Author's Notes

I am so very sorry this chapter was so late. I had been sick, and then had some technical difficulties, but hey! Better late than never, right? :I

Now, Reviews!

GiggiEba, well, Kaitlin is very compassionate, so... :) thank you!

ThinMint, thanks for not spoiling anything. :P thank you so much!

Anywho, on with the story!

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Darkness's POV

I passed through the nether portal to arrive in the overworld, next to my generals and shadow. I ignored their niceties and stared at my endermen building the cobblestone bridge. There was barely any, stretching perhaps two to three meters in length, but spanning kilometers in width. Enough for my army to walk through.

I grimaced and turned to my Necronaut general. "How long has it been since my order, general?"

The armored wither skeleton bowed. "It's been three days, my liege. Progress has been slow. This could take anywhere from weeks to months."

I nodded and turned back to the endermen. "I'm working on a new monster. He will come and aid our efforts in building this bridge once I am finished. Then I'll send him to attack my brother as well."

My shadow raised an eyebrow. "Did you not send an army of 800 monsters to eradicate them? As well as a massive bloody creeper?"

I nodded. "Indeed. However, I received a letter through a phantom. The army, and the massive bloody creeper, are in pieces. The few monsters remaining said they would try to slay them either way. Except the creepers. They all ran off."

My Demonaut general frowned in surprise. "They ran off? Why?"

"Apparently, my brother has encountered a whisperer. A Creeper, no less. I'm honestly quite glad the mutant creeper was too stupid to be controlled. It'd be a pain in the ass if it turned against us."

My generals nodded, yet my shadow looked a bit ruffled. "So we cant send any creepers against them?"

I chuckled. "In theory, we shouldn't even send monsters against the clans. There are far more whisperers than you'd imagine. But, their little chants and funny noises cannot bend a will that is already broken."

I turned to face the shadow with a smile. "When the fight begins, I will shatter the earth. Split the mountains. Break the sky. The monsters will be under my command. No whisperer will be able to stop them."

My shadow nodded. "Your victory is certain, then."

I grimaced, my good mood killed by his carefree attitude. "No. Not with my brother in the way."

My Argonaut general stepped forward. "Pardon my asking, lord Darkness, but... why don't you go slay him yourself? The monsters couldn't, but perhaps you could."

I shook my head. "I can't. It's been written in stone. If I face off against my brother, the both of us will lose. Unless I am successful."

I began walking towards the nether portal again. "If everything goes according to plan, then my brother's days are numbered. Soon, we will rule all the realms."

I stepped through the thin violet screen of the portal. "And no one will be able to stop me."

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Sarah's POV

I began placing breakfast on the table, cooked chicken and dandelion salad. Everyone dug in, except Tom. He was looking out the window, as if entranced by something. I walked up to him and placed my head on his shoulder.

He didn't even twitch, so I tried to find what he was looking at. The sky was cloudy and grey, promising downfall soon. I hoped it would be rain, but since winter was closing in, it might end up being snow instead.

There was a single creeper on the edge of the plains. It looked around, as if lost or confused. Then it turned around and went back into the forest. I turned to look at Thomas.

"What do you think it was doing?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe looking for us or something. I think it's best we stay inside today."

"But we need to fill up the creeper craters."

"Those can wait. I'm not liking the forest right now."

"But we're not going into the forest. We could gather dirt and stone from the mountains with the airship."

He turned to me, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "You're really hell-bent on filling those up, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "I don't like the way they look. And it's dangerous. Somebody could fall into one and hurt themselves."

He nodded, looking back out the window. "That's true. Fine, we'll fill them up. Who will captain the ship? Eba is in no condition to do so, and neither is Simon."

I nudged him gently. "You help him build it, didn't you? Why don't you captain it? Shouldn't be too hard."

His smiled widened. "Alright. I'll give it a shot. Later, though. Breakfast comes first."

I smiled back at him and followed as he sat at the table. I plopped down beside him and began eating. Simon was distractedly toying with his salad. I frowned and spoke at him.

"Why aren't you eating?" His eyes turned to me slowly, still unfocused. Then he snapped out of it and blinked.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else. What is it?"

I pointed with my fork at his untouched plate of food. "Your breakfast. You haven't eaten a single thing."

He looked down at the dish set before him. "Oh. Right."

He began eating slowly. Satisfied, I looked around the table again. Everyone looked kinda glum and beaten up. I mean, yeah, we did get beaten up, but still. Maybe a trip to the lake would lift our spirits.

I turned to Thomas again. "How about a field trip, Tom? To the lake? Everyone looks kind of... smooshed."

He nodded and finished chewing a piece of chicken. "Hm... that could work. I guess you don't want to fill in craters anymore?"

I shrugged. "We can do that later. I think the water would calm everybody down. Make them feel better."

Thomas smiled. "Alright then. We'll go to the lake." He turned to speak to everyone. "How does that sound, guys? A trip to the lake? Not to work or do anything, just hang out in the water?"

Kaitlin looked doubtful. "But what about me? Water doesn't affect other nether mobs, but it dulls down our flames when it comes to blazes. We're... sort of allergic, I think. It doesn't hurt us, but we can't use our fire until we dry out."

Thomas shrugged. "You won't need your fire. You can relax with us at the lake, it'll be fine."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "But what about the egg? I can't leave it alone here. And I don't want to risk dropping it in the water."

Thomas frowned in frustration. "The egg will be fine by itself. It's not like it would go anywhere, and nothing would be able to come and hurt it."

Kaitlin shook her head. "I'm sorry. But I think I'll pass. I'd rather stay here and um... protect the house."

Thomas sighed and nodded. "Alright, then. Everyone else, are you guys coming?"

They all nodded, and looked pretty excited. Thomas finished his meal and got up. "Alright, then. Get you bathing suits and stuff, guys."

He turned to the creeper boy still finishing his salad. "Could you call Ara somehow? She could keep Kaitlin company and give her a few tips on how to care for the egg."

Simon nodded. "That's a great idea. I'll try. As soon as I'm done eating."

We all walked up the stairs and into our rooms. Valory and Lila had spent a great deal of time making all sorts of clothes, bikinis and swimsuits among them. I pulled a grey one-piece off it's hanger and changed.

It took a few minutes, but soon everyone was ready. The guys all had trunks (Simon also had a long-sleeved swimming shirt) and most of us girls had one-pieces.

Izabell came down in tan shorts and a green shirt, saying she didn't feel like swimming but wanted to tag along anyways. Eba had swimming shorts and shirt. I asked her about Blight, and she shook her head.

"He says he can't. Because he's still tecnically a demon, and a rot one at that, he could poison the water if he enters. So no, he won't be swimming with us."

I nodded. "Okay. That makes sense. What will he be doing in the meantime?"

The endergirl shrugged. "Talking with me, I guess. He doesn't really do much." She thought for a moment, a flash of grey overcoming her magenta eyes for a split second. She smiled. "At least, not without a little help."

I returned her smile. "I really don't understand your relationship. You need to explain that to me some day."

She giggled while trying her long magenta hair in a tall ponytail. "I'd love to! Blight says he wouldn't mind either."

I nodded, still smiling, and walked over to Tom. He and Simon (who had his arm around Izabell) where discussing more airship plans. Ugh. Really? Already? I stood beside Thomas and 'gently' elbowed him. He grunted in surprise and turned to me.

"Oh. Hi, Sarah."

"Hey Tom. You done gossiping with Simon or should the rest of us go ahead?"

He chuckled, taking my hand in his. "Yeah, I'm done." He turned to the creeper boy. "We'll pick this up later, okay?"

Simon nodded. All of us waved goodbye to Kaitlin and began heading off to the lake. Nightshade was perched on Valory's shoulder like a parrot. A bluish-purple, scaly, undead parrot. With a black little cloak thing.

Everybody looked very tense as we trudged through the forest to reach the lake. Once we where out from under the thick canopy of leaves, we all visibly relaxed. Izabell placed a towel on the sand and sat down without hesitation. I smiled.

"Is that all you're gonna do, Izabell?"

The slime girl shrugged with her own smile. "Pretty much. I don't feel like swimming right now, but I might dip my toes in the water later."

"Alright. Well, have fun."

"You too."

I walked over to Thomas. He was picking up flat stones and chucking them at the water. He smiled at me and threw one last stone. "Are you getting in?"

I turned to look at the lake and frowned. The water was Murkier than usual, a tinge of green tainting it's sparkling blue waters. There was also no fish. Or, very few fish.

I pointed at the water. "Look, Tom. It doesn't seem to be such a great idea now."

He stared at the water in confusion for a while before nodding. "You're right. Something's off with it today. It looks... moldy or something, if that makes sense."

I nodded with a frown. "So we just... go back?"

Thomas dipped his hand in the water and immediately pulled it back out. "Definitely. That just feels slimy and gross. I wouldn't want to swim in this."

I sighed and turned to look at the rest of the gang. They were all waiting expectantly for the green light from Thomas, which was rather funny. I gave them a wry smile.

"Um... guys? I think it's best if we don't enter the water. It doesn't look too healthy right now."

Simon walked up to the edge of the water and stared at it for a while. He 'hmm'ed after a few seconds. "They're right. It's filled with algae. That's odd. Why hadn't it happened before?"

I crouched down and stared into the depths of the lake. There were a few fish from what I could see, as well as lot's of plants. And a weirdly shaped rock in front of me. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see it better.

And two glowing, cyan eyes greeted me. I jumped back in surprise as a sickly blue hand emerged from the water, grasping the sandy shore. Thomas was beside me in an instant, his hands curled into tight fists.

Another hand seized the shore, pulling the figure up to the surface. Eba summoned her sword and waited hesitantly for the monster to show itself. The Drowned lifted it's head out of the water, it's eyes and mouth emitting a faint light-blue glow.

Eba swiftly decapitated it, and the headless body of the zombie plopped to the ground with a sickening 'schlop'. We all took a few steps back. Simon hissed, probably without meaning to. "Aw, fuck."

I turned to look at him. "What is it?"

He pointed at the water, his eyes wide. "Look..."

I turned to the murky depths again, this time on edge. At first, I couldn't see anything that would alarm Simon. And then I noticed the lights. Dozens of lights. The same haunting light-blue indicating drowned. A gasp escaped me.

Almost instantly, twenty of the waterlogged monsters began crawling from the depths and onto the shore. Nobody had brought weapons, and we couldn't use any that Eba summoned because they were made from Blight's rot-sand.

The endergirl stabbed, pierced and cut as quickly as she could, trying to keep the drowned from reaching us. A few of them held shells, and one of them even had a fishing rod.

When the monsters had pushed us back to the point that they began burning up, Blight showed up and began slaying them too. And soon enough, the beaches were cleared once more.

Eba was gasping for breath, tired from all of the fighting. Valory walked up to the endergirl and gave her a big hug.

"Thank the lords, Eba. I thought the monsters were going to kill us."

"I-it's fine, really. W-we could have just run away instead."

I turned to look back at the water. I didn't see anything. Then, just as I turned my head again, I spotted another shape out of the corner of my eye. The drowned glared menacingly at us and stood up. It clutched a trident in it's dead, blue hands.

Before Eba could get close enough, it reared back and threw the weapon. It sailed straight towards Valory.

A sharp cry rang out, and Nightshade dived towards the trident. Just before it reached Valory, the phantom swooped in, and the trident pierced her instead. What followed felt as if in slow motion.

Eba warped to and killed the last drowned before it could retaliate. Nightshade fell to the ground, the large trident sticking out of her small body. Valory dropped to her knees, her face a mask of pure horror. I could to nothing but watch.

"No! No, no no! Nightshade!" The spider looked around frantically before her panicky gaze landed on Izabell. "Help her! Please, do something!"

The slime girl, scared half to death, stuttered like mad. "B-b-but I-I... wh-what do... h-how c-ca... th-there's nothing I can do! I-I don't know how to treat phantoms! Or any sort of monster!"

Valory sat beside Nightshade, tears falling down her cheeks. "Please, do something! Anything! We need to help her!"

Then Jack crouched down and placed a hand on Valory's shoulder. "We need to take out the trident. Maybe we could help her then. I need you to hold Nightshade."

The frightened spider nodded and placed her hands on Nightshade's chest. The phantom chirped weakly. Jack wrapped his hands around the trident. Only two of it's prongs had pierced her, on her chest and left wing.

Jack carefully removed the sharp point from Nightshade's wing before tightly holding the trident's handle again. He turned to look at Valory. "I'll try to be quick so it doesn't hurt her much, okay? I need you to keep Nightshade down."

Valory nodded, still in shock. Jack huffed lightly. "Alright. Three... two... one."

The stray pulled the trident out of Nightshade's chest, causing the phantom to shriek in pain. Or maybe it was Valory. He tossed the weapon aside and gestured for Izabell.

"Do you really not know what to do?"

The slime girl swallowed. "Uh... w-we could try poison. L-like, healing potions help humans, a-and harming potions help undead mobs."

Jack turned to Lila. "Could you use your poison to help somehow?"

The cave spider kneeled down between Jack and her sister. "I could try. Since I don't have any knives with me, we can't administer the poison that way."

Valory was hugging herself at this point. "Please, just try. We need to help Nightshade."

Lila nodded and moved so her face was next to Nightshade. She bared a fang and looked at Valory out of the corner of her eye. The spider nodded, and Lila sank the fang into Nightshade's wing. The phantom whimpered a little.

We watched expectantly, but nothing happened. Nightshade raised her head towards Valory and chirped weakly. The spider placed her hand under the phantom's head. She was sobbing quietly.

We could only watch, unable to help in any way. Valory's sobs became heartbreaking chants of sorrow. "No, no, no, no, no... Nightshade... please don't go Nightshade... Don't go... I-I need you... please, Nightshade... please..."

Nightshade let go of a final cry and then went still. Thomas embraced me, and I numbly returned the gesture. "It's not your fault, Sarah."

My fault? How is this my fau- oh. I brought them to the lake. If I hadn't suggested coming here, Nightshade would still be alive. Will Valory stop being my friend? Will she hate me again, like before Nightshade?

"It is my fault Tom. Don't try to tell me otherwise because I know it is."

"You didn't know there were drowned in the water."

"I should have realized it before."

"How? With some insane super underwater vision? It's not your fault. You knew just as much as we did. It's nobody's fault."

Valory stood up, her eyes red and tears still trailing their way down her cheeks, and turned to us. "It is someone's fault." I bowed my head, expecting the spider to point her finger at me.

"It's Darkness's fault."

I looked up in surprise. "Darkness's fault?"

The spider nodded. "Yes. If he hadn't sent his monsters to attack us, there wouldn't have been monsters in the lake. And Nightshade would still be alive." Her gaze softened and focused on me.

"I know you didn't mean for this to happen. I don't blame you for anything, Sarah. I'm sure you would have tried to defend Nightshade if you could've."

I nodded, my heart feeling painfully constricted. "Thank you, Valory. I'm sorry for... for Nightshade."

She looked at her phantom. More tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice cracked. "Me too. I loved her with all of my heart, and will miss her a lot." She wiped the tears off her face. "My widdle phantom giwl."

She broke down again, kneeling next to Nightshade and holding her lifeless body close. The sight wrenched my heart, threatening to rip it in two. Lila hugged her sister tightly.

We walked back home a few minutes later. Valory was carrying Nightshade's body in her arms, in a position that made it look like the phantom was simply napping. Lila was by her sister's side the whole time.

Kaitlin greeted us, and stopped mid-wave when she saw our expressions. We buried Nightshade beside a large oak tree on the edge of the plains. Her body looked small and frail in her final resting place. Valory stopped us before we could cover her up.

"I haven't said anything, guys."

I was confused, but Thomas nodded and stepped aside, so I did the same. Valory walked up to the edge of Nightshade's grave.

"I enjoyed our time together. The days I spent with you were the brightest, and the nights were the prettiest. I won't ever forget you, Nightshade. There will never be another phantom like you. I love you, and will continue to love you, until the end of my days."

She nodded after a while, and backed off as Tom and I began filling up Nightshade's grave. We all sat at the table glumly afterward. We had all changed back to our regular clothes except for Valory. She didn't leave the table at all.

I asked Thomas to sleep with me in my room because I didn't think that I would be able to sleep on my own. Not with the image of Nightshade's death playing over and over in my mind. He agreed numbly. I guess he felt just as horrified.

I changed into my night clothes before Thomas could arrive. He hugged me tightly, and hugged him back. He moved some of my hair out of the way and whispered into my ear.

"How are you doing?"

"Not good. I don't think I'll be able to sleep."

"Me neither. But I agreed to this, right? We should at least give it a shot. We still need to cover up the creeper holes."

"*sigh*... craters. Okay. I'll try."

He gently kissed my cheek and brought me to the bed by my hand. I got up, and he lay down beside me. I curled up and Tom pulled me towards him. I could feel his breath softly stirring my hair.

"Do you feel better now?"

"I don't know, Tom."

"How about... this?"

He carefully rolled me over so my head was resting on his chest. One of his arms was below me, keeping us close. The other held my hand, which was draped over his torso. I smiled at him.

"This is better. But... won't your arm get tired?"

Tom shook his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "No, I'll be fine." He kissed the top of my head gently. I wrapped my left leg around his, pulling us closer still.

"Are ou sure?"

"Yes, it's okay. I just want you to be comfortable."

"I am. Thanks, Tom."

"You're welcome, Sarah."

His arm that was under me hugged my back. I turned to look at him, but his eyes were closed. His mouth was curled upwards slightly in a contempt smile. I brushed my lips against his, causing Thomas's eyes to flutter open.

"Hm?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep."

"Mmm."

I giggled softly and snuggled up to him. A faint memory returned, one of us sleeping together in a tree. We had just reached the valley, and when we woke up, the both of us jumped apart. Thomas had fallen off the tree. Back then, I found the thought of snuggling with him indignant. But now, it was soothing.

I closed my eyes, unable to keep them open a moment longer. A faint sigh escaped me and Thomas hugged me closer. I smiled against his chest and sank into the comfortable darkness of sleep.

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Theridas's POV

I woke up with a mild headache. Pepper was sleeping soundly beside me, her orange hair a mess. I looked around, still a bit disoriented. We were in Pepper's apartment, more specifically in her bed.

I got up slowly, moving the covers out of my way. I still had my clothes on, so either we didn't do it, or we did and I decided to sleep in my pajamas for some reason. A shiver ran through me, indicating a reason for the latter to be true.

The window in the living room was a bit foggy, and I wiped the glass from the inside. It cleared up a little, just enough for me to see the busy streets below. People were walking around in coats and heavy sweaters, still going about their day.

After a few minutes, I heard a little sigh behind me and turned around. Pepper was leaning against the bedroom's doorframe, standing barefoot in a fluffy green robe. She simply stared at me, her eyes still half-lidded from sleep.

I smiled at the gorgeous creeper woman. "Good morning, Pepper."

She blinked slowly and stretched a little. "Mmm... good morning, love. How did you sleep?"

I walked up to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Very well. Thank you." She sighed again and leaned into me. I hugged her close. "How did you sleep?"

She hugged me back. "Satisfied. Comfortable. Warm. You know, nether mobs are much warmer than I thought you would be. Even Ella. I'm glad, seeing as winter is fast approaching."

"Winter?"

She pulled back a little. "Mmhmm. It's a season. We're supposed to have four, but most trees on this side of the world are evergreen, so we don't see autumn very much. Except for the pumpkin harvests and such."

"What are the names of the seasons?"

"Spring, which is the pretty one with flowers and things. Summer, when it's all sunny and hot. Autumn or fall, when pumpkins begin to grow and leaves are supposed to turn brown. Then winter, when everything turns a beautiful white and snow falls from the sky. Also, it's cold. Really cold."

I shivered. "I can see that. I may be able to keep you warm, Pepper, but I don't think I'll be able to keep myself warm."

She giggled. "We could get you some clothes today, if you'd like. How much is Ronaldo paying you again?"

"Fifteen iron nuggets."

"Okay. That should at least be enough for a few warm shirts or something. And a sweater."

"But I have my cloak."

"It won't be enough. The winters here are pretty darn cold."

I nodded reluctantly. "Alright then. Let's go shopping. Should we pick up Ella and Lady Anastasia?"

"Sure. Might as well get them some warm clothing too."

I nodded but neither one of us moved. I chuckled softly after a while. "Maybe... maybe if we let go, we could finally get a move on."

Pepper whined. "But you're so warm and comfortable..."

"It was your idea to go shopping for clothes."

"That's true. Fine." She pulled away, her dark-green gaze locked on me. "Are you gonna change or do you want to go in your jammies?"

I felt a blush spawn on my cheeks. "I-I'll change."

I picked up my clothes and locked myself in the bathroom. Pepper and I agreed that it was probably best that she stopped basically destroying all of my clothing. So now, before she got to do anything, I take them off. That way they are mostly clean and I have something to wear in the morning.

I left the bathroom in a black jacket, red shirt underneath, black pants, shoes, and my dark cloak. It was a dark maroon color with golden trim on the edges. Pepper was pulling up her jeans, covering up her light blue undergarments and slender legs.

I caught myself staring before she could and maintained my composure. As a distraction, I combed my dark hair to the best of my abilities. By the time I finished, Pepper was ready to go.

She wore her leather jacket again, a green turtleneck underneath, jeans, and boots. I smiled at her and began unlocking the door. She had insisted on giving me a copy of her apartment's keys 'just in case'.

We walked to my apartment. Lady Anastasia greeted us kindly. We told her what we had planned for today, and the ex-monarch agreed. Ella had still been sleeping, and Pepper offered to wake her up.

She planted a kiss on the Ghast girl's forehead and shook her gently. "Wake up, Ella. We're going to go buy you some clothes. Come on, babygirl. Wake up."

The young girl stirred and mumbled something that made Pepper smile. "I know, darling, but it will get warmer in the afternoon. And we'll be buying you sweaters and things anyway."

Ella mumbled an 'oookaaaaay' and got up slowly. She and lady Anastasia took a few minutes to change and then out the door we go. Miss Brekelbaum greeted us reluctantly, and we waved in return.

Pepper took us to a lot of different places. The women and Ella took much longer to pick out clothes than I did. However, they kept saying that I should try others, many others, so we ended up shopping for about eight hours.

I was bone tired, but the girls kept chattering excitedly over their new clothing. We arrived at our apartment and I flopped onto the couch. Ella crawled up beside me and sat down. "Are you okay, Theridas?"

I smiled at her. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired."

She looked at Pepper and Lady Anastasia, who were still talking about the clothes they had purchased. "Okay. Are you going to go home with Pepper today or are you staying with us?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know. It makes me happy when you and Pepper are here, but it makes you happy when you go home with her. I can see it on your face."

I chuckled nervously. "Uh, really?"

"Yeah. You have a sort of dopey but happy face. You have that face when you come back from your dates with her too. And you're more relaxed."

She touched a finger to her lips for a moment. A blush was crawling onto my cheeks. I knew very well why I got that face. And it did have something to do with Pepper. Ella sighed after a few moments.

"I think I'd prefer you go with Pepper. I like it when you're happy."

A single breathless chuckle escaped me. "A-are you sure?"

Ella nodded. "You still bring us food, and come visit us. And you're happy."

I sighed. "Okay, then. I guess I'll go with Pepper today."

"M-hm."

We spent a few minutes with Ella and lady Anastasia before leaving to Pepper's apartment. The streets were not as busy as they usually were, and more campfires appeared in the alleyways. Pepper was carrying her bags by herself.

"Are you sure you can carry them?"

"Theridas, you are much more tired than I am. If you were to carry even one of these bags, you'd drop to the ground from exhaustion."

sigh* "Alright. But th-that also means no... no lewd stuff tonight. I won't be able to do anything anyways."

Pepper made a mock pouty face. "Aww, please? Pretty please?"

I shook my head. "I mean it, Pepper. It's really hard to keep up with you."

She giggled. "I'm just teasing, love. I'm tired too. But... Y'know..." She looked up at the night sky. "Out of all my boyfriends, you have been the best. In every aspect of life. And the one that has been able to keep up with me for the longest."

I chuckled nervously again, a blush tingling my cheeks. "R-really?"

"Uh-huh. But... don't let that go to your head."

"Ehm... sure. I'll try."

Pepper giggled again. "You'll try? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uh, s-sorry, let me rephrase that. It won't."

"Okay, flame-head. Come on, you're practically asleep standing up."

We arrived at her apartment few minutes later. Pepper was right about me being very tired. I took off my cloak and flopped onto the bed. Pepper giggled softly and nudged me to one side. I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her close to me.

She giggled again. "What are you, a squid? Come on, let me go!"

"But you're comfortable. And warm."

"Hey, you can't use my excuses on me."

"Yes I can. Go to sleep."

"Fine. Just... ugh... wait... there."

She had turned around and was facing me. She wrapped a leg around my hip and kissed me. I sleepily returned the kiss. She pulled away a little and snuggled closer.

"Now I'm comfortable. I had fun today."

"Me too. Even if you guys spent way too long shopping."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Okay, Fine. Maybe we went a little overboard."

"A little?"

She giggled again and hugged me tighter. "Yep. Just a little. Good night, Theridas. Love you."

"Good night Pepper. I love you too."

She closed her beautiful eyes and sighed in contempt. I closed my own amber eyes, but it was a while before I slept. I could smell Pepper's hair, could feel her breath on my cheek. It lulled me to sleep.

After some time, I woke up in a dream. Darkness was there, as well as his monster army. Many more people were standing beside me, but Pepper was nowhere to be found. Darkness's mouth was moving, but I couldn't hear anything he said.

Then, he raised his jet-black sword and plunged it into the ground. The grassy plains cracked, and ravines snaked out from Darkness's sword. The dirt and stone beneath me shuddered and split open. I couldn't hold my ground.

The earth cracked and I plunged into it. There was no one there to help me, and I just kept falling. The last thing I heard was Darkness's horrible laugh, and Ella's voice.

"You... you fell. And nobody caught you."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Author's Notes

This took me waaay longer than it should've. And I'm sorry for that.

Oh no!!! Nightshade! Noooooooooooo!

I never know what to write in these bottom author's notes.

Thank you so much for your time, support, and patience. Have an awesome day!

~ LeMafiaKreb