Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Once, on a sunny day in Inkopolis, something strange had fallen into the square. A cubed object that shone with a galaxy of stars within. It lied in wait in an empty square, waiting for someone to come and discover it. In fact, it had a select few in mind - and created a sort of distortion around it that normal squids wouldn’t notice, as it encompassed the whole square. The chosen few would see the square as a deserted, unnatural space - those unworthy only saw a regular square, no space cube in sight.

So of course, Blue team happens upon the cube, and though Headphones and Specs notice the empty strangeness of the square right away, Goggles fixates the magical cube object.

“Ooh! What is that?!” he asked, pointing to it.

Specs adjusted his Glasses. “I… don’t know.”

Headphones squinted at the thing. “I don’t trust it.”

Bobble hummed, “Don’t touch it.”

But of course, Goggles got closer. And the closer he got, the more the spacelike cube called to him. He did pause, as he heard Bobble say something, but he couldn’t make it out against that strong urge and curiosity - like the promise of a new challenge. If he touched it, would aliens come to play turf? Would it unlock a pretty stage that shined like the cube? He wanted to know, he needed to know.

He heard all 3 of his teammates yelling at him - but again, it’s like he couldn’t understand it. Bobble grabbed him, talking directly to his ear, and he did pause and look back at her. Why was she making that face? Surely the cube couldn’t be that bad, it felt good to go towards it! She jerked him back from it, strong as ever, but going away only filled him with an immense dread - like he couldn’t just abandon this now.

So, he fought back against her. He was probably one of the only people that could match her power, after all. He looked back at his destination, unable to will himself to look back at the friends tugging his sleeve as he reached out and touched it, feeling a magic spark on his hand-

And suddenly, reality snapped back. The square was full of people, acting normal, and the blue team fell together in a heap on the concrete. It seemed that nothing happened after all, except for their sudden appearance in the square.

“W…what just happened?” Headphones asked.

“Goggles, did you trip?!” Specs asked, pinned between the silly blue squids of his team.

“Maybe… I did?” Bobble replied, “It’s weird, I’m missing something…”

“Hmmm…. OH!” Goggles says, pulling out a coin from under him. “Heads side up! Lucky!”

At this, the other three can’t help but laugh. They help each other up, and carry on their merry way. It was odd that they all tripped over a coin Goggles found, but that’s all that was there! That had to be all that happened, nothing important.

…Right?

Chapter Text

Goggles awoke to heat. The tangible, warm feeling of sun all over his body, drying him out. His hands twitch, grasping soft sand beneath him, equally hot and unforgiving. Slowly, the boy opened his eyes, hearing the soft crash of waves not far away. Much, much too hot… he sits up, unzipping his coat and shrugging it off, looking around. He was alone.

Wait. Where was everyone?! Where was he, even?! 

Goggles looked around frantically. The most he saw was a little treasure chest, with a book resting on top of it. The book was a deep blue, the very same he made his ink, with an unearthly glitter to the covering. It almost seemed like a diary. Quickly, Goggles snatched it up and flipped it open, hoping it would clear him up on what had happened.

Today, I touched a portal into a brand new world. Crafting essentials is easy here, but many things have changed. My team and I will have a natural draw to each other, and living together will be as it always had - natural! But they don’t remember me, or why we’re here. I’m the only one who knows why we came to be here. It was a trap, sure, but that doesn’t change that I drove straight for it. Now the world is different, and so are we!

Even our bodies changed. None of us are even inklings anymore. My tentacles are hair, I have teeth, and a few other things are pretty different. But that shouldn’t matter too much. We’re all here with a fun challenge! Right? 

Well, I’m sure I’ll know what it is soon enough. If I wanna survive, I’ll carry these memories and keep trying!

Goggles read the passage, over and over again. He didn’t write that at all - he’s sure of it. And the way it was so carelessly written - what did he do?! How did he get here, and how is he supposed to find his friends?! What if they were hurt?! A frantic flow of regrets and worry filled his mind. He shoved the book into his pocket, tying his jacket around his waist and running for the chest, seeing what he could use. 

There were odds and ends inside - seeds, apples, wood and frail, rusted tools to build and gather with. That, and some bread and a map - one that showed parts of the world as he ran to them. With all this stored away in the Bag he had nearby, he ran around the island, hoping to find any hide or hair of his friends. 

He was stupid, so stupid - how could he fall for this trap?!

“WAAAAH! SOMEBODY HELP!!” Spec’s voice carried from the other side of the sandy dunes, and Goggles rushed to help, fiercely brushing tears away. 

There on the other shore, Specs was dodging for his life as tridents whizzed past. He wasn’t that fast, either - still wading through waist deep water, his curly blue hair damp from waves. Moving faster than he could think, he jumped from the dune and into the water, grabbing hold of Specs as a wave splashed against the two, filling Goggles’s mouth with sea water.

The warbling groans of the drowned monsters in the water reached his ears, and he set down some planks of wood to block their shots. Now with proper cover, he pulled Specs to shore and over the dunes as fast as his legs could carry, running fully on flight instincts. Once safe, Goggles collapsed back onto the sand, now very soaked, coughing and gasping for breath. 

“Haah.. hah… oh my gods I’m glad someone was there…” Specs breathed, hand to his chest. He began to squeeze out his soaked clothes as he said, “Really, thank you so much! A-and sorry if this was your Island.”

“No.. problem…” Goggles muttered, fighting down his more painful feelings to smile for his friend, “I just got here too! Very, very new… Do you know where you’re from? You were kinda drowning - were you from the ocean?”

“No, actually!” Specs Sighed, inspecting his glasses, “I came from a village, I was a mage’s apprentice. I lived there my whole life, actually! Until we all moved out and set sail… no idea what the plan was, but there was a fight, then a storm, then I fell and - you get the picture. Now that I’m starting to calm down, that’s starting to freak me out!!” 

“Well don’t!” Goggles said, patting him on the shoulder, “I’m sure it all happened for a reason. Why don’t we work together while we’re here? I haven’t explored much, but I’ve got a map.”

“Oh! Maps are useful! That’ll help us explore.” Specs says, glancing around, “Your Island here isn’t bad, either - you’ve got plenty of trees, plenty of sand - we can totally make a settlement!”

“I think so, too. I’d love to have your help!” Goggles says. “And any other help we may get.” 

After some time of gathering wood and stone, they hear squeaks and clicks - lots of them. After talking with Specs about it, Goggles decided to check it out, sword brandished just in case while Specs went back to their little camp to deposit their spoils.

Goggles was shocked to see about 4 dolphins - all helping carry a girl with long, blue hair, much like his own. She looked almost like royalty - her headwear made of coral and shells glowing faintly with some odd power, and he could hear music playing faintly from them. There seemed to be some sort of spike stuck in her hand, which Goggles quickly yanked out, pushing out any poison that leaked from it before bandaging it with what Specs had given him. As Headphones began to wake, Goggles pulled her to shore and offered up what cooked meat he had. She ate it so fast that she almost bit him!

“Thanks. I almost died back there… stupid witch…” Headphones sighed, wiping her face clean with the back of her clawed, scaly hands. Her eyes, although the bright yellow they always were, had sharp, catlike pupils.

“No problem, happy to help!” Goggles replied, “Now you have to be from the sea… right?”

“That I am! Though I’m a maid, not one of those allergic-to-land princesses you hear about in stories.” Headphones replied. “Besides, A witch cursed everyone down there, I barely escaped with my life! And I’d rather not serve a bunch of murder drones.”

“Yeah! That sounds like it sucks.” Goggles says. “Wanna help us build a fort?”

“Eh, why not. As long as you have more to eat.” Headphones says. “Besides, you seem way nicer.” 

With that, another teammate is gained! She joins in collecting, and begins to level out the dunes for their home to be built on. Goggles felt he could almost rest… If it weren’t for Bobble still missing! 

Glancing around, Goggles spotted an odd, red spot out on the water. A black, broken shape sat atop it, and if he squinted - he could almost see something small and blue resting behind it. Building himself a boat and asking his two rescued friends to prepare a bed, he rows out to investigate the ruined portal.

What he first finds is Bobble’s hat - a sure sign she’s been here. But he scours the little platform to no avail - she wasn’t there. Despair settling in his stomach, Goggles sighs, and resigns himself to checking the little chest by the broken portal. Hopefully it had something to lift his spirits. He pops it open.

There was Bobble! Squished into the chest, she laid resting with a golden apple in her hands. Her ears were pointed, just a bit, and her skin a lightish blue. A pair of gorgeous blue and black wings laid on her back, glowing with an otherworldly power… yet somehow, still within the realm of this universe. Goggles carefully picked her up, placing the hat back over her head before heading to his boat once more. The sun was setting by the time he made it back, and there were beds for everyone, plus Bobble’s sleepy self. He laid her down, tucking her in before returning to his own bed.

Making sure everyone was asleep, he pulled out that journal, finding a pen in its spine. With nothing else to do, he decided to write.

I don’t know what wrote that last passage, but I don’t like whatever it was. If it’s still here, watching me or inside… go away! Get out! I hate you!

I don’t like that I caused this. It feels like everyone’s worse off in this place, like the homes they came from are all dead or trying to end them or terrible in general! I want my friends safe and happy, not struggling for food like we are! I don’t even know what our goal is, and I almost don’t want to do this - just put us back! Give them their memories back, GIVE MY LIFE BACK!!

But that was probably just a last message. I don’t even know if there’s anybody besides us out there. I’m really, actually scared this time… 

But I won’t back down. I’m not gonna lose. I just have to get through this, and they don’t have to know. Nobody does. It would hurt them more to know, I’m sure on that.

I might sleep in if I stay up. And I feel like monsters may come if I stare at the moon too much. So goodnight, I’ll write more soon.

-Goggles

Clicking his pen, he shuts the book and stows it away, closing his eyes. The crashing of the waves swallowed his thoughts.

Chapter Text

Well, acting as you doesn’t seem to calm you. Sorry for the trick… but I still am you! Just a bit closer than before. Not sure what sent that cursed cube, but here we are. Do you remember me at all? We’ve fought before, and it was fun. Either way, I am part of this world now as well, and you’re a big part of it. Well, we both are. The numbers of the friends on my side are now terribly slim, and I can't contact them anymore. But I can feel them out there, however weakened they’ve become. I think I’ll be able to manifest more than writing someday, but that’s far off from now.

For now… just act naturally. If you think telling nobody’s gonna get you far, do it I guess. But whether you like it or not, we’re sharing the same body and sensations, so you need to care for us and care for us well. I’ll tell you how to do it - I’ve been given the smarts to know what to do, how to get the most out of what food we have. I’ll let you in on how to make things as well. If you have wishes, we can work them out. Not sure if we’ve got rice, though - just bread.

At the very least, I’ll let you know if anyone else falls into this world. Who to look for, or look out for if you want to hide from them too.

Until the next time we talk.

-your shadow

Goggles stared at the letters on the page. So that was it, huh? It was just his shadow self, doing their best to comfort him in their weird ways. At the very least, he was happy it wasn’t whatever… got him here. Or some higher being than himself that he had no control of.

Thank you for telling the truth. Sorry I got mad at you, Shads :( but… how do you know there’s gonna be more who fall? 

As he lifted his hand away from the page, he was shocked to see the shadow of his hand move, and letters appear.

I just feel it. I’m not sure who it will be… but they’ll be far from where you and your team settled. Just focus on blue team for now.

Oh… okay. Thanks SG. I’m glad you’re here to talk.

We’d both go crazy if we couldn’t :)

With this, Goggles shuts his journal, holding it close. He didn’t like how right he was, but focusing was a good plan - they needed to make a nice new home, after all. They needed a lot more than they had.

“You alright?” Specs had asked, snapping Goggles out of his thoughts.

“Yeah!” Goggles answered naturally, “I was just thinking of what to do… how to get resources and such.” 

“I figured that out!” Specs says, “as long as you can find me the proper work areas and such, I can plan out homes and help build stuff. But since we’re quite far from anywhere, really… we kinda need to dig straight down. Would you wanna help me with that today?”

“Really? Awesome!” Goggles says, hopping up, “By the way… what are Bobble and Headphones up to?”

“Bobble seems enamored with turtles. And Headphones is curious about the portal she woke up by, so they’re just exchanging information. Oh, and I also went out and rounded up some livestock and crops with headphones, so we’re good on food for now! All set with whatever we’ve scrounged up.” Specs explained.

“Alright! Let’s get going then.” Goggles said with a smile.

Together, the two dug down until they hit caves - and a structure they did indeed hit! Their first area to find was a strange, abandoned mine. Something about it chilled Goggles deeply, but Specs was surprisingly fearless - and had plenty of theories on how the mines came to be. From creepers being corrupted into explosive, mossy monsters to passed down stories of boar-like monsters, the explanation of it all kept Goggles’s mind off every creek, thump and groan he heard.

Over the next few days, the squad collected resources from their mine, and took shifts in the overworld tending to Bobble’s turtles and the livestock they gathered. Slowly things piled up, and when it was Goggles’s time to watch for the turtles to come out at night with Bobble, he was shocked to see the way the waves sparkled in the moonlight.

“Pretty, right?” Bobble said, smiling as she sat at the edge of a turtle’s pit of eggs, a small warped tree her seat.

Goggles’s eyes were transfixed on the little bioluminescent debris in the waves, dotting the edges like a galaxy of stars. He couldn’t help but adore it - he wanted to play in the waves, but he knew better than to chance a creeper meeting him at the edges, or a drowned monster dragging him under…

“I love it. We should make our main house like it…” Goggles whispered gently.

“That’s an idea!” Bobble said, “I like it too - it’s like souls.”

“S-souls?” Goggles asked.

“Soul sand, when you flutter past it, you can see little tiny souls sparking up… millions live in the sand deserts.” Bobble explained.

“Oh… that sounds scary.” Goggles says. 

“It is a little - but you get used to not questioning it.” Bobble says, “Things die, they end up in the Nether. Though… some things also come from the Nether naturally, and can’t come over here. I risked dying coming out here… but I really wanted to. I’m happy I did, the forest is lonely.” 

“Oh…” Goggles says, feeling more protective than ever, “Were you all alone back there?” 

“I’m different from other warped fairies… I’m bigger, and that biggerness is something you don’t usually want to be - it makes you an easy target. Plus I’m not gentle.” Bobble says.

“They shoulda loved you! Who wouldn’t want a big strong friend?” Goggles asked.

“I don’t know,  but it’s fine. I wouldn’t be a good hero.” Bobble said, moving some sand as turtles emerged from shells, “Besides, my friends are Specs, Goggles, and Headphones - not a bunch of bullies.”

“Yeah, that’s true! And I love being your friend!” Goggles said with a big smile, giving Bobble a hug.

Bobble froze for a moment, but put her arms around him. “Same here, hehe.” she replied.

As they watched the turtles leave, Bobble picked some strange little green things out of the sand, storing them away in her pocket. It was good the hatching was over - Goggles had started to feel sleepy. As he nodded off, Bobble caught him before he fell in the now-empty turtle pit.

“I think you should rest.  You’ve done lots lately.” Bobble said.

“I have?” Goggles asked.

Bobble nodded, this time with a much gentler smile. She carried him to his bed, and then wrapped him tightly in his blanket. As Goggles began to drift off, he watched her sit by him and await the safe return of their friends.

…

In his dreams, Goggles dreamt up a house he wanted to share with his friends - big, squid shaped windows to see sunrise and sunset, glass like waves that gave way to the deep blackness of the night sky, dotted with bioluminescent blue. Floors with pretty patterns, like a kaleidoscope of blues, lit with blue light… and of course, boxes by the doors to drop off loot. And amidst the colors of the floor, of course, a space of the coziest, biggest bed to share and cuddle all his friends. He didn’t know how he’d make such a place, with water flowing down the corners into small pools on the outside, but he wanted it dearly… he could feel himself standing in it.

“Impressive.” Goggles heard a voice speak, just out of sight. It was his own voice, but tone and texture ever so slightly off, almost mocking, even if they didn’t mean it.

He couldn’t move to see, but he knew who it was. “You really want all that?”  his shadow asked.

Goggles nodded, staring up at the starlight in his dreams. “Of course! Why wouldn’t I? It’s so perfect… but we barely have enough stuff for it.” 

“Now who said that? We could have anything, you know.” Shadow goggles replied, “Getting all the blocks for such a pretty house - that’s easy. Whatever you dream up, It’s easy to make. So dream bigger than this.”

“No way! Didn’t you say you got weaker just a little while ago?” Goggles asked.

“That was two weeks ago.”

“And?”

“You don’t believe me?”

“If I haven’t improved much, you haven’t either! Isn’t that how it works?”

“Maybe in our old world. But didn’t I say we were more connected now?”

All of a sudden, the night sky swallowed the rest of the dream’s scenery, plunging goggles into a deep, dark blackness, shimmering faintly. Goggles had thought he saw  more shapes - the other shadows - but before he could squint, the limited specks of light quickly grew into a raging static. He couldn’t tell which way was up, or if he was even standing anymore - his senses melted and mixed until nothing made sense anymore. His shadow sneered.

“My progress is yours, dummy. But I guess we always do better with demonstrations, don’t we?”

And when goggles jolted awake and fell from his bed, he no longer landed in soft sand - but on the pretty, polished terracotta he had dreamt of. The shimmering journal was in his hands.

Chapter Text

“Goggles… how did you build so quickly?” Specs asked, admiring the craftsmanship of the sandstone walls. 

“Ohh haha y’know… eh… I uh- I couldn’t sleep.” Goggles lied, certain he couldn’t even begin to explain the truth. 

“Understatement of the century~” Bobble mused, enjoying the sound the stained glass made when she stepped across each of the gradient pillars, dodging the flames of soul sand that mimicked the waves of their island at night.

“Yeah, I second that! I don’t think my people could even top your build speed. And the floor’s gorgeous, too! It’s like a crazy whirlpool.” Headphones commented, wandering around it. 

“Heheh, thanks. So uh - we have a main base now… what else should we do?” Goggles asked.

“We could explore.” Headphones suggested.

“I-I’ve had enough boats!” Specs said quickly, “U-um, besides… we should work on a lighthouse! So people know there’s civilization… and don’t crash.” 

“That sounds like a good idea! I’ll stay and help, and the girls can take a trip and make a map!” Goggles suggested. 

“Yeah! That sounds like a good idea. I could show Bobble around the ocean, heheh.” Headphones agreed. 

“Yeah! I’d love to check around.” Bobble agreed, wandering over to their crafting table to make some paper.

“Cool, I’ll cook you guys some food for the road.” Goggles said, wandering off for the pens of creatures to grab food for them. 

Once creatures were slain and began their cook in the smoker, goggles went to craft up some bread - and noticed some differences in crafting. All of a sudden, there were a vast amount of new things to cook - meat pies, berry tarts, he could even make juice! The options were dazzling - how did he not see all this before?

He knew someone had to have put recipes here… so he quickly opens his book to ask the one person who would know.

Goggles:How did we get more recipes? Did I have a dream about food?

SG: well, you did, but someone else modified the recipes this world now has - along with some other cosmetics.

Goggles: Wait - someone else?! Someone else has a book now?!

SG: Yes. Though his shadow… is quite mindless. Not in the way shadow specs was. It’s simply robotic, no feeling or emotions - kind of like a computer with no AI.

Goggles: where is he?!

SG: I’ll write his coordinates for you. I suggest we pay him a visit at night, as to not bother the others. Plus, he’s usually there at night to idle and fiddle with contraptions. He’s got a lot of trapped mobs……

Goggles: alright. I’m guessin the other book holder might be… orderly?

SG: Perhaps. I don’t know for sure, I just feel him out there. Like a dragonfly on the water. 

Goggles: ok. I’m kinda excited…

SG: Good, that’s good. But so you know, it’s neither Rider nor Hachi’s shadows. I know those, and they’re not whoever this is.

Goggles shut the book, and put his focus back on cooking. Once Bobble and Headphones were well set for their journey on the sea, Specs and Goggles started setting up the basis of their lighthouse - mixing concrete and dyeing with flowers and bone meal, it was a lot of work - and of course, they had run out of materials just before they finished the top.

“I could go down to the mines and scrounge!” Goggles offered.

“Ah, that would be a big help!” Specs replied, “I think I'll cool off by the water - maybe sketch out more plans. If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t! I can be brave now that you helped me light the caves. I hope the sun’s nice!” Goggles said with a smile, hopping down their cave to crash into the water below.

“Be careful!” Specs called after him.

Goggles is alone now, heading down their marked path. He followed twists and turns, collecting exactly what they needed - and it was pretty easy for him. Hours passed seamlessly, and once there was nothing to collect… he was alone with his thoughts. Flickers of good memories passed him by - Emperor’s smug look as he served burnt meals, Junior’s awe at all the turf players, Rider and Hachi playfully arguing over who got to rematch him first… and most painful to lose of all, coming home to his grandma’s house, being patted on the head and asked if he had a nice day. He missed it all. His chest ached horribly.

Before he knew it, he began to cry. He curled up against the musty gravel wall, sobbing out loud - he knew his friends were nowhere near where they could hear him. He let out his feelings as much as he could, knowing he wouldn’t have much time alone. Even if any of the rest were here, would he ever meet them again? In such a vast, vast world… 

After some time, he remembered there was still a delivery to be done. He still had friends to protect, and he’d make sure all of them were safe and happy. He picks himself up off the ground, and begins his trek back up the hole. As he reached the top, he heard the sounds of the drowned converging under the waves - he could tell it would be night soon. They’d want to be finished and in bed before then… or at least, have everything squared away so they could finish tomorrow. 

As Goggles arrived at the beachfront to look for specs, he could see Bobble and headphones heading back from their outing too, map halfway filled out. Specs was by the water’s edge, waving at the pair as they came back. 

“I’m back! Looks like you guys are back, too!” Goggles called. 

“Yeah!” Bobble cheered, “Storm’s on the way, we gotta get inside!”

Specs spun around to wave at Goggles, too. “Oh hey! Hope the request wasn’t too bulky!”

“Nah!” Goggles said, “Just jumped at sounds a lot, hehe~” 

A ways behind specs, beneath the waves, Goggles heard scraping - something sharp on the rocks and sand below. He wasn’t sure how he could hear it, but he knew what it meant. One of those drowned had a trident.

Could his friends take hits like he could? If specs were bitten, would he turn into the villager-like zombies he’s seen at night? Goggles didn’t want to find out, especially since Specs had no armor on.

“Hey! Keep away from the water, Specs!!” Goggles called out, but he could already see the decayed head poking out from the water, reared to strike.

Before he had time to think, he ran in front of Specs, shoving his friend into the sand. And of course, as fast as Goggles was, the trident was airborne by the time he was running, and hit him square in the chest the moment he was in Specs’s place. 

He heard his friends scream out, his body no longer quite listening, not even enough to hold onto all the resources he had gathered. They spilled out nearby as he slumped forward, the cold trident in his body keeping it upright. Unseen, headphones launched into the water and tore apart the drowned that had hit him, giving it no time to throw another.

He didn’t consider that he, to, might be able to die… but at the same time, he had a very strong feeling that he couldn’t. Even if the pain was immense, and the sight of his dark blood shimmering with specks of blue made him woozy, he willed himself to grip the trident with both hands. With a swift movement and a sickening sound, he pulled himself off of the trident. He could feel things inside him, shifting unnaturally and… creaking. 

“Ah… it’s really cool…” Goggles croaked, the world spinning as he admired the unique, blurry trident, “I wanna keep it…”

He felt himself hit the ground, and was out. Next he awoke, he was in his bed, staring up at the sky. It was the next day already… was anyone else up yet?

He began to get up, and then noticed his chest was all bandaged, his clothes nearby, folded neatly. And right beneath them, a chest. He slipped on his shirt and jacket, and gathered up the rest of his items from his chest. He then noticed at the bottom, there was the trident! Completely cleaned of blood! He swung it around a bit, happy to have it be his. Of course, he’d have to consult ShadowGogs about how to use it…

“Goggles! Thank goodness you’re up!” Headphones said as she walked in, and ran over to give him a hug. Goggles happily returned the hug with a big squeeze.

“I’m sorry I scared you guys!” Goggles apologized, “I just didn’t want Specs to get forked…”

“Don’t be sorry. We’re just glad you’re alive…” Headphones said, “Specs finished the lighthouse by the way, and he’s working on his own house to keep stuff, too. We all took on a couple stress projects while waiting to see if you were ok… and Bobble told me to tell you to visit her at her Island across the weird bridge, since she’s the one that healed you she wants to check up on ya.”

“Ok! I’ll go right away.” Goggles replied, giving Headphones an extra little squeeze before he wandered off to find their fairy friend.

He rounded the house to find a strange prismarine bridge that wasn’t there before - and briefly wondered if his shadow was also doing a bit of stress building while he slept. He walked over it, wandering along the path Bobble made to her house in progress. A soul lantern in each window, goggles really began to wonder if she was remaking the broken portal to get more materials for them. But then again, who knows if his shadow provided soul sand to their chests… he didn’t get a chance to check them lately. 

“Mornin’, Bobble!” Goggles called out, watching as she hopped up to the frame of her house, “You needed to check out my stab or something?”

“Ah! Good morning.” Bobble said, fluttering over and giving the boy a strong squeeze. Goggles squeezed strongly in return. He was taking off his jacket already before Bobble grabbed his hand.

“Come step inside.” Bobble said, “There’s something… that worries me. I kept it to myself, just in case it was a secret.”

Worried, Goggles followed her inside. He assured himself there was no need to worry - maybe most fae changed their bodies with magic here instead of surgery, so maybe she was just worried about his scar. That seemed like the most likely case, and he’d gladly explain what it was all about to her. 

“So what’s up?” Goggles asked, pulling his shirt off so she could access the bandages.

“It’s simply… something that I don’t understand. Most overworld dwellers I've heard about… don’t have the features you have.” Bobble explained, snipping away the bandaging with one hand while she summoned up a mirror with the other. 

She stepped away, and pointed out the strange blue line along his chest, going right down the middle from his collarbone and stopping at his bellybutton. Goggles squinted at his reflection, feeling the line - it didn’t cause any pain. 

“I don’t think the trident caused it…” Goggles mumbled, getting a bit closer. 

“Neither do I - it’s too small. I gotta assume it’s been there…” Bobble added, tilting her head. “You don’t know what it is?” 

“No… I didn’t notice it before.” Goggles said, and was about to mutter something about his pre-existing scars and how he knows how those ones got there - 

-Until he accidentally sunk his fingers into the line. His eyes widen in horror, and he shutters as he pulls his fingers out, expecting blood; only to find a semi-clear, drool-like substance that shimmered faintly. The more he panicked over it, the more the line on his chest shuttered, and he couldn’t tell if he saw his own ribs or rows of teeth that mimicked the look of them, creaking and groaning as they moved and his skin began to change to a darker blue, the colors of that line…

Before panic could set in fully, Bobble made the mirror disappear with a snap, and forced him to look up at her instead of the monstrous features he had. 

“I-I’m sorry I brought it up…” Bobble apologized, “I’ll keep that a secret. I’m guessing that’s new for you, too…” 

“I-I… I don’t… I don’t get it…” Goggles said, rubbing at his head and messing his hair up, “What the hell?! Why am I here, what even AM I anymore?! I hate this! I wanna go home!!”

“W… wasn’t this place your home?” Bobble asked gently.

“NO!” Goggles snapped, “I touched something I shouldn’t have, and all of a sudden I’m banished to this empty island in the MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN and turning into some sort of monster! I don’t understand! I’m just scared!!!”

Bobble, unsure of what else she could do, gave the poor boy another hug. “I’m sorry.” She said gently, “I wish I had answers for you… but you won’t get cast away twice. We may not understand, but… we can all be here for you. And no matter how you change, it won’t erase the bond we all forged living together. Please just breathe… we’re all gonna work hard to keep you safe, too.”

After some time of calming down and comfort pats, Goggles was finally calmed enough to let Bobble go. “Sorry about that… eh… I’m glad you all care about me.” he apologized.

“And I’m glad you care too.” Bobble said, handing Goggles back his shirt and jacket, “Is there any leads to eh… what’s up with you? I know some types of overworld inhibitors have specific diets, so… we aught to know what to feed ya and stuff. Like how Headphones is a carnivore”

“Well if i couldn’t eat everything I’d be even more sad!” Goggles said, pulling out his notebook, “But… I might know how to find someone who may have a lot of answers for me.”

And upon looking at the pages, a message from his shadow stares him in the face:

SG: Nobody perma-dies while you’re here, dummy! Your will overrides hardcore death! Here’s those coords.

Goggles sighed, gently closing the book. “Anyways, I gotta go somewhere tomorrow night to get those answers. Would you be able to fly me there? It’s a bit of a long way.”

Bobble nodded, smiling once more. “Easy - you don’t weigh a thing to me!”

Chapter Text

After explaining they would be out exploring, Goggles and Bobble set off for the Coordinates Goggles had obtained. Even if Bobble could carry him easily enough, they had a long way to go - so Goggles brought along the equipment to make a boat so she could take the time to rest. They had a fun time, taking in the sights, getting distracted by little foxes - Goggles had never seen one before, so of course they intrigued him. But eventually, they got to the island.

“A mushroom biome! I hear they’re rare, especially for your overworld.” Bobble quipped, fluttering about. 

“Oooh, I’ve never seen one, either! It’s so… grey.” Goggles said, touching the mycelium that grew on the ground.

“I hear there are cows that live here! I wonder where they are… did we come here for them?” Bobble asked. 

“No, but I want to see one if they’re different here! There’s so many big mushrooms, too…” Goggles says. 

He wandered toward the particularly big forest of mushrooms, listening for a moo, or the trot of hooves. He heard something for sure, but rather than something walking on ground… It sounded like something walking on solid ground.

“I think someone’s got a house here. Do you mind if I go say hi?” Goggles asked. 

“You mean you don’t know what you’ve come here to see?” Bobble asked.

“I mean, I’ve had an idea of who he is. I dunno for sure for sure… I just think that he might be in the same situation as me.” Goggles explained.

“Alright. I’ll wait close by though, so you can shout if you need me.” Bobble said, patting him on the back.

“Gotcha! You can come find me too if I don’t come back in a few minutes.” Goggles says.

Bobble nods, and Goggles heads for the forest of mushrooms. A little ways in, obscured by all the shroomage, was a somewhat modern-looking building - it made Goggles think of the buildings back in Inkopolis, except it was less skyscraper and more a long box. The doors opened for him as he stepped on iron pressure plates, and he gazed around cautiously.

It seemed the main hallway was made up of glass cases - almost like a museum, where little miniature biomes were built. A few of them housed basic hostile mobs - Zombies, Zombie villager, creeper, spider and so on. He notes they were all named as well! Funnily enough, all the names were formal. If anything, it made Goggles more sure of who he was up against. 

“Helloooooo! Anybody home??” Goggles called out, his voice echoing down the pristine halls. 

For anyone else, they wouldn’t have caught the response - but Goggles heard a soft reply, “Now that doesn’t sound like a trader…” 

Of course, Goggles ran towards the voice, and when Hivemind opened the door at the end of the hall, they almost ran into each other.

“H…Hey! Do you remember me?” Goggles asked. Gosh, if he didn’t, this would be weird…

“Of course I’d remember one of my rivals, though I suppose that the past's barely a concern right now. Come this way.” Hivemind said, waving Goggles inside.

Goggles hurried in, and sat where he was motioned to sit. Of course, he soon noticed a shimmering, silver book on a pedestal a ways away. He glanced around the room, noting the bed and several neat work areas, assumedly where Hive figured out his own crafting. The room itself had a lovely view to a mushroom grove with a pond, and skylight above to see the stars, all glass and connected in a sleek, seamless fashion. There was also a large, stitched together quilt that hung to the side of the windowed area, that probably acts as curtains. It was not only spacious, but very well cared for and lived in, including many, many shelves on knick-knacks and books. It all had a nice, futuristic space vibe.

“It looks awesome in here!” Goggles complimented, admiring the look of the whole place.

“Thanks. I’ve had a lot of time to myself, and since I can’t understand villagers or any other mob it’s been all this decorating and talking to myself to keep me company.” Hive explained.

“Oh, geez… I dunno how I would’ve handled things alone…” Goggles says.

“You have others?” Hive asked.

“I found my team around after I woke up. Everyone’s something else too, and they don’t remember who I am. I’m not even sure if they’re my original friends, or versions that exist here.” Goggles answered sadly. He perked up for a second, and pulls his book out. “I also have my shadow. He’s kind of more in my head and in the book, though. Don’t you have one?”

“If that’s what my book is, it doesn’t respond to me like yours does. In fact… I think my memories of the past world came to me when I touched it. I’ve got memories from this world, too.” Hive answered.

“What do you remember?” Goggles asked.

Hivemind began to pace as he answered, “I remember a fight. Where I was, the place I called home was under the rule of a giant, black dragon - there was one that was large and old, and one that seemed a bit smaller, and they were fighting to the death. I remember trying to report what was going on to others who lived in that place, perhaps even trying to reason with the warring serpents, but my wings were torn in the crossfire, and I fell a long way. I aimed for a small fountain in the middle of the battlefield, Aiming my bow at the dragon that shot me down. When I awoke I found myself by the grove. My journal was floating in the water of the pond here, shimmering like a fallen piece of moonlight. And once it was in my arms, my memories were flooded with the ones of my time as an inkling. With that came knowledge of my hypnosis powers, so I had ample time and resources to heal and study monsters, hence my projects attached to my home.”

“Gosh… that sounds serious. I’m sorry you got hurt, Hive!” Goggles said, hopping up and hugging him.

Hivemind stood for a second before gently peeling him off. “Try to avoid the wings, please. They’re freshly healed, after all. What about you? Do you have memories that belong here?”

Goggles shook his head gently. “All I have is the memories of home. I haven’t even really… tried thinking of if the ‘me’ now has history in this world.”

“Well, perhaps you could try. It’s important to know your history…” Hivemind suggested. Plus, he was pretty curious.

Goggles thought for a moment. He tried to think really, really hard.

“I feel like…” Goggles muttered, eyes closed as he thought, “I feel like I remember… being somewhere. It’s… cold, mostly. But there’s nothing I can see. I can usually picture things, and dream and stuff! But it’s way too dark.” he takes a breath in and says, '' Are you cooking steak somewhere?”

“Yeah, I did. Several rooms down. Several hours ago. Can you remember anything else? Perhaps sensations, or any other details?” Hive asked, jotting down Goggles’s words.

Goggles squeezed his eyes shut a bit tighter, trying to dig deep as he held the edge of the table. “I don’t think… I don’t think I couldn’t see around me naturally. There was… something. Something, everywhere… and… I couldn’t get out of it…”

The more Goggles tried to dig for the answers, the more he felt like he was on the border of something uncomfortable. Remembering structures he’s never seen. People he didn’t know. A portal completely different to the ruined one where he found Bobble. Something chasing him.

And like a burst bomb breaking on the floor, a sudden rush of memories overtook him. He didn’t even have time to explain any of his thoughts as flashes of memory overwhelmed him, it all stormed his brain to the point of nausea. He tried to get up and run outside, but he couldn’t even make it two steps before he was on the ground. 

“Goggles?! Goggles, what happened?!” Hive asked, stepping closer, reaching out, “Hey-”

Goggles put a hand over his mouth, trying to fight the urge to throw up - it made the memories worse. His chest hurt, and he felt it move and creak and heard it make this awful sound-

As Hivemind was about to instill his mind control, to try to stop whatever was going on, he saw the odd little cluster of mushrooms on the back of Goggles’s coat shimmer strangely. And that’s when that rather large fairy bust through his door, looking serious with a lava bucket and fishing rod in tow.

“What did you do to him?” Bobble asked shortly, pushing Hivemind away from him.

“Nothing! We were talking about memories and he started - just - doing that!!” Hivemind exclaimed.

Bobble heard him, but was much too concerned with her friend to respond. She offered a hand to Goggles, to try to help him up, but his grip was unnaturally strong as he heaved and shivered. She could see dark blue veins crawling up his skin from under his jacket…

Deciding he had to take action, Hivemind powered up his shades. “Goggles, Listen to me - you’re freaking out too much. Slow down, you don’t have to think - just slow down.” he commanded.

Moments later, Goggles’s breathing began to slow. He took his other hand away from his mouth, coughing involuntarily as it fell to his lap. He looked over at the other two, and his state deeply shocked them both - his eyes were almost completely black, with the blue of his irises faintly visible. Bobble was so shocked, she didn’t even think to pry his still squeezing hand from her own.

“That’s it. Just breathe, slowly, slowly. You’re safe.” Hivemind told him.

The boy hummed in a soft agreement, taking a few slow, shaky breaths. He coughed, his body twitching here and there, and the darkness began to slowly blink out of his eyes.

“Better, right? I-I saw you eyeing my bed when you came in - it’s the softest in the world. Made it myself. Why don’t you go take a nap? Have a good dream. That’s definitely what you’ve earned.” Hivemind said.

Slowly rising to his feet, Goggles let go of Bobble’s now heavily bruised hand. “Okay…” He replied, even his voice sounding almost monstrous. He staggered slowly over to bed, shedding jacket and shoes before he slipped under the covers.

Once in them, his eyes seemed to go back to how they were before they slipped closed. After some time, both Hivemind and Bobble keep completely still for a bit. Their stillness only breaks when Goggles rolls over and snores softly.

“Okay, cool. What the fuck was that? ” Hivemind said.

“I don’t know.” bobble said, facing Hivemind with her usual smile, “ What did you do to him? ” 

“Like I said, nothing! We just talked, and… look, I’ll explain everything, but I want tea after that nightmare. Go on and sit, it’s not like you can really leave without him.” Hivemind said. 

Reluctantly, Bobble fluttered over to the table, taking the seat Goggles once sat in. Hivemind brewed some tea, and sat across from her, pouring her a cup. Then, as the two sat and recharged, Hivemind explained the events over, from their shared situation up to the moments before she arrived.

“So thus, I can’t really tell what his now-self went through before getting here. But whatever it was sounds fucked up and I don’t like it.” Hivemind concluded, taking another sip of his tea.

“Could I say a theory?” Bobble asks.

Hivemind nodded.

“I think the particular books you two have gave you those memories. For what reason, I don’t know… perhaps because the spirits in them are the most powerful. That has to be what the shadows are - a kind of energy formed into a very invasive, intelligent being, and the memories come along with them at the cost of using their powers. You both will things into existence, in a sense, and Goggles has an especially close relationship with his shadow, so it makes sense I guess. Radio waves must have become a strong magic in this world.” Bobble says.

“Perhaps. Magic is definitely a key element to this world. And considering our connections to our shadows, with the fact that my old inkling memories are so dreamlike… his memories must be painfully vivid.” Hivemind hypothesized.

“Yeah. I almost feel like both your memories affect connections, too. He felt like a little brother to me the moment I saw him - and I’m usually wary about strangers~ seeing specs and headphones, too, it was like… finding a home after a long journey. Brand new, but cozy.” Bobble explained, glancing over at her sleeping friend.

“Must be nice.” Hivemind says.

“Mmm-hm. I don’t think, if there are any other books, that they have as much influence as you guys do. If there is any… the king’s rumored book could very well be something different…” Bobble muttered.

“The king?” Hive questioned.

“Oops~ darn, I was supposed to keep that a secret. Oh well, I guess it can’t be helped - someone must be sent to keep an eye on you, too.” Bobble sighed.

Hive grew confused, and quietly wondered to himself if he should take his crossbow out. But Bobble fluttered her wings, sending a dust of blue spores that shimmered and pulsed. Slowly, visions began to take shape.

“The King of the Nether - a dragon of pure gold and claws of quartz. If you don’t refer to him as the king of the nether, you simply call him Emperor. But nobody is all that close, as his closest servants protect the sea monarch. I among several others are the second ranks - and we do his bidding in their absence. A piglin I knew said he saw the king using a magic golden book to commune with the monarch, but I don’t know of anyone else who has confirmed that. Plus, he’s a bit wild… but he at least has a strong sense of duty. And a love for overworld apples, and tales of the End.” Bobble explained.

The images shifted, and the spores shaped a deep red dragon. Behind it, illagers, witches, all sorts of reinforcements.

“This is our enemy - the self proclaimed overworld ruler, a red dragon that lead an attack against the other our kings a while back. His power corrupted the enderdragon and nearly killed the monarchs. Combined forces drove him back and sealed him away back to his island, but the king and monarch retreated to their respective kingdoms, with deep injuries that took all the forest’s fairies to heal. I don’t know why we don’t just finish the job, but the Nether king’s orders are absolute. I stumbled upon Goggles in a scouting mission, so when I asked I was told to lie in wait, and see if he’s even strong enough to help. Overall, I do believe he’s abnormal… but I'm not sure I want him fighting that thing, even if he could potentially kill it.” Bobble finished, and with a wave of her hand the spores clustered together into a neat stack of warped mushrooms.

Quietly, Hive picked one of the mushrooms up, and pocketed it. “The best I could do to assist is try to mod in special weapons for you guys. If my wings are shot, I’m not of much use, and my book doesn’t really like to move from its pedestal I set up there. It’s a little spiteful bastard for it, I really don’t feel safe leaving it.”

“Glad you’re so willing to work with us. Guess you’re quite ready for some more permanent company than us, huh? Set up a portal space, and I’ll report to my king your issue. You’ll be well protected soon.” Bobble said, taking out some obsidian.

“Can I make a request?” Hive asked.

“What is it?” Bobble asked.

“...send over the piglin you were talking about. The one that likes stories and apples and whatever.” Hive said.

Bobble smiled. “Someone familiar to your inkling past~?” she asked.

Hive turned away. “He just sounds interesting is all! Plus he probably knows a bit about Emperor’s journal if he’s seen it. And. I have too many apples.” 

“Sure. I was thinking of putting in a word for him anyways, since I felt he may like you. Now help me set up before Goggles gets up.” Bobble says.

With this, Hivemind leads Bobble to one of his unused rooms downstairs, and they set the portal together. Hive waited anxiously outside for a while, worried about how long it would take, or if he would somehow be recognized. He also hoped piglins didn’t wanna eat elytrians…

Then, Bobble popped back through. “He’s coming. I’m gonna go keep Goggles company.” she said.

Soon after her, as moments felt like hours, a hoof-like hand reached through the portal, a shimmering gold dagger in hand. And soon, a piglin with a familiar spiked, gold-tipped haircut and fish skeleton upon his head pulled himself through, wearing a loose-fitting shirt that was vaguely reminiscent of his favorite gear as an inkling. After these weeks of dwelling on this island alone, not knowing what he could trust, it took all Hivemind had not to run into those familiar arms. It would be weird, he reminded himself.

“Hey.” his old ex-friend grinned, “Heard you’re a fragile little elytrian, eh? That and you’ve got some apples with my name on it, too.”

“Yes. I-indeed. Speakin’ ah names, mine’s Hivemind. Ya- uh-um… you may call me Hive, though.” Hive said, trying to hold in those emotions and tears, convincing himself it may just be coincidence that he’s so much like that person, “And you are…?”

“They call me Fierce. I’m one of the best warriors of my realm, so you’re gonna be pretty well protected. Nice gear, by the way - I like the way those little dingles on your shades shine.” 

“Thanks.” hivemind replied, reaching up to one before he turned and said, “Lets getcha those apples.”

“Hell yeah.” Fierce replied, sheathing his dagger and  following along.

Chapter Text

As Fierce walked behind the elytrian, he quietly admired Hive’s appearance - as a being from the end, he really did look ethereal, from the lavender translucent wings to the shimmering silver hair tied back in a long ponytail. And he looked pretty fragile, by his scrawny tan limbs. He bet he could probably swat him like a fly if he wanted - hence why he probably needed his help. The red dragon would probably chew him up and spit him out.

“So, what brings the firefly to the overworld?” Fierce asked.

“Chance, and a magic book to put it shortly. By the way, how do you survive outside of the nether? Usually your kind lose your mind on the surface…” Hivemind asked.

“Yeah, it almost happened as ya could see, but a little magic saved my skin. Plus, I’m a pretty tough boar if you couldn’t tell. I think it’s ‘cause the red dragon’s scared of my kind - a big enough herd could eat through his stupid scaley hide faster than he can breathe fire.” Fierce said, confident in his words. 

“Then it sounds like I’ve got the right guardian.” Hive says, showing off his modded silver crossbow, “However if the dragon were to try to best me in the air, given the proper tools, I’m certain it’s wings could very well be cli- SHIT”

Hive had misstepped on his way, and he nearly fell to the ground - but Fierce was fast, and had his arms around him before he could even hit the ground. His wings were a little uncomfortable, but the fabric of a shirt on them was preferred over concrete on his face.

“Says the elytrian with sea legs.” the piglin snorts, “I’d like to spar with ya later, though~”

Hivemind was very flustered. With a slight, buzzing flutter of his wings he said, “Yea sure let’s jus’ keep movin’ yer takin’ apples off mah hands first.” 

“Sure thing, boss.” Fierce said, rolling his eyes and smiling as he let him go. He thought he was a funny sort of dude!

As they got back to the hall outside Hivemind’s room, Fierce caught a whiff of something in the air - very particularly musty, with a twinge of… ocean, maybe? Either way, he knows that scent.

“Hey, Hive… you didn’t pick up anything shiny and wiggly underground, did you?” he asked.

“No, nothing other than some slimes for company. And slimeballs, of course. Why?” Hive answered.

“I smell sculk.” Fierce said, glancing at the room, “Did you… somehow capture a warden?”

“No- I have no Idea what you’re talking about… what are you talking about?” Hivemind asked. 

Fierce opened Hive’s door, taking a few more sniffs of the air. He waves at Bobble, who greets him, but then stops short of where Goggles was still napping. 

He points at Goggles and says, “He’s definitely the source - he probably got too close to the ancient city. He really reeks of sculk… he probably even got attacked by the warden if I had to guess. Their hits are rumored to be pretty nasty.” 

“Tell me about the ancient city.” Hive says. After an awkward moment of quiet, Hive retrieves a few apples from a chest and tosses them Fierce’s way.

“Well, there ain’t much to say - it’s ancient after all. Preserved in deepslate, It was one of the missions I went on with Jet to see if we could salvage anything interesting. There are some old scrolls, shards, and who knows if there was once a dragon of the underground, too. There’s deep danger in it, though. Sculk is like a mold - unforgiving, it takes over anything it touches. It’s also the medium in which the warden uses to travel. Trigger the sculk shriekers too many times, and you’re toast. Warden comes after you and rips your arms off or somethin’. The most you could gather is that there once were people living down there, and if you see close to the warden’s gaping chest… that’s where the people went. Heck, we had to distract the warden by building some golems to escape after Bike tripped on a shrieker. The king, after seeing one block of the crap we brought back and what it did, asked us to throw it into the lava pits along with the maps to the place. Thouuugh… I did personally keep some shards of a record I found down there, and a nifty compass I made that doesn’t seem to spread sculk sludge. I could show you em’ sometime.” Fierce explained, eating half the apple in one bite. After some thoughtful chewing, he said, “Oh yeah, I should mention the shriekers also blind you for a bit if you do end up setting them off. Bike kinda retired after that, and nobody blames him.”

“Quite a formidable beast, to be sure.” Hive muttered, finishing off his writing.

“Goggles…" Bobble sighed softly, “Just what happened to you…?”

…

“Hey, Specs!” Headphones called out, holding up a little enchanted crown of coral, “Do you think Bobble would like this?” 

Specs glanced over momentarily. “Hm? Yeah, I think so! She always likes your gifts…”

Headphones walked over, peeking over his shoulder. “What’cha craftin’?”

“Something that will hopefully make it so I’m no longer in danger every five seconds.” Specs replied, glancing down at his work, “Maybe I need more emeralds…? Or black dye…” 

“Oh! Here!” Headphones replied, tossing him a couple emeralds. “I snagged some when Bobble and I went exploring a while back.”

“Thank you. That’s more than enough, so here.” Specs muttered, tossing her back an enchantment book. 

“Ooh, Unbreaking! Perfect!” Headphones said, smiling as she immediately ran over to the anvil they had set up and used it on the coral crown.

Headphones continued to work on her base, and Specs continued to toil away at his experiment.

…

In a far off village, under control of the red dragon…

“Where are you, you little runt?!” a high-ranking soldier barked from his place atop the watchtower, scanning the surroundings below. The soldier is a powerful kitsune, able to bounce about the rooftops and leave a trail of fire as he ran. His tails twitched angrily, scanning, looking for spots his target may have hidden. 

“I KNOW you stole it!!” he bellowed, “Your fearful scent is all over our hall! You’ll either come out or I’ll BURN THIS PLACE TO ASH!!”

Nearby, just under the kitsune’s nose, the basement of the watchtower was guarded by a hulky iron golem. Long ago it had gotten stuck under here, and he had slept for a long time with his creator. In fact, what woke him had been some intruders a few weeks back, and they had stumbled upon the basement by chance. A girl with dog ears and well-kept curls, named Forge, and a boy who kept most of his body hidden whenever he visited, named Army. The two had worked not only an escape plan with him, but worked together to revive his creator, who had been suspended in slime for all these years. Though the slime rusted his mechanics, it preserved his flesh perfectly, especially with the natural magic contained in such slime. They were so close to waking him… they just needed a bit more redstone, another quartz core, which they had just crafted…

“We have to go. He’s definitely- ” Army was cut off by the sound of an explosion, dust and pebbles falling from the ceiling, “Noticed it was missing.”

“What about No.8?” Forge asked.

“Blurin, Carry No.8. you’re going to move them along with forge down to the caves, pick a direction and run until you’re safe. The sailor twins will meet up with you guys at -16 and help cover your tracks.” Army ordered, 

“What about you?” Forge asked, “You can’t face a guy like Flare alone.”

“I know- I’ll just- I’ll think of something. Just focus on yourselves. We will meet up again, I promise.” Army said. 

They hear the door bust open above, and the group takes off down their dugout escape path. Once out into the deep cave beneath, forge and Blurin take off with the sailor twins while Army takes a separate path, clamoring through the narrow stretch of natural cave while Flare blazes a trail behind him, howling and screaming at him. He checked his inventory one last time as he rounded a corner, placing what he needed within reach before continuing to run.

“I DON’T SMELL ANY FOOD ON YOU, MUTT! YOU CAN’T RUN FOREVER, AND WHEN YOUR LEGS GIVE OUT, YOU’RE DEAD! ” Flare bellowed, the heat of the firey fox’s singeing fur and foul, bloodied breath close on Army’s heels. 

With one quick turn, army throws some stone down to slow Flare. His surroundings are beginning to change to his favor, he recognizes the passage where he is. He runs like hell, his thighs are burning and it hurts to breathe - but at the very least, he has to do this.

With a burst of fire-powered speed, Flare swipes at Army’s back, tearing his coat and back up like it was tissue and sending him sprawling to the ground, hands and knees scraped by the texture of the floor. As Flare bounded toward him, it was now or never.

Army turned, and threw the lead he had around the lever he had placed at the end of the cave. It hit its mark, and he tugged. 

The gravel beneath Flare gave way into a deep, deep pit below - only the dripstone along the ground to greet him, and plenty more gravel above to smother for good measure. Army just barely escaped the fall himself, clinging tight to the lead that had saved his skin and slowly, painfully shimmying up as Flare met his demise. Taking a block of tnt, he lit it to hide his deed as he limped along, still trying to run. He didn’t intend to make it out alive, certain Flare would have burned him as he hit the lever, but here he was. Impromptu backup plan given by fate, and he had to continue to run, too - before any of the other kitsune came back from their hunt. 

He had hoped for lava at the end of the cave, that way he could dispose of the book that gave those horrid beasts power, but instead, there was an opening. Sea to his front, hills to the right. Thinking fast, Army ran along the hillside, as far away from the village as his legs could take him.

As dawn peaked over the horizon, Army collapsed. The field was covered in gorgeous arrays of flowers, the white tulips that broke his fall now dotted red with his blood. It was a beautiful place… and Army was happy to perish in it. As a bee lazily floated by, stopping by to stare as it collected pollen, he reached out to it. How he wished to have a life like the fuzzy yellow thing - simple, free of pain. Free of fate.

As he lost consciousness, he decided he wanted to use the last of his magic to match his last, buzzing friend. At least a little.

…… but he didn’t die.

Army found himself blinking awake, body heavy on a soft bed, covered by a pink, woven blanket. He heard someone exit the room, yelling for someone else that he was up. His sights came into focus, but he found himself barely able to move. It was either lose his illusion and get little mobility, or keep using his magic and stay still. He chose the latter - he didn’t want anybody mistaking him for Flare if they knew who he was.

He looked over, and what came into focus was a dude around his age. Tan skinned, pink haired with little wisps of feathers in his hair, feathery wing-like ears, and deep purple eyes with a ring of pink around the pupil. A hibiscus adorned his visor, white fading to deep purple-pink on the inside. The sky blue button-down he wore looked cozy… and his smile was gentle and sweet. Even so, Army was afraid of what may come next…

“How’re we doing? It was kinda scary to find you bleeding on my tulips.” the pink-haired being asked, helping Army sit as he used his wings to prop the pillows up and keep the blanket snug. The wings were a light pink that faded down to white, similar to the feathers in his hair. That, and they were ridiculously soft.

“W-wha… uh…” Army muttered, a bit too flustered and tired to form words right away. But of course when a wing hit his back too hard, he hissed in pain.

“Ooh! Sorry, sorry! Didn’t mean to do that… guess that means your wounds are still pretty bad. But don’t worry, you can take your time to heal. Are you hungry?” 

Army nodded gently, and the feathery being quickly left and returned with a bit of pumpkin pie. He was patient and let Army eat, but he was also fidgety, playing with his woven flower bracelets and bouncing his leg. Either way, he felt a lot better after eating.

“Thank you.” Army finally got some words out, setting the plate aside. “Um… who are you?” 

“The name’s Aloha! I’m a harpy - but a pretty harpy, obviously. And you are?” Aloha replied with a confident smile.

“I’m Army. I am a- uh… I’m a bee. Yeah. A monster wanted to eat me for lunch… I probably would’ve been dead without your help, so really, thank you.” Army replied, smiling in turn. 

“Nice to meet’cha, bumble bee Army~ that’s pretty cute! I’ve never seen a bug person before. Sorry to say though, I think the monster managed to snipe your wings…” Aloha said, handing off a small hand mirror to check. 

Army took the opportunity to check on himself, noting his antennae and other faked buglike features. “Hmm… I’m more upset about the missing hat… they were too small to fly properly, anyways.”

“I could make you a sweet replacement!” Aloha offered, then added, “And also send someone to check around for that hat of yours. Sucks that it got lost.”

“Thanks. I could maybe try to look for it myself, I wouldn’t wanna be trouble…” Army said.

“You’re not trouble! Also, you’re on healing lockdown - You need to heal before you even try to go for a run around the fields. So just take it easy, and ask if you need help, got it?” Aloha replied.

“Alright. Understood - um… is there any way you could get me some water?” Army asked.

“Sure thing! I’ll bring you a nice bottle full in a flash! Sit tight, cutie~” Aloha said, moving quickly out the room.

Once left alone to ruminate on that cutie comment, Army checked his inventory over - just to make sure nobody took anything from him. Atop the pile of his inventory, the cursed book laid, shimmering orange like fire… though in this light, it was almost a glow of sunset. Though he hated this thing, he felt the urge to open it - just to peek at what was inside. How did it give his superiors power? What secrets did it hold? He’s heard it was hard to open - that the others had to use all their strength to unstick the pages.

But for him, the pages opened smoothly, with barely a touch. The words, written in equally shimmering orange, clear as day.

This book is meant for Army. Those who aren’t worthy, if you manage to read this, know that this isn’t yours. My hands are personally around your neck, and this red curse will spell your end :) 

But to my shiny, perfect, strong light counterpart, I wrote you a poem! Please look <3

Army hated this. Was this book… alive somehow? Why did it know him? More unsure than ever, he slowly turned the page.

Dark to green to yellow to Red,

A strike of claws that wants what’s yours dead.

You hit your last heart, driven to the edge.

Your spirit lights, and blood drips to your eyes

Caught in your sights, tonight your foe dies

Ignore your wounds, ignore their cries for it’s all in vain

For the moment they tried to kill you is when it went down the drain

Do not fret, it’s only a last resort

And with this, so ends my report.

Army stared down the words, deeply unsettled. He wanted to close the book, but he could barely look away. It itches something in the back of his memory, like something locked away was trying to make him remember. Why was it so familiar?

Army glanced out the window a ways away, spotting Aloha chatting with some more of his friends. In his hands, he held a crown of beautiful flowers.

Why… why was it all so familiar…?

Chapter Text

Away from the village, Forge quietly took head count again. Still only her, the sailor twins, the golem, and the husk of some sort of magical, ancient-tech being. 

She was absolutely worried for Army! And worried for the android before her!

She had cooked up the iron she had, fixing up wires of redstone and replacing corroded steel, slowly but surely, crafting the bits of this entity back to former glory. Once all was done, she carefully inserted the quartz core, and gently shut the compartment on his chest closed.

Slowly, the machine whirred to life. Glowing, magenta eyes blinked open, redstone dusted strands of hair pulsing, glowing. The android sat up, glancing around.

“Where… am I?” he asked quietly.

“We’re in a forest, away from a now crispy villager settlement.” Forge informed him, “My name is Forge. Do you remember who you are?”

They pondered a moment. “...Hachi.” He answered softly, “How long has it been?”

At this, Bluhrin raised a hand. “It has been… thousands of years…” 

“I see.” Hachi murmured softly, looking down, “Then my prince… he must no longer be of this realm. There is no way they live for so long. He wasn’t made how I was… what of the serpents? Surely, if my spell worked… surely he made it…”

“Serpents?” the sailors questioned in unison.

At this, Hachi sat back, dejected. “Then… I have no one. I have outlasted those that I held dear…”

“Woah! Hey! Maybe not!” Forge said, waving her hands, “People thought the red dragon died off thousands of years ago, but that one’s back! And the world is huge! Maybe they’re still out there!”

Hachi hummed softly. “If the dragons still exist… perhaps I’ll find one and ask. They tend to know many.” Hachi then grabbed some of Forge’s leftover Iron, crafting two buckets diligently. “Once I have some water, we must find a lava pool. Once this is done, I’ll do some quick calculations to craft a spot on the other side that should lead us to the stronghold.”

The little group, try as they may, didn’t understand what he was talking about for even a moment. Nevertheless, he scooped water from a small pond and continued on his way, causing Bluhrin to follow behind along with forge and the sailor twins. He was quite fast, for someone who had just been freshly revived!

He soon found a pool of lava within a cave on the mountainside, and began his fast-paced construction of the portal. With the flick of a flint and steel, the portal glowed to life - eerie, unsettling, and plenty mysterious. He was going to step inside, but Bluhrin blocked him with a big arm.

“Don’t rush. The Nether is dangerous, you need armor.” Bluhrin told him.

“All i would need is-” Hachi said, reaching for his inventory - only to find it relatively empty. “...The crossbow I misplaced. Fine, I’ll gather resources for a good diamond sword at least - but beyond that, I am fine.”

“Well…” Sailor white began, and Sailor Blue finished, “We may have some Stuff for you - Sailor’s a blacksmith, and I do Weapons. How about it?”

Hachi nods, and the twins excitedly lay out their trades - already decently leveled by Army’s lessons in gathering. Once having ahold of some iron chainmail, a bit of gold and a nice iron pick, the twins happily relieved the boy of his emeralds.

“Thank you both. I wish I could barter high enough for that easy chestplate and axe.” Hachi mused.

“That’s for Army.” White replied, while Blue added, “If he ever comes back.”

“I still refuse to let you go without proper weaponry.” Bluhrin replied, standing firm with his hulking body in the way of the portal. 

Hachi hummed in annoyance, then said, “Fine. You better hope no magma slimes slip through that while I’m gone.” 

“Understood.” Bluhrin replied.

“Magma sli- what is he talking about??” Forge asked worriedly, and Hachi heard no more as he dispersed into the depths.

It didn’t take much mining to find 3 diamonds - Hachi even found a sizable vein that held 4, and made his way right back up once his sword was crafted. He even nicked some redstone on the way up, hoping to eventually get some things to craft an enchanter. There better at least be his serpent friend alive, or else he doesn’t know what he’d do…

Hachi gets back to the portal to see that several Nether mobs have slipped through - Bluhrin was near broken, and Forge was the only thing standing in the way of the knight-like creature finishing the golem off. Forge was growling, German shepherd ears pointed, hair bristled, and tail puffed as she clashed a stone ax against a netherite opposite. The sailor twins were even locked in a little cage by piglin brutes.

So of course, Hachi caught the knight’s attention by throwing an egg at them - it even hatched a chicken upon impact, disrupting their focus and knocking them off balance. They turn to hit him, but he holds out a block of tnt along with his flint - he only had one, and it wasn’t a guarantee that it still worked after all this time, but it was enough of a threat.

“What have you come across for? Apologies if my portal appeared within your base, but I have important business. I must get to The End.” Hachi said, placing the tnt, “And if that’s a problem with you, that’s none of my concern.” 

“So you confess?” the voice behind the armor replied, “You made the unauthorized portal?”

“Since when did I ever need permission?” Hachi asked, flicking the flint and steel impatiently.

“The King of the Nether has forbidden all connections between the overworld and nether until further notice - only those with special permission may make such connections, and link such portals to very specific places. All unauthorized openings are to be met with extreme force and immediate capture of the party responsible.” the knight explained, strong in her will.

“Then why would you attack these innocent overworld dwellers? I’m the one who ignited it.” Hachi asked.

“Is it not common to assume those standing around it to be those who lit the thing?” she retaliated, lifting the face shield covering her, “Listen, I would rather not fight. That big hulk attacked first. If you’re willing to come quietly, I am sure we can work something out - you just have to be patient.” 

“Whatever gets me to my goal quicker.” Hachi answered, removing the tnt, “Let’s go.”

Bluhrin began to get up to try and follow, but Hachi held up a hand. “Forge and the others need you more. Protect them from now on.”

Giving a solemn nod, Bluhrin took the iron and began to try and patch himself. They were about to cross over, but one again, Forge’s stone ax blocked the way of the knight.

“How do we know you won’t just kill Hachi?” Forge asked, “Give us reassurance. I know I just met the guy, but I still care about what happens to him. Promise me you won’t harm him.”

The knight glances at her, piercing eyes watching her behind the enchanted golden armor. “You’re quite the barker, despite having so little bite… it’s rather charming.”

With that, the knight removed her golden helm, revealing dark skin, patches of black-red scales that shone with magma between them bridging her face like freckles, while her gorgeous rose-gold hair burned bright in the sun, tied back by a fire resistant band. She tossed the helmet over to Forge with an oddly gentle smile.

“Take that as your insurance - I may not be able to say what the king will do with him, but I will return to take that back, and give you news in turn. Take good care of my helm, will you not? It’s special to me.” the knight explained, and snapped her fingers.

The piglins freed the twins, and quickly snapped up Hachi in their arms, holding his small frame in the air between them as they giggled and snorted between each other. They took him through, and moments after the knight herself went through, the portal crackled with energy, and broke with enough force to make all the obsidian weep with purple energy.

Forge stood frozen, the helmet held tight in her hands. The sailor twins approached, studying the thing quietly.

“I’ve seen that writing in some old books.” SB spoke, studying it closely. “I believe… that says N-Pacer - or something like that.”

“Nono, I think it says ‘Netherite Pacer’ - one that finds netherite swiftly. Though N-pacer definitely has a snappier sound to it.” SW argued.

Glancing around, Forge looked between them and the quietly distraught Bluhrin, before carefully tucking away Pacer’s helmet into her inventory. “Let’s… set up camp. We can section off the cave and bunker there.”

Together they worked to fix up a stable house for the night, placing their beds together in the corner. Bluhrin stayed distraught - and didn’t have even enough Iron to patch himself. As night turned, the twins went to bed after sharing some freshly cooked pork.

Forge approached, and with some freshly smelted Iron, she sealed the cracks of his person shut.

“There - you should be brand new.” Forge said with a smile.

“Perhaps you should’ve used that for armor…” the golem suggested.

“I could’ve - but I want to make sure you’re in good health.” Forge said, “Besides, I can always trade up materials to the twins. Are you alright, by the way? You seem sad.”

Bluhrin shrugged. “Getting broken makes me sad. As does losing what I’m supposed to protect.”

“I feel that. I’m supposed to be there for Army - Loyalty’s kind of ingrained in my blood… and ever since I lost sight of that guy, it makes that blood all itchy inside. He’s like family to me, so not knowing what’s going on with him is frustrating…” Forge lamented.

“Perhaps, then… we could wait to reunite with them together?” Bluhrin asked. 

“Sure. there’s not much else to do. We’ll be waiting buddies.” Forge said with a smile.

Together they sat for a while, Forge cooking dinner for herself and offering some to Bluhrin impulsively - only to be reminded he can’t exactly eat. As nighttime went on, Forge began to get more tired - and despite protests, Bluhrin brought her to her bed and tossed her orange blanket over her.

“I gotta wait…” She whined tiredly.

“Waiting can wait. Your bones need the rest… and we clearly won’t hear from our friends tonight. But I'll keep an eye out, as always.” Bluhrin assured her.

“Okaaay….” Forge sighed softly, squirming until cozy. “One more question, before I try…” 

“Yes?” Bluhrin asked.

“You had to have a lot of time to think about this…” Forge murmured, “beyond makin’ sure your creator is okay… Is there anything you yourself want…?” 

At this, Bluhrin pondered for a moment. Forge fought her sleepy eyelids, waiting for his answer.

“I suppose…” Bluhrin answered, softly, “I wish to know how things feel. To eat. To be sleepy, like you. Things only hurt when I am damaged… and I want to know the depths of our language beyond simple words.”

“Mm.” Forge hummed in response, “So… you want to be a real boy, huh.”

Bluhrin nodded. “Yes.”

She smiled, and replied, “I’ll see if we can make that a reality for you. You deserve to know…… And our team will make you a nice, big feast when your stone turns to skin.” 

As she drifted off, Bluhrin patted her head. 

“Thank you.”

Chapter Text

Back in Hivemind's domain, Hive was once again snapped awake by Fierce. He startled awake, falling into the pedestal his silver book sat upon. He pulls himself off the silver pages, ever smoothed and chrome-like. Black, bold lettering covers the face of the pages, this time accompanied by sketches.

“Ugh… again…?” Hive sighed softly, glancing over the changes his unconscious mind once again changed - or what his shadow changed, by Goggles’s definition.

“Seriously, that’s the third time this week - I could never wake ya up until yer done.” Fierce said, scratching his head.

“That’s… annoying to me. I wish I could fully control myself… but from conversations, it seems even Goggles can’t control his shadow book.” Hive muttered, skimming the pages over, “well… at least it gave us the tech to talk from far away… with these little chat device things. They should naturally be on our person, apparently.”

“Woah, really?” Fierce says, checking his pockets and finding a little square device, “Oh woah. And it just - oh my god you just touch it and the letters pop up. Epic…” 

Hive hears a little ping noise, and then checks his own device:

Fierce: Hi world >:D

Goggles: OMG WE HAVE A WORLDCHAT NOW

Goggles: THX HIVE

Goggles: WHO ELSE IS OUT HERE

Hivemind: you are welcome. Also I think these things only appear to those we have met - judging by the text. If we don’t know someone of this world - or mayhaps haven’t met someone we are to meet yet, they can’t use or see this. 

Bobble: how strange~

Specs: I just woke up what is this

Headphones: Hi world! I hit a zombie from 40 blocks away, so don’t mess with me!!

Specs: this uh. This doesn’t feel safe

Specs: They can’t tell where we are can they? Whoever sees this

Specs: Bad people are out there

Hive: If you have any specific people in mind, let me know - My book lets me know how to stop people from seeing these even if we meet them. There are also separate logs you can make to speak with your allies specifically, to speak with someone alone from afar, etc. it’s easy to figure out, but you can ask me and I will do my best from over here to explain.

Goggles: Don’t worry! I’ll teach em’ and set this all up. Tysm again!” 

Hive smiled, and tucked away the chat box in his pocket. Besides the new chat feature, there were plenty of other things to check for. Such as new little mushroom creatures that he could already see appearing outside beyond the glass of his room. Even the forest of mushrooms around his base were looking more varied - more colorful. It would look silly to some, but honestly? He really liked it. It added some nice vibrance to the pond outside, and the little creatures were cute.

“Well, that little book sure did a number. Wanna explore a lil?” Fierce asked Hive.

“Sure thing. It would be fun to see the effects these mushrooms could bring… and if I have any more new cow friends.” Hive said with a smile.

 Together, the two began to wander the forests, occasionally followed around by the little mushroom creatures that squeaked as they bounced. Hive picked up a rainbow of samples, and soon his inventory was full of different sizes and shapes of small mushrooms. The colorful shroom forest around them even had some fireflies buzzing about, blinking red, green and blue… it must’ve been unique to this biome, Hive thought.

Fierce was good company, too - he joked about taking bites of the mushroom trees to see what they did, nearly got spored in the face by a white little mushroom creature, and figured out the shrooms liked to be fed, well, mushrooms of course! Hive found himself smiling, laughing with him, echoing the sweeter, distant dreams of a past life.

They reached near the edge of the forest, finally on the far side of the island. Beyond the silver watered sea, the moon was beginning to peak above the horizon as the sun fell behind them. Hive set down a small lantern, and the fireflies danced around the two of them as they talked about their findings, and the beauty of the stars.

“By the way, Hive… I kinda made somethin’. It took some work, ya don’t have to take it, but it’s uh… for you, I guess.” Fierce said.

Hive glanced over curiously. “Oh? What do you have?” 

A bit roughly, Fierce Grabbed Hive’s hand and pushed something into it. “It’s just made of some hide and chain, took too long to make, really.” Fierce muttered, turning around immediately after he let go of what it was.

It was a friendship bracelet.

Gold and silver chains were intricately weaved, chunks of rubies, topaz and emerald were strung on the chains, giving it a royal, studded look - and the adjustable loop that held the whole thing to his wrist was tipped with little quartz beads. Considering the medium, it must’ve taken hours - no, days to construct. 

The memories it brought to mind… It was all so overwhelmingly sweet. He quickly blotted away the tears that formed under his shades, and slipped the beautiful bracelet on.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you for the gift.” Hive said with a smile, “But… why for me? We didn’t know each other for that long.”

“I know- but- I just felt like it.” Fierce said, kicking the dirt with a hoof and making hive notice a similar bracelet around his ankle, just with more silver than gold, “I work for the king, but I don’t have many pals in the nether beyond Jet - and she’s all sisterly and such to me. And y’know, since we’ll be stuck together I figured making friends with you was a good thing to do. I mean, it would be boring if we just sat across the room from each other giving looks all the time. So it’s kind of also a peace offerin’.”

“Have I stared…?” Hive asked.

“Nah- well- sometimes. ANYWAYS glad ya like the bracelet, Let’s head home before the mobs bite.” Fierce replied, beginning to walk. 

At this point, Hivemind figured he could get back at Fierce for the teasing from back when they first met. He wrapped his arms around Fierce’s waist, and took a deep breath, stretching his wings for a second.

“Why walk? It’s a pretty night to fly.” Hive said with a grin, and launched into the air with the piglin in tow. 

Together, the two glided through the air, Fierce awed by the gorgeous sight. Stars shimmering, the fireflies blinking along the mushroom tops and calm waves, with the base’s soft light far in the distance - it was all so perfect. Hive felt smugly satisfied with his ability to wow his friend, and flew just a bit higher, enjoying the view and the cool night air. 

That was, until something whizzed by his ear. Then another - and it was much bigger than a firefly.

“Hive?” Fierce called, brandishing his dagger, “We got company!” 

Besides tipped arrows and bottles of potions, there were vex now swarming around the two - giggling and hissing, trying to make the two drop. Hive flew lower by the tops of the mushrooms, trying to see where they were coming from.

“There!” Fierce pointed, and there was a small boat fleet of evokers, pillagers and husks they had brought with them. “Fly me in close, I’ll wreck em’!” 

Nodding, Hive weaved around arrows and vex alike, skillful in his flight. On Fierce’s count, Hive dived down by the boats and let him go, Fierce taking down an evoker with a quick slice of his dagger. He jumped from boat to boat while Hive diverted their fire, taking out the Husks and other pillagers with his bow from above. 

Thanks to their skills, the fight was rather short, and soon all they had to deal with were the vexes. One got past Hive and flew at Fierce, pushing him off balance and causing him to have to catch himself on another boat, kicking a hoof at the vex as the boats drifted unstably.

And of course, Hive dove down and helped Fierce stand back up, but not before the vex stole the bracelet from his hoof, spilling quartz beads into the water as it flew up and away, giggling with the other vex about what they had stolen.

 And suddenly, Hivemind found himself unreasonably angry. They pierced one of those foggy, old dreams, where voices jeered and mocked him the very same. The jagged edges of tripping legs, broken locks, defaced notes…

“Ya better give that back!” Hivemind yelled, too angered to even think of his tone or to use the mind control he had.

The vex echoed his words back, mocking the way he spoke - and suddenly, it all felt way, way too personal.

And this time, he wouldn’t be a useless, crying little kid.

Fierce had tried to tell him not to, but his yell was lost to the wind as Hivemind flew at the vex. Not even knocking the arrow, he just speared the vex in the chest with it, swiping back the bracelet before it could fall, the soul spilling out and dissipating into little green sparks as the other vex began to growl and hiss.

As Fierce struggled to get to land and off of the stupid boats, calling for Hive to stop messing with the vex and go for the cover of the forest, Hive continued to fly and fight as hard as he could, trying to distance himself and properly shoot each vex down. He felt that flame of anger burning in him, and he wanted to end these stupid things for ruining what was a perfect, nice evening and filling it with such meaningless chaos-

And then, one flew into him from below - and the powerful blow knocked the silver bow from his hands. It fell like a stone, dropping in a puff of dust and spore to the ground below.

Hive tried to smack the vex away and dive after it,  but was stopped short in the air as pain shot into his left wing. His right buzzed wildly as he tried to free himself in a panic, but another vex soon caught the other. More and more swarmed him.

And soon, each vex was trying to take a piece of his wings. The sound of tearing and laughter was almost louder than the pain alarms in his head. In a panic, his mind shot out a shock wave of energy that caused the vex to at the very least stop - but all it did was make them let go. Shattered wings whistled in the wind as he fell to earth. The overload in his mind was great, and he had passed out before he could even hit the ground.

When Hive next awoke, it was in the coolness of the pond. Once again, he was bathed in moonlight, the chill of the pool easing his wounds, soaking his tattered clothes. It was neutral… peaceful.

But this time, he heard water splashing, felt it pool over his right arm, then the left - along with his chest, ebbing away the pains until it was all numb. Soon, he realized his upper back was a little warm, and someone was holding him in the water. By the rough way he struggled to be gentle, the quiet swears, he could tell who it was.

Raising his clenched, trembling fist, Hive opened his hand. The silver of fierce’s friendship bracelet shimmered in the moonlight.

“...Got that back fer yah.” Hive muttered softly. He couldn’t bring himself to even think of speaking differently anymore.

Gently, Fierce took the bracelet from his hand. “I really appreciate it - just don’t go and get yourself almost killed again. Please. Vexes are nasty.”

“Gotcha… I’ll be ready fer em’ next time.” Hive replied, watching dizzily as Fierce slipped the bracelet into his pocket for now.

Once the wounds the two had were nice and cleaned out, Fierce brought Hive inside and carefully laid him down, careful not to lay him on his wings. He even stopped by the bathroom for a towel, gently drying Hive off and grabbing him a spare change of clothes, even helping him swap out the wet ones.

“Have any bandages?” Fierce asked hive.

“Right in the bedside drawer.” Hive replied.

Fierce retrieved them, and carefully wrapped up any Injuries hive had before helping him gently slip his shirt on. He was about to go for Hive’s wings, to see what he could do for the poor, ripped to shreds things, but Hivemind turned and grabbed his hand.

“D-don’ touch there.” He muttered quickly, “They- they’re hurtin’. Just… too painful.”

“...I’m really sorry.” Fierce said, moving his hand back to his side. “How long do they take?”

“A small claw dig on tha right wing took about… a month a’ healin’. Fer this much damage… half ah year? Maybe…” 

“Is there anything I can do?” Fierce asked.

Hivemind shrugged. “Not much I know beyond soakin’ em when they get too much hurt. But really, don’ go on blamin’ yerself for what ah just did - I was th’ one that lost mah cool.” 

Quietly, Fierce backed away. “I’ll cook some steak. That should do a little to help, at least.” 

He ran off to the kitchen for a few minutes, and came back with food -but Hive wasn’t hungry. He had one, then made him store the rest away.

“Fierce… yer still lookin’ all guilty. I want’cha t’ stop.” Hive muttered.

“Why? What kind of guard am I if I can’t stop a bunch of cracked out pixies from doin’ this crap to ya? Really…that sucked!” Fierce snapped back, slamming the chest shut.

“Not yer fault, again.”

“Still! I should’ve been able to do more than trip on some stupid boats!”

“Ya didn’t have arrows to deal with ‘em. Jus’ bad luck.”

“That just means I wasn’t prepared! I wasn’t strong enough!”

After some silence, Hivemind sighed softly. “Fierce… could ah say somethin’... without ya thinkin’ I lost mah marbles?”

“Sure, I guess.” He answered.

“We… were once pals in another life. Ah know it sounds nuts, but that book over there let me know of a long, long dream.” Hive began, rolling onto his side to look at Fierce, “Way long ago in that life, we played around, ate apples with lunch every day, got pushed around and protected each other and such, and somewhere along the way… I ended up losin’ ya. Ah don’t even remember what got me so mad, but I broke it off, and it took several goofballs and a big fight to make me realize jus’ how bad I screwed up with ya. How much I let stuff Like power an’ status an’ order get to mah head. What happened tonight… it all went down that way cuz the moment I felt like I was gonna burst into tears, I thought we were gon’ spiral right down that exact same path again. An’ all I wanted was not ta’ mess up. Not ta’ hurt you by jus’ sittin’ by while I could do something good fer ya fer once.”

He knew by the stare that he sounded crazy. But nonetheless, Hive smiled at him.

“I know. I shouldn’ jus’ go off a silly lil’ dream. But ah wanted to restore a lil’ order to the chaos that ah caused… an’ let ya know that all that had nothin’ to do with yer power, and everythin’ to do with me bein’ afraid. Got it?”

Quiet for once, Fierce nodded.

With that, Hivemind removed his shades, and placed them at his bedside, keeping his eyes mostly closed so they weren’t seen well. 

“Tomorro’, let’s work on makin’ ya a lil room - that way ya can get a lil privacy away from me. But tonight… lemme be a lil selfish, and ask you to stay close by. Could ya?”

“I’d suggest it if you didn’t.” Fierce replied, “Those little fuckers are quick, and walls don’t stop them. If I missed one, I wanna make sure you’re safe.” 

With that, after shutting some lights off, Fierce curled up next to Hivemind, stretching and relaxing.

“And if we were really that close in that other life, once upon a dream… I hope we’re good friends in this life, too.”

Chapter Text

The nether was hot.

It was the kind of heat that made Hachi’s metal burn the parts that connected to skin - he wasn’t used to this kind of heat at all. The knight that took him had the mercy to splash him with a fire resistance potion, and saw to it that the cage he was thrown into had some packed ice within it. 

But waiting was like an itch in his soul. He felt way too awake. It was maddening to be here, waiting for a guard to update him or retrieve him. His inventory was confiscated, too, and beating the walls did nothing but bruise knuckles and scratch iron.

So, resigned to the wait, Hachi began to explore the dungeon he had been trapped in - he hoped, perhaps, a previous residence left him more than withering bones to make chalk from. As the fire resistance began to wane, Hachi nestled himself into the slowly sizzling ice, and noticed something wedged in a crack in the bricks. Quickly, he reached down and pulled the thing free.

It was a small key, made of platinum.

Of course, the first thing he tried it on was the cell door - but he wasn’t that lucky. It didn’t even fit the hole, it was so small.

So naturally, Hachi does a once over of his cell again, gazing carefully at the lines of brick and staring, looking for anything that would fit the key. He even thrusted it into a couple of other cracks, twisting gently.

On his 8th try, something set off clicks - redstone was going off. A block in the wall slid out smoothly, revealing a chest made of crimson wood. Hachi pulled the thing out and opened it, hoping for a key or at least a pickaxe, but all that rested inside was a book.

A book that shimmered magenta and red, more beautiful than redstone could ever hope to shine.

Hachi would’ve been disappointed, but just holding this… It made him feel whole. Like he was meant to have this thing from the start. 

He glanced around, looking to see if any guards were watching, then opened up the book. Oddly enough, even the pages almost smelt nostalgic… and there were words, written in the same, vibrant magenta of the cover:

8 turned on its side is simply infinite. You can keep cutting, cutting and cutting something down, but you’ll still have bits left. Even at atomic levels, you’ll still get lost in the bits and shreds you’ve cut apart, seeming lesser than even dust. Go too far, lost in our hubris, and split the atom - the result will tear the world apart to a clean slate. Make monsters of paste and irradiation.

While you adventure and seek the surface, I’ll be thinking of how to pick up the pieces. I’ll lend you guides on where to destroy, and how to reform - thus aiding in escape. 

You’re an echo, an essence of humanity sanitized and warped to absurdity. And I am the echo of you.

Call for me. I’ll destroy as you create.

The words, as Hachi read them, almost seemed to burn into him - light the core at his being. He dragged a finger along the spine of the pages, feeling as if someone had done the very same.

Glancing over at the  chest, Hachi stood, moving for it.

With a swift, strong kick, backed by the force of what had overtaken him, the box snapped against the wall. He pulled apart the hinges, salvaging sticks and slabs, and suddenly his mind was alight with inspiration. 

With enough work, he had managed to deconstruct the chest and form a wooden pickaxe - it was splintered, and it would break at more than 4 uses, but it was all that he needed to make an escape.

Quickly, Hachi stored away his book and Ice, and chipped away at the wall. Soon enough he was free, chewing on ice to keep himself cooled. He hid behind a pillar, keeping an eye out as a guard passed him by, quickly moving around it as the guard noticed the hole and ran off yelling. Hachi bolted for the far wall, ripping open a chest and taking the top for some extra scrap, just in case.

“Hey!” a voice called for him, and felt much too familiar.

He thought it was a guard for a second, until he saw a girl in another cell.

She was almost like an Allay, but stood just a bit bigger than he did. Her colors were a magenta-red, just like his, and it seemed the bars holding her were doused in a special spell to keep her from slipping through. Her green, unearthly eyes held an odd familiarity…

“Please, take me with you! I want out!” the maybe-allay pleaded with him, “I’ve been here even before that king - nobody would let me out! Please, I’ll be your best friend and help you, please!” 

Hachi was too kind to leave her. He knew the logical thing to do was save uses, but he used up the scrap pickaxe to free her from that cage and pull her through. Recalling old customs, and what his prince had taught him, he held out a scrap of black wool.

“For you.” Hachi clarified quickly, “Let’s get out of here, fast.”

They ran down the hall together, the girl tying the scrap of wool around her head like a bow, keeping her wisp-like hair just a bit out of her face. More and more piglins were showing up to find them, and hiding was getting more and more difficult.

But try as they might, with Hachi’s reconstructions and the girl’s weak magic, the two were eventually caught. The guard that brought him in, even, was the one to finally pin the two down.

“You’ve caused quite the panic today, you know.” Pacer said, “But surprisingly, you piqued the king’s interest. Come along quietly, and we’ll see what he thinks of you.”

The two are hauled away, glancing at each other as they are lead down the halls in golden chains. At the very least, as long as they weren’t being shouty, they could whisper to each other.

“I’m sorry we got captured… but thank you for the save. It was nice to be out, even for 15 minutes.” the girl apologized.

“It’s fine. I’m glad to help.” Hachi replied, “Who are you? What’s your name? I am Hachi.”

“Hachi… a nice name.” the girl remarked, “It’s been so many years… I don’t know my name anymore. It’s just… gone.”

“Hm… would you mind a new one, if you can’t think of it?” Hachi asked.

“Not at all. Please, I’d love something to call myself.” She answered.

“How does Nana sound?” Hachi asked, “That was the name of the model before me. She… perished in the months before the kingdom of the deep fell, long ago. She was strong… and you remind me a bit of her.”

“Nana… I like it. Thank you, Hachi.” Nana replied with a smile.

Soon, the two are brought through some big doors into a large, extravagant throne room. Atop a large pile of gems, quartz and gold, a large, golden dragon sat - a crown of netherite upon his head, pushing his scales to hang down beside his face. His eyes, gold ringed around red hellfire, observed the two with mild amusement.

“The escapees, your highness.” One of the piglins announced.

For a moment, Hachi wondered if he was brought here to become some sort of snack for the beast.

The kingly dragon gazed down at the two inquisitively. “These are the two? I would’ve thought they were more… muscular, to have achieved such a feat with no tools.” he remarked.

“King Emperor, If I may.” Pacer said, “Upon searching Hachi’s inventory post his escape, he had an alarming amount of broken chests in his inventory, along with a looted diamond or two. The diamonds had been added back to your riches, but I do not recall there being enough in the facility for so many swords to be made from them. It appears that this prisoner has an excellent ability to create - with much more ease than is expected.”

“Resourceful, are we?” Emperor mused, “Tell me - what brought you to my kingdom?”

“I want to know if the serpents survived. My intent was to go to the end and ask the dragon there, but you probably know, right? Dragons live for thousands of years. You must know something.”

Emperor’s eyes narrowed, and it seemed like he was trying not to be agitated. “I’m not that old, you know.”

“I don’t care about what’s old. Answer me.” Hachi replied. “They have to be around still - the serpents, the builders - anyone.”

Many piglins were angered by Hachi’s impatience, but with a raise of his golden wings, Emperor silenced them all.

“I know not of serpents. And villagers build all sorts of things all the time, though none are particularly recognized for such. Only two could tell you for certain: the red dragon, who wishes only to speak with violence, or the dragons of the End. the eldest had been killed by her madness, but I am certain her children may know stories… but you must do something to earn such stories. I won’t send such an Impolite creature out of charity.” Emperor explained.

“What do I have to do, then?” Hachi asked.

“The end’s new king was gravely wounded in his battle against the old ruler. He had lost a leg by which to stand by.” Emperor explained, “And you must create a replacement for him - one that can change with any form he sees fit. If you can do that, you may find the answers you seek. Understand?” 

“Fine. how am I getting there?” Hachi asked.

“We did have a trusted messenger - but he fell ill on his way back to tell of the news of the old queen’s death. The clerics have yet to find a curse responsible or a cure to help, but he Is being treated. He simply has no mobility.”

“Then I’ll make him some.” Hachi answered, “Or you can give me a sword, drop me by a warped forest-”

“Absolutely not.”

“Alright…”

With that, Emperor stretches and smiles, sharp teeth gleaming like the quartz in his horde.

“Glad you’re willing to help this king’s subjects. I will prepare some documents you are to take to the end’s royalty. Pacer, see to it that he does not simply harm the end ambassador for answers - that would be annoying.” Emperor ordered.

“Understood.” Pacer said, and quickly moved Hachi and Nana along.

Quickly, Hachi was brought down some twisting halls of the castle, until finally arriving at the doors of the escort’s room.

The creature inside appeared to be some sort of end-variant werewolf - in a mostly humanoid form due to him being in poor condition like he was. When they opened the door, he quickly threw on a pair of shades that he had off, and tried to sit up - but the purple wound encompassing his leg pulsed, and he fell back against the bed, growling about the pain. 

“Definitely cursed with something.” Nana quipped, eyeing him with an intensity that made the guy uncomfortable, “Didn’t you guys even try a potion? Regen? Anything?”

“We tried a few, but it did nothing but a few minutes of relief.” Pacer said, trying to recall the documents she read, “It was a fight to keep him stable and not dying first though, so his state now is an-”

“Useless information.” Nana interjected, grabbing the infected leg with an iron grip, and of course causing the wolf a great deal of discomfort.

“NANA.” Hachi yelled at her, half out of shock from the wolf’s yell.

“What?” Nana asked.

A strange magic flowed in veins down her arm, snaking around the affected leg. The wolf slowly relaxed from his state of ready-to-kill-from-the-pain, and the bright purple pulse died down to a dark purple bruise on his skin, up halfway past his knee. Once she’s done all she could, Nana backed off.

“How is it now?” Nana asked. 

The wolf replied, “Painless.” and when he went to stand, he immediately fell over. 

“And that’s my cue to get to work for real.” Hachi sighed, “I’ll try to make it fast. I must get to the end.” 

“Oh, you’re gonna help me out? Cool.” the wolf said, holding up a hand from his space on the ground, “My name’s aviators. And you?”

“Hachi.”

“Nice to meetcha.”

Once Aviators was helped back up, Hachi began to work on gathering scrap from around the room - and send the girls for what he would need.

“So… what are you making?” Avi asked.

“I’m thinking of a wheelchair that’s adjustable to your form.” Hachi answered, sketching in his book, “well, kind of like a supporting scooter that can contract and become a terrain-taking wheel that supports speed for your wolf form…”

Hachi began to mutter the rest of his plans and brainstorms, sketching out several prototypes right before Avi’s eyes. 

And he wasn’t gonna lie - the guy was making his head spin.

…

In a castle slowly being reconstructed, a freshly crowned king was resting deeply. An enderman peeked in to check up on him, her bandana covering the fiercer of her face - and keeping any potential toxins in her breath away from the vulnerable end king.

“Skull. Skull…” She whispered gently, “Your sister is leaving again. She sounds intent on not coming back from the overworld…”

Skull stirred, then rumbled out a soft, “What a shame… has anything tried to get in, bandanna?”

“Only a cute little group of changelings.” she replied, “Easily scattered with a little scare. But one cutie tried suuuper hard, so I knocked him out and took him over for a little tour. Is that cool with you?”

“Guess so. Have any sweets on them?” Skull asked.

“Sure did.” Bandanna answered, plopping down a shulker box full of spoils, “How has research on that old book gone?”

“Cap can’t find a thing.” Skull replied, staring off at nothing as he moved the shulker box closer with a wing, “Thank you for the report. Enjoy your mimic.”

“Later, Skull!” Bandanna yelled with a wave, and left him to his treats.

Skull sat quietly, and treated himself to a cookie as he unearthed the book in question from the horde of pillows he sat upon. He shrunk himself down to a human form, nearly falling off balance thanks to the shift from three legs to one. At the very least, there was plenty to fall back on…

As he held the amethyst-covered journal, he could feel the power within it. A book he was told, before his mother went mad, that should never be opened, that would unleash a curse. A book that appeared before him as he saw his sister be locked away, used like an extra-strength end crystal. A book that, after nearly dying, watching helplessly as his freed sister fought to the death with his maddened mother, he chose to open despite all the warnings - figuring his death would come anyways.

A book that once opened, immediately halved his pain, but intensified his sickness and fear.

It had been months since, and recovery was slow - his stump where his leg once was had always been hurting, he always felt sick from the way his head throbbed. There were good days, bad days, and terrible days, but he was living, and slowly, painfully recovering.

Or at least, things were that way until today - his pain intensified, like something yanking a piece of him that was no longer there. And as suddenly as it happened, the pain vanished all at once. He had no idea what it meant - if the curse was ebbing away, or it was doing something else.

As he held the book up to the glow of the end rod chandelier, he saw the smallest, thinnest thread floating in the breeze - shimmering with an ethereal, purple light.

And now more than ever, the mysteries of this book perplexed him… 

Chapter Text

The days for the blue team had passed by fast - while Specs worked on imbuing protection of armors into fashionable clothes, Goggles wandered underground a lot, listening to the echoes down the criss-crossing labyrinth of abandoned mines. He would bring up resources aplenty for his friends, help Headphones with her little ship-shaped house be cleaned up into, well tip-top shape, and spend nights talking with bobble - who wore the little coral crown Headphones had given her, sat prettily on the rim of her bobble hat like fancy detailing. They often talked of friends and memories, and even did some sparring together - just to keep skills sharp, in case they were to be ambushed like Hive had told them about happening to him and Fierce.

On a nice, clear night, Bobble invited him over to her hut to see something neat - Goggles was surprised to see a parrot in her home!

“Wooah, he’s so pretty!!” Goggles complimented, observing the bird from all angles, “I’ve never seen one in real life! Why is he here?!”

“I found him trying to stay afloat off the coast, tired as could be.” Bobble explained, petting the little bird gently, “He had a little note in a bottle on his leg. Wanna see?”

“Yes!!!” Goggles replied. The sound of there being a mystery sounded so cool!

Bobble retrieved the note from under her pillow, and handed it over:

Calling all that love the night~

If you get this letter, you’re invited to Flauna’s Moonlight Blooming Ceremony! Come have drinks, make merry and observe the sweet strawberry moon that will oversee it all! No entry fee necessary, extra snacks welcome! Best of all, an announcement of which of the heirs to the throne to take over will be made. If you wish to make connections, dance the night away or drink away to the point of madness, this festival is for you!

 Beware - Flauna is a neutral zone, trouble makers will be EATEN. No exceptions :)

-Queen Mothetra, ruler of cycles

“Ooohh… a party!” Goggles says, glancing up at Bobble, “Who’s Mothetra?”

“Mothetra is… well, more than just a queen. She’s somewhat of a… moth-shaped god.” Bobble explains, rolling the letter back up, “And considering that the strawberry moon is some months off, this may be quite the event to attend… but it may not even be a good Idea to go. I don’t know if our enemy will be attending… but it would be highly unwise to cause trouble there - rumor has it her monster form can swallow a dragon whole.”

“Ooh. scary…” Goggles murmured.

“As for heirs… something like that hasn’t happened since ancient times. Records of a previous cycles god are few and far between, even more so as the red dragon spreads his destruction. I’ve been sleeping on this to try and think of how to approach, but… I dunno. Should we go?” Bobble asked.

Goggles thought for a second. “Maybeee… we should get more allies first. Do some more exploring. Sound good?” 

“Sounds like our best bet in the case of things going awry. That way we can have more allies in a fight.” Bobble replied, taking out another bit of paper, “I’ve got an Idea - we can send a sea turtle out with a little bottle! Make a pal that way.”

“Sounds great! Let’s do it!” Goggles replied.

With that, the two spent half the night writing up ideas - and as Bobble finalized the letter, she noticed that Goggles had drifted off. 

“Aw… you’re terrible at stayin’ up.” Bobble sighed with a smile.

With this, she flew Goggles back to the main base he made, and tucked him in along with the others before heading to bed herself - she’d send that letter out in the morning.

…

Goggles, once again, had fallen into a deep, deep sleep.

In this dream, he was walking along a tall wall, adorned by little lanterns, trailed on either side by men in bulky, strange armor. In the distance, a large frame was veiled in a magic energy. It was so far away, it blurred into the darkness, leaving its form a mystery.

Goggles was on a tower, standing between two older people - they raised their hands, and the crowd of lights and blur below them quieted. They must’ve been a king and a queen, with the power they held over everyone… speaking of the darkness, the decay - the future held in a “warden” of their domain, the research to come…

Goggles wondered - what was he to them?

The king and queen grabbed his coat, holding him still - showing him off. Words describing him, their future, their princess - words making his stomach twist, worsening the stage fright.

Even so, his jaw moves - his own words echo in his head. His old voice sent pangs of dysphoria through him.

“I-I’m going to be heading the research o-of this… otherworld. We may not open the gate again, but… no matter what, I’ll protect everyone!” he proclaimed.

The crowd cheers for a princess. The words made him feel ill, for more reasons than what he could think of.

His mind fuzzed over again, and he could almost reach his current time - feel his real body shifting in covers, squeezing a pillow, but he didn't quite reach. His mind snapped back.

He was wandering through shifting alleyways, and every sound was like needles in his eardrums. He could hear kids playing, people haggling at markets, sounds of horses and guards looking for him - but he didn’t want to be found. He felt worse today. He flickered in and out of the dreams, from the city gate, to caves, to mines where picks, tnt and worker’s coughs grated his brain…

And there was a wall he broke by accident - behind it, a pure, blissful silence.

Goggles was laying on moss, breathing in air that soothed the aches in his chest. It was so warm compared to… home. So warm, he could take his jacket off and lay in the soft, cool moss, and it was more magical than he ever dreamed. The blossoms, azaleas, the glow berries - it all harmonized into a lush wonderland of tranquil silence. He wanted to be here forever.

He knew it would be a short stay, but the silence beckoned him to nap. So he did - and though a little extra warmth coiling around him stirred his mind, he continued to nap blissfully.

Until, of course, his senses sharpened again - a yawn broke the haze of his sleep. He wasn’t touching the moss anymore, but something smooth and hard, almost like a skipping stone.

His eyes opened, and he saw he was in a cocoon of scales coiled around him. Scales that should no longer be living, but rose and fell slightly with each gentle breath. There was a brief moment of terror, but he was more excited - more curious. He heard the Serpents were mean, Ugly, ferocious beasts that could eat thousands of the most seasoned builders, clear entire forests with one swing of their tails…

But this one wasn’t ugly, nor was it ferocious - as soon as he saw goggles awake, he made the silly move of letting him go before unsheathing his huge, golden greatsword. He hissed like a scared cat, and his tail twitched anxiously, the blossoming flower at the end scattering a dusting of pollen.

Goggles meant to ask about the cave, if it was his, about his scales, if he even was a serpent person at all or something else entirely - but these weren’t the first words that came out of his mouth. No, not at all.

“Thanks for napping with me! You’re gorgeous!” and he slapped a hand over his mouth, panicked, and said, “I mean this place is gorgeous - i’m sorry i napped - you have flowers, and- no I mean you are really really pretty don’t get me wrong i wasn’t saying you aren’t by correcting the words i meant, your scales are super snake and I’m sorry i Intruded, nice place nice scales good for naps! uhm- do you like plums?”

The silence was suddenly deafening after that fumbling - but the smile and soft chuckle told him he must’ve done something right.

“You don’t even have a weapon, do you?” the naga sneered.

Goggles shook his head, and held out a plum. “I uh- I was just looking for a quiet plum- eh- place. The city is way, way too loud right now… d-do you mind?”

The guy’’s yellow eyes narrowed. “You should be scared, you know.” 

“Why?” Goggles asked, “I don’t taste that good - I know because I had to quit the whole skin biting habit pretty recently ‘cause of stuff - plus, you’re not a bad guy, are you?”

“Nah. but I could tear you to shreds if I wanted.” he replied.

“Cool! I could too!” Goggles replied, and showed off the scythe in his possession, shimmering with a light dust of sculk on the blade, “But I mostly use this to help clean up - it’s really, really cool, so I don’t wanna break it!”

The snake observed goggles quietly for a moment - and for these moments, Goggles stared hopefully at him.

“Well, sounds like we won’t be fightin’ anytime soon.” he said, folding his arms over each other, “And I could let you stay. But tell me - who are you?”

At this, goggles was nervous - if he told him, would he make him go home? He’d honestly prefer if nobody knew it…

“I…” Goggles shifted uncomfortably, “M-my name… c-can I tell you the truth about that? I-I mean, I have one, it’s just… bad. I’m not even tellin’ you that because I don’t want to say - I just really, really wish it wasn’t my name.”

“Well then. The way we do things, that would simply mean whatever it was, it no longer is. What’s a name you like?” he asked.

“...Goggles.” he answered, “I know, it’s silly, but I always liked researchers and the cool stuff they wear so I wanted that! Plus there’s a lil more to it for me but-”

“No need to explain. Goggles is the name you choose, then Goggles is your name.” the naga interrupted.

“C-cool. I like that.” Goggles replied, “Wh-who are you?”

“I’m the last livin’ serpent in these parts, as ya could imagine. My name’s Rider.”

“Rider… that’s really, really cool.”

“Thanks.”

Another awkward pause, and Goggles held up the plum again. Rider took it, and then just sort of held onto it.

“So… why are you the last?” Goggles had asked, and somehow, they were in another part of those beautiful lush caves, each in different clothes.

“Those damned builders are why.” Rider answered, “We lived farther down ‘till they came in. They tore up everything and stripped the flesh of the elders down to the bone as they died, like rats. The whole process took years, and I spent my childhood hiding. When they came for us, Pops sent me up the mines, sealed me off, and… well, here I am.” Rider explained.

“Gosh…” Goggles murmured softly, “I’m so sorry… how long have you been alone?” 

“...As long as it took to no longer be a kid.” Rider answered, “Though… I did breach the surface for supplies. There’s creatures up there.”

“There are?!” Goggles gasped, “What are they like?! I’ve never been to the surface before…”

“Well, let’s see…” Rider hummed, “There was a snarky witch, a pesky bird, and a conniving kitsune up there. They were more than happy to help me get what I need for just a few glow berries, and some stories. They Insisted I stay, but… I didn’t wanna risk being found. Or taken for skin or something.”

“Aw…” Goggles murmured, “I wanna go someday. Maybe you and I can. And I’ll protect you from the stuff that wants to eat’cha! Nothing can sneak up on me now~”

Another shift. Goggles jolted awake, breathing hard and heavily.

“Oi, oi, easy now…” Rider had soothed, gently petting his head with clawed fingers, “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Once again, Rider was coiled around him. As Goggles came to his senses, Rider handed him a small jar of glowberry juice.

“H-hhh… How am I here…?” Goggles muttered softly, taking a small sip of the stuff.

“That weird fella brought you over. Neither of ya look in good shape.” Rider said.

“I am not a fella. I am Hachi.” Hachi corrected, “Android experiment NO.108. I was assigned to protect Goggles… and Goggles, In turn, became a catalyst to free me.”

“All I did was take good care of ya - and keep you away from mom n’ dad.” Goggles said, “And… take out some brain wires. Haphazardly. Sorry.”

“All is well that ended well. I am fortunate to have you.” Hachi said with a smile.

“A-anyways, Hachi doesn't have any trackers or mind hacks or anything now - I was thinking he could be another good friend… and one that could keep you company.” Goggles said, smiling.

“Yeah, sure, I’d like that - but what happened to you?” Rider asked.

“What happened to me?” Goggles repeated, “Well… I…”

“I can elaborate later.” Hachi interrupted, “For now, can we give Goggles clothes?”

Rider replied, “Sure. there’s plenty spares in the chest over there, and a nice spring nearby to wash off in. let me know if you two need help.” 

Goggles, dreaming again, finds himself staring into the pond - wearing two tank tops, with a layer of vines padding and flattening the look of his chest. Not even binding - just serving to look like he was bulkier than he was. He did it as a joke. But now he couldn’t stop looking, his hair had been cut short for experiment’s sake, he got more muscle, and now… oh, now how he wanted to always have something bulky to help him look manly!

More scenes fade in and out, so much time spent with the two of his friends - the only he had as he slowly, painfully turned. The warmth of the lush, the happiness of being cared for, being loved, even as he was turning into something else.

They fretted over his discolored eye, the pains in his chest - and insisted he stay, run away with them. But for some reason, fear brought him back home.

Hachi and Rider had trailed him home, and voices filled his head.

The gate beckoned, maw wide open to another world that bled shimmering black into his. Whines, groans, and screams were in the distance - a city in chaos.

He tried to make them leave, keep their voices low, but the guards were on him. They ripped him away as Rider and Hachi fought for their lives. His noble parents were there, and he pleaded to them to let the two go.

They called Hachi broken. They called Rider a vermin. 

They told the guards to hurry up and kill them.

Deep, deep inside, something in him broke. 

He couldn’t breathe - and yet, he couldn’t stop screaming.

His hands were red. The cowards were running from what they started. He was so, so, deeply hurt, so sure his paradise was dead behind him, that he gave chase. Anything in his way splattered into black, speckled slime as he barreled through it, leaving smears of the very same slime whenever he crashed into a wall.

He was so far away in that hurt, that the chase became funny - and he couldn’t wait to hurt them, just as they hurt him.

At the stairs, the man tripped. His chest ripped open and up until it could only shriek.

The lady made it farther. Almost through to contaminate the other side, but another head smashed and torn to ribbons on reinforced concrete, melting into sculk. He heard screams. He wanted quiet. He wanted his peace back. 

He didn’t care if that peace would kill him.

He stepped into the gate, halfway through worlds - but a hiss and crack filled his ears.

Shimmering space. Shimmering time. 

From the darkness, a mirror of himself embraced him - it held him gently until all his pain was a dull fuzz in his mind. Until his tears floated off and away into the endless limbo, pooling into starlight. Until thousands of years passed in mere minutes, wiping his mind clean.

Until the static buzz in his ears was a soft whisper - a will of hope. A promise.

A crash of waves on his lonely, quiet beach.

A book in his hands.

When Goggles awoke, there were tears in his eyes.

Chapter Text

“Ugh, where’d that silly slime boy run off to? We’ve gone so far, I’m ssssoooo tired…” A half-creeper girl hissed, flopping dramatically onto a stalagtite.

“I’m sure he didn’t go far, Blazer. You want me to use a seek spell?” the girl’s elven friend asked, mining another bit of diamond she spotted in the nearby wall.

“Bamboo, pleasssse go get him! I don’t even have enough food to get me back…” Blazer called, making Bamboo roll her eyes and smile at her silly friend.

“Alright, alright. You have to remember that this guy doesn’t get tired - as much as he tries to convince us he’s not a slime in a human shape and totally gets sleepy like humans and human-adjacent creatures do. Plus, the dude has endless curiosity - it’s endearing, really.” Bamboo reminded her.

“Yeah… and how are you not tired??” Blazer asked.

“Elves get tired much slower than most creatures.” Bamboo explained, powering her intricately carved staff as her orange eyes glowed seek-yellow, “Plus I pack for three of me, miss fast metabolism.”

“Call me out why don’t you.” Blazer huffed quietly, watching her friend gaze around the caves.

“There he is… oh voids what is that he’s picking at-” Bamboo grabbed Blazer, peeling her off her pointy rock perch, “Let’s stop him in case that thing is still living.”

With this, the two run down a system of caves, Blazer setting a torch path behind them as she’s carried. Eventually, they come to a stalactite pit that seemed man made, where a large pile of gravel sat. also there sat their slime-like “human” friend, shifting the gravel about and unearthing what appeared to be a large, rotting fox.

“Stealth, what are you doing?” Bamboo called out.

“O-oh! Hi!” Stealth answered with a wave, “I got lost, but check out what I found! Can you guess?”

“A dead fox?” Blazer asked.

“It must be a Kitsune, judging by the size.” Bamboo guessed.

“Yep! A Kitsune! A fire elemental by the taste of it.” Stealth informed the two, pulling the body out from the rubble a bit more, “If you look above us, there’s a whole redstone trap set up - and whoever made it really wanted this fella dead. I hope the trap artist didn’t trap themselves here!”

“Cool- um- why are you digging him up though???” Blazer asked, “I thought you weren’t really… y’know, into dead meat?”

“I want the fur, obviously!” Stealth said, “Pa showed me how to make a nice, cozy jacket for the winter with wolf fur, but this pelt is big and the dirt’s gonna be great for camo. I could make you guys something too, if you want!”

“Nah, I’m good with the calcite hairclip you made for me!” Blazer answered quickly.

“I love the hat you made me enough, but feel free to make extra if we ever go to a cold surface like your home once was.” Bamboo replied sweetly, “But take the skin quickly - we have to get home.”

“Yes ma’am!” Stealth replied with a salute, and made work with inhuman speed. 

Once the magical pelt was retrieved, and the body properly covered this time, the trio headed back the way they came, following Blazer’s torch path. To a certain point, they reached their cart path and put their carts on the tracks, riding until they were on the doorsteps to their home.

“Hey… I don’t think that way was boarded up before.” Stealth said, pointing out several now-blocked paths.

“You don’t think we have an intruder, do you?” Blazer asked Bamboo.

“Whoever they are, they haven’t set traps - they don’t seem to be monster hunters or any surface bad guys. Either way, those paths led nowhere so it’s fine if it’s covered up.” Bamboo answered.

The three hide their carts, and press a stone button on the nearby wall. The redstone door stealth made slides open, and the three quickly hop on through into their home.

“Home ssssweet home!” Blazer cheered, rolling down the small hill of moss and giggling as it sends loose spores into the air.

“And I thought you said you were tired.” Bamboo teased her, taking her haul into her room.

“I am, but our little home kingdom is refreshing!” Blazer yelled back.

“We’re back, statue man! I’ll make you a nice coat, too!” Stealth yelled into the echoing lush, pulling his prized pelt into his room to work.

The statue of their home did not answer.

After hours of fixating, Stealth donned his new jacket - as cool as he thought it would be! And marched out of his room, unable to stop staring at his coat in the light of the glow berries and frog lamps. He even picked some excess, letting it dissolve in his lime-colored slime and make it shimmer with a pretty light - much to his delight.

On his parade around, he saw Bamboo seated at the foot of the statue they built their home around, talking about how their latest caving adventure went in a gentle, clear voice. Stealth, when he had first come down here to live with them, thought she was weird for this - that was, Until he learned the reason she’d do it.

But either way, he and Blazer have come to see the statue man as a kind and quiet guardian - as much of a friend as Bamboo saw him to be. And whenever they could, they also partook in the ritual of talking over their days, woes, and victories with the pretty piece of stone, coiled up with a look of what Stealth felt was surprise on his face. He’d always pretend that the statue man was shocked by his secrets!

“... and that’s where we went back. Ah, here’s the scavenger of the hour.” Bamboo said, glancing over to Stealth, “Oh- you sure made quick work of that pelt.”

“Yeah! I think it turned out great!” Stealth answered with a smile, “It’s even got pockets, and this little iron zwoop thing that’s waaay easier than buttons! You like?”

“Absolutely. It’s fitting for you, stealth.” Bamboo complimented.

“Aww, thank you~” Stealth replied, giving Bamboo a quick hug that she returned strongly.

“What brings you out here? I thought you’d be sleepy by now.” she asked.

“I made a little cape for the statue man too.” Stealth said, grinning as he unveiled it to her, “I dropped it in my coal pile and it got all black, but I think it’s nice with a little glow squid ink to accent! Plus it’s nice and warm. I think the snakey parts of our statue guy will love it!” 

“Awesome!” Bamboo beamed, gently taking the thing from him, “I’ll drape it on his shoulders right away.”

Once she finally got the cape tied, she noticed something within the coil of the statue’s lower body - a lime green, shimmering book.

“Hey… did you slime one of my books?” Bamboo asked.

“No way! I don’t stain stuff!” Stealth answered defensively.

Bamboo slid down from the statue, and peeked over the hulking, scaled mass to get a closer look. On closer glance, it wasn’t slimed - it was embedded with what looked like an outer layer of emeralds - or maybe peridot? Either way, it was a beautiful book. She would want it for her collection if there wasn’t something strange about it…

“BLAZER!” Bamboo yelled, “DID YOU LEAVE A BOOK BY STATUE?”

“NO! I ALWAYS GIVE YOU THE BOOKS!” Blazer yelled back.

“Hmmmmm… how weird.” Bamboo muttered, “If not you, and not Blazer… who put this here?”

After some thought, Stealth spoke, “Y’know… with those new boards around… maybe our home’s secret is out. It could be a peace offering from the outsiders.”

“Honestly… that’s the only sensible outcome I could come to, too.” Bamboo replied, “But to leave a peace offering at the statue that’s protected our cave for so long - it’s like fate saying we’ve got nothing to fear from the trespassers. Hostile or not.”

“If statue man accepts them, I guess we should accept them too, huh?” Stealth said. 

“True.” Bamboo sighed, smiling at the statue.

She set the book back down where it was, deeming it a safe peace offering.

…

Rider was in a deep dream for a long, long time.

It started when he was fatally injured - wether it was what happened to his friend that caused it or the guards trying to kill the other also sentenced to death, Rider couldn’t remember - but he could remember his android friend dragging him back to the lush - setting off deadly traps behind him as the manhunting mob gave chase.

He remembered the android was trying to heal him - brewing potions as fast as he could, trying to make Rider eat something, using anything he could think of, until he came to a last resort. A strange, ancient potion is brewed - slime, emeralds, spore blossom petals, glowberries and a hunk of the otherworldly, starry blackness are mixed together, a blue, shimmering mixture poured into a bowl and given to him as the android chanted softly. The pain faded, as did warmth and all sensations except for his dreaming.

He would dream of memories - showing Goggles the hot spring hidden by curtains of vines, listening to Hachi ramble off about the most efficient tools and kinds of redstone devices. There were bad memories too, like when Hachi revealed the truth of what Goggles was being turned into, trying to stop Goggles from going back home and getting into a fight with him despite how they cared for one another.

He would dream of peace, lying on the surface under stars, playing with the hair of those dearly loved friends. He would dream of a future with them. He’d dream of love in any form, even just the concept of holding and being held was a satisfying dream. As was dreaming of the taste of glowberry juice…

But now, as of late, he was slowly becoming aware - in the quiet moments, he could feel the Lush around him - alive as ever, breathing life into the scales beneath his stone. He could tell when mobs would come and leave. He could feel their essence - their power.

The awareness was painful at times - despairing at its worst. He hated being alone.

When someone had finally found the lush, they were wounded. They had run away from someone just out of touch - caused a cave in that must’ve smothered her pursuers, or maybe she did something with that strong magic he felt from her. He felt her soft footfalls, and as her gaze set on him he could almost tell that she could feel the magic of the lush running beneath the stone, slowly healing him. 

“Woah…” the soft voice echoed.

He wanted to snap at her for touching him at first, but he soon realized she was cleaning off the vines and glow berries that had grown around him. She ate some and recovered soon after. He wondered if the magic he shared with this cave was the cause.

“Thank you for saving me… your cave came in handy.” the elf told him, resting just nearby, “You must not have had a visitor in years. Centuries, maybe.”

Perhaps his realization of passed time caused the lush to echo his despair - an oddly chilly breeze rolled through, even making the elf shiver.

“I’m sorry… It must’ve been awful.” the girl said, patting his stone encased scales, “Being alone is terrible… but you won’t be anymore. I want to settle down here, if it’s okay with you. My name is Bamboo. I come from a place far off, and had been chased here by pillagers waving a red banner…”

And from then on, Bamboo was his company. Although he was hurt at first, her stories were nice to listen to. She was kind as well, and it showed as she took in more oddball monsters - Stealth, a slime boy from the mountains who loved to sneak around and wander, and a Creeper Girl named Blazer, who loved to collect music discs and could make tunnels easily without killing herself with the explosions she produced.

Together, the three made sure he was never lonely for long. They cleaned his place of rest, placing polished stone and making a lovely stream of water circle his new pedestal - a proper shrine, since the other two didn’t know he was alive. 

Rider still dreams occasionally, though. Dreaming of meeting his loved ones again. Faceless family. Those dear friends of old that called him beautiful, holding him gently and calling his name.

At some point, he had a dream of a hazy, shadowy figure. It held his hands, taking his shape, looking sad and pathetic like he hated to look. 

“What’s going to happen when I wake up? Will I ever be free? Why was I cursed?” the shadow wailed.

“Can you stop that?” Rider barked back, “I’m sick of thinking of it! I have to move on, even if it hurts! I’ll get out of this stupid rock shell and I’ll at least have people to talk to!”

“Then why haven’t we done such a scary thing?!” the shadow wailed, “Why couldn’t we just dream forever? This reality, it’s so dreadful… I’d rather die!”

“You don’t mean that! Why are you even whining to me if you’ve got nothing good to say?! That’s useless!” Rider growled.

“I’m n-not useless!” the shadow retaliated, “I-I’m able… I’m able t-to attract…”

“The hell do you mean ‘attract’?!”

“It means that nobody wants to hurt us! The more they look, the more they want to protect… if zombies or bad guys show up, they won’t even bother you and they protect you! Th-though that’s only useful if you’re moving… god, I really am useless!”

“Well that’s- wait, is that why the other three came around?”

“No… it’s not an all the time thing, it can be activated and not activated and stuff… but it’s really only good if you’re not stone.”

“Well when do I stop being stone?! Am I not healed enough?!”

The shadow copy stared at him, teary eyes boring into his soul. He felt cold.

“Is there any reason to anymore?” the shadow whispered.

Rider thought. Deep down, even if he was now detached from the cowardly side of himself, he could find no reason strong enough. These friends in the cave accept him as is. Talk to him like they know what he’d say. His quiet is their comfort. They don’t leave, even when he’s like this. His purpose is, quite literally, being their rock.

“I thought so… I am useless…” the shadow sighed.

“No.” Rider huffed, “Maybe… maybe we’ll find a reason to come back to life in the future. Neither of us will be useless by then. Let’s not give up just yet, ‘kay?”

The shadow squeezed his hands once. The shadow smiled at Rider meekly.

“Okay.” the shadow replied, fading to a lime-green shimmer, “I’ll wait for you outside… where you need me.”

Chapter Text

Deep in the depths of the ocean, miles away from land-bound kingdoms, there was a castle sunken in the waters - made of coral and shimmering a soft rose gold, adorned in coral and prismarine, it was the last safe place of the kingdom of the sea. Surrounded by a soft pink shield, the only way in was through a nether portal nestled deep within the castle, or if you were permitted in. The only things that could come in through the shield harmlessly were mindless creatures of the sea - dolphins, sea turtles, fish.

Within and around  the castle walls, sentient half-creatures bustled about - tending to kelp gardens and carefully working some crops from the overworld, preserved in bubbles of air. Though it was a small kingdom compared to the other dragons, it was home to many.

In the throne room, a conduit thumped its soft rhythm, reserved for guests that couldn’t waterbreathe like this kingdom’s residents could. It was held in place high above the horde of shimmering corals, gold and pearls, with a prismarine throne sat neatly in front of the riches.

This throneroom was massive, and for good reason - the prince of the sea, the deep sea dragon, was rather gigantic due to the pressure of the ocean - even his humanoid form was impressively tall. Currently, said ruler was carefully fixing the array of coral in his throne room to be pristine. 

“Your highness!” a speedy messenger rose from the stairs leading to the portal - a trusted knight loyal to Prince and his brother, carrying a scroll in his hands. Not to mention, his spotty brown and white wings were absolutely mangled!

“Edging! What happened to you?!” Prince gasped, floating over and cradling the seagull-like bird person. 

“The Red Dragon’s forces - you know how they are.” Edging answered, putting on a brave and sunny face as always, “But check it! You got an invitation from Mothera!” 

That’s great and all, but you’re hurt!” Prince said, “Seriously, next time I’ll have to send more guards on your trips… let’s hurry you to the infirmary.”

As Prince rushed Edging along, cradling him in careful fins, the birdlike boy replied, “Naah,  don’t waste the forces - besides, those guys are no match for all the high- explosive fireworks I got saved just for them.”

Prince gently placed Edging on one of the beds, urging the nurse merpeople to get to work on helping him out. “Even so, you’re way too hurt right now. We’ll talk about your soldier help later, what’s important now is that we get you healed. You’ll have to rest, okay?” he said.

“Okay, okay… but how will you let the queen know you’re coming? It’s rude for royalty to not confirm their appearance.” Edging replied.

“Well, our enemies know your face… but they shouldn’t know our commonfolk.” Prince replied, “I’ll think of something. Just worry about your own health right now, got it?”

“Gotcha, boss.” Edging replied, easing back into bed and rolling onto his stomach as one of the merpeople gently spread one of his injured wings. “Stay safe, ‘kay?”

“Will do.” Prince said, and continued on out of the room.

It’s a dangerous mission for sure, and he would need someone witty and willing to do the task. Many of his subjects were refugees from destroyed sea settlements, and were none too happy to have anything to do with the surface and all the dangers that come with it anymore. He’d have to ask around personally…

After some time, Prince found himself in the gardens, speaking with the royal gardener’s son; a beta fish merman named Laceless.

“I r-really wouldn’t mind going.” Laceless had insisted as he guided a sea slug onto a shelf of coral, “We’ve run out of meat a long time ago - and we’re running low on materials to even make proper cakes and pies. The trip would allow me to hunt for some properly filling meals, and let the sharks, eels, salmon, cod and whales have time to repopulate.” 

“Right, right… If you’re sure, I’ll give you the means to gain a human form and prep you for travel.” Prince said, gently grabbing his hand, “Seriously, thank you so much for this.”

“Of course! Anything for the kingdom.” Laceless said with a gentle smile. 

From there, laceless had been given proper kits - diamond chain armor enchanted to hide as regular clothes, potions for protection, equipment to gather resources as needed, a bed, food and water, and a letter to the queen, of course. There was a sendoff ceremony, sweet but melancholy and short - a real party will be saved for his return. 

The whole way, traveling thousands of blocks, the dragon himself and a fleet of knights escorted Laceless to the lagoon he would be dropped off at.

“Take this.” Prince said, and bestowed Laceless a small necklace - a glasslike bubble that held a shimmering snail shell within, encrusted with a gorgeous layer of opal. 

Once Laceless fastened the necklace to his neck, his flowing pinkish-yellow tail had shone, and his body changed - he sprouted legs, his fins grew smaller, and he found himself preferring to breathe the warm air above the water.  As he rose up, the enchanted armor changed into the illusion of his ideal overworld clothes - a soft, seafoam green shirt and pants, adorned with the hibiscus that dotted the lagoon around him, and soft, bell bottom pants that matched the shirt he wore, with laceless white shoes. 

Laceless marveled at his new form, and then glanced back at the water - only to find Prince sporting his own humanoid form - the scales and fins he could not contain sticking out like a shimmering reef.

“I wish you the safest of travels. If only I could aid you further…” Prince sighed sadly.

“I don’t want to g-get you in danger.” Laceless said, “You’d be found pretty quickly - and you have our home to protect with the barrier. P-plus, this is more than enough! Really, thank you…” 

“That's all I could do.” Prince replied, noticing the boy’s fidgeting, “Are you nervous?”

Laceless shrugged. “N-not nervous enough to turn back. I-I’ll bring us back all we need and more on my way.”

Prince smiled gently, and a guard poked his head out from beneath the waves. “Sire, we have to go. We’ve spent too much time at shore already.”

“Well, looks like I have to go.” Prince said, “I’ll mark this shore for you… and send a guard every day to check for your return. May we meet again, Laceless.”

“Of course! We will.” Laceless said, and watched as Prince disappeared back into the waves.

He watched Prince morph back into a dragon, and large fins break the surface of the water, dyeing the waves pink, causing them to crash on the shore just a bit harder. As the waves calmed, shining, pink gold pearls were left scattered on the beach of the lagoon, and the water eternally colored the same as his ruler’s magic.

“...Hopefully only I can see that. You’re so nervous your carefulness looped right back around to making this whole drop off a spotlight, my king…” Laceless sighed, picking up one of the pearls and pocketing it for comfort.

And boy did he need it! Laceless may have looked calm, but on the inside, he was wondering if Queen Mothera eats her messengers or something. Sure there was the threat of the Red Dragon’s forces, but… was it really that dire? Were they really everywhere? Laceless had never been so far out of the castle before.

But he had a message to deliver, and a map marked out. He had to get his letter to the queen and get back home safely, foraging along the way to make sure his own kingdom survived. There was no time for these nerves of his!

So, Laceless quickly set course for his destination, picking anything he could find and hunting what he could catch. 

Days passed by quickly, and soon laceless found himself quickly accustomed to the way things worked on land. Daylight was safe, caves and darkness meant enemies would find him. Some towns were friendly, mansions were not.

 As the durability of Laceless’s sword began to waver, he hoped he would reach the kingdom soon….

In the dark of an oak forest, alarmingly close, there was the sound of metal against metal - and it did make Laceless jump. The sound of an almost inaudible growl. Though fear lumped in his throat, the beta drew close to the noise.

Just beyond a cluster of trees, a monster boy stood - tall, with golden horns and striking red hair. His wings, tattered and aglow with a magma red-orange, twitched and curled around his form as he strained. One hand, tipped with golden claws, had an iron grip on his other, seeming almost out of control. 

But most striking of all - minus the mismatched red and gold eye, multiple piercings and monstrous features, their face was identical to Prince’s human form. Laceless watched carefully for the moment, too shocked to think of what to do.

Quietly, the boy hissed, sounding as if it took a great deal out of him to speak, “Get… out… of my… body…”

Laceless wanted to ask if he was alright - but the beast spoke again. Louder, clearer and sickeningly sweet, “Why should I? Is it because I wanted to see if this queen is really all that? I gave you all this power, and now you want me to leave? That’s so mean of you…”

This had to be a curse - no, maybe a Corruption? Laceless had tried to make sense of it.

Both were hard to get rid of, as he had learned from a witch back home. Though curses usually stuck to clothes and needed special runes to break it, Corruptions - such as a zombie infection, or Skulk poisoning, could usually be undone with a simple two-step process. 

Suddenly, the monster tore away the armor on that clutching arm easily, as if it were paper - and dug those claws into scaled flesh, causing the  boy to flinch in pain.

“I wouldn’t have to do this if you just sat quietly, you know? Nobody’s looking for you. Nobody’s going to save you - our legacy is all they’ll expect - all they’ll remember. You know that, right? Isn’t glory what you wanted?”

“F…fuck… you…!”

“So rude… no wonder not even your friends noticed our change. They probably Ignored it.”

Laceless, as quietly as he could, removed a splash potion from his bag - along with the golden apple to be used in emergencies. His only one. 

“You should go back to sleeping. I’ll take good care of everyone… and make sure we win.”

“Die…”

Laceless lunged forward, tossing the weakness potion as hard as he could. It broke on impact with the boy’s armor, making him stagger. With the force still left, Laceless tackled him and shoved the gold apple in his mouth, and forced him to bite. The two fell into a heap, and the boy beneath Laceless was suddenly motionless save for the sudden shiver that wracked his body. The blackness faded from the whites of his eyes ever so slowly…

Still scared out of his mind but convinced it was helping, Laceless did his best to make sure that the monster boy finished the golden apple off. Once that was done, Laceless carefully crawled off of the traveler and sat him up against a nearby tree.

“O-o… O-okay… I hope that was it…” Laceless talked to himself, trying to calm down, “I hope it got rid of whatever was possessing this person, and they’re just passed out right now…”

As Laceless moved away, those clawed hands grabbed his wrists. Laceless squeaked in fear.

“T-t-t-hat’s-s b-bett-ter…” the monster boy hissed through the violent shivers that plagued him, and then did his best to stop the chattering of his teeth as he continued, “N-now… Who are you…? What have you got to gain?”

“Laceless!” the merson replied, “N-nothing! I-I j-just saw you struggling with- well- corruption I think, and I tried to get rid of it for you!!! Did it work?!” 

“Not fully… I still feel that shadowy bastard in me, and it’s much more than a corruption. But… you at least gave me a bit of time to be, well… me.” the monster answered him. 

“I-I see…” Laceless said, the most wary of looks on his face, “Sorry I couldn’t do much for you - c-could you let me go? I’ve got some uh… some duties to fulfill.” 

The monster eased his grip and said, “Don’t be that sorry - you did do somethin’ good in the end. Where are you headed?” 

Laceless slipped out of his grasp, stood and said, “To the Queen’s Jungle. I’m doing some hunting and gathering, too…” 

“Well then, Laceless… I suppose I’ll travel with you. You’ll get more meat If I’m here to help hunt.” the monster decided.

Laceless would have objected - but the sound of getting more resources was nice. Plus, he was fairly certain that the abrasive stranger was afraid of being alone whenever the entity inside gets enough energy to come back out… or maybe he hoped that Laceless could save him again.

“Okay. Let’s go then, um…” Laceless trailed off, certain he never caught a name.

“Regent. You can call me Regent.” Regent answered him, unsheathing a fancy ruby encrusted maybe-netherite sword and using it to point, “Mothera’s territory should be this way. If memory recalls, there should be an empty shack close by that we can reach by sundown…”

“Regent…” Laceless said aloud. He liked the name! “Nice to meet you - and thank you for choosing to travel with me.” 

“Ah- well- It’s whatever.” Regent said, having fully expected Laceless to reject his offer, “Let’s book it. Pillagers roam these parts too, so it’s not safe to stay put for too long.”

At the mention of pillagers, Laceless stands tall and scoots closer behind Regent. He really didn’t want to meet pillagers! “Understood! I’ve already dealt with a scout troop before, they’re really bad…”

“Well you won’t have to deal with their annoying asses around me. I could take out a whole mansion of em’ with a flick of my tail.” Regent boasted. 

“Awesome… hopefully we won’t have to do that.” Laceless said, slightly nervous as he trailed a bit closer and brought out a little diamond hoe. “B-but if we do, I-I’ll back you up.”

Regent gave him a little side-eye. “Sure.”

“Is he serious right now…?”

Chapter Text

Skull was so, so so SO very bored. Not only bored, but extremely frustrated by the purple string attached to him at all times. The shimmering thread wavered in the chilly breeze present all throughout the end, stretching out until it vanished into thin air.

He’s tried pulling it, following it, tying it - a myriad of things to get it to react, or do something different. But it would never lead anywhere, always untying itself or fading out of his hands until it could blow freely in the wind. 

Occasionally, sensations would travel through - the feeling of fall damage, the warmth of a fresh meal on his tongue. Sensations of longing and hope. In his mind, Skull knew these were not his - but they were familiar feelings.

He wanted so badly to know the other person at the end of his line - but it was like he already knew them. The name was escaping… if he stared at the thread for long enough he could almost see them within his mind’s eye - almost.

It was even so bad in his dreams, meeting, holding, loving this person, that sleeping was no longer a good way to pass time. All he wanted to do was follow his thread, but no matter where he went in the end, it never showed a change in direction.

“Caaap? Bandannaaa…” Skull called for his guards.

Cap, a half-shulker half-enderman, appeared at his door. “Bandanna is busy! Do you need anything?” 

“Has anything major been going on in the overworld? Y’know, besides the whole dragon war thing.” Skull asked.

“Well, not really - But you are invited by the queen to appear for some sort of festival on neutral grounds. Here’s the letter.” Cap said, making a small paper airplane and tossing it his way.

Skull caught it, and skimmed over the letter. “Alright… Send an acceptance letter. It seems interesting at least. What’s Bandanna doing?”

“Fighting some fortress intruders - or at least responding to them. Last I heard they had one of Emperor’s messengers with them, so… you know. Gotta figure out if they’re sent from Emp or using the poor guy.” Cap replied, taking the letter as he handed it back. 

“Tell her to let them pass.” Skull replied, “If they’re using him, I can kill them without hurting him pretty easily.” 

“Will do. Please keep by the fountain, then!” Cap replied. 

“Mm.” Skull muttered his response, and rose from his horde of blankets and snacks. 

Not feeling a full dragon transformation, Skull sprouted a pair of beautiful black wings, and took to the skies in his semi-human form. He flew from the palace to the center of the End, where the pillars stood with empty pedestals and an open fountain, pouring the portal that would lead to the overworld. Offset from the main island, the end’s obsidian entrance platform sat, connected to the main island by a purpura bridge. 

Skull sat atop one of the empty obsidian pillars, his large, amethyst bow in his hand. Even with a missing leg, he wasn’t one to miss his mark - and if the guests were at all hostile, they’d taste the power of his arrows. Emperor’s messenger was a long time friend of his, despite how they haven’t seen each other in a long while - and he wouldn’t let anybody use him against him.

That person… that was Aviators, right?

Skull missed seeing him. 

When was the last time he wasn’t busy? 

Why were they apart?

As he tried to think, he almost missed the shimmering light that appeared in the spawn house. His chest felt strange… why?

The first to emerge was bandanna. “Aviators is here! Along with a weird android thing and a vexy girlie!” she announced. 

Suddenly, skull couldn’t focus. “Okay.” he replied, “Welcome…” 

He heard Bandanna introduce the new faces, but the words didn’t register as his eyes fell on the werewolf kneeling in front of him, supported by a brace around a magic-scarred leg.

It was on the same side as the leg Skull had lost. 

As Avi looked up at him, he felt his heart skip - and he saw the string’s end…

Skull jumped from his pillar, diving down to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. He landed in front of Aviators, and grabbed the hand the purple string was wrapped around. He felt like he flew the expanse of the end - edge to edge.

“Skull…” Aviators whispered softly.

Skull looked up at Aviators - who had moved his shades up slightly to examine the same thread, moving to look at him. As soon as they locked eyes, it was like a chain reaction of events.

Suddenly, Aviators was the most familiar thing in the world to him. Somebody he shared countless moments with - and it wasn’t even just their time here in the end.

Hell, not even just the time they spent in this life.

Countless times, countless universes they had met - playgrounds, a battlefield, liminal spaces and lonely moments, they had always found each other so very young. It was true for this life as well… they were shoved together and stayed that way.

In this life, their gravitation was hard to explain - how they came together in their lowest moments, shared laughs and tears despite spending so much time apart. Even when Skull was left in the snowy mountains of an overworld, Avi was there to find them help, and comfort him in the warmest ways - like a lavender ray of sunshine. They had parted at the entrance to home, Skull with pearls and friends in hand.

It made sense now, why his mother had once banned overworld visitors - maybe they would have opened that book together much, much sooner, if their relationship was allowed to grow beyond their return to the end. Unlocked this eternity of memories together much, much sooner… and maybe they’d be angered by her attempts to keep them apart.

But now, staring each other down, it was like this messy world suddenly made sense. No longer was it strange or threatening or lonely - they had found each other again.

The realization, the warmth - it was enough to bring tears to Skull’s eyes.

“Avi…” Skull murmured softly. “You… You saw it, right? Please tell me you saw it…” 

Those wide, mismatched purple eyes dotted with gold stared down at Skull lovingly. “Of course. I don’t know how to explain it, but… Yeah. I’m home. ”

The two embrace - holding each other, crying for some time. 

“Um…” Hachi murmured softly, “Sorry for interrupting - uh, whatever is going on here, but… I need to ask a question.”

Skull peaked over Avi’s shoulder and said, “Sure, ask…”

“I need to know if the serpents still exist. Do you know?” Hachi asked.

“I don’t know - the previous dragon would have known, but I don’t.” Skull explained, “But what I do know is that the overworld has changed - continents shift, dragons emerge, seas shift, moons fall, and things are different - but the last known settlement is probably still near the capital of the deep. Would you like coordinates?” 

“Yes please.” Hachi replied.

With the wave of a claw, the numbers appeared in shimmering purple flame on the ground. “Take those numbers and bring them with you through the fountain. If you see my sister, tell her I said hi.”

“Gotcha, thanks.” Hachi answered, and ran past with Nana in tow.

Skull turned his attention back to Aviators, and gave him a little squeeze, nuzzling into his neck. Aviators in turn keeps him close, gently petting his head and back in long strokes. 

“I missed you so much.” Aviators sighed. 

“As did I, my darling… I’m so sorry I forgot you.” Skull muttered into Avi’s chest. 

“Don’t worry. That doesn’t matter - what matters is that we’re together now.” Avi replied.

It took them about ten minutes to stop hugging (Bandanna and Cap awkwardly snuck away while this happened.) and once they did, Skull took them on a tour around this new, freed End. 

They toured the center island, Skull and Avi meeting many cheerful enderman and other dwellers, working on turning the pillars into housing that spiraled into the sky.

They hit up the castle, Skull showing aviators the Dining Hall, Ballroom, bedrooms, and their throne room - which Skull planned to share. They took a little break from touring to cuddle in Skull’s soft horde, enjoying their closeness and warmth. Skull even unearthed the little Egg that had appeared in the fountain, and where he had stashed it in his pile, keeping it warm so that it may hatch someday.

“So… having seen all this…” Skull said, getting a little bashful, “Would you… want to rule the end with me?”

“Of course I want to.” Avi said, “Besides wanting to stay by you from now on, I wanna be there to help you when the egg hatches.”

Skull smiled, and gave Avi a shy kiss on the cheek. “I’ll have to make you a crown. And some cute royal clothes…” 

“What will you have me wear, my king? Do I get to be cute and shirtless?” Avi asked jokingly.

Skull chuckled and said, “I was thinkin’ more of along the lines of ender eye colors, but if you want to do that I don’t object~” 

After their cuddly break, Skull went into Dragon mode, and having Aviators hold tight to his back, took him to visit the distant End cities. Their tour was paused by a very prissy elytrian with silver hair, tied tight in a bun.

“Excuse me!” She said in a very contemptuous tone, “You were one of the dragons involved in that little squabble, were you not?”

“Yes. And I suppose I’m the End king right now.” Skull replied.

“King Schming. We’re missing one of our crew! And as a future boss of this little system, I cannot afford to be missing anyone!” she snapped.

“You smell more nervous than the rest of your crew does.” Aviators pointed out, “Pardon my asking, but are they a lover of yours?”

“DISGUSTING! EW!!! THAT CRYEY LITTLE DEFECT IS NEVER GOING TO BE THAT! HE’S MY BROTHER, EW!!!!! YUCK! GROSS!” the elytrian freaked out, her wings buzzing in anger.

“Sorry - but that’s at least another thing I understand.” Avi said, “But why don’t you dive through the fountain and look for him, miss… um…”

“Beauty. My name is Beauty.” She replied, “As his sister I am absolutely concerned, even if everyone else refuses to be. I do not have the authority to rally the troops to fly for the overworld, but father insists we are not to search for a defect like him.”

“I don’t like the way you talk about your brother - nor how I hear your father has taught you to see him.” Skull said, teleporting a pen and paper to his hands as Avi hopped off and he shrunk down, “But I do sympathize with your care for your sibling. Would you like a royal order as an excuse to go to the overworld?” 

“That would be satisfactory. I swear, I’m gonna drag Hive back by his flaky little wings for making me worry…” Beauty replied.

Skull finished the letter quickly, and rolled it up, sticking it closed with a royal seal. “Deliver this to my sister, the End Crystal dragon. No peeking. She’ll know what to do.” he said.

Snatching the letter, Beauty finally calmed slightly. “Thank you. I’ll tell father-”

“Sis doesn’t like to wait. I’ll tell him for you - just hurry. She’s been traveling around mountains a lot.” Skull said.

“Understood. I should be back shortly.” Beauty replied, and flew off for the End island. 

With the Elytrian gone, Skull hid his wings and advanced towards one of the end towers.

“She sure left a sour taste in my mouth.” Avi said.

“Yep. but she’s still a bit young - her parents are definitely to blame here.” Skull answered.

“She’s not gonna be back in the end for a while, huh?” 

“Nope.”

“Bad dads getting sent to the void?”

“Yep.”

“Nice.”

Skull and Aviators shared another kiss, and then ran into the end city tower.

Chapter Text

Beauty, of course, was extremely curious about what was in the letter the ruler of The End had given her, but she was a stickler for rules - she would not open the scroll, no accidents and no putting it down for even a second! Plus, she wanted to be able to find her brother once the scroll was in the proper claws. This was easy - she would complete the task flawlessly as always.

She soared past many biomes, spotting little shimmering particles in the wind. The air turned cold, making her wings chilly, but she didn’t stop - it wasn’t any worse than the most desolate voids of the end. The terrain was mountainous, covered in snow, and now the particles were numerous, like static in her eyes.

No wonder, too -  Beauty could see a battle happening over one of the taller mountains, the End Crystal dragon ramming her prey - a smaller dragon - through a sheet of solid ice into another cave. Having a distaste for such barbaric fights (AKA, she was worried about the loser dying), she flew forward to try and halt their dispute. 

Pinned under the Endcrystal Dragon’s huge claw, the opponent was suddenly much smaller - like the ice the dragon was made of was a mere facade. The end crystal dragon had her fair share of damage, as the fight was quite even, but the ice dragon, now the size of an elephant and weezing under her step, clearly had met his match. But fear of death kept him going, and Beauty could see sharp ice crawling up under the bedrock-colored palm pinning him down.

“Are you done struggling?” the End Crystal Dragon asked.

The smaller dragon grinned sharply, piercing red eyes glaring at her. “I will take you down with me. I’ll gladly battle to the death.”

The Endcrystal Dragon scoffed. “Who said that was happening here? I came out here to claim territory. This place is perfectly cold, but you weren’t happy with me moving in. so I guessed we were fighting for it. I can kill you of course, but I’d rather not.”

“I never lose a fight. I’d rather die.” the smaller dragon stated.

“It sure looks like you are. But fine - Since I’d rather have you around, I’ll call it even for today. Split the territory. I don’t bother you, you don’t bother me. Sound like a deal?” she asked.

“...Yes.” the ice dragon replied, and was released. He moved back a bit, eyeing his new neighbor cautiously. “Have I seen you before?” 

“I have never been to the overworld, so No.” she replied, backing off and shrinking down to a humanoid form. “Who are you? I may as well know my neighbor.”

“...Vintage.” he replied, and despite looking as if he’d considered getting her while she was smaller, he shifted into his as well and asked, “Yours?”

The dragon lady shrugged. “It’s been a long time since I was free. Pick one for me.”

Vintage then glanced around the cavern. His eyes fell on a dripping icicle, the ice melting, falling, and splattering into the snow below. “Water… splat. I guess. Wes for short…?” 

He wasn’t thinking too hard, picking a name for a stranger, but it did make the girl smile. “Sure. we don’t have much water in the end, but that makes it all the more unique.” Watersplat decided.

She held out a hand, a sign of truce, and upon being shown an unused-to custom like that, Vintage sort of just held his hand out a ways from hers and acted like this was normal and What You Do. This is, until she grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. When Watersplat let go, he looked at his hand before dropping it back to his side. Again, he watched her. Cautiously.

Having come back to her senses, glad it ended somewhat peacefully, Beauty moved forward. “Mail! I’ve got a letter for you, Miss.”

“Another one…” Vintage growled.

“Shush.” Watersplat chided, and stepped forward. “Well, what are you waiting for? Give it here.” 

Beauty placed the letter in watersplat’s hand, and moved back. “Well, now that that is done, I will be searching for-”

Beauty is cut off, as she’s put in the grasp of a glasslike field around her.

“Dear Sister.” Watersplat read aloud, “The Elytrian bringing you this message bears ill will - plotting to harm the family she seeks, and drag them home whether they wish it or not. Take her under your wings, however you wish to. Until Beauty learns to behave, she is banished from returning to The End. I am dealing with the one that corrupted her personally. Love, your younger brother, Skull.” as she finished, she plucked a candy off the bottom of the letter. “Thoughtful of him to include one of my favorite sweets.”

“WHAT?!” Beauty shrieked, “YOU- YOU BARBARIANS! MONSTERS! BEASTS!!! LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!!”

“Calm down, bratty.” Wes sighed, watching the bug-like girl beat on the glass she was trapped in, “I’m not going to hurt you, but I can’t let you back. For now you can stay within my territory, but-”

Suddenly, Beauty put a crack in the barrier. A parasol with a bladed tip was in her hands, and as she opened it, it sparked with wild magic. “I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS! TO THE DEEP WITH YOU!” Beauty yelled, the magic glass shattering as she flew at the dragon, “MY FATHER HAS TAKEN DOWN FLEETS OF MONSTERS BEFORE, HE’LL DO IT AGAIN! WE WILL NEVER BOW TO SUCH CRUEL BEASTS!”

Annoyed, Watersplat dodges the barrage of parasol stabs and magic charges, returning to her full dragon form as she did. “Listen. Your brother is okay, just shut up and calm down, or else… damn, you’re not listening to me, are you?” the dragoness sighed, and continued to dodge and parry attacks.

But the thing was, her target was so small, so angry - and Watersplat was tired from her fight with Vintage. She knew she needed to recharge, or else a good hit to her weak point would surely spell her end. She blasts Beauty’s way, careful not to harm her but careful to nullify the energy bullets and stabs.

At some point, the collision of their blasts knocks Watersplat to the floor. The Elytrian goes for a ramming blow, parasol spear aimed at her chest. Watersplat braced herself-

Slash.  

The sound of something tearing filled the frigid air, but it wasn’t Watersplat’s hide. Watersplat rolled over, looking up to see what had happened.

For starters, Vintage was standing in front of her - as if his smaller form would do much to block a blade like that - and his hands, fists closed, were crossed in an x-shape across his chest, flecks of blue ice magic dying down. He eyed his target carefully, looking for the next move.

Beauty, high above the two, was stopped in her descent by large spears of ice, criss-crossed into that x formation - piercing both of Beauty’s wings. They were wrecked beyond repair. 

“I panicked.” Vintage muttered.

“I see that.” Watersplat replied.

While Vin dissipated the pillars, Watersplat carefully unhooked Beauty from the spears of ice. She was still alive, but the shock definitely made her faint.

“I think Omega can fix her.” Vintage said.

“Her wings too?” Watersplat asked.

“No. no… those are gone.” Vintage muttered. “Sorry.”

“I figured. So, how do we split the kingdom?” Watersplat asked.

“Kingdom?”

“Yeah. aren’t you boss of this Ice kingdom?”

“Not really. We just kinda live here. The Red dragon doesn’t come because it’s cold.” 

“Huh. so it’s all vibes.”

“Guess so. No asshole outsiders policy, too.” 

They had flown back down to a cabin where Omega the snow nymph made herself at home, and plopped Beauty down in front of omega. Omega had a lot of words for them, but regardless she healed Beauty as best as she could and invited the two for some hot chocolate after hearing that they decided on a draw.

As night fell, more of Vintage’s friends visited - Double, an ice demon, brought some food he got from his hunt, and Red Sole, the snow imp, had gathered plenty of berries and fruits for Omega to make pies. It was a cozy night, and for the first time in a while, Watersplat was comfortable.

“No wonder you want to keep your territory separate - this is nice.” Watersplat sighed, stretching her wings by the fire.

“Mmhm.” Vintage replied. “No pillagers. No monsters. The husks die easy.” 

“I like that. Maybe I’ll make my mountain cozy like this. Accept some non-asshole refugees… I need some friends like yours.” Watersplat sighed.

Vintage shrugged. “Do whatever with your half. Not my concern.”

For a time, they sat in the livingroom of Omega’s house, listening to the snowstorm that had kicked up outside. Time passes, and most of the house finds their own little spots to sleep in. Omega retired to her room, Double to the cozy chair, Red Sole slept on the table cuddling a bottle of Sweetberry juice, and Beauty was tucked away in a Guest room, healing and likely regretting her actions. As the fire dies down to embers, Vintage has his last sip of cocoa before curling up on the couch, kneading into his favorite pillow.

He glanced over at Watersplat, who was asleep next to that fire, talons sunk into a pillow as she slept in semi-human form. She shivered as the heat sank away with the dying embers. 

For a time, Vintage wanted to ignore her - she was just a rival after all. But despite his attitude, Vintage does have a heart. He sighed, getting up and pulling the quilt meant for him off the back of the couch. He draped it over Watersplat, then trudged back to his spot, cuddling up to one of his pillows and slowly, coldly, finding sleep.

I’ll defeat Wes tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Once again, Goggles has decided to head into the mines for resources. Ever since his dream, Goggles had felt… different. His memories of Inkopolis were fading away, and the memories of his dream were much closer, like they were fresh.

Even worse, he could now feel something different in the caves - something that writhed deep, deep below. It called to him in small whispers, voices different from the shadow that inhabited his mind. At moments, if Goggles didn’t get enough sleep, he’d find himself having the urge to dig into the ground.

But thanks to the dream, Goggles was a little less afraid of the changes - his hair covered in flecks of blue, nubs of feeler-like horns that blended into his hair… the hole in his chest, writhing and drooling sculk. These features weren’t just coming back now - they’ve been there forever. It was just… different from the inkling self. That’s all that threw him. 

Of course, Goggles hasn’t told his team what’s been bothering him. Why would he? They were having fun, building their home together! Why talk about something so terrifying? Why tell them he was actually some sort of abomination? Even if Bobble knew half of it, he didn’t want to worry her with more scary stories.

…even so, having such a secret was a little lonely. He wanted someone to talk to about it.

As Goggles walked the halls of the expansive mine, he caught a smell on the wind - it seemed to be… Slime. Slimes and magic? Quite the combination. It might be trouble, or maybe it’s sentient.

Perhaps a prank would lift his spirit?

Smiling to himself, Goggles quietly, swiftly crept forward, listening for the telltale sound of slime movement. The footfalls were hard - with what sounded like splatters of slime falling with the quick bursts of sprints. Between scent, sounds and vibrations, a vivid picture was painted - a slime person had wandered into the mineshaft. They were pretty far down, too!

Goggles pulled a minecart off some rails, and quietly stalked along, listening and lying in wait. Once or twice, Goggles had to duck down behind some stones, but he successfully stayed out of sight. 

As the slime boy was mining some gold he had found, he failed to notice the creeper that was stalking him too. Quickly, goggles switched from prank mode to protect mode. 

“WATCH OUT!” Goggles yelled, and chucked his lucky trident at the creeper. The creeper was dealt with fast, but Goggles had to deal a follow-up punch to quickly dispatch the thing before it could explode on the poor slime. Goggles sighed in relief. Close one!

“Oh!” the slime boy had backed away the moment Goggles yelled, and now smiled as he watched Goggles collect the gunpowder spoils. “You scared me - but thanks.”

“No problem!” Goggles replied, glancing back at the slime boy and his helmet that itches at one of Goggles’s distant inkling memories, “The name’s Goggles! It’s nice to meet someone new in my mines~”

“Goggles. Nice to meet’cha.” the slime boy said, and held out a hand. Right as Goggles shook it, the slime squeezed tight, not letting go. “You’re the one that’s been running around our mine, right?” 

“Wait wait- I didn’t do anything yet! I just took some stone and some iron and blocked off some dead ends… well i mean I did do things but they weren’t like! Hurtful!” Goggles protested, “Also you never told me your name!”

“My name’s Stealth.” Stealth replied, “thanks for the clarity, but it’s honestly up to what my friends think. They might be more mad.”

“Ah. Gotcha!” Goggles said, and did his best to follow along with Stealth.

Now, Goggles had to think. He figures he’d see where stealth would lead him, and call for help if they happened to go somewhere familiar. He watched the halls carefully, listening for anyone familiar. 

As luck would have it, they did pass by the way back to the surface. Goggles took a deep breath, deep enough to slightly disturb his chest. 

“GUYS!!! HEEEELLLLP!!!!!” Goggles shouted as loudly as he could muster. 

“Good try, but nobody else is down here… can’t even smell em.” Stealth informs him.

Goggles makes a sad sound, but continues to let him pull. He was really curious about where Stealth would take him… 

Past a few subtle markings - vines, a cracked stone, they made it to a pile of diorite vaguely carved into stairs, somewhat well hidden. Hitting a button on the wall, Stealth pulled goggles through the redstone door that slid open. 

All of a sudden, the air was warm and damp. The moss under their feet was so soft, and the cave was alight with glow berries, strange lamps, and an array of magically-imbued flowers - all the life within thriving, giving off such a powerful energy that Goggles had no idea how he hadn’t noticed before.

Stealth was talking to him as he lead him through the area, but Goggles was barely listening, overwhelmed by a deep, deep nostalgia. He wanted to roll in the moss, dig into the glowberries hanging off the ceiling. He wanted to take deep breaths of that soothing air, do anything he could to soak up the serenity of the place. Crying over it would come later. 

But then, at the center of the area, a tiny stream trickled through to a cute little moat that sectioned off a large statue.

That statue made the boy freeze in his tracks. As Goggles took in the scenery, all the emotions he had been feeling for the past few weeks balled up and stuck in his throat. 

A gorgeous, lifelike statue of a naga sat before his eyes, veiled in glow berry vines and a backdrop of flower bushes, a black leather cape draped over stony shoulders. He was coiled up, arms reaching out. 

Goggles wanted to ask who made the statue - why was it here, what did they know - but the words never came. With a strength he didn’t know he had, he pulled himself from Stealth’s grasp and ran for those open arms. 

Goggles probably bruised himself with how he hit the stone chest of the statue of his old friend, but he clung to it all the same. He wanted to speak to it, to say something, but the reality of passed time only made him begin to cry.

It really wasn’t just a dream.

…

Rider was surprised to feel something beyond the lush. He had just been sleeping, but something pushed against him, as if it wanted to crawl inside. He could feel each bit of the entity, the shifting chest and strong arms trying to reach all the way around. Their magic was ungodly amounts of strong, unchecked, unnoticed, and soaking into the stone encasing him. The spell that sealed him drank it in, stealing away everything it could to repair his body and return it to former strength - possibly even stronger.

“What the hell…”   Rider thought to himself, wishing he could see. 

He could hear someone crying. A sniffly, heart wrenching sound that he couldn’t stand to hear. 

Sharpening his senses, he could tell Stealth had run to grab the others instead of helping the person crying on his statue. Rider wished he could call him an idiot for that move! He wished he could do anything but be stuck in this stone!

“It was all real…” a voice he recognized sobbed, shooting straight to his heart, “You… I… I couldn’t help you… I’m so sorry…!”

How? How was he still alive, after so long?

The question was one of many, but now Rider wanted out of this prison more than anything. He needed to see him - to confirm, to really know it was him. The runoff of the entity’s power was more than enough to help him, he just had to focus… he had to know. Was it really him?

“...Rider… I’m sorry…” 

He could never forget that voice. It had to be him, It had to be.

Slowly, the rigid grasp of stone began to ease away, starting at the tips of his fingers and tail. As he willed himself and struggled, the stone receded. Soon, he could move his arms, curl his tail around the entity holding him. As he brushed clawed fingers through long, dusty hair, the stone finally freed his face, letting him breathe once again. His pain was gone - only sensitivity still lingered.

He looked down, and saw a face he’d never forget in his arms.

Goggles was staring up at him with wide, mismatched eyes. He rubbed at them, like he thought he was dreaming.

“...Hey.” Rider said softly, testing his voice after such a long time without it. “I don’t know what you did, but… thanks.” 

All that did was make Goggles cry even harder, scrambling up his chest to wrap his arms around his neck.

“Wait- Goggles it’s okay- whOA-” rider panicked a little, falling backwards into the flowers and little moat behind them. Even if it hurt a bit, he continued to reassure him, “I’m okay- everything’s okay, Goggles…” 

They looked each other in the face again - geez, he even had sculk shimmers in his tears… 

“How are you alive?!” Goggles asked him.

“That’s what I want to know!” Rider retaliated, “I was stuck in the damn stone for thousands of years - how are you still here…?”

“I- There was… this… I-I think they shut the deep portal when I was in it, and it did something… b-but I’m here. And I found you.” Goggles said, and squeezed Rider as tightly as he could without hurting him too badly, “I’m so happy you’re safe…” 

“You could thank Hachi for that.” Rider said, petting his head. “He’s the one that turned me to stone when he couldn’t heal me. I dreamt my days away until the wounds were gone. Though… of course, that means I don’t know what happened to him…”

“Hmm…” Goggles hummed softly, still sniffling a bit, “M-Maybe he did that to himself, too? Maybe… we can find him, too…” 

“Hope so. Honestly, with a miracle like this, maybe we will see him again…” 

Once they had stopped being in their own little world of a reunion, they turned around to see their groups of pals paused mid-fight. 

“Guys! It’s okay!”

“Can you people not fight in my home?!”

…

Hachi and Nana had a long fall ahead - but thankfully, Nana could float, and carefully brought him to the mycelium covered ground.

“Hmmm… where are we now…” Nana sighed softly.

“A long way’s off from our destination.” Hachi answered, rechecking his book. “But at least, the way is across water. We seem to be in a rare biome, but at least we can get mushrooms to eat. And maybe steak if I remember correctly.”

“Alright - let’s collect, then head out… there seems to be no wood here.” the Vex sighed.

“Yeah.” Hachi agreed.

Deciding to stray from the huge house they were behind, hoping to not intrude upon or anger anyone else, the two go resource hunting. They chopped down a couple huge mushrooms, Nana volunteering to check them as she couldn’t be too badly affected for more than a minute. After a while of searching, they finally happened upon their target before leaving: a mushroom cow.

“Oh. it’s cute in person…” Hachi murmured.

“Food tends to be that way.” Nana quipped, brandishing a Netherite fire aspect sword she had nabbed from Aviators, “I’ll make it painless.” 

Just as she was about to strike, and hachi looked away, a voice yelled and scared the cow away.

“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH MY COWS!!” an elytrian screamed at them, shooting a warning shot with his bow.

Hachi jumped at the noise, and Nanna pointed her sword at him. “Don’t you dare shoot at me again.”

“I just don’t want you eating my cows!!!! They’re harmless creatures! Go kill regular ones!!” Hivemind argued, “Where’d you even come from?!”

“Many many places - I’m just trying to get here, if you have a fast way just give it to me…” Hachi said, opening his book and showed the coordinates.

Hivemind squinted at the book, then took out a regular book. “One, I see you also have a special journal. Two… Why are you going to the Blue Isles? Nobody there is… particularly important…”

“All I am trying to do is find the last known place my friend was. I’m pretty much looking for a grave site, but… yeah.” Hachi explained.

“I see…” Hivemind hummed, “man, I hope Goggles didn’t dig up a corpse while mining…”

“What was that.” hachi said.

“Nothing.” Hive began, but Hachi grabbed his shoulders.

“No. What name did you say just now?” Hachi said, tightening his grip.

“I think he said, something about a Goggles digging corpses? Something like that.” a voice answered.

The three look over, and a new strange being has appeared. An afro filled with magenta mushrooms, root-like wings, and a staff that was definitely made of braided stems of mushrooms. His clothes were defintely just clumps of mycelium covering whatever they needed to as well. 

“OKAY. Afro guy, where the hell did you come from?!” Hive asked.

“Well, I’ve been here since before you. Just hadn’t collected enough energy to form - until your piggy friend started murdering the tiny alive mushrooms because he couldn’t sleep.” the being explained, bright yellow eyes staring the group down unblinkingly. “I’m kind of like… a nymph, as you non-mushrooms call it.” 

“Well, you got a name, Afro?”

“Give me one.”

“Afro it is.”

“Fair enough.” 

“Focus, Elytrian.” Hachi said menacingly, “Back to Goggles. What does he look like?”

“My name is Hivemind, you android menace!” Hive said, trying and failing to pull Hachi’s angry hands off of his shoulders, “I’d want to know your intentions first!”

“I think the bot’s got nice intentions. If not… intimate.” Afro said, “and I’ve felt this Goggles before - he’s pretty clumsy! He’s made partly of a deep, old, otherly mold. Seeping and soaking as he destabilizes!”

That was him. It had to be him.  

But was he okay? Afro is saying he was covered in mold - definitely Sculk.

Was he still conscious? Was he okay? He wasn’t losing himself was he?

Hachi felt so many things. Relief, panic, new worry, fear, heart ache… 

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god….” Hachi repeated, shivering as he released Hive, “I need to go see him - I have to go help him, now now now now….” 

“There’s an ender in the caves below. Shall I retrieve her?” Afro asked.

“PLEASE before Hachi short circuits out of panic!” Nana yelled, doing her best to snap hachi out of it.

Nodding, Afro waved his staff. Hive… excused himself to tell Fierce what happened and try to warn the blue team. 

Purple roots rose from the ground, a struggling ender girl in their grasp. Or, well, she seemed to be a half ender - she had none of the height and eerieness of the endergirl they met previously. Her other half was also definitely a centaur. 

“Hiii! Help out or else.” Afro said with a smile.

“Who the heck are you people?!” the poor girl exclaimed, struggling as best she could. 

“We’re sorry! We just need your help quickly… can you teleport us to some specific coordinates?” Nana asked, trying to soothe the now hyperventilating Hachi.

“Oh- geez- um, I suppose I could try? Where do you need to go?” she asked.

“These coordinates here.” Nana said, using Hachi’s hand to open the book and show her.

“O-okay, I’ll give it a shot…” the girl said, “just untangle me! And um, join hands.”

“Thank you so much for the cooperation. What’s your name?” Nana asked.

“Poni. with an I.” Poni replied, then added, “Yeah, silly name for a centaur, I get it.” 

“I think it’s cute.” Afro said, waving his staff again to free her.

Hachi and Nana join hands with Poni, and Afro joins in as well.

With the pop of air around them, the world shifts as they are whisked away. They land in a sugar cane garden, disoriented from the distance. 

Even so, Hachi forces himself to move, trying to see through static vision. He stumbled a few times, but still managed a greater distance than the rest of his group - all promptly knocked out by the force of the teleportation.

“GOGGLES!” Hachi called out, stumbling on uneven sand, trying to be okay despite how the trip messed up his senses, “Goggles! I’m here! Goggles…”

At best, he could get a sensor back in operation - a sculk detector.  There were dusty traces all around, but the most recent lead into a gated hole in the ground. Hachi staggered towards it, the fatigue and lack of any maintenance had begun to catch up…

Before he could fall into the deep mine hole before him, a hand caught him by the shirt.

He could move and see no more.

Chapter Text

“Hey guys! Our farms are producing pretty good.” Specs reported as he wandered back into the blue isle’s main building, “How are the guests? Are they alright?”

“Oh, yeah! The three up with us are fine, Goggles took the android down to The Lush to help his more unique problems.” Headphones replied, “Bobble actually set up a brewing stand in her house, so we’ve got some supplies to help them feel better.”

“They should sleep peacefully through the night!” Bobble said with a smile, kicking open the door with arms full of potions.

Despite the small scare from her abruptness, Specs smiled and gave her a thumbs up. “Awesome! I’m gonna go check up on Goggles - and give some gifts to our new neighbors.”

“Have fun!” Bobble replied, tripping over Poni’s tail and dropping half her load of potions. “Hm! That feels funky!”

Headphones runs to her side and says, “Shoot, you gotta be careful, Bobble! Here, I’ve got some milk, it should fix you right up!” 

“Don’t worry! I only know how to make good potions - i think…”

Specs left the girls to their devices, and headed down the mineshaft, following a path made of glow lichen that leads him to the Lush entrance. It really was one of the most gorgeous lush caves he’s seen - soaked to the roots with a calm, inviting energy. Upon asking around, Blazer lead him to the back of the caves, where Stealth was working on moving frog lights and glowing slimes.

“Oh hey! So, funny thing - turns out the place I store all my lights was Rider’s old room! He was a bit mad at me but we’re cool now. What brings you here?” Stealth said.

“Heh, that does sound like a predicament. I could help later, but I came to check up on Goggles and the android - and bring him some stuff he asked for.” Specs replied.

“Oh, that’s nice of you! I bet it was easy with how hard you hit with your axe.” Stealth said,

“Yeah- uh- sorry about that. I was worried, heheh…” Specs apologized with a nervous smile.

“It’s all water under the moss as they say! Go deliver your stuff, and tell Rider I said hi!” Stealth said with a smile.

“W-will do.” Specs said, and hurried past.

Specs walked into the room, and saw that Rider and Goggles were working together to fix Hachi. Rider was using ancient magic, and Goggles, with his pilot goggles over his eyes, had opened a hatch on the android’s chest, and was now working more carefully than Specs had ever seen him work on anything. Soldering with Gold and iron, replacing parts with carefully crafted new bits and bolts. 

“Delivery.” Specs spoke up gently, hoping not to mess up Goggles’s focus. 

“Ah! Did you make the glass tubes I asked for? And the syringe?” Goggles asked, tone a bit more somber than usual.

“Did my best with what you told me. I also made some rice balls from our crop yields… and some steak for Rider, since I bet it’s been a long while since you had some.” Specs replied, handing them both the items they asked for.

“Thanks.” Rider said, setting aside his food without a glance - it seemed he was too worried about the android in their care to even think of eating. 

“Oh, these are almost perfect! And that’s pretty good with the bad drawings I gave…” Goggles complemented, gathering up the glass items along with the bottle he had, holding what seemed to be a mixture of water, redstone, and some other odds and ends.

Goggles squinted at his mixture, muttering under his breath something and humming, glancing down at himself. With a sigh and a hint of embarrassment, Goggles unzipped his coat, pulled his shirt up and collected some of the shimmering  blackish-blue oozing from his chest, adding it to the mix and shaking the concoction around until it turned a shimmering magenta-red that fizzled with energy.

“Shouldn’t you be wearing gloves to handle that??” Specs asked.

Goggles shrugged, “Eh, I forget.” and put the mixture into the syringe, Injecting it into the tube with two little outlets, inserting it back into its spot when it was filled to the brim with a satisfying click. “There - that should make things run smoother… you were running on nothin’ but smoke for so long, werent’cha Hachi?”

Feeling a little like he shouldn’t be intruding on… whatever Goggles and Rider were doing, Specs asked, “Need anything else?”

“Nah. Have a good night, Specs.” Rider told him.

Specs exited, hoping things were okay.

“So… how are the vitals looking?” Goggles asked Rider.

“Looking good - though I think he’s going to wake up soon.” Rider said.

“Alright - I think I should be done before that anyway.” Goggles said, replacing some screws, “It’s funny - I barely remember actually doing this, but it’s like my hands just… know what to do. I wonder if it’s my Shadow holding onto the memories, haha…” 

“Who knows? I’m just glad we can help him. It really is a miracle that we found each other again…” Rider said, patting Goggles’s head gently.

“It really is! I don’t know what I’d do if I had to be here without you guys.” Goggles said, carefully fixing some small redstone circuits and wires, putting on finishing details before checking the wiring in the hidden panel on Hachi’s head, “I adore the friends I’ve met, but things would never be the same if I could never see you again - either of you.”

“I feel the same way. As silly as it sounds, It would’ve taken me longer to break out if you didn’t come to see me…” Rider sighed, smiling.

“Aw… don’t just credit me though! You’re crazy strong!” Goggles said, then after a spark flies once he puts a new wire in, Goggles flinches back and says, “Ow- well, that’s that I think - we have to rely on Hachi’s self-maintenance from here. I’ll have him run an update manually…”

With this, Goggles gently clicks the head panels back into place, and moves back down to Hachi’s chest, popping open a small panel. He flicked a few small switches, held down a green button for a few seconds, then released it. As some electric pulses visibly traveled down wires and redstone, Goggles gently closed him back up, screwing bolts back in as accurately and carefully as he could, testing to make sure it was secure and seamless. As he did this, Hachi’s hands twitched slightly, and eyes moved around beneath eyelids. 

The lime glow from Rider’s hands faded. “Alright - he’s waking up. Damn, you’re fast…”

“Always have been, I guess.” Goggles replied. 

Slowly, Hachi’s eyes opened. Slowly, they flickered and glowed with a soft pink light, hazy and tired.

Once again, Goggles felt a wave of relief hit him. “Good to see you again, Hachi.” he greeted him gently.

“Really followed us to the end of time, didn't cha?” Rider said.

Hachi glanced between them, over and over again. Before any words, rust-water tears pooled and began to fall.

“Ah shoot, I knew there was something I was forgetting - lemme replace your hydrostuff real quick! Really sorry about that, that must be so uncomfortable!” Goggles said, whipping out his tools and getting to work, once again having to open Hachi’s chest. 

“It’s… Really you?” Hachi spoke, voice slightly stuttering from his programming in the process of fixing itself.

“Sure is.” Rider said, grabbing a work towel and using a clean end to dab at Hachi’s tears, “I should be mad about that weird spell ya pulled on me, but it did the trick - I’m not goin’ anywhere anytime soon.”

“It’s a bit more complicated, what happened to me - so I’ll call it what Rai called it! I got sent to this era by a messed up miracle. By the way, it’s been a bit; this doesn’t hurt you at all, does it?” Goggles said.

“No. it doesn’t.” Hachi said, a smile forming as he stared through tears that slowly turned clear, “Right now, your hands are the best feeling in the world…” 

Goggles blushed like crazy at the praise. “Th-that’s good! S-super glad!!”

“Hah, ya got him good with that one!” Rider grinned, blushing a bit as well, “Careful with those words, you’ll make his hands slip!”

“I’ll slip your hands!” Goggles retaliated.

“That doesn’t even make sense!” Rider said.

“Gods, I missed this…” Hachi sighed happily.

Soon enough, Goggles had finally fully fixed Hachi up, and the three got to spend some quality time catching up. Hachi spoke of how he had forged an iron construct to assist in his own form of petrification, as the same spell used for Rider had failed to work for him. 

Goggles, in turn, shared his story, the nightmare of losing control and rampaging until he was caught between worlds, sending him forward in time - and lining up with his shadow’s appearance. Then after that, finding his friends from the memories of the shadow. 

Rider’s turn consisted of recounted dreams, of course, minus anything that he felt was too strange. He also recounted some interesting things that the other residents of the lush did to keep him involved - and a slight worry that his bad moods affected the growth of the caves, thus why they tried to appease him so often. But Stealth poked his head in, reassuring him that wasn’t the case, before going back to what he was working on.

Eventually, as talk died down, Goggles started to get tired, letting out a big yawn.

“Had a big day, huh?” Hachi asked him.

“Yeah… it was a real surprise to see you guys, and all these feelings really tired me out…” Goggles said, tucking his tools away in his bag, “I really wanna be on the beach with you guys, but… do you think we could sleep together again? Just like old times?”

“I wouldn’t mind that.” Hachi said with a smile. “I’m not sure I can sleep, though… will you join us, Rider?”

“‘Course. Honestly, it feels good to be able to lay down again… and I’m surprised I don’t have much energy.” Rider answered. 

Rider laid back on his soft bed of moss, tail coiled up around the two boys. The two snuggled up against him, Rider’s tail acting like a warm, heavy blanket. With the action, the three all breathe a sigh of relief - home together at last.

Goggles, of course, was the first to fall asleep. One arm slung around Hachi while the other was as far around Rider’s waist as it could go, face buried between the two in a way that made them wonder how he could still breathe like that.

Rider was the next. His body was heavy, and he didn’t admit to either of them how achey he felt, so sleep was a pleasant, welcome peace. With arms and tail, he gave both the boys a gentle squeeze before he drifted off fully, snoring softly.

Hachi was the last, counting the hour as it ticked by. He figured he should probably use his robotics to force himself into sleep mode, especially with his system needing to do some self-maintenance, but he couldn’t stop watching the other two. Half because having them both back felt like a dream, and half because he knew he was deeply, deeply in love with the two. It’s been ages since he’s been able to see them - though he was asleep, he could feel the ways time had its effect on him; and his dreams were hardly peaceful, convincing him that he would never see his best friends ever again. That his only memories would be hazy files, a shed scale, and Goggles’s signature left on his core chamber.

But, thankfully, fate wasn’t cruel forever - and they were reunited again. Hachi worried a bit that asking Goggles to touch up the  writing on his core would be a bit too revealing, a bit too romantic rather than the novelty of friendship that had been refusing to let it be replaced - but he really wanted it redone.

Maybe… well, he’s seen people with tattoos before. Perhaps they could all get inked together? Or is that also romantic? Maybe not if it’s symbols rather than names, but still… Hachi liked the idea. That way, people would know he was theirs, and they were his.

…could he spin that as platonic? Maybe? Maybe.

After a little while longer of staring, basking in the soft, cozy warmth, Hachi started to boot down so his system could work its magic. Before he fully went to sleep, he cuddled into the two as much as he possibly could.

Maybe one day, he could give them each a kiss goodnight…

…

Up on the surface, the rest of the blue team had finished tending to their guests. They were happy to be fed, clothed and housed, and the three were happy to provide! Day after day, things seemed even more lively.

Still though, the three had plenty questions about Goggles.

“I know we all kind of have, like… a secret code of you-dont-ask-we-dont-ask, but something’s definitely… happened. To Goggles. Right?” Specs said.

“True.” Bobble said, “Real, even!”

“But… what should we do? What should we say?” Headphones asked.

“Well… maybe I should ask. If he asks about what went on with me I'd be fine talking about it, it’s not too bad, I think… and either way, if he tells the truth or not, I’d still support him through whatever happens.”  Specs said.

“Yeah… that’s really well put.” Headphones said. 

Bobble checked on their meal cooking in the smoker, and shares the spoils with the other two. “I think he’d appreciate that. Maybe we should build a calm down spot?”

“Maybe. But we used up a lot of the space here already…” Specs hummed.

“There’s an island I've just put torches around, but Hachi and his buddies might want to build there.” Bobble said.

“True… well, we’ll see what we can do, right?” Headphones said, putting a fist out for a fist bump.

Her friends completed the fistbump and replied, “Right!”

The three friends talk and eat around a campfire for a little while, enjoying the relatively peaceful night. 

“AHOOOOOOOOYYYYY!!!!!” A voice carried across the waves, causing them to look for the source.

There in the water was a band of Cat people, boats linked by a tether as they clawed and shot at the drowned in the water. Their leader, disheveled and wearing a gas mask, was probably the one thing keeping them moving forward against the tide. The over energetic cat boy that called to them was waving a Cyan banner, orange tabby tail swishing two and fro.  He almost fell out of the boat before two of the cat girls pulled him back inside.

The tall cat person leading them beached their boat on the sandy shore and stood.

“Loooks like we got some haaaapy little campers heeere.” the cat person drawled, black tail flicking around in annoyance. “Deefinitely part of that crappy little dragon’s crew. And here I thought we could camp without a fiiiight.”

Chapter Text

“A fight?” Headphones asked warily, glancing between her friends and the band of what seemed to best be described as a gang of pirate-cats.

“Yep!” the orange tabby with bright colored headset cheered, waving the bandanna as he shuffled on the uneven dunes.

“An ally of the dragon is an enemy of us.” the calico kitty with round glasses purred, hiding behind her leader.

“Mhm. no good~” the fluffy grey cat wearing a visor and jersey agreed.

“W-we’re not allied with dragons-” Specs tried to argue.

“Suuuure you saaaay that.” the black cat says, their gas mask giving away no emotions, “But the tense looks about’cha says oootherwise. ‘Sides, this is always one of our stops, and now what, there’s a whole little settlement here? Set up with aaaaallll they could ever want.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Bobble asked, smiling through her frustration as she hid a weapon behind her, “We gathered all this ourselves. Don’t destroy the hard work of our friend.”

Before Bobble could move, a potion was chucked her way, causing her slowness and weakness.

“Suuuch a confident liar. You’re not fooling me.” he hissed, black tail bristling, “The name’s Mask. and I’ll wipe aaaaalllll those smiles off your little faces.”

“Hey- heyyyy!” Specs stammered, and truly, he wanted to find a peaceful way rather than fight, but it was much too late.

 Headphones already made her move. Knocking an arrow, she moved in front of Bobble and fired - mainly aiming warning shots to make them back up, but one hit Mask’s bag and tore it - potions spilling out and crashing to the floor, completely wasted. Particles flew in the air, and she had hoped it was all that needed to happen.

“Aw, look what you did. Now I’m reeeeaaaal pissed, girlie.” Mask said, pulling a shimmering cyan-blue book from his pocket. “Toooo bad it’s waaaay too easy to make more~”

 With this, the scuffle picked up - weapons drawn, arrows fired, hit, hit, hit - the cat’s teammates stalked off to steal, and left Mask up to handle 3 vs. 1. With fast reflexes and powerful incantations, the blue team was in a pinch - strong poison potions had dropped the health of the blue isle dwellers.

“Hah! I don’t even have to waste breath swingin’ a sword with this thing~” Mask gloated over the three, turning the pages that glinted in the moonlight, “First i thought it to be a cuuurse from the deep, but this suuure makes me feel powerful.”

“Bully.” Bobble murmured.

Mask glanced her way. She stood back up, dust of her wings sparking, bucket of lava in hand. 

“Seeeriously? That cheap tactic riiight next to the ocean?” Mask cackled at her.

“Says the cheater with a magic book.” Bobble smiled, “I bet you don’t even care about dragons - you just wanted to try out your little trick.”

“You don’t know a thing, girl.” Mask hissed. “I’m Ssssick of people taking whatEVER they want from me, from my allies, thinking we desssserve it for bein’ weaker. This place was gonna be OURS, Awaaay from those stupid scaly freaks. And if you three ‘re in the way…”

Mask was so focused on Bobble, on his monologue, that he hadn’t noticed Specs run up with his axe until it was too late. Mask turned to defend himself as Specs leapt -

-and nailed the creeper just behind him.

With a hiss of defeat, the creature withered away to gunpowder. Specs, wide green eyes fixated on the space the creeper just was, slicing the heap of moss again for good measure. No movements made. No reinforcements for the sneaky monster.

“Haah… hokay. S-sorry, continue.” Specs said, regaining the waryness of poison fatiguing him again.

“Wait… why?” Mask asked.

“I wonder too.” Bobble murmured softly.

“Why what? Th-there was a creeper. I-it would suck to die to that.” Specs explained.

“I could’ve killed you.” Mask replied.

“You didn’t though.” Specs said, tilting his head, “I-I don’t think you wanted to anyway - you would’ve used harming instead until it put our insides out - then my ax would be at your neck instead.”

“Hmmm. that really does make sense.” Bobble said thoughtfully, and flicked her wrist.

Suddenly, Mask was wrapped up in warped stems. He had let her spores get much too close. 

“Ah! You almost got me with that!”

“Sorry specs…”

“You little witch…” Mask growled.

“Says the potion witch that got soo jealous of our cool house.” Bobble replied with an even smugger grin, “ Who knows. Maybe you attacked me first ‘cause I’m the prettiest~” 

Mask seemed to jolt.

“Why even be jealous?!” Headphones added, still unable to move from the ground thanks to the potion cocktail received, “Just ask her for tips!!! Pretty fairies like Bobble love to share…” 

“I would!” Bobble smiled, much happier, “But seriously, call your kits back or these will get reeeeeaaaallly tight!” 

With a sigh, Mask huffed, “Fiiiine. Let me go after.” 

Once the pillaging cats were called back, Mask was released from the stems. Once everyone was gathered, Headphones took the time to explain how they ended up coming together as she was being healed by Bobble. Understanding of no affiliations reached, and some negotiations made, the cats were allowed to stay and take of the food, so long as they didn’t cause trouble. 

With the agreements made, everyone went to bed. Specs was excited to run to the safety of his bed, and rushed through his door to leap into bed!

“Ack!” Mask squealed from under the blankets he had hidden under, “Watch it!!!” 

“WWAAAA- WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!?!?!?!” Specs yelled.

“What’s it loooook like, IIIdiot?” Mask said, stretching his arms out, “Here for the night. I want nowhere near those girls.” 

“I- well- fine, but warn me!!! I have projects… special ones…” Specs sighed, glancing to make sure his hidden trap door was still very hidden. It was. 

Mask moved from his spot on the bed, gesturing to the now ruffled sheets of the blue bed. “Allll warmed up. I don’t neeeeeeed to sleep.” 

Unsuredly, Specs slowly, awkwardly got into his bed. Mask set at the foot of it, a black sillouhette in the dark of night. Awkward silence followed…

“Hey…. um…” Specs murmured softly after he failed sleep for the fourth time, “S-so how’d you meet your pals…?”

“The bitch of a witch I used to help left me to die when her bog frooooze over. Local village took me in, and that’s where I met the others. Red banners visited, lead by a bossssy, freezy little kitsune, and shipped off everything we had to the forces of that shitty red dragon. Rather than starve with those poooor poooor villagers, we left. We’re nomads, hopping around… and going to the Moth god’s territory yearly for that big feast they have.” Mask explained, oddly less prickly in tone. As if he were telling a bedtime story.

“Why didn’t you explain it before?”

“What, do I gotta tell all that shit to the masses? Consider yourself luuuucky I told you that much.” Mask replied sharply.

“Fair. I honestly… Kinda relate to all that.” Specs replied, “We’ve had a whole don’t ask don’t tell policy here… but I’ve been thinking of letting people know just how I got so far away from villages.”

“Ah, my turn for a stoooory?” Mask asked, leaning his head on his hand, “Do tell~”

“Well… guess I’ll use this as practice…” Specs murmured, and rolled over in bed, facing the wooden wall.

“Once upon a time, There was a little Cleric’s apprentice in a flourishing village. We always had what we needed, never having to go far… but one day, Instead of the apprentice arriving to his job, the Cleric came to him. He told the apprentice of a god that appeared before him - one that told him to build a giant ship using all the spruce around the home, and set sail for riches untold. Emeralds, diamonds, opal - anything and everything we could ever need, just on the horizon.”

“Word spread, and fervor overtook the town. Together, the apprentice and the whole town contributed to the mansion-like boat. The apprentice gained many friends, and together the village set sail, abandoning the familiar shore of home. For a time, the boat was merry. Food was plentiful, and mechanisms to sweep up sunken chests were flawless -  and small riches and trinkets were gained. Lead by the cleric captain, ever telling of a future full of riches, the sparkling future seemed so close…”

“Days passed. The villagers did the will of their cleric, and as sea sickness had done numbers, food began to dry up. The apprentice, who had learned from his village and come to care for them all, became a nervous wreck, tending to the masses. And as supplies for healing ran dry, he sought the answer of what to do from the Cleric at the helm. The man grinned, he had been waiting for this - and handed the apprentice stacks of a strange, green swirled potion. He praised it would solve everything, and I- … the apprentice believed. He was never steered wrong before.”

“The following week was madness. Like a plague sweeping the ranks, the village crew had begun to grow wild with greed. Fighting over scraps, arguing over the splits of the smallest of treasure - it was sickening. Wanting desperately to fix what was happening, the apprentice exhausted his wares of that strange potion, until only one left. As the skies never seemed to lighten, his hope was wavering - the cleric had to do something. He was always taught to keep one potion for replication, so he began to run for the stairs to the captain’s cabin. He tripped, and the substance of the last potion burned all it touched with a strange power.”

“He felt alive.

But he felt unbelievably wrong - somewhere deep inside, he knew that this curse in a bottle had just disfigured him. 

And all he could ask was… why? Why was this happening? What did the cleric feed them?”

“So, quickly, the apprentice searched for the cleric. Something in him wanted a fight, while the apprentice wanted answers. And eventually, he found the cleric. At the mast of this massive boat, the cleric called to the skies. He had done all that the God had told him - ripping off his tainted gray flesh to become the ruler of this village, stricken with greed, Ill to the very core. Stripped of the kindness and love felt before, ever since the Cleric met this God, the village was doomed.”

“And so, the apprentice was the last with a mind. Corruption fed into anger, and it found the answer in a gleaming treasure hung on that captain’s wall. 

And beheading a monster was as easy as cutting through wheat. Each swing after was a revenge hit for the family of a village the apprentice had lost, all until the Illness could no longer cloud his mind - and the rotten cleric a sickly green stain on the hull. Sickened by his deed, the apprentice immediately abandoned ship. With nothing but a small wooden boat, he rowed for days and nights… until rescued from the drowned by a soon to be friend, he arrived here. And the story remains open…”

Specs could practically feel the catboy staring at him. He felt nervous - ashamed, even. 

“Wellll…… for one, let’s work on making that shorter.” Mask finally spoke, tapping his chin, “Really all you need to say is that you hail from a village that went Ill and barely escaped with your life - people will know what that means, I’m sure. You can make it a liiittle longer, elaborate if there are questions, buuut I think that simple sentence about covers it.” 

“Oh. u-uh- o-okay.” Specs sighed softly, “Y-you’re not like… weirded out or something? Or worried I might- you know- get more ill…?” 

“Well you seem fine.” Mask answered, “Beyond the traumas obviouslyyy… you’re reeeeaaaaal brave - and a little bit of a special case. It’s rare for a villager to be that tough in solitude.” 

“But what if- what if I do get more ill? Eventually?” Specs asked. 

“Be different I guess? Really sounds unlikely.” Mask replied, writing something down, “you do have a lot of support here regardless if people know how you became half ill. Or does this count as chronically ill? Anyways, point is, you’ve got a group of nice fellas here it sounds like. So don’t worry if  you get crabbier or need help. It doesn’t make you a bad person - only what you do does.”

Specs hummed, ruminating on the words. “Thanks, Mask.”

The catboy replied with a mutter of acknowledgement. Standing and stretching, Mask wandered to the window to watch the night go by. 

With Specs now a little more calm, he finally started to get cozy in his bed. It was comforting to think that his friends accept him no matter what - and something in him told him that would always be true, and always has been. 

As he began to drift, he said softly, “Maybe we’ll make you guys a nice island too. Or a sky ship…”

His mutter received no response - not one he could hear, anyways.

The waves crash, and the tide goes out. Specs sleeps through the night.

Chapter Text

Aloha was having a great time harvesting, cooking and overall hanging out with all his friends. They had all been invited to Mothera’s special shindig after all, so everyone was working on making the best treats they could manage. Aloha lost count of all the different kinds of pies and cakes they had made, honestly - but he was sure the goddess would be impressed! After all, he wanted her to think that his home, these flowery meadows, were the absolute best place around, hands down.

“Okay! Who needed sweetberries for the pies again~?” Aloha called out, flying his large basket of them over the different tables stocked with stuff.

“Over heeere~!” Metry and the other nymphs called to him in unison, and he flew down to restock them. Among sweetberry pie, they had been making all sorts of custom decorations and handouts, too. Flower crowns, fans, dresses made from the finest petals they could grow - it really was cool!

“Really does feel awesome to have us all working together, doesn’t it?” Aloha said with a grin. 

Metry giggled and replied, “Yep! We gotta make mothera happy~ though I really wish I could talk you out of giving us that cute little bee you found!”

“Sorry girls, he’s his own kinda guy! And i really didn’t appreciate you guys leaving him a cursed meal, i nearly burned my nest getting rid of it!” Aloha said, still a bit ruffled about the whole incident.

“Aww, well, old habits you know~” Metry sighed, and then Dango added, “Wanna hear the word among the flowers?”

“Ooh, new kinda pollen happen or something?” Aloha asked.

Short giggled, “Nope! The opposite!”

Long smiled widely and said, “The Lush is awake.”

“Ooh, sounds mysterious~” Aloha said. 

“It is, it is!” Metry replied, “Its old, deep, warm - mmm, maybe those aren’t the funnest adjectives, but the place holds really special ancient monsters, rearing their heads after a loooong nap. The azaleas have been in such a good mood! And the biggest monster, they say he has the most voluptuous flower on his tail, ooohh i wish i could touch it with my own two hands!!” 

“Interesting~ think this monster’s heading our way?” Aloha asked.

“Maybe we’ll see them at the fest? Buuuut it’s unlikely.” Dango admitted sadly.

“Aww, what a shame. If i do see a big flower monster though, i’ll tell you guys.” Aloha said, then turned and spread his wings, “Imma check up on everyone else! Remember, mess with my company again and I’m lining everything with iron!”

The girls boo at him, but their words are lost on the wind as he flew away. His other feathered pals are fine - scuba part duck, putting together some sea food, Straw, the part chickadee pooling together some recipes using nuts and seeds, and Octoglasses, the swan, thrashing away at baking after her first dishes all went wrong. He made a stop to help calm her before finally returning to his nest.

His nest, the lovely sakura tree with a large house built within its beautiful, spiraling branches. It bloomed eternally, the pink petals never, ever wilting away entirely. 

He flew onto the landing pad, and stepped through the door, sighing happily. “Army, I’m back - did’ja figure out what you wanted to make?”

Upon getting no response, Aloha searched around until he found Army seated at a desk, dead asleep. It was cute at first glance, but he seemed to be having a nightmare again…

So of course, gently, Aloha went to wake the bee. “Army. Armyyy, you’re dreamin’. Wake up.”

Eventually, even with the gentle ways Aloha went about it, Army bolted upright. He was panicked, glancing around quickly until he remembered where he was. After that, he hid his head in his hands - likely rubbing stray tears away. 

“Need somethin’ to drink?” Aloha asked, offering a bottle of  water his way. “That one looked pretty bad.”

Army accepted the offer, popping the cork off and tipping the glass up to his lips. “Ugh… thanks… I really can’t catch a break, huh?”

“I wish you could. Nightmares really do a number on sleep.” Aloha said, sitting across from him. “How’s your back?”

“It’s healing up.” Army answered, “Still a bit touchy, but at least walking around is getting easier.” 

“That’s good! I’m glad.” Aloha said, giving him a little smile. “You know, we did find your hat. You don’t have to wear the welcome gift all the time if you don’t wanna, heheh.” 

“Oh! Well, I like it. I kinda wanna save the hat for outings… or just wear both.” Army explained, absent-mindedly reaching up to touch the flower crown still sitting on his head, flowers fresh as the day they were picked. 

U sually it’d be dried by now , Aloha thought to himself. Maybe it had to do with beeple magic?

“I’m happy you like it!” Aloha said, popping the cork on a drink he’d grabbed for himself, “Guess it’s no surprise, since you’re a beelike fella and all… do you think you’ll want to come to the festival with us? Of course, after we find your friends - there’s gonna be plenty of time before the party really starts.”

“As long as we find Forge and the rest, yes.” Army replied. 

“Awesome!” Aloha said with a smile, “You thought of any places to check?”

“Well…” Army replied, pulling his journal from his inventory, “I wanted to recheck the cave I ran through. Maybe I could see if they’ve been through after I lead the enemy away.” 

“Sounds like a good spot to check today. By the way, that’s a pretty book ya got there!” Aloha said.

“Oh… yeah.” Army said, shutting the book after he finished his scribbling. “I uh… found it. And I can’t seem to get rid of it, so I’m using it to write down some thoughts.”

“Nice. handier than some other books I've fished up in the past!” Aloha says, tilting his head two and fro to watch the cover shimmer.

“Y….yeah, guess so. So, should we get going soon?” Army asked.

“Oh! Yeah, sure!”

The two finished up their drinks, grabbed some food and gear for the road, and flew off, Aloha carrying Army as he flew for the area he’d first found Army. Once Army pointed out the cave a ways off from that, the two landed and headed inside. It was dark and quiet, so the two kept having to light and place torches to figure out where they came from. 

Army seemed especially on edge, alert at every sound. His hand was at his sword all the while, scanning the darkness for any signs of life - or undead, as plenty liked to spawn in caves. He’d get jumpy at every mindless skeleton or zombie, destroying them with no hesitation. 

“So… um… what happened in this cave?” Aloha asked. “Was it mobs, or…”

Aloha trailed off as Army slowed at the edge of a giant chasm. The bridge they were on was mostly natural, save for the broken areas and evidences of a sprung trap in the middle. In the dripstone chasm below, partially darkened by all the shadows… some large beast laid at the bottom. The dried splatter appears black in the shadow, and slimes and zombies were… helping themselves by this point. The sight was pretty shocking for Aloha - he hadn’t expected to stumble across this. 

“Army…?” Aloha spoke out a bit softer, glancing over to the boy. The poor redhead looked sick as he stared into the abyss. 

“I thought someone would’ve took him out of here by now…” Army said softly, his voice sounding fragile, “They… really haven’t done it? So much for his status, huh…” 

Aloha could tell he was going through something, and gently used his wing to make sure Army wouldn’t fall off the edge or something. “Do you… wanna talk about it?”

“That corpse down there is a Kitsune.” Army said, “Flare - one of the red dragon’s generals. We were… we knew each other. Like brothers at first, but then… things changed, obviously.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry.” Aloha said.

“He really was an ass in the end. He didn’t care who he hurt, just so long as he got more power. And in the end, this is where that got him. He’s the one that gave me the injury - chased me when I just… wanted to stop him for once.” Army lamented, and once again he covered his face with his hands.

Aloha noticed the restraint he talked with. There was clearly much, much more to the story than he was letting him know - but Aloha wouldn’t dare push it. He already knows more than he should. 

“Do you wanna bridge the gap? Or… would you want to leave some flowers?” Aloha asked.

“I think I’m a bit too hurt for the labor of those options, still…” Army admitted, pulling an emerald out of his inventory and letting it drop down, “Besides, if I tried to give him some flowers, I know he’d hate it. Do you think we can back track, and you fly me over the hill a bit further?” 

“Sure thing. Lemme know when you’re ready.” Aloha replied.

After a few more minutes, Army could finally pull himself away from that drop, and the two exited the cave. Aloha flew him up and around a few more spots, for as long as Aloha’s wings would hold two - but they didn’t have much luck. They ended up breaking for lunch in a little grove amidst the forest. 

“I really wish it wasn’t this hard to find my teammates… I think I instructed them to keep moving, but I’m not sure I can remember. I didn’t write it down.” Army admitted, digging into the porkchop he was having. 

“Hmm, there’s got to be something we can do…” Aloha said softly.

They ate a bit more.

In silence.

Aloha bounced his leg a bit.

So did Army as he tried to gather his thoughts, spurred by Aloha’s bounce.

Mutual bouncing continues. The packed meat is almost gone.

“OH! Lemme try something.” Aloha said, hopping up.

Then, from his little travel bag, he pulled a book out - it was just like army’s, but the cover almost seemed to be made of the pinkest rose quartz, shimmery and beautiful - almost hypnotic. For a moment, something in army’s stomach sank… from his experience, these things were a curse.

“Oh - don’t worry! This cute lil’ thing was sittin’ in the branches of my tree.” Aloha explains, “I think it’s got some sort of spirit in it that lets me borrow its power! It’s kind of permanently on in the background all the time, but if you hold the book the ability amplifies, sooooo~!” 

Aloha flew up, and glanced around. The book - and Aloha’s eyes - seemed to glow pink. 

“With this, If I can catch ear of a group looking for you with good intent, that should be them, riiiight~?”

Ohh. cool.

Wait wait wait SHIT.

“W-what did you say the power was?!” Army asked.

“Mind reading! Don’t worry, I try not to listen to things! I respect friends!” Aloha said, continuing to amplify his ability’s range.

Within a few minutes, he finally got something - worries over Army, conflicting feelings of if they should sit tight or keep going, even if they’ve already had to move before. 

“I think I can hear them!” Aloha called down.

“Seriously? G-good.” Army said. Oof, he really was focused on those implications, wasn’t he?

Aloha was curious - perhaps he could get them to come to him? He wanted to ask.

Can I send them our position with your help? Aloha scribbled his question into the book.

“It’s an open connection - nobody’s safe.” the shadow in the book wrote back. 

Despite the boring explanation, Aloha was pretty excited! 

On a gut feeling, he focused himself, half speaking into the shimmering pages as he focused one of the minds of that worried group. “Come to the grove at the edge of the forest, near the tulips. Army’s right here with me, safe and sound!”

Aloha heard confusion last before his connection was severed by a splitting headache!

“OW FUCK!” Aloha shouted, rubbing his head and almost dropping the book. In an instant, his range went back down to normal, and he flew back down by Army, landing a bit hard.

“You alright???” Army asked.

“Yeah! Yeah- i just learned a new feature I gotta practice i think, haha…” Aloha said. He was a bit embarrassed about looking silly. Also. ow.

“Well I’m glad you’re okay - so uh, tell me about the uhhh mind reading that doesn’t turn off???” Army said.

“Oh- yeah- well, I can’t figure out how to turn it off ever since I found this book, but I can ignore it! Especially if I scream really really loud in there but that also gives me a headache.” Aloha explains.

“So then… do you know or…?” Army asked.

“Know what?” Aloha asked in turn, rubbing his temples to try and get the headache to leave for good.

Army gripped Aloha by the shoulders. Aloha looked up, to find Army’s green, bright with terror eyes staring right into his.  Suddenly Aloha’s mind was a biiit blank…

“What. do. You. know. About. Me?” Army asked, and Aloha couldn’t tell if he was trying to be intimidating or just very, very scared.

“I… uh…” Aloha replied, giggling nervously. “Well, I… I knew you thought you were going down with Flare. There was a lot of death talk in your brain when I first scooped you up, because, well, you were dying so that’s kind of part of why you weren’t allowed to leave for a while!!! Just to make sure that wasn’t suicidalness and make sure you were like good in the head and stuff. I know you are trans but like. Coulda figured that by locking eyes you know cuz samesies ahahaha ANYWAYS. You also haven’t had your food you liked in a few days and i’m tryna do something about the ingredients but nobody has rice for fucking miles and its like really annoying-”

“Y-you know what I’m talking about!!” Army said, gripping a bit tighter, yet still not enough to really hurt, “Just tell me you know what I am!”

“Uhh uhh uhh-” Aloha panicked, “You’re gay and you wanna make out-”

Now it was Army’s turn to get flustered, “THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT-”

“Well what do you want me to know?!?!” Aloha asked, “Do you want me to peek in more??? So you don’t gotta hide or something??? I don’t wanna do that I respect my friends!!!!” 

“I do not want you to read my mind!!!”

“OKAY so just show me what the problem you obviously want me to know is!!!!”

“I DON’T KNOW IF I WANNA DO THAT!!”

“WELL I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO EITHER!!!!”

Finally, three figures burst from the treeline. “ARMY!!” Forge called out, causing the two to jump and cling for a second before they second, before Army recognized his friends, and had moments to separate from Aloha before the three tackle hugged him.

“G-guess we’ll talk later hahaha…” Aloha muttered softly, letting himself fall back against the ground. 

Finally, things began to calm down - and  everyone decided to head back for the fields, catching up all the while. 

“So, whatever happened to no.8?” Army had asked, having to still be carried by Aloha thanks to injuries. 

“Apparently a ‘king of the nether’ has risen, and his forces responded to a portal Hachi tried to open. He was kind enough to take full blame and talk them into releasing us. He left the construct Bluhrin in our care.” Forge reported, keeping a close to army much like an overprotective pup. 

“Oh. geez, that’s kind of terrifying if we have to deal with another damn dragon…and what of Bluhrin? Did he decide to part ways?” Army asked.

The group fell a bit silent, before Forge spoke up, “Yes. but… it wasn’t like we had much of a choice.”

“Retro found us.” Sailor blue said, the look on his face paired with tone telling aloha this wasn’t a good thing.

“We put up a fight, but he had troops of his own with him - Bluhrin took it upon himself to lead retro away and give us a window of escape. It is… assumed this is the last we will know of him.” Sailor white finished the report, and added, “He at least offered Forge a poppy in his memory - and this, we will carry of him.”

“I-I see.” Army said, “And you’re sure you weren’t followed?” 

“We covered our tracks diligently, and with Bluhrin’s help, nobody but Retro was left to interfere.” Forge replied.

“Okay. I… apologize for not being there to help.” Army said softly, despite the anxiety Aloha could hear in his voice. 

“We wouldn’t want you to face that bastard.” the sailor twins spoke in unison.

“Honestly, I’m just glad you escaped Flare alive. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I lost you on top of everything…” Forge said, patting Army’s head, “I still have rice left from the village - permission to plant it at our destination for future foodstuffs?” 

“You don’t have to continue with the military talk. We’re like family.” Army smiled for her, “And to answer you, Yes. Aloha’s actually been in the market for some.” 

“Seriously, I can’t find it anywhere!” Aloha said. “I’ll have to ask about this problem guy later so I know to look out for whoever they are, but for now, I think I’m in the mood for another welcome party~ you guys in the mood for cake?”

The twins seemed to perk up at the mention of it, and Forge gave him a tired smile. “Sure. that sounds lovely.” 

With this, the little group finally arrived back at the meadows, and plenty of what had been made previously was used to welcome the new guests to the pink tree meadow. Flower crowns were added to berets, music was made, and festivities were had into the night as the little orange-clad troop was encouraged to set up camp. 

As things died down, Army and Aloha returned to Aloha’s treehouse, and the two packed away some leftovers as they dragged their feet - almost ready to sleep.

“So, Army… uh…” Aloha said, rubbing the back of his head, “About whatever happened in the grove…”

“What about it?” Army asked tiredly.

“You were talking like you were either some sorta disgraced prince or a changeling.” Aloha said. “Could you just - let me in on whatever, so it’s not an issue? Seriously, I wouldn’t judge ya.” 

Army sighed, and then said, “Okay. just… don’t tell anyone that’s not my team, okay?”

“You got it!” Aloha said, giving him a cute little salute, “I swear I won't tell anybody. Show it off, sweetie~”

After a moment to steel himself, Army dropped his illusion. Removing his Beret, his fox ears came into view, and his broken wings disappeared as four gorgeous, orange tails appeared behind him, white tipped and swaying in a sort of nervous way behind him. Even as Army blinked, his eyes became sharper, and their usual dark and light greens. Gleaming white fangs, black, sharp claws, and of course, his palms and fingers tipped with the paw pads of his full fox form in this half human state.

“There. Flare and I were brothers by blood. I’m a flame kistune.” Army admitted.

He awaited Aloha’s reaction with fear - but it wasn’t at all what he expected.

“Awwww, you’re so cuuute!” Aloha cooed gleefully, “Is that really all?! You were scared for no reason! This rules!!!”

“R-really?!” Army asked - “B-but you know kitsunes are like, really fucking powerful like just under dragons and hydras and shit, right? And the vast majority work for the red dragon? You’re seriously not scared?”

“Nope! You’re just thrice the foxy now!” Aloha said, booping Army’s nose with a finger, “but if you want me to get on my knees for ya or somethin’, o high class monster, you’re gonna buy me dinner first~” 

Army blushed, but definitely seemed to relax. “At least it’s off my shoulders now… thanks. Glad it doesn’t change… whatever this is.”

“Good friendship?”

“Sure.”

“Yeah, don’t ever worry about the whole weird power I have. I’ll have a proper handle on it someday, and everyone has their dark little secrets - I know I’ve got mine.” Aloha said with a smile.

“Oh yeah? Well, I kinda gave you one of mine…” Army said.

“Ooh, you suuure you wanna know? It’s pretty spooky~” Aloha said, beginning to walk avoidantly to his room.

Army puffed up a bit, stopping him in the hall. “C’mon, only fair that you know this about me.” 

“Hmmm… how ‘bout a piece of it? Just for now.” Aloha said, “You could tooootally get more outta me another time.”

“I’m cool with a piece for now then. Spill.” Army commanded. 

“Alright, alright… hmmm… well~” Aloha said, leaning in close as his wings eclipsed the kitsune before him, “I’m the strongest person in the meadow, if you didn’t guess already~ I came from the Nether, right before the portals were broken once more.”

With the words out, aloha backs away, folding his wings behind his back once again, he gave Army a happy little wink and said, “That a hot enough secret for ya?”

“That… really is interesting. You look nothing like it…” Army said, a hand on his chin thoughtfully.

“Looks do deceive~” Aloha said, “Plus, the calm of the overworld helps keep my cool. Speaking of, I gotta get my beauty rest so. Goodnight~” 

“Goodnight. I’ll get the rest from you eventually.” Army said, taking his book out to add notes. 

Aloha smiled back at him before closing his door in full. “Sure you will~”

Chapter Text

At the other side of the forest, as night had fallen, a futuristic entity wanders through the countryside. The helmet on their head heavily influences the majority of their actions as it constantly makes predictions - the probability of a branch falling, a zombie crossing their path, every little thing is calculated. This is how they live - and how they’ve avoided pursuers for this long.

Justice is, after all, an entity meant to ensure Mothera’s messages get where they need to go. He’s sent every invitation, received all acceptances, and recorded what conversations he needed with the help of his fireflies. The information of who will attend has made it’s way to their god. 

Justice - a little gift from a long sleeping sun god, to their night-ruling mistress.

Even with endless predictions gifted by that helm that was humming with magic, the helm couldn’t account for everything - snipe shots with flame bows, for instance, in the most specific of angles, could not be deflected.

Of course, Justice’s pursuers just had to have a sniper in the wings. Justice’s helmet malfunctions, causing sparks and impaired vision - not optimal for this kind of situation. The werewolves waiting on this moment pounce at him, and he can only barely dodge as he does his best to find a means of escape. 

But of course, no such luck - a 6-tailed ice kitsune awaited him. Grinning.

Justice next awoke in shackles of ice - and chained up to a boulder. The group of 5 powerful warriors, belonging to the red dragon’s troops, congratulated each other, bragging and boasting. The one he recognized as the leader of the wolves was still in sour spirits, not wanting to waste time on idle chat. The sniper was keeping eyes on the sky, lost in their own world. The ice kitsune was talking with a viking-hat clad woman briefly, gesturing towards some shulker boxes, and then he turned to a timid warrior that had masked and cloaked themselves, shrinking at the kitsune’s gaze.

“Wanna carry him?” the kitsune sneered, “All your shots missed, so it’s the least you could do.”

The cloaked figure simply nodded, wordlessly. Timidly. In times like this, where Justice had to use their own judgment… they figured it would be the most reasonable.

But how to go about it…?

Looking at the cloak closer, it seemed very…. Codlike. Definitely formed of fish skins.

As the cloaked figure picked Justice up, they said, "I wonder… were your people not some of the first attacked?"

The cloaked figure stiffened. They simply tried to continue like they didn't just hear.

"Was it the kitsune, or that salt water sorcerer that made your home wastelands? Why do you fight for them?"

“Shh.” the voice whispered to them, “I-I’m already in trouble…” 

Justice didn’t feel like obeying. As the hooded figure lifted Justice up, Justice simply stared further. The helm, ever calculating, let him know the others were not waiting up. “You’re really letting them continue to cause heartache across this land? Is it envy that’s caused such trechery?” 

As the girl’s eyes met his - he was hit pretty strongly by that weary, sad gaze. Fireflies dance, clouding the air, landing on the bolt cutters on the belt of this cod girl. Chances of a successful persuasion…

…pretty high.

…

At this point, bluhrin was pretty broken. Being a construct, he was lucky not to feel the pain of broken off legs, or cracked remains that almost exposed his core. 

The attacker he faced - what did the others call him? Retro, right? He was far more powerful than bluhrin had imagined. A water demon that had amassed so much power, he boasted about being certain he could surpass even the sea dragon. Nay, even the red dragon himself with enough time…

…and bluhrin wishes he still had a hand to crush that yapping jaw with. 

"Hey. You still with me, pebble? I'm surprised you haven't faded away yet." Retro said, eyeing him with cold, grey eyes - like a whirlpool in a storm. 

"Unfortunately." Bluhrin's answer was sighed, "shut up and leave or finish me off already." 

Retro's expression soured, and he leaned forward as a number of red pendants dangled from his neck, "You're a real stick in the mud, huh? Whoever the hell made you - I'll have to find them and tell them to make better constructs. That is, after I finally break my girl's squad and bring her back home."   

"Hurt my friends and I will put your meats out for the zombies." Bluhrin threatened, the iron creaking as he tried to go after the demon once more - only for a flick of the wrist to crumble another piece of him to dust. 

"Ah, you really are dumb. How could anyone ever truly care about an iron puppet?" Retro said, aiming that sword of gray blue energy at his exposed core, "I'm sure you're already replaced."

But, before the blade could pierce and kill, suddenly, the sword was dispelled. And suddenly, runes flared to life on retro's light bluish skin - etchings of nausea, weakness, slowness, and a strange glow that made him all too visible. Retro tried to turn and look for what cast these, but he had all but fell over with that motion.

"What do we have here?" A gentle, yet ethereal voice had flowed into their heads, "you know this territory is neutral - right? I'm sure I let all leaders involved in this know in a very, very potent nightmare." 

Arising from the night's darkness was a carridge drawn by bright, white, almost glowing horse skeletons, a large figure that was taller than the trees was sitting on the back. It was almost absurd, how little trouble the undead had with the size of this woman - her full features, moon-white skin, hair, moth wings and a second set of arms plus antennae all sitting nicely on the mobile throne.

With those moth features, the black eyes with slits of light blue, the pure regality of her form - this was Mothera, goddess of the night.

And bluhrin was elated to have run into her territory. 

"I- th-this isnt ah-" retro stammered, trying to think, "m-my friends made this one, it went rogue-"

"Oh, dear…" the woman's voice sighed, her mouthless face leaning down, "we both know that isn't true. The one that made this construct - with its beautiful sentience, resilience, and not core, but a soul - that was an ancient android's work. And this is a neutral place. You will leave immediately, and you will not dare to come back - unless you want more punishment."

Already struck down and unable to face the power of a god, retro made quick use of a waypoint spell to leave for home. With a splash of mist and displaced air, he was gone.

Now alone with the goddess, what's left of bluhrin is gently picked up between mothera's fingers, and brought to the palm of her hand. Bluhrin felt adrift, mind humming with the information. He truly had a soul all this time…?

A soft chuckle pierced his mind. "Of course you do. It was weak, but the ancient ones had a knack for making them artificially. My, my… that little rule breaker did a number on your form, didn't he? You don't have much time on your own." Mothera observed. 

"I… suppose not. But i protected who i was told to." Bluhrin hummed, then added, "who i… wanted to protect." 

"And that loyalty rewards your fate, by crossing with mine." Mothera told him, "I am a powerful, old god - and ruler of monsters. I cannot make you a human, but all the same, i could give you flesh in a much, much different form - much more durable than an iron construct's chasis… would you take that opportunity?"

Bluhrin stared at her. "What… would i become?" 

"That depends on your will. Your desire. But i can tell you will be powerful. My only ask is that you use this reincarnation to protect my land, and maybe even be my bouncer for my party. Do you accept these terms?" She answered.

Bluhrin wanted to answer her - his magic was draining, and thus, the fuel that kept this construct mobile. A whisper of a yes left those lips.

Suddenly, he felt light. Mothera covered him with her hands, encasing him in darkness. 

"As you shed this iron shell, you'll morph into something far, far greater than you've dreamed. Your body, your name, the thousands of years of rust - you shed it all, to become a new you."

In the blink of an eye, Bluhrin felt something grow around him - the sensation of something fluid filling the space, slowly, slowly he felt as if he were floating in it - changing. His consciousness was slipping - a form now suspended in some sort of cocoon…

"Now tell me… who are you, dear?"

Chapter Text

At the opposite end of the dense, strange jungle, in the deepest of mothera's territories, her children were gathered, carefully hanging decorations, forming plans, making food and coordinating as information flew in from the fireflies and moths that bring guest information back.

There were 5 children of Mothera - all varying sizes, ages, features and colors. All eligible for taking mothera's place. All with very, very different views on what to do with the war at the edges of their neutral territory.

And of them, a confident young mothling that had just molted into their wings, and were very preoccupied with impressing their (unimpressed) older siblings with flips, trick shots, and flying skills. 

Death, the oldest of the moth siblings smoothed down his black and yellow wings, and sighed to the youngest, “Listen, Luna-”

“Gloves.” they corrected after a successful backflip.

“Gloves? Well, however you call yourself - do you not have your part of the forest to decorate?” Death replied. 

“I finished days ago! I don’t get why ya’ll complain, it’s really a snap!” Gloves answered with a smile. With a snap of their fingers, the path to their neck of the woods was aglow with mystical, green and pink light - a tasteful, refreshing, and mysterious display. 

“Showoff.” one of their siblings, Poodle, griped as another glowfly slipped from her pink-handed grasp. “Who helped you?”

“No one!” Gloves pouted, “I did it all myself!” 

“Are you sure? That’s so much ground!” Silk said, squinting and tilting his head this way and that, and making his greyish antennae swish. “Surely you must’ve, y’know, paid some, wowed some, you know.” 

Gloves grinned, “Don’t carry much but these babies! Hehe!” They replied, and fluttered their light green wings.

“Well, whatever the case, we are proud of you.” Atlas finally spoke, arms crossed confidently as she stood tall, “I’m sure Mom is, too.”

“Right?! I mean, she’s always so proud of all of us, but I think she’ll really like this! I’m stoked you guys like, too!” Gloves said.

“Hmmhm, true. But you know what would especially tickle her fancy?” Atlas asked, glancing at her side and covering the lower half of her face, “No, actually, I should simply do it myself… nevermind.”

“No, tell me!” Gloves spoke out, but then corrected themselves and regained the somewhat composed look they had before, “I finished my decorating, you got a lot to do - and if it makes mom happy i’m glad to do it!”

“Okay, okay. Here, take these coordinates.” Atlas gave in, tossing Gloves a piece of paper with the details in question, “Meet us there in twenty. No need for food prep, armor or anything.”

“Okay!! Thanks Atlas, I won’t let you down!” gloves said, and then flew off full speed.

They flew as fast as they could, gathering what they may need along the way. Foods, telescope, a crafting table for sure – what else?

Gloves momentarily considered their cool samurai armor, passed down for generations – buuut it was fragile, so Gloves decided they’d leave it for now.

Just as they were about to leave early, they bumped into a friend – well, half-attendee paid to check in on them, but a genuine friend. He was a wasp monster with the most stylish glasses around!

“Oh- hey half-rims! I thought you had the day off with the girls.” Gloves said.

“I do.” Half-rims said, still standing tall in the doorway.

“Wellll if you’re here to ask me to come with you guys, I don’t have the time. I’m helping Atlas with something suuuper important!”

“I know.” Half-Rims said.

“Soo can you let me through? So I’m not late?” Gloves asked.

Half-rims still stood in the way. Even if his expression was blank, Gloves could tell he was thinking hard about his next words, so they let him work on it in an antsy silence.

“Somebody,” Rim said, putting extra emphasis on the word, “Put a silencing curse on me.”

“Oh- no wonder you came to me! Here, let me take care of that real quick…” Gloves said.

They raised their hands towards Half-rim’s throat, lime-green magic forming at their palms. Glowing bright, it moves towards the marks now clearly revealed on his friend’s skin-

-only for the curse not to simply fizzle away as usual.

Gloves focused hard, maybe they just needed to add a bit more juice! Cleansing magic was their best magic, after all! But even with all their thoughts and strength and focus put towards that curse, it wasn’t going away. Even as they felt their hands begin to burn from their output, they still tried – but Half-Rims lightly smacked them on the forehead, making them lose focus and stop harming themselves.

“Stop.” He said, “I knew you couldn’t remove it. H… eh…” he sighed annoyedly, “The bastard that did it is stronger than you. For the moment.”

“Then why’d you come to me? You have to have mom help you!” Gloves asked, confused and a bit upset by the strange behavior.

“Think about it. Think really, really hard about it.” Half-rims emphasized, hands on Gloves’s shoulders. “Not many have magic stronger than yours. Think. ……. Just think about it.”

“I will. This is scary – but I’ll figure it out! And when I do get to who’s gone and messed with my buddy, I’ll beat ‘em up, jar ‘em, and toss them in a lava pit!” Gloves said, fired up and determined.

Seeming satisfied, the wasp moved out of Gloves’s way. “Good luck. Careful.”

“You too. Again, see if mom can help ya!” They replied, and flew off.

It took a bit of travel, but Gloves did make it to the coordinates Atlas gave them – early too, as they liked to be! Nobody was here but them and some ruins! Not only an old temple of mothera that had been abandoned, but a couple strange obsidian structures, looking freshly cleaned. Perhaps that was what Atlas was doing? Restoring the old temple?

On this assumption, Gloves heads into the old temple, and starts to clean off the webs and dust, using magic all the while. Although their power wasn’t so strong in the day, it was much more powerful at night! Especially under full moons! All the mold and vines disappeared by his power all the same, though. Traps deactivated, torches relit – all nice and spiffy! Upon finding a collection of chests, Gloves carefully rooted through the decayed things, carefully picking through what could be salvaged, and what was to be thrown away.

Then, at the bottom of the pile, Gloves saw something strange – it looked like a journal, grown over with crystallized, greenish bismuth – carefully cultivated so the square growing crystals made a competent pattern, catching rainbows in the light.

“Man, who left this here? I wonder if it’s an old diary of mom’s…” Gloves wondered out loud.

Ever so carefully, they opened the book – the pages were black. Gloves squinted, a bit disappointed, but then, the book began to glow, appearing a pen connected to a silver string bound to the book. Words appeared on the left side.

“This journal is an etching kind – use the tool provided. It’s an oldie, but a classic.”

Experimentally, Gloves started to draw a flower on the right side of the black paper – ooh, the etching tool reveals a rainbow underneath the black! Gloves continued to sketch, adding things like creepers, clouds, and the moon.

The entity in the book responds with it’s own etchings in white. “Nice, right?”

Gloves had many questions for the entity in the book, but upon trying to talk to them, they figure out quickly that their new friend can only read their responses. Gloves only has time to write back, “Yes, thank you!” before they hear the sound of their siblings arriving. They closed up the book, storing it away in their own inventory. It would be cruel to leave a sentient book alone again!

“Hi guys!” Gloves emerged from the cleaned temple, waving, “Check it out – I got a head start on the tasks, and-“

“Oh, sweetheart, that’s nice of you but that isn’t what we’re here for, you know.” Atlas told Gloves. Her tone irritated gloves a bit, but they still wanted to be nice.

“Ok, well… then what are we here for?” Gloves asks, watching as Death and Poodle dragged some obsidian over to one of the destroyed structures.

“Well, Invitations to the creatures of the nether, obviously.” Atlas explained with a wave of her hand, “The little bugs can’t do the trip themselves, so you have to. Tell by word, hand out fliers – whichever way you want to do it.”

“Wait, hold on – isn’t the nether dangerous? I don’t even have fire resistance like you and death!” Gloves protested worriedly.

“What are you, scared?” Poodle jeered, tossing a satchel towards Gloves, “That’s what potions are for! Don’t be a baby!”

“I’m not! My concerns are valid!!” Gloves argued, a bit annoyed, “And hold on – before you light that, isn’t that dangerous now?”

“Oh, come now. It will be only a short time.” Atlas told them.

Gloves had a bad feeling in their stomach, watching as the portal was lit. the purple flickering and warped noises unsettled them. Even if they were his siblings… something’s not right.

“I… I don’t know.” Gloves said, “Atlas, can’t you come with me?”

As their head was turned, they flinched when they felt a firm grip on their wrist. Death pulled them closer to the portal.

“Trust yourself.” Death said.

“It’s not myself that I don’t trust!” they admitted, “You guys- you’re acting weird! Let go!”

Death’s smile made Gloves’ heart drop. They tried to push him away, but he simply grabbed Gloves’ other hand, squeezing both too tight. No, it wasn’t just tight – it was freezing. They didn’t want to hurt their sibling, they cared, but something was so, so wrong-

“I-I’ll fight you – you don’t want that, Death! Let go!!” Gloves tried to pull away, but they were suddenly feeling weak. Veins of black crawled up their arms, and their legs felt like they’d collapse.

The magic looked exactly like Rims’ curse.

Before Gloves could even realize how close they were to the portal, he felt his wings glide into the purple haze. Gloves was yelling, screaming, crying at the others to let them go – but none of them listened. Silk was turned away. Poodle was laughing. Atlas smiled wickedly.  And death – his face...

“Goodbye, Gloves.” Death spoke. “It’s better this way. I love you.”

And with a flash of purple light, Gloves vanished.

Once he was gone, Death reached to the edges of the portal taking in a slow breath. With a loud pop, the obsidian shattered. All that remained of the portal were a few weeping piles, and an ugly red patch of netherrack on the floor.

“Surprised you took that initiative, Deathy.” Poodle said.

“They’re too trusting. Mother’s party is simply dangerous for them.” Death sighed. “Besides, with their sense of justice… my home would no longer be neutral.”

“Whatever. Luna’s gone, she’s not getting in the way anymore.” Atlas rolled her eyes.

“Y-you shouldn’t do that. U-using their old name.” Silk muttered.

“So what? She’s not around to get offended anymore.” Atlas said.

She would’ve continued, but suddenly, she began to choke. As she spat up blackness, the others looked to see as Death finished casting the spell.

“Good to know you’d treat me with such… care, behind my back as well.” Death said.

Atlas tried to eeck out an apology and plea, but Death had not stopped the spell’s effect.

Death grinned. “Three minutes to go. Each time you’re mean behind our backs, you’ll purge yourself of that vitrol for five minutes. Are we clear, sister?”

No more Gloves to lighten the mood, or stop the madness, the party of siblings was now deeply uneasy. Poodle scooped Atlas off the floor, muttering about how talking with the red dragon was much more pleasant than dealing with Death’s whims. Silk scuttled behind Death, shivering and looking around wildly.

“Silk.” Death said.

“Y-yes?!” she replied.

“Do you still believe a neutral safe haven in necessary in this world’s strife?” Death asked.

“Y-yes. I-I do.” He answered.

“Good.” Death said, putting the smaller under his large wings. “Then you have nothing to fear from me.”

…

Gloves landed on hard, rough netherrack. The air was hot – burning even just to breathe it in. even with weak legs and contrastingly cold hands, as soon as they were through, they had to dodge a fireball from a Ghast that had spotted them. Looking around wildly, stumbling as they tried to run for cover, they ran across the barren fields. They had tried to hop up and fly, but the air made them feel like their poor, gorgeous wings would catch fire and crumble to ash.

After hardship, trying to avoid ghasts, skeletons, enders, even piglins, Gloves found refuge in a warped forest. The odd, treelike mushrooms soaked up some of the heat, but it was still burning hot in here. Weakened and exhausted, Gloves dragged themselves over to the base of a warped tree before collapsing.

They needed something to drink. Anything…

“Potion… potion!” Gloves remembered the sack that Poodle had thrown at them.

Quickly, they opened up the scorched bag and grabbed a bottle, not even stopping to look as they popped the cork and drank it down. The sharp, burning pain only registered as they choked on the last sip. They turned, bent over, and threw up what they drank, losing even more of their hydration to poisoning and nausea.

In one last second wind of anger, Gloves grabbed the bag full of poison and threw it as hard as they could. The bottles shattered like ice, dying the cyan mycelium a sickly, dead brown. They kicked, yelled, punched the warped tree and cried, tears evaporating in the heat. As Gloves’s anguish died down to a smolder, they began to fall back against the tree once more. The hazy heat felt like it was filling their brain.

This ground was so soft… cooler than the horrible nether heat. They wanted to grow more warped stems, to cover themselves to keep the coolness in, but it seemed Death locked their magic behind a curse, too. It figures. How cruel…

For a while, Gloves was in and out of a hazy sleep. They were too dehydrated to focus for the longest time, it felt like. They felt as if they were moved, hands inspecting, voices hushed, but serious.

When Gloves was finally able to come out of this haze, something refreshingly cold was pressed to their lips. Were they… upright?

“Drink.” A voice softly, smoothly instructed, tilting the bottle up, nudging their mouth open with cool, clawed fingers. “You will feel better once it’s in your system.”

Gloves did as they were asked, and soon, the heat of the nether felt like no more than a lukewarm spring day. Definitely better, but Gloves felt so dry… the stranger offered ice, some cooked pork, and slowly, Gloves’ energy began to return. For a while, Gloves could only softly mutter their thanks to this stranger, nestling into their soft, cool clothes.

Eventually, Gloves gained the strength to lift their head and open their eyes. As soon as they could, they looked back towards their savior.

The man before them had glittering, gorgeous golden hair – shimmering like the clusters of glowstone found around the place, cut asymmetrically. His eyes were the same gold, with striking red pupils the color of a villager’s blood. Fanged teeth, lovely eyeliner,  gorgeous smile, pointed ears tipped with netherite earrings – the stranger seemed well off in this place.

“Th-thank you.” Gloves’ voice cracked, having been so dry before, “Wh… what’s your name…?”

“It’s of no issue. I am Emperor.” The gentleman spoke once more, his elegant, confident tone… Gloves really liked it. “And who are you, dear traveler?”

“Gloves. I figured it out a few days ago… eh- sorry if I’m acting weird, you’re just hot – no wait! I mean, it’s hot, the nether’s hot, really hot, uhhheheheh….” Gloves responded, wishing they could just stop talking already.

Emperor chuckled at their strangeness. Was the potion wearing off? Gloves’s face felt hot!!

“It is. And I certainly wouldn’t think it a very safe space for a mothling like yourself.” Emperor said.

“Y-yeah, nah, m-my siblings are pulling a really REALLY fucked up prank on me right now…” Gloves replied.

“I see. Do you know the way back to where you came in? perhaps I’ll help you get them back for the cruel prank.” Emperor asked.

Gloves looked around, squinting into the haze. “I-I think. Here, I’ll show you.”

Gloves got up to walk, but after two steps, their balance was gone again. Luckily, Emperor was quick, and caught them before they hit the ground. Death’s curse was still too strong to break.

“Strange. My potions had not rid you of your ailment…” Emperor muttered, then pulled Gloves up, allowing them to cling to him for balance. “May I bring you back to my place, Gloves? I will be able to provide you with much, much better care there.”

“Yeah, goforit I don’tmind!!” Gloves replied. Did they forget how to speak normal???

With consent received, Emperor swept Gloves up into his arms, carrying them bridal style. Two pairs of wings sprouted from their back – the top pair was pitch black feathers, tipped with shimmering gold, while the bottom pair were gold dragon wings with quartz white membrane stretched between – every detail was in pristine, perfect condition. Even the golden tail that Gloves just noticed now. Moths love shiny things… and this pretty nether dweller was no exception to that truth.

“Hold tight, Gloves. Though, the king would never drop his precious cargo.” Emperor said.

…

Back in the overworld, night in Mothera’s lands had begun to fall. She moved the moon in to just the perfect spot – and sending a kiss to the sky, her godly magic dyed it’s hue pink. The first of the guests were here, and the festivities for the next two weeks would be grand, leading to her choosing of the next heir. Everything was perfectly set. Though, she did wish that Gloves hadn’t tired themselves out decorating, as Atlas had said.

“Ahhh, my poor little theyby… I should check in on them soon, bring up their favorite dinner and drink.” Mothera thought aloud.

But for now, she had speeches to give, music to play – and guests to welcome.