Grian came back from Evo looking disappointed.

From her spot next to Stress, Cleo could see the evident I didn't get what I was searching for look on his face. She'd seen that expression enough on her own face. She would have gone right up and comforted him, but he quickly went over to Mumbo and talked to him silently.

Besides, Cleo had her own problems. Stress was still upset over Wels leaving. False had made the tough decision of staying in the clearing and not with her family. She took it upon herself to comfort both of them. At least it wasn't time spent on the Portal Theory.

Just scanning the clearing made Cleo appreciate how much had changed since her arrival. Large piles of storage, big builds, and the trodden grass made it evident that people had been living here for a very long time.

Everyone was hanging out in the clearing today. Scar was playing with a new cat he had tamed. Etho and Doc were arguing over what was the best way to build a compact triple piston extender. X and Cub were comparing the traits of their kind of magic. All in all, just a normal day.

So why was Cleo so tense? An instinct in her body told her that something was off today. It reminded her of the literal calm before the storm when the Kraken had attacked her ship. Something big was about to happen.

"Cleo, did you ever finish that Portal Theory of yours?"

A voice behind her made her jump. Grian and Mumbo had come over from their little nook. At the mention of the Portal Theory, everyone within earshot turned to see what Cleo would say.

"Oh, yeah. That," she said, fidgeting at the sight of her large audience. "Honestly, I've laid it to rest."

From where he was sitting, Cub raised an eyebrow. "No logical deduction? You just gave up on it?"

"Well, if it pleases you, how about this. I've come to the scientific conclusion that it's just another one of those occurrences that happen for a reason."

Everyone murmured, not sure what to make of that.

"I, for one, am glad it did," Scar said, stroking his cat's fur. "I mean, I wouldn't have met you all if it wasn't for that Vex portal." He started pointing at people. "Stress wouldn't have made new friends. Cub and Doc wouldn't have made amends. Grian..." he trailed off.

The others quickly chimed in with their approval.

"And, with that, I can safely do this without any guilt." Cleo dug into her pocket and dramatically brought out a piece of paper. "This is the original paper I started writing my Portal Theory on." She set it onto the ground. "Grian, will you do the honors?"

Everyone gathered around to see. Grian looked confused, but then he understood. He pointed his finger at the parchment. The page was engulfed in purple fire, and everyone watched as it burned away.

"Good riddance," xB muttered. Everyone silently agreed.

Beef cleared his throat. "Uh, guys, I don't mean to interrupt this, but I think you'll want to see this..."

Everyone followed his gaze and collectively caught their breath.

At the opposite end of the clearing, there was a portal. But it wasn't like any portal they've seen. The inside looked like a normal Nether portal, but the similarities stopped there. The frame was 1 block wide, 3 blocks tall, and was lined with diamond blocks with the corners missing.

Compared to the other portals they've seen, this one seemed downright pathetic. It didn't have any ornate designs or a deep swirling vortex. But the sensation inside Cleo was increasing the longer she looked at the portal.

"What is that?" Iskall asked. Everyone waited for a new person to step out of the portal, but after a few moments of bated breath, no one arrived.

Doc walked up to it and studied the framework. "I think this used to be a Nether portal, but somehow someone changed the dimensions and blocks lining it. This shouldn't even exist..." He wiggled his fingers in the purple vortex. "Yup. Feels like a Nether portal, alright."

"This doesn't make sense," Jevin muttered. "There's always been someone on the other end of the portal. How come there isn't one now?"

The realization hit Cleo harder than the Kraken's tentacle slamming into her ship. She literally reeled back and almost lost her balance.

"Woah, woah." Mumbo caught her and helped her stand. "Everything alright?"

Cleo tried to form her rapid thoughts into words. "Guys...this is it. This portal...it's taking us to a new world."

The rest of the group certainly wasn't expecting that. Some looked confused, others looked like they didn't believe it. Keralis's wide eyes somehow grew larger. "How do you know?"

"This portal. This portal right here. It's the one that brought us all here. It just looked different for each of us. Just think about it. Grian's Watcher portal. The rip between two worlds that Mumbo created. The ice portal that Stress and Wels went through. These portals have appeared out of nowhere and taken us to places we least expect. It was all connected after all."

"So..." False tried to wrap her mind around the whole situation. "That's how we all got here? Because of this portal? But why? Why would it take us all here?"

Cleo knew the answer right away.

"Fate."

The others looked confused, so she explained. "I told you, things happen for a reason. This portal wanted us to come here. It has something planned for all of us. It literally tore us from our old worlds just to get us here."

"So you're saying we just step in that portal?" Stress said in disbelief. "What about all the stuff we have here? Are we going to lose it all? We don't even know where this portal will take us!"

"You have to trust me on this." Cleo pointed at the portal. "I know this portal won't kill us. Our time in this world, this figurative chapter of our story, is just coming to a close. This portal's helping us by bringing us to the new chapter. It's time to start something new."

"I just...if this portal separates us..." Stress's eyes started watering. "I don't want to lose all of you, too..."

The group fell silent. Cleo waited for their verdict.

Finally, X spoke up. "I think she's right. I don't think we're going to lose each other, either. If this portal did all this trouble of bringing us together, why would it tear us apart? We're meant to be here."

"That's it, then, isn't it?" Grian asked softly. "We're going to leave all this behind and never see it again. You all saw your portals. You know there's no way back."

"It's up to you," Cleo said. "Whatever decision we make is going to affect how we live our lives from now on. Stay or go?"

A few moments of quiet. Then:

"I say we go," Joe spoke up. "I, for one, would like to see where our "story" will go next."

"Yeah, I guess."

"I agree."

"Old stories ending, new stories beginning. I like it."

"So we're all in agreement? Go through the portal and see where it takes us next?"

Stress put her hand on Cleo's shoulder. "As long as I'm with you guys, I'll be fine."

Everyone took a few moments to gather up all of their stuff. While they did, Cleo stood nervously in front of the portal.

Joe came up behind her. "What's on your mind?"

"It's just...I'm scared, honestly. I don't know where this is going to put us. I'm scared of what's going to happen in the future. I don't want this group to fall apart."

"Hey. It's going to be okay. I have hopes. You said this portal put us all together for a reason and it's not going to tear us apart. We'll be fine."

Everyone gathered up by the portal holding their packs. Stress and False exchanged an anxious look with Cleo, then stepped in. The portal made a quiet zap, and they were gone. Cleo hoped she would see them again when she stepped through, too.

Grian and Mumbo hesitantly followed, then X and his pet pig. Some more reluctantly than others, but gradually, everyone went through until it was only Cleo.

She took one last look around the clearing--Grian's treehouse, the river where False and Bdubs had fallen in, the assortment of chests and shulker boxes they were going to leave behind. Just through the trees, the original clearing where almost everyone had appeared. Once she stepped in, there was no going back.

She was going to miss this place. But their story wasn't coming to an end. On the contrary, it was only beginning. This chapter was coming to a close, but the rest of the book was just waiting to be discovered.

New people. New beginnings. New possibilities. It was all waiting for her. All she had to do was take the opportunity.

She stepped through the portal and didn't look back.

»»————-　★　————-««

Eight years later

Fate can bring the most unlikely people together.

It can tear your world apart as you know it. It can show you a side you never knew you had. It can make you lose friends and family and never seen them again.

But it might just be for the better.

Over the years, things had changed. Wels had found the ice kingdom, and he and Stress finally got to reunite with their families. False constantly visited her dad whenever the airship fleet was in the area. Grian had set out to repair Evo as best as he could.

New friendships and rivalries had been made. After about a year in each world, the portal would take them to a new one. Nobody was lost. It all worked out fine in the end.

And now, Doc was about to attempt something that could change the course of everything that had happened.

He stood in the Area 77 fields, in a grassy patch untouched by Scar's terraforming. The large airplane hangars cast a shadow over the area. Scar was somewhere, trying to thwart the Hippies' plan to get Grian's time machine back.

Doc had a bigger agenda. It had taken weeks of Redstone circuitry and a fair amount of lagging the world out, but it was finally done.

The portal stood, 1 block wide and 3 blocks tall. It was lined with diamond blocks and had the purple vortex of a normal Nether portal. It looked exactly like the one that had appeared that day in the clearing. Doc had dubbed it the "Infinity Portal", and he was about to see if all his work would be in vain.

It was a long shot. Cleo had said, all those years ago, that once you stepped through the portal, there was no going back. Doc could find himself in a completely different area, or even back in the old clearing, but have no way of getting back.

But he was curious enough to try. If it worked, they could see where everything started. Where they were all new to one another, wondering why they were all in the same place. The Origin of their story.

He stepped through the portal, back to where it all began.

(WC: 1903)