Disclaimer: I'm not creative enough to own Minecraft

Chapter 21: a friend I never knew

I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep. I decided to take a walk. I took off my power suit and put the cards into my card slots, in case I needed them later. I left quietly and started walking, knowing I could use the power suit to locate the house if I needed to.

I don't know what triggered it, but I suddenly felt immensely pressured, as if there was a ton of people depending on me for something…maybe there was. I sat on a nearby hill, trying to figure out why I was so stressed, and maybe try to solve it. It helped that there didn't seem to be any enemies out tonight, which was odd, but not unnerving.

"are you ok Alex?" I heard a whispery voice. I looked up and saw Shadow standing next to me. she sat down as I sighed.

"I don't know" I said "I just suddenly feel like everyone depends on me, and I don't know why"

"well, everyone DOES depend on you" Shadow said.

"yea, that's reassuring" I said sarcastically.

"well, it's true" she replied "after all, we'd be at each other's thoughts if you weren't with us"

"what do you mean?" I asked

"think about it" she replied "I've talked to everyone about how they met you, and it seems you're the one who best calmed them down"

"seriously?" I asked

She rolled her eyes "well, lets take you out of the group" she said "Aqua and Blaze are natural enemies, and they'd be fighting constantly. Maillie would have held all of you captive if you hadn't reminded Elda that she can teleport out, and then proceeded to convince Maillie you were friendly. Elda is naturally an Endergirl, and she would have ended up messing the others up if you weren't here to keep her in check. Evan almost ripped you guys to shreds, and Katie wouldn't have been able to stop him if you hadn't promised to get him home. Meanwhile, you're the one who convinced me to let you guys go, I wouldn't even be here if not for you"

"so…I'm the one holding the team together?" I asked "yea…that just made it worse"

Shadow giggled "Alex, have you ever listened to yourself?" she asked "I'm tempted to say you could pacify the Wither!"

"isn't he really aggressive?" I asked

"not nearly as aggressive as the Ender Dragon" Shadow replied.

I shook my head "whatever" I said.

We sat in silence for a moment…well, she was more floating, but still silent. I started thinking about getting to the end, but I didn't quite feel ready…was I?

"Shadow, do you think I'm ready for the End?" I asked

"why do you ask?" she asked in reply.

"I think that's where I need to go…but I'm not quite sure" I said.

Shadow thought for a moment "I don't know…I've heard about the End, but only about the Ender Dragon."

"so, you don't know enough to tell me?" I asked

"nope, sorry" she replied "but I think Elda might know a bit more"

I sighed "yea, probably" I said.

"you miss your home, don't you?" Shadow said. it was annoying how some of the princesses can practically read your thoughts.

"yea" I said "I'm just wondering how my family is doing…if there's even a lapse in time"

Shadow was silent for a moment "I know where your machine is" she said.

I looked at her "you do?" I asked.

She nodded "it's in the void" she replied.

I froze. The void? Was she serious? I thought for a moment, about what happened . the void is basically space, or rather, empty space. If my machine was in the void, that meant it essentially wasn't in existence. Unless…

"how do you know?" I asked quietly.

I could tell Shadow felt how upset I was "the shadows told me" she said "but, they said there's a way to retrieve it"

I thought again, and then I realized something. The End…it was an island surrounded by void. Before I discovered Limbo myself, I thought the End was Limbo…but maybe it's something else.

"the End" I said plainly.

She shrugged "I don't know, maybe" she said "but regardless, we should go there"

I nodded "I'm going to get some more sleep" I said as we walked back.

"I'll do the same" Shadow said.

We both quietly got into bed and fell asleep.

I woke up in darkness again. There were shadows everywhere, and I couldn't move, I was stuck staying still, not knowing where my body was positioned. Then, I heard something I hadn't heard in a while…the whispering voices.

"he is learning quickly" a voice said "I believe he is ready"

"there is more he could learn" another said "he doesn't have to go yet"

"have to? He isn't ready" another said "he wouldn't survive"

"quiet, he can hear us" another said.

They were silent. I realized they were talking about me again…but why?

"he questions our motives" a voice said

"why shouldn't he?" another asked "he's never seen us"

"he doesn't have the knowledge" another said "he needs practice"

"no, he needs the end" another replied.

"why don't we let him decide?" another suggested "after all, he's the one who's going to be venturing there"

They were right…but what should I do? there's no way I'd convince the others to take me to the end, they all think I'm not ready…or did they? Maybe they knew I was smart enough, strong enough…experienced enough. Maybe they knew I was ready, and were waiting my command…maybe they wanted to go.

"he's contemplating it" a voice said "he thinks he's ready!"

"he's a fool" another said "the dragon will fry him"

"not with his friends!" another voice said "he could survive!"

"and what if he doesn't?" a voice asked "what then?"

"fine, we're obviously getting nowhere" it said "so, human, want to challenge the end?"

Yay! Another chapter finished! I'm running low on ideas, but I have a bit more room to grow. So, here is a question for those of you reading: should I wrap up my story, or should I keep going? You decide what happens now! Remember: I love criticism, reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. Bye for now!