NEW PART! This time, I can tell that I've improved a lot as a writer (I started to type that as "rider"). Things are about to get real as we move from Herobrine's stage and into something else. My parts will be longer from this point forward. *sigh* It feels weird to be working on this again. My family was amazed at how long I continued writing a single chapter which still stands as my longest bit of work ever... unless if I break that record with this one one-shot idea...

I am amazing at getting off topic really fast. I don't even post my one-shots on this site. Back to this chapter, remember how happy it was at the end of the last one? Well, it's time to have some real action. There were several months in between "Looking Up" and "Unforgiving," and I majorly improved. I think I overdone it with the references in that second one. Oh well...

Music:

-"Sneaky Snitch" by Kevin Macleod

-"Decline" by Kevin Macleod

-"Majestic Hills" by Kevin Macleod

What's this? What's this? I've used more than two songs. What's this? Remove the crazy wrongs! What's this? I can't believe my eyes, I must be dreaming. Wake up, Lya, this isn't fair! What's this?

Well, uh, that happened.

Let's Go On An Adventure

Sinister

This was the dawn of a new day. Still, it was starting up again. I wanted to beg him to stop, but he would not listen. I bet Grayson was enjoying causing my annoyance.

"In 2011, Walgreens made it easier for customers in Chicago to buy their products online with the Web Pickup service."

Mia was genuinely confused. "Wait, web pickup? Like, spider webs?"

"Nope, online."

"How can someone deliver stuff on a line? Surely it is too narrow."

Armen contributed. "Nope. Online is available through the use of computers and the internet. You might have seen them in museums; I'm not sure. Anyway, back to you, Grayson."

Ugh, Armen too? I was never going to hear the end of this. Good thing that he only knew the story up through early 2013.

"Thank you, Armen. A flagship store for Duane Reade was opened on 40th Wall Street in New York."

"What about numbers one through thirty-nine? What about them?"

Grayson chuckled while Armen answered, "No one cares about them."

Grayson then continued his speech of torture. "The 8,000th store was opened in Los Angeles in 2012. In November of 2013, Walgreens opened the first net zero energy store in the U.S."

Wait. "November? How do you know this? We went through the portal in April."

Grayson's face went red in embarrassment as he tried to cover up his mistake. "Well, um..."

"You didn't just happen to know this stuff, didn't you? Let me guess, you were doing your best to annoy me." I crossed my arms.

He knew that he was caught. He exchanged glances with Mia and Armen and sighed. "Yeah. Mia found a book in the Library about some of the old businesses, and we figured that we should mess with you by pretending that I knew everything about Walgreens. While you were unconscious, we filled Armen in on what was going on, and he agreed to help."

I looked at Armen who has stopped hiding his laughter. "You did?"

"Yep."

"Admit it. Didn't it look like I didn't know what he was talking about?" Mia seemed so proud of herself.

"Fine you got me. Just don't talk about Walgreens again, please," I groaned.

Grayson shrugged. "No promises."

I sighed in defeat. "Whatever. What do we want to do now that your "wonderful" plan has been foiled?"

He pouted. "I don't know. The conversation was meant to last another hour or two to be honest. I haven't thought much about what we'd do afterwards."

"Well, can we think of something now? There is nothing to do!" Mia whined playfully. The elf plopped down onto the ground.

"Well, how about we all take a vote. We each come up with a suggestion of what to do, and then we decide from those," Armen suggested.

I nodded. "Sounds doable. I'll go first. How about we stop and set up camp? It's the practical thing to do."

"Find food, definitely," Mia pointed out. "All that fighting has left me famished."

"Just talk about whatever. I have been in the dark for four years now," Armen said coldly.

Grayson shushed him. "Shut up. We are not alone. Look." Grayson gestured behind us.

We all turned around. I didn't see anyone, but if Grayson feels like something is wrong, then why should I question him?

"I don't see anyone, Grayson. You are probably being paranoid."

"Am I, Mia? Look, there are four of us, but five sets of footprints. I don't think that any of us has grown an extra set of feet in the past hour. That last pair belongs to someone different."

"Well, Grayson, you did mention that we were being followed at one point. Why is this news to you?"

Even he looked lost. "I don't know. I thought we had lost him when we went into the catacombs. Plus, we are in an entirely different area. Check the surrounding terrain."

I walked up to the bushes. There was no one there. Something did feel off about the setting, and I didn't like it.

"We should probably keep moving," Grayson said after few moments of awkward silence, "until we figure out what we're up against."

We all agreed and continued to move forward. Now all four of us felt like we were being watched. Since we were no longer in the Badlands, there was no way that it was a Nightmare. Whoever it was, the stalker was most likely human.

Grayson was the most uneasy out of all of us. Whenever we step on a stick, he looks up as if expecting to see someone else there. He kept a firm hold on his sword handle in preparation for the attacker, but no one came at us.

It started to get dark again. Grayson wanted to continue through the night, but the rest of us wanted to stop and sleep.

"Fine, but I take first watch." He looked very tense, and that worried me a little. Nervously, I laid out my sleeping bag on the ground by the campfire he set up. Mia did the same a few feet away, but Armen was unsure what to do.

That's right. He didn't have a sleeping bag anymore if ever. To solve this, Grayson retrieved a spare we found in the catacombs.

He laid it down closer to me. Armen was probably worried that He will come back, and I don't blame him. After all, he was the one being tormented by Herobrine for four years straight, not us.

Grayson put his down on the ground, but he didn't lie down. Instead, he kept his sword close by and just sat there. I wanted to tell him that maybe someone else should keep watch because he hasn't had much sleep lately, but he would probably refuse anyway.

My eyes were drooping closed. My eyelids were heavy. My mouth gave out a heavy yawn. I was about ready to fall asleep. Then the twig snapped.

I jerked awake suddenly. It took me about a minute to process what was happening. By the time it completely registered, Grayson already had his sword up against the intruder's throat.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked with a glare.

"Please don't kill me," the man said quietly.

"ANSWER ME!" Grayson bellowed. I backed up a few steps at his outburst, and so did Armen.

Mia grabbed his arm. "Woah, Grayson, calm down."

"Yeah man, chill," I agreed.

He ignored us entirely. "I will ask you again. Are you here because of the egg, because if you are, then I'm afraid you're too late. It has already hatched."

The man wheezed, "I am not here for the egg. I am here for them." Gasping for air, he pointed at Mia and I.

His voice was definitely quieter. "What did you say?" Grayson seemed a little dazed.

"My only orders were to take them out, not you. Please don't kill me."

Enraged, Grayson's fists tightened. In an effort to calm down, he mumbled, "Armen, grab the rope from my bag."

Probably as intimidated from Grayson's unusual behavior as I was, Armen quickly grabbed the tightly woven coil from the backpack. Without hesitancy, Grayson tied up our prisoner to a nearby tree. He then kicked away the sword lying on the ground that must have belonged to the assassin.

When he was done, Grayson turned to face him again. "Now, what do you mean that you were only supposed to go after them?"

"I swear that I do not know!" It was hard to tell in the dark, but I could imagine that he went very pale. "They only told me that this was what you deserved. I don't know why they were chosen."

I thought I heard Grayson murmur, "To break me." Louder, he said to Armen, Mia, and I, "All right, change of plans. We have to end this as soon as we possibly can. They've gone too far this time."

We were all drowsy, so what he meant was not obvious to us. Finally, Mia muttered, "Do what?"

He sighed. "Well, we need to get rid of the threat. The Empire has stepped too far over the line this time. I was okay with them trying to track me down because, yes, I will admit, I do kinda deserve it. But for them to pay money for people to kill my friends, that is not okay. We need to do something about it. We have to take down the Empire. That way they can't touch you guys."

He was breathing heavily now. I have never seen Grayson this angry before. He wasn't even this mad when the mercenaries first attacked us at his house. It all started when he saw this man. I don't know what it was, but they both clearly had a history together, and whatever this history was, it was not pretty.

Right now, I do not understand his motive to take down the Empire. We have already been through so much. I'm pretty sure we deserve a break.

"Come on, Grayson, let's be real here. There is no way that the four of us can take down the Empire," I pleaded.

"Yeah, Grayson. You must reconsider. Revenge will do nothing. Please hear us out," Mia begged. If it was light enough, then I would have probably have seen her meeting his eyes. Maybe it's just me, but something about what she said seemed to calm him down. Sort of.

"Yeah, I know, Mia, but we cannot let them continue to cause all of this suffering. You've lived there; you know what it's like. They are corrupt. We have the upper hand. If we manage to do it, then it will all be well. Come on, guys, the Empire must be stopped."

"Look, I know very little about the Empire, but Drake and Mia are right. Just take a deep breath. You are not yourself." Armen did his best to change Grayson's mind, but he wasn't having it.

"I appreciate that all of you are trying to look out for me, but it won't work. They killed my family. Now they have threatened you. I can't sit around and watch people die because of what I did. Please, just help me on this."

It was very awkward in the dark. None of us could clearly see the rest of our group or the prisoner. All we saw were the silhouettes of one another.

"Can someone light a fire, please? It is very weird for me to not see your faces while we are talking."

"Yeah. Mia? Do you think you could do it?" Grayson asked politely, but his voice shook.

She answered with lighting the campfire. In relief, I took in the details. Mia was uncertainly shuffling back to her position of perching on a log close by. Armen seemed to be attempting to block out the conversation by tightly having his eyes closed.

Grayson really worried me. Tears have sprung to his eyes, and he was shaking in anger. He kept throwing glances at the tied up assassin. The assassin looked unharmed except for a black eye from where Grayson punched him and some minor scratches here and there. The man had no other, he was pale because there was a very sharp sword just inches away from his neck. Both of his eyes were on the weapon.

Suddenly, I recognized him. It was the same guy who shot me in the leg a few weeks ago. Only this time, we had the element of surprise. I could finally get a good look at his face.

Grayson had removed the bandana that originally was covering the lower part of his face. A penguin hat was perched on top of his head, but it was raised so that the rest of his face was visible. I'd say that he was about Grayson's age, so older than me, but still young. Most of it was covered with his hat, but a tuft of purple hair peeked out from under the cap.

Grayson faced us grimly. "I know that it sounds like a suicide mission, but let's face it. If we don't do anything now, the Empire will continue to grow stronger to where we wouldn't be able to do anything. I don't want them to hurt you anymore. As long as they are around, then we won't be left alone." He sounded really worried about this threat.

Finally I relented. "Fine, I'll help, but I don't think that it would be easy. We can't do anything without a good, solid plan. We have to think about what we will be doing."

"And please don't tell me that you have been walking around with a plan for revenge this entire time." Mia probably meant it as a joke, but I was a little concerned that he probably did.

Grayson was lost in thought. Right now, he was planning something. I remember how quick he was to coming up with that plan to infiltrate that camp just to steal an airship. Surely he will be just as quick this time, too. That was what I was afraid of.

"Well, I doubt that they will not just let us waltz in there without a valid reason, so," his eyes twinkled mischievously, "how about we give them what they want?"

It only took a moment for it to register this time. "Oh no. No no no. Nope. Not happening."

"Are you crazy, Grayson? I understand that you want revenge, but this is a very bad idea. You won't get anything out of it."

Mia and I did our best to talk him out of it, but Grayson's mind was set. "This is the only reason why we will be granted access inside the Empire. Trust me on this. Would I willingly put you guys in danger if there wasn't a worthy cause?"

"No," Mia mumbled, "but I still think that it is a very bad idea. If you turn yourself in, and the plan doesn't work, then you've sacrificed your life for nothing."

Armen went pale at that comment. I contradicted the plan. "Even if we use this strategy, won't they suspect something is up if you willingly turn yourself in?"

He laughed. "Which is why I won't be turning myself in. Rather, it will be the assassins."

Mia protested, "That is even worse. All they care about is money. They won't help you. You said yourself that they are constantly fighting each other. You could get hurt."

"I could pretend to be one," Armen suggested, "They don't know me."

"So you are going to help him with this foolish plan," I asked my friend. He shrugged.

"Hmph, like they would believe that you are the assassin who managed to take down Grayson. I'm telling you, they are pretty simple-minded, but they will still think that something's up." Out of all of us, the man tied to the tree seemed the most confident that the plan won't work.

Grayson smirked. "Which is why you'll be joining him. Both of you will act like you have taken me prisoner and thought that the Emperor would like to see me die himself."

"Do you really think that I'd help you?" The mercenary rolled his eyes.

"Yes, because if you don't," Grayson stroked the side of his blade, "I'd be forced to kill you. Neither of us wants it to come to that."

The assassin laughed. "Would you? You know as well as I do that you won't kill me. I know you, Grayson. You wouldn't dare do it."

The words had an impact on Grayson, but he covered it up. "Try me." The blond's face had went pale as if he was doubting himself.

"Well, maybe I should refuse so that your friends will see how much you don't want me dead. Go ahead. Let's see you kill me."

Grayson locked eyes with the assassin. For a moment, they were both engaged in an intense staring contest. The assassin sensed Grayson's reluctance and planned to use it to his advantage. I knew full well that Grayson was more than able to silence the assassin.

It was starting to get lighter out. I'm glad that we had made it to morning. Now I can see the inner battle playing out on Grayson's face as he thinks about his limited options.

Then the former mercenary smiled. "You're right; I won't kill you. I would, however, leave you tied to this tree. You will die by slowly starving to death. That is, unless if you are attacked by wild animals. It is in your best interests to help us out. You know full damn well that I will not hesitate to make you suffer the same pain that you made me go through."

So was that what this was about? I don't think I even want to know the answer to the question anymore. Then again, Grayson probably wouldn't tell me anyway.

"Fine. You win Grayson, but remember my words when your plan fails and you are forced to pay the consequences of your actions. Then again, you've done it before. That's the reason your family is dead, isn't it? It was your fault, and you know it," the assassin sneered.

Grayson froze, and I saw his fists clench tightly. "It wasn't just me, you know. You were just too cowardly too share the blame." He stood over the downed man with fury leaking from every word he said. "If I could have my way, you'd have suffered every bit as much as I had. I can give you a taste of what I went through if I wanted to."

"Well, let's see you give that to me, then."

Mia whispered to me, "We should probably separate the two of them, or else we will be facing bigger problems."

I nodded in agreement. Mia then called out, "Hey, Grayson!"

He turned sharply to face her. "Yeah?"

"Can you help me with something? When we do this, we will need better supplies."

"True." He glanced at the prisoner, then at me. "Drake, do you think you can keep an eye on him?"

I was only doing it to keep the blood from spilling. "Will do. Armen, are you staying here with me, or what do you want to do?"

"I think..." Armen was very unsettled over something. "I think that I am probably just going to sit by myself for a while. Is that okay?"

"Um, alright then. I guess we meet back here in an hour, okay?"

"Sounds good." Mia mouthed me a thank you as she walked off with Grayson.

Now I was alone with the guy who had tried to kill me. Not how I envisioned spending my morning.

"Sorry about three weeks ago," I heard unexpectedly.

"Huh?" I turned to face him. He had a sincere look on his face.

"Your leg. I shot it with a poisoned arrow. I am sorry about that."

I practically had forgotten about that until last night. "Oh, um, okay. It's cool, I guess."

"No, it's not. I tried to kill you that night, and I was going to do it again last night. It is not fine and dandy. You have every right to blame me."

"Well, I am not about holding grudges. It's fine. Really. But you really should be apologizing to Grayson, not me. I don't know what was going on between the two of you, but it is affecting him. He doesn't seem to be taking your appearance very well."

"Yeah, well, I don't blame him. I have done things that I am not proud of, and in doing so I have hurt him. I don't think that he would ever completely forgive me. That is why I am starting small by apologizing to you."

This is about the closest he has come to saying what he did. It made so much sense now. Maybe with a little probing, I can confirm a few suspicions.

"So are you saying that you are the one who betrayed him to the Empire? He didn't tell us much, but he did say that a close friend told the Empire that he took the egg."

"Well, yeah, but... I don't think that I should tell you because he might prefer for me to stay quiet. If he hasn't told you, I don't think I can."

I stayed quiet. Grayson was almost definitely hiding something big. It has been hidden in the shadows until the assassin resurfaced. Suddenly, his real motive for going after the Empire became clear. While the failed attempt on Mia and my lives fueled the flames of hatred, his true desire for revenge was far more sinister.

Aw, revenge. How lovely a topic. *sighs* It's been a while since I last looked at this one-shot. It was honestly one of my favorites to write at the time. Now, I do have some other favorites, but I still get giddy when I look back.

Conspiracy: The only reason I posted this story on Wattpad was just so that I can go back through the two-shot.

Now, for those who have not seen the story on my FanFiction account, what do you think will happen next? Will the plan work? What are Grayson and "Guy Tied to the Tree" hiding (using Drake's terminology)? What is up with Armen? Did I overwhelm you with the facts about Walgreens? All shall be revealed.

So I randomly got braces today. I didn't know I was getting them until Tuesday, and it was only yesterday that they called us to schedule an appointment. Eating sucks right now. Still, I like the threader things. Guess where we went to get some more? Walgreens. I had a huge laugh with myself over that because I still can never get over that.

BRACE yourselves, epic teeth puns are coming!

~Lya200~