Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"David!" Angel called out from the kitchen making him quickly round the corner to enter it. Eyes scanning them then the room before looking at them once again.

He gave them an irritated expression when he saw they weren't in any danger. "Angel when I said I enjoy listening to you scream out my name, this is not what I meant."

They simply mocked him back, not even looking away from the cabinet they were searching through. "Hi my name's David and I like to complain about things that I asked for and am now upset that it's coming back to bite me in my ass. And speaking about biting in the ass-"

He bit back a smile with a hard glare. Amused by their antics but also not wanting to encourage them any further than they were themselves. "Pervert, now what did you feel the need to scream at me across the house for then?"

They finally looked over to him. "Did you get those chips that Babe likes?"

"Glad you got us another complaint from our neighbors for that," he muttered with a huff and eyeroll before telling them, "Of course I got them, you wrote it repeatedly on the shopping list you gave me and even called me while I was at the store to make sure I got it. They're in the grocery bag on the counter."

Angel turned from their crouched position, spotting it almost instantly. "Thank you," they grinned up at him, standing back up and moving over to it. "And I needed to make sure you got them. I can't leave my favorite person hanging like that," they teased, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Favorite person?"

They sighed dramatically, barely able to keep the teasing grin off their face. "Sorry David you've been replaced and have now dropped down to the number two slot. You're just lucky they haven't decided to sweep me off my feet and take me away."

Another eye roll came from him before he was wrapping an arm around their waist. Unexpectedly drawing them closer and catching them off guard. "How about tonight, after they leave, I show you why your little ranking system is wrong? And how it isn't just by luck that you will be pressed down beneath me and not them."

They grinned at him, biting their lip in a way that had him ready to call Asher and cancel this move night. But an abrupt knocking then caught the two's attention. David groaned as Angel weaseled their way out of his arms.

They zoomed over to the door, shouting, "I got it!" David growled, slightly annoyed but moved to the living room to get it set up.

They swung the door open with an excited grin seeing the other couple out there with their own grocery bags in hand.

Asher held out his arms and encased Angel in a tight hug that they quickly returned. "I'm so glad you were able to convince our big bad alpha over there to do this movie night with us!" He beamed.

They laughed, releasing him and stepping back to let the two in. "Don't jinx us now, he still might make a break from it." An annoyed growl came from the living room which had Asher smirk.

He kicked off his shoes as he called out. "David! I can't wait for this movie night! I brought friendship bracelets for us to make." Then headed over to him waving around the grocery bag. Babe stayed back with Angel as they shut the door. They slid off their shoes as well before following them to the kitchen.

"He's not joking about those friendship bracelets, I tried to convince him otherwise but he was adamant about them as soon as we saw them at that craft store," Babe rolled their eyes in fake annoyance, a smile forming on their face.

Angel commented, "I'd be more upset if he didn't actually bring them." Babe laughed lightly, eyes drifting over to the other two. David was shooting half hearted daggers at Asher who pretended to be oblivious of them as he emptied out the grocery bags he brought in.

"We brought over the drinks you guys wanted," glancing into their bag before continuing, "Also I don't mean to be rude but David has some weird taste."

"Right?! I have never seen anyone else drink this, I'm sure he does it to weird me out." Angel reached in to grab his drink and give it a look.

They then held it up and shouted over to him, "David they got your weird ass drink!" He shot them a glare which had them laugh and put it back in the bag. Then began to empty all the chips into big bowls while Babe poured the drinks into cups full of ice.

In the living room Asher had settled on the couch, pulling out the candy they had brought along with the friendship maker kit. David crouched down to place the DVD in the tray, but was barely able to push it in when his phone went off with a call. He pulled it out with an annoyed look that quickly turned to concern when he saw the caller. He stood back up as he answered it.

Asher glanced over at him along with the other two. His face soured once again but his tone remained professional and polite as he told whoever was on the other side that he'd be there soon.

He hung up with a rough sigh, and rubbed his eyebrows. He informed Asher with an annoyed look. "We'll need to head out for a bit. Milo called saying that the job he was on just took a turn and he'll need us there."

Angel's face dropped in disappointment which David didn't miss. He shoved his phone back in his pocket and walked over to them taking their hands in his.

"It won't be long I promise, Angel. We'll be back soon and we can watch this movie together. I'll even ask if Milo and his mate would be interested in joining us after we finish the job." They gave him a nod which had him relax a bit and kiss them gently.

When he pulled away they wrapped their arms around his waist and pulled him against them in a tight hug. "Be safe, I love you," they whispered to him, burying their face in his neck.

He hugged them back, cupping the back of their head with his palm and mumbling, "I love you too, Angel, I promise to be safe." Then pulled away, kissing their forehead.

They quickly brightened up once again and looked over to Babe and Asher who were saying goodbye as well. Asher not so against the pda. David rolled his eyes, heading to the door to put his shoes on.

"Come on Ash, the faster we leave the quicker we can get this shit over with and head back."

Asher called back, "Settle down bossman, I'll be right there." Turning back to his mate and giving them another peck. "I'll see you in a bit, you two better not watch that movie without us, you know that I've been waiting to see it." He teased, making them smile back at him.

"We won't, perhaps." They grinned back, "Now get before David has to drag you out." He pouted as they shooed him away with a laugh. But went to the door to slide his shoes back on and head out the door. David followed after, giving Angel a wave as he walked out of eyesight.

Angel called out, "Bye Davey have fun!" They heard him growl before purposefully slamming the door. They cackled as Babe snickered.

"You're so mean, embarrassing him like that," they teased.

Angel placed the back of their palm to their forehead dramatically. "Oh no how shall I ever recover from your deeply wounding words. They cut through me like a hot dagger."

"And annoying too, how does David put up with you," Babe retorted with a growing smirk as they headed to the living room.

Angel gaped at them, "Now that's going too far, I'm going to start crying. Do you really want to see that?" Babe turned their head to them, dragging a finger down their cheek and nodding. Which had Angel pouting deeply as they struggled not to laugh.

Babe smirked as they set the bowl on the coffee table before popping the DVD back out of the tray and placing it back into the rental envelope. "Guess we'll have to find something else to do while they're gone. Asher would have a fit if we actually watched this."

Angel took a long drink from their cup, eyes squinted as they thought before their eyes landed on their gaming system. "Wanna play minecraft? We can start a new world and just fuck around on it till they get back."

"Sounds good, load it up." Moving to the couch and grabbing another chip as Angel switched to the game. A spare controller was tossed over to Babe who didn't manage to catch it and had to lean down to pick it up.

Angel in the meantime plopped down next to them on the couch. Starting to set up the new world's settings.

But when Babe straightened back up they froze when they saw the tv. They leaned forwards to get a better look as they questioned their friend, "The hell is wrong with your tv?"

A black dot had appeared in the center of the screen as soon as Angel pressed 'create new worlds'. And it slowly began expanding the more the leading screen filled up. It kept spreading till the screen was encased in the darkness. Tiny blue, green, and white square-ish dots were floating around on it.

Angel then stood up, placing the controller down as they stepped closer to get a better look. "Is tha- is that the fucking end portal?"

"...I think we're being fucked with, Asher I swear you're sleeping on the couch tonight if that's you doing this!"

They shook their head, leaning forwards now just a foot from the tv. "It doesn't look like it's a video or anything. Look! It's got these small particles coming from it." Babe got up stepping closer to get a better look as well.

"That is weird," they mused, reaching out a hand to gently touch it. A harsh coldness then instantly encased their fingertips, of where they made contact. And before they knew it that coldness quickly began to spread through the rest of their body. Babe gasped in shock, causing Angel to panic and grab their wrist to yank it away before they could get hurt.

But neither expected Babe's hand to get yanked and pulled forwards. Angel's hand got consumed by the darkness as well, they cried out from the blistering cold that enveloped them. Attempting to pull their arm back but each time they struggled it only sunk further in, almost like quick sand.

Babe was in near tears as half their arm was now stuck in it. No longer able to feel their fingertips and they swore it was pulling them in faster each inch it gained on them.

"Fuck! Help! Asher! Please!" They cried out, hoping that the two hadn't left the driveway yet. They gripped the tv stand, pushing with all their might to get away.

Angel could only watch in horror as their friend was then fully pulled into the darkness like some horror movie. But then their focus shifted to their own hand that had now started to loosen. The void began to pull back and release them from its icy grip. They froze in horror, realizing that this thing was okay with just one sacrifice. And wherever Babe was they were going to be stuck there alone.

They looked around frantically, trying to think of anything. Before then swearing harshly and practically throwing themselves into the void. The darkness welcomed them with a cold embrace.

Angel didn't remember passing out and yet they were still waking up from what felt like a rough night. They blinked their eyes open, rubbing them with their palm to get rid of the blur.

The cold was now gone and replaced with warm sunshine and a cool breeze. They slowly sat up, rubbing the back of their head and looking around. They were in a grass field with a few flowers scattered around randomly and a forest not too far from them. Their eyes eventually landing on Babe who lied unconscious not to far from them. Fear shot through them and any drowsiness they had just been feeling was now gone. They moved up to their feet, hurrying over to them frantically.

They checked the other for a pulse and sighed in relief at finding one. But before they could even try to shake Babe awake they were jolting up with a gasp. Angel yelped and flew back startled.

"You-!" Angel attempted to shout at them but stopped mid sentence in favor of trying to settle their racing heart and gasping breaths. Babe reached out for them giving them an apologetic smile that instantly dropped when their eyes traveled to their surroundings.

"Where are we?" Babe got a shrug in response as the two looked around. Hills lay in the distance and streams were somewhere hidden in the forest that they could hear but not see. Cows, sheep, chickens and pigs wandered around aimlessly stopping every now and then to eat grass and whatever else they could manage to scavenge off of the ground.

Angel froze, eyes widening with a realization. "Holy shit, we're in minecraft."

Chapter Text

Babe turned to them, confusion and doubt on their face as they questioned them, "I'm sorry, what."

"I know it sounds stupid and crazy but hear me out. The..thing that pulled us in looked like the minecraft end portal and now we are in some type of plains biome with animals that you would find here. This looks like a brand new minecraft world."

Babe took a moment to examine the world around them. Their face showed the extreme emotions they were feeling.

"I just…I just don't get it. Why- how are we even here? None of this makes sense! We were just going to play a game! What the hell do you mean we're stuck in it?!" Babe panicked, hands shaking. "Oh my god are we going to be stuck here forever?!"

Angel reached out, taking their hands in theirs to steady them. They assured them, "I know, this is fucking insane. But we'll figure it out. There has to be a way out and we'll find it. I know we will because you're like really god damn smart and I'm like the dumb one who only manages to find the solution by falling face first into it. Together I know we'll be able to get out of here and get back home." Babe breathed in deeply, hugging Angel tightly who hugged them back. Eyes moving around the area as they rubbed their friend's back.

After a few minutes Babe pulled away, looking much more determined than they had previously. They quickly wiped their eyes with the collar of their shirt but froze. Eyes remained locked on it as they spoke, "Wait." Angel looked down at them too and paused. "Is this-?"

"That's Alex's clothes," Angel confirmed. They wore a green tunic with brown pants and boots. Angel looked down to see that they were now wearing a blue top and dark blue pants.

Babe commented with a sigh, as they felt the fabric of their own top. "I guess that confirms your minecraft theory." They let go of it and rubbed their forehead, trying not to get overwhelmed again. "This is insane," they mumbled running their hands through their hair as Angel nodded and rubbed their friend's shoulder in comfort.

They took in a breath before moving their hands to the ground to push themselves to their feet and held out a hand to Angel to help them up.

Angel questioned them, keeping their hand in theirs as they stood. "So what do we do now?"

They gave a slight shrug, looking around with furrowed brows. "I guess we start the way we start any new minecraft world, by getting wood."

"David's not here though."

Babe took a moment to process it before almost doubling over. "Shut the hell up," they wheezed. Angel sent them a toothy grin in return, pride on their face seeing that they were able to brighten up the mood. Babe shook their head still smiling as their eyes locked onto the forest. They nodded their head towards it. "Come on, let's go figure out how to chop that down."

Angel followed after them saying, "Well we obviously know how to. We use our fists like in the actual game."

"How do you know if it's the same mechanic though? I mean the world isn't even blocks it looks normal, so not everything is the same."

"But that's the only way we can, unless you want to wander around looking for some structure or village to possibly get loot from. And that could take hours, I don't know about you but I don't want to be out here past dark." Babe groaned, knowing what they were saying was true but still not happy about it.

They both stopped in front of a tree just outside the forest line and silently stared at it for a moment.

"So I guess we just." Angel released their friend's hand to bring up a fist and punch the oak softly. They stared for a moment but nothing happened.

"Hit it harder," Babe urged them.

"Wha- no you hit it. I'm not breaking my hand."

Babe huffed, "This was your idea to hit the trees though."

"But my hands are fragile and delicate, like a flower, a slight wind would shatter them much less a tree," Angel whined, taking a step back.

They rolled their eyes. "Oh you big baby, fine." Babe drew their fist back, hesitating momentarily before sucking in a breath and swinging. Angel winced harshly, ready to hear a crack and a scream come from the other but the tree fell down instead with a thud. The two gaped at silently.

Babe looked down at their hands, whispering, "I'm a god."

Angel gleefully exclaimed, "Okay that was cool! My turn." They went to the next tree and took a moment to hype themselves up before swinging at it. And just as the previous one did, it fell over. They whooped loudly, moving over to the next one as Babe watched.

They smiled a bit at the other's excitement, glad they were able to find some fun in this bizarre situation the two were in.

But quickly realized after a couple of minutes that the other was not losing energy. They winced, realizing how many trees they were taking down. "Okay I think we should stop before we take down the entire forest."

"But I'm on my deforestation arc!" Babe side eyed them quietly before Angel huffed. "Fine I guess we have plenty of wood to get by."

They mumbled to themselves, "Now how do I change this into tools." Babe shoved their hands into their pockets as they leaned over the log that was first cut down. But pausing when they felt something in one of them. They pulled out a small handheld device with a few buttons on it. They glanced over to Angel who looked at it just as confused before reaching into their own pocket and pulling out one similar.

"I guess not everything's the same as the actual game," Angel mused, examining it over and pressing one of the buttons. They jumped when a floating screen appeared in front of them showing them their empty inventory. Their mouth dropped open in awe, reaching up but their hand just passed through it like a hologram. "Woah."

Babe found the same button and clicked it as well. Their own floating screen appeared and when they clicked it again, it vanished.
They turned over the device in their hands and spotted what looked like a sensor at the top of it and pressed the other button making the sensor light up the area it was pointing at.

They flinched back, staring at it bewildered. Before an idea popped into their mind and pointed it at the logs on the ground. When they pressed the button all the logs then disappeared into the light and Angel let out an excited yell as they watched.

Babe pressed the button to show their inventory with the logs now in it, now beginning to catch on to how the mechanics work. As they built a crafting table on the screen, using the device to point and click, before placing it down and start trying to make their tools, Angel went around collecting all the apples, sticks, and logs they had left behind.

But froze on the spot at the sound of a sickly hiss. Slowly turning to see a large spider coming out of the darkness looking pissed at them. They took a step back and just as it lunged they threw themselves out of the way.

"Babe!" They cried out causing the other to spin around towards and stare in horror at the creature. "Get a weapon!"

Angel attempted to get back up onto their feet but were knocked down by it landing on them. Its furry legs pinned them to the ground and they could feel its fangs getting close to the back of their neck. They struggled against it as much as they could but then the thing fell lifeless on top of them. They winced in disgust and shoved it off before quickly getting up.

Babe stood there with a wooden sword in hand. They went from looking at Angel worriedly to then examining the weapon with fascination. On the handle of the blade was a bar with what they assumed was the durability of it.

"That was so gross, and it was so big. Why would they make the spiders that big? It's dumb I'm sending a complaint if we get out of here," Angel rambled, wiping themselves off and cringing at the thought of it.

"I have a crafting table over there, go make yourself something to defend yourself." Angel hurried over to it, glancing over the forest every now and then while Babe watched it with their sword still out. They quickly made themselves an axe and pickaxe before breaking the crafting table to put it in their invenyory.

"Next is stone tools, I guess we'll need to find a cave."

"Or we can just dig down."

Angel turned to them completely horrified. "And here I thought you were the smart one in this relationship."

"We're in a relationship?"

They threw their hands up. "And now we're breaking up, when does the misery end," Angel whined dramatically, causing Babe to roll their eyes and bite back a smile.

They decided it was best to change the topic and not continue to indulge them. "Let's split up and go on opposite sides of the grass area to see if we can find one. There's usually a bunch in the normal game and I want to avoid the forest as much as possible." Angel agreed with a nod, side eyeing the trees with a look of disdain before the two split up in search.

It didn't take long for Babe to spot one and call out to Angel across the field, "Found a hole!"

"That's what she said!" Angel immediately screamed back making the other sigh deeply as they hurried over.

The two hesitantly entered the cave entrance, gathering up as much stone as they can from the surface, keeping half an eye on the darkness that lead to the deeper part of the cave. They quickly crafted the tools they needed and were relieved to find a few iron ore veins near not too far into it.

"This won't be enough iron."

Babe looked at them confused as they finished up cooking the last bit of iron to finish off their set of iron tools. "What do you mean?"

"We need armor, I'm fleshy and a lot of mobs want a bite out of this ass. And we should also have back up ones in case these break or something. I've seen you play before, you've thrown your tools into lava so many times it's actually embarrassing."

Babe shot them an irritated look but let out a frustrated sigh. They begrudgingly replied, "I guess you're right, I just really hate caves, they're way too scary for a game about cubes."

Angel cupped their friend's face in their hands as they told them, "I shall protect you with my life, and we will reach the end of the tunnel safe and sound."

Babe stared at them for a moment before saying, "It's a cave."

Angel leaned in closer, whispering, "I will let you get eaten." Then let go of them taking a step back and turning towards the darkness. They pulled out their sword and pointed it in the direction. "Now onwards! Something something waits for no man."

The two headed forwards, Babe gripping their sword as they nervously looked around. Ready for anything to leap out of the darkness at them. They only had a torch each from burning some logs into charcoal but even that didn't give off enough light for them to feel safe in.

But it didn't take too long before they began to hear unnatural sounds. And the further they went a strange hissing sound grew louder and more distinct. Angel crept forwards, sticking out the torch as far as they dared to, until eventually they spotted a figure on the wall that was making the noise.

It was some kind of human and spider hybrid. They wore all dark gray clothes with a black hood over their head. Spider webs dangled off of them in random spots. Several glowing red eyes were spread across their face and several arms gripped the wall to keep themselves onto it.

Angel whispered harshly to Babe, "That doesn't look like a normal minecraft spider. Am I crazy or does that look like a person?"

"They do, but why? We just saw a normal spider. Why are they different?"

"I mean this place hasn't been entirely truthful to the game. But I don't really get why it would make a spider hyrb-"

Babe had then grabbed Angel's arm, cutting them off as they yanked them behind a rock. The creature/person had moved closer and was looking in the direction of the light that was now hidden behind the large rock.

Angel set their torch on the ground and peeked over the rock, trying to get a better look at them. But paused and looked down at it again before up at Babe.

"I'm going to do something that might be stupid."

"What don-" but barely could get the words out as they picked the torch back up and tossed it in the thing's direction. It landed on the ground just under it and instantly caught their attention.

The figure moved down from the wall and over to it. Their features now getting lit up better by the light.

Angel's eyes then widened in shock. "Wait, did you see that?"

"See what?"

"That, on the back of one of their hands. It looks like the dot that appeared on the tv screen before the portal sucked us in." The other got up to their knees, peeking over to get a better look and eyes widening when they saw it.

Babe questioned, sitting back down behind the rock, "What could that mean?"

Angel rubbed their forehead, their head now starting to ache. "I don't know, this is all so confusing."

Babe huffed, rubbing their legs anxiously but paused when they felt something else in their pocket. They quickly shoved their hand inside and pulled out a (gemstone wand with a white light at the top). It caught Angel's attention who leaned forwards to get a better look.

"What is that? Do I have one?" Reaching into their own pocket and pulling out a similar looking one as well. They then pointed it at Babe and said hoarsely, "Avidi kidivi."

Their friend shot them a harsh look. "You're an idiot." They just booped their nose with it in return. Babe sighed, flicking it away. "Careful, we don't know what that does."

Angel went quiet, staring at the faint light at the top and then in the direction of the creature. Brows furrowed as they thought it over.

"What if we poked it."

Babe looked at them for a long moment before asking, "You ever heard of the phrase 'don't poke a sleeping bear'?"

"I know, I know. But-" they were then interrupted by a hissing above them. The two slowly looked up to see the creature had moved to their rock while they had been talking. It glared at them with its many eyes and bared its fangs.

Babe slowly reached for their sword they had set on the ground but the hybrid quickly spotted their movement and got ready to lunge. Angel shoved them out the way and threw their own body backwards to avoid its attack. The two hit the ground hard and quickly scurried in opposite directions of it.

The spider hybrid landed in a crouch in the middle of them and eyes shifted back and forth between the two. Angel drew out their axe and it made its choice of prey and lunged for Babe once more. They yelped as they were shoved to the ground. Fangs immediately went into their neck and drew blood, making them cry out in pain as it began to pull back with the intent to rip out their throat.

Angel screamed at them, making the creature pause momentarily at the outburst and was thrown off by them swinging the back of their axe at them.

The hybrid hit the floor not too far away but still gave Angel enough time to move over to their friend and help them up. Babe covered their wound with their hand, looking over at it terrified.

"What the hell do we do?"

Angel gripped the axe tighter, eyes remaining on the threat as they replied, "Let's poke the bear."

"This is fucking insane," Babe muttered before pulling out the crystal from their pocket once again. The other hand still pressed tightly down on their neck. "You got a plan?"

Angel watched as it moved back to its feet. "Uhh I be tank, you be poker?" The hybrid moved back into a pouncing position once it got its bearings in order.

"We're going to die." Before Angel could mock their friend back, they had to both move out of the way from its attack. But this time it shot out a web from its hands and had Angel pinned to the ground.

They panicked, struggling to get free but their movement only got them more tangled. The hybrid went for them and ripped away the axe with another web when Angel used the little freedom they had in their hand to swing it. It went flying several feet away from them and hit the ground with a loud clang.

The creature moved to straddle over them using one of their many hands to grip their face and hold it still. It forced their chin up leaving their throat exposed and Angel could only yell as the spider went for their jugular to rip it out.

But before their teeth could pierce their flesh, Babe had appeared from behind and grabbed its hand with the strange dot. It caught the spider hybrid off guard enough for Babe to pull them off of Angel and back into them. Then they jabbed the crystal at the mark before it could fight back anymore.

As soon as the gem touched the void a bright light appeared under its skin. Veins that almost resemble lightning bolts shot beneath the skin and towards the mark where it then closed up with a loud and familiar crackle. The creature then fell motionless onto the ground making the two panic.

Babe pulled grabbed onto the webbing and took out an axe from their inventory before cutting it off of them. Angel quickly pushed themselves up, yanking off any of the remaining webs left with a disgusted look. But eyes quickly went back to the motionless figure on the ground.

"Oh my god we killed them!" Angel gasped in horror. Babe's wide eyes remained on the body, holding in their breath, waiting for it to do something.

It took a long and drawn out minute before they began groaning in pain, eyes blinking open slowly. The two flinched back when they saw them and their gaze turned into one of confusion.

They asked them nervously, attempting to sit up, "What's going on, who are you two?" They both looked at one another completely stunned but when the spider hybrid fell back down, they moved to opposite sides of them to help them sit up.

"It's a long story…. I'm Angel and this is Babe. Can you tell us your name?"

"I'm Starlight," they answered, a shocked look on their face as they examined the two. Their eyes focusing better and the fatigue leaving their face. "Wait..holy shit! You're unempowered humans!"

"'Unempowered'? David uses that term a lot when referring to us." They said, looking to Babe who was just as shocked before turning back to Starlight, "You're from our world aren't you?"

"Um yeah?" They responded, looking even more confused.

Angel looked at their friend horrified. "We weren't the only ones to get trapped here."

"Trapped here?" Starlight questioned, "Ah shit, this again?"

"I'm sorry, 'again'? Is this like a normal thing for you?"

Babe shushed Angel before explaining to Starlight, "This is going to sound insane but we're kind of stuck in this video game. What's the last thing you remember before coming here?"

They rubbed their forehead with knitted brows. "My mind is all blurry, I-OH MY GOD!" They then screeched when they saw their arms. "What the hell am I?!" They threw themselves backwards as if to get away from their own body. All of their arms trembled while tears filled their many eyes.

The two panicked, reaching for them but they flinched away making them both stop.

Babe rapidly rummaged through their mind to find a way to calm them down. Finally they got an idea and gently told them, "Hey it's fine. I think this is temporary. Me and Angel had some changes to us and I'm guessing since there are only two main human characters in this game that it stuck you with the mobs. I'm sure when we get out that you'll go back to normal."

The hybrid looked up hesitantly at them, tears still streaming down their cheeks. "You really think so?"

Angel nodded, making eye contact with Babe. "Yeah, yeah! That makes a lot of sense actually. We became the main characters of the game but if others are getting stuck then they have to fit in somewhere. Once we leave we should return back to ourselves." Starlight wiped their cheeks, cringing at their arms but still looking much more hopeful than before.

Angel then continued, "And look on the bright side, you're kind of fucking cool like this. I mean you can shoot webs and climb on walls." They nodded a bit, looking down at themselves and not being able to stop the disgusted look.

Babe leaned forwards, gently taking one of their hands in their own. "We'll all get out of this, I promise. Everything will work out." They nodded again, this time with more determination.

Babe pushed themselves up and held out a hand to them, helping them up while Angel stuck out both hands and was helped up by the two. But Starlight then gasped while looking at Babe.

"Oh my god, your neck!" Angel looked over at their friend and cringed at the blood dripping from the wound on their neck.

Babe moved a hand up to cover it again and asked, "Is it that bad?"

Angel quickly shook their head. "No, no." They moved closer to them and took their hand gently off of it to examine it better. "Just some puncture wounds but the bleeding already slowed down, we just need to wrap it." Angel moved their hand down to tear off a long strip of fabric from the bottom of their shirt and fastened it around Babe's neck.

"I did that, didn't I?" Babe looked to them and nodded a bit. "I..I'm so sorry, I don't-"

Babe shook their head, wincing a bit when they moved it. "No, no you're fine. You were a bit messed up and clearly didn't have any control over yourself. I really don't blame you for this."

Starlight didn't look like they were convinced but Angel decided to step in instead. "Alright let's get a move on. It's definitely dark out by now and we need to get better geared to survive it." Then took out their pickaxe and another freshly lit torch before heading deeper into the cave. The two followed after.

It didn't take long for them to find enough ores to make armor and when they had enough to make a spare they settled at the end of one of the tunnels to begin smelting. Angel placed their furnaces and stuffed them with coal.

Starlight then asked as Babe began putting the ores into the furnace, "If we're stuck in a video game wouldn't the only way to get out is to finish it? Once it ends it should just kick us out right?"

Angel groaned, leaning back on the crafting table they were sitting on. "But that's the thing, there is no end to this game."

The spider hybrid's face dropped. "So there's really no way to beat it? I'm going to be stuck like this?"

Babe then interjected, "Well actually there is a way to beat the game." The two looked over at them. "By killing the ender dragon. 'Technically' it's not the actual end because you of course can keep playing afterward but it still counts as a way of beating the game. And the portal that opens when we beat the dragon might just send us home."

"But would that actually work though?"

Babe shrugged with a helpless sigh. "Have no idea but we might as well give it a shot. I mean what else are we going to do? No one even knows where we are and a video game is the last place anyone would look. We're on our own."

Chapter Text

"We'll figure this out, we may be on our own but we're not helpless. You two know this..'game' well right?" They gave Starlight a nod. "Good, so we can use your knowledge to our advantage to get us out of here."

Angel nodded more determined. "I like their confidence. Let's do this and show that dragon who's their uncle." Babe bit their lip with a shake of their head as they begin to craft armor.

"Okay so what exactly do we do? I can't imagine that we can just walk up to the dragon's den and bap it with an axe."

"Ugh I wish!" Angel groaned, "It's a whole thing. We got to get lava and use it to create a portal to another dimension where we then get blaze rods and ender pearls to make ender eyes. Which will then lead us to the portal to where the dragon is and we place those eyes in the frame and finally get to the boss fight. Which is on a floating island in the middle of the literal void. And holy shit! We're going to fight a dragon on a floating island in the middle of the void!" Angel's eyes widened with a startled realization. Starlight looked just as panicked as well, if not more.

Babe tossed over Angel their armor, ignoring the dread that was filling their own stomach as they attempted to reassure the two. "I know it sounds like a lot but we've played this game for years and beat the dragon countless times. And I know, we'll actually be experiencing it this time which does sound scary. But Starlight has a point, we have the upper hand by knowing how this game works and the best ways to avoid most danger in it and get home safely."

"'Most danger'? Like what?"

"Well we know to not go out at dark because of hostile mobs, use boats to cross any deep water because of drowned zombies. We'll be sure to sleep so there won't be flying demons in the sky. Oh! And the new one that was just added, the deep dark which holds the Warden."

Angel chimed in, "I'm telling you right now, if we run into the Warden I'm just offing myself on the spot."

Starlight winced. "That bad?"

"That mother fucker gives me literal nightmares just by playing the game, I can't even imagine what it's actually like close up."

Babe sarcastically said, glad the tension that had been in the air previously was gone, "Strange, I thought you were into the big tall buff kind."

"Yeah, big tall buff people who don't sonic boom me from half a mile away and ruin a two year hardcore world that I had just updated the night previously to let it in," Angel pouted with a furrowed brow.

Starlight questioned, "Where is the 'deep dark' usually?"

"You got to go digging deep for it so after this we shouldn't have any reason to go looking in caves anymore." Babe put the furnace and crafting table back into their inventory, taking their sword back out and holding a torch in the other hand.

Angel continued, "And speaking of caves, it doesn't look like this one goes much further so I doubt there's any lava in here. We should head to the surface and try our luck up there instead because I don't plan on spending hours strip mining just to try and find one."

Babe nodded in agreement. "We'll need more food too, our best bet is finding a village cause I'm not going into that hellscape without at least a stack and a half of something edible." They then paused and looked over to Starlight. "Do you think you'll be able to eat bread by the way?"

Their eyes shifted to the side as they thought before shrugging. "I think so, I'm not sure."

"Guess we'll have to test what heals you up," Angel said, pulling out their axe and pointing it towards the direction of the cave opening. "Now onwards!" they declared before marching forwards.

"They have surprisingly a lot of energy for someone who's in this kind of situation."

Babe smiled, with a short laugh and joked, "Trust me, they can get a lot worse than this, I'd say they're pretty tame at the moment." Starlight grinned back before following them.

The sun had just begun to rise and any hostile mobs that had originally been out there were now just small piles of bones, arrows, and rotten flesh. Starlight blocked the sun rays from their eyes, giving them a moment to adjust before they could fully see their environment.

"Wow," they gasped, eyes scanning everything around them. "It's really pretty and the air's so clean." They took a step forward to admire it more when a sizzling then caught their attention and their head snapped towards it.

A green, leafy creature began flashing white in front of them and before they could yell, it then turned into a pile of grey dust before them. Angel stood in its spot with their axe drawn out and a panicked expression on their face.

"What the hell was that?!"

"A creeper, they like to explode their prey," Angel explained, slightly out of breath. "I'm surprised it went after you though, you're part spider."

Babe thought out loud, "Could be because of what we did with that amethyst. And now they're no longer considered a hostile mob." Starlight crossed their arms over their chest, looking down at their many limbs as if just realizing they were there again. An uncomfortable expression crossed their face as they looked around, much more on edge.

"Let's get going, we only have so much daylight," Angel insisted, placing a hand on Starlight's shoulder in comfort and leading them along.

They walked through the plains, passed through a savanna and a small desert that had more creepers in it then cactus. Before finally reaching a large swamp that they attempted going around but quickly realized it would be impossible before nightfall.

They trudged forwards slowly, walking through the shallow green waters and having to yank their legs up with each step after it got caught in the mud. Babe took the front, always having the best luck with finding villages as Angel proclaimed. While Starlight was right behind them, looking anxiously around as if anticipating something.

Angel took the rear, grumbling the entire way with enough swears that would've gotten them a mouth full of soap even at their grown age. They were just grateful they hadn't run into many slimes, other than small ones that just bumped into their ankles and could be nudged away with ease.

Babe then asked from ahead, "How you doing back there hon?"

Angel bitterly responded, "Absolutely wonderful, I'm so glad that swamps were added into the game. They add so much color and life to minecr-fuck my shoe!" They then shouted, unable to yank their foot out from the mud. The two ahead stopped and turned around, heading back to them.

"This is so gross," they whined, grabbing onto Babe who rolled their eyes.

"Such a baby," they muttered, making Angel gasp but was ignored by them continuing, "Grab their other arm, we'll pull them on the count of three." Starlight grabbed onto their other arm while Babe got a better grip on the one that was holding them.

They counted, "Okay, one two three!" The two yanked and Angel went flying into them, knocking them both down into the muddy waters. Starlight groaned while Babe had their mouth tightly closed to avoid any of the water getting into it.

Angel winced, sitting up and giving an apologetic look to the two. "Sorry." They stood back up, helping the others back up who began trying to wipe the mud and sea grass off of them. Angel pulled some out of their hair and off their clothes.

But a high pitched laugh then sounded off behind them and before they knew it a green potion was thrown at their feet and shattered against Babe's leg, causing them to yelp. Green particles began to swirl around them and they instantly began to feel its effects.

Angel dropped to their knees, water splashing up as they groaned in pain while Babe was coughing roughly, doing their best to remain upright but eventually falling to one knee and clutching their abdomen. Starlight stood there unaffected by it and looked at the two concerned before then spotting their attacker.

They stood not too far off and watched them with a sly smirk underneath a pitch black witch hat. They wore a dark green tunic and dark brown pants with a purple cloak that trailed in the water.

Angel cried out in pain, "Starlight, distract them!"

"How?!" They yelled back in a panic as the witch began to pull out another potion to most likely finish them off.

"Web them, I don't care, just do something!" The spider hybrid looked frantically around before seeing a slime and their eyes lit up. They shot out a web to latch onto the small thing and swung it at the witch, hitting them head on and covering their sight with the creature.

Angel let out a breath of relief when the poison effect wore off and immediately began eating apples to start to heal up. Babe moved to their feet and grabbed at Angel to help move them out of the radius of any other potions. They were handed some apples in gratitude.

Starlight followed after them as they hid behind a tree on one of the small patches of land. "What do we do?!" They asked hurriedly.

"Don't die?" Angel offered, getting a hiss from them which had them all pause in shock for a moment.

"Sorry," they quickly whispered.

Babe brushed them off. "They could be another person that was trapped here, we can't just leave."

Angel argued, "They can finish us off with just two potions if we're not careful though."

"The potions didn't hurt me though," Starlight then pointed out.

"Right! Cause you're technically a spider, you-" Another laugh then sounded from behind Angel and they spun around coming face to face with the witch.

They shouted, throwing themselves backwards in Starlight who barely caught them in time. They shot out another web to a further tree and held onto Angel as they yanked themselves to it.

Babe's eyes then widened before they shouted to the others, "The dot! It's on their nose!" Then bolted as another splash potion was tossed their way and barely made it out of its proximity.

Angel laughed briefly, still in the spider hybrid's arms. "That's funny." Starlight looked down at them confused. They looked up as they explained, "Because they're a witch and in the actual game the witch has a wart on their nose and-nevermind it's really not that important." They pulled away from them, standing up straight and taking out the amethyst once again.

"Draw their fire/attention while me and Babe try to get close. They shouldn't be able to hurt you but be careful." They got a nod and Angel hurried away while Starlight shot a web at the witch, latching onto their arm and yanking hard.

They got knocked off their feet and into the water with a large splash. Meanwhile Angel and Babe both took the chance to go running for them but before either could reach the witch had pushed themselves back up. They pulled out another poison potion and slammed it on the ground, hitting the two with its effects and themselves too.

But then pulled out a healing potion and chugged it before pushing themselves back to their feet, ignoring the remaining poison effects on them. They glared at the two on the ground, a cruel smile crossing their lips as they began to reach into their robe again.

But Starlight then shot out some webs from their hands, managing to pin their arm to a tree. "I got them!" They shouted. Catching Babe's attention who winced painfully but forced themselves up and went lunging for the other arm. Angel screamed out in pain but shot upwards and hurried to them, quickly using the amethyst on the small void on their face.

And just like before, a lightning storm shot throughout their body, closing in on the mark and sealing it up with a crackle. They then fell limp, only being held up by Babe and the webbing. Angel began tearing off the webbing while Starlight kept their distance.

"Are you sure that's safe?" The spider hybrid questioned, warily eyeing the witch.

Babe answered as they helped lay the newcomer down on a patch of land, "We did the same for you. So unless they're some major asshole back in our world I think we'll be fine." They then held out a hand, "Angel give me some food, I'm half a heart," they groaned in pain and was passed over several more apples.

Angel bit into the last apples they had before saying, "Annnd, we're out. No one else get hurt or you're stuck with the zombie flesh."

Before anyone could respond the witch then began waking up. Their eyes slowly opened and their face contorted in pain as they immediately began trying to sit up. The two began helping them up, letting them rest their back on the tree they had been previously stuck to.

Babe assured them gently, "Hey you're alright, nothing should be broken or bleeding. Just a bit sore. I'm Babe, this is Angel and that's Starlight. Can you tell us your name?"

"My name's Cutie…where am-what am I wearing?" They questioned, eyes blinking rapidly as they grabbed their clothes. "Oh these colors are so ugly- oh wow that's not the only thing that's ugly." Cringing when they caught sight of Starlight who gaped at them.

"Well shit I guess they were a major asshole back in our world," Angel muttered.

"And continuing with the topic of ugly, all blue isn't really the fit that you think it is." Angel stared at them silently with a hard look before moving their gaze over to Babe.

"I can get away with murder in here right?"

Babe swatted their hand at them. "Stop, no, all of you please stop. Shut up." Everyone went quiet instantly. "This is not the time for any of this bullshit right now. We are stuck in this together and we have to work together if we want to get out of here. Arguing isn't going to do anything but get us killed faster."

"'Killed faster'? 'Get out of here'? Where the hell are we?" Cutie glared at them.

They took in a breath before explaining, "To put it as simple as I can, we're stuck in a video game and have all been given a 'role' in it. You are a witch, they're a spider and we're the two human characters in it. And we think the way to get out of here is by beating the game and we could really use your help, especially with your abilities."

Cutie stared at them silently, eyebrow furrowed and mouth opening and closing as they tried to process it. They took a moment before finally saying, "That's..that's a lot. Holy-I-What?! A video game?!"

"I know, I know. It's a lot. We have no idea how this is really possible either, we're in the same boat as you. But we genuinely believe that the best way to get out of here is by beating the game, and luckily Angel and I have experience on how this game runs. We can get you out of here safely I promise." Their emotions running wild on their face, eyes scanning Babe's face before nodding a bit.

Angel then looked up, eyes widening before they looked around anxiously. "Uh guys, can we talk more about this while we walk? It's getting dark way too fast and I don't feel like getting my ass handed to me by ten creepers."

Cutie questioned with concern, "Creepers?"

"We'll explain on the way, but they're right. We should keep going."

They nodded slowly, still looking extremely hesitant and confused. "Where are you headed to?"

"The nether, but we're going to need a lot of food to survive that hellscape."

Cutie's eyebrows scrunched together as they thought. "You need food? I think I know where a village is. It might have a lot of food, I can't remember. My memory's really hazy right now but I think I can lead the way."

The two humans looked at each other and Angel shrugged. "Food or not, we'll need safety during nightfall. Lead the way Elphaba."

Chapter Text

It was a short walk as they were led through a forest and eventually coming to a small village. It was full of life with the last rays of light shining on it from over the horizon and the villagers were going around speaking to one another and working.

But they were only speaking in villic. And looked almost human too but it was just off enough that it raised the hairs on Babe's and Angel's arms. They kept looking at the group but anytime they got close they would scurry away.

Angel pouted to shake off the eerie feeling, "Damn I was hoping that they would be able to talk for once."

Starlight looked at them confused and replied, "They are though?" The two looked at Starlight for a moment before moving over to Cutie who looked at them both confused.

"Can you not hear them?"

Angel shook their head. "No, they're just talking in hmms. Wait you can? What are they saying?" Eyes lighting up eagerly.

Starlight looked over to them for a moment before answering, "They're not a fan of newcomers but they're too afraid to do anything and would rather not engage."

Babe winced. "Damn, they're afraid of us? I kinda feel bad now for all those villager farms I made."

Angel looked off in the distance in thought. "I've tortured so many." Cutie and Starlight gave the two a look before meeting eyes and deciding to move on.

"We're in the village now, did you want to get their food now or in the morning?" Starlight questioned.

"Let's wait till morning, better not to risk anything, even in a well lit area. We'll need to make some beds first. You still got leftover iron, Babe?" They nodded and quickly made some shears before heading over to the sheep pen. "Cool now, should we borrow someone's house to sleep in or sleep under the stars?"

Cutie scoffed slightly, "I hate camping, we're sleeping in that house." They nodded towards it, making the two turn to a tower connected to a house.

"You want to crash a church?"

"Jesus is forgiving," Cutie retorted before heading to it and opening the door. The priest villager immediately booked it to a different house before they could even fully step inside.

Cutie took off their hat throwing it on the steps before sitting down next to it. Starlight took a seat by the wall to look out the window as mobs began to spawn further into the trees. Angel kept the door open and their head stuck out to keep an eye on their friend who was just hurrying back.

Babe moved inside letting them close and block the door. "Got lots of wool, you got enough wood?" Angel smirked but was quickly cut off, "No dick jokes. I'm tired."

They pouted but answered as they set down a crafting table, "Yeah I should have enough, here you go." Babe quickly put together four beds and began setting them down.

Angel called out, "I call the white bed."

"They're all white."

"That's the joke."

"Goodnight everyone," Babe interrupted, shooting their friend a look before getting into their own bed.

"No one appreciates comedy anymore," Angel whined as they fell face first into theirs.

Starlight blew out the torches before choosing the last bed there was and whispering, "Goodnight." They got a chorus of whispers back before it went silent with only hisses, groans, and the rattle of bones coming from outside the door.

The next day the group was woken up to sunlight on their face and the creatures outside being burned alive. Angel groaned loudly, rolling over to bury their face while the others began getting up. Babe sat up on their bed and nudged Angel with their foot. But when they only got an annoyed groan they pushed harder to knock them to the floor.

Curses were shot at them while Starlight lowly laughed and Cutie snorted.

"Everyone here's a bully and I hate you all," Angel complained with a scowl.

Babe couldn't help but smile. "Alright, let's split and gather as many hay bales and vegetables as we can then meet back up here to make the food." They took down the wood that covered the door while Cutie put their hat back on and Starlight helped Angel gather the beds.

Starlight asked as they stepped outside, "What about meat? Can't we kill some of the animals for food?"

"I mean.." Angel winced. "I've never killed an animal back home and I'm too much of a wimp to do it here. I'll stick to hay bales!" Then scurried off.

"I'm with Angel on this one, I was hoping we can get through this with as little death as possible. If you want to you can and I can lend you a furnace but I'm not comfortable killing them." Then turned heading off to one of the small farms.

Starlight asked as they watched them walk off, "The animals aren't real are they?"

Cutie rolled their eyes, shaking their head. "No, those two are dramatic. If we're stuck in a video game then everything in here is nothing more than pixels and code." They then paused, looking through the pockets of their robe before asking, "I don't suppose they gave you a knife or anything."

They winced. "That should've been something I asked for."

The other sighed as they took out several potions. "Guess we'll have to see how fast a potion can kill them then." Turning towards the pen of sheep with Starlight following behind.

They stopped just outside of it and Cutie pulled out several red potions. They hesitated for a moment as they drew their arm back but proceeded to toss them all into the middle of the pen. The two froze as the sheep cried out in pain simultaneously before falling to the ground in a white puff, leaving only behind their wool and meat. They looked at one another unsure of what to say.

Starlight finally broke the silence. "Let's say it was programmed into the game and we didn't just painfully and ruthlessly slaughter them?"

"Agreed, agreed," Cutie replied, shaking their head before hopping over the fence to pick everything up.

Angel and Babe were already back at the house with several furnaces set up when the two arrived with armfuls of mutton and wool.

Angel excitedly hopped off one of them, putting out their hands to take the wool off of them. "Yay! This should help us with the ender dragon."

Cutie paused as they handed over the meat to Babe to cook. "'Ender dragon'? That's the 'boss' of the game right? How will a bed help with it?"

"Well you know how I told you yesterday that the last fight takes place in a separate realm? Well beds will explode in it and the dragon takes a lot of damage from it."

Babe added in, "And they're much easier to obtain then tnt."

Starlight questioned, "That sounds really dangerous. Exploding beds? I feel like I'd die from it before a dragon will."

"It can be risky but if you know what you're doing then you shouldn't get hurt from it. In the actual game hiding behind a block would keep you safe but we'll have to be careful. Who knows if that mechanic applies here."

Babe then broke the furnaces and passed out the cooked food. "And that's why it'll be a last resort. We can use the wool to make string to make bows. Long range is our best bet on fighting it."

"Are we going to have enough arrows?" Cutie asked, finishing their mutton and regaining their health and hunger.

"We'll get those from the nether, piglin trades are random but one of them is arrows and usually those drop more commonly than pearls." Babe wiped their mouth, their health now full again. They looked over to Angel who gave them a thumbs up with a nod. "Let's get going, finding a lava pool could take us minutes to days."

Angel groaned loudly. "I swear if I have to spend another week just wandering aimlessly I'm going to scream loud enough that David will hear me from across dimensions."

Their friend just rolled their eyes and nodded towards the ocean just peeking out from past the trees. "Let's stick to the beach for now and then when the area gets more open we'll head inland more."

"But wouldn't we have better luck finding lava further from water?" Cutie asked, as they walked from the village and through the forest.

"Maybe, but the forest is too dense right now and way too many mobs can hide in here. It wouldn't be safe. We'll already be in a lot of danger going into the nether, we shouldn't risk taking any unnecessary damage," Babe answered as they stepped out onto the sand.

They could see several stand alone hills in the water along with tons of sea life that were near the surface. It seemed to have no end and only the ocean went on to the horizon.

Angel stared longingly at the water, "Can we hold off on the adventure, I want to swim, I feel so gross right now." Babe grabbed their arm as they attempted to walk to the water.

"Sorry but no. You can swim when we get back home." They groaned but let their friend tug them along just as a bolt of lightning then struck down where the two were once standing.

Angel shrieked, flinging themselves backwards onto the sand dragging Babe along with them. Starlight hissed instinctively as they backed away while Cutie held out a potion at the ready.

They all looked in different directions, trying to spot their attacker with no luck. The air was tense as the two got up, moving over to the others quickly.

"Uhh you think it's possible that it was just a freak of nature kind of thing?" Angel suggested. But their hope was instantly crushed when the water began rippling.

A figure slowly emerged from the depths. Their brown clothes drenched from what looked to be years submerged in saltwater. They were tattered and clung to the person's tinted blue skin.

"Anyone recognize them?" Angel asked the group.

Starlight replied, "No but they have to be from our world, right? Is there that void dot thing on them?"

"Not that I see yet," Babe announced, "But be careful, lightning in this game is super deadly and if you're unlucky it can one shot you."

Another bolt of lightning went shooting down making them all split to dodge it. The drowned was remaining in the water, hunched in an animalistic way. They gurgled in anger when no one had been hit. Raising their trident once again to reveal skin and the dot on their waist.

Starlight shouted immediately at the sight of it, "It's on their waist!"

Babe eyes quickly shifted towards it. "Good eye," they replied, grabbing Starlight's arm as they moved out of the way of another bolt.

"I think I can web their trident and get it away from them."

Babe shook their head. "No, too risky. Lightning can shoot through it and hit you before you can get let go."

"What do we do then?"

"We have to get the trident away from them," Cutie then told Angel, body completely tense and eyes refusing to leave the drowned. The drowned had their attention on the other two at the moment giving them time to plan.

"How you want to do that, ask them nicely for it? 'Oh please sir, just a crumb of your trident is all I need'," Angel mocked, getting a death glare in return but then a look crossed their face.

"That won't work but maybe using some bait would. Said you wanted to swim right?" They then grabbed Angel and tossed them into the water, instantly grabbing the drowned's attention.

They screamed out in shock resulting in water filling up their lungs and causing them to splash around as they tried to swim up to break the surface. They coughed out water, head whipping around to see the prongs of the trident just inches away from their face. The hybrid's lip was pulled back in a snarl as lightning began to crackle on their weapon.

Angel attempted to swim backwards, blood running cold. They shook their head eyes pleading to the hybrid who just looked back mercilessly.

But before they could be hit, a web then latched on to the trident and it was yanked out of their grip.

They yelled out in surprise eyes turning to Starlight who collapsed in pain, gasping desperately for air as electricity shot through their web and through their body.

Angel reached for their crystal, thankful it didn't fall out of their pocket and went lunging for them. But before it could make contact a hand was wrapped around their throat and hot breath on their face. They looked up to see them glaring down, lips pulled back to show a row of piranha like teeth.

Before they could call out for help the two went below the surface and into the depths. Their hands instinctively went up to their throat, letting go of the crystal in favor of trying to rip the hand away. But in a useless attempt nothing seemed to move it. Their eyes grew blurry, barely able to make out the other's features anymore.

But before things could go black bright lights then began shooting through the drowned's skin and closed the void with a muffled crackle. The grip on their throat was gone and arms went around their waist, pulling them up to the surface.

Angel once again coughed out water, greedily gasping for air as they were pulled to the shore. They were laid down just as a bottle met their lips and forced a liquid down their throat. The pain from their body quickly vanished and their eyes became clear again.

"It's okay, you're okay, I got you," Babe assured them, hugging them tightly. Angel wrapped their arms around them, eyes looking behind to see the drowned still halfway in the water but knocked out. Cutie stood by Starlight with Babe's and Angel's crystals in one hand and a healing potion in the other that they passed over.

A blinding hot anger then shot through them as they slowly began to get up with the help of their friend. Eyes locked onto Cutie who looked away from the spider hybrid chugging down the potion.

"Fuck you!" They shouted with tears in their eyes as they stormed over and shoved the witch harshly to the ground. They hit it with a groan. Babe quickly grabbed onto Angel, pulling them away before they could do any more damage.

"Fuck you fuck you fuck you!" They screamed over and over, hands shaking in rage.

Cutie brushed the sand from their clothes as they stood up. "I get it, I'm an asshole but we needed to do something."

"'Do something'?! You almost got not only me but Starlight killed!"

"And I'm sorry about that but we didn't exactly have time to sit around and figure out a better plan. I want to get home as soon as I can just like the rest of you."

"Well we can't get home if you actively try to kill us!"

Starlight then moved in between them and snapped, "Both of you shut up!" It shocked the two into silence. "This isn't my first world I've been stuck in and arguing and fighting won't get us anywhere, trust me I know. We only have each other and clearly we need each other. Me and you," they turned to Cutie, "have no idea about anything in this world. And you two," looking at the others, "may know this world but have no abilities or powers like us and only have your swords and axes to protect yourselves with."

"So if we want to make it out of here we work together, and if it means we stay here awhile longer," glaring eyes shift to Cutie's avoiding gaze as they continued, "Then we stay here awhile longer, clear?"

Cutie clenched their jaw for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh, finally meeting their gaze, "Crystal."

Before anyone could speak a pained groan came from the figure in the water.

Babe looked at Angel who sighed, giving them a nod as they let them go. They gave a small squeeze on their friend's shoulder before going over to the hybrid as they began waking up. The two crouched on opposite sides while the others hung a bit back to give them space.

Slowly they blinked their eyes open, spitting out salt water as they gained consciousness.

"The fuck?" They mumbled, blinking their eyes rapidly as they tried to gain sense of their surroundings.

"Hey you good now? Less murdery? No more lightning?" Babe hit Angel over the head with a glare. They yelped and shot them a look back.

"What's your name hon?" Babe asked gently.

They rubbed their head before looking up at the other's crouched figure and answered, "You can call me Lovely. Where are we?"

Angel explained, "It's complicated but in the simplest terms we're in some sort of minecraft dimension."

"...Minecraft? Like the children's game?"

Angel huffed, standing back up. "The audacity."

Babe warned with a glare, "Angel."

"I'm about to start another fight."

Starlight placed a hand on their shoulder, pulling them back a bit to give them room. "Let's let them talk while we heal you up, Cutie can you help?" They nodded and moved over to them, ignoring Angel's glare.

When the three moved a bit away Babe let out breath. "This is probably really confusing-"

"Ya think?" Lovely scoffed, rubbing their forehead as they pushed themselves up with their other hand. Then pausing when they got a better look at their skin. "What the hell?" They looked down seeing their clothes and pieces of flesh missing that showed bone underneath. Quickly their face turned into panic.

"I know I know! Let me explain-"

"Explain?! I'm missing skin! I look like the fucking blueberry girl from Willy Wonka! IS THAT MY RIB?!" They screamed, frantically looking at their arms and body. Lifting their shirt up to reveal part of their ribcage showing.

"You're fine, you're fine!" Babe attempted to reassure them.

"The fuck do you mean 'I'm fine' my fuCKING BONES ARE SHOWING-!"

"But they don't hurt right?" They interrupted

They snapped back, "No they don't h-" then paused, a realization crossing their face. "Oh my god." They gasped, slowly touching their ribs and eyes widening when they could grab onto it. "Oh my god, oh my god, why doesn't it-Am I dead?"

Babe frantically shook their head. "No, no..well kind of. More like the undead, just let me explain please." They waited a moment to see if they would start panicking again but luckily they just stared at them wide eyed. "Thank you, you're a drowned which means like a zombie but underwater. We have no idea why we're here or why we seem to have mutated with this world. But we're trying to get home right now and believe that it'll reverse any of the changes. Whatever happened to you is a part of this game and when we leave it should leave it behind."

It seemed to have calmed them down some. "So I'm not stuck like this?"

They shook their head gently this time. "No, I promise you'll be fine." They sighed, looking at Babe like they held the world in their hands.

"We'll all be fine," Angel then added in, trident in hand as they headed over to the two. "I mean unless you try to smite us again then we'll probably be fine," They teased handing over the weapon and catching Lovely off guard. They hesitantly reached out for it, looking up to them before taking it.

They got up to their feet, examining it before beginning to take a step out of the water when Angel shot out their hands to stop them.

"Careful!" They shouted, causing them to freeze looking down as if they were to step on something. "You can't leave water, you'll burn."

They instantly took a step back. "I'll what?!"

Babe muttered, as they saw their panic come back again, "God dammit it Angel." Then began explaining, "Drowned are water creatures and need to stay in the water to survive. As long as you at least have even one foot in it, or the sun isn't out then you'll be fine."

"Well this just got harder then if they can't leave water," Cutie snipped.

"Let's just hope we find it near the shore then."

"What are you looking for?"

"Lava," Babe replied, "We'll need it to go to the nether which will help us get out of here."

"Lava?" Lovely asked, "How much do you need?"

"Not too much, just a small pool of it."

They nodded a bit as they thought with furrowed brows. "It's weird but I have some memory of this place and I might know where some is actually, can you all swim?" The group looked at each other a bit confused but nodded. "Good, it won't be too far of a swim come on." They turned and began heading into the water with the rest following behind.

Underneath the waves laid a large coral reef with tropical fish all moving around it rapidly. Lovely swam by it unbothered while the others kept getting entranced by the sight but quickly followed when they shouted back and waved them forwards.

They were led to a mountain in the middle of the ocean with a large cave entrance near the bottom of the sea. Quickly swimming through it and popping up into an air pocket not too long after. Inside was a small pool of lava just a few feet away from them. It lit up the cave brightly and heated them up from the cold water.

"This'll be enough?"

Babe nodded. "It's perfect." Taking a step forwards but was blocked by Angel who had held out an arm to them as they took out a bucket.

"Step back, I can do the speedrun thing."

"Speedrun thing?" Cutie questioned.

They rolled their eyes as their friend began to make the portal. "It's just building the portal using only the bucket. Angel's real proud that they can do this."

"Done!" They then exclaimed, making the group look back at them and the finished frame of the portal. "Now Babe can you do the honors of lighting it?"

"I don't have a lighter."

"...The fuck do you mean you don't have one?"

"I forgot to pick up some flint."

"How did you- you knew we were going to need a lighter so why wouldn't you grab some?"

Babe argued back, crossing their arms over their chest, "Well why didn't you?" Lovely sighed deeply before jabbing the end of their trident on the ground with a loud crackle of electricity. The two went silent, turning as they pointed the prongs at the portal and a bolt of lightning shot out and hit the frame.

It lit up purple and a strange noise began to emerge from it. Purple particles floated from it and disappeared into the air.

Angel whispered to Babe, "Is it weird if I'm kind of turned on by that."

They got their arm pinched. "You have a mate," they hissed back.

"Sharing is caring." They pouted while rubbing their arm.

Starlight interrupted by taking a step closer to the portal. "This'll take us to the nether?"

"Yep, and it might be a bit of a walk to find what we're searching for so hopefully us being near the bottom of the ocean won't put us in some annoying place."

Lovely questioned, "Anything more we should know about this place?"

Angel explained, "Lots of lava, fire, fire monsters, and well more fire."

"Great, so we're walking right into the gates of hell," they grumbled before heading to the portal but was stopped by Angel with wide eyes.

They questioned with furrowed brows, "What are you doing?"

"You can't come with us." Angel frantically shook their head.

"Why-oh!" Babe said, smacking their forehead with their palm. "They're a drowned, they need water to survive. And the nether evaporates any that's in it."

Angel nodded and continued, "You'll dry up faster than a fish in a dryer."

"Weird phrasing," Babe muttered to themselves.

Lovely winced a bit but sighed and nodded. "Alright, I'll wait out here then. I'll see if there's anyone else that's from our world."

"Alright, stay safe. Remember to stay in the water and don't do drugs."

Lovely couldn't help the small smile that formed. "I'll see you soon."

The four turned back to the portal. A hand then slid into Angel's and they turned their head to see Babe looking at them.

"We can do this." Angel gave them a nod and a halfhearted smile then turned their focus back again. Taking in a long breath of the salty air before stepping through the portal with Babe and the rest in tow.