The Crimson Forest, NetherWorld
Nether Portal
"Thank you for your help, EnderBrine," Daniel said as he held his hand out. Daniel smiled, as did EnderBrine. They shook hands.
"You're very welcome, your majesty," EnderBrine responded. He then glanced over at Elena. He didn't want to say anything that would upset her or make her anymore mad at him than she already was.
"Elena," EnderBrine said as he caught her attention. She looked at him and just stared at him. No smile, no handshake. Nothing. He could tell she still hated him. "Please forgive me. What I did to you in the past isn't me anymore. I've changed. From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry for everything. For all of the trouble and chaos NetherBrine and I caused."
"I have a feeling that you're just pretending to be nice," Elena said, "Merlin and I fought a lot of bad people in the past. All of those bad guys played the same card as you. I can tell when someone, like yourself, is lying."
"I understand," EnderBrine said, "but can you guys do one favor for me when you return home?"
"Absolutely," Daniel said, "what may that be?"
"Let the world know how sorry I am for my actions. That this punishment was enough. I've learned from my past actions. And for that, I shall never do what I did back then again."
"Of course EnderBrine," Daniel said, "Once we defeat Scarlet and my leadership is restored, I will staff the counsel on letting you come home. But in the meantime, you will have to stay here."
"I have all the time in the world, your majesty," EnderBrine mentioned, "I can wait a while longer."
"Thank you," Daniel said as he glanced over at Elena and slightly nodded his head. "We must be getting back. Petra needs our help."
"Indeed we shall," Elena said as she looked at EnderBrine once more before walking through the portal. Daniel smiled embarrassingly at EnderBrine.
"She's a handful, is she not?" EnderBrine asked.
"She's still upset. Just give it time. She'll get over it soon. Trust me," Daniel answered, "I'll be back soon. May we meet again."
"Indeed," EnderBrine said, "safe travels, your majesty. I believe that you can defeat Scarlet."
"Thank you, EnderBrine," Daniel said as he turned to face the Nether Portal. He put one foot in front of him and then stepped through the portal. Elena was waiting for him on the other side. She had her arms crossed. Elena was clearly upset. That part was obvious.
"We need to hurry. We don't have time to have a conversation with anyone, Daniel," Elena said in a frustrated tone. "We need to find the Witch."
Daniel nodded his head silently. He didn't speak a single word. Together, Elena and him began running back in the direction of the Swamps. The only thing they didn't do, which they should have, was deactivate the portal.
What they didn't know was that once they were gone, a foot stepped through the portal, followed by an entire body. It was EnderBrine. He examined his new surroundings and smiled.
"Welcome back EnderBrine," EnderBrine said to himself, "boy had it been awhile. Oh how I've missed this world so much."
As for Petra and the Witch, they were back at the Witch's hut. It was mid afternoon. Petra was chained to the wall, unable to break free from the restraints.
"Time's been up for quite awhile. I knew your friends didn't care about you," the Witch said, "or otherwise they would be back by now."
"You do realize that time in the NetherWorld moves slower than it does up here, don't you?" Petra questioned.
"Indeed I do," the Witch responded. "But a deal is a deal, dearie. Your friends broke that deal by not meeting their deadline. I clearly told them that if they did not return—," she said as someone shouted loudly from outside. It was Daniel and Elena.
"Thought you said they wouldn't come back?" Petra said, "well they did. They would never break promises or deals."
"Well they did with this one," the Witch said as she turned around to look at Petra. She was holding a potion of harming in her hand. Petra saw the glass bottle and gulped heavily.
"What is that?" Petra asked, angered and curious.
"Just a potion," the Witch said as she threw the bottle at Petra. It shattered, spilling the red liquid all over herself. The Witch laughed evilly. "It looks like your time is running out, Petra."
"It appears so," Petra responded.
"Hey! Witch!" Daniel shouted loudly, "show yourself. Bring Petra out here this instant!"
The Witch clapped her hands together once, releasing Petra from the chain restraints. Petra was now free. The Witch grabbed her arm and held it tightly. Together, they teleported down to the mushy, soggy wet ground below. They appeared directly in front of Elena and Daniel.
"Did you retrieve the supplies I asked for?" The Witch asked as Elena reached into her inventory to grab out the supplies the Witch had requested. The Witch smiled as she looked at the supplies Elena was holding in her hands.
"Give Petra back to us first," Elena demanded.
"Don't you think for one second that I am a fool," the Witch said, "I know how this'll work. If I give you Petra without taking the supplies, you will all escape. I'm not that dumb."
"Never said you were," Elena said, "let's do an even handoff, shall we?"
Elena sighed heavily as she approached the Witch and Petra. Once right in front of the Witch, she held out her hands. Petra was released from the Witch's grip as she snatched the items out of Elena's hand. After that, she giggled evilly and then vanished into thin air.
Daniel ran over to Petra and gave her a much needed hug. Not only to comfort his emotions, but to sooth hers as well. They were just happy to see one another again. Daniel thought he would never see Petra again. Thankfully, the Witch didn't kill her before they could return.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Daniel mentioned as he backed away from Petra. Elena smiled as she approached Petra. She gave her a brief, warm and gentle hug.
"Sorry we took longer than we thought," Elena said, "let's just say that we ran into a few hiccups along the way. We'll leave it at that."
"I need to tell you guys something," Petra said, "but I fear you won't like what I have to say."
Daniel and Elena frowned. They didn't understand what she was trying to say. They were confused.
"What is it?" Daniel asked, "did the Witch do something to you?"
Petra nodded slightly. "Yes. She threw a glass bottle at me with a red liquid inside of it. I've been in constant pain since."
Elena's gasped. She knew what portion Petra was talking about. It was the potion of harming. Once the potion has been released on its target, there's no stopping it. There is no cure. Nothing can fix and reverse the effects of this potion. But there was something that could. Something so powerful, it could break the most powerful of curses. But to obtain this artifact, they must find the Ocean Monument.
Finding the Ocean Monument was the only way they could find the artifact. But time was running out. And it was running out fast. They didn't, at least at this moment in time, didn't have time to venture East to the ocean. Defeating Scarlet was their only priority right now.
"Is there any way we could fix this, Elena?" Daniel said nervously as he glanced over his right shoulder at her. "There has to be a way. Something."
Elena stood in silence momentarily. Then she shook her head slowly, while beginning to get emotional. Everyone, including Petra, knew what would happen soon.
"We need to get back to town," Elena said, "while we still have time. Maybe one of my villagers could help her?"
"We'll do anything at this moment," Daniel answered, "c'mon. We need to hurry."
Daniel grabbed Petra's hand as they began walking back in the direction towards the village. Elena was leading the way of course.
As they began venturing back to the town, things back at the Kingdom weren't getting any better. In fact, things were only getting worse. As for Romeo, Amelia, Freddie, Julian and Hayley, things weren't any type of good. All bad honestly.
They were all still locked away in their cell. Amelia was panicking, thinking about who would take care of her cats after she is dead. Romeo was pacing the cell, walking back at forth. He was thinking of a way to escape this cell. The only thing anyone could think of was their punishment.
In just a few hours, their execution will take place. No one, not even Romeo himself saw this coming. He didn't plan for something like this to happen. That flaw alone, worried him. Being the mastermind behind this whole plan, he should have planned for all possibilities. But he failed in doing that. Now, everyone he knew will pay for his flawed thinking.
"Romeo?" Amelia said, "we need to escape. I can't die today. My cats need me. They can't survive on their own."
Romeo stopped pacing back and forth. He turned his head to look at Amelia. "We will find a way out of here. I promise."
"Ah, ah, ah," a familiar female voice said, "if I were you, I wouldn't make promises you can't keep."
Romeo looked to his right and saw Scarlet standing just on the other side of their cell. She had her arms behind her back. She was also being accompanied by two Guards, with one of them being Victor. They were standing behind her.
"You're going to lose, Scarlet!" Romeo stated.
"I have a good feeling I won't," Scarlet said, "it's too late. I told the Kingdom what I would do if anyone broke the rules."
"Those rules were only designed to help you manage the people. We voted for you to be our Queen. Your intentions seemed good. Now that you're our Queen, you can do whatever you so please. Killing people. Poisoning people. Mind-controlling people. All of these things won't last forever," Romeo lectured as he stared at Scarlet through the iron bars of his cell.
"Oh please," Scarlet responded, "stop trying to be a tough guy."
"Why have you come here?" Julian asked. He was standing in the corner of the cell. "Our execution isn't due to start for another few hours."
Scarlet smiled as she turned around to look at Victor and the other guard. She slightly nodded her head. After that, Scarlet faced Romeo again. The two guards walked over to the iron door of the cell and opened it. They walked inside.
"There's been a change of plan," Scarlet said, "I've now realized how much of an asset you all are to me. I could use some blockheads like you."
"We'll never help you," Romeo said, "EVER!"
"Uh huh. Right," Scarlet responded as Victor and the other guard grabbed five glass bottles out of their inventories. The bottles were filled with black liquid, much like the stuff Scarlet forced HeroBrine to drink.
"What is this?" Freddie questioned. "What are you doing to us?"
"Oh well it's quite simple really," Scarlet said, "I'm going to mind control you all. I can't fight a battle when I don't have an army."