Volunteer for the job

     It wasn't long before the top of the tower slowly came into view over the tops of the trees. The weather had really taken a turn for the worse; the rain was now lashing down, with flashes of light piercing the dark sky every few seconds, the low rumble of thunder changing to an ear-splitting crack as the storm continued to wash over the whole area. Every now and then, the flash of lightning would be brighter than before, suggesting actual forks of electrical energy striking close by. We had taken to dashing from tree canopy to tree canopy, the Enderman leading us further West at a hurried pace. We needed to get to the tower quickly; with HoN Co. being so close to activating the master portal, this type of weather was the last thing we needed, and exactly what they needed!

"Do we know how close to activation the master portal is?"

"From our visions, we have determined that they need to activate but one more sub-portal before the main one can become active."

"That could be any time now! If lightning strikes that tower after that's done, they'll open the portal to the Nether and all types of hell will spill out into our world!"

"The lightning is a key element to the activation process, however a mechanism at the base of the tower must be put into action before a lightning strike is effective. Their protocols state this is to be refrained until all of the sub-portals are active. We still have time."

"We'd better pick up the pace then. Look!"

Looking to the tower where AMPHIS had pointed, we could see that the flashes of lightning in the distance had actually been much closer than we had thought. Fork lightning erupted from the clouds, striking the antennae of the tower, throwing sparks high into the air, which fizzed and popped before burning out in the rain.

A little while longer, and we reached the copse of trees just South of the tower. From there we were able to see all we needed, and what we could see didn't give us much hope. The tower was surrounded by guards! Literally surrounded! Each side of the base was protected by at least two guards, with at least fifteen guards standing in formation closest to us. They were all facing South, but thankfully it was dark enough and the foliage cover thick enough to hide us from sight. Looking up to the tower, I flinched every time fork lightning struck the antennae. Judging from the starting frequency that was happening, HoN Co. would have no trouble activating the master portal once all of the primary portals were online.

"As you can see there is heavy resistance here. You will not pass through undetected without our help. We have determined that there are over forty men here that you can see. There are fourteen men concealed from sight by devices similar to the one you possess. We can track their movement for you, but we cannot be sure how many are within the tower itself."

"Well we'll have to use the CPD to get one of us inside then. If we create a distraction for long enough for someone to get inside then we may be able to escape when the portal blows up."

"Blows up? The portal does not function in this way when used with the Ender Keystone. Much like your Solus stone you had used to destroy the portals before, the Ender Keystone acts in a similar way. It rips the portal of any energy that might be being transferred be each sub-portal before activation and causes and implosion. The entire portal and all neighbouring ones are pulled into a singularity and destroyed entirely."

"That's not likely to cause a distraction from our initial one, then... If there was an actual explosion that would draw them away from us, but if the portal only pulls in other portals and implodes it's not going to be much help."

"You misunderstand. The implosion through the use of the Ender Keystone will cause all material in the vicinity to be drawn in, including the tower. This is due to its incredible power in comparison to the Solus Stone. The Solus Stone was brought from the Nether to your world through a portal, which strips it of mass amounts of its energy. The Ender Keystone was constructed in this world, and possesses full power in this world."

"If that tower's coming down, that'll be more than we need to make our escape. In the confusion we can run off, leaving them to their failed master plan."

We determined who would be going into the chamber to destroy the portal; everyone was reluctant for obvious reasons, but in the end we had three willing candidates: me, COLUS and Joe. It was impossible to decide who was to go; each of us had our own reasons for going in and doing the job ourselves. I wanted to get back at them for the number of people they had killed, the amount of death on their hands, the amount of evil they had got away with. COLUS wanted to go as he felt that being the leader it was his duty. Joe wanted payback; he had been enslaved to work in the obsidian mines which we managed to rescue him from, and he felt he was paying them back what he owed them. In the end we had to let the Enderman decide. We weren't going to get anywhere by arguing amongst ourselves.

"You all have valid reasons for wanting to go, however only one stands out as worthy. A position of leadership does not make you the ultimate choice in a tough situation. Revenge, though a powerful inspiration, leaves you open to mistakes and flaws that may be the result of ending it regardless of the cost. Syeonyx, your reasons for wanting to end this alone are more sincere, more worthy of the task. You do not seek honour or vengeance, but merely and end to evil. I cannot force you to enter, but I believe you are best suited to this task."

COLUS and Joe looked at me, with what almost looked like relieved faces. Amie jumped at me, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back, knowing what this last mission meant to everyone. There were no second chances, no restarts. It was now or never, and we had but one choice. COLUS passed the Ender Keystone to me; much like the Solus stone it glowed a bright green, likely due to the close proximity to the primary portals. COLUS then passed me the CPD, which I clipped to my belt. Taking one last look at everyone in turn, I took my first few steps towards the tower. Let's end this!

Syeonyx signing off

Journey to the tower

     Reaching the portal, the Enderman told us that they would be entering our world soon, and that they had to determine themselves how best to aid us. They were willing to do whatever it took to ensure we succeeded, but a fair amount of planning was still required. Standing beneath the shimmering portal surface, we each waited in turn as we were pulled upwards into it; it was an odd sensation to be floating above the ground. It wasn't like being lifted, but it was like... falling in reverse... if that makes any sense... UOPETA went first, with myself going second. COLUS would be last, carrying the Ender Keystone so that we could protect it if there was a need to. As I ascended through the portal, I felt a sickening lurch before my feet hitting a hard surface told me I had made it to the other side. I was a little confused as to how I had landed on my feet, standing upright, about two feet away from the portal itself, but at this point it wasn't worth wasting time and effort questioning it. Amie came next, followed by AMPHIS and then the others. COLUS was last, still holding the Keystone in his right hand as he floated to the ground. Shaking off the disorientation, he made his way to the front of the group.

"Okay, we're nearly there. We just need to get back through the structure and up into the iron mine again. From there, we can determine the best course of action. We can either head through to the entrance and go on the surface, or attempt to make our way through the tunnels. The latter would mean gaining entry to the base, but at this point speed is key."

"It would be best if we stayed on the surface; we're unlikely to be spotted that way. If we head through the base and are confronted or spotted, even if we make through to the tunnels, they could cut off our escape route at the end near to the tower. At least on the surface we have a way to get out."

"Then it's settled; we'll head back up to the top of the iron mine and exit through the main entrance. We haven't been gone long enough for the sedative to have work off yet, but security may have tightened in our absence."

COLUS led the way back through the tunnels and up into the structure, where we then headed on back to the iron mine. We were nearing the end, and we were so close I could almost taste the victory!

---

"When are we going to put this CPD to use? Jeff gave it to us with strict intentions on using it when we really needed to. I think one of us is going to need it to get into the conducting tower. It would make more sense rather than all of us going in to our deaths."

"It would, but we've got to get that far first. Also, who would be going in? That place is going to be heavily guarded and we can't guarantee even one of us can get through."

"What if we were to tunnel in? I've got a pretty good idea where would start to dig, and for how long. It could work."

"True, but there are a number of factors that would make that difficult, no, impossible. Firstly that would take far too long. We can't risk taking any longer than we need to. Secondly it would likely generate a lot of noise that would be heard above ground or at some point along the way, drawing attention to ourselves. Lastly, that would only get us past the guards, assuming it worked. If we tunnelled straight into the chamber with the master portal, we're going to draw everyone's attention to us. I know we've found ourselves in a lot of awkward situations before, but I think even that's beyond us."

"How would the CPD work for getting one person through to the tower then? It's all well and good activating it for them to pass by the guards undetected, but if doors start opening randomly, and objects start appearing mysteriously in front of people, I think they're going to catch on pretty quick."

"Well that's all the choices we have at the moment. We can only hope that the Endermen are able to help us out at some point further along the way. Maybe they can get us inside without being detected, or they could act as a diversion to lure the guards away."

"Whatever they do, it had better be incredibly distracting. We're going to see a huge force of guards and other HoN Co. soldiers there, and they're not all going to go running off after an Enderman..."

"Maybe not, but they may be distracted for long enough for us to get inside. As far as we know, they're not aware of the Endermen species yet. So when they turn up, it'll be completely alien to them."

COLUS silenced us with a wave of his hand; we had reached the base of the stairs that led from the tunnels and the shack back up to the iron mine. From here we would have to exit out onto the surface again and head West to the tower. Using the tunnels beneath us that led from the base to just a little South of the conducting tower wasn't a good idea. Firstly we'd need to get through the guards to get to it which would likely cause a disturbance. Secondly, if they found out quickly enough they could block off our exit, trapping us. Thirdly we would have nowhere to go in that situation. Slowing down to a cautious walk, we made our way up the steps to the top, where we were presented with three directions: the left path took us back to the iron mine entrance, straight ahead took us down another set of steps to where there was an opening to our base. To the right was one of the other tunnels that UOPETA had carved out when we were looking for iron to make the initial tunnels.

"It's left here, back to the entrance, and then we can head West to the conducting tower. We can fine-tune the plan from there..."

Reaching the stone door, UOPETA flicked the lever, and it began to slowly open, with a sickeningly loud grinding noise. We waited inside for a few moments in case we had drawn the attention of the other guards, but when nothing happened and when no-one came to see what was going on, we emerged. Looking down to the pool where the other guards had been, we were surprised to find no-one there.

"I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing... We'd best keep moving and not find out."

Closing the stone door behind us, we ran down to a lower level so we were harder to spot. It wasn't long before we were within the tree line and rapidly making our way West. We didn't get the full way however, before we started seeing strange, purple flickers of light and particles floating close to where we had been. We occasionally looked back to make sure we weren't being followed, but instead we had spotted these strange things, and we slowed down. We were being followed... by something... COLUS eventually decided that it wasn't worth slowing down over, and we could deal with it later, but as we turned to continue running, an Enderman literally appeared in front of us, conjured from nothing!

"We have news of evil ones and their progress with the portal. They are incredibly close to activating it; the time left is short, and you are heavily outnumbered. We will help out any way we can, but we cannot ensure you will all get inside undetected..."

"Don't worry about that; we've got that side covered."

"Good. Come with this one to the tower so that you can see what you will be facing. We can prepare the final plan of attack from an advantageous vantage point."

As we followed the Enderman, it began to rain softly, the blue sky being concealed slowly by ominous-looking black clouds; they roiled and bubbled as though being boiled by some unseen heat source, and distance flashes suggested a storm was coming. I didn't like the looks of that...

Syeonyx signing off

Human-Endermen relations

     We all stared at the active portal in silence, none of us moving closer towards it. It was mystifying and eerie at the same time, and none of us could be sure of what would happen once we stepped through. Would we be killed? Would we be trapped in The End? Who knows! In the end I volunteered to go first; I saw the look on Amie's face when I put my hand up; a mixture of fear and confidence. I saw it in the faces of everyone else as well, and in the end I managed to convince THEROS to come along with me. Stepping up onto the frame of the portal, and standing on either end, we looked between each other and the portal. The I jumped! I don't know what convinced me to go, but in the end I felt like I had little to lose. As my feet left the frame, time seemed to slow down, as I reached the apex of my leap and then began to fall towards the portal. Closing my eyes, I waited with baited breath, expecting to feel a watery sensation, as though jumping into a swimming pool. Instead, the feeling of falling continued for a moment or two longer, before I landed on a solid surface. Slowly, I opened my eyes, and my held breath was instantly released in the largest gasp of astonishment I had ever achieved! I couldn't believe what had happened. I had travelled through to The End through the portal and lived! The area around me seemed barren, with only a few odd obelisks and pillars jutting awkwardly from the bone-yellow stone beneath my feet. Looking up I could see the portal I had come through, upside down, with the odd shimmering surface remaining in place, but still convulsing. Moving out from under it, I waited until THEROS came through, and it wasn't long before his feet emerged and he landed on the ground with a dull thud.

We stood in silence, gazing around in wonder at the area around us. The sky was a very strange purplish hue, which seemed to fizz and sputter like static on an old television screen. There didn't appear to be any form of light source, and yet it was still possible to see quite a distance. All around us stood the Endermen; they looked exactly how they had been drawn in the images we had found; tall, thin creatures, with long arms and legs, and an oddly large head sat atop a thin neck. Their eyes were a piecing purple, that seemed to shine with their own light, and every pair was turned towards us!

"Greetings, human. We are delighted you were successful in your task to activate the portal. We have much to discuss and little time to question."

The voice drifted across to us from all sides, and it wasn't for a moment until I realised that it was coming from inside my own head! THEROS had reacted in a similar way to me, indicating he was hearing the same thing. All of the Endermen began to slowly approach our position, as the rest of the Lone 7 dropped through the portal and into The End. We huddled together in a loose group, whilst the approaching Endermen, began to create a s ring around us. Once they were in position, they all stopped. Only a single Enderman continued approaching us, and it did so until it was only a few feet away before stopping. By now everyone had passed through the portal and was stood together in a group. I could feel the apprehension in the air, as we all waited with breaths held, wondering what would happen next. The closest Enderman raised its arms and closed its eyes, before slowly lowering them again. COLUS stepped forward, presumably to act as the emissary for us.

"Greetings, Enderman. We have come through the activated portal, seeking the Keystone you showed us, so that we may put a stop to HoN Co. and destroy the master portal."

"We know who you are, and we are glad of your return to our structure with the means to activate the portal to this world. We have waited a long time to be free, and now our time has come. However there is a little matter to attend to. This one wishes to give you the Ender Keystone we spoke to you of, so that you may put it to its intended use."

"We have been through a lot to get this far, and we can only apologise for the time it has taken to reach The End."

"There is no need for apologies. We are aware of your plight and sympathise with your situation. With the many millennia we have spent in this world, a few more weeks is nothing to us."

"Millennia? How have you survived this long? I can't see any food or water around here at all!"

"We have no need for nutritional substances. Food and water and non-requirements of our species, as we exist as one. We also require no rest of any kind, as our species is familiar with the many countless millennia each individual can live. This individual is approximately 3,425 elliptical cycles of your planet in age. However it is not the eldest, nor is it the youngest."

"How long have you been here since you trapped the Keystone away?"

"We have existed in this world for approximately sixty one millennia. We have passed through the equivalent of seven individual's generations. The Keystone has remained a secret and secure for this entire length of time. It is only now we have revealed its existence to anyone outside this world, by communicating through the Aether."

"Which individual are you then? The one we are speaking to?"

"You are speaking directly to the individual that sensed your presence in our structure back in your world, and communicated the instructions to retrieve the five Eyes of Ender to activate the portal. However, you are communicating with the cognitive power of one."

"We cannot afford to waste any more time. You are aware of what is at stake if you fail, and we cannot allow this to happen. However, besides the Ender Keystone, there is little we can do to help. Follow us and we will take you to where it is kept."

The Enderman turned around and began walking away from us; the ring of Endermen that had circled us parted to let the individual through, and we followed a little farther behind. The other Endermen followed us, maintaining the broken ring formation. We passed many pillars that seemed to be constructed of obsidian, some of which reached hundreds of metres into the air. The terrain around us seemed to be made up of a single component; the yellow stone beneath our feet was flat and featureless, with only a small rise here and there giving any sense of change. We weren't walking for long, before we stopped before an alter that had a single burning flame atop it. The alter seemed to be made of a mixture of the strange, yellow stone and obsidian. We approached it as the individual Enderman climbed to the top and stopped, before turning to face us.

"The Ender Keystone is a singular object with one purpose; the destruction of the portal which threatens to let out all of the evil from the Nether. It must be taken from this place and back to your world, where it can be used against the portal to destroy all others on your world, and prevent the Nether from ever escaping onto the land."

The Enderman turned back to the alter and raised its arms again, before lowering them slowly and moving to one side. From the flames appeared a small, green object which rose above the edge of the flickering fire, before hovering no the spot.

COLUS began to climb the later, towards the Keystone. Reaching the top, he put his hand out to grab it, but was hesitant because of the flames. Eventually, he steeled himself and stretched out his hand to take the Keystone. Curling his fingers around it, he pulled it free and towards himself, before exhaling and stepping down from the alter. We had it! It sat in COLUS's hands, shimmering in the light of the fire, although it seemed to have a surface that coalesced on its own.

"Now go back to your world and destroy the portal. You will only get one chance, and you cannot fail. We will pass through the portal after you and attempt to aid you. You must not let the Ender Keystone fall into the hands of the evil otherwise all is lost."

We began to head back to the portal, knowing that we were literally hours away from finishing this! All we had to do was get into the conducting tower and down into the master portal chamber, and place the Keystone within the frame of it. Then we would have to wait and see what happens...

Syeonyx signing off

The beginning of The End

     We'd relaxed for about an hour before we decided that it was a good time to set off. We had a good enough lead on the HoN Co. guards, even with them being on a high alert. If they hadn't found the shack yet then we were likely to be safe from here onwards to the portal. Preparing ourselves for the next long leg of the journey, UOPETA flicked the lever on the far side of the room; the bookcases began to part in four directions, exposing a small, thin corridor beyond. We ensured that the barricaded door wasn't going to be easily broken through before individually heading into the corridor. COLUS led the way, keeping the rifle at the ready at all times, just in case HoN Co. had managed to find a way inside to the portal. We hadn't found any evidence of that yet, but with HoN Co. you could never tell. We remained quiet for most of the way, mainly because there was little to talk about, but partly to remain as silent as possible in case there were HoN Co. guards lying in wait up ahead.

"We're counting on you THEROS to get us back through the Endermen building and to the portal. From what I remember, that place was a maze, and we can't waste time by getting lost there..."

"Don't worry, I can remember it vividly in my head. We enter through the entrance we found, head to the end of the corridor, take a right, head down to that end, then head right again. Go up a flight of steps and head back on yourself down to the end of the corridor, before turning left. Then turn right and head down a set of steps, before entering a long corridor after a right turn. It's a straight line from there, going up another set of steps and up to the portal over a narrow walkway."

"That's pretty accurate... wow..."

"That's my eidetic memory at work. It's what helps me finish off the maps in detail and from an aerial position without gaining that vantage point. Not many people have it, but the ones that do are usually in careers where exceptional auditory or visual perception is vital."

We had a way to go, and a lot of it was going to be slow going due to the confined spaces. Much of the way before us was also paved with obsidian, which made moving about difficult due to it's inability to reflect light. Any torches placed near them seem to be ineffective, and it was often hard to discern the difference between obsidian stone floor and a giant hole into a black pit! First though we came to the large pit of lava that we had come across when I was digging out a tunnel that SERVERE had started. It veered off sharply to the left as a result of the lava pit, which we found we were unable to cross, but had to navigate around instead. Luckily there was little in the way of a detour, and we continued on our way through another long, thin corridor. Towards the end it opened up slightly, before narrowing again into the obsidian tunnel that we had expected.

"From the other side of that, we have the bridge to cross. The one we patched up with wooden slats. It'll take us to the left where we'll soon then enter the Endermen structure."

"Let's just hope we don't have any more of those weird visions. I felt sick after that last one we had. It was incredibly disorientating too..."

I recalled the last time we were there, we had all begun to disappear individually, having the same vision. An Enderman had begun to communicate to us all, but separately, telling us of the Keystone and how they had come to be trapped in The End. We had learnt all that we had come to do up until now in a single moment, conversing with an ancient being across dimensions. If it was known to the public, it would have been a day to be marked as one of the most important in the history of humanity. To us however, it meant an easier end to HoN Co., which was all we wanted. Just like THEROS had remembered, we exited the thin tunnel and came out onto the obsidian bridge which had been patched up by us. Arcing to the left, we would then enter the main structure. We were nearly there...

---

     We were here! After navigating through the structure with ease and accuracy, we headed straight through a paved tunnel and up a single flight of steps, up to the portal. Just like before, it sat ahead of us on a platform suspended above a dark hole. The only light came from the torches that we had placed around again and the lava pool it sat above.

COLUS took the five Eyes of Ender in his hand, and gave them out to each of us closest to the portal. We surrounded the portal, ensuring we could reach the slots they fitted into, before waiting for everyone else.

"This is the last moment we have before we either near the end, or unleash untold evil upon the world. If it's the latter, I want everyone to know, it's been an honour working with you."

"I'll see you all on the other side..."

THEROS placed his Eye into the slot on the far side, before returning to the back. AMPHIS was next, then COLUS, me. THEXIS was the last one left. Holding the Eye in his right hand, he remained looking at the portal, hesitating slightly.

"Let's just hope we're doing the right thing..."

"You and me both..."

THEXIS began to lower the Eye into the slot, letting go once the base was fitting in. It clunked into place, and THEXIS stepped back immediately. We waited for something to happen; the portal remained still, and only the bubbling lava pit beneath it showed any change, as it bubbled. Then, as we watched, the lava began to froth violently, as it visibly changed in colour, to a darker orange, through a series of red hues and eventually to black.

"Is that meant to happen...?"

The twelve Eyes began to glow, before silhouettes of them floated up and out of the slots, merging into one, hovering above the blackened lava for a few moments, before dropping downwards. The lava surface exploded into an array of pinpoint of lights, dotted around. Looking into it, we could actually see more lights moving below, as though it were pane of glass.

"Who's first...?"

Syeonyx signing off

Day 166: Nearing The End

     Feeling well rested despite the lack of sleep we had been getting over the past couple of days, we woke up with the sun again, eating enough to sustain us through the day before we reached the base. We had easily covered the majority of the journey by now, with only a short distance to go. Once there we could get into the base, ensure we take whatever we need to survive the journey through to The End and then head up through the entrance of the iron mine to the shack SERVERE had been using. From there we could use the secret tunnel that led through to the portal which would be activated when we placed the five Eyes of Ender into the appropriate places. We hadn't been told any more than that, so we assumed that was all that was required of us; the portal would activate, opening up The End dimension for us to cross over to, and converse face to face with the Endermen. Then we would take the Keystone from The End back through the portal and down to the conducting tower, where we would end it all!

"Just think: in less than a day's time, this could all be over! HoN Co. would be defeated, and their immoral actions revealed to the public. We would have helped out an ancient race of intelligent beings and stopped the world from being overrun with the evils of a hellish dimension!"

"Woah, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've got a LOT to do before then, and every minutely detailed step we take is going to be fraught with danger! We'll have HoN Co. at our heels the entire time, and we can't say for sure where the allegiance of these Endermen lies. It's best to remain vigilant the entire time from now on."

Destroying all trace of the fire without attracting an nearby attention, we picked up our bags and continued on our way. We had all changed back into our Lone 7 armour; I don't know about anyone else but the guard uniforms and lab coats felt creepy to wear. They felt wrong... Being back in my standard armour was comforting, even though it changed very little. We had also re-assembled the four rifles, and myself, UOPETA, COLUS and THEROS had them ready to use at any point they were needed. We hadn't run into or come across any guards as of yet, but we knew it was early days yet, and once we had the Keystone, getting into the conducting tower was going to prove to be the toughest obstacle of them all. HoN Co. would have just lost any leverage they possessed, and the only way to get it back would be to heavily guard the one place we needed to get to. As we continued East it was likely that hundreds of guards and Elite soldiers were being put into position in and around the tower to prevent us getting access to it.

"Look! Off to the North! That's the tip of the conducting tower! We're close!"

We all looked off to the North where COLUS was pointing, knowing full well that the sight of the tower meant we were close to home. It also meant we were close to the base entrance that was just a little South from the tower. We had decided against using that point of entry for fear HoN Co. having found it. If they had, they may well be guarding it, or worse, leaving it open for us to fall into a trap. The best option was to set straight for the main base entrance and work from there.We would be able to get to the iron mine quickly as well if anything went wrong from then on. Soon we could see the huge cliffs that acted as the mighty walls blocking the base entrance from prying eyes, even from above. The entrance itself was ingenious; relying on a platform that could be lowered down into the pool it crossed and become completely invisible. Even with the platform raised, it would look like a simple piece of terrain.

"We've got trouble. Everyone stay low and keep quiet..."

We all slowed down, and readied the rifles, checking the magazines were loaded properly the springs in working order. The last thing we needed was for the rifles to break on us at such a crucial stage. As we were close to one of the huge cliff walls, COLUS stopped us, and pointed forwards. Through the tree line we could make out the beach area that surrounded the pool where the base entrance was hidden. However, posted around the entrance and the pool were quite a few guards, at least four or five. It was hard to tell with the amount of foliage in the way, but it getting inside was going to require a lot of concentration.

"I suppose it was just a matter of time until they found where we were. Luckily we weren't at home when they did, or things would have got messy. How are we going to deal with this?"

"UOPETA, you head around to the right and scope out the area. See if you can spot how many guards we're dealing with. Once you're sure, return to us so we can formulate a plan."

UOPETA nodded once, and quickly dashed off to the South, hugging the tree line so he couldn't be seen. At one point even we lost him; there was no movement for a few moments before he suddenly came dashing back.

"We've got five guards; two at the front of the platform, one near the entranceway, one off to the left on the hill and another way off ahead close to the iron mine."

"Are you one hundred percent positive?"

UOPETA nodded again.

"Right, well it seems we may not be able to get into the base directly through the entrance. We'll need to get through to the iron mine and work our way from there. We can get into the base from there. If we move off to the right and take out the guard closest to where we want to go, we may be able to slip past the others, provided he falls cleanly and isn't seen by the others."

We all made our way across to the right, setting up position where UOPETA had dashed off to moments before. We only needed to take one guard out, but we needed to make sure the other guards weren't watching. UOPETA set up to take the shot, whilst the rest of us with rifles kept watch on the three guards most likely to spot him going down. We waited for some time, tracking their movement and hoping they would each turn away roughly at the same time. We spent nearly an hour tracking their movement, but they remained rigidly stuck to their exact patrol route each time. There wasn't a single time when one guard wasn't looking at another. But we had worked out one flaw with their patrols. The guard closest to the iron mine, and the one on the far side at the hill only looked at each other at the same time, whilst the other three rotated in sequence. That meant that we'd need to take out the one on the far hill as well at the same time, leaving the three in the middle. If we timed it right, we would hopefully take them out without the others noticing, or at least causing a big enough distraction to get into the mine. UOPETA gave the countdown, while COLUS sighted the other guard. At the end of one, two simultaneous sounds of springs uncoiling informed us that the darts had been let loose. The two guards dropped.

"Go, go go..."

We all made a mad dash for the iron mine, knowing full well we wouldn't have this chance again. True to our suspicions, the three guards in the middle noticed the unconscious one on the hill on the far side, giving is us plenty of time to get across the rocks to the entrance. While they remained distracted, we opened the wall, hurried inside and closed it behind us. Luckily there were no guards in this part, which indicated they either had no reason to guard it or hadn't found it yet. If they'd found the base, it was likely to be the former.

"Okay, let's get into the base. We should be able to..."

"Change of plans. It's too risky to try that. Now that they know something is going off, they'll be on full alert. We'll just be making it easier for them if we went back to the base. No, we should head straight to the shack."

Heading up the stone steps, we headed off to the shack, hoping we wouldn't bump into any more guards. We would have to hurry to ensure that we remained out of sight as the security would likely tighten within the next hour or so.

---

     We've made it! It's taken a little longer than expected, likely due to getting slightly lost along the way, but we managed to reach the shack without running into any more guards. It didn't seem that they had found the shack yet either, which meant we had some leeway in terms of time. We headed inside when we were sure it was clear, blocking the door behind us with a series of bookshelves. Once inside, we settled down, relaxing for the few moments we could.

"Right, from here it's down that tunnel and through to the Endermen structure. I suggest we rest up here for a bit longer so that we're in good shape when we get there. We should also leave the bags here so we're not too heavily laden with stuff we don't need."

Amie had begun to leaf through some of the books on the shelves, and it seemed contagious as everyone else had started doing the same thing. I had forgotten what was down here, but it had been here that we had learned of the alternative method of destroying the master portal. THEROS had found a few pieces of paper, which, upon further inspection, he found to be a map of some area that SERVERE had obviously drawn long ago. It didn't pose any use to us though...

Syeonyx signing off

Day 165: Recall of the Endermen

     Just like before, we woke up before any light had begun to creep over the horizon, giving us plenty of time to get moving. Restarting the remains of the fire, we cooked a small amount of food to serve as breakfast, before packing up and continuing our journey to the East. We still had a long way to go ahead of us; across barren and frozen tundra, to the South, across small deserts and though thick forests, before finally reaching our base. It was going to be good to be back, although we wouldn't be able to stay there very long. We had a job to do that required the utmost concentration and speed. We had to ensure we recovered the Keystone from The End before the master portal was activated, and before HoN Co. was able to catch up to us. Now we knew that HoN Co. was aware of the alternate use for the Keystone, we couldn't let them get there first. They had technology and many other factors on their side to catching us, but we hopefully had concealment. We were the only ones to know where our base is, where the entrance to the iron mine is and where the portal to The End is. Provided they remained a secret, we could ensure victory provided we reached our base before they found it.

"Is there anything at the base that they could use to help them find the portal? We can't give them the opportunity to find it, especially if they discover our base."

"I don't think so, but there is access to the iron mine from the base, so if they find the base, they've found the iron mine, and will definitely find the portal eventually. Let's just hope we get there first."

"Well as far as we know they don't know where our base is. If they did, why have they spent so long in trying to capture us? They had their chance when we were in their base, right under their noses, so they obviously couldn't have known who we really were. The base should remain hidden for the time being, unless SERVERE sells us out..."

"I don't think he'll do that, he's too dedicated to our cause for that. Although now they know where his allegiance lies as well, so he is likely to keep himself out of the way of anyone."

"Yes, but what about the tracker in the armour? He said they were able to track him no matter where he went in the world, and it wasn't worth giving up the suit for that..."

"Maybe SERVERE was able to talk the Director and the others round. The sedative has a mild amnesiac effect so he may be able to play on that. Maybe he'll convince the Director that he let us go so we'd lead them to the portal. At most it would make everyone weary of him. Knowing SERVERE he was able to talk his way around them."

We all knew that SERVERE had put his position on the line by essentially attacking the Director, but we had a good idea that he was able to get back into his good books by pretending that he placed a tracker into one of our bags. It sounded like the kind of thing SERVERE would do, and it would allow him to maintain his position, but if I were the Director, I would be incredibly cautious. The idea that he could be a double agent would certainly have crossed his mind by now.

"What about these Endermen though? They said they were trapped in The End and needed to be released by us. How do we know we can trust them? At this point in time we can't be sure of anyone or anything we can or can't trust."

"I agree. They're meant to be ancient beings that existed thousands upon thousands of years ago and became trapped in The End by trapping the evils that began to escape through their portals. They wanted us to travel to The End, take the Keystone and destroy the master portal."

"But thanks to HoN Co. the portals are slowing releasing the evil back into this world. By destroying the master portal, we rupture all of the remaining portals, active or otherwise, and remove the threat of invading evil altogether."

"Yes, but what I'm saying is what if they were trapped there for a reason. We were all told by them through the vision that they trapped themselves as a sacrifice to protect the Keystone. What if they were really trapped by some other force...? What if they're the evil ones?"

"What, so the Endermen aren't the ones saving this world from the evil... They're the evil that have been trapped by something or someone else?"

"Yes. We only know what they've told us, and it works in our favour as we want to destroy the master portal to ensure HoN Co. doesn't succeed.in opening the master portal. What if they are actually trying to convince us to let them out, so they can continue their reign of evil?"

"Well we can't take that risk. With the amount of effort we've put into finding these Eyes, HoN Co. has likely made massive progress in activating the primary portals. They're likely to be closer to activating the master portal than ever before. We have to continue with the current plan and hope that we're right. We have to hope that we're rooting for the right team."

We continued heading East along the snowy area, discussing the endless possibilities that lay unknown before us. We didn't know who we could trust, but with the amount of effort we had thrown into retrieving the Eyes for the portal to The End, it only made sense to continue with that. If the Endermen did turn out to be the contained evil, I doubt we'd have long to regret it, and if they weren't then we were one up on HoN Co.! This Ender Keystone was still part of the whole mystery; we didn't know what it was, how big it was and whether it even existed, but we had to at least hope we could gain access to it and take it to the conducting tower. For all we know it could be as large as a skyscraper or as small as a grain of sand. Either way, transporting it could be a problem. However it could be as simple as activating the portal, entering into The End, talking with the Endermen, taking the Keystone and destroying the master portal. However, in my line of expertise, I knew nothing ever went as smoothly as that.

"Let's hope the Endermen put on a warm reception for us then. I'd hate to come this far and have it end... in The End..."

"We don't even know what happens after we take the Keystone though. Say the Endermen are on our side, or at least enough to prevent HoN Co. from succeeding, what happens to them after we open the portal up? We don't know what they're like, how they act or anything. Do they just disappear? Do they spread out around Minecraftia and repopulate?"

"I can almost guarantee one of the first things they'd do is take back their stronghold. If it was one of their ancient buildings that was part of a city, they'd probably rebuild."

"But why do they live underground?"

"Look, there are a billion and one questions that currently don't have answers yet, and some that aren't like to ever have answers. For example, what's going to happen to us if we succeed? Does the portal physically blow up, taking everyone with it? Does the entire dimension get sucked into the portal, destroying the totality of existence? We don't know. We don't even know what will happen when we take the Keystone through to this dimension. I say we tackle the what-ifs as and when they appear, rather than wasting time speculating on them now."

"Well we can discuss and theorise to our hearts' content when we have to stop for the night again. No way are we going to reach the base before the end of the day. Easily by tomorrow though..."

We continued our journey, eventually reaching the ice crossing that we had traversed nearly a week ago, still heading East towards the desert area, before we would then hit the welcoming sight of trees. once we saw that we know we'd be close to home. Let's hope we didn't have any more incidents getting there...

Syeonyx signing off

I've got to break free!

     From here on, our journey should be considerably easier; if SERVERE had managed to lower the bridge for us, it wouldn't be long until we would be on the other side and moving back East towards the base. From there we would gain entrance to the iron mine and go through to The End via the portal. We still had a long way to go, but after crossing the bridge, we'll be a long enough distance away from the frenzy of HoN Co. activity to be able to move around quickly without being detected. We could hear voices above us, as we began to make our way onto the boards of the platform beneath the bridge, although they didn't sound like they were searching for us. It was hard to tell, but it put me at ease a little that they weren't shouting, which could be a good thing. The fog had returned, and teamed with our dark surroundings, and the glare from the rising sun to the East, it had become a little awkward crossing quickly over the wooden boards. In single file, we kept it to two people on one board at any one time to prevent the chance of them collapsing on us and plunging us into the icy water a few feet below. Not only would that give rise to the possibility of one of us drowning or dying of hypothermia, but the splash would almost definitely attract the guards above us, plunging the rest of the team into ironically hot water...

"I think SERVERE managed to lower the bridge. It's hard to tell through the fog, but I can still see shadows across the water way out ahead of us. Either the fog is incredibly thick, or the bridge has been lowered..."

As we neared the end of the walkway, indicated by the instant lack of boards spanning the distance, we could see that COLUS was right. The bridge had been lowered; the shadow cast over the water was made by the platform that had been lowered into place on both sides, showing the underside of each, and the plumb lines we needed to access to get back to the other side.

"How long do you think we have to cross over? It took quite a while last time for us all to get across, not counting the time when it was raised again..."

"Well SERVERE said he was going to stall the bridge crew as long as possible, giving us as much time as possible to get over to the far side. How he determines whether we're across or not I don't know, but presumably he'll come up with something convincing. he managed to get us into and out of the HQ, and with the five Eyes we need to open the portal."

One at a time, with UOPETA in the lead, we began to make our way across the bridge. Just like before, we only had two people crossing at any one time to limit the stress put on the plumb lines. We couldn't determine how secure they were, but we needed to get everyone across without anyone left behind. My turn soon came, and I traded my rifle for two bags, which I slung over each opposing shoulder, creating an X shape across my chest. They wouldn't fall off unless I fell, and I had no desire to go for a quick dip! Remembering what UOPETA said, I kept my gaze fixated on the figure just ahead of me, which happened to be THEROS. I didn't look down, instead concentrating on putting one hand in front of the other and keeping the momentum up by swinging forwards as I went. It was a great strategy, and it wasn't long before I was jumping to the concrete strut just after THEROS. Once there, I placed the bags down and began to help the others down as they crossed to the end. Next to come was Amie, followed by Joe, then AMPHIS, then OROTHO, until we were all across. COLUS was the last to come across again, bringing up the rear to ensure no-one got left behind.

"We owe a lot to SERVERE. If he hadn't managed to get the bridge lowered, we would likely have been caught by now. Let's hope we get a chance to thank him la..."

COLUS didn't finish the sentence; the still, quiet air around us was interrupted by the harsh, metallic sounds of machinery activating. We all turned towards the source, watching both sides of the bridge slowly and inexorably climb towards the sky. The whole process of the bridge sections raising, from parallel with the main walkway to at least a 45^o angle took about a minute, all of which we stood transfixed. When it stopped, the loud clang of the brakes locking into position snapped us all out of our stupor. I could guarantee everyone was watching it thinking how close of a shave that had been, rather than the marvel of the machinery.

"We're cutting it a little close there... Let's go before more obstacles catch up with us..."

We made our way across the walkway on the Eastern side of the bridge, to where we would meet land again, and continue our journey back to the iron mine. We were likely to encounter some more resistance from HoN Co., but with the bridge lowered, that should at least slow down anything that was following us.

---

     We did it! We managed to take both the Eyes of Ender out from under the noses of the HoN Co. guards and the director. I didn't want to jinx it, but it had been easier than I thought. Don't get me wrong, there were times when I feared for my life. But the process of taking the Eyes and escaping seemed to go a lot smoother than I had anticipated. We reached the far side of the bridge and continued our escape to the East, travelling as far and fast as we could. We had timed our escape perfectly as the sun had only begun to rise when we reached the far side, but it didn't seem long before it was setting again. In that time we made massive headway! We were taking so many precautions; UOPETA and COLUS were no longer scouting up ahead. Instead we headed up in one large group, not stopping even for a break, pushing on until we were sure we had travelled far enough until they wouldn't be able to find us. Eventually we stopped for the night, settling down for the most rewarding rest we had ever earned!

"We should be able to cover the remaining ground by tomorrow if we're quick, the next day at the latest. We need to ensure that whenever we stop, we make it hard to spot us, and leave no trace of our presence."

Sitting around the fire in silence, we just appreciated the rest that would could now enjoy without worrying about being spotted by HoN Co.! I have a feeling this may be the last relaxing moment we'll have for some time.

Syeonyx signing off