This Hotel Deserves 1 Star On Yelp

"Just pick one. Any one." Jax said impatiently.

The day after the announcement Jax took me to the armory, which resembled a shop you'd find on the side of the road. But instead of mundane items like snacks and party toys, there were weapons instead. Lots of deadly weapons. In fact, if there were a fire here, I found it likely that the entirety of Valaither would explode.

I stared at the weapons that had been hung up on the pale concrete wall. Pleasant music came in through the speakers in the roof, and it almost felt like I was peacefully shopping instead of searching for the perfect weapon to impale and/or blow up Klith.

I stared at a flail made out of iron. The spikes looked sharp.

Nah. I'd probably drop it on my foot or something.

Next to it was a spear that had an obnoxious looking tag on it boasting '50% OFF!'. I wiped the dust off it.

Nope. I'd kill my teammates by accident long before I killed any mob.

There was a lot of weapons to choose from, like grenades (again, I'd blow up my allies), battle axes, (too heavy), and crossbows. (I struggled to even pull back the bowstring.)

I considered the flamethrower, but then decided I'd probably set everything within the area on fire while trying to kill mobs.

Eventually I just settled for a double edged iron sword. It kind of felt awkward in my hands, but I didn't want to annoy Jax by taking too long, even though he was busy perusing a wall of war hammers.

If you thought that I'd been stressed because of the whole quest thing, you'd be shocked at how out of it Jax was lately. He was ready to snap under the stress if anyone talked to him. Jax had been muttering to himself ever since yesterday's 'announcement'. Every so often he would stuff his bag full of items, dump all of the items out, stuff his bag with more items, and then dump out the new items and put the old items back in the bag. This cycle repeated several times throughout the day. I, on the other hand, hadn't even begun to start packing yet.

"Hey Jax, I picked my weapon," I told him. "So like, is there anything else I need?"

Jax ignored me—he was running his hand agitatedly through his hair as he stared down a list that reached all the way down to his feet.

"Jax?" I prompted.

"What?" Jax muttered.

"Since I picked my weapon, I can go and pack now, right?" I asked Jax.

"Sure. Have fun."

I stared at at him and tried, "Hey look, it's Notch."

"Yeah, you do that." Jax mumbled. "I didn't pack the potions, did I? God, I didn't. I'm a moron."

I rolled my eyes and walked away from him towards the counter where a bored looking employee handed me a leather sheath I could put my sword in and waved me away. I walked into the elevator, which was both the entrance and the exit to the armory.

I punched a button, and the doors shut.

Soon after, the doors slid open, and I walked down the hallway, a little dazed.

How had this all happened so fast? It had only seemed like a few minutes ago I'd participated in a game of Skywars, and now I was on a quest to save the world? This was progressing too fast to comprehend.

"Speak of the devil," someone said. I looked up.

In front of my door stood Bandit, Lago, and Rook, all three of whom stared at me like I was a palm tree that had sprouted in the middle of the hallway.

"Um," I said, "what are you doing in front of my room?"

"Just talking," Lago said, "about current events. You're going on that quest with Jax?"

"Yeah."

Bandit rolled his eyes as he silently handed Lago a few emeralds, making her grin.

"It is just you and Jax, right?" Rook said enviously. "God, I'm so jealous. You're meeting. Like. The Shaft. Like. The greatest archer. Ever!"

"The whiteboard said it would just be Jax and Toni." Bandit said. "Although I can't say I'm jealous. I mean, confronting Klith? If I were you, I'd start saying my prayers—"

Rook elbowed Bandit in the chest, making him wince. "Ow! It was just a joke."

"Anyways, you better pack," Rook said breathlessly. "This is a big chance!"

"Yeah, a big chance to get myself killed." I grumbled. "You think that out of all the people here, I'm the most suitable one to fight Klith?"

"Don't worry, Toni." Lago patted me on the shoulder reassuringly. "We all believe in you."

"That didn't answer my question." I complained.

"You'll be fine," Rook said. "Come on guys, let's go."

"What?" Bandit said. "But I was about to ask her if the rumors about her being possessed were—"

"Time to go!" Rook grabbed Lago and Bandit by the ear and dragged them off as they yelled in pain. "See you later!"

I sighed and turned to my door, putting my keycard over the card reader.

There was a beep, and the card reader flashed red.

"What the—?" I put the keycard to the card reader, and again it beeped.

"Oh, come on!" I complained. "Why now of all times—"

I heard footsteps behind me, and then suddenly an arm wrapped around my face, blinding me. I screamed until a hand clapped over my mouth, keeping me silent.

I kicked and screamed, but couldn't even fight back as the person holding me dragged me through the hall.

There was a beep, and I was thrown onto the ground. I smacked my head against something, and groaned in pain.

"Open your eyes."

I sat up only to find myself staring into Jared's face.

"What the—what the hell are you doing?" I shouted.

"Bringing down the competition," Jared smoldered.

"What? Why are you doing this?"

"Four years!" Jared shouted. "I've been here for four years, and ever since I used that fire magic I haven't got a single sign from Notch!"

"That's cause Notch couldn't be bothered to talk with obnoxious idiots like you." I snapped.

Jared gave me a cold stare. "You've got a weapon, right? So fight with it."

"You're crazy!" I accused him.

"Crazy? I almost forgot—you're new. This is how people usually settle arguments here." Jared said, and then lunged forwards with his sword.

At the same time, his goons pulled me up, and Jared's sword swung right towards my head, too fast to dodge or block.

Welp. I'm dead.

Before the sword could cut my head off, it turned, and the flat side of the sword slammed into my face, sending me staggering back.

"What the—" I spluttered.

"Of course I can't kill you," Jared sneered, "or I'd be in trouble. For now, the best I can do is humiliate you."

Jared's blade swung down a second time, and I barely managed to block the swing with my sword. Sparks flew as the two blades slid against each other.

"You are just a scared little girl. A nobody. An orphan, for God's sake." Jared snarled. "So how'd you just somehow swoop in and steal the spotlight!?"

The orphan remark cut deep, and I snarled as I pushed forwards with my sword, "The spotlight was never on you in the first place, prick!"

Taken aback by my sudden strength, Jared grunted as he took a step back. Suddenly I got confident, and started pushing even more.

Jared laughed, and then suddenly twisted the sword. The blade pushed my sword aside and pressed against my hand, leaving a cut. I cursed and dropped the sword.

"Whoops," Jared said with a smirk. "I damaged you."

You wish, I wanted to say, but the sight of my own blood made me dizzy.

Jared kicked me in the chest, and I slammed into the wall with a loud thud. I stumbled to my feet as Jared charged.

The room wasn't quite as big as Jax's room, and I didn't have a lot of room to maneuver in. I jumped over a sofa as Jared's sword slashed through the wall. As I jumped over the sofa I knocked over a small table. Everything on the table fell to the ground with a crash, including a vase with a flower in it that was pretty to the point of making me guilty for choosing the flower over my life.

I turned and saw Jared jump over the sofa, sword in hand. I grabbed the vase and with a pang of guilt, stuck my hand into the vase and threw all of the dirt in the vase at Jared, including the flower.

Jared cursed and spat as the dirt hit his face. His sword split the table beside me in half, and I grabbed the vase and swung it, smashing it over Jared's head. Jared stumbled back and tripped over the couch, collapsing onto it.

As he sat back on the couch, stunned, I kicked Jared hard enough to tip over the couch. The couch fell backwards with a crash, smacking Jared's head against the floor.

I stepped over Jared and picked up my sword, turning to the goons. They moved forwards, their fists raised, but Jared growled, "Stop."

Jared stood, wiping dirt from his face. He glanced at his hand, which had blood from his forehead.

"Dirt in the eyes? Really?" Jared snarled as he advanced. "Some hero you are."

?-?-?

Y couldn't stand it anymore.

Loud thuds and crashes had been coming from his neighbor's room for thirty minutes now, and he was sick of it. He'd been trying to ignore it as he ate his rabbit soup and read a book, but he couldn't hold back any longer.

Y swore, snapped the book shut, and stormed towards the door. He put his hand on the doorknob and then looked forlornly back at the soup, which would probably be cold by the time he was finished bashing his neighbor's heads together.

"I'll be back," he promised the soup, and then walked into the hallway as his door shut behind him. In fact, you might have thought he was going to war instead of beating up a few noisemakers.

Y politely knocked on the door and waited. He may have been as big as a Piglin Brute, but that didn't mean he didn't use manners before beating up people.

The only sound in response was a sound like a vase smashing, and then a couch falling over.

Y grunted. He'd waited long enough. He kicked open the door, only to find—

The newbie, two bulky boys, and Jared, all frozen and staring at him.

Y blinked.

Well. This is a little surprising.

?-?-?

I hit the ground again, and gasped as all the air was driven out of my lungs. Still, I got back up and readied my sword, my body burning with exhaustion.

"Wow." Jared sneered at me. "You are really persistent. Too bad you'll lose anyways."

"Shut up," I panted.

Jared looked about ready to insult me again, when the door swung open with a loud 'snap'.

We all turned and stared at Y, who was standing in the doorway with a confused/amused expression on his face.

"You good, newbie?" Y said, and then Jared screamed, "GET HIM OUT OF HERE!"

The two goons charged towards Y. One of them swung, and Y ducked and charged Goon #1, lifting him into the air and throwing him against the wall so hard it left a crater.

Goon #2 backed up slightly, but Y didn't give him a chance to get away, grabbing him by the head and then smashing it against his knee.

Suddenly Jared's arm wrapped around my neck, and I felt the tip of his sword poke my neck.

"Move and she gets it!" Jared shouted.

I rolled my eyes at the cliche. "Seriously?"

"Shut it!" Jared snapped.

But Jared had forgotten something—I still had my sword.

I slammed the pommel of my sword into Jared's gut, and then pulled away, turning to face him.

Jared stumbled back and tripped over the couch a second time, slamming into the ground with a thud. This time he didn't get up–he'd been knocked out.

"Psycho." I sighed, and then remembered Y was behind me. I turned, and Y pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So it was you making all that noise," Y sighed. "Of course it's the newbie that causes trouble on her second day here."

"Sorry," I muttered, even though I didn't feel that sorry.

"You apologize too easily," Y said casually, flapping his hand at me. "After all, you're not the one that needs to apologize."

I frowned. "You're pretty chill for being so big. Oh–no offense."

"Everyone that meets me says that." Y said. "I don't really care. You know, Jax is probably freaking out right now. Come on, let's go."

"Jax? He probably hasn't noticed me being gone yet." I snorted. "Oh. But what about them?" I said, nudging Jared's foot.

Y considered, and then shook his head. "Leave 'em. They can drag themselves to the infirmary."

"Yeah, screw Jared."

?-?-?

"JARED DID WHAT?"

I winced slightly. In hindsight, I probably should have seen this coming.

"That idiotic piece of compost!" Jax seethed. "He roams around proclaiming he's the most powerful person in this place, and then beats you up with his two goons watching on the sidelines? What a hypocrite!"

"I don't think he tried to kill me. I think he just wanted to prove he's better than me." I said defensively.

For the record: I wasn't defending Jared for his sake. I was defending him because I knew with all the stress Jax was under, he would probably end up impaling Jared with a million obsidian spikes and get in trouble.

"As if that's any better! Why, that little brat should go ahead and—"

Jax then started ranting on and on, cursing Jared so harshly it made me wince. And man, could he swear like a drunken sailor. I tried to stop him a few times, and then just started packing while he cursed in the background.

Rook peeked her head into the room. "Hey, guys."

"–and you know what? Jared can go shove a stick right up his a—"

"Bad time?" Rook said dryly.

"Let him vent," I muttered. "I think he deserves it."

"—and the center of the world? Gee, thanks, NOTCH! I'm SOOO GRATEFUL!"

Anyways, after I was done packing, (and Jax had finished cursing) it was time to head out.

As me, Jax, and Rook took the elevator down to the first floor, Rook turned to me. "Hey, Toni. You ready yet?"

"I probably won't be ready for the next five years or so," I told her. "But I don't think that matters."

The elevator doors slid open and as we stepped out, I realised that practically the entirety of Valaither had come to see us off. People crowded Jax, patting him on the back, high fiving him, some people even hugging him. It was then I realized Jax was a lot more popular than I first thought.

We passed through the crowd and stood at the front doors. This time, people kept their distance.

Cacao shook Jax's hand and then mine. Bandit patted Jax on the back, and then tossed a few emeralds into my hands with a mischievous grin. Rook hugged us both, and Lago shook both of our hands like a military officer, wiping something from her face.

"Whoa. Lago, are you crying?" Cacao laughed.

"Shut up," Lago snapped. "It's just….the dust, okay? Hey Jax—don't die, huh? Otherwise I'll follow you into the afterlife and then kill you again."

"Don't worry." Jax smiled. "I'll try not to die."

In fact, people didn't just encourage Jax—they all looked at me and cheered me, giving me encouragement and other nice things like that.

But most of them held back—staring at me with jealousy and contempt. I get why some would be jealous. After all, for the little time I was here, I could see that all of them were training for something like this their whole life, and a kid here for maybe two days gets a quest? That probably sucked for them.

But then again, I would have gladly swapped places with someone else. I didn't want this responsibility. I mean, who wants to save the world? It just feels like a lot of pressure.

In the back of the crowd Jared stared at me, holding an ice pack to his head and shooting me a glare that could have burned through bedrock.

Jax pointed into the crowd. "Look, it's lover boy."

"Shut up," I snapped as I smacked his hand. "Didn't your mother tell you it's bad manners to point?"

Jax snorted at that, but didn't respond.

Owen came out of the crowd and looked at me with interest.

"Reincarnation of Herobrine, huh?" Owen grinned. "I'm impressed."

"It's not really that impressive," I muttered, staring at my shoes.

"Are you kidding?" Owen said enthusiastically. "You know how many people here have been waiting for something like that to happen to them? It's nuts. Anyways, I noticed that sword. Not really quest material, right?"

My cheeks flushed, and I grabbed the stupid iron sword. "Yeah. It sucks, I guess."

"No, I didn't mean—" Owen sighed and pulled a glowing diamond sword from his inventory. "So…this was my grandfather's sword. He went on a quest once, like you. And now…"

I gaped at it. "Are…are you giving that to me?"

"Yup." Owen smiled. "I've been waiting to give this to someone for a while."

"But why me?" I asked.

Owen laughed. "You're the reincarnation of Herobrine. I think you need it more than I do."

"I wish people would stop bringing that up." I muttered.

"It's nothing to be ashamed about, y'know." Owen reassured me. "That just means you're more powerful than the rest of us."

I was grateful for the encouragement, but the way he worded it made it sound uncomfortable. Still, I took the sword from him and swung it a few times.

Perfect.

"Does it have a name?" I asked Owen.

He looked a little surprised. "Oh. A name? I'm not sure if the sword has one. Why do you ask?"

"Y'know. Cause all the cool swords have names. Excalibur, Riptide…all those other famous ones." I said.

Owen grinned again. "Well, I guess that's for you to figure out."

"I guess it is." I said, and then there was an awkward silence.

"Well, good luck out there." Owen said with an encouraging pat on the back, and then stepped back into the crowd, glancing at me as he left.

"Nice guy," Jax commented. "You two fit nicely together."

My smile quickly faded. "What?"

"You look like you're on Cloud 9," Jax told me. "You're going to treasure that sword for a while, aren't you?"

In response, I kicked him in the shins.

"Ow!" Jax yelped, grabbing his shins. "That hurt! What the hell?"

"Let's go." I snapped, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him out the door.

We stepped into the front yard of Valaither, and I turned back to look at the mansion.

"Goodbye safety," I sighed, "Hello danger."

We both turned away from the mansion, and our quest began.

?-?-?

We arrived in the same blackstone hallway we'd arrived in before, and Jax led me over to a white portal to the left.

"Why this portal specifically?" I asked Jax.

"Well according to the world maps, Shaft is participating in an archery contest somewhere in Pinefall, so that's where we're going." Jax said.

"Gee, that narrows it down." I said sarcastically. "Now all we have to do is check an entire country."

"Don't worry. It seems like the archery contest is pretty big, so there might be posters around." Jax assured me.

"That's great." I groaned. "So basically, we've got a lot of walking to do."

"That's right," Jax nodded. "So we better get going. I'm not sure how much time we've got left."

"True," I agreed. "I don't think Notch gave us a deadline."

"So let's go." Jax said, and we stepped into the portal.

Everything turned a slightly grim white, and I felt like I was suspended in water for a few seconds before we landed on the ground.

I fell forwards onto my knees, groaning. "I'm still not used to that."

"You get used to it—don't worry." Jax reassured me.

I glanced behind us, and saw the white portal in the side of an enormous spruce tree. As I watched, the portal shrunk until it was gone.

The grass underneath us was a gross looking brown, and Jax ripped up a tuft of it, muttering, "Podzol. We're close."

"Where are we going?" I said.

"Balour." Jax said, holding up a map. "I did a lot of research beforehand and Shaft never stays in one place more than a few weeks, but the information I received says she's in the south part of Pinefall, so that narrows it down at least a little. The portal we went to dropped us off somewhere near Balour, which is a relatively big town, so we're checking there first." Jax explained.

"What if she's in the opposite direction?" I worried. "Or what if your info was wrong? Or what if—"

"Calm down." Jax said. "My information isn't wrong. And besides, if she isn't there that doesn't mean we can't investigate."

I sighed. "Alright. Should we start walking?"

"Yup. We're pretty close." Jax said. "Follow me. I know the way."

?-?-?

You may be wondering—what exciting, adrenaline pumping things did we do on the first day of our quest?

We walked.

Yup. The only thing we did all day was walk. And occasionally run. And then keep walking. And then, big surprise, walk some more!

As you can imagine, it wasn't a very riveting experience.

And if that wasn't enough, the walk was made even longer because of Jax constantly telling me 'we're almost there' every five minutes.

Eventually the sun began to set, and I groaned as I slumped against a tree, wiping my sweaty forehead with my sleeve.

"Come on," Jax urged. "We're almost—"

"If I have to hear that again I'm going to kill you before Klith does." I threatened.

Jax sighed and sat down on a tree root sticking out of the ground. "Alright, alright. I've just been saying that to make you move."

"I KNEW IT!" I shouted.

"But," Jax said, "only a few more hours and we can make it."

"Few more hours!?" I choked. "My legs are going to break in ten minutes!"

"Come on," Jax wheedled. "We're so close."

"Fine," I snapped. "But we're resting in an hour."

"But—" Jax stopped, and then sighed. "Fine."

I picked myself up off the ground, and we started walking.

Turn's out we didn't have a few hours—it was dark in thirty minutes.

"It got dark really fast," Jax muttered. "Maybe we should rest…"

"Look!" I suddenly yelled, pointing ahead. "A dirt road!"

Jax looked shocked. "Really? But we shouldn't be there for another few hours!"

"Who cares?" I shouted, running ahead. "Balour, here we come!"

I stopped in the dirt road, shocked.

"Toni!" Jax said as he caught up to me. "What—" Jax began, and then stopped.

In front of us was a small little hotel, with smoke coming out of a small chimney at the top. I turned to Jax.

"No," Jax said.

"Yes," I replied. "Come on, Jax, where are we going to sleep? The trees?"

"Good point." Jax sighed. "Yeah, okay. Let's stay at the hotel."

"Thank god," I sighed in relief. "My feet were about to fall off."

"Drama queen." Jax snorted.

As soon as we stepped in, a blond man with gray eyes ran up to us.

"Hello there, travelers!" the man's voice was cheery in a way that almost reminded me of the whiteboard. "Can I get you a room for two?"

"Sure," Jax said as he pulled out a green shulker box. "How much?"

"Twenty emeralds, please!" the man said enthusiastically.

As Jax handed the man the emeralds, I glanced around the place. The walls were white concrete, and a few potted plants sat in the corners, as well as a bulletin board on the wall.

Something on the bulletin board caught my eye, and I took a closer look.

There was a paper pinned to the bulletin board with a picture of a smiling archer girl on it aiming an arrow at something, and next to the picture was a small box of words that said: 'Come see the Janlyn archery competition at 4 P.M. at Janlyn tomorrow! Special Guest: Shaft!'

"Hey," I nudged Jax. "You see that?"

Jax grinned. "Jackpot."

"Children," the blond man interrupted, "Would you mind giving a tip? Business has been a bit slow as of recently."

"Er, no thanks." Jax began, but I pulled out two emeralds and handed them to the blond man, glaring at Jax.

"Thank you for the tip," the blond man said with a smile. "TRAVIS! GET THE VISITORS A ROOM!"

"I was going to do that, Michael!" Travis snapped as he came out from behind the reception desk. "Now if you'd follow me," Travis said as he walked past us and towards a set of stairs.

After walking up the set of stairs, we found ourselves in a rather short hallway with doors on either side. This hallway didn't have the same warm vibe as the hallways in Valaither. Instead of red, the walls were a slightly boring beige, and our door was just simple oak.

"Enjoy your stay," Travis smiled as he opened the door to our room. We walked in, and the door shut behind us.

The hotel room's walls were the same beige, and there wasn't any furniture other than two beds and a small table holding a lamp in the corner. Still the room had a slightly cozy vibe. There was also a window that gave a nice view of the forest outside. Jax sat on one of the beds as he pulled out several shulker boxes. He opened one and a map spilled out of it.

"Okay, change of plans." Jax began.

"Nope." I said as I kicked off my shoes and dived into the bed, draping the covers over myself.

"Toni, it's only seven p.m." Jax said, his voice muffled slightly.

"Go tell that to someone who cares."

"Toni…"

"And don't give me that tone!"

Jax let out a long suffering sigh. "A few hours. A few hours."

"Sure," I mumbled, already drifting off.

?-?-?

Toni opens her eyes and finds that she's trapped in yet another cryptic dream.

Really? Toni thought. This is beginning to get old.

It just occurred to me. A voice hissed. This whole time I've been threatening to end your world. But I'm afraid you haven't taken me very seriously because you don't know what I will do.

But worry not. For I will show you.

Suddenly Toni finds herself in a peaceful looking village. She looks around, confused.

And then. The rumbling begins.

Trees topple over. Buildings collapse. Screams fill the air.

Villagers are running around in a panic, a child cries as her mother runs as hard as she can while holding her.

Somewhere in the distance, the ground splits and cracks apart. An enormous wave of lava bursts from the earth, and the ground slowly breaks apart, revealing lava pooling underneath the earth.

Toni turns to run, but finds there is nowhere to run.

The ground underneath her burns away, and she plummets into the boiling lava. The flames engulf her, and she screams. Magma enters her lungs.

All she can see is bright orange, swirling around her...

There's no hope for you. Better to die and spare yourself the pain. The voice snarls.

Even through the pain, Toni opens her mouth.

"Get out of my head."

?-?-?

I woke up with a gasp, and nearly fell out of my bed.

I laid there for a moment, panting as if I'd just ran a marathon. Sweat ran down my neck, and I stared at the clock next to my bed.

5:46 A.M.

I turned to see that Jax had gone to sleep, using a rolled up map as a pillow instead of the actual pillows on the floor.

A few hours, huh? I thought, amused.

I stumbled out of bed and walked towards where the shulker boxes should have been. Did Jax pack water? My neck is so dry...

I wandered around the room for a while, looking for the shulker boxes, until I realized.

They're all gone.

I blinked in surprise. Where could they have gone? Could Jax have put them back into his inventory? Why would he?

Wait.

My inventory.

I checked my inventory and gasped.

It was completely empty. I even turned my pockets inside out, but still nothing. Not even the emeralds Bandit handed me.

But how could that be?

I heard laughing somewhere in the distance, and my head swiveled towards the door.

I should wake up Jax. He probably knows what to do.

I turned to Jax, about to wake him up, and then stopped.

"You are just a scared little girl. A nobody. An orphan, for God's sake." Jared sneered.

There's no hope for you. Better to die and spare yourself the pain.

I quietly opened the door, careful not to wake Jax.

The hallway is lit up by redstone lamps in the ceiling.

I can do this by myself.

I quietly stepped down the stairs.

Why am I doing this? I should wake up Jax and just—

No.

There was something...more of a reason why I didn't want to wake Jax. I wanted to prove myself. I wanted to be useful.

Irresponsible? In retrospect, totally. Idiotic? Absolutely.

I found myself in the lobby of the hotel, and looked around. I saw a door behind the reception counter, where the laughter seemed to be coming from.

I can do this.

I opened the door a crack.

Michael and Travis were in the room, along with two other men with crossbows. Travis pulled out a very long sword and set it on the table between all of them.

A spark of recognition ran through me.

Jax's sword!

"Now, now, now…what's this?" one of the men asked. "An iron longsword?"

"No," Travis said. "It's titanium. They look identical, but if you look closely it's got kind of a sheen to it that's different from iron."

"Titanium. no enchants. Alright then—thirty emeralds."

They're going to sell our stuff! I thought, fury running through my veins.

Next, they pulled out a shining diamond sword, and I got madder.

That's my sword!

I'd seen enough. I quietly shut the door and turned around, looking over my shoulder.

I need to wake up Jax. I need to do something.

At least, that was my intention. Until I ran into the counter with a loud bang.

All fell silent.

A glass fell off the counter, shattering on the ground.

The door swung open, and Michael was there, glaring at me.

I laughed nervously. "So…would you believe I was looking for the bathroom?"

I'm sorry to say this Toni, but you are not as sneaky as you think you are.

Woo! Another long chapter! I'm on a roll, aren't I?

As always, leave a review! It brightens my day and motivates me to write!

Remember to wear a mask, and this is goodbye for now!

Krios