Minecraft Story Mode: Darkness Rising

Chapter 20

Jesse and Lukas walked side by side with Aiden and Anide marching behind them.  Jesse wasn't sure that leaving the two of them together was a good idea.  They were like two ticking time bombs.  It wasn't a question of if they would explode, it was when.

"I'll be glad when this whole crazy world is behind us," Lukas said.  It was the first words he had spoken in a while.  Jesse shrugged in response.

"Can't be much longer now."  Jesse could feel the tension like a bubble between them, waiting to burst.  Lukas took a deep breath.

"What do you think Prisoner S is going to be like?" Jesse blurted out.  Lukas glanced behind them at Aiden and Anide.

"Who knows?" he replied.  "If he's really the opposite of Herobrine then he's probably everything we need."  His eyes turned back to Jesse.  "Do you need a break?  You're looking tired."

"I'm fine."

"I need to talk to Aiden anyway."  He stopped walking, which left Jesse no choice but to stop as well.  "Hey, Aiden!  Where exactly are we going?"

"You're following me."

"That's great and all, but I'm going to need you to be a little more specific than that."

"I don't know a lot, ok?  I just know that Hirobrine is seriously scared of Prisoner S messing up his plans, so he keeps him in the most secure location in the whole world."

Anide frowned.  "The most secure location?"

"Yeah."

"Did Herobrine say 'the most secure location' specifically?  Did he give any details?"

"That's all he said.  We were having a bit of an argument over killing Jesse, ok?"

"I bet you had a lot of those," Lukas growled.

"I thought we got over this! I'm not going to kill her, ok? She's doomed anyway."

"Why?" Anide asked.

"Herobrine's contract is binding. He had to destroy Jesse before taking over the world." Aiden shrugged. "As long as Jesse is trapped here with no hope of escape, the contract considers her properly destroyed."

"She's not doomed, ok?" Lukas put a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "Now where are we going?"

"The Worldpool." This time it was Anide who answered. "But it's too dangerous. We can't."

"You want Prisoner S, don't you?" Aiden asked.

"We might survive, but Jesse won't. She's too weak."

"What exactly is the Worldpool?" Jesse interrupted.

"Think of it like a huge drain. It saps all the life and energy from around it. If Prisoner S is in there, I don't know if they'll still be alive. The chances are slim."

"We don't have a choice. We need someone who can counter Herobrine."

Aiden shook his head and started walking again. "How about I take the front this time, since I know where we're going."

Lukas moved to follow but Jesse stopped him. "Let me walk with him for a bit. Maybe I can get something out of him."

"If he doesn't kill you first," Lukas muttered. He backed down as Jesse hurried ahead. Within moments she found herself walking side by side with Aiden. He cast a sidelong glance at her.

"At least someone is thinking clearly," he said.

"Can you blame them?"

"Sure I can."

Aiden kept his eyes pointed straight ahead. "There's another option, you know. I didn't want to mention it around the others because neither of them would ever have let you do it. But it's quicker, and maybe even safer."

"What is it?"

"If you go back to our world, you aren't doomed anymore. Herobrine will be forced to hunt you down and destroy you. He won't be able to do anything else anymore. And if he follows you back through the portal and to here, we could destroy the portal from the other side and he'll be trapped."

"We'd have to find a portal first."

"No, we don't. I have the materials to build one."

"You had the materials to build a portal back home and you didn't tell us?"

Aiden glared at her. "Why would I? Lukas wouldn't have let me go through with you. And besides, I needed your help to reach Prisoner S."

"So you lied to us?" Jesse couldn't believe it. No, she could. It was exactly the kind of thing Aiden would do.

"I didn't lie, I withheld information. I'll make the portal right now if you want. But in exchange you have to convince the others to let me through, and you have to agree to my plan."

Jesse's eyes grew unfocused. Aiden's plan could work, but it brought to light new information Jesse hadn't known. As soon as she set foot in her own world, Herobrine would hunt her down. And he wouldn't stop until she was dead. She'd be saving lives, but she would also be the only thing standing between Herobrine and controlling the rest of the world. If she didn't agree to Aiden's plan, she would have no choice but to find Prisoner S and hope he could stop Herobrine.

It's like I have a magnet attached to my chest, Jesse realized. It's either me or him. All because of that contract Aiden and Herobrine forged.

"Hey, guys?" Anide called. "We've got company."