I feel like there could have been more point of views but I got way too into the third person. Oh well! I hope you enjoy and forgive me if you find any errors.
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Third person point of view-

The buzzing of bugs and scurrying of animals called out through the thick forest. Grayson swung his blade, cutting away a low branch so that the others could pass by without getting swatted in the face. Occasionally they would have the luck of passing by a bush that still bore a few edible berries. Drake reached out to a bush after watching the others frantically picking the berries away. He took a single blackberry, staring blankly down at it.
Drake was hesitant to place the small blackberry against his tongue. His stomach growled with hunger but he knew that eventually he would hurl it back up before his body could take in the proper nutrients. Sure the berries were small, but that did not really matter with his condition.
Finally he let out a deep sigh and placed the blackberry into his burning, dry mouth. He began to chew it rather fast because of his aching hunger but soon after he began gagging before even getting the piece of fruit down his throat.
He slumped over and unconsciously spit it out as another coughing fit struck him. He put one arm on the tree to keep him upright as the coughing turned into mild vomiting. His other arm pressed against his stomach as he slowly ran out of breath. Only blood poured out from his empty stomach. Afterwards, he gasped for breath and waited for the world to stop spinning even though his eyesight was already awful.

"Drake, are you alright?" Lalea asked him with a soft voice full of concern.

Drake growled as both Lalea and Grayson crowded him. He was so sick of being asked that question. Shouldn't the answer be obvious by now?

"I'm f**king starving! What do you think?" He snapped with a snarl in his throat.

The two backed up, their chests becoming heavy. Drake's gaze softened as he realized that he had yelled at his friends, not only that, but swore in front of Jane. He growled at himself, shaking his head in frustration as he looked down at the wet soil. He was sick of them asking if he was fine, but he was even more sick of himself screaming at his friends just because they were worried about him. He felt disgusted with himself for treating his comrades, who were practically family, in such a way.

Drake took in a few deep breaths, not looking up as he apologized. "I'm so sorry... you guys k-know that I have not exactly been able to c-control my own emotions l-lately." He gave out a half hearted chuckle to lift the dread and awkward feeling that now lingered.

Grayson swallowed a lump in his throat, obviously still concerned. His eyes scanned Drake's slim body, looking at his torso where his ribs were visible, them down at the crimson bile splattered upon the ground. He took in a deep breath and released it slowly. Reluctantly, he turned around and looked back down to his map. He did not know what to say anymore.

"It's alright...it's not your fault." He said calmly.

A few more minutes passed along with multiple other brushes that bore ripe fruit. It was strange considering that it was winter and so far up north where all of the plant life should have died and the ground should have been blanketing in pure white snow. His ears perked up as he heard a familiar growl that did not belong to any animal. He looked over his shoulder, seeing Drake with his arms over his stomach and red cheeks, yet his face distorted with pain.
Grayson huffed, rolling up his map and shoving it carelessly into his satchel. He looked over to the bushes, his eyes resting on the many black fruits growing on the slim leaf covered branches. He glanced back at Drake for a moment before going and picking a few of the berries without second thought.

"Drake, are you sure that you don't want anymore? The last time you ate, you ended up barfing it back up." Grayson tried urging him to eat as he held out his palm with a handful of blackberries.

Drake growled and shook his head. "I'm positive, G-Grayson. I don't want anymore. I can't st-stomach it."

The blonde let out a sigh, stuffing all of the berries into his mouth as he gave up on trying to get his friend to eat. He felt bad for just eating them right in front of him while the hybrid was literally starving, almost to death at this point, but after taking them for so long, it had become a bit of a force of habit.
He turned back around and continued walking as he looked down at the map. Lalea gazed at the hybrid out of the corner of her eyes, watching as he pulled his hood over his head and let his hands slip into his pockets. She wanted him to eat, but she did not want to force it on him. Deep down she knew that he'd end up throwing it back up anyway.
Every sound was putting him on edge and pushing him further and further over. The distant hooting of owls or the sound of rushing leaves all echoed in his ears and made him anxious. He was consumed by the illogical fear that pulsed through his body. His ears began to ring and ache in sore pain, bringing a few tears to his eyes. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath to get himself to relax.

"Drake, you look like you're bothered by something." The Mage opened his eyes, his head turning to look down at the teenager walking by his side.

He turned away, looking at the ground as he continued walking. "It's nothing...I'm f-fine, just not feeling my b-best."

Nathan lowered a brow, seeing through the lie. "Really? I thought Grayson told you to stop lying to us about how you felt. I know that you're not feeling well, but you should be entirely truthful."

Drake sighed then chuckled, turning back to the boy. "Yeah, you're r-right... I just...I need something to get my mind o-off of, well...my mind."

There was silence as Nathan tried to think of what to say, but Drake continued before he could speak. "I just... around Lalea and Grayson and a-all of you guys...I feel h-happy, but there are feelings inside of me th-that are covering up that joy. I-I constantly feel like I'm choking on...on g-guilt."

The auburn haired looked away, rubbing his cold arm as he tried to think of a reply. The many cuts on his sleeve let the freezing cold air brush against his skin that was covered in bandages and goosebumps.

"Guilt?" Was all Nathan could mumble out from behind his cold pink lips.

The hybrid let out another heavy breath and nodded, his stuttering ceasing. "Yeah...for not taking back control and saving Sylvia or not being quick enough to save Luke... For not saving Armen when I had the chance."

He felt like that was all obvious now, but the ex-mercenary mainly felt bad that Drake had to hold all of that weight on his shoulders. He understood how guilt felt, how painful it was to bare. He knew what it was like to feel responsible for a life and for another's death. So many people he had watched die theses past few days, ones that whose blood he had promised he would not allow to be spilled. It was a far fetched promise, but he tried...and he failed. Not only did he stand by as he watched comrades die, but family had lost their lives because of him...

His chest began to feel heavy as he let Drake continue. The hybrid's eyes filled with tears of remorse. "I wish that I would have just...put Herobrine entirely onto myself instead of just w-waiting for another solution. I-I could have saved him...but I just ended up killing him instead! I could have been a better friend...a better brother...but I failed him."

Nathan sighed, wishing that his friend would stop feeling that way. "Don't say that. Everyone feels guilty about something, Drake. We all have something that we wish we would have done differently for the benefit of someone we care for."

Drake chuckled and rubbed his eyes free from his warm tears. "Really? And what about you?"

The boy scratched the back of his head. "Well, not listening and saving you when I should have, for one example..."

He turned away and scratched the back of his neck. "You know...my mother died giving birth to me...then when my father couldn't afford to look after me anymore when the emperor raised taxes and my father's job lowered the pay...we ended up on the street. For years I thought that things would be so much better if I was never born... My mother would be alive...my father...would have been happier."

Drake looked at him out of the corner of his eye, his chest feeling heavier at the thought of Nathan's words. It was like himself...thinking that Armen would have been better off if he was never created. That everyone would be better off without him.

"...Then I realized that everyone has a purpose. We just have to wait to find it, and with you guys...I feel like I found that purpose."

The Mage smiled before a laugh rose up in his throat, looking down at Nathan with his baggy eyes. He liked that Nathan was explaining things in more detail. It meant that the boy trusted him.

"I guess you and I aren't too different. Thank you for talking to me... It helped me feel a bit better."

Nathan giggled. "No problem. Just stop letting that guilt consume you. It's not healthy. Trust me, I know."

"Yeah. Not the first time I've been told something like that."

Endy tilted her head, watching as Jane strayed away from her father, which was unusual for her to ever do. She looked different from usual. Her head hung low as she crossed her arms over her chest to keep warm in her dress. It was a sudden change of mood that the raven was uncomfortable with seeing in the small child who was usually so full of life.

"Jane, is anything wrong?" Endy asked calmly and quietly, not seeming to gain too much attention from Xavier, but he did listen without giving any sign that he was.

The girl turned her head and looked up at the older female with wide, watery eyes. "I miss mommy..."

Endy's violet eyes grew then softened in sympathy. Her heart felt heavy, tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she remembered Sylvia, and the pain of knowing that she never really had a caring mother like she was. Jane didn't deserve to be alone, and while she did have Xavier, it just felt wrong for her not to have some sort of female role model.

"I know, darling. We miss her very much too. I'm sorry."

Jane slowed down enough for Endy to reach her. The raven stopped as the child stood next to her, then held out her small hand in hopes that the elder female would take it. Endy smiled, taking her hand gently. It felt strange having to grip her with her left hand but she had no option with the broken arm. She had to repress the urge to squeal from how small her hand was. Jane smiled up at her, a small giggle rising in her throat.
Grayson suddenly stopped in the middle to the trail, his arm shooting out to motion for the others to stop. Mia bumped into him, grunting as she stepped back. Her lime green eyes scanned the area, but she saw nothing peculiar.

"Grayson, what's wrong?"

The blonde male remained silent and unmoving, listening carefully to their surroundings. His ears were perked up, taking in the sounds that filled the air. One sound struck out amongst the others, sounding closer than the rest. It was a rapid fluttering like the wings of an insect pounding against his ears. Before he could hypothesize what was making the irritable noise, the nerves down his spine were activated by a stinging pain coming from his right cheek.
He grunted and groaned in pain as he stumbled back, putting away his map and lifted up his hand to touch the sight of the pain. His arm lowered, gazing down at the crimson liquid against his fingertips. He growled as he pulled out his sword, his eyes darting around to find whatever had cut his skin.
He gasped and turned around as he heard one of his comrades cry out. Mia screeched in pain, holding her left cheek as it bled. A speeding blue light shot down from the trees, zipping past Xavier. He hissed and held his arm as a cut suddenly appeared on his clothing and skin. They were all looking around for the bright blue light that was attacking them.

"What the heck is doing this?!" Xavier yelled before another cut was inflicted on his left knee.

Drake pulled out his sword, looking around frantically with a rapidly beating heart. He could feel himself panicking as anxiety began to slowly take hold of him once again. He started to breath heavily, his senses heightened in a moment of panic. He felt a life force, three not belonging to his friends nor a normal animal. It was a kind belonging to a species that he had not encountered since he became a Mage.
He looked up, seeing three bright lights up in the trees. One light was a bright blue, one a pink color, and the other a bright green. An annoying, high pitched sound emitted from them that sounded like laughter. Drake's eye twitched at the sound, irritation and anger rising in his chest. His fist tightened around the handle of his blade, wanting to cut them up and put a silence to the sound.

"What are those things? Are those fairies?" Mia asked, drawing her own blade.

Drake growled as he examined the beings emitting the lights. They were small people with wings and wearing dressing typical of an average fairy, but this was definitely not the archetypical perception of a fairy. Their skin was paler, more blue than tan and no rosy cheeks. Their wings were different, more jagged than a fairy's wings. Drake's eyes widened as he recognized what these beings were.

"No. Those are pixies!"

As he called out, the pixie in green light shot down and cut Endy on her legs then got Jane on her hip. Hearing his daughter cry out, Xavier rushed to her side and got down onto his knee. He touched her wound gently, growling that his little girl had gotten hurt. His eyes seethed in rage as he stood, pulling out his sword to fight off the menace. His green eyes scanned around, before his eyes shut tight with the pink pixie cutting him on the side of his face beside his right eye.

"What's the difference?" Mia called out to Drake.

The hybrid replied as he look around everywhere in the towering trees. "Pixies are mischievous and more like maniacs than fairies. They're notoriously more aggressive and enjoy attacking others, in case you couldn't tell. Ironically, pixies and fairies hate each other."

He listened in as the devilish creatures laughed, his eye twitching as it echoed through the trees. It was suddenly like most of his senses were heightened; able to hear and react very well but his vision remained badly impaired. He looked down as Lalea took her sword in one hand while her other ignited in blue flame. His different colored eyes darted around yet again, until his eyes locked onto a blur of pink light.
He lifted up his arm, pointing to place were the pixie had yet to fly but yet he just feel that his love fired at just the right time, then she would be able to strike it. He called out, telling her to fire a blast of magic blaze as quickly as possible. She was swift to lift up her arm and let the blast fire into the cold air. To their relief, the blast struck its target, letting the burning body of the pixie fall to the grass.

"More enemies approaching!" Grayson called out to warm his comrades.

Everyone's attention was drawn to Grayson as he pointed down the path. Slimes and living trees known as Ents were the first among a group of beasts. There was one risen skeleton and one Enderman that towered above all but the attacking living plants. They were like guardians to the hatchery that the humans and elf searched for; longing to find. The blonde stared at at slimes that reminded him of his old pet that he had lost over a month ago. These were bigger than Slimey, but not by much.
Grayson pushed away the memories then almost immediately charged at the approaching monsters with his sword held firmly by his side. Once he reached the slimes that hopped across the ground, he swung his blade and sliced into the gelatinous creatures. He kept swinging until the slime stopped multiplying and remained as nothing but a pile of green goop. A part of him hated that he had ripped apart a species that he had once loved as a companion, but he had nothing to tame them this time around. As of now, protecting his friends was all he worried about and all he cared about.

"I'm sorry..." He quietly mumbled. "But I can not risk you hurting my friends."

Xavier stepped in front of Endy, extending out his arm out as she prepared to fight. He puffed out his chest as he pulled out his sword with his free hand. Out of the corner of his eyes, he gazed at Endy's cast before looking up into her bright eyes full of confusion and frustration.

"Please stay back Endy. I do not want you to damage that arm anymore. Besides, you could get seriously hurt or killed if you can not use that arm."

The raven haired grunted with her cheeks growing red. "Fine. But I am stepping in if I have to."

Xavier smiled and nodded. "My apologies. I am just trying to keep my promise."

He looked back ahead of himself, his green eyes growing wide with a chuckle rising in his throat. Oddfully cheerful, he charged at the hoard of beast, his first opponent being and old undead skeleton.
The rest of them were quick to join the ex-commander, Drake dodging arrows that the cryptic undead skeleton fired from it's old, rotting bow. Drake grunted and growled with a blaze in his eyes as he approached mere steps away from his prey. Even with his body in a weakened state and filled with pain, he wanted to fight. Not only to feel of use, but he was once again getting violent urges to slaughter.
Swiftly, he swung his diamond blade that the joint of the skeleton's right elbow. It struck his target, snapping the bone and letting the upper part of the arm that held the bow fall from the rest of it's body of bones. A scream left from his body as he made a final swing at his opponent's skull, the bone shattering under the force.
As it's body fell, Drake examined his sword, looking at the cracks forming and the diamond that had been chipped away. His weapon would soon shatter. Drake shook away the thought, then looked back up to take on his next attacker. He faced the Enderman who was about a foot or so taller than he was. He had not seen an Enderman so close in a long while, taking in its physical appearance. He focused on its black almost scale like skin. It was thin enough to let a glow emitting from its chest become visible. It's eyes were two dark shades of purple with a skinny body, all aspects typical of an average Enderman.
The echoing sound of rage that it made echoed off of the trees, and for the first time it made him irritated and angry. The sound made him feel like his ears were bleeding.
While he hated to attack Enderman, he was now at the point where he could not care less. He screamed as he swung his blade, every fiber of his being screaming in pain along with him. It let out an ear piercing screech as the sharp edge of sword cut deep into its side, a thick purple liquid oozing from the wound. In a blur of glowing purple through Drake's blurry eyesight, the glow only coming from what he assumed were Ender particles, the Enderman suddenly vanished.
Drake looked over his shoulder before spinning around and immediately taking a swing with his sword. The tip penetrated through the monsters thin skin and strong spine. A purple light shined bright in its mouth with its glowing eyes shining brighter until it was nearly blinding. With that last scream and thrust of the hybrid's weapon, the Enderman's body turned to dust and ash. Drake looked at the glowing purple light until it finally faded into nothing.

Satisfied Drake? You keep killing and killing without sympathy for any living creature. I thought that you wanted to stop with the murdering?

"Shut up..."

It doesn't matter. Human or not, all you do is slaughter in cold blood. You really are just like me! A killer... Numb of all sympathy.

Drake growled, shaking his head as he looked down at his blade with purple blood dripping down the diamond and slipping into the thin cracks on its surface. He turned his head, searching for his other friends as he concluded that the Ents were all that was left so far. His eyes shifted to meet with Lalea's blurry form as she attempted to take down one of the powerful Ents.

"Lalea!"

As he was about to run to her side, his vision blurred until he could not see a single thing. His gloved hand rose up and clawed at his head, the bloody bandages keeping his fingernails from ripping the skin off of his scalp and face. His head was pounding, bringing tears to his eyes. His different colored eyes opened, the world spinning but slightly less hazy.
He gasped as the creature swung one of it's powerful arms, striking Lalea and sending her flying back until the ground with an aching grunt. The hybrid huffed out a furious growl before he attempted to charge at the creature in rage. Before he could get very far, a staggering pain shot up in his chest and weakness filled his body. He cringed in pain, his eyes closed tight as he unwillingly fell to his sore knees.
Drake opened his eyes, another gasp slipping from his lungs as his eyes rested on Herobrine a he appeared before him with Armen's body. The demon tilted his head with a crooked smile.

You can not even protect the ones that you love. Just give up now before you have to watch the rest of them die in front of you.

Once again the hybrid shook his head and growled, pushing his fingers against his skin and grinding his teeth until it hurt. "N-no...no! Shut up!"

How many hours do you have left to live? How much more must I wait until I can show the world my power once again? While I love torturing you, I am not sure how much patience I have left to spare.

His hand shot up, and without thinking or consciously meaning to cast it, he used a spell. The ground shook, causing everyone to fall still in their battles. Drake's vision returned to its state of painful blurring, blood leaking from his nose and lips as he coughed. The ground cracked open, the long streak of broken earth hastily making its way to the Ent. Smoke and green light poured from within the crevice.
Emerging from the ground, a bright lime green acid erupted. A stream of acid was sent spiraling towards the Ent.
It let out an inhuman screech as the acid made impact against it. Steam and smoke rose as the burning green substance gnawed away the bark and wood that acted as its skin and flesh. It's eyes closed and body grew still, as if it's spirit had fled its body and left its plant vessel. It now seemed as if it was always just a regular old oak tree.
Another Ent approached Lalea, but her attention was locked onto Drake as he choked on his own blood. Why did he do such a stupid thing? Did he even mean to do that?

"Behind you!" Drake shouted out as he caught some breath, spitting out blood with his words.

Listening to his warning, Lalea swiftly spun around with her sword in one hand and magic ready in the other. She took in a deep breath before she swung her fist engulfed in blue flames and fired a blast. She grunted at the beast pushed her back, flailing its massive arms around to strike a clean onto the female human. It eyes were a deep, dark scarlet color that started with rage at its attacker.
Drake watched with wide eyes but he did not focus on the fight, nor anything around him that was in reality. His eyes widened as the hallucinations began to appear before his eyes.
He watched the Ent swat at Lalea, this time bringing a fatal blow. It's sharp branch fingers pierced into the girl's chest, momentarily lifting her up as her eyes widened and blood poured from her mouth and gaping wounds. The Ent removed its hand from her wounds, the girls eyes quickly glazing over as she fell limp to the ground.
Drake's trembling body went still, not drawing a single breath. His eyes became wide with tears slowly beginning to well up. It's not real. It's not real. It's not real! She's not dead... none of them are!

Keep denying that it is real. How about when Luke died? Was that just another nightmare that you're continuing struggle to wake from?

"Shut up! I'm not listening to you! I'm not giving in to your sh*t!"

His vision turned white, a smile spreading across his quivering lips. Tears rolled down his cheeks and slipped into his mouth, mixing a salty taste with the bitter taste of blood. His fingers tightened around the handle of his blade, his emotions suddenly washing away. There was no sorrow, or fear, or anger. There was nothing. Nothing but a faint feeling of false joy as he laughed with tears streaming down his face.

You're just a puppet. My puppet. You can't do anything right unless I'm pulling the strings.

Without me, you mean nothing.

He did not notice that his right arm was slowly lifting up. His eyes remained wide and unblinking with his tears continued to run down the older streaks of water that stained his face. His vision was so blurred and white that he could not even see the blade pointing at his chest. The edges of the white became consumed in crimson red. He did not feel in control over his movements, and only when his blade began to plummet towards his chest did he finally realize what was happening but by then it was too late.

"Drake!" Lalea screamed out his name.

It's been fun and all, but it's time that you stopped getting in my way. Goodbye Drake.

With horror filling his body, the blade came down onto his chest. Drake let out another gasp, watching with wide eyes as his diamond blade that he had fought with for over a month now, finally shattered into pieces. The diamond shards scattered across the ground, a loud cracking sound filling the air.
His eyes cleared up, blinking a few times before realizing that Herobrine's attempted to make his body kill himself had failed. Or was it just one of Herobrine's tricks to scare him? Or perhaps it was something else. A hallucination? No, the handle was still in his grasp.
He did not know but the cause of him still living did not matter. He gazed at the broken sword in his hand, only two inches or so left behind of the jagged, sharp diamond blade. His trembling fingers released the handle, letting the remainder of the weapon slip from his grasp and fall carelessly to the muddy grass.

Deep laughter echoed in the back of his mind. Did you really think that I would let you off so easily? Gullible as usual, but it seems that I was right. Mortal weapons can't hurt you anymore. Just like with me...

  No...I'm becoming more and more like...like Him...

A chill ran down his spine as he saw an image of Herobrine smiling down at him with that cunning grin. His eyes turned to Lalea, his vision now clear enough to see a better image of her as she fought gracefully. She was still alive. Thank God, she was still alive!

"Lalea! Fire!" He heard Endy's voice call out, instructing her to light the Ents ablaze.

The next thing he knew, pain shot up within his body. He screamed in agony as blood spilled from his mouth, feeling as if his ribs had shattered and his veins had burst open inside of his body. He fell over onto his side, laying on the ground in writhing agony, coughing up his own vital fluids and covering the grass in crimson. He opened his eyes as his body shook, watching as Lalea lit the Ent on fire in a fit of rage and let it burn up in flames.
Her gentle voice called out to him as she spun around to tend to his aid. Her voice was distant as his body felt heavier and felt as if it was beginning to wander. His eyes looked away from his love as she approached him, limping with her injured leg.
The blue fire quickly turned into the orange and yellow glow of natural flames. It rose and gnawed at the wood, bringing a loud screech from the creature as if it were in agony. Drake winced at his own pain and the pain of the creature that had been set ablaze. The ent froze in place, unmoving as if it had never been alive to begin with. A grin came onto Drake's face as he peacefully watched the embers eat away at the wood, then the light faded and the heavy feeling in his body pulled him into darkness.
...

Drake's point of view-

I heard footsteps coming from beneath my own feet. A cold chil ran up my spine for a split moment before my skin slowly went numb.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

My eyes opened, my vision no longer so blurry that it gave me a constant migraine. I walked through a cave made of ice with frost lining the walls here and there. The wall reflected bright light, the ice giving off peaceful and bright white and blue colors. The repeating sound of dripping water falling from melting icicles hit my ears.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The cycle continued on and on and while it was irritating, I welcomed it more than the voices that once plagued my mind only a few minutes ago.
I shivered but I felt no cold air around my body. My breath was freezing in a fog as I exhaled with my skin crawling in goosebumps. Yet I felt nothing. My body was completely numb.
I walked along the cold ice, not really knowing what I was doing but I felt like I had to keep going. I felt like I was being watched; followed even. I stopped in my tracks suddenly, not feeling right. I felt nothing physically, but I was uncomfortable and bothered as if there was something bad happening that I could not see just yet. A chill ran down my spine as my feet finally came to a halt on the cold ice covered ground.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice echoing on the enclosed walls.

Wake up...

I shook my head to be rid of the voice. It sounded like me and this time it did not have that mixture of the presence of a demonic entity. Yet I felt that I could not trust it. I've fallen for so many tricks. What is good and what is bad? What is right and what is wrong? What is real and what is fake? Those are questions I can no longer ask myself. Those are questions that keep me from fighting to get out of h**l holes like this, or soon to be h**l holes.

Wake up...

My head turned to gaze at a wall next to me. I saw a reflection, but only half of it looked like myself. I gasped and took a step back, the reflection not following my movements. It did not have an Enderman side like myself, instead it was fully human. It did not even have the iconic white, glowing eyes of Herobrine. It wore blue clothing like my own that lacked the rips and stains of blood. My cape and gloves however, were absent from his wardrobe. His eyes were a dark, glimmering blue. Something about it drew my attention towards it.
I lifted up my arm and waved, surprised when this time around it mimicked my actions and simultaneously waved back. For a moment, I actually smiled which hurt my cheeks for a second or so. A name came to my head to associate the boy in the reflection by.

"Is that...Collin?"

"You were supposed to protect him... you failed him...you failed me." He spat out suddenly, a negative mood overtaking him in an abrupt instant.

My arm lowered as I took a step back. My smile faded at his accusation. He was talking about Armen... my eyes filled with tears the more my mind dwelled on his words and my deceased brother.

Wake up before he hurts them!

My eyes widened in shock and fear as I took another step back. A gasp slipped up from my throat and my body tensed up and froze. Collin began to cry in the reflection, blood beginning to seep onto his previously untainted clothing out of thin air. His fingers curled up as a ball of white light engulfed around his previous warm wave of a hand. His pale skin began to become covered in splatters of blood with his brunette hair matting up with blood. Most striking of all, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he let out a scream, then his soulless eyes started to glow. A crooked smile formed on his cheeks.

You should have listened, Drake.
...

My eyes snapped open with my body being overcome by the familiar sensation of my skin covering in my own warm sweat. Immediately I was met with blurry vision and a throbbing headache. The voices in my head started up again, all of them mumbling indistinguishable things all at once. I sat up and rubbed my forehead as a groan left my mouth.

"-ake! Drake are you waking up?" I heard heard Xavier's distinct accent.

My vision cleared but not as much as I had hoped. My comrades were around me, waiting for me to finally regain consciousness. With my eyes only half way opened, I put my hand against the tree I was leaning on and attempted to push myself back up to my feet. Lalea's familiar grip wrapped around my arm and helped me up, my joints popping and feeling sore. I hissed in pain until I was standing completely straight, then leaned my body against the tree.
Grayson gently shoved Xavier away, then kneeled down in front of me. His eyes shined with worry as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I could see his concern for my wellbeing plastered on his pale face.

He spoke quickly, wanting to get an answer. "Drake, are you alright? Do you need anything? Are you hurting?" He always ask me those things, not that I'm really complaining.

I shook my head slowly as the pain spiked. "I'm fine...a headache, but I'm fine."

He did not seem completely satisfied with my answer, which was to be expected with him. He pulled his hand away, looking down as he let out a deep breath. Grayson pushed himself back up to stand steadily on his own two feet. All he said was "good", then turned away. I could tell that he wanted to say more, but he was scared that he would push me too far with the questions. Truthfully I thought that that as well.

"What happened?" I asked, breathing heavily through my mouth.

Grayson replied. "We got rid of the monsters. It should be clear so far to continue on to the hatchery."

I sighed, relieved that I did not lose control over myself. Not that I know of at least.

Not yet at least...

I grunted as I held my head again, wanting the pounding and the voices to stop. I gagged as I felt pressure in my stomach, instantly recognizing the dreadful feeling. I threw up onto the ground, causing everyone to step back. It was not nearly as much as usual, a bit of blood followed by my painful gagging as nothing else rose in my throat. I leaned back against the tree again, gasping as I tried to catch my breath. I slid down and sat on the dirt as I closed my eyes and waited for the nausea to pass. My stomach was still hurting and felt queasy from lack of food.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked, wiping the blood and saliva off of my chin.

Grayson nodded. "Lalea took quite a blows to the chest and Jane nearly got attacked by some slimes, but Xavier took care of them. Lalea told me that you...tried to stab yourself..." His last remark was remorseful with a tone of discomfort.

I growled and looked looked down before my eyes closed yet again. "I didn't mean too. I'm sorry."

I gasped in surprise with my eyes shooting wide open as someone slim held my in an unexpected embrace. I looked down at Lalea as she hugged my tightly, digging her face into my chest as if she was trying to hold back tears.

"Why did you do that idiot? Quit trying to kill yourself like that!" He head lifted up, revealing her red rimmed, tears eyes.

As I struggled with getting anything out from behind my quivering lips, my hand lifted up and moved a strand of her loose hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that! I wasn't in full control of my body."

She sniffed before putting her forehead against my chest and clawing at my shirt. "Don't ever do that if you can help it! I love you and I won't be able to stand it if I lose you."

A chuckle and a question left my mouth. "I still don't understand why or when someone like you would...fall for someone like me."

She pulled away and scooted back as she sat on her knees. She wiped her eyes and sniffed as she tried to collect her composer. A light blush formed on her pale cheeks as she listened to my question. A silent gasp escaped from the back of my throat as I saw two massive gashes on her stomach, the silk and fabric of her clothing soaked in recently seeped blood.

She rolled her eyes before responding. "I've already told you before. I know who you really are and...you're cute." She mumbled the last part with blush deepening.

I could see the others listening in as we spoke but neither Lalea nor myself payed much attention to them. Although I saw the bright white smile on their faces, knowing that we were destined to be teased after our little conversation. Out of curiosity, I spoke out another question with my voice sounding more raspy than before. I was mainly asking questions before because I was curious and because I wanted something to keep me from focusing in on the voices mumbling in my head.

"But...when? We've only known each other for four days. That's not enough time to get to know someone, especially with my erratic behavior and mood shifts..."

She gave out a weak laugh and looked down at the ground with a smile. "I don't know...it was just a tiny crush that I didn't really pay much attention to at first. I always just thought it was sympathy for what you were going through but..."

I let out a low growl that thankfully no one seemed to hear. Sympathy. What if that is what this whole "love" thing was this whole time? What if it was never really true? No. Lalea and I love each other and I won't let my paranoid mind ruin what loving connection I know that we share.

So sad that you actually believed that she loved you. You're a freak! An abomination who is destined to bring nothing but pain and chaos in his wake!

"Then I realized that I really did like you a lot. After spending some time with you, I just felt a connection as if we were meant to be. I realized that I love you more than anything."

She finally paused, taking in a few deep breaths. The gleam in her eyes changed as if she began to think or perhaps remember something that got her tensed up.

The longer you resist letting me have full control, the more likely you're going to have to witness her brutal death.

You're just going to try to kill her yourself anyway.

"I was worried sick for you while you were at the palace... I was terrified that they would kill you or hurt you more than they already were. I couldn't seem to sleep at night sometimes, thinking about you."

She blushed again and smiled with small dimples forming on her red cheeks. "I also thought about how... cute you were and what qualities I loved about you, and I guess suddenly one day I realized that I've fallen in love."

I smiled and giggled softly, my burning cheeks growing slightly warmer. For a moment, my body stopped hurting and I was finally able to hear a peaceful silence.

I'm the demon and she's the angel... and I refuse to be the one to make her fall from grace. With me around...that is what will happen.

Before I could say anything in reply to her, Grayson's voice rung in my ears.

"You two really are meant for each other, you know that?" He smiled and crossed his arms over his chest as looked down at us.

"Yeah... I guess so." I muttered, knowing that my cheeks were blushing. For what little time I have left to live, I'm glad to finally say that I had something I was meant for.

I stood with Lalea standing up beside me. My legs trembled underneath my weight, my stomach feeling pressure within it. My breath left my mouth loudly and rasping, my head feeling light and in aching pain. I gasped before hunching over again, placing my hands onto my knees as I coughed with specks of red flying from my mouth.
My eyes grew and my heavy breathing stopped when I heard a light chime like the single ring of a bell. I looked up, gasping as I saw a small but bright yellow light. My head tilted as I examined it, knowing that it was not another pixie. It did not even have a physical form; only pure light. My trembling arm lifted up, only able to point at the creature before my arm fell limply back down to my side.

I gasped out from my aching lungs before wiping the bile off of my lips. "Can you guys see that yellow light?"

They all turned, their full attention resting on the light. Grayson walked closer to it, but it was too high up for him to attempt to touch it. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder with his emerald eyes bright with excitement.

"That's a light spirit! What do you think it's doing?"

Endy replied with a simple, "I don't know."

I smiled for a slip moment and giggled as Jane laughed. "It's so pretty! I wanna touch it!"

Grayson jumped as the light spirit flew down next to him. Grayson chuckled nervously as he gave a weak wave of his arm and smiled. His cheerful voice greeted it, joyous to have it so close. We had encountered theses light spirits before but it was always something to behold whenever they appeared before us. He giggled and laughed as it began to fly in circles around him, it's little chime ringing out.

"I think it likes me! What should we name it?!"

I laughed, pushing myself away from the tree. "I don't think we should name it. What if it's trying to tell us something? The last light spirit we saw lead us to the entrance of the magic library."

Mia nodded. "Why can't we name it? Something like Sparky sounds cool!"

Once again I gave a weak laugh. "That's original." I exclaimed sarcastically as I rolled my eyes.

Grayson lifted up his arm and slowly held it out to touch the spirit, but the light zipped behind him and disappeared into his backpack. He turned around, taking it off and opened it. The bright flakes of light reflected off of the shell of the dragon egg until the light spirit emerged from the bag and hovered above Grayson's head. It zipped over to the trees, then waited there unmoving.
The blonde turned his head and looked at us with a bright, wide smile and wide sparkling emerald eyes that gleamed with excitement. I enjoyed seeing him look so cheerful. It brought a smile to my face and made my chest feel light when it had been heavy and in pain only moments before.

"Well, I guess we should follow it." Grayson shrugged, putting his backpack on again, then walked towards the light spirit.

I looked to Lalea, shrugging before I followed behind my best friend. Once again my anxiety was filling my chest but I tried to keep my focus and push my paranoia to the back of my mind.
...

I felt like I was going to pass out again, my body sweating and my lungs struggling as I took in shallow breaths. Grayson looked down at the map, a wide smile on his cheeks. We were close to the center of the island, right above it in fact.
My fingers twitched and clawed at my cape as I got urges to wrap my fingers around something. My skin felt like it was growing colder and every time I went to rub my arms to warm them up, I would flinch in pain. Every time I touched my skin, I would only feel sore pain. The bandages prevented me from looking down at my skin, but I resisted to gnawing temptation of scratching at my arms until the bandages and skin were torn away.
In a way, I felt like I was bleeding out without actually bleeding. I was lightheaded and increasingly feeling weaker and weaker as we went on. My stomach and chest continued to hurt, really my whole body was sore and aching. I tried not to show it. I did not want to slow our pace down. At least I no longer felt like any of my bones were broken.
We approached a massive mountain that was covered in bright gray rocks and grass growing along the sides. There was moss and vines hanging down, reminding me of Grayson's home that we had visited the other week.
The light spirit stopped at a wall covered in moss and vines, letting out another chime as it did. I tilted my head in wonder and curiosity over what the light spirit was doing or what it was waiting for us to proceed with.

"This should be it, but..." He trailed off.

"But there's nothing here." I finished his sentence for him.

Grayson tilted his head. "What if..." He trailed off on his sentence yet again but this time I did not say anything.

He walked forward to the wall, with slight caution in his step. I noticed how flat the wall seemed despite that it was hardly noticeable. Grayson was not hesitant to grab hold of some of the vines and yank at them until they snapped and fell to the ground. He did this until nothing but a flat wall was in front of us. I had to admit that he was smart for figuring out that he needed to do that so quickly. I assumed it was because he had a sharp eye for hidden things such as the many secrets doors I have seen in his two houses that I have visited before in the past.

"There's writing on this wall, but...I can't read any of it."

The writing was engraved into the stone like a massive stone tablet. Or a door into an ancient temple. My eyes scanned the words and unlike my blonde friend, I understood every word that was written, or at least the very few words that I could barely make out. Most of the ancient writing was blurry from my vision, which made me growl in irritation.

"That's because it's in the language of the Magi! I can't read most of it. My bad eyesight is acting up." I clarified, my arm raising up and going over my left eye.

Lalea stepped forward. "I can read it! This will be easy!"

She stepped forward, gently pushing Grayson aside. I looked over to Endy, knowing that she could read it too but Lalea had spoken up before she could. I pulled at the hood over my head just a bit to get a better view of my comrades around me. Everyone had their eyes fixated onto Lalea and the mysterious door that was between us and our goals.
I turned my head to look at my love yet again, seeing her take in a quick deep breath. With that, she read the ancient text. My ears perked up as she chanted, myself taking in the words and the soothing sound of her light voice. It helped me relax slightly but my heart continued to pound at a painfully fast rhythm. I looked to the light spirit as it waned, glowing brighter, then fading into nothing. Did it lead us here because it knew that Grayson had the dragon egg?
My attention was snapped away from it as I heard a loud sound like moving rock and stone scraping against another. I gasped as we watched the wall descend into the ground, leaving behind an arch shaped doorway that lead into a long, dark, and ominous corridor. A chill ran down my back as I stared into the blackness of the unknown. What laid beyond this wall was unbeknownst to us, shrouding the danger that possibly awaited us. I took in deep breath to calm myself and relax my aimless thoughts.

"This is so cool!" Mia jumped around and cheered. I laughed at her enthusiasm, thankful that she continued to be optimistic despite everything we had gone through throughout this journey.

I spoke. "I couldn't even sense the magic signature! This place must have some extremely powerful magic shielding it in order to the magic signature inside. Just like the magic library."

Xavier commented. "How do you know that this place is full of magic?"

I lowered a brow. "Well you know, the magic door, and the fact that this place is going to let us hatch the dragon egg."

He shrugged and nodded. "Good point."

Grayson let out a deep breath as he put his map back into his satchel, not ripping his eyes away from the dark corridor within the mountain side. I could imagine what was running through his mind considering that he had devoted himself to hatching the dragon egg for so long. Was today finally the day he would achieve that goal and make it so the death of his wife and son was not in vain?
He turned his head to look at the forest to his left. He then walked to the vegetation and bent down to search through the bushes. I tilted my head and lowered a brow in confusion, wondering what he was doing. I called out but he said nothing.
He then abruptly cheered, standing up straight with a thick stick in his gloved hand. The stick was surprisingly dry considering that the rest of the landscaped looked as if it had rained a bit over an hour ago. The ex-commander then scampered over to Endy, holding out his arm.

"Light this on fire. Well, only the top."

Endy nodded and complied. She lifted up her hand and lit the top of the stick on fire with some of her remaining mana. The violet flame stayed in one place, not eating away at the wood like natural flames. Grayson held the makeshift torch up as he once again approached the entrance to the hatch. He made sure that none of the little embers that fluttered down touched and burned his skin. The light of the luminous flame flickered in the darkness, showing more detail in the curved hall.

He let out a deep breath, looking over his shoulder at us. "Are you guys ready for this?"

I gave my old smug grin that I had not worn often these past few weeks. "More ready than I'll ever be, I guess."

He smiled and nodded before looking at the others. With no objections, Grayson faced forward and took in a deep breath.

"Alright. Everyone...stay cautious and don't let your guard down." With that, he walked into the dark interior of the mountain.

Lalea walked up to my side. "We should be careful. There could be traps lined everywhere in this place."

She held out her arm for me to take her hand. I smiled halfheartedly as I took her hand in my grip, irritated by the tremor in my limbs. With her hand in my embrace, I felt more relaxed but I was still too anxious about what was soon to come once we entered the hatchery.
We followed behind the others into the dark corridor, my racing heartbeat pounding heavily in my eardrums. We entered cautiously, breathing in the stale air that had been trapped within this place for centuries, only now meeting the lungs of humans after years of calm and stillness.
I stopped and looked over my shoulder as the faint sunlight outside slowly began to disappear. Stone scrapped against stone as the door behind us began to rise from the crack and with a loud bang, it enclosed us within the ancient darkness of the hatchery.