Warnings: Blood, Character death

~Mitch's P.O.V~

     The solid wall of frigidness sucks my breath away as I dive into the water, instantly chilled to the bone. My mouth gapes open at the impact, precious bubbles of air popping out and breaking on the choppy surface of the ocean. I recover from my shock, swimming out of the way as Jerome, Lachlan, Vikk, and Rob all dive in after me, creating flurries of air bubbles under the water. It's pitch black down here, the only light coming from the thousands of red eyes deeper out in the ocean, my wings which are literally made of light, and the warm glow of Preston's skin as he stands by the waters edge, waving goodbye. He then quickly retreats into the dirt hut, followed by Silver.

     Feeling a pressure building up beneath my ribs, I quickly pop the cap off a water breathing potion, downing the royal blue liquid. Instantly there's an itch at the side of my neck as gills push their way to the surface, and my lungs fill with air. I then follow up with a night vision potion, and suddenly the underwater world becomes clear. Seaweed floats lazily all about, creating massive kelp forests as far as the eye can see. As the ground dips lower and lower the underwater plants become sparse, and sand and dirt gives way to gravel. A few squids jet by here and there, a turtle glides around in the East, and a few brightly coloured fish dart by my face. It would almost seem peaceful if it weren't for the armies of drowned patrolling the ocean depths and swarms of guardians shielding the ocean monument.

     Although diamond is quite heavy, we all wear full sets of diamond armour and carry diamond weapons, and by some magic it feels no heavier than our regular clothing, if a bit bulky. I draw two diamond swords, latching them to either side of my hips. Jerome slings his diamond axe across his back, Lachlan carries the trident that nearly skewered Preston, and Vikk swims off to retrieve the second trident the now dead drowned was carrying. Rob of course opts to use his magic, however he carries a diamond sword just in case. I am delighted to find that my wings are not affected by the water at all, and I can use them to almost 'fly' under the water, swimming much faster than my friends.

Jerome, having the best sight of us all, takes the lead. He raises a finger to his lips, making a shushing motion, and then waves us on. This is a stealth mission. We all nod to snow him we understand and he flashes a smile, drawing his axe, and propelling himself into the seaweed. Vikk tails along at his heels, followed by Lachlan and Rob. I bring up the rear, flapping my wings under the water to create extra momentum. A drowned stalks out of a cluster of dense kelp and I drive my sword through it's rotting neck, sending up a cloud of sickly red blood. I'm back behind Rob before any of them notice I left.

We continue on swimming deeper and deeper, staying in the kelp as long as we can for cover, only encountering a few guardians and drowned on the way. We deal with them swiftly and quietly. But as the kelp thins out and we're forced to traverse open waters, my wings actually prove to be quite annoying, their light attracting any guardians or drowned in a 100 block radius. Jerome tries to lead us behind as many gravel mounds and shipwrecks as he can, but my wings still stick out like a sore thumb and as we get closer to the ocean monument, mobs start flocking towards us in startling amounts. So much for a stealth mission. I think, dodging a laser beam from a guardian by circling around a pillar of gravel and then piercing its eyes and brain with my sword. A drowned hurls a trident at my wings but it simply phases right through, instead killing a guardian circling behind me. I do an underwater barrel roll, slicing clean through the drowned and using the blood cloud as cover to down a fifth water breathing and night vision potion. These potions should really last longer.

     The ocean monument looms before us now, cool sea lantern light rivalling that of my wings. And with it a fresh siege of drowned and guardians. I grunt as a guardian slams into me from the side, one of its bright orange spikes piercing through my armour and into my leg. Blood spills out of the wound as I reel away, using one sword to chop off its tail and then following with the second to stab it in the side. Rob floats over and presses his hand to my leg, instantly healing it. I nod in gratitude, kicking away and bulldozing through a cluster of drowned.

      Vikk, having collected several tridents, morphs into a squid. With a trident wrapped in each suctioned tentacle, he spins around like a wheel impaling countless drowned and guardians as he whirls by, creating a thick trail of blood behind himself. Lachlan shoves his own trident through the body of a guardian. He then grabs its dead body by the tail, braces himself against the gravely ocean floor, and allows his arms to stretch out several blocks. After twisting his torsos around in a full circle about thirty times, he adopts Vikks whirlpool technique, letting the dead guardian swing around like a club as he uncoils and mowing down any mob in the immediate area. Rob, using magic to keep it confined, uses electrical bolts to fry anything that gets within ten blocks of himself. And any time someone gets wounded he instantly swims over, using his powers to heal us. Jerome acts like an absolute tank, hacking his way towards the ocean monument, shoving past drowned and burying his axe into guardians. Every time a laser hits him he just keeps pushing on, even going as far as ripping apart a drowned with his bare hands, using the guts and blood to hide himself.

      And yet even though we severely outmatch the mobs skill wise, there is strength and numbers, and there seems to be an endless amount of them. Soon I find my muscles beginning to lock up, tired of swinging through tons upon tons of water and slaying so many enemies. I look around to see it is the same with my friends, even Rob so tired he can no longer heal the many gashes covering his face and arms. Jerome manages to roar under the water in a kind of bubbly gargle, pointing towards the entrance of the monument. He flees from the pursuing flock of guardians behind him, zigzagging to avoid their lasers, and shooting through the entrance. Vikk morphs into a dolphin, Lachlan dropping his trident and wrapping his arms around Vikks top fin as he darts after Jerome, pulling Lachlan along.

      "Come on" I mouth to Rob, hooking my arm around the exhausted mages shoulders.

      I pump my wings to propel us through the entrance just as Jerome swims up to the top, using his sonic roar that miraculously works under the water to cave in the roof. Prismarine shatters into pieces, tumbling down and squashing several drowned that were chasing us. Blood, dust, and debris cloud the entrance as the fallen blocks create a barricade, sealing us off from the thousands of hostile mobs outside. We all slump to the ground in relief, chests heaving.

     But the fight is far from over.

     For this is not a normal ocean monument. The entire maze like structure and rooms of the monument have been cleared out, the entrance giving way to a single massive room. Armoured drowned line the sides of the room, standing like soldiers with tridents in hand. Somewhere around seventy guardians form a semi circle, all facing the entrance with their lasers trained on us. And in the centre of it all, seated upon a throne made of gold and dark prismarine, is Riptide.

      Here we go.

~~~

     ~Preston's P.O.V.~

    As soon as I see the murky figures of my friends begin to fade away, I quickly retreat into the sloppy dirt hurt we three together, shutting the spruce door firmly behind me once Silver come bounding in. I sigh, flopping down onto the comfy orange bed Rob kindly summoned for me, wrapping the comforter around my shoulders and allowing my skin to heat up to fight off the cold. Silver yips in delight, cuddling up to my side and wagging her tail, encouraging me to run my fingers through her thick white fur.

      "It's just us now, girl." I state, holding her head in my hands.

      She barks, nuzzling my face. I laugh, hugging her tight to my chest, burying my face into her fur. With all the stuff that's been happening lately I haven't had a chance to spend some quality time with her. When the day has ended and humanity has failed me, scorned me, and set me aside, Silver is always there. She was there when I was cast out as a red gem, and she's here now as I adapt to this crazy new white gem life. I gaze warmly into her wide black eyes.

      "I love you, Silver." I coo, scratching her chin.

       She barks, wagging her tail and hopping around the room. I laugh, pulling the blanket tighter around myself as I watch my sweet Silver roll around, not a care in the world. I smile content, wanting nothing more in the world than to stay here forever, in this little dirt hut at the edge of an ocean, watching my companion play and live innocently for the rest of time.

      As the door flies open and a large stone is hurled at my head, knocking me out cold, the last thing I see is the limp body of my Silver, impaled on a spike of stone, a look of incomprehension on her face as blood spills out of her stomach and mouth. She whimpers and the world goes black.

~~~
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