Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with yet another chapter for Hourglass. I think I'm starting to get into the groove of things now, so writing has become a bit easier recently. It's all due to your support, everyone! Thank you so very much!

The winner of the OC contest was pastrinator64jr with his submission of Alexander Farmland. (Or Alexander tilled-dirt as he said, but it's the same thing.) Thank you, everyone who put time and effort into submitting your ideas. I looked at every one of them, and it was a close tie between this one and another.

Also, I know I literally put out the announcement yesterday, but considering the fact that I already had most of the chapter ready for posting, I just couldn't contain myself. I got enough submissions for OC's where I could post today if I wanted, and I will!

Replies to Reviews

Mmtunlight: Oh, that was you? Gotcha.

Nwinds: 1. That's alright. I think I've heard of it before, actually.

2. You certainly can pick out any typos in my story. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I count on you to find the stuff I never see. I try and make sure it looks good for the public, but I'm far from perfect.

3. Yeah, the world is pretty messed up nowadays. At least Obama doesn't have many years left in office.

4. Ha! How's my wi-fi speed? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OHOHOHOHOHOHO! Heheheheh...oh, you crack me up! It's pretty bad.

5. I dunno, sprinting speed?

6. Actually, she is. You see, she was alive in the Overworld, then the Mastermind found her and made her his pet in the Aether. Lalita escaped the Aether from out of her owner's grasp and found herself with the other witch lady Maria. Then she died inside that cave when Morgan caused the rocks to fall down on her, so she is back in the Aether due to her lack of earthly life. Make sense?

7. XD It's okay.

8. Where was this, exactly?

9. Astrid. She's the least girly out of all of them, remember?

10. So, don't make specific measurements? It's a bad habit, I know.

11. Yeah, but you're also a psychic in this story.

12. I see what you mean. I'll make sure I keep an eye on that.

MrEnderTech: Sorry, dude, but I'm not accepting OCs right now. I will be later, because I know that I haven't asked for them in a while, but not quite yet. Keep in mind your OC so you can submit it to me in the future, though. Thanks! :)

badgerman: Yeah, but that's kind of the cheater way to do it. Anyway, with the mobs, right now the first place to completely mutate is Buenomalo, that world underneath the Void that was featured in the last book. Mutations in the Overworld will soon follow.

Guest: That...is a BRILLIANT IDEA! I'm going to put that into consideration.

Done, done and done! Now that that's all said and, er, done, we can get on with the real story!

Now, let the story commence!

Chapter 12: Ghost or Hoax?

Morgan's stomach churned for a few seconds, but she tried to make sure her outward appearance did not change at the news. She knew now what she was. A weapon using creative mode as its so-called "firepower." Was that really all she was meant to do in life? To be the female Juggernaut of the Minecraft Dimension?

"Morgan, hon, maybe you should get some fresh air before you keel over inside my house! I don't want an unconscious bod drooling on my floor!" protested Matilda, standing up and shuffling towards her, poking her in the back with her cane. "Go on! Out with you!"

Morgan was herded out the door of the stuffy cabin in a matter of seconds; she was actually glad to be out of that place, to be able to breathe air that wasn't stale. Even the rain outside had stopped, giving way to a beautiful, starry night sky, a cool breeze weaving in and out of the jungle trees.

Jeff and JB were still sitting inside, waiting for their opportunity to get out as well. Matilda sat back down in her little spot and looked at them both, observing them closely. Finally, she knew what they wanted and didn't even bother being subtle.

"Yes, yes, I understand you don't want to be around me at this moment. I'm just that old coot who insisted you stay to feed on her pitiful chicken pot pies...well? Go! If it's a quest you want, it's a quest you get! I'm not holding you back!"

JB and Jeff looked at each other for a moment, confused.

"Wait, quest?" questioned JB, looking like adventure was the last thing on his mind.

Matilda rolled her eyes and explained,

"Don't you know what's going on nowadays? Another chapter has been added by the Spirits In Between! The Glitch is still out there and is in need of a righteous spanking!" she declared, then suddenly turned to Jeff. "You're Norman Cobweb's friend, are you not?"

Jeff gave her a startled look, blinked hard for a second and then said,

"Where'd you get that from?"

She tapped her forehead with one finger, looking either proud or high and mighty...or both.

"Didn't I tell you about my mind-reading powers? Oh, never mind that! You and JB are going to be playing an important role in the fourth chapter! I can feel it in these old bones of mine! Just like my late friend Rexum did not so very long ago when the third chapter was coming into play! Now go! Fulfill your destiny! Justice is within your grasp!"

While Matilda had been getting super worked up over the epic journey that was to come, Jeff and JB had already snuck right out the door—although, even outside of the house they could hear her yells loud and clear. They both decided to leave at the word "powers." Once they were outside, they saw Morgan standing at the edge of the jungle, staring blankly into the trees. JB, who was generally concerned for the wellbeing of others, started to make her way towards her when Jeff put an arm out to stop him.

"JB, we don't know her; it's probably best if we leave her to her own business."

JB sighed and looked up at him with deeply concerned eyes.

"Listen, I'm not one to leave someone behind if they appear in need of help. This rule applied back when you and your, well, unstable friend came to ask of my aid. Can't we at least see if she needs help finding the nearest civilization? I mean, I could invite her to stay in my town if she needed to rest up before going wherever she needed to go."

Jeff considered this for a moment. He wasn't exactly in a hurry to be anywhere...or at least he thought he wasn't. Was that just senility talking or did Matilda actually mean they were part of the fourth chapter of the Divination of Dimensions? If it were true, would he really be able to see Norman again? By now, Norman would already be older than him, what with the Aether preventing Jeff from aging past his late twenties.

While Jeff was staring into space all of a sudden, JB ran down the wooden steps and crossed the small bridge to reach the edge of the jungle. He approached Morgan slowly so as not to startle her. All of a sudden, she turned around and looked at him, her eyes oddly void of emotion. JB's throat closed up on him without warning and he felt flustered.

"Crud! Why am I getting so nervous around her? I hardly know her!" he thought to himself, mind numbing up quickly.

Morgan stared at him like he was an idiot for a few seconds before saying,

"Uh...yes?"

JB's face started to turn red as he struggled with his words.

"Er, Morgan, is it? I was just wondering, uh, if you needed any help for...whatever it is you need to, um, do. Say, do you need, um, shelter or something along those lines?"

Morgan gave him a strange look, but suddenly found herself actually checking him out. He was tall, strong, kind of cute...quickly realizing what she was doing, she stopped herself and cleared her throat so she could speak.

"Sure, I could use some help getting out of the, uh, jungle. You know the way out?"

JB nodded and cleared his throat as well. The last thing he needed was for his voice to crack. It rarely did anymore, but there were still a couple of occasions where his body wanted to be mean to him. To keep his tomato face out of sight, he walked straight into the jungle and waved his hand for Morgan to follow. As she was following close behind, she kept in mind not to ever, ever, EVER reveal her true story. Well, it wasn't like she could reveal her powers; she didn't even know how to use them.

Meanwhile, back the house, Jeff was finally snapping out of his semi-trance. He'd been thinking hard about what Matilda said; could he really be playing a part in the last chapter? As much as he hated to admit it, he kind of missed the adventuring, the near-constant adrenaline running through his veins, the sweet satisfaction of finishing the war on the best of notes. He decided he just couldn't stop himself from taking the opportunity to be a part in saving the universe again.

This goal of kicking the Glitch into next week made him go in a full sprint to follow JB and Morgan.

Somewhere far away in the world of Minecraft, Bailey Creeper and Mason Mushroom sat across from each other at a table in the back of the Spider's Eye, a dismal, low-activity pub at the edge of Vanilla Village, the newly restored version of Bailey's former mountainside village.

There was only one other person in the entire pub, so Bailey and Mason were able to talk quietly in the corner without anyone to disturb them. The waitress, who was surprisingly pretty and delicate to be working in such a place, came forward and lifted up a book and quill, ready to write.

"And what will we be having this morning?" she asked, her voice annoyingly squeaky.

Mason took a single look at the menu and said,

"I'll take a cream of mushroom malt. Brown and warmed, please."

She wrote it down with a flourish and then turned to Bailey, who just raised an hand and said,

"I'll just have water, thank you."

After taking their orders, she hurried back to the counter and relayed the orders. For a few seconds, the two of them watched the brewer behind the counter working with his crafting table, putting a bucket, milk and wheat on it to make the malted milk, then putting that on his brewing stand and adding the brown mushrooms. As the brewing stand was doing its job, Bailey turned back to Mason, catching his attention once more.

"Mason, I need to ask you a couple questions regarding your story. You told me that you had survived the golden flood inside that pyramid twenty years ago, but everyone saw you at the final battle in the Aether that day. You couldn't have been in two places unless you were a spirit of some kind. I mean, you were an Aetherian, so you were technically a ghost, but there was no way you could've escaped the Aether. It's got boundaries beneath the clouds."

Mason pondered this, using all knowledge to aid him. The result was most unsatisfactory.

"I'm afraid that is all I remember, dear Bailey. Unless a nasty individual has replaced my memories, which I highly doubt, I cannot give you an explanation."

The waitress came back seconds later with their drinks. Mason licked his bearded lips and uncorked his bottle, lifting it to Bailey's water bottle.

"To the survival of the Minecraft Dimension!"

Their bottles clinked and they both took a drink. After setting down their beverages, Bailey took a breath and continued.

"It could be that the Glitch has been toying with our minds by messing with the boundaries, but how could it have done anything to the Aether on that exact day? It was banished into the Void just after the battle, so there was no way it could have done something. It would've been too weak to do it from inside the E.S.C."

Mason took another swig and then played with his beard as he thought hard. After a few seconds of silence, he replied,

"Perhaps the Glitch hid some viruses inside the dimension's code before the war as a last-minute resort to mess with Minecraft. It could have easily taken bugs from its own body, not enough to damage oneself, but enough to make sure the Aether changed while it was deep inside the Void."

Bailey sighed, resting her chin in both hands.

"I guess so. This whole thing could be a sick prank by the Glitch. That would explain why a whole bunch of things were kind of glitchy in Minecraftia even after it left. That still doesn't explain how your memories got all switched up. Somehow, you must've fallen out of the Aether one day on accident and landed in the Overworld, suddenly unable to remember anything."

All of a sudden, all this mystery was starting to give Mason a headache. He rubbed his temples, groaning quietly and trying to think again. He tried to remember anything, anything at all. Another ten seconds later, just a few glimpses came to him and he lifted his head in wonder, staring at Bailey for a moment.

"I may not remember much, but I do remember one thing. When I awoke from my sleep, though I hadn't recalled going to bed in the Aether, I had the most torturous of migraines I'd gotten in a long time. Also, I was inside of that golden room underneath the pyramid we made shelter on that quest twenty years ago, knee deep in liquefied gold. I just rationalized and assumed I'd somehow survived drowning in liquid gold. It was only until today when you told me of the battle that I remembered my presence."

It only took Bailey a few seconds to come up with a reasonable explanation.

"When you fell out of the Aether—which you must have, otherwise you wouldn't be in the Overworld at all—you could have hit your head on the long fall down. The only reason you survived was because you landed in a block-high pool of liquid gold, but falling through that small opening in the top of the pyramid could've easily hurt at least one part of your body. You just got unlucky and ended up hurting your brain."

Just the memory of that migraine brought further pain to Mason's head, and he furiously rubbed his temples to rid himself of it. He sighed, gazing at her sadly.

"I wish to have real knowledge, not theories. Unfortunately, no such freedoms come at the moment. Until then, I do not even have a goal in mind. What am I going to do now?"

Bailey paused, thinking about that for a moment. Although she never liked him during his time as a mayor over Smelttown, she knew that she might as well give him some shelter.

"Alright, until you regain your memory, you can stay in the Creeper mansion with me and the rest of my family."

All of a sudden, Mason's eyes lit up with curiosity and he leaned forward on the table, taking a quick sip of his drink before asking this,

"Your family, eh? I heard you and Leland had a son, am I correct? What's his name?"

The question made Bailey's blood run cold. Her son Lucas had been possessed and then murdered by the Glitch and its heart of ice. She'd gotten the news rather recently, but in a matter of a week she'd been able to push it out of mind. During that time, though, she drank away her sorrows, but she'd gone cold turkey for four days now. In a matter of seconds, her pathetic thirst had returned with a vengeance. While she started to cry her eyes out on the wood of the table, her loss returning to mind, the waitress came back to see what was wrong.

"Anything I can help with here?"

Bailey sniffed and looked up at the waitress with both anger and sadness in her red, puffy eyes.

"Got anything for c-crippling depression?"

The waitress walked back to the counter and told the brewer to whip up a Miracle Jug right away. Bailey continued to cry, barely even able to mutter,

"G-good thing they added a-a-alcohol in v-version 76.0..."

Mason reached over and patted her shoulder for comfort. He'd never been very good at feeling sorry for others, but he did know the experience of losing a loved one.

"Oh, I'm so sorry...did your son contract a terminal disease?"

"Th-the worst virus you...you can c-catch. It's called many things, but it's m-most commonl-ly referred to a-as the Glitch. There's no kn-kn-known cure and it's highly con-con...contagious..."

Mason growled at the sound of the Glitch's name, responding with this,

"Curse that foul creature. It has caused this world so much suffering. Will it not stop at nothing to persecute us?"

All of a sudden, there came a massive explosion from outside, shaking the entire town. Bailey snapped out of it in an instant, jumping out of her seat and running to the door to see what was going on outside. Mason followed quickly behind, his stumpy legs going as fast as they could manage. He found Bailey standing right outside the Spider's Eye next to Butterball—having to wait outside due to the no-Creepers-allowed sign above the door—both of them staring at the mountain not too far in the distance. Mason's mouth dropped open when he caught sight of the mountain.

"Notch help us..."

The mountain wasn't a mountain anymore, it was an active volcano of plasma. That was where the Void portal sat, deep inside that special mountain, the connection to the secret planet beneath the Void that Mark and Vanessa had landed themselves in. Apparently, the planet had finally been consumed by the Glitch's viruses, because they were finally able to break the surface of the Overworld.

Plasma spilled into the landscape below at incredible speeds, crashing down the surrounding plains and mountains like a tsunami. The plasma began to flood up the entire valley, rising up against their mountain, reducing everything it touched to mere particles. The Spider's Eye was at the very bottom of Vanilla Village; the plasma was soon at Bailey and Mason's level, causing them to frantically climb the ladders of the village, going up another level. As they were forced onto yet another upper level, Bailey turned to Mason and began to tear up as they were running towards the next ladder.

"Mason, I don't want to die like this! Not like Lucas!"

"Your son?" he asked, eyes wide.

She nodded sadly, climbing the ladder with feverish energy. She was NOT going to die like this! She was just glad that Creepers could somehow climb ladders, because Butterball was managing to keep up from below. The three of them continued to avoid the black flood until they'd reached highest level of the mountainside town. Despite their efforts, Mason and Bailey were only fifteen blocks from the rising plasma beneath them. Even though both had been ripped of their adrenaline, they climbed the side of the mountain itself until they reached its peak.

They both stared in horror at the flooded valley and faraway plains, unbelieving about the sheer amount of deadly plasma that had filled the area. They had no hope. There was no other way out! The only option was to stay there like sitting ducks and be consumed like all the rest before them.

"No! I refuse to die here! I will not go quietly into the night like those who fell to the Glitch's wrath!" declared Bailey, staring down the rising plasma below them.

With the plasma rising at a quickening pace and the lack of supplies on hand, Mason grabbed her shoulders and tried to get her to focus on reality.

"Bailey! It's truly over for the both of us! Just ask yourself this: what can we do to stop our imminent deaths? It is not as if a Nether portal can appear out of thin air so that we may be whisked away to safety in another dimension!"

As if on cue, Butterball hissed out of alarm, getting both Bailey's and Mason's attention. There came a gurgling sound from behind them and they whirled around to see a Nether portal just sitting there.

"What?! You're serious?!" said Bailey, not believing her eyes.

While Bailey and Mason were both gawking at the sudden Nether portal, the sound of disintegrating blocks behind them got them both to come into reality. They were just seconds away from death. Bailey turned to look at Mason, who returned the gaze.

"Well, you know what they say! The best look into Heaven is on the way into Hell! Let's do this!"

Without hesitation, Bailey leapt straight at the portal, disappearing almost instantly.

Bailey came out the other side and slammed right into another Minecraftian, knocking him off the cliff they were standing on. He fell with a piercing scream before he hit the ground. Bailey's gut knotted up when she thought he was dead. She hurriedly jumped down the other side of the mountain and ran up to his body. To her great relief, he was breathing, but ever so slowly.

This boy looked to be about fifteen or so. He had a very ratty appearance, with his lankiness, dirty clothes, unwashed face and pimples. His dark brown hair was unbelievably shaggy, hanging over his face and going down to his shoulders. After scanning him over for a second, Bailey put her head to the dude's chest and listened for a heartbeat. It was rapid.

Suddenly, he sat up and locked her in a headlock with surprising strength. Despite being over fifteen years older and a well-trained fighter, Bailey was having trouble fighting him off.

"What...the...hell...was that for?!" he muttered slowly, demanding to know why he'd just been knocked off a cliff.

Bailey was choking beneath his grasp; she tried to get out a few words to save her own life, but it was extremely difficult.

"I...SWEAR! My colleague...and...I...were es...escaping...a flood...your portal...c-came...PLEASE..."

Reluctantly, the teen let go of Bailey and she fell to her knees, coughing and spitting. Once she had her breath back as well as her dignity, she stood up and cleared her throat, explaining once more.

"My colleague and I were escaping a flood when your portal appeared. We took the opportunity to save ourselves, but we had no idea who was on the other end. We just needed to get to safety."

The guy stood up, using his height to his advantage; it made him feel more powerful being above everyone else considering he stood at an impressive three blocks tall. He grimaced at her and replied,

"Kay, but where's your friend, then?"

Bailey looked back up at the mountain and realized that Mason hadn't followed her out. She paused for a moment, swallowing to satisfy her suddenly dry throat. He crossed his arms, getting even more impatient.

"Well?"

Bailey turned back to him and said,

"I...I don't know! He was right behind me, but—"

"Yeah, right. Just go back through the other end and we can pretend we never saw each other."

He took out a plain stick and started poking her in the back with it to get her to move back towards the mountain.

"Go!"

Bailey breathed heavily, now frustrated with the kid. He had no right to be bossing her around. If they had to fight a second time, she knew he wouldn't stand a chance. She started to scale the Netherrack mountain. As she was climbing, she stopped for a moment turned around to look back down at the guy. She cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted,

"At least tell me your name!"

He sighed, but shouted back to her,

"Alexander Farmland!"

"Bailey Creeper!" she replied, then continued up the mountain.

All of a sudden, Alexander realized he'd made a big mistake. This lady was a Creeperwhisperer?! He needed to get her on his side or the others would kill him! Without a second to waste, he bolted towards the mountain, his strong legs serving him well.

"HEY, LADY! WAIT UP!" he yelled.

Bailey, who'd grown tired of the boy's constant yelling, merely looked back down at him and replied,

"You'll have to get to me first! I'd say I'm already halfway there!"

To Alexander's dismay, Bailey started climbing like a monkey set on finding herself some delicious bananas. Once she reached the top, she froze in her tracks and stared. The Nether portal wasn't alight with purple anymore. The connection had been lost. And even worse, neither Butterball nor Mason were anywhere in sight.

*gasp* Is Mason actually dead?! AND Butterball?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! It can't be! ...well, it can, but I just don't want to admit it.

QAA, everyone!

To Jeff:Matilda can restore deleted code. Esmeralda was deleted! You have the perfect opportunity here!

Jeff: Wait a minute...you're absolutely right! I'm getting back to Matilda as soon as possible! Thanks!

To the Glitch:How thick can you get? You don't even want to consider an alliance with Satan? You can't deny he is powerful. Psychotic and evil, but powerful.

The Glitch: Pfft. Surely you realize that he has boundaries and I have none. Even if he had but one, it would not matter, for I am always unbound by any limitations! That means I can overpower anyone that stands in my way, fool! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

To Bailey, Joe, Danny and Patrick: Are any of you ex-Earth-souls?

Bailey: Nope.

Joe: Er, what?

Danny: What the heck do you mean ex-Earth-soul?

Patrick: Ha! Of course not! Norman and Lizzy were, but I only knew that because we used to be best friends during grade school.

To Kelsey and Adrian: The only reason your first quest took so long was because you spent most of it slacking off. If you didn't spend a week in that mansion and then another in Diamond University you would have got to the Aether in plenty of time to miss three headed dude, find out that your Balance Core wasn't real, figure out that the core was actually in Mark and put it in its place once more.

Kelsey: Oh wow...you're right. We did spend a ton of time like that. Ohh, why didn't any of us see it earlier?! We could've saved Mark!

Adrian: Yeah, I guess ya make a purty good point there. We're jus' not hero material, I suppose.

I'm just kinda glad I didn't get one of those "To Everyone" questions. Those take much longer to answer than you think. Anyway, on with Sugar Lords! We're getting into the juicier bits! *excitement overflows*

The moment Nwinds caught sight of Axel's warty, ugly face onscreen, he teleported himself back outside of the alien brain, coming back into view of everyone. Apparently, time inside the brain was longer than outside, because ILTRTGS and Luvr had brought Chinese takeout so everyone could chow down while they waited for Nwinds to come back.

He flew up to Pastrinator64, who was popping a wonton in his mouth. Nwinds approached him so fast that Pastrinator64 was startled, almost choking on his wonton. He swallowed and then looked deep into Nwinds eyes, immediately knowing something was wrong.

"Dude, what happened in there. Tell me!"

Nwinds stuttered for a few seconds, trying to get it out, when Pikale came from behind and knocked the back of his head.

"Hello, Nwinds in there? We'd like to speak with him."

Nwinds gulped and took a deep, cleansing breath. Then he took another, calming himself down enough where he could explain.

"It's Axel. Axel has come back for revenge and she's bringing a billion of these monsters with her."

Pastrinator64 gritted his teeth and replied,

"Great, her again. Hasn't she caused enough pain and suffering already?! It seems like she'll stop at nothing to completely get rid of the Knights of the Blocky Table. That means she'll be coming after us directly..."

This brought either angered or depressed looks to everyone's faces. They'd already defeated Axel once; they hoped that they'd never have to repeat history. A few seconds later, Luvr piped up to get everyone's attention.

"Come on, guys! You can't just give up without a fight, can you? It's Axel's mistake for coming back to kill us. If she wants a war, she's going to always end up on the losing end, and it's our job to make sure she gets the full punishment for messing with us."

Kyle lifted up his head and began to smile with motivation.

"She's right! When the universe's at stake, there's only one group who can take her down. US! The Knights of the Blocky Table!"

Pastrinator64 watched his friends start cheers of determination, but on the inside he sighed and thought to himself,

"Man, I wish Striker was here. He'd be so proud."

Ah, poor Striker. Can this misfit bunch of teenagers actually defeat an all-powerful sorceress? I mean, they did it once before, but that was when there were a hundred of them ready to fight.

Well, that's all for now! I hope you enjoyed chapter number twelve, and I'll see you all LATER!

This is Pastrinator64, your fellow writer and reader, signing out!

*throws sugar bomb and disappears behind its cloud of fine white sugar*

...Goodbye for now...

~Pastrinator64 [~]