Delta 6 (The Pack)

Chapter 26

Warnings: None

~Mitch's P.O.V.~

"And... that should do it. All better."

      Seto steps back, small beads of sweat dripping down his face as he slumps into a chair, absolutely exhausted. I twist my wrist around, pleased to find it is no longer broken and sending waves of pain up my arm every other second.

      "Thanks a bunch dude, but you aren't looking so hot. You should really and rest, you've been through a lot."

      Seto opens his mouth to argue, but Brice cuts him off.

     "No, Seto, whatever you're about to say just stop. Sit down, you may be a super strong sorcerer but even the strong need rest. Especially after being mind controlled by maniac hybrids and being forced to almost murder your best friends." He orders, shushing Seto with a finger.

      Seto grumbles a reluctant agreement, backing off and going to flop down on a couch. Although he tires to put on an act of disapproval, I can still see the relief flash through his eyes as he stretches out and props his feet up. After the whole ordeal where we all almost died before Prince Lachlan showed up with King Sky, Ty, and Jason, Seto took it upon himself to heal each and every one of our wounds. Needless to say, that is no small task. Glancing at the sorcerer once more, who is already asleep, I stand up, ruffle my wings, and walk over to where everyone else is currently gathered. Only Matt and Pete are missing, making a choice to go back to Sky's kingdom to search for any remaining survivors or items, departing as soon as Seto healed them.

     Prince Lachlan is the first to stand up and greet me. "Mitchell, was it? Nice to see you again." He beams, showing a great deal of humility by bowing slightly to me, even though technically he is of higher rank.
     "You too. Thanks for saving us back there, I owe you one, Prince." I say, returning the smile.
     He waves it off with a shrug. "Well I couldn't have just let you guys die! And call me Lachlan. As far as I'm concerned, we're equals now."
     "Okay, Lachlan."

     With that he reclaims his seat, and Jerome shifts over, making room for me to sit around the large round table. So far we haven't really done much planning. With all that's gone on, all we've really had time to talk about and share was our recent events, how everyone got here and met, our powers, etcetera. Now, however, is the time to discuss the elephant in the room. Seto would just have to have Brice fill him in on it later.

     "So... Notch is really dead." Ty opens, the mood instantly becoming solemn.
      Jerome nods sadly. "It's official. And darkness seems to be spreading from the capital. Look."

     In unison, we all glance out the window, and peering off on the horizon I can just make out the border of a dark vortex of clouds, slowly engulfing the sky. It's silent for a moment, the atmosphere heavy with despair. Then Sky clears his throat, bringing everyone back to reality.

     "So here's what we know so far; Notch was killed by a black gem named Herobrine. His power has been split between six random people, three of which are Prince Lachlan, Mitch, and Jerome. You three have little light lines that are supposedly connecting you to the other three gems, which are all to the East. Correct?"
     "That's right." I say, confirming his facts.
     Sky nods, adjusting his sunglasses and continuing. "Herobrine has a siege of mobs invading major kingdoms and cities, and breaking their gems. To get to Herobrine and defeat him, you have to get four keys, and we are currently in possession of one."
      This time it's Lachlan who speaks up. "Yep."
      "So... what's the plan?" Brice says, speaking the question on everyone mind. Although... I'm personally not sure there's a perfect answer.
      Jason raises his hand, speaking for the very first time since arriving. "I'm no expert... but I might have an idea."

The six of us turn to Jason, who seems slightly uncomfortable being the centre of attention but determined to help nonetheless. He takes a breath, pulling a map out of his inventory and spreading it on the table.

"So we know the mobs are going and destroying people and places. The capital is undoubtedly captured, Skys kingdom is nothing but ruins, Seto said they've destroyed Oakview-the town only a little ways away- and now their making their way to the Powers kingdom."

At the mention of Lachlan's home, I cast a glance in his direction and notice him gulp, his fist clenching as he stares blankly at the table. As Jason lists these places off, he takes a piece of charcoal and puts an X through the sites.

"I'm not too sure of Herobrines goal in doing this, but it seems he is wiping out the larger kingdoms first so there's less of a chance a resistance will form and interfere with his plans. So, I think we should send out parties and visit all of the smaller villages and towns and evacuate them here to Setos place. True, space may be limited, but until all the white gems assemble and kill Herobrine this is one of the the safest places to be. We can use this place as a small resistance base, and Seto has more than enough supplies to get us started, before we organize some sort of system to gather food and resources outside the forcefield safely."
"Not a bad idea Jason."

A jolt of panic shoots through me as a voice speaks right next to my ear. "GAH!" I scream, jumping back at the sight of Seto less than a block away from me. "SETO DONT DO THAT. I THOUGHT YOU WERE SLEEPING."
He chuckles and casts me an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Mitch. I wasn't sleeping, just resting. Besides, you know I can't resist a good plan. And I think I have a way to eliminate our space problem."

Everyone does their best to stifle their laughs, and I cross my arms, folding my wings in tight and grumbling. Seto steps forward, everyone scooting over so he can have a seat at the table. He looks at Jason, holding his hand out, and Jason passes him the charcoal. He makes three circles: One around our current position, one father North up in the Vein mountains, and one far off in the East, about a days away from a small village called Oresville.

     "I have two good mage friends that we can distribute the refugees between. Chimney," Seto points to the mountains, "and Rob." Points to the circle by Orseville. "Those two have pretty impressive bases, and they can both easily sustain a large amount of people. Not to mention, they're also incredibly safe. So, I suggest we send out two teams to go to their domains, and ask for help. We can travel through the nether, and then once we get there we can spread out and visit smaller villages first, recruiting people there and regrouping them at the nearest base location. One team will consist of Sky, Ty, and Jason. The other, Mitch, Lachlan, and Jerome. When Matt and Pete return, they and Brice can create a third team and spread out in this general area, and to the West and South. Questions? Comments?"
      Brice raises his hand. "Yeah just one thing. Didn't Matt and Pete say they had to evacuate the Nether? We still don't know why, so what if it's dangerous?"
     I nod in agreement. "He's right. Sure it's faster, but do we really want to risk it?"
    
     Everyone falls silent for a moment, but in the end we all come to a silent agreement. Jerome is the one to voice it.

      "We're just going to have to risk it. Our time is limited, we've gotta be quick. And, since the lines connecting our gems are all in the East, I think Mitch, Lachlan, and I should go to this Rob guys base. We might find the other gems on the way, who knows?"
       "I second that." Lachlan pitches in, raising a finger.
        Ty claps his hand together, standing up. "It's settled then. We'll leave at dawn."

~~~

Question of the chapter:

Do you guys wanna see bits and pieces of the resistance being formed every once and a while? Or would you rather I stick just to the Pack, and their quest alone. If I include the side quest, it'll be a lot longer, but if I don't, it might be easier to keep track of the events and such. But I'll leave it up to you guys so let me know! Personally, I'd rather just stick to the Pack, but I really don't mind too much.