LOCATION: 450 METRES INSIDE A CLIFF IN THE NETHER

TIME: NO IDEA REALLY, MY WATCH IS FREAKING OUT DOWN HERE

Andr's PoV

Well, this is one place I'd never expect to be. But, to be honest, I should really expect anything nowadays. It had been about a week since we had decided to go to the Ender kingdom, and now we were in a small cave in the Nether! I decided to pass the time by talking to Paula as to why she saved us.

''You guys didn't do anything wrong. You don't deserve to die here. My father always told me there was more than evil in the world. He told me there was another dimension where mobs were friendly, not trying to kill each other every five minutes. Where trees have beautiful green leaves, instead of blood red or ghostly white. Where you can see this beautiful thing called a ''sky,'' with a big yellow square in it during the day, and a silver one at night. There are hills, valleys, mountains, forests and deserts. A place called Paradise.

''Paula, that place is real!'' I told her. ''We come from there! We know it as the Overworld, and it's where we need to go!''

Yes, we know it's real. My father was the first to know. Nobody believed him, though. When the nether princesses found out this place really existed, they wanted to take it over and destroy it. To make it just like the Nether. There was a huge war, and when my father refused to fight…'' From the fact she was welling up tears, I knew what they had done to him without her even needing to tell me.

I quickly decided to change the subject. ''So,'' I asked her. ''How does your machine work?'' She looked up and wiped away some of her tears.

''Well,'' she said, ''It's made of Project Red support frames, driven by frame motors. The front is lined with block breakers, and the back, deployers. When the blocks in front are mined, they travel down tubes built into the frame to the deployers and get put back down. It's my father's design, but I built it myself. That's what you do when you have no family, or friends, or anything, you build a tunnel bore…''

''My sister has a tunnel bore.'' Stephanie said to us. ''You should bring it back with us, it'll blow her pretty little attitude out of the water.''

''Sorry, it won't fit. Only us, and what we can carry.'' Steve said, as he got into the tunnel bore. Everyone else had recovered from the attack, and was now on board, but Rat didn't look too good. He just sat in a corner talking to himself. This was creepier than the whole writing his dead friends name all over the walls…

Steve's PoV

After a few hours of travelling through solid netherrack, we reached an area just outside our portal. I broke a hole in the wall to look at it, and it seemed to be okay. Nobody guarding it or anything.

''Okay, here's the plan.'' I told everyone. ''I'm going to run over there and light the portal with this fire charge I found. I will then run back and if it's still safe, we all make a run for it. You can too, Paula, if you want.''

''I think I will.'' she said.

''Good to hear.'' With that, I broke through the wall and ran over to the portal. I threw the fire charge into the frame, and it burst into a ball of flame. The purple hue of the portal flickered and started up. It looked okay, so I told the others to quickly run through. Just as we were about to leave, another fireball hit the portal. It cut out instantly, and we all looked over in the direction it had come from. Three women stood under a sort of large round doorway, smiling at us evilly. We recognised them as the blaze, magma cube and ghast princesses. The blaze princess came forward.

''You didn't think you'd be leaving so soon, did you?'' she said to us.

''Actually, I think we've overstayed our welcome.'' Cupa spat back at her.

''Whatever, the only way you're getting out of here is if you all die. In fact, it doesn't even matter, we're going to kill you anyway. Charlotte, Monica, I do believe you haven't had a chance to take them out yet. Come to think of it, neither have I. Choose whoever you want to roast first, girls.''

''Uh oh, guys, there's nowhere to run. This whole place has only one exit, and they're guarding it.'' said Yaebi, looking around frantically. It was true, the place around the portal was nothing more than a cave with one exit. ''Look's like we've got a fight on our hands, everyone. You still okay to make a stand?'' I told my friends. Everyone held out their weapons and prepared for the inevitable.

''You're wrong, there, zombie-boy. It's not just the only exit, it's the only entrance too!'' came a voice from above us. We all looked up, including the princesses, and saw the most unlikely person to help us with a huge amount of cobblestone block stacked upon a ledge.

''Fiona!?'' everyone yelled in surprise.

''The one and only!'' she yelled back, before pushing the cobblestone blocks off the ledge. They completely blocked up the doorway, cutting the princesses off from us. Fiona flew down, and Paula rushed over and hugged her.

''What made you change your mind?'' she said to her.

''What can I say? I don't want to endanger myself, but I'd never abandon my best friend.''

''There's that good old rebellious Fiona I love so much. I thought you gave up on that, but I guess not.''

''Charlotte, blow it up already!'' we heard a voice say behind the cobble wall.

''I'm trying, but…what the fuck is this stuff? It's unbreakable!'' Charlotte replied.

''That wall won't hold forever, and we have no way of lighting the portal now. It's only a matter of time before they get through to us.'' Andr said.

''Actually, I think I know how to get out of here, but I need a perfect shot between that wall and the portal.'' said Crystal. I knew what she meant. We all voted on Rat doing it, he hadn't been doing anything for the past while and now it was his turn to do something. He wrenched a hole in the space we predetermined, and shouted through it.

''Hey! Worthless mobs! Bet you can't hit me! Your aim is so bad, by the time you've gotten one shot through this hole, the entire dimension will be on fire!'' he taunted at the princesses.

''No human taunts me and gets away with it! When we get in there, I'll keep you alive long enough to see all your friends die, and then I'll personally throw you in a lava pit!'' the blaze woman yelled at Rat. She then threw a fireball through the hole, which Rat dodged, and hit directly inside the portal frame. It lit up, and everyone jumped through. We had finally escaped the Nether, and now we really, really had to get to the Ender Kingdom…

Willow's PoV

''It seems you've failed in your mission. They are quite smart, aren't they? I guess brute force isn't a match for intelligence after all.'' I said to Blazette, Charlotte and Monica, whom I was standing behind. They had been sitting there for a while now, thinking about how they were the reason why they had escaped, and they got the shock of their lives when they heard me.

''My queen, we, uh…'' Blazette stuttered, as she tried to find an excuse.

''There's no need for an explanation, I already know what happened.''

''Wh-what are you going to do to us?'' Charlotte asked me.

''Nothing, nothing, I simply can't see you in charge of any more missions. The Nether is nothing more than a disgraced pile of sulphur and dirt. I think I'll be on my way.''

I flew back to the ruined castle, and walked back through my portal. The End was a more pleasant home than there. All the while, a word kept repeating itself in my mind.

Nova.