Author's Notes

Tsss... um... *ahem* I, uh, I would like to apologize for, eh, not having posted this on time. For, uh, taking twelve days to upload this chapter. So, I'm sorry, it... well, it'll probably happen again. :I Sorry about that in advance.

Anywho... Reviews!

GiggiEba, heh, well, it was kind of obvious, right? Im glad you enjoyed the chapter!

ThinMint, :D seriously, that made me laugh. Indeed. Let's hope you're betting on the right places, then. Thank you very much!

And now, at long last, let's get on with the story!

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Darkness's POV

I shook snow from my boots, grumbling to myself. We had made good time, walking down half of the mountain in one day. And, surprisingly, with no casualties. My generals kept pace with me, as did Trudy, who became grumpier than usual in the cold. I could almost see the famous wall that surrounded most of Veridon City, home of the skeleton king.

My Argonaut general hopped down from a rock formation to stand beside me. "My liegé, I have some unfortunate news. It seems that your brother managed to kill your shadow."

I smiled at the monster. "I was aware."

The wither skeleton looked surprised. "You knew? But how?"

I scoffed. "It's my shadow, General. I knew the second it perished. Besides, it never stood a chance against my brother."

My general frowned. "Then why did you leave it there if you knew it'd be killed?"

"Because, General, it would cause a diversion. Give him a false sense of security. If he believes that I am dead, then he'd be unprepared for an attack. And then I'd finally win."

The wither skeleton nodded slowly. "And... if it revealed your plan?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if your shadow felt so confident about its victory, then what if it revealed your plan?"

I considered his words carefully, and then I turned away. "It wouldn't matter, General. It's a weeks journey from my brother's precious valley to Veridon. They'd never make it in time."

My general shifted. "And if they do?" He looked visibly worried for my response.

I stared at the snow-covered moors below. "The plan remains the same. My brother's presence changes nothing." Then I continued climbing down the rocky mountainside.

The battle comes ever nearer, brother. And, try as you might, you will never win.

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Izabell's POV

"We'll be back as soon as we can, Ara."

"Don't worry. I will keep them, and the houssse, sssafe."

It had been almost two hours since Simon had come back from the portal. He, Val, and I had begun preparing the MKII for flight. We had called our creeper friend over to keep Flicker and Snowdrift safe, deeming it too dangerous for them to tag along. Ara gladly accepted, and I'd gone over some care instructions for Snowdrift with her. Speaking of...

I picked up my little snow fox and hugged him close to my chest. He licked my cheek, his fluffy ears drooping slightly. "Aw... I'll miss you too, buddy. But we'll come get you, I promise. Once we deal with this, I will come back okay?"

Snowdrift whined and snuggled closer to me. I held on tighter, closing my eyes. "I'm going to miss you, Snowdrift." I placed him gently down, earning another heart-wrenching whine. "Please take care of him," I begged Ara.

"I will. I'll take good care of him and Flicker, and the three of usss will be waiting here for you when you get back."

Simon came over and stood beside me. "Thank you for this, Ara. Thank you so much for all your help."

Our creeper friend managed the closest thing to a smile. "Thank you too. Good luck, Sssimon. Isssabell. And Valory," she said, looking over our shoulders to where the spider was waiting on the ship's deck. I bent down, kissed Snowdrift's head, and stood back up looking at him. "I'll be back. I promise."

Simon put his arm around me. "Come on. We need to get catch up with Thomas as soon as possible."

We said our goodbyes to Ara, Snowdrift, and Flicker, before climbing the rope ladder of the MKII. Simon sighed. "Okay. Valory, could you raise the anchor?"

The spider nodded and walked belowdecks. I frowned at the other airship, which floated in place some distance away. The Dragoon, as Simon had dubbed it, was bigger than both the Auikyani and the MKII, and supposedly had better weapons. I pointed at it.

"Why didn't we take that one?"

Simon walked over to the steering wheel. "It's slower because of its size. We need to reach Veridon soon, and the MKII is only a bit slower than the Auikyani. That's why."

I crossed my arms and stared at the house. Ara and Snowdrift were still standing outside the door, waiting for us to leave. "Do I have to do anything?"

"Yes. Could you turn on the main engine? This one and the Dragoon are powered with redstone, which is part of why they are slower, but then we don't run the risk of exploding due to engine failure and it is much easier to maintain."

"Okay."

I walked belowdecks. Valory was pushing the button to bring the anchor up, and she waved at me. I smiled back and headed towards the large engine that occupied half the space down here. I was glad that Valory had decided to stay behind with me. I pulled down the engine's three levers in order and the machine came to life, glowing a dim red in some places.

I waited for Val to finish with the anchor and we both walked back up the stairs. Simon was making sure the flight controls and gizmos were in perfect working order before nodding at us. "Everything good down there?"

Valory nodded back. "The engine's on and the anchor's up. We're set to go."

Simon nodded and walked up to the railing. "Say goodbye to Ara, guys."

We all bunched up against the railing and waved at our creeper friend. The monster 'smiled' back, wishing us good luck. Then Simon went back to the wheel and we began to move. The airship jolted upwards and then started rising gently. I could finally see the top of the trees and of our house. Both were comepletely covered in snow.

We waved at the friends we left behind. I'll be back, I promised mentally. I promise I'll come back for you Snowdrift. I promise.

We flew high above the canopy of the trees, headed west. We neared the mountains quickly, and Simon positioned us to fly between two snowy peaks.

Then we were gone, outside of the valley we had called home for... for almost six months. We left its beautiful forests and lush meadows. The mountain range that sheltered us from most of the harsh winter wind. The glittering lake, now frozen. We left our home, to go save that of others.

I turned away from the railing and walked up to Simon. I placed my head on his shoulder, feeling hollow. "How long until we reach Veridon?"

"I'm not sure," he replied. "We might get there tomorrow morning at best. Thomas would probably be there in a few more hours."

I hummed in understanding and closed my eyes. "I miss him already."

Simon knew that I was talking about Snowdrift. "I know, Z. I miss him too. But we'll be back once Darkness is dealt with, don't worry."

Valory looked at us over her shoulder from the railing. "Do you think it'll be that easy?"

Simon was quiet for some time. "No," he finally answered. "This will not be easy at all."

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Time leap; 1 hour. Izabell's POV

"That one looks like a silverfish."

"And that one kinda looks like a turtle."

We got bored not twenty minutes into the journey, so Val and I had started looking for shapes in the clouds. Simon was deeply focused on the airship's gizmos and stuff, making sure we were still on the right track. I spotted a dark cloud amongst the rest. I pointed it out to Simon.

"Do you see that cloud over there?"

The creeper boy stared at it in thought. "Yeah. It's probably loaded with water and angry lightning."

"But it shouldn't be a problem, right?" I asked him. "It looks too far to be troublesome."

Simon shrugged. "I doubt it'll become an inconvenience."

"Oh. Okay." I looked down at the forest below with my crossed arms on the railing. It was hard for me to keep my thoughts from wandering back to Snowdrift, and the fact that I'd abandoned him. So, instead of thinking, I just tried to find anything interesting in the woods or the sky.

"Hey, look at that."

I turned to stare at Valory, who was looking at the forest closer to the front of the ship. I walked over and searched the woods for whatever it is that caught her eye. The spider pointed at a clear spot in the canopy. "I think that's a house."

I squinted at the small clearing. Sure enough, you could see the bottom corner of a building in the distance. The walls were stone, and the corners were tall spruce logs from what I could see. "You're right. Who would live out here by themselves?"

"We really don't have time to find out," Simon told us. "We need to keep moving to get to Veridon on time."

Valory nodded. "It looks kind of abandoned anyway."

I frowned at the house. I saw a shadow move among the bushes that were growing around the building. "No, I don't think it's abandoned. Something moved."

Val shrugged. "It's probably a chicken or something. Maybe a fox."

I sighed. "Maybe you're right." I was about to turn away when something ran in front of the house. And it was definitely not a critter, I shook Valory's shoulder, pointing at the house. "Did you see that? There is someone there!"

The spider pushed my hand of her shoulder. "Okay, Okay! Just stop shaking me. I didn't see anything."

"But I did! Look closer."

We stared at the building through the leaves that were in the way. It was hard to look at one thing while constantly moving forwards very quickly. There was a break in the canopy, and we could once again see the building. And something else.

A bald head was poking out from behind a bush. The person had grey-ish skin and green eyes, a unibrow, and a very unfriendly frown. The second our eyes met he hid back into the bush. I blinked and stared at Valory. She looked just as confused as I felt.

"You saw that, right?"

"Yeah. Who was that?"

"He didn't look very nice, whoever it was."

Simon looked up from the ship's controls. "What are you two talking about?"

I turned and opened my mouth to explain, and then Valory, barreled me over. "Get down!"

An arrow wizzed past out heads, and flew over to the other side of the ship without hitting anything. I crawled away from Valory, trying to peek over the edge at the forest bellow. A second arrow flew by, causing me to flinch back. A third arrow sailed through the air, missing Simon's head by an inch. I called for him to duck, but the creeper boy had already moved by then, crouching low to the ground.

I crawled over to him. "Not friendly, that's for sure."

Simon was staring up at the balloon. An arrow hit it and bounced off harmlessly. The creeper boy let out a sigh. "At least their arrows aren't sharp enough to pop the balloon."

Valory looked up from where she was laying flat on her back. "So what are we gonna do? Nothing at all?"

"We can't just lay here," the creeper boy muttered. "The winds will move the airship in the wrong direction." Simon sighed. "But I'm afraid that's what we'll have to do. We simply need to wait until we're out of the pillager's effective range, and then I'll pilot us back on track."

Valory nodded and flopped back down. "At least we're safe up here."

I crossed my arms and placed my head on top of them, lying on my stomach. "Yeah. There's that."

Suddenly, a metal hook grappled onto the railing. I stared at Simon in alarm. The creeper boy shrugged. "Guess it's not as safe as you thought," he said, slowly getting up and drawing his shortswords. He gave me one and stood at the ready as four more grappling hooks were thrown onto the railing. Malicious laughter was followed by five pillagers climbing up the hook's chains.

All five of them had wonky-looking crossbows and quivers filled with arrows. And they were aimed at us. Simon blocked two arrows and ran forward. The creeper boy swung out at one of the pillagers, but he swung onto the deck and rolled away, hopping back to his feet some distance away.

I blocked the arrows shot at me with the sword and did the same thing as Simon. The pillagers I attacked tried to do the same thing as the other one, but he missed and plummeted into the thick canopy far below. The other pillagers narrowed their eyes at me and hopped onto the airship's deck. I backed up, feeling panic bubble up within me.

The fifth pillagers, who's crossbow was still loaded, took aim at my head. He shot the arrow, but Valory deflected it with her spear. The spider dashed towards the pillagers and started swinging out at him with her double-headed spear. The grey-skinned man tried to defend himself with his empty crossbow, but Valory pushed him back and he fell over the railing.

We started fighting one-on-one. Simon's pillager reloaded in record time, taking aim at the creeper boy. I stared in horror as the arrow buried itself in Simon's shoulder despite his attempt to dodge it. My own adversary took advantage of my distraction and reloaded his crossbow. I managed to narrowly avoid his arrow by flinching away in fear. I swung wildly at the pillager, hoping to at least scratch him somewhat.

I could see Valory fighting with the other pillager out of the corner of my eye. She spun expertly, attacking her enemy with her spear's blades. She managed to disarm him, throwing the crossbow over the edge. She pressed one of the spearheads to his throat. The pillager glared at her and started pulling out two arrows from his pockets. Quick as a snake, Valory spun her spear, cutting open his stomach, and then sliced upwards, splitting the gray-skinned man's neck and causing him to fall overboard.

My pillager foe stared at the spider in horror for a second before loading his crossbow and firing at her. My friend deflected the arrow with her spear and ran forwards to cut the pillager down. The gray-skinned man used his empty crossbow to block Valory's blow, and then he knocked her to the ground with a hard shove. I snapped out of my panic-stricken daze and pushed the pillager back.

The gray-skinned man stumbled a little and then fell over the railing, tumbling head over heels twice before being swallowed by the thick forest canopy. I helped Valory get back on her feet, feeling shocked at what I had just done. The spider thanked me and we both turned to look at Simon. He and the pillager were circling each other, weapons drawn. Simon's left arm hung limply, the arrow still stuck to his shoulder.

He creeper boy raised a hand when Val took a step forwards, not taking his eyes off the pillager. The gray-skinned man chuckled maliciously, pulling out a large knife from his jacket. He twirled it in his hand over and over before gripping it blade-down. Simon tensed, and I thought that he was scared of his opponent.

But then he leaned forward, swinging his sword in an arc. The pillager rolled out of the way and hopped back to his feet, turning around to face Simon again. The creeper boy flipped his sword, and was now holding it blade-down like the pillager with his knife. Simon crouched low to the ground, ready to spring.

And then he dashed forwards, swinging his shortsword once before flipping it back upright and swinging again. The pillager hopped out of range both times and then tried to stab Simon with his knife. The creeper boy sidestepped and shoved the pillager back with his good shoulder. The gray-skinned man dropped the knife and fell on his bottom, leaning against the railing with his eyes closed in pain.

Simon glowered over him, his shortsword still drawn. The pillager below him stared defiantly back as the creeper boy raised the sword. I covered my mouth with my hands. The shortsword trembled in Simon's hand. And then the creeper boy brought it back down slowly, tucking it back into its sheath. He picked p the pillager's crossbow, which lay nearby, and inspected the weapon. The gray-skinned man made a move to get up, and Simon knocked him out with one swing of the crappy wooden crossbow.

The creeper boy sighed and walked towards the ship's controls. "Val, could you tie him up?"

My friend nodded, producing string from her fingertips and fashioning some web rope. I followed Simon, wanting to look him over. I stopped him before he could reach the wheel by taking his hand in mine. The creeper boy waited patiently for me to finish my check-up. After making sure he had no other wounds, I wrapped my hands around the arrow in his shoulder.

"This is going to hurt, okay? Stay still."

Simon hummed and stared at the horizon. I nodded to myself and gripped the arrow tighter. "Three... two... one..."

I yanked the proyectile out from his shoulder. The creeper boy held back a shout, trembling slightly. I pulled out a gauze from my pockets and started dressing his wound. Simon's eyes were closed tightly, and he was breathing deeply. I kissed his cheek, trying to calm him down. It always pained me to hurt him while treating his injuries.

The creeper boy sighed, holding his shoulder. He smiled at me despite the pain. "Thanks, Z."

I squeezed his hand and stared at his shoulder. The bandage was turning red very slowly. "Can you move it?" I asked.

Simon nodded. "But I'd rather not."

"Why?" I asked, a tinge of worry crawling into my voice.

He shrugged with only one shoulder. "It hurts a lot. And I might make the injury worse if I move it too much."

I crossed my arms and frowned at him. "Then... how will you pilot the ship?"

The creeper boy smiled. "I can pilot one-handed," he said proudly.

I sighed and took a step back, letting him get to the wheel. I watched closely as he began turning the ship and fiddling with the rest of the controls. We rose a couple more meters into the air, and turned a few degrees back to the west.

"Um... Izabell?"

I stared at Valory, who'd come up from belowdecks after tying up the pillager and leaving him there. The spider cast a worried glance at me. "You remember that cloud you said was too far to be troublesome?"

I walked up to her, not liking where this was going. "Uh-huh?"

Valory turned and pointed at the horizon to my left. "Well I doubt it's the same one, but it's much closer now."

I followed her gaze, and a little gasp escaped me. A massive storm cloud towered over us, thunder rumbling deep within. It got closer and closer, until we were passing right under it. Heavy rains started pounding the balloon and the side of the airship. The deck was soaked immediately, and cold wind buffeted our faces. I let go of the railing and walked over to Simon. The airship wobbled slightly, making this feat difficult.

I hugged him tightly, already shivering from the cold. The creeper boy grimaced at the sky. "That sucks."

Lightning crashed right beside us, making me and Valory shout in alarm. Simon veered the ship away very suddenly, and the whole thing wobbled again. He pushed the lever that controlled our speed to the max and fought against the winds to keep us moving in the right direction. More lightning and thunder crashed everywhere. I covered behind Simon, and Val rushed belowdecks to stay away from the rain.

A loud snapping sound made me jerk my head to the right. One of the ropes that tethered the balloon to the airship had given away from the stress the wind and rain caused. I hugged Simon even tighter. The creeper boy simply stared at the flailing rope.

"Well, shit."

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Thomas's POV

I stood at the bow of the ship, staring at the emerald plains beyond. A dull and Moss-covered wall stood maybe two kilometers away. Our journey had been pretty uneventful, even boring at times, but we made it.

Jack walked up to me, staring at the wall in the distance. "We're here," I told him.

"Yeah," the stray replied. "We're here. We should light a flare or something. My uncle doesn't like surprise visits from anybody."

I frowned. "Okay... where do we get a flare?"

Jack smiled and turned around, pointing at Kaitlin, who was looking at the ground below over the railing. "We have one right here."

The blaze princess turned around and eyed us curiously. "What is it?"

"Well, we need you to act as a signal flare to get the king's attention. Jack says that it's best we announce ourselves before barging in."

The stray nodded. "We need to give my uncle fair warning so he doesn't pull his 'threat of invasion' card."

I stared at Jack. "He's done that before?"

The stray chuckled. "You have no idea how many times he's used that excuse to chase someone off his land."

Kaitlin tapped me on the shoudler. "I'd like to help. So do I just... make some fire?"

Jack nodded. "We need a flame big enough for them to see clearly."

The blaze princess nodded and walked to the edge of the ship's bow. She put her hands together, rubbed them a little, and opened them again. A good-sized flame erupted from them, reaching for the clouds. Jack and I took a step back when the heat became too much. The stray kept an eye on the wall, and the entrance that led into it. I watched along with him as a man in iron armor poked his head out after opening the gate.

I waved at him, and the man ducked back into the wall. I stood back from the railing and walked towards Eba. The endergirl had been piloting for three hours straight, but she didn't seem too bothered by this. Actually, it poked like she enjoyed her time at the wheel. She smiled at me as I neared.

I smiled back at her. "We finally made it."

"Yeah," she replied. "And, um... what's Kait doing?"

I chuckled. "Jack said it was best to warn the king about our arrival a little early. Kaitlin's helping with that."

"Ah. Huh."

Sarah walked up from belowdecks and looked around. I smiled at the pretty skeleton girl and stood beside her. "How are things downstairs?"

Sarah smiled and pecked me on the cheek. "Very well. Adrian's pretty much as strong as ever. He and Lila are talking about some stuff, so I wanted to give them privacy."

I nodded, looking at the horizon. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky a gorgeous orange color. "We're a couple minutes from our destination at most."

The skeleton girl raised an eyebrow. "Really? Thank the lords. I was starting to think that we wouldn't get to the city on time."

I sighed. "Yeah, me too. We'll be touching down pretty soon."

"Hey, Thomas?"

I turned to stare at Jack, who waved me over. "Come look at this."

I walked towards him and looked over the railing. The wall, now closer, had its gate fully raised. A half-dozen soldiers were standing in front of it, with more lining up as well. All of them were holding some mean-looking spears and wearing full iron armor. One of them wore a bejeweled set, and was barking orders at the rest from what we could see. He kept slapping the soldier beside him every time that one raised his hand and asked a question.

Jack smiled at me. "What a lovely welcoming comitee, huh?"

I grimaced. "Yeah. Do you think that'll cause any trouble?"

"Oh, it'll cause trouble alright. Once at least three ranks of ten soldiers are standing before the gate, my uncle himself will walk out to greet us."

"I'm guessing that's not good."

"I'm a wanted criminal, remember? So's Sarah and Adrian."

I sighed, staring at the wall. "Well, let's just hope the king's feeling generous to day."

the stray snorted. "I usually hope for things that could actually be true."

I chuckled, shaking my head slowly. Then something caught my eye. I tapped Jack's shoulder frantically, not liking what I saw one bit. The stray followed my gaze and cringed. Kaitlin stared at us like we were crazy and then looked over my shoulder. The blaze princess squ8nted for a second before a gasp escaped her.

At least five thousand monsters were marching, far off in the distance, over hills and plains. At least. They walked in straight lines like ants, or soldiers, in the same direction we were flying. From what I could see, all of them were wearing full metal armor.

"I didn't know there was so many..." Kaitlin breathed.

Jack huffed. "We're fucked."

I ran my hands through my hair.

"If the king doesn't want to help us, then... then I guess Darkness already won."

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Theridas's POV

"Theridas, could I have another one of those bread thingies?"

"Of course, Ella. Do you want chicken or steak?"

"Chicken!"

"Alright, alright. Let's see..."

I dug through the picnic basket and fished out a chicken tor—torta? I think? I'm still not sure on how to pronounce it. Pepper and Ella had wanted to have a meal outside, but the park had been too crowded for our taste, so we were having a picnic on the roof of ms. Brekelbaum's apartment building. After convincing her that we wouldn't be too loud, and promising that we'd clean up later.

I handed the paper-wrapped foodstuff to Ella, and the little ghast girl began munching on it happily. Pepper had been sitting next to me, so I placed my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me, planting a kiss on her cheek. The beautiful creeper woman smiled and kissed me back. We continued eating and talking amongst ourselves. However, Lady Anastasia didn't say a word, other than to accept or reject anything offered to her.

The ex-queen had been staring at the horizon for a long time. Her shoulders were slumped, and she had been looking blue for some time. She waved me away every time I questioned her about this. It was worrying to see the former monarch so... smooshed. Pepper had tried to comfort me, and when that didn't work, she tried to explain to me that it was probably just a 'girl thing'. I got the hint, and decided to leave Lady Anastasia alone.

Now I sat and watched as Pepper taught Ella how to braid her hair. I finished eating my last bread thingy and then stared at the sky. The sun was setting, and everything was tinged with purple and orange. Then I saw Lady Anastasia jerk her head up out of the corner of my eye.

The ex-Queen was still looking out at Veridon's massive stone wall, but something had caught her attention. I stood up and walked over, sitting besides her. Lady Anastasia didn't seem to notice. I followed her gaze, and blinked in surprise. A large boat hanging from a massive balloon by ropes was drifting down to the ground right in front of the wall. There was a large orange flame coming from the front.

"Do you see that, Theridas?" Lady Anastasia asked.

"Yes I do milady. I wonder what it could be. Perhaps some sort of transport for high-ranking military officials."

The ex-monarch shook her head. "I... I think it's Kaitlin. I think that's my daughter."

I stared at her in surprise. "What? Um... not to be pessimistic, milady, but I doubt tha-"

Lady Anastasia whirled around and faced me, desperation and hope in her eyes. "Theridas, Do you see the flames? Do you see them? No other mob can produce fire that pure. Only a blaze can. It has to be her."

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Milady, I know you miss her greatly-"

The ex-Queen shrugged my hand off. "Don't treat me like a child, Theridas. I know it's her." She turned again and stared wistfully at the floating ship. "My baby's alive."

Then she hurried away, heading through the roof access door and downstairs. I stuttered for a while, not knowing what to do. Then I blinked and started running after the former monarch. I heard Ella calling for me, so I turned around. The little ghast girl and Pepper were staring at me with incredulous faces. I grimaced and looked over my shoulder at the stairs where lady Anastasia had disappeared.

"What happened?" Pepper asked.

I made a choice and started chasing after Lady Anastasia again. "I'm sorry! Bring Ella, okay? I'm going after her!"

Pepper's mouth dropped and I started running down the stairs. I heard her groan on the roof. "Come on, babygirl. Help me clean this place up and then we'll follow them."

"Where are they going?" Ella asked.

"I don't know, but I'll kill Theridas when we catch up."

I smiled despite my fear for Lady Anastasia and continued running after the ex-Queen.

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Thomas's POV

"I think we're close enough. You can start bringing us down, Eba."

The endergirl nodded, pulling a lever back slowly. "Okay... Sarah, could you spot for me? Make sure I leave a large enough gap from the ground. And lower the anchor when I tell you, please?"

The skeleton girl smiled and nodded. "Sure," and then she walked over to the railing.

We began descending slowly. Eba stared at Sarah, who was gesturing for her to keep going. Then the skeleton girl raised her fist, and we stopped moving. Eba looked over the railing to gauge the distance for herself before nodding. "Thanks. Could you lower the anchor now?"

Sarah nodded and ducked belowdecks. I stared over the railing at the large stone wall before us. There were cracks in it, and vines were coming from those cracks, but it still looked as strong as anything. The number of soldiers had multiplied since we first spotted them, lined up and ready with their spears. I waved at them, and that one soldier waved back. His commanding officer once again slapped him in the back of the head.

The anchor made a loud 'clunk' sound as it hit the cold ground. A couple more soldiers wandered out through the wall's gate, followed by a large man wearing bejeweled iron armor and a golden crown. Jack groaned.

"Great. Uncle Troyel's out of his cave."

Sarah grimaced besides me. "Do you think he'll order his men on us?"

The stray sighed. "I hope not. At least not before we can warn him."

I unrolled the airship's rope ladder and turned to stare at my friends. Everyone was crowded around me on the deck. I cleared my throat.

"So... who's going first?"

Everyone exchanged unsure glances. "I think Thomas should go first," Kait finally said. "He's our leader, after all."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Don't say that. I'm nobody's leader."

Adrian took a step closer. "Yes you are. Even if you don't want to admit it, you are our leader." His words carried a heavy meaning that I couldn't quite figure out.

"Yeah," Sarah said. "The king won't feel too threatened if it's you that climbs down first."

I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The skeleton girl smiled mischievously. "Nothing. Hurry up, we're wasting time."

I sighed and began climbing down the rope ladder. "Fine..."

I turned around once I got down, and was greeted by a row of soldiers pointing at least ten deadly-looking spears at me. "Um... hi," I said as everyone started climbing down.

The king pushed his way to the front, shoving soldiers as he went. "Who are you? What is your business here in Veridon?"

I opened my mouth to explain when his gaze flicked away from me. His eyes widened before narrowing, filled with naked hatred. "You," he growled. How dare you come back, murderer?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Jack going down the rope. The stray hopped onto the ground and stood beside me. He looked unfazed by the king's coldness. "Nice to see you too unc."

The king turned around and barked at the soldiers. "Arrest him!"

We crowded around Jack protectively when the soldiers moved closer. The stray looked uncomfortable but didn't move. I raised both my hands. "Woah, woah, wait! There's no need to do any arresting!"

The king growled. "Clearly you are unaware of what this boy has done."

Adrian took a step forwards. "We do, king Troyel."

The big man scoffed. "Oh really? What sob story did he sell you, hmm?"

Jack nudged everyone gently out of his way and stood in front of the king. "I told them the truth, uncle."

The king glared at the stray. "Which truth, Jack? What did you tell them? That you poisoned your own brother just so you could become the only heir to my throne?"

Jack's hands curled into fists, but his voice remained even. "I didn't poison Cole. He killed himself."

The king scoffed again. "Why would he? Cole had everything he would have ever wanted!"

"Exactly." The stray's voice trembled just a little. "You gave him everything. You spoiled him beyond belief. He became such a twisted, entitled dumbass who was only after booze and ass. One day, he got bored, and just for the fun of it, decided that drinking poisoned wine was a good idea."

"And you didn't think of trying to stop him, did you?" The king took a step closer to Jack. "It suited you to let him commit suicide, didn't it?"

Jack's knuckles turned white, and he spoke through clenched teeth. "You don't think I tried?"

His mouth tightened. "You don't think my retard of a brother mattered to me?" he said, his voice rising to a shout. "I tried so, so hard to convince him not to kill himself, but he wouldn't listen!"

The stray turned around and backed off. There were tears forming in the edges of his closed eyes. He spoke again after a while. "Do you want to know the last thing he said to me, uncle?"

The king looked surprised at Jack's words, despite his poker face. The stray continued talking, not waiting for a response. "His dying words? You wanna know, unc?"

The stray whirled around, tears now streaming down his face. "He said to me 'fuck you'. Fuck you. His last... fucking words were fuck you!"

The king took a step back, but Jack just walked closer. "That was the last damn thing that idiot said! Fuck you! But guess fucking what, uncle?"

The stray drew in a shuddering breath and sighed. His shoulders slumped, and he hung his head. "It still hurt to see him go. Because I loved him. No matter how... how many times he pushed me into the mud, how many times he punched me hard enough to see stars, I still loved him. Because he was my brother."

He took a step back. "I felt hollow the whole time I spent running away. Haunted by the memory of his death. It was awful," he whispered.

The king blinked, but he didn't soften one bit. "Then why did you run away, instead of telling me the truth?"

Jack looked up with saddened eyes. "Because you would never listen to me. You barely paid any attention to me anyway."

The king scoffed again. "Of course. I think your story is full of shit, Jack."

He turned around to face the other man with bejeweled armor. "Have your men arrest him, General Anderson."

The man bowed. "Of course, your highness."

We drew our weapons as the soldiers began walking towards us. Kaitlin stepped back, looking surprised and frustrated. Sarah stood beside me, glaring at the soldiers.

"Leave him alone!"

The king glared back, drawing his own weapon from its sheath. "If you won't come quietly, then we will take you in by force."

Lila drew four of her shurikens, holding them all in one drawn-back hand. "Do your worst," she growled.

The king scowled at us. "Charge!" he ordered, raising his sword.

The soldiers ran forward, and we got ready to fend them off.

"Stop it! Enough!"

A burst of flame erupted beside me, and Kaitlin ran to the front. "Darkness is coming, and he'll wipe everyone out if we don't work together!"

Her fire died out as she took a couple deep breaths. "Please," she begged. "You need to listen to us. To Jack."

The king's poker face wasn't enough to hide his surprise. "You're a blaze."

The blaze princess nodded. "Yes I am. I escaped from Darkness with the help of my friends. We spotted his troops on our way here. Please, just... hear us out."

The king considered her words for a moment before gesturing for the soldiers to stand down. After a while, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Kaitlin!"

Everyone froze as a new voice rang out from the other side of the wall. I could see by their spars that the soldiers were hurriedly moving out of somebody's way. "Kaitlin!" they called again.

The blaze princess broke into a tearful smile and ran forward. "Mom!"

The king stepped out of the way just in time to avoid getting barreled over by a dark-haired woman. She ran to ,eat Kaitlin and hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her olive-skinned cheeks.

"Oh, my dear baby... you're safe."

"Mom! Thank the lords you're okay!"

She started sobbing heavily, embracing the woman tighter. She was crying too.

"No, don't cry, nether-plum. I'm here now, it's fine. We're okay. We're okay."

It took them a moment to compose themselves, but they didn't stand apart. A dark-haired man with similar olive skin walked forwards, panting heavily and apologizing to the soldiers.

Kaitlin looked up and smiled. "Theridas!"

The man smiled back and waved weakly. "Hello, Princess. It's good to see you again."

The woman sighed and pulled away from Kait just enough to look her in the eye. "Are you okay? How have you been? Where have you been living?"

Kaitlin, still smiling, wiped a couple tears from her face. "With them." She gestured towards us. "Thomas helped me leave the nether. They fed me, and protected me, and gave me shelter. They're my friends."

The woman smiled at us. "Thank you so much for helping my daughter. The nether-bound blaze clan is in your debt."

I took a step forward. "It was a pleasure to help Kaitlin. You're the queen, I presume?"

"Yes. My name is Anastasia. This." She gestured at the man. He worked dark clothing, and a rather fancy-looking cloak. "Is Theridas, my royal servant."

The man was just about to speak when somebody else pushed their way to the front. It was another woman, holding a young girl in her arms. Theridas smiled awkwardly at her. Queen Anastasia's smile widened. "And these are Pepper and Ella."

The copper-haired woman set the little white-haired girl down before punching the man in the shoulder playfully.. "Next time you leave me behind love, I swear, I will kick your ass."

Kaitlin giggled. "I didn't think you were into strong girls, Theridas."

The man stuttered, his cheeks tinged with red. "B-well, I um, uh-"

The king huffed, walking around them. "Good to know everyone is acquainted," he said dryly. "Now, What is so important that you had to come back, Jack?"

The stray frowned thoughtfully for a second. "I think it's best I show you, unc." He turned around. "Eba, do you think you could fire up the airship?"

The endergirl looked a bit surprised. "Of course."

I frowned at Jack. "I don't think you should get close. What if they try to shoot you down?"

The stray gestured for the king to follow him, already walking to the rope ladder. "We don't need to get close. We just need to get high up."

I watched them climb up the ladder before following them. Eba warped onto the deck and walked downstairs tor wise the anchor. Once that was done, she warped to the wheel and began moving levers. The ship rose slowly, and soon our line of sight expanded beyond the rolling hills of the moors. The large mass of monsters was moving towards us at a snail's pace.

The king tensed beside me and Jack. "So it's true. There is a monster army..."

Jack stared at him. "Did you know?"

The large man nodded. "Lady Anastasia tried to warn me. But I was too stubborn to listen."

Jack nodded and turned back to the moor. "We have just under a week before they arrive."

The king sighed. "That's too little time."

"Can't your army defend the city?" I asked.

The king growled. "Of course. But we don't have nearly enough time to mobilize the entirety of it."

"We could ask the spiders and endermen to help," Jack offered, motioning for Eba to lower the ship. "They're always willing."

The king scratched his short scruffy beard. "The creepers too, I suppose. We could ask for their help. But we'd need a battle plan."

I sighed. "Simon would know what to do."

Jack shrugged. "But he's not here right now. So we're just gonna have to roll with it."

He turned around once we touched the ground, gesturing for us to follow. "Come on, unc. Let's get your armies ready."

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Author's Notes

Hoo-boy, this was a doozy. There was smiling, and crying, sadness, and her and relief. Just an emotional rollercoaster, huh? :P

Everyone's getting ready for battle. Simon, Izabell and Valory are having issues with a storm, Darkness is just about to knock on the king's door and there's not enough time to set up proper defenses. What's gonna happen next?

Thank you all so much for you time and patience. Have an awesome day!

~ LeMafiaKreb