Chapter 28: The Beginning of the End

Previously, in Secrets of the Past:

Lone ruler Eulalia found her true love, Ignatius son of Herobrine, and after a difficult start to the relationship things only got tougher when they discovered Nate's father had been kidnapped by the Ender, and the whole of Minecraftia was under threat of destruction from the forces of the Wither-Ender Army, led by both the Wither King and the Enderdragon Queen. So began their quest to find a way to the End to rescue Nate's father and uncle. Along the way they have met many people and gained a group of companions, who have a range of skills from enchanted daggers to heavy sarcasm to seeing the future. However, when their ship sunk after discovering they had been travelling the wrong direction the whole time, Finn/Jason, self-proclaimed best thief in Minecraftia and Ally's love, was killed. However, it became clear to the group there was a betrayer in their midst, and this conflict came to its climax in the last chapter, where it was revealed it had been Ally, who had been threatened into it by the Ender, and she attacked Ruma and Sera in an attempt to take the Scroll the Ender had commanded her to steal. Luckily, Sera proved herself to be a formidable opponent, and thanks to the others interrupting just in time, Ruma and Sera were barely saved from death. This is where our story resumes, in the final stages of the quest for the portal to the End. Are Ruma and Sera okay? How will Ally be punished? Will they ever find a portal to the End? Will Lark ever update in a timely manner? Read on to find out (except for that last one, I don't think we'll ever find out the answer to that one).

Ruma's POV:

The wooden ceiling was the first thing I noticed as I came to. From the bright light I guessed it was the next morning. The springs of the mattress creaked as I started to move to get up, and then a sharp pain shot through my leg. I gasped and fell back onto the sheets, and Rose, who must have been monitoring me, rushed over. I suddenly was overcome by a dizzy, nauseous feeling, and I heard the echo of her voice.

"Just take it easy Ruma, you have had quite the night. At one point we were wondering if you would wake up this morning. So we took shifts watching you: Lia, Nate, Sam, Ria, even Tom took watch earlier this morning when I had to have breakfast."

"Is Sera okay?" I asked, dimly remembering seeing her with a bloodstain down her chest. I assumed since I was alive she had been the one to stop Ally from flat out murdering me over, wait, what were we even looking for?

"I believe she will recover well. She's certainly doing better than you Mr Mob-born," Rose replied while doing the usual medical check-up stuff: temperature, pulse, etc.

"Hey, what the Nether happened down there anyway?"

"I only arrived after the climax, so I was not there for the full event, however from what I was told you may owe Miss Sera your life. That is why your leg is in such great pain: Allison's arrow pierced straight through it, bones and all. It was left heavily bleeding for quite some time, so as a result it will take longer to heal. It was quite the dramatic duel, so I heard."

It started coming back to me, those last few seconds. Turning around, seeing the arrow aimed at my chest. "What are we going to do about Ally?"

Rose sighed and shook her head, "Honestly I don't know. My visions have been getting less and less clear recently, almost like there are so many possibilities and none are more likely than the others. She was only betraying us as the Ender were threatening to kill her family, so she may ride back to her hometown to safeguard them."

"Oh." It was almost too much to process at once. Then I heard a familiar scratch at the door and a little black feathered head peeped in.

"Can I come in now?" Eteri, who really wasn't so little anymore, asked.

I relayed her question to Rose, who said yes, if she's careful, and I repeated Rose's answer to her.

"Just stay off the bed, especially watch out for my legs," I warned her.

"I'm so glad you're alive! I was really worried for a second there. I mean, so was everyone else, but me more cause then who would I talk to?"

I heard a bark from the hallway, and my pup Sam burst into the room.

"Don't jump on me please Sam," I asked him, and he respected my wish by just jumping around my bed and not on it.

"Yay, yay, yay, yay! Master, you're alive! I'm so happy, I've never been so happy in my little doggy life!"

"I'm sorry Sam, but if you keep carrying on I'm afraid I shall have to request you leave," Rose tried to tell my incredibly excited dog, but it was no use.

"Aw, but I only just got here," Minecraftian Sam joked as he too entered the room.

"What is this? Peak visiting hour?" I asked, as everyone suddenly seemed to be flooding my room.

"Well, everyone is anxious to keep moving, but that is going to be hard until your leg heals," Rose told me, still talking in her best Nurse voice.

"Finally, our damsel in distress awakens," Tom teased as he joined the group.

"Oh great, just invite the whole town, why not? This room isn't big enough, that's why. Where am I anyway?"

"We're back on the surface in Upper Atlantis," Sam informed me.

I suppose I should have guessed from the sunlight, but I'm still not 100% with it.

"I am unsure how long your recovery will take, however as soon as you are well enough to ride we must get going. Perhaps we shall wait a day for you to heal, after all it is almost noon already," Rose reasoned.

"That sounds like a good plan," Lia agreed.

"At least we have the Scroll safely in our possession. Thank you Ruma and Sera for putting your lives at risk to protect it," Nate said, and I formed a tired smile.

"Thank you for saving us," I replied.

"Anytime," Nate smiled back.

Lalia's POV:

We stayed in town for the rest of the day as planned. By evening Sera was almost completely better, and the nurse we had check in on Ruma said he should be able to walk short distances with only minor discomfort by morning.

Ally had vanished while the rest of us has been visiting Ruma. She had left a note. Half of it was covered in the word sorry, which had been scrawled over and over onto the page. The other half said that she couldn't stay, she had to go back and protect her family.

It has been interesting to explain the whole Ally thing to Ruma. He didn't seem sure how to react, but nor was I, to tell the truth.

The next morning we were packing, getting ready to go. We had a local smithy fix Sera's armour, and we had all the supplies we would need for now, so it was just a matter of waiting for Ruma to be able to walk more than one block without collapsing from pain. The regeneration potions had been helping, but it still looked like he would take around a week to fully heal.

Most of us waited nervously outside of the hospital, horses ready to go. It was still not very late, perhaps only 9am. Sera was also inside, getting her final check-up and clearance, and Rose and Eteri were with Ruma. It wasn't long before Sera appeared, but something, or maybe more than one thing, had drained her of any joy she might have felt about having saved us from major trouble.

It was another half hour before the door once again opened, and the ever growing Eteri toddled out of the door and hopped down the few small front steps. Ruma then appeared at the doorway, Rose by his side and she helped him limp down the small staircase. He looked exhausted and in pain, but alive.

"It's good to see you up Ruma," I smiled.

He winced as he accidentally put pressure on his bad leg, "I'm just glad I'm alive."

"So are we all," Nate replied, and he and Sam helped him onto the back of Nate's horse Storm. Ruma grimaced as his leg agonizingly settled into its new position, but he gave us the thumbs up to get going, so we didn't waste a second.

Through the morning until around noon we rode speedily through the desert. It was really beginning to heat up, so it was a relief when, in the early hours of the afternoon, we finally reached the snowy taiga that lay on its eastern border. We soon grew cold, but the taiga was only small, and we soon found the much more temperate climate of the extreme hill biome beyond it.

The sun was now beginning its descent and we were back to the first civilisation outside of Cubeolot I had encountered in years: Tom's home. As we approached the building, I caught a glimpse of a smile cross Tom's face, a rare sight. I couldn't help but smile to myself. In spite of his frosty exterior, his heart was (usually) in the right place.

"So this is the dump you call your home? Not too shabby, mountain-man," Ria teased.

"It's better on the inside. It's probably a fair step up from whatever mess it is you call your home."

"I'll have you know my tiny room in my family's manor was… pretty terrible actually. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more right you are."

"Knew it. Although, after the battle that happened in the living room it's in quite a c#$ &# state. And it's pretty lonely out here on my own all the time."

"You could always move to Cubeolot," I suggested.

"I'll think about it," Tom replied, and for a moment he looked actually sincere about something. "But then again, if Ria's gonna be there, maybe I should stay out here."

"Maybe it would be better for all of us," Ria muttered under her breath.

"Hey, I heard that, Blondie!"

"Oh, so Blondie's my nickname now?"

"Got a problem with that, Blondie?"

"You know, I'm just not sure it suits me."

"Really? I thought it explained your personality perfectly."

"You're walking on thin ice, Loner."

"Still working on a good name for me, hey?"

"Shut up."

Tom laughed softly. We now stood before his front door.

We tied up our horses to the wooden pole next to the door, and I couldn't help a grin as I saw the tatters of a wooden sign that said "No Visitors" on the floor. Tom hesitated for a second before he opened the door, then he slowly pushed it open, and we entered the building as the sun set in the West. The indescribable, yet not entirely unpleasant scent that I had grown to associate with Tom still filled the building, and he instantly seemed even more confident (in his own pessimistic way) than usual.

"Don't make yourself too at home here, but I guess you might as well get as comfy as you can for the overnight stay," Tom said as we followed him into the living room, which was only slightly less of a mess than I had imagined. "Unfortunately, I only made two guest rooms, each with two beds, so three of you are going to have to sleep either in here on the couches, or on the carpeted floor of one of my other rooms."

"Lia, I think you, Rose, Ruma and Sera should take the beds, if that's okay with everyone else?" Nate suggested.

"That's fine by me," Sam consented, and the others all agreed with him.

"I'll get some food cooking for dinner while the rest of you do whatever you need to do," I offered.

"Oh my Notch, that would be so good of you Lia, I'm starving," Ria said, "I'll put your backpack in your room for you then."

"Thanks Ria," I replied, pulling out the ingredients I would need to make dinner before handing the bag over to her.

"No worries," Ria said with a smile before following Tom and most of the others downstairs.

"Really brings back memories," Nate said once the others were out of earshot. He was looking at dark bloody stains which had dried into some parts of the carpet.

"It certainly does," I agreed, heading over to the workbench/furnace area so I could begin preparing the food. I had pulled out some pork chops to reheat in the furnace, along with some bread, carrots and potatoes. Starting up the fire of the furnace, I placed the porkchops in there along with the potatoes, meanwhile I cut up the bread and carrot. Luckily Tom had a bunch of plates lying around, so I could actually dish up the food properly for a change. I was watching the fire dance away when I felt someone gently wrap their arms around my waist. I smiled, the blue jumper sleeves giving away their owner's identity. We didn't say anything, we didn't need to. All we needed was each other, and in his arms I knew I would always feel at home.

Sam's POV:

I couldn't take it any longer. Those memories I had suppressed, that horrible thing I did. I knew she would find out soon, but I would rather she hear it from me. I made a terrible mistake, maybe she'll hate me forever for it, but I can't live under this lie any longer.

Everyone else had returned upstairs. She was busy setting up some potion thingy. My hands were coated in sweat.

I hesitantly knocked on the door.

"Come in! Oh, hello Sam."

"Hi Rose. So, um, whatcha doin' there?" She's gonna hate you forever.

"Not an awful lot really. I just thought we could probably use a few more potions."

"Ah, cool. So, um, anything, err, anything interesting, um, happen to you lately?"

"Sam, are you alright?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine, what are you talking about?"

"You just seem quite jumpy, that's all."

"Nah, I'm fine. Maybe just a bit nervous about the whole saving the world thing." This was a stupid idea. Why did I think it would be a good idea?

"I've simply noticed you have been acting strange these past few days. I know Finn's passing affected us all, and I hope you know you can always tell me any worries you have."

"Yeah, um, I guess it's just a big pressure to have the fate of the world on our collective shoulders and I'm worried about stuffing if up."

"Don't worry Sam, I'm sure you won't," Rose said, but in her voice I heard the tiniest hint of doubt. Considering she can see the future, I suddenly became quite concerned.

"We should probably join the others upstairs."

"I suppose we should. Don't want our dinner to become cold!"

I don't know why I thought I had the courage to tell her. I don't think I'll ever have the courage to tell anyone exactly what I did, especially not Rose. I'd miss her too much. Just as I got her back and fell for her all over again, as soon as she knows I don't know how she'll even look at me. Maybe it's better for everyone if some secrets stay in the past.

Nate's POV:

The next morning I woke up, feeling more determined than ever before that we would soon find the End portal, rescue my family and bring the Ender and Wither to justice! But not before breakfast (priorities).

Rose and Sera had put together a delicious meal of toast, eggs and pork. It was even fairly fresh meat, as there were many pigs in the area.

There was still a sort of cloud which hung on the group, but that's to be expected. Ruma still could barely walk, but he insisted we keep going.

"As long as I don't have to walk, I'll be fine!" Ruma said with a forced smile.

"Alright, just make sure you tell us if you need to rest," Lia told him.

"Sure thing, Lia!"

"Good. Now, if you've all finished your breakfast, we should probably collect all our supplies and prepare to leave."

It didn't take long for everyone to finish eating, and it was a similar story as far as packing goes seeing as no one really unpacked much anyway. We took a few extra items from Tom's house, more specifically some potion ingredients he had lying around. And then we were off again through the relentless hills, following the Eye of Ender as it floated through the sky. It didn't take long before we were through the swamp and in the desert that bordered Cubeolot.

The landscape started to get a bit more familiar, and soon I could see the outline of her castle on the horizon.

"Is that yours, Lia?" Sam asked.

"It certainly is," she said, and I felt her relax slightly in the presence of her home.

"Wow, it's huge," Ruma said, and I saw Sera nod in agreement.

"It's been handed down my family tree for generations. We should stop there as we pass by."

"Sounds good," Sam agreed, and I suddenly realized I felt like I was returning home too. Not like I was going back to my childhood home, but my true home, where I had belonged all along.

We all began to gallop off towards town, and were almost there when Rose and Ruma called out from behind us

"Eulalia, Ignatius!"

"I think you're gonna want to see this!"

Immediately we rode back to them, "What is it?"

"The Eye isn't floating as high as it usually is," Ruma said, and threw one for proof. Surely enough it started descending towards the ground before it fell from flight.

Lia and I looked at each other and agreed silently what we should do.

"Let's follow it, but if it is a Stronghold down there, we should stock up in Cubeolot with better armour and potions first. Not to mention I don't think you're in any shape to fight, Ruma."

Lia nodded in agreement, and we called for the others to come back.

"What is it?" Ria asked.

"The Eye isn't moving normally. It's going not just east, but also downwards."

"Wait, does that mean…?"

"That it may have been right on my doorstep the entire time? Yes, potentially-"

"WHAT THE F %$?! So you mean to tell me a f $% %# portal was right beneath your bloody castle the whole f $% %# time and you didn't know so you went on this long a$$ trip just to come right back to the f $% %# beginning? F #$!"

"Tom!" Ria exclaimed.

"Sorry, it's just we didn't even have to get into this s#& %$ mess in the first place."

"Well, technically things Foretold so strongly that a Page or Scroll is produced are almost inevitable-"

"Well I don't give a s#&% about the rules-"

"Thomas!"

"These are very serious laws of time and space, not just some trivial guidelines."

"Still don't give a flying f %$."

"Guys! Let's just get on with it, shall we?" I said over the others, regaining their attention.

"Good call Nate," Ruma agreed, and threw an Eye up which we followed at a much slower rate than usual. As we followed it, it got closer and closer to the desert sand, before sinking into the soft grains completely.

"So now what?" asked Sam.

"Supplies first or checking something is down there?"

"We still have a few hours of daylight left, maybe we could start making a staircase down?"

"Good plan. Let's get digging then!"

So we started on making a spiral down towards bedrock. The sun was threatening to disappear when the current block I was working on broke and revealed a room underneath. The room was dank and dark, and moss crawled all over the stone brick walls. Groans echoed down the hall, along with clacks and hisses.

"Rose?"

"To my knowledge, this most certainly is a Stronghold."

"F#$%!"

"Tom, they'll hear you!" Ria scolded in a hushed voice.

"Fine," Tom whispered, "F %$! Is that better?"

"Well, you're still swearing, but overall it's an improvement."

"Thanks, Blondie," Tom teased, but Ria tried to stay calm. Key word 'tried'.

"My name is Flaria, not 'Blondie', Hillbilly."

"Hillbilly, is it? Hmmm, you must be really scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with that one."

"Shut up, Hillbilly."

"After you, Blondie."

"I think we need to be heading off to Cubeolot. The sun's probably setting as we speak," Lia interrupted, and the group of us climbed up the way-longer-than-it-felt-like-on-the-way-down staircase and in the orange hues of the sunset collected our horses (and birds and dogs) from where we had tied them to a hastily made post and rode the twenty or so blocks it was to Cubeolot.

As we rode through town, Testificates watched transfixed from their windows. The moon was rising, so Lia and I saved the town tour for another day and led them straight to the Royal stables where we housed our horses and continued up to Lia's castle.

"Welcome to my home!" Lia announced, throwing the doors open. I was greeted with the familiar sights and smells of her home, and I couldn't help but sneak a peek of the others' faces as they took in the castle.

"Woah," Ruma gasped, looking at the lavish foyer, examining the paintings of Lia's ancestors that lined the walls.

"Well, we don't have time to waste! Rose and Ruma, you go off to the lab and make potions and experimental equipment things. The rest of us will decide on what we need armour and weapons wise and try to get everything together. Don't stay up too late, there are plenty of beds in the old guards' quarters which are just up the stairs and through the right hand side door." Lia ordered. She really was growing into her leadership position.

Rose helped Ruma limp off down the hall, and the rest of us tried to decide what equipment we needed to improve.

Ruma's POV:

My leg felt like it would be the death of me as Rose helped me limp down an unfamiliar hallway in an unfamiliar castle towards what apparently was an appropriate workspace. I saw where we were walking towards: a room with two doors and - from what I could tell - obsidian lined walls. Eteri was close behind me, I could hear her claws on the stone floor that was exposed on the sides of the hall. (Sam was playing with some toys in the living room).

It felt like forever, but we eventually reached the 'lab' and I could finally sit down again. There were no chairs in sight, so instead I settled for an anvil for now. Rose looked worried.

"Rose."

"Not now, Ruma."

"Please Rose, just tell me what's wrong? Don't think I haven't noticed the furrowed brow you have been trying to hide when the whole group is around. Not to mention what you said the other day-"

"I said not now, Ruma. Please respect that."

"But Rose, I'm getting worri-"

"STOP! Rose shouted. Then she suddenly looked like she regretted it, "Just stop, please. I don't want to talk about it now."

"Then when, Rose? When it's too late?"

"I don't wish to burden you with the knowledge I have. I am simply troubled by the number of outcomes I have seen for this battle ahead, okay? Do not worry about me, Ruma, for I can take care of myself."

"Alright, just, when you're ready, please tell me," I asked and she nodded in reply, settling down to work.

I pulled out the crossbow I was building for her. It was almost finished, I just needed to do some final fine tuning. I was hoping to have two settings: one harmful impact, one soft impact, so it could also be used to heal a group of us.

"Ruma, I shall tell you one thing. I will not let you go to the End."

I felt all the hairs on the back of my neck rise up, and a shiver of fear ran down my spine. Something in the tone of her voice told me nothing good would come of that.

"I suppose you know best. I won't go, I promise."

"Thank you, Ruma. Truly. You are one of my dearest friends, I would hate to imagine life without you."

"Me too. I mean, not life without me, life without you. I mean not that I would be alive without myself, but… um… er… you know what I mean," I stuttered.

She giggled softly, one of her elusive smiles spreading across her face. For a moment I almost forgot she would never be mine.

We both got to work after that, working quietly, but not in an awkward way. She was making a wide variety of potions while I focused on the potion crossbow.

"Hey Rose."

"Yes?"

"Do you think you could make some test splash potions for me that have no effect?"

"Of course. Is it almost complete?"

"Almost. I need to test it more now, so I can make any final adjustments," I replied, trying to ensure the string was securely fastened.

A few minutes later Rose was stood next to me as I fired a test potion across the room on the harmful setting. It flew in a graceful arc across the room before exploding on the side of an old cauldron in a shower of liquid and glass. It looked like it would be quite effective.

My leg was throbbing with pain, but I didn't care. This would be revolutionary! I flicked the switch which changed between the harmless and harmful settings (although the label next to the switch simply read hard at one end and soft at the other for easy understanding).

Again, I loaded up the potion, wound up the shot and fired. Again, I arced across the room, however this time it only made it halfway. It felt to the ground and spilled it's contents in a fairly wide radius, while the glass remained in one place and soon disintegrated harmlessly as a normal splash potion would.

"It worked." I said, shocked. It almost didn't feel like I said those words, I could hardly believe it. "It worked!"

"We shall have to perform a few more tests before we can come to a firm conclusion, but yes, it worked! Congratulations, Ruma," Rose beamed proudly.

We spent the next half hour testing the Potionbow (that was what I had decided on calling it) and there were only a few minor hiccups, which I fixed quickly enough.

"I must say, I am quite impressed with your creation, Ruma." Rose remarked after we had used up all the test potions, and one real regeneration potion.

"Well, I made it for you," I told her, holding it out to her. "I would be honoured if you would take it with you to the End."

"Of course I will take it with me, why did you think I prepared so many splash potions?"

"I had kinda hoped it would be for the Potionbow," I said grinning sheepishly.

"Well, you were right. I'm sorry you are unable to come with us, I hope you don't mind me insisting that you remain here."

"Not at all. I'm not sure I could fight if I tried," I said, wincing as a moved my injured leg.

"Please do not hurt your leg any further whilst we are not around to help," Rose instructed.

"Yes mum," I replied teasingly.

"You know I care about you too much. Anyway," she sighed and moved back to her work creating potions.

"Do you need any help with anything?"

"Perhaps…"

And so we continued making potions and poisons, unaware of the chaos about to erupt in the foyer.

Lalia's POV:

"We should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a massive day," I said, trying not to think too hard on what was to come. Everyone now had complete, mended sets of armour appropriate for their skill set: Sera had found some of the Atlantians in town and had them make more iron wool armour for both Rose and Ruma, even though I didn't think he should be going with us. The rest of us repaired what we had, except I had one suit of diamond armour that had been lying around in the armoury which I gave to Sam.

"While I was looking through my backpack, look what I found!" Sam exclaimed, rummaging through his bag looking for something, "I thought it was just a normal pickaxe, but then I saw it was blue in colour, so I pulled it out and-" out of the bag he pulled a miniature blue pickaxe, which then expanded on his hands. Only it was twice the size of a regular pickaxe, and had a sharpened blade that looked like if could cut through bedrock.

"Woah."

"Yeah, pretty cool hey? I think it was my Grandpa's. It might make a good weapon, mind if I use it?"

"Not at all, go ahead!"

"Just don't hit any of us by accident!"

"Yeah, keep your pick to yourself," Tom joked slyly, earning himself two menacing glares and another bruise. "Hey! I was just making a joke, ladies."

There was a knock at the door. Cautiously the group of us approached and peered out into the darkness. All we could see was that it was probably a Minecraftian.

"Who is it?"

"Nobody you would want to talk to," said a familiar voice.

Tom was quick to reply, "Damn right you dirty traitor!"

"Thomas!"

"What? She deserves it."

I could feel Sera shivering next to me, so I told her to join Ruma and Rose in the lab.

"I've said I'm sorry, I've paid my price. All I want to do is help."

"Help who? Us or them?" Tom challenged.

"I will not rest until Lucius' dead body lays at my feet. He made me do this, and he has to pay. I'm with you guys, forevermore." Ally said, stepping cautiously inside and into the light.

"What about your family?" I asked.

"I've told them they might be in danger and have asked the town guards to take extra cautions. They even gave my family a personal guard who watches the house at night. I've realised the only way to stop the Ender is to re-join the fight myself."

"I'm still not convinced she isn't lying," Tom said sceptically.

"We have to at least give her a chance." I said.

"She had her chance and she killed one of us!" Tom rebutted.

"She didn't mean to!"

"Well, she certainly knew what she was doing when she attacked Ruma and Sera!"

"She was desperate! Everyone makes mistakes!"

"Well now isn't exactly the best time for second chances. Everything is about to be at stake, we can't just let her waltz in a few days after she tried murdering members of the group in the name of the enemy and join us in the final battle!"

"F-final battle? You mean, you've found the End portal already?" Ally asked.

"Yeah, only just earlier today, well actually it's more like yesterday now…"

"Speaking of which, we need to rest before tomorrow, so if we could just make her move on…"

"Thomas! Can it with the rude remarks," Ria exclaimed.

"This wouldn't be an issue if she hadn't been stupid and betrayed us all to the Ender."

"Like you would have done any different if you were in that situation."

"Actually, Ria, I think you'll find I wouldn't have killed my soulmate and almost murdered another two of my so called 'friends'…"

"That was low, even for someone like you, Tom."

Ally moved back towards the door, "maybe I should just go."

"No, please, stay with us, Allison. There are quite a few spare houses in town, I'm sure we could spare one for you," I said quickly.

"That's kind of you Lia, but Tom's proven that none of you will ever trust me again. You might say you do, but in your heart of hearts you flinch at my name."

"Allison, please. We need someone like you on our team," Nate said.

"Yeah, someone like me, only without the backstabbing. Notch knows you don't actually want me."

"Ally, at least stay in town for the night, please."

"Alright, if you insist. But I'm staying far away from you, for everyone's sake."

"Fine, I just don't want you out vulnerable and alone at night."

"Then I suppose I'll go find a house, just give me a street name or something."

"There should be plenty of free houses on Sandy Street, since it borders with the desert."

"Thank you. I'll just um… go now, I guess," Ally said before awkwardly shuffling out the front door.

"No problem," I called after her. As the door closed behind her, the attention of the room turned on Thomas.

"Listen hear you f #$%#& s#$%head," Ria spat angrily.

"What happened to the no swearing?"

"What you just did calls for an exception. I hope you know how unhappy you've made her, and I hope karma really is a b#%$& to you since you have such little regard for others' feelings."

"Well I'm sorry for not believing someone who had fooled us before and almost managed to get away with what was practically f $% %# murder while tearing the rest of the group apart!"

"She didn't think she had any other choice!"

"What makes you so sure the same isn't happening now? For all we know, Lucius might've threatened her again and made her return to steal the Scroll and then backstab us during the final battle."

"But the key word there is might, Thomas. We don't know that for sure."

"Yes, but we know it's a possibility! Who's to say that it won't happen?"

"Life is about taking risks, Tom. We can't limit people to their past, we have to take a risk and give them the chance to be a better person."

"Well, let's see what everyone else thinks."

"I'll fetch the others from the lab first and fill them in," Nate said, jogging off down the hall. A few minutes later he returned with the rest of the group in toe.

"Can someone please have some f $% %# common sense and agree with me that letting Ally back into the group is a s#&%$ decision and death is what's going to happen if we let her back in." Tom said exasperatedly.

"I do not appreciate your language, Thomas, however you do make an honourable point that should be considered in that she has betrayed us before, so why should we give her our trust now?" Rose said.

"See, even the one who can see the future agrees with me. Take that, Ria!"

"While we can't deny her fault before, she seems like she legitimately wants to make things right," I argued.

"She seemed innocent when she first joined, but I can't unsee what I saw in Atlantis," Sera whispered.

"But shouldn't we give her a second chance?" Ruma asked.

"Sometimes people don't deserve a second chance," Tom said harshly.

"I'll remember that when you slip up next," Ria commented.

"Well at least my slip ups don't result in murder!"

"I think we all need to calm down a bit," Nate said, stepping between the two. "Let's take it to a civil vote. There are 8 people here, and everyone has one vote. All those in opposition of letting Allison back into the group, raise your hand now."

Tom immediately raised his hand like it was an arrow fired from a bow. Rose followed, albeit in a far calmer manner, and then Sera hesitantly raised her hand.

"Alright, 3 votes against. Lower your hands. Now, those in favour of letting Ally re-join the group, raise your hand."

Nate and I both raised our hands, along with Ria and a slightly hesitant Ruma.

"Wait, that's 4, meaning the total's only 7, who didn't vote?"

Sam stepped forward, "I don't feel I've been with you all long enough to make such an important decision. Sure, I've been here a while and gotten to know you all to some degree, but I'm not sure I wish to be a part of such a big decision."

"Nonsense, Sam. You deserve a vote as much as anyone else," I encouraged him.

"Before I do so, I just want to ask one thing: Rose, why don't you want Ally back in the group? Is it because of something you've seen?"

"No, I would not say that is the reason, or at least not yet. It simply seems illogical that she would be back with a different motive."

"But isn't revenge in the name of a loved one a super powerful form of motive?"

"That does not necessarily mean it is what currently motivates her."

"Can't you check the future before we make a blind decision?"

"I was hoping to save my energy for the battle, but alright, as you wish," Rose agreed, and got that look of extreme concentration on her face. Her hands flung out towards the wall as her energy began to drain, and Sam was holding her in his arms seconds later. We all stood by as she was slowly drained of energy, her face reflecting a mixture of concentration, pain, sadness and fear. It was a few minutes of tense silence before her eyes flew open and she gasped as if she hadn't taken a breath for minutes.

"And?" Sam asked as he helped her up.

"Nothing is clear about the End. However from what I can glean, I stand corrected on my position and wish to change my vote. I am willing to let Allison back onto the team. It will be… difficult, but I'll manage- we'll manage. I should also mention that I advise that Ruma should remain here and not travel to the End with us. Now I'm afraid I need rest."

"Thank you, Rose. Sam, can you help her to one of the guest rooms upstairs please?"

"It would be my pleasure," Sam said, scooping the exhausted Rose up in his arms, carrying her off upstairs with her body safely held to his chest, her head nuzzling into his shoulder.

"So… what now?" Ruma yawned, stretching. It was getting late, and I guessed we would all soon follow Rose's lead and sleep.

"I suppose we finish up for the night and go to our beds. You did sort out who's sleeping where earlier on, right?" I asked, and the others nodded sleepily in reply. We said our goodnights and then all stumbled off in different directions to our various sleeping quarters.

As I lay in bed, I couldn't help but worry about tomorrow.

The events of that battle… they would change everything. If we didn't win… Minecraftia would…

It's best not to think about that sort of thing if you're trying to sleep.

Ruma's POV:

Breakfast was a solemn affair. Lia and Nate ducked out early on to tell Ally she was welcome(ish) on the team, and reappeared with her about halfway through the meal. Most of us could barely eat. Nether, I wasn't even going and I was terrified.

The air was so tense, and I had left Eteri in the room upstairs because she wouldn't understand the delicate situation.

Everyone looked to be finished eating, but nobody said anything.

Nate cleared his throat and broke the silence, "So, is everyone's ready?"

There was a smattering of muttered yeps.

"Well then, get anything else you might need and we'll say goodbye to Ruma and then be on our way."

10 minutes later we stood just outside the castle on the town side of the moat. They were all clad in armour, carrying packs full of food and potions.

'Everything's going to be fine,' I tried to tell myself. I think we all were.

"I guess this is where we part," Lia said, and she hugged me tightly. "Stay safe, Ruma."

"Don't get into too much trouble without us around," Nate said with a sad smile.

"See you, Ruma," Sera said.

"Later, Bird Boy! Make sure your Moa doesn't eat all the food while we're gone," Tom said with a wave and his usual smirk.

"Cya Ruma, take care of yourself." Ria smiled as she went past.

"I'm sorry Ruma, truly, and I'll understand if you never forgive me," Ally said. I tried to supress my fear, she looked so honest and vulnerable.

"I will forgive you, I just need time to process it all first. Hey, I'm not dead though," I replied, trying to lift her spirits. In her voice I had heard just how terrible she felt, and she needed reassurance.

"Don't hurt yourself any more with us here to help, alright?" Sam said. Maybe we could be friends after all.

Finally it was just Rose left. Sam waited for her to join him from a respectful distance.

"Whatever happens to any of us, remember your promise to me. This battle could go many, many ways. Just try your hardest to keep safe, never give up and stay your wonderful happy self," Rose instructed me. For a moment she went to turn away, but then couldn't keep composed any longer and flung her arms around me. For a moment it was just us two, holding each other close. Then she drew away her arms, wiped away the forming tears and composed herself.

"Goodbye, Ruma." She said, and turned to join Sam and the others.

"Goodbye, Rose." She turned back to me, gave me a bittersweet smile and an elegant wave and then she turned back around and I was on my own once more.

Nate's POV:

There it was. The long staircase down.

Nobody wanted to go first, so I guess that was my job.

"Let's bring the fight to the Ender, and bring peace and safety to all of Minecraftia! Together, we can do this!"

"Come on guys," Lia joined in, "This is it, what we've been working towards this whole time! All those battles were just the preparation, this is the fight to end the war for once and for all!"

"What the f &$ are we waiting for then?"

"For Minecraftia!"

I led the charge down the crude stairs we had carved out yesterday evening, and we burst into the Stronghold prepared to knock down any foe. Our footsteps echoed off the mossy stone walls, but we didn't care who found us.

Only, that was the thing. There weren't any mobs.

I stopped to try and use my mob sense, but either it was broken or the place was empty.

This was wrong… very wrong.

"Why the f #% is nothing down here?"

"I have to agree with you for once Tom, something's not right about this..."

"Stopping won't help, let's keep moving."

The place was a true labyrinth: it made Atlantis look like child's play.

"I'm pretty sure we've been past that empty chest 5 times now," Ria sighed exasperatedly.

"Well what should we do? We can't split up now!" Tom asked, also clearly running short on temper.

"Why not? There aren't any mobs around here. And at this rate, we might find the portal just after the Nether freezes over."

"We might get lost!"

"Everyone lay down an object trail so you don't get lost. Meet back here in half an hour." Lia instructed before I could say anything.

"Wait, who's going with who?"

"Nate, Ally and I will be one group, Rose and Sam will be another, which leaves Tom, Sera and Ria as the final group."

"Why is it always her," Tom groaned.

"I feel exactly the same, Tom. Why you?" Ria agreed.

"Aw, that's like, the second time you've agreed today! Forcing you to work together must be working," Lia smiled mischievously.

"Let's not waste time then," Tom said with fake enthusiasm.

With that we all went our separate ways further into the dim, dank halls of the Stronghold.

Sam's POV:

I had to tell her. I couldn't go into this without her knowing. At least no one else was around, I don't think I could deal with telling anyone but her at the moment.

"Rose?"

"Yes, Sam?"

S#&%.

"Um, Rose, there's something serious I need to tell you."

"Sam? Whatever is the matter?"

"Remember how my family moved away from our hometown around five years ago?"

"Of course, how could I forget?"

"Right. Um, so you know how there was that Ender attack recently and it somehow got past the city defenses?"

"Again, it is scared into my memory, I shall always remember it."

"Well, I have something to tell you. It was a week before my family left and I was out in the woods, looking for supplies just like usual. Suddenly I heard a noise behind me. I spun around and saw a towering black figure with one glowing purple eye. He demanded the plans for the city. If I didn't he said he would kill my family. If I did, our reward would be surviving the attack. I ran home and wanted to ask you, but knew only my parents could know. Together we agreed it was better to do as they wished. I stole the plans and gave them to the Ender. He told me to collect my family and say goodbye to everyone else, because as soon as the Ender army was ready, they would strike."

Rose stayed in a state of stunned silence.

"But, before I gave them the map I made him promise one thing. Your safety."

"What? Samson-"

"I couldn't bear the thought of being the reason you died. I had hoped you would wander off after the battle and someday find me, but when the years passed without you, I thought you had died. I thought I had killed you. That's why the whole Ally thing had made me so… weird. Because I know exactly how she feels."

She stood still and said nothing for what felt like an eternity. My legs felt like jelly and I could barely breathe. If she hadn't replied when she did, I think I might have died from the suspense.

"Oh Sam," she sighed softly, and tears glinted in her hazel eyes like diamonds. Then, in a move I didn't expect, she hugged me. She encircled me in a tight embrace, almost as if she was trying to hold me together in one piece. She buried her face into my chest just above my heart, and I guessed she was listening to my heartbeat.

"Sam, if we survive today, we shall talk more about this then. I appreciate you telling me this, and I'm glad you feel we should not have secrets between each other, but now is not the time for conflict between each other. Sam, it is in the past and we can do nigh to change it. Therefore, we must simply carry on as best we can. If anything, you are the perfect example of why Allison should be given a second chance."

"I just want you to know I'm incredibly sorry, just in case-"

"Don't say it. Please. Just know I accept your apology and let's move on."

Now I was the one battling back tears, "Rose, you make me so happy, I hope you know that."

"Why do you think I tolerate you so much?" She replied, removing her arms from around me to wipe the tears from her eyes and then putting back on her 'serious face'.

"I guess we had better keep looking."

So off we continued down the dimly lit stone hallway, looking for the portal to our final destination.

Tom's POV:

"Hey Ria."

"What, Thomas?"

"I hope you know, before we go into this final battle, that I hate your guts, Blondie."

"I hate your guts too, Loner."

"Still got no ideas for my nickname? Aw, poor Blondie, too dumb to even come up with a good nickname." The look on her face was priceless.

"I take that as a challenge, Emo boy."

"I would hardly call myself 'emo'. Nice try Blondie."

"Um… guys," Sera said quietly from behind us.

"Yeah, Sera?" I asked.

She was pointing at something off through a doorway we had passed a few blocks back, "I-isn't this what we're looking for?"

Ria and I moved back, and sure enough, if looked like a portal. It was a rectangle of blocks hovering mysteriously over a pool of lava. Stairs led up to the portal, and the whole room seemed to have an ominous glow to it.

"How the f#$% did we miss that?"

Lalia's POV:

Our direction had hit a bunch of dead ends, so we decided to head back to the meeting place early. Ally said she felt like she should give us some space to talk, so we let her wander back down the direction we had come from.

"I hope you know I love you," Nate said, pushing some hair back from my face.

"How could I forget? I have a secret to tell you," I said, beckoning for him to lean in close. He did so and I whispered in his ear, "I love you too."

I heard him chuckle softly, and felt his arms wrap around my waist.

"But seriously, Eulalia. This battle, you could… I could…"

"Die?"

"Yeah. And I just want to make sure that, in case one of us… I just wanted to make sure you know that I love you, and would do anything for you. But if something happens to me, make sure to do what makes you happy."

"As much as you're getting ahead of yourself, I hope you know I feel the same way."

"I know it as much as you do."

We kissed, passionately, and I felt that fire run through my veins. We both knew this could be our last. But, it couldn't last long, since we were kind of right where we had told everyone to meet us at around this time. Breathless, we pulled our lips apart, but it took a few more moments before we completely untangled from our close embrace. And it was just in time too, because we heard a voice call from the passageway "Is it safe to come back now?"

We laughed, "Yes Ally, it's 'safe'."

"Good," She said, joining us, "I want to thank you two for letting me back into the group. I know not everyone is totally supportive of that decision, so it means a lot to me."

"Well, I think it's impo-"

"We found it!" Ria's exclamation echoed down the halls, interrupting our moment with Ally.

"Correction, you missed it, Sera found it."

"It was on your side of the hallway, Tom!"

"That's no excuse-"

"Um, I'm sorry, but why is that not valid reasoning?"

"You have eyes too Ria. You need to be a little more observant there, Blon-"

"I swear if you call me Blondie one more time…"

"You'll what, cry?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but if looks like Sam and Rose are here, so could you maybe take us to the portal now?" I butted in. They looked disappointed, but then again they always pick up right where they left off anyway.

So we followed their winding trail through the corridors until we reached a forbidding-looking room. As we approached the portal I noticed some little dips on the frame that looked like they needed to be filled with something.

"What do you think-" I began, but a noise in the near silence cut me off.

An all too familiar whoosh.

That violet glow.

The horrible voice, "Did you really think it was going to be that easy?"

Aether help us.

A/N: Hello super-mega-awesome Readers!

I seem to start every author note off this way but - SORRY!

It has been AGES since I updated, but it is finally here! I have been slowly working on it this whole time, but a LOT has happened since the last update! April was a MASSIVE month for me. The last few weeks of Term 1 were hectic as all Nether, and I did really get much of a 'holidays' (Year 12 = LOTS of homework). I also had my Year 12 Charity Ball (basically formal/prom for those of you who aren't sure what a 'Charity Ball' is). I wore a really beautiful blue dress and had my hair and make-up done professionally, and it was a super awesome night! The night after that was the after party which was an… interesting experience (Side note: drunk peoples' favourite adjective is pretty). The three days after that was workshop for the school musical (Into the Woods Jr.), which was hard work, but fun. One of those days also happened to be my best friend's 18th birthday, but we didn't have the party until a week after, so for the first time in forever I had my birthday party before hers! Yes, that is correct, I am writing this as an adult (in the laws eyes at least). It's weird to think I could legally buy alcohol…

Anyway, the rest of my holidays was mostly homework, until the first Monday of the new term which signalled the start of production week. It was an AMAZING week, and any of you who have thought about being in a school musical, please do it because it is so much fun! The whole cast this year was so funny and lovely, and it was an amazing musical to end 7 years of school musicals! I played Rapunzel, who is a bit of a ditzy dreamer, and she was a really fun role to play. I wrote a bit of a backstory thing for the events from her view which I've been thinking of posting as a fanfic, so let me know if you people would be interested in that at all. It's kind of hard to realise that I am never going to be in the school musical again, never going to have another after school rehearsal or awkward performance at a whole school assembly to promote the show. But I'll definitely be doing musicals outside of school, so that's a whole new world to look forward to.

And this week had been a LOT of catching up on schoolwork I've missed, but you guys are lucky and amongst all of this chaos, which I don't blame you if you skipped over some of it, I have been writing and editing as often as I could (well, I mean, as often as I had free time which I wasn't using to try to catch up on Once Upon a Time (I'm almost finished season 4) or watching Youtubers), and so, now that the chaos has died down a bit I have had time to properly edit the whole thing!

I hope you liked the 'Previously' bit at the top, just to remind you what's happening since it's been a while. It was surprisingly hard to write.

Anyway! Oh no, looks like our Ender friend is here to ruin the moment. Do you think anyone is going to die in the End? Is Ally actually on the side of good, or is she going to betray them again? How long am I going to take to update this time? Who knows (with that last one, not even I know!)

I love to hear from you awesome people, so don't forget to let me know what you thought of this super long chapter and it's matching super long A/N in a review or PM, and if you haven't already, make sure you follow/favourite this story so you always know when I do FINALLY update!

Have an awesome week/fortnight/month, and I will see you in the next chapter!

~Lark~