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Mods, it’s agonizing to wait for another target. The empty void is always closing in on you, the air always tightening around you, making it hard to breathe. You stare into the darkness ahead of you, waiting for the inevitable light to shine and reveal the next world for you to hunt in. The light blinds you, and you let go of your knees and stand in the empty void.
You fall onto the ground with a thud and lie there. Breathing in the smell of fresh grass and pollen that is only in a new world. Your fingers dig into the dirt, feeling the crumbly substance soak into the pads of your fingers. Taking a deep breath and getting up, your eyes scan the spawn point. You take off your compass necklace and watch the magnetic needle follow the player. You prepare yourself to teleport in the direction that the compass points to. The air glitches around right before you teleport.
You teleport towards the indirect spot the compass points to, hiding behind trees and peeking out to find the player. You teleport again and this time hear a voice.
“So you know everything?” That must be the player. But who are they talking to? This shouldn’t be multiplayer. It’s never multiplayer.
You peek around the oak you were hiding against and see the player, crouched down and talking to a..
yellow ball?
It’s talking to the player, answering their questions with increasing swiftness. Its voice is unnervingly chipper, sending shivers down your spine. You’ve never seen anything like it… it shouldn’t be able to exist. You barely know anything about the game, but you know that spheres aren’t a part of it. The player picks up the ball, placing it in their bag as they walk away. You follow close behind, hiding behind trees and bushes. They chatter on to the yellow ball in their pocket, asking where the closest cave is and where the biggest vein of diamonds is.
Pathetic. They're not even playing the game.
The player and the yellow ball arrive at the cave, you not far behind. You watch the player shove around the ball in their bag carelessly, looking for wood. The ball grunts uncomfortably but doesn't complain as the player takes wood out of their bag and makes a crafting table. You see the ball's face flash with repulse before going back to its normal smile. The player crafts torches and heads deep into the caves. You follow and watch the player exploit the ball's knowledge to find ores and resources.
The player finishes just before nightfall and you watch the player build a small 4x3 dirt house. You watch from afar, sitting atop a tree, legs dangling off the branch as the player enters their house. Your eyes lock in on the yellow ball sticking out of their bag, a sickly feeling settling in your stomach. Something’s definitely off with this thing. You still don’t know anything about this sphere except that it apparently knows “everything”, but it doesn’t know you’re here…
right?
You rest your head against the trunk, taking a deep breath and closing your eyes. You’re so tired. So bored. You wish you had someone to talk to. You’ve been so lonely for so long. Nobody to talk to. Just the occasional note when you spawn into a new world discussing the past few kills, but that's it. No signature, no way to know who was talking to you. Just the missions and notes.
Why were you even doing this?
“Don’t disappoint us. You won’t like where that leads” is what the note you got on your first assignment said. Who the hell is “us” anyways..?
This is so stupid.
You jump down from the tree, teleporting midair to the front door of the player’s dirt house. Peeking in through the window, you can see the player in bed and the ball on the crafting table watching them sleep. Creepy. (Then again, you’re doing it too…)
Usually, you kill the player by the first night. But something about this assignment is different. The furnace burns silently, illuminating everything around it, including your face in the window. The ball’s face is still stuck in an eerie smile, eyes lifeless. You freeze as the ball rotates towards the door, face still. You duck down against the door before teleporting back to the forest. You watch from your tree as the sphere pushes open the door and looks out. You hold your breath and hope it doesn’t see you on the branch.
You blink and the ball is up in the air, a body forming out of nowhere. Once the body has formed, you can see that it’s wearing a button up with a vest and corduroy pants. It adjusts its gloves and fixes its tie, sighing at the small wrinkles. If you squint hard enough, you see an employee tag that says:
Verity™
Verity looks up to your tree, smile widening. You slip off the branch, startled by the sudden eye contact. His expression is unreadable, and you have no idea what he’s thinking right now. The moonlight reflects in his dead eyes, and you swear they had glowed red for a moment.
“Sooooo,” he draws out. “Who are you?” His smile doesn’t falter, only becoming wider. You tense up, eyes following his slow advance towards the trunk of the tree.
“You’re not in the world files nor the web’s. I’m second guessing my knowledge here!” His voice pitched. You’re not close to the ground, there’s no way he could reach you from here. Unless he climbed. You shift on the branch, backing up to the edge of it. Your mouth is sealed shut and you can't seem to speak.
"Answer me." He's still smiling. His hands are clasped together by his head. Chills run up your spine and your claws dig into the bark.
"I don't know. I don't know who I am." You murmur. His smile drops. You've never even stopped to think about who you are, and now that somebody's asking, you don't know how to respond. Verity pauses and stares at you, his face now deadpan. You break eye contact with Verity and stare at the player's house. Verity watches as the air around you starts to glitch, and turns around, seeing glitches close to the door to the player's house. You're about to teleport.
You teleport to the door, but Verity is too quick and smart and grabs you by your hair, tugging you towards him. You yelp and fall on your bottom. He leans over you, his smile back and even wider than before with perfect teeth pressed together. "Where do you think you're going?" His voice is too cheery. You try to pull away from Verity, but his fist is clenched tightly around your hair. You scratch in the dirt, your claws digging deep into the ground to hopefully escape. "What are you trying to do?"
"My fucking job." You scratch his hands with your claws, which makes him loosen his grip enough for you to pull away and reach for the door handle. You push open the door and scramble for the bed, pulling out the dagger you were given on your first assignment from your pocket and holding it above the player's chest. You bring it down quickly, but before it reaches the player, a gloved hand clasps around your wrist.
You look up at Verity, who is somehow much taller than before. "Let me do my job." You hiss.
"Which is..?" He tilts his head slightly, smile soft, which seems deceiving. You don't want to answer him. Why would you tell him? He's a monster.
But aren't you too?
You don't know who you are, only that you're a killer only because of a threat. Why were you so scared? Mission after mission, you'd barely even stopped to question your existence and who you are. You don't even know if that threat was true. What could this mysterious person even do?
You fling the knife across the room and let out a shaky breath. "I don't know." Your voice cracks. You crouch down and bury your head in your hands. Tears slip down your cheeks and onto your palms. Verity crouches down with you, placing a palm on your back. You melt into his touch, now full on sobbing.
“What the..?” The player says, rubbing their eye as they sit up. “Verity? Who is–” You look up, startled, and in a panic, get ready to teleport.
“NO-” Verity roared, grasping at your arms as the glitches appeared. The player stares in shock and you stare dead in their eyes before teleporting away to a cave. You curl up on the cold stone ground, silent tears now streaming. Mobs lock in on you immediately, but after realizing you aren’t the player and that you’re crying, leave you alone. Even the skeleton tries to keep its bones from rattling.
☼☼☼
“Verity? Is that you?” Verity sits there, brows furrowed and a sour frown plastered on his face. “Who the fuck was that?” The player says, throwing their legs off the bed and phasing their hand through the pixels still lingering in the air. Verity looks up, switching his face to his trademark smile.
“I have no idea. They’re not in my files.” He says, voice strained. The player swallows, obviously worried and confused.
“But I thought you knew everything—"
“I DO KNOW EVERYTHING.” he snapped, making the player flinch and back away to the bed. His breathing is heavy, tie loose and vest wrinkled. He takes a breath and fixes his tie. “Sorry it’s just… I don’t know for once.” He chokes. The player stares, eyes going from the glitches to Verity. Verity stands up, head bending against the too-short ceiling. He seems to shrink, now being smaller than the player in height.
“They were about to kill you.” He says, looking out into the night through the windows in the door. “I don’t know why but they didn’t seem to know either.” He says, tightening his tie again and adjusting his gloves.
“Where did they go?” The player asked, checking the cooked pork in the furnace. Verity stayed quiet and watched the zombies groan outside. The player looks up from the furnace, pork hanging out of their mouth.
“...” Verity turns, no longer smiling but flat. The player can’t tell if he’s upset or just thinking. His eyes are blank, staring holes into the player. The fog in Verity’s eyes fades away and he smiles again. “In a cave 1040 blocks west of here!” His uncomfortably happy voice is back.
Inside he’s screaming. Screaming at himself for somehow not knowing. Screaming at himself for letting you get away. How was this even possible? Nothing hides from him. Never has. He knows everything about everybody, and he should know about you. But he doesn’t. You’re a missing piece in the puzzle of the internet.
And he’s going to solve it.
☼☼☼
It’s morning now. You stare out the entrance of the cave, watching the trees sway in the wind the whole time. This is the longest you’ve ever been in somebody’s world. The missions are always done by the first night. It’s a cloudy, windy day. Your first one. It would be an amazing day if you weren’t having a crisis.
Mobs have retreated deeper in the cave, giving you space while also avoiding the light. Your tears are long gone now, only your stained cheeks remain. Your eyes are empty as you stare outside. You’ve realized you don’t know anything about who you are.
You don’t even have a name.
In your breakdown, you hadn’t noticed the compass pointing towards the player frantically moving from side to side, signifying the player’s advance towards you. You don’t notice the silent voices getting louder until it’s too late.
“There you are!” The player exclaims. You look up, startled, and stand up, backing up against the wall. Verity jumps out from the player’s bag, transforming into his humanoid form. You start running deeper into the cave
“Wait!” Verity yells, running after you. “Don’t run-” He’s too fast. He catches up to you, and you turn around too late. He trips and falls onto you, pinning you onto the stone ground. You look up at him, obviously scared and get ready to teleport once again. “Please don’t! I don’t want to hurt you, I swear.” He sounds so desperate, almost like a whining dog. You hesitate and decide to not teleport and hear him out. You could teleport away at any time anyways.
Verity realizes the position you and him are in and quickly gets up, clearly rattled. You stand up, using the wall as support. “What do you want?” You ask, shifting from looking at the player and Verity. The player seems confused as to how you exist. They open their settings screen and confirm that it is a single player world.
“Who are y-” The player stops when Verity turns around and gives them the death glare. Verity turns back to you, hands up as a way of showing peace.
“Just to talk. We want to know how you’re here. This is Tabi’s singleplayer world.” He says, gesturing to the player, who you now know is Tabi. The player sits down on a nearby rock, pushing their sword far from them. You sigh and decide there’s no point in lying.
“I don’t know how I’m here. I just get assignments.” you shift your weight back and forth from foot to foot. “I don’t remember my first assignment. It was a while ago I think. I haven’t been counting. Also if this is single player, how the hell are you here?”
“I’m an AI mod–”
“What did you do on your ‘assignments’?” Tabi interrupted, eyes narrowing.
“To kill the player. In this case, you.” Verity says matter of factly, turning to Tabi. Tabi shrinks back, their face turning from confusion to fear.
“Yeah. That’s what I was trying to do last night.” You say. Tabi stares at you through their mask. “I’ve never stayed in a world this long. Always got the job done quick.” You rub your arm up and down, hoping to stop the nerves.
“Would it have actually killed me? Why would you do it?” The player murmurs, voice shaky. You look away, embarrassed at your cowardice. You were scared of a letter. A letter from someone you don’t even know threatening ‘something’.
“On my first assignment there was a letter that said “Don’t disappoint us.” with an unknown threat at the end. No signature, nothing. I’ve done this out of fear of what the people who wrote it can do.” You feel your eyes tearing up. “That’s my first ever memory.” You’re able to choke out. “And I don’t know if you would actually die. Like… in real life too.”
Verity and Tabi are quiet. You look between them, waiting for one of them to say something. You look out of the mouth of the cave and realize it’s started to rain. “Are you going to kill me?” Tabi whispers just loud enough. You don’t know how to respond. You’re still terrified about what will happen if you don’t, but you’ve had time to think about everything.
“No. I’m not.” You decide. Verity smiles softly.
“I’m still confused about how you’re not on the internet at all. I’ve searched and found nothing.” Verity says, folding his arms. “Do you have a name?” You freeze. You don’t have a name. How could you not have a name? You shake your head.
“You look like a [name].” Tabi says. You think about it for a moment and offer a small smile.
“I like that.” You say, tears retreating from the border of your eyelids. You finally had a name. Verity steps back and whispers to Tabi. You can’t make out what they’re saying, but Tabi smiles and nods.
“Would you like to stay with us?” Verity asks. Holding a gloved hand out to you. You think for a moment and take his hand, realizing this could be a start to a somewhat peaceful life. Tabi jumps off of the rock, walking to Verity’s side. They’re shorter than both you and Verity by at least a foot.
You leave the cave with Verity and Tabi, heading out into the storm with them. The canopy blocks most of the rain from getting to you. It’s a mostly quiet trek through the forest. Verity has turned back into his ball form and is Tabi’s bag, only the eyes peeking out. You’re walking beside Tabi, staring at the ground as you walk. You can feel Verity’s eyes on you.
When you arrive at the player’s base, it’s still the same dirt house. “Oh… I should probably build an actual base.” Tabi says, shoulders slouching. Hearing the defeat and exhaustion in their voice, you decide to help.
“I can get materials if you’d like.” You offer, trying to make it less awkward. Tabi perks up excitedly.
“Really???” You smile and say yes. Tabi tells you the materials they need and you immediately start teleporting around to collect the wood types and stone. You get back and the player has cleared out the area of trees where they want their base to be. The rain hasn’t stopped and Tabi and the bag Verity’s in are soaked. You give Tabi the materials and Verity turns to his humanoid form to help.
It’s night by the time the house’s exterior is finished. The rain is coming down harder now and you all transfer Tabi’s stuff inside and they make 2 extra beds, one for you and one for Verity. Your heart swells and you can’t stop smiling. This is the first nice thing that someone has done for you.
You lay in bed, melting into the mattress. It’s so soft. The beds are all one block apart, Verity’s in the middle. Tabi goes to bed and you close your eyes, about to sleep for the first time. You don’t see Verity watching you as you fall asleep.
☼☼☼
Verity’s confused for once. You’ve told them about what your objective was, and he could tell you were telling the truth. You’re not a human. You’re not trying to use him. Tabi isn’t either except for ores and such, but they’re being nice about it unlike others in the past, which makes him not want to hurt them.
He wants to know more. Verity already knows everything about Tabi, how their family is partially paying for their art major in Michigan and how they started playing minecraft with their dad as soon as they knew how to use the touchpad.
But he doesn’t know anything about you. And he wants to.
He watches you fall asleep, a small amount of drool forming on the pillow. You look so peaceful in your sleep. Nothing like the scared dog he had seen the previous night. He wants to watch you sleep every night. It’s adorable. He ends up watching you sleep all night until morning, where he wakes up and makes a kitchen to make breakfast.
☼☼☼
The smell of cooked eggs and bacon wakes Tabi first, and draws them to the kitchen Verity had made. “What the fuck.” Tabi says, astonished. “Those aren’t even in minecraft– that’s not fucking possible??”
“Don’t worry about it!” Verity says cheerfully. “Can you wake [name]? The food will be done soon.” He motions to the bedroom. Tabi leaves, going to the side of your bed. They lean over your bed, shaking you. You startle awake, sitting up defensively, ready for a fight.
“Woah it’s me! Verity uh.. Made breakfast I guess? I don’t even know. He told me to wake you.” They offer a small smile, backing away from your bed and giving you space. You calm down and get up, running a hand through your messy hair. You can smell something delicious and run into the kitchen, steering yourself into it with the wall post.
“Well good morning to you sleepyhead!” Verity says, turning towards you. He’s wearing a pink apron that says “Kiss the chef ♡” on it. You scan it, confused, but sit in the chair he pulls out for you. You thank him and wait for your breakfast. Your food is arranged in a smiley face and you happily destroy it with your bare hands.
You stop after realizing that both Verity and Tabi are staring at you, Tabi’s mouth agape while Verity’s still smiling but looks confused. “Oh.. uh. Sorry…” You say, getting up to clean your hands in the sink (Which Tabi has been freaking out about SINCE THAT ISN’T IN MINECRAFT???). Verity hands you some utensils and you dig in. You hadn’t even realized how hungry you are. You finish long before the two others.
“So you have uh, sharp teeth, huh?” Tabi glances at your empty plate and back up at you. “When was the last time you ate?” They ask. You don’t want to tell them about how you had eaten your last assignment and then waited at least three days until this one.
“A.. while.” You say, swallowing. It's totally not obvious that you're lying. Yeah…
After breakfast, Tabi asks if you and Verity you’d like to help build the house. You say yes and Verity follows suit. You spend the rest of the day building rooms, Verity always by your side and making small talk. But there’s not much to talk about when you barely know yourself. The company’s nice though, and it keeps you from worrying about the notes and your identity.
Night falls and Tabi has set up a campfire outside. You all sit around the fire, the stars shining down on you. Tabi and Verity start talking and laughing while you stare into the forest. It’s so calming, being with people for once. You’ve been isolated your whole existence and hadn’t even thought that it could feel this nice.
You join in on talking with Verity and Tabi, and you can’t keep yourself from smiling. As the fire starts to die down, you’ve all gone quiet and are enjoying watching the embers crackle. But something catches the corner of your eye. You look into the forest, scanning the dark of the dense forest for something. You barely catch two bright blue orbs staring into you from the forest before they disappear entirely.
You stand up immediately, hoping to catch whatever that was. But nothing. “[name]? What’s wrong?” Tabi asks, concern lacing their voice. After scanning it frantically, you give up on looking in the dark forest and sit back down.
“Nothing… Just thought I saw something. It’s probably just an animal..” You say, trying to hide the fear in your voice. Tabi decides it’s time to retire for the night and puts out the fire. You try to shake the worry consuming your bones, but it’s no use. You jump into your bed in your corner of the shared bedroom and bury your head in the pillows. You fall asleep easily despite your fear, happily molding into the bed.
☼☼☼
Verity noticed it too. Something watching them. He noticed it long before you did, and watched it circle around the house. He decided not to confront it yet since you seemed so happy, but once you did notice it, it had disappeared. Again, this entity was not in the world files. He worried that this was the “us” in the letter you had told them about.
He watched you sleep again, chest full and stomach fluttering. He shouldn’t be capable of such emotions and feelings, he’s an AI. But here he is, an AI, hopelessly obsessed with you. He shifts on his bed, turning to look out the window between you two. The forest is a dark, ominous void. No signs of life - either dead or hiding.
That’s wrong. The woods should have at least a little sign of life, like a fox screeching or fireflies lighting up the leaves. But everything’s missing. He looks back at you, sleeping so peacefully. He doesn’t want to wake you, but this is important.
He gets off the bed, moving to your side. He leans down, heart pounding. He’s inches away from your face and he could just... kiss–
“Mhm… Verity?” Your eyes gently flutter open and Verity jumps back, startled. You sit up in bed, still half asleep. “What’s up?” You ask, opening your eyes fully. Verity tries to hide his face, a deep orangeish blush painting his cheeks. He points to the window, and you look out, seeing… nothing. “No animals… odd.” You say to yourself.
“Exactly, nothing’s out there. Something’s wrong.” Verity says, coming up to your side. “I think it might be who was giving you the notes. You said you’ve never stayed in a world this long, right?” You nod. You’ve never tried to stay or make friends, so this could be what happens if you take too long.
“You saw it too, didn’t you?” You ask. You can’t see any sign of the shining blue eyes in the bush, and hope it’s gone at least for the night.
“Before you did. It was circling us.” You pause.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” You look over at him, a mixed look of anger and confusion on your face. If he noticed, he should’ve told you. Especially if it is the thing that has threatened you.
“So that it didn’t know I noticed. I didn’t want to provoke it, we don’t know who it is.” He says, trying to calm you down. You grunt and look back out. Verity watches you without turning his head, smile fading. This is definitely linked to you, but he has no idea what it is. You yawn, resting your forehead against the window.
He leans in, his warm breath blowing onto your ear. “You should get some rest.” You jump back, accidentally knocking into him. Your cheeks are flushed, and Verity notices, giggling. “It’s late. We’ll worry about this in the morning, when you’ve gotten your rest.” He places a hand onto your back, guiding you onto your bed.
“I– uh… okay... Um… goodnight.” You stutter, rolling over to your side. Verity gets into bed, and powers down for the night.
☼☼☼
You wake in the morning while everyone’s asleep and get up, looking out the window again. Verity’s still powered down and Tabi’s snoring. The sun shines down onto the canopy of the forest, but still there is no sign of life. You look back over at the two of them, and decide to head out into the forest.
It’s nice out today, the slight wind makes the hair on your back stand up. You look into the trees and only see the dark oaks and birches.
Wait.
Why is it so dark? The sun is shining bright and the canopy isn’t that thick. It should have some light coming onto the forest floor, not pitch darkness. Your eyes widen and you teleport back inside to the side of Verity’s bed. “Verity!! Wake up!!” You shake him and he powers on. As soon as you see his eyes open, you go to Tabi and push them off the bed.
“Ow! What the fuck? [name] what the hell??” Tabi says, rubbing the side of their head.
“It’s outside.” You frantically yell. “The forest is overly dark. There should be light back there. I didn’t directly see it–”
“See what?” Tabi asks, standing up.
“There uh.. there was a thing stalking us at the campfire last night. Verity and I think it might be the thing that was giving me the notes.” You explain. Verity’s standing behind you now.
“Tabi, do you have those diamonds that I helped you get?” Verity asks. Tabi searches their bag and grabs two, making a sword. “Do you think you’ll be able to fight if it attacks?” Verity asks you. You nod.
The three of you walk outside and you enter the forest, you in the front leading them to the dark spot. As you advance, you all realize how big the void in the forest is. “What the hell…” Tabi says, taking a torch out of their pocket and lighting it. The trees in the shadowed area are charred black and rotting, but somehow still standing. It smells of ash.
“Did somebody burn this place?” You ponder, placing a hand against the tree. A layer of the black rot covers the palm of your hand and you wipe it on your shirt. “Ew.” You look back at Tabi and Verity and realize they’re frozen staring at something behind you.
“Oh shiiiitt..” You say as you slowly turn around, seeing a black cloak, reaching to at least twice your height. It’s wearing a white mask shaped like an owl with two glowing blue eyes staring down at you. Three hands fly out through the cloak, wrapping your chest and covering your mouth, tightening around it before dragging you away.
“FUCK.[name]!” Tabi starts chasing after you, but after realizing Verity isn’t, stops. “What the fuck are you doing Verity? That Thing is getting awa… what the?” Verity’s face is gone. He’s still, arms to his sides limply. Tabi looks behind them at you being dragged away and back at Verity. “Fuck.” Tabi chases after you and the Thing that is running with you being dragged.
You struggle against the creature’s grasp, grabbing at its hands with your sharp claws. It barely flinches. The hand on your mouth tightens and you bite it, teeth puncturing the rubber-like skin. Blood pours into your mouth but the hand does not move and the blood overflows, splattering onto your chest and the arms. It’s black and shiny like oil. The Thing has left a trail of destruction. The trees are turned to black and quickly begin to rot. It seems dark wherever this thing drags you.
You see Tabi running after you, sword in hand, but no sight of Verity. Your heart hurts, and it's not just from the constricting arms. You continue to struggle and the limbs tighten around your ribs and you hear a crack. “SON OF A–” You yell into the hand. You don’t focus on stabbing pain, just escaping.
Looking up, you can see the Thing facing away from you, shuffling extremely fast in one direction. A sudden roar makes you and the Thing turn your heads, and your eyes widen when a tall, extremely skinny yellow monster comes running towards the Thing. Tabi stops running and watches the Thing have more hands come out, meeting the yellow monsters.
While the monsters are fighting, the hand around your mouth comes off but the ones around your ribs tighten. You hear more cracking and scream in pain. The yellow monster looks down at you, eyes pitch black. Your mouth is stained with the creature's blood and your cheeks are covered with the remnants of tears.
While the Thing is distracted, Tabi runs forward and cuts the arms wrapped around you off. The Thing shrieks while Tabi helps you up. You clutch your side and lean on Tabi for support. The yellow creature looks back at you and Tabi before continuing to push against this beast. Another hand comes up from the Thing’s cloak and reaches for the yellow thing. Before you can attempt to do anything, Tabi is already running with their sword at the ready. They jump and slash the limb as it reaches the yellow monster's leg.
Tabi then runs back to you, putting their sword back into its sheath. “Fuck! [name], we gotta go!” They say, but you’re too weak to run. Tabi helps you up and the Thing immediately notices and starts to chase after you two, but the yellow creature pulls its cloak and yanks it back. That gives Tabi enough time to pick you up and start running.
“Since when were you strong enough to carry me??” You yell, surprised. Tabi smiles despite the situation and starts running faster. You reach Verity’s lifeless body and watch as Tabi runs right past it. “Wait! What about Verity?” You yelp.
“I think that yellow thing was Verity.” Tabi says. “He’ll be fine. He’s an AI after all. I don’t think he can die.” Tabi says, reaching the normal part of the forest. That makes sense and makes you feel better about him not coming in his more human form. But why wouldn’t he tell you or Tabi?
Tabi kicks the door open and takes you into the basement, putting you down and making a bed. Tabi barricades the door and gathers materials from chests and craft bandages and a brewing stand. After helping bandage your chest up and give you a cloth to wash your face off, they start brewing healing potions.
“Y’know, I’ve never seen anything like that in Minecraft before” Tabi says, taking the potions from the brewer. “Or in any game, really.” They chuckle to themselves. Tabi helps you sit up and pours the potion into your mouth. You immediately feel a warm sensation in your chest and the stinging pain decreases.
You close your eyes and try to sleep, but there’s a knock at the door. “[name]...? Are you guys down here?” It sounds just like Verity. You sit up immediately, your sides paying for it. You attempt to teleport to the outside of the door, but the glitches fade away as quickly as they formed.
“Don’t try. It’ll make things worse.” Tabi says, walking up the basement stairs and taking down the top barricade. Verity’s there, panicked. No scratches or marks on him. Tabi takes down the barricades and lets him in, and he immediately runs past Tabi down the stairs to you.
The second he sees you, a giant wide smile replaces his worried look. “[name]! Thank the Mods you’re alright.” He gently wraps his arms around you, and you hug him tightly in return. Tabi rolls their eyes and re-barracades the door. Verity sits you down on the bed and guides you to lay down. “Where did it hurt you..?” You notice him staring at your bandaged chest and chuckle.
“Eyes up here, cutie.” You flirt. He immediately looks down at you, eyes wide and face flushing a deep dark orange. “Tabi thinks a few of my ribs are broken. They bandaged it up for me.” you change the subject as if nothing had happened. Verity’s eyes darken for a moment before you add, “They saved me, I couldn’t teleport and they carried me here.” You smile and tilt your head back, looking at Verity through half lidded eyes.
“I… uh yeah… I’ll... I’ll thank them for that…” He stutters, looking away and twiddling his fingers. Tabi comes down the stairs after finishing the barricades and crosses their arms. You both look up, confused.
“You gonna explain allat, Verity? Y’know. The big yellow skinny thing.” They say. Verity looks down, guilty.
“Um… yeah. I guess I do have a lot to explain.” He murmurs. “My whole point of being here is to feed myself and keep myself entertained. I was supposed to kill you, just like [name], but eat you too.” He explains. Tabi pulls up a chair and sits. “I was made about 100 years ago. I was a helper that was tossed aside, a face people skipped.” His voice cracks.
Verity looks over at you and then back at Tabi “And then I met you guys! And I just… don’t want to leave you. Ever. I needed to protect you.” He chirped.
“So what happened to the Thing?” You ask. Verity looks down at the ground.
“It got away.” He says solemnly. “After I had… uh… ripped a few of its arms off… It ran.” Verity sighs. “I watched it run far, and it left a trail or rot behind it. As soon as I knew it was far enough, I rushed back to the house.”
“So it got away?” Tabi questions. Verity nods. “Fuck.” They run a hand through their hair.
“Now what? We just sit and wait for it to attack again?” You fume. Verity looks at you like a kicked puppy. You take a deep breath in and try to calm down. “Sorry… it‘s just… we have to go after that Thing.” You try to sit up, but your arms betray you and you fall back down onto the pillows.
Tabi rushes to your side and helps you sit up. “No way you’re going after it in this condition. Even with the health potions you won’t be able to fight for a while.” You roll your eyes.
“I’ll be fineeee.” Tabi ignores that and hands you another potion of healing.
“Drink.” Tabi demands. Verity watches you pout before you open your mouth and look back at Verity. You swallow it and feel your chest warm up again. Verity watches you lay back but gets up when Tabi calls him over to the brewing stand table.
Tabi’s adding gold to the melons they’ve collected and chopping them up. They look back up at Verity and sigh. “I need you to keep [name] down here. They’re too stubborn for their own good. I can’t keep them from leaving while also looking for the Thing.”
“You’re going to look for it? That’s stupid. It almost killed [name] and you think you can beat it?” Verity says, bending down to be eye level with Tabi. “That’s idiotic.”
“I can’t stop [name] from leaving. I doubt they would listen to me and would try to teleport despite their injuries. I think they’ll listen to you.” Tabi says. “Plus, I’m not going to try to beat it. I just want to find where its base is. I won’t even get hurt! I’m the player, remember?” They smile. Verity looks back at you, who has fallen fast asleep and back at Tabi.
“Okay. I’ll stay with them. Just... be careful. I don’t want to see you hurt.” Verity says. Tabi packs up their bag with necessities like their sword, food, and some of the healing potions. They leave before you wake up and Verity makes sure to board up the basement again.
☼☼☼
After Verity’s done with boarding up the basement door, he sits on your bed again, watching your chest move up and down from laboured breaths. The healing potion knocked you out cold, which is a good thing since it means it worked and you can get some rest.
Moonlight comes in from the singular window and Verity decides It’s getting late so he makes his own bed and places it directly next to yours. He lays down and faces you. He reaches out tentatively and takes a strand of your hair in his hand, feeling the texture of it through his gloves.
He hesitates before leaning in and gently kissing the strand. He would kiss you all over if you let him, but this was enough for him right now. You turn over in your sleep and unconsciously roll into Verity. He freezes, his artificial heart pounding like a drum in his chest. He places a hand onto your head gently and runs his fingers through your hair.
The two of you stay like that for a while, that is until you wake up. You push away from him in fear, not expecting him to be so close. Verity sits up and backs off, smiling reassuringly. “H-hey.. I was just… I mean.. You rolled into me while you were sleeping… I didn’t want to w-wake you!” He explains, tripping on his words while trying to seem composed.
“Oh. Sorry for pushing you so harshly.” You’re able to sit up and look around the room. “Where’s Tabi?” You question. Verity swallows.
“Oh they just went out for food–”
“Where are they actually?” Verity looks into your eyes. You already know. “Fuck. You didn’t stop them or even wake me?” You swing your legs off the bed and carefully get up, your chest hurting less exponentially. You grab your shirt from the temporary drying rack Tabi had made and pull it over your head.
“You can’t go after them, [name]. You’re still too weak for telleporting.” Verity stands, trying to reason with you. You watch the glitches around your head fizzle out as you try to prove him wrong. “See? You can’t go.” You glare at Verity.
“I’m not weak.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. Just listen to me [name]-”
“I’M NOT FUCKING WEAK.” You cry. Your hands clench, your claws digging into your palm. “I can do this. I’m not a child.” You turn and pull the shirt fully down. As soon as you do, you feel a tug on it. Turning around, you expect to see Verity staring down at you, but there he is, on his knees, tearing up.
“Please don’t go. I don’t want to lose you.” He says in a small panicky voice. He tugs with both hands at the hem of your shirt. “Please.” He begs.
“What… what are you doing?” You say, trying to take a step back. Verity’s arms wrap around your waist as he buries his head into your stomach.
“Please don't leave me. Don’t leave me like they all have. Stay…” You feel tears soak into your shirt. You hesitate for a moment before falling on your knees to hug him back. You bury your head in the crook of his neck and breathe in.
You pull back and he looks at you, tears streaking down his cheeks. You kiss them off and he squeaks out a pitiful flustered sound. “I’m sorry I have to do this.” You say solemnly before using most of your energy to locate Tabi, then the glitches appear around your head.
“No no no… please don’t leave…” He cries, grasping at your shirt with surprising strength. “DON’T YOU DARE LEAVE ME. [NAME]!” He yells, teeth seeming sharper than before. He pushes you down onto the ground and gets on top, tears streaming like a waterfall and falling onto your face. Verity’s face is distraught and dark bags appear under his eyes.
He reaches for your neck, but you teleport away just as he reaches you.
☼☼☼
You’re laying in the same position as before on the cold ground. The moon is still high in the sky, so you couldn’t have been asleep for long before waking and coming here. Your hand comes up to your neck and you rub it, still feeling the warmth of Verity’s hand holding you.
You cough, covering your mouth with your hand. You pull your hand back and see it covered in bright red blood. Shit.
You’re about to wipe it on the grass when you realize the grass beneath you is pitch black like the trail the Thing left behind. You stand up, wiping the blood on your shirt. Your eyes follow the path of destruction, which leads to a cave. Torches line the entrance, indicating that Tabi had been here. You follow the path and peek into the cave, seeing nothing except for torches and normal stone. You turn and look back out into the shady forest before heading inside the cave cautiously.
You drag your hand along the stone wall and let your claws scrape against it, making a nasty sound. “Tabi? Are you here?” You call out. You stop, listening for any sign of Tabi or the Thing.
“[name]? Is that you?” You hear Tabi’s voice call out from behind a corner. You immediately perk up hearing Tabi’s voice and run, turning the corner. “[name]?” Tabi calls again. This time further into the cave. You keep running and turn another corner… oh no.
Tabi’s laying on the ground, barely breathing, sword on the ground uselessly far from them. You run to their side and support their head, seeing their wounds. Their mask is off and their whole face is messed up, blood coming from the side of their head and their mouth. You start to cry, calling out their name. “Tabi no.. please don’t…” Your voice cracks.
You look up from them, seeing the void of the Thing’s cloak. It stares down at you, sapphire eyes staring into you with amusement. “Is this fun for you, you monster?” You cry. It makes a sound that resembles a laugh.
“You’re pitiful. I thought you would be tougher now.” Its voice is scratchy and rough. You look back down at Tabi and a hand comes from the Thing’s cloak, holding your chin and tilting it up. It’s leaned in close to you now, bright eyes almost blinding you. “You’ve disappointed us, my dear.”
You avoid its gaze, tears still falling down your cheeks and now collecting into the Thing’s palm. “Don’t you dare ignore your Mother.” Your heart sinks and you look back at your Mother.
“M-Mother?” You ask. Your Mother giggles. “N-no.. You can’t be. You’re not my mother.” It tilts its head and its grip tightens around your chin. Its claws dig into your skin and it picks you up from your head. You gasp in pain and scramble at its claws. “Put me down!” You yell.
It clicks its tongue. “I’d think you’d be stronger than that, considering you’re my best creation. But you did try to settle down, so what do I know?” It tosses you against the wall, your head hitting the sharp rock. Blood trickles down your forehead and down to your mouth, making you light headed. “So sad. I didn’t want to do this to you, y’know.” It pauses. “That was a lie. This is very fun!” It cheers.
“Fuck…” you whisper. Tabi’s still lying there on the ground, chest barely rising. You try to teleport to them, but it’s no use and you weaken yourself even more. Two hands come out towards you like a bullet, and you try to move out of the way, but it grabs your feet and drags you closer. Rocks poke your body, some piercing.
When Mother pulls you closer, it holds you up by your feet. Your blood drips onto the floor and you cough up more. “Please..” You manage to squeak out.
“Hmm? Please what my dear? You’ll have to speak up.” It laughs. Fighting back is hopeless. There’s no use - its grip on your feet is too strong. Mother is too strong. You close your eyes and silently apologize to Verity and Tabi.
“Put them down.”
You open your eyes. How could he be here? This has to be at least 500 blocks away from base. There’s no way he would be here this quickly. But there he is. Verity’s standing there, smile on his face, clothes smooth, and hands clasped in front of him. Mother’s head turns like an owl and its eyes widen before it bursts out into laughter.
“And who are you? One of their playthings?” You can hear the smile in its voice. You swing your body with the strength you do have and try to punch Mother in the face. It holds you out further away from it. “V-Verity…” You wheeze.
Verity watches, his smile turning manic. “I’m telling you to put them down now.” Verity stays where he is, hands going to his sides.
“What do you think you could do to me? Last time you barely made a scratch.“ Mother muses.
Verity watches you swing in Mother’s grasp, blood seeping from your head to the floor. It hurts him like hell watching you suffer. He just needs to buy enough time until–
A roar comes from behind Mother and it whirls around just as Verity’s monster form collides with it. It howls in response, its grip on you loosening and flinging you against the wall. You yelp and feel your already broken ribs worsen. Your ears start ringing and you barely hear Verity call out your name and see him run towards you. Your vision blurs and you pass out.
☼☼☼
Verity runs towards you just as you pass out. The chaos behind is invisible to him - You’re the only thing that really matters. He picks you up and holds you close, running to Tabi. He uses his inhuman strength to carry Tabi as well, tossing them over his shoulder. He looks back, checking that his monster counterpart was okay.
Mother shrieks watching [name] be taken. “GIVE THEM BACK.” It yells. It tries to claw away from Verity, but Verity sticks his long claws into the cloak, stabbing it. It screams, but Verity doesn’t notice. He’s too busy saving you.
He carries you and Tabi to the house, putting you both down in your beds. He collects health potions from the basement that Tabi had brewed earlier and brings them upstairs, enforcing them and making them stronger with more gold.
Both you and Tabi are barely breathing, and Verity has to manually open your mouths and make you swallow the potion. Both of your breathing stabilizes. Thank the Mods you’re both still alive. He doesn’t know what would've happened if “Mother” killed you or Tabi.
Tabi’s the first to wake up, and they immediately start coughing. Verity quickly forces a healing potion onto them, and they choke on it before swallowing it all. “Good job. Swallow.” He praises. Tabi lays back down, bags under their eyes.
“Mods… everything hurts.” Tabi groans. They shuffle under the blankets, kicking them off. “What even happened? The last thing I remember was seeing that Thing and it… oh shit. Did I pass out in real life?” They panic.
Verity tries to calm Tabi down by rubbing the palm of their hand gently. “I think that if you were actually killed by Mother, you wouldn’t have been able to respawn. That means in real life too.” Verity explains slowly. Tabi zones out, realizing the gravity of the situation. “But. I think I killed it.” He smiles. “Or it’s gone for a long while.”
Tabi nods, trying to calm down. Verity hands them another healing potion and one of the golden apples he had made while waiting for them to wake up. In the time it takes Tabi to eat it, you wake up. Verity runs to your side and helps you sit up. “[name]!!” he exclaims, smiling the widest and most genuine smile you’ve ever seen on him.
“Hey… uh. Fuck, my head…” You bring a hand up to your head, rubbing the bandages that Verity had wrapped around you softly. Verity jumps onto you, wrapping his arms around you and staring directly at you. “Oh uh… fuck… Verity? You’re squeezing too hard!” You yelp. He immediately jumps back, forcing a healing potion into your hands along with a golden apple.
“I’m so sorry.” He says, playing nervously with his fingers. You drink the potion, hands shaking. Your chest and head immediately feel better. You realize you’re still in your bloody shirt and smile to yourself. Verity didn’t want to invade your privacy.
How sweet. But the blood soaking onto your skin is getting annoying. “Turn around, would ya?” You ask as you sit up slowly. Verity does as he’s told and turns immediately.
You face your back towards Verity and Tabi and take off your shirt, running your fingers over your already healing wounds. The healing potion is helping tremendously and you watch your scabs get replaced with skin. “Tabi, can you throw a roll of bandages over?” They throw it and you wrap yourself up.
You throw your shirt across the room into the corner and lay back in bed, letting out a heavy content breath. Everything feels so much better and you take a bite of the apple. Verity’s still facing the other way, shoulders straight and stiff. “You can turn around now, silly.” You tease. He turns and stares at the bandages on your chest before meeting your eyes.
You smile and take another bite of the sweet, crisp apple. “This is so tense.” Tabi groans, flopping back onto their bed “Honestly just kiss at this point.” Both you and Verity’s cheeks burn up and you stare holes into Tabi. “What? It’s so obvious you two like eachother.” They face you guys, a teasing smirk on their face. Verity stares back at you and you bury your face in your hands.
“Whatever. I’m going to bed.” Tabi turns to face the wall, and they immediately fall asleep and snore. You look up from your hands at Verity and he’s still staring at you, face unreadable.
“I’m… uhm… I’m really sorry for leaving you like that.” You say. He crosses his arms and looks away.
“That really hurt. I begged you not to.” He grumbles
“But I had to! I needed answers-”
“Were the answers worth almost getting yourself killed?” He snaps. “Who knows what would’ve happened to you or Tabi if your Mother had finished the job? You might’ve… You might’ve never woken up.” He says, voice cracking.
You stay quiet, letting it sink in. “And did you even get any answers? All you know now is that you do have a creator and that your purpose is to kill players you’re assigned too. Didn’t you know that before? You gained nothing, only pain.” It’s like a dagger has been stabbed into your chest.
“I’m sorry.” You sound pathetic. Mods damn it. Why are you so pathetic? You’re a killer. You shouldn’t be stronger than this. Verity sighs and sits on your bed.
“No… it’s okay. You were confused. I’m sorry for being so harsh. I think I killed it anyway. Or it’s gone for now.”
“That’s… that’s good.” You look into his eyes. “I’m really sorry.”
“You have to promise me you won’t ever leave me…got it?” Verity’s voice darkens for a moment. You nod. “Say it.” he demands. He doesn’t want to be this rough with you, but it feels like it’s the only way you’ll listen.
You hesitate. “I promise.” He smiles. You open your arms up for a hug and he jumps into it. He hugs you gently, being careful of the remaining bruises. He rests his chin on your chest and looks up at you with puppy eyes. He looks too adorable to resist.
Fuck it.
You lean in and kiss him on his forehead. He makes a strangled sound, face becoming even more flushed. You smile and kiss him again, this time on his cheek. He tightens his arms around you, tensing up. “Mhm. You’re cute like this.” You tease.
“Don’t say that…” He mutters.
“But it’s trueeee~” You say in a sing-songy voice. You laugh when he gets even more flustered and you giggle.
“Stop that.”
You laugh more. “Make me.” He looks up at you, his flustered smile replaced with a devious one. When you don’t stop laughing, he unclasps his arms around your waist and brings both hands up to your chin. You freeze and your breath hitches. Your face is a mix of shock and desire. You grip onto his wool vest.
Butterflies fly around frantically in Verity’s stomach as he pauses and whispers: “Can I?” You lay there, eyes scanning his face, from his lips to his mouth. You nod. “S-Say it. I want to h-hear your voice.” He stutters, zoning in on your lips.
“Yes.”
He leans in immediately. You pull on his vest, digging your claws into the fabric. He pecks your lips gently, afraid he’ll somehow hurt you. You’re both shaking as if you’re outside on the winter solstice. You lean in more and open your mouth slightly, enveloping his lips. He gasps into your mouth, but goes along with it.
His hands move from your chin to your collar, and he tugs you closer. You slip a little bit of your long tongue into his mouth, and he has to pull back from surprise. He breaks the kiss, both of you panting heavily. “T-too much?” You ask, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand.
“Not enough.” Verity says before going back in for more. You smile and happily open your mouth for him. You tease him with your tongue, gently pushing it into his mouth as if asking for permission. He matches you and your tongues tangle sloppily. He moans into your mouth, pressing harder against it.
You happily suffocate yourself against him, all of the air vacating your lungs. Verity notices and pulls back, tongues connecting through a strand of saliva. “Breathe, my angel.” He murmurs and sits up. He can’t stop smiling like an idiot. He himself takes a breather, eyes never leaving you and your heaving chest. “Mods… that was amazing…” He revels to himself.
“Really…?” You ask, smiling so hard it makes your cheeks hurt.
“Obviously. I mean, look at me.” He is very disheveled, cheeks stained with blush and a small line of saliva falling down his chin.
“You look adorable.” You say, sitting up fully and bringing your legs up to your chest. You mean it. He really does look adorable like this. He blushes harder (if that’s even possible) and crosses his legs.
Tabi’s snoring stopping makes your heart sink. They sit up and see the shape you both are in and look like they’re going to throw up. “Ew. I meant do it in a different room.” Your ears burn in embarrassment.
“S-sorry Tabi…” You stutter, extremely embarrassed. Verity rolls his eyes.
“I’m gonna log off for the night.” They say, pulling up the settings screen “Please clean up when you’re done.” And with that they log off.
“Wait what’s that supposed to mean??” You stutter, now extremely embarrassed. Even Verity’s hiding his face. The room’s now quiet.
“We… uh… shouldn’t do anything like that tonight… not with your injuries.” You nod quickly, a little disappointed, but you know that he’s right. “I-It’s not that I don’t want to!! I mean.. I really do but you know that we can’t. Yet…” He smiles flirtatiously. You punch him in the arm, hitting harder than you thought. He gets knocked off the bed and you immediately scramble to the edge of it, seeing him covering his eyes and laughing hysterically.
“Prick…” You murmur as he gets up and yawn, the exhaustion from the encounter with Mother wearing down on you.
“Tired?” You nod. “Can I… uh… sleep in your bed with you tonight?" He hesitates. You perk up immediately.
“Yes! I-I mean… yeah.” You try to play it cool. Verity’s heart swells. You’re so cute. You lie down and he lies with you, burying his head in your neck and pulling you into a warm embrace and breathing you in. You shudder and he laughs.
“Sleep, angel. I’ll be here in the morning.” He rubs your back, and you close your eyes and give into slumber.