Alright, here it is.
Midnight: We're only just starting episode three?
And getting about halfway through because I'm lazy.
Midnight: Fair enough.
Episode Three: The Last Place You Look
Previously on Every Action Matters…
It is said that within every loss, every challenge…
...and every failure…
...there is a gift.
When revered heroes are lost…
...we find new ones in our friends.
When faced with a mind-bending problem…
...we find a way to rise to the occasion.
And when our band of unlikely adventurers are tasked with saving the world from the coming storm…
...they will bring together the bravest and the brightest to stop it.
But finding the last and most elusive member of the Order of the Stone and his legendary Formidi-bomb…
...would prove their most perilous mission yet.
For some would rather our heroes' story end here…
...shutting the door on their adventure forever.
But, like all doors, when one closes, another is bound to open…
"No!"
"Stop him!
"Hurry!"
"You'll pay for this!"
Axel tripped and fell very, very slowly.
"Watch it!" Luckily, the effect wore off. "Get out of the way!"
Axel fell face first, barely missing Jesse.
"Everyone okay?" Jesse asked.
"I don't think Axel is." I answered. Axel groaned, not responding to me.
"I felt all of that…"
"That was one heck of a landing, Axel." Olivia said.
"He mostly used his face." Lukas pointed out.
While the others were talking about how the door closed and how to get it open, Jesse walked over to Petra to ask if she was okay. I simply sat down on the floor, propping myself up against the wall. Just like so long ago, I blinked before noticing the world had changed.
There were five of us.
One is dead. One is imprisoned. One is missing. One is alive, somewhere.
And then there's me.
To the other three, I'm missing too. I escaped above the bedrock, but barely. And the New World was different than anything else I'd seen.
Too young to remember much outside of small pieces of the past, I set out for the one place I knew that wasn't home.
It was abandoned, as I knew. He planned to take me there, when I was older, but never got the chance.
I quickly learned how to survive in this world. Don't go outside at night, make sure you have plenty of food, and sleep often.
The one thing I never learned was just how powerful I was.
To me, and everyone else around me, I was human.
But to my family I left behind, now scattered across the world, and my home, I was the child of someone powerful.
And only now, years later, are these memories, and my powers, resurfacing.
That flashback was a lot more detailed than the last one…
But just like a dream, it all but faded from my mind almost immediately.
"Hey, guys! I have an idea!" Axel turned around, now facing the door again, and screamed. "Magnus, help!" Obviously, there was no response. "Alright, well I have another idea-"
"Is it yelling for Ellegaard?" I asked. Axel faltered.
"Well, not anymore…"
Lukas started talking about how Magnus and Ellegaard weren't coming back for us, but then I remembered I still had the amulet. I did my best to stand up again before pulling it out. The red and green lights were glowing for a moment, but both faded.
"Looks like it might be broken." Petra noticed. I gave it back to Jesse, who shook it a bit, trying to get the lights to come back on.
Then suddenly, the white light turned on, glowing brightly. Jesse looked around the room, trying to figure out where it glowed brightest, and once he did, dug a hole until he reached the tunnel underneath. He warned us not to jump down, but I was already in the process of climbing.
When the swarm of bats came flying out from the tunnel, I was so startled that I lost my grip and fell.
And then everyone else jumped down and Axel landed on top of me.
So now I'm the butt of the joke, huh?
Guess so.
We all got up and started down the tunnel, which eventually led to a grinder. On cue, water spilled out from one of the others, bringing some skeletons with it, and they fell to their deaths below.
After barely making it down ourselves with our lives, we were thrown into the loot room.
Along with monsters falling in from the grinder.
We ran until we saw the End portal, and once Jesse saved Petra, we all jumped in.
I was stuck on the ceiling.
At first, when I started flying, I was overjoyed. It was so fun to feel completely weightless. I was lucky to be inside, because if not, I probably would've been stuck floating upwards until I either reached some sort of ceiling or I died from a lack of oxygen.
Then, once I reached the house's ceiling, I realized I didn't know how to get back down. Mom, dad, and my uncle were able to do it effortlessly, and my brother was getting there, but I was clueless.
After trying every solution I could think of, with no success, I felt hopeless. Mom said she'd be back soon, only five minutes, but she was taking longer than that. It was only my first time using any powers, but no one expected me to get them so quickly.
It was a couple days before my fourth birthday.
As expected with the End, a haunting of endermen awaited us. Petra tried to lead the group, but Jesse said that Lukas should.
We all followed Lukas to an unholy amount of stairs. When playing the game, I severely underestimated just how many stairs there were. Now, I could easily see why everyone was complaining.
Finally, after what felt like hours, we made it to the Wool World.
Lukas got upset and stormed off, while Jesse went to try and find a way out.
So, are you going to listen to Soren's farewell?
Absolutely not.
I tried to calm Lukas down, but he asked me if something was wrong with Petra and I.
"I can't speak for Petra, but…" I rolled up my sleeve to show him. His eyes widened.
"What- What is that?" His signature worried look was back.
"I got this wither sickness sometime after you rescued me back in Ivor's basement." I looked back up and he was about to open his mouth, but I stopped him before he could. "Don't think this was your fault, Lukas. You couldn't have known."
"But-"
"Lukas."
"I-"
"Lukas."
"You-"
In order to shut him up for once, I did the riskiest thing I could have done in that one moment.
I leaned in and kissed him, square on the lips.
I didn't really mean to make this chapter so short, but it was entirely worth it to end right there.
Midnight: You rushed through this chapter just so that I could kiss Lukas, didn't you?
What? Of course not. What makes you say that?
Midnight: ...
Sigh Yes. Yes I did. And I have no regrets.
Midnight: So you're starting the romance way earlier than the original.
Without Alexa, there's really no reason not to.
Midnight: Fair. How old is Lukas compared to me, anyway?
Well, I aged everyone down from the original. You're thirteen, and Lukas is only a couple months older than you.
Midnight: I had my first kiss at thirteen?
Basically. Anyways, I'll see if I can make chapter ten longer, see you next time!
-LegendEmpress