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The tower is a broken thing. It's whole for the most part, full of the echoes of times past. On the first level you find yourself in, you find it's oddly cozy for a broken thing. It seems to have been a living room of red sandstone with a nice little red carpet. For a moment, you could pretend nothing had happened, until your eyes run along the gouges in the walls and you remember.

"Do we have everyone? Everybody safe?" You call out as more people come down the stairs. Exhaustion begins to press at the edges of your mind. You remember now the fighting, the running, everything. That'll be a hard sell to Xara, though.

"Yeah… Everyone except Nurm." Jack sighs as he approaches. "Can’t believe you left him behind for some useless llama."

"I think Radar would disagree with you there." Tripwire gestures towards Lluna, who still holds Radar on her back. He seems to be drifting in and out of consciousness.

"Nurm wanted to stay, Jack. You have to respect that." You insist. Radar groans a little and Lluna sits down. He seems to try and sit up himself. PAMA rushes to his side, holds him up and he squirms a little. Radar gags for a few moments before sighing and laying on the floor.

"Well, you should've stopped him!" Jack snaps. You sigh softly. What could you say? You sit down and Xara stares at you.

"We need to stop. Just... I don't know, for a few hours?"

"We don't have a few hours." Xara fires back. "We need to--"

"I know." Your teeth clench together. "But Radar's not in a good state physically or mentally, I just fought a massive monster, and skies above what else is going on with the rest of us."

"You all can sleep. I will keep watch." PAMA offers. Xara glares at them.

"I'm not sleeping here. I'll do it." She turns back to you. "My town isn't too far from here. We could make it."

"Maybe, but I'm not taking that risk. Especially down here." You look through one of the holes in the wall for a moment. "If we're going to find that weapon, I want to do it with my head on straight."

Xara huffs but she doesn't seem to push it further. You let out a soft sigh and plod over to the carpet. Radar still seems to be laying on the floor. You gently nudge him and he heaves. PAMA pushes you back.

"Do not. I do not want to know what kind of ire we would attract if he were to throw up here." PAMA admits. You pull back. "Thank you." PAMA's tail wraps around your legs as you look around. It seems Sonar's observing you, but more in the way of someone who's at a party and doesn't fit in observes a frantic crowd.

"We kept our promise, or at least Jesse kept his. You better keep yours." Tripwire glares at Sonar. She seems anxious for a moment before her posture stiffens. "Cut that out. You're not the Warden's buddy anymore. He's dead. Your. Boss. Is. Dead."

"And you're palling around with his killer." Sonar turns to Tripwire before returning to observing.

"I'm supposed to feel bad for the Warden?" Tripwire scoffs. "I can have as many complicated feelings about Xara as I want, but you're not getting a single ounce of sorrow out of me for that guy." She waves one hand lazily.

"He was trapped too, you know." Sonar insists, her voice starting to break.

"And that makes what he did right? He lost his power and privileges. You know what he did? He clung to his old loyalties and died for it. Nobody told him to put Radar in that outfit either." Tripwire crosses her arms. "Why'd you give him alcohol? He's a damn wreck."

"I still have some." Sonar admits. That's enough to get PAMA to snap their head up. They stomp over to Sonar and hold out one hand. "I'm not giving it to him. If anything, I'll have it for myself."

"You could easily become inventory down here." PAMA retorts. Sonar rolls her eyes. "Hand them over so I can get rid of them."

"What's it matter?"

"He is an alcoholic!" PAMA snaps. "You just let him relapse! I am not going to let him destroy himself!"

"It was interesting watching him fight himself." Sonar admits coldly.

"Hand them over or I will fish them out of your inventory right now." PAMA grabs Sonar by the collar of her uniform.

"Woah! Hey. You're sounding a lot like your sister right now!" Petra pulls out her sword and begins to approach.

"It was a bluff!" Sonar admits, holding her hands up. "Do you think I'd risk the Warden's wrath just to watch Radar get drunk?" PAMA mocks gritting their teeth before letting go of Sonar and pacing around. "What does it matter to you anyway? All he did was mope about you and his boss."

"FUCK YOU!" PAMA snaps, tail lashing. You stiffen. You've never heard PAMA swear once, let alone at someone else. Sonar blinks stupefied. PAMA recoils and plods back to Radar's side. Lluna nuzzles the top of his head.

"Did... PAMA just swear?" Petra stares at you. "What is going on down here?"

"Put your sword away?" You stammer. She hesitates before doing so.

"My question still stands, by the way." She crosses her arms. "I mean, I get there are some awful things but... What?"

"We should rest." PAMA insists. Petra looks at them and then you.

"Oookayyy." Petra rolls her eyes.

"You're hiding something." Sonar insists. PAMA lashes their tail. "Stop it. It's my job."

"You are a bastard, not a therapist." PAMA growls. "Leave me alone. I want nothing to do with you."

"Ironic. Considering what I saw in your file..." Sonar begins and PAMA turns to glare at her. "You're a hypocrite. I'm worse than you?"

"You do what you do to satisfy yourself! I did what I did because I thought it was right!" PAMA shouts. "You know nothing about me!"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be doing my job now, would I?" Sonar scoffs.

"Now I'm wishing I let Xara kill you." Tripwire huffs and rubs at her eyes. Sonar tenses a little. "Can you do anything other than stomp on our good will? A lot of people would have left you to the mobs."

"I'll keep watch." Petra volunteers. "I... Think I have more rest in me?" She seems to be looking over all of you. You sigh and shove your head against the carpet. Lluna nibbles at your hair. That's what you can recall from the last shred of your consciousness.

When you awaken next, it's to Radar utterly freaking out. You turn to him and find he's trying to claw at his left eye. PAMA's the only thing stopping him from doing so. Lluna lets out a startled bleat at your side.

"Stop looking at me, it hurts!" He shouts at PAMA. You blink back the haze of heavy sleepiness. How long were you all out? You note Petra herself even seems to be dozing at her post. "I can't... PAMA, I can't open my eye! Why can't I open my eye? Why is my... My gum's dry too?"

PAMA looks like they'd be gulping if they could. "I am so so sorry, Radar. I could not save your eye."

"W... What?!" Radar pulls back. He looks at you, as if you're somehow responsible. He takes one shaky hand and runs it along his face. You know he's made contact with the scar when he yelps. "What happened?! Who... Who did this?!"

"You don't remember?" Sonar stares at Radar. "Don't you remember the bottle?" Radar's hands shake more.

"Oh god... Why did I do that? Why did you do that to me!?" He almost lunges at her before he stops. Radar's shaky hands come to embrace his chest and shoulders. "I can't... I can't live like this." He heaves. PAMA holds him by the shoulders as gently as they can.

"It will be okay." PAMA puts their head on Radar's shoulder gently. "We can get through this."

"I can't--I just--" Radar's gaze flickers rapidly.

"I am not going to give up on you." PAMA pulls Radar in close. When he squirms they let him go. "You have made it through worse. We are not going to leave you."

"What happened to you guys? I thought I had it bad with what the Admin did..." Petra looks between you as Radar shivers next to PAMA. He slowly curls into their chest and they hesitantly wrap their arms around Radar.

"Down there... Things start to get, well, you don't stay alive if you're a good person." Tripwire shakes her head. "How do we explain what we did when we're up there? At least you can claim that Romeo forced you... We can't."

"At least you were a good person." Radar laughs bitterly. "I don't think I ever was." He wraps his legs close to his chest.

"That is just the hangover speaking--" PAMA begins.

"Hangovers only give me a headache. They don't wash away what I've done even before all of this." He sighs and looks away. You shakily approach him.

"Is... Dammit, that has to be my fault too, right?" You shove your head into your hands and Xara stares at you. Radar seems like he's debating protesting that. "I... I thought the village was safe. How did you end up in Stella's hands anyway?"

Radar seems hesitant for a moment. PAMA looks at him and he sighs. "Sure, what the hell. We're all going to die anyway."

"Do not say that." PAMA protests.

"This is pretty dire. I mean... We're below a world that was already below our own. And we have to face some guy with endless power! If we survive, I'm going to be pretty surprised!" He shouts and puts his hands in the air. Something stirs beyond the horizon. "I... After the Witherstorm, it was like my mind was sleeping... When I would wake, it was for scattered, confusing moments. Like I remembered half of myself.

"And this half had to deal with people I didn't know questioning if I should live. I wasn't the only human among villagers. For years... I thought that time with Olivia was a dream. You, Olivia, all of that. It felt like a hazy dream, a desperate nonsensical story crafted by my own mind just to make sense of the impossible." He waves one hand idly. "It was... Alright for a while. I adjusted, I came back, I thanked you off what I assumed was a dream. And you didn't recognize me. So I thought I had to have dreamt it.

"But dreams don't last. The ocean provided safety, usually, against illagers and other mobs, but it seemed even they were desperate in the wake. I don't know what became of the village, all I remember was being funneled into a boat with the scattered few survivors. I... I'm a coward. I never went back. I never met with my friends from Endercon either I--" Radar shoves his head into his hands.

"You don't have to tell us." You say.

"I want it out of me." Radar looks back at you. "We were at this scattered little church village, mostly full of misfits and all that. One of their own had big dreams. A city that sprawled to the sky. She could build like nothing else."

"Stella." You assume.

"Yeah. But I didn't follow her. I spent some time there wallowing in my hatred for the gods they told me about. Because what kind of god would take everything away? I guess I know now."

"Romeo isn't a god." Xara says bitterly. "None of us were. We were just facsimiles."

"Well, he's the closest thing I can blame." Radar stares at the ground. "I left. I was a drifter, a nobody, for a bit, at least. All I had was my name and some scattered nightmarish memories. Then... I found her. She offered me so much. A job, a place in the world... It started good but you could never impress her after a point. And she breaks what doesn't impress her.

"So I did anything to make it stop hurting, and when that wasn't enough, I tried to end it all. And when that didn't work, I woke up and decided it had to be her. She was the cause of all of it, the suffering, the... The horrible things I did to myself and the people I cared about. The horrible things they did to me. I tried, I thought I succeeded. And when they threw me out, I didn't want to die. I wanted to live in a world without her. I was lying there, in the dark, thinking I was going to die. I thought that maybe I deserved it."

He looks to PAMA. "And then, there were eyes in the darkness. Antlers in the moonlight, this large thing. I thought that was it. But I woke up the next morning in a bed. I screamed my damn head off once I saw PAMA the first time, because you know, all the stories. It didn't help that Cassie stopped by too. And Stella had already fed me enough about the horrors of Beacontown. It felt like another knife twist seeing those beacons.

"But I got better. It was horrible. They didn't let me drink and that feels horrible when your body wants it. I... I spent a few days wondering if I owed them love, but they seemed to never demand it from me. I didn't even know they couldn't handle me alone."

"I am sorry." PAMA says gently. "I know it must have felt awful to be abandoned like that. I did not want to hurt you if I were to reach my limit."

"And that's how we met. That's... The mess you saw me as. And then I realized what I'd done, how... Exhausting it is to put someone back together alone. Most people aren't up for it. And they still even wanted to be friends with me. Someone who was broken. I guess that meant PAMA was... Different from who they used to be." Radar sighs and shuts his eyes. "Because the PAMA in the stories, the horrible monster, wouldn't have saved me. And I guess that probably applies to Cassie too. She'd have left me to die back there. And the funny part is they only saved me because they lost that spider button."

"Being an amateur had one perk!" PAMA elbows Radar gently.

"I... I don't hold it against you that you can't love me like I love you." Radar presses his head against PAMA's arm. "I can live with it. But if it ever... Hurts too much to be with me, then it's okay if you need to go. I... I guess you're right. I guess I can deal with it."

"I'm sorry for everything back there." You sigh gently. "You're probably tired of hearing it now, but I don't know what else to say."

Radar is quiet for a moment. "I need to think about everything."

"Why did you insist on bringing the guard along?" Petra stares at Tripwire. She shrugs. "Why didn't you just leave her?"

"I didn't want to have to keep pushing her away. Sounded like a liability." Tripwire shrugs.

"You just don't want to dirty your hands." Sonar glares at her. "I bet you won't grieve when Xara gets me killed."

"So you can predict the future now?" Tripwire scoffs. "Speaking of, Xara, what do we have to expect down here?"

"Take a look." Xara points to one of the holes. You walk over to it slowly and your group follows as well. Radar seems to debate moving but Lluna puts her head down on his lap and stops him. Jack glares at her before following the rest of you. PAMA stays at Radar's side.

The world outside is a jagged, horrible mess of sand and rock. Thousands of hills and mountains crawl across the horizon. Lightning crackles across a never ending, massive storm cloud. You find where the light is coming from, several pools of lava in the ground. Flows of lava drift off some of the mountains as well.

"Was it beautiful?" You ask Xara.

"It was when we created it. Together. Now, alone, it's this... Shadow." Xara seems sorrowful for a moment. "Come on."

"Do you need a moment? I know it's a lot to see--" You begin.

"We don't have time." Xara doesn't look at you. PAMA turns back to Radar before helping him up. His legs shake a little.

"Do you remember why you have a shield?" PAMA asks. Radar pulls it out of his inventory. He blinks at it. "Drunk you was very insistent on it."

"Yeah. It's a versatile weapon. Although, I guess I didn't say that because I was drunk?" Radar laughs awkwardly. "Gah, just thinking of it is making my headache worse."

"Did you want some soup?" Jack asks. Radar shakes his head.

"The very thought of eating makes me feel sick." He groans. He takes a swipe with the shield and nearly hits Lluna. She lets out a startled bleat. "Sorry! Sorry!" Radar pets her on the head. She seems to blink before leaning into it.

"You also have a way with llamas, it seems." PAMA jokes.

"...I wonder if my bunnies are okay." Radar pulls back a little. Lluna clops over to you and looks you over. Xara seems to have already started to descend. You follow her slowly. She seems to back away once she enters the next room.

"This is the room where he killed Fred. I watched it happen. We refused to join him, and… It was… Slow…" She rears her hands over her mouth. You tense. It's a casual little room, almost like a little dining room with a fancy carpet and all. The idea of your own safety being perverted...

It reminds you of home. The treehouse. "You watched your friend die. That’s… Awful." Your words are quiet. In your own home. You never had the misfortune of such a horror.

"Does have a life-altering ring to it, doesn't it? But I had those memories to keep me warm for all that time in prison." She turns to you before looking through one of the gaps in the wall. Massive footfalls echo in the distance as she approaches it. "Fred's Keep is that way. Wanna defeat Romeo? The weapon's in there." She points dead ahead.

You tense as a screech rings out against the sky. Part of you is primed to hear the death squeal again. When it echoes across the land again, you recognize it. An enderman? Petra approaches from behind you.

"I really hope it's just one." She admits before the beast teleports. Well, it seems it's alone, but... It's massive. You catch Radar in your periphery gawking at it before PAMA covers his eyes. You retreat back into the room as the beast teleports again.

"Romeo never could leave well-enough alone." Xara speaks bitterly. "He liked toying with the basic order of things." You hear the beast's massive self reform upon part of the tower. You take in a hefty gulp of air.

"Of course. The mobs have to go somewhere." PAMA remarks.

"Only figured that out now?" Sonar scoffs. "Took you long enough."

"It would be great if I could go one day, just one day, without seeing something new and completely terrifying!" Radar shouts and the beast's head snaps around. "Just my luck!"

"Get going!" Jack shouts and you run through the hole in the tower's side. It seems this tower may have had more platforms jutting off it at one point. This one seems to be enough. Everyone else keeps their eyes to the ground as they run. The beast reappears and Radar stops for a moment.

He seems to debate something for a moment. He locks eyes with it and you swear, for a moment, he's hearing the call of the void. You tackle him before the beast can think of retaliating. PAMA lets out a shout as the two of you tumble to a lower platform.

"What was that about?!" You shout, almost shaking Radar. Lluna seems to have followed her, you only note her presence when her teeth grasp your arm and pull you to your feet. "Thanks, Lluna." Radar shivers a little before he pushes himself up.

"I don't know. Okay? I'm not thinking straight." He murmurs. You stare at him. "Oh. You're going to yell at me now..."

"Did... Did you want it to kill you?" You stammer. Radar looks at you for a moment before the beast shrieks again. "Well, I'm not letting it! Come on!" You push him ahead and he finally starts to run.

"I'd hurry up! That thing seems to want the tower as a keepsake!" Jack shouts and you catch the enderman taking part of the tower apart.

"Endermen will be endermen, I suppose!" Petra shouts as you leap from platform to platform. You leap onto the ground and just barely manage to catch up with Xara.

"Fred's keep on the other side of my town. We’ll have some cover from that… Thing there." Xara announces as you follow behind her. You spend a few agonizing minutes, or perhaps a half hour, ducking between hills and mountains. Monsters previously thought unthinkable pass you by. Some are standard altered spiders and zombies, while others are these strange things on needle-like limbs with a thousand glowing markings.

Some of them look like they were animals once. Those sights are enough to get Lluna jolting a little. You have to pet her on the head to stop her from bleating. It feels like a betrayal to Reuben, even if it's your only means of survival. You find Radar can drive off a few mobs with his shield. It takes him a few tries to get the hang of it. You hope that's just the last of the alcohol in his system.

"Is it... Safe in there?" Radar asks. "I mean, I'm not worried, I can handle it by now." He laughs. Xara turns to him and keeps walking backwards.

"Our defenses are impressive. State of the art machinery… Automated farming. The Oasis is a completely self-sustaining city. It's…" She turns as you approach a dirtied stone path. "Home?" Your gaze runs along a ruin. It reminds you eerily of Redstonia, just made of stone and polished andesite. "What? What happened to it?"

"Are you... Okay?" Radar asks softly. You swallow the horror of how it'd feel to see your own town this way.

"I’m so sorry. I can only imagine if I saw Beacontown like this…" You admit. Xara glares at you.

"Save your pity." She says harshly.

"...For a moment, I thought it was Redstonia." Petra admits. She waves you in close. "Jesse, what if--"

"I know." You tense and nod. Xara looks the town over, her legs shaking a little as she walks through it. Radar presses against PAMA and they seem to flinch.

"Everyone's gone. I wasn't here to protect them. To stop this. Ran off after Romeo. Didn't even think… Left them to die. It's all empty now. What have I done?" Xara seems to not care if you hear her. She blinks and shakes her head, as if she's shoving it all away. "Hang on… I just… Need to see if it's still here…" She disappears into the rubble.

"Ugh. Get out of here, you walking carpet." Jack shoves Lluna away. Radar squirms out of Radar's grip to glare at him. Lluna seems to bleat in protest. "Oh, eee yourself!"

"Lay off her already!" Radar shouts. "She's just a llama!"

"Yeah. Just a llama!" Jack snaps. "I can't believe you... You left Nurm for..." He sighs.

"It's not her fault. Nurm, uh, he stayed behind on purpose, right?" Radar turns to PAMA. They nod. "Yeah. Nurm wanted this."

"I know." Jack sighs. "I just miss him. Sorry, Lluna." Lluna hesitates before nuzzling him and clopping away.

"We'll figure out how to get him back." Radar adds before curling back up to PAMA again. They lash their tail. "What's eating you?"

"Nothing." PAMA shuts their eyes. "Whaley is gone and that is okay. You almost killed yourself half an hour ago and that is okay. We are trapped here and that is okay. It is okay. It is okay." PAMA keeps lashing their tail.

"Jesse. I think the computer's about to have a meltdown..." Petra pulls you away. "And I don't want to deal with this right now."

"That's mean, Petra." You push her back a little.

"I'm supposed to be nice to the evil computer?" She stares at you.

"Nothing will ever be the same and that is okay!" PAMA shouts. "This might all be for nothing and it is okay! It is okay!"

"PAMA?" Radar holds out one hand. PAMA backs away from him before shivering. You watch as they tuck their tail inward. "PAMA, you're scaring me."

"And you are not scaring me?" PAMA approaches Radar sharply. He shivers a little and PAMA pulls back. Their hands seem to shake as they look at him. "It is unfair! You are the only one I can love this way, the only one I have loved this way, and you are so intent on destroying yourself!"

"I... What?" Radar stammers. PAMA blinks, as if they've comprehended something new.

"I love you. I have loved no one else this way. I could never love anyone else this way, Radar." They take his hands up gently. "You are the only one I could love the way I do. No one else has made me feel this way. I have never... Felt this before. Only echoes from other people. I thought I never could. It scared me, Radar, to know it was you. I love you but I fear forcing you to stay." PAMA runs one hand through Radar's hair gently.

Radar shakily pulls PAMA into a hug. "I can manage, PAMA. If it's you, I can do it."

PAMA is quiet for a moment. "Thank you for letting it be me."

"Years without sleep! Years!!!" Xara's shout is enough to get the two of them to let go of each other. You run to her side and find she's hunched before an inlet within a tower. It's... Scary hearing her sob. "Only rest is at home. 'Won’t rest until I get there,' I said!"

"Xara?" You can barely get her name out before a torch flies past your face.

"Augh! Look… At… This! My bed… Gone…" She weeps, unable to look at you.

"Is she seriously freaking out about a bed?" Petra stares at you.

"I don't think it's just about the bed." You admit as Radar stares dead ahead at her. He nods slowly.

"Sounds like it to me." Petra crosses her arms. "It's melodramatic as hell." Radar glares at her before pushing past the both of you. PAMA watches from the side.

"...Yeah. It's not about the bed." Sonar concurs before walking off. Tripwire seems a little hesitant to approach. The rest of your group seems to be lagging behind.

"I just wanted to sleep. I thought if I could find this one thing… One last thing still whole." Xara trails off as Radar approaches. "There's no hope for this place. I'll never get it back, now. He made sure." You don't even know how someone can survive restlessness for that long. Perhaps it's a perk of being an ex-Admin.

"It's awful." Radar says out loud.

"I don't need another reminder." Xara glares dead ahead. You note how the room must have been cozy once. "What do you want from me now?"

Radar takes a moment. "I know what it's like. To lose everything."

"You don't." Xara's voice is low but it never rises to a venomous shout. Radar sighs before looking behind himself.

"The worst of it... It's over. I didn't even notice." His voice is quiet. Xara turns to glare at him.

"You really believe that?" Her words are cold but they don't rise. Radar nods meekly. "That's stupid of you."

"Maybe it is, but I need to believe it can't get worse." Radar's hand finds its way back to his face. Xara huffs and pushes past him. You turn to follow and Radar grabs you by the wrist. "Just let her think. She's not going to listen right now."

"Will she ever?" Petra scoffs.

"Well she's not going to if you treat her like that!" Radar snaps. Petra stares at him. "...Is this what you think about me? Ugh!" He turns and walks off as well. PAMA follows behind Radar in silence.

"That's not..." Petra stares at the empty space Radar left before she shakes her head and leaves. You stand there in a sort of shocked silence for a moment. When your legs finally get back to moving, you find Xara in the center of town, still weeping. You try to ignore the reflected light of stained glass and glowstone lanterns.

"Xara?" Is everything okay? That dies in your throat. Maybe if you're logical about it... "What are you doing over here, by this, uh…" You try to size up the strange object she's in front of. It looks like a portal, but it's made of sandstone with branching birch structures that look almost like the latter half of an arrow.

"It's a portal." You can barely hear her through her clasped hands.

"What?" You blink stupidly, unsure if you've properly heard her.

"A portal. Broken, now… Like everything else." She lies down on the ground. "Just leave me here. Go…"

"Don’t lose hope, okay? We can still do this. If you help us." Every word feels hollow to say.

"I doubt that." Xara says and you turn back to the portal. It reminds you an awful lot of the Network...

"What about the portal? Where does it go, anyway?" You press this idea forward gently. Maybe it'll get you somewhere... Or at least get her mind off things.

"Nowhere, obviously. It's broken. We built these, so we could visit each other. An object in the frame would teleport you to the owner. My idea, by the way. Though, Romeo took credit for it. Fred wanted to add the birch. He loved birch…"

"So you’d know how to rebuild it and get us up to the Admin." You think aloud. Hopefully a vote of confidence will--

"I don't know if I can…" Xara is quiet now.

"Well, you've gotten us this far. I don't see any reason to lose faith in you now." Those words have Xara staring at you, almost scrutinizing. "Besides, I'm not seeing any other way to the surface."

Xara sighs and rolls onto her back. "I don't get it. How do you keep going? Look where you are… But you're still fighting. Why?"

"The Admin hurt the people I care about. I'm not going to just let him get away with that. And he's going to do much worse if we let him, just like you said." You try not to snarl at that.

"Fine." Xara stands back up. "It won’t work without a personal object. Something with a strong bond to Romeo to take us right to him. Though, an object crafted on the surface could do in a pinch."

"Let me worry about finding an object for the portal. You just focus on getting it running." You will be out and about, after all...

Xara nods. "Follow the tracks. They’ll lead you to Fred’s Keep. Whatever Fred found, he 'hid it at home.' That's what he told me." You shrug and begin to head through the town. It seems the rest of your group have found the tracks.

You hop into the minecart and they all fire off at once. And not a moment too soon, either, as the massive enderman's shriek enters the air. You hope it won't bother Xara too much... There should be shelter, right?

Well, seems you've hoped too hard. It teleports close to you. The carts just barely weave out of the way. Radar ducks his head into his cart anxiously and you can't even blame him for it.

"Everyone quiet." You order and everyone follows it. The enderman looks at the tracks for a few moments before it teleports away. You turn to Radar. He grimaces. Petra seems to pick up on that.

"Well. That explains why it's on our tail." She ducks into her minecart again.

"Sorry..." Radar squeaks.

"Well, we should still have rail..." Jack murmurs aloud. Right as he does, you find the rail has grown short in one segment, leading into a dip. "Me and my big mouth." He leaps out of his cart. You all follow that initiative, just barely rolling out of the way. The carts tumble into the hole.

"Why did you have to jinx it?" Tripwire shoves her head into her palm and shakes it. "I mean... There's still some rail to follow on foot, I guess?" She goes around the hole and begins to walk after the rails. You shrug and your group follows.

Mobs occasionally cross your path. You thank your lucky stars when there's scattered rocks to hide behind. Sometimes, you cross paths with mobs in the open and you have to exchange blows. After some time, Sonar seems to take initiative and let some mobs chase after them. Tripwire seems to try and hit these moving targets when she does.

A few of the mobs drop weird things, especially the spindly ones that look like wolves. One of them even dropped meat. You don't think about that a lot. You'd rather think about the time Radar and PAMA played a sort of hitting game with one mob. PAMA would hit with their mace and Radar would wham it back.

Then, the rails disappear. They seem to have fallen off the face of the earth. You swallow hard at the side of it. This was your way to the Keep, right? How are you supposed to find it now? Heck, even Sonar steps ahead to look around, at least until Tripwire pulls her back.

"We don't need our bait wasting itself right now." She remarks before letting go of Sonar's wrist. "I'm thinking we need scouts here."

"I'm volunteering. It was my big words that made the minecarts go out in the first place." Jack laughs a little at that last part. "The rest of you can watch my back."

"I'm coming with." You insist.

"And why do you intend to do that?"

"Extra set of eyes. Plus, you need a diplomat out here."

"Feh. All that's down here is mobs and us." Jack laughs. "But I'm not turning down back up. Stay safe."

"See you on the other side!" Tripwire salutes. You shrug and turn to walk ahead. It seems to really just be endless land and jagged rocks. Jack stays at your flank. You take up position at his blind spot.

"So... Did Xara even tell us what we're looking for?" Jack turns to you. "Would be helpful."

"Keep your eyes peeled." You order and he looks ahead. "I get your reflexes are perfect and all, but I'm not taking risks down here. Unfortunately, no, I don't know what we're looking for."

"Figures." Jack scoffs before he stiffens. You watch as he peers around rapidly. You feel your blood go cold. "Do you hear that?"

"I'm deaf in one ear, so probably not." You do your best to whisper. "I've just oriented my deaf side to your blind side, you know."

"That's nice and all but I think I hear pitter patter." Jack's words have your eyes swirling around like mad. "Shh!" He orders and you lock up. Your gaze scrapes across a few of the jagged, large rocks on the horizon.

A figure with a pig's head pulls out from one of the rocks. Then more figures with mob heads peek out from the other rocks. The pig-headed fellow approaches first and you impulsively pull out your sword. Red eyes... They don't glow, though, and the sclera is pure white, like yours. You catch a tan, human face under the seemingly skinned pig draped on their head and neck. Thick, black makeup sharply outlines their eyes down to the bottom of their face.

"Hello? What do you want?" You shout as the figure in the torn blue gown approaches. They're human, definitely, you see that now. But humans are not predictable like mobs, especially down here. The rest of their mob headed group seems to keep an eye on you. "We're not your enemies, here!"

Jack's sword may say otherwise. You tense. "You smell like a couple of Admin lackeys to me." They insist. "We don't like Admin lackeys, you know. They're always causing trouble around here. Right, guys?"

There's a unanimous 'yes.' that reverberates across the air. How many of them are there?

"Admin lackeys are usually lost, but you don't smell that way to me. So what's your game here? Business or pleasure?" The figure stays stiff and tense.

"I'm not making small talk with you." Jack huffs, keeping his grip on his sword.

"Oh, this is big talk. Especially for small fry like you. Wouldn't hurt to give me an idea of what I'm dealing with. At least before my guys take you and your inventory apart." The figure laughs. You tense.

"Hey, wait a minute! We're not with the Admin, not at all!"

"Listen to this guy! He thinks I'm actually gonna believe him on this." The figure points one thumb towards you and seems to smile towards a hypothetical audience. Well, not so hypothetical considering the other red eyes peering at you. "You've got nothing to stand on as alone as you are. But sure, I guess two little lackeys that are as spineless as you would be more fun to have running around... But not without a price, 'course. You've got some nice weapons, there."

"Oh. You are not going there." Jack growls. He turns to you. "Jesse, you better start screaming now. Get their attention. We'll outnumber them if we buy some time." Jack whispers in your good ear.

"You hand over those weapons and we walk away. Nobody's upset, everyone goes home alive. Well, home's really not a thing down here. Admin lackeys would know what I mean." The stranger seems to smirk a little. "Or you can find out what it's like to have your flesh picked off your bones! I'm not really picky, either way we get to have some fun!"

"Jesse, don't. We don't know if they'd even honor it! And without weapons--!"

"The fact we're talking is honor enough, big guy." The stranger shouts. "You wanna make me mad with that logic? Be my guest. But if I were you, I'd hand over those weapons."

Do you...

Accept the deal?

Reject the deal?

Voting ended onFeb 4

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