We have Shubble.

When our devices vibrated with the message from Joey, we knew it was time.

Cleo, not sure how to help, and not connected to the Empires group chat, decided to stay at Rivendell while the rest of us went and saved the Empires. So the people who came were Scott, Pearl, Katherine, FWhip, myself, and Shrub if you counted unwilling attenders.

A long time ago, when the corruption had first appeared on Empires, Katherine, Scott, and I had contained it in a box and brought it to a spot about two miles off the edge of the Overgrowth. But as we approached that area once again, we realized the corruption had spread.

An entire mountain had been turned red and corrupted. Under a large overhang, where the box had once hung, was a small cage, just big enough for someone to sit down in, containing Shubble.

Shubble Shroomlight, or Shrub for short, was a gnome, meaning she was very short, but she made up for it in personality. She had black hair and yellow eyes, and her magic was very similar to Katherine's in the way that it was strongly related to plants. But she wasn't using her magic now. She just looked sad.

We approached the overhang, but before we could go under it, Joey landed in front of us.

"Hi, Joey!" Pearl said. "Nice of you to drop by, pun intended."

Joey did not smile. "You're not taking another step forward," he growled.

"Why, so you can protect my demon brother?" Scott shot back, his tone equally hostile. "He needs to go. Look at our empires. Look at your empire. They're not in the best shape. And in case you didn't know, we need to get all the Last Lifers home."

"Let's try to settle this peacefully," I said. "And without explosions, either."

FWhip looked disappointed. But he hefted his crossbow and said, "We don't want to kill you after everything we went through. You're still an X Lifer and an Emperor. You're still our friend. You're just fighting for the wrong side."

"He said I could be Grand Emperor," Joey said wistfully. "He said I could rule the world." I noticed he had gotten a new crown, gold with a single ruby embedded in the center. But the part that gave me chills... was a thin crack running down one side.

Scott's eyes flicked to the crown at the same time mine did. His grip tightened on the hilt of his blade. "Joey, where did you get that crown?"

Joey shrugged. "Oh, Xornoth gave it to me a few days ago."

"Take it off," Scott growled.

Joey looked offended. "No! I promised I never would!"

Pearl examined the headwear before coming to a realization of her own. But instead of telling Joey to take it off, she just attacked. Scott was right behind her.

"What are you doing?" I shrieked. "We're trying to do this without killing each other!"

"Take off the crown, Joey!" Scott yelled.

"What's so bad about a crown?" FWhip said, reaching out to hold Scott back, but the elf was too strong. He pulled away and continued trying to knock the crown off of Joey's head.

"It's possessing him!" Pearl said. "Look at his eyes!"

I had been too distracted by the crown to see that his eyes were red. Not just bloodshot, no, but as red as the rubies.

"Everyone, stop!" Katherine said, but they were too busy fighting to hear her.

That was the last straw. Nobody ignored Katherine. If she had ideas, they were always worth listening to.

"Enough!" I screamed, pointing my staff at the group. A force field erupted between Joey and my allies.

My staff was still glowing with my anger. "You guys are going to discuss this like civilized people or you're all going home right now and I'm defeating Xornoth on my own. We don't yell at people and attack them to get what we want. We ask nicely, and if they say no, we figure it out."

For a minute, everyone was completely silent. They just stared at me. Then FWhip said, "That was kind of scary but also totally awesome."

"Now, Scott and Pearl, what is wrong with the crown?" I asked sternly, like a parent scolding their children.

"That crack," Pearl said. "It may have a gem in it now, but that doesn't disguise it. That's the Red Crown."

AND THUS ENDS THE CHAPTER

JK no

"Blue destroyed it," Scott said, driving a dagger of emotion into my stomach. "But apparently it wasn't actually gone."

I remembered what Blue had told FWhip and me about the Red Crown, how Ren had claimed to win it in competition, then the power overcame his mind and turned him evil.

Was that happening to Joey?

"I'm not possessed," Joey protested. "I'm fine."

"Then take off the crown," Scott said. "Or so help me, I will take it off for you."

I looked at Scott warningly.

Joey tipped his chin up. "Fine," he said. "But only for a minute."

Taking a deep breath, Joey lifted the crown from his head. Then he gasped and threw the crown to the ground, scrambling away from it.

"He wouldn't have," Joey said. "He didn't."

"He did," Pearl said flatly.

Joey put his head in his hands. "I agreed to help him in exchange for the privilege to rule the Empires. He gave me that crown, which just made me worse. I'm sorry."

I wanted to forgive him for all he had done. But he hadn't been under the influence of the Red Crown when he had imprisoned me. So I didn't.

Now that the conflict was resolved, there was no need to waste my energy on the force field. I let it disappear.

FWhip walked over and picked up the Red Crown. "What should I do with this?"

I looked at it, then at Scott and Pearl. "If you guys destroyed it in Last Life, then it probably can't be destroyed. I can tinker with the spells on it and take them off, like I did with the Dark Scythe. We just need a place to keep it away from Xornoth, Joey, and probably the other Last Lifers."

"And Sausage," Katherine said.

"Probably him, too," I agreed.

I had no magical way of containing it, so we left it in a box buried underground. FWhip put a large pile of dirt on top, big enough not to be natural, but small enough to be mistaken for so by an outsider.

Despite the removal of the Crown, Joey was still loyal to Xornoth and stepped back in front of us. So we were back to our original problem.

"Joey," Katherine said, sounding tired. "Please move out of the way. We can just fly over you, we're just choosing not to because we want to make you see reason. Do you really want another X Life, where the rest of us leave and you remain to rule a destroyed world?"

Joey bit his lip and moved to the side.

We took off and flew into the alcove.

Shubble gripped the bars as we came. "No! It's a trap!"

I was fully aware of that.

Katherine flew up to her ally and started to rattle the lock. Scott, Pearl, FWhip, and I looked around, weapons drawn.

Then the demon himself came out of the shadows.

Pearl and Scott's eyes widened. They hadn't seen this form of Xornoth before. He had gained strength since the Ender Dragon fight.

We all brandished our weapons.

"You can't defeat me," Xornoth said. "You can try, but you will fail."

We looked him straight in the eye. "We will not fail," Scott replied. "We can defeat you. And we will."

Xornoth curled his clawed hand into a fist, fire erupting around it as he showed off his magic. "Father always thought you were better," he said. "The youngest. The purest. This is more than a sibling rivalry, though. The Eternal Flame burns ever brighter when there's nothing to put it out."

Then he laughed. "Which means you'll be the first to go."

Then we launched into battle.

Or, the other three did. Katherine was still trying not to be noticed by Joey or Xornoth, and I ran to set up the spell.

I put the eight items in a large circle on the ground. They would be corrupted soon. I didn't have much time.

I built a pillar in the center of the circle and placed the dragon egg on top as bait.

Xornoth looked in my direction as soon as I put it down.

"That's right," I said. "Come and get it."

Xornoth growled and resisted the urge. He continued fighting the elf and two humans with his fire and claws.

"You're not like this, Xornoth!" Scott said. "What changed you?"

"You did," Xornoth accused. He had unknowingly stepped inside the circle.

On the other side of the dragon egg, I held up my staff and started to recite the spell that I had memorized in Elvish days before the battle. My staff glowed, brighter and brighter, and shook until it threatened to escape my grasp. But I grilled it tighter and kept speaking.

Xornoth started to glow red. So did the gem that topped my staff.

"What's happening... NO!" Xornoth yelled, lunging for the egg.

Then, he vanished in a flash of red light.

My staff's glow faded. My staff stopped moving. The crystal from the top fell off of it, and I picked it up. It had turned as red as the corruption surrounding me. I saw a glimmer of fire and eyes that were both red and purple.

Xornoth was contained forever.

I held out the crystal to Scott. "You should have this."

He nodded and took it, slipping it into his pocket.

Shrub, Katherine, Pearl, and FWhip came up behind him and curiously peered at the crystal.

I looked at my staff and frowned. I needed to get a new crystal for it, but that didn't matter right now.

Xornoth was gone. We had won.

We flew back to Rivendell triumphantly, where Scott drilled a small hole in the crystal and attached it to a necklace, which he hung around his neck. No better vault than keeping it on him at all times.

Cleo came into the blacksmith shop, where we were, and asked, "Did you do it?"

We nodded. Scott held up the crystal.

Cleo grinned hopefully. "So we can go home now?"

I winced. "Well, Joey still has the portal crystal," I said. "But now that he doesn't have Xornoth at his back, it should be easier to get."

Cleo was visibly disappointed, but I couldn't help that until I had the crystal. So FWhip and I went to the Lost Empire.

We landed on the top of the Fire Temple, where Joey's throne was. He was there, reclining in it. His old crown was on the arm of the throne, forgotten. Joey seemed to be reading a letter or scroll, or he wanted to look like he was reading a letter or scroll, because his eyes weren't moving at all. He was just staring at the parchment with a blank expression.

"Joey," FWhip said. "You know what we want."

Joel looked up. "To punish me?"

"Okay, you don't know what we want," FWhip corrected himself. "We want the crystals you stole."

Joey examined us coldly. "You mean the crystal, singular, that I stole? Sausage made the other one."

"Which means it's his," I said.

Joey glared at us.

"Fine," he said. He took two jewels out of his pocket, a small ruby and a larger amethyst, and handed them to me. I checked for the interior glow that signaled they were magical before we left.

"That was more successful than I thought it would be," FWhip yelled over the passing wind as we flew.

"I know," I replied. "It makes me suspicious, but these are the actual crystals."

"I think he actually wants to help," FWhip called back.

I nodded as we swooped down into Mythland.

"Sausage!" I called. He didn't answer.

We walked through his empire, taking in the corruption that was still there, but didn't spread anymore.

We came to the wall that had been built between Mythland and the Codsong Trench that separated Sausage and his enemy, Jimmy. Jimmy had a similar wall on the Cod Empire side of the ravine.

"Are you home, Sausage?" FWhip yelled as we came to the gatehouse.

Gatehouse? There had never been a gatehouse. Sausage wanted nothing to do with the Cod Empire.

Was it for necessary trade? Or something more sinister?

Sausage was outside, on the trench, building a bridge with the help of his greatest enemy. "Oh, hi, Tay twins!"

"Don't call us that," FWhip said. I laughed.

Sausage walked over to us with a new spring in his step. "Look at this amazing bridge we're building!"

Jimmy waved from the other side. "We've forgiven each other and now we're friends!"

Just like that?

The trench could just be flown over, like Blue and Jimmy had made so clear when we first dug it, but it was more the symbolism than anything. And now Sausage and Jimmy, who had been rivals the entire time they were in the Empires, were bridging the gap. They were putting the past behind them and becoming allies.

I was very proud of them.

I assumed that was what they had been doing while we were defeating Xornoth.

"Sausage, we have this thingy," FWhip said.

"You might recognize it," I added, holding up the dream communicator. "It's yours. You made it."

Sausage looked taken aback. "But I don't remember making it!" he said. "And it was your spell. Keep it, I don't want anything to do with that demon anymore."

"'That demon' is gone," FWhip said, using air quotes. "While you and Jimmy were throwing flowers and glitter and rainbows all over the place, the rest of us were fighting Xornoth. And we won."

Sausage's grin was wider than I had ever seen it, and he grinned a lot.

Jimmy, however, looked confused. "Then why is there still corruption?"

"Because even though Xornoth is trapped inside a crystal, he still exists," I said patiently. "He can't spread corruption anymore, but the stuff he has already placed is still there. I can come later with a cleanup spell if you want."

"No," Jimmy said quickly. "I can do it."

I examined him. Jimmy was sweet and clumsy and funny, but I didn't really think he would be able to fight the Watchers like the Listener hoped. I didn't want to judge a book by its cover, but was he really suited for this?

Then again, I sometimes wondered if I was suited for this. Magic wasn't everything, as Sausage had so kindly demonstrated by getting himself possessed.

We stayed and talked about the battle for a while, calling it the Battle of the Crystal Prison. We didn't say anything about the Red Crown. A mutual agreement had come between us not to speak of it until after it was harmless, especially not in front of the Last Lifers.

We also gave them invitations to a feast to celebrate the victory, at Rivendell. The Last Lifers were invited as well.

FWhip went to deliver the rest of the invitations, while I went to retrieve the Red Crown from where it was buried, near the Corrupted Cavern. I glanced over at the alcove that the cage still hung from. It was still corrupted. I thought I would leave it that way. It would serve as a lesson, a reminder of the fate that had befallen Xornoth because of his jealousy.

I dug up the box and took out the Crown.

It was gold, but it had tiny streaks of red in it that I hadn't noticed before. The ruby glimmered coldly, giving me flashes of memories that weren't mine - a red banner with three white triangles at the bottom, a diamond axe blade swinging at my head, a feeling of panic and betrayal as the balance of power shifted.

If I used it, I could bring peace to all the Empires. I could use it to fend off other enemies that were sure to come our way. I could use its power to fight the Watchers. It could be used for good. All I had to do was put it on.

I realized the Crown was halfway to my head before I threw it onto the ground and stared at it, alarmed.

What had come over me?

I cautiously went and picked it up again, putting it back into the box. I vowed that it would stay there until I was ready to take off the spells. They were obviously stronger than the ones on the Dark Scythe.

Still unsettled, I picked up the box and headed home.

I went to the Crystal Goblet Tavern first to leave Bigb an invitation to the feast, along with a note that said, Sorry I haven't been around. I needed to imprison a demon. - Gem. I hadn't been the best host these past few days.

Then I adjusted my grip on the box containing the Red Crown and flew up to my study. I took out the Crown and set it on the table, not quite sure how to proceed.

I started with a simple detection spell to see what spells were on the Crown. I was surprised to see that there was only one, but it was beyond my power to remove completely.

I could make it so that it would grant less power and wouldn't turn people evil, but the lust for it would remain the same. The desire was one of the worst parts of it, though. But I didn't know how to destroy it forever.

I removed the part of the spell that was within my abilities, deciding to ask the Listener about it later that night. But I had a feast to prepare for.

I left the Crown in the box in my study and headed downstairs to my room to get ready.

About an hour early, Bigb and I showed up at Rivendell. Scott, Cleo, and Katherine were already there, decorating.

If you're wondering why I didn't bring FWhip, he wasn't exactly our first choice for decorating a party to celebrate peace.

We all used our skills in our own way. Scott and Cleo built pillars around the area, and I used my magic to bring out a large table, big enough to seat all twelve Emperors and ten Last Lifers.

This was a happy occasion, but I had other things on my mind. Now that Xornoth was gone and I could bring the Last Lifers home, I could focus my whole attention on finding Blue.

We put lit candles and amethyst crystals on the table while Katherine grew flowers around the edges, letting vines creep up the pillars. Bigb, apparently a baker, set a tray of cookies as the centerpiece. Then he retreated to the farthest corner of the area to hide from Cleo, who was silently glaring at him.

We hung light fabric from the pillars like streamers, and then Katherine got her flowers to grow into them a little bit.

The end result was gorgeous.

The first guests arrived in the forms of Joel and Lizzie. They looked almost as good as they had at their wedding, with Lizzie wearing a pale purple dress that complimented Joel's more vibrant shade and her blue skin.

Wait, since when had Lizzie been blue?

And did she have fins?

She had had fins ever since she had started the Ocean Empire, but now they were more visible. She also had a tail, and her fingers were webbed. She paused briefly to glance at Scott before the couple continued to a few chairs.

"Hi, Lizzie, Joel," I said. "Can I ask how you turned into an axolotl?"

"I bargained with fate," Lizzie said simply. She glanced at Scott again, who paled and looked at his boots.

Jimmy wasn't wearing anything different, but he had cleaned some of the swamp slime out of his hair, which was quite the feat. His entire circus of Last Lifer guests were close behind him, in their casual clothes as well, but at least they looked better than they had when they came through the portal. I didn't really judge them, though. Their clothes were one of few reminders of their home world. They all took seats as well. Jimmy looked excited as he sat next to Lizzy, but it might have just been the idea of food. Lizzy smiled at him awkwardly.

Pearl, Ren, and Scar were the next to arrive. Ren studied me suspiciously. He knew my secret. But he didn't tell anyone, which was very good.

Scar stared at me as well, but he seemed more curious than hostile. It was his first time getting a close-up view of another wizard, I thought. Or, first time getting a close-up view of a wizard that he knew was a wizard.

I would need to talk to Jimmy and Scar about the Listener before I took my fellow wizard home.

FWhip and Sausage came next, pushing each other around and generally being themselves. FWhip declared that he had an important announcement to make. Sausage sat at the foot of the table since the head was already taken by Scott. Then FWhip pushed him out of the chair and sat there himself. This started a shouting match between the kings of Mythland and the Grimlands that I sighed and went to break up.

"Why do you want foot of the table?" I said to Sausage, like I was talking to a little kid.

"'Cause I don't want FWhip to have it," Sausage shrugged.

I rolled my eyes. "Figure it out. We came here to celebrate peace, not start wars over who gets to sit where."

Mumbo, the closest person to us, snickered, but then his face fell as he apparently remembered something.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

Mumbo shook his head and didn't answer.

The next person to come was Shrub. Pix was close behind her. Both of them were dressed up in clothes that represented their empires as well.

The last to arrive was Joey. A hush fell over the Emperors as he entered the area.

I stood up from my spot next to Scott and walked over to Joey. "Hi," I said.

"Hi," he replied, glancing around. "Something tells me I'm not exactly welcome here."

"It was the Crown," I whispered. "Not you. I told them to treat everyone here with respect, but people don't like being told what to do."

Joey nodded and took a seat in between Scott and Pearl, two people who he knew understood why he had turned.

I sat back down on the other side of Scott, who stood up.

"We are all gathered here today," he said loudly, "To celebrate something many of us didn't think would ever happen: the demon Xornoth has been imprisoned. The Empires are safe from him. You may still have corruption, but it will no longer spread. It should be easy to clean up."

"If you have trouble, I have a spell that can help," I said.

Scott glanced at me in acknowledgement. "Many of us have announcements to make today. Many of those announcements will make some people angry or sad. But now, we feast."

I closed my eyes, whispering a quick transport spell, and the food appeared on the table.

I may have taken some inspiration from Hogwarts, yes

There was so much delicious food that I wanted to wolf it all down without really considering that my stomach would burst. Elves really were the best chefs, and Bigb's cookies weren't bad either.

Just when the guests thought it was over, I brought out the desserts.

Once the last bite of pudding was gone, Scott stood up again. "I'd like to thank the elves of Rivendell, and Bigb, for this meal," he said. "But we have important matters to discuss. Most of the people present, including myself, were absent for most of the fight against Xornoth. For the benefit of us Last Lifers, will somebody please stand and tell us what the heck happened while we were gone?"

There were a few laughs.

FWhip looked between Sausage, Joey, and me, and I got his meaning. He wanted the three of us to stand together and tell both sides of the story.

I took a breath and got up first.

"I'm going to start from the very beginning," I said. "Right after the Third Lifers, Joel, Jimmy, Scott, and... and Blue, came back from the dreamspace, about half of the X Lifers left out home world and came to the Empires. All was peaceful at first, but then there were a few wars and stuff, as is to be expected when you have two idiots living right next to each other."

I paused, and everyone laughed as Jimmy and Sausage said, "Hey!" in unison.

"But then... a demon came to the Empires, long banished, but he returned. With him, he brought corruption and disease."

"Wait, he was banished? There's a lot of banished people coming back, between this demon guy and Evil X," one of the Hermits called.

Ignoring whoever it was, I looked to Scott for permission. He nodded. "That demon happens to be Scott's brother, Xornoth." I sat down and looked at Sausage expectantly.

He looked back at me, then said quietly, "Oh!" and stood up. "Well, the next part is a little embarrassing for me and Joey, but I'm still going to explain it, 'cause all of you nice people deserve to know: Xornoth offered us each a deal. He promised me magic and Joey power if we would kill the Ender Dragon for him. So after FWhip conveniently stole Jimmy's cod mask, we convinced him to put the dungeon to store it right on top of the stronghold and set a trap to throw the Cod Alliance into the End."

He wrung his hands. "It was a long battle. But the short version is, we killed the Dragon, even though Scott, Pearl, Gem, Katherine, and FWhip came to try to stop us. We gave the power of the End to Xornoth."

"And then Last Life happened," Pearl said grimly. "Jimmy, Joel, Scott, and Blue were pulled back into the Watchers' dreamspace, along with Lizzie and me. But we'll tell the Emperors about that later."

"We arrived back in the Overworld, divided," Sausage said. "It was Joey and me versus the other five remaining Emperors out of thirteen: Gem, FWhip, Shubble, Katherine, and Pix. Xornoth gave me a scythe and a staff that gave me magical abilities but completely took away my free will. I don't remember anything that I did, but thankfully Gem took the magic off of the scythe. As far as I know, she still has the staff." He sat down.

Joey seemed very reluctant to stand up now that we had reached the subject of my imprisonment. But he mustered his courage and got up.

"While Sausage was pretty much a slave, I was helping Xornoth of my own free will," Joey said, his voice shaking. "I see what I did wrong now. But I did some really terrible things. Sausage and I captured Gem and locked her in Sausage's basement. We killed her over and over again because she knew where the missing Emperors were. Xornoth wanted to have Scott under his control so he could influence Gem, because she wasn't falling prey to anything." There was a little bit of admiration in his voice.

I noticed several people staring at me. I tried to keep my face blank and expressionless, but a wince came out every so often as I remembered my imprisonment.

I stood back up. "I escaped with the help of FWhip. We killed Sausage several times. Then we decided to destroy the source of his power, because at the time we didn't know he was possessed. We thought it was his summoning circle. So while I stayed at the Crystal Cliffs as bait, FWhip went to destroy the circle.

"Sausage came to the Crystal Cliffs to recapture me, as we expected. We had a duel, sorcerer versus wizard. Then Sausage took back control of his mind, just long enough to give me the Dark Scythe and his staff and jump off my tower. I tinkered with the magic on the scythe until it was harmless, and then FWhip and I went to Mythland to give it back to him."

"They found me very confused," Sausage said. "Bubbles helped me through it before they arrived. Then they told me about all... all the horrible things I had done. I can't say sorry enough."

Bdubs looked confused, then a realization crossed his face as he realized that this Bubbles was not him.

"We realized that Joey had the new dream communicator crystal," I said. "I made the first one to contact the missing X Lifers. When they captured me, I shattered it to keep them from using it. But then they copied the spell and made a new one. And Joey had it."

"Joey communicated with us in Last Life," Scott said.

"Then he stole my transport crystal. It would be a whole other story to explain why I made that-" Pearl and Pix nodded, and Ren narrowed his eyes "- But Joey stole it and used it to get you guys back here."

"It was only intended for the Emperors," Joey said. "I didn't expect it to bring everyone here."

"If you hadn't come with the portal, we would all probably be floating around in the remains of Last Life," Jimmy mumbled. "Like... like Blue and Grian and Martyn probably are." He said the name "Martyn" with disgust.

Everyone was quiet for a minute as we wondered what was happening to them right at that moment.

"You all came here," FWhip said. "I can't say I wasn't surprised at how many of you there were. But then, because everyone wanted to get you home, getting the transport crystal back became top priority. Gem got a tip from the Lis- a friend that told her to get Scott and go to an ancient elven library. Katherine, Scott, Gem, and I found a spell there that could imprison the demon. We just needed the right time to do it."

"That time came," Shubble said, standing up. She wasn't much taller standing than sitting. "Xornoth put me in a little cage hanging from a mountain. He said that it was a trap for Scott and Gem especially, so when they both turned up to rescue me, I panicked. But then Gem cast the spell."

Scott held up the crystal that contained Xornoth. It dangled on the end of the cord, drawing every eye at the table to it. "This crystal is his prison. He doesn't know that all his enemies are right outside. Until someone frees him, which as long as I live will never happen, he will remain trapped inside."

"Earlier today, FWhip and I got the transport crystal from Joey," I said. "We can take all the Last Lifers home whenever they want."

All the Last Lifers except three.

I knew the others were thinking the same thing.

"There's another thing that everyone should know," Pearl said. "This was not Joey's fault. He had no idea what was coming for him. But the Red Crown is in the Empires."

A gasp ran around the table.

"That's impossible," Scar said. "It was destroyed. I watched it get destroyed."

"Same," someone else said. The other Last Lifers murmured their agreement.

Something scared me, though. Ren had a hungry look in his eye.

"I am in the process of removing the spells from it," I said. "I have a contact who will probably be able to help me."

"Prove that it's the Red Crown," Ren said.

"No," I said calmly. "That would mean showing it to everyone. One, I didn't bring it. Two, you guys have told me what it does to people. I don't want to affect anyone who hasn't already been affected." I looked pointedly at Ren.

"At least describe it," Tango said.

"It's gold, with little red streaks like veins in it," Joey answered. "There's a gem in it now, but the crack down one side gave it away to Scott and Pearl."

"I told Martyn to kill me," Ren said with distaste. "Why did I tell Martyn to kill me?"

"Because Grian had just killed you and you were going insane," Scar said uncomfortingly.

"Under your orders!" Ren yelled at him.

"Actually, it was his idea," Scar replied cheerfully.

"It also killed Jimmy, Blue and me," Skiz said. "You turned yellow. We turned red. And then we killed Scar. You two are even."

"That was Third Life," Cleo said. "Last Life was much more important."

Most of the Last Lifers eagerly agreed.

"Can you tell us about that?" FWhip said. "We're really confused about that."

"Well, I think I'd better start from the beginning now," Pearl said. "I've kept it a secret for so long, but I told Blue, Scott, and Cleo in Last Life. And Jimmy, Martyn, Grian, and Bigb already know. They were there."

She took a deep breath. "It started in a world called Evolution. There were ten Evolutioners, all ruled by two immortal beings called the Watchers. They had the power to evolve our world, and the rest of the Minecraft universe. They resided in a Reality called the Downside-Up, where a normal person could only go if they missed an evolution. One of us, Taurtis, was the only person to ever enter the Downside-Up.

"We all lived in Evolution, taking the evolution portals when necessary, and built and battled and pranked and generally had a good time. That lasted about a year before things went south."

"The Watchers had us each defeat an Ender Dragon," Jimmy said. "We still don't know why. But we did, and then as we all jumped into the End portal, the Downside-Up and the Physical Reality temporarily collided. We overheard a conversation where they discussed all that had happened.

"Then they did something that made us really sad, but they said it was necessary. They made-"

"Jimmy, no," Pearl warned.

Jimmy frowned. "But they should know."

"It's not our secret to tell," Pearl said, calmly but sternly.

"She's right," Bigb agreed. "He can tell them if he wants to."

"He's not here!" Jimmy argued.

"How would you like your deepest secret told to a bunch of strangers while you weren't even there?" Pearl said

"I don't have any deep secrets anymore," Jimmy said.

"Just don't," Pearl pleaded. "Please."

Jimmy sighed. "Fine," he said. "The Watchers made one of us into a Watcher and let them into the Downside-Up under a new name, Watcher Three. Once that person was out of the way, they revealed their true colors as evil immortal demon people who fed off our pain. They killed us over and over again, then let us come back to life and start over.

"Martyn and I found a secret room where we learned of the existence of somebody called the Listener... Gem, why do you look like you know something?"

I realized I had shifted very visibly in my chair at the mention of the Listener. "Nothing," I lied. "Go on."

Several people, including Scar (who I still wanted to talk to later) and Ren (who I did not want to talk to later) were staring at me. But I looked down and refused to meet their eyes for fear of giving something away.

"Well, anyway, we found out about the Listener, who was the Watchers' sworn enemy. She helped us escape. Watcher Three helped too by sabotaging the other Watchers from the inside. We thought he was still in the Downside-Up after all of it at first, but then we found out he had been banished into the Dream Void. Somehow he got into the Physical Reality. But the Listener helped about half of us escape. She tried to go back for the others, but by then Evo had been sealed off and the remaining people were trapped inside."

"Then how was Martyn on Last Life?" Shubble asked.

"We'll explain that when we get to it," Pearl said.

Jimmy continued, "Years later, the Watchers decided that they hadn't gotten enough in Evo. They made a dreamspace called Third Life and put fifteen people into it as punishment for some previous action. Or, that's our theory. All of the Evolution escapees were there except Pearl. Maybe they hadn't located her yet. But there are a few people that I'm stumped about."

Like Blue. What had she done to deserve Third Life?

He and the other Third Lifers went on to explain the events of Third Life, letting individuals significant to each happening explain it. They talked about the Creeper Prank (Scar winced a lot as he talked about it) that started it all, the theft of Pizza (Cleo still seemed proud of herself), the Sieges of the Crastle (Bdubs and Etho spoke together as if they hadn't actually been on opposite sides), the Battle of Dogwarts (Ren put a hand on his head as it wondering why the Crown wasn't still there), and then the two major betrayals at the end (Tango and Cleo actually looked guilty). They talked about the Red Winter War's beginning, with Scar asking for the enchanting table, and its end, with Grian, Blue, and Martyn helping Ren overcome the Red Crown and ending his reign. But I knew they left out a few parts that they just didn't know about, like Blue and Grian's secret alliance. But it was nice to hear more sides of the story.

Ren explained the hierarchy of the Red Crown, how whoever permanently killed the Red King or Queen received it. Ren had won it by competition, then it had gone to Martyn, then Cleo, then Grian, and then the Watchers carried the Crown to Last Life. Without the physical Crown, the right to it was passed back to Ren, and then Martyn in an ultimate betrayal, and then... Jimmy.

"What?" Jimmy said.

"You killed Martyn," Ren said. "You're the Red King now."

"So how did Joey have it?" Jimmy said.

Joey cleared his throat. "I bet it's because I took everyone out of Last Life."

A few people, including Ren the expert, nodded in agreement.

"But nobody's killed you since then," I said, disturbed. "So technically it's still yours."

Joey blanched. "I don't want anything to do with that thing. I refuse it. Gem can have it."

"When I'm done with it, hopefully it won't have to be mine," I said, a little alarmed. "Tell us about Last Life."

They told us about it. Mumbo and Jimmy both told us about voices that randomly came out of the sky, and then Pearl and Scott clarified that the voices were both Blue, in a ghost form. They explained the alliances that had formed to start, and then the Boogey kills that shattered them, especially the Castle Alliance. Bigb and Cleo both looked particularly uncomfortable as they talked about that part. And they talked about the mystery of the Givelife Spell, about how all their memories of it had suddenly disappeared and were, to this day, still gone.

Jimmy told us about the later days of Last Life, when the Listener had suddenly contacted him again and Blue for the first time. Scar confessed that he was a real wizard and had gotten his powers from the Listener, which of course I already knew, but was a shocker to a few people. Bdubs yelled, "I TOLD YOU, ETHO!" Then I said that the Listener had also given me my powers, which Jimmy said made sense now that he thought of it.

Scott, Jimmy, Pearl, and Scar spoke of their adventures with Blue across the world after Etho had died, guarding the Nether star and waiting for the next message from the Listener.

When Ren and Tango bitterly told the story of Martyn's betrayal, all of us were shocked. They had been allies since the beginning of Third Life. Jimmy, Pearl, Scott, and Scar talked about the conversation they had overheard between Martyn and Blue, about how Martyn had been planning to steal the Crown all along under the Watcher's orders. Ren, who had been too busy processing what had just happened to notice what was going on, was enraged.

Then they got to the actual fight.

"Blue threw the Red Crown into a cactus patch," Pearl said. "If that didn't destroy it, I don't know what will. But at the time, we thought it was gone. And then someone, I don't remember who, said 'what now?' and then a voice came out of nowhere that said 'now you all die.'" She shuddered.

"It was the scariest thing I had ever seen when they all appeared," Scott said. "Mainly because I barely knew who the Watchers and Listeners were."

"It was plenty scary to the rest of us, too, don't worry," Bigb mumbled, staring at his empty plate.

"Well, they were facing off, and then suddenly the Listener, who's a girl by the way, made all the ghosts appear. Ren was trying to kill Martyn even though they were both already dead. And Grian was haunting Scar and me even though he pretended not to and we were in a very serious situation," Jimmy said

A few people smiled painfully.

"And then Joey showed up and asked if it was a bad time," Scott laughed bitterly.

"I quoted myself on the ghast farm, right before Grian turned red," Mumbo said, obviously proud of himself.

"Then the Listener and the Watchers started using magic," Pearl said. "We all ran - and floated - for the portal. There were several times when people got pushed back and couldn't enter. But we ended up very confused in Joey's fire temple, with Gem there saying Joey had tried to capture us, and, well, it was pretty chaotic."

"I got you organized in the end," I said.

"There is no way to get Tango organized," Impulse said solemnly.

"Hey, I built a sorting system!"

"In between the legs of a cyclops," Bdubs pointed out.

"YOU DARE INSULT FIFI-"

"Sure," Bdubs grinned.

There was a brief silence as we took in all that had been said.

"So basically..." FWhip said. "Xornoth gone, Watchers bad, Listener good, Martyn very bad."

"FWhip bad," Sausage said. "He pushed me out of my chair."

I sighed. "Why do I even try to be allied with you two?"

"Okay," Scott said quickly. "Before we go, I'm sure there are a few other announcements that people would like to make. But I'm guessing they're mainly for the Emperors."

I stood up first. "This one's mainly for the Last Lifers," I said. "But like I already said, I have the transport crystal back and can bring everyone home whenever they're ready."

Many of them looked anxious to go at that moment.

Jimmy stood up next, with Lizzie right after him. "My legs are getting tired," he said. "But this is kind of important to the Emperors."

"The short version is, I turned into an axolotl and then realized that it was actually my true form, and not only that, but Jimmy is my little brother," Lizzie said.

"I have no memory of it, Lizzie does now, but we were just living in the sea until the salmon invaded," Jimmy said. "Then Lizzue left to find their source to destroy it, became a human, and then I followed her. But I surfaced at Evo and she ended up at whatever world you guys were in before X Life."

"We're seablings," Lizzy added. Then they both sat down.

Scott stood next. "We have a really important priority now that Xornoth is gone. Three people remained in Last Life through no choice of their own. A friend of the Watchers, a friend of the Listeners, and then Grian for some reason are missing. If they're all together, it won't end well. We need to put our full efforts and power into searching for them, or at least Blue and Grian. I personally am not going to stop until I know for sure that they're deleted. But-"

"They're not deleted," I said.

"They could be," Scott said, his expression sympathetic. "I hope not. And I'm not going to give up."

"No," I said. "I'm not just denying it. The Listener told me that Grian and Blue are trapped in the Downside-Up and their only hope for escape is if Grian embraces his past."

"That'll happen," Bigb said, huffing with disbelief.

"I'm still going to try and get them out," Scott said.

People nodded in agreement. That was fine by me. If the Listener was wrong, it would be worth it to have a few search parties, or at least detectives out looking.

Ren stood up next. "Everyone's been avoiding this," he growled. "Nobody's mentioned it, but I can't be the only one who noticed."

He pointed at me. "Gem and Pearl live here. I've seen both their bases... so why do they also have homes in Hermitcraft?"

A hush fell over everyone as they turned to stare at me and Pearl.

"Busted," Pearl muttered.

My biggest secret had just been revealed.

"Yeah, we do have homes in Hermitcraft," I said, grinning to hide my panic. "But maybe nobody was avoiding the question, Ren. Maybe they actually know how to keep a secret."

Ren flushed.

I raised an eyebrow. "It's called magic," I said. "It's also called transport crystal that I'm going to use later to take you home, and then blow up my castle so you don't have to deal with me as a neighbor anymore."

"What? That's not what I-"

"It's also called I will no longer be taking part in the Boatem Gigabase because my temple will disappear into a large crater overnight," Pearl said, playing along. Scar, Impulse, and Mumbo all started talking to her in panicked voices at once.

We grinned at each other. Of course we didn't mean it. We were just giving people a hard time because they shared our secret.

"If Xisuma or False or Stress wonder where I went, tell them I went home because you couldn't keep your mouth shut," I said to Ren.

That caused all the Boatem members to turn and glare at him.

They actually believed us. It took all my willpower not to burst out laughing.

Ren looked angry at himself. "But why did you come to Hermitcraft?"

"And why didn't you tell us?" FWhip blurted angrily.

I shrugged. "When Blue told FWhip and me about Third Life, I was curious, especially about the whole 'Ren was previously possessed' thing. So I went to Hermitcraft to investigate. Pearl tagged along because Grian lived there and he was an Evolutioner. That's all there is to say."

I didn't say anything about Pix. Nobody knew about him and his newspaper called The Recap, so there was no need to expose him.

"But why didn't you tell us?" FWhip whined. "Did you even tell Blue?"

I shook my head. "Nobody knew except me and Pearl."

"But why?"

"Because Lizzie, you, and I were the only non-Third Lifers who knew it existed," I said. "Pearl kind of barged in as I was making the crystal. And I didn't want people who had nothing to do with Hermitcraft to go there all of a sudden. Look at all the Last Lifers here. No offense to them, but we're a little overwhelmed. I didn't tell you because I know you would've told Blue, and I didn't tell her because she would probably go just to get revenge for past wrongs, like Cleo's betrayal. And I know she would've had a hard time coping with members of the Red Army there."

"You're probably right," FWhip said, slumping back into his chair. Then he stood up again. "Now that that's resolved, I have an announcement."

The stares turned from me to FWhip.

FWhip said, "The Red Crown is too dangerous to have around. But it could be a good thing if it's used the right way. It could be used to bring peace to this world."

A few people tensed.

"Hear me out," FWhip said. "If we had something like the Crown that didn't turn people evil or give them extra superpowers or anything, but it did make them a Grand Emperor, then nobody would have to make deals with demons for power again. They would just wait for their turn with the Crown. This could prevent something like Joey's case from happening again."

Joey seemed to be trying to make himself look smaller.

The idea was revolting to me, and I saw that a few of my fellow Emperors seemed equally disgusted by the idea.

But a few were nodding. Jimmy. Sausage. Even Scott.

What were they thinking? How did they like this idea?

"I know that it's kind of not our business," Cleo said hesitantly. "But don't we not want another Red Crown floating around a world?"

THANK YOU, CLEO.

"I think it's a good idea," Joel said. "We definitely need more order here." He glanced at Sausage.

"We don't need anything like this, FWhip," I said, shaking my head. "We're fine how we are. How would we figure out the rotation? What's to keep people from just killing each other for the crown?"

FWhip ignored me. "The goldsmiths of the Grimlands spent the hours before this feast creating the crown, and therefore the order, that we need here."

From a box at his feet, he took a golden crown with thirteen spires and a gem embedded under each spire. Each gem was a different color: pale pink, lime green, blood red, ocean blue, smokey grey. It was beautiful, but it was also terrifying because whoever held this crown held the fate of the Empires.

"I think we all know who should-" FWhip started, but he never got to finish.

Sausage yelled, "Yes we do! Me!" and slashed his sword through his ally.

Everyone gasped. A few people screamed. Jimmy yelled, "YEAH! KILL THE SALMON!"

And then chaos broke out.

The Emperors broke into civil war, with the Last Lifers helping whoever they wanted to rule. As a result, the Emperors who hadn't been in Last Life were the first ones out.

"Guys, stop it!" I yelled.

Nobody did. Some people, Katherine, Cleo, Etho, and a few others, were doing the same thing as I was: trying to get everyone else to stop fighting to no avail. Katherine pulled Shrub out of the fray, but she pulled away and jumped back in to die a few seconds later. Cleo managed to get some Last Lifers out of it, only to watch them run back in. Etho yelled at Bdubs, who didn't seem to hear him over his own battle cries.

I pulled out my staff and started putting force fields in between the separate fighters. They needed to stop.

"Stop abusing your power!" Someone, probably a Last Lifer, yelled at me.

"I don't want the Crown! I want everyone to stop!" I yelled back.

Then I felt the sharp pain of a sword in my back, and the scene faded into peaceful darkness.

~~~

Wow I do this a lot faster when I'm not making chapter headers

I don't think I'm going to do them anymore, just because I don't have the motivation to draw or even make Gacha things right now. I might start doing them again later. I might not. Nobody knows...

-Indigo