[Jesse's POV]
Jesse: "Lukas... you musn't go. It's too dangerous out there!"
Lukas: "B-But... they might be in danger! If that's the case, I have to go and help them! I can't just leave them behind, Jesse! I don't want to abandon my friends!"
Jesse: "But we ARE helping them! Saving the world saves them, too!"
Lukas: "Isn't that just... kind of abstract?"
Jesse: "No! The number one thing you can do for them is make sure we beat those Wither Storms. If we can't do that, then they'll just keep destroying the world further, and in the worst case, you might end up eaten as well. I don't want to lose you too."
(Lukas looks away with an anxious face.)
(From his perspective, it didn't look like an easy decision.)
(I just wanted to make the least risky move.)
Lukas: "I... I guess you've got a point."
(Lukas turns back to me with a slightly less worried face as he gently pulls my hand off his shoulder.)
Lukas: "Sorry if I made you feel worried. I'll stay. I just... really hope they're all right."
Jesse: "Thanks..."
(Lukas replies with a warm smile, as he always does.)
Lukas: "I'll go check on the horses."
Jesse: "Okay, then I'll see you later, I guess."
(I walk away. Well, I made my decision. Was it the right move? I hope I wasn't too forceful, but I had to make sure he didn't leave.)
(I didn't want to feel too guilty, so I stopped myself from overthinking it too much.)
(During that moment, I overheard Ellegaard and Gabriel's conversation about her still trying to get him back to his senses.)
(Since I'm here anyway, I decided to check up on them for the time being.)
Ellegaard: "Not gonna lie. But we've dealt with worse, right?"
Gabriel: "Have we?"
Jesse: "Well, how's it going?"
Gabriel: "Tell me, Jesse... who IS this person? She keeps insulting me."
Ellegaard: "I'm not insulting you; you just don't understand my humor."
Jesse: "That's Ellegaard, the greatest engineer ever to put her hands to redstone! Doesn't that ring any bells?"
Gabriel: "Sounds impressive, and HOW do I know her, exactly?"
Jesse: "You guys were in the legendary Order of the Stone! You guys defeated the Ender Dragon together! The most fearsome creature this land has ever seen!"
Gabriel: "Really?"
Jesse: "Really! You're kind of a big deal."
Ellegaard: "It isn't working. He doesn't remember anything."
Jesse: "Talk to him about your past -- something only YOU would know about."
Ellegaard: "Like what?"
Jesse: "How should I know? Like when you first met? How the Order got together? Or something?"
(Ellegaard sighs.)
Ellegaard: "Well, we came together because we loved adventuring, and we split apart because... well, that's a long story. If I remember correctly, Soren and Ivor were the first ones to come up with that idea. You were initially hesitant about that idea due to your fear of the 'unknown.' Now that I remember, you used to be quite the scaredy cat, Gabriel!"
Gabriel: "Are you sure that happened?"
Ellegaard: "Not really sure if you really don't know or you're just pretending to avoid embarrassment, but that's how I remember."
Gabriel: "Well, thank you for sharing that entertaining story with me."
(Ellegaard facepalms.)
Gabriel: "And Jesse, thank you too. You've been a big help here. I... I need to repay your kindness somehow."
Jesse: "It's not a problem, though I don't really like that 'repaying' thing. It makes it sound like I'm one of those 'nice guys!."
Gabriel: "All the same -- you have my thanks."
Jesse: "You too."
Gabriel: "Um... why are you thanking me?"
Jesse: "Oh, sorry, that was a slip-up. I really should learn to be more socially compatible. I'll just leave before things get awkward."
(With that in mind, I awkwardly left the conversation.)
(Meanwhile, Reuben, who had grown tired of the horses, approached Petra for company.)
(He oinked with a sad tone.)
Petra: "Sorry, Reuben, I don't really feel like company right now."
(Reuben, disappointed with the response, proceeded to run out of the cave.)
Jesse: "Reuben, wait! Argh... not again."
(Reuben tends to act like this when no one is here to give him attention; oh well, it can't be helped.)
(I chased after him. After exiting the cave, I find Reuben sitting on the cliff, overlooking the landscape below.)
Jesse: "Reuben! Don't run off on me like that, okay? I don't want to lose you, you understand?"
(Reuben oinks back sadly.)
Jesse: "Yeah, I know you've run off before... but things are different now. We've lost too many people already."
(Reuben grunts quietly.)
(I pet him in return.)
(That seemed to cheer him up a little before he went back to gazing at the landscape.)
(I sit down beside him.)
(In the distance, I could still see the Wither Storm.)
(It's still eating the mountain in the way, so it didn't look like it would be approaching for the time being.)
(At least there's something good going on at the moment.)
Jesse: "Don't lose hope yet, Reuben. The world needs us right now. So much of it has already been reduced to bedrock... and it's up to us to save the rest of it. Well, maybe that is a lot of pressure for just a person and a pig. But we have to find a way."
(Reuben half-heartedly nods.)
(I guess he, too, is slowly doubting our chances.)
(*sigh* How did it get to this anyway? If it weren't for Ivor, we would still be in our treehouse, enjoying life.)
(Even if it wasn't the best life we could hope for.)
(But who am I to argue right now? Whatever.)
(What's important right now is to find a way to beat that Wither Storm.)
(Welp, let's hope Soren has calmed down enough to finally help create a new plan.)
Jesse: "C'mon, Reuben, it's cold out here; let's head back inside."
(Reuben and I stand back up to head back.)
(Then... just as I'm about to enter the cave again, Reuben suddenly stops in his tracks.)
Jesse: "Hm? What's wrong, Reuben?"
(Reuben starts to furiously sniff the surrounding area.)
Jesse: "What the?"
(Reuben starts following a path further into the woods.)
Jesse: "Reuben! There's no food out there; let's just-"
(Just as I wanted to convince Reuben to head back, a distant voice suddenly catches my attention.)
???: "That's what I said, isn't it?"
(Now I understood what Reuben might have been trying to tell me.)
(As we got closer, we were also able to spot a small fire someone had made in the woods.)
(Who the hell is setting up camp so close to ours? As we slowly approached that site and the voices became clearer.)
(I was able to figure out who those two voices belonged to and what they were talking about.)
(The first person was Soren... and the second one... was... Ivor...)
Soren: "Just as you 'helped' us once before?"
Ivor: "This isn't about the past! It's about the future!"
Soren: "There are three of those things now!"
Ivor: "You say that like it's my fault!"
Soren: "IT IS YOUR FAULT!"
Ivor: "Oh, take responsibility, for once, Soren!"
Soren: "I did that by locking the command block away!"
Ivor: "So only you could use it?"
Soren: "Do you still not realize how dangerous it is?!"
Ivor: "Oh, the bitter irony. 'Soren the Architect.""
Soren: "I do not need lectures from you!"
Ivor: "That's debatable."
Soren: "Maybe you should leave, Ivor."
Ivor: "If I do that, the world falls."
Soren: "Oh, oh, oh, I forgot -- you have a plan!"
Ivor: "Argh, Soren! You need to listen to me!"
Soren: "Oh, what good has ever come of that?"
(At that point, I was practically a meter away; Ivor must have noticed since he suddenly stopped talking.)
(I didn't intend to steadily sneak up on them, but then again... it's Ivor.)
(Funny how, back in the cave, we were talking about how it's useless to point fingers.)
(but when my anger takes over after seeing his ugly nose again, that thinking is completely thrown out the window.)
(I guess I can't help myself.)
Ivor: "Jesse! You shouldn't just sneak up on people like that!"
Jesse: "You did the same thing when we first met."
Ivor: "Argh! And I thought you would understand better than Mr. Architect over here!"
Jesse: "Why are you here anyway?!Coming to sniff around with your giant nose again? Here to trap us in another locked room?"
(Just as I thought we were about to enter another fight, unexpectedly, he suppresses his emotions and tries to actually communicate.)
Ivor: "I came to offer my help."
(The sudden turn caught me by surprise.)
(Even Reuben expresses confusion.)
Soren: "Bah! You've been following us the entire time!"
Ivor: "It's not like that! You need to hear me out! What you don't understand is -- you are all in very grave danger!"
Soren: "Hah! OBVIOUSLY."
(Soren points towards Ivor.)
Ivor: "No -- I mean specifically this group! The Wither Storm isn't acting randomly. It's following Gabriel!"
Jesse: "Gabriel?!"
Ivor: "You see, I... may have programmed it to... follow his amulet."
(Soren and I exchange glances, but not the positive type.)
Jesse: "And you're telling us, NOW?"
Ivor: "Yes, because as long as you have Gabriel, you'll never be able to escape from the Wither Storm, no matter how far you travel!"
Jesse: "Ivor! I have the amulet! I had it!"
Ivor: "What?"
(Ivor expresses shock at that statement.)
Ivor: "I... I didn't know."
Soren: "Ivor, you fool. You've created a monster that's following Jesse!"
(I let out a sharp grunt.)
Jesse: " This is just great. Was this your plan? Come here so that we can feel even more hopeless? From your out-of-control creation, which is only getting bigger as we speak?!"
Ivor: "Just hear me OUT for a second! You don't think I realize that? Nothing can stop those things! Nothing even hurts them!"
Soren: "We've noticed."
Jesse: "Well, now that I remember, I do recall a few Enderman that managed to successfully rip out a chunk of its arm."
Ivor: "Enderman?"
(That moment had something click in Soren's mind.)
Soren: "Jesse's right! The Wither's gaze passed over them... and they went wild! It's not beyond imagination, but if there are enough of them working together..."
(Soren starts pacing back and forth.)
Jesse: "You might be onto something, but do you think you could actually coordinate the Enderman somehow? Make them attack all at once?"
Soren: "If I know my Enderman... all we'd need to do is get them into the storm's vicinity. In fact, there's probably more than enough of them still in my fortress... an unintended side effect of you flooding the End."
Jesse: "That's an interesting plan. That might actually work."
(The new plan showed some potential.)
(Well, considering that we desperately needed one anyway, anything is welcome as long as it has a chance to destroy the creature.)
(But Ivor remained unimpressed during this process.)
Ivor: " This is just like the old days, Soren. You and your crazy ideas..."
Soren: "Hush, Ivor. For once."
(Soren glares at him, visibly annoyed.)
Soren: "You said you're here to offer help, then stop being a nuisance and only feeding us bad news and actually help us create an efficient plan!"
Ivor: "Then stop thinking crazy and hear out what I have to say!"
(Soren completely ignores his statement and turns back to me.)
Soren: "The question is, how to bring the storms and the Enderman together?"
Jesse: "Well, if what Ivor said is true, we can just lead the storms to the ruins of the fortress where the Enderman are."
Ivor: "Just one problem. You're forgetting about the command block!"
(Soren grunts angrily again.)
Soren: "Can you shut up? You're not making it any better."
Ivor: "Yes, I will, if you just hear me out!"
Jesse: "Then say it already!"
Ivor: "You keep interrupting me!"
Soren: "STOP STALLING AND SPIT IT OUT ALREADY."
(There's a brief moment of silence before Ivor finally resumes speaking.)
Ivor: "I... may have a solution to that. You see, when I first took possession of the command block-"
Soren: "You mean stole it."
Ivor: "...yes, well, I created a failsafe. A backup plan, for just in case."
Soren: "Well, I'd say 'just in case' is here!"
Jesse: "So you're saying you know a way to destroy the command block?"
Ivor: "I'm saying there might be a way."
Soren: "What 'way'?"
Ivor: "An enchanting book. One that contains the power of the command block itself. Use it to enchant a weapon... and you'll be able to smash the command block to bits. Forever."
Soren: "That's a great idea! If we can trust you, of course!"
Ivor: "I said I'm here to help! Not to mock you!"
Jesse: "What made you 'change your mind' anyway?"
Ivor: "Argh, this is why I don't like working with people. Look, the whole Wither Storm Plan obviously backfired. It obviously wasn't my intention to put the whole world at risk. And that's why I'm here to make up for it. That is if you can manage to stop letting your emotions take over you and set aside our differences. What else am I supposed to do so that you can trust me?"
Soren: "I dunno, maybe travel to the edge of the world, far away from everyone else, and never bother anyone again? Maybe?"
Ivor: "I'm being serious!"
(*sigh* Another thing I hate is being forced to collaborate with someone I despise.)
Jesse: "Before we go any further, where is it anyway?"
Ivor: "That's the problem. It's at my secret lab... which is... sort of far away."
Jesse: "How far could it possibly be?"
Ivor: "Let's just say it's the farthest place a person can travel."
Soren: "Wait, you don't mean-"
(A distant roar suddenly interrupts the conversation.)
Jesse: "What the? Did it already manage to eat through the mountain?!"
Soren: "That's not good. We have to round up everybody and prepare to leave."
(We hurry back to the cave as quickly as possible.)
(Once we head out of the woods, we see everyone already out of the cave; they must've heard the roar too.)
Petra: "I can't believe it found us so quickly..."
Lukas: "We're not safe anywhere, are we?"
Olivia: "Well, we can't stand around and wait for it!"
Axel: "So what do we do!?"
Jesse: "Guys! We need to pack up and leave!"
Olivia: "We know that. The question is, where the heck are we supposed to go when it's constantly on our tail?"
Axel: "Hold on-"
(Axel pushed me to the side before he suddenly started yelling.)
Axel: "Everyone watch out! Ivor's here!"
Petra: "W-What?! Where?!"
(Petra and Olivia simultaneously draw their swords, while Axel pulls me away from Ivor while furiously staring him down.)
Ivor: "Oh... great..."
Gabriel: "W-What?! What's going on?!"
(It took me a while to finally realize what had happened.)
(Oh, yeah... Even if he's 'supposedly' trying to help us now, we didn't think through how the others would react.)
Petra: "You really like being a nuisance, don't you?"
Lukas: "Isn't destroying the whole world enough for you?"
Axel: "Want to destroy our only hope too, Ivor?!"
Jesse: "Wait! Everyone calm down for the moment!"
(Everyone suddenly stares at me, confused.)
Axel: "What are you talking about, Jesse? He's our enemy! He's here to ruin our plans again; we have to eliminate him!"
Jesse: "Well, about that, just let me explain this before this escalates!"
Ellegaard: "I have no clue what everyone's mad about right now; who are we targeting again?"
Jesse: "That's a long story, but that's not important right now. As far as I know, he's not here to cause trouble. He's actually here to offer help."
(Everyone raises their eyebrows.)
Lukas: "Wait what?"
Jesse: "Yeah, I don't fully trust him either, but I feel like it's the best decision right now."
(Soren grunts once again.)
Soren: "I hate to admit it, but I think that's the best course of action."
Axel: "Well, what kind of help is he going to offer?"
Jesse: "First of all, Ivor informed us that The Wither Storm is drawn to the amulet I'd been carrying. We also observed that Enderman are able to rip out blocks from the Wither. So we created a plan to lure it back to Soren's Fortress and use the herd of Enderman there to help us rip the thing in pieces. He also said he has a way to destroy the command block with some kind of enchanted superweapon."
Olivia: "You figured all that out just now?!"
Ivor: "Point is, we need to get moving if you want a chance at killing the Wither Storm. We aren't safe. Not while we have that amulet."
Petra: "That's a splendid plan you thought of there, but *cough cough* are we really supposed to take in everything you said just now? How can we know you didn't just lie to Jesse or that you're just trying to play nice now so that you can backstab us later? *cough cough* Sorry, but after everything you've done to us in the past, it's a little hard to trust you because you 'suddenly' decided to help us now. This all sounds a little fishy, don't you think?"
(Petra has a point, I guess.)
(But I can't let this argument continue any further.)
(I approached the others to try and solve that.)
Jesse: "Look, I know this can look very suspicious if you say it this way, but if we don't take this offer, how else are we supposed to take the Wither Storm down? We're currently cornered by what we can do. Ivor currently has a clear way to defeat it. I think we should let him join us for the time being."
Axel: "Are you crazy?! You're just gonna let him join and do whatever he wants?!"
Jesse: "I know, I know! We'll keep an eye out on him because of that. Is that alright?"
Axel: "Tsk. Fine. If you think it's the right course of action, then I guess I won't go against it."
Jesse: "Good."
(I turn back to Ivor.)
Jesse: "We'll accept your help, on one condition: If any of us, at any point in time, think you're being suspicious, even if they don't have concrete proof, then you can forget about all of this immediately, so don't try to act funny, do you understand?"
(Ivor stares back at me with a calm expression.)
Ivor: "Sure, whatever."
(Well, at least that's now sorted out.)
Ellegaard: "Ivor! It is you!"
Ivor: "Good to see you too, Ellegaard."
Gabriel: "Hell. My name is Gabriel."
(Gabriel tries to befriend him.)
Ivor: "Somebody pinch me..."
Lukas: "Not to ruin the moment, but where is your super-enchanted-weapon thing we need to get?"
Soren: "You know, Ivor, I've been thinking about how you're going to go about this. Considering where your 'secret lab' is located."
Jesse: "That's right, where is your 'secret lab', anyway?"
(Before speaking, Ivor paused for a moment, as if he were trying to make the reveal more dramatic...)
Ivor: "In the Farlands."
[To be continued...]