Chapter Text
“What the hell is this?” They poked at a red vine on the ground. “It's all over the place…”
They had spawned in an oak forest full of red vines. The vines spiralled up the tree trunks and up rooted rocks, creating shallow dips hidden under layers of vines. The red vine they poked, wiggled closer to them. Slowly weaving its way through the grass, picking up speed as it slithered closer.
“What- Since when did vines FUCKING move?!” They shouted, taking a step back. They raised their arm to find another vine wrapped tightly around their wrist.
“EW!” They hissed, cutting the vine with their rapier. As soon as they cut it, two more vines replaced it, quickly covering their forearm.
“I need to get out of here…” They muttered, cutting away at the vines, who were getting too close for comfort. “I'll have to make a run for it-”
Taking a deep breath, they chopped off the vines on their arm and dashed into the forest. The vines right on their heels, just barely close enough to grab ahold.
“FUCK OFF! I JUST GOT HERE!” They shouted, dodging the vines in front of them.
Slow down… A voice whispered, causing them to falter.
“W-What? NO! HELP-” They looked behind them, a second too late to pull away. A vine had tightly wrapped around their ankle, keeping them in place. They struggled as more vines slowly made their way up their legs.
Help is coming… The voice whispered again, sounding calm, yet their gut was screaming to fight.
“You must be the new kid. I'm Badboyhalo.” A voice spoke, followed by a hooded figure. He wore a black jacket with white stitching, his black horns peeking through his hair. His white eyes were unnerving, it was like looking into a white room. No color, no emotion. There was a friendly smile on his face, not quite genuine, but not fake either.
“I’m River. Could you help me with…?” They laughed nervously, flinching away at the vines climbing onto their face.
“Oh, I'm not here to help. I'm here to help it.” Bad waved his hand, red vines around his own wrist. “It'll let you go if you join me.” He walked up to River.
“J-Join? If this is a cult, I'm sorry. I don't have time for cults.” River shrugged, eyeing the vines on their cheek.
“It's not a cult, it's an empire. Join me and the Egg. You'll get all the power you've ever wanted.” Bad smiled again, this time not as genuine.
Little one… I can lead you to victory… With my help, you'll never lose a war.
“Do you hear it? It calls you. It could use someone like you. Perhaps a fighter?” Bad looked at the rapier in their hand.
They have a use… better than the descendent himself. A god’s favor...
“I'm good… I have a mission to finish…” River grunted, pulling at the vines. They could feel a hazy, soothing voice stroking their mind.
“Oh? I don’t think I can let you do that.” Bad brought out a diamond axe.
“HEY BAD! YOU BLIND DEMON FUCK!” A voice shouted from the treetops.
“LANGUAGE!” He shouted back, pointing his axe at the person on top of the trees.
“Run. Or your red vines get the soul fire.” A tall figure appeared behind Bad.
“Ranboo! It’s good to see you!-” Bad faked another grin, hiding the axe behind his back. “I was just about to leave.”
“Go ahead, leave.” Ranboo returned the grin, holding his soul fire torch closer to Bad. The white eyed demon frowned before disappearing into the trees.
“Hey… You alright? We heard there was a new kid joining. That must be you.” A short ram hybrid with brown curly hair covering his eyes, carefully burned away the vines around River’s arm. “Ranboo heard you shout help. Couldn’t get here fast enough though… I’m Tubbo by the way! You are?”
“River. Thanks for helping me…” They helped Tubbo burn the vines wrapped around their ankle.
“No problem. It’s been a while since a new kid showed up. I’ll give you a tour!” Tubbo grabbed their arm, pulling them back into the trees.
As Tubbo pointed at buildings and talked about the history of L’manberg, River looked at Ranboo. There was something familiar about him, River couldn’t put their finger on it.
“What brings you here?” Ranboo looked at them. Tubbo had stopped talking, as he was also interested why River appeared.
They shrugged. “I got a letter from a friend. Said they needed help.” They lied. Ranboo opened his mouth to ask another question, but Tubbo cut in.
“I like your outfit!” Tubbo pointed out. River nodded in thanks. It didn’t even occur to them that they never changed out of their old clothes. They wore a red shoulder cape over a white dress shirt. Their rapier strapped to a leather belt over their brown leggings.
“It looks like you can kick some serious ass with those boots.” Tubbo laughed. River grinned, they wore a pair of black combat boots. For fashion of course, and self dense.
“Don’t you guys get hot in your coats?” They looked at Tubbo’s brown fur vest and Ranboo’s suit coat.
“Where we live, it snows. You might want a heavier cloak for that.” Ranboo shook his head, as the three of them walked closer to the border of L’manberg and the tundra.
“Oh! I have one in my inventory.” River opened their menu, and took out a longer cape. They took off the smaller one and tied the fur cape over their shoulders.
“This is home!” Tubbo opened the door, a gush of warm air escaping. Nothing much filled the inside of the house. The kitchen appliances in one corner and a table with three chairs in another. Tucked away was a near small, dusty, fireplace that held a few logs.
“Ranboo won't allow me to light it, and he's too scared to light it himself.” Tubbo looked back at River, who was staring at the empty fireplace.
“It's because you set your primary school on fire once, and told me you didn't feel bad at all!” Ranboo threw his hands in the air, hitting the ceiling.
“That's because the teachers sucked. In my defense, no one was hurt.” Tubbo shrugged.
Working silently, River blew a pinch of blaze powder onto the embers. Waiting patiently for a spark. As soon as a little red flame emerged, they fed it a scrap of paper. Placing the scrap of paper in the middle of the logs, they waited until a flood of warm heat spread across the room.
“Did you just- Your hands- Are you a witch?!” Tubbo stuttered, looking at Ranboo with wide eyes. Ranboo looked back with the same expression and shrugged.
“Not a witch. Just a trick you can do with blaze powder.” River stood up, holding the small vival in their hand.
“Don't give him any ideas.” Ranboo groaned, his face in his hands, as Tubbo's eyes glinted.
“The more I think about it and look at you. The more you look like Techno.” Tubbo looked up from his work station.
“Pardon?” River looked up braiding a bit of rope.
“Ranboo, don't they look similar to Techno?” Tubbo threw a screw at Ranboo.
“Watch it!” The enderman hybrid dodged out of the way. “A bit, I guess.”
“See, I'm not crazy. You do look like Techno!” Tubbo clapped his hands together. “You both have the same pointy ears. Same sense in style. You even have pink streaks in your hair.”
“But Techno has tusks, they have canines.” Ranbboo muttered, writing things down in his journal. “I have to go meet him tomorrow anyway. I'll be gone for a few weeks.”
“Do you mind if I come along?” River said hopefully. “I would like to meet Techno.”
“Would he…?” Tubbo muttered, fidgeting with a screwdriver.
“I don’t think so…” Ranboo shook his head. “It’s going to be cold, colder than this.”
“It’s just snow.” River shrugged.
“I hate snow…” They grumbled, bringing the cloak they wore closer.
“I told you so. It’s not that far off. Only a few more chunks left.” Ranboo laughed, waiting for them at the top of the snow drift. “The bird’s back by the way.”
The bird was a black raven the size of an owl. It had one red feather, tucked into its wing. Tubbo had found it following them back to Snowchester. Ignored the bird, until it broke one of the windows.
“You don’t even find ravens here. They don’t like snow.” River watched the large bird fly closer. “Come to visit again?” The bird nodded, and proceeded to settle in the crook of their shoulder. Cooing, it ruffled its feathers.
“Guess I have a pet raven now…” They sighed, following Ranboo.
Minutes later, a warm light was seen in the distance, followed by a steady flow of smoke. A dense spruce forest blocked the buildings and anything else behind it from view.
“Just past those trees.” Ranboo waved, going deeper into the forest.
“Crows? There’s crows here?” River heard the faint caw in the distance. “Don’t ravens hate crows?” They ran a finger through its head feathers. The raven cawed, shaking its head in disagreement.
“You’ll see. It’s better if Phil explains about the crows.” Ranboo disappeared, the spruce leaves leaving no trace where the enderman had gone.
“Ranboo…?” They whispered, walking closer to the trees. “HEY!-” A hand had reached back in and grabbed their arm, pulling them and the raven through the line of trees.
“What of the words ‘Come alone’ do you not understand?” A rough voice spoke.
“They're new! Come on.” Ranboo whined, muffled by a closed door.
Grumbling to themselves, River slowly undid the rope knot around their hands. Letting the rope fall to the floor with a soft thud, they stood up and wiped the dust off their pants. They grabbed their rapier off a nearby table and opened the door, looking at four other people with surprised and shocked faces.
“Who’s new? You talkin ‘bout me?” River raised an eyebrow, closing the door behind them as they walked behind Ranboo.
“Told you.” He looked at a piglin hybrid with a crown atop his head.
“Where’s the raven? I haven’t named it.” They looked at the piglin, while strapping their rapier to their belt. As if the bird was summoned, it flew in from the window and landed on their shoulder, showing off its wings.
“Don’t leave me alone ever, you got that Crimson?” River scolded the bird, scratching its neck. The bird cooed, leaning into their touch. “What? Ranboo, the girl with pink hair smells like cookies.”
“She does bake good cookies.” He whispered back, being very obvious.
“Ranboo… I love how you made a new friend, but care to introduce us to them?” The blonde with black wings behind his back spoke, a soft smile on his face.
“Oh! Techno, Phil, Nikki. Meet River. River, meet Techno, Phil, and Nikki!” Ranboo said cheerfully.
“You're telling me, the piglin hybrid over with a crown on his head, who’s staring at me like I killed his pets, is the one and only Technoblade. You're kidding.” River gasped, clearly pointing at Techno. “Nice to meet you Nikki. I hope we become good friends.”
“I hope so too, River.” Nikki smiled, returning to her book.
“Are we just going to ignore me’?” Phil sighed, crossing his arms.
“Another fact, Phil’s old. Like really old.” Nikki whispered, ignoring Phil’s glare.
River gasped loudly, clearly exaggerating. “HE’S OLD?! What- How old are you Phil? Lemme guess, you're in your fifties.”
“You little shit-” Phil’s wings flared.
“Nah, I’m just joking, old man.” They rolled their eyes. “I’ve done my research.”
“Research?” Techno mumbled, setting a potion aside to make more.
“Technoblade. Piglin hybrid. Emperor of the disbanded Antarctic Empire. Part of a book club, with these three. Anti-government, Blood for the blood god himself.” River listed off, watching Techno put down his potion and grab his sword.
“Philza. Crow hybrid. Co-leader of the disbanded Antarctic Empire. Also part of the book club. Anti-government after you killed your own son. Angel of Death.” They continued, leaning on the wall near Ranboo.
“Ranboo. You said they were new.” Phil grinned, but not in a friendly way.
“It’s not his fault. Nor is it mine, I was told to find you both out here. Ranboo happened to be going where I needed to be.” River shrugged, looking at the crows sitting on his shoulders.
“By whom? Who on the outside world would know that much about us and tell you. A simple kid out of all people.” Techno scoffed, putting back his potions into a chest.
“Dunno. You guess.” They looked at Crimson who was sleeping soundly on their shoulder. Its blood red feather standing out against its other jet black feathers.
“Techno, come outside with me for a minute.” Phil opened the door and closed it softly behind him with a confused looking Techno.
“Where’d they go?” Nikki looked up from her book, a frown set on her face.
“Outside.” Ranboo pointed to the door.
“Why?” She looked at River.
“Cause they can’t figure out where I came from. But I’m pretty sure Phil got the hint.” They shook their heads. A red glint of something shiny caught Ranboo’s eye.
“What’s that?” He asked, eyeing the red stone hanging from an obsidian chain off their ear.
“This? Just a token of a favor.” They mumbled, not meeting Ranboo’s eyes.
“Hey River, what does red mean to you?” Phil walked back in, his face neutral as sky blue met cherry red.
“Blood. Why?” They answered, still leaning against the wall.
“What does a wither rose, and a dense forest like the one outside the house mean to you?” Phil ignored their question and pressed on.
“Good ol’ Death.” They smiled, watching the realization hit both Phil and Techno like a slap.
“OH MY GOD! KRISTIN!” Phil shouted, throwing the doors wide open. “YOU NEVER WARNED ME ABOUT ANOTHER ONE!” One of the crows on his shoulder yanked on his ear, as if telling him to apologize and shut up at the same time. “Nevermind! Sorry! I love them! Thank you!” He laughed nervously, wiping the crows off his shoulder and closing the door in their faces.
“What’s happening Phil?” Nikki and Ranboo asked at the same time, both confused at Phil’s shouting and Techno mumbling in the corner.
“I’ll say it.” River sighed, touching the red gem hanging from their ear. “Favor of the goddess of death and the blood god himself. Or as you would call it, a child of Death and Blood.” They smiled, their eyes flashing bright red.
“Wait-” Ranboo gasped, dropping his fork on the table. “I just realized something… Ohhhhhhhhhhh- That would be so bad-.” He cringed.
“What?” Phil looked up from his conversation with Techno.
“What if Dream breaks out of prison? I'm sitting right next to another minor he can control- OHHHHHHHHHH” Ranboo buried his face in his hands.
“Being sixteen isn't that bad… right?” They laughed nervously, watching Phil and Techno look at each other with the same expression.
“Well… It depends… He might have interest in you, he might not. It was the same with Purpled. Dream ignored Purpled majority of the time. But again… you have uh- connection in some way to Techno and I.” Phil shrugged, looking more worried than he wanted to be.
“I have to be careful of this green thing too? Even with the egg wanting me?” River groaned, laying on the ground.
“Oh gods… This isn't good…” Phil put his head down on the table, his shoulders slumping.
“Phil, let's talk about it tomorrow. It's late and we have things to do tomorrow.” Techno got up and placed his plate in the sink. “You guys should get some sleep. That includes you too, Achelous.”
“I'm not even part of your book club yet, and you're calling me by a Greek name already.” River huffed, following Nikki and Ranboo out of the room.
“Tech… You think the egg would…?” Phil whispered, the unspoken words a heavy silence.
“Nah. The kid's got a good will. We just need to sharpen it.” Techno shook his head, unwilling to believe the truth just yet.
“If you say so… I've already let Kristin down with Wil, and I don't want to do it again.” Phil mumbled, falling asleep on the table.
“I know you don't, Phil…” Techno carried his winged friend to their room.
“Nikki, take Achelous with you. Have ‘em go pick flowers.” Techno called over his shoulder.
“Okay! River, grab your cape.” Nikki waited by the door, a woven basket in arm.
“Coming!” They clipped their cape on and ran out the door, Crimson flying right behind them.
“Be back by sunset.” Techno watched the duo walk into the forest. Crows flying out of the trees here and there, leaving Techno with little info on where they went.
“Ever use a nether portal?” Nikki asked, walking up to one.
“No… We walked the long way to get here…” River eyed the portal nervously. The deep purple swirls made a woosh noise every few seconds. The obsidian frame stands dark and mysterious.
“It's scary at first but it's safe on the other side. Trust me, Phil made sure of it.” She held out a hand towards them, inviting and safe.
“You promised okay.” They hesitantly grabbed her open hand and followed Nikki through the portal.
“Open your eyes. It's safe, like I promised.“ Nikki squeezed their hand, reassuring them that they were safe.
“I can hear lava everywhere.” They mumbled, peeking one eye open. “WHAT’S THAT?! WHAT IS THAT?!” They pointed at a group of zombified piglins in the distance.
“Oh. Those are the friendlier piglins. Zombified piglins if you wish. They’ll only hurt you if you touch them.” Nikki shrugged, looking warily at the group. There was a baby zombified piglin coming towards them, curious about the new person in the nether. “River…”
“Oh- Hello there, little one.” They whispered, watching the zombified piglin come up to them.
Oink? Snort! OINK! The baby zombified piglin squealed, jumping up and down.
“Okay okay. I’ll come down.” RIver smiled, getting onto his knees. The baby zombified piglin oinked again in joy and climbed into their lap, alarming Nikki.
“How- I’m going crazy- H o w.” She looked at River and the baby zombified piglin.
“Dunno- I didn’t even know they liked me.” They patted the baby zombified piglin on the head, smiling as they snorted. “I’ll be back, little one. I promise I’ll bring something for you.” River lifted the baby piglin off their lap and gently on the nether ground. The baby snorted sadly, but ran back to its group and oinking away, pointing back at River and then back to them.
“Don’t we have flowers to pick?” River smirked, amused by Nikki’s still shocked face.
“Yeah- What the hell just happened…?” She muttered, leading the way towards another nether portal.
“Pick the pink and red tulips. I’ll be just over the hill collecting roses.” Nikki handed them the basket when they reached the flower fields.
River nodded and set to work, looking for a patch of tulips. Spotting some near a large oak tree, they walked carefully through the flowers.
“Think Death would like a white flower?” They asked Crimson, holding up a Lily of the Valley. The raven shook its head, and continued cleaning its feathers with its beak. “No? How about a yellow one?”
Crimson cawed, nibbling on their fingers. Flapping its wing, the bird took off in a direction and disappeared.
“RUDE!” River shouted, gently cutting pink tulips from the ground. “I just wanted your opinion, gods.” Humming a soft tune, they piled a bunch of red and pink tulips in the basket.
A rustling sound came from some bushes near the tree line, a red mooshroom appearing from the green.
“A mooshroom? Here? In a flower field?” River watched the mooshroom nose around in the grass, eating a few flowers here and there.
Moments later, the mooshroom walked off into the forest, leaving a thin red trail. Not thinking about Nikki or their task, River got up from under the oak tree and ran to the tree line.
‘I’ve never seen these before… Maybe Nikki knows more about them?” They kneeled, slowly cutting away at a red flower. The flower was not native, with sharp cornered petals the color of blood. Small yellow spots speckled on the petals.
“Oh!” They gasped, watching the flower they just cut wrap around their wrist. Not tightly, but it would take effort to get it off.
This way…
“You want me to go this way?” River looked at the red flower, which seemed to be glowing slightly.
Yes… This way…
“What are you going to show me?” They whispered, following the red trail set by the red mooshroom. The deeper they went, the forest seemed to dampen their senses, but they were too busy listening to the flower to care. The trail led River into the darkest pits of the forest, the only light coming from the flower itself.
Stop here…
“Where are we? Oh shit- What did I get into…” They groaned, standing a mere feet away from a giant red vine growing from a cave crack in the ground. “NIKKI!-”
Silence!
“Who- What-?” They took a step backwards, bumping into a vine which grew taller in mere seconds.
It’s nice to talk to you again, little one. Or should I say Child of Death and Blood?
“How do you know that…?” River stuttered, completely numb to the vines tightening around their arm and ankle.
Why it’s all in your head of course. Your mind is like an open book, and I’m just reading things out loud.
“My head is off limits-”
Liar… It wasn’t off limits to him…
“I was desperate then… Stop that!”
Is it love you want? A partner in crime?
“I want nothing from you! NIKKI! HELP!”
Be quiet… Sleep little one… It’s not your time yet…
“Nikki… H-help me… I’m scared…” They mumbled, letting the vines climb over them. “Nikki…”
“RIVER?!” Nikki shouted, spotting the basket of flowers. The kid was nowhere to be seen, nor was their raven. “WHERE DID YOU GO-”
“NIKKI!” A familiar voice rang clear from the forest.
“RIVER!” She called out, waiting for a response. Scanning the ground, she found the garden scissors near the trail of red flowers. “No- They- RIVER! I’M COMING!”
Acting quickly, Nikki sent a message for backup to Phil, Techno and Ranboo on her comms with the coords. Pocketing the device, she ran into the woods, following the deadly red trail, which she hoped led to River.
Hello Nemesis. We meet again.
“Where’s River?” Nikki pursed her lips, entering a dim lighted clearing overgrown with vines.
The little one? Just over there.
“Let them go.” She hissed, drawing her sword. Her alias, Nemesis, etched on the blade.
I can give them what they want, just like you want Wilbur back. Don’t you miss your dear friend? Before he went insane? Before he became a ghost?
“Enough! Let them go now. I already have backup coming. I’ll burn this forest to ashes if I have too.” Nikki gripped her sword tighter.
Just like you did with L’mantree…
“I’ve had about enough with these red vines.” She reached into her pack for a match and a soul stick. Carved from warped logs found in the nether.
Careful, Nemesis. You could burn Achelous with that. You don’t want that, do you?
“No, I don’t…” Nikki hung her head, watching the vines grow over her shoes, keeping her in place.
Then let me-
“Nikki! Where’s Achelous?” Techno burst from the trees, sword drawn in one hand and a soul torch in the other.
“Over there.” She pointed, noting that vines around her legs up to her knees.
“Phil, Ranboo. Do what you have to do.” Techno nodded at them, before approaching Nikki.
Protesilaus, Zephyrus, Lethe, and Nemesis. The whole club is here. Come to make an omelette out of me?
“Enough with your tricks.” Techno frowned, burning away the vines. Nikki nodded in thanks, running off to help free River.
“Mate… Wake up.” Phil shook River gently. “Come on. Open your eyes, it’s okay. You're safe.” They whined, grabbing ahold of Phil’s sleeve.
“P-Phil… I-” They mumbled, tears gathering in their eyes.
“Shhh. No need to be sorry. It’s alright mate.” He whispered, lifting them up into his arms. “Ranboo…”
“Oh…” Ranboo eyed the red flower twisted around their wrist. “I think I have one… Here.” He handed a cyan flower identical to the red one to Phil.
“Mate… I want you to close your eyes, and don’t look. It’s going to hurt a bit, nothing more.” Phil murmured, pressing his forehead against theirs. River nodded, burrowing their head into Phil’s shoulder as he cut off the red flower. The red vines grew twice as much, with small sharp thorns lining the sides. They winced, as thin lines of blood trickled down their arm.
“Ah shit…” Phil grit his teeth, watching the vines climb higher up, just barely touching their shoulder. “We’re going to have to burn it-”
“I wouldn’t do that, Phil.” Bad appeared from a large vine, his axe covered in red vines. Several others appeared behind Bad, all with either red or white eyes and their weapons drawn.
“What importance do they have to you?.” Ranboo hissed, stepping in front of Phil, his Axe of Ender in hand.
They could achieve great things with my help. All you need to do is hand them over.
“Like we would do that.” Nikki frowned, burning the red vines near her.
“We could do this peacefully, or if you prefer the hard way. You choose.” Bad shrugged, waving Ant and Hannah forward.
“Mate… Things are about to get dirty, can you run?” Phil whispered, grabbing Hiasobi Benihime from it’s sheath.
“I could try…” River blinked, staring at their arm. “It grew…”
“Fight it. Whatever it offers, deny it. Whatever you do, don’t listen to it.” He placed them on their feet, steading them. They nodded, a grim look on their face.
“Then I’ll meet you at home, mate.” Phil gave them a small smile. “The crow will lead you back.”
“You promised.” River muttered, taking a few unsteady steps towards the trees. The crow cawed, and flew right into the trees, leading the way back to the portal.
Aw, Zephyrus… It’s hopeless. Punz will have them captured in no time.
“You're underestimating Achelous.” Techno growled, his eyes on Punz. The white hooded assassin only smiled, one arm behind his back.
We’ll see about that, Protesilaus.