Author's Notes

I have written 40 chapters for this story! Yay!

Reviews!

GiggiEba, Yeah, Theridas! Get your priorities in order! :D

ThinMint, You're absolutely right! Why didn't I think of that? I'm glad you liked the chapter!

Anywho, On with the story!

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Eba's POV

Once Valory had raised the anchor, and Simon had turned on the propeller's furnace, we sailed off towards the closest mountain. It only took about an hour to get there. Thomas and Iza were the only ones without a hoodie or sweater, and they were both shivering lightly.

Iza spoke after a while, her teeth chattering despite her proximity to the main furnace. "I-it's getting... a bit chilly, d-Don't you think?"

Thomas nodded. "Hard to breathe, too."

Simon had been looking at the clouds in the sky. Now he took off his hoodie and handed it to Iza. She smiled and took it. "Th-Thank you."

She leaned in as if to give him a kiss on the cheek, but Simon turned and walked belowdecks. Iza looked disappointed, but she put on the hoodie regardless.

This is stupid.

What is?

Those two are obviously aching for each other. Why don't they just forgive and forget?

It's not that simple, Blight.

Sure it is! There is no point to this awkward little dance.

Try explaining that to them.

My demon grumbled and 'sat back'. We slowed to a stop beside a stone flat jutting from the side of the mountain. "Val! Drop the anchor!"

The spider nodded and dashed belowdecks. A few moments later, we heard the dull 'clunk' of metal against stone. Valory walked back up along with Simon. The creeper turned to me.

"I turned off the furnace."

"Good. Iza, lower us down a bit so the rope ladder reaches the ground."

The slime girl nodded and pulled on the blue chain. The airship gently began to float down. I asked Iza to stop after a short while. Thomas was the first to go down the rope ladder. Simon put on his gloves and slid down after him. I warped beside Thomas.

It was pretty chilly, even with my hoodie. Thomas had hung his pickaxe on his back with a leather sling. He drew it now, giving the air a few swings. I looked up at Val, who was bringing down the rest of the tools in a web net.

I picked mine up. It felt very top-heavy. I gave it a few test swings before getting used to it.

Very impressive forgery.

Simon made them.

Is that supposed to explain?

Well... yeah. He's a creeper. They do this stuff.

Hm.

I watched as Thomas walked over to the mountain's rocky surface. He swung down on the stone. The pick made a crack on the stone, but nothing really big. Thomas pulled the pick out and sighed.

"It's going to be a lot tougher to break this mountain stone than it is to break regular stone." Simon walked up to him, a red stick in his hand.

"We could always bring down the whole mountain." The thought terrified me. Then I noticed the mischievous glint in his eyes.

Oh, thank the lords he's only joking.

He's right, though. It would be more efficient to detonate the rock.

Yeah, and we'd detonate with it!

Not if he rigs the fuse to last long enough for everyone to get on the airship and out of the blast radius.

We are not doing that.

Fine.

Iza walked up and stood beside Thomas. She had her own pick at the ready. "It's only tougher if you mine frozen bits. We could warm up a section of this rock and it would be easier to break."

She turned to Simon. The creeper nodded and pulled out a different stick from his hoodie pockets. This one was pink, and it had a much shorter fuse. Thomas raised an eyebrow, and Simon shrugged.

"A flare. I can plant it on the stone, and it'll burn away the ice." Thomas nodded and stood aside. Simon picked away at the tough rock until he made a small crevice large enough for the flare. He planted the little stick and lit the fuse.

It's light was much brighter than any torch we had made, and a pretty pink color.

That creeper has some really convenient gizmos.

Yeah, he does.

Just like Iza had predicted, the area within a 2 meter radius began to melt away. After a while, the flare went out leaving a black piece of char in it's place. Thomas picked at the wall again, and it broke with much less difficulty.

"Awesome. Let's start mining, guys."

We all began to pick at the area the torch had melted. Iza was making much more progress than us. One would have thought that, with her thin figure, she wouldn't have been able to help much. But her arms were very strong, and she shattered the rock like it was nothing.

I could barely keep up with everyone else. Blight spoke to me.

I can help you.

Please do.

I'll share my strength. Don't go wild, though. Your friends might get suspicious.

I won't.

My arms felt much stronger, and my heartbeat slowed down. It became so much easier to mine away at the rock wall. Soon, the dull thumps of metal on stone turned into sharp clangs. Valory had stopped to take a break, and she smiled at us when the sounds of mining changed.

"Hey, we're almost there! Come on, guys! We can do this!" She began mining away too, and tired herself further. After about an hour, we had fully uncovered a large vein of iron ore. Even with Blight's added strength, I could not keep up with either Thomas nor Iza, who were still mining.

Simon had left to cheek the airship's furnace, and returned with burlap sacks. "For the ore," he explained. We kept going at it until all four sacks were filled with metal. Thomas clapped his hands together.

"Well done guys. Let's go home and finish it, shall we?" Everyone climbed up onto the airship. I warped to my post at the steering wheel.

Impressive. It took you around four hours to do something that, while underground, would have taken you ten. Mining metals at the lake had been easier, but this is more fun.

I know! I love being the captain.

You should ask one of the spiders to make you a hat.

The image his thought conveyed made me giggle.

Maybe I will.

Simon turned to face me, an eyebrow raised in amusement. I gave him a wry smile, feeling my cheeks turn hot.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, uh... n-nothing."

The creeper boy shrugged and walked downstairs to fire up that furnace. A sigh of relief escaped me. I turned to the rest of my 'crew'.

"Alright guys! Let's wrap it up and go home!" Everyone cheered, even Simon who was stil belowdecks. "Valory, raise the anchor!"

The spider nodded and dashed down. A few minutes later, the airship bobbed gently and the metalwork of the anchor began to 'clack' and 'clang'. Valory walked back up and gave me a salute. I smiled at her and turned to Iza.

"Let's get some more altitude, shall we?" The slime girl nodded and pulled on the red chain. We began to rise slowly, and we soon got enough clearance to turn around. I pushed the propeller's lever to 1/4th of power and spun the wheel to the right.

We just about managed to turn the ship without scraping it's hull against the stone. I pushed the lever to max and we began sailing back home.

I love this.

Yes. You mentioned that.

Well it's true!

I know. I like it as well.

The wind buffeted my face and caused my purple hair to flow behind me. The other girls had tied theirs back in ponytails. We arrived an hour later, and I slowed us down.

"Val, drop the anchor!"

"Aye aye, captain!"

"Iza, lower us down!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Thomas, make sure we don't hit anything on our way down."

"We're in the clear, captain!"

"Simon, shut off the propeller furnace!"

"On it."

It took us a few minutes, but we successfully managed to 'park' the airship. Everyone got off, and we were greeted by our friends that we had left behind. Thomas brought us inside, and Simon got to cooking dinner. Thomas stood up and smiled at me.

"Let's thank our wonderful captain for a job well done!" Everyone clapped. I felt my face grow hot, and gave them a sheepish smile.

"W-well, I-I couldn't have done it without the help of my amazing crew..." Everyone laughed at that, and Sarah hugged me. I blushed harder, unable to cope with all the attention. Thankfully, simon walked in with some of the plates.

"Here we go."

I was served first, a plate of dandelion salad with a big and juicy chunk of mutton. Everybody began eating, still chatting with one another. I felt warm and fuzzy sitting here with my family.

Family, huh? Do I count?

Of course you do, Blight. You may be a demon, but you're my friend too.

Well... thank you.

You are very much welcome.

We talked and talked until Thomas called the lights out. Iza still had Simon's hoodie on. The creeper boy walked up to her and gestured to the hoodie. Iza hesitated and then reluctantly began to take it off.

"You can keep it if you like." The slime girl looked up at him.

"N-no, it's yours, but... maybe... for one night?" Simon smiled.

"Of course, Z." He planted a quick kiss on her cheek and walked upstairs. Iza was blushing, and she looked utterly stunned.

You have a weird family.

Well, yeah. But remember, you're family too.

Hm... you're right.

I warped to my room and got into my bed. I stared at the dark ceiling for a while, my thoughts drifting to today's adventure. I smiled, and felt Blight 'smile' too.

The Greatest captain ever.

Yes, yes I am.

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Theridas's POV

I pulled up my black pants and buckled my belt. Pepper was already fully dressed and staring at me from the corner of the room. The faint morning light filtering through the blinds in the window turned her orange hair a golden color. I pulled on my dark cloak and turned to look at her.

She smiled warmly. "How are you feeling?" I combed my fingers through my dark hair.

"Very refreshed." We had taken showers one by one. She had teased me with her naked body, and it took everything I had to keep a straight face and walk into the bathroom. "Thank you. For... for everything, Pepper."

Her smile widened. "You are very much welcome, Theridas. I enjoyed the experience." I felt my blush return.

"W-well, I Uh... need to go meet my friends." She walked past me and towards the door. I stared at her bottom longingly before catching myself and turning away.

"Of course." She turned to look at me again, her hand on the knob. "Where do you guys live?" I opened and closed my mouth.

"Uh... in an apartment building. Down the street. I'm not... sure where exactly. I can't really remember." I gave her a sheepish smile. Pepper opened the door and gestured for me to follow.

She lead me downstairs. A few people where sitting on the tables in the mostly empty and well-lit restaurant. Ronaldo was cleaning the bar with a white rag. He looked up for a second before returning to his task.

"Good morning, folks. Hope you're feeling well-rested. Neither Erik nor I could shut our eyes because of all the racket you two made." I blushed further. Pepper smiled and sat on a barstool.

"Good morning, Ronaldo. Theridas wants to pick up his food." Ronaldo raised an eyebrow at me.

"That your name, champ? Never heard that one before." I gave the barkeep a small smile.

"Well, I've never heard the name Ronaldo before." He shrugged.

"Sounds fair. Erik kept your food Warm." Pepper raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Really? You two are never that nice to a customer." Ronaldo shrugged again, rubbing his rag against a particularly tough grease splotch on the bar's counter.

"He did pay with a gem-encrusted ring, so... kind of rude not to keep his food warm. I'll go fetch it for you." I nodded and he left hurriedly towards the kitchen. I sat down beside Pepper. She pushed a few strands of orange hair behind her ears.

"So. You don't know where your friends are." I shook my head.

"No. It's on the third floor of this dull grey building. A mean old lady rents the rooms." Pepper nodded, her eyes lighting up. I turned to the corridor where Ronaldo had disappeared.

"I know where you mean. It's ms. Brekelbaum's place. She is quite rude." I smirked.

"No kidding."

"I could help you find it." I turned to face her. Her dark green eyes glittered in the morning light.

"Really?"

"Of course. I know these streets better than anyone." I smiled.

"Thank you." She smiled back. Ronaldo exited the kitchen and walked towards us carrying a white bag. He placed it on the counter.

"Here you go. Nine tortas, still warm and delicious." I nodded, stood up, and picked up the bag.

"Thank you, Ronaldo."

"Thank you, Therisito. Come back anytime." He returned to cleaning his counter. I turned and extended my elbow at Pepper. She smiled and hooked her arm around it. We walked towards the exit, and the beautiful creeper woman looked over her shoulder.

"Bye, Ronaldo. Say hi to Erik for me."

"Later, Pep."

We wandered out onto the bustling streets. It looked just a busy as last night, but at least I could see better. Pepper led me in the direction I had come from.

"Who are you here with? What brings you to Veridon?" I stared at everything in wonder. There were shops and houses, buildings of many different shapes and sizes.

"I'm here with Lady Anastasia, the ex-queen of the nether-realm. And Ella, the daughter of... of some friends that passed away." She looked at me, but didn't stop moving.

"That's terrible! What happened?"

I sighed. "It's a long story... I'd rather tell you in the apartment." She nodded. We were walking in front of an alley when a big man stopped us. We tried to go around him, but a second one showed up. A third blocked us from behind. We slowly retreated into the alleyway.

The first one walked up to me. "Hey, man. That's some fancy clothing you got there. Why don't you hand everything over, huh? Or do I have to beat it out of you?"

Pepper stood in front of me. We were almost the same size, 5'9, and the guy in front of us was probably 6'2. Still, Pepper took a boxing stand, looking as intimidating as anything.

"You better keep your retarded hands off my man." I blinked. Her man? The man chuckled.

"Or what, red-head? You gonna hit me or something?" Pepper smiled, excitement glinting in her dark-green eyes.

"If you insist." She threw him a left hook so fast that I didn't even see it. The guy's face snapped to the right, and he took a few steps back. Pepper didn't wait for him or his commrades to react. She just kept swinging.

She knocked out the poor man, and he fell to the ground with a dull thump. The other two scowled and walked closer. Pepper took a few steps back, and looked over her shoulder.

"You're a Blaze, right?" I blinked and nodded

"I, uh... yeah."

"You can throw fire?"

"Um... yes."

"Then throw some!" She turned back to the fight. I summoned a small fireball and threw it weakly towards one of the men. Pepper swung back and punched the fireball, giving it one hell of a kick.

It exploded on the second man's chest, and it knocked him to the ground. He fainted when his head hit the concrete. There was a hole in his shirt, but it thankfully didn't catch fire.

The third man raised his palms and ran away. Some of Pepper's hair had drifted back onto her face. She had a wicked smile lighting up her features. I stared as she pushed the orange strands behind her ears.

"That... that was... impressive." She beamed at me.

"Thanks, hun." She rolled her shoulders. "Nothing like an early scuffle to get the blood pumpin', huh?" I gave her a weak smile. And remembered something.

"Y-you... I'm your man?" She giggled. It seemed out of place, somehow.

"Well, I did let you come in my ass, didn't I?" I looked away and rubbed my arm. My cheeks felt hot with embarrassment.

"Pepper! You can't just say that!" She slapped my back.

"Come on, flame-head. We need to get that food delivered to your peeps." I sighed and followed her out of the alley. We walked for a few minutes before stopping in front of the old building. 'Ms. Brekelbaum' was in the bottom floor, on a couch, reading a newspaper.

The elderly woman looked up. "Oh. It's you." I smiled sheepishly. Pepper gave her a grin.

"Hey ms. Brekelbaum. How have you been?" The woman 'hmph'd.

"You still owe me that last payment, girl. Don't think you're welcome here." Pepper placed her hands on her hips.

"Ms. Brekelbaum, I paid you two days ago. Remember?" She stared at Pepper intently before 'hmph'ing again.

"Right. Still, don't think I'm glad to see you. You are too loud." Pepper 'hmm'ed happily.

"Well, good day to you too. Come on, Theridas. Third floor, was it?" I nodded, and She lead me upstairs. We stopped in front of the door to the apartment. Pepper looked at me.

"Do you have the keys?" I searched my pockets. Aw, shit.

I looked up at her, a sheepish grin on my face. "Apparently not." She grinned and lifted a hand. The keys were right there in her palm. My eyes widened.

"Where did you...?"

"I found them on the floor while you took a shower. That's kind of how I knew where you lived. Only ms. Brekelbaum orders such keys. But I was being serious about my knowledge of these streets."

She placed the metal key in the lock and turned it clockwise. The door opened, and we entered.

Ella was still sleeping peacefully on the couch. I took a peek in the bedroom. Lady Anastasia was asleep too. I sighed in relief. Good. Neither one is awake.

Pepper sat on a chair in front of the table. I sat down on the couch beside her, careful not to wake Ella. I placed the bag of food on the table. My stomach grumbled, and I realized that I hadn't eaten dinner, nor breakfast. Pepper smiled at me.

"Well, somebody sounds hungry." She leaned in, a mischievous spark in her eyes. "Was I not filling enough, hun?" My blush returned.

"P-Pepper! S-stop that!" She giggled quietly.

"I'm just messing with you, love. Go on, eat." I sighed and nodded. Pepper stared at me with half-lidded eyes, her chin in her hand, as I ate. It was very uncomfortable to feel her gazing at me with such naked interest.

The food was great. Better than anything I had before. When I finished with my three... what where they? Tortes? Something like that. When I finished, I began to feel tempted to eat the other six.

My hand slowly stretched towards them, and Pepper gave it a gentle slap. "Nu-uh, babe. Those are for the little one and your other friend." I smiled and sat back on the couch.

We spoke in hushed voices for a while, getting to know each other better. She ran away from home at 12, by choice, and has wandered the streets ever since. "My parents were very nice people, but I felt too... constricted at home. That's why I left."

I nodded. "I never met my mom. And my father died of the wither six years ago." She placed a hand on mine. It felt rough and gentle.

"That's terrible. Do you guys have medics over there?" I nodded.

"Yes, but they couldn't cure him despite their best efforts. Now... I'm afraid that Lady Anastasia has caught it too." Pepper gave a gentle squeeze to my hand, and I returned the gesture.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing, but if she did catch it, our medics will be able to cure it." My eyes widened.

"You found a cure for the wither?" She smiled.

"Well, a cure for the everything, more like. It turns out milk can do a lot more than taste good with cookies." We talked for maybe an hour before Lady Anastasia awoke. I heard the bedsprings creak, and a tired groan. I stood up and walked over to the bedroom.

Lady Anastasia was there, sitting up on the edge of the bed. She turned to face me with drooping eyelids. I smiled and bowed.

"Good morning, my lady. Do you feel well-rested?" The tired ex-monarch sighed.

"If only, Theridas. But I do feel better. How did you sleep?" My thoughts wandered to last night, and all of the things Pepper and I did. My cheeks grew hot, and my smile turned awkward.

"Um... v-very Well, my Lady." She nodded and stood up. I walked over and took her hand, helping her walk towards the living room. She stopped after noticing Pepper.

The creeper woman smiled brightly, looking as innocent as ever. "Good morning."

Lady Anastasia gave her a small smile. "Good morning. And who might you be?"

Pepper stood up and extended a hand out to lady Anastasia. The ex-queen shook it gently. "I'm Pepper, Theridas's girlfriend." Lady Anastasia raised her eyebrows in surprise and turned to me, a laughing smile on her face.

"Really? Well then. You don't waste any time, do you Theridas?" I smiled sheepishly and gave her a nervous laugh.

"I Uh... I brought some food for you and Ella." I pointed to the food bag on the table.

Lady Anastasia nodded and sat down beside the snoozing Ella. The young Ghast girl mumbled and turned over in her sleep. She looked so cute and peaceful.

The ex-queen unwrapped one of the bread thingies and stared at it curiously. She turned to me, confused. I smiled encouragingly. Pepper smiled too.

"It's a torta." Her pronunciation of the strange word was not quite what Ronaldo had spoken. "You bite it. Trust me, it's very good." I nodded, showing my agreement.

Lady Anastasia looked back at the foodstuff and took a bite. I could see by the gleam in her eyes that she liked it just as much as I had. "It's... quite good. Where did you get this, Theridas?"

"At a restaurant bar down the street." I rubbed the back of my neck. "That's where I met Pepper." Lady Anastasia nodded again and took another bite. I saw Ella's nose twitch, and then the girl slowly opened her crimson eyes.

She blinked sleepily and looked around. I smiled at her, and she sat up. "Good morning, Ella." She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good morning." She blinked sleepily again, and looked around the room. Her gaze landed on Pepper, then on the food. The young girl got off the couch and picked up one of the wrapped up foods.

"What's this?" I unwrapped it for her.

"It's food. Try it, they're good." The Ghast girl nodded and gave it a small bite. She smiled and took another. Lady Anastasia was already down to her second one. I watched hungrily as they relished their meal. Pepper scooted her chair over to me.

I smiled at her and she smiled back. I placed an arm around her, and she rested her head on my shoulder. I looked out the window towards the busy streets and the green moors beyond. Being here with my compatriots as well as Pepper made me feel much more optimistic than I had been for days.

It felt as if nothing would ever go wrong again. I decided to be brave and placed a kiss on Pepper's forehead. She closed her eyes, the faint smile on her lips growing wider. It felt good to make her smile. If only Darkness wasn't planning an attack, if only we had met under different circumstances...

I placed my cheek on top of her orange hair. If only, if only...

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Author's Notes.

Would you look at that. Another 4K word long chapter. Huh. :D

This one was mostly oriented towards Theridas's POV. I hope you guys don't mind.

Anywho, thank you all for your time and support, have an awesome day!

~ LeMafiaKreb