Scott gasped. I let out a small scream. Ren yelled, "What?"

Impulse had spawned a Wither.

Most of us had defeated a Wither before. But it was usually in a controlled environment, such as underground. And we always had full diamond armor that was enchanted, elytras, and allies to call if we needed help. Even so, the Wither would still kill each of us once or twice.

But now, in Last Life, where it was probably in the open with people, the best of whom had mostly iron armor mixed with one or two pieces of diamond armor with feeble enchantments, ender pearls, and one or two allies who weren't red.

And when half the people in this world were yellow, this would end badly.

But while some see danger, others see the good in a situation. Ren was one of those people.

"We can get a Nether Star," he said, his eyes glinting with eagerness underneath his sunglasses.

"Are you crazy?" I stressed. "We could all die! Scott and you are yellow!"

Scott shrugged. "You're light green."

"YOU, TOO?! Is it just me, or is it a boy thing to run into dangerous situations with no thought whatsoever?"

Ren and Scott exchanged glances. "You're outvoted," Scott said.

So, with a lot of grumbling from yours truly, we ran off to chase a monster.

We found the Wither at the Team B.E.S.T. snow castle, where Bdubs (Who STILL hadn't moved out, by the way) and Etho were facing the Wither together, name colors forgotten. Joel and Impulse were there as well, watching them struggle against the boss. Cleo probably wanted to be there, but felt obligated to watch Pearl. Maybe I could go take her place.

When I turned toward the Scottage, Scott said, "Don't even think about it. We need you here."

I huffed and surveyed the battle a little more.

Tango was also red. When had he turned red? I didn't know. He was standing to the side, watching, but not with the other reds. This told me that he wasn't allied with Impulse and Joel. That was good.

Jimmy and Mumbo fought as well, but probably less to help the remains of Team B.E.S.T. and more to get the Nether Star for themselves. They fought alone, because like with Bdubs and Etho, Mumbo's red nature had taken over.

Scar, the idiot, was there too, fighting alone. He was probably hoping to put the beacon atop Magical Mountain and sell the use of it for a few diamonds an hour.

It seemed like the only people not there were Martyn, Pearl, Cleo, and of course everyone who was dead.

"Competition," Ren muttered when he saw all the people there.

Scott pursed his lips. "You know what? Blue, go get Cleo."

I nodded and ran down the hill, grateful to get away from the situation.

Yes, I was scared. Terrified, in fact.

I ran into the Scottage. "Cleo, we need you!"

Cleo came down the stairs. "I can't leave Pearl!"

Pearl limped down after her. "I can hide somewhere. The catacombs, or something. Get out of here."

Cleo bit her lip but came with me. Pearl went down the stairs to the mines and catacombs.

We went back up the hill to the snow castle, our swords drawn. Scott and Ren were waiting for us exactly where I had left them.

We didn't need words to communicate. The four of us ran into battle.

We fought like we had worked together for years. And I guess Scott and I had, but Ren and Cleo were from a whole other world. Scott and Cleo shot at the Wither while it was in the air, Ren and I ran at it when it neared the ground, and when it was one pair's turn, the other blocked the Wither's attacks. Bow, crossbow, sword, and axe all combined to make a deadly quartet.

Mumbo ran at the Wither, hoping to place an end crystal, run a safe distance away, and shoot it while Ren or I was nearby to get a kill. But the Wither had no time for minor inconveniences like him, so poor Mustachioe was the first casualty.

Mumbo Jumbo was hit by a Wither skull

Etho yelled something at Bdubs, who yelled back and charged the monster. Etho glanced at the exit before running into the fight himself.

We joined them in the fight. The fact that Bdubs was red didn't matter, since he was so loyal to Etho. However, he wasn't much help. While Etho actually got some hits, Bdubs was too caught up in trying to scare the Wither away with a lot of yelling.

Ren pulled me out of the way of a skull attack. Then I got back into my own fight.

Scar stood nervously on the sidelines, not sure what to do. He wasn't a fighter. Instead, he pulled out a "magical" crystal. I recognized it as the orange Courage of a Lion Crystal. Then Scar ran in to help, too.

Scott had climbed up on the wall for a vantage point. Impulse noticed, however, and started shooting at him. Scott shot back in self-defense.

Joel, realizing that he was now alone, retreated. And he had called Katherine a coward.

The Wither took to the air to avoid all the annoying little pointy things that people were poking it with. The only problem for it now was Cleo and Bdubs, who were decent shots with crossbows after they had used them constantly in Third Life. But that was an easy fix.

Cleo Zombie was hit by a Wither skull
Bdubs Onehundred was hit by a Wither skull

I screamed at the loss of my ally.

I angrily pulled out my bow. I was a terrible shot, but I could still try.

Out of the reds, Tango was the only one left not actually fighting. He seemed to be trying to decide whether to side with Impulse, his best friend from Third Life, or Etho, one of his best friends from Last Life.

He didn't have to decide much, because Impulse's shield broke.

lmpulse Esvee was shot by Scott Major

Another out. But we had our best archer back.

"Noooooo!" Scar moaned as he tripped over a poisonous Wither rose. He started to take damage, and with a final "I had a lucky crystal!" he fell to the ground, bursting into dark green flames.

Scar Goodtimes withered away

I had to say I was surprised he had lasted this long. Maybe he actually was magical.

I fired my last arrow, and miraculously, it hit. But not only did it hit, it did the final damage we needed.

Everyone watched as the Wither died.

That was followed by a flurry of movement and fighting as everyone ran for the Nether star. They all wanted it, and they all were willing to kill to get it.

Etho Slab was slain by Scott Major
Jimmy Solidarity was slain by Tango Tek

But the fighting ended there.

"Where is it?!" Ren yelled, outraged.

I looked around and spotted a purple-pink glow coming from an explosion crater. It would have been hard to see from everyone else's angle. I walked over to the Nether Star and picked it up.

It was more of a crystal than anything. It looked purple, with a glowing golden core inside, but as I turned it in my hands it turned pink, and then back to purple. I slipped the gem into my pocket.

Out of the original twelve, only Scott, Ren, Tango, and myself remained. Everyone else had either died or ran away (cough, Joel, cough). In the fight today, three people had died, two had turned red, one had turned yellow, and one had turned light green. And all for nothing, or so the others thought.

Sighing, the four of us went to our separate homes.

As soon as Scott and I were out of sight of Tango, Ren, and Etho (he had respawned at the snow castle) I bounced on my heels. I couldn't stop myself any longer.

The Nether star was mine.

"What's making you so excited?" Scott asked, giving me a puzzled look. "We didn't get the star."

I wanted to tell him. I really did. But I couldn't until we were back safe at the Scottage. So I shook my head. "Later."

Scott looked impatient and a little hopeful but didn't say anything else.

We got back to the Scottage, and then the full pain of what had just happened hit me.

Cleo was red. We couldn't be friends with her anymore.

She and Pearl waited at the Scottage. Cleo had no trouble controlling her red name instincts because she always had red name instincts. It was kind of sad, actually.

But on the upside, maybe we actually could be friends.

Pearl kept a little bit of distance between her and Cleo. Her burns from Bigb's death had mostly healed by now, and she could walk around and fight on her own. But she couldn't do it very well, so she still stayed home.

Cleo was exactly the same as she usually was. She wasn't any more violent than usual, and she didn't seem to have any desire to kill people. Thankfully.

But she had tears in her red eyes, which was a rare sight. She knew the inevitable, too.

There was an awkward silence.

Then Pearl finally said, "I'm sorry, Cleo, but..."

Cleo nodded silently. "Time to go back to the old Avengers' Tower."

"At least you can keep an eye on Ren," Pearl said weakly, always trying to find the good in a situation.

Cleo did not look reassured. But she slung a backpack over her shoulder and walked out without another word.

We watched her go with remorse. I couldn't help but blame myself, because I had called her to help with the Wither.

It was a long time before I managed to fall asleep that night.

I dreamed about the Battle of the Nether Star. Except it wasn't people versus Wither, it was me, Jimmy, Scott, Pearl, Cleo, and Scar versus everyone else and a Wither. But the bloody scene disappeared when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hello? Is this Blue?"

The voice was much more friendly than a Watcher, but it still had a very bratty tone. A bratty tone that I had dealt with all through X Life and Empires. "Joey?"

He came into view a second later. "Oh, thank goodness I found you! The Empires are in terrible danger right now. Gem was captured, and she entrusted her dream communicator to me. We need you guys back home, now!"

Would Gem really give a priceless crystal to Joey? I didn't think so. But she might not have had any other choice.

"I can't come home. I can't leave this world until I've died."

"Then die! As many times as you need to! This is urgent!"

Although he said it was urgent, I didn't feel any sense of urgency for my home.

"It doesn't work that way," I said. "I can't go home until everyone's dead."

Visible panic crossed Joey's face. "Then... then kill the others!"

"No!" I said. "I'm not red yet!"

"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY RULES TO THIS PLACE?!"

"I didn't make it!"

"Then who did?"

"None of your business!"

Joey angrily flickered out of my dream.

That was weird.

I didn't know whether to believe him or not. Hadn't Gem said something about being captured by Joey?

It didn't matter, though. All that mattered was survival.

When I woke up the next morning, I pulled the Nether star out from under my pillow, thinking that I needed a better place to hide it. The valuables chest might work, but it wasn't that hard to find. It was just hidden at the end of a tunnel in the catacombs. This jewel could influence the entire outcome of Last Life, and I had it. It was crucial that I kept it hidden and secret, or someone like Joel would surely steal it.

I wasn't even sure if I would use it, or if I should. If I made a beacon with it, then someone would see it at the Scottage and steal it.

Maybe I could just destroy it to prevent anyone from using it for themselves. Lava was easy enough to come by.

I went downstairs and helped myself to a slice of pumpkin pie for breakfast. Nobody was down there. Probably in the mines or catacombs or something.

Scott came down the stairs half an hour later. "Where's Pearl?"

I shrugged.

Then my watch vibrated.

The message was right on cue, but it definitely wasn't a good one.

Pearlescent Moon was slain by Joel Smallbeans

"WHAT?" Scott yelled.

The last dark green name, who happened to be my ally, was no longer dark green.

I stared at my watch in stunned silence. Then I ran upstairs to where Pearl would respawn.

I didn't know how Joel had got to her without anyone noticing, but as I looked through her bedroom I noticed that the bed wasn't made, the rug on the floor was unkempt and out of place, and a redstone lamp had fallen off her desk and shattered on the floor. When Joel (I assumed it was Joel) attacked her, she had put up a fight.

She didn't respawn at her bed. After ten minutes, she still wasn't there.

Then my watch vibrated again.

Pearlescent Moon was slain by Joel Smallbeans

Scott ran upstairs. "Spawn."

Joel must have destroyed Pearl's bed and then put it back.

I nodded, and together we ran out of the house. The Nether star in my pocket was forgotten as worry for my ally consumed my mind.

We got to the bedrock circle at Spawn and found Joel and Pearl in the midst of a fight. Joel was the attacker, with an enchanted diamond sword and iron armor, while Pearl, now a yellow name, was just trying to evade him. But before we could run in and kill him, someone else did. In a flash of pale green and navy blue, Joel was fighting someone else.

Joel Smallbeans was slain by Cleo Zombie

Cleo stood over Joel's body, which quickly went up in red flames. The person who had pestered the Scottage for so long was finally gone.

We cheered.

"Lizzy," I said into the air. "If you're watching, give him a good whack in the face for me."

That was quickly followed by Joel's voice out of thin air. "OW!"

I would have smiled, but we had a more serious issue on our hands.

We ran over to Pearl, who was being helped off the ground by Cleo.

"What happened?" Scott asked.

Cleo shook her head. Don't ask yet.

I slipped my hand into my pocket and curled it around the Nether star. A regeneration beacon would be useful. But now wasn't the right time to tell them about it.

Pearl was perfectly fine after respawning. Her burns were healed. She went and started picking up some of the useful things Joel had dropped.

Scott and I helped her. Joel had actually had some pretty good stuff on him. He had two golden apples, a pufferfish in a bucket (that Scott immediately claimed) and several assorted weapons, all fully enchanted.

"Why'd you come back?" Pearl asked Cleo.

Cleo looked off into the distance. "Red or not, you guys helped me get this far. And you helped me get revenge on Bigb. I had to repay you somehow." She said it casually, but I was pretty sure that there was a lot more meaning to the statement than that.

I debated about showing everyone the Nether star now. But we were too exposed. "Let's go back to the Scottage. Cleo, you should come too."

Curious, they followed me back home.

Once we were all sitting on the couch, one green, two yellows, and a red, I pulled out the Nether star.

Their eyes widened.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Pearl demanded.

"I was trying to decide whether to destroy it or not last night," I said. "And this morning, we woke up and Pearl was gone."

Cleo eyed the jewel. "So, what will you do with it?"

"I thought about destroying it to keep it out of the wrong hands, but after what just happened I think we should make a beacon."

They nodded in agreement.

Cleo got up to leave. "That all?"

Scott looked at me. So did Pearl. The three of us held a silent argument

Scott: No. She's red.

Pearl: But she saved me!

Me: She has every right to be here.

Scott: She could turn on us at any second!

Me: She deserves a second chance.

Pearl: Please?

Me: You're outvoted.

Scott: You can't use my own tool against me!

Pearl: Take THAT! She's staying.

Or at least, that's what I got from it.

"Cleo, you could stay," I said.

She shook her head. "I'm red."

Pearl snorted. "Does that really change anything? You'd be practically red even if your name was dark green."

Cleo smiled faintly.

"You have more control than most reds," I reasoned.

She considered it for a moment. "Why not?" she said. "If I kill one of you, at least I'd have a friend among the red lives."

We laughed. We knew she didn't mean it.

The rest of that day was spent mining and gathering, like old times.

That night, unlike the last, I fell asleep quickly. But I didn't rest long.

They're coming for you.

It was different than usual. This voice was less a voice and more a vibration in my head. It didn't really have a gender or a tone, it was just kind of there.

The Shadows are coming for you. Prepare yourself, your allies, and the wizard of the mountain to fight against them.

"What are the Shadows?"

I cannot say, or I will draw the attention of those who do not want me here.

Don't listen to Joey Graceffa. He is an agent of Xornoth. Your sister is fine, as well as the rest of her alliance.

Shadows began to gather in my head.

They have discovered me. I must go now, and you must wake. But in order to fight the Shadows, you must remember what they have done to you. Wake now. And remember me as the Listener.

And I did.

But what in the world had happened?

A cacophony of emotions and thoughts swirled around in my head. I remembered all the emotions that I had had back at home and in Third Life. I remembered love for my sister, the pain of the Red Winter War, and watching Grian plummet from that ghast farm while I could do nothing to stop it.

But most of all, I remembered Cleo's betrayal.

My fists clenched. Why had I let her back into the Scottage? She had killed me and Martyn without a second thought.

I stared off into the dark room. The sun hadn't risen yet.

The Listener had seemed like they genuinely wanted to help. But the Watcher had seemed like that, too, when he offered me the sword and put me into Third Life.

But something seemed different about this being - they seemed brighter, like the Watchers clouded my mind with shadow and the Listener took away some of that darkness. And they had given me back my emotions.

I still wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

I closed my eyes and was about to fall asleep when someone grabbed me

~~~

Oooh cliffhanger

-Indigo