Chapter Text
Ah, Sky City..
A year and a half had passed after Jesse and his friends had saved the floating kingdom from Aiden's power-hungry atrocities, leading them down to the land that lay below. The founder and Milo had made a truce to work together, to rebuild with shared views. This included, however, keeping Aiden as a prisoner. For his misdeeds he was sentenced to ten years in prison, whatever innocent dreams he had as a writer blown to bits. All deserved, of course. Sky City's government wasn't in the wrong for this at all, what Aiden had done was going to be known for decades, and what Jesse had done for centuries. Aiden and his goons were criminals. That was final, that was for certain, and that hurt. Even if he knew it was more true than any of his ego-filled outbursts could be.
But, Maya and Gill did not receive the same amount of punishment as Aiden. Perhaps the most shocking thing for Aiden was the fact they were set free. Well, they were exiled, but they were free. Apparently, the Sky City jurisdiction dubbed them petty troublemakers, if anything. Sure they followed the real star of the crime, but they were about as dangerous as a needle. Plus, the entire group had been stripped of their ego. All that shined now was pure cowardice and few faint patterns of resentment.
In the end, Aiden was ostracized and imprisoned rightfully, sentenced to the cold stone walls and brief clips of sunlight.
Until today, obviously. Do you think I'd really write about boring prison life? You mistake me for someone drab.
KABOOM!
The sound thundered throughout the cobblestone walls, roaring and final. Fire and smoke littered Aiden's view as if someone had incorrectly used a stack of gunpowder, clouding the air and mixing in with the color of the floor. Aiden and a few other prisoners were just returning from their brief recess, halfway through being sent into their cells by the gold-clad guards. It was always a real salt-in-the-wound experience, looking at them and their scowls. Especially when you were the person who had destroyed half of their homes just a year and a half ago. All the other inmates spat in their mustaches, chipped grins plastered on their guilty faces. No wonder Aiden had been ostracized even in prison, he never had the heart to harm a guard. Well, nine times out of ten, he did. Only if they really began to get petty and decided to insult his-
Aiden's hands flew to his ears, dust already beginning to settle in his throat. The heat from the explosion coated his face, screams escaping his mouth. The guard escorting Aiden into his cell screamed with him, releasing his grip on the man due to shock and slamming his own hands to his ears. The guard dropped his spear from the shock of the blast, landing with a clatter on the floor. The grim hall by Aiden's cell shook angrily, dust spilling from the ceiling and onto their heads as the iron bars rattled uncomfortably. With an agitated turn of the head, Aiden realized what had caused the noise.
At the other end of the hall stood a massive hole that exited into the prison's courtyard. A mix of cobblestone and gold blocks lay on the floor along with grains and grains of redstone dust from the gateway that would've usually been there. Light filtered from the cavity, highlighting the dim area in such a way one could think it was ethereal, like a calling. Two other guards that were stationed next to it lay on the floor hunched down, the blast having knocked them thoroughly. Weather they were unconscious or not, it didn't matter to the other prisoners. Multiple people in yellow jumpsuits ran like the wind toward the outdoors, skidding past the fallen guards. From where Aiden was, he could spy a relatively lanky one beginning to climb the fence that lined the outside.
Sure, Aiden had reflected upon himself a thousand times over since he was trapped in here, but that didn't mean he didn't crave freedom like a rabid animal. If anything, he needed to make amends with the Blaze Rods. Or Ocelots, who knows if Lukas convinced them to switch back the names. He probably did, knowing him.
If there was any time to escape, it was now.
With the sound still ringing in his ears, he gave the guard behind him a good kick to the chest. He didn't have time to register the thud of the guard's body as he jet down the hall, almost slipping out of his canvas shoes as he went. The sun hit him like a physical flashbang, practically reaching out a hand in his favor. It was a stupid vision, but it wasn't like he had another way to express his emotions. Not like writing was allowed. The transition from stone to grass was unrecognizable besides from all the recess equipment. An armor stand dummy, a few weights, and enough strewn cards to build multiple towers.
A flood of more gold and brown guards poured in from the hole, only few of them pointing their spears toward the other scrambling prisoners. Most of their eyes were plastered on what many conceded the worst criminal in all of Sky City.
Aiden bit his lip. He knew he was already going to be punished for attempting to escape, regret filling his body, bubbling up in his head and causing him to freeze even as half the group of guards pointed their spears at him-
A sound similar to a gunshot sounded around the area. Everyone looked up at what had caused it, the guards' eyes widening in terror.
A small part of the roof near the entrance to the courtyard had blown up, similar to the 'entrance'. Redstone dust spilled from it like sand in an hourglass, other blocks plopping on the ground. The guards and inmates immediately recognized what had exploded; the redstone that powered the tripwires. Charged traps lay across the fences around the courtyard, preventing any escape by shocking the prisoner so bad they say you'd be lying in the infirmary for weeks. The copper rod that helped charge it stood bent and cracked from the blast, a clear sign that it was broken.
All hell practically broke loose at that realization, tons of more prisoners diving between spears to climb the fence, few already hopping down without a scratch. Other prisoners began to fight the guards and gradually pushed them back, leaving way for other delinquents to climb up the fence. If Aiden could still hear, he'd be sure the alarms were blaring.
The crowd of guards around Aiden had lessened, most of them occupied with brawling inmates or throwing their spears at climbing prisoners. Aiden took this as a great opportunity to pull himself together and begin ascending the fence. The iron bars weren't their usual metallic cold and instead unevenly lukewarm from the other prisoners' hands. The feeling was terrifying.
Aiden made it to the top, the useless tripwire having already been ripped into threads by inmates. Shaking, he clumsily fell off and onto the ground with a painful thud. He hissed as pain filled his spine, adrenaline rushing off of him in waves. Prisoners ran into the nearby woods around him, guards beginning to scale the fence. Aiden rose to his feet unsteadily, almost being hit by a thrown spear. The sky began to fill up with them, sun dappled by dull iron. He followed the delinquents into the forest, hardly believing that this had actually happened and he wasn't having the most hallucinogenic dream of his life. Even now, he couldn't believe this big of a jailbreak was even possible. The Sky City people were smart, smarter than Aiden, and they knew how to engineer. It's not like there was a pile of unattended TNT in the redstone wiring of the prison, and if there was, Aiden figured he might as well take back his whole 'being good' thing.
Right, being good. That was going well, he thought as he ran, What better way to convince judging townspeople you're compassionate when you're escaping from prison?
Well, it wasn't like he was going to stay in this realm anyways. All he had to do now was find the portal Jesse (he forced a smile) and his gang had gone through. Wherever that was. Shouldn't be hard, probably.
.. Yeah, there was no use lying to himself. He hadn't been allowed to see the city in a year plus. Last time he checked, the city consisted of a grassy town in construction.
With his adrenaline spiking downward like a sugar crash, Aiden dived behind a nearby oak tree, back against the bark. He panted unevenly, forcing his eyes closed to process what had just happened.
Aiden laughed breathlessly. Whoever or whatever had caused the redstone to fail back there must've been truly playing in his favor.
A thought crossed his mind; what if the redstone contraptions had been sabotaged by Maya and Gill? Had they.. had they come back for him? Did they bring Lukas?
No, he knew it was improbable. They had been exiled. With no leader, they were pretty harmless. Pretty cowardly, really.
Maybe that's why Aiden liked playing leader so much.
The forest was quieter now besides for a few bats squeaking around him. He knew he had to pick up speed; he was certain that the entire Sky City police would be looking for him right now. And all the other prisoners, obviously, it wasn't like he was the only threat.
By sundown, he had reached the edge of Sky City's portal chamber. With meticulous search (and a few close calls from the police), he had actually found the building in all it's gold glory.
Good End, he was tired of seeing so much gold.
It appeared during the time Aiden was imprisoned, it had been turned into somewhat of a travel spot. He had managed to spy a few duos chatting eagerly about visiting some kind of Mesa or haunted mansion. It sounded dumb to him, but it was important to know that the building was well populated. Unfortunately.
Quartz walls with gold trimming lined the structure, two guards posted at the entrance. It was a good thing this place was situated so close to the woods, if it had been in the middle of the city Aiden would've definitely had to fight his way through. That was the last thing he wanted to do, he didn't think he could handle any more bad attention on him. Plus, as annoyingly heartfelt as it sounded, he really didn't wanna harm anyone too badly this time around.
Aiden sped from tree to tree until he hid behind a large pillar made out of chiseled quartz. He stepped back and smashed a lantern above him, causing the guards to hear it, one of them telling the other to wait there while they checked out the noise. They were met with a punch from Aiden to the head, Aiden grabbing the body before it fell and gently resting it against the pillar. He took the guard's spear and put it in his inventory. Could be a nice weapon.. if he had to use it.
For the other guard, Aiden merely had to wait before they got worried as to why the other man hadn't returned. The guard was met with the same fate eventually, Aiden laying the two of them by the wall.
Aiden took one of the guard's cap and clothing, changing into it from his yellow prison attire to try and blend in with the crowd inside. He tipped down the golden brown hat to cover his eyes, scrunching his face into something less of his signature frown. He slipped through the dark oak double doors and into the area where chatter exploded all around him. People talking about where they wanted to go, who they wanted to see. A couple of them were even moving out of Sky City from what Aiden could eavesdrop from. A clueless guard let him slip upstairs to a platform where other guards stood, observing the throng below for any evildoers. Too bad they didn't think to look behind them.
Aiden nervously snuck behind the distracted guards, thanking the stars that the endless talking covered his footsteps against the shiny quartz. He crept down a flight of stairs that emptied him closest to the portal as he could get, pushing his way into a nearby line. A few civilians yelled at him for cutting, even throwing up some very impolite hand gestures. Must've been really bad traffic if this is how the people were acting, for even Aiden knew they weren't all terrible. Luckily, a guard or two told the hecklers off, and with most of their eyes on them, he shoved the remaining people to the stairwell. Ignoring their protests and the guards already streaming down the steps, Aiden thrust himself through the portal, vision consumed by liquid blue swirling around him.
He was spat out- hard, landing on his back.
Aiden sighed, unfathomably grateful to be back home. Even if he had to dodge all the temple's traps again, lava and all, he was home. That's what mattered.
He reached out and felt the-
Sand?
Aiden was on a beach. Not the temple he had come in from. Back in his world, the building hadn't even been located near the shore. That place was entirely surrounded by jungle- where the Nether was he?
He sat up, rubbing his head in pain. He didn't think he was ever going to get used to the feeling of going through a portal, the azure liquid surrounding him, drowning him, even. He felt like the portal liquid was still in his lungs, urging to be coughed out. Looking around didn't reveal much besides a beige desert behind him. There was no portal to get back to Sky City, he had simply been spat out alone and without any way to get back. Obviously, going back to Sky City was a last resort, but this was not what he expected. Heat clobbered his head, the suns rays looking a lot less like a guiding hand and more of a agitated fist. Aiden cast aside the Sky City cap into the water, rubbing his eyes at the hot sun. He pulled up the sleeves of the uniform and stood up with a grunt, waves splashing behind him as if to urge him forward.
He walked around for a bit, picking sticks from dead bushes and constantly shaking the sand from his boots. Eventually, the biome morphed into orange Badlands, multicolored mountains sprawling across an azure sky. By now, Aiden was more than exhausted. He would've thought being free would've brought him a second wind, but the whole thing was still so overwhelming. He eventually sat down on a saffron-colored hill, smoothing out his sweat-slicked hair as best he could. It was getting dark, the setting sun sinking into the farther mountains. Aiden became frustrated with himself for wandering into such a biome. The only kind of animal that spawned here was an Armadillo. They only gave scales, not wool. Not like he had any wood anyway, but building a bed was out of the question. He'd have to rely on his sparring skills to fend for himself the entire night.
Right on cue, a groaning zombie stumbled from behind him. It swiped at him before he could notice, grimy pine-colored hands scratching his exposed arm. He yelped for a reaction and sprang upward, pulling his spear from his inventory and giving the zombie a few jabs, causing it to crumble into dust and rotten flesh. Aiden spun around, a horde already forming.
This was going to be a long night.