The man's heavy footsteps sounded throughout the basement. Every step only caused more fear and stress to Jesse as he hid in between a chest and a bookshelf. Finally when he spoke, he expected something wicked but instead he seemed to be practicing something. "'Do you recognize me?!-' or wait..'surprised to see me?!-' no, that's not good. 'Thought you were rid of me, didn't you?!-' That's better.."

As he spoke, he passed by Petra, who successfully hid behind a bookshelf, by Lukas, who peeked his head out of the chest, by Axel, who was hiding between a wall and some bookshelves, and Reuben, who was up on the potion shelves. He glanced over at the shelves, Reuben no longer being there but was hidden behind a pedestal. Jesse had been watching and sighed in relief when he saw that his pet pig managed to get away.

He headed to the bookshelf wall and flickered the lever, reopening the entrance as to where his dark secret was held. Just as he reached to open the shelf however, he heard a faint sound of a glass bottle hitting the floor. His eyes darkened as he realized that someone must've sneaked inside. "What was that? Who's there?!" he called out. Olivia felt her anxiety rise up as her pupils began to dilate in fear. She knew she had to act quickly; before Ivor saw her.

Ivor quickly ran towards her hiding place, seeing the potion bottle on the ground. The area seemed.. Empty. His eyes narrowed, having a gut feeling that it may be as bare as it seems. Olivia hid behind a bookshelf, holding her breath to stay as quiet as possible. She could feel his presence and that was enough to make her freak out on the inside. Nikki peeked over, noticing Ivor beginning to creep closer to her friend. Just as he was about to round the corner, someone suddenly called out.

"Up here, jerk!" Nikki snapped. Before he could glance at her, she let go of the glowstone lamp she was hanging onto, attempting to flatten him, however the brewer moved out of the way before it hit him. His eyes narrowed in annoyance as he glared at her.

"What are you doing here?! What did you see?" he grunted.

"Leave her alone!" Petra ran out of her hiding place to defend the little girl.

"Yeah, back off, pal!" Axel added, he and Jess also revealed themselves. Jesse pounced out of his too.

"You four?!" Ivor growled, recognizing the siblings and Petra. "Did you follow me here?!"

"You thought you could just screw us over and get away with it, didn't you?" Petra shot back.

"We're here to prove you wrong," Jess added.

"What are you going to do about it? I have what I want, and you have exactly what you earned," Ivor challenged. "Now get out before I throw you out."

"Pay us what you owe us. You give us our diamond, we'll get out of your tail," Jesse ordered.

"I won't be threatened; not by the likes of you!"

Nikki didn't take this very well and fury rose up in her as she stepped forward next to Jesse. "Hey! Nobody talks to my brother like that! Now shut your mouth; or else," she warned.

Ivor glanced down at her before scoffing. "Oh please. What will a little child like you do to a man like me?"

"Really? Why does-."

"Enough! You've wasted too much of my time already," Ivor interrupted before he ran in the opposite direction. instinctively, everyone raced after him. Jesse helped his youngest sister up before they followed them. Once they caught up, they saw that he was absolutely nowhere to be found.

"Where'd he go?" Petra wondered aloud.

"If you won't leave of your own volition, I'll happily remove you myself," they heard him say behind them. The friends quickly turned around fast enough to see that he was placing a pumpkin on top of iron blocks in a t-shape, forming an iron golem. "Show our friends the door, will you?"

The Golem did as he was told, lumbering towards the group and swung his heavy arm towards Jesse. Luckily, he managed to duck fast enough before it hit him. Just as it was about to attack again, Zephyr shot like an arrow towards it, hitting the back of its head and nearly throwing it off its feet. The EnderBat was battering the huge mob with all it had, determined to distract it. As the golem forgot all about the group, the friends took that chance to head for the exit.

Jesse scooped up Reuben in his arms before following everyone else out of the basement. Considering Nikki was still having trouble seeing through her damaged eye, Jess grabbed her hand and guided her up the stairs.

Once everyone was back on the first floor, they all caught their breaths as the ecstatic crowd waited for the Keynote to begin. Gabriel had yet to appear, but the crowd managed to avoid becoming rowdy with comedians keeping the crowd entertained.

"Oh man, this is so exciting," a woman declared once the last comedian performance was finished.

"It is! Isn't it?" Her partner agreed.

"And now! For the first time ever here at EndedCon! We are very proud to present.."

"The one! The only!"

"GABRIEL!"

With that, Gabriel the Warrior finally revealed himself. The crowd went wild as the warrior smiled happily. Some people even fainted from the sight of him, many shouting his name and their love and respect for him.

"Thank you! Thank You!" Gabriel grinned, addressing the crowd. He had dark skin with a darker brown beard, dark eyes and wore dark blue armor with teal highlights with a matching helmet that covered the top of his head. "Are. You. With me?" He had a deep, strong voice. The crowd responded by cheering and roaring. Had it been a normal day, Jesse would've been excited to see him. But there wasn't any time for that. It was time to get serious..

"Everyone okay?" He asked, wanting to check if his sisters and friends weren't too hurt.

"Um.. guys?" Olivia gulped. "Where's Lukas?"

"I thought he was right behind me," Jesse swore.

"Wait a sec- Zephyr's not here either!" Axel realized.

"They must still be down there!" Jess whipped her head around to face the entrance to the basement.

"Ivor's got an iron golem and all the ingredients to build a Wither down there. If he were to unleash it in this crowd of people.." Petra didn't finish, not even wanting to imagine what might happen. "We have to act fast."

"It just so happens that the greatest warrior of all time is in the building," Olivia pointed out. "We should ask Gabriel for help. This is the smartest way to help Lukas and Zephyr."

"He's tough. And so is Zephyr. I just hope they're both tough enough to hold out a little longer," the redhead agreed.

"But Lukas and Zephyr need help!" Nikki protested.

"Nikki's right; who knows what might happen if we don't help them," Jess agreed.

Jesse would understand their worry, but he couldn't risk putting anyone else in danger. Sure, he isn't fond of Lukas and is still trying to get used to Zephyr, but that doesn't mean he would want them dead! "Sis, we need Gabriel to get Lukas back," he tried to reason. "And to deal with everything else we saw down there."

"But I can't just leave them down there!"

"Jess, we're doing the right thing. I just hope Lukas and Zephyr can hold out against that golem long enough for us to get help," Petra said.

"Then why don't you guys get Gabriel while I'll get Lukas and Zephyr?" Jess scowled. It was obvious no one was going to change her mind.

"Jess, are you nuts?! You saw what was down there, you can't go down there yourself!" Jesse disagreed.

"I'll be fine! Unless you're planning to come with me then go ahead and get Gabriel. I could take care of myself."

"I'm coming with you!" Nikki said, however Jess kneeled to her height, putting her hands on her shoulder, giving her a small smile.

"I wish you could, but with that black eye, I don't know if you'll be able to see properly. I don't want you getting hurt. Stick with Jesse, K?" She spoke.

Nikki tried to protest but she was already off. Before she could step inside, Jesse grabbed her by the rest and gave her a worried glance. "Just.. stay safe down there.." he sighed. He knew his middle sister was strong but.. is she really sure she could handle the job alone?

Jess was surprised, considering how against he was to the idea before but then this quickly subsided as she gave him an assuring grin. "I will be." With that, she dived back inside the basement and once she was gone, Jesse's concern only seemed to rise.

'God, watch over her..', he prayed silently before clearing his throat. "Let's.. get going- Nikki?" He froze when he noticed Nikki's upset expression.

"I'm fine.. let's just go.." the little girl grumbled as she began to follow the others towards the crowd. Jesse frowned, having a feeling that he knew what was bothering her. They could only have faith that Jess would be safe.. and save Zephyr- and Lukas in time.

"Let's crash this party!" Axel declared.

"-with the right kind of training and guidance, anyone.. and I mean anyone can become a hero. You just have to believe it," Gabriel announced as the crowd cheered louder. As they did, the group began to push through the mob, trying their best to get to the front. They could hear Gabriel continuing to encourage the crowd before asking for questions.

"You know when uhh.. Ellegaard.. and the dragon.. umm.. like what was her favorite food?" A familiar voice spoke up.

Nikki froze when she heard it and glancing at her brother, she tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. "Am I the only one who thinks that person sounds a little too familiar-?" She whispered. Jesse was confused, squinting his eyes to get a better look through the crowd.

"Bread. Next question," the warrior answered. Once they pushed their way to the front of the line, Jesse saw what his little sister meant; the voice was coming from Aiden.

Normally, Nikki would give him an ice cold glare but seeing how.. sheepishly he looked, she couldn't help but to snicker under her breath as Jesse quickly raised his hand to grab the Warrior's attention.

Yes, next," the Warrior said as their bully awkwardly walked away without even noticing them. "What question do you have for the mighty Gabriel?"

"I saw something scary in the basement!" Jesse alerted him quickly, however he looked confused.

"I'm.. not following?"

"This creep's been bulging a monster down there! I'm telling you, he's trouble!" He went on.

"Is that so? Well, as you all know, trouble is what I do best!" Gabriel declared, the crowd cheering for him once more. This didn't sit well with Nikki at all. While her sister was risking her neck to save their other friends, they are not only forced to get help from someone else but he's also not willing to at least follow them into the basement and try and help them?

"I'm not making it up!" Jesse pleaded. "We really need your help-."

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to burst your godly bubble but can't you see we NEED your help?! Our sister is down there with an iron golem and we don't even know if she's okay or not and instead of trying to help, you're here trying to show off?" Nikki shouted, making the warrior flinch in surprise. "I don't mean to disrespect you or whatever but I'M not going to stand around and let my sister OR friends get hurt!"

Gabriel was completely surprised by her speech. He nervously glared over at the producers, who gave him a puzzled expression before facing back towards the two remaining siblings. From the scared expressions on their faces, he figured that they were telling the truth. "Hmm. Perhaps we should check this out.." he calmly responded. "Please, tell me more?"

Meanwhile, Jess was nervously ducked behind a bookshelf, attempting to not just look for her friends but also trying to keep out of sight as well. Despite Zephyr still distracting the golem, she still felt shaken, not wanting to attract attention onto herself.

Taking a deep breath, she once again began to tiptoe, glancing around quickly. "Lukas? Can you hear me? Even though I'm whispering?" She whispered.

"Jess?" She heard a reply. She managed to recognize the voice as Lukas. Glancing over, she spotted him, hiding in a chest. "Is that you whispering super loudly?"

"Lukas!" She beamed. However, instead of getting the response she hoped, he ducked his head back in the chest. Jess was confused but froze when she heard a metallic groan. The golem was right behind her!

This scared the living soul out of her. Although she managed to dodge a blow from it, she quickly realized she was trapped against a wall. The golem raised his fist, attempting to hit her and she could even see Zephyr being held prisoner in the other one.

"Hey!" Lukas called, grabbing his attention. Once the golem was distracted, Jess ducked behind a bookshelf and managed to stay out of sight long enough for the golem to continue lumbering.

"Thanks," she gasped gratefully, sighing in relief. "Lukas, run!"

"What makes you think I haven't tried that yet?!" He replied.

"It's- it's part of the plan, okay?"

"Plan? What plan?! How is running a plan?!"

Jess whined desperately before acting fast and snatching a nearby potion off the bookshelf she was hiding behind. She chucked it at the golem. This made it lose its balance, freeing Zephyr, who flew out of its reach. While it tried to stand, Jess quickly ordered Lukas to make a run for it. The blonde didn't need to say it twice, pouncing out of the chest and running for the door. Jess quickly followed after him, but as they headed for the entrance, the golem stopped them dead in their tracks. The couple froze as the golem raised its fist but before it could land a hit on them, Zephyr flew in his way and screeched loudly, hurting the golem's ears and causing it to crumble.

The couple just stood there frozen in place until Jess finally grabbed his hand and raced for the exit. "Let's go! Thanks Zephyr," she said. Although she was still a little shaken, she was just glad they weren't squished down like a pancake.

"Oh man.. I didn't think anyone would come back for me. Thanks, Jess," Lukas thanked as they ran up the stairs to join the others on the first floor.

"No man- or women left behind; that's my motto!" Jess replied modestly. Once the trio made it back to the first floor, they saw the rest of the group, mainly Nikki and Jesse talking to Gabriel.

"There they are!" Nikki called as they went to join them. Jess stood by her siblings as Zephyr landed on her shoulder.

"What'd we miss?" Jess asked.

"A lot. I think Gabriel's on our side now, thanks to this little half-pint," Jesse grinned, ruffling Nikki's hair lovingly before continuing. "Are you hurt? What happened down there?"

"Terrifying. Still shaken but still in one piece."

"I have a question for you, Gabriel," huffed a man from the crowd. People in the crowd began whispering to each other as the man slowly began to make his way through them.

"Excuse me, sir, you'll have to wait your turn," Gabriel said.

"Just answer this; do you really believe anyone could be great?"

"With enough hard work, yes.."

"Was that where I went wrong?! I simply didn't WORK hard enough?!" Ivor shouted, revealing himself. His eyes lighting up in vengeance and fury.

Gabriel's eyes widened in surprise. "Ivor?" He gasped. "I-Is that really you..? How dare you interrupt like this!"

"That's the guy that attacked us in the basement!" Jesse said, surprised that the warrior even knew who Ivor was.

"I wish I could say I was surprised."

"If it's surprises you want, you're in for a treat," Ivor susurrated back at him. "Why don't you tell them the REAL story, Gabriel?!"

"I see time has made you bitter," Gabriel grunted. Jesse was getting even more and more curious. What did Ivor mean? Did he and Gabriel have a sort of.. falling out? And if so, what happened?

"And it's made you an even bigger fool," Ivor spat. "These people were promised greatness, and I'm ready to deliver! I'm sorry this is how they have to learn the truth." He stepped onto the stage, his half-built wither recipe raising up from the floors.

"Someone! Stop him!" Nikki cried but there was nothing they could do.

"Nothing built could last forever, Gabriel," Ivor huffed, taking the final wither skull and placing it in the middle, on top of the unusual glowing block.

"Ivor no!" Gabriel cried, trying to stop him but it was too late. The Wither spawned, blowing both men and some producers off the stage as it held the odd block in its ribcage. Everyone in the crowd began to panic as the monster was revealed. Some already began to flee and hide while others simply stood there, frozen in fear.

• Wither Trouble •

"Creature! Attack!" Ivor commanded, waking the Wither. It shot wither skulls everywhere, destroying the hall around it. As the panic began to build up, more began to scream and scatter. Many tried to ease the panicking swarm of people, but their efforts proved useless as the Wither began its rampage. It even began to suck up damaged parts, turning itself bigger and more dangerous.

"Fear not, everyone. This foul beast is no match for me!" Gabriel declared boldly, drawing out his Diamond weapon. Ivor pointed at the warrior, once again commanding the Wither to attack and it did gladly. Gabriel leaped and slashed it right in the middle, where the odd block was but the block didn't even have a scratch and sent the warrior flying back towards the ground.

"What have you done?" Gabriel panted, weakly standing up as Ivor beamed with glory.

"Gabriel!" Jess cried, holding her little sister tightly as the upcoming problem grew worse.

"No, stay away! It's after me, not you!" The Wither charged at him, but he managed to dodge the attack by quickly ducking.

"Look at him! The mighty Gabriel! He may not be able to defeat this creature, but I can!" Ivor jeered before facing the monster. "Creature, retreat!" Nothing happened. The monster, now with a mutated head, kept its rampage. "Ahem! Creature, retreat!" Still nothing. "Retreat, I said! RETREAT!"

"Ivor? What are you doing?" Jesse asked.

"He can't control it!" Nikki pointed out.

"Uh, no need to be alarmed, my friends. I have an elixir that will destroy this creature," Ivor then reassured nervously before taking out a bygone and for a moment, Nikki felt relieved. Her eyes then widened in shock when she realized it was the same potion that Axel took earlier.

"Wait, that potion, is that-." She started, seeing that Ivor held the decoy.

"Oh no.." Axel gulped.

Ivor threw the potion directly at the block in the middle at full force. It didn't do anything to destroy it. "..impossible.. it should have worked. I took such care!"

"The potion.. Axel, you gotta throw the real potion!" Olivia said.

"But- finders keepers," Axel whined.

"You thieves! You're ruining everything!"

"Axel, c'mon!" Olivia urged. Axel hesitated before slowly taking out the real potion, staring at it longingly.

"Gimme that!" Nikki snapped, snatching the potion from her friend and throwing it at the center block, which started glowing more and more, however some blocks grew over it, shielding the block entirely.

"It's protecting itself! Without the Command Block exposed, the potion is useless! It wasn't supposed to happen like this!" Ivor wailed before making a run for it.

"Ivor! You coward, come back here!" Gabriel growled, now more angry than frightened at the brewer's cowardness. Before he could say anything else, a purple tractor beam fell over him, starting to lift him up. Olivia lunged for his leg and luckily, was able to grab it before he went too high in the air. Despite this, she struggled holding him down.

"Jess, help me!" She cried out. Nikki gave her a reassuring nod that she'll be okay. Jess then let her go and rushed to help her friend, grabbing Gabriel's other leg. Her muscles burned as she fought against the beam's strength but with one last tug, the warrior was freed.

"Thank you," he panted gratefully, though they could see the hopelessness in his eyes. "Ivor was right about one thing; I can't stop that thing. Not on my own.." He then turned to face the group, his eyes filling with desperation. "Will you help me?"

Jesse was stunned. They were all simple teens under the age of eighteen and yet, suddenly here they are; being asked for help by one of the most famous people in the world. "Of course!" He gasped.

"You know it!" Nikki piped.

"We'll follow your lead, Gabriel!" Jess said.

Gabriel nodded, ordering for the friends to follow him. As they escaped the hall, the roof caved in as the Wither, now emerged into something more terrifying. People screamed and ran. Some managed to get away safely but others weren't so lucky, either getting knocked out by the Storm's tentacles or sucked up by its tractor beams. As the gang escaped, a flock of chickens flapped in Jesse's way, completely blocking his view. What made matters worse, the monster was right on top of him.

Eager to get away, he pushed the chickens away and continued to flee however his luck ended when the tractor beam broke the walkway to the hall and took him with him. He screamed as desperately gripped onto what he can so he doesn't end up getting sucked up. "Wait! Hey, I'm up here! Somebody help me! GUYS!" He cried.

Nikki and Jess froze, seemingly to have heard him. They looked at each other before racing back to help their brother. Jess allowed Nikki to climb onto her shoulders to reach their older brother, being careful they won't accidentally get caught as well.

"Here! Get over here! I'll pull you out!" Nikki said, sticking her arm out to him. Using all his strength, Jesse inched himself forward and grabbed onto her hand and with some energy and Zephyr grabbing the back of Jesse's shirt to help, she managed to free him from the beam.

"Guys!" Jess warned, gripping onto Nikki desperately to prevent her from being taken up with the piece of land they were on. Zephyr then grabbed the back of his shirt once more, lifting him up in the air and landing him safely on the ground. He was strong for a bat.

On the main grounds of EnderCon, it was even worse. People were streaming away everywhere, others were pulled to their doom; their screams of fear and horror filled their ears. Jess was breathing heavily, starting to freak out as well before noticing Lukas nearby, looking lost. She raced over to him, wanting to see if he was okay.

"Lukas!" She called.

"Holy shit! Oh man, if I was still in that basement I-.." He froze, not even wanting to imagine what would happen if she didn't come back for him. "Thanks for coming back for me, Jess. I wouldn't be there without you," He said, sounding extremely grateful and relieved.

"Jess!" They heard Nikki call for them. The couple whipped their heads around and spotted the others hiding under an awning. It obviously wasn't the best cover, but it was all they had to work with for now. They went and joined them, but as soon as they did, the monster had caught up to them, its tractor beam breaking the awning apart.

The others immediately ran in a panic as Jesse stopped. "Wait! Wait; we have to stay together!" He tried to say but the others were too busy panicking to notice. He sighed, however before he could go, he heard someone cry his name. He twisted his head around and spotted Petra stuck in the tractor beam, which was lifting her up in the air.

Acting fast, he grabbed her hand and used his other hand to grab a fence post to stabilize himself to avoid being caught as well. The tractor beam however stayed in the same place, and eventually he was the next to rise up in the air.

"I can't hold on!" He yelped. He screamed in terror, realizing the huge trouble they caught themselves in.

"Jesse! If anything happens, please don't let go of my hand, okay?" The redhead cried.

Jesse froze in surprise at her words but nodded. "I won't, I promise!" He tried to stay calm but there was no doubt that they were about to meet their end. As they began to rise higher in the air, Jesse felt someone grab his leg. He flinched before turning to see who it was.

It was Nikki! She was holding onto him as tightly as she could, trying to hold them down as best she could. "You're not getting away that easily!" She assured them, however she was much too light and ended up rising up in the air with them. "Okay, maybe you are-!"

"Not as long as I'm here!" Jess declared, grabbing her leg and attempted to bring them down but she just got raised up in the air. "Woah! Or not!" It wasn't until Gabriel finally intervened, grabbing her leg and with the power of all four of them, they managed to escape the beam.

As they fell, Petra fell right onto Jesse him, much to

her surprise. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around

him and pushed her head into his chest. Though they hadn't

gotten that high off the ground, it felt like the return to the earth

was going even slower than it should. Jesse was very surprised by this, knowing how secretive and reserved she was, though he felt his face wrap up slightly.

The redhead then awkwardly realized that she was flattened on top of Jesse and forced herself off him. Jesse needed a moment to process what had just happened before he slowly got up. Nikki and Jess were both very pleased, witnessing the awkward, yet close moment. Even though this sadly had to fade because of their dire situation, they still had some hope that the two would get together. The others returned to them, not wanting to leave their friends behind.

"Do we still have everyone?" Jesse asked, trying to play it cool and making sure his friends were okay.

"We must set out for my fortress; we'll be better protected there," Gabriel said, before leading the way for them.

With that, they continued going on the run, following Gabriel through the grounds of EnderCon. Their creeper fireworks machine was destroyed by the beam and taken apart completely as they ran past it. Although it was a huge bumper since they worked hard on it, it was the least of their worries.

"Thanks for that just now," Petra thanked, glancing over at Jesse as they ran, her face filling up with relief and gratitude.

"Yeah, well, now we're eve-." Jesse started, but was quickly cut off by the monster letting out a large roar.

"Incoming!" The redhead alerted, pushing Jesse and herself out of the way of a wither skull, which created a large crater on the ground. Although this attack almost hit them, the couple were fine and were left injured. Sighing in relief, Jesse stood once more and followed his siblings and friends through the crowded grounds of EnderCon. The people who were fortunate enough to escape the panicked city ran out into the woods. Gabriel seemed to be running through there as well and in so, the gang followed. Away from the monster, but also away from the place in which they all grew up in..

"Stay together everyone! We'll be safe as soon as we get to my temple," Gabriel encouraged as they continued to flee. The trees were all alit, some collapsing while others just stood there burning. Jess felt terrified; running for their lives as they tried to escape through a burning forest while also dodging craters and remains of built down trees. As they continued, they soon spotted a fairly large tree taking up a lot of space. With the gang all in different directions, it was hard for everyone ro squeeze through one side, especially with the trees nearby that began bursting in flames.

"Everyone, keep going! We'll meet up on the other side!" Gabriel ordered. With that, the group splitted in half. Jess froze before she quickly glanced around. After deciding for a second, she followed her siblings, jumping over flames to stay alive. After a minute or two of running, the group reunited.

"The temple is just up ahead! Follow me!" Gabriel spoke once more. They could see an obsidian building dead ahead! After dodging flames and the Wither's new large tentacles, they finally reached the steps that led inside the temple. "Hurry! Inside the temple!"

Nikki suddenly tripped on one of the steps, her black eye causing her harm once more. Her older siblings halted, glancing at each other in worried looks before they rushed in to help her, helping her up on her own feet and guiding her inside.

"The inner chamber is built entirely out of obsidian. We should be untouchable in there," the Warrior explained before flickering a switch, which opened piston doors.

Inside the Inner Chamber was mostly dark and bare but they could make out the shape of an unlit Nether Portal inside. The group knew the friends knew they had to move quickly. The Wither seemed to be following them, already catching up to them as the light of its tractor beam hit them.

"Hurry! If you can get through the portal, you'll be safe!" The warrior kept a lone tentacle at bay so the party could escape. Axel ran through the portal, expecting to be taken into the Nether, but he was still seen by his friends.

"Uh, something's not right here.." he gulped.

"It's not lit! We need someone to light it," Olivia cried.

In cue, Jesse whipped out a flint and steel he took from their treehouse earlier and successfully lit the Portal. It glowed a bright pur hue that almost made them feel drawn to it. Olivia was the right to run in and Axel quickly trailed after her, picking up Reuben and holding him close. Before the rest could pursue after them, they heard a loud scream of pain. Nikki froze in place when she realized Gabriel had been caught in its tentacles!

"Gabriel!" Jesse cried, rushing forward in an attempt to save the Warrior but another tentacle crashed through the roof, whacking him right onto a wall.

The sisters' eyes widened in shock at what they just saw. Nikki scowled, her eyes narrowing as she raced toward to defend her older brother. "NO ONE HURTS MY FAMILY LIKE THAT!" She screamed, slashing the tentacle with all her might. The tentacle withdrew, going to attack someone else as the little girl then rushed to make sure her eldest sibling was okay.

Normally, Jess would've done the same thing but seeing that the warrior still neede up, she decided to finish the job and raced for him, grabbing his hands as she pulled with all her might. This would prove to be worth it, the tentacle letting go of the warrior and withdrawing.

"Thank you," his eyes flashed with gratitude before he glanced back at the entrance to the inner chamber, where many others were getting attacked and some even brutally killed. "There's so many of them.. I-I can't same them all," he turned back towards Jess, refusing to meet her worried gaze. "I can't stop this by myself. We need to find the others."

Jess was confused. "Others?" She repeated.

"Soren's been missing for years. But the others; you must seek them out," Gabriel pleaded, his voice filled with emotion and distraught. "Take this amulet. And guard it with your life." He held out the amulet, the blue bar glowing immensely. "You can do this!"

Jess could barely comprehend what he was saying. A longtime hero was asking HER help even though she's probably very much inexperienced and is only really a teenager. "What? Why me? Gabriel, please. I don't think I could take on something like this; my siblings and I? We're just teenagers!"

"I believe in you three. None of you may not look like much, but I could see the fighting spirit within all of you. Take the amulet.." he handed it over to her, in which she took hesitantly and stared down at it in awe for a few seconds. "Take it through the portal, and then-."

He was interrupted by another crash as yet another tentacle busted through the roof, dividing Gabriel and Jess. Although she wasn't exactly up for the task, Jess hid the amulet in her pockets as her siblings joined her. Jesse worked on keeping the tentacle at bay as nearby, Lukas yelped in fear as a tentacle drew closer to him, but he was quickly saved by Petra, who whacked it away before it got too close.

She turned to face him and the siblings as they ran up to her. "You four; go through the portal and meet up with the others. I'll stay here and do whatever I can," she ordered before meeting Jesse's worried haze. "Hurry!"

Jesse wasn't having it at all. He's not just going to leave knowing the great danger she's about to put herself in. "I'm not leaving without you, Petra!" He insisted.

"Jess and Nikki NEEDS you Jesse! You're their last family. And not just them, the entire gang."

"And I need you, Petra! I can't just leave without my best friend," Jesse protested, although he had to admit that she was right about one thing; Jess and Nikki both needed him. Not only did they only have each other, he was the last leading figure they had. It would've been disastrous had he been caught by the beast's clunches.

"If anything happens, I'll meet you guys at the temple," the redhead promised. Before Jesse had a chance to respond, their conversation stopped when they heard a whoosh sound of a nearby tractor beam. They all quickly whipped their heads around to see that Gabriel was trapped in a tractor beam once more. Petra tried to run back to rescue him but another beam caught her as well.

Jesse was in panic. He dodged a swaying tentacle, before quickly glancing around. His sisters were dealing with another tentacle as Lukas stood there, frozen with fear. Jesse frowned before deciding to give it a try. "Lukas!" He called but the blonde was too shaken to respond. Frustrated and annoyed, he turned back to his troubles, realizing it was up to him. He had to choose. But who..?

In a moment of quick thinking, Jesse ran towards his friend and pulled her down with all his strength. They both clattered to the ground safely. "Thanks, Jesse!" She said before pointing at the warrior by her. "But Gabriel's still up there!"

Gabriel was flying out of reach. He knew that he was about to meet his fate, but all that mattered to him now was that they were safe and that perhaps they'll help end this problem. "Jesse! Go!" He urged.

"NO!" Jesse cried.

"GABRIEL!" Nikki called. Jess could hardly say anything, staring at the warrior slowly disappearing from sight in horror. Jesse tried to reach him, but a tentacle blocked his way. He managed to duck before it hit him but he couldn't reach fast enough to it's second blow and ended up being smacked forcefully into the portal. He knocked his sisters and Lukas in as well as they all vanished inside the portal. Their real journey was about to begin..

• Nether Fury •

In the burning depths of the fire world; Olivia, Axel and Reuben waited nervously for their friends. It felt like minutes had passed since they were separated and Axel was already thinking of returning back to the Overworld to see how they were doing, though Olivia was against it because it might put themselves and their friends at greater risk.

Finally, their patience was rewarded when the siblings and Lukas all fell onto their backs, Nikki landing on top of her older brother. Axel was very much relieved but as they slowly stood, he perked a brow when he noticed that Petra wasn't with them.

"Where's Petra?" He asked.

Lukas swallowed a lump in his throat, unsure if he would take the news very well. "We did everything we could," he said.

"What are you saying?" The big guy was getting more and more worried.

"Jess? What is he talking about?" Olivia wondered, looking concerned as well. "Because it doesn't sound.."

"It was chaos. There wasn't much we could do," Jess answered, sounding frustrated that they couldn't do much to help their redheaded friend.

"Jess' right," the blonde confirmed.

Jesse however wasn't having it. He wasn't going to let Lukas slip away with letting Petra get caught like that. He despised him enough due to some.. problems they had during childhood but now, he was crossing a bar. "Why don't you tell them, Lukas?" He growled. The blonde flinched from his cold tone as Jesse faced his friends. "He froze."

"What does that even mean?" Olivia scowled, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the blonde.

Lukas' eyes widened in surprise. Was Jesse really trying to put the blame on him? Sure, he didn't like him but this was going too far. "What..? No. You cannot.."

"Petra is still up there!"

"You cannot put that on me!"

"Yeah? And why shouldn't I?!"

"Jesse, stop. I get that you're upset but you can't just point fingers," Jess said, standing up for him. She stood in between them, making it clear that she doesn't want anyone to mistreat him.

Lukas was grateful for her actions, however guilt still filled his chest, knowing that he could've at least done something to help. "I got scared," he admitted. "Just for a second."

"You got scared?" Axel growled, cracking his knuckles as he approached him threateningly, gently pushing Jess out of the way.

"It wasn't my fault!"

"You got scared and it's not your fault?!"

"Back off, Axel," Nikki ordered, giving him a stern expression. She was helping her sister defend Lukas as best she could.

The big guy had his eyes on the blonde, his eyes wailing up in flames before he glanced at his friends. "We gotta go back,"

"Yeah! Let's go back," Nikki agreed before heading for the portal, however Olivia blocked her way.

"No! We have to wait," she said. "Think about what you're walking into." The little girl stared at her, beginning to have second thoughts.

"We should go back," Jesse said immediately, not even bothering to think over it or what the consequences might be.

"Jesse, Petra's strong. I don't think it'll be worth it trying to put US in danger again. We barely made it out last time!" Jess protested.

"Well maybe if SOMEONE didn't decide to play freeze tag then we wouldn't be here having to wonder if Petra is alive or not. We're going and that's final," her older brother responded, his tone once again sounding cold as he raised his voice. He hardly ever did so, only happening if he's angry, stressed or frustrated.

Jess stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious-? I'm sorry to break your bubble, big brother, but be mad all you want; constantly trying to get at Lukas isn't going to bring Petra back!" She spat.

"If you want to talk like that then why doesn't he defend himself? Oh wait! That's right! He can't! Why? Because he's basically stuck in his own shadow and can't do shit for himself unless it's pleasing other people," Jesse nagged before approaching the blonde and shoving him forward. "You better watch your back. You're lucky I'm not throwing your ass in that lava pool right there."

Lukas was frightened at this point, his eyes were wide and dilating as he was breathing heavily from fear. He nervously took a step back, still tense and on the edge.

"Jesse, you're going too far!" Jess protested, grabbing his wrist and attempting to hold him back.

"I don't know what happened between you guys in the past, but do you really think Petra would want this?" Nikki added, standing in between her brother and the blonde. Despite her calm demeanor, she was greatly surprised by her brother's words. "C'mon bro, you know better than this!"

Before he could respond, Olivia spoke up. "Hey! There she is!" She beamed, pointing at the portal. Glancing around, they saw that the gleaming gateway was swishing, signaling that someone was coming. Jesse stared at the portal intently, practically begging that it was Petra. Someone DID fall out of it, but instead of the redhead they were all hoping for, they were greeted by a familiar old man.

"You again," Ivor huffed. Before anyone could exchange any harsh words, a tentacle from the monster bursted through the portal, whipping around blindly. Everyone yelped in surprise and quickly dodged its attack, but they quickly realized that the wither wasn't going after them. Its tentacle began tugging on the portal frame, squeezed it until it broke and just like that, it was gone.

Jesse stared at the portal's remains in despair. This only meant one thing; even if Petra had made it out alive, she wouldn't be able to follow them through the Nether portal. She would've gotten sucked up like everyone else, or even worse, killed! Jesse then clenched his fists, shifting a hateful gaze upon Ivor, the one who started this entire mess in the first place. He was so overwhelmed by anger, he just stood there, unable to move, unable to think but just stand there, sizzling in fury.

"You ruined everything!" The brewer spat, dusting himself off. "Don't pretend you don't know, thief. You took my most valuable potion..and ruined what could've been my moment of triumph! What can you say to that?!"

Nikki marched forward towards him, glancing up at him. She only was able to reach up to his stomach, but her stare caught his bravery. "Does this answer your question?" She hissed and before the old man could reply, she punched him good in his jaw, making him yelp in pain. At any other time, Jesse would've scolded her but in this situation, he could've been any more proud. Jess on the other hand frowned, disliking any unnecessary violence.

"More needless violence," he groaned, still in pain from the blow. "It solves nothing. Learn the lesson now, or you'll share Gabriel's fate."

"Thanks for the useless words of wisdom. Now if you excuse us, we need to rescue our friend from your crazy pet!" Nikki spat before glancing at her pet EnderBat, who glared at her sternly. "No offense."

"Besides, you can't blame us," Jess added, giving him a harsh expression. "Your plan, your monster, YOUR fault."

"Maybe.. but if you hadn't stolen from me, I would have destroyed it. And all those people.. would've been saved," Ivor said, turning his back towards them. "There's nothing left up there! Nothing but that WitherStorm."

"Why are we wasting time talking to this jerk? We have to go and get Petra!" Axel scowled.

"The girl! I saw her."

"What?" Lukas perked a brow.

"When I was running for the portal, I passed her. She was running in the opposite direction," he turned towards them and plastered a respectful expression on his face as he began to stroke his beard. "Such bravery. But of course, there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity. And your friend has crossed it. I'm saying she's stupid."

"Our friend is in trouble because of you. We're TRAPPED in the Nether because of you!" Jesse chided.

"You have much bigger problems to contend with," Ivor mocked, actually finding his anger about their missing friend amusing. He then stepped closer towards them. "Through that runner is a network of mine carts built by the Order of the Stone. It's your only way out."

"We should go that way," Axel said, pointing at a random area. He was willing to do anything then to trust him.

"Funny. I don't remember asking for YOUR help," Jesse scowled.

"It's not for my sake."

"Yeah, well keep it to yourself."

"As much as I hate to admit it; he might be right," Jess sighed. Both her siblings glanced at her in shock, surprised that she was willing to trust him despite all he's done.

"Bravo for embracing the truth, little girl," Ivor mocked.

"Don't get too comfy. I still don't trust you," Jess warned. Just then, they heard a soft, yet twisted whining sound, sounding as if it were a baby, however something about it didn't seem right.

"What was that?" Axel gulped.

"I wish you luck, but luck won't carry you through the Nether," the brewer said before taking out a potion. "You have my sympathies." With that, he drank it, disappearing right before their eyes. Once he was gone, a huge pale ghost floated over the horizon, ready to attack.

"What is that?!" Nikki cried.

"Ghasts! Let's get out of here!" Jess shrieked.

"Run!" Jesse yelped, although he didn't need to say it twice as the party quickly made a run for it, the wailing ghast flying after them. The friends found themselves in a Warped Forest, and while its thick blue canopies greatly contrasted the traditional color of the Nether, it provided good shelter against the Ghast, which had trouble keeping its eyes on them and trying to attack.

"I thought the Nether was only a barren fire land?" Nikki commented as they ran.

"No, it's filled with all sorts of things that people have yet to discover. We're lucky to find ourselves in a Warped Forest instead of a Crimson one," Olivia explained. "It's better than dealing with Piglins and Hoglins."

Zephyr zoomed ahead, seemingly looking for something and when he found it, he began doing little flips just above a certain hunk of Netherrack covered up by Huge Warped Fungi, almost resembling trees back in the Overworld. Hidden by the Fungi and lump of netherrack was the mine cart system! Ivor was right!

Jess noticed the stained glass resembling the amulet and was immediately reminded how Gabriel entrusted her with it before being left behind with the WitherStorm. She knew what she had to do; but wasn't entirely sure how or even if she could do it.

"This must be what Ivor was talking about," Olivia said, grateful that the coverage made it at least somewhat sustainable against attacks. Without wasting any time, the party hopped into the carts, Reuben in the first cart, then Nikki, Jesse, Jess, Olivia, Lukas and then finally, Axel. Once everyone was safely inside, the carts went off.

As the gang zipped through the Nether, they got a good chance to take a look around. The Nether was much more different than the Overworld. Beneath them laid a large lava pool, but they could also see the Crimson and Warped forests standing side-by-side with each other. Piglins nearby glared at them as if they were a threat while others simply observed them curiously as they zipped past their home.

Petra had taken Jess to the Nether before just a couple years back and even though it was against her brother's wishes, she was still amazed by all the things she saw.

"Wow.. The Nether.." Lukas murmured.

"Yeah," Olivia gulped. "That is a LOT of lava. And fire. And other things they could burn you to death."

"Uh, what about fall damage?" Nikki shuddered.

"Yeah, and fall damage," Jess added. "Imagine getting lost in this place."

"Could never- OH NO!" Jesse suddenly yelped. Jess was confused but looking dead ahead, she quickly realized why her brother started freaking out. Just ahead of them, the tracks dipped dramatically. Jesse already hated roller coasters, minecarts being no expectations but this just made it ten times worse.

"Oh that's a drop. That is very, VERY much drop!" Lukas cried.

"What are you talking about, new guy?" Axel perked a brow before shifting his gaze from their environment to the tracks. "What drrrrOh shit! You weren't kidding!"

As the carts neared the drop, Jess grinned and raised her arms in the air. "Here we go!" She beamed. The carts then ran down the tracks at a very quick pace. While Jess, Nikki and Axel seemed to be having a great time, Jesse was screaming as he and Lukas held on tightly to their minecarts and Olivia covered her eyes. Reuben was squealing in panic as Zephyr squeaked in delight, feeling wind cruise over his slick black ears from on top of Nikki's head.

When they finally reached flat ground, they were now going at super speed. As they continued speeding, Nikki spotted two overhangs of Netherrack in front of them, too low to speed under. "Duck!" She warned her friends, sinking under the minecart. Zephyr flapped off her head and joined her in her minecart for shelter. Everyone did the same, avoiding getting hit by the overhangs.

By this time, their environments completely changed, as well. Instead of the Crimson and Warped forests, they found themselves in a biome filled with soul sand and soul soil, its thick blue atmosphere making it harder to see in. Jess couldn't help but to stare in awe when she noticed blue fire burning on the soul sand, something about it feeling.. strange, almost as if something wasn't right about it. Something that made her groan a little was the amount of skeletons beneath them. At least they aren't unlucky enough to end up down there.

When she focused back on the track, she began to freak out when she spotted a giant lava curtain flowing over the tracks. If they don't do something quick, they would be reduced to ashes. "Guys? Look!" She cried.

"Okay, so I'm not the only one seeing that we're running out of track, right?" Axel whimpered.

"No!" Lukas responded.

"Good!"

"No, Axel. I totally thought it was a water curtain," Nikki said sarcastically before spotting a lever just sitting on the side of the tracks. Luckily, it was just in reach. "Zeph! That lever! Quick, buddy!"

The little EnderBat didn't need to be told twice, shooting at the lever like an arrow and flipped it. The carts stopped abruptly right in front of the curtain before dropping down to a lower elevation of pistons.

"Wow, now. I thought something bad was going to happen there," Jesse sighed in relief. "But I guess everything's gonna be okay-." Before he could finish, the tracks suddenly changed in directions, breaking everyone off the team and to their own tracks. There was a lot of commotion, but after it was all over, Jesse and Nikki found themselves left on a lone track. "Uh, Jess? Axel? Olivia? Reuben? Anybody?" Jesse called.

He only heard silence until he heard a squeal of terror. Glancing around, he noticed a skeleton pointing its bow and arrow at Reuben and Jess, who were in the minecart behind it. Jess tried to fight it off, but she could hardly take it down without a weapon. Zephyr screeched loudly, creating a sound shockwave that hit the skeleton. It responded by covering its ears, in which Zephyr did the final blow by knocking it down into the depths below.

"That was terrifying. Thanks Zephyr!" Jess sighed in relief as Reuben oinked in gratitude.

"And you said he was a devil-spawn," Nikki teased, pointing out how her brother thought of the little bat before. As the minecarts went on, they eventually combined, reuniting the siblings.

"Hey, guys, remember when I said everything was going to be fine before?" Jesse sheepishly said. "I know I was wrong THEN but I have a very good feeling about this time- woah!" He was interrupted when they sped under a ghast, which turned and began to pursue them! To add salt to the wound, other ghasts accompanied it. "Duck!" He cried when one shot a fireball at them. They all did instinctively but Nikki left her sword out and when the fireball hit it, it deflected it right back at the ghast. Jesse noticed this and putting it to good use, he also deflected a fireball that was shot at them. Once the ghasts had been dealt, they were all reduced to white mist.

"Petra told me about this place before! It's the Soul Sand Valley. It's PACKED with ghasts and skeletons," Jess remembered.

"Oh really? What a GREAT way of being reminded of my siblings' bad judgment skills!" Nikki wheezed, making a callback to when they found themselves in trouble in the forest and Petra had to go save them. She also couldn't help but to giggle when she saw Jesse panting heavily, not being used to fighting in such intense heat.

"Well, ghasts are officially off my to-see list," he assured them as he sat back down. "Done with ghasts, never need to see them-." The siblings and their pets rounded a corner where yet another ghast was waiting for them.

The ghast shot a flaming ball at them, knocking Nikki's and Jess' minecarts off the edge! Reuben jumped to Jesse's minecart, but Nikki only managed to grab the side, using her other hand to hold her sister's hand to avoid her falling down in the depths below. Stomach swaying, Nikki tried to avoid looking down at what awaited below them. Zephyr grabbed the back of her hoodie, and tried to pull her up, but she was rocking around too much for him to do so. To make the situation more bleak, they were shooting up to a high height, where the tracks were abruptly cut off towards emptiness.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!" Jesse repeated over and over as they got closer and closer to the edge. Finally, they rocketed into the sky, soaring right in front of the ghast, however as they landed, they missed the tracks completely and the cart along with the siblings dived through the air, lava sizzling below them.

As the siblings screamed in fright, Zephyr's eyes started to glow an intense purple shade. They blazed so bright, Nikki and Jess had to squint to save themselves from being blinded. They were all confused as to what the EnderBat was doing. Zephyr was now vibrating very hard. Just as the tip of the minecarts dipped into the lava, the entire party was gone in a shower of ender particles. Zephyr had just teleported them all.

They reappeared on the tracks, and as luck would have it, right behind the rest of their friends. The three siblings just sat there, unbelieving of what they just experienced. Jess sat on a spare minecart in front of them while Nikki sat with Jesse and Reuben in the minecart that nearly got engulfed in lava. They then allowed their wide jaws to close when the rest of the gang looked back at them.

"Is.. ha. Is everyone okay?" Jesse asked slowly.

At first, no one spoke until Nikki piped up. "Zephyr's wiped out, but I think he's fine," she murmured. Zephyr, who was wasted after teleporting so many objects at once, had been knocked out and was resting in Nikki's hoodie.

"Well, I'm not dead," Axel replied. "I guess that's pretty good."

"Ditto. Ditto with not dead," Olivia whimpered.

"I just can't believe that Petra comes down here all the time. This place is awful," Lukas shuddered before chuckling. "Your throat is going to be sore later, Axel."

"Why?" Axel asked.

"I mean.. wasn't that you doing all that screaming before? Sounds like you were shredding your larynx."

"Oh yeah," Olivia joined. "Really high-pitched? Sounded like a squeaky piston?"

"What? No. Shut up," Axel whined.

Lukas chucked again. "Never mind. Must've been something else."

Jess was happy to see that the gang was joking around, especially because of the argument they had before. "You know how you have those experiences you remember and reminisce about for the rest of your lives?" She said.

"Yeah?"

"This isn't one of those. Let's never discuss ever again," she went on. The rest of the ride luckily was more mild, which greatly relieved the party after all the crazy adventures they found themselves in so far. After relief was that the ride ended in a hunk of floating Netherrack in another Warped forest, the most.. calmest biome they found themselves in so far.

Jesse never thought he could be so happy to finally be on solid ground. Though as they walked up the steps, he felt lightheaded, possibly from all the zipping around and fighting monsters during their trip. "Is it possible to throw up like inside your body?" He groaned.

"Uh-huh," Olivia answered, looking a bit green as well. "I know because I just did. About five times."

Jesse glanced over at his middle sibling before sighing. "You must've already lost your sword didn't you?" He said, remembering how she was powerless against the ghasts.

"About that uhh.. I actually had to give it to some butcher back at EnderCon to save Reuben's life," Jess sheepishly admitted. "But come to realize that he tricked me and nearly would've ripped Reuben apart if it weren't for Zephyr."

"Geez.." Jesse murmured, processing the new information in.

"I'm glad we got to keep Zephyr. You were wrong about him," she then went on.

Jesse thought for a moment, glancing over at their youngest sister before nodding. "Yeah.. maybe I WAS wrong about him," he said before taking the spare sword had given to him back in Ivor's basement and handed it to her. "Here. You're lucky I had a spare." Jess smiled and took it in gratitude, looking at it before placing it in her inventory.

Once the party of eight reached the top, Jess gasped in awe at the beautiful scenery around them. They never got to fully appreciate the beauty that was in the Nether and seeing it made her smile. She was always fond of arts, crafts, and visuals. "Wow! Look at this place!" She gasped.

Lukas glanced over at her and couldn't help but smile from just seeing her delighted reaction from reaching their destination. Just seeing her smile brought that warm feeling once more, and although he still didn't understand what it was, it kept coming back. He felt.. drawn to her.

"All the tracks converge at this point," Olivia identified. "You could probably get anywhere in the world from here."

"Redstonia, BoomTown, EnderCon, Cave Caverns.." Nikki muttered, reading the signs from the walls above the tracks which led to different areas.

"There's the portal!" Jesse said once they reached deeper through the area. Their exit portal was just sitting there, waiting for them to pass through.

"This is what Gabriel was talking about," Jess gasped.

"Then that's our way out!" Nikki beamed. "It must lead back to the surface." Impatient to leave the Nether, Axel started to make his way in front of the pulsing gateway.

"The surface is also where that creature is," Lukas reminded him, making him stop dead in his tracks.

"He's right," Jesse admitted, giving the blonde a side glare before continuing. "We have no idea what we're walking into. It could be dangerous."

Axel whined. Now he was going to look like a coward if he backed out, which he longed to do now that the image of the WitherStorm was stuck in his mind.

"Thanks for being so brave, Axel," the blonde then mocked playfully.

"Alright, I'm gonna go. I'm going. I'm going right now," he declared, though he didn't move a muscle. "Like right, right now. I just need to make sure I have everything I'll need."

Jess sighed before she stepped forward. "I'll go first," she insisted.

"That's not what I was saying," the big guy frowned, though part of him felt relieved that Jess stepped up for him.

"I'm going."

"Well, if you absolutely insist.."

"Be careful, sis," Jesse said, not liking the idea of his middle sister stepping into the portal first.

"If something's wrong, just.. step back in," Nikki added, giving her a worried glance.

Jess stepped forward in front of the gleaming purple, feeling chills down her spine as she stared at it. "Well.. see you guys on the other side, I guess," she said before slowly walking inside the gateway. For a moment, it was just purple Ender particles and swirls until it eventually cleared. Jess found herself stepping in a pool of water. There was a small clearing with a couple trees nearby. "Okay.. Not what I was expecting," she muttered to herself before making her way through the water. As she went, she heard a soft groan with the smell of rotting flesh filling her nostrils.

She whipped her head around and noticed a zombie heading right for her. Acting fast, she took out the sword her brother gave to her earlier and managed to take down the zombie. "Oh, man. That was close," she panted. Jesse was the next to step into the portal after her and he gave her a puzzled expression as he made her way towards her. She sighed before putting her weapon away. "There was a zombie."

"Oh.. is it dead? I mean, you know, dead-dead?" He asked before placing a hand on her cheek to check for any injuries. "Are you hurt?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about me, Jesse. I'm fine," Jess assured him as the others joined them. Once the gang was back together, they made their way through the clearing, finding themselves in a dark and uninviting area. It was dark as the moon shined upon them, some of its light being shielded by clouds. It was also surprisingly quiet, at least aside from the nearby noises from nearby mobs.

"Where are we?" Olivia gulped.

"In the dark; in the middle of nowhere," Jess answered.

"Maybe we should bedtime for the night," Lukas suggested, predicting it was around midnight. "It's dangerous to be out when it's this dark."

"Well, that's not a good thing. I thought we were headed toward a temple," Nikki said. "We need to find it ASAP."

"We're looking for a giant building. It should be pretty obvious," Olivia replied.

"Ivor said-." Lukas began but Axel cut him off.

"Ohhh. 'Ivor said.' Well, then maybe this is the temple," he huffed.

"Cut it out Axel," Jess frowned.

"I was being sarcastic."

"The Order wouldn't build all that track for nothing. It's gotta be here somewhere," Jesse said, trying to keep his team's spirits up.

"Yeah. That's what I was thinking," Lukas agreed.

"I was agreeing with you so.. I don't know what you're talking about," Axel said, persistent on cutting Lukas out of the conversation. Jess began to find it annoying.

"We have to build, uhh.." Jesse froze.

"Shelter. We have to build a shelter," Nikki finished. "We'll think of something in the morning."

"I say we build a treehouse," Olivia insisted.

"That'll take forever. And we'll be exposed while we do it," Axel agreed. "We just need a quick and dirty hut."

"Look, whatever it is? We gotta do it fast," Lukas said, however the two of them gave him nasty glares in return. "What?"

"In a hut, we won't know what's coming until it's knocking on our door," Olivia argued, her attention resting on Axel.

"A treehouse is going to be spider town. I hate spiders," Axel sniffed.

"Let's build a hut. It won't take as long," Jesse decided.

"It's not-."

"That's it, Olivia. Jesse made the call," the big guy interrupted.

"Uhh guys? We should get started," Nikki alerted them.

The party then began working on their shelter. Axel was right; it didn't take all that long and bonus, they didn't need as many resources. Despite this, their surroundings still felt eerie, almost felt like monsters were watching their every move. It didn't help that the group worked in painful silence, which didn't sit all that well with Jess. Once they were done, they stood in front of their finished work. It wasn't the strongest.. but it'll do.

"All that work and we're still eye level with monsters that are trying to kill us," Olivia cringed.

"It's done. It's over. We aren't talking about it anymore," Axel snapped.

"We could have maybe done like a multi-layer thing, but.. it's too late now. I mean, it's.. it's cool," Lukas said, nervously trying to compliment their work even though it clearly needed improvement as they all headed inside.

"Keep it together, guys," Jesse tried to encourage the gang, though no one was listening.

• Childhood Issues •

As the night went on, the party huddled around a now-lit fire, keeping them all safe and warm from the cold and scary night. They could hear a wolf howling in the distance at the full moon above them. The clouds had completely disappeared, letting the moon's rays hit anything below it.

The siblings rested in one corner, Nikki laying her head on her brother's lap as Jess simply sat there silently. Jesse tried his best to comfort his younger sisters, though feeling guilty himself as the terrible scene of Petra risking her life replayed in his head. Sure, they were all alive but.. the thought of everyone else back at EnderCon, including Gabriel and Petra being.. dead didn't sit right with him. There's no way they could be gone. Can they..?

Olivia sat across from the siblings, already feeling guilty about leaving Petra and Gabriel behind. She tried not to think about it much, though the issue continued to pop back into her mind to haunt her. Axel stood nearby her with his arms crossed while Lukas sat alone and away from the friends, keeping his distance to avoid starting any more conflict.

Jess glanced over at him and felt sympathy washed over her. While the Ocelots weren't the nicest people.. they still were his friends. And now he's alone, stuck with the people his friends were rivals are with. She wondered how badly he must've felt. It definitely didn't help that Jesse and Axel were both treating him horribly so far.

"Oh, man!" Axel suddenly said, drawing their attention.

"What?" Olivia wondered.

"I'm going to tell you something, you have to promise not to freak out," the big guy continued.

"What is it?" Nikki impatiently asked.

"I have cookies!"

The big guy pulled out the treats from his pockets, overly proud of himself. It wasn't much but at least it was something for them to munch on for the night.

"One for me.." he then headed towards Olivia. "One for Olivia.." He made his way towards the siblings after. "One for Jesse.. one for Nikki.. one for Jess.."

"Thanks Axel," Nikki thanked.

"Yeah, thanks," Jesse agreed. Lukas watched, feeling his stomach rumble but he didn't say a word, knowing that if he did, he would most likely get even more glares.

"And one for Reuben and Zephyr," Axel finished, splitting the last cookie in half and placing it in front of the pig and bat, who had been laying down together. He then roughly faced the blonde. "Sorry, Lukas. I only have six." Although he apologized for not having enough, everyone knew that he wouldn't have handed one to Lukas in the first place. Despite this, the big guy felt partially guilty that he didn't have enough food to feed everyone.

"Oh, no it's-.. It's alright. I'm not that hungry anyway.." He sighed.

"I'll just.. grab something in the morning. Or something." He must've already felt out of place. His friends were gone, possibly even dead and now he was trapped with people he was barely close with. Jess must've noticed and felt pity for the blonde, especially seeing how down he looked..

She glanced down at her uneaten cookie before back at the blonde. After a moment, she stood up, Jesse giving her a confused expression as she headed towards the blonde. Surprising everyone, she handed him her cookie.

"Take it, Lukas," she gave him a kind smile. Lukas glanced up at her with a shocked expression, but felt his heart flutter as he stared up at her beautiful, sparkling chocolate brown eyes. They looked genuine and filled with sympathy. The last person he could remember who showed him such kindness was his mother long ago before.. She died of a sudden illness.

He frowned at the thought of her offering her food to him. He was thankful she even thought about his well-being, but he just simply shook his head. "Oh, no. I-I can't-.. I can't take that, Jess."

"But I insist," she assured him, placing the cookie in his possession.

"I-.. Thank you, Jess. I really mean it.." the blonde replied before eating the cookie as Jess sat back down next to her older brother. Axel looked bewildered however her older brother gave Lukas a warning glare to stay away from his sister.

"That was for you Jess. Not him," Axel complained. Jess just shrugged in response and looked down at the fire. Nikki looked equally shocked by her sister's actions however she smiled slightly, proud that even though against their brother's and friend's wishes, she was still willing to help him.

Olivia glanced over at a ticked off Axel before back at the blonde. This whole time, she thought he'd be a narcissistic jerk that only cares for himself, just like how the other Ocelots, especially Aiden acted. Seeing how down and vulnerable he looked humanized him for her.. perhaps she judged him too quickly?

"If you had to.. which would you rather fight.. a hundred chicken-sized zombies, or ten zombie-sized chickens?" She asked. Lukas was confused, shocked that after treating him badly, she was now willing to give him a chance.

"Choose wisely," Nikki advised jokingly, lightening his gloomy mood.

"That's a good one," he chuckled. "Let me think."

"How could you guys joke at a time like this? Petra is still out here," Axel scowled, ruining the wholesome moment. "She's all by herself. There's nothing funny about that."

"Petra wouldn't mind at all. She'd want us to keep our spirits up," Jess replied, giving her friend an assuring smile before glancing over at her older brother. "Right Jesse?"

Jesse froze. He didn't exactly pay attention to what they were talking about. All he wanted was to know if she was okay. He tried to tell himself that she was strong but.. anything could happen. He didn't want to ruin the mood so he simply gave a slow nod. "Yeah," he murmured.

Axel frowned. "If I were her. I'd.. I dunno. It feels wrong," he said, feeling worried for the redhead.

"Fine, then. We should get some rest. We gotta start looking for this temple as early as we can," Lukas said as he stood up. He was used to being a kind of leader-figure to his friend group so he figured maybe he should give it a try now that he and the others would be stuck together for who knows how long. "Now, my guess is, if we start at the portal and kind of split up-."

"Woah, what are you doing?" Axel interrupted.

"Did I do something to you? I'd really like to know," Lukas said, now beginning to get fed up. "Because it seems like you keep getting on my case for what seems like no reason."

"You can't just bark orders at us, Lukas. You're not our leader," Jesse scowled, giving him a hateful glare.

"What'd I tell you?" Axel sniffed.

Lukas was dismayed by Jesse's words. Sure, they may not have the best relationship but they were taking things too far. "Well, someone needs to step up," the blonde frowned.

"It's not you."

"Guys, stop. He's just trying to help," Jess spoke, defending the blonde.

"I'm sorry, Jess, I'm not going to sit here and listen to this guy telling us what's what," Axel said.

"I'm just trying to get ready for tomorrow," the blonde said, not trying to start an argument.

"You're the only one wearing that stupid jacket. Don't tell us what to do," the big guy then huffed, shoving him forward.

This stroked Lukas' last nerve. His calm demeanor melted as he glared at him. "Take. That. Back," he growled.

"Can't. Wouldn't."

"You know what? I get to wear this jacket because I know how to build. But that doesn't mean I don't know how to break things."

"Your threats don't scare me, now that we know how you really are."

"Jess, your friend is way out of line," Lukas shifted his gaze towards the middle sibling for help.

"Let's just drop it," Jess said, not going to take sides but instead aimed at stopping the useless argument.

"Don't be like that, Jess," Axel frowned.

"Just drop it," she then demanded, however Axel didn't show any signs of stopping and instead glared at the blonde and once again shoved him forward.

"Haven't you done enough damage for one day? Petra might be dead because of you!"

"You're taking this too far, Axel," Olivia said as she stood.

"ENOUGH!" Nikki suddenly barked, everyone, including her siblings, taken aback. "Alright that's it! Axel, sit your ass down. That goes for everyone else too!" Without talking back, Axel immediately plopped onto the ground, the others doing the same as the fourteen-year-old went on. "Listen up, meatheads, we have bigger problems to worry about instead of thinking about past relationships. Gabriel didn't send us out here just for us to act like bickering buffoons. If you guys want to act like dead-brain idiots then we're not going to survive. We may be the last chance this world has! We have ONE enemy, remember? Focus on THAT. Not useless, pointless drama!"

The room filled with silence for a moment before everyone else agreed, mainly shaken how the little girl lashed out. "Of course, sis," Jesse said before he scoffed. "It's just embarrassing to be the world's last hope with some people who are.. who do I say this? Unreliable." He gave Lukas a side-glare.

The blonde frowned before he once again stood. "I don't have to take this," he said. "Listen.. why don't I just leave and let you guys hash this out?"

"You can't leave! It's dangerous out there," Olivia protested.

"I could take care of myself," he sighed before glancing at Axel and Jesse. "It's what Jesse and Axel want, right?"

"Let him leave if he wants to leave," Axel scoffed.

"Be careful out there," Jesse shrugged.

"Jesse, are you out of your mind?!" Jess snapped, starting to get fed up with her brother's hatred for the blonde.

"What? It'll be better anyways," Jesse replied, rolling his eyes. "We won't have a coward or jerk on the team."

"He's NO jerk!" Nikki protested. "Lukas is just as part of our team as any of us are!"

"It's okay," Lukas said, beginning to head for the exit. "I'll be fine."

Jess wasn't going to let him leave so easily. It was filled with monsters and creeps out there, and there wasn't even the threat of the WitherStorm heading right in their direction. Once again surprising everyone, she went by his side. "If he's leaving then I'm leaving too!" She said, and she looked like she was completely serious.

Nikki was stunned; and so was Jesse, his eyes widening as far as they could go. "What-? Jess, I'm not letting you go out there!" He protested. He was bewildered that she'd even suggest going with him instead of staying with them, the same people she grew up with.

"Yeah. Don't be like that, Jess," Axel agreed, looking visually blindsided as well.

Lukas felt his face heat up, feeling the ever growing tension growing between him, Jesse and Axel. "Jess, I'll be fine on my own. You need to stay here; where it's safe," he whispered, however she wasn't at all paying attention.

"We'll see you guys in the morning," she huffed before placing a hand on Lukas' back as she opened the door. "Let's go, Lukas." With that, the two were gone, leaving the rest of them alone in awkward silence as they sat back down by the fire.

"Add up all the times he was a jerk to us, and this doesn't compare," Axel scowled after a minute or so. "I can't believe Jess actually left with him."

"Axel, just.. be quiet," Nikki replied, too tired to let the conflict go on any further. All she was now worried about was her sister, all alone in the dark, cold night.

"What?"

"You and Jesse were being ridiculous. And if anything happens to them, I'm blaming you," Olivia scowled, giving Jesse a cold glare, even though he didn't care. All that he cared about was how one of his sisters, someone he cared for his entire life, would choose Lukas of all people over him. Soon, they could hear the soft sounds of thunder outside. Of course the hut shielded them from the rain, however it was clear that neither Jess or Lukas wouldn't be so lucky.

"I didn't know it would rain," Axel frowned, realizing the danger that he put Jess into.

"Feeling good about yourself?" His friend once again scolded. "Nikki, I-." She froze when she saw the little girl was already fast asleep. Her slumber seemed to signal everyone else to head to bed. Jesse on the other hand simply laid there with a heavy heart and remorse. He had trouble falling asleep, worried about what his middle sister might be facing. After a couple of hours, he too let sleep take over and rested for the rest of the night.

As it poured outside, Jess and Lukas sat under a tree, keeping close to each other to keep themselves warm. The couple sat in complete silence, save for the sounds of the soft thunder and the rain colliding towards nature. The leaves of the tree was the only thing that kept them both dry and although it didn't fight back the cold nor was an appropriate shelter, it'll do for now. Jess could only let the argument from before replay in her head as her long, dark hair blew in the wind. Although she was shivering as a cool breeze hit them, she simply ignored it, letting her mind focus on other things.

"Uhh, Jess?" Lukas suddenly said, breaking the silence between them. She immediately let go of her thoughts, shifting her attention onto the blonde as he continued. "Thanks for.. having my back during.. y'know."

"I had to. It'll take some time for everyone to welcome you in but, I'm sure they'll come around eventually," Jess assured him before she groaned softly. "I wonder what's gotten into them.. Jesse would never normally act like that. Not even Axel either," she frowned before sighing. "I guess they're just worried about Petra and probably just lashed out. But they still should've been treated like that."

"I deserved it," he sighed. "Y'know Axel was right about one thing; Petta might be dead because.. of me. If only I hadn't frozen.."Although he felt guilty for not helping save Petra and Gabriel, he also felt remorse for the mistakes he made as a child, specifically what happened between him and Jesse. He had every reason to hate him, however.. he wished he had a chance to give him the apology he deserved.

She shifted her gaze towards him with wide eyes. "Don't say that, Lukas! No one deserves to be treated like that," she said. "You were just scared. We ALL were."

"..you wouldn't know.." he remained quiet for a moment before continuing. "You, Jesse, Nikki, Petra, Olivia.. even Axel; you all were so brave out there. And all I did was.. stood there. Maybe Jesse is right; maybe I AM a coward.."

"You're not a coward to me.."

"It's not you I'm worried about.." He felt more hopeless than ever. Not just at the conflict he has between him and Jesse, but also how they're probably the only survivors from EnderCon. All those people.. dead. The entire town.. destroyed. He had to keep himself from breaking at the thought that his friends might be dead as well. "And to top it all off; we're basically just sitting ducks, trying to survive from a large man-eating monster and while we're here, it might be taking any other town it comes by. It's.. scary. Sooner or later, we'll probably meet the same fate as everyone else.."

Jess frowned. She couldn't help but to admit that he was right; they WERE most likely the last survivors from EnderCon. There's no possible way anyone could have escaped the beast because it blocked the only way out; through the Nether. Despite their already bleak situation, she gave him an assuring grin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Y'know what someone used to tell me? When a song is out of tune, sing anyways," she tried to encourage him.

"Everything feels out of tune. I doubt anything would change that.."

"But we have each other. And that's all that matters. We'll be a whole orchestra and send that WitherStorm packing! Even if Jesse or Axel doesn't like it, we'll work together, find that temple and find a way to end that thing. We NEED each other, that includes you, Lukas." Suddenly, she sighed as she continued. "But you're right. It IS scary.. all those lives.." the screams and cries of people as they ran through EnderCon replayed in her head, which made her cringe.

Although he was unsure, he felt enlightened by her words. It was weirdly the first time he actually felt some sort of hope. Their situation looked bleak however.. he couldn't help but to admire her optimism. He glanced at her. "It really is scary.. what if-.. what if we don't stop it in time..?" He feared for the worst. Sure, they survived a suicide mission through the Nether and are most likely a step closer to finding the Order's Temple but.. what if their efforts were for nothing? What if.. what if the WitherStorm caught up to them?

"Then we go down together," Jess answered, giving him an assuring grin. "Like I said; we're a team. And we either win together or lose together."

Lukas sighed before grinning lightly once more. "Thanks Jess.."

Once again, there was a moment of silence between them, save for the sounds of water dripping and the wind blowing. Jess shivered, holding her arms to help fight back the cold winds, however her efforts barely did anything. Lukas noticed this and felt guilty at the thought of leaving her freezing, especially after all she did for him. He thought for a minute before brushing his black leather jacket off his shoulders and letting it rest around her.

Jess was surprised, glancing back at the blonde as her cheeks burned up slightly. "Lukas..?"

"Don't worry about me, Jess. I'll be fine," he assured her, resting his arm around her to help warm her up faster. "Let's just get some sleep, alright?" Jess smiled, wrapping her arms around him as she laid her head on his shoulder, eventually letting her slumber take over. Lukas kept her close, feeling his face growing warm as he stared at her, seeing how peaceful she was before eventually falling asleep as well.

• Teamwork •

As soon as dawn broke, the couple decided to look for as many resources as they could; finding apples, sticks, string, and a couple more. Despite their small breakfast, they knew they had to save some food for the others. Lukas was surprised that he actually felt energized, especially after the long night he had to endure. After a while the couple spotted the rest trotting out of the hut to continue their search for the temple.

Lukas was nervous however, Jess placed a hand on his shoulder to calm his nerves a little. Taking a deep breath, he followed her towards the gang. "Good morning, guys!" Jess greeted with a small smile. Nikki didn't answer, simply walked up to her and gave her a huge hug. Jess grinned slightly as she returned the hug from her younger sister.

"Don't worry, kiddo. I took care of myself. Plus, I had Lukas with me," she assured her.

"You still should've run off like that! I was so worried," Nikki frowned, though she was still relieved that her older sister was unharmed.

"Yeah, I'm just glad you're okay.." Jesse added, rewarding her with an embrace as well. Jess had to admit to herself that she was surprised by this, but nothingness was happy that her brother wasn't too angry at her for leaving.

"Yeah, um.. hey guys," Lukas awkwardly said, gaining everyone else's attention. "We, um.. picked some apples. You're more than welcome to some if you want. Feel free. There's plenty for all of us."

Jesse didn't do anything, both him and Axel simply glared at the blonde. Nikki however simply ignored them, grinning as she helped herself to a ripped, juicy red apple. They haven't been able to find food lately, so she was glad that he was able to find something for them to munch on.

"Thanks, Lukas," she beamed.

"You two got up early and did this?" Olivia inquired, surprised.

"I figure we have to eat," Lukas replied.

Jess nudged him playfully as she grinned. "It was his idea."

Axel watched envyinessly at Nikki and Olivia happily eating a bite from their apples. When Lukas handed one to him, he hesitated at first before giving in and taking it. The blonde then took one of the apples, splitting it in half for Reuben and Zephyr, who both were grateful for his actions. When he tried offering one to Jesse however, the brunette simply glared at him before crossing his arms.

"I thought you left," he admitted. "Both of you guys."

"Yeah. Me too," Lukas confirmed. "But Jess helped me realize that I got to tower up as fast as I could. She helped me keep my spirits up. And.. Jess, I thank you for that." He gave the middle sibling a warm smile before he continued. "I tried doing some thinking.. but it was too cold. And then it started raining."

Olivia and Nikki both gave Jesse side glares, both still holding a grudge against him after he let both Jess and Lukas out in the dangerous night by themselves. Lukas noticed this and quickly tried to clear some things up before it led to more drama.

"No, it's alright. It's just.. it's been a long night," he sighed.

"He's right. But he was quite the survivalist," Jess added, standing next to him to help give him more confidence.

"Yeah. I'm resourceful, y'know? People always say that. And I'm a good friend. Most of the time. I'm a good friend," the blonde went on. "Yesterday I wasn't at my best for one second and it's like.. none of that matters. Except for one thing.. Petra still needs us. And so do all those innocent people lost to that thing." He stared at each of them, hoping it'll get his message across that he's not here to cause any trouble but instead simply wants to help them as part of their group. "I let Petra down once. It won't happen again. We're in this together now. I'm with you guys. To the end."

Normally, Jesse would trust anyone. It was usually a slow process since he's not too keen on trusting people, but considering after all the Ocelots had done to them and how Lukas did absolutely nothing and simply was a bystander, he didn't feel the need to fully trust the blonde. Heck, perhaps after all this is over, he would try to rub in everyone's faces how he helped take down a world-eating monster. The bottom line is that he doesn't trust him, he doesn't even like him. And that's that.

"..just.. keep your distance," he scoffed.

"Jesse," Nikki frowned.

"Jesse, c'mon. He and Jess were here all night," Olivia said.

"No, it's okay. I'll take that," Lukas sighed.

Before Jess could speak up, Jesse cleared his throat, starting to speak once more. "All right, then. Let's head out," he said. With that, the team moved along, starting to follow an abandoned and old stone path. It may not be much, but since this road is near where they ended up after leaving the Nether, everyone suspected that it may lead them somewhere and be one step closer to finding the Order's Temple. Zephyr flew ahead, helping to spot anything that may be out of the ordinary that may be some sort of help.

After a few minutes, the little bat squeaked loudly, alerting that he had found something. Axel shifted his gaze towards the bat, noticing a small cliff with vines mounted upon it. Although there seemed to be nothing wrong with it, it looked man-made, especially since vines are a rare occurrence since they're mostly found in jungles.

"Look at that thing!" Axel gasped before taking a head start. The rest of the gang pursued after him, everyone seemingly confused about what the vines must mean.

"What is it?" Olivia wondered.

"Let's get a closer look," Jesse replied. The gang climbed the vine cliff, reaching to top and catching the most extravagant building they've ever seen. Despite the building being old, abandoned, and weathered down with vines and moss covering it, they could see the immense details. The team was speechless, no one able to find the right words as they crossed through the courtyard, spotting huge, yet weathered down statues of the Order together. Magnus and Ellegaard on the right side, Gabriel and an unidentified statue on the left and Soren right in the middle, in his statue showing the way into the temple with a giant emblem of the amulet being held in his hands.

Jess felt the amulet pulsing in her pocket, almost as though it was trying to tell her something. Although she didn't say anything, she knew that they were here. They finally arrived at the Order Temple.

"This has to be the place," Nikki gasped in awe as her eyes wandered around the beautiful scenery.

Axel, however, was confused. "What is this place?" He inquired.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Olivia replied.

"Some kind of.. building?" Jesse said.

"It's the Temple of the Order of the Stone," Lukas predicted.

"Lukas, are you sure?" Jesse then perked a brow, unsure if what he said was true.

"Yeah. It looks so destroyed," Nikki added.

"He's right! Look," Jess confirmed, holding up the pulsing amulet and showing that it matched the amulet depicted in Soren's hands.

"Where did you..?" Nikki inquired, her eyes sparkling in curiosity.

"Gabriel gave it to me while we were in his bunker. He gave it to me and said it'll help guide us," Jess answered, remembering Gabriel's last words to her before his unfortunate demise.

"What does that mean?" Jesse wondered.

"Let's go in and find out," Jess said. With that, the gang wandered towards the front door entrance, but their hopes were given up when they realized the door was closed.

"Aw man! Now what?" Axel frowned.

"We can't give up that easily! This door had to open somehow!" Nikki huffed before crossing her arms. Even Zephyr seemed puzzled, resting upon her shoulder as he pondered for a way to open the door.

Jess tilted her head to the side curiously, noticing that the closed entrance had a sort of marking in the middle, almost resembling the amulet. Putting two-in-two together, she raised up the amulet and slid it into the marking and almost immediately, the gang were blinded by a sudden bright light that the amulet produced. The light was short-lived however and once it faded, they were able to see the doors parting open, revealing the dark hallway inside.

"Holy crap.." Axel breathed.

"Do you think they're in there?" Olivia inquired.

"Let's go inside and find out," Jesse said before smiling a little and nudging his middle sister. "Good work, Jess!"

"Don't mention it," Jess shrugged, taking back the amulet before the team pressed inside, making sure to stay cautious since they still don't know if anyone is still home or if it's invested with monsters because of how long it's been abandoned. At least if the order was there, they would probably know what to do about the monster slowly eating up the world.

"Let's just all be careful," Jesse warned, still unsure about the building.

"And if you spot anything, call it out. We don't have a lot of time," Nikki added.

"Isn't it weird how dispensers are carved to look like spooky little faces?" Axel commented as the group continued walking down the dark hallway which was lit by redstone lamps, the wall on the right having several dispensers. "What do you dispense, little guy?"

"Iiiiii get the feeling that we don't wanna find out.." Olivia nervously replied, not knowing what was going to happen but she had a bad feeling. A REALLY bad feeling. Out of the blue, there was a sudden hissing sound that seemed to originate from further down the hallway.

"Get behind me!" Jesse ordered immediately, spreading out his arms to protect everyone else. Everyone listened, almost everyone at least.

Nikki however simply scoffed as she crossed her arms. "Yeah right. Like that's ever gonna happen," she said before she ventured towards where the sound was coming from, taking out her iron sword in her defense.

"Nikki!" Jess called out to their youngest sibling.

"Nikki!" Jesse protested. "Get back here! That was probably a spider. It could really cause big trouble for all of us!"

Nikki simply ignored their shouts, waiting for the beast to come to her and when it did, she stabbed her sword directly in its head, making the spider collapse onto the floor in a crippled heap. When she slowly, but carefully pulled out her sword, the spider disintegrated, leaving behind some string. Nikki picked up the string, placed it in her inventory before she glanced back at everyone else looking dumbfounded and shrugged.

"Problem solved," she simply said before sheathing her sword and moving on. Everyone awkwardly followed behind her, Jesse muttering "show-off" under his breath before following along. Although he and Jess were used to his behavior from her, he still found it annoying.

Just when everyone thought that the coast was all clear, they heard a loud creak coming from up ahead. This startled Reuben enough that he began racing forward and the team's instincts told them all to dash after the small piglet without even noticing that they ran over a set of pressure plates until it was much too late. A fence post gate dropped behind them, blocking their way back to the exit. Everyone was alarmed by the now-closed gate, but that was the least of their worries.

"That's probably not a good thing," Axel gulped. His gut was correct because right after they realized they were trapped,the dispenser faces powered up. "Aw, come on, dispenser faces! I thought we were friends!"

Jess' eyes widened in fright as she realized that the dispensers were most likely going to shoot something at them, whether it'll be arrows or maybe even fire charges, she didn't want to stick around to find out. "Run!" She cried. She didn't need to say it twice as everyone bolted for the end of the hallway. The gang leapt, dodged, rolled, and dove to avoid being skewered as the dispensers shot a series of arrows at them.

Luckily, everyone was able to make it safely across the first set of dispensers but much to their luck, there were way more arrows being shot in front of them as well.

"We're trapped!" Jess thundered.

"No duh, genius!" Nikki snapped. "How do we get out?"

"We probably activated the dispensers with those pressure plates. If we can figure out a way to trigger it again, I'll bet that'll shut 'em off," Lukas predicted.

"There's a crafting table. Maybe we can't make something useful," Jesse exclaimed, noticing the crafting table conveniently sitting there with them.

"Out of what? We don't have anything. All our tools and materials are back home," Olivia gulped.

"Alright, everyone. Empty your pockets," Nikki ordered. "Let's see what we've got to work with."

"I have a few sticks from building the shelter last night," Lukas revealed, drawing out the sticks.

"I've got some flint. And.. a piece of string," Olivia whined, wishing she had more to help.

"All I have are some chicken feathers I picked up after that chicken machine exploded," Axel said, presenting the chicken feathers.

"I only have some string and my sword," Nikki replied, holding out the objects

"I have some string, flint and steel, and this potion of leaping from Ivor's secret base," Jess said.

"Let's see.. I've got some flint and steel. A sword. Oh, and some string from a spider I fought in the woods earlier," Jesse finished.

"String, sticks, flint, and feathers," Olivia repeated.

"Bow and arrows? Fishing rod?" Jess guessed. Jesse walked to the crafting table with the objects and after a couple of seconds of thinking, he began to place the objects down. Once he was finished, he held out with a bow and a quiver of arrows.

"Let's do this!" He said epically, facing the pressure plates once more. In one shot, he fired an arrow right at the pressure plates, hitting one of it and in an instant, all the arrows flying out of the dispensers came to halt. Free at last!

"The Dead Enders luck is changing!" Axel cheered triumphantly, dashing down the rest of the hallway. After what seemed like hours of walking, they finally entered a room that resembled a library. It was old and dusty, which makes sense because it was abandoned for so long.

"This.. must be their enchantment room!" Lukas guessed as everyone began to split up to explore. Something seemed.. off. Sure, it had a kinda creepy atmosphere but.. That wasn't what felt off about it however. What felt off was how something seemed familiar about it.. too familiar.

"Doesn't it look like Ivor's creepy basement?" Axel pointed out. Everyone had to agree. Something seemed to be up. The style was like Ivor's basement, from the books to the style.. It's almost as if Ivor built this library as well. Or at least copied the style.

Jesse noticed what seemed like an enchanting table in the middle of the room and out of curiosity, he walked towards it. Instead of an enchanting book, a normal book sat in its place. Jesse ignored this and started to read out loud. "The battle was fierce, but the Order of the Stone emerged triumphant, saving the land and ensuring that peace and prosperity would reign forever," he said.

"Well, not exactly forever," Nikki commented.

"These five members.. five friends. Together, would give so much to gain their rightful place, as five heroes," the brunette continued.

"They would author their own end. They would slay a dragon," Jess finished. But five members? Would Jesse have read it wrong or had there actually been FIVE members of the Order-? But if that's so.. Then who was the fifth? The gang then looked up to see a portrait of the Order together sitting just above the enchantment table. It included all four of them including.. Ivor!

Olivia remembered seeing an unidentified statue outside the courtyard of the temple. It looked so broken and withered down, almost as if it'd been destroyed but she couldn't help to feel as though the statue depicted someone familiar. Putting two-in-two together and when she realized, her jaw dropped. "Ivor was a member of the Order of the Stone?" She gasped. "The stories never mentioned him!"

"This might explain why Ivor had such a grudge against Gabriel," Jess realized.

"They lied to us. They lied to the whole world!" Olivia frowned.

"If you think about it, there must be a reason he's never been mentioned," Jesse theorized. "Maybe he was different back then?"

"Maybe they kicked him out?" Axel added before he shifted his gaze towards Nikki, still trying to process this new information. "Man Nikster, I can't believe you punched a member of the Order of the Stone."

"This is so crazy.." Lukas breathed.

"Hey, member or not, he unleashed this problem onto this and it's our job to fix it!" Nikki said. "The Order might not be what we thought they were, but Petra is still out there. That monster is still out there."

"Nikki's right. We need to focus on what we came here to do," Lukas agreed.

"Right.. to save Petra," Jesse sighed, thinking of their auburn haired best friend. He was still hoping that Petra is okay. It affected him enough to see that the redhead was not here with them but it hurt even more that he doesn't even know if she's alive or not. He missed her so much; from her beautiful long auburn hair to her adventurous spirit and her smile, that beautiful wide smile.. He knew he had to save her at all costs. Even if it hurts him.

"Where do these stairs go?" Jess' voice suddenly drew and the rest of the team glanced over at her to see that she was now at the base of a long set of stairs made from quartz blocks. It was just as dusty as the rest of the room, but they could clearly see that these stairs most likely led to a different part of the temple.

"They go up," Nikki shrugged.

"I know, but what is up there?"

"Only one way to find out," Jesse said. He was the first to climb up the steps, the rest of the gang trailing behind him.

Everyone wondered where the stairs led them, but their answers soon came as Jesse poked his head out into the biggest room in the Temple. It was around midday, since they could clearly see the sun shining brightly through the destroyed walls of the Temple. Sure, many of the walls were destroyed but this was wide open, completely demolished. The room was decorated and made from gold, stone brick and chiseled stone bricks, but the most eye-catching of all was the huge map of their entire world all the way to its borders, which had a large pedestal positioned in front of it.

"Now this is cool," Jess gushed.

"Woah.." Jesse gasped in awe.

"What happened to the walls?" Axel inquired.

"More like, what happened to this whole place?" Nikki corrected, her eyes wandering around the damaged walls.

"This must have been there they met," Olivia theorized.

"So where are they then?" Axel wondered, shifting his gaze towards Jess since she's the only one who must have some clue about where they most reside.

"Gabriel said that once we find the temple, the amulet would lead us to the Order of the Stone," Jess revealed.

"Well what are you waiting for? Pull it out then," Nikki said impatiently.

Jess pulled the amulet out of her pocket and held it up, expecting for something to happen, but to everyone's dismay, nothing at all occurred. After standing there for a few awkward seconds, Jess frowned as she lowered the amulet.

"Is.. something supposed to happen?" Olivia commented.

"Well, that was a let down," Axel said.

"There's gotta be something we're missing. Look around and see if you could find anything," Jesse said. With that, the group once again split up to search for hidden clues around the area.

Jesse of course wanted to continue focusing on the mission, but his mind still rang with thoughts from last night. While the topic was dropped, he was still surprised how Jess was willing to leave with Lukas, who was friends with their bullies instead of staying safely with her own family. He still held a grudge against Lukas but he was curious in what Jess saw in him. It must be something since she valued him enough to actually walk into danger with him, and then the thought of Petra came back into mind. His mind ached with thoughts, though he tried to shake them off as he groaned. He needed to pay attention to the mission. Or else no matter what happens, they'll all be slaughtered.

His attention shifted from the pedestal sitting in front of the huge map. He had to admit the map kinda gave him chills. He could only imagine how long it took for them to make it. "It's a map of the entire world," he murmured. "This is way nicer than the one at EnderCon." He then shifted his gaze towards the pedestal. It definitely means something.. but what? He just didn't know what. He glanced at a banner of the amulet sitting on the lower half of the pedestal. His eyes widened when he realized that the pedestal was the thing that needed to be solved. And he knew just how to solve it.

"Hey, sis? Can I see the amulet real quick?" He called. Jess was confused, but she did as she was told, taking the amulet from her pocket and handing it to her older sibling. Jesse placed the amulet right on the pedestal, seeing that his prediction was correct. It was the perfect fit! But still, nothing happened. He wasn't finished with the puzzle.

He noticed levers and Redstone lamps right behind the pedestal. He trotted towards them and gave them an experimental pull and after a minute or so of putting them in a certain order, the Redstone lamps flickered open, a beam light shot from it, connecting to the amulet and its colors shone onto the map, dividing into two more beams of light and handing onto different parts of the map, almost as though it's pointing in specific directions. The first beam of light was a scarlet red color while the other was a lime green.

"Woah.." Jesse gasped in awe at his finished work. Nikki and Jess both just stared in bliss as the red and green lights shined over their heads and planted themselves on the map.

"It's absolutely incredible!" Olivia gaped. "How did they build this?"

"Okay. Now I'm impressed," Nikki agreed.

"This looks like some sort of tracking system," Jess murmured. "It's the Order! It's showing where they are right now!"

"Look, we don't know enough about how this thing works. Maybe the amulet only tracks them when they're on the surface. Or maybe it doesn't work when they're in the Nether," Lukas pointed out. "We have to go off of what we DO know."

"Look, Ivor's still out there somewhere. That WitherStorm is still out there," Jesse said. "We KNOW Gabriel was trying to tell us something. But what?"

Nikki put two-in-two together. She knew that Gabriel was trying to tell them something after Jess revealed how Gabriel gave her the amulet. But what could it mean? The tracking system? the previous story? Gabriel's membrane of his teammates? That's when it hit her.

"We've to find the Order of the Stone," she declared.

"But.. There's only two lights?" Axel observed. "There's only two members of the Order left?"

"He said Soren was missing," Jess revealed.

"That leaves.. Magnus!" Lukas said.

"Or Ellegaard," Olivia added.

"Let's head out," Jesse decided. It was now or never.

"I'm not going with you guys. I have to stay here," Lukas said, gaining a few worried glances from the ladies. "If I know Petra, she's probably doing everything she can to find this place."

"But we might need your help out here. You should come with us!" Nikki protested.

"No, you don't need me. This is where I should be," the blonde denied before shifting his gaze towards Jesse. "If there's even a small chance she's alive.. I have to stay. Go. Get help. I'm going to focus on making this place safe before nightfall. This temple is pretty big though. If we're gonna have a chance of fortifying it, I'm going to need some help. If, uh, maybe one of you guys could hang back with me?"

"I guess this is where I come in. I'll be happy to stay with you Lukas," Jess said, giving him a warm smile as she stood by his side.

Jesse felt his eye twitch as his fists clenched as he saw the two together, but he didn't comment on it, trying to relax his nerves. There are bigger things to worry about. "But Jess, you're the only one who Gabriel's spoken to. It's important if you come along," he said.

"You could take the amulet. Jesse, I know this is hard but we're still in this together and I could trust you with the amulet," Jess assured him, taking the amulet from its pedestal and handing it to her older brother.

Jesse didn't want to leave his sister behind, but he knew it was for the best. They had no choice. "..stay safe, okay..?" He croaked.

"Always am," she nodded.

"Cool! Sounds like Olivia'll have you both covered while me and Jesse are out finding Magnus," Axel boasted.

"'Finding Magnus?' You really think that's how it's going to go?" Olivia scoffed before shifting her gaze towards the eldest sibling. "We need Ellegaard. She's the world's greatest engineer. She'll figure out a way to stop that thing."

"We're trying to DESTROY it. And when it comes to 'destruction', Magnus is the master," Axel protested as he stood below the green light. "You're a smart person, Jesse. And obviously the SMART thing is to go get Magnus."

Although it was a hard decision, Jesse felt like Olivia had a point that they needed someone smart to help take down the monster. Sure, explosions are fun and all but what's the point of exploding everything up without a plan?

Olivia, you and I are going to Ellegaard's," he finally decided.

"Awesome!"

"Axel, you stay here with Lukas and get the place ready for when Petta shows up."

"What? With that guy?" Axel scowled, glaring at Lukas.

"I'm right here..?" The blonde said awkwardly.

"Come on, Axel. For Petra's sake," Olivia reasoned.

Although he hated to be left behind, Axel sighed before giving in. "Fine. I'll do it for Petra," he sighed. "Doesn't mean I'm happy with it though."

"I'll take it," Jesse shrugged.

"It looked like the amulet was pointing to Redstonia. Let's go check it out," Olivia remembered.

"COOL! So while Jess, Axel, and Lukas stay behind, let's go find Ellegaard and this.. Redstone place," Nikki piped up. She really wanted to keep an eye on her older brother to make sure he stays unharmed. Just as she was about to skip towards the staircase, however, Olivia stopped her dead in her tracks. "Liv? What are you doing?"

"Actually.. I think it's best for you to stay back," Olivia replied.

Nikki's heart sank from her very words. "W-What-? But I know Jesse the most. I'm his sister for god's sake! I should be able to come!" She protested. "What if he gets hurt? How would I know?"

"Nikki.." Jesse said, kneeling down to her height as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "I know you're worried about me. And I'll be worried about you and Jess too, but I need you both to stay here, where it's safe. It'll keep me going knowing that you two are unharmed."

Nikki sighed deeply as Jess joined them, wrapping her arm around her, a worried and fearful expression sitting around her face as well. Jesse knew what was bothering them. He knew how much it'll affect them knowing that while they're sitting safely in the temple, he would be going out to risk his life while a rampaging monster was on the run. He didn't want to leave his sisters worried and wanted to comfort them as best he could.

"Trust me on this, alright..? I'll be fine. I promise. Besides, siblings together, family forever, right..?" He added. It was their family's motto. It meant that near or far, dead or alive, they'd always be family and be together, as always.

"Okay.. go get Ellegaard," Jess sighed. "And be careful."

"And don't be a blockhead. For our sake?" Nikki added.

"Anything for my younger sisters," Jesse promised with a smile. The siblings embraced one more time, Nikki having to hold herself back crying as they did.

"Uh.. guys?" Lukas' voice drew, ruining the heartfelt moment between the siblings. The gang glanced out the window to see the WitherStorm raging in the very far distance. Although it obviously wasn't at all close to them, it was a very terrifying sight to see. "Please hurry.."

Jesse and Olivia return to the Nether, intent on finding Ellegaard, the Redstone Engineer.. and find themselves in a place of Mechanical Marvels.. Redstone Rarities.. Amazing machines, limited only by the imagination of their brilliant creator.

While the great storm grows, consuming everything in its wake. Time is running out for our intrepid heroes..