"HA! FOUND YOU!"

The voice jerked me out of my slumber.

I was kind of grateful at first, because my sleep had been riddled with nightmares. But then I realized we had been discovered.

Before I realized what was happening, I was tied up and sitting against the wall. While I was still recovering from being asleep, I heard a yell and sounds of a scuffle, then FWhip was put next to me, looking incredibly grumpy.

Mezalean guards searched our shelter, but we hadn’t placed any chests or other storage. The place was empty except for our sleeping bags.

The Grand Emperor himself was there as well. He walked up to us and said, “Idiots. Why did you hide right at my terracotta gathering place? Also, why did you light my Nether portal?” He bent down and slipped off my watch and FWhip's glove, also pulling off our cloaks.

I glared at him silently. FWhip grinned and lied, “We didn’t. you did, remember? You disobeyed your own law.”

The guards looked to their king with interest.

“N-no!” Joel sputtered. “This is a lie! I didn’t- I would never-”

“Well, even if you didn’t light the portal,” I said slyly, “You’re still breaking the law. That crown is magical, so…” I shrugged past the ropes.

FWhip laughed.

Our strategy seemed to be trying to annoy Joel into releasing us.

Joel fumed. “You barely know anything about this crown, Blue. You weren’t even here for most of what happened.”

“I know enough,” I said coolly.

“Guess what?” FWhip said. “I’m here too. And I know more about that crown than anyone. I made it. And it is magical.”

Joel took a deep breath, visibly trying not to murder us in front ot his guards.

“Is it true, then?” one of the guards asked, gripping her sword. “You’re breaking your own law?”

“Not intentionally,” Joel said, glaring at us. “I didn’t know it was magical.”

“You actually admit that you're wrong?” I asked with a mockingly disbelieving tone. “Impossible!”

“YOU TWO ARE WORSE THAN JIMMY, I SWEAR-”

“Language!” FWhip scolded. “No swearing!”

Even some of the guards were trying not to laugh now.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t even interrogate you seriously,” Joel said.

“Should we kill them?” One of the guards asked, smiling at his king’s anger.

“If you kill us, we’ll just be free,” I said. “You can’t interrogate us when we’re at Spawn.”

“YOU PEOPLE- okay, take them back to the palace,” Joel said.

“Yes, please!” FWhip cheered. “Maybe Lizzie can talk some sense into you.”

Joel ignored us and strode out of the shelter, leaving FWhip and me exchanging glances and grinning like five-year-olds with explosives.

I learned that day that words were just as powerful as any sword.

The guards stood us up and marched us all the way through the desert to the Mezalean Matral Palace. By the time we got there, Joel and his guards were exhausted and dehydrated. For the first half of the journey, FWhip and I took turns with his hydration crystal, exchanging it between our hands while Joel wasn't looking. Joel, who lived in the desert, was convinced we had a magical way to keep cool. After the first hour, he kept a close eye on us. I had the crystal when he started, so I got it for the rest of the trip.

When we got there and I was still fine, Joel demanded, "What's your secret? Why didn't you turn in whatever is keeping you hydrated?"

I looked at him. "Why would I tell you? You'll just take it, and then find the other two. And we aren't accustomed to the desert like you are. We need it to survive."

Joel huffed. "I will find out, though," he said.

"We believe you," FWhip said, smiling.

They put us in an undecorated tower since Joel hadn't built a prison yet. Surrounded by terracotta with no pickaxes, we were stuck.

"So, now we escape?" FWhip asked.

I shook my head. "He said we'd be executed. We don't need to. Let's just annoy Joel until then."

FWhip grinned. "Oooh, I like that idea better."

I laughed.

We were both terrified. I knew that much. But Joel was ruling by fear and the threat of death. Most of the Emperors didn't agree with him. I doubted even Lizzie agreed with him. But we kept up with our happy facade purely because it annoyed Joel. And annoying him was almost as entertaining as annoying Bdubs.

My smile faded as I remembered that there would be no more annoying Bdubs, because he was gone.

"What are you thinking?" FWhip asked.

I shook my head and faked a smile. "Nothing."

FWhip did not look convinced. But he dropped it.

We discussed comebacks and ways to spark rebellions within the other empires before falling back asleep on the hard terracotta floor.

"Wake up, you two."

I groggily opened my eyes, briefly forgetting where I was. I half expected to be in the woods of Last Life, or in the Watcher fortress, or in the big house at Gateway. But no, I was in the unfinished tower of the Mezalean Matral Palace, awaiting trial and execution. I blinked back tears that I hadn't realized were coming as I remembered the events of the past few days.

"Uuugh," FWhip groaned, turning away from the guard at the door.

"FWhip," I said, rubbing my eyes. "It's time to get tortured. Wake up."

The guard looked appalled at my claim as FWhip sat up. "No! You're not getting tortured. At least, I don't think so."

Very comforting, Mr. Random Guard. Nobody asked your opinion anyway.

The guard led us out of the empty tower, where we were joined by five other guards. That was a little excessive. But we didn't complain as we were taken to a lavishly decorated room with high pillars that arched at the top to support the ceiling. Potted azalea bushes and trees lined the sides of the room, and glow berry vines dangled from the beams. A gigantic chandelier hung from the ceiling, glimmering in shades of gold and white. The Mezalean king himself reclined on an expensive wooden throne, the golden Grand Crown perched on his head. Lizzy wasn't there, probably at the Ocean Empire. Dang it. She was the nice one.

Joel huffed smugly. "Who's poor now?"

I shrugged even though I didn't know what he was talking about. "You, because the wealth of this kingdom is showcased in the palace, not the city. You're using the majority of the gold in the mesa to decorate this place, not to help your subjects. A ruler is only as rich as their people."

I smiled wryly as I watched anger cross his face.

"Oh yeah, and also you may have a lot of gold, but I have redstone and cooler stuff," FWhip added. "I will never stop calling you poor."

I snickered.

“You two are infuriating,” Joel said, putting his head in his hands.

We grinned at each other.

"Do you know why you're here?" Joel asked sternly, as if talking to two toddlers.

"We started a rebellion," I said, putting pride into my voice.

"Why haven't you been actually doing anything except hiding out in my terracotta gathering place?"

FWhip shrugged. "Because Scott froze me and Gem."

"Wait, what?"

I nodded. "Yup."

“Scott’s been using magic?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, but don’t try to capture him because A, he’s missing, and B, he’ll probably freeze you too and you’ll get a white streak to join your green one. Which should actually be red, by the way. That’s how it was in Last Life.”

“I’m not red anymore!” Joel growled.

“You sure seem like it,” I said.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” FWhip said cheerfully. “Well, I kind of do. Not really, though. I guess it kind of helps that I’m not listening anymore.”

I rolled my eyes. “Maybe. But stop changing the subject. Joel and I are reliving memories right now.”

“Reliving memories?” Joel spat. “I’d rather not relive those memories, thank you very much.”

“Me neither!” I cheered. “But you had it good. You got to die before things actually got interesting.”

“I’m not talking about Last Life! I'm talking about you guys starting a rebellion against the Grand Crown that FWhip of all people should follow the order of because he made it!”

“Oooh, that’s a good point,” FWhip said. “But I don’t really feel like it.”

“On a more serious note,” I said, and FWhip pouted. “I started the rebellion because we depend on magic to live our lives normally. Magic might start our problems, but it also solves them.”

“Yeah, well, have you found a cure for getting frozen by Scott yet?” Joel countered.

FWhip frowned “No…”

“Exactly.”

“We are in the process of finding a cure for him,” I said, purposely not mentioning Gem. “But we can’t, becuase almost nobody will help us because certain people said it’s illegal.”

“I said that magic is okay if it’s necessary for survival!” Joel said.

“Yeah, well, you weren’t too clear on that,” FWhip said. “Now I’m slowly freezing to death because Scott is too scared to help us.”

“And he’s the one who froze you, right?” Joel asked for what seemed like the millionth time.

We nodded.

“I KNEW IT! Magic causes our problems! If people would just stop using it, then we’d be fine!”

“Scott can’t control his power,” I defended. “He ran to the northest north to avoid capture and protect us! Gem went to the Nether knowing that she would be captured if she was caught helping people! And don’t even get me started on Xisuma and Bigb. They need to go home, or at least to their friends! They need teleportation, and when that’s outlawed, nobody can come or go. We’re stuck in this loop of wars and peace and the only way to get out of it is to solve our problems the peaceful way, but that’s a little hard when people like you keep starting wars over again!”

It wasn’t just directed at Joel. It was days of pent up anger and grief being released. I was yelling at Joel, but also the world’s Admin whose fault all of this actually was.

FWhip winced. “Yeah, maybe it’s time to make amends with Jimmy.”

I nodded at him approvingly. “Good.”

Then I turned back to Joel. “I know we’re kind of enemies, but there’s a bigger fight that we’re all involved in, whether we like it or not. I don’t consider you my enemy. Rivals? Yes. But not an enemy. I just want the magic back so we can focus on the bigger problem.”

“And what is that bigger problem?” Joel asked, suddenly interested.

I winced. “You know. But you might not think you do.”

I counted to fourteen before realization dawned on his face. “They’re not going to stop.”

I shook my head. “They had plenty of fun in Last Life. But they want more. They’re never going to stop, unless we stop them first.”

“What is this turning into?” FWhip complained. “I thought we were going to try to annoy Joel as much as possible before we were put on trial and probably executed.”

“We were,” I said. But now, I was pretty sure that I could convince Joel to give up the crown without using violence. Word power could be wasted to make him mad, or it could be used to persuade him to do the right thing.

Joel took off the crown and looked at it, the gems glimmering in the torchlight. “Maybe you’re right.”

My heart skipped a beat. It was working.

“Or maybe you’re wrong,” he said. “Take them back to the tower.”

The guards pulled us out of the throne room and escorted us back to the makeshift prison.

Once inside, I sat on the floor and put my head in my hands. “I thought it would work,” I said. “I thought I could convince him.”

“Peace only works sometimes,” FWhip said darkly. “Sometimes war is necessary.”

I looked up at him. “I don’t want to be at war anymore. I don’t like fighting. I may be half good at it, but I don’t like it.”

“Half good?” FWhip said. “You took on a Watcher and you think you’re half good?”

"Maybe a little better than half good. But I'm not the best."

"Stop comparing yourself to other people, Blue," FWhip said. "It's okay to ask for help sometimes.”

"That is exactly like Joel to give us hope and then go, 'or maybe you're wrong'!" I mimicked Joel's accent. "I should have seen it coming."

FWhip snickered. "That was… really bad."

I laughed as well.

My watch had been taken by Joel, so I couldn't tell how much time had passed. But I thought it was several hours before another few guards came in.

"The Grand Emperor wants to see you again," one of them said, running a hand through her short blonde hair.

FWhip and I stood up from where we had been sitting silently, bored out of our minds. We quietly followed the guards out of the tower and back to the extravagant throne room. Right before we entered, I whispered, "Let's take a different approach this time. Be nice. No insults. Don't be too annoying. Let's see if we can get him to surrender the crown peacefully before we go into open war."

FWhip nodded, and then guards poked us in the back with long spears. We walked forward.

"Back already?" Joel said.

"You called us here," FWhip replied, crossing his arms.

"Oh, that's right. I did," Joel mused.

I bit back a retort. "Have you thought about it?"

"I have," Joel said. "And I think that magic is still the problem. We can find other solutions to the problems we already have."

"Like me being frozen?" FWhip shot back, visibly trying not to insult the king. "Can we find a non-magical solution to that?"

Joel didn't answer, which I took to mean he couldn't. But he didn't want to admit we were right. He had to protect his pride, after all.

"There's nothing bad about admitting that you made a mistake," I said. "As long as you try to make it right."

There was a long silence, during which I remembered that despite seeming like the bad guy, Joel was still trying to do what he thought was best for the Empires. For his home. For his friends.

"You know, I had to do that just a few days ago," FWhip said. "I made a mistake by forging that crown. But now I'm trying to stop it before it destroys this world. I'm trying to make it up to everyone, because I do admit that this whole mess is my fault."

Joel actually paused to consider that, which surprised me. "Well, maybe-"

Suddenly, magenta light filled the room. Everyone there squinted as a figure appeared, grey wings fanning out, and then Grian was standing in the throne room with us.

"And he sticks the landing!" Grian said triumphantly. Then he frowned as he took in the situation.

"Magic," Joel spat.

Why did Grian look like he agreed?

"This is not the right time, Grian," I said, wincing.

"Good to know!" Grian said cheerfully. "But too bad! I'm already here! And I need to pick up Xisuma and Bigb. Where are they?"

I took a deep breath, trying not to say that I had been making progress with Joel until he showed up. "The Crystal Goblet Tavern," FWhip answered. "In the Crystal Cliffs. Someone else can give you directions. We're busy."

Grian frowned again. "Who are you? Wait, you're that FWhip guy who dragged Gem off."

I groaned and put my head in my hands.

"Is that what I'll be known as now?" FWhip said, his annoyance showing on his face. "The guy who dragged my sister off to prison? For your information, I also helped her escape. And if I don't like you, I can kick you out of here, you know."

I smirked as I watched the two men, so similar yet so different. One an Admin, one a Watcher, both with power, although different kinds.

"Nice," Grian said dismissively. "I can blast you. Also, where does Jimmy live? I think he deserves to see the Evolutioners."

"Oh, come on!" FWhip protested. "I was going to make up with him. You know, cod and salmon rivalry."

Grian shrugged. "I've been both. Just tell me where he is. You can talk to him later."

FWhip looked taken aback. "Both?"

"He's in the Cod Empire, in the swamp," I interrupted. "Just across the ocean from here."

"Okay. See ya, Blue, FWhip, Joel, guard people."

He took off and flew to a window near the roof.

Joel watched him fly with a blank expression. Then he laughed as Grian's voice drifted down through the open space. "Ow! Why is there glass? Why did you put glass here!"

That was followed by the sound of the window breaking. FWhip and I held back our laughter as the smirk on Joel's face was replaced by outrage.

"See?" I said, turning to the Grand Emperor. "You can't restrict magic. People - or, some people - will just use it anyway. Magic isn't something you can restrain."

"He had that symbol," Joel growled. "The one on the Watchers."

"Yeah. So?" I said, trying to sound casual.

FWhip didn't buy it. "You know something," he accused. Joel nodded in agreement.

"It's not my secret," I said, for what seemed like the millionth time. "I'm not going to say anything, so don't ask."

"Blue…" FWhip protested.

"If you want us to trust each other, we can't keep secrets from each other," Joel said.

"It isn't my secret!" I repeated, starting to get frustrated.

"I'll give you the crown," Joel said.

That was tempting.

Was I loyal enough to refuse? I was about to find out.

Wincing, I said, "Fine. But you can't tell anyone."

Both of their eyes glimmered with anticipation.

"Grian is…" I started.

Then I smirked as an idea came to mind. "Poultry Man."

They both looked incredibly confused. I burst out laughing.

Unfortunately, the laughter gave away the fact that I was lying.

"Tell the truth," Joel said. FWhip looked hurt, which in of itself almost made me tell them right then and there.

"It is the truth," I insisted. "Grian is Poultry Man."

FWhip and Joel, on the same side for once, had such similar expressions on their faces that it was funny. "But who is Poultry Man?" Joel stressed.

"Grian."

FWhip threw his hands in the air. "Why do I even try?"

I shrugged. "Because you're an idiot. I'm not betraying him."

"But what if we need to know?" FWhip pleaded, looking at me with wide eyes.

"If I find out that you do, I'll tell you," I said with a tone that left no room for argument. "Or better yet, Grian will."

FWhip and Joel huffed and looked away. Then Joel glanced back. "Just out of curiosity, who's Poultry Man?"

I just grinned. I didn't know myself. All I knew was what Xisuma had said in the Nether in Hermitcraft.

"Can we get back on topic now?" I asked. "I'm bored of this conversation."

FWhip snickered. "You have been spending way too much time with pranksters."

"Since you're obviously not going to tell us anything, then I guess we can," Joel pouted. "I admire your determination, though."

"If you know I'm determined, you know I won't give up until I have that crown," I said sweetly.

"True," FWhip agreed.

Looking at the jewel-encrusted crown, I suddenly thought, But we can use it. I don't have to destroy it. Once I have it, I can just take over. I can rule. I can have everyone fight the Watchers with me, not just FWhip and Gem.

What could I do if I took it for myself?

Most of me was disgusted with the idea. What had I said to Joel? It was just another Red Crown. Power, or even the thought of power, did terrible things to people.

But part of me still wanted it.

"What do you think, Blue?"

"What?" I said, snapping out of my thoughts.

"We were making a deal," Joel said, rolling his eyes. "The reason I don't want to give you the crown is because I think magic starts problems. If you can solve the problems, you can have it."

"Aw, won't you just accept reputation points?" I joked.

"Don't you dare," Joel threatened.

FWhip leaned away from me. "Maybe we should quarantine you from bad influences like me for a while."

"Definitely," Joel agreed. "FWhip and Sausage are enough."

"Hey!" FWhip protested. "I can call me a bad influence. That's fine. But you're not allowed to call me a bad influence."

"Ooh, I'm going to say that to someone sometime," I said.

Joel looked at FWhip like, What did I say? "See? Stop being a bad influence to your little sister."

I put a hand over my mouth, laughing silently.

"So, do you take the deal? I give you the crown, you solve all the magic problems?"

FWhip and I nodded. Joel, somewhat reluctantly, pulled the crown off his head and handed it to FWhip.

"Tell Mezalea that they can stop waving signs around," Joel said to one of the guards, putting his normal crown back on, gold with a single emerald directly above his forehead. "We have a new Grand Emperor. FWhip."

Panic rose deep in my stomach. I was supposed to have it.

What was I thinking? It didn't matter, as long as it was destroyed. Who cared if FWhip or I had it?

Me, a small voice said inside my head. I do. I want to use it.

No, I don't. Shut up.

FWhip admired the crown in his hands. It had gone back to its creator, soon to be its destroyer. He looked up at Joel. "Thanks."

I smiled at the simplicity of his gratitude.

Joel returned our communicators, weapons, and tools, and we walked out of the palace with the crown stuffed into FWhip's backpack like a pouch of seeds that we didn't really care about but we had stuck into there because we thought it might be important someday. Civilians and palace guards alike whispered to each other. "Aren't they supposed to be captured?" "They started a rebellion, didn't they?" "Hurgh?"

We lit rockets and took off on our elytra, headed for the Overgrown. We assumed Gem would be there, finding an antidote for whatever Katherine had accidentally done to her.

We were right. Gem and Katherine were in one of the greenhouses, chatting and stirring green liquid in a cauldron.

We landed outside the greenhouse and walked inside. FWhip rubbed his arms, claiming that it was a little chilly. I handed him one of Rivendell cloaks (which Joel had given back), which he eagerly accepted.

"You missed the fun," FWhip said to Gem and Katherine, grinning.

"Did you find Scott?" Gem asked.

Oh yeah, he was who we had originally been looking for.

"No," I said. "But we did find something else."

FWhip pulled out the Grand Crown.

The two girls gaped at the symbol of power in his hands.

"...How?" Katherine said.

"Long story," I said. "The short version is we looked for Scott, couldn't find him, went to Mezalea, got captured, then negotiated for the Crown."

"What is it with you and getting captured, Blue?" Gem asked.

I shrugged. "Everyone wants my winning personality in their prisons."

FWhip snorted.

"So, now we destroy it?" Katherine asked, eyeing the crown.

FWhip and I nodded, even though part of me protested.

Gem grinned. "Great! Can you two figure that out? We're almost done with the antidote."

"Hopefully, by the time you get back, Gem will be back to normal," Katherine said.

We nodded and headed out.

We flew up over the Overgrown, passing over Rivendell and then the Crystal Cliffs.

"What is that?" FWhip said, pointing down at Gem's empire.

Looking closer, I realized that the entire area was covered in plants - vines, moss, flowers. The amethyst on the roofs of the buildings was barely visible. "It looks abandoned," I said.

"I think… that plant, in the Nether," FWhip said. "I think Gem did this."

I frowned as we landed near the fountain in the square. "I don't think she's been here."

"She must have flown over it and done it," FWhip said. "It probably happened in the Overgrown too, but we didn't see it because the place is already, well… overgrown."

"What about Rivendell?" I asked fearfully. "Is Rivendell okay?"

We turned around and flew back.

It was less noticeable in the mountain empire, with all the ice, but it was still there: plants shooting up through the snow, growing despite the cold.

FWhip started shivering, so we moved on without exchanging much conversation.

We flew back over the Crystal Cliffs and to the Grimlands, expecting the worst, but it was fine. Gem must not have been there since she had come back from the Nether.

We flew into the Grimlands forge, where the crown had probably been created.

FWhip put it on the gigantic anvil in the center of the room. Then he drank a potion and handed me one as well. "You might want to drink that."

"How are we going to destroy it?" I asked, uncapping the potion and choking it down. It was spicy to the point that it didn't have any other flavor. Fire resistance.

"The same way it was created," FWhip said. "An enchantment and a whole lot of lava."

He pulled the lever.