Okay, so another long chapter that will hopefully answer some questions you guys have. I could have split it into two but I don't want to drag this book out. The next chapter will be the last one.

2010 words 

One week had passed since the battle between the Forces of the Light and the Forces of the Dark. The dead had been cremated, with Ian, David, Ty and Steve among them, and their ashes were scattered in the wind according to tradition. Hero had barely spoken any words to anyone since his twin's death, and everyone was keeping a close eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything rash. The End and Wither Forces had returned to their dimensions with Ender and W, both of whom had come back a few days later. Alex was back to her normal, non-evil self. She still had no memory of what had happened while she was at the Dark Castle. Notch was often in private meetings with Martin and sometimes his wife Alexandria. Blade spent that time getting sword fighting tips from Neil.

Martin had called for a meeting in the Hall of Truth and so Blade found herself waiting outside the doors of the Hall again, just as nervous as the first time. Notch, Herobrine, Ender, W, Alex, Neil, Martin and Alexandria were around her. Like last time, Martin turned and gave them some last minute instructions.

"You're all known by the Hall, so you'll be introduced after Alexandria and I. Walk down and sit in the same spot as last time," he said. "Notch, you know where you'll sit, Blade, stand beside him."

Blade nodded, curious as to what Martin meant. Notch looked slightly nervous for some reason. Martin turned and knocked on the door three times. The doors opened soundlessly and the Voice, which Blade now knew to be the Light, announced them.

"Martin, the Ruler of Minecraftia and his wife, Alexandria."

The couple walked down the Hall, their clothes changing just like last time. They sat down on their thrones at the back of the Hall. Alexandria sat on Martin's left and an empty small throne was at Martin's right.

"Neil, Protector of the Ruler of Minecraftia."

Neil walked down and took his place between Martin and Alexandria.

"Notch, the Prince of Minecraftia."

Notch walked down and, to Blade's slight surprise, sat down in the small throne.

"Switchblade, Protector of the Prince."

Now it was Blade's turn to walk down. She felt her clothes changing again to that black ninja-like armour. Her diamond sword stayed at her waist and she went and stood at Notch's right hand, slightly behind him.

The Voice called out again. "Ender, Leader of the End forces!" Ender walked down and stood in front of the chairs at the front right. "W, Leader of the Wither forces!" W took her place beside her sister.

"Alex, the Peacemaker!"

Alex stepped forward. If she was nervous, she hid it very well. She stood beside the two sisters in her light blue dress. Blade knew that Hero would be announced next.

"Phillip, Leader of the Ruler's forces!"

A tall, strong man stepped into the hall, his clothes changing to armour as he walked down to his chosen seat. Blade was confused. Martin said that they would be called first because the Hall knew them. So why wasn't Hero called?

One by one, all of the people came into the Hall. There were less people than there had been last time. Martin didn't want to full assembly there, so only about 40 people were present. Finally, Hero was the only person outside the Hall. He was looking at the ground, like he knew what was about to happen, and he didn't exactly like it.

Finally, the Voice called his name. "Herobrine, Protector of the Light and the Vessel of Light."

What?

Low murmurs broke out among those gathered as Hero walked down the middle of the Hall. Like before, his clothes changed to brown clothes in the same style as Blade's. His diamond sword became enchanted and hung at his side. But this time, a white cape with a glowing white diamond on the back appeared. The cape that Steve wore last time. He stood next to Alex, looking at the floor and refusing to look at anyone else.

"The assembly is gathered," the Voice said and after a moment, everyone sat down, with more than a few glances in Hero's direction. Hero refused to even notice them. Blade tried not to stare at him.

"Okay, so there are a few reasons why I called this meeting," Martin started, his eyes flicking to Hero once before scanning the rest of the gathering. "First was to formally thank our friends the End and Wither Forces, without whom we would have been crushed. We definitely owe you guys one."

"We'll remember that," Ender called jokingly and there were a few scattered laughs.

Martin smiled at her. "The next reason is less cheery. Two of our commanding officers fell in the battle and another one has had to resign with a leg injury that will not heal properly. I have talked to Neil, Philip and the other five commanding officers and we have decided who will be the replacements." Martin clapped his hands.

The Voice came back again. "David, Annalise and Luke. Rise."

Very nervously, two men and one woman stood.

"Welcome David, Annalise and Luke, commanding officers of the Ruler's Army!"

There was a large applause as the three's clothes changed to ceremonial iron armour. They awkwardly bowed to Martin and sat back down. One of the men was blushing so much that his face was red.

Martin raised his hand for silence. "Finally, after much consideration and long talks, I have decided to step down from position as Ruler and hand over control to Prince Notch. I will remain in the background and act as an advisor to him."

Somewhere in the Hall, the sound of a bell started tolling. It echoed around the Hall, making a cheerful sound as it went. Blade tilted her head, curious as to what it meant. Notch gestured for Blade to lean down and he whispered in her ear.

"The bells mean that a new Ruler has been chosen," he said softly. "The sounds carry all around the castle and the village."

Blade nodded and stood up straight. The bell stopped tolling and Martin stood, signifying the end of the gathering. He and Alexandria led the way out of the Hall. The Voice spoke again as they left.

"Martin, chief advisor to the Ruler, and his wife Alexandria."

Neil followed them, the Voice announcing him as protector of the advisor and, strangely, his wife too. Notch stood up and gestured with his head.

"You coming?"

Blade fell in step with him as they walked out of the Hall. Blade could almost hear the Voice grinning widely as it said "Notch, the Ruler of Minecraftia and Switchblade, Protector of the Ruler."

When they were out of the Hall, Notch turned to Blade. "Sorry for not giving you any warning by the way," he said. "It all kinda happened very suddenly and I had no time to tell you."

Blade grinned. "It's okay. After all, I don't need to do much. I just need to stop you from accidentally impaling yourself on someone else's sword," she joked.

Notch laughed. "Come on, you've gotta have a bit more faith in me."

Everyone else was leaving the Hall as they were talking. Hero gently pushed past them.

"Go to the private counsel room," he muttered. "I need to talk to you." He disappeared in the crowd.

Notch and Blade looked at each other, confused. Notch shrugged.

"Never gonna find out what it is if we don't go," he said.

They walked up through the castle to the private counsel room. Martin, Neil, Ender, W and Alex were already there and seated at the table. Notch and Blade sat down with them.

"You guys have any idea what this is about?" Neil asked.

Notch shook his head. "No clue."

Hero came in and closed the door, leaning back on it. Everyone's eyes turned to him and he shifted uncomfortably, one hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um.... so I figured that you guys might have some questions about what's happened in the past few weeks and I probably have most of the answers... so yeah," he said.

"You want us to ask you questions?" Ender asked.

"Well... yeah. You guys deserve to know what happened."

"That's a good idea," Martin said. "None of us know all of what happened."

Hero sat down at the table. "So who's first?"

Everyone was silent for a moment, looking at each other. Notch sighed. "Alright, I'll bite. Why was Alex kidnapped? The Dark had no reason to get her."

"Actually, the Dark had a very good reason," Hero said. "Alex is the Peacemaker right?"

"I am here you know," Alex said, crossing her little arms.

"I know, but I'm trying to talk to everyone at once," Hero said to her. "Anyway, Alex is the Peacemaker. That means that she makes peace between all the people of Minecraftia. And if everyone is at peace with each other, then they can form a solid force to stand against the Dark. If the Dark had her, then there wouldn't be a solid force to oppose him later on."

"How did the Dark control Alex's mind?" Ender asked, putting one arm around the young girl.

Hero tilted his head. "I'm not entirely sure, but I'm almost certain it has something to do with the fact that she's young. Younger minds are simpler than older ones and are therefore easier to manipulate."

"Hey!" Alex said.

Hero put his hands up. "Just stating facts."

"Were you awake when the Dark Warriors took you Alex?" Martin asked.

Alex shook her head. "No. I was asleep."

"That would explain why her room and bed were neat," Hero said.

"Okay, my turn," Blade said. "Two things: How did the Light beat the Dark and why didn't it happen before?"

"Okay, this is the one thing I do know. The Light exists in many places. Part of it is in the Hall of Truth, part of it is in Leaders of the Forces and places like that. But its core, if you can call it that, is in the Vessel. It is almost never together in one place because it's crazy powerful."

"But why didn't the Light destroy the Dark before?" Blade asked.

Hero held up a hand. "I'm getting to that. The Dark had shields around its castle to stop the Light from getting to it. And the Light is not into destroying stuff anyway. But when the Dark took Steve to its castle, it had to drop a few of those barriers. Not enough for the Light to attack it. But then, when the Dark took the Light out of Steve, it had to drop the rest of those barriers, which meant that the Light could finally attack." Hero paused for a moment. "And don't think that the Dark is destroyed, because it's not."

"What do you mean?" Notch asked. "We saw it disappear."

"It's just been scattered," Hero said. "It might take a thousand or even a million years for it to regain consciousness, but it's still alive."

Neil frowned. "That kinda makes sense but kinda doesn't."

"Yeah, it's a bit like that."

"I have a question for you two," Martin said, turning to Ender and W. "How did you guys change into a dragon and a massive Wither?"

Ender and W looked at each other. "We've been trying to figure that out too. We talked to the Leaders of the End and Wither and they said that the ability is only given to certain leaders of the Forces."

"They also said that those leaders were chosen by the Light," W added quietly.

"Yeah, that too."

"Anything else?" Hero asked.

Notch hesitated. "Okay, I have one more question. How are you the Vessel Hero? Martin said that when a Vessel dies, the Light moves to a newborn baby."

Hero leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. "I don't know the answer to that one. It might have been because I already had a part of the Light living in me, so it was easier for it to move to me than to go to someone else and create a new Protector."

"I'm still confused how you can be your own Protector," Neil said.

Hero shrugged. "Guess I'm just very skilled."

Blade tilted her head slightly. That was the closest Hero had come to saying a joke since Steve was kidnapped. Maybe he was going to be okay.

Maybe.