Sorry for the delay in updating. Finals week is so stressful...
And happy birthday Drake! You're amazing!
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Drake's point of view-

I opened my eyes slowly. I sat up gradually, feeling the uncomfortable sensation of aching pain shoot up my legs and arms. The first thing I saw was the stone below me. A smell of burning wood hung in the air. A sky above me was cloudy and dark, thunder cracking and booming through the atmosphere.
I looked in front me. There was a giant square, with houses and buildings surrounding it, patterns carved into the ground. The houses were engulfed in flames, planks of wood falling from the roofs as they collapsed. What in the h**l?
Then I saw what was really in front of me. A large wooden stand was in the center of the square and there was a rope that hung. I noticed two people were strung to the bottom of the rope, their necks wrapped around it. Their heads hung low and blood covered their bodies, dripping to the stone below them, creating puddles of gore.
Oh God, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!! I recognized those people way too well. No, no, no!!! This cannot happen. Oh good God, no......It was my own two friends, Grayson and Mia.
I screamed, my heart pounding out my chest and my eyes wide from freight as I backed away quickly, my legs kicking in front of me to get away. No, no, no!!! This cannot be true! Grayson and Mia are not dead! This is just another one of His d**m tricks! But this seemed so real.
I closed my eyes, squeezing them as I held my pounding head. Tears threatened to escape my eyelids as I looked again at Grayson and Mia.
But this time, standing right beside the wooden stand, was Armen, his eyes sad and low as he looked at me straight in the eye as I stared back. His white eye glowed but he showed no signs of hostility towards me.

Armen opened his mouth and quietly said, "Drake, stop letting him hurt you like this. Stop letting me hurt you like this. Go and live your life. Go on and don't remember me. I'm warning you, don't try to free me."

Tears started to roll down his cheeks, but he didn't whip them away. He sniffled and choked. I've never seen him so sad before. He cringed and held his hand against his head, as if in pain. Bright glowing tears flickering with the light of the flames began to roll down his cheeks once more.

"Drake, I'm so sorry... It's hard for me to do this. All of this! To contact you... To tell you these things, but I need to protect you from Herobrine. Forgot about me, please!"

Then he spoke, "I don't want you to die. I care too much about you." He stopped and took a step backwards. "Just please, Drake. Please...."

Then his body started to fade. I quickly got up and ran towards him, not wanting to let go of him. When I got to the point where he was standing, I reached out my hand to him, but it went right through his body. I tried over and over again but it failed miserably.

I fell to the ground on my knees, sobbing and crying, shouting over my tears. "Please. Please don't leave me, Armen! I care too much about y-y-you! I'll never, ever give up on saving you, Armen! You're my best friend!"

My shouts of distress slowly started to fade. Then the last thing I saw was darkness starting to cloud my vision and Armen's transparent body disappearing, his head hanging low, his face full of agony.
...

My eyes snapped opened to an intense aching in my stomach. My head lunged forward as I hung my mouth open letting my blood and vomit fall out, splattering on the floor. I gasped for air, my lungs screaming for oxygen, but it wouldn't stop. Only for few split seconds was I able to breathe, but it wasn't enough to keep my brain function at a stable condition. Tears came out of eyes as the world began to blur. I felt lightheaded and dizzy, struggling against the shackles that prevented me from moving around in my cell.
Finally, it stopped. My stomach, and my lungs felt empty. My head spun, feeling like I was going to pass out. Suddenly, I heard a loud click through the ringing in my ears, as a small crack of light appeared in the door frame. The door swung open, revealing a figure in blue standing in the light. I couldn't handle it anymore. My eyes closed and forced me into another unconscious state.
...

"Drake?" I heard a distant voice call out for me.

"Drake, wake up!"

Suddenly, I jolted awake, immediately going into a coughing fit. Luckily, there didn't seem to be anymore blood, except what was already in my mouth. I opened my teary eyes, and looked over to see Lalea, worry and fear in her eyes. I was laying on the ground now, the imprints of the shackles left on my wrist. She must have let me down. I wiped the blood from my mouth as she spoke up.

"Please tell me you're okay!" Her eyes were tearing up.

I sighed and continued to try to catch my breath. "Y-yeah, I'm... I'm okay for now."

I put my hand against my throat, relieved that it didn't feel sore anymore, but of course, my high fever was still present. I pushed myself up, stumbling on my feet until I fell over, falling on top of the imperial Mage. She pushed me up, lifting up my arm and putting it around her shoulder to assist me in walking. I still hated feeling weak, and relying on others to constantly help me.

"Come on. We're going to escape." She said, taking a step forward.

I shook my head. "What about the guard?" It came out as a whisper.

"It's okay. I told him that the emperor needed him. He'll be back very soon though." She sounded worried.

"L-listen. You're friends are going to be taken for execution right now! The guards will be here to get you soon, so we have to leave now!" She started pulling me to the door.

"What about my friends?! I'm not leaving them!"

She shouted back. "We're going to find a way to help then. We'll at least try!" Trying isn't good enough...

I looked down at my other hand, remembering how they both once glowing blue and purple when I used my magic. Unstable magic. It's our best bet on saving Grayson and Mia and escaping this place. Lalea looked at me, her eyes seeing through me.

"Don't you dare use your magic! We've been through this, it will kill you."

I glared at her, letting my hand fall back to my side. "I don't care... I don't care if I die. I don't care if Herobrine takes control. I only care about them!"

Her eyes widened, as silence fell between us. I could only imagine what was going through her mind. She must have thought I was crazy, but then again, I might just be on the edge of that border. I took my arm off of her, stumbling at first, but I gained proper footing.

Lalea gazed away from me. "You really care about them, don't you?"

What kind of a question was that? "Of course! The whole reason I'm here is because I was trying to protect them! They-!" I stopped, my eyes growing wide.

"...and they're here because they were trying to protect me." Just like always. It's my fault. Why can't I do anything right?

With the guilt and the intense headache, I dig my fingers into my scalp, clumping up and pulling my hair. As I fell to my knees, I let out a scream. Everything was beginning to wash over me again. Anxiety, guilt, hatred. No matter what, nothing goes right. No matter what, I can't protect them...

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! They going to die... They...they..." My eyes teared up, quickly letting my tears slip out from my closed eyes. "It's all my fault...again...again..." I kept mumbling it over and over.

I felt a pair of soft hands press against my cheeks. My eyes opened again,looking up at Lalea, kneeling in front of me. She shushed me, oddly helping me relax.

"It's okay, Drake. We're going to rescue them. We still have time. Just have hope." Hope is nothing. I had hope that I could save Armen, and look how that turned out.

She helped me stand once again, pulling me up to my feet. Still, something about her words shined a small, but dim light in me. I may not be able to protect them from Herobrine or myself, they care about me too much, but I can try like h**l to protect them from this fate. I pushed her away gently, feeling the need to stand on my own. My legs shook underneath me, but I remained standing. I sniffed, wiping tears away from my eyes.

I hiccuped "Thank you. Thank you for trying to help us. You don't understand. Grayson and Mia are all I have left. They're the reason I'm willing to put up with this demon in my head."

A halfhearted smile appeared on her face. "You are the greatest friend I've ever met. I've never imagined that I'd meet someone who was so devoted to their friends that they were willing to put through so much h**l."

I chuckled. They're the reason I'm still alive. If it weren't for them, I probably would have let those dark thoughts get the better of me. I'll do anything for them, including letting Herobrine take control of my body, but only if I know that he won't kill them. But I know that they will be his main targets, therefore, I have to fight his control for their sake.

"They're my family..." I smiled, my cheeks aching from not smiling in a while. I faced her, looking into her deep ocean blue eyes.

"Now, let's go before it's too late." I turned around, and ran out of the cell, pulling Lalea behind me.

Luke's point of view-

I struggled against the chains that suspended me in the air. They put me in a cell directly across from Grayson's, while Mia was in the cell next to me. My head hung down, feeling defeated. Grayson on the other hand, still tried to fight against his restraints. He kicked and thrashed around, shouting at the top of his lungs for his hybrid friend. I was finally starting to memorize it; Drake.

"Let me out of here!" He shouted as loud as he could. "I won't let you hurt Drake again!"

I felt bad, not only because we would be sentenced to death soon, but because I knew how much it hurt Grayson knowing that he didn't rescue his friend. I can't believe the plan failed. I can't believe I hesitated and overlooked so many things. I guess I'm not as bright as I thought I was.

"What are we going to do?" Mia asked. "Are we just going to let this happen? We're going to be killed and leave Drake in this horrible place? Did you see how...broken he looked?"

I remembered his expression. I never really had a good relationship with him, but it still brought a bit of pain seeing someone with such little care and hope left in them. I looked up, looking at Grayson in his cell as he stopped struggling, and let his head hang down. Did he finally give up?

He growled. "No. We can't leave him here. They're hurting him, a-and..." He was starting to get emotional. "I promised him that I'd get Herobrine out of his body and finally stop that devil from tormenting him! I'm not going to break a promise ever again!"

I opened my mouth to say something, but we all grew silent when the door to the dungeon swung open. Six guards walked in, two going to each of our cells. As one reached up to unshackle me, the other held chains to wrap around me, and a sword in his other hand. I looked up, looking at Grayson, before my wrist were momentarily free, and I fell to the stone ground.
Something inside of me was refusing to give up. I still need to do something good for Grayson, even if it will never change my past. Maybe I'm just looking for some closure, but I don't deserve that. Grayson on the other hand, I can't let him die without knowledge as to if Drake is safe or not.
Before the new cuffs were fastened around my wrist, I ducked down and scissor kicked the guard holding the blade. Swiftly, I kicked down the other guard before he could draw his blade.
The other one sat up, swinging the thin iron sword at me. I was able to dodge the attack, then lunge in and grab his wrist. It was a cheap move, but I then bit into his hand, digging my teeth into his knuckles until he let his weapon fall from his hand. Grabbing the handle, I swung it down on the second guy first, the blade cutting through his chest and killing him. As the other began to attempt to get up, I stabbed the blade through his neck, watching as he gagged and blood pooled out of his mouth. His eyes rolled back, as his body collapsed.
Quickly, I turned around and ran out of the cell, charging into Grayson's. He was no longer suspended on the wall, but now had his arms chained in front of himself. Instantly, I lunged the sword through a guard's chest, as the other swung an iron blade at me. I lifted up my new blade, and lunged it forward, stabbing him between his eyes. I couldn't help but smile.

"Luke, look out!" Grayson warned me.

I spun around, seeing the last two guards charge at me with their weapons held high. I ran at them, swinging my blade, blocking the attack of one, but getting cut in the side by the other. I cringed, holding back a cry. Fear rose in my entire body as he made a swing at my neck. I was starting to see my life flash before my eyes, realizing all of the things I just threw away in life. Betraying Grayson was my biggest regret in a sea guilt. I closed my eyes tight, waiting for the end.
A clash echo on the stone wall. My eyes shot open, seeing Grayson's chains in between me and what could have been my inevitable death. I looked over my shoulder at the blonde, who gave a nod of his head, and a small grin appearing on his lips. He moved his arms so that the chain wrapped around the blade, then he pulled back until the sword slipped from the guards grasp. I stepped aside to avoid getting cut as I released the guard from our standoff. I lodged the tip of my iron sword into the second guards chin, killing him almost instantly.
Grayson swung the blade around, holding the small handle with both of his chained hands. With one thrust, the iron grinded on the guard's chestplate until it slipped up, scratching the armor, and went through the guard's throat. Exchanging a glance at Grayson, I smiled once again. He actually protected me, or was he just aware that he would be killed if I didn't hold them back? It doesn't matter.

"Thanks." I said, bending down and unhooking the keychain from one of the corpses.

Grayson never replied directly to me. "Mia! Are you okay?"

I looked up, seeing the elf walk out of her cell, her wrist and ankles already in chains. I stood up and searched through the keys as I tried to release Grayson from his bounds. Mia walked in, stepping around the bodies and pools of blood.

"I'm okay. How about you guys?" She said.

Grayson replied. "We're fine."

I put the keys in his shackles one by one, until finally there was a click, and I was able to get them to release him. The chains fell to the ground with a clatter as they hit the stone surface. His wrist were red and raw, with a few old bruises. Next, I turned around began to unchain Mia.

I spoke as I did so. "Let's go find your friend and get back the dragon egg if we can. We don't have much time."

After she was freed, I urged them to leave the cell, running behind them as we sprinted to the exit of the dungeon. Mia turned back, grabbing a blade from a copse. She apologized, then ran back to Grayson's side. We all held our blades tightly once we made it to the door. I nodded my head to them, telling them to open it and be ready to fight off more guards at the count of three.

"One, two..." Before I finished, Grayson and Mia had already swung the door open, beginning the kill the two guards on the surface.

"Or not.." I rolled my eyes, and run up the few steps to join them.

Third person point of view-

The emperor paced about at the gallows, waiting for the convicts to be dragged to their death sentence. He growled, growing impatient with the arrival of top imperial criminals and his little Ender trophy. A crowd had already gathered around, lusting to witness death before their very eyes. It shouldn't have been taking that long, as far as he was concerned.

"Where are they?!" He demanded an answer, stomping his foot on the ground in anger.

The shouting crowd was growing to become a great annoyance. He let out another growl. If they weren't here soon, someone was going to pay; not just the thief of the dragon egg and his accomplices. Suddenly, an imperial guard charged in, out of breath.

"S-sire..." He gasped for more air.

"What? You've already bothered me about nothing earlier. Where is Grayson and the hybrid?!" The emperor demanded once again.

The guard swallowed a lump in his dry throat. "They're gone...Lucas, Grayson...the hybrid... They've escaped."

The emperor's eyes widened, shock quickly becoming replace with rage as a fire lit in his hazel eyes. His fist clenched tightly as he gritted his teeth together. The guard quivered at the rage of the ruthless king, fearing the unpredictable nature of the tyrant. He cried out and whimpered as the emperor grabbed the part of his shirt's collar visible through his thick armor, and pulled him in. To the emperor, this was all the guards fault for leaving his post the first time.

"Find them! Find them immediately! Now!" The emperor shouted, spitting in the other man's face.

The guard fell back as he was let go, scampering to his feet. He briskly turned around, and ran as fast as he could to inform the guards and remaining mercenaries in the palace of the prisoners escape. The emperor watched him run off, his chest heaving. Sharply, he turned to the crowd, shouting for them all to become silent. The cheering ceased. Enraged, the tyrant stormed off, determined to get back the escapees and make all of them pay for defying him...

Grayson's point of view-

The minutes felt like hours as we ran, killing anyone that tried to stop us. Getting to Drake, and getting him and Mia out of this place was all I cared about. Our heavy footsteps and gasps for air was all we heard as the halls grew desolate of other humans. We have to find Drake. For all we know, it could already be too late.

"There are more cells this way! Just keep following me!" Luke called out ahead of us.

Dungeon after dungeon, we searched, only finding other prisoners that we had no time to attempt to rescue. I felt no sympathy, not because I didn't care about them, but because Drake was the only person I was focusing on. Once again finding nothing, we went back into the corridors, running as fast as we could. I can't let them hurt Drake anymore. The blood on his clothing just hours ago, and that look in his eyes...I'll never be able to forget how discouraged and hopeless he looked. I never, even when he was being tormented by Herobrine, thought that I would ever see him so broken. I tried to fight the tears that threatened to form in my eyes.

"Grayson, look!" Mia called out.

I stopped in my tracks, looking into the distance of the hall. My eyes teared up as my ears pounded from my heartbeat. My vision was blurry, but I was able to see a blur of dark blue and light blue next to it with a hint of black. Once my vision settled, I saw Drake with his arm around the shoulder of a girl with blue hair and a cloak. He still looked sick. A heavy pressure in my chest suddenly lifted, feeling such relief to see my best friend once again, not in the hands of that b****d emperor.

"Drake!" I called out, sprinting to him as fast as I could.

He pushed himself away from the girl, and began to sprint towards me, calling out Mia's and my own name. Our bodies hit each other, stopping the other in his tracks. I hugged him tightly, pulling both of us to the ground. I dropped my sword, letting it fall to the stone below us. Tears were going down my cheeks as I put my chin on his shoulder. I was overjoyed to see him again.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have run off! I'm so sorry..." He said, his voice cracking.

I lifted up my head and pulled back to look him in the eyes. They were filled with tears beginning to stream down his face. I missed it when he was so calm and collected, and so confident in himself. I hated seeing him so broken down.

"Drake it's okay. We're together again, and no matter what, Mia and I will always be right behind you."

I moved some of his sweat covered hair out of his face, but gasped at what I saw on his Ender side. His ear was shorter, with a badly stitched wound. It still a had dried blood covering it. I started choking, tears filling my eyes until I couldn't see. My body kept trembling at the thought of what had happened to him.

"W-what did...what did they..?" I couldn't even finish.

He looked down, his hair falling over his face again. A dark chuckle escaped his throat. "They...they did a lot to me, Grayson."

I wanted to know, but I was scared of asking. I didn't want to make things worse. I pulled my hands back, clutching my fist as pure rage filled my body. They hurt him... They're all going to pay. I'll kill that emperor as slowly and painfully as possible. I'm going to make him wish that he never laid a hand, or come even remotely close to me or Drake. I'll watch him burn like I watched my family burn, but this time around, I'll enjoy every scream of agony.

"Mia?" The girl in blue said, looking over at Mia, who was in tears.

The elf looked away from us, and up at the girl. "Lalea?" She gasped.

Suddenly, Luke's dragged out attention to him. "Guys, I love this heartfelt reunion, but we have company!" He pointed down the hall where Drake and Laela had just come from.

We all looked up, seeing guards and a guy dressed in white and black. All but two of the guards ran at us, holding their weapons high and close. I grabbed my sword, and stood up, growling. Mia, Luke and I charged, fighting off the few guards. With each kill, I tried to keep my eye out for the man I white. He seemed like he was planning something. Bodies laid on the floor, blood pooling everywhere. As we tried to catch out breath, I noticed Drake's wide eyes filled with terror as stared at the man in white. I looked at the man, as he pulled something out from his coat.

"I'm not going to play around." He said, waving a white and gold pistol in his hand.

It had been years since I've last seen an actual operating gun. I froze, not knowing what to do. One move, and he could kill us all. His held up his hand.

"Just give me back my little test subject and I might let at least one of you live."

Test subject? I wondered what he meant by that, but then the realization suddenly hit me. My eyes widened, then I looked behind me, where Drake was quivering. He kept stepping back, slowly shaking his head with a fearful look in his eyes.

"No! Get him away from me!" Drake shouted, falling to his knees as he dug his fingers into his scalp. "Stay away!" He was actually beginning to twitch.

I looked back up at the man when he spoke. "So you are scared of me! Well, once I bring you back, I'm going cut up your skin and see more of your insides." His voice was so cynical.

I focused on his choice of words. 'More'. That means...he's done it before... I remembered all of that blood that was on Drake's shirt just hours ago when we were at the throne room. I couldn't believe that they had actually done that to my friend. He must have been the one that cut off his ear too! I felt myself boil over, holding my sword so tight that blisters were forming on my hands even through my gloves. I gritted my teeth until they hurt and felt like they would fall out. He hurt Drake... No one gets away with that if I can help it!
Drake's screaming turned into panting and growls. I assumed that he was getting another bad headache. I didn't even look behind me to look at him. I kept my focus solely on the man standing before me, glaring at him as I tried to think of a way to attack him without getting shot by his gun.
He nodded at the guys at his shoulders. They drew their blades and came at me. I growled, and charged, determined to protect my friends. I was able to stab one through the gut, as I received a painful cut on my shoulder. Retaliating, I swung around and swung my blade, a slash mark going down his face and chest. I cut his hand to make him let his weapon go, then grabbed his hair and lunged my blade through his chest and pulled it out.

The man in white tilted his head. "Impressive!"

"You're not taking him!" I yelled, stepping in front of Drake defensively.

He shrugged. "Very well then." With that, he readied it, and fired with a blinding light erupting from the gun.

I turned my head and shut my eyes, waiting for my death. In that flash of light, I imagined my wife and son waiting for me in the afterlife. My only regret is that I couldn't keep my promise to Drake. My eyes snapped open when I heard a loud shattering sound. I looked up, seeing a large blue, purple and white circular shield made of magic energy in front of me.
I turned around, looking at Drake with his arm held out, breathing heavily and in obvious pain. The shield shattered like glass. I jumped back from surprise. Drake clutched his fist, coughing and letting small specks of blood fly from his mouth.

"Drake, no!" Lalea yelled at him. She must have known about his magic problem.

Drake ignored her. He screamed in rage and anguish, opening his fist and letting a powerful ball of magic fire out of his palm. The man was struck in his chest, falling to his back as we were all blinded by the light. I forced my eyes open, and watched as he was burned by blue flames that quickly extinguished.
He screamed as he was burned, letting the gun slip from his fingers. I ran and quickly grabbed the gun, feeling his fingers brush against mine as he tried to get it back. Parts of his hair burned and was now black, and his skin red and raw, now covered in painful blisters from the fire. I held my trembling arm out, my hand wrapped around the handle and my finger on the trigger.
It has been a long time since I've held a working gun. Over five years to be exact. It felt strange but good to hold something so powerful in my grasp. I've never really been a good shot with guns, but this time my victim was right in front of me, at my mercy. I stomped on his chest, making him cringe in pain.

I pulled back the hammer end of the gun, my eyes blurring in rage. "I won't let you hurt Drake, or anyone for that matter, EVER.AGAIN!" I hissed through my teeth.

My finger pressed the trigger, a blinding light flashing as a bullet left the chamber. He screamed as the bullet penetrated his chest, but it didn't hit a vital area that would kill him instantly. I guess I'm a bit better with my aim. Before I could ready the gun again, I was roughly pushed aside.
Drake now stood over him, with a sword from a dead guard in his hand. His expression looked blank as he stared down at the man who had hurt him so much.

"Eye for an eye." He said, with a dead tone.

I actually flinched when he lifted up his sword and brought it down on his left eye, piercing through his eye and penetrating deep into his eye socket. The blade traveled through his skull, but it seemed that Drake was trying not to go too deep that it would kill him. Seeing my friend like this, was honestly terrifying.

He pulled the blade out. "Ear for an ear.."

Drake brought the tip of the sword down on his right ear. The man screamed in agony, tears of pain running down his face. I was glad that Drake was doing this. The man needed to pay. But still, this didn't feel like Drake to me.

"...and for everything else."

He got down onto his knees, placing the blade on the man's stomach. I flinched again when Drake slashed open his stomach, his blood soaking into his white coat, and quickly pooling around his body. The man let out bloodcurdling screams, before he started choking on his own blood. Drake looked down at him, unmoving and no sympathy in his eyes as the man's body went limp, and he bleed out.
I looked behind me at everyone, all of them staring at the sight of gore before us. They all seemed shocked with Drake as well. I looked back at him, my eyes tearing up again from imagining how much pain he had been through to become almost dead like with his emotions.

"D-Drake?" I wanted to talk, but even then, I no longer knew what I could say that would make anything better.

"Let's keep going. We have to get out of this place." He said, turning around and beginning to walk down the corridor.

I looked over at Mia, who looked at me then at Lalea. "Come on." She said, jogging to catch up with Drake.

We all followed her and Drake, stepping over the bodies that we had left behind. Our tracks leaving behind prints of blood. We were finally reunited. We just have to get back the dragon egg and the map, and get out of the empire. Still, none of us knew what would lay ahead of us. None of us knew who Drake was anymore...