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“Whew.”
Placing down the last cobblestone block, Blue leaned against the obsidian and slid down until he met the ground. “Guess we're surrounded.”
“Yeah, it seems that those pigs will keep their guards up. We can't go back in there to rescue the others.” Yellow looked back at the other 2 portals they've made. Striking a thinking pose, he tried to think about a plan. “Our best bet right now is to walk out a bit further and rebuild the portal-”
“Can we like, take a break?” Blue interrupted him. “I'm knackered.”
“You're always knackered, Blue.” Yellow turned behind and looked out at the horizon. “Come on, I think I see a village on the horizon.”
Yellow went on ahead, while Blue stayed behind to catch his breath. “Yeah, I'll be-”
“I GOT YOU!”
“Ugh…”
“I WON'T- LET YOU- BURN-”
“...” The pain… won't…
“...ue.”
“Huh?”
“Blue?” All of a sudden, a bright figure overshadowed him. Blue paused for a moment, while Yellow kneeled down to his level, finally addressing the issue. “You don't look so good. Do you have any potions on you?”
“I've used everything I have on the witch, remember?” Blue spoke out, still keeping his head down. “I didn't really anticipate this. I mean, if I had known that the parkour was a trap, I would've taken some.”
“But still, I don't understand why Purple would do that. Going out all the way to luring us in and then separating us. There's something fishy about that boy, and I'm not talking about fish and chips.”
“...”
“Blue, do you hear me?”
“Yeah…” He softly replied. “I'm just… knackered…”
Blue rarely used that tone before. Before this, he would always complain in his most obnoxious voice and say that he's tired, knackered and similar stuff. Even after the whole episode with the lucky block, Blue at best gave him a shrug and just said,
“Yellow, may you never rack up another idea with that mind of yours.”
“Hmm… come to think about it, this whole incident…” Yellow adjusted his position, taking a seat next to him. “Do you think it’s your fault?”
If he had never built that portal, they wouldn't have met the witch. If they never met the witch, that means they wouldn't be in that swamp in the first place. Which means Purple wouldn't have ever recruited them right then and there.
There was silence for a moment, which prompted Yellow to fill in that gap. “What if that witch is just a decoy sent in by Purple to lure us? Otherwise how would Purple know that we're there? Say Blue, how did the witch-”
“Yellow, can you… be quiet for a moment?”
A pause. Blue was curled up, strangling his legs in pain. One of his hands was trembling in pain and Yellow could tell, there was an attempt of him trying his best not to scream out.
“Blue, did something happen?” Yellow asked concerningly. Normally Minecraft damage wouldn't cause this much pain, at best it would always take those health points until a certain threshold and kill you before respawning you again. Nothing had ever caused everlasting pain like this.
“Not… really…”
“It can't be the witch, now can it?” Yellow checked his own body. “I'm fine, even after turning into that gorgeous ilama-”
“Ilama, huh… That sounds familiar.” He let out a painful laugh as Blue slowly looked up to face him properly. “So you're the one who blew me up back there…?”
“I did?” Yellow panics. “I swear, I only blew a part of the witch's roof off. Besides, TNT has never made you like this. We always use that to blow up Green, does that mean-”
“No, Yellow, it's-” Blue paused, before letting go of his legs and revealing them properly to Yellow. When the skin met with the blades of the grass, the pain shot up through his body, causing him to let out a sharp wince.
“Oh my, Blue-”
“Stupid, right?” He let out a laugh, looking down at the marks left on his entire body. Even moving a single inch, the pain would send shivers down his spine. “If I never built that portal, I could've avoided all of this pain. I'm really dumb, Yellow, I- I put you all in danger, all because of my addiction-”
“That is some pretty deep burn marks.” Yellow tried to get a closer look, but ultimately, he turned his attention back to Blue, who knew the latter had so much questions regarding him. “How did you get that? I-it shouldn't be possible, not in the slightest!”
Blue nodded slightly. “Could you, not tell this to the others, please?”
“Depending on the situation. Why?”
<->
“YOU DID WHAT?!”
Yellow's jaw was left wide open as Blue winces in pain. “Yeah, it was dumb. I managed to stay atop of that zombie thing long enough until the piglins managed to pull me out. Then they showed me a fortress and I went in for those netherwarts. Then I saw that witch pretending as Second, claiming they had the netherwarts and like a fool, I followed her blindly. Then I got turned into a piston thing and the pain seemingly never went away.”
“And you’re still in full health?” Yellow commented. “How does that even work?”
“I don’t know man, I-” Blue massaged his temples, trying to calm himself down. “I cannot get rid of the pain in my legs, since they're the ones with the most exposure to the lava.”
“Maybe we should go and- Ugh, we can’t do that!” Upon hitting that realisation, Yellow groans in disbelief. “Our page is down. And if we were to die now, we might respawn back at the parkour map.”
“...I really messed up now, huh?” Blue looked down in disbelief. “I've brought everyone into this mess, we all are now separated, and now I can't even do a single thing-!”
Yellow took a moment to reflect on himself. “Now hold up, Blue-”
“What is it…?” He asked, confused. “What is there to say now?”
“Why… do you blame yourself for this?”
“Of course, I do, I dragged you all into this-”
“Blue.” His tone shifted. “...I don't think all of this is your fault.”
Blue looked at him as Yellow got up and faced out in the horizon. “What are you on now?”
“Well,” Yellow turned his head towards him. “Logically speaking, if Purple had been the one to send in the witch, plan the parkour and everything, then it would mean that everything that had happened up until this point is his fault. Just think about it!”
"What?"
Yellow opens up his arms up wide. “If you never met that witch, then you could've retrieved those netherwarts. And then we might meet up, go back home and continue our night as normal!”
“So, you're saying..." Blue stared at him as he approaches closer to him. "It wasn't my fault?”
“Never has been.” Yellow extends his hand. “Can you stand?”
“Yeah, kinda.” Blue took up the offer as he rested his arm onto Yellow's shoulder. “Thanks. I feel a lot better now.”
Yellow, however, seems a bit concerned. “Hold on a second.”
“What are you doing- Whoa!”
Without warning, Yellow lifts him up, making it seem like a piggy back ride. “How's that for efficiency? Are you okay back there?”
“Hold on, could you adjust for a bit?”
“Okay…Better?”
It's a bit painful having his skin being pressured like this, but it’s a relief from all the pain he had to endure from running around, fighting the witch and doing the parkour. “I'm still hurt, but it's better than walking I guess.” Blue commented. “Aren't you carrying all of those heavy redstone components?”
“It had never bothered me! Besides, I was getting used to being an ilama.”
Blue was slightly concerned about that statement, but seeing how passionate Yellow was about it… “Alright, but once I hear a slight pant, I'll be dropping myself over. I still cleared out that parkour after all.”
“Hey, I did so as well.” Yellow glanced at him as he took his stance. “First place, y’know?”
“Oh really?”
“Well then hang on!”
Yellow sprinted off, while Blue was trying his best to not be a nuisance to him. After all, they had done so much for him, and he couldn't mess up his redemption now.
“Hey, how about after this whole Purple ordeal and maybe a whole round of regen potions, I'll offer you a ride instead?”
“Sure, and by the time, maybe you'll go faster with netherwart on a stick!”
“Hey, the addiction can't be that bad!” Blue was quick to comment on that, but deep down he knows, they all are always there for him.