Author's note:

Hello. New chapter is ready! Remember I said that you shouldn't expect a new chapter every day? Well, for a large part you could expect a new chapter every day in the vacation. But don't get cocky when I haven't added a new chapter yet!

Anyways... Let the reading commence (once more).

Chapter 4: Help from unexpected Source

Perspective: Andrea

I didn't feel right about this.

I was dragging them into this. I tried to help my friend, but I instead brought these strangers into danger. They don't know what the Ender Dragon can do when she's threatened. I hope they keep save, especially Archer.

I didn't know why, but it seemed like he mattered more to me. Sure, Tyler was strange, acting so different every time. And I didn't like it when he yelled. Sky, the mystery girl who hasn't shown her real face yet, was even more strange.

But Archer, he was different. I trust him. He helped me be more comfortable, even when I thought back to...

'No, stop thinking about that!' I shook my head, looking up at Archer, who was busy with the others. He seemed a bit off though, like he wasn't focused. We shared a glance, and that's when I saw it. The fear, the uncertainty. Even he was worried!

I stood up, having enough with the pencils. I walked to the kitchen and opened what I could only assume was were they kept their food. I was met with a cold wind hitting my skin, making me gasp and a chill to roll down my spine. I noticed a few drops on my skin, but instead of overreacting like I would normally do, I ignored them, aware that they don't hurt me here. In fact, they felt nice. I took a glance into the closet, which was filled with all kinds of strange foods and bits of ice on the side. They cooled their food?

I suddenly felt something brush against my skin and looked to the side, Archer now next to me. I swear, sometimes he seemed more like a Creeper then a Human! I followed his gaze, that went back to the strange closet.

"It's called a fridge." He said, answering my unspoken question. I nodded in understanding before my stomach growled. I blushed, something I've been doing a lot for the last few days. "Hungry?" He asked.

"Yes." I simply responded, rubbing my belly a bit. I was starving. Breakfast was already delicious. I couldn't wait to taste more!

Archer grabbed some stuff from the 'fridge' before closing it. He put it on the counter and started working, or well 'cooking' like they called it. I just stared at the way he seemed to change all those ingredients into something else, before using some of the things that were arranged inside the kitchen. He explained some of them, like the 'stove', the 'blender' and some more of the cutlery. I took it all in, learning more about this world called 'Earth'.

After an hour he was done, putting a steaming plate filled with tasteful, delicious, incredibly smelling food down in front of me. I had to refrain myself from digging in and using my hands, aware of at least the basics of manners. I didn't know why, but Archer reminded me to stay at least Human for the most part, instead of letting my mob-side take the gear. I started eating, Archer soon following and Tyler soon as well, noting that he also was hungry.

"This is incredible! You really are a great cook!" Tyler compliment before taking a big bite from his food. I could only nod in agreement, to busy with satisfying me wants. I took a sip from my glass, not scared anymore at the fact it was filled with water. I always was taught that water was bad, but now it turns out I'm more Human then I thought. Archer smiled at our compliments, rubbing his neck before going to his own food. 'He really didn't like being the centre of attention, huh?' I was the first to finish my plate, my stomach full and my hunger gone. I smiled, satisfied, before standing up from my chair and taking a bit more of a look at Archer's house. He had tried to explain as much as possible, but I couldn't always understand everything, like that 'TV' like he called it. Can it really show images from the past? I couldn't believe it, but instead chose to ignore it. I wandered to a window, looking around. His house was surrounded by trees, only the back more open with a beautiful yard and a line of bushes filled with flowers like I've never seen before. The trees grew very tall, taller then I was used. Sure, when exploring I did come across some trees in the Overworld, but they were so small. Really small compared to some of the trees I saw here.

My eyes fell on an old shed in the back, covered under vines. It seemed old and unused, but a clear path was made between the house and the shed. I wanted to go outside and explore more, but Archer had explained that the people here would find it very strange to see someone like me suddenly pop up. I felt an urge to just teleport to the shed, but didn't. I felt like doing that would make Archer sad, worried or even angry, and I didn't seem to feel well when those thoughts crossed my mind. I shook my head and tried to find something else to do. My eyes fell on the many things Tyler had brought with him. They were all strange and were doing even stranger things, and one even seemed to spark a bit. I placed my hand on a 'wire' to see what was so special about them. A second later, when my hand moved to one of those things Tyler had brought, I felled a sting in my arm and a pain hit my chest before falling down, a scream escaping me, darkness taking place in my mind.

Perspective: Archer

I jumped up from my seat at the sudden scream of Andrea. I saw her fall down next to the side of the table where Tyler had left all his stuff. I ran to her and landed on the ground on my knees, my hands reaching to the now unconscious Endergirl. I looked at the table and saw where her hand had landed: Near a device that was sparking. 'Electricity. She got electrocuted!'

I didn't wait an instant and moved Andrea on her back, her chest now clear. I saw a slight burn on her hand, but remembered how fast that healed and focused on the more important matter: Andrea's heart.

I could feel that she was breathing, but her heart had stopped. I put my hands on her chest and focused, remembering the first-aid lessons I followed on school. I started pumping on her chest, trying to get her heart going again.

1,2,3, pause.

1,2,3, pause.

1,2,...

Andrea yelped, her head going up, hitting mine. We groaned as the sudden impact of our foreheads subsided. I sighed, my heart starting to beat normal again, my breathing slowing down. I still felt some of the adrenaline rushing, but already noticed it going away. I examined Andrea carefully, looking for anything else. Deeming her fine, besides the small burn on her hand, I offered her my hand. She accepted, although with a blush, and I helped her up.

"What happened?" Tyler asked, finally having noticed what was going on. I stared at him, trying my best not to start lashing out at my friend. Instead, I pointed at the device I could only assume had electrocuted Andrea. He saw the sparks that were flying of it and gasped, his hands covering his mouth.

"I...I almost killed her!" Tyler said, realizing what had happened. "I'm so sorry! Please forgive me."

"I-It's alright. Archer got just in time." Andrea said, an embarrassed smile on her face, still a bit out of breath from her near-death experience. I could only sigh, trying to vent my anger away.

"Tyler, first get all this... Stuff away before you set my house on fire or get you, me or Andrea killed!" I tried to say calmly, trying not to seem angry. Tyler nodded and, carefully, gathered all his gadgets and other gismo into his bag before heading out the door, to his house. I sighed, taking a last glance at Andrea. She saw that I was worried and she smiled, comforting my heart that she's alright.

"He didn't mean to, but still... Sometimes I wonder why he doesn't try and make those things a bit more safe!" I said, gesturing to where all those things were a moment ago. Andrea giggled, making me surprised. She noticed that I didn't understand and explained.

"It wasn't nice to be so close to... Ya know. But I understand that he didn't mean to. I'm just new to all this... Stuff, and I now know where to look out for: Electricity isn't something to play with! And besides, in Minecraft every day is a struggle to survive."

I sighed, happy to see that she was alright. She blushed a bit before looking at the window next to us. I saw her gaze going to the old shed.

'Oh boy.'

For a moment we just stood like that, no one speaking. But I knew she was to focused on the shed to let it go that easily. I only knew one thing to do.

"It belonged to my father." I started, the old memories pouring in like a flood. "He used to work there. He was a lumberjack."

"A lumberjack? Is that why you live in a forest?" Andrea asked, having realized how many trees there were around the place.

"Yep. My dad was a very good lumberjack, supplying anyone with the wood they needed. He was the best, until..." I sighed, placing my hand against the window, the memory regaining it's old spot in my head.

"One day, there was a storm. He was busy gathering the last of the wood he had collected from that day. He just finished putting the last log away when he called my mom and told her to get his dinner ready. I was playing in the house when we saw a flash and we heard a loud crack. I didn't know what happened. My mom tried to call dad, but he didn't respond. She ran to the forest, ignoring the storm. I... I didn't do anything. I was to scared." I sighed, reaching the hardest part. Andrea had closed in on me, but I didn't react, instead deciding to finish my story.

"Turned out the flash was from lightning hitting a tree nearby. The crack was the tree snapping in half and falling down. My dad... H-he... He was crushed under the tree. Dead from a broken spine." I sighed, the story finally finished. I stood there for a moment, motionless.

"T-that sounds terrible. I'm so sorry..." Andrea said, her compassion filling my heart. A tear ran down my cheek and cascaded down to the floor. I gazed at the Endergirl, noticing she also had a tear on her cheek. I brushed it away before my hand reached to her shoulder.

"The past is the past. It's done and we can't change it. We must learn to move on." I said, mimicking my father's words. He was always filled with these kind of things. 'Live Lessons' he called them. I only started realizing what they meant after he died.

Andrea smiled, her hand grabbing my empty one. We stood like that, looking into each others eyes. We broke apart when we heard the door open, meaning that Tyler was back. He gave us a questioning look, but shrugged and sat down in front of his computer, going back to helping Sky, who had gotten back on. I decided there wasn't much use in talking about what had just happened a few minutes ago and walked over to my computer.

I sat down, putting the mic a bit better. "Sky, how are the things going?"

"Well, everything is done. I've only got one thing left to tell you." She said, her voice sounding nervous. Since when did she get like this? I never heard her being nervous around us before.

"What is it?" I asked, genuinely curious at what Sky had to say.

"I kinda told my brother what happened?" Sky said, nervously laughing. My mouth fell open, my mind not processing what she just said. Did she just break her promise?

"Sky?! You do remember our promise, right?! We would NEVER tell anyone what was happening here!" I yelled, really not believing that our friend had broken a promise she made just yesterday.

"What has gotten into you?!" Tyler yelled, even more shocked then me.

"I'm sorry guys. I promised him I'd tell him if anything bad was going on. I thought he could help us."

"Wait, what?" I asked, suddenly not getting what was going on. 'What does she mean with that he could help us?'

Suddenly, a message appeared on the bottom-left corner of my screen, saying 'TheGravie12 has joined the server'.

"You didn't..." Tyler started, getting interrupted by laughter, surprising us. I heard something behind me and noticed Andrea gone, purple particles the only thing confirming that she was there a moment ago. I sighed and turned back to my screen, suddenly face to face with a new player.

"So these are the two you told me about?" An unknown voice said. I was surprised at the lack of age in the voice, sounding more like that of a 15-year old then that of a man. Suddenly I realized something.

"Sky, did you mean 'younger brother'?" I asked, walking away from the player, which I could only assume was who Sky was talking about.

"Yes." She simply said, her player turning to the new one.

"How much younger?" Tyler asked, reading my question of my face.

"Well, I'm 17, and there's two years between us, so he's 15." Sky said, doing quick math to figure things out. I was surprised how right I was, a bit surprised at the seriousness in the boy's voice though. He didn't act like a 15-year old.

"Guys, this is my younger brother, Rayleigh. Rayleigh, this are Tyler and Archer. My best friends." Sky said, gesturing (as good as possible) at the two of us respectively. The boy examined our players, as if he tried to see into our real eyes.

"They seem experienced. Have you ever been in The End?" He asked with a serious tone. Was he testing us or something?

"Uhm..." Tyler started, but failing.

"No." I said plain. I heard something move and looked into the living room, noticing Andrea had dared herself to get closer. Our eyes met, and I tried to appear calm. She smiled a bit and walked a bit closer, still not certain though.

"Then I don't see the point that you dare yourself to go inside and save someone you don't even know. Minecraft isn't that simple, ya know. Hybrids are not always like that Endergirl."

I stared at my screen and couldn't help but fail to understand what was going on. Does he know what Hybrids are? I realized that Tyler had gone quiet to, and looked at him. He was eyeing the screen with amazement, just as surprised as me. I turned to Andrea, who now had a look of curiosity on her face.

"You know what Hybrids are?" I finally dared to ask, still surprised.

"Yes. I once met one. A creeper-hybrid. She wasn't like the Endergirl though, if I heard everything about her right. She didn't hesitate a moment to try and fight me. I couldn't do anything to get her to different mind. I killed her, in the end." Rayleigh said, not a bit of remorse in his voice. I turned to Andrea, who had turned from curious to scared, not wanting to meet Rayleigh very soon. I gestured her to say something, but she shook her head. I nodded in understanding and turned back to the somewhat embarrassing conversation.

"What are Hybrids actually?" Tyler asked, not only asking it to the boy but also to Andrea, who turned her gaze to her feet.

"They are the result of failed experiments from the Minecraft-founders to combine Minecraft with reality. They send these failures to Minecraft to fend for themselves. Some survive and spread, others die trying to survive. But I never heard anything about an Ender Dragon Hybrid. If that friend your Endergirl speaks of is still alive, then she probably is with her 'mother' as you could call her. In short: Your mission is as good as suicide." He paused, a little laugh escaping him. Did he seriously find this funny? "Unless you have me. I've beaten the Ender Dragon of my survival worlds every time. I'll help beat the one in this world. On one term though."

"And that is?" I asked, wanting to know what kind of plan Rayleigh had in mind. 'What kind of deal is he going to propose?'

"Andrea, if that is even her real name, will have to go back to Minecraft. She doesn't belong in the real world." He said, a hint of amusement in his voice. I gasped at his term, my heart almost shattering into pieces. Andrea had to go back? How? Why?

"How do you even know those things?" Tyler asked, snapping out of his train of thoughts. I had to agree, curious if we could trust Rayleigh.

"Because..."

"Because our father was one of the founders." Sky finished, speaking after being quiet for a little while. My mouth fell open, my mind exploding. What?! Who? Is this a dream?

"What?!" Tyler yelled, something I couldn't even bring myself to do.

"Yes. He was. Until he discovered the truth behind the Hybrids. He stopped helping them, but had to promise he wouldn't tell anyone. He in the end told us before he died of cancer." Rayleigh explained, a bit hurt in his voice. I could hear something like a sniffle. I looked to Sky and could hear that she was trying hard to not cry. I felt myself calm down, realizing that they must have been just as surprised to hear this as we were now.

"Deal."

I turned to Andrea, who had a tear going down her cheek. I had to focus a bit before realizing what she had done. She had accepted Rayleigh's offer. I could feel my heart pained, something causing my stomach to turn around onto itself. Was I afraid of Andrea leaving?

"Good. I'll get myself ready. You have anything for me?" Rayleigh started, ignoring Tyler trying to get him to help us on other terms. I just sat there, frozen. Why did Andrea accept that? Did she really just want to go back? I snapped from my thoughts, feeling something on my shoulder. Tyler was holding my shoulder, shaking his head. I tried to come up with something, something else.

I failed.