Steve, Dare, and Casey have been walking for hours. It was still dark out, but they were out of the forest. Casey had been quiet ever since she found out Steve was super important.

They kept walking down the old road until they saw the outline of a house. Casey started to pick up her pace till she was basically sprinting to the house. Dare and Steve followed close behind.

When she finally stopped in front of the house, Dare blocked the door.

"What are you doing? We have to go to the castle." Casey tried to get past him but he blocked her. She gave up and groaned.

"I have been out all night. We still have a bit to go and I'm tired." Dare mocked her and pouted.

"Isn't that terrible. Why not use the rest of your energy and teleport us there like I said."

"I don't have enough energy to teleport all of us. Maybe if you could help teleport, then we could get close enough." Casey crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

"That's stupid. I don't even know the coordinates of the castle." Casey scoffed at him.

"You don't need to know the coordinates. You've been there before, so all you have to do is think of the castle and teleport. You subconsciously know the coordinates from being there. That's a trick I learned a while back." Dare stared at her with his mouth hanging open. He quickly shut it but still looked intrigued.

"How-how come they don't teach that?"

"Because it's illegal to teleport stupid." Casey turned back to Steve who looked very uncomfortable.

"Can we just keep walking? You don't even know these people."

"I am an officer so they will let me in." Dare and Steve looked at her in confusion.

"Just because you're an officer doesn't mean you can make people shelter you." Dare said. Steve looked between the two and started walking away from the tension.

"Look, I'm going to the castle. Or Dare can teleport us to the closest city so we can get an inn." Dare glanced at Casey the looked away when she glanced at him. After several seconds, Dare mumbled 'fine'.

"Great, now let's go." Dare grabbed Steve and Casey. They both looked uncomfortable being so close to each other. Dare closed his eyes and purple particles consumed them.

They appeared moments later in an alley. Dare took several deep breaths and slumped against the wall. Steve rushed over to him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it just takes a lot of energy to teleport to another city. Especially since I haven't done it in a while." Steve helped him up and heard a snort. He turned around to see Casey smirking at Dare.

"That's pitiful." She chuckled evilly and stared at Dare. Dare tensed up and started getting angry.

"I didn't see you teleporting three people to a city. Is it because you are weak and tired?" Dare said the last sentence mockingly. The smirk on Casey's face quickly disappeared.

"Let's go." She said in a low, rough voice. Steve walked with Dare still leaning on him. Steve looked up at Dare and his eye seemed redder than usual.

They trudged out of the ally way and onto the sidewalk. Being this early in the morning, there were still quite a lot of people. Some of them gave Steve and Casey weird looks. The others ignored them completely.

Casey walked forward basically stomping. Steve knew she was mad but She scared the living bricks out of him so he wouldn't interfere. Dare was also unusually quiet as he limped down the sidewalk.

The three walked about a block before they saw the inn. They entered the inn and Steve stopped in astonishment. The inside was fancy, fancier than Notch's palace. Of course, he wasn't the most organized person.

Casey walked up to the front desk, probably showing them her badge so we can get a free room. Dare sat on one of the chairs, obviously exhausted.

"Dare, are you sure you are okay?" Dare nodded, breathing heavily.

"Yeah. I'm just older and my old war injuries hurt when I teleport."

"Is that the real reason why you didn't teleport?" Dare shook his head.

"No, there really is a law, but I just don't like to teleport." Dare looked straight ahead, in another world. Casey walked back towards Steve and grabbed his shoulder sharply. She leaned in very close to his ear.

"Act like an enderman in human form." Steve looked at her in anxiety.

"W-what?"

"Just do it!" She said in a hiss. Steve gulped and nodded. How was he supposed to act like an enderman?

Steve grabbed Dare's arm and helped him up. Dare stood up and walked to the elevator without help. Once he got to the doors, he turned around and smiled at Steve. Steve smiled back and ran to him.

"Well, you are getting better." Dare nodded and looked past Steve. His smile turned to a frown and Steve turned to see what he was frowning at.

Casey walked tensely towards them with a hotel manager following. Steve's eyes widened and he turned to look at Dare. Dare gave him a look to make him calm down. He leaned down and whispered in his ear.

"Just follow my lead. You know enough to act like us." Steve nodded his head too confused to speak. Casey walked up silently and pressed the button for the elevator to open. After a couple of seconds, the doors opened and they all entered. Steve stood by Dare as the manager and Casey stood on the other side.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed before the man cleared his throat.

"So, Steven. How come you are traveling to the palace?" He asked more suspiciously than pure interest.

"Um...well..." Steve looked at Dare panicking. Dare stepped up to help.

"Steven is my associate. I'm training him for the Protectors." The manager nodded, seeming somewhat convinced.

"Yeah I'm part of the...Protectors." Steve said, his mind wondering about the 'Protectors' name. There had to be something behind this 'protector' business.

"So why are you two human then?" The manager tilted his head to the side and Steve could swear that one side of his mouth twitched, almost smirking. Steve frowned and crossed his arms.

"I'm taking them to the castle for their next assignment. Being the queen's assistant, I have to travel between here and the Overworld and this makes it easier." Casey said. The man nodded towards Steve.

"What about him?" He asked. Steve wondered why he was so suspicious of him. Dare cut in to help.

"He is in the part of his training where he has to learn to use a human body." Steve nodded and the manager just stood there. He pushed his glasses up on his face and crossed his arms. The elevator door finally opened and they all stepped out.

The manager lead the three to a hotel room and they entered. "Hope your stay here is enjoyable." His tone suggested otherwise. Once he was gone, Steve relaxed and fell onto one of the two beds. Dare walked over to the other one and flopped on his back. Casey came in with her arms crossed.

"Nope. You two share and I have my own bed." Dare glared at her and slowly got up. Steve could hear Dare mutter under his breath.

"No problem, princess." Steve smirked as they all laid on their beds. Even though it was still early morning, the three fell asleep like they haven't slept in weeks.

***

Notch woke up to see the sun just rising over the horizon. He got up and fixed the bed. After that, he walked out of the room and into the living room.

Wilson and Donny were sleeping on the furniture and Gordon was laying on the floor. Notch walked into the kitchen to make some toast. As he was opening the bread, he noticed a note on the table. He picked it up and read it.

Gabe and I went to town to get some groceries. I think Jill went back to the castle. She said she'd be back by noon to investigate. Love you-Alex

Notch put the note down and continued to make his toast. While he was waiting for it to pop up, he heard some murmuring in the other room. He walked to the door and opened it slightly. Wilson and Gordon seemed to be in a heated argument.

"Why does it matter to you where he went?" Wilson said.

"Because if he is with Alex, then he will be in huge trouble." Gordon snapped.

"Will he be put in time out?" Wilson mocked. Gordon opened his mouth then shut it tightly.

Notch walked out the door so he wouldn't be seen eavesdropping and walked to the couch. Both of them flinched when they saw him.

"Sir? W-when did you wake up?" Gordon asked. Notch just shrugged and sat down. Donny was still fast asleep on the love seat. Wilson looked over at Gordon and glared at him.

"I made toast if you two would like some." Wilson eagerly got up and walked to the kitchen, but Gordon stayed where he was.

"Don't you want toast?" Notch asked. Gordon looked up at him and sighed.

"Sir, I hate to say this but I think one of our guards has an attraction towards Alex." Notch stared at him and started laughing.

"Well good. I always hoped that she'd one day find a person she liked." Gordon stared at him in shock. Notch got up and walked to the kitchen. Gordon jumped up and followed Notch into the kitchen.

"But sir! It's one of your guards." Wilson sat at the table eating then stopped and narrowed his eyes towards Gordon.

"You kiss up. He is a good person unlike you." Gordon tensed up and glared at Wilson.

"Your king is here and I expect you to act pol-"

"Now stop!" Notch yelled. Gordon backed away from him.

"My guards don't have to act official towards me. Especially when you belittle them and they all stand up for each other." Gordon looked down at the floor in shame. Wilson sat uncomfortably at the table.

"Now I am going outside to investigate. Please don't bother me with this crap, Gordon." Notch left the room and out the door. The zombies were all gone, probably burnt up. Notch made his way towards the site and his breath seemed to quicken. When he reached it, he could see the small patch of blood. He leaned down to examine it.

The patch wasn't very big, maybe the size of his hand. Notch stood up and looked around at the forest. If he were stabbed, then there would be more blood and the grass would've been messed up from the fighting. Plus, Alex said she didn't hear anything and it wasn't that far from the house. So it had to be a weapon that was silent, but could still inflict damage and possibly paralyze a person.

Notch looked back down at the blood stain when it his him. They used arrows. And those arrows could've had poison tips on them. Notch's head spun with questions. There had to be a place for the archer.

What about trees? Notch looked up then shook his head. He would easily be seen. He looked around for any other place for him to hide when Notch saw a bush. The bush looked big enough to hide a person and still be accessible. Notch started to run towards the bush. When he got there he stopped immediately. There was something...odd.

Notch looked around in confusion. He glanced behind the bush and walked behind it. He was hit with a huge headache as soon as he bent down. Notch scrambled away from the bush and the headache eased. He was breathing heavily and stared at the bush. What was that? He asked himself.

Notch slowly stood up and walked cautiously towards the bush. Throbbing started to form in his head and he stopped. There must have been a reason for why his head aches so badly when he got close. Notch was pulled away from his thoughts when he heard a twig snap. He spun around and frightened the person.

Jill jumped back in surprise. Notch calmed down and walked away from the mysterious bush. Jill looked at him in worry.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. Why?"

"Because you started to walk towards something and stumbled back in fear. Then you clutched your head in pain." Notch looked away embarrassed. At least he didn't scream.

"I was investigating and I got this weird feeling when I neared that bush. I think it's where the attacker was when he took Steve." Jill looked past him and stared at the bush.

"Why don't I check it out?" Jill walked around him and started towards the bush. Notch started to cringe and closed his eyes, expecting her to reel back in pain like he had. After a couple of seconds he opened them and looked over to where she had been. She was gone.

Notch started to panic when Jill emerged from the shrubbery. Notch let out a sigh of relief as Jill walked towards him in confusion.

"What? And did you get the headache or weird feeling?" Notch asked. Jill shrugged.

"I didn't get a headache, but I did get a weird feeling. And I saw a couple of purple flecks floating around." Notch looked around in confusion. Purple flecks? He thought and thought when the very obvious answer came to him.

"Jill, those are Ender particles. When endermen spawn or teleport somewhere, the particles stay behind. That's probably why I got a headache." Notch said the last part mostly to himself.

"Why would you get a headache from Ender particles?" Jill asked. Notch glanced over at her, surprised that she heard that.

"Well, centuries ago there was a war involving me, Steve, Herobrine, and the Ender dragon. Hero was taking care of the dragon while I was helping Steve with the endermen. That was when we agreed not to imprison if he'd help us.

"One of the endermen came up behind me and..." Notch moved around uncomfortably. "And he teleported himself into me. The force of two people killed him, but I was powerful enough not to die. The enderman teleported out of me and I haven't been able to be around Ender particles since."

Jill looked down at the floor. Trying to imagine it, she cringed and pushed the image out of her head.

"I'm sorry." She muttered. Notch shook his head.

"Don't be. I can have a potion that relieves the headache, but I don't come to the Overworld often." Notch and Jill looked into each other's eyes when Notch looked at her in confusion. Well, more like past her.

"What?" She asked. Notch glanced at her then at the bush.

"So if there were Ender particles, then that means Steve was taken by..." Notch's eyes widened in horror. He ran past Jill and through the woods. He made it to the house and rushed through the door. Gordon and Wilson were in a heated argument when Notch entered. They both jumped back in surprise.

"You okay?" Wilson asked. Gordon didn't even correct him with the 'king respect' crap so he knew he had scared them.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you. I think we figured out who took Steve."

Wilson raised an eyebrow. "We?"

Notch nodded when Jill walked in. Their eyes shifted towards her but the confusion never left them.

"So who did it?" Gordon asked in interest.

"An enderman." Wilson and Gordon both shared a look. Gordon opened his mouth to say something but the door opened before he could say it.

Gabe walked in with groceries laughing and Alex followed him laughing as well. They both stopped in their tracks when they saw the group. Alex looked over at Notch and her frown increased.

"What did you find?" She asked, her voice filled with worry.

Notch looked over at her before answering. She looked so much better today. Her hair was brighter, she wasn't as pale, and she didn't have red eyes from crying.

Notch sighed and shook his head. "We were just arguing over what to have for dinner." He smiled over at her. A smile took over her face once again and she held up the groceries.

"Well we have plenty of good food to choose from thanks to Gabe and I." She elbowed Gabe and he pretended to be hurt. Notch smiled at them but his big brother protectiveness kicked in.

"Okay, Alex and I will start dinner." Everyone nodded cheerfully, temporarily forgetting their problems and worries.

•••
A/N

Hey guys! Omg 71 reads. I know that is not much to others but every read to me makes me feel so special. Thank you guys.

My chapters are getting longer (yay!) and some drama is brewing... And then there's Gordon.

So thank you all! Please read (well, duh) See ya

-Crazy