A/N: Hey, Ender here. No reviews again this week, but I know you guys are reading. Since this is going to be the second to last chapter if things go as planed, I would really like your guys feedback on the story more than ever. The next story in this series will be Izra's Fall and the first chapter will probably be out between one or two weeks after this one ends. Anyway, on with the chapter.

Notch's POV

The motions of shadows dancing across the area in front of me awoke me, the darker areas sending messages of movement to my brain through my closed eyes. Opening my eyes, I felt a dull ache in the muscles, as if I had somehow managed to overstretch every muscle down to the tiny ones in my eyes. Ignoring this, I forced my eyes to remain open, and gradually they adjusted to the brighter area that was the room.

I lay in a bed covered in white sheets. At it's foot, stood my brothers, their faces showing varying levels of relief and concern.

"You're okay!" cried Steve, racing around the bed to give me a big hug, half formed tears springing to life as he did so. I winced at the strain his sudden movements had put on my sore body.

"Don't do that Steve" said Shadow, moving to pull him away.

"No, it's okay." I groaned "Poor Steve has been through enough because of me. I can deal with this."

Through all of this, Herobrine had done nothing except look at the floor with a mixture of guilt and unhappiness.

You okay? I sent, looking at him quizzically.

*Yeah,* he said *Don't worry about me.* he flashed me a half smile before turning to walk from the room.

Shadow looked from Herobrine to me before saying "Stay here Steve, I have to go do something." He turned to follow Herobrine from the room.

"What was that about?" murmured Steve, arms still wrapped around me.

"I don't know," I sighed "Those two are so hard to read sometimes."

Shadow's POV

"Herobrine, I know you're out here." I said, standing on one of the courtyard overlooks that Steve's castle seemed to have a plethora of.

"Up here." I heard Herobrine call. Looking up, I saw him laying on the sloped roof of the nearby tower.

Spreading my wings, I climbed onto the low railing. With a few flaps, I had flown up to where Herobrine lay. "So why are you up here?" I asked.

"Oh, just trying to deal with emotions." he sighed "I'm not very good at doing it in a passive way, so I figured It might be better if I was in an area without anyone around."

"What's got you so worked up then?" I asked.

*Tread carefully,* said Illusion *We know he is capable of doing very reckless things without much of a thought. We do not want this to end in disaster for either of you.*

"Just what's going on in general I guess. I mean I hated Notch for so long for keeping me prisoner in the Nether, but then I found out that he had been under another lord's influence, and then he risked his life to save me. I just don't know what to think anymore, and it's driving me crazy!" A ring of fire spread outwards from where Herobrine sat like a ripple, the ring gradually expanding as it grew further from it's source. I threw a force field around myself just before it reached where I stood, feeling the heat lick its way around the fragile bubble that separated me from it. The ring went out for about twenty blocks in each direction before fading into sparks. This still left a large portion of Steve's roof and courtyard a charred mess, but at least it wasn't on fire any more.

"Oops." said Herobrine, sounding too tired to really care about what had happened.

"Better?" I asked.

"Not really." he sighed.

"We can fix this later." I said "Let's go do something fun for once. We never do anything as a family and I've got a feeling this is the closest we are going to get to a full family gathering."

"Sure, why not." said Herobrine, his voice showing his clear lack of any enthusiasm "It's not like I have anything better to do."

Teloxen's POV

The cell where I had been dragged off to was dark, the door flush to the ground so that not even a trickle of light reached me from the outside. Hot waves rose up from the floor, so I had taken refuge on a raised ledge that was probably supposed to serve as a sleeping area. It seemed that there was lava not far below me, that I was only separated from the boiling fluid by a single layer of dark colored bricks.

A soft thud could be heard from the other side of the door and somehow through the darkness I saw the door shift from the force applied to it. Staggering to my feet, I went over to the doorway, mangled wings wrapped around myself to give some semblance of protection.

Placing my palm flat on the door, I reached out my senses through the material to where the person, or whatever it was, seemed to be present. Hopefully the more restrained manner in which I was using my senses would prevent Zeren from noticing my actions.

I sent out a single strand of sense beyond the door, allowing it to reach into the one who leaned against the door. The conflicting mix of Chaos and Overworld powers told me who the person on the door's other side was.

"You okay Israphel?" I asked, hesitantly, hoping that my guess was correct. As a lord of balance, I was especially skilled at detecting variations in an individual's magic signature, but there was always a chance that a mistake could have been made.

"Tch, that's just like you." I heard him say, his voice betraying hidden laughter. "You're all locked up by your own family members, and all that trouble's you is what's wrong in my life. However wrong what he did was, Zeren was right about something. You take after Tanya's kind much more than you ever did from Chaos kind."

"Former family." I said, pushing away the rage I had for Zeren because of what he had done. "Zeren has forever broken the trust I had for him. What's wrong though? I doubt that you would risk Zeren's wrath to come and find me just to ask if I was well."

"How very perspective." he said, sarcasm lacing every word. "I've been having nightmares." he said after a silent moment. "Every night they have grown worse, until last night. IN that one, I watched the fall of realms, all realms, and a voice told me what I could only guess to be a prophecy. I can tell you if you'd like."

"No," I said "Not here, never here. Write it down and give it to Rayko. He will take it to the Realm-kind for you if you wish it."

"But why him?" asked Israphel "I mean, if it weren't for him, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"Yes, well I doubt he knew that the information he gave would lead to." I said "And out of those three, he is the only one who does not have a high loyalty to another lord. Vakara is practically Milota's protegé, and Dexos and Sallen work very closely, or so I've heard. Rayko would probably be delighted to help."

Hesitantly he asked "What good will showing the Realm-kind be? And what does this prophecy mean? Why was it given to me?"

I sighed. "It is what many refer to as Chaos' Curse." I said "Quite often when a Chaos lord grows especially strong, they will be shown the prophecy that brings their downfall. Trying to prevent it almost always leads to its fulfillment, but few lords can resist the urge to do so. In your case though, I can sense that the sand had not yet completely converted you to Chaos ways. This is your chance to ensure that the lords you wish to protect are prepared for the sand's rise, your chance to protect them from what happened in the last sand war.

I knew that the first sand war had been nothing though, compared to what would happen if Izra fully succumbed to the sand's power. The sand was a physical manifestation of Chaos' power, and it had managed to do that it did from a Crafter host, Lehparsi, the sand-touched king who had destroyed armies in his quest to rise as leader of the Overworld. This had happened many seasons ago, but the carnage was still visible in places. And if the sand was able to fully control Izra, to make him Israphel to the core, then there was not telling the scale of the damage it would be able to do with a lord of creepers as it's host.

"I shall do as you advise." I heard him say. "The sand's power fights me even as I say this, and in my heart I always knew this might happen. The least I can do is prepare them for what is to come."

I heard him rise, then pause at the doorway, saying "I hope we may meet once more during a more peaceful time, with both of us restored to the power we chose." With that, his footsteps started, retreating into the depths of the fortress that was my prison.

A/N: I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Please consider leaving a review, they are really helpful to me and motivate me to keep writing. Also, any questions for the characters can be left in the reviews section or PM'ed to me. I hope you have a great day and I shall see you all next chapter. Bye! :D