Author's Notes

So, uh... I had some more free time to keep writing, so I did. Y'know, to wash the taste of last chapter from my mouth. :D

Reviews!

GiggiEba, well thank you for your honesty. I believe to have done better this time. :)

ThinMint, I'm glad you liked the chapter! Thank you for your continued support!

Anywho, let's get on with the story!

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Thomas's POV

Things were going a lot better now. Simon has his attention on the airship 24/7, and that means our mistake percentage dropped down to zero. We fixed the hull, made the balloon larger and ropes stronger, we built sturdier mechanisms and now have a fully built and untested airship.

According to Simon, it should be able to lift 500 kilograms of weight. I don't know how much that is, but he says it's enough to lift around six people.

"See, we need four crew members. A pilot, a navigator, and two people who tend to the furnaces. The pilot will control the airship with the help of the navigator, which will also deploy the anchor and relay messages to the people working each furnace. It will still be light enough for us to carry metal back from the mountains."

We nodded, still unsure. Simon looked around trying to hide his excitement. "So? Who's going to help me test it?" Iza immediately stood up from where she was sitting crosslegged in the grass.

"I'll go."

"Okay. We have one volunteer. Who else?"

Valory raised her hand. "I want to be the navigator."

Simon clapped his hands "Great! We need one more person."

Eba had been staring at the sky, as if lost in thought. Now she turned to look at Simon and raised her hand timidly. "I-I'll go." Simon smiled.

"Awesome. Let's fire it up!" He climbed onto the airship by the sturdy wooden ladder. Painted on the side of the craft was the word Auikyani.

'What does it mean?' We had asked. 'Explorer, in Some aincient language. Can't remember which.' We all agreed that it was a nice name even though we weren't sure of it's origin. Eba warped onto the airship, Iza and Valory climbed up the rope ladder after Simon.

Simon started dishing out orders. "Val, head to the bow. Eba, you'll be our pilot. Go to the steering wheel. Iza, you'll be handling the furnace up here. I'll deal with the one belowdecks." Eba looked overwhelmed, Val was lost and Iza just nodded.

"Uh... which way is the bow?"

"The front of the ship. That way, you get a better view of everything."

"Alright." The spider walke ddecidedly to the front, and leaned over the railing. She waved at us. Everyone on the ground waved back. Eba was still lost.

"Uh... how do I pilot?" Simon walked up to her and pointed to the steering wheel.

"There is a lever beside the steering wheel. It controls the thrust provided by the propeller. You control the rudder by turning the wheel." Eba just stared at him, more confused now.

"Wh-What?"

Simon smiled encouragingly and walked the endergirl towards the wheel. He turned the wheel and pulled on the lever. We had put the airship up on four stone pedestals so the propeller and rudder didn't get damaged.

"Look down there. Do you see the rudder? It's the large plate that waves when I turn the wheel."

Eba leaned over the edge. "I see it."

"Now do you see the large fan right above it?"

"Yes."

"That spins when the furnaces are lit and you push the lever forward. The farther you push it, the faster we'll go."

"Okay. I think I get it. How do I go up?"

"Iza will take care of that. She is in charge of the main furnace, which pumps hot air into the balloon. She can decide to add more or less, causing our altitude to change."

"Uh... so do I just tell her if I want to go up or down?"

"Exactly."

"Okay... I think I can do this."

"Of course you can! I'm going to make sure everything else is in tip-top shape."

He dashed away, going down the stairs and belowdecks. Iza was messing with the chains on the furnace. Valory had called Nightshade over and was playing with the phantom.

Simon walked back up with a sack of coal. He dropped it in front of Iza. "Alright. Start loading the furnace with coal. This chain," he pointed to one with a blue end, "pumps the hot air out. This one," he pointed to the other, red one, "pumps it into the balloon."

Iza nodded and began dumping coal into the furnace. Simon walked over to Valory. "I'll show you how to use the anchor. Come here." The creeper led her down belowdecks. After a few minutes, the anchor began to lower. Then, it slowly rose back up.

They both walked out and Valory traveled to her post. Simon breathed deeply and sighed. "Everyone ready?" The girls nodded. Iza gave him a mock salute.

"Aye aye, captain!"

"Remember, Eba's the captain. She'll tell you when we are good to go." Iza dropped her salute, obviously discouraged. Simon gave Eba a thumbs up before walking belowdecks. The endergirl hesitated for a second. An odd flash of grey passed over her magenta eyes.

"Uh... Iza? Let's... let's go up, please?" The slime girl smiled.

"Gotcha." She pulled on the red chain gently, and the balloon began to fill up. After a few minutes, it rose proudly in the air. Almost a half-hour later, the hull of the Auikyani began to groan and lifted off it's pedestals. Everybody cheered. Valory raised her hands.

"We have liftoff!" They kept rising steadily. I smiled at Sarah.

"We did it. We actually managed to build an airship." She smiled back and hugged my arm.

"Yeah, we did. Let's just hope it doesn't crash and burn." I turned back to the Auikyani, it's milky birch hull making it looking like a majestic cloud.

"Knowing the crew on board, I doubt that will happen."

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Eba's POV (On board the Auikyani)

I think that's high enough, don't you?

Have we cleared all the trees?

Ask Valory. She's your navigator.

I cleared my throat and shouted. "Val! Are we in the clear?" The spider raised an eyebrow, confused.

"In the clear of what?"

"Trees! Are we above all of them?" She gave a quick look around before nodding.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we've cleared every single one of them. The house too."

"Good. Iza, you can stop now."

The slime girl nodded and stopped feeding the balloon. After a while, we stopped rising and just hovered. I risked a peek down over the railing. Everybody looked like a small speck on the ground.

Simon walked up from belowdecks with his hoodie tied around his waist. He was sweating, but there was a beautiful and childish grin on his face. "We did it!"

We all cheered, and he turned to me. "I've stocked the propeller's furnace. All you need to do is push the lever forwards." I nodded, and gently began moving the lever. There was a mechanic groan from belowdecks, which turned into a steady thrum after a while. Valory cheered.

"We're moving! Bye guys!" She waved down at everyone. I think they waved back. Simon looked so happy.

"Push it all the way, Eba. Let's see how fast we can go." I nodded and cranked it up. The thrum of the propeller became a roar, and we began sailing through the air.

This is amazing!

I've never been this high up. I have to say, your friend's creation is very cool.

I know!

We kept sailing for a little while. The mountains kept getting closer. Valory turned to me.

"Uh, captain? How about we don't crash against one of the mountains please?" I smiled sheepishly and moved the wheel. The hull tilted a bit to the side, and we began turning. I moved it further, and the ship turned much faster.

"Should we go back? We don't have any tools to gather metal."

Simon nodded. "Yes. We'll touch down, gather tool, and come back up. I have to check on the furnace. Be right back." He dashed down. I shouted at Valory.

"Simon says we should go home! Tell me when to stop turning!" She nodded and leaned over the edge. Then, she raised her hand.

"Stop, stop stop!"

I returned the wheel to it's original position and the ship stopped turning after a while. We were still moving forwards, though.

We should slow down.

Agreed.

I pulled back on the lever until it was a quarter of the way from max to zero. We slowed down and the roar of the propeller died back to a loud thrumming. Simon walked back up. I shouted at Valory again.

"How close are we to the house?"

"Almost right on top of it. We should stop here, there's nothing that could suffer damage from our landing." I nodded and killed the engine. It slowly went still, and the only sound left was that of both furnaces burning away. I turned to Simon.

"You should probably turn the furnace off." He nodded and dashed back down. I spoke to Iza.

"Let's start our descent, shall we?" The slime girl nodded and pulled on the blue chain. The words felt more like Blight's than mine, but it didn't bother me too much. We slowly began floating down. I shouted to Val again.

"Tell me when we're close enough to the ground so we can climb up and down the rope ladder." She nodded and leaned over the railing.

"Wait... Wait... wait... okay, I think this is good." I nodded.

"Iza, stop!" The slime girl let go of the chain, and the airship slowly went back to a hover. Simon came back up.

"Are we down?"

"Yeah. Valory, could you drop the anchor?" The spider nodded and ran belowdecks. Simon walke dup to Iza.

"When the airship has landed, we need to seal the balloon so it stays afloat. Here, I'll show you how." Iza nodded and listened intently as Simon explained the procedure. Valory came back up and gave me a salute.

"Anchor's down, captain!" I smiled.

"A successful maiden voyage, don't you guys think?"

Everyone cheered, and I felt so happy at that moment.

See? You're beginning to feel more confident.

And I have you to thank.

Yes.

Thank you, Blight. For more than just helping me with my confidence. The sparring, the talks, suggestions, that time you ate the endermites off my hair. Ugh.

You're welcome, Eba.

We all got off the airship and Simon walked towards the storage shed. Thomas and Sarah walked up to me.

"What's up with him?" Sarah nodded in Simon's direction. I smiled.

"He's just very exited to go mining with the airship. His plan was to touch down so we could gather tools and supplies before heading back out to do some mountain-mining."

Thomas looked at the sky. We still had a few hours before noon. "Well, the day's still young. Mind if I tag along?"

My smile widened. "Of course! You could help Val with navigation." He nodded and gave Sarah a kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be right back."

"Stay safe, Tom. Don't do anything foolish." Her words were laced with worry, but there was a smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

"When have you known me to do something foolish?" The skeleton girl rolled her eyes.

"When don't you do something like that?" The guy laughed and walked towards Simon, who had just emerged from the storage shed. I said goodby to everyone and warped back up to the airship's birch deck.

The only thing it needs is some color.

You're right. Maybe a darker shade for the deck.

Would've looked better if you had used oak.

But then we wouldn't be able to carry as much stuff.

True.

I waited for everyone to get onboard and to their posts. Then, I gave them the biggest smile I could. "Are you ready, guys?"

"Aye Aye, captain!" I pumped a fist in the air.

"Then let's go to the mountains!"

"To the mountains!"

The ship began to rise, and jerked to a stop. I looked around scared. My moment of grandeur was gone. "What happened?"

Valory gave a nervous giggle. "I, Uh... may or may not have forgotten to raise the anchor."

Everyone broke into a laugh, and I gave the spider an encouraging smile.

What a crew. Blight's voice was tinged with humor. My smile widened.

The best crew to ever exist.

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Theridas's POV

"Remembur, no racket! And make sure your kid doesn't break anyting!"

We were following an elderly woman up the stairs of an 'apartment building'. This was the third time she mentioned both the racket and Ella. I had given up trying to explain that 1; lady Anastasia and I were not married, and 2; that Ella was not our child.

"Yes, ma'am. We promise to make no noise, and Ella won't break anything." She stopped us in front of a door on the third floor and began fiddling with a ring full of keys.

"Good. 'Cause if I catch you making noise, you'll be kicked back out to the streets!"

"Yes ma'am, we know." Lady Anastasia was carrying a sleeping Ella in her arms. We had managed to convince the woman that rented rooms to give us one. In exchange, Lady Anastasia gave her one of the gemstone rings she had with her.

The elderly woman had stared at it intently before reluctantly agreeing to give us a room. "For one month, you hear? Only a month. If you don't pay me again after that, you go back out!"

She opened the door and gestured for us to enter. It was small, but would have to do for now. Lady Anastasia gently placed Ella on the couch."Thank you again for allowing us to stay." The old lady 'hmph'd.

"Remember, one month. And no racket! Breakfast isn't free, either. So you better find some cash to pay for that if you want it. I'll only serve it from six to eight In the morning, you hear?"

I nodded again. "Thank you so much, ma'am." She handed me the key to the apartment.

"If you loose this, you get me a new one. I don't care how, but you get it, okay?"

"I won't loose it, ma'am."

"You better not. Good night or whatever." Then she slammed the door closed. I sighed and gave the apartment another look around. This main room had a couch and table, as well as two chairs. There was two adjacent rooms. I took a peek into both of them.

One was a bedroom with a single bed in the corner. There was a nightstand beside it, and an empty closet. The other room was a bathroom. In the nether, we a different style of bathroom.

We bathe in lava, since it kills most bacteria, amd don't require sinks. In fact, all nether mobs are born with an allergy to water. It doesn't kill us or anything, but our skin starts feeling very itchy and it turns red. When it comes to blazes, our flames are more subdued if our hands have recently touched water.

I walked over and sat down on a chair beside lady Anastasia. She was on the couch, her hand caressing Ella's cheek. She looked so tired...

"You need rest, my lady. Why don't you go to the bedroom?"

She yawned and nodded. "Where will you sleep, Theridas?" I looked out the window. There were so many people and buildings here, and everything was lit via torches or lamps.

"I won't just yet, my lady. I think I should go 'buy' some food. Maybe someone sells quartz or netherwart bread."

She frowned at me. "I don't think you should go out so late, Theridas. You need sleep as much as I do."

I smiled and shook my head. "But we also need food. I can sleep afterwards. Don't worry, I'll be back before you wake." She nodded after a while and walked into the bedroom. I stood up and combed my hands through my dark hair.

I took a ring of my own from my hand. It's one that was given to my father for all his years of loyal service. This one was emerald, but he had two more like it. One was diamond, and the other was topaz.

The emerald was the most expensive of the three, and it hurt to think about using it as currency. But, alas, we needed food. After another moment of hesitation, I walked over to the door and closed it behind me as I left.

It took me a few minutes to walk down all the stairs, and the old lady was on the bottom floor with a teacup in her hand. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Where do you think yer goin, huh? Left your wife with the kid, have you?" I sighed.

"She's not my wife. I need to go purchase food for the three of us."

She stirred her tea with a small, thin spoon. "Alright. Good for you. Don't loose the key."

I bowed before leaving. One would have thought that the streets would be empty so late at night, but this didn't seem to be the case. People were still walking from one place to another, seemingly unaware of the hour.

I joined the masses, wandering down the street where the apartment building was. I made sure to stick to it so I wouldn't get lost. People shoved and grumbled, some of them poked my shoulders and left without a word.

I noticed a strange sign and stopped. Los Primos Restaurant and Bar. The part that was lit up consisted of Los Primos and Bar. There was a delicious smell coming from a window that lead to an alley beside the building. I could see lots of people through the front facing windows, most of them moving erratically.

I walked in, and some of the chill from the outside left. I walked up to a man in his early twenties that was attending the bar.

"Good afternoon."

"Hey, dude. Welcome to Los Primos. My name's Ronaldo. Haven't seen you around before. New in town?"

I nodded. He had a weird accent I had never heard before. "Yes. Do... do you serve food Here?" He smiled.

"Of course! We have more variety in the morning, during restaurant hours, but we still serve some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"We got tortas, fajitas, cochinita, and uh... Erik!" He turned and shouted down a corridor that was beside the bar. A man probably in his late twenties poked his head out.

"Que pasó?"

"To'avia hay guisados?"

"Eh... si! De conejo y champiñón."

"Órale. Gracias!" The bartender turned back to me. "And We got stew. Rabbit and mushroom." I nodded slowly. I didn't understand anything those two had said, and didn't know what any of the food was.

"Uh... what's... what's all that?"

"Well, a torta is a sandwich made with crunchy, toasted bread filled with all sorts of good stuff. Fajitas are strips of meat served with frijoles, arroz and tortillas. Cochinita is the sort of good stuff you put in a torta, but you can eat it however you want. And stew is just thick soup."

I blinked. "Uh... Okay. Uh... three... three of the bread things, please."

"Three tortas, yes sir. What kind do you want? We got cochinita, steak, grilled chicken, and vegetable. They come with mayo, some aguacate and a slice of tomato apart from the other stuff."

I was frankly overwhelmed with the amount of choices. "Uh... how about three of each? But... not vegetable." He raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with amusement. The bar was warmly lit, so I couldn't make out the color of his irises.

"You're one hungry fellow, huh?" I frowned in embarrassment.

"N-no, it's just that I have to buy food for my friends too."

"That's alright, man. I won't judge. Hell, Erik probably eats more than that by himself!"

The other man poked his head out again.

"Y ahora que quieres cabrón?"

"Nada, yo no te llamé." 'Ronaldo' turned back to me. Even the names were weird.

"So, three steak, three grilled chicken and three cochinita. Is that right?" I nodded. "That'll be 18 iron nuggets, friend." I pulled out my father's ring. I'm sorry, dad.

"Will this be enough?" Ronaldo's eyes bulged. He picked up the ring and examined it.

"Shit, bro! This thing is enough to buy the whole fucking kitchen! Well, maybe not the whole kitchen, but it certainly is more than enough." He put the ring in his pocket. "Tell you what. That'll cover your next three purchases here. How does that sound?"

"Three? As in, three more times or three more items?"

"Times, amigo. You can go wild if you want cuz this ring is very much valuable." I nodded. You have no idea. He left to the kitchen, which is down the corridor and came back a few minutes later.

"Your order is in place, friend. You can sit wherever you want while you wait." I looked around the bar. Most tables were occupied, except for one in the corner to my left.

"How about that one?" I pointed to it, and he shrugged.

"Sure. Most people don't like sitting there cuz it's too warm. The stove is right next to it through the wall." I nodded and walked over to the table. It was indeed warm, and I relished the feeling. It reminded me of home.

A woman walked up to Ronaldo and handed him an apron. She had red hair pulled up in a bun, and some rogue strands framed her face. "I'm done for tonight, Ronaldo."

"Thanks Pepper. Here's you pay. You heading home now?" Ronaldo handed the woman some shiny bits which she stuffed in her jeans pocket. As she did so, our eyes met. Hers were a lovely dark green. I looked away, feeling a blush rise on my cheeks.

"I think I'm going to have some fun first." I peeked at her out of the corner of my eye. She had undone her bun, and red curls fell down past her shoulders. She kept taking a few peeks at me as she 'whispered' to Ronaldo.

"Who's That?"

"Dunno. Didn't ask for his name. New around here, though. Bought nine tortas and payed with a gem encrusted ring."

"Really? Huh. Really digging that outfit."

"I think what you're digging is who's in it, Pep."

"Maybe you're right."

I watched her get off the barstool and walk towards me. I tensed up. She sat down in front of me with a warm and mischievous smile. "Hey handsome. What's a guy like you doing at a bar all by yourself?"

I smiled sheepishly. She had a very attractive body, but her eyes... they were mesmerizing. "I, uh... came to buy food." Her smiled widened.

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"What's your name?" She placed her chin in the palm of her right hand. Her red hair looked like a bright maroon, something else that made me yearn for my home.

"Th-Theridas."

"Theridas? I've never heard that one before. Where are you from?"

"Th-the nether. From the nether-bound Blaze clan."

Her eyes widened a little. "Really? My name is Pepper, and I'm from the overworld-bound creeper clan." I smiled again, and felt the blush on my cheeks deepen.

"Pepper? That's... that's a pretty name."

"Thank you." She stared at me for a while, as if analyzing my every move with deep interest. My stomach grumbled, and I let out a nervous laugh. She smiled again.

"You Really are hungry, aren't you?"

I nodded. She put her hand down and got closer. Close enough for her v-neck shirt to reveal her cleavage. "Do you have a place to sleep, Theridas?" I swallowed.

"W-Well, yes, but Uh..."

"Because you can stay with me for the night, if you want. I can rent a room upstairs." She inched closer, cornering me with a very mischievous grin. "And if you get hungry, you can always eat me out."

I blinked, feeling the blush on my face cover every square inch of my cheeks. "Eh, uh, I, um... wh-What?"

Her smile widened. I could now see lust in those gorgeous eyes, and it terrified me. "You heard me. I want to have some fun with you tonight. I've been feeling very lonely... and empty."

I swallowed. Oh, lords, what do I do??? "Uh, m-my friends, th-the food-"

"I'm sure your friends will understand if you are a bit late. Come on, Theridas." She licked her lips. She had pronounced my name in a fashion that sent a small shiver down my spine.

"Uh... I-I... I can't, uh, Pepper."

"Why not?"

"W-well, b-because... uh..."

"Come on handsome." She got even closer, and I couldn't back I to the wall any further. "I want to feel you inside me." Suddenly the corner felt much too warm.

"Uh..."

"Please?" Her gaze softened. My heart was beating a thousand times a second. When was the last time, huh? I began to argue with myself over this situation. W-Well, years, but that doesn't mean this is okay! Well why not? A beautiful woman want you. What's wrong about that? Don't you want her?

I sighed. "O-okay. You win. But my pants are staying on!"

Her wicked smile returned. "Deal." She grabbed my wrist and began pulling me up some stairs that were in the opposite wall. I swallowed. What did I get myself into???

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Author's Notes

Ah, See? This is the kind of quality content I want all my chapters to contain. Aaand it's 4K words long. Whoops! Got a bit carried away there. :D

Thank you all so much for your time and support! Have an awesome day!

~ LeMafiaKreb

(P.S, Favorite, Follow and Review, please. I mean, if you've got time.)

P.P.S, I seem to use commas a lot, don't I?