Hidden Powers

Hard Choices

"I'm not leaving." Xequla folded his arms. "I'm the better version of Grian, and if you guys were smart, you would keep me and get rid of him."

"Say what?!!" Grian practically leaped from his chair. "I could knock you out in five seconds stat." End magic bubbled from his hands as he raised his wings.

"Five seconds?" Xequla mused, not very impressed. "I could level you in two." Red light hummed in Xequla's hands as he made no move to get up.

"Boys!" Xisuma shouted out, making both their heads snap towards his voice. Xisuma lowered his voice, making the threat very clear. "If either of you even lifts a finger to destroy the other, I will trap you in a void magic cylinder. That is not something you want to be trapped in."

Grian sighed and snuffed out his end magic, while Xequla rather slowly made the red light fade away, all the while glaring at Grian. Xisuma frowned and turned towards Zedaph. "We can't fix it until we unite the stones. I know its dangerous-"

"It is very dangerous." Zedaph interrupted. "I lost my mother to it."

"Oh," Xisuma trailed off, no longer mad about being interrupted. "If you won't come then..."

Zedaph felt guilt tug at his gut when Xisuma made the move to leave. Sighing, he stopped Xisuma. "Xisuma, wait. I'll come, not like I have a choice. But after this is done, I will fix the time mess."

Relief flooded Xisuma's face as he nodded. Behind him, Xequla narrowed his eyes and glared at Zedaph who simply shrugged.

"So we need two more stones?" Zedaph asked as he gathered some supplies.

"Yes, the End Stone and the Command Stone." Xisuma replied hooking his helmet onto a latch on his belt. The helmet shrank in size until it was a small square of grey and purple. "The command stone will be the hardest to get since we no longer have Wels." Xisuma's normally soft and calm voice cracked and he had to take a breath to restore his voice.

"Can't the command stone bring him back?" Zedaph slug a bag over his shoulders. The bag was designed specifically for Elthers and Netherites, tucking in between the wings.

"I hadn't thought of that." Xisuma brightened, motioning for the others to grab their stuff. "Problem is getting to the Master Coder."

"Worry about that later," Mumbo pointed outside. "Looks like your council decided to pay a visit."

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Zedaph took one look at the twelve crowned figures and panicked. They wanted the Aether stone and if the other stones were within their grasp, what would they do with those? And what would they say with him harboring the Netherite King and two humans disguised as Netherites?

"I need to get my wife and kids out of here!" Zedaph hissed to Xisuma who promptly nodded. If he was going to leave the Aether, he needed to keep his family safe.

Zedaph motioned for his friends to leave through the back door, that way they wouldn't be discovered. While they filed out rather quickly, Zedaph darted into the next room to grab Layla and his two daughters. Their tiny wings were fluttering as they tried to fly and failed.

"What's wrong?" Layla's eyes were filled with fear.

"Council has come for the stone since I didn't show up at the meeting." Zedaph scooped up his bigger daughter and Layla took the younger one into her arms. He rushed them out the back door as well, and they made the short fly to the dense wood.

"I'm sending you to the Overworld." Zedaph said as he started creating a portal.

"I thought you said the Overworld was dangerous!" Layla held her daughter closer to her chest.