Chapter nine: How we live and die

The choice is yours.

20 days ago

Jack stumbled out of his room. Only when the stars above greeted him did he realize it was still night. Those dreams were impactful enough to wake him up before dawn broke. Good to know.

Without mentioning his recurring dream, he'd asked the others about the Nether, and they had all but confirmed the dark world's existence. They also said that the only way to get there was through a portal. There were suspicions that Ironhand—of all places—housed one, but no one could confirm that.

Jack unevenly made his way to the lake and all but collapsed into a sitting position on the grassy ground. The clouds above covered the Realm in shadow, but he could still faintly see the water's surface.

This place calmed him.

As his mind settled, he slowly became aware of the presence on the other side of the lake. Something was moving. He squinted, but the darkness didn't let him see anything. An animal? One of the mobs?

Keeping his gaze sharply on whatever it was, he began to notice things. It was a taller figure, their garments fluttering in the slight breeze. It was looking at him directly.

Those garments were long and torn. Robes.

A nameless fear gripped him. He gasped. His heart pounded in his chest. He scrambled to his feet.

It was him. The figure from before stared him down from the other side.

Jack turned tail and ran. Ignoring the voice that cried out, he shot past the trees and into further darkness.

Sickness set in like a sword through his gut. He stumbled and fell to his knees, retching, vomiting on the ground.

The voice rang out again, calling his name. Rapid footsteps approached.

Jack grunted. Ignoring his sickness, he surged to his feet and turned to face the demon, preparing to throw a punch. Behind him, two figures slowed to a halt.

Neither of them wore a robe.

"Jack?" Athena asked hesitantly.

Jack blinked. He looked around frantically in search of his enemy, but couldn't find anything.

… What was he looking for, anyway?

"Hey. Jack."

Athena's voice snapped him back to reality. He exhaled, lowering his arms. The sickness had gone as soon as it'd come.

"Come on," Athena said. "Let's get inside."

Followed by Yaebi, Athena led Jack to the nearest room—one of the many small chambers in the side of the Realm's wall. It didn't belong to anyone at the moment; it was mainly meant as a spare room in case one of the other bedrooms was no longer useable.

"Sit down," she ordered.

Jack obeyed, collapsing on one of the makeshift beds. In the light of glowstone lanterns—which Andr had stolen from a local town—he noticed Yaebi's disturbed gaze. Jack must've looked like a madman out there. Strangely, he felt fine now, ever-pounding heart and some minor lingering nausea aside.

Athena sat on the other bed, opposite of Jack. Yaebi went to sit next to her. Athena gave Jack a discerning look.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Better," Jack quietly said.

"Sorry about that," Athena apologized. "We didn't mean to scare you. We just saw you across the lake and were wondering what you were doing there."

He blinked. The movement on the other side of the lake… That was them? How had he failed to realize that? He was sure he saw something else.

Maybe he really was going crazy.

"Even from that distance, I could tell you weren't doing very well," Athena continued. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"Couldn't sleep," Jack grunted.

"That seems to happen a lot to you lately, doesn't it? Yaebi told me he'd seen you at night before."

"Huh. Someone loses sleep over the fact that he got sucked into a foreign world with no way back. Call the cops."

She fell silent, but her gaze didn't waver.

Jack sighed. "You're the last person I should be complaining to right now."

"If you're having trouble sleeping, have someone help you. Talk to Mystia."

"Mystia's busy enough trying to bring me back to Earth. I don't want to risk hindering her."

"Then talk to someone about what you're going through. It might just help."

"Ha! No."

She regarded him for a moment. "Several mobs I've known have a hard time asking for help sometimes. Judging from what I've read and heard, humans are even worse at it. I used to think their lives were just that good, and they didn't have anything to get off their chests to begin with. Either that, or they were somehow emotionally stronger than mobs. Now I know that neither of those things are true."

"Humans are just more stubborn."

"Maybe. But besides that, mobs are just better at forging strong bonds. It's probably because we need to fight harder and work together to survive. We rely on each other in times of life and death as much as we do in times of personal anguish. Humans do have emotional problems, but they always try to rely solely on themselves for some reason."

"This is all really interesting—and meaningless, seeing how I'm talking to the one who singlehandedly keeps the group together."

She let out a hint of a chuckle. "Trust me—if I've got some kind of problem, someone'll know. I can take the burden of being a 'leader', so long as I've got someone to lean on if things get too hard—which I do. Can you say the same?"

"No," Jack said flatly.

"That's what I was afraid of."

He sneered. "You going to order me to talk to someone about it?"

"You were panicking. You were vomiting. You're either sick or terrified."

"And you think sharing my feelings will get rid of it, right?"

"It's no magical cure, but it might help you. It doesn't have to be overly emotional. Start small and…stoic, if that helps."

Jack looked at her. Despite his annoyance at her words, he found himself hesitating. Start small, huh? There was something he wanted to talk about that was linked to his problem…

"What are your thoughts on going to the Nether?" he blurted out.

Present day

The first part of the mine was smaller than it initially looked. Collapsed tunnels and dead ends forced the mobs and Hunters down other ways. They were on high alert—abandoned mines like these were often occupied.

They ultimately rounded the ravine that all but split the abandoned mine down the middle. The Wither Skeleton's enhanced hearing and sight did help; without that, their visit to this place would have been slower and more careful, and waste more time as a result.

They passed hallway after hallway, spears and shields at the ready. The Wither Skeleton had a lone arming sword. Ilyoin wondered why it never used a different weapon; even if its inhuman learning power was probably more tailored towards swords than spears, the former was usually inferior to the latter. And with the strange venom the mob could imbue its weapons with, a spear would be ideal.

"What's this?" the Wither Skeleton said.

Ilyoin followed its gaze. An arrow lay on the ground. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be solely made of wood and feathers; no metal arrowhead. Primitively made, yet it looked functional.

The mob picked it up. "It's one of hers. She was here, and she got into a fight."

"But with whom…?" Raulyn mused.

"Don't know. There's no blood on this…"

"Andr has the power to dodge arrows," Mystia hesitantly commented.

The mob glanced at her. They all remembered how the Ender had acted earlier, displaying powers and aggression even its friends did not know existed.

"Steps," the Wither Skeleton whispered.

They all collectively froze. Ilyoin listened intently, and indeed, he heard footsteps coming closer. He readied his weapon. The others followed suit.

Then a small figure emerged from the hallway ahead. It noticed them instantly.

Ilyoin narrowed his eyes. Fox ears and a fox tail. He knew this mob; the Hunters had a file on it. Suspected to have a connection to another mob Raulyn hunted in the Skyfound Hills.

The mob grinned tiredly. "Ah…well. This is…awkward." It paused. "But, at least, there're some more pretty faces around. Huh. Lot of pretty faces visiting here lately."

The Wither Skeleton stepped forward. "What?" it demanded. "Where!"

"Ah… Our new friend's lookalike wants to get answers? What, you want to know where the exit is, too?"

So this one knew the Stray. "Where is the human it was with?" Ilyoin demanded.

"You mean the humans? Plural? The cuter one of the two punched me in the throat. Say hi to her for me, will you?"

"I will be sure to send her your regards," Ilyoin sarcastically said. "Where are they?"

"If you want answers," the mob said, its grin widening, "you'll have to catch me first!"

It bolted down another tunnel.

Ilyoin gritted his teeth and prepared to give chase, but Raulyn ordered, "Hold. It is too confident. Either it is faster than us, or it will lead us into a trap. Either way, chasing it will be risky." He glanced to the mobs.

"I'll get him," the Blaze said. "Just try to stay close." It flew off.

"'Try to stay close'?" Rayallv said. "You make it sound so easy…"

"Key word being 'try'," said the Wither Skeleton. "She doesn't expect us to keep up, just to follow her and watch her back."

"No," Raulyn said. "We are being led into a trap. This is not a mob hunt; we are searching for Kai."

The Wither Skeleton frowned. "That mob might know where Athena is. I'm going with Blazette."

"You are on your own," Ilyoin said.

"No, you're not," Mystia said. "I'm going too." She turned and jogged after.

"Then we will split up," Raulyn said. "But we will not wait for you to be done here. We will leave without you if we must."

The Wither skeleton clenched its teeth, then ran after Mystia.

"Rayallv," Raulyn said. "After them."

Rayallv started. "Me, sir?"

"Just keep an eye on them. And hurry."

He nodded, then left, scrambling after the mobs. Ilyoin watched him go, hesitant. Should he go with…? Rayallv was just one man, after all.

The mobs would not kill him. Would they?

"Come on," Raulyn ordered. "We should keep searching."

Minerva jogged after the fiery figure ahead. The mob with the fox ears was fast, but few could keep up with a flyer like Blazette. Minerva doubted Blazette would even really need her or Mystia's help.

Minerva heard other footsteps, accompanied by the shifting and clinking of armor. She glanced back to see one of the humans turn the corner. She wasn't sure what his name was, but at least he didn't have a crossbow to shoot them with.

The fire nimbly turned a corner ahead, disappearing from view. Minerva followed it and Mystia onto another bridge that crossed the ravine. This one was damaged, but not completely broken. The unnamed fox was surprisingly fast, but Blazette was catching up with him.

Suddenly Blazette shot to the side, dodging a rock the fox had thrown. It soared over Minerva's head.

She heard it hit something, and a grunt sounded behind her.

She turned to see the human falling over the edge.

She froze.

With movements that were just coordinated enough, the human grabbed onto the bridge's edge. He hung there, just barely gripping the platform, a deep abyss under him.

Minerva hesitated. She glanced to where Mystia and Blazette had gone. She should just go after them. This was a human. Not her responsibility. If it weren't for her insisting that someone accompanied Kai, Athena wouldn't be missing now in the first place. Athena was her priority…

"Oh, for the love of—" Minerva growled. Her sister had been right; they needed the humans, and the humans weren't going to help if one of them died on a mob's watch. She got Athena in trouble; no need to put their mission for Jack at risk too.

She turned back and ran towards him. She kneeled at the edge, grabbed his arm and, with effort, pulled him up.

He scrambled back to the middle of the bridge, breathing quickly. He looked at her, surprised.

"Go back to Raulyn," Minerva ordered. Without looking if he obeyed, she turned and ran after Blazette.

Several twists and turns later, she found the fire mob holding the fox on the ground with one hand, a threatening mass of flame in the other. A concerned-looking Mystia beheld the scene from a small distance.

The fox looked at Minerva and grinned, seemingly unconcerned. "Oh. Hey. You can join us, if you want—"

Blazette slapped him. "Shut up," she hissed.

Minerva passed Mystia and approached, looking at the fox. "Where's Athena?" she asked.

"Pale, grey hair and eyes, bow and arrows?" the fox said.

Minerva nodded.

"Her name's Athena? Didn't know that."

She held the tip of her sword near his throat. "Where is she?"

He grinned again. "Fire and a sword? No kill like overkill, huh?"

"Where!"

"Alright, alright…" He looked at her. "I don't know. They tried to trick me, but one of the mob hunters broke their role. They ran away after that."

"So you don't know anything?"

"I'll admit, they had me fooled at first…"

She placed her blade's edge against his neck.

"I swear I'm telling the truth!" he insisted. "She's somewhere in this mine. Assuming she hasn't found the exit yet."

Minerva felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Mystia.

"Come on," the witch said. "We should look for her."

"What about him?" Blazette asked, glancing to the fox. "He's going to cause trouble."

"Maybe not," Mystia spoke up. She fished a small bottle with a greyish potion out of her bag. "This little concoction here will weaken him. For humans, even just walking will be a laborious task. It's not as effective on mobs with enhanced physical abilities, but I bet it'll do the trick."

Minerva nodded. "Alright. We do that, and I'll keep a sword at his back."

"Do I get to have a say in this?" the fox said.

"Shut up," ordered Blazette. "Be thankful we're not going to kill you."

Ilyoin followed Raulyn and the other Hunters through the mine, shields and spears at the ready. They were more careful than before; now that the mobs were gone, the Hunters could no longer rely on superhuman senses.

The area before the ravine was all but linear; this second section was not. That made things more difficult. Twists and turns were common here.

Motion ahead.

Raulyn seemed to have noticed it too, as he stopped his pace. The other Hunters stopped with him. Ilyoin narrowed his eyes. The movement had been a shadow from something around a corner.

It moved again, and a tall, sturdily built mob emerged, its frame big enough to block the tunnel. Ilyoin instantly knew which one this was—the Bear, another mob the Hunters' files mentioned. He had always wondered how a mob this tall could hide so well.

Regardless, it seemed its time in hiding was over.

The mob stopped as it saw them, its expression unreadable. One of the bear ears on its head twitched slightly. "Mob hunters," it said with a voice like suppressed thunder. "Why're you here?"

It was met with silence.

"Why do you think?" Ilyoin finally said.

The Bear growled. "Don't fight. I just live here. Nothing else."

"That will not help you." Ilyoin knew the mob's file—inhuman strength and typical predator traits. No confirmed powers that might save it from spears and shields.

The Hunters were not actively hunting mobs at the moment, but Ilyoin knew Raulyn would not leave this one alive. The creature would only hinder their attempts to find Kai and form a threat to any other humans that may encounter it.

Ilyoin heard someone jogging up to them from behind.

Raulyn glanced back. "Rayallv. I thought I told you to watch those other mobs."

"I, uh, lost them, sir."

"You're searching for other mob hunters, right?" the Bear said to them. "They were here. Still might be. They ran. Don't know where."

If it did not know anything, it would not be able to help them.

Raulyn took a step forward, still pointing his spear towards the mob. Ilyoin followed suit.

Athena was teleported. Again.

An empty tunnel. No sound. She looked to Andr and shook her head.

Teleport. She found herself on the other end of the tunnel. She opened the nearby door to reveal a small, vacant bedroom. Then she remembered; it was Vix's room. The one Bear said Crevan visited sometimes. She backed away and solemnly closed it.

Multiple teleports.

The room she and Kai had rested in, and where she'd met with Crevan after 'brainwashing' Flamma.

More teleports.

"—don't know where she went, okay—?" Crevan stopped, looking at Athena surprised. "Oh. There she is."

"Athena!" Minerva stepped forward and gave Athena an unexpected embrace. "I was worried…"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Athena parted from the hug. "Where're the others?"

"The Hunters are somewhere in this place," Mystia reported. "They didn't want to help us chase this fox here down, so we split up."

Athena frowned. "Why'd you chase him down? And where's Bear?"

"Aw," Crevan said. "So you do worry about us."

"Crevan, these aren't just mob hunters," Athena said. "They're from Ironhand. If they find Bear, he's done for."

"I'm done for now too, aren't I? Since you're basically giving me to them on a silver platter…"

"I won't let them kill you. But I can't protect Bear from them if I don't know where he is. The Hunters might've found him already!"

"I'm sorry," Blazette cut in. "Who's Bear?"

"I don't know where he is," Crevan told Athena, his usual smile gone. "After that human of yours blew your cover, I ran after you. Lost Bear on the way."

"He might be all right," Minerva said. "We've taken on mob hunters in the past."

"Because we had the right powers, weapons, and environment to work with," Athena said. "I don't know if Bear has the same advantages."

"He doesn't," Crevan said. "He's never held a sword in his life."

Athena thought quickly. She was not going to let Bear die. "Alright, everyone except Andr go back to the room with the elevator. Andr, you and I need to keep looking."

"Wait," Minerva said. "Why do we care about this other mob?"

"They're in trouble because of us, Minerva. I'm not going to let this become worse."

"This is stupid," Blazette said. "What if those Hunters kill you?"

"All of you, to the elevator room," Athena ordered. "Andr? Let's go."

Andr nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey!" protested Minerva. "Athena—!"

Andr teleported. Several times.

They were met with an empty space. Andr teleported again, and again.

Then Athena heard something. She raised a finger. Andr glanced at her and nodded; she heard it too.

Athena pointed. "Over there," she whispered.

Andr nodded. Her grip on Athena's shoulder tightened a tad.

They teleported again.

Athena froze.

"Cover me," she hissed to Andr. Then she scrambled forward, passing between two Hunters. She kneeled down next to the figure that lay on the ground.

Bear. With multiple bleeding wounds in his chest.

"Bear…" she whispered.

He turned to look at her.

"I didn't…" Athena whispered. "I didn't want this… I just wanted to protect Kai, and now…"

He showed a smile. He actually showed a smile.

"It's…alright," he whispered. "This…is how we mobs live. And die."

She turned to Andr. "Get Mystia over here!"

"NO," Bear roared. "Don't."

Athena flinched. "Bear, you'll die if we don't help you!"

"That's…fine…" Bear whispered. "Never expected…to live long."

"And what about your brother? You were going to meet him again, weren't you?"

He showed another smile. "Polar…is dead."

Athena fell silent.

"I buried him myself," Bear whispered. "And now we will meet again…"

Athena hesitated. She glanced at Andr, who looked back, silently asking her what to do.

Finally, with a pit in her stomach, Athena shook her head.

Bear exhaled.

Something behind his eyes faded.

And the room fell still.

Athena hesitated. She placed her hand in Bear's neck. No heartbeat.

He was dead.

Raulyn frowned, but did not speak as he watched the Stray's shoulders drop. A mourning mob. He had seen that before, but never thought much of it—they usually met their end at his sword's edge soon after. He had always assumed a mob only ever mourned in an attempt to convince him not to kill it.

The Stray had no use of that; he would not harm it anyway, lest their alliance fell apart. On the other hand, it did place itself in more danger by rushing into a room full of Hunters. It even tried to send the Ender—its only means of protection besides its own powers—away. But why? Why was it here? Why was it mourning?

You have had questions like these before, he reminded himself. Why did they spare you when they could have chosen otherwise? Why did Jack tell them to help you during the strange storm incident in Ironhand?

The Ender stepped forward and placed a hand on the Stray's shoulder. "I'm sorry," the Ender whispered. "Maybe I should've…"

The Stray shook its head. "No… No. He was…done." It stood up, gave one more glance to the Bear's corpse, then turned to the Ender. "Let's just go."

They proceeded to leave. On foot.

Raulyn looked at the other Hunters. They had not said a word since the Stray entered, instead just watching the scene before them unfold. Galen was still recovering from when the Bear had kicked him in the chest.

"We should go too," Raulyn finally said. "Get more rest before night falls."

He proceeded to follow the two mobs with confidence in his stride. Another mob dead. This was what the Hunters were capable of.