[Joseph's POV]

"We need a plan to finish this, and finish it fast." I say, looking around the large table. My eyes meet those of everyone present, which would be everyone. Aria was standing across from me, arms crossed as she looks down at the scattered pages of what we know so far about Entity. One eye is glowing white, and the other is releasing soft purple smoke. Her bangs are out of her face, giving me a full view of her face for the first time.

Didn't realize the scar was that big...

She shakes her head, frustration evident on her face. However, her voice doesn't speak. "You are missing one vital piece of information." My eyes narrow on Aria's form, and her head lifts. Our gazes meet, and his voice echoes through her mouth again. "He is code. When he respawns or needs a recharge, he can go where none of you can." He stops his statement there, but I can already anticipate what he will say.

"Absolutely not."

However, I'm not the one to speak out first. My head snaps to the left where Mobius was standing. He was shrinking again, but he was still tall enough to slam his hands on the table. "We will not let you go off on your own with Aria again. You may have helped save my life, but that doesn't mean I trust you." Aria's head turns to the avali. The glowing eye seems to scan him, and a huff escapes the woman. "She told me you would say that."

Now that catches me off guard.

The glow from his eye dims, then vanishes.

"You know he's right, Mobi."

I shake my head, withholding a growl. "Let me stop you there, Aria." She turns to me, mouth open to speak, but I hold up a hand. My face apparently speaks enough, and she grows quiet. "We are not going to let you dive headfirst into danger without making sure there isn't another way first." I see her wanting to speak, but I keep going, pushing down the anger that was boiling up inside. "We are not going to risk losing you to a fight we all know you cannot win alone. If you go out there, even with Herobrine's boost, you are alone. If you lose, what happens to us?"

She holds a steady gaze, locked with my own. She takes a deep breath, then slowly lets it out before replying. "What do you propose we do?" This time, I slowly try to collect myself. "We need to pool together everything we know, and everything he knows." I point at her one eye that was already regaining its glow. "He's willing to help, but what else?" She says, and I look around, starting to lose my grip. "We need a plan. Something to trip him up-"

"Because that worked so well last time."

Her voice was low, gaze towards Andrew. His skull was still looking down at the table, but it was clear his gaze wasn't towards the papers. An orange glow was softly emitting from his eye sockets, and I could tell it was inclined in Aria's direction. I take in a deep breath, trying to keep calm. "That plan was... unfinished. This one will work. We'll take the time needed-"

"WE ARE OUT OF TIME!"

Aria's hands slam down on the table. She is leaning forward, the table cracked beneath her hands. Both eyes were blazing now, smoke emitting from each. She was huffing in agitation, anger evident in her features. She slowly takes in a deep breath, releasing her hands from the indentions on the table. "Time is not on our side. The longer we stay, the more we become our avatars, and the more time we give Entity to begin messing with our code." Her eyes shift to Reginald, who was standing just on her right. He gives a solemn nod. "It is true. He was able to fully control me just through the mob coding. Should you reach that halfway point once more, he may have full control over each one of you... except her."

I can feel Alexa holding back her own rage at such an idea even being presented. She composes herself, but the fury was evident in her eyes. "We are not going to send her in alone. Despite our obvious disadvantage, we have to think of some way to get into the code." Alexa turns to look at Aria, eyes narrow. "However, do we even know if you can get into the coding?" The room grows silent, and Aria crosses her arms once more. She says nothing, only returns Alexa's gaze evenly.

Her eyes seem to dull for a moment, then she snaps her head up slightly. A grin makes its way onto her face, and I feel a shiver run down my spine. That wasn't a smile made by Aria, which makes concern fill-

She vanishes.

Only purple and white particles remain floating where she had been before. Mobius makes a move first, screens popping up before him. "I'm tracking her code. She still within the game so far, she hasn't entered-" A ding echoes from him, and his eye flashes white. "No way... She's in." All of us gasp, but before we can do anything else, Aria reappears-

"ARIA!"

Her hood was on now, and her bangs covered half her face. It wasn't the usual side, however, but I have no time to question it. Alexa shakes her head and begins to rebuke her. "Aria, that doesn't mean-" That earns her a growl, and she stops. I glare at Aria. "Aria." She turns to me, and my gaze seems to snap her back to reality. "Take off your hood." It wasn't a request or a question.

It was a demand.

I see her eye ever so slightly widen, confirming my suspicion. She is hiding something. She doesn't move at first, so I uncross my hands and lean forward against the table. "Aria, take off. Your. Hood." Her gaze hardens immediately, and I hold it steady. She closes her eyes and sighs. "Fine. You win." She lifts her hand and begins removing her hood. So far, everything looks fine...

Except...

"Now move your hair."

"Joseph-"

"Do it!"

Aria growls but does what she's told and brushes her hair away. The air in the room seems to vanish as quickly as she did beforehand. "There. Happy now?" She says sarcastically, placing her hands on her hips. I can only stare in disbelief, as do the others.

Aria's face was now half enderman... and half Herobrine.

It was obviously not her own avatar skin, as her scar was gone from that half of her face.

"Aria-"

"Don't. Just... don't, okay? I know already." She says, moving her hood back over her head. I can read the frustration and anger on her face easily. Not only that, but it was radiating off her body in waves. Confusion was wrapped up in all of that, and something else was there as well.

Fear.

"Aria..." I start, but she begins to turn away. Before I can speak again, Mobius takes a step towards her.

"You're scared."

Aria stops, arms crossed. I could tell she was holding herself, trying to be calm. Mobius moves closer, and Reginald follows behind. One is on each side of her, but Mobius reaches out to gently grab her arm. Aria turns to look at him, but I can't see her face. Mobius' expression changes slightly, so I know all I need to know.

"Aria, it's alright to be scared. Heck, we all are!" He turns to us, and I only give a nod. The others do the same. I see Aria slightly tilt her head back towards us, but she quickly looks away. "It's not that..." Mobius looks at her with a look I've never seen him give someone. The concern on his face was obvious. "Then what is it? You don't have to hide it from us, Aria. Even if we can't help, none of us want to see you suffering."

The room grows silent. I start to think she's going to teleport away, leave it all on her shoulders again. It's what she's always done, carrying the weight of the world on her back.

She turns.

She looks at each one of us.

With a sigh, she walks back over to the table, hood still up. "Look, I... I don't know what to do. When I entered the code files... I started to change." I hear Andrew clacking angrily, but Aria stops him. "No, actually that's not what happened." She looks around us, then down at the table. "I don't know why..." She stops, I guess deciding how to pick her words.

"Herobrine... actually told me what was happening. He warned me, showed me the quickest way out."

She looks up again, her eyes visible by their steady glow.

"He gave up the only chance he has had to take over to save me."

That makes shock run through us all. Mobius still looks uncomfortable with the idea of Herobrine helping, but Alexa is the one shaking her head. "I don't understand why either, but I still don't think we should trust him. We all remember what he's done to us, right?" Aria looks away at that, her eyes unwilling to meet anyone else's. It was obvious that it was still a touchy subject for her, and after the stories, I've heard...

"It may be our only option..."

Aria lifts her head finally, and I can see her scar is slowly returning to her face. That means nothing to me. I can already tell what she will say next, but she yells before I can speak. "We don't have a choice! If Entity retreats into the code after each fight and recovers, we will never win! I don't care what it costs, I don't care what it takes! I will not lose you guys again! I will not let you get killed again because of my mistakes! I-I can't... I can't-" She sucks in a breath, and I can see her fighting back tears. Her shoulders were shaking. Mobius and Reginald are quick to try to comfort her, but it's clear it does little to help.

"I can't go through that again... not when I can stop it." She looks up, anger starting to rise. "This is why I don't say anything. This is why I keep my problems to myself. I'm the one that's supposed to protect you guys, not the other way around." Alexa finally breaks in, shaking her head. "You have protected us! But we are also supposed to watch out for each other! If you go down, we all fall! Just like..." Alexa stops herself, but enough was said. Eyes are wide everywhere, and Aria gazes at her. She then lowers her gaze.

"What other choice do we have?"

She mutters it out loud enough for us to hear, but quiet enough that we know it wasn't a real question.

It was a statement.

Mobius sighs and stands. "Listen, Aria is right-" When Aria looks at him, he quickly lifts a hand. "To a point. Should push come to shove, it is our last-ditch option. However, we need a plan of attack. Let us pretend Entity has no idea that Aria can get into the code. What if we wear him out here enough that when he does retreat, Aria and Herobrine can finish him off quickly enough that... well, that nothing else happens?" I hold my chin, thinking. Alexa is doing the same.

Andrew clacks.

Mobius' head perks up. "That's an idea... risky, but an idea." I look at him, and he whips up screens again. My gaze turns to Aria, who only gives a slight nod. "Be careful. Herobrine can't help you right now if you get in a bind." Ah, trying to find his code again. I nod my head, but then tilt it in confusion. "Wait, what's different this time that he won't get possessed by demon-code-killer?" Aria lifts her head to lock gaze with me.

"Herobrine's code has mingled with his. It might be enough to mask him from Entity's eye. Herobrine told me when he's in the code files, Entity is unable to see him for some reason. It's as if he's invisible." Slowly I nod my head. "So you're seeing if his time spent in your head, and his code mingling with you, is enough to mask your presence?" Mobius only gives a slight nod, very dedicated to his job right now. The screens were popping up and words were scrolling past in rapid speed. I couldn't keep up, but Mobius' eyes were snapping around, back and forth from each screen.

Suddenly, he stops. The room grows quiet, and we all watch him intently. He gulps, then taps something on one screen. All but one screen is left, and Mobius' eyes widen as he sits there silent. Aria looks over Mobius' shoulder, her eyes wide as well.

"That's it... That's Entity 303's viral code."

I can help but grin. Aria lifts her gaze to mine, and I finally see what I've been waiting to see this whole time.

Hope.

"Alright, then here's a plan..."