Crossroads was unexpectedly hot.

At this point, I was numb to the shock value of "magic" powers, anti-government organizations, and, in this case, portals to other dimensions. So finding out that Vaq's transportation project literally went through HELL wasn't as shocking as you'd think. Needless to say, I was sweating buckets.

He didn't actually call it "Hell" when he explained it to me, but based on my surroundings I could have guessed as much. He'd followed me through the portal to explain Crossroads. The dimension was formally called the "Nether". Apparently, traveling a distance in the Nether with the intent of traveling a distance in the Overworld (the normal world where people lived), was faster than simply traveling through the Overworld. My travel time to Genesis would be cut by a lot (I wasn't sure of the exact number - Vaq gave me an equation but I forgot it almost instantly after he explained the variables).

So now I was speeding through Hell, squeezed into a tiny metal cart.

However, despite the fact that at points I was on precarious bridges over oceans of fucking magma, there was a bad feeling creeping its way into the back of my mind. But this feeling was there for other reasons. Something was wrong. Something was wrong in Genesis, regarding Choco. But I wasn't sure how I knew. I just did.

The fever...Crow...did the government capture them?

That didn't explain the feeling I had. The...the sense that something was wrong.

The sense.

The sixth sense.

Shit.

Upon coming to this realization, I stopped slouching over and clapped my hands to my face. "What the HELL!" I exclaimed. Some kind of creature native to the Nether growled in response. "Sorry."

How could I have the sixth sense...the "birdy" sense as Vaq called it. My soul wasn't bound to that necklace, it was bound to the redstone one. Choco...

...fuck I didn't know.

It felt like hours before the minecart pulled into the makeshift station. In front of me was another portal, exactly the same size and shape as the one in Vaq's basement, making equally sinister noises. I stepped out of the minecart and into the portal. My vision was filled with psychedelic purple swirls as I was teleported back to the Overworld.

I was in a room similar to the one at Vaq's place, small, with a large dark staircase. With nowhere else to go, I bounded up the staircase, skipping two steps at a time, before I reached a trap door. I pushed it open - some dirt fell on my head, and when I poked my head out, I was in the stable. In one of the horses' stalls.

"Eww," I mumbled, standing up. Well, I needed a horse anyway. All of my instincts were screaming at me to go to the PvP arena.

I mounted the horse, bareback, and rode it out of the stable somewhat heroically.

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" Someone shouted at me as I rode through the streets. "WHAT THE HELL," another person yelled. The wind blew in my face and I struggled to keep my eyes open, but I did anyway.

The horse jumped over a few benches and even a car as we made our way to the arena. The familiar architectural wonder came larger into view, pillars, designs, and all. I could hear muffled announcements coming from inside, but I couldn't make out what the announcer was saying.

I ignored the guards and ran through the gate with the horse, and then lept off its back. Horses can't easily get up stairs and they just plain cannot get down them. I ran up the stairs, breathing hard and heart pounding in my ears. A wave of cheers went through the arena.

I broke out into the light. My eyes adjusted for a second, but I heard someone next to me cheer "GO JEROME! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" So, Jerome was fighting, but who was he fighting against?

I leaned over the railing and looked into the arena. There he was. Hoodie and all. Wielding a simple, splintering wooden sword.

"CHOCO!" I yelled. He couldn't hear me, though. There were too many people rooting for Jerome. I looked around, to see if maybe I could be less reckless this time around.

Nope, fuck it.

I vaulted over the railing and into the arena, for the second time. Choco's head whipped around, and our eyes met.

A brief look of surprise and relief flashed over Choco's face, but it was quickly replaced with motherly rage. "Could you have found a more dangerous way to get to me, please?" He said sarcastically. Jerome had paused, and was observing our interaction with confusion. People in the stands started shouting. I could barely hear myself think.

I walked towards Choco with clear intent and tugged on his hoodie sleeve. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Do what?" Choco asked innocently.

"How do you think I knew to come here?!" I exclaimed. "It had to have been you. Somehow."

"Petey I have no idea what you're..."

"Who the heck are you?!" Jerome butt in, pointing the tip of his diamond sword at my neck. I held up my hands in defense.

"Whoa buddy I don't wanna cause any trouble..."

Suddenly, the announcer's voice boomed over the speakers. "Ladies, gentlemen, and others, it appears we have a special guest."

The arena went eerily quiet. A few whispers here and there, but nothing more.

"From the arena cameras, it appears that our special guest is Pete, one of the only people ever to beat Mitchell Hughes in battle!"

I felt sweat drip down my forehead as people started booing me. Jerome growled and I felt the tip of the sword touch my neck. "Hey...hey...no need to..."

"It's you!" Jerome exclaimed. I glanced at Choco. "Mitch has told me all about you."

"Catch!" Choco said. The splintered wooden sword flew through the air and I caught it by the handle. Choco ran to a corner of the arena, knowing better than to get involved in this, and I backed up, holding my sword in a fighting position.

"You wanna go?" I lowered my eyebrows menacingly. "Let's go."

Jerome immediately lunged forward, swinging the sword in my direction. I blocked the hit, though I felt my weapon cracking under the pressure. Now it was my turn to swing. I hit him hard in the shoulder, though it wasn't enough to do any more than bruise.

I knew what I had to do. I had to get his necklace. Somehow.

"So, you're friends with him, huh?" I said, striking up some unfriendly banter as we both continued to swing and miss. "What's he been saying about me?"

"He said you're really bad at PvP," Jerome replied, narrowing his eyes.

"Then how come I beat him?" I snickered. Jerome yelled and slashed at my arm. He successfully ripped through my plaid shirt, but didn't manage to do much else.

After exerting so much of his energy so quickly, Jerome stopped to catch his breath. I did as well. Choco ran up to me.

"Are you okay?!" He practically yelled at me, searching my arm for any signs of blood. I smiled.

"I'm fine, mom," I said. "I have a question, though. Is there anything in this arena other than sand that I can use to my advantage? This sword ain't cutting it."

"There are some redstone traps underneath. They're rarely used so they might be a little rusty but you could try and activate them."

"Whoa, really? Thanks," I said, wiping some sweat from my brow. Choco nodded and ran away again.

I eyed Jerome. He looked ready to fight again.

I concentrated hard, sending energy through my foot and into the ground. A piston activated, sending me into the air. I was surprised and unable to regain my balance quickly enough, so I landed on my face. Jerome laughed at me.

"Having fun yet?" Jerome asked. I felt his foot dig into my back and I made a choking noise.

Battle ain't over until one of us is either dead or surrendered, I thought, as a wave of cheers sounded through the arena. I hadn't lost yet. Jerome could very easily kill me if he wanted to, but he wasn't doing anything.

I pressed my hands into the ground and sent a redstone current through them. Several pistons shot up, causing Jerome to get off my back. I rolled to my feet.

I sent another current through the ground, and leaped off the piston gracefully, tackling Jerome to the ground. He yelled in frustration. I reached down his armor and grabbed his necklace.

"Ah-ha," I said, smirking.

"NO," Jerome yelled. I yanked the necklace off his neck and tossed it across the arena. He gasped, and weakened, dropping his sword.

"You have no choice but to surrender," I said.

"Fine," Jerome said quietly. "I surrender."

I got off of him, and dropped my sword. I didn't intend for it to land on his knee, but it did anyway. He groaned.

Choco ran towards me. The announcer was speaking, but I was tuning it out.

"Back to our previous conversation," I said casually, "Did you..."

I was cut off when he scooped me up into an uncomfortably tight hug. "Oh my god. I can't believe you just did that. Oh my god."

"Hey, it's no big deal, really," I said, squinting. "But in all seriousness..." I pulled away from the hug, "was your sixth sense acting up before the fight?"

"What? No," Choco said, confused. "I mean...I was sitting back there on a bench, and I was kind of obsessively hoping someone would come to save me. But I wasn't thinking about you specifically."

"That's super weird," I said. "Because I was in a minecart, don't ask I'll explain later, and I started having this weird, bad feeling. And I didn't know what it meant but I knew that it involved you and the PvP arena so I rushed over here."

"Someone who works for the government is probably gonna be here really soon," Choco pointed behind him with his thumb, "and I was planning to talk to you about jail-escape plans so we should get going."

I nodded, and followed him out of the arena, ignoring the people that started tugging at my arms and clothes and the people yelling in the arena.

I vaguely heard Jerome shout something angrily at me as I left. It sounded like he'd said something about karma, but I wasn't sure.

~~~

this chapter sucks im sorry lol

also i changed my username! used to be CosmiicOwl, now im ayg3ndeer

Ciao!