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Looking for Minecraft’s Deadliest Leader in 100 Days
On the Unstable Smp, the world's largest hardcore Minecraft server, I’m currently the King. However, despite my efforts, my approval ratings have been low.
A lot of these players were supporters of the former candidate, who my friends and I defeated in battle, and now resides in Prison—LettuceK.
Lettuce was the leader of a faction called The Law. A group of people who went around attacking wrong do-ers. Such as players like Wemmbu or FlameFrags, who just so happen to be my friends.
In an attempt to perhaps sway more players back to me, I took a page out of Lettuce and the Law’s book.
I called players to the Northern Council for a very important announcement:
“Players of the Unstable Smp! I understand that I’m not your favorite player, but I’m looking out for all of you! I’ve already made Spawn a safer and better place. Now, I want to make you all feel safer. So I propose a similar deal. If in 100 Minecraft days, 33 regular hours, I cannot find the former leader of the Invisible Mafia, Ashswag, I will resign as King. Thank you.”
Ashswag once let a fearsome group of players who terrorized the server. Killing innocent players, sucking up all the resources in the server. They were all invisible, and if one disobeyed or went uninvis, even for a second, their Ender Pearl would be stasised into the void.
Now, I had no clue how I was going to pull this off. So my right-hand man/bodyguard, Theo, and I went to the only person who might have some idea where Ashswag was…
Parrot wasn’t a fan of traversing the amplified region. They should’ve taken the Happy Ghast but everyone who wasn’t a fan kept shooting at them.
The amplified was well…amplified, and the climbing was painful. Thankfully, the way down was easier for both birds. They could spread their wings and glide down.
As the climate began to switch, Theo spotted the castle walls nestled between a ring of mountains. Parrot didn’t enjoy jumping into the water, having to swim to the entrance.
Upon entering the fortress, there were still remnants of the coup. Cobwebs left over, two gaping holes from Wemmbu’s orbitals. Both birds nearly tripped into one of them.
He didn’t even have to call for anyone when he spotted Zam carrying some materials to patch up the holes. Her hair was wrapped up tight in a ponytail that was similar to the one she adorned during the battle.
“Oh my gods! Parrot, hi! That crown looks amazing on you!” She exclaimed, putting the materials down in a chest. Her smile seemed genuine. So much less like the fake smile she held during the Zam Empire days. She looked…content.
“Hey, Zam. I’m looking for Spoke. You know where he is?” Parrot asked. She nodded towards one of the houses.
“Yeah, he’s right in there.” She answered. However, Spoke appeared as if summoned.
Initially, he looked tired. His tail was curled down by his feet, and his shoulders slouched. Catching sight of Parrot, he brightened up. Rushing over, he pulled him into a tight hug.
“King Parrot, my friend! How’s it going? You’re looking awesome, man!” Spoke greeted. Hesitantly, Parrot reciprocated the hug, wings twitching. Theo was re-gearing and rearranging his inventory.
“Hi Spoke. It’s good to see you. Glad you guys have been doing good.” He said, flashing a smile. Spoke beamed, stepping back.
“Not bad, not bad. Heard some things about spawn being traversable! So proud, man. What brings you here?” Parrot took a deep breath.
“Spoke, do…do you know where um…Ashswag is?”
Instantly, Spoke steeled. His vacant white eyes narrowed. His smile melted into a frown, and his jaw tightened.
“You kidding? He can’t even find Mapi- Maysile! His dog!” Zam commented, then bit her tongue, going back to filling in the holes.
“Listen, we’re just tryna find him to capture him,” Theo added, stepping up behind Parrot.
Spoke stared. A hysterical laugh shook his body. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. He cackled for a good 20 seconds before he settled on a dark, wicked grin. A sense of uneasiness licked his sides.
“Oh Parrot. Why would I know anything about him? I already ruined his life. Twice! Listen, I want nothing more than to see him dead. But I have no clue where he is. You’re smart, Parrot. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Spoke sneered. Parrot stepped back a bit. He knew Spoke could be…unstable, for a lack of a better term. He swallowed, sparing a quick glance at Theo, who was charging his crossbow.
“Thanks, Spoke.” Parrot mustered, pinning his wings to his back. Spoke continued to hold that unsettling smile.
“Of course, my friend. Give him my worst!” He jeered, giving the birds a wave.
The pair left, climbing through the terrain in silence. Making sure they were out of earshot.
“That was weird,” Theo commented, pushing his sunglasses up his nose.
“Mm. I can’t even lie, that was kind of our only hope. There’s only one other place I can think of, but it’s far.” Parrot hummed, pausing at the top of the hill, gazing out at the setting sun. There were 97 days left.
So, we set out to the farlands. A few years ago, some of my friends and I went to the Farlands to build a rebellion against the Mafia. Here, we found a civilization led by my head builder, Horace.
Here, I met Theo. We’ve been friends ever since.
After the Mafia fell, I went back there to meet up with Ash. He had a strange house, no armor, no nothing. Aside from one copper trim.
We made our way to an Ender Pearl cannon that led to the farlands…
They crash-landed in front of a large flower field that was most definitely not natural. It was utterly gorgeous.
“What the…” Theo gaped, “What biome is this? I’ve never seen it before.” He crouched down, plucking one of the flowers. Parrot momentarily stared at him in disbelief.
“No, dude. Bro, this isn’t natural. Oh my god, bro.” He groaned, rubbing a hand down the side of his face. Theo opened and closed his mouth before shaking out his wings and trudging into the flower field.
They carefully climbed up the walls, doing their best not to ruin the flowers. A small house sat in the middle of it. There was a cross next to a half-built house. Parrot felt uneasy.
“Who lived here?” He said under his breath to himself, climbing up the last layer. Helping Theo up the layer of flower fields, they saw the farlands, looming in the distance.
Theo snorted beside him and elbowed him.
“Brings back memories, huh?” He teased. Parrot just hummed in response. He stared, though, gazing at the beauty that was the farlands. The earth curling in unnatural ways, strange patterns, expansive nothingness.
Finally, he turned his attention to the ruined house. Instantly, he noted, they weren’t alone. There was someone invisible standing in the rubble.
“Come on out, bro. I can literally see you.” Parrot announced, seeing the invisible particles swirling. Theo’s eyebrows raised. He hurriedly charged his crossbow and placed down a rail.
A milk bucket appeared. Soon, the figure appeared. He was dressed strangely. He was adorned in white and peach robes. A large white mask covering his face.
“Who are you?” The man spat, exiting the shadows. The mask was covering a large, void-like body.
“My name is Parrot, and this is my friend Theo. We’re looking for a player by the name Ashswag. Do you know where we could find him?” Parrot inquired softly, meeting what he thought were the man’s eyes.
“Yeah! He’s the king of Unstable. So I’d cough up some answers, bud.” Theo reaffirmed. Parrot snickered.
“Hm…I’m afraid I don’t know for sure, but he does have a stasis set near here. I’m not sure if it’s active, though.” The man answered in a similarly even tone. Parrot nodded and smiled.
“Thank you,” Parrot said coolly. The man nodded as well. However, as the pair were about to leave, the man stopped them.
“How-how did you find this place?” He blurted. Parrot stopped in his tracks and spun around.
“Uh, an Ender Pearl cannon my friend 4C made, why?” He tilted his head and toyed with the ribbon around one of his bundles.
“Just wondering. How many people even know about it?”
“I believe just Wemmbu and his friend Egg, Theo, and I. Perhaps Spoke.” The man flinched at the mention of Spoke. Interesting… “You know Spoke then?”
“I’m afraid so. He’s the one who did this…Listen Parrot. Be careful with everything. Please, save the server from him.” The man urged. Theo and Parrot exchanged another confused look.
They waved goodbye and heeded the ominous warning. They both assumed ‘him’ was referring to Ash.
This player gave us a strange warning. However, he seemed trustworthy and gave us what was hopefully good information. I just have no idea who he was.
Parrot paused at the grave. It is presumably the name of the person they’d just spoken with. JamatoP
94 days left
We were making good time with 94 days left until we needed to present Ash to the Northern Council. It was all going somewhat to plan.
If the information this mysterious player, JamatoP, gave us was correct, we’d probably be back with time to spare!
However, this peace wasn’t going to last long. We had been followed…
They found the house a day later. Lo and behold, an Ender Pearl bobbed gently. Theo explored the house, blocking up all possible exits with obsidian.
Parrot huffed, double, triple, quadruple checked the house for any secrets. But, glancing down the elevator, he noted a tiny bit of light from the bottom.
“Yo, Theo! I found something. Wait up here.” Parrot called, mining a block away from the elevator.
“Are you sure? Sure, you don’t want me to follow to check for traps?” Theo called back, now looking down the hole Parrot was in.
“Yup! Keep watch.” Theo shrugged and sat down on the stairs, toying with his lighter.
As Parrot dug, it kept getting deeper, and deeper, and deeper until he hit bedrock. He fell into a room, suspended over void.
He’d landed on the outer ring. There was a small pathway leading to a lectern with void below.
It was freezing. The wind rushed in his ears, and his wings shook, feathers blowing into his face. Carefully, he balanced across the one block thick bridge and snagged the book. Hurriedly, he built up the hole he mined.
Once back at the top, he opened the book. It was filled with coordinates to stashes and different bases.
“Bro, Theo! There’s Mafia stashes in here! We could get so much armor for the players!” Parrot cried, beaming, his wings flapping behind him. Theo shrugged.
“Ooorrr we could use it. Look at your armor. Look at mine! Dude, Horace is almost worse. I know we need to help the players, but we also need resources. We should be able to keep some.” Theo offered, peeping over Parrot’s shoulder. Parrot sighed.
“I guess. I don’t know. I just wanna do what’s best for the server.” He repeated, closing the book and stashing it away. Then he froze.
“Yo, Theo…how long has that door been open?” There was a sigh from neither. Clanking of armor. Appeared. It wasn’t JamatoP.
“Heyyyyy Parrrottttt what’s up!” Spoke said, giving a shaky smile. Fishing rod still in his off-hand. Just as it has been for weeks. Parrot couldn’t find it in himself to be mad. He pushed out another sign.
“Spoke.” Theo already had a minecart ready.
“Soo…yes, I followed you. Buuuut it was to make sure y’know everything goes well with…him.” Spoke grinned, motioning to the Ender Pearl.
No. That wasn’t it. That couldn’t be it. Parrot didn’t trust it. He stepped backwards from Spoke, right next to the trap door. He raised an eyebrow. Spoke shrugged with the same happy-go-lucky expression.
Parrot kicked the trapdoor shut. Within seconds, the fallen leader appeared. His head was lowered, and he was staring at the floor. He could just make out a wicked grin on the distorted face.
“I knew it would happen sooner or later.” Ash hummed, slowly raising his head. Spoke drew his sword instantly. Ash snickered, eyes narrowing on Spoke. Theo looked between the two, confused.
“You’re coming with us Ash,” Parrot spoke up. Ash glanced over his shoulder and shook his head.
“Well, if it isn’t the birdie. How’d that Director thing go?” He sneered, lips curling into a smile that sent shivers down Parrot’s spine.
“Whatever. Don’t make me gag you.” Theo hissed, narrowing his eyes. Ash shrugged.
Theo placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder blades and pushed him towards the door. Spoke went out first, sword at the ready. Parrot went behind.
The four of us walked to a place where Theo had set up a happy ghast, which had grown up by the time we got back.
This began the trek back to the Northern Council, which took us a good 20 days to achieve.
[ Shots of the jungle, dark oak forest, village, and mafia leftovers, like the large wall, and decimated villages]
Everything felt too good. It had all been too easy. Too convenient. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop…
The Northern Council was empty, as it so often was. There were signs outside, still calling for LettuceK to be king. Parrot kept telling himself to not let it get to him.
“Wow! Parrot, this looks so much better than when we…bombed it so to speak.” Spoke said, pushing Ash forward towards the gaping entrance.
“Thanks, Spoke. Really, all of the credit goes to Hora-“ He stopped. As they crossed the threshold, he heard a soft hiss. He whirled around, throwing Theo in front, running as fast as he could.
The TNT went off, knocking all of them forward, crashing into the walls. Parrot ignored the searing pain that curled over his legs.
In the mess of dust and broken walls, a figure shot up, attempting to take off. Spoke leapt to his feet, grabbing them by the ankle, causing them to trip.
“I knew it!” He cried, hauling him and Ash up. He slammed the leader into one of the half-broken walls, the tip of his sword lightly touching Ash’s throat. The masochist just sneered.
Theo helped Parrot up, bleeding just slightly from a chink in his armor. Parrot brushed him off, taking a bite of a golden apple, wounds slowly closing themselves up. His ears still mildly rang from the explosion.
“Parrot, I know you had this whole plan mapped out, but he just tried to kill you!” Theo shrilled, tossing his hands up. Parrot shook his head.
“Pfft, I’ve never seen this place before. Why the hell would I try and set that up? I don’t care enough about you, Parrot, to want you dead.” Ash scoffed, hands flexing at his sides, contemplating his escape route.
“Let’s just get out of here. Theo, Spoke, can you guys do an inventory check on him? I’m gonna go talk with Lettuce.” Parrot ordered, pushing some of his fallen hair out of his face.
“Yessir.” Theo saluted, coaxing Spoke to drop the sword.
He was slowly gaining a migraine. Spoke and Ash’s bickering and petty arguments over the flight weren’t making it easier.
Carefully descending the long stairwell, he smelled the Guardians, chirping behind the walls. Trudging down the hallway, he saw Lettuce’s cell appear.
The caracal was lounging on the floor, one knee propped up. His ears twitched, sensing Parrot.
“If it isn’t the King. What can I do for you?” He sighed, getting up from the floor and approaching the cell bars to better look Parrot in the eyes.
“I can’t even lie, I don’t know if I did the right thing.” Parrot sighed, kicking the ground. Lettuce barked out a laugh.
“Made another idiotic promise that you can’t keep?” Lettuce replied with mock sympathy.
“No. I promised to find Ash…y’know, the Mafia leader. I found him, and I was going to show the server that I intend to make it safer on all accounts, but…I just don’t feel right.” Parrot explained, scrubbing the back of his neck. Lettuce’s tail flicked behind him.
“Interesting. Hey, honestly, I commend you. I could never find him, so amazing job. But do you really think that’s going to make the server love you?” Lettuce pressed, wrapping a hand around one of the bars.
“I don’t care about that!” Parrot cried, flaring his wings.
“You don’t? So the only reason you brought Ash here was to make the server safer? Not to win some approval?”
“No! I want to do right by the server and make it safe for everyone!”
“If you really wanted that, you’d have captured or killed your friends. You do you, Parrot. Just don’t let your friends cloud your judgment.” Lettuce said, turning around, hands clasped behind his back, declaring he was done.
Was Lettuce right? No. Parrot needed to get some sleep. He hadn’t slept in a bit and had been working tooth and claw. He’d send out for a meeting of the Council, ensure Ash was locked up (and not dead via Spoke), then get some well-deserved sleep.
Over the next few days, Theo and I made preparations for the arrival of the Council. The Council was an Alliance between everyone who fought in the war against Law. It consisted of Fymada, Horace, Jumper, Spoke, Mapicc, Zam, Jaden, Flame, Lomedy, Wemmbu, Egg, Minute, Theo, and I. Technically, Lomedy wasn’t in battle alongside Mapicc, but they still knew of everything.
The Council helped determine matters such as the fate of Ash. The Purpose was to gather input from the most prominent and influential figures on the server. We wouldn’t be where we are today without any of them.
About 60ish days left
The room consisted of stone vaulted ceilings and giant glowstone chandeliers spinning down. There were pillars with soul-sand flames holding the ceilings around a giant circular table, with designated seats.
Zam was the first one to arrive with Jaden. Fymada was busy in Capital City with Horace, saying she wished she could make it. Minute was busy rebuilding the end. And Jumper was ret-conning over some BAT-related event. The rumor was that LeoW0ok was dead.
Otherwise, over the next 2 days, the rest trickled in. With (to no one’s surprise) Wemmbu and Flame arriving late over an argument they had outside.
“Parrot bro, this better be worth it. I’ve got Spongs and Willy, watching over the base.” Flame groaned, flopping down into his seat. Wemmbu burst out laughing on his right.
“Spongs and Willy? What could possibly have led to that?” He cried, tears coming out of his eyes from laughing.
“Oh my god, bro, shut up!” Flame buried his head in his hands, while Wemmbu whacked him on the back. Parrot rolled his eyes and settled into his seat, which was only bigger by a mere inch.
Each member had their own unique chairs. On Parrot’s right was Theo, who had a yellow-black gradient banner, followed by Lomedy, who had a yellow-brown gradient banner. Next to him was Flame, who had his signature banner. Wemmbu had his, and Egg had a white-blue gradient. Minute’s signature was between the pair. On Egg’s right was Jaden’s pirate banner, followed by the old Zam empire banner for Zam. A red-black gradient for Mapicc, which was next to Spoke’s banner he’d given before the war. Beside Spoke was Jumper’s question-mark banner. Fymada had a pink banner, and Horace had an old banner from the farlands.
Apparently, Mapicc was still missing…or busy. Parrot didn’t recall him being at the previous vote either. And although the table was somewhat empty, his chest blossomed with everyone, everyone he trusted being in the same room once again.
He cleared his throat, grabbing everyone’s attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Wemmbu slip a fishing rod back into his inventory, and Flame return his sword. They did not have the funds to rebuild…thanks, Theo.
“I’ve gathered you all here today because I can’t decide on this scale without any of you. Unfortunately, some of us couldn’t make it; however, there are still plenty of us.” Parrot began, folding his hands on the edge of the sleek quartz table…it reminded him of meetings before…
Spoke's hands danced on the table, white eyes fixing and unfixing on a spot on the wall. Zam kept giving him strange looks. The rest gave Parrot suspicious looks, waiting for him to resume speaking.
“A few weeks ago, I made an announcement that I would find and capture Ashswag,” Parrot continued. Flame stood up out of his chair, legs screeching over the recently cleaned floors.
“Are you crazy?” Flame cried, eyebrows narrowing under the blindfold. His ears pinned back.
“Let me finish, please. I- well, Theo and I, eventually found him. As of right now, he’s currently in the prison. I want to know, should we kill him, or keep him prisoner?” Parrot concluded calmly, only glancing at the nervous lion-hybrid, who pushed Wemmbu’s heel that kept poking his hand. Wemmbu had his feet kicked up on the table.
“Listen, Parrot. I’m not interested in this whole ruling the server stuff; that’s pretty much a known fact. You can’t just do what Lettuce promised to do to me, to Ash. I personally couldn't care less about the guy. It’s just that you’re not supposed to be Letty. That’s why you’re king.” Wemmbu explained, taking his feet off the table. He made direct eye contact with Parrot the entire time.
“He’s got a point,” Theo added with a shrug. Accompanying Spoke’s incessant finger tapping, Parrot found his knee bouncing.
Wemmbu was right…for once. Yet, something in Parrot screamed not to listen to it. He wasn’t Lettuce. His promise to the server was make it safe for everyone and find Ash, just like he said. Killing Ash would make the server safer…right? So no. Wemmbu didn’t really have a point.
“Let’s put it to a vote then. If you think we should kill Ash, just like me, then stand on my side of the room,” Spoke announced, clambering out of his chair and standing beside it. “If you think he should remain captured, then go on that side.” He pointed to closer where Flame currently sat.
Parrot watched as Flame leapt to join Spoke, while others slowly walked to one side or the other. Lomedy and Egg walked in unison towards the opposite wall. Zam shrugged and followed Spoke’s lead.
“I willingly worked for him.” Jaden sighed, walking over to Egg and also dapping him up.
“Ugh, I hate to say it, but Wemmbu’s right,” Theo muttered, following suit and joining Egg’s side.
“Lover, not a fighter, bro,” Egg affirmed with a solemn nod, which got a snicker out of Lomedy.
It was down to Parrot and Wemmbu. Parrot had no clue what Wemmbu was going to pick. He’d had some strange behavioral shifts. Nevertheless, Parrot went with his gut, what he knew would benefit the server…death to Ash.
Thus leaving Wemmbu to the tie breaker once more. Flame sent a mocking remark for him to get it over with. Time slowed, seeing him join Egg. It was decided. Which also elicited another remark from Flame, who sent strength pots and having to yank the two away from each other.
“It’s settled. Ash lives.” Parrot declared, pushing out the final words. There were a couple of grumbles, but there was no recount. They had agreed…
I had done what most players could only wish to achieve in 50 days. I’d found and captured the leader of the Invisible Mafia. And although I might not have agreed with the answer of keeping Ashswag alive, it was the decision made. I can’t appease everyone, not even myself.
Ash hummed at the back of his cell, staring at the ceiling of the cell. Lettuce was curled up in his cat-bed, purring gently. Parrot stood at the cell gate, preparing to transport Ash to the stage.
“What’s the verdict?” Ash asked, turning his head.
“You live,” Parrot answered, pulling out the keys.
“Hm, would’ve thought more people wanted me dead. Guess not.” A smile slowly crept across his face. Parrot clenched the keys in his fist.
“All but one.”
“You?”
“Nope.” Ash stood up at this statement. His smile grew, and he walked up to the bars, face only inches away from them.
Parrot stepped back to provide distance so that Ash couldn’t swipe the keys from his fist, despite being clenched.
“Parrot, your goal is to protect the server, right? Then why do you have me locked up? What am I going to do, huh? Everything that I’ve had in my existence was taken from me! I’m not a threat. I’m not the one you need to worry about. If you truly care about this server and protecting it, I’m not the answer. It’s the one who did this to me. The one who started this all! The one who took everything from me, Parrot. I’m not your enemy, Parrot, and I haven’t been for a while. He is.” Ash monologued, fists closing around the bars, his forehead pressed against them.
“Who?”
“You have got to be kidding me! You’re supposedly the smartest player. How have you not figured it out? Do you need me to spell it out for you?” Parrot frowned, tilting his head. He shook his head. “It’s Spoke you, absolute idiot!”
[It instantly cuts to Parrot and Theo bringing up Ash on the northern council stage]
“Players of the Unstable SMP! I promised, and I delivered. Ashswag stands before you, no longer as a threat. The Council has voted, and he will remain in custody with the former Candidate LettuceK. Thank you all so much.”
I knew I had to be doing the right thing. I’m protecting the server. I’m doing right by the server. Everything I do is in the server’s best interest…
Epilogue
Night had fallen. The prison was always dark at night. Lettuce’s bed was comfortable enough. Ash was standing at the Iron bars, eyes screwed to the floor.
He had mixed feelings about Ash’s return. First off, he hated him. Ash ruined every civilization he tried joining. He caused Lettuce to be in the prison in the first place!
Second, Ash was everything the Law stood to oppose. Yet, it was incredible what he could do with mere words, not empty promises.
Lettuce didn’t consider Parrot an enemy…just strongly against. He never really fully hated Parrot. He wasn’t sure if Ash did either. Regardless, he was their “common enemy.” Literally sitting in his prison.
Nevertheless, Lettuce still felt mildly intimidated by Ash, even though he had been reduced to nothing. He oriented himself the same. All that was missing was a fishing rod to scare him.
“What got you in here?” Ash said, tearing Lettuce from his thoughts. His ear twitched.
“Long story. Tried ruling the server, Parrot ran against me, he and his friends killed all my men, locked me up, and then Parrot took over.” Lettuce huffed, crossing his arms.
“He’s good at that,” Ash hummed, dragging his finger across the iron bars. “I only heard whispers about you, LettuceK.”
“I tried to do what Parrot did.” Lettuce sighed, lolling his head back. A careful snicker came from Ash.
“Of course you did. I’m the most hated player on the server. God!” Ash slammed his hand against the bars. A loud ring reverberated on the wall, causing Lettuce to jump.
His head shot up, seeing Ash’s hands not gripping the bars, head bowed. He kicked the bars harshly. One. Two. Three. Four. Five times, each ring hurt his ears. Ash was breathing heavily. They stopped due to the padding of footsteps.
A figure appeared. Lettuce couldn’t make it out. He only saw invisible particles. The door to Ash’s cell opened. There was some commotion that he couldn’t fully see. He heard the gentle tug of a fishing rod, then he saw the death message.
Ashswagg fell into the void.