Warnings: Bit of blood

     ~Mitch's P.O.V.~

     I already had my suspicions on who it'd be before we came here, and when the warm glow of Vikk's torch washes over Preston, my thoughts are confirmed.

     "Puurrrrrston!" Jerome exclaims.

     He's in a defensive stance, his eyes squinted and his head tilted towards his chest, his arms raised in front of his face. Probably protecting himself from... Whatever it was that turned us to stone.

"Benja, you wanna do the honours?" Vikk inquires, attaching the torch to a nearby pillar.
"Why not." I smile, approaching Preston's paralyzed form.

I press my fingers on his smooth stone forearm, stepping back as a white light bursts fourth from his chest. I'd expected it, since Jerome and the others already told me about the light and how to revive someone and stuff, but that doesn't make the light any less burning to my eyes. I shield my eyes from the brightness, listening as I head small thuds on the ground, the stone around Preston's form shattering. Then, with a large tump, the remainder of the stone around Preston falls away.

Preston stays in the same position for a couple seconds, arms still raised in front of his face. If it weren't for the slight glow and movement of his lava like skin, you'd think he's still frozen in time. But then, his charcoal black eyes blink, and his arms lower as he gazes at me with a puzzled expression.

"Mitch?" He cranes his neck to see everyone else behind me, "Lachlan, Vikk, Jerome, Ro- where's Rob?"
"We haven't found or revived him yet." Lachlan pipes up.
"Revived? Wait a sec..." He continues, "Why the fudge are you all standing here, when we're supposed to be like, dead?"
"Get comfortable, Preston." Jerome chimes in, stepping forward. "This'll take a minute to explain."

~~~

"Sooo.... Basically, your telling me that it's been one thousand years, Herobrine is back, so now we have to go find and revive Rob, then beat Herobrine again?"

The four of us nod.

"Fudge yeah! I get to kick that sandstormers butt twice!" Preston rejoices, a cocky smile upon his face.
"Well... That's not quite the reaction I expected... But your not wrong." Vikk chuckles.
     "Do you remember you powers?" Lachlan inquires.
     "Mm... No."
     "Try lashing out your arms, sometimes that works." Jerome suggests.

     Preston nods, a confident expression and a set jaw showing as he backs up. His skin glows brighter, and as his arms lash out, a spout of swirling fire shoots out, just barley missing us. Preston looks at his hands in amazement.

     "Woah, my power is epic!"
     Vikk nods thoughtfully. "True, but you're gonna have to be careful. Fire isn't exactly the best defensive power, things will just pass right through it."
     Preston scoffs, "And yours is?"
     "I can literally create a wall of stone around me." Vikk replies flatly.
     "Point taken."
     "Okay, enough banter. Let's figure out your ability." Lachlan interrupts, before the two can continue.

      But then I hear something. The others don't catch it, they're too busy trying to figure out Preston's ability. But I hear it. A wispy, unnatural noise, like passing wind. Coming from just outside the wall. I gasp, within a span of three seconds realizing what the noise is... Because there's only one mob in the history of Acrion with a call like that.

     "EVERYONE GET DOWN!" I scream, diving into the midst of them all and knocking everyone to the ground.

     Not one second later, a large explosion shakes the temple and the wall is blown open, sending shards of sandstone in every direction. I hear Lachlan cry out in pain through the cloud of dust, figuring a piece of stone must have hit him. A break in the dust clears, and I can see a clear line of blood running down Lachlan's temple.

     "Are you okay Lachlan?!" I hear Vikk shout, the five of us coughing and trying to wave off the dust.
     "What was that?!" Preston shouts at the same time.

     The dust quickly settles, giving us a clear view of the horrifying creature floating in front of us. My stomach drops as I scan over the black boned creature, with only a ribcage, three heads, and white hollow eyes.

     "It's the Wither!" Jerome exclaims, helping and ducking as a wither skull shoots past him, crashing into a supporting pillar behind us.
     "EVERYONE GET OUT!" Preston commands.

     The five of us quickly dive out of the way, Vikk and Preston helping Lachlan, as the entire temple collapses behind us.

    Jerome growls, firing a shadowball at the boss mob, myself firing a light arrow at the same time. The wither counters by shooting two skulls, colliding with the shadows and arrow in mid air, destroying them. While Vikk pours a potion of healing he got in the swamp over Lachlan's head, Preston flares up and shoots pillars of fire at the wither. Some of the fire skims the wither, and it screeches ghastly in pain, firing two skulls right back. Preston ducks under one, Jerome quickly intersecting the second with a shadowball before it can hit Preston.

     "I have a plan!" Preston shouts over the downpour of wither skulls.
     "Is it a good one?" Lachlan yells back, now back up on his feet and fighting alongside Vikk.
     "I have a plan!" Preston repeats.

      Lachlan shoots a geyser at the wither, momentarily pushing it away.

     "Lachlan, turn invisible and keep it distracted! Vikk! Use your ability to slow down time and cover everyone with your stone walls! Mitch and Jerome, we'll take it head on!" Preston declares, sidestepping another skull. "Let's move it"

     Lachlan does as he's told, vanishing from view. Geysers shoot up from the ground, the wither whirring in frustration as it desperately tries to fire at a target it cannot see. Vikk has our backs, and the moment a skull is launched in anyone's direction, a stone wall is instantly there to protect us. Preston acts like Preston, parkouring over the tops of the earth spikes and shooting pillars of fire at the beast. Jerome uses the shadows created by the stone walls to strengthen his shadowball, witherskulls no longer strong enough to counter them. And as for myself, I use the stone walls as cover, shooting arrow after arrow at the undead boss mob. Everything is going well, and we land blow after blow on the mob. Just when it seems the wither is almost at it's breaking point... Well... That's when things get interesting.

     Jerome moves to the side quickly to avoid a witherskull, and accidentally rams into Lachlan, since he was invisible, he could not see. Lachlan, who was just about to fire a geyser at the wither, is knocked off course and the geyser ends off spurting up in the wrong location. That location... Just so happen to be in front of Preston as he's jumping to another spike. Vikk, even with his ability to slow time, cannot react fast enough. And though Preston tries, his fire does nothing to stop and amount of liquid sailing towards him. The water, although it does not hit him directly since Vikk's spike partially blocks it, shoots right into his side.

    Preston shrieks in agony, a sizzle ringing out where the water seeps through his hoodie and makes contact with his lava like skin. He does not land safely on the next spike, but instead falls to the ground, skidding a few blocks away.

     "PRESTON!" The four of us scream, seeing his squirming form on the sand a few blocks away, steam rising from his side.

     Of all the things he had to be hit by, it was water! WHY WATER!!??

     Jerome bellows in rage, rapid firing shadow balls at the wither, Lachlan shooting more water, as Vikk and I rush to Preston's side.

     "I told you your powers weren't good for defensive stuff!" Vikk scolds, kneeling at his side.
     "Could you save it until I'm NOT GOING TO DIE?!" Preston snaps, bright orange tears spilling onto the sand, his skin glowing bright and hot.
     "Preston, Preston it's okay," I soothe him, trying to calm him down, "You need to cool down so Vikk can give you a healing potion."

     Preston nods shakily, sobbing and gasping in pain as his skin dulls. I help him sit up, and lift off his hoodie so Vikk can get at his side. I wince at the sight. Anywhere the water had touched his skin, it had turned into stone, black bruises surrounding the splotches of stone. And its permanent too. Vikk pulls out his last remaining healing potion, shattering it over Preston's side. The bruises disappear for the most part, but the stone still remains, not an inch of it gone.

     But Vikk and I are so focused on helping Preston, we neglect the fact that Lachlan and Jerome are fighting the wither on their own. And not only are they trying to protect themselves, but us as well, since we are out in the open trying to help Preston. And by the time I notice this... It's too late.

     Because that's when a scream tears through the air.

~~~

Question of the chapter:

What do you think happened?

My answer: 🤐