Suffer The Citadel

Suffer The Citadel is the fourth book in Minecraftia: Arc 4. It was released on December 2nd, 2018.
==Synopsis==
After a strange disappearance occurs in one of Xaron's allied towns, everyone has decided to go to war with Port Arbello. However, the war takes a step forward as people from The Falls are killed one by one, and the strange disappearance is linked to a certain member of The Falls.
==Plot==
===Chapter 1: Catch Up===
"Holy God," exclaimed Kenney.
The others were really in shock too.
"Gerald... after all this time..." gasped Kyle.
"These are your friends?" asked Finn.
I nodded.
"We'll show you some new improvements around the old junkyard, then discuss this war matter," Kyle told me.
We followed Kyle around The Citadel.
"Over there are Wolf, Louis, and Termel," Von told us.
"Confusing, much?" replied Louis.
"Ah, right. Why don't we call him "Louis24"," Kyle suggested.
"Or call them Louise and Louise24," replied Randy.
We followed Kyle to the Citadel's Admin Building.
"It feels so weird to be back. Like we never even left," Gabriel told me.
Kyle was looking at the gates.
"Did Ryland come with you?" he asked.
"No," replied Louis.
Ryland walked over to us.
"The hell? How did you get here?" asked Ray.
"Unlike most of you who were goofing off, which the exception of Marlon, Brooke, and Evan, who is now dead, I actually noted down the path and not just the locations. It was too easy to follow you, so..." explained Ryland.
A guy with brown hair, green eyes, and a light skin color walked over.
"Yo, Kyle, I'm back from Xaron Bay," he looked worried.
"What's wrong?" asked Von.
"No one's inside," he replied.
My heart stopped beating.
"What do you mean no one's inside?" asked Louis.
"Uhh... Dom... answer his question," Von told "Dom".
"I went into Xaron and no one's there," replied Dom.
"They're dead?" asked Marlon.
"No, they're missing. The place wasn't in flames like when everyone in Elliottown was killed. They're missing for a different reason," explained Dom.
"Not that I'm glad you think that, but, how do we know Arbello didn't just not light it on fire?" asked Ray.
"I don't know, guys. Pretty sure Dom is right," Ryland told us.
"What makes you think that?" asked Eileen.
"I just don't want to believe my best friends are dead. Problem?" asked Ryland.
"Yes. My problem is that you just show up after we left you at The Falls, and now everyone in a whole town is missing," Eileen told him.
"Oh, I know what your problem is, ma'am. You think I did this," Ryland laughed. "Tell me, what do I gain from killing my own friends?"
"Yo, let's all just chill out. We can sort all this later, but right now, we need to defeat Arbello," Serge told Eileen and Ryland.
Ryland sighed, and we all entered the Admin Building. It was bigger than I remembered, though I may just have been used to the incredible size of The Falls at this point.
"We're all fine with going to war, but I think the others might not be too keen," Sirius told us.
"We need all the help we can get. If only you four can help us, that's fine," replied Kenney.
"Maybe No Ballz will be willing to help," Sirius told us.
"Oh, yeah. I remember that guy," I replied.
Speaking of the devil, No Ballz entered the room.
"Holy crap," he exclaimed. "Gerald-XR-Donovan."
I smirked at No Ballz.
"Hello again to you too," I replied.
"You suck for cheating. But that was, what, 10 or 11 years ago now. Unlike Ellis and Ewan, I can actually get over such minor infractions," replied No Ballz.
Kyle motioned for No Ballz to take a seat.
"This is who your friends are? I'm only willing to take maybe two of them seriously," Finn told me.
"Siriusly," Louis laughed.
Finn glared at him.
"Seriously, Louis? We're at war, all your friends might be dead, and you're STILL joking?" asked Finn.
"Amber's not dead. Dom said she's just missing," he replied.
"Louis, you should listen to Finn. He's dealt with stuff like this before," Baahir told Louis.
"If one thing's certain, we'll need your help," Aasim told Sirius.
Randy sat up.
"Oh really Mr Man? From what we know, you have a community of almost 50 people!" yelled Randy.
"Yeah, and Arbello just killed, like, 4 of them in about 2 days," replied Lydia.
Von looked at Randy.
"Is it impossible for you to shut up for, like, 10 minutes?" asked Von.
Randy shook his head.
"This isn't looking good for you," Allison told me. "I can learn tons about people from the company they keep."
I shook my head, and Kyle ordered Randy out.
"Anyway, Warren and Swarfiga are here, just to let you know," Von told me.
Aasim and I followed Von to Warren, Swarfiga, Braxton, Chris, and Alexander.
"Remember Sonar and Dana? They agreed to join the war," Warren told me.
"I'd like to see Arbello's guts thrown into the air and then blown up with fireworks for what he did to Ben. He wasn't perfect, but he deserved better than to be killed by that douchebag," Alexander told Warren.
"I vowed I'd protect my students. No matter what. Now Ben's dead, and who knows who's next!" yelled Braxton.
"It wasn't your fault, man. I spoke to Genevieve the other day, she herself said Arbello's to blame for everyone who dies at this point," Chris replied.
Alexander snarled at Chris.
"Doesn't take a damn genius to work that out. Of course it's Arbello who's to blame," he told Chris.
Aasim shushed them both. Von shrugged and left the farm he had taken us too. Aasim looked at the pigs, cows, sheep, and other defenseless animals in the pen.
"Reminds me of the farm at The Falls. Before it was burned down, of course," Aasim told me.
Finn and Serge entered the farm.
"We're thinking about leaving. We got what we came for. We'll meet the other people here back at The Falls A.S.A.P," Finn explained.
I agreed, and we packed up, saying goodbye to Randy, Von, Kyle, Sirius, and No Ballz.
"What was a simple joke between me and my friends. Just going on this game for the heck of it. A bunch of adults in their thirties on a game for kids, just for a laugh. This is what it's become," Serge told me.
We looked at the scenery. Elliottown was in the background as per usual. It was a truly beautiful town, at least before Arbello destroyed it. We entered the portal, noting the completely empty Xaron Bay. No Amber. No Nathan. No Taylor. No Esther. No anyone.
"My friends. All gone," Marlon sighed.
I nodded, but then my world went black. A cold, horrible chill took over my body. It was a truly horrible feeling. Hopelessness. I felt like nothing would ever get better, that everyone would die. Kenney and Aasim both shared a shocked face.
"BEHIND YOU!" yelled Kenney.
===Chapter 2: Molly's Chambers===
I was now hiding behind the old Louise Bar with Aasim.
"You okay, man? You froze!" yelled Aasim. "Arbello's here! We gonna run!"
Aasim was stabbed through the arm. I finally re-entered reality, and saw Brooke attacking Aasim. I grabbed her, holding a sword to her neck.
"You little... I'm gonna kill you," I told her.
I raised my sword, and swung. But before I could chop, I was knocked backwards. I was now face to face with Arbello.
"Good to see you again, buddy," he laughed.
Arbello was jumped by Chris.
"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" he yelled.
Arbello kicked Chris off, and used his powers to levitate him into the air. Braxton noticed this, and charged at Arbello, managing to get some good punches.
"You're not killing anymore of these kids!" he yelled.
Arbello stabbed Braxton, and went back for Chris, but Trevor, Eileen, and Allison all attacked him. Allison kicked him into the lava lake near the pathway, and he started to burn.
"Grab Braxton! We need to get the hell outta here!" yelled Serge.
Brooke stabbed Serge, but he managed to pull a fast one on her, stabbing her back. He threw her on the floor, then we ran like there was no tomorrow. But there were still Port Arbello soldiers following us. I was grabbed by one of them and pinned to the floor as an arrow hit the ground next to my head. Kenney went to stab her, but she grabbed the sword.
"No. Not me," she told him.
She walked off, and we were all equally confused.
"Follow me. They'll only chase you back to wherever you're going. We can shake them off," she told us.
I shrugged my shoulders. Aasim, Kenney, and Serge were the only ones who followed.
"I don't trust this. I'll meet you back at The Falls," Finn told Serge.
Serge nodded, and walked with them. No longer feeling alone, I too followed. We were brought to some kind of underground bunker. The girl sat down, so we sat opposite of her.
"It was difficult to do that," she told us.
I asked why, and she revealed something to me that shocked all four of us.
"One of those people in your group. They made some kind of deal with the group that chased you," she explained.
"Ryland, that goddamn..." Serge tried to say, but Aasim shushed him.
"I was part of Xaron Bay for about six years. When the group raided it and took everyone inside, I tried to save them. We all fought back, but I was the only one who wasn't captured," the girl told me.
"I knew the leader. So did Ryland. I don't know why he'd trade them off like bits of meat," I replied.
"I'm gonna have a little chat with Ryland when we get back," Kenney said angrily.
"Be careful. There aren't many people left," the girl said to us.
I looked around the bunker. It was made entirely of iron. There were many pictures of the girl with members of Xaron Bay. Some identifiable, some not. The silence was getting awkward, so I decided to talk to the girl.
"So, you have a name you wanna share with us?" I asked.
She looked at me, then away.
"Molly."
"Nice to meet you, Molly," I replied. "I'm Gerald."
She smiled at me, so I smiled back.
"Where do you live?" she asked.
"The Falls. It's a community up north. Lots of people there," I replied.
"I just live here by myself now," Molly told me. "What about before all this happened?"
"I'm from Ontario," I replied. "But I live, or lived, in Montreal."
"I'm from Lethbridge. Not that far away," she said. "My mom ran a musical instrument store."
"My dad was a musician. I kind of am, too," Serge told Molly.
Molly smiled, but we all knew it was time to go.
"I won't keep you any longer. We should get going," Molly told me.
We arrived back in The Falls maybe two days later. James and Sophie had been taking watch for Finn. They greeted us at the gates.
"Welcome back. We've been keeping watch since you left. Didn't want another Kate situation," Sophie told us. "I see you brought a new face?"
"No. I'm not staying. I helped them out a couple days ago," Molly replied.
She walked away from The Falls. I sat down with Baahir, Mitch, Alexander, Allison, Sophie, Aasim, and Willy once we re-entered the city.
"These past few days have been so intense. We better pray to Worldcraftia that he'll live, but for now... I think it's time for a fourth... fifth? Game," I explained.
"Sounds fun," replied Baahir.
"So, Alex, how long you and Mitch been friends?" I asked.
"Since before this crap happened. Would kinda like to unknow it. But for now, that won't happen. I'm gonna make sure I outlive Arbello. And until I die, I gotta preserve what I can," he replied.
Willy sighed.
"Why is the world filled with crap? Why can't me, Gabe, and Lydia just leave this Goddamn hellhole and explore the world?" he asked.
"Damn, kid, you're, what, 12, and so pessimistic. This is the point of my games! To get to know each other, and be happy in such crappy times!" I replied.
Willy just looked at me.
"Honestly, I just like being pessimistic. It's fun being the oddball who no one wants to talk to. I like my privacy," Allison told me. "But then again, who doesn't?"
Mitch laughed.
"Can't wait for the day when Arbello is finally dead and we can just be people again," laughed Aasim.
"We can be people. We don't have to just talk doom and gloom. If we remain hopeful, we can win this," replied Baahir.
"And if we don't, at least we had a good run," laughed Allison. "Could I ask my favorite question?"
"The death one? Sure," I replied.
"Willy: Out of Baahir, Mitch, Gerald, Aasim, Sophie, Alexander, and myself, who do you think will die first?" asked Allison.
"I don't know. You," he replied. "The douchebags seem to die first."
I laughed.
"Ouch! Sick burn, Will," I told him.
===Chapter 3: Finn vs. Ryland===
Laughing and joking, we were all having a great time. That was, until, Kenney came back.
"Braxton's dead. Another grave to add to the yard," he sighed.
"What? For real?" asked Alexander.
Finn came over.
"It was too far along. Binta and Brody did all they could, but it wasn't enough," he explained.
Kenney was becoming increasingly angry.
"Finn, we need to talk," Kenney told Finn.
Finn raised an eyebrow.
"Is this about Xaron Bay?" he asked.
Kenney nodded.
"They're not "missing." They were kidnapped," he replied. "Ryland traded them to Arbello's group.
"What the Hell?" asked Finn. "Are you serious?"
I backed Kenney up, as did Aasim. Finn panicked.
"He's a God damn traitor! We need to get rid of him!" yelled Finn.
Finn went to find the other Council members. I found out later that he was planning a vote on whether Ryland should stay or not. Things were getting really intense in The Falls now. The war was sending everyone crazy, and now this.
I waited in my house. Aasim was pacing back and forth, and Kenney and Annie waited with me.
"I can't believe that God damn... Not only is he working for Port Arbello, but he sold out his own friends!" Aasim yelled.
He was starting to lose it, and we had to calm him down.
"Aasim, please. Finn will come and get us when it's voting time," Annie told him. "Not like it matters. We don't get a say in it."
"It makes sense, doesn't it? Of course we'll vote for him to stay, minus maybe Warren and Witherstorm. He's not perfect, but we can't give up on him. It's been too long," replied Kenney.
Finn and Serge entered the house.
"We're holding the vote. You and Gerald have to voice your opinion," Finn told Aasim.
"Why don't we get a say? I barely know Ryland!" replied Annie.
"It doesn't work like that," Serge told her.
Annie glared at him.
"Why the hell not?" she asked.
"Because you knew Ryland. Your opinions are biased, and I don't want a deceiver in my city," replied Serge.
Annie rolled her eyes, but Aasim and I followed Serge and Finn. Trevor, Allison, Eileen, Ty, Brody, Lydia, Baahir, Mitch, Alexander, Chris, Genevieve, Temperance, Binta, and Ryland were waiting in the function room.
"About time. Let's just get this exile over with," snarled Alexander.
"Dude, don't," replied Chris.
"Are you kidding me right now Chris? He's working for the townheads who killed Ben and Braxton!" yelled Alexander.
Aasim walked over to them to break the fight up. Finn and Serge stepped on the stage.
"We all know what's going on, so we'll skip the introductions. Ryland, take the stand. Justify your selfish actions," Serge sighed.
Ryland walked on to the stage.
"I know I betrayed my friends, and all of you, but I had no choice!" he pleaded.
"Did you now? You could've just told them no!" yelled Genevieve.
Ryland shook his head.
"I would have, but it's not that simple," he replied. "They're just one location to a much bigger group. Arbello is the head of it. They take other people and make them fight in different wars. Once they defeat us, they'll take over another community."
"Get to the point already," Brody snarled.
"I tried to follow you here. I wanted to say hello to my old friends again. But Arbello was in Xaron Bay, and he said if I didn't convince Amber and the others to join his side, he'd kill me, Louis, Marlon, and all my friends!" Ryland cried.
"You traded them for our own safety?" asked Allison.
"Don't get fooled by him! He's not to be trusted! We need to kick him out!" yelled Mitch.
I remained silent, choosing to listen to the opposing arguments and then come to a conclusion.
"Don't just kick him out! Let him become zombie food!" yelled Temperance.
"Or Rosie food," Ty suggested.
Ryland was slowly losing his mind. He punched Finn square in the face. Serge punched him in retaliation.
"What the hell?" yelled Eileen.
She ran over to the three of them. Eileen pulled Ryland off of Finn.
"This is no way to behave! We'll kill each other before Port Arbello even get a chance!" Eileen shouted at the three of them.
"Damn, good on you Eileen!" Allison told her.
Eileen smiled at Allison. Ryland left the function room, cursing Finn under his breath.
"We're holding the vote. Majority decides. Kick Ryland out or let him stay," Eileen announced.
"I'm for kicking him the hell out, then letting him back in just to kick him out again," replied Mitch.
"I'm with Mitch. If he can sell out his friends, he can sell out us," added Baahir.
"We can't just kick him out," Chris told Eileen. "It'd like when we let James in. It was because we need all the help we can get."
"This is different. Ryland is truly a bad person," replied Alexander.
Allie and I tallied up the votes. Finn, Serge, Mitch, Alexander, Baahir, Brody, Allison, Genevieve, and Ty were for kicking Ryland out, while Eileen, Trevor, Aasim, Lydia, Chris, Binta, Temperance, and myself were against it.
"Well then. Tell Ryland he has to leave, will you?" asked Allison.
I nodded, and was about to leave, when Allison asked me to come back.
"Should I come with you? You know, in case he doesn't take the news well?" asked Allison.
"If you want," I replied.
===Chapter 4: Full Circle===
Allie and I approached Ryland.
"What do you want? Lemme guess, you're getting rid of me?" asked Ryland.
Allison sighed.
"It was decided nine to eight. Half of them are convinced you're as bad as Arbello," Allison told him.
Ryland let out an insane, psychotic laugh.
"Worse than Arbello, you say? I guess half of them need a reality check, then," Ryland replied.
"It's okay with me if you say goodbye to everyone, if you drop the attitude. Otherwise, I'll kick you out right now," Allison sighed.
Ryland went to punch her, but decided not to. Allison unfolded her arms, and took me and Ryland to the courtyard. We were left there while she went to get the others.
"Gerald, you believe me right? You know I'd never hurt Amber!" Ryland pleaded to me.
"Yeah, I do. I believe that YOU believe that. You're a douchebag Ryland, but we've been on the road a while, and I can't just vote to kick you out," I replied.
Ryland looked away. Allison came back ten minutes later with Louis, Marlon, Ray, Kenney, Annie, Jude, Witherstorm, Jimbob, Jayden, Swarfiga, and Warren.
"Anything you guys wanna say, now's the time to say it," Allison announced to the group.
"Ryland, you're a person who makes stupid decisions. Maybe now you'll realize this, and maybe find a new group. Then, you can reflect on your mistakes, and when this all blows over, perhaps you'll get let back in. But until then, farewell," Kenney explained.
He walked away. Louis patted Ryland on the back.
"Don't sweat it, buddy. I'll try and mark your location on a map one time, and we can have a reunion," Louis told Ryland.
Ryland was then exiled from The Falls, with everyone watching. And then we went about our day like nothing happened. Gabriel, Willy, Lydia, Chris, and one of the former Port Arbello prisoners were talking at the picnic benches. I walked over, and heard Chris telling Gabriel about Ben and Braxton.
"We did basically everything together. Me, Ben, Braxton, Mitch, Alex. We were all inseparable. Ben was my best friend. Like my brother," Chris explained.
"Seems like you had a good thing going here," replied the prisoner.
"Had?" asked Willy.
"They attacked my community. I saw the carnage. They took people, and killed everyone else. The leader, Vivian, refused to trade anyone to the group. They sneaked up on her and took her out. Anyone who fought back was killed, except me, Phil, and another guy. Maximus. He died in prison. Me and Phil came close," the prisoner explained.
"Jeez. Cam, I'm so sorry," replied Gabriel.
"Don't be. Your community's had it just as bad, and it'll only get worse if we don't stop Arbello," Cam told him.
"We will stop him. We've already caught one of his spies," Lydia replied.
I sat down.
"A little late, though," I added.
"Oh, hey, Gerald," replied Lydia.
James and Sophie ran over.
"Gerald, someone's gone missing," Sophie told me.
"What? Who?" I asked.
"Alfie, from our group. He was one of the nicest people in the school," sighed James.
We ran to notify Finn, who was shocked.
"A disappearance?" he asked.
"Yeah, and we're pretty sure Ryland is involved," replied Sophie.
"What makes you think that?" asked Finn.
"Uhh, hello? We exiled him for trading people to Arbello's group?" replied Sophie.
"I've been monitoring the walls. Me and Brody. We haven't seen Ryland anywhere," Finn told Sophie.
"Is that important right now? What's important is that someone's gone missing, and we need to be extra careful!" I exclaimed.
"ENOUGH!" Finn yelled. "Fine! We'll be extra careful! Why don't we ban weapons to stop us from killing each other too? Because I can see that happening!" yelled Finn.
"Geez, relax man. I was just making a suggestion," I replied.
Finn sighed, and told me to go back to my house. I listened, and walked in on Aasim, Kenney, Swarfiga, Warren, and Jayden having a meeting in the living room.
"I don't think we should've exiled Ryland. He's only gonna be more dangerous," Kenney told Warren.
"Seriously? He traded his best friends to Arbello! He's a nutcase!" replied Warren.
I sat down, trying to relax after the stressful day.
"Hey, man. You okay?" asked Aasim.
"Someone from the school went missing," I replied.
"What? When?" asked Aasim.
"Just now," I replied.
Kenney and Warren got up in unison. They looked at each other, and nodded.
"We better get going. See ya later, Gerald," Warren sighed.
I could tell he was ticked off, as were most people in The Falls.
"In a place like this, it's no surprise we're all dying. A crappy leader, council members who haven't got a damn clue, lousy kids, then maybe 3 or 4 good fighters," Swarfiga told us.
"You're the one who hasn't got a damn clue. If we were all clueless, we would've died when Arbello attacked the night Evan died. If not then, we would've died when Brooke killed Joan and Estella. If we were lousy and survived those attacks, we would have DEFINITELY died when we charged Port Arbello," Aasim explained to Swarfiga.
"Whatever. I'm going. I need a break," Swarfiga growled.
He left.
"Oh, what a mess! It would have been so easy to stay in the village," Jayden exclaimed.
Witherstorm and Jimbob entered our house.
"Hey, guys," I greeted them.
"Jimbob thinks we should leave. Go back to The Citadel," Witherstorm announced.
"This place will only fall apart. And they evicted Ryland," Jimbob added.
"It's a stupid idea. We wouldn't survive long enough to go back to The Citadel," replied Witherstorm.
Jimbob pulled out a harming potion and threw it at the wall.
"You're stupid! We survived Ravenclaw, then Splegg, then Ravenclaw again, then a bloodthirsty space guy, then Ravenclaw again, then a supervolcano, then a cult, and we'll survive Arbello!" yelled Jimbob.
"Arbello can brainwash people! What happens if he brainwashes everyone who's left in the world, then brings them all to The Falls, and kills everyone? We're better staying here if we're gonna die!" replied Witherstorm.
I didn't want to comment, so I just stayed in the living room while Jimbob and Witherstorm argued. Jayden also looked worried.
===Chapter 5: All That's Left===
"Why don't we just ask Jude and the others what they think? Gerald, Kenney, Jayden, and then us three have been around the longest! We're basically the leaders of our little group!" yelled Jimbob.
"Fine, then, Jimbob. Why don't you go back to The Citadel? I'll give you a map and everything if you want!" replied Witherstorm.
"Great! Sounds great!" shouted Jimbob.
He stormed out of the house. Witherstorm sighed and followed him. Jayden also followed behind.
"Thank God for that. I just wanna rest," Aasim sighed with relief.
Aasim and I went upstairs. He was the first to collapse into bed. I couldn't blame him. Almost everyone was annoying me at this point. I climbed into top bunk, and was about to close my eyes, when Aasim asked me a question.
"Should we leave?" was the query.
I thought he was joking at first. I laughed, going along with the "joke" until Aasim affirmed he was being serious.
"I'm not joking, dude. Should we leave, and put all this behind us?" he asked again.
"No, man. We can't just leave everyone," I replied.
"Never mind, then. Let's just get some sleep," Aasim said.
I woke up a few hours later to knocking on my door. Aasim was still fast asleep. I got out of bed, still half asleep, and answered the downstairs door. It was Allison.
"Hey, Gerald. Could we talk inside?" she asked.
I yawned, then nodded. We sat down in the living room.
"About Ryland... I'm sorry. I know he did some messed up things, but... he's still a person," Allison told me.
"I know, but everyone's blaming Finn now. I'll never be glad he was exiled, but I can see why the majority of the townspeople thought it was best," I replied.
"I've never experienced true loss until the past few days. Me, Joan, and Estella were pretty close. If I lost Eileen... well," Allison sighed.
Serge entered.
"Allison, Gerald. Get to the courtyard. Another person's gone missing. Someone else from James's group," he announced.
Allison looked shocked, and we both followed Serge. Everyone who was awoken by the sudden conflict surrounded the crying James.
"Who was she?" asked Finn.
"Sherry. She was close with Jack," replied James.
Jimbob headed for the gates.
"I've heard enough. We're not safe here anymore," Jimbob announced.
He opened the gates and walked out.
"Dammit," Witherstorm growled.
He followed Jimbob. Finn looked annoyed.
"Damn. I'm worried we might have to start sending you guys home," Finn told me.
"Don't worry about Jimbob. He acts like this sometimes, mainly because of Ludwig's death," Jude assured Finn.
Aasim ran over.
"What happened?" he asked.
"There's been another disappearance," I replied.
I looked over at Jack. He wasn't taking the news well at all. Neither were the rest of the school.
"It's only a matter of time before one of us goes missing," Alexander snarled.
Jude and I went after Jimbob and Witherstorm. Jimbob was holding a map.
"If I remember correctly, Xaron Bay is 5 diagonal squares down... but no, that makes no sense. It'd take us 5 days to get there, and it only took us 3," Jimbob muttered to himself.
He was reading the map, working out how to get to Xaron Bay.
"Dude, we should just stay in The Falls," Witherstorm replied.
I walked up to them, Jude following behind.
"Hey, guys. Where ya headed to?" asked Jude, but he already knew the answer.
"The Citadel. We're better off living our last days with old friends. If you wanna join us, just say the word," replied Jimbob.
"I'm good," replied Jude.
"I wish things were simpler. What happened to us? We're all killing each other, and there's literally no one left alive except for us," Witherstorm sobbed.
I sat down.
"The Falls residents, The Citadel residents, Port Arbello's soldiers, maybe Xaron Bay's residents, then Molly. The girl we met in Xaron," I recounted.
"I wonder how many days it's been on the dot," Witherstorm sighed.
I recounted my previous journals. They had the day number on the top of each page. "Day 1", "Day 2", "Day 3"... Deeper into the journal were my adventures with Ludwig. It was incredible. I had counted 5679 days. About 15 years, 6 months, and 21 days.
"Really? It's been that long?" asked Witherstorm.
I nodded. I continued to read my journal, and recount all the amazing journeys I've had with Kenney, with Ludwig, with Amber, with Aasim... with everyone.
"Anyway, we better get going. Thanks, by the way. For giving me so much nostalgia. We even ran into Ravenclaw again," Jimbob laughed.
He and Witherstorm walked through the woods, carrying nothing but weapons and the basic essentials. Jude and I waved at them until they were no longer visible. It was not a sad goodbye. We were sure to cross paths with them again.
Entering the Citadel, Jayden, Stella, Binta, and Kenney were all sad to lose such old friends, even though they were still around.
"They left. They actually left," was all Kenney could say.
Kenney, myself, Jayden, Stella, Jude, and Binta sat at a picnic table.
"We should have a game. To celebrate all the friends who've passed away," I suggested.
"That's a great idea," Binta told me.
We approached Finn about our idea. He, too, agreed with it. We needed a bit of fun and some sport could keep us on guard. We used the astro turf to set up a game of Splegg. What made a stronger correlation than Ludwig's gang and Splegg?
We were split up into teams. Me, Kenney, Jude, Stella, Binta, Gabriel, Louis, Ray, Marlon, Swarfiga, and Warren were the Citadel team. Finn, Serge, Trevor, Eileen, Allison, Aasim, Baahir, Brody, Lydia, Alexander, and Mitch represented the Falls team. James, Sophie, Jack, Courtney, Kai, Ben, Daniel, Ethan, Willy, Jasmine, and Luna all represented the School team. We had Willy and his friends join the school team because they were 3 players short.
===Chapter 6: The Falls' First Annual Splegg World Cup===
I got my shovel ready. I was The Citadel's team captain. We waited in the lounge until Serge slammed on the noteblock.
"Ah, just like the old times. Right, Gerald?" asked Kenney.
"Right. Just like the old times," I replied.
It was now the midday, and Serge finally set off the noteblock. We made our way to the battlefield. The game started, and it was incredibly intense. Alexander and Sophie were knocked off the pitched by Ray and Warren, Kenney was knocked off by Willy, Trevor was knocked off by Allison, Jasmine fell through one of the holes.
Us remaining "survivors" were given a break. We went to the bleachers and laughed about everything.
"Man, I almost forgot some reincarnation of a maniac is out to kill us," Ray joked.
"Amazing how much a good sport can do that to you," I replied.
The routine didn't change. We went back to the arena and the "bloodbath" continued. Serge was knocked off by Lydia, Swarfiga was knocked off by Eileen, Warren was knocked off by Gabriel, and Willy fell through a hole. The match ended once again.
This time, we were getting pretty hungry from all the working out. Baahir made food for everyone in The Falls. Myself, Binta, Stella, Gabriel, Jude, Louis, Ray, and Marlon sat at the bleachers while eating. Due to our impressive hunting in the forest we had given up our usual diet of rabbit stew to adopt a new diet of steak.
"Man, why can't we do this more often? I've always loved me some Splegg. And then Kenney, Warren, and Swarfiga can make friends in the Fallen Tributes section of the lounge!" I laughed.
"I read about your love of Splegg in a book. Those dumb history encyclopedias can really help you learn a thing or two about a thing or two," replied Louis.
"You still have time to read?" asked Jude. "How?"
"When I'm not spilling the guts of mobs and Port Arbello soldiers I'm either hanging out with Jimbob or hanging out in the library. Pretty much just the last one after today now," replied Louis.
"I didn't know Ryland, but I wish I had," Binta told Louis. "I've not had much chance to read either."
Louis pretended to be shocked and angry.
"Binta, we are done," Louis replied.
We all laughed once again. And once again, another match started. Round three. Luna fell through a hole, Baahir was knocked off by Lydia, and Ben was knocked off by Brody. Then round four. Daniel was knocked off by Louis, Ray fell through a hole, Allison, Finn, and Kai were knocked off by Courtney, James, and Brody, and then I was knocked off by Binta.
This time it was my turn to be teased, and rightfully so. I stayed in the bleachers with Binta, Stella, Gabriel, Jude, Louis, and Marlon.
"Someone's a bit rusty," Stella told me.
"Pfft. I'll be the one laughing when you lose the next round," I replied.
Round five. Jack was knocked off by Brody, then, as if on cue, Ethan knocked Stella off the pitch. Courtney then knocked Eileen off the pitch. As I promised, I laughed out loud at Stella on the bleachers. The game was still not over, and round six started. No one was knocked off this round, however. Round seven started. Louis was knocked off by Jude, and Marlon was knocked off by Gabriel, Courtney, Binta, and Mitch. Binta then double crossed Gabriel, knocking him and Brody off.
Round seven was over, and I laughed at Marlon for getting ganged up on then killed.
"Okay, yeah, they got me good," he laughed.
"Got you good? You got seriously terrored!" I replied.
Round eight was nearing the end of the game as Binta, Courtney, and Lydia knocked off Aasim, Jude, and Mitch. James was knocked off by Binta. Binta was the only one left from the Citadel, but with her impressive 9 player points, meaning she had knocked off 9 players, we were positive she'd win.
Round nine rolled around, and Courtney knocked Binta off. I could not have been more wrong if I tried. Ethan then fell through the floor, and Lydia was knocked off by Courtney. She was the winner with ten player points and the number one spot. The School had won the first annual Splegg competition. We even made them a trophy out of tridents and shulker shells. Of course, we made one specifically for Courtney too.
The Citadel were awarded most "kills" trophy with 19 players knocked off. Ray even made me an 18th place trophy out of coal.
"That was truly the best game of Splegg I've ever had," Kenney told me.
The champions came walking down the pathway in The Falls.
"YOU GUYS SUCK! YOU GUYS SUCK!" Ethan and Daniel chanted.
"WE DON'T CARE! WE DON'T CARE!" Louis and Ray chanted back.
"At least we did better kill wise!" Swarfiga told them.
"At least we did better game wise!" replied Ethan.
Courtney walked over.
"Don't feel bad, guys. There can only be one first place," she laughed.
"At least I don't smell like eggs now," Baahir laughed.
"OOSH! The Baahir has spoken!" yelled Warren.
Trevor also added to the conversation.
"Yeah, that was an amazing game. Next year, if there is one, we'll get you guys for sure," Trevor told me and Courtney.
"Why me? Are you so desperate for 18th place or something?" I asked.
Trevor laughed.
"Binta did good too. She's the reason The Citadel got first place in kills," Louis reminded us.
I walked over to Aasim. It had seemed the Falls were finally done celebrating, and it was now evening.
"That was pretty fun. We should have more minigames in The Falls," Aasim suggested.
"Definitely. If you like Splegg, we'll have to find the Hall of Game. I ran it with Worldcraftia, a long time ago. Splegg, Hunger Games, Murder Mystery, The Walls, Skyblock, everything," I replied.
Aasim opened his mouth to speak, but the screaming of Willy echoed throughout The Falls.
"FINN! FINN!"
Finn ran over to see what was going on. Willy looked panicked.
"Finn! Look!" was all Willy could say.
===Chapter 7: No Turning Back===
Me, Aasim, and Finn ran over to see what was going on. Willy was pointed at outside the gates.
"Oh my literal God," Aasim exclaimed. "I've never seen so many."
It was a truly massive herd of mobs. I had explored so much, and no herd had ever come close to the size of this one.
"What do we do? They'll easily fill up The Falls before morning! We have to evacuate everyone!" Aasim told Finn.
"We'll wait it out. Send everyone to the tall buildings," Finn told Aasim.
I looked closer at the mobs.
"We can't," I replied.
Finn was confused, so I explained it to him. These mobs had been purposely spawned with armor. Chain, leather, gold, iron, diamond, it didn't matter, because they could not perish in sunlight.
"It's not possible for all of those mobs to spawn with armor. Arbello wants to lure us out of The Falls. What do you think we should do?" I asked Finn.
"We should get all the projectile weapons we have and take them into the towers. We kill every mob we can, and if we run out of arrows or our weapons break, we go Plan B," Finn explained.
An evacuation was ordered across The Falls. Ty and Mitch did one last sweep of the perimeter. I helped them. The mobs had finally reached the gates.
"Wait a sec. Did Finn even think this through?" asked Ty. "They can't even get through the gates. Did he think they'd knock them down or some crap?"
Ty approached the gate and poked a zombie in the eye. It tried to hit him, but Ty dodged. He laughed, as did Mitch.
"An evacuation my butt," Mitch said, approaching the gate. We heard a hissing noise, and Ty pushed Mitch out of the way. A loud BOOM was heard as the gates were destroyed. We ran for it to the towers.
When we were finally inside, we told Finn about the explosion, and how the mobs were inside The Falls now. He was shocked, and looked out the window.
"Oh, my God. We're dead," Finn gasped.
I felt my stomach turn as Finn said this.
"Dude, we don't have enough arrows to fight through this thing! Even if we had Infinity, our bows would break and that herd would STILL be no where near gone!" yelled Alexander.
"Everyone! Just CALM DOWN!" yelled Allison.
"Are you good in the head? We are ZOMBIE FOOD! HOW CAN WE CALM DOWN!" Alexander screamed.
We had to get through the mobs somehow. With the explosion of the gate, they had flooded the Falls. Luckily, no stragglers remained patrolling the streets, as an evacuation to the bigger buildings had been ordered.
"What the hell do we do?" asked Finn.
"I can get us past. I just need you to trust me," James replied.
"Dude, that's like 300 blocks long!" yelled Swarfiga.
James motioned for Swarfiga to be quiet.
"Are you gonna make us wear the zombie heads?" asked Allison.
James nodded. He motioned for us to follow him to the bottom floor. Only myself, Kenney, Aasim, and Allison were brave enough to do so. We lured a group of zombies to us, and attacked them while James watched. We had enough for everyone in The Falls, and we went to the top floor again.
"Everyone, put on a zombie helmet and these blue garments," I ordered everyone.
Warren was the first to approach, albeit slowly, and put on a zombie suit. Everyone followed behind.
"Are we ready?" I asked.
We left the building. It was like being invisible.
"Man, I'm so freaking startled," Louis whispered.
"Then shut up!" Allison whispered back.
The silence was eerie. So was the entire mise-en-scene. We were actually walking through a herd of mobs unnoticed. I was still full of dread, fearing the chance that the mobs would soon realize we did not belong.
I was walking with Chris, Alexander, and Mitch. Chris was breathing heavily. My heart was also racing as we passed more and more mobs. Skeletons, creepers, zombies, spiders, even some endermen and witches.
We had reached the gates. The hard part was over with. Stella and Marlon were able to catch up to me.
"Gerald, what happens if they find out we don't belong?" whispered Stella.
"We run for our lives," I whispered back.
"Right, you're sm-" Stella tried to say.
Chris was grabbed by a group of zombies and was pinned to the floor. Mitch tried to save him, but it was too late. Chris was gone. Alexander grabbed him, and they cut through the woods. I could barely process the scene, and could only think to run. Allison, Stella, and Marlon went in my direction. Serge raised his hands, unaware of what had happened.
"GET YOUR REAR END IN GEAR! GO! GO!" I yelled.
Serge followed us, as did the rest of The Falls. Stella was grabbed by a zombie, and a creeper exploded next to her. But I didn't have enough time to notice. I was out of the woods, unaware that Marlon had tried to rescue Stella. Allison and Serge were fighting off the zombies and skeletons that were attacking us. Serge was shot in the shoulder, but he was fine, simply grunting from pain.
We ran and ran until we were sure the herd had not caught up with us. Everyone, except for Chris and Stella, had made it.
"Chris! Stella! They got them!" yelled Marlon.
"What? Stella?!" asked Kenney.
"I didn't think... How? How did that happen?" asked Marlon.
I looked at the pathway we had walked, at what used to be. He was right, two more graves to dig. Two more holes in our hearts. Two more lost souls. In a matter of seconds, too.
"We have to be extra careful. We can't risk our lives for stupid stuff like that anymore. We should've just waited it out," I cried.
"Gerald, c'mon. I'm sorry about your friends, but there was no way we could've waited it out," Aasim said, slowly.
===Chapter 8: Plan B In Action===
We finally made it as far away from The Falls as possible. Finn approached me.
"Gerald, I just did a roll call. Brody and Kai are missing," Finn told me.
"What?" I asked. "Are they dead?"
"I don't know. I hope not," replied Finn.
I couldn't believe it anymore. Evan, Joan, Estella, Leo, Ben, Braxton, Alfie, Sherry, Chris, Stella, Brody, Kai, all gone. We had to hope Alfie, Sherry, Brody, and Kai were still alive. We just had to.
"Where do we go?" asked Aasim.
"The Citadel. We have powerful weapons there. Gerald made them all a long time ago," replied Kenney.
"Can we nuke Port Arbello?" asked Swarfiga.
"That won't do anything besides anger Arbello," replied Allison.
It was still late, so we decided to dig a trench and sleep there for the night.
"Man, I'm so tired. I hope we can clear this herd," Aasim said.
"We can and we will. The Citadel are strong," I replied.
"Strong enough to defeat Arbello?" asked Aasim.
"Maybe," I replied.
Aasim was surprised.
"Maybe? What's that supposed to mean?" asked Trevor, who had overheard us talking.
I told Trevor to join us. I explained to him the machine we built to destroy any supernatural powers if we had to, and how we could use it to stop Arbello.
"Why the Hell didn't you say that ages ago? Why didn't we use it when we first went to The Citadel?" asked Trevor, slightly annoyed.
"We built it underground in a place called Dark Star X. The whole thing caved in a few years back and we decided not to go back after someone died," I replied. "I've only ever went back once and that was to remove my own powers."
Trevor sighed.
"In other words, we have no way of stopping Arbello," he said for me.
"Pretty much," I replied. "Unless we use a mega nuke to blow it up. I modded them in, but decided not to use them. They're so powerful and I have no idea if the explosion will damage The Citadel. Besides, the machine would be obstructed immediately in the explosion."
"Can't we just dig our way through?" asked Trevor.
"We could try, but it'll take a while," I replied.
"As long as we will stop him," he said.
I finally closed my eyes, and felt my world turn black. I woke up... in the real world.
Huh? What the hell? Was I dead? Did Arbello kill us all? Kenney was there too. This didn't make any sense. I was in school during a Chemistry lesson. There was Kenney, and Sam, and Nate, and my Chemistry teacher, Mr. Fletcher. None of this felt right. We were doing an experiment. I looked at the beakers of water, graphite sticks, corks, and containers of sodium chloride and potassium chloride.
I picked up the cork that the graphite sticks were in, and one fell out, causing Kenney, Sam, and Nate to laugh.
"Is that really the funniest thing you've ever seen? A stick of graphite falling out of a cork?" I asked.
Weird, that wasn't what I wanted to say. I put the graphite stick back in the cork and carried out the rest of the experiment.
"Hey, Gerald, I need to talk to you," Kenney told me.
I told him to start speaking, and what he said sent chills down my spine.
"I had a strange dream last night. About that game we used to play. Minecraft. We were playing and got sucked in. We met a guy called Ludwig, but he died. A bunch of other stuff happened, then we both died in an explosion by a guy called Arbello. Crazy huh?" asked Kenney.
"I had the same dream," I told him.
"Gerald, Kenney, get back to work," Mr. Fletcher called out.
Kenney shrugged his shoulders, and we went back to the experiment. My world went black once again, and I woke up in the morning. We all got up and made our way to The Citadel.
"I hope Brody's okay," Gabriel told me. "She was nice to me and Lydia."
"Same, Gabe. But we don't know what's happening. Finn said none of the mobs grabbed her, so she was taken, like the others. If it's Ryland, she's fine. If it's Arbello, it's a different story," I explained to him.
Gabriel sighed, and walked over to Lydia and Willy. I could overhear him talking to Lydia about Molly and how we met her in the woods.
"I can't believe The Falls is gone. Fifteen years of work for nothing," Trevor sighed.
"It's not gone yet. The Citadel can help get rid of all those mobs," I replied.
"How do you remain positive after everything? This guy killed your best friend. It'd destroy me if Eileen died," Trevor asked me.
"You just can't let the world break you. If you focus so much on the past, you can't deal with what's happening in the present," I replied.
"You're right. We should just deal with this moment," Trevor said.
We caught up with the rest of the survivors.
"If we hurry up, we could reach Xaron Bay in 2 or 3 days," I announced.
I felt a familiar chill run down my spine as the world became cold.
"Hey, you alright?" asked Ty.
"He's gonna pass out. Someone get him!" yelled Temperance.
As if on cue, I actually did pass out. I woke up, and we were at the Jungle Temple. Allison and Binta were examining me.
"His forehead is freezing. What do we do?" asked Binta.
"I don't know! I've never seen anything like this!" replied Allison.
I sat up, a strong pain in my chest.
"You alright? I'm assuming you're not because you look like crap but..." Allison asked.
"No, I'm not," I replied.
"It's the same thing that happened in Xaron. What if Arbello's trying to get in his head?" asked Serge.
"Probably. What do we do? Make him wear a hat made of aluminium foil?" asked Ray.
"Aluminium foil doesn't exist in Minecraft, smart guy," replied Marlon.
===Chapter 9: Heading Back Home===
Baahir finished making breakfast for The Falls, and me, Ray, and Louis were laughing. Due to the situation, we found everything funny.
"Food," said Ray.
"Foil," said Louis.
"Tangerine," I said.
We were all laughing, even at stuff that made literally no sense. We just wanted to have fun. Even Allison joined in, as did Serge.
"So, Louis, how are things with you and Binta?" asked Allison.
"What things?" asked Louis, causing Ray to laugh.
We decided to not waste any moments and headed straight for The Citadel. Days passed, but eventually we got there. Von and the others seriously did not want unwanted guests. The gate and walls had been buffed with obsidian, iron, diamonds, padlocks, trapped chests, TNT Catapults, as well as other traps and defences.
The Citadel itself had changed, too. The buildings had obsidian laced around them. Traps were placed everywhere and guards stayed at the gate. Sirius raised his hand, and the guards lowered their weapons. Sirius welcomed us inside.
"We're a few men down, but we're fine," Ray told Sirius.
We walked to the courtyard. Traps were placed in each corner.
"Feels great to be back," Annie exclaimed.
"We're ready for war. You guys made a plan on how we do this?" asked Von.
"Yeah. We're gonna use the machine in the chambers to strip Arbello if his powers, just like we did all those years ago," I replied.
"Alright, but do you remember that-" Kyle tried to say.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have to dig it all up. We're well aware, Ky," replied Swarfiga.
"Great, we'll get to work. Holler if you need anything," Von announced.
"GOODBYE!" Randy yelled.
I was filled with nostalgia. Everything about this place was incredible. My old house! I had to check it out! I ran there straight away, Aasim and Kenney following. It was exactly the same. It was my old house!
"Dude, this looks awesome," Aasim told me.
It was all the same. The quartz pillars that made up the basic complex, the light blue stained glass windows, the concrete chimney, everything. It was amazing to be back. I entered, and once again, it was the same. Purple carpet, my brick fireplace, a home made piano, that didn't actually work, and the picture of me, Kenney, Von, Randy, and Kyle.
Upstairs was my room. A red carpet, a purple bed, several paintings, and books.
"This is your room, huh? It's pretty cool," Aasim told me.
Kenney also entered, amazed by the extremely familiar sight.
"This is the reason we stay alive. If we have nothing, we are nothing," he said.
"We should go to the spires. Check out Ludwig's memorial," I suggested to them.
They both agreed, and we exited my home. I took one last glance before walking with them to the spires. Ludwig's memorial was lit up. There were all sorts of flowers surrounding the statue of him. There were signs too. "LUDWIG FOREVER," "STAY STRONG", "RIP LUDWIG", "THE HERO OF MINECRAFTIA". 
I assume they were written by members of The Citadel. Aasim walked over to the Citadel's workbench building. He entered, and came back out with three signs.
"We should write him a message. Let him know we're fighting for him," Aasim suggested.
He wrote on the sign and placed it down.
"THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.
 HE WILL BE AVENGED."
Aasim looked at the statue, admiring it. Kenney appeared to be doing the same. Finn and Allison walked over.
"This was your friend? The one Arbello killed?" asked Finn.
"Yeah. He saved this world. We're just defending it for him," I replied.
"You seemed like good friends. Kind of like me and Eileen, actually," Allison told me. "I doubt you were THAT close, though."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing. I just think you and him were really close," Allie replied.
I was confused, but shrugged it off.
"Fair enough," I said.
I sat at a table with Aasim and Kenney. Ray, Serge, Eileen, Baahir, Alexander, Gabe, Lydia, and Willy also sat down.
"What's the game today, Jerry?" asked Ray.
"Well, I wasn't planning on a game, but if you're up for one, why don't we just try to get to know each other? It's been about three weeks and we've never really had the chance. All I know is that Baahir's dad was a chef, Alex and Mitch are friends, and Serge is a musician. Why don't we try to get familiar with one another?" I explained to everyone.
"That sounds fun. And Eileen, if you wanna get Allie to come play with us, I'm sure Gerald doesn't mind waiting," Serge told Eileen.
"Eileen has a crush on Allison?" asked Ray.
"No!" replied Eileen.
"Dude, you love her, huh?" asked Serge.
""Dude", you're a thirty seven year old trapped in Minecraft, you don't get a say in anything," Eileen laughed.
"At least I was brave enough to ask a girl out and eventually get married to her," Serge replied.
"You had a wife? Bet she's worried," Baahir asked Serge.
Serge nodded, and we all started to laugh. I put my hands on the table.
"Well, I'm ready when you guys are," I announced.
Everyone nodded to show that they were ready, and I scanned the table.
"So, Lydia, who do you think is the worst dressed person on the table?" I asked.
Lydia was stunned, as was the rest of the table.
"Uhh... maybe Alex?" she replied.
I laughed.
"I dress well! I look cool!" replied Alexander.
"Whatever you say," Lydia laughed. "You've not even tucked your shirt in properly."
I turned to Ray.
"What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?" I asked.
Ray was laughing.
"I've done many embarrassing things, but the most embarrassing might be when I called my third grade teacher "Mom"," he replied.
I and Aasim started laughing.
"Someone else ask a question," I said.
Ray raised his hand.
"Willy, who do you like least out of the table?" asked Ray.
"Uhh... I don't know. Maybe Eileen, but only because I don't really know anything about her," he replied.
===Chapter 10: The Truth About Aasim===
"Pfft. Unlucky Eileen. I have just the question for her. Would you rather kiss Allison in secret or not kiss her but everything thinks you did?" asked Ray. 
Eileen just looked at him with her mouth open. 
"Uhh... kiss her," she replied.
Ray laughed, and teased Eileen. However, he eventually relented, and we moved onto Serge asking the questions.
"Alright, so, uhh... Aasim, if you were rescuing people from a burning building but had to leave one person from this table behind, who would it be?" asked Serge.
"Um... Alexander," replied Aasim. "He's kinda annoying."
Serge laughed at the last part of Aasim's answer. Finn and Kyle walked over to our table.
"Fun time's over. Ender, Marlon, Sonar, and Louis are on watch but it's not enough. Ray, Eileen, why don't you help them?" asked Kyle.
Eileen nodded, and she went to the gate. Ray followed.
"Baahir, you get dinner prepared. Serge, Alexander, you guys make yourselves useful and help Von catch mobs. It's getting late, so they'll start spawning soon. Kenney, we sure as hell could use two strong hands helping us train everyone in The Citadel. Everyone else, you're on break," Finn announced.
I started walking towards my house.
"Hey, can I come?" asked Aasim.
I nodded, and he followed me. I was preparing my garden at the back of my house. I had all kinds of plants in it.
"Nice garden," Aasim told me.
I looked at the three huge spires in The Citadel.
"Imagine the view from up there," I told him. "You could see everything."
He turned around to look at the towers.
"Wanna go there? To take watch?" I asked.
He nodded, and we went to the big spire that was in between the other two. I entered through the door, and we climbed the spiral staircase. It was mine, and it was abandoned. Moss was growing on the walls and there were stairs missing.
"Jeez. You can tell it's been eight years," Aasim told me.
I laughed, and we finally reached the floor my office was on. I entered it, and was greeted with a familiar feeling. It was the same feeling I had back at my house. The map of the entire world was on my wall. The bed, the desk, the storage facility near the back, the bookshelves. Memories flooded back.
"It's been so long, yet I haven't forgotten any of this," I told him.
I stared out of my huge, purple window, and looked down on the city. The sky was almost pitch black now, and I could see Von, Serge, and Alexander checking for mobs. They looked tiny. Aasim joined me.
"This place... it's truly amazing. You built this?" asked Aasim.
"It was a team effort. Me, and the Gods. Hellcraftia, Worldcraftia, Endcraftia, and Rosalina," I replied.
"So you weren't Geraldcraftia and Rosalinacraftia?" asked Aasim.
I laughed.
"Surprising, huh? The others were big on the whole "Craftia" thing. I was "Citadelcraftia" and Rosalina was "Spacecraftia." I decided mine was really dumb and just used my real name, and Rosalina just wanted to be the black sheep," I explained.
"You guys seemed like great friends. I've never really gotten along with anyone in the Falls besides the guys. Finn, Serge, Eileen, Allison, Trevor... They treated me like a friend. But the others... I was standoffish with them at first. It just seemed like everyone in The Falls had a best friend except me. Finn and Serge, Trevor and Brody, Eileen and Allie, Mitch and Alexander, Chris and Ben, Genevieve and Temperance, Ty, Joan, and Estella, Zach and Mikey. I hope I'm not boring you," Aasim explained.
"No, this is great. I love learning about people," I replied.
Aasim smiled, and carried on.
"Eventually I became friends with Lydia. We seemed like good friends at first. We were the same age, we mostly enjoyed the same things. We went to catch game together, fished together, and Finn even asked Lydia to move into my apartment to make room for the necomers like Baahir and Genevieve. But eventually, I realized the truth. Lydia interpreted this all wrong. She thought we were more, and asked me out. It was just... awkward. I was like the one gay guy in The Falls, and she asked me out. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but I had to say no. We just... couldn't be friends after that. Then you came, about five years later," Aasim continued.
"That all? You can talk to me," I asked.
"That's about it. I was considering jumping into a pack of charged creepers, but then you showed up. You saved my life," Aasim replied.
"Dude, that's insane. Glad I could be there for you," I told him.
We walked to the top of the tower. The view was incredible. Stars and constellations filled the sky.
"Beautiful. I've always loved stars," Aasim told me.
"Me too. The fact that there's so much out there that we'll never get to explore. It just makes me sad, but makes me feel so alive," I replied.
"Do you think aliens exist?" asked Aasim.
"Definitely. There are trillions of galaxies out there. It's astronomically impossible we're alone," I replied.
"Yeah. Even if they're billions of lightyears away, they're definitely out there," Aasim said.
I lied down on the surface of the spire, and gazed up at the sky.
"Gerald? Aasim? You guys up there?" I heard Annie yell.
I looked at Aasim, and we both went down to Annie.
"Rosie won't stop barking. Maybe you can help Louis and the other guy to calm her down?" she asked.
I told her that it wasn't a problem and we went to find the three of them.
===Chapter 11: Good Girl, Rosie===
We both caught up with Rosie, Louis, and No Ballz in the Citadel's storage facility. The latter was petting Rosie while Louis was brewing potions.
"Hey, Gerald. I forgot to mention, but I'm kinda glad to see you and Sirius alive," No Ballz smiled.
"Why? Did something happen to the other Spleggers?" I asked.
"They're all dead. I saw the carnage. Made it back here just in time. Maybe it was the group who are after you, I don't know," replied No Ballz.
Rosie was still barking and growling.
"Rosie, it's okay. It's me. Gerald," I told her.
She started to rub her head on my leg.
"Who's a good girl?" I asked.
"That dog is cool. Anyway, I'm brewing some potions. In case Arbello attacks us here, they'll give us thicker protection," Louis told me.
"I'm glad to see the Citadel so populated again. We had a harsh winter and a lot of people died. It was just me, Kyle, Randy, Von, Sirius, Sonar, Dana, and Ender," No Ballz explained.
"Damn, sounds like it sucked," Louis replied.
He turned to the brewing stand. Louis filled 3 more bottles with water and placed them on the stand. He put a glistening melon in them, creating Potions of Healing. He took them off the stand and placed them in a chest. He then rinsed and repeated, but this time he put a golden carrot in it, then fermented spider eye, creating 3 Potions of Invisibility.
Rosie was finally calm. I gave her a piece of steak that was in one of the food chests. No Ballz was helping Louis now, and Aasim and I were just talking. Von and Sirius walked over.
"How are those potions looking, Lou?" asked Von.
"Great! Got about 12 of each. You guys are really stocked up on ingredients," he replied.
"I think that's what's kept us alive for so long," Sirius told him.
"I wouldn't doubt that. You can never be too prepared," Louis replied.
"Also. Gerald, Finn needs you for something," Von told me.
I nodded, and said goodbye to my friends. I met up with Finn at the gates.
"Hey, man. How's it going?" asked Finn.
"I'm fine. You?" I asked.
"Great. Just worried," he replied.
I sat down.
"About The Falls?" I asked.
"Yeah. It's been my home for fifteen years and it's worrying me being somewhere else with no one guarding it. Serge and I built most of the foundation of The Falls together. We were friends, even before all this, and even though we had an age gap of almost 10 years. We were just playing Minecraft with our friends as a joke, then this happened. The others died in the first few days and I'm just so confused on whether I should get back home or stay here," Finn explained.
"Dude, we need you. We all do. And Serge. He needs you the most. You're his best friend. The only friend he has left. What would he do if you weren't here?" I asked.
"I guess you're right, but, I miss my friends," he replied.
"We all do. But we have friends here. We're more than friends. We're like family. I've been saying for years that Kenney is like the brother I never had," I explained to him.
"No, you're right. I should stay here. Fight for my home. And if I die, I'm dead," Finn replied.
He picked up his bow, and a quiver full of arrows.
"I've had this bow forever. I kept it on me all the time. It's gotten me out of so many close calls. Rosie has too. I feel so much safer knowing I'm around others, and knowing we all have each other's back," Finn said.
He fired at the wall.
"I don't even lose any arrows because I've stockpiled enchantments onto it. Power, Punch, Flame, Infinity. Don't mean to brag, but, it's a good bow," Finn told me.
I pulled out my trident and armor stand leg.
"This armor stand leg I just use for a laugh. This trident, though. It's like a one hit kill. It only took three hits to kill Connor because he deserved to suffer for getting Evan killed," I replied.
"That guy sucked. So does Arbello. And that Cain guy. And Brooke," Finn told me. "I don't care if she used to be your friend. I want her dead."
"I hate her. I could tell she was messed up. She was standoffish to all my friends, and even me. That's why I ended our relationship," I replied.
"Anyway, I don't wanna push all my problems on you. You should help someone else," Finn replied.
I nodded, and looked around The Citadel's courtyard. Marlon was helping Baahir with dinner. I walked over to see what they were talking about.
"You don't think Arbello will attack us?" asked Marlon. "How come?"
"I don't know. I just feel that if we all work together to dig through Dark Star X we can get to the machine in time," replied Baahir.
"I hope," I added.
"Oh, hey, Gerald," replied Marlon.
"So, what are we having for dinner? " I asked. "Anything special?"
"I'm doing you guys rabbit and some steaks. We have plenty from the food bank," replied Baahir.
"Nice. You do that, and I'll wait at the benches," I replied.
"Cool. See you there," replied Baahir.
I nodded and went to the benches where Allison was.
===Chapter 12: Everybody Down Into The Basement===
"Wish I could've took part in the game earlier," Allison told me.
"You wouldn't be wishing that if you heard what the others were asking Eileen," I laughed.
Allison laughed too. I think she knew what I was talking about.
"Should I go for it? I mean, it's now or never at this point," Allison asked.
"I don't know. Should you? It's your choice," I replied.
Allison got up to talk to Eileen. I looked at Willy, Jasmine and Luna. Willy and Luna were talking and Jasmine was practicing archery.
"See, Jasmine? It's okay. We can trust these people," Willy told her.
Jasmine shook her head.
"Not sure," she replied.
"See, look! Here's Gerald! He's helped us lots of times!" Willy told them.
"Hey, guys," I said.
"Hi," replied Jasmine.
Jasmine fired her bow at the armor stand.
"Right in the chest. You're getting good," Willy told her.
"Thank you," replied Jasmine.
The four of us heard noteblocks being played.
"Music," Luna said.
I looked around, and noticed Serge and Louis playing music.
"We've come a long, long way together. Through the hard times and the good. I have to celebrate you, baby. I have to praise you like I should," Serge sang.
Willy and I started to sing along.
"We've come a long, long way together. Through the hard times and the good. I have to celebrate you, baby. I have to praise you like I should."
"Damn, I remember this song like I last heard it yesterday. I have to praise you! I have to praise you! I have to praise you! I have to praise you like I should!" I sang.
Ray and Kenney walked over.
"Those two have some real talent. Like, real talent," Kenney exclaimed.
"I'm on it! Get on it! The troops are on fire! Ya know I need it, much closer! I'm trading just a little more! Step on it! Electronic! The troops are on fire! I'm much deeper, a sleeper! Waiting for the final trip!" Serge sang.
"Damn, why couldn't Serge host more concerts like this? It's been forever since he last did one," Mitch exclaimed.
Everyone in The Citadel gathered around. After Serge finished the song, everyone clapped, and went back to work.
"Thank you, thank you! I'll be here for as long as possible!" Serge laughed. 
"That was great," Luna said.
"It was, wasn't it?" replied Willy.
Allison, on the other hand, didn't look as pleased.
"All this dancing and singing. It makes me sad that so many of my friends aren't here to see it," Allison sighed.
"Allie, that's why we need to fight for them," I replied.
"No, this is why we need to forfeit," she told me. "I'm gonna go talk to Finn about it."
"Alright. Good luck," I replied.
She started to walk away, but stopped.
"I spoke to Eileen. Thanks for helping me build up the courage to do it," Allison told me.
I smiled, and she started to walk away. Aasim walked over.
"This reminds me of before the war. Once it ends, we need to get Serge to host concerts in The Falls again," he told me.
"Without a doubt. The last one was, what, when I first got here?" I asked.
Aasim nodded. He walked away, saying goodbye. I said goodbye, too. Willy, Jasmine, and Luna went back to practicing archery, and Finn was playing with Rosie. Allison walked over to him.
"Finn, we need to call the whole thing off. More and more people are gonna die!" Allison yelled.
"Allison, we can't just end this war. We'll look weak, and they'll just attack us again," replied Finn.
Allison started yelling at him. Serge walked over to try to resolve the conflict.
"Finnton! Allison! What's going on?" asked Serge.
"We need to call this whole fight off! Who's gonna die next? Trevor? Eileen?" asked Allison.
"Maybe we should discuss this somewhere else," Finn replied. "Von told me there's a basement in the treasure room."
"Fine," Allison sighed.
The three of them went to the treasure room.
"Damn. That Allison is a piece of work," No Ballz told me.
"Tell me about it," I replied. "But she's alright in my book."
"I overheard her talking with Eileen about... personal stuff. I decided it wasn't my business and ignored it, though," No Ballz told me.
"Okay guys, start getting to bed. It's late," Von announced.
We started to clear up. Aasim followed me to my house, and I placed another bed next to mine. We both lay down. I looked up at the ceiling, and closed my eyes.
I woke up not long later to screaming.
"What the hell?" I asked.
"You heard it too?" asked Aasim. "Was gonna check it out, but I waited for you to wake up."
"Alright. I'll investigate," I replied.
I climbed out of bed. My eyes were still half closed. I fumbled across my house until I found the door. I came back to my senses as the screaming became louder.
===Chapter 13: Another Day I Feel The Same===
I looked around the Citadel for the source of the screaming. It wasn't coming from any buildings. I checked the treasure room, even the trapdoor that led to Dark Star X. I checked the courtyard, the spires, the houses, and then, the basement.
I could overhear Allison, Serge, and Finn all arguing in the basement, and so I went down to check it out.
"Come on Finn! Have you seen how many people have died already?" asked Allison. "Evan, Joan, Estella, Ben, Braxton, Stella, Chris? Just forfeit!"
"No! We can't forfeit! We'll look weak!" replied Finn.
I showed myself at last, and Finn was startled.
"Oh, hey, Gerald. Allie and I are just talking about the war. She thinks we should forfeit," Finn told me.
I looked at Allison.
"I'm not letting that psycho get away with what he's done. Him and I have history, and he needs to die forever," I told her.
"Great. You know him, we know him. Point is, is it really worth getting everyone in The Falls killed over?" asked Allison.
"He won't kill everyone if you teach them how to fight," I replied.
"We're all strong. There's no way he and his people can take out the higher ups of the-" Allison said.
Allison fell to the ground.
"OH MY GOD!" yelled Finn. "ALLISON'S DEAD!"
I was just as shocked as the two of them. I looked around, and noticed that the basement doors had been opened. Brooke showed an evil smile to Finn. She was holding a bow.
"Yep, she's dead. And there's plenty of more lives to take, you know," she replied.
Finn and Serge pulled out their weapons. Brooke grabbed Finn's sword, pulled it out of his hand, then threw it to the floor. She did the same to Serge with his trident.
"She murdered her!" Serge yelled.
I looked back at Serge. I was too panicked to do anything.
"Gerald, Gerald, Gerald. You could've avoided all of this. Working for Arbello is so fun. I get to protect my fellow survivors, and we'll get to kill you. Arbello helped me realize that you caused this war. You're a threat to everyone here. You caused the volcano. You caused dozens of people to die, even your own friends. Arbello also told me more about your old friend. You're both pathetic. Killing dozens of people, destroying homes, then, Cedryth takes you out. It's happened to Ludwig already, and you're repeating his very own mistakes," Brooke explained.
Serge and Finn ran for the basement doors. I also tried to run, but Brooke grabbed me.
"No. Not you," she told me.
Next thing I knew, I had a diamond blade penetrating my leg. It was stuck in the floor, preventing any movement. I grabbed my leg, attempting to remove it from the blade. Brooke stepped on my chest.
"I said not you," she said once again.
This was it. I was going to be killed in my own home by my own former girlfriend. For once, I was ready to accept my fate. Brooke pointed the sword at my neck, but she was grabbed by someone.
Allison was on top of Brooke. She was still alive, thank the stars. But not for long, as Brooke pulled out an axe and smacked her in the head with it. She was now nothing more than a pile of the items she once had.
"YOU KILLED HER!" I yelled.
I wanted to attack her now, but I couldn't move. Brooke ran over to me, but she was shot with an arrow.
"Remember me?" asked Ryland.
He grabbed her and shoved her. Brooke ran out of the basement and locked the doors behind her. We didn't make it out in time.
"Gerald! Are you alright?" asked Ryland.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just injured," I replied.
"We gotta get Brooke before she hurts more people," Ryland told me.
I nodded. Ryland removed the sword that was stuck in my leg and kept it for himself.
"I need to make things right. I need to help you stop Brooke. I didn't want to trade Amber to them, and I can't change what I did. But I can make it right," Ryland said.
"Course you can, Ryland. You're a douchebag, but you're my friend. We're gonna show the others how useful we can be," I replied.
I tried to force the basement doors open, but they were iron trapdoors.
"These won't budge unless we make a redstone circuit. I have some cobblestone and sticks, but no wood. You got any?" I asked.
"Just 3 planks," he replied.
"Dammit. We'll have to get another block somehow," I exclaimed. 
"Bookshelves drop wood. You could mine one of them," Ryland suggested. 
"Good idea," I replied.
I mined one of the bookshelves and collected my wood. I built a crafting table and placed a stick and a block of cobblestone on it. A lever formed before my eyes and I placed it next to the trapdoors. I flipped the switch and the doors opened.
"Freedom!" Ryland exclaimed.
We ran out and looked around. Brooke was threatening everyone in The Citadel.
===Chapter 14: I'm Cutting and I'm Bleeding===
"You think I'm joking? I killed Gerald! Me and Ryland both!" Brooke yelled.
"What the hell? Is she for real?" Ryland growled.
"He's... dead? How could you, Brooke?" asked Gabriel. "How do you sleep at night?"
Kenney looked furious.
"You killed him! YOU KILLED MY BEST FRIEND!" he yelled.
Ryland and I stepped out of the shadows.
"I'm fine, and Ryland is innocent. Brooke is a liar!" I yelled.
"We could tell! Finn told us what happened! She murdered Allie!" yelled Trevor.
"Yeah! And I killed all of your stupid friends! Alfie, Sherry, Brody, Kai, Chris, Stella, it was all me!" she yelled. "I brought them back to Port Arbello and imprisoned them! Except for Chris and Stella, of course. They were too easy to kill. I returned to Port Arbello soon after with Brody and Kai then murdered the bunch of them!"
Swarfiga went to punch Brooke, but Kenney and Aasim restrained him. Gabriel, on the other hand, was not going to let anyone in his way. He fired his bow at Brooke. Brooke fell to the floor, and I grabbed her. She pulled out her axe and smacked me in the leg with it.
"Both your legs are basically useless now. What are you going to do about it?" asked Brooke.
I ran back to Kenney and Baahir.
"What do we do about her? How'd she even get passed the walls?" asked Baahir.
"Because Randy was on watch!" replied Kenney.
"Who put that guy on watch, then?" asked Baahir.
"Who knows," replied Kenney.
Brooke fired her bow at Baahir, getting him in the stomach.
"BAAHIR!" yelled Kenney.
"Dammit! No!" yelled Baahir.
"Go after Brooke!" yelled Kenney. "I'll find Von and Sirius and see if they can help Baahir!"
I ran with the rest of my strength, but Brooke had more than me. She cornered me at the park in The Citadel.
"When I look at you, I see you for what you are. A mockery. A mockery of your former, glorious self. You were powerful, everyone liked you. Then you killed all your friends in the volcano. Just to save some prissy little girl. I don't know who you'll get killed next. It could be Warren, or Swarfiga, or Kenney, or your little boyfriend Aasim, but you will. And I plan to be around long after you're gone," Brooke explained to me.
Brooke stabbed me in the chest with a sword. I could do nothing but wheeze now.
"I've already done so much to you. I killed so many of your friends. That worthless cat, those two female bodyguards to that thug, that teacher, I got your other friend killed. What's her name, Stella. And then Allison. I can do a lot more than just that," Brooke spat.
I looked her into the eyes.
"I know you can. You can't feel emotion. I knew the whole time I was with you. You never showed any sort of sympathy or affection towards others. That's why we split long ago, because you're a nutcase," I told her.
Brooke stepped on the sword penetrating my chest, and dug it in even further. I yelped from pain, but I wasn't going to die yet.
"Arbello will win this war. My contract says I can't kill you myself. But I'm going to take you back to him, and I'm going to kill everyone that's left," she replied.
I looked behind her. Gabriel and Lydia were hiding in the bushes. Brooke turned around, and they went out of sight.
"I hope you've had chance to say goodbye, because I don't care what Arbello's contract says. I'll kill you myself, then run to somewhere far, far away. It can go unpunished," Brooke told me.
"He'll find you. Clearly, he hasn't told you his secret," I replied.
Gabriel was approaching Brooke, now.
"Are you ready to die?" she asked.
I nodded, but not at her. She was confused, and turned around. Gabriel stabbed her in the gut, causing her to fall to the ground.
"Any last words?" asked I.
"Binta... Finn... Serge... Kenney... Aasim... all of them... don't know nothing... and you'll die saving something that won't last in this world..." Brooke panted.
She took one final breath, and disappeared into a pile of inventory. It was only then did I realize the rest of The Citadel looked on in horror.
==Characters==
===Returning Characters===
*Gerald
*Kenney
*Marlon
*Louis
*Ray
*Ryland
*Swarfiga
*DrGraham96
*Brooke
*Juderonald
*Witherstorm
*Jimbob
*Jayden
*Stella
*Binta
*Gabriel
*Annie
*Sirius
*Randy
*Kyle
*Von
===New Characters===
*Finn
*Serge
*Trevor
*Eileen
*Allison
*Rosie
*Aasim
*Baahir
*Brody
*Mitch
*Ty
*Braxton
*Alexander
*Chris
*Genevieve
*Temperance
*Willy
*Jasmine
*Luna
*Arbello
*James
*Sophie
*Ethan
*Jack
*Ben
*Courtney
*Kai
*Sherry
*Alfie
*Daniel
*Molly
==Deaths==
*Braxton
*Vivian (Confirmed fate)
*Maximus (Confirmed fate)
*Alfie (Off-Screen)
*Sherry (Off-Screen)
*Chris
*Stella
*Brody (Off-Screen)
*Kai (Off-Screen)
*Leonidas1 (Confirmed fate)
*RedstoneRapperzSuck31 (Confirmed fate)
*Allison
*Brooke
==Trivia==
*First appearance of Wolfboy231.
*First appearance of Domitron3.
*First appearance of Louisisepic24.
*First appearance of Minecraftwiz219.
*First appearance of Molly.
*First appearance of No Ballz since The Battle for Elliottown.
*Last appearance of Braxton.
*Last appearance of Chris.
*Last appearance of Stella.
**This is the first book since End of the World to feature an Arc 1 character death.
*Last appearance of Alfie.
*Last appearance of Sherry.
*Last appearance of Kai.
*Last appearance of Brody.
*Last appearance of Allison.
*Last appearance of Witherstorm. (Unknown)
*Last appearance of Jimbob. (Unknown)
**Allison is the first character out of the ones first announced to die.
Last appearance of Brooke.
*The name is a parody of the book Suffer The Children, which is about a man who kills a girl then returns 100 years later and kills more children one by one.
**The main antagonist of Arc 4, Arbello, is name after the setting of the book (Port Arbello).
*Lydia, Willy, and Baahir are promoted to main cast.
*According to Gerald-XR-Donovan, Book 4 will have even more deaths than Book 3.
*Chapter Two is named after the Kings of Leon song "Molly's Chambers."
*Jasmine, Luna, Genevieve, and Temperance receive their first speaking roles in this book.
*The song performed by Serge is Praise You by Fatboy Slim.
*This is the first and currently only Arc 4 where no members of Port Arbello, excluding Brooke, are killed.