Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

DRAMATIS PERSONAE (in order of importance):

PEARLESCENT MOON/PEARL: A young woman who wears a red cloak, who smiles and laughs a lot. Angry, most of the time, and doesn’t sleep as much as she should.

SCOTT SMAJOR/SCOTT: A man with teal hair, wearing a blue jacket. Stubborn, and fiercely loyal. Snarky, at times. Knows the rules, but has other priorities at the moment.

MARTYN INTHELITTLEWOOD/MARTYN: A grinning man, with blonde hair and a green shirt. Tends to joke around, but is pragmatic. He is a survivor, and he knows how to play the game, even if he doesn’t know the rules.

ZOMBIECLEO/CLEO: A zombie-player, with flowers in her hair and a green shirt. Sarcastic and deliberate. Practical, and chooses her alliances wisely 

GRIAN: An avian with bright feathers. Stubborn, and all to aware of the situation

GOODTIMESWITHSCAR/SCAR: A man with a bright smile. Cheerful, and optimistic, when it suits him.

BDOUBLE00/BDUBS: a loyal man, with bruises and a missing tooth. 

IMPULSESV/IMPULSE: a half-demon with a warm smile. Sympathetic

SMALISHBEANS/JOEL: His hair has a bolt of green. Threatening.

ETHOSLAB/ETHO: Half his face is covered in a mask. 

RENDOG/REN: a wolf-hybrid with sunglasses

BIGBSTATZ/BIGB: A taller man, with a sweet tooth

SOLIDARITYGAMING/JIMMY: The canary.

TANGOTEK/TANGO: The canary’s rancher.

WATCHER 1: A group of chorus members. Just here to watch the show

WATCHER 2: Same as above

WATCHER/HOUSE MANAGER: exactly as their title suggests

Staging Notes: Crew members should be dressed somewhat similarly to Watcher 1 and Watcher 2. Optionally, dimmed purple lighting can be used during set changes in place of blackouts.

Chapter Text

A lone figure steps out in front of the curtain, in dim lighting

Watcher/House Manager: And places! LX on stand by, please. 

Watcher/House Manager turns to address the audience

Watcher/House Manager: Hello there! Welcome to the show! I can promise you now, you are in for a truly amazing performance. If you haven’t already, please turn off any communication devices, as we don’t want anyone to get distracted. The action is up on this stage, after all! Oh, and familiarize yourself with the nearest exit. Just in case, I’m sure you understand? One last thing before we begin, please remember that the play is already in motion, so don’t try to distract our performers. Enjoy the show!

The lights dim, and the Watcher exits into the audience. When the curtain, we are in a well light field, a few birch trees scattered around. It is springtime. There are a few birds and sheep in the distance, but Pearl is alone for the time being, standing Center Stage. Looking around curiously, she shivers a bit in the morning air.

Pearl: This…this is new. Where am I… I guess I should get some wood for fire…maybe some stone for basic tools as well?

Pearl wanders towards Stage Right, to gather some wood and humming to herself. Martyn enters Stage Left, shortly after, looking around and talking to himself about gathering wool

Martyn: That should be enough to- Oh! Pearl, you’re here too? 

Pearl, cheerfully: Hey now, I’m just as surprised to see you here, mate! Is anyone else around?

Martyn: Yeah, actually! I saw Grian back that way a bit, along with a few others. Uh, Grian does seem a bit on edge though, so it may not be the best time to say hi?

Pearl: Ah, that’s a bit odd… I’ll just pop by for a hello later then, I guess!  

Martyn: Yeah, probably for the best. 

Martyn flinches suddenly, rubbing his arm, looking around the set

Martyn: For goodness’s sake, it's daytime, why are there still skeletons out and about?

Pearl looks around

Pearl: Uh, Martyn, I hate to break it to ya bud, but there aren’t any skelly’s there. 

Martyn, hesitantly: … Y’know, Tim did say something about his health being linked with Tango? Grian seemed pretty upset about that, saying he had also been linked with someone . So maybe it’s something to do with that?

Pearl: Wait, if our health is linked with another person… I'm just ignoring that for now! Yep. Do you know why? Like, is it a curse or something?

Martyn: Something like that. I did see something of…a border? A border. A ways back, so that means there can’t be that many people? Like we’ll have to find everyone eventually. At some point.

Pearl, grinning: Exactly! Until then, we can just be our own team!

Martyn: Works for me! In that case, we should probably also get some more iron for tools and the like. 

Pearl: Yeah, and coal would be good too, so we can cook up some food

Pearl and Martyn exit Center Stage.

Chapter Text

The stage is split, with Scott and Cleo in a small cave area, with chests and furnaces on Stage Left, and Pearl and Martyn sitting by a set of furnaces on Stage Right moving about their area silently. Stage Left is back-lit in soft yellow and Stage Right is in dim lighting. A spotlight should focus on Cleo and Scott

Scott: Ugh, hopefully whoever I’ve been paired up with eats something soon, the mutton is taking absolute ages to cook. 

Cleo: At least they haven’t taken too much damage yet. We’ll just stick together for now, they have to show up eventually…

Scott: True, unless we’re paired up? 

Cleo: We already tried that, didn’t we? And when I got shot by that skeleton in the cave, you didn’t feel anything either. 

Scott: Look, you aren’t wrong, but maybe…

Scott pinches himself, Cleo shrugs

Cleo: Nothing. Mutton’s done by the way

Scott, sighing: Thanks, Cleo

  Scott grabs the mutton from the furnace

Scott: We’ll just have to stick together until we find them then, I guess

Cleo, cheerfully: Oh yeah, you are stuck with me until we find them. 

Scott: This is so stupid. All of this. Last time, at least we could choose our allies, now-

Scott flinches, being struck with an invisible arrow. Pearl gets hit by something offstage at the same time.

Cleo: Sorry, last time?

Scott, rubbing his arm: Do you not remember?

Cleo: I have no clue what you’re talking about, so yeah, it’s safe to assume that I don’t.

Scott: Right. The best way I can describe it would be a death game. At the beginning me, you, and a few other people woke up, and were randomly assigned lives. You could give other people lives, if you wanted, but if you were on your last life, then you started becoming bloodthirsty, and could murder other people. Every night, someone would be chosen randomly, by whoever was running the game, and they would have to murder someone or be forced down to their last life.

Cleo: Yikes. 

Scott: Tell me about it. And all this? It feels far too familiar for my liking

Cleo: And you’re absolutely certain people have been linked so that they share health?

Scott: Yes! I… I’m sure. I was with Jimmy when he pretty much dropped dead , and then he later told me that he and Tango shared health, and Tango had gotten murdered by a creeper… Plus, I’ve seen a couple others paired up. We need to find who we’re paired with, Cleo. Allies are the most important thing here. 

Cleo: Right then, do we know who else is left? We can probably figure it out through process of elimination

Scott: I’m not sure, but I’m surprised we haven’t stumbled across them yet. I mean, we’ve been across most of the area now, so that’s not really great for us.

Cleo: We have to find them eventually . I mean, that or one of us dies, and then we’ll probably figure it out

Scott, snorting: That’s definitely a good strategy in a death game. Die

Cleo: All I’m saying is, we’ll figure it out eventually. And, we’ll work together for…well, however long it takes!

The light goes dark on Stage Left, and pale blue lights focus on Stage Right.

Pearl: Alright, I think I’m mostly suited up…what about you, Martyn?

Martyn: Almost, I just need a couple more iron to make a chest plate. Just two more bars should do it

Pearl hands Martyn a few Iron Bars

Pearl: Here, I’ve gotten my stuff ready to go

Martyn: Oh, thank you!

Pearl, shrugging: Eh, don't mention it! It’s what allies are for!

Martyn quickly crafts a chest plate, before putting it on 

Martyn: Right then! Shall we go on an adventure? 

Pearl, grinning: I’d love to go on an adventure, to be honest. Where are we headed?

Martyn: Before I came across you, I was gathering stuff to do a quick Nether expedition, so maybe we could head on over there? 

Pearl: Alright, do we have enough materials? Armour, food, and such?

Martyn: Yep, we’re all set!

Pearl: Perfect! Onward to adventure, then! 

Martyn: The portal’s a couple minutes away, I’ll show you where it is

Martyn and Pearl exit Stage Right, carrying their pickaxes. The furnaces dim, leaving the stage in the dark. Shortly after, there is a whooshing sound from off stage. The lights switch back to Scott and Cleo.

Scott: We should go look for them

Scott waves vaguely towards Stage Right

Cleo: Scott, we need to get a base set up first. Or at least some beds

Scott: Fine. Maybe we’ll see them on the way

Cleo: Yeah, maybe

Scott: Thanks. Ah, maybe we could head to the cliff area we saw earlier? 

Cleo, shrugging: What are allies for? But yeah, the clift is good for our base.

BLACKOUT.

Chapter Text

When the lights come back on, and we are back in the forest, at night. Scott and Cleo enter Stage Left, carrying swords and lanterns. Both of them are now wearing armor, looking around the area.

Cleo: It’s been a day, we still haven’t found the people we’ve been paired with! This is getting dangerous, Scott. I mean, what if we end up fighting whoever we’re linked to, or they end up get themselves killed .

Scott, scoffing slightly: Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised at this point. Maybe we should just go back to our base for now? I think mobs are starting to come out, and I’d rather not be stuck outside when that happens

Cleo: Yeah, that…that would probably be for the best, wouldn’t it? 

Scott: Yeah, probably. I…we should play it safe for now. 

Cleo: Right then, let’s double back. We’ll just continue our search tomorrow, I guess. 

Scott: At least things are pretty peaceful, for the moment. Most of us still have all our lives

Cleo: Three lives really isn’t that many. This whole thing is stupid, honestly.

Scott: We… could be better off, that’s for sure. But, it could be worse.

Cleo: Well, don’t jinx it! I still don’t know how we’re supposed to survive…all this.

Scott: My bad. I mean, the best we can do is just stick together, right? 

Cleo: For now, yeah.

Scott, contemplating: Last time, me and Pearl, we teamed up early, and stuck together throughout the entire thing. I don’t think we were supposed to, I mean I got picked to murder someone, twice. But we stuck together, we defended each other, and it worked. I don’t even want to win, again, I just… We need to find our soulbounds. For this to work.

Cleo: If it helps… we’re allied with each other by choice. And, I don’t think I’ll be betraying you anytime soon.

 Scott: …thanks Cleo. We should head back, we’ll keep looking tomorrow.

Scott and Cleo exit, back through Stage Right.

Chapter Text

Pearl and Martyn enter Upstage Center. Some parts of their clothes are burnt, and they are carrying bundles of nether wart and blaze rods. 

Pearl: I think that's a pretty good haul, eh, Martyn? We’ve gotten some gold, a few blaze rods, and all the nether wart in the Nether, I’m pretty sure!

Martyn: Well, we’ve definitely got enough to not have to go back in the Nether for a while , that I’m certain of

Pearl, laughing: This, is a cause for celebration, isn’t Martyn?

Grian enters Stage Left, looking for someone 

Grian: Scar?  Where is that silly man… Oh, hello there you two

Martyn: Hey Grian!

Pearl: Grian! How are ya, mate?

Grian: Well enough. Er, you two haven’t happened to see Scar around here, have you? 

Pearl: Nah, we just got out of the Nether! Got a bunch of resources too!

Martyn: If you need to tell Scar something, we could pass along a message for you, if you’d like? Tell him whatever it is you need to tell him?

Grian: I’d rather not. This is a face to face sort of conversation. 

Pearl: Ah, a bit more of a sensitive issue, then?

Grian: Something like that? I think we’ve been paired up. We’re paired up in another stupid death game!

Pearl: woah, woah, woah, what do you mean, ‘another’?

Martyn, overlapping: Wait, we’re in a death game?

Grian, regretfully: I shouldn’t be surprised you two don’t remember. Only whoever wins gets to remember, but-there are fourteen of us, this time round. We…we have all been paired together, and we share health.

Pearl: Thanks for letting us know, Gri. And well, good luck to you, I guess?

Grian: Same goes to both of you. 

Grian exits Stage Right, still looking for Scar

Martyn: Well then, that’s unfortunate… I suppose it explains us all the unexplained injuries and what not?

Pearl: Yeah. We should probably stay allies, we’ll be a stronger group, as four people, and we’ll have a better chance of surviving.

Martyn: Yeah, and we can split our resources!

Pearl: Lovely, we’ve got a plan then. We should probably make a camp, the Nether took longer than I thought!

Martyn: Tell me about it. It must be past midnight now…

Pearl: Alright. I can make us some beds, if you want to get started on a shelter?

Martyn: Will do, yeah. I can do that. 

Martyn and Pearl move to opposite ends of the Stage. Neither of them notice Scott and Cleo enter through Center Stage. 

Cleo, tiredly: So I don’t suppose the two of you are linked, are you? 

  Pearl and Martyn turn to face them, Pearl walking towards center

Pearl: Hello, you two! I didn’t see ya there! But nope! Me and Martyn are just teammates!

Martyn: Yeah, neither of us know who we’ve been linked to yet

Cleo: Really ? You know, Scott and I haven’t found who we are linked to either, and we’ve checked with everyone else here!

Martyn: You and Scott aren’t paired up?

Scott: No! We’ve both been searching for whoever we’re linked to, while they were catching fire every ten seconds! Everyone else has figured it out, found their partner but us! 

Pearl: And so you think we’re linked? 

Cleo: I mean, yeah? Who else would we be paired with at this point!

Cleo pinches herself, causing Martyn to flinch as well

Pearl, cheerfully: Ohh. Oh! So, Scott, you and I are-

Scott, cutting in: Yeah. Thanks for trying to find us, you two.

Pearl, disappointed: We were getting materials! How were we meant to know you were looking for us! 

Cleo: If you weren’t running around underground for the past two hours, we would have already found each other!

Martyn: So what, you’d rather we just sat around and did nothing? Is that what you two would’ve preferred?

Scott: I- Y’know what? Cleo and I, we’re our own thing. I don’t care if we are linked, we are not allies in this! Not when you’ve spent the past day trying to murder us!

Cleo: Yeah, you two really aren’t the most trustworthy.

Martyn: Yeah, fine! Okay, that’s fine with us, isn’t it Pearl?

Pearl: Scott, what are you talking about?

Cleo: We were trying to find you all day! But the two of you were off burning, and we were the ones making sure we didn’t die . 

Martyn: Hey now, we would’ve been fine! We had food, we had armor! We were fine!

Pearl: Exactly! We were trying to help! And I wasn’t the only one taking damage, you know!

Scott: Obviously, I know that! But one of us was taking much more damage than the other. You knew we were out there!

Pearl, overlapping: I didn’t think…

Scott: This is goodbye, Pearl. Just stay safe, please .

Scott makes his way to exit Stage Left

 Cleo: Bye Martyn. 

Cleo exits without looking at him, Stage Left

Pearl: …they think we abandoned them. And then they just went and abandoned us! They just left us!

Martyn: I mean, how did they even know! What are the chances, right? There's what, fourteen of us?

Pearl: They must’ve already met everyone else and figured we were the only people left…especially if Gri told them we still hadn’t found our partners.

Martyn: Well, yeah, that would explain it…

Pearl, laughs: I’ll be honest, I feel a little bit crushed right now, I won’t lie! Just a bit!

Martyn: Pearl…look, man, I don’t think we should stick together. We can’t stick together.

Pearl, cautiously: Martyn, mate…what are you on about?

Martyn: I mean, both our soulbounds left us, it's just gonna be bad luck, y’know? We don’t have a soulbound. 

Pearl, disbelievingly: What do you mean bad luck?

Martyn: We have targets on our back! It’s not smart to stick together when our soulbounds actively hate us. Sorry. I’ll see you around, yeah?

Martyn exits Stage Center, quickly

Pearl, as Martyn is exiting: Martyn! What are you…we were supposed to be allies!

Lights fade to focus on Pearl, who slowly sits Stage Center. Pearl looks around, slumping slightly. 

Pearl, laughing: I…guess everyone's just gone and left me now. I’m just alone in…whatever this is? I…first Scott, then Martyn, everyone just leaves! How was I supposed to know he was looking for me! 

An arrow whizzes past Pearl, causing her to scramble out of the way

Pearl, slowly: Right. Mobs! I should probably find some shelter of some sort then, I guess. I can try and find allies in the morning. I… I should at least try to keep me and Scott alive, probably. 

Chapter Text

Pearl stands in her newly finished base (Stage Right Balcony), looking proudly at it. 

Pearl: And there we go! Didn’t even take a lick of damage while building it! Scott may have left me, but he’s the one who kept almost making me fall off my tower, with all the damage he’s been taking. He left me, y’know, even when I was making sure to eat, he just went and left! And I was being careful! Even now! I mean, he said it himself, we’re not allies, so I don’t need to be careful anymore! I should just run around willy-nilly! And I mean… I just want to hurt him. Just a bit! And I think that’s fair, considering all that he did last night! 

Pearl flinches, grumbling as she rubs her shoulder, checking for blood. She turns, facing the audience

Pearl, cont: Oh, come on! Really Scott? You’re just off fighting with axes now? And I thought I was the inconsiderate one!

Scar enters Stage Left, carrying his pickaxe with him

Scar, cheerfully: oh! Hey Pearl! I didn’t expect to see you out here! 

Pearl looks at him, before jumping down from the balcony to greet him

Pearl, surprised: Scar! Hi! I mean, it’s just so lovely, isn't it? I get to have a perfect view of everything, and I can just stay under the stars all by myself …with no one else around…

Pearl trails off, rubbing her shoulder again

Scar: Yeah, this is really nice! 

Pearl, more confidently: Yeah! Scott doesn’t know what he’s missing out on with me! And, I don’t need to worry about getting too scraped up, since clearly Scott doesn’t. Ah, Grian was looking for you earlier by the way

Scar, cheerfully: Yeah! We’re soulbound apparently! You and Scott are too, right? 

Pearl: Yeah! Yes. We are. 

A beat passes

Pearl, laughing: He…I think he forgot, though! Or something, so I figured I’d remind him!

Scar: Oo nice! Can’t hurt, to just give him a little scare! Goodness knows I do that to Grian!

Pearl, laughing: Yep! I mean nothing that’ll kill him, obviously, because then I’d die too, but I do want to hurt him. He just broke my heart, y’know, so now it’s my turn! Just to scare him. I mean, it’s a death game, we need to keep on our toes, right?

Scar: Right! Cacti, maybe?

Pearl, giggling: Exactly! 

Scar, slyly: Y’know if you have a bucket, then I think I might have something even better! And you can use it for jumps!

Pearl: Yeah, of course! Here give me a second, I have a bunch of iron I can use

Pearl runs into her base and comes out, handing Scar a bucket

Pearl: There ya go!

Scar: This is perfect, thanks Pearl! I’ll be right back! 

Scar runs of Stage Left. As she waits, Pearl sings to herself and is tidying up the area around her base, clearing away vines and hanging torches. Scar re-enters Stage Left, this time carrying a bucket filled with snow. He hands it to Pearl

Scar: I present! Powdered Snow from the ice-cold mountain peaks next door!

Pearl dips her hand into the bucket

Pearl, grinning: Oh yeah, this’ll be absolutely lovely, especially with how easy it’ll be to transport… It’ll send a chill down his spine! Thanks Scar! 

Shivering a bit, Pearl pulls her hand back out, brushing it off on herself

Scar: No worries! Glad I could help!

Pearl: Hey, tell Gri I say hi, yeah? I didn’t get much of a chance to chat when I saw him earlier, and I don’t know if I’ll be seeing much of him now that everyone else is settled so far away…

Scar: Yeah, yeah, of course!

A beat of silence

Scar: Y’know, I think you might be lucky here, Pearl! I don’t really think Grian’s too happy about being paired up with me, I mean, he’ll probably be banning me from our base within the next day or so! So, who knows! Maybe you’ll have a next door neighbor one of these days!

Pearl: No, no, no! Scar, Grian does care about you. But, worse does come to worst, this is quite a lovely spot, with plenty of room for another person. 

Scar: Thank you, that’s very kind of you Pearl

Pearl: Don’t worry about it! I owe you one, for the snow

Pearl gestures to the bucket

Scar: By the way, have you seen any horses or donkeys around here? I was looking for one earlier

Pearl: Yeah actually, I saw a couple donkeys just south of here, they should still be around!

Scar: Thanks Pearl! Bye!

Scar runs towards Stage Right, exiting

Pearl: Bye Scar! Thanks for stopping by! (After Scar has exited ) Okay, I need to get some more wood, and some food would probably be good as well? I mean, it’s close to night, so there’ll be monsters out soon, but I should be fine, as long as I’m careful. And I guess, I should be a tiny bit careful. Just a bit.

Pearl moves around the Stage, looking for trees to cut down

Pearl: Alright, so I do need a bit more wood…still need a good axe, and torches are always good to have 

Pearl notices the wolf

Pearl: Well, hello there! 

Pearl crouches down to let the wolf sniff her hand

Pearl: You know, I think I might have something you’d enjoy

The wolf barks, and Pearl hands it a bone.

Pearl: Do you wanna be my buddy then? 

The wolf barks in agreement 

Pearl: Well then! We need a name for you, if you’re sticking around. Harpier? Sally? Or maybe Misty? Mac? …oh, I know, I’ve got it! How ‘bout Tilly?

Tilly barks happily 

Pearl, laughing: Well then, Tilly! I’m very glad to have you on my team!

An owl can be heard in the distance. 

Pearl: Oh jeez, it’s getting late to be out…here, let’s get inside, eh Tilly?

Tilly barks, and follows Pearl into her tower. 

BLACKOUT

Chapter Text

It’s the next day, and Pearl enters Stage Right with Tilly, looking around. Scott enters carrying his axe, and some wood

Pearl, grinning: Oh, hello, Scott . It’s a bit chilly out, isn’t it?

Scott: Pearl, imagine seeing you here

Pearl: Well now, you don’t seem too happy to see me!

Scott: I told you, we aren’t allies. Me and Cleo have our own thing now, we have our own base, we have some cows- 

Scott cuts himself off

Pearl: Well, I’m not the one who’s been taking all the damage this time round. 

Scott: Really, you’re sure about that? You haven’t been running into cacti, or burying yourself in snow?

Pearl, somewhat playfully: Hey now, I’ve been making sure to eat so that we can heal up! I’ve been trying to make sure we don’t die! Besides, I’d say you deserve it after yesterday! Or was it two days ago?

Scott: Oh really , you’ve just forgotten about, we only didn’t die because Cleo and I were healing ourselves while you set yourself on fire, messing around in the Nether? We nearly died!

Pearl: C’mon, Scott, we were staying safe, we were trying! And today! What have you been doing?

Scott: You’re a horrible partner, you know that? You were the one who decided to go off being careless, instead of trying to find me!

Pearl, agitated: Again with that! You still left me alone, at the end of it all! You and Cleo, you’ve both got this lovely house, you’ve got each other, meanwhile, I’m all alone, just me and Tilly, in our own tower in the woods, all by ourselves

Scott: Please, Martyn was with you! Why haven’t the two of you teamed up, you two are perfect for each other

Pearl: Martyn left me too, Scott! I don't have any allies! Tilly is my ally. I’ve been all alone, now that you’ve left! We’re supposed to trust each other-

Scott, shortly: Good, know you know how it feels then.

Pearl: And so you get to just abandon us? You still can’t change the fact that we’re linked, as much as I would love to. 

Pearl watches him for a moment, drawing her sword

Pearl: Lovely chatting with you, but I need to go get some coal. I’ll see you around, Scott!

Pearl exits Stage Right, Tilly following behind her

Scott: She… She’s just fully lost it, hasn’t she

BLACKOUT

Chapter Text

Pearl enters from Stage Right into a cave, holding a torch. Tilly is sitting behind her, looking around. The lights are faded, and a spotlight follows Pearl

Pearl: He just really doesn’t want me around, huh? 

Pearl jumps off a platform

Pearl: Well, good news for him! I don’t want to be Scott's partner, either. I’ve got Tilly, and that’s all I need, isn’t that right, baby? 

Tilly barks eagerly. All the skeletons and zombies have been killed, and Pearl bends down to pet Tilly, handing her a bone. Pearl grabs a fistful of the snow in her bucket again, rubbing it over her wounds. 

Pearl, laughing: Who knows, maybe you’re who I was supposed to be linked to! … I don’t even really care that Scott’s gone and left me! I can do whatever I want! Right, Tilly?

Pearl spots a chest Stage Left and walks over to open it. Peering inside, she spots some flint and steel, and some arrows, which she pockets. In the corner, she spots a glistening golden apple. 

Pearl: let's see, arrows, some flint and steel …huh, a golden apple! 

Pearl picks it up, and inspects it

Pearl: It’s still perfectly fresh, too! I suppose I shouldn’t be all that surprised, though. That’s absolutely lovely for us, in case we’re ever caught in a tight spot. These are powerful things, y’know. They can cure the undead, even. Undo the curses of the universe. But, alas, we should head to the surface soon. Maybe just a few more caves?

Tilly barks

Pearl: Eh, you’re right, I should head back to our tower. Don’t really feel like having to trek back in the dark. Even if it would give Scott quite a scare, I don’t really fancy having to trudge through all the creepers and zombies and such

Pearl exits Stage Right, and slips the apple into her pocket. Tilly follows behind her. BLACKOUT.

Chapter Text

In the forest. Pearl enters Stage Right, and is spotted by BDubs and Impulse, who wave her over

Impulse: Hey, Pearl! How have you been?

Pearl, slightly taken aback: Oh, you know, I’ve been alright! I’ve got my beautiful Tilly, I’ve got some coal, I have everything I need! Even found a loose golden apple! 

Bdubs: Oh nice! That’s amazing, definitely good to get out of a tough spot! 

Impulse: By the way, who are you paired with? 

Pearl: I’m paired with Tilly!

Bdubs: Tilly… Tilly is…the wolf

Pearl: Mhm! Well, I’m technically paired with Scott, but he doesn’t wanna be my partner, so I’m paired with Tilly, and he’s off with Cleo! 

Impulse: Not allies then, I take it? 

Pearl, giggling: Yep! But, that just means I get to do whatever I want! Don’t need to worry about taking too much damage

Impulse, awkwardly: Well, no matter, I’m glad we found you! We’re having a get-together at our base, so that we can at least spend some time together before…before we all start to fight, I guess

Bdubs: Yeah, it’s gonna be amazing!

Pearl: Are you now? Well then, I'd love to join you! Me and Tilly both!

Impulse: Great! C’mon, I’ll show you the way to our base. 

Pearl, Impulse, Bdubs, and Tilly exit Stage Left. BLACKOUT.

Chapter Text

At Impulse and Bdubs base. All the players are gathered Stage Left, and are chatting. Scar and Grian enter Center Stage, greeting the others. Pearl, Impulse, Bdubs, and Tilly enter Stage Right. Scott glances over as they enter

Scott: You didn’t tell me she’d be coming, Impulse

Pearl walks over to Stage Left as she talks

Pearl: Who, me? Come now, Scott, I’m not missing out on this! 

BDubs: Look, I don’t know what you two have going on, and I don’t want to know, but no fighting at our party. Got it?

Pearl: Fine. I can do that.

Scott: I mean, it’s very tempting. But, I’m not going to.

BDubs: Thank you. Now, welcome everyone! Me and Impulse decided we’d host a little get-together, before we all drop down to our last life, and try to kill each other and such.

Joel: I mean, I think that’ll be happening sooner than you’d like, after all, six of us are already on our first death!

Ren: Yeah, our last lives are coming sooner than you think, my dudes

Impulse: Well then, all the more reason to enjoy it while it lasts! 

Scar: He’s got a point, Joel! Besides, we’ll all be joining you soon, no need to worry about that! Take your time!

A lever is flicked, and Zombies stumble onto the stage. Everyone jumps into action, trying to kill the zombies

Jimmy: What is happening ?

Scott: Who brought all these Zombies here?

Cleo: Bdubs, Impulse, I swear if you tried to attack us, I will personally set your base on fire the moment I’m on my last life

Scott looks at Cleo, momentarily, before going back to fighting zombies

BDubs: Nuh-uh! Why would we even do something like that? We wanted to have a fun party, remember, Cleo?!

As everyone is fighting, Pearl accidentally hits Joel with her sword and several wolves chase him off-stage. A spotlight flashes over the exit and Etho. The fighting continues around them 

Pearl: Joel!

The Zombies all clear out, having been killed

Grian: What’s happened now? 

Jimmy: Joel and Etho just died !

Scott: Pearl! What did you do? 

Pearl: Hey, I didn’t do anything! Joel just got too close to me when I was swinging my sword around, trying to kill the zombies! 

Impulse: C’mon, let's clean up, it’ll probably take them a couple minutes to make it back.

Everyone except for Pearl starts to move set pieces into new positions, and move Bdubs and Impulse’s house off-stage. Pearl and Tilly are Stage Center, and Pearl picks an axe Joel dropped, swinging it to test its weight

Pearl: Well, at least it's not all bad! We got a shiny new axe out of it, eh, Tilly! 

Pearl walks towards Stage Right, when Joel enters Stage Center, lunging at Pearl with his sword. 

Pearl, jumping back: Joel! Glad you’re okay, mate! Look, it was an accident, I didn’t mean to kill you…

Pearl hides the axe behind her

Joel, crossing towards her: Give me my axe back Pearl

Pearl: I don’t know what you're talking about!

Joel walks closer to Pearl, and she raises her shield. The two circle each other. 

Joel: Scott saw you take it. Give it back, now , Pearl!

Joel lunges at Pearl, and the two duel, Tilly trying to bite at Joel’s heels, until Joel manages to land a final hit on Pearl. After he does, he exits Stage Left, Tilly barking after him. BLACKOUT

Chapter Text

Pearl is standing in her tower (Stage Right Balcony), making sure she has all her belongings. Scott enters cautiously from Stage Left, the stage lit in pale blue. When he enters, Pearl jumps down onto the stage

Pearl: Hi Scott!

Scott, tiredly: Why did you have to go and get us murdered?

Pearl: It’s not my fault! Joel wasn’t letting me give him his axe back!

Scott: That’s not even what this is about! This is about you getting us both murdered . Was it worth it, at least? Did you get to have your fun?

Pearl: I didn’t keep the axe, if that's what you’re asking. But, it’s fine ! Still got our two lives left, remember?

Scott: Not for long, the way you’ve been playing things!

Pearl: You don’t need to worry, Scott, I’ve got a whole army of wolves lined up! 

Tilly barks

Scott: This isn’t a game, Pearl! Would you please, just stop! Maybe listen to me for once? 

Pearl, giggling: Oh, I’ve listened to you plenty, Scott! And I think you’ve made yourself perfectly clear. But, I’ve got good news for you! You and Cleo, you can truly be soulmates now!

Scott: What are you talking about, Pearl? We’re stuck with each other, if there was something that I could do to get out of this, I would’ve already done it!

Scott turns to exit Stage Left. Pearl takes the Golden Apple from her pocket, tossing it in the air and examining it slowly. The lights flicker above them. 

Pearl: Well, I mean it’s not impossible , and you said it yourself! You don’t want to be my ally! You hate me! Or us. 

Scott turns around, and Pearl bites into the Golden Apple. As she swallows, a spotlight flashes over her, and she flinches, collapsing again.

Scott: Oh my god, this… Pearl? Why…are you dead?! How am I not dead then-

Tilly barks at Scott

Scott: This isn’t my fault! I tried to find her. 

Tilly growls, and Scott sighs, as another moment passes before Pearl stands up slowly, stretching. The lighting above her is tinted red

Pearl: Scott! Didn’t expect you to still be here. 

Scott: Pearl, what did you do? I…

Pearl, laughing: To be honest, I didn’t really think it’d work! See? No more soulbond!

Pearl bends down to scratch Tilly on the head

Scott: You can’t possibly be serious, right? 

Pearl: Look, we don’t need to keep going over that, we’re not getting anywhere! I mean, it doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Our link is broken! 

Scott: You’re down to your last life.

Pearl: Yep! Bye Scott! 

Pearl exits Stage Right, humming cheerfully. Tilly follows behind her, and Scott is left standing Center Stage. The curtains fall.

The Watcher/House Manager comes on Stage, in dim lights. 

Watcher: The end! 

A beat

Watcher/House Manager: I’m joking. Of course I am! There isn’t a winner yet! But, we are taking a short break so we can all stretch our legs. We’ll be back in about fifteen minutes!

Watcher/House Manager exits into the audience

INTERMISSION

Chapter Text

Scott and Cleo are standing in Scott’s base, putting on armor and repairing weapons. In the audience, several people have joined: Jimmy, Tango, BigB, and RenDog.

Scott: Okay. How many people are left? 

Cleo: Out of the pairs, I think it's me and Martyn, Joel and Etho, Grian and Scar and Bdubs and Impulse. Pearl’s still around somewhere, too.

Scott: Good to know. It’s a shame Jimmy died so early-…what happened to Ren and BigB though?

Cleo: From what I heard, Grian got them with a falling stalagmite. 

Scott: Yikes, that could not have been fun. 

Cleo: Tell me about it. 

Scott: God, I can’t wait for this whole mess to be over

Cleo: We’ve still got a ways to go. Do you think we should consider teaming up with Martyn? 

Scott: Yeah, I think so. The more, the merrier, right? I don’t think Pearl’s going to be on our side, though, and I’m not planning on teaming up with her. Not after this.

Cleo: Fair enough. Do you think she knew?

Scott: That eating the apple would break our link? She seemed pretty confident about it, even if she didn’t know how it worked. And I mean, she wouldn’t really lose anything if it didn’t work out. 

Cleo stands, Scott following her

Cleo: C’mon, Martyn’s base is right across the river.

Scott: Trust me, I know. It's pretty hard to miss, it's a giant bleeding heart.

Cleo: Yeah…it is a bit precarious, isn’t it? Cost us our second life… Ah, either way, once we find him, make amends or whatever, we can try to find the others, maybe trap their bases? We should conserve our health until the last moment, so I don’t really think a direct attack is our best move.

Scott: The others don’t know that me and Pearl are no longer linked, so if any teams have paired up, they’ll think they have the advantage.

Cleo: Exactly. 

A beat passes, as the two continue preparing in silence

Scott: Do…do you want to win? 

Cleo: You can’t ask me that. 

Scott: I mean, I think it’s a fair question. I’m trying to help you win, right?

Cleo: You can’t ask me, because I do , I want to, even though I know what will happen if I win. I mean, do I really want to remember all this? At the very least, I’ll know what happened if this happens again. You know? 

Scott: … Maybe-Hopefully it’ll be different this time, if you’re together?

Cleo: I mean, we might not even make it till the end, you know. No sense in worrying about it now

Scott: I know, I know. Just curious, I guess. 

Beat of silence

 Scott: We should go after Joel first, he did take two of my lives already.

Cleo: Fair enough. He is probably going to be at his and Etho’s base, so we can head there after Martyn’s

Scott: Sounds good. I’ve got all my things prepared

Cleo: Alright, let’s head out then 

Scott and Cleo exit Stage Right. 

Chapter Text

Pearl enters standing on the balcony of her tower. The lights are tinted red, almost like a sunset

Pearl: I can’t believe it, I’m finally free! I mean, it took forever, but I did it! Yay! Aw, Tilly we did it, baby! I mean, I still can’t believe it works! (Pearl giggles) Well, now that we’re on our last life…there’s some business I want to take care of! 

Pearl climbs down her tower, Tilly following her. When she steps back onto the stage, there are several more wolves surrounding her. Pearl hears Scott, Cleo and Martyn approach as they enter Stage Left, and she hides behind a tree, gesturing for the wolves to do the same. All of them are wearing armor 

Scott: I think, the only good news to come of all this, is that everyone's down to their last life, so none of us are real targets, for now…

Martyn: We can still win this, right? 

Cleo and Scott glance at each other

Cleo: Sure. Do we know where anyone else is at the moment? All their bases are empty, and it’s probably not wise to wait for them to show up.

Scott: Grian and Scar, I’m not too sure about, but I think Joel and Etho are planning to head into the Nether soon. And BDubs and Impulse are probably with them?

Cleo: And Pearl?

Scott: No clue. Martyn?

Martyn shrugs, and Pearl sneaks out from behind where she’s hiding

Pearl, singsong: Behind you, Scott!

Cleo: Oh, great. This is fine. Fine

Pearl: Good to see you too, Cleo! And Scott! How have you been? Have you lost your second life yet?

Scott: Why do you even care?

Pearl, giggling: Just trying to decide whether or not to kill you all yet!

Cleo: We outnumber you, Pearl. Three to one

Pearl: Hm. Well, we’ll see! But , there are only a few other people left, and everyone else seems to have formed alliances. So, I would try to build my team up, if I were you!

Scott, disbelieving: You want to be on our team?

Pearl: Well! If you’re offering, sure! I’d love to be your ally Scott!

Scott: That’s not what I meant, and you know it

Cleo: Scott. Look, I hate to admit it just as much as you, but Pearl does have a point. The others have teamed up already, we need as much leverage as we can get. We’re all on our last life, we need as much of an advantage as we can.

Martyn: I’m with Cleo on this one. Sorry, Scott

Pearl, cheerfully: And you and I were supposed to work together in the first place! Funny how it works out like that!

Scott: Fine . Pearl, you go look for BDubs and Impulse-Grian and Scar too I suppose, and set off a firework when you spot them. We’ll take care of Joel and Etho

Martyn: If they’re going to the Nether, we could try and trap their portal?

Cleo: In that case, lava-trapping might work?

Martyn: I’ve got some iron at my house we can use for buckets, so that’d probably work

Scott: Yeah, we just need to make sure we get the right portal. But, that works for now. 

Pearl: Right then! See you later, Scott!

Scott: Bye Pearl. 

Scott exits Stage Left, Cleo and Martyn following him. Pearl exits Stage Right, her Wolves and Tilly following behind her

Chapter Text

Pearl enters Stage Right, trying to be as quiet as possible. She sneaks towards Impulse and Bdubs, who are standing Center Stage, making their way to Stage Left.

Impulse: Do you think Joel and Etho are okay? They’ve been in the Nether for a while now

BDubs: Hopefully? Uh, I mean, they’re fine! Definitely. I think

Impulse: Well, either way, we should spread ourselves out. Cover more ground, right?

BDubs: Yeah, yeah. Hey, does it seem odd to you that we haven’t run into anyone at all?

Impulse: Kinda? In all fairness though, it is just us, Joel, Etho, Scott, Cleo, Scar, Grian, Martyn and Pearl, and I don’t really think there’s anyone out here, except for maybe Pearl. Her base is around somewhere, I think!

BDubs, half whispering: Still! I don’t want to be running into her, she’s evil .

Pearl draws her axe and steps out from behind the tree and the lights turn red.

Pearl, giggling: Well then, something wicked this way comes, Bdubs! 

BDubs yells, and fires an arrow at Pearl, holding his crossbow at the ready

Pearl, pouting: Awe, c’mon now, that wasn’t very nice! 

Pearl lunges towards Impulse and Bdubs, the Wolves and Tilly following her. Bdubs and Impulse fight Pearl and her Wolves, chasing each other across the stage, until Bdubs and Impulse are at opposite ends of the Stage. 

BDubs: you don’t want to do this Pearl! Joel and Etho are off attacking Scott’s base right now! 

Pearl: And why’s that supposed to stop me? 

Impulse: He’ll see if we die! Then he’ll kill Scott, and you’ll both die. So it’s not worth it!

Pearl, giggling: Ah, I guess no one told you then! Me and Scott, we’re not linked anymore! So, kill him, don’t kill him, it really doesn’t affect me at all!

Impulse: …the golden apple you found…is that what broke the link?

Pearl: You’ve got it, Impulse! And secondly, I know Joel and Etho are in the Nether! In fact, you’ve got it flipped! Scott, Cleo and Martyn are off to kill the two of them right now! 

Bdubs waits for Pearl to turn her back before lunging at her. Pearl and her wolves fight back, before Pearl manages to land a final blow. A spotlight flashes over where Impulse and Bdubs are standing, and they both exit into the audience as the lights turn redder. 

Pearl: Lovely job, all of you! That really did feel quite good… Now, to see if we can’t find Cleo and Scott! And Martyn too! 

Pearl exits Stage Left, the Wolves and Tilly following behind her

Chapter Text

Pearl is back at her base, tending to her wounds and rubbing snow over them to clean them. She briefly falls asleep before jolting back awake and returning to her wounds, momentarily looking up when two lights flash in the distance. Pearl shrugs, and finishes tending to her wounds, and feeding her wolves. A branch breaks, and her head snaps up, grabbing her sword.

Pearl: Who’s there? I’ve got my axe! You’re not killing me, or Tilly, or my Wolves, not if I have anything to say about it!

Cleo steps out from Stage Left warily, wearing her armor 

Cleo: Pearl, it's just me! Are you alright? You seem really on edge

Pearl, giggling: Me? Oh, I’m perfectly fine, Cleo! I’ve got great news! Impulse and Bdubs are dead! 

Cleo: You don’t seem fine. Like, genuinely.

Pearl, dramatically: Well, what did you expect! I’ve been all alone Cleo!

Cleo: Yeah, and whose fault is that?

Pearl, frowning: Come on, you and Martyn are allies!

Cleo: That’s…different. 

Pearl: No, not really

Cleo: I…Grian and Scar died, by the way

Pearl: I saw, earlier.

Pearl nods vaguely to where Grian and Scar are sitting in the audience.

Pearl: By the way, is Scott still with you?

Cleo: Ha. He isn’t. Why do you care?

Martyn sneaks behind Pearl, shooting an arrow at Pearl’s wolves. Pearl spins around suddenly, glaring at him

Pearl: Martyn! Just what do you think you’re doing here? You two planned this, didn’t you?! Trying to kill my wolves, are you?

Martyn: This needs to end, Pearl. One way or another. There’s only you and Scott left.

Cleo, overlapping: That’s not what this is about, Pearl

Pearl, angrily: You tried to kill my wolves, Martyn. This can only end one way now!

Cleo: You’re outnumbered, Pearl, this isn’t a fight you can win

Pearl ignores Cleo, turning to face Martyn fully, swinging her axe at him

Pearl: You almost killed them! How dare you, Martyn, they did nothing to you! 

Martyn, backing up: They’re helping you! 

Cleo swings at Pearl with her sword, and Pearl lunges after her. Martyn tries to collect himself, shooting and re-nocking his bow. Pearl manages to back Cleo to the edge of the stage and shoves her off. Two spotlights flash above where Cleo and Martyn stood, and they both return to the audience. Pearl returns to Center Stage, the lights going redder.

Pearl, giggling: Well, that’s what happens when you mess with me. Try to kill my babies, I’ll kill you!

Scott enters Stage Right, slowly looking around. He has taken off his armor.

Scott, stunned: There you are, Pearl! …what did you do?

Pearl: It's simple! Martyn tried to attack my wolves, so I killed him! And Cleo too, I guess. Oh, and Joel and Etho! 

Scott: I mean, they did try to attack me earlier. Martyn and Cleo. So this means that somehow it's just me, and you left.

 Scott, laughing humorlessly: To be honest, I saw this going many, many different ways, but this was never one of them.

Pearl: You didn’t believe in me, did you, Scott?

Scott: It’s not like either of us were really trying! I was going to let Martyn and Cleo win, but that didn’t exactly pan out, since Martyn ran off once he saw the lightning coming from this direction.

Pearl: Maybe it was always meant to be this way! Dramatic irony or something, right? 

Scott: It’s not all that dramatic if I already know who the winner is. 

Pearl draws her axe, beginning to step back

Pearl, cautiously: Scott, what are you on about?

Scott, laughing: In some odd way, we’re here again. Except last time, we were a team!

Scott pulls out his sword, and Pearl tightens her grip on her sword. Tilly growls, moving closer to protect Pearl 

Scott: And now, I can say for certain…you deserve this, Pearl.

Scott drops his sword on the ground, and exits into the audience. 

Pearl, with stunned laughter: That wasn’t…Scott? What have you done, oh my goodness! I’ve honestly got no idea how, but I won! Ha! And I didn’t need any allies, all I needed was Tilly, and the rest of my wolves! …now what? I didn’t plan to win, I mean… I thought Scott was gonna try and kill me first! I honestly thought he wanted to kill me, and I… He…it looked like he wanted to kill me! Scott, what was that? If that’s your way of apologizing…I mean it’s probably not, to be perfectly honest. Either way, you’re an idiot if you think I would forgive you after you abandoned me! At the very least, you could’ve just fought me. I mean, my wolves woulda done the trick too.

While Pearl is monologuing, Watcher 1 and Watcher 2 walk towards the stage on either side. Pearl notices them, and looks towards the audience suddenly, gripping her axe tighter

Watcher 1: Greetings player Pearlescentmoon. Pearl. Congratulations, you have won!

Watcher 2: And you did a lovely job of playing our beloved game, too! Not the route we expected, of course, especially after last time, but it was an absolute delight to watch! 

Pearl, cautiously: Who…what are you?

Watcher 1: The ones who make these games! And watch them.

Watcher 2: But that’s not what’s really important right now. Now, you get to go back home!

Pearl: I do?

Watcher 1: Of course! You and all your…well, your fellow players, we can’t keep you here forever! Once someone wins, you all go back home, continue on with your lives, until the game starts again.

Pearl, realizing: … Grian told me that if you win, you remember what happens. He told me. How…how many times have we done this? 

Watcher 2: That is correct. And, this is only your second time. So far. Remembering is your prize, you see!

Pearl: Remembering is my prize? I don’t want to remember everyone calling me a witch, me freezing half to death, got that?

Pearl gestures angrily with her axe, the Watchers staring blankly at her

Watcher 1: It’s not optional. Besides, you won! You deserve a prize!

Pearl: I’d rather forget everyone betraying me, thank you very much!

Watcher 2: Abandoning, not betraying. 

Pearl, bitterly: Scott won too, didn’t he? 

The Watchers both giggle, almost childlike

Watcher 1: Correct again! Scott Smajor won the previous game, and Grian won the game before that. The two of you were allies, back then.

Pearl, almost angrily: He still abandoned me. That doesn’t change anything. We could’ve been allies again, I wanted to be allies! Why…this is what he meant, isn’t it? 

Watcher 1: Indeed. This wasn’t meant to be a tragedy, but things just worked out so well.

Watcher 2: Like we said, it was a good show! All thanks to you! 

Pearl, tiredly: Can…can you at least tell me what I did wrong?

Watcher 1: We do not understand. 

Pearl, getting more upset: Why didn’t I have any allies! There must be a reason why I was alone! What did I do wrong?! Just tell me!

Watcher 2, cutting in: I’m sure you know.

Watcher 1: A true tragedy. Well played, Pearlescent Moon. We hope to see you again next time. 

Pearl: I hope not. 

Watcher 2: We will see. Goodbye, Pearlescent Moon.

A spotlight flashes above Pearl, and the stage goes black. She exits the stage and goes to sit in the audience. Tilly can be heard barking, as the curtains close. Watcher 1 and Watcher 2 return to their seats. 

The END