The portal came out over the city of Brimstone, and Nikita could see all of the people going about their daily tasks like nothing was happening. As she flew over the city, though many people stopped and looked up, pointing, some ran into homes and shops.
Judging by the reaction of most of the people Elijah had gotten here before she had, a good sign. She and the Ender Dragon circled around to her village and landed in a wide open spot near her home. Many of the people who lived in the village came out to greet them, including her friends, her parents and Thomas.
"Nikita!" Cried her older brother, running over and hugging her tight.
"Where have you been all this time?!" He asked, looking her in eye.
"A long story for another time." She said.
"Right now we have bigger problems."
Her parents then came over, their faces grim.
"Our Elders got the message from your messenger, Elijah. They wish to see you, to have some sort of proof."
Nikita resisted their urge to roll her eyes.
Here we go again. She thought, turning to the Dragon yet again.
I need you to do what you did at the Redstone Isle. Patrol the skies, tell me if anything goes wrong. She said.
The Dragon then spread her wings and took off, flying far above the city.
"Take me to them and I'll give them the proof that they want." Said Nikita to her parents.
They cleared a way for her through the people who wanted to ask her questions. They asked the guards for permission to enter the city and it was granted, and two of the guards followed them into the city.
Nikita looked around at all of the people who looked at her in awe and with fear both, wondering what she would do, if she was a friend or foe.
I was your enemy. She thought as she came upon the towering stone building where the Elders resided.
Where the Elsers of the Redstone Isle's house was large in length and width this one was tall, towering high into the sky. The Elders lived in the topmost floors and interacted with the people in the hall right through the double doors.
Nikita watched as they passed her school, feeling a sudden pang of homesickness.
I wish everything could go back to normal. She thought as they reached the doors leading into the Elder's meeting hall.
Nikita pushes open the doors leading into the greeting area of the building and walked across its black carpeted length to the double doors at the other side. Nikita took a deep breath and then pushed open the doors.
She was met again with four people in casual clothing, two male and two female Elders. Standing next to them with his eyes half closed stood Elijah, leaning up against the wall. When he saw her his eyes lit up and he gave her a slight nod. Nikita nodded in return and then turned her attention to the Elders her in front of her.
"Welcome, Nikita." Said one of them, a man with sandy hair and ice blue eyes.
Nikita inclined her head and said "I know what you seek, and I have the answers."
"Good," said one of the female Elders, her voice smug, "then you can show us your proof."
Why does no one believe me when I say that I have proof? Nikita thought as she readied the same memories that she had shown the Elders on the Isle.
This time though, she would show her parents as well, and include her talk with the Redstone Isle's Elders.
"Here is my proof." She said, reaching out with her mind.
She felt them all pull away from her, but she kept contact with them and shared the memories again. When she was finished they were all speechless. The Elders turned to talk amongst themselves as usual, and then turned back to Nikita.
"If what you showed us is true, then we truly have a war on our doorstep." Said the man with the ice blue eyes.
"But we also have a second Warrior." He said, looking at her.
"We will prepare our army for when the Redstone Isle's army gets here." Said the second female Elder.
"Good luck to you, Warrior." She said.
They then turned and began to talk about preparations for the war to come.
Nikita took that as a cue to to leave, turning and walking through the doors, thinking about how weird it sounded to be called the Warrior now.
"You went through all of that?" Asked her mother, her voice so quiet Nikita almost didn't hear it.
"Yes." Said Nikita.
"You can do all of that with your abilities?"
"Yeah." Nikita half-sighed.
"It was... hard." She said, looking up to the sky where the Dragon circled far above them.
"Elijah helped ease the stress of always having to travel and never staying in the same place for long. When I realized what I had to do and escaped... I was scared out of my mind. But now that I know my real purpose I feel stronger, more confident." She said.
"I just hope that it's enough."
"It will be." Said her mother, putting a hand on Nikita's shoulder.
Then why do I have the distinct feeling that it won't be? Thought Nikita as she made her way back to her home.
When she walked in the door she felt an overwhelming sense of homesickness wash over her. She hadn't been to her old home in what felt like years.
She immediately went up to her room and looked around it. It felt foreign to her, like it wasn't hers, but she knew that it was.
"Glad to be home?" Asked her mother, coming up the the stairs.
"Yeah." Said Nikita.
"It's been awhile." She said.
"And I've lived in so many different places, having one home will be nice." She said.
"I don't doubt it." Said her mother.
"Now, why don't you come down and have dinner with us?" She said, beckoning Nikita to follow her.
Nikita quickly took off her armor and put her diamond sword on her bed.
She then went downstairs and sat at the table and ate everything in sight. She hadn't eaten except for when she was in Shadowstone that morning.
She told them about everything that had happened, what the End felt like, what being connected to the Dragon felt like. They asked what being close to the most powerful being in Minecraftia was like, and what seeing his army made her feel.
She was close to the end of her tale when she heard knocking at the door. It startled her enough to make her summon her sword without thinking, making her whole family jump as the blade appeared in her hand with a flash of blue light.
"Sorry," she said.
"I'm jumpy."
She then got up and opened the door to see Elijah standing there.
"May I come in?" He asked.
"Yes, of course." Said Nikita, opening the door wider and leading him inside.
"We need to talk." He said.
"We can do that upstairs." Said Nikita, leading him up to her room.
She then quickly told her parents what was going on and dashed upstairs.
"We need to talk about how we will fight Herobrine, and I have some ideas, but I need yours to." He said.
"Alright," said Nikita.
"Tell me yours first."
And with that they got into a detailed talk about how and where they would put the combined night of both the armies, where she and the Dragon would be and potential ways to protect Brimstone.
By the time Elijah left it was dark outside and Nikita was very tired, so she decided to go straight to bed.
Once she was in her bed she settled into an uneasy sleep filled with dreams if Herobrine and the war to come.