The hot air balloon had finally landed on the pier. Before the ropes could be tied to the anchors, Natasha and her husband rushed off of the balloon, pushing everyone else out of their way.
Daniel looked down at Ava. She looked back up at him, smiling at him. Daniel let go of her hand so that she could go and reunite with her parents once more. But before she ran over to them, she had to show her gratitude; how thankful she was that Daniel had saved her from the rogue wave. She hugged Daniel, wrapping her arms around his waist tightly.
"Thank you so, so much," Ava said, "you're my hero."
As Daniel wrapped his arms gently around Ava, he responded to her in a somber and soft tone. There was no need to thank him. After all, he's a hero to the OverWorld. But after Petra, HeroBrine, and EnderBrine had all died he had forgotten about what it had meant to be a hero. That is, until Ceres reminded him of the past adventures they've been on. It was at that moment that Daniel suddenly remembered how to be a hero once more. Even though he's lost almost all of his friends, he still had a duty to serve, and blockheads to protect.
Sure, he's thought of giving up. But what good would that do? How would he carry on the legacies of Petra, HeroBrine, and EnderBrine if he were to turn to the dark side? Turning the dark side, learning dark magic, and taking his anger out on other blockheads wouldn't do him any good. How would doing that make his friends feel? Upset? Yes. Outraged. Absolutely.
Calvin and Borris were standing next to each other. Darron was standing behind Daniel with his hands behind his back. Both him and Daniel still had their elytra wings on. Natasha and her husband came running up to Daniel and Ava. When they saw that Ava and Daniel were hugging, they froze and watched.
Ava unwrapped her arms from around Daniel's waist. She took a step back and looked up at him once more. She smiled once again at him, telling him again how grateful she was to him. Natasha was leaning up against her husband, her left arm wrapped around his back. She sniffled, trying to remain calm and brave. Natasha was trying her utmost best to hide her emotions.
"Thank you," Ava said.
Daniel faintly smiled back down at her. He nodded his head once. "You're very welcome Ava. Now go give your parents a much needed hug. It looks like they both could use one," Daniel said as he looked back up and over at Natasha and her husband.
Ava turned around and began walking over to her parents. As she was walking over to her parents, she glanced over her left shoulder and back at Daniel. She smiled and waved her right hand. Daniel waved back. Ava's parents ran over to where she was standing. Natasha scooped Ava up off of the pier, holding her tightly in her arms.
As Natasha hld Ava in her arms, she began kissing Ava repeatedly. Natasha's husband glanced over at Daniel. He nodded his head once.
"You're not just Ava's hero, but ours as well," he said, "we wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for you."
Darron was beginning to get upset that he wasn't getting any credit in helping with the rescue. Why was everyone thanking just Daniel? Did they somehow forget that he was a part of this too?
"I helped too you know," Darron mentioned as Borris glanced over at him.
"If you think what you did was helpful, then so be it," Borris replied, "but through my eyes, you never once helped Daniel. He did almost all of the heavy lifting himself."
"I can't be blamed for what happened to me," Darron said, "I've never once used elytra wings before. Today was my first time trying them out. But let's just say my first time didn't go very well."
Daniel scoffed and smiled at Darron. He was right about that though. He can't be blamed for what had happened, not even the rogue wave. Darron tried his best to help Daniel. But how relieved he was when Daniel had told him how "helpful" he somewhat was during and after the rescue.
"We should be going now," Calvin stated to Daniel, "it's time we face off with those Sirens once and for all."
Daniel looked over at Calvin and Borris. They looked back at him. Borris nodded his head a couple of times.
"It's time, Daniel," Borris mentioned, "someone has to stop those pesky Sirens. Calvin and I can't do this on our own. We need you."
Daniel nodded his head, not saying a single word to anyone. "Are you two sure?" Daniel asked, "because from the looks of things, you seem like you know what you're doing."
Natasha and her husband, along with Ava, made their way back over to the balloon. The hot air balloon was hovering just over the pier. There was only one way up. All they had to do was jump. After all, the basket wasn't too far up off of the ground."
Once Natasha and her husband were back in the basket, Natasha set Ava down onto the floor. After she did that, she glanced over at Daniel, Calvin, Borris, and Darron.
"Thank you all so much," Natasha said.
Ceres's voice was heard. He was over and down at two blockheads. The two blockheads were untying the ropes from the anchors. Once the ropes were all untied, the two blockheads ran over to the basket. They were hoisted up and into the basket by some other blockheads.
As the balloon slowly rose higher into the air, the second blockhead was hoisted up into the basket. Once the two of them were safely in the basket, the hatchway door was closed. Daniel, Calvin, Borris and Darron all stared up at the balloon as it got higher and higher.
Natasha and her husband were staring back down at Daniel and the others. Just before they disappeared into the clouds, they waved goodbye. Ceres and Notch decided to stay with the others so that they could keep the others safe. Who knows what threats lie ahead, above and below and side to side. Hopefully soon, they'd find land. The ocean can't go on forever can it? There has to be land somewhere.
After the balloon had disappeared, Daniel turned around to look at Calvin, Borris, and Darron. Now that everyone was safely gone, they could now all devise a plan on how to stop the Sirens. Whatever plan they come up with, defeating the Sirens was going to be very difficult. They were outnumbered. The Sirens had an entire army to fight, while Daniel and the others only had themselves. Four against who knows how many. But giving up was not an option. There has to be a way to stop them somehow, right? Everyone knew that the rogue wave was spawned by the Sirens; that much was certain. The only thing that worried Daniel, Calvin, Borris, and Darron was what if the Sirens were going to try something like that again. If they do, where would they carry out their evil plan?
It was crucial that the Sirens needed to be stopped. If the rogue wave was only the beginning, what were the Sirens going to do next? That was the thing that worried them. The Sirens were extremely unpredictable. Their next attack, if there is one, could be far worse than just a rogue wave.
To stop that from happening, they'd need to be defeated once and for all. There was only one way to defeat the Sirens once and for all. That time was today. A-lot was resting on everyone's plates. This mission has to work. If not, then what'll happen? Who knows, something dangerous perhaps?