Boy howdy we're back

I'm sick and off school which means it's the perfect time to lie pathetically in bed and write fanfiction, and thus you have a brand spanking new chapter ready to be read :D

I'm hoping I'll be better by tomorrow but auhghhhghhh I hate being sick :(

But it also gives me the time to work on a second story that could be up soon, so if you're interested in a fantake on the origins and backstory of the original Order of the Stone, keep an eye out for that!

And without further ado, here's the new chapter!


It took Lukas a while to screw up the confidence and words for his apology, and then another while to actually find them. Ellegaard, for her talk, hadn't actually told him where they were, or if they were still looking for them, but he finally met them at the foot of the hill, closer to the path.

He was expecting a scolding, or some kind of disappointment, but instead he was met by a rushing of arms and swept up into a bear hug by Petra.

"Where have you been?" she exclaimed, "We were so worried!"

"I…"

He didn't get any time to find words. More arms joined, and now he was being crushed in by Olivia and Axel, too. He could hear breathing, quiet crying around him, and suddenly he felt his eyes watering again.

"Yeah, man, not cool."

There it was, a little more realistic.

He turned his eyes downwards, "I-I'm sorry guys, I…I shouldn't have just run off like that…again."

"Oh, Lukas…"

He felt his face being lifted up, and he was forced to look up at the group around him.
"You don't have to be ashamed of running away," he was reassured by Olivia, "but it's important to know that we're here as well. We're here if you need someone to talk to. And it's important to do that. Well, you don't always have to, but after a while…bottling up your feelings only hurts."

"Yeah," Axel chimed in, "we care about you, man. We don't wanna see you suffering."

"But…" he looked around at them, confused, "I left you all, twice now. You're all suffering as much as I am, I-I mean I'd argue you've lost even more, yet you're all just being so nice to me. I abandoned you. Why?"

Petra tilted her head, "You didn't abandon us."

"I did!" he insisted, his words a little gaspy, "When- when we found out that…I ran away from you all, I just left you in danger. And just then, I didn't even stick around for the rest of the funeral! I just ran!"

He sighed and pulled back from them, bowing his head, "I…I'd understand if you guys didn't want to be friends with me anymore, I mean our groups weren't really friends at the best of times, and I understand that I haven't been the greatest help. I just…thank you. For keeping me safe, and with you guys. I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help."

With that, Lukas turned and began to walk away, his head heavy. He didn't make it more than a step before someone grabbed his arm and spun him around. Surprised, he found himself face-to-face with Petra once more, her arms crossed and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, "We're not done with you yet."

"You're…" he looked between them all.

"You're our friend now, man! We all make mistakes, we're not just gonna kick you out because you were upset!" she insisted, punching him in the arm. Lukas was sure it was meant to be light, but Petra was strong, so it still stung slightly.
Still, he was confused, "What?"

"Petra's right," Olivia nodded, "and she said it a bit better than I did. There's no shame in running, it was an absolutely terrifying time and, well…the funeral was rough. It's more than expected that you need to step out."

"Yeah," Axel stepped in again, "and you're a cool guy, Lukas. We'd like you to stay around, if you want. I know that's what Jesse would have wanted."

For a while, he just stared at all of them. Then his eyes started to water, and he was dehydrated enough as it was so he squeezed them shut and scrubbed them with his hand.

"Th…thanks, guys. If you're sure…" he dared to open his eyes, his chest feeling a little warmer, "I-I would really like to stay, too."

"Of course, we're sure! We're a team!" Petra insisted.

She hesitated, then opened her arms awkwardly once more. It took Lukas a second to figure out what she was doing, but then he chuckled lightly and embraced her. It didn't take long after that for a second group hug to happen.

A weight did lift from Lukas' shoulders, he would admit. He allowed the hug to happen, trying to comfort each new friend in turn for as much as they comforted him, as he still knew that they were suffering with this too. But it soothed him slightly, knowing they could forgive it. He made a promise to himself that he wouldn't run any more, if he could. That he wouldn't worry them more.

But still, a feeling of unease, grief and guilt still crowded his heart. Well, the grief was normal. That wouldn't disappear for ages. But something was wrong, there was still something he felt like he could have changed- could still change. But that was something that he wouldn't find out for a while.

Not until the end.

For now though, he would try and push those feelings to the side as they tried to move on and rebuild. For now, he would try to be less selfish.

Of course, the point was that he wasn't selfish at all, but self-worth is a lesson learnt with time.


Magnus' funeral was a little more explosive than Jesse's.

According to Gabriel, when Lukas had asked him a little later on, he'd always specified that he didn't want his funeral to be a dull, sad affair when everything in his life had been the exact opposite. Whether it had been a joke or not, they had taken it to heart, and so there had been a mass multitude of fireworks and explosives and music and, at one point, a mock griefing battle. It was a cheery sort of send off, where the Order could give their speeches and laugh amidst their tears. Lukas, again, hadn't managed to speak with Magnus much during the journey, but even he could feel the spirit of everything he'd lived for during the funeral. It was a true celebration of his life.

It made him feel a little better as he headed away from the cemetery again, like despite all the death and loss and sadness, there was always hope, and always memories. He even allowed himself to engage in conversation with his newer friends without feeling guilty. There was talk of the Order staying for a day or two longer to help rebuild, but then they too had to be going. Ellegaard had Redstonia to attend to, and Gabriel had his fortress to attend to. It had bore the brunt of the damage, since the Witherstorm's attack had been focused there for so long. Lukas was also pretty sure he'd seen Soren towards the back of the crowd, but he hadn't come closer to talk to anyone. He'd heard that the architect, too, had fled the battle. Lukas couldn't exactly give scorn for that, but he knew that Gabriel, Ellegaard and Ivor were still mad. Which made it even more confusing that the redstone engineer had sought him out to offer him comfort.

They were all confusing folk.

Either way, it was coming to that part where it was time to begin to move on and build up. There was a great task ahead of them, and Lukas had to admit it was daunting. Especially when the whole world was looking to them to help piece it all back together.

That was why it was best to stick around with everyone. No point backing away now.

The sapling that had been planted for Jesse was visited again. It, of course, hadn't grown, but it was looking fine and no one had destroyed it, which was a good start. One thing they did notice, however, was the new plot of land claimed beside them.

"Ivor?" Petra exclaimed, staring at it incredulously, "Why on earth would he be building a house here?"

"Well, I guess the Far Lands or wherever his actual house is wasn't good enough. Or destroyed," Olivia responded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, but why here though?"

"Ah! Petra! You! Blonde guy!"

"Oh boy…"

The group turned to see none other than the man himself running up to them, waving his arm wildly. The inaudible sigh was palpable, like a rising tension in the air. Ivor, however, didn't seem to notice this, or if he did, he didn't care.

"He-llo all! I see you have noticed my new plot of land!" he greeted, proudly leaning against the sign.

"We…have indeed," Petra replied politely, carefully, like she was trying not to break out of all bounds and throttle him, "what are you going to build there?"

"Why, my house, of course!"

There was a faint shudder, or a sort of groan that travelled through the group. Once again, Ivor didn't seem to notice, or care.

"You're…putting your house next to our memorial for Jesse?" Lukas contributed, looking between the madman and their little tree.

"Oh, that's what it's for, is it?" Ivor walked a little closer and inspected the tree, "Well, what's the problem with that?"

There was a slight pause. Eventually Petra made a wavy hand gesture.

"I don't know…the fact that you're semi-responsible for their death?"

Ivor paused, and whatever demeanour he'd put on seemed to drop. His shoulders and head drooped, his face falling. Lukas almost felt bad for him. Almost. He had still technically killed possibly hundreds.

"Ah…I, uh…yes…well…" he sighed and massaged his temples, "look, I know more than anyone else how badly I screwed up, okay? I know that my little plan for revenge spiralled into something so much bigger and worse than anyone could have ever imagined. It's important for you all to know that I didn't intend for any of this to happen, and that I do feel horrible over it. It got Jesse killed. And it got Magnus, my friend, killed too. So don't think I'm not holding myself accountable. Don't think I don't feel any guilt. Because I do."

There was a long silence. Lukas could just see Ivor's dark eyes glancing about nervously beneath his brow, and his heart softened a little. He knew what it was to be guilty. This, however, was a much larger scale.

"Aw, man, stop with the puppy dog eyes," Axel softened his face slightly and crossed his arms, "you've still got a lot of repairing to do."

Ivor lurched up a little, brushing his cloak off indignantly, "Yes, yes, I know. I know. I've been helping out as much as possible, believe me."

"Good," Petra rolled her eyes, "good."

"Anyway," Ivor perked up pretty quickly, "I'll run you through what I'm planning for my house. I'm thinking…giant floating skull. Out of stone- or mossy stone if possible- so I can really get that dungeon vibe in there."

Lukas raised his eyebrows, "Dungeon?"
"Yes, and the tentacles, you know, to hold it up, they're going to be made out of lapis, because I really haven't drawn my own symbolism into the Order enough yet."

"Tentacles. Very friendly."

"Yes…and to really give the place some light, you know, some glow, I'm thinking…lava! From the eyes and mouth."

"Lava?" Olivia's eyebrows joined Lukas' at the peak of their foreheads, "You're going to add an extremely flammable and destructive liquid to your build?"

"Well, yes, why not?" Ivor questioned, looking around the group.

There was a pause, then hands and eyes turned to the small tree placed in the centre of their grassy plot of land. Ivor stared over, his lips thinning.

"Mm, yes, well I'm sure there'll be some…defences between our builds…"

"And there'll be something stopping the lava from pouring out and hurting innocent citizens?" Olivia nodded, threateningly encouragingly.

"I…ah…suppose…" Ivor grumbled, furrowing his brow and muttering something under his breath.

"It's alright, Ivor," Axel replied, "I like the lava."

His eyes lit up again, "Thank you!"

"No, Axel, the lava is a terrible idea," Olivia turned her scalding gaze to her friend beside her now, "we're going to keep all lava to a minimum."

"Ugh…fine…if you insist on making us losers again."

Olivia rolled her eyes once more. Lukas couldn't help but chuckle slightly, when suddenly his eyes focused on a familiar figure in the distance, bidding his goodbyes to a crowd of people following him. A slight twinge of unease settled in his stomach, and he turned back to the group with a dropped, nervous voice.

"Hey, guys," he watched as people turned to him, "I, uh…sorry, but I'm going to go and talk with the others. I've been meaning to all week, but things have been so busy…"

"Oh, yeah, go for it," Petra waved him off, "he's been acting weird to people though, even me, so just look out, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I will, don't worry," Lukas smiled reassuringly, "I'm his friend, I'm sure he'll tell me what's up."

"Alright. Good luck."

"Thanks."

He waved them off with as much cheer as he could muster before turning and beginning to head in the direction he'd seen Aiden going, likely to continue supervising the work on the Order Hall. It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous, which was weird considering this was his friend of many years. But there had been a strange sort-of charged energy around him recently, like a snapping anticipation excited to burst over. Lukas wasn't sure what it was, maybe anxiety from the whole ordeal, but he was willing to find out what it was. Anything to take his mind off what he had lost.

Sure enough, on his way over, between claimed and half-finished plots of land, he found the first of the Ocelots, Maya and Gill, idly chatting over a loaf of bread.

"Lukas!" Maya exclaimed, meeting him with a side-on hug, "We've been wondering where you've been all this time, haven't we, Gill?"

"Yeah, man," Gill gave him a fist bump, "it's been a while."

"Yeah, I'm sorry guys," he replied, grinning around at them, "it's been a busy few days. Rough, too."

"It's alright, we can imagine," Maya nodded, "'been tough for everyone."

"Yeah…well, how about you guys, how have you been holding up?"

"Hm…well…it's been weird," Gill nodded, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms, "you know, with the whole world being torn to bits and having to be rebuilt…all these people coming together…weird. I don't think I've ever been a part of such a big building project before."

"Yeah, me neither," Lukas agreed, dipping his head in thought, "it's nice though, isn't it?"

"Oh, for sure! You know…I'm even warming up to that little gang of losers, said affectionately," Maya chirped, "they're pretty cool guys."

"Yeah?" Lukas couldn't help but smile, "I'm glad you think so. They're good people."

"Sure…"

They talked among themselves for a little while, laughing and joking like the whole world-ending event hadn't happened and they were all just normal people again. Lukas felt the hurt in his chest sink a little into the background again the more he smiled. It wasn't gone, just a little more ignorable for now. Like he wasn't about to sink into an endless pit of despair.

After a while, though, he had to shake himself clear of the niceness and focus on the conversation that needed having elsewhere.

"Hey, guys?" he asked, fiddling with his hands, "Have you seen Aiden? I've been meaning to talk to him."

"Aiden? Sure, he'll probably be over by the beacons," Maya guessed, glancing around. Gill nodded.

"Alright, I'm gonna go see him now. Have fun guys."

"You too!"

He waved them off as he began to head away from them, taking the fairly short route through Beacontown towards the centre stage attraction. It stood tall and proud, shooting its coloured beacons into the sky to represent the people that had brought this place together, who had saved the world. Lukas was yet to find himself a colour he was represented in. That was okay, though. He wasn't really the saviour.

He instead was sat on the edge, sort-of lazily watching the crowd go by. Some people would come up to him and ask to shake his hand, or others would beg to hear the tale of how he'd slain the Witherstorm over and over again. Aiden was all too keen to tell him, getting more dramatic and more involved each time. His friend's actions amused Lukas, and he smiled faintly to himself as he approached, despite that strange, lingering apprehension.

As he got closer, Aiden looked up from the group he was talking to and locked eyes with Lukas. He waved as he walked up, and Aiden sat up, a guarded look in his eyes.

"Well, my fine fans, I'm afraid you'll have to catch me later," he announced, glancing around the people gathered like a king overseeing his subjects, "I have an…important conversation to have now."

Something about the way he said that made the hair on the back of Lukas' neck stand up, but he pressed on no matter what. This was his best friend of years. There was no fear to be had.

The people stood, chattering to themselves and praising Aiden as they walked away, faces light. Lukas paused as the man continued to make his way towards him, greeting him with a bright smile.

"Aiden! We haven't spoken in a while; how are you?"

Aiden gave him his signature sneer, which Lukas had grown to realise was just his normal smile, "Good, good. You?"

"Fine," a lie, as you're likely very well accustomed to by now, but there was no need for that in small talk, "how have things been going?"

"Oh, they've been going great. I'm a very popular figure now, as you can see. There's lots to be doing as the latest hero of the town."

"I'm sure there is," Lukas replied, politely.

"But, hey, Lukas," Aiden gave him a strange look, "would you come walk with me? I've been meaning to have a little chat with you."

"Oh, er, sure," he responded, giving a small smile despite the shiver running up his spine, "it, ah, has been a while since we last spoke."

"Sure, sure."

It was a lie to say Lukas wasn't unnerved by this, but again he pressed on. Aiden could be a jerk sometimes, but he was well-meaning and they were friends. He just didn't know what this strange atmospheric feeling was.

It was a while before Aiden spoke to him, busy with waving to the people that passed. They walked silently, stiffly, through streets that were slowly being built up from nothing, through crowds of people who had faces marked by loss and sorrow yet smiles filled with triumph. They walked until they were even clear of the walls being constructed around the town and into the ravaged forests beyond. Lukas couldn't help but shudder at the sight of such devastation laying so close by; trees unearthed and torn apart, the ground gouged and scoured through and flowers trampled and strewn around. There was a huge team of people working to repair the damage done, but Lukas couldn't help but think it would take forever.

They were a bit into a stretch of mangled woodland when Aiden began to speak again.

"So…how are your new friends getting on?" he asked, his voice slightly cold.

"Oh, Jesse's gang?" he rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, "They're okay. Well, I mean, they're understandably devastated, but…they're working through it."

"I see," Aiden nodded, his attention elsewhere, "and you?"

"Me?" Lukas tilted his head, "I, uh, I suppose I'm alright. Also upset, y'know. Jesse was a good person."

"You must have gotten close over your time together, huh?"

Lukas fixed Aiden with a confused look, "I guess? What do you mean?"

Aiden stopped now, swivelling on one foot to face him, "I bet you had a load of fun trotting around with your new friends. I bet you didn't even think about us once. You probably just forgot about us as you were having all your fun running around and meeting celebrities."

Lukas took a step back, alarmed, "What in the Nether are you talking about, Aiden? You know I didn't forget about you! We're friends!"

Aiden didn't lash out, per say, but his teeth began to grind together and his voice became cold. Every word was laced with venom as he spat out a response.

"Friends don't abandon each other," he hissed, clenching his fists, "friends don't run off with a brand new gang the second they can!"

"I didn't abandon you!" Lukas shouted back, confused and upset, "Do you think I wasn't praying, endlessly searching through the crowds of fleeing people for a sign of you guys? Do you think I didn't take any spare opportunity to look for you? Do you think I wasn't worried out of my mind thinking you were lost or hurt or- dead?!"

Aiden's eyes narrowed as he took a step towards Lukas, "Then why did you never come looking for us?"

"I did! What are you talking about?"

Despite the anger, the bitterness in Aiden's eyes, Lukas couldn't help but think back to the way Gabriel had been when they had saved him from the Witherstorm after the Formidibomb's explosion. The confusion, the lack of recognition of anything or anyone, the amnesia…was it possible that Aiden was still suffering some lingering effects?

But when Lukas tried to reach a hand out to maybe console him, or check if he had any sort of infected wounds as Petra had, his friend merely pulled back with a snarl.

"Yeah- only right at the end of it all! To think we were worried about you, when all that time when you could have been searching for us, you were off having adventures with your fun new friends, like you'd already forgotten us and moved on!"

Lukas flinched a little, more guilt churning in his stomach. Aiden was being unreasonable, sure, but he was right…

Dropping his shoulders and curling in on himself a little, Lukas tried to reach out again, trying to stifle the overwhelming truth of his words for as long as he could, "Aiden, look, I'm sorry I didn't come after you sooner, but you have to understand that we thought everyone caught by the Witherstorm was dead. We didn't know what would happen or what that thing was capable of. The only reason I didn't come after you was because we had to assume the worst and keep moving, or we never would have gotten anything done."

For a brief moment, Aiden glanced away, his face twitching, but then he rounded back on Lukas with a scowl, "So you cared more about your own self-preservation than us, huh? Cared more about that stupid little loser gang and their pet pig than your long-term friends? I saw you before, you know, all hugging it out and smiles and rainbows. I bet you're gonna go run straight back to them now and cry about how you got told the truth, huh?"

For a while, Lukas was stunned into silence. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, his throat dry and closed over. The words spun and swirled in his head, mixing together with all his emotions and thoughts so fast he couldn't quite focus on any single one. All he could do was stare at Aiden's hunched, seething form as he leered in front of him, before he swallowed and shook his head, backing away again.

"Aiden, what has gotten into you?" he couldn't keep the slight fear, the minute tremble out of his words, "Where has all this come from? Look, I-I get that was a horrible experience, and-and you might need to vent your emotions out somewhere, but-"

"Oh, just SHUT UP!"

Lukas flinched, stumbling slightly as he stopped in his tracks. Aiden began storming up to him again, causing him to quickly have to keep moving away. This time when he tripped, the man he'd thought was his best friend grabbed him by the hem of his jacket, the hem of the ocelot print jacket they both wore, and shoved him into the tree behind him. Lukas winced from the force and the feeling of bark scraping into his skin.

"Don't- don't act like you care now," Aiden hissed, uncomfortably close to him, his voice hushed from the anger, "not when you've shown the lack of regard you have for us- for your friends already. Don't even bother to consider yourself one of us anymore, you coward, don't even think that you deserve to be one of the mighty heroes that saved the world, when I've seen how you ran away. That's all you've done so far- just run. Run from your friends. Run from the danger. Run from the feelings that you over-exaggerate in your pathetic little mind. Well, keep it up. I never want to see you around us again, I never want to hear you say you're one of us again, I never want to hear another apology or explanation come out of your worthless mouth. Do you understand me? So go on, do what you do best, Lukas, and run."

With that, Aiden shoved him again with a snarl and turned on his heel, stalking back through the forest in the direction of their bright beacons, leaving Lukas alone, shaken to his core. A sense of numbness had overtaken him, leaving him unable to move more than his trembling as he stared after the figure of the hero. Gradually, feeling began to return to him as though he were merely cold, and as it did, one single thought came to his mind and stayed there like an echoing taunt.

Admins above, he's right.