The song on the playlist for this chapter is "I Hate Everything About You" by Three Days Grace

Spotify link in this comment line.

[•]

"You are completely surrounded by hundreds of hidden death traps," a man clad in green walked past the dropped amulet to a set of levers. "One step closer...and KABOOM!"

Two pieces of TNT suddenly popped up in front of Petra, forming an effective wall and forcing her to stumble back. The man knelt to the ground, picking up the glowing-green amulet. Axel did a little jump. "It's Magnus! We totally got caught by Magnus...er..." Petra was glaring. "I think we're gonna die now."

"Did you really think you could sneak up on me?" Magnus threw his head back and laughed. "Ha! You're two of the worst griefers I've ever met. And a pig? Really? Hardly stealthy."

Reuben grunted indignantly and Petra spared him a glance before eyeing the TNT wall. "Believe it or not, we aren't griefers. We need your help."

"Uh huh, uh huh, sure. Well let me tell you, that guy?" Magnus gestured to Axel with the amulet. "He's got 'griefer' written all over him."

He started tossing the amulet from hand to hand and Petra shook her head. "Look, while I see the potential, Axel isn't a griefer."

"Riiiiight. So tell me something, 'not griefers.' How did you find me? Who are you working for?"

"We were sent by Gabriel."

"Gabriel? Ha! You're seriously telling me you're buddy-buddy with Gabriel. Do you know how often people try and tell me that one?"

Petra shook her head. "Is that amulet not proof enough for you?"

"This is..." Magnus paused, looking at the amulet. "Look, why are you here?"

"The world is in danger."

Magnus flicked a switch, launching the TNT onto the lava on the sides. "You have me intrigued. Go on."

Petra slowly moved forward. "Look, somewhere out there is a massive monster destroying the world and nothing so far can stop it. Gabriel gave me that amulet to find the Order. we need your help, Magnus."

The man was silent for a moment before suddenly flicking a lever and bringing up another wall of TNT. "Give me one reason why, for even a second, I should come with you."

She felt her frustration bubble over. "Because you're a legendary hero, Magnus! Right now, the world needs its heroes!"

"All this...stuff you're told me...You really think I'll just believe it?"

"What the--do you not trust anyone?!"

"How do you think I've survived this long, hot fuse?"

"Well, stop being paranoid for a minute and listen."

The bald man frowned and sighed. "Okay, okay, you've sold me. I'm in..."

He launched the last of the TNT to the sides. "Oh, but we might have a little bit of a problem getting out of here."

[•]

The crowd's cheering was loud as Axel ran up to Petra. "I can't believe it! You beat Magnus!"

She nodded, watching as TNT slowly started appearing among the members of the crowd. "Yeah...that might be a problem."

"Wait, huh? What are they doing?!"

Before she could respond, Magnus ran forward, eyes wide. "Holy CRAP. Is that your Witherstorm?!"

Petra spun around, staring at the black three-headed clump in the sky. "Do you believe me now?"

"Point made, hot fuse!" He took a few steps back. "How are we...what are we...thats...GAH?! No no no NO!"

The tractor beams began grabbing people and chunks of buildings, Magnus turning angry. "STOP EATING MY KINGDOM!"

Petra ran forward, shoving the griefer's arm. "You moron, move! We need to get out of here!"

They began to run, Magnus pausing to yell, "YOU'LL REGRET MESSING WITH BOOMTOWN!"

Petra shook her head. "Damn it, Magnus, COME ON! We need to get to the Nether portal!"

The man hesitated for only a second before running again. People's terrified screams and the sound of buildings being ripped apart was the last thing they heard before running through the portal.

[•]

The group reached the top of the hill, the very different-looking temple.coming into view. Magnus let out a low whistle. "Someone really went bonkers with the defenses, huh?"

Petra shrugged and they approached the entrance. "Hello?"

Lukas appeared above the door, a bow in hand. "Who--Petra, is that you?"

"You bet!" She put a hand on her hip. "Love what you've done with the place. It's very well defended."

"I can't tell if you're being serious or sarcastic."

She laughed. "Just let us in, Lukas."

The blond disappeared, the iron door swinging open a moment later. "I am so glad you're back. Oh, you'll never guess--"

Loud, excited squeals from Reuben cut him off, the pig making a dash for a nearby wall. Lukas opened the door wider, allowing them through and letting Petra see what had Reuben so excited. "Jesse!"

There he was, kneeling by the wall and giving Reuben a big hug. He looked a bit worse for wear, with dirt streaked on his clothes and his usually fluffy hair laying flat on his head. A bit of dried blood was on his face, but his green eyes lit up as he straightened. "Petra! Axel!"

Axel shoved past Petra and Magnus, enveloping Jesse in a massive hug. "Holy crap, man, you made it!"

"Yeah, I--ow, Axel, I am bruised--I made it," Jesse laughed as Axel let him go. "I'm glad to see you."

He turned to Petra, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, Petra. I really have you to thank for--"

She threw her arms around him, holding his body tightly against her. "Oh Notch, I am so glad.you're okay."

He was stiff for a moment but she felt him relax at her words, his chin settling on her shoulder and a hand sliding up to the base of her neck. They stood like this for a few seconds until Magnus asked, "Are they dating or something?"

They were apart in a second, Jesse beet red and Petra's own face heating up. "Uhm, no we're not, Magnus."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Whatever you wanna say, hot fuse."

"We're just good friends." Jesse added."

"Good! Because this guy is short and looks kinda wimpy."

"Excuse me?!"

"You're excused."

Jesse shook his head, turning back to Petra. "Look. i owe you my life. If you hadn't saved me, I probably wouldn't have escaped. I am so glad I managed to find you guys."

She nodded. "Is there...anything left of back home?"

"The...the Witherstorm left almost nothing behind. It even got Gabriel...I couldn't save him."

A horrified gasp escaped Magnus and Jesse looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Jesse," Lukas lifted his chin. "Come on. Let's go up top."

The group was silent as they made their way up the stairs, Petra and Jesse exchanging glanced before emerging into the evening sun. Magnus sighed. "Been a while since I've been here..." He turned, suddenly becoming angry. "What. Is. She...doing here?"

Petra followed his gaze, finding Olivia talking to a brown-haired woman--Ellegaard. "I...wow, I didn't even know she was here."

"Right, um," Lukas nervously adjusted his jacket. "I forgot to mention--Olivia went on a little...expedition of her own while you were gone."

Magnus huffed and Petra raised an eyebrow. "I'm getting the feeling you two really don't like each other."

"Wow, you're so smart. Did Ellegaard put you up to this?"

"What? No."

"Well! No way am I working with her. Not after...ugh..."

"After...what?"

Jesse leaned over to Petra. "Something about this is really strange."

"No shit. Hey, Olivia!"

The girl looked up, waving excitedly. "Petra! Petra, look--I found Ellegaard!"

"You seem to be in charge, hot fuse," Magnus crossed his arms. "Why don't you figure out what is going on?"

She sighed. "Give me a minute."

She walked over, Ellegaard turning to her with a not-so-pleasant expression. "So who are you now? And why did you bring him with you?"

Petra offered a not-so-pleasant expression back. "I don't think Olivia told you, but we're trying to reunite the Order of the Stone."

"It was kind of crazy, actually," Olivia stepped forward. "I went to Redstonia and there were all these incredible engineers and inventors. It was a little intimidating, actually...but Ellegaard made me her protege!"

"Well, assistant, for now." Ellegaard interjected.

Petra nodded. "Huh, cool. I'm the king of Boomtown."

Olivia's eyes widened. "How did that happen?"

"Long story that I'll explain later. We need--"

"Oh hoo-ray. It's Ellie," Magnus marched over to the group. "And here I was just starting to enjoy myself."

The woman in question rolled her eyes. "Hello, Magnus. Your voice is as pleasant as I remember. Which is to say, not at all."

"Ow, my feelings. Is that the same wit you're going to use to save the world?"

"Why? You're going to tell me how to do it better?"

Petra saw Olivia open her mouth and took the sign to step in. "Okay, chill out, people. There's clearly more going on here than the rest of us are aware of. God, you two are acting like my parents before they got divorced."

Olivia's eyes went wide and Ellegaard sputtered. "Well EXCUSE ME. How dare you?"

Petra shrugged. "I'm not implying anything, I'm just telling you what you look like."

Magnus wasn't impressed. "A couple about to get divorced?"

Ellegaard turned and began marching off. "Unacceptable!"

Magnus began walking away as well and Petra growled, her nails digging into her palms. "Can't you two just focus on the bigger picture?! We have a Witherstorm out there turning the whole world into its meal and you're just going to walk away?"

Magnus' steps faltered at this. "Yeah, I'll admit...that thing looked real nasty. And I've seen a lot.of nasty stuff in my time."

Ellegaard came to a full stop. "Too much for you, was it? Your usual brutish approach didn't cut it?"

He glared at her. "Hey! You weren't there, all right? You didn't see how this thing just tore everything up."

Petra had enough. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Everyone went dead silent, staring at her. Ellegaard looked appalled, Magnus impressed, and everyone else except Jesse scared. Jesse was grinning. "You better listen to her...Unless you want to be on the receiving end of those fists. We need to focus and find a way to stop that thing."

Ellegaard sighed. "I don't know if you've looked around yet, but this place isn't nearly the stronghold it used to be. Most of our supplies are gone."

"It would take a mountain of TNT to kill that thing!" Magnus added.

"I hate to say it, but you have a point."

Axel leaned over to Olivia. "This is amazing."

"I know."

Petra sighed. "Shouldn't we start crafting some TNT then?"

"I don't think we got that kind of time. And even if we had all the TNT from miles around, I don't know if it would be enough."

Ellegaard tapped a finger to her chin. "If only Soren were here...He might have something we could use."

"Oh Ellie, not this again. You know I hate when you brag about you and Soren's little brainy club."

"I'm not bragging! I think I've got a legitimate idea here!"

"What did Soren have?" Petra interjected.

"Soren had this kind of 'Super TNT,' stronger and more explosive than anything else in the world," Ellegaard paused. "The 'Formidi-Bomb'."

A/N: AYE THE GROUP IS BACK TOGETHER (Jetra hug)

Magnus and Ellegaard, now that I look at them much older, bicker like a divorced couple. Like, they give such strong divorce vibes and I am here for that.