Author's Notes
ahem* Forgive me for taking so long to post this chapter. I have been quite busy with school and the like. Sadly, most future updates will take some time. However, summer break is nearing, so I will be able to focus (most) of my attention on finishing the story. And, I really must thank all of you for the amazing support!
Now, Reviews!
ThinMint, yeah, Well, not quite. Yes for the everything else, though. :P Also, you 'sound' tired. Everything okay?
GiggiEba, you imagine correctly. Yes, that was the plan. :) My stories need the cutesy and funny scenes. It's what makes them my own.
Guest, why thank you! Your support means a lot!
Guest, I know... and, do you mean more for the story or in general? Cuz, lemme tell you, either way there'll be more writing coming from me. :)
Lysandra (Guest), thank you so very much! I am very glad you like my story. :D
(BTW, guests, your reviews didn't show up on the site. I only found out about them because of the e-mails I was sent. Anybody know why?)
And now, at long last, let's get on with the story! :D
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Adrian's POV
I opened my eyes slowly and found myself lying on rough yellowish stone. There were tall black pillars built in a ring around me, with pink square things floating atop them. I stood up and dusted myself off. I didn't feel any of the pain I'd felt after visiting Lila, after we confessed our feelings. After we kissed.
I had been here only once before, about a year ago, in my dreams. Maybe I was dreaming now. I waited patiently for a while before a thunderous flapping of wings filled the air. Only mildly surprised, I searched the pitch-black sky. A massive shape fluttered heavily down and landed on the tough ground, sending grit and dust everywhere. A pair of old, knowing purple eyes stared calmly at me.
Hello, Adrian. Do you remember me?
"Of course I remember you, Nightsky," I replied. "How could I not? I still hear your voice in my head sometimes."
The large dragon purred softly and sat down, curling her tail neatly over her claws. Yes, well, you've needed some help every now and then, haven't you?
I smiled at her. "Yes, and I've been grateful for it." I looked around once more. "Why am I here? Do you have another task to give me?"
Nightsky placed her head on the ground, eyes half-lidded with sleep. You already have a task.
I sat down beside her and placed my hand on her snout. "I know, and I'm sorry. But I haven't been able to find the Golden Spirit. I don't think I ever will."
Another purr rumbled in her throat, and the dragon blinked at me, humour glittering in her eyes. I believe you have, Adrian. That is why you're here. I must congratulate you on a job very well done.
I stared back at her, confused. "What do you mean? I still haven't found the guy."
Nightsky blinked and stretched her wings, ready to take off again. But you have. You have found the sun's first born, his first creation. A natural leader, humble, strong and smart. You have accomplished your task, and will be rewarded with many blessings in your lifetime. All you must do now is deliver the weapon.
I watched as she padded away to a flatter area, possibly to leap into the air and disappear into the void once again. "Wait!" I called after her. "I don't even know who I need to give the sword to!"
The dragon looked over her shoulder and managed the closest thing to a smile. I believe you do. 'You don't have to ask', I do think he said. 'You are our friend'. Has he not stood up for you? Was he not the only one who was trusting when you met? Did he not save you from the mutant skeleton? Yes, I do believe you know who he is.
With that, Nightsky jumped and flapped away, back to wherever it is she lived. I considered her words over and over, but could only come up with one conclusion.
Thomas is the Golden Spirit. The first-born of the sun. The one who shall disspell the darkness.
I closed my eyes, and willed myself to wake. I had something to give him.
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3rd person POV (this will be the norm for battle scenes from now on, okay?)
The ground shook from the defeating roar that escaped the mutant enderman. The house's windows trembled slightly, and snow fell in clumps from the roof. Thomas, Simon, Eba, Jack, Valory, and Sarah watched in horror as the monster huffed at them, cold air swirling from its nostrils. The two-story-tall creature rolled its shoulders and curled its large hands into fists.
Instantly, everyone had their weapons drawn. "We're one man down," Thomas muttered to his friends. "So we need to do everything to keep him, and the rest of us, safe."
Simon nodded and turned to look at a terrified Ara. "Go inside. Keep Izabell company. And get Kaitlin and Lila out here."
The friendly monster nodded and walked inside without hesitation. Sarah was already firing arrows at the monster, and Jack began unloading his crossbow on the creature. The enderman simply covered its face with one hand as the other sank into the ground. Simon pushed everyone away. "Scatter!"
Valory stumbled and held her ground. "What? Why?"
The mutant picked up a large mound of earth and threw it at the house. Jack took Valory's hand and dragged her away just in time. The dirt and grit exploded against the ground and bathed a large area in brown. The enderman roared again and picked up more soil and the large boulder it had used to pull itself free from the forest.
Thomas watched from the right as the enderman threw its large proyectiles at Simon, Jack, Valory and Kaitlin. Thankfully, they all dodged the monster's attacks. Thomas turned at the sound of the front door being pushed open. Lila looked shocked, but she hurried purposefully towards him. The cave spider was carrying Adrian's swords.
"Adrian woke up," Lila gasped when she got close enough. "For a little while... then he passed out again... he told me to give you this."
Thomas blinked at the cave spider and nodded, taking the double-stacked leather holster. Thomas drew a few inches of Adrian's obsidian sword and stared at the black blade. The bleak sun reflected off its smooth surface. For a second, Thomas could do nothing but stare. Had Sarah looked closer, she'd have realized that a familiar golden flash had passed by his eyes.
Thomas put away the weapon and threw on the sheath. "I'll thank him for this when he wakes up again."
Lila nodded and kicked at the snowy ground, making the wheels of her skates pop out. "We need to deal with the big guy before we get the chance to do any thanking," she muttered before rolling away, her satchel of shurikens at the ready.
Thomas exchanged a glance with Sarah and they both dashed forward. Simon had disappeared at some point, which was no surprise for everyone. Thomas dropped his own sword and drew Adrian's obsidian one. It felt powerful in his hands, almost humming with strength.
The mutant enderman turned slowly, taking in all of its enemies, and roared again. A second pair of arms extended from its mid-section, and the enderman picked up four large clumps of earth.
Our heroes dodged its attacks to the best of their abilities, inching ever closer to the monster. It threw a back-hand blow at Jack, sending him flying away. The stray hit the ground with a dull thump and an 'ow'. The enderman swiped at everyone with one pair of hands while the other kept throwing chunks of the cold hard ground.
A shadow fell over the battlefield, and the enderman looked up to see Simon piloting the MKII toward it. The creeper boy swung dangerously from the railing to head belowdecks from the outside. "Surprise, surprise," muttered Sarah, still firing arrows at the monster as fast as possible.
The mutant enderman roared at the airship, and Simon fired a cannon from inside. The monster crouched low and grabbed the cannonball as it hurtled towards it. However, having underestimated its momentum, the heavy proyectile pulled the enderman back, almost bringing it down. The monster growled and reared back with the cannonball gripped in its hand. It threw the metal ball back at the airship.
Kaitlin threw flames at the proyectile, melting the cannonball before it could hit Simon's Airship. The monster roared at the blaze princess, who flung fireballs back at it. Simon started circling the enderman from above, firing his Gatling bow at it. Valory was the first to reach the mutant monster's legs, and started swinging her double-headed spear at it. Falconheart, her pet phantom, flew skillfully around the enderman's head, distracting and annoying the monster.
The monster growled and teleported a short distance away. Doing so caused an unusual explosion that knocked everybody away. Lila rushed over to Valory as soon as she got up. Her sister looked around wide-eyed. "I can't see," she whispered. "I can't see."
Thomas got up and glared at the mutant monster. It roared once again, before something else happened. It turned bright pink, and then more pink endermen appeared beside it, all of them identical. Eba teleported next to Thomas and stood by his side, keeping an eye on the endermen.
"Blight says they're clones," the endergirl explained. "We just have to hit the original."
Thomas scanned the ranks of pink monsters. "Which ones the original?"
All of them roared at the same time. Eba's words were drowned out, but she pointed a steady finger at the seventh enderman on the right. Thomas nodded and dashed forward. As he neared, all the clones swiped at him. Their hands passed through him, but not without causing him pain. The enderman Eba pointed out tried to pick him up, but Thomas rolled away and swung out with Adrian's sword at the monster's outstretched arm.
Unlike all their previous attacks, where the proyectiles bounced harmlessly off or the blades simply didn't make a cut, the obsidian sword dug into the enderman's forearm, leaving a deep gash that bled purple. The enderman clones disintegrated, and the original drew away, its skin darkening again, roaring all of its pain into the sky.
Thomas didn't hesitate and dashed forward, cutting the monster's legs. The mutant enderman took a step back and knocked him away, sending the enchanted sword out of Thomas' hand. Simon got the airship steady again after the sonic wave from the enderman's teleport and readied another cannon. The monster swatted away Lila and Eba, who had gotten close. It looked up and narrowed its magenta eyes at the airship, growling defiantly.
Simom fired the cannon, and the heavy metal ball sailed through the air. The enderman caught the cannonball with two hands, grunting from the effort. It held the proyectile with one hand, spun around twice, and tossed it back like a baseball. Kaitlin barely had time to melt and slow it down, but the metal ball still bounced off the airship's hull, leaving a slight dent. Simon cursed and started preparing the cannons again.
Jack helped Valory stumble towards a downed tree. The stray sat her down. "Are you Alright?"
The spider blinked at him. "Y-yes, I think so. I had gone blind for a moment..."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but I'm fine now. Mostly. I still feel a little weak."
Jack turned his gaze, watching everybody else figh bravely against the huge monster. "Okay. I'm going to leave you here, and I'll be back when that thing's dead."
Valory nodded, and the stray dashed back into the fight.
Kaitlin spewed an inferno from her mouth, forcing the enderman back. The monster roared in frustration and pain, teleporting out of range. Izabell watched the battle from the med-bay through a window, clutching the pendant Simon had made for her tightly. Thomas drew the iron replica of Adrian's sword and ran towards the large monster. He picked up the obsidian blade on his way, and swung at the monster with both swords.
The mutant enderman let out an earsplitting roar, stunning everybody and giving it a chance to step back. Simon fired the cannons, and the monster tried to pluck the proyectiles out of the sky. However, it once again underestimated the power of the airship's artillery, and the force from both cannonballs threatened to pull its arms out of their sockets and brought the monster down hard.
Our gang of heroes wanted no time. Thomas picked himself and Adrian's sword up, dashing forwards. The enderman tossed the cannonballs away and flipped onto its stomach, and as it tried to stand up, Thomas plunged the sword through the enderman's ankle. The mutant monster shrieked as white-hot pain washed over it. The enderman clutched at the ground with one hand as another whacked Thomas back before warping away.
Thomas lay in a daze, watching the mutant enderman through half-lidded, unfocused eyes. The monster was at the house, supporting himself with his hands on the roof. The monster let out a roar whenever its wounded ankle touched the ground. Thomas tried to stand up, to run back in and stop the enderman. He got his feet under him, albeit very unsteadily, and started trudging towards the monster.
The mutant enderman let out a please growl after noticing that nobody was currently attacking it. The monster started raising its upper pair of hands, planning on bringing them down to destroy the structure it was supporting itself with. Just as the monster was about to strike, something flashed past its face. The enderman faltered, searching for the interruption. A cry, resembling that of an eagle, rang put behind the enderman. The mutant monster turned around as Falconheart, Valory's pet phantom, swooped in front of it.
The monster stumbled, caught by surprise, and roared when its injured foot bumped into the storage shed. Simon piloted the airship close and started showering the enderman with arrows fired from one of the Gatling bows. The enderman shielded its face with one hand as another reached down to grab a mound of earth. Falconheart swooped by again, making the large monster flinch back.
Thomas picked up Adrian's obsidian broadsword once again and used it to support him as he walked unevenly towards the mutant enderman. The monster swiped at Falconheart, trying to knock the phantom out of the sky. Thomas took a deep breath and started running sluggishly forwards. The enderman roared at the airship and hopped forward, its fingers scraping the painted hull. Simon moved the airship out of the monster's range and ran belowdecks to prepare the cannons.
Thomas fell on the ground and tried to stand up again. Sarah ran forwards and knelt beside him. "Stay down, Tom. There's nothing we can do except get our friends out of the house and flee."
Thomas smiled weakly at the skeleton girl. "That's the first time I've heard you talk about retreating."
Sarah sighed defeatedly as Falconheart and Simon kept pestering the mutant enderman. "I never thought I would. But we really need to go. Everyone else is tired and hurt. Simon and Falconheart won't be able to keep the monster distracted for much longer. We need to get Izabell and Adrian out of the house."
Thomas huffed and got up with the help of Sarah. "No. We're not leaving. I just... I need to get closer."
The skeleton girl hugged him tightly. "Please, Tom! We need to go!"
Thomas tilted Sarah's head up gently and kissed her deeply. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. Stay safe, my beautiful tulip."
Sarah grabed his hand as Thomas started off towards the mutant enderman. "Tulip?"
Thomas smiled. "I saw what you did on your mother's birthday. Get everyone to safety!"
He reluctantly let go of Sarah's hand and started running towards the monster as the skeleton girl headed off to round up their friends. The mutant enderman roared and took a few steps back from the house, swiping at Falconheart and dodging the cannonballs Simon fired at it from the airship.
The enderman fell on its knees and picked up mounds of earth with one pair of hands, chucking them at its opponents. Thomas signaled for Simon to wait, and whistled for Falconheart to fly towards him. The phantom dove and spun to avoid the monster's grasp, falling in beside Thomas with a cry.
"Wait for my signal, Falconheart," he told the phantom. "I need you to surprise him."
Falconheart released a shrill cry and lifted up into the sky. The mutant enderman caught sight of Thomas, and it roared fiercely, its sharp-toothed maw wide open. Thomas gripped the obsidian sword's hilt tightly with both hands, shouting all of his fury and anger right back at the monster. The enderman picked up a nearby boulder and threw it at Thomas, who dodged around it, feeling upturned earth batter his sides.
The enderman reached for Thomas. He rolled just out of immediate reach. "Now, Simon!"
The creeper boy lit both cannons on the MKII, and the heavy artillery pieces exhaled a plume of smoke and flame with a thunderous explosion. The cannonballs actually got to the monster this time, hitting it on the shoulder and lower back. The enderman let go a cry of pain as it was almost barreled over from the force of the impact.
Thomas didn't stop running forward, and he made a 'forwards' motion with one hand. The enderman tried to punch him away, but Falconheart swooped down, making the monster stumble. Thomas used the phantom's diversion to get close. He jumped, spun mid-air, and swung the obsidian sword at the mutant's unhurt leg, feeling it get lodged in the bone.
The monster fell and rolled onto its side, roaring in agony. Thomas barely had time to move out of the way to avoid getting flattened. The enderman growled and used it's four remaining limbs to move, turning around to face Thomas. It swiped at him with two hands, and Thomas dodged the blows to the best of his abilities. Simon fired two more cannonballs, which the monster blocked painfully with one arm.
Thomas ran forwards and sliced open the monster's forearm with the obsidian sword. The enderman shrieked as white-hot pain shot through its entire body. It crawled away, dragging its injured limbs behind it, never taking its now furious magenta eyes off Thomas. Falconheart kept diving in front of the monster, causing it to swipe wildly at the air while roaring in frustration.
Thomas ran in again, swinging the enchanted obsidian sword at the monster. The blade tore through black flesh, coated in purple blood. The enderman scrambled back, showering Thomas with grit and earth. Suddenly, Eba warped next to Thomas wearing her Dreadnaught Armor. The longsword that came with it was grasped tightly in her hands, poised and ready.
Together they pushed the mutant enderman back, towards the forest. The look of fury in its eyes turned into wild panic, and the monster began swinging out rapidly, trying to blind its foes with the loose earth it brought out. Then it teleported away, the shockwave knocking both Thomas and Eba into the ground. Thomas looked up to see the enderman breathing heavily, its mouth half-open, and staring daggers into Sarah and the rest of their friends, all huddled together near the edge of the forest.
The skeleton girl, along with Valory and Jack, tried to ward it off with insults, arrows, knives and crossbow bolts. But the enderman seemed to ignore their attacks. It simply huffed at them, narrowing its magenta eyes. Then it let out a tremendous roar and started crawling towards them on its three good arms. Thomas felt his heart stop, looking on as the enderman neared his friends with the intention to kill.
A heavily armored hand gripped Thomas's shoulder. He turned to look at Eba, who'd taken off her helmet. "We only get one shot, Thomas. I'll warp us above the enderman, okay? Get ready!"
Thomas took a few deep breaths and gripped the obsidian sword tight enough to turn his knuckles white. He nodded at Eba, determination burning within him. "I'm ready."
The endergirl nodded back, and her armor dissolved so she could teleport Thomas too. Eba embraced him, and they both warped. Thomas could see nothing but an endless void for a split-second, and then they appeared in the air, directly above the mutant enderman.
The large monster towered over Sarah and her friends, ignoring their futile attempts to scare it away, smiling in grim triumph. Then, out of the blue, that pestering phantom swooped down again, causing the enderman to grunt in surprise. The monster followed the creature with its gaze and its jaw dropped in shock.
Thomas and Eba fell on top of it, weapons drawn. Eba missed the monster's head but dug her Needlepoint into the enderman's shoulder, stopping herself from hitting the ground. Thomas grazed the mutant's cheek with the obsidian sword, having missed due to the monster flinching back in surprise. He hit the ground and rolled forward, saving himself from most of the pain caused by the fall.
The mutant enderman roared and shuffled back, shaking Eba off its shoulder. It glared maliciously at the bunch of teenagers on the snowy ground, its wounds still bleeding heavily. Thomas got up and drew the obsidian blade once more, staring defiantly at the monster.
"I'll give you a choice!" He shouted at it. "You either leave now... and live... or you leave after... dead."
The mutant roared at Thomas and charged forward with its two remaining arms. Thomas didn't move an inch, the sword gripped tightly with both hands. The enderman tore up the mistreated ground as it scrambled forwards. Thomas took a deep breath.
"Dead it is."
He dashed forwards, prepared to meet the monster head-on. His friends called for him, but Thomas wouldn't listen to their desperate cries. His only focus was the enemy directly in front of him. The monster reared, ready to snap at Thomas with its teeth or knock him away with its limbs, but the boy was faster.
As Thomas swung the enchanted obsidian sword, another flash passed through his eyes. It traveled through his body and into the weapon, turning it silver for a second, before it was plunged deep into the enderman's chest right below its collarbone.
The monster froze, its teeth mere inches from Thomas's head. Its whole body trembled, and the monster gagged, backing up from Thomas with the sword still buried in its chest. Thomas watched breathlessly as the monster moaned in agony, as it desperately tried to drown out the pain by rolling on the ground or hitting it. He watched as the monster's body rapidly began to dissolve, revealing its insides through gaps in its jet-black skin until they too began to wear away.
The dying mutant collapsed with a heartstopping, drawn-out moan. It dragged itself weakly towards the forest, but its trembling and slowly decaying limbs no longer followed its commands. It released one last agonized shriek as its body exploded, sending purple shards everywhere.
Thomas flinched back as one landed at his feet. He took many deep breaths and started walking away when the shard blew up, flinging him through the air. One by one the rest of the shards exploded, causing more damage to the plains and forest. Thankfully, they had been far enough away that none of the shards damaged the house.
Sarah and the rest of the gang suffered no further damage from the explosions, but the skeleton girl wasn't worried about that. She was worried for Thomas.
She ran forward, dropping to her knees besides the wounded boy. His arms and back were burnt, and he wasn't breathing. Panic tried to engulf Sarah, but she held on to her sanity and screamed for someone to 'get Izabell's sorry ass over here!'.
The slime girl arrived as fast as she could and started pumping Thomas's chest, trying to restart the boy's heart. Eba kneeled down beside her and placed a hand on the boy's forehead, mentally asking Blight to help him.
I don't know if I can, the demon answered.
At least try! Please! He's dying!
Technically he's already de-
Blight!
The demon transferred Eba's remaining strength into Thomas, hoping that would help him. Izabell kept pumping his chest and checking his pulse, not daring to give up on him for fear of Sarah's wrath.
Simon brought down the airship and slid down the rope ladder before running towards Thomas. The creeper boy dropped beside Izabell and started quickly healing his burns. Sarah watched helplessly as the three of them tried to bring Thomas back to life. The skeleton girl clung to his limp hand, hoping that he'd recover.
You can't go. We did it. We stopped the monster. What's the point of fighting for a home when you won't be around to live in it with me?
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Thomas's POV
I opened my eyes, staring once again at the roof of that weird bleached room I had been in five weeks ago. I sat up, shutting my eyes, and took many deep breaths before I dared open them again. But when I did, those stupid white walls were still there. I sighed and got up. My back hurt a little, and my chest, but I felt otherwise fine. So, I wandered the blank expanse before me, wanting to know if that trippy screen was nearby.
As I neared the closest wall, some of the blocky pillars in the room shifted around to clear some space. The river of images returned like last time, but many of them were unpleasant.
They were images of the battle, and of previous battles, of injuries and pain and worry. I sighed and looked away, not wanting to relive those moments. I decided against pondering why I was in here to begin with, because it would do me no good to freak myself out by arguing over wether or not I was dead.
I continued wandering, and the next wall I stopped at showed me better images. These were of the times my friends and I spent building. One was from that time when I helped Eba build her fence back up after some very stubborn pigs had broken into out farm plot. Another was from when I helped Jack finish the roof, cracking jokes and sharing stories. Then there was an image of when I'd helped Sarah furnish her room. She'd been very picky with colors and furniture designs, so much so that Simon had taken a time out that lasted three and a half hours.
I walked on, a smiled blooming on my face and tears forming in my eyes. We had spent so long together, built so many things together, lived through so much together. Did it really have to end? Has it already?
An image caught my eye. I chuckled in awe at it as I neared. I touched the wall, and the image started to move like it had last time. I was seeing through my own eyes, and hearing what I'd heard that day.
"... happy birthday to youuuuu!"
We had all clapped as Eba blushed bright red, trying to hide herself in her hoodie. We celebrated everyone's birthdays when they rolled around, and we celebrated hers a couple weeks ago. The endergirl had muttered her thanks as Simon brought out her cake, white and round, decorated with purple and magenta candles and merengue.
I watched on, happiness overwhelming me. We had given her many hugs, and made Eba's presents ourselves. Simon had made her a bracelet made of obsidian pebbles tied together with purple string. Sarah gave her a new pair of black leather boots. The spider sisters gave her new hoodies and shirts. Adrian gifted her an origami flower, which she'd marveled over. Izabell gave her a black balaclava with purple trim, which had fit the endergirl perfectly. Kaitlin put on a show using her flames. Jack gave her a set of colored pencils, and Eba had squealed in delight.
My turn came around soon enough. I had walked up to her and smiled. "I hope you like it, Eba. It took me a long time to get it right."
Simon, who had helped me make Eba's gift, chuckled. "That's an understatement."
I elbowed the creeper boy and brought out the present from behind my back. Valory had helped me wrap it using red paper with a pink-polka-dot pattern. Eba stared at the package curiously and began to carefully tear the wrapping apart.
A beautiful smile had bloomed on her face as she lifted her gift from the torn paper. It was a brand-new notebook, the cover made of soft purple leather with a golden trim around the edges. In the bottom right corner was written, with more gold string, For Eba.
She had looked up at me, on the verge of tears, and enveloped me in a tight hug. "I love it!"
Everyone had cheered, and our little party continued.
I turned away after a while, feeling oddly depressed. I considered looking through more of my memories, but decided against it. "Why should I keep reliving the same moments when I can live new ones?" I shouted at no one in particular. "Why am I here when I could be helping my friends? This is bullshit!"
I kicked at the nearest blocky pillar, but it moved out of the way to reveal more images. I groaned in frustration and turned away. The sadness gave way to anger, and I kept trying to attack the blocks in vain.
I tired out after a while and sat down on the smooth floor. I had made up my mind. "I'm not staying here," I called out determinedly. "My friends need me. I will not spend a moment longer in this stupid room."
I got up and closed my eyes, my hands curled into tight fists. "I will not stay here a moment longer," I repeated. "My friends need me."
And then many feelings hit me all at once.
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Sarah's POV
I held onto Thomas's hand and watched as Izabell pumped his chest for the umpteenth time. Eba had crawled away, asking for forgiveness after not having been able to help him. I had ignored the endergirl and continued looking on as Simon healed Tom's burns.
Finally, Izabell heaved a sigh and sat back. The slime girl shared a look with Simon and turned to look at me with tired, sympathetic eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "He's gone."
I blinked at her and looked at Thomas. He looked so peaceful, lying on the ground. If he hadn't been so badly wounded, I'd have thought he was simply taking a nap. I gripped his limp hand tighter and kissed his palm. It was dirty, but I didn't mind.
I scraped earth and grit from his face and kissed his cheek, then his forehead. I kissed two of my fingertips and pressed them to his lips. Then I placed by head on his chest and cried. I broke down in front of everyone, not caring one bit if they judged me.
Then his chest heaved.
I quickly backed off Thomas and watched as his eyes fluttered open. His mouth opened in a loud gasp, and he sat up, coughing loudly. Izabell, looking utterly shocked, started clapping Tom's back gently to help him.
Thomas's fingers curled around mine, and he turned to face me as soon as the coughing subsided. I stared into his hazel eyes, not believing my own.
"T-Thomas." I blinked over and over again, but he was still there. Still staring right ba at me. "Y-you-"
He didn't let me finish. One second we were looking into each other's eyes, and the next our lips connected. It took me a second to react, but I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. I could hear everybody cheering in the background, but I paid no mind to their hollering. I was too busy losing myself in Thomas's smell, his hands, his hair. His lips.
He broke apart first, wincing it pain. "Ow. Hand..."
I had unintentionally dug my nails into Tom's back, hurting him in the process. I gently rubbed the spot and hugged him tightly. "Sorry."
He embraced me back and kissed my forehead. "It's okay. I'm fine, we're fine, everybody's fine." Then he looked up. "Everybody is Fine, right?"
Simon, who had wandered towards the spot where the mutant enderman had died, walked back over to us, tucking an enderpearl into his hoodie. "Yes, except for Adrian, of course. We still need to gather the brewing materials."
Thomas shook his head and kissed my cheek. "We're in no condition to do so right now. Tomorrow, after everyone has rested."
I held him tighter. "You need more than rest, Tom."
My boyfriend chuckled and kissed me deeply again. He broke off after two seconds and smiled.
"I know. But a nap would definitely help right now."
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Author's Notes
Oh my loooooooord this chapter took me ages to finish. But I am so. Damn. Glad. I finally did! And I am very much pleased with how it turned out, not to brag. :D
Also, for those of you who don't remember or don't really care, Sarah planted a few pink tulips in the center of a clearing to celebrate her deceased mother's birthday. Throughout the story, the existence of the last remaining tulip was mentioned multiple times, simply as a reminder of what she did. And now, that tulip became somewhat relevant to the story. :P
happy sigh* Well, that's this chapter finished. I'll get to work on the next one as soon as I can, promise.
Thank you all so much for your time, patience, and support! Have an awesome day!
~ LeMafiaKreb
...man, this was exhausting. Heh. :P