Author's Notes

I appreciate all of the wonderful support from everyone! Le's get on with the story!

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Simon's POV

Once I got back on track, my proyect came along smoothly. At first glance, it was a simple shining box, but when you pushed a button on one side, the box unfolded and created a beautiful metal rose. I left the guys to work on the second floor and the stairs so I could finish it in secret.

I sat lounging on a massive tree's roots, resting against it's trunk. I played it to make sure it worked, and sure enough, every time I reset it and pushed the button, it would spring back to life. I needed it to unfurl slowly, so that it was perfect. This was going to be a gift to Iza, and would give some peace of mind.

I heard rustling behind me and turned to look. There was a creeper staring back at me, curiousity filling her dark eyes. I smiled and hissed at it. 'Hey.' It looked taken aback for a second and hissed back. 'H-hi.' I returned to my proyect, tinkering with the springs and gears.

I heard more rustling but didn't look up. I felt her move closer, and stopped what I was doing. 'Hello again.' Her skin darkened just so, and that made me smile. I had managed to make a creeper blush. I didn't even know they could do that. 'Um... hi. What are you making?' I showed her the box.

'It's an old proyect of mine'. I pressed the button and the flower slowly popped up. 'Needs a bit more tinkering with, though.' The creeper stared at it with wonder. 'How did you do that?' My smile widened. 'Not sure. I put gears and springs together and they all just connect at some point.'

The creeper sat down on the roots beside and we talked the day away. At one point, our conversation made me laugh and wrenched my heart at the same time. 'I... what's your name?' I was just about done with my proyect and looked up. 'Simon. What's yours?'

She hesitated for a minute. 'Ara.' I smiled at her. 'Very pretty. Does it mean anything?' She blushed again and looked away. 'I'm... not sure. I don't think so.' I nodded and got back to work. 'Uh... Simon? I... do... you're very handsome.' This caught me off-guard. Back in my clan, I had always been invisible, the scrawny or nerdy kid. Nobody had ever called me handsome.

I smiled sheepishly at her. 'Thanks. You're pretty too.' My comment made her blush but I could tell it wasn't the reaction she was looking for. I waited and she spoke up again. 'I... like you, Simon.' I opened my mouth and closed it again. This was a very uncomfortable place for me, and I had no idea what to do.

I mean, a creeper? Liking a human? That's insane!

I hissed at her after some time. 'I, uh... that... I'm honored, Ara. But... I don't... sorry. But... I can't...' i stumbled for words, and realized that everything I said made her sadder and sadder. 'I'm sorry.' She looked away. 'That's... that's okay. I don't know what I expected.'

She began to turn away and I stopped her. 'Wait.' She turned back to me, Hope glittering in her eyes. 'I... want you to have this.' I extended my hand out to her, the box-flower resting on my palm. 'I can make another, but I'd like you to have the original.' She stared at it for some time.

'I... thank you.' She picked it up in her mouth and looked at me. 'Friends?' I smiled. 'Of course. Maybe I'll see you around someday.' Ara beamed. 'Maybe you will.' With that, she turned around and walked away into the forest. I sat back against the tree trunk, staring at the bright orange sunset. And smiled.

I remembered a song my mother liked. I wonder how she's doing now. I began to whistle it, and then sing. ... my li-i-ife, my li-i-i-i-i-i-ife... i hear it calling, outside my window, i feel it in my soul... the stars were burning so bright, the sun was out till midnight, i say we lose control...

Even after I was done, I sat there, gazing at the sun. This is gonna be the best day of my li-i-ife, my li-i-i-i-i-i-ife...

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Thomas' POV

"Has anyone seen Simon?" I looked up from my work. Iza had been looking for Simon since noon, but nobody had seen him. It was almost nightfall as well. I spoke up, trying to calm her down. "I'm sure he's fine, you know him. He probably just wandered into the forest and got distracted with something."

Iza turned to me, her eyes scrunched up with irritation and worry. "He may be air headed, but he's not that unaware of his surroundings! He knows how dangerous it is at night! Wherever he went, he should be back by now!" At that exact moment Simon decided to stroll in, a faint smile plastered on his face.

"Simon! Where have you been???" Iza practically pounced on him, almost knocking them both over. "Woah, what? What happened? I was just hanging out in the forest, why the sudden surge of unnecessary worry?" She hugged him and pressed her head against his chest before pushing him away.

"Why were you out so late? You know how dangerous it is!" He smirked at her. "And you know I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry about me, Iza." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. After a while, she sighed and spoke again. "I know. What took you so long?" He turned sheepishly away.

"I was working on something, an old proyect of mine." Iza sighed. "Just... don't do that again, okay? Please?" Simon smiled and put his arm on her shoulder. "Yeah, I won't. Sorry I made you worry." Iza smiled and closed her eyes, shaking her head. "You can be such an ass sometimes."

Simon smiled again and walked towards me. "How's the staircase coming along?" I turned back to my task. We were making a staircase with the boards, and so far it seemed pretty sturdy. "Alright, I think. It can hold my weight, so it should probably work." He nodded and picked up a hammer.

"Then let's finish it before we hit the sack." I nodded and we got to it.

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Time leap: Next morning. Thomas' POV.

We did manage to finish the staircase, but we had a hard time sleeping afterwards. We were supposedly going to help build up the med-bay today, but Simon and I felt too tired to do so. We ended up just lounging on the grass while Eba and Jack built up the foundation. Lila and Valory helped a little, but they spent most of their time either training or making clothes for everyone.

Sarah was laying down next to me, and Simon was messing with some metal plates and other bits. Sarah and I were counting clouds. "17. Seems like it might rain soon, too." I nodded. Some of the clouds were a dark gray color. "Yeah. It hasn't rained in a long time. Not since that day in the cave, remember? When you held a knife to my throat?"

She blushed a little and turned away, a faint smile decorating her lips. "Yeah. Sorry about that, by the way." I smiled. "Don't be. It was just a misunderstanding, after all." Her usual poker face was not around much recently, and that made me feel... great. I mean, I had managed to make her smile countless times. She had made me smile too.

She turned to look at me, humor filling her gorgeous light-grey eyes. "You can find the smallest ray of sunshine in a sealed stone box, huh?" I smiled. "Yep. I like sunlight." I turned back to the sky as I spoke these words, counting off three more clouds. "Definitely gonna rain soon."

Sarah nodded. "We should probably get everyone inside, then." I turned to look at Simon. "What do you think?" He blinked a couple times and turned to look at me. "What? Oh, yes, right, sorry. Um..." He examined the clouds for a few seconds. "Yeah, should probably put everyone indoors. Might even be a little lightning later."

Right on cue, we heard the thunderous rumble of... well, thunder. We got up and ushered everyone inside. Valory whistled and Nightshade swooped down from the sky, landing on her shoulder like a parrot. I closed the doors and noticed something odd. "Uh... guys?" Everyone turned to look at me. "There's a hole in the wall."

Eba blushed deeply, and Jack slapped his forehead. "Yeah, uh, we may or may not have made the doorway before finishing the room." I smiled, and everyone laughed. Even Adrian, whom I hadn't heard much from. I picked up a few planks and placed them on the wall, covering up the hole. "It's fine, guys. Simple mistake, no biggie."

Eba sort of shrunk in her bed, but Jack started laughing along with everyone. It took a while to calm everyone down, but eventually the only sound was that of hushed conversations. Iza was talking with Simon, Eba with Sarah, Lila with Adrian, and Jack with Valory. And Nightshade.

Sarah finished talking with Eba after a while and sat down next to me on my bed. "Hey. How are you doing?" I smiled. "Fine. Why?" She shrugged. "No reason. Just wanted to know how you felt." I nodded. Silence enveloped us both, unsure of what to say. "What, um... where you talking about with Eba?"

She turned back to look at me. "We were making plans for tomorrow. I'm going to teach her how to shoot, and the next day she's going to teach me how to carve." I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you two really need to sort that out, huh?" Sarah smiled, the lightest tinge of red on her cheeks.

"Yes. This was long overdue." Eba called her back over and we said goodbye. It was weird, since we live in the same house. I sat there on my bed, resting my head against the wall. I don't know if it was the rain lulling me, or the fact that I hadn't slept much last night, but I felt very tired. I closed my eyes and almost immediately I dreamed.

In my dream, I was standing on tough, yellowish stone. The sky was pitch black, and there were black-and-purple pillars all around me, broken and cracked. A single shape stood in the center, a large black beast lying dead behind him. The figure smiled. "Hello, brother."

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Unknown POV

"Ah, That was fun."

The Magma Cube king lay dazed on the ground at my feet. I flexed my neck and back, then smiled. "If only we could do it again sometime." I let my hammer fall, and it crushed his head, sending goopy bits everywhere. "Disgusting." I wiped the red slop from my boots and jeans. Now all I have to do is begin the long walk, and climb, to the next fortress.

I wandered the nether for a while, before entering a large cavern. The floor was full of lava, and the ground was made of brittle gravel, but what interested me was the roof. Up there, in all it's glittering glory, was the glowstone fortress, home to the Ghast Queen.

I grimaced. How anyone could live with all this light, I had no idea. Nevertheless I began the slow journey up the netherrack walls of the cavern, towards my destination.

Each step brought me closer to my goal, and soon Darkness would fall upon all the worlds.

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Author's Notes

That last bit was a little gruesome, huh? Not sure I liked it. But I'm leaving it in anyways.

Again, thank you all for your support. The more perceptive of the bunch will already know what's up, how any of this links up. If you do, don't spoil it for anyone else, 'Kay?

Also, how was that first bit? Was it weird? Did anyone like it? I don't know if I did it right.

Anywho, thank you so much for your time and support, have a great day!

~ LeMafiaKreb