Chapter 2

Kate had a productive day ahead of her the next morning. It was Monday, and the last day of her classes were Friday, while her final project was due on Wednesday. That meant she had less than a week to finish her school work and learn more about the Pax Convention that took place last fall. Hopefully Jenna would keep to her promise and tell her all about it, in exchange for helping her with the dark-haired girls' project. A small price, but one that had to be paid if it meant getting more information. Kate also wrote down the conversation that her and Anti had last night, about the Contracts and the Outcasts. Apparently that was what Dark and Anti were, which must have been a type of demon. She never heard of such a creature, but it might steer her in the right direction on how to expel them from Mark and Sean's bodies. At this point, she was willing to go through anything if it meant she would be one step closer to removing those parasites from the YouTubers.

That morning, she woke up at nine and hurried to get ready. She noticed the room across from her had the door shut, indicating that Dark must have come home and was resting up. He seemed to be more of a night owl, which was good since that meant he wouldn't cause too much trouble in the morning. Now if Anti could only sleep in a bit later, then she wouldn't have to worry about the two causing mischief while she was away. As Kate was eating her breakfast, she noticed how clean the living room was despite the mess it was in twelve hours ago. Anti seemed to have pitched in and helped like he stated last night, which was good for Kate since that meant it was one less thing for her to be worried about.

Still, Kate knew it was best not to overstay at the campus. First, she would finish her final project for school since she had until Wednesday to turn it in. Luckily, there wasn't much left to work on, so she could get that done early. Then she would get back to researching more about how Mark and Sean got possessed. She only had one week left at the campus, and couldn't risk doing some data collecting while at home with the others watching over her, in case they got suspicious. So, she needed to use the school resources while she had access to them.

After breakfast, the blond left a note for the two stating she would be home by three. She figured that would be more than enough time for her to finish her project and do some research. With some time for her to get home before the two try to destroy the house yet again. It was her plan, and she would be sticking to it. Part of her couldn't wait for this week to be over, once classes were done for the summer, she could keep a better eye on the two Outcasts. With how difficult they were being towards one another, was something she would devote her time and energy on. That and working with her sisters to keep up the non-profit, having no school would be one less stress factor for her.

Once she had everything and Oliver was all settled, she took her bike and rode off to the campus. By the time she got there, it was a little after ten-thirty, which was fine since she still had lots of hours to complete her tasks. Wasting no time, the young woman headed off to the computer lab with her short story that needed some final touches. If she knew her class assignment was completed first, it would take a lot of weight off her shoulders. Then she can put her energy into more personal projects. Kate kept her eyes on the screen, checking over the areas that needed to be deleted and rewritten for a better narrative flow, she thanked herself for getting most of the work done last night, even though her morning part was still sleepy. Even so, she didn't have that much left in terms of editing. It took her a few rewrites, watching it play out a few times and correcting any mistakes. After about two hours, she was content with the process.

"Haaa!" Kate sighed as she finished saving the edits, then leaned back in her chair. "That was a long process, but at least it's finally over." She was proud of her work, and believed it deserved a passing grade. Even if it wasn't an A, she would be fine so long as she passed her last assignment. Once the changes were saved, she printed out the short story and took the physical pages to her teacher. They had a small exchange, as she turned in her final project, while he asked if she was certain it was finished and didn't need any other improvements. Kate was confident though, and her teacher thanked her for turning it in before the deadline.

With that weight off of her shoulders, Kate felt much lighter as a result. She decided to reward herself with some lunch, since it was a few minutes past twelve-thirty. Sadly, in her haste to get out of the house, she had forgotten to pack a lunch of her own. Thankfully, she brought her wallet with her so she could pay for some food. She may have been a bit judgy with the meals they serve on campus, but now and again they do have some good ones. She was also getting hungry and still had some research of her own to do here, so heading home was not an option.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, she paid for a tray of food and went to a table. After eating, her mission would be to research more about the Pax convention that took place last autumn. Which meant she would need to find Jenna and see if she had the information from her brother. Hopefully she was here on campus today, probably in the computer lab Kate believed. She would also think about researching 'Outcasts', which apparently was what Anti and Dark called themselves. Most likely a type of demonic force, though she never heard of such a thing before. Then again, every religion had their own variety of angels and demons, so maybe Outcasts were from some other culture? Speaking of which, she should also look into those people that gave the YouTuber's jewelry souvenirs from that Pax. What were they called again? Living Styles? She had so much to consider and research, and not a whole lot of time. Especially when Friday would be her last day at the college until August. A sigh escaped Kate's mouth, as she took a bite of her apple to try and fill her stomach while her mind was plenty full.

"Kate!" She nearly jumped out of her seat upon hearing a female voice. Her eyes turned to her left, seeing a familiar black-haired girl with glasses approach her.

"Ah! Jenna. I was thinking of looking for you." Kate admitted, glad that the other student had wandered over to her.

"Mind if I sit down?" Jenna asked, holding a tray of her own lunch. Kate allowed her to sit, which she did. "So, how are your classes going?"

Kate looked over at Jenna then answered her question with a smile. "Actually, I just turned in my final project for the year to my teacher. Now I'll just have to wait on Wednesday for the grade."

Jenna took a bite of her apple while she listened to Kate's answer. "How do you feel about it?"

"Well, I did all I could. It's not that it's my first writing project, I've done a bunch of them even back in high school. But with every class I learn new things, and I have to apply them into each story. Still, I'm proud of my work and I want to use what I learn to get better later down the line. I've gotten a lot of practice with my other works that I published, but I still feel like I can do better."

"Wow, you're an author?" Jenna questioned, a bit intrigued.

Kate merely laughed. "Hah… n-not exactly. I write fanfiction, stories based on media written by the fans but aren't actually canon to the source material usually. But I do want to publish my own original ideas and works. I do have a lot of ideas, but I find it easier to publish my fan stories than my own. That doesn't mean I won't get to it." She suddenly realized how much she spoke and tried to correct herself. "S-sorry… I didn't mean to ramble."

Jenna shook her head. "It's fine. We all have our hobbies. I personally don't read fanfiction, but I know what it is and know people who do read it. And if it helps you to craft your stories better, then that must mean it's great practice." The blonde found herself pleased to hear the other woman say such supportive stuff. Not many of her family understood her work, and she only tells her friends her fanfictions because they understand the franchise they were based on. "So what kind of fanfiction do you write?" Jenna suddenly asked.

That question caught Kate off guard, as she rubbed the back of her head. "Uh… that's a bit… complicated to answer…"

"Oh! Are they like… naughty stories?"

"No!" She quickly interjected. Though there were plenty of stories she wrote for her own pleasure rather than for the public.

Jenna looked shocked and backed away. "Sorry! Didn't mean to offend you, I wasn't judging."

Kate found herself embarrassed, sitting back on her seat. "Sorry… I'm used to other people degrading my first few stories." She admitted. "I've gotten better with the criticism, but it still hurts."

"Eh, lots of people just like to think they're critics, but are really just trolls. And it's not like you're going to write a masterpiece as your first work." Jenna stated as she began to take a sip of her milk. "Though, can I at least ask what kind of genre you tend to write with fanfics and original stories?"

That question was a simple one to answer for Kate, so she replied. "I'm kind of a jack of all trades. I don't really like to stick to one genre, because I love all of them so I try my hand at any of them. But I guess if I had to pick one, fantasy would be the easiest for me to write. Still, I plan to one day publish my own stories and hopefully get to see it become adapted into a show or movie. I also have been interested in trying to write comics as well."

"Comics?" Jenna repeated. "Does that mean you've taken up drawing as well?"

Kate nodded. "Last semester I took a class, which helped to improve my anatomy skills. Though honestly, it's just easier to use a posing app and make your own models than draw from there." She admitted as she had used that cheat quite a lot for some of her comics left to be finished.

"Ah, the wonders of modern technology." Jenna mused as she finished her drink. "Well, writing isn't something you accomplish in a year. Skills like that take trial and error, so don't feel too bad if you don't ace it right away. I remember how frustrated I was when I got my first assignment in my coding class."

Kate finished her chips as she listened to Jenna. As interesting as this conversation was, and slightly fun, the blonde needed to focus on why she was looking for Jenna to begin with. "Actually, I was wondering about that deal we made?" Jenna looked at Kate, confused so the blonde had to elaborate. "Y-you know… about your brother and his experience with the pax convention last autumn?"

Jenna blinked a few times, trying to understand what she meant. Thankfully she must have realized as her eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! I asked him about it last night. I had him make me a hard drive with all of the photos and videos he took to give to you. It's in my backpack."

That was music to Kate's ears, making a smile spread on her face as it felt like she was getting somewhere. "Can I have it?" She asked straight away, not trying to sound rude but she had a feeling it would be a lot of information she would need to break down.

Jenna however, held up her hand. "I'll give it to you after you help me with my things, remember?" Kate looked at her a bit disappointed, since she was so close to getting some clues about Dark and Anti and their relation to that Pax Convention. Jenna saw her expression and raised a brow. "That was the deal, remember?"

Kate let out a sigh, knowing she would have to fulfill her end of the bargain before she got what she needed. Still, as long as it didn't take too long she would have to follow Jenna's lead. "So, what did you need me to do?" Kate questioned, willing to get her task over with for the sake of the harddrive.

"It will be easier to show you rather than explain it." Jenna stood up and motioned for Kate to follow. Even though the blonde wasn't finished with her food yet, she willed her feet to walk with the peer towards their destination. She wasn't sure what was going on, but went along in the hopes this 'project' wasn't long. After a few hallways, Kate found herself in one of the many computer labs. Jenna went to one in a corner, which she seemed to have taken up residence due to the notes of code laid next to the keyboard. After typing and clicking on some windows, Jenna pulled the seat up. Kate stared at the chair, then at the other student as she wasn't sure what to do. It took her a moment before she realized that the blonde had to be the one to sit down. Placing her butt on the cushion chair, she looked over at Jenna as the dark haired one opened a window. Kate looked at the screen as the title of the game came on.

"Wait… Minecraft?" She was confused as the logo appeared on the computer.

To Jenna, a smile came to her face while she looked at Kate. "Yeah, my final project for coding was to create a mod, or modification, in any game of our choosing. To either make the game more interesting by helping or hindering the player."

"Why did you pick Minecraft?" Kate wondered, a bit curious.

Jenna shrugged. "I've always been a big fan of the game and since the code in it is similar to what I usually work with, I figured it would be easiest to modify."

That seemed like a fair explanation. "Was it easy?"

"Not at first, but I was able to create a few mods and managed to make it so the game doesn't crash."

"So… what do you need me to do?" Kate asked, still not understanding the purpose.

"It's easy, I just need you to play the game with the mods to see how well they handle it. If they work, then I can turn it in." Jenna explained.

Even though it seemed like a simple enough request, Kate stared at the screen then keyboard before turning back to the other student. "Well, the thing is…" Kate twirled her fingers together as she looked a bit embarrassed. Jenna crossed her arms and raised her brows, expecting the other woman to make up an excuse for not wanting to play and go back on their deal. Still, she would wait to hear her out. Kate muttered something under her breath as she looked down to the ground, trying not to see Jenna's eyes. The other woman heard her whispers and grew curious.

"What was that?" She wanted to hear Kate more clearly.

"I… never played Minecraft… before…" Kate finally admitted out loud. She winced a bit as she expected Jenna to be somewhat mad at her, since she wanted her to play this game to test out the modification. For a while, the black haired woman just stared at Kate after hearing this information. She blinked a few times as her head tilted, more baffled than upset.

"You… never played Minecraft?" Jenna slightly chuckled in response.

Kate rolled her eyes, expecting the humor but it made her more embarrassed as a result. "I know, but it just never piqued my interest. Everyone has always told me how great the game is, but I personally never got into it." She became more defensive the further she explained. It was true, Kate never was interested in Minecraft as a game for her to play. She didn't mind watching others enjoy it, but she just never felt compelled to play it herself.

"Hey, I'm not judging." Jenna reassured her. "It's not for everyone."

"I'm sorry, I know you want me to test out your coding but… I don't know the first thing about this game." She wholeheartedly apologized, feeling bad that she made a promise to Jenna only to fail due to her lack of knowledge for the game.

Jenna must have seen how bad she felt about the ordeal, smiling sympathetically as the raven-haired woman leaned closer. "If you want, I can teach you." Kate looked back up with her blue eyes, listening to her continue. "I'm not asking you to be an expert, but I can show you the basics. Just so you know how to walk around the world and handle yourself. Then we can test out the mods, and call it even."

"You'd… be okay with doing that?" Kate asked.

"Well, I don't have anyone else willing to test out my mods. I'd do it myself, but I would be biased. Besides, Minecraft basics aren't too hard to figure out. I only started playing a year ago, but still have much to learn." Hearing that did ease Kate's nerves somewhat, and even though she wasn't planning on doing much with the game, if it was for the sake of finishing this deal she made with Jenna, she would go through with it. Just as long as it didn't take up too much of her day. "Alright, first let's create your person." Jenna sat next to Kate as she helped to guide the newbie on her first tasks to learn Minecraft. So far, it seemed simple enough, just customizing her character of blocks and rectangles. She tried to make it look as close to Kate in real life: Peach skin, blue eyes, long blond hair, a green shirt and white shorts.

"So this is what I would look like if I was pixelated." Kate noted as she saw her avatar.

"Well, that is what Minecraft characters look like." Jenna commented. "Now that we got your character, let's teach you the basics. First, attack that block over there." Jenna pointed to a dirt block next to Kate.

"Attack?" She repeated, a bit confused.

"It sounds weirder than it is, but trust me. Just go up to it and click it a few times." Jenna instructed. Kate shrugged, doing as she was told. She watched her character's arm tap the dirt until it started to disintegrate and become a smaller block. "Good, now pick up the dirt block." Kate reached over and did so with her avatar. "So far so good… Let's set the block down. Go to your inventory and click the dirt to find a place to put it."

Surprisingly, she passed the first challenge with no hassle, and thanks to Jenna it took less than ten minutes. Jenna showed her a few more things, helping her understand what the mechanics were, what to do with certain material, and even how to craft certain weapons. "So, what do you think?"

"Well, I'm still not too impressed with the game. But, I think I can handle it from here." She stated honestly.

"Fair enough, let me get the code all setup then." Jenna reached over and started to type a bit onto the screen.

"So, what kind of modifications did you create for this game?" Kate asked.

"Well, I created these mods to affect the animals that live in the server."

"There are animals here?" Kate asked, pointing at the screen.

"Of course, how else do you get meat and fur?" Jenna remarked as she finished typing. "My mods are to increase the stats of certain animals or to create an army of them."

"Why would you want an army of animals?" Kate asked.

"Mostly chaos and because I can." Kate didn't argue with that statement. "And there." Jenna clicked the enter key, and watched. Kate waited and looked at her avatar, wondering what Jenna did. After a moment, she jumped in her seat as something appeared next to her character.

"What the hell? Why did a bee appear?!" She asked, seeing the bug flying about. Though as she looked at it, she settled upon seeing how cute the design was.

"That's just part of the mod, you get a bee that appears by your side to command every ten minutes. It's supposed to be every minute, but I changed the formula a bit so it won't overwhelm you." Jenna explained. "Each bee has different abilities or gives you different powers, and you can upgrade them to increase their abilities and invincibility."

"So, they're basically cheats with a body." Kate pointed out.

"Cheat is a strong word. I prefer the term, power ups."

"Well, so far this bee doesn't seem to do anything, except being cute."

"You'll have to upgrade it first before it can give you abilities."

"How do I upgrade a bee in Minecraft?"

"First, let's find a village." Jenna declared. Kate followed the command as she made her avatar walk around the server for a while, until she came upon a bunch of houses all clustered together. She figured it must have been where she had to go, so she went there, seeing the models of the villagers.

"The villagers remind me of Squidward…" Kate noted, seeing their faces as one of them sighed to her. "And even sounds like him." She added.

"Yeah, I don't know what the creators were thinking when they made them." Jenna admitted. "Let's just go into the houses and find some supplies."

"Isn't that stealing?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, but they won't do anything to you." Jenna reassured her. Kate did so, looking through the houses and collecting the many apples and bread for herself. All the while her bee army was growing to the point she had enough insects for them to carry her.

"Great, you have enough of them to fly! You just need to find a feather." Jenna explained.

"Where can I find a feather?"

"Find a chicken and kill it." Jenna ordered. Kate followed the request, killing a few of the poultry and getting a white feather. After holding it in her hands, the bees went under her as the four guided her across the sky. "Sweet! They're doing pretty well with that command."

"I never thought I would be in a game where I can walk on bees. I'll admit, that is pretty funny." Kate stated.

"Alright, since you have four bee's now, let's see if we can upgrade them. The best way is to kill some of the monsters. There should be an Iron Golem in this Village, since everyone has one."

"What do they look like?" Kate asked.

"Like a Villager but bigger and made of stone and vines. When you see one, hit it and the bees should be able to kill it. The purpose of these animal mods is that they do the work, not you."

"That is something I am perfectly okay with." Kate joked, looking around for the monster. Once she found it, she hit it and ran off, while the bee's went to sting it. She got hit a few times which depleted her health. "Why is this golem so strong?!" She asked as she was anxious about her lost health.

"Eat some bread! It'll heal you!" Jenna urged. She did so, regaining her hearts while she let her now five bee's take down the golem. After a few minutes of constant stinging, the protector of the villagers finally went down. "Okay, it took longer to kill it than I thought, but you do have some restrictions and they are only just level one."

"Can't expect the bee's to get a job done quickly." Kate remarked. She then looked at her inventory and saw a caption next to it. "Wait… the bee's gave me something…"

"Click on the inventory." Jenna requested. She did so, pulling out a yellow sword. "Awesome! They gave you a honey sword!"

"I can't tell if I'm supposed to fight with it or eat it." Kate joked.

"But it does give you 9.5 attack damage and 1.6 attack speed." Jenna commented. Kate stared at her and blinked, a bit dumbfounded by what they meant. "It's a good thing." Jenna added. Kate nodded, as she went along with the rest of the mod. "Alright, I'll re-code the cheat so you can get a bee every five minutes instead of ten."

"How long do you want me to keep playing?" Kate asked while watching the other student type on the keyboard.

"Let's see if we can defeat the Ender Dragon with the bees." Jenna declared. "That is the final boss you have to beat for it to beat story mode."

"Minecraft has a story mode?"

"I mean… that's what we call it." Jenna pointed out.

"How do I get to the Ender Dragon?"

"I'll explain step by step. First, you should get a bucket and fill it with water." Kate followed the instructions that Jenna had for her. First, she got a bucket of water, then she had to head down to the mines to find a lava pit. Once she found the lava, she dumped the bucket, creating the black block called obsidian. "Alright, the first step is completed."

"Awesome!" Kate cheered. "Wait… what do you mean the first step?" She asked.

"Well first you need to get the blocks set up and light them to create a portal which will take you to the Nether, then you have to find some Piglins and trade bars of gold for Ender Pearls until you have at least 12. Afterwards, you have to kill Blazes to get the same number of blaze rods and combine them with the pearls to create the eye of Ender. Follow one of the eyes to where the portal of the Ender Dragon is, which is usually underground somewhere. Place the eyes in the blocks to create the portal and you are able to get to the final boss."

Hearing all of that made Kate's head spin, she could hardly keep up with the process of attempting to fight the Ender Dragon. "Why would someone design the game like that?"

"That's usually how rpg's work, it's not supposed to be easy." Jenna commented.

"Since when was Minecraft an RPG?" Kate asked.

Jenna raised a brow at her question. "You… really don't know anything about Minecraft, do you?"

Kate sighed, not wanting to gain further explanation as it would only delay her from heading home sooner. She just followed Jenna's orders so she could get to the final boss. All the while her army increased in bee's and they got more powerful by giving her items and casting spells. They were even strong enough to launch arrows at enemies, spiraling into magical arrows of fire and ice. It took many hours, Kate had to collect plenty of gold bars before she created the portal. Once in the Nether, she freaked out upon seeing the fire and stone world that was different from the surface.

"Is the Nether supposed to be based off of Hell or just an Underworld in general?" Kate questioned.

"What's the difference between those two places?" Jenna wondered.

"Depends on the mythology and religion." Kate answered.

"Huh… I guess it's whatever you think of it. Though many people consider it the underworld of Minecraft, despite it taking inspiration from Hell itself. Though I'm pretty sure Christianity never mentioned Pig creatures that would take people's gold."

"Unless the Piglins are supposed to represent the souls of the damned." Kate commented. "Mostly those related to greed."

"The pigs would be greed and not gluttony?" Jenna remarked by that statement.

"They're the ones wanting the gold." Kate and Jenna mused at that comment. It took a bit of work, mostly from the Bee's part, but they were able to get the Ender Pearls and the Blaze Rods to combine into the eyes they needed. "Why are the Ender Pearls with the Piglins and not the Endermen? Wouldn't it make more sense given the name?"

"I admit it is kind of weird, but then again you don't see too many Endermen in a server that isn't modded." Jenna answered. "Plus, the Piglins are neutral and good negotiators. Endermens would kill you without a second thought."

"Maybe I should have my bee army attack the Endermen." Kate chuckled at the notion. "That may convince them."

That comment did make Jenna laugh, as she retorted. "With how strong they are now, I think they would be very convinced." Kate was always good when it came to making others laugh. Apparently she had a sense of humor everyone could chuckle at, mostly her family and friends. Still, she was glad to see people smiling and it made her feel good. Of course, some of the time she wondered how often they were laughing with her or at her. Once the Ender Eyes were created, Jenna smiled. "So far so good, it's only been three hours since we began and you're almost at the end."

Three hours? Kate couldn't believe how long it had been since she first sat down and learned the tutorial. Then again, given how little she knew about Minecraft it was to be expected. "Does it usually take this long to get to the end game?" She wondered, a bit embarrassed at the length it took for her to get this far.

"Honestly, I've seen people play for twenty hours of this."

That comment surprised Kate more than she believed it should, but yet she had to ask. "People play twenty hours a day on this?!"

"Hey, what they do in their free time is their business. Could be doing worse." Jenna did have a point. "Besides, it's probably for streams or they are just grinding. Rarely does it take that long to get to the ending, unless they don't know what to do."

"Well, that makes me feel somewhat better…" Kate admitted, then followed one of the pearls she had to where the portal was. So far, the bee's were maxed out, and could level three blocks down and over fifty blocks wide. Jenna was making notes on how powerful the bees were, so she was getting results from Kate's progress. "So… how bad is the Ender Dragon?" Kate asked, as she finally managed to get to the portal, placing the eyeballs in the slots.

"Let's just say there's a reason it's the final, secret boss of Minecraft." That was the only warning Jenna gave to Kate as she was transported through the portal. She found herself on a battlefield covered in sand. Large pillars of black obsidian towered around her, as the Endermen's came from them. But her eyes went up to the midnight sky, seeing the mass dragon flying around.

"Oh shiitake mushrooms!" Kate discovered how large the dragon was, and made her understand why it was an overwhelming boss.

"Don't worry, just let the bee's take care of the battling." Jenna urged.

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one forcing insects to face a literal fire-breathing lizard that flies!" Kate stated in a bit of a panic.

"Come on, my bee army! Commit Ender-genocide!" Jenna declared. To her credit, the mod she made for these insects on Minecraft was more than enough battle wise. Kate watched as the bee's went around, shooting multiple arrows at the Endermen's and the Ender Dragon. Some were set on fire, others just exploded. The boss itself had a large health bar that was present on top of the screen, which didn't seem like a lot. Unless you count the fact it could regenerate its health, which was annoying to Kate. Even so, she rarely had to lift her non-existent fingers while the bee's attacked the Ender Dragon with their stingers, or arrows was the more accurate term.

It was a close call, but Kate felt a sense of satisfaction as she watched the Ender Dragon fall from the sky, only to blow up in smoke. She was in awe, watching as the portal below her formed and when she went in, the credits rolled. "Woah… I… don't know what to say…"

"Underwhelming huh?" Jenna had a smile on her face as she asked Kate what the blond was thinking.

"Uh… no offense." She tried not to be any more rude than she had been hours before.

Jenna merely shrugged. "You're not the only one who thought this. After everything that built up to this moment, it is pretty anticlimactic. But, I was more interested in the modification I did than the actual game. The bees were way stronger than I thought I made them."

"So… are you confident in your project then?" Kate asked.

"I think I outdid myself! Though I'll have to test the other mods to see their progress."

"What other modifications did you make?" Kate wondered.

"I just made it so you could level up all other creatures. Horses, Wolves, axolotls…"

"Wait! Axolotls?! Those amphibian creatures with the frills? They have them in this game?!" She asked, becoming a bit excited.

"Yeah, in the recent update." Jenna explained. "If you're interested, we could go through the other mods. Though I don't want to keep you any longer if you have something to do." Jenna reassured Kate. On the one hand, the blond should head back home since she didn't want to be gone for too long. With what happened with Anti and Dark yesterday, her trust in them was a bit thin. Then again, it was only past three and rarely had she ever gotten to have fun at college. Now that she knew what she needed to do, the other mods should be fine. Plus, if she indulged in Jenna's Minecraft mods more, it might butter her up to give Kate the hard drive containing the fall Pax. At this point, she may as well go along with it.
"Well… maybe one more mod or two can't hurt." Kate admitted. A smile spread on Jenna's face, as she was glad to hear that. "So, can we try the axolotls next?" She questioned, becoming more enthusiastic. The black-haired girl nodded, not wanting to spoil her fun.

It took four more hours, but Kate was able to do the mods with the other animals that Jenna coded for the game. Since she knew what she needed to do now, getting to the end was easy. Of course there were times she accidentally died and would have to start the adventure all over, but for the most part it was smooth sailing. Jenna wrote down the progress Kate did, and made notes on how the mods were functioning. She was pretty satisfied with the results, which was good for Kate's end. As it went to seven thirty, Kate had finished beating the Ender Dragon by using buffed out Villagers. As the credits rolled, she got up from the chair and stretched her arms. "Man, that was both hilarious and satisfactory seeing the Villagers rising up and killing off a mythical dragon of the Ender tribe."

Jenna mused at her remark. "I didn't think we'd be able to get this far with testing out the mods. I figured we would only finish the animals, but surprisingly, we got through most of them."

"It was kind of fun," Kate admitted. "I know I may not be one for Minecraft, but maybe I will consider getting it and testing it out."

"Well, it would be a relaxing game if you are ever bored. At least in the day time, once night comes around you best run for shelter." Jenna and Kate laughed at that comment.

"Sorry if I didn't seem into this at first. I was kind of dreading this ordeal, especially with the Minecraft bit. But… I had more fun than I thought." Kate admitted, having a new fondness for the game now.

That seemed to make Jenna beam as she stared at the blond. "Well, I appreciate you helping me to test out the mods. I would have done it myself, but it would be more beneficial to have an observer do the mods rather than the creator. And your lack of knowledge of the game made it more organic in terms of testing."

"So it worked out for the both of us." Kate realized, making this situation a win-win.

"I'm pretty confident in my work, so I think the testing is all done. Though there are still one or two more mods I want to try out."

"Well, shall your guinea pig get started with the other mods?" Kate asked, ready for more tests since she was having some fun with this.

"I wouldn't mind, but it's getting late." Jenna pointed out. Kate softened her expression, looking over to the clock in the lab as she saw the time, five minutes past seven-thirty. The blond nearly jumped at the sudden realization. "It's that late already?!"

"Yeah, sorry for keeping you. I should have just focused on a few mods instead of doing all of them at once." Jenna admitted, feeling guilty.

Kate rubbed her head as she knew Jenna felt bad about this as well. Still, she had fun and it wasn't too late. Hopefully not by Dark and Anti's standards. "Well, we can do some more tests tomorrow…" She stated, giving Jenna a bit of hope. That made her smile, yet the blond could not forget her real motives behind this ordeal. "But, I do want to ask about that hard drive you mentioned."

"Oh right!" Jenna reached into her bag and started searching in the pockets. "My brother was able to get the pictures and videos he took of the pax and placed them in this thumb drive. So hopefully this should be what you… you…" Jenna started to get discouraged as she searched zipper pocket after pocket, only to twist her lips in a disappointing frown. "Oh shoot!"

Kate was a bit worried as Jenna was not able to locate the item at the moment. "What is it?"

"I think I left it in my other bag." Jenna realized. "I'm sorry, I should have given it to you before."

That wasn't good, the main reason Kate did this beta testing for the mods on Minecraft was for more information regarding the Pax that birthed Dark and Anti. And now, she wasn't able to get that. "Do you have your other bag here?" Kate asked, wanting to see if Jenna still had it at the school at least.

"I have my other bag in my locker… I'll go check it!" The raven haired girl ran off, leaving Kate and her backpack all alone. The blond sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. She still couldn't believe how late she stayed, while her eyes glanced towards the hands on the clock. She had never stayed out for so long before, and with her housemates all alone, she could only speculate how much they were worrying about her. Then again, would they actually be concerned for her whereabouts? "Yeah right, like Dark would actually care where I am." Kate scoffed at the idea of picturing the pale ego becoming nervous as she was not in her home. "Then again, considering he did travel halfway across the world just to get me away from Anti a few days prior, maybe…" She trailed off, being reminded what the conversation between him and the Glitch were. Kate shook her head at the memory. "He only cares about getting his end of the contract, that's why he wants me alive." She muttered under her breath. After all, if anyone were to kill her, it had to be Dark. He doesn't care about her well-being, but she came to accept that.

Still, Anti was new to being in her house and leaving him with Dark would be a lot to ask of him. Especially considering the history the two apparently had. If she managed to get the flash drive from Jenna, Kate would have to head back home as soon as she could. Thankfully the sun was still in the sky but she would have to pedal quickly just to make it before it got remotely dark. "Maybe I should text them and let them know I'll be home a bit late…" The blond reached into her pocket, taking out her phone with a gray kitty case and opened the screen. Just as she was about to type on the keypad, her brain came to a sudden thought. "Wait… do they even have phones?"

Come to think of it, she didn't see them using any kind of communication device, nor did she have their numbers if they had them. So much for using that method. "I'm… sure they can survive another hour without me…" Kate tried to tell herself. They weren't children, and with the ground rules they established yesterday, they could manage to fend for themselves. Just as she began to put her phone away, a blaring light shone out of the corner of her eyes. Turning her head, the young woman noticed the computer screen went from the main menu of Minecraft, to that of a green screen. Confused, she walked over to the monitor, narrowing her eyes at the sudden shift in the image. "What…?" Did something happen to the game? It didn't crash, did it? Jenna would not be happy if she lost her progress.

The screen started to distort, creating static. Kate attempted to step back but it was too late. Her whole body froze, eyes wide as the pupil's captured the color before her. She felt her blood run cold, as she was being pulled closer and closer towards the monitor. The next thing she knew, she felt light as a feather, lifting up a few inches above the floor. Her eyes closed, as the light was blinding. The air in her lungs left, as if she was being squeezed. She gasped, gagging as she shot her eyelids open. Somehow, instead of being in the computer lab within the college, she found herself back in the comfort of her bedroom.

"What… how…?" Kate whipped her head around, looking at her surroundings while her mind was racing with many questions. For some reason, the sense she had of being transported in such a state felt… familiar, as if she had experienced it before.

"Phew, it worked." The raspy voice of an Irish accent pulled Kate to look on her bed, where one of her Outcast roommates were sitting at the edge.

"A-Anti?! What?! How?! You… Why?!" Once again, she was bombarded with many mysteries and little answers.

"Relax, you're perfectly safe." Anti reassured with a nonchalant smile. "I just transported you through the computers to bring you from your current location to here."

"W-what… you did that?!" Kate was still reeling about her teleportation. "Anti, what the hell?!"

"I should be asking you that. You said you wouldn't be gone long." The septiceye ego pointed out.

"That doesn't mean you can just use your powers and drag me back! Do you have any idea what would have happened if someone was nearby and saw that!? They would be calling the government at that point and unlock Area 51 or whatever facility deals with poltergeists." Kate shouted as her anger was taking over.

Anti was still defending himself in a calm manner, surprisingly. "Hey, you were the one who said you wouldn't be out long. And I wanted to contact you, but there wasn't any way I could think to do so. Not to mention you're the one who said me and Dark shouldn't go out in public places until we get disguises or whatever." Anti did have some good points, and technically Kate did lay those ground rules out. It also didn't help that she couldn't find a way to communicate with them while she was away and they were under house arrest. A predicament she didn't realize until she attempted to call from her cell phone. So, she couldn't fully blame him given his stance, but it was still an annoyance.

She took a few deep breaths, attempting to ground herself. She was still annoyed, but tried to express it in a way that Anti would hopefully be able to understand. "Look, I know that being coped up in this house isn't what you expected or planned. And I get I'm asking a lot from you, despite us not knowing each other well. But I have a life outside of you, Dark, and this house. I'm human, unlike you guys, and I have responsibilities that I need to tend to. And the last thing I want is to constantly be weighed down by all of this magical, Outcast, demonic stuff. If anyone finds out I'm involved in this, not only will I be targeted, but so will you and Dark."

Anti blinked in response to her statement. He turned his head away from her for a few seconds, before his eyes landed back on the blond. "I'm sorry… I just wanted you to come back so you can make me dinner."

"What?" Kate raised a brow at his explanation.

"Well, you do kind of make the meals around here. And… I don't really know how to cook."

"Wow… that is very misogynistic." Kate half-chuckled, not truly offended by his response since it did make sense.

"Hey! I would have ordered something, but I'm pretty sure that counts as social interaction with the public." Anti shot back.

"So you basically brought me here in order to make you dinner, not because you were worried about my well being, but because you can't bother to whip something yourself." It wasn't a question, she was pointing out the facts. "I mean, at least you are honest unlike Dark."

"In my defense, I haven't really been in charge of this body for long. And while I could have chowed down on your snacks in the pantry and refrigerator, I knew that would only get me yelled at by either you or Dark."

"Huh, well it's a relief to know you have some restraint despite living out in the forest." Kate mocked with her arms crossed. "Still, next time do not use that power of yours to bring me places without my consent."

"Only if you promise you will keep in contact with us and warn us where you are." Anti argued.

"Alright, fair enough." Kate surrendered. "I'll have to find a way to give you guys your own phones so we can keep in contact in case something does happen. Which means that's another thing to add to my list." She muttered, it really was like having children. "Still, I'll feed you, but only because I'm just as hungry. I'll see what foods I can order since I don't feel like cooking this late. Any preference?" She asked Anti.

"I'm fine with anything as long as it's delivered within the next thirty minutes. Otherwise I will resort to hunting my own food. I saw some deer walking around the yard the other day." He smirked, showing off his canines. Kate shuddered a bit, mostly at the grotesque image of Anti devouring a doe with his bare teeth and claws. Would Dark resort to such a measure should he ever get that hungry? That was something Kate did not want to ponder. She instead tried to change the subject.

"I'll… see what places are open." The blond went to her phone and checked the locations of restaurants near her. It was a long day, and all she wanted to do was eat, shower and head to bed. She would deal with the aftermath of her abduction in the morning.