omg. Guys! It's the final chapter! I'm so excited! This chapter is 9.5k words long!

Thank you all so much for reading this story! Double thanks for reading it all the way though and reviewing. I really appreciate it. One with the End was an opportunity for me to develop my OCs. Also, it seems like a few readers came to like my characters, and that's super awesome. Thank you for being awesome readers!

I'm so happy that I've completed this fanfic. Similar with Learning from the Past, I'm going to take another writing break. I'll be focusing more on content on DeviantArt (link in my profile). But I'll still be around this site too!

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy! Reviews are appreciated! Take care!

"Are all players safe?" Eminence asked.

The moderator nodded. "All non-moderators have evacuated to these three towers, while the scientists are at the Portal Lab."

"And are you sure you can protect them all, if something bad happens?"

"Yes. Three moderators are enough, and the scientists can protect themselves. We don't need any more guards. You need the rest of the staff more than us."

Meanwhile, Azure grabbed his mother, who was about to enter the tower.

"Hey, mom. I know I should be with you, but Eminence wants me to stay with him," Azure said. How long had it been since he last talked to his mother? Oh, and he had promised that he would be safe. His mother had said that she didn't care about Azure's plan, but had she expected him to become an outlaw and disappear from the island?

His mother set a hand on Azure's shoulder. With her free arm, she gave her son a half-embrace. She smiled and Azure smiled back.

"But you've done enough. You don't need to do more," she insisted. "You figured it out."

"Acid's secret? Yeah."

"Well, not just that," she asserted. "Remember your father's death?"

Azure recalled the last mysterious written words of his father. His father had discovered something. Something at the bedrock surface...

"Dad...he knew that Acid destroyed the Overworld. Acid hijacked his armor to kill him in the Overworld...to hide the truth," Azure awed.

"I was there when Emmet exposed Acid's secret. I immediately knew what your father was hiding. And now here we are. You. You, son. You finished your father's task."

"...Wow." Sparking this uprising was overwhelming enough. The shock from Acid's dark secret had nearly drowned him and flushed beneath his black scales. It had given his goosebumps when all the moderators pledged their loyalty to Eminence. It was powerful. Azure thought he would never experience a feeling like that ever again. But this new revelation rejuvenated that feeling. He felt lighter than ever.

"You found out the truth of the Overworld, just like your father." His mother brushed his hair back. "But, unlike him, you're still here. You escaped Acid. I don't want to lose you now. Please come with me."

"But...Eminence has given me a job. He wants me to keep the Endstone Moon documents safe. And someone will protect me to make sure nothing bad happens to them or me. I'll be fine. Plus, I still have this." Azure showed her the moderator band.

"But I can protect you just as well as Emmet can."

"Azure, what are you doing here?"

Azure and his mother turned to Eminence. His mother took a step back. Did she just gulp?

"This is my mother," Azure explained. "She wants me to stay with her in the towers."

The "human" bit his lips. "Look, I'm sorry, but I'd prefer it if Azure comes with me. It'll be easier to keep an eye on him."

"But he's my son."

"He's also one of Acid's enemies. He's safer with me."

Azure turned to his mother. She sighed and looked down. The speaker hybrid knew she was too afraid to talk back, because she had not warmed up to Eminence yet. Azure could only imagine how she had reacted to his true, beast-like self. She was not willing to open up. However, her eyes gleamed regret. Shame that she could not stand up for her son. Azure tightened his hands. He too felt guilty that he had to leave his mother, but Eminence would not have it any other way.

"Goodbye, Mom," Azure whispered when Eminence told him to leave. His mother gave him a kiss on the forehead before releasing him.

Eminence and Azure regrouped, joining Char and the remaining moderators. One moderator was trying to converse with Char, while the others were debating about their tactic. There were ten moderators total. Three were keeping the other players safe in the towers, meaning only seven would actually confront Acid.

Seven moderators and one dragon against one admin. How hard could this be?

Well, it would had been simple. But Acid was a smart admin.

When Eminence questioned one distressed moderator, the player answered, "Acid has blocked himself from the system."

"Of course, he has the admin band," Eminence hissed. "And he can teleport with that thing. He can be anywhere and go somewhere else at any time. There's no way we can defeat him." Azure looked down and rubbed his moderator band. Using the band to hide. He knew that tactic and its efficiency too well. But Azure was past that now. He had wanted to return the wristband, after Char had slayed Tara's killer and the staff had joined his side. But the moderators had insisted him to keep it just in case, and they had spares.

"Then what are we gonna go?" Eminence asked.

"Well, we have to get rid of that band somehow," a second moderator suggested. "It would be easy to find him, if he didn't block himself."

"I can hack into the command blocks," another moderator offered. "Moderators can't unblock players from the tracking system, but I can change that."

"Sounds good," Eminence accepted. "What's your name?"

"Sam. I'll head to the main tower now."

"But bring two guards!" a third moderator interjected. "Acid might appear to stop you. He will defend himself and his powers."

Eminence looked around the group. "Any volunteers?" Two hands immediately shot up. Same and the two moderators left, heading to Acid's tower, where the command blocks were stored.

The dragon looked at the remaining four moderators. "Well, since we don't see Acid anywhere, the next thing we can do is keep watch." He looked down at his moderator band, which the staff had given him. "We'll scatter around the server and notify each other when we spot him, at least until he's unblocked."

"Ok, where should we scatter?" Someone asked.

"I know the server the best," Eminence replied. "I'll plan it. But first." He turned to Char. "Keep Azure safe because he has the Endstone Moon project. That's what we agreed to."

Char nodded. "You can trust me. I won't leave my eyes off him."

Azure went to Char's side. He knew nothing would go wrong, but he also knew that staying with his mother was still a legitimate alternative. He could not understand why Eminence thought otherwise.

Eminence discussed with the remaining moderators about the search. Azure sighed and lamented to Char, "Do you think it was right for me to stay with you guys? My mother wanted me to stay with the other players. I feel bad that I've abandoned her, especially after being separated for a while. She doesn't want something bad to happen to me, like my father."

"Your father?" Char turned to the younger hybrid. "He died because he knew Acid's secret, didn't he?"

"Yes, and my mom's worried that'll happen to me."

"Well, for your mother's sake, I'll make sure that doesn't happen," the blaze hybrid insisted, setting a hand on Azure's shoulder.

"Yeah, but that doesn't stop her fear of being alone. I've seen what losing a family member has done to her. But here I am," the enderman speaker spewed out.

The air around Azure seemed to cool. The heat surrounding Char seemed to dim. "I know what it's like to lose your family. I'm still grieving about Cedric. She's hurt. But don't worry. She'll understand and heal eventually. After we finish Acid and return to the Overworld, she'll forget about whatever happened between you two."

Azure softly smiled. His guilt eased. He still wished he had stayed with his mother. But this was just one final task. They would succeed. And afterwards, Azure would spend all the time he had with his family, in the Overworld. Just one task and then a happy ending.

Besides, he had a father to avenge.

Dragon, again. Hunting for a player, again.

After another flight around the island, Eminence perched on top of an obsidian tower. Dragons usually had a keen eye for players and could spot them easily. But it was difficult for Eminence since he was rusty and and the presence of multiple players distracted him. He just wanted to find Acid.

A buzz pecked at his mind. He hissed. Only his human form wore the band, but he still felt its notification, pestering him at every moment with frantic messages.

There were claims of "I spotted him!" followed by "No! He's here!" They had become a bore.

But this claim perked his attention:

"Moderators! I successfully hacked into the command blocks!"

"Great!" The voice of another moderator cheered. "Unblocked him."

"Actually, there's a new problem," Sam's voice dismayed. Eminence twitched his tail in interest. "I can't unblock or ban him. Something is overruling my code. I theorize that Acid has programmed another command block, and that command block is keeping him blocked!"

"But how?!" Eminence snapped. The moderators ignored him. Eminence rolled his eyes, morphed back into human mode and tapped on the band.

"But how," he repeated. "Spare command blocks are at the Lab, and the scientists should be there."

"...Actually, I haven't heard from the scientists for a while," a moderator suggested. "Someone, go check to lab!"

Instantly, a new voice chimed, "The scientists were knocked out by a lingering potion of unconsciousness. There are shards of glass here."

"Acid..." Eminence growled. "He did manage to steal the command blocks. But how are the scientists?"

"They're safe. They also reported that all command blocks have been taken. And even the potion storage has been emptied out."

"Why bother with the potions?" Eminence asked. "Ugh, whatever. We should go search for those command blocks. Since they're controlling the server, they must be placed somewhere."

"Will that do anything?" The hacker's voice asked. "Acid has spares and he can program more and more just to have the server work at his advantage."

"Not if we find the command blocks at a faster pace," Eminence encouraged. With that, he transformed into a dragon and soared to the nearest outer island. Using his senses, he felt something unnatural about an outer island two chunks away. He flew to the strange island. He dug into the endstone surface and found one command block.

Eminence reverted back into human and notified the staff. "I found one command block. I'll send the coordinates."

"I'll disable it," Sam the hacker offered.

"So Acid is hiding the command blocks inside the outer islands. Bring some pickaxes as you search."

A search for Acid and a search for his command blocks. Yet it was fruitless. The three coder moderators wanted to get the command blocks to unblock and ban Acid,but Acid's new blocks overpowered their attempts.

As Eminence dug out on the fifth command block he had found, he groaned, realizing how fruitless this was. He sympathized with the other moderators, who were ranting about the search in the messages.

Eminence turned back into a human, realizing he had to remotivate the moderators. Before he could even intervene, the band hissed like a creeper. That meant bad news.

"I just spotted Acid!" Sam cried. "I'll go and - ah!"

Silence.

"Banned..." Eminence whispered. Of course. Acid's greatest threats were the hackers. Umm, who were the other coders in the staff? Eminence felt too awkward to ask for their names, so he quickly scanned the Void. He spotted one player kneeling over a command block. Only coders could actually disable command blocks that the other moderators found.

Eminence quickly flew to the coder. As a human, he set a hand on her. "Acid's targeting and banning coders like you. So you should be accompanied by a guard."

The hacker nodded in agreement before disabling and snatching the command block.

"How many other coders are there?"

"Two left," the coder lamented. "We're limited. We won't disabled all of the command blocks at this rate!"

"I'll see if I can rescue the other coder," Eminence assured. He sent a message to the other staff members. "Can someone unban Sam?"

"I already tried it," she interjected. "Didn't work. Acid's doing, again."

"Can someone go into Player Nether and rescue them instead?"

"On it!" A new voice volunteered. Eminence sighed in relief.

"Anyways, I spotted another command block near by," the dragon-in-disguise told the coder, sharing the coordinates. "Disable it while I keep watch." The coder teleported to the area, followed by Eminence's teleport. Though, before she could even tap on the command block, the voice returned.

"The Nether Portal is acting strange!" The voice cried. "Probably another command block is responsible. It may take a while until it functions normally."

Eminence cursed under his breath. "What is wrong with him?" He looked to the endstone floor. "Why can't he just talk to us." But he knew Acid well, even after they had separated. He never negotiated. He would not now. Acid knew that nothing will please the players anymore besides his defeat. But, how could Acid win? Did he actually think he could win, with everyone against him? Eventually, he would have to give up. All of these extra command blocks and ravaging would lead to nothing eventually.

The dragon-in-disguise fidgeted his hands. After seeing the coder disable the command blocks, Eminence gestured to another island. "Let's just stick to the current plan."

The band hissed again.

"Guys! I'm so sorry!" A deep voice sorrowed. "I was protecting Joey, who was disabling the command blocks! But Acid came! He banned Joey and nearly banned me!"

Eminence bit his human lip. The Nether portal had not even recovered yet. He was guarding the last hacker on the staff. The coder and Eminence met eyes. The glow in her eyes also showed fear before she resumed back to work.

"Should we stop?" The coder asked. "At this rate, I can't disable all the command blocks Acid keeps setting. Maybe we should just figure a way around it, find Acid, and work together to stop him."

Eminence sighed. "You're right. This is a waste of time."

The coder gave him a nod of respect. But her eyes suddenly widened and her smile melted. "Behind you!"

Eminence whirled around. He tensed at the sight of Acid.

"You're not getting away with this," Eminence snarled, tightening his hands into a fist.

"Let's see," the admin challenged. Suddenly, he revealed a potion in his hands and threw it at his feet. He disappeared. Potion of invisibility.

The coder flinched, as if someone had just stabbed her in the heart. She vanished.

"Shit..." Eminence awed. Then something cold touched him.

"You're coming with me," Eminence heard before he was teleported away.

"I've been teleported into the main tower!" Eminence's voice notified. Azure could not take his eyes off of his moderator band. "All coders are banned and - "

Azure looked at Char, who was listening to the message with him. Azure bit his lip. Char looked conflicted until he turned his head to the central tower.

"We're close to the tower than any of the moderators," Char said. "Let's go in and see if Eminence's ok."

Azure nodded. "He might be in danger!"

Char already had a head start, running to central tower and snapping the iron door open. Azure quickly dove in before the iron doors closed. First floor, no Eminence. With a frustrated sigh, Char turned to the stairs and began to climb up. Azure gulped, worried about Eminence. What if it was too late? He turned, seeing a few moderators had teleported behind him. Seeing them race up the steps with Char, Azure eased. Eminence could not be in danger with these people to his rescue. Azure was about the join them, but something grabbed the end of his shirt and he fell. Azure shouted when he felt a force pry the Endstone Moon document from his hands. His wrist felt tense, but it suddenly relaxed when he let go of the document. Suddenly, Acid appeared, with the document in his hands.

"Thank you," Acid said. "I knew you would go into action, only to make yourself vulnerable."

"Hey! Give it back!" Azure tackled Acid. He grabbed both of Acid's wrists. Acid gritted his teeth and struggled back. Azure accidentally nudged a palm on Acid's wrist. A click. Suddenly, Acid and Azure were teleported to the top floor. Azure met black. He panicked, losing one heart from suffocating in the obsidian wall, until he managed to push himself out of it. Taking Azure's distraction as an opportunity, Acid released himself from the hybrid's grip. Azure fell on someone's feet. He blinked, recovered, and looked at Acid. He noticed the other moderators, Char, and a fine Eminence surrounding the admin.

"Enough of that!" Acid snapped. "Remember that this is my weapon."

Azure and the players gasped when Acid pointed the Nether bomb gun at them. Acid did not blink. His eyes looked up for a moment. Then they focused on a certain person.

"Remember, Eminence," Acid said. "Whatever happens next is your burden."

Acid brought the gun up, pointing to the obsidian ceiling above them. As any moderator who had been in Player End since the beginning would know, those were where the first command blocks were stored. The command blocks that enabled sleeping and respawning and established the borders of the terraformed server.

Bang!

A white zap shot into the ceiling. An explosion sparked. Azure was sent back in a tumble, along with the rest of the players, his back hitting obsidian wall. Azure shut his eyes and shielded his face.

"What happened here?!"

"We need more golden apples. This is corruption we're dealing with."

"Are you, ok?"

"So it was you. Do you have any idea of what you've just done?"

"Oh man. What did you just do?"

Char opened his eyes. I'm sorry, Victor...

Through blurry vision, he saw the bodies of everyone else. So he took a deep breath, burned those memories away, and got up. He felt for the nearest hand and helped that player up.

When his vision cleared, he noticed the rest of the players. Eminence hobbled to the center of the floor, scanning for Acid. No admin in sight. Char immediately spotted Azure's black scaly skin and helped him up.

"Are you ok?" Char asked.

"Yeah. No one died, right?" Azure asked. "I'm at two hearts."

"Same here."

Some moderators had gotten up to inspect the ceiling. Azure heard the remaining staff members climbing up the stairs, followed by gasps.

"What happened here?"

Azure looked at the ceiling. Well, that was left of it. The omnipresent Void greeted them, accompanied by the four obsidian walls pointing to nothing. There was something trailing down the walls. Even though obsidian was already black, the substance seemed even darker, dripping down the walls like blood.

"Nothing...there's nothing left," a moderator awed. Eminence kicked a broken piece of obsidian.

"Destroyed command blocks mean...disabled command blocks, right?" Eminence asked.

"Yes!" A moderator cried. "And those command blocks in particular...that means...shit!"

"Respawning in the End has been disabled," another staff member finished, looking down in despair. "Now, if any player dies, they respawn in the Overworld. And the Overworld is still dangerous. They can die out there. Die in corruption."

Eminence held a hand against his head and his breathes shortened. The moderators broke into nervous chattering. Azure clutched his heart. It was a blessing that no one died from this explosion...

"Ok..." the ex-moderator gasped. "Ok. Let's double the number of moderators guarding the players. I don't want any of them to die. Three volunteers?"

Three hands immediately shot up, but they were all shaking, aware of their own mortality.

"Go. If the players don't know yet, please don't tell them. Just keep them safe."

The three volunteers stalked down the steps.

Eminence coughed a bit. "Is everyone ok?"

Azure gasped. He hugged his shoulders tightly and breathed heavily, his feet rocking. Oh no. No no no.

"I'd hate to bring even more bad news, but Acid also took the Endstone moon document," the hybrid announced. "Right before he destroyed the command blocks."

The room panicked. Azure looked at Eminence's face. Pure shock. Then to Char's. The blaze hybrid looked stunned before he looked down, ashamed that he had failed Eminence's orders.

"Guys, calm!" Eminence snapped the crowd to silence. The dragon-in-disguise exhaled. "When Acid teleported me here...he just...handcuffed me to the desk and knocked me unconscious. I didn't know why. But it must had been a diversion to get the documents from Azure."

"He could have done anything to those documents by now," Char worried. "What do we do?"

Then the server spoke.

"This is Acid," the white text announced. "The explosion you just heard is the destruction of Player End's key command blocks."

Eminence snarled at the Void. "Someone please ban Acid already."

"No we can't," a moderator cried. "He still has his outside command blocks protecting him, but not enabling respawning."

"Usually, I hate bringing the server into panic, but it's fair to know what's at stack," the text continued. "The destroyed command blocks means that respawning has been disabled. If you die now, you'll respawn into the Overworld, still dangerous without your Endstone Moon."

Then there were the screams and panics outside. Everyone in the tower could hear them because of the broken ceiling. Azure glared at the sky. He had a command block but did not know how to code. But he so badly wanted to write back to Acid through the block, telling him to shut up.

"Are you so sure about fighting me now? However, I do not want to fight either. So I'll offer a negotiation," Player End boomed. "Eminence, meet me at the eastern obsidian pillar. Alone, and I'll make sure you come alone."

Azure turned to Eminence. His blue eyes gleamed with worry and fear.

"If you're curious about what we'll talk about, we'll be talking about the formation of the first Overworld server post-Celestial War. I do see the use in the Endstone Moon document. If you want to return to the Overworld so badly, I want to become the admin of whatever server you set up there. And you all know I can destroy the Overworld again if another rebellion occurs in the future. But if Eminence negotiates with me and expresses your interests, this conflict can be diverted. This is your message."

A moment passed. No more white text.

"What happens if you don't go and negotiate?" A moderator asked Eminence.

Eminence brought a mouth over his lips. "He's attacked before by banning us. If we keep him waiting, he'll start attacking random players by actually killing them. And with that Nether bomb gun, he can kill many and even give them corruption, killing them before they respawn in the Overworld. Can't risk it."

"But," Azure asserted. "Are you really going to join him?"

"He offered me to design a server with him once," the dragon-in-disguise muttered. He shook his head. "I'm not accepting it again. But I can't decline him either. So..."

He turned to each player in the broken tower.

"When I meet with him, I will kill him, once and for all. I'll destroy that weapon and get those files back."

For a moment, the screams outside seemed to dim down.

"But maybe that's his plan too," a moderator insisted. "So you have to be careful."

"I will," Eminence promised, putting a gun into his hand for emphasis. Feeling the form of the weapon brought back memories. This was Char's pistol during the attack on Golden Pork. Strange that the weapon could had killed him. But now, it would temporarily serve as his protector. "Plus, I won't hesitate to become a dragon. Though, Acid can turn me back into human, so this gun will be a precaution."

"And you're going alone?" Char asked. "I'd rather have someone come with you."

"Acid said he only wanted me, and he'll make sure of that. I don't want any players to die trying to come with me."

"But what if my name is blocked?"

"He'll still see you come to the tower with me," Eminence sassed. "And don't ask about potion of invisibility. It'll be a hustle to find one and I don't want to keep Acid waiting." The ex-moderator approached the blaze hybrid and set a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I don't want anyone to die because of me. I can handle this alone. Trust me."

Char hesitated. He opened his mouth to say something before closing it and stepping back.

Eminence turned to Azure and the others. Azure had no choice but to accept Eminence's plan. Honestly, he had nothing to be afraid of. Eminence had so many surprises. Acid could not do anything no matter how hard he tried...right?

The ex-moderator took a deep breath. "I'll see you later. I'll come back with that document." He descended down the stairs.

The staff remembered the outside. The moderators, knowing that the other players were still in panic, saw extra guards as a must. They exited the tower, leaving only Azure behind, with Char waiting.

Before Azure could reflect, a vwoop sent a chill in the air. Azure turned. His mother stood, holding Cinder and Flash's hands. Azure did not hesitate. He ran up to his mother. His mother released the two players and embraced him.

"I decided to trust you away from me," she began. "But after the explosion and Acid's announcement, that was the last straw. I teleported here, during the chaos, and your friends wanted to come along." Azure turned to look at his friends. Flash flicked her cat tail, happy to see Azure safe. Cinder had brought her axe, but she seemed ready to hug Azure too and only make peace.

"Thanks, Mom," Azure replied. "I'm actually glad you came." His mother softly smiled.

She looked at Char. "Thank you for guarding my son." Char nodded in respect, though he seemed suddenly stiff. After all, he only succeeded with half of his task.

"Is Eminence talking to Acid?" Flash asked.

"He's heading to him right no," Azure replied. "He's gonna kill Acid when he's there."

"Kill?" Flash blinked. "Well, that would make things easier."

"I don't know how it's gonna end. But at least we'll know soon. It'll be a quick conflict."

"Good to know it'll be over soon," Azure's mother joined. "The sooner this ordeal ends, the sooner we can return to the Overworld."

The Overworld. Azure wondered how much of the Overworld his mother remembered. What elements did she miss the most? And all the stories Azure himself had read. About the night sky, the vast land, and the array of creatures. He could not believe he would see them in reality soon.

Boom!

Suddenly, Azure's ears rang again. The hybrid fell to his knees. The specks of purple on the obsidian walls shook and he felt dizzy. He felt Flash fall on top of him. The hiss of Char's blaze rods pierced through the muffled sounds.

Azure blinked and his senses reset. His purple eyes shot to his mother, who was getting up, but uninjured. The Enderman speaker searched for the nearest window. He stumbled to it. The eastern tower had exploded, a nasty hole as its scar. Azure's eyes traced to the endstone floor. He saw Eminence down there, pushing himself up. Acid was there, aiming the gun at his former moderator.

"Umm...that's not the sight of Eminence killing Acid," Azure stammered, gesturing the other players to see. He huffed when the other four players squished to see the event. Eminence seemed to be shouting at Acid, who did not say anything back. At the corner of his eyes, the Enderman hybrid could see two moderators running to the fight. Suddenly, Acid pointed his gun at them and shot a beam. The two moderators dove out of the way, but when the beam contacted the ground, the world shook again. Azure collapsed before he climbed up to the window again. A crater in Player End. So deep, the lowest part of the crater was probably one layer away from falling into the Void.

The server announced two deaths.

"Guys!" Flash notified. "Eminence and Acid are gone. They must had teleported while we were distracted by the explosion."

"Teleported?" Azure bit his lips. "I hope Eminence has the situation under control."

"He didn't in that tower," Cinder pointed out. "Should we go look for him?"

"I think the moderators got it."

"...I can sense Emmet," Azure's mother muttered, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's so weird, being so in tune with him now. He's near. But, not well."

"Not well..." Char suddenly said. "But you know where he is?"

The female Enderman hybrid nodded.

"Please, take me to him. Just as backup," the blaze hybrid pleaded. "The moderators can't find him in time, and you can teleport to his location."

"Well, take a few more people with you too," Cinder added. "Like the other moderators."

"I can't. I can't waste time. Unless..." Char turned to Azure. "We take Azure to the location, and he can notify the other moderators there with his band."

For the first time, Azure heard his mother yell. It was like a lion's roar and an Enderman's echoes. "No! Just have Azure give you the band and go on your own. I'll even teleport myself there for you. But my son is not going."

"But mom, you're going into danger too!" Azure cried. "I can't let you go near Acid either! What's your teleporting cooldown?"

"...Only one minute."

"I'll protect her during that one minute," Char asserted, holding a hand out, demanding for Azure's moderator band. "Don't worry. She'll be fine."

Azure gulped, sending a silent prayer to the Void, and handed the moderator band to Char. "Good luck."

Char strapped the band on himself. "And you still know where they are?"

Azure's mother nodded as she grabbed Char's arm. She closed her eyes. Purple particles formed and the two disappeared.

The speaker hybrid turned to his two friends. Flash fidgeted with her clawed hands and Cinder tapped her fingers on the obsidian wall.

"Hey, they got it under control," Cinder offered.

"Yeah, let's put a little faith in them," Flash added.

"Well, that's the only thing we can do now," Azure shrugged. They could not do anything with a moderator band anymore. But, Tara had been put in danger. Eminence was in danger. Now it was Char and even his mother. Would they share the same fate as Tara?

A vwoop noise. Mom? He looked up to the remnants of the ceiling. His heart sank. No, just an Enderman. The creature inspected the area with wide eyes.

"What happened? Are the players failing?"

Azure sighed as the Enderman teleported to the floor, picking up a bookshelf block. I hope it's the good players that don't fail.

Eminence shot the gun. This time, at Acid's heart. The admin stumbled when the bullets hit him. He spat blood before he revealed and consumed a healing potion.

The dragon-in-disguise muttered as he reloaded the pistol. How many potions does he have? It was hard to kill Acid when he had powerful potions of healing. Eminence had already tried turning into a dragon to knock Acid off the island. But the admin was quick, transforming him back into a human, making Eminence fall meekly onto Acid's feet. Poor attempt of a charge. Eminence had received a kick in the face and a sword slash from that. At least it was not an explosion. Acid could not use the gun when attacking close, but he proved himself a challenge in face-to-face combat.

Ugh, Eminence wished there was an Ender Crystal nearby.

Acid tackled and swung the sword across Eminence's chest. The ex-moderator cried and fell to his knees. Suddenly, Acid teleported twenty blocks away from him and switched his sword with his gun. The gun was already sparking with white lightning.

But before he could even click the weapon, a figure kicked Acid down. Char doved for Acid's gun, but the admin quickly shoved the blaze hybrid away. Realizing that he had no weapon, Char flew back, joining the female hybrid's side.

"I'm sending the coordinates to Eminence's location," Char whispered in the band. Then he ignited one of his hands, ready to protect Azure's mother.

Almost instantly, three moderators popped into the scene.

"Why aren't there many more?" Char asked.

"The remaining five are guarding the players," a player responded. "It's only us."

Char grunted, but it would do. He shot his eyes at Azure's mother. She seemed lost and overwhelmed, cowering behind him. But she was unharmed. She would stay that way. He gestured her to walk further away from Acid while the moderators and Eminence close in on him.

One minute. Just one minute and she could return to safety.

Acid muttered under his breath. With a sword, he deflected one moderator away. He had to teleport Eminence, again.

He aimed his unstable arm at his former comrade. Only for someone knock him down. His finger slipped off his band, activating teleportation. He accidentally teleported himself out of the crowd. He blinked to a different area. The center of the outer island. Oh, only the center, thank the Void. He glared at the group that turned to him.

"Fine," he grumbled. He aimed the Nether bomb gun at them and finally clicked.

Eminence's eyes widen. No hesitation. He backed away and jumped off the island. He transformed and flapped his dragon wings. In the Void, looking above at the island, he saw the gray and white flashes. Blocks of pale endstone flew out, alone with some players. Eminence flew towards those players, catching the moderators.

But if he had turned around, he would had noticed Char and Azure's mother falling down too.

"Shit!" Char revolved his blaze rods like an overexcited redstone machine. He was fifteen, no, twenty-five blocks away from Azure's mother, who was already falling down further. Char slowed down his fall, gained control, and aimed diagonally towards the screaming woman, one hand stretched out. He was close enough to see the purple particles trailing after her fall. Desperate but failed attempts to teleport. Please teleport soon. Please teleport soon. Char's mind thumped as he flew closer to the hybrid.

Please...please.

Now one block apart, Char swung his arm at the mother. But suddenly, she was whisked away. Char cried, suddenly demanding his blaze rods to stop it. The sudden pause in the air hurt his brain. The Void strangled four hearts out of him before he emerged from its depths. He stared at the dark Void, mouth hanging open. His mind and arms felt numb. Guilt ran like poison in his veins. He was too late.

"I'm sorry. I have no blocks to give you. And I'm not giving away the command blocks," Azure told the Enderman, who was pestering him and his friends. "But don't worry. The server will close soon and you'll have all of this island for your kind." At least the Enderman was a way to pass time.

Suddenly, the server's announcement pierced into Azure's mind and left him in a lost cold.

"What? No?" Azure suddenly stumbled back. Did the server really say that? "Fell out of the world?" No, Acid manipulated a command block to say that. No wait, he had no motive to.

"Did that really happen?" He turned desperate eyes to Cinder and Flash. Cinder and Flash's eyes fell to the ground. No...

He remembered the weapon he had stolen from the moderators. The iron sword.

"...Cinder, do you have a weapon?"

Cinder looked up, aware of Azure's motive. "Only this." She reveals her iron axe. "That's it."

Azure unsheathed his iron sword. "Acid needs to be stopped. What about you, Flash?"

"...I left my weapon. Sorry," the cay hybrid replied.

"That's fine. Cinder, do you want to come?"

"I don't want you to go alone, and I know I can't convince you to go at all. So of course."

"Flash, we'll see you later," Azure said. He turned to the Enderman. "Do you know there the Ender dragon is? Where Eminence is?"

The Enderman nodded. "He recently transformed. He's near."

"Take me and my friend there."

Acid clutched the empty bottle of potion. The Nether bomb explosions are the only way he could put the moderators at a disadvantage, but he hated how close he was to the explosions.

He sensed something odd. And that was when the dragon emerged from the End island and threw Acid up in the air.

"What?!" Acid actually cried. He jotted down coordinates into his band. He shut his eyes and the next thing he knew, he was no longer falling to his death, but safely on the Endstone ground. He readied his mobile command block. Eminence landed on the island and snapped at Acid. Acid shot a beam straight into the dragon's mouth. The dragon drew back. Acid pulled out the Nether bomb gun. As he readied it, he ran a good distance away from Eminence. Get away as soon as possible. Kill Eminence while he was still comprehending the transformation.

Then Acid finally stopped running. Gun aimed. Then he felt blood. Acid hissed, putting a hand at his new wound. He glared at Azure, who had just appeared and held the bloodied iron sword. Ugh, why was he interrupted again? No. He could not hesitate. Acid reaimed with a shaking arm at Eminence. But a girl wearing black tackled. Acid refocused, threatened to shoot her, and teleported again.

Azure searched for the admin. There he was, ten blocks away. He shot the gun at Eminence.

"No!" Azure's eyes shot to Eminence, now a dirty human on his knees. All he could see was Eminence bring his head up before the beam flashed.

Azure and Cinder collapsed. He sensed their Enderman friend teleport away. Azure stumbled up. He couldn't see the spot were Eminence was. Too blurry. But he was already in shock. Mouth wide open and eyes wide. He could not believe it. Eminence was...

"Speaker." A scaly hand felt Azure's shoulder. He flinched. "We saved him."

Azure turned. His vision cleared. Eminence was two blocks away, panicking. Azure gasped. "You saved him?"

The Enderman by his side nodded. "The Endermen remember you protecting the traitor. His job isn't done yet."

"Thank you," Azure choked. A shaky smile formed. "Thank you. Thank you so much." He wanted to hug the creature, but that would scare it away.

Azure turned to Acid. Did he know that Eminence survived? No, he did not turn to look. He was busy with the moderators and Char trying to attack him, but he teleported again. Char cursed at the air, distraught by Acid's crime. Azure looked around. No sight of Acid. Did he go to another island?

Azure bowed his head in defeat. "He's too fast. We'll never defeat him. Too fast...wait..." Azure turned to the Enderman. Acid could be anywhere and could teleport anywhere. But one monster, an entire species, could also do that.

"I need even more help. It's not just the traitor who can stop this all."

"What are you trying to accomplish? How will you succeed?"

"This is how we'll succeed. Now, listen closely."

Azure whispered into the Enderman's ear. Some detail. Some jumbling of words and having to start over. But the Enderman nodded, repeating what Azure had said. After the hybrid and the mob shook hands, the mob teleported away. Azure turned to Cinder with a smile, but the girl seemed perplexed about what had just happened. The hybrid heard a grunt.

Eminence coughed, finally back to his senses and stood up. He paced his breaths. "I...I..."

A sudden hum of blaze rods. Char landed by Eminence's side. The man paused, staring at the ex-moderator. He seemed to be determining if Eminence was really there or not. Then, Char slowly reached his hand forward. Then he patted him on the back before bringing the ex-moderator for an embrace. "That explosion...I thought you were dead for sure."

"I thought so too," Eminence relieved. After Char let go of him, the "human" sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm failing."

"No. You're the reason why all of this is happening!" Azure interjected. "You've finally sparked a change, a rebellion, in Player End. And you gave me an idea on how to finally defeat Acid. We just need to wait."

Acid sighed, counting his remaining healing potions. Although there was a slim chance that the moderators would find him now, he still wanted to be prepared and know his supplies. He was sure their efforts would decline eventually. Eminence was dead.

Acid paused at the sound of a gurgle. Two gurgles. He turned and nearly dropped a potion. Ten Endermen were prowling towards him. They were an appropriate distant away. Acid readied his gun. Suddenly, a black arm from behind grabbed his arm. One new set of arms latched onto his other arm.

"What is this?" Acid cried. The four purple eyes quietly scowled at him. To the admin's surprise, something snatched the gun out of his hands.

Azure was greeted by an Enderman. "We've captured him." As proof, the Enderman presented the tan gun. Azure yelped, immediately grabbing the gun from the Enderman.

"What should we do with it?" Azure handed the gun to Eminence. The ex-moderator inspected it.

"I think it's the Void's turn to use this weapon." With that, Eminence chucked the gun. Azure saw the weapon shrink into a speck as it fell down into the Void. Gone. At the minimum, lost forever. Or better yet, destroyed for good.

"Yes," Char chuckled, closing his eyes in relief. "We did it."

"Yes!" Cinder cheered. "Finally!"

"That was one scary gun," Azure commented. He turned to the Enderman. "Bring him here." One poof. "Oh, Eminence, you should do the honors." He handed the ex-moderator his iron sword.

"What do you mean?" Eminence asked, taking the sword.

"You'll see."

Vwoop.

Azure followed the sound. Two Endermen had brought Acid. Acid recovered from the teleporation's dizziness before struggling to release himself. No prevail. Two more Endermen arrived to the scene as backup.

Eminence looked at the iron sword, now understanding. Adjusting his grip on the sword, he approached the former admin. He held his breath and lifted the sword. He briefly closed his eyes, thinking about Tara. Before Acid could even notice him, Eminence drove the iron sword straight into the admin's chest. Eminence felt wrong, but Acid's cry of pain satisfied him. He drew back the sword and attacked Acid again, thinking about the now deceased moderators. And again, thinking about himself and those many years as a blinded moderator. Then Eminence took a breath. Suddenly, an anger brew in him but quickly evaporated. Those strikes were enough, right?

His question was answered when Acid coughed blood, surprising the Endermen to drop him. Now he just had to bleed to death.

Eminence noticed that Azure, Cinder and Char were by his side, all staring coldly at Acid, who struggled to push himself up. The admin had gone too far, and at last his crimes would end.

"It's over, Acid," Eminence finally said. "There's no more Nether bomb. And soon, there will be no more Player End."

Acid coughed again before glaring at his former moderator. "So what? There will be no happy ending. In the Overworld, playerkind will grow. Then they'll fight and they'll kill again. They'll ruin the Overworld again. What did you accomplish by stopping me?"

"Perhaps not everything will be happy. But the world will be less cruel without you in power."

Acid grumbled. He shuddered a bit from his aching pain. "Fine," he said through a bloodied mouth. "I can't win. You've destroyed the bomb, the last bit of the past. The first server of the Overworld will come to be. Lead...them well."

Acid collapsed and fell limp. His body disappeared, replaced with a folder. "Acid has been slain by Eminence." Azure sighed in relief and recovered the Endstone Moon document. He doubled check the file. Not a single page gone.

Eminence closed his eyes. Suddenly, a force whisked away the aches in his muscles, the ringing in his ears, and his wounds. He won. The players had won. With a smile, he opened his eyes and looked at Char, who smiled back.

"We did it!" Azure turned to the rest of the team with an elated smile. He ran to embrace Eminence, then did the same for Cinder and Char.

The Endermen gurgled, inspecting the spot where Acid had died. "Since the leader has fallen, is the End ours now?"

"Not yet," Eminence answered for them. Confident enough to take a risk, he took a step forward, and the Endermen did not even flinch. One of them gave a blink of respect. "Please, just wait a bit more. Once all of the players leave, then you can do whatever you want to the End."

"You are a traitor no longer, Eminence."

Eminence chuckled. "Good to know."

Since Eminence was more experienced, Char handed him the moderator band. He teleported the three players to the central island.

Azure looked around. It was so different than what it was a week ago. Some towers destroyed. Craters eliminating walking space. And the atmosphere that cried freedom.

Eminence approached a moderator and gave xir a nod. The moderator flinched. With a big grin, xe knocked on the tower xe was guarding, yelling "Guys! Come out!"

Immediately, three towers leaked out lively players. The chattering increased. The jumping commenced.

Azure felt rejuvenated by all the action. Cinder gave Azure a goodbye pat before rejoining her family and the Cobblestones. Flash returned, giving Azure a hug. After Flash released him, Azure turned to congratulate Eminence, but saw that the ex-moderator disappeared. He turned, seeing him walk away from the forming crowd. Eminence was walking around the central tower, giving it a long look before looking at the moderator band and typing a message into it.

Wanting to speak to him, Azure followed Eminence. Curious, Char noticed the scene and also followed. The blaze hybrid looked over his shoulder, noticing the remaining eight moderators also on their tail. Did Eminence tell them to come?

On the side opposite of the victorious players, Eminence was looking at the purple sky. Azure was first to join his side.

"Hey, congratulations and thank you so much," Azure began. "We couldn't have done this without you."

Eminence turned to the hybrid. "Thank you," the dragon replied. "With Acid gone, we can finally restore the Overworld. I hope you enjoy it."

"What do you mean?"

"Now here comes the part I was skeptical about," the dragon began. "We need a portal."

Those words stabbed Azure and he gasped. "Wait...we can find another way..."

"The players are too excited to wait," Eminence retorted. He fiddled with the pistol in his hands. "And they deserve to see the Overworld. But I still don't deserve it."

"Yes you do. You're a hero."

"But if it weren't for you and Char, I probably wouldn't have."

"Eminence," Char's voice came from behind. "What are you saying?"

Eminence smiled and turned. Char stood three blocks away, with the moderators behind him. Char looked perplexed.

"Char, thank you for everything, and I'm sorry for the trouble I have caused you. I'll miss you,"

Char tilted his head. Eminence referred to the moderators behind him. "Thank you so much. You all deserve credit for freeing Player End. So all of you, become the new leaders of the Overworld. I know you will work well together. Congratulations. Goodbye. And good luck."

"Wait, Eminence!" Char suddenly cried. "I - "

Eminence shoved Azure out of the way. He brought the pistol to his temple and shut his eyes tight.

Bang!

Char froze, mouth wide open. A few moderators behind him shrieked. Eminence's body fell limp, but parts of his body were already disintegrating before he hit the ground. Rays of white light emerged from him. Eminence's body disappeared into particles. Char and Azure only blinked when there was a tiny explosion, followed by a bedrock fountain.

All Char could do was stare at the dragon egg at the top of the fountain. It was raining experience points. Char felt his body collect the orbs. They jingled with what sounded like a lament for a fallen friend.

Azure was numb. Like Eminence, his sense of joy and life had vanished. The experience points could not replace the destroyed part of his soul.

No one dared to move. Finally, Char broke the stillness. He hovered slightly off the floor and approached the fountain. He placed his hands on the edges. He closed his eyes in silent mourning.

"Do you still have the command blocks?" He asked Azure. "Azure?" He turned. Azure remained on the ground. He looked like he had saw a ghost. Char hovered to Azure and hugged him.

"I'm going to miss him too," Char said. "But like he said, we can't keep the players waiting."

"...First Tara. Then Mom. And now him..."

"Azure," Char said. "Do you know what happens when you have a ghast tear and an eye of ender?"

"Really, Char?" Azure asked irritatingly. Though a moment later, he realized what Char was implying. "Right...right...it's hard to obtain them. But right." Azure huffed. "Anyways, yes. I have the command blocks and the directions. Let's do this."

Azure got up and approached the fountain. Before he set his hands on it, he closed his eyes. Eminence, I will remember your sacrifice. We will leave the End. We will make your mission complete. This didn't ended how I wanted to, but I'll never forget it.

"Now we just activate them?" Char asked. "Is it ready?"

Azure placed a lever down. He improvised a redstone system that would activate both command blocks at once. They were set on the edges of the fountain. Azure looked up from his work. He looked at the dragon egg. Azure then nodded.

"Do you know what will happen if you activate them?" A moderator asked. One of the three remaining moderators.

Azure shrugged. "Something will happen. Maybe dangerous or maybe not." But hey, that was why some moderators proposed evacuating all the players, even the banned players, to the Overworld first before activating the portal. They would be able to survive in the stronghold for a few minutes. Only Azure, Char, and the three moderators remained.

"Anyways, can we activate it now?" The moderator asked. Azure curtly nodded and flipped the lever.

Suddenly, the End felt different. It was like a summer breeze swept in. It felt like invisible beams had ascended, and they were singing. These unknown songs felt beautiful. Azure could listen to it.

"Alright, let's go!" The moderator urged, snapping Azure out of it. Azure turned. Char and two moderators jumped into the black portal. The final moderator gestured to Azure. Azure quickly turned. He spotted an Enderman watching them. He waved. Did the Enderman wave back?

Whatever. Azure climbed and jumped into the portal.

Minecraft: One with the End

...

...

...

...

One hand grabbed Azure and helped him out of the strange mess. Azure gasped. That intermission. Weird. He had heard stories of the Two speaking to players during their travels from the End before the war. But alas, they were still absent.

Char helped Azure down the steps of the stronghold. "The scientists finally opened the stronghold doors," Char explained. "Everyone is outside."

Azure climbed up the old stone brick steps, heading towards the opened piston entrance. Azure gasped when a gap came into view. Orange, the gap presented. Orange. It was not a block. Wait, was the Void orange in the Overworld? Azure finally emerged from the underground structure. Now he saw the sky was both orange and yellow. Not in the colored spots over another colored canvas sense, but rather that both colors were blending into one.

Azure had to force himself to look down. Grass. Green grass. Hmm, they were a lot taller than he had imagined. Would he see the trees? Well, he could not see far enough. He was surrounded by a ring of players. He saw moderators climb up an unknown structure, giving orders and organizing everyone. Azure had to check in later.

He sensed Char by his side. Char understood Azure's curiosity.

"Yeah, that's the sky," Char began. "You know that it changes colors, right?"

"Yes. Is this a sunrise or sunset?" Azure asked.

"I can't see the sun nor the...I can't see the sun anywhere. We have to wait and find out."

Azure looked at Char. "Some players had respawned in the Overworld. But now that the Overworld is presumably safe...do you think they survived? That they didn't die again yet? Maybe my mom is still out there?"

Char looked conflicted. "I hope she's safe. Corruption is still out there, but at least the world is survivable now."

"..."

"Look, the moderators want us. The sooner we learn about our new server, the better."

Great. A makeshift dirthouse. Azure read books. Only the comic relief characters resided in dirthouses. Though, today, they were a necessary.

At least he shared his small house with Flash, whom he reunited with. A sense of normalcy. It seemed only yesterday that they were roommates in Player End. She was trying to make her way in the world in the auction house. He was searching for more things to learn. Now Azure could learn the glory of the Overworld up close, and Flash could contribute to the foundation of the new server.

Azure just wished the dirthouse had windows. Though, the grass block floor was comfortable. At first, the dirt bothered his shoes and his black hair. But now, the grass was as comfortable as a pillow. He let the softness absorb him.

Then a dirt block fell on his face.

Azure grumbled and Flash woke up. Azure pushed himself to a sitting position and looked at the new hole in the ceiling.

"It's Char," a voice above whispered. "Do you want a better view of the Overworld?"

Azure nodded and grabbed Char's hand. After Azure climbed up, Char helped Flash up. Flash yelped something, but the words were drowned. Azure was frozen, absorbed by the sight.

The first thing he noticed was the chunky, yellow square emerging from the horizon.

"The Endstone Moon project really did work," Char commented, or at least that was what Azure heard. The new moon was so bright. And Eminence's fountain was on that moon...

Azure then noticed the other colors. Surrounding the moon was a sea of black. Bluish black. This sea had white freckles too. Azure's purple eyes darted at each of the white dots. They were like eyes. For some reason, Azure thought this painted sky was saying "hi" to him, distinct from the Void's aloofness. In the back of his mind, fear for his mother's life was plaguing him. But the sight intervened, killing the thought and assuring Azure that everything would be alright.

"Night," Azure breathed. "So this is what night looks like."

He could hear Flash chuckle. "You told me about night not so long ago. And now you've finally seen it. What do you think?"

Azure took a deep breath. Then another. He smiled. "Beautiful..."

This was the Overworld. This was home.