Maybe being fearful all the time had its benefits. For one, it kept him on his feet. Improved his reflexes, heightened his senses. For once, he was grateful for it.

Lukas' hand raised, just in time to catch Aiden's flying fist, blocking it from his face. Their eyes met, just for a moment, before the blond scowled, tightening his grip and throwing his hand away. His former friend took a step back, gritting his teeth.

"Don't lay a hand on me." He spat coldly, a rush of anger making his heart race. So this was where Aiden had gone, he wasn't surprised.

"Your fault." It came out as a forced mumble through his mouth, but he unclenched his fist, a sign he decided to stop with the violence. "This is your fault. It wasn't supposed to go this way."

Lukas wanted to slap him. Whatever he was thinking, it was twisted and probably more cynical than he liked.

"I don't know what you expected." He exclaimed dryly, eyeing him closely. "I'm not the one who went on a jealous rampage and tried to take over an entire city."

Another scoff, and he shook his head.

"Of course. Of course you would think of it that way. Play the bad guy card, that's all you're good for, isn't it?"

"Just go home Aiden." Lukas exclaimed, the tone of his voice seemingly distressed, dismissive, defeated. He didn't want to deal with all this crap so early in the morning.

"Go home?" He repeated bluntly, staring still until he began to laugh bitterly. "Go home? Yeah, right. I'm not your servant, I don't follow your orders anymore. That place was never my home."

"So where is your home huh?" The blond couldn't help but reply, a sour taste in his mouth. "As much as I'm aware, you don't seem to belong anywhere.

"You know what? Go where you want. Do whatever you want. I don't care about you anymore. Just leave me be, I didn't come here for measly quarrel."

And that was it. Lukas rubbed his forehead, which seemed to throb incoherently, dismissing the matter as if it were something easy. He began his way towards his destination, the portal that led to the White Pumpkin and her mansion. But it wasn't long until he heard footsteps behind him.

"What do you want?" He finally asked, not even sparing a glance.

"What does it look like? I want to go back. Following you is the easy way out."

At this point he had to restrain himself from a sarcastic burst of laughter. How had he ever become friends with this idiot-?

"Well, good luck with that. I'm not going back."

There was a pause.

"You're bluffing."

"Find out yourself," Lukas stopped in front of the portal, turning and gesturing him to go in.

Aiden baffled, hesitating. He bit his lip abruptly, unsure of his choice of action. He had waited so long to get out, to escape, who knew what was beyond that portal?

The blond just sighed, and was about to enter when-

"Wait." His voice wavered, an almost futile attempt to say his piece. "A deal. Let's...make a deal."

Lukas didn't say anything, his silence a cue to go on.

"I help you with whatever you're doing, whatever lies in these portals. And when you're done, in return, you let me go back. That simple."

He had to admit, it intrigued him. There was a huge risk in going back, he wasn't guaranteed his safety. But wouldn't bringing Aiden along bring an even bigger risk? For all he knew, he'd just find his chance, send Lukas hurtling the edge of a cliff of some sort. The memory brought bitter thoughts in his brain.

"No."

Not even taking a glance at Aiden's shocked demeanor, he stepped through the portal. His body numbed for a few moments before taking him to the other side. He prepared for the harsh landing, another fierce wind nipping at his cheeks. Bent knees, building momentum. The ground was getting dangerously close. He landed as gentle as he could on his forefeet, bending his knees fully and tucking into a roll, stretching his arms amongst the ground as his feet were down. He breathed with some sort of satisfaction, hands digging into the dirt, smiling at striking the landing.

But the happiness was short lived, a distorted scream reached his ears as Aiden fell, wildly flailing his arms, landing flat on his back with a thud. And then there was a groan, pain emitting shakily from his mouth.

"You're just...a flat out idiot aren't you?" He said this aloud, meaning to keep this in his mind but failing miserably.

"Now you're-" he heaved painfully, "making puns? Unlike you."

Lukas stared at his former companion in complete disarray.

"I'm going."

"Wait! Oh come on, just wait a second!" Aiden pleaded roughly as he pried himself off the ground, dusting the dirt off his clothes and running to chase after him. "Just listen for Notch's sake-!"

"I'm done, Aiden." He heaved, still in place. He let his shoulders fall, releasing the tension built within them. "I'm done with this, alright? I'm done with you, you're done with me. What else needs to happen?"

"I get it, you're angry," the Blaze Rod admitted, not much to Lukas' satisfaction, "but forget about all that for a second. I'm...I'm desperate, all right?"

His face scrunched, and he stared down at the floor, as if he was ashamed.

"Help me this once, just this once, and I'll never get in your way again."

Hello! Thank you so much to those of you who have taken their time to read this, I sincerely hope you've enjoyed reading. I will be going on a short 1-2 week hiatus while I finish planning and writing the next part of this story. I'm also going to try and find a cover for the time being. Thanks again! I'll see you all in a week or so! <3