Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from Hourglass.

So, this somehow STILL became a super long chapter. But it's not quite long enough where I can split it into two chapters, so I suppose this is just gonna be one big chap! Hope ya like to read! XD There was just a really important vulnerable moment for one of the characters that I didn't want to interrupt, so that's why it got kinda long.

Replies to Reviews...

Marshman101: Y'know, since Potions of Poison just heal zombies? :D Yeah, I thought it would be a cool nod to traditional Minecraft rules.

Laner: Yeahhhhhhh...they would! And yes, I think I'll let Evan keep the Wither bone as his own special shield. I mean, he lost his bow, after all!

Airas Slayer: Ah, don't worry about it! I'm late all the time. XD Thanks, also! I like to think I've gotten better since I began this series. I mean, I remember you back from the beginning of VOiD especially, so I know you've been around a while to see my progress. :) I will indeed keep it up! This story's getting as many more chapters as it needs, dang it! Not TOO many, but you get the idea.

Thanks for the review, ma dudes! It means a lot each and every time. ^^

Now, let the story commence!

Chapter 54: Pep Talks and Back Rubs

It was the sound of whispering that woke Vanessa. Her eyelids fought heavy sleep as she tried to lift them. For a full minute, she resisted the urge to fall back asleep, trying instead to focus on the voices. Eventually, her mind won the battle over her body and she was able to fully open her eyes; now that she was a bit more awake than before, she better recognized the thick red sheets that covered her along with the plush mattress underneath her robe-clad body. She lifted her head ever-so-slightly and stared around her surroundings to the best of her ability. When her eyes couldn't reach that far, she tried going off of pure magic.

She hadn't been very well trained to recognize the magical energy of nonliving things, but she was able to use her rough skills well enough to create a mental image of everything within fifty blocks of her position; she was lying on the top of a unnaturally tall oak tree, many other smaller trees surrounding the area in which she could scan. She assumed they had stopped to rest in a forest, of course, and tried to locate the origin of the whispers. When she tried doing so, she was surprised to be greeted with no signs of extra magic at all…how, though? Of course it could only be Salutem and Mastermind, couldn't it?

And then, Vanessa recalled something that Mastermind had told her just a couple days ago that answered that very question:

'More powerful magical individuals like Salutem and moi can completely mask our auras, leaving us entirely undetectable even by the Glitch!'

Vanessa sighed, immediately wracking her brain for another way to find where the murmurs were coming from so she could listen in. Eventually, she tried directing a bit of her magic into her ears to enhance her natural hearing. She had to stop herself from letting out a scream when Mastermind's cryptic giggle was suddenly blasted against her eardrum.

"Goodness, that was loud…" she growled to herself, attempting to tone the magic flow down a bit.

Once she was finally able to adjust her hearing to a less harmful volume, she began eavesdropping for real.

"—going to make it there? I'm all for looking on the bright side, but you said it yourself! If we go to Glowstone, we're just going to get smacked around by more waves! It's been enough of a pain trying to run from these. The Glitch's taken every measure to make sure the plasma down here in the Overworld is as impossible to escape as…possible. Heehee…no wonder that monster hasn't come down and bitten our heads off itself; it's been putting all its energy into these damn tidal waves! Eeheeheeheeheehee! Eheheh…"

"I understand how bleak our situation is, Mastermind, but finding Sycallion is the best chance we have. Farixz told me that the Ultra Hero and his friends are currently on the same mission, so it may indeed be advantageous for us to meet with them, especially now that their time has been cut in half; if we can assist them in sending Sycallion back to the other Spirits, then this entire mess can be dealt with once and for all! It would completely put a stop to the Glitch's plans, don't you see?"

"You don't think we'll just cause more problems by following the heroes? I mean, haven't you noticed how obsessed the plasma down here in the Overworld is with chasing us? We might end up killing everybody just by BEING there! Ohhhh…oh, how awful, heh…"

"We have nowhere else to go, Mastermind. Since we can't simply fly above the waves, ou… …ly remain… … …on is to f…o… …stone Nation… … … … …e've only… …few hour… …ning left…get th…"

Vanessa winced as multiple bursts of static cut through the conversation, blocking her out repeatedly. She lightly knocked her head, shaking it a bit, just trying to get the sound back on.

"C'mon, stupid…" she growled, struggling to keep concentration.

"…s… … … … … …ca… … …o … … … … … …po… … …d… … … … … … … … … … … … …a… … … … … …"

By now, her magical enhancements had worn off and she was left listening to pure static. She groaned in frustration and flopped back on her pillow, tear-blurred eyes staring angrily at the sky.

"I can't even do a basic body enhancement spell…" she whispered, teeth gnashed as she started to squash herself. "How am I supposed to take over for Rexum when I can't do something as simple as that?"

She took a few seconds to feel bad for herself, a pair of tears falling down her pasty skin as she pictured Rexum's disapproving expression in her mind. Eventually, she closed her eyes and sighed, rolling gently onto her side as she tried to go back asleep. The wetness in her eyes was kind of distracting, unfortunately, so she lifted a hand to wipe it away. In the process, she opened her eyes just a peek and was greeted with a set of floating teeth shaped into a great big smile.

"GYAH!" she cried, jolting up and falling backwards into the crunchy leaves.

She scrambled off her stomach and got into a defensive curl, staring in horror as the floating mouth darted towards her and opened to declare,

"Well, you're not gonna be his successor with THAT attitude!"

Vanessa let out a much louder groan this time and leaned forward, picking herself up off her back and taking a stand. As she was doing so, she gritted her teeth painfully and muttered,

"Master, you're taking years off my life whenever you startle me like that! So please stop doing it! …please!"

The floating mouth spun around in place once before zipping backwards onto its awaiting owner, who hovered up into place. Once the Mastermind's mouth had reattached itself, he leaned forward with crossed arms and added,

"Well, it's true! Sure, times are pretty bleak, but we've still got a teensy bit of hope if we follow the plan Salutem came up with—as much as I hate to admit it as that means I'm in the wrong. Rexum never gave up hope, did he? He kept on fighting until the very end! Just how I trained him and, of course, how I'm trying to train you. 'Course, you're a bit more stubborn and prissy than he was, eheeheehee!"

Vanessa breathed heavily through her nose, trying to keep her anger contained. Even though her new master was the most aggravating individual alive, he was right about this. She had to get her own emotions under control, otherwise she'd end up "sorrying" herself to her grave. She slowed her breaths within the next couple seconds, shaking off the last bit of fatigue in her limbs as she tried to loosen up.

"Haaaa…" she breathed, eyes closing. "Ohhhhkay…"

She lifted her arms high over her head and stretched, opening her eyes to a squint and saying,

"So, where are we really going now? Glowstone National Park?"

At this time, Salutem hovered up into view from behind, floating right over her before coming to a halt next to the Mastermind.

"It truly is our best chance of survival at this point. If we meet up with the other heroes, perhaps we can even help them complete the quest; then there would be no more waves, dimensions, or demons to worry about whatsoever. All would be done!"

All of a sudden, a new thought jutted into Vanessa's mind as she came to a certain realization.

The other heroes.

"Other heroes as in…my father? And Adrian? Kelsey? Astrid? …okay, maybe I'm still not a big fan of Astrid, but the other three?" she asked, a fresh eagerness in her eyes.

The Mastermind pursed his lips for a moment, smile fading slightly, but quickly returned with a massive grin and exclaimed,

"Heehee, yes! Er, more or less."

Vanessa didn't catch the bit of hesitation in his voice; she jumped once in place and clenched her fingers together tightly, a brand-new smile now on her face.

"Really?" she said, positively beaming. "If that's who we're going to see, I want to get moving as soon as possible! …c-can we go now?"

The Mastermind and Salutem exchanged a glance, the two pondering if she'd truly gotten enough sleep to get back on the move this early. After they had both seen her magical energies spike without warning, however, they figured it would be fine to leave.

"If you insist!" the Mastermind laughed, turning to look at her again.

"Uh, um…great!" Vanessa replied, trying to get her bearings as she rushed back to her bed and snatched Cantatis out from under her sheets. "Let's get going, then!"

Putting a bountiful supply of magic into her legs, Vanessa power-jumped off the treetop and rocketed through the air, arms flailing as she struggled to keep her balance midair. She couldn't help but laugh while doing so despite it not being her nature; she was going to get to see dad again! And the few friends she managed to make in her last adventure! After being stuck with just the Mastermind for so long, this was a meeting she was very much looking forward to.

The Mastermind took off his jester hat for a moment, patting down his black and white-striped hair and beaming just as much as Vanessa. After slapping it back on his scalp, he crossed his gangly arms and let out a sigh, muttering,

"Finally."

Salutem slowly looked over at him, trying to decipher the dimensional guardian's thoughts.

"Finally what?" he asked, giving him a quizzical look—as well as his jellylike features would allow, at least.

"Finally, she does the one thing I've been trying to train her to do. She's finally looking on the bright side."

"Alright, everyone! It's time to stop for the night!"

A collective groan rippled through their seven-member party, followed by the thumps of bodies in the grass—also seven. In the center of the group, Carol let out an unladylike groan and scrunched her eyes shut, feeling the full weight of her fatigue all at once as she flopped onto her stomach.

"Buhhhhhh…" she grumbled. "…for fuck's sake, why couldn't we have stopped an hour ago?"

Norman sat up in place, coughing once to clear his throat before glancing over at her and replying,

"Sorry, Carol! We had a certain number of blocks we had to cover before we stopped to rest, otherwise we'd be off track for the next day! We DO only have just over 24 hours to do everything else, y'know."

She let out an airy sigh through her nose, then opened her eyes to stare at the pitch-black sky. A couple of seconds later, she lifted her hands lazily off the ground and let them fall to either side, stretching herself out on the forest floor.

"Whatever…well, I'm not gonna be the one to build the shelter tonight. Somebody else can do it this time…"

Five and a half blocks away, Auconi crossed one leg over the other where he lied and commented,

"No offense, but cobwebs probably aren't the best material for building houses. Especially when there's a bunch of mutated mobs around."

Carol shrugged, proceeding to sit up and holding her arms behind her back, cracking her joints.

"Ehhhh, none taken."

She rolled her head around, twisted her arms, and made generally uncomfortable-looking poses with her upper body as she stretched herself out. She eventually brought her arms out again, leaning forward as far as she could go to relieve her stiffness.

"Urrrgh…oh man, my back hurts! I haven't carried a Blockpack that far in all my seventeen years! …of, um, being alive…I don't know what I'm saying anymore." she grumbled, wincing as she cracked her back.

Suddenly, Carol's eyes reopened when she felt a pair of hands rest on her upper back. Painfully, she turned around in place to see what Sabrina was trying to do—assuming it was Sabrina, of course. She was surprised to find it was actually Adrian sitting behind her, legs folded pretzel-style and hands on the dark fabric of her spiderweb top.

"What're you…?" she growled, squinting at him.

"Y'said your back was hurtin' pretty bad, right?" he said with a smile, warming up the skin underneath with a light rub. "Well, ah've been goin' on hefty hikes for a loooong time and ah think ah've got a massage just for you! My ma taught it to me a while back for when ah'd go out on my own and was too far from home."

Carol's brain needed a couple seconds to cut through his accent, but she eventually was able to open her mouth again and respond with,

"I…so, what am I supposed to…?"

"Do you want the massage, or what?"

"Just do it, already."

Adrian chuckled lightly and patted her on the shoulder, just barely pushing her forward.

"On yer stomach, lass." he said, trying his best to show his trustworthiness. "It works better that way."

Carol sighed again, switching her legs around from underneath the rest of her body so that she could lie down. She fell heavily back into the grass and folded her arms in front of her, resting her chin in the divot and stared straight forward into the spooky woods ahead. As Adrian was positioning himself next to her, she puckered her lips slightly and added,

"I know I sound like a real whiner, but can somebody really start on the shelter? I can see a bunch of skeletons, like, ten trees away from us…"

A couple of seconds later, she heard the sound of wooden planks being placed behind her; good, they were actually going to build it! Before she could say or think anything else, Adrian knuckles met with her skin and began to expertly knead her stiffest points. Shocked by how good he was at this, she opened her eyes and stretched a bit more, muttering,

"Whoaaaaaa, geez…that's, uh, that's…holy shiiiiii—"

"Hey, hey!" Adrian interjected jokingly, lifting a hand. "Watch your language!"

From across the clearing they had stopped in, Auconi placed another of his oak planks and called out over his shoulder,

"Right, Adrian! 'Cause we all know how hard Carol's been trying to quit swearing. It was her ultimate life goal…"

Carol glared at him through her peripherals, trying to formulate a comeback. Before she could think of anything, however, Adrian hit a nerve—in a good way—at the top of her right shoulder blade, essentially reducing her to a puddle.

"Hooooooo…" she breathed, eyes closing hazily.

Sabrina, who was currently helping Auconi construct their temporary home, placed the last few blocks of wooden planks she had and turned around to grab more from Bailey's Blockpack. When she was about to bend down and open it, she finally caught sight of Carol and Adrian in the middle of the group and felt her eyes widen a great amount. She'd never seen Carol so legitimately relaxed before!

"H-hey!" she said, turning a bright shade of red as the following words streamed out of her mouth. "Can I get one?"

Adrian paused for a moment, glancing over his shoulder to see Sabrina standing not far from them, stiff as a stone and cherry in the face. The smile gradually returned to his face and he replied,

"Well, sure! Just as soon as ah'm finished with your bud here."

Sabrina nodded feverishly, quickly trying to figure out what to do with herself.

"Aha…ah, o-okay. Got it!" she said, hastily returning her attention to the Blockpack at her feet.

Bailey and Norman, who were resting up against the same tree, watched as Carol went from being the most high-strung, cynical, whiny person in their group to a mess of happy snickers and grumbles; she may have actually let go the first genuine smile ever since she joined their group. Norman chuckled, nudging Bailey in the arm with his elbow to get her attention.

"Does this remind you of something, Bailey?" he asked, looking at her.

Bailey too gave the slightest of grins, nodding in response and saying,

"If you're referring to the day when I got you and Butterball acquainted with each other, then yep! It definitely does."

"Yeah," Norman added, adjusting his position against the tree trunk. "Turning something virtually unapproachable into the friendliest thing alive…of course, this is probably going to be temporary. I don't see Carol having a complete turnaround anytime soon."

It took just five more minutes for Adrian to finish the massage. Somehow, he was able to cover every inch of Carol's back in that time, and she was so loose by the end that she could barely roll over onto her side.

"You've got talent, dude." she muttered, falling the rest of the way onto her newly-healed back and going eagle-spread again. "Sabrina, get over here! You better let this guy work his magic on you! I know that sounds really creepy, but…goddamn, he's really good at this!"

Sabrina turned around where she stood, dropping the 32-stack of wooden planks she was holding and whirling around.

"What?" she sputtered, suddenly catching both her and Adrian's gazes. "Oh! R-right…"

She shuffled over awkwardly, trying not to look at either of them directly as she approached them. It was quite a sight to behold: watching Sabrina make her way over and somehow get herself to lie down next to Adrian.

"Ummmmmmmm…" she murmured, cheeks burning and lips clenched. "Go?"

Adrian started immediately. He had a lot more to work with on Sabrina, partially because she had a much fuller figure and partially because she was still wearing her pale gray crop top underneath her iron chestplate. The second he placed his hand on her shoulder, she flinched; he turned his whole body to peer at her from the side, giving her a look.

"Y'alright, Sabrina?" he asked, showing legitimate concern in his voice.

Sabrina nodded silently, staring directly in front of her to keep her embarrassed expression out of his view. A few seconds later, Adrian cracked his knuckles over her and set his hands in between her shoulder blades, saying,

"Okey dokey!"

With Sabrina getting the massage, Astrid had taken over as assistant house-builder with Auconi. He was working on the right flank of their work-in-progress wooden hut—near Norman and Bailey—while she was on the left. In a matter of seconds, Astrid's wall grew close enough to Adrian and Sabrina where she noticed them almost immediately. All thoughts of their quest were wiped from her mind in an instant and she was caught in place, her eyes fixated on the two of them. Her face turned more and more pink the longer she watched, and only after ten whole seconds was she able to get herself to start placing blocks again.

"Hey, Astrid!"

Astrid was broken out of her mental spell instantaneously at the sound of Adrian's voice. There he was, looking up at her with a totally innocent grin. The two of them just stared at each other for a couple more seconds, the first of them trying oh so hard to hide their embarrassment.

"…yeah, what?"

"You want one, too? You probably spent the most energy out of all of us!"

Astrid was always pretty good at improv, but somehow she felt it wasn't working in this situation. She nodded, giving him a smile back and lazily slapping on another oak plank.

"I guess! Why not, right? I won't lie, my feet definitely hurt after just savagely kicking that one zombie into that lava pit." she replied, putting some of her usual fun-loving charm into her tone to distract from her awkwardness.

Adrian chuckled briefly, turning his gaze back down to Sabrina's half-bare back.

"Nah, nah, it's a back massage! Not a foot massage, Astrid!" he commented; Astrid was glad he was looking away, because the reds in her face spread like wildfire. "But, well, if you wanted me to, ah can do it all."

Astrid stopped putting down blocks for a second time, turning slowly around in place to look at him again. She swallowed, heart speeding up unusually fast, and replied,

"Do what now?"

Just then, Adrian finished up with Sabrina and lightly moved her to the left. Just like Carol, she rolled to the side quite loosely and let out a breath, now both extremely relaxed and extremely embarrassed. While she and Carol started talking in excitement about the beautiful experience they both just had, Adrian sat up a bit straighter and placed his hands on his knees where he sat, raising his head to look at her.

"Like, every massage! Ah would think you're wholly sore, right? Not just in the back, but your feet like ya just said. Probably your arms, neck, shoulders…heck, your abdominals're probably ground to a pulp by the end of this, aren't they? Heh, it's kinda your fault for makin' us let you beat up every single monster we saw, ain't it?"

As Astrid was beginning to process his proposal, the two sides of her mind started to wrestle. On one hand, she had to remind herself that she was the neutral one: not the boring one, but the one who didn't succumb to the lovey-doveyness that adventures like these seemed to bring. And on the other, there was the fact that she was still, well…

A sixteen year-old teenage girl full of hormones.

"Hey, screw it!" Wait a minute, what? "You seem like you know what you're doing! I mean, you managed to help Carol by some miracle." What are you saying?! "I've gotten massages like that back when we were all still on Earth," No you have NOT! "So…if it's free, why not?" You're stupid, Astrid Villson. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!

As Astrid was taking the needed steps toward him, her brain and body in a furious brawl against each other, Adrian twisted in place and took a glance around to see what everyone else was doing. Norman and Bailey were looking at each other, talking about something involving their final battle tomorrow; Carol and Sabrina were lying on top of each other, staring into the sky and muttering exhaustedly about Alexander; Auconi was finishing up the last two walls to their house before he could move on to the roof. When he was done surveying the rest of their group, he untwisted his torso to find Astrid sitting pretzel-legged in front of him, waiting with an oddly vacant expression.

"Well, ah don't think we'll be makin' anybody uncomfortable, so how's about we get this show on the road! …does that expression, er, work for this situation, even?"

Astrid broke out of her blank stare and chuckled in response, silently trying to calm herself down. Settle, heartbeat. Settle, brain!

"I don't think so, but who cares?" she replied, smiling. "Um, what do I do now, though?"

Adrian grinned back and raised a hand, promptly asking,

"Well, what do you want to start with? Arms? Neck? Back? Feet? Shoulders?

Astrid picked the least awkward of the choices—although she secretly kinda sorta wanted all of them—and said,

"Shoulders, I guess!" You are screwed. 100% screwed, Villson.

She spun around in place so that her back was facing Adrian and scooched backwards, moving closer to him. Adrian too moved up, putting himself right behind her and laying his hands on her shoulders. As Carol would say, he began "working his magic" and dug deep with his thumbs, pressing into all the right places. Even Astrid, who never ever let anyone make her look weak, let out a shudder and felt herself start to melt from the inside out.

"Nice, dude…" she muttered, trying to be as cool about it as she could. "Thanks for that."

Adrian grinned sincerely and replied,

"No prob, Astrid!"

Astrid couldn't quite decipher what it was he was doing to her shoulders, but whatever it was…it was working expertly. He kneaded all the knots out of her neck and shoulders, loosened her shoulder blades one by one, and eventually worked his way down the length of her back, ridding her of any and all stiffness, kinks, and sore spots. Like the respectful gentleman he was, he would even ask her along the way if she was still comfortable with what he was doing. He had it DOWN.

"Holy buckets, man…" Astrid breathed, allowing the feelings of relaxation to wash over her. "You're legit. Like, really legit!"

"Thanks!" he said, cracking another smile. "Ah try, eheh…what's next?"

Astrid sighed in relief, essentially liquefying under his hands, and gave him a slight nod in response. The next second, he patted her on the back suddenly and she felt him start to push. She refocused her eyes and sat up quickly at the change in touch, glancing back at him.

"What're you pushing for?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You said "okay," right? Then ah need'ja to face me."

She paused, giving him a curious, mildly frightened look.

"For what?"

"Well, ah gotta have you facin' me if ah'm gonna give you a foot massage!"

"Oh Gaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhd…why did I nod?" she thought, her entire body going tense in an instant. "I DIDN'T EVEN HEAR WHAT HE SAIDoh there he goes, oh God, oh God…"

Adrian had set her boot-clad feet in his lap and was looking ready to start the next part of the massage. As he began taking off one of her boots, he glanced up at her and suddenly asked,

"Hey, remember that conversation we were havin' the other day?"

Astrid's eyes were fixated on Adrian's hands at the moment, but her brain was somehow still able to register his words. She swallowed hard, watching carefully as he slowly removed the iron boot to reveal her bluish-green ankle socks.

"I, uh…which day is that?" she asked, not moving her eyes for a second.

As Adrian turned his attention to the other boot, he responded,

"The day when you destroyed me in wrestling."

Astrid gave a dismissive laugh, swallowing again to soothe the dryness in her throat. After a few seconds, she conjured up a reply to the original question and said,

"If you're going to try and get me to reveal my so-called crush, then this conversation is already done! No amount of your glorious massage could get me to delve into that territory, palerino!"

"Yeah?" he said, taking the other boot off the rest of the way.

Adrian placed five fingers on either sets of toes, catching her eye again.

"Oh yeah: socks on or off? Y'all stink either way, though." he joked, rubbing her arches to get some warmth flowing.

Astrid coughed inside her throat, failing to clear it, and let out a rather croaky response.

"Augh…bleck! O-on is good, man." How is he still so frickin calm?!

Adrian might as well be a professional masseuse, because this foot massage was some next-level shit. Astrid just had to promise herself not to get distracted and accidentally say something she'd regret.

"Anyway, about that secret lover a'yours…" Adrian chuckled—and was interrupted immediately by Astrid.

"I never outright admitted to having one, dingus!" she retorted, crossing her arms; when Adrian hit a tender spot on her arch, she jerked in place and cried, "NGAIEEE! Adrian!"

Adrian softened his grip and replied,

"Sorry, bud! I'll be more careful here…y'know, Astrid, ah'm not a complete idiot. Sure, there's the stereotype of stupidity that follows me around just thanks to my heritage, but ah know a thing or two, still! Do you have any clue how jittery and paranoid you've been lookin' for the last couple days? Like, outside of your normal energy."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Adrian laughed and looked up at her, giving her ankle a light twist as he said,

"C'mon, Astrid! You're usually pretty good at lyin' when you want, so when you fail…well, it's kinda easy to spot."

Astrid bangs weren't quite long enough to cover her face, so she was forced to show her bright-red cheeks when she gave him a look back. He lifted his hand away from his work to point at her, a rather mischievous grin now on his face as he commented,

"It's just as easy to see as those crimson cheeks of yours."

"Adrian, what's my motivation to tell you anythhhhhhhaaaaaa…" she couldn't quite finish her sentence after Adrian put pressure in another of her soft spots. "Screw you, dude…screw you right now."

"Astrid, you know it's just gonna keep eating you up inside if you don't tell somebody. Anybody!" Adrian replied, quickly realizing how much fun this was becoming; probably because she was so out of character.

"Adrian, I can't just TELL you who it is. You're…ugh. The person is literally in our group. Do you think I'd say it out loud here? With everyone so close?"

Adrian gave her a shrug and replied,

"Well, ah guess look at it this way. We've got less than 24 hours left before we get in trouble with the last Unforgiven Spawn, right? We've lost people during these fights before, not to mention this last demon is supposed to be the toughest one yet. How much time you think you've got before it's too late to tell 'em, huh?"

Astrid's thoughts were suddenly removed from how unbelievably effective the massage was, shadows quickly letting themselves in. He had a point, didn't he? Any one of them could be killed in the upcoming fight against Unforgiven Spawn #3! Norman, Bailey, Carol or Sabrina, Auconi, her…Adrian too.

A few seconds later, Astrid felt him sliding an iron boot over her toes. Was it already over? …sheesh, he must actually have magic powers, Adrian. When she had both fit firmly on her feet, she retracted her legs and folded them back together, giving Adrian a definite stare. They just looked at each other for a couple seconds, totally silent. Eventually, the corner of Adrian's mouth creeped up and he said,

"Well then? You saw how bad Mark got torn up when he lost Kels…and jus' like Mark, ah always hate to see a girl tear up. You're my best friend, Astrid; ah don't want you to end up as broken as him…maybe the least you can do is tell someone who you're thinkin' of. Even if it ain't me."

Thanks to him, Astrid was thinking of Mark again. Sure, he was kind of an emotional sap at times, but he really, really got messed up after Kelsey was killed. Considering it was always her job to be the emotionless rock of the group, turning into THAT would be her worst nightmare.

"Adrian, stop talking." she grumbled, looking away from him. "You can't just make me feel like this…I'm not supposed to feel like this…"

Adrian raised his eyebrows, quickly gaining a look of concern. After a couple moments, he lifted a hand and said,

"But Astrid, it's okay to feel like this! Ah know you always want to be supportive of everybody else, but sometimes ya gotta let people return the favor, too."

Her mind still in dark places, she raised her head and glared at him, retorting,

"I said stop talking, Stevenson."

Her tone was jarring; she even used his real last name and not his Minecraftian one. Staring at each other, their emotions extremely far from the other, they sat in an intense silence for almost thirty seconds straight. Eventually, Astrid started to find her self-control again and brought up her eyebrows, loosening the rest of her face and falling onto her side with a sigh. Propping herself up with one elbow, she looked solely at the ground for a couple more seconds, legitimately thinking about her attitude for once, and then glanced back up at Adrian, who was still watching her intently.

"Sorry for bumming you out, man." she apologized. "I just…I try not to think about that kind of stuff. Neediness. Loss."

Adrian nodded quietly, muttering,

"It's okay, ah gotcha. No more pushin' from me…"

The two of them sat in silence for another moment. Neither of them were really angry, so the air around them filled up with a general feeling of emotional fatigue: a weighty mix of dread, guilt, and overall exhaustion. Just then, Auconi passed them by with his stack of planks and placed a couple over their heads, blocking out the moonlight and briefly encasing them in darkness. When he set a torch down between them, he caught sight of their equally distraught expressions and raised an eyebrow. He glanced from one to the other twice before he said,

"So…what's up with you two? Massage get awkward?"

Astrid raised an unamused eyebrow at his suggestion, lip curling slightly. After a few seconds, Auconi raised his head back up to the ceiling he still had to finish and muttered,

"I can see when I'm not wanted."

He continued on his way, placing blocks and torches as he finished work on the shelter. When he was a bit further away from them, Astrid raised her head a little to catch Adrian's eye. He was looking away now, leaning back on his hands and secretly trying not to look at her at all. As one thought tussled with another inside her head, Astrid eventually sparked an idea that was as "screw it" as you could get. She reached over with one hand and tapped him on the knee, quickly grabbing his attention.

"Yeah?" he piped, his tone way more cautious than a minute ago.

"Adrian, I'll make you a deal." Astrid started, starting to smile.

This seemed to get Adrian's legitimate attention and he sat up fully, actually deciding to meet her gaze.

"What's that?"

"I don't think I can tell you anything about my secret right now. Not even tomorrow, probably. But if we somehow fail this quest and lose Arabloca—in a situation where we'd end up having to fight the Glitch head-on instead—and you can give the Glitch a real nice punch to the face…then I'll tell you! I'll tell you EVERYTHING you want to know about this mystery guy!"

Adrian laughed at her proposal, immediately realizing how ridiculous it was. He was having a difficult time picturing himself giving the Glitch the ol' one-two. Still, he also recognized how pushy he was being back there, so he just figured he'd stop trying to get it out of her. He lifted the hand on his knee upward and shook it hard, beaming back at her with a great big grin.

"Y'know what, ah'll take it! It looks like it's the only way ah'll ever be finding out about it, anyway." he joked, broadening her smile in turn.

Astrid laughed along with him, allowing an image of Adrian smacking the Glitch upside the head with his frying pan to enter her brain. They chortled with each other for another few seconds, barely able to get a word out at the sheer hilarity of the idea. When they recovered, Astrid let out a tired breath and flopped backwards, spreading her limbs out in the grass and staring at the orange glow of the torch on the ceiling above.

"Ugh…I'm all for fighting monsters—as you saw on our trip here, obviously—but tomorrow is gonna suuuuuuuck…"

Adrian fell into the grass next to her and let out a groan, swallowing first before replying,

"Yeah, it very well might. Guess all we can do now is not get discouraged, right?"

Astrid looked over at him, catching his sad half-smile. He nodded towards her.

"Right?"

Astrid sighed and turned her gaze upward.

"Right."

Probably Astrid's most vulnerable moment, I'd say. What do you think? :P I mean, I'D feel pretty crappy if I were on the brink of failure at the expense of the multiverse.

What will the three groups all do with their last day in Glowstone National Park? How many people will have to die before the last Unforgiven Spawn is slain? Will the heroes be able to find Sycallion the Sixth before their time runs out? And what the heck is Evan supposed to do without his bow?! ...he loved that bow, man. Find out NEXT chapter of Hourglass!

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 [~]