Redbeard POV-

Those annoying pests were chasing us again.

Scallywags!!!!!

For some reason they had been searching the lands more thoroughly the past couple of days which made good hiding places more difficult to come by.

Still, even though they had found them, the champions seemed...well, distracted. The way they ran round the lands day and night with worried faces seemed as though they had lost something. A weapon of importance perhaps, given their bloodthirstiness.

She had something to search for as well.

Something, or rather someone who kept her looking like the champions day and night.

If it weren't for the champions, they probably would have succeeded by now in finding it.

Ahhh! what bothersome pests, running around screaming and sinking their ship like wild animals with no leash.

She wanted to turn around and fight, but her brother was very specific on the fact that they could not engage in combat with any of them. The last thing they needed was to start wars with the other gods before their revenge took place.

So instead of attacking as her instincts begged her too, she ran. Today would be a day of rescue despite those fools, it was just a matter of playing her cards right.

What they searched for was in the Nether, that much was certain. They had found the location of the nether portal which was just a few feet from where they were currently escaping the champions.

The problem was, if they led them there, the champion's explosive energy could give them away, plus one of the people chasing them was a Dianitee if her sources were to be believed.

Thomas.

The craziest of them all.

Strangely enough, he was also the more battered up of them all. That guy could use a few more hours of sleep.

Nonetheless, it seemed as though their new plan would require them to somehow have the champions lose track of them. Then again, if they showed up to the Nether, that could be a good distraction for the guards and the devil residing there.

How convenient.....

"Bluebeard" she called out

Bluebeard slowed down his pace and ran next to her but still had the good sense of looking back at their pursuers to see when to encourage her to hurry.

"Yes Skip" he said with a wink. He sure did enjoy messing with the champions, it almost seemed as though he was on vacation.

She did her best to ignore the nickname and focused on visualizing her new plan.

"Let's lead them to the Nether portal. Once they are in, we lose them. Half of us come back to the overworld to distract them and split them up, the rest go in for the search" she commanded

Bluebeard didn't dare defy her orders and nodded before sharing the new plan with their companion.

Once their crossed the portal, it was game time.

******

Tom POV-

"They went through the portal!" Sonja screamed back at them

"Those slippery eels, how do we keep losing them!" he screamed at no one in particular.

As they all increased their pace towards the priest's home, Tom couldn't help but wonder if he should be chasing after the pirates.

Sure he wanted to settle a few scores with them but in all honesty in was probably more of a distraction. Having been looking for Jordan for days with no success was really starting to get old and disappointing.

Having something like chasing mysterious pirates seemed like a good way to pass the time but at the same time it felt like a waste of time. Instead of looking for Jordan he was engaged in what promised to be yet another failed chase.

If Jordan were there, she would be trying to remain calm for the sake of everyone but would probably be ripping out her brain cells in anger.

When they first met he just though of her as the fragile girl who broke all her bones falling from the sky, but she was quick to show just how capable she was of becoming strong when it became a necessity.

From the things he knew of her world, it must have been a peaceful place for people to have time to listen to music and dance their hearts out. At times he thought she should return to that rather than face the upcoming war, and during the past few days he grew more and more convinced that perhaps she had found a way back and left without saying goodbye.

It was very unlikely of course, but it was still a worry in the back of his head.

In the mornings he had taken to go have breakfast in Jordan's tree, contemplated burning it, went upstairs to smell her clothes and bed sheets (Which was not creepy at all, he just missed her scent), and after feeling intoxicated from the smell of rose water and spring grass he went outside and searched as far as his horse would last.

It was a rather ridiculous cycle, but it kept him from freaking out.

He was grateful that Dianite hadn't called him for an assignment to disturb his flow. He was sort of ignoring him but his god could easily pay him a visit and command him to do as he wished.

With those thoughts and worries in mind, Tom stepped through the portal hoping there wasn't a trap on the other side.

Once the heat of the nether hit him, he opened his eyes and made quick work of scanning the area around him.

To his shock, the pirates were no where to be seen! There was no way he lost them, they had gone in right before him!

"Tucker, what kind of sorcery is this? WHERE ARE THEY!?" he screamed in frustration

Tucker stood next to him, his anger equally as visible.

"Maybe they went back through?" Tucker asked

Before Tom could respond, Sonja's screams amplified from behind them.

The pigmen were attacking her! Great...

Either the pirates had intentionally killed or harmed one to set them off and then went back through, or his god was pissed and wanted them dead.

Both were equally likely but he hoped the first was right.

Instead of waisting their time, they decided to make their way back and take the chance that the pirates had gone back through. Besides, if the pirate's showed up in his god's realm, they would die a swift death anyways.

Just as they neared the portal, Tom noticed his master's pet resting in front of the castle, asleep as always. The odd thing was, the dragon was exhaling purple and black particles. As far as he knew, that wasn't a thing he had done before.

The three of them looked at each other perplexed but set it aside for another day and made their way though into the sunlight of the overworld.

(Just after the champions go through the portal)*****

Claire POV-

From her vague line of sight, she could see the front doors of the castle. Even though her muscles protested, she pushed past that and opened the door to her freedom.

She was beyond exhausted and found it harder and harder to keep her eyes open.

Jordan tried not to show it, but she wanted to sprint out of there. Despite that, she kept herself in check in front of Furia as she pretended like she had all the time in the world and that she wasn't afraid Dianite would go after her.

Fear would do her no good, fear could get her killed. For now, her motto became walk now, cry later.

Once she stepped outside, she took a good look around the place she thought she would never see again. The nether still looked as miserable and hot as always and in the distance she could see the portal shining bright the way it did when something passed through.

Probably just monsters passing through, but since she didn't know if it was day or night it was hard to tell if she should consider that mob unlucky for walking out to the burning sun.

Either way, she couldn't find it in herself to care all that much about it's fate.

"Are you gonna say anything?" Furia asked from next to her, walking slowly to match her pace.

She thought about his words, it didn't seem like he was angry or bored, instead he seemed anxious. Almost as if he was waiting for her to pardon him for his crimes and lies.

Under normal circumstances she probably would have forgiven him right away, wouldn't have made that big of a deal out of it.

Now she wanted to scream at him.

To his luck, she still had that voice in her head that told her she should gather all the facts first before placing blame, hear the whole story. Jordan assumed that to be her common sense and decided that it was her best chance of survival to listen to that voice more often.

"Once home we can have a nice long chat over cookies and milk, I'm sure there is much betrayal and deceit to discuss that it will be better to be comfortable for that kind of talk. Unless of course, you have something more important to attend to?" Jordan said as smoothly as she could, not even going over the words she spoke in her head.

"No, I'm avaliable" he said simply

Good. She didn't feel like talking much anyways at the moment, once she had food in her system and a chair to rest on, then she could have a proper discussion with him.

As they walked down the steps of the castle both of them kept quiet, though she could see him keeping close to her, hands stretching out every now and then when her steps faltered.

She would rather fall than have him catch her but she didn't have enough energy to tell him so.

When they were climbing up the steps to the portal, Jordan noticed Dargon sleeping by where she had walked by without even noticing him. He seemed peaceful in his sleep, but now she wondered if he had been a scheme as well. Perhaps Dianite had trained him to be docile with her to make her feel more at ease.

No. Not thinking about that.

She kept her gaze on the portal as they passed by, if Furia noticed her unease, he was at least kind enough not to bring it up. Probably because it held no benefit for him to do so unlike all the actions he made.

Jordan found herself in front of the portal at last, he muscles tense and pain-filled from climbing the stairs but she gathered enough strength to look back at the castle.

The place she had looked forward to seeing weeks ago, the place that was now only a prison in her mind.

She looked at it and despite how childish it was, she stuck out her tongue at it and its owner before she stepped through.

Furia laughed silently next to her before stepping through himself, as if it was the most amusing thing to him.

Thing was, that was as much wrath and disgust she could muster, but it made her satisfied enough to swear she would never go back there for him again.

Not unless it was for Ianite's heart, for Ianite himself, or for a chance to go home.

(Just as Jordan stepped through the portal)****

Redbeard POV-

As they ran out of the palace, she struggled to catch her breath. Her clothes were bloody and her companions looked as tired and afraid as she was.

The portal was glowing in the hill before them, as if beckoning them to run faster and away from danger.

It was as she ran for that portal that she registered what had just happened moments before...

They had taken down around 24 guards so far and searched what seemed to be half of the war fort, but no sign of what they were looking for.

As luck would have it, she had prepared for that kind of obstacle.

She turned to her companion Earl Bluebeard and gave him a slight nod.

He got the message and took out a potion from his coat and carelessly let it fall on the ground.

From the broken glass, a blue mist emerged and floated up until it turned right and created a path for them to follow.

She smiled at her companion and they both ran after the mist path, taking guards down along the way as quietly as they could.

A few minutes later they found themselves in a very dark hallway where the temperature was slightly hotter than where they had been minutes ago. The mist continued on, giving off a slight amount of light on their path making the stone path visible.

Then the blue mist stopped right before an old metal door that looked like it had seen better days. Though it looked as strong and sturdy as an oak tree, there were numerous scratches on it and what looked like dried up blood.

She had seen enough of that growing up to know how to identify it.

Bluebeard began to asses the door before them, as he kneeled down to examine the door she took the liberty to guard him and their surroundings.

"Tis filled with magic lass, I'll try to open it but tis some strong stuff" he said in a hushed voice that made it very difficult for her to understand.

She saw him take out a few potions and vials and after a few seconds the door began to...bend?

It suddenly seemed to ripple like water and then melt like a sticky substance.

As the door fluid spilled at her feet, she expected it to be burning hot, but the thick liquid was surprisingly cold.

Skipper gave her companion a pat on the back before walking past him to the front of the room.

The place was so dark she couldn't make out a single thing. Deciding it would be stupid to walk into a dark room that most likely had traps she decided on another approach that might have been equally as dangerous.

"Cap? Ezra?"she asked the darkness

A rustle of chains began to crash against the stone floor furthest from the door, then small, slow steps followed.

Skipper readied her sword and backed up into the remaining light from the mist above her.

To her relief, the silhouette of her brother approached the light and smiled at her.

She ran over to him and gave him big hug that almost made him fall back. Though she wanted to ask him questions and check him for injuries, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and took his hand.

"Come on now, we don't know how long we have till we're found" she said

Bluebeard had already gone ahead to scout the hallway for danger and she began to pull her brother that direction until she felt him plant his feet and hesitate.

"There is someone on the cell next to me, I ain't leaving the lass here all alone" he said with a worn out voice.

She glared at him and debated arguing, but the resilience in his eyes made her remember that he was the captain and his words were orders.

She called Bluebeard back to work the lock. This time when the lock opened, they all opened the door, ready to offer assistance to the unfortunate soul inside when they stopped dead.

In the middle of the room lit by a single candle was the god of the Nether.

They all quickly let go of the door and got their weapons ready for his imminent attack, stepping back against the wall opposite from the door.

To her surprise, he just turned around and stared at them.

His stare was....off. Not at all what she expected him to look like.

She had expected fire and anger, perhaps a bit of insanity. But before her was a man that looked hollow, dead, defeated even.

Skipper considered attacking, killing the monster who had done them many wrongs with one blow, but she knew that a wounded monster was also a dangerous one.

She pulled the guy's shirts and they all made a run for it following the disappearing blue mist before them, looking back every now and then for the monster that was sure to go after them.

As they ran and ran, they went so fast that they almost lost their footing at a few turns thought the palace.

She looked over to her brother who was now half dragging her along faster.

"Oh so ya wanted to save her!?" she joked with anger coating her voice

"Did ya loose ya mind in there so much that ya confused the god of evil for a trapped woman!?" Bluebeard added

Capsize looked shocked and confused, unable to come up with an answer it seemed.

He gave them an angry glare before running along towards the front door before them, the door to their freedom.

Hopefully Rupert had no problems loosing the champions.

*******

Hey guys! Guess who came back from camp and will finally be uploading more!!!!! Enjoy!!!!