Although it may not seem like it, Jesse trusted Alex with his life. He just didn't want to see his girlfriend...er, sorry, his WIFE...get harmed in any way. So when he saw me suddenly get trapped in Herobrine's energy prison, he was understandably alarmed.

Jesse tried pushing through the crowd to get to me, but there were too many people blocking his way and slowing him down. Seeing me starting to suffocate to death only made him push through the crowd faster. But when he saw Herobrine suddenly loosen his grip on me, he stopped in confusion. Why was Herobrine suddenly deciding to spare me?

Jesse saw Herobrine lean into my ear and whisper something that he was unable to make out. Suddenly, the Ancient leaned back and started yelling at the top of his lungs to address the crowd that was watching us fearfully. "LISTEN UP!," he boomed, once again causing everyone to jump. "DO YOU SEE THE MOON?!" He pointed up at the moon that was slowly being consumed by the strange shadow. "THIS MOON WILL STAY UP IN THE SKY AND SERVE AS A REMINDER TO THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN ME! ONCE THE MOON IS COMPLETELY COVERED BY THAT SHADOW, I WILL ARRIVE INTO THIS WORLD IN MY TRUE FORM AND WREAK HAVOC THE LIKES OF WHICH YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN! IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE ANY OF YOU RUN! YOU WILL ALL PERISH!"

Jesse managed to push himself to the front of the crowd. "We'll stop you!," he said with determination. "Jesse, stay back!," I yelled, only to have my voice cut off by Herobrine tightening the shield around me again. "Quiet!," he sneered. "The adults are talking." Then, he glared down at Jesse with disdain. "Listen here, boy," he growled. "You don't know who I am. I am the most powerful being in all of existence. I am eternal. I. Am. God." Far away, Notch raised an eyebrow in existence. The most powerful being in existence, eh? We'll see about that.

"Then you clearly have no idea who WE are!," Jesse retorted. "We're the Order of the Stone! We eat up villains like you for breakfast!" Herobrine reared his head back and laughed. "You? Defeat me? Don't make me laugh, you fool. If the previous Order of the Stone couldn't defeat me, then what chances do YOU have?" I stared at Herobrine in shock, and suddenly, all the pieces came together. "It was you," I whispered. "You killed them. You left that message on the wall. You impersonated Lukas. It was all you." Herobrine smirked, as if he was PROUD of the fact that he had brutally murdered someone's family. "I cannot say that I was directly responsible for that," he said musingly. "But yes, I definitely had a hand in that."

That was all the assurance that I needed. I roared in fury and began thrashing around in the confines of the energy prison, trying desperately to break out so I could strangle that monster with my bare hands. "I'LL KILL YOU!," I screamed, yelling and sobbing at the same time. Herobrine frowned and began squeezing me to death again. "You are a prisoner!," he snapped. "Prisoners don't talk back!" "Let her go!," yelled Jesse, balling his hands into fists. He knew that he stood no chance against someone who was as powerful as Herobrine, but if he had to beat him up with his own fists, he'd gladly do so without any hesitation.

Herobrine sneered down at him. "No, I don't think I will," he said. "In fact, why don't we dispel all of this tension by playing a little game? It'll be fun." I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, and so did Jesse. If Herobrine's idea of entertainment was anything like Notch's, then we were all in for a very nasty surprise. "Here are the rules of the game," Herobrine declared. "The moon will serve as a timer. If the shadow ever covers the moon completely, then time has run out and you all lose. As punishment, I will enter the mortal realm in my true form and slaughter every man, woman, and child in the world, until there is nothing left but death and destruction."

"This so-called 'game' of yours seems pretty one-sided, if you ask me," Jesse said angrily. Herobrine glared at him. "Then perhaps you should let me finish first," he retorted. "If you and your friends manage to beat the game before time runs out, then you all win. I will leave this place and never come back. None of you will ever have to see me again."

"And how do we know...you'll keep your end...of the bargain?," I gasped, trying to talk through the lack of air entering my lungs. "You don't," Herobrine said bluntly. "You'll all just have to take my word for it. Besides…" He chuckled darkly. "...I'll kill everyone anyway if you refuse to play the game. At least if you accept my offer, it'll buy you some time before the inevitable." As much as I hated to admit it, I could see the logic behind that reasoning. Which was worse, to have a maniac with omnipotent powers destroy the world instantly, or to have a maniac with omnipotent powers play with his prey first BEFORE destroying the world instantly?

"So how do we win?," asked Jesse, glaring at Herobrine suspiciously. "Simple," said Herobrine, holding up a finger. "While we were speaking, I have taken five random items from your treasure room and hidden them in five different locations all over the world. Your job is to get all five of those items back, bring them to me before the moon completely darkens, and you win. Fail to do so, and the blood of millions will be on YOUR hands, not mine." "But that's not even fair!," cried Jesse. "How do we find these items when we don't even know where to look?" "Oh, don't be such a little pussy," Herobrine scoffed. "I'm not going to make the game impossible for you. Where would the fun be in that? Here, I'm giving you a map that shows exactly where to go. Just follow the map and you'll find the items." Herobrine took a rolled up map out of his pocket and handed it to Jesse, who slowly took it apprehensively, as if the map was going to come to life and bite his hand off. While taking the map, he mulled over the rules of the games. So all they had to do was follow the directions on the map and collect the same treasures as before? It sounded easy. Too easy, in fact. There had to be a catch to all of this.

"Oh, there's definitely a catch," said Herobrine, even though neither me nor Jesse had ever said so out loud. "Two, actually. You'll find out what the first one is when you finally get to those dimensions. And as for the second twist…" He grinned menacingly. "...Alex will be working alone." "W-where are you going to take me?," I asked nervously, failing to keep the stutter out of my voice. Herobrine's grin grew even wider. "Hell," he said, then snapped his fingers.

I was instantly teleported away, much to the alarm of Jesse and everyone else who were watching. "Alex!," cried Jesse, staring at the spot where I had just been. He turned to glare at Herobrine. "Where did you take her?! Bring her back right now!" Herobrine chuckled and leaned back lazily like he was lying on an invisible hammock, his hands behind his back. "No, I don't think I will," he said. "I already gave you the map. I can't make the game TOO easy now, can I? After all, an Admin is a very powerful ally to have by your side." Jesse balled his hands into fists while grinding his teeth together in anger. This wasn't how the day was supposed to go. This was supposed to be the happiest day of his life. After all, what was better than finally marrying the love of your life? Instead, this day had turned into a neverending nightmare.

Herobrine grinned and pointed up at the moon, which was slowly being consumed by the shadow. "Tick tock, Jesse," he said. Then, with one last evil laugh, he reverted back into a ball of energy and shot up into the sky, piercing through the fabric of reality and vanishing into thin air. At first, everyone who had witnessed what had just happened were shocked into silence, still trying to comprehend the situation they were in. Then, with me no longer around to keep them calm, they started panicking all over again. One could say they were overreacting, but let's face it, how would YOU react if you heard that the world was going to end in the near future?

Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who could keep the peace. Isaac pulled his hands apart and brought them together, causing a loud CRACK to fill the air. The sound itself was full of so much power and authority that everyone who heard it immediately stopped what they were doing and stared at Isaac. "Panicking will get us nowhere," the former hitman spoke in a loud, clear voice. "Remember that the end of the world is not the only thing we need to worry about. There is still a serial killer on the loose. You all need to pack up and evacuate this place as soon as possible. Understand?" Fortunately, everyone understood what Isaac was saying and were more than willing to follow his instructions. They began running back into their houses to collect their belongings, gather up their loved ones, and prepare to leave Beacontown.

Meanwhile, Detective Reynolds was watching the whole thing in shocked silence. This was far beyond anything he had ever dealt with in his long career. Oh, so NOW they decide to evacuate!, he mentally ranted. Don't listen to the experienced detective with years of experience and knowledge under his belt. Nope, let's listen to the former assassin who killed god knows how many people in the past! He looked up at the shadow spreading over the moon, which had been growing during the conversation between me, Jesse, and Herobrine. It was still moving incredibly slowly, almost like a snail. This would give some people the impression that they had plenty of time before the world ended, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. The pace of the shadow may seem "slow" to some people, but they forget just how massive the moon really is. If Reynolds had to guess, they only had a week at most before the moon was covered up by the shadow completely. He looked down at the crowd and squinted his eyes in an effort to find the Order of the Stone. He quickly managed to spot them...as they were running away.

"Hey, stop right there!," the detective yelled, jumping down from the podium. "I have questions that need to be answered! Stop in the name of the law!" Jesse and the others either didn't hear him or just flat out ignored him, so they kept on running. It was more likely the former since everyone else was practically screaming their heads off, drowning out Reynold's voice by a milestone. Reynolds tried to shove his way through the crowd, but there were just so many people running around and bumping into each other that weaving through them was damn near impossible. Reynolds finally entered a pocket of air in the crowd that allowed him some space to properly breathe. He stood up on his tip toes and looked around frantically, but it was too late. The Order of the Stone was nowhere to be seen. Unable to hold in his rage and frustration any longer, Reynolds took off his fedora and threw it to the ground, then started jumping on it up and down while screaming in anger. He'd definitely need a stiff drink after this.

Meanwhile, the entire group - Jesse, Petra, Lukas, Axel, Olivia, Harper, Isaac, Isa, and Reginald - had managed to squeeze their way out of the crowd and ran until they were just outside of the city's borders. The screams of terror from the citizens could still be heard, but they were much quieter now, allowing the group to finally think clearly and process what had just happened. "That just happened, right?," asked Lukas, gasping for air. "That whole...thing with the moon and that guy with the white eyes. I wasn't the only one who saw that, right?"

"No, it definitely wasn't just you," said Petra. "We all saw that." "I-I can't believe that just happened," said Isa, beginning to hyperventilate. "Who was that man? What did he do to my daughter?!" Reginald realized that Isa was losing it and rubbed her back in an effort to calm her down. "Don't worry about Alex," he said in a comforting voice. "She's as tough as they come. I'm sure that she'll be fine." However, that didn't calm Isa down in the least. She only began to hyperventilate harder. "Don't worry. We're going to get her back," Jesse said firmly. "No matter what it takes." That was enough to calm her down for a moment, and she gave Jesse a small smile. "Thank you, Jesse," she said gratefully. "Alex is lucky to have you as her husband." "Uh, excuse me," said Olivia. "I don't mean to ruin this moment, but what are we going to do now? You guys heard what...uh, what was his name again?" "Herobrine," said Isaac, recalling what he heard me whisper back in Beacontown. "Right, Herobrine," said Olivia. "Anyway, you guys heard what he said. When the moon's completely darkened, he's going to come to this world in his true form and 'wreak havoc,' whatever that means. So what do we do now?"

Jesse sighed heavily. "There's only one thing left to do, but you guys aren't going to like it," he said. "We have to play Herobrine's game and get back the treasures that he took from our treasure room and hid all over the world." "Uh, you're right," said Axel. "I DON'T like that plan. Come on, Jesse, you don't really think that tool is going to keep his word, right? He's gonna kill everyone in the world, for god's sake!" "But Jesse has a point," said Harper. "What other choice do we have? Keep in mind that Herobrine just dealt with Alex like she was nothing, and Alex is supposed to be one of the most powerful beings in the world! It's not like we can just refuse to play his game. If we do that, he might get angry and destroy the world anyway. At least if we go along with his game, it'll buy us some time." She wrinkled her nose in fear and disgust. "It's like we're dealing with someone who has Hadrian's sadism, PAMA's ruthlessness, and Romeo's powers. That's an extremely dangerous combination if I've ever heard one."

"He said we had to find those items and bring them back before time runs out," said Isaac. "The question is, how do we even find out where those items are? They could be anywhere." "Actually, Herobrine gave me a map," said Jesse, taking out the map that Herobrine gave him. "It's supposed to lead us to where those items are located." "That's great!," said Petra. "Come on, open it up! We gotta move quickly!" Jesse unrolled the map, but to his shock and anger, the paper was almost blank. There were no pictures of landmarks, no plotted routes, not even a giant X to mark the spot. All that was written on the "map" was a message written in cursive: "Where it all started." Other than that, there was absolutely nothing.

"I can't believe this!," yelled Lukas, outraged by the Ancient's audacity. "What's the point of giving us a blank map?! To mock us?!" "I knew he was nothing but a good for nothing liar!," Axel huffed, crossing his arms. "But what about the message?," asked Reginald, trying to see the silver lining. "That could help us, right?" "We don't even know what it means," said Isa. "It could mean anything." "Hold on, I think Reginald has a point," said Olivia. "If Herobrine wanted to make fun of us, he could've picked a much better jab than 'Where it all started.' I think it's supposed to mean something. But...what?" The entire group pondered on what that message was trying to tell them, but for the life of them, they just couldn't figure it out. Suddenly, Jesse, Axel, Olivia, Lukas, and Petra had the same idea at the exact same time. "Endercon!," they all shouted at the same time, scaring the living daylights out of Harper, Isaac, Isa, and Reginald. "Okay, sudden scares aside," gasped Harper, clutching her chest as if she nearly had a heart attack, "you folks mind explaining what's going on in your heads right now?"

"Oh, sorry," Jesse apologized. "Endercon used to be this huge festival that we'd go to every month or so. People would come to build cool structures and inventions, and the winner got to meet Gabriel the Warrior! That's where we first met Alex and went on our first adventure together." "But what does that have to do with finding those items?," asked Isa. "Maybe that's where we're supposed to go first," said Petra. "Who knows, Herobrine might've hid one of the items at the spot where Endercon used to be!" "But that is a very bold assumption," Isaac said. "How do we know THAT is what the message meant? What if we are supposed to go back to the Underneath, where Alex was born?" "Then we are in serious trouble," said Jesse. "Alex was the only one who could teleport there. Without her, we'd never be able to get there and we'd automatically lose the game. I don't think Herobrine would just set us up for failure like that. Remember, he wants to be entertained, just like Notch. It'd be pretty boring for him if he knew from the start that we'd fail." "You've got a point, Jesse," said Harper, nodding her head.

"But now we come across our second problem," said Olivia. "Once we get there, how do we know what to look for? We know that they were taken from our treasure room, but let's face it, we've collected so much stuff during our time as heroes that those items could be anything." "Then we'll just have to go to the treasure room and see what's missing," said Jesse. "And we'd better be quick about it too. Who knows how long it'll be before our time runs out."

"There you guys are!," someone suddenly hollered. "We've been looking all over for you!" Everyone turned and saw Lucifer flying towards them. The rest of the group - Annie, Gill, Maya, Ghost, Nancy, Radar, Stella, Jack, Nurm, and Lluna - were sitting on his back. Once Lucifer landed in front of them, everyone jumped off his back. "What happened back there?," asked Nancy, an expression of pure worry on her face. "Where did that man take Alex?" "We're just as lost as you are," said Lukas. "Where were you guys anyway? I don't think I saw any of you in the crowd back at Beacontown." "Once that white-eyed freak said he stole some treasures from your treasure room and hid them, we immediately went there to see what was missing," Jack explained. "So what did you guys find?," asked Jesse. "We found out that the missing items are the ones that you guys found during your adventures through the Portal Network a long time ago," said Stella. "He took the Eversource crown, the white pumpkin, the Redstone Heart, the Atlas, and the giant nether star that the Wither Storm dropped." "Actually, there's one more thing that he took," Radar corrected her. "He also took an ender pearl." "An ender pearl?," asked Isa, turning to the others in confusion. "Why would you have an ender pearl as one of your treasures? They're incredibly common to find."

"It's...not really a treasure," said Jesse. "It's more like...a reminder of the tough times we went through." He didn't really want to talk about my history with Thomas or how the latter turned into an enderman after being hit with a mysterious potion and dropped his ender pearl after melting in the water that killed PAMA. Part of it was because he didn't want to relive that memory, and the other part was because he didn't want to waste time delivering yet another convoluted exposition. "Well, whatever it is, we gotta go get that pearl AND the other items that the guy took," said Annie. "By the way, who even WAS he?," asked Maya. "Yeah," said Gill. "Mind filling us in right about now?" Jesse sighed. "Honestly, even WE don't know him either. The only person who seemed to have recognized him was Alex, and she's...you know."

"Naw!," Ghost laughed, waving it off. "C'mon, this is Alex we're talking about! Why would she hide something this big from us?" "You'd be surprised, Ghost," said Petra, causing Ghost to raise his eyebrows in surprise. "Alex is...not an extroverted person. If hiding the truth from us means keeping us safe, she'll definitely do it." "Hold on," Stella said meekly. "That other guy… Detective Reynolds...was he telling the truth? That someone...murdered them?" Reginald sighed and nodded. "Yes, it's all true," he spoke quietly. "I was there. I saw the bodies." Those who weren't there to witness the gruesome crime scene from earlier turned to Jesse for confirmation, but he just hung his head and didn't speak a word. Once the reality of what had happened hit them, they all did the same thing and hung their heads in silence, with Isa's sniffles occasionally breaking the silence. Stella was shocked into silence, her face turning pale and her eyes growing wet. Lluna saw how distressed her owner was and tried licking her hand to calm her down. Lucifer let out a sad growl, his wings hanging by his sides limply.

Harper was the first one to snap out of it. "As callous as this might sound," she said sadly, "we can't mourn them forever. We need to get into action." "Harper's right," said Olivia, blinking the tears from her eyes. "We have to get those treasures back before it's too late." "If we want to have the best chances of winning this game," said Isa, "we need as many people as possible. Are you all sure that this is everyone?" "What about Ramus?," asked Petra. "He survived the murder, didn't he? He could help us." "But we don't even know where he is," said Axel. "He ran away and hasn't even come back yet. For all we know, he could be lost out there, slowly bleeding to death…" "Axel!," Olivia hissed, elbowing him in the gut. Axel winced, not from the elbow jab, which actually hurt a lot, but from the guilt upon realizing who he was talking in front of. "Oops. Sorry, Isa." "It's fine," Isa sighed, slightly quivering. "But please, don't say such things like that again." "Maybe Lucifer knows where he is," Annie suggested. Lucifer's ears perked up at the mention of his name. "Do you know where your owner is, Lucifer?," Nancy asked. Lucifer visibly deflated and whined softly, his ears drooping back down.

"I don't think even Lucifer knows where Ramus is," said Lukas. "I guess we'll just have to move on without him," Jack sighed, with Nurm humming in agreement. "But where the hell do we go from here?," asked Ghost. "We know what those items are, but where are they hidden?" "We might have a clue about that," said Jesse, unrolling the map and showing everyone the message that was written on it. "Herobrine gave this to me back in Beacontown. He told me it's a map that will lead us to the hidden treasures." Annie squinted at the so-called "map." "Uh, Jesse?," she asked. "This is obviously not a map. It's a blank piece of paper with a stupid riddle written on it." "We know," Petra drawled. "We have eyes." "As you can all see, the message says, 'Where it all started.' It's kind of a stretch, but we think that means we have to go back to where Endercon used to be held. That's where we first met Alex, and right after that, went on our first adventure. I know that it's not much, but...it's all we have to go by."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?," said Ghost. "Come on, we gotta move!" Since there were nineteen of them in total and Lucifer could only carry up to ten people on his back at a time, not to mention that Lucifer was already exhausted from his earlier flight, those who were less physically fit - Axel, Olivia, Harper, Annie, Gill, Maya, Stella, Nurm, and Lluna - chose to ride on Lucifer's back, while the ones who were more on the athletic side - Jesse, Petra, Lukas, Isaac, Isa, Reginald, Ghost, Nancy, Radar, and Jack - decided to travel the old fashioned way. But as the group began their journey, none of them noticed that two other people were watching them from a long distance. Notch and Herobrine were spying on the group from afar, eager to see what their next move would be. "You've done a superb job, old friend," said Notch. "That dramatic display earlier was almost as good as mine." Herobrine scoffed, not missing the "almost" part of Notch's sentence. In Notch's eyes, anything that Herobrine did, Notch could do better, or so he believed. It infuriated the white eyed man to no end. "Glad to hear your praise," he said in a sarcastic manner. As the two of them watched the group leave, a question suddenly popped into Notch's head. "I hope you don't mind me asking this, but how does a treasure hunt fit into all of this? The bet was for you to break Alex, not to banish her to an alternate timeline and send her friends on a wild goose chase." Herobrine growled under his breath. It was as if there was nothing he could do that Notch wouldn't look down on and patronize him for.

"You'll see what I'm planning in time, old friend," he responded. "For now, just enjoy the show like you always do. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what I have in store for them." Notch raised an eyebrow. "So you talked to Jeb?," he asked. Herobrine's right eye twitched in irritation. Of course he'd already know, he thought, angry that his surprise was ruined. "Yes, I talked to him earlier today," he said. "He agreed to be a part of this game. Those foolish little weaklings won't know what hit them…" "Alex will be revolted," Notch remarked, before his smile turned into a grin that was as vicious as Herobrine's. "I'm loving this already."

As Jesse and his friends traveled towards their destination, Lucifer made sure to fly just slow enough so that the people running on the ground were able to keep up with him, which wasn't that much of a difference in speed considering that he's also carrying nine people on his back. While they ran, Jesse noticed that Isaac had been unusually silent for a while. Normally, this wouldn't come as a big surprise. After all, the former hitman was usually pretty silent and stoic most of the time, but this was a little much, even by his standards.

Still running with everyone else - with the exception of those who were riding on Lucifer's back, of course - Jesse slowly moved closer to Isaac until they were right next to each other. Isaac had a contemplative expression on his face, which turned into confusion when he saw how close Jesse was. "Is something wrong?," Jesse whispered. "You've been pretty quiet for a while now. I get that you prefer to keep to yourself, but this is getting kind of freaky." Isaac sighed heavily. "Was I that obvious?," he asked. "Not really," said Jesse. "It took me a while to figure out that something was bothering you." The two of them continued running in silence along with everyone else for a while. "So...are you going to tell me?," asked Jesse. "I mean, I understand if you don't want to. I know how much you value your privacy and all."

Isaac sighed again. "I suppose I am just...bothered by what had transgressed recently," he admitted. "We all are," said Jesse. "But I have a feeling that's not what you really mean." Isaac nodded. "It is about Alex," he said. "Of course, I am worried about her current wellbeing as much as the rest of you. That is a given. But I am also bothered by what she said. When Herobrine first appeared in Beacontown, it was almost as if she...recognized him. As if she knew him from somewhere. But if that is the case, then why did she never tell us? Why keep such an important thing a secret?" He sighed again. "It may sound childish coming from me, but I cannot help but feel...betrayed. Perhaps that is too strong of a word. I apologize, I must sound like such a-" "I know how you feel," Jesse cut in, causing Isaac to stare at him in surprise. "I have just as many questions as you do," Jesse continued. "I know you feel that you're being ungrateful, especially after everything Alex has done for you and me, but...I can't help but feel the same way. We all do. That doesn't make you a bad person, you know."

Isaac was silent for a moment. "I only hope that everything will be explained in the end," he finally said. "And hopefully, Alex might return to us." "Will," Jesse corrected him. "Alex WILL return to us." But Isaac seemed uncertain. "I am not so sure anymore," he said. "This does not feel anything like the time we faced the Admin. This feels big...bigger than any of us could even imagine." He shook his head vigorously. "I really, really want to be wrong this time."

After a few more hours of traveling, with frequent resting breaks of course, the group finally arrived at a forest. But this wasn't just any forest. It was the same forest where Jesse, Olivia, Axel, and Reuben used to live together. Right now, the moon was still high up in the sky, even though the sun should have risen and taken its place by now. The strange shadow had already covered about a fifth of the moon's entire surface. They needed to hurry.

After a while, they came across Jesse's old treehouse, which had been slowly rotting away and had vines growing all over it. It looked nothing like the treehouse that Jesse, Axel, Olivia, and Reuben used to live in, yet Jesse couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over him. "Man, remember when we used to live in that treehouse?," asked Axel, smiling nostalgically. "That's where you used to live?," asked Jack, raising an eyebrow. "Looks kind of...rough, don't you think?" "It was in much better shape back then," said Olivia.

"How much longer do we have to walk for?," Ghost complained, wincing with each step. "We've been traveling for hours now." "Yeah," said Radar, huffing in exhaustion. "I don't think my hustle sticks can take much more of this." Even Lucifer, who had been tired out for a while now, glided back down to the ground and made his passengers get off of his back before walking on his four legs for the rest of the way. "Endercon used to take place just outside the edge of this forest," said Jesse. "We're getting close now." After a few more minutes of walking, they finally came across a large meadow that had long since been abandoned. All that was left were a few pieces of litter from the last Endercon festival, which was about two years ago, and of course, the two builds that they made on the day that Ivor spawned in the Wither Storm. One of them was a large wool statue of an enderman with a fireworks dispenser hiding behind its back, which was Jesse, Axel, and Olivia's build. The other one was a simple rainbow beacon with a complex assortment of pistons, redstone, and differently colored stained glass blocks, which was Lukas, Aiden, Maya, and Gill's build. The group forgot about their exhaustion and made various noises of awe, ranging from gasps to whistles. "Not too shabby," said Harper, examining the rainbow beacon and the redstone circuitry used to make it work. "Who built all of this?"

"We did," said Lukas, smiling proudly. "We used to come to Endercon every month to present our builds to the judges. Me, Maya, Gill, and Aiden used to be a group called the Ocelots. We even had matching leather jackets." "And me, Axel, and Olivia used to be in our own group too," said Jesse. "We were the Dead Enders. We built the enderman statue while Lukas' group built the rainbow beacon." He chuckled in amusement. "The funny thing is, we never won once, not even with the enderman statue." "Yeah, I remember what happened," said Lukas, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "Aiden caused an 'accident' that set your build on fire, and that was why our beacon won the competition." "It's all water under the bridge," Axel replied casually. "I gotta say, it's impressive that they were able to replicate your build down to the finest detail," said Gill. "Yeah," Petra agreed. "They've really outdone themselves."

"Okay, I know we're taking a trip down memory lane and all," said Annie, "but now that we're here, what do we do now?" "Yeah," said Stella. "And how do we know this is even the place we're supposed to be?" Nurm suddenly made a humming noise. "Nurmie is saying that maybe you should check that 'map' again," Jack translated. With nothing else to do, Jesse took out the map again and unrolled it, only to blink and stare at what he was seeing. "What is it, Jesse?," asked Isa, seeing the expression on his face. "The message…," Jesse murmured, still staring at the map in shock. "It...changed." Everyone else immediately began huddling around him in an effort to catch a glimpse of the new message, making a very large and tight huddle in the process. "What does it say?," asked Nancy, eager to hear the new message.

Jesse cleared his throat and began to read the new message out loud. "Hello, Jesse and friends." "Wow," Petra drawled. "Not even gonna call us by our names, huh? Just gonna refer to us as his 'friends?'" "To be fair, there are a lot of us," said Isaac. Jesse continued reading the message. "If you're reading this, you have figured out my little riddle and arrived at your first challenge." He turned to face the others. "I was right," he said. "That IS what he meant by 'where it all started.'" "But what's the first challenge?," asked Reginald. Jesse shrugged and went back to reading the rest of the message. "The first challenge is very simple. I'm sure that even an ignorant child like you can win it." Jesse momentarily stopped to roll his eyes. "I have hidden one of your little trinkets in the surrounding area. Think of it as a little scavenger hunt. Once you find it, you'll know what to do with it. But don't expect the other items to be so easy to find. This game of mine is meant to test all of you in the most brutal way possible. I'd say good luck, but that won't be enough to save you if you fail." Jesse put the map back down. "And that's all it says," he said. "Well, Herobrine sure sounds like a pleasant guy to be around," Jack said sarcastically. "So we just need to look for the first item, right?," asked Nancy. "Easy enough." "I don't know," Jesse murmured. "It sounds TOO easy. I want everyone to spread out around the area and look for the item. Be quick about it, but also be careful and be on your guard, okay? Scream for help if you're in any trouble, and the rest of us will come find you as quickly as possible." Everyone else nodded and split up to search for the hidden item.

After a while of searching, everyone began to grow nervous and restless. They had searched every square inch of the surrounding area and couldn't find a single clue as to where that item could be hidden. Suddenly, Radar called out, "Guys! Check it out! I found it!" Everyone ran towards Radar's voice and saw him climbing down from the fireworks dispenser behind the enderman statue. "Great job, Radar!," Jesse congratulated him. "Where was it?" "It was hidden in one of those dispensers in the fireworks machine," said Radar, pointing to said machine. "This has got to be one of the treasures, right?" He took out the item in question and showed it to everyone else. It was a purple nether star that was about three times larger than a normal one. It was also the exact same star that was left of the Wither Storm after Jesse killed it. "Yeah, that's definitely it," said Lukas, recognizing the nether star. "It looks amazing!," gasped Isa, staring at the nether star in awe. "I've never seen anything like it! Are all nether stars like this?" "Nah, nether stars are usually smaller and white," said Petra. "They're not as impressive." "So what do we do with it?," asked Annie. "Well, the message said that we would know what to do with it once we find it," said Jesse. "But the problem is that we DON'T know," said Nancy.

"Wait, I just realized something!," Olivia exclaimed. "Remember what we did with it when Gabriel first gave it to us?" Lukas' eyes widened. "Oh, yeah!," he exclaimed. "We placed it on top of a beacon and it lit up! And we actually have a rainbow beacon right in front of us!" "Well, what are you guys waiting for?," said Gill, grinning eagerly. "Let's put that sucker in and see what it does!" Jesse took the nether star from Radar, walked over to the Ocelots' beacon, and placed the nether star on top of it. Just like last time, the nether star itself spun around at blinding speeds before a beam of purple light shot up into the sky, brighter than any other beacon in the world. At the same time, the map in Jesse's pocket began to glow the same purple color. "Whoa, check it out!," said Ghost, pointing at said map. "The map is glowing!" "Perhaps it is changing again," said Isaac. "Take it out and read it!," exclaimed Harper.

Jesse took the map out again, unrolled it, and saw that the words on the map were glowing a brilliant purple color. Then, before their very eyes, the letters began to float around the paper and change shape, eventually forming an actual map with pictures of landmarks, dotted lines to represent routes, and five red X's that marked the spots of each item they had to find. "Amazing," Jack murmured, his eyes wide. Nurm, the skilled mapmaker that he was, literally seemed like he was about to blow up in excitement. "We did it!," cried Petra, grinning excitedly. "Now we know where to find the rest of the items!" Everyone else began cheering and hugging each other while jumping up and down in excitement, but a single question from Stella deflated the cheerful atmosphere. "How do we go and get those items?," she asked. "According to this map, there's five different places to go to, and they're not exactly across the street from each other. How are we supposed to get to all of these locations before the time runs out?"

After that, everyone was at a loss for words. How ARE they going to get to all of these different places in time? It took them hours just to get here, so how are they going to pull this off before the moon is completely covered by that dark shadow? "Well...it looks like we're going to have to split up," said Jesse. Needless to say, nobody was very enthusiastic about that idea. "Jesse, are you sure?," Olivia asked worriedly. "If you ask me, splitting up is the worst thing we could possibly do right now." "I have to agree," said Reginald. "We're much more vulnerable in smaller groups. What would stop Herobrine from picking us off one by one?" "I don't mean we have to set out on our own," said Jesse. "There's only five places to go, so we can still be in small groups." "I still don't like this," Nancy sighed. "It just seems too risky."

"It is," Jesse admitted. "But what other choice do we have? If we just travel to each place one by one in a single group, we'll never be able to make it in time. Time is not on our side. As risky as this plan is, it's the quickest way to get this game done." Everyone else in the group glanced at each in hesitation, but eventually conceded. As much as they hated this plan, they knew that Jesse was right. "But who's gonna go where?," asked Maya.

After a few minutes of deep thinking and looking back at the map, Jesse made his conclusion. "I think I know the answer," he said. "As we all know, there are five different locations marked on this map: Redstonia, Boom Town, the Far Lands, the Sea Temple, and… Champion City? Huh, weird. Anyway, we'll need to be divided into five groups of four. Olivia, Harper, Gill, and Maya, you'll all go to Redstonia. Axel, Annie, Ghost, and Nancy, you'll all go to Boom Town." "Boom Town, WHOO!," Axel cheered, bumping heads with Ghost. Jesse rolled his eyes in amusement and continued. "Me, Petra, and Lukas will go to the Far Lands. And since the Far Lands is...well, the farthest, Lucifer will fly us over there. Well, Lucifer? Do you think you have anything left in the tank?" The dragon let out a low growl and nodded.

"Alright, good," said Jesse. "Now Jack, Nurm, Isa, and Reginald, you'll all go to the Sea Temple. Jack will lead the way, since he probably knows the layout better than anyone." Jesse turned to face Jack with a worried expression. "You're fine with that, right Jack?," he asked. "I know you have a very bad history with that place and I really don't want to push you into doing something that you don't want to do…" Jack shook his head. "Nah, it's fine," he assured him. "I'm over it, more or less." Jesse nodded, glad to hear that Jack was finally healing from his trauma. "And Stella, since you know Champion City better than anyone else, you'll go there with Lluna, Radar, and Isaac. Alright, is everyone fine with that?" At that moment, Stella looked like she wanted to speak up, but decided to refrain from doing so for some reason.

"Good," said Jesse. "Now let's split up. We don't have much time." He looked up at the moon in worry. Hang in there, Alex, he thought. We're coming for you.