I'm too lazy to make an official recap so here's an unofficial one:

- Jake's still in the hospital in a coma
- The group's gonna go on a quest soon to find Jeb and get the location for the Library of Stheno to get Herobrine's code
- There's so much not going on yet
- Kat met an okay dude named Glitch
- Notch is friends with Jay
- At the end of last chapter, Kat came up with a plan that probably has something to do with the mythical Golden Notch apples, and left to go talk to Notch about it
- Gordon is still Gordon

Have fun

K bye

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

Notch was going insane.

I didn't know if he was hostile yet, but I was starting to get worried.

I immediately knew something was wrong when I stepped into his mansion. All the lights were off, but the front door was open.

I grabbed my diamond sword, but then I realized that this was the house of a god, and no one would dare break in. Then I realized that there was another god that could and would break in, so I pulled out my weapon.

I crept up the stairs, slowly and cautiously making my way to the third floor. Of course there was a second floor in between the first and the third, but I remembered Notch saying the top floor was his favorite room.

The staircase led up into the room with no door, so I stopped near the top of the stairs, and peeked into the room. It was his giant work area, with tons of redstone contraptions, posters, papers, crafting tables, brewery stations, furnaces, and more. There was a giant library in the corner filled with books that reached as high as they could. There were no light sources but the sunlight that shone through the glass dome ceiling and the giant windows on the walls.

I didn't notice Notch meditating in the middle of the room at first. He was hovering a couple of blocks in the air, his back to me, his legs crossed and his hands resting on his knees.

"Please come in, Kat," he suddenly spoke.

How in the Nether did he know I was there?

"I saw you coming down the walkway."

Oh.

I put away my sword, seeing no threat in the room, and walked toward him. He didn't seem to want to turn to me, so I went around to face him. His eyes were closed.

"Hi." I waved, wondering if he could see me.

"I cannot see you physically, no." He read my mind. "However, I can sense your energy emitting from your soul."

"Sounds very spiritual." I nodded, not sure what else to say. He seemed pretty out of it; I wasn't sure if I should just get right to it.

"Is there a reason why you came to see me? It is not that I am not happy with getting a visit from my favorite niece, but I am quite busy."

I better be your only niece, I was tempted to say. Also, busy with what?

I got out the golden book, and held it up. "Did you write this?"

He opened one eye to examine the book, then closed it. Suddenly, as if having a late reaction, both eyes snapped open, and he looked surprised. "Where did you get that?"

"Answer mine and I'll answer yours," I held my ground.

Notch raised an eyebrow. He uncrossed his legs and dropped to the ground. He held out his hand.

I gave him the book. He leafed through it, examining every page. Finally he said, "No, I did not write it. My brother Steve did. It is definitely his handwriting."

"Was it during your adventures?"

"No..." He showed me a page— the exact page about Notch apples I was reading before. "It mentions the Council of Me here. That was created when we settled down. He must have wrote this after he left."

"But I thought he became a recluse in the swamp." I frowned, trying to figure out the timeline.

"Apparently Salem and him had some adventures of their own. That is very odd."

"But how did he know about Golden Notch apples? Shouldn't that be a private matter that only the council would know?"

"He must have had some friends that he gained information from." Notch chuckled. "Believe it or not, Steve used to be a real charmer. He was always so quiet, but when he spoke, people seemed to like him no matter what he said."

"Wasn't that you?" I asked.

Notch shook his head with a small smile. "My dear, you can never be without enemies in politics. Or in life in general. I still had people dislike my opinions. However, I refused to give in, and I fought for what I believed in."

I was surprised to hear that even Notch could be disliked by Minecraftians. It wasn't like he was the head of a big organization that controlled mobs in order to cloud everyone's judgment of him. That would be a ridiculous idea.

"Well, good to know." I took the book back. "Anyway, I need to talk to you about something else." I flipped back to the Enchanted Notch Apples page. "Is this actually true, then?"

He looked at the page with a dullness in his eyes. "Yes. Nearly forty years ago. But it was a mistake to even consider attempting to make something that powerful."

"Why?" I was finally getting to why I came. "Why can't you make these? It says they can make us invincible!"

"It would be too powerful."

"Who cares about 'too powerful'?" I was getting angry. "Herobrine doesn't. He will stop at nothing to get stronger and stronger. We have to stop him before he gets too powerful."

"No, Katherine." Notch's tone was stern, and he seemed impatient. "It does not work that way. I can't just conjure up whatever I want to without thinking about the repercussions."

"What repercussions could there be? You're a god, for crying out loud!"

"With limits." He said slowly.

"Oh right." I laughed, and turned away. "Your 'limits' that you won't tell me about for some stupid reason. I'm beginning to think they don't even exist."

"I can assure you that they do exist. And I encourage you to mind your tone with me."

I threw my hands up. "You have these amazing powers, and you don't even want to push them just a little bit. Not even to win this war, which, newsflash, has taken the lives of too many people already. Do you even care? Do you even—"

"That is enough, Katherine." He raised his voice, and looked at me with his sternest expression. I could tell he was on the edge. But I didn't shy away from a glare-down.

I was extremely tempted to push him. I wanted to see what he could do. What powers he was hiding. I wanted to see how much he could create... or destroy.

Notch blinked, and broke away, clearing his throat. "I suggest you leave."

I kept glaring at him, but he refused to look at me.

"Fine," I said through gritted teeth. I shoved the book in my inventory, and left the room wanting to punch something.

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

Throughout our time in Notch City, we've hung out at the Mini-Game Arena (or the MGA for short). It was a giant, giant, circular quartz stadium with a rainbow glass dome. Inside were loads of games, from ice golf to arrow tag. They were all in sections, some walled off and some were able to be seen for spectators. The floor in between the games was red wool, and there were tables and a food court near the back for people to hang out at. Spread around the games were little shops that were mostly souvenirs. It was like a mix between a casino and a mall.

I didn't really want to go there today. But after I stormed away from Notch, Abby and Gordon saw me walking by the town hall. I felt stupid after what happened with Notch, and I didn't want to admit that to them, so I let them think I was more than happy to accompany them to the MGA.

As we got there, I was surprised to see that it was just the three of us together. Had that ever happened before?

"Is no one else here?" I asked.

Abby shrugged. "Nah. I just thought it would be cool if it were just the three of us. Is that okay?"

I nodded, surprised she would ask that. "Yeah, totally!"

"Want anything to eat?" Gordon asked, gesturing to the different food places. He patted his belly. "I don't know about you, but Mean Meats is callin' my name."

I gave a small smile. "No thanks, I'm not hungry. But I'll save us a table."

As they ventured off, I found us a table near the middle and sat down. People passed me by, some looking at me, most didn't notice me. I was grateful that the MGA staff were strict about paparazzi coming in. Ever since they discovered that we went there a lot, they upped their security to make sure we stayed. Respectful.

A couple minutes later, Abby and Gordon arrived with their food. As they sat down, Abby gave me a comforting smile.

"So," she started, picking at her food, "how have you been?"

I shrugged. "Fine, I guess. Considering the circumstances."

"Ready for the quest?"

I had no idea how to respond. But for some reason, my mouth started moving on its own without me thinking first. "I don't know... It's like I feel unprepared, but there's nothing else I can do to prepare. So I just gotta go with it because I have to."

Gordon nodded. "Yeah. It's crazy, right? This whole thing. We're this close to defeating Herobrine. We know where to go, now we just need to go."

I gave a huff of laughter. "Yeah. The suspense is kinda killing me."

"And the stakes seem so much higher..." Abby trailed off.

"Right?" This time, my laughter was less sarcastic. "Remember when the biggest thing we had to worry about was if the council would accept me?"

"Holy crap." Gordon leaned back in his chair. "That seems like forever ago. But it's only been... what? Like two months?"

"Yeah." I raised my eyebrows, thinking about all we had been through. It also made me wonder about the future. All I've ever done in the two months since I woke up has contributed to preparing me for power... for war... for Herobrine. After it ended, then what? What would I do with my life? I couldn't really see a career option for myself. Of course, there's always the negative possibility that I didn't have a future...

The oath that the council members took stated that they had to do whatever was necessary to win the war. I gave myself that oath as well. I was willing to even sacrifice myself as long as everyone I cared about would be safe. I couldn't stand to see another life be taken away because of me.

Because it was all of my fault, wasn't it?

"We've been through a lot." Abby smiled, still looking down at the table. "And soon it'll finally be all over. We can have normal lives. Well, as normal as we can get."

My eyes drifted downward. Did they really think that they had to go through this? "But you don't have to wait. Guys, you don't have to finish this. You can just walk away now and have that normal life. I don't want you to have to sacrifice anything or put you through anything you don't have to do."

They both looked at each other for a few seconds with indifferent facial expressions, not saying anything at all. Then, they suddenly bursted out in uncontrollable laughter.

I frowned. "It's not funny. I mean it."

Gordon was grabbing his sides. "I can't believe... you think you could escape us..."

"You're stuck with us!" Abby snorted with laughter.

"But guys..." As I watched them, I started cracking a smile. "Guys, I'm serious!"

But then I was laughing with them. It was one of those laughs where you don't care who's watching, and soon there's not even any noise coming out, and you're looking ridiculous.

"But anyway," Gordon wiped at a tear, "you're stuck with us. We're seeing this thing through till the end together."

"Yeah." Abby sighed, still grinning.

I chuckled, looking down at the table. I had a feeling they wouldn't give up. They were such good friends.

Nothing bad was ever going to happen to them on my watch.

★   ☆   ★   ☆   ★

The days passed by quickly. I stayed away from Notch ever since our argument, and fulfilled my promise to myself by visiting more of the council members. I played arrow tag with Stampy, and discovered he was actually really nice and that he called monsters "googlies" for some reason. The main council invited me to play the Hunger Games simulator, but I declined because I couldn't think about playing it without Jake as my teammate.

I visited Jake in the hospital as much as I could. At one point, I even admitted to him that I was Herobrine's daughter instead of Notch's. I hoped that if he woke up, he would remember that, because I didn't have the heart to see his reaction if I had to tell him when he was conscious.

But eventually we had to depart. Without Jake.

The council members said farewell to us in our hotel. It wasn't anything big, just some goodbyes and hugs. A winking Dan gave me a golden apple. Charlie was also there. He hugged me, and wished me good luck, although he said I didn't need it.

Yuri and Mastermind wanted us to meet them outside the city. We walked through the inner and outer city with no problem, since we were leaving too early in the morning for paparazzi to be on the hunt. The stars lit the night sky, the moon shining the brightest.

When we reached the edge, I saw something very concerning. Two things that were concerning.

(You can skip this complicated description that I worked hard on. I have pics at the end)

Near the train tracks, two large contraptions made of glass and clay were held up by stone blocks. They were oval shaped, made of mostly cyan clay, but with one side having a curved glass wall like a window. They both curved down underneath with tubes jutting out in all directions except toward the glass window. On either sides were things that looked like wings which were made of some fabric. There was a topless second tier with a ladder going up to it.

Next to the contraptions were Yuri, Mastermind, and Notch.

"Tada!" Mastermind gestured to the clay structures dramatically.

"Hello, comrades!" Yuri greeted us in a more practical way by waving his hand.

Notch said nothing.

"What in the Nether are these?" Jazz asked.

"I would've liked to call them Chariots of War, Mastermind wanted to call them Chariots of Freedom, so we comprised and just called them Chariots," Yuri explained.

Elly coughed. "I think he meant to ask what do those do?"

"They're transportation." Mastermind spread his hands. "Yuri and I worked on them. There's no train that goes straight from Notch City to Corola City, so instead of stopping at a few places and going out of the way, we can just head straight there."

"How?" Abby frowned.

He grinned. "Fireworks."

Yuri continued with a more elaborate explanation. "You see, Mastermind and I recalled that with fireworks, you can boost an elytra's speed and distance. So we figured that if we could use the same fabric from elytra wings and connect them to lighter blocks, say clay and glass, then we could transport those blocks as well."

Ash raised a hand and opened his mouth with a look on his face that said he was either going to criticize them or say something sarcastic, but he slowly put his hand. "That's... actually smart." 

"What are you trying to say, boy?" Yuri narrowed his eyes.

"Nothing at all."

"So how does it work?" Rein asked curiously.

Yuri walked over to the back of the clay part of one, and pointed out three tubes sticking out. I noticed that there were many tubes underneath the whole thing as well. He opened his mouth to say something, but Mastermind jumped in front of him and spoke first. "The fireworks come out of dispensers that you can control with one of the levers at the front. They explode inside of the floor, and the energy from the explosions shoot out of these tubes and into the wings, propelling it."

Yuri interrupted Mastermind back. "There are tubes shooting downward as well so it levitates a few blocks over the ground, you just can't see them."

"So it hovers...?" I asked in disbelief.

"Correct." They both said at the same time.

"I'm impressed, guys." Scarlet raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah." Gordon walked up to one. He looked under at the tubes and whistled. "I thought redstone was high-tech, but this is beyond redstone. You guys are creating a whole new age."

"Why are there two?" Skye asked the question we were all thinking about.

"Weight control." Yuri answered.

"Is that a fat joke?" Jona whispered.

"No." Mastermind laughed. "We just can't have too many people on one. The fireworks can only hold so much weight, which is why we chose building blocks that weren't heavy."

"Why not wool?" Skye asked. "It's, like, the lightest block."

"Flammable."

"Ah."

"So Mastermind will control one, and I shall control another." Yuri put his hand on his chest proudly.

"I trust Mastermind more so I'm going with him." Gordon clutched the poor cyborg's arm. "No offense Yuri, but this guy is part machine so he's probably better at piloting one."

Yuri said nothing.

"Right, so..." Infinity finally spoke. She didn't say much after she had to leave Jake. Her voice was low, but clear. "Are we going or what?"

"Yeah, let me show you how to board..." Everyone walked toward Mastermind.

Notch walked over to me slowly, his eyes on the small crowd around the Chariots. I felt anxious with each step he took toward me.

"Fine work, isn't it?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Was he making small talk with me?

"Yeah." I admitted. "Pretty awesome."

He looked me straight in the eye with a serious expression, and I knew small talk was over. "Be careful, Kat. If Herobrine finds out what you're doing, he will do anything he can to stop you."

I looked away. "Yeah, yeah okay. We'll be okay."

There was a pause, as if he were thinking about what he was going to say next.

"Kat..."

I turned to him.

He looked hesitant. Finally, he said, "Be sure to control your emotions. That way he will not get in your head."

I felt disappointed, but I wasn't sure why. That just wasn't what I was expecting him to say. "Sure... I will. Bye." I walked away to the Chariots.

Soon, we were on board. It was Infinity, Abby, Gordon, Jona, Skye, Mastermind and I on one, and Yuri, Ash, Scarlet, Jazz, Elly, and Rein on another. That was expected.

"Wait!"

I turned around at the new voice. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it until I saw the person.

"Glitch?" I raised my eyebrows. I was amazed that the guy I had met only a few days ago was walking toward us from the city. However, my eyebrows shot downward and I narrowed my eyes at the person next to him. "J?"

"Hi." Glitch smiled. J raised a hand for a greeting.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked.

"Hitchhiking." Glitch winked.

"Oh, right." Notch frowned. "I had almost forgotten. These two are accompanying you."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "Wh... why..." I looked back and forth between the two newcomers and Notch. My gaze settled on Notch. "Why do you keep giving us important news at the last second?"

He was silent, but he looked like he didn't know either.

I looked at them further, with more stuttering, and finally I sighed. "Whatever. You two get on. Let's just go. I'm sick of this."

"I'm here because I'm a friend of Preston's, and he offered for me to join you guys, by the way." Glitch offered an explanation. "He didn't tell me what you were doing, but he told me to tell you I'm good at PvP. His words, not mine."

I would've shot a glare at Preston if he were there. We hardly knew Glitch; who says he was trustworthy enough to come with us?

I turned my head to J, who shrugged. "Notch wanted me to."

I decided that since I couldn't glare at Preston, I glared at Notch. However, his calm expression was an excellent defense.

"J is not as bad as you think he is." He simply said.

"He betrayed the Rebels!" I argued.

"Then let them decide if he can come." Notch turned to the other Chariot, where the Rebels were awkwardly watching.

They all looked at each other, and huddled in a group. Some whispers were passed, some gestures were made, then they all simultaneously shrugged. They all put their hands together, shouted "Break!", and spread out. Jazz took a deep breath, and spoke for the group: "We don't care."

I threw my hands up in the air. "Sure. Why not? Let's invite the whole city. It'll be a parade."

"We can't fit the whole city on these." Mastermind whispered.

I shot him a look as well. He suddenly found the wall very interesting.

But eventually, Glitch climbed aboard our Chariot, and J joined the Rebels (since he was probably too scared to be around me).

Then, Mastermind flipped a lever on his control panel in front of the glass window, and I heard a muffled popping sound underneath us. Slowly, I felt the Chariot lift off the ground. I looked over the side and saw that we lifted about three blocks off the ground. Yuri did the same on the other one.

"We're gonna follow the tracks through the forest. I calculated the schedule, and no trains will be on the tracks until we get off of them and on our own path." Mastermind said from his place at the front. Then, he called to Yuri, "After you!"

Yuri saluted him, and flicked another lever. His Chariot started moving forward, and disappeared in the trees. Ours followed after his.

I leaned over the side and looked back at Notch. He was watching us leave, his hand raised in farewell. Notch City glowed brightly behind him like a beacon of hope. Jake was going to be safe there.

I turned back, looked at my friends, and took a deep breath.

"Let's do this."

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

Hey look some action and adventure stuff is finally gonna happen

Maybe that'll encourage me to write more

...

I'd also like to update the playlist for this book, even though people don't really care about it:

Fight Song by Rachel Platten (ikr)
The Shakedown by The Score
Gladiator by Zayne Wolf
Secrets by One Republic
Deep Water by American Authors
Who I Am by The Score

You don't have to listen to these songs, but it would be swell if you did (even if you already know them, just so you can get a feel for them again)

ALRIGHTY

Things should be picking up quickly from here on out. Thank you all for being patient.

Except Tood.

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