Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the late chapter. I had just finished it but then we went on holiday and I had no internet and then I had school and then someone got into my account. But it's all good now, and I have a long chapter to make up for my lack of updates. Enjoy!

The training group broke up late afternoon. After Blade's demonstration with Robert, all the soldiers had eagerly accepted her help and her tips. Part of that was probably due to the fact that a certain someone had chosen to reveal the fact that Blade was a Guardian. Blade's eyes slid to that certain someone now as they walked back to their rooms. He saw her looking and turned to her innocently.

"Yes Blade?" Hero asked.

Blade said nothing, choosing to just glare at him. Hero kept up the pretence of innocence for a few more minutes. Then a mischievous smile broke though.

"You have to admit, the look on their faces was priceless."

Blade couldn't argue with that, but it didn't mean she had to like it. So she settled herself with a contemptuous flick of her head. Herobrine chuckled to himself.

They reached the set of rooms that the family shared. Steve and Alex were inside, and so was Notch. They all glanced up as the two entered.

"How did it go?" Steve asked.

"Pretty well," Hero answered. "Why don't you tell them about your duel Blade?"

Blade ignored him and went into her room to get changed. As she closed the door behind her, she heard Notch's voice.

"What did you do Hero?"

Ten minutes later, Blade had had a shower, gotten dressed and was feeling a lot better. She was still annoyed at Hero though. She joined the others in the main room. Hero had already had a shower and gotten changed and was now talking to Notch. Alex was playing nearby with some of her dolls while Steve was looking out the window.

"Hey, you guys want to go out for a walk?" he asked.

Hero looked at him and then shrugged. "Why not? There's a nice breeze outside anyway."

"My feet are killing me, so I'll stay here," Notch said.

"I'll come," Blade said.

"What about you Alex?" Steve asked.

The little girl looked up and shook her head.

"Well, let's go."

The three walked out of the rooms and through the castle. There were less people walking now compared to earlier in the day.

"Where do you guys want to go?" Hero asked.

"I thought I saw some trees off to the east. We could borrow some horses and go check it out," Steve suggested.

Blade shrugged. "Sounds like a good idea."

After stopping by the stables to borrow three horses, the trio rode out of the castle and the village. As they reached the open country, they turned their horses' heads to the east. Ten minutes cantering saw them at the edge of a forest. Hero dismounted and tied his horse's rein to one of the trees.

"What do you say we go on foot?" he asked as he tied the rein off.

"You seem to have already made that decision," Steve joked, also dismounting.

They walked into the shade of the trees. The orange evening sun and the rich green of the leaves contrasted beautifully, and the cool breeze rustled the leaves. Birds flitted around, singing their songs. All in all, it was a beautiful place. They walked for ages, talking quietly and enjoying each other's company. Blade even forgot her annoyance at Hero. Steve and Hero told Blade about some things that happened when they were living in the woods.

"A few years ago, we came across a girl who was just living on her own in the woods," Steve was saying. "She couldn't have been more than 10 years old, and she had a little dog with her. I can't remember her name though."

"It was Fury," Herobrine offered. "And she called her dog Wolf."

"She was pretty quiet, didn't talk much. But she could scale a 10 metre tall tree in seconds," Steve said. "I've always wondered what happened to her."

"How could she survive on her own when she was so young?" Blade asked.

Steve shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm hoping that she found some friends. She seemed like a good person."

"So why didn't you offer her to go with you guys?"

"We did. But she said that she prefered to live alone. And besides, our house was a few days walk away. It was funny really. She-"

"Quiet."

Steve instantly stopped talking, giving Hero a questioning look. Hero was scanning the forest, searching for something. All of a sudden, Blade realised that something was wrong. A moment later, she realised what it was.

The birds had stopped singing.

A twig snapped and their heads swung towards it. Blade saw the glint of armour in the dying sunlight and a flash of a helmet. Suddenly, two dozen warriors stepped out of the forest, as silently as shadows. Blade recognised them instantly as Dark Warriors. Her hand dropped to her sword at her side.

And found nothing.

A quick glance told her that Hero and Steve didn't bring their swords either. Blade silently cursed herself for her ignorance.

"Blade, take Steve back to the castle. Don't let him get hurt," Hero said in a low voice.

"But what about you?" Blade asked, also in a low voice.

"I'll be fine, just go."

Blade and Steve slowly started inching back. The Warriors charged.

"GO!" Hero yelled.

They sprinted away, branches whipping in their face. Out of the corner of her eye, Blade saw a flash of white light, much brighter than Herobrine's eyes.

"He can't hold them off, not without a sword," Steve panted.

Blade had nothing to say. They reached the edge of the forest and wasted precious seconds untying the reins to their horses. They mounted and galloped off, riding straight to the castle. Blade kept looking over her shoulder for signs of pursuit, but nothing followed them. Minutes later, they galloped into the village, barely slowing down. Thankfully, almost all of the villagers were in their homes. Reaching the castle courtyard, they slowed the horses to a standstill. Martin had obviously been warned about their arrival and he stepped out of the castle doors now. Surprisingly, Notch was at his side.

"What happened?" Martin asked, taking in their panting horses.

"Dark Warriors in the forest," Blade told him.

"Where's Hero?" Notch asked, worried.

"He told us to come back. I don't know why he stayed behind, he doesn't have his sword!" Steve said, his words almost falling over each other.

Martin raised a calming hand. "It's alright Steve. I'll immediately muster a small force and we'll go into the forest-"

He got no further. A purple glow appeared beside Notch and before Blade could register it, Hero appeared out of the glow, stumbling back. Notch's fast reflexes caught him before he hit the ground.

"Thanks," Hero panted.

Steve then tackled him in a bear hug. "Don't ever do that to me again!" he said angrily.

"How did you do that?" Blade asked in wonder.

Hero managed to pry Steve off him and took a deep breath. "I don't know how I can teleport. I don't like doing it because it makes me really dizzy."

"What happened to the Warriors Hero?" Steve asked. "Why did you tell us to leave? How did you fight them? And how are you not hurt?!"

"Hey, one of them did nick my arm." Now that Hero mentioned it, Blade could see a thin cut on his arm, just below his sleeve. "As to why I told you to leave, do you know what would happen to you if they got you? It's not good, trust me. And you don't need to know how I fought them."

These answers didn't seem to satisfy Steve, but Martin intervened before he could press the matter. "Now that Hero is back safe and mostly sound, let's all go to bed. We have preparations to make in the morning for the war."

Following Martin's lead, they all went inside. Back in their rooms, Notch bandaged Hero's cut, even though Hero had insisted that it was fine. After a small dinner, they went to their beds.

Hero's eyes flashed open. He lay in bed, unsure of what had woken him. He tried to remember what it was, thinking back over what happened before he woke up, but he couldn't remember. One moment he was asleep, and the next he was awake. He lay awake for probably 10 minutes until he finally gave up.

"Not gonna get to sleep now," he muttered to himself.

Hero rolled out of his bed, landing lightly on his feet. His glowing eyes scanned his room, more out of habit than anything else. His sword was resting against his bed, close to hand. As he saw it, he mentally kicked himself. He was so stupid that afternoon, forgetting his sword like that. At least he had been able to get Steve away unhurt, and had managed not to reveal too much about what he could do. Hero smiled to himself. Those Dark Warriors weren't going to be bothering anyone else again.

Hero walked out of his room, his bare feet making no noise. He poked his head into Alex's room. It was dark, with no window to let in the moonlight. Alex's bed was empty. Hero frowned. Maybe she had gone to the bathroom? But when he checked the bathroom, it was empty too.

A sinking feeling started forming in Herobrine's stomach. He softly ran to Steve's room, looking carefully inside it. Like Alex's bedroom, Steve's bedroom had no window. But unlike Alex's bedroom, Steve's sheets were hanging off the bed, his sword was on the floor, half out of its sheath and there was a helmet on the floor.

A Dark Warrior's helmet.

"No!" Hero yelled, sprinting out of the room. He heard Notch and Blade wake up suddenly behind him but he didn't stop. He sprinted out of the room, down through the castle, narrowly missing the few servants that were walking around. When he reached the gate, he teleported on the other side, stumbling as dizziness struck him but not slowing down.

He ran through the village, not caring how much sound he made, only thinking of finding Steve. He sprinted up the low wall outside the village, desperately looking out onto the country. But the Dark Warriors had faded into the night, taking Steve and Alex with them.

Yes, it happened. And I have questions for you

How did Dark Warriors get into the castle?

Why did they take Alex?

Will Hero get them back?

How will he get them back?

What can Hero do that he doesn't want anyone to know?

What are Notch, Blade and Martin going to think of Steve's disappearance?

What do you guys think?