"No!" Keralis yelled forcefully, horror dripping from his voice.

The Wither skeleton appeared to have heard the footstep behind it, and in one smooth motion, whirled around to face Etho, lashing out with its blade.

Etho's eyes widened, and too late he tried to jump back, but there was no time. The sword bit into his side, and he cried out in pain, falling to his knees. Hypno shot an arrow frantically at it, and it hit its mark, the skeleton exploding into dark dust, it's skull clattering to the ground like some sort of sick, twisted trophy.

False fought against her Wither skeleton with renewed strength, fear and fury fuelling her every move. She crossed blades with it, then pushed forwards with a burst of energy. The skeleton took a step back, right over the edge of the fortress, and it plunged downwards, vanishing from her sight.

Bad and Hypno had also managed to overpower their Wither skeleton, reducing it to a pile of ash, and they were all clustered by Etho's side. False rushed over, terror pounding in her chest.

Etho was slumped against the wall, his breaths shallow. His eyes were open, bright with pain, his hand clamped firmly over the wound to stop himself from bleeding out, crimson blood dripping from his fingers.

"How bad is it?" False demanded, rummaging in her inventory for bandages.

Keralis swallowed, his voice hoarse. "It's bad. He's been Withered."

False found the bandages, and knelt beside her injured teammate, her hands shaking as she frantically tried to unravel it. Peering closer at the wound, she could see that the edges were tinged black. The Wither affect.

She had never seen it in person before, only heard the horror stories of players who had been Withered, the life slowly sucked out of them with each passing moment. It was one of the more horrific ways to go.

Bad was digging around in his inventory, looking for anything that might help. Bdubs held Etho's hand comfortingly, xB looked stunned, his expression one of shock.
Hypno stood a little apart from them, his bow still in hand, a grim expression on his face. Keeping watch.

False swallowed, wrapping the bandage around the wound, noting the red that immediately seeped through them. "The cure is milk, right?"

Bad nodded numbly. "I don't have any though. Does anyone have milk?

They all shook their heads.

Etho winced, his voice tight with pain. "Just lea-"

"No!" False interrupted fiercely. "No. That is not happening. We all go back together, or we don't go back at all. You are not dying on my watch. There's milk in the Overworld."

Bad held up a healing potion. "This will help with the wound. The Wither affect still needs milk, but this will stop him from dying of blood loss." He handed the tiny bottle to xB, who uncorked it and held it to Etho's mouth, making sure he swallowed it.

Bdubs leaned closer to False. "The main worry now is the Wither effect. The wound itself is fairly shallow - he should be able to recover from it, especially with the potion now, if we got the milk."

Keralis tilted his head, his eyes troubled, and False felt a stab of pity for him. His closest friend was currently missing, and now Etho had been wounded. "False, how about you and Hypno go ahead. Take the Blaze rods with you. Deliver them to the rest of the hermits. Then come back with the milk."

She hesitated. "I can't leave the rest of you with Etho unguarded. Hypno can stay as well."

Keralis shook his head. "No. We'll go into hiding. You'll need Hypno's bow skills to make it back in one piece."

She paused. "Alright." She relented, her voice still hesitant. "Be safe. Just tunnel into walls of the fortress, right here, and when I come back I'll knock."

Bad nodded. Keralis handed her the blaze rods, the heat that radiated off of them increasingly uncomfortable.

She got up and walked over to Hypno. He cast a glance at Etho, who managed to meet his gaze. "We'll be back. Sit tight." His voice held a sharp edge of worry.

False barely trusted herself to speak, and she gave a single nod.
xB, Bdubs, Keralis and Bad nodded back. They trusted her.

I won't fail them, she swore silently.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were separated. False wasn't worried for herself - both she and Hypno were capable in combat, and in excellent shape. She wondered if they could make it in half the time. It was doubtful, but she knew that every fraction of an hour they saved made a difference. In his current state, Etho was counting minutes.

What if they got back too late?

Could she forgive herself for failing?

Would Etho and the rest of her friends forgive her for failing?

What would happen if...

Hypno stopped suddenly, and he grabbed False, steady hands yanking on the back of her armour, stopping her a heartbeat before she walked off the edge of a ravine. Panic flooded through her, as well as relief that made her feel weak and light headed.

"False!" He chided. "Pay attention."

"I'm sorry!" She felt horror yawn inside her. She didn't fear death. She would gladly go for one of her friends. But right now, she carried the blaze rods. She needed to come back with milk. Multiple lives rested on her shoulders, and she refused to fail.

Hypno glanced at her, meeting her gaze firmly. "What's wrong?"

"I- I'm worried." She admitted. "What if we fail? Do you think Etho and Xisuma and Dream and Techno-"

"We can only hope." He said quietly. "That's the most we can do." A tiny smile played on his lips. "And not fall down ravines."

She met his grin shakily. "I'll do my best."

He nodded. "Good."

They walked in comfortable silence.

The scorching heat of the Nether made every dusty, ashy breath a struggle, and as she had discovered just recently, she did not have energy and concentration to spare in worrying.

Only hope.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keralis was worried. He wouldn't say it out loud, not while Etho was still fully awake, but he didn't like the current chances.

False and Hypno would have to be very fast. Perhaps a day. He wondered if they could make it in a day.

He, Etho, Bad, xB and Bdubs were cramped in a tiny hollow cave they had dug out from the side of the Nether Fortress, and then they had built back the wall, closing themselves off in total darkness. A torch was lit in the very centre for light, the smoke coming from it drifting hazily through the pitch blackness, making his eyes sting.

Bad had offered them muffins, which they had all taken gratefully. Except for Etho.

Etho was still awake, but definitely weaker. Keralis tried to remember how long it had been since False and Hypno had left.

An hour?

Two hours?

He didn't know. But Etho was slowly slipping away, his face almost as pale as his hair, pain glinting on his eyes. Perhaps the only good news was that the wound had stopped bleeding, but the Wither effect was still just as deadly, fighting against any potion affects applied.

They had already gotten him to take two health potions, and in such short time, they didn't dare risk a third one. Health potions essentially sped up and revitalized all the healing functions, as well as the user's metabolism, and drinking even one would usually cause a slight fever. Two was pushing the limit. Three? They weren't willing to try.

He glanced at his friends. They were all scared and exhausted. xB had a thin cut across his cheek. Bad's face was streaked with grime. Bdubs had a Nether leaf sticking out of his hair. Yet he could see determination gleaming, hard and fierce in their eyes.

"Maybe you guys should get some sleep." He suggested, a little shocked by how hoarse his voice sounded. The horrible air quality of the Nether was affecting them all.

Bdubs blinked slowly. "I'll keep watch?"

"No, let me." Keralis argued. "I wouldn't be able to sleep anyways." He was too worried, too wound up to sleep, even though all his movements were limited with fatigue.

xB hesitated for a moment. "Wake us up if anything happens, alright? And if you feel tired, wake me up and I'll take next watch."

Keralis nodded. He knew that there wasn't much to watch out for. The only thing was Etho - they had to make sure he stayed awake. If he lapsed into unconsciousness, they all knew he wasn't likely to wake up. Ever.

He glanced over at his wounded friend, noting sadly the tight look of pain in his expression.

He felt rather useless. There wasn't much he could do.

The rest of his friends settled down as much as they could, and in a matter of moments, they were asleep.

Keralis studied their expressions curiously. They all looked so calm. So gentle. Angelic. It was like they had all de-aged a couple years, months of worry and pain disappearing from their faces.

"There isn't going to be enough time." Etho said suddenly, his voice so soft that Keralis almost missed it.

He turned to Etho, meeting his gaze firmly. "If anyone could make it back in time, it would be False and Hypno."

Etho leaned his head back warily. "It's asking them to do the impossible. Setting them up for failure." He looked exhausted speaking, but at least it meant he was still awake enough to hold a conversation.

Keralis shook his head. "You've seen how capable they are. I think they have a good chance."

"They'll be quicker then all of us. But not fast enough."

"I," Keralis paused. "I don't know." He admitted truthfully. "It's not looking good."

Etho gave him a small, bitter smile, seemingly resigned to his fate. "The rest of you should have gone back. It's wasted time."

Keralis scowled. "Could you have?" He challenged angrily. "If it was Bdubs, or xB, or Bad, or even me? If I was they one it had gotten? Would you have allowed yourself to leave?"

Etho paused.

"No." He said after a moment of silence. "I couldn't. But that doesn't change the fact that I should."

Keralis shook his head. "They'll be back. In time."

Etho exhaled, still looking unconvinced. "Perhaps."

Keralis dipped his head. He could only wait.

Only hope.

==============================

Greetings dear readers. I hope you're enjoying the angst and pain, more is to come as there is a reason this story is tagged "bittersweet" ;)

Also I forgot to tell y'all that the chapter names are actually pretty heavy with meaning: they're all named after colours that fit the mood/theme of the chapter, and then also spell  something out when put together, which JessTheFanficTrash figured out, without me telling y'all. Amazing, kudos to you :D

So yeah, have fun lol.