The Wicked Ones

Chapter 3. New Limits

"Where are we?" Wolf murmured, pushing herself to her feet. "This doesn't look like any place I've seen in Minecraftia." She looked around. "And why are we here?"

Midnight had long since stood up and surveyed the area for dangers. "We're in some sort of park," she said, getting their attention. "I don't sense any code here. I don't think this is Minecraftia." She'd taken off her hood, having seen nobody around who might give them away. "Our magic still works, at least."

Pro and Blaze tended to Equinox as best they could - Blaze had bandages in her satchel, luckily, so they used them to slow the bleeding. It was at a difficult spot; they couldn't very well wrap it tight around his neck, or they'd suffocate him.

They settled for pressing the bandage onto his skin instead of wrapping it. "We need an actual healer," Pro said, looking up at the others. "Without a professional, he's going to die."

"We'll get his injury healed, then figure out how to get home." Ranger said. "Is there any place you saw nearby we could bring him to?" She asked then, turning her attention to Mid.

The cloaked Brine's eyes narrowed slightly. "If I'd found a healer, we wouldn't be here still, would we?" Mid replied drily.

"Send out others, then." Blaze spoke up. "We need people to look for a healer - or for anyone who lives here that might help us."

Red sat at the foot of a tree, leaning back against it. "We don't know if the locals are hostile," she reminded them, grinning casually. "If you send a lone scout out there, chances are they won't come back. So go ahead, I'm all for it-"

"Shush," Mid said, then pointed at Wolf. "You try to keep the nuisance in check. Blaze and I will find someone and get the help we need. And if they want to be difficult, I'll show them what color their brain is."

"Midnight." Blaze said without looking up. A note of warning graced her tone. "Temper."

Mid whirled to her. "We need to get home! I have a Kingdom to run, and my kids need me!"

Blaze looked up at her, then, realizing the urgency behind her friend's insensitivity. "The camp will keep them safe." She said, softer now. "Let's go get help." She whispered some quick instructions to Pro, then stood up.

"We can't teleport," Ranger added. "Our magic has limits now. We'll have to figure out what works and what doesn't as we go along."

Wolf muttered, "Great."

"Dave was left behind," Pro said as Blaze and Mid left. "He's still back there."

At that, they fell into an uneasy silence - until Wolf spoke again a bit later. "We don't even know what happened to the rebels. Or the apprentices. They might be dead, too." An expression of worry crossed her face - something none of them was used to seeing. "Jaddie might be dead."

Jaddie, they knew, was Wolf's apprentice, as well as her niece. She was Wolf's family - quite possibly the only family she had left. And now...

Not knowing was almost worse than knowing. Wolf hated not knowing.

For the first time, there was nothing anyone could do. They were trapped.

~

"Patch?"

She started, and almost looked around before recognizing the voice. It hadn't come from anyone around her. "Equinox?" She whispered, hesitant to believe it.

"It's me." Equinox's voice confirmed. "You saw my predicament, yes?"

Patch had left the battlefield by now, not wanting to look at it any longer. She was currently within the walls of Notch's courtyard, watching servants and knights scurry about. "Your throat was cut - but you're alive?"

"Barely. And only thanks to my Summoner magic. Since I haven't bled out, I think the rest of them are helping. I'm in a coma of sorts; I did lose a lot of blood..." He trailed off for a bit, and Patch checked the tether, just in case. It was still solid.

"I can't see or feel anything. I'm unconscious." Equinox said. "I'm going to bring you to where I am. I need you to tell me what's happening. But first, is everything alright over there?"

Patch didn't respond for a while. She had no interest in remembering the slaughter. "They're gone." She whispered.

"What?"

"The rebels." Her voice shook. "Notch attacked. They're dead. All of them. Shadow was captured; Seto teleported the other apprentices away, so I hope they're alive..."

Equinox' silence was almost painful. "They're all dead." He repeated eventually, his voice so quiet it was barely even a whisper. "Dead."

This time, Patch didn't reply. There was nothing she could say, nothing she could do, to make this less horrible, especially after witnessing it herself. So she simply said nothing, and waited. After several minutes of quiet grief, she felt the pull from the tether.

Seconds later, she stood in a...park? It looked like one. There were trees all around, and a river rumbling in the distance. And the first thing she saw was the Hero Squad. The small bit of relief she felt now that she knew they were at least alive was enough to push away some of the death-feeling that had followed her since the battle ended.

Equinox lay in the grass, his head propped up on Pro's knee, so they had access to his neck and throat. They had a bandage pressed to it. That was what was keeping him alive - keeping him from bleeding out.

She listened to them talk amongst themselves, then spoke down the tether to Equinox. "They're all safe. They have a bandage on you, and that's probably why the blood loss isn't as bad. Blaze and the Midnight person went to see if they could find anyone who can help."

The Hero Squad had set up a watch - Wolf and Ranger stood around, without weapons because they'd been forced to drop them back at the castle. With the limit on their magic, Ranger couldn't summon her energy sword, either.

Wolf couldn't summon lightning bolts, or anything really, but she could muster up just enough voltage to stun. Ranger was left mostly with her physical strength, since her energy bolts had been weakened as well. She was on high alert for attackers or dangers nonetheless; Patch thought that she looked much more serious than she used to.

"Do you still want to be here?" Equinox asked, and Patch focused again - then realized what he'd said. "I won't blame you if you want to leave this world behind. Everything went wrong, and after what you've seen..."

Patch lifted her head slightly. "As long as I can be useful, I'll be here." She replied. "I can help them. And right now, they probably need all the help they can get."

"Thank you, Patch." It was odd, watching his unmoving body while his voice was clear as day through the tether. "I'm going to send you back. I need you to keep an eye on what's happening back in Minecraftia. You are our only link to our world."

Patch nodded firmly. "Do it," she said. "Tell me when you wake up."

Within seconds, she was gone again.