(A/N: ARE YOU GUYS EXCITED FOR A CHRISTMAS RELEASE OF FIRE WITHIN?! I THOUGHT SO! Merry Christmas, everybody, from all of us! (And by us, I mean the many different characters/voices in my head and of course, myself! :D))
Thunder rumbled from outside and lightning struck in the distance as Dray steadily led the aircraft into a descent, forced to land due to the incoming storm, and to hopefully find someone who could assist the other Minecraftian on board who was on the verge of death. An ominous silence filled the control room, one of sorrow and deep concern. Ant limply laid on Sparklez's lap, the sound of his faint, pained breathing barely audible to anyone. His eyes were firmly shut, as if they were determined to never open again. The Captain expressionlessly observed the unmoving Minecraftian. He was almost as still as the other, and it appeared as if he was not blinking at all. The quiet was only broken every once in a while by the roaring storm that was heading towards them from the north at a somewhat fast pace.
The teenager at the controls was incredibly focused as she maneuvered the airship at a dock set up especially for aircraft, like an airship, which she was piloting at the moment, or hot-air balloon, for example. Most businesses and the like were closed at this time of night, bringing up another problem for them. As they walked towards to the entry gate to the city, which Dray had stated to be Fayura, the very same place that she had been raised in for the majority of her life so far, two armored figures stood in the way. It was quite obvious that they were guards, defending the gate to and from the airship docks from any intruders with the intention to disrupt the peace.
The teen quickly brushed her bangs out of her face in an attempt to look at least semi-presentable to the guards before them. She briskly walked up to them, as one of the two recognized her immediately and greeted her. "Ah, good evening, Dra- I mean, Ms. Eterna!"
Underneath his helmet, the soldier's face became a light shade of red, shaken up from his mistake. At least he managed to stop himself before he incorrectly addressed the teenager, as that would earn him yet another glare from the more experienced guard beside him. Thankfully, his mentor didn't seem to care. Dray simply nodded as she fumbled through the pockets in her jeans. Shortly after, she revealed a plastic card of sorts and flashed them a glance at it. "Permission to pass through?"
The young guard-in-training started to move away, when his mentor stopped him. "You are aware of the new procedure, are you not?"
After receiving no response from the other, the older of the two sighed before facing Dray and the other Minecraftians with her. "All attempting to enter the city require an ID. No exceptions for anyone, not after the invasion of the Ender Alliance a month ago."
Sparklez's faded blue eyes narrowed at the mention of the attack on Fayura. He had been present during the battle, and no word of increased security measures had been told to him. Sure, it made perfect sense, but he would be informed of the changes at the least. He stepped forward, adjusting the positioning of his shades, pushing them a bit further up his nose. "And why exactly was I not told of this?"
Both guards straightened up instantly at the same exact time at the appearance of the Captain. The eldest of the two bowed apologetically, nudging the other beside him to do the same. Still quite flustered, he copied his mentor, as his face under the iron helmet that fully covered it was now an extremely bright red. His mistake of nearly saying someone's first name instead of their surname was just a simple error, but when you do it in the presence of a superior, it suddenly became the worst thing you could possibly do when on the job. Fortunately for the young soldier, the Captain either didn't notice or didn't care, which was probably it. Before he could do anything more, his mentor spoke up. "Our greatest apologies, Captain. However, we have our orders, and they state that those without an ID must be forced to leave. We are not allowed to let you to pass."
We'll see about that. Wordlessly, the Captain walked up to them, as his blue eyes began to fade into a blank white that emitted a faint glow, piercing directly into the soul of whoever happened to look into them. "Let us pass. Now."
In perfect sync, the two guards straightened up immediately and stepped out of the way, their eyes also a pure white. Sparklez hinted at a smirk, admiring his ability to bend others to his will before facing the rest of the group, his eyes still ablaze. Anti tensed, sensing the shadowy nature of the Captain's demonic side. Dray did the same, however it was due to her fangirl levels spiking, which she would never admit it to anyone else unless forced to. Meanwhile, Rain hid behind Anti, knowing all too well what had happened the last time when Sparklez was like this. The pryomancer beside the slightly freaking out teen reached for the sheathed daggers at his side, in case the demi-god turned on them. Sparklez merely faced the gates again and entered, while resisting the urge to attack the three other conscious Minecraftians standing behind him. He took a few steps before stopping and looking at them blankly. When he spoke, his normally calm voice sounded much darker and had become two-toned, giving the impression of a demon of some sort. "Aren't you coming? I can't keep these two blundering idiots under my control forever, you know."
Rain nodded obediently, following the older Minecraftian down a series of alleyways, the white already beginning to vanish from his eyes, without any visible hestiation from her. Dray tagged along as well, shaking as she fought off the temptation to start freaking out and attempt to glomp the Captain or something similar in nature. She wouldn't embaress herself like that, at least not with any others around. The teenager took a deep breath, forcing her fangirl side to shut up for at least a while. Her childish fantasies would have to wait, as there were more serious matters at hand. She glanced over at the still unmoving AntVenom, who was crumpled over his brother's shoulder, and her expression faded into a much more somber one.
Who knows, his spirit could be looking down on the group of Minecraftians from the Aether. As Dray's gaze drifted to the skies above, something inside of her began to wither away at the thought. Ant wasn't completely gone, was he? She then stared at the smooth pavement beneath her feet; her thoughts frozen on that single fear. The teen stopped and took a step back as her face suddenly drained of color. The Minecraftian she had thought to have been possibly deceased now had his eyes slightly open, still void of any trace of life, but nonetheless, it terrified her.
In that instant, Anti dropped to his knees, causing the body of the younger pryomancer, which he had been carrying, to slump onto the pavement nearby, face-up, just as the storm was settling in. Rain squeaked, unable to move in pure fear as the second pyromancer of the group collapsed in a similar fashion as his brother had previously that night. There was no delay as Sparklez began searching frantically through his Inventory Bag, as he had just remembered something of great importance and relevance to the problem at hand.
After a second or two of looking through his bag, he withdrew a glistening feather that shimmered like fire even in the harsh downpour around the five Minecraftians. He looked between the two senseless pyromancers lying on the ground. There was no way for him to revive them both with a single Phoenix Feather. If only he hadn't used up one of the two he had with him back when he sacrificed himself for Rain. The Captain expressionlessly looked over the lightweight item in his hand before glancing at the two girls. "We have to make a decision," he stated with a slight pause, "I can only save one of them."
"Only one?"
Sparklez subtly nodded in response to Rain's soft-spoken question, adding to the forming silence, with the only exception being the gentle sound of rain falling in the background. Dray walked up to Ant, checking him for a pulse before moving over to the fallen Anti nearby. She grimaced as she moved her hand away from the youngest of the two pyromancers, slowly glancing at the others from her place beside him. "No sign of a pulse anywhere."
She stopped abruptly as her fists clenched, hesitant to state her fears. "I- I think it might be too late."
Rain countered angrily, as tears began to form from the edges of her royal blue eyes. "There's always hope! I know there is!"
The fairly loud sound of coughing interrupted her, causing the heads of the three conscious Minecraftians to turn towards the now-pale figure of Anti. It was obvious from his expression that he was in immense pain, although the pyromancer continued to persist through it, barely managing to get a single word out, let alone an entire sentence. "Please... He deserves to live more than I do. After all," he added with a weary grin, "an original is always worth more than a copy."
A great hush came over them, as they took in Anti's request. The Captain rose from his crouched position, just as the older pyromancer's eyes shut once again. Sparklez let out a brief, soft sigh as he walked over to the broken form of the other member of the Venom family. He released the glimmering Phoenix Feather from his grip about a foot above the body, allowing it to suddenly dissipate into thin air, leaving behind only a few particles that had the appearance of glowing embers. As soon as said ember particles made contact with the deceased Minecraftian's corpse, the dull look in his brown eyes steadily grew more vivid, as did his pure white skin as it regained its normal color. At first, Ant's breathing was hurried, panicked even. Not even a few minutes after his resurrection was enough for him to fully calm himself down. One moment, Ant had been in the Aether, when the next had him back in the Overworld.
The pyromancer couldn't stop himself from hyperventilating due to the shock of being brought back to life. To be completely honest, it was an incredibly painful process to go through, both physically and mentally. He had only made himself extremely light-headed from taking in such quick breaths, which forced him to rely on Dray in order to get back up. Ant's gaze was drawn to his unmoving brother, whose crimson eyes were partially open, worry already starting to sink into the severely weakened Minecraftian. Just as he was about to ask, he immediately halted his train of thought, having come to a conclusion. Anti wasn't going to continue this journey with them. The youngest of the two brothers knelt before the other sprawled on the ground, a sad, yet thankful tone to his voice. "Anti, without you, I would've never come this far. Because of that, I am eternally grateful. Thank you for everything, brother."
He never received a response, indicating that the older brother had finally passed on into the heavenly realm known as the Aether. With a deep sigh, Ant gently closed the eyes of his brother, uttering a final farewell under his breath, his own eyes directed towards the sky above. He was already starting to miss the reassuring presence of his older brother at his side.
(A/N: Sorry if this chapter is somewhat shorter than usual. I pushed myself to finish 19 as a Christmas present to you guys, so here I am, typing on my new tablet that I got as one of my Christmas presents at 4:35 in the morning. Yipee. I'm so dang tired right now, that I'm quite frankly surprised that I didn't fall asleep while writing it. Also, another depressing chapter, I know. I'm sad to see Anti go so soon. But is he really truly gone? THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW! And as for Reviewer Questions, yeah no. I'll edit them in sometime later, just not now. (Never did it, hehehe.) M'kay? Anyways, Dray, signing off!)