Heya hey, how's it going my dear readers? It's me, ButterHunter here, back with another installment to my story.

Now, before we begin, I felt that I should address something.

I have recently read a guest review on this story, regarding some plot holes that he/she/they found and brought to my attention. Since several of these holes were never fully addressed in story, I figured I'd go ahead and try to fill some of them myself.

Rule 1: Unless otherwise stated, always assume that the characters have had at the very least a decent level of personal hygiene available to them. Usually this means that they did the morning rituals once they woke up, (shower, dressing, teeth, etc.) and the evening rituals before bed (teeth again, clean up, changing, etc.).

Rule 2: There are going to be birthdays, I promise. I know this timeline has been rather confusing (and probably falls apart if you look at it too hard). But I also know for a fact that the birthday's of all the characters currently in the story have either not had their birthday just yet, or have already had it before they were introduced into the story (or they're a side character and don't offer much to the overall plot, so they probably won't have a birthday mentioned outright). I promise, I'll get some birthday's in soon. Currently, the closest birthday that is going to happen is my own. (Probably…)

And Rule 3: This should kinda go without saying, but when a new character enters the scene, I'll try to mainly focus on them for at least a few chapters. Diana and Silk are the exceptions at the moment, however, as they have been in the S&S Corps chapters, and only now are they at Cameron's home, so they'll be the focus for a few more chapters. You know, until we get some romance rolling.

Well, I hope that fills in some of the plot holes. Now, enough stalling, let's get to the story!


Chapter 41: An Argument

The air seemed to drop ten degrees at her words.

I felt my face pale a little. There was no mistaking about who she was talking about.

Herobrine.

No matter how I thought of that name, it sent goosebumps down my spine.

Diana hadn't seemed to notice my paling face. "He… he said… that Silk and I… we'd never find… safety from him. That… he'd find us. And… hurt us."

Silence.

"B-but… that's stupid, right? I mean, it was just a nightmare, and I've been really, you know, nervous since you let us stay, so… I guess I just imagined him. Right?"

Diana's face was looking at me for confirmation. I looked at her face, and suddenly my mind and mouth went on autopilot.

"Yeah… that's a weird dream." I agreed.

I instantly regretted the lie. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it from her, let alone anyone, but I just couldn't help it. That Herobrine guy honestly scared me. I didn't want anyone else to get totally freaked out by him. Not yet, anyway.

Diana nodded to herself, seemingly reassured. "Yeah… yeah, you're right. I'm just being paranoid."

Suddenly, in a move that surprised me and her, suddenly I found myself getting hugged by her. "Thank you…" Diana softly whispers to me.

More guilt started building up inside of me. But it was far too late to turn back now. I had chosen this path. I had to follow it, wherever it lead.

Diana hugged me for a good five minutes, savoring my warmth. I was still in a little bit of shock from Diana's dream.

'Whatever… that means… it can't be anything good.

When she finally did part from me, I excused myself from the room. I knew I needed to tell someone. Someone I knew I could trust. Someone I knew would keep a secret. Someone not from here.

And then it hit me: Zach.

He was always the tougher one when we were young. He was always stronger, more street smart, in a sense. Surely he'd be able to give me SOME idea.

I found Susie in the bedroom, brushing Snowy's hair. I told the two I was gonna take a trip to Blockington, talk to my sister.

Both of them seemed upset, but for different reasons. Snowy was rather upset when I said I wanted to go alone this time. Susie was upset because she didn't want to sent me off, not after just getting me back anyway.

But I was persistent, and after a few minutes, they reluctantly agreed. The agreement was that if I stayed any longer than sunset, Snowy was allowed to find me and drag me home, and I wouldn't be allowed to leave for the rest of the month.

We made my leave a quiet one, to not attract undue attention from Diana and Silk. I gathered my things and climbed out the bedroom window, and darted into the forest a little to hide my presence.

Once far enough away, I started making the trek to Blockington. I was just about to call on Aira for some flight powers, when…

I heard something. Or rather, I felt something wrong. Something wasn't right.

I drew my sword, calling out, "Who's there?"

A random apple fell from a nearby tree. I looked upwards. Apples don't just fall out of trees unless they were forced to.

Nothing happened…

I was just about to put my sword away when I heard more rustling. Now more alert, I could definitely place the sound as above me, on the treetops.

"Show yourself!" I yelled up there.

Suddenly, the sound of something falling through the trees came to my ears, followed by a yell.

And before I knew it, Silk fell at my feet, dazed.

"Silk?! What the hell?!" I cursed, hoisting her to her feet.

"I could say the same thing to you." Silk threw back. "Where are you going at ten in the morning?"

I sighed. "Away. I'm meeting someone. Now, can I please go?"

"Hold on, hold on!" Silk denied, glaring at me. "That's not enough. In case you haven't noticed, I still don't trust you. So how do I know that you aren't leaving to do something idiotic?"

I breathed deeply. "Since when did you care what I do and don't do? And besides, you don't control me anymore. Technically, I do now, since I let you live with us for now."

I had clearly hit a nerve. Silk suddenly started breathing a little heavier, and her eyes became a lot fiercer. "And despite that, you STILL think that gives you some sort of superiority over me."

I was done talking. Every second I spent standing there was one more second of wasted daylight. I wanted to just go there, talk to Zach, and get home. Silk was wasting my time.

I turned around and continued on my way. Silk yelled at me, "Hey! I'm not done with you!"

"I'm going to be late the longer you stall me." I shouted back. "I'll see you later."

"Woah woah woah!" Silk yelled, running after me. "You're not walking away from me!"

I ignored her. I continued on my way, ignoring Silk's attempts to get information out of me.

"You are not the one who's gonna walk away first!" Silk complained to me. "You'd better stop and listen to me, you idiot! I'm not going away until you tell me EXACTLY where you're going!"

I started to grow a little nervous. If Silk actually knew where I was going… I don't think she'd be too happy.

"Look, I'm just going to-" I started to explain.

"Wait… wait a moment." Silk interrupted, looking like she was drawing things in air. "If we were there… and you're going that way… then you might be…"

Her eyes widened. "Are you… going to Blockington…?"

I paused for a moment. I had to think. Either I lie, and hope that gets her away from me, or tell the truth, and hope that she doesn't do anything crazy.

I decided to just be straight with her. She'd see through my lies anyway.

"Ye… Yeah. I am. I… have friends there." I admitted, sighing.

The color drained from Silk's face. I quickly added, "And no, I'm not going there to rat us out or anything, because I might take a hit if I do anyway."

She didn't look any more reassured. "Are you crazy?! They'll recognize you! You were there, being a guard, and then all of the sudden you disappeared? They'll KNOW you were a part of our heist!"

"No they won't. They know me. Besides, what proof do they have that I disappeared? Sure, I suddenly was gone, but for all they knew I left before the heist even happened." I told her.

"STILL! That doesn't mean it's safe to go just a few days after it happened!" Silk countered.

"Look, I'll be careful, okay? If anyone asks, I know nothing about a heist, or crown, or anything, okay? And if someone asks where I went, then I'll just say I left because I remembered something important I had to do." I offered, turning back to the way to the city.

"Nononono, I'm not letting you go!" Silk denied, grabbing me by the arm and leaning back. "No one can know about this other than the people at your house! You're coming back with me!"

She tried to drag me back home by the arm, but I was a lot stronger than her. I resisted, so she ended up just digging her feet into the ground.

After a solid minute, she stopped for a breather, then tried again. I sighed. "Silk… you aren't gonna win. You have to realize that."

She gave up, panting heavily. "I… I can't… let you… go…" she insisted.

I looked at her, shaking my head. "Look… this is really, REALLY important for me, okay?" I explained slowly. "I need to go, and fast."

I started heading towards the city again. For a moment, Silk just watched me.

Then I heard footsteps approaching me fast from behind. I didn't even turn as I called back, "If you still think you can deter me, then-"

"I'm coming with you." she interrupted.

I stopped in my tracks, and about-faced to the spider girl. "Oh, no you are not."

"Yes, I am, and you won't sway me otherwise." Silk insisted. "I… I'm not gonna just sit back and pray that you don't ruin everything."

I gave an exasperated sigh. "I TOLD you, I'm not gonna mess this up. I'm just meeting a friend."

"And now, I'm gonna meet your friend too." Silk added. When I opened my mouth to continue arguing, she tagged on, "And the longer you try to fight it, the less time you have to get there will be. Now, are we going or not?"

I balled up my fists and growled on the inside. She had a point. The longer I tried to convince her to leave me alone, the longer I lost precious time.

"..." I remained quiet.

"Besides, I can hide myself just fine." she told me. She reached into a pocket behind her or something and pulled out a rather long hooded cape. It was almost exactly like Snowy's, except this one was tightly woven out of spider silk.

"See? I put this on…" she started, throwing the hood on. "I'm basically hidden.

She definitely had another point there. I was getting a little annoyed of that.

"..." I remained quiet.

"C'mon, dude." Silk insisted, looking at me expectantly. "I won't bother you while we're there, I promise."

I sighed one more time, turned, and then murmured, "Fine."

"Thank you." Silk breathed slowly.

"BUT!" I added on, turning back towards the spider girl. "You are going to listen and do EXACTLY what I say. Okay? If I tell you to grab something, you grab it. If I tell you to follow me, you follow. If I tell you to run home as fast as you possibly can, you will do just that. Understand?"

Silk glared at me, but slowly nodded. Mutual understanding.

I sighed, then started back on the path. "C'mon. Let's go, we're burnin' daylight."

The next half an hour was spent in silence as we slowly walked to Blockington. I couldn't help but hear that little voice in the back of my head, repeating that something would go wrong now that Silk was in the picture. Someone would find her suspicious, someone would recognize me, someone would put two and two together and figure out our connection…

I shook my head just as we started to climb the last hill before the city was thrown into view. I hadn't noticed it last time I was here, since it had been the middle of the night and I was too focused on the plan, but the city had expanded quite a bit towards the west, and the walls seemed to have been raised a few blocks. And unless my eyes were tricking me, I could swear that a massive building was being built in the new expansion, almost castle-like in grandeur.

Silk seemed taken back by the size of the place too. "W-wow… and here I thought S&S was big." she managed, her eyes wide.

We approached the main gates. As always, guards stopped us, but this time, something was different.

"Ah, "travele- er, Cameron." one guard said. "A word, please."

Red banners started popping up in my head. The outside guards almost NEVER called me by name. ALWAYS by something simple, like 'traveler,' or 'adventurer.' Was my plan doomed from the start?

The guard took me a little ways from the gate, then murmured. "I was told by the guard captain that you disappeared a few nights ago, and he doesn't remember seeing you then. Did something happen?"

My shoulders relaxed. "Oh, yeah, I remembered something important I had to do outside of the city. I would've said something, but I just hadn't had the opportunity."

The guard nodded. "Okay. Thank you. All I needed to know. I'll let you and your little friend in."

I nodded back. The guard opened the gates and me and Silk entered the city.

The city was just as bustling as I remembered it to be. In fact, it seemed even busier than before, perhaps due to the construction going on at that giant building.

Silk tapped on my back. "By the way… who are we meeting? You never said anything about who that was…"

"Well… now that we're here, I wanna meet two people." I admitted. It had been a while since I had last seen my sister. As the only related family I had left, I had to be sure she was still fine. "The first is close by, just follow me."

Silk trailed behind me, though she seemed quite interested in looking around the entire city. I guess this is the first time she's ever peacefully entered a human settlement, especially one this big and unique.

We quickly made our way to 'GI's Tools and Weapon Repairs.' The shop had gotten an upgrade a while back, making it a little bit bigger, and an even larger blacksmith area in the back.

Jerry, the usual cashier here, instantly knew who I was the moment we walked in and wasn't even fazed when I asked to see my friend. He waved us to the back, only pausing for a moment to take a second look at Silk.

I lead Silk to the back and knocked on the blacksmith door.

It only took a moment for Zach to open the door. He smirked when he saw me. "Hey man. How's it going?"

"Not bad. Can we come in?" I asked. Zach looked behind me at Silk. His eyes… did they shrink for a moment?

"Yeah, sure. Come on in…" he agreed, opening the door. Something about his tone made me a little… concerned.

Silk started looking around curiously at the entire blacksmith shop. Before I could do anything though, Zach pulled me off to the side. "Uhh… bro?" he asked, looking at me expectantly. "Who's the new girl? That's not Snowy."

I paused for half a second, before responding, "Just… she's just a friend of mine. I met her a few days ago."

Zach studied my face carefully. If my eyes were seeing things right, his eyes seemed the slightest bit… fearful.

He nodded, casting one last glance over at Silk. "Well… I'll take your word for it." he decided. The look in his eyes was definitely a little… less confident than I remembered.

"Anyway…" I emphasized, quickly changing the subject. "Where's Blake?"

"Oh yeah. She's out on an errand right now." Zach explained. "She should be coming home soon."

I nodded, turning back to Silk. She seemed very fascinated by all the tools and ores littering around the blacksmith area.

I approached her as she turned to me. "Wow… this place is very… interesting."

"What do you mean by that?" Zach asked, his eyes glaring at her a small bit.

"It's… well, I don't see many blacksmiths this big." Silk explained. "The one I've last seen wasn't even half this size."

Zach nodded. "I guess that's true. This is the largest blacksmith I've ever been able to own. If demand keeps up, I might have to hire extra workers here."

I nodded, distracted. "Right… uh, Zach? Can I, like, talk with you? In private?"

Zach saw my serious face and knew I wasn't messing around. "Yeah, of course. Follow me." he agreed, heading for the back of the smithy, where a ladder had been installed.

"Stay here, okay? Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." I instructed Silk. She glared at me, but didn't argue.

I climbed up the ladder after Zach and was greeted with what must've been his room. Giant bookshelves lined part of the walls, as did several decorative plants. A painting or two of nothing in particular hung on the back wall. A large double bed had been set up, and next to that was a second smaller desk with several items littered on it, mostly books and papers. Nearby, two armchairs and a small table with a few more books were tucked into the nearby corner, and the small kitchen was next to that. The windows were open, with some potted flowers on the window sill. The breeze was coming in much stronger than it was downstairs. The whole room really just felt… cozy.

Zach sat down in his comfy chair and gestured for me to take the other. "So… what's this about?" he asked, getting right to business.

I took a deep breath before saying, "I've been seeing things."

"Seeing things?" Zach asked.

"Yes." I agreed. "Well, more like seeing something in particular."

"That's basically the same thing." he told me.

"Whatever. The point is, I didn't know who to talk to about this, so I had to talk to you. You've been a lot more than I probably have, and is, dare I say, a little bit tougher than me."

Zach snorted. "That's an understatement. You used to be the wimpiest kid ever, and you even knew it then."

I nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, but… this is something that I need to make sure… you will NEVER tell anyone. Okay? Never tell anyone else about this. I need your trust."

"Geez, how bad can it be? I swear I won't tell anyone." he promised.

"No, I need your ULTIMATE swear. Like, you swear on your LIFE. And you have to be serious." I insisted.

"I swear on my life, on Notch's holy name, that I will never tell a single living soul what you are about to tell me." he promised, holding a hand over his heart.

I took a deep breath. "Okay… I… this is gonna sound very, very strange, but… I've been seeing-"

Suddenly, before I could finish my thought, a loud crashing sound came from downstairs, followed by what was unmistakably Silk's voice yelling at someone.

I bolted for the ladder, Zach right behind me.

Silk was standing before none other than Blake. Blake was hissing loudly, saying, "Get out before I MAKE you get out, you creepy crawler!"

"Like I'd listen to a random CAT!" Silk yelled back, string prepped in her hands, her cape long discarded.

"HANG ON!" I shouted, standing between the two. "What's going on here?!"

"You?!" Blake shouted. "YOU brought her here? The wolf wasn't good enough for you?"

"Her name is Snowy, and for the record, I didn't WANT to bring Silk here with me, did I?" I asked, glancing back. Silk angrily nodded, never breaking eye contact with Blake.

"Oh, how perfect. Another person hiding in Blockington." Blake moaned, her fists balled. "Zach! Do something!"

Zach, who I hadn't realized hadn't moved once he came down the ladder, stood frozen, staring at Silk. "Sh-sh-she's… a… a… sp-spider…?" he stammered, visibly paling.

That's when I remembered: Zach had a strong fear of spiders ever since he was a little kid, when one crawled into his room through his window somehow. It never attacked, and it ran away before it could get exterminated, but Zach was still traumatized. Wouldn't you?

"Zach, listen." I quickly, and calmly, interrupted. "She's not gonna hurt you. She won't hurt Blake either. So how about we ALL just calm down a little, and NOT go ballistic today, okay?"

"I've put up with a lot, human." Blake hissed at me. "I've put up with this city, I've put up with you, I've even put up with that wolf. But I'm NOT letting this go this time. Now, you both should leave. NOW."

Blake and Silk were at a deadly stand-off. It was impossible to tell who could be more dangerous.

Zach wasn't doing anything. He was just staring right at Silk, almost like she'd jump at him at any second.

Clearly if I didn't want an altercation on my hands, I'd need to step in, somehow.

Then I thought about it. How could Zach actually help me with this problem? Unless he's seen Herobrine himself, and I have no doubt that he's never even heard of that name, he can't place a face to that. Not to mention, even if he HAS heard of him, what can we do? Herobrine never lingers in one place for long, that I can tell. And the guy… he's clearly dangerous. Combine that with the idea that I'm just a very vulnerable human with almost no armor on at the moment and, well… it makes you feel a little powerless.

I sighed defeatedly. "Fine. Zach, we'll talk later. Silk, let's go."

Both Silk and Blake looked very surprised at me. "What?" Blake asked.

"I don't have time to stand here and argue with you." I explained. "So, I think we should just leave now before things go sour. Clearly you don't even want Silk here, so you shouldn't be complaining."

Without another word from either Blake or Zach, I grabbed Silk by the wrist, threw her hood back on her, and dragged her out the door and back into the heart of the city.

Once we were safely in a deserted alley, Silk finally got her voice back. "Cameron… what was that?"

I sighed. "What I thought could help me just turned out to be a complete bust. Anyway, while I'm here I might as well visit my sister. She hasn't seen me in quite some time."

Silk didn't say anything, but she followed behind me at a noticeably slower pace than before.

My sister was in fact home at the time. We spent a little while catching up, but she mostly seemed interested in Silk more than anything else. While we didn't really discuss Silk being a spider, I could tell that my sister could partly tell. Somewhat, at least.

Eventually, we left. Silk seemed to be in slightly brighter spirits after meeting my sister, but she still seemed noticeably subdued than normal.

We made it to the city gates and headed out, starting to head for home. But just as we made it over the first hills and were well out of earshot from anyone at Blockington, I turned to Silk and instructed, "Spill."

Silk was taking off guard. "Wha-?"

"I've been around you for too long now to understand you, Silk. You're NEVER this quiet around me. Something's wrong. Spill." I explained.

Silk suddenly became very fascinated by something invisible at her feet, and didn't answer.

"Silk." I intoned, this time a little more forcefully than I would normally.

"Grr…. FINE!" she shouted, glaring at me. "I'm quiet because I was trying to understand why you pulled me away like that, okay? I was standing up for myself, then all the sudden YOU make me back down!"

"Because I didn't want anyone to get hurt!" I yelled back.

"She was clearly asking for it!" Silk argued back. "She was all ready to go too, you know it!"

"Yeah, I know it, I've already met the woman!" I angrily explained. "Look, you can't just get mad at EVERYONE you meet, okay? THIS is why I didn't want you to come!"

"Why? Because you think that I'm always gonna mess up your grand ideas? Huh? Is that it?" Silk asked mockingly.

"AUGH!" I shouted loudly, turning back towards the house. Silk ran after me and we argued the entire way back.

Once we arrived home, I opened the much louder than I would normally and called out gruffly, "I'm back."

Susie, Snowy, and Diana were all in the kitchen, and seemingly were in conversation when I burst in. "Cameron? Did… did something happen?"

"Yeah. SHE happened." I agreed, angrily gesturing at Silk. "Have her explain, because I don't have the time and patience to explain anything right now."

Leaving behind a very quiet trio and a very furious Silk, I stomped into the bedroom and slammed the door behind me, throwing my bag to the side and flopping onto the bed, trying to blow off a lot of steam.

I felt my blood boiling a little bit. Silk was just SO hard-headed… she messed up everything! If she hadn't come with me, then I would've talked to Zach about Herobrine, and then maybe I would've gotten something out of it. But NOOO, since she just HAD to come with me, she got into a conflict with Blake, and she ruined my chance.

I so badly wanted to punch something, but I didn't. I didn't want to break anything.

Three minutes after I entered, a knock quietly sounded from the door, and it slowly opened. Snowy poked her head inside, timidly asking, "Umm… Master…? Are…?"

"Hm? Oh. Hey Snowy." I gruffly greeted. I was still hot-blooded after all that had happened.

"I'm… not alone." she slowly stated, opening the door the rest of the way. Susie came in behind her, both of them with identical looks of concern.

"Ah… Cameron…?" Susie gently, very gently, asked. I looked up. "Umm… are you… okay…?"

"No, I'm not." I stated.

Apparently they had expected more. They blinked at my very short remark.

Snowy slowly sat down next to me and tried to hug me.

I sighed, gently pushing her away. "I appreciate the concern guys, I really do, but I just want to be alone right now, let this steam blow off, okay?"

"Cameron…" Susie slowly sighed, staring sadly at me.

"Master…" Snowy equally sighed, tears in the pits of her eyes.

They didn't make any motion to leave the room. Rather, they each took a side and sat down next to me.

"Please, Cameron… you have to tell us what's going on." Susie pleaded, making me look at her. "Silk's not here, she's upstairs. You can talk to us."

I slowly let out a very long, slightly annoyed breath. I knew they wouldn't leave until I was at the very least feeling better. "Okay… okay, fine. I'll tell."

I launched into the story about how Silk forced me to have her tag along after she found I was heading to Blockington, how I was just talking to Zach, trying to see how he was doing (I purposely left out Herobrine, for now.), and then about how Silk and Blake had launched into this huge confrontation, almost coming to blows, before I pulled Silk away.

"...and once we left my sister and we were heading home, that's when the argument started." I finished. I actually did feel a little calmer after explaining what happened, but I was still ticked off. "I was just trying to make sure no one got hurt, but she thinks that I just made her look weak in front of two people, and-"

"Calm! Calm down…!" Susie intoned, gently shaking me.

I took another breather. "Right… right."

"Did you actually tell Silk that you were trying to stop a fight from happening?" Susie asked.

"Well of course I did! I said that I didn't want anyone to get hurt!" I recounted indignantly.

"Calm! Calm!" Susie reminded me.

Another deep breath. A few seconds pause.

"Okay… here's what we'll do." Susie offered, standing up. "How about… we give you space. Rest of today, you'll get to blow off whatever steam you have. Then, tomorrow, when everyone's calmed down, we try and see if we can get you and Silk to work out whatever problems you're having, okay?"

I slowly sighed. "Susie, I-"

"Are you okay with that?" Susie, rather forcefully, asked again.

I blinked. "I… yes."

Susie relaxed. "Okay. We'll give you some space then. Snowy, come on."

Snowy, who had been incredibly quiet for that whole time, slowly got up and walked with Susie.

Just before they got to the door, though, I called out to them, "Susie? Snowy?"

They turned.

"I… *sigh*... thank you, both. I… do feel a little calmer now." I thanked them.

Their looks softened at me. "You don't have to thank us, Cameron." Susie intoned to me, before leaving.

Snowy glanced at me one more time, ran back to give me one more hug, and then left.

And then there was one.

The rest of the day passed very uneventfully. I simply stayed there, in the bedroom, simply letting myself cool off and unwind.

Susie, bless her heart, brought me a plate of food for dinner. She offered to save me a spot at the counter, seeing as Silk was staying upstairs, but I politely declined. I didn't need everyone there worrying about me anymore they they already were.

Eventually, night came. Susie soon came in, asking if I wanted to be alone for the night, too.

I gently chuckled. "I'm a lot better now, Susie, but I'll be better if you'd be here with me."

Susie smiled at me softly. I think she was secretly hoping for that answer.

The nightly rituals were done, teeth, bathroom, night clothes, all that.

Eventually, it was just me and Susie, together in the soft glow of the moon outside. Snowy had once again taken refuge inside Andr's room, though this time I think it was maybe because she thought I would be better off alone.

Susie almost instantly fell asleep, but I took a little while longer. I wasn't sure why.

Eventually, I did fall asleep. But…

Things were different.

I was brought back to the black space of the dream world, but… Vivianna and Aira weren't there to greet me.

It was just… me.

"Vivianna?" I called out. "Aira? You guys there?"

I turned around in a full circle, trying to see if they were there…

When a distant figure caught my eye.

It looked really, really far away, but I could easily tell that it was Silk. Her back was turned. Her head looked bowed.

I groaned internally. 'Great. Dreams about Silk. Just what I need.'

I tried to call out for Vivianna and Aira again…

When I suddenly realized I couldn't move.

My body suddenly felt frozen in place.

I tried to unfreeze myself at will, but it didn't work.

I almost began to panic. Something was very clearly wrong…

When out of nowhere, in the distance, Silk appeared to move.

Her head slowly rose, then fell again, like she took a deep breath and then sighed.

I squinted to try and see her a little better…

When I blinked.

And suddenly, Silk was closer.

I was getting creeped out by all this. I tried to wake myself up, but I honestly didn't know how to do that.

I blinked again. Silk got closer.

Again. Closer.

The next time I blinked, Silk was within arm's reach if I could move them. Her back was still turned.

Her head raised, then lowered one more time…

And then she quickly and suddenly turned.

Her eyes… they… they were black, empty holes in her face.

She jumped forward at me, suddenly laughing.

I felt her bite me right on the shoulder. Pain ran through me, as though her bite was poisonous.

"I'lL dO tO yOu JUst whAT i DiD to aLL tHe rESt oF tHEm." her voice, magnified and distorted, resonated inside of me.

My face paled. If I could've moved I would've been running as fast as I could away from all this. 'Wh-what is happening-'

Suddenly, in front of me, four humanoid lumps appeared. Each had a bite mark in their shoulder and on their neck, and they looked…

Oh Notch…

They looked just like my friends…

Slowly, one dissolved into a single bone.

Then, another turned into an ender pearl.

Another turned into nothing but dust and a tuft of fur.

The last… the last slowly melted into three slime balls.

Silk started laughing at me demonically, crawling all over my body as I watched in horror. My shoulder started to scream in pain as the bite marks swelled.

Then, more pain rang out on my neck, as Silk bit down HARD. My neck started to swell from the bite, and it became impossible to breath…

I'm… fading…

Silk gets her face in mine as I slowly start to black out…

She's only laughing at me as I slowly fade…

"wHeRe'S moMMy and dAddY now, hUH?!" she taunted, her eyes suddenly glowing bright white…

My vision… fading…

And…

And…

And then I opened my eyes.

I was breathing hard, sitting upright in the bed, cold sweat on my entire forehead.

I looked around quickly, panicked. Susie was still next to me, fast asleep. The moon wasn't visible from this angle, but I assumed it was over westward.

I quickly felt my shoulder and neck.

No marks… but it had felt so real…

My breathing almost refused to slow.

Then…

"C… Cameron…?" Vivianna's voice gently came in.

'V… Vivianna…?' I thought. 'What… what in Notch's name was THAT?!'

"I… I'm so sorry! I normally screen out any nightmares you create, but this one felt important to show you, somehow, so I let it happen! I… I didn't know it would be THAT!" Vivianna quickly apologized. "I-I thought it would just be, you know, something to make you want to apologize to Silk! Not… whatever THAT freak show was!"

I glanced down at Susie. Still fast asleep.

'Well… I'm definitely not ready to fall back asleep yet…' I thought, slowly getting out of bed. 'Is Aira there?'

I heard an audible nod.

'Ohh kay.' I thought. 'I… I wanna just go to the roof for a while. Cool off in the night air.'

"Good… good idea… Cameron, I'm really, SO sorry…" Vivianna insisted, her voice close to breaking.

'It's… it's okay, Vivianna.' I thought, opening the bedroom window. 'You didn't know. Let's just get up to the roof and calm down a bit.'

One current of air later, and then I was sitting down on the edge of the house again, taking in the summer air.

This wasn't the first time I had come up for a nighttime view. Long ago I placed down torches up on the roof so nothing could appear up here, and then to make it even more comfy, I put down an small, easily-removable bench that anyone that comes up here, mainly just me and Andr, can use.

The air was relatively cooler up here than inside. I still felt a little sweaty from the nightmare.

'Vivianna… can you make sure to give me some sort of warning next time?' I softly asked.

"O-of course. I… I just acted without thinking. Next time, I'll ask if you wish to see it before I choose." Vivianna told me, still sounding a bit upset at herself.

'It's alright, Vivianna. You made an honest mistake.' I insisted.

I continued to stare up at the moon, slowly beginning to relax from the nightmare…

When suddenly, I heard the creaking of wood behind me.

I whipped around. If it was some monster that had somehow managed to appeared up here, then I didn't like my chances in a fight.

But it wasn't a monster. It wasn't even a random cow (yes, that has happened before once, but that's a long story).

It was a very surprised Silk.

For ten seconds we stared at each other, completely surprised to see the other.

"Couldn't sleep?" Silk asked.

"Nightmare." I responded.

Silk grimaced. Nothing else was said.

For maybe half a second, I considered either arguing with her again or simply leaving and trying to go back to bed.

But somewhere in my gut, something told me to stay. Maybe something would come of it.

I scooted over to the side and turned back to the moon. I didn't say anything, partly afraid that if I did say something, I wouldn't like what I said.

Silk was quiet for ten seconds, and then slowly approached the bench and sat down next to me. She didn't say anything.

For five minutes we just sat there. The stars gently twinkled down at us, and the moon shone unusually bright. It would still be a while before night would be over.

Monsters loitered down below, in the plains in front of us, but there was no way they would see us up here. The monsters usually ignore the house this late at night, and they never would have any reason to look up and see people up here.

"This… this is such a beautiful little spot…" Silk murmured softly, looking all around.

"Andr showed it to me a long time ago." I explained. "We come here every now and then to watch the sunset."

Silk thought about that answer. "But wait… how'd you get up here now? You can't teleport… right?"

I chuckled. "No, no, I can't teleport. Andr hasn't taught that to me yet." I said jokingly.

"Then… how'd you get up here…?" Silk asked again.

I couldn't tell her about Aira. Not yet, anyway. So I simply replied, "I have my ways."

Silk seemed like she didn't like that answer, but she didn't press further, thankfully.

The two of us continued to silently look up at the sky. The moon continued its slow descent towards the horizon.

Then, Silk spoke. "What… what was your nightmare… about?" she asked delicately.

Something in her voice told me that she knew she wasn't going to like the answer.

I almost didn't want to tell her. Not out of any sort of anger, no…

I was afraid of telling her that it was about her.

When I didn't say anything, Silk tried again. "Cameron…? What… what was it about?"

I was still conflicted about telling her.

Then, she throws THIS at me:

"I… um, this might be a bad time… but Diana told me something. Something… about your parents."

I paled. "Wh-what?! Wh-when?!"

Silk scooted a half block away from me. "L-last night… while I was… still really mad at you." she answered softly, almost like she expected a response like that.

I hung my head and grabbed my hair in anger. "I thought…! She wasn't supposed to tell that to you…!"

Silk seemed to take offense to that. "What'dya mean, 'I wasn't supposed to be told about that?'" she asked.

"I…" I almost started to argue, before stopping. "She… she told you… my one biggest secret. And I wasn't ready for you to know about it."

Silk processed that. She looked back up at the moon, still on it's path towards the horizon.

"Kinda like how you read my diary."

I glanced back at Silk, surprised. Before I can get a word out, she continues. "Back at the S&S. You read the one thing that I could use to pour my heart into like it didn't even matter. Like I wouldn't care."

Touché.

I sighed. Silk sighed right along with me.

It was an awkward silence for ten seconds.

"Look… Silk, I…" I started.

"No… I don't care. What's done is done. You can't take it back now of all times." Silk interrupted. She didn't sound mad. She just… sounded like she didn't want to talk about it.

So I dropped it.

At that point, I could already tell Silk wasn't exactly in a cheery mood. I had to do something. Ease the tensions between us.

So I came clean.

"My… my nightmare." I started slowly, avoiding Silk's eyes. She looked over at me, a tad curious.

"It… it started out like all my dreams do." I slowly explained. "In a blank, black space, waiting for me to decide what I wish to dream about."

Silk has her entire attention on me. I take a slow breath and continue. "But… when I look around, I suddenly see… this figure. It's a humanoid figure, but it's back is turned. I try to approach it, or call out to it, or anything, but… I'm suddenly frozen in place. I can't move. I can't talk. I can only look."

"The figure… slowly bows it's head, then raises it. That's when I blink, and… it gets closer. Another blink, closer. Another, closer."

"Soon enough, it's almost on top of me. It bows it's head one more time, raises it…"

"And then it turns around. But… the figure… it…" I almost say, but Silk beats me to it.

"It… was me… wasn't it…?" she asked slowly.

I nod. "But… it wasn't… your eyes… they… they weren't nothing but black pits of nothing. And then… the laughter… it was like three of you were laughing at different speeds and pitches…"

"That's when you jumped at me… and bit me right here… on the shoulder." I explained, touching my right shoulder. "And… it felt like venom… was seeping into me. The mark started swelling… and you were just laughing at me, crawling over me…"

"Then I notice more figures on the ground… figures that were once… once… our… our friends… each with a bite mark on the shoulder and… neck…"

Silk's eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

"S-slowly… each one dissolved into nothing but a bone, dust, an enderpearl, and… slime balls…" I recounted, stammering a small bit.

"It… it ended… with you quickly biting me on the neck… and my vision fading away as I suddenly couldn't breath… but… the last thing I heard… you spoke one last time… you… you said…"

I took a deep breath…

And spoke.

"'Where's Mommy and Daddy now, huh?'" I finished, shaking a little.

Silk was dead quiet. She seemed to be in some form of shock.

When she finally did speak, her voice was a bit hoarser than I remember. "C… Cameron… I… I'm so… I mean…"

I slowly glance at her. I have to do a double take, because she suddenly looks… genuinely surprised. And… she looks like she's shaking.

She can't get another word out the rest of the time we're out there, until I decide I've finally had enough of a cool-down.

"Well… I guess I should head back down." I intoned, standing up and stretching. "It's late, and if I don't head back now, I won't get anywhere near enough sleep to function properly."

I start to head for where I came from. But when I pass Silk, something very peculiar happens…

She grabs my hand and says, "W-wait!"

I turn towards the spider girl, confused. Silk looks down at the ground for a second before looking back up at me. "Ummm… can… I… I'm sorry… for yelling at you." she slowly apologizes, blushing. "Can… can we pretend… it never happened?"

I can't stop the smirk building on my face. I gently, but intentionally, remove her hand from my hand. Instead of heading for the back like I came, though, I stand at the edge of the house next to Silk, and slowly pretend to be thinking about it.

And then I answer.

"Done and done." I respond.

And that's when I lean forward and fall off the roof.

Relax, relax, it was all intentional. I'm not stupid enough to simply leap off this two-story building below without SOME sort of plan.

Aira was already way ahead of me. Instead of hitting the ground hard enough to break something, the landing simply felt like falling off a chair.

As soon as I'm standing, I look back up. Silk is staring down at me with wide eyes and a pale face, her arm reached out as though she was trying to catch me.

"Awww, you do care." I called up softly to her, smirking.

Silk seemed to be a mixture of relieved I'm not hurt, shocked that I'm not hurt, and partly angry at me for that last comment. But I could hardly care at that moment.

"Night, Silk. Pleasant dreams." I called up again, before quickly and quietly entering through the front door and back to bed.

I know, I know, that wasn't very nice of me to trick her like that, especially with something like that, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to see if Silk was really willing to apologize, and would go back to showing concern. That was simply my little test.

'Yeah, I know I'm gonna get an earful tomorrow from her, but it'll be worth it.' I thought, fighting back a fit of laughter as I quickly slip back into bed.

Susie stirred her in sleep, then opens one eye. "*yawn*... C… Cameron…?"

"Oh, sorry Susie." I apologized quietly. "I just needed a little fresh air, I got a little woozy a moment ago."

Susie, too tired to think about it, hummed quietly and closed her eye again, quickly falling right back into sleep.

I chuckled gently. Wrapping my arms around her, I can't help but feel that this time, my dreams are bound to be much more pleasant than last time.

MUCH more pleasant.


So? How 'bout that? First time writing an actual conflict between two characters. It was bound to happen as some point or another, right?

FINALLY! You guys have NO IDEA how glad I am to have this chapter done! I felt really… lackluster lately. I haven't done nearly ANYTHING all summer!

Then again, I have been pretty busy lately, so… yeah.

Anyway guys, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please prepare a warm welcome next month when I get around to finishing the next chapter.

As always, if you guys want to play MC with me, please PM me with your in-game username, what server and when. Oh, and big news! I have a server again! Yeah, I finally can afford it again, and it's personally one I really want as many people to join as possible.

Please, if you want to play with me on my survival server, PM me with the same info as above and I'll give you the IP. Love you guys!

Until next time readers, in another chapter…

Stay awesome. =D