"Let's go demon hunting."

Ivor gives us a strange look, but in an instant it's gone as we all race towards the smoking city. Faint whispers of screams and shrieks as we run towards the what's known as the great haven of redstone.

My heart goes absolutely berserk when I run past the deadly acid. It might have been hard to see on the horses, but it's everywhere. Driving my heart into even more of a panic when I think what must have happened to the Redstonians before the activated that bright bleeding beacon.

The flames flicker up to the top of my skin, even with some of it flowing to Lukas, I feel like I have a surplus of it. I have more flames than ever now and this will be one of the hardest times to control them. Yet I have to, I can't lose control and hurt someone innocent.

The island looms larger, buildings with machines flowing out of them on fire, screams resonating through the air. Piercing cries that make my muscles go numb in shock and adrenaline and fear all at the same time. Sometimes it's hard to wrap my head around what I end up running towards.

Despite being so close, there's much more acid on the bridge now, making it impossible to dead sprint across. The rest of us catching up to Olivia, a meager plan springing to my head as blood and fire rage inside me.

"Everyone! Protect the citizens and get them into the dome. Olivia, once everyone's accounted for give the word and I'll seal you all up tight."

We're almost to the island, so close when Olivia shouts back. "Leave that to me, the building can only be sealed from the inside."

"Uh Jesse? What about-"

Whatever Ivor was saying falls on deaf ears the spilt second we enter Redstonia, my heart slamming into my stomach. Demons screeching as they chase innocent mechanics. Blood splattered all over the ground with the constant buzz of sizzling circuits underneath the cries of death and roars of bloodlust.

My fire blazes, and I dead sprint to a demon about to bite a citizen. Twirling as I leap onto its back, dodging its tail, my flames driving so much strength through my sword that the blade easily pierces through scales and into its heart.

The demon dies in a green smoke, and I take a moment to look back up at the burning city. Immediately spotting Petra and Axel directly fighting demons with the others scurrying around trying to get people into the dome and protect them.

"Jesse!" My eyes flicker down to the pale woman and I hold a hand out to help her up, before quickly scanning the area again for more demons. There's so many, dozens upon dozens. Even if there aren't that many the broken machines are going crazy. Electricity and fires that people have to dodge as well.

"Get to the dome! You'll be safe once you get to the dome!" Her head bobbles as she darts towards the shadows of the buildings, hopefully she'll make it. Hopefully everyone here will make it.

A scream, a horrifying close scream grabs my attention, and I'm running towards it before I see it. It's a young child, running and screaming as some vile demons plays with him. Toying with him like a cat and its mouse.

Crying out, my fire rockets me as the demon prepares to pounce on the child. I snatch him up and roll away on the side, checking that he's not burned or anything before facing the screeching demon.

It glares at me with its greedy sick eyes before swinging its tail at me. My sword blurs, cutting its tail as I run towards it. The demon screeching and clawing at me while I lunge forward with my blade, ignoring the sharp scraps against my armor and smiling at the satisfying gushing noise when the blade meets its brain.

I run back to the child, frozen as his entire body shakes madly. I mentally curse all of these blasted demons as I run up to him, any other situation and I would think the boy is having a seizure.

"It's okay now little one." Little one? I'm not old to call kids that yet. I huff, kicking those needless thoughts out as I check back around on our surrounds, no other demon has spotted us yet. I've got to get this kid to the dome.

"J-Jesse?" I try to smile at the boy, not that it makes him look any less terrified. Mentally cursing again, I scoop him onto my back and he automatically latches on.

"Just hang on really tight, don't let go no matter what. I'm going to get you to a safe place."

A whimper of an okay whispers underneath the crackle of electricity, screeches of demons, and screams of pain and fear. I sprint towards the dome, my fire forcing me to sprint at speeds a horse would have a hard time keeping up with. Man I hope that kid can hang on really tight.

My heart clenches as my eyes spot a three demons all looking up at me at the same time, blood coated all over their muzzles. They only take a second to start scrambling towards me at an insane speed, and with this kid I can't let my fire out to outrun them.

"Really hang on kid."

I pivot and scurry to the side as the demons cut me off, trying to look behind me so I can figure out how to attack them somehow. And that's I just spot one pouncing on me, the claws ready to slice into the kid's back.

Immediately I lunge to the side, the front of the Redstone Riot scrapping against the ground, the demon misses us. My fire, almost completely out of control, explodes out in my legs as I get up, unwillingly launching me straight towards the demon.

My arm snaps my sword up just in time for it to impale into the demon's neck, and I run through the green smoke. I can't stop moving, one stop and the demons catch me. I can't let this kid die, if he hasn't been scared to death already.

An intense ringing begins to drown out some of the noise, as I skid to a stop when one of them jumps in front of me. I start to backpedal when I hear the other screech behind me. Great, I'm being circled right now. These demons are just as cunning as wolves.

They snarl and pounce, and without really thinking, I jump. The kid screaming his heart out as flames explode beneath my feet, pushing me at least six blocks up.

I fall, dodging the acid they try to spray at me, and bury my sword into the head of one of them, the blade going all the way through its head before the it goes up it smoke. I swirl and swipe, my heart fluttering in relief when I a screech of pain from one of the demons.

Before it can recover, I lunge forward with my sword. Shoving the blade up through its chin, slightly unnevered though I stare into the rage filled eyes before they go up in smoke.

I gasp as I remember the last one, whipping around as I see the last demon ready to bite at my neck. I scream as my left arm somehow got in the way fast enough, its teeth digging into the flesh.

My sword arm is quick to plunge the weapon through its head, the teeth buried in me gone. The inferno inside me swirling in the area, the pain already a distant memory.

"You good kid?"

A quiet squeak is all I get as a response and I start running back to the Dome, should be there in a few seconds now. Hopefully someone who knows this kid is already in there and can calm him down. I kept him alive, but I did the complete and exact opposite of calming someone down.

not exactly a hero

I growl and run faster, cursing adrenaline for not kicking out those thoughts. If there was ever a time where there is no room for those thoughts, now is definitely the worst time.

Lukas and Ivor are both around the bottom of the steps, helping people as I race up past them. Cursing Olivia for having stairs, didn't we all hate Soren for having so many stairs? Why would she have them too? There needs to be a ban on all stairs.

Cursing myself for having such irrelevant thoughts, I run into the building. The kid immediately lets go and scurries over to someone. I turn and sprint right out, just spotting Olivia doing her thing with her people as I break out into smoky air.

I freeze at the top of the steps, starring at the ash and blood stained people scampering up into the Dome. My brain having its own pulse as I just look at the thick smoke, even blocking the distress beacon, and raising into the sky from buildings that have electricity dancing over every piece of metal there is. Dimly hearing the screams and screeches as my ears ring painfully while I breathe in that ash and blood.

When my fire kicks my brain back into action and I finally see the dozens of demons crawling all over these place as well. I race back down the stairs, my diamond sword mainly red as I wield it against these demons. The Redstone Riot all scraped up and a darker red.

I momentarily freeze again at the bottom of the stairs, I have no idea where to go. Everywhere needs me now, how do I just pick a place to go when it might mean the death of someone else?

My fire decides for me and rages in my legs and body when a relatively close demon, or maybe demons, lets out this ear piercing, headache screaming, heart stopping roar that just really encourages me to kill it.

Scowling furiously, I run at the sound. Careful not to trip or slip on any debris on the ground, feeling every wick of fire trying to bust free and incinerate all of these demons. But I'm trying to help the people, not burn them or have them freeze in terror.

There are four demons running at me when I finally spot them. A blast of fear strikes at my heart, a whisper of thought that I'm going to die, but I don't stop.

They all slam to a stop and spray their acid at me. In a panic I jump again, the acid still hitting much of my armor. The metal already sizzling when I land, weakening it greatly, but thankfully I didn't get on my skin.

Roaring, I launch at the closest one. Yet I madly have to leap to the side when the ones next to it try to hit me with their tails. But I do manage to drag my sword through the body of one of the demons, having a magically fire super-powering all of my muscles makes some things very satisfyingly possible.

I hear the demon puff and immediately have to deal with other problems when one pounces on me from the back. My sword clanging away on the cobble and the demon's claws dig into my armor. My spine and ribs straining when this demon lowers all of its massive weight onto my poor bones.

My heart that's slowly getting squished hammers and there is no controlling the fire now, I do nothing to even try and stop it. It explodes all around me as a raging inferno, the demon screeching as it recoils off.

Not taking one second to rest I flip back onto my feet, not bothering with my sword at all. I'm no longer going to cut through these things, it's time to burn them all into ash. There will be nothing left of their bodies to vanish into smoke.

I thrust my arms out, my green fire eager to give the hug of death to all of the demons. To my fury, the flames don't seem to hurt them all. That's fine, there are other ways to make these demons suffer.

They all three try to jump on me at once, yellow eyes leaking greed, and a burst of flame pushes me out of range. Another blasting me into the air, a few wisps flying out of me to steer me right onto one of the demon's head.

It screeches and bucks its head, the other two hissing. My fire swells in my arms, ready to blow the head right off of this demon. It explodes right as a splash of acid hits me from the side.

I tumble through the air backwards, my fire flickering wildly out of control. My shoulder and neck absolutely burns as my body dull collides into the ground. Running on instinct, all of my fire rushes to the area. Every lick of flame withers the moment it comes in contact with it, but it does slowly calm it down.

The sight of the demons attacking spurs my mind off of the burning agony in my neck and into the very real possibility of me dying right now. My arms shake without a sword to wield and I quickly run along the side of the building. Thoughts short circuiting along with buildings.

I run past the screeching demons, my fire all but abandoning me to take care of the acid. I scamper to my sword, not too far-

A tail slams into me, and I pancake against the wall. A dull wave of pain emits from everywhere, and although I don't have any flames buffing me anymore, adrenaline still knows how do its job. Like getting my legs to move very quickly away from descending claws.

My neck burns, but it's now tolerable and no longer going to kill me as long as I don't get hit again there. I summon the flames back into my control. Pushing out a burst of speed to rocket me to my sword.

I quickly swoop down and grab it before whipping back, launching it as a spear into the head of one of the demons. With a final shriek it dies as I send a fireball into the other one to keep it the heck away from me.

That's when I hear a roar behind me, another accursed demon wants to die then. I jump up, I'm really liking this strategize, imagining a searing hot spear of flame in mind. Launching it at the new one as I begin to fall back down.

To my great relief, it kills it, the weapon of flame somehow piercing the demon's scales. And for the foreseeable future that will be my strategize, jump up and send the hottest fire spears I can at demons below me. Sounds good to me.

Conjuring that spear again, letting all my rage heat it up, I thrust it at the last demon. And finally it goes up into smoke too. I breathe a sigh of relief, I'm quite frankly lucky to be alive. I could have very easily died multiple times during that.

I run over and grab my sword, and notice how destroyed the Redstone Riot is. Almost the entire front has holes in it, any attack could seriously hurt from the front. The right side isn't doing much better, and I can't imagine the back being all good either. The places where the armor somehow is holding together has been completely scratched up.

Sighing, I run back to the Dome. My ears are ringing and my heart pounding much too loud for me to properly hear anything. Just a din of screaming and screeches and crackles, all coming from everywhere all around me at once without any real location.

My heart takes a direct blow when I see the steps of the Dome. There are people with limbs missing, some contorted and bloodied, hobbling trying to make their way into the Dome. All of my friends at the base of the stairs, holding the demons back and trying to get more people through.

But what really freezes me is when I see the shadows, if there could be shadows when the sun is blocked by smoke and fires rage all around. But still, numerous demons are just waiting on the sidelines, not attacking or doing anything. Looking around, my heart almost dying at the sight, they're everywhere.

On the very tippy tops of the buildings, even around the Dome. Lurking in the alleyways, all around everyone once I took the moment to look. There are even people being chased towards the Dome by the demons, before they slink off away into the shadows.

And I swear, I just spot one grinning at me. Greed as clear as day in its eyes.

They're planning something, hunting us. I really thought they weren't very intelligent, at least I really hoped that, but if they aren't then they definitely know how to hunt. Herding every single piece of prey, including all my friends, into one building. A metal building that they can easily tear through and just devour everyone inside it. One of them will eat me and get even stronger, and then they'll do the same thing with all of the other towns.

An idea springs to mind, just as I spot three more demons bursting from the shadows and towards my friends as two of them die. My fire spurs into my body and propels me wildly across the ground, but for the first time, I notice that it's not the same engulfing inferno.

I shake that thought aside, forming another blazing spear and launching it at the closest demon as I sprint ever closer. The stupid beast blocks it with its tail, staggering back spraying acid up into the air as it hisses in pain.

The blur of Petra just vanishes to avoid getting hit, speed potion, and Lukas snaps out of dodge as well. But my fire explodes and rockets me over to Axel, who's about to get hit.

Tackling him, a bit of acid does make its away onto my armor. I quickly scramble back up to my feet, trying to hold back a moan as a few drops of it managed to get in a hole and latches onto my right side. Another chuck of my fire gone fighting it off.

"Dude, thanks for that." Growling, the burning pain fueling more and more rage, I help Axel back to his feet. Before conjuring another spear and thrusting it at another demon.

"Don't thank me, just keep killing demons."

He bellows out a war cry, running up and punching a demon. The thing actually is thrown back a bit, strength potion I'm assuming.

I thrust another spear at the one he just hit, the demon going up in smoke. This time though I notice the impact of making the spears, it actually takes quite a bit of flame to pull that off, way more than a fireball. But that doesn't matter.

Roaring, I raise my bloody sword and leap at a demon. Twirling around to dodge its swiping claws and lunging my blade to its head. One of its claws digs into my sword arm, almost about to stop it, just as it vanishes up into smoke. Another chuck of fire gone to numb the wound and support the weakened limb.

My breath hitches briefly when my eyes quickly spot five more demons running and screeching towards us. These things, there just isn't end to them. Despite how much I hate it, we're going to have to fall back into the Dome. Even if that falls into their plan, there's nothing else we can do.

A green explosion yanks me back into reality, my fire now instinctively forming another spear. I thrust it at the demon closest to me, my eyes flickering over to Lukas.

There's a broken bow by his feet, an empty quiver on his back. Fireballs in his hands as I snap my attention back to the demons. A few more deciding to jump into the fray, enticed by my fire.

Two of them jump at me, and I jump sky high again. This time forming two spears at once and throwing them down. One of them instantly dies, the another striking at its chest, letting it spray out a bit of acid before vanishing.

That's when I hear Ivor scream, and my landing is hard. For the second I spend to look at him, collapsed and covered in the vile liquid, pure fury seethes in every wisp of flame and in every cell of my body.

Without a thought, I start thrusting the flame spears rapidly. Three demons dying in a few seconds, a few screeching in pain, but my fury growing and growing when I see more joining the battle.

But my fury quickly morphs into panic, when the buildings screech. The very ground shaking and roaring as all of the demons burst out of the shadows. My heart stalling as I look at the legion of demons sprinting right to me and my friends.

"EVERYONE! INSIDE!"

My feet are quick to follow my own instructions, but I pick up Ivor as gently as possible in this situation and make sure everyone is in front of me. Petra and Axel scurry in first, Lukas right behind them as he spares a glance at me.

The acid on Ivor begins to sizzle on my armor, Ivor's leather armor immune to that at least, and again the liquid agony begins to touch me. My fire blazing to deal with that as I sprint up the stairs.

Ivor groans and moans as I rush through into the Dome, metal doors slamming shut behind. I really got to have Olivia make the Order Doors go that fast. Any second later for these doors and a demon would have gotten in.

Gently, trying to hold back my raging flames, lay him down and swipe off the remaining acid with my right arm and then quickly get it off me. That used to be the only part of Redstone Riot that was in somewhat decent shape, but once I've gotten it all off Ivor, it can't exactly protect me from anything now.

I dig through Ivor's pockets to find a healing potion. Trying to ignore the wails of agony from the people, or cries of suffering, or screams of grief. Trying and failing to ignore all the soul twisting cries the people are letting out. Trying to also not to ignore the woozy and nausea sensations fluttering through my body, at least my fire and adrenaline are keeping the pain down.

I finally get my hands on a potion, muttering my thanks as I see the bright red healing potion. Popping the cork off, I drizzle part of it onto his neck. The burns there need to heal right now.

Ivor's eyes slowly peel themselves open, and try to look around. I stop pouring and glance up at the others, all of them tied up with the citizens to give a word of advice to me. Healing potions are most effective when you drink them, so should I wake for Ivor to wake up or try and heal him now?

"Jesse?" His voice, distorted and gravely, instantly catches my attention. The pain and nausea emitting from my stomach forgotten, as I become frantic to make sure he's okay.

"Ivor? Are you good enough to drink the rest of this healing? If not, can you at least tell me where it burns the most so I can apply it there?

Ivor grumbles and snatches the potion from my hands, drowning it in a few quick gulps. I'm about to say something when he sighs, his body going limp as his eyes slide shut again. Ivor's no longer fatally injured, but he is definitely down and out.

I finally take notice of what's around me now, my ears dumping torment onto me before my eyes can even see it. The distant screeching of at least a hundred demons an underlying tone to the cries of the people in here.

There are heartbreaking wails as people clutch onto their hearts. Little kids screaming and bawling, shaking in fear as they dart around trying to find someone. Mute whimpers that only my eyes can see but my ears still providing a gut clenching whines to.

Stagger to my feet, I dumbly try to find Olivia. My legs moving myself over to her even though my mind is still frozen at the wails echoing all around me. Such critical information inside of me all jumbled up and tossed to the side as I stare at all the wounds, smell all the blood.

Olivia's fiercely whispering with a tall extremely thin woman, who my gut's saying is her assistant. Compared to Olivia right now, she could pass as someone who lives outside of town. Dirt and ash smudged everywhere, hair all matted up, her professional clothes ripped and stained with blood.

I shake my head, these thoughts aren't helping and are going to make me depressed. I need to talk to Olivia, right now. We can't stay inside this building, it won't be able to keep out the demons for every long at all.

"O-Olivia, I need to speak to you." She stops whispering and nods quickly at me, about to say something when her assistant turns around to me.

She gasps, covering her mouth with her hand as her eyes nearly pop out of her head. I blink at her as she takes a shaking step back, now hyperventilating as she raises a quivering finger at me.

"E-eyes... y-y-you're-"

Olivia quickly puts a hand on her shoulder, taking her attention as I try as hard as I can to make the flames completely fade inside of me. I know I used a whole bunch of it during all the fighting, yet I can't tell with everything happening. With my entire being still completely on edge though, it takes a few moments to push it back despite whatever state the flame's are in.

"Lindsey, I need you to start categorizing all the people. Make a list of who's here and mark them 1 though 5. 1 being with minor or no injuries, 5 being they aren't going to make it if they don't help soon."

Her head bobbles, and she gapes at me again before scurrying off. I scratch my neck, slightly awkward. I'm suppose to be Jesse, leader of the Order of the Stone. Not some glowing eyes freak now practically only wearing the black under armor with few straggling cut up peices of the Redstone Riot.

"How are we going to get out of this one Jesse?" Olivia's voice drips with desperation, waning hope glimmering on her tears.

"Well..." I drop my voice down to a whisper, leaning in close to her. "I have a plan, an idea of a plan, but it's really time sensitive and I have no idea how to pull it off yet."

She moans, pressing her fingers against her temples. "Great, so we either have death or a plan that we don't even know how to execute yet. Just great."

"Hey, at least we're not dealing with the impossible quite yet." I look up and spot the others, all of them trying to help out the people in some sort of way. As much as I hate to pull them away, we're all going to die if we don't act soon. I'm sure the demons have already begun to tear into this building.

"Lukas! Petra! Axel!"

They all immediately snap their heads up, making their way to me and Olivia as I scoot the both of us a bit further away from the wailing citizens. My mind desperately trying to find a way to make this idea into reality.

Petra is the first to get to us. "Please tell me we aren't just going to sit here for days until the demons out there go away."

I chuckle nervously as the Lukas and Axel come up to us. "I'm actually going to be telling you guys something much worse."

Instinctively checking to see if someone's eavesdropping before I lean in. "I'm not sure if you guys noticed, but there were dozens upon dozens of demons just waiting in the shadows. My guess, they were waiting for us to hole up in here, break inside, and then have some sort of feast."

Olivia gasps and coughs, Axel numbly pulling her into a hug. Petra scowls, fists tightening. "So what the heck are we going to do? We can't fight that many and I refuse to sit here and wait for my death."

I open my mouth, but Lukas mumbles something out first. "I get the feeling I'm not going to like this plan of yours."

"Most definitely not." I take a deep breath, the reality of this plan finally sinking in. "These creatures are greedy little demons made to want to hunt down Feuern. So if I can get outside, without any other 'prey' around, I will most likely be able to draw them away."

Axel snaps out of his original shock, his face deathly white in horror. "Dude! That's suicide!"

"And plus!" Petra points at me, her whisper fierce and threatening. "They'll just come back doofus! Where exactly would you even lead them so they can't just turn around and attack again?"

My eyes flicker over to Olivia, her breathing shallow. I need this plan to work for her, for her and for all the people of Redstonia. It simply has to.

"There's still a Nether portal here right?" I hear them all gasp as Olivia's eyes go wider than I ever thought possible.

"Y-yes, b-but Jesse! It's technically on a separate island a-and y-you still have to get out there... without d-d-d-dying..."

I gently squeeze her shoulder, my hope shaking inside of me. "I can get to that island, is there anyway for me to get out without risking the demons breaking in?"

To my horror, Olivia shakes her head. "N-No... not-t at all. That's the only entrance, this place is completely sealed in."

"Seriously!" Petra's shoulders shake slightly as she throws her hands up. "What about a fire? How would you get out?"

"S-state of the art fire prevention and extinguishing, there's n-no risk of a fire at all in here."

My stomach twists, my heart pounding in doom. There has to be some way, has to be something. I've killed a Wither Storm before, surely I can figure out how to get out of a building while making sure nothing gets in.

The screeches sharply raise in volume, a wild scratching noise can even be heard. It looks like I just ran out of time to figure that problem out. It's either something now or nothing at all.

"Would you look at that?" Bitter sarcasm drips from Lukas's slightly quivering voice. "We're all gonna die."

I promise Lukas, everything will be alright in the end.

A surreal ripple emits from the fire mark, making everything dream like. My own body slipping from the grasp of my control. My fire swirling out of my control too, yet not its normal rage or anything. Precise, knowing exactly what needs to happen.

Same thing must apply to my mouth, and I listen to myself speak. "You guys are going to have to figure out when all the demons go through that portal, I'm sure you can kill a straggle or two. After that, destroy it. Make sure nothing can get back through that portal."

"Jesse!" Lukas's eyes narrow, and he grabs my shoulder. "Whatever's happening to you, cut it out! That plan can't work and it's suicide anyway. We'll think of something else."

I promise Lukas, everything will be alright in the end.

"No, I have to do this. I have to male things right." My fire swirls into every single cell of mine, and I slowly immerse myself in my flames. No divides between my mind and my fire, like a dream of flames. "I promised you."

With that all of my fire whooshes upward, and only leaves the flames. I can't hear, I can't smell, and I can only see a blur of green before me.

Then all of that crashes down, that peaceful dream state completely abandoning me to all of the torment so far inflicted on me. But now I barely have any fire left to support me, I can feel it now, maybe an optimistic eighth that has to hold the burden of all my various injuries and acid burns.

I stagger forward, ready to say sorry to my friends, when I hear the booming screeches. The sharp tang of blood coated in smoke, the ash in the air latching onto my lungs.

In a second, my heart is back up to its frantic beating when I finally look up. I'm somehow outside, starring at dozens and dozens of demons trying to break into the Dome. A glimmering sheet of green coated all over it as they dig their claws against the walls.

And then just one of them looks at me, and it's like all of hell has just decided to chase me.

****

Oh man! I have waited SO long for this point! Just- ahh! It feels so good to have it out! It sucks I had to spilt it into 2 parts, but it was getting way too long. This next week better go by really quick!

Okay, okay, deep breaths. Gotta calm down.

Anyway, can't you all just see all the future conflicts coming?

Granted, I still have a few cats in my bag, but the Order of the Stone, injuried and leaderless, now have an entire city of people completely dependent on them. Yay for stress! Author's best friend!

Well, since this is a pretty long chapter I better end this note here. Come back next time to figure out what the heck Jesse's going to do now!