Lucy wasn't sure where she wanted to go, but her instincts took her back to the room where the Order was last seen. She was sure that they would do something about this. But as she got closer to the room, she heard angry yelling coming from it. She stopped just outside the room and peeked around the corner. Soren and Ivor were having a screaming match while everyone else stood back uncomfortably. "You've been lying to us this whole time!," yelled Ivor, giving Soren a harsh shove. "Was anything you told us even the truth?!" "Ivor, that's enough," said Ellegaard, glaring at him. "Let's avoid resorting to violence."

"No, it's true," Soren sighed. "I've been using the command block to enhance our natural abilities. We're not real heroes. We've...never been." "You mean we're...frauds?," asked Gabriel, sounding outraged. "...yes, I'm afraid we are," said Soren sadly. "I knew it!," Ivor growled. "I knew something was going on! It seemed fishy to me how we simultaneously seemed to gain our amazing abilities all of a sudden, and now it makes sense! You've been using the command block on us and lying to our faces, making us think we're actually heroes!"

"But we ARE heroes!," Soren argued. "We went on those adventures, didn't we?" "We wouldn't have been able to survive those adventures if it wasn't for that STUPID block!," yelled Ivor. Ellegaard groaned stressfully and turned to Magnus. "Why are you just standing there? Say something!," she pleaded. "Hey, leave me out of this!," said the rogue, backing away. "This whole thing's a little beyond me!" "Well, I'm siding with Ivor!," growled Gabriel, stepping forward. "Soren, you are a liar, a manipulator, and a cheater! If you truly regret everything you've done, you will take that command block and destroy it!" "I can't do that!," Soren cried. "The command block is too important! Without it...we're nothing." "Is that how you think of us?," asked Ellegaard, sounding hurt. "You think we need a weird block to be heroes?"

Soren winced. "Ellegaard, you know that's not what I meant…" "Enough of this!," Ivor snarled. "Soren, I swear that if you don't do the right thing and get rid of that block, I will leave the Order of the Stone and never come back!" Everyone in the room, including Lucy, gasped. They were not expecting that. "You can't leave!," Soren protested. "You're a valuable member of our team!" "Oh really?," Ivor scoffed. "I remember back in the library that you thought I was only good for handing out potions!" Soren winced again. "I didn't mean that either…"

"Okay, I think that's enough drama for today," Magnus spoke up, walking towards the two of them. "How about we go to sleep and continue this the next day, huh?" "Stay out of this, Magnus," Ivor groaned. Magnus' eyes narrowed. "Ohoho! So you guys have always been telling me to take charge and think of the team, but when I finally do that for once, it's 'stay out of this, Magnus?' Who the hell do you think you are?" "Don't blame Ivor too harshly, Magnus," said Soren, glaring at the potionologist. "He's just afraid to admit that he's overreacting." That was definitely the wrong thing to say. Ivor finally lost his temper and tackled Soren to the floor, then started landing brutal punches on his face. Everyone else didn't bother to help. Instead, they looked away with uncomfortable expressions on their faces. Already, Soren's nose was broken and blood was streaming out of it. The sight of blood did not stop Ivor in the least.

What did stop the crazed man, however, was Lucy running into the room in tears. "Stop it!," she cried, attempting to pummel Ivor with her tiny fists. "Leave him alone!" Ivor looked down at her in shock, then looked at Soren, who was convulsing on the ground. "L-Lucy…," he trailed off. "How dare you hurt him!," Lucy continued. "You two shouldn't be fighting!" Then, she turned her anger on everyone else in the room. "And how dare the rest of you just stand there and not do anything! You guys should've been helping!" Gabriel, Magnus, and Ellegaard looked down at their feet in shame. Lucy took a deep breath. "I hate you all!," she screamed before running out of the room, sobbing her eyes out. She ran past Ramus, who had been searching for her. "Lucy?!," he said. "What happened? Why are you crying?" Lucy ignored him and ran all the way to her room, locking herself in. Ramus ran into the room where he saw Lucy run from, and saw Soren lying on the floor while the rest just stood there in shocked silence.

"What happened here?," Ramus demanded. "And what happened to Soren?" Everyone in the room, Ivor especially, only looked away in guilt and shame.

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After crying over the supposed deaths of Ramus and Lucy, Soren ran over to the temple just as Ivor returned from collecting the ingredients for his new potion. Upon seeing Soren's red eyes and wet face, Ivor grew suspicious and demanded answers. After Soren explained everything, Ivor was far from pleased. "Ivor, I am so sorry!," said Soren. "I didn't know this would happen, I swear!" "Well, apologies aren't going to bring them back!," spat Ivor. "I told you not to go through with the experiment! But you didn't listen! You never do! Now my brother and niece are dead, and it's all your fault!" Ivor stormed out of the room, trying to hold back tears as he left Soren behind, who looked down at the floor with shame and regret all over his face.

But that wasn't the end of the drama. Unbeknownst to Soren, Ivor wasn't the only one who heard the news. "Is it true?," asked Ellegaard, causing Soren to jump and spin around. Ellegaard was standing in the doorway along with Magnus and Gabriel. "How...how much did you hear?," he asked fearfully. "Everything," Gabriel grunted, giving Soren a nasty glare before leaving the room. "Gabriel, where are you going?," Soren called after him. "Exactly where Ivor is going!," Gabriel retorted. "Anywhere but here!" As Gabriel's footsteps faded away, Magnus shook his head in disgust. "You can have this place all to yourself, ginger beard," he spat angrily. "I'm going back to Boom Town. And I'm never coming back." After Magnus said his piece and left, Soren gave Ellegaard a pleading stare. "Don't leave...please…"

At first, it looked like the redstone engineer was about to break into tears. Then, she quickly wiped her eyes and replaced her sad expression with a stony one. "I'm going back to Redstonia," she said curtly. "Don't follow me." She stomped away, leaving Soren all alone inside the temple. The architect stood in place for a moment in silence, then left the room and began casually walking around the temple. His footsteps echoing across the corridors showed just how empty the place was without the rest of the Order...without Lucy…

Finally, Soren couldn't stand to stay in the temple any longer. He returned to his own fortress, where the entire mess started. From that point on, he shut himself off from the outside world, dedicating himself to studying endermen. They were nice and predictable creatures, not like his so-called friends. Psh! Who needs friends anyway? Soren was fully content being all by himself. He could finally get to work finishing his Wool World. No one to bother him, no one to betray him...no one to keep him company...no one to make him laugh…

And from that moment on...the Order of the Stone was no more.

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Alex and Jesse went deep into the woods and split up. Alex was able to shoot two rabbits and a cow when she felt someone put his hand on her shoulder. She swiftly turned around and punched him in the stomach. Ivor groaned in pain as he bent down. "Ivor!," she cried, helping him up. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were a zombie or something!" "That's alright," said Ivor, waving it off. "It's my fault entirely. I have a habit of catching people off guard."

"What are you doing here, though?," Alex asked. "I thought you would be resting with the others." Ivor cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, here's the thing...I need to ask you something," said Ivor. Alex tilted my head in confusion. "About what?," she asked curiously. "Alex, be honest with me," said Ivor. "...have we met before?" Alex was taken aback. "Um...I find it hard to believe you would forget so easily," she said. "It wasn't that long ago, back in that alleyway…"

Ivor shook his head. "No, I mean before we met in the alley," he said. Alex scratched her head. "Hmmm...I don't think so," she said. "I'm pretty sure that alley was where we first met. By the way, do you have a reason for asking me that?" Ivor stroked his beard. "Well, it's just that...I think I've actually seen you before," he said. Alex's eyes widened. "You have?," she asked in bewilderment. "I'm not sure," said Ivor. "When I first saw you with Jesse, I couldn't help but feel a slight sense of nostalgia, as if that wasn't my first time seeing you." He shrugged. "Then again, my memory isn't what it used to be, so I could be wrong."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty interesting to think about," she said. "I mean, it would explain why you were acting less hostile to me than you do to the others. In fact, the reason why you lost your temper in that alley was because you thought I was a crazy girl who talks to dirt blocks." "Which brings me to my next question," said Ivor. "You named this dirt block of yours 'Billy'. Tell me, why do you have it, er, him with you? What is your history with him?"

Alex sighed. "I'm not sure I'm ready to tell anyone," she said sadly. To her surprise, Ivor looked at her with soft, kind eyes. "You can tell me," he said. His tone was so comforting that the words flowed from her lips before she could stop them. "My parents abandoned me," she said. "They left me at an orphanage, where I stayed for my entire childhood. Then, on my 15th birthday, I was kicked out. Apparently, some rich people thought the orphanage was a waste of space, so they teared it down and replaced it with a mall." She spat out the last part angrily.

"I was all alone afterwards. I had to learn to survive on my own. I built my own house, bought my own food, and life was actually pretty good. But then…" She shuddered. "...he came." "Who?," asked Ivor. "Thomas," Alex said. "He was very nice to me at first. He comforted me, gave me compliments, and even provided for me when I needed him. Eventually, I considered him to be my best friend. He had a girlfriend named Annie, who was also nice."

Alex sighed. "But then, he started to...change. His visits to my home became less frequent. He started seeing other girls. He also became nastier and more violent, to the point where he would regularly give me beatings…" Ivor suddenly grabbed her shoulders and stared into her eyes. "He beat you?!," he shouted, shock and outrage evident on his face.

Alex nodded silently. "His negative influence began to affect Annie, who started treating me just as cruelly. They both made my life miserable, constantly belittling me and telling me that I would never be worth...anything. Thomas made it clear that if I made any other friends besides himself, he would show me just how nasty he can get. I...I didn't want to know."

At this point, Alex's face was wet with tears, but her voice remained strong. "I could've left him at any time, you know. I considered it a lot. But I knew that if I did, he would find me. And he would make me pay. So I stayed, even though I wanted nothing more than to have my old life back. And as his insults became more harsh and frequent, they began to seep into my self image and...I started believing him. I felt like a complete joke, like the whole world was laughing at me and there was nothing I could do about it."

Ivor continued to listen. "Then I met Billy. At first, he was just this random block of dirt that I happened to pick up while taking a walk. But after taking him home with me and having conversations with him, he became my new best friend. I would pretend he was a kind soul who saw me suffering and wanted to help me. I would talk to him when I was bored, talk to him after a beating, talk to him whenever I felt lonely or depressed…"

Alex didn't trust herself to say any more before bursting into tears, so she stopped there. She waited to hear what Ivor had to say. No doubt he would call her a weirdo or laugh off her insecurities like they were simple jokes. Instead, he sighed. "Alex...you're not the only one who went through these types of hardships," he said. Alex looked at him in surprise.

"I suppose it's fair that I tell my own story," he said. "Long ago, when I was still a member of the Order of the Stone, I had...a brother." Alex's mouth made an O shape. "Oh my gosh, really?," she asked. He nodded. "His name was Ramus," he said. "Though he wasn't an official member of the Order, he still helped us in any way he could. He was the best brother a guy could ask for. Then, as if things couldn't get better, he married and had a daughter."

He chuckled. "When I heard the news, I was jumping with joy. Just imagine! Me, an uncle? I thought it was too good to be true." He sighed sadly. "Boy, was I right. One day, Soren was experimenting on the command block-" "Wait, command block?," Alex asked. "You mean the block that made the witherstorm?" "Yes," said Ivor. "That block. Anyway, Ramus decided to volunteer as his assistant. He also brought Lucy, his daughter, with him."

His shoulders slumped. "That's when everything went wrong. There was an accident involving the command block and Soren could do nothing to stop it. From what I heard, a beam of light shot out from the command block and zapped Ramus and Lucy into nonexistence." Alex gasped. "I was devastated by the news and blamed Soren. I told him that he should have never conducted the experiment, that he never should have let Ramus or Lucy anywhere near that block. Eventually, I left the Order, vowed to get my revenge, and…"

He did not need to finish the rest as Alex's mind connected the dots. "So that's why you made the witherstorm," she said. "Not just to denounce the Order as heroes...but to get back at them for your brother and niece." He nodded silently. "...Ivor, I am so sorry." "Don't be," said Ivor. "I was the one who started this mess, anyway. I made the witherstorm with only vengeance on my mind, not caring for the consequences of my actions."

"Wait a minute," Alex said. "What about Ramus's wife?" Ivor shrugged. "Nobody knows what happened to her," he said. "One day, she just...vanished." Alex frowned. "That's odd," she said. "Where could she have gone?" "Like I said," said Ivor, "nobody knows." There was a moment of silence between us until Alex stepped forward and hugged him. He stiffened, then hugged her back in return. Call her corny, but it was a magical moment.

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"She's awake!," cried Petra, who looked as healthy as ever. "Guys, give her some room!" They all backed away as Alex sat up and looked around. There was Jesse, Petra, Olivia, Axel, Lukas, Gabriel, Magnus, and Ivor all crowded in the room. Alex looked down and saw that her entire torso was wrapped in bandages and one of her legs was in a cast. She felt Jesse hug her lightly, making sure not to do it too tightly. Before she could respond, he turned her head towards him and kissed her. She felt her face go warm and hoped she wasn't blushing.

"Alex! Thank goodness!," said Ivor, pushing himself through the small crowd. "Don't worry about those wounds, by the way. I used a splash potion of regeneration on you while you were unconscious. They should heal right up in a matter of days." Alex smiled. "Thanks, Ivor," she said gratefully. She heard Magnus snicker. "Man, never thought I'd hear 'Ivor' and 'thanks' in the same sentence," he said, causing Gabriel to elbow him.

"We're just glad you're alright," said Jesse. Alex smiled shyly. Then, she remembered something. "Oh my gosh, Ivor!," she cried. "You are not going to believe what happened to me while I was unconscious!" "What is it?," asked Ivor curiously. Alex opened her mouth, then stopped herself. Wait a minute. Would they believe me about Kevin? No way, they'll probably think I hit my head too hard. It's best to keep him a secret for now. Yeah. "Alex?," asked Ivor, interrupting her thoughts. "What happened? What did you see?"

Alex twiddled with her fingers, trying to figure out how to say it without sounding like a crazy person. "Ivor," she said softly. "Do you remember what you told me back in the swamp? About Ramus and Lucy?" "Ramus and Lucy?," said Axel. "Who the hell are they?" Everyone else shushed him, eager to hear what she had to say. Ivor looked forlorn when she mentioned them. "Yes, I do remember," he said. "Well," Alex said nervously, "what if I told you that Lucy could still be alive?" Ivor looked flabbergasted. "Alex, what exactly are you going on about?"

Alex gulped. "Ivor...do you have...I don't know...a picture of Lucy somewhere?," she asked. Ivor nodded and reached into his robe. He took out a photo of a little blond girl wearing a pink skirt and a ribbon in her hair, smiling widely. Yep, that's definitely me. "Now look at the photo, then look at me," Alex said. Ivor looked confused, but did what he was told.

He glanced at the photo, then at her, then back at the photo. Realization dawned on him as his eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. "This...this isn't possible," he whispered. "It has to be a coincidence." Alex looked him in the eye. "Ivor, do you remember what I used to call you as a child?" He didn't respond. "I used to call you Uncle Ivy." Magnus gasped, bringing his hands to his mouth. "Lucy," he whispered.

Ivor burst into tears as he leaned forward and hugged her. "Lucy! Oh, Lucy!," he sobbed. Alex cried too and hugged him back. "I missed you so much, Lucy!," he cried. "I missed you too, Uncle Ivy!," Alex cried. "Woah, woah, woah!," yelled Lukas. "Okay, not that I'm not enjoying this moment right now, but can someone please explain to us what the heck is going on?!" It took awhile for Alex and Ivor, with a little help from Magnus, to explain everything to them. They stared at them, their eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

"Wait, so let me get this straight," said Petra. "Alex is really Ivor's long lost niece who got teleported by the command block to an orphanage with her memories erased, and her dad was an unofficial member of the Order of the Stone?!" Alex giggled. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it all up," she said. "I just can't believe it," said Ivor. "I can't believe that my own niece has been right by my side, and I didn't even recognize her! Lucy, I am so sorry."

"It's okay, Ivor," Alex said. "Though I prefer you call me Alex instead of Lucy. No offense, Ivor, but I'm just more used to that name." Then, she noticed that one of them was missing. "Guys, where's Reuben?," she asked. Suddenly, it was as if a few degrees dropped in the room. Each of them looked at each other uneasily. "Guys," Alex said cautiously. "What's going on? Where is he?" With downcast eyes, Jesse took out a raw porkchop.

Alex's blood ran cold. "Reuben's dead," said Jesse sadly. "We fell out of the witherstorm after the command block was destroyed. I landed in a pool of water. Reuben did not." Alex looked at the porkchop with pinprick eyes, feeling something wet seeping out of them. She buried her head in her hands as her sniffles grew louder and became bawls. She felt a number of people wrap their arms around her, but it was not enough to fill the gap that Reuben's death left behind. She cried and cried and cried, and she didn't stop crying for a long time…

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"I'm thinking that Hadrian must have sent them through the portal to the mines…," said Harper. "See what you can do here...I'm going to try and find Otto. And Alex…" She sighed heavily. "Talk things out with Ivor while I'm gone. I have a feeling you two need to have a little chat." Alex turned to Ivor, whose face was as blank as the snow they were standing on. "O-okay," she said nervously. Harper smiled softly and went on her way.

Alex faced Ivor and gulped nervously. "U-uncle Ivy? I'm...I'm very so-" Ivor held up his hand, telling her to be quiet. After about a minute of silence, he said, "Alex...I want you to know just how disappointed I am. Frankly, I expected this sort of behavior from Isaac, not from you." "..." "Listen, I'm not trying to make you hate yourself for what you did. I'd be a terrible uncle if I did. But I do want you to understand the gravity of what happened. You nearly killed someone, Alex." "Sh-she could respawn though," Alex said weakly.

Ivor raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but did you know that at the time?," he asked. Alex sniffled and shook her head. Ivor sighed. "I understand that you thought she killed your friends and you wanted revenge," he said. "Trust me, revenge was all I knew ever since you were taken from me all those years ago, so I know what I'm talking about. But that doesn't mean you should stoop to their level. Our actions define who we are, Lucy."

Right when Ivor called Alex by her childhood name, she broke down and hugged Ivor tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. A few players stopped what they were doing and stared at them, but she didn't care. Ivor hugged her back, and she knew that she was forgiven.

"But what about Jesse?," she asked as they finally separated from each other. "What about Lukas, Petra, and Isaac? They weren't there when I snapped, so they don't know what happened. Would they hate me if...when I tell them?" Ivor scrunched his face in thought before shaking his head. "Not likely. They might react with anger, and sure, they might never see you the same way again. But if someone as bitter as I am can forgive you just like that, then they'll come around too." Alex sighed in relief, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"And this Kevin person living in your head," said Ivor casually, causing her to flinch before realizing that she already told everyone. "I assume that you and him aren't on the best of terms after what happened?" "Worse," Alex groaned, wringing her hands. "He's furious with me. The last thing he told me was what the hell I was thinking, and I haven't heard from him since." Ivor nodded, though it seemed he was still trying to come to terms with the fact that a little person was inside her head, and said, "I'll see if any of these other competitors have any… promising leads. Oh, and be careful. After that stunt you pulled, I don't think anyone here has a very high opinion of you." Alex agreed and they went their separate ways.

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"Alex! Jesse!," cried a voice, causing Alex and Jesse to jump in shock. Thankfully, it was just Ivor. "I am approaching you two from this direction and am coming to speak with you!" "Yeah, I mean...I mean you're right there," said Jesse, calming down. "We can see you."

"I know, I know," said Ivor, sitting down next to them, "but I'm trying not to sneak up on people anymore!" "Might want to work on that a little," Alex chuckled. "So, no more 'Ninja Ivor' then?," asked Jesse. "Ha!," Ivor barked. "No, no. I decided it was time to stop running around in my pajamas and start trying to fix a few messes… Starting with trying to heal the rift between my old friends…" "That's great!," Alex exclaimed happily. "Gabriel and Magnus will be so psyched to see you again!" "You think so?," Ivor asked hopefully. "That's certainly the way I'm hoping it will happen…" He stood back up. "Well, I suppose it's time for me to go. This has been fun though, hasn't it?" "It sure has, Uncle Ivy," Alex said, also standing up and hugging him. "You'll come visit when you have time, right?" Ivor smiled at her. "Of course I will," he said fondly. "Jesse! Alex! Hey!," cried Radar, who was jumping excitedly from below them. "What's up Radar?," asked Jesse. "We were just saying goodbye to-" Of course, Ivor was nowhere to be seen. "Guess ninja habits die hard," said Jesse, causing Alex to chuckle.

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Ivor crawled away on his hands and knees, blood pouring out of the stab wound in his gut. Behind him, he heard the screams of his friends before they were suddenly silenced, and he didn't dare look back. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a diamond sword in the limp hand of Gabriel, who was laying on the ground lifelessly, his glassy eyes staring directly into his own. Ivor tried to ignore the stare and slowly reached for the sword, but a foot suddenly kicked it away, making it skid across the floor and far out of Ivor's reach. Ivor grunted in pain and laid on his back, staring up at the assailant with tears in his eyes. "Why?," he croaked, blood dripping out of his mouth. "Why are you doing all of this?" The assailant raised his sword above his head. "Because I'm not weak," the assailant responded. Then, in one fluid motion, he brought the sword down on Ivor's body, splitting the potionologist in two and ending his life.

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"Just keep moving forward," Jesse murmured to himself. "Come on, keep moving. They're depending on you." Jesse continued walking through the never ending maze, his legs creaking and groaning in complaint. He felt like he was about to collapse at any moment, and it was only through sheer will that he was able to keep on going. How long has it been since he entered the maze with Petra, Lukas, and Lucifer? Fifty years? Sixty? In the end, it didn't really matter how long he had been trapped in the maze, because he was going to die here anyway. He was going to crumble away into dust and perish, alone and forgotten, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. And yet, something inside of him kept telling him to move forward, even though it all seemed hopeless. Jesse's clothes had long since been torn to shreds, and he was now wearing nothing but a burlap sack to cover his shame. His arms and legs had grown very frail and thin, from both malnutrition and old age. The top of his head was now bald, and he was sporting a long white beard that reached the ground and made him trip on a few occasions. He was only twenty five years old when he and his friends first entered the maze. But now, he was one hundred and twenty two years old, older than anyone else in the entire world.

How could Jesse have possibly been wandering around in the maze for nearly one hundred years? Well, it all started like this. After the entire group split up at the place where Endercon used to be hosted, Jesse, Petra, and Lukas traveled all the way to the Far Lands in search of one of the missing treasures. While going there would usually take many days on foot or horseback, it only took them a few hours due to the fact that they had a dragon to ride on. Once they got to the Far Lands, Jesse figured that the only place there where the treasure could possibly be hidden was in Ivor's laboratory. And the only way to get there was through the giant stone maze that they had walked through all those years ago. But it turned out to be nothing more than a deadly trap. Lucifer tried flying them over the maze so that they didn't have to go through the trouble of walking through it, but as the dragon flew across the maze, a bolt of bright lightning suddenly erupted from nowhere and struck Lucifer directly in the chest. The dragon was in too much pain to continue flying and ended up falling through the air, with Jesse, Petra, and Lukas screaming and grabbing onto him for dear life. Lucifer fell into the center of the maze and instantly died on impact. Fortunately, Jesse, Petra, and Lukas managed to survive the fall. But now, they faced another huge problem. Not only was Lucifer now dead, fatally wounded from both the lightning and the fall, but they were now lost. Completely and utterly lost.

At first, that didn't seem like such a dire problem to them, since they went through this maze before and could certainly do it again. Except they didn't. For some bizarre reason, Jesse and the others were unable to find a way out of the maze. Every time they went down a certain direction that they believed was the right way out, it would either lead them to a dead end or back to where they came. It was especially strange when you took this into consideration. If you were to place your hand on the left wall and walk along that wall without ever leaving it, then sooner or later, you should be able to arrive at the exit of a maze. And yet, when Jesse, Petra, and Lukas tried that exact same method, it didn't work at all. They just found themselves walking for hours and hours and hours, and eventually had to stop before they got even more lost. They couldn't even climb the vines on the walls either. Not only did the maze seem to be never ending, but the walls also stretched so far upwards that none of them were able to tell where the height of the walls ended. So all they could do was continue navigating through the maze, which was already hard enough given what was said earlier, but such a task was made exponentially harder by the bizarre fact that the maze seemed to shift and change in size and shape every few minutes. It didn't take them long to realize that this was no ordinary maze.

Cut to about one hundred years later, and you have Jesse walking through the labyrinth all on his own. Both Petra and Lukas had died many, many years ago. It turned out that Petra hadn't eaten before they went on this journey, so she ended up nearly dying from starvation. Watching their best friend slowly die before their eyes was probably the hardest thing that Jesse and Lukas ever had to go through. They were forced to watch as Petra slowly deteriorated from her usual, adventurous self to a skinny and malnourished husk whose eyes had sunk into her skull and had drool constantly dribbling down her chin. Once their food had run out and Petra began feeling the horrible effects of starvation, she began resorting to pulling off and eating her own hair. Then, she started eating inedible things like vines and small rocks, which usually resulted in her vomiting them up. However, she was so hungry that she didn't hesitate to shove entire mouthfuls of her own puke right back into her mouth. Things finally took a turn for the worst when Jesse was suddenly woken up by a sharp pain in his leg and discovered Petra eagerly gnawing at the flesh on his leg with her teeth. Hunger had driven her insane and made her into a bloodthirsty cannibal, so Jesse and Lukas had no choice but to put her down.

But that was not the end of the heartache that they went through. Lukas' death followed not long after Petra's, and while it was nowhere near as gruesome as hers, it was still just as tragic. Lukas was never quite the same person after he and Jesse were forced to put Petra down like a rabid dog. He was quiet for long periods of time and was often staring off into space, usually having to be snapped out of his trance by Jesse. During many nights, Jesse would be woken up by Lukas huddled in a ball, hiding his face under his shirt and whispering to himself while rocking back and forth. The blond would often laugh at random intervals, and whenever Jesse asked him what he found was so funny, Lukas gave him a confused look and claimed that he hadn't been laughing at all. Sometimes, Lukas would start screaming his head off without warning, believing that he had just heard Petra screaming in agony or crying out for help. And dear god...Jesse started to believe that he was hearing the same things as well.

The breaking point finally came when Lukas suddenly walked up to the wall of the maze and began beating his own head against it. Jesse quickly pulled him away, but not before a nasty gash formed in Lukas' forehead. Driven to insanity like Petra, Lukas grabbed Jesse by the shoulders and shook him back and forth. "Don't you get it?!," he cried hysterically. "We're never getting out of here! We've been trapped here for ages! I-I can't keep living like this, Jesse! I just CAN'T!" Jesse slapped Lukas in the face as hard as he could. "Lukas, listen to me!," he yelled. "That's just what Herobrine wants you to think! But there IS a way out, I just know it! We just need to keep trying!" Lukas shoved Jesse hard, causing him to fall onto his back. "You still don't get it," he whispered, his eye twitching. "We're gonna die here. We...we're gonna…" Suddenly, Lukas ran off, babbling nonsensical words while letting out the occasional laugh. "Lukas, don't go!," cried Jesse, chasing after him. "We need to stick together!" But Lukas completely ignored him and continued running away until he was out of sight. Jesse continued chasing after him for a while, but it eventually became clear that he was never going to catch up with him…

Jesse never saw Lukas again after that, but he hoped that he was doing alright…

It had been many decades since then. Jesse had turned into an old man now, but he was still traversing through the maze like before, clinging onto the hope that there was a way out of this hellhole. He no longer cared about getting his hands on the missing item. He just wanted to LEAVE! But even after so many years, he was no closer to finding an exit than when he and his friends first started. Jesse suddenly stopped in his tracks and listened. In the far distance, he could barely make out what sounded like Petra screaming in pure agony. "Help me, Jesse!," the voice cried. "Help me!" Instead of investigating the noise like he had done dozens of times before, he shook his head and continued on, trying to ignore the cries of his best friend. "It's not real," he murmured to himself. "It's my mind playing tricks on me. It's not real."

Unbeknownst to Jesse, floating high above him was the invisible form of Herobrine. Of course, he was the one who was behind this whole thing. He was the one who had sent out that bolt of lightning to kill their dragon. He was the one who had been using his reality warping powers to shift and change the maze into geometrically impossible shapes, preventing Jesse and his friends from escaping. He was the one who used a little bit of his mind altering powers to turn Petra into a cannibal and drive Lukas insane with grief and paranoia. And he was the one who had been keeping Jesse alive for ninety seven years. He could've easily finished off Jesse in a variety of ways. He could've sent terrible monsters after him to tear him to pieces. He could've let him slowly starve to death like Petra or go insane like Lukas. Hell, he even could've let old age do the job for him. But where would the fun be in that? Wouldn't it be a lot more entertaining to keep the boy alive and torture him as much as he could in order to see how much physical and mental punishment he could take? Besides, even though killing off Jesse would be the much more convenient route, that wouldn't at all bring Herobrine any closer to winning his bet with Notch. He vowed that he was going to break Alex, and that's exactly what he intended to do. And what better way to do that than to take the person that she cares about the most and test his limits in the most brutal and merciless fashion possible?

As Jesse continued hobbling through the corridors of the maze, he began to hear the voices again. Someone was screaming, but this time, it was not Petra. It was Alex, her screams of pain and agony filling the air. "It's not real, damn it!," Jesse growled to himself, walking faster. "It's all in my head! It's not real!" But whether those screams were real or not, that didn't stop them from growing louder and louder with each passing moment. They quickly grew so loud that Jesse fell to his knees and covered his ears in pain. The screams persisted, being just as loud as if Jesse wasn't covering his ears. Alex's screams surrounded him from all sides, merging into one indistinguishable noise of pure agony. It went on like that for what felt like hours. Then, as quickly as it happened, they stopped, leaving everything in silence. Jesse still laid on the cold ground, breathing heavily. He felt something wet seeping out of his ears and removed his hands from them. They were now covered in blood. The screams were so loud that Jesse's eardrums literally burst. He tried getting back up, but found it nearly impossible to do so. His legs were too weak. He looked around and spotted a walking stick right next to him. That...was definitely not there before. Jesse hesitantly reached out to grab the stick, but it suddenly transformed into a hissing snake, which quickly sunk its fangs into Jesse's hand and slithered away.

The venom quickly coursed through Jesse's veins, going through his arm and into his heart and lungs. He immediately began coughing up blood, his heart pumping rapidly in order to remove the venom from his system. His lungs began closing in on themselves, making it very hard for him to breathe properly, and he began to convulse on the floor, feeling jolts of fiery pain flowing through every inch of his body. Eventually, the effects of the venom wore off and Jesse was left laying there, too exhausted to make a single movement. Herobrine has been gleefully torturing him for approximately ninety seven years, forcing him to experience more pain and agony than any man, woman, and child had ever gone through. But he never killed him.

A lesser man would've given up all hope a long time ago, and nobody would've blamed him in the slightest. But Jesse wasn't like most people. Even though he was so old and tired that he couldn't even stand up on his own anymore, even though he had been trapped in what was essentially a torture chamber for nearly one hundred years, even though he had blood coming out of his ears and had just gone through a severe overdose of venom, he persevered. He couldn't walk anymore, but he continued to move forward by crawling with his hands.

Jesse crawled like that for about five hundred yards before a gust of wind began blowing through the corridors of the maze. It started off small, then grew and grew until it was like there was a powerful hurricane inside the maze. Jesse dug his cracked and bloody nails into the stone floor and held on for dear life, his long white beard flapping around and smacking him in the face. "Play fair!," he hollered, his voice easily overpowered by the volume of the wind. After a few minutes, his fingers were finally ripped out of their sockets, and he was sent flying back like a rag doll, helpless in the face of such a powerful wind. Jesse was painfully and brutally smacked against the walls of the maze, cracking and breaking numerous bones in his frail body, while also leaving splatters of blood at the places where he landed. He was sent back about five hundred yards before the wind finally died down. In a matter of just a few seconds, he was now back to where he had started, his entire progress erased. Every single bone in his body has been reduced to white powder. There was nothing left of him but a disgusting hump of skin and organs. By all accounts, he should already be dead by now...so why wasn't he?

In the blink of an eye, Jesse was completely back to normal. There was no build up, no early signs of what was to come. One second, he had been reduced to an empty husk of skin, and the next second, he was completely healed up, albeit still very old and frail. He was also able to stand up and walk again, but he still had a very noticeable limp. Apparently, Herobrine was "kind" enough to heal Jesse back up, but still left him that limp as a small reminder that what had just happened wasn't in his head. Now that Jesse could walk again, what was there left to do for a man who has just had every single bone in his body ground into dust? Exactly what he had been doing for the past hundred years, of course. Keep moving forward.

After aimlessly walking through the maze for another five straight days, Jesse came across a single flame hovering over a puddle of water. He knew that it must have been created by Herobrine, because nothing about it was natural. After peering into the center of the flame for a while, Jesse could barely make out the visage of Herobrine's face staring right back at him. "How does it feel, boy?," the Ancient's voice hissed into his ear. "How does it feel to know that your friends are dead, to know that you will never escape this place, to know that you will never see the rest of your loved ones ever again? You will die here, alone and forgotten."

Jesse didn't respond. He was far too tired for that. Instead, he slowly lowered his eyes and stared at the ground. "What's the matter, boy?," Herobrine continued to mock him. "Have you finally given up?" "...no," Jesse replied. "As long as I have a little bit of life left in me, I will never give up. You'll just have to kill me." Herobrine's face stared at him for a moment, and the bright flame surrounding him seemed to flicker in irritation. "Then you are nothing more than a fool," he growled. Then, the fire grew and engulfed Jesse completely, covering every inch of his skin with third degree burns. Then, the flame vanished into thin air. But even after that, Jesse did not die, nor did he give up. Instead, he pushed through the pain and kept moving forward. Herobrine glared down at him from above, feeling more than a hint of irritation at Jesse's will and determination. Yet at the same time, he couldn't help but be impressed. It was very unlikely that he would ever come across another mortal with the same drive and tenacity.

But as much as Herobrine wanted to keep Jesse in the maze and torture him some more, he knew that he had to let him go. Not out of any actual benevolence, but that letting him go at some point was going to play a crucial part in breaking Alex. So using his powers, he created a portal in the wall right in front of Jesse that led directly outside. Sunlight - real, actual sunlight - poured in through the portal, nearly blinding Jesse, who hadn't seen any natural light in ninety seven years. After the old man regained his vision, he stopped and stared at the portal for a few minutes, not sure what to do. "What are you waiting for, child?," Herobrine growled. "I'm finally giving you a way out. Why won't you take it?" The reason why Jesse still hasn't run through the portal and kissed the ground outside was because he wasn't sure that what he was seeing was real or not. He had been wandering around in the maze for so long that he could no longer distinguish illusions from reality. He slowly reached his hand towards the portal and touched it, feeling the strange sensation on his fingertips that you would normally feel on your entire body when going through a nether portal. Finally convinced that this was the real deal, a huge grin split Jesse's face, revealing yellow rotting teeth, most of which had already fallen out by now. He ran through the portal and ended up back in the Far Lands, quickly losing his footing and falling to the ground. The portal closed behind him. Jesse began kissing the ground with tears of joy flowing down his cheeks, and he didn't care who saw him. At that moment, he was more happy than he had ever felt before. He was no longer trapped. He was finally free.

However, Jesse's immense joy quickly turned to sorrow when the harsh truth finally dawned on him. He had been trapped in that godforsaken maze for ninety...seven...years. That means Herobrine had already won. Everyone in the world was probably dead now. He was the only remaining human that Herobrine had decided to spare for some reason. How did they all die? Was it quick and painless for them? Or did Herobrine drag out their deaths like he did to Petra and Lukas, making their last moments as miserable as possible? Jesse dearly hoped that it was the former. He couldn't stand the thought of his friends and family going through the same things that he did before their deaths. And what about Alex? Did she ever make it back? Or was she dead, just like all of the others…? Jesse buried his face in the sand and began to sob. What was the point of finally being free when you have already lost everything? What was the point of living when there was nobody else to share your life with? It was better if Jesse just died. And now that he was no longer inside that maze, Herobrine had no control over him anymore. He could finally rest in peace. Jesse laid his head on the ground and slowly closed his eyes. Before losing consciousness, however, he could've sworn that he saw three hazy figures walking towards him. One was large and muscular, one was about the same size as himself, and one was smaller and seemed to be walking on four legs. But it was most likely a trick of the light. Yeah, that was probably it. Jesse closed his eyes and calmly welcomed his death…

...but death never came for him. Instead, Jesse woke up and found himself in a warm bed with a roaring fire next to him. He appeared to be inside some kind of tent. Jesse narrowed his eyes in suspicion and nervously gripped the blanket that he was covered in. What was this? Another trick? A loud moo startled him, causing him to turn towards the source of the noise. It was a red mooshroom sitting at his bedside, calmly observing him with his black eyes. There appeared to be a prominent scar on the mooshroom's neck, which was mostly healed up more or less. For some reason, the mooshroom's appearance stirred a hidden memory in his head, but he couldn't remember where he'd seen it before. "You're finally awake, huh?," said a loud and gruff voice. Jesse looked up and saw a large man with red skin walking into the tent. He had a black beard, horns on his head, and was built like a tank. "I hope Geoff didn't wake you up," he said, sitting down next to Jesse. "Here. Eat this. You gotta get some more meat on those bones. You look like a damn skeleton." Jesse's eyes widened when he saw the steaming bowl of mushroom soup being handed to him. Even though back in the maze, Herobrine made it so that Jesse could never starve to death, he still felt every ounce of pain that came with hunger and malnutrition. So he grabbed the bowl and began gulping the soup down. That turned out to be a mistake, however, when Jesse suddenly puked the whole thing out, staining the floor with his vomit. "Slow," the large man said firmly. "You gotta eat it slow, or it'll all come back up. Here, have another bowl." Jesse gratefully took the second bowl and slowly drank the soup.

"What were you doing in the Far Lands anyway, old man?," the man asked. "It's a pretty far place. Not exactly where people go for retirement, if you know what I mean." Jesse didn't answer until his bowl was completely empty. After finishing the stew, he gave the large man a suspicious look. "Before I answer anything, I need to know who you are," he said. The large man raised his unibrow. "Huh. Awfully suspicious, aren't you?," he said. "Well, I guess it's only fair. Name's Oxblood. And this here is my pet mooshroom, Geoff." He patted the mooshroom on the head, who mooed happily. Jesse could only stare at the strange pair. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like he heard those names before. "Have we...met before?," he asked. Oxblood shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so," he said. "Pretty sure I'd recognize someone as old as you. Anyway, what's your name?" "Jesse," said Jesse. Oxblood stared at him for a while, then slowly shook his head. "Coincidence. Gotta be," he murmured. "Sorry, it's just...I know someone with that name. About a while ago, he was a new inmate in this prison that I used to stay in. He and his friends ended up staging a breakout. Craziest bunch of people I've ever met."

At that moment, Jesse's mind was invaded by a torrent of memories. He had been stuck in the maze for so long that he had almost forgotten most of his life, including the time when he and his friends were sent to the Sunshine Institute by Romeo. Now, he remembered where he heard those names before. "I DO know you!," I cried, catching Oxblood off guard. "We've met before! It's me, Jesse!" Oxblood nodded tentatively. "Yeah, that's your name," he said. "You've already told me that." "No, you don't get it," said Jesse. "I'm the guy who staged that prison breakout with my friends! Don't you recognize me?" Oxblood snorted. "Listen, old man, you're not fooling me so easily," he said. "I'm not stupid. That guy you were talking about was probably in his twenties or something. And you're, what, eighty or ninety years old?" "But it's true," Jesse sighed. "How can I convince you that it's me?" Oxblood thought for a moment. "Alright, how about this?," he asked. "Tell me one thing that only the other Jesse would know." Jesse had to think pretty hard on that, since he had been in that maze for so long, and as a result, it took him a while to sift through his recently gathered memories. "I...I was sent to the Sunshine Institute… by Romeo," he said slowly. "I came there with Alex. She...saved Geoff's life after...um...after Horace tried to kill him with a pair of shears. But then you...found out that Xara was an Admin, just like Romeo...so you left. We never saw you again after that…" Oxblood blinked his surprise, his unibrow raised up in surprise. "How the hell do you know all of that?," he asked. "Unless you're really…?" Jesse nodded eagerly. "Yes, it's me," he said excitedly. "I'm Jesse!"

"But...no, that ain't possible," said Oxblood, shaking his head. "It's just not. I mean, what the hell happened to you anyway? You look so...old now." Before Jesse could respond, another man suddenly walked into the tent. This man was much smaller than Oxblood, about the same size as Jesse himself, and to top it all off, he was a very strange looking man. He was wrapped from head to toe in white bandages, making him look more like a mummy than a human. Even his hands were covered in the white wrappings. The only parts of his body that weren't covered by bandages were his eyes. Unlike with Oxblood and Geoff, Jesse didn't recognize him at all. "Ah, you're awake now," said the newcomer. "Oxblood, why didn't you get me sooner?" "Horace, you ain't gonna believe this," said Oxblood. "But this old guy claims that he's Jesse! You know, the same guy who staged a breakout at the Sunshine Institute?" Wait...that's Horace?!, Jesse thought, staring at the bandaged man with wide eyes. But I thought he was dead! Didn't Patrick kill him and skin him alive or something? Horace stared at Jesse with wide eyes. "Is that true?," he asked. "You're really Jesse?" Jesse slowly nodded, still in disbelief that the wrapped up man standing right in front of him was actually Horace. "...And you believe what he's saying?," asked Horace, turning to face Oxblood, who shrugged with uncertainty. "I mean...I guess?," the larger man said. "He knew everything that happened in the institute. I don't really see any other reason as to how he would have known all of that stuff." "Wait a minute," said Jesse, holding out his hands. "Let's all just stop for a moment. It seems that we all have some questions that only the other can answer. So how about we take turns asking?" Horace and Oxblood nodded.

"Alright, I'll start first," said Jesse, clearing his throat. "How are you two still alive? I thought that Herobrine killed everyone. And what happened to Horace?" Oxblood and Horace glanced at each other in confusion. "We have no idea how to answer that first question," said Oxblood. "I mean, why WOULDN'T we still be alive? Plus, we have no idea who this 'Herobrine' person is. As for the second question…" He gave Horace an uncomfortable glance. "I'm not sure if one of us would want to revisit that memory…" "No, no. It's fine," said Horace. "Jesse deserves to know." He sighed. "Well, I guess it all started back when you and your friends embarrassed me in front of all of the guards and inmates in the institute." He waved his hand disarmingly when he saw Jesse wince. "And don't worry, I don't hold that against you. I probably deserved that, and more. Anyway, the warden demoted me from the chief associate to a regular associate. As you can imagine, I was pretty pissed about that. All I could think about was getting my revenge on you and Alex. Then, I came across Patrick." At that moment, the atmosphere was filled with thick tension. Even though Patrick had been dead for a while, he was still a sore spot for many people, including Horace and Oxblood. "He goaded me into his cell, and like the idiot that I was, I fell for it. He ripped the skin off of my body and wore it as a disguise, then left me to die. But I was somehow able to drag myself all the way to the Burrows."

"After that, I couldn't go on any farther," Horace continued emotionlessly. "My energy was expended and I was about to bleed to death. I remember hearing the mobs in the distance and hoping that they were going to give me a quick and painless death." For some reason, while Horace was recounting the memory of when he almost died, it was Oxblood who seemed the most affected by hearing it again. He was clearly trying to act like he wasn't bothered, but it was also clear that the story was making him more uncomfortable than he liked to admit. "So...how did you survive?," asked Jesse. Horace smiled, or at least, it seemed like he was smiling. Jesse could only tell by how Horace's eyes seemed to crinkle upwards. "This big ol' lug came by, of course," said Horace, playfully bumping Oxblood's shoulder. "If it wasn't for him, I'd be rotting away somewhere in the Burrows right now." "I couldn't just let him die like that," said Oxblood. "Sure, he was a major asshole back in the Sunshine Institute, but...well, I guess a part of me felt pity for him and another part of me didn't want to stoop down to his level." "Yep, it's true," said Horace, shrugging his shoulders. "He could've left me to die if he wanted to. I wouldn't exactly blame him. Instead, he picked me up and carried me over his shoulder while carrying Geoff under his other arm, then ran. We managed to escape the Burrows not long after."

"I eventually found a cave for us to rest in," said Oxblood. "After that, I had to wrap up Horace real good before he bled to death. Fortunately, I was able to snag a big roll of bandages from Brick's stash before I left. I had to wrap the bandages around him from head to toe until he looked like a mummy. I also had to change them every couple of hours because the blood was soaking through them so quickly." Horace nodded grimly. "I woke up after about a whole day," he said. "I wasn't really sure what to make of my situation at first. But then, everything just dawned on me. It was like…" He started punching his fists together. "...like I got hit by a train or something. I finally realized what had happened to me and...I couldn't take it. I broke down and sobbed like a little baby." Oxblood reached over and rubbed Horace's back comfortingly while Jesse slowly nodded, his heart going out to the man that he had once despised so much. "I don't blame you," he said. "I mean, having someone like Patrick do that to you...it must be a pretty traumatic experience." "It was," said Horace, nodding sadly. Oxblood sighed heavily. "I'll admit, I wanted nothing more than to throw you out the first chance I get," he said. "But seeing you like that...it gave me all kinds of weird feelings inside." Horace chuckled. "You felt bad," he said lightheartedly. "Come on, you can say it. There's no shame in admitting that." Oxblood grinned and held up a large fist. "Wanna repeat that?," he asked in a joking manner.

Jesse could only stare at what was happening in front of him. Honestly, he was still finding it a little hard to believe. Didn't those two hate each other before? How did they become such good friends just like that? Actually, now that Jesse thought about it, the display in front of him seemed to hint at more than just friendship. "So what happened next?," he asked, curious as to how their friendship blossomed. Horace casually shrugged. "Well, I stayed by his side ever since," he said. "Over time, we started off as awkward acquaintances, then casual friends, and finally...lovers." Jesse blinked in surprise. "Sorry, I must've heard wrong," he said. "Did you just say that you and Oxblood became...lovers?" "Yeah. Got a problem with that?," asked Oxblood, narrowing his eyes dangerously. Jesse quickly raised his hands in surrender. "No, not at all!," he said frantically. "Believe me, I have NO issues with gay couples. It's just...a little bizarre for me, you know? I mean, you two used to loathe each other…" "Eh, you'd be amazed by how much people can change given just a little bit of time," said Horace. "And back then, my head was so far up my ass that it was a wonder that I couldn't see through my own teeth yet. I was too busy being drunk with power and sucking up to the warden." "But you changed," said Oxblood, slowly wrapping his arm around Horace's shoulders. "And for the better too. I think you look pretty sexy as a mummy." "Oh, really~," said Horace, a hint of lust seeping into his voice. "You like what you see, bad boy?" "You know I do," purred Oxblood, reaching down and squeezing Horace's ass. Jesse quickly looked away, his face burning red. Geoff, who was used to this whole thing, let out a tired whine and laid down on the floor, covering his ears with his front hooves.

"I'm gonna be honest, I'm feeling a little turned on right now," said Oxblood. "What do you say we make out under the stars later tonight?" Horace smirked. "Let me guess. You're gonna be the one on top?," he asked. "You know it," said Oxblood. "Get ready, 'cause tonight, I'm gonna make you scream for your daddy." "You can always be my daddy," whispered Horace, licking his lips. "Or better yet...my master." Oh god, I have to do something before they start making out in this tent!, Jesse thought frantically. "M-maybe we should get back to the topic at hand?," he asked nervously. Geoff sighed in relief - can a mooshroom even do that? - and started relaxing again. Horace sighed dramatically. "Leave it to the old guy to ruin the moment," he said. "And just when we were about to discuss having kids." Jesse blinked again. "I'm sorry, kids?," he asked incredulously. "But...you're both men." "Yeah. And?," said Horace. "And it takes two people of the opposite sex to procreate," said Jesse. "...and?," asked Oxblood, crossing his arms. "...so how do the two of you expect to have children?!," Jesse cried, waving his arms around madly. A hint of hysteria seeped into his voice. "How does that even work?!"

"Jesse, Jesse, Jesse," Horace tsked, patting Jesse on the shoulder. "It just works." At that moment, Jesse chose not to dwell on the subject any further lest he go mad, something that even the horrors of the maze failed to do. "So now that we answered all of YOUR questions," said Horace, "it's time for you to answer OUR questions." "Alright, go ahead," said Jesse, glad that they were now back on track. "And boy do we have a lot of 'em," said Oxblood. "Like...what the hell happened to you? The last time we met, you didn't look a day over twenty five, and now you're, what...a hundred years old or something?" "A hundred and twenty two," Jesse corrected in a monotone voice. "I kept count." Oxblood blinked in bewilderment. "Uh, right," he said. "And that brings me to my next question. How the hell are you a hundred and...whatever...when it's only been a few months since we've last seen each other? Why did you immediately assume that me and Horace were supposed to be dead? And who's Herobrine?" Jesse sighed heavily, feeling a headache coming on. "That's...a long story," he said. "Well, we're not exactly going anywhere," said Horace. "We've got plenty of time." "You wouldn't exactly say that if you knew what was going on," said Jesse, then proceeded to launch into a long and detailed exposition as to what had been happening in the past few days. He talked about Herobrine, about Alex being banished somewhere, and of course, he mentioned the current state of the moon.

"Now THAT we already know about," said Horace upon hearing Jesse mention the moon. "There was this dark, twisted shadow that began slowly covering it a few days ago. I had no idea that this Herobrine guy was the cause behind it all." Then, Jesse continued on with his story, talking about how he and his friends split up to find the missing treasures that Herobrine had scattered all over the world. One of them, the ender pearl that Thomas dropped after he died, happened to be in the Far Lands, which explained why Jesse was there. Upon arriving at the part about the maze, he began shivering and stuttering like a scared little child. It was an experience that had been branded into his memory until the day he died, which given his very old age, likely wasn't that far away. "I-it was just terrible," he whispered. "It was so dark. And claustrophobic. I had to watch my friends go insane right in front of me. I don't know how I was able to get out of that maze without dying or losing my mind myself…" Finally, he explained how a portal suddenly opened up, leading him out of the maze, where he was found by Horace and Oxblood. After he finished his story, the two of them were staring at him in shock and horror. "Wow...that's quite a story you've just told us," said Horace. "There's one thing that I don't get though," said Oxblood, scratching his head. "How could you have been stuck in the maze for nearly a hundred years? I thought you and your friends got to the Far Lands just a few days ago." "Well, Herobrine does sound like a pretty powerful individual," said Horace. "Maybe he can distort time or something? That's about the only thing that makes sense." Jesse nodded. He had to agree. If Herobrine was even more powerful than Romeo and the Admins, who already had the powers of a near omnipotent god, then what were the Ancients capable of?

"Wait…," said Jesse, his eyes growing wide. "...if it's actually only been a few days since I was gone...then I'm not too late! The world can still be saved!" He tried to get up, but groaned in pain and quickly laid back down upon feeling his fragile bones and muscles pushed to their limit. "Hey, don't get up just yet," said Oxblood. "Don't forget, you're a bajillion years old now. You're older than any other person in the world right now. I don't think you can even stand up and walk, let alone take on a bloodthirsty deity who plans on eradicating humanity." "And weren't you supposed to find that missing treasure and bring it back to Herobrine?," Horace reminded Jesse. "If you come back to Beacontown empty handed, Herobrine will see that you've lost the game and kill everyone prematurely." And just like that, the fire in Jesse's eyes was gone and he was back to being a depressed old man. "Of course," he muttered. "There's no more hope, is there? We're all gonna die…" "Hey, I wouldn't exactly go that far," said Horace. "There's got to be some other way around this. ...Granted, I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I'm sure there is one." Jesse just ignored him and rolled over in his bed, facing the wall of the tent. "Hey, Horace," said Oxblood, a strange expression on his face. "I'm gonna go outside and...think on some things. You stay here and keep Jesse company, alright?" Horace stared at Oxblood, wondering what was going on in that man's head. Even after they officially became a couple, Oxblood still preferred to keep things to himself. Fortunately, their relationship wasn't built on distrust. "Alright," said Horace, nodding. "Stay safe out there." Oxblood smirked. "Same to you," he said, then gave Horace a playful slap on the bottom before leaving the tent.

Geoff mooed worriedly upon seeing his master leaving. Horace rubbed the mooshroom's head comfortingly. A few months ago, he couldn't have even imagined being friendly with what he once considered to be nothing more than a filthy barn animal, but now, he found Geoff to be beyond precious. Then, he turned to face Jesse, whose back was now facing him. "Something's eating at you, and it's not about the maze anymore," he said. "Do you mind sharing it with me? You might feel a lot better after getting some stuff off your chest." Jesse sighed heavily. "What's the point?," he murmured. "There's no hope for anyone. Herobrine already won. I couldn't get the treasure back. And right now, I'm so old and weak that I can't even get up from this bed without feeling like my body is on fire. So what's the point?" "Hey, now you listen here," Horace said sternly. "That's loser talk. You don't want to be seen as a loser, do you?" Jesse snorted and rolled his eyes. "Reverse psychology isn't going to work on me, Horace," he retorted irritatedly. Horace frowned. "What makes you think that I'm using ANY kind of psychology on you?," he retorted back. "If I had given up like you are right now, would I even be alive right now? Or would I still be lost in the Burrows, having my bloody remains being eaten by mobs?"

Jesse's shoulders noticeably stiffened, but he still remained silent, so Horace decided to continue. "You're so much stronger than me, Jesse. If I could get back up from something like that, then you can get out of whatever funk you're in right now. And you can start by telling me what's wrong. Keeping it inside won't do you any good. Besides, you already said that there's no point. So what's the harm in telling me?" Jesse sighed again and finally relented. "It's...about my friends," he said slowly. "I...couldn't save them." "Aw, don't sell yourself short," said Horace. "You still did your best. So you weren't able to keep, uh...Peter and Lucky alive. Well, guess what? That's life. You can't expect yourself to succeed in doing every little thing. Nobody in the world can meet standards that high, no matter how much they want to. All that matters is that you tried your best." "It's not just about them!," yelled Jesse, sitting up in the bed with a sudden burst of energy. That newfound energy quickly left him, however, causing him to fall back onto the bed. "It's about...everyone. My friends, my family...everyone in the world. I failed them all…"

Horace sat back and waited for Jesse to continue, which he did. "I wasn't there for them. I was trapped in some stupid maze the whole time. Sure, it's only been a few days in the outside world, but what if time HADN'T been distorted? What if ninety seven years really HAVE passed while I was in there? Not only would I have failed everyone, but I'd also outlive them all. Thank god that isn't the case, though. I...I'm not sure I would've been able to handle that." He clutched his head furiously, gripping it so hard that his fingers turned white. "Stop that!," Horace snapped, prying Jesse's fingers off. "You'll hurt yourself." "...I've never felt so powerless before," Jesse continued sadly. "Everyone's looking to me for answers...for hope...and all I can do is pull stuff out of my ass. I can never deliver on what I promised! And now, the whole world's doomed… because I can't do anything right…" "...it's easy to blame yourself when you have that kind of responsibility on your shoulders," said Horace. "Jesse, I'm gonna tell you something that's very important, so you'd better listen carefully. NOBODY has all the answers. All these people who look up to you, who depend on you to save their lives...they're asking too much of you. I know that's harsh, but it's the truth. You're just as human as the rest of them. The problem is that you're put so high up on a pedestal that people forget that you're fallible, that you can make mistakes. But listen, that's what being a hero is all about: doing your best to help people even when you don't have all the answers. At least, I THINK that's what being a hero's about. I mean, I've never tried being one, so I wouldn't know." "Well, maybe I'm sick and tired of being a hero!," Jesse yelled angrily. "Maybe I'm tired of watching the people I love die all around me and not be able to save them! What's the point in being a hero if I can't save everyone?!"

For a while, the tent was filled with complete silence. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Jesse grumbled, believing that the silence meant that Horace didn't have an answer. However, that turned out not to be the case. "...nobody said that being a hero was going to be easy," said Horace, causing Jesse to turn to him in surprise. "Oh, I'm sure that's what most people think before becoming heroes," Horace continued. "That it's going to be easy. Their minds are filled with nothing but delusions of adventure, fame, and glory. It's only when they become actual heroes that they realize how much being a hero actually SUCKS. You got the whole world depending on you, watching your every move. You got the burden of saving lives crushing you every day, every hour, every second. But worst of all, people who become heroes realize the awful truth: that they are NOT infallible. No matter how hard they try, there will be times when they will FAIL, over and over and over again. And after they learn from their mistakes, they will face the world with newfound confidence, believing that they now have all the answers, only for some new problem to ram them in the gut and send them back to square one. And it's all just a vicious, never ending cycle. Mark my words, there will NEVER be a time when a hero is fully prepared for what comes next. They will always be having doubts, always second guessing themselves, because they're just HUMAN." Jesse stared at Horace in shock and wonder. "I'm right, aren't I?," Horace asked. "Um...yeah," said Jesse. "You just described exactly what I was going through since becoming a hero. How...how did you even know all of that?"

"Oh, I didn't," said Horace, shrugging his shoulders. "I was just pulling stuff out my ass. Same as you, Jesse." Jesse blinked in confusion. Then, the realization slowly dawned on him as a smile grew on his face. "I see what you did there," he said, nodding in understanding while Horace chuckled and did finger guns. "So I think I'm finally starting to know what you're going through right now," the former chief associate said. "You feel terrible because, no matter how hard you tried, you were still unable to save everyone. That's pretty much the gist of it, right?" Jesse nodded. "Well," Horace continued, "there's no way to fix that problem - not permanently, anyway - but there is a way to tolerate it. You wanna know how?" Jesse nodded again, eager to hear what Horace had to say. "...take comfort in the fact that you did your best," was Horace's solution. "As long as you were able to put in one hundred and ten percent of your effort, then you've got no reason to blame yourself. That may not be the answer you're looking for, but it's the only answer I have, so deal with it. Tell me this, Jesse. If your dream was to grow giant bird wings and fly to the moon, would you blame yourself if you couldn't do that?" What kind of weird question is that?, Jesse thought. "No, of course I wouldn't blame myself," he said. "Because that would be totally outlandish and impossible." "Exactly," said Horace, nodding his head. "So how is THIS any different? If you really tried as hard as you could to save all of your friends and still ended up failing, then what's the point in beating yourself up over it? What's the point in berating yourself for failing to achieve something that was clearly out of your reach?"

Jesse didn't respond, but he was deep in contemplation. What Horace had told him was a truth that most people don't want to hear, but needed to hear. He was basically saying that everyone in the world, even heroes, are going to make mistakes no matter what, but that true strength does not lie in successfully achieving your goals. Rather, true strength lies in how you deal with the aftermath and consequences of inevitably failing to reach said goals. It was a simple but effective answer, and one that made plenty of sense. But still, Jesse wasn't quite convinced by it. "I don't know," he sighed. "I get what you're saying, but I still can't help but feel useless." "Which is understandable," said Horace. "For most people, reason and emotion rarely mix well with each other. You could be thinking about one thing and feeling something entirely different." "You got that right," Jesse chuckled bitterly. "But I'm going to take one part of your advice to heart." "And what's that?," asked Horace. Jesse looked up at him, his eyes filled with fiery determination. "I'm going to try my damn best to help my friends," he said. "Even if it means getting up from this bed and walking all the way to Beacontown on my own. I may be old and weak now, but I can still be there for them." Horace stared at Jesse for a while, his expression unreadable. Then, he placed a bandaged hand on his shoulder. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear from you, Jesse," he said. "But don't think you'll be walking there. Me and Oxblood have some horses that we stole- er, BORROWED from a livestock vendor. We'll let you borrow one of them. And we'll make sure to supply you with plenty of food as well. I'd also give you some weapons, but given how old you are, I'm not sure how skilled you'd be with a sword."

"Hey, don't let my age fool you," said Jesse. "I've still got some strength left in these old bones. And I'll prove it...after I manage to get out of this bed…" "You sure you don't want to rest first?," asked Horace. Jesse shook his head. "I've already wasted enough time," he said. Then, he attempted to pull himself out of the bed, but every time he sat upright, a jolt of pain forced him to lay back down. "Here, let me help you up," said Horace, grabbing Jesse by the armpits and pulling him up. After a while, Jesse managed to remain standing on his feet, even though his knees were shaking rapidly. Horace slowly guided him through the tent, with Geoff curiously watching them. He led him outside, where there were three horses standing just outside of the tent, their muzzles tied to a wooden pole. Further away was Oxblood, who was walking around in circles while deep in thought. Horace gently heaved Jesse onto one of the horses and began putting a few bags of bread and meat in the horse's saddlebags. "That should be more than enough to last for the entire journey," said Horace, looking up at Jesse. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Jesse shook his head. "Nope. Not at all," he said. Horace chuckled and cut the horse's leash. The horse began galloping in the direction of Beacontown, just slow enough for Jesse to ride comfortably. Horace watched them go. "Good luck," he murmured.

Then, he began walking towards Oxblood, who was still pacing around aimlessly. The larger man stopped in his tracks and stared at Horace. "Oh, hey," he said. "Where's Jesse?" "I sent him on his way," said Horace. "He has some people in Beacontown to protect." Oxblood nodded slowly. "Yeah...that's probably for the best. The sooner, the better." For some reason, he still seemed distracted by whatever was going on in his head, and Horace instantly took notice of that. "Alright, Oxblood, what's really going on here?," he sighed. "Huh?," asked Oxblood, trying to act as clueless as possible. "I don't know what you're talking about." Horace sighed again. "Look, I know how much you like your privacy," he said, "but in case you don't know, the world's...kinda in big trouble right now. Whatever you're thinking of, I'm sure that it'll be useful in some way. Plus…" He placed his hand on Oxblood's shoulder and narrowed his eyes. "...are you really going to hide secrets from your own lover?" Oxblood couldn't help but feel shivers running down his spine upon seeing that look in Horace's eyes. Back in the Sunshine Institute, Horace never would've confronted Oxblood in such a bold manner, not in a million years. He really has changed a lot since those times. "Something that Jesse said just struck a chord in me," Oxblood confessed. "But...ah, you'd think it's stupid." Horace's eyes softened and he gently moved Oxblood's face towards his own. "I would never think that," he said softly. "Look, if there's something that you need to get off your chest, now's definitely the time to do it."

Oxblood sighed. "Alright, but don't tell me I didn't warn ya," he said. "When Jesse told us about Herobrine, it reminded me of this old story that my grandmother used to tell me as a small child." Horace blinked in surprise. "I didn't know that you had a grandmother," he said. Oxblood shrugged. "Well, I don't exactly tell every person I come across my personal childhood," he said gruffly. "Anyway, when my grandmother herself was just a wee little girl, she used to hear about these strange stories all the time, only back in her hometown, those stories were considered to be real life historical accounts. I immediately remembered one of those stories when Jesse mentioned Herobrine." Oxblood proceeded to sit down and stare at the sunset. "It was a story as old as time, or at least, that's how my grandmother put it," he continued. "It was about these three close friends who lived up in the heavens. They had all the power and authority in the world, and as a result, every being in both the mortal realm and the heavens worshipped them as gods. But according to the story, the youngest of the friends grew tired of his status as an all-powerful deity, and with permission from the others, he was able to disguise himself as a mortal man and come down to the earth from the heavens, living life as one of the mortals. He was responsible for bringing the human race out of the dark ages and helping them create their own civilizations, separating themselves from the mobs and animals. I don't remember how that story ended, though. It's all a blur to me." Horace slowly nodded. "That's pretty interesting," he said. "But what exactly does any part of that story have to do with Herobrine?"

"Well, in the story, the second oldest of the three was named Brine," Oxblood explained. "And one of his most famous features was his white, glowing eyes." "Could that just be a crazy coincidence?," asked Horace. Oxblood sighed and stared at the sun as it slowly vanished under the horizon. The moon came back up, already having three quarters of its entire surface being covered by the shadow. "Maybe…," said Oxblood, slowly nodding his head. "Maybe…"