Author's Notes

ahem* sorry for the long wait...

I felt saddened by something that occurred, and since I didn't feel like doing anything else, I started writing this chapter. Also, everything will be hitting the fan really really fast from now on. Hope you enjoy!

Now, Reviews!

ThinMint, I'm glad you're better now. If anything, I should be sorry for not getting the reference. :P Yeah, they got pretty beat up. I'm glad you liked the chapter so much!

Gracile, wh-th-p... really? :o I'm... beyond honored! Thank you for taking the time to read my story! I think you're the first (and so far only one) to read the whole thing in one day! :D Thank you so much for your support!

And now, on with the story!

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Darkness's POV

I continued marching at the head of my armada, leading them closer and closer to Veridon City, home of the skeleton king. Traveling was slow due to the rocky mountainside and snow-covered moors, but we still trudged doggedly on.

Suddenly, a phantom cried in the distance. I looked up to see one of my messenger phantoms swoop down, aiming to land on a nearby tree branch. Tied to its little leg was a rolled-up letter. I opened it up, reading the small words carefully.

Translated, it read; Mutant enderman dead. All targets alive, planning on going to nether. Can we leave now?

I chuckled to myself and threw the small slip of paper away. I ordered my troops to halt for a moment while the endermen built up yet another nether portal. Once the monster's had finished, I turned to face Trudy. "Something happened. I need to speak with my shadow. You will be in charge until I get back."

The blaze nodded and bowed. "Of course my liegé. May I ask what you'll be discussing with your shadow?"

I turned away, walking towards the portal. "No, you may not."

Once through, I wandered the flaming caverns until I came across the nether fortress. More wandering later, I entered the roof-less throne room. My shadow was standing beside the throne, knowing what I'd do if it dared sit in it. I flopped down on the large, and surprisingly comfortable, netherbrick chair and turned my gaze towards my shadow.

"How are things on this side?"

My shadow bowed. "They've been rather uneventful, lord Darkness. The occational mob uprising or rebellion, which are quickly and easily eradicated."

I nodded. "And my troops?"

"The blazes became restless, so I've been letting them terrorize the populace every now and then. The ghasts, however, have been very tame."

I nodded again and summoned dagger, twirling it over and over in my hand. The magma-stone engraved in its hilt glittered dimly.

My shadow shifted and cleared its throat."I am certain that the kindom's affairs are not what you wanted to speak of, my lord. Has something happened?"

I smiled at it. "You are correct. Something has happened. First off, the mutant enderman failed to kill my brother and his friends. Second, the few troops still stationed in that valley of his reported that he was planning a little trip. Can you guess where?"

My shadow smiled back, excitement brightening its black eyes. "The nether."

"Indeed. You should be expecting at least five targets, my brother among them."

"I will make sure they never see the light of day again," it vowed, summoning a scimitar.

I got up and stretched. Then, already heading away, I told it; "You won't be able to keep that promise."

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Simon's POV

I pulled on my leather flint-n-steel gloves and snapped my fingers, watching the tiny spark fly from them. We were just about to head off into the nether. The traveling party remained the same, even though Sarah had practically begged Thomas not to go. He somehow managed to convince the skeleton girl that nothing bad would happen.

"You should wear cool clothing," Kaitlin advised us, feeding Flicker spoonfuls of gunpowder. "It gets as hot as an oven on the other side." The blaze princess frowned at me. "It's probably not a good idea for you to take that hoodie, Simon."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Izabell beat me to it. "Don't even try, Kait. Simon's as stubborn as they get, and you'll never convince him to take that hoodie off."

I scoffed, faking indignation. "It's my favorite hoodie," I told them. Izabell kissed my cheek and continued re-bandaging Lila's hand where she'd gotten cut during the fight with the mutant enderman.

"I know, but you can't deny that it's getting pretty old and worn."

"I'll stop using it when it's damaged beyond repair, but until then, I will wear it proudly."

Izabell shook her head and smiled at Kaitlin. "See what I mean?"

Thomas threw open the underground workshop's hatch before I could defend myself, awkwardly carrying a box filled with armor pieces. I walked over and helped him up, putting the box aside. He thanked me and turned to look at Kaitlin.

"You know, we could use a guide."

The blaze princess smiled apologetically. "I know and I'm sorry, but I want to stay here. I need to stay here. I couldn't bear to go back after... after what happened."

Thomas smiled in understanding and started going through the box of armor bits. "That's okay, I get it. Simon, is everyone else ready?"

I looked around the living room, counting heads. "No. We're missing Jack."

Thomas nodded and went through the box once again. I waited my turn, carefully counting the explosives tucked into the holsters of my demo-belt. I packed four regular sticks of dynamite and two 'spike-enades' in the six slots, as well as four more in the inside pockets of my hoodie. Jack suddenly hopped down the stairs.

"Sorry, I was busy watering the flowers."

Kaitlin raised an eyebrow. "Flowers? In this weather?"

I knew what he was talking about. Those flowers were supposed to be a gift to Lila before the whole 'Adrian's been poisoned' fiasco. "You kept them?"

The stray shrugged and threw on his cloak. "I thought it a waste to let them wither away after it took me so long to gather them."

I nodded and made sure my twin shortswords were tied securely in their sheaths to my belt. Then I picked up some armor parts from the box. The big heavy pieces, like full chest plates, were still in the workshop, and the box only had light parts (shin, elbow, and knee guards, shoulder pads, armor vests, etc). We didn't want to take full sets of iron armor because we'd get baked in it seconds after arriving at the nether.

Once everyone put on their own armor, Thomas led us outside. We all crowded around the nether portal, exchanging goodbyes with our friends that would remain here. Izabell hugged me tightly while I nuzzled her neck. "I'll be fine," I reassured the slime girl. Her hands were trembling ever so slightly. "It'll only take a couple hours. Then we'll come right back, okay?"

Izabell sighed and kissed me deeply. "Please stay safe," she whispered after pulling away. "And don't do anything stupid. Please."

I tucked some stray hairs behind her ears and kissed her cheek tenderly. "I can't promise that, Z. But I will come back. Take care."

The slime girl sighed and stepped back, crossing her arms with a worried frown. "You too, Simon."

I nodded, then took the torch from Ara, thanking the monster, and lit the nether portal. I waited patiently for everyone else to finish, and when they did, Thomas stood beside me and smiled at everyone.

"I think it's time we head out. Does anybody have any questions, or anything?"

Kaitlin raised her hand. "Um... how will we know when you come back?"

Lila snickered. "Don't worry. Izabell will be glued to the window the whole time they're away. We'll know immediately when they come back.

The slime girl elbowed her, causing the cave spider to snicker once again.

Thomas smiled. "Okay, well, there's that problem solved. We'll be back in... an hour? Three? Something like that. So... I guess, on we go. Who wants to step through first?"

I nudged my friend towards the portal. "You're the leader of the traveling party. As such, you should go first. I'll go last to make sure nobody gets cold feet."

Jack snorted. "Which wouldn't be hard, considering we're in the middle of winter."

Thomas sighed. "Right." Then he walked through the thin violet sheen of the portal.

I waited for everyone to pass through the portal, meeting Izabell's worried gaze every so often and returning it with a reassuring smile. Jack went through last, so I tipped an invisible hat at Kaitlin, Lila, and Izabell. "Wish us luck guys."

"Good luck."

"You won't need it!"

"Take care."

I smiled at them and walked through the portal. It felt oddly cold and tingly, but then it was over. Everyone was staring at the large cavern where we came out of, marveled by the rock formations. I pulled my hood down and walked up to Thomas.

"Where to?"

"Is everyone here now?"

"Yes. Jack was the last one to go through."

Thomas nodded and stared walking towards the only opening in the large cavern. I gestured for everyone to follow and wandered after him. We found nothing interesting for a half-hour, wandering that seemingly endless tunnel, until we finally walked out into the great beyond. There were bright lava waterfalls and lakes, as well as many rock formations. There were a few monsters, mostly ghasts flying around lazily or magma cubes hopping into or out of the lava.

Valory 'hmm'd. "Honestly, it's not as bad as I thought it'd be."

Jack huffed, wiping his brow. "Speak for yourself. This place is a fucking oven."

Thomas shook his head and started wandering again. "Chill out, Jack. We'll only be here for a couple hours."

The boy blinked. "Did you just tell a stray, aka 'snow skeleton', to chill out in the fucking nether?"

Valory nudged him. "Come on. The sooner we gather these materials the sooner we get to leave."

Jack huffed again and trudged along behind us. We didn't encounter any people or monsters, which was rather surprising. But it also meant that gathering quartz and glow stone was easy. About an hour and a half in, I caught sight of something interesting. I wandered closer to the edge while everyone hacked away at another quartz vein. I could just barely see the edge of a square building in the distance, as well as a long bridge that extended out to it. I hummed thoughtfully, walking back over to where my friends were.

Thomas looked up and wiped his brow. "What is it?"

"All we need now is nether wart and a blaze rod, no?"

Thomas frowned. "Yeah. And we haven't seen a trace of either."

I pointed at the dark fortress in the distance. "I have."

Thomas's eyes brightened and he smiled. "Great! We'll just scurry on over there and then get the hell out of here."

Blight looked up from the nether quartz. "It's not that simple. Darkness and his troops will be there. And we can't fight our way through with such feeble equipment. No offense," he added, nodding in my direction.

I shrugged. "Only some taken."

Thomas ignored me and looked back over at the nether fortress. "We could certainly try. But I'd rather not risk anyone's life. Maybe we could sneak in."

Eba looked up sharply. "I got it!"

We all turned to stare at the excited endergirl, who cleared her throat and regained her composure. "Well, I was thinking that maybe we could warp in. I could take another person with me to help kill a blaze and bring the other stuff back."

Thomas thought this over. "That sounds like a solid plan."

Jack, who had been breathing heavily for quite some time now, heaved a sigh. "Why don't we all go? To carry more stuff."

"It is exhausting for Eba to warp many people at a time," Blight explained. "Plus she'll need to warp them back as well this time. Not to mention walk all the way back to the portal."

I considered many scenarios and made up my mind. "I think Eba should take Sarah. It'll be hard to take down a blaze at close range, and Jack certainly wouldn't be of much help as he is now."

The stray sighed again, wiping his brow. "I can't even argue with that."

Thomas turned to look at the skeleton girl, who had her arms crossed. "Do you want to go with her?"

Sarah nodded. "I want to help," she replied simply.

Thomas nodded and turned to look at Eba. "You, Sarah and Blight will warp into the nether fortress to gather nether wart and a blaze rod. But then you come right back, okay?"

Eba nodded. "Okay. Should we go now?"

I interrupted Thomas before he could speak. "No. We should get closer, at least to our end of the bridge, so it doesn't take as much energy from you."

The endergirl nodded. "Okay, then."

Thomas threw the burlap sack filled with glowstone over his shoulder. "Great. Let's do this. Come on, guys."

Jack moaned from the back of the group. "Why don't I just stay here and wait for you guys? I don't think I could take another step."

"It's too dangerous for you to stay here alone," Val told him. "Just suck it up and keep walking."

Jack moaned again and got up off the floor, shambling after us. We slowly neared the nether fortress as time ticked by. Jack tripped and fell a couple times, dusting himself off and claiming to be fine. Until, at last, we reached the bridge that linked the mainland to the nether fortress, which sat on a large island in the middle of a lava lake.

We stared at the fortress in all its intimidating glory until Thomas cleared his throat. "Right. So, you guys ready?"

Sarah, Eba, and Blight nodded. I watched Jack flop down on the ground as I spoke. "We'll be waiting for you right here until you get back. Be careful, cuz we won't be able to help you now."

"Yeah," Thomas agreed. "Don't take any risks."

Sarah crossed her arms. "We'll be fine, Tom."

Eba walked over to the skeleton girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Then they warped away, a few purple particles the only indication that they had been there to begin with.

Thomas stared at the nether fortress. "Good luck."

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Sarah's POV

The warping left me a little disoriented, but I gathered my bearings and looked around. We were in one of the fortress's hallways, thankfully empty. Blight appeared beside Eba, who looked a little tired.

"We need to find those materials fast. I don't like this place."

I nodded and walked down the hall, towards a doorway. I could hear Eba trail along behind me. I poked my head out and found the next hallway empty as well. The lack of monsters was somehow unsettling. We tiptoed along the hall, peeking into the other doors on the way.

I heard some heavy clacking noises I ushered Eba and Blight into an empty hallway, raising my hand to tell them to stay quiet. A few seconds later, an armored zombie pigman walked by. It didn't seem to notice us, but I still held my breath until it was out of sight.

Eba sighed in relief. "Well, now we know that monsters do patrol the fortress, just not often."

I nodded but kept quiet, moving silently onwards. We wandered the hallways for a little while before coming across a staircase. There were small clumps of netherwart piled up beside the stairs, their soul sand having been removed for some reason. I started picking them up and handing them to Eba.

"Put them in your pants pockets."

The endergirl frowned in irritation. "These pants don't have pockets."

I groaned softly. "Figures. I'll carry them, then. My shorts have pockets."

Blight, who was keeping watch, huffed. "I'd like to help you, but the netherwart will rot away if I so much as touch it."

"It's fine, Blight," Eba assured him.

We gathered all the netherwart and started going up the stairs, wanting to reach the roof to find some blazes. We ended up on another floor, and kept wandering to search for another staircase. We had some close calls with a couple of zombie pigmen, but were not caught. Eventually, Blight found another staircase. Like the last time, the netherwart was tied in clumps beside the stairs, and the soul sand they had probably been planted in was nowhere to be seen.

We gathered the plants and walked up the stairs carefully, trying to make no noise. This set of stairs led tus outside, but there was another floor higher up. I groaned. "We don't need to climb that, do we? Let's just see if we can find a blaze somewhere around here."

Eba nodded. "Agreed. I'm starting to feel dizzy from wandering so many hallways."

I started walking the open-air hallways, searching with my gaze for any signs of blazes. I could just make out a trail of smoke on the other side of the roof. I gestured for the demon and endergirl to follow before heading in that direction. And, sure enough, there was a blaze sort of hovering there just around the corner. I drew my bow and Blight summoned a simple sword, asking Eba not to get involved in a hushed tone.

I peeked out once again. The blaze was turned away from us, it's bright rods rotating lazily around the plume of smoke that made up its body. I nocked an arrow into my bow and faced Blight. "Ready?"

The demon nodded. I turned back to the blaze. "Okay. Three... two... one..."

I dashed around the corner and fired at the monster. The arrow pierced one of the blaze's rods like a dinner fork before going up in flames. The monster whirled around, surprised and angry. A ghastly exhale escaped the blaze as it began rising into the air. Its rods began spinning rapidly, and the smoke coming off it blackened.

Blight stood beside me, his sword drawn. "Keep shooting," he urged.

I started flinging arrows towards the monster. Only two of them hit before the blaze released a volley of fireballs. Blight used his sword to deflect most of them, but one blew up on his left shoulder. I sidestepped out of his way to let the demon fall back. The blaze was pissed, hovering in a slow zig-zagging fashion, and the smoke coming off it was darker than a moon-less night.

It exhaled again, and more fireballs flew at me. I dodged all of them and continued firing my bow. Blight came back then. "How come you haven't killed it?"

"It's hard to hit something made out of smoke!" I shot back.

Blight ran forwards as the blaze started to drift down. He reared back with his sword and threw it at the monster. It made a loud coughing sound before going up in flames and then disappearing. A single blaze rod lay on the ground. Blight stared smugly at me. "It doesn't seem too hard."

I groaned and reached for the blaze rod. The demon put his hand up. "Don't. I'll carry it. I don't want either of you to get burnt."

I crossed my arms. "Then how are we going to take it back, wise guy? Eba can't teleport you."

Blight hummed thoughtfully and started looking around. "Well... fine. Wrap it up in something that won't catch fire too easily."

I thought about this for a second and emptied my quiver. "Here. The leather will hold for long enough."

The demon nodded and placed the blaze rod inside. "Okay. We need to go back with the rest of the traveling party."

Eba was waiting for us in the hallway, keeping watch. She smiled when she noticed us. "Are we finished?"

I smiled back. "Yeah. We can go back home. Think you can hold out for that long?"

The endergirl wiped her brown with one hand. "I sure hope so. This infernal heat is just awful. Come over here."

I took Eba's hand and closed my eyes. I felt the dry heat disappear for a split second before I was suffocated by it again. I opened my eyes to find us a few meters away from Thomas and our friends. I started pulling Eba forward. "Come on."

The endergirl followed sluggishly. "Wait a second... let me get my breath back."

Thomas turned around and smiled when he heard us. Our friends walked over, except for Jack who was panting like a dog and sweating like a pig. I hugged Thomas quickly and then started heading back the way we had come from. "Let's go. We can celebrate back home, where we don't boil in our own sweat."

Jack got up with difficulty and started trotting after me. "Best fucking idea I've ever heard," he breathed.

Simon caught up to me with ease. Despite his poker face, I could tell the heat made him as miserable as Jack. "Did you get everything?"

I nodded. "Eight little clumps of netherwart and one blaze rod."

The creeper boy nodded. "Great. Let's go. We've been over here too long, and Izabell will be worrying her head off."

I giggled, picturing my friend's anxious gaze a half-inch from the window. "Yeah, That sounds like her. How much time passed since we went through the portal?"

The creeper boy counted off numbers with his fingers. "Two and a half hours. Definitely enough to turn Z into a frantic mess."

I shook my head. We continued walking in silence towards the cavern we started from. Jack only tripped once more on the way. Maybe twenty minutes later we finally arrived back at the tunnel entrance that led to the cavern.

Thomas had us wait and regroup just outside of the nether portal. "Okay, just so we don't have to come back anytime soon, what did we gather and how much of it?"

Valory dropped a burlap sack at his feet. "A lot of quartz."

Jack dumped another sack beside the first. "A metric shit-load of netherrack."

Thomas dropped his own burlap sack. "Quite a lot of glowstone."

I pulled the bundles of netherwart from my pockets. "Plenty of netherwart..." I then took off the quiver and showed everyone its contents. "... and a single glorious blaze rod."

Thomas nodded, smiling at me, and heaved a sigh. "Great! Now we can finally get out of this place."

"Already?"

We all whirled around to find a guy standing beside the tunnel entrance. He was just as tall as Thomas, a bit paler, and his irises were jet-black. The smile on his face was everything but friendly. "I thought you'd have better manners, brother. It's rude to come in and then leave without ever greeting your host." He spit out the word brother.

We stood in shock, simply staring at the newcomer. Eba looked particularly spooked, and Blight looked angry. Thomas took a step forwards. "Who are you?"

The guy scoffed. "That's insulting, brother." Again, the word 'brother' was laced with poison. "How can you not know who I am?" His black gaze locked on to Eba and Blight. He smirked and nodded at them. "They know. Why don't you tell him? Who am I?"

Eba couldn't speak. Blight growled. "You're Darkness."

The newcomer smiled. "Indeed." He turned to stare daggers into Thomas. "I am Darkness, current ruler of the entire nether-realm."

We took a moment to process his words. "You're the one that has been sending all the mutant monsters," Valory breathed.

Darkness chuckled. "Yes, I sent the monsters. But it seems that you were too much for them to handle."

"Why?" Thomas asked. "Why have you been attacking us?"

Darkness's smile faded. "Don't you know? Do you not know what you are, brother?"

Thomas glared at the demon. "Don't call me that."

That menacing smile returned. "So you don't. Well then, why dont I tell you?" The demon moved away from the wall, taking a few steps towards us. "You, dear brother, are the so-called golden spirit. The hero meant to stop me from wiping your precious clans off the map. But times are changing."

The demon started circling us like a shark. "My troops will ravage the closest mob city in less than a week. And you won't be able to do anything this time. None of you will."

Darkness took another step forward and swung a black sword at the tunnel entrance, causing it to close. "Because I'll kill you first."

We all drew our weapons, ready for the demon to attack. Darkness chuckled. "You lot are more skittish than a mouse."

Simon, who was standing on the other side of Thomas, spoke softly. "Get out of here."

Thomas turned to look at our friend in disbelief. "What?"

The creeper boy didn't take his eyes off darkness. "Take the materials back home. Get Z to heal Adrian, then take one of the airships to warn the people. I'll buy you some time."

Thomas looked even more shocked. "We're not leaving you here."

Simon smiled and pulled out a dark orb from his inner hoodie pockets. "I wasn't asking." He placed the orb in Thomas's hand and made him chuck it through the portal. Thomas stared at Simon with wide disbelieving eyes before disappearing, purple particles drifting down from where he stood.

The creeper boy turned back to look at Darkness. "All of you, go home. Don't let him back in."

We couldn't believe our ears. "What are you doing, Simon?" I asked.

"What I think is right. Go, there's no time to waste."

We hesitated for a moment longer before running towards the portal. I heard Simon call for me just before I walked through. I stared at him, feeling numb.

The creeper boy blinked at me and turned back to Darkness. "Tell Izabell I'm sorry."

I took in his words and then walked through the portal.

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Izabell's POV

I checked Adrian's temperature again and then went back to the window, watching the nether portal closely. "What's taking them so long?" I muttered to myself.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that they are literally walking through hell," Lila retorted. "Just calm down, Izabell. They'll be back as soon as they can."

I sighed and slumped against the window. "I know, but it's so worrying that they're not back yet."

The cave spider groaned but didn't say anything else. Kaitlin had been in the med-bay with us for a while before Flicker want nuts all over the house. Now she was giving the baby creeper a bath, telling him off for the mess he made. But Flick still looked as happy and energetic as can be. I sighed again and stared distractedly out the window.

Suddenly, a dark orb flew out from the thin purple sheen of the portal. It crashed against the side of the house, and suddenly Thomas was on the ground, looking rather shocked. I quickly dashed outside, feeling glad that at least he had come back, and worried since nobody else had yet. I threw open the door, surprising the guy.

I stared intently at the portal, waiting, and then everyone else started to walk through. I heaved a sigh of relief, feeling weak. Then I tensed, realizing the horrified and disbelieving looks on their faces. Realizing that Simon wasn't here.

"What happened?" I asked worriedly. "Where's Simon?"

Sarah blinked at me and then looked back at the portal. "He stayed behind."

"What?"

Thomas got up. "We need to go help him."

Valory put a hand on his shoulder. "You heard what he said. We need to warn the clans!"

"Will somebody tell me what's going on???" I pleaded, on the verge of panic.

Thomas hung his head. "Darkness found us. He said his army would attack the nearest mob city in less than a week. Simon, being the stubborn idiot he is, practically shoved us through the portal. He said we should take one of the airships and warn them."

I couldn't believe his words. I stared numbly at the nether portal, still lit and 'wavy'. "And you left him there?" I breathed.

Thomas sighed, looking angry and defeated. "He didn't really give us a choice." He began issuing orders to our friends. "Eba, think you can pilot?"

The endergirl, who looked exhausted, nodded. "I will try my best."

Thomas nodded and looked at Valory and Jack. "Empty the weapons and load the Auikyani with extra coal. I don't know how long we'll need to travel, and I don't want to be running on empty halfway there."

Jack seemed to have gotten a second wind when he passed through the portal. "It takes almost a week on foot to get from here to there. How much faster is the airship?"

Thomas turned away, walking towards the ship. "Fast enough, I hope. Maybe we can get there later today, or early morning tomorrow."

Sarah took off her quiver and pulled out some slightly crumpled herbs from her pockets. "Simon told us to give you these so you could heal Adrian."

I looked at the netherwart and blaze rod, not knowing how to feel. Sarah placed the items gently in my hand. "Hurry, we don't have much time."

I sighed and walked back inside. "And Simon seems to have run out of it," I mumbled sullenly.

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Third person POV (The nether, inside the portal cavern)

Simon and darkness started circling each other shortly after the creeper boy's friends left. The demon chuckled. "That was a bad idea, creeper."

Simon gripped his shortswords even tighter. "I beg to differ."

Darkness smiled devilishly, twirling the black sword in his hand. "Then beg."

The demon lunged forward, swinging out in an arc. Simon took a step back, using one of his shortswords to block the next swing. Sparks flew when both blades made contact, and Simon took another stab back. Darkness kept swinging viciously, but the creeper boy managed to block and dodge the attacks.

Simon turned around to get some distance between them. Darkness watched, a demented grin on his face. "There's nowhere to run, creeper!" the demon taunted. "It's just you and me. But, soon, it'll only be me!"

Darkness lunged again, aiming to decapitate Simon. The creeper boy sidestepped and ran a few feet away, hitting the wall with the side of his fist. "I don't think so, Darkness."

The demon's smile faded, and he dashed forward, sword ready to swing. Simon ran, determined to meet him head-on. Darkness swung, and Simon rolled beneath the moving blade, avoinding it comepletely. The creeper boy hopped up behind Darkness and struck him with one sword, the other raised to block any counter-attacks.

Darkness stumbled a bit, surprised for a second. Then the shock faded, and rage set in. The demon whirled around and attacked rapidly. Simon backed up slowly, trying to avoid the savage blows. The creeper boy shoved Darkness backward with his shortswords, taking the opportunity to back off. He hit the wall with the side of his fist again, looking a bit tired.

The demon smiled, feeling triumphant. "You look winded, creeper. Am I too much for you to handle by yourself?"

Simon took a few deep breaths and lifted a sword again. "No, it's just too hot in here."

Darkness growled and threw a black fireball at Simon. Caught off-guard, the creeper boy barely had time to deflect the proyectile. Darkness ran forwards again, his black sword morphing into a long-handled axe. The demon swung his weapon, knocking one of Simon's shortswords away with a mighty blow.

The creeper boy took many steps back, avoiding the sharp edge of Darkness's axe. He hit the wall with his fist again and started circling around Darkness, just out of the demon's reach.

"Why don't you come closer?" the demon taunted. "It'll be so much easier to gut you like a fish."

Simon hit the wall behind him with the side of his fist and shrugged. "If you insist."

Both enemies charged at each other, weapons drawn and ready. Darkness changed his axe back to a sword, and swiped at the creeper boy with glee. Simon used his own sword to block the attack, and ran past the demon, towards the sword that Darkness had made him drop.

The demon threw a couple fireballs at Simon, who blocked them just in time with both shortswords while on his knees, the fallen one having been recovered. The creeper boy got up and hit the wall again. Then he charged, throwing one of his swords ahead. Darknes deflected the thrown blade and blocked Simon's next attack.

They were inches from each other's faces, glaring daggers. Darkness started pushing Simon back, a devilish smirk blooming on his face. "I'm stronger," he growled.

Simon grunted from the effort of keeping the demon back. "But I'm smarter."

The creeper boy turned quickly, making Darkness stumble forward and cutting his back again with the shortsword. Simon then pulled something small, gray and cylindrical from the inside of his hoodie, stabbing the demon in the back with it before jumping back. Darkness grunted with pain and noticed that sparks were flying from the top of the gray thing.

The demon reached for the thing, eventually gripping it with his fingers and pulling it off. The blade at the bottom of the cylinder was coated in almost black blood. Darkness threw the weapon away, and it exploded a split-second after leaving his hand.

Darkness was breathing heavily, his face twisted with rage. "Clever tactic, creeper," he growled, summoning the black sword again. "But not clever enough."

Simon's breathing was also labored, but then he took a deep breath and spoke calmly. "I think you'll find it plenty clever."

Darkness was about to respond when something caught his eye. Multiple somethings. On different spots of the walls were more of those cylinders, connected with a thin black wire. The demon's eyes widened as Simon took a step towards the closest stretch of wire, poising his fingers to snap at it.

The demon ran towards him, sword in hand. "Don't you dare!" he roared.

Imon smiled innocently at Darkness. "Try and stop me."

Then he snapped his fingers. The wire was lit with the sparks that flew from the creeper boy's gloves, and the fire spread rapidly all along the wall. Darkness could only watch as, one by one, the gray cylinders blew up, sending up smoke and debris. Simon dashed past the demon, aiming to pick up his discarded sword. Darkness growled and chucked fireballs at the creeper boy, who did his best to dodge them.

Simon picked up the sword and sheathed both of them. The demon dashed forward, his sword changing into a large warhammer. He brought it down where Simon had been just a heartbeat too late, making a sizeable dent in the cavern floor. The creeper boy rushed towards the nether portal. Chunks of netherrack and glowstone had started falling from the roof, battering the obsidian frame.

Darkness tried to chase Simon, but too many rocks were falling. They pummeled his sides and back, making the demon stumble. A massive part of the ceiling split off of the roof with a loud crunching sound, plummeting down.

The creeper boy noticed and started pulling something from within his hoodie, hopping over and running around obstacles to reach the nether portal.

Darkness noticed and growled. "Nnnooo!" he roared, throwing his sword at Simon. The blade hurtled through the air, spinning blade over hilt. The creeper boy's eyes widened. He drew a dark orb from his pockets and threw it at the portal.

Simon watched the blade sail closer with every heartbeat, rooted to the spot by fear and rubble, just outside the portal. The black sword was just about to slice his face open.

And then he warped.

The cavern shook as the roof collapsed, crushing the nether portal. Darkness let out one more frustrated roar before a hundred tons of stone squashed him like a bug. His hand twitched once before turning to dust and disappearing like the rest of him did.

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Valory's POV

"Lay back down. You're still weak. Take it easy."

I watched as Izabell eased Adrian back down on his bed. The wither skeleton still looked pale, but his eyes were bright. "I'll be okay now. Thanks, Izabell."

The slime girl, having looked depressed since we came back, nodded and turned back to her brand-new brewing stand, tending to the regeneration potions that were still boiling. It had taken her less than three minutes to set it up, and only five more to make and administer instant healing potions. Kaitlin helped, speeding up the process by heating the blaze rod further.

Lila hugged Adrian tightly, her eyes screwed shut. "I'm so sorry, Adrian," she told him.

The wither skeleton groaned and tapped her arm. "I forgive you, but please, don't squeeze me so hard."

The cave spider let go, looking stung. Adrian took a couple deep breaths and smiled at her. "Thanks."

"I'm sorry," she repeated softly.

The wither skeleton's smile didn't falter. "I know. It's fine, don't worry."

I walked up to Izabell. "Should I tell Thomas?"

The slime girl frowned and then nodded. "Yes, he should know. When are you leaving?"

I started walking away. "Thomas said as soon as possible," I called over my shoulder.

We had been busy checking the airship over and over. Thomas wanted to make sure that we had plenty of fuel, but not so much that it would weight us down. We removed all the weapons from the ship, as well as the ammunition, and brought two large sacks of coal onboard. Eba made sure everything was in tip-top shape, having gone over the ship's mechanical internals many times with Simon.

I climbed up the airship's rope ladder and found Thomas discussing the route we'd take with Jack. "...east. It's easy to spot because of the massive fucking stone wall around the entire city."

Thomas nodded. "How do you think we'll be recieved?"

"Not too well," Jack told him. "Remember, I'm a wanted criminal. So's Sarah. And Adrian, probably. My uncle doesn't like it when people can't finish a task in the time he gave them."

"Well, we really have no choice."

I walked up to them. "Adrian's up."

Thomas smiled. "That's good news. Can he walk yet?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. But I'm sure he'll be able to soon. Izabell gave him two instant healing potions, and the regeneration potions are just about done cooking."

"Okay. Bring him up when he's able, as well as the brewing stand and brewing materials. Izabell can nurse him back to health on the ship."

I nodded and climbed back down the rope. Then I rushed inside and back to the med-bay. Adrian was pacing a little unevenly hile Lila supervised him. Izabell was making some more regeneration potions. I walke dup to the slime girl.

"Thomas wants us to bring Adrian onto the ship."

Izabell didn't look up from the brewing stand. "Okay. He'll be strong enough to climb the rope ladder in a few minutes."

"He also wants us to bring the brewing stuff onboard."

The slime girl nodded but didn't say anything. I felt bad relaying any orders to my friend, who was obviously mourning Simon, but it had to be done. "You're coming too."

She looked up sharply. "What?"

"Thomas wants you to be there so you can keep helping Adrian."

Panic sparked in Izabell's lime-green eyes. "I can't. I need to stay here."

I blinked, confused. "What? Why?"

"I have to wait for Simon to come back."

I sighed, feeling sympathy for my friend. "Izabell-"

"I'm not leaving without him. And I know he's still alive. If you won't go in there to help him, then at least let me stay here to heal him when he comes out," she pleaded.

I was speechless for a second, and then sighed. "Okay. I'll tell Thomas."

Izabell looked relieved. "Thank you. Adrian will only need a few more regen potions. I can teach Lila how and when to give them to him."

I nodded. "Alright. I'll tell Thomas that too."

So I walked all the way back and climbed the rope ladder once again. Eba was at the wheel this time, checking the controls for any faults. Thomas was pacing the deck, looking impatient and worried. "Izabell wants to stay behind," I called.

Thomas stopped pacing. "What? She can't."

I crossed my arms. "I'm staying too."

He blinked. "Why?"

"I can't leave my friend behind," I explained. "She says she can teach Lila how to heal Adrian so she can stay and wait to see if Simon will be coming back."

Thomas stared at the lit nether portal. "I hope he does," he muttered. "Fine. You two can stay. Please get Lila and Adrian up here as fast as you can."

"Way ahead of you."

We watched Lila climb up the rope ladder and then turn around to help Adrian. The wither skeleton looked tired, but he managed to get up without too much trouble. Thomas nodded and turned to look at Eba. "Is everything ready?"

The endergirl nodded. "I just need someone to be the navigator, and somebody else to keep the engines fueled."

Jack poked his head out from belowdecks. "I'll be navigator."

Thomas shrugged. "I can do the coal-shoveling."

Eba smiled. "Then we're all set to go."

I nodded and gave my farewell to everybody. Then I climbed down the rope ladder. Izabell was there, waving at the airship with Snowdrift in his hands. Flicker was at her side, looking sad for the very first time. Kaitlin had bawled her eyes out saying goodbye to the baby creeper, who had also cried. The blaze princess left to hide in the airship before anyone else, not wanting to see her little monster cry.

Izabell stared at me, looking puzzled. "Aren't you going with them?"

I shook my head and smiled. "I'm staying here with you."

I turned around and waved at our friends before she could ask me anything else. Eba, Sarah, Kaitlin (who was still crying) Adrian, Lila, and Jack waved back. The endergirl turned on the engine, and the airship's propeller began spinning faster and faster. We continued waving until they were out of sight, having sailed through the air over the mountains.

Flicker had been standing between me and Izabell, and the little creeper slumped against my leg. He looked incredibly sad, dark tears trailing down his green cheeks. I picked him up and started walking inside.

Suddenly, a dark orb flew out of the nether portal. Izabell and I stopped in our tracks as Simon teleported on the side of the house, grunting from the impact. The nether portal groaned and collapsed, the violet sheen blinking out of existence, a split-second later. Izabell gasped and ran towards him, depositing Snowdrift in my arms.

The slime girl fell to her knees on the snowy ground and embraced Simon tightly. She was sobbing almost as hard as Kaitlin had. "You're back! You're alive!"

The creeper boy nodded, hugging her back. "I'm here, Z. I told you I'd return."

Izabell started punching him with one hand as the other held on tighter. "I hate you, I hate you so much... I told you not to do anything stupid!"

Simon chuckled and kissed her deeply. The slime girl struggled for a bit, punching him harder, before leaning into the kiss hungrily. I turned away, letting them do their thing. Flicker was trying to get away from Snowdrift, who was choking him on accident with his fluffy white tail. I put them both down, and watched as the little snow fox licked Flick's face apologetically.

I heard the couple talking behind me, so I turned around. Simon was on his feet, and Izabell had taken his hands in hers. "Are you okay?"

The creeper boy rolled his shoulders. "Yeah. Just a little tired and battered. The roof caved in."

Izabell looked shocked. "Really?"

Simon looked out the corners of his eyes, shrugging. "I may or may not have brought it down intentionally."

The slime girl sighed, closing her eyes. "I told you not to do anything stupid," she repeated.

"And I said I couldn't make any promises," the creeper replied, kissing the top of Izabell's head.

I crossed my arms and cleared my throat. "Okay, great, Simon's alive! Now what do we do?"

Simon frowned. "Did Thomas leave to warn the clans?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He took everyone else on the Auikyani, headed for Veridon."

"How long ago?"

"Uh... five minutes? Something like that? The airship is very fast."

The creeper boy nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, That was kind of the goal. Help me empty out the MKII. We need to go after them."

Izabell looked surprised. "Really? Are you sure?"

Simon sighed and started walking towards the airship field, where the other two airships we had built rested. "Yes. I just experienced what Darkness can do. If he managed to survive, then the clans are going to need as much help as they can get."

Izabell and I stared at each other in disbelief before following the creeper boy.

I had a feeling that everything was going to go downhill very fast from now on.

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Author's Notes

This is officially the longest chapter I have written. And honestly? I feel very, very proud of how it turned out. :D

In case you hadn't noticed, everyone is sprinting to reach Veridon City before everybody else. So, if things seem rushed, that's cuz they are. :P

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

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

~ LeMafiaKreb