Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Previously in MrFudgemonkeyz Annoying Villagers…

The game of the creators was on the verge of starting once more, all in attendance with their own goals.

Some wish for the glory of victory and nothing more, others wish to cease their opportunities, and some to reap the rewards of the divine, and maybe one in search of their truth, their self discovery.

And even during this, the common player and mob struggle. 

Chris and his group of mobs and players alike, facing off against foes whose numbers and physical force far outpower them.

Alex, facing off against this words strongest of mobs, going head on with confidence in her abilities, fueled by pure battlelust, alongside her enamored villager assistant, Jev.

A villager in a black robe, wandering the lands in search of what?

And finally, a dumb villager, and a dumb player abducted by…Bats?

Chapter one: A Dumb Villager

Boop and Fudge wailed and squirmed helplessly in the grip of the many bats, giving odd screams that made the bats question their jobs.

“Would you just SHUT UP! Just because we got to bring ya back to master doesn’t mean we can’t hurt ya! You two are 1 scream away from being dropped 50 blocks down!” One bat holding Boop snapped, vigorously flapping its wings trying to keep up. 

Boop and Fudge’s screams slowing pathetically, before the two calmed down and looked at eachother.

“Sooo…. Uh- where are we being taken?” Questioned Fudge, nervously looking down from a possible plunge of death he could face if he angered the bats

.

“None of your business player!” Spat the bat, “You’re lucky you're even alive, the boss took notice of ya and would rather you come than have ya eaten by the Warden.” 

Fudge cringed, not wanting to do anything further to upset the bats that held his life in their claws. Boop looked bored at the flying scenery of the swamp, nothing interesting in sight.

He looks to his side and makes eye contact with a phantom.

“Hey, if you attack this stupid bad for me, I’ll pay you a lot! Like, so much, because I’m the villager prince and I’m super rich and yeah” Boop pleaded. The phantom didn’t even bother acknowledging him at all, merely continuing to guard the group.

“I warned ya what would happen if you spoke again.” The Bat said flatly, one claw letting go of Boops clothing. 

“WHA- YOU- YOU SAID YOU WOULD DROP ME IF I SCREAMED!”

“Yes, and you just did.”

The Bat’s other claw lets go of Boop, and he starts to fall, Boop restarts his screaming as he plunges.

“BOOP!” shouted Fudge, watching Boop fall. Thankfully, Boop landed in the swamp water.

“We're here, commence landing!” commanded the bat, the group of bats and phantoms carefully descending to the scarce swamp grass, landing right besides Boop’s landing puddle.

“We’re… In the middle of nowhere.” Fudge scanned the area, searching for any evidence of the area's significance, unless… Oh no, did the bats lead them here just to kill them and make sure no one was around to see or try and steal their loot??!?!

 Fudge starts to panic again, head twisting and turning looking for possible escape routes. Worst case scenario, he digs into the ground when they aren’t looking and stays put for a few days, it would be fine, he’s done it before. But what about Boop? Eh, he has his powers he’ll be fine.

As Fudge was spiraling, the leader bat pulled out a leaver and placed it at the base of a tree. As the bat flicked it, a large hole started to open up, sticky pistons pulling and grabbing at dirt blocks pulling them in to reveal a pit in the ground.

The bats take hold of Boop and Fudge again, leading them inside the cave. As they went in further, the sheer size of the cave began to reveal. All around were mobs of all origins, from axolotls to ravagers, working, walking, and on the move. The cave was well lit, carved out to make it easier to navigate, with additions to the environment to accommodate certain mobs. Flowers for the bees, water for the aquatic mobs, beds for cats, lava for nether mobs. What one would perceive as a mess is a paradise for another.

The bats finally landed Boop and Fudge once again, but quickly began to lead them to a different area. The two looked in awe at the cave, eyes moving from one thing to the other.

“This way, you two.” The bat leader demanded, having them walk down a decorated hall before stopping at a large door.

“Open it up would ya, I got our cargo!” Boop and Fudge’s faces deadpan at the label of being cargo. The door creaked open, two breezes being revealed as the inside guards, and the room being revealed to be a garden of sorts. In the center of the room, lies a great Sniffer.

“Ah, I knew I could count on you all. Many thanks! Now, if you don’t mind, I need a private audience with these two, there's mighty urgent things to discuss!” The Sniffer rejoiced.

The bats flapped out of the room, the breeze guards following suit and shutting the door closed, leaving just Boop, Fudge and the Sniffer alone.

“Ah! We finally meet at long last! I’ve heard many great things about you duo, magnificent I say! A mere villager, taking down not one, but TWO Herobrine vessels! Unheard of I say! And one of the vessels being a central vessel at that too, AH!” The Sniffer seemed eccentric, prancing around the room in joy. 

“And you player! An accomplice in this as well! Not only helping your dear friend in battle and navigation but also being the owner of this world's largest potato farm? Bravo!” The Sniffer cheered

“Uh- actually I DID all the work and battle and stuff, he’s just been following me for NO REASON to try and take my fame and glory, yeah” Boop blurted

 “Hey, THAT IS NOT TRUE! I’VE BEEN THE ONE GETTING WOOD AND FOOD FOR US, I’VE BEEN THE ONE LEADING US, I’VE BEEN THE ONE-” Fudge began “Blah blah blah, you're jealous! Your sooo jealous thats what my mom says” Boop retorted. The two bicker back and for before-

“AHEM!” Snapped the Sniffer at last. “Now, where were we…? Ah yes! An introduction is in order! I am Rana, proud leader and founder of the Mob Associates! Some time ago, Notch himself came to me, and spoke of a grand plan, a plan to save the world! He spoke of a chosen being, one that would act as his avatar, and that avatar is you, dear Boop! And so, I way tasked with seeking you out, and to train you to properly heed your newfound powers to their fullest potential and for the betterment of the people.”

Boop was spacing out during this explanation, thinking about if lunch was soon. Hm, what would he have, cake? No, that’s right he ate the last of his cake two nights ago, well there is that half eaten porkchop, maybe pair that with some hot sauce-

“AHEM! Please! I beg of you! This is dire!” Rana exclaimed, patients starting to ware, Boop snapped back into focus, flinching at the sudden sound.

“Please… Listen. This world, it’s been at war and breaking for quite some time now, I’ve seen it all, I’ve been here since the very beginning of it all. Things are reaching a boiling point and I fear the worst. Soon every being in this world will be forced to be involved regardless of action or inaction. You were given these powers for a reason Boop. You are a prince to the villager kingdom, someone of great stature, someone the villagers will LISTEN TO.” Boop actually concentrates for once, seeping in the words the ancient Sniffer gave.

“Combine that with the fact that you have personal experience with mobs and players, you could stand as a pillar of hope to all species! You have the power to unite us, to find understanding and eliminate prejudice.” Rana preached, words filled with determination and hope, but Boop only looked flatley at the ground, not sure of what to do or say.

“B-But I’m not a villager prince! Not anymore, I ran! I ran away! And- and I- I’m barely even friends with him!” Boop points to Fudge.

“What! After I’ve saved you, guided you and fed you, I’m “Barely” YOUR FRIEND? I’m basically your nanny!” Fudge retorted.

“Let us not start the needless bickering once again.” Rana remarked, sighing deeply.

“It seems we have much training in front of us, both in your powers, and my patients.”

Next time: Unforseen Savior

Chapter Text

Previously in MrFudgeMonkeyz Annoying Villagers, Christ and his tribe, The Alliance, came under siege by villager knights, hoping to exterminate a potential threat, even if it means killing their own in the process.

Panic surged throughout the already desecrated camp, people running in all directions, some towards the battle, others away from it. Amidst the chaos, Chris made a stance, even if in vain.

“Willi! I need you to lead anyone you can gather to the cave we saw up north!” Chris frantically commanded.

“But what about you? There's too many of them for all of us let alone you to handle!” Willi retorted, worried for his friend's life.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got his back, as does Unity.” Sam reassured Willi, hoping he would go through with Chris’ order.

“Alright, just please don’t die, I don’t think I’m ready to take over as leader.” Willi lightheartedly replied, wishing Chris and Sam the deepest of luck for their suicide mission.
As Willi gathered what remained of the Alliance's citizens, Chris, Sam and Unity leapt to action to distract the Villager guards from the other members. The three hid behind a hill to regroup and make a plan.

“We don’t need to defeat them, we just need to lead them away long enough so the others can escape.” Sam explained to Chris and Unity, listening intently to their comrades' ideas.

“Right. Unity, you said you had fire charges on you some time ago, do you still have them?” Questioned Chris.

“Yeah, got ‘em right here alongside my sword and some arrows. Sorry, I don’t have much to work with.”

“It’s alright, I have some cobweb, three splash potions of harming, and my sword. What do you have Sam?”

“Not much myself either, two golden apples, some TNT, and my spear. Ugh, what happens to those Mob Associates when you need them?” Sam complained, skeptical on if the Fox and Pandas from the Mob Associates had something to do with the attack they were facing.

“Last I heard they went back home to talk to their boss about us joining. Anyways! Chris, ya got a plan?” Unity directed to Chris, hoping their leader would take charge and find them all a way out of this mess. Chris sat silently for a moment, deep in thought contemplating and scheming.

“Unity, I want you to throw the fire charges towards them, that will either hit them, or start a fire near them. From there, I’ll place cobwebs and hopefully they’ll run into them. After that I’ll throw the potions at them. Unity, could you give your arrows and bow to Sam? She’ll be in the trees hiding and throwing TNT at them from above.”

“Yeah yeah, but she breaks it I’m taking her spear in retaliation” Unity accepted

“Over my dead inventory, the only way anyone would ever have my spear is through my death,” And so the three went to their assigned task, slightly optimistic in their plans.

Unity did as planned, throwing the fire charges at stray enemies, some hitting golems and knights, the other set the trees around them on fire. Flames began to blaze from one tree to another, ashes hopping through the air, making the villager knights weary of the new retaliation

“Keep your guard and watch your step! They’re planning something and we must watch for developments!” One of the villager knights barked at his fellow soldiers, scanning the area in search of movement.

“Send the golems after them! They’ll withstand the fires!” Another knight chimed in.

“And someone fetch a water bucket! They’re not even trying to kill us, they just want to buy time to let the other pests flee.” The knight added darkly.

Three iron golem warriors set off into the flames, running on all fours in a manner that would strike fear in the hearts of even the most hardened warriors. Their groans and growls filled the forest, alongside the rising smoke of the flames, creating a hell nobody dared enter.

Chris could hear the patters and wails of the golems coming in. He had to hurry and lay down the cobwebs, hidden by trees. He didn’t even know how long, even if at all, if the cobwebs would even trap them. Chris placed them at random on the floor, in a non-linear line, sweating beads as he heard the hoard coming closer and closer.

“SAM! Get ready to launch the arrows! They’re coming in hot.”

“Aye aye captain” Sam responds from atop a nearby tree, readying her aim. Christ had decided to do as Sam, and hide in a nearby tree as well.

The Iron golem warriors had arrived, the smoke blurring their vision so they were not able to see the webs in time, and they fell right into them as planned. Only, they broke the webs with ease. Just as Sam was about to deploy the first arrows, she watched in horror as they snapped and tore the webs as though they were paper, the golems knew they were nearby.

Panic surged through the two, realizing they were effectively done for. Either stay put and be found and killed, or flee and possibly survive. Chris took a deep breath realizing it would be best to cause one last distraction so Sam could get away.
“HEY!” He left down from the tree he was hiding in, directing his voice to the four golem warriors in front of him, they snapped their necks to face him.

He threw one of the splash potions at their group, finally making them set off to maul him, growling in rage. Chris could only hope that Sam understood what he was attempting.

And so Christ began to run further into the forest, the golems chasing after him, catching up fast. As he was sprinting, he would turn behind and throw another splash potion of harming, only hitting two of the three. Who was he kidding? The potions were a drop in the lake that was their health, and the few cobwebs he had left did nothing. His lungs burned and desperation filled him. The others still needed him, this couldn’t be how it ended, right?

Sam was running back to where they had come up with the plan in hopes of finding unity. Sure enough, he was there, being chased by village knights, having arrows strung his way and fishing rods trying to grab at him. And in spite of the great outnumbering and hopelessness, he held out, and stood tall with nothing but a sword and building blocks. Sam had only heard him brag about being a skilled fighter, she never imagined he actually was. She shook herself out of this thought to find a way to get both herself and him out of there to find the others, gather a group, and help Christ once again.

She searched deep in her inventory in hopes of a solution. Redstone? Nope. Cobblestone? Maybe… Ender pearls. She found ender pearls alongside a new idea.

“UNITY!” She yelled out to her compatriot, snagging his attention away from the battle and to her instead.

“What are you doing here?! This isn’t in the plan-” He was cut off from an arrow plunging into his shoulder, he refocused himself on the villager knights and fending them off.
Sam realized that if she distracted him further, chances were he would be killed. She could only hope Unity would forgive her for what she was about to do. Sam ran up to the battle, placing TNT blocks as she started to approach Unity.

“STOP HER! That player is placing TNT!” One of the village knights alerted his fellow soldiers, realizing that for once in the battle they may be in genuine danger.
Sam tackled Unity, catching him off guard.

“TAKE THE DAMN ENDER PEARL AND THROW IT NORTH!” She commanded as she handed him an ender pearl. Reluctantly, he listened to his ally’s words and threw it, hoping this wasn’t a dumb move. Sam threw hers in the same direction and then got off their feet and started to flee from the villagers running up on them.

“Sam, I swear if I end up in a lava pit from that throw, I’ll-” He blinked and found himself and Sam in the middle of the forest, the sounds of battle far behind them now.
The two players gave deep breaths as a sigh of relief, but their work was still not done.

Christ had been tossed hard into a tree, the damage shaking his bones, and breaking blocks on impact. The golems had caught up. He attempted to push himself up off of the floor only to be smacked down once more, the diamond helmet and chestplate he wore starting to break off into pieces from the handling. His ears started to ring, mind wandering before tossing the last potion of instant harming he had on the crowd of golems. They flinched back, not expecting the retaliation and so they bumped into each other, starting a mini quarrel between the four golems. They were simple in mind, attacking without true reason, doing as their creators commanded and acting in self-preservation. And in their simple minds they concluded that the player was weakened and near death, surely they could put off killing him by sorting out their disputes no? They began to growl and shove each other, one minor bump-in snowballing into a minor war of its own. Chris’ eyes were still blurred, as were his ears still ringing, but he still had bits of clarity, clarity that reminded him of the golden apple he had in his inventory.

Silently, he took it out and watched the fighting golems carefully, hoping they wouldn’t take notice of his trump card. He munched down on it and felt a near instant relief. It had been so long since he had bit into one. When was the last time he did? Probably while on a mission with Steve and Greg. Where were they? What happened to his dear friends? Did they still remember him? Christ got up once again with his newfound strength, eyes locking in, assessing what he could do. Silently, he crept away, slowly waiting until he was out of range to speed up and run once again.

The golems finally sorting out their quarrel with each other, took notice of Chris’ absence and their short-lived peace was extinguished. They began to track him once more, sniffing like blood-thirsty hoglins with their large iron noses, before descending on the track to Chris. Chris began to panic for a final time, realizing the golems probably took notice of him being gone by now, and realizing he can’t run forever. As good as the golden apple did him, it only could help for so long. Is he not just delaying his death? Chris found himself by the edge of the forest and entering a plains biome, bare from trees but containing many Azure flowers. He collapsed on the ground, accepting near death.

A cloaked figure was in the same area, one seeking Chris out, only this time, not for malicious reasons. With them, the clock figure carried a mighty spear, larger than themselves.
They approached Chris laying on the grass, whose eyes were closing out of exhaustion.

Christ could only make out the vague features of the individual. The ominous black cloak that seemed to bleed into their skin, hints of tan skin, dark blue pants, and a teal shirt.

“Steve… You came back” Christ mumbled deliriously to the figure, before finally succumbing to unconsciousness.

“Rest well, I will handle things from here. Consider it compensation for all the time you served me.” A raspy voice came from the cloaked player.

The iron golem warriors had arrived once again, this time though, more focused on their task. They crept from the forest line, only to find not one player but two. Their target, and a player with glowing white eyes.

“Let us begin”

Next time on Annoying Villagers: The Victor Shall Shine Bright

Chapter Text

Previously on Annoying Villagers, after successfully fighting off a group of piglins and accidentally finding and losing the villager prince Boop and Fudge, Alex and Jev find themselves surrounded by even more enemies, can she successfully fight a wither and warden off at the same time?

Oh how it was a genuine shame. Alex would have loveeed to turn in the villager prince Boop and live the high life for being his savior. Eating cake, getting access to the best weapons, hell, maybe they would have given her an army! But noooooo, those pesky bats just HAD to snatch her ticket to riches!

Alex silently lamented to herself for a moment, whimpering at her loss, only to be snapped out of her thoughts by Jev.

“Uhm- Master-”

“WHAT!” Alex shouted to her trusty assistant, annoyed that her dreams were shattered once again.

“It’s just that… WHAT WILL WE DO ABOUT THAT WITHER AND WARDEN!” Jev shrieked in horror, pointing to the power house mobs. 

Yes, as strong as dear master Alex was, would she be able to take on not one, but TWO of the most powerful mobs in the world AT ONCE? Jev internally panicked, not ready for the possibility of his master dying and him being left alone.

Alex looked past Jev, narrowed her eyes to the two beasts he was pointing to. She snorted at the idea that they would be able to defeat her, she has fought gods for creators sake! And won at that! This would be no different.

“HA! You worry far too much Jev, you should know by now that I never lose!” Arrogance laced her tone, mocking her opponents.

Though Alex would never let her pride admit it outloud, she was slightly hesitant to be optimistic about the possible outcomes of the fight ahead. Nonetheless, her smirk returned to her face, putting her battle persona on once again.

“Ya know, you geezers could be working for someone more sophisticated and powerful than a group of bats you know?” She bargained with the Wither and Warden, hoping to de-escalate or at the very least lower their guards.

The mobs stared silently at Alex, only stating-

“We work for ourselves”

Alex’s eyebrows narrowed, locking in on her now confirmed opponents, ready to give her all. As skeptical as she was about possible defeat, she thought of this as an education opportunity first, having never gone up against a warden or wither before.

“Alrighty, I gave you your chance to forfeit. I’ll give you my all and in turn, I want you to do the same.”

Alex crouched down, fishing rod in her off hand, sword in her main. The wither bellowed its odd breath, starting up on its future fire of wither heads. Jev… Decided to leave the situation to Alex and hid behind a nearby tree to… Study the fight.

 Alex made the first move, casting her rod at a nearby tree, lunging forward and landing on it. She took a moment to observe her surroundings. Surrounded by water but with  enough trees to rod herself around them. The wither fired one of its demonic heads towards Alex, but Alex dodged it with a breeze, having experience dodging fast arrows comes in handy when dodging slower projectiles, though that wasn’t a reason to be careless, Alex knows how painful wither heads could be, especially with no armor.

“Sorry to say, but you’re gonna have to be faster than that to make a dent on me!” She mocked the Wither below the trees, continuing to lead from one tree top to another.

Though the warden couldn’t see, its ears were always exceptional. It followed the direction of the patter of leaves, concentrating to get a nice hit in. Alex was still focused on possibly tiring the Wither out, by having it shoot all its shots before having to cool down, and forgot about the Warden. A mistake it was, especially because she had no idea what it was capable of. And in a flash, the Warden finally made its first move and roared its sonic scream towards Alex, hitting her hard, and knocking her into the water.

“So you finally show yourself”? Alex remarked to the Warden, hissing silently at the damage taken from the direct hit. She quickly snapped back and threw her rod at another tree to regain her ground.

So they both have far range, with hard attacks… Alex thought for a moment, before starting to run circles around them once more, observing. She noticed that though the Warden would constantly track her, it almost seemed confused as to where to look at times, specifically when the Wither made its sounds. She had a hypothesis, could the Warden be lured with sound? She decided to switch up her movements to become more random, so as to not let the Warden take its hit on her again. As she did this, she looked within her inventory for something that could help prove her idea about the Warden, and she found a fire charge.

This might set some trees on fire and mess up my high ground but oh well, you win some you lose some. She made sure to set up her aim somewhere opposite of her, and in a way to witness the Warden’s reaction. She hurled it close to the Warden, but not too close to actually harm it, and sure enough, It turned its direction to where the fireball hit, looking around for far too long to be normal.

So what do ya know, it IS blind Alex smirked at this revelation, starting to conjure a plan. Taking them both on at the same time would take far too much energy and time, dealing with them one by one isn’t really an option, so why not turn them against each other? Alex made her way in front of the Wither in a way where the Warden would be behind it.

“Oh yo ho~, big fellas, OVER HERE!” She obnoxiously announced. Alex would stoop down as to not get hit by the Wither skulls, she just had to hold up long enough for the Warden to-

And on that cue, the Warden blasted its sonic scream to Alex’s direction, only for it to hit the Warden's companion, the Wither. The Wither wailed a high pitch, being sent towards Alex. Thankful Alex threw her rod to a nearby tree and missed it. The Wither, seemed to take the hit hard, as it recovered it’s main skull pulsed a blue tone. The Warden, not knowing what was going on, only stood awkwardly, sniffing around for Alex. As it was searching for something, anything to help track the target, the Wither made its retaliation by shooting a charged skull at it. The Warden was taken aback by this, both from the damage and the betrayal.

“Why- YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO HIT THE TARGET, NOT ME! WE’RE ON THE SAME TEAM!” For crying out loud, you’re the one with eyes!” The Warden, who surprisingly could speak, roared to its companion. The Wither only continued to yell its hushed wails, still eyeing the Warden. Unlike many other mobs, it was summoned, build. And for that, its intelligence was… Minimal. And despite its lack of intellect and only being able to remain on task for short durations, it was kept around as muscle. But even it had a temperance of its own, forgetting all prior orders in order to defend itself. The Wither’s bombardment didn’t stop, even with the Wardens' yells and warnings. Eventually, the Warden decided enough was enough and charged at the Wither in retaliation.

“You dolt! You forgot why we were sent here to begin with!” The Warden scolded, running up to the Wither before landing a powerful hit onto it.

Alex was watching from the sidelines, the Warden not being able to track her and the Wither being occupied by the Warden. Jev was also watching from the sidelines, just much further away and more hidden. Despite their distance, both Jev and Alex were making notes on the mobs and their fighting styles. Jev wrote them down, while Alex merely memorized them.

This is going to drag on for too long. It's best I just leave and track those two fools from before, what were their names? Pudge and Foop? They're both equally powerful and durable so they both have equal chances. 

Alex looked bored from the theatrics while the Warden and Wither wrestled away. It’s not the way she wanted things to go, but it’s the most convenient. It would have been nice to actually partake in the fight but she had places to be. She pulled an ender pearl from her inventory and hurled it to Jev’s location.

Jev, who was still writing away and observing the two beasts duke it out, failed to notice Alex teleporting right next to him.

“Hey bud, we gotta go.” She said plainly. Jev’s notebook and quill launch out of his hand out of the surprise that was Alex’s sudden appearance.

“Master! I-I’m surprised you're here! Those two are still fighting, aren’t you going to-”

“Not today sadly, we’ve got bigger things to do.” Alex interrupted Jev.

 “Like finding those two dweebs who got snatched by some bats of all things. Hm? Ya remember them? And how do you mention how we’d be rolling in dough if we turn the pink robed villager to his rich daddy in the villager kingdom?” She reminded Jev, once again daydreaming about what she would do with such riches. A plot of land, a fast horse, maybe a brewing room~

“Ah yes, well. I suppose we don’t have enough data to fight them yet anyways. I believe those pesky bats flew that way!” Jev pointed to the east, determined in his claim.

“Why thank you and that bright memory of yours Jev, lets go” Alex commanded, as the two walked off east to continue their journey while the powerhouse mobs continued to quarrel in the background, far too invested in their personal vendettas to remember why they were there in the first place.

Next time on Annoying Villagers: For a Glorious Prize

Chapter Text

Imbedding images won't work for me despite all my efforts, if you still wish to see my art head over to my Tumblr st0ne-gard3n. Heres a little more info of the art I made for each chapter so far

Rana is from Chapter one, she seems like just a normal Sniffer but her lore is gonna kinda wild later on, I can't wait to delve into it!

Then theres one of the Herobrine vessel and Chris at the very end of chapter two, I tried a new style by not using line art and just shading solid colors until it looked good and honestly?? I'M REALLY PROUD OF IT, IT TOOK FOREVER.

Finally, theres Alex and Jev walking away from the fight between the Wither and the Warden at the end of chapter three, I'm proud of the background I did for it

Anyways I'm hoping to make art for each chapter and to post them every three chapters like I did this time, It's nice giving a small visual of what's happening in the writing

Chapter Text

Alex and Jev casually continued on their journey as they were before their distraction. As they walked and hopped across lily pads in the humid swamp, roars, grunts and destructions could be heard from the Wither and Warden continuing their duel.

The Wither and Warden clashed against each other with forces that would cripple new players ten folds over. Blocks were thrown as were explosions made. However, the Warden was quickly making work of the mindless wither. Though both mobs were notorious for their hard hits and ridiculous health, the Warden hit harder and had more health. Many would assume that because the Warden was blind that the battle would be evened out, but due to all the ruckus the Wither would make, its position was always obvious.

With a final leap and charge of its sonic charge, the Warden came victorious. The scene of their battle fell silent, destruction and a nether star keeping the Warden company while it thought.

What was its original objective? Why did it fight that blasted Wither to begin with?
That redhead. She was why the Warden was here.

The Warden, with a renewed sense of purpose, froze and breathed in heavily, taking in every scent of the area to find her and stop her from reaching headquarters. The Warden smelt everything, for what it lacked in sight it made up for in hearing and smell.

Chickens, pigs, a creeper, all mobs that had been in the area semi recently at least, but that player… The Warden concentrated deeply, for it knew it could not fail right now. Finally, the scent hit him. A player and a villager, heading right in the direction of headquarters…They must be stopped.

The Warden started up its trot towards them, easily making pace and catching up despite the distraction that was the Wither.

Alex always sought out battle, and for that reason she was forever bound in conflict. Of course the ONE time where she didn’t want to fight it seemingly wasn’t an option. Thunderous steps could be heard from where she was, rapidly making their way to meet her.

“Master Alex… You don’t suppose those sounds are coming from that Warden we encountered earlier..?” Jev hesitantly addressed, fearful of the possibility of soon being trampled by the beast.

Alex gave a heavy exaggerated sigh, realizing what she must do. The two of them came to a halt in their journey, and Alex turned back to look where they came from, and sure enough there was the Warden, charging their way. Alex slouched as she glared at the Warden, still running with all its might. Jev silently held onto his journal, switching his eyes to look at Alex and then the Warden.

“Sorry Jev, looks like the problem DIDN’T take care of itself” Alex pulled out her fishing rod grappler hook and sword, preparing for battle. She did a few odd stretches while still keeping her eyes on the Warden, making its way closer and closer. Alex finally started to speed walk towards her problem as to close the space between herself and the Warden. Jev on the other hand started to walk backwards before making a small sprint to hide behind some blocks and to take note during the encounter.

The two warriors finally meet and waste no time to make their moves. Alex launched her grappler towards a tree behind the Warden in an attempt to catch it off guard and not be directly face to face with it. She clearly recalls its sonic charged roar that knocked the breath out of her not too long ago.

What to do, what to do… Alex had only got to see so much of the Warden's tactics before moving on, it looked like she would have to learn as she went. Thankfully that Wither should have dealt a blow to the Wardens health.

Alex thought of what items she had and how she could utilize their surroundings. She dug into her pockets and found a number of things. Some random blue orchids she found that looked cool, a number of apples, ender pearls, a skeleton skull- Ohhh… She had her crossbow.

It was a weapon she seldom used. Not because she didn’t know how to or didn’t like it, but rather because it didn’t have a mending enchantment. This crossbow was special- kitted out to the brim with all the best enchantments it could have. Multishot, unbreaking III, quick charge- A real blessing to have. Such a shame it had a limited life. She found the weapon through dumb luck- Fishing. A little hobby she and Jev picked up throughout their journeys together.

Alex was willing to use what life the crossbow had to defeat the Warden. She reluctantly pulled it out and began to charge it up, all the while hopping from treetop to treetop. She loaded rockets instead of the usual arrows inside it, she was here to make a blow, not waste durability on arrows that wouldn’t make a dent in the situation.

The Warden finally got fed up with twisting and turning in attempts to locate and hit her, so it opted to be at a stand still and hear intensely. The Warden tore a block of dirt from the earth, ready to throw it at the target. Alex was too focused on loading her weapon and preparing for an attack to notice its shift in behavior, and so she continued her parkour around the large mob, leaves crunching in her wake. The Warden took note of the crunches her steps left, locking in on her location before hurling the grass block toward her. Alex, who was preoccupied with trying to find the perfect angle to launch her crossbow, got rammed in the face by the block.

Alex had become dazed by this action, for she hadn’t expected the mob to know how to pick items up let alone chuck them with accuracy, THE THING WAS BLIND FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! To add on to the attack, she wasn’t wearing any armor, she hated how it slowed her down. With a guttural groan, she attempted to make her way back on her feet, only to hit once more with that damned sonic scream or whatever it was. The blast knocked her a number of blocks away, landing her in a puddle of swamp water.

The Warden began its charge towards Alex, at a disadvantage more than ever. Jev looked helplessly from the sidelines, wishing a wordless prayer to Notch himself that she would continue on and not die. Before the Warden could make a final blow to Alex, she recalled the ender pearls in her bag and threw one at random, not having time to truly think where it was that she was heading.

Jev's prayers must have been heard! But it was not, it was merely the will of Alex herself that pulled her from her near death. Alex, whose breath was labored, took a moment to concentrate on where her ender pearl had landed her. It was a number of blocks away from the Warden, with a clear enough shot of it stuck in the water!

The Warden struggled in the water, not knowing where Alex had gone yet. The rancid waters had slowed it down, leaving it to thrash its way out of it. But before it could, the burning of three powerful and loud fireworks burst right against its skin. The Warden screeched in pain, its ears ringing from the blast. This first successful hit restored Alex’s confidence in winning the situation. Despite the pain from the previous hits, she stood up with a smirk, albeit slouching from soreness.

The ender pearls were the keys, why hadn’t the idea crossed her mind before! It would’ve saved a lotta pain. By using the ender pearls, the Warden could not hear or smell her immediately and that would give her time to shoot her shots!

The Warden finally recovered from the pain and ringing of the fireworks that hit it, and began to remember what direction the fireworks came from. It started to force itself out of the water to meet Alex head on once again, but by the time it was charging towards her location ready to kill her, she had thrown another ender pearl and began her assault with fireworks again.

A hellish cycle was created for the Warden. Every time it was hit and had recovered enough to try and attack again, it was hit instead. The adrenaline of the situation had boosted Alex’s move and she felt invincible. She felt that if she could fight and kill a Warden of all mobs, she may as well be the most powerful being in this world. An odd cackle escaped from her, as well as snorts from the euphoria she felt.

The Warden on the other hand was panicking deeply. That damned Wither had already done enough damage to it, but now this. At this rate it was certain to die. No. Death wasn’t an option, for if he died, this maniacal player would eventually make its way to the United Mob Association base! It would be shameful, having to return home having failed but also losing the asset that was the Wither. The Warden, pained both physically and mentally, decided to swallow it’s pride and accept defeat. The Warden has lost the battle, but the least it could do is win the war. As Alex readied up her crossbow and ender pearls for what she was hoping to be her final hit, the Warden did something odd.

The Warden began to dig and bury itself into the ground, leaving no holes in its wake. It dug deeper and deeper until it hit a cave. From there, it would make its way back home to warn of the upcoming player.

Alex was too stunned at the odd sight to react, for she had never seen anything like it. Sure, she had the occasional Silverfish attack her feet after emerging from some stone, but this? Alex shook her head before coming to the realization that her efforts were all for nothing. All those rockets and ender pearls used up for what? Just for that DANG WARDEN TO SLIP AWAY AT THE LAST SECOND?

Jev cautiously made his way out of his hiding space, still in awe at the feats of his dear master, Alex. Alex meanwhile, was throwing a tantrum, throwing her grappling hook on the floor, swinging her sword like a madman all while screaming profanities. If there weren’t any mobs in the area before, they surely weren’t now.

Jev hesitantly approached Alex, feeling as skittish as an ocelot.

“M-master, are you alright? I observed you taking a few hits from the fight.” Jev nervously confronted her, as Alex laid on her hands and knees on the ground, whimpering at the loss she just endured.

Alex didn’t reply to Jev, deciding to continue to mope on the grass. Jev wasn’t sure what to do at a time like this. His master Alex was always so prideful, easily recovering from the hardest of fights, but right now she was at a loss, neither truly winning or losing fight.

“Though the Warden got away…” Jev began,

“We did get a lot of useful data on how they operate, did we not? Those mobs are so new to this world that you may have just been the first ever person to fight one! Quite the impressive feat master!” Jev praised Alex, hoping to restore her deflated ego.

Alex sighed a deep breath, before coming to her senses again and gathering her composure. It was true, she most likely is the first person in this whole world to have fought the new mob, AND nearly won, surely that counted for something. Alex put away her sword and grappler and stood up, looking at her location. She thought silently for a moment. Was going after that supposed villager prince even worth it anymore? By now those bats and birds must have flown far off with them. Despite Jev’s words, her mood was still low.

“C’mon Jev, let's head out. I just wanna sleep now.” Alex began to walk back from where they had originally come from, wanting to get out of the swamp before nightfall. As the two made their way back through the swamp, an odd figure had been watching them. It had been watching for quite some time. From the moment the villager with pink robes and that boy player were taken, it had been observing. It was on the lookout for talent, talent in fighting, building, crafting, anything. That redhead player's ability to adapt was certainly talent, and the fact it fought off a Warden of all mobs? She just had to participate in the Creator Games!

Alex and Jev didn’t make it out of the swamp in time, and were stuck in a crater that the Wither had created until morning. Alex had started a small fire with a flint and steel she had on her person. Jev and Alex sat silently, eating while thinking.

Jev was eating some mushroom soup he had made from stray mushrooms he found lying around the swamp. He decided to go over his notes once more, making sure he didn’t forget any details from the encounter.

Meanwhile, Alex was eating simple apples. It was a rough day and the thought of anything other than apples didn’t sound appetizing at the moment. She stared at the stars in the sky, rolling slowly as the moon continued to rise. She was contemplating their next move. Of course they would make their way out of the swamp by tomorrow morning, but ideas of what to do after were blank. Maybe they would stumble upon some bloke in distress and save them in the nick of time and expect reward. Maybe they would pay up, maybe not. But after that? Maybe they would come across another powerful foe or maybe a new mob. Truth be told Alex was becoming tired of the same routine. Scamming, fighting, exploring, more fighting, they made the days bleed together. She wanted something more, a greater part to play in this world. She had the physical prowess to do so, just not the opportunity.

As though the gods themselves heard her wants, an ambassador of theirs was sent down in search of someone like Alex. A cow dawning a tall white and gold hat manifested from a portal above the fire Alex and Jev were eating.

Alex drew out her sword, ready to kill whatever abomination of a teleporting cow just appeared as she was eating. Jev flinches by the cows sudden appearance, nearly dropping his journal.

“What the actual heck are you supposed to be? A glitched cow or somethin’!” Alex demanded the strange creature's identity, pointing her blade towards its face.

“Here ye, here ye! Dear player and villager, you two have been personally selected by the divine to participate in the most cunning of games!” The divine cow began,

“I have bared witness to your mighty feats and have deduced you to be a mighty warrior, able to fall the most foul of beast. You have tricked a Wither to fight its master, and outplayed a Warden.” The divine cow praised Alex, hoping to appeal to her ego.

Alex eyed the divine cow suspiciously, before lowering her sword ever so slightly.

“You care to elaborate on what you mean by games?” Alex questioned the cow, weary of its intentions. Jev looked to Alex, happy that she was asking questions instead of blindly agreeing.

“Of course, of course. In these games, you will be put into groups with both mobs and players. It is then your job to coexist and work together to win a multitude of games ranging from building, fighting, parkour and more!” The divine cow explained.

This was it, this is what Alex was looking for! But there were some details left unanswered. Why were the gods doing this? What were the rewards? Where the heck was this gonna take place?

“Ya care to elaborate on what's in it for us beyond possible death?” Alex spoke. Though she did love a good fight, she often fought with the intent of rewards being at the end of them.

“There shall be rewards. Gifts from the divine themselves! One of a kind weapons that will shake the foundations of the world itself!” The divine cow ranted, believing it was the thing that would coax Alex into joining.

“The Creator Games shall be fierce, but I believe you have an advantage.” The divine cow began, ready to attempt once more to lure the villager and player into the games,

“You know what it is like to coexist with those unlike yourself, player. I can see it in you… Yes, you are a veteran player, are you not? Having seen this world in its most minimal of forms, having been born before so many, it is you that possesses knowledge that could reshape this world. Though you rely so deeply on your strength, you forget where your other sources of power lie.”

The divine cow holds out a nether star. When it was observing the battle between the Wither and Warden, the Wither had dropped it upon its death, but the Warden never saw it. The cow had decided to keep it until it knew what to do with it, not wanting such a rare powerful item to go to waste.

“The choice is yours” The divine cow said as a final offer. Alex looked to Jev, who merely gave a small smile and nod of approval. He nodded not because it’s what Alex wanted, but because he wanted to. Such a marvelous event MUST be recorded for generations to come, he might as well be the one to do so, but also to watch over his dear master as well.

Alex grabbed hold of the nether star, taking it from the cows hooves, accepting its offer with it. Its power pulsed in her hand, glowing with an elegance. She supposed the fight with that Warden wasn’t for nothing after all.

“So, how and where do we get there?” Alex bluntly asked

“Right here, right now” The divine cow responded, opening a portal below Alex and Jev’s feet. The two of them fell through quick yelps escaping them and they made their way through, before quickly landing on soft sand.

Looking around, Alex and Jev were in awe at their surroundings. The sky was day, despite it having just been night where they were. In the distance, giant blimps carrying all sorts of mobs and players floated in the sky. The floors were made of sand, abnormally shaped cacti were sparsely littered throughout the land. The trees resembled spruce trees in shape, except their trunks were glowstone and their “Leaves” were solid gold blocks. Every direction they peered, something odd or amazing lied. The divine cow that had led them here spoke:

“Welcome to the Creator Games”

Chapter Text

Previously on Annoying villagers, Steve found himself in a realm where reality seemed to bend to the will of the divine. Within this strange realm, he discovers a challenge with no goal, with no rules, with no purpose. At least it seemed that way to him. He must now break a time loop where death is the trigger, but will he be able to make peace with those he’s forced to participate with?

The last thing Steve saw before being forced to restart the challenge again were the eyes of the man he hated most in the world, Herobrine. One vessel, two vessels- How many did he have?

Steve found himself on top of the tree with the two zombies from before, the one who wore pink leather, and the other who wore a vibrant pink shirt. They were a nuisance, they were no help, they were holding him back just like everyone and everything else.

But Steve didn’t really have a choice on whether or not he wanted to help them, he NEEDED to otherwise they’d all be trapped here forever. There was also that weird creeper who called itself “Charlie”, it wasn’t a program like all the others, it was aware.

How long would this go on for? How long would he need to keep everything alive for until they could leave? Steve could only try and see.

“Listen” Steve announced to the two zombies, who turned to pay him attention, not wanting his wrath.

“That creeper seems to understand the situation too. We cannot kill it now or else we will start over again. We must find a way to convince or communicate the situation.”

The two zombies turned to one another, before Pinkie, the one with the pink leather complained,

“But what about my house, I still want it back”

Steve took a deep breath in, attempting to contain his anger at the stupid question. How, oh how in Notch’s name is he going to get out of here. He leveled his breath, readying himself to try once more.

“I know you want your house back, but it is gone. This is a simulation, nothing but you two, that creeper and I are real. Everything else is things stuck in time. And if we don’t cooperate, we too will be stuck in time forever. Now, we must find a way near that creeper before those fake players interrupt us.”

Pinkie pursed their lips, momentarily soured that their house was no longer theirs but truly gone to time. Rave, the zombie with the bright pink shirt, thought of a way they could all go along with Steve’s plan.

“What if I run around and distract them while you two sneak into the window in the back of the house to talk to the creeper?” Rave questioned, wanting to contribute something to the situation. Rave was never good at fighting, but he could run quite a bit faster compared to his fellow zombies.

“That sounds alright. It will only be a start however. This first time, I and your friend with the pink armor will go and converse with the creeper. If we are successful this first time, we will purposely restart the time loop to regroup and come up with a better course of action.” For Steve, it felt nostalgic to be giving commands of attack, the last time he did so was when Greg and Chris were still…

Steve snapped out of his thoughts, remembering to focus on his current goal. Lamenting about the past was something his old self did.

“Let’s go then”

Steve grabbed Pinkie by the wrist, gripping them hard and starting to drag them as they both swiftly started to make their way behind the house

Rave began his job as well, casually making his way up to the players, ready to make fake conversation. He contemplated what to say, would he start with a greeting, insult them, go on a long tangent? Oh that sounded good, ranting usually does stop people in their tracks for a bit, and once they snap out of it, he would run.

“Hey players!” Rave shouted, grabbing the “Players” attention. They all stop conversing and admiring the house and turned their heads towards the out of place zombie.

“You know what I absolutely despise about players? Your need to attack us zombies simply because “Hosti;e mobs” Like, what does that even mean? Have you ever thought to talk to us and reason with us? You know I have feelings too! And-” Rave began his argument, ready to vent all his pent up frustrations onto these mimic players
Meanwhile, Steve and Pinkie began their part of the plan, finding themselves behind the odd house, crouched under where a window was.

“You know you don’t gotta grip me so hard, my arm hurts now” Pinkie whispered to Steve, moping as they limply held their arm.

“Quiet, we must first observe what that creeper is doing inside” Steve observed the window above them, listening intently.

He could make out two voices, the first one being that zombie with the pink shirt, going on some rant, and the second voice was more faint. The voice wasn’t talking, no, it was singing, coming from within the house.

Wearily, Steve began to lift himself from his crouching position, and began to peer into the window. As he peered in, he could see the creeper… Cooking? Steve’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, why was it cooking? Do mobs even need to eat?

The home looked simple, being furnished with a furnace, crafting table, a green bed, and a flower pot. Steve had expected the creeper to be guarding something within, but it seems his speculations were false.

Charlie the creep was holding a frying pan in his mouth, humming a fake song as he continued to cook his lunch tacos. For him, cooking tacos was an art, taking time and attention for the best, most delectable outcome. He has honed his taco making skill since his spawning, one may even say it’s his calling in life. But no he just HAS to keep on getting interrupted by those annoying players and zombies, leading him to have to make the tacos all over again before he could even get a bite.

Charlie was too preoccupied to notice a strange player stalking him through the window. Pinkie finally got bored and decided to join Steve in spying.

“So when do we speak to them?” Pinkie turned to question steve,

“We must converse with it in a way that wont startle it, otherwise it will blow up and we’ll have to start all over again” Steve whispered back his response, never taking his eyes off the creeper.

Pinkie didn’t like how slow paced this all was. Sitting, waiting, watching into their old house’s window spying on a creeper trying to make lunch. They finally had enough of playing the long game and decided to take matters into their own hands. After all, how could progress be made when the player Steve was moving at slime pacing?

“Spptt- Hey creeper!” Pinkie moved Steve out of their way while also loudly whispering enough to grab the creeper’s attention. Steve’s face curled to a snarl, silently fuming that the zombie couldn’t sit still and let him create a better plan. Steve wanted to yell, but in the back of his mind he remembered the players that the pink shirted zombie was distracting still.

Charlie jolted his head towards the window, started by sound and then the sight of two heads poking through.

“Wha- THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY YOU KNOW! GO AWAY!” Charlie was ready to burst, having his lunch be disturbed once again by whatever was going on.

“Whatever you have going on, I WANT NO PART IN IT! It’s been RUINING MY LUNCH ONE TOO MANY TIMES! IF YOU DON’T-” Charlie began,

“I may BURST with frustration.” Charlie glared at the two, a player and a zombie, an odd duo. But he didn’t care to play their games right now.

“Please,” Steve pushed Pinkie out of the way, making more room for himself to speak more directly to the creeper, “We mean no harm”

“We’ve come to help. Something strange is going on and you're a part of it, as are we.” Steve pleaded, silently praying that the creeper wouldn’t be difficult to cooperate with.

“I care not for whatever nonsense you players and zombies have going on, I AM TRYING TO MAKE MY LUNCH, AND YOU KEEP RUINING IT!”

“Please do not shout! There are other players outside that wish to harm us, and if you continue to yell, you’ll alert them!” Steve begged, not wanting to restart the realm so soon.

“Grhmm, if you're so knowledgeable on the situation, then tell me what is going on here…” Charlie was sick of it all, but if cooperating for a moment in time was the only way that would lead to some personal peace, then so be it.

“This realm we’re in is taking bits of our memories and mixing them together to create this place. Also, not every being here is real.” Steve began his explanation, attempting to collect all the information he had and form a cohesive explanation of it all.

“As far as I’m aware, only you, those two zombies, and I are actually aware of what is going on.”

“How does me having to restart making my meal every four minutes fit into all of this? Hm?” Charlie didn’t care for the minor details, he could handle the idea of everyone else being mindless husks, but he did question why time seemed to restart every few minutes, he felt like he was going crazy from it.

“Every time someone gets fatally injured, regardless of their status as a fake or real player,” Steve started, before turning his gaze to the pink armored zombie next to him, “Or mobs, this world restarts to how it was.”
“Well, why is it doing that and how do we make it stop??”

Outside, Rave’s breath was running out, he was borderline panting ready to pass out from whatever half fake half real rant he created. He was proud of himself for managing to conjure up an elaborate ten minute rant on a whim. But, he was running out of energy to yell and speaking points. His head felt light, all the air he took in being used to talk, and his throat wasn’t doing much better either.

“And that’s why I believe diamond hoes are worth investing into!”

He looked into his fake player audience, their minds were as blank as the faces they presented. Though Rave knew the audience was fake and could not retain any knowledge unlike the others, it was best to assume they were at least a little intelligent and capable.

Rave looked nervously at the house, hoping that Steve and Pinkie were finishing up. In truth, he was starting to panic. The players were giving subtle gestures of becoming antsy, ready to lift their blades and end this distraction.

As if on cue, Steve, Pinkie and the creeper came charging out of the house, finally coming to save him.

The creeper was the first out, screaming in a rampage at the sight of the players on his land. Next was Steve, who quickly tossed his fishing rod hook towards a player. Finally was Pinkie, who awkwardly came out attempting back defense moves.

After Steve had gotten hold of a player, he lured them in before using one of his legs to kick them harshly off the rod and onto the floor. The nameless player endured deep damage, and though they didn’t die, they also couldn’t find the strength to get back up.

The four participants began to run deep into the woods, hoping to find a moment in time to discuss their future plans.

“I thank you for holding them off while I spoke to the creeper”

“I HAVE A NAME YA KNOW! IT’S CHARLIE!” It was always a deep frustration being known as just a creeper for Charlie, to never have people think of him as nothing more than just a mindless exploding machine. He had a name and feelings too!

“I- I apologize, Charlie.” It felt odd to Steve, he’s never truly interacted with hostile mobs like this until now. It was easy to think of them all as mindless machines, whose only wants are to kill and destroy.

“Oh! If we're gonna be sharing our name with each other now then I’ll go next! Hi, my name is Pinkie, and my favorite color is pink! I also like lilac flowers and wool blocks!”

It mildly irked Steve just how… Sentient the three mobs were. It made him think back to all the hostile mobs he killed in the past. Did they have names? Did they have dreams and likes and friends too? Steve quickly snapped out of this train of thought. The past was the past, reminiscing and regret would do nothing to help the current situation. He did not care, he only cared about getting these fools in line long enough so he could leave.

The four of the participants made their way into a small, dead end cave. Though not too far out from where they had begun, it was hidden enough to at least get a final conversation on how to move forward from here. All of them sat down, attempting to recollect their breaths.

“Now we all know the supposed “Laws” of this world, as well as each other. We must create a plan to coexist for however long that damned horse deems necessary.” Steve announced to the mobs, taking an unspoken leadership role. He didn’t want to be here any longer, he had to track down that Blue Demon to get the answers he needed.

“We’ll need a way to properly defend ourselves. Though neither Pinkie or I know how to really use a sword, I at least can run away. Pinkie on the other hand…” Rave turned his attention to his companion, who was playing with their pink toy horses.

Steve grimaced at the sight, scrunching his face in subtle disgust, remembering them for the fools they were. It looked like he would have to carry these deadweights once again. He gave out a nearly inaudible groan at the situation, before turning his attention to their new group mate, the cre- Charlie. Charlie the creeper.

“I must ask, the first time we met, you blew up but didn’t die… Why is that?” It was a curiosity, that Charlie was capable of non-fatally exploding himself, whereas it always guaranteed death for other creepers.

“Well you see, I am no ordinary creeper…” Charlie stared at the floor, before snapping his head up to face the others, slightly chuckling to himself, “I’m a charged creeper”

Steve’s eyes widened at the explanation. Though he knew that charged creepers existed, he never faced one. He knew they were born as a result of being struck by lightning, and that their explosions were significantly larger.

“So you lot better watch yourselves, I hold all your lives in my grasp!” Charlie, prideful in his power, saw no reason to not hold it above their heads. It wasn’t as though he was demanding much anyways, merely basic respect and for them not to bug him.

“What are the limits of your abilities? Can you only explode so often?” Steve needed to know more, for maybe he wouldn’t be alone in having to fend himself and the zombies from the mock-players.

“Wouldn’t you just loveee to know? I’m no fool, you’re trying to get me to reveal my weaknesses!” Charlie turned his head away from Steve, ready to ignore him. Steve stood up, ready to argue.

“That’s not it! We’re on the same side as of now, in the name of the same goal: To get out of here. If you don’t wish to cooperate, goodluck being stuck in a time loop.” Steve’s patience was wearing thin. Yes, it was worn thin from the beginning, but it was taking all of his will to not snap at the creeper.

“Then what’s to guarantee that you won’t finish the job and kill us when this is all said and done, hm? You haven’t done much to build all that much trust ya know.”

It was true. This whole time, Steve wasn’t exactly the warmest of people. From the start, he made his stance clear to the zombies that he didn’t like them, that he saw them as parasites. The fact that he was a player, one adept at combat, scared them. Charlie was too prideful to admit it out loud, but he was also scared of the capabilities of Steve. Players, they’re chaotic, unpredictable, able to evolve and learn quickly. What’s not to be weary of?

“Charlie's right! All this time you’ve just been mean to us, and only saving us because you NEED to, not because you want to! How can we be expected to trust you when you won’t open up to us!” Pinkie added to Charlie’s retort, gaining the courage to say what's been bothering them all this time.

Pinkie's words stung deep in Steve, awakening a memory of Chris. He remembers a simpler time. A time when it was just Chris and him, in their shabby little home.

Steve froze, both in body and mind. He recalls a distant memory of a conversation he and Chris had regarding their plans for the world. How they would achieve the peace they both sought after.

“I believe that the only way we can coexist in a world with such vastly different mobs is by understanding that though we are different, we all have similarities in some way.” Steve stared at Chris, who was sitting on the floor surrounded by grass and common flowers.

The two of them had been passing time, waiting for it to be dark enough for them to head off to bed. And so they sat outside, watching the sunset, watching clouds pass them by.

The memory was held dearly to Steve, for it represented all that he fought for… Had fought for. Christ, and his innocent idealization of the world. The orange sky, being one of the few moments in time that he felt truly at peace. The quiet sentimental talks he and Christ used to have later in the day, after they had done a hard day of work.

He wasn’t sure if he believed in his and his dream anymore, for they had most likely both changed greatly over time. Despite it all, he clinged to the memory for all that.

Steve snapped out of his memory. He felt… Different. Recalling such a simpler time softened his face, and his eyes lost their violent glow. His body slouched as he sat back down, breathing out a heavy air that had been pent up.

“I… Never realized that is how you all saw the situation.” He was at war with himself. On one hand, the mobs would most likely cooperate no matter what, for they realistically won’t want to be held here forever. On the other hand, befriending them would make this much easier. But he didn’t need friends, he didn’t need help. Friends only held him-

Chris. Greg. They didn’t hold him back. They were his friends, no? If anything, they all made each other stronger, being able to depend on one another. Where one lacked, someone else would make up.

He should… He should at least attempt to befriend them. It wouldn’t be long term, but…

Steve stared at the three mobs, contemplating his next move. Understanding was what Chris idealized the most. Maybe understanding is where he should start.

“Do you fear all players? Do you fear us because you believe we all wish to harm you?”

“Basically.” Pinkie plainly put. “None of us have any positive experiences with players to say the least. Kinda hard to trust one immediately when all the ones we’ve met before wanted us dead.”

Steve looked at the floor. He realized that the zombies felt the same way towards him as he felt towards them.

“I swear, that I will not turn on any of you once we get out of here. I see now that we are all weary of one another. But we can trust one another. Despite all our past experiences, we can choose to overcome our past grievances with both players and mobs, and join together to get out of here. I promise, I mean none of you any harm.”

The three mobs looked at one another, silently talking through glances. Though they knew there was a chance that the player could be lying, that he could be deceiving all of them, their best option was to trust. To entrust their lives in him, and in turn they would all be set free.

“Well…” Charlie began, “I can explode once every three or so minutes…”

Steve had gone up to the first player he saw, and “Slaughtered” them quickly. His world shifted, and he found himself where he had started, back atop of the tree with Pinkie and Rave.

Their plan was set in motion, they would all just have to hold out long enough until the two faced horse deemed necessary.

From the left, Pinkie quickly stepped towards Rave, remembering the last time they were here, a player attempted to attack them right away from behind. Steve then pulled out his fishing rod, hooking the player before flinging them away.

“We’re doing good so far! Way to go Commander Steve!” Pinkie cheered, praising Steve for his quick actions. Steve held a small smile at being called “Commander Steve”, it reminded him of when Greg would call him the same thing.

Next, Steve brought himself down from the tree, readying himself for the onslaught of players who would come to attack. He placed a crafting table down as he landed, quickly crafting a boat for the two zombies to land in. Though not necessary for their survival, the more health they had, the better.

Two players charged at him from the left, heaving stone swords. Steve brought out his pickaxe, swinging it around the handles of their swords and forcing them out their hands, and the two players fell back onto the floor. They got up and attempted to reach for their swords, only for Steve to have hooked onto the swords first with his fishing rod. He reeled them in and tossed the swords to Rave and Pinkie.

Rave managed to grab the sword the first time it was tossed, while Pinkie couldn’t catch theirs in time and had to bend down to pick it up. The two then did their part of the plan, and ran towards Pinkie’s old home, where Charlie would be to protect them.

The idea was that though Charlie would be the one to protect the two of them from harm, they would have the swords as a backup plan.

The two zombies successfully made their way to the house, quickly passing by the handful of players who were outside of it. Rave and Pinkie crashed their way into the home, slamming the door shut.

The players on the outside saw all of it happen, and were on the verge of chasing after the two when Charlie came out.

“CREEPER! KILL IT!” One player panicked, creating a domino effect of fear through all of them. Yes it was only one creeper, but one creeper could easily wipe them all out, seeing as they all had no armor.

Another player pathetically threw their wooden sword at the creeper, before quickly running to hide behind a teammate after realizing their “attack” did nothing.

“Oi, you lot have to get outta here! This is my home and my property!” Charlie announced to the crowd of players. Before this while he was waiting for the two zombies, he had been rehearsing inside his head on what would be the most effective way to make the players scramble away.

Steve was still continuing his fight. It was hard having to hold back, and yet also heeding enough force to keep the enemies down. He had been counting inside of his head the minutes that had passed them by. So far they were two minutes in. Even so, there was no guarantee that the simulated world would cease the moment he counted to five minutes, it was only a theory after all.

It was then when a player with white eyes appeared. He knew they would come eventually, he just didn’t know how to prepare for it. He glared at the player deeply, resenting the ever white glow that came from their eyes.

Though he knew they were not his, Herobrine, he still felt the same hatred he felt towards him to the players simply for the resemblance in their eyes. He would never forget those eyes.

He knew he would have to control his anger above all else. This wasn’t a matter of being able to beat fake proxies of his, but a matter of self preservation, of being able to coexist with them, even if for a moment in time. He would tolerate them.

Blocks around them started to break and float. Chunks of earth began to shift, trees started to turn and float up. Upon them, were more white eyed players. He would endure.

One of them made their first move, taking advantage of the area's low gravity and lunging towards Steve. Steve easily defended himself from their sword, but had to quickly turn to the side and do it once more from another attack.

Steve used his fishing rod to reel in a floating log with three players on it, ready to knock them back and disorientate them. Unexpectedly however, one of them somersaulted over him, and proceeded to kick Steve in the back, hurling him to the ground. Steve quickly recovered, throwing his fishing rod to grip the player.

Steve started to spin around, the player still attached to the hook. Other attacks attempted to have at him, only to be knocked away by the string and player from his rod. Sadly, this attack method soon stopped when a player from atop of one of the floating pieces of land had their own fishing rod, and saved their teammate.

Charlie had taken inspiration from Rave and decided to distract the player through the power of an erratic nonsensical rant. Admitavly, the strategy was working, or it may have been that the players were still too paralyzed with fear to react in any other way beyond standing and staring.

Out in the distance, Charlie could hear and see the results of Steve’s fight. Though he would never admit it, it was rather impressive how that player was able to handle so much being thrown at him.

Also in the distance, one of the white eyes players was staring at Charlie, unnoticed by any of the real participants. It stealthily made its way towards the pink and white wool house. Unlike the players with normal eyes, the ones with white eyes were more intelligent, able to act more rationally.

Steve had also begun to notice that a number of the fake players were gone. They couldn’t have been killed, nor do they despawn to his knowledge…

Charlie noticed the new presence a bit late. He turned his attention to the looming figure atop of the tree and glared at it.

“Oi chump! If you wanna be all menacing, then get down here and face me like a warrior!” Charlie didn’t really mean it, he merely meant it in a manner that he hoped would intimidate the player. Sadly, this move only egged it on.

The player jumped, and slammed to the ground, landing steadily. As it stood upright, behind it stood a number of other players, dawning the same glowing white eyes.

Charlie started to panic. Those eyes resembled his old master, he thought. And there were so many. No! He was strong, he would hold out, especially against some pesky FAKE players of all things. Though, with his courage, he did wonder where Steve was.

Steve was making his way rapidly through the trees, jumping from one surface to another. How could he not have noticed sooner? That the players had started to disappear in favor of making their way to the others?

He occasionally twisted and turned to ward off attacks from the players that followed him. Maybe this was all a distraction. Maybe they were much smarter than what he gave them credit for. They did work like a hivemind, afterall.

A large boom startled Steve out of sprinting trance. An explosion that large could only have been…

Charlie’s burst threw back a vast majority of the players, chucking them into the few trees that still stood in the area. The land was desecrated, having created a pit in the ground. He at the very least made sure to be a ways away from the house so as to not blow it up. He felt as though he was on the verge of passing out from sheer exhaustion, he’d forgotten how taxing of a move it was.

Rave and Pinkie witnessed everything that was going down, their eyes wide open at the scene. Yes, they knew that the creeper was powerful, but this was a bit ridiculous.

Rave made the daring move to run outside and assist Charlie, believing it would be better for the three of them to stick together from now on.

“Wh-What do you think you’re doing? Get back in the house, it ain’t safe still!”

“We gotta get you inside befor-” Rave was interrupted by a player hooking him with a rod, dragging him away from Charlie before he could even be of any help.

Pinkie stared out the window, contemplating deeply. On one hand, they could stay inside, hide, and be safe, or…

Rave, despite his limited knowledge on sword combat, made an effort to defend himself. Better to try and fail than to just straight up fail. Regardless of his efforts, he was struggling. The players kept on coming, and as they continued Pinkie felt fear. Not a fear for themselves, but for their dearest friend.

With a shaky break, Pinkie picked up the stone sword Steve had given them, and ran out the house. They scrambled and tumbled into the pit that Charlie and Rave resided in, its edges surrounded by players.

“STOP FIGHTING!!!!” Pinkie had screamed into the crowd of players and their friends. They all stood still, looking ajar at what Pinkie had said. Pinkie felt an awkwardness seep into themselves, having single handedly made everyone stop what they were doing to draw all attention to themselves.

Steve had finally made it. He stood upon a tree, looking down at the assembly of players, looking into the pit Charlie had made. When Steve peered closer, his heart stood still.

The three mobs lied in the center. The situation was tight, but he figured he would be the best distraction. He would pull their attention towards himself, and that would create an opening for them to run away.

“Leave them! I am the one you are all after, not them!” Steve growled at the crowd. Only half of them bothered to turn their heads, the others remained fixated on the three mobs.

Over five minutes had passed, so why was it that this wasn’t over? How long did EVERYONE have to survive for? Ten minutes? Thirty? An hour?

For the first time, Steve was filled with panic. This was the closest they had gotten to “Beating” the laws of this world, they couldn’t let it go to waste now.

A number of players had finally worked up the courage to make a move against the nearly defenseless mobs. They brought out their swords, and lowered themselves to stances that made them look as though they were ready to jump.

Steve looked on in horror. They didn’t deserve this… They put their trust in him. Their faith. Just like how Chris and Greg put their faith into him. But he failed them.

Something in Steve snapped. He wouldn’t, he couldn’t let history repeat. His breath became labored, pupils dilating out of adrenalin.

“No…. NOOOOOO” Steve gave a rageful scream, pulling his strongest weapon out, and jumping high into the onslaught of players that threatened his… Friends.

He knew this attack would reset them all. He knew all their efforts would be in vain. They could try again, sure, but he couldn’t bear the idea, the mere possibility of losing another friend.

They didn’t deserve this. They didn’t deserve to be here, they deserved to be-

The world around them shifted as Steve brought his sword down upon a player, dealing a fatal blow. But unlike the scenery he had expected, he was back in the desolate room filled with pillars and empty chests. They were…

“Free” The two faced horse had whispered into Steve's ear. “Congratulations, you’ve passed! You’ve all passed and now you’re all free!” The horse cheered on to the four participants. “Though, some may say there is no freedom, only larger cages…” It added darkly.

Steve collapsed to the floor, still shaking with adrenaline. He thought he would fail them all. He thought… that he would lose them all.

“We did it! We made it out!” Pinkie was the quickest to recover from the shock, opting to celebrate their success. The three others remained on the floor, still in disbelief over the fact that they made it out.

“Pinkie, Rave!” A zombie with a white headband called out. Behind him, were two other zombies. Steve turned his attention to them, recalling them from before.

“You’re alive! You guys are actually alive! We all thought that player was going to eat you two!” A second zombie gasped, this one wearing a red shirt.

The third zombie, one armed with diamond armor and a diamond weapon, turned his gaze to Steve, who still sat on the ground, deep in thought.

“Looks like they didn’t finish the job either, let’s kill him!” The armored zombie raised his weapon, ready to march towards Steve, but Pinkie interjected.

“No! He helped us! He is a good player, he's on our side, trust us!” Pinkie pleaded to their friends, not wanting another conflict to break out so soon.

“It’s true, we only made it out because of him…” Rave raised himself up, finally calm enough to form words.

The three zombies stared at Steve. Steve stared back at them, before standing up to introduce himself.

“Hello, I am Steve. I apologize for attacking you all earlier. Truth be told, I was scared due to not understanding where I was, or how to escape. I hope you can forgive me.”

The three new zombies turned their heads to one another, wordlessly congressing with one another.

“Hi, I’m red” Said the zombie with the red shirt. Steve thought it was somewhat odd yet amusing how the zombies seemed to sometimes name themselves after the color they wore.

“I’m Adida!” Introduced the zombie with the headband.

“And I am Maggie” The zombie with the armor stated, putting their weapon away out of respect.

Steve never expected to befriend one zombie, let alone five. As odd as it was, it was reassuring knowing he wouldn’t have to fight them.

“Now, now then, back to the topic at hand! You’ve all passed and therefore are allowed entry to the Creator Games!” The two faced horse announced to them all.

Steve glared at the horse. He was tired, and had to head back to the overworld to find the Blue Demon.

“I’m tired of these games. I request that I be sent back to the overworld.”

“Now why would you want that when all you search for will be at the Creator games?” The horse suspiciously suggested. A small visual appeared in front of Steve. He eyed it wearily, fearful of what he may find within it. But curiosity got the better of him.

He glared into the visual, and could make out odd terrain. Sand covered the floor, cacti sparsely littered throughout the land. There were golden trees with glowstone trunks. But the thing that caught him off guard was who was there. The two people he hated most, fighting each other.
Steve’s jaw dropped slightly at the sight, his eyebrows slowly narrowing out of anger that was building up. The others had noticed this random rage, and it stirred a fear within them.

Steve stared silently into the vision for what seemed like forever. The horse was right at least, everything he sought was there.

“I’ll join these… Games.”

The two faced horse gave a small, unsettling smile.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

After a little over a month of procrastination, I've finally made art for the last three chapters. SADLY, Ao3 is stupid and its horrifically hard to add art to chapters, so this is basically just me saying if you want to see the chapter art work, please head over to my Tumbr handle st0ne-gard3n, It's where I plan to post all my art! ALSO I severely underestimated how much time it would take to make three art pieces per chapter, so from now on I'm just planning to make more or less art depending on chapter length rather than give them all equal amounts of art.

Chapter Text

Previously on Annoying Villagers, Mustard had been dealing with endeavor after endeavor, whether it be the Villager Kingdom, his old hag of a boss coming for his head, or that deranged pufferfish. He could only pray to the creators that he would be given a break on his journey of… World peace. Now, he ventures to the lands in search of knowledge and possible allies that can help assist him in his mission to destroy Herobrine, and bring about peace.

The past few days had been rough, to say the least. The latest encounter with that Herobrine vessel had forced Mustard into revealing more of his powers and using more resources. While he was able to fend them off, it was only a matter of time before more vessels were sent to deal with him.

Mustard had been loyal to his former master for quite a while, and knew his methods well. It was unlike him to send vessels after defectors unless they held something of value to him. His old master wasn’t petty, he was above such things.

Mustard peered down at the enchanted book in his hands. Surely, this held the key to defeating Herobrine, and that must be why he wanted it back so badly. An airy giggle began to escape him, before Mustard's emotions swung back once again.

He held the key to defeating Herobrine. Vessels were after him. The Villager Kingdom wanted him dead. Players were no better. He was alone, all in the name of peace. Yes, he had his old pupil, Blue, but he hadn’t seen him for quite a while. Besides, Blue would also be a magnet for Herobrine vessels, it would be best if they kept separate for now.

He contemplated using what little resources he had on him to summon a golem to keep him company, but halted. They were husks designed to follow their masters bidding, not people. If he commanded them to be his friend, they couldn’t object. They could ask questions, but could not form opinions. Where was the companionship in all of that?

Mustard continued his speed walking pace, trudging through the course dirt and grass, aimlessly walking through the woods. A grimace molded onto his face, his heart rate increased as paranoia crept onto him. Around any tree, and cliff or hill, could lie an enemy. They all hated him. Players, villagers, they all wanted him dead. Mustard broke out into a sprint, running from nothing but his thoughts.

His breath began to labor from the intense action, and the trees began to shift. The winds around him began to chance in tone as well, sounding akin to whispers. Mustard stopped, panting to get his breath back, but the world kept on spinning, and the sounds kept on flowing.

“I banish you to exile”

“Radical”

“KILL HIM”

“Herobrine is love, Herobrine is life!”

"be the light that shines upon the darkness."
Mustard fell to the floor, anguished over the piercing voices of the past invading his mind, reminding him of every failure, every regret, every heartbreak he’d endured in his life.

“Please, I can’t take it! I- I’m just trying to save everyone! But no one wants me, no one likes me, THEY ALL THINK I’M CRAZY!” No one was around to hear his plea, even though his voice spread for chunks to come. A whimper came from Mustard, who continued to wallow and lament on the course ground.

“Why… I just wanted to… to save the world. The creators themselves told me to… So why am I still doing it alone?”

From sheer exhaustion, Mustard passed out on the ground, exposed to the elements still. A subconscious part of him told him to at least find suitable shelter for the night, but he wouldn’t muster up the will, not minding the idea of possibly being eaten by zombies in the night.

The sun had come up, and so had the scouting bees of the United Mob Association. Today, they were directed to the eastern oak forests to patrol for any potentially dangerous, unwelcomed guests. Today it was Barry and Becky Bee’s turn to keep an eye out for potentially hostile forces. They didn’t mind patrolling wooded areas, they were covered, flowers were nearby for a lunch break, it was nice.

“Hey Becky, you won’t BEElieve what I saw yesterday” Barry began to pester his companion. Becky could only give an audible sigh, realizing her partner would be doing endless bee jokes until the end of the day.

“Why, I was in utter disBEElief at the sight!”

“Can we not do this today? If I have to hear another bee related pun or joke I’m going to sting the closest thing I can find and die just so I don't have to hear them anymore.”

Barry paused, keeping quiet beyond the buzzing of his flapping wings.

“I BEE-g your pardon?” Becky was ready to snap, but quickly came up with an idea of how to rid herself of Barry for a while.

“Say, if you look at the sun, it looks about noon, right? Why don’t you make yourself useful and find us some… Hm, cornflowers? Yeah, I’m in the mood for cornflowers.”

“Ooooh, good idea! I’ll BEE on my way!” Becky could only deadpan as she saw Barry fly away, at least she would get a moment of peace now.

Barry fluttered around in the forest, humming to himself as he kept his eyes out for blue flowers. It couldn’t be too hard to find some surely. Though as he delved deeper into the forest, he accidentally heard a groan. Barry stopped for a moment, contemplating on investigating it or not. No one other than Becky and himself were scheduled to be patrolling this area, and Becky was a ways away right now… On one hand, he was about to be on his lunch break, on the other hand… If the stranger made its way to the UMA base Barry would be in deep trouble. Barry gave a mope, readying himself to investigate who was there.

Barry crept out from behind the tree he was hiding behind, only to see a villager dress in a black robe on the ground. Barry blinked at the odd sight. Yep, it was an intruder, but it was only a villager, one who seemed… Worse for wear to say the least.

Mustard had finally found the energy to turn himself over, face no longer on the ground but looking up at the sun. It looked to be about noon, how long had he been asleep? More surprisingly, his sleep wasn’t interrupted by hostile mobs chewing his bones.

His breath hitched for a moment, before he forced himself to sit up. He’d been asleep for far too long. The Herobrine forces had likely made a lot of ground by now. He had to get moving once again. Mustard stood up, shaky from being asleep for so long, and dusted his robes off. He stuffed his hand into his pocket, reaffirming that the enchanted book was still in his possession.

“Hello! It would BEE very appreciated if you would BUZZ off and walk the other way!” Mustard shrieked, jumping at the sudden appearance and voice of the bee next to him.

“W-Who are you!? What do you want with me!?” Mustard interrogated the small bug, ready to fight. Who was this bee? An undercover spy from the Herobrine forces or the villager kingdom? Were they sent to take him out?

“I’m Barry the bee! And I want you to walk back to where you came from, you’re a liabiliBEE.”

Mustard furrowed his eyebrow and stared strangely at the odd creature, still unsure of their true intentions.

“Well, I can’t you see…” Mustard began. As easy as it would be to summon a golem to deal with the situation on his behalf, it would be a waste of resources, an expenditure he couldn’t afford at the moment.

“Aaand why may that BEE?” Mustard brought his hand to his mouth, small panic filling him as he bit at his nails.

“W-well, I’m being chased by this… Weird player with extraordinary powers… Powers that normal players shouldn’t have…” Maybe if he played dumb they would take pity on him, yes, that would be his play.

“You expect me to BEElieve in such things?”

“No- NO! I swear! He can summon obsidian that follows his commands, and he has white eyes, and-” Mustard was cut off.

“White eyes?” Barry repeated in an uncharacteristically serious tone. It was intriguing to Barry, though there was a chance the villager could be lying, the description sounded too similar to the UMA’s most wanted: Herobrine.

“Yes! He's been chasing me for a while now… I don’t know how to get him to stop…”

Barry stared at the villager, buzzing in the air. How upset would Becky be if he came back with a villager instead of lunch? Would the higher ups at the United Mobs Associate be interested in hearing this villagers case?

“Hmm… I hope I don’t get in trouble for bringing you along, but… I mighttt know some people who can help you if you come with me.”

Mustard stared intensely at the bee as it uttered its proclamation, a small, unnoticed smile crept upon his face. Could this be it? Could this be the road to the allies he's been pleading for?

Chapter Text

Previously on Annoying Villagers, Villagers, players, and mobs of all walks of life have been selected by the gods to participate in the most grandiose of games, the Creator games. At long last, they are about to start. But before anyone can participate, rules and teams must be laid out.

One moment Grave was discussing a plan with his comrades, the next he's fading into white, finally his vision clears up and now he's just… Suspended in the air in an endless yellow void. This realm's kooky logic was messing with him in every way. The landscape, the logic… He's already regretting his decision in agreeing to participate in the games.

Looking around, he realizes that quite literally EVERYONE was currently suspended in the air like he was. He took the moment to observe who his competition would be. Just from a basic survey of the situation, it seemed MANY beings were going to be participating. Players, mobs, villagers, hostiles, passives, neutrals. His team would have to truly pull their weight to win this. Though he didn’t doubt their skill, or his own, there was always a chance that there was a bigger fish… Maybe a more organized team with more members…

Continuing his survey, he could see a few of his comrades in the distance, but sadly they were too far away to communicate with. Looking to his left, Grave cringed as he made awkward eye contact with a donkey who had chests attached to themselves. To his right, was a zombie in pink leather armor.

“Haiiii!! Do you know what's going on? One moment I was with my friends, then the next moment my vision went white and now I’m here!” The zombie screamed, attempting to communicate to Grave over the hundreds of other beings attempting to talk. Grave gave a low grumble, not wanting to associate with a mob as lowly as a damn zombie, especially one as clueless as this one.

For now, he and everyone else would just need to wait for the creators to make their next move.

Steve’s eyes shot open the moment they could. White light had consumed his vision, but now, he felt odd. Looking around, he quickly realized the oddity of the situation. Why was everyone floating in the sky? Cautiously, Steve looked down, only to realize he too was floating in an endless yellow sky. It took everything in him to not freak out at the situation, he couldn’t afford to feel fear right now.

“Nice to see you again, neighbor!” A cheeky voice to Steve’s right shot him out of his internalized fear. Looking to the direction it came from, Steve instantly recognized them, not just for their voice, but their bright ginger hair too. Alex.

“You scared of heights?” She giggled, looking at Steve rapidly changing emotions. She thought he was funny in an unintentional way, the way he tried acting all dark and mysterious when in reality he was rather easy to read.

Steve was unsure what to do, he couldn’t move, but neither could anyone else. He observed the other beings around him, trying to make sense of the situation. There were mobs of all sorts, some mobs he’s never even seen in his life. There were also a lot of players as well, none of them beyond Alex seemed familiar to him however. But as he glared upward, in the distance he could make out a distinct mob, the Blue Demon. Steve could only glare daggers into him, for now. Soon, he would get the answers he needed from him, and take back his sword, even if it meant killing him.

Blue had yet to notice Steve, for he was too occupied attempting to find his comrades. With how many participants there were, it was hard to find specific beings, even for Blue.

Yellow glitter suddenly started to ball right in front of Blue, and before he could even attempt to react, Russell manifested from it.

“Ah, you’ve made it here without error! That is good.” Russells words confirmed Blues suspicions that this was all intentional. So this was the start of the start of the games.

“Don't worry, I’ve made sure your friends arrived successfully as well. I’ve also managed to get ahold of your other friends back in the overworld too. The games will start soon, but before they do, my fellow god servants must announce to all participants what is to come, and then everyone will be free to create their own teams.”

“You have my thanks. But I must ask, how… How are you here? What happened to you? What happened after you fell down the mob farm?” Despite all that Blue had seen in his life, the idea that the zombie he saw as a father, Russel, was alive, still bogged his mind.

“It’s a long story I’m afraid, and we sadly have little time.” Russel twiddled with the staff in his hand, mournful that he didn’t have time to explain himself. “I’ll tell you in time, but right now I must go, and you must prepare.” A gold portal was casted from the staff Russel held, and he soon disappeared into it too, leaving Blue to continue his wonders.

Why, why did Herobrine wish to be here? If all that was said about this place is true, then this should be nothing more than a congregation of beings competing for a powerful weapon. Was Herobrine here to win the weapon, or was there someone here that he was after…?

The bright void world was filled with voices of all origins, from players, to moo’s, to the villagers' strange “Hrm”’s, zombie growls, everything. A pure mixture of beings, gathered to participate in the grand games of the creators.

All participants were held in stasis, only being able to flop their limbs and speak, but among them were the servants of the creators, dressed in white and gold, floating around to get familiar with the faces of those who would be playing.

“Seems to me that everyone got teleported correctly!” The holy turtle spoke to the holy llama.

“Yesss, it seems so! Gather the others and announce to them that we are ready!” The white holy llama responded. Its spirit was bright, for this event was everything that it had been planning for, and all was going smoothly thus far. The last creator games were merely a stress test, something to see what areas needed to be changed for the real deal, but at long last the true creator games were here. Who knew what would happen this time around. Love, death, new friendships, betrayal, growth, backtracks, all here for the servants and the creators to enjoy!

The holy turtle had done its job, gathering its fellow servants to the center of the mass of participants. They would all play their parts perfectly in this play.

“I suppose we stop wasting time and start!” The split horse announced, looking at the other servants. They were all here now. The villager, the pig, the cow, the bat, the magenta llama, the zombie.

As discussed before the start of the games, the white holy llama would take charge of the announcements, being the most senior of them all, as well as having helped host the first demo of the games.

“WELCOME, WELCOME!” His voice boomed throughout the void, garnering every participant's attention, snapping them all out of their conversations and looking around.

“I courteously welcome you all to the Game Of The Creators! A most anticipated event by both participants and divine beings! In these games, you will form teams with a maximum of eight members, and must work together in a variety of situations and challenges, overcoming your weaknesses and differences!” All eyes stared deeply at the holy llama, seeping in every word it spoke as though their existence relied on it. To an extent, their lives do depend on it.

The two-sided horse took the spot that the holy llama once held, ready to speak their part. “And in the end, the winner shall receive a grand prize. A prize of their choosing, a wish! A wish for anything! Riches, weapons, abilities, perchance resurrection! Anything you can think of!”

The two-sided horse's bright voice soon shifted into something more dark, something more wise yet sinister, “But be conscious of your desires, for they may lead you down roads so dark, not even your worst of nightmares could replicate it.”

“Unlike most games, this realm contains no rules! For we wish to observe how you choose to play and interact with the world around you when you have no rules to follow!”

“However, if we find that certain actions are detrimental to the games as a whole, we will interfere so as to not ruin the event as a whole.” The holy pig input.

“In this event, you will compete in a number of games, starting from the more peaceful games, and working up to more…” The two-sided horse paused, “Deadly games” His grim announcement soon snapped back to a positive tone, “And depending on your performance, you will gain points! And in the end, the participant with the most points shall be the victor!”

“Now, I believe that's enough talking. From here, you will all be transferred to a lobby to form your teams! It shall be the place where everyone is sent to following the conclusion of a game. Your teams require a minimum of three participants, and a maximum of ten! After everyone has a team, we shall announce the first game!”

Once again, all participants were engulfed in a white light to teleport them. A number of them screamed out of confusion and fear of the light, others remained calm.

He had failed. He had tried with all his power to convince the beings of this world not to attend the sadistic games of the creators and they all ignored him. The Illager king looked at his red steel axe, communicating his thoughts to it. Did he do the right thing?

He recalls how he fought the group of players that stood near the divine portal. Though he was stronger than all of them, there were too many of them to realistically keep track of. He recalls how the portal opened, and how all those players flooded into it while he had his back turned, distracted by the other players that had been fighting them. The players that were fighting him soon followed, throwing their ender pearls and fishing rods towards the portal. They were all doomed. Doomed to sad, agonizing deaths.

“You’re the one who won the creator games last time, no?” The holy magenta llama that had created the portal questioned the illager king. The illager king could only glare at the creature, for he knew he was no match even with the weapon the creators had gifted to him.

“You creators… You divine servants… How can you have the heart to make such twisted games? What do you gain from it? You gather all these souls and bribe them with ideas of grand treasure, knowing that there will only be one victor. You sentence them to death for their ignorance. You have the power to stop it, so why don’t you? Could it be that the creators truly are sadistic? That you truly enjoy our suffering?” The illager king's words dripped with venom, like a snake ready to strike. The magenta llama only stared at the illager king, answering none of his questions.

“Why don’t you find out for yourself? They say second time's the charm~” the llama taunted, “Besides, I get the feeling you’ll see a number of familiar faces! It could be worth the trip, but there's only one way to find out!”

The illager king glared daggers into the llama, realizing it was trying to egg him on. But to an extent, the divine being was right. This was an opportunity to find out the truth behind these games, an opportunity that wouldn’t show up again.

The illager king looked around at his new surroundings following being teleported from the announcement that the divine servants gave. It appeared to be a village, made of simpler blocks, such as stone and spruce. Surrounding it were giant ice peak mountains, surely to keep the participants from wandering too far. The illager king gazed around the village, watching as more and more participants popped out of thin air. His eyebrows furrowed at the sight, there were so many participants… Far more than last time. Far more lives would be destroyed this time around.

As the illager king looked around at the participants, he recalled that his ally, a player by the name of Mr. Colder, was here. He had to find him, and form a plan. He was one of the few players that knew of what the creator games contained, for the illager king was the one who told him.

Mr. Colder most likely had a team already, but he wasn’t planning on forming a team with him to begin with, it would be too conspicuous for an illager to team with a player. He planned to find other illagers and hostile mobs to form a group with. Despite his warnings to his illager comrades, he knew deep down that temptations that the gods provided would overpower his warnings. The illager would easily align themselves with him due to his authority as the illager king and out of guilt from disobeying his warning, while other hostile mobs would align themselves due to recognizing who he was.

“Hot sauce!” A group of chicken said in unison, running towards the powerful Drowned. Blue was glad to see his comrades, but internally cringed at the stupid nickname they gave him, ‘hot sauce’.

Fuzzy the sheep soon arrived as well, reuniting the rebellion group once again.

“Good, you are all here.” Blue plainly stated, gathering his companions into a circle.

“One moment we were running away from the mineshaft, then boom! A crazy lookin’ zombie in white clothes just popped outta thin air and told us that if we followed him that he would bring us to you!” Soy sauce the chicken proclaimed.

“Ya got a plan, boss?” Barbecue questioned, turning to his friend.

Blue didn’t have a true plan, he was thrown into the situation without any proper warning. Regardless, he would adapt to the situation just as he does for anything else that goes unplanned.

As he thought, he recalled the fact that Steve was here. He would be a valuable asset in these games. However, if he was here, who was to say who else would be here?

“We must find the player named Steve. He will join us and be a valuable member in our efforts. Though he is weak, the rage he holds against Herobrine should be enough to motivate him into giving it his all, as well as his sword.” Blue pulled out the large, legendary diamond sword that he had stolen from Steve. He recalls how Steve reacted when he realized he had his sword. The sword was not just a weapon to Steve, but rather it seemed to hold sentimental value to Steve as well.

“Sir yes sir!” Squawked the four chickens at his command. Blue turned to Fuzzy, who was silent.

“Is that truly a good idea? Last time we employed him, he was quick to turn against us. He’ll betray us again the moment the opportunity arises.” Fuzzy made a good point, but given their desperate situation, it was a gamble Blue was willing to take.

“Yes, you are right. He will most likely betray us, but so long as I hold his sword, he will obey. Even then, should he act out, he is no match for me.”

Steve awkwardly stood in the village, unsure of what to do with himself. They wanted him to team with others, but he knew no one here. No, he knew people here, it’s just that he didn’t want to team with others. He was strong, he was independent, and others would just get in the way and distract him. He didn’t need anyone.

He thought back to the player with ginger hair, and cringe. Why, why did he pour his emotions out to her? Why did he tell her his story? It was a pathetic moment of weakness, that's why. And it wouldn’t happen again. Steve sighed heavily, he had to find a team or else the divine mobs would probably force him into a random one. But who? There was the player that he was just thinking about, Alex. She was skilled, but he was too embarrassed to team with her, following his small mental break he had in front of her. There were the zombies and Charlie, but they weren’t skilled. If he was here to get one wish granted, then he needed skilled people on his side. There was also the Blue demon… He still had the legendary sword, no doubt, but he truly didn’t want to team with him. He hated the idea. He wouldn’t stoop that low again, he’d find another way to get his sword back.

With a near silent groan, Steve began to walk around. Maybe he would find more familiar faces. In the back of his mind, he prayed to the gods that he would find Chris or Greg, but deep down he knew he wouldn’t. They were gone…

“You… IT’S YOU!!” A voice yelled out, the scream being directed to Steve. He looked to the direction it came from, only for his eyes to widen at the familiar face that was pointing towards him. That player named Grave.

An airy laugh left Grave, one laced with a sense of unhinged emotion. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to see you again…” Grave growled, locking his eyes with Steve as he pulled out his sword. The other participants in the area looked at the scene, their own conversations stopping to observe what was going on.

Grave and Steve locked eyes. Of course the one familiar face he found was one he didn’t wish to ever meet again. It looked like their swords would be doing the talking.

As Steve and Grave pulled their respective weapons out, members of Graves clan, the resistance, looked at the situation and started to talk among themselves.

“Uhhhm, you think we should… Stop them?” Thunderclaw questioned, not bothering to look her fellow team members in the eyes as she asked. Yes, Grave was strong, but was this really a good time?

Grave was the first to charge, jumping high in order to bring his dual swords down onto Steve with greater impact, twisting in the air to try and dodge any counter attacks. Steve was quick to react however, leading to Grave’s swords clanging onto the ground with a sharp clank.

“Eehhhh.. Maybe not.” A team member named Clow finally responded.

Grave was more determined than ever. He wouldn’t get away this time, he’d get his loot and his revenge. Grave gave out a breathy chuckle, recovering his swords from the missed attack, before finally turning to face Steve once again.

Grave recalls the giant enchanted diamond sword that Steve has, he needed to have it for himself. With it, he’d be unstoppable! Maybe the best course of action was to get Steve to draw the sword out and take it from his hands…Besides, after the humiliating loss at the desert camp against the white eyed monster, winning this fight and gaining the weapon would once again prove to his tribe that he was worthy of being their leader.

Steve drew out Tony the fishing rod, grappling the hook onto one of Graves swords to reel himself closer to him, but Grave stood strong, taking the wire of the rod and spin, leading to Steve losing his balance and momentarily being dragged on the ground.

More and more participants came and gathered around the two warriors. The games hadn’t even truly begun yet, but people were already fighting?

“You’re weak… You’re weak in both body and mind. You’re unworthy of such a sword… So let me do the world a favor and take it from your corpse” A tinge of insanity lace Grave’s voice as he breathed deeply trying to catch his breath.

This claim only confused Steve. Yes the sword he was currently using was good but it wasn’t- Oh. He was talking about his legendary sword.

A small giggle came from Steve. “I… I don’t even have it. You’re fighting me for nothing.”

This confession only raised Graves' resentment.

“Whatever… Doesn’t change the fact I still want you DEAD.” Grave threw an ender pearl towards Steve, ready to enact his revenge, to take out all his months worth of rage onto Steve. Steve in turn was ready, this nuisance of a player had been a thorn in his side too. The old Steve would have shown mercy, but look where that got him. He showed Grave mercy once, thinking if he killed him that he would seek revenge. It seems that decision made no change to fate.

But when Grave vision cleared from the teleportation, shock could only appear on his face.

Steve’s sword was lodged deep into him. And yet… He took no damage…Why?

Steve too was confused. Why wasn’t he hurt? It seemed the sword just.. Phased through him. Steve shook himself out of the confusion and used his leg to kick Grave off the large sword, throwing him into a stone wall. This snapped Grave out of his confusion in turn. That too did no damage.

“Aww… Just when I thought I’d get to see a good fight!” Alex made her way through the sea of onlookers, casually walking up to Steve. Steve looked up to the ginger haired girl, it seemed he wouldn’t be avoiding her afterall.

Though no one was hurt, the small battle did set an example of how skilled both Steve and Grave were. Maybe the creator games were a good investment of her time!

Alex strolled up to Steve, clasping a hand around his shoulder, surprising Steve. What was she doing?

“Ya know, when I first met you, I thought you were gonna be a crybaby noob, no offence” Steve could only deadpan at the sentiment.

“But I gotta say, you're like, actually pretty strong! I like it! Loving it even!” The more she spoke, the more confused Steve became.

“So it’s for that reason that I must ask, will you join my team? Now, mind you, I don’t just go around asking anyone to join me! I’m like, super duper exclusive.” Steve only stared at her in silence, unsure of what to do. Should he team with her…? On one hand she was the only person he somewhat knew here and wasn’t on bad terms with, on the other, he did have an embarrassing breakdown in front of her.

“This… THIS ISN’T OVER!” Grave interrupted the two, standing up after the initial shock of the revelation that he couldn’t even fight in this realm.

“Zip it buddy! I’m TRYING to have a conversation here! It’s rude to interrupt others.” Alex pointed to Grave, reprimanding him with sas in her tone.

“Whatever, just know that when the time comes for battle, you’re going down with him too.” Grave glared at the two of them.

“Dude, from the looks of things you were kinda losing that fight. And if my assumptions are right, then this isn’t even the first time you’ve lost to him, no?” Alex gave a smug smile at the dark haired player. Then it was settled, she too would die.

Grave gave a low, inaudible growl, walking off elsewhere with his tribe members following close behind him. The crowd of onlookers dispersed soon as well, ready to gossip about the fight.

“Now, where was I before we were so rudeeely interrupted? Oh! So do ya wanna join me?” Alex held her hand out to Steve, eager to have him accept.

But Steve only hesitated. Why was he hesitating? That was something only his old self did. All he had to do was say a simple no. He’d find other players, players that were skilled and didn’t know him.

“I-”

“I’ve found you once more.” Steve instantly recognized the gravelly voice as he turned his head to face it. Blue. Why, WHY DID EVERYONE HAVE TO INTERRUPT HIM. WHY WAS HE SEEING EVERYONE HE DIDN’T WANT TO SEE?

“Oh my god, NOW WHAT?” Alex screamed at the Drowned, unwilling to contain her annoyance any longer.

Blue stared blankly at the girl, thinking her an annoyance more than anything.

“Tell me, did you eliminate the vessel?” Blue had to get as much information from him before anything else. He had to know and understand the situation completely to be on top.

“Why should I tell you?” Steve glared deeply at the Drowned. If only damage was enabled right now, he’d have gone to kill the blue demon.

“We must share all knowledge we have with each other for the best advantage. You and I both know that HE is here, multiple of him. It would be in both of our best interests if we collaborate.” Blue didn’t want to drive Steve away, he was valuable, and depending on if he managed to defeat the vessel, his worth may be more than what was originally calculated.

“NO! You always make things one-sided. You use me, treat me like a pawn, then try to lure me in with false promises. Not this time. I won’t be swayed with your illusions.”

Blue thought for a moment. So he has grown. He’d have to find a different way to convince him to do his bidding. He seemed to realize that he kept information from Steve, and the last time he saw him he said he would share information…

“There are multiple vessels here, disguised as ordinary players. I do not know which ones are affected however.”

So Steve’s theory was correct. The vessel he killed was just one in who knows how many. As much as a deceiver as the blue demon could be, he’d have no reason to lie about something like this.

The situation was tricky. Steve didn’t want to team with the blue demon once again, knowing how he’d be treated by him. But his skills were undeniable. He's been hunting down Herobrine vessels for a long time now, bringing them to justice, meanwhile Steve only just finally managed to kill one.

“Yes. I killed the vessel with the large hammer.” Good, one less problem for him to worry about.

“How does it feel? To have finally tasted the smallest sense of revenge?” Blue questioned Steve, attempting to rouse his emotions. First he would praise him, to make him open himself up, then take advantage of his vulnerability and promise him further vengeance.

Steve stood silent. The taste of vengeance was… Bitter. An endless thirst. Greg and Chris were still gone, and HE was still alive elsewhere, in the form of other vessels. He’d hunt them all down.

“I take it that killing one didn’t satisfy you. You and I are more similar than what you may think. Come back to me, help me track him down and rid the world of him, and together we shall both take our revenge. And once you have proven your strength, and proven your resolve, your sword…” The blue demon summoned out the legendary blade, “may once again be your.”

Steve stared into the sword, seeing his reflection and all the memories that the sword had carried. He’d had it for as long as he could remember. A precious gift from Notch himself. A sadness seeped into Steve, recalling his original master, thinking about how disappointed he must be in him. It was because he was weak. Everything awful to ever happen to him was from his own weakness, his hesitation, his mercy-

“Back off buddy, I asked him first!” Alex snapped Steve out of his misery as she grabbed Steve by the wrist, shaking it in the air as a means to claim an imaginary ownership.

Ignoring her, Blue continued to speak, “We will not be getting an opportunity like this again. Choose now.”

He was almost convinced. But no. He’d been fooled by the Blue demon one too many times. Plus, Steve still needed to get Whoopie the sword back from the illager king. If he was caught teaming with the drowned, Whoopie would be good as gone, it wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

Steve breathed out deeply, collecting his thoughts into a final, cohesive answer. He turned to Alex, ready to share his thoughts.

“You were the one who helped me to defeat my first vessel,” Blue’s eyes widened at the revelation. He should have known Steve was too weak to do it on his own, but the girl didn’t initially strike him as a warrior, let alone one capable of defeating a Herobrine vessel.

“Without you I wouldn’t have made much progress. All those other times I fought him… I or someone else ended up injured, and he would get away…”

“Uhuh, uhah, go on…” Alex egged on, ready to hear his proclamation.

“I’d like to join your team, miss Alex. I believe if we work together, we will be able to utilize our abilities to their fullest power and potential.” Steve felt guilty about accepting her invitation, for he fears the idea of letting another person die because of him. He failed Greg and Chris so long ago, what if he fails her now? What if he fails and loses her to Herobrine as well? Sadly Steve didn’t have the option to be picky, at the end of it all he’d rather work with Alex than work with the Blue demon.

Alex gave out a giddy laughter, rubbing her hands together as a means to let go of her contained energy and excitement.

“In your FACE! I win! You can’t blame me though, I just can’t help being the better option!” Alex gloated her success in the face of the drowned, who only narrowed his eyes towards Steve in disappointment.

This didn’t go as planned, but it was only a minor setback. Steve would have been a smaller piece in this large puzzle anyways, he could do without him. But he would keep an eye out on him, including his new teammate.

Jev perked up at the familiar sight of his red haired master, but soon felt confused as he saw that player from before with her again.

“Yohoo! Jev, get over here!” Alex caught his attention, waving her hand in the air in the sea of other contestants.

“Master! You’ve come back! And… With company I see!” Jev looked past Alex, peering at the other player, who stood behind her.

“Yeeppp! Hope you don’t mind! You don’t mind, right? RIGHT?” Alex’s voice built up in aggression and command, indirectly demanding obedience. Jev, as always, agreed immediately, somewhat. Yes, of course they needed more allies, but surely there were others more qualified, no? Hesitantly, he walked up to Alex, and whispered his concerns.

“I don’t mean to question your decisions, master, but I do question…Him”

“What? Why??”

“It’s just that.. After rereading my note on the latest battle, I couldn’t help but notice how much he relied on your help. Without you, he surely would have lost or been killed.”

“Hm…” Alex thought deeply for a moment. Yes, it was VERY true that without her most generous assistance, he would have failed, but he obviously had potential.

“I like to think of him as a…. Investment! Yeah!” She perked up at her own proclamation, “Think, he has the potential to be a powerhouse in future, and if he’s in our debt for us helping him out” A cheeky smile began to grow on Alex’s face, as a low giggle escaped her too.

Jevs eyes widened at the smart idea. “Ah! I never thought of it in such a way. You're so intelligent, master!” Alex basked in the praise for a moment, before recalling what their next objective was: Find more members.

“So! Steve, when I first saw you, you were waltzing around with a little band of zombies, what happened to those little buggers?”

The question bogged Steve’s head, truth be told he had no idea. As weak as some of them were, at least they had power in numbers.

“I’m unsure. I haven’t seen any of them since we were all teleported away…”

“WELL! I’ve been thinking we will recruit them to our little troupe we’ve got going on! How skilled were they, would you say?”

“Half and half. Some of them are more competent than the others.”

“Others?” Alex tilted her head to the side, confused with the new discovery. “I thought it was just the pink one and the one with yellow-pants?”

Oh, right. She’s only seen those two, she doesn't know about the others.

“My apologies. You’ve only seen Pinkie and Rave. They’re just two of the five zombies I’ve… Befriended.” Befriended was an odd term to think of them in. The old Steve would have never befriended zombies, much less weak ones.

“Hm, okayyy… So five zombies…” Alex put her hand to her face and started to pace back and forth, developing a plan.

“Alright, so- We’ve got you and I, then Jev, and then five zombies… We can work with this!” She clapped her hands together, concluding her pacing.

“So that’s eight out of ten people that we can have on our team.”

Chapter Text

Previously on Annoying Villagers, the Alliance once again finds themselves on the run, not by players, but from the villager kingdom. After facing an unexpected attack, Chris and his group are scattered, leaving him and two of his trusted members to solely fend off the villager knights in hopes of letting the majority of the group escape. Just as Chris is about to accept defeat, a mysterious player who looked eerily similar to Steve appears.

The first sensation that Chris could feel upon gaining consciousness was that of rough, cold stone. His head laid bare on it, sure to leave imprints on his face. The second sensation was a pulsing warmth radiating from in front of him, releasing a scent of smokiness into the air. Fire.

His body ached and burned, a hellish combination of the fight from yesterday and from sleeping so uncomfortably. Why was he in pain? Shouldn’t he have respawned with full health? Chris’ finally willed himself to move, muscles stretched and ached in protest, but he fought through the pain, and set up.

A deep breath escaped him and he slouched, his eyes taking in his surroundings. It looked to be the lush cave that he commanded Willi to lead all the others to. Sure enough, scattered throughout the cave were the faces of his sleeping comrades, some starting to stir away, a few gathered around and conversing about last night's events.

“Chris! You’re awake” Chris’s breath hitched from being startled by Willi. Willi’s glowing purple eyes were filled with concern and relief, finally being able to accept that the beloved leader of the Alliance was truly safe and alive.

“Willie…” Chris fell forward into Willi’s arms, embracing him with a smile on his face. “Thank you… Truly.” It felt somewhat awkward to Willi. Never in all his days of being in player tribes had any leader gifted him a hug.

Chris pulled away slowly, still tired despite the sleep. “Without your guidance leading all of the Alliance here, I fear…” Chris turned his head towards his fellow tribesmen, heart suddenly racing at the realization that they had all narrowly escaped death. Especially himself. Come to think of it… How did he end up here?

“O-Of course Chris. I admit, I was kinda scared that I would end up misleading everyone to the wrong location… But I managed to remember! You see, when we first got to that one tree…..”

Willi’s words faded. Becoming static in Chris’s head. So much had transpired, yet he could barely think. A silent ringing played in his head. He recalled how he ran, how he ran until it felt like his lungs would tear and bleed. How he ran until his knees gave out from under him. How he ran and ended up in that plains biome. How he ran until he lost so much oxygen that he managed to hallucinate…

Steve.

Yes. It had to be a hallucination. It couldn’t be Steve. If it was, he would be here. At least, he hoped…

“Willi… How did I end up here…?” Chris turned his attention to his trusted companion. Willi held his mouth agape, obviously conflicted as to how to tell him what transpired.

“Well, after Sam and Unity made it here, they told us that you were still out there fighting. We forged a quick search and rescue team and found you in that plains biome.” Willi let a small airy laugh escape him, “I knew you were strong, but to befall that whole troop with those creepy golems…”

This story only confused Chris more. He didn’t defeat the villager knights, hell, he couldn’t even defeat one of those golems. Clearly a third party was involved.

The Alliance, though still suffering the shock at the sudden invasion, held a newfound respect and faith in their leader, Chris. Word spread about how he supposedly single-handedly demolished all of the villager knights and their beasts. He didn’t have the heart to tell the truth. He’d let them believe what they wanted to for now, he didn’t want to destroy their new hope. Players and mobs alike came up to him as he recovered, thanking him, singing praise, discussing their feelings. He cared for his people, and he cared about what they had to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to fully tune into their conversations, his mind occupied on that black cape he last saw before he lost consciousness. Steve never wore capes, he said they slowed him down in battle, that was the same reason he didn’t wear armor. So who was this player..? Why did they look so much like Steve..?

Surely it wasn’t-

His thoughts were interrupted as the Fox Captain from the UMA came to greet him.

“Evening Chris. From the looks of things, something or another transpired while we were gone…” The fox eyed the room, scanning the disarray of everything. The scattered items, the hastily excavated interior of the cave to make room for everyone… Oh they were hopeless. He and his Panda friend returned to the United Mob Associate base for a single day to discuss the Alliance’s fate, and then boom! Chaos! These fools really did need their assistance.

Chris cleared his throat, embarrassed at the state of everything. “Yeah. I’m guessing we should head out and debrief what has transpired while you were gone.” “Indeed”

Chris lifted himself from the bed he’d been bound to for the past while, still sore from everything. Please let this meeting be short.

They had met outside the cave, a small, hastily made table awaiting them. The dense spruce forest held an air of pine and sulfur, no doubt the work from yesterday's battle. The Alliance's small temporary base was buzzing with activity, actions born from a sense of duty to restore what was lost. The river nearby provided a background symphony to accompany their business talk and labor.

Chris stood hovering over the hastily built table in the middle of the encampment, his hands steady on the table. Around him was Willie, Sam and the Fox Captain from the United Mob association.

“At hour nineteen, right before sundown, the Alliance encampment was ambushed by a well organized and armed Villager knight group. Though they never outright announced their orders, evidence points to the idea that they were instructed to kill all members of the Alliance indiscriminately.” Chris worded the beginning methodically, making sure all parties understood the basic information of the attack.

“Following the initial shock, I coordinated Willie to lead all members of the Alliance here, while Sam, Unity and I held back the forces to the best of our abilities. Willie, is anyone missing from the headcount?”

Willie’s face shrank. His left hands curled and reached to rub his own neck with anxiety. There is no easy way to tell someone that some of the people they cared for are… Gone.

“Mh- Yeah… Reports are saying that one villager knight who we recruited some time back, Jimmy, was slayed… And we also can’t find Speed or Tiny Shawn.” Willie shifted his gaze away from everyone, only staring at the ground in shame. He couldn’t get everyone to safety.

“The last anyone saw of Speed and Tiny Shawn was them turning back as we ran to the cave… I believe we heard one of those golem warriors coming after us, so they wanted to lure them away and-..They never… Come back.”

A shallow, near silent sigh came out of Chris. He in no way blamed Willie for this outcome, especially when Chris himself was barely of use.

“I see…” Chris stood silent, staring down at the table in front of him, head bowed in contemplation. Despite our current conditions, their sacrifices should be honored.

“We’ll hold a funeral for them tonight.” Chris lifted his head, making eye contact with all of those around the table. “It’s the least we can do to honor and remember them.”

Sam stood silently at the table, reminiscing about her fallen comrades. She recalled how she and Speed would play spleef whenever they had freetime. Though she didn’t know Tiny Shawn too well, he seemed well enough. A shame they didn’t get the time to get to know each other. Then again, they could technically be alive… No one did see them die, and there were no scattered items in the area they were last seen in. Speaking of people being alive-

“Chris… After me and Unity retreated… What happened on your end? I heard someone a bit ago say something about them finding you passed out in a field.”

It's a tricky thing to answer. Everyone believed him to be the one responsible for the defeat of the villager knights, yet he remembers not a single thing that happened after that strange player appeared. No. They deserve to know the truth. He doesn’t deserve the false title of a hero.

“I… Wasn’t the one to drive away the remaining villager knight forces…” He knew saying that out loud would disappoint the others, but he felt couldn't help but feel the most disappointed in himself. He was their leader, he was supposed to be strong.

“I had lured out the remaining forces into a plains biome nearby, but was low on health and energy, and so I inevitably collapsed… The last thing I saw was this… This strange player who had a giant purple and black weapon. He wore a black cape too.”

As predicted, everyone at the meeting became just as perplexed as he. So a third party was involved? And they assisted them, took no loot items, and just… Left?

The Fox captain glared at Chris. That description was too similar to NOT be who he was thinking of…

“Say, have any of you ever heard of… Herobrine?”

Chris’s eyes shot towards the Fox, adrenaline from fear entering his system. It was almost funny, how a single name could entice such a reaction. It’s hard not to be fearful however. He could recall every life he took, every action that was not his own, the feeling of being a passenger in his own skin. He took his agency, he took his life, his friends. He forced him to fight Steve. Though Chris could empathize with Herobrine's quest for peace, it would never erase the months of torment he was forced to endure from him because of his quest.

Chris’s fingers curled into his hands, still pressed into the table. So he did know who Herobrine was, the Fox captain concluded. If these players were indeed being stalked by him, then they must head for the UMA. At least if he showed himself there, there would be plenty of mobs to handle him and his variants.

“Your reaction tells me that not only do you know OF him, you KNOW him.” The Fox captain accused. The fox pounced onto the table, walking across it to stare Chris in the face.

“Hm.. Tell me, are you still in cahoots with him? Tell the truth, it’s vital for the survival of your clan.” Chris shook his head silently, his mind still deep in the memories of those dark times.

“Listen here! Tonight, you hold the funeral you want for your dead, and after… We lead the Alliance to the United Mob Association headquarters. While discussing with our leader back at headquarters, we’ve decided that it would benefit both parties to collaborate.”

At least the current situation held some silverlining. Talks between the two groups have been ongoing for a while. Chris had to admit, he was starting to get frustrated with their indecisiveness, but at least it wasn’t for nothing.

“HOWEVER!” The Fox captain interrupted, “You will have to make use of yourselves. Though our cave base is rather expansive, it does not currently have the space needed to house you all, and so our leader requests that you put the swamp biome to use and build outside of it. With you all around, we’ll finally have the defenses needed to no longer only stay within the cave…”

“That’s- That’s wonderful news! We couldn’t be more thankful! I-”

“And also because we need to keep an eye on you specifically!” The Fox cut Chris off.

Chris stood stunned, “And.. Why is that..? Is it because of-”

“Yes it’s because of your connection to Herobrine! That man- Ugh, he’s a tricky one!” The Fox growled a bit while saying his name, Herobrine. How many of their allies had died from that monster's actions? Far too many.

The Fox captain squints his eyes and leans forward to Chris’s face, forcing Chris to lean backwards. “You could be possessed righttt nowww AND NOT EVEN KNOW IT!” The fox pauses, and looks around at the players wandering around the camp, “They could be too!”

The Fox’s statement did nothing to cool Chris’s already anxious nerves. He couldn’t be possessed, could he? He hasn’t had any of the symptoms he had before. He didn't have any memory loss, he wasn’t suffering any injuries he had no memory of getting., he wasn’t finding items he didn’t recall collecting in his inventory… But the others… They could hypothetically be possessed. Herobrine did have a way to keep their mouths shut after all.

“I.. Agree. It would be in everyone's best interest if me and my fellow players are put in a place where we can be carefully watched. While I don’t think myself to be possessed anymore after I had died as one of his vessels, I cannot say the same with confidence for my friends…”

The funeral for Jimmy, Speed and Tiny Shawn was humble. A simple speaking platform with aisles of neatly spaced out stairs for everyone to sit on. Players and mobs alike went up to give their final goodbyes. The new-era villagers grieved the loss of their distant relative in the form of Jimmy, as did the players grieve him. Though players and villagers were so different from one another, they had developed a level of respect for Jimmy. Originally, he was an enemy, but working together in a number of battles had forced them to see Jimmy both as a fellow tribesmen, but a villager of honor who wholeheartedly believed in the cause of the Alliance.

Though Chris held all of his members dearly, there was a special sadness that came with Jimmy’s death. He had personally recruited him, showing him the backwards ideology of the villager kingdom, promising him a better future not just for villagerkind, but all mobs and players. To create a utopia where no one had to fight for land or resources. Jimmy joined because it was something to help everyone, not just himself. Seldom do such noble souls ever bless the world.

The ceremony was forced to be quick. Between rebuilding, replenishing, healing and needing to get back on the road, there wasn’t much time for the people to mourn. At least when they finally get to the UMA, the Alliance can finally be safe.

Chapter Text

Rana couldn’t help but to feel disappointed in the villager, as she watched Boop train pathetically by jabbing at the air with a stick. Boop was ordered to fight against a horse named Samuel, not a high ranking horse, but someone who knows enough to get started on Boops training.

The training room they stood in was a circle shape, with floors made of mud and dirt path blocks. The walls were a blended combination of granite and brick, supported with logs of spruce that had evenly spaced torches, keeping the room lit, but still a bit dark. The roof was made of stone and stone bricks, with a glowstone chandelier perfectly placed in the middle. It was rather impressive that this was all built underground. Along the higher parts of the walls, were balconies for spectators, the sole spectator at the moment being Rana.

Despite having taken in the player and villager a few days ago, improvement on their skills were… Minimal. Though the player named Fudge was progressing a bit, Boop wasn’t. Rana sighed as she continued to watch Boop train. How could her creator, Notch, entrust his remaining powers to this… This silly villager? Were there truly no other worthy candidates? Why not herself? Though she trusted her creator deeply, Rana couldn’t help but to question his thought process with his decision to entrust the fate of the WORLD in the hands of a villager who can’t even tell the difference between a vex and an allay.

“Boop… BOOP!” Boop startles at Rana's minor shout, pulling him from his imagination, forcing his thoughtless, wandering eyes into returning to normal.

“Boop… Surely you must understand your life is in danger, correct?”

Boop quickly darts his eyes in all directions of the room they were in. “Hmm, nope! I don’t see any danger!”

“No, no, not now! I’m speaking about your long term safety. And the long term safety of everyone else in the UMA.”

Truly, HOW could she even begin to mentor a villager this oblivious to everyone and everything around him? Oh, the situation is hopeless! Rana gave a sigh, contemplating which direction to bring the conversation to.

“Boop, you seem like someone who appreciates honestly, so may I be honest to you?”

Boop placed his hand on his chin, “Hmm, okay!”

“Boop. I truly believe you to be capable of doing great things for the greater good of everything. But, your progress… You and your friend have been here for a few days now, and while your player friend has been showing signs of improvement, you haven’t. And I understand you have access to powers no normal player or mobs could ever possess, and thus, no one is able to properly teach you… But I can’t help but to be disappointed that you haven't even been able to showcase your powers at all. Why is that? Is there any way anyone can help you in activating them?”

“Well, the only times my powers work is whenever I’m getting ready for an epic battle”

A response to fear? Perhaps this fact could be utilized in a… Unmentioned simulation. Maybe she could recruit some frogs to terrorize Boop, they do work rather well in groups. But surely there's more to work with than just superficial fear. Come to think of it, why is a villager wandering around with a player so far from the villager kingdom? After witnessing the capabilities and relationship between the player Fudge and Boop, the likelihood that Boop was coursed out as a hostage or something along those lines is slim.

“Boop, might I inquire what brought you out of the villager kingdom?” The question made Boop panic and stammer.

“UH! Uhm… It’s because I wanted to become the strongest ever! And because my dad sucks!”

A father? Yes, villagers do tend to have those. Perhaps his disdain for his father could be exploited.

“Hm, you dislike your father? Is he the reason why you wish to get strong?”

Boop puffed his chest out, ready to stand his ground against a hypothetical debate.

“Well, I GUESS you could say that. He’s just so. SO ANNOYING! And- And stupid! All he wants me to do is to be like him and learn a bunch of useless things like- Like the layouts of all the hidden tunnels in the villager kingdom! And the political-something for some random people! Oh! Oh! AND he wouldn’t let me outside!” A small bit of satisfaction took hold in Boop as he spoke his childish frustrations.. It had been a long time since he was able to properly vent his to anyone, he reckons the last person he told about any of this was.. Greenie and Sir Iron Nose.

Boop missed them a lot these days. What ever happened to them..?

Rana tilted her head for a moment. She had a few ideas on how this information could help. Sadly, most of the concepts she had in mind weren’t exactly humane, but the world depended on Boop and his ability to perform. If minor cruelty is what's needed to save the world, then let it be in the name of the greater good.

Option one would involve Rana lying about knowing who his father was, and threatening to return Boop back to his home if he doesn’t obey and progress his training. Though the villager isn't the brightest, there's still a chance he’ll have enough brain power to consider the idea of a bluff. Option one is a risk, but would maybe generate enough stress for Boop to unleash his powers…

Option two, however, would involve a simulated attack on the United Mobs Association headquarters, one that would force him to fight back and showcase his true potential…

“Mastah! How's our favorite moron comin’ along?” It seems that while Rana was conjuring up a plan, Steve the Llama decided to make an entrance. He was looking much better, finally fully recovered from back when he was attacked on the mission to get the villager and player.

“H-Hey! I’m not a moron! If anything, you're a moron for ASSUMING I’m a moron, yeah!” Boop pointed at Steve the Llama, his eyes gaining an agitated glare.

Steve the Llama merely grunted, turning his attention back to his master. This fool wasn’t worth his wise words, let alone Rana’s!

“I believe we should call it a day, Boop. Feel free to wander about the headquarters, grab some food, then head to bed. We have a full day tomorrow.” Rana turned her head to Steve the Llama, giving a soft nod of her head to quietly convey the message that she wanted him to follow her. As the two trotted out of the training room, Boop was left alone.

With no one around to listen or talk to, his mind began to wander, specifically to the wooden sword in his hands. It had been a longggg time since he last held a sword in his hands with intent to train. Come to think of it, he was probably only just a little villager the last time he trained like this.

“Boop, my son and heir, though you are well guarded, and safe in these castle walls, players are vile, unpredictable creatures. And it’s for that reason why you MUST learn to protect yourself should you ever somehow find yourself alone and under attack…” Boop stared up into his fathers deep blue eyes. Boop's father, the villager king, was knelt down to better communicate with his son at eye level, steadying himself by gripping his emerald staff. After he finished his small lesson to his son, he lifted himself up and waltzed to a large window nearby.

“Come come, Boop. I must show you something.” Boop quietly obeyed his father, shyly walking with him to see the outside.

The sun was shining perfectly through all the windows of the west side of the castle right now, radiating the halls with a magical feeling. A slice of heaven in a chaotic world. As the father and his son stood by the large window, Boop struggled to see outside, motivating him to climb up to the window's edge.

Outside, was a prosperous, well developed kingdom, the villager kingdom. Forever safe and sacred from the dangers of the outside world. At least that's what Boop’s father thought.

“One day, this will all be yours, and you must become prepared for all the hardships you will face as king. There will be good, and there will be bad, sometimes very bad.”

His fathers sentiment passed through one ear and out the other, as Boop was too fixated on the outside world. He wanted to see it so badly, but whenever he brought the idea up with his father, he either harshly rejected it, or changed the subject. His reaction really just depended on what type of mood he was in at the time of the question. But right now he was doing good, both of them were.

“Father, why can’t I go outside the castle? If I’m gonna be king, I wanna know what my kingdom is like!” The villager king looked down at Boop as he spoke his mind. His once positive attitude turned bitter, and a grimace overtook his face. His eyes stared deeply into Boop’s curious eyes.

Yes, it was cruel. Cruel to keep the boy, his own son, away from his own people and kingdom. But he couldn’t risk it! There was far too much on the line.

“Boop!” The father gripped his son's shoulders harshly, forcing eye contact between the two of them.

“You know nothing of the dangers of this world, but I do! I want you to know that If I could guarantee your safety, I would let you travel anywhere your heart desired.” The king's pupils began to show a silent panic, as old memories flooded his head.

“But I can’t. I can’t guarantee your safety. I wish I could, but I can’t. Not even… As king.” His grip lightened, before completely letting go. Boop’s father took a deep breath in, and loudly exhaled.

“Heh, I’m sorry my boy! It’s just… I care deeply for you. And your brother! I just don’t want my two boys getting harmed, that's all!” His fathers smile returned to his face, calming Boop slightly down from the tension that previously filled the area.

“Now run along now! Don’t forget your training, and tell your brother Greenie to come down for dinner when it’s ready! It’s bad for him to stay in his room and play with Mr. Fluffy all day!”

Boop was back in the room he was staying in, covered in a blanket trying to fall asleep. Emphasis on trying. But he couldn’t, he kept on tossing and turning through the night as today's events replayed over and over again in his brain. The temperature in the room was nice, despite the walls being made of stone. He wasn’t hungry, as he ate dinner with Fudge, trying to see if he made any progress in his training. Of course he had. Sure, there were some frogs in the distance croaking an odd tune, but he’d fallen asleep to it before.

A near silent whine of frustration left him. They’re right, they were all right! What is he gonna do? Sure, he has the power of that one super duper powerful player, and the power of Notch himself, but what did it matter if HE COULDN’T EVEN USE THEM ON COMMAND! Boops ego was at an all time low, though, he’d probably never admit it outloud.

Boop shot out of his bed and got onto his feet. TRAIN! HE HAD TO TRAIN! Somehow.

He needed to think! Maybe a walk would force him to think. Boop slowly opened the spruce door that separated his room from the dorm hall. The last thing he needed was to wake anyone up, but knowing his clumsy luck, he probably would.

Surprisingly, Boop made it all the way to the surface of the base without waking anyone up. He stood on a balcony made from mangrove wood and deep slate. He hadn’t had the time to get a good look of the area, he’d never seen mangrove trees before! Or mud! Or root!

“It’s a rather pretty place, no?” Boop jumped and squealed at the unexpected voice. As he turned around, he saw Rana. Boop grunted at the sudden intrusion and fright.

“Haha! My apologies, I did not mean to startle you.” Boop continued to glare at her, surely that was a lie! This was probably another one of her stupid, stupid tests!

“You here to call me a dummy again?!” Boop accused. As predictable as the villager was, this wasn’t something Rana could foretell. Has she done something to make him think she doesn’t view him positively?

“Hm? I’m sorry, but what makes you believe that?”

“Because YOU and EVERYONE ELSE thinks I’m just a dumb villager who can’t do ANYTHING! And maybe, you and everyone are RIGHT!” Boop waved his hands up in the air maniacally as he expressed his fear.

Rana sat silent for a moment, thinking of what to say. How could she convince him that he was worth training? How could he build back his ego? Perhaps, a story could calm him down back to his senses…

Rana sat down, mentally preparing for the story she was ready to tell. It would have to be a good one, something personal that perhaps he could relate to. She stared at the endless stars in the sky when the idea struck her.

“Settle down for a moment, won't you? From the looks of things, is it safe for me to assume you can’t sleep?” A blush of embarrassment approached Boop’s face. He really was easy to read, wasn’t he? Reluctantly, Boop sat down next to Rana, and looked up to the stars as well. He recalled a time when he longed to see the stars from beyond the castle walls, it was almost surreal that he got to see them every day now…

“A long, LONG time ago, when the only wood type was oak, and the grass was a near lime green, a time before players or villagers, there was a creature born from the gods. This being was the first true mob in all of Minecraft, and didn’t have a blocky form. It was unique in every respect.” At first, Boop was reluctant to listen to Rana’s story, but he couldn’t help but be entranced by it, history was one of the few classes he somewhat liked from back when he was little.

“Soon, this mob was introduced to other mobs, but these ones were different from her. They were blocky and could move around, something she could not. Eventually, the Minecraft world would develop more and more things, until one day, she woke up as a giant zombie!” Boop’s eyebrow furrowed in confusion, questioning if such a thing could ever happen, or if this story was even real.

“But just as before, she still could not move. With new updates, came new generations of the land, and the giant soon found herself underground! Alone in the dark… For a long, long time.” Rana's voice started to strain at this part of the story, reminiscing.

“She would often question: Has my creator forgotten about me? Why am I still here? Did I do something wrong? Why was I not good enough…? She could feel herself going mad, having been forgotten by the world itself. But then she thought: If I could just learn to move, then maybe I could escape! And so began her long journey to learning to move. It was something not built into her at birth, but if entire form could change from a weird creature to a giant, then surely anything was possible!”

“For a long time, she tried every day to move, remembering how the zombies she saw a long time ago moved. She looked like them, just bigger! And eventually, she moved! Albeit, it was just her left arm, it was progress. And one after another, she was able to move her entire body. And as she was trying to learn to break blocks, she transformed once again, this time, she took the form of a zombie horse!” The more Boop listened, the weirder things got, but they also got more interesting.

“When she finally made it to the surface, she found a world that looked nothing like the one she was born in. Surely she was in a whole other world, no? The grass looked like how it does now, there were flowers, different types of trees, mobs she had never seen! Biomes, tools, players, villagers. She was enchanted by the strange world, but in all her wanderings, she noticed how no one seemed to look like her…” Rana’s head drooped, seemingly somber at the statement.

“Desperate to fit in, she sought a way to control her appearance. If she could learn to move and break blocks, then anything was possible in her head. After update after update, appearance after appearance, she could control how she looked! But during her training, she watched as the world around her fell apart. Mobs were being treated differently based on their skills and appearances. Though she had the luxury of being able to transform, they did not.”

“Mobs of all shapes, sizes, temperaments and backgrounds would come to her for help and advice, for they saw her as an elder sister, for she was the first mob ever born.” Rana turned her gaze to Boop.

“Boop, the lesson of this story is that, though you may not be capable of much now, anything is possible with time and desire. If I was able to break free from the depths of the earth and get to where I am now, I truly do believe you can do the same.” Boop stared at Rana confused, pulling his hand under his chin to think.

So if Rana just told a story about the first ever mob being stuck underground, and she just said that she herself was ALSO stuck under ground, doesn’t that imply that-

Boop jumped up and gasped at the realization. The story about the first mob was about her! Rana was the first ever mob!

“Y-You’re the first ever mob!” Rana, still sitting on the ground, gently smiled up at Boop. It seemed her story resonated as she intended.

“Wha- Wh- How! Why-” Boop became a stuttering mess, still struggling to comprehend what he just learnt.

Rana only tenderly laughed as she watched him flail about. Her attention soon fixated on the sun rising from the east, its light slowly encapsulating the mangrove swamp. It seems that both of them were up all night, maybe it would be in everyone's best interest to move training into the next day. Though Rana didn’t need sleep unlike other mobs, she was still considerate of the needs of others… Today was going to be busy afterall, for the headquarters are going to be partnering up with players for the first time.

“Ah, it seems like day is approaching already. We’ll move training for another day, we’ve got guests incoming afterall. Boop, my assignment to you for today is to think about the story I just told you and for you to contemplate the true meaning behind it. I want you to try and find the lesson in it.”

“Hm, okay Ms. Rana… I uh- I’m gonna try to sleep first. Uh- Bye!” Boop yelled, as he shyly made his way back to his room. Rana continued to stay where she was, opting to watch out and wait for the new arrivals. The Fox captain said they’d arrive early in the morning. Rana could only hope that by taking in this group that called themselves The Alliance, that it wouldn’t put a larger target on everyone's head. Though there is power in numbers, with so many people of interest, an information leak leading to conflict is most likely inevitable.

From the distance, a small army of colored boats unveiled themselves from the swampy roots and vines of the mangrove swamp. Though most of the boats consisted of spruce, it was obvious that they were all made hastily with whatever wood they could gather on a short notice. The boats were all tethered together with leads, forming a mish-mash train of sorts. Its occupants consisted of a number of beings, mostly players, but villagers and other miscellaneous mobs as well. The oddest sight had to be the two villagers, a horse and an orange cat. At the forefront of all the boats, was a player with dark hair and a green sweater, sat next to him was the Fox captain, Foxtrot.

“Ah, greetings to the both of you. I hope your journey here wasn’t too climatic?” Rana addressed Foxtrot and the leader of the Alliance.

“Ello master! Our journey was rather smooth, that was until some dang fish started spewing water at some of us!” Foxtrot's tail puffed up, obviously being a victim of the crime he stated. Chris stood silently by Foxtrox, unsure on how to introduce himself.

“My name is Chris. On behalf of all the members of the Alliance, I wanted to thank you… Our people have been on the run and just two days ago our temporary shelter was attacked, which sadly resulted in some losses…”

The player was an interesting case among others of his kind. Though not unheard of, it's rather rare to find a player who sees mobs as their equals. Much rarer to find one willing to die for them. The Alliance would surely become a great stepping stone for the goal of achieving peace.

“I must admit, at first I thought I made a reckless decision in offering players a space amongst our ranks, but I’m happy to see that I've yet to be proven right in any respect. Welcome, Chris. And welcome to the United Mobs Associates headquarters! I hope we will be able to cooperate!” Rana’s decision to take the group in had been a rather hasty decision, with only so much time and much on the line for both parties. Because of the large decisions, the UMA sadly couldn’t prepare the area in time for their arrival, only having cleared out and terraformed a small area for the group to settle into. It seems the new guests would have to get straight to work.

“But first things first, I recommend your tribe tries to get a head start on chopping down some trees, you’re gonna need a lot of wood for houses.”