Archive of Our Own

After the concert, Blue went to go look for Green. The Silverfish had long left, along with most of the audience. The Stick Gang along with the hired staff, were left to clean up the colossal mess brought by the finale. Luckily, Yellow's Command Block Staff, along with the help of King Orange and Purple who stayed behind, made quick work of the wreckage.

Well, truthfully, it wasn't Blue's idea at first to try and find Green. Immediately after the encore ended, it was discovered that Green wasn't underneath the note blocks that Silverfish put down. Along with the Silverfish reassuring the rest of the Stick Gang that they would leave them and Green alone in the future, Blue had thought Green had escaped unscathed, so he wasn't too worried.

But as Blue was putting out some fires, Purple had approached the former, worryingly wringing his hands.

"Blue?" The titular stick figure glanced at Purple, patting down a persistent flame.

"Yeah?"

"It's just- do you know where Green went?"

"No clue. Oh- don't worry, he escaped from that," Blue attempted to reassure him, accompanied by a vague hand gesture towards where the note blocks were.

"Yes, I know," Purple said. "In fact, I saw him run out of the concert hall." And before Blue could respond, he continued at a hurried pace. "And he looked, ah, upset. Really upset."

Oh. Well, that was something to be concerned of. An upset Green will stay that way for days, probably even weeks. Better go properly take care of that, before it gets bad. "Thanks for telling me, Purple," Blue said. "I'll take care of him."

Purple nodded, looking relieved. He stepped back, letting Blue pass him as he made his way out of the concert hall and into the hallways.

Partway through searching for Green, Blue began to wonder if he was really the best stick figure for this job. Sure, the two of them were friends- in fact, Blue would privately admit he really admired the other- but he felt that Orange or Red would've been a better pick to cheer up Green. Hell, Purple could've been the one to do this, given how deep their bond ran (something that irked Blue deep down). So why ask Blue?

Eventually, Blue managed to find Green, with none of his own thoughts answered. Green was in some sort of storage closet, slumped next to a chest with his head turned away from the door. It was clear that he'd been pouting in here for a while now.

Blue approached Green, sitting a little away to give him some space. Green tensed somewhat, his glare still fixed on the wall.

"Green."

The titular stick figure tensed even more. He didn't respond.

Blue sighed. "Green. Everyone's waiting for you." He stepped towards Green, reaching down to pull him up. "Come on, get up. We need your help to clean up"

Green resisted, keeping his behind firmly planted down. "Yellow can just use his staff to make the mess go away," he muttered grumpily. "You don't need me."

Blue frowned. "Well, it's true Yellow can do that. But what about the afterparty? The concert was a success!"

That finally got a response out of Green, who suddenly shot up into a standing position. Blue let go and backed away, startled. The way Green was breathing heavily, the aggressive stance he took, it was clear that he was pissed.

"Success? SUCCESS?!"

"Well-"

"I got humiliated!" Green yelled. "Those Silverfish, they ruined it all. And you guys let it happen!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Blue said defensively. "We did manage to get those Silverfish off of you by switching to rock music, didn't we? And besides, saying the concert was ruined is a huge stretch."

"I planned all this!" Green snapped back. To Blue, it reminded him of a bull ready to charge, and he instinctively tensed up. "It took months of writing the music sheets, constructing the concert hall, hiring everyone to help- not to mention the practice sessions to get it all right!"

"Well," Blue retorted back, "isn't that kind of the problem?"

That gave Green pause. It almost seemed like he stopped breathing entirely. "What do you mean," he said, too flat to be a question.

The sudden switch in tone gave Blue some whiplash, admittedly. For a moment, he wondered if he should take his words back, to say it was nothing, but... but Green would never stop wondering. He sighed.

"It's just- You expect everything to be perfect to how you want it to be, and when a small blip in the plan occurs, you kinda just... throw a tantrum? You really just need to chill out, man. It gets too much sometimes."

Inwardly, Blue grimaced at his own words. They came out much harsher than he intended. Especially since Green didn't seem able to come up with a response to that. He was just... staring at Blue, as if stunned.

Blue wondered if he should take his words back. Or better yet, apologize. But before he could begin to do so, Green finally spoke.

"Oh," he said. "Okay."

Green straightened back into a neutral stance and began exit the closet. As he passed by a surprised Blue, he murmured the words "I'll go help clean." And then he was gone. Like he wasn't even there.

Now that he was alone, Blue exhaled. It seemed that Green calmed down, at least. He was still a little upset, judging by the slight slump in his shoulders, but he's not sulking anymore. That was good, right? It was.

Satisfied, Blue took out a Nether Wart to chew and followed Green back to the concert hall.

Something was wrong.

Specifically, something was wrong with Green. Blue was certain about it. What was less clear, though, was how exactly Green had changed.

At a simple glance, he was acting normal enough: he still hung out with the Stick Gang, he still played around in the Minecraft world. The others were still treating him like normal, the events of the concert having pretty much left their minds by now.

But something about the closet talk nagged at Blue, and he found himself watching Green more closely than usual. And he felt that he was noticing real subtle changes in Green, things that gave Blue some worry. Was Green moving stiffer than before? Was he a little quieter than usual? Or was he just seeing things?

Blue mulled over this as he prepared breakfast for the gang. It was a simple meal: eggs, toast, and hash browns, along with a separate plate of pancakes. Most of the Stick Gang were at the table by the time Blue was finished, with Red and Reuben being the last to show up. Without delay, Blue deposited breakfast to each figure, earning him enthusiastic thanks (did Green's have much less energy compared to the others? Sheesh, Blue's mind needed to calm down) and began to dig in.

All except Green. He was acting like he was, poking and prodding at his food, and occasionally, he will take a small bite. By the time he was done with his eggs and half his toast, everyone else had cleaned off their plates, with Red and Reuben literally licking their respective plate in an intense manner. Green looked up once Red slammed his plate down, and slid his own plates towards Red.

"You want my plate, Red?"

Blue looked up from his own plate instantly, startled. Red, meanwhile, was happily oblivious. "Really? You sure?"

"Really. I'm not hungry, today."

"Yay! Gimme, gimme!"

Green obliged, and Red made quick work of the rest of the toast and pancakes, while Reuben scarfed down all the hash browns. In an instant, the plate was empty, with Red and Reuben looking very satisfied. Meanwhile, Green was already up from his seat, walking towards their home.

Blue stole a glance at the rest of the gang. None of the other figures seemed to notice what Blue had noticed: Yellow and Orange were discussing something related to the arcade machine, while Red was eying Blue's plate hopefully. Reuben had already trailed off from the table, content in his meal.

Quickly finishing his meal, Blue headed towards to where Green was going. By the time he was reached him, Green was about to enter his room. He stilled as Blue ran up to him and waited as he caught his breath. He didn't say anything at all, and for some reason, that didn't sit well with Blue.

"Are you alright?" Blue blurted out once he regained enough of his breath. He winced at his once-again blunt questioning, but Green appeared unfazed.

"Yeah. Why?"

"It's just- you didn't eat much."

"Like I said earlier, I wasn't hungry."

"You're not sick, are you?"

A pause. Then, a firm "No" from Green. But that pause was enough to send Blue into worry mode. Sickness was uncommon in stick figures, but it did occasionally happen, especially when the computer overheats. He began examining Green all over, hoping to see any signs of sickness, something that would indicate why Green was acting weird.

But Green was perfectly healthy, and besides, the computer hasn't overheated for the last month. And as Blue admitted to himself there was no evidence of Green being sick, he noticed something else strange. Despite the prodding and poking of the sudden examination, Green didn't really react to it. He basically stood still during its entirety, and while Green wasn't the most ticklish of the gang (Yellow took that crown), he tended to unconsciously tense at touches during examination. Here, nothing of that occurred at all.

Seeing that Blue had stopped, Green stepped back, holding his hands up in a vaguely placating manner. "Seriously, dude," Green said. "I'm fine." And with that, he went inside his room, firmly shutting the door.

For a second, Blue stared at the shut door. Then he turned around and began making his way back to the desktop, shoulders slumped. Worry and frustration warred on in his mind, unable to reach a definitive conclusion. But if Green said he was fine, he must be, right?

He'll wait, Blue decided. Maybe he was worrying for nothing. He'll wait until he sees a sign that something is really wrong.

This sign appeared about a week after that encounter- and two weeks, after the concert. The Stick Gang had all went into Minecraft world before splitting off to do their own things- Yellow helping some villagers with his staff and redstone contraptions, Red tending to his mob herds, and Orange just exploring the vast blocky world. For his part, Blue had set up his own cooking station outdoors, with Green as usual not too far away constructing at his own house. Blue tried not to think about his own reasons for wanting to stay close to Green.

Placing a bowl on the crafting table and getting an egg from the chest, Blue held out the egg for his accompanying Allay to take. Once it did, it set off to obtain more eggs. Soon it was back, depositing these eggs into the bowl. Satisfied, Blue sent it off again and began to experiment.

Only when the Allay came back a third time with plenty of eggs did Blue realize something was off.

See, the direction Blue tended to send the Allay off to happened to be in the direction where Green was located, whenever they were close by. And Green loved to sing to himself as he did stuff alone, which was usually building. This appeared to delight the Allay immensely, which eventually leads to it gifting Green whatever it was sent to collect. By now, this was a usual enough occurrence that Blue had gotten used to by now. In fact, he often used it as an excuse to go chat with Green.

So the fact that the Allay hadn't gotten sidetracked at all gave Blue some pause.

With worried curiosity, Blue sent the Allay again to retrieve more eggs and followed once it flew off. Soon they arrived at Green's house, where it appeared Green was renovating. The Allay paused only slightly as it passed Green, as if waiting for something, then continuing on. And it was pretty clear why.

Green wasn't singing.

He was breaking blocks, placing down new ones, and he wasn't singing.

Blue approached Green as he worked, dread accompanying him with every step. Green looked up as he got closer, giving a nod to Blue when he saw him, then continued working. His silence unsettled Blue.

"Green?"

Green hmm-ed, not looking up.

"You good, man?"

"Yeah." Tense, though not upset, it didn't sound like. Though Blue couldn't really hear anything but a flat tone. "Just working."

"You're not singing."

The blunt statement did give Green some pause, stilling as he was about to break a brick block. He recovered quick enough, destroying the block. "There something wrong with that?"

Yes, Blue thought, especially when it's you. "Technically no," he said aloud. "But, you know, it's kind of your thing."

"It's no big deal. I'm just not in the mood for music."

Now that set off a huge amount of alarm bells. Since when has Green ever not been in the mood for music? Even in his lowest moods, even at his angriest (Like in the concert, his mind unhelpfully supplied), Green always carried a sort of rhythm with him. It was clear that his movement carried an inherent beat in his steps.

So it was a pretty big deal that Green, apparently, wasn't in the mood for it.

"What do you mean-"

"It's exactly as I said. And for the record, I'm fine, perfectly healthy, and there's really nothing wrong."

"Really?" Blue retorted. "What about the fact you've not been eating much?"

Green shrugged. "Haven't been hungry, either. Just been too much food, lately."

"Why didn't you say anything until now? I can make you smaller portions." Even though you tend to rival Red in hunger levels.

Green shook his head. "No need. I can just give the rest to Red."

"But, Green-"

"I'm serious, Blue." Green's tone took on a hard edge, and Blue found himself stepping back. "It's nothing. Drop it."

It was clear the two were locked in a standstill. Green, stubborn in his insisting, and Blue, unsure of how else to proceed. But eventually, it was broken by the sounds of Blue's returning Allay. The two stick figures looked up to see the creature approach Blue, with its dozen of eggs. Reluctantly, Blue took them, his gaze still on Green as he turned back to his house. His body language was clear- this conversation was done.

The Allay chirped insistently, snapping Blue to attention. Sighing, he gestured for the creature to follow, and he turned to begin the trek back to his station. A few steps, and he couldn't help but risk a look backwards at Green.

He was still renovating, it seemed. Yet, Blue realized there was something... odd, about how he was renovating. Seeing that Green hadn't even looked up to acknowledge him leaving, Blue looked forward again, shoulders slumped.

Renovations usually meant giving your house a whole makeover while keeping the space size the same, or even make it bigger, right? Then why did it look like Green was trying to make it smaller?

Since that incident, Blue began to keep a much more careful eye on Green than before. This observation led to Blue discovering much more concerning details that had arose in his friend.

For one, it wasn't just that he stopped singing while building. He'd stopped doing anything music-related. No loud and obnoxious (though endearing to Blue, at least) singing in the showers, no humming as he played some video game, not even singing under his breath when he was hanging out with the rest.

He didn't even tap his feet to a rhythm when at the dining table. In fact, he appeared to hold himself near-still when present, like an inanimate armor stand. It creeped the hell out of Blue.

What creeped him out more, though, was that he can't remember the last time he had seen Green's headphones around his neck. Not since the concert, at least.

He also stopped talking much. When he had to, his voice was a lot softer and lower in volume, but unless he was spoken to, he kept silent. And even then, his responses were brief and clipped. Orange and Red kept having to prompt Green to talk about his day during dinner.

All of this new information was horrifying, and the worst part was that Blue had no clue in how to fix it. Green wasn't avoiding him, technically, but he acted as if the conversation at his house never happened. Blue wanted to keep pushing, but he was worried that if he went too far, Green would shatter. So, to his frustration, he was forced to do nothing.

He hated it.

Eventually, one morning, Yellow stood up and announced the desire to hold some practice-sparring in the Minecraft world. This was right as everyone was finished with breakfast, with Green ready to book it to be alone. But he ended up pausing at this announcement, turning to look at Yellow along with everyone else.

"What?" Yellow said with a nonchalant shrug. "We haven't done that in a while. It'd be nice to see how we're faring, lately." Was Blue seeing things, or did Yellow's gaze settle on Green briefly?

Red snorted, picking up both his plate, along with Reuben's and the one acquired from Green.. "Bet this is just an excuse for you to flaunt your staff," he teased.

Yellow gasped in mock-offense, but, to everyone's surprise- especially Blue's- it was Green who spoke up, his eyes on the ground before him. "Yellow's not that type of guy," he said, barely loud enough for the gang to hear clearly. And despite the complete lack of aggression, Red appeared properly chastised by this, sheepishly scratching his head.

"So," Yellow said, standing up with his plate, "who's with me?" Everyone cheered in response, even Blue, who was psyched despite his worry. Yet, he couldn't help but notice that Green barely showed any enthusiasm. At least Green was still tagging along with them.

They eventually gathered in a flat area in a plains biome, with Yellow quickly setting up the training grounds. Purple and King Orange joined in not long after the grounds was ready, with the latter on the sidelines to root for the former. Everyone settled into their own spaces to warm up for the fights.

Blue began checking his equipment: his bow and sword, along with a vast array of regular and splash potions at his disposal. Finding everything in order, he took out a nether wart and began chewing on it in anticipation. His gaze wandered, studying his friends as they also prepared. Orange and Yellow had their swords and shields ready to go, Red had donned his yellow headband along with a bunch of spawn eggs, and Purple carried his usual elytra and appeared to be pocketing his fireworks. As for Green-

Blue stilled, staring at Green in disbelief. The latter, he could tell, didn't have any of his usual equipment, be it his fishing rod or even any useful blocks at his disposal. He wasn't even doing any warm-up stretches or anything- he was just blankly looking around, as if unsure of what to do.

Blue glanced around, finding that no one seemed to notice Green not doing anything, too occupied with their own. As he worried over whether to ask if Green was okay in front of the others or in private, Yellow suddenly spoke.

"Would everyone be down for a tournament kinda deal? We have enough people to do three matches for Round One." Yellow tilted his head, looking thoughtful. "Though, that would mean there'd be an uneven number for Round Two."

"We can have two winners from the first round fight it out, and the resulting loser can fight the third one that was left out," Orange suggested. "Acts as a sort of redemption match for the loser."

Yellow rubbed his chin, taking this into consideration. "True..."

"Man! Another tournament competition?!" Everyone glanced at Red, who had thrown up his hands in an exaggerated manner. "We already know how this is gonna end up, anyway. It'll be Orange and Green that'll end up in the finale, and either one of them will be crowned the winner."

It was clear from from his tone that Red wasn't being serious in the slightest; after all, he was probably the one who enjoyed tournaments the most out of the gang. Everyone else shared a laugh at his mock-whining. Even King Orange, sitting on a bench at a distance, seemed to chuckle in response to the Stick Gang's laughter.

And then Green spoke.

"I can sit out, then."

Everyone immediately fell silent. They all turned towards Green, finding him regarding them all with no expression. Blue himself was barely able to process the audacity of what he just said, and he doubted anyone else didn't feel the same. Sure enough, Red was the first to respond.

"W-what do you mean?" Red said, a nervous laugh managing to slip out. "I thought you didn't like sitting out. At all."

It was true. The only time Green had ever sat out during practice spars was when he suffered a brief injury done accidentally by Alan- nothing critical, but enough to keep him benched. Green complained immensely about this, insisting that the injury was minor. Blue practically had to force him to sit down, and even then, as he studied the motions of his friends fighting, Green appeared to sulk throughout the session. Once the injury had healed fully, Green had immediately begged to have another sparring session, which the Gang obliged to.

So the fact that Green was willingly insisting he could sit out was so, so baffling. And worrying.

"Um." Yellow scratched his head, studying Green carefully. "You do realize Red was joking around, right? He didn't mean it." Red nodded in agreement.

"Oh. Okay. Can I still sit out, then?"

"Wh-" Blue spoke up then, spluttering as he was still trying to process this new batch of concerns. He sighed, cleared his throat, and chose his words carefully. "Why do you want to sit out?"

Green turned slowly to face Blue. The former regarded the latter with a blank stare that was becoming disturbingly familiar.

"Just don't want to fight."

An ripple of shock passed through the rest of the Stick Gang. Orange and Yellow exchanged worrying glances, Red looked stricken, and Purple had outright gasped. From a distance, King Orange had straightened up in a mix of curiosity and concern, though he wasn't close enough to hear of the subject manner.

"Today." Everyone turned their attention on Blue, who had his gaze fixed only on Green. Said stick figure was staring at him too, not reacting to his intensity. Blue hated that he was the cause of it, but he needed clarification. "You just don't feel like fighting today."

Green stared, and Blue stared back, as if challenging him to deny it. And eventually, Green looked away, staring at the ground. "Sure."

Though he was satisfied at winning for now- well, winning whatever had occurred- Blue still felt unsettled at having won so easily. Yet another sign this Green isn't acting like the one the Gang cherished with all their hearts.

Yellow coughed, breaking the silence. "Alright. Then... Green, you can sit with King Orange. Let's draw sticks and see who'll fight who."

Blue watched as Green headed towards the benches. As he got closer, King Orange patted the empty seat next to him, which Green took, though with some extra space between the two. As Red began to draw a stick, Blue saw that King Orange had leaned towards Green, whispering something to the younger figure. Judging by the confusion in his posture, he was most likely asking what they were talking about. Green only shook his head, staring intently ahead. Out of the corner of his vision, Blue noticed that Purple had looked at his surrogate dad as Red realized he had to fight Yellow, shooting him a questioning glance. King Orange only shrugged in response, baffled.

As Blue drew his own stick, his mind was elsewhere. He barely recognized what was on the stick. His mind was only on Green, whose gaze wasn't even on the grounds where the fighting would occur, like last benched time. What he was staring at, Blue had no clue. But he desperately wanted to know.

By now, the others had an idea that something was going on with Green. Unfortunately, like Blue, none of the others appeared to have any idea on figuring out what exactly was up.

Not that they didn't try. But Green was starting to turn down any personal invitation from the others to hang out. No matter if it was Orange suggesting Green hang out with him and Alan, or Red inviting him to do some challenge parkour, or Yellow asking if he wanted to experiment with note blocks and redstone, Green always found a reason to excuse himself from that activity. It didn't stop the others, along with Blue, from worrying, and that last example especially had Yellow shaking his head, frustrated as Green walked away. Blue certainly shared in that sentiment.

He was even turning down Purple, be it hanging out with him and his surrogate dad, or 'that one place', as Purple so vaguely put it. Green at least was turning down Purple more gently than he was with the others, something that annoyed Blue deep down. Seeing Green gently pat Purple on the shoulder before sending him away stirred some ugly feelings in him, something he didn't really want to acknowledge.

Well, to be fair with Blue, he had a good reason for feeling bitter. Because unlike the others, who were at least given somewhat proper excuses, Green just flat out rejected any attempts from Blue to chat or hang out. If Green did shoot out an excuse, it was usually a flat and very flimsy "I'm busy" before heading off to who knows where. He did this even when the others were around, which confused the others and hurt Blue even more.

Blue wanted to be angry at Green's behavior- and he was, sort of- but more than that, he was worried. It was pretty clear what Green was doing, trying to isolate himself from the others. What if Green succeeded in cutting himself entirely? Blue didn't want to think about it, but as the rejections piled up, it was becoming an even greater possibility.

As it turned out, the others had clocked in on the same worries. Blue found this out one afternoon, which he spent in the Stick Gang's shared bedroom, trying to read while gnawing absentmindedly on a nether wart. The words on the page blurred in his vision, but Blue had no other method to distract himself from thinking about Green (save for nether warts, but then again, he didn't want to deplete his entire stock again).

Luckily for him, another distraction came from someone bursting through the door, startling the book out of Blue's hands. He looked up, finding that it was Red, and was ready to greet him. But looking closely at the other stick figure made him pause. Red was one to wear his heart on his arm, and it was pretty clear from his ragged breaths and disheveled posture that he was upset and scared.

"Red." Said stick figure flinched, probably surprised he wasn't alone in the bedroom. Blue stood up, approached him carefully. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

Red hesitated at first, but he accepted Blue's hug, his arms wrapping tightly around the other stick figure. His head rested on the other's shoulder, and Blue felt, rather than saw, Red give a shaky nod.

"You want to tell me what's up?" Red hesitated a little longer at the question, before giving another nod. He pulled away, with Blue letting him. Red carefully met Blue's gaze, beginning to sniffle.

"It's about Green."

Blue stilled. He really shouldn't have been surprised, but with everyone else sort of walking around the issue, he wasn't expecting Red to say it directly. "What about him?" he pressed.

"I- I asked him earlier if he wanted to hang out with me, and he- he said that he had something else to do, and to ask the others." Red took a moment to breath, a hand reaching to rub his face. "And, and as he turned to leave, I just- I realized I needed to apologize to him. So I did."

"Because of the concert?"

Red winced. "I mean- I guess in hindsight I should've also apologized for that. But no, it was for something else."

Blue was confused. He knew to some extent that Green was upset about the concert, and partly because of the rest of the Stick Gang not helping him against the Silverfish. But for the life of him, he couldn't find a reason as to why Red felt the need to personally apologize to Green. "You needed to apologize?"

"For taking his food."

Oh, right. Since Green's been eating less, he always tended to pass Red his plate, something Red happily took. Even when Blue began making Green smaller portions for his meals. "Red, I don't think Green-"

"Yeah, I know," Red interrupted. "Green was pretty confused too, and he told me that there was nothing to be sorry for, and he gave it to me because he wanted to. And I really wanted to accept that answer, but- but then I got confused."

Red paused, as if unsure if he should continue. Blue patted him on the shoulder, which encouraged him. "I- I asked why he kept giving me his food, and he said it was because he wasn't hungry. Even though you've been giving him smaller meals." So the others had noticed as well. "And then I pointed out that I don't really remember the last time I've seen him take a bite of anything. And then he- he-"

Again Red paused, the uncertainty rearing up again. When a nudge didn't help, Blue spoke aloud. "He what, Red?"

"He- he just started saying that everything was fine. No matter what I said, any rebuttals I had were shot down with each insistence. And then- and then I got scared, because- because it felt like I wasn't talking to Green anymore. More like I was talking to a blank wall. And so I kind of ended up running away to my farm, until I couldn't take it anymore, and then I came here," Red finished, a sob escaping him as he truly began to break down.

Blue quickly went to embrace his friend, giving him comforting pats on the back. His mind was elsewhere, though, trying to process what he had heard. It wasn't that Red just unleashed a major revelation onto Blue. It was that Red was able to say out loud what Blue's been worrying about this whole time.

Just then, the bedroom door suddenly opened. Blue and Red instinctively stepped away, pausing only when they saw who exactly had entered. It was Green, who also stilled as he registered the other two stick figures. He may be imagining it, but Blue thought he could smell mushrooms on him.

"Oh," Green said flatly. "Sorry." Then he went to leave. Blue didn't let him though, disentangling himself from Red to grab Green by the shoulders. Red also approached them quickly, his sobs petering down back to a sniffle.

"No," Blue said, his voice hardened. "You can't leave, yet."

Green met his gaze, unimpressed. "I'm-"

"Don't say you're busy. I- we know you're not."

"Do you?"

"You can't be busy during every single invitation we give you," Blue shot back. "You're not even trying with me."

"Come on, Green," Red tried, gazing at the other stick figure pleadingly. "Just tell us what's wrong."

Green looked between Red and Blue, his expression unreadable save for a hint of uncertainty. He moved to speak, and for a brief, hopeful moment, Blue expected for him to finally confess what was going on, and then the three of them, along with the rest of the Gang, would reconcile.

Just as he appeared to start speaking, something in Green changed, and not in a good way. His posture slumped, and his expression went from unreadable to what Blue could only describe as empty.

"Everything is fine," he said, his tone matching his expression well. Despite there being a complete lack of force to it- or maybe, because of it- Blue couldn't help but step back, Red following along.

"That's complete bull," Blue tried.

Green didn't react to that. "Everything is fine," he only said. Just like how Red described.

"You-"

"Everything is fine," Green repeated again, brushing off the hand on his shoulder. Despite it being his, Blue could barely feel the sensation. He could only watch as Green left, leaving him and Red staring at where Green had been.

Silence reigned.

And then Blue spoke.

"You were wrong, Red."

Said stick figure startled, glancing at Blue in a panic. As for Blue, he was still staring at the empty space Green was apparently in. "H-huh?"

"It wasn't like talking to a blank wall. Walls are solid, even if they have nothing on them. Talking to Green was more like talking to a gh-"

Blue stopped himself because, no, even that comparison wasn't enough. He started again. "It was like I wasn't talking to anyone. Like he wasn't even there."

"I'm scared," Red whispered, rubbing his face.

"Yeah," Blue muttered back, still staring. "Me too."

From there, things escalated. Now, Green wasn't just rejecting Blue's invites. He was outright avoiding Blue at all times.

It wasn't just Blue that was affected, either. He was also doing it to Red, albeit seemingly to a lesser extent. But he's beginning to stop showing up at group hang-outs, be it just chilling on the couch or watching videos. As for where he went, no one had a clue. And though the others appeared reluctant to mention Green when they hanged out together, it was clear his absence was felt.

As for Blue, he was pissed. He had enough of this, he decided. He wasn't going to sit back and watch Green as he drifted away from the rest of them. No, he was ready to confront him directly, to tear whatever was wrong with him out of his body, if needed be.

So, with this in mind, he stormed to where Green's house as located in the Minecraft world. Green was present there, as Blue suspected; it was one of the only places Blue knew of where Green could be found these days. He was standing in front of his house, probably studying its latest renovation.

Blue didn't hesitate, just marched straight up to Green. "We need to talk," he said, making sure his tone didn't allow for any opposition. Still, he was unsettled to find Green simply turned to face him, with no other response.

"Green," Blue began, then stopped. His vision was only briefly on Green's house, but something about it caught his attention. Its dimensions, they were-

"Green, did you make your house smaller?"

Blue waited for an answer, then, when he got none, turned back to Green. The other stick figure was vacantly looking at the house as well. Seeing that he was being watched again, Green hummed a flat affirmative.

"Why?"

Green shrugged, not taking his eyes off his house. "Didn't need any extra space," he explained.

Extra space, Blue thought hysterically. Extra space. According to Green, that apparently meant a house any bigger than four-by-four, with a ceiling height only slightly big enough to contain a slouching stick figure. Approaching the house, Blue took a peek inside through the hole in the door. There was a bed on the wall opposite of the door, with a chest right next to it. No other furniture was there, not even a crafting table. How could such a simple sight inspire so much dread?

Blue knew how. A complete lack of any personalized items, anything that signified this house belonged to Green. This house pretty much belonged to no one.

Frantically looking around, Blue then noticed a big chest sitting outside, a few blocks away from the house. He approached it the same way he approached the house, pausing once he reached it to see if Green would protest. When he didn't, Blue opened the lid and peered inside.

Inside the chest was a vast array of items: weapons, maps, blueprints, furniture, note blocks. Every single CD in Minecraft, a collection Green had proudly showed off to everyone once he managed to find them all. Even his beloved jukebox-

Blue slammed down the chest lid, breathing hard. He didn't want to turn around, not wanting to see Green blankly watching him, but neither did he want to see anymore of the chest's contents. Not when he had a terrible guess of why this chest was here.

"Green," he asked anyway. "What's this chest here for?"

"That? Oh, that's some stuff I'm planning to get rid of. Just gonna burn it."

Blue whirled around at that, finding that Green was equipped with flint and steel. He was now walking slowly towards the chest with a sort of dulled determination. He only paused when Blue frantically stuck his arms out, shielding the chest.

"Wait!" he gasped. "Wait, uh-"

Green waited. He didn't lower his flint and steel, but neither did he advance further.

Once Blue managed to catch his breath, he spoke. "Um, you mind letting me have all this, instead?"

Green tilted his head, looking vaguely confused. "Why? It's just junk."

"Well, why not? It'd be a waste to just get rid of it all."

"It's just junk." The dismissive tone Green had against his own treasures made Blue want to argue, but he swallowed it down.

"It's not junk. Not to me. And it can't all be junk, to you."

For a moment, he thought his words had reached Green, the way he straightened. But he only shrugged in response. "Whatever. Take it, I don't care." And then he turned away, moving towards his house.

"Wait." Blue reached forward, grabbing Green's arm. "We're not done here."

"Do you need something to transport the chest? I got some llama spawn eggs, so-"

Blue's grip tightened. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Green's posture slackened, forcing Blue to partially hold him up. He looked up, but he wasn't actually meeting Blue's gaze- more like looking through him. He didn't even try to defend himself, only waiting.

"This whole- thing," Blue began, already struggling to find the words. "The isolation, eating less, not doing anything you enjoyed. It's not right."

"Why's it not right?"

Seriously? How has Green not realized? "Because it's not you, idiot!"

Blue felt Green tense in his grip. "So it's not right that I'm not myself?" His tone had taken on a hard edge. "Even though that was what you wanted?"

Blue froze, suddenly baffled. His grip loosened slightly, enough for Green to rip himself out of the other stick figure's grasp. By the time Blue recovered, Green was inside his house, about to slam the door.

"Wait!" Blue cried. To his relief, Green paused, waiting. "What- what do you mean, this is what I wanted? That's not true at all!"

Green's expression darkened, and his posture shifted to a much more hostile one. It was the most emotion Blue's seen of him as of late, and despite his fear, he couldn't help but be relieved to see it. The next words, though, quickly did away the relief.

"Get out of here. I don't want to see you."

With that, Green slammed the door on Blue's face. He didn't respond to Blue's knocking and banging on the door, gradually increasing in desperation. Even Blue admitting he did need something to carry the chest outside got him two llama spawn eggs chucked outside the door hole, nearly hitting Blue in the face. It was clear Green was done talking.

And so, with a heavy heart, Blue divided the big chest into two smaller chest blocks, mounted them on the llamas, and set off with Green's stuff and a whole lot of regret.

It appeared that Green wasn't just done talking with Blue. He was done talking with anyone since that day.

None of the other Stick Gang had seen any sign of him, save for an occasional glimpse before he disappeared. Not even Purple was able to see him for more than a second. And by now, everyone was very, very worried about Green.

A few days after the incident, Blue had walked in on Yellow and Orange on the couch, quietly chatting with one another. From a distance it appeared to be a casual discussion, but as Blue got closer, he noticed both of his friends' shoulders being hunched, and Yellow was scratching his head intensely, a sign he was frustrated. They were clearly worried, and given recent events, it was obvious who exactly they were talking about.

As Blue watched the two, he felt something that could only be described as courage. For the past few months he'd been keeping quiet about Green's unsettling change in behavior- at first because he thought he was only seeing things, and then later because he'd been afraid if he said anything, it would only get much worse.

But at this point, Green needed an intervention, and Blue needed everyone on board to support him. And for that to happen, they need to be in the know.

Yellow saw Blue approach the couch first, raising a hand in silent greeting as he continued to speak with Orange. Then he actually looked at Blue and whatever he saw on his friend's face had him quieted. Orange also had his gaze on Blue, a strange mix of curiosity and apprehension on his face.

"I need to tell you both something," Blue began. "About Green."

They listened as Blue told them everything that had been going on with Green, starting with Green not eating properly and ending with him slamming the door on Blue's face. The concern on their face grew as the story went on, though they didn't seem that surprised by this information.

Once Blue was finished, he had to take a deep breath. Belatedly, he realized he was sitting on the couch, sandwiched between Yellow and Orange. The former was rubbing his back in a comforting way, which Blue was confused by until he heard his own breaths and realized they sounded closer to sobs.

"I did notice Green was a bit more... subdued, than usual," Yellow began, sensing Blue's relaying was done. He spoke slowly, carefully choosing his next words. "Like the fact he'd been eating less than usual. I thought maybe it was just that the Silverfish incident had left his ego scarred, but... This is clearly something more."

"Yeah," Orange agreed. "And he's been talking much less than before." He hesitated, and Blue glanced at him to find that he was staring off in the distance, his body tense. "Is it weird to say that I miss his boasting and gloating?"

"No," Blue answered immediately, his voice unintentionally raising in volume. "Of course not." He felt, rather than witness, Yellow also giving a nod in response.

"And also," Yellow wondered aloud, "where has Green been, lately? I'm pretty sure none of us have been in his company longer than a second for the past few days. But I can still tell that he's at least present, and he seems to spend most of his time in the Minecraft world, judging by the player count UI. So where is he, then?"

As the three began to ponder on this question, a sudden shout was heard coming from the Folders. The three glanced up, finding that it was Purple flying in, with Red grabbing onto him. The frantic way Purple was flying along with his and Red's fearful expressions had Blue standing up from the couch and heading towards their landing spot, with Yellow and Orange following along.

"Guys!" Red shouted once he let go of Purple, the latter of which appeared to be recovering from having to carry someone in flight. "We- we may have found out where Green's been."

"What?" Blue marched up to Red, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Where?"

Red looked briefly surprised, though it was unclear whether it was due to Blue's intensity or the general atmosphere already being tense. "Well," he began, "I met up with Purple earlier today to go on a little expedition. But it wasn't long after we set off before Purple realized he left something at his and King Orange's house." Red hesitated, glancing at where Blue was gripping his shoulders. Realizing his grip was too tight, Blue eased off slightly, and Red continued. "And so we backtracked to the house, and Purple was about to enter."

"And then I stopped," Purple said, having finally recovered. He was still breathing hard, though it seemed to be more because of what he had saw than anything. "Because I heard someone else in there, besides Dad. So we snuck around to a window and peered inside."

"And that someone else was Green," Yellow finished. Purple nodded gravelly.

"What were they doing in there? Do you guys know?" Blue pressed.

Both Red and Purple shook their heads. "We couldn't hear anything from outside," Purple explained. "Though, it seemed like it was Dad who did most- no, all of the talking. Green wasn't saying anything at all, just listlessly staring at his own bowl of mushroom soup."

Mushroom soup. Blue remembered that Green had smelt like mushrooms back during the conversation in the shared bedroom. "He must've been going there for a while," Blue realized.

"Perhaps since the tournament we did," Yellow posited. "After all, I did notice King tried to talk with Green that day."

The fact Green was still interacting with someone should've brought Blue some relief- and to some extent, it did. But what he felt most was hurt. Did Green really think he had no one else to talk to?

"That's not all." Blue pulled himself out of his thoughts to find Red staring at all of them, trying to seem sturdy despite his trembling body. "We were shocked at first, and Purple was ready to barge in and interrupt whatever they were doing, but then, I had an idea. I thought, hey, since Green isn't home, we could sneak into his house and rummage through his stuff. See if there's a clue for why he's acting the way he is."

Blue did a double take at the confession, and he saw that Orange did the same. It was one thing to be worried for Green, but to invade the privacy of his home, that was dipping into questionable territory. From Red's defiant posture and Purple's more sheepish one, they were clearly aware of what they had done.

"Look, it wasn't the best idea," Purple admitted. "But there didn't seem like there were better options, so I agreed. And I don't regret it, once we saw how Green's house looked."

"It was barely even a house! More like a jail cell disguised as a house. Me and Purple could barely fit in."

Blue's grip tightened again, even further than last. "Was the house sized three-by-three blocks?" he asked urgently.

Red winced, giving Blue a confused look. "No, it was two-by-two. Only had a bed and a chest."

"Was there anything significant inside of the chest?"

Purple shook his head at Orange's question. "His sword, pickaxe, and fishing rod, but that's about it."

"That's because," Red said, managing to wrest himself out of Blue's grasp, "the most 'significant' thing was hidden! Because I happened to look underneath the bed and ended up finding this!"

Red pulled out a piece of paper, holding it out for everyone else to see. On it was only a few words, enlarged to cover the whole page. But the words on it made Blue reel back, stunned by what he was reading.

Be less of Green.

Blue risked a glance at the others. Yellow had straightened, his posture tense as he appeared to be rereading the page. Orange had taken a step back along with Blue, a hand covering the lower half of his face in shock. Even Purple, who had clearly already read the page with Red earlier, was looking away, his fists clenched.

"See?" Red was crying now. "See what I mean?" He was sniffling, his composure breaking as he slumped to the floor, the paper dropping down to the ground as he began to sniffle. Yellow quickly kneeled beside Red, beginning to rub circles on his back like he did earlier with Blue.

"We do," Orange answered, still blankly staring at the paper. "But, what do we do?"

The group, save for Red who was still crying, exchanged uneasy glances with one another. Blue could tell none of them had the brightest idea as to how they could fix this. It frustrated him, even though he wasn't much better. But he was determined to figure something out, no matter what.

Suddenly, Purple gasped, and everyone looked up to find it was Green. Blue briefly experienced relief of seeing him in full, before it was replaced with the familiar unease at seeing Green's blank posture. Everyone remained silent and still as Green slowly walked up to the paper on the floor, picking it up.

"Sorry," he murmured. And then he turned to leave.

Hearing his voice again, a wisp of its former self, finally unfroze Blue. He leaped forward, blocking Green's path. Green paused, his expression unchanging as he stared past Blue.

"No," Blue forced out, "you're not leaving. We need to talk, now."

Green only shook his head. "No, we don't." He tried to move around, only to find the rest of the Stick Gang, along with Purple, had lined up with Blue. If Green was intimidated by this, he didn't show it.

"First off, some questions," Yellow said, gesturing towards the paper. "What's up with the paper?"

Green looked down at the paper, almost looking surprised that it was in his hands. "This? This is just a reminder, for myself."

The casual dismissive tone Green had brought trembles for Blue. "Reminder for what?" he pressed.

Green looked up, instantly locking gazes with Blue. His expression had hardened in focus, his glare having Blue almost step back.

"You know already."

"No I don't, man," Blue shot back, confused. "Tell me."

Suddenly Green barked out a laugh, its bitterness surprising Blue. Beside him, he felt Yellow flinch back.

"Seriously?!" Green kept laughing, each one growing harsher and more painful-sounding. "You've seriously forgotten, have you?"

Blue felt everyone's gaze turn on him, could feel the confusion of everyone else. Blue searched through his mind, trying to remember what Green was talking about.

And then it hit him. The conversation after the note block concert, in the supply closet.

You really just need to chill out, man. It gets too much sometimes.

Oh. Oh, no.

"Green," Blue began, trying to pick his words carefully. "You know I didn't mean that-"

"Cut it, Blue," Green snapped. "You made it pretty clear how you, and everyone else, think of me. I get it."

"No, you don't!" Blue yelled, frantically waving his arms. "That conversation in the closet, I didn't mean-"

Another laugh interrupted Blue, more hysterical than the ones before. Green was now clutching his head, his posture frazzled and looking ready to collapse at any moment.

Orange stepped forward, trying to approach Green carefully. "Hey-"

"What do you want from me?" Green shouted, ignoring Orange. "First you say I'm too much, then you hate it when I dial it back."

"'Dial it back'?!" Red cut in. "More like, you were trying to turn yourself down to zero entirely!"

Red paused, waiting for a rebuttal from Green. When that didn't come, Red stepped back, horrified. The mood, already low, had plummeted into the depths of dread.

"Green." Purple stepped forward hesitantly, watching Green with a pleading gaze. "Tell me that what Red's saying is over-exaggerating."

"What Red's saying is over-exaggerating," Green parroted back. No meaning or emphasis was put behind those words, and they could all hear it.

"Green," Yellow started, then stopped as said stick figure began walking forward. The others instinctively stepped away from Green, afraid. All except Blue.

"This isn't right," Blue pleaded. "This isn't you."

Green only shook his head. "You didn't want me. And that's okay. I realized recently that I don't want me, either."

Before Blue could process what Green had said, the latter suddenly sprung into action, whipping out his fishing rod and launching over the stick figures to the storage folder. Blue was the first to recover, splashing a leaping potion on himself before hopping straight up into the folder. Landing down, he saw he was alone in the window, save for Nether portal that served as a connection between Alan's desktop and the Minecraft world.

Seeing that there was only one place Green must have went, Blue quickly headed through the portal, emerging near the Piglin camp. The Piglins welcomed him warmly, but he didn't have time for small talk. A bit of questioning had them pointing to a nearby Nether portal, the one that led to the world the Stick Gang commonly spend their time in.

Emerging from this portal, Blue began rummaging through his inventory, trying to find a Swiftness potion. By the time he pulled one out, two other stick figures had joined him, that being Purple and Red.

"Yellow and Orange volunteered to stay back and tell Alan what happened," Red explained hurriedly. Blue nodded, though his mind was so focused on Green that he honestly did not care at the moment.

"You two search through the skies. I'll stick on the ground." Receiving two nods, Red grabbed onto Purple as the latter ignited a firework. Once the two were off, Blue downed the potion in one go before taking off.

It wasn't hard to figure out the first place to look. If that paper belonged underneath Green's bed, then surely he must want to return it to its rightful place. So Blue set off towards Green's house, nimbly dodging the trees and various grazing mobs.

The moment he reached the clearing, Blue skidded to a halt. He took a moment to catch his breath, looked up, and froze in shock. Behind him, he heard Purple land with Red, with both of them stilling as they saw what was in front of them.

There was no house, no evidence it was there in the first place. Empty air replaced where the structure once was. That, and a dark patch on the ground.

Blue approached this patch, at first thinking the darkness was simply some wool blocks dyed black. But as he got closer, he realized there were no subtle features characteristic of wool to be found in this blackness. It reminded Blue more of the 'blocks' on the desktop ground.

Unless... having gotten close enough to the patch, Blue kneeled down and tried to press his hand into the dark patch. Sure enough, his hand didn't stop, but rather went into the darkness.

This wasn't just a weird patch on the ground. It was a patch of nothingness- a hole.

Purple, who had also gotten closer to the hole along with Red, gasped at what he was witnessing. Red, meanwhile, had his gaze upward, still gawking at where the house should've been.

"I don't understand," he whispered. "How- where did it go?"

Blue shook his head, equally baffled. "I don't know. But since the hole's where the house was, I'm guessing this had something to do with it."

"Like, the hole made the house disappear?"

"Or swallowed it up," Purple added.

Blue shook his head, readying to stand up- then paused. Just now, he swore he heard something come from the hole. Positioning himself so his head hanged just over the hole, he listened hard.

There. A slight breeze coming from the hole- at least, at first glance that was what it sounded like. But listening hard enough, the breeze was actually a voice. And that voice belonged to-

"Green!" Blue gasped. He nearly scrambled forward into the hole, if not for Purple and Red quickly grabbing and dragging him back. Blue struggled in their grasp for a bit, but he quickly stilled once he realized what he had almost done.

"I heard Green down there," Blue explained quickly, half because of the discovery and half because he had to reassure the other stick figures' panic. They relaxed, though they exchanged wary glances with each other.

"So you think Green's down there?" Purple said carefully.

"Why else would I hear his voice?"

"Well, what did he say?"

"It was too quiet," Blue admitted. "Couldn't make anything out."

Red pushed forward, gazing defiantly at the hole. "If Blue says he hears Green down there, I believe him," he said firmly. "So what are we waiting for? Let's-"

"BOYS! STEP AWAY!"

Startled, the three stick figures whipped around to face the newcomer. At first hidden by the trees, Blue could make out their features as they entered the clearing. A taller stick figure, colored a dull orange.

"King Orange!" Blue and Red shouted, along with Purple's "Dad!" They ran up to King Orange, Purple hugging him once close enough. King Orange returned it easily, giving the other two stick figures an exasperated look.

"I told you boys not to call me that," he said. He often said this a lot post-redemption, to the point of becoming a greeting to the other stick figures. But the thing with titles is that they tended to stick, so besides Purple, the others just called him King Orange, or King for short.

This time, Blue noted that, though his tone tried to remain casual, there was a tremor in his voice. Along with the frantic glances he was giving the hole, it was clear he was afraid. "Now, let's get away from here, okay?"

King then tried leading Purple away, gesturing for the others to follow. But Purple resisted, and Blue and Red stayed put.

"No way," Blue said simply. "We're not leaving here. Not without Green."

King winced at that. "Blue-"

"Dad!" Purple protested. "Green might be in there. We have to help him."

"You don't know if he's actually in there." That was unfortunately true, but something about the way King Orange said that had Blue perk up. Red also must have noticed, because he glared hard at the older stick figure.

"And how do you know that? Actually, what are you doing so close to Green's h- er, where Green's house used to be? This doesn't have anything to do with you having Green over, does it? I bet you were trying to bring him over to the dark side-"

"Red!" Purple gasped at the accusations, lightly shoving him. "Dad's not like that at all, and you know it. I doubt he'd do it even before he stopped being evil."

Blue briefly wondered whether he should bring up King's attempt to bring him and Yellow on his side, but decided that it wasn't important right now.

Red slumped a bit, clearly regretting what he said. "Sorry. I don't believe it, either. But then, why was Green visiting you, then?"

King Orange sighed, leaning on a nearby tree. His gaze was locked in the direction of the clearing where Green's house was in. The younger stick figures waited.

"It was during that tournament you all were holding, the one where Green decided to sit out," he began. "Despite offering to do so, he seemed, well, troubled. By what exactly, I had no clue, and my attempts at asking him were met with silence. So I made an offer."

"An offer?"

"Well, though I couldn't exactly hear the argument you boys were having, it wasn't hard to assume his troubles had something to do with his relationship with you all."

Blue flinched. That wasn't too far off the mark, really

"So I offered that, if he ever wanted to spend time away from his friends, he can always hang out with me alone at my house in Minecraft. No reasons or motives needed for a visit." King Orange chuckled, its sound strained. "He didn't respond to the offer, and honestly, I was kind of expecting for it to be ignored. But he did, albeit a few days after the offer was made."

"What happened during those visits?" Blue asked.

"Honestly? For most visits, he didn't try and talk. I tried engaging him in conversation the first few times, but when he only poked at his mushroom soup, I realized he wasn't up to it. So usually I end up rambling about my day, some activities I did with Purple-" Said stick figure looked almost embarrassed, "-and some other stuff."

"You say 'most visits' and 'usually'," Blue noticed, latching onto this particular wording. "Were there moments he did speak?"

King Orange nodded, his posture gravely stiff. "Yes, though they were few and far between. And what little words he did speak were... confusing."

"How so?"

"Well... once, he muttered to himself that his friends were right about something, and he wouldn't say what. And, a few days ago from now, he asked me how to become less."

Blue sucked in a breath, stunned.

"How often did he visit?" Red asked then.

"And how come I've never seen him?" Purple added. "I live there too, I should've at least been able to see him in passing."

King only shook his head. "He was pretty good at predicting your routine."

"Fine. Then, why didn't you tell me he was there, dad?"

Another heavy sigh. "I did want you guys to know. But when I even suggested this, Green panicked and threatened to stop visiting." King Orange rubbed his head, setting his gaze on the younger figures. "By then, it was clear there was some kind of rift between him and you all. And from what I could tell, he had no one else to fall back on."

There was no accusation in King Orange's voice. That didn't stop the guilt curdling within Blue. From the way the others were now fidgeting, they felt the same.

"You boys asked why I happened to be here," King continued, realizing the others were unable to respond. "Well, something nagged at me about the last visit. Whether it was Green's even more sullen behavior than usual, or seeing both of you trying to spy on him through the window."

Purple and Red both startled at that. "You saw us?" Purple spoke.

King Orange gave his adopted son a bemused glance. "Yes. You and Red weren't exactly subtle in your sneaking."

Purple sheepishly scratched his head at that, his worries briefly forgotten. They were quick to return though, once King continued.

"So once Green left, I walked over to Green's house. It took me a while, both because I was walking and because I hadn't known where exactly it was, but I eventually found it. He wasn't there, so I was prepared to enter to an empty house, but-"

"Wait," Red interrupted, gaping at the older stick figure. "You were also thinking of breaking into his house?"

Now it was King's turn to look sheepish. "Well, I was concerned, so- Wait, you also did what I tried?"

"I didn't," Blue couldn't help but chime in. "Those two did, though."

"Yeah, we did!" Red said, unashamed.

King huffed out a breath, looking vaguely amused. "Right. In any case, right before I entered, I hear someone stumble out of the forest. I turn around, finding it was Green, who looked to be in bad shape, psychologically. He shoved me out of the way to get inside-"

King paused, lost in thought. "Actually, I want to say he wasn't even aware I was there. He just... collapsed onto the floor, muttering to himself. Didn't even look up when I let myself in, kneeling beside him. He was holding a paper, I remember, and on it was-"

"'Be less of Green', right?" Blue said, remembering what the same paper earlier. King Orange's answer was unexpected.

"Not quite. It only had the words 'Be less' on it. The rest appeared to be inked out... but given what I saw next, I highly doubt it was just ink."

The tremor in King Orange's voice returned, and Blue saw that he was breathing heavily, each instance more strained than the last. Purple placed a reassuring hand on his surrogate dad's shoulder. "What did you see, dad?"

"I saw-" King Orange choked on a breath, and his gaze locked onto the ground beneath him. "I saw Green begin sinking into the floor below. I- I tried to help at first, but then the floor suddenly turned black, and he was just sinking down into it, unresponsive, and I couldn't-"

King took deep, heavy breaths. His fists were clenched. "Next thing I knew, I was outside. The house was gone, swallowed. I couldn't look at that- that thing. So I went into the forest to try and recover. And it wasn't long after that I heard you boys."

The recollection finished, King fell silent, giving the others a moment to try and process this new information. Eventually he spoke again, his tone hardened. "I don't want you boys going anywhere near that thing."

"What?!"

"What about Green?!"

"Yeah! We can't just abandon him. We won't!"

"Dad, please-"

Besides a wince at how loud the younger stick figures were, King remained implacable. He turned his gaze to Blue, first. "I saw you putting your hand in that hole," he said. "You were planning on just jumping down there, were you?"

No point in denying it, Blue supposed. "Well," he tried, "we don't actually know if it's dangerous or not."

"You think the hole, that swallowed up your friend and his house, is not dangerous," King Orange repeated, unimpressed.

"It could be!" Purple defended. "At least, it doesn't seem like it's growing any bigger. Or doing anything, really."

"No."

"Dad-"

"Purple, please." Said stick figure paused at the direct plead. King was clutching his son now, and Blue could see this grip tightening in fear. "I don't want to lose you, too. Any of you, as a matter of fact. Please."

"Dad..."

Purple embraced his dad tightly, which the latter quickly returned. Red looked away, his posture looking as guilty as Blue felt. Eventually, King pulled away with a sniff.

"But then, what do we do next?" Blue asked.

King Orange took a moment before answering. "First, we should get your other friends here. Where are they?"

"They're at the desktop screen, waiting for Alan," Red chimed in suddenly. "I can lead you to there, if you want."

"That would be good," King agreed. He turned to the other two stick figures. "You two stay here, okay?"

Once Blue and Purple mumbled their agreements, he looked back at Red. "Ready to go?"

"Wait," Red said quickly. He ran up to Purple, giving him a sudden hug. It lasted barely a second before Red let go, running off and shouting for King to follow. King gave his surrogate son a questioning glance and, receiving a shrug in response, shook his head and made his way to follow.

A few moments passed in silence, with Blue and Purple just standing there. Blue was looking in the direction of where the hole was, thinking.

"We need to go in that hole."

Blue startled slightly, at first thinking his thoughts were spoken out loud. But it was Purple who said that, who was currently staring at Blue with a determined look.

"What? What about your promise to stay here?"

"What about yours?" Purple shot back. "I noticed how you didn't put any heart in that 'okay'."

Good point. "But, your dad-"

"-would never let us anywhere near it, as long as he's here," Purple interrupted. "Red knew too, I can tell. It's why he snuck me these."

Purple pulled some things out of his inventory, letting Blue see. It was a few chicken spawn eggs, a rope tied around each instance. "They're to make sure you don't take fall damage," Blue said, remembering their use during the Ultimate Minecart Race.

Purple nodded. "And why else would Red give me these, if he didn't want us to go?"

"Down the hole?"

"What, you don't want to go?"

Blue bristled at that. Of course he wanted to, he needed to find Green. "Of course I do," Blue retorted. But if he put Purple in danger, therefore betraying King's trust, he would never forgive himself.

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go save Green!"

"But-"

"No! No buts!" Purple's voice had risen in volume to a shout, startling the nearby mobs away. "If we don't act now, it might be too late! What if, by the time the rest come, Green's just- gone? I can't let that happen! I won't, I-"

Purple cut himself off with a gasp as Blue suddenly embraced him. He then let out a sob, returning the embrace. They stayed like that for a moment, Purple crying and Blue close to.

Eventually, Purple pulled away, wiping at his face. Despite his shaken demeanor, he also seemed triumphant, aware he had won this argument. He was coming, and there was nothing Blue could do about it.

Well, he didn't want to, anyway. Not anymore. Not when Green was at stake.

They began the walk towards the hole.

By the time they approached the hole again, a plan was formed. Blue would hold onto Purple as they jumped into the hole, with the latter's elytra on to act as a makeshift parachute, in case they happened to plummet straight to the ground immediately upon entrance. And if they don't, they'll use the roped chicken spawn eggs to break any fall once they saw incoming ground.

In all honesty, it wasn't a very good plan. But it did exist.

"Ready?" Purple said, once they were standing right at the edge. The forced casualness of his voice did nothing to hide the encroaching anxiety he must be feeling. Blue very much shared in that sentiment, but-

"Yeah," Blue nodded, holding onto Purple. "Let's go save Green."

"On one, two-"

The countdown ended with a yelp instead of a 'three', as Purple jumped into the hole, bringing Blue along with him. On instinct Blue covered his eyes with his free hand, afraid of what he would see- or think he would see- in the darkness.

"Blue," he heard Purple hiss. "Look around you!"

Blue really, really did not want to. But Purple didn't sound scared, so... Reluctantly, his vision returned, and he saw-

Nothing. A black nothingness surrounded the two stick figures on all sides. As far as Blue could tell, he could only see himself and Purple in this strange abyss. No signs of Green- not yet, at least.

"Strange," Purple muttered. Blue looked at him, surprised that he seemed rather calm. Catching the gaze, Purple explained: "I've actually been in a space like this before. Back when I got beamed."

"Really?" Blue asked, a little unsettled at the casual tone Purple had when referring to his (temporary) death.

"Yeah. Except, there was a spotlight up above where I ended up, shining a circle of light on me. And there were also orchid petals. And eventually, Dad showed up." Purple hesitated, perhaps realizing how odd his description was. "Huh. Now that I think about it, it was pretty weird."

"No kidding," Blue agreed. "I don't see anything around us, though."

"We've been falling for quite a while- though, it really doesn't feel like falling," Purple said. "I hope there's ground soon, if-"

Purple cut himself off with a yelp as the two stick figures abruptly collided with something. The force of the impact had Blue tumbling out of Purple's grasp, rolling a few feet away before stopping. Blue groaned as he got up, assessing himself and surprised to find nothing really hurt. Purple didn't seem hurt either, as he easily got up as well, although he was grimacing.

"Jeez," Purple muttered. Then, louder, "You alright, Blue?"

"Yeah, I'm all good. You?"

"Same here. Um, sorry for not using the spawn eggs. It's just-"

"No, it was real sudden," Blue reassured him, looking down at the ground that they smashed into. A floor they could not actually see, which blended seamlessly into this void. But it was solid, and they could easily stand on it, so it must be ground.

"So, what do we do now?"

Blue had to think for a moment. In all honesty, he was hoping Green would show up once they found ground, and they would share a group hug before returning to the surface.

But Green was still gone, and save for the barely-present sounds of Green's voice, there was no other evidence he was here.

"I guess... I guess we should start moving."

Purple hummed in agreement, and the two began walking in the same direction, taking care to look around for any sign of Green. But there were no signs of anything as far as Blue could see. Even looking up had Blue realizing there was no light shining from the surface, which must meant they fell really far. Although, how could either of them really tell how far they fell, or how much time had passed? What if the light just stopped existing here, or maybe never existed at-

"I don't like this place at all," Purple whispered, snapping Blue out of his spiraling thoughts. "It's just- I wish there were other things here besides us- not just Green, but anything."

"Maybe they're just hidden." Though entities hidden in this place would make for a new problem. Especially if they're hostile.

"Maybe," Purple repeated with a sigh. "Still, I wish there was something to help illuminate this place."

Right as Purple said that, Blue's vision was suddenly filled with white. It took a moment for it to adjust, and he looked up, finding that somewhere above, a light was shining onto Blue and Purple. It didn't do much, only illuminating the space around from black to a dark ashen gray, but it was there.

Both stick figures gaped at the sight. Purple even rubbed his forehead, completely baffled. As for Blue, the gears in his mind were turning, eventually concluding in a revelation. He turned towards Purple.

"Purple, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Met with a shrug, Blue pushed forth. "You wished for us to reach ground, it instantly came. You wished for some light, it instantly appeared. So..."

Realization dawned in Purple, and he straightened up. "So if we wish for Green-" He cut himself off, holding his breath. They both waited in anticipation.

Nothing happened. The sudden hope in Blue dimmed at that, and he could see from the way Purple's shoulders slumped slightly that he felt the same.

But Blue refused to give up. "Maybe we need to wish harder." Blue looked directly at the light, which didn't hurt his vision. "I wish for Green to be here," he said aloud, his mind only on Green. At first it seemed there was again a lack of result, but-

There! A faint sensation, what felt like a slight breeze- but there was no wind here. That must mean-

"I felt him, just now," Blue breathed. "I think we just need to think harder for him. Like, really focus your thoughts on him."

Purple nodded, dipping his head in concentration. Blue could barely hear him muttering pleas to see Green again. Though Blue was unsure if verbally saying it had any impact, he joined in anyway.

The sensation of a presence grew as they did so. Judging by the way Purple was speeding up with his wishes, he was beginning to feel it too. Blue could feel his own thoughts growing more desperate as he kept on wishing.

Please, I want- no, need to find Green. I need him back, please, just let me see him, please-

"Blue! Look there!"

Blue startled, looking at where Purple was pointing. His vision cleared- when did it get so blurry?- and at first, he couldn't see whatever Purple was seeing. There only seemed to be darkness ahead.

But then, Blue saw it. An outline of green, barely noticeable amongst the black. It reminded Blue of Orange's body, except the outline was much thinner and obscured by black. And the shape of this outline, the same height as Blue and Purple, along with having the same shape-

"GREEN!" Blue lurched towards the outline, thinking he would be caught. Instead, he was met only with empty air and the 'ground.' He didn't let that stop him, though, picking himself back up and reaching out towards the outline. "Green!"

The outline- Green, it must be him- didn't respond. He only stood there, staring at the two stick figures. Behind him, Blue could feel Purple slowly come up, though he kept his gaze on Green.

"Green," Purple whispered, awed. He reached forward like Blue did, though he hesitated, dropping his arm partway through. Looking at where Purple was staring, Blue could see why: despite the latter's hand extending all the way towards Green, it didn't look like he was actually touching him. Indeed, despite the distance they must have closed by running towards Green, it still felt like there was a prominent gap between him and the other stick figures.

"Purple, Blue," Green said. His voice was very, very quiet. It couldn't even be described as a whisper; more like someone had lowered the volume of his voice to near-zero. It was so faint that Blue had to strain his hearing to catch it, similar to when he first heard his voice coming from the hole.

"You shouldn't be here," Green continued. The outline of his arm made a listless gesture away from the rest of himself. "You should leave."

Blue shook his head immediately. "No without you," he declared. "We're taking you back with us, Green."

The outline's head did a vague motion, what Blue interpreted as a head tilt. "Green," he echoed. "Who is Green?"

Blue felt his chill run down his spine.

Purple pushed forth. "That's you, Green. That's your name, it's who you are."

"No it's not. Not anymore."

"Yes it is!" Purple shouted, an edge of desperation now in his voice. "Come on, Green, let's just get out of here. This place, it must be messing with your mind-"

"No."

"No?"

"It's not messing with my mind," Green said emptily. "It's not doing anything at all. It's only giving me a chance to stop being him." As he said this, Blue could see the outline of his left leg recede into the darkness.

Without thinking, Blue dove forward again, as if he could somehow prevent it from happening. But he paused when Purple placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a head shake when he looked at him.

Trying to calm down, Blue took a deep breath. "Green, no. I- this can't be what you want."

"It's not."

Blue looked up, surprised at the blunt admittance. "It's not?"

"I don't want for anything- save for what you all wanted. And you wanted for no more Green."

Blue reeled back, as if struck. If Purple hadn't still had his hand on his shoulder, he would have fallen on his bottom. "I didn't say that at all," Blue could only say.

"You didn't say that to him," Green conceded. "But what is not heard can still be understood through witnessing actions- or inaction. Blowing up Green's structures during contests, refusing to help him during the concert- they had to come from somewhere, didn't they? You had enough of Green. And so, here I am."

Hearing all of this come out of Green felt like a sucker punch. It didn't help the tone he had sounded almost resigned, accepting of his fate. As if his cessation of existence was inevitable. And as Blue thought this, he swore the top of the outline's head merged into black.

No, no, no. Blue kept his mind focused on what Green looked like, in hopes it would at least halt this disappearance for a while. "It's not true," he could only say.

"It's okay. Green took a while to understand too, about the spotlight."

"Spotlight?" Purple questioned.

"What shone on Green constantly, filling him with the desire to be seen. He realized from Blue that nobody liked it, so he tried to dim the light. But for some reason, his friends got worried for him, and it kept the light fixed. Then he realized: it would allways stay on, so long as he remained himself. So he went to turn it off. And hopefully, it'll stay that way."

It took a while for Blue to figure out what Green was saying, but once he understood, he felt horrible. Was Green only doing this because he thought it was what his friends wanted? Sure, Green's arrogance often put him in opposition with the others, but he must have known that they still cared for him.

But thinking back to the very first Build contest, how Blue's reaction to Green upstaging him was to chuck a TNT block at his winning creation, left Blue feeling sick.

As if reading Blue's mind, Green's voice, still dulled and un-Green-like, took on a more sympathetic tone. "It's not your fault, you know. Or anyone else's for that matter- except Green's, of course. This is what he wanted."

Silence.

"That's not quite right."

It was Purple who said that, ending silence's reign. Blue looked at him, surprised to find the other stick figure staring at Green with his shoulders squared, as if ready to fight. It reminded Blue of the stand-off in the Nether, back when Purple was the Stick Gang's enemy. This time, though, his posture seemed more determined, rather than desperate.

"What is?" Green said.

"That you wanted this. You may think it's true, and maybe, to some extent, it is. But the fact we're talking here with you now implies otherwise."

Something in the atmosphere shifted. The outline of Green moved slightly that seemed innocuous at first glance, but the movement looked to Blue like he was stiffening. It grabbed Blue's attention in an instant.

"You don't know what you're saying," Green said flatly, though Blue could swear he could hear an edge of an emotion he couldn't identify.

"Yes, I do," Purple said, and the knowing tone his voice took suggested he had heard the edge as well. "I was in a very similar space like this, after all."

"After you got 'beamed'," Blue recalled. Did the outline flinch at that?

Purple nodded. "I don't know if this place is the same as what I experienced, but I do remember finding myself walking in an endless darkness, just like this. There were a few things that existed there besides myself: a smaller spotlight, orchid petals raining down from where the light shone, and... eventually, King Orange- my Dad."

Blue could hear Green suck in a breath, though in this space it would've easily been mistaken for a light breeze. Such a small noise, yet it was beginning to make Blue hope.

"And I remember," Purple continued, his voice taking on a wistful sadness, "I remember thinking I had no one left to save me. Even you, Green, you'd be too busy trying to stop the void than to help- which I don't fault, by the way. But I remember thinking that maybe it was time I give up, so the next thing I did was curl up in the spotlight, waiting for cessation.

"And yet, even as I seemingly accepted my fate, I kept wishing. Wishing for someone to come and comfort me- just like you did, Green." It was near impossible to tell, but the outline appeared to step back at that. "At first it was my mom, even though she was dead. And she couldn't appear, though the petals that started to rain down reminded me of her.

"And then I started wishing for my dad. First it was my actual dad- Navy- then it was King Orange, then both of their appearances blended together in my mind, until I was wishing for either of them. Even though I thought neither of them would come"

Purple took in a deep breath. Blue couldn't help but be amazed at how calm the other figure was being despite the the emotional retelling. "Or so I thought, because eventually, I heard someone run towards me. Thought it was Navy at first, and I even swore I saw his deep blue color- but it turned out to be King Orange."

He shook his head. "But honestly, it doesn't matter who exactly came for me. What matters is that even though I thought there was no hope for me, deep, deep down, I still wished for someone to be there with me. And it came true.

"And I think the same applies to you, Green."

Green reared back as if struck. Something receded, except this time, it was the darkness, revealing more color.

"It's not the same," Green tried.

"Not exactly the same, sure. But the fact you're reacting this much tells me you can see the similarities. You want to be saved."

"It's not!" Green shot back. His voice was a bit louder now, more his regular speaking volume rather than his shouting voice. "It's completely different. You didn't deserve it, not like m- like Green did."

"Why do you think Green did?"

"Because he- because Green- ugh!" Frustration was beginning to creep into Green's voice. "Because I just do, okay?! For being who I am- was."

"And what were you like?"

Green froze, turning towards the speaker- that being Blue. Witnessing the signs that his Green was still there gave him strength. Strength to push forth his own argument.

"Because I can tell you," Blue continued, not waiting for a response. "You're the most skilled out of all of us, barring maybe Orange. You excel at building, making music, and fighting, all three of which you love immensely."

The outline of Green was beginning to tremble. "Stop."

"You tend to show off a lot, especially when you're fighting with that fishing rod of yours. But you also know when to take things seriously, and you adapt well to any situation. No matter what, you always look out for us."

"Even when we think it's undeserved," Purple added softly.

It appeared Green was clutching his head, as if in agony. "It's never undeserved," he could only choke out.

"And, okay, the rest of us do get petty at how much you outclass us in. More often than not, your ego puts us at odds against you. But we all love you despite it- no, because of it. Or at least, I definitely do."

Despite the current situation, Blue couldn't help but be flustered at his own admission. Green, meanwhile, let out a strangled noise. More patches of green were appearing, with a majority of his body becoming visible again.

"You said earlier that you're doing this for your friends- us, right?" Blue continued, growing more intense. "But the thing is, I don't think disappearing's what you truly want. You don't want to go. So, what is it you actually want?"

"Please," Green begged hoarsely.

Blue only shook his head, reaching forward again. "What is it you really want?" he repeated gently. "Tell us, Green. Please."

The response didn't come at first. By now, the only part of Green that still obscured. Still, the way he just stood there silently made Blue feel a little nervous.

And then Green's posture crumpled, and he let out a sob. "I want- I want to be with my friends. With you all. I want- to go home."

With that, the last of the darkness faded off of Green's head- well, it's more accurate to say Green's head moved in front as he slumped forward. Blue was barely able to dive forward fast enough to catch the stick figure. Green immediately wrapped his arms around him, gripping desperately onto the other figure, and Blue easily returned the embrace. "I don't want to go," Green cried.

"It's okay," Blue whispered, barely heard over Green's sobs. "We don't want that, either. We'd rather have too much of you than none at all."

Purple didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Him joining in the hug was enough.

Eventually, the hug had to end, though Green still stayed stubbornly latched onto Blue. The latter didn't mind. Far from it. If he could, he would've stayed in that hug forever.

But as it was, Blue would prefer a hug back in the world they're familiar with, the one above the hole. So Blue stood up, Green in tow, and Purple followed along. They looked around, finding that nothing of the dark scenery sans the spotlight had changed.

"So... what now?" Blue began, trying not to sound too nervous, "How do we get out?"

"Umm... not really sure, actually ," Purple responded, looking around while scratching his head. "Maybe-"

Hello?

Both stick figures startled, with Purple nearly jumping a foot off the ground. Blue probably would have reacted the same way, if not for Green weighing him down. They both drew their swords, trying to find the source of that sudden noise-

Except, it wasn't a noise. There was no actual sound waves to it- yet, Blue still heard it. It felt like this 'noise' came from all around them, and at the same time, it felt like it was coming from the same spot where Green had been.

Blue tightened his grip on both his sword and Green, holding the latter close and away from the blade. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Sorry, can't exactly do that.

Again, it happened. It was speech that Blue could understand, sure, but it wasn't actually audible. It was more as if thoughts were suddenly appearing in his mind, ones that didn't belong to him. It didn't feel malicious, but it certainly felt unsettling.

Blue felt Green shift in his arms. Looking down, he saw that Green had lifted his head slightly, enough to meet the other's gaze. He looked exhausted.

"It's okay. He won't hurt us."

Before Blue could ask for elaboration, Green's head dropped back down, resting on his shoulder. Blue looked up uncertainly at the darkness beyond.

He's right. I won't hurt you guys. Unless, of course, you want me to.

Blue gulped. If this was an attempt at reassurance, it had fallen way off the mark. "What's your name?"

A name, huh. I feel as if I have a multitude of names, yet at the same time, I've never possessed a single one.

A pause.

Although, the one given by your friend is a decent enough one. In that case, you may call me Null.

The darkness shifted. Blue instinctively stepped back, with Purple following suit. Strange, how the darkness seemed to remain the same after the shift. And yet, Blue's also certain he can see someone there. Another stick figure, about the same height as the others, black color blending seamlessly into the surrounding abyss.

Or maybe Blue's just seeing things.

"Right then... Null. So you're not gonna, like, trap us here forever, or anything?"

Seeing that you don't seem to want that at all, no.

"Even though you pulled Green into here." This one was from Purple, who was eying the figure with distrust.

More like he pulled himself into me. I wasn't even aware of him until he was fully nested within myself.

A pause.

In fact, I don't even think I possessed this level of awareness before. Not until your friend arrived, at least.

"What, so you were mindless?"

Not just that. After all, you can be mindless and still exist.

Another pause, allowing for Blue to try and work with the implications of this. "So... you just didn't exist? At all?"

Nope. And even now, I still don't.

Purple scratched his head, confused. "Then, what are you?"

Well, before you all arrived, I was nothing. Right now, I'm still nothing, but I have something approximating a consciousness.

"And that's because of us?"

Most likely. If I had to guess, the cause is from your friend nearly ceasing his own existence.

Blue felt himself flinch at that, and he could see Purple react the same. Green only clutched tighter onto Blue.

"Was that what would've happened?" Blue whispered. In response, the stick figure Blue thought he could perceived shrugged.

If you two didn't arrive and talk him out of it, yes.

"What if- do you know what would've happened if he stopped existing fully?"

No clue. Just because the future doesn't exist doesn't mean I can still tell it. Although... I wonder if you'd be able to remember him once he merged fully with the darkness? After all, true darkness is impossible to remember.

The voice- non-voice?- had a nonchalant tone to it, which didn't help Blue feel less gutted about hearing this worst-case scenario. Losing Green forever was one thing, but not even being able to remember him...

Would the universe try and remove any evidence of Green ever being, had it happened? Or would it be left there, leaving the rest of the Stick Gang to wonder about the magnificent structures they didn't build, the extra bed they had in the bedroom?

Blue shuddered. In response, Null appeared to hold out his hands, possibly as a placating gesture.

Relax. There's not much of a point, worrying over the what-could-have-beens. What matters is that you put an end to it.

The only thing Blue could respond to that was a hesitant nod as he hugged Green tighter to himself. From the soft noise Green made, he didn't seem to mind.

Watching the two, Purple cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the nonexistent stick figure. "So, do you know how to get out of here?"

Leaving already?

"Yeah, sorry. Our friends are definitely worried sick up there, looking for us. Dad too."

Well in that case, it's the same situation as with the ground, the light, and Green. Just imagine there is an exit to here, and it'll appear.

Purple nodded, then paused. "What'll happen to you once we're gone?"

Oh? I didn't think you'd be wondering about how I'll end up.

"Well, I mean- you seem to be a nice person. And you mentioned earlier you only became sentient because of other beings inside of this place- you. If we leave-"

Then I'll most likely go back to how I used to be- my default state, really. It's nothing to be sad over, though.

Blue hesitated. "Will we forget you, once we leave?"

I wouldn't be surprised if that occurred.

There was only acceptance present in Null's 'voice', and though he didn't appear happy at the idea of being forgotten, neither did he appear even resigned. This only made Blue feel even more sad.

Purple stepped forward, looking resolved. "We'll miss you," he declared. "Even if we can't remember you."

Really, now. That's thoughtful of you all. But really, you should leave.

Purple's shoulders dropped slightly, and he nodded. Turning to Blue, he gave a questioning glance, silently asking if both of them were ready. Giving a nod, Blue, with Green in tow, walked over to Purple.

"Well," Blue said, glancing at Null, "I guess this is goodbye. It was nice meeting you, Null."

Null didn't answer at first. It was hard to gauge his reaction from posture alone- how can one tell his body from the space around him, seeing as they were one and the same- but Blue wanted to say he looked almost surprised. He appeared to recover, and when he 'spoke', the amusement in his 'voice' was clear.

Who exactly are you talking to?

And before Blue could respond-

-He found himself gasping and raising a hand to shield his vision from the light. It wasn't much, since the sun was beginning to set, but it was enough. Grimacing, he forced his vision to darken, and then, after a few seconds, reluctantly allowed it to return.

His vision back, he saw that he and the others was back in the Minecraft world, specifically the grass clearing where Green's house is. Which, speaking of- Blue looked up and behind himself, finding that the house was back. Not only that, but it appeared to have returned to its original size, before everything went wrong.

Blue snapped his gaze back down and saw that Green was still in his arms. He appeared to be conscious and, judging by the groan he made when Blue poked him, more responsive than back in that-

Back in... back in where, exactly?

As Blue pondered this sudden question that didn't seem to have an answer, he heard shouts nearby. Looking up, he saw it was the others- Yellow, Orange, Red, and King Orange. They all ran up to the three other figures, relief and shock evident. King was the fastest, quickly at Purple's side and patting down the latter's body.

Purple, who was trying to sit upright, tried to bat at him. "Dad, I'm-"

"Why didn't you stay put?"

The hard tone made Purple freeze, and he hesitantly met the gaze of King. The older stick figure didn't look angry, but he was clearly serious.

"I told you to stay put," King repeated himself. "And I expected you to do so. So when I came back with the others, and saw you were missing..." He was breathing heavily, and some of the hardness was fading, revealing what sounded like desperation. "I thought you were gone. You and Blue. I didn't-"

A sob cut him off, from the King himself. He suddenly rushed forward, embracing Purple fully. The younger stick figure let out a surprised yelp but quickly recovered, gently hugging the older. Blue glanced at the others and found that, like King, they were also tearing up. Whether from the touching scene before them or the general situation, he wasn't sure.

"I'm sorry," Purple murmured, barely hearable from where Blue was. "I'm really sorry for worrying you, Dad." Then, a little louder: "But I'm fine now, and so is Blue. And... and we brought Green back."

At that, everyone turned their attention onto Green, who had managed to sit himself up. He still looked out of it, gazing blearily at his surroundings. Once he realized everyone was staring at him, he raised up a tentative hand.

"Hi?"

Red's response was immediate, practically tackling Green and nearly toppling him over. Yellow was next to approach him, taking out a water potion and holding it out. After a few seconds of staring blankly at it, Green accepted the offer, taking big gulps of the water.

Orange was the last, his steps toward Green more hesitant. He stopped a block away from the latter and, once Green's gaze turned to him, fell to his knees. Everyone gasped, and even Green looked surprised at the action.

Orange bowed his head. "Green, I'm sorry. We're sorry that we made you feel like that. Where you thought you were unwanted by us." He was beginning to sniffle, and he threw a hand over his face, looking away. "That's so far from the truth, it's not even funny. You belong here, man. With us."

Green's shoulders loosened, his whole posture softening. Gently peeling Red off of himself, he approached Orange carefully. Once close enough, he easily embraced Orange, who returned it instantly.

"It's okay," Green said, rubbing Orange's back as the latter began to weep. "I don't blame any of you guys."

"You should."

"Maybe," he conceded. "But I don't. Not after seeing proof that you all care. Not after realizing I was so far into my head that I didn't see the signs beforehand. So no, it's none of your guys' fault."

Hearing that, Blue couldn't help but wince. Sure, Green may not blame anyone for what happened, but the fact remains that there was one person who unwittingly suggested Green was 'too much'.

Perhaps sensing his doubt, Green's gaze locked onto Blue's. "That includes you too, Blue."

Blue sucked in a breath. He wanted to look away, but the intensity in Green's stare made it impossible. "I don't deserve it."

Green snorts at that, unimpressed. "And I thought I didn't deserve to be here with you all, either." He extended a hand, gesturing to him. "Come over here, already."

Hesitantly, Blue approached Green and Orange, allowing the former to pull him into the hug. Yellow and Red joined in immediately, and Purple too after a few seconds. King Orange was the only one to not join in, though Blue could feel his warm gaze on them.

"Oh, and Blue?"

Blue shifted, looking up to find Green staring at him. "Yeah?"

"I want my stuff back. Please."

The blunt statement got a laugh out of Blue, and he tightened his grip on Green. Green melted into it easy, giving a soft huff. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll give it back to you."

"Welcome home, Green."