Painted nails? Check. Music? Check. Pewdiepie shirt? Check. Excitement for the end of the school year? CHECK. I am pumped (the connection between this and Pewdiepie was not intentional) for the end of the year~ Only two weeks left! MAP testing and Finals, then I'm free. Add to that the fact that my school finally brought back the Literary Magazine, and I'm just bouncing off of the walls and emitting strange high pitched giggles.

'Tis nice. And to celebrate this fact, I'm going to be writinga lotuntil my surgery this summer, so expect quite a few updates and if you don't hear from me, I've probably got quite a few of them saved on my computer and simply haven't uploaded them yet. On to the next chapter!

Edit: This chapter has been changed according to the sequel. c:

Vreagon doubled over and gasped for breath, coughing violently as he attempted to catch his breath. "I don't think," he gasped, clapping a hand over Mnem's shoulder as he, too, heaved, "I haveever run from something that fast."

"Well, if you saw what it did to most of Renel's little buddies, you're bound to haul ass out of there," Mor joked, smirking as the other men joined up with them, Renel among them, gasping and shaking in fear.

"What the hell was that, Mnem!" Renel shouted, and Mnem winced, clamping his hand over the man's mouth.

"Hush. If you make more noises you'll wake the dead and trust me, that is never a good idea."

Renel, for once, silenced and followed the man as he lead the group through the stronghold, regaining his breath and waving about the torch, lighting markings on the walls.

"What is that?" Vreagon asked, inspecting the markings. Mnem halted for but a moment, looking at it and shuddering.

"…They were definitely here, alright. It's… hard to explain."

"Do you know what it says?"

"I do."

"…and…?"

"We need to tread lightly from here on. That was a warning."

"Well." Vreagon simpered, though his eyes softened in worry, "at least we know we're going the right way…"

"You have her?"

"Yes."

Ari looked over at the brunette man as he spoke to the shadows, his white eyes glowing each time he glanced back at her. The voice that spoke back was weak, lowered, but clearly a woman's. Ari wondered just who was hiding in the shadows… and why.

"Hurry up," the woman said weakly, her voice trailing off as she moaned as if in pain, "I need the new vessel…"

Vessel?

Ari looked up as the man made his way toward her, smirking as he held a knife over her torso. "It really was a pleasure to meet you, miss." He spoke easily, lifting the blade. It reflected in Ari's eyes and she screamed loudly, the noise echoing around the area – which she was certain was 'The End' – and causing the shadowed figures to clamp their hands over their ears, screaming with her. Their mouths opened wide to reveal sharpened teeth, their eyes snapped closed as blood dripped from beneath the lids. The cry that joined with hers seemed pained and sympathetic, but the yelling ended as soon as it began. Each pair of amethyst eyes glowed in the silver of the dagger as it descended-

An arrow flew through the air.

[30 minutes prior]

Mnem growled and slammed his fist against the wall angrily. Yet another dead end.

"Shit…" Vreagon mumbled, out of breath. They'd been running for quite a while now, nonstop – every time they made their way down a hallway they would scratch at the moss to show their already passing the hall, and if they turned back they created another line on the other side. Not a perfect marking system but it was better than nothing. This had been the sixteenth hall they'd traveled through and still, nothing was found. Mnem started to give up hope, leaning against the stone.

If I hadn't fallen for her she wouldn't be in this mess. If she'd never met me, she wouldn't have been in danger… This is all my fault. I should have just… let her be. I shouldn't have followed her temptations. If she is truly dead then… then I killed an innocent woman. Her blood will be on my hands, and I-

"Hey Mnem!"

Vreagon's voice echoed down the corridor and he stood, glancing in between the iron bars that, he assumed, were once jail cells. He followed Mor as the other made his way to Vreagon, and when they arrived… Mnem smirked.

"Well look at this."

"Is this what we're looking for?" Vreagon asked, stepping in the room carefully, waiting for any traps to spring or Silverfish to pop out of the stones around them. Mnem wiped his brow from the heat of Lava pouring in from above and sighed softly, inspecting the room. From the sketches he'd seen, something seemed… off. The lava was in the right place (which was good, seeing as they couldn't have handled Lava if it wasn't) and the stones around the pit and keeping everything in place seemed correct… but something about the greenish glass over the pit of lava in the very center. Some holes were filled, but a few others…

"It is. Doesn't look like everything's in place… we need to put things where they need to be."

After ten minutes' deliberation and another ten of rearranging and hunting and placing, Mnem seemed to find the proper placement. He felt like such a traitor, reassembling the portal back to perfection…

They'd already opened it somehow. They just destroyed it so we couldn't distract them from their purpose… but what is their purpose, I wonder…?

As the portal came to life and the lava around them darkened to black, the stars of the void calling out to them, Mnem winced. Vreagon looked back, taking note of Renel's abandonment.

"Bitch." He huffed, looking down at his brother's hand as it was offered. Mnem was clinging to Mor's hand and Vreagon nervously took his brother's.

"…You two do realize that if we go through this, we may not be able to leave?"

Neither man moved away.

"Wouldn't be fair if you went alone." Vreagon spoke softly, clenching his teeth nervously. Mor nodded quickly.

"Besides. Our sister needs us."

Hands clenched. Eyes closed.

Feet left the ground.

Mnem floated through The Void with his lips parted slightly, alone as he floated through the darkness. He closed his eyes and smiled softly, his back arching in slightly as he tried to move. It made no real difference to his surroundings, and he felt as if he'd never moved at all. He exhaled slowly, finding that breathing was just as easy here as the world before – he felt himself suddenly dropped.

Eyes snapped open and he caught himself just before he hit the ground, crouching quietly and looking up. His ankles ached from the lack of preparations but he wasn't too concerned-

"Oof!"

"Agh- The hell!"

"Welcome." Mnem joked, smirking and helping Vreagon and Mor to their feet.

"What… what was-"

"The Void."

"…the what?"

"It's complicated. All you need to know now is that we are currently standing in The End."

Vreagon paused, watching his brother bring out his bow and pull back an arrow, watching ahead of them.

"Sounds like a pleasant place."

They could hear talking. No, no – perhaps talking wasn't proper explanation, anymore. They heard screaming.

Ari's. They knew it was her – it was recognizable amidst all the high pitched crying and wailing of the shadowed figures in the crowd. They couldn't see in the middle at what they were actually crowding around, but they already knew. Mnem had informed them not to bother with his 'Don't Look' policy – here, none of them cared. None of them cared because they knew. They knew humans didn't stand a chance here.

Nobody was expecting Mor to stand and shoot off an arrow, sticking into the brunette man's wrist. As he looked up angrily at the trio behind the rock, Mnem's eyes hardened and his body became cold.

Standing fearlessly he pushed through the crowd of shadows, pushing them aside when they refused to move. In a way he much resembled them – his dark hair and clothes blended in nicely. If it hadn't been for the pale skin they would have lost him completely.

"Father." Mnem spoke smoothly as soon as the two meet one another. The man grinned ruthlessly, gesturing to the table,

"She is right here, if that is what you are looking for."

Mnem turned, glancing at the girl stripped naked on the table as she struggled to cover herself, blushing madly and writhing to get away. The tattoos and scars on her torso marked her as a sacrifice, which Mnem verified by the scribbles down her arms and legs. But to what-

"Who dares interrupt!" the weak voice called, and Mnem's attention was directed into the shadows of a distant cave. He hadn't gotten just how big the mouth was, but the cave itself must have been giant – because She came from it.

The old dragon moved slowly, her wings flopped uselessly at her sides as she snarled angrily, claws scraping in the stone beneath. Her tail whipped ruthlessly and knocked several shadows onto their backs. They seemed to yelp in pain but stood slowly, remaining in the place in which they had fallen. She repeated this, swiping at all who stood in her way until she stood directly before the table and the two men in front of it, her angry yellow eyes piercing into Mnem's hardened gray orbs. Inside he was trembling in fear, panic taking root – but on the outside, he showed none at all, pulling the arrow from his father's wrist angrily.

"I." he snapped, holding the arrow as a weapon. Behind the rock Vreagon and Mor spoke quietly to one another, discussing some sort of plan to help. They could think of nothing – after all they were never trained on how to fight a dragon.

"You…" the dragon snapped, her yellowed teeth revealed as her lips pulled back, her nose pushing hot air over the trio. Mnem grimaced and tried not to breathe while Ari struggled even harder. Mnem wanted nothing more than to put something over her to save her more embarrassment but it seemed he would not get that chance – the Dragon roared furiously and Mnem took flight, pushing through the crowd despite their desperate attempts to grab at him.

"Run!" Ari screamed, her voice carrying over the din of all else, "Get out of here, Mnem!"

I'm not leaving without you. Mnem thought darkly, turning and drawing his own bow, bending to his knees and pulling the arrow back. He released it and it flew through the air, sailing toward the dragon – it flopped uselessly off of Her scales and Mnem ran once more, heaving for breath with each step. Vreagon and Mor were soon on each side of him, one shooting arrows as he ran and the other nervously looking back, helpless. "Did you see those symbols on the table-"

"I did." Mnem answered breathlessly, his mouth open.

"What did they-"

"I didn't have time to inspect."

A lie, of course...

The three split up, Mor doubling around to protect Ari. She did not see him, that dragon, and so did not turn after him. Vreagon kept running alongside Mnem despite his inability to help. He looked at Mnem's bow and felt a distant sense of longing, his chest aching.

He died from an arrow. I cannot strike someone else with one… I simply cannot.

Mnem stumbled. Time seemed to move slower, Her feet coming closer and threatening to flatten the man that had fallen onto the ground. The bow and a few arrows scattered onto the ground – Vreagon stared at them, stopped momentarily. Mnem attempted to crawl away but his body had stiffened, his weapon just out of reach.

Vreagon took a breath and bit his lip.

He jumped up at the weapon and pulled an arrow back, aiming upward with expert aim. The arrow, once released, had a clear path to the Dragon's foot – She fell toward the side in pain, roaring angrily once more, though she struggled to stand. Mnem breathed heavily on the ground and looked up at Vreagon, smiling thankfully and taking his hand when it was offered.

"I thought you hated me."

"Why would you think that?"

"…just the way you spoke to me earlier."

"Nah. I don't hate you. How could I hate somebody who's risking their life for me and the ones I care about?"

Mnem smiled slowly and sped off toward Ari once more, using his fists and feet to shove each shadow away from him. A few tore into his clothes but he paid no mind, not feeling the pain of the claws as they scratched his flesh. He reached his father in record time, grabbing his wrist before he could make for the dagger. "No." Mnem snarled, gray eyes flaring angrily.

"You are a monster." The man grunted, and Mnem shook his head, clinging harder,

"No. It is you who has become the monster, Herobrine."

"How dare you call me by-"

"Silence!"

The dragon screamed in a shrill voice, stomping toward them. Herobrine seemed to panic, ripping his wrist away from his son in that split second that he'd been distracted. Ari squeezed her eyes closed and pressed her chin to her breasts, waiting for the pain –

Blood. Her eyes opened at the warmth over her skin and looked up, hearing the screams all around. For a moment she was confused until she realized that most of them were her own. Mnem held his father's wrist and smirked, the wound in his chest spreading blood over his dark clothes. A rusty brown stain spread to his back and he smirked, the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth as he held the dagger there.

"I said no." Mnem snarled, chuckling at his father's horrified expression.

The dragon screamed. The shadows wailed. Ari sobbed, fighting her binds with the ferocity of a pack of wild wolves. Vreagon lowered his weapon in horror and Mor shook his head, pulling the arrow and aiming it at Herobrine's neck.

As Mnem fell to the side, still gripping the blade, and hit the floor, Mor released the arrow and it sailed through the air. Herobrine looked up and snarled, his white eyes glowing even whiter as he disappeared from view completely. Ari became even more violent, the symbols on her and on the table beneath glowing green. Mnem smirked as he looked up, lifting his body up with only enough strength to lean against the table.

"Hey. Dragon." Mnem said weakly, his voice traveling easily in the silence, "…time's up."

His bloodied hand pressed against the table and the symbols flared before fading away, interrupted from their process.