White Siblings [completed]

Chapter 18: Hero

Ender. I bolted up out of bed, to see my bedroom was empty now, except for a good-bye note from my friends and a sleeping Pitch;he was kneeling at my bedside and had fallen asleep with his arms supporting his head that rested on the foot of my bed. At least he didn't crawl up onto the bed, that would've been creepy, I thought, but I honestly did find it sweet how he'd fallen asleep watching over me. "Heh. To think a demon is my guardian angel," I chuckled to myself, then heard a small mumble reply, "shhhhh, I'm still sleeeeepingggg," Pitch sleepily sighed. I laughed at that, which I assumed made Pitch a little irritated, though it was hard to tell because he was still so groggy.He slowly crawled up next to me and complained, "Herrooo, I saaaid be quieet, jusst lisstennn to meee..." With that, he nudged me to tell me to get out of the bed if I was awake. I complied only because he was probably really uncomfortable from his previous sleeping position. I walked to my desk to read the letter from my friends while Pitch wriggled under the sheets.
Hey, Hero,I wrote this on my and the rest of the gang's behalf. Sorry for not saying good-bye in person, but you know how badly I do with those. It's easier for me with paper. Nexus seemed to enjoy himself as much as everyone else, but now he keeps going on about a fruit, and I don't understand why. Anyhow, we'll miss you, we hope you can come and visit sometimes, no matter how shortly you stay. Thanks for everything. Bye.-Corey
I smiled. Corey was sweeter than he'd like to admit sometimes, I'll say that. I put the letter away in a drawer, then remembered why I'd woken up so suddenly:Ender. Her aura had left my field of detection. I then noticed the other letter on the desk. It was from Ender. My eyes raced along the words, not aware my heart was pounding until Pitch had sprang out of bed and ran up to me to stop me from making him grow any more powerful. It took a minute for him to shrink back to his usual size. Pitch calmly said, "okay, let's go and tell your old man and Seto." I nodded and started walking down the hallway until I found Dad's aura, then ran in his direction. I threw open the door of the dining hall to see Dad was accompanied by Seto. I blurted out, "Dad, Seto, Ender's gone back to the Overworld."Seto looked rather surprised, and Dad looked like he had some mixed emotions, though rage that was due to worry seemed the most dominant. I handed Dad the note Ender had left, and sighed, "I wish I'd been able to say bye in person, but at least she's safe. It's only a month, right?"
~~~~~~~~~~*Five weeks later*~~~~~~~~~~
I threw my final knife, landing the kill. At least, it would've if my target was alive, but it was just metal. Seto nodded in approval and encouraged me, "great work, Hero, you're getting better and better with all of your training. You're proving that there'll always be room for improvement!"I grinned, and asked, "alrighty, is that it for today? I really wanna take a shower." Seto bowed and replied, "indeed, the rest of the day's yours."I thanked him and left for my room.
Once I got there, I hopped in the shower and washed off. As I stood under the water, my thoughts started wandering off to think about how Ender was doing, just like they had for almost all of the past month and a week now. I was really worried, honestly, she said a month, but what if something happened?I thought out loud, "it wouldn't hurt to check, right...?""Of course not!~" a cheery voice chirped. I spun to see Pitch's shoes standing outside the bathroom door."Anyway, you could be right, Hero," Pitch continued from outside, "maybe that avocado Viv did something, or maybe worse happened! I think we should go check! If it's a false alarm, at least we'll be able to see her and our friends!""Ah, so that's what this is about," I answered, "you just wanna see Nexus, right?""No, actually, it's because I'm genuinely concerned for your sister because of how much she means to you."I was touched. I turned the water off and grabbed my towel. "Pitch...thank you," I said as I threw on an outfit I'd set out."It's no problem at all, Hero. So, shall we be going?"I opened the door, now fully dressed and ready. "Let's head out."I grabbed some food and Pitch handed me my obsidian sword.I smirked and told him, "you know me too well, my friend."He grinned in reply, and followed me out of the room.We were searching the castle for the portal room, and finally found it.As Pitch waited for me, I wrote down a quick explanation and good-bye note to Dad and Seto. Nova wasn't going with us, so I asked Dad for a favor to take care of him or find someone who could."All set, Pitch!" I announced. He nodded and faced the portal. He asked, "you want me to go through first?""I don't think either of you are going first," a voice appeared behind us. I didn't even need to turn around to know the voice belonged to Seto. He continued, "because I'll be leading you two."Pitch and I wore matching grins as Seto explained he'd be able to sense a fellow sorcerer even faster than I'd be able to sense any living being's aura. With everything sorted out, Seto led the way though the Nether Portal and back into the Overworld.
• • •
A casual stroll to look for Ender was how this plan started, but soon after, Seto had learned and frantically explained he sensed Ender in Notch's Castle. "WHAT?!" Pitch roared, aware of Notch's true nature, "WHY AREN'T WE GOING AFTER HER RIGHT NOW?!"I flinched from the strength in his voice. He seemed to notice and lowered his voice, "I mean, I know anyone with the slightest bit of sanity wouldn't barge in unprepared, but we could all do it for a simple break-out, right?"I nodded and added, "honestly, Seto, he may be right:we've got a sorcerer, the child of Herobrine, and a Demon, who's likely to grow in power the farther into the mission we get."Seto studied the two of us, and slowly nodded."It would be easier for us than others...but I can't risk harm to the other princess," he slowly stated.I frowned. I huffed a little, then unsheathed my sword from my back."Seto. Take a good look at me, and what I've become over my time in the Nether as the real me. Take a really good look. I'm no dainty flower, and I'm not backing down when my sister is in danger."Seto sighed and replied, "it's not because that's what I think, Hero. I don't even call you princess, because that was your request. I just can't risk it.""You're going to have to. I'll assemble a freakin' army if that's what it's gonna take to get Ender out of Notch's clutches alive," I stated firmly.Seto stared at me, and suddenly smiled."Father's child, indeed," he muttered, then spoke clearer, "very well. I can summon a small, temporary force that will assist us."Pitch, who had been rather quiet, suddenly piped up, "I've got some friends, too, you know!"His toothy grin that never got tiresome was stretched across his face as a few shapeless shadows stood behind him."Meet Fear," he motioned to the meek-looking one on his right, "and Pain," he nodded to the larger, fiercer shadow on his left.I smiled, knowing Pitch was joking. They were just apparitions he could cast, mostly used just for distractions, as they couldn't fight much better than the common foot soldier. Seto caught onto this quickly, and added onto our little "army" with some spirits of his own:similar to Pitch's, except some of his were black-and-orange, and some were silver or white. I was just glad we had convinced Seto to do this.Before we knew it, the three of us were at the front gates of the castle. Pitch whispered a command to the few dozen spirits he and Seto had summoned together in a language that was unknown to me, and seconds later, a large explosion at the right wing of the castle exploded, shaking the ground and the sky. That was when the rest of the remaining spirits charged the castle, starting the siege of it. Almost exactly a minute later, Seto had teleported the three of us to where the dungeon would hold Ender-minus a few blocks, because his power was limited in Notch's castle.
I was close enough now. Ender's aura was dim-very dim. I found it weird, because I only felt it faintly, even though I knew she was very close by. That could only mean..."Ender," I suddenly breathed out, getting Pitch and Seto's attention."Ender," I said again, "she's dying."With that, we all sprinted ahead, down the dark, musty hall. Pitch kept sniffing the air as we ran, trying to catch the scent of poison. (We all knew there had to be traps, near-lethal ones, too. Poison was inevitable.)However, Pitch caught a different scent as we were running:"water," he spat out as we continued sprinting. If it was even possible, I ran faster.Then we all heard the screams of pain."ENDER!" I screamed, desperate. Pitch shouted, right behind me, "GOD, DAMNIT, VIV, DO SOMETHING! SHE DIES, YOU DIE!"Pitch was suddenly running faster than me. He was gaining more and more power. His fangs were growing too big for his mouth, and his claws were growing, along with his speed.Reaching the end of the hallway, I suddenly skid to a stop, seeing the tank of water. Ender was in it. She was in a lot of pain, screaming and flailing, her head nearly under. Seto and I had stopped running, but Pitch was running right at the tank. Suddenly, I knew what he was doing. He charged the tank, smashing into it. I flinched at the sound. Pitch got up again and kept pounding at the glass with his fists, the cracks growing bigger. I shouted, "Pitch, hang on, stand clear!" I took my sword, and threw it at the glass. Pitch leapt out of the way, then jumped back to the tank and pulled the obsidian sword out, and slid it across the floor to my feet. The hole my sword had made was already gushing out water, but Pitch still tore off sharp edges, making the hole wider so it would leak more. Seto did the same by hand, instead of magic, so he'd avoid detection. I joined in, and soon Ender laid in an empty tank. We'd all made the hole wide enough, so I reached in and carefully carried Ender out. She was unconscious, but breathing. I actually felt her aura growing the tiniest bit stronger already."We've got Ender, let's go," I said. Pitch growled, "first, Viv, come on out and stop trying to hide behind poor Ender. Hero can't carry both of you."I heard a soft hiss, and a soaking wet, almost withered Vivian emerged. As we walked, Pitch grumbled as he slung the weakened and chained demon over his shoulder, "if Hero wasn't here, you do know I wouldn't be doing this, right?"Vivian gave a weak cough and small hiss. "Hahaha, hah...that's rich...a demon, who refuses to kill in front of his human. That's kind of the opposite of what you're supposed to do...idiot."Pitch snapped at Vivian, his teeth still a little bigger than usual. She was quiet as we continued walking. "That's a good avocado," Pitch chirped."You little...""Guys, please, stop it," I sighed, still carrying Ender, "we probably have the worst yet to face. This was too easy.""Even though me and the Little Demon nearly died?" Vivian sarcastically answered."I don't count you as a priority," I simply stated, "only Ender."Seto spoke, "Hero's right, and I still don't have enough power in here to teleport us out yet."Pitch suggested, "how about a 'Demon's Kiss?'"Seto raised an eyebrow as he faced Pitch.Pitch explained, "a 'Demon's Kiss' is very different from a humans. What it does is teleports you to the Nether, but it requires one thing-the demon needs to really, truly care about the person they give their 'Kiss' to. It shouldn't be a problem for Hero and Ender, or even Seto," he slowly put Vivian down, and stared at her, shaking his head. "I don't know, Viv. We obviously don't get along well enough."She snapped, "you can't leave me here! I'm too weak to get to the Nether on my own right now, anyway!""So?" Pitch replied, cooly staring at her. "Ender needs me," she answered, glaring at us like we were idiots who didn't understand."I don't see how," he questioned, "Vivian, what...did you do?"She coughed again and explained, "a part of Ender is within me. Just like every human/demon bond. You really are an idiot."She sneered at me, looking down on me, "so, Hero, Sweetie, you wanna be your sister's savior? You want your sis back?"She leaned in, right in front of my face and whispered, "well, you can't without me. You failed.""You get away from her now," Pitch threatened with a growl.Vivian stepped back and asked, "so, Pitch, care about me yet?"Pitch glared silently at her. He snapped, "get back in Ender. I can't stand to look at you.""How cold," she responded as she vanished into Ender in a cloud of smoke.Pitch sighed and said, "okay, here we go, I'll give Seto and Ender the 'Demon's Kiss' first. He whispered a string of ancient chants into Ender's ear, then placed his hand on a slightly uncomfortable-looking Seto's head and did the same. They both vanished into the air seconds later. He turned to me with a cheery smile and knelt down in front of me. The same string of chants, holding onto my hand as he did them. When he finished, he lightly kissed my hand, looked up into my eyes, winked, and disappeared into my chest in the form of smoke.He explained to me as a voice in my head, "protection against pain during traveling through worlds. Usually you want a portal."
With that, the air shimmered around me, blurred completely, then slowly took shape again. I was now in the Nether. Seto was holding Ender's unconcious body in his arms, and Vivian was out again, but still in chains."Aaah, now, that's better!" Pitch chimed, out again as well. He was obviously enjoying the heat.I shook my head and smiled.Seto said, "very well, we should start walking again towards the castle, it's not far. I'm still recovering energy. We'll take care of Ender then."I nodded, then offered to keep carrying Ender. Pitch cheerily swung Vivian back over his shoulder, ignoring her shouting and protests.Ender was going to be alright. We all were. I was relieved. Even if Notch would do something about this, we had made it through today. And right now, today was all that mattered.Attachments area