Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Two figures could be seen arguing in a meeting room. One, sitting on a throne made of Endstone, with long black hair and an elegant dress, the other, standing in front of the throne, in a suit of armour. 

“But my queen, with your power we could do so much more if we devoted more attention to the Overworld, even just a small amount.” The one in the armour said.

“And how, exactly, Perix, do you propose we do that? We have been in a stalemate for years. If we were to change tactics now Fable would see that as an Okay to attack.”

“My Queen, if you could just give me-” Perix was interrupted in their plea, as an Ender guard teleported in. 

“My Queen, a lost Overworlder has been found wandering the central isle.” They reported.

With a cold disregard, the Queen, Enderian replied “Dispose of them.”

“He claims not to mean harm. He says he was sent to see you.”

“By whom?”

“He did not say.”

“Bring him to me.” The queen said. The guard promptly teleported out, and in a couple seconds they returned with the prisoner held by the arms between them and another guard. The intruder was frantically looking around the room in confusion. 

“Leave us” Enderian promptly demanded, and the two guards swiftly followed.

“My guards say you were sent for me. Fable is truly foolish if he thinks one of his measly Overworlders has any power here.” Enderian said, with beginning anger.

“I- I’m sorry, but I don’t know who that is.” The intruder replied.

“You take me for a fool? That you are not some sorry attempt at a spy sent here.” Enderian mockingly laughed. She looked into the mind of the intruder. Who did they think they were, trying to lie to the Goddess of Mind.

As she looked, she saw that they were telling the truth.

“You… You’re not lying.” Enderian said disbelievingly. “Who, other than my brother, would send an Overworlder here, into my Realm?”

“I- Please, I don’t know anything about a Fable, or e- even much about where we are. I- I was told you could help me.” 

“Help you? What in the Realms made you think I would help you ?”

"Please! Haven’t you- Haven’t you ever loved someone? So much that you would do anything for them? I need to get my friend back- she’s the only one I have” The Overworlder replied desperately.

The phrasing struck a nerve in the Goddess. She had, but she was not about to dwell on those feelings any time soon. Isla had long been a lost cause. Sternly, she replied, “I cannot do anything for the petty minds of Overworlders.”

“No I- she died- she died and it’s my fault- and they said that you could help me get her back and- …”

“Who gave you that idea?”

“Soraza. She said you’re the only one who-” The intruder was interrupted as Enderian teleported right beside him.

“Soraza is dead! And you dare drag her name into your lies?”

“I’m not lying, I wouldn’t lie about something like this. I made a deal. She told me you’re the only one that can access Purgatory.”

“How did you learn this?”

The Overworlder looked down, then up, and cautiously replied, “I… Don’t remember.”

“Liar!” Shouted Enderian, as she began using her powers on the Overworlder, digging deeper into his mind than the passing thoughts she usually used. The powers clearly hurt the Overworlder, but Enderian just dug deeper, trying to see who had given the intruder this preposterous information. 

“Ho- What have you done? What sort of Overworld plot is this?”

“I don’t know, I don't understand!”

Teleporting back to her throne, and her Warden, Enderian said “If Fable thinks some kind of barricade will trick me into believing your little lies, then you can suffer for it.”

As she finished her statement, the two guards returned, teleporting right between the intruder. 

“Wait, I’m not-”

“Take him to the prison.” She said, and then directed to Perix, “It looks like you have a new guest.”

As she said that, Perix went over to the new prisoner, and the two guards grabbed a hold of him, to stop him escaping. 

“Please I just want to help my-” 

“Let me know, if you feel like telling the truth, Caspian.” Enderian said, and with that he got teleported away along with Perix and the two guards to his new prison cell. 

Just before the event in the meeting room, in another place in the castle, a person was working in the Alchemy Lab. 

Sherbert, the so-called ‘Prince’ of the realm, was experimenting with new potions. Enderian was at a meeting with Perix, so neither of them were there to supervise, not that they really needed supervision, but this specific potion was something they had tried to create for a while. It was Perix’ project originally, trying to see how to create a potion to slow down the mind. She never explained what she needed it for, and any time Sherbert tried to ask, the question got redirected. But she had had trouble with the potion for a while, nothing worked. 

So she had left Sherbert to continue the experiment. They were the resident potion master, having mastered the art and understanding of brewing at an early age. Over the years they had invented a bunch of new potions that no one had thought of before, such as their potion of Haste and the potion of Blindness, along with a handful of others. Perix had been sure that if anyone were to discover the recipe for the potion, it would be Sherbert. 

So while Sherbert’s caretakers were in a meeting together- something about some concerns Perix had had or whatever -Sherbert was experimenting with various slowness inducing ingredients. So far, they had ruled out the actual Slowness potion as a base. It seemed the sugar and fermented spider’s eye variants only affected the body, and that was not what Perix had been looking for. After that, they moved on from using water bases entirely, water just wasn’t susceptible enough for multiple ingredients. Its bonds were typically only strong enough to combine one ingredient, this seemed to be needing more. 

So, they had moved onto scoria. The lava-based tonics had more bonds for the ingredients to latch onto. So far, they had tried the basic slowness recipe, without much luck, as well as experiments with honey. Honey seemed to have the most promising results, creating the slowness required, but going beyond just the speed inversal of a normal slowness potion. Sherbert had tried the original potion, and gotten extremely woozy from it, not because it was particularly dizzying, but because it got much harder to think or do anything. 

The honey did slow down the brain functions as they had suspected, but it also affected the body in peculiar ways. They felt some form of resistance in their body, like the body felt the weakness and made up for it with some kind of resistance, tensing up so outwards “attacks” weren’t felt as much. They also seemed to have acquired Slow Falling. The body itself wasn’t slower, per se. It moved at a normal speed, but it was as if the body was gliding down honey blocks. Not slow, but the descent was decreased, like the fall was resisted. 

That was an interesting find! As soon as the tonic’s effects wore off, Sherbert wrote down their findings. This could be what Aunt Perix was looking for! They hadn’t fully explained what they were hoping to achieve exactly but this seemed close enough from what Sherbert could gather!

Gathering up the remaining two potions, Sherbert ran down the halls, using their specially grown chorus fruits to teleport between the rooms without doors. Sometimes, being the only person in the palace who couldn’t teleport at will got annoying. But they also understood that getting doorways installed to every room in the palace, maybe even beyond it, was too much for just one person, it also helped with keeping baby Sherbert out of rooms they weren’t supposed to be in. Certain wings had them, the newer sections and those that had gotten major renovations over the years, as well as the living quarters where Sherbert and their family’s rooms were. Over the years, Sherbert had even gotten their own wing of the Palace to do with as they pleased. 

In order to still let Sherbert traverse their home and Realm, the royal scientists had been tasked with growing chorus fruits that were more reliable in their teleportation. After a couple years, around the time Sherbert had been eight or so, they had been successful, and ever since then Sherbert had had a steady supply of them for moving around their home. 

Soon, they reached the hall leading to the meeting room. Sherbert slowed down, and as they got closer, they heard talking. Enderian and Perix. They were about to announce their arrival when they heard the tone Enderian was speaking in. She was mad, or at the very least frustrated, and that was never a good sign to interrupt. 

Perix tried to say something but was interrupted by a guard. Now Sherbert was really not trying to get caught. They hid by the bend in the hallway, they could look down and kind of see what was going on in the room, but anyone inside would have trouble spotting them. 

As they eavesdropped, they heard the news about an Overworlder intruding. At first, Sherbert felt just as mad as Enderian had felt. How dare an Overworlder come here, to try and spy on them, what was Fable doing? But then… Then they heard the fear, and the confusion, in the Overworlder’s voice. He seemed genuinely scared and confused, no ill intent. He seemed to just want help with his friend. Privately, Sherbert thought Enderian was being too harsh on the guy, but they would never mention that to anyone. Any time they seemed to show sympathy, or even interest, towards anything from the Overworld, Enderian got cross. She didn’t tolerate any inclination toward the Realm that started the War and caused all sorts of problems for the End. 

For the most part, Sherbert agreed, but sometimes… They felt a kind of longing, a kinship toward the Overworld. Sherbert didn’t like that feeling. They knew how much trouble the Overworld had caused, and how horrible a person Fable had been. They knew those feelings probably were because they were Fable’s child, but they still didn’t like it. Sherbert hated their father and refused to acknowledge their familial ties. Fable had been the one to abandon Them , had been the one who left them for dead somewhere, only to be rescued by Enderian as she had stumbled upon them on a trip to the Overworld. Enderian was the entire reason Sherbert was even alive right now, so they tried to push down any feelings of longing toward the Overworld. 

It seemed like Enderian was the only one left in the room now, the others having gone to the prison. She still seemed angry, so Sherbert waited a minute or so before they casually walked down the hall, acting like they hadn’t just witnessed the entire event. 

“Hey Mom! Have you seen Aunt Perix? I think I figured out a solution to her potions problem, and I thought she would be in here.”

“Perix is… Preoccupied at the moment. Fable seems to have sent one of his Overworld Spies here, despite the tentative peace between our realms. He was discovered, of course, and is currently in the prison, where Perix is interrogating him. She’ll be a bit, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, okay! A spy? Really? I thought we hadn’t heard anything from the Overworld in years. You don’t think Fable’s trying to restart the war, do you?”

“No no, Sherbert. I don’t think he’d be that foolish. Though I certainly can’t guarantee it. I think he was just trying to get intel on how we are doing after the war. You know, trying to scope out our rebuilding progress and such. The idiot probably got paranoid after not hearing anything from us for a couple years. It’s not us who wanted the war, he was the one who started it. As far as I’m concerned, we don’t have anything to do with each other.”

“Well that’s good, I don’t particularly want a war either haha. Anyways, thanks Enderian, I’ll be in my room then. Don’t want to ruin the potion if it’s actually what Aunt Perix is after, bye!”

“Bye Sherbert, dinner will be in a couple hours.”

“Okay!” And with that, Sherbert ran off, not toward their room, but toward the prison.

They had gotten curious about this new prisoner. It was the first Overworlder they’d ever met, and they were curious about Enderian’s cover-up. It wasn’t easily noticeable, but after living with Enderian their entire life, Sherbert had learned to pick up on the subtleties. 

Her phrasing had been oddly firm, Fable sent “one of his Overworld spies” who “of course, was discovered”. From what Sherbert had seen, and heard, the Overworlder wasn’t a spy sent by Fable, more a lost guy having faulty information. The guard had said he was looking for Enderian, that wasn’t any sort of spy behaviour Sherbert knew of. So, they wanted to know more. If they were discovered by Perix, they could just say they wanted to show them the potions, but hopefully it wouldn’t lead to that. 

As they crept through the corridors toward the prison cells, Sherbert wondered how far in their interrogation Aunt Perix was. She usually took her time, but she also knew that Sherbert should be in the potion lab working on her potions. If they got there fast enough, they might be able to catch the tail-end of the interrogation. 

As they reached the cells, they indeed heard Perix grilling the new prisoner. It was quite shocking actually. Sherbert knew that Perix was the Warden. That they were the one to oversee the prison, but they had never actually seen them in that setting. It was almost like seeing a completely different person. Perix was so… Cold. She was methodical, emotionless, calculating, with no regards for the Overworlder as a person. Sherbert felt kind of uncomfortable. It was so jarring to see their aunt -- who was normally warmer, sarcastic and teasing, sure, but never cold -- with that demeanour.

Eventually, it seemed Perix got tired of the lack of answers. She withdrew herself with a promise to return for actual answers soon and teleported out of the room. A minute or so after, Sherbert crept out of hiding. They walked over to the cell where the new prisoner was being held, ignoring the two empty cells beside him. 

“Hi! Why are you here?” They asked, suddenly showing themself at the prison door.

“UAGH!” The Overworlder screamed in shock, having only just calmed himself down from the interrogation. He scrambled to the back of the room, trying to get as far away from the cell door as possible. 

“Who are you!?”

“Sherbert. Why are you here?” 

The Overworlder seemed very confused, not answering for some time, before seemingly giving up on trying to make sense of the new person at their cell. 

“I don’t know. I was told to ask someone named Enderian for help. They were supposed to help me bring back the Lady of the World.”

“Hm, I’ve never heard that name before.” 

“Who are you?” The Overworlder asks again.

“Sherbert. Anyways, wanna be friends?” Sherbert asked bluntly and with no prompting. 

They weren’t quite sure why they asked that, but in hindsight it made sense. They’d never really had any friends before. The closest they got was a couple of the Endermen that helped around the Palace, but they were more servants they were friendly with, than any real friendship. Well, and the Things. All the objects around them in the world, talking to them. They’d been commenting on the new prisoner’s situation the entire time, but Sherbet was kind of ignoring them right now. But… The Things weren’t the same either. They were nice, and Sherbert liked talking to them, but… This was a person, just like themself, who seemed to be around their age, and was interesting. Of course Sherbert would want to befriend him. 

“Uhm… I’m sorry, what?” The Overworlder seemed confused. It made sense, but Sherbert was lonely, so they trudged forward. 

“Friends. You seem interesting, and like you could use some friendly companionship here.” 

“I… What? Why would you wanna be-? Why would I wanna be frie- I’m so confused.”

“Okay. Hi, my name is Sherbert, you seem lonely, and I could use someone to talk to, do you want to be friends? I’d think having someone outside the prison cells to talk to would be better than being all alone.”

“I… Okay, sure? We can be friends, I guess?”

“Yay! Okay! In that case, what’s your name, and why exactly were you looking for Enderian?” The Overworlder seemed to have accepted his weird situation, agreeing to be friends. Now Sherbert was more curious about his situation. That’s what friends did, right? Talk about themselves?

“I- sigh, okay. Well, first off, my name is Caspian. I was looking for a way to resurrect my friend the Lady of the World. She… She died in my arms not too long ago, actually. I was told by this person Soraza that Enderian could help me get to Purgatory. I… I don’t remember how I know this, I swear I don’t! I just… I knew I had to get here to ask for help. Lotta good that did me.”

“Oh… Oh Caspian, I'm so sorry about that. That must have been so hard for you. I’m sorry they just threw you in here without allowing you to actually explain… They usually don’t do that.” Sherbert felt bad for this Caspian. They couldn’t even imagine how hard it must be for him, to have seen his friend die right in front of him, and with nothing to do to help her. Then again, Sherbert didn’t really have any friends… But now they do! Caspian said he’d be their friend!

Caspian was quiet for a bit, then he asked, “... What do you mean, usually?”

“Oh… Just that, well. Enderian isn’t usually so rough. She… The Enderian I'm used to always allows you to explain the entire situation. I’ve never really seen her so… Mad. I mean, even when she’s angry I’ve never seen her like that.”

“So you know her well? Enderian?” He said it kind of wearily, that much Sherbert could hear. They already hadn’t wanted to just come out and say they were Enderian’s kid, but this… Sherbert wanted to tell him, but… Maybe not now. When they’ve gotten to know each other some more! When Caspian hadn’t just been put in prison by Sherbert’s guardians.

“You could say that. She’s the Queen, Goddess of the Mind, and ruler over the End. You’d be hard pressed to meet anyone here who doesn’t sorta know her. I live at the Palace, along with a bunch of other people, so I’m around her more often than some of the Endermen living in the End, you know?”

“Oh. That makes sense, I guess. Then… Do you know what she was talking about in that room? About a… Fable?”

“I mean, yeah. Everyone knows about Fable and the Overworld here. Don’t you? I mean, you’re literally from the Overworld, how can you not know about your own God?”

“Own What ? We don’t have any… Well I mean, I guess there’s some gods and stuff but… That’s mostly for the priests and priestesses? The average person doesn’t… Really do religion? I guess?”

“Oh… Oh that’s… Interesting? I mean, I wouldn't really call this a ‘religion’ thing, it’s more… Enderian has a court, she’s like, the Queen you know? Of the Realm? You guys don’t have that?” This was… New. Sherbert had always expected the Overworld to be like the End. At least in terms of how it was ruled. Enderian and Perix always talked about Fable’s kingdom, and his realm and how he ruined the Overworld with his schemes and the way he ruled over it…

“Well, I mean, sure we have kingdoms, but like… Not over the entire Realm? There’s multiple kingdoms, all ruled by different governments and such. Then there’s villages all over the world not connected to any kingdom, because they’re so far out. That’s where I come from actually. I mean, the world is massive, I don’t see how any one person could rule it all.

“Huh… That’s… Really interesting, I never knew that. I guess I just assumed it would be the same as here.”

“How is ‘here’ actually run? We don’t know a lot about the End. Most people don’t even know it exists, and those who do are… Reluctant, let’s say, to give any information about it. I only really discovered it because… Because… Uhm… Hmm, I’m not actually sure. Well, I know I talked to Soraza, and she said to go to Enderian for help. Honestly, the whole process for how I got here… I don’t remember it.”

Well. That was… New. The Overworld doesn’t know about the End? But Mom always said… Sherbert was confused. And a little overwhelmed too honestly. This was interesting! They’d never gotten so much information about the forbidden Dimension they originated from. But… It also seemed to be hurting Caspian, to try and remember what he didn’t know. So Sherbert decided to change the topic. This was a lot of ‘World Stuff’, but they still didn’t really know Caspian .

“Well, that’s okay. How about you tell me about yourself then? You said you come from a village? How was that?”

That seemed to instantly cheer him up a bit. His head didn’t seem to hurt him anymore at least.

“Well, I actually wasn’t there a lot. The Lady of the World found me one day, when I was being chased by a horde of monsters. She saved my life that day. I owe her everything- well… Owed, I guess… She- she died, as I mentioned. A- Anyways. Uhm… When she saved me, she led me to her village. It was nice there. But, I’m an adventurer in my heart, so I would frequently go out and look at the world, going wherever the wind would take me. It’s… How I got my nickname, Ghosty, because I was like a ghost. Never there… Uhm- anyways! Lady of the World tried to use it positively. So I didn’t feel so bad about it. Sh- She… She was my best friend.”

“Tell me about her?” Sherbert asked softly. They didn’t want to make Caspian relive bad memories as it seemed he was, but… Maybe they could help him remember some of the good things.

“She… Well, she had this sunset orange hair, and these sky-blue eyes. She seemed as if nature itself had taken a human form. Whenever she was mad, it was like the sky itself responded to her emotions, always raining and thundering. Plants always seemed to grow faster around her, bigger, better quality. She was an amazing friend.”

“She sounds wonderful. I’m sorry you ended up here instead of being able to help her.”

“It’s - well it’s not fine, but. You didn’t have anything to do with it. And I doubt you’d be able to get me out of here- so.”

“I… I can at least try. You don’t deserve to be in here. You didn’t do anything wrong! I… I’m sure that when Enderian has calmed down she will let you out! She has to!” 

Sherbert was sure that there had to have been a mistake. Enderian wasn’t so needlessly cruel that she would just lock someone in prison because they were an Overworlder. And Aunt Perix! Sherbert had never seen them like that! It was scary. Their sweet and caring, if a little snarky and sarcastic, aunt, turned cold and hard, threatening and intimidating an innocent prisoner… It was a side Sherbert had never seen before. And Sherbert couldn’t even really confront their caretakers about it, because they had to seem unknowing about Caspian. Well, this sure was a situation. 

“Thanks, but… I doubt you’d be able to help.” Came Caspian’s reply. He sounded so resigned. Like he believed he was never going to get out of here again. 

Sherbert couldn’t let that happen.

Chapter Text

It had been a few days now, maybe a week or two? Sherbert hadn’t gotten the time to return to Caspian. They hadn’t had the time to speak with Enderian or Perix about the prisoner either. They just weren't sure how to approach the subject when they weren’t even supposed to know. So, they’d continued helping Perix with her potions. 

The honey tonic hadn’t been what Perix was looking for, but she said it was in the right direction. She had suggested the use of fermented spider’s eye to twist the effects, and a ghast tear for a small amount of regenerative ability, so as not to completely ruin the mind. Sherbert didn’t like the theoretical output such a potion would have, but when they mentioned how bad the potions would be, Perix said that was the intent. Whenever Sherbert tried to get more information, Perix would just dismiss them and redirect the conversation. 

So, Sherbert resigned themselves to continue. They wrote down their progress:

Trial #87 

Recipe: Scoria -> wart -> honey -> FSE -> ghast tear

Results: When ingested you become more susceptible to suggestion, though appears to be in great distress. Commands can be ignored when the panic becomes too much.

Recommendations: Test mild sedatives (Possibly Chorus fruit?) in the recipe to calm the drinker down. 

When they’d made the potion and told Perix of the effects, she’d made the suggestions of the sedatives, in order to “make the subject more docile”. 

The more Sherbert learnt about this potion, the more it set them on edge. Sure, harmful potions were useful, things like poison were great deterrents for traps, or when used in order to protect the treasury, but Aunt Perix seemed to want to use mind control with this kind of potion. 

The Things hadn’t been very happy with that, when Sherbert mentioned the possibility. They were used to their constant chatter from all around the world, but whenever they got riled up, it almost became too much for Sherbert. They hadn’t been that loud since seeing Caspian be captured. And before that, it had been even longer. One voice, coming from the brewing stand they were using, even suggested Perix could be using the potions on the prisoners. But that was absurd! She wouldn’t do that! She wasn’t that kind of person… Right?

Either way, they gave Trial #87 to Perix. She wanted to experiment with it further herself. Meanwhile, she said, Sherbert could continue to experiment. Try the chorus fruit and such. So they did. The chorus fruit had no visible change, though when Sherbert tried the potion, the dizziness they felt before was a bit worse. 

They decided to keep that fact to themselves, and just write the visible change down. They made a note to try a fungal ingredient instead. If Perix really wanted some form of mind control potion, or at the very least something to… Subdue someone, then Sherbert would make it. They had to prove they were just as useful as all the other residents in the End. 

The Things kept saying they didn’t need to, but Sherbert had grown up always hearing how inferior they were to the rest, how they didn’t deserve to be Enderian’s child, only taken in because of the graciousness Enderian had… It got to them. They were just as capable as all the other End residents. The Endermen, the Shulkers, the hybrids of the two, all of them! 

It’s one of the reasons they strived so hard to be good at potions. Well, that and because they wanted to figure out what was wrong with their eye. That was the original reason, but when it turned out they were good at it, they kept on trying. Newer and newer things, that no one else had thought of, and that no one else had dared to try! Sure… It ended up in a few failures. Sherbert didn’t like to speak of the obsidian in a bottle, but it also led to new innovations! They’d discovered how to make new effects! The potion of haste for example, which was made from a piece of coal!

They were sure they could make so many more things, if only they could get their hands on some of the rare ingredients. Generally, anything from the Overworld was expensive and hard to get, due to the two realms being closed off from each other. Enderian’s scouts would try to come back with some things though, but it was hard, and usually they prioritised the grass and dirt of the overworld, to help with the agriculture, instead of potion ingredients for Sherbert to use. 

The Endermen scouts from the Nether were more successful. Sure, the End and Nether didn’t have great relations either, but they sure were better than the Overworld! It was why they could experiment so much with coal and mushrooms. Also why they had such an endless supply of nether wart. Sure, they had their own farms, but… Importing from the Nether was never that difficult. 

Sherbert was distracted from their thoughts when the glass floor of the alchemy lab changed. Red concrete. Sigh, well, it seems Quixis was back to work again. A small circle right where Sherbert had stood. 

“Really? Right now? Well hello to you too Quixis. ” Sherbert said exasperated. They went to get replacement materials for the floor that the entity following Sherbert around had changed. Every time. Every time Sherbert thinks they won’t have to deal with the Wack anymore, and Quixis seems to come back to prove them wrong. They quickly wrote down the change in their book and went to grab materials. 

On the way to the Palace’s supply room, they passed the second entry to the prison. Perix had had it built so she could have an easier path to the prison from the meeting room. It had been a long time since they had visited Caspian. And Perix had been there a lot in the last week or so… 

Sherbert decided to visit their new friend as soon as they had replaced the floor of the lab. They couldn’t let the wacked blocks stay, last time that had happened Sherbert had gotten scolded. It wasn’t really their fault things changed, but… It was because of them that they changed. Quixis was tied to them , these things wouldn’t happen if they weren’t there. Usually that was fine. Sherbert could deal with their room being a little weird and having things change around them, but… This was their mom’s room. Enderian’s alchemy lab. Sherbert already didn’t like burdening her, the Wack just made it worse. 

Sherbert gathered the replacement purple glass and went back to the lab. They replaced the last piece, a few of the concrete clocks falling in the void. They intended to make their way toward the prison. But they stopped just as they were about to leave. Caspian had been stuck in there for some time, and they were friends now! Friends usually came with gifts for each other, right? Sherbert could maybe sneak something into Caspian’s cell! 

Sherbert began sprinting back to their room. On the way there, they saw Perix coming back from the prison. She looked kind of mad, so Sherbert immediately hid in the corner of the hallway. That was close. Not only did Perix look mad, she was walking instead of teleporting places. A sure sign there was something bothering her. 

Now Sherbert was even more determined to get Caspian something. If Perix had been in the prison when she wasn’t in a good mood… She might have been harsher than usual to the prisoners. 

Entering their mismatched room, the walls made from Warped Nylium planks, the floor from dark oak, and the pillar accents made in quartz pillars, they looked through their chests. What did they have that they could give to Caspian? What do you give to a friend stuck in prison? Weapons and armour and tools would be useless in the prison, as the magic surrounding it kept it from being destroyed. Also, Sherbert wanted to keep their involvement with “the prisoner” to a minimum, for now. 

Decorations would be too obvious; Caspian only had a small bed mounted to the wall in his cell. Something for him, that he could keep on his person? To know he’s not alone? Yeah that could work! But… What? Hmm, decisions, decisions. 

The Things began coming with their own ideas, many of them couldn’t be used, as they told them multiple times. The tools and weapons weren’t useful! A bucket suggested something from the Overworld, to remind him of home. That could work. They had a couple of Overworld blocks thanks to Quixis. But what? The 15th lantern in their stack of lanterns suggested a grass block, the shulker box suggested a sapling. One of their alliums suggested a flower. 

A flower! That could work. It would be small enough for Caspian to keep it hidden. Almost all flowers came from the Overworld, and flowers were something you typically gave as gifts, right? Now, what flower? If they knew Caspian’s favourite, they’d give him that one, but that hadn’t come up the last time they met. Maybe Sherbert’s own favourite? That could work. Looking in their organics-chest, Sherbert took out a blue orchid. They didn’t know why that was their favourite, it just… Was. There was something familiar to it. The orchid in hand, Sherbert made their way toward the prison. 

Caspian looked much worse than the last time Sherbert was there. He looked tired and dishevelled, with bags under his eyes, hair all over the place, and his clothes seemed to be ripping. When Sherbert cautiously approached his door, he sat in the far corner, knees to his face, hiding away. 

“...Caspian?”

He started. Then looked up from his cell towards where Sherbert was standing at the door.

“Sherbert. I- I thought you’d forgotten me, heh…” His voice was rough, Sherbert couldn’t tell if it was due to disuse, screaming, or crying. They weren’t sure they wanted to know the answer. 

“No! Of course not! I… I couldn’t find the time to visit. I wanted to, but… I’ve been busy, I guess. I did bring you a small gift though!”

At that, Caspian finally looked up fully. He tentatively moved toward his cell door, looking into Sherbert’s eyes. 

“Thanks, Sherbe- IS YOUR EYE BLEEDING?! ARE YOU OKAY?!”

Oh… Right. That.

“Oh! Uhm… Yeahhh. It does that, uhm... It doesn’t… Uhh, hurt? It just kinda… It doesn’t… Stop… Ehh, oh- I should be better at explaining this, uhm.” This was always so awkward. Sherbert didn’t really meet many new people, so most people already knew about their eye. Caspian… didn’t. 

“It- It… It doesn’t stop . What?”

“No yeah. Uhm, it’s kinda just been doing that forrr… As long as I remember? And it doesn’t ever hurt, soo, I kinda just let it happen. It does get on everything though, so…"

“... Do you ever get, like, lightheaded?” Caspian sounded very confused, and very concerned. Which… Granted, that is a very fair reaction. 

“Noo.” Sherbert replied, only just realising how… Weird that actually was. “That’s probably weird, isn’t it? Huh…” The last part was mostly said to themself and the Things following them. 

“Uh-a- Yeah… It is… Well… I guess if it doesn’t hurt… Or anything like that, it’s… Fine? I’m still very concerned though.”

“Yeah, no, that’s fair haha… Uhm, anyways! The gift!” Sherbert tried to change the subject. They were sure that conversation would continue at a later date, but… For now, they really just wanted to give Caspian the gift. 

“Oh! Right, uhm, what is it?”

“Here!” Sherbert carefully handed the orchid to Caspian through the window in the door. “It’s an orchid. It’s, well, it’s my favourite flower. I wanted to give you something from the Overworld, you know, to remind you of home. And well, I don’t know your favourite flower, so I thought that… Mine- would do. So you also know you’re not alone. Even if I might not be able to visit as often as I’d want.” Sherbert gave Caspian a little smile at that. 

“I… Thanks, Sherbert. That… That means a lot, actually.” Caspian was looking at the flower so reverently. Like he’d never seen anything so precious before. 

“You know. The Lady of the World used to give me flowers too. She had such a way with flowers, said it was almost like they spoke to her. So whenever I would leave for an adventure, or I’d come back from one… She’d give me a new flower. So… I really appreciate this. Oh- And my favourite flower is a sunflower. I don’t really like compasses or maps, so I’d always just go the way the sunflowers pointed. It’s also how I'd know my way back. Just… Follow the sunflowers, you know?”

Sherbert replied with a small, soft smile. They were happy they could give Caspian a reminder of his old friend. They also mentally made a note of the sunflower. They were sure they had one somewhere. Flowers were something Quixis liked to glitch a lot. 

“I’m glad. You deserve to remember her. I know you can’t really… Look for her anymore, so. I’m glad I could help, even a little.”

“Anyways! Enough with the sappiness! Let’s talk! I now know your favourite flower, you know mine! What else do friends do? There’s not really a lot else we can do haha.”

Caspian smiled back. “Well, Lady of the World and I’d sometimes go out and do things, but that’s not really possible here. We could play 20 questions? You ask me something, then I ask you something. It’s a good game to play to get to know someone better.”

So they did. It started off small, like favourite foods, favourite animals and such. Which was fun, as neither one really knew the other’s culture. Caspian had never heard of chorus fruit sorbet, and Sherbert had never heard of rabbit stew. From there, it devolved into wackiness. 

From heated rants about their least favourite foods- 

“Beetroot SOUP SHERBERT! I swear it’s the most tasteless, useless piece of-”. 

To least favourite animals-

 “CHICKENS CASPIAN CHICKENS . They are evil little war criminals. Every last ONE OF THEM- and don’t even get me STARTED on Charles-”. 

To philosophical nonsense. 

“What do you think would happen, if one day, you woke up, and all the trees in the world had turned pink?” 

“Haha what?! ” 

“It’s a valid question, Sherbert! Answer the question!”

It was nice. Sherbert didn’t think they’d ever laughed so much before in their life. Spending time with Caspian, even if they were somewhat restricted in what they could do… It was fun. He was nice. Nothing at all like what Enderian had told them about Overworlders. They spent hours and hours together, just talking, and laughing, and coming up with stupid games for them to play. 

They played tic-tac-toe on the door, stating out loud where they’d put their piece. If one of them would occasionally cheat, by saying they put their piece on the opposite side, no one had to know. They’d devolve into laughter either way. 

And that’s how it continued. Every couple of days, Sherbert would come to the prison with a new gift, be it flowers, or snacks, or small trinkets they had. Once, they’d even made him a small glass flower. Glass blowing was a skill they sometimes indulged in. Glass blowing their own bottles being more efficient than just crafting the standard sizes. Then, they’d talk. About themselves, about their homes, about their realms. Anything. Eventually, Sherbert would have to return, either because they’d spent too much time there, or because Perix came to check on the prisoners. 

Those times were less fun than others. Caspian had asked Sherbert to not be there when Perix came. Said he didn’t want them to see him like that. Like a common prisoner. Sherbert had at first protested. They wanted to be there for him, but Caspian had insisted. So, Sherbert agreed. Whenever Perix came, Sherbert would chorus fruit out of there as quickly as possible, never seeing what actually went on. However, they would always come to check in on their friend the next day.

Chapter Text

When Sherbert wasn’t at the prison with Caspian, they were either at the lab, working on various potions, or with Enderian and Perix, trying to subtly convince them to let Caspian out. That was a slow-going process though. Enderian refused to hear anything positive about the Overworld, so any mention of the “Overworld prisoner” immediately turned the conversation tense.

Perix was much the same, talking about how prisoners should be kept in prison, that they were too dangerous to be let out. Their example was the Enderman scout, who had been proven to be a traitor. When he finally had been let out, on the promise that he’d convert and follow his Queen again, he instead tried to stage a coup. Perix was adamant that prisoners should stay in prison. 

So, Sherbert focused on the more achievable things - their potions. Aunt Perix had put Sherbert’s experiments with the mind control potion on hold, claiming further testing, before Sherbert could make changes. In the interim, Sherbert would experiment on their own. 

After Caspian had come through the portal, Enderian had been more adamant about her scouting missions to the Overworld. More missions meant more opportunities for Sherbert to get ingredients. So they had a bunch of new things to try from the Overworld. They had experimented with cocoa beans, which seemed to make some kind of energy potion. Something that would keep the drinker up for longer periods of time, without the need to sleep. It was a groundbreaking discovery. 

They found that glow berries would create Night vision potions, just like golden carrots did. And that an amethyst piece in a scoria base would create a tonic of Balance. It was all really fascinating, and Sherbert was sure to bring up their discoveries to Caspian every time. 

It was the day Sherbert had made the discovery of the energy potion that their friendship and understanding of each other took a turn. Sherbert’s actual relationship to the End Dimension was revealed. Sherbert also got a better insight into Caspian’s… Situation. They had tried their best to keep their relationship to Enderian and Perix a secret, never getting too focused on their family life. Only ever mentioning their mother finding them as a baby after their parents had abandoned them in the Overworld. Saying that they grew up with a mom and an aunt who “lived in the palace”. Caspian probably thought they were servants, and that Sherbert was employed as the palace’s Alchemist. He wasn’t completely wrong for that, Sherbert was the palace’s Alchemist, but… They were also the prince. 

They had run down to Caspian’s cell almost immediately after they had tested the energy potion’s effect, realising the magnitude of its potential.

“Caspian! Caspian! Caspian! Oh my gods, Ghosty !” 

About a week or two after their second meeting, Sherbert had asked about Caspian’s nickname, and how the Lady of the World had tried to make it into something nice. Sherbert had wanted to do the same, seeing the way Caspian felt like now he was even more like a ghost. His best friend dead, and him, unable to return to the village. He likened himself in the cell to a ghost, slowly withering away. It had been a bad day for him. Sherbert had suggested they begin using the nickname positively, so the connotations would keep being positive, and Ghosty had agreed to try it. It had seemed to work, because the man always smiled whenever Sherbert used it. 

As Sherbert came barrelling across the prison, slamming into the cell door, Caspian asked what had happened. Sherbert began explaining their discovery, going on and on about its potential and all the uses it could have.

“- And just think ! Mom could issue an order for her scouts! They could stay out longer, expend less energy and be able to gather more research! It would improve the End so much- ” 

“Your mom’s scouts? What does she have to do with the scouts? I thought she was a servant here?”

Oh shoot. This was not how Sherbert had wanted to reveal their parentage.

“Uhm… Well… Okay. I guess you deserve to know, I had planned on telling you this later, when I had made some more progress, but…”

“What? Progress on what? What are you talking about Sherb?”

“Sigh… Caspian. My mother is… Is Enderian.”

A pause. Everything seemed to stand still for a moment. Sherbert could barely breathe. Caspian was standing stock-still seeming to process this new information. 

“She’s what ? Enderian ?! Your mother is the woman who locked me in here! And you never thought to tell me this!?” He sounded so hurt. Sherbert felt heartbroken. They never intended to hurt Caspian.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, but… The time never felt right. I couldn’t exactly say the first time we met like ‘Hi! My mother and aunt just wrongfully threw you in here, do you want to be my friend’. And after that, there never seemed to be a good time. Eventually… It just seemed too late to say anything, so I’d… I had hoped I could tell you when I actually got through to her about letting you out. It was why I was so sure I could help you get out…”

Ghos- Caspian was quiet. Seemingly thinking Sherbert’s explanation through. Eventually he replied. 

“I- I’m still mad. You should have told me this. Do you have any idea how it feels to know- Sigh. Do you know how it feels to know your friend, your current best friend , is the child of the people responsible for your imprisonment? Your confinement, your solitude. Your tor-”

Caspian cut himself off. That seemed to have slipped out. He hadn’t meant to say that last bit. 

“What? ‘Tor’- Caspian do you mean tortu-”

“NO! No, obviously not! Hehe... I’m fine, nothing like that at all!”

He was lying. Caspian was trying desperately to cover his little slip up, and he was doing it badly. Caspian was getting tortured. While in the prison, Caspian- Ghosty, their best friend , was getting tortured. Most likely by Perix!

Suddenly, things seemed to fall into place. Every time Sherbert visited and Ghosty seemed more out of it than usual. Dizzier, weaker, just the slightest bit more willing to follow Sherbet’s ideas. Like the Mind weakness potion, like the trials and trials of mind control potions Sherbert had been working on. That was the effects. That was the effects of the potions Sherbert had made . Sherbert had made the potions Caspian was getting tortured with. That their aunt was torturing him with. 

“Caspian… I- I’m so sorry, I- I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know!”

“No! It’s… I didn't want you to know. You shouldn’t have to know about that.”

“But I-”

“No, Sherbert, this isn’t your fault. You aren’t to blame for this!”

“Yes I am! I so am! I made those potions! That was my work ! Those were my potions ! If I hadn’t made those potions you wouldn’t- this wouldn’t hav- That wouldn’t have happened to you!” 

Sherbert felt awful. Not only had they lied to Ghosty about Enderian and Perix, but they were directly responsible for his treatment, his torture in the prison. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they hadn’t even noticed it was happening. How often had Sherbert come by, come to visit Caspian in his cell and just… Not noticed he had been tortured, experimented on.

Oh my gods, experiments. Perix hadn’t wanted Sherbert to work on new potions because she wanted to experiment more with them. Wanted to test them some more . Sherbert could feel tears forming in their eyes now. The reality of the situation, and their involvement in all of it, fully crashing down on them. 

“Sherbert. Listen to me. This isn’t your fault. You might have made the potions, but you didn’t know what they were being used for. You couldn’t have known! … Besides, I don’t think she would have stopped, even if you didn’t work on them.”

“What?”

“Perix. She… She would have done something either way. Your involvement or not. Sigh. Would I have liked to know who your family actually is? Yeah. It hurts knowing this. But, Sherbert, this isn’t your fault. Okay?“

Ghosty was also crying now. He tried to reach his hand out the door, Sherbert grabbed on. 

“It’s a shitty situation. But there’s nothing you can do. I just… I just want to continue like we used to. You, coming here, talking to me, hanging out, playing games. It helps. I don’t feel as alone. I- I really don’t want things to change. Please. There’s nothing to do.”

But there was. There absolutely was. Sherbert could try harder to get Ghosty out. They could…! They could make remedies. Sure, Sherbert had made the potions, but they could also make remedies. They could make potions to help Ghosty heal . Potions of healing, regeneration, agility, absorption, anything ! If Sherbert was able to make the potions that hurt, they could make the potions that help. 

They could also stop helping Perix with the trial potions-

“No. Sherbert… You can’t let them know you’re involved; you can’t let them know that you know. They’ll just keep you away. I can’t do that.”

“Ghosty… I have to do something . Let me help you. At least… At least let me make you potions to recover easier. Now I know, I can help you! Please.”

“...Okay.”

So, Sherbert began helping him more. Instead of getting Ghosty flowers and trinkets, they’d bring him potions, more saturated food, new clothes- though that one was rarer. Sherbert needed a good excuse to get Caspian some of their old clothes. They had some from a couple years ago they thought would fit him. But… They couldn’t just give it to them. 

Instead of focusing on their own potion projects, they began focusing on ways to counteract the aftereffects of the Trial potions. They made some progress there but couldn’t give Ghosty the full antidotes they had made, due to him still being tested on. 

Sherbert also began spending more time with Ghosty. As soon as they saw Perix return from the prison, they’d be there, helping Ghosty with potions or food, or just… Their presence. It was always jarring, seeing the damage it caused him, seeing him right after the use of the potions. But they made do. When Ghosty was like this, Sherbert would tell him stories, spoken in soft voices, keeping him calm, and letting him recover from the worst of the potion damage.

Stories of their childhood, growing up in the End, weird instances with Quixis, and the weird language they’d leave behind, even stories of Charles . Sherbert made sure to emphasise the Menace’s faults and troublemaking in those stories. They couldn’t have a chicken supporter as a friend, that just wouldn’t do. 

When they weren’t with Caspian, they were trying to convince Enderian to let him out. They never actually said that, but they inquired into his situation. Asking where he came from, what they knew about him. It seemed like he didn’t know Fable, so clearly, he wasn’t a spy. And even if he was, the knowledge was clearly kept far away from his own knowledge. What use would their mother have for him in prison? Wouldn’t it be much easier, and a much better use, to have him out and give insider knowledge of the Overworld? The scouts could gather materials, sure, but Cas- the prisoner knew about their daily lives. He could give valuable information into how Overworlders think!

The progress was slow going, but it seemed there was progress. At least from Enderian. The more Sherbert brought up the benefits of having Ghosty around, the more she seemed willing to let him out. Perix was the problem there. They were adamant about Caspian being in the prison, saying that just because he didn’t actively know, did not mean he couldn’t hurt them. Better to keep him contained until Perix could find the dangerous information that led him here. 

So it was slow, but progress was being made. Sadly, so was Perix’ potion project. She had come to Sherbert to ask for a new revision. Sherbert knew what that one would be. They’d actually already made it, but since Perix had wanted to wait, they hadn’t given it yet. 

Maybe… Maybe they could make the effects milder. Aunt Perix would only get the final product; she’d only know what Sherbert told them of the potion. If they said they’d made a change to make it “more effective”, Perix wouldn’t know any different. Then again, if it wasn’t up to her standards, she’d want more potions. Which meant more testing on Caspian…

Sherbert told Perix they’d work on it later, saying the delay would come from the time it’d take to experiment. Then, they went over to Ghosty and asked what he thought. It was him getting experimented on after all. 

“I… I think you should give her the actual potion. While I’d love a milder potion the effects are still bad. And it’d just lead to more potions. I… I’d rather just get it over with first.”

So, Sherbert made the actual change. A Weakness ingredient. The Endermen Scouts had returned from a trip to the Nether with more potion supplies. So, they took a brown mushroom and added it to the potion, making sure to document it for Perix.

Trial #89 

Recipe: Scoria -> wart -> honey -> FSE -> ghast tear -> brown mushroom

Results: TBA

Note: I’m still not sure what you want the potion to be used for, but if it’s a more obedient army, weakness is not ideal. A weakened enemy would be, but it would be counter-intuitive with the suggestion-based potion.

They were taking a risk with the note, but it was all Sherbert could do to discourage Perix from using the potion.

After they had given Perix Trial #89, and the book with the recipe, they drank an Invis potion themself, and followed her. Now that Sherbert knew what the potions were being used for… They had to see for themself. 

Sneaking a couple paces behind the Warden- Because this was the Warden -Sherbert could see no trace of their caring aunt. No trace of the woman who had helped raise them, who, while snarky and with a bit of an edge, was nice and had taught Sherbert the basics of potions, before they had mastered the craft. 

The Warden entered the prison, standing right in front of Caspian’s cell. Silently, they opened the cell door and walked in. 

“How are you feeling today?” She asked. Sherbert was still not used to the Warden’s voice. So cold and clinical compared to the one they were used to. 

“... Fuck you” came the weak reply from Caspian. Oh… Oh that hurt. Sure, Sherbert had seen the aftermath, but… To see their friend so weakened and… Resigned. It hurt.

“Now, you know the rules, how am I to gather side effect data, if you… Refuse?”

There was a long pause, before Caspian eventually sighed, and gave in to the new round of testing. 

“Let’s try again. Based on your last report, are you still experiencing severe tachycardia?”

“... No.”

“Breathing returned to normal?”

“... Yes.”

“And has the light-headedness passed?”

“... Yes.” Caspian sounded more apprehensive this time. Like he knew what was about to happen next.

“Very good. Then I believe you are good enough to continue,” Perix took out the potion, being interrupted by “wait, wait, wait,”s  and “no, no, no”s from Caspian as soon as he saw it. “This will be trial 89. Please be mindful of the symptoms for data purposes. Let us begin.”

As she said that, she threw the bottle at Caspian, ignoring his desperate cry of “ Please !”

Sherbert watched it all transfixed. It was horrible to watch. Sure, they knew a bit of what it felt like, having previously tried the potions on themself. But it was something entirely different watching someone else, someone you cared about, under the influence of the potion. Someone who hadn’t even gotten the benefits of rest from the previous potion used on them. Hearing that person you care about, crying out in agony to “stop, stop, stop. Please !” Sherbert could now understand why Caspian hadn’t wanted them to see him in the prison with the Warden. It was horrible.

It continued for so long, the Warden standing there, emotionless, uncaring of the screams and pleas of their victim. Just… Standing there, clinically noting down symptoms. Occasionally asking in that same clinical, uncaring voice about symptoms and data collecting, and any side effects, what is your breath like, all of it. Sherbert could do nothing but to stand there and watch. 

They checked the time left on their invisibility potion. One minute and thirty nine seconds left. This had been going on for 8 and a half minutes already. Thank goodness for Sherbert’s prolonged potion durations. Feeling terrible about it, but feeling it necessary, they timed the drinking of their next potion with one of Caspian’s screams. It didn’t seem like the Warden heard them. Good. 

Five or so minutes later, Perix left the cell. A total of almost 15 minutes spent testing on Caspian. When they were sure she had left the room, Sherbert drank the milk they had brought, dispelling the potion. Immediately rushing into Caspian’s cell. 

Chapter Text

A perk of seeing the Ward- Perix open the door was that now Sherbert knew the combination to it. Well, maybe not a combination, it was a magic lock, but they instinctively knew how to get the door open. 

Rushing in, they gave Ghosty the biggest hug they could. He immediately latched onto Sherbert in return. They stayed like that for a couple minutes, just basking in each other’s presence. Eventually, when Caspian seemed to have gained some control back, Sherbert handed him a healing potion. 

“What… What are you doing here, Sherb?” Came the weak question from Ghosty. 

“I couldn’t just let her experiment on you with my potions without being there. I… I couldn’t do that to you.” 

They stayed like that for a while, Sherbert holding Caspian in their arms, as he tried to gain more and more of his strength back. Periodically, Sherbert would give him another potion to drink, or throw a splash potion over him, if he was too weak to drink one. 

Eventually, Ghosty released himself from the hold.

“Sherbert… You shouldn’t have come here. I didn’t… I didn’t want you to see that.”

“Well, I’m here anyway. Caspian, I… I have to get you out. This can’t go on for much longer. Something really bad could happen to you. No one can handle that many potions, let alone with so little time to recover! The only reason I think you’re not worse than you already are, is because of my other potions. Please, let me actually talk to my mom. I could get you better things, new clothes that are not… Ripped to pieces.”

Caspian was quiet for a bit. Then, he replied “Fine. You can ask, but- If it seems like she’ll protest, please stop.”

“Okay.”

So, Sherbert went to Enderian. It was a couple days after they agreed with Ghosty that Perix could get suspicious, if they asked right after the experiment. It was during dinner, when Sherbert mentioned having gotten curious and taken a walk around the prison. 

“And, Mom, I noticed one of the prisoners, the Overworlder, he looked way worse for wear than all the others. He doesn’t seem to be doing so well in there. I know you’re on the fence about letting him out, but… Could I at least get him some new clothes? A jacket or something? The one he has is completely useless, and you know Overworlders feel the cold more than those born here. I’m only fine, cause I’ve grown up here and I’m used to it.”

Enderian was quiet for a minute. Then-

“You seem awfully interested in this… Overworlder.”

“Mom… I-...” Oh, how to get out of this one.

“Yes?”

“It’s because… Well, he’s like me, isn’t he? I’m from the Overworld, I'm a human, just like he is. I guess… I guess I just feel more connected to him than the other Ender prisoners, you know?”

“Sigh, well. If you do feel like that, then… Fine. You can give the Overworlder a… Jacket. But please. No more talk of this, okay? I’ve indulged you enough as it is.”

“Oh, thank you Mom! That makes me really relieved!” Sherbert went over and hugged Enderian. Sure, they couldn’t ask about Caspian “anymore”, but… If they just gave it a little bit of time. 

The next day, they went over to Caspian with a whole new set of clothes. Sure, Enderian had said a jacket, but… Who would know? She never visited the prison, and Perix wasn’t there during the conversation. If they went to Enderian and asked about the prisoner’s new clothes, she would just say Sherbert had been allowed to give him some. It was perfect. 

“Hey Caspian! I’ve got a present for you!”

Caspian answered with obvious sarcasm, and fake surprise in his voice. “Oh, do you? My what a surprise ! What is it this time? A potion? A stack of food? A new book and quill to write in? Actually, I’d appreciate that, I'm about to fill out the last one you gave me.” 

“No, it’s not any of that! Though, I could bring you a new book tomorrow, if you’d want? Wait- does this mean you’re almost done with your next story?”

Some time in the beginning of their friendship, Caspian had confided in Sherbert about a book he had written, titled “Lady of the World”. It was a fairytale-like telling of how he and the Lady of the World met, detailing their friendship, and eventually her death. It also included a hopeful ending where the two met again. Sherbert had made Ghosty tell it to them, and they had loved it, encouraging him to keep writing.

Ghosty had agreed, and tried to keep up with it along with his adventuring journal he carried. Sherbert had also encouraged him to use that. Either by making light of his situation, making it another one of his “adventures”, or just to use it to vent his feelings. Sure, he could always talk with Sherbert, but even they knew some things were nice to keep to oneself. 

“No, I’m not quite done yet, but almost. I could just use a new one, I have some more ideas for stories I want to write, but… I don’t want to clutter up the one I already have. Anyways, if it’s not any of that, what is your little present ?”

“Oh, right. Tadaaa!” Sherbert exclaimed and shoved the new set of clothes at Caspian. 

“Wha- Sherbert, I can’t accept this, I thought we agreed no clothes?”

“Well, that was before I got permission to give you some new ones, wasn’t it?” Sherbert was practically smiling from ear to ear, Caspian could finally wear something new, something clean that didn’t have holes and ripped seams. 

“Wait, actually? You got permission to get me new clothes?”

“Okay, well, technically I was only told to get you a new jacket, but like, who would know?! Enderian never comes to the prison herself, and Perix doesn’t know how much clothes I could give you! It’s perfect! And! You don’t have to wear that ragged outfit anymore! It’s a cool fit, but like, ‘it's seen better days’, man.”

Ghosty gave a small smile, accepted the clothes, and then ushered Sherbert out the door. Demanding they turn around until he said so. 

The two bantered a bit, while Ghosty changed. Him, lamenting Sherbert’s terrible taste in clothes, Sherbert’s indignant replies about how he wasn’t much better. Sherbert would argue that split colour clothes were cool , and purple and yellow were superior colours. Also, their countless accessories were stylish , thank you very much. Much better than some boring old jacket and shirt. They did admit the piercings were cool, but otherwise . 

They devolved into laughter from there. Just enjoying each other’s company and the small mercy of Caspian getting new clothes. 

Eventually, Caspian said Sherbert could turn around, and the sight that greeted them was… Amazing. The clothes didn’t fit perfectly, but it was enough. Seeing Caspian in fresh clothes, not a stain or tear in place. Sherbert almost cried. Caspian seemed to be in the same boat, having an unbelievable smile on his face, laughing while moving around in the new clothes. 

It was a Sherbert Staple. Pale yellow jacket with a dark purple edging. The edge was decorated with swirls and other designs. The jacket went down to about Caspian’s mid-calf. The shirt was a light purple-magenta colour, with a darker purple top, the top, shaped like a v, was patterned. Having these circle designs on them. The pants were a dark pair of jeans, with a couple of belts and chains attached. The belts and chains weren’t really necessary but hey! Sherbert wanted to be extra! Caspian deserved a cool fit after being stuck in a prison cell for months. 

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah,” Ghosty replied breathlessly. “I really like it. Thanks, Sherb.”

“You’re welcome, it was, quite literally, the least I could do for you.”

“I don’t think you know what the word ‘literally’ means, but… Thanks. It’s wonderful actually wearing something… New. It’s not really my style, I wouldn't have picked it myself, at least, but. Thanks. Really.”

“Hey! I keep saying, it was no big. I’m just glad I could help. Also, you bet I'm going to try and get you more. Who would protest if I just... Say, put in a small dresser, and give you, oh… One or two more outfits, haha.”

“Sherbert, you really don’t have to do that. This is way more than enough.”

“It’s really not. But, okay.”

The two of them continued just talking for a bit more. Eventually though, Sherbert had to return, but they promised to be back soon. 

A couple of days after Ghosty got his new outfit, Sherbert walked in on Perix and Enderian having a conversation. 

“My Queen, why does the Overworld have new clothes?” Ah, it seems Aunt Perix had visited the prison. Luckily Sherbert was there for the conversation, if things went awry, they could intervene.  

“Oh. Sherbert asked to give them some, and I let them.”

“But, my Queen, why-.” Seemed like things were about to go awry.

“I felt bad for him, Aunt Perix. His clothes were so… Ruined, way more than any of the other prisoners! Even those that have been there longer! I couldn’t just let him stay in those rags. So Mom allowed me to give him replacements! I guess… I guess I felt connected to him in some way, seeing as we’re both human’s originating from the Overworld…”

Please let the subject go, please let the subject go, was Sherbert’s inner monologue. It had worked on Enderian, but Perix was sometimes harder to fool than Enderian, despite her being the goddess of the mind. Sherbert guessed it was due to her having a softer spot for them than Perix had. 

“I… Fine, my Prince, I can see why you would feel that. Though I still feel like-”

“Oh! By the way! How was the potion I gave you? Were the changes to your satisfaction? And do you have any comments about the note I left?”

Sherbert began leading the conversation out of the room, forcing Perix to follow them. 

“It was satisfactory, Sherbert. Excellent brewing as always. I do think some further tweaking could work, however. Maybe additional fungal ingredients, or perhaps removal of the mushroom altogether. I do see your point about the additional weakness, though.”

“Cool, I can get to work on those changes, if you’d want?”

“Thank you, Sherbert. I do have to ask though. Did you have to give the Overworlder an entirely new wardrobe?”

“I didn’t give him a new wardrobe . Just a new outfit. I could give him a new wardrobe though; I do think he’d benefit from that. You know, I was visiting the library earlier, I read up on prison mentality. I was curious about why the Overworld prisoner seemed to have it so much worse than the others. A more inhabited holding cell is way better for a prisoner! It even said a better environment could quicken illnesses! Isn’t that cool?”

Sherbert continued to ramble. They weren’t sure how much of what they said was true, or sounded at all believable, but they had actually looked a bit into prisoner mentality. They wanted to see how to best help Ghosty, even if they couldn’t do much. The book had said something about a better environment, Sherbert just hoped it would be enough to make Perix turn a blind eye to Sherbert’s involvement with Ghosty. 

Eventually, the two ended up at the lab. Sherbert went back to their potions, reluctantly working on the Trial Potions. Perix was writing their report to Enderian. Sherbert wanted to try a few different mushrooms. The brown mushroom they’d already tried, which added some kind of fatigue according to Caspian. Made sense, since they created a tonic of Mining Fatigue. He said the effect felt very similar to an effect you got when coming close to some underwater temples in the Overworld. That had led to a pretty interesting conversation afterward. Underwater temples ! Which caused mining fatigue !

Anyways, they’d already tried the brown mushrooms, and that hadn’t really been what Perix was after, so Sherbert wanted to try the other three. Maybe adding the brown mushroom along with it. 

So, Sherbert spent the next couple of days experimenting with that. First, Sherbert tried to add the red mushroom in by itself. Then they made another batch with red and brown mushrooms, then moving on to crimson fungus. That effect seemed to be the worst. Not surprising. Crimson fungus was used for making tonics of illness. It added a poisonous effect to the already horrible potion. Sherbert tried again and again, experimenting with different ingredients, different matchups of ingredients. Most of them, they kept to themself. At least for now. They did give Perix Trial #9, the one made of red mushroom. 

When they visited Caspian afterwards, he said Perix hadn’t used the potion on him yet. She apparently went from prisoner to prisoner, trying the different potions on different subjects at different times. Scientifically, it was smart. It created a larger sample size, however, it just made Sherbert feel worse. Even more people, subjected to their potions. And they couldn’t even stop. Sure, they were reluctant to make them, but that didn’t erase the fact that they did . 

Ghosty was a good comfort then, he was always ready to assure Sherbert that it wasn’t their fault. Sure, it didn’t work. Sherbert still felt as responsible as before, but… It made it a little bit better. Even if Sherbert would feel bad that Caspian was comforting them , when he was the one getting experimented on. 

Days went by like that. Perix would test the potions on different victims, while Sherbert and Caspian would spend time together, enjoying their friendship. Sherbert would continue bringing him better stuff, while also including some small trinkets here and there. Ghosty always had at least one sunflower, and one orchid at all times. He got different glass knick-knacks, even some failed attempts that just turned out to be weird blobs. Once, Sherbert even gave them their "Obsidian in a Bottle". They had fun laughing at that, Ghosty teasing Sherbert for their mistake. 

The more Sherbert continued to learn from Caspian about the effects the potions had on the “subjects”, the more reluctant Sherbert became to make them. Perix seemed to have noticed, inquiring about Sherbert’s hesitance. Sherbert tried to divert the attention. “Are you sure the ones we have aren’t enough? It seems like a really complicated potion; I’d rather wait a few days when I'm feeling more up to a challenge. Oh! There was this new ingredient from the overworld I wanted to try-”. The distractions worked for a little, but eventually Perix seemed to have had enough. 

“Sherbert. Why won’t you help me with the potion? You seemed eager enough before.”

“Well, I-”

“And don’t try to lie. I want the truth, Sherbert.”

“Okay. I… I don’t know. The potion feels so… Hostile. I just don’t really see the point? We’re not actively at war anymore, haven’t been for a while, most of the criminals we get are small enough that such an elaborate potion would be way overkill. I don’t know, I guess the need for more potion experimentation has just… Faded away with this project.”

“Oh Sherbert. You’re burning out. That’s fair. But believe me when I tell you, that potion is vital to us. We need it. You may not understand it yet, I know Enderian is reluctant to let you in on our council meetings, despite my own opinions on the matter, but this could really benefit the End dimension as a whole . And think about it, when we finally perfect the potion, who’d get all the credit for creating it? You, Sherbert. You’re already renowned for your potion abilities, just think of the recognition you’d get when you reveal this one . No one could ever say you weren’t as worthy as the rest of the End inhabitants.”

That… That would be amazing. No more secret sneers their way, no more sly comments about the “Human End Prince, how disgusting”. They could stand as equals to Enderian and Perix and everyone else. Perix even implied she wanted Sherbert on the council . Not just stuck outside doors because they were “too young”, but in actuality, people just didn’t trust the Overworlder Spawn in the End Court… They just needed to make the potion. They could absolutely make the potion; they were already way ahead of what Perix thought . 

But… What would happen when they did make the potion? It wouldn’t matter how it would be used later; the testing period was the problem. The prisoners would be used, tortured, experimented on. Caspian would be experimented on. And if Sherbert gave them Trial #90? The one used with crimson fungus? Poison and nausea effects, on top of everything else. No amount of glory or recognition would be worth that. 

No wait, what are they even thinking ? It was never about that; it was meant as a distraction for Perix… Right, answers. Seems like they couldn’t escape the potion, no matter how hard they tried. 

If they even really tried. A small voice in the back of their head said. It was calling out the want they had felt, as soon as Perix had mentioned the recognition. You didn’t try very hard. You could definitely say no to the project, let Perix continue herself. She might not be as good as you, but she’s good enough. It would take her longer, but she could get there. 

Sherbert tried to shake the voice away.

“Yeah, I… I can see that, Aunt Perix. I’ll get back to making the potion now.”

So, back they went. They continued experimenting with different potion ingredients. Different mushrooms, funguses, combinations of the two, and even some wild cards. Continued giving Perix potions. They had just finished giving Perix Trial #100. Giving Perix the means necessary to harm, to hurt, to test, to torture- Sherbert’s friend, and anyone else stuck in that terrible prison. 

Sherbert didn’t visit Caspian for a couple days after that. They felt too guilty, didn’t feel like they could face him. 

When they woke up about a week since last visiting Caspian, all the flowers in their room, and the entire wing surrounding them, had turned to sunflowers. It seemed Quixis had some comments regarding Sherbert hiding away. They quickly changed back the flowers in the wing outside their room, then went to visit Caspian. They had a single orchid with them. It didn’t feel like enough of a gift, for avoiding them for so long. They hadn’t gone that long without visiting since the first month they’d met. They needed something more, something better, more valuable, more… Meaningful. 

But, it was a blue orchid. Their favourite flower. It was the most meaningful thing they could give. 

“Caspian?” Sherbert asked cautiously when they arrived at the cell door. 

“Sherbert? Sherbert! You’re here! I thought something had happened! Are you okay? Did they find out you came here? Did something happen? Are you okay?!”

Caspian seemed so worried, almost worried out of his mind. No, nothing had happened, nothing other than Sherbert hiding away due to their own needless insecurities, their own useless guilt. Caspian was stuck here. In a literal prison cell barely bigger than 4 x 4 blocks. And Sherbert had just abandoned him there. 

“I… I’m sorry. I should have come here sooner. I’m sorry.”

“Sherbert? Are you okay? Come in, please. Tell me what’s wrong?” Caspian, that sweet, sweet Caspian. He was stuck here, having been experimented on, Sherbert could see it. Perix had been there, been there with potions Sherbert had provided. And he was worried about them.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bad friend…”

“What? No, Sherbert, what are you talking about? Sherbert, come here, please. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I- I just…” Sherbet tried to tell Ghosty what had happened, why they had been so reluctant to come, but the words wouldn’t come out. 

“Sherbert, come in here. Please. You don’t need to stand outside anymore; you can come in… Please come in here.”

So, Sherbert did. It was the least they could do. They didn’t deserve it, didn’t deserve to be with Caspian, but… He wanted them there. And Sherbert couldn’t say no to their only friend. When they entered the cell, Caspian was by their side immediately. It was clear he wanted to hug them but was hesitating in case Sherbert didn’t want the physical contact. 

“Sherbert… Can- can I…?”

Sherbert nodded. A hug would be really nice right now. 

As soon as he got the go-ahead, Ghosty’s arms were around them. Sherbert collapsed into the hold of their friend. They stayed like that for a bit, Sherbert just relishing in the company of their friend again, and Ghosty trying to calm down the obviously distraught alchemist. When Sherbert finally felt like they could actually talk again, they sat up.

“I… I’m so sorry Caspian. I should have come here sooner. I- I don’t have any excuses. Please forgive me.” They said, and handed Caspian the orchid. 

He took the flower presented to him, putting it in his inventory, before turning back to Sherbert. 

“It- It’s okay. I was worried, but you’re allowed some time to yourself, Sherbert. I would have liked a little heads up, I thought something had happened, but. You’re okay.”

“But I- Ghosty, how can you say it’s okay, when every time I come here, you’ve just been tortured by my aunt, with the potions I supplied her with . The ones I made . I’m a terrible person! How can you want to be friends with me, when I’m the reason you’re suffering so much here?”

Caspian was quiet for a moment. He finally saw what the problem was. He had realised what the straw that broke the camel’s back was. 

“Sherbert… That’s not your fault. It’s not . It’s not that easy for you to just… Stop making the potions. I know that. It’s literally your job to make potions for the palace. I know you're the prince, or whatever, too, but you’re also the palace’s alchemist. That’s okay. You’re not using those things on me, you even come here to warn me, to ask for my input. You're trying everything you can to make sure I don’t get hurt more than necessary- trying to make it so I don’t hurt at all ! I don’t blame you for that. 

“You want to know why I still want to be your friend? It’s because I like you. You’re a really funny and nice person, who’s… Completely nonsensical at times! You’re caring and sweet, and so goddamn brilliant! You make my day infinitely better, just with your presence here alone. You came here, the first day I was sent here. Barely an hour later. And barrelled in asking to be friends. 

“I had no idea that that would have led to me gaining a new best friend after what happened to the Lady of the World. You allowed me to process her passing, to, despite my situation, not give up hope completely. When things were looking dark, you came here, like a ray of light, and made things better. Sherbert, you’re my friend. You’re a good friend. And just because your position is forcing you to do something you don’t want to, does not make you a bad person. I know you’ve said before that you could just stop. But it’s not that easy .  I understand that. I wish you did so too.”

Sherbert was feeling too many emotions right now. Faintly they could hear the Things and Objects agreeing very aggressively with Caspian. They’d tried to tell Sherbert the same things before, but... It was different. Hearing it from Ghosty. 

They dried their tears and gave Ghosty a big hug. 

“Thank you, Ghosty. That… Really means a lot to me. I… I guess it all just got to me. And then I just felt worse, because you’re the one stuck in a literal prison cell, why should I get to feel bad when you have it worse? Heh…”

“Hey- Pain is not a competition. Just because I’m in a shitty situation does not mean you can’t feel bad either. I mean, how many times have you come in here and helped me when I was sad? I distinctly remember at least three times that’s happened. We’re a team. We help each other, yeah?”

“Yeah. You’re right. A team.” Sherbert gave a little smile. 

“Now. Enough emotional stuff, do you want to hear some more of the story I’ve written? It’s not completely finished, and it might not be that good… And then again, it feels a little chunky, and-”

“Yes, Ghosty. I’d love to hear your amazing story. You’re too harsh a critic on yourself.”

So that’s how they spent the rest of the day. Just sitting with each other talking, Caspian reading his writings, Sherbert adding their own ideas. Relaxing. The more serious topics could wait.

Chapter Text

The next day seemed to be the day for the serious topics. Sherbert went down to Caspian after dinner and found him shaking in his cell. They rushed in and kneeled beside him.

“Caspian! Are you okay?!”

“I… I’m fine, but… I don’t know what changed, but Perix hasn’t been in here as much. She does her routines, but… Since you gave me the new clothes, she has been… Less ‘attentive’ to me, I guess.”

“But that’s good, right?”

“Yeah, but… She’s just moved on to the others. One of the Endermen in the cell down the hall… She’s been going to him more and more. It’s horrible hearing the cries, the screams.”

“Oh… The end of the hall… He’s relatively new, right? Only showed up a month or so ago?”

“Yeah.”

“If I remember the conversation right, he’s a friend of an old prisoner we had. He was a traitor, involved in a treason plot. He was one of the only prisoners that had been let out on parole… He tried to assassinate Enderian not long after… Perix has been trying to look for his accomplices ever since.”

“Good riddance, if you ask me.”

“Caspian…”

“Oh- sorry Sherbert, but… You know how I feel about the End. You’re literally the only good thing about it. And you’re technically not from here !”

“Yeah, I know. But hey- Don’t diss Elytra until you’ve tried them. They are a godsend and I could not live without them. I am birb." Sherbert flexed the yellow and purple wings on their back. They weren’t sure what kind of bird it was, but Caspian had said they looked like parrot wings. The Things also agreed with that. Sherbert would love to see an actual parrot someday. 

“Pfft, I would love to try, from what you’ve told me, they seem really fun. Sadly, I'm stuck in here, so.”

“Hey. When you get out, I’m smuggling you the first pair of wings I see. That’s a promise.”

“Yeah… When…” Caspian had always had some doubts about ever getting out of the prison. Sherbert was adamant they’d get them out somehow, but it was clear Caspian was just humouring them. 

“Hey! None of that- it is a ‘when’. I will get you out of here. I promised, didn’t I?”

“You did. Anyways, I’m sorry I’m more down than usual. It’s… Hard, hearing those screams. I guess it’s finally all catching up to me. I’ve been stuck here… Who knows how long, months and months now, I can barely sleep anymore, and when I do sleep it’s filled with nightmares of potions being splashed on me, and glass shattering around me- I… I’m not doing well, Sherbert.”

“I’m sorry Caspian. I… I don’t know how to help more than what I’m already doing…”

“It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you. Really. You just… Being here is way more help than I think you realise.”

“Well, while we’re on a downward spiral. Perix has asked for improvements to the potions… Is there anything I can do to make it in any way better for you?”

Ghosty was quiet for a moment, seeming to think it over. Then-

“Please don’t hold back. If the potions work like she intends then there’s less testing on us. The faster it’s over with, the faster she stops using them on us.”

“... Okay. Do you want to know what I'm gonna change or do with the next potion?”

“... I- I… I don’t know. Do you think I should know?”

“Okay. Uhm… I have a couple directions I can go with the potion. I don’t know what result Perix wants from me. I’m making the potions for her, but she sure isn’t giving me much to work with. I can either add ingredients to the current potion or I can try a completely different additive. Right now, there’s crimson fungus in the potion, which… Which is what gives the sickly feeling. I can add red or brown mushrooms to it, which would theoretically give an additional effect that you’ve already experienced, or- I can go back to the base potion and add warped fungus, which… I don’t know what would do. It’s an ingredient in blindness tonics, but there’s… Some weird properties to it, that I don’t know how would react in the potion.”

“For now, try… Try the additives. I've experienced those effects before, so I know what to expect, kind of. It’s gonna suck, but hey! It’s gonna suck either way, right?”

The false optimism didn’t make Sherbert feel any better about the potions they’d have to make, but they’d take it. Sherbert and Ghosty spent a bit more time together, before Sherbert left for the Alchemy lab. 

Okay. Adding the red mushroom to the already horrible potion. That’s Trial #101, #102 would be adding the brown mushroom to that. #103 would be removing the red mushroom from the potion entirely, leaving the potion with crimson fungus and the sole brown mushroom. That’s three new potions for Perix to use. That would give Sherbert time to experiment with the warped fungus. 

They weren’t sure why they preferred to work ahead of Perix’ “testing”, It caused way more work for them, as they could have been working on a completely different path, then Perix would make a suggestion that completely altered the direction they were taking the potion. 

If Sherbert had to guess, it was so they had some potion work to calm them down with. Making multiple different potions, exploring the different options they could take with them. Or, it was so they had a buffer against the potion being used on Caspian. If Perix tested Trial #90, but Sherbert was working on Trial #96, then they didn’t seem as directly involved with the torture Ghosty experienced. Maybe it was a mixture of both reasons, or something entirely different. Sherbert didn’t know. 

Either way, they began working on the new potion, adding warped fungus to the mixture. 

Trial #104 

Recipe: Scoria -> wart -> honey -> FSE -> ghast tear -> warped fungus

Results: Adding the mind medicine potion to the warped fungus causes the mushroom to mutate. Spores seem to release from the mutated plant. 

Note: Should the spores be cultivated? What properties does the mutation have? Is mutated plant different from unmutated warped fungus? What about the warped fungus causes plant to mutate?

Well, this was certainly a find… Sherbert wasn’t sure what to think about this new development. As soon as they saw the spores develop, they left the brewing stands to find some kind of mask. Until they knew what the spores did, they did not want to breathe them in more than they already had. 

As much as they didn’t want to, they would have to talk with Perix about this. She’d hopefully know more about this, even if the likelihood she’d want to experiment with the spores were great. 

Just to be sure, Sherbert changed into a new set of clothes, sending the potentially contaminated set to the laundry. The split jacket of pale endstone yellow and ender purple, along with their obsidian black shirt was now gone. Instead, Sherbert put on their yellow poet shirt. The one with the purpur coloured lining accents. On top of that they wore their jagged edged, dark purple jacket. As opposed to so many of their other jackets, this one was cropped, ending just below the rib. Over that, they fastened a leather strap for some potions. Practical and stylish if Sherbert had to say so themself. 

They added some black fitted pants, belts and chains, and refastened their mismatched yellow and purple converse. A staple for all Sherbert Fits. Looking in the mirror, they fixed their circlet, added some cool ear piercings, their dragon choker as well as some other longer end themed necklaces. It looked good. Didn’t really complement their teal eye, but hey, it matched the other yellow one just fine. And anyways, the teal one was bleeding, so in Sherbert’s opinion, that one was just the problem eye. 

Satisfied with their new look, Sherbert went to visit Ghosty. He… Should definitely know about the potion and the spores. 

They arrived at his cell not long after. Caspian was sleeping when they arrived. They felt bad about waking him, but this was urgent. Walking into the cell, they crouched down beside him, gently calling him awake.

“Caspian, Cassspian~, you need to wake up buddy, I have some concerning news… Caspian? Ghosty?” They were quiet at first, then gradually got a bit louder. Nothing. The man was out cold. 

They felt really bad about it, but he had to wake up, so they shook his shoulder a little, hoping the shaking would help wake him up.

“Caspian. Caspian you really need to wake up right now. Caspian!” The last call was a small shout. Caspian woke up with a start.

“Huh! Wha-? Wassgoin on? Shervrt? Wha?” Sherbert felt really bad, the man was clearly out of it. 

“Caspian, I’m really sorry, but you had to wake up. I have some… Concerning news about the new potion I’m working on.”

That seemed to wake him up a bit more. It was clear he was still tired, and not fully awake, but he wasn’t at risk of drifting off again.

“What? What is it?”

“I was working on #104, with the warped fungus, and the potion caused some form of mutation. There were spores being released. I don’t know what they do yet, but I’m certain that as soon as Perix finds out she’ll want to test the spores themselves. I… I have to show her the potion Caspian, I'm out of my depths with this one. Yeah, I know potions, and some of the chemical components and science behind that, but I am not equipped to deal with spores and mutated mushrooms.”

“Oh… Oh fuck. Are you okay? The spores didn’t harm you or anything? I know you’ve had potions explode on you before, this can’t be good either.” 

“I’m fine, I didn’t inhale too much, had a bit of a coughing fit, but I grabbed a mask as soon as I could. I sent my clothes to the laundry as soon as I was able, so it should be fine. But yeah, until we figure out what the spores do, I’m gonna have to be extra careful.”

“Oh, new fit, yeah. It looks good, I like the jacket.” 

Sherbert smiled and did a little pose, showing off the new outfit. “Thanks! I made it myself- anyways, I just… I wanted you to be prepared. I’m gonna have to catch Perix up on the potions really quick in order for her to come help me. I’m sorry.”

“No no, it’s fine, Sherbert. I get it. I just hope she- no that’s bad…” Caspian cut himself off. Sherbert had an idea of what he was about to say…

“What?” 

“I was about to say that she uses the others first… I- I don’t believe that. The others don’t deserve that.” 

“None of you deserve that, Caspian. Better them than you, it’s an instinctual want.”

“I… Yeah, I guess. I just don’t like it. Sometimes I do wish it was me they experimented on… So the others didn’t have to feel the pain. Other times…” Yeah, there it was. Sweet Caspian, always thinking about others before himself. Even being willing to endure more torture so he could protect someone else. 

Sherbert had felt the same before. One day, after Perix had been particularly ruthless about her interrogation and subsequent ‘testing’, Sherbert had told Caspian they wished they could take his place. Let them take the brunt of the damage, Caspian didn’t deserve it. 

He had been the one to point out the flaw in that. Convinced Sherbert that nothing good would come out of that, only more hurt for the both of them. 

“Ghosty… That’s completely understandable. You shouldn’t want others to hurt, but you shouldn’t want to be hurt yourself, just because others are hurting. You told me that one.”

“I- sigh, yeah I did, that wasn’t exactly what I meant, but… I guess the situation fits.”

“Yeah. It does. Now, I’m sorry I woke you up. You can go back to sleep now, I’ll wait here until you do, if you want.”

Ghosty had told Sherbert of their difficulty in falling asleep alone. It had developed not long after his imprisonment. He would lay on his wooden slab of a bed, tossing and turning, his mind refusing to quiet down. Thinking and thinking, remembering the pain and torture of his interrogations and experimentation. Sherbert had offered to stay there while he tried to sleep, hoping a second person, a comforting and safe presence, would help keep the terrors at bay. 

It had worked. Every time Sherbert noticed Caspian getting restless, they’d place a gentle hand on his head, softly stroking his hair until he calmed down. Eventually he’d fall asleep, and when he woke up again, Caspian had told Sherbert it was the best sleep they’d had since even before they arrived at the prison. 

Sherbert tried to stay until Caspian would sleep as much as they could, though sometimes, more than they liked really, that wasn’t possible. 

“I’d really appreciate that.”

So, Sherbert sat there by Ghosty’s side, keeping him company while he tried to fall asleep. 

It was time. Sherbert was going to tell Perix about the spores. They had speedrun giving her the potions, saying that they’d found their drive again after their ‘little burnout’. They were lucky Perix’ suggestions for improvements had been the same ones they’d thought of themself when making the potions in the first place. 

They were currently showing Perix the warped fungus mutation, having warned her to wear a mask for protection, not knowing what the spores did. They made the base mixture, then added the warped fungus, letting Perix observe the mutation process. 

As Sherbert had expected, Perix was interested in cultivating the spores further. They asked Sherbert to do it, but Sherbert declined, stating their lack of knowledge as the reason. Perix dismissed that, and kept insisting, saying they’d help along the way as well as provide the resources necessary to find the needed knowledge. Sherbert tried again to decline, but Perix insisted. She was sure Sherbert was capable enough to do it, they didn’t need to worry about that. 

Sherbert had no other excuses, so they reluctantly agreed to work with the spores. The work kept them busy. They had to constantly be vigilant in case the spores turned out to be dangerous… Or well, more dangerous. Perix would want them even if they were. 

After being assigned the task, they quickly went over to Caspian so they could tell him that they would be unable to meet. Caspian was sad but understood. He was just glad for the heads up this time.

While working on the spores, Aunt Perix would occasionally come check up on them. She was interested in seeing their progress, as well as how the spores were coming along. 

“Aunt Perix, I really don’t think I can do this. I have no idea what I'm doing. I specialise in potions not biology.”

“Oh, Sherbert. I know others don’t think you’re capable of this, but I believe in you. You’re more capable than you think, just you wait and see. You have it all handled, don’t you?”

Sherbert really didn’t. They were focused on alchemy and the attributes that come from that. Spores and mushrooms and biology had never been Sherbert’s domain. Sure, they knew a little bit of chemistry due to the potion making. Alchemical processes and such, but… This? They’d never done anything like this. But… Perix was trusting them with it. They had to do it. 

If for no other reason, then to get back to Ghosty. The longer it took Sherbert to learn this, and to do this. The longer Ghosty would have to be alone. They couldn’t let that happen. 

Chapter Text

Sherbert had been working with the spores for a bit over a week now. They had slowly and surely been getting the hang of it. The books and stuff that Perix had given them came in handy. Sherbert now knew way more about mushrooms and their cultivation than they thought they’d ever know. It was actually kind of neat. What? They were a Mushroom Gay! 

It was actually really beneficial too. They now understood, on a deeper level, what made a warped fungus warped, why hoglins were scared of them, and why the warped forest biome in the nether could only spawn Endermen. They also knew more about the other types of mushrooms and fungus. About the properties of podzol and mycelium, and why they were capable of growing tall mushrooms in the sunlight, unlike regular grass and dirt. About the internal differences between the mushrooms and the fungi. They’d figured out what properties each mushroom had that made it possible to make their specific potion. It was really fascinating. 

Anyways- back to the spores. They had grown into teal mould, and it appeared as if the mould was… Alive. It was a deep teal colour, with small flecks of lighter teal in it. The flecks seemed to glitter with movement. It was almost reminiscent of the internal movement of soul sand, but… Different. 

Sherbert had learnt the mould reacted to heat, the spores spreading further when exposed to heat sources, or when destroyed via flames. When the spores spread, they would leave these veins of mould, and if the mould infection got really severe, the mould would overtake organic blocks and convert it into full blocks of the mould. 

The more Sherbert tested, the more… Peculiar the mould seemed to be. Sherbert had gotten an extra room installed in the lab for the cultivations of the spores. The room was treated with a snow layer outside, as that had seemed to neutralise the spores. It made sense, they activated with heat, and neutralised with cold. It was why the potion had caused them to grow, the heat from the potion- the brewing stand, the blaze powder, the scoria base- had expanded spores that grew inside the mutated fungus. 

Sherbert had tried to see what would happen if they let the mould thrive. A controlled part of the Fungus Lab was left alone for the mould and spores to do as they pleased. Sherbert tried to see what would happen if the area got exposed to mass amounts of heat. They made sure to wear a gasmask. They always did, but this time they made extra sure it was fastened, and that no gaps were left. They even got the mask upgraded which would let no spores through. 

The spores spread, converting the layer of dirt into the blocks of mould. From there, it spread, creating these… Formations, these… Tentacles… Every time Sherbert moved, they vibrated. What surprised Sherbert was the sound they made. They clicked and vrooped, seemingly sending signals between each other. The more the mould spread, the more… Mutations appeared. The teal mould moved away, revealing a pale yellow… Stem of sorts. Sherbert wasn’t sure what to call it. The colour reminded them of Endstone, or… Maybe some form of bone? 

The more Sherbert investigated this new… Block? The more it seemed to actually be a kind of a bone… At least… The edge of it. Inside there was a swirling… Vortex? It… It was alive. More than the rest of the mould, which also seemed to be alive. When Sherbert tried to touch the block, it emitted a loud shriek. It was a horrible, shrill sound. Sherbert had never heard anything like it. 

They decided to let the shrieking block be for now, but as they moved away, their movements got detected by the tentacle mound, which apparently signalled to the shrieking block to let out another scream. 

That was interesting… The sound was different this time. A little darker in pitch maybe? The more they moved around, the more the tentacles sensed it, and signalled it back to the shrieking block. Each shriek was different. They seemed to be lowering in pitch a bit, but it wasn’t very clear. Especially because the sounds were so shrill in Sherbert’s ears. From what little they could tell, there were about… 5 different shrieks? Maybe? They were so loud that Sherbert could practically see the soundwaves, which emitted from the shrieking block thing. 

… They really needed a name for this thing. Not just the shrieking thing, but the entire… Mould group. Sherbert began asking for name suggestions from the Things. They had been independently arguing with each other over the shrieking sounds, and how ominous they sounded. Some of them were sure the shrieks were going to summon something. Sherbert ignored them, as they always did when they got a little too chaotic. 

“So, Chattersss, any name ideas for these things? Remember, we have to present these to Perix and Enderian, so they gotta be good.” Sherbert got a barrage of options. It was almost difficult to distinguish and pick out one suggestion from another.

“Moldies!”

“Small stars!

“Stevathy!”

“Shrakers!”

“Jellie beans!”

“Kevin!”

“Weird creepy stuff!”

And on and on it went. Sherbert wasn’t really happy with any of them. They did like the name Stevathy, it was a good, funky name. But maybe not for this thing. They might name their next pickaxe that, though. 

“Come on guys, we need something good. We can’t just let this… Thing not have a name. It’ll just come sculking after us, like it does when it spreads.” Hmm… Maybe…?

“Sculk? Hey Chat, what do you guys think about Sculk?”

“I like it.”

“Perfect!”

“That’s what it’s called though?”

“I don’t know, a bit on the nose.”

“Shut up, they got there in the end, didn’t they?”

“I still like Stevathy better…”

“Good. So we’re all in agreement. Now for the rest of them… Sculk, sculk, sculk…” They were thinking. Yeah, Sculk was a little on the nose, but hey! If the shoe fits or whatever. They could probably do something similar with the rest…

“What about… Shriekers? And maybe… Sensors? Sculk Shriekers, and Sculk Sensors?”

The Things seemed to like it. So, that’s what the mould was called. The Sculk was an interesting discovery. It was alive, but Sherbert had no idea how . Nothing in the books they had read said anything about the fungi being alive. Okay, well they did, but not in this sense . 

The Sculk seemed harmless in itself. The block itself couldn’t really do much, just behaving like any other fungus type specimen. The danger laid in the spores. Sherbert had yet to really… Ingest them. They’d breathed a small amount when they’d first discovered the mutation, but after that they had made sure to keep their mouth covered. And after finding out how fast it spread in the presence of heat? Yeah, you wouldn’t catch them dead without a mask on near that. Which, dying was probably what would happen if they didn’t wear a mask. 

Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic. They’d probably get a bit sick, maybe some breathing problems, but they weren’t sure. And they weren’t particularly keen to find out. Sure, they tested new potions on themself all the time, but those could be dissolved with milk - they were in control of the situation then. They wouldn't be here. 

Some more testing would probably have to be done at a later day, but for now, they were happy with their discoveries. They felt they had done enough to get back to Perix and tell her of the spores. And once they had done that, they could finally come back to Caspian! It had been so long. Longer than when Sherbert had isolated themself… They missed him. They were sure he missed them too.

Sherbert went through the decontamination door they had gotten installed. It was basically a fancy term for a cold room. You got sprayed with some powdered snow in a room encased entirely in ice of all varieties. Ice, packed ice, even some blue ice. Everything they could think of to kill the spores that could cling to their lab coat and clothes. Outside the Sculk Lab, Perix stood waiting.

“Oh, hey Aunt Perix! Were you waiting for me? I hope you weren’t waiting long… It’s kind of isolated in there, haha.”

“Oh no, don’t worry Sherbert. I was just waiting to know what the status of those spores was. Do you think they’d be helpful in the potion?”

Oh… Oh no. In all their excitement and research, Sherbert had almost completely forgotten the main reason they were doing this. It wasn’t just to figure out what the Sculk was, it was so Aunt Perix could experiment with it…

“Well, I don’t really think it would be a good idea to put it in a potion. The Sculk spreads rapidly when in contact with heat. If my understanding of it is correct: My theory would be that it would cause some kind of an explosion, if it was put into a potion. At least, unless I can figure out how to make potions cold.” Ooh, that was a fun idea, they could look into that after-

“Sculk? Is… That what you have decided to call the substance?”

Oh, right… The conversation…

“Yes. A little on the nose, I’ll admit, but it seemed a fitting name, with how it skulks around in order to spread. There are also these… Other blocks? I’ve called them the Sensors and the Shriekers. They… Do what the name suggests.”

“Oh? Tell me more.”

“Well… The Sensor senses things, obviously. They have these little tentacle things which move when they detect movement. Or sound? It can pick up when I put on armour, but it doesn’t really pick up when I’m talking. I think it might have something to do with vibrations and the frequency of them but… I am not equipped to answer that. I’m not a scientist, no matter how much it might seem like I am right now.” 

They really did not want to look into sound frequencies. Their alchemy, potions, and now fungal biology, was enough, thank you very much. They’ll take the title of Chemist, maybe Biologist, but that’s in a very minor sub-genre of biology. 

“Interesting… And do you think these Sensors can be of use?”

“Hmm, well… Maybe if we safeguard it enough, we can use it as a form of motion detector? Like an alarm system? Though, I don’t actually know how that would work, the sounds they make are very quiet… We could maybe set up a Shrieker too? That might work… Actually, I don’t know if it works with redstone, that’s not really my area either…”

“Hm, fascinating. Though I did mean more in terms of my project, I can definitely see the benefits of using the… Sculk as an alarm system. And what of this ‘Shrieker’, based on your naming convention, and the little you’ve mentioned, I’d expect it to shriek.”

“Yes. The Shrieker is this… Almost bone-like textured clock. It has a swirling vortex in the middle, and any time it’s touched, or it receives a message from the sensors, it shrieks. Loudly. Like… It’s a lot. I don’t really see how it would be useful in itself. Unless you’re physically touching it, it doesn’t really do much.” 

Sherbert’s mind was going a mile a minute, trying to think of what the Shriekers and the sensors and the rest of the sculk could be used for. They almost didn’t hear Perix’ next question. 

“Very well, so you have found nothing of note about this Sculk? Or the spores it originates from?”

“Well, there’s a lot I’ve found out. The spores are really interesting, they spread via heat. Like… Wildly. If the sculk gets exposed to heat, or if you try to destroy it with fire, the spores expand and cultivate exponentially faster. They fly around and infect almost every surface. I’ve found that the spores infect organic blocks and convert them into Sculk, spreading from there as soon as they have an anchored point. I don’t know how the spores react when ingested, though I wouldn’t recommend it. When I first discovered the mutation, I inhaled a small bit and got a massive coughing fit. It made me really lightheaded… Anyways, the spores, and Sculk in general, gets neutralised via cold. I’ve been using powdered snow to freeze it solid and then just break it off. That seems to do the trick.”

“Oh. That’s… Interesting. Say, Sherbert, you wouldn’t happen to have some of the spores on you, would you? I’d like to look at it a bit further myself.”

“Yeah, here, go right ahead-.” Oh no… Dang it Sherbert, think things through before you just give away a potentially harmful weapon to the Warden! She might be your aunt, but the Warden could really hurt Caspian!

“Oh thank you. I’ll be sure to be very careful, and to send you any information I gain out of it of course. Now, why don’t we head to dinner now? I’m sure your mother has been waiting to hear about your day in the lab. We’ll be heading right back early tomorrow. I’d like to see some of this Sculk.”

Well… There went Sherbert’s plan to see Caspian. They couldn’t really sneak out after dinner, Perix would be warding the prison, like she does almost every night. They’d just have to visit him tomorrow.

‘Tomorrow’ didn’t work either. Actually, it was another five days before they could find a good enough time to visit the prison. Perix had been spending a good amount of time there suddenly. Sherbert had an idea as to why, but they preferred not to think about it. Everything was fine in the prison. It was absolutely normal, and Caspian was completely unharmed. 

They just had to keep telling themselves that. 

It had been two weeks now since the last time Sherbert and Caspian had met up. Gods, they missed him so much. They hadn’t realised just how… Unintentionally dependent they had become on Caspian’s companionship. The days felt emptier somehow. Where before they could have gotten by just talking with the Things, Chat, as they had taken to calling them collectively, now it seemed like they were missing something.

They still loved Chat, they’d grown up with them always by their side, it was rare that they wouldn’t be there. There was the occasional period of silence, usually on slow days when nothing of not happened. When they were so engrossed in potion making that suddenly a week had gone by, or they were gathering materials to redecorate their room. Things like that, where Sherbert barely noticed the silence due to the quiet, nice mundanity of it all. 

But with Caspian… There was just something about having an actual person beside you, talking to you from a fixed point, a visible, moving mouth. To be able to touch and hold the person you were talking to. Caspian was so touch-starved it almost pained him; Sherbert was a bit like that too honestly. Though they had easier access to physical contact, Enderian and Perix were happy to give a hug or a pat, even if they themselves preferred minimal contact. They were happy to make Sherbert happy with some small form of physical affection. 

Caspian was all that and more. He was their best friend, and sure, he was also their only friend, it… Somehow didn’t feel wrong. Sherbert didn’t feel the need for more friends with Ghosty around. They were content just… Being in each other's presence, keeping the other company, talking, laughing. Having fun. 

Wow, Sherbert had missed him. 

They finally arrived at the prison, making sure the coast was clear, and then knocking on Ghosty’s door.

“Sherbert!”

“Ghosty!”

Sherbert went into Ghosty’s room, and the two immediately hugged. Sherbert was mindful of any potential bruises or scrapes Caspian might have, but other than that, they were just as desperate in their hug. 

“Oh my gods, Caspian, I’ve missed you so much ! I have so much to tell you, I’ve learned so much about the spores and- sigh, it’s nice to just see you again. I have some flowers for you? I’m guessing the last ones are about to wilt?”

“Haha, yeah. Thank you, Sherbert. I really appreciate it. Though, I have some things I need to tell you… And… I don’t think you’re gonna like it.” Oh no…

“What is it?” Sherbert asked apprehensively. The two of them sat down by the bed, leaning against the wall, shoulder to shoulder. Close, after so long without seeing each other, but far enough apart that they could still fully see the other and have a talk. 

“Perix, she… A couple days ago she came in here with this new… Thing. It was a small petri dish.” Oh no… Sherbert could already see where this was going. 

“It was the spores, wasn’t it?” Sherbert nodded.

“Yeah, I thought so. Anyways. She released them in a couple of the cells. Particularly in the one furthest down the hall. The one with the paroled accomplice? She came in there almost every day… She came in here too.”

No- Oh no, Caspian…

“Are you okay? You’re breathing good? Oh god, I should have taken something with me.”

“No, I- I’m fine. Just a bit of a cough for a couple days, it’s over now. I really didn’t get the brunt of it.” Caspian seemed to compose himself for a minute, then continued. “She- She was taking notes to herself. When testing the spores. I- I remember what she said.

“She was talking about these… Developments. How the spores could be used to infect ‘test subjects’. She didn’t think they did anything, at first. There’s no outward change, but… Heh- ‘Infected subjects are remarkably susceptible to suggestion. They are in a nearly sleep-walking state, making them docile.’ God it was horrible to hear. She went on and on about her so-called developments.”

“... Caspian, what happened? Something clearly happened, right?”

“Yeah… It did. Sherbert… The spores killed someone.” No- nonono, please- “The accomplice, the one she’d been visiting every day. Yesterday, he died. I’m not sure what happened, it almost sounded like he choked… It was horrible, Sherbert.”

“Oh gods…” Yesterday… When Perix had come by in the afternoon, asking Sherbert to look into the spores and if there was a way to immediately stop an already spreading Sculk infection, Sherbert hadn’t thought anything of it. Not really. She had asked similar questions the entire week… 

Sherbert had thought, not dwelling on it, but in their mind regardless, that she could be using the spores on the prisoners, but- Never had they thought they’d be able to kill someone. Especially not an Ender. They naturally ran colder than humans. An infected human was bad, as their body temperature itself would cultivate the spores so much that it would be hard to freeze the infection out. At least, that was the theory from the data Sherbert could find. 

Endermen were naturally colder, coming from the End, some nether-born Endermen ran hot, but even then, it wasn’t very common. The End was the natural environment for Endermen, so their bodies reflected that. If even Endermen could… But Caspian had said Perix visited every day. It wasn’t just infecting the Enderman on its own, he died of over-exposure. 

“‘Small doses recommended, until improvements to the formula can be made.’ She went on and on in her journal, ‘Alterations should be explored to see if subjects can follow commands from a single source. They should only obey the Warden.’” 

“That’s- Oh Ghosty, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t- I shouldn’t have given her those spores, I wasn’t thinking- I…”

“Hey, hey, hey, Sherbert, not your fault. Remember? You are not responsible for what she does with it. You told me you were gonna make a safe space before you even tried to look into those spores. I’m sure you kept the necessary precautions.”

“Yeah, I did. But-”

“No buts. You are not responsible for Perix’ actions. It’s a tragedy what happened, but… Neither of us could do anything. So… Let’s try to look on the bright side, yeah...? We’re both fine and can finally just hang out. Tell me about your research. You sounded excited, a change from last time, that’s for sure. What happened, talk nonsense to me haha.”

Sherbert laughed along with Ghosty for a couple seconds. They still weren’t alright, neither of them were, but… For now, they could enjoy each other’s company. Laugh over Sherbert’s silly naming conventions, and their new, maybe-kinda-sorta interest in mushrooms and fungus biology. 

Sherbert spent hours just talking to Caspian about everything they’d discovered. There was a lot. But in the back of their mind, they had a continuous nagging feeling. Perix had killed someone. Sure, it was accidental, but… The Warden had killed one of their prisoners. And Ghosty was a prisoner. He could be next. Sherbert couldn’t let that happen. 

So, with a newfound determination, Sherbert intended to talk with Enderian as soon as possible. They were getting Caspian out, if they so had to break him out themself. 

Just as Sherbert had made up their mind, the two of them heard footsteps down the hall. Perix had returned to the prison. Sherbert was about to chorus fruit out, when suddenly a crash came from outside. It felt almost like an earthquake. Sherbert and Ghosty held on to each other, trying to help the other keep balance when suddenly-

Chapter Text

Sherbert woke up. Their head was spinning, they felt completely disoriented. They looked around, realising they were in Caspian’s cell. Caspian was laid on the floor, passed out. Nothing looked wrong from where they sat in the cell. They went over to Caspian and shook him awake. 

“Wha…? Huh? What happened?” It was clear Caspian was just as dizzy as Sherbert was when they woke up. 

“Hey, are you okay? I don’t know what happened there, was it an earthquake? Those… Don’t really happen here?”

“I don’t know, one moment we were fine, the next I wake up from the floor? Is there any damage outside?”

“I don’t know, I’ll go check.” Sherbert said, heading toward the window. Wait… That’s not right? What? 

“Uhm… Cas, you might want to come look at this…?” Caspian went over to the window, looking out too. 

The End looked wrong. Everything had moved around. The buildings were different, some buildings had moved places, some were entirely missing. Sherbert even noticed a bakery that had been torn down when they were younger had reappeared in its old place. 

“This… Is weird. What the hell happened just now?”

“I don’t know… But I don’t like it. I should probably ask Mom, or Perix or somethi- Wait Perix ! She was on her way over here!”

“Oh fuck. Uhm, you should probably go. Let’s hope whatever happened caused her to pass out as well.”

“Yeah… Hey, I’ll see you later, okay? I’ll ask my mom about the weird… Shift, and see if she knows anything. This has never happened before… Bye.” And with that, Sherbert crept out the cell, making sure to hide away in case Perix showed up. 

Sherbert needn’t have panicked. On their way out, right in the foyer of the prison, laid Perix, passed out. Sherbert ran over to their aunt, trying to shake them awake. 

“Perix… Perix? Aunt Perix, are you okay?”

“Wha… Sherbert? What happened?”

“... I don’t know. I went over here to talk to you about the Sculk and found you passed out on the floor. Something’s really wrong. Everything’s moved, the street outside looks completely different. Chorus’ Delights is back, looking just like it did before it was torn down… I don’t know what happened.”

“Okay, it’s okay Sherbert, calm down. I’m sure everything is fine. We’ll go talk to Enderian, she’s a major god, I'm sure she has an idea of what happened.”

With that the two of them made it to Enderian’s throne room. Things seemed normal with her, but things were definitely anything but normal. 

“My queen, do you have any idea what has happened? Buildings have moved and shifted around, old buildings emerging back up again. The prince just found me passed out on the floor of the prison. Do you have even the slightest clue as to what happened?”

“I’m sorry? Perix, what are you talking about? Everything is normal. Buildings shifted? Why, I was just outside for a walk, everything is as it should be. Did you hit your head when you passed out?”

What? No really, what? Enderian didn’t realise anything was wrong?

“My Queen, I am completely fine. I was checking up on the Overworld prisoner, to see if he had recovered enough from his previous sickness to resume interrogation-” Enderian cut Perix off.

“You don’t need to worry about the Overworlder, his stay is of no consequence to us.”

What? Now Sherbert was even more confused. Enderian didn’t care about Caspian? But just the other day at dinner, she and Perix had been discussing his mind blockade and how to move around it. Enderian had specifically requested Perix check up on him after the ‘incident’ Perix had talked to her about. 

“... My Queen?”

“You must be tired, Perix. If Sherbert found you passed out in the prison you might be getting sick. Or maybe you are overworking yourself. Take a few days off, rest. I can’t have my Warden sick; it would lower productivity.”

“I-... Yes, my Queen.” Perix looked over at Sherbert, she wanted backup.

“But- Mom… Perix is right. Chorus’ Delight is back up and running completely unchanged. You specifically requested the entire building be terminated due to health concerns after I got sick on my thirteenth birthday…”

“What? Chorus’ Delight isn’t up to code? I must check up on that, thank you, Sherbert dearest.” With that, Enderian stood up, kissed Sherbert on the head, and went out. Presumably to shut down the bakery for a second time… This was… Concerning. 

“Aunt Perix… What just happened?”

“I… Don’t know, Sherbert… Has something happened to your mother? We both agree something has happened, right? It’s almost like the world shifted.”

“Yeah… I don’t know what happened. Should we talk to some of the servants? The other council members? Maybe they can find out what’s wrong with mom…”

“I’ll be right on that, sweetie. Why don’t you go check on the Sculk again? Maybe that has something to do with it. The spores do cause confusion and a mild sedative state.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right on that!” Sherbert didn’t like the idea that Enderian had been in the Sculk Lab without them. Sherbert hadn’t told them much about the dangers of the spores, only their research on the block itself. If she knew about the infections, it would be from Perix, and Sherbert doubted she had informed Enderian of that . It seemed she was keeping her experimentation away from the both of them. 

Sherbert went to check on the Sculk. Nothing had really changed. Nothing to indicate Enderian had been there at least. There were different potions brewing, though. From what Sherbert could tell, it was Trial #78. That… Was weird. They hadn’t worked on that potion in what felt like a year. Another potion brewing was Trial #89, as well as #56… Looking at the second to last brewing stand with potions in it, they could see Trial #12. That… Was concerning. To say the least. Everything was… Weird. Different. But there was no visible cause for the change. It almost felt like when Quixis wacked their room. But… That couldn’t possibly be it. This wasn’t a change of blocks, this was… A shift in the entire realm. It was weird, not to say highly concerning. 

The last potion brewing was Trial #104. Sherbert quickly removed the potion and threw it into the Sculk Lab. How did that appear? Sherbert had underlined to Perix that the potion should only be brewed in the Sculk Labs, to contain the mutations and spores. 

Things were really out of control. No one but them and Enderian had access to the alchemy labs, only Perix and Sherbert even knew how to make Trial #104. Sherbert had gone straight to the prison from the lab, and Perix couldn’t have made the potion in the time between her meeting with Enderian’s council and arriving at the prison. So… Where had the potions come from?

When Perix returned to them, she seemed concerned.

“I’m guessing from that look your talk with the others didn’t go so well?”

“No. Nobody else has noticed anything different. To them it’s like nothing happened, everything is the same as always. Many people don’t remember events that have recently happened, some remember things from different times completely different! Do you remember the party that was held for your seventeenth birthday?”

“Yeah? That day was a disaster. The entire palace had been wacked. It looked like it belonged in the Nether.”

“Yes. People remember it happened, but they were certain it correlated with your twelfth birthday. The one we got a buffet from Chorus’ Delights.”

“What? But that got shut down…?”

“Yes. It’s… It is almost like we are the ones remembering wrong. Everyone has been just as confused by my questions. They all seem to be on the same wavelength about it. I did notice something though. Various people have inconsistencies regarding the dates. The events are the same, with some more recent ones being completely erased, but… Everyone has different times for when something happened.”

“What?” Okay, this was getting ridiculous. If it wasn’t for Perix and Caspian, Sherbert would be going crazy thinking something was wrong with them.

“Yes. Vera said the Shulker Incident was three years ago while Altair said it was just about a month or so since.”

“But- that was about five years ago. Not three, and certainly not a month ago?”

“Exactly. Something has happened to the residents of the End, and I am not sure what. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything we can do about it, however. I talked a bit further with Enderian, and she does not remember you giving the Overworlder new clothes. In her mind he has always had that outfit.”

… Wait, what? 

“What could be so powerful to erase even the Goddess of Mind’s memories? Yet still leave us unaffected? I will have to look into this, but I’m busy with my other duties…”

“I think you should look into this first. If something big enough to… Change the entire realm and affect my mom happened, it needs to be dealt with quickly.” And then Sherbert could go talk to Enderian again… If she didn’t remember them asking to give Ghosty clothes, they hadn’t been prohibited from asking if they’d be let out. 

“You are right, Sherbert. Oh- what did you find out in the lab? It seems as if this isn’t an isolated incident, so I doubt you found much.” 

“Actually, some of the brewing stands had some Trial potions from... Way back. I noticed a #12 and #56, along with a couple others. There was also an exposed #104, which I quickly disposed of. I hope it wasn’t out long enough to infect something with the spores…”

“Oh… That’s… Curious. Very curious. Well, I will look into this further, you can continue with the research here. See you later Sherbert.”

“Bye…” As soon as Perix was out of the way, Sherbert made their way to Caspian. They had a lot to tell him. 

Sherbert and Caspian continued talking and theorising after Sherbert filled Caspian in on the situation. They were very confused, and from what Caspian had gathered, none of the other prisoners had been affected either. They all remembered things perfectly fine, like they did. They’d also woken up after suddenly passing out, some people had taken longer to wake up than others, which made sense, considering the various states of exhaustion they all had. The Warden had come by to test her experiments the day before.

The most telling sign that everybody remembered was the fact they all knew a prisoner had died. Pollux, someone had said. Sherbert was still reeling from that discovery; they had determined they would talk to Enderian about getting Ghosty out the next day. 

Bidding goodbye to Ghosty after… Hours of spending time together, they went back to their room and subsequent wing of the Palace. If Sherbert was getting Ghosty out, he’d need a room. And if it was close to Sherbert, Enderian might be more inclined to let him out. Sherbert could ‘keep an eye on him,’... Maybe Enderian would also think he’d get caught up in Quixis’ Wack, but Sherbert tried not to think about that. They didn’t enjoy the thought of others being affected by something that was supposed to affect them . Enderian might think of it as a good thing though.

They began preparing. Carving out a hole in the wall for the new room and then building out. The room was about the size of theirs, a bit smaller maybe. They made sure it was suitably furnished and decorated, but with enough room left for Ghosty to personalise it himself. They used the dark oak and spruce wood they had acquired over the years from Quixis’ Wack. Ghosty would hopefully appreciate the familiar block palette. Also, he wasn’t the biggest fan of End blocks, considering his situation. Which… Valid. Sherbert could respect that. They wouldn’t be very happy with the Overworld either, if they suddenly kidnapped them and held them prisoner for what could be almost a year now. 

Sherbert spent basically the entire night on making the room. Making sure it was perfect, that every block and decoration was up to Sherbert’s standards. And if it looked like a less decorated version, with a more coherent block palette, of their own room, then hey! Sherbert had a build style!

The next morning, Sherbert went directly to Enderian. They were on a mission, and they’d be damned if they didn’t succeed. 

“Mom! Good morning!”

“Good morning, Sherbert. What do you want?” Enderian asked, already having sussed out Sherbert’s intentions from the tone of their voice.

“Why would I want something? Can’t I just greet my adoptive mother in the morning, with completely no ulterior motive?”

“You can. Just not with that voice. Remember Sherbert, I know minds, and I know your mind. I’ve raised you since you were a baby.”

“Fine… I do want something. Or more… A request?” Sherbert took a deep breath; it was now or never. “I want you to release the Overworlder.”

“Excuse me?” There was a strange tone to Enderian’s voice. Sherbert couldn’t tell what her reaction meant. If it was positive, negative or just confused. 

“I want you to release the Overworld prisoner. He doesn’t deserve to be in there. He did nothing wrong. He came here on request from someone else. Someone he clearly doesn’t remember. I know Aunt Perix has been trying to figure it out, but he doesn’t know. And I doubt he’s gonna know at all, since nothing Perix has done has worked. 

Besides, he could be useful to you. He’s an insider. He knows how the Overworld society functions, has lived there his entire life. The Scouts are good at gathering materials and surface knowledge, but they cannot tell us how Overworlders actually live. Many of the scouts get killed before they can even make it back with any information. The Overworlder could help with that. If he just swore his allegiance to the End Council…”

“I’m not sure about this Sherbert.” Just then, Perix came into the room. Oh no.

“Not sure about what?”

“Sherbert wishes to release the Overworlder.”

“What? No. Absolutely not. That is a terrible idea. My Queen, we decided after the Traitor to the Crown was released to never let another prisoner out again. He tried to assassinate you! We can’t risk that again.” 

Dang it. Sherbert had hoped Perix wouldn’t be here for that. They knew she was gonna pull this exact argument, and they didn’t have a lot of rebuttals, other than “Caspian’s not like that, I'll make sure of it!”, which… Wouldn’t be the most effective. 

“The… Traitor? Perix, we have never had any traitor who was released from the prison. Are you sure you are feeling alright? This has begun happening more and more often.” 

Oh! Oh, this was wonderful news! Enderian doesn’t remember. She doesn’t have the background knowledge, and if Perix tried to argue something like that would happen… Enderian wouldn’t have any frame of reference!

“I-... I’m sorry My Queen, I… Must be misremembering. Regardless of if it did or did not happen. It could happen now. If we let the Overworlder out, he has a greater chance to enact revenge.”

“Not if we integrate him into the system!” Sherbert mentioned, rejoining the conversation. Perix looked over at them, confused. 

“If we allow him to join the council, we can keep a better eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t try anything. I will personally make sure he stays loyal. I can go talk to him, I am sure another Overworlder, regardless of their place of upbringing, will be more convincing to him. 

“Please Mom. He doesn’t deserve this. I can go talk to him, evaluate the situation. I will personally see to it that he does not try anything. He can stay in my wing. I can keep a better eye on him there… Quixis might interfere with his room, but… I am certain it will be fine. I will take on all responsibility in regard to him.”

Enderian seemed to be thinking it over. Weighing the pros and cons of having an “Overworld spy” as she called him, when he was first imprisoned. 

“Hmm. Very well Sherbert. I will allow him to be released. But only on the condition that he will join our ranks and will be integrated into the Court. You will be personally responsible for him. If he does anything out of line, anything at all, that will be on you. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Sherbert said. It was meant half seriously, half cheekily. From Enderian’s small smile, the meaning came across. 

“Very well. You have one chance. I guess more help against that wretch Fable will be useful.” 

“Yay! Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Mom!” Sherbert skipped over to Enderian, giving their mother a giant hug, and then rushing out the room. Shouting “You won’t regret this!” as they left. 

Sherbert sprinted towards Caspian, and as soon as they entered the prison was shouting “Caspian! Caspian! Caspian! I can get you out! You can be released!”

Caspian had started at the sounds, and of Sherbert barging into their cell, completely confused by what the ruckus was about. 

“What? Sherbert- Sherbert, slow down! What are you talking about?”

“I can get you out! Be released from the prison! All you have to do is join the End Court, and you can be free !”

“What? Why would I ever want to join the End Court? Sherbert, they imprisoned and tortured me in here! Perix fucking experimented on me. Why would I join those people?!” 

Oh no… Caspian was mad. That wasn’t what Sherbert had hoped…

“But… You can get out. Ghosty… You can be released from here. No more being stuck in a three-by-three cell. You can move around freely, at your own will… You can join me… We could spend so much time together. Outside the prison, just… Doing whatever we wanted. I thought you’d be happy…”

“Oh- Sherbert, I am. I’m very happy you got me out, but… I can’t join these people. They’ve done so many things against me- against everyone here. I’d just be joining that system. I can’t do that.”

“But… We could be together. Outside the prison. Hang out like we always do. Please, Caspian? Please. For me? I- I’ll even talk to my mother! I’ll get her to lay off of you! She told me you were my responsibility! I can run interference! Please, Ghosty. I want my best friend.”

Ghosty seemed to be thinking it over. It was clear he wasn’t happy with the situation, being another pawn in the End’s plans. He was essentially trading one prison for another. This one would just be bigger, but… He’d also have more freedom. He could move around more. He could spend time with Sherbert. Out in the open. With no fear of them getting caught.

“Okay. Sure. I'll join. But I'm only doing this for you, Sherbert. I hate the End. I hate it, and everything it stands for.” He was only saying yes for Sherbert’s sake. This would mean they wouldn’t have to sneak around the Palace. No risk of them getting caught and something bad happening to them, just because they decided to have a heart and befriend one of the prisoners.

“Okay! Okay, haha… That- That’s all I ask. I just want you out of here Caspian.” Sherbert hugged him. They hugged him so tight; Caspian was worried they might accidentally choke him. But… They didn’t care. He would finally get out of this blasted room. 

Caspian had been let out of the cell. Perix had come by later that day to escort him to Enderian, after Sherbert had said they’d talked with him. He now stood across from Enderian, very reminiscent of that fateful day when Caspian first showed up.

“I have been informed you have agreed to the terms of your release.”

“Yes, your highness.”

“You agree to pledge your allegiance to the End, subsequently releasing any ties you hold with the Overworld?”

“Yes, your highness.”

“You agree to be inundated in the End Court, serving the End and its goals?”

“Yes, your highness.”

“And you agree to the terms and conditions of your stay here in the End Court, with all that it might entail?”

“Yes, your highness.”

“You are fully aware of the consequences that will happen, should you break your contract with the End?” 

“Yes, your highness.”

“Then, welcome, Caspian Solcrest, to the End Court. You will be attending your first meeting, and get your duties as an End Official, in one week's time. I hope you enjoy your new life here. And don’t let me hear about any troubles, you won’t like the consequences.”

“Yes, your highness.” Caspian gave a nod, the tension in his shoulders still there, but Sherbert could see, from their place on Enderian’s left side, that he had relaxed a bit. 

“Now, now, Solcrest . It is ‘My Queen’, now. Remember?” Perix interjected. She stood on Enderian’s right, looking none-too-pleased that one of her ‘test-subjects’ had been released into the Court. 

“Yes, My Queen.” Caspian corrected, shooting a slight, almost unnoticeable glare at Perix. Caspian left the room, Sherbert excused themself, going after him. 

When they were outside the room, Sherbert tackle-hugged Caspian, happy for him to finally be free. Caspian held just as tightly to Sherbert, laughing all the while. The two of them left the main wing of the Palace, giddy with relief. Sherbert wanted to show Caspian around. They could finally show him all their favourite places in the realm! From the potions lab, to their wing in the Palace, to the Chorus Forrest on the outskirts of the Main Island. 

They spent the entire day like that. Sherbert just showing Caspian around their home, visiting all the places Sherbert had talked about while Caspian was imprisoned. Or, at least the places they were able to show them, as a lot of things had moved around after the weird world shift. 

The two of them sometimes talked about that too. What the shift was, and why it seemed to affect everyone but those inside of the prison. Sometimes Sherbert would talk with Perix about it too, but she only thought it affected the two of them, as she never really talked with the prisoners under her ‘care’. 

Perix had tried to talk with Epros about it. The primordial who lived in the void surrounding the End, couldn’t really give any answers. Voi was pretty nonverbal, which worked great when you had to vent to someone willing to listen, but not so great when you were desperate for answers. Perix had been pretty frustrated about that, despite knowing the limited chances for getting any information.  

Despite the little group's growing confusion at the Shift in the world, Sherbert and Ghosty continued trying to relax and have fun together. They spent almost every waking moment together and, more often than not, every unwaking moment too. 

Ghosty had been ecstatic about his new room, liking the small interior Sherbert had made him. He immediately went to make it his own, shifting things around and decorating with Sherbert’s help. The room became greener, filled with plants of all shapes and sizes. There was a little grass and moss patch with glowstones at the top to mimic the Overworld sky, which Caspian would often lay under, dreaming himself back in the Overworld, laying in a random field on an adventure, ready to go back home to the Lady of the World whenever he wanted. 

It was nice. He really liked the room. But it was also very lonely at night. So Caspian and Sherbert would often crawl into the other’s room at night and sleep in the other’s company. It was a mutual agreement and understanding that as soon as one came in, they would make room for the other. It helped Caspian fall asleep better, and it calmed Sherbert down, knowing he was right there if he ever needed anything. 

Some might say they had gotten co-dependent, but Sherbert would argue they were just good friends. They were allowed to be together after everything that had happened. 

Chapter Text

Eventually, the week ended, and Caspian’s new duties as a member of the End Court began. The day he was supposed to attend his first meeting, he was a nervous wreck. He was in Sherbert’s room trying to get ready. 

“I don’t know if I can do this Sherbert, what if I say something wrong? What if they all decide I’m not useful and throw me back again?”

“That’s not gonna happen, I would cause a riot, and Enderian knows that. You are free, and will continue to be so. And anyways, you’re going to do fine! I will be in there for moral support the entire way! I have my invis potions, and you know how good my invis pots are.”

“Sigh, yeah I know, I’m just… I’m nervous. I don’t know what they want from me, and I don’t know if I can handle the things they’re going to ask of me.”

“You will do fine. You are part of the Court now! You can voice your own opinions. I believe in you. You can do this.”

“Okay. Yeah, I can do this. I got this! Hehhhh…” It was clear Ghosty was still nervous, but Sherbert had faith in him. They took a hold of his hand, drank their invis with the other, and began leading him out the door toward the meeting room. 

When they arrived at the room, there were only a couple other people, Enderian and Perix among them. Perix was glaring at Ghosty, something she did almost every time they met. It was clear she was unhappy with one of her prisoners being out of her control. It set Sherbert the wrong way. She also hadn’t really talked to Sherbert since Caspian got out. Only giving the most important knowledge in her findings, and then leaving them alone. 

It hurt, having one of their guardians be so dismissive of them. Yeah, Perix didn’t agree with Sherbert’s decision, but… She didn’t have to ignore them!

A couple minutes later, Caspian was guided into the meeting room. Sherbert gave his hand a squeeze, and snuck in after everyone had filed in. They hoped Caspian could see the slight potion effects they gave off. Sherbert’s potions were made in such a way that potion effects were almost invisible. You had to know to look for them to see them, or be extremely vigilant, but in this sort of situation, there was no need to be wary of intruders. 

The meeting went alright. Caspian got introduced to the others, asked to tell them a bit about the Overworld’s defence system, which he got a bit confused about. 

“I’m sorry, but, what exactly do you mean with ‘the Overworld’s’ defence system? As far as I am aware, the entire Overworld does not have a singular defence system. We- I mean, it works on individual factions. The Overworld has multiple countries and kingdoms, each with their own form of defence. Usually only aimed to be used against other kingdoms. As far as I am aware, there are not a lot of interdimensional threats.”

That particular tidbit pleased the court. In their opinion, it showed the Overworld to be disorganised. They were fractured from within, infighting, from what it seemed Caspian had told. The Court had always assumed there would be a hidden system which Endermen could not see. Some base that only Overworlders knew off, spoken about in codes, in fear of a scout figuring them out. They had assumed that was one of the reasons the Endermen were being killed. They had discovered something they shouldn’t- gotten too close to the truth. 

Caspian kept quiet at that. Their assumptions weren’t really correct, Sherbert had assumed something similar, when the two had talked about the different defences the two realms had, and Caspian had told them that wasn’t entirely true. 

The Overworld was in no shape ‘fractured’. They just weren’t one cohesive country. He would have assumed the Overworld would have the advantage if a fight should break out, since there’s strength in numbers.

But Caspian wasn’t entirely happy with the End, so if they made some incorrect assumptions, Caspian wasn’t going to contradict them. 

After a couple hours of talking back and forth about various topics, from Overworld threats to local produce taxes, the meeting was adjourned. Sherbert had occasionally had to leave the room to refill their potions, but other than that they had stayed by Caspian’s the entire time. They had subtly reassured him, whenever he got too nervous. They always made sure to give him a sign whenever they left and came back from refilling their potions. 

It was also interesting for Sherbert, seeing what the court was up to. They had never really been allowed into any of the meetings. At least not since they were a toddler and couldn’t even understand what they were talking about. 

Sherbert had had their own opinions and suggestions to some of the points being brought up in the meeting, but had to restrain themself from making any noise, lest they be discovered. The entire thing just made them wish Enderian would let them sit in on a meeting. They were the Prince of the End. They should know how the country was run. 

Either way. The meeting was done, and Sherbert led Caspian back to their wing, so they could talk over what had happened. 

“It… Wasn’t actually that bad. A bit boring at times, I didn’t really understand a lot of what was being talked about, but. It could have gone worse.”

“Oh definitely. And you most certainly didn’t give any wrong information or lead them to any wrong beliefs.” Sherbert teased.

“Why, Sherbert. I would never . How dare you make such an accusation against me!” The two of them laughed for a moment, before going back to talking.

It was nice. Sherbert kept thinking it, but it was true. This was nice. They didn’t have to worry; they didn't have to hide. The two of them could be friends in public and no one would really bat an eye. 

Enderian did come up to them one day, asking why they spent so much time together with ‘the Overworlder’. Sherbert said it was to keep a better eye on him. What better way to make sure he doesn’t try anything than to befriend him? And it turned out Sherbert liked him, he was fun to be around, so it was a win-win situation, right Mom?

Enderian agreed and didn’t question it any further. Perix was another thing entirely. She came to them one day while they were making potions. Caspian had a bad day, and wanted to be alone for a bit, which Sherbert could understand. They went to the lab instead, they wanted to experiment some more with different potion combinations. 

“Why did you release the Overworlder?” 

Perix had barged into the lab, immediately asking the question. They sounded upset, but in that same emotionless tone they heard from the prison. 

“I’ve told you, I felt bad. He didn’t deserve to be in there. It’s been a year since he was imprisoned. I felt it was wrong.”

“You have never mentioned it before. Why suddenly now?”

“I have mentioned it plenty of times. I’ve had multiple unsuccessful talks with Mom about it. Remember that dinner a couple months back? It was one of the reasons I gave Caspian a new set of clothes.”

“... Why? What made you think he didn’t deserve it? He was an intruder, a spy sent here from the Overworld. It made sense to put him in the prison, especially because he wouldn’t tell us how he got here.”

“That was because he didn’t remember.”

“How did you know that?” 

Sherbert was confused. What was with all the questions? She couldn’t have known the two had spent time together…

“You talked about it. At dinner, I heard you and Enderian mention Cas’ memory problems and how it seemed to be out of his control… Aunt Perix, why are you asking this?”

“Did the Overworlder do something to you?” What? “Did he say something, do anything, had he kept some kind of potion that he threw at you?”

“What? No! He didn’t do anything to me. He barely even said anything before he was let out.”

“How often did you meet with him? I refuse to believe it was only the two times you have told us about” Oh no. Well, time to see how well they could fool the Goddess of Illusions.

“... It was more. I went to see him a couple of weeks after his imprisonment.” Perix looked concerned at that information, like her fears had been confirmed. So Sherbert quickly followed up with, “But we didn’t talk. He was asleep. I saw how badly he was handling the whole thing. 

“I visited a month or so later. I had heard you talking about him, and I got curious. That was about the time I began noticing how badly he was taking it and I asked him if I could get him some new clothes. It was the first time we interacted. He was confused. He must have thought I was some human servant you had taken like him. I said I had a spare set he could have, so he didn’t have to stay in the tattered rags he was wearing.”

“Sherbert. That was very reckless of you.”

“I know. But… I couldn’t just let him stay like that. He- he’s human… Like me. I kept thinking about if I had been in his situation. Locked up for entering another realm… I’m sorry. 

After I got permission to give him a new set, I visited him twice more. Nothing more than that! I came to ask him how he liked the new clothes and if it made his situation at least a little better. He said it did… Then, I visited about a week before I got him out. I finally couldn’t stand the thought of him being in prison anymore. I’m sorry, Aunt Perix.”

“Sherbert… Sigh, I won’t say that it’s fine. Because it’s not. That could have been very dangerous. You let out a potentially dangerous person. Enderian might not remember the assassin, but I know you do. 

“… I don’t know what’s happened to you. You seemed so promising. I had a lot of faith in you, that you were grown enough to handle the life of a monarch. But if you’re going to feel bad for everyone who gets imprisoned, I don’t think you are ready for the responsibility anymore. This compassion for criminals is harmful, sweetie.” Perix came up to them and stroked their hair. It was very reminiscent of when Sherbert was younger and came to them with a nightmare.

“There’s nothing wrong with being nice, Sherbert. But too much compassion is bad for a ruler. It can be taken advantage of. This was very childish, and I hope your mistake does not come back to bite you. I’m very disappointed, Sherbert.” She kept stroking their hair. Sherbert kind of understood the implications behind it. They were childish for their behaviour, so Perix was treating them like she had when they were a child. 

It made Sherbert feel bad. They didn’t want to disappoint Perix. She had been the one pushing for them to join the End Court. To see her be disappointed in Sherbert for an action they thought was right… It hurt.

But, Sherbert reminded themself. It was the right action. Sherbert knew this was the right decision. They had spent much more time with Caspian than Perix knew. They liked Caspian. Loved him like a brother. They couldn't stand to let him rot in the prison. They just couldn’t. 

No matter how disappointed in them their family would be, Sherbert would not regret their decision. 

Chapter Text

It had been about a month since Ghosty was released. Sherbert had been having the time of their life. The two of them had had a fun time doing the things they’d been joking about doing. Pulling pranks, creating havoc, causing chaos. Or at least… Something like that. 

Just because Ghosty was out, did not mean he had as much free reign to do what he wanted as Sherbert. So they had both decided the chaos and havoc probably should wait. They did pull a few pranks though.

Sherbert loved causing harmless pranks around the Main End Island, and they had ropes Caspian in to join them. He wasn’t that reluctant to join, mostly just scared of getting caught, but Sherbert had assured him that it was typical behaviour for them, and if anything went wrong, then they’d take the fall. 

After their talk with Perix, Sherbert had given up on trying to play ‘mature’. After the sadness of disappointing Perix had passed, they’d gotten angry. Why should they feel bad for fighting for what they believed in? If that was childish Sherbert would show her childish. Hence, the pranks. 

They started small, switching the spices and condiments in the kitchen, flipping a room’s decor and such. Then they moved on to bigger things. Sherbert got Caspian to help with releasing a bunch of chickens around the main portal. Sure, they despised the animal, but it was an effective prank. It also got rid of the- Frankly ridiculous - amounts of eggs they had. Charles’ eggs were, as always, non-fertile, but they had some other chickens which laid enough eggs. 

The aftermath of that one was fun. The people who knew Sherbert were quick to find the guilty party, but they let it slide. Sure, there were a lot, but it was generally harmless. Nothing that a couple hours swinging a sword couldn’t handle. Sherbert had even agreed to help. Why wouldn’t they? They got to kill more chickens!

They had ‘dragged’ Caspian with, making it seem like he wasn’t a part of the scheme. The perfect cover-up for their new accomplice. Caspian was fine being ‘in the shadows’ so to say. He thought it was fun to let loose and create some harmless fun, but… He’d rather not be discovered.

The two returned after cleaning up to plan their next ‘attack’. Caspian remembered someone from his old village who had planted trees all around their friend’s house. The End didn’t really have many trees, but they had the chorus fruit trees, which made for a unique take on that prank. 

Another idea was to place random redstone components around. It would cause a little anxiety without actually being harmful, since they wouldn’t do anything. They could potentially make them do something random like lighting a redstone lamp, to make it seem like they did more, but… That wasn’t high on the priority. 

Sherbert considered if they could switch the type of blocks of a building, but quickly decided against it. It would seem like Quixis, and Sherbert already disliked the idea of them affecting others. 

As the weeks went on, while they waited for the heat on them to calm down, they continued brainstorming. 

It was while Sherbert was trying to teach Caspian potions that they got an idea. 

“Wait. What if we splashed potions on people at random?”

Caspian looked up from the failed Night Vision potion. 

“What?”

“The pranks. What if I brewed a bunch of, like, lingering and splash potions, and then we placed dispensers and such around the cities. We could give people, like levitation and speed, I have some size changing potions I could make. It would be really funny, and completely harmless. The levitation could be coupled with Slow Falling, and if not, most people wear their Elytra around, so they’d be able to catch themself. Don’t you think that’d be fun?”

“Okay, I can see the appeal to that haha, so long as we make sure it’s not too intrusive, of course.”

“Of course.” Sherbert knew their potions. They knew the dangers of just randomly throwing potions at unsuspecting people. 

“Anyways. We should get back to you now. What is it about this potion that’s messing you up?” Sherbert asked, looking closer at the failed potion.

“I just… I don’t get it. Why does me putting a golden carrot in the stand make night vision? How do you remember what everything does? Gunpowder, Redstone, Glowstone. It’s all nonsense, Sherbert.”

“Haha, it’s really not, but I can see why you’d think so. Okay. Let’s start from the beginning again. I’ll explain slower and a bit more in depth, okay? If you have any questions, just ask me.”

“Okay.” So Sherbert began reexplaining the mechanics of brewing. The blaze rod of the brewing stand was used to conduct heat, since heat was important to expand the molecules in the ingredients, allowing for the bonds to combine, creating the desired effect. 

Night Vision was acquired by putting in a golden carrot. Carrots supposedly help to give better eyesight, but by itself, isn’t very useful in a potion. The gold of the golden carrots is perfect for that, as gold helps to conduct heat, as well as having a bit of innate magic to it. The magic bonds with the carrot and the potion solution allowing for the chemical process to happen. It was why most potions need an awkward potion to give any effects at all. The nether wart dissolves in the water, giving the magic necessary for potions to take effect. Some potions have enough innate magic in them to not need that step, but that’s rare. 

The two of them continued like that for a bit, Sherbert explaining what each ingredient did, Ghosty kind of getting it, but not really being able to understand it. He made a couple decent potions, and was able to remember the recipe for a couple basic potions. He said that was enough for him. He could make do in a pinch, but with Sherbert by his side, he didn’t really need to know more.

After that, they began working on the potions for their prank. They spent a good bit of time making those, as they needed a lot, if they wanted to make a big enough impact around the islands. 

Afterwards, they went to Caspian’s room where Sherbert tried to help him with his writing. Whether they were successful or not, they weren’t sure. Caspian appreciated the company though. 

He hadn’t told Sherbert precisely what he was writing about. He said he had a couple stories in the works. One about his imprisonment, which he used to vent. He also had an ‘adventuring’ journal for when he couldn’t get himself to write a cohesive story about it. The journal he used to express his feelings, frustrations, and fears. While the story was to vent his frustrations in a more… Creative way. 

Sometimes Sherbert was very helpful. They would pipe up with possible plot points, or background information on the End, but when it came to the words and actual writing… Yeah no. The two of them liked to joke that they spoke quantity, not quality. They could help with something, but mostly they were there for moral support. 

The two of them spent much of their free time like that. Relaxing, talking, enjoying each other’s presence, as well as being there while the other engaged in their hobby. Caspian with Sherbert’s potions, and Sherbert with Caspian’s writing. 

Time passed. Ghosty kept being called to the End Court meetings, Sherbert usually sneaking in with them, though sometimes Caspian wanted to try being there alone, so he could get more used to it. Sherbert appreciated the opportunity to sneak in and participate. After the meetings, Sherbert would mention their opinions on the things discussed, and Caspian would try to bring them up at the next meeting. 

Caspian also got his own wardrobe, so he didn’t have to wear Sherbert’s old clothes. His new outfits consisted of a lot of End purple and teal, as he wasn’t the biggest fan of the yellows. He usually wore a purple wraparound shirt with a dragon pattern on it. The edges were trimmed in teal. Over top he wore a purple jacket, reminiscent of the one he arrived in, but more fitting for a member of the End Court. The jacket was a dark purple leather type material. The same type of fabric elytra were made out of, Sherbert told him. There was a light purple fur lining, at the collar, and on the front a criss-cross pattern in purple and teal. The pants were relatively the same, dark and with a bunch of belts and accessories. On them, he also had various potions Sherbert had given them, that they thought would be useful and could come in handy. In general, Caspian’s outfits became more formal and militaristic than his usual adventuring type style.

He kept the same piercings as always, the septum piercing, and his various ear piercings. Over time, Caspian also began adopting the End Style of makeup, with purple markings around the eyes. A Sign you followed Enderian. He had been reluctant to do it, but the longer he stayed there, the harder it became to justify his aversion. He wore other types of make-up, so he couldn’t use the excuse that he was uncomfortable with it. 

Caspian disliked it, he felt it made him look like those under Enderian’s mind control. Sherbert had told him stories about the times Enderian had had to use her powers. It was rare, but sometimes it was deemed necessary. 

Other than the makeup, Caspian enjoyed his new looks. Not his usual style, but he could definitely get used to it. He was getting used to it, especially with Sherbert there to give him all kinds of dumb accessories to deck him out in, when he wasn’t ‘on duty’. They came in with necklaces, bracelets, rings and more. All kinds of things, from actually pretty and cool, to the dumbest thing you had ever seen. 

Just recently they had barged into their room, thrown a belt buckle at them, and then stormed out the room again. Caspian had picked it up and got in a laughing fit at the design. It was a design of a chicken, with a banned sign over it. It was just the type of thing Sherbert would wear to signify their hate for Charles the Chicken. Or as Sherbert called him “the Menace”. According to Sherbert, Charles was a “War Criminal, and not the fun kind.” Caspian had learned to just go along with it.

He saved the belt buckle in a drawer where he had all the other dumb things Sherbert had given him over the months he’d spent in the End. He treasured every little thing he put in there, regardless of if it was a diamond, or just a stupid little rock Sherbert had found and given him. 

The next day, Sherbert came into Caspian’s room.

“Okay. It’s been way too long, we need to pull a prank right this second, or I'm going to explode.”

“Really? I seem to recall it not even being very long since we laid out all those potion traps. When was it, barely two weeks ago? All of them haven’t even been found yet.”

“Well- Okay, fine. I just. Sigh… I need a distraction, and this seemed like the best idea.” Sherbert sounded dejected. They had been hoping a prank could help get them out of their little brain funk, but. It seemed that wasn’t going to be the case.

“A distraction? Sherbert, what’s going on in that mind of yours? C’mon, get over here and tell me.” Ghosty padded a spot beside him on the bed, and Sherbert went over to join him. When they sat, their head immediately landed on Ghosty’s shoulder. 

“I- I don’t know. My brain has been funky the last couple of days. I keep… Thinking. And not in a fun way.”

“I would make a joke here, but it doesn’t seem like you need that right now, what have you been thinking about Sherb?”

“Life? I guess. I don’t know. I just… You’ve been in the end for almost two years now. One of those years you spent in prison. I just… I guess I’m beginning to question the goodness of my realm.”

“Oh… Sherbert… Sigh. I don’t think I’d be the best to help you here.”

“I know! And that’s kind of why I’ve been thinking it. Every time you come back from a meeting, you point out something about the way we rule the dimension, and… I know you can have different forms of ruling, but… I don’t know. I guess the rose-coloured glasses are just beginning to fall away. 

“I love the End. It’s my home, and I have a lot of things here I don’t think I could ever live without, but… I guess I'm beginning to see that the world isn’t so black and white. And that- that’s not really something I feel ready to realise… You know I'm very stubborn. I have a tendency to not believe things before I see them. I’m basically living in denial. But… I don’t think I can do that anymore, and that… That scares me.” 

This had been plaguing Sherbert for months, actually, maybe even over a year. They had just refused to see it. 

“I was talking with Perix yesterday. She… I don’t know. She mentioned something. And… It’s not really any different than what she usually does, but… Something hit me, I guess? The way she was talking rubbed me the wrong way. They kept mentioning the Trial potions. We basically stopped experimenting with them after the Shift, she was more interested in the Sculk, and even then… After you were let out, she ignored me for a while. So… That research was laid to the side. 

“But recently… She’s been bringing it up again. She’s been mentioning more and more how it was ‘so sad I failed’, that she ‘really thought I could have done it’... That she thought I was ‘better than that’.”

“Oh Sherbert…” It was clear Ghosty wanted to say more but wanted to let Sherbert get everything out first.

“It’s just… Lately, I’ve been noticing more and more how… Degrading? She’s been. She loves me. I know she does, but…I don’t know, I guess I’m just sad that she thinks that way. That I disappointed her. But… She’s still been talking in a way that feels… Demeaning. And… The more I think about it, the more I realise she’s been doing it more and more.

“She’s always somehow bringing up my insecurities, even in situations they don’t really fit- and I know that could just be her misinterpreting the problem, but…”

“It still hurts you, and it’s still wrong. Sherbert… That’s not a healthy relationship. I can tell there’s more to the situation that’s bothering you than just this. But, this is also clearly bothering you. Sherbert, look at me. Directly at me.” Ghosty guided Sherbert’s head so they made eye contact.

“You are enough. You are so fucking capable . You don’t need to live up to anyone's expectations, because you are just as valid and capable and deserving as everyone else. Not everything is your fault. Not the prison, not the potions, none of it. You were stuck in a position you couldn’t get out of without risking yourself. I don’t blame you for that. No one should. That wasn't your fault.”

“I… Thank you Caspian. It’s not… I’m-... I don’t think my mind will allow me to believe it, but… Thank you. I really appreciate that.”

“Well, then I’ll keep saying it until you do. I care about you Sherbert. I want you to care about you too.”

Sherbert was crying now. They grabbed onto Caspian, who held them close as they sobbed in his arms. The situation was far from over, but… Today had been emotional enough already. The two of them stayed inside Caspian’s room the entire day. It hadn’t taken long for Sherbert to tire themself out and fall asleep on Caspian. He just held on tighter, and laid down on his bed, as the two of them took a long and well-deserved nap. 

More and more time passed. Sherbert was still often conflicted about their beliefs. The End versus the Overworld, who was at fault, who was not. Was anyone at fault? Had all they’ve been taught been a lie, or was there some truth to it?

Sherbert tried not to think too much about it, instead focusing on the more mundane aspects of their life. They spent time with Caspian, brewed potions, snuck into End Court meetings, and pulled a few more pranks. The potion prank had been wildly successful. Caspian and Sherbert had made multiple shulker boxes full of potions, given to them by Shulker’s whose shells had become too small and had shed them. They had placed almost a full box connected to a dispenser that would randomly throw out the potions when someone came near. They placed a lot of dispensers, and there were even still some spots that had potions.

The reactions to the potions had been generally positive. The potions weren’t harmful, and after the initial shock, most people found the entire thing funny. Some people had even taken to scouting out locations just to get the random effect boosts. They had thrown in a random assortment of speed, jump boost, levitation, slow falling, glowing and night vision... All of them with different levels of strength. 

Ghosty had become pretty good at brewing some of those specific potions, due to how many they needed. He stuck to the more basic potions like the speed, jump boost, and slow falling. Sherbert mostly did the more complex potions, like the levitation and glowing, but they basically made all of the potions, as they were faster and more efficient at brewing than Caspian.

Another prank they’d pulled was placing glazed magenta terracotta in multiple places. Caspian had suggested that one, as he had seen it happen before. When Sherbert first saw it, they realised immediately why that would be a good prank. The horribly bright arrow block was perfect for leaving as a slight eyesore. They just hoped Quixis never got that same idea. 

They didn’t have a lot of terracotta, but they made do with what they had. Taking form Sherbert's own small stash and from the Overworld section of the Palace’s storage rooms. 

It was fun, life went on, with only the occasional breakdown over the morality of the world. At least. It was fun until the Shift happened again. 

The two had been sent by Perix to help them pick up some supplies. Perix sometimes liked sending Ghosty to the prison, the two of them thought it was to remind him where he ‘came from’, and that if he ever stepped out of line, he could be sent back there again. Sherbert went with one, because they basically always were together and two, because they didn’t like leaving Ghosty alone in the prison. 

The three of them had felt the same crushing, rumbling feeling of an earthquake as before. Caspian and Sherbert clutched onto each other, and dove for the floor, while Perix went to one of the sides, steadying herself on the wall. 

Again, they woke up after seemingly having passed out. This time Sherbert was awoken by Caspian, and the two of them went to shake Perix awake. 

“It happened again, didn’t it?” Perix asked when she woke up.

“Yeah. I just… Don’t understand what’s going on. Why is this happening?”

“I do not know, but if it has happened again, it may be for a reason. Sadly, the Primordials are not very forthcoming with their answers. We are left to wonder, ourselves. Either way. I do still need those supplies, so if you two would get them to my office, that would be appreciated. I need to go talk with Enderian… See what has changed this time.”

With that Perix left the room, leaving Sherbert and Caspian to bring the various supplies down. 

The two of them spent hours afterwards trying to figure out what had happened, seeing what was lost in the shift and what wasn’t. Caspian was glad to find his trinkets were still there, unharmed. Actually, it seemed his and Sherbert’s wing was mostly left unchanged. The only difference being a slight move in the furniture. Sherbert thought it almost looked more lived in. 

Later, it turned out that was probably the case. According to Enderian and a couple of the other End Court members, Caspian had been there for way more than the year or so he was. No one could say exactly when he joined, but… It was always assumed he’d been there for some time. 

“Oh yeah, Solcrest. Yeah, dude’s been here since… Forever, man. When? I dunno man. Coupla years maybe?” 

“Caspian Solcrest? Yes, he joined… Oh when was it again? Maybe five years ago? Well, that does seem like a little bit too much, so, perhaps three.”

“What a silly question, Sherbert. He’s your best friend, you two grew up together, you should know how long he’s been on the council for.”

“When he joined? Oh I couldn't tell you that. Probably a couple years. He might have joined after that other Overworlder, though I’m not quite sure. I wasn't on the council then.”

“Caspian has been on the council for quite some time, I allowed him to join after you asked me to let him out of the prison. It made sense, he was useful during the War, I had you keep an eye on him, and you two grew close. Why do you ask Sherbert?

It was all so weird. Enderian seemed to be the only one who remembered Caspian had been a prisoner, but even then, her timeframe didn’t line up either. Sherbert was intrigued by this supposed other Overworlder on the End Court. Sherbert had never heard about anyone like that, but multiple people seemed to recall an Overworlder in the end during the war. 

No one knew what had happened to them, and the records were completely useless after the two resets. Time seemed to have become irrelevant. Dates and years were getting muddled up in people's minds, and the official records were of no help. Sherbert had found two different documents, each exactly the same, except the dates on them were completely different. 

Whatever happened in the shifts messed even with time itself. 

Chapter Text

Sherbert and Caspian tried to live their life as normal, regardless of the shift. It usually worked, nothing technically changed other than people being less suspicious of Caspian, and Sherbert only saw that as a plus. 

Life moved on; time went by. They had stopped trying to really keep track of it, as no one else seemed very concerned with it. About two years had passed since Ghosty arrived in the End, so Sherbert knew they should be around twenty years old. Caspian wasn’t as certain. Time while adventuring didn’t really matter, so he had stopped really keeping track of his birthday after a while. He knew he was somewhere in his twenties, and that he was about two years older than when he arrived, but other than that… He didn’t really care. 

The normal everyday routine of the End was disrupted one fateful day around the Fall. Perix had called for an immediate gathering of every Court member available. Sherbert had actually been allowed into the meeting without having to be Invis’d. 

They said that a new person had appeared in the halls of the prison. An Overworlder. As she said that she sent a quick glare at Caspian, then continued on. The Overworlder seemed confused, seemingly not having any idea how they got there. Perix mentioned it reminded them of Caspian’s arrival, though slightly different. As Caspian was aware that he had arrived in the End. This new Overworlder was apparently clueless as to where they were or how they got there. 

Enderian demanded to go meet them, to see if they could figure out what had happened. If nothing else, her powers would work better at figuring out what had happened and if it was anything like Caspian. 

Enderian had also requested Caspian’s presence. Another Overworlder might help the new person be more willing to talk. Sherbert followed. They would not let Caspian be alone in the prison with Perix and Enderian, no matter how much Sherbert loved their family. 

When the group arrived at the prison, they saw the person Perix had been talking about. The person was wearing slightly formal clothes, with a white dress shirt and a vest, as well as a tie and fingerless gloves. He was wearing some kind of mask that covered his face. 

The man seemed extremely confused as to how he got there, and the large group approaching him didn’t seem to help. Enderian approached the cell he was in.

“Hello. What are you doing in my Realm?”

“I- I don’t know! We were having a GHalloween party, and there was this ominous house, and at the top of the house this… Room with weird blocks and a button. We were locked in, so I pressed the button and suddenly I'm here and I don't know where I am!”

The guy seemed extremely tense, so Sherbert interrupted Enderian before she could say more. They’d had to calm down Ghosty plenty of times. 

“Hi! I’m Sherbert, you’re currently in the End, specifically, you appeared in the End Prison. We don’t know why you’re here either, but that button you pressed seems like the best bet. Could you tell us your name, and maybe a bit more about this weird room you were locked into? It might help us figure out what happened.” Sherbert tried to give them a reassuring smile. It was meant to lessen the intimidation factor of both Perix and Enderian standing ominously in the background. It seemed to be working somewhat, as the Overworlder took a couple breathes calming themself down a bit.

“My name’s Will. As I said, my friends and I were having a Halloween party, when we went to this… Weird, haunted house. There were a bunch of puzzles that we had to solve, and a couple of really ominous signs, but as we reached the top, there was this sign that said, ‘Press the button to escape, but freedom isn’t free’. After a bit of discussion, I volunteered to press the button. As soon as I did, I ended up here. I really don’t want to impose; I just want to go home.”

The group was quiet for a bit. Sherbert was ready to let Will go, it seemed to have been one big misunderstanding, but Enderian interrupted that train of thought. 

“No- You must stay here. Until- Until further notice. I will look into this- button -and see what I can find. Until then, you must stay in here.” Enderian’s voice sounded… Strange. She seemed weirdly emotional to Sherbert, stuttery in a way she usually wasn’t. 

“But-” Sherbert tried to say something.

“No. He will stay here. You three can go, I’ll have a talk with… With Will here.”

All three of them tried to protest, Caspian and Sherbert because they didn’t want to leave an Overworlder alone in the prison and Perix because it was her prison. Then kept getting shot down by Enderian.

With nothing else to do, lest Enderian get mad, they had to leave. Sherbert and Caspian agreed to come visit as soon as they were able to and talk with Will. Caspian didn’t deserve to be alone, and Will certainly didn’t either. 

The next day they went over to the prison to talk with Will. 

He was sitting on the floor of the cell right besides where Caspian used to be. As the two approached him, he looked up at them.

“Oh, you two. What do you want?” he sounded so… Dejected.

“To help? In any way we can? I don’t know what Enderian talked to you about yesterday, but it’s not right for you to be stuck in here. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Exactly, and… To be honest, I was in your situation about a year or so ago. I was an Overworlder who’d somehow stumbled into the End, and Enderian and Perix threw me in prison immediately. I would have gone crazy if it wasn’t for Sherbert there to help me through it.”

“I- I’m the prince of the End. Enderian is my adoptive mother, I can talk to her, try to let her see reason and get you out. I really have no idea why she hasn’t already…”

Will seemed to think their messages over. Then he replied,

“Thanks, you two. I- Enderian… She… She called me something strange, I don’t really know. Said she ‘couldn’t release me into the End’. She didn’t really explain… It was all very confusing.”

“What did she call you?”

“Child of Alerion? I don’t know any Alerion, and I wouldn’t know if I was the child of them!” Alerion…? Sherbert had heard that name before, but where? 

“Well, if she said she can’t release you, we’ll just have to convince her otherwise! She said basically the same thing about me, and I got out. We’ll figure it out Will. In the meantime… Why don’t you tell us a bit about where you come from? Something about yourself?”

And so, the three of them began talking. Will, mentioning he came from a small community, but was usually away on adventures, wanting to go see the world. Caspian chimed in there as well, having been an adventurer too, before he got ‘recruited’. Sherbert chimed in with the few End Explorations they’d done over the years. Nothing compared to those two, but enough to keep the conversation going. 

Will mentioned these libraries he and his friends had been finding all around the Overworld. Scattered ruins or remains with a couple books here and there. Rae, the resident ‘scientist’, had been trying to figure out the mystery of those libraries and where they had come from. 

Will began talking more about his friends from back home. Momboo, the mother of two very ‘interesting’ people. Easton, the older sibling, who had a penchant for chaos, and would sometimes just disappear at random to go to this… Mystical university. Jamie, their younger sibling, who was a literal sentient bear . 

“I’m sorry. What?”

“Yeah, Jamie is a sentient bear. Like, an actual bear. It’s crazy haha.”

“I- How did that happen?” Caspian chimed in, just as baffled as Sherbert was.

“I… Don’t actually know. I don’t really question it? Haha. Our little community is just… Weird like that I guess haha.”

He talked about Seven, a robot that had shown up, and who Will was bonding with, trying to teach him about emotions, and feelings, and generally being human. Will liked Seven a lot. Then he went on to Haley, Momboo’s girlfriend. They’d been beginning to see each other for a little bit, but other than that, Will didn’t really know Haley that well. She usually stayed to herself a lot of the time. 

Then he talked about Centross, the farmer, who had discovered these weird blocks, which Will could now see were from the End. The blocks were immediately investigated by Rae, as he seemed to know where they came from, and was vehement in that they should be removed. 

“Actually, it’s a shame he couldn’t make it to the Halloween event. He would probably have known about the button, if he already knew what the End Blocks were.”

Will went on to say that Rae actually was a prince. He came from this kingdom called Morningstar, where he lived with his parents, but had decided that he wanted to settle down on his own, not feeling ready to take on the role and responsibility of the King yet. He still wrote to his parents a lot though. He was basically one of the only people in their community who knew where he had come from. Well, apart from Easton and Jamie, they had been picked up by Momboo at some point. 

Sherbert somehow felt more interested in Rae than any of the others. Maybe because he also was a prince, so they had something in common there. Sherbert ignored it.

The three of them talked for a little bit longer before Sherbert and Caspian had to go. They promised to return again soon, and bid their goodbyes. 

The next day, Enderian called for a small meeting with Sherbert, Ghosty and Perix. She would be taking over for Perix in watching Will. She advised Sherbert and Ghosty from seeing him. When the two of them began protesting, she shut them up, saying that her decision was final. 

Will was apparently the child of one of her brothers. Alerion. Sherbert knew that story. Enderian’s dear twin brother had been killed by one of their younger brothers, Fable. He had apparently wanted Alerion’s powers and attacked him. Fable was also the one who started the war, recklessly and mercilessly attacking the End and Nether. It was why Sherbert had been forbidden from even mentioning the Overworld as they had grown up. Fable was evil and had caused countless deaths and unimaginable damage. 

He was Sherbert’s biological father. According to Enderian, Fable had abandoned Sherbert as a baby. Left them to die alone in a forest. It was only due to Enderian having randomly stopped by one day during the War that Sherbert had even survived. 

Sherbert suddenly understood Enderian’s desire to be the one looking after Will. She felt responsible for her brother’s kid. Sherbert still didn’t agree with being forbidden from seeing him, but- They understood where Enderian was coming from.

Sherbert might have become more conflicted about the Overworld, but they still despised their biological parent for abandoning them and causing a war in his own greed for power. At least… That’s what they told themself. Sherbert pointedly ignored the voice in their mind saying that if Enderian had been wrong about the Overworld, then she might have been wrong about Fable too. That wasn’t something they wanted to think about right then. 

Despite Enderian’s decision, Sherbert and Caspian still snuck in to talk with Will. It was harder, as Enderian hardly left him alone, and when she did, she preferred to spend her time with Sherbert. Something about rediscovering her nephew made her want to be there for Sherbert as well. 

Sherbert appreciated it, having actually missed spending time with Enderian, but they’d preferred to go talk with Will. They weren’t even sure he knew who Alerion was, yet. 

Sherbert and Caspian managed to sneak in to talk with Will about twice a week. On their first meeting, after Enderian’s decision, they told Will about being prohibited from seeing him, but wanting to try anyway. Sherbert also told him about Alerion being his father, and Sherbert’s uncle. The two of them laughed a bit about turning out to be cousins, before going back to just talking. 

And that was how they spent the next month or two. It was going well, Will had even been allowed to send a couple letters out to his friends. He still wasn’t allowed out, no matter how much Sherbert tried to convince Enderian otherwise. They used many of the same arguments as with Caspian, but included a few new ones.

“You’d be able to look after him better if he just stayed in the Palace.”

“It’s cruel to leave him in that small cell, Mom it’s smaller than Caspian’s .”

“He’s my cousin! I want to meet him! You can’t just keep family from each other!”

“Enderian, you’re basically kidnapping him! Mom! Please just let him out.”

None of it worked. No matter how hard Sherbert pleaded, Enderian refused to budge. She would keep watch over Will, and he would not be released from the cell. Sherbert still tried, even when Enderian got fed up with Sherbert asking he be let out. However, at the end of the second month of Will’s capture, something changed. The portal to the End Dimension opened. 

It seemed Will’s friends had come for him.