, "Stop making excuses! What is going on!" She pauses to catch her breath before adding, "Why are we asking him anyways? We should just ask Maria what-"

"No-" Tyler blurts out, quickly stopping himself from saying anymore. "I mean... I can answer your questions." He glances towards the doorway before adding, "Lets try to not disturb her right now, okay?"

Brandon nods and says, "Fine with me." Apricot grumbles under her breath but doesn't argue. "So... question number one, where are we and why are you two here?"

"This is a remote underground bunker built outside of the capitol in the late 5th century in case of a nuclear strike." He answers, not even pausing to consider the question. "It was taken over a few years ago by an old friend of mine... we came here so Maria could rest."

The entire group looks surprised at the comment and Apricot is the first to snap out of the surprise. "You have friends?!" She blurts.

"That's not important," Brandon cuts in with a sigh. "Where's Steve and Herobrine?"

Tyler pauses and grins weakly, "Well... that depends on some things... but he isn't... here... anymore ..."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Stripes asks, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "You mean that-" She pause at the realization and quietly mutters, "Oh."

Brandon glances at the girl before turning back to Tyler. "You don't mean that... but he was... what in the world happened while we we we're gone?"

"It's a long story." Tyler replies with a sigh. "But yeah... Steve is.. umm... dead."The room goes silent for a minute as the others process the information and Tyler gaze returns to the floor.

"I'm sorry to hear that..." Brandon says, breaking the silence and shooting Tyler a pitying glance. "He was a decent person- especially for a new spawn... how exactly did he die?"

"There was an accident... I couldn't help him and Maria didn't get there in time." Tyler answers, not bothering to look at the other and keeping his expression blank. "Herobrine... left... shortly after that."

"You honestly think we're that stu-" Apricot blurts out angrily but is cut off when Stripes elbows her in the stomach with and sends her a quick glare.

"I see..." Brandon says with nod. "I'm sure he'll be remembered fondly... if any of us live to see the end of this."

"If some of you live to see the end of this?" A voice asks from behind the group. "I doubt Maria will be giving in and Tyler is too... well too much like himself to give up." Everyone spins around at the sound of another voice and notices a rather small girl standing a few blocks behind the couch. The girl's crimson hair hanging in long waves and her green eyes stare back at the group with an amused expression. "What? Why are you all staring at me?"

"You are... who exactly?" Stripes questions in confusion, continuing to watch the newcomer carefully. Judging from her height she has to be at least a few years younger then Tyler.

The girl doesn't move at the comment but begins to survey each member of the group. "I could ask you the same question," she replies with a frown and crosses her arms over her white dress. "This being my house and all..."

"Willy!" Tyler cheers happily and smiles at the girl. "Oh, these are some of my friends from the village." He stands up from the couch and starts to introduce the group one by one. "This is Brandon, Stripes, and Apricot. Sorry about the welcome, you got here so quickly I didn't even get to mention you."

Apricot snorts at the comment and mutters, "Yes, because someone just had to play a game of tag for a few hours before he would sit down and tell us what happened."

Tyler 'discretely' elbows her in the stomach while the new arrival begins to speak."I see..." The girl comments with a pause and continues to stare at the group hesitantly. "I suppose I should introduce myself as well... you may call me Lady Red Willow or just Lady Willow." She nods to Tyler and quickly adds, "Sorry to change the subject so soon, but I have a message for your sister."

Tyler perks up at the comment, his eyes narrowing at the comment while his smile remains the same. "A message from where?" He questions with a grin and waits for an answer. "You we're only gone for a couple of hours..."

"I'm not really sure. One minute I'm walking along the pathway, just minding my own business, and the next I'm standing in some sort of a technological room." Lady Willow recalls with a sigh. "It was quite... strange. Yes, I suppose that would be the correct term for it. Someone tried to speak with me but I could only hear part of what they were saying." She sighs and shakes her head. "A few moments later I'm on the pathway again..."

Everyone looks on in confusion until Tyler adds, "Well, we should probably give Maria this message, shouldn't we?" The other snap awake at the teens voice and continue to look on in confusion. "She'll be awake by now," Tyler declares and bounds down the hallway to knock on the final door. "Come on guys, what are you waiting for?"

"You spent the entire time trying to not disturb your sister," Brandon inquires. "Why is it ok to bother her now?"

Tyler proceeds to twist the handle with a smirk and replies, "I didn't want you guys to disturb her because I'm her brother. I can annoy her all I want and she won't kill me... I think." He pauses for a moment to weigh the consequences before swinging the door wide open with a rather large bang and yelling, "Mariaaaaaaaaa!"

Everyone waits in silence as the young red-head enters the room and exits a few minutes later. Maria follows a few seconds later, looking completely normal if not a bit more serious then she normally would. "Sorry," Maria begins with a nod. "I was a bit preoccupied with a bit of studying." She turns to Lady Willow and bows her head slightly in thanks. "Thank you for allowing me access to your library... I managed to find what I was looking for; though it took quite a bit of time and effort."

Lady Willow smiles and adds, "It was the least I could do for an old friend." She notices the book in Maria's hand and quickly asks, "Do you think the stories are true?"

"I believe so..." Maria admits quietly and glances down at the book. "I suppose it would explain some things..."

"What do you mean by that?" Apricot demands loudly, standing up and frowning at the trio. "No one ever tells us what's going on! We're still haven't given us an answer from the Aether attack and now there's more stuff? What is going on?"

"Apricot-" Brandon tries to cut in but falls silent when Maria begins to speak.
Tyler and Lady Willow glance at each other as Maria steps forward.

"I do owe you an answer, don't I?" She admits with a frown. "I owed him an answer as well..." Maria pauses and motions for the others to sit down. "It's a pretty long story... you guys should take a seat."

Apricot resumes her spot on the couch as the other three awkwardly sit down on the floor. Both Tyler and Lady Willow watch the girl with concern but remain silent. "Start from the beginning," Apricot requests unhappily. "When did this all begin..."

Maria smiles in amusement at the comment and replies, "A really long time ago, but I wasn't around during that age." The entire group frowns at the comment but remains silent. "Me and Tyler's role, however, only began a few months ago..."

Random Intermission:

(Maria's story is going to be in next chapter because I wrote it, but then it was deleted. Twice. So instead we will going back quite a bit further. I wasn't planning on adding this in until a bit later on but a massive amount of writers block is currently blocking my ability to write in the present. Sorry about that you guys D: this will answer a few things about the story.)

Unknown place and time:

"I'm afraid it's that time of year again," I begin with a sigh and nod to the sign. "It's test day."

Most of the students groan at the comment and express unhappy glances with their friends. A few kids simply cross their arms on the desk and lower their heads to take a nap. Every year the school held a mandatory test that every student had to take.

It wasn't really a big deal, but in the four years I have been a teacher I had never had a single student pass. This was strange considering there was only one question. A few of the older teacher had mentioned a student ten years ago had, but the identity of the student was kept a secret. "I know this seems unimportant, but lets just get it over with so we can get back to work, ok?"

The class consisted of thirty-two eight year old kids. Most of which are either asleep or zoning out at the moment. I'm about to start handing out the test when the door opens and two more figures enter the room. I turn around to identify the newcomers when one blurts out, "Sorry we're late Ms. N, my dad asked me to show the new student around."

"New student?" I ask curiously and glance at the two children. Nathan, the mayor's youngest son turns around and whispers something to the figure behind him before turning back to me. "No one mentioned a new student-"

"She just arrived yesterday," Nathan replies quickly and turns his head to whisper something else to the new student. He glances back at me and adds, "I gave her a tour of the school already."

I pause at the comment and try to get a good luck at the kid. "Are you going to Introduce yourself?" I finally ask and continue to watch the two. "I'm sure the class would love to meet you."

Nathan turns around and whispers something to the other kid before the newcomer steps forward. A girl dressed in gray and black steps forward and glances at the class. A few loose strands of brown hair hang down in her face, but she slips them behind her ear and walks towards the front of the class. "Umm... hi... I- I guess." She steals a glance at Nathan and he nods assuringly. "I'm Katrina... and umm... I just moved here from Cliffside." As soon as she's finished she slips back over to Nathan and whispers something under her breath.

"Cliffside huh, are your parents miners then?" I ask Katrina curiously.

"My day was," Katrina answers quickly. "Mom was a farmer." Her eyes widen slightly, revealing a deep blue color before blurting out, "I mean my dad is a miner... not... was." She tries to smile but It wavers off towards the end and she eventually just stares at the ground.

"Well... ok then." I state after a few awkward moments and turn back towards the class. "Lets get back to the test, alright?" Most of the class had woken up at the mention of a new student, and many kids groan at the comment and go back to sleep. I motion to an open desk in the back of the classroom. "Katrina can sit in the back."

"Don't worry Kaji," Nathan blurts out with a grin as he slips into his seat. Only Nathan would yell across half the classroom just to tell someone not to worry. "It's just test day, you can sleep through it." He gives her a thumbs up and turns back towards the front of the class.

I sigh at the boys antics but start passing out the tests. It would be best if we didn't waste any more time, especially considering we're already a few minutes behind the other classes. "No talking, no getting out of your desk, no eating or drinking, no moving unless you have to, no obnoxious hand signals," I begin repeating the rules to the children, fully aware that they aren't listening. "You are not allowed to go to the bathroom during the test, or use additional resources beyond the packet." My eyes drift to a particular group of children in the front row; a group lead by Nathan himself. "We will not be making a shrine to the 'potato spirit' during the test this year, understand?"

Nathan grins at the comment and asks, "Can we make a shrine to a different spirit?" He's fully aware that he won't get in trouble because his dad is the town mayor. "There's nothing against making shrines in the rule book!" I glance at Katrina and start to feel sorry for the little girl, she probably had to listen to Nathan all morning...

"Yes there is, it falls under the 'don't move unless you have to' one," I reply with a sigh and slam the test down on Nathan's desk. The pile slowly diminishes as I pass out the tests. I stop at Katrina's desk and drop the last test off. "You don't have to do it I you don't want to," I add and point to the test.

Katrina nods silently and pulls a piece of charcoal from her bag. I walk back to my desk and sink down in the chair. This was a pretty troublesome year compared to last year. "And... begin," I call out, causing a group if kids to lower their heads and begin napping.

I pull a book out of my desk and start skimming through the first page. A movement in the front draws my attention as Nathan starts playing with his piece of charcoal. This is distracting, but better then last year when he started a miniature fire on his desk and started chanting in some random language. (Where exactly the fire came from was never discovered.) I'm not sure what the mayor has taught his son, or more like hasn't in the case of manners, but is certainly isn't very normal.

My eyes drift to the back of the room where Katrina is staring at the test. I blink slightly when I notice that she appears to be concentrating. Of course, she thinks this is just a normal test. I sigh slightly and stare down at the book in my hand. I'm sure she'll realize she can't do it pretty soon and start zoning out like he others.

A few pages later, and I notice another movement in the crowd of students. My gaze moves straight to Nathan, but the boy is sitting there a bit too innocently. I watch the boy for a few seconds before I notice the movement once again. In the very back of the room, Katrina is scribbling something down on the test.

She glances at something else on the paper and scribbles something else down on the test. When she's finished, she sets the piece of charcoal down and turns the paper over. I turn my attention to the rest of the class and find that everyone has finished. With another sigh I stand up and yell, "Class dismissed." Within seconds, almost the entire class is out of their seats and out the door. It's almost creepy how fast they an leave the class, especially considering that they never come in nearly as fast.

"Hey, Kaji!" A voice calls out rather loudly and runs down the aisle of desks. "Come on, we have more stuff to see before dinner!" Nathan practically drags the poor girl down the row and out the door. "Hey! Don't kick me! It's not my fault you're so slow!" Nathan's voice calls out. "Ok- ok! I won't pull on your arm anymore!"

I smile slightly at the comment. Maybe this Katrina girl isn't quite as fragile as I thought, especially if she's putting up with Nathan. My thoughts drift off to a bit to earlier. She said she's from Cliffside, a large mining town up in the mountains. I have to admit, she seems a bit small to be a miner... maybe a farmer... but certainly not a miner, and why did she freak out so much when she said 'was' instead of 'is'?

A stand up with a sigh and start collecting the tests. The tests are either completely blank or the students drooled a bit on them. I glance at the top one and look at the question. The entire test is comprised of a single question, and it doesn't really count as a question; it's just a very long list of over a thousand numbers and a slot to place the answer. There aren't even any directions to explain what you're suppose to do.

I reach the desk in the back of the classroom and grab the last test. Something on top of the paper falls off the desk and onto the floor. With a sigh I lean over and search for the fallen object. My hand brushes against something and a pull the object out from under the desk. The object is simply a small piece of charcoal that Katrina had been writing with earlier.

"Strange," I mutter and examine how small the piece is. "She must have used it on something..." She was scribbling something down earlier, wasn't she? My eyes subconsciously drift to her paper which rests on the top of the pile. Her name is scribbled across the top like she was in a hurry and below it is the largest mass of numbers I've ever seen. Every pixel of the paper is covered in some sort of an equation except for the answer slot.

I'm so focused on the paper that I completely miss the door opening and closing as the principal enters the room. "Err... what exactly are you doing?" A voice questions from the doorway.

"Wha-" I jump slightly and hit my head on the bottom of the desk. "Dear Notch Mr. West, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that!"

The principal is an elderly man, his hair gray and face dropping slightly. He looks up in surprise and replies, "Sorry about that, I just stopped by to see how the test went."

"Umm... pretty good, I guess?" I answer uneasily. "Most of them are blank like they usually are but..." I glance at Katrina's test. "Well- I'm not really sure what this means."

Mr. West pauses for a second before adding, "Can I see?" I quickly nod and hand the paper over. He scans it for a few seconds in complete silence. "Whose test is this?"

"There was a new student today, Katrina, I think." I answer curiously and wait for an explanation. "It's her test-"

"Last name. Katrina what? First names don't matter, they never do." He cuts in, his eyes never moving from the paper.

I blink slightly at the comment. Why does he want to know her last name? Why was it so important? "I'm not really sure," I answer honestly. "It was just 'Katrina', nothing else..."

He falls silent for a moment. "A nickname." Mr. West mutters to himself before staring straight at me and asking, "Did any of the kids give her a nickname?"

"Umm... yes. Sort of? Nathan, you know the mayors son?" I begin uncertainly. "He was showing her around the school and he kept calling her Kaji."

The principal smiles slightly and relaxes. "Of course the mayor is involved," He nods thankfully to me. "After what happened to his family I'm sure he's happy to help anyway he can..."

"Wait... what? How's the mayor involved in all of this?" I ask with a frown. "What in the world are you talking about anyway?"

He pauses for a moment before replying, "Never mind. Sorry that you had to hear that." Mr. West shakes his head and adds, "Just forget I ever said anything, ok? I fear I'm just getting a bit too ... suspicious ... of things."

"Err... well ok then," I mutter in confusion and watch as he folds up Katrina's test and places it in his bag.

"Katrina passed," He states calmly. "It's rare for a student to pass but not unheard of. I'm afraid that you can't mention this to anyone else." His eyes flicker briefly before he adds, "The last time this happened... the info reached a higher power. If this gets out there will be deadly consequences." Mr. West smiles briefly, eyes still dark from the comment, and leaves the room.

"Well... that was unusual," I murmur after a few moments. "Age must have finally caught up with that old geezer." I laugh a bit at his final comment. Deadly consequences, he's finally going mad.

I keep smiling and pack up my supplies. It would be best to simply forget what happened today and continue on like nothing happened. The door opens with a creak as I step out into the open. A gust of wind rushes through the valley as I close the door, sending more leaves tumbling to the ground. "It's almost autumn," I mutter and stare at the colorful array of trees. "I guess it'll be getting colder soon..."

My eyes drift to the valley below the school and I notice some of the younger children are playing in the greenery below. "Sometimes I forget how peaceful it is here," I add with a smile and shift my gaze towards a group of oak trees. Some of the teenagers are holding an archery competition under the branches and at the end of the tree covered valley is the sea.

Two children are walking through the greenery and I instantly recognize the blonde haired boy as Nathan. My gaze shifts to the girl beside him but as soon as I look at her she freezes and stops walking. Nathan keeps walking forward but she turns around and stares up at me. She noticed me?! How in the world did she- Kaji looks up with a blank expression, her eyes narrowing when she notices me. She simply nods uneasily and turns to run after Nathan.

It takes me a few minutes to register what just happened. What in the world was that? She just notices someone's looking at her, locates that person, and nods to them? "Do you understand what I'm saying now?" A voice asks from behind me. I spin around to find Mr. West standing right behind me.

"I told you to stop doin that!" I blurt out and step back a few feet. He frowns at the comment and I add, "Why are you still here anyways?"

"I only left a few minutes ago," He retaliates with a sigh. "What, can an old man not take a walk in peace these days? I was simply walking around the campus and I noticed you watching some of the children." He smiles and nods to the valley below. "Don't watch her, she'll notice immediately if you do."

"What-" I try to ask as he turns to walk away. "Hey, wait a second! Where are you going?"

Mr. West keeps walking and shouts back, "Why I'm going home of course, it'll be dark soon and the mobs have started coming out a bit early. He pauses and adds, "I'm sure that you're curious as to what's going on, but trust me." His voice suddenly becoming deathly serious. "Stay out of this." Mr. West turns around with a slight grin and quickly yells out, "Have a nice evening!"

Within a few seconds he's already down the path leading thought the valley and has disappeared among the tree line. I growl slightly when I realize there's no way to find an answer. The entire region is covered in thick trees, and it's easy to disappear into the thick foliage. In fact, one of the reasons that the town is so peaceful is because very few people actually know that the town exists. Due to the small population it was never recorded on any maps and the forest makes it difficult for travelers to reach the coast. "A perfect place for anyone who wants to disapear," I mutter, my gaze moving back to the area I had last seen Katrina. "I wonder of that's what she's trying to do..."

The teacher watches as I disapear back into the shadows. Nathan's blabbering on and on about some "adventure" he went on a few weeks ago. I smile weakly when her glances at me to make sure I'm following along. I've only known him for a day and I can already tell that he drives everyone around him insane. A person can only take so much optomism and smiling before it begins slowly driving them insane. Like a tiny knife slowly sawing away at you're sanity.

"Kaji!" Nathan cries out unhappily and turns around with a frown. "Why are you so quiet? I know you're trying to fit in and everything but to do that you have to act normally! Just act exacately like me! I'm normal!"

"Never in a million years would you be considered normal!" I reply starkly and roll my eyes. "So no, I will not be copying you."

"Fine," Nathan says with a sigh. "You don't have to be so uptight about it... I know what happened to you're family, and I know that you need to disapear. That's why I'm helping you... because it'll be easier to disapear if you fit in instead of being all quiet and stuff."

I pause to consider the options. No matter how much I hate to admit it, Nathan's right. "Okay, I'll talk more often," I reply quietely and quickly add a condition. "But only if you stop calling me Kaji, okay?"

"Deal!" Nathan says with a smile, grabbing ahold of my hand and shaking it. As soon as he's done he starts running down the valley again and drags me along behind him. I frown when I realize that I'll never be able to use my real name again. From now on I'm Katrina Weld, the new exchange student from Cliffide.

I sigh and glance back towards the sea. "Kaji," I mutter under my breath. "Kaji Elder..."

YAY! New characters! So, we've got Lady Red Willow in the present and Kaji, Nathan, and Mr. West in the unknown time zone. (Just a hint... it's in the past) The teacher won't really be showing up again and if she does then she won't be important. I just needed a random perspective and the kind of just... showed up. Yeah. So umm... yeah. Please tell me what you think of the chapter in a reviews review. I want to know what you guy predict will happen next! Also, 5'000 words? :D

Random question: What's been your favorite chapter so far? And why is it your favorite chapter?