This chapter is so bad I'm so frustrated with my past self for making this one so irredeemable ugh

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The scene appeared more rapidly this time, dim colours forming into shapes. It was like a massive, invisible paintbrush was sweeping around us, transforming the blankness into a dark picture.

"Where...?" Jaq started. I glanced over at Justin, whose expression hovered somewhere between nervousness and anger.

"Right. Okay. Should've known."

I let my gaze sweep our new surroundings. We were in a cave, and a massive one. Water dripped down slowly from the high ceiling, making ripples in a murky pond below. The center of the floor was shaped sort of like a huge unambitious bowl; higher at the top and curving down. The whole place appeared to be empty.

"Shit. Shit. This is gonna be...real fun." Justin muttered, his voice a dangerous mix of sarcasm and rage. He lifted his head towards the roof and shouted, "What are you trying to prove, Entity? What do you think this is going to accomplish?"

"What do you think that is going to accomplish?" Jaq asked waspishly. "It's not like he's gonna answer."

Justin glared at her with surprising ferocity. "As if you haven't been pitching fits left and right about this whole thing."

Jaq growled softly. I braced myself, in case I would end up having to interfere, but Justin shook his head and looked away.

"Nevermind. Sorry. I'm just...I hate everything about this." Justin muttered.

"What's gonna happen?" Jandro asked. Justin lifted his head, sweeping his gaze around the cavern.

"We've gotta fight a hydra. It'll be our only enemy here, but it's huge, clever, and absolutely lethal. Stay away from the tail, it'll knock you flat before you have time to dodge, and avoid the claws. That's...that's how Roanne died."

"Wait wait. A hydra?" Jaq repeated. Justin nodded briskly. "Yeah. You know, it's like a dragon, but with like fifty billion heads."

"Holy shit. I thought those were just legend." Jandro said, raising his eyebrows in obvious surprise.

"Don't forget we're all from different dimensions." I reminded. "I've never even heard of a hydra before."

"It's...yeah it's basically like what Justin said." Jandro told me.

"If I remember right, we've gotta basically cut its stomach open to kill it. Gruesome, yeah, but the belly scales are the weakest point and it'll bleed out really quickly. Don't try to cut the heads off, if you do-"

"Two more will spring up in its place. We know." Jaq interrupted.

"And you'll seriously piss off the rest of the heads." Justin added.

"What about our Aristan swords? Should we try to use them?" I inquired, pulling my shimmering scarlet weapon from my inventory. Justin frowned. "I don't know. I think we've got to do things the same way as in the memory, so they might not work the same way even if we did use them. All the same..."

"I think I'd prefer the Aristan swords, even if they don't do the dust-ifying thing." Jandro said quietly. "Especially since we're up against basically another legend."

"What is it with this adventure and fabled monsters? Seriously." I muttered. Justin smiled at that, even though I wasn't really trying to make a joke.

Jaq pointed to the front of the cave. "Is that you? Gosh, and I thought you were short now."

I turned around to see a group of teenagers enter the cave, faded and transparent like any of the would-be allies from the previous memory. At the front of the group was unmistakably Justin, a few years younger and nearly a foot shorter. Behind him was a blonde girl with curly hair and a gold sword, a tall boy with short black hair and piercing blue eyes, and a girl with bright blue hair pulled back into a short puff of a ponytail.

"Oh Notch. Yep. And there's Abbey, Chase, and...Roanne. That means the hydra is about to show up." Justin said, then shook his head. "It's only been a few days since I've seen them last, but it feels like it's been forever."

"I know what you mean." I muttered by way of reply, thinking of the rest of the Order back at home.

"So what's gonna happen when the hydra shows up? We need to be prepared this time, so we can finish this trial fast and without any real disasters." Jaq asked bluntly. Justin glanced over at the faded memory version of his past self, then turned his attention back to the dark-skinned girl.

"We fight it. There's not much beating around the bush. Just don't do anything stupid. We're all better fighters than my friends and I used to be, so I'm hoping this won't be nearly as bad as the original battle. Then again, I may have just forgotten how bad it really was."

As if in response to his statement, the cavern walls suddenly shook, as though something very large had just landed outside. Justin gestured along the walls. "Spread out along the sides. Maybe it won't immediately notice us." He ordered assertively. We silently obeyed, slipping into the shadowier patches of the cave. Justin, however, stayed front and center.

There were several more loud thuds, though not quite as large as the first one. I guessed these were the footfalls of the hydra, and was proven right a few seconds later when a massive scaly head peered into the cavern.

Then another.

And another.

And another.

And another.

When the monster stepped all the way into the cave, I counted seven heads, each attached to a neck that was nearly as long as I was tall. The hydra was huge, halfway filling the gigantic cavern. Its body was primarily shades of dark blue, with a lighter dull teal on the belly and undersides of the necks. Each of the four feet ended in a trio of daggerlike claws, and a brilliantly turquoise ruff flared behind the heads. The tail was a long, thick, spiny thing, and Justin's previous warning about it made perfect sense. The back was topped by a pair of wings; not small, but not overwhelmingly large.

One of the heads lifted higher than the rest, sniffing the air. "I...smell...human..."

I jumped slightly, surprised to hear it speak. Its voice was distinguishable as neither female or male, and it echoed around the cavern several times.

Another head rose, the cyan ruff flaring as it sniffed the air. "Yes...yes. There are mortals here." This one's voice was genderless like the first, but sounded slightly different in a way I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Very clever, you great beast. There are humans here." Justin called. A violent jolt of fear gripped my body as all seven heads swung towards him.

"And just what...do you think...you're doing here?" The hydra hissed, heads swaying menacingly. This was said by all of the heads in near-unison, voices ringing out in disorienting tones.

Past-Justin yelled something along the lines of 'to kill you', but present-Justin grinned, looking perfectly at ease. "Taking a tour of the weirdest monsters of this world. The Ender Dragon wouldn't let me get close enough for a good picture, so I figured you were the next best thing."

Partway across the cavern, I saw Jaq slam her palm into her forehead. One of the heads muttered, "Anoss was never very sociable."

The head that had first spoken rammed itself into the most recent speaker. "Shut up. You jest at the risk of your life, boy. Do you not know who we are?"

"You're a great ugly lizard with too many fucking heads, that's who!" Justin shouted, smiling a fantastically irritating grin. Apparently the hydra agreed with me, because it reared up, flaring all of its ruffs, spreading its wings, and lashing its tail.

"How dare you insult us so! We are Traezakazzi! We have commanded this world for over a hundred years! You will PAY for your rude- YOW!"

The angry shouts were cut off by an agonized shriek as Jaq leaped forward and plunged her iron sword into the hydra's tail, sinking the blade all the way through flesh and scales into the stone below. Traezakazzi thrashed its tail again, dislodging the sword from the rock, then swinging the spiny appendage around to yank the weapon from its flesh. The hydra examined the bleeding wound Jaq had made, holding her sword as casually as if it were nothing more than a thorn. The iron sword looked like a needle, gripped by talons that were nearly as long as it.

The same head that had spoken before lifted slowly to pin Jaq with a deadly glare. "You...have just signed your own death warrant."

Jaq took a small step back, looking defiant. Beside her was the faded memory version of the blonde girl, who looked much less brave. Justin called from the other side of the cavern, "Did she tip the executioner?"

The governing head swung back towards him. "What?"

"Did she tip the executioner, as a way to insure a quick death." Justin said patiently. I narrowed my eyes at him, though he wasn't looking at me and couldn't have seen. What was he doing?

The lead head lowered towards him. "I don't know what you think you're up to, but-"

Justin whipped out his bow and shot the head right in the mouth, the tip of the arrow pointing upwards and surely piercing the brain. The leading head collapsed, the neck going slack under the dead weight. The other heads all started shouting, some at the fallen head, some at Justin, some at each other.

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID WE COULDN'T KILL THE HEADS?!" Jandro shouted indignantly. The remaining six heads swung towards him instantly, and he pulled his Aristan sword from his inventory.

"No, I said not to cut them off! To be fair, I didn't think that would work!" Justin called back.

The hydra took a swipe at Jandro, aiming its daggered paw for his head. He ducked neatly and rolled out of the way, and the lethal talons connected with nothing but stone.

Or, almost nothing. I hadn't noticed before, but the memory blue-haired girl had been right near where he had been standing, and had been hit by Traezakazzi's claw. She was smashed against the wall, the slumped to the ground. The black-haired boy shouted "Roanne!" and ran to her, but he had barely reached her when her body shattered into an inventory pile.

I glanced over at Justin, wondering if he'd seen the same thing. The stricken look on his face told me he had. He glanced up, meeting my eyes, and subtly gestured towards the hydra.

So far, it hadn't noticed me yet, which meant I could potentially kill it. The hydra was focused on Jandro right then, swiping its huge claws at him in vain.

I pulled my sword from my inventory. Justin had said that the underscales would be the easiest to cut through...but how was I going to get to them? The only way I could think of was to make it rear up. Unless...

The remaining heads were now all focused on the other three Shards. Two of them were tracking Jandro, who was still dodging blows from the massive front paw, one was spitting sparks at Jaq as she attempted to stab the tail again, and the other three were hissing threats at Justin, who had returned to snapping insults.

Then Justin shot another arrow at the hydra. The projectile sank into its chest, and as Traezakazzi paused to reach up and remove the arrow, I ran and ducked under the beast before it even saw me. Still keeping my momentum, I slid down the side of the 'bowl' in the floor, thrust my sword up into the softer belly scales and tore them apart like paper.

All six heads howled as blood dripped down my sword and onto my hand. I yanked the blade out and scurried out of the way of the stomping feet, expecting to see the monster fall.

But it didn't. Instead, the howling quickly ceased, trailing off into quiet surprised noises. I stared in shock. Nothing had happened. The monster wasn't injured at all!

I looked down at my sword, which was still dripping blood. Then how...?

Jandro appeared next to me, the hydra forgetting him when I had gotten involved.

"What the hell just happened?!" I exclaimed. He replied with a grim look. "Do you remember what Entity 303 said before sending us through the first memory?"

I scowled in frustration. "Something smug about luck?"

"Well yeah, that too. 'You must complete again your past tasks, and the beginner must also be the finisher'. Justin needs to be the one to kill that thing. I can't believe I didn't remember that earlier."

"You have a very inconveniently selective memory, you know that?" I snapped.

By this point, the hydra had unfortunately gotten over its amazement. It lunged forward and pinned Justin against the cavern side using two of its swordlike talons, and managed to smack Jaq against the wall with its tail. "You mortals are all the same. Cocky and completely useless." One of the heads snarled, sparks shooting from its mouth.

"At least they taste good." Another head commented.

The situation had gotten dire. We needed a plan, and fast. Saying the words as quickly as they sprang into my mind, I hollered, "Why didn't you tell me you'd taken the sword back? I thought I had still had it!"

Jandro stared at me. "What?"

"Just go the fuck along with it!" I snapped in a whisper. "The magic hydra-slaying sword! Justin has it, not me!"

Jandro's eyes lit up when he realized what I was doing. "I thought he gave it to you!"

"Yeah, me too! But I guess we got mixed up." I'm praying that Justin's figured out my plan, and that Traezakazzi was following every lie that leaves my mouth. Jaq gawked at us from across the cavern.

"What the shit are you nutjobs talking about?! There's no-"

"YES THERE IS." Jandro and I interrupted at the same time. I turned back to face Justin, and a very suspicious Traezakazzi.

"Justin, gimme the sword so I can kill this damn thing." I called. Justin's plain diamond sword appeared in his hand, and he tossed it to me. I caught it deftly and made a dramatic swishing arc through the air.

The hydra snarled and whirled towards me, rearing up and releasing Justin. "Oh, no you don't!"

I leapt to the side as it swung its spiked tail at me, large sparks and little bits of flame stemming from all six mouths. It reared up again, and as it did, Justin jumped up and sunk his Aristan sword into the hydra's abdomen, a ways below where the heads connected.

The blade sunk in deep, and the heads roared in pain and anger. Jaq got a running start and launched herself onto its back, trying to distract it as it fell back onto all fours.

Justin yanked the sword down, leaving a gaping red wound. He made the same motion that I had, sliding down the slope of the floor and slicing the monster from chest to tail. The hydra was making a deafening racket, all of the heads screaming like a hundred banshees. It crashed to the floor in a widening puddle of blood, filling the cavern with the stench of gore.

The noise didn't last too long. Drained of blood (and some internal organs), the hydra dissolved in a puff of smoke. The blood, unfortunately, stayed behind, a sticky pool of dark red liquid.

Justin came back up from the bottom of the bowl, drenched in gore and wearing a triumphant grin. "Well, that went better than expected."

Jaq wrinkled her nose and stepped back. "God, look at you. You look like you fell into a lake of blood."

"Yeah, but I killed the thing." He replied with a wide smile.

"Please tell me that's not how you killed it the first time." I said. Justin shook his head. "Definitely not. It took us a lot longer, there was no way sixteen-year-old me would've done that. Good idea with the improvising, by the way."

I shrugged. "I was a little desperate." 

"So...is that it?" Jandro asked after a beat of silence.

"Yep. Look." Justin said, gesturing to the top of the cavern. The roof of the cave was disappearing in a wash of white, just like with the previous memory. Which meant that now it was time to go into one of my past battles.

A slight chill shook my spine, and Jaq leaned close to me. "Do you have any idea what we might be up against?"

I shook my head, though I did have a few ideas. Sky City, full up with monsters of all sorts. The White Pumpkin mansion. PAMA's core, specifically when I had to fight one of my closest friends. The Old Builder's games. Any of those would be unwelcome, but all were possible.

The white nothingness traveled downward, quickly surrounding us. I held my breath nervously, waiting to see where we would end up. Luckily the apprehension only lasted a few moments. The nothingness faded fast, revealing a mottled mess of dark colors, primarily purple and black. 

No.

"What in the...?" I heard Jaq murmur. The place wasn't fully formed yet, but I knew where we were, and the memory paralyzed me where I stood.

We were inside the Witherstorm. 

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DUN DUN DUUUUUNNN

*collapses*

Word count- 2877