...Glacier Hex... "Everything. It's all falling Steve. This is it. They're getting closer. Soon they'll reach us. Falling. At last, everything we have, is sliding down. Into nothing." Khloe said. "Doesn't matter." Steve replied, quietly. But confident. "Oh come on! How does it not matter? Face it already! We're in hell. We've been in every kind of hell that could be thought up!" Khloe said back. "Maybe. But see us? Standing here? We're not dead. We've not fell. We've come this far... so we can't fall now. Even if we die. We've still not fell." Steve said.

...Hell Invaders... I WOKE UP TO HELL. That's what I thought, when I was lying there. But if I didn't wake at all... Lord help us. I woke up in the morning due to the fact that the whole building was rumbling. I recently turned 20. Like, a few days ago. I'm Steve. I live in Mystinaar. Meaning, when I woke up, the last thing I was expecting was for there to be 3 giant Diablans flying around outside. Anyway, I got out of bed. The first thing I thought was: ' Khloe' She's kinda small. She's nineteen, almost twenty, but the top of her head is level with the bottom of my nose. And I'm not particularly tall. I ran out of my room, and looked around. She wasn't there, so I checked her bedroom. She was sitting on her bed, her messy brown hair messier than usual. It's normally messy, in a way. Kinda wavy and curly. It goes down to about, half way between her elbows and shoulders. She was still in her Pyjamas. So was I. She was sitting with her eyes clenched, and hands over her ears. I couldn't blame her. It was loud. Very loud. She has this curse, whereby about half of her #life, she feels terrible. Like is she'd just eaten a big lunch, and gone on a roller coaster with twenty loops, followed by a skydiving session. And a speed boat trip. Oh, and imagine your scared of heights AND the sea. That's how she felt half of her #life. Which I obviously hate. So often, she can't think as well, and isn't as happy in general, as she is on normal days. So when stuff like this happens, she doesn't have a second thought about anything. She just goes into this state where she does exactly what I just said she was doing. Eyes clenched, hands over ears. Blocking everyone and everything out. And don't try talking to her whilst she's doing this, she literally won't listen. I felt sorry for her, because it's almost like she WANTS to have a second thought about what she's doing, but can't cope. If the monsters weren't outside, she wouldn't be like this. She would still feel terrible, but she wouldn't block everything out. I walked up to her and knelt down in front of her. If I nudged her, or screamed loudly, even though she would pretty much KNOW it was me, she would find it really hard to open her eyes and take her hands off her ears. This didn't happen much. I didn't like to leave her in this state, because even Though SHE was doing it, she hated it. Wierd. I new I was like, seven times stronger than she is, she's not particularly weak, but I'm quite strong. And like I said, she's small, giving her less power. But I don't like to use much strength on her. "KHLOE!" I yelled, just in case, ya know? Nothing. If she could hear my actual voice, without her ears covered, she'd probably listen. I put my hands on hers, and she shook her head as if to tell me 'No'. I gently lifted them off her ears, and I said a little quieter now, "Khloe? You know it's me. Open your eyes." ... ... nothing... then I thought of a way to get her attention. I leant forward and kissed her. She didn't pull away. Then, she finally opened her eyes and sat there arms folded. "What?" She asked grumpily. She didn't like it when I interrupted her. She was having a sick day, and monsters were attacking. I kinda knew she wouldn't be very happy. "Want me to leave you here helplessly blocking out everything?" I asked, knowing the answer. "...no." She said. "Okay. What are you gonna do then?" I asked her. "Dunno. Their too loud!" She complained, and went to block her ears again. I grabbed her hands and lowered them. "No." I said more sternly now. This wasn't gonna help her. "I AM helpless! Just leave!" She said, frustrated. "I said, no." I told her sternly. "GO! I can't do ANYTHING LIKE THIS!" She shouted, and went for her ears again. I pulled them back down. "Remember the boat?" I said. "HOW IS THAT HELPING!" She shouted, clearly annoyed. "Calm down. Remember that night? I told you I'd never leave you? This counts." I told her. She lowered her head. "Mm-hm." She mumbled. I could see she wasn't happy with herself. She often got like this, and then when I managed to calm her down, she got annoyed with herself. She kicked herself and didn't say anything. "Hey, don't do that. Your not being fair." "Yeah. Not to you." She said grumpily. "No. To yourself. You can yell at me all day, complain at me. I'll still love you." I told her gently, and took her hand. "I TRY not to get mad at you. I hate it. Sorry." She said grimly. "You don't have to be." I said, and pushed her hair back behind her eye. "You can stay here. Just don't get like that. Okay?" I told her. "I can't. It won't work." She said. "Fine. Then I'll stay with you." I told her. "What!? But the monsters!" She complained. "We have enough army to deal with them. And plus, Travis is out there fighting them." I said. "Still could help them." She said. "Still could help you." I replied. "Whatever." She said, and folded her arms. "I already told you. I'm NEVER, leaving you. Especially when your like that." I told her again. "Okay. Can't beat you, join you." She said and weakly lifted her arms. I came in and hugged her tight. Then I lifted her up, sat on the bed, and sat her down on my lap. I kept my arms around her, and pulled her close to my chest. "Listen, the rumbling isn't as loud now. They're beating them." I said. I did kinda want to get out there and fight them, but I couldn't leave her here. "You have to be so much stronger than me?" Khloe asked, and looked up, her head against my chest. "Maybe. At least it's not a bad thing." I replied. "Why?" She asked back. "Coz you won't die unless I die." I said.

...Steve's Diary... Christmas is gone. Boring, if you ask me. You get all used to the Christmas spirit and having fun and stuff, then... BAM. It's over. Anyway, didn't exactly take any cleaning up. As there are invisible robots that drop out of the furniture and clean up for you. I guess on the bright side, Peter isn't so hyper. I mean, he is most of the time, but Christmas... wow. I seriously doubt anyone else in the whole of Mystinaar could jump as high as Peter on Christmas Eve. He also put loads of notes around the whole apartment building saying stuff like: 'Father Christmas does not appreciate non believers' and 'TEAM SANTA'... also I doubt anyone would guess he's 18. Like all of us. He decided 'if santa isn't gonna come... let's make Travis santa!' Typically, Peter likes to get on Travis' nerves. When he was sleeping, he used whipped cream to give him a beard... and put a stocking on his head. I'll admit, it was kinda funny. I pity Thea, who lives with him. Though, when he's with her, which is basically all the time, she's more comfortable with Peter, and he's more gentle with her. Christmas with Peter... Yipee. It's New Year's Eve. Meaning fireworks display. I kinda like fireworks, I guess. But Khloe loves them, she could like, sit there and watch them for days. She's only really told me, because she finds it embarrassing, that she likes fireworks so much. I don't have a problem with it, but whatever shoots your fireworks, as they say... well, nobody says that. Knowing her, things that she likes, aren't usually things like.. ya know, skydiving, or scuba diving or secret missions, or battles, or extremely dangerous sport. Or a lot of sport actually... but she could just sit there with a book for ages, or something. Though, as they are late at night, she'll probably fall asleep. Well, they were pretty cool. I've never seen them before, probably because I've been on a mission to save the whole city and stuff. I won my bet, she fell asleep. She eventually just stopped saying much. Or moving, and drooped her head on my shoulder. Then Travis fell asleep. He looked super uncomfortable, like with his neck at a ninety degree angle, so it surprised me that PETER put him comfy in the end. Knew it. In the end, they are kinda friends. And then Thea fell to sleep on Peter's shoulder. Then it was just me and him. Which stirred memory's of mine. Like the beginning. The beginning of my #life now. Sitting there with Peter at school. Just woke up from my normal #life. And ever since, it's never just been me and Peter. He is, after all, my best friend. We just sat there, in happy silence, both smiling, thinking the same thing, thinking: 'Look how far we've come.' ...AUTHORS NOTE.. I first, thank you. For reading. The truth is, I just thought it would be fun to get something out there, that people know me for. This is it. I finally completed the lives of Steve, Peter, and the Mystic Heroes. NAH! I'm going to keep writing these books for a looooong time now. This isn't the end. I mean, come on! What happened in between books, when the characters were waiting, anxiously, for the next Hex trial. What happened as SOON as Reaper was chained up? But really, it all leads up to this everlasting question. This question, that can never fully be answered, that you're all thinking now: What happens next? This, is why I wrote my books. Every series I read, I could never get enough of it. When I reached the end of a series. I kept thinking... What happons next?

...Sea Scene... Steve was sitting on deck, listening to Travis snore from downstairs. Travis and Peter had both already had their turn on watch, and Steve didn't intend to wake Khloe. She got really bad sea sickness. Steve wasn't TO tired anyway. Just a little. He stood, and slowly paced the deck. The boat rocked on another wave. Steve would have fallen off, as the boat slid down the wave, but somebody's arms wrapped around him. They pulled him back, so he didn't fall. They unwrapped and Steve turned around. Khloe was standing there looking at her feet. "Couldn't sleep." She complained. "Did you try very hard?" Steve asked. "Well... not really." She said. "Go back down and try then. It'll help." He told her. "Appreciate your concern. But I prefer it up here." She said. "No you don't. You get sea sick." He said. Khloe sat down next to him and said: "What if I told you I like it because YOUR here." "Then I'd ask WHY?" He replied. "Then I'd tell you, maybe I'm more comfortable with you." She said. "Then I'd say you shouldn't. Why should you? We're here because of me. You should hate me." He told her grimly. "DON'T. Say that." She snapped. Steve folded his arms and didn't speak. "I can't hate you. Never." She said quietly. "Why?" He asked. "Becau-... doesn't matter." She got up and walked off, but before she could go far, Steve grabbed her hand. "Come back. Tell me what you needed to tell me." He said. She sat back down. She sighed. "Nobody likes me. Never have. Probably never will. But, you put up with me for ages." She said. "What do you mean?" Steve asked. "I-I'm trying to say... i love you." She replied quietly. "Kind of always have." She said. Steve looked deeply into those eyes. He opened his mouth but nothing came, he closed it again. "I'll go back down." She said quietly and grumpily. Steve got up and stopped her by grabbing both her hands. She turned and stared up into his eyes. "What?" She asked. Steve opened his mouth, and said the only thing left to say : "I-I love you Khloe." "Sure you don't lie?" She asked grimly. "Not lying. Really." He told her. "Sure?" "I can persuade you." Steve suggested. Without waiting for any answer, he lifted her up (she's about the hight of the bottom of his nose) and kissed her. She looked shocked, but then closed her eyes. He could of stayed in that moment forever. Reaper could anhialate existence, and he'd have NO idea. He finally put her back down. This time SHE opened her mouth, but closed it, as nothing came out. "Persuaded?" He asked gently. "Persuaded." She agreed. Steve sat down, but Khloe stood there, motionless. Steve pulled her forward, and rested her in his lap, her head against his chest. "I-a..." she started. "Shh. It's okay. You can sleep now. I'm here. You're safe." Steve told her gently and calmly. "i love you. I always will." She told him, softly. "Love you. Goodnight, go sleep now. You need it." Steve said, and hugged her tight to his chest. "Night." She said. A few seconds later, and she was gently breathing. Steve decided he wouldn't go to sleep. He wouldn't even take the SLIGHTEST chance that Khloe could get hurt, maybe fall into the water, or even onto deck. Everything. Steve's whole #life. Changed tonight. For the better, but a lot. A very lot. In a way, it would get harder. He had to protect Khloe now. Now everything he thought... was out. He felt complete though. Maybe things would get easier now. Now he had her with him. Happiness flowed through his whole body. If only he knew, knew that he wouldn't get that kind of feeling... for a LONG time. Steve kept to his mental promise. He didn't sleep. The sun was coming up from the horizon. But then, a black figure disrupted it, taking away all sunlight, coming towards him... it was Peter. The sun made his silhouette. "Hey Steve." Peter said, his voice just like it always was. Not particularly quiet... Steve smiled but put his finger to his mouth and made a quiet 'shh' sound. Peter noticed that Khloe was sleeping on him, and he winked and put his finger to his mouth. Peter was hyper, and funny and excitable, but when he needed to be, really helpful and kind. Peter sat opposite Steve and whispered: "Your so cute." "Mm-hm." Steve replied. "Your like, 3 times the hight of her." He laughed quietly. Steve nodded and looked down at her head. "She's really light." Steve said. "Wonder if I'm taller than her." Peter said. "Probably." Steve said. "Anyways, size matters not. Your still cute." Peter grinned at him. "Uh-huh." He said, and rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling. "I'll go tell Travis to shut up, so he doesn't wander up here shouting random things like a Neanderthal." Peter told him. "I swear you guys used to get on well." Steve said. "What are you saying? We never got along." Peter told him, and got up. He went down the stairs. Steve remembered when they were twelve, and Peter got on kind of well with Travis. Kind of. Then, Steve heard grumbling, from Khloe. He peered over her head, and her eyes fluttered open. She looked around, then up, and saw Steve. She smiled warmly and he smiled back. "Please tell me I wasn't dreaming." Khloe said. "About..." "We we're here, it was night, and I... oh, I'm here. With you... wasn't dreaming. Good." She said. "Nope not dreaming." He confirmed. "Can I like... stay here? Forever?" She said. "Just not at sea?" "I wish. We'll get out of here eventually. Once Reaper's finished off, yes. I'll probably never let you go." He admitted. "Huh? Probably?" There was genuine worry in her voice, as if she thought he would leave her. "I mean literally. Like, in my arms. Unless you need the toilet." He said. "Phew, okay. I don't care as long as you stay with me." She said, clearly relieved. "Yup, not got a problem there." He told her. She leant against his chest, looking up into his eyes. "Where's the other two?" She asked. "Down there." He pointed below decks. "Kay. You get any sleep?" She asked. He didn't want to lie to her. "Well... no." He said, looking up into the sky. "What?! You need sleep to!" She protested. "No. I prefer watching you sleep." He said, and looked back down at her. "Well I WANT you to get sleep. Or else how are you supposed to fight monsters and stuff?" She said. "It's okay. Really. I'm not tired." Steve replied. "so annoying." She mumbled. "Uh-huh." He said, and hugged her tighter. and Travis were kind of friends. He suspected they'd get on well in later #life. Assuming they didn't all die. No, he couldn't think like that. It wouldn't help anyone. Below him, Khloe

(scene from sea hex)((book3))(City. Sea.Forest.Sky.Desert.Glacier.) Steve was sitting on top of the deck, listening to Travis snore from downstairs. He planned to stay up all night, on watch. He knew Travis was tired because he already had his turn on lookout. He also suspected Peter was tired because he kept waking up during Travis' watch. And he didn't intend to wake Khloe. She got really bad sea sickness. She'd felt ill for this whole trip. If only the sea was still. That way, she wouldn't feel so ill, and they would find the way to stop the Hex sooner. This sea, however, was very choppy. The boat was enchanted to not capsize, but if one of them fell off, they were sea monster food. The boat rocked back and forth massively. Not wildly, not at night anyway, but just a lot. The waves were huge. Steve put his hands on the railing of the boat and looked over, into the stormy, cruel waves. The boat went up on a huge wave, so Steve was looking into the wave. Then when it went back down, Steve almost fell off, but somebody's arms wrapped around his waist. Saving him from falling off. He turned around, and Khloe was standing there. She unwrapped her arms from around him and said: "Couldn't sleep." "Did you try?" Steve asked as he sat back down on the bench. "Kind of." She said. She frowned and almost fell, but maintained her balance. As she was a little smaller than everyone else (about the height up to Steve's nose) she was 14 and so was he. Or he thought. "Maybe if you try, you will. It'll help." Steve said. "Appreciate your thought. But I can't. I can't get comfortable in this place." She said. "We'll be out soon. Promise." Steve told her. "You keep promising things. It's like a habit." She said as the boat rocked again. "Have I ever broken a promise?" Steve asked, smiling. "Well... no. But I hope we do get out of this place, I hate it." The boat rocked again, and Khloe went pale and fell forward. Steve caught her. "Thanks." She said. Steve let her go. "Can't even stand properly." Khloe complained. "Doesn't matter. We won't be here for long." He assured her. She sat down next to him. "Sure you're not better down there? You won't get as seasick." Steve suggested. "Well... maybe, but you're up here." She told him. "So? I would help if I could, but I can't." Steve said. "Kind of can." She said. "I like it better when you're there." She said quietly, as if afraid somebody would hear. "Why? I can't do anything to help you. I told you." Steve said. "Yeah but... Erm... what if I feel better with you?" Khloe asked. "Then I'd ask, do you?" Steve replied. "Then I'd say, yes. Yes I do." She said. "Why? We're here because of me. You should hate me now." He said grimly. Then, Khloe did something he was NOT expecting. She gently tilted his head to face her. She looked into his eyes deeply. Then, she leant forward and kissed him. Reaper could have destroyed everyone he knew and loved, but he would of had no idea. Steve could of stayed in that moment forever. Then she pulled back and said: "I'll never hate you. Never. I... I love you Steve." He had no idea what to say. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. "And happy birthday! It just went midnight!" She showed him her watch. He was completely in shock that she had remembered his birthday when he hadn't himself. "A-I-" Steve couldn't pronounce his words. "Shh. Just think. Then say. Or don't say." Khloe said softly. But Steve didn't need to think. "I love you Khloe." He said. He never thought he'd get to say that. "Y-you do?" Khloe asked, her voice cracking slightly. "Yeah. I do." He replied. "I-I-... Thank you." She said, a tear of happiness rolled down her nose. Steve kissed her on the cheek. "You think you can sleep now?" Steve said gently. "Y-yeah. Forever." She replied. "Well don't sleep forever. I won't let you." Steve told her. He wondered if Khloe knew what he meant. What he was really saying, was: I won't let you die. Ever. "Okay. Thank you." She said, and Steve assumed she got the message. He put one arm around her and she rested against his shoulder. Now, Steve couldn't let her down. Not EVER. It was early morning, when Steve heard Peter get up, and wake Travis by shouting about a monster attack. He came up the stairs laughing, as Travis had prepared his weapon to fight. He saw Steve, who was gently playing with curls in Khloe's hair. "Hey Steve." Peter whispered. Steve looked up and said: "Yeah?" But Peter just smiled and winked. He had his own little ways of speaking. The problem was, they always changed. Steve wondered whether to wake Khloe, but thought that it would be better if she got enough sleep to maybe get a LITTLE less sick. Of course, he jinxed it by just thinking about it. She opened her eyes slowly and said: "Still here?" Quietly. "Yep. Always will be." Steve replied quietly. At this point, Travis stormed up the stairs looking grumpy, as usual when Peter had... joked, with him. "Seriously Peter? Every night?" Travis asked. "Why do you believe him then Travis?" Steve asked. "Ahem, I am quite persuasive you know. And who's side are you on?" Peter asked. Steve shrugged, not really caring. "Anyway, are we just gonna, like, float here for the rest of our lives?" Peter asked. "No Peter. WE'RE gonna float here, your gonna sink." Travis said. "Yeah, sink YOU." Peter added. "Guys really? I don't like talking about sinking. It makes me sick." Khloe said, still curled up next to Steve. "Okay, yeah we'll stop, WON'T we Peter." Travis said, glaring at Peter. "Wasn't planning on it, but okay... what about dunking? Dunking make you sick?" Peter asked innocently. Khloe lowered and buried he face in Steve's shoulder as much as she could. "Peter?" Steve asked. "Okay... caps-" "No, Peter." Steve said. The boat rocked, and Peter stumbled a little. Travis snickered. "Hey, brain boy. I didn't chose to be small." Peter said. "Yeah but you chose to be an idiot." He said, and ran back down the stairs. Peter shrugged and sat on the opposite bench to Steve. "So. Like we said, last time, some big monster had the key. And there was a big metal door nearby. If our best bet is that, we should find a big metal door either floating in the air, or bobbing around at sea." Peter said. Khloe sat up, but Steve didn't let go of his arm, which was still around her. Khloe didn't seem to mind. "How are we supposed to fight the monster? We don't have like, sea weapons." She pointed out. "Yeah, good point. Unless we can find some mechanic boat, like that one that gave us directions." Peter said. "We'd need stuff like, torpedo's though. Or maybe if we found a way to... well, get ONTO the monster, if it's big enough." Steve suggested. The thought must of made Khloe's stomach churn, because she groaned, and leant against Steve again. "Maybe we could use some giant fishing rod?" Peter suggested. "This badge." Steve said, as he took the little naval badge out of his pocket. Must have been some kind of award? "What about it?" Khloe asked. "Surely it's got some kind of... magic in it." He replied. "Yeah, or else why would we have found it on this ship? It's a magic ship, after all." Peter agreed. Steve fiddled with it between his fingers. It did have a little glow on it. But then Travis came charging up the stairs. "Guys, monster, things, in the water!" He panted, and ran to the back railing of the S.S.Mytho. Steve got up and ran to the rail, so did Peter. He looked over, and there were bubbling trails, speeding towards the ship, Khloe didn't get up, she just clenched her eyes and faced down, clearly trying hard not to freak. Steve squinted, and could see two, very thin squids, and they were extremely streamlined. Squidpedo's? He guessed he'd find out, if they blew up or not, because there was no stopping them. "MOVE THIS THING!" Travis yelled, and stared at Peter, as he was the one who steered this boat. "THAT WON'T HELP!" Peter screamed. Steve had an idea, but didn't want to do it. He ran back to Khloe, and dropped to one knee. "Khloe? Khloe, we need you, you can shoot, we can't." Steve said it calmly and gently, which surprised him. Khloe managed to open her eyes and look at him, but shook her head and covered her ears. Steve realised he could hear the Squidpedo's bubbling. He gently put his hands on Khloe's, and slowly removed them. "Khloe they won't go away unless you shoot them. Please. We need you." He said. She waited a second, opened her eyes and nodded. She stuck out her hand and Steve took it, and stood up. They ran to the front. She clicked her fingers and unslung a Mystic bow from her back. She took an arrow out of her quiver, got down to one knee. She aimed the bow just resting under the rail, like she was in a trench in war, and shot a golden arrow at the head of Squidpedo one. It stuck through its head and it sunk down. She instantly loaded another one, but before she could aim, the other one thrashed into the boat, making a loud THUMP. The boat shook and Khloe was clearly breathing very heavily now. The boys all peered over the edge, except Steve, who knelt down next to Khloe and looked through the bottom of the railing. She fired, but it hit in its back, and it stayed up. It splurted ink from its tentacles, and boosted forward and BOOM, it his the boat again. Khloe's hands were quivering, and her eyes were clenched shut again. Steve put his arm around her, and whispered: "Come on, just one more. The ship can't sink, remember?" "Mm-hm." She mumbled, her voice quivering. She managed to lift her eyes again, and aimed. One more hit from the squidpedo, and the ship WOULD, probably sink. It actually couldn't capsize. It could still sink. The squid went back a little, and coiled up. It zoomed forward, but before it hit the boat, about a centimetre away, it stopped. And sunk down. "YES!" Travis yelled. Khloe stood and got a massive hug from Peter. "Thank you! We're not dead!" He shouted at the waves. "Take that Doomface!" Peter yelled, likely aimed at Reaper. She tried to steady her breathing, but Steve kissed her. "Well done Khloe. We're safe now." He told her gently. "I-I need to go down. I think I might be sick." She said, her voice frail and quiet. "Yeah, go on down." Steve told her. "Your coming." She said, and dragged him down. They stepped down, and Khloe slumped on the back bench. Steve sat next to her. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned. "No." She said. "I heard something. In my head. A voice. It told me I was... I can't say it." Her voice cracked and she put her face in her hands. "Just tell me. It's okay" he said SA- I-" Steve was speechless. There was