Chapter 15: Recovery

He slowly began to see the light in the room.

Pickaxe rubbed his head, his mind still fuzzy. He was back at Reed's house, but didn't know how he got there. All he remembered was his showdown with Parker, and then… nothing. How did he even get back from the Nether? He tried sitting up, but something grabbed his chest, pushing against him. "Not yet, my dear," said a voice, "you still need rest…" Sabrina, Pickaxe thought, recalling the voice. He slowly let himself fall back into the bed, his consciousness starting to fade.

For a moment, he thought he saw Sabrina smiling warmly over him, a tear or two in her eyes.

Victor was sitting in a room with Rosetta and Reed. Reed and Victor had not spoken a word upon seeing one another, and Rosetta was getting quite tired of it. "Hmph, I thought siblings were supposed to love one another," she sighed, getting up from her spot. She walked toward the door, saying "Try not to kill each other while I'm gone," before leaving. Even after the door was shut, the silence persisted. It was Reed who first broke the silence.

"...you raised her well, you know."

Victor looked up at him. He let out a small laugh. "Well, what else can you do when a loved one dies?" Reed's face showed concern. "I'm sorry. I didn't know-" "Don't sweat it," Victor assured, "I probably wouldn't have told you, anyway." The silence resumed… and was broken again. "I didn't mean to choke, okay?" This remark from Reed was enough to get Reed's attention. He didn't respond at first. "...maybe I knew, but didn't want to admit it." Reed faced him, tears in his eyes.

The two brothers embraced; "You're a helpless big brother…" Reed sobbed.

Margret begrudgingly led Blade to the prisons. Within the many cells of iron bars, blocks, and doors, were the soldiers of Victor's former army, and of course… Parker. His head was downcast, his clothes turning to rags. "Don't get any ideas…" Margret told Blade, as she exited the vile place. Blade walked down the halls to Parker's cell, with the other prisoners jeering at him. When he finally reached Parker, he didn't even look up.

"What are you here for, cretin?" Parker spat.

Blade didn't lose his stoic composure. "I would say I've secretly come to free you, but we should both know I'd be delusional to do such a thing in the first place." Parker just snickered. "Fool… this is but a setback… you've chosen the losing side." Blade allowed himself a small smirk. "The only way I've chosen the losing side is depending solely on the paycheck," he retorted, "I didn't need the money, anyway. I'll get by…" he said, turning his back on Parker and walking away.

"...knowing that Rosetta is safe."

Parker let out a small laugh when Blade was gone. He was truly surrounded by fools. If great minds thought alike, perhaps he was the only 'great mind' around. No matter. He knew very well this was indeed not over. The village may not have known it. Jewel's ridiculous friends may not have known it. Maybe even Parker's once loyal followers may not have known it. Parker knew. That was all he needed.

He laughed maniacally in his jail cell, playing with soul sand and wither skulls.

Texik was in the happiest mood he had ever experience. It seemed as though everything had been engulfed in a wave of euphoria. He didn't even mind "getting robbed" by the villagers of his precious resources. Parker was slowly rotting away in a jail cell, and he could receive the death penalty. Oh, what joy! ...was he turning into a masochist? Hopefully not. That might sour his potential relationships with other people…

Texik shrugged nonchalantly, and continued along his merry way.

Stan was conversing with Jewel and Rosetta, outside the building where Victor and Reed were conversing. "Seems to be going well in there," Stan mentioned, "though I still can't get over the fact that my dad has a brother… an older one, at that!" "I know what you mean…" added Rosetta, "My father would only briefly discuss Reed when he was in foul moods. Even though he talked about him more so than ever after meeting Parker, I still didn't learn of their siblinghood until recently." Jewel grumbled at the mentioning of Parker's name.

"Of all the people I don't want to talk about…" she muttered.

Rosetta let out a small laugh. "Believe me, I know what you mean," she began. "Endre informed me of your childhood history together. It seems his obsessive nature was started a bit too early if you ask me…" "Well, what attracted you to him?" Jewel stated bluntly, putting Rosetta on the spot. She blushed from embarrassment; "W-well… he was v-very courteous, and didn't seem to have any ultimate motive or anything… i-if you could call it that-" Jewel interrupted her with a laugh, which earned her a glare from Stan. "What?" she defended, "She's acting like Parker was a decent person!"

To be fair, you couldn't argue with that logic.

The next time Pickaxe woke up, he was still in the same room, but Sarah was feeding him something. A bottle filled with a pink liquid. When sarah was done, he gulped down the healing potion before letting out a yawn. "How long was I out?" he questioned, still feeling a little groggy. Sarah petted his head, allowing herself a small smile. "Too long," she chuckled, "but, you did good out there." Pickaxe said nothing at this, recalling events that deserved to stay in the Nether. "Where's Sabrina?" he asked after some time.

"Getting some materials from the farm," answered Sabrina, "She'll be back."

Madison was looking for Texik, wherever the troublesome boy might've been. She hadn't seen him since Parker was thrown into the slammer. He looked happy that day. "A little too happy if you ask me…" she muttered. Eventually, she found Texik in the center of the village, conversing with Sabrina. Finally, Madison thought. She'd been looking for him for a while. "Hey, Texik!" she called out, running towards him.

Meanwhile, Reed and Victor had finally walked out of the building.

"Well?" Jewel asked in anticipation. Reed and Victor looked at one another. "Well…" Reed began, "we talked some things out, and after some discussion...we're letting Victor move into the village." "What? That's amazing, father!" Rosetta exclaimed, tackling Victor in a hug. "Heh… well, it won't be easy," Victor stated, giving Rosetta a puzzled look. "I did some… pretty bad things to this village. I might have to work a bit in order to regain their trust," he explained. "Oh," Rosetta sighed, feeling slightly crestfallen.

Across the horizon, Stan could make out a group of miners heading their direction.

"Pickaxe!" he exclaimed, running towards said miner. Pickaxe was being accompanied by Sarah, Sabrina, Madison, and Texik. "Hey," Pickaxe replied, as the two shook hands. "How are you feeling?" asked Jewel, noticing Pickaxe's slightly sagging demeanor. "Not a hundred percent yet, but getting there…" he assured, looking a bit more lifted in spirits, "Where's Margret and Blade?" "They're out in the village, said they had business at the prisons…" Rosetta answered, "Why?"

"We have to get the whole gang together!" Texik explained, "We're throwing a party!"