Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

TW: blood, major character death, torture, breaking bones

Sherbert was whistling as they strolled into the new Ominous Bane HQ. They swung their sword around as if it wasn’t covered in Lenny blood and sat down at the table, a grin on their face as they leaned back.

“What are you so happy about?” Easton looked up from the book they had been reading.

“Oh, you know, arson, killing, all of that fun stuff”

“And letting Athena get away. Again.” Centross entered the room from the archery range, glaring at Sherbert.

“I don’t see you going out there and trying to catch anyone” Sherb wiped the blood off of their sword with the edge of their jacket, glaring back at Centross.

“Guys, listen-” Easton started, but stopped when Seven entered the base.

“Hello, I have returned with more gunpowder” Seven walked over to Sherb, who jumped up to greet their robotic friend after one more glare at Centross.

“That’s great Seven! You can put it all over here” Sherbert pointed to the rows of chests that were slowly becoming full of gunpowder, endstone, and TNT. While Seven put the gunpowder away, Sherbert noticed some sparks coming from the back of Seven’s neck.
“You were wearing a helmet, right Seven?”

“Yes, but the rain levels have increased. The helmet you gave me appears to no longer be sufficient”

Centross rolled his eyes and sat down beside Easton, kicking his feet up

“In that case, I’ll give you a task that can be completed inside'' Sherbert thought for a moment, spinning their sword around as they did “Seven, I’m tasking you with taking apart the old Ominous Bane base”

“Seven” Centross spoke up “I am tasking you with not listening to Sherbert”

“Centross you can’t just-”

“But I just did!” Centross grinned. Easton looked back and forth between the two and opened their book back up, deciding that this was not their problem.

“I am receiving conflicting-”

“Seven, nothing is conflicting, you have been tasked to take apart the old Ominous Bane base” Sherbert said while glaring at Centross

“No, you have been tasked to stop listening to Sherbert”

More sparks flew from Seven’s neck as the two argued back and forth.

“The old base-”

“Stop listening-”

Seven’s audio processing must have been messed up. They couldn’t hear everything that was being said. A red warning light on the side of their head was blinking, but no one seemed to notice.

“Centross if you-”

“Shut up”

“New task-”

“-take apart-”

“Sherbert I swear-”

Seven blinked. The red warning light was no longer blinking, just stuck on. “New task logged. Take apart Sherbert”

Before anyone could react, Seven stepped forward and grabbed hold of Sherbert’s arm, pushing them to the ground and causing their shoulder to snap. Sherbert cried out in pain and dropped their sword as they fell to the ground, their left arm bent at a strange angle. Seven placed their foot on Sherbert’s back and with a quick pull separated their arm from their shoulder. The sound of snapping bones was accompanied by gushing blood. Sherbert’s vibrant purple and yellow jacket was quickly soaked in red.

“Seven! What are you doing!” Easton tossed their book to the ground and ran over to Seven, only to be quickly thrown to the ground. Easton’s head hit the table with a loud crack and they sunk to the floor.

“I am- am simply com- completing my task” Seven’s voice glitched out as they talked, Sherbert’s blood was beginning to seep in between their metal plating.

Seven grabbed Sherbert’s other arm and quickly snapped it up, breaking the arm off and sending spurts of blood around the room. Sherbert cried out once more before their eyes rolled back into their head.

Centross watched the situation. Frozen in place. Feeling responsible, but conflicted. Something was holding him back from helping.

More sparks were coming from Seven now as they reached a twitching hand down for Sherbert’s leg. Before the robot could tear off another limb, a sword cut cleanly through their neck. Seven’s head fell to the ground, rolling away from Sherbert’s body, their lights fading. Seven’s body collapsed, leaving Easton, sword in hand.

“No more tasks. Never again” Easton kicked Seven’s head away from Sherbert, then turned, walking past Centross “Two less members, we’ll need to pick up the slack”

“Right…” Centross stared at Sherbert, something inside of him breaking.

Chapter Text

TW: Blood, injury, character death

It had been a stressful day. Chaos was trying their hardest to get some redstone set up to work, but nothing was going right, a creeper had blown up by the house, and three dogs had run off and required chasing down. Ocie needed a break.

It was a beautiful evening with a slight breeze and gorgeous sunset. The orange and pink hues bounced off of the water's surface as Ocie dove under, instantly comforted by the feeling of the waves.

She swam out into the ocean, past fish and the occasional dolphin. It was easy to lose track of time while under the water and by the time Ocie surfaced on land, the moon was high in the sky. She looked around at her surroundings; rocky cliffs, cave entrances, and not many mobs.

“Perfect” Ocie said with a sigh of relief “Somewhere quiet”

She began to walk along the shoreline, looking both inland and out to see if there were any structures nearby that she could explore. She picked up the occasional rock and tossed it over the cliff’s edge, watching as it tumbled off the rocks and plopped into the water.

As the night continued on, the sea got rougher, sending waves crashing into the shoreline, salty sprays coating the path that Ocie walked along. She didn’t mind of course. The water was refreshing and made the rocks on the path glimmer in the moonlight.

A soft light coming from the bottom of a nearby cliff caught Ocie’s attention. She wandered over to the edge and looked down. It was too far to jump to any water and the sharp rocks made it a dangerous journey down, but Ocie was curious. Maybe it was an entrance to another library and she could find some new information that would help Rae. At this moment, Ocie noticed that she had forgotten a water bucket, so she grabbed a bit of stone and began her descent.

The breeze had picked up, and so had the crashing of waves as Ocie carefully made her way down the cliff side. About a third of the way, she realized how far it really was, and how stupid the decision was to come here alone.

“It’s not like a library would disappear, I can come back later with Rae when it’s nicer out”

Ocie began to make her way back up. The wind had grown stronger now, and the occasional splashes of water had left Ocie soaked and shivering in the cold.

“This was a stupid idea…”

Maybe it was the cold, maybe the wind or the water, or perhaps a combination of all three. Whatever it was, Ocie stumbled. Her foot landed on a slippery rock and before she could regain her balance she was falling through the air, plummeting towards rock. For a moment, there was freedom, then a horrible, blinding pain.

Ocie laid on a large rock, she felt the warm blood pooling beneath her from the crack in her skull. In her small grasp of consciousness, she laughed.

“Guess it wasn’t just seawater after all…”

Then she saw nothing but black. Ocie lay there, blood mixing with the cold sea water, as the light of the moon faded and a soft rain began to fall. A smile crossed Ocie’s lips as she thought of Momboo before she succumbed to the pain and took her final breath and was dragged out to sea by the crashing waves.

Chapter Text

TWs: Blood/gore, death, medical stuff, decapitation, trauma flashbacks

The moon was high in the sky when Sherbert was awoken by the knock on their door. Still tired and with half closed eyes, the alchemist shuffled out of bed and over to the newly acacia door and opened it up.

Sherbert wasn’t sure who they were expecting to see, but it wasn’t Aax. The olm was standing there, moss block in hand, nervously looking around.

“Sherbert, hi, hello, can I come in please?”

“Yeah, sure, are you good?” They stepped to the side, closing the door once Aax was in

“Totally, yep, everything is fine, just had a question”

“What’s up?”

“Ok so Rae and Ocie and Caspian and I went on an adventure together to a lab place underwater to look for things to help Athena, and there was some stuff but none of it has been helpful and I had an idea that I don’t think Rae or Caspian would be happy about but I think it might work”

Sherbert blinked a few times “You said a lot of things and I just woke up. You have an idea that could help Athena? That involves potions I assume?”

“Yep yep yep” Aax tossed the moss block back and forth in their hands, “We found out that I regenerate limbs and stuff, so, hypothetically, could my blood help Athena if it was in a potion”

“You want me to put your blood into a potion? For Athena?”

Aax nodded, “You made one with Rae’s eye, is this any weirder?”

“I guess not… give me a second” Sherbert ran upstairs to grab their jacket, then motioned for Aax to follow them down to the potion room. After setting up a couple of brewing stands, one with nether wart and the other with water, they grabbed a chair for Aax to sit on, a scalpel, and a small bottle to catch the blood.

“This won’t hurt too much, right?” Aax asked as he rolled up his sleeve, holding his arm out for Sherbert

“It shouldn’t, but I have healing and regen potions right here if you need them” Sherbert motioned to the shelf beside Aax as they carefully took the Olm’s arm. “I’ll count down from 3, ok? 1, 2-”

Aax didn’t hear three, or if they did, they didn’t process it. The second the blade had touched his skin, Aax was no longer in Sherbert’s house. Images flashed before their eyes. Scientists. The lab. Hoards of zombies. Guardians. The experiments. So many experiments. As the images flashed by, Aax could feel nothing but anger. Anger for the people who did this to him, and who hurt so many others.

The Olm’s eyes snapped open and he looked around. They were lying on the floor, the mixed sweet and citrus scents implied that splash potions had been used. As his eyes came into focus he noticed someone kneeling next to him. Someone in a lab coat. Their mouth was moving, but Aax couldn’t hear the words. All he could hear was the rush of water and screams.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

“Please be ok, please be ok” Sherbert mumbled under their breath as they knelt down beside Aax. The health and regen potions hadn’t seemed to help, not that Sherbert knew what was wrong. They hadn’t even drawn blood when Aax collapsed. Sherbert had barely managed to catch the guy before they hit the ground.

When Aax had opened their eyes Sherbert breathed a sigh of relief immediately asking Aax what happened and if he was ok. Aax didn’t respond at first, then he sat up. The look they gave Sherbert made the alchemists heart drop to their stomach.

“Aax are-”

“You did this to me” So much anger in those words, so much hate it didn’t even sound like Aax.

“I didn-”

“You made me like this!” Aax stood up and Sherbert did the same, taking a few steps back.

“Aax, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please c-”

“You will pay”

Sherbert didn’t have time to process what was happening. Aax moved too quickly, too efficiently, there was nothing the potion maker could do to stop them. The pain and warmth blooming from their stomach forced Sherbert to look down. All three prongs of Aax’s trident were sticking out of them. With a tug and forceful push, Aax yanked the trident back, sending Sherbert crashing to the ground.

“You’re not going to hurt anyone again, you hear me!” Aax brought the trident down again, this time into Sherbert’s chest. There was blood everywhere, splattered on the walls, seeping into the floor. A final blow went to Sherbert’s neck, nearly decapitating the already deceased alchemist.

Aax thought nothing of the encounter as they walked away, wiping the blood from the trident off on their shirt.

“You can’t hurt me anymore”

Chapter Text

Will usually liked the cold. There was something comforting about it, the way snow would feel against his hands, the winds on a cooler day roughing up his hair, the feeling of cold stone on his feet as he walked around his base.

Cold is what helped him survive the heat of the Nether. That all encompassing feeling that seemed to suffocate him the second he stepped through the portal. It was overwhelming to say the least.

It was why he built his new home where he did. Shadowed by the valley at most points of the day and the occasional updraft from the nearby ravine helped to keep the place at a reasonable temperature. Although there was a fireplace in his house, he never lit it unless someone else was coming over, preferring to keep things at the lowest possible temperature he could before things would start freezing.

But this cold, this was something different. It surrounded him, kept him from moving, trapped him in place. He had thought that a nice walk through the snowy mountains would help clear his head, keep him from thinking about everything going on back at spawn. Powdered snow normally wasn’t an issue, but this wasn’t normal powdered snow, at least it didn’t feel like it.

He was sinking so fast with no way to stop it. No handy shovel in the inventory and no leather boots to help him rise to the surface. It was dark, so very dark, the sunlight unable to filter through the ever-increasing layers of snow above him. As desperately as he clawed, trying to pull himself back to the surface, it was no use.

His fingers felt like they were burning, as he tried to push away the snow. As he sunk further, everything became more frosted, more solid, but it did nothing to stop his descent. Blood stained the snow around him as his fingers cracked and began to bleed. The exposed parts of his face and ankles were threatening to do the same.

He felt the frost gathering on his eyelids and his hair. The inside of his throat felt as if it was closing up, unable to take in the frozen air. All of his muscles were tense, his movements of escape slowed as the seconds ticked on.

Will’s thoughts wandered to the Nether-born’s of the server; Galahad and Athena. He wondered if this is how his friends felt in the cold, a pang of sympathy running through him. He felt his eyelids begin to slip shut, heavy from the frost build up.

The sinking had slowed now as the snow became thicker, wrapping around him like a blanket. He felt his mask go loose and fall away from his face, the strap having frozen and become very weak. He reached an arm up to grab it, but it was too difficult to move. His clothes had frozen around him and his limbs felt like they were weighed down with bricks.

That was when the heat began. Will’s heart started racing as he felt his face flush. He had heard about this, how hypothermia made people overheat in their last moments. How victims would discard layer after layer of clothing, only to fall to the elements quicker than before.

He let out a shaky breath, curling around himself in the darkness. There was no getting out of this one.

WillowMVP froze to death

Chapter Text

TW: Blood and body horror

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Statement of Caspian Solcrest, regarding a strange occurrence of flowers. Original statement given March 7th, 2018. Audio recording by Rae Morningstar, Head Archivist of Akashic Records, Fable.

Statement begins.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Purple… used to be my favourite colour. And you may be wondering what that has to do with my statement, but I feel like the context is relevant. Purple used to be my favourite colour and Alliums used to be my favourite flower. But not anymore. Not after what happened.

I guess I should start at the beginning. I’m an explorer, I like adventure, and I rarely stay in one place for too long. I do have a home, or at least I used to, that served as a base of operation. Every time I returned I would bring back a single Allium and plant it outside. I’ve never been great with plants, but I liked the way that the small purple flowers looked outside, especially in the early mornings. There was just something very beautiful about them.

This last adventure had gone a bit awry, what with me falling into a ravine and nearly breaking my leg. I managed to climb out, suffering only minor cuts and bruises, and decided to cut my trip short. I never use maps, so with my trusty compass I began back in the way I thought was home, only limping slightly.

I was making my way through an oak forest when I stumbled into a clearing. Nothing seemed strange or off about it, other than the single Allium sitting in the middle of all the trees, soaking up the remaining rays of sunshine as the day closed. I realised I had yet to grab a flower for this trip, so I picked it, careful not to get the blood from my still bleeding hand on the petals, and tucked it into my jacket pocket.

It was getting late at this point, so I decided to set up camp for the night. I quickly pitched my small tent and made a fire so I could at least have a somewhat decent meal after the fall I had taken. Belly full and eyes drooping, I climbed into my tent, curling up in my sleeping bag and hoping that I would be able to make it back to my house the next day.

When I woke up I felt… odd. My hands felt puffy, like I had been sitting on them for too long and there was a queasy feeling in my stomach. I chalked this up to my fall from yesterday and packed up camp, continuing on and trying to ignore the nagging feeling I had that something was wrong.

I was able to make it home without incident. Dropped off my things, planted the new Allium, and decided to spend what little was left of the day resting. I had grabbed an ice pack for my foot, which I thought may have been sprained given how much pain I was in, and retired to the couch for the next few hours. I wasn’t planning on sleeping there all night, but when I next woke up it was to sunlight streaming in through the open blinds and a particularly loud bird making its presence known nearby my house.

After sitting up and checking my leg, I noticed that there was an Allium lying on the coffee table. I was a bit confused by this as I had thought I had planted my newest Allium the day before, but I figured I was misremembering and didn’t think much of it. Once I was able to stand up I grabbed the flower, took it outside, and planted it with the rest.

The rest of the day went rather normally. I cleaned up all of my adventuring gear, sorted what little spoils I had from my trip, and did what little house work needed done since I had left. That night while I was making supper I noticed something rather odd. The flower pot that was sitting in my kitchen window was holding a lovely blooming Allium. It wasn’t an Allium before, I’m sure of this. It was a Cornflower, one gifted to me by a dear friend. I had kept it inside because I hadn’t wanted anything to happen to it. While I certainly thought this was strange, I didn’t think too much of it. Perhaps someone was playing a prank on me, or maybe flowers just… did that sometimes. Who was I to say, I wasn’t an expert.

That was the mindset I found myself in over the next few days; trying to ignore the strange amount of Alliums that were popping up all over my house. I would wake up with them on my bed, get up in the morning to find them on the floors, I even found one in the fridge one morning. It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. That, and the strange puffy feeling in my hands never seemed to go away. It was less noticeable, but still there. On top of this, I found myself being itchy most of the time. I had chalked this up to summer allergies, maybe the July heat, but looking back now I’m not so sure that’s all it was.

I think it must have been a week later, although I can’t be totally sure, that I noticed the first, well, spot, for lack of a better word. I hadn’t been planning another adventure as I was feeling rather ill. Fuzzy head, exhaustion, and that strange itchiness that wouldn’t go away. I had also noticed that my veins looked more… green than normal, although at the time I assumed it was my mind playing tricks on me. The spot was harder to write off.

I noticed it one morning when I woke up. I was stretching my back when I noticed a strange tug on my stomach. Upon closer inspection I found the weird spot, a bit bigger than a coin, and roughly the same colour as a bruise. When I touched the skin it was tender and hurt like hell. I distinctly remember the pain. It wasn’t like anything I had felt before. Not burning or scratching. More like something was trying to claw its way out from inside of me. Later I realised that is exactly what was happening.

For both my sanity and yours, I’ll spare you some of the worst details. Over the next few days the things, I’m not convinced they were just flowers, found their way to my skin. Each time was the same process. I would find the spot, then the pain would hit, and soon a blood-soaked Allium would crawl its way through my skin.

They were everywhere. My stomach, arms, legs. The worst one was on my head. Imagine the worst headache you’ve ever had, then times that by 20 or so. To add to the torture, the flowers kept appearing in my home. By the end of these three days I was practically wading through the things. Sometime during all of this thorns had begun to appear where my veins had once been. I can only assume that the blood was completely replaced by flower stems at this point, as thorns and leaves poked through, leaving me in excruciating pain whenever I moved an arm or leg.

I don’t know how long I was there. I know at one point I had stopped trying to move, had simply accepted my fate and laid down in the sea of Alliums covering my floor. I’m quite sure I should be dead. In any normal circumstance, having your blood replaced with leaves and flowers would most certainly be a death sentence. But these ones were cruel. They held on, forcing my heart to beat and my lungs to pump.

They would not let me die.

I suppose it must have been a few months later. I wouldn’t know, I’m pretty sure I was unconscious for most of it. Either way, the flowers were wilting, curling up and dying, leaving ugly scars behind where they had burst through.

It took a couple days, at least I think it did, before all of the flowers died. All of the stems had withered up and all the leaves had fallen away. It wasn’t until I was able to actually feel the cold that I risked moving. The outside world was covered in a blanket of untouched snow and the brightness of it all hurt when I first looked. My eyes had been closed for so long I had forgotten what light felt like.

Eventually I came to my senses, and once I did I didn’t waste a single moment. I left everything in that house, not wanting to risk the damn flowers following me. I remembered a snow-capped mountain I had seen a few times while I was exploring and decided that was where I was going. Away from the grass, away from the warmth, away from those… flowers.

I remember lighting the house on fire and walking away, but not much after that. I must have been in a state of shock. I know that I made it to the mountains and built a house, and I know that I only light a fire if it's absolutely necessary, preferring to keep things as cold as possible.

I suppose that’s why I came to give my statement when I did. It’s still cold out, nothing is blooming, and I’ll be safe in the mountains before any of the snow down here can even think about melting. What’s the saying? April showers bring May flowers? If that’s the case then you won’t be seeing me back here again until long after the rain has turned back to snow.

I don’t keep any greenery at my house. No vines, no bushes, even the nearest trees are a decent walk away. I hope every inch of that house burned to the ground. And I never want to see another Allium ever again.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Statement ends.

There is not much about this statement that is verifiable. Caspian Solcrest did burn his house down in the year prior to this statement being given, but other than that there is nothing much to go on.

When my assistant, Jamie, reached out for a follow up interview, he refused to pay us a visit until December. Jamie had offered to come up to wherever Caspian was, but he adamantly refused, claiming that they would bring them closer.

I suppose if we want more information we’ll be waiting another few months. I’ll be sure that Athena has all of their flowers cleared out before then.

End recording.

Chapter Text

TW: Nyctophobia, paranoia

It didn’t get dark in the city, not really. Even at night, there was a faint glow in the air. A soft light from the various uncovered windows and skylights flooded the streets. Maybe that’s why Chaos had designed the city this way, with light forever coating Seaside in a blanket of safety.

She didn’t think Ocie would mind, but she could never bring herself to talk about why she slept with a nightlight on. Why being outside at night left them frozen in terror. Why they never opened the curtains facing the darkened mountainside. Chaos’s time in the birch forest hadn’t done much, but it had taught them one very important thing; to be afraid.

Afraid of the darkness that leached in between the trees. Afraid of the sounds that came from beyond her limited field of vision given by the flickering campfire. Afraid of the things that lurked in the shadows, the ones that teased the silhouette of the figure when Chaos dared to stay outside of their tent too late into the night.

So Chaos had made herself a bubble of safety. A well-lit clearing and a cozy cabin. A stockpile of firewood so large that they never had to fear of running out of fuel, leaving their home in inky black darkness.

She didn’t like being alone in the forest, the only person around for miles. But it was more comforting than the alternative. That they weren’t alone. That those creatures that lurked in the shadows would one day break through Chaos’s light and make themselves known. That they would show her what true darkness really was.

Chapter Text

TW: suicidal ideation, loneliness, injury, nightmares

Centross took a shaky breath as he continued along the cold, porous, end stone. He was shivering, with only a t-shirt and shorts to his name. He left a trail of blood in his wake as the rough stone continued to cut his feet. Where had his shoes gone? And his armour? His grip on the old stone axe was weak. What had happened to his sword?

He wasn’t thinking properly as he made his way across the desolate landscape. His head was swimming with thoughts, yet he couldn’t focus on any one. There was no life in sight. No towering chorus fruit or lanky Endermen. Just an endless field of black and faded yellow.

The void…

It seemed to call to him, beckoning him to step over the edge and fall into its embrace. Centross had just reached the top of a small hill of endstone, which gave way to a short drop-off. The call was loud here, almost deafening. As he looked up and out into the void he felt dizzy; eyes desperately looking for something to focus on but failing.

There was a sudden feeling of vertigo as Centross stumbled forward, slipping on a loose stone and tumbling down the embankment.

His head was pounding, limbs aching, blood seeping into the spaces of the endstone, staining the ground around him in an ugly pale red.

“I’m alone” Centross thought to himself, “I’m to die here”

Wait… that wasn’t right. He shouldn’t have been alone. Centross slowly turned and sat up, wincing slightly as the blood rushed from his head. He scanned the horizon looking for a for a sign of-

“Hope?” his voice was weak, barely travelling, and his beloved friend was nowhere in sight. “Hope?” Centross tries to stand, only to collapse to his knees. There was a sudden pressure on his chest. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t-

*BARK*

At the sudden sound, Centross’s eyes snapped open. It took a moment for him to focus on the concerned-looking, furry face in front of him.

“Hey girl, sorry, didn’t mean to wake you”

Hope whimpered and stepped off Centross, resuming her place curled up by his side. Centross sat up, trying to calm his unsteady breathing. He wasn’t in the End anymore. Rae had rescued him. He was in the Overworld. He was safe.

Centross took a deep breath before stepping out of bed, Hope following shortly after. He changed from his sleeping shirt and shorts to his typical outfit and armour; long-sleeved black shirt and black pants under fully enchanted netherite. He headed out to check over the farms and do some resource gathering. If he wasn’t going to sleep he could at least be productive.

Chapter Text

Rae sat up and pressed a hand to his throat, trying to suppress the oncoming coughing fit. The moon didn’t offer much light for him in the early hours as he glanced over at the still-sleeping Aax and Caspian. The two of them looked peaceful, curled up together, creating a pocket of warmth in the chilly room. Their soft breathing caused Rae to smile as he took in a deep breath, still trying to keep from coughing. That’s when the smell hit him.

It was a sickly sweet, yet musky odour, and in Rae’s sleepy state, it took him a moment to place it. Sculk. He grimaced. It was that stupid mold that had made him sick in the first place. The idea of it being anywhere near his home or his boyfriends was enough to get him out of bed; he’d rather it be dealt with before either of them woke up. Atlas lifted her head slightly from her place at the foot of the bed, giving Rae a curious look before settling back down. The scientist grabbed his cape to shield off the chill and shut the door to the bedroom quietly behind him.

The smell was stronger out here, and it was easier to see thanks to the various glow berries hanging from the ceiling. After a bit of walking around, Rae found the smell to be strongest near Aax’s room. He made his way down the stairs, not bothering with the lights; the glow from the armoury gave off plenty of light to see. Following the scent, Rae found himself in front of a blank stone wall, one that Aax had never bothered to decorate. He looked around the room and grabbed Aax’s pickaxe which was sitting beside their bed.

Breaking through the stone released more of the sickening stench. Rae found himself staring at a small, sculk-covered cave that seemed to go on for quite a ways. He snagged a lantern from Aax’s bedside and ventured further, wanting to know how far the infestation had gone. The spongey texture of the sculk made travel slow, as Rae tried not to let his bare skin touch the mold. After a few turns and many clicking sensors, the scientist found himself at a point where the cave was too small for him to continue. Looking through the one-block gap he couldn’t see much, the sculk seemed to suck up the light from its surroundings. He took a few steps back to see if there was anything else he had missed when-

“Rae? What are you doing down here?”

The sound of Sherbert’s voice was startling. Rae spun around to face them, but his foot caught on a vein of sculk, causing him to trip and fall backwards, the lantern falling from his hand and rolling away. Rae became aware of a sharp pain in his arm and looked over to see his white shirt was stained red with pieces of glass sticking into his skin. He realized with a start that his elbow had hit the mirror, it was completely shattered.

The illusion of the alchemist faded away and a purple mist began to swirl around the cave, emerging from the mirror. Rae watched, feeling his stomach drop as the mist began to form into a shape he recognized from those shared memories with Enderian; Perix, the warden. He scrambled for the pickaxe, hoping for a weapon to defend himself with, but the newly freed goddess of illusion stepped forward with a sword pointed at Rae. He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion or not but didn’t want to take a chance.

“Hello, little scientist! It’s so nice to finally be able to meet you in the flesh” A cruel smile played on Perix’s lips as she finished the sentence. The purple mist was filling the cave now. The light from the lantern was mostly obscured and Rae felt a sense of dread settle over him. He tried to speak but was quickly overtaken by a fit of coughing. Perix laughed, the sound seemed to echo through Rae’s head.

“While I do thank you for freeing me, unfortunately, I can’t return the favour. You see-” Perix waved a hand through the mist, gesturing loosely to the mirror, “-It requires a replacement, it will not let me leave without… compensation”

Rae’s felt his face go pale and he tried once again to back away, but it was no use now. The mist was thick, he could feel it covering every inch of him like he was being buried beneath its apparent lack of weight. He felt his chest tightening and tried to cough, but couldn’t. The mist was beginning to fade now and although Rae tried to look around the cave, he couldn’t seem to move more than his neck and eyes. Everything else was frozen in place, still feeling crushed by an impossible weight.

Perix appeared in his vision, seeming much larger than before. It wasn’t until she picked up the mirror that Rae fully understood what had happened. He watched as Perix’s eyes became his own, the goddess’s facial features twisted and contorted until Rae found himself staring at a perfect clone. When Perix spoke, it was his voice that she used.

“A pretty good copy, don’t you think? I must thank you again for following my call and setting me free, I really didn’t think it would work. I hate to leave so soon, but I think my boyfriends are still sleeping, and I’d like to make it back before they start to worry”

Burning anger flowed through Rae’s veins, but despite all strength and willpower, he could do nothing to move or speak, although his face must have shown emotion based on how Perix snickered. It was strange to hear a sound so cruel come from his own lips. It made him sick.

“I think I’ll leave you here for now, let you get the real experience. Buh bye now little scientist” Perix placed the mirror on the ground before grabbing the lantern and Aax’s pickaxe and walking towards the cave exit. As the last pinprick of light faded, Rae was left with nothing but his fear in the complete darkness.

Chapter Text

“If you ever feel unsafe here, you get back to that city”

Those were the words that echoed through Addie’s head as she ran. The rain, which had been just a soft drizzle this morning, was now pounding down on their head. Her boots were filled with water even though she did her best to avoid the larger puddles. Their clothes felt heavy, soaked through with water; a knitted vest was not ideal attire in this situation.

A bolt of lightning struck somewhere behind her, three shadows momentarily revealing themselves before fading into obscurity, but the moment was enough to know that she was still being followed. The thunder that boomed across the sky was more than enough to make Addie want to curl up in a hole and never come out, but that wasn’t an option. They had to keep running, it wasn’t safe yet.

“Addie there is no reason for you to run, I am not a threat to you!”

Even though the voice was barely audible over the ever-increasing wind, it sent a shiver down their back. He was not supposed to know her name, they hadn’t even met before. But that didn’t matter now. All that mattered was getting away. Because Addie had knowledge, and that was a very powerful thing these days.

“That city is deep and dark and you know it better than anyone”

After what felt like an eternity they saw the hill come into view. Addie barely skidded to a stop before slamming the button, nearly running into the door before it had a chance to open. She took a second to glance outside before closing the door and jumping into the water elevator; there was no time to rest. Ven was with him. And Ven had been there the day that Addie had gotten to show people the city.

Once she reached the end of the elevator Addie wasted no time in taking off running again. Despite the fear and adrenaline, they felt a sense of relief being back in the city. The quiet and the darkness offered comfort to the spyder as she jumped up the nearest wall. The deepslate bricks felt cold against their hands as they hoisted themselves up the rest of the way and onto the carpeted path. She paused for a moment, catching her breath and trying her best to remember what parts of the city others had explored and what Ven may have seen.

“You could definitely hide there if you need to, ok?”

A faint splash from behind her indicated that someone had entered the elevator. No more time to think. She took off running towards the centre of the city where the buildings were more tightly condensed and there would be more hiding places. Leaping from one wall to another, they did their best to stay on the stone rather than the carpet so as to not leave as obvious of a trail.

The sound of a heavy pair of boots hitting the deepslate brought Addie to a halt. There was a pause, a silence that seemed to stretch on for hours, then Ven’s voice echoed across the city.

“I promise we aren’t here to hurt you, we just want to talk! Will you come talk to us, Addie?”

There was another pause, then footsteps; heading in opposite directions from what Addie could tell. Slowly as could be, she lowered herself down a ladder and into whatever building she was on. A quick scan of the room showed a section where the wall had crumbled, leaving a small alcove. There was just barely enough room for her to squeeze in but she managed, putting her back to the entrance in hopes that the darkness of her hair and shirt would help to camouflage her with the dark stones. Getting out of this spot later may be a problem, but right now that wasn’t her concern.

Addie strained her ears to listen to the footsteps, trying to pinpoint their locations, but the skulk that covered the place was doing a good job of masking the sound. They weren’t sure how long they stayed in that tiny alcove, but it felt like forever. Their legs and arms were starting to cramp up on their joints screamed in protest of the tense, huddled position they had been forced to take. Then all at once the silence was broken by his voice.

“Ven, we have no luck finding anyone down here, go back to the entrance”
“Yes sir!”

The footsteps retreated away from the city and Addie allowed herself to breathe a small sigh of relief. There was a hushed conversation that she couldn’t quite hear, then a splash. They waited a moment, preparing to start climbing out of the small space when suddenly the city was filled with a deep rumbling. Addie couldn’t quite stop the squeak she made out of fear, quickly shrugging up her shoulder to press her face in to in order to block any other noise. Had thunder from the storm somehow made its way down here?

As the rumbling came to a slow there was the faint sound of another splash, then something Addie couldn’t place. It was a sort of groaning sound, followed by the sound of something… clicking? She wracked her brain trying to figure out what it might be, then the third sound came. A loud, deliberate, sniffing noise. Addie felt her heart stop. They knew (or at least was pretty sure they knew) what this creature was.

Athena had described it to her over bracelet making one day. The Warden. A disease caused by the Goddess of Illusions that had struck his friend Rae and in its final form turned the scientist into a horrifying creature. Athena had described this creature in detail; how it looked, the sounds it made, the smell. Addie figured that they had never had an outside source to tell about the terrifying situation, and she had been happy to lend a listening ear.

Now their mind raced with a million different thoughts. This didn’t make any sense. How was the creature here? Had Rae gotten sick again since they had last spoken? Was there more than one Warden? Was the Goddess of Illusion still alive? Addie bit down into her shoulder in an attempt to stop herself from hyperventilating, drawing a bit of blood with her fangs in the process. This was not the time to start freaking out.

Of course, reminding herself of what bad time this was to panic did nothing to stop her panicking. Especially not when the Warden made a new noise and started moving closer to their location. ”The blood”, Addie realized with a start, ”It can smell my blood”. No point being quiet now, she had to move. Addie started to try and force her way out of the alcove, but in rushing to escape she loosened one of the supporting rocks in the pile, sending the whole thing tumbling down on her.

There was nothing they could do to stop the scream as one of the larger rocks crushed her hand into the ground. Another fell onto the side of her head, forcing her to twist her body and pinning her other arm against back. They were completely stuck. A sob escaped her as the realization hit her; she was going to die down here and nobody would know. Her comm was currently being crushed beneath her and even if it wasn’t, her arms were trapped.

As the Warden drew closer Addie wondered what everyone would think. Would they assume she had just run off? Gotten scared and escaped to some unknown library? How long would it take them to notice she was even missing?

She sobbed again, poison-laced tears now streaming down her face. The footsteps from the Warden had stopped, but by the intensity of the heartbeat Addie knew that it knew exactly where she was. It groaned again, more intensely this time, and a whimper escaped the spyder as the sonic attack hit.

Addie didn’t know what was happening; everything was moving too fast. In an instant she had been blown from the alcove and straight through the wall behind her. They were slammed into the next wall over and fell face-first into the skulk below. She had only a few second to acknowledge the pounding in her head and the intense ringing in her ears before she felt the footsteps of the Warden sink into the ground beside her. At least the pain would be gone soon.