The ebony dragon loomed ferociously over our heroes, swaying a taunting tail and cocking its head at them with a maniacal look in its eye. The dragon seemed to smirk just before blowing a terrifyingly hot wreath of flames around the five who were left, trapping them. It had been a thrilling adventure, with touches of romance and epic fights that had made blood pound in his veins. This had to be Jack's favourite new novel series.

        In fact, a new one just hit the stores today - and it was the last one! - with stacks lining every library window, the sweet smell of all those new books wafting over the heads of townsfolk. He couldn't wait to get his spindly little fingers on it! But he knew that he couldn't, now. Not today nor any other day of the year. Instead, he had found himself in a dark, ivory vortex. Not a thing was clear to him on why he was in there, or how he managed to get there in the first place, but as he felt himself getting lurched into the heart of the storm, Jack knew something was afoot. Aside from the entire being trapped in a vortex thing, anyway.

        In the center of the vortex was a light, a brilliantly white light that shone closer and closer; it was blinding. Jack shielded his eyes, a warmth passing over him, and after a moment past he felt something brush against his cheek. Now wasn't exactly the time for any butterfly kisses, but he was open to new ideas. Oh, he was falling. Wait. Jack gasped, wrapping his arms around himself, unable to find the air in his lungs to scream as he descended. He didn't fall far, mind, but it was enough to make his knees buckle and send him to the ground with a nasty thud. He exhaled, taking in great amounts of air and was amazed that he was alive. Jack blinked and stared at the grass in front of him. Grass? He had been inside his room, last time he checked. Afterwards? His mind grew fuzzy. With a grunt he got back to his feet and dusted the grass off his...hands?

        Instead of hands that he looked down at, he saw two rather large cubes in a skin-like colour. Stubs. He had to make sure he wasn't entirely crazy. Jack lifted his head and gazed around at the scene before him. He was literally in the middle of the woods, without any other soul around him. Well, unless you counted the rectangular cow grazing a little ways away from him. Wait, rectangular? He stared open-mouthed at the cow, his mind still processing the teensy fact that his entire world was just a glorified square. He wasn't quite sure he would be able to fully get used to these hands. How could he possibly give the finger to someone?

        Jack shook his head and started walking. He was probably better off trying to find someone else, or at least some food. He wished he had had breakfast after all that day. Jack furrowed his brow, the same fuzziness blurring his thoughts. He wandered through some trees, a few curves and turns and hills, and was thrilled when he found a pond. Jack ran to it and drank gratefully. He didn't bother to ask whether or not the water was necessarily clean, but it didn't have any swamp monsters lurking inside it, so that had to be a good sign. Jack gasped for air, again realizing that he was unfortunately not a mermaid, or merman. He always thought that the term 'merman' sounded stupid. 

        Jack looked at his reflection. He guessed that the rest of his body had to be a cube, too. But that still didn't mask any of his prominent features at all. Black, fluffy hair that curled at the tips seated itself on top of a tanned, baby-like face. Below that there was a scrawny nose that had been broken a couple too many times, complimentary dark eyes; Jack's pale face reflected back at himself through the clear water. He had been wearing the same clothes that he had that day - worn jeans and a navy sweatshirt with the hoodie strings tied in a loose bow. At least that hadn't changed about him. Jack blinked, squinted, and jumped back as another face appeared in the water. 

        "You really shouldn't doze off like that. You'll end up dead - bam! - just like that." a pale girl with long red hair tied in a loose ponytail with big, blue eyes gave him a questioning look. She wore a simple green and navy blue plaid shirt and black yoga pants that fitted around her waist comfortably.

        "What was that for?" Jack panted, still mentally recovering.

        "It's not like I tried to sneak up on you. You just stood there staring all dramatically into the pool of thought. Oh, woe is me. Life is a misery." The girl dramatized. She stopped and grinned, extending a stub. "Seeing as we're the only two souls here...I'm Ami. It's, er, nice to meet you." 

        "Jack," he replied, fist-bumping. "Same goes to you." The duo stood in silence for a few seconds until Ami cleared her throat. "So, what do we do from here, do ya figure?" 

        "Um," Jack glanced around. "A house or something would be nice to spend the night in. I don't think we'll find a tent-convenience store anywhere around here, though." Jack saw Ami smirk out of the corner of his eye.

        "Agreed." Ami nodded seriously. "Well, I guess we should build our own house."

        "I'm sorry?" Jack shifted his feet.

        "Buiiiild ooooour oooown houuuuse," Ami sounded out. "It shouldn't be that hard! We can start by chopping down some of these trees..." She was already several steps ahead of him.

        "Wait, i never agreed to thi-"

        "Then you'll be sleeping under the stars," Ami tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, shooting him a devilish eye. "Alone, in the dark, not to mention freezing your butt off. Oh, the horror!"

        "I have no choice in this, do I?" Jack sighed.

        "The thought never crossed my mind," Ami flashed a toothy smile. "Don't worry. We'll make a fine place to stay, and then we can try to find a McDonalds." Jack snickered.

        "Fine." He crossed his arms. "What should I do first, boss?" Ami raised her eyebrows. "Boss," she mused. "I like that. You, simple peasant, can start by chopping those trees over there." She gestured to a patch of Birch trees behind him. Jack gave her a mock bow and marched straight off to work. He heard her giggle behind him. Jack was about to chop the tree when he stopped.

        "What seems to be the issue, soldier?" Ami stiffened beside him, taking an army general's stance.

        "Sir! There is nothing for me to chop this tree with, sir!" Jack saluted.

        "Nothing to chop with?"

        "An ax, sir! We don't have any axes at all, sir!" 

        "So it would seem," Ami said gravely, pacing. "I would advise in this situation that we make use of our new bodies."

        "Sir?"

        "Use your stub, you dunderhead." Ami grinned, breaking character. Jack raised an eyebrow. Ami rolled her eyes and went up to a tree. She punched it a number of times, sugar cubes of sweat trickling down the sides of her face. Jack was about to say something when suddenly the section f the tree disappeared. What was more concerning was that the rest of the tree remained stationary. The top half of the tree, which should have toppled to the ground, remained as it was, as though it weren't missing a bottom.

        "The physics of this place concern me." Jack shook his head, looking to a tree beside him and mimicking what Ami did.

        "We also have an inventory," Ami said. "Just think of where you want to store something - that's how mine popped up." Jack nodded, then focused, scrunching up his face. A faint, white box appeared in front of his face, slightly transparent. Several boxes and even a view of himself presented itself before his eyes. In one of the boxes was an item labeled 'Birch Wood.' Jack smiled, dragging it over to the front most boxes. Suddenly a block of wood appeared in his stub, not different from the tree. Maybe he could get used to this.

 

          The time passed on, and it was apparent that the sky was getting darker every second. 

        "Hey, uh, don't mean to be a downer or anything, but we might need a house or something to sleep in. All we've done is chop wood all day." Ami called from several feet away, stopping her wood-chopping to wipe her sweaty brow. 

        "Oh, right. Guess we got carried away. Is it too late to start building?" Jack stopped tackling the tree, his stubs considerably more red and splintered than they had been earlier.

        "Yeah. Maybe sleeping under the stars isn't the worst thing that could happen," Ami blushed.

        "Oh, so now it looks like a good idea."

        "Shut up," she smirked, pushing his shoulder and looking for a reasonable spot to lay down. They didn't have anything to make beds out of, after all, so Jack and Ami made themselves comfortable on the cool grass. The stars peacefully glistened in the night sky, each of them burning brightly, though Jack spotted some that were seriously slacking in their work. Ami had started pointing out several constellations to Jack. He was surprised that she knew so much about little lights.

        "See that? That's Ursa Major. All the books I read said it looks like a bear, but I think it looks more like an insect with its arm missing." 

        "I find it hard to believe that anyone else would think the same thing," Jack laughed.

        "Hey!" Ami shot him a look.

        "I meant it as a compliment, really!" Jack insisted. "Besides, I've never known someone who knows so much about stars. It's quite impressive." Ami exhaled. "It's not all just stars. Astronomy includes planets, the Sun, black holes, all sorts of things."

        "That doesn't make it any less amazing."

        "Well, I am self-taught. Think of it like I'm a nerd who reads too much about science."

        "I read books, too, you know." Jack chuckled. "I was reading the Tales of Vuleptia series. A new one just came out today and I was going to get it, but..." he stopped himself. He was here instead. Stranded with a stranger.

        "If it makes any difference, I really appreciate the company." Ami looked at him. Jack lifted his head and looked at her wildly blue eyes. They reminded him of an electrical circuit.

        "Yeah, so do I." he breathed.

 

        The night was especially quiet, almost serene, like everything else in this world. There weren't even any bugs about, chirping or buzzing or crawling up his nose. But apparently this didn't change anything, because Jack couldn't sleep at all, no matter how hard he tried. Ami, on the other stub, had fallen asleep so quick it was like flipping a lightswitch. She was still and motionless, aside from the rhythmic breathing that matched the rise and fall of her chest. Jack stretched, his joints feeling like rubber. It was then that his eyes caught something in the dark. Something...almost camouflaged - it approached. He stood quickly, heart jumping into his throat.

        "A-Ami..." Jack stuttered out, shaking her with his foot. She grumbled awake, shooting an annoyed look at him. "What?" 

        "Company, Jack gulped.

        A green creature that walked on four stubby legs, just as tall as they were, was padded in different shades of green, Jack discovered as it came into the light. It's coal black eyes stared at them, blank of emotion. The thing's mouth hung open as well, giving it a peculiar look. Or, a permanent scream. He tried not to think of the latter.

        "Who are you?" Ami asked, fully alert and standing beside him. When did that happen? Nevertheless, Jack hit her on the shoulder. "Ami! We don't even know if this thing is friendly, let alone if it can talk!"

She scowled. "I might as well try. We're in a different world, aren't we? Nothing is stopping this from being a fantasy world. Might as well make some friends." She took a few steps towards it despite Jack's protests and spoke again. "Can you help us? We're new here, and I just wanted to ask..." Her words faded away as Jack saw the creature start to make a sizzling noise, flashing a bright white, its body expanding so it became nearly round in shape.

        "GET DOWN!" Jack yelled, yanking Ami's arm and shoving her to the ground, shielding her on top. A loud explosion echoed across the forest seconds afterwards. He heard Ami scream, and felt a sharp pain embed itself in his back. Jack also thought he felt liquid dripping out of his back, too. The dust settled, Jack and Ami both gaping at each other.

        "I told you so," Jack panted. 

        "Thanks," Ami said. She looked a thousand miles away.

        "Ami?" Jack touched her shoulder. She flinched.

        "We need to get out of here," she suddenly said, standing.

        "Hey, hold on a sec," Jack rose with her, offering a gentle stub.

        "Come on, we need to find somewhere safe. Let's go!" she bolted in the other direction.

        "Ami hold up! We can't split up! You know what happens in horror movies!" Jack broke into a run to keep up with her, but he slowly started to slow down, the pain in his back spreading. "Wait!" he called desperately. Jack felt like his back was about to split apart, as though someone were slowly peeling off his skin with a scalpel. His energy was fading fast, his vision dizzying. He really wished he had gotten a sandwich before coming to this world. Maybe it would have helped with the pain. He crumpled to the ground in exhaustion, unable to continue any further. The last thing he saw was a faint, yellow light in the distance and two figures running towards him. 

        "Jack? Jack!" Ami's voice grew faint. Jack couldn't respond, and he finally fell unconscious.

2: Alliances

Jack opened his eyes to an oak ceiling. That couldn't be right. He lifted his head and gazed around, noting the presence of three other beds in the room with him, each with its own crimson sheet and white pillow. Jack took a deep breath and reeled back his mind. He should be dead, as nine out of ten doctors would agree. And though he never saw the wound on his back, it was surely fatal. The wound! He swiftly turned his head to check his back but was instead met with a slobbery tongue that felt like a wet mop on his face.

"Aaagh!" Jack recoiled, wiping his face with his hoodie and gazing at the creature before him. Well, it wasn't a giant tongue, after all. It was a silver wolf pup, with rather large black eyes that looked up at him expectantly. The pup cocked its head at him as if to question the half-scared look on Jack's face. It wagged its tail alarmingly fast for a pup and pawed at Jack's bedside.

"Rufus! Down boy, down." A man in black spectacles called the wolf. Upon hearing its name, the wolf scrambled to the stranger in an instant, any thought of Jack gone. The man smiled, petting the dog as it licked his palms. His eyes shimmered a cool brown, his tousled oak hair falling just above his eyes. He wore a pair of beige pants along with a forest-green button up shirt with the collar neatly flattened. "He's harmless, really," he said, patting the dog on the head and standing to his full height. "I'm Michael." He wiped his stub on his shirt and offered it to Jack.

"Jack." He took his stub, still a little unsure of the situation. "Say, have you seen a girl with red hair around here by any chance?" Michael smiled. "She's in the kitchen raiding my food supply. You're lucky that you two stumbled across my house when you did. I came when I heard the explosion. I was able to patch you up since I had some extra potions laying around, but you should still rest for today."

"Thanks." Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Oh! The wound. Jack flipped off his sweatshirt and was amazed when he saw nothing but a long, white scar left. "What was in that potion?" Michael grinned, opening his mouth to answer, but was cut off by a loud crash that came from another room. Ami's voice rang loud and clear, as well as the cursing that came with it.

"I wonder what that was," Michael mused, not sounding concerned in the slightest. He sauntered through the hallway on the other side of the room, out of Jack's line of sight. Jack could only hear muffled voices and splashing in the distance. Obviously, he had to investigate. So he stood up, stumbled only once, and shuffled through a small, wooden hallway. He wondered why Michael had made the hallway so small. It was making him slightly claustrophobic. It seemed that Michael's entire house was made of wood, that is, until Jack stepped into what he assumed was the kitchen. An ocean blue block coated the entirety of the room, gleaming in the light. Everything was blue! The table, the chair, even a little island that was placed near the fridge (which was unexpectedly blue). It all would have been more wonderful if it wasn't flooding. What seemed like a wave had stumbled through the house and already had gotten at least waist-height. Jack waded next to Michael, who didn't seem shocked that he had followed him. He was watching Ami, who was caught in the bulk of it, holding a loaf of bread over her head and yelling loudly.

"I can't get the bread wet!" she repeated over and over. "It'll be soggy! Who wants soggy bread?!" Michael casually called out to her. "Don't worry, normal physics don't work here. You can drop the bread, it won't get wet. Just come over here so I can patch up the hole." The hole? Jack was exceptionally confused. He looked a little closer and saw that part of the wall was missing, large globs of water gushing out of it. Ah, that would explain it. It was as if he was watching this scene on a television, the way it was playing out between these two. Ami absolutely refused to drop the bread - her reasons were still rather unclear - no matter how many times Michael told her nothing would happen to the bread. Jack could sympathize with her, though. Soggy bread was the worst.

"Would you rather stay in there and drown?" Michael looked over his glasses, making a serious face at Ami. She gulped, sighed, and slowly stepped out of the water, the loaf of bread falling out of her hands. A look of shame had crossed her face, making Ami seem gloomier than a rain cloud. Her pale face and dead eyes stared at the spot where she had dropped the bread. The tragedy must have been far more scarring than they thought. Pushing his glasses up, Michael took out one of the blue blocks from his pocket (or inventory, as Ami had called it) and patched up the lingering hole. The water flow stopped and somehow evaporated into the air, leaving the smell of rain and damp wood in its wake. The bread was left on the floor, untouched, yet perfectly fine.

"How did this happen?" Michael asked Ami coolly, crossing his arms. She shrugged and stared at the ground. "I finally made something I was proud of and then I think I accidentally hit something when I celebrated, and then this happened, and then I knew I had to save the bread - I mean who wouldn't - and then I realized the water just kept rising and -"

"Hey, hey, it's alright. I mean, we are slightly underwater, so it's understandable that something like this would happen." He observed his work, subtly nodding to himself with a faint smile. Then he turned to face Jack and Ami, who's clothes had tried in record time. "I'm sure you two have realized where we are by now?"

"Not home. Hey, what do you mean by slightly underwater?" Jack's mind was still trying to process what he had just witnessed.

"We might be directly beside a lake. It wasn't my idea to build here, I'll have you know." He put the blue block back into his inventory then caught Jack's eye and continued. "These are called Lapiz Lazuli. But looking closer at you two...neither of you have the faintest idea what this world is, do you?" He waited only a moment before answering his own question. "Lady and gent, we've somehow landed ourselves inside of a video game, I like to think. And not just any game, mind, but Minecraft. The Minecraft. An incredible sandbox game with endless possibilities, and not an end in sight! Needless to say, it's popular."

"So you're a fan of this game, then," Ami smirked. Michael cleared his throat and adjusted his collar. "I may or may not have beaten the game several times, in technical terms, and know just about all the details you can think of. That kind of fan."

"So you're a shut-in, I see." Ami closed her eyes and nodded, humming to herself. "I think you need to learn to have a little fun." Michael's lip twitched, but he said nothing, him and Jack exchanging doubtful glances.

"Why don't we build a column of lava right there?" She pointed to the centre of the room. "It would make a great centrepiece! Think of crowding around the lava column after a long days work."

"That," Michael started. "Is the worst idea I have ever heard in my life. We're not doing that. It's my house, Ami. You don't get to add 'death by faulty architecture' to my to-do list." He walked over to a chest and started to dig through it. Ami seemed shocked at the outright 'no' she had been given, her stub gingerly placed over her heart. "Come on, Michael!"

"I'm not stupid," he said. "Here." He passed a loaf of bread, milk, and a pork chop to Jack. Astonished by the sudden presence food, Jack did what anyone would do. He ate it all as fast as humanly possible. At least, that's what he thought most people should do. This vanquishing of meat proved to be fairly fast, as in a matter of seconds the food was gone. Michael smiled. "You must have been hungry. I have steak cooking for later too if you'd like some."
Jack swallowed and looked at him. "Thanks, yeah. So, back to the entire, 'we're in a video game' thing... what?"

"I told you already," Michael chuckled. "I'm an advanced player, everything in this world is more or less the exact same to the game, as I've found. I already have a surplus of diamond armour for when we eventually have to mine, if you two are sticking around. Relax, I'm sure we'll find out how we got here eventually. I'm still searching too, aren't I? Anyway, there isn't anything we can really do besides..." he stopped himself, pursing his lips.

"Besides what?" Ami asked impatiently.

"Huh, that could be a little problematic. Perhaps to be freed of this world we would have to, say, beat the game. And in Minecraft, the boss is named the Ender Dragon. It's a bit sketchy because it's more of an option to beat it, but maybe still an end in itself. But we could go about slaying it, which could...oh, but, hmm..." Michael rubbed his chin with his stub, deep in thought. He was more talking to himself than anything, so Jack left him to it. He seemed like the kind of guy who could talk to himself for hours.

"What a weirdo," Ami cocked her head. "He seems a little...well, weird."

"Are you just saying that because he won't let you build a giant lava lamp?" Jack raised an eyebrow. Ami snorted with laughter, giggling maniacally.

"What did I say?!" Jack asked, bewildered.

"You...haha...lava lamp," she finished and fell to her knees. Jack's eye twitched. That was it? She was laughing because of a joke that wasn't even that good. Jack shook his head. He felt like he was surrounded by aliens.

"But I think for the time being we should stick together, you and me." Ami had suddenly gotten up, startling him.

"Wha - what?" Jack breathed in and out. "You mean an alliance?" Ami gave him a look. "Duh. Just until we know he's okay. I mean, he seems okay." She watched as Michael paced around the room, muttering nonsense to himself. "But in case something happens, we're bros."

"You're a girl."

"Thanks for noticing." Jack chuckled at her words. And just like that, Jack had somehow survived through more than a day with the odd duo he had met. It was far longer than he expected, considering the absolute ridiculousness of these characters. His eyes trailed to Ami, her red hair braided down her back, smirking as she observed Michael as he paced around. What had he gotten himself into?

* * * 

I like where this story is going. I really do. At least, it's going somewhere in my head. Yep. Stay tuned for whatever in the next chapter. Author, out!

3: Trials and Tribulations

"So let me get this straight," Jack ruffled his hair in confusion. "You want us to go back out there." He pointed to the setting sun outside the window. The two of them, Michael and Jack were sitting around a wooden table, discussing their next course of action.

"Yep." Michael nodded, unfazed.

"Where we almost died."

"Seems like it."

"And intentionally look for those monsters."

"Pretty much."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Jack spluttered out. Michael sighed. "Look, Jack. I know you don't know a lot about this world, but we have to gather some materials. The only way to get these materials is by killing the monsters and hoping they drop it once they poof out of existence. Besides, I can give you both some armor and weapons. You're not going to be feathers in a thunderstorm. I'm not that daft."

"But that thing that exploded right onto us-"

"A creeper," Michael stood and walked across the wooden floor to a chest that rested alongside the wall. "They're quite bothersome. But they drop gunpowder, which has a bit of use for us, so be on the look for that, we can use anything we get."

"B-but-" Jack stuttered. Michael slammed the chest with an audible force, a diamond-edged sword in his right stub. "This conversation is over, we're going out in a few minutes. You've had the entire night to steam over this. I'm going to get Ami; meet us at the front door to get your gear. Please, Jack. You won't survive in this world for long if you continue to hide." And then he left, tucking the sword away with remarkable ease.

"Dammit!" Jack slammed his fist on the edge of the table, accidentally breaking it. He swore, placing the corner back on again. The last thing that he wanted was to go back out there again and come that close to death. The way the creeper's eyes just bored into his skull, as though searching for something it couldn't find. The fear of disappearing in an instant if that thing came near him again. Jack's head fell to the table. Did he have a choice? Hiding here would do no good, but going out in the night and being swarmed by God knows what left him immobilized.

His mind wandered. Jack thought of Ami, her fiery passion diminishing as a horde of creepers engulfed her in a vast explosion. He sat up rather suddenly, took a last glance at the table and gulped. Jack got up and took large strides towards the entrance.

* * * 

There was Ami, who looked rather stressed, hanging on every word Michael was saying. He handed her a sword, some food, and a pickaxe, explaining about what to do if they got split up. She was already dressed in a silver-coloured armour from head to toe. Though her brow was furrowed in intense concentration, she couldn't have looked more excited to go out and she lightened up even more when she noticed Jack tiptoeing his way over to them.

"You're coming with us? Awesome! Look, I have a sword!" She waved the cyan blade around happily, narrowly missing Michael's throat. Michael doubled back, adjusting his glasses and looking solemn.

"I get the point," Jack smirked at his own joke. "But I'd rather none of us died today." His eyes panned over to Michael, who gave him a curt nod. Michael then started with a jolt, darting over to another chest. Now that Jack thought of it, Michael sure had a lot of them.

"You'll need these," he said, handing him a myriad of things Jack couldn't identify. "That is, if you want to live." Jack had just obtained a full set of the same armor that Ami had. Everything was labeled as 'iron;' he put it all on and felt incredibly more powerful than he had before. It was surprisingly light like thin cloth and he could move just as freely as if he wasn't wearing anything at all! Michael also handed him a sword, diamond like the others, some steaks, porkchops, the odd loaf of bread, and an iron pickax just like Ami's. Jack held the sword out in front of him, gazing at its every detail. How it gleamed in the light, the razor sharp edge giving him chills. This was a real weapon. He'd never seen one like this before. Jack wondered how one would actually use a sword. It seemed like relevant information.

"Okay, so we should be fine with what we have. I'm putting a lot of trust in you guys, alright? I'll try and stick with you two so we can fight together, but know that it's entirely possible we may be left to ourselves. Remember - aim for the monsters, not each other." Ami snickered. Michael continued on with a grin. "We should go. Night is falling."

* * * 

It was the first time Jack had been outside since his run-in with the creeper. That is, outside at night. The world didn't seem as creepy in the daytime, with the clouds lazily gliding over the skies without a care in the world. Jack watched as the last of daylight disappeared over the hilltops, the world feeling a lot colder that it had been a few moments ago. Michael called for Jack to keep up. He jogged to catch up, not even realizing that he had stopped.

"So how do we know where we're going? And how will we get back?" Jack asked once he had caught up.

"I have a map, and I've pinpointed exactly where our house is. No need to worry." Michael reassured him.

"Who needs a map?" Ami stretched her arms behind her neck. "Let's go on an adventure! What about that mountain over the-"

"Filled to the brim with spiders. I'd rather wait until we're more equipped to go in there. Or at least enchanted. Don't want to risk it." Michael interrupted, scanning the map feverishly, and shuddered after a pause. Ami pouted. "How about the desert?"

"That's where we're going, actually," he smiled. "Be sure to leave a torch every so often, too."

"So you're saying that the map could be useless!" Ami laid down a torch and shot a look at him. "Why lay down a torch if we have a map?"

"Reassurance. Can't be too careful, can we? Oh, never mind with that look. We're here, anyway." Michael shook his head, and pointed his sword to the sandy plains ahead. All was quiet, not a creature nor a sound to disturb the peace. At least, until a rustling came from somewhere unseen. So much for peace and quiet.

"What was that?" Ami tensed up instantly, raising her sword inches away from her nose.

"Spider!" Michael's face brightened up. "Find it and kill it, I'm desperate for string. If we split up, we can get more angles on it. I won't go far. Best of luck," Michael nodded.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked uncertainly, sword wobbling in both his stubs.

"Jack, Ami, I have complete faith in the two of you. Don't ask me why. If anything goes wrong - yell; I'll run as fast as my legs can carry me. Trust yourselves and you'll find greatness." Michael gave them both a determined look, nodded, then was on his way to the left, out of sight in the growing darkness.

"Jack?" Ami edged closer to him, still stiffly holding her sword in place.

"Let's stick together," he stated. Ami breathed a sigh of relief, and eased up slightly. "Agreed."

* * * 

After a few minutes of walking, the sound of anything had disappeared into silence, and Jack felt a bit more comfortable. However, in the back of his mind the silence was even more terrifying. It was like the monsters were waiting to pull a cheesy jumpscare on him. He made sure to keep everything exceptionally aware for anything out of the ordinary. Though the absence of monsters was unnerving, Jack was able to control himself with deep breaths. Ami, on the other stub, only got more worried by the minute.

"What was that?!" she would say at the shifting of the sand, or the creak of a cacti.

"Nothing, nothing. Just keep moving. We're gonna be okay so long as we're together." Jack would always reply back, grabbing her arm and giving her a little tug. She was nearly glued to him until something else caught her attention; then she would be rigid as a stone statue. Jack looked around for something that could distract her from everything, a funny-shaped cactus perhaps, but found nothing that could really ease her. Jack was getting desperate. The sand was turning back into grass, and he was about to feel dread when he saw a familiar cave in the mountainside.

"Hey! It's that little mountain we passed by earlier! See that, Ami? We could go adventure in there and kill all those spiders for Michael! Think of all the string we would get! He wouldn't think we're unequipped or weak or...anything! ...Ami?" Jack looked back at her. She gazed upwards, brow furrowed and small stubs quivering.

"Do you think we can make it?" Ami shuddered.

"Of course," Jack felt the lie sink its venomous fangs into him, the poison filling his veins. "We can do anything if we stick together." He reached out and held her stub reassuringly. She looked up at him with that gleaming smile he loved.

"Okay," she said, following him up the mountain. Would they be fine? Jack put on his game face. But even Michael was concerned and he had to be a better swordsman than either of them. Jack shook his head, emptying his brain of pointless worries. Michael would soon see that Jack was not a weakling. He could handle himself and protect her; he was more than he seemed. He could do this.

* * * 

Once the two had broken a fine sweat getting up to the cave, they gazed into the abyss. Jack felt that the only way he could tell it was a cave and not normal darkness was that the inside was darker than the night itself. He gulped, stiffening. "Do you have torches?"
"Right here." Ami placed one on a stone outside the black hole. It illuminated a portion of the cave, but certainly not as much as Jack would have liked. "We can light up this entire place, see? Just like home," she smiled. Her stubs were still shaking with the light she held.

"Keep your guard up," Jack held his sword towards the untold ebony horrors, stepping ahead of her. Ami laid a torch every few steps to add the faintest bit of light. For a while, they encountered nothing, and their hopes began to drain along with any lingering fear. Jack was certain that this was the cave Michael had pointed at.

"Do you think we should turn back? I'm almost out of torches." Ami counted the remaining sticks in her inventory. "7 in totes." Jack sighed, the tip of his sword hitting the stone floor. "I suppose so. I could've sworn this was the right cave. Oh well, at least we got to adventure." He shrugged, then smirked after a moment. "What does totes mean anyway?" Ami rolled her eyes in a dramatic fashion. "Honestly Jack, I thought you were more civilized than that. Totes is an abbreviation used only by the highest classes of people."

"More like you're totes messing up my head." He climbed over a boulder, offering a stub to Ami who followed suit.

"Well, you ought to get used to it, dearest Jacky -" She cut herself off, stopping in her tracks. "I just heard something." Her voice was suddenly solemn.

"I doubt anything would be here. We've already checked this whole area, right? If something was here we would've found it already."

"Creatures move, Jack." He saw the beads of sweat that ran down Ami's forehead. She wasn't kidding around. A scuttling sound reverberated around the room, perhaps belonging to a creature with many legs. He shuddered, sword raised forth. "Ami, let's jam," he hissed. She nodded, tiptoeing beside him. Treading carefully, it was quieter than a baby in a crib. That is, until the creature leaped from the shadows, blocking the exit. Jack blinked, shielding his eyes from the light of the torch they had left outside. It was so close. Ami yelped and huddled beside him. Jack felt a new sweat running down his body and boldly raised his sword. The dark figure started to advance, only, it acted rather strangely. The figure straightened up, and stood on two legs. A zombie, perhaps? A mythical creature come to life in this fictional world? Jack braced himself, prepared to charge.

"Could you put that thing down?" The figure asked. The sword almost fell from his stubs.

"W-what?!"

"I said," a southern accent drawled as the figure stepped closer. "Put the darned thing down."

* * * 

"So who are you again?" Ami managed to slobber through a bowl of soup.

"Names Charlotte. I'd advise you to remember it. Sorry about earlier, by the way, I thought for sure you were some sort of zombies." The once ebony figure had revealed itself to be none other than a woman. Dark skinned, with chocolate brown eyes and a shockingly big puff of hair that Jack imagined was smooth to the touch, she was rather intimidating. Well, the fear hadn't struck itself in Ami at all. She hadn't seemed to notice Charlotte's frightening demeanor. For Christ's sake, they thought she was a monster at first. Jack wondered if she was daft, that Ami, sometimes.

But here they sat, just outside the cave, slurping down the mushroom soup they had packed. Jack had offered Charlotte a bowl, which she heartily took, soon after exclaiming, "This is heaven compared to that zombie flesh I've been eatin' for days! It's got one hell of a sour punch to it and might make you a bit sick, but God knows I'm too tough for any of that." Jack still hadn't fully wrapped his head around her character. She was a badass, that much was evident, but it concerned him a little in the long run. Zombie flesh couldn't be good for elongating one's lifespan.

"Well, should we get back?" Ami yawned, wooden bowl empty before her, staring at Jack for an answer.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Just let me finish, I'm almost done. Oh, are you coming with us, Charlotte? The house isn't too far from here. I'm sure Michael wouldn't mind another guest, he's a nice guy."

"And how do I know y'all won't poke me with them swords as I sleep?" she bellowed. After a long pause, and no answer to her loud remark, she patted the ground roughly and laughed. "Haven't your grandparents ever taught you to laugh? Bah, I'll show you two how to live, someday. I suppose I don't have nowhere else to go. Found myself right at home in this here cave - nasty smell, but not somewhere I'd like to vacation. No guarantees I'm staying for good, alright?"

"Gotcha," Jack mumbled. She surely was her own person, that was for sure. Jack could only imagine Charlotte and Ami devising crazy plans together; the house would likely be a full one with these two together. Ami got to her feet and stretched, gazing outwards to the rising sun. A collective wave of relief seemed to wash over them. No more monsters.

"Perfect time to take you home, then," Ami grinned. Charlotte scoffed, urging that this would only ever be a visit, but Jack had a feeling she would stick around for a bit longer. Her and Ami got along far too well for her to leave the next day. As their home came into view, so did Michael along with the stunned look on his face. He seemed excited that they were alive, but less so by the new ruckus that accompanied them. Jack felt the corners of his mouth tug into a light smirk. Maybe Charlotte would put him in his place. A know-it-all and a badass, huh? He stuffed a giggle down his throat, not daring to make a sound lest any of them hear his thoughts. After all, the show was only just beginning.

4: Conflict

"Who's this?" Michael jabbed a thumb towards Charlotte.

"She's-" Jack started.

"Names Charlotte. Don't forget it!" she interrupted. Jack shrugged. "Uh...yeah."

"...Will she be staying with us?" Michael sneered.

"Not fer long if ya talk to me like that! Only the night, I'd say." she narrowed her eyes at him. Jack stepped back a foot, not sure what was going to happen next.

"Only the night. We have enough people as it is," he glanced at Jack. "Hope you made the right choice." Then Michael disappeared into the vast house. Charlotte shot him a look as well, and silently went inside.

"This can't be good." Ami knitted her eyebrows together.

"For once, I think you're right."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Things only got more tense between the crew, Charlotte and Michael looking like they would rip each other's head off.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, honey, I'm leavin'!" Charlotte stomped around the house, filtering through chests, Michael hot at her heels.

"That doesn't mean you can just raid my supplies!" he thundered.

"You think I have anything waiting for me out there?! I ain't got nothin in those plains! It's only fair if I get a bit to start me off!"

"That's no reason to just take all this without asking!" Michael's face had gone a ripe tomato red, his anger definitely apparent.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Can I have this? Thanks! Now goodbye, gent." Charlotte mock bowed and stormed out the door. Ami followed after her, simply stating "I'll go get her..." leaving Jack and Michael alone.

"Ugh! Can you believe her? She's rude, invasive, and I can't stand her!" Michael paced around the room.

"You haven't even given her a chance."

"I've given her enough chances. There's no way that I'd let someone like her ever stay here again!"

"Why?!" Jack stood up, the blood pumping through his veins. "This is no different than when Ami and I came here!"

"No different?! You were unconscious, Ami was freaking out, what else could I do?! But she just struts here like she owns the place and takes me for granted! If I weren't here all of you would be dead!"

Jack glared at him, trying to think of something he could fire back with.

"Look, I'm going to go find Ami and Charlotte. We'll come back, and if you haven't gotten over your stupid grudge against her then we're all leaving. Get over it, Michael." Jack turned on his heel, squished on his helmet, drew his sword, and marched off in search of his companions, leaving Michael alone.

It didn't prove to be overly difficult to find the two girls. Charlotte's voice was louder than the average person, and Jack still had the earpiece connection with Ami. As he approached, Jack almost didn't believe the scene before him. Charlotte was sitting on a rock, talking with Ami, but holding a rabbit in her lap. A few other rabbits hopped around them, and even a wolf was curled up beside her.

"Woah," was all he said, enough to attract attention.

"Woah what? You aren't that surprised, are you? I like animals." Charlotte buried her face into the fur of the rabbit, which seemed to be very soft.

"I came to get you two. We're going to go back to Michael, and if he's still being a jerk, we'll set off on our own."
Charlotte frowned. "I'm not sure I want to go back in the first place."

"We need supplies."

"Good point." she sighed. "Five more minutes. My animal therapy is almost over." She whistled, and the rest of the rabbits and the wolf came close to her, enveloping her like a furry blanket. Jack raised his eyebrows, but was ushered away by Ami, who gave the weirdest explanation.

"It's a girl thing," she said. "You wouldn't get it."

As the trio headed back towards the house, Jack felt the constant nagging in his ear was going to drive him mad.

"I don't see why we have to come back first." Charlotte complained, a rabbit from before still following her.

"It'll be brief, okay?" Jack rubbed his temples. This girl really was a handful. Surprisingly, Ami hadn't said much on the way back. Jack was almost sure she would be full of conversation as always. He shook the thought away as they approached the large, wooden door. They piled in, Charlotte still agitated. Michael stood in a nearby corner, leaning against the wall. He tapped his finger against his arm, nibbling on his lip.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry about earlier. It, uh, was rude of me."

Charlotte looked at him with a skeptical eye. "It was," she paused, thinking to herself, and answered with a sigh. "Apology accepted, I suppose. That don't mean I'm stayin' though."

"What?!" Michael's whole body moved in shock. "But it's a minefield out there! You'll die!" Charlotte laughed heartily. "Me? Die? That's just ridiculous. I survived our there before, I can do it again."

"Relax," Ami chided. "We'll probably see her again anyway."

"'Course you will. Who knows, maybe I'll make friends with a pig and a cow while I'm out. Hah!" she guffawed, mostly to herself. 'Well, I should best be off anyhow." Charlotte put one of her hands on her hip and started towards the exit.

"Wait," Michael stopped her. "Take this before you go. It, uh, might come in handy." He handed her a few torches, some mushroom soup, and a book.

"What's the darn book for?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

"Read it when you have time. It's a good story." Michael half smiled. "It would be a bludgeon to my reputation if I didn't let you go with at least a couple things to help along the way. So don't get yourself killed."

"I've heard paper cuts can hurt. Paper is tearable anyway." she smirked. "Catch you later."

"Bye." Everyone's voices rang at different times.

"I can't believe she just left like that." Jack scratched his head, later in a room dedicated to chests. Ami handed him a wooden pickax with a small smile. "What's this for?" Jack gave her a confused expression.

"Well, it's the item you wood pick." she snickered. "Besides, it was her choice anyway. I think she'll be fine."

"Stop. I suppose you're right." Jack sighed.

"We need to get going, anyway. Everyone got your-" he looked at the pickax in Jack's hand, shook his head, and swapped it with a stone pickax. "As I was saying, everyone should be geared up by now, right?" Ami and Jack nodded in unison. "Good. All right, our goal for today is to just collect some material, right? Right. Anything will be accepted. Coal, Iron, even Cobblestone. But not too much. The chest is almost full as it is..."

"Don't you have a million more chests?" Ami asked.

"It's not the same," Michael objected. "All of the Cobblestone is in that specific chest- if I make another one my entire system will be sent flying into oblivion!" He pushed his glasses onto his face, as he had knocked them askew. "That still doesn't make any sense." Ami whispered loud enough for both Michael and Jack to hear.

Before Michael could make a remark Jack interjected, leaving Michael's mouth to gape.

"Let's just go, okay?" he said.

"Fine by me." Ami smiled, then stuck her tongue out at Michael. He twitched.

After heading down some steps, and navigating a maze that Michael easily guided them through, Ami, Michael, and Jack found themselves in a wide, open area in which they could gaze up and see the light of day. The mines awaited them, gleaming with treasures that were hidden just beneath the surface. Jack admitted that he was a little excited about his first time mining.

"So, I think you'll figure out mining easily enough." Michael was running through a brief explanation of what to do. "Hit the stone with your pickax. Simple. If you see anything that isn't Coal, Stone, or Iron use the Iron Pickax that you have, otherwise you won't get it. The material will break and be useless. Got it?" he scanned the two novices. "Ami you have that section over there, Jack you're right beside her, and I'll be in the mine next to Jack's. Don't dig down if you can help it. We don't want any accidents. Okay, okay... Let's go." Michael nodded confidently. Ami sprang up from her stony seat, almost dropping her pickax as she did so.

Jack wandered through his section of the mine. It was a little cramped, but that only made him slightly uncomfortable. He twirled the pickax in his hands momentarily, then lifted it and swung down on the stone in front of him. The block instantly broke into pieces, and Cobblestone was instantly sent to his inventory. His breathing already starting to get heavy, Jack wiped his dry forehead and prepared to swing again.

The minutes passed into hours, the amount of stone that had been destroyed had been determined as countless. Jack was now sweaty, tired, and eating a baked potato. He didn't know how long it had been since they had all started this, but to Jack it felt like an eternity. Stone after stone had passed by him, and the only thing he had found that would be slightly useful was a small amount of Coal.

He felt defeated by the mine, but swore to himself he wouldn't stop until he found at least a speck of Iron. Shoving the final remains of his potato in his mouth, Jack used his pickax to push himself to his feet, and stared cold heartily at the looming pile of stone in front of him. He brought his pickax down hard, and a pit of darkness rested below him. Jack gasped, pulling out a torch as quickly as he could. Aiming carefully, he placed it directly below him, illuminating a...railroad track

5: Discovery

Jack stared at the murky abyss below him. His heart pounded in his chest, about to burst. He swung his head back down the tunnel, thinking if he should get the others. Jack had no idea what was down there, there could be ten more of those creepers! But something stopped him from pressing his earpiece. Something told him ADVENTURE!

So Jack tiptoed near the edge of the stone. Looking down, the ground wasn't very far. He could easily fall down and remain unscathed. Bracing himself for the impact and an earful from Michael, Jack fell beside the tracks, right next to his torch. Filtering through his inventory, Jack made sure he had all of his other torches at hand. He laid one a few feet ahead, illuminating the once dark passageway and revealing a labyrinth of tracks. He could only think that this used to be a mineshaft when it was working. Or, it still could be. A shiver ran up Jack's spine.

"Ami? Michael?" Jack pressed his earpiece and spoke through the receiver.

"What's up?" Ami sounded exhausted, her breaths heavy and short. "Find anything interesting?"

"You could say that," Jack chuckled nervously. "I think I ended up in some sort of abandoned mineshaft. Er-that is if it's still in use. Then it's not abandoned."

A loud thump came from Ami's end. "What?! That's so not fair! All I've found is coal and sweat! I'm coming over there, now." she went quiet for about a minute, until Jack heard pounding footsteps coming closer, and fast. Ami's figure came into view in no time, almost skidding when she turned into Jack's mine. She flew into the corridor, until she came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the stone, gazing down at Jack.

"Woah-" she managed to get out, before losing her balance and stumbling onto the stone in front of Jack.

"That looks like it hurt." Jack stated obviously.

"That was stone cold, Jack." Ami rolled onto her back, her face a bit gritty from the fall. Smiling, Jack offered a hand to help her up. Ami sighed, but accepted it and grunted as she got to her feet.

"What's going on over there?" Michael's voice rang through the earpiece, stern.

"Jack found a mine shaft, you should come with us and explore!" Ami grinned.

"I know what he found, I'm not deaf. I was busy fighting off some monsters - they're dead - so stay right there, I'll come shortly." The earpiece clicked, and he was gone. It took a bit longer for Michael to arrive than Ami, if not for the fact he leisurely walked the entire way. Ami had started pacing in a circle around Jack as she grew more impatient by the second.

"Ugh," she made a face. "He takes too long."

Jack shook his head. "It's been a minute. Not even."

"UUUUUUUUGH." Ami let her head hit a wall of stone and started to roll around.

Thankfully, Michael dropped in beside them smoothly shortly after.

"Finally..." Ami whispered mostly to herself. Michael shot her a look and turned to Jack.

"Sorry for the wait. Let's go, I think I know where we can get some valuables."

"But this is new-" Jack protested.

"Shush. We wouldn't want you to get lead for brains, now, would we?"

"That made no sense..." Jack muttered, shaking his head. Michael grumbled something inaudible and took the lead.

"Have we looked over there yet? You haven't even told us what we're looking for in the first place." Ami echoed across the dusky cave, a few steps ahead of them.

"Slow down before you get yourself killed! And no, we haven't looked there. Besides, what we want to find is a chest...there's a small chance it could contain diamonds." Michael scanned each corridor they came up to with sharp eyes, keeping an eye out for anything. "See anything, Jack?" he asked, not even taking a glance at him.

"Not yet." Jack replied, following just behind Michael.

"Well, I'm going over there, because that looks like a good time." Ami shrugged, strutting down the path to her left. Michael groaned, unwilling to catch up with her.

He didn't have to wait long, though.

"So remember when you said we needed to preferably find a chest, like, five seconds ago? It's not a fun time down there anymore." she backed up into view, seeming a little pale. Ami pointed down the corridor, and as the boys approached it, Jack felt a bit queasy. More than a dozen red eyes stared back at the trio, submerged in darkness. Jack tried to count them all, but they moved around too much to place a number. Just barely visible was a silver lock - attached to a chest.

"Uh," Jack gulped. "Don't tell me those are what I think they are."

"'Fraid so." Michael sighed, pulling out his sword. "There's too many...maybe a spawner..." he muttered to himself. Jack pulled out his own sword. "Better think fast, it looks like we don't have long to wait." The black creatures emerged from the darkness, their bright eyes gleaming. Walking on eight legs, at least ten times the size of what Jack had seen, a horde of spiders skittered closer.

"Michael," Jack warned. "Should we retreat?" He saw Michael's eyes moving rapidly from behind his glasses.

"Get back." Michael finally said, backing away from the creatures. The spiders were faster now, some lunging ahead of others.

"Let's go!" Ami cried, sprinting back down the way they came. Jack and Michael only hesitated a second before following her, the sound of many legs close behind them.

Skreee!

Jack heard Michael yell in pain after what Jack could only assume was a spider's cry. He looked back, to see a spider fall back and burst into dust. Michael limped towards him, still keeping pace.

"Go!" he urged.

"I can't leave you!" Jack rushed back, fending off a couple spiders until Michael was slightly ahead. Michael fell to the ground in a coughing fit. Jack could almost swear he saw a bit of blood trailing from Michael's mouth. He looked back a second too long, however, because before he knew it he was pinned to the ground and very large pincers were reaching for his face.

Jack pushed back on the spider, struggling against its binding hold. He saw a green ooze trickle from within the spiders jaw and shut his mouth tightly, no matter how much he wanted to vomit at that second. Jack started to lose strength, the pincers close to the bridge of his nose, Michael on the ground still coughing blood...and fear. Jack sat in the face of fear, scared of what would become of him. He was certain the he would make a horrible sushi, providing that spiders ate human sushi in the first place.

Ftwang.

Skreee!

The pressure on Jack's chest lifted as the spider exploded into dust and string. Jack inhaled deeply, scrambling to his feet quickly and taking a quick glance behind him where Ami stood, holding a drawn bow and arrow. Relief washed through him as he dashed to Michael.

"Can you walk?" Jack grasped his shoulder firmly. Michael pushed his hand away. "I'm fine." He stood, a little wobbly, but lightly jogged to where Ami was poised, her bow still drawn. She let Jack and Michael past her before following them herself, still ready to fire an arrow at a moments notice. Jack pulled out some of the many cobblestone he had in his inventory and set them down like a stairway. He let Michael go up first, then Ami, and lastly himself. He watched as the mound of spiders rushed towards them, still hot in pursuit. Jack quickly threw as much stone towards the entrance as he could, barricading the path. Several 'Skreee's' were heard, and quite a few thumps. Breathing again, Jack followed his friends down the mine shaft, and into the clearing where they started.

"Can we stop for a sec?" Michael seemed as though he could turn to ash in mere seconds, his face hollow and white. Jack nodded, Ami had already sat down, pouring water on herself. Michael collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily.

"What happened?" Jack scooted beside Michael. "Do you need help or..."

"It'll pass." he managed. "Spider poison...bit me on the leg...fine in a minute..."

Jack hugged his knees, sighing. There wasn't much else to do than wait. He looked to Ami, soaked from the water but drying out quickly.

"Thanks for back there," Jack said. "I would've died if you didn't-"

"I know." she gazed at him through sad eyes. "Lucky a Skeleton dropped the bow and arrows. Lucky..."

Jack felt shivers run up his spine. "A Skeleton...?"

"Thought you'd be used to it by now, considering." Ami shrugged. "I just rolled with it and struck that sucker down. Guess it doesn't have a bone to pick with me anymore." Jack chuckled, a picture of Ami charging at full speed while flailing a sword dancing in his mind.

"Somehow nothing fails to surprise me." Jack realized then, that he was starving. To death, even. His mouth watered at the thought of food, so he searched his inventory for any spare potatoes he might have. Scowling, his stomach growled when nothing turned up.

"Do you have any food left?" Jack asked Ami. She screwed up her face as if in a deep thought, scanned through her own inventory and sighed unhappily. "Nada." Jack turned to Michael, who was savouring a warm loaf of bread.

"What?" he spoke with a mouthful of pastry.

"Do you have any-"

"No. We need to get out of here, anyway. I'm good to move." Without waiting for a response, he stood up and stretched briefly. Michael's eyes flicked from Jack's to Ami's. He have a swift nod and started down the path to the entrance. Jack and Ami swapped expressions, slowly keeping behind him.

A breath of crisp, fresh air dove its way into Jack's lungs. He took gulps of air, thankful to be breathing it at all. Ami had sprawled herself on the ground, rolling in the dirt like a cartoon character. Michael, on the other hand, stayed as stiff and wary as ever.

"Lighten up," Ami told him. "Relish in the breeze, or something."

"I'll ketchup with that later." he walked towards the house, seeming more keen to get inside than anything. Michael almost slammed the door behind him, leaving Ami and Jack to sit there in speculation. Ami shot a worried look to Jack. "I think he's a bit down."

"He shouldn't be, we barely made it out of there alive." Jack furrowed his brow.

"Well, when you look at what we came back with, he might see it as a failure."

"We can go back," Jack pointed out. "And be more prepared than this time. That chest could have something valuable in it-maybe even diamonds. That's what we're looking for, right?"

Ami nodded. "Sure we could, but Michael probably doesn't see it that way. What a party pooper."

She lifted herself from the grassy ground, now coated in a thin blanket of dirt, and headed towards the house.

"We'd better get back anyway. I don't know about you, but I got a case of the growlies, and it gonna take more than the average potato to cure it."
Jack couldn't help but mentally agree with her. He cracked his back and stumbled after her into the house. Michael was already filtering through chests as he normally did, putting some of his findings in their special place.

"What did you guys get?" he mumbled gloomily. "I got nothing but coal, iron, and a small amount of gold."

"More than we got," Jack shrugged. "Ami managed with some coal and I got the grand prize of blood, sweat and tears."

"Lovely." he replied. "We'll have to go back soon then, that chest is just beckoning me over. Day after tomorrow."
Jack gulped, a flash of the spiders pincers blinding him for a split second. But there was something else he pondered about.

"Then what are we doing tomorrow?"

"One of my favourite things," he grinned. "Hunting." 

6: The Hunt Begins

Jack woke up, staring at a wooden ceiling. It took a minute before his mind registered where he was. Right, he told himself, home. Or, Michael's home, anyway. He heaved a sigh, pressing his arm against his eyes, blocking out the light. So much had happened in the past few days that Jack was having a hard time comprehending it all. Exploding plants, giant spiders, live skeletons, even death was narrowly avoided in his adventures. The list of things that surprised him should have been dwindling down. Then again, we're talking about Jack of all people. He lifted himself into a sitting position and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. The rough tapping of footsteps met Jack's ears, but he didn't turn around, for he knew who those loud feet belonged to.

"Hey, I was just going to wake you up. Get ready, we need to get going soon if we plan on eating tonight." Michael patted a rhythm on the wall before continuing. "Breakfast is in five." He left with his thundering feet.

Jack assumed that Michael didn't mean to stomp, he just had a...unique way of moving around. That's what he told himself, anyway. Jack stretched, forcing himself to stand.

He opened the chest alongside the wall labeled 'Jack' (Michael insisted they each had their own) and took out his regular supplies: his sword, a pickax, his secret stash of a few cakes (however these remained inside) and an ax. It wasn't the greatest assortment, but it was better than Ami who always overloaded her inventory. He never understood what the use of sixty-four signs would be, never mind the preposterous amounts of food, weapons, armour, etcetera. Jack zoned out on his thoughts of Ami and her quirks, as well as other miscellaneous things.

A slab of meat hit him squarely in the face, followed by an easily distinguishable laugh that came from the heart.

"Wake up, Jack. I've never quite seen something that comical." Ami giggled.

Jack nibbled on the end of the meat, the juice of the steak squeezing into his taste buds. "Steak for breakfast? We're really letting ourselves go." The steak fell, now hanging limply from his mouth. Ami went into another fit of giggles, while Michael sauntered in from the kitchen carrying a large stack of steaks that seemed as though they could fall over at any second. Before Jack could open his mouth, Michael yelled out, "Stash!" which Jack took as a hint that they weren't to be touched.

"But, anyway, while you guys are out hunting, I'll be counting supplies and generally just chilling out." Ami sipped at a glass of purple liquid, letting out a refreshing 'Ahh!' as she finished.

"Why do you get to relax with your purple lemonade?" Jack joked.

"Okay first off it's not lemonade, it's a potion for defense. Or something." Ami fired back.

"Or something." Jack repeated.

"Well I'll be safe and you guys can get squashed by pigs. Have fun."

"Gladly." Jack finished off the last bite of his juicy steak just as Michael walked back into their midst, dusting off his hands and wiping them on his pants.

"Bleh," he shook the remaining juices off. "Ready to go?"

"You bet." Jack grinned.

"So don't put the meat in with the vegetables, or ores with stone, or-"

"Chill out, dude! I got it! Just go, I'll make sure it's all hunky dory." Ami cut Michael off, sick of his rambling.

"But what about-"

"I freaking got it. Now go get some more food before I end up stabbing you." She pushed Michael towards the door.

"Stay safe." Jack smiled. Ami smirked. "I'll pretend like I'm in a bank. See you later."

And so Jack and Michael set off to restore the food supply. Jack took one look behind him at the house, which was already fading from view. He know he shouldn't be worried, but couldn't help but feel so. What if a creeper blew a hole into the wall? Or one of those skeletons sneaked up on Ami as she was poured over a chest, blinded to the drawn bow behind her? As if sensing his thoughts, Michael put a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"She'll be fine." he assured. Jack gave a nod and a smile, quickening his pace to keep up as the house finally faded into the dust. He furrowed his brow, thoughts racing through his head. She'll be fine. That was one of the biggest cliche's he knew of. Well, that and "It couldn't get any worse." Hopefully those words were never uttered from his lips. Or anyone around him. He might just lose it. Every fiber of him knew that it was almost impossible Ami would run into any trouble, never mind getting hurt. Maybe it was just the world they were in. Monsters, unreal sights, a loss of physics. Well, that's what Ami had told him on their first night together. He had yet to see any loss of physics, however. Besides the block factor of the world, nothing seemed to be floating in the air.

"Stop." Michael held out his arm, catching Jack off-guard.

"What?" Jack rubbed his ribs. Michael gestured ahead, to where a herd of sheep were grazing. "Ready? We charge on three."

Jack blinked in confusion. "What happened to planning everything out?"

"THREE!" Michael shouted, running blindly at the sheep, completely out of character. Jack simply stared as he ran righ up to the sheep, who stared cross-eyed at him, and then slashed at it with his sword. Instantly, the sheep fell over and disappeared in a small cloud of smoke that quickly dissipated into nothing but a block of white wool and meat. Michael nonchalantly grabbed the supplies, glancing back at Jack. "Coming?" he grinned, twirling his sword in his stub. Shrugging, Jack joined the party, slashing at a black sheep that didn't make an effort to resist.

Soon, Jack and Michael had their pockets full of mutton, steak, pork, and a couple chickens. The sun was starting to set, and Jack felt his eyes starting to droop. His stomach growled at the thought of the food that awaited them back at home.

"So," Michael started. "What do you think?"

"About what?" Jack laughed. "The way everything explodes after they die or the fact that none of them tried to defend themselves?" Michael guffawed. "Not exactly what I meant," he scratched his head. "This world. Though I guess it was a little harsh of me to expect you to read my mind."

Jack averted his eyes to the ground. "Well," he said. "It's definitely different than our world. Excluding the entire everything-is-a-block thing, and the monsters that could probably kill us, it seems fairly peaceful here."

"Guess so," Michael frowned. "I've played a game like this before. In the real world. It could be a little far-fetched, but...I honestly think this is an exact replica of it, just with us as the players."

Jack stared at Michael. "You think so?" he nodded. "The game is called Minecraft. Essentially, it's just like this. Monsters come out in the night, everything dies in a poofy cloud...the only thing that I don't know is if we're in Hardcore mode or not."

"Hardcore mode." Jack stated.

"Yep."

Silence. Jack cleared his throat. "Oh," Michael said. "Think of something like...Mario."

"Mario."

"Yes, Mario. You can have unlimited lives, if you so desire. All the continues or one-mans a guy could need. That's survival mode. Hardcore, on the other hand, gives you only one life. One shot. If you die, that's it. You can never go back to the same world, all your stuff is just...lost..." he trailed off.

"It wouldn't be a good idea to risk finding out, now, would it?" Jack said.

"No," Michael agreed. "It wouldn't. But we may have to face the unfortunate and find out one day. That's what scares me. The idea that if we make an error once, we lose one of our own."

"I can see how that wouldn't exactly be ideal." Jack looked at the trees they passed. How some were dark and brooding, while others shone in the upcoming darkness with white bark. He recognized the white trees as Birch, having chopped plenty of it down in his first few hours in this world.

"I think I know a way we can get out. But it'll be risky. All of us could easily lose our lives." Michael faced Jack. "Are you in?"

Jack hesitated. "Tell me what this plan of yours is first."

"Gladly," Michael said. "First, there's this beast called the E-" he cut himself off, staring ahead. "What is that." he said it as more of a statement than a question, and Jack soon saw what exactly he was looking at. A large pillar of fire stood smack dab in the middle of where the living room was. You could see the sparks popping out of the top, where it looked like a waterfall of lava was pouring into the house.

"I'm going to kill her." Michael growled.

"What did you do?!" Michael exclaimed, glaring at an Ami that seemed rather proud of herself.

"It is seriously dark in here," Ami put her hands on her hips. "When I was counting all of your crap I noticed some stone, and lava, and glass, and then I got an idea! I must say, it is very bright in here now." Jack gazed at the bright column of fire, held away from them by a simple glass covering. The wooden ceiling was thankfully protected by an outline of stone, which prevented the house from actually burning down.

"Idiot!" Michael hit his head against the wall. "How would this come across as a good idea?!"

"Don't you be hating on me, boy. I did this place a favour."

Michael sighed. "Just take it down, please, and I can forget this ever happened." A devilish grin spread on Ami's face. "But if I were to do that we'd either burn alive or lose the house."

"You-"

"Me." Ami changed her expression to one of innocence. Jack had to put his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. There was a moment in which Ami had a stare down with Michael. Eventually, Michael let out a heavy sigh and said, "Fine. We keep it. If we all die from this, I'll haunt you in the afterlife."

"And I will expect you to stick to your words." Ami bounced happily. "Anyway, let's go eat. I'm sure you guys are starved."

"You cook?" Jack raised his eyebrow.

"Technically I baked," Ami shrugged. "a cake, to be exact."

Jack chuckled. "Sounds good. We brought enough food for a while, so let's have some down time, 'kay?" He ruffled her hair.

"'Kay."

7: No Game, No Life

"So you're saying we're stuck in a video game." Ami repeated what Michael had just said, clarifying if she had heard right.

"Precisely. And I think I know a way we can escape..." Michael rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The trio had just finished eating as much food as their stomachs could handle, and were now sitting on their beds, chatting about Michael's theory.

"Who says we need to escape? You might be wrong. Besides, I do like it here." Ami ran her hand over her arm, illuminated by the fiery light of the torches.

"Think of it this way," Michael crossed his legs. "We all have someone waiting for us in the real world, family, or a lover if any of us are lucky. At least, I like to think that we do. If we are in a fictional world, we need to get back to reality."

"I see where you're coming from," Ami speculated. "But I honestly can't remember much of anything before coming here."

"Same with me." Jack added. The only thing he could remember was a book he was excited to read, and then he woke up here, staring against the light blue sky.

"The only thing I can recollect was a weird TV show I was watching." Michael scratched his head. "Something about an alien trying to take over earth but in the end completely failing."

"That sounds...uh..." Jack's mind ran into a brick wall.

"Stupid?" Ami offered. "Completely idiotic, a waste of time-"

"I get it," Michael shot her a look. "Back on topic; my theory is that if we are in a video game, more specifically Minecraft, there should be a final boss."

"Woah, woah, woah, what's a Minecraft?" Ami rubbed her temples. Michael sighed. "It's a really popular game that I may or may not have played a lot. You can build anything, from your dream house to a shrine of a cow. There's also Survival and Hardcore mode, which I've already explained about."

Ami fell backwards onto her bed. "Well, someone like me who has a life doesn't exactly know about such things. On the other thing we were talking about, uh..." she snapped her fingers several times, humming loudly.

"Memories." Jack stated. Her eyes lit up instantly. "Yeaah!" She sprang back up to a sitting position. "I remember blonde hair and the faint smell of barbecue." Ami looked around at them proudly. Though the same feelings didn't meet at the same point for Jack and Michael.

"Anyway, the final boss," Michael disregarded what Ami just said, turning to face Jack. "It's known as the Ender Dragon, and is known for being the big boss of Minecraft."

"So we have to kill it, is what you're saying." Jack pressed his fingers to his lips, thinking carefully. Ami, on the other hand, was taken aback and went to yelling 'How is that not any weirder than what you guys remembered?!' But neither Jack nor Michael answered her question.

"We'll need to go to the Nether, first of all," Michael laid out a drawing of a dark, hellish place. The only light came from the burning lava underneath the ivory cliffs where several creatures Jack had never seen before crawled around. "Highly dangerous place. Five star difficulty. We'll need to hear up a lot more in the food and weapons department. Weapons shouldn't be a problem, we still have a few diamonds left..."

"There's only ten at best," Ami had slumped back onto her bed again. Michael jumped to his feet. "Ten?! Why didn't you tell me this before!"

"At best, I said. Maybe if you weren't yelling at me for the lovely lava lamp outside I would have remembered to tell you about stock."

Michael grumbled to himself. "Ugh, then it can't be helped. We'll have to go mining again. That chest should still be there, anyway."

"Guarded by monsters," Jack added. "We're not even sure if there is any diamond in there. We should dig elsewhere."

"Which could take us ages!" Michael exclaimed. "Diamond is the rarest ore in this world, and the most powerful. I'm not willing to go into the Nether without extra armour plates, swords, and pickaxes for all of us!"

"How long are you willing to wait to escape from here then? Months? Years? If your theory is correct, then we all have families out of this world that are waiting for us. We need to go as soon as we're able to travel there." Jack felt sweaty, his mind frowning at the argument. But he knew what they needed to do.

"It's not that simple, Jack. We need a portal. The only one here who knows how to make that, is me. So we stay here until we're ready."

Jack sat against the wall, head in his excuse for a pair of hands. He kept running over what Michael had said in his head. He felt stupid, not thinking of preserving his or his friends' lives. Had it been so long without a near death experience that he had forgotten how easily death could stroll into his midst? Jack cursed under his breath. He didn't normally act so selfishly. Maybe this world was getting to him more than he thought.

"Jack?" her concerned voice washed over him, relaxing his muscles. He felt a little lighter than he had before.

"I'm here." he responded, lifting his head. She smiled at him as she sunk to the floor. "You okay?" she asked.

"Just stressed." Jack returned the smile.

"I get it," she said. "The entire death at every corner thing isn't helping our entire 'get outta here' plan." Jack remained silent. "Anyway, I came to get you. Charlotte's back. And, uh, she brought others with her."

"Others?" Jack raised his eyebrows. Ami grinned. "Come and see, it'll be a full house with all of us. Michael's already freaking out." Jack followed Ami into the entrance hall, where Charlotte stood, chatting to Michael, while three others were looking at the house behind her. One, a girl with long, golden blonde hair who was gazing around as if in a dreamlike state, humming softly. Her observing green eyes took in all that surrounded her, and she was swaying slightly to the tune she sang.

Beside her was a boy with a shock of pink hair, a lip piercing, who looked irritated and was tapping his foot impatiently. His brown eyes flicked back and forth, and he kept making clicking noises with his tongue. Charlotte told him to shut it after the seventh click. The last boy had pitch black hair like Jack's, only his had a dark blue streak in his bangs, a scowl that seemed to prove the phrase 'If you keep a face for too long, it'll stay that way!', dim ocean eyes, and seemed a little distanced from the rest of the crew.

"Told you I'd be back, now, didn't I?" Charlotte spoke in her thick, country accent.

"No kidding," Michael shook his head. "I didn't think you'd bring others back with you."

Charlotte shrugged. "I couldn't just leave 'em. Scotty over there'd be dead if I hadn't showed up in time." The boy with the streaked hair scoffed. "I was fine."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Anyhow, I supposed I'd visit and see if you have room for the lot of us."

"Of course," Michael gestured to the living room. "Make yourselves comfortable." The three newcomers shifted around nervously, until the daydreaming girl drifted over towards a couch. "It's nice in here," she said dreamily. "Very homey." she sat on the wooden couch, which was more like a bench than anything, but for the sake of it being a living room, it was labelled as a 'couch'.

"Thanks?" Michael exchanged glances with Charlotte, who shrugged again and addressed the two observers to the scene. "Jack, Ami. Don't just stand there, get over here!" The dramatic change in the volume of her voice made Jack flinch, and left Ami to bound towards her.

"Be proud of me, I dragged him out of the bedroom and forced him to be social!" she bounced up and down in front of the chuckling lady, who shot a challenging look at Jack. "Oh?" she commented. "Antisocial, are we?"

"I was taking some time to think, which I'm sure you've done before, Ms. I'm-going-to-take-off-for-God-knows-how-long." Jack smirked, as Charlotte bellowed a hearty laugh. "It wasn't that long, and besides, I brought some people who should really introduce themselves." she stared down the three newbies.

"Pardon me," The dreamy girl skipped from her seat over to them. "I'm Izzy. Lovely to meet you." Charlotte nodded in approvement, glaring at the other two boys.

"Aiden." The pink-haired boy sunk as far as he could into the seat, which wasn't very far. His face flushed slightly, and he avoided any eye contact with the crew. The boy with the blue streak sighed, stuck his hands in his pockets, and sauntered over beside Izzy, who was smiling at the ceiling.

"I'm Luke." he half-smiled, which seemed to be forced. Everyone introduced themselves individually, starting with Ami, who was as bubbly as ever, Michael, who stuck to formalities, and then to Jack, who shook hands and gave a friendly welcome.

"How long did it take you to build this, anyway?" Luke ran his stub over the wooden walls, examining it closely.

"A day. Bit long on my standards, but I made it good enough for the night." Michael inhaled deeply, smiling as he observed his creation. "Homey, huh?" he said mostly to himself. Luke's eyes went wide. "A day?!" he blinked several times, hardly daring to believe it. "That's impossible!"

"Not if you get down to it early enough. It was barely daybreak when I first woke up in this world. I had plenty of time, and even a bit more to catch my dinner. And a smidge extra, of course." Jack faintly had an image of the several stacks of food in the chests.

"Well I see who's been keeping you all in line, then." Charlotte grinned.

"I'm more of an observer or building kind of guy rather than a beat 'em to a pulp one." he flushed a faint shade of pink. "Oh, and just to wot you know we're going to have to go mining soon. The stock of diamonds are at an all-time low, and there's a chest that could very well contain said gems."

"'Very well contain'? So you don't know if there's actually anything in there?" Aiden clicked his tongue again. Charlotte shot him a look of annoyance, which he ignored.

"It's our best chance. Besides, if all of you are going to be staying, you'll need some armour. There isn't enough to make some for all of you, so we need to get to that chest ASAP." Michael pondered on each of their outfits. Izzy wore a simple, green, V-neck long sleeved shirt and black sweat pants, while Adrian rocked a pair of ripped jeans and a punk looking ivory shirt. Luke had a black hoodie with the strings dangling and a pair of dark, leather pants with a lot of pockets. Jack could only wonder what me kept in there.

"Well, we'll just have to make due with some iron armour for now, if that's okay." Michael straightened his glasses, glancing at a device near the corner of the house.

"It's late. We should all sleep. Follow me, I can show you guys where we all sleep." All seven of them traveled down the cramped hallway, Charlotte seeming relieved when she came into the bigger bedroom. Seven beds were already laid out for each of them.

"Sorry it seems a little squeezy, but you'll each find a chest near your bedside. That's yours to store whatever you like, weapons, extra food that's NOT from the stash, etcetera. Uh, so, bunker down, I guess." Michael finished awkwardly. There was a bit of a squabble between Luke and Aiden over a particular bed, but Luke eventually won and got the bed in the corner of the room, where it was slightly cooler and quiet, depending on who slept beside him. Grumbling to himself, Aiden took the bed beside Jack's. They briefly made eye contact and Jack almost saw him smile in a greeting, but it didn't quite make it. Ami, who was on the edge of her row, also beside Jack, then distracted him with a conversation about the sheet colour. She said that she'd much rather prefer a teal than the scarlet everyone's beds had. Michael then retaliated, saying that there wasn't a known way to change the colour of ones bed sheets.

After everyone had figured where they were sleeping and had put any desired items in their chests, most of the people had fallen asleep, including Ami and Charlotte, whom were both snoring loudly. Michael slept peacefully, his rhythmic breathing matching the rise and fall of his chest. Jack could not tell if Luke was sleeping or not, he was so still. Aiden kept his gaze locked on Jack, and Jack returned fire.

"Can't sleep?" Jack whispered. Aiden shook his head. "What about you?"

"Sleeping isn't on my mind right now."

"Well it should be. It's night and all, sleep is usually accustomed with nighttime." Aiden smiled for the first time, sitting up and ruffling his hair. "We should chill for awhile, it's too loud in here with these alarm clocks."

"Agreed." Jack slipped as quietly as he could into the living room and sat with Aiden on the bench-couch.

"So can you explain something to me?" Aiden asked.

"Sure." Jack was a little surprised, but gave Aiden the benefit of the doubt.

"Who are you?" The question was simple on the outside. Jack wanted to simply state his own name and be done with it, but felt that wasn't the full value of what Aiden was implying.

"Jack," he responded. Whoops. "I don't really know much else, other than a weird memory from before I came into this world."

"Go on." Aiden said. Jack cleared his throat. "Well, a book series I was into had a new addition coming out, and I was really excited for it." Jack waited for Aiden to respond with something along the lines of 'that's weird' or brushing aside the memory completely. But he didn't.

"I can only recall a face. It's stupid, and makes me frustrated. She's so familiar but so vague I can't place a name, or how we got along." Aiden clenched his...fist.

"I can imagine." Jack stared at the floorboards, unsure of where this conversation was going.
Aiden sighed. "Why are you here? You seem so out of place, hanging around that nerd and the overly happy chick. Something's up about you, so what is it?" Something inside of Jack burned, the idea of sticking a pickaxe in Aiden's head becoming slightly more desired.

"They're my friends." he said coldly. "I'm not going to just leave them. There's not much out there for me anyway, I don't do anything overly special. I think our conversation is over. Good talk, Aiden." he clapped him on the back lightly, rising from his seat and heading to bed.

"Oh, I see. Team player. Take advantage of your friends' strengths and use them against themselves. Clever. Ol' pigtails seems a little too happy for her own good, fixing that might be good for her."

Jack spun around. "You're wrong. I'm not like that- like you. You don't need to bring Ami into this."

"Oh, but I do. And I'd watch your tongue, crooked nose. We wouldn't want something unfortunate to happen to anyone." he drawled.

"Like your strong enough to actually pull anything. I saw how nervous you were when you first came in. And how upset you were when you didn't get the bed you wanted. You're childish, Aiden." Jack spat.

"Then let's fight, right here, right now. No weapons, just two men brawling!" A malicious light shone in Aiden's eyes as he smashed his fists together. Without missing a beat, he came flying towards Jack, stub ready to hit him hard. And was it ever a hard hit. Jack had no time to react, much less defend himself as he recovered from the hit. Blood leaked from his already askew nose, and he came charging right after him, sending punch after punch. Both boys were yelling, and it was only a couple minutes before several hands were holding Jack and Aiden back from each other.

"What happened? Explain." Michael rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, Aiden having calmed down first. Jack was still tense, ready to launch himself back at him and give him another black eye to go with the already good sized bruise on his left eye.

"He attacked me out of nowhere," Aiden started before Jack could get a word in. "I was defending myself!"

"Says the one who hit me first! And started the fight!" Jack took a step forward, but was pulled back by Ami, Charlotte, and Izzy.

"Jack, please calm down." Ami pleaded. He ignored her. "He wanted to fight!"

"Ugh," Michael sighed. "I don't care who started it, just get yourselves cleaned up so we can sleep for a bit longer. I'm going back to bed." he left, unwilling to deal with the matter anymore. Jack couldn't believe it. Why wouldn't any of them listen to him? Luke pulled Aiden away to the bench-couch, while Ami tugged on Jack's sleeve, telling the other girls to go back to sleep. He followed her to a different room as she wet down a cloth and began to scrub the dried blood off his face.

"So what happened?" she asked. Jack said nothing, fearing she also wouldn't believe him. "Come on, Jack. It's not like you to up and punch a guys lights out. Tell me what he said."

Defeated, Jack gave in. "He started talking dirt about you guys. You in particular."

"Ah, the old beat them up through friendship thing. So, what'd he call me?" Ami seemed unaffected by this, continuing to dab at Jack's face. He had a cut under his eye from one of the better hits he took. "Ooh, that might scar..." Ami muttered.

"Nothing other than stupid names, like pigtails."

"It's a braid!" Ami dabbed slightly harder. "Sorry." she apologized after seeing a pained expression on his face.

"I dunno, something about him just made me flip. Do you believe me?" Jack glanced uncertainly at her.

"'Course. We made a pact, didn't we? We look out for each other, which is why I'm doing this. Besides, you're a pretty chill guy in my books." she rinsed the cloth in a bucket of water, a lump rising in his throat as he watched the water turn red.

"I'll never get used to that sight." Jack shuddered.

"It's not that bad once you get used to it. Guess that doesn't help though, huh? I've seen enough people pass..."

"Wait," Jack's eyes widened. "Say that again."

"What?" Ami blinked. "It's not that important, I've just seen enough blood in...the past...oh." A confused look spread on her face. "That's not something nice to remember, is it?"

8: Rough Patches

Jack signed, staring at himself in the mirror. His nose showed no signs of having being severely hit, aside from it being a couple millimeters off from where Jack was used to it being. No one noticed, not even him, until he had taken a closer look. But he didn't care all that much about his nose. It was Aiden that he was more tense with than anything.

During breakfast the next day there was only the aggravated silence and the presence of untold anger that Jack ate to. It wasn't the most pleasant of things, considering Aiden would shoot him a glare every now and then, and he was almost relieved when Michael said they were going mining for diamond. He said they should split up into groups and tackle different parts of the mines.

Jack was paired with Ami and Izzy, a fascinating combination in which Jack was the only focused one out of the three of them. Izzy, who kept wandering around without a care, and Ami, who had just stopped caring about a lot of things. Like common sense. Numerous times Jack reminded her to keep watch behind her, and almost came sword to face with a Zombie. Luckily, Zombies proved to be easier to kill than other monsters. Now all three of them were digging through endless stone, in the faint hopes that perhaps an abundance of shiny things would take their minds off the dull grey tones of the mines.

"Hey Jack." Ami stopped swinging her pickax for a moment, facing him.

"What?" he panted. She smirked. "We should go to that chest."

"The one with monsters."

"They're probably gone by now."

"We could die."

"Live and learn, I guess."

Jack sighed. "Has anyone ever told you you're not very smart?"

"Several people, actually." she pondered the thought, pursing her lips and scrunching up her face so it wrinkled around her nose.

"Only if Izzy agrees. Hey, Izzy!" Jack called to her. She stopped mid-swing, giving a happy smile, before the weight of the pickax dragged her backwards until she fell, luckily catching her balance before she skipped over. "Yes?" Jack explained what Ami wanted to do, travelling back and exploring the place where the chest was hidden and how hopefully it would contain something valuable. Her face lit up at the idea of exploring, and she readily agreed. So Izzy, Ami, and reluctantly, Jack, made their way to where (hopefully) the chest was.

"Are you sure we went the right way?" Jack shot a worried look at Ami. She waved it off. "Of course! I have a photographic memory, I'll let you know. It should be just around this bend. Here-" She laid down a torch. "Huzzah!" Incredibly, whether it be by luck or Ami's true memory, they were near where the chest was. Jack could even see where he dropped down to before if he looked hard enough. There was no doubt about it.

"How enchanting!" Izzy giggled, bouncing across the cave. "One could live here, given enough decor." Jack glanced around dubiously. "You think so?"

"No time for interior decorating! I smell treasure!" Ami had already ran ahead, illuminating a side path that she found with a torch. "There it is! No monsters, even."

"Don't you dare say that again." Jack warned. "The last thing we need is for something to bite us in the butt later."

"Sorry, but I'm not a superstition kind of person. The point is, potential diamond could be in there, so take a look!" She pointed in Jack's direction. He shoulder checked behind him. "Me?" Ami rolled her eyes. "Yes, you there sir! With the weird hair and funky smell!"

"I get it. A couple days without a shower is enough to be labelled 'funky'. You smell worse, anyway." He flicked her on the forehead as he walked closer to the chest.

Jack found it strange that it looked indifferent to the chests at home. A light brown, with a black strap and silver buckle. All the same. You would think a treasure chest containing unknown valuables would at least have a more cool or glamorous look to them. Jack placed both of his hands on the lid and lifted. Surprisingly it was unlocked, did no one in this world know the basics of treasure? Always lock chests! He supposed it would have been a huge downer if the chest was locked, though. He didn't have to look long to see what was inside. Laughing, he gestured for the other two to come and see.

"Holy Lawlup!" Ami exclaimed. "Are those really...?"

"Diamonds? Heck yeah! Michael was right about this chest!" Jack whooped with joy. He was so happy he didn't hear an awfully familiar sound. He felt a tug at his shoulder. Turning to her, Jack was surprised at the fear he saw on Izzy's face. "What's wrong?" he asked. She shivered. "Y-Y-You don't h-hear that?" The sound came again. That time Jack definitely heard it. "Shoot!" he yelled. "Spiders!" Grabbing all the diamonds he could, filling his pockets with a stack of thirty, while Ami took twenty, and Izzy twenty-five, they all dashed away. Izzy was shaking out of her wits and it was starting to freak Jack out. She was just so happy and oddly similar to someone else...who was she like? He raked his brain, but came up with a blank. The spider-sounds weren't making it easier to concentrate either...oh, wait.

"There's a way through here!" Ami shouted from ahead. Her legs sure could take her places fast. Jack skidded as he turned the corner, glancing over his shoulder for Izzy. She was right behind him, eyes wide and terrified. The cave walls seemed to be closing in on them as Jack ran further in a pursuit to catch up with Ami. There she was! Just ahead near the...exit. Jack slowed to a stop, Izzy smashing into the wall before them, pounding with all her might. "Let me out!" she screamed.

"What are you waiting for?!" Ami beckoned. "We have pickaxes, don't we? Mine! Mine like you never have before!" Finally, Jack clued in, digging out his pickax and smashing it as hard as he could against the stone. The noises grew closer, Jack smashed harder. Louder, Izzy frantically scrambled to break the stone wall.

Skreee!

Jack felt a numbing sensation in his right leg. The breath in his lungs caught, and he fell. He didn't scream. Not that he could, because his lungs felt like they were getting the air forcibly sucked out of them as if a vacuum was shoved in his rib cage. But someone else screamed. A high, primal, guttural yell that seemingly came from nowhere. A blurry image of red hair leaping over him and the final cries of spiders was all he heard, and then he started to lose consciousness. A bright light blinded him and he felt his body moving, but not of his own accord.

"Jack? Jack! Stay with me, you're going to be okay, I called for Michael. We're going to take you home. Don't go, okay? Jack? Look at me, can you see me? Please...? Just keep your eyes open, we're going to fix this...damn spiders! Hey, you're gonna be okay, okay? Jack..." Ami's words only grew quieter as the seconds passed by.

He wanted to spring up and say, "I'm okay, hooray!" but it took all the strength he had to remain awake. Even the feeble power he had left was drained. Sorry, Jack thought as he blacked out.

____________________________________________

Author's Note: Sucks to be you guys. Cliffhangers for everyone!

9: Lucky Strike

He didn't know where he was, but he was warm, his limbs were heavy, and there was someone sleeping on his leg. Jack watched the rise and fall of her chest for a while, too clunky in the head to move. How long had she been there? How long had he been out? Maybe he could ask her once she woke up.

She was drooling slightly, right on his bedspread. Perhaps she intended for that...no, that was bizarre, even for Ami. She shuffled around in her sleep, rubbing her eyes. Well, she was awake now.

Jack saw an unnatural look in her eyes. They were so sad, seeming like they could spill at any second. She sniffed and Jack noticed that it was very red around her eyes. Ami glanced up at Jack, looked back into the sheets, then pulled a double-take.

"Jack!" She threw herself on him, squeezing him in an extremely tight hug.

"Hi," Jack choked. "I'd not like to almost-die again, but I love the enthusiasm." Ami laughed, loosening her grip and standing. "I'm going to go grab the others, most of us have been worried sick. I thought..." her words trailed off. "Never mind. I'll be back."

She almost sprinted out of the room, and it wasn't difficult for Jack to hear her ecstatic yelling. In less than a minute, he was being bombarded by the five people that encircled his bed.

"Praise the Lord!" Charlotte rushed over and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush slightly. "You almost died!" Jack chuckled. "I gathered that much. What happened down there, anyway? The last thing I remember was trying to break out of the stone to get outside..."

"Well," Michael cleared his throat. "We found Ami and Izzy trying to carry you back here. You were on the verge of dying from the poison, but I shoved the antidote down your throat. It was enough to preserve your life for a while until we could get back here and give you proper treatment."

"Poison...? You mean, the spider sounds we heard..." Michael nodded. "They caught up with you, clearly. You wouldn't believe what we hd to use as an antidote. Milk, of all things, is a cure for pretty much anything."

"Milk?" Jack laughed.

"Milk," Michael repeated, smiling. "You've been out for a couple days, anyhow. Ami's tended to most of your needs, so be sure to thank her. Bake her a cake or something." Jack's eyes lingered on Ami's for a moment, sending a silent 'Thank you'.

"A cake won't be necessary...I'd much rather prefer a steak actually, he's gotten me hooked on them." Ami jabbed a finger at Micahel, who took on a sheepish look. Jack gazed at the people surrounding him. Ami, Michael, Izzy, Charlotte, and Luke. It wasn't surprising that Aiden wasn't with the crew, but Jack asked about him anyway.

"He's been sulking by himself," Luke answered. "but he deserves it, anyway. I don't even like him."

"I don't think anyone has half a heart for that boy," Charlotte shook her head. "He's caused nothin' but trouble the moment we got here. Strange, he was fine on our travels."

"Could it be because we've met more people?" Izzy offered. Charlotte pursed her lips.

"No, I think either he has something else goin' on, or he just has a stick up his butt. Either way, I'll corner him later." The idea of Charlotte 'cornering' someone was scary enough, but to think of her getting angry as she did it...Jack shuddered.

"Well, I think we should leave you be," Michael declared. "Besides, you need rest, and a good head on your shoulders. I'll bring you a glass of milk later just to be safe, so don't get too out of it, okay? You should be healthy by tomorrow." He gave a nod, the kind that men usually gave to show their understanding, or to say hello. Jack gave the same nod, his neck cracking slightly from lack of use.

As the group went to leave, all wishing him to get well soon (or die, in Charlotte's case), one of them hesitated. Izzy flashed her a smile, and she headed back to sit beside Jack.

"So," Ami shuffled around awkwardly. "you're definitely okay?"

"Better than I was, for sure. Uh, yep." Jack couldn't think of anything better to say, mentally cursing himself. "Good," she breathed. "So I was wondering, maybe, later tonight - if you feel up to it - we could, I dunno, go stargazing again? It's been awhile and I know you said you didn't really get it, so I could always show you again, if you want."

"Yes," Jack blurted out immediately. "I'd love to. But, uh, I should probably, uh, rest up." he felt his face go red. "Not to turn you away or anything, that would be rude." Ami smiled and giggled. "Don't worry, you're the one who's shaking off poison. I'll, uh, go then." She stood, edging towards Jack like she wanted to say more, but gave him a swift hug and skipped away. She smelled like fresh strawberries.

"Milk delivery." Michael announced, stirring Jack from a dead sleep. "Sorry," he added, noticing Jack's glorious bedhead.

"No worries." Jack yawned, attempting to flatten down his dark hair. "Thanks for doing this, by the way." he added, chugging down the milk Michael passed to him.

"You would've done the same for me." Michael stared at the wooden floorboards, pushing up his glasses.

"Something wrong?" Jack wiped his mouth with his sleeve,

"Not really. But I think you should know," He turned to Jack. "Aiden's disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Probably when we were visiting you. Wherever he is is a mystery, and he didn't seem to take anything with him. Maybe he'd finally had enough." he smiled.

"That's a little...concerning."

Michael laughed. "Shockingly, I feel more relaxed now that he's gone. Is that a bad thing to say?"

"Yes and no." Jack envisioned Aiden plotting a devious scheme to attack them all.

"Horrible or not, he's still...a person. He's nowhere in the house? Or nearby?"

"No," Michael seemed pleasantly surprised with Jack's answer. "Why do you care so much about him? He punched you in the face."

"Who knows. It could be in my nature, or something." He shrugged. "You're family must have a rough time holding you down." Michael commented sarcastically. Jack grinned. "Probably." It went silent for a minute, neither willing to start the next sentence.

"I'll, ah, go." Michael scratched his head, heading for the door. "Oh, and good luck with your date tonight." Jack caught the trace of a smile before he left, leaving Jack to flush for the seventeenth time that day. Date? So he knew about his plans with Ami. So what? Jack didn't like Ami like that, they were just friends. But she did invite him out tonight. Alone. Jack felt his heart hammer against his chest. Shoot, he thought.

He sat on the roof, staring at the night sky. The stars were bright tonight, as they always were, the moon shining brightly behind a small cloud. Was this where she wanted to meet? She didn't specify, but there was a great view from here. Jack heard footsteps behind him, one look at Ami was enough to make him smile.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey." Jack twiddled his thumbs while he watched her sit down. Ami slapped her hands to her knees. "Tell me what you see in the sky." Jack looked up. "Flaming balls of gas several thousand miles away from us." She hit him on the leg. "I mean what constellations, dummy." Smirking, Jack returned his gaze to the sky. "Well, one of them looks like a cross." He pointed to the left side of the sky. Ami nodded. "That's Crux."

"Another is, uh...well, if you look at it on the right angle, it looks like some sort of thing with antennae poking out of its head."

Ami cocked her head sideways, then let out a snort of laughter. "That's Tauros, I've never heard it interpreted that way before." Jack kept pointing out all the constellations he could see, Ami naming off all of them.

"Hey, I was wondering..." Jack stopped staring at the sky and looked at Ami instead.

"Mm?" she blinked. He looked at the sky again. "How do you know all these? You said a few days ago that you remembered seeing a lot of blood in your previous life. Do you have any idea what it means?"

"Hmm, that's a good question." Ami took a deep breath. "I think I could have been a nurse. Or, something really bad happened before I came here. I like to think of the nurse part, to be honest. As for the constellations...I've just always found them interesting. Like how Michael favours organization. Or, not really like that. Uh...you get the point." She scratched her head. Jack grinned. "Weird. I might have been some sort of book fanatic, considering the only thing I can remember was getting excited about a book. Maybe I was an author, if we push it?"

"Don't push it too far," Ami joked. "I don't think I'd be able to handle you as an author. Is your grammar up to par?"

"Ah, that I don't know." Jack chewed the inside of his cheek. "I've never seen you go extreme-o nurse mode either."

"Didn't I help save your life once? Twice?"

"Once. Tw- I don't know. Didn't I save your life?"

"What? When?"

"When we first met, on the night when we encountered that Creeper."

"Oh, yeah. Guess I owe you for that one." Ami cupped her chin in her hand. Jack shook his head. "You've definitely paid that debt off. Now I owe you something. Like a cake." he smirked. She hit him again. "Steak, you fool! But I'd much rather prefer this than one of your stale cakes that you keep in that chest of yours." She looked towards the sky.

"They're not stale!" Jack huffed. "...I like it here, too." Once again, their conversation dropped and their eyes were left to gaze at the sky. After a few minutes, Ami cleared her throat. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"We're still in cahoots, right?"

"Cahoots?"

"Together, you know. Our pact."

"Oh. Of course. Why wouldn't we be?" Ami paused. "We should make a blood oath so that we stay like this forever."

"I don't think the blood is necessary."

"Okay." She shuffled closer.

"What are you doing?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Shh. You're ruining the moment." She leaned her head against his shoulder, staring at the sky. Jack's heart skipped a beat and he turned to gaze at the stars so Ami wouldn't see his tomato face. But he savoured the moment, for he didn't know when he would get another chance like this.

Ktssssssssss...

10: Hoodwinked

Ktssssssssss...

The sound came from behind Jack, but it was far enough that it wasn't directly there. He cracked his neck around anyway, searching for the culprit. A loud explosion came from where the kitchen was. Jack jumped to his feet, jolting Ami up as well.

"What was that?!" she exclaimed. A horrifying idea delved into Jack's gut. "Creepers don't just explode at random, do they?"

Ami paled. "No. Only when another person is nearby, do they blow up."

"Let's go." Jack dashed across the roof, just as another explosion sounded, shaking him to his knees. Cursing, he glanced back for Ami, who was directly behind him.

"Go!" she said. So he went to the ladder that should have been there, but all that remained was a hole in the ground and no ladder in sight.

"We'll have to jump. I'll go first, then get you!" Jack leaped down to the ground, feeling the pain shoot up through his legs. Ami dropped down shortly after, Jack catching her in his arms. "Thanks." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as he let her down. "Not a problem." he replied.

The wall of the kitchen had been blown apart, leaving the inside to be easily witnessed. Bits of rubble were scattered about, and the crew was in a panic. Monsters had swarmed the house, Michael was valiantly fighting off two spiders and a skeleton that had tackled Charlotte, who was struggling with an arrow sticking out of her leg, Izzy was going insane, slashing at anything that moved, while Luke was keeping an eye on her, stabbing through a zombie. A swift breath of air readied Jack for a fight, and Ami was already charging in, sword first.

He approached the thing nearest him - a skeleton - and brought his sword down. The skeleton was quick, bringing up its tattered bow and holding strong against Jack's attack. Its eyes stared back at him, devoid of emotion and life. Prepared to kill. Jack felt its endless gaze work its way down his spine, venturing into his gut, where what felt like an ice cube dropped down and refused to melt. He let out a yell, pushing against the skeleton and breaking its hold on him. With a horizontal swish of his sword the creature remained nothing more than a pile of lifeless bones.

He breathed a sigh of relief, searching for the next enemy. Ktssssssssss... Jack swiveled around, hacking at the creeper behind him. The creeper flew back into a wall, where it then exploded.

"Minimal property damage would be nice!" Michael yelled over the ruckus, flinching as he saw another wall blow apart. "Minimal deaths would be preferred, too!" Jack shouted back. Skreee! A spider leaped from behind, pinning Jack to the ground.

"Not this again!" he bellowed, slitting a deep gash into where he figured the throat would be, spraying a green liquid all over his clothes, face, and in his mouth.

"Eeugh!" He pushed the spider off him as it disappeared into a puff of smoke. Jack wiped his mouth after he spat the last of the liquid out, the sour taste of bile on his tongue. He made a mental note to never drink spider blood again. Jack scanned the remains of the house, another monster catching his eye. It was incredibly tall, twice his size, and had eerie, ghoulish eyes which gleamed a dull lavender. The creature's skin was an inky black, and it almost blended in to the surrounding night.

They made eye contact for a brief second, then the creature disappeared into thin air.

"Eh?" Jack's mind swam with confusion. "Oh, whatever." He instead shifted his attention on a zombie that was headed for Izzy. Unaware of the approaching threat, she kept fighting against a different zombie, which was dressed in full golden armour, concealing most of the normal, green skin, and brandished an iron sword, which made it all the more difficult to slaughter. "Behind you ! I got it!" Jack called, impaling the oncoming zombie just before it reached her, watching it burst into a cloud of smoke. Izzy defeated the golden zombie, panting. "Thanks," she breathed, a wild look in her eye. Unnerved, Jack moved on to another spider, sending it to the smoke world like the rest of its brethren.

"Jack! Watch it!" Ami hollered, sprinting towards him. Jack raised his sword to deflect whatever was coming for him, but it was too late. The arrow was shot directly in his chest, narrowly missing his heart. He gasped, the impact sending him to the ground. Ami destroyed the skeleton, paying no attention as it turned to smoke but instead ran to Jack. "Oh God," she gulped. "How do we get it out?"

"We don't," Jack forced himself on his feet.

"What?!" Ami exclaimed. "You're insane!"

"Trust me, we need to get rid of the rest of these blokes! Charlotte got shot with an arrow too, didn't she? She's right back on her feet!" He pointed to where Charlotte pulled off a daring upward strike, annihilating a zombie, and then continuing to kick a spider in the face with her good leg.

"In the leg! That arrow's sticking right out of your chest, Jack. That's not fine."

"We'll figure it out after these guys are finished! They're almost done, see?" It was true, the amount of monsters in the house had gone down remarkably. But now that there was more space to see, another problem arose.

"Isn't that...?" Ami indicated to where there was another hole in the wall, where a defeated looking person was bleeding badly as he leaned against the charred wall.

"Aiden." Jack confirmed. "Go, keep him alive. I'll be fine. We'll deal with him later, but for now we need to handle what's most important. And that includes preserving lives. You're the only potential nurse I know of, so go." Ami threw a hand on her hip. "Keep him alive? After what he did? I don't think so."

"Ami, please." Jack pleaded.

"No," She crossed her arms. "He's a jerkface."

"Jerkface or not you should help him. I'm going to help with the fight, go help him." Jack finished abruptly, running off and starting a war with another skeleton. Ami sighed, and while it did not abide to her own wishes, she made her way over to where Aiden was hunched against a wall.

"What are you doing, freckles?" he scowled.

"A favour," Ami pulled out a red liquid contained in a vial labelled "Potion of Healing II" and brought it to Aiden's mouth. "Drink." she said. He hesitated, but guzzled down the potion faster than he ever had before. Aiden slumped back against the wooden wall. "Thank you," he said for the first time. "I owe you one."

"Tell that to Jack. I wouldn't have done this if he didn't pressure me into it." Aiden chuckled softly. "Pressure to help a person in need? You are quite the puzzle, Ami."

"Shut up."

Jack finished off another zombie, leaving only two other monsters left. Michael struck down the spider, while Luke smoothly slid his blade upon the zombie. They all breathed a sigh of relief, Izzy whooping a cheer of victory, her hair sticking out in various spots while the rest of her was coated in a thin layer of monster blood. As Jack took a glance around at everyone, they all had the same disheveled look about them. One of the lenses in Michael's glasses was cracked, Charlotte was still recovering from the arrow in her leg, Luke was sweaty and sat on the ground for rest, Ami's braid had completely fallen out, leaving her hair to fly freely, and Aiden had barely recovered from his wounds.

"Holy sh-" Luke's eyes widened when he saw the arrow sticking out of Jack.

"Keep it PG, Luke." Michael said, walking over to Jack. "You okay?"

"Other than the arrow sticking out of me I'm fine. Uh, how do I get this out, anyway?" Michael gave him a sheepish look. "Thing is, you can't. Even if you pull it it won't pop out. After a while it disappears, so all you can really do is endure the pain."

"Bummer." Jack sighed, glaring down at the arrow, as if it had planned on penetrating his skin from the start.

"But what bothers me the most," Michael continued. "Is why you are here, of all people." He glowered at Aiden, who took on a guilty look. "I-I-I-" he stuttered. "I was out th-there, and then m-m-monsters showed up, s-s-so I ran here. I didn't think they would follow me all the way back." Michael's stare bored into Aiden's nerves, making him veer more off the edge. "S-S-Sorry," he broke eye contact, looking at the floor instead.

"You've injured our companions, destroyed our home, and expect to be forgiven?!" Michael bellowed, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"It's not like I meant to!" Aiden defended.

"How do we know that? You disappeared for hours, and show up with a horde of monsters!" Aiden shrunk down.

"Hey," Jack intervened. "That's enough. He's had a hard enough time already, don't you see how much damage he's taken? Give him another chance, we all make mistakes!"

"Don't worm me out of this, arrow boy. I can handle it myself..." He cracked his fists, swaying on his feet and staring at Michael. "I'll fight."

"I'd rather not succumb to such a foolish manner of settling an argument. My judgement is clear: Get out." Michael raised an eyebrow at Aiden's sweaty fist.

"Guys, come on. This isn't necessary. Just give him another shot!" Jack begged. "We've only known him for a few days!"

"A few days is enough, Jack. Trust me." Charlotte drawled gravely. "He's put his toe out of line a number of times. I think it's about time something was done."

Jack's heart raced. He didn't know why he wanted to help him. The reasonable thing to do would be to exclude him from the group. But something inside of Jack screamed Get him out of trouble! He was so nervous that he didn't notice the tall, looming figure teleport behind him. The same figure that he had dismissed in the fight. But he did feel its dull, lavender eyes boring into his skull. And he definitely felt its final blow before he fell to the ground, everything around him spiraling like a corkscrew. The faint cry of the creature falling and the shocked faces of his friends blurred out, leaving only a ringing in his ears.

"Jack!" Ami's voice rang clear through his mind. His vision went red, and everything faded away. He felt himself moan something he couldn't decipher.
Then he was gone.

Ami knelt beside Jack, watching him fade out of existence. No, she thought. This can't be happening. "Michael! Get him something, anything! Quick!" she cried. Not so soon... He looked at her, for the first time he had no idea what to do. "Michael! Charlotte! Luke! Someone!" She shook Jack, not believing that he was evaporating before her eyes. His legs were gone, they had turned into smoke. His torso was slowly disappearing, and Ami was only becoming more distressed. No! She sobbed, tears falling freely from her face. The face that she kept clean of such things.

"Ami..." his voice was what she clung to. But even that faded away into nothing. The last thing to disappear from her was his face. His jet black, messy hair, darker than black eyes, and his slightly crooked nose. Ami swore to never let the image of Jack disappear from her memory. Jack dissolved to nothing but smoke, vanishing forever.

Author's Note: Wha...What have I done? To do something as heartless and groundbreaking as what I have just accomplished...feels so...so...good. But, this arises another question. Is anyone safe?

11: Mending Heartstrings

"Hon, we need to talk." A dark-skinned woman said with a hand on her hip. The red-haired girl felt her eyes sting again. "No," she said. "I want to be alone."

"You're coming, whether you like it or not." Charlotte grasped Ami's arm firmly, leading her outside. The sun shone brightly, and the repairs on the house were going smoothly. Even the grass seemed to have an extra spring to it today. But it all made Ami feel like she stuck out even more. The death of her closest friend had struck something dark within her soul. She hadn't stopped crying since that day, hardly came out to eat, and had started having nightmares that would leave her so shaken that Charlotte would have to hold her in an embrace for her to finally calm down. Charlotte and Ami made their way to a pocket of sand right next to where a nearby lake was brushing its waves against said sand.

Ami dipped her toe in the water. Cold. She brought it back and instead buried it in the warm sand, small pebbles filling in between her toes.

Charlotte handed her a fishing rod. "Might as well make ourselves useful as we're here." she said, casting her line. Ami paused, but threw her line into the water as well. "Your leg is better." her eyes noted the arrow had disappeared.

"Righter than rain. That arrow just up and fizzled into nothin'. But, that's not why we're here." Charlotte cleared her throat. "Tell me everything. Start from when you two met." Ami bit her lip. She wanted to stay silent, she really did, but she also knew that with Charlotte badgering her, it would only be a matter of time before she spilled everything. Better to get it over with now, she supposed.

"Well, I woke up staring at the sun. I wandered for a while through a forest, and just as I was getting worried I saw this guy staring into a pond like he had no idea what or who he was. I mean, he was all square-like, so I judged him a little. But when I looked at my hands, I saw I was the same. So...I went up to him. He told me his name was Jack..." she went on to tell Charlotte about everything she could remember about Jack. Their pact, stargazing, fighting side by side...all of it. She wasn't quite sure where the words came from, but spouted them anyway.

"Well," Charlotte said, after Ami had finished long enough to breathe. "The only thing I can say to do is to try and not let it bother you. It's awful advice, I know, but I'm not sure what else we could do..." Her eyebrows raised. "Actually, there's an idea."

"What?" Ami questioned bleakly.

"We could always have a funeral. I'm sure we could build a grave."

"There isn't a body."

"We'll have to make due. Better than nothin' ain't it?"

"I suppose," Ami shuffled her legs closer, watching the bubbles swirl in the lake. "I think you have a bite." Charlotte followed the bubbles with her eyes. "Naw, I think it's yours. Get ready." The bubbles swirled in between the lines as if debating to go to either rod, but in the end decided to snag on Ami's line. She reacted quick, yanking her rod and reeling in a salmon.

"Told you," Charlotte grinned. "That looks like a good one, you can eat it later if you want." The faint shadow of a smile crossed on Ami's face.

The grave was built behind the house, where a barren space provided the crew with enough land to build such a thing. It stood as a cross, since circles were hard to come by in this world. Ami hoped Jack wasn't atheist, that would have made the entire situation awkward. She smirked to herself despite the serious scene. But that smirk dropped as easily as it came when Michael cleared his throat.

"Um, I'm not sure how one would go about this, but..." his eyes glazed over. " Jack became my friend mere minutes after I first talked with him. I didn't know what to expect, considering he was almost dead when I originally saw him. But...he proved to be a better man than I thought. He wanted to help everyone, and strove to do so, saving some of our lives. He fought valiantly in his last moments, however ridiculous and absurd the circumstances became. Jack was killed by a creature called the Enderman. If you look directly in its eyes, it attacks. I've never seen one wait until the right moment, but..." he gulped. "I'm glad I knew him. Maybe he's waiting for us in the real world." There was nothing but silence for the longest time, each member of the group glancing at each other, all wanting to say the same thing.

"I met him first in this world," Ami started before she could prevent herself from doing so. "He was weird, and had just as much of an idea how he got here as we all do. But we chopped up trees together, joking around and talking. Later that night we tried to sleep under the stars. It worked, for the most part, until a creeper found us." she laughed mournfully. "He probably saved my life, throwing me to the ground as it exploded. I haven't been able to thank him properly, so..." her words trailed off. Silence. Roses were scatted across his grave. Ami didn't leave until dark.

"Now? It's a little too soon don't you think?" Charlotte protested.

"I know, but we can't just sit around here any longer, we need to get out of here. I won't have any more of us die!" Michael urged, giving her a steely look.

"We can't just rush into things, Michael! It'll get us all killed!"

"You don't think I know that? It's better if we at least try to escape rather than watching all of our own get killed!"

Charlotte sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing. And I swear...ifanything happens to her, you'll be hearing from me." Michael gulped. "Got it."

"Uh...am I interrupting something?" Ami raised an eyebrow, having watched the entire scene.

"No, you'd be finding out soon enough anyway. We're going to explore and find new territory." Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"It's not new, I have another house about a day's travel from here, and it has all the materials we need to start getting to the Ender Dragon! If we kill it, it could be our only chance of beating this game and escaping alive!" Michael seemed half stressed and half ecstatic about the idea. "Besides, we need to see what the Nether has in store for us before we all dive bomb into the portal, so we'll have two or three people-"

"Slow down there, speedy. First things first, we go to this 'other house' you mentioned, then we talk about what to do next." Charlotte instructed.

"R-Right. We leave as soon as the sun rises." Michael lingered for a second, but then walked away into the chest room.

"Well, you heard the man." Charlotte sighed again. "Sometimes I honestly don't see why I look out for him. Idiot." She drifted into the kitchen, slumping in a chair and fiddling with her hands on the table. Ami slowly sank into a seat beside her. "Look out for him?" she questioned.

"He'll be dead if he keeps pushin' himself like that. Someone has to be there to slap him upside the head when he starts gettin' all ahead of himself. Now look here, Ami, I don't want to be overbearing or nothin', but don't let him do somethin' stupid if I happen to go, alright?"

"...Sure. Hey, Charlotte, just how old are you?" Ami gazed at her inquisitively.

"No idea. I'd assume I'm well over the age of twenty, considering the things I think I've done. But I could also be sixteen, so I can't really say for certain."

"You seem like an older person to me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Not that old! I mean like...old enough that you could be a parent. That's what you strike me as, anyway."

"Oh." she played with a strand of her curly hair. "Me? Kids? That seems surreal." Ami breathed a laugh. "Yeah. Well, what do you remember before you came here?" Charlotte blinked. "Before? Well, not much of anything, except for what I think is a memory. I'm just sittin' there, surrounded by animals. I can remember a rabbit, big dog, and a ferret. That's it, though. Hah, maybe I had pets before all this. I don't think it matters now, though, but maybe it'll make sense once we get home."

"Home," Ami repeated. "So you think we'll stay in touch if we get out of here?"

"When we get out of here," Charlotte corrected. "I wouldn't just let you go off runnin'. Of course We'll stay in touch! Don't let your mind fool you otherwise! I just hope we all make it out alive, for now. Don't look ahead too far, or else you might trip over what's underneath your feet."

Ami smiled. "Roger that."

12: The Other House

Ami fiddled with a stick, twirling it this way and that. She wasn't ready to travel, not yet. It almost seemed wrong, leaving him here, but she had to move on. She sighed, slowly stumbling to her feet. "Lousy foot." she said, shaking the sleep out of her foot.

"Ready?" Michael asked upon her entry into the main room. Everyone was in the process of gearing up. Putting on armour, equipping weapons and food and all that. Michael had all but his helmet on and seemed to have been discussing something with Charlotte.

"I suppose." Ami grabbed onto her arm tightly. Michael frowned, stepping up to her. "It'll be okay. I know it hurts, believe me, but we need to move. I...I'm sorry it has to be so soon."

Ami smiled. "Don't worry. I have to get over it eventually." He nodded, his eyes glazing over for a second. "Well," he took a deep breath. "When you're all geared up, some outside. We'll discuss the route out there."

"Can do." she said, going to the nearest chest and digging out a pair of Iron boots. She sat on the ground, fitting the surprisingly light shoes on her small feet. Ami watched as just about everyone started to go outside, all quiet. As she pulled on an Iron chest plate, someone started talking to her.

"Are you okay?" Aiden stood before her.

Ami hesitated, but soon returned to gearing up. "Fine. Why do you ask?"

He chuckled. "Because you've been on the verge of tearing up for three days. I know you and Jack were close. I get it. But I don't understand how you can keep moping around like that for days on end."

Ami felt a nerve bulge in her neck. "You've never watched someone you love die. So you wouldn't get it."

"And Jack would? Besides, you two didn't even know each other for that long. You can't call that love."

"My point is, watching people die isn't exactly my favourite pass time. Now, if you would kindly screw off, I could get something done." She took out a sword from the chest, glaring at Aiden.

"Fine." He headed towards the door. "If you ever want to talk, come talk to me. I know a thing or two about death." He spat on the ground before exiting. Ami paused for a moment, considering his words. But a greater sense overcame her and she put it out of her mind. She put her sword in her inventory and headed outside to where everyone was gathered in a circle.

"Okay, so we're going to head off ASAP, with two groups in case one of us gets lost. Group one consists of Charlotte, Izzy, and Aiden, and group two is me, Ami, and Luke. Is that okay with us all?" Michael looked up from a map he was holding at the group. A collective nod came from all but Aiden, who almost looked fearful at the idea of travelling with Charlotte. "Okay. Group one, you'll split off to the left when we all come to a fork in the road marked here, my group, we keep to the right. I think that if we keep a good pace, we should all get there around sundown, just in time for dinner. Charlotte, for food breaks I've trusted you with your groups' rations. I have ours. And with that, uh, yeah." he blushed. "I don't know how to end this. Uh, au revior? Let's go? We're all in this together?" A few smiles were cracked, and soon everyone was on their way.

They all started walking in a cluster, many talking and joking around, a couple silent and staring ahead. Izzy and Michael were in a heated debate about the physics of a marshmallow, Michael insisting the most logical point of view, while Izzy kept throwing out bizarre theories of how one day they could all wake up floating. Charlotte was cracking jokes with Aiden, who seemed more irritated than anything, but Ami caught him smiling a few times at the better jokes. Ami stared off into the clouds, still wondering why something as round as a cloud was still a cube in this world.

"Hey," Luke approached her. "You seem lonely."

"Is it because of the entire staring at the sky thing? Sorry, I can come off as melodramatic. Which I probably am." he laughed. "Partially. Mostly because otherwise we both will stick out like sore thumbs. Also, if we're living together, it would seem a good thing to get to know everyone. So far, Michael's the geek, Charlotte's the eccentric bodyguard, Izzy is the daydreamer, Aiden's a jerkwad, and you are something I don't know."

She smiled. "Well, like Izzy I'm a bit spacey. I enjoy barbecues and long walks on the beach...now I feel stupid."

"No, no, it was a great start. As for me, I'm a bit on the smartie side like Michael, but not quite as odd. I've always been told I was smart, and apparently gave great relationship advice to others when I have never experienced such things. People have claimed to be my father, I have a good chemistry with the Internet, and that's where most of my memories stop."

"Are you easy to freak out?"

"I'd like to say no for that. I don't really know. Why?"

Ami fiddled with her fingers. "One of my memories is blood. More specifically, the doctor kind."

"Oh. Thing is, I could have sworn there weren't doctor kinds of blood. The more you know, huh? I don't remember anything about family or doctors. Just some blurry images of what strikes me as friends and a love of gadgets. You could say I was a hermit."

"Was?"

"Well, seeing as how now I'm almost forced to communicate with everyone if I want to live has pulled me out of my shell. Not that I dislike it or anything, it's just weird to be outside like this. Almost surreal."

"Well, Michael has a theory of this world. He thinks that we're all in a video game called Minecraft, and we need to defeat some big boss called the...uh..." Ami scratched her head. "Shoot. It started with an E, I swear." Luke blew out a low whistle. "Well if that's true, it's no wonder I excel. It's like I'm in one weird online server with a bunch of random people I've never met. Tip for the future: don't go on video chats with people you don't know. It can lead to horrible things. Horrible, horrible things."

"Noted. But the thing is, Michael thinks we can take on this boss guy. I'm not exactly the fighting type of the group."

"Neither am I, but I guess if we ever want to get out of here then it ends up being survival of the fittest. Bummer how things work out like that, huh?"

"Yeah." Ami stared at the ground thoughtfully. "Well, enough of this depressing talk. Are you okay with the standard get-to-know-you type of questions?"

"It's a guilty pleasure that I must carry with me." Luke shrugged, flipping his bangs out of his face.

"Oh, you're in for the earful of your life." Ami rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Favourite colour?"

"Ocean blue. The streak can kind of give that away, though. Animal?" he fired back.

"Red! Cats! Uaaaah! Style of music?"

Luke grinned. "Metal! Time of day?"

The two kept up their constant questions until the group reached the fork in the road, where everyone said a short farewell. Charlotte, Izzy, and Aiden headed left, and Ami, Luke, and Michael stuck right, just like the plan.

"How do you two come up with so many questions?" Michael moaned after the millionth time Luke and Ami yelled answers for their favourite tree in view.

"Think of improv games, and how they keep your mind whirring. It's good to stay creative, so then in a fight you can do the weird stuff that audiences in movies love!" Ami bounced beside him happily.

"I don't see how that works in a logical sense." Michael raised an eyebrow.

"You're looking at it from the wrong way! Just relax, lay loose, and have some fun once in a while." Luke grinned toothily at him.

"Well, one of us needs to be on the lookout for anything that could be out here."

Luke sighed. "Michael, honey, listen. It's the middle of the day. Unless we go rummaging through some old cave, there's nothing that will just out and attack us, right?"

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to be too careful! Both of you know that we only have one life." A cold silence swept itself over the trio.

"That was a bit icy." Luke looked down.

"Sorry."

Luke shook his head. "Chill. Everyone's on edge lately since Jack died. I'm just happy that I've seen us so upbeat today. It's like everyone woke up on the right side of the bed. Well, everyone except Aiden."

Michael chuckled. "You're right. Even though we are in darker times, today feels oddly refreshing. Like we're all starting fresh. Not that we'll ever forget Jack, mind, but it's like we can learn to make things right again. Know what I mean?"

"I've almost forgotten how smart you talk, Michael." Ami giggled. "But yeah. I know I feel better than I did earlier. I actually have Luke to thank for that. Weird, you seemed so cold when I first saw you when Charlotte broke down the door. You were fairly antisocial."

"I know," Luke bit his lip. "I was in a pessimistic state of mind. Eventually, I just let it go and started talking to people. Izzy was the first person I conversed with, actually. She's really...weird."

"You have no idea." Michael shuddered. "Let's just say that the physics of a marshmallow should never be discussed with someone like her. I'd suggest a more simple route of conversation with her. Like cotton candy."

"Ooh, cotton candy." Ami smacked her lips. "Is there any of that in this world?"

Michael chuckled. "Unfortunately, no, but I'm sure you're aware that there is cake."

"It's what's kept my sweet tooth from destroying all I hold dear."

"You'll be happy to know that I packed an extra big cake with me."

Ami's face lit up in excitement. "Whoo! Cake party!"

"Yes and no," Michael couldn't conceal a smile. "I was thinking of throwing a little party for all of us, like we could make a date where we celebrate what we have. In this case, we just have a little fun with the people we have and get to know them a little better."

"Excuse me?" Luke said. "Have a little fun? Ami, I think we've influenced him. Call the doctors!" They laughed.

"Believe it or not, I've been planning this for longer than just today. I'm thinking more last week I figured I would do something like this. Unlike you guys, I plan in advance." Michael smirked smugly.

"Is that really why we're going to the other house?" Ami asked.

"No, I actually do have a bunch of things stored there in case I ever needed to get some of it." Just then, a thought struck Ami that required attention. In fact, Ami herself was surprised that she didn't think of this earlier.

"Michael, how long have you lived in this world?" she held a steady gaze on him.

"Well," he started, looking to the sky as he hummed in thought. "At least a few months, I'd say. How long have you been here?"

Ami stopped in her tracks. "Maybe a couple weeks. Our first day here was when Jack and I ran into you. You were here far longer than any of us. How long? It must have taken you days to build both of your houses..."

"Uh, see there's a problem with your reasoning."

"What?" Ami spoke in a monotone.

"I have three houses."

"You have what." Ami stared Michael down as they sat down to eat. She shoved a potato in her mouth, not daring to let her eyes wander away.

"Three houses. One where we've been living, the one we're going to, and another in the sky."

"What."

"A friend and I managed to build this amazing mansion in the sky, because once we figured out this world's physics, anything was possible. So we built a giant mansion in the sky and called it home for a while. I still know where it is, if you guys ever want to go to it. I don't know if my friend's still there, though. He likes to travel." Michael took an uncertain sip of water.

"Slow the firetruck down. You have a mansion. In the bloody sky." Ami ate another potato, clearly not ready to drop the subject.

Michael sighed. "Yes, I do."

"Who's this friend you mentioned?" Luke asked, sitting cross-legged and munching on a carrot.

"He's uh, different. He told me to call him Steve, and when I asked him about what he remembered from his previous life, he told me he didn't have one. We got into a talking, and from what I have gathered, Steve was born in this world and has lived here his entire life."

"So if we're in a game..." Luke mumbled.

"He could be classed as an NPC, yes. It was weird, though. Steve acted like any of us would. Not like any of the villagers I've met in this world. The villagers are honestly...stupid. I won't even gloss it over. The last time I was in a village one of the villagers set fire to their house. Absolutely idiots."

"There's villagers here, too?!" Ami exclaimed. "How much do I not know about this place?!"

"Considering you still forget how to make a simple pickax I worry about the other things that roam about in your head."

"Hey-" she started, but was interrupted.

"I think we should to to this place. The castle in the sky, you could say. If your friend is there, we could learn so much from him. Imagine it - living here your entire life. His knowledge about this world could be phenomenal!" Luke's eyes glimmered with fascination.

"He's pretty cool about it, to be honest. More interested in where I came from than anything. He wanted to help me in finding my lost memories, but there's no potion or material to cure it. So we went to the Nether." Michael put down his glass and nibbled on an apple.

"Didn't you say something about that place earlier?" Ami cocked her head.

"Yeah. It's the place where we can get the items that will lead us to the Ender Dragon. It's also a minefield of death at every step. We didn't last the night. Retreated back to the regular world when we were too injured to carry on. But he still swore that he would find a way. Even if he had to kill the Ender Dragon himself. Steve's one crazy guy."

Ami downed her drink. "I agree with Luke on this, and I'm sure everyone else will. We need to go to your mansion. House. Flying thing. Whatever. Like he said, if Steve is there we can get a bunch of knowledge out of him."

"I'll admit he knows more about this place than me." Michael nodded. "Sure, I'll take everyone up once we get back to the usual place. It's in that direction anyway. Anyway, we better get moving. It's not that far from here, I believe." He got up and stretched, gazing at the sun. "Let's keep up the pace, okay?" And then they were off.

It was nearing sundown every second that passed, and worry only began to grow with the group. They were in the desert, with what looked like nothing awaiting them a warm welcome home. Michael stopped in his tracks after a while, digging in his pocket for something - a metallic earpiece.

"Hello? Charlotte? Can you hear me?" He tapped the earpiece. A look of relief crossed over his face as a muffled tone was heard over the receiver. "You're all okay? Great. Are you in the desert? ...Yeah? Right. Just follow the trail of torches and you should see us in no time. Y-Yeah. Okay. See you soon. Bye." Michael pressed a button on the earpiece and stuck it back in his pocket.

"You still have that?" Ami wondered in amazement after Michael patted his pocket.

"Of course," he said. "For things like this, they're mighty useful. Charlotte's group should be here in no time. They're in the desert and following a trail of torches I made."

"You mean that trail?" Luke glanced to the side.

"Precisely."

It didn't take long for three silhouettes to become visible in the distance. Charlotte's booming voice and Izzy's happy singsong tone was enough to alert anything from a mile away. Izzy was the first to run over, ecstatic and excited to see the rest of the group. Once everyone had gotten together, Michael gathered the attention once more.

"Okay, so I'm going to blow your minds here," He walked over to a patch of sand and stomped on the ground. Immediately, the sand disappeared and a set of trapdoors were visible. Upon opening and entering them, the group was greeted with an underground room that, despite the bizarre location, had almost nothing in it. Sandstone aligned the walls, keeping the structure firmly in place. A singular bed was in the corner, as well as a few chests were scattered about.

"I brought extra beds for all of us, since only the one is here. It's sundown now, so I'd suggest we all get ready to sleep. I know I'm exhausted." The only one who took no surprise in their location was Michael. The rest of the group, however, was completely transfixed with this secret room.

"How did you even find this?!" Ami shouted, running around the room like a maniac. The thrill of a secret place like this had her heart pounding.

"I built it." Michael stated. "There's a cave that I barricaded where I was exploring and then I found this open space. I was tired so I made quick work and made a small base. Now it's become a storage centre for all my gems and whatnot. Neat, huh?"

"No kidding." Charlotte put her hands on her hips. "Well, I'd hate to agree with ya, but I am tired after that trek. Sleep time, y'all!" she announced.

Once the rest of the beds were quickly set up, the gang all retired to their beds, exhausted from a long day. And for the first time in three days, Ami fell into a joyful, dreamy sleep.

13: Cake Party

"You did not." Charlotte's jaw dropped open.

"I did." Michael grinned, seeming to enjoy telling this story. "And we're going there once we're finished collecting supplies."

"Oh my god!" she squealed, a light in her eyes. Ami giggled quietly, never having seen Charlotte this excited. Michael had just told the rest of the group about this miraculous mansion in the sky, which hadn't been taken seriously at first, until Luke and Ami agreed with him. Now everyone was just as excited as Ami was.

"But we have to make it through here, right? Once we're done loading up we'll head back home and then set off for the other other house."

"You should really name your houses." Ami said, lying across the floor.

"Er - I'm not good with names." He scratched his arm.

"Clearly." Ami shook her head, pausing to think. "How about this place is Rucksack?"

"Or, or, or ... The Den?" Izzy pitched in, a smile spread across her dreamy face.

"Base Gamma!"

"Cotton Candy!"

"You all suck at names." Michael pressed his hand to his face.

"Then let's combine them," Ami rubbed her hands together, as a soft 'oh no' was heard from Michael. "The Cotton Candy Gamma Rucksack Den slash Base!"

"I'm not okay with this." he grumbled.

"I think that's fairly solid - providing you can remember it." Charlotte nodded.

"So...the CCGRDslashB!" Ami jumped up. "I love it!"

"I'm surrounded by idiots." Michael groaned.

"Well," Michael stood, dusting off his hands. Everyone turned their heads to look at him from the floor. "I think this should be more than enough to take home. We'll all have gleaming armour in no time!" A collective cheer rose from the crowd. "So I'm saying that, we should leave early tomorrow to make it back home in time for dinner. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" Ami saluted. Michael smiled, looking relieved.

"Wait," she said, confused. "What'll we do until night rolls around? It's the middle of the day."

"Glad you brought that up, Ami!" Michael clapped his hands together. "I think you guys should go out and explore for a bit. Don't go too far out though. I'd say keep together, too. I have to do a bunch of cleaning up in here yet, so I'll stay here. Come back before sundown."

"I think you oughta take a break once in a while, Mike." Charlotte crossed her arms.

"You'll work yourself to death!" A murmur of agreement and nods followed her statement.

"N-no. I need to get some crap together, okay? Trust me." He held up his hands defensively. Charlotte gave him a long, hard look.

"A'ight." she sighed. "Let's get outta here!" She ushered everyone up the ladder that lead outside, giving a final glance to Michael who meekly waved in thanks.

"Well now what?" Aiden stuck his boot in the sand. There was a moment of silence where glances were thrown around. Luke, ok the other hand, smirked and spoke up.

"I think it's annoy Aiden day. See? They both start with an A so that's how you know it'll be a great thing." he chuckled.

"It could be worse," Ami brushed the sand off of her pants. "It could be shove sand in Aiden's face day. But it doesn't work out very well."

"What's this about shovin' sand in Aiden's face?" Charlotte climbed out of the trapdoor, shutting it on her way out.

"Nothing." Aiden scoffed, marching away on his own.

Charlotte sighed. "That boy's gonna have to learn how to mingle sooner or later." She shook her head.

Ami stared after the pink haired boy that was already fading away in the distance.

"I'll stick with him." she found herself saying. "Otherwise he'll probably get lost."

"Go for it." Charlotte shrugged.

"Good luck." Luke called, raising an eyebrow. Ami darted after the vaguely visible figure, yelling at him as she went.

"What are you doing?" he asked once she had caught up.

"Well...you need...huff...someone to...huff...make sure you come back." Ami panted. "Can we stop for a sec?" He stopped in his tracks, allowing Ami to collapse on the ground.

"Whew!" she gasped. "I need to get out more often. Hey, when did we get on grassy ground again? Aiden? Aiden!" She looked up from the ground only to find that Aiden had already started trotting away. After catching up to him again, she stood in front of him.

"Okay listen," she started.

"No thanks. I'm leaving."

"Don't be an angry idiot, no one likes an angry idiot!"

"No one likes a regular idiot. Don't you get it? No one likes me, either." He stomped off. Ami went after him. "Wait, what? No, no, no, no. Don't go. I like you! You're not bad!"

He scoffed. "One in a million. You know just as well as I do that I don't have a use here. It was only a matter of time until I finally got the balls to get out. Tell everyone that I left and I'm not coming back."

"Aiden-" Ami grabbed on to his arm.

"Just let go. If...If you can let go of Jack, you can let go of me." The words seemed to hurt him as he spoke. The blow hit her hard, her grip loosening. Without a word, Aiden continued on his way.

"No." Ami regained control of herself. Aiden stopped in his tracks.

"What?" he said.

"If you're going to leave...we're all coming with you."

"Yeah, right. You see how they treat me."

"You'll die out there alone!"

"I don't care!"

"If you don't care, then come back with me and we can talk about this inside!"

"Fine! Maybe I do care. But you were walking hand in hand with everyone else when Luke started dissing me. You can't say for a second that you sympathize with me!"

"Haven't you heard of lightening the mood?!"

"At another's expense. How fitting that it's me. Sorry Ami, but my mind is made up."

She watched as he tried to step away again, but Ami had had enough. She grabbed hold of Aiden's hand, her grip like a fly trap for his hand.

"What do you think you're - ?! Hey!" he yelled.

Ami didn't know how she did it, but somehow she managed to drag Aiden all the way back to camp, where the rest of the party, excluding Michael, sat and talked. They looked up upon her arrival, most shocked. Luke was more confused than anything.

"You brought him back?" The look he gave her was uncertain and doubtful.

"As far as we know, we're the only people that exist in this world. It would be best to keep everyone in one piece so long as we can. I'm not willingly losing another person." A guilty silence befell the crowd. "You'd all do best to be friendly." Ami finally let go of Aiden's wrist, a bright red mark left behind from her grasp.

"I suppose I should thank you, but I can't see what it is I'm thankful for." Aiden muttered, rubbing where the rose-red mark was.

"Apology accepted." Ami bit her lip nervously.

"I suppose it's all of us at fault, then?" Charlotte stepped forward. "It...It was right wrong of us to...to patronize and discriminate ya. Can I speak for all of y'all when I say sorry?" A couple nods here and there, from all except Luke.

"Have you forgotten what he's done? Your little friend Aiden brought forth the ambush of monsters that killed one of our own! He basically murdered Jack!"

"Jack's death was an accident, and you know it!" Aiden fired back.

"And so the guilty party admits their crime." Luke drawled. "I think that you intentionally lured those thing to the house. You wanted someone to die." He had gotten to his feet by now, and was getting closer and closer to Aiden's face.

"Liar," Aiden countered. "How was I supposed to know that they would all follow me?"

"Surely by now you wouldn't be so stupid as to think they wouldn't. You know, I think you wanted more people to die. Not just Jack. Perhaps Charlotte, the one that saved both of our skins."

"No,"

"Or even Ami, the only one foolish enough to have a heart for a killer like you."

"Shut up!" He struck Luke, his fist colliding with his jaw.

"You son of a-" Aiden hit him again, angrier.

"Boys!" Charlotte yelled, stepping in between them, holding Aiden's wrist and Luke's incoming fist with her arms. "That's enough! Brawling among us is the last thing we need to happen, alright?! If I see either of you hit another person ever, you'll deal with me at the reigns. Now break it up." The power of her words seemed to strike something within both boys, as their bodies grew less tense and drifted away from each other.

"Fine." Aiden stared at the grainy sand.

A rustle from beneath them shook the trapdoors open. Michael's head popped out, worn and exhausted but enthusiastic.

"Come in." he said, a smile on his face.

"You did this?!" A breathless Charlotte held a hand over her heart, her eyes taken with wonder. Michael really had gone all out on his decorations. Flowers of all kinds were sitting in small pots around the room, their colours bringing light to the dreary cave. Among these flowers vines had been hung up, adding more to the jungle vibe. Picture frames, some of them depicting images of swords and other weapons. were alongside vivid and vibrant banners. A music box was playing an upbeat tune in the corner. The decoration had completely changed the once dark and gloomy cave, and had turned it into something new and wonderful.

"Yes," Michael said with gusto. "I did. Tonight, my friends, we feast." He pointed to the table, which was covered in a thick pile of cake, while other foods were scattered around it.

"Michael..." Ami said, taking it all in. "This is...amazing. I can't...wow."

"Yeah," he said. "I did it." He seemed to be taken away himself, the smile on his face not daring to break.

Luke clapped his hands together. "Well, what are we standing here for? I say we have some fun! And that cake looks like a great place to start." Wide grins spread across everyone's faces - even Aiden - as they all dug down into the giant pile of cake and goodies. Ami and Luke had a contest to see who could eat the most cake, Izzy started singing along to the music, and Ami swore she saw Aiden laugh a couple times. As the party went on, no one seemed ready to rest.

"What's this song called, anyway?" Izzy asked Michael at the table. The cake, though long gone,

"Er...blocks, I think. I found it on one of my adventures."

"One? Have you been on many? Please tell! I do love stories." She rested her chin on her hands, her curly hair pooling over the table.

"That's right. You never did go into detail about these 'adventures'. Considering we have the time, why not have all of us share a story or two? It can't hurt." Charlotte swirled a glass of water in it's cup.

"Alright, I suppose." He cleared his throat. "Well, how about the last one I had? With Steve, I mean. Hmm, let's see..." Michael scratched his head thoughtfully. "We just went to the house in the sky, actually. We had been planning on taking down one of the bosses that we'd spent days researching. Months, maybe, if you push it. Anyway, uh, we wanted to try our luck at a beast called the Wither. It's this floating, skeletal being with three heads. It's all black, like Endermen, with purple eyes and such for each head. Steve and I found it, battled for what felt like forever, and then...we lost." He frowned. "And...in the battle, it was chaos. We didn't think it would be so powerful. We ended up being forced to split up, and here I am. Now with more people than I could ever imagine."

"There's only six of us, silly!" Izzy giggled. "Maybe we could try beating the Wither! Since there's so many of us, we could just...ka-pow!" She shot her fist in the air, falling backwards on the soft, cyan carpet.

"Show me you can successfully slay off a horde of monsters, and you have a seat reserved on the Wither Train." He smiled at her enthusiasm. "What's your story, then?"

Izzy put a finger to her chin. "So far my greatest adventure has been this one! But when I first got here, I found Aiden in a jungle. So we wandered for a bit until the jungle wore out, and Luke was there, alone. So we took him in for a while and slept in the trees. The stars sure are beautiful, weren't they? I'm not sure if we slept at all, but soon enough we were on the road again. We started to get rather hungry, which was trifling because we hadn't a clue where to get food from. I suppose it was lucky I saw an apple on the ground. We searched through all the trees and made out with enough to keep us happy for a few days. Hm, we just explored around for a while and then met Miss Charlotte one day. She was on a walk and came right up to us. Forgive me, my story isn't that exciting." she blushed softly.

"Isn't that exciting? To a normal person, any of our stories are not exactly run of the mill. We're in a different world, for crying out loud! Don't apologize. Besides, both Aiden and my story are roughly the same as yours." Luke shrugged, running his fingers through his hair.

"Pretty much." Aiden agreed.

"Have I told the story of Jack and I?" Ami proposed. A collective shake of heads straightened Ami's back. "Well, it's kind of similar to Izzy's story. Actually, a lot similar. I found Jack freaking out because square hands, and we formed an alliance for a bit as we chopped trees down with our fist. We slept under the stars too, but got ambushed by a Creeper. When I ran ahead I ended up bumping into Michael, and then we went back for Jack. Then we lived with Michael for a bit, ended up finding Charlotte on one of our adventures and hung out with her for a bit. Then she left, found you guys, and here we are. Funny how things work out like this, huh?"

"No kidding." Luke blew a low whistle. "What about you, Charlotte?"

"Mine's short 'n sweet. Woke up here, lived in the caves till I got a spark to explore. Then I met all of y'all and decided I'd stay fer a bit. Ta-da."

"When you said short and sweet, you really meant it." Ami smirked. "So now that our little therapy session is over, what now? There isn't any cake left, is there?"

"You ate all of it." Luke pointed out.

"Right."

"Well, it's well into the night. Should we at least attempt to sleep a little?" Michael suggested.

"Aww..." Izzy complained. "I was enjoying it. Do we have to?"

"...No. We don't. Whether or not you sleep is something I cannot control. But the fact that one of us, most likely me, wants to sleep, is my own problem. Goodnight, all." With a final smile, he walked towards the beds, collapsing on his. The rest of the group, at a loss for something to do and dreading the next day's travel, ended up in the same place as Michael. Their rest came swiftly and seemed to last momentarily, for soon the sun had risen again, and the group was ready to head home once more.

14: Castle in the Sky

"Ami." The voice came slow and drawn out, as if someone was lingering on every letter. "Ami?" The voice came again, and Ami was starting to think that it was directed at her. "Ami!" She jolted out of her thoughts, blinking and suddenly seeing a grassy ground underfoot. Lifting her head, Ami's eyes centered on the one who had gotten her attention.

"You must have been zoned out pretty good there," Luke shook his head in bewilderment. "I was just wondering if you had any food on you."

"Oh, yeah. Want some bread?" She looked through her inventory and spotted a fine stack of pastry. He nodded, and she threw a loaf over to him. Luke took a huge bite and smiled. "Thanks." he said through a mouthful, covering his lips with his hand. Ami smiled and nodded, turning her gaze to the road ahead. She could recognize by now that they were almost home, the familiar layout of trees and land triggered the memories she had of the place.

"So guys," Michael turned from his place up front. "Once we finish our stop here, I think we'll be able to make it to the other house. It's not that far, actually. So I'd say empty some of the stuff we all have and reload on food and other supplies. We can craft a bunch of things later. Understood?" He scanned his eyes across the crowd. No one protested or made a move to object, so he muttered a small "Okay," and spiraled himself around again just as the group came to the last bend in the trail. Everyone felt the simultaneous relief of the house, piling in and setting to unload almost everything they carried.

All diamond that was collected went in its own chest, as requested by Michael. But by this point, everyone knew how Michael was about organization, so they automatically put it all in the same chest. Before they knew it, it was time to head out once more.

"We've been walking for a while, haven't we?" Izzy asked worriedly, playing with her hair idly.

"Don't worry, it's not far. I know where I'm going." Michael reassured. "We wanted to keep this place a secret, actually, so there's no trail leading to it. Steve and I memorized the entire layout of the area."

"Okay..." Izzy bit her lip, gazing at the upcoming sunset. "It's almost night." she added.

"I know. We're close, I can feel it. If you're worried, just have your sword close by." Michael drew his, and smiled at her. Izzy half smiled, keeping her hand on the hilt of her sword.

As the group walked on, the night became darker and darker. Soon enough, the world was encased in a inky sea of darkness, and visibility became limited. Michael would go one direction, take a quick look, then shake his head and turn around. The stress of the night was wearing down on him, and he became more antsy and anxious at each wrong turn.

"Darn it!" he yelled at a rock. "There's supposed to be a mountain here!"

"Wasn't there one a couple minutes behind us?" Ami faintly remembered a tall mountain that loomed so high she couldn't see over top it.

"Yes, but it wasn't like the one that I remember!"

"Well...shouldn't we at least try?" Charlotte crossed her arms. Michael clenched his fist, then unclenched it.

"Yeah," he muttered, already heading back. Sure enough, after a little bit of backtracking, the tall mountain stood before them, seemingly impassable. Michael cleared his throat and turned glumly to the group. "We need to scale this mountain." he said simply.

"Excuse me what?" Aiden blinked.

"Scale the mountain." Michael repeated.

"I'm not exactly the greatest person to do that...I can't even lift weights!" he objected.

"Neither can I. Jeez..." He cranked his neck to try and see the top of the mountain, but couldn't. "I haven't gone up here in forever. This should be interesting. All we have to do is jump from the next boulder to the next, and so on. We can only be careful." He didn't know what else to say, so he began to hoist himself up on the rocks. The mountain itself was incredibly tall, without much to grab onto for climbing. It was thin for such a towering figure; the dull greys of the rocks being the only thing anyone could see. The others followed after Michael, and soon passed him as they climbed. Aiden sped through it, jumping to and fro like a gazelle skipping through a field.

"Hey, don't go too fast!" Charlotte warned, watching his movements.

"I just want to get it over with!" he called back, continuing to keep his own pace. Charlotte scoffed, shook her head, and offered a hand to Luke, one of those who was falling behind. He wheezed a small thanks, pausing to catch his breath. After a moment, he went on. Charlotte glanced down again, and saw Michael clinging to one of the boulders.

"Comin'?" she asked.

"Of course. Just, ah, catching my breath." He tapped the rock with his hand, remaining still. Charlotte nodded, turned to Ami who had been watching the scene, and told her to go on ahead. She went, catching up with the rest of the crew.

"Michael," Charlotte crouched down. "Come here."

"I'm trying."

"You know that sayin' of puttin' one foot in front o' the other? You ought to do that."

Michael tightened his grip on the rocks.

"I can't."

"And why's that?"

"You know why." A forlorn look crossed over his face. Charlotte looked at him for a long time, and sighed. "Alright now you listen up. I need you to jump over to me. I can catch you and then we'll go from there."

Michael paled. "No, I can make it on my own."

"Mike, I need you to trust me. I don't like taking people out of their comfort zones, but this is different. Jump."

"No."

"Jump."

"No."

"JUMP!" Charlotte bellowed, loud enough for the people ahead to stop and gaze down at the two. Michael tensed up, but took a run and leaped off the edge with his eyes shut tightly. Charlotte lunged forward just enough and grabbed his hand; Michael slamming into the new boulder and getting winded. She pulled him up quickly with a grunt and set him down beside her.

"Not that, bad, huh?" she chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. Michael groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Let's not do that again," He gazed at Charlotte and smiled. "but thank you."

"No problem," she said. "But we'd better get out of here. It's well into the night and a miracle we haven't encountered anything. Besides, we've made quite a scene."

She stretched and looked upwards. "And wouldn't ya know it, we're almost there." Michael stood and let his eyes follow Charlotte's. He could indeed see that yes, the top was near them. He could also see the several pairs of eyes staring down at him. Michael cleared his throat and grabbed onto the closest rock and climbed up. Charlotte chuckled quietly and followed after him.

At last, the journey upwards had come to a close, but that did not mean that the adventure had in anyway. They still had to navigate around the top of the mountain.

"We have to be close, right?" Ami asked, starting to get worried herself.

"I'm 90% sure that we're almost there. I promise." Michael seemed to be getting excited. "I'll warn you now though, I haven't been to this place in a while myself, so I can't assure the state of it."

Izzy shrugged. "That doesn't matter, so long as we have somewhere safe to- AGH!" She grasped her shoulder, where an arrow firmly stuck out.

"Are you okay?!" Ami rushed to her.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Where did that come from?" She glanced over where the arrow had been fired from. Nothing was visible.

"I'll go check. It was probably a Skeleton." Aiden drew his sword and jogged away before anyone could object. A moment of silence, and then a loud yell form Aiden confirmed the presence of something. The figure of Aiden came rushing back, looking pale and green. "More than a Skeleton..." he muttered, coughing. "Spiders."

Michael swore under his breath. "We're so close. Okay...let's take these guys out and make a break for it!" He held his sword in the air and yelled, rushing where Aiden had come from, and was soon greeted by monsters. Spiders and Skeletons scurried after them, lunging and firing arrows like mad. Michael narrowly dodged a couple arrows, but was hit regardless. Ami slashed at a horde of spiders, killing many of them as they screeched a final cry. Luke fought alongside her, impaling an airborne spider. It disappeared in a cloud of smoke and dropped a small amount of string.

Elsewhere, Izzy deflected an arrow with the blade of her azure sword and gave a final blow to a Skeleton. Aiden, who still looked rather green, took out a couple Creepers that had joined the fight. Explosion after explosion sounded, and things were starting to look bad. Then Michael jumped in, fending off the explosive flora and getting a couple wounds himself. Charlotte ran around assisting wherever she could, taking down spiders and Skeletons and Creepers and even an Enderman that had appeared. They all went down under her mighty fist, bursting into clouds of smoke and dropping items.

"They just won't stop!" Izzy cried, gazing around her at the newly spawned mobs that surrounded them.

"Michael! We need to retreat!" Luke shouted, taking down a Creeper just before it would have exploded. Michael gritted his teeth. There was no end to them!

"Alright! Let's get out of here! Stick together!" Everyone made a break for it, blindly charging forward into an endless shadow. The night became darker than it ever had, and visibility was slim to none.

"I can't see! Where are you guys?!" Ami called, sticking her hands out to try and feel her way around.

"G-Guys...look up." Izzy gulped, her head cranked upwards. Ami turned her head and gazed above her. A large, wooden box sat hovering above them, casting an enormous shadow across the mountain. Vines dangled down from the edges of the box and a large platform that went up towards the box could be seen.

"That's it! We've found it! That's the house in the sky!" Michael laughed, rushing to the ladder-like platform. The rest of the group hastily followed him, the mobs still on their tail.

"Grab onto the vines and climb!" Michael ordered as everyone drew closer. He took hold of a set of vines and pulled himself upwards to the massive structure that lay before them. Without a second glance back, the group grabbed the relatively sturdy vines and pulled themselves up. As Ami looked ahead, what once appeared to be a box revealed itself to be an incredibly large house covered in vines. It was clear that nobody had been here in a while, as the place looked like it had gone to ruin.

"There's a spot ahead where we can stop and catch our breath!" Michael pointed not far ahead where a small wooden platform stuck out large enough to hold a couple people. This platform proved to be quite petite when all six members of the group made an effort to pile onto it. As the last person, Luke, climbed on and wiped his brow, Ami looked underneath them, where the mobs all stared up at them, their glowing eyes piercing in the night.

"That was too close for comfort." she said with a sigh.

"No kidding." Luke stood beside her. They watched as the crowd of monsters soon dissipated, as the knowledge that they couldn't reach them dawned upon them. The monsters walked aimlessly around, until one caught fire. The Skeleton in question jumped around as it burned, eventually bursting into another puff of smoke.

"Aw. I kind of feel bad now." Ami saw another catch fire, and a few zombies began to experience the same misfortune.

"But look at that," Luke pointed to the oncoming sunrise, a mellow blend of orange and coral that cast a ray of warmth to the group.

"Sure is pretty," Charlotte smiled, crossing her arms. "Dontcha agree, Mike?"

Michael crept beside her, trying not to look down and instead at the sunrise. "It truly never gets old." he said. "But, ah, I don't want to seem like a downer, but I think we should take a peek at the house now, hm?"

"Holy crap I totally forgot!" Izzy exclaimed, suddenly jumping at the idea and running to the vines.

"Suppose that's a yes." Michael grinned to himself, joining her and climbing to the top.

Once the group rejoined at the top of the vine ladder, Michael stood back and gave the house a once-over.

"It's really...rustic, you know?" he said. Vines had overgrown over the entire house, trailing off of the edges and barricading the entrance. Michael made quick work of it and tore them down to reveal four wooden doors. He opened them, and walked into a wide, open room.

"Wow..." Ami whispered under her breath. "This is amazing!" The walls were decked with vines and paintings of all sorts of things. One long painting depicted a man in black clothing walking away from the painting. There were others as well, like one of a Creeper head and another of two men dressed as if they were in a Kung-Fu movie, preparing to fight. Other pictures of items hung upon the walls over pedestals that held the heads of monsters. A Zombie, spider, Skeleton, Creeper, and another black head that Ami couldn't identify were present. A table sat in the middle of the room, and chests sat around the walls. There was also a table with a levitating book above it against the wall as well.

"Make yourselves at home, I suppose." Michael grinned.

"I'll say it right now - this is breathtaking. How long did the two of you work on this?!" Izzy said in wonderment, her green eyes wide and excited.

"Who knows. It could have been months, as far as I know. But, I can definitely say that it was worth it." He gazed around the room in pride, like a father to his child.

"Now if I remember correctly, there's a passageway hidden around here that leads to another room..."

"You have hidden passageways?! You guys must have had a lot of free time!" Izzy exclaimed.

"Hey, uh, before we find those, does anyone have any grub? I'm starved." Ami awkwardly butted in, grinning. There was a small space of silence where everyone took a moment and simply looked at Ami, and then the rest of the space was filled with laughter.

"I suppose that's a good idea." Michael chuckled, walking over to a chest and pulling a few chickens out. "Feast on!" As the food was passed out, the group broke into their normal chatter, filling the once empty house with life again.

15: Exploration

The day had worn all of them out, even though the sun had only just risen. After a dreadful night of fending off monsters and getting lost; Ami, Michael, Izzy, Charlotte, Aiden, and Luke finally found the rumoured castle in the sky, a creation of Michael and his friend, Steve. But their adventure couldn't be over yet, as one problem soon surfaced.

"So, where are the beds?" Ami asked, taking a last bite of chicken.

"Uh," Michael started, rubbing his chin. "We might have to find them. See, we thought it would be fun if we had this giant room and those hidden passageways that lead to a living room and bedroom and stuff. The idea of convenience didn't occur to us."

"Well...should we start looking?" Izzy said, her eyes full of excitement.

"Of course. If you guys see anything out of place, tell me and we can investigate, okay?" Michael stood, brushed off his hands, and set to examining the walls for anything suspicious. Izzy, who couldn't contain herself any longer, bounded around the house in great leaps, squealing and investigating everything she could lay her eyes on. Soon everyone was keeping their eyes peeled for a sign of anything mysterious.

"Hey what about over here?" Luke called, near the displays of monster heads and pictures of items. "This vine...it goes straight up, and there's no glass up there. Is that it?" The group centered around Luke, and sure enough, right in between a Zombie head and a Creeper skull, a long vine stretched all the way to the ceiling. Upon looking at the glassy windows above, a segment was missing where the vine had covered an empty spot.

"I think so," Michael grinned. "Let's find out." He took hold of the vines and climbed his way up to where the vines separated the glass, and disappeared into the gap. "Oh ho!" his voice was slightly muffled. "Come on up, you've got a lot to see." Everyone traded glances and followed suit. Ami grabbed hold of the vines last, climbing up and swinging herself into the small gap of vines, surprised to find her feet hitting the wooden floor easily. She stabilized herself, and then looked at the jungle-themed room before her.

It was significantly smaller than the main room, but that didn't mean that it was any less prepossessing than it in any way. Vines dangled from the ceiling, similar to the main room, only this tiny room was composed of seven delicately placed chests. The room was lit by torches and the daylight from outside. A set of doors sat directly to the right, leading somewhere else.

When Ami stepped up to one of the windows, she was able to see the faint outline of a mountain far below them, as well as the azure sky that stretched farther than the eye could see.

"Wow," she said breathlessly. "This is a nice view."

"It's a little blank, if you ask me." Aiden peered out the window. "There's little to nothing to see."

"Sometimes that's what makes it all the more beautiful."

He shrugged, and stepped down. "Whatever." The group continued on through the wooden doors into a small hallway, after breaking the vines that barricaded it, where more glass and a bench was present. Two blue orchids sat in hazel pots around the bench; and as well with all the other rooms, vines dangled down over every wall.

They came to another small set of doors after breaking more vines, and opened them to find a comfortable seating area. The room was filled with wooden benches and chairs, as well as a table that sat in the middle of the room, a blue orchid sitting in a pot atop it. There were paintings in this room, too, one depicting a skull nest to a crimson rose, and there were Jack-o-Lanterns illuminating the space.

"You guys really went all out, didn't ya?" Charlotte blew a low whistle.

"What can I say? It's our magnum opus." He smiled as he looked around the room, as if recalling memories.

"Well, we certainly found this nice spot - but not the beds. I'm not sure if I'm happy, disheartened, or both." Ami laughed, letting her eyes rest on a painting of a tall man.

"Yeah," Michael agreed. "I think the beds and gallery are a bit of a doozy to find."

"Wait," Izzy stopped him. "Gallery?"

"Oh yeah, we have one of those, too."

"Holy crap!" The excitement had suddenly shot back into her, and she was bouncing in place. "Can we go?!"

"What do you think?" Michael smiled, chuckling as she ran out of the room and most likely back into the main room.

However, these last couple rooms managed to evade the group for the longest time, and Michael had no clue where they could be.

"I'm sorry that I can't be of much help. It's been a long time since I've been in here and, well, you forget things." he apologized.

Ami shook her head. "No way, this place is amazing in itself. We'll find them soon, I'm sure." Aiden scoffed in the background. "Well, if you guys are going to keep looking around for that, I'm gonna take a break outside." He crossed his arms and pushed open the door, disappearing out of sight. Ami sighed.

"You know, I'm not a big fan of Aiden and all, and I really don't know why we still keep him here. I mean, the extra manpower is great, but he's just so..." her words trailed off, as she struggled to find the appropriate word.

"Crude?" Charlotte offered. "Vulgar?"

"Something like that. I don't know why he still hasn't opened up at all with us."

"Who knows." Luke flipped his hair. "I still think we should just boot him out."

Ami rested her head on her shoulder. "But we can't. I can't. It urks me to just throw someone out and leave them defenseless."

"I don't see the problem, really." Luke shrugged. "But whatever. I'll go with the majority. If we need the manpower, we need the manpower. Just don't be surprised if he suddenly turns on us."

"What?" Ami turned to face him, a shocked expression on her face. Before anyone could say anything, the door burst open, and Aiden stood in the doorway. He wore an emotion that none of them had seen before - excitement.

"You guys won't believe what I just found." he said, motioning for them to come out.

Michael made eye contact with Ami, and then went out, followed by Charlotte and Izzy, leaving Luke and Ami alone.

"We'll talk about that later." she said, going out the doors, not bothering to look at Luke's response. Aiden had already started going on about something concerning the outside of the house.

"...So then I thought it would be neat to climb the house and see what was on top. And wouldn't you know it - there's a whole bunch of stuff up there! Come on, I'll show you!" He jumped on the vines, zooming up them at an unnatural speed. Interest had sparked them all, and they each climbed up the sturdy vines to the roof of the house.

A small set of stairs led to a flat surface, where a stone tub of sorts could be seen, as well as a bigger building further away. As they got closer, it was easy to see that the stone tub was scattered with vines as well, and had steps leading up to something orange and bubbling.

"Careful!" Michael warned. "That's straight up lava."

"Seriously?" Izzy made an 'ooh' sound, stepping closer and peering into the fiery depths. "Could we roast marshmallows or something?"

"There are no marshmallows here." Michael informed her. A devastated look appeared on her face, as she stared back into the lava with less enthusiasm than before. "Hot tub, maybe?"

"What's this over here?" Charlotte pointed to a trapdoor in the roof surrounded by four torches.

"That," Michael walked over. "is just what we've been looking for." He opened the trapdoor, falling in and shimmying himself down with the help of a vine ladder.

Everyone followed him down, and were greeted by a very welcome sight. Seven beds circled around a central pillar, which was the same pillar that the vine ladder was located.

Each bed had an assortment of flowers sitting beside it, ranging from vibrant tulips to basic azure bluets. The vines had overgrown massively in this small area, almost concealing the beds from visibility. The room itself had a sort of attic feel to it, and was rather cozy for such a petite place.

Directly below the vines that they had came from, was another trapdoor that lead to something unseen.

"We've found it!" Ami cheered, relief soaking into her body.

"There's one too many though..." Izzy noted.

"Better to have more than less, I always say." Michael shrugged his shoulders, gazing at the trapdoor below them. "You know, I can't remember where this one leads to either."

"So open it and see for yourself." Luke was looking at some aliums that sat in a pot, but then turned to face Michael.

"Okay." He reached down and opened the door, and fell. His yell was loud, and startled everyone. There was a terrifying thud, in which Charlotte ran to the trapdoor, looking through it.

"Michael?!" she called, a touch of fear in her voice. "What happened? Are ya alright?!" Laughter came from below.

"That was a stupid idea." he said, lying on the wooden table in the main room. "I can't believe I agreed to make that part. Ow, that really hurt." He lifted himself slowly, giggling the whole way. "You're free to come down this way, but be warned, it can hurt." Charlotte breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and jumped down after him.

"Ya gave me a bloody heart attack!" she said, landing firmly beside him. "Ah, yer right. That does buckle the knees a bit." Everyone had inevitably decided to take the shortcut to the main room, each landing on the table and enduring the pain of the fall.

"Well," Michael started after most had recovered. "I think we've had a good exploration today. We should discuss what our next move should be though, that would be wise."

"First can we check out the gallery?" Izzy nudged his shoulder.
Michael paused. "Well...I suppose. But I think we should break for a bit. I promise we'll go there in a bit, okay?"

"Okay." Izzy nodded.

"Besides, I still haven't fully recovered the use of my legs." he laughed, wiggling his left leg. Izzy smiled and giggled.

16: Let's Go to Hell

"Woooow!" Izzy swooned over the exotic interior of the gallery. "This is beautiful!" She drifted to the towering columns that had paintings of many things on them. All around the walls were paintings. Paintings of a flaming skull, scenery, skeletons and pigs, and even the classic Donkey Kong hung all around them. As with every room, vines hung from the ceiling, touching down to the floor.

"Okay, now I'm starting to think that you went a little too extreme with this." Ami said, giving Michael a look.

"You're probably right," he shrugged. "But what can I say? I'm a bit of a show off."

"No kidding." Charlotte laughed, cranking her neck to look up at the ceiling. Evidently, there was nothing there, but she resided to gazing at some of the higher placed artwork. "Where did you get these paintings?"

"Who knows? I just made a frame one day, put it on the wall, and you'd bet I was surprised when a full scale Van Gogh made itself appear inside. I think it's all luck depending on what you get, though. It's usually randomized."

"There's a lot about this world that we don't really know, isn't there?" Luke grazed his hand on one of the giant paintings.

"Just you wait." Michael scratched his neck. "I can show you a lot of things."

"Oh?"

"I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death."

"I - uh, what?" Luke blinked, trying to comprehend what Michael had said.

"Don't worry about it, it's a reference to something you probably wouldn't understand. However, there are health potions and the such. But nothing exists to bring someone back from the dead."

"So you're telling me that there's potions in this world."

"And enchantments. Don't even get me started on redstone circuits."

"I think you'll have to give us all a lesson on this. I didn't understand half o' the mumbo jumbo you just said." Charlotte tore her gaze from the paintings and smirked playfully at Michael.

"Should be easy enough, I'd reckon. You're all above-average intelligence, after all." He grinned.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Charlotte stepped forward, a smile stretching across her face.

"Simply that I, dear lady, possess more smarts on this subject, than you." Michael stepped back.

"But ya ain't much of a fighter, right?"

"You're a wise one. I tend to avoid it at all costs if I'm able."

"And if you're not?" They had started to circle around each other, both grinning and on the verge of laughing.

Michael took a bow. "Then, I flee." At that moment, he burst out of the door in a mad dash, chuckling to himself as he sped away.

"I see how it is," Charlotte briefly cracked her neck, and took off after him. The overall abruptness of this scene left the rest of the group to stand there and be bewildered.

"When you said flee, I didn't think you'd be that fast."

"I didn't think you were that slow, either. Sorry about your knee." Michael sat beside Charlotte next to the boiling pit of lava. They had had a joyous time of running and yelling after each other, until Charlotte ended up tripping on a vine and almost falling off the house. After a few moments of panic, Michael had helped her back on to stable ground.

"What, this? I've been through worse. It'll heal in no time. I'm more surprised about how sturdy those vines o' yours are."

"So am I. I suppose that leaving those to grow and run wild ended up being a greater idea than I thought."

"Liar. You haven't been here in ages. You wouldn't have planned such a thing, even if you were mad."

"You think I'm sane?" He expressed a short guffaw. "And what do you think of yourself, then?" Charlotte suddenly went silent, her smile fading into emptiness. She stared down at the lava, avoiding Michael's eyes.

"You'd laugh." she said.

"What? No, I wouldn't. Unless you were to say something amusing, that is. If - If you were going to say something serious, I wouldn't just up and laugh at you. You can tell me."

"I don't really mean to be a downer, honest. I just, ya know, don't often think highly of myself. There are others who think lower. Because of my accent, my sense of humour, my skin..." She wrapped her arms around her knees gingerly. Michael was quiet for a while, struggling to find the words.

"I don't see how those could make you any less of a person," he said. "I mean, look at us. We get along. A lot of the people here look to you as a leader - even Aiden. I can see it sometimes."

"What does that change? So they see me as a leader. It doesn't change what I see."

"Char-"

"Don't. It's just something I have to deal with. Besides, remember when we first met? You couldn't stand to look at me."

"But I let you stay. I know I came off as a jerk, but..." He bit his lip. Charlotte sighed. "I know we're good friends now. I know ya wouldn't think twice if it came to saving any of our lives. You're a good guy, Michael. I don't doubt that. I just doubt myself. But like I said, it's something I deal with. I'm fine, trust me." She stood up, wobbled a little, and headed towards the trapdoor.

"I wouldn't go down there if I were you," he said, jumping up after her. "Your knee is still a bit out of sorts." She continued on her way. "Then come help me down."

Michael sighed and smiled. "As you wish."

"Th-The what?!" Aiden stammered, sweating.

"The Nether. I wanted to put this trip off for longer, but..." He shook his head. "We have to do it now. I know we have obsidian in the chest. Plenty to make a portal. We have a flint and steel, and excellent armour and weapons. If we want to get on with defeating the Ender Dragon, we'll have to go to the Nether and defeat an enemy to get an item called a blaze rod. If we get at least six rods...we can make blaze powder, and combine that with a bunch of Ender Pearls, and then head towards The End."

"English, please." Luke mumbled. Michael sighed.

"We're going to hell to kill demons, pick up their remains, and use it to make an object. Then we throw that object around until it leads us to a magical portal. Then we battle the boss."

"Oh," he suddenly went quiet. "Okay."

Michael walked across the room, his feet clicking against the floor. He opened a chest and dug through it, pulling out ebony blocks that held a slight tint of purple within them.

"Let's go," he said.

Everyone watched in awe as Michael built the portal. He laid out the obsidian in a 4x5 pattern, taking deliberate care where he placed them. They were outside, the sun was starting to set, but it seemed that Michael chose to ignore that warning sign. He stepped back and admired his work, a hollow box.

"Is that it?" Aiden blinked.

"Watch," Michael said, pulling out the flint and steel and lighting a fire on the obsidian. Aiden made a noise as if he was going to retort with something obnoxious, but found that his mouth hung open instead. As the fire burned on the obsidian, it disappeared as quickly as it had came, and a deep, violet vortex had appeared inside the box of obsidian.

The vortex appeared to bubble, small bits and bobs dissipating into the air. But what made everyone uncomfortable with this portal wasn't the ominous appearance of the vortex, but the sounds it made. What sounded like a low bubbling noise, like boiling a pot of water, mixed with a hushed scream to add to the already present tension.

"What is that?" Ami spoke first.

"Quite literally the gateway to hell," Michael said, staring at the portal blankly. "And that's where we're headed. I'll do a quick check of inventory. How much cobblestone?"

"Well over a hundred," Aiden said.

"Food?"

"Plenty enough fer a week," Charlotte answered.

"Weapons?"

"We all have diamond weapons, and armour." Izzy adjusted her helmet as she spoke.

"Okay. Ready? Set...go." He stepped into the portal, soon vanishing into thin air. After he vanished, there was nothing. No one stepped up to go next, no one dared to breathe.

"My turn," Ami's voice quivered as she shakily stepped into the portal. Waves of purple cast themselves across her vision, and before she knew it, the portal had sucked her in.

For a moment, everything was black. There was nothing. No sound, no wind against her face, nada. Ami felt weightless, as if she could float among the emptiness forever. But soon the purple waves smeared themselves across her eyes once more, and a force pulled her aggressively to her feet. Ami wavered in her steps, wobbling as she emerged from the portal again.

"Wait, stop!" Michael yelled from somewhere. Ami couldn't process anything. Her vision was only there in spots, most of it taken up by the waves.

"Don't take another step! Ami, STOP!" She saw a hand reach out for her, making a grabbing motion, but somehow she felt herself slipping away from it. That's when the dread seeped into her body, shocking her brain into granting her full vision at that moment. Michael was on a platform in the air, screaming and reaching out for her. And Ami was falling through the air like a weight.

A/N

(Suspense. Such suspense. Much cliffhanger.)

17: The Nether

Ami saw as Michael began to grow smaller and smaller as she fell. She scrambled to grab on to something - anything. Something clammy and sturdy grabbed her, forcing her fall to come to a stop.

"Hold on, I'll pull you up!" Michael had grabbed a hold of her hand, and clung on tightly to her with both arms. Slowly but surely he was able to pull her up on the small platform. As soon as she was firmly on the ground, Michael set to laying cobblestone down everywhere he could.

"Thank you," Ami said, lying on the ground. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you."

"You'd have done the same for me," he said. "I wouldn't just let go of you that easily. If you can move, can you put some cobblestone in the back? I want to be safe." She nodded, gradually rising into a sitting position and placing stony blocks around them.

In a matter of minutes, the rest of the group began to arrive and pile around on the newly formed platform.

"Holy crap, how high up are we?" Aiden blew a low whistle, staring down below. "Is that an ocean of lava?"

"High enough," Michael muttered, coming to stand before them all. "Okay, so clearly we're going to have to build down from here if we want to get to safe ground. Don't let your guard down. I'll help build the staircase."

"Wait," Charlotte came forward. "I'll do the staircase. You step back fer a minute, gather your bearings. Luke! You can help me." She gently pushed Michael back, motioning for him to go back. He gave her a half smile and leaned against the portal wall.

As Charlotte and Luke carefully went forward and began the descent, Ami took a long, good look around her. Truly, if this was hell, it wasn't far off from what she expected. It was darker than outside, so she had to squint a little. It didn't take her long to realize that they were only a couple feet from touching their heads to the ceiling, though. Everything was made out of some sort of mineral she couldn't recognize. It was a dark shade of crimson and black, the colour mixing together to form an odd texture.

She took a moment to walk around on the small platform Michael had created, smiling to herself as she noticed the fence he had put up around the border. Ami looked down and felt the grin fade from her face. They had to be miles in the air, she could barely see what was underneath them.

Luckily, the ground illuminated itself. A sea of lava threatened their very lives, and it was a simple misstep away. She gulped, daring to look further. Barely in view was a space of dark land, all made of the same, strange substance as the ceiling. It was quite a ways away, Ami realized, and it would take a while to get there. Bummer.

She looked to her left, where she saw Michael placing chests on every corner.

"Do we really need those?" she asked.

"Better safe than sorry. Besides, we an organize a few things while we wait. For instance, I'm putting any extra material in this one." He took out his pickaxe and chipped away at the ceiling. When Ami raised an eyebrow at him, he simply shrugged and said "Netherrack." without any explanation. Ami sighed, drifting into her own thoughts.

"That's so crazy," Aiden said, taking another look at the lava sea.

"Isn't it? I bet it would make a great place to roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories." Izzy grinned, resting her head on the fence. "Dare you to spit over the edge."
Aiden smirked, leaning his head further over the rail and letting a big glob of saliva drop from his mouth. There was a second of silence, but soon enough a soft hiss was heard from below.

"Wicked," she said. Aiden laughed, wiping his mouth.

"You try," he said, motioning to the edge.

Izzy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I couldn't," she said. "It's a little freaky."

"Don't worry," Aiden gave her a trusting look. "I'll hold you here so you don't fall."

She smiled again, and nodded. "Hold on tight." Izzy leaned over the fence and gave a mighty heave, sending a dripping blob of spit spiralling down the endless pit and into the lava, giggling when the assuring sizzle of the water hitting lava reached her ears.

"You two are starting to freak me out. If one of you falls over the edge I will either lose my mind or say I told you so." Michael shook his head, watching them.

"Oh, come on." Aiden rolled his eyes. "There's a nice, sturdy fence here to keep us troublemakers from killing ourselves. We're just having some fun."

"Apparently so," Michael raised his eyebrows, smiling slyly.

Aiden smirked. "I wouldn't suppose that you'd like to try. It's simple, just spit over the edge."

Michael's smile faltered. "I'm fine here, thanks. I'll be better when we get down there, certainly."

"Are you afraid?" Aiden twiddled his thumbs cunningly.

"Afraid? What a simple and ridiculous term. I'm just choosing to wait over here until the path is finished."

"Then why not pass the time and hear your spit disintegrate?"

"I'm not an idiot."

Aiden opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by Charlotte, who requested Michael's assistance. Michael cracked a crafty smile at Aiden and went to Charlotte. Aiden pouted slightly, but shrugged it off and went back to Izzy.

Charlotte put her hands on her hips. "Well. Whaddaya think so far? We've gotten most o' the way down. If yeh have a ladder, then that could make this entire ordeal a lot smoother."

"'Course." Michael reached into his inventory and passed Charlotte the ladders, which she placed on the leftover cobblestone.

"Thank ya," she said, standing up straight and cracking her back. "How's that fer a few minutes o' handiwork, eh?"

"I definitely owe you something when we get back." Michael chuckled nervously.

"Look forward to it. Anyhow, we should git a move on." She stepped down the ladder and onto the ground, which was a light grey up. close. Charlotte moved to the side, slower than normal. "Watch for this stuff," she said. "It's like tar."

Ami was confused at first, but found that when she landed on the same section of land that she, too, could barely walk, much less run. Her moves became sluggish and dragged all of a sudden, and it was a difficult task just to make any headway.

Everyone piled in on the ground, slowly moving towards a different colour of ground. Before they could reach this, however, they could all see a group of creatures.

"Michael." Izzy pointed to them. "What are those?"

The creatures stood on two hind legs, and bore the bodies of a pig. Only, the pig was dead. Half of its ribs and skull were exposed, and green rotting flesh presented itself all across their bodies. It trailed from their mouths, legs, and arms. The pigs wore a simple loincloth around its waist, and each of them brandished a golden sword.

"Zombie Pigmen. Fierce creatures, when provoked. Don't attack them!" He raised his voice at the end, eyeballing Aiden who had unsheathed his sword. "If you attack them they will all kill you. If you attack one, any others nearby will gang up on you. It's a horrible way to go. They won't attack if you won't, so just leave them be. Everything else, however..." Michael gulped. "Is fair game."

They all reached normal ground, finally able to move fast and freely across the warm rock. The Pigmen were in clusters around them, milling about with no clear purpose. Some of them glanced over at them with crossed eyes, oinking and walking in a circle.

Aside from them, great pillars of lava flowed from the ceiling, pumping into the orange sea below that seemed to go on forever. There was a murky path ahead that was barely illuminated by the shining lava.

"This can't be real," Aiden said, clenching his sword tightly. "I don't believe this. Hell doesn't exist, this isn't happening..."

"Hey," Izzy said soothingly. "It's going to be okay. I'm scared too." Aiden nodded, but his eyes said otherwise, flicking back and forth warily.

"Mike, where are we going?" Charlotte asked, changing the subject. Michael gazed down at his compass, which was spiralling out of control. He grunted, pocketing the device.

"Someone mark the path with torches. A map or a compass is useless here."

"Who needs a map, anyway?" Ami shrugged, pulling out a stack of torches and laying one beside her.

"Let's just press on, I guess."

"What do you mean stole?!" Luke spat in Aiden's face.

"You were just over by my sword! I set it down, went to the washroom, came back, and saw you walking away from it! Clearly you stole it!" He fumed, fists clenched so tight that his knuckles were white.

"Aiden, stop! He didn't do it!" Izzy pleaded, trying to talk some sense to the boy.

"You can't be taking his side on this one! I thought we were together on this!"

"Well-" Izzy gritted her teeth. "You're being an idiot!" She stormed away, wiping her eyes on her arm. There was an uncomfortable silence after she left, leaving Aiden to yell and punch the ground with all his might. The block amazingly remained intact, but left Aiden to hold his head in his hands.

"We should move," Luke said. "I'll go grab Izzy."

"No." Aiden got to his feet. "I'll go after her. You guys stay together." He brushed his knees off, mumbling something along the lines of "it's my problem, anyway." And set off after her.

Aiden marched through the eerie landscape, trying to block out the stares of Pigmen. He was such an idiot. Why did he have to get so worked up about everything? Izzy didn't deserve to be in the middle of that. No one did.

He walked faster, blinking moisture away from his eyes. He had to find her again, no matter what it took. The path bended this way and that, and Aiden eventually came to a long corridor torn apart by a four-way stop. He swore under his breath. She could be anywhere now! Aiden scoffed and turned left, trotting down the long, dark corridor.

"Why do you bother? Don't you know it's worthless to seek her out?" A voice spoke in Aiden's mind. It was that of his own.

"I'm not just going to let her run off and get into trouble," Aiden said, coming to another turn and going right.

"You saw how she treated you. Tossed you aside like trash on garbage day,"

"That's not true,"

"Why save her when I could offer you something much better?"

Aiden went straight this time, bursting into a full run. "Like what?"

"Life, Aiden. A guaranteed path to not-dying in the near future. Just stop." He found his feet slowing without his consent.

"Good," the voice said. "Now all you have to do is turn around and go back to that portal. Leave this place, and all of those so called friends of yours and you'll finally be happy."

Aiden froze.

"Is the choice really that hard?" The voice said. "Surely you know the answer by now."

"You're right," Aiden admitted. "I do know what I want."

"Excellent!" The voice cheered. "Then let's get out of here."

"I'm afraid this is where we part," Aiden grimaced. "I can't leave what's most important to me." Without another word, Aiden broke into a run again, skidding madly around corners. There was no sound other than the pounding of his feet, heart, and heavy breathing.

He heard a scream. Her scream. Aiden's heart sank as he ran, finally coming to a clearing. The open sea of lava stretched before him again, and Izzy was cornered. A horde of Pigmen - at least six - swarmed her with swords drawn and eyes firmly locked. One plunged its sword at Izzy's head, narrowly missing her ear. She was desperately trying to fend all of them off at once, but was quickly losing power.

Aiden jumped in at once, pulling out an ax and sinking the blade into a Pigman's head. The creature turned to dust, leaving only a small cloud to be remembered by.

A couple of the other Pigmen turned their attention into Aiden, giving him a good slice on the arm. He fought fiercely, killing of as many as he could. Finally able to handle herself, Izzy slaughtered the remaining Pigmen that advanced on her, sending then both to turn into piles of evaporating dust evermore.

They stopped fighting once every last Pigman had been slain. Aiden looked at Izzy, and Izzy looked at Aiden.

"Thank you," she said, dropping her sword and pulling him into a hug.

"Are you okay?" he asked, checking her over. Izzy laughed.

"Only a couple cuts. If you hadn't shown up...oh god. They scared me. I came here and just turned around and one was right behind me. I-I'm so sorry, I panicked. Then they all just..."

"I don't care how it happened. You're alive, that's more than I could ever ask for." Izzy smiled, tucking a strand of hair away from her face.

"I was still reckless," she said.

"Have you seen me on a good day?" Aiden laughed. "I'm sorry for being an idiot earlier."

She smirked. "I've grown used to it. Can we go back to the others now? They're probably at least a little worried." Aiden smiled, picking up his ax and her sword, handing it to her. They walked out together, neither drifting too far away from the other.

"Should we go after them?" Charlotte asked for the third time.

"He'll bring her back. Don't worry, I know they'll come back in one piece." Michael reassured her.

"Can't we use the techy stuff you gave us?"

"The earpieces stopped working as soon as we set foot in the Nether. There's nothing we can do except keep on our toes."

Charlotte ran a hand through her hair, glancing down the way they had came again.

This time, instead of seeing nothing but crippling disappointment, the familiar faces of Aiden and Izzy strolled out, coming closer by the second.

"Praise The Lord!" Charlotte ran to them, enveloping Aiden first and pulling Izzy second into a choking hug.

"Easy!" Aiden grumbled, rubbing his neck softly.

"After you two disappear for an hour yeh expect me to take it easy on yeh?! Had me worried sick! Could have died! And we wouldn't know at all!" she rambled on, dusting off Aiden's shirt and fixing Izzy's hair.

"I told you," Michael said, joining up with them. "We should probably get a move on, though. Those blaze rods aren't going to find themselves. I'd suggest we go where you two came from, that Nether Fortress."

Aiden and Izzy turned around, and looked at the building full-on for the first time. It was made completely of dark bricks that formed a series of tunnels and bridges. It was magnificent, but eerily terrifying as well. The thrill and anticipation crept in each of them for the adventure that awaited them.

18: To Hell and Back

"So I have to go back in there?" Aiden complained, extending a hand towards the huge fortress.

"Probably should have mentioned that earlier," Michael said. "That's where we need to search for an enemy called a Blaze. They drop the item that we need - Blaze Rods. With those, we're one step closer to getting out of this hellhole."

"But it's so long," Aiden moaned to himself, shaking his head. "The hallways, I mean. Not anything else. Get your minds out of the gutter." A few collective smirks across the group and a short stroll later found Ami, Aiden, Michael, Charlotte, Izzy, and Luke inside a darkened, cramped corridor that never seemed to end.

"I dunno about you guys, but this is seriously creepy," Luke said, trailing a finger across the ivory bricks along the walls.

"It's a good thing we have so many torches," Ami added, dropping one behind them. She had ultimately been volen-told that she was the designated trail-maker, so Ami had to keep reminding herself to place torches behind them every few feet.

"If you start to run low I have a bunch," Michael called from ahead, leading the group. He kept a wary eye out, looking for anything that could mean danger. Everyone had their swords drawn, ready to expect an attack from every angle.

"So...just what are we looking for exactly?" Luke asked.

"Well," Michael started, adjusting his glasses. "They're a bit hard to describe. Think of a creature that's made out of fire, and can shoot balls of lava at you. They're a bit...smoky, I guess. You'll know what I'm talking about when we see one, or twelve."

"...Twelve?" Luke repeated weakly.

"Probably a bit of an exaggeration," Michael reassured. "But keep in mind they are hostile. When they see you, they won't hesitate to attack. The only bit of advice I can offer is to be on guard." A few uneasy looks made tensions rise.

After what felt like the twentieth turn, Michael suddenly outstretched an arm, stopping everyone in their tracks.

"What?" Aiden objected. Michael had gone pale. He gave one swift look to the group and started to back away.

"Spawner," he said, pulling out his bow. Aiden took several steps back, staring at the small box before them. It was a tiny, black cage with fiery contents burning inside. It seemed harmless, more than anything, as there was nothing incredibly hostile about it.

"Are you sure?" Luke piped up. "It's not doing anything."

"Just wait! I'm certain that's a Blaze spawner. Everyone stay back and get your bows at the ready. Those who don't have one prep your swords and please remember to stay as far away from them as possible. You might just catch fire." Luke turned to yell something at Michael, but was unexpectedly cut off as the fire within the spawner whirled around crazily, from whence a flying creature of fire was born.

It had two small, beady black eyes and a yellow body surrounded in smoke. It made husky breathing noises as the smoke encircling its body suddenly raged into fire. It looked at the group, and without warning shot three rapid fireballs at them. Narrowly dodging a third-degree burn to the face, Michael drew back his bow.

"Fire! That's a Blaze alright!" He shot the first arrow, colliding it with that of the Blaze. The arrow made a clink sound as it hit, that in which one would hear of metal against metal. Several more arrows drew back and flew into the air, some making contact while others hit the wall or floor. Aiden pulled out his ax, charging towards the Blaze as more spawned out of the spiraling inferno.

He swung the weapon with ease, attacking all fire within sight. A Blaze came towards him, coated in fire, and tackled him hard. Aiden went flying into the wall, his arm caught on fire. In an instant, the rest of his body was caught in the same hot death. He screamed in pain, backing away from the creatures as he burned alive. Arrows flew, marking their place in all the Blazes, allowing Aiden with enough time to get away.

"Get it off!" he screeched. "How do I get it off?!"

"You can't!" Michael yelled, painfully aware of the harshness in his words. "It'll wear off in a second, trust me! Just stay back!"

"Hard to do when I'm dying!" Aiden stood behind the group, shouting in pain and clinging to the wall for support. His vision was starting to fade. In his place, Charlotte charged, sword drawn and swinging. Fireballs sprayed everywhere, people had to jump to the side to avoid catching fire. Aiden had stopped screaming. Izzy glanced back, heaving a sigh of relief as she saw him start to get up again. The fire had up and disappeared, but it left him with a pained expression and weak knees. Aiden coughed out smoke, slowly regaining his vision and stability. He only allowed himself a moments rest before he drew his ax out and ran back into the fight.

Three more fireballs launched their way at Ami from a newly spawned Blaze. She quickly ducked in time to avoid them, and drew her bow back again. Her arrow landed on the ground beside a Blaze. She scoffed, drawing back again. Ami knew she had horrible aim. She thought that since their numbers were steadily rising, she should be able to hit at least one. Again, her arrow landed in the wall, miles away from hitting anything.

"Ami," Michael called. "Are you okay with going in there with a sword?" She blushed, knowing that her archery skills weren't going to get any better.

"I'll try," she said, shaking as she put her bow away and pulled out a gleaming sword. Now or never, she thought to herself. She gulped, feeling the sweat trickle down her neck. For a creature made of fire, the heat seemed to be on par with that of large bonfire.

Ami charged blindly, swinging her sword at the bright Blaze before her, hearing a satisfying clink as the Blaze fell backwards, bursting into a cloud of smoke before disappearing completely from the world. A small, golden rod was leftover from the dust, sitting untouched on the ground. Ami swooped in, grabbing the shimmering bar and watched as it materialized into nothing. She briefly checked her inventory, and saw the same rod labelled as 'Blaze Rod'.

"Guys! How many rods do we have?!" Michael yelled.

"I've got three!" Aiden shouted as he swerved to the side of three more fireballs.

"Seven!" Charlotte grunted, striking at a fiery Blaze.

"One," Ami said, loud enough so that he could hear.

"Good enough, destroy the spawner! That'll stop them from coming!"

"But there's too many!" Aiden deflected a fireball aimed at his face, briefly turning to face Michael. Michael bit his lip.

"Scratch that. Retreat! Everyone follow me!" He lowered his bow and made a mad dash to the right corridor, the rest of the group soon following suit. Fireballs flew after them, more screams soon following. Michael only glanced back once, and once was enough. Three of them were on fire. He couldn't tell who it was, he turned around and kept running. So did they.

They broke out of the fortress, sprinting at top speed. Michael had to force himself to stop, almost pedaling headfirst into a small pit. He turned once again to the group, relieved to see the burnt faces of his friends.

"We made it," Luke breathed, coughing out smoke.

"None of those things followed us, did they?" Izzy panted.

"No, we outran them. Blaze's aren't too keen on keeping a target." Michael put his hands on his hips, catching his breath.

"Well," Ami said. "We have the rods. Does this mean we can go home?" Michael nodded wordlessly, smiling. He started to walk towards the cobblestone staircase they had crafted, his heart rate starting to return to normal.

"Michael," Izzy began. "What do we use these rods for, anyway?"

"I suppose I should explain that, shouldn't I? Well what we do is we take these rods and Endermen pearls and craft them together, it makes what's called an Eye of Ender. Then we use those to navigate our way to the End, which is where we'll face the Ender Dragon. I'll go over battle strategies when the time comes, but once we kill the dragon...we should essentially beat the game, and in turn hopefully get back to wherever we came from."

"Where we came from, huh?" Luke mused. "And what if there's nothing after that? What if we're stuck here for the rest of our sorry lives?!" his voice rose in volume and pitch.

"Relax, Luke." Charlotte said. "We'll pull through this and make it out. Alive."

"You don't know that," he said. "Look at what happened to Jack. What's almost happened to us. This world is dangerous. We're all goingto die, and you know it."

"Dying is inevitable," Aiden retorted.

"But why make it happen sooner?" Luke scoffed. "I'm just saying - what if we're working for nothing? Sure, we somehow manage to slay a bloody dragon and live to tell the tale, but what if there's just nothing after that? An endless pit of nothing?"

"We won't know until we try, won't we?" Aiden said. "There's no way to know, therefore no way to care." Luke started towards him, aiming his sword at Aiden's throat, when a horrible noise greeted them. A gurgled, inhuman scream sounded, with no body to connect it with. Luke's sword was frozen in place, inches from breaking Aiden's skin. He slowly shifted the blade away from Aiden, and directed it to the direction the sound was coming from. The cry was uttered again, this time a sorrowful moan.

"Guys," Michael said, pale as a ghost. "We need to get to the portal. Right now." He started to edge towards the staircase, which seemed to be miles away.

"Wh-What is that, Michael?" Izzy stammered.

"Better if you don't know," he said. "Now let's go." The moan turned into a shrill growl, and the face of the enemy became present.

A giant, white squid hovered above them, its face stained with tears. On its own, it would have appeared as quite a majestic creature, but at this moment its eyes were wide open, raging a fiery red and its mouth agape. A light began to emanate from the contents of its mouth, swirling around and around, until it launched a mighty fireball headed straight towards the group.

"Go!" Michael cried, drawing his sword and bracing himself. Everyone began to make a break for the staircase, dashing across the rocky surface of the Nether. The fireball came towards Michael at an astounding speed. Michael swung his sword, a great cling resonating as the fireball made contact with his sword. The fireball abruptly changed directions, hurling itself towards the creature instead. It crashed into the being, causing it to produce a shriek similar to that of a woman's. The creature growled again, charging up another fireball. Michael broke away, catching up with the rest of the group as a fireball crashed into the rock behind him.

"If any of those fireballs come close to you hit them back! Ghasts will not hesitate to stop shooting at any moment! Keep any arrows we have left at the ready and get to the portal!" Michael shouted over the cries of the Ghast. Another fireball hurled its way to them again, this time aimed for Aiden. He swung his ax back, hitting the ball of flame head-on and sending it flying over the Ghast's head. Cursing to himself, Aiden followed the rest of the group as they madly dashed up the staircase.

Another cry, and a great tremor shook the ground beneath them. Ami looked back in horror, the nerve-racking image of the Ghast floating so close to them sending chills down her spine.

"Go! I'll take it from here." Aiden suddenly said, planting his feet firmly into the stone.

"Are you insane? Get up here!" Izzy grabbed his arm, trying to drag him up the stairs.

"Izzy, I know I can fight it. If it focuses on me you can get out of here much easier." She gave him a desperate look, refusing to let go of his arm. Aiden sighed. "I'll come back. Promise." He gave her a push. "Go." Reluctantly, Izzy let go of him and went up the rest of the stairs, still peering at him as she went inside the Nether portal. Aiden turned to face the enemy, his ax at the ready.

Izzy felt her vision shift back, everything appearing purple for a moment until she took a shaky step out of the portal. The snowy outline of the world came, and with it the shadow of the house in the sky loomed over her. She looked around her at all who were back. Ami, Michael, Charlotte, Luke...all but him. Izzy gazed back at the portal and felt a weight sink itself in her stomach. He wasn't back.

"Izzy? Are you alright?" Charlotte asked, concern weaving its way through her brow.

"Aiden's-" She stopped herself from continuing any further. Charlotte squeezed her hand.

"He's a tough guy. He wouldn't do anything to make you worry if he had a choice. Trust me, give it a minute and he'll be chargin' outta there head first." The faint outline of a smile caressed Izzy's face, but still remained masked by the crippling sorrow she felt. Minutes that felt like days passed, and Izzy couldn't help but stare into the swirling confines of the Nether portal. Her mind had become befuddled with agonizing thoughts that tortured her to the brim of insanity.

"I can go back in there, just to check," she repeated.

"Izzy, you can't. It's too dangerous." Michael sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"I don't care," she muttered under her breath. Then something amazing happened. Something Izzy had only been dreaming about had become a reality. The portal swirled and rippled, the outline of a body appearing within. As he slowly came into view, Izzy felt her legs take her closer to the portal.

"Come on, loser. Get up and fight me like a man!" Aiden blinked the blood out of his eyes and wiped the sweat from his face. He looked to the guy that had just called out to him. He was a burly fellow, that was for sure. And one hell of a jerk, Aiden thought. Bald, and with half of his face overtaken by a gruesome scar, the guy could have easily given a kid nightmares for a week. And he thought it a good idea to pick a fight with him. Aiden was just trying to get by the shady part of town - again - and was caught off-guard when a blow to the head sent him to the ground.

He got to his feet, noting the throbbing he felt near his left ear. Everyone always told him the backstreets were no place to hang around, but Aiden still went down there anyway. It would have been a speedy shortcut, if it weren't for this idiot... he thought angrily. Aiden launched his fist at the man, hitting nothing but air and feeling a heavy blow knock him in the stomach. He wheezed out a cough, sent to the ground again.

"What's wrong?" The bald man sneered. "I thought you were a tough one. Hah, maybe I'll send you home with something to boast about." He pulled out a sharp pocket knife and crouched so that his face was in line with Aiden's.

"Where should I start?" Aiden saw the knife headed towards his eye. "No, not there. You should be able to see the artwork once its completed."

"Get off!" Aiden bellowed, pushing the man away from him and staggering to his feet. He was able to run for almost a block, but felt a cold, iron grip seize him. The man dragged him towards the alley again, and as much as Aiden struggled, he couldn't be freed. He yelled, even screamed, but no one heard his cries. The next thing he knew, he saw the pointed blade drill closer to his face, the blood beginning to drip out of his cheek.

"H-Hey!" A frightened voice called. The man stopped in his tracks, frozen. He looked to the one who had spoken and scowled. Without another word, he got up and ran from Aiden's body into the night. A moment of silence and he heard the voice again.

"A-Are you okay?!" It came closer, leaning over his body. Aiden blinked, staring at two big, wide, emerald eyes. A long mane of curly brown hair draped over him. The girl tucked some hair behind her ear.

"Please don't move! I'm calling an ambulance right now!" She pulled out a black phone and dialed a three-digit number. Aiden couldn't help but stare at her. She was stunning.

Aiden stumbled out of the purple mess, blinking until normal colour returned to his vision. He dragged his ax on the ground, his face, body and clothes charred from fire. He smiled, gazing at her beaming face.

"I brought you a souvenir," Aiden said, pulling out a small, crystallized object. It was in the shape of a tear drop and shone brilliantly, emanating shades of grey. Izzy took the tiny drop in her hands and grinned.

"You killed it," she said, bewildered.

"No kidding." Aiden made his way to the house. "What are you guys waiting for? Let's get going, I'm starved." He grabbed onto the vines and began to pull himself up. Izzy stuck to his side the entire way, and soon the rest of the group followed, climbing up the sturdy, emerald vines.

A/N

(Well, well, well. Am I shipping, you say? Of course I am. I'm the author. Everything I say is canon. *Evil laughter*)

19: Shenanigans and Forgetfulness

Michael tiredly stood at the crafting table, organizing Ender Pearls and Blaze Rods in their respective piles. He jumped when he heard the all too familiar voice of Ami behind him. 

"What are you doing?" she said, peering over his shoulder.

"Nothing, nothing," Michael held a hand over his heart. "Just making some Eyes of Ender."

"You mean the things we almost died for?"

"Yeah," the outline of a smile appeared on his face. "Those things."

"That's probably a little more than nothing, don't you think?"

"Well," Michael said, grabbing one Pearl and one Rod. "Probably, but I'm not looking forward to crafting all of these." Ami grinned and watched as the two items emitted a faint, golden light before merging together to form a wide, eyeball with a slit pupil.

"This is what we've been working for," Michael said, turning over the shiny substance in his hands. It shone in the light, and was quite pretty. "It's just a shame that we don't have enough." Ami froze, feeling a chill whisk its way through her body.

"Come again?" she said, dreading the truth.

"We have eleven Eyes of Ender, that is, once I craft them all. I thought eleven was enough. We need twelve to open the portal, and a few others as spares so we can find the portal in the first place. We have enough Ender Pearls, but..."

"We need to go back to the Nether," Ami finished, staring at the Eye. Michael was quiet for a moment, struggling to find the words.

"I don't want to drag everyone back in that situation again. We all almost died, Aiden and Izzy especially. It's too soon for us to be dipping our toe back in that portal, not after our last experience. They will all be scared - terrified of the horrors we faced back in there. I highly doubt anyone will want to go back."

"But we have to," she said, hesitating. "If we don't go back...we'll be stuck here forever." Michael looked at her with sad eyes.

"I know."

The morning dawned upon them all, and with that a couple groans and complaints. Ami found herself in the middle ground, amusing herself with watching Charlotte rouse Aiden. He reluctantly rolled onto the floor, making loud, dissatisfied noises as he went. Ami made her way to the main room, that is, she fell on the table.

"You guys should probably either move the table or move the room," she said, rubbing her tailbone. Michael shrugged, pulling out apples, melons, bread, milk, and oddly enough, salmon. He made a face and reeled back from the chest.

"Urrrgh!" he yelled. "Who put rotten flesh in the food chest? Come on, it's not that hard to know what you shouldn't eat." He opened the front door and threw the slabs of meat out, watching them fall with a smirk. He turned back and grabbed the rest of the food, placing it all on the table, just after Aiden fell on it. Pushing on his neck, Aiden grumbled as he helped himself to a juicy, cerise melon.

"So, plan for today," Michael said between the crunches of his apple. "We should probably do a bit of organizing at best. Other than that, I see no reason to put ourselves in danger today. Agreed?" A small chorus of 'mm's followed.

"So, no plan?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "That's different. Especially for you." Michael shrugged, leaning back in his chair and continuing to munch away at his apple.

"Everyone needs a break once in a while," he said simply. "Now I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go have some time with my sweet, sweet chests." He downed the rest of the apple, core and all, and climbed up the vines that lead to the hidden chest room.

"I can't help feelin' like that boy's forgotten something," Chatlotte said, furrowing her brow. "But I can't think of what it could be."

"Hold on." Izzy shot up from her seat. "I need to check something." Without another word, she promptly rose from her seat and dashed out of the door.

"Wonder what she's all in a fuss about," Luke wondered aloud.

"This isn't a good idea," Izzy said, peering over the edge of the house. "Besides, I need to go and look for-"

"Come on," Aiden interjected. "We finally have a moment of free time, why waste it? I know you've been dying to try this, too. Michael can wait another minute, can't he? He's probably content with kissing his chests, anyway."

"Well...okay, just one ride down. Then I'll go find Michael." Izzy sighed. What harm would one ride down the waterslide do, anyway? Aiden was right, she had been eyeing this ever since they first arrived. She gazed over the edge again, the terrifying height of the pillar of water not fazing her at all. The sight of the pool of water down below excited her, and she only felt more eager to jump. One ride, right?

"Scared?" Aiden smirked.

"I should ask you the same thing,"

"Then you wouldn't freak out if I, say, did this?" With one swift move, Aiden pushed Izzy out of the window, down the tall column of water and into the pool. Taken off guard, Izzy squealed all the way down, her screams differing from that of exhilaration and initial surprise. She made a huge splash in the water, coming up for air after a few seconds.

"You jerk!" She yelled, coughing out a bit of water. "Come down here and face me like a man!" Aiden stuck his tongue out and made a leap out of the window, yelling as he fell the great distance. After an alarming splash Aiden surfaced, pounding on his head.

"Urgh, I got water in my ear..." He punched his ear, hoping to regain the hearing in the other one.

"Serves you right," Izzy said. "You pushed me out of a floating house to my doom."

"Aww, when you say it like that it makes me sound like a jerk."

"Because you are!" she laughed, throwing a wave of water on him. Aiden spat out a mouthful of water.

"You shouldn't have done that," he said seriously, but broke the dour look with a playful grin.

"Let's go again! I'll show you what a real jump looks like." She stepped out of the water, making her way back to the vine ladder.

"And my original one wasn't superb in itself?" Aiden followed her, smiling to himself. They climbed up the vines, ready to experience the thrill all over again.

Luke stared into the boiling pit of lava. It would be easy, he thought. Too easy. But when to do it? There wasn't an opportune moment any which way he looked at it. His plans kept getting bombarded by the groups', and he had to tag along. Well, Luke knew he could just leave, but leaving now would leave him without...everything. A home, food, weapons, and something to do. He sighed. He never should have met Charlotte. That woman may have brought him a great kindness, but Luke felt otherwise.

He wanted to be on his own, find his own path and roll with whatever came at him. But he just had to accept her offer, blindly following her and those other two like a lost puppy. Luke smashed his pitiable excuse for a hand on the stone beside him. He mentally cursed himself for doing what he did. Well, he thought, everything will have to come to a close soon enough. Maybe he could stay and find a way back home, wherever that was. After that? Well, once they were out of this world they would theoretically go their own separate ways, right? That's when he could leave for good, not arising any suspicion or making anyone think any different of him. Yes, that was when he-

"Luke? What're you doin' out here?" It was her. The one that brought him into this mess. "It's freezin'." Charlotte shivered, gazing up at the snow falling down on them.

"It's fine," Luke mumbled. "It's not that cold." Why was he mumbling? He needed to show some sort of restraint, at least something to mae her think that he wasn't a bloody idiot! She sighed.

"So somethin's on your mind. Don't bother to hide it, I can tell. I won't ask any questions, but I'll sit here in case you want to talk." To Luke's hidden disgust, Charlotte sat adjacent from him, the orange light of the lava flickering on her dark face. She smiled fondly. "You're right, it is warm." Luke sat up straight, hoping that the bubbling contents of the lava would give him the answers he was looking for. Sadly, they didn't provide. But Charlotte did.

"Y'know, you've changed a lot since we first met," she started, taking Luke a little off guard. His eyes trailed to hers, and she took that as a notion to continue. "The first time I talked to you all you seemed to do was push me away. Then again, not much has changed on that. I can't imagine how you managed to survive out there in the desert for so long, what, with no food or water." She paused again, as if waiting for Luke to say something. He didn't.

"You made yourself a bed in the sand, remember? Stayed underground until morning every night. Mind, the monsters didn't always go away when the sun rose. It must have been a good day or two that I was wanderin' around with Izzy and Aiden before we found ya. You didn't want to tag along with us at first, which I found strange. Then I told myself I probably shouldn't push it, so I left you some food and walked away. I still followed you, though." Finally, Luke spoke.

"Why are you telling me this? It's not like I forget what I went through."

"Reflecting is important, Luke." Charlotte said, leaning back in her seat. "After a few days of meeting you and giving you food, each time you were a little less abrupt with us. I think you must've warmed up to us in the end, since you're here now and all, and I just want to say I'm glad you did. I know you feel like the third, er, sixth wheel in our group, because no one here really sits with you and chats. Aside from us right now, I mean. Technically, I feel I count as more of a guide than a friend to ya. I'm not sure why." Her brow furrowed. "Mind, I'm not sure why I came out lookin' for ya. Call it instinct or somethin'. I just thought that you might have wanted someone to talk to, given recent events." Luke gave her a confused look.

"The Nether, I mean," she clarified.

"Oh," he said. "It wasn't that bad. Not worse than anything I've seen before."

"Luke, that was literally hell in the flesh. I don't care how many times you act cool about everything you come across, I know there has to be something that's bothered you for a while."

"Why are you acting like a mom? I'm not a delicate flower."

"But you're also not indestructible." Luke scoffed at her words. Charlotte sighed again. "It's human to have fears and emotions. You only make it worse for yourself if you bottle it all up. Believe me, I know."

"And what makes you think you know anything about me?"

"I don't. I know nothin' about you, though I'd like to. You think you haven't opened up at all, but the truth is you have. Just by agreeing to travel with us you took a huge step in...er, something! Look, I don't pretend to know you like a bold print sign, but I'm not blind. Maybe one day you'll understand."

"Stop!" Luke snapped, jolting to his feet much to Charlotte's surprise. "Stop saying these things! You have no idea what I want to do! I'm having a much more difficult time than you realize, okay?! I...I've wanted to leave ever since I joined this foul excuse for a group! You're all so friendly, it makes me sick! I've already tried making my voice heard, because I noticed that Aiden was getting more reckless! He was starting to become dangerous, what the hell else was I supposed to think?! And you-" He stopped himself, realizing he had already spilled out too much. It was over.

"And I what?" Charlotte asked in a testing tone, her eyes narrowed and lips pursed.

"Nothing," Luke said, avoiding the question. "I, uh, need to go." He ran down the stone steps and quickly slid through the trapdoor, huddling up on a bed and grasping his skull in his hands. What had he done?

Meanwhile, Charlotte held her head in her hands, Luke's outburst still running through her head. She shouldn't have gone that far. He wasn't a child, she shouldn't have even brought up his dark days. Idiot! Of course he remembered the horrible way he used to live! Had she really forced him to join a group he never wanted to be in? What was she thinking...what had she done?

Charlotte climbed down the vines from the roof after a long time of thinking. She would just have to take the pain she had dealt, it seemed. Whatever, she could take it. She had to. Charlotte pushed open the creaky doors and walked over to the table, crashing in her seat.

"Oh no, what happened?" Michael was at her side immediately.

"Nothing you should concern yourself over," Charlotte said. "Just stupid girl things." Michael opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't find the words. Instead, he sat beside her.

"Hey," he said. She looked up at him. "Nothing about you is stupid, okay? Especially girl things. You can rattle on about how much you're worrying about Aiden and Izzy's house-jumping, if you want. We are pretty high up and a wrong fall could potentially hurt them."

"No, no," Charlotte chuckled softly. "If they harm themselves that's their problem. I already warned them before, anyway. They seem to be having fun though. It's...about Luke."

"What about him?" Michael asked. "Did he do something to you? If he did I'll-"

"Michael, stop. Luke wouldn't lay a hand on any of us. He's just, lonely, or somethin'." Michael scooted closer to her.

"Lonely?"

"I don't know, he just seems a little out of it." Charlotte bit her lip, telling herself that Michael could wait to hear the full truth. "Put yourself in his shoes for a minute and think where he fits in. He doesn't really have anyone to talk to or hang around. Luke's always been a loner."

"I guess you're right." Michael stroked his chin. "Do you think we should try and set him up to talk to more people?"

"I dunno, Mike. I don't want to force him into anything."

"I'm not talking about force, Char, I'm thinking more of a gentle push towards improving his social skills. We could have it where he's in a position to talk to, uh, Ami."

"Ami." She gave him a look.

"It's worth a shot. Izzy and Aiden have a thing between themselves anyhow, and I don't see a world where Aiden and Luke get along. It's best not to complicate things." Charlotte sighed.

"Fine. But not a word about this to anyone, ya hear?"

"I swear it on my life." Michael smiled, getting up from his seat and heading over to another room. "I'll be over here if you need me, I'm almost finished with this chest."

Organizing again? Charlotte thought. That boy needed a hobby...wait. At that moment, Izzy and Aiden burst through the door again, having just finished another astonishing bound into the pool. Izzy was giggling, as per usual, but what caught Charlotte's attention the most was the huge grin Aiden had spread across his face. Maybe things did have a chance of looking up.

Izzy caught Charlotte's eye, and then spotted Michael climbing up the vines to the chest room. She had totally forgotten! Abandoning Aiden, Izzy sprinted across the room, frantically calling Michael's name. He raised an eyebrow at the girl running at top speed towards him. Sighing, Michael dropped down from the vines.

"What is it?" he asked, letting her catch her breath.

"I, huff, forgot to ask you, huff, something earlier," she said, taking a deep breath before she continued. "Remember at the old house how you had a wolf-dog thing? I meant to ask you, where did he go?" Michael suddenly paled.

"Rufus."

A/N

(YOU'D BETTER HOLD ONTO YOUR NONEXISTENT FINGERS, MINECRAFT LOVERS, BECAUSE THIS STUFF IS ABOUT TO GO DOOOOWN!)

20: Man's Best Friend

Michael paced around the table, faster and faster each time he went around.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God, how could I forget about him? I just left him to fend for himself...what kind of owner am I? Oh God, oh God, oh God..."

"Michael, it's fine. He's a wild wolf, isn't he? Rufus will be fine." Charlotte tried to reassure him, but Michael chattered and shivered as his mind lingered on the idea.

"I tamed him, Char, and he doesn't even have a pack to turn back to. He could be dead for all I know...OH GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

"Dude, chill out. We can go check on him later." Aiden fiddled with his ax, twirling it and sticking it on the floor.

"Later? Later?! He could be inches from death the longer we wait! We need to go now!" Michael was yelling now, and after he said this he stormed out of the house, bumping into Ami, who was just walking in.

"Whoa," she said, seeing the fuming look on his face. "What's up with him? I haven't seen him this stressed in a while."

"Michael's all up in a ball because he forgot about Rufus," Aiden said.

"You mean his wolf? I haven't seen him in a while, come to think of it." Ami scratched her head. "He's okay, isn't he?"

"Well," Charlotte began awkwardly. "We don't know. But I think out of respect to Michael we should go back home and solve this mess. Besides, it's not like we have anything spectacular to do anyhow."

"But just for a dog?" Aiden mumbled, shaking his head.

"Then let's get going," Luke said, uncrossing his arms and strutting out the door.

After several minutes of Michael half sprinting across the room and almost falling off the house as everyone else tried to get ready, the group was ready to set off. They all slid down the vines, noticing that the way down was a lot easier than the way up.

"Michael! Come back, we need to stick together," Charlotte called. Michael, who was already several feet ahead, reluctantly slowed down. He turned towards Charlotte.

"But-"

"But nothing. You've said it yourself, we should stick together. And it's going to stay that way." He clammed up, but still drifted further ahead than he normally would. As the day wore on them all, it seemed that their conversation material was reaching towards desperate levels.

"Do you think a cloud could hold me?" Ami asked.

"Probably not. Aren't they made out of water? Plus, clouds faze in and out of the sky house all the time," Luke said, gazing up at the sky.

"Maybe they just don't like the house. People like me, right?"

"Uh..."

"Right?"

"Right." Luke averted his eyes from the sky and Ami, instead keeping them firmly on the ground. The cobblestone bridge clicked against his feet as he walked across it, and Luke faintly regretted looking at the ground. Below them was a small pool of lava. Small, yes, but just as deadly as a giant ocean of lava. Luke stared into the horizon, thinking that he could perhaps find peace there.

"Aiden? Are you okay?" Aiden blinked, looking at Izzy. He'd zoned out pretty good there.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." He smiled. She hesitated, but soon went back to gazing ahead.

"Good," she whispered, loud enough for him and him only to hear. Aiden furrowed his brow and let his gaze wander to the sky. The sun was bright, despite the fact that it was about to set, and he shielded his eyes. This didn't prove to work very well, since he didn't have hands. Aiden sighed and tried not to let the blinding light annoy him.

Aiden awoke to a shining light in his eye. Not the best morning routine, he thought. Luckily, it wasn't just light that caught his eye, as the rest of the room he was in slowly came into view. A sickly white room with white walls, floors, even bed sheets filled his eyes with disgust. Definitely not his room. Not even his house. Aiden sat up, feeling a small pain in his neck. Ouch. How long had be been asleep?

Sunlight streamed through the open window overlooking his bed. He got up and closed the curtains, which were, would you guess it, white. It didn't make much of a difference since the curtains were so bloody bright, but it was better than before. He heard the click and squeak of a door opening. His door. Aiden tensed up as he watched a nith her black hair in a bun come inside. She stopped at the sight of him, astonished.

"Y-You're awake?" she asked, more to herself than anything.

"What else does it look like?" he said irritably. She closed her mouth and gulped.

"I'll be right back. There's someone who wants to see you." She quickly ran out of the room, not bothering to shut the door. Aiden was confused. Who would bother to see him? Aiden put his face in his hands. Maybe it would be that bald creep again...back for revenge. He sighed, only now noticing that he wasn't in his normal clothes. Grumbling to himself on how he hated hospital gowns, he hardly noticed when she came in. Aiden's eyes lit up when he saw her. Golden blonde hair, piercing green eyes, it was the same girl.

"They were right!" she said ecstatically, running over to him. "You're really okay."

"Yeah, I am," he said awkwardly. "Uh, what happened? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well, after you passed out the ambulance came and picked you up in a stretcher and everything. I, uh, stayed with you in there. Because I was worried." The girl blushed. "They said you were unwell mostly from extreme exhaustion than anything. You've only been out for three days though, so-"

"Three days? Aww, shoot." Aiden collapsed back down on his bed. "Another three days wasted. What else is new..."

"Wasted? Oh no, no, not at all! The doctors said you really needed the rest. I-I don't know how you managed to tire yourself out that much but I'm just glad to know that you're okay. I've tried visiting you to see if you're awake but every time I came in you were still asleep. I was actually just on my way out when the nurse rushed over to tell me that you were awake." Aiden twiddled his thumbs.

"You were concerned about me?"

"Of course. I watched as that awful guy jumped you and almost killed you. I'd be insane not to worry!" He smiled. Maybe he did still have a chance in this world.

"Thank you," he said, knowing that he truly meant it. "Oh, that reminds me. What's your name? I'm Aiden." He held out his bony hand.

"I'm Izzy," she said, shaking his hand and grinning.

"Are we there yet?" Ami complained.

"Yes," Luke answered.

"Really?" She lit up with excitement.

"No. Does it look like we're anywhere close?" He shook his head and shrugged. Ami groaned loudly, dragging her feet across the grass.

"Guys, seriously. We're almost there. The house should come into view just around this hill." Michael rubbed his head, annoyed and tired from the travel. All he wanted was to check that Rufus was okay. That was all he needed...

"We've been walking for hours," Ami moaned. "I can't wait to sleep." They walked around the hill that had been obscuring their vision, and all felt relieved when they saw home. Ami could practically hear her bed calling for her.

"Ami! Ami!" It would say. "Come cuddle with me! We have much to catch up on!"

Yes mister bed, she thought, I'll be there soon enough. But she did notice what they passed by before going inside. Jack's grave stood as a physical reminder of him, a big wall of grief looming over her. Maybe he's happy, wherever he is...

"Alright, you guys get settled. I'm going to look for Rufus." Michael announced, taking on a determined look.

"But the sun's set - you'll get caught up in with the monsters!" Charlotte protested. He had already begun to trot away.

"I have to do this, Char. I'll be back before you know it." He kept going until he vanished from sight. Charlotte clenched her fist, rushing inside. She watched as everyone got themselves organized and found herself gazing out the window. She knew that she couldn't just let him go off on his own like that...and in the middle of the night! Charlotte mentally made a plan. Once everyone was asleep she would sneak out to find him if he didn't show up by then.

As she'd predicted, the moon had risen high and there was still no sign of Michael. Charlotte sat up in her bed, gazing around at the rest. All sleeping. Good. She quietly slipped out of the covers and opened the door, disappearing into the night before anyone noticed.

Aiden stared after her. What was she up to? Probably looking for Michael...he hadn't come back, after all. Aiden sat up, deciding that he wasn't going to sleep tonight after all. He went outside as well, climbing up the ladder and crashing in the wooden bench on the roof. Staring at the sky, he let his mind wander. Should he do it? He'd been thinking about it for a while now. But he couldn't do that to Izzy! Not after they'd finally gotten so close...Aiden held his face in his stubs, feeling his square hands grow wet.

"Aiden?" Her voice came, barely above a whisper. Aiden gasped, hastily wiping his eyes.

"What?" Whoa, he sounded a lot worse than he thought. Izzy came over and sat beside him, a sad look on her face.

"It's okay," she said. "You don't have to put on an act around me. I know you've been holding a bunch of stupid stuff in, and...and it's okay to cry. I'll cry with you, if you want."

"I-I don't...cry." Even as he said it Aiden felt his eyes well up with tears again. Finally, he let go. Not that he had given himself much choice at this point. But Izzy didn't say a word, and neither did he. They just sat together in silence. And yet, Aiden felt that someone finally cared about him.

Michael was at his wits end, having searched high and low for his friend and coming up with nothing. Where? Where was he?! If Rufus was dead, it was all his fault. He shouldn't have left him behind in the first place! Idiot! These thoughts kept circling around his head and causing him to panic even more. How did he die? Did a pack of wolves mangle him? Was he blown to smithereens by a Creeper? Turned into a zombie, shot by an arrow...the thoughts never ended. When was the last time he remembered seeing him? When they were reconstructing the house after the monster attack, after Jack died, he told him to sit somewhere...where? Where?!

"Where?!" Michael yelled aloud. Wait...reconstruction? What was he doing then? Then it hit him. The roof. He was repairing the roof. And he told Rufus to wait when he went down to grab a drink...

"Oh my God." He smacked himself in the face, running as fast as he could to the ladder and climbing up. Michael didn't even notice the bodies of Izzy and Aiden up ahead, or the body of Charlotte right behind him as he looked to the hill beside the house, where a ball of white fur lay.

"Rufus!" he cried, falling on his knees and embracing the ball, which unrolled and licked him in response. The wolf whimpered and licked him again, he was so happy. Michael held Rufus tightly in his arms, tears flowing down his cheeks. "I swear I'll never let you go ever again. I swear." He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked to see Charlotte standing above him. Michael rubbed his face, wiping both his tears and wolf spit off and grinned.

"I told you he was okay," she said, smiling and pulling him into a hug. Rufus squirmed between the two of them, quickly plopping himself on the floor and rolling around. Michael laughed.

"Come, boy."

With the night gone and the sun rising, it seemed that things were finally going to look up for everyone. Michael welcomed Rufus back into the group, vowing to never leave his side again, and Aiden and Izzy were closer than ever. But all good things had to come to an end, and Michael knew that he would have to break some unfortunate news to the group soon.

"Hey Michael," Izzy sang, leaning against Aiden and looking at Michael with curious eyes. "Have you finished crafting those Eyes of Splendor or whatever?"

"That's a good question," Aiden agreed. "It doesn't take too long to craft stuff, right? Are we finally ready to get out of this place?"

"Uhh..." Michael stuttered, suddenly feeling sweaty and panicky. "There's, er, some bad news."

"It's fine if you haven't finished crafting them, it won't take too long. We're just wondering."

"Oh, uh, no that's not what I meant." Michael fidgeted. "There's, er, been a bit of a setback."

"A setback?" Charlotte joined the conversation. "What kind of setback, Mike?" Michael went red.

"Oh, not much...just the fact that we're one Blaze Rod short of what we absolutely need and actually we still need more even then and ohh..." His voice retreated to a whisper as he stared at his fingers.

"Are you meaning to tell us that we need to make another trip back to that place?!" Aiden fired up. Michael shrunk down.

"I thought we had enough. Really, I did. But we need twelve to open the End Portal and a few more even then to find the damned place and...I'm sorry." He hugged his knees tightly. Rufus sat beside him, nudging his hand. There was a long moment of silence where everyone slowly came to the realization of what it meant to go back to the Nether.

"Aiden almost died the last time we went there," Izzy said seriously.

"I know," Michael whispered.

"I don't think I can handle going back in there." Luke held his head and shook.

"That's - that's okay!" Michael blurted. "This time...this time we can have a couple people stay behind and guard the house. And Rufus, of course." Rufus barked excitedly.

"He can't come in the portal with you?" Ami asked. Michael shook his head.

"Never has been. We've tried, believe me, but it just wouldn't work. I don't know why."

"Well," Charlotte said after another period of silence. "We should prepare to leave for tomorrow then, shouldn't we? The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can put this entire ordeal behind us. Are y'all with me?" Several exchanged glances met with several reluctant nods as people started to set themselves to packing.

Ami grabbed what she knew she would need. A sword, bow and arrows, cake, fishing rod just in case they stopped for grub, more cake, and an extra sword just in case her other one broke. Yup, she thought to herself. Perfect.

"Hey Ami." Izzy drifted beside her.

"Mmm?"

"Do you know why Aiden is putting up those signs outside?" Ami stopped rummaging through the chest and looked out the window. Sure enough, that bozo was sticking up signs right beside Jack's grave.

"What is that maniac doing?" she wondered.

"That's what I want to know. I'll ask him once he comes back in, since he looks pretty into it. Er, whatever he's doing." Izzy walked away worriedly.

"Tell me when you find out!" Ami called, gazing back out at Aiden. She couldn't read the signs from here, but he looked really sorrowful. That's unlike him, Ami thought, going back to her packing but was unable to get the thought of what Aiden was doing out of her head. But before she knew it, the night was upon them all and she retreated to her bed instead.

Izzy lay awake, her worry growing as the seconds passed. Aiden still hadn't come back, even though it was nighttime. She couldn't take this any longer! He had to still be out there putting up those signs, right? Izzy sat up and walked out of the door. The night was empty, without a trace of a monster or Aiden. Where was he?

"Aiden?" Izzy called. That boy was going to drive her insane one of these days. He wasn't anywhere. The more she looked, the more Aiden didn't turn up. She did a full search of all around the house, too, but still no sign of Aiden. Putting her hands on her hips, she glanced over to the first sign. She read the first line, and found herself intrigued. He'd forgive her for reading these later, Izzy knew, so she carried on. But the more she read, the more ice spread through her body. She felt cold and empty. When she reached the last sign she was in tears. And then she saw it. A hole, deeper than the tallest tower in the world. And at the very bottom...Izzy screamed, instantly waking anyone who was asleep. A singular square of lava burned at the very bottom of the hole, and Aiden's final word burned in her memory for all time. 

'Goodbye.'

A/N

(I'm not even gonna lie, I'm really sad right now. REALLY SAD. I didn't want this to happen. And yet it still did.)

21: Old Friends Gone Bad

Ami woke with a start. It took her a minute to gather her basic human intelligence to figure out what startled her awake, but the sound came again. Izzy was screaming. Plus, Ami wasn't the only one who was awake. Doing a quick scan of the room she was able to see that everyone else was in the same boat as her. She watched as Michael got up, stumbled a little, and ran outside to where Izzy was. Ami followed suit, confused when she saw Izzy on her knees, sobbing. 

"Izzy? What happened?" she asked, concerned. Izzy said nothing, shaking and covering her face.

"Guys," Michael said absently. "You might want to come and see this." Ami looked at Izzy, giving her a reassuring pat before she got up and joined the others. A collection of signs, fifteen in all, stood behind a deep hole. When Ami glanced inside the hole, she felt her stomach cringe. A pool of lava sat at the very bottom, and this was only made worse by the signs.

"Dear everyone," Michael read. "If I've put up these signs already...I'm dead. How cliche. I couldn't take it. It was going to end like this anyways. A last note for you guys: Ami - you're a doll. Thanks for trying. Michael - Keep the group together. Charlotte - Lead them. I know you can do it. Luke - You're a no good piece of - ." Michael paused. "He scratched out the last word. I'll keep going." He cleared his throat. "And finally, Izzy. You're the one who helped me keep my cool. You stood up for me when no one else would. You saved my life. You brought me joy. I love you. But I've made up my mind, this is goodbye. Goodbye. -Aiden." There was no sound, other than Izzy's constant sobbing which escalated in volume after Michael finished reading. No one talked or moved an inch. Ami could barely wrap the situation around her head. Aiden committed suicide? But...he never looked like the type that would. Had she been wrong about him all this time? With heavy hearts and a lack of motivation, the group set out once again, marking their destination as the sky house.

"I really like your hair, by the way. How did you get it to be so bright?" Izzy played with Aiden's hair, which shone a vibrant pink.

"Well, it was only dyed a couple days before the incident. I dunno how long it'll last though; I'm hoping at least a few weeks."

"Either way it really suits you. Who knew that pink was a boy's colour?" She giggled, crashing back into the leather couch. Aiden smiled, getting up and sitting beside her.

"Now that I think of it, thanks for letting me stay over at your house. It's great over here. You even have a plasma TV!" She smiled, tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear.

"No worries. Don't you have a house, too? Maybe next time I can come over to your house." Aiden's grin faded.

"No," he said firmly. "You can't come to my house."

"Why not?"

"It's not safe." he gulped. Izzy's eyes widened.

"Oh," she said. Aiden sighed, crawling over to her and pulling her in his arms. "I just don't want to see you get hurt because of me."

"Funny," Izzy chuckled. "You're one of the best things that's happened to me." He smiled again, holding her close. Aiden didn't know much about this girl, but he knew one thing for sure. He would rather die than see her in the same situation as he was.

"...mi. Ami. Ami!" A voice called to her. Ami opened her eyes. She was back in the sky house, sleeping in her bed. A hand motioned for her to follow it.

"Hey!" Ami called, getting up and following it. "Who are you?" No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make out the face of who was leading her. It climbed up the vine ladder leading up to the roof, opening the trapdoor and vanishing.

"Wait!" Ami yelled. "Don't-" she stopped, standing on the roof with the mysterious hand gone.

"Don't what? You seem troubled." Ami couldn't believe her eyes. Sitting at the lava pit was a boy with tousled black hair, dark ebony eyes, and a crooked nose.

"Jack?" She slowly approached the boy.

"Yeah? Hey, don't stand over there. It's warm right here, come on over." Ami sat beside him, unable to take her eyes off of him. Jack noticed this, looking a bit uneasy by her staring.

"But...you're supposed to be dead...I'm so confused." She held a stub to her head, which was now throbbing.

"Dead? Well, let me check." He hit his arm, legs, and stomach. "Doesn't seem like it. I'm perfectly intact. Here, want one?" He held out a marshmallow.

"Sure," Ami said, taking it without thought. She looked at the squishy marshmallow, her mind coming to a slow realization. "Wait...marshmallows don't exist in this world." Her eyes fell on Jack, who had a few in his mouth already. "You're not real." Jack's body suddenly faded away into a cloud of smoke. The marshmallow in her hand disappeared, as well, and soo nthe entire world around her was crumbling away.

Ami woke up for good this time, relieved to see the bodies of her friends sleeping soundly. She was in the right house, at least, having remembered that their travel yesterday brought them here. Then that meant...she looked to the roof. Today was the day that some of them would go back to the Nether. She could only hope that they would all come back in one piece.

"So we're gonna have as many people as we can going to the Nether. I'll be going for sure, Luke wants to stay, Rufus can't come, Charlotte wants to come, so Ami and Izzy can stay or come if they wish." Michael finished announcing his plan.

"I-" Ami began.

"I'm going." Izzy stood up, determined.

"Are you sure?" Michael asked, a little surprised.

"Positive."

"Er, okay. So that means Charlotte, Izzy, and I are going to the Nether...Luke and Rufus are staying, Ami, are you alright with staying?"

"Huh? Didn't you want as many people as possible?" Ami raised an eyebrow.

"I have a thing with equal numbers. Plus, I think we'll be fine, for once." Ami bit her cheek, glancing at Luke and Rufus.

"Alright, if you're sure," Ami said. Michael took a deep breath. "Then I suppose the rest of us should make sure we're ready to go. Do the both of you have your weapons and armour ready?"

"Crap!" Izzy exclaimed. "I still need to grab my armour. Um...Ami, can you grab my sword for me? It's in the chest room...the middle one."

"Sure thing." Ami walked over to the vines leading to the chest room and climbed them, finding herself surrounded by chests. Michael really needed to find a hobby that didn't involve these things. Shoving these thoughts aside, Ami went to the chest in the very middle of the room and opened it. Inside was surprisingly empty, except for one item: a diamond sword. Ami grasped the hilt of the sword, bringing it out of the chest. She was about to go back out and give Izzy her sword, but she noticed something inscribed on the blade. Along the very bottom of the blade a name was etched into the diamond.

"Aiden?" Ami read out loud. She felt an ice cube sit in the pit of her stomach. Izzy must be going through so much...

"Ami, you got my sword. Cool." Izzy came up behind her, dressed in full armour. Ami turned around and handed her the sword. "Are you alright?" Izzy asked.

"You don't have to do this, you know." Ami said.

"No one said I have to. I want to. I just want to get stronger, so that I know I can take care of myself. What better way than going to the Nether? It'll be great experience."

"Just don't get overconfident, okay? You could hurt yourself."

"Alright. I know what I'm doing, though. I'll see you tomorrow, probably. I doubt we're going to sleep tonight." Izzy smiled at Ami. Ami gave her one back.

"You take care of them, okay Rufus?" Michael knelt down, staring into the wolf's eyes.

"Michael you're talking to an animal." Luke raised an eyebrow.

"A smart animal," Michael objected. "You protect Luke and Ami, okay? Don't let them get hurt. Good boy." He pat the wolf on the head. In response, Rufus licked his face, and even looked a little sad when Michael stepped towards the portal. "I expect we'll be back later. Maybe not tonight, but if we're not back by tomorrow evening you two should come in and look for us. With that said...see you later." He gave one final look to Ami, Luke, and Rufus before disappearing into the violet, swirling vortex. Charlotte and Izzy soon followed, and Ami was left alone with Luke. And Rufus. Sometimes she forgot about him, that wolf could be quiet when he wanted to be. There was also the fact that she hadn't seen him in a while, what with Michael forgetting about him for several weeks.

"So...what now?" Came Luke's voice, snapping Ami out of her thoughts.

"I dunno," she said. "we could just chill inside for a bit, I suppose. Hey, what about we try and see if we can fish from the house?"

"That's probably impossible," Luke protested. "let's try." So they made their way up into the house and brought out two fishing rods. Then Ami and Luke went where the so called water slide was, and sat just before where the water would carry them away. Ami dipped her feet in the water, feeling the cool sensation of it washing downwards.

"How do you think this thing keeps running?" she asked. "I'm sure that the water would eventually run out, right?"

"Perhaps this is what Michael would call 'video game logic'. That is, if we're assuming that we're in one." Luke cast out his line, watching it fall all the way down into the cool depths of the pool below.

"Well, there's not much else for choice, is there? I can't think of what world we could be in. A video game seems like the most logical answer, all things considered." Ami cast out her line too, smiling when she heard a very faint 'plop' in the water. Luke furrowed his brow. "But that makes it all sound too simple. 'Just a video game' could be giving this entire world an understatement!"

"What are you saying?" Ami faced him, staring at him thoughtfully.

"I'm saying that we could be in some sort of different universe! Maybe a parallel one, if you stretch it."

"A different universe? I dunno, that seems a little too farfetched, even for this world."

"Well, it's not like it's an absurd idea, is it?" Luke stared at her with determination. Ami scooted away from him. "I guess?" she commented. "But the idea of different universes just seems a little extreme, you know?"

"Extreme enough that it could work!" he exclaimed.

"Look," Ami ran a hand through her hair. "I appreciate the enthusiasm and all, but I think it would be best to think that we still have a chance of getting home. Parallel universes don't exactly sound like they connect to our world."

"But that's just it!" Luke said ecstatically. "There could be ways that parallel universes connect, right?"

"Let's just drop this idea, you're thinking too hard about it." Ami averted her eyes from Luke, who scowled.

"Fine," he said irritably. "It was just a theory. I thought it was cool." His line suddenly got caught, the rod bending downwards. Ami told him to reel in, but Luke remained stationary, letting the fish go.

"That could've been our dinner." Ami sighed, staring at her immobile line. Luke said nothing, suddenly getting up and stomping away. Ami looked back to her line; bubbles were circling around it. Just one more second and...yoink! Somehow a fish sailed all the way towards her, landing on the ground behind her. Ami half-smiled. Maybe they would be able to eat tonight.

"Duck!" Michael's call echoed trough the fiery corridors. Everyone dove to the floor, luckily missing three balls of heat. Her face charred, her body burnt in multiple places, Izzy stood as soon as the fire passed over her. She yelled, striking the oncoming Blaze with her sword, sending it to a cloudy doom. Izzy wiped her brow with her hand, unwilling to give up.

"Izzy! You can fall back now, you've done enough!" Charlotte's words rang from behind her.

"No! I can keep going!" Izzy protested, raising her sword once again.

"We have plenty of rods! Enough to get us to the End, so come back with us!" Michael pleaded. Izzy stood her ground firmly, staring at the oncoming Blazes. Scoffing, she withdrew her sword and ran back to Charlotte and Michael, who then led the way out if the Nether Fortress. Outside, they all paused to catch their breath. Michael pushed back his sweaty hair, panting.

"Why did you hesitate?" he glanced to Izzy, who blushed slightly.

"I don't know," she said.

"You...you can't hesitate again, okay? It can get you killed. I...I don't want to see anyone else dead." Izzy's jaw tightened. "Well that's good and all, but you're going to have to face the facts sooner or later."

"What?" Michael breathed, taking a couple steps towards her.

"We're all going to die here. You know that, you have to. I just want to do my part and help before that time comes. That's all." She said it so matter-of-fact that it was like it had already happened.

"That's not true," Charlotte interjected. "What do you think we're doing right now? Finding our way out is what has kept this group alive, hon."

"And it'll be our greatest downfall," Izzy said, drawing her sword and marching ahead, leaving Charlotte and Michael alone. They exchanged glances.

"We'll figure it out, right?" Charlotte asked.

"It's what we have to hope for," Michael said glumly.

Ami was quite proud of herself; fifteen fish in just a few short hours! They would all eat like kings tonight, that was for sure.

"Luke!" Ami called, searching for him through the house. No answer. Was he still mad about earlier? Now that she had those hours to think about it, Ami thought that she did come off as a bit harsh. He was just throwing out ideas, after all. Idiot! She should have been more accepting. Maybe the fish would make up for it all.

"Luuuuuuuuuuke!" She called again, climbing up vines and checking all the rooms. Still nothing. Maybe he was on the roof? Ami climbed up, finding the snowy place deserted. He wasn't by the lava pit, nor the gallery. Maybe inside the gallery? Still no. Ami began to get frustrated. That guy had to be somewhere. She glanced at a set of vines leading to the top of the gallery. Well, she was willing to try anything at this point. With a grunt and a heave, Ami rolled on the top of the gallery, getting her clothes soaked in snow. And on the other edge sat Luke by himself, deep in thought. So deep, in fact, that he didn't notice Ami's noisy arrival until she poked him on the shoulder.

"What?" he muttered irritably.

"I caught a crapload of fish - like fifteen in all - and I was looking for you. We should cook 'em up and have ourselves a feast!" she felt herself grin at the thought. Luke seemed to feel otherwise. "I'll have some later. You fill up." He stared off into the clouds.

"What? No, eating alone sucks." Ami protested. "Besides, you look like you've been up here a while. Come down with me!"

"You...don't understand." Luke shook his head. "I need to be alone right now." Ami rolled her eyes. "Stop acting like you're a kid. You need to eat." She paused, waiting for an answer, but only silence ensued. "I'll bring you your half later, then." Ami didn't want to give up, but she knew better than to press it with Luke. A little annoyed, she hopped down from the gallery and slipped inside, throwing the large heap of fish into the hot, stone furnace.

She watched the flames tickle the underbellies of the not-so-raw fish, gently cooking them to a point of deliciousness. Ami's mouth watered at the thought. But her mind also raced elsewhere, worried for her friends in the Nether, concerned for Luke's well-being, and also curious as to the whereabouts of Rufus. She never knew just where that wolf was hiding. There was no way she could contact Michael, Charlotte, or Izzy, since the earpieces never failed to malfunction whenever they went into the Nether, so she could only hope for the best. As for Luke, well, the only person that she could think of who knew more about Luke than anyone else was Charlotte. Ami sighed, wishing she had asked Charlotte about Luke a long time ago. She swam around in her thoughts, twirling a strand of hair around her block hand.

Light footsteps came from behind her. She didn't notice. The unsheathing of a sword drew her attention. As she turned she saw the blade swinging towards her. Ami screamed, jumping out of the way, but not fast enough. The cool metal cut through the skin of her left arm, and hot blood dripped from the wound. Ami's eyes darted to her attacker and she felt a mix of fear and shock. Luke stood before her, rearing back his arm for another strike.

"Luke!" Ami screeched. "What are you doing?!" She got up and dodged his next swing, trying to make sense of this. Ami grabbed her bloody arm. "Stop this! We can work this out...somehow." Luke swung again, aiming to kill. Ami hid behind the table, terror seeping through her skin.

"I'm done," Luke finally said. "with being pushed around. I'm done with this group. I'll take you out first and then the rest when they get back!"

"Are you insane?! Since when have we ever pushed you around? And killing us?! Luke, you sound like a psychopath! Just calm down and we can settle this like sane people!" Ami backed towards the doorway.

"No!" Luke lashed out again, but this time was met by the fangs of a wolf. Rufus snarled, sinking his teeth into Luke's hand, causing him to yell out in pain. Ami took the opportunity and ran. Out of the room, through the hallway, and down into the main room. She started towards the door, but tripped and fell on the hard wooden floor. The thud, instead of sounding rather light as usual, sounded heavier. She knew she didn't have much time, but felt she had to investigate. Ami smashed through the floor with her stubs, falling to the darkness below.

What an idiot, she thought. All that and I fell out of the floor to my death. Although she was on firm ground, which didn't make sense. And the sense of falling to her death didn't seem to be happening. Ami opened her eyes, startled to see an entirely new room. It was small. Only big enough to fit herself and perhaps one other.

"Agh!" A shout came from above her. Luke. Looking at the hole in the ceiling, or, floor, there was no way Luke wouldn't see her. Ami picked up the blocks of wood that had fallen when she crashed in and quickly placed them where they were. Now that she was sealed off from Luke, Ami breathed a sigh of relief. But she didn't stop worrying. Rufus was still somewhere up there, possibly fighting for his life. Unless it had already ended... Ami blinked moisture out of her eyes, shaking the thought away. Luke wouldn't have killed Rufus. You can't just kill a dog.

Ami looked in front of her, walking through the small corridor of a room. Before her was a stand full of diamond armour, and a chest. Above the two were signs that read "EMERGENCY ROOM: Take armour and weapons. Refill when danger is cleared. Good luck! -Michael and Steve." Upon opening the chest, Ami was amazed to see three bows, two hefty stacks of arrows, and three diamond swords. Along with those were every kind of enchantment book she could think of. She gazed to her right, noticing another sign that read "In case of long stay, look to the one over there -" Following the direction of the arrow, Ami's eyes fell upon a large chest that sat above a set of doors that presumably led outside.

Opening the large chest, Ami was even more amazed by six more sets of diamond armour, a stash of bread, apples, and potatoes that could last her days, two beds, a fishing rod, clock, shears, compass, flint and steel, and even a stack of TNT. For extreme emergencies, she supposed. She filled her inventory with the food, sparing nothing. She grabbed the beds, fishing rod, and everything else that was in there. She even took the TNT.Just in case, she told herself. Making sure to suit herself in armour and weapons, she stepped out of the doors that led outside.

The wonders of the sky house never failed to amaze her, even now, as she stumbled upon a big, wooden pool. So that's why they put a fishing rod in there, she thought. If need be, someone could live up here for days, months, even. Ami could very well spend the rest of her life in this small little shelter. But she had to get out of this area, and quick. There was no telling how long it would take Luke to discover this little secret. But Ami did realize that her arm would need tending to. The bleeding had definitely slowed, which was good, but Ami knew she had to clean it.

She carefully dipped her arm into the cool water, gasping as the water was colder than she had realized. She rinsed out her arm the best she could, but didn't know a better approach to patching it up, so had to leave it as such.

Ami was just about to find a way down the mass groupings of vines when a thought hit her. She couldn't leave Rufus here. If he was still alive, she would have to take him with her. Ami gritted her teeth. She'd have to slink around Luke and not get noticed. A difficult task in itself, and she was down an arm until she recovered more strength. But Ami knew that it wouldn't sit well with her if she didn't at least try.

First, she'd have to peep in and see what Luke was up to. And the only way she was ever going to get that high was through a lot of muscle. Ami grabbed onto the vines beside the doors. This was going to hurt.

22: The NPC

Ami tightened her grasp on the vines, desperate not to fall. She was trying to use her good arm, but with her luck it seemed she would have to use both. That thought was what frightened her the most. Slowly edging her way to the front door, Ami miraculously dragged herself up, her good arm now sore. Great, she thought sarcastically. As silently as she could be, Ami came close and looked through the doorway. Luke was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Rufus. Rather than make her feel comfort, this unsettled her. Ami took a deep breath, and with a leap of courage slowly creaked open the door.

She tiptoed across the floor, not daring to make a sound. If she had to fight her way out of this, that's just how it would have to be. Mind, she'd rather not, all injuries considered, but she knew she might. Ami checked the entire main room, found nothing, and climbed up the vines to the chest room. Still nothing. She should have expected this. If Rufus was to be anywhere, he may still be in the room she left him in. Ami stepped across the hallway, her heart pounding in her throat, as she drew open the doors to the final room.

Thankfully, Luke was nowhere to be seen. Ami felt her heart rejoice when she saw a familiar looking fur ball curled up in the corner. Rufus was alive! He was badly beaten up, but still alive nonetheless. Ami scooped the wolf in her arms, hearing him make a small noise. Whether it was pain or happiness she couldn't tell. Ami quickly ran on her toes out of the room, into the hallway, scampering down the vine ladder and outside into the crisp air. Using one arm to hold Rufus, Ami took her slightly good arm and slowly dropped down the giant vine ladder leading to the ground.

It was a miracle, she thought. How was Luke not there? Well, it didn't matter now, they were free! Ami's feet touched the chilly snow on the earth below her. Luckily her legs were still fairing well, so she put Rufus in her good arm and ran. She ran and dashed as fast as she could, sprinting away from the Sky House, her home. Well, it wasn't a home so long as Luke was there. Ami felt her stomach boil with anger. This was all his fault! If he could have just played it cool and not tried to kill her, she wouldn't be on the run! Her arm probably wouldn't be all gross, and Rufus wouldn't be so bruised and battered!

"I'll get him for this," Ami growled through her panting. She didn't know if there was a soul around to hear her, or if Rufus was even awake to hear such a comment, but it was more for her to remember. Luke would pay for this, that was for sure.

Fear. Unease. Paranoia. These things constantly shifted around in Ami's mind. The night was upon her, and though she had brought two brand new swords, the question was not if she had the equipment to save her, but if she had the ability. With a cut-up arm to fight with, she didn't stand much of a chance against a group of monsters. She could handle two, at best. Ami already had her sword drawn, and was doing rapid circles around and around to make sure she wasn't missing a grain of sand anywhere.

"Uhhh..." The sound of a Zombie snapped her attention. She hacked away at the creature with haste, quickly killing it and relishing in the award of watching it explode into dust.

"Skree!" The same happened with a spider. One at a time, one at a time. She could make it if they lined up single file. Of course, she knew all good things couldn't last. For when she heard the poof of something else in front of her, something she had never seen before that sent out a bright ball of energy that hit her squarely in the chest, that's when she knew she couldn't handle it. Ami got up, determined to fight. She struck the creature with her sword, sending it backwards, and grinned. Maybe she did have a shot. The creature took something out of its pocket. A vial. Full of a pink liquid.

"Oh, come on!" Ami yelled, angered as she watched the creature restore its health with a potion. She ran towards it again, ready to strike, and was knocked down by a blast of energy yet again. She got up, struggling to see. Swinging blindly. Forced to the ground. Her vision slowly fading, a dark figure jumping in front of her and making an unintelligible noise. Ami blacked out.

"You know, running headfirst into a witch isn't the best sort of strategy." A man's voice said. Ami had just barely woken up, her eyes were still adjusting to the scene around her. She rubbed them with her stub, noticing that the gash on her arm was gone.

"Wha...?" she questioned, looking to the guy sitting beside her.

"It's a health potion, like the one the witches use. Works wonders on all sorts of things. If you're exhausted, boom. Lively as ever. Near death, boom. Healthy as a newborn. Er, if that makes sense." Ami stared at the man, taking in all of his features. Tan skin, short brown hair, a small goatee, and two blue eyes that blinked at her. He wore a loose, light blue shirt and jeans. This certainly wasn't someone that Ami knew.

"Uh," Ami started. "Who are you?" The man suddenly looked a little embarrassed. "Shoot, forgive me. It's been a long time since I've introduced myself to someone. My name is Steve."

"Steve?" Ami repeated, her mind clicking all the pieces into place.

"Yep. That's what I said." Steve looked a little uneasy. "What's your-"

"Do you know someone called Michael?!" Ami blurted out. Steve leaned back in his chair. "Yes. But if you could please give me some sort of information on who you are I might be willing to tell you more."

"Oh, right." Ami blushed. "Sorry. I'm Ami. Michael and I are friends."

"Friends, huh?" Steve cocked his head to the side. "Out of curiosity what made you so sure that Michael and I were known to each other?"

"He talked about you when we got to the sky house," Ami explained. "Michael said that you two built that crazy place together. But...he also said that you parted ways, I think." Steve nodded. "No kidding we separated. I can barely stand that guy."

"What? So you did help build the house...wow. Why did you leave?"

"Why did I leave? I believe the more appropriate question is why wouldn't I? Look," He stood up and walked across the room to a big chest and dug through it.

"During the construction we realized that we had more differences than similarities. We ended up only fighting, so I left to get some peace. Mike was too self-absorbed to bother chasing after me, and too arrogant to stop arguing. That's all that you need to know."

"But-"

"I'm not saying anymore. We both know that we can't get along, so we stopped. Got it?" Ami gave a sheepish nod. Steve sighed. "Okay. Sorry if that came out as harsh, we have quite a bit of history."

"No kidding," she said weakly.

"Here's an idea," he said. "do you want to come out and meet some Villagers? I have to tend to the animals anyway. I can show you around, if you'd like." Ami gave him a confused look. "Villagers?"

"Hello!"

"How are you?"

"I am a helicopter," The voices of what Steve called 'Villagers' surrounded Ami. They weren't the brightest of the bunch - one look told Ami all that she needed to know - but they appeared to be kind, in the very least.

"Steve! Steve!" A villager ran at full speed towards them, screeching to a halt. "There is an emergency!" Steve sighed. "What is it this time?" The Villager ran off down the street, motioning for them to follow. Ami and Steve exchanged glances, following suit. Down the street was where the Villager stood, gazing upwards at a shingled, wooden roof. On top of the roof was another Villager, who seemed to be panicking.

"Aah! How do I get down?!" he exclaimed.

"Just hang on, Villager Number Thirteen!" The Villager on the ground said. "We have help coming for you!"

"Okay..."

As the two approached the situation, Steve slowly grew more disgruntled, slowly pressing his hand to his face. Ami said nothing, instead wondering how this would play out. Steve looked from the Villager, to the other Villager. "Is this what you bothered to drag me out here for?" he asked impatiently.

"Please! We don't know what to do!" The Villager on the ground pleaded. Steve sighed, taking a better look at the house. Something caught his eye on the side of the house.

"There's a ladder on the side of the house. Climb down on that." He shook his head, already marching away from the scene as Villager Number Thirteen made his way down the ladder.

"Thank you, odd man!" Villager Number Thirteen said, beaming at the back of Steve. Steve lifted an arm as he left. Ami trotted along to keep up, giving a small wave goodbye.

"I'd suggest not getting too friendly with them," Steve said as they reached the outskirts of town. "they can be a little...needy." Ami made a face. "Really? I think they're sweet. Idiots, but sweet."

"Idiot is only the tip of the iceberg," he muttered. Ami opened her mouth to say something, but decided not to. She didn't really know these Villagers as well as Steve probably did. Or at least that's what she assumed. Steve looked a little agitated right now, and Ami didn't want to press her luck with this new stranger. She looked ahead to see an oak fence, containing cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens. The fence was huge in itself, and she couldn't count the amount of livestock, there was too many!

"Wow," she breathed.

"It's not that spectacular," Steve shrugged. "I just take a lot of milk and meat with me, just in case I get stranded for a bit. Sometimes I like to travel, too." He opened the squeaky gate, closing it once Ami had walked in behind him.

"You travel?"

"Occasionally. I was going to head out on a small vacation a day or so ago, but that was when I found you facing off against the witch. Figured I couldn't leave a poor soul to die." Steve took out some seeds, and was instantly surrounded by all of his chickens. He smiled as the chickens graciously ate from the pile of seeds resting in his stubs. "Watch this," he said, motioning to two of the chickens that had eaten their share of seeds. The two drew closer together, seeming to almost merge into one another, and before Ami could blink, a small, squeaky sound emerged from in between them. The chickens separated, and a newborn chick had been born. Ami was amazed, to put it lightly.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed. "That's incredible!" Steve blushed. "It's not that big of a deal...I do it all the time. It's just how nature works." Ami looked at him with big eyes. "Are you kidding?! That's the greatest thing I've seen in ages! Michael never had livestock before, and he never did anything like this!" Steve's eyes clouded over.

"That's because Michael doesn't know compassion," Ami's smile faded as her gaze was taken away from the chickens and placed onto Steve.

"What?" she said. Steve stared at the ground.

"Nothing, let's move on. Hey, you want to see me do the same thing to those pigs over there? The piglets are pretty cute. You're a girl, so you probably like cute things, right?"

"Right," Ami said, still staring after him. Her mind was filled with questions, nearly spilling over. How she craved to know more of their friendship, but how the fear crippled her. She sighed, shaking it off and skipping to walk with him into where the pigs, cows, and sheep were grazing. "Where were you going to travel before you found me?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation from taking a darker turn.

"Oh? Well, that's just the thing. I don't know. When I travel I don't really have a destination, I just go. Gives me more freedom. I'm an explorer at heart, anyway. It's a thrilling experience for me, though I don't get to do it often."

"Neat. I've...never really traveled." Ami scrunched up her face, making an attempt to remember something more. "I mean, that's what I think." Steve hesitated for a fraction of a second, but pulled out bundles of wheat and fed the cows and sheep.

"Tell me something," he spoke absent-mindedly. "What memory do you have of before you came here?"

"You mean with Michael? Well-" Ami started.

"No," Steve interrupted. "I mean of before you came to this world." Her face paled.

"How do you know-"

"I know a lot more than you think. Answer my question, please." Ami swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat.

"I can only remember a little bit. I was studying to be a nurse...or my family were doctors...I don't know. But I didn't - don't - want to be a nurse; I can barely stand the blood. I know a lot about astronomy, though. I find that stuff fascinating. ...Er, that's it." Steve nodded, mildly impressed. "You know more about yourself than others in your situation do. That's good." He continued on with his work, saying nothing more.

"That's it?" Ami asked. "Michael came up with the theory that we were in a game a long time ago. We talked about what we all remembered, and-"

"Who do you think gave him that idea?"Steve scoffed. "I knew that jerk would only credit himself when it came to something like this."

"Steve," Ami said. "I get it, okay? You and Michael had it out for each other. But when was the last time you spoke to the guy?" Steve turned his cold, blue eyes on her. "It's been a few months. And for good reason - I shouldn't have to go crawling back to him to make amends."

"I think you should give it a shot," she said quietly.

"Really?" Steve questioned sarcastically, putting away the wheat and pulling out a few buckets. He began to milk the cows, still retaining an air of aggravation.

"And why should I do that?" Ami twiddled her thumbs nervously. "I think you two should make amends. You know, to not have any regrets, just in case something happens."

"Like what? If 'something' is referring to 'death' then tell Michael to be my guest when he goes. I couldn't care less what happens to him."

"I just want to help you two-"

"Maybe I don't want your help!" Steve blurted. He sighed. "Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled. It's a touchy subject. I'd rather stay as far away from him as I can, okay? Now let's go back home. Can you carry some of this milk for me?" Ami nodded solemnly, avoiding Steve's eye and putting a few milk buckets into her inventory.

Things had gotten a little tense between Steve and Ami. Ami didn't want to think low of him, but couldn't help but be hurt by his words against Michael. She helped sort and place all the milk buckets in a chest that Steve was organizing. As she did so, her mind kept replaying Steve's reaction to mentioning Michael. She didn't know why she wanted to get in their business and set things right, but she had somehow committed herself to doing so. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea as she initially thought. Ami glanced out the window, noticing the orange tinge that had settled upon the land. Night would be soon.

"I never get over the sunsets here," she said, breaking the silence. "the same goes to sunrises. They're just so pretty."

"Sunset?" Steve repeated, worry spreading across his face. "Er...I need to go."

"What?" Ami blinked. "But monsters come out, and if you get surrounded -"

"I've been doing this for a while, Ami. I know how to defend myself. Just stay here until I get back, okay? I won't be long." He gave her a reassuring smile, hustling out the door. Ami was left to wonder what that boy was up to. She stared at her sword leaning against the wall.

There wasn't a moment to waste, she thought, grabbing her sword and slipping out of the door after him.

Chaos. Disaster. These were the words that Ami would use to describe the current situation. All of the Villagers were running amok, yelling and screaming as Zombies began to infiltrate their village. She saw the green, walking corpses chase after them, and could only feel the fear that they felt.

"Get in your houses! Everyone, get inside somewhere and don't come out for anything! That's an order! Villager Number Seven, get inside!" Steve's voice rang clearly through the mayhem, commanding Villagers to get inside, to stay safe. The realization kicked Ami in the gut.

Is this what he does every night? she thought briefly, scanning through the crowd. Well, I shouldn't just be standing here, then. Ami furrowed her brow, and charged into battle. She targeted a Zombie just ahead of her that was chasing a Villager. With a few quick slices, the Zombie fell to the ground, gone from this world. The Villager ran in circles, stupidly and aimlessly.

"Hey, get inside!" Ami beckoned at the Villager. He froze for a second, looking at her, and then scampered away into a house as fast as he could. She couldn't believe that had worked. Ami worked her way through the village, slaughtering zombies and ushering Villagers into their houses until she saw him again. Steve was sprinting towards a Villager in close quarters with a Zombie.

"Get out of the way!" he yelled, trying to rush to his side. But it was too late. The Zombie bit into the Villager's flesh, knocking him to the ground and devouring a good chunk of his neck. Ami held both hands to her mouth, unable to look away with the scream caught in her throat.

"NO!" Steve screamed, as his fears were confirmed. The Zombie had finished off the Villager, and now turned to Steve, but was this time accompanied by the dead Villager, who had risen again as a Zombie, his flesh already beginning to rot. Steve blinked tears out of his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, hacking his way elegantly through both Zombies. As the Villager Zombie fell, Steve slumped to his knees. Ami slowly approached him, his jumbled words barely making sense.

"Steve?" she asked carefully. Steve jumped, quickly spiraling around from his spot on the ground. His sword was drawn against her, though his hand shook tremendously. As he recognized who she was, Steve lowered his sword and held his head in between his knees.

"I failed," he said.

"Failed? No way. You saved all of these people from a horrible death." Ami motioned to the rest of the village.

"But I let him die. I couldn't do anything about it - he was taken before I could do anything." Ami sat down next to him. "Sometimes we can't prevent what is already inevitable. You did all you could, right? I think that counts for something." Steve was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath, and seemed to gain his senses back. He looked at Ami, eyes stained red and gasped.

"What are we doing outside still?!" He jumped to his feet. "Come on, let's get back inside!" Steve practically dragged Ami back to the house. After Steve had calmed down a bit, the two sat in silence. Neither was willing to talk, and it seemed to be better that way. Eventually, Ami stood up, crawling into the bed Steve had laid out for her.

"I'm going to be heading back to the Sky-House tomorrow," she said, playing with the blanket. "and I was wondering if you would like to come with me." Steve remained still for a while, and Ami assumed that meant no. She lied down, about ready to close her eyes and sleep when she heard him speak up.

"Yes."

23: Kill or Be Killed

"You ready?" Steve asked Ami the next day. Ami pulled her head out of the chest, blinking away the small head-rush.

"I should ask the same," she said, sheathing her sword and doing a double check on her inventory. Steve ruffled his hair, heaving a great sigh. "As the saying goes, you gotta do what you gotta do. I'll warn you now there's no telling how he might react."

"And there's no telling how you'll react to him. Talking about someone is a lot different than actually talking to them."

"Since when were you the expert?" Steve smirked. Ami rolled her eyes. "Whatever, let's just go." She had finished gearing up, anyway. The duo left Steve's house, waving to the eccentric Villagers, who only yelled and ran in circles. Each to their own. Ami and Steve set off for the Sky House, a bounce in each step of the way.

A swirl of violet murk had melded itself in Michael's eyes. He had been to the Nether so often lately that he feared the pattern might burn itself on his eyeballs. Thankfully, he blinked away the swirls until a mountainous landscape and the looming tower that was the Sky House made themselves present once more.

"Now are you sure we have enough this time?" Izzy pushed a mess of her tangled hair out of her charred face.

"Yes," Michael clarified for the third time. "We don't have to go back there ever again."

"I damn well hope so." Charlotte brushed her dark hair over her shoulder and patted the black charcoal out of her worn jeans. "Anyhow, we should check back in. I bet those two lollygaggers will be ecstatic to see us back again." Michael smiled at the thought.

"Come to think of it, I would have expected a welcoming party, especially from Ami by now. Do you think something happened?" Izzy speculated. Michael waved a stub at her. "No way, they probably just don't know we're back yet. Don't stress about it. Besides, Ami would probably have something set up inside. Let's go." The trio shrugged, leisurely making their way up the vines.

Upon entering the house, an unwelcoming silence loomed over the heads of Michael, Charlotte, and Izzy. It sent a gloomy aura about the place, making it seem more like a prison rather than a safe home.

"Does anyone else feel that?" Izzy asked worriedly. The empty house filled the three with worry and suspicion. Michael took charge.

"I don't trust this place," he said. "We need to check every corner of every room. Don't split up, stick in this group. Be ready for a fight." He unsheathed his chipped diamond sword, holding it out in front of him and stalking carefully around the room. Izzy and Charlotte exchanged nervous glances and did the same.

"So tell me something," Ami spoke through mouthfuls of savoury rabbit stew as Rufus chewed on a bone. Steve blinked, giving her a neutral look. Ami went on. "Has there ever been other people besides Michael and you?" Steve swallowed his food.

"'Course," he said mildly. "But…a lot of them died. I think there was only four, no, five of us total when we had all grouped up together."

"Really?!" Ami swallowed a particularly large mouthful before continuing on ecstatically. "Wow! I mean, it kinda sucks that they're gone, but…wow! What were they like?" She looked at him with her big, curious blue orbs. Steve stirred his stew cautiously.

"Well, you know about Michael and I. There was this other girl, Laura, she was sweet. A real pain in the butt, but sweet, you know? She loved the ocean more than anything, wanted to be a marine biologist. You wouldn't believe how much she flipped out when I showed her a colony of squids." He smiled reflectively. "I can't forget about Paul or Brit, either. Paul was almost always stressed about something. Food, the weather, the trouble the rest of us caused…I think he probably got more gray hairs because of us. But he was kind of like a parent to us, in the sense of keeping us all safe. Otherwise he would always crack jokes, I swear that guy was a comedian." Steve had trailed off all of a sudden, shaking his head and lost in memories. Only the loud crunching of Rufus' bone filled the silence.

"Steve?"

"Mm?"

"What about Brit?"

"Oh, right. Well, he was, er…quite the guy. Very philosophical, you could say. Always analyzed things critically and seriously. Even jokes. Mind, he saved us all probably a billion times with his weird analogies on everything. Great strategist, a great guy to have deep talk with."

"Deep talk?"

"Oh, you know. Considering our place in the universe, realizing how small and inferior we probably are in the bigger aspect of things. Weird feelings, all that sort of stuff." Steve's eyes shined happily on the memory. Ami smiled herself, never having seen him have positive feelings for other people before.

"But then…" Steve's eyes darkened. "…Nevermind. They were good people, that's all."

"Oh," Ami said quietly. "Was Michael with you when you knew them?"

"Yes," he nodded. "He was the first one I met. Unsure of where he was – as we all were – but still witty and obsessed with those damn chests. I never should have shown him those, honestly."

"You were the one who started the chest thing?!" Ami exclaimed.

"No! Well…yes. I only showed him of how to store an abundance of items in one place! It's not my fault he went totally berserk with it and started putting a chest underneath everyone's foot!" Steve put his empty bowl back in his inventory. "I taught him everything I know. At the time, I was just ecstatic to talk to another soul. I figured I should make sure that he knew how to take care of himself, whether in a fight or cooking dinner." Ami looked into the depths of her empty bowl. The worn, wooden bowl, however, told her nothing. Steve cleared his throat. "Anyway, we should get going. It'll be dark soon. We're almost there." Ami put her bowl away, feeling melancholy.

Michael surveyed the bony, pale boy. The inky blue streak in his hair shimmering in the dim light. He had a mixture of a scowl and fear on his face, though Michael was partly certain that the scowl was just a permanent part of his face.

"Luke," Michael said boldly. "What's going on? Where's Ami?"

"You don't have to point your sword at me," He eyed the sharp gem with caution. "She's in the gallery. Is something wrong?"

"It's too eerie in here for something to not be afoot. You should come with us – grab a sword and meet us on the roof. We're going to scope out the gallery." Luke gave him a worried look, glancing over at the stony faces of the silent girls behind him. He nodded curtly, dashing out of the living room.

"Let's go," Michael said coldly, following after Luke but instead heading for the roof. The trio scanned the snowy surface, finding nothing that seemed to be out of place.

"I really don't like the feeling of this," Charlotte gazed into the back of Michael's head. "Ami isn't the type to stand in one place for long, especially when it comes to looking at motionless pictures." Michael was silent. Charlotte continued, "And I know it's wrong to be thinkin' such things, but…" Another glance at Michael's sandy head. "Luke is the most suspicious person here right now. I can't trust him the way things are." Silence.

"Charlotte's right, Michael," Izzy agreed. "For all we know, he could've done something to Ami-"

"Don't say such things," Michael cut her off abrasively. "Luke's one of us. He wouldn't do anything…he has no reason to!"

"Michael, this is all hypothetical," Charlotte whispered. "We should just be wary of him, that's all." Michael swallowed down the lump in his throat. "Let's just go." They went inside the gallery.

The paintings all stared down at them with sharp eyes. The atmosphere had really gone from uneasy to just plain terrifying, Michael thought unhappily. And there was no sight of Ami. She wasn't hiding behind a pillar or behind a painting. She simply wasn't there.

"He lied to us," Izzy spoke quietly.

"He was just misinformed. Ami probably left the gallery a while ago…" Michael felt a cold sweat trickle down his neck.

"Then where is she?" Charlotte stressed.

"I – I don't know!" Michael forced a laugh. "I don't know."

"She wouldn't leave, would she, Charlotte?" Izzy's eyes were wide like a child's.

"Don't be silly!" Charlotte put her hands on her hips. "Ami…needs people. She wouldn't leave unless she absolutely had to!"

"Like if she was driven out?" Izzy's voice had gone to that of a whisper. Charlotte ran her stubs through her hair. "Yeah," she said uneasily. Michael shook uncontrollably.

"Ladies, ladies, I'm sure this is simply a big misunderstanding. We shouldn't stress over something so…so imaginative!" His efforts to calm the two down were in vain, for they only looked at him with fearful eyes, and Michael had to bite his tongue. He knew there was no way to talk them out of it. There was no way to talk himself out of it. Luke was either a liar or very, very misinformed. The innocent voice of a madman announced itself.

"I-I'm here," Luke said, sword at the ready. "Is she here?"

"No," Michael said absently.

"W-what?! I swear I just saw her, she said she was goig to pop in here for a bit, and – and…that's all I know."

"Your lies are so authentic it makes me want to puke," Charlotte scoffed, getting right into Luke's personal bubble. "What have you done with her?" Luke trembled.

"I – I wh – what?" he stuttered.

"You did this, I know it. Ami doesn't hide herself for very long, we all know that. And where's Rufus, anyway? Did you do something to him, too?"

"I d – don't know what you mean!" Luke's eyes were like huge, crystal balls now. "Maybe she went on a walk with him? I don't know! I swear I didn't do anything!"

"Liar," Charlotte bellowed gravely, swinging her sword at the frail boy. He leapt backwards, stumbling to the ground.

"Charlotte!" Izzy cried. "We don't need to kill the guy!" Charlotte wasn't listening. She was angrier than a mother bear who'd found her cub in the possession of another.

"Tell me the truth!" She swung again, breathing heavily as Luke rolled away.

"S – Stop!" Luke pleaded, scrambling for his sword. It shook in his hands. Charlotte cracked her neck. "I'm done with playing nice,"

"Here we are," Steve said triumphantly. "Home sweet home. Er, for you, anyway." Ami giggled. "I think you've already accepted that you're not going back to the Villagers." Steve laughed.

"Them? I'll check back every so often, but they should be fine on their own. …I think." His brow knitted worriedly. "Perhaps I'll check more often than I initially thought." Ami smiled. "You really do care about those guys."

"Correction, they're idiots," he said. They both laughed, the vine ladder before them.

"Ready?" Ami glanced at Steve. Steve gulped. "Sure." He grabbed onto a relatively sturdy vine, slowly pulling himself up.

"This is quite the workout," he puffed, already winded after less than a minute.

"You have no idea," Ami huffed alongside him. Soon enough, they came to the wide entryway, entering the wooden doors.

"Michael?" Ami called. "Are you back yet?" No answer. Ami shrugged. Perhaps they weren't back. She still had the sneaking suspicion that Luke was hiding somewhere, and stayed alert. She thought then that it would be a good idea to tell Steve about this entire ordeal. "Steve – " she started, but found that he wasn't beside her. She did a quick look, scared at first, but relieved when she saw he was just looking at the items and monster heads.

"What are you doing?" She approached him, Rufus at her heels.

"Nothing," Steve said. "Just revisiting old memories."

"Oh," Ami was quiet for a moment, but only a moment. "Look, I need to tell you something. It's about why I left here and was out at night…" Steve looked at her with sharp eyes. "Tell me," he said. Ami went through it all rather quickly, hastily explaining that once Luke had tried to attack her, she fell through the floor into an emergency room, and escaped from there with Rufus. Steve was patient as he listened to her, not taking his eyes off of the wall.

"Well," he said after she had finished. "It seems we should scope the place out, then, shouldn't we?" Ami nodded. "Yeah," Steve pulled out his sword. "I can take him head on, if need be. We can take him together. He won't hurt you anymore, okay?" Ami nodded again, eyes shimmering. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself when a piercing, horrifying scream echoed through the night. Steve and Ami exchanged glances, and rushed outside, climbing to the roof.

Michael was sweating profusely. Charlotte had crumpled to the floor, Luke's sword cutting through her flesh like scissors through paper. She had begun to bleed. A lot. There was a dry, sour taste in Michael's mouth. There was his proof – Luke was a traitor. He had full reason to strike him down right now with intent to kill. But he didn't. He couldn't. Michael was a coward.

Izzy immediately charged at Luke, swinging madly. Luke expertly dodged her attacks, blocking her sword anytime it came in a close proximity to his body. But her slashes were so erratic and asymmetrical that she managed to graze him on the cheek. Luke felt the warm blood dripping from his face. Izzy lunged again, driven by anger. This time, Luke countered with an attack of his own, giving Izzy a large gash on her arm. She yelled, the pain seeping through her nerves.

"Izzy! Charlotte! Michael!" Ami exclaimed, shocked by the scene. She rushed to Charlotte, who had a fairly-sized cut in her abdomen. Steve ran in behind her, squaring off against Luke. Rufus went to Charlotte as well, sticking with Ami.

"Stop this!" he commanded. "Stop and I'll spare your life!" Luke scoffed, raising his sword and ready for a duel.
Michael was surprised, in the very least. His mouth hung agape at the sight of his former ally. A mixture of confusion and concern swept over him, and it was enough to snap him out of it. Michael's grip tightened on his sword, and he stood by him.

"Michael," Steve acknowledged him.

"Steve," He kept his eyes on Luke.

"Whaddaya say we treat this sucker to a good ol' fashioned beating?"

"Fine with me," Michael said coldly. The two ganged up on Luke, blocking his attacks and striking back, easily pinning him to the wall. Michael held Luke as he struggled to break free, keeping him in place. He looked to Steve.

"Do it," he said. "Just kill him already!" Steve hesitated. He held his sword at the ready. It would be a clean slice, half a second and he would be gone. But he couldn't do it. He wouldn't. Steve gazed at his sword, the sweat running down his face. Michael looked at him worriedly. The sword dropped from Steve's hands, making a loud clang on the ground below.

"I can't," he said. Michael was silent. Everyone was silent. "But I can do this." Steve raised a stub and punched Luke so hard that he lost consciousness. His body fell to the floor with a thud, and the two boys blinked at each other.

Steve offered Michael his hand. "Truce?" he asked. Michael took his hand firmly. "Truce."

"Well, where are we gonna put 'im?" Charlotte demanded at the table. They had all gathered around the table to discuss the matter of Luke. His unconscious body currently lay on the ground beside them.

"The ground doesn't exactly seem like the best option. I say we just kick him out." Izzy shrugged. "Honestly I couldn't care less, as long as I don't have to see him again."

"But he could easily come back and hurt us again if we just let him go," Ami objected. "We need to keep him contained, somehow."

"Like a prison cell? We don't have one of those. It's not like we've ever needed one before!" Michael said.

"Couldn't we easily build one? Say, on the roof, across from the firepit." Steve suggested.

"But what could we make it out of? It has to be almost impossible to break, otherwise he'll run away." Ami pondered. Steve tapped his chin thoughtfully. "What about obsidian? I have a bunch with me, enough to make a box big enough to contain the rascal. I can go build it right now."

"Wait, are we all sure we want to keep him locked up?" Izzy protested. "I don't know if I can stand it…"

"Then let's have a vote," Michael said. "Those who want to keep Luke locked up here, raise your hand." Steve, Ami, Charlotte, and Michael raised their hands. Izzy was the only one left out, aside from Rufus, who probably would have voted against her anyway. She gritted her teeth.

"Fine, we can keep him. Just don't expect me to be the one that feeds him." So Steve went to work at once on the cell, and made it rather quickly. Miraculously, Luke remained in his unconscious state long enough so that the cell could be built (they even added a bed) and he could be thrown inside. The box was made of entirely obsidian, the only gap at the very top, where a trapdoor was, so that they could all drop down food or harsh words at Luke. It seemed that things would finally calm down for a while, and Ami could finally relax for a moment. But as the sun set and the moon rose, Ami gazed down at the monsters below and felt a dark sense of foreboding. Sighing to herself, Ami gazed back into the lava, allowing herself to be entranced by it once more before she headed inside.

24: R & R

Ami bustled around her friends, barely avoiding an Izzy to the entire body. Luckily, she managed to keep herself and the bowl of mushroom soup she carried safe as Izzy sprawled into the wall. Izzy shook her head, dizzy from the impact, but clearly not hurt.

"Don't kill each other or anything!" Ami called.

"She has to learn somehow," Charlotte said, rolling her eyes and preparing herself for Izzy's next blow. As Ami headed outside she pondered about Izzy. She had insisted that Charlotte train her in combat, and though it was good for her to know how to defend herself, Ami couldn't help but worry. Izzy had certainly changed since Aiden's death, and she wasn't quite sure how healthy she was mentally. Ami sighed, shivering from the cold as she walked across the roof and to the obsidian cell. Now that she considered it, perhaps it wasn't right to keep someone locked up in a really small space for hours, days on end. Luke could go even more insane than he already was.

"Luke?" Ami opened the trapdoor on the top of the cage. "I brought you breakfast." She saw his dark lump of hair in the corner slowly move and look up. His face was blank, devoid of emotion. Unnerved, Ami passed down the bowl of mushroom soup into his shaking hands. Upon receiving the food, Luke almost immediately vanquished it. Some of the soup splattered on his face and clothes, but most of it went down his throat.

"Don't choke on it!" Ami exclaimed. Luke suddenly stopped his ravenous eating and glared at her with piercing eyes.

"It would be better though, wouldn't it? Having me die rather than live. I don't understand why you all keep me alive." His words surprised Ami. Not because of how lenient Luke seemed to be about his life, but the very fact that he spoke.

"You shouldn't think of yourself that way," Ami found herself saying, unsure of why she kept the conversation going. "It's not healthy." Luke laughed scornfully.

"Healthy? And keeping me here is? You lot are a riot." He went back to eating his half-empty bowl of soup.

"I still don't understand why you did it." Ami leaned her head in her hand, lying down.

"What?"

"You know what! Trying to kill me, for one thing, and then trying to kill everyone else!"

"Oh, that." Luke finished his soup neutrally, passing the bowl up to Ami. "Seeing as I can't leave, your friend Steve made sure to make this cell tall enough so that I can't just jump out or break it, why don't I tell you my life story?" Ami listened in, interested in what he was going to say. Luke cackled at her.

"You really think I'm going to tell you? Hah! A stubborn little wench like you doesn't need to know things she shouldn't. Go stick your gross face somewhere it belongs." Ami huffed at him, red in the face.

"For the record," she said, shutting the trapdoor with so much force that Luke jumped. "I was planning on making your life easier. Now, though…" she trailed off, getting up and leaving the boy to yell at her.

Ami put the bowl in a chest with a loud clatter.

"I'm guessing it didn't go well?" Michael confirmed worriedly as he crafted more armour.

"That little turd-ball is on my last nerve. I was going to be nice to him and not be a jerk, but I seriously need to get a counselor." Ami fumed.

"Judging from the lack of logic you just used in that sentence, I'll bet this apple that he said something rude to you." Steve threw an apple in the air, catching it with ease.

"I'm done!" Ami threw her hands in the air. "Aaaagh!"

"Now you're just being over-dramatic," Steve smirked. "We can give you some leverage to relax, though. I'll take over for his next meal, give him a piece of my mind." Ami sighed. "It's not that bad, really. He's just rude, obnoxious..."

"So a jerkface?"

"Exactly!" Steve laughed at Ami's rage. Michael stuffed a chest plate in a chest, dusting his hands off and spinning to face them. "Now, with that out of the way, we should talk of what comes next."

"Already?" Charlotte leaned back in her chair, the back legs teetering to hold her. "We just settled something, can't we just rest?" A troubled look crossed Michael's face.

"I'd love to, Char, but we're so close to defeating the Ender Dragon...like, so close that we're just about ready to hunt down its lair!"

"So? What will waiting another day to do it do? Let's enjoy another day before anyone else has to die." Everyone went quiet, especially Michael. "It's true," Charlotte said quietly. "Every time we go out, we either come close to death or one of us dies. Can we stay for a bit?"

"Okay," Michael agreed. "But we'll need a couple of people to go out to get a little food today, just to stock up before we leave here for good." Charlotte nodded solemnly, solidifying her dark eyes on the ground.

"I'll go." Steve volunteered, raising a block hand.

"I can go with him, then." Ami bounded to rest beside him. "How much do we need?" Michael scrunched up his face. "Enough to feed all of us for a day or two. I wouldn't stress that much on the amount though, just get as much as you can, and we can divvy it all up from there. Finding the Ender Dragon's lair should only take us a day or two, but I want to be prepared."

"I think the proper term is extremely prepared," Steve smirked. Michael rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Better to have an overfull supply of food than a hollow one. You guys should hurry and go, though. It will be dark in a few hours."

"Roger that." Ami saluted with a grin. "I'm ready to go, everything I need is with me...what about you?" He waved the thought away. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." Ami quickly tied her hair in a ponytail. "Okay, let's go!"

It was a beautiful day outside. Chickens were making obscene noises, cows were grazing. On days like these, the time was ripe for a good harvest...of flesh. Ami thought that her train of thought had taken a dive towards the dark side, which made her a little uneasy. Shaking away her peculiar daydreams, she turned to Steve, who looked just about as squeamish as she did.

"So, are we going to do this, or what?" she wasn't so sure she wanted to maim livestock today.

"Maybe we should just get the crops today," Steve flushed. Ami smiled, her heart sighing in relief. They walked past the wide fence that contained cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens, and instead went to a large strip of land where the ground was tilled in even lines. In between every line was a strip of water, which nourished the crops enough to produce a fine harvest. They would have a lot to harvest, including carrots, potatoes, wheat, sugar canes, and a couple pumpkins and melons littered the tail end of it all.

"Michael really needs to learn how to grow less food. I'm not complaining, but his grotesque amounts are almost reaching hoarder status." Ami laughed. "I see what you mean." She looked to the sky. "Shoot, we should grab some things, it's almost sundown. Michael will kill us if we show up with nothing." Ami and Steve set to work, Ami pocketing potatoes, and Steve collecting carrots. They both made sure to replant any extra crops for the next harvest. Occasionally, a joke would be cracked in the midst of things, but otherwise it was fairly silent. Ami thought perhaps that she had exhausted all conversation topics with Steve, but knew that she herself wasn't feeling up to a conversation anymore. Instead, she focused herself on her work. One potato, three potato, plant potato. She had a successful rhythm going, too. It got to the point when she would mutter her tactics to herself, "One potato, three potato, plant potato..." and didn't notice how time rapidly went by around her.

"Ami?" Steve snapped her out of her routine.

"Yeah?"

"It's dark."

"Dammit." Ami thought that Steve had to have been focused on his work as well, and maybe none of them watched the sun go down. Either way, they needed to head back pronto. Ami planted one last potato in the soft, moist soil, and dusted her stubs off as she got to her feet.

"Okay, let's head back. Good thing the house isn't that far away, huh?"

"Definitely. We would probably be okay even if we had to walk further. I think we could handle ourselves."

"You think you can handle yourself. I'm not the best at fighting."

"Then you can just cheer me on," Steve said, chuckling. Ami rolled her eyes, grinning herself. "As if. I'd cheer the monsters on."

"What?" Steve protested. "That's cold." They both laughed, the only other sound in the night being their crunching footsteps. The house towered above them, and just as they were passing by it, Steve took a long stretch.

"At least we didn't see any monsters this time around. I find that there are a lot of days in which you don't see anything at night unless you go looking for it. Even then, the chances are a little slim. But if you live in the desert, that's a different story."

"Are there more monsters in the desert?" Steve's eyes widened as he nodded very slowly. "Ohh, yes. You wouldn't believe how many just pop out of nowhere."

"Sounds like a horror movie."

"What's a movie?" Steve asked, confused. Ami was taken aback herself, surprised that such an answer would come form anyone's mouth.

"You don't know what a movie is? Where have you been all your life?!"

"Here," he said simply. "I live here."

"Oh, right." The thought never occurred to Ami that there would be another soul that didn't know the comforts of a modern life. She thought that she could try and explain the concept to him, anyway. "A movie," she started. "is something that a bunch of people gather around to watch. Uh...it's kind of like a play, if you know what that is, except with technology." Steve nodded to show his understanding. "Well, Brit used to blabber on about some old guy called Shake a spear-" Ami couldn't hold in a spurt of laughter. Steve looked genuinely concerned. "What? What did I say?" Ami waved the comment away.

"Nothing. It's kind of like that, actually." The two approached the house, Ami still trying to stifle her laughter. None of them noticed what was unseen until it was too late.

Ktsssss...

"Get out of the way!" Steve reacted quickly, shoving Ami to the side as a significant sound of an explosion filled the empty air. Ami gasped, having no time to react to anything herself. She fell, tumbling to the side, safe and unharmed. What was that explosion? What just happened? The gears in her brain suddenly clicked, and a wave of dread seeped through her. Ami scrambled to her feet, and to her horror saw what remained of Steve dissipate into the night. There was a huge hole left where he once stood, and Ami was left alone again.

25: Regeneration

Ami felt the tears run down her face. She didn't sob, or make any gross noises. The tears just simply came and went like the passage of time. She had to run the entire scenario through her head a couple times until she fully understood what truly happened. Steve died saving her skin. And now he was gone. Forever. Ami wanted to punch something. But she feared the danger that the night stored, so instead turned to the vine ladder and climbed up, her arms and legs feeling rather jello-like.
She entered the house with a grim face. Heads turned upon her arrival, many breaking into a smile.

"They're back!" Izzy exclaimed, leaping from her seat and enveloping Ami in a hug. "We were getting worried since it was dark...where's Steve?" she kept looking around for him, expecting Steve to be right behind Ami. There was a metallic ping inside Ami's gut. She couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"Ami...?" Michael approached her as Izzy broke away. "Where's Steve?" Ami stared at the floorboards.

"And why are you crying?" Izzy's big, green eyes gazed at her concernedly. It would have been better if Ami had punched them in the nose. They're faces told it all. Michael punched the wall, swearing profusely. Ami saw Charlotte sigh as she sat down at the table.

"It's just one thing after another," Michael glared at the wall as if it had insulted him. Ami slowly walked over to a chest, plopping her collection of potatoes inside and maneuvering her way to the bedroom.

"I'm going to bed. We should all sleep, it's late." She exited without waiting for a reply. The bed squeaked when she sat on it, but she did not lie down. Ami drew her knees close to her chest, squeezing hard. Maybe she hoped that it would squeeze all the sadness out. Maybe she would squeeze herself to death and be freed from it all.

Ami sat like that for a while, her mind unable to wander, so she just blankly gazed at her crimson bed sheets. After a few minutes, the position became uncomfortable, so then she truly figured she could try and sleep. Ami lay her head on the pillow with a hollow feeling in her chest. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but the nightmares that came were unsettling and frightful.

* * *

One nightmare took place in the house. Everyone was smiling and laughing, having a good time. She felt inclined to join them, but fund that her feet were rooted to the spot - literally. As much as she desperately tried, her feet wouldn't budge. Ami even tried calling out to her friends, but her voice refused to reach them. She cried out, screaming, but nobody came.

"Pitiful, isn't it?" Her own voice spoke to her. Ami was in a sitting position, furiously trying to rip out the roots that bound her. She didn't care that the tears were running down her face again, or that her stubs were bleeding from the effort.

"Pitiful that you were too much of a coward to do anything." Her voice came again, sending Ami into a panic.

"I couldn't have done anything! I had no time-"

"He certainly had time. Maybe if you just paid more attention to your surroundings you could have saved him instead."

"Shut up!" Ami's efforts were completely useless as the voice grew louder, and her own softer.

"Oh, I see how it is. You wanted him to die, so that you can finally be all alone. That's what you want, isn't it? To be alone? Forever?"

"Liar!" Her voice caught in her throat. None of it was true. This had to be a dream...her friends were always going to be there to help her...

"Won't you be pleased once the rest of them die?" The voice cooed. "Then you'll finally get your wish. A lone wolf, with no soul that will ever care about her, and that's just the way she likes it. This is the future you desire, isn't it?" Ami screamed frantically, thrashing wildly in her only other option to free herself. The world spun around her, her stubs bleeding, her friend's laughter carrying on without her until it faded into a dull resonance that lingered in the back of her head. All that was left was her own screaming.

"Ami! Ouch - Ami! Jesus - wake up!" Ami's heart was at a rapid pace. She opened her eyes, relieved to see a wooden ceiling, relieved to know that it really was just a bad dream. She rubbed her eyes, a little grossed out to find that her face was really sweaty. As her heart rate calmed down, she made a moaning noise to signify to the person beside her that she was alive.

"You really hit hard, ouch..." The voice made her heart stop. "That must have been some nightmare, huh?" Ami took her hands away from her face and thought she was dreaming again. Steve sat beside her on her bed, rubbing a bruise on his arm. She must have been staring, because he caught her eye and cleared his throat.

"Um...is there something I did? Am I missing something? Er - it's me, St-"

"You're alive!" She threw herself on him, squeezing him so tightly that his head might pop like a balloon. The hollow feeling that had been in her body was replaced by an indescribable warmth that filled her from head to toe. Ami hadn't been this happy in a long time.

"I am alive," he said, wheezing. Ami hastily let go, worried that he might die again. "But you...explosion..." Steve blinked. "Oh, that. It wasn't as bad as other things I've experienced."

"I don't think you understand what I'm getting at," Ami breathed deeply. "How are you alive?"

"Oh!" Steve jumped. "Well, I can't really explain it myself." Ami gave him a look to go on anyway. Steve cleared his throat. "Every time I die I always end up back at the last bed I slept in, good as new. I'm glad I wasn't sent all the way back to the village, though. That would have been a long walk."

"Do the others know that you're alive?!"

"Oh, I guess not. I just woke up here a couple minutes before you. You were having one hell of a nightmare, so I tried to snap you out of it. Do you remember what it was about?" Ami gulped. "No," she lied. Steve shrugged. "Fair enough. Here, let's freak some more people out."

The shock was something that seemed like it could have been scripted. Only, it wasn't. And the reactions were genuine, which was what made Ami laugh so hard that her spleen seemed like it would fall out. Now that she had gotten over her initial surprise, it was amusing to see the faces of her friends become so unbelieving at first, and amazing to see them smile again.

"Why didn't you tell me you were immortal?!" Michael exclaimed, punching him in the chest.

"It's not exactly a dinnertime topic!"

"Still," Michael stressed. He sighed. "How did you say it happened again?" He shrugged. "Every time I get killed I just wake up in the last bed I slept in the next morning. I wouldn't say I'm immortal, but I can definitely resurrect myself, somehow." Michael put a finger to his chin thoughtfully. Izzy gushed over his 'power' in the meantime.

"Wow! Are you, like, a superhero or something?! Can you fly, too?"

"Uhh..." Steve wasn't sure how to answer this.

"Hon, I think if Steve could fly he would have shown us by now." Charlotte placed a hand on her shoulder. Izzy sighed disappointingly. "I'm just bewildered that he's even standing with us."

"No kidding," Ami agreed, thinking of earlier.

"Well, with this revelation out of the way, maybe we could learn something from it, I dunno." Michael pondered.

"What do you mean?" Izzy cocked her head to the side.

"Think of it this way. If Steve always regenerates his body - which is what it sounds like - then we could use this like some sort of battle tactic. Sure, it's only a one time thing since he wouldn't be back until the morning, but we could use you for emergencies, if it's alright." Steve shrugged.

"Sure. Oddly enough, I don't mind being the guinea pig."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you've lived here your whole life," Micheal wondered aloud. "What memories do you have of your childhood?"

"Childhood?" Steve blinked. "All I remember is waking up here one day just as I am. I figured things out for myself, mostly." He shrugged. "Maybe I just don't have one." Michael wagged his finger, a look of enlightenment spreading across his face. "I think you'd be known as what we call a NPC, or non-playable character, in this sense. You can't die permanently, you're just kind of stuck in time, maybe that means that you're just as old as this world is!"

"Ehh..." Steve shrugged again.

"Ehh what?" Michael repeated dully.

"So I'm really old. It doesn't really have anything to do with our goals, does it?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Then we can easily just plan ahead instead of dwelling on the past. I prefer that more than anything." He looked to Michael, who looked like a deflated balloon.

"Oh," Michael tapped his legs awkwardly. "Sure." He cleared his throat, moving over to the table and laying out a detailed map. It contained the landscape around them, even the mountain that they scaled to approach the house was there. But not only the mountain, the Sky House was laid out in amazing outer, and possibly inner, detail.

"Wow! This is so cool!" Ami gushed over the map, the fine points and incredible attention to everything leaving her breathless. She wasn't the only one, either. A collective gasp was everyone's reaction, for they had most likely never looked at a map before.

"Who needs a map now, huh?" Michael smirked, relishing in the group's wonder. "Anyway, we're right here, in the house, of course. We have enough supplies and Eyes of Ender to get us to the Lair, which I guess is somewhere over...here." He pointed in the middle of a vast section where the secret Lair could be located...though it didn't get quite get the response he envisioned.

"Michael, that's the ocean," Izzy stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly!" he said ecstatically, his energy flying back at a remarkable force. "It's underwater! Don't worry - I have some Water Breathing potions in case you get nervous, a couple for everyone. Doesn't it remind you of Atlantis? I bet there's more treasures that hide there, too..." he trailed off, lost in his nerdiness. Charlotte cleared her throat.

"I'm sure there is. How do we get there?" Michael snapped back into it, blushing lightly.

"Well, that's the part that might take us a while. See, we take one of these Eyes of Enders, right? I won't show it now, since we should conserve them, but what I'll do is throw them in the air, and they should lead us in the direction of the Lair. Cool, huh?"

"So we're following an inanimate object's directions," Ami clarified.

"When you put it that way it sounds little less exciting." Michael blinked. "But yes, if you want to be boring. I say we should head out tomorrow as soon as we can. We can go over battle strategies on the way there...then we'll finally be able to break our way out of this world." Michael smiled faintly. A stiff hand clasped his shoulder. It was Steve.

"Sounds good to me," he said. "I'm going to pack up my stuff right now, then. Ciao." He left swiftly. Izzy and Charlotte exchanged glances, before grinning and dashing off somewhere themselves. Michael sighed, still smiling and rolling up his map. He placed it somewhere in his inventory, giving Ami an assured glance.

"We're almost there," his brown orbs gleamed with hope.

"Finally." Ami nodded, turning and climbing the vines that lead to the great chest room. She couldn't help but grin to herself as she sorted through several blades before finding her own diamond sword. Finally, their suffering would be over. They could go home! Wherever home was, at least.

26: A Final Farewell

Ami sat on the top of the snowy roof, staring up at the stars and breathing out small clouds of air. She watched the warm vapors dissipate into the endless sky, her face illuminated by the small lava pool that cast an aura of warmth across her body. She thought to herself about events to come, and found herself sinking further into her own thoughts. Worry and excitement mixed together to only create confusion and panic that swirled like quicksand, pulling her down. There was so much that could go wrong, as well as so many things that could go right.

She eagerly looked forward to possibly returning to her home, her real home, but honestly didn't have the faintest idea what it looked like or even felt like to be in such a place. The only home she really knew was the Sky House, the small, wooden house a little ways away, and that odd desert bunker that Michael made. Ami couldn't piece together what she thought a proper homey feeling should be. Every time she pictured a warm, vivid fireplace, the only image that came into her head was the giant pillar of lava that stood dead center of the wooden house.

The memory brought her lip into a small smile. Michael's face was priceless, not to mention that it was great to see Jack trying to stifle his laughter...Ami stopped herself. An ache became present in her chest. She really did miss Jack. It wasn't so much of a tear-jerking pain in her heart now, but more of a sore that had been present long enough that it still hurt - but not quite at the same time. She couldn't particularly explain it herself, but she could trace back memories of Jack and still be able to smile fondly at them.

But what if things were to go awry? Sure, she had memories to look on, and she had had time to recover from Jack's death...but if more of her friends were to die when they were so close to freedom...she didn't know what she would do. The very thought terrified her. Ami shook her head vigorously. No. She wouldn't let that happen.

Ami stared hard at a particular star that shone quite dimly. She imagined that that star was her. They would all come out of this just like every other time. The only reminder of their experience would be the bruises and scratches that would inevitably come from such a physical task as this. That star would shine brighter if it simply tried enough and put just a little more into its effort. But the effort was another thing she didn't feel quite ready for.

The fight itself against a dragon of all things was something Ami could only think of belonging in a fairy-tale. If such a thing were true, she would be a character in a story herself. The thought troubled her. Ami sighed, thinking of her average fighting skills. True, she could kill off a zombie or two and even a few spiders, if she was lucky, but a dragon? Such a fierce, majestic beast that was untamed, wild, and especially dangerous wasn't anything like what she had already faced. Not to mention the creature was probably gigantic. The horrors twisted themselves in Ami's brain, contorting themselves into what was an unrealistic, unfair fight that would inevitably end up with everyone getting hurt. Her daydreams haunted her, and Ami had to shake it off again to think sensibly once more. But the nagging thoughts never left her troubled soul.

As Ami stared out into the stars, the sky began to slowly lighten. Sunrise beckoned, and Ami fell prisoner to its stern yet ravishing gaze. Beams of a dull, cantaloupe colour washed over the world, and the very sight was astounding to the eye. Warmth spread from the sun's rays, and the firepit became as useful as a warm sweater in the middle of summertime. Needless to say, the heat became a little too much. Ami decided that this was a good time to head back down and get herself ready. Though she knew already that all her items and gear were already in her inventory, her sword sitting loosely in its slot, ready for action. Ultimately she figured that it might be rude to tread upon the others as they were enjoying the last bits of sleep they may have for a while.

She went to climb down the path of vines, but stopped, her leg drooping down the side of the house and firmly clenching the vines themselves. The perfect picture of the sunrise burned itself in her memory, and she so desperately wanted the image to stay with her forever. She couldn't be sure when she would ever see such a sight again.

* * *

Ami silently crept through the front doors, not at all surprised when she found the tired face of Michael sitting at the table, wordlessly leaning on his arms, deep in thought. He must have snapped out of it when she arrived, for he heaved a great sigh.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked.

"Not a wink," Ami replied. The corners of Michael's eyes wrinkled into a smile. "Neither could I. The idea of returning home just wouldn't give me enough leeway to rest up before the big day."

"I had the same thoughts." Ami went to sit across from him. "But the results were a little different." Michael's smile faded, the wrinkles disappearing and a more serious tone returning.

"You know I can't guarantee anyone coming out of this unscathed, right?" He fixed his docile, perturbed eyes on her. Ami bit her lip. "I know," she said. "but that doesn't mean that we won't make it."

"But it also means that we'll have to accept any...casualties that may occur during the final battle. It's not going to be easy."

"We can cover each other's backs - I know we can do this. There's five of us, not including Luke or anything, but if we can figure out a way, which I'm sure you came up with something, then we'll just have to hope for the best and keep our wits about us." Ami didn't know where she got it, but a rush of hope pumped rapidly through her. Somehow, she was obtaining such an ideal to hang onto. Something dark crossed over Michael's face.

"Y-Yeah." His eyes darted to the side. An ice cube slowly sank its way through Ami's stomach, replacing the hope with dread.

"You do have a plan, right?" Ami asked nervously. Michael gave an anxious laugh.

"Less of a plan and more like a really hopeful idea. I-I'll explain once everyone's awake." With that, he skittered off into the secret chest room, not looking back as he hastily climbed the vines. They didn't have a plan. No safe, somewhat secured Michael-knows-all handicap that they had all previously become accustomed to. Ami held her face in her stubs. What were they going to do?

* * *

"Alright, everybody gather around." Michael motioned for everyone to gather in a circle. Dawn had broken, and the group was slowly gathering their bearings and preparing their armour and weapons. Michael pulled out his large stash of Eyes of Ender. "These," he said. "are what will lead us to the Ender Dragon. When we're all ready to go, which looks like it will be momentarily, I'm going to throw one of these in the air, and it should fly in the direction we need to go. This could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. We have enough food to last us all a lot longer, but be warned that the next couple days won't be easy. We may have to dig underground to make shelter for the night, or we can take a vote when the time comes if we want to persevere the night." Michael gulped.

"There's...also something I need to say that I'm sure you're aware of. This is the final boss - that means that it's not going to be as easy as a normal horde of monsters. I can almost guarantee that some...some of us will die." He had to stop to take a deep breath before he continued. The stress of his comrades seemed to be affecting Michael heavily, and Ami was sure that many of the others felt the same way. "But," he tried to recover his usual gusto, but it came out as more frail than anything. "all we can do is stick together and watch our backs. I won't let anyone here die so long as there's a way to save them. B-But, anyway, we should make sure we have everything ready and be ready to set out in a few minutes. Er - that's all." The grim atmosphere left an unsettling feeling in the pits of everyone's stomach.

Slowly, the crowd dissipated to their last minute preparations; Izzy and Steve poured over the enchantment table, reinforcing their weapons, Michael sat at the table with Charlotte, who seemed to be giving him emotional support. Ami had an odd idea, and quickly pulled out a stack of steaks, apples, and porkchops, topped off with a cake and set off for the roof.

* * *

She shivered from the constantly falling snow, but still waddled her way over to the deeply violet obsidian cube. Ami climbed to the top where the trapdoor lay, high enough so that Luke didn't have a hope of reaching it.

"Hey," she said, her teeth chattering. She heard the great sigh from within, and a drawling voice followed.

"What do you want?" Luke asked, his tone filled with dread.

"I came to bring you enough rations to last you a while. We're leaving...probably for...forever."

"I guess the time finally came," Luke sighed, pulling himself into a standing position and stretching. "I bet you're going to face the Ender Dragon, huh?"

"Yeah," Ami said, opening the trapdoor and tossing down the rations. Luke caught them one by one, soon stacking them in the corner of his cell. "I thought I'd give a last farewell. Er - I don't know if it really means anything, since you'll eventually run out of food, but I thought it might be nice to do something, at least. I'm pretty sure the rest -"

"Forgot about me? Yeah, I'm used to that." Luke scowled, sitting back atop his bed and leaning against the violet wall.

"Hey, at least I didn't!" Ami tried to cheer him up. She wasn't quite sure why she was doing this, but it somehow seemed right to give a last hurrah to everyone, even if they were jerkwards.

"One in a million, Ami," Luke said. "Will you ever come back?"

"If we win, no. We should get transferred or something to the real world - wherever that is."

"And if you lose?"

"We all die." Ami fixed her eyes on a section of the sturdy obsidian. Luke fell silent. "I suppose I'll end up dying in here, then, no matter which way I look at it." Ami shook her head. "Not necessarily. If Steve gets K.O'd then he'll come back here; he can take care of you."

"And if he wins?" Ami opened her mouth to instantly spout out that he would come to reality with them, but then stopped. Would he?

"I don't know," Ami said truthfully. "He might come with us, he might not. He is, in all technicalities or whatever, an NPC or something, so maybe not. You shouldn't be so over-dramatic. You most likely won't die."

"Most likely," Luke chuckled a little. "I suppose I don't have a choice, then. We'll just wait and see how things play out."

"I suppose it's all we can do," Ami sighed, the warmth of her breath seeping into the air. She watched it go, over and over again, and sat in silence with Luke, who didn't seem up for insults or rude conversation this time around. Before long, Charlotte's booming voice could be heard from the front doors, calling for her. Ami yelled back and prepared to leave, closing the trapdoor as she stood.

"Wait," Luke called before she set foot down on the roof. "If this is the last time I'll ever see you...thanks. Maybe we'll see each other in the next life - I bet things would go a lot smoother." Ami was surprised at first, but then felt her face grow into a warm smile.

"You bet," she said. "See you in the next life." Without another word, Ami dropped down to the roof, and soon came back into the house once again, her face set and body ready. The rest of the group must have been waiting for her, for when they saw her they instantly waved her over. Ami stood in a circle, which ultimately looked more like an oval, and gazed around at the friends she had. Michael, Charlotte, Izzy, and Steve. The only ones that remained. She took a deep breath, prepared to fight until the end.

* * *

"Take a last look, lads," Steve said, walking backwards as he craned his neck to see the top of the Sky House. "This will be the last time you ever see it." They all did so, and Ami's eyes lingered the longest. She was finally going to leave her home in search of something new. The very thought terrified her. She hastily picked up her pace to catch up with Steve and the others, and watched as Michael pulled out one of many Eyes of Ender. He stood on a small hill, where there was plenty of room to see the astonishing view on the horizon. A forest was present to their right, but to the left was a mountain and further more a destination of mystery.

"Here we go," Michael said nervously. He took a deep breath, and then with a mighty throw, sent the Eye of Ender high in the sky. Instantly, as if the Eye had a mind of its own, it took off in the direction of the forest, guiding them with a small trail of purple bubbles.

"There!" Michael exclaimed, a new-found excitement in his eyes. "Let's go!" The group eagerly followed, chattering as they went. Every couple minutes or so, Michael would heave another Eye into the air, in which it would mostly follow the same direction. Occasionally, it would veer another way, and the group would follow. It was a good thing Michael had obtained so many of these, for Ami lost track of the staggering amount of Eyes he had thrown.

"What do you think The End will look like?" Izzy pondered.

"I think it'll be essentially like Hell, minus the fires and all. Maybe like Limbo?" Charlotte shrugged.

"So really dark?" Ami asked.

"Somethin' like that," Charlotte nodded.

"But then how would we see the Dragon?" Izzy pitched in. "It has to be at least a little fair, right?"

"You'd think," Ami said. "I figure it'll just be this barren wasteland, you know? Maybe like a desert. I mean, the name even sounds like the afterlife. Maybe it is like Limbo, but bright enough to see."

"Huh," Izzy blinked. "Here I thought it might be like heaven, and we'd get to walk on clouds. Boing, boing, slash!" She mimed a karate chop. The girls laughed, and Steve hung back a little, shaking his head.

"You three really have no idea, do you?" he grinned.

"And you do?" Ami raised an eyebrow. Steve's grin seemed to only grow wider. "Yes, actually. I went there, once, to see if I was up to the challenge. By this point I'd already figured out there wouldn't be much consequence to me dying, so I geared up and soared in."

"And?"

"Oh, I died. Many times. To make it even worse, I lost all the gear I had on when I went. So I had to start all over - or just raid my stash and put on a new set of armour and have at it again. But I was also alone, so it was crazy hard. With all of us, we stand a fighting chance." Izzy gulped.

"I-It's really that hard?" she stuttered.

"Oh, definitely. It's not called the final boss for no reason." Ami hit him on the shoulder. He gave her a look before noticing the quivering figure of Izzy. He then tried to ease her fear. "Oh! Er, like I said, we have a really good chance! There's so many of us! Going alone is crazy! See, we can do it!" Izzy seemed to be too far gone to hear a word he said. Charlotte sighed, wrapping her arm around the shaking girl and reassuring her. Steve looked like he was about to cry.

"I shouldn't have said that," he said blankly.

"No kidding." Ami shrugged. "But you tried to bring it back. I count that as an attempt."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically. Ahead, Michael seemed to be getting agitated...with himself.

"Why won't the Eyes go somewhere where I can see them!" he fumed, as the second Eye he threw went directly through a tree, defying any laws of physics that could have been present.

"Michael." Steve went up to him. Michael made a noise that seemed somewhere in between anger and sadness, but could not easily be placed on a scale of normal absurdities. Steve continued on as if he hadn't 'said' anything. "Do you want me to take over? You deserve a break before things go down." Michael nodded solemnly, passing him the stack of Eyes and slowly sinking into the back of the group, where the chatter continued. Steve smirked to himself, following the Eyes to a new direction.

"You seem tired," Izzy remarked, her concerned eyes scanning over Michael.

"Nothing new," he said. "I'll be happy when we can rest. Right, Rufus?" The wolf that had been keeping close to his ankles gave a little yip, happily trotting along. "At least one of us has energy," Michael smiled at the dog fondly.

"Hey Michael," Ami started, her thoughts wandering around in her head. Michael looked at her. "What exactly is our strategy for killing this thing?"

"Oh!" Michael blinked. "Oh. I was planning on explaining that when we got to the End Portal, but I suppose I could do a quick run-through now. So, when we get there, there will be these pillars everywhere, and on top of them are he -"

"Woof! Woof!" Rufus barked loudly, interrupting Michael's probably important strategy. A little annoyed, but curious, Michael directed his attention to the wolf.

"What is it, Rufus?" He knelt down to the dog, who was scampering around excitedly. Without warning, it took off into the dimming light with haste.

"What's up with him?" Ami asked worriedly.

"No idea," Michael seemed bewildered himself. "He's never run off like that before." He skipped on ahead, chasing after the dog. "Rufus!" he would call, searching for his friend. A small bark told him where the wolf was hiding, and as soon as he found him, Michael instantly yelled for everyone to come.

"What's going on?"

"Is he hurt?" The questions stopped when the group caught up with him. Before Michael was a pack of wolves, all alike to Rufus. Their snow-white fur was ruffled and long, and their tame, coal eyes were lax. Rufus happily trotted up to Michael, his tail wagging furiously.

"Michael, you don't think..." Izzy gazed at the pack.

"It couldn't be his family," Michael said. "I...I found him all alone, how could they...? ...Rufus, where do you want to go?" Ami thought that it was a bit weird that he had asked the wolf such a question, when it would seem incapable of answering such a thing, but Rufus truly seemed to understand what Michael had said, for he seemed to look indecisive. After a long pause, Rufus went to the rest of the pack and barked something. The entire scenario felt out of this world to Ami, despite everything she had experienced so far.

This didn't feel normal, much less possible for a canine to understand human speech. And yet, what Rufus had barked must have meant something, because the other wolves glanced at each other, as if confirming something with the entire group. After another pause, Rufus' tail reached an astonishing speed, and he came over and brushed himself against Michael's leg. This gesture seemed to say 'I'll stay with you!'.

"Aww, buddy..." Michael bent down and pet the wolf. "I suppose that means he'll have somewhere to go when this entire ordeal is finished. Take care of him, okay?" He directed the last sentence at the wolves, who now seemed wiser than originally thought. Soon, the wolves disappeared into the night, and that's when Michael made a painful revelation.

"It's dark!" he exclaimed. "Gah! We need to get shelter - or, or, something! G-guys, are we pulling through or sleeping?!" The group snickered.

"I don't think we have anything to worry about, Mike." Charlotte clapped him on the shoulder. "Rufus', er, family seem like they're going to see us off. Let's keep going. Are you still good to go, Steve?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Michael's worry was instantly relieved, his shoulders relaxed and he seemed to walk with more ease than before. Though they had protection, the group still wandered around the forest with caution, traversing hills and continuing on their final journey together. They paced themselves with bated breath and awaited the last minute that they would see of their cubed world.

* * *

(So! Our journey is finally coming to a close, dear readers. Now, before the ending truly strikes, which will be in two, maybe three chapters, who do you think will survive? How many, who, and why? I'm just curious, so let me see your crazy theories!)

27: Power Beyond Control

        "Uh...I think the Eyes are broken," Steve said, shaking the stack in his hands, which seemed to be the same as they were a minute ago. 
        "Broken? That's impossib - whoa." Michael stumbled, almost falling headfirst into the ocean that spread on for miles before them. 
        "Well, watch." Steve threw an Eye high in the air, and watched as it sailed directly over the water without a care in the world. Michael blinked, but then shrugged his shoulders with a smile. 
        "That just means that the portal is across the ocean, or, rather, somewhere inside."
        "Inside?" Izzy repeated. "We have to fight a dragon underwater?!"
        "No! Not at all!" Michael reassured her. "We're just going to the portal that leads to the dragon, remember? We'll just have to take a short dip in the water; don't worry, I did bring water-breathing and night-vision potions so that we can see and, you know, not drown." Izzy's worried look lessened a little, but didn't disappear completely.
        "Don't worry hon, we came prepared, right?" Charlotte rubbed her back, and Izzy smiled a little.
        "Right," she said. "but how do we get across?" 
        "I thought that might come a little easier," Michael said, digging through his inventory and pulling out two full stacks of cobblestone. "We're just going to build a bridge. I don't feel like swimming all that much, so this would probably be better to conserve energy and all. It might take a little longer, though." 
        "Building a bridge sounds fine," Ami pitched in, taking a step up to Michael. "Here, I can help with laying down the stone." Michael nodded, happily handing her a stack. The two set off at once, building their way across the sapphire sea, all the while following the seemingly endless journey to the End Portal. They built for what felt like hours, when finally, something new happened. Steve fired another Eye of Ender, expecting it to sail across the sea again, but instead was shocked when it fell from the sky like a rag-doll, earning a satisfying plop when it sunk into the ocean.
        "It's right over here!" he called ecstatically. There was a collective gasp from everyone - they had finally found it! Ami felt her heart pounding in her chest with adrenaline coursing through her veins. The end truly was near. 
        "Okay, everyone grab one of each of these potions. Right before we go in, take both of them, alright?" Michael said as he handed the potions out. "Once we're all down there and accounted for, I'll go over the strategy to defeat to Ender Dragon, alright? As soon as you hit ground, start to dig!" Michael said, then kneeling down to Rufus,
        "You'll have to stay here," he said, giving the wolf one last pet. "See you soon, buddy." Then he chugged his potions, and the rest followed suit, all of them jumping into the water with a buzz in their systems. 
        As Ami sank down into the infinite depths, she half expected herself to drown. But when she took her first gulp of air, she was astonished to find that the water came just as easily as the air would. The only difference from being on land was the entire wet factor, and how she almost felt weightless now that she didn't have to worry about drowning. Ami saw a squid swim by, carefree and just as unrestricted as she felt. But then the realization hit her - she still needed to get down to the bottom and dig. That seemed to be going well for her, for her natural weight wasn't as light as she initially thought; she sank more like a weight than a feather. As she felt her feet hit a rocky ground, Ami pulled out her pickax and instantly began to dig, noticing a small timer in the corner of her eye ticking down to zero. She only had about thirty seconds left, and cursed herself for wasting so much time looking at the twirling squid. The dig down was a lot shorter than she thought, however, and soon she found herself falling waterfall-style onto a warm, stone tile. 
        "Char, help me plug the holes!" Michael called as she fell through, the duo instantly on the task. Ami glanced upwards to see quite a few holes spilling an endless supply of water into the chamber. Quickly and efficiently, the holes were plugged up by some well-placed cobblestone. Ami breathed out her last breath of water, and air restored itself to her lungs with ease. No more water-breathing for her, it seemed. Ami made a mental note to ask Michael about turning this potion into reality later. Now that Ami had recovered slightly from her fall, she finally noticed the room around her.
        If anything screamed 'portal to the end of the world' it would be this room. The stone tile was dirty and had moss growing out of it, there was a huge section where what looked like the portal itself must be, for there was important looking blocks in a square with stairs leading up to it, and below it a section of lava. Ami was glad she hadn't fallen in there. Lava was also present in two other places that were parallel with each other. They were the size of a bathtub and held the fiery inferno. Despite this, Ami had no inclination to take such a bath in said lava. Noticing that she had fallen near the center of the room, Ami looked to where the entryway must have been. Any monster was barricaded from entering the chamber by an iron door, and beside the door was a small chest, which had already been ransacked by those who had come before her. Izzy pondered over some silver and gold, stashing them in her inventory for lack of a better place. Ami went to one of the lava pools, allowing her wet clothes to dry off a little. She wrung out her hair, which was tucked in a loose braid, and proceeded to re-do the entire thing. The water in the room slowly slipped through the cracks in the stone, and the room was dry again, just as it was before they had arrived.
        Finished with plugging the ceiling, Michael and Charlotte sat on the stairs, Michael shaking the water out of his hair and Charlotte infuriated by the fact that her afro had been watered down. It was odd to see her with her hair down and straight. Ami definitely preferred the big hair to the long hair.
        "Okay." Michael spoke up, squeezing out the water from his shirt. "Battle strategy. So, the Ender Dragon gets most of its power from the several healing stations it has at its disposal. The obvious thing to do would be to destroy these stations so that the Ender Dragon is vulnerable. This is why," he stopped for a moment, only to grab a stack of snowballs from his inventory. "we'll be using these."
        "Snowballs?" Izzy questioned, walking over and drying her hair over the lava.
        "They're surprisingly the best way to destroy the healing stations," Michael explained. "One good shot with one of these babies and it's gone, destroyed and out of our hair. There will be several of these stations, a dozen or over, I'd say, and that'll be our first goal. Something of concern to pay attention to as we go about doing this is the dragon itself - it will attack us - and the hordes of Endermen that will be hanging around. Remember - they won't bother you if you don't make eye contact. The easiest way to make it through this fight is if we don't bother them. If by some unfortunate circumstance they do make eye contact, get away from them as fast as you can, build a beacon as high as you can if it'll save your life. Speaking of building, cobblestone and wood just won't cut it anymore - the dragon will break through it."
        "Ugh!" Ami cried out. "How unfair is this guy?" Michael gave her an agreeable look. "I know. But, luckily for us, I have plenty of snow to go around. It's somehow sturdy enough so that we won't have to worry about it breaking unless we break it ourselves. So, a really useful asset."
        "And the dragon itself?" Steve asked, resting in the opposite corner of Ami and Izzy.
        "Another matter that's tedious to deal with. We'll have to shoot it from afar - either with arrows or in desperate cases, any remaining snowballs. When it comes closer and you figure you have the upper hand, go ahead and hack away at it with your sword, but please don't rely on it in this fight. Ranged weapons are seriously the best way to go about this. There's not much more I can tell you, really. Does everyone have an idea of what we need to do?" Nodding all around.
        "So we just need to get to the healing stations, destroy those, then hack away at the dragon without looking at Endermen," Izzy clarified.
        "Essentially." Michael rested his chin on his stubs.
        "It sure sounds a lot easier than I would've thought," Ami said. Michael chuckled. "All plans sound easy. It's when you're in action that everything tends to go haywire." Ami nodded in agreement. The group huddled by the lava and chatted excitedly about the fight to come. While there was excitement, there was also a terror that grabbed them by the ankles and threatened to drag them down below the realm of the living. Though they smiled now, each one of them had a deep fear, knowing that not all of them would make it out alive. That unsettling thought lingered with them for the next while as they dried off their clothes and bodies. But soon enough, it was finally time to set foot in a foreign place. The End.
        Michael took out the remaining Eyes of Ender he had, stepping up to the portal. Three Eyes were already in place before they had even gotten there. One by one, Michael placed nine Eyes in their respective slots. He hesitated on placing the last one, taking a deep breath and taking a small step back as the last Eye locked into place. The once empty portal with only lava that sizzled at the bottom generated a murky, toxic looking substance within it in an instant. It was almost black, but still bubbled enough to look like it had a small trace of blue and violet within it. When Ami gazed at it, she was reminded of a night sky, minus the stars. 
        "This is it," Michael said, looking at everyone. "Me, Char, Ami, Izzy and Steve. All of us have made it this far, and now our chance to go home is here. I..." he choked, averting his eyes. "I don't want to lose any of you."
        "We aren't gonna try to die, Mike." Charlotte nudged him on the shoulder. "But I think we all feel the same way," she sympathized. 
        "Yeah," Ami agreed. "I can't imagine a life without you guys."
        "Once we get to the real world we need to promise to keep in touch! Even if we're, like, scattered across the world or something there has to be some way of finding each other again - the world is only so big." Izzy grinned. 
        "That's right!" Charlotte nodded. "See? We're going to see each other again, that's for sure. Now why don't we go and take down this thing?" Michael let out a nervous laugh.
        "I guess you're all right," he said. "So...let's do this thing!" He hoisted his sword in the air and yelled. Everyone followed his command, as Michael jumped into the portal and disappeared. Ami waited until Izzy had disappeared in the portal and then looked back.
        "Ready, Steve?" she asked him. He looked as though something was bothering him.
        "Y-Yeah," he said, wiping the look off his face and giving her a nervous smile. Ami passed it off as the stress before the battle, and motioned for him to follow after her. Ami jumped into the portal and felt weightless as she drifted through the dark murk. But in another instant it was as if a hook had grabbed hold of her shirt and yanked her out of a thick substance. She opened her eyes to find herself standing on unfamiliar ground. It was a sort of stone with a dull beige colour, and felt just like cobblestone. Ami lifted her head and saw everyone around her looking petrified. She was about to ask why they felt that way, when she heard a horrifying screech. Upon further analysis, it was a roar. The sound reverberated around the entire world, shocking her into a state of fear.
        "Is that...?" she started.
        "The Ender Dragon. Yeah. That's him." Michael was pressed against the wall, terrified. Ami looked again at her surroundings. They seemed to be in a cave of sorts, a little ways below the surface. They were safe from any enemy fire here, but that didn't make anything any more relaxed. Michael was clearly on edge, even Charlotte was forcing herself to calm down. The rest simply sat huddled where they attempted to feel safe.
        "We...need to go out there," Ami said, gulping down her increasing heart rate. Michael nodded absently.
        "Easier said than done," he said. "I don't want to go out there and die - or have anyone else die...but there's no way back. We can't get back home from here."
        "Well that leaves us with a fair set of options, then, doesn't it?" Steve materialized before them, finally joining the party.
        "Fair?!" Izzy exclaimed. "How is any of this fair?!" Steve smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
        "Option one," he started, holding up an arm. "We stay here in fear and wait for something to kill us. Not the best way to go. Option two," he began to pace in a small circle. "We go out there and at least try to fight. Better to die valiantly than cowardly. I don't know about any of you, but I'm going out there in the hopes that I can see what the real world looks like, regardless of the consequences." Without another word, Steve pulled out a bow and arrow, took a deep breath, and boldly ran out into the fray. There was but a moment of silence in which a small hesitation cast itself across the group. Determined, Ami pulled out her bow as well. 
        "See you on the other side," she said, rushing out to catch up with Steve. 

* * *

        As soon as Ami stepped out of the underground cavern, her eyes were greeted with a new set of horror. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of Endermen stood in her way, all leering down at her creepily. She quickly averted her eyes, staring instead up at the several obsidian pillars that each held a glowing gem within it. Ami could only assume that these were the healing stations Michael talked about. And above it all, soaring in the inky black sky, was a creature that Ami had only imagined she would ever see. It's body a dark ebony, it's wings glimmering silver and black, its eyes glowing a malicious violet; the Ender Dragon flew above with unrivaled grace and ability. Ami's heart skipped a beat when she saw the creature - she wasn't sure if it was too astounding or terrifying to attack. 
        "Ami! Over here!" called Steve. Ami snapped her head back in the game, spotting Steve only a short sprint away. She set off for him, avoiding the eyes of the Endermen that loomed around her. They didn't attack at all, but only watched. The dragon roared overhead, descending closer to them.
        "Steve! Oh my God! We're going to die!" Ami's eyes were wide, her voice shrill.
        "No, we're not. We're going to finish this and finally move on. Now, concentrate. Do you see those glowing gems on top of the pillars?" She nodded. "What we need to do is get up there and shoot a snowball at it, remember? So I'm going to take the one over there." He pointed to a pillar that was a bit of a distance away. "And you can take the closer one. If anything happens, yell and I'll come back for you. Okay?"
        "Okay," Ami said, taking a deep breath. She looked to the tall, immobile pillar that towered over her, casting an alarming shadow.
        "Build a way up with snow. I'll only be a yell away." He ran off towards the other pillar, pulling out a stack of snow as he went. Ami watched him, torn between her fear and understanding. She had to do this. Ami reached in her inventory and brought out a full stack of snow, and began to build her way up. When she was a couple feet off the ground, she heard familiar voices cry out to her.
        "We're joining the fight!" Izzy screamed, determination set upon her features. She was followed by Michael and Charlotte, who ran alongside each other. 
        "Go to the other healing stations and destroy the gems!" Ami instructed, building herself up as she said so. A second passed and the team split up; Michael veering to the left with Charlotte, and Izzy taking the one behind Steve. She kept building, the top almost there. Another roar from the dragon, who, upon Ami getting to the top and being able to see, was heading straight for Charlotte as she tried to build herself up. She said not a word and quickly grabbed her bow, firing a powerful arrow that hit the dragon straight in the neck. Screeching, and shaking the arrow out, the Ender Dragon retreated, searching for another to attack.
        Ami turned her attention on the glowing gemstone before her. She held a snowball in her hand, aiming carefully - it would be horrible if she missed it from this distance. The snow left her possession and hit squarely against the stone. Instantly, the entire structure exploded, and Ami dived to the ground to avoid the blast. She looked back up, ecstatic to see that the gem was gone. Another explosion from afar announced Steve's succession. Gleeful, her heart still pounding, she went to break down the spire of snow and find another pillar. As she did so, the Ender Dragon flew over head, gearing itself to fly straight at her. Her heart skipped a beat, and fora moment, she was paralysed. But when she realized what would happen if the Ender Dragon knocked her off the pillar, it set her into motion. Without thinking or bothering to switch weapons, Ami pitifully threw a snowball at the Dragon. She didn't know how it worked, but the Dragon roared and veered away. She faintly saw the snowball melt and sizzle on the Dragon's hide.
        After getting down in one piece, she saw the other three pillars disappear in an explosion of smoke, and their destroyers heading down. The dragon, beginning to become enraged, flew after them and targeted one. Ami couldn't tell who is was from the distance, but she did see them pull out a bow and arrow, shoot it, and then dodge as the Dragon swooped in on them regardless. The Dragon, not waiting to give them a chance, glided down and opened its massive jaws. Ami was about to cry out, but she saw the person pull out their sword  and deflect the sharp teeth that greeted them. She began to run over to the pillar, to see who it was. As Michael, Izzy and Steve grouped around her, Ami knew who was fighting against the dragon.
        "Charlotte!" Michael called, a fear Ami couldn't recognize in his eyes. "Come down! He'll only keep attacking!"
        "And let myself get knocked off instead? Not a chance!" Her strong accent was able to reach their ears, even from the skyscraper-like distance between them. Charlotte pushed against the dragon, her sword locked against his jaw. Amazingly, the dragon was pushed back, but only for a moment. Its wings flapped, and the Dragon headbutted Charlotte, sending her flying off the pillar. She didn't have any way to defend herself, or recover. 
        Time seemed to slow as Charlotte fell. Her body was like a rock, sinking fast through the air. Ami was unable to react fast enough to run, but only stared with wide eyes as she fell. Izzy was in the same predicament, except she had found the will to scream. Michael was already running to her, his arm outstretched. But even he couldn't make it in time. Only a few feet in front of him, Charlotte crashed with an earth-shattering thud to the ground. Michael fell onto his knees, cradling her head in his arms and speaking to her. As Ami and Izzy approached, they could hear the conversation.
        "Char? Char...please, Char, don't leave me...Char! Charlotte! Come on!" Tears were running down his face, dripping onto her seemingly lifeless face. He held onto her tightly, unwilling to let go. Her body, from the feet up, began to disappear into smoke. Michael cried out to her, clutching her tightly.
        "You can't die here," he said between sobs. "No...nononononono! We were supposed to go to the real world together again and...and..." Her eyes fixed themselves against Michael's. Whatever spirit she still had left was used on that final gesture. Charlotte looked at Michael with a pained expression, and smiled. Immediately after that, her body disappeared, smoke dissipating in the air. Michael sat there, the tears flowing and arms in the same position. The Ender Dragon roared from above, proclaiming its power to the four that remained.

28: The Old World

"Char? Hey, what's going on?" Michael walked into the living room, surprised to see her with her face in her hands. He sat beside her on the squishy couch. "Tell me what's up."

"I'm just stressed," Charlotte said, sighing and lifting her head.

"Just stressed doesn't mean crying for you." Michael squeezed her hand sympathetically. "Is this about-?

"Yeah. I don't think we'll be able to make it through the month on Welfare. An' I can't seem to find a job anywhere that wants to hire me an'..." she sighed again, placing her head back in her hands. "I'm not gonna make it, Mike." Michael patted her gently on the back.

"Now that's a lie," he said. "Of course you're going to make it. You have me here, and I sure as hell won't let you three starve."

"We might be getting evicted from our home." Charlotte stressed.

"Then live with me for as long as you need. I have quite a bit of savings, and I'm sure I can help you find work. As for them, they'll be ecstatic to have a 'sleepover', right?"

"I suppose..." Charlotte agreed uncertainly. She lifted her head again. "But it would be a great strain on you, Mike."

"Not at all," he said with a smile. "Don't forget that you're not alone anymore. We can build each other up this time, okay?" Charlotte cracked a grin.

"Fine. You have me convinced, at least for a while."

* * *

The last that remained of Charlotte had dissipated into the air, and the remaining stood and let the grief wash over them. Michael was still on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. Steve hesitantly approached him, laying a cubed stub on his shoulder.

"Come on, Michael. We need to finish this. We're almost halwa-"

"No," Michael interrupted, staring at the ground. "We never should have come here. It's my fault that we even pursued this stupid 'quest'. It's my fault that we traveled all this way. It's my fault that Char..." He buried his head in his knees. "There is no fight. All we can wait for is to die peacefully." A stunned silence befell the entire group. Michael had never spoken like this before. Ami watched the entire scene play out, unable to do a thing. She gasped when she saw Steve's arm come down on Michael, smacking him upside the head.

"Ow!" Michael recoiled. "What was that for?!"

"To snap you out of it," Steve explained with a tone of annoyance. "We came all this way for a reason. It would be idiotic to quit now, so get up." Michael reluctantly obeyed, wiping the tears from his eyes. "We're so close," Steve continued. "so let's kill this thing."

"For her," Michael muttered to himself before addressing the group. "A-Alright...there are only a couple healing stations left. If each of us heads to one, we can take them all out." With that said, he turned on his heel and darted towards the next pillar. A couple exchanged glances circulated around the rest, but it was only for a moment before they all darted to another pillar.

The Ender Dragon circled above, flying to one of its healing stations and roaring. A beam of light streamed from it, healing the dragon completely within seconds. Ami cursed to herself, knowing that her snowball truly didn't have an effect this time around. Or, any time at all. She dashed to the last pillar that was unoccupied and began to build up to it just like before. The Dragon busied itself with flying around the room, seeming to ignore the people destroying its source of healing. With a shock of horror, Ami realized that the Dragon was simply gaining momentum, flying full speed towards Izzy, who scrambled to take out her bow, shooting it and just barely avoiding certain death. Ami breathed out a sigh of relief, continuing her upward scale.

Without much trouble this time around, Ami made it to the top, breaking down the iron bars that protected the gem within. Bracing herself for the impact, she threw another snowball, the BAM startling her, but not forcing her to lose her footing. In succession, the last three towers suffered the same explosion, and with an inner cheer, Ami knew that all of the Dragon's healing stations were destroyed. She made her way down avoiding attack; the Ender Dragon was fiercely roaring above, aware that it was on its last legs.

"We did it!" Ami rejoiced when the group had come together again.

"Not all of it," Izzy reminded her. "But we sure came a long way...what now, Michael?" They all turned to him. The lines under his eyes were clear as day, the grief as present as the sun on a hot day. But he looked at them with determination.

"Now we attack. Stick with ranged weapons for the most part, only use your sword if you're in close combat!" He pulled out his bow, firing an arrow at the Dragon above. The first one missed, but the second one hit, causing an ear-piercing shriek to almost blow their eardrums off. The Dragon's eyes glowed a misty and violent purple, as he now flew down to the ground, a blaze present around his jaw.

"Get out of the way!" Ami called, just as the Dragon unleashed a fury of acidic fire that narrowly missed her, grazing her shoulder. The small part where it hit stung worse than any rash or infection could have. Steve had avoided damage, thanks to Ami.

"Thanks," he breathed. Ami nodded at him, firing another arrow at the Dragon. As she unleashed her last arrow, a horrid realization came across to her.

"I'm out of arrows!" she panicked.

"I only have ten myself..." Michael glared at the ground.

"I'm out as well..." Izzy said slowly.

"Just throw any snowballs you have left!" Steve shouted. "They'll work better than you think!" Ami blinked, the memory of the last time she threw a snowball at the Dragon resurfacing. It did seem to hurt him, even if it was only a little bit. She didn't have time to question it now. The snowball left her hand, hitting the Dragon squarely in the face. Nice shot, she thought to herself.

The Dragon had been beaten down quite a bit now, and it must have been wiser than Ami thought, for it took off into the sky, a little wobbly. It geared up for another flying attack, targeting Izzy. She prepared herself, all out of snowballs and grabbing her sword. The Dragon swooped in, and Izzy slashed at it, getting a great gash to appear on the side of its face, but getting knocked down herself. The Dragon screamed in agony, flying away again.

"Izzy! Are you okay?!" Ami ran to her. Izzy opened her eyes, a little winded by the fall.

"I'm fine," she said, blinking and staring ahead. It was with a great fear that she noticed two violet eyes staring back. Her heart pounded as she sprang up from the ground, the eyes of an Enderman locked with hers. It approached, an evil intent in its eyes.

"G-G-G-Guys!" She quivered in her spot, terrified and unable to look away. The Enderman raised its arm, striking down. And then it turned to smoke. Izzy opened her eyes again, having shut them tight out of fear. Steve stood between her and the Endermen, which now had all turned in his direction.

"Go," he said. "Take care of the Dragon; I'll keep them away from you."

"But Steve-"

"I'll come back. You won't. Go." Izzy hesitantly backed away, running towards the rest of the group as Steve bolted into the herd of Endermen, which all followed him. He slashed every way he could, fending them off quite well. Ami couldn't help but stare, amazed.

"Ami, come on! We need to go." Michael grabbed her, snapping her out of it. Ami complied, turning and facing the Ender Dragon, which blew flames in Izzy's direction. She dove to avoid them, the Dragon approaching closer. Michael darted towards the dragon, dropping his worthless bow, as now he had ran out of arrows as well, and hacking at it with his sword. The Dragon knocked him away like he was made of paper. Ami tried attacking with Michael as well, but was only knocked down as the Dragon sought to destroy Izzy.

Izzy held up her sword defensively. She wasn't going to die like this. Her friends were doing all they could, but it was up to her to finish this once and for all. Izzy yelled, running to the Dragon's gleaming eyes, its jaw seeming to grin evilly. She struck him, but as she tried to strike again, the Dragon's jaws opened.

Ami screamed, the jaws seeming to come deliberately. She ran to the Dragon, but not fast enough. Izzy made a final effort, stabbing her sword through the Dragon's mouth, but was horrified when she saw her sword break in half. Izzy's eyes grew wide with terror as her mouth opened to scream.

It was unfortunate that she never got the chance. The Dragon's jaw snapped down on her, blood oozing from her legs that still dangled out of the Dragon's mouth, motionless. The Dragon swallowed her whole, turning its gleaming eyes to the two that remained, as if to say 'Try me'. Ami and Michael stood in a dumbfounded silence, their mouths agape and swords shaking.

From afar, they heard the last scream of Steve, who had finally succumbed to the overwhelming amount of Endermen. The Endermen looked quite peaceful once he was gone, returning to their previous ways. Michael looked to Ami, and Ami to Michael. They knew with a simply glance to each other that they were the only ones left. The Dragon roared, taking off into the sky again, seeming to celebrate his kill.

"I have a plan," Michael said suddenly, keeping his eyes on the dragon. Ami looked at him. He appeared as though he would soon vomit.

"Lay it on me," she said, willing to hear any other option.

"The Dragon's preparing for another swooping attack," he said. "My plan is to let him swoop down, then I'll jump and mount him, getting as many slashes in as I can. He'll be distracted with me so much that you can get a clean shot in and end it."

"But what if-"

"I don't have much of a reason to live anymore," he said with a painful smile. "Nor do I have a reason to die. I'm stuck in a limbo. The least I can do is utilize myself for something that will save the life of another."

"But I don't want to be alone!" Ami cried.

"You won't. I'm sure...I'm sure that there's someone waiting for you on the other side of this. In reality. I don't think I really have anyone, honestly. It's the least I can do for all that we've been through."

"No," Ami stressed, beginning to hyperventilate. "No, I can't let you go through with this!"

"What other choice do we have? Wait for it to kill us?!" Michael pointed at the Dragon. "I know that this is a stupid plan - but it's all we got! So please, Ami. Please. Let me do this." Ami couldn't stop the tears from flowing out her eyes. She sobbed, nodding her head. Michael breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Okay. Wait for him to come down, and as soon as I'm on him, go for the kill." Ami wiped her eyes, coughing and nodding again.

"Okay. I'm sorry, Michael."

"Sorry?"

"For all this. For Charlotte, for Izzy, for Aiden and Jack. Even Luke, for crying out loud! A-And Rufus...there's just been so much crap you've had to go through. You don't deserve any of it." Michael smiled, patting her on the head.

"I can't control the crazy things life throws at me," he said. "but I can certainly devise something to get through it." He turned to face the Dragon again as it approached in for another kill. He braced himself, sword at the ready. Ami prepared herself as well, definitely not ready for what was about to come.

The Dragon thundered upon the ground, wobbling the two, but Michael held strong and darted to the Dragon, avoiding it's throws and gaping jaws, and miraculously getting atop its back. He began to slash his sword like never before, black blood oozing from the wounds he made on the Dragon. The Dragon, in return, screeched and thrashed like wildfire, doing everything in its power to try and knock the person on its back. It was so busy with Michael that it didn't notice Ami closing in for the final shot. The Dragon created a blaze at its lips again, its head facing towards Michael, who glared at it with daring ambition. He stabbed the beast once more, and then the flames reached him.

Ami slashed at the Dragon's neck with startling precision and power. The Dragon's head toppled to the ground, ivory blood dripping from the cut. Michael fell off the back of the Dragon, his body burnt and charred. There was a brilliant light that erupted from the Dragon, and Ami quickly grabbed Michael and dragged him away from the decaying creature. Streams of angelic white light burst from the inside of the Dragon, as the rest of its body began to turn into smoke. The light began to turn purple as well, and what sounded like fireworks came from the body. In a brilliant show of light and explosions, the Dragon soon became nothing more than the air that they breathed.

"We did it," Ami couldn't believe it herself. She looked down to Michael, who was on his last legs. His glasses, once rigid and official in frame, were now crooked and shattered. His entire body was covered in burns, and his clothes were singed beyond repair.

"We did." Michael smiled, resting his head on the ground and looking to the sky.

"Is there any way I could heal you? You must have brought some healing potions, or..."

"No, I didn't." Michael forced out a laugh. "We didn't have enough resources to make them, believe it or not. I don't know why I didn't just wait until we did...it was stupid of me. Reckless." Ami lowered her eyes to the ground, frowning.

"Do I have to leave you, too?" she asked miserably.

"Unfortunately so. I don't have anything left." He coughed, and stopped as he saw his legs. "Ah," he commented. "Looks like I gotta go." Ami felt her already wet eyes well up with tears again. Michael's legs were gone, and all that remained was his quickly disappearing torso. "Tell me what it's like out there when you see it, okay?" He looked at her with soft, brown eyes.

"Of course," Ami said, the tears rolling off her cheeks as Michael finally disappeared into smoke for good. She remained on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, her screams heard by no one. Ami was all alone now. All of her friends were dead. She watched the droplets of her tears splatter on the rock, getting to her feet slowly and shakily. She turned to where a fountain-like object was. She stepped up to it, her feet dragging along the way, and noticed that instead of water, the same, toxic murk that brought her into The End was swirling in this path to reality.

Ami wasn't even sure she wanted to go into it. Her friends were dead. Dead. Gone from the world, forever. She was alone. Nobody could hold her hand, or tell her that it would be alright. Because it would never be alright. But she felt that she had a duty to fulfill. Of course she wanted to see if there was any family waiting for her; and then travel the real world and document all of it so that she never forgot what she worked for...it was all optimistic thinking. A thought she didn't really want a part of. The happy part of her soul had shriveled up and died, and all that was left was an agonizing sadness. But she still stepped up to the murky substance, and still jumped into it, feeling her body go weightless.

* * *

However, her travel wasn't as fast as anticipated. She opened her eyes, and found herself falling into a white sea. It was as though she were swimming, except air came to her naturally. The entire space was rather empty, aside from two voices that circulated around her.

I see the player you mean.

Ami?

Yes. Take care. It has reached a higher level now. It can read our thoughts.

Ami blinked, searching around for a source to the voice. But there was nobody there. The first voice that had spoken sounded very intellectual, a little higher pitched than the second. The second continued on, its slightly lower voice in a more playful manner.

That doesn't matter. It thinks we are part of the game.

I like this player. It played well. It did not give up.

It is reading our thoughts as though they were voices speaking to them.

That is how it chooses to imagine many things, when it is deep in the dream of a game.

"A game?" Ami wondered aloud. Her question was not answered, however, as the voices continued on.

Words make a wonderful interface. Very flexible. And less terrifying than staring at the reality behind the voice.

They used to hear voices. Before players could read. Back in the days when those who did not play called the players witches, and warlocks. And players dreamed they flew through the air, on sticks powered by demons.

What did this player dream?

This player dreamed of sunlight and trees. Of fire and water. It dreamed it created. And it dreamed it destroyed. It dreamed it hunted, and was hunted. It dreamed of shelter.

Ami began to have flashes appear before her of her life that she remembered. She saw her first day, when she first appeared in the world in a bushy forest that was so full of promise. She remembered breaking down mass amounts of trees all in one day with Jack, and somehow not giving themselves enough time to build a shelter. She remembered stargazing with him, and being ambushed by the creeper. Ami remembered finding Michael and pleading with him for help. They gave her a home and family.

Hah, the original interface. A million years old, and it still works. But what true structure did this player create, in the reality behind the screen?

It worked, with a million others, to sculpt a true world in a fold of the -, and created a - for - in the -.

The words seemed to glitch out so badly that Ami couldn't understand them at all.

It cannot read that thought.

No. It has not yet achieved the highest level. That, it must achieve in the long dream of life, not the short dream of a game.

Does it know that we love it? That the universe is kind?

Sometimes, through the noise of its thoughts, it hears the universe, yes.

But there are times it is sad, in the long dream. It creates worlds that have no summer, and it shivers under a black sun, and it takes its sad creation for reality.

To cure it of sorrow would destroy it. The sorrow is part of its own private task. We cannot interfere.

Ami felt a twang in her heart as she remembered those who were lost.

Sometimes when they are deep in dreams, I want to tell them, they are building true worlds in reality. Sometimes I want to tell them of their importance to the universe. Sometimes, when they have not made a true connection in a while, I want to help them to speak the word they fear.

It reads our thoughts.

Sometimes I do not care. Sometimes I wish to tell them, this world you take for truth is merely - and -, I wish to tell them that they are - in the -. They see so little of reality, in their long dream.

And yet they play the game.

But it would be so easy to tell them...

Too strong for this dream. To tell them how to live is to prevent them living.

I will not tell the player how to live.

The player is growing restless.

I will tell the player a story.

But not the truth.

No. A story that contains the truth safely, in a cage of words. Not the naked truth that can burn over any distance.

Give it a body, again.

Yes. Player...

Use its name.

Ami. Player of games.

Good.

Ami blinked, listening intently to the voices, and following their commands for reasons she didn't understand.

Take a breath, now. Take another. Feel air in your lungs. Let your limbs return. Yes, move your fingers. Have a body again, under gravity, in air. Respawn in the long dream. There you are. Your body touching the universe again at every point, as though you were separate things. As though we were separate things.

Who are we? Once we were called the spirit of the mountain. Father sun, mother moon. Ancestral spirits, animal spirits. Jinn. Ghosts. The green man. Then gods, demons. Angels. Poltergeists. Aliens, extraterrestrials. Leptons, quarks. The words change. We do not change.

We are the universe. We are everything you think isn't you. You are looking at us now, through your skin and your eyes. And why does the universe touch your skin, and throw light on you? To see you, player. To know you. And to be known. I shall tell you a story.

Once upon a time, there was a player.

The player was you, Ami.

Ami felt a light shine within herself. This all felt so odd, like it couldn't be happening.

Sometimes it thought itself human, on the thin crust of a spinning globe of molten rock. The ball of molten rock circled a ball of blazing gas that was three hundred and thirty thousand times more massive than it. They were so far apart that light took eight minutes to cross the gap. The light was information from a star, and it could burn your skin from a hundred and fifty million kilometers away.

Sometimes the player dreamed it was a miner, on the surface of a world that was flat, and infinite. The sun was a square of white. The days were short; there was much to do; and death was a temporary inconvenience.

Sometimes the player dreamed it was lost in a story.

Sometimes the player dreamed it was other things, in other places. Sometimes these dreams were disturbing. Sometimes very beautiful indeed. Sometimes the player woke from one dream into another, then woke from that into a third.

Sometimes the player dreamed it heard voices from nowhere.

Let's go back.

The atoms of the player were scattered in the grass, in the rivers, in the air, in the ground. A woman gathered the atoms; she drank and ate and inhaled; and the woman assembled the player, in her body.

And the player awoke, from the warm, dark world of its mother's body, into the long dream.

And the player was a new story, never told before, written in letters of DNA. And the player was a new program, never run before, generated by a sourcecode a billion years old. And the player was a new human, never alive before, made from nothing but milk and love.

You are the player. The story. The program. The human. Made from nothing but milk and love.

Let's go further back.

The seven billion billion billion atoms of the player's body were created, long before this game, in the heart of a star. So the player, too, is information from a star. And the player moves through a story, which is a forest of information planted by a man called Julian, on a flat, infinite world created by a man called Markus, that exists inside a small, private world created by the player, who inhabits a universe created by...

Shush. Sometimes the player created a small, private world that was soft and warm and simple. Sometimes hard, and cold, and complicated. Sometimes it built a model of the universe in its head; flecks of energy, moving through vast empty spaces. Sometimes it called those flecks "electrons" and "protons".

Sometimes it called them "planets" and "stars".

Sometimes it believed it was in a universe that was made of energy that was made of offs and ons; zeros and ones; lines of code. Sometimes it believed it was playing a game. Sometimes it believed it was reading words on a screen.

You are the player, reading words...

Shush... Sometimes the player read lines of code on a screen. Decoded them into words; decoded words into meaning; decoded meaning into feelings, emotions, theories, ideas, and the player started to breathe faster and deeper and realized it was alive, it was alive, those thousand deaths had not been real, the player was alive.

You. You. You are alive.

and sometimes the player believed the universe had spoken to it through the sunlight that came through the shuffling leaves of the summer trees

and sometimes the player believed the universe had spoken to it through the light that fell from the crisp night sky of winter, where a fleck of light in the corner of the player's eye might be a star a million times as massive as the sun, boiling its planets to plasma in order to be visible for a moment to the player, walking home at the far side of the universe, suddenly smelling food, almost at the familiar door, about to dream again

and sometimes the player believed the universe had spoken to it through the zeros and ones, through the electricity of the world, through the scrolling words on a screen at the end of a dream

and the universe said I love you

and the universe said you have played the game well

and the universe said everything you need is within you

and the universe said you are stronger than you know

and the universe said you are the daylight

and the universe said you are the night

and the universe said the darkness you fight is within you

and the universe said the light you seek is within you

and the universe said you are not alone

and the universe said you are not separate from every other thing

and the universe said you are the universe tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own code

and the universe said I love you because you are love.

And the game was over and the player woke up from the dream. And the player began a new dream. And the player dreamed again, dreamed better. And the player was the universe. And the player was love.

You are the player.

Wake up.

As if her body had transformed into a brick, Ami felt herself falling at an incredible speed. She barely had any time to comprehend what had just happened before she saw a stiff, white ground coming towards her. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out as she crashed into the ground below.

Gasping, her body lurching up, she panted heavily; hand over her heart and her senses beginning to come back. First, she was able to feel that she was on a bed. A very comfortable bed. It reminded her of the ones she was used to...and then she could smell the scent of wood in the air. How odd. Maybe there was a fire burning? But no such scent came. Lastly, she opened her eyes. And she saw pure horror. The room that was before her eyes was not like a hospital, or somewhere foreign. It was the bedroom of the Sky House.

The seven beds circled the pillar that lead to the roof, the flowers all bloomed beautifully. All was well within the house, but everything in Ami was pounding against her mind for release. She saw the familiarity and screamed, crying and running around the house, trying to find some way that it could all be wrong. But it wasn't. She was stuck in the realm of Minecraft. And there was no way out.

* * *

She had built herself a new room. One where no one would ever bother her again. Steve, who had regenerated in the world as well, came over several times after he had discovered her; disheveled and in mental agony, trying to calm her down and get her to change her mind. But she had made a decision. For the rest of her days, she would lock herself up where no other person could ever hurt her.

She brandished herself a new name, a name that wouldn't tie her down to the past she so desperately hated. She never had to look back again, for her new name was Alex. Alex decided she would keep to herself for the rest of her life. There was no use in seeking contact; it would only end in pain. She withdrew, closing the door and never looking back.