Song for this chapter: Cowboy Casanova by Carrie Underwood (I've recently been on a Carrie Underwood rampage… don't judge me!).

Preston POV

I laid on a table placed upright. My wrists and ankles were bound to the table. My eyes focused on the normal-looking man who had a giant secret. His white eyes shot glances into mine.

"What do you know about the amulet?" Herobrine growled. He held out an obsidian sword and placed it closer to my chest as time passed. The Nether King had already asked me thirty times about the amulet. I had denied it every single time.

"Amulet? What amulet?" I questioned, a small grin on my face.

"Don't you play with me, boy!" Herobrine screamed, "You need to know! iEcho is your pretty little girlfriend. Her brother is a necessity."

"Necessity, huh?" I smirked, "Wonder how that's going for ya, ya cactus…"

"Quiet!"

"I thought you wanted me to tell you about the amulet?"

"Tell me everything you know, or else I will kill you." His white eyes burned into my brown ones, but I pushed them off. iEcho, Sierra, and Jordan were more important than anything else.

"I already told you, I don't know about a stupid amulet." I answered blankly.

"I will kill you if it's the last thing I do!" Herobrine yelled and sliced the obsidian sword against my left arm. It begun to bleed out. Although my arm hurt, I did not acknowledge it. Herobrine could not know I felt pain.

"Then kill me. At least you won't be around to see my friends win."

"You… you…"

"Cactus?"

"Quiet!"

"Father… I believe him…" Void, her red and purple highlighted black hair flowing behind her, entered into Herobrine's torture chamber. He turned his attention to her, "Father, Preston is telling the truth. He doesn't know anything about the amulet…"

"Void, I do not want you to get involved with this…" Herobrine started.

"It's already begun. Beatrice, Ray, and Ty are gone, and it's because of your obsession with the amulet. If you want to get it, go yourself and retrieve it. Don't depend on hostages to help."

"You're right." He smiled, and pinched her cheek in a fatherly way, "That's why you're my favorite."

Herobrine nonchalantly walked out of the room. Void let out a large breath and ran over to me. She partially untied my bindings. With a towel, she wiped off the blood from the cut in my arm.

"This is to help you escape," Void whispered, "Jordan and Sky are on their way. Many other recruits are with them. My father doesn't stand a chance, especially since the amulet expires in an hour."

"Expires? Sky's amulet?!"

"No, no. Sky already has his potential power. He's had it for a while. I'm talking about Jordan's."

"Jordan has an amulet?"

"Yes, it is the most powerful in the whole Overworld. Herobrine has been searching for it for decades. Jordan will either be extremely lucky or lose his life at the hands of my father."

"Void! What are you doing?" Herobrine queried, returning back to the torture chamber, this time followed by a young lady. The girl had auburn blonde hair, and wore a lacy orange top, tan shorts, and high heeled brown boots. She stayed behind Herobrine, but kept an eye on me, curious.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

Herobrine answered her question, "This is Preston. He has knowledge about the location of the amulet."

Void interrupted, "Herobrine! I already told you that he doesn't know…!"

The Nether King snapped his head and eyes at Void. "Shut up! And either call me by your highness or Father. Never by my name. It sounds too formal."

The girl spotted a picture of someone in Herobrine's back pocket.

"Oh," she commented, "May I look at the picture, your highness?"

"Why, of course you may." Herobrine sweetly replied.

The girl pulled out the picture, "Who is this? He's cute."

"That boy is my arch enemy Sky, the Budder King, leader of the Squid rebellion… Did you say he's cute?"

The girl begun to shake, "Uh… no?"

"Cause if you had said yes, I would have let you leave the Nether and bring him back here. After you return, you can do whatever you want with him. I only want his friend, with the sapphire gem amulet. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, your highness! Thank you! Thank you!" The girl excitedly hugged the picture and raced back inside the main nether-brick building.

"And you," Herobrine pointed to me, "You're not going anywhere. Void, come." Void hesitantly followed her father into the building. I remained stuck to the table.

Jordan POV

"We're going to the stone temple. The one with the budder block room and the portals," Sky announced to the giant group of Sky Army recruits. I stood a bit behind him, watching for any intruders or attacks. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a figure running by. I elbowed Jerome, who was standing next to me, and pointed in the direction of the figure. We separated from the rest of the group and followed the path of the figure.

"Hey doods, what's up?" a voice made Jerome and I jump. We spun around to find Mitch joining us.

"Biggums," Jerome panted, "You scarred me!"

"Sorry. I can go…"

"No, no," I responded, "Stay. It's just that I saw someone pass by and I wanted to figure out who it was…"

A scream was heard from the group of recruits. I realized that the voice belonged to Ian. Nervously glancing at Mitch and Jerome, the three of us rushed back to where everyone else stood around a girl. She had blondish auburn hair, and wore a orange top, tan shorts, and brown boots. The girl looked at Sky, who attempted to calm down Ian. Mat stood close by them, so I tiptoed up to him.

"What's going on?" I asked, whispering to Mat.

"The girl scared Ian," he quickly replied, "She says she was sorry, but we don't know where she came from. No one is daring to ask."

"Hmm…"

Mat knew what was coming, so he gave me a stare, "Jordan, don't you…"

It was too late. I had already stepped up in front of the crowd, closer to the girl than anyone else, "What's your name?" I asked.

"Lilia. Yours?"

"Jordan. It's nice to meet you." I held out my hand to shake, and she returned it with a smile.

"I want to say I'm really sorry for scaring Ian. It was an accident."

"At least I forgive you. You may have to gain Ian's trust first," I chuckled. Lilia giggled. She glanced over at Sky, smiled, and bowed her head.

I turned back to the Sky Army recruits, "Why are we stopping? Let's continue!"

Everyone shrugged and followed the generals towards the stone temple.

Pixel ran up to Lilia and I, and hugged the girl, "Lilia! It's been forever!"

"Pixel?" Lilia nervously stared at her long-lost friend, "You're not supposed to be here… He said…"

"I'm so glad to see you again!"

"Uh… hello…"

Sky hurried to catch up with Pixel, Lilia, and I, "So, Jordan, how long is it gonna take…?" He glanced over at Lilia, who continued to stare at him, "Hi…"

"I'm Lilia."

"Sky… Pleased to meet you, Lilia."

Pixel interrupted their conversation, "Remember when I was telling you about saving Isaac and Summer? Lilia was my friend!"

"I remember you saying something about that name," I mentioned, "That's why I recognized it."

"Oh," Lilia pauses, and slightly looks up. Although she tried to set her sights on Sky, her eyes fell on something else, "Stop!"

"What is it?" I asked.

"Who are they?" She pointed to the group of people running towards our location. The Homies.