Wow, I am already getting a whole new book idea. Whyyy?!?! Odksjsknfkenfjsjdjfjejnfjejajnfjsaoirnrbjsidnjskfjsjskkcnfnfkeodkmdmdkdkkemcudbena!
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Section 7:

     The party was made official. Invitations were sent out to the other two villages, inviting anyone who wanted to join. However, the event itself wasn't scheduled to happen for a full week, so the village and its residence were allowed some time to relax. This also gave Steve and Hero some much needed rest.

     "Hey, Hero.." The human spoke up, softly, as he came walking along the this path to Hero's place. His friend was sitting down by his garden, relaxing, his shoeless feet swishing around in the small pond. "I, um.. I made something for you." Steve then revealed the object from behind a bush.

     Hero squinted at the object for a moment. "What's that?"

     "It's called a crutch.. I, um, figured it would work better than the tools lying around." The older one answered. He knew... It wasn't the best gift to give to his friend, but he preferred Hero have at least something to help him be more mobile.

     Hero sighed, forcing a small smile. "You know I am only going to use this a couple times.. before I get better."

     "Of course." Steve smiled back as he began walking towards the other. "This is just a temporary thing." Hero nodded in agreement, grabbing the crutch from Steve when he handed it to him and inspected the craftsmanship. It was made with birch wood.

     "Thanks.."

     "Do..you want to try it out?"

     Hero's answer was through action. He pulled his feet out of the water, placed the crutch upright on the ground, and slowly began lifting himself up. His arms gave out midway, and the younger man plummeted to the floor. He stopped Steve from offering to help him up with a wave of his hand, opting to attempt again this time starting on his knees. That time he managed to push himself up with his legs, holding onto the crutch for dear balance. After some shuffling, Hero had the crutch properly situated under his armpit; and at last he stood on his own again.

     "Hm.. this might just make getting around a lot easier. Did I feed your dog today..? I know I told you I was going to.. but I don't remember if I did." Hero looked to his friend for some help.

     "You did. And his name is Mason..by the way." (If I already said the dog's name in the past.. then...oooof.)

     "Ah, alright. Thanks again!" Hero waved, expecting Steve to leave; then he sat back down with his feet in the pond. Steve realized he was still deep in thought, probably off in some distant world of his, so he just sat down at the same pond, slid his shoes and socks off and dipped his own feet in. Without words, the two men chilled by the pond, pondering their own slices of life how they thought right. Eventually, the older human pulled out his book and readied himself to write in it. The pressing, somber atmosphere made it difficult for the man to think straight, however...

     "Is... Have you written the part where I show up yet..?" Hero asked quietly, not to speak over the gentle nature of the air around them.

     "Yeah, actually. I just finished that part. Do you want to read it..?"

     "Sure!" Hero exclaimed. With a mild smile, Steve handed Hero his book. The younger man grabbed it excitedly, flipping through the pages with great speed. But then, a wave of confusion washed over him as he squinted down at the text filled pages. Steve leaned in to see what Hero was staring at with a struggling look in his eye. Had he written everything sloppily, so Hero couldn't read them? Nope. The words Hero was staring at looked the same as the ones he had been reading just a week or so earlier. Now, he was rotating the book, holding it up to his face, and even pulling it as far away from his face as he could, and still he wasn't getting something quite right. What had changed, then? "...Um.. Can you read it..to me...please?" Hero finally asked of Steve. A little confused, though still supportive and not wishing to question it, Steve grabbed the book back from Hero and flipped to the actual page the scene started on. Then, he began reading. Hero was invested, and.. pretty soon...Steve laughed it all away, choosing to simply enjoy the moment...

     The rest of the week Steve wrote more and more in his book, until eventually, he was nearly caught up with present events. He still refused to read Steven's last book, though. And, it never was passed on to the traveling villagers, for they were far too busy and preoccupied with their own things. It just sat alone in one of his chests, slowly gathering together a pile to cover it.

     Hero, though he didn't want to rely on it too much, found the crutch was rather helpful. With it, he could go into the village every day and visit with friends. The days went by so slowly. The atmosphere felt damp, hot, heavy. Yes, it was a particularly warm week..but it was more than that... The human felt it growing in his chest; like a lump in his throat, he wanted it gone so badly, but he had no idea how.

     And then, finally, the day of the party arrived. Within hours, the village walls were filled to the brim with visitors. Villagers from all three villages mingled with one another, speaking good things and having a grand time.

     Steve had chickened out of his own mini plan to force himself to hopefully remember something in the midst of a crowd a long time ago, by essentially stressing himself out, so he was playing it safe and sliding between the many villagers without engaging too much in the event itself. There were a lot of voices, a lot of faces, a lot of different colors, and a lot of eyes... Lots..of eyes..

     Having completed his mission of the day: to push through the crowd, wave kindly at the village leaders and Billy -- Steve was happy to sit at a table on the edge of it all, the darkness and trees behind him, and simply rest his head on the table and take a quick break. Hero noticed his friend sitting alone, looking dead, and made his way over to him with the speed of an ocelot.

     "Are you alright, Steve?" Hero asked, a little worried. He had seen Steve do this before, but it was a rare occasion.

     "Yeah.." The slightly older man groaned. "..Tired."

     "Oh... Well, so am I. I don't think I have walked this much in weeks!" Following that empathetic comment, the taller man hobbled on his crutch over to Steve, where he then sat down beside him, watching the party from a distance as it went-on ahead of them. "So... has the party been fun so far?" Hero decided to lift his friend from the table by starting up a conversation.

     "Well... I tried cake for the first time.."

     "Aaand?" The younger man leaned over the table a little, trying to get a glimpse of Steve's face, which was hiding in his folded arms on the table.

     The human lifted his head, blinking away the groggy look on his face. "It was really sweat... I, um, had to sit down after trying it... It, was.. a little too much." He added. Hero's smile dropped an increment at the sound of it, questioning if it was the cake that had made him sit down and look so sad. "You can go back to the party if you want, Hero." Steve sat up straighter, realizing his friend likely just wanted to see him having a good time. "I'm perfectly fine right where I am."

     "I'll..." The taller man lifted his chin as he scanned over the crowd in front of them. All his friends, new and old, were content where they were.. so there was no need for him to get up at the moment. "..stay here for now... Hhhhh.. Still need to rest my legs for a bit." He sighed.

     "...Right...... Still healing..." The human then pondered, quietly, to himself.

     As time passed, older friends of Hero's, who even Steve recognized, came up to the table and sat down with the two. Steve hadn't returned to his head-on-the-table position, so he guessed that made him look more approachable. Steve smiled, ever-so-subtly, as his friend talked with the villagers; Hero smiling...laughing, even.

     But then...that smile slowly sank until his expression was one without emotion. His ears clouded, taking in nothing but mumbles. His eyes fogged, taking in nothing but base images. His mind clouded, accepting no emotions, feelings, or new thoughts of any kind. His muscles weak but tense all in one. His arms grew shaky. He needed to stab something.

     Without a warning or sign to the others that he had any intent in leaving, the human left the table, turning to the dark forest behind him.

(*Minecraft music swells in the background*)

     Steve ran outside the village walls, sword in hand. A creeper awaited him at the gate. He stabbed it in the head before the creature could even hiss, slicing down all the way through the monster's stomach, exposed gunpowder leaking from the massive wound like blood. He then swung back, elbow ramming into the head of a zombie- a zombie!

     He fell back from the bruised monster, nearly tripping over the creeper's corpse. The rotting skin, the sunken eyes, the falling hair, the empty, soulless eyes... That had once been..a...

     Realizing his own freeze-up, the human's brows furrowed. He had killed countless of these before. Why stop now?

     "Yhaaa!" Steve ran forward, jabbing his sword through the monster's chest and kicking it off his own blade before the infected could even react. He then pounced upon it, punching its head back and forth until the weak skull cracked. His eyes widened, panting hard, realizing the brutality he had dealt. As if he had just committed a murder against his own kind, Steve struggled to rise as quickly as he did off the twice dead body, every part of him shaking even more than before. The human tussled internally with this new conflict taking place in his head, hoping he would just drop the whole thing.

     He fell to his knees. The grass! Desperate to distract himself from the battle within, he tugged at a patch of grass. It sort of helped. The moon was bright that night, over-casting a dull blue light over the meadow. The breeze was nice. It whispered as it brushed past, dancing with the tall grass under the start. The stars..twinkles.. as always. They were the one thing Steve could depend on to never change...

T'wwwwvv-p!

     An arrow nearly hit him. Feeling a little better, the human stood and tightly grasped his diamond sword again. He had no armor on, still. He had gotten used to fighting without it.. Made it fun when the wind would toss around his hair and clothing as he dodged, rolled, and ran in battle.

     Steve charged at the skeleron, rolling once to avoid its next arrow and slicing right through its spine. When it tumbled to the ground he was quick to stomp its skull, cracking it. He left it limp... waiting for more ghouls to think themselves brave enough to take him on... 

     "Steeeve!" Hero shouted from the village, exiting through the gate, a shield in one hand and his crutch in the other. His Hero arrived just in time to watch his friend yank his sword from another zombie's chest. "Steve! What are you doing out here?! You don't need to fight the monsters; we have the walls you built!" The younger man tried to talk some sense into the older one.

     "Oh please.. I know that!" The human shouted over the hiss of a creeper as he kicked it away from him. Hero waited until he had killed the explosive creature before he opened his mouth again, but Steve cut him off there. "It's my way of calming down."  

     "You don't look very calm.." The taller man commented. Right after he said that, Steve perfectly exhibited his claim by tackling another skeleton. When Steve jumped back up, throwing its arm at another one, just because, Hero's unnerved gulp could be heard for miles. "...Is this because of the cake?"

     "-Of course it isn't! You KNOW what this is about!" The angered Steve spun on his heals to glare unintentionally at his friend, bubbling with rage.

     Hero fell back a step, both by the ferocity of Steve's statement..and knowing immediately that the gig was up... He was done for... He hadn't hidden it well enough...

     Steve's face quickly shifted to sorrow-filled as he stared his friend in the eyes. "...I know you, Hero... I know you've tried to hide it.. and I've tried to ignore it, but... Notch, is it hard trying to ignore your own friend withering away right in front of you!!.. We both know you're not getting any better, Hero! You've only gotten worse!.. And I just.. I just." Not having the right words on him, the human spun around again, charging at another zombie, grabbed its arm with his right hand, and chopped it off with his sword in the left.

     Hero stood there, distraught, trying to find a way to brighten the mood.

     "And it isn't just your physical health either! Have you noticed yourself blanking out, Forgetting some of the simplest things?! Something might be wrong with your eyes too for all I know! Usually I wouldn't bring it up, but it's happening a lot now, and I'm- I'm- I'm worried, okay?!" Steve vented, panting after all the fighting he'd done. "I don't know what to do about it, Hero... I just don't.." The man lowered his head in defeat, taking in the sweet sweet taste of failure.

     "...I'm sure there's something out there that can help me.." Hero whispered, following the quieter tone of Steve.

     "Like WHAT?! Because I have done all the research I can; all the books I can get my hands on; all the potions I can think of, but nothing is working!!" Steve then threw his sword straight through the head of a spider as it attempted to pounce at him. When he picked it up, there was a lost look on his face, full of hopelessness. "...Do you have any ideas..?"

     The two men stood there, silently, completely distraught. Then... "No... I don't.. but- ...We can figure something out.." Then, there was something new entirely. Hero dropped his shield and reached his hand out to Steve; a tearful, hopeful smile on his face. The other man was unsure of this gesture. He was unsure of this offer; this idea..of hope. But..it was better he grab hold of that hope, instead of crumble in pain. "...For hope?.." Hero smiled. Steve was still staring at his friend's hand, weighing all the emotions, options, and outcomes in his head.

     Finally, a smile, though small, broke through the man's beaten exterior. Taking the hand in his own, "..For hope."

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YEET! That was another scene I've had in my head for a while now, mostly imagining it as scene in an anime-ish show.

ONLY THREE DAYS UNTIL THE DEADLINE!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!