Chapter 15

Thirty Four

Had my ancestors known what the second Immortal would become, would they have prayed for him? Would they have asked Notch to provide another for the First?

My people are dying, and Notch's world and his First, are broken...

Perhaps it would have been better; to live a life of eternity missing the many you briefly knew. Instead of having to kill the one you knew from their very first steps...

If only they had known.

They ended up staying later than planned and decided to camp at the temple instead of walking all the way home in the dark.

Jesse and Steve arrived at the farmhouse the following morning as the sun was peaking over the horizon.

Lukas was in the barn, saddling one of the horses.

"Lukas? What are you doing here?"

The blond whipped around, "Jesse! I was just about to go looking for you!"

Jesse accepted Lukas's hug then withdrew, "I thought you Petra and Alex were going to go to the sunflower fields yesterday?"

"We were," Lukas explained, "But Mariah and Bach showed up, they thought the baby was coming," he waved to Steve whose face had twisted into an expression of alarm, "Don't worry it was a fake call. Bach also informed me to tell you to refill the whiskey stash."

"Of course," Steve relaxed and walked towards the house laughing.

"Anyway," Lukas continued, pulling the saddle of the horse and setting it over the pen railing. "It was late afternoon by the time they left so Alex decided we'd leave today." he followed Jesse back to the house, "But you and Steve didn't show up last night..."

"We ran a little late," Jesse admitted, "We took a few pit stops and Steve showed me a really cool world Lukas,"

Lukas gave him a stressed look, "Well, I, was worried. So I told Alex I'd stay here and give you two till sunup before I started searching the Hallway."

"You didn't have to worry," Jesse apologized, "But I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Lukas said, "Alex said you guys were probably fine, she said you and Steve could handle it. I just..." he sighed, "I don't mind splitting up, but would it kill you to be on time?"

Jesse patted the blond on the back, "I'll try harder in the future."

"You better, I'm sick of worrying for you and Petra sometimes."

"I think you secretly like it," Jesse answered, "Besides; no one said you had to be the group mom."

Lukas gave him a look, "And who would? Ivor?"

"How about we just pass it on to Alex for now?"

"Sounds fine by me."

They entered the house. Steve was seated at the kitchen island, reading a note, "So I have to get my wagon back?"

"Alex said you wouldn't mind," Lukas answered.

The adult shrugged, "I don't. I have to run to town to get," he glanced at the upper cabinet, "Whiskey, anyway." He leaned down and unlaced his boots, "But I'll do that in a few hours. I don't know about you Jesse, but I am tired."

"Did you guys not get much sleep?" Lukas asked.

"We went to bed late, got up really early, and the Hallway isn't the most comfortable place to sleep," Jesse explained.

His friend snorted, "Oh I get that last bit, trust me."

Steve stood, "If either of you need me, I'll be in the master bath," he walking at the kitchen door, "If you can't find me...check the tub I might have fallen asleep and drowned."

The boys laughed.

Many Hours Later...

"I'm sorry if I offended you the other day," Petra said keeping her horse at a steady pace.

"About what?" Alex asked from atop her own mount, "The crib?"

"Yeah."

"Petra, it's alright," Alex smiled, "I'm not upset,"

"I thought I did though..."

"You worry as much as Lukas sometimes," Alex laughed.

Petra blushed furiously, "Well, he worries way more than I do,"

"Steve probably got home shortly after we left," the other said, "Lukas will see everything is fine. The plus side is you and I get to have a girl outing, and the boys can do whatever it is they do best. They'll probably run to town, Lukas told me Bach emptied the bottle."

"He wasn't even buzzed," Petra confirmed.

"Don't mess with Bach," Alex giggled, "He can out drink Steve and half the village if he wants to. Woah~" she pulled her horse to a stop, "Here we are."

Petra looked ahead of her, dropping far down below, was a massive field of sunflower, still in bloom late in the year. At the opposite end of the colorful field, was the Old Builder temple. She looked down; it was over a hundred foot drop. The cliffs sloped down on either side of her, getting smaller and smaller till it blended into the plains of flowers.

"It's beautiful," she hummed appreciatively, "But looks like we have to go the long way, I didn't bring any rope."

Alex hopped of her horse, slipped of her pack and set it onto the ground.

"What are you doing?" Petra asked.

Alex pulled a funny piece of armor from her pack, "I'm going down the cliff, what are you doing?"

Petra pointed, "There is a path down right over there."

Alex looked towards the green meadows that slowly slopped down the cliffs, "I know, I just felt like jumping today."

"Jumping?! With what?!"

"With this," Alex lifted up the strange set of gear, "Perfect time to test my new set of flying armor."

"Flying...armor..."

"Yep! I call it the Elytra, " the woman explained, "It doesn't fly per say, but it does glide, perfect for jumping down from high places and not killing yourself."

Petra eyed the now obvious set of wings coming from the back of the chest piece. The armor wasn't really 'armor' on closer inspection, just a series of intricate straps to go around the chest, balancing the pressure evenly. On the back was a pair of strong silver frames, each gap between the frames was filled with a strong grey fabric of sorts, bound tightly to the poles. "Gliding..."

"Yep!"

"That's a hundred foot drop Alex."

"I know,"

"Have you even tested this?"

"Well my old model crashed me into a river," Alex chuckled, "So I had to modify and retune the blueprints. I haven't tested this version yet, but I'm positive I'll be fine."

"What model is this?"

"Number thirty-four, I think..."

"Thirty four! Alex -"

"Petra, I am a grown woman, I know what I am doing, relax. This is why it is a good thing Lukas didn't come." Alex slipped on the armor, the pair of 'wings' looked almost like a cape in their current position. "He'd have a heart attack."

"I'm having a heart attack!" Petra cried, "What am I supposed to tell Steve when you plummet to your death?!"

Alex paused, "Tell him to keep the door unlocked."

"What does that even mean-"

"Petra..." the other female said calmly, "Relax."

Then she jumped.

"Alex!"

Petra leapt off her horse and raced to the edge, coming to her knees and looking down. The carrot ginger had already plummeted down about twenty feet and quickly dropping.

"ALEX!"

She watched as Alex tilted her chest forward, the wings on the back spread apart, running parallel with her shoulder blades. Alex used her hands to push them out just a bit father -

Air snagged under the wings and Alex's descent slowed almost immediately. She was flying - well, gliding, but in the air and not falling none the less. Petra could hear Alex laughing in delight, curving her body left and right, guiding the glider in gentle swooping curves towards the sunflower valley below. It worked...

I can't believe it, Petra gaped, the sight was amazing, She's actually gliding-

The wind picked up.

She was formally gliding.

Now Alex was pretty much spiraling out of control.

"Ahhh!' She crashed into a singular oak tree in the valley, legs kicking up only for a moment from the thick leaves before vanishing.

There was no more movement.

Petra was frozen for only half a second, "Oh my God Alex!" she leapt on her horse and grabbed the reigns of other, kicking them into gear, "Hyah!"

She looked towards the tree as the horses raced down the incline, there was still no sign that Alex was okay.

"Alex?! ALEX?!"

It took Petra, even at a full blown gallop almost five minutes to get down the hill and cut back up toward the tree. The horses were foaming at the mouth wheezing and gasping but they still got her to the solitary okay.

Petra jumped of the horse before it came to a complete stop, bending her knees to absorb the impact and rushing towards the tree with a runner's sprint, "Alex?!"

She was met with a wave of laughter.

High up in the branches, Alex was a tangle of snagged clothing and leaves, "Hi Petra,"

"Sweet Notch are you alright?!"

The older woman waved, "Oh yeah, only knocked me out a few seconds, I'm fine."

Petra was running around the tree trying to find a way up, "You could have died."

"Notch had my back don't worry."

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"I'm serious Alex!"

"So am I," Alex unclipped the elytra, "This wouldn't be the first time I have crashed into a tree. Now all we need to do is-" she went quiet.

Petra froze, "Alex?" she looked up, the other woman was looking firmly off into the distance.

"Get the horses."

"What? Why-"

"Get the horses!"

"Okay!" Petra ran back to the still wheezing steeds, "But how are we gonna get you-"

Alex ran past her, swinging her leg up and landing gracefully on Gaea.

"How did-"

"There is a caravan in trouble come on! Gaea run!"

Even though the female horse had just raced in a hard run down the hill, the mighty creature still had energy in her apparently. With a neigh and a rear of her upper body, the horse was turned and racing across the prairie.

Thoroughly confused, but understanding now that someone needed help, Petra climbed up on Titan a swiftly followed after.

The temple gleamed in the sunlight, reflecting the bright yellow flowers miles around. It was in excellent condition, nearly looked new. It was also quiet large, easily the size of the massive library back in Steve and Alex's village. There were tall spiraled pillars, and an amber roof shining brightly in the sunlight. The building looked friendly, even inviting, nothing like most of the temples of caches she was used to. But unlike the other temples Petra had visited thus far, there was sight Petra had never seen before in her life.

Creepers.

Dozens and dozens of them, more than Petra had seen together ever before. They swarmed from the darkened entrance of the temple, almost like a nest of angry hornets. They kept coming to, racing in a crazed frenzy towards their target.

Said target was not far from the temple. There were multiple sets of white cloth covered wagons, pulled along by either horses or pairs of oxen. There had to be at least fifteen people in the wagons themselves, while there was about another dozen riding singular horses around the group of covered carts.

The people were in the fight of their lives.

The creepers attacked in masses, making the battle a near blood bath. The people struggled not to be counter attacked as the monsters swarmed around them, moving the wagons as fast as they could, screaming with each explosion cut loose from the monsters. Some of the riders were armed, but they were struggling.

Alex already had her bow out, she fire three arrows in rapid succession. They crossed the great distance, each a direct hit into some unlucky creeper's head.

"Protect the wagons!" she called to Petra.

Petra drew her sword, "Got it!"

Alex fired another series of shots, each hitting their mark with deadly accuracy. As the female got close to the wagons she leapt of Gaea, the damaged Elytra gear keeping her afloat just enough. She fired four more arrows before landing down on the top of one of the wagons, feet balanced on the support arches.

"Alex!" one of the woman cried.

Alex seemed to know the stranger, "Eliza how did this happen?!"

"We don't know! They just started swarming out of the temple! There had never been a nest here before! I've never seen them do this!" the brunette female hastily explained.

Petra was hacking back a creeper when suddenly Alex cried out, "Petra the girl!"

Petra followed the pointing finger, just a younger girl of seven or eight fell out of a wagon. The young child screamed in terror as the she hit the dirt, screeching again as a creeper set its sights on her. Petra dug her heels into the stirrups, "Titan!"

As if understanding the horse surged forward, battle charging towards the deadly spawn. Petra sheathed her sword and grabbed tightly onto the saddle horn, she leaned over the side-

Hissssss!

"Gotcha!" Petra scooped of the child before the monster could explode, instead getting crushed under the feet of the mighty Clydesdale. The girl sobbed heavily and clung onto Petra, "Just hang on you're going to be alright."

"Behind you!" the girl screamed.

Petra looked back just in time to see a massive creeper lunge. Or at least, she assumed it was a creeper, in the split second she had to observe; Petra could easily tell the spawn was twice the size of a normal creeper. Its eyes glowed a unnatural purple, the haze of them seeping off almost like smoke into the air. The last thing she noticed was the gaping maw, and the foam pouring out of the sharp toothed mouth.

This creeper was insane.

That was all she processed before the Creeper lunged at her, and the girl.

"Petra!"

"Jesse was tired apparently."

"Yeah," Lukas laughed, "I was talking to him earlier but he nodded off."

"It was a long night," Steve admitted.

"I hope the girls are okay,"

"I'm sure they are having a blast."

"You think so?" Lukas asked.

"Lukas, they are in a field of sunflowers. Alex is probably making flower chains, if I know her well enough. That..." Steve mumbled off, "Or she'll test the Elytra again, which really sounds more like her."

"Elytra?"

"Well it's..."

The words blurred together in Jesse's ears and he yawned, stretching out of the large leather couch. He peeked open one eye, the clock on the wall said twelve fifteen. Fifteen more minutes, he'd sleep fifteen more minutes. Yeah... He was having a seriously hard time opening...his eyes...

"Ninazu huh?"

"That's what Aiden called them, heard of them?"

"Rings a bell, might have visited at one point..."

Jesse shot open his eyes. Did it happen again?! He looked up at the clock.

Two thirty.

He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. When had he fallen asleep? He didn't remember doing that.

"You fell asleep while we talked,"

Jesse looked into the kitchen to see Lukas grinning lopsidedly from the island counter, "Do I bore you that much?" he teased.

"No! no!" Jesse yawned again, "I don't know why I fell asleep. Notch this couch is comfy maybe that's it."

"Glad you like it," Steve said, he looked refreshed a cleaner, his hair slightly disheveled from his own afternoon nap.

"As comfy as you are here, you're going to end up living here," Lukas said. It was meant to be a jest, but Jesse saw the worry in the corner of Lukas's smile.

"Don't worry man; I like my own bed waaaaay more."

Lukas relaxed.

Steve stood, finishing his cup, "Well Lukas, I've enjoyed our little talks, but I better head to town and get my wagon back. And whiskey...gotta get whiskey..."

"Want some company?" Lukas laughed.

"Yeah! If you like," Steve smiled, dropping his mug into the sink. "Jesse care to join?"

"Sure," Jesse managed to mumble out.

"Are we going to walk?" Lukas asked.

"Probably, Bach has one of my horses so we don't need to bring any to hitch the wagon."

"I'll get my shoes on ," then the blond left the kitchen and bounded up the stairs.

Jesse groggily got up, his back creaking in protest. He stretched feeling his joints pop, "Ow," he groaned. That couch may be the most comfortable thing ever, but his armor was not.

Steve looked over, "Well don't you look all sweaty and stiff."

"I am," Jesse confirmed, he had gotten pretty cozy during his nap. He could feel the cotton padding inside the armor sticking to his clothes. It was particularly warm out today -for late fall anyway- to top it all off. He wasn't very comfortable at the moment.

"Why don't you take your gear off, I'll lend you a clean shirt."

Jesse paused. Take his armor off?

Steve noticed, "Kiddo?"

"It's nothing," he answered quickly, "I think I'll pass on the offer though."

"I understand," Steve said, he turned on the sink, running water over his dirty dishes, "I had a hard time taking my armor off too."

Jesse looked over, surprised, "What?"

"You've probably got it in your head you need to keep yourself armed at all times, am I right?"

"I guess?"

"I remember having that issue. I was a lot like you when I was your age. I got in a lot of scrapes, got hurt a lot. I need to be ready, protect my friends..." Steve sighed, "I was afraid to be without it for awhile."

Jesse glanced at his armor, fiddling uncomfortably with the armor straps. He was too afraid to admit it, but Steve had hit the hammer dead on the nail.

"I'm not saying you have that problem though, I can be wrong. But if you ever need to talk about anything just let me know okay?"The adult gave him a gentle smile, "I like to take care of my friends."

Jesse watched as Steve exited the kitchen, heading towards the stairs to get his things. He remembered what Lukas said:

"Man you are going to have serious PTSD issues when we get home..."

How- when- was he supposed to adapt to the normal again?

"Um Steve?"

The other stopped at the bottom of the stairs, "Yep?"

"I'll..." Jesse undid the first strap, "I'll take that shirt if the offer still stands?"

"Of course it does," Steve smiled, he stepped into the living room and places a warm hand on Jesse's shoulder, "We'll get it figure out. And I promise I won't let anything happen while we're dressed down, okay?"

"Sounds good," Jesse managed to smile.

Lukas was needless to say a little surprised when he came back down and spotted Jesse's gear placed temporarily away on a armor rack. But he smile brightly and gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

The trio left the house, all gear remaining behind.

Walking down the road Jesse could feel the cooling air on his skin and the freedom in his legs without the guards. Side by side with his friends, one old one new, and without his armor, Jesse still felt safe.

And it felt good.

Next Time on MCSM Immortal's Child:

Aiden jumped as Ivor dropped the antique journal rather loudly on the kitchen table in front of him.

"I hate writers," Ivor grumbled.

Recovering from his surprise Aiden grinned lopsidedly, "Aw, come on now Ivor, that is offensive to a lot of people. Including yourself."

Disclaimer:

Eliza name is credited to sedatetoucan, thanks for the name!

Author Section

Thank you all so much for waiting, and still faving, and still reviewing. I am blessed with the most dedicated fan base I swear :)

I have miss you all so much and was super excited to post this chapter!

Response Section

To: MidnightStarHunter: Thanks for the review first of all and your support! As for your question, which a very good question by the way. I know there is no canon age for the characters of MCSM. But Jesse, Lukas, Petra, and Aiden, are all in the same age bracket for this fic. Which I have imagine to be between sixteen and seventeen years old Jesse isn't necessarily younger, and I don't really feel like deciding an official age, but he is imagine - for this story anyway between 16 and 17. If that helps.

To: Everyone who talked about Brine: I am not going to reveal who Brine is, I just didn't realize Brine, fit in Herobrine. I feel rather silly now for not noticing. But Brine is not an official Mine craft character from either game. He is original, and very old, and does live in the First World, and creepy, I will admit to that.

To Rapid Sammi: If you want to shoot me your theories over private messaging go ahead. Most people post their thoughts on the reviews anyway so I'm not bothered by your theories. The readers might be, but if that makes you want to stay quiet feel free to PM what you think, I love to hear everyone's thoughts.

To Artsy: Getting fan art of Immortal's Child is seriously the highest honor I can get from being a fanfiction writer, I would literally die of joy and embarrassment (cause who would want to draw these weird pieces of literature seriously?)

In fact if anyone is interested, please do submit your art on my Tumblr, also called SilverSilence14! You're art could be the cover for Immortal's Child! And posted on the Immortal's Child Tag!

Also as my personal thanks, I would like to write a special one shot just for you. Because I have such a hard time accepting gifts and want to always give something back, haha. Sounds fair right? Art for fiction? :)

Anyway thank you all for your continued support! Hoping to see you soon!