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The thunder rang clear in her ears.
She had let go of the bowstring, the flaming arrow flew, but the lightning struck a milisecond too early. Her arrow embedded itself into the Secret Keeper’s side.
Scott was dead. He let Gem kill him, to take his hearts.
So then there was one.
Pearl took a deep breath as she ran after Scar, her… ally? She wasn’t sure what to call him. He was whatever was left of her true allies, the Mounders. The Mounders she was meant to place all her sacrifices on, her loyalty... But now, they’re dead. So it all goes to Scar.
Pearl watches Gem run downhill, darting behind a tree, and she knocks another arrow as she calls out.
“Gem, I don’t- Don’t make me do this, Gem.”
Gem. If Pearl was being honest, she saw Gem as more of an ally than she did with, say, hypothetically, Scar. (Hypothetically of course.) They had laughed together, killed together, banded together, here and many lives before. A part of her felt sour at how this all turned out.
She lets an arrow fly right, Gem dodges left.
“I’m not making you do anything!”
She sounded almost desperate. Pearl tried to swallow down her guilt and shot another arrow in Gem’s direction. She doesn’t think she’s even aiming anymore. She hadn’t noticed Scar coming up beside her.
“You’re making me do this right now-”
“What are you doing!?”
Pearl catches a glimpse of Gem’s eyes as she pulled another arrow. One was red—no doubt due to the effect of losing the two previous lives, it can happen—and the other was an unnatural blue-green shade. She never got the chance to ask about that.
As she scanned them, she expected rage and bloodlust, but instead found a rare sight, something that Gem nearly never lets on— fear . Gem looked scared. Desperate. Terrified. Her eyes practically pleaded at Pearl. A deer in headlights . She lets go of the arrow, but it was far from the supposed target. Gem runs, Pearl responds. What are you doing?
“I-I don’t know-”
“We were friends !”
“I don’t know, Gem- I don’t know! ”
She swerves to try to run after her, hesitating. Scar spots Gem and pulls an arrow with deadly aim. It would have gotten her, if she hadn’t disappeared in purple swirls- Ender pearl. Good. Wait, good? Not good. She’s the enemy! Right?
“Gem- Wait, hold on-” Pearl watches her ‘ally’ run after Gem, she follows suit. “Wait, uh- Let me think for a second-”
“Did she just ender pearl?” Scar’s voice cut through her mind’s fog.
They run after Gem without any more thought.
Scar caught up with her, attacking her quickly, he didn’t think twice. Pearl tried to suggest sorting it out with Gem, but Scar wasn’t stopping. She had a feeling he knew how hesitant she was being.
Pearl saw no other way... she had to fight her. She lets out a breath (hopefully letting the guilt out with it).
As she runs up to Gem with her sword, she catches a glimpse of her eyes again. Beneath the strange heterochromia, beneath what seemed to be defensiveness, lay that same nervous fear. Like an animal backed into a corner. (Which isn’t too far off now, isn’t it?)
Her sword comes down on Gem’s shield, Scar follows with his own sword. Gem’s frustration bubbles to the surface.
“ Pearl-!? 2 v 1?!”
Her voice peaks a little, she runs backwards.
“You guys are gross-”
She places a lava bucket down, but misses Pearl by a couple blocks.
This is when Pearl realizes something.
She moves away from the fight (she’s right, it was a little unfair for both of them to attack her) as Scar steps in and takes Gem by storm. Diamond hits diamond, and diamond hits flesh in critical hits.
She realizes—or, well, remembers— that Gem is new . She’s new to this game. She doesn't know how any of this really works, how this plays out.
Gem gets backed into the base of a hill, Scar is swiping at her repeatedly, her shield barely remaining intact.
Sure, she’s good at PVP, so good that people avoid fighting her at any chance.
Sure, she’s good at surviving and picking her battles, that’s why she only died to a mob and an accident.
Sure, she’s bloodthirsty , like she should be, especially here.
But when it comes down to it, she doesn’t know how any of this works. She’s frozen in an innocent illusion of this game.
Gem calls them gross again, weaker this time, distracted by the sword swinging at her.
She doesn’t know the true desperation of a red name, how her bloodthirst isn’t enough.
She doesn’t know how quickly it spirals, how the doom in the air means something.
Pearl tells Scar he’s got this. Appearing to cheer for him. (Because she has no choice? (She’s made her choice.) )
She doesn’t know how fragile alliances truly are. No matter how close you may seem. You never know what makes people snap.
She doesn’t know how unforgiving those last sessions are.
CRACK!
Goes the lightning. The fallen tribute cannon of this world.
She doesn’t know how unforgiving some people are, to someone who freezes..
Like a deer in headlights.