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“You’re delusional, Aiden! The people of Sky City will never bow to you!”
Aiden glared at the man standing in front of him. He shifted in his seat, drumming his hands on the throne's armrest. He tossed a creeper egg up and caught it, wondering when he should throw it at Reggie and get this whole situation over with.
“You killed the Founder!” the guard yelled once more. Aiden groaned loudly, balling his free hand into a fist. He was, quite frankly, tired of everyone’s screaming, and was glad most of the sound was blocked off from the palace’s thick iron and gold walls.
“Yeah? Well, you’ll be next if you don’t shut the fuck up!” he yelled, crossing his legs. The Eversource clucked in front of him, looking around before staring at something. Aiden didn’t think too much of it, until he heard a very familiar voice yell across the room.
“Aiden! You’ve lost,” Jesse yelled. Aiden jumped, jerking his head towards the brunet, eyes wide. No. It can’t be. He killed him. He swore. His mind raced wildly, and he sat up.
“I saw you fall! You went down!” he said, trying to mask the panic in his voice. How the hell did he survive? Reginald turned as well, joy on his face.
“You’re alive! You’re alive!!! Is the Founder with you? I heard tha-” he exclaimed, before Aiden stood up and threw the creeper egg at him. He was REALLY getting mad. And a slight bit nervous. His mind continued to race - does that mean Lukas is alive as well? No, he shouldn’t worry about him. He’s their enemy. He chose to leave the Ocelots. Now it was his moment to shine. He’d kill Jesse once and for all. ...kill? He never- no, this wasn’t the time to contemplate his actions again.
The creeper blew up, throwing Reggie back against the hardwood floor. He yelled in pain, rolling onto his side. The Eversource walked up next to him and sat, keeping him company. Jesse yelled out to the guard, starting to run to him.
Aiden yelled, “Not one more step!” Jesse stopped dead in his tracks, gripping his sword. The two glared at each other.
“I’ve killed you once, and I can do it again!” he said, lightning flashing in the background.
“Just you and me, Aiden. Just you and me now,” said the brunet, pointing his sword at the other male. Aiden growled, hands flying towards his head to pull on his hair to release his frustration. He felt like he was going mad with rage.
“Just DIE ALREADY!” he snarled in rage, fishing a blaze spawn egg out of his pocket and tossing it. Jesse’s eyes widened, and he jumped back frantically as a blaze appeared in front of him, flying up and directly at him. He yelped and jumped to the side, avoiding damage. Aiden looked on as Jesse jumped up to the enemy, slashing and killing the mob. He unsheathed his sword, taking a running leap at his opponent, sword poised over his head. Jesse blocked the blow last minute, falling backwards. He jumped at him again, once again missing. His blade lodged itself in the wood for a second before he wrenched it out and turned to face Jesse again.
“This was supposed to be my world! And you ruined it!” he spat, venom in his voice. The two circled each other, swords raised.
“Listen to yourself, that’s insane!” Jesse retorted, almost sounding like he wanted to help Aiden. But he knew that wasn’t true - all the brunet wanted was attention. And at long last, Aiden could see what it’s like to finally be in the spotlight. The center of attention. He raised his sword once more, slashing at him. He struck Jesse's chest armor, sending him backwards in pain. Jesse then charged at Aiden, and he raised his sword to block. The steel clashed, making an awfully loud ringing noise, before he was shoved back, dropping his sword and slamming against the throne. Damn, that shit hurted.
Aiden's eyes widened with surprise, and he felt himself get nervous again, before his anger consumed him once again. Jesse started stepping closer to the throne, but Aiden quickly got up and threw a blaze egg that sat conveniently next to him, yelling in rage. Jesse jumped back once again, holding his sword up in defense. Aiden ran towards his own sword, grabbing it and quickly running off. He panted, standing in the rain at the cobble bridge that led to nowhere. He shook his head. Despite how stupid it was, he didn't want to think. He just needed to kill Jesse once and for all. Then he'll think about it later.
He watched as Jesse skillfully dodged the blaze’s attacks. He had grown very noticeably since the Witherstorm. He remembered that day clearly - the panic and confusion at Endercon, the smirks and insults at the build battle earlier that day. Aiden grew jealous. Why did Jesse, who started as a loser with a pig in a treehouse, get to take all the glory? It doesn’t matter now, though. He’s thought of this countless times before, and it was time to put his thoughts to an end.
Jesse dodged another blaze attack, and the mob flew into the rain pouring down. It’s fires died down and it slowly fell, turning to blaze rods as it fell into the endless void. Jesse turned to Aiden, approaching slowly. The two gripped their blades, preparing themselves for the confrontation they were both looking forward to. Aiden lowered his head, sharpening his glare. Lightning flashed behind them, thunder rumbling all around them. Rain soaked their hair and clothes. Jesse’s armor gleamed in the nearby torchlight, while Aiden stood in the darkness. Rain pitter pattered against the stone, almost muting the screams of fear in the background from the townspeople. The scene was set, and Jesse stopped in his tracks.
Aiden sighed. “You just can’t stand to see someone else in the spotlight, can you?” he spat bitterly. “You just can’t let anyone else win! It just drives you crazy to see someone else succeed, doesn’t it?!” he yelled.
“Aiden, look around you! It’s over. Give up!” yelled the brunette.
“No! You don’t get to tell me that!” retorted Aiden, waving his arm away from him in a slicing motion. He couldn’t think anymore. He could only express his emotions by being aggressively violent. He held his sword away from him, pointing it at Jesse, before holding it behind him. Jesse squinted, and held his sword close to him. He pointed at Aiden, as if to say “bring it on.”
After what seemed like ages but was in reality a few seconds, the two charged at each other. Aiden raised his sword above his head, swinging down, which Jesse blocked with a quick raise of his own sword. They clashed, blocking each other’s attacks. Aiden backed up and thrusted his sword at Jesse, who barely managed to dodge. The sword grazed his armor, making a noise that hurt their ears like nails on a chalkboard. They both paused for a moment. Aiden started panicking. He couldn’t get a single hit in. He can’t lose. Not now. He tried to see if Jesse showed any sign of getting tired, but he couldn’t find a single one. His eyes were filled with determination, and his stance with confidence. Why did he have to be so fucking good at everything?
He swung at Jesse once more, yelling. This time he was reckless. Jesse blocked, then pushed him back. He gasped, staggering backwards. He quickly regained his footing, and looked below him. If he fell, it was game over. Realization slowly crept into him. What if he couldn’t win? He shook his head, trying to wipe the panic from his face. Jesse quickly ran at him. Oh, fuck. I’m not going to win, Aiden thought. Jesse swung his sword in a wide arc boldly, and Aiden barely had enough time to deflect the attack. He started backing up, and Jesse slashed again and again, until one of his attacks sent Aiden onto the ground. He yelped, almost letting go of his only weapon. He felt a new wave of energy flow over him, and he jumped back up, quickly swinging at Jesse, who blocked the attack once more.
“Just… fucking… DIE!” shouted Aiden, angrily and recklessly swinging his sword at his opponent who continued to deflect his attacks. Their swords clashed, making horrible ringing and scraping sounds. Aiden swung one more time, which Jesse blocked. He glared at him before pushing their swords down. What? What the fu- Aiden thought, not even given enough time to react before his sword flew out of his hands. He fell backwards as well, and all anger turned to fear. He couldn’t have lost that fast.
He turned to look behind him as his sword hit the cobble and fell off the edge. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. This can’t be happening. This can’t happen. I can’t lose. I couldn’t have lost that easily. I did all of that, all for nothing? No. No, I can’t have lost. Everything was going so smoothly. It couldn’t have all gone the drain that easily. Right? He looked back at Jesse, who was starting to approach him. Fuck. FUCK. Now he’s going to kill me. That’s- I can’t lose like this. I don’t want to die like THIS. Shit, he’s gonna kill me. Shit, shit, shit.
“Wait, wait, wait!” he said, standing up with his hands in the air. “Wait, hang on, hang on! I-I surrender! We can talk about this, right?” he tried to suppress the fear in his voice. All the angry thoughts he had before had been flushed out. He bit his tongue. Why was he so scared? It suddenly popped into his head why they were fighting. He took out the enchanted flint and steel, throwing it onto the ground.
“Here, here! You want your flint and steel back, huh? Take it! It’s yours!” he yelled, a taste of bitterness in his voice. He sighed, dropping down to his knees. He knew Jesse wouldn’t forgive him that easily. He may be righteous, and a bit oblivious at times, but he could hold a grudge. Hopefully he wouldn’t hit Aiden too hard. Jesse picked up the flint and steel.
A voice behind him cried in astonishment. “You did it!” said Reginald. “Jesse, we need to get outta here. What do you want to do with him?” Panic sparked once more in Aiden’s chest. He felt as if his heart was in his throat, ready to jump out and run off.
“Wait, you can’t leave me here! This place is getting worse by the minute! Take me with you! If I stay here, I’ll die!” he yelled. He hated every second of this. He despised asking for help, and here he was, on his knees, begging for mercy. It was almost comical.
“After all you’ve done? I’m unsure if you even deserve that kind of mercy,” said Reggie. He held the Eversource in his hand, who clucked with complete disregard. It almost seemed bored despite the roaring thunder and ghasts screaming.
Jesse sheathed his sword and walked towards Aiden, grabbing him. He pulled him to his feet, almost too harshly. Aiden didn’t blame him. He was probably angr-
Jesse pulled him over to the small waterfall and pushed him to the floor. Aiden quickly sat up before Jesse kicked him into the water. He sputtered, arms flying over to clutch his chest before he realized what was happening. He flailed his arms wildly, flowing to the end of the waterfall. He kicked and flailed to no avail.
“No. No! No no no! You- what-” he stuttered, turning to look at Jesse, whose eyes were burning with fury, revenge, and satisfaction, and whose arms were crossed across his chest. Aiden screamed, grabbing onto a ledge. Panic filled his mind and his voice. He couldn’t do anything. No one would come help. The cold water flowed past him, soaking his clothing and armor. Thunder rumbled in the background, and he could feel the vibrations in his hand. He could feel his grip slipping. He couldn’t gather his thoughts. His grip slipped.
He fell.
His eyes widened. No. No, no, no no no no no. He screamed, falling with the water around him.
It felt like he fell for ages. Is this it? He wouldn’t even die. He would just fall forever. Is this the punishment he was given? His throat went hoarse from yelling. It didn’t even seem worth it anymore. He eventually maneuvered his way to turn around, so perhaps he could see where he was go-
There was land.
“Oh my fucking g-” he said before falling right into a large pond with a loud splash. He gasped underwater, which was a bad idea. He choked, quickly resurfacing and coughing up water. He swam to land, eventually reaching shallow waters and trudging through. He looked around him. Grass blew in the gentle wind, tree branches danced, and mobs roamed the land freely. He took a deep breath, and quickly fell to his knees, hugging himself. He thought he was going to die. That he would’ve left his friends behind. That he would have lost. That he-
“Aiden?” said a voice. Aiden screamed, falling to his side in surprise and whipping his head around to his left. Lukas stood, clutching his chest with his arms. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion, his face slightly contorted in pain. Aiden was still dripping wet, eyes widened in panic.
“Lukas?” he murmured. “I-”
“What are you doing down here? Did- oh. I see,” the blonde said, most likely realizing he fell. Probably. Aiden couldn’t focus on reading his face. He suddenly remembered something else - he pushed Lukas off Sky City. He was probably pissed at him. Fuck. Leave it to me to ruin everything, huh? He thought.
“Lukas, I- I’m sorry, I didn’t- I wasn’t thinking straight. I just wanted people to pay attention to me. I was angry. I- you- It doesn’t make up for anything, but-” he rambled before Lukas stopped him.
“Dude. You’re shaking. Are you okay?” he asked. Aiden realized he indeed was doing that thing. He looked up at the floating island, with water and lava flowing down, and dirt building up to it. His throat closed up.
“I'm fine,” he managed to strangle out.
“Obviously not. What happened?”
Aiden took a deep breath, trying to get a hold of himself. “Jesse threw me over,” he said.
“Ah.”
“I thought I was gonna die, and- and I-”
“And you didn’t consider that maybe I was dead?”
Silence.
“I’m sorry-” Aiden started once again.
“Dude, shut up and relax for a sec. You’re still shaking a bit,” said Lukas.
“If I sit still for any longer without saying anything I think I will go insane.”
“As if you haven’t already? Sorry. That was mean.”
“It’s fine. I know.”
They remained still for several seconds. Their dialogue was horribly bland, Aiden noticed. The tension in the air was unbearable.
“I’ve been a jerk-” said Aiden.
“No shit. Sorry. That was also mean,” commented Lukas. Aiden scoffed.
“I’m in the MIDDLE of being NICE for once,” he said, trying to lighten the mood with a more lighthearted tone. Lukas chuckled before groaning and clutching his chest.
“Sorry, sorry. Go on. I’m intrigued,” he said.
“Mhm. I’ve… been a real jerk, lately. I was just… not thinking straight, I guess. I-”
“Of course not. You’re gay.”
“Shut the fuck up. You are too. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you and Jesse interact. It’s fruity as f-” Aiden remarked before being cut off.
“OKAY, CONTINUE WITH YOUR APOLOGY,” Lukas said, looking away with a blush on his face.
“Right, anyways. I was just… jealous, I guess. I wanted people to pay attention to me. I was bitter. I thought I could finally have people think I’m important too. I was angry all the time. I hurt other people. I hurt you. I’m sorry,” he concluded. He looked over at the pond, avoiding eye contact. He hated confrontations and apologies. They were always so awkward and tense. Lukas remained quiet as well, taking it all in.
“Listen. I know I might not be the most… welcoming to you now and in the future, and I don’t know if I’m willing to accept your apology right this second. But… thanks. It makes me happy to know you’re willing to say sorry, at the very least. Who knows, maybe you’ll even get better,” he said, smiling ever so slightly.
“Bet,” Aiden snickered. “Hey, also. If anyone asks about what we talked about down here, make some bullshit up. I think if anyone else found out how sappy I was just now I’d find the portal home myself and never show up again, haha.”
“Heh. Alright. Oh, speaking of the portal home! Jesse found it,” Lukas remarked, stars in his eyes at the thought of Jesse. Aiden refrained from making fun of him.
“He what.”
“Yeah, he found the portal while digging up a bunch of dirt to get back up… do you have the flint and steel?”
“No, I gave it to Jesse.”
“Huh. I guess that’s a good thing, then. If you ran off and left by yourself, I wouldn’t really have the energy to stop you.”
“Haha. Loser,” Aiden joked.
“Look who’s talking,” Lukas remarked.
“Shut up.”
“You shut up.”
“Fine! Loser.”
The two sat in silence once again. However, the tension in the air had settled slightly. Aiden picked at the grass before hearing something - yelling. He looked up. People were falling from a large waterfall up at Sky City. Perhaps Jesse told them there was land.
“Shit. Quick, pretend we were yelling at each other or something,” said Aiden.
“Crap. Uhh, here, I’ll pretend I was holding you hostage or something. I still got my sword,” said Lukas, standing up and walking off. “Hey, my chest feels better now.”
“Cool. I-”
“Cool beans.”
“What?”
“Oh. Nothing. Get up, more people are coming.”
Aiden stood, walking over to the tree Lukas was standing by. He sighed, getting back on his knees and holding his hands up in surrender. Lukas unsheathed his sword, doing his very best to look intimidating.
“You look really stupid right now,” whispered Aiden. Lukas snorted.
“Shut up, they’re coming.”