Without meaning to, both fell asleep on the cloud. Ciara had her head resting on Ridge's chest, and he had his arm underneath her, hand against her hip. It would've been a sweet sight if anyone caught them, but since no one could fly so high with just a jetpack or a ring, they were all alone, left to sleep peacefully. Little did he know, despite wanting to protect her to the best of his abilities, Herobrine was well aware that she had gone against his specific orders, and so she had to be punished. Killing her would be too simple and wasteful, and torturing her might mean she could never fight properly again, and he couldn't have that. Instead he chose the perfect option, continuing to kill more Tekkitopians.

[Eh, mild gore, I guess. Whaddyou expect? She's an assassin]

Ciarobrine left the Gaijin pagoda with a dark smirk, the bodies of Area 11 littered on the floor in her wake, splattered with their own blood. She no longer bothered to put up her hood, wanting her victims to have fear as the last emotion they feel. Leo watched her leave, his chin pressed on the ground as his eyes faded, one arm outstretched in a never-ending attempt to reach Sparkles*, who was slumped against the wall, head down with blood leaking from his neck. Kogie was crumpled on the stairs, arm twisted at an odd angle, a shimmering arrow lodged firmly between his shoulder blades. Parv, who was previously trying to go all 'FLCL' on her by using his guitar as a weapon, had a dagger stabbed through his hand, pinning him to the ground, before she herself used the instrument and slammed it onto his head, leaving a dent in his skull. The poor guitar was shattered to woeful pieces from the unbelievable force of the deadly hit, and sad shards were scattered around his body. Sjin had already been dealt with, and was an easy target since he was out building a storage shack. The previously pale wood was now stained red, his limp body hanging over the edge of the never-to-be-finished wall. Herobrine paused to think for a moment, wondering who would be an even better target to crush her self-awareness so she could be his once more.

She didn't even need to open the door; it opened for her so she could glide inside to her two targets. They were both sound asleep, the older one with his mouth slightly ajar as he snored, the younger curled up on his side, breathing softly. Notch only knows how he could sleep through the noise. Even now, Herobrine could feel Ciara's cheerful pull almost wrenching him from her spirit, but he just gripped the hilt tighter and advanced towards the blond. She gave a sickly triumphant grin before drawing the blade across his neck. Green magic flooded to the wound as he grimaced, but it was too deadly a hit to even attempt healing.

"To... by..." He croaked as he felt his life slipping through his fingers in the form of blood.

Despite how quiet it was, Toby woke instantly, eyes adjusting the darkness with agonising slowness. Yet as soon as he saw Martyn, his eyes widened and he shot out of his bed, so far unable to see Ciarobrine's spirit. He thought the older had just had a nightmare to start with, but then he saw what he didn't want to. Blood. Blood staining the bed underneath him, blood smudged on his chin, and blood covering his hands.

"W-who did this, Martyn?" He asked, unaware that the culprit was right behind him, raising the katar in the air.

In response, the blond simply raised a shaking finger and pointed to Ciara's empty bed. His arm dropped back to his side and his eyes slid shut while the brunette just stared in painful horror, not believing himself as he realised his best friend was dead. He gently tugged Martyn's headband off, tying it around his own head as a form of comfort. Fury welled in his eyes as he wrenched his gaze away from the body, and he slowly turned around, having sensed her presence after she had revealed herself with a twisted smirk.

"Herobrine, you are a-" He stopped himself from swearing, restraining himself from jumping her way and clawing at her, knowing she was far superior and the chances were that he would be dead on the floor before he could blink.

"I'm glad you're learning manners for once, Toby. That's a nice change from when we last met in Tomanitem, you seem to have finally grown up." She sneered back, almost feeling sorry for him.

"Ciara..." He tried, but his voice broke and he stopped, previous anger forgotten as he realised how pathetic he was.

"It's good to see that you respect your superiors. Now you just have to accept your fate and bow down before me." She spat condescendingly, giving him a vacant white glare.

"N-no. I'm never accepting anything to do with you, you are a useless, disgusting person. Why do you torture Ciara by killing off her friends?" He felt he had to stay strong, but his tone was flat and weak.

"She was unfaithful to me. It's interesting to know that you are aware of who I am, how did you discover that?" She purred, voice seeming light and innocent but with an underlayer of poison.

"That does not concern you." Unbidden images of his dead friends burned fresh in his mind, making his shoulders slump and his legs feel weak underneath him.

"Feeling useless now, I see. Everyone you love and everyone you know will die around you. I'm tempted to let you live so you can witness that, but I can't have you running around and blurting out my secret, can I now?" She ran her finger along the blade, clearing a path through the blood, all the while wearing a taunting expression.

"Fine. I don't care anymore. Just kill me and get it over with. There's nothing to live for." He murmured quietly, his body feeling numb from a new wave of grief, a tiny part of him that still saw sense said that he was going to miss his sister.

A playfully dark half-grin danced across her lips as she examined him with unneeded triumph, though inside she felt a little unsettled as to how easy this was going to be. "No fight? That's unusual. Don't you have anyone to live for?"

"I... No." His voice sounded hollow and broken, even to himself.

She eyed him narrowly, analysing his little slip-up. "If that's so, that why did you need to think about it? Why not survive and put up a fight for the people remaining- like Xephos, for instance." In all honesty, it was rather boring now.

"He'll die anyway. Everyone will. So just get it over and done with." He didn't feel much remorse about the thought of his incoming death, as he knew he could be with Martyn again, even if he was leaving people he loved behind, they would surely arrive soon after.

"It if that's what you desire, then so be it." She tried to keep her calm, calculating demeanour, but strangely she felt resistance when she readied her katar.

Toby waited for the pain to come. He waited for the darkness to take him away. He waited to be reunited with his best friend. Nothing came, making him look up at her, staring as she juddered to a halt, mid-action. Her face was unsure, possibly even a little timid and confused, which made him frown.

"Hurry up and kill me already, or have I not suffered enough in your eyes?!" He shouted, balling his hands into fists as he glared at her.

"I'm not goi... N-no leave him..." She gritted her teeth, seeming to have trouble speaking properly, yet he instantly noticed her voice was less cold, sounding more like Ciara than before.

"CC? Y-you can hear me?" He stuttered without thinking, watching with dull curiosity as the glow in her eyes faltered.

"I told you not... You need to... Please go... Call Ridge!" She managed to get out, Herobrine's conscience already on the rise and fighting back with twice the strength as her.

"B-but Martyn..." He mumbled, before stopping upon a warning look from her gradually brightening eyes.

"Don't be a repeat of Lalna and Nano, please. Make your little sister proud." Ciara gave a genuine smile, pushing back the God as she passed him the katar before gently nudging his stiff frame to face the stairs. "Go, Toby."

He began to mindlessly bound up the first set of stairs, before pausing and glancing back at her. A look of grief flooded her eyes as she saw Martyn's body. She had killed him, it was her fault. Then she shook her head, expression hardening before motioning for her brother to go after sensing his gaze. He had a debate in his mind, before shaking his head and tearing his eyes away from her, rocketing up the final steps and flinging open the door with her weapon in hand. There was a fine drizzle that caught in the spiderwebs spun between plant stems, beginning to sparkle in the pre-dawn light. A light breeze played with his dew-dusted hair, seeming deceptively innocent despite the horrors that had occurred around the whole of Tekkitopia. The map in his hand showed that Ridge was currently... Not here? He stared at the paper in confusion, for it was telling him that the demigod was right here, yet he wasn't. Then he looked up, squinting and missing the ominous crunch of leaves getting closer, realising there was a cloud far above him in the paling velvety sky.

"Ridge!" He yelled, voice wavering as he felt more uneasy, never knowing what could be hiding from him in the shadows.

There was no reply. Toby spun around as he finally heard the approaching footsteps, but the noise instantly stopped upon his piercing gaze, making him think he imagined it.

"Ridgedog!" He shouted again, straining his hearing and just about picking up on a muffled, sleepy grumble.

When nothing else happened, he was about to call up once more, but a hand clamped over his mouth and a blade tip was stuck at his back. Too early had he thought he was safe, and this was the price. He barely dared to breathe for fear of being stabbed, adrenaline rushing through his veins as his heart pumped furiously. Ciarobrine was back and more murderous than before.

"Hoping to escape, were you? Well, your little adventure didn't last long. It was fun playing, but I'm afraid this little game has to end." She whispered eerily, withdrawing the blade as he began to writhe around and attempt to cry out.

"Mmfmmgnff- Let mmf go!" He said, voice barely making it out of his mouth in audible words.

"Too late now. It's already over." She snuck her hand to his belt, retrieving her precious katar before intending to plunge it through his back and out his chest.

But that never happened, instead a previously unnoticed person managed to arrive in time and push it out the way so it only grazed along his cheek. He glanced to his saviour, relief flooding him when he was greeted with a grimly-smiling Ridge. The demigod managed to grab the youth and put him by his side, and all the while Ciarobrine was glaring with blazing eyes at them both.

"Herobrine, it is not your place to be here. I'd advise you to leave or face the consequences of murder and possession." Ridge stated, sounding and appearing shockingly calm, but on the inside he was beginning to feel sick with worry, knowing his powers were nothing in comparison to Herobrine's.

She held his golden gaze evenly, seeming unfazed by the deadly glare she was being given. "You are of no rank to order me around, or have you forgotten?"

"I am well aware of that matter. Yet, I ask you to leave once more as this is my town, and you have committed sick crimes within the boundaries, therefore it is within my rights to do as I see fit." He countered dangerously, venom laced laced in his tone.

Finally, after they stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, she snorted condescendingly and turned around. "Have it your way then, I'll leave your precious Tekkitopia. But be warned, this is far from over." With that, she melted into the darkness and disappeared.

Toby wasn't sure what to now now. He wanted to go back to Martyn, or wake up and find that this whole situation was a dream, but he knew that would never happen. His gaze was stuck on the ground a few blocks away, frozen in horror as the events crashed over his head like a tsunami as shivers racked his body. He knew he had a sister, but she was a murderer, and now he wasn't sure if he wanted to even know her anymore. He knew Martyn was dead and wasn't going to come back, yet he couldn't quite believe himself when he thought about how he would never again squeal over animals, never again chase after Toby for stealing his lapis, never again tease him like a brother would.

Ridge watched the youth uncertainly, wondering whether he should comfort him or if he would just be pushed away. It was clear Toby was lost in memories, and might not want to be disturbed. The demigod cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a small squeeze, before sighing and fully hugging him, which he returned as tears escaped his closed eyes.

"I'm scared, Ridge. I don't know what to do without Martyn, I don't know if I even want to live without Martyn..." He confessed as his shoulders shook, biting his lip in an attempt to stop crying.

"I think everyone's scared, Toby, so you're not alone there. But no matter how down you are, don't you even think about leaving us here with Herobrine. You're a strong kid, you're far too mature and you've seen way too much for your age. If you stay strong, then there'll be more people who want to act braver, and together we can come up with a plan to keep the rest of us safe from Herobrine. Though, I'm not certain how he got here in the first place." Ridge awkwardly patted the younger's head, still unsure about what to do.

"What do you mean?" Toby asked, temporarily distracted from the situation.

The demigod pulled away from the hug and flicked up his hair with a hand, putting on a thinking expression. "Well, when Herobrine was more powerful years ago and people started to settle in Tekkitopia, I placed a charm over the town so that he couldn't get in and create havoc like he was doing everywhere else at the time. But, now, he's managed to get in, and I believe he did it through Ciara as she doesn't have teleport protection like all of us here, so he probably came in that way."

"Oh..." Was all he managed in reply before he collapsed.