'I hope everyone at home's okay, I miss them... Not enough to go back, but still'
'Same, but Mat's probably gone and blabbed to the Sidemen that we're missing, I doubt anybody else has actually noticed yet'
'It's weird, it's like I want to go back, but I want to stay here'
'No offense to you guys, but I'd rather stay here. It's just so interesting, and I've actually grown to like the hybrids a lot - They're nothing like people say they are'

The three boys let out joint sighs, the youngest of the trio directing his honey-coloured orbs to the caves, where they had first emerged from. The weather from the night before had finally calmed down, but he still had a feeling that something was... Off. He shook his head to try and dispel his rambling thoughts and smiled at the scenery below "We have to go home some time, I guess... Nah, I'll just end upcoming back here. After what the guys have done, I've got to repay them somehow"

Vik, Kenny and Mitch were currently walking aimlessly around the forest that surrounded Choco's house. The golden bird hybrid had given them the job of finding strawberries and blueberries, for a reason that he refused to explain, but the small group of friends accepted their task anyway. 'It's not like I wouldn't do it or anything, but I'm trying to plan something for some friends' He'd said, before Kenny had laughed and shaken his head 'Hey, if you need them, we'll go get them'

The blond had then proceeded to yell all around Choco's house system to try and find his friends, who were actually in the far corner of the Kitchen - The same room Kenny and Choco had been in - Absolutely laughing their heads off as the golden bird stifled his own giggles.

'Found some!' Mitch cheered, plucking some from a bush and carefully placing them into the satchel that their bird-like friend had provided them with before slowly pulling them out and pulling a face 'Nevermind... This are bird berries'

'Well done, Mitchell Ralph Hughes - Hey, did anybody hear that?' Vik asked into the otherwise silent woods, looking around before narrowing his eyes in the direction they'd just come from, 'I think... Is that cannon fire?'

'I don't hear anything, Vik, maybe you're imagining things'

'No, I just - There it is again!' The mocha-skinned boy turned from cheerful to on-edge in the space of two seconds, slowly reaching for the small weapon concealed inside his black jacket - A small, red-and-blue dagger that he'd found while running out of the caves before a scream echoed through the forest.

Kenny's eyes widened in fear, and he started in the direction of the cry as yells and threats filled his ears. He ran faster, sliding to a halt as he breached the bushes surrounding Choco's treehouse as his eyes began to water. It's rough, dry bark had been set on fire, already covering half of the tree as he saw Choco shakily flying down to the ground 'Choco! What the Nether's happened, are you okay?!'

'Some-Someone set my house on fire... They're in the village, about three hundred of them - Th-They're attacking everyone!' Rushing towards the hybrid as he touched the ground, Kenny caught the bird before his legs could collapse as he held his newfound friend upright 'Get to safety, go to the caves or find one of the guys and tell them what's going on; I'm going to try and figure out what's happening'

'Y-You'll be killed!'

'Somebody's attacking this place, and you expect me to do nothing? You're wrong - Nobody's going to attack this place without having karma swoop right back around for them' Giving Choco a gentle hug, he suddenly realized that he may never see the sweet hybrid again, and his eyes slowly began to fill with tears 'Choco, whoever's done this is going to pay, I promise' And with that, he ran.

The blond could hear the whistling of catapults as he approached the main village, his gaze being filled with fire as Orespawns and Hybrids worked together against... Humans. What was worse? He recognized one of the fallen humans as somebody from his village, making his eyes widen as he frantically looked around. The battle was raging around him, and he saw a huge white-and-gold dragon flying through the air and shooting a mixture of fire and iceballs at it's opponents "That must be Lachlan's Dad... I need to find the others, and make sure they're alright!"

Running through the conflict, he eyed down houses that could be one that housed one of his new friends before he ran into somebody. They grabbed him on instinct, and he looked upto see an eerily familiar face 'JJ, what's going on? What are you doing?!'

'Kenny! Oh, thank the gods you're alright... We're getting you out of here, these freaks have kept you here for long enough'

'Freaks? What are you... No! You've got it all wrong, they aren't like that at all, why are you attacking them?!'

'They've confused you, you don't know what you're - Kenny, come back!' The younger blond ripped out of Olajide's arm, dashing around the man as he took in the destruction around him. People were dying, because of their decision "I've got to find them!"

The first wasn't too hard to find. Not after he'd let out a loud scream, anyway, as Kenny ran in the direction to find Preston on the ground with a knife to his throat 'What have you done to them, filthy hybrid?' His attacker growled, before letting out a yelp of surprise as Kenny tackledhim away from the Texan.

Now, Kenny isn't normally a violent person, but if he sees you hurting someone he cares about? Run. Within seconds the attacker was knocked out cold, the blond's heart racing as he turned to the lava-skinned boy with fear in his eyes 'Are you okay? Did they hurt you?'

'N-No, not me, but they got Lachlan and Rob. I don't know where they've been taken, b-but... Kenny, what's going on? I'm scared' The Texan whimpered, pushing himself up and wiping his eyes with his sleeves as Kenny merely shook his head sadly 'I don't know, Preston... I would tell you if I knew, but honestly I'm as scared as you are. They set fireto Choco's house, it's probably already burnt to the ground -I told him to get to safety, go to the caves and he should be there. Stay safe, stay hidden'

'What about you?'

'I'm going to make all Nether break loose'

~~~

They'd attacked without reason. The amount of armed men and woman that had stormed the mountains was insane, but their numbers had been thinned out thanks to the Caterkiller and Lachlan's Dad.

This didn't seem to stop them, though. Soon enough, the bodies of both human and hybrid scattered the ground around the mountains, some being too bloodied or burnt to recognise 'They've taken Pete, as well. I tried to fight against them, but... He gave himself up for me. He told me to run, and I wish I hadn't'

'Hey, you're safe now... Our numbers may be low, but so are theirs - Besides, they don't have Orespawns on their side' A small boy pointed out, kneeling by Choco's side as he sat by the mouth of a cave. The rocks hid him well enough, but the brunet insisted that they should move further back just incase 'I need to watch, and make sure my friends are alright - I can't leave them, Harvey'

'You won't, but you should move back. All we can do now is wait, but I'm sure-'

'Choco! Harvey!' Rapidly turning around, the golden bird let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as he saw the familiar orange glow of Preston as he pulled himself up onto the stone ledge 'Thank the gods you're alright... Are any of the others with you?'

'I found Pete on my way here, but he's not in good shape' Heart beating fast, Choco dropped down to see his slimey friend leaning against a large boulder with his right arm cradled against his chest, staring at the ground and muttering curses under his breath. 'Pete?' Choco asked softly, putting a wing-life arm on the older boy's shoulder as he looked up and gave a sigh of relief 'Thank the gods they didn't get you - Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?'

'Physically I'm fine, mentally on the other hand I'm a wreck. What happened to you?'

'One of the humans happened... I knew letting those three stay was a bad idea, they've told their village where we are!'

'No, Kenny wouldn't do that, he's too-'

'Nice? Sweet? Charming? What, just like Mat? Choco, they were planning against us all along - Why couldn't you see that in the first place?!' Brandon snapped, a burning hatred in his eyes as Choco shook his head and took a few steps away 'They're not like him, Pete... Kenny's different. He wouldn't sabotage this, he's actually said that he prefers the Glitched Lands to his own home!'

'Exactly! He told his village that we were here, once they've killed us all off they're going to live here themselves!'

'They can't! The air here is poisonous to humans, they wouldn't last more than a month and-' The bird hybrid stopped, tears falling to the ground as he shook his head once more, 'Even if they did stay, they'd die'

'You finally see my point. There was no point getting attached to them in the first place, they've been planning to do this all along'

The cave fell silent, save for the quiet talking of Preston and Harvey above them before an awkward cough echoed through the stone halls 'So... Have I missed something?' An Australian voice spoke, his electrifying blue eyes glowing in the dark as Choco took another step away from his eldest friend 'Th-They're not... They're not, they're not! Kenny wouldn't do that, and neither would Mitch or Vik, just shut up!'

~~~
'Amount of casualties so far?'

'Half of your squadron's been wiped out, and there's nobody left of the ambush squad - Only Harry and Ethan managed to escape' Josh spoke solemnly, glancing around as the sound of burning wood filled his ears 'I see... Any news on-'

'Simon, Josh, I-I just saw Kenny!' JJ blurted as he ran up to his two friends, breathing heavily as the eldest of the Sidemen let out joint gasps. Simon looked around frantically, while the dark-haired male walked to his strong friend's side 'JJ, where did you see him?'

'He was running from something, I think he was being chased by a hybrid; They've brainwashed him, told him that hybrids aren't bad. I haven't seen Mitchell or Vik yet, but I'm sure they're somewhere around here' He was right about that. Mere metres away, in the ruins of what used to be a family's house, the two teenagers crouched behind charred rubble and glanced at eachother 'They're here just because of us?' Vik spoke in a whisper, and Mitch shook his head 'Probably for you, you're like a Son to them'

'They didn't have to kill all of these people!' Forgetting about staying quiet, the dark-haired boy flinched and slapped his hands over his mouth as the three Sidemen looked around 'Who's there?!' Josh called, unsheathing his midnight blade and pointing it threateningly at their hideout 'Oh, crap... We have to run, count of three?'

'One, two...'

'Three!' The teenagers jumped up, shocking the older men and throwing rubble dust at their eyes as Mitch slowed time before they bolted away. Seconds later, frantic yells were calling after them as they dashed through the decimated village.

"We've got to find the others, and fast"

~~~

'Get your freakin' hands off of me!' Rob snapped, pulling against the masked man that held the Canadian's arms against his own back. The masked man said nothing, just continued pushing him down a hill with a knife at his neck incase the brunet tried to make any movements.

"Ugh, human scum..." Attempting to escape once more, all the boy got was a thin line of blood streaming down his neck as the dagger pierced his skin. Not enough to really harm him, though - Just to try and scare him 'For fudge' sakes, why are you doing this?!'

'You freaks took important lives from of - All we're doing is returning the favour' The masked man growled, causing Rob to snarl quietly as his ears pressed against his head 'What makes you think we've hurt them? They're our friends, stupid, and you don't hurt your friends'

'Shut your yapping, and keep walking' Upon hearing an out-of-place rustling from the bushes, the wolf hybrid dared to stop and looked at the foliage curiously. He couldn't see anything, but that might have been because he was shoved to the ground two seconds later 'If you're going to keep resisting, I might as well kill you now'

'I haven't done anything wrong, for Notch's sake - None of us have!'

'Do not use my Lord's name in vain!' And with that, he prepared to bring his dagger down upon the boy's torso. His eyes widened and he tried to scramble out of the way, the weapon barely managing to catch the side of his head before Rob pushed himself upright. Blood dripped to the ground from his cheek, but he took no notice and simply glared his own daggers as the man 'I'll use his name for whatever the Nether I want. He's the one who banished us here, so why not?'

'You hybrids are pure filth... You especially, just like your Mother' That caused Robert to freeze, left eye twitching as he stared at the man 'What... Did you just say?' His voice was eerily quiet, and he heard a quiet "Oh, he did not just go there" from the bushes, but made to attempt no see who it was. Instead, Rob only stared at the man, pupils dilating as every hair on his body stood on end 'Oh, did you really not recognize me Robert?'

The man reached up and untied the string that held his mask in place, allowing it to fall to the ground as it revealed the scarred face underneath. One eye was a glossy white, and had a wide scar slicing through it, but the other orb was a cold bronze that seemed to peer into the boy's very soul 'I never did get to introduce myself, did I? Huh. The name's Paul, Logan Paul, and I killed your Mother. Got anything to say about that?'

'Oh, I've got a lot of things to say' Rob snarled, vision flashing red with anger as he clenched his fists. Logan wasn't even the slightest bit ashamed of what he'd done - Infact, he seemed rather proud. Proud of killing Robert's Mother.

Proud of taking a loving wife away.

Proud of tearing a family apart.

...

..

.

Robert finally snapped.

~+~