Yes, Tom gets to come along for the ride in my story. I know under different circumstances he would have been all over Amniosis. He really enjoyed the other crypts. I'm just glad he was able to make it out for the finale... even if his whole computer crashed and took 20 minutes to reboot halfway in. XD The song for Tom's trip through Amniosis is "Migraine" by Twenty One Pilots. One of you lovely readers introduced me to this band ages ago. I tip my hat at you good sir/madam. You know who you are. :)

Warnings: Some feelz (Yes, this zombie has feelings!) and mind games

*Tom's POV*

"Terrance!" I yelled as I looked between him and the lever array. "Hang on, boy! I'll get you out." Honestly, I was more worried about how he got here than about him getting hurt. The lava certainly wouldn't kill him. He swam in the stuff for fun when we went mining. How did someone steal him out of my tree without me noticing?

It didn't click that he was a fake until I heard Jordan in the room next to me say, "Oh, what the heck? Jerry just appeared in my tube." Jordan sounded puzzled. He'd left Jerry—whatever number he was on now—back in Mianite. He couldn't be here.

This isn't Terrance. I grinned and started flipping switches like mad. I ignored the sound of a luggage dropping into lava behind me and kept at it until I heard my and Jordan's doors open at the same time. Lucky spoon, I thought as I ran for the door. "Race you to the top, Sparklyd*ck!" I yelled over my shoulder.

Jordan yelled some nonsense about being careful, but I didn't listen. He was just mad I got a head start. I was going to find that last artifact while the others tracked down the king. Helgrind could stay in the Nether for all I cared. He deserved worse for everything he'd done. I had a feeling that the artifact would be our ticket out of this place. Actually, as far as crypts went, this one didn't seem all that bad, aside from having to swim in blood and split up. Is that your game, aye? Divide and conquer? I slowed down as I approached a steep portion of the tunnel with a few level shelves; this part would be slow going—and a great place for an ambush. I pulled my sword from its sheath, knowing I didn't have enough room to maneuver my hammer properly if there was trouble.

It was completely silent while I climbed. Even when I knocked a loose piece of dreamwood down the tunnel, it made no sound. It was like this place just absorbed it. It was starting to get to me when I saw something shiny out of the corner of my eye. Turning to look at it, I saw a stack of manyullyn ingots lying on one of the platforms. Ooooh. "Mine!" I scrambled and jumped my way over to the ledge and picked up one of the purple beauties, testing its weight in my hand. "Now what am I going to make with... Ahhh!" The ingot turned into sand in my hand, as did the stack in front of me. I pushed the sand around with my foot, trying to see if any of the precious metal remained. It was all gone. What the f*ck? Maybe I'm catching Sonja and Sparklez's crazy, I decided, scratching my head.

Continuing up the tunnel, I found diamonds, gold, and adamantine with the same result. "D*mn it!" I yelled when just poking the adamantine with my sword made it disintegrate. I was getting really frustrated now.

You destroy everything you touch.

I whipped around with my sword up. "Who said that?" There was no one there. Man, maybe I am losing it. I sheathed my sword to leave my hands free for climbing a sheer wall to another part of the tunnel. Thankfully, there were hand and footholds aplenty.

The higher I climbed, the warmer it got, until it felt like I was approaching a pool of fresh lava. Come to think of it, there was an orange glow in the tunnel above me, and I could smell smoke. I wiped some sweat from my eyes and finished climbing. As I pulled myself up, I froze. Finally, there was sound again, though I would have preferred the silence to what I found. The tunnel ahead of me was on fire, the silver-green wood popping and blackening as the flames danced over it. It didn't seem to be spreading though. Then I noticed the figure leaning against the wall of the tunnel, watching the flames. Dianite?

At my thought, the Lord of the Nether turned to face me. He looked just like I remembered him except for a scar on his chest over his heart and eyes the dead grey of ash. I clambered into the tunnel and pulled my sword. Curses circulated through my mind as I held my blade in front of me. I had envisioned this encounter multiple times, had nightmares about it even. I didn't question how he was here. He'd sent Donella between worlds; of course he'd found a way here too. I swallowed with a throat that had suddenly gone dry.

Dianite smirked, knowing perfectly well how terrified I was. "Well, if it isn't Syndicate, slayer of gods and betrayer of trust. Thought you'd seen the last of me, did you?" He took a step towards me, the wood under his feet bursting into flame at each step. "I must admit, I never expected you to kill me."

"It was an accident!" I blurted. "I wanted to keep you from killing Sparklez and the others! I didn't think it was possible to kill ya." I'm sorry. It was true; I'd felt awful immediately after that death message popped up on my communicator. The others had cheered and clapped me on the back. They had been glad to see him go. I hadn't. I had just killed the only being who really accepted me at my worst. Hell, he'd taught me my worst.

"It's a bit late to grow a conscience, Syndy," He said, mocking the nickname this world's Dianite called me by. "And it doesn't suit you. You're not a hero. You're an assassin, arsonist, prankster, monster. That's why I saved your pathetic life in the first place." I grimaced at the reminder of how I'd become a zombie. "You will never change. When your new god realizes that, you'll come crawling back to me." He knew I didn't fit in here. How long had he been watching me?

I felt conflicted. I really did enjoy raising hell under Dianite, but I was tired of people being afraid of me, of them hissing at me behind my back. I'd thought Ruxomar would be a good place to start over, but even here people blamed us for the destruction of Dagrun after King Helgrind left. The refugees that had fled to Urulu hated us. They were right too; if we hadn't shown up, they would have continued on with their hypocritical lives. I looked down at my green hands holding my sword and wondered if I would ever be more than a monster to any of them. Maybe being a hero was overrated.

My sword dipped slightly as my inner conflict distracted me from the real danger. Dianite's eyes glowed faintly as he touched the tip of my sword with one finger. In a flash it changed from a manyullyn longsword to a diamond sword—a very familiar diamond sword. The Sword of Dianite. The ever present flame particles surrounded the blade like a swarm of bees, somehow shining brighter than the flames behind Dianite. I stared at my old sword in wonder for a moment. Then one of the flame particles landed on my arm, burning through my earth armor like butter and right into my skin.

"Yeow!" I dropped the blade and beat at the small flame on my arm to put it out. The diamond blade hit the wooden floor with a dull clatter, and the flame particles vanished. "What gives?!" I demanded as I cradled my arm to see the damage. It was nothing a healing potion wouldn't fix when I got home. The Sword of Dianite had never burned me before. It didn't make any sense. Unless...

Dianite narrowed his eyes at me and sneered. Cinders of magma red flared in his grey eyes. "Did you really think I would keep you as my champion after you betrayed me?" He asked in a condescending voice.

"Tell you what," He said as he picked up his champion's sword and turning it in his hands. "I'll consider taking you back if you slay your pitiful 'friends'," He said, holding out the handle of my old sword for me to take. He and I both knew there were ways to permanently kill someone with respawn; I had been his top assassin, after all. The look in his eye told me plainly what he meant this time by "kill."

Dianite chuckled and added, "It would be all too easy, given their current afflictions."

Unbidden, images of Sonja sick with flux flu, Jordan depressed and exhausted, and Wag heartbroken flashed through my mind. I hate it when he does that, I thought, rubbing my temples. At least Dianite's got nothing on Tucker. ...Except Sonja. Sh*t.

"Hm. I might have to task you with something more challenging."

He took one step towards me, offer still standing, and I involuntarily took a step back. The sword was right there; I could just reach out and take it. No, I won't betray my friends! I yelled at myself, tearing my eyes away from the temptation. I looked over my shoulder to see I had backed up to the edge of the cliff I'd just climbed. The floor beneath had vanished; in its place the empty darkness of the void yawned. A fresh bolt of fear shot through me. No way in Nether am I going through the void again! There had to be some other choice. I scanned the burning hall behind Dianite, desperate for an escape route. Now that I looked at the fire more closely, I could see there were patched of blackened wood that had already burned out. How long have we been standing here?

After a split second of weighing my options, I dove. I rolled back to my feet past Dianite and made a running leap for the first safe patch amid the flames. Dianite did not pursue me. As I tried to hold my breath and keep moving, it felt like I was leaving a piece of myself back there. Where am I going to go when the others return home? I asked myself. I had no answer. I had no idea where I was going. But I won't stop moving forward. As I cleared the last of the fire and bolted down the corridor, I could not block my god's haughty laughter from my mind.

Bonus song: "Nightmare" by Set It Off

https://youtu.be/KKx6v6GJKJY