Previously:

"Very well then." Zedaph sighed and got up. "I shall come with you. But on one condition."

"Name it." Tango promptly replied.

"You fix the time continuum."

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"I'm not leaving." Xequla folded his arms. "I'm the better version of Grian, and if you guys were smart, you would keep me and get rid of him."

"Say what?!!" Grian practically leaped from his chair. "I could knock you out in five seconds stat." End magic bubbled from his hands as he raised his wings.

"Five seconds?" Xequla mused, not very impressed. "I could level you in two." Red light hummed in Xequla's hands as he made no move to get up.

"Boys!" Xisuma shouted out, making both their heads snap towards his voice. Xisuma lowered his voice, making the threat very clear. "If either of you even lifts a finger to destroy the other, I will trap you in a void magic cylinder. That is not something you want to be trapped in."

Grian sighed and snuffed out his end magic, while Xequla rather slowly made the red light fade away, all the while glaring at Grian. Xisuma frowned and turned towards Zedaph. "We can't fix it until we unite the stones. I know its dangerous-"

"It is very dangerous." Zedaph interrupted. "I lost my mother to it."

"Oh," Xisuma trailed off, no longer mad about being interrupted. "If you won't come then..."

Zedaph felt guilt tug at his gut when Xisuma made the move to leave. Sighing, he stopped Xisuma. "Xisuma, wait. I'll come, not like I have a choice. But after this is done, I will fix the time mess."

Relief flooded Xisuma's face as he nodded. Behind him, Xequla narrowed his eyes and glared at Zedaph who simply shrugged.

"So we need two more stones?" Zedaph asked as he gathered some supplies.

"Yes, the End Stone and the Command Stone." Xisuma replied hooking his helmet onto a latch on his belt. The helmet shrank in size until it was a small square of grey and purple. "The command stone will be the hardest to get since we no longer have Wels." Xisuma's normally soft and calm voice cracked and he had to take a breath to restore his voice.

"Can't the command stone bring him back?" Zedaph slug a bag over his shoulders. The bag was designed specifically for Elthers and Netherites, tucking in between the wings.

"I hadn't thought of that." Xisuma brightened, motioning for the others to grab their stuff. "Problem is getting to the Master Coder."

"Worry about that later," Mumbo pointed outside. "Looks like your council decided to pay a visit."

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Zedaph took one look at the twelve crowned figures and panicked. They wanted the Aether stone and if the other stones were within their grasp, what would they do with those? And what would they say with him harboring the Netherite King and two humans disguised as Netherites?

"I need to get my wife and kids out of here!" Zedaph hissed to Xisuma who promptly nodded. If he was going to leave the Aether, he needed to keep his family safe.

Zedaph motioned for his friends to leave through the back door, that way they wouldn't be discovered. While they filed out rather quickly, Zedaph darted into the next room to grab Layla and his two daughters. Their tiny wings were fluttering as they tried to fly and failed.

"What's wrong?" Layla's eyes were filled with fear.

"Council has come for the stone since I didn't show up at the meeting." Zedaph scooped up his bigger daughter and Layla took the younger one into her arms. He rushed them out the back door as well, and they made the short fly to the dense wood.

"I'm sending you to the Overworld." Zedaph said as he started creating a portal.

"I thought you said the Overworld was dangerous!" Layla held her daughter closer to her chest.

"Less dangerous than here at the moment." Zedaph had finished making the portal and passed his daughter, rather reluctantly, over to his wife. "The air isn't as clean, and there are monsters that come out at night, but other than that you'll be safe."

"Where are we going to live?" Layla was asking all the questions she needed to before time ran out.

"I'm sending you to Impulse, he's an old friend. He has a well secured house, and is very good with a sword and bow. If anyone can protect you, he can."

Uncertain resolve flashed through Layla's eyes as she kissed her husband goodbye and flew through the portal.

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Mumbo had a strange tingling in his wings when he tried to raise them like usual. It was amazing how used to them he had gotten, partly making him wish he could keep them, instead of the untrustworthy elytra.

Xisuma had them run into the forest, fearing that the Aether Council would see flying Netherites carrying humans. "We have to wait for Zedaph now," Xisuma told them, not even breathing heavy from the run. Benefits of the Aether air, Mumbo assumed.

"Hey Tango?" Mumbo asked, twisting his tail to the front to look at it.

"Hmm?" Tango didn't look up from his, preening?

"Do you know why my wings might be tingling?"

Mumbo all of the sudden had Tango's full attention. "Mumbo why did you choose now?" Tango muttered to himself as he hustled over to Mumbo. "Spread your wings, as far as you can." He commanded.

Mumbo complied, and everyone took interest in the situation. Spreading his wings took a lot more effort than it first took. Tango studied them and then sighed.

"Grian, do you have the tingling?"

"No." Grian spread his own wings easily.

Tango tapped his mouth and turned back to Mumbo. "Your transformation is wearing off. I'm not sure why it's coming off sooner, it may be because you have a little Netherite blood in your veins."

"Will that affect our mission?" Xisuma asked from where he was leaning against a tree.

"Normally, I would say no." Tango sighed as he plucked a loose feather from his wings. "But since we are going to the end dimension, we are going to need to be able to fly."

"Mission to the Overworld?" Grian asked.

"We will all need elytra," Xisuma replied, glancing over at his shoulder. "Looks like Zedaph has arrived."

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Zedaph glanced over his shoulder after his family left the Aether, to make sure he wasn't being followed. He dearly hoped Impulse would know what to do to keep his family safe.

After he was certain the council wasn't following him, he started listening very carefully. His strong hearing picked up snatches of conversations north of him. Crouching, he slowly made his was towards the noise.

Zedaph thought he was stealthy, but he was proven wrong when he heard Xisuma say, "Looks like Zedaph has arrived."

Feeling a little bashful, Zedaph made his way around the tree into the small clearing the group had gathered in. "My family is safe, you guys ready to go?"

Xisuma nodded as he stuck his hands in his pockets. Frowning, he searched around the area to no avail.

"What are you looking for?" Tango asked. If anyone could find something, he could do it.

"The teleportation crystal! I must have lost it when we were escaping." Xisuma's helmet was still a tiny cube attached to his belt, but even its scanners wouldn't work in this scenario.

"I can be of assistance." Zedaph cleared his throat and pulled his crystal off of its chain. Used to this by now, Zedaph created the hole in the air that would lead to anywhere he wanted it to go. He just had to know what it looked like.

"Take us to my base." Xisuma instructed. "I have a bunch of spare elytra there."

Zedaph complied and let Xisuma's prismarine base flash into view behind the portal. Beside him, Mumbo winced in pain and tucked his wings very tightly behind his back.

Xequla took one look at the portal and jumped through without hesitation. The others followed suit leaving Zedaph as the last one in the clearing. He paused for a moment, sighing as he glanced back at where he would see his house but it was obscured by trees.

The hesitation didn't last long, and soon Zedaph flew through the portal, making it seal up in a pop behind him.

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Sorry it took so long! And sorry to the thirteen people who read the part that Wattpad put out without me telling it to publish it. Hope you are enjoying, I sure am! Should I keep putting the previously's on, or not?

Love you all!

-Buurn