Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the dead of night, thunder echoed through the sky only to echo off the reinforced stone that built the castle walls. Rain battering on the window, which began to reflect the soft glow of the torches that were lit inside. The king stared intently at the avian that was now meeting his gaze trying to hold back a smile despite the situation that he had got himself in. 

"What were you thinking?" Ren practically yelled this at Grian, immediately losing the calm, omnipotent personality that he presents himself with to keep up the idea of his royal reign, now just looking like someone who has been just been royally screwed over. 

Royally screwed over by someone who claimed they wouldn't do anything to rebel, now the main icon for the rebellious movement.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ren." Grian kept his composure which only seemed to anger the king further. Good. The calmness was an act though, that Ren had to buy. Grian knew he shouldn't be scared, as he hadn't done anything wrong so they would have no reason to make him stand trial or face any form of punishment, but there was still a nagging feeling in his brain that he needed to play dumb to the situation. Play innocent.

It doesn't help that he smelt like gunpowder, handcuffed behind his back tightly, practically rubbing his wrists raw. Courtesy of the guard that brought him in. 

Ren scoffed at the sight. "Seriously? The chaos, the robbery, the rallies...You have been leading a rebellion behind my back for God knows how long and you even have the AUDACITY to deny it?!" He stood up from his golden throne, only to pace the floors as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you honestly think I'd believe you weren't involved?"

Grian shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you." He was looking past Ren and at the mockery that is the throne. Their kingdom had been suffering due to poverty and the enforcement of only being able to earn a quarter of a diamond through chores, meanwhile the king had diamonds encrusted into the surface of netherite, sanded down to make a over glorified piece of furniture.

It was infuriating and it seemed as though the king just didn't care. He claimed this was to reset their economy but it seems as though this was only to make him rich and make sure that he stays rich. No matter who suffers the consequences. Truthfully, Grian didn't plan on being a part of the rebellion. All he did was share his thoughts (and ammo) on the situation, about their monarchy and economic system and people agreed. Who wouldn't? Ren had turned his back on them to become a monarch and the people only wanted to make it right. 

"Your Majesty," the title dripped with sarcasm, although retaining formality, "I haven't started a rebellion against you. All these acts of defiance are conjured up by someone else who paid the right price. My business is clear; anyone can resist anything and I'll 'assist' in their endeavours, only a bit" Then, he muttered the last part, "It's not my fault everyone is against you."

Rendog's face was not masking the fact that he was about to lose it. "Grian, May I remind you that you have NO power here? There's no judge, no jury, nothing. Only I control what happens on this server and I can't have you putting people in danger because of YOUR resistance!" He tried to make himself threatening only to realise Grian was no longer looking at him, but rather outside. Smiling.

Ren follows Grian's gaze to the window, where what seemed like a large bonfire was taking place almost out of render distance.   On closer inspection, Ren realises that it's one of his rules that had been set ablaze. 'Thou shall not party' was up in flames followed by a series of fireworks and TNT. There were people below controlling the flames but they had masked themselves and Ren could not figure out who they were. There was also music and dancing, it even looked as though they were serving food.

Then, it clicked. They were partying.

From the looks of it, there were a lot of them. All disobeying the law on purpose as though it was just a stupid suggestion. Some were using TNT, which seemed to have Grian's brand written all over it. Grian may not have any official power but the power of the people was nothing to be trifled with. Not without guards or security or anything at least. At this point, Ren was struggling to get anyone on the side of the monarchy, despite them all saying they follow it. They're lying. They would be ready to follow a resistance as soon as someone was there to lead it.

No one was leading this resistance. Therefore there was no one that he could technically blame.

Except Grian.

"You did this." It wasn't a question, it was a statement from the king. Grian was about to retort when he saw that the king was getting closer, which caused him to immediately shut up. Shit, he forgot that he was in no position to really speak, especially being handcuffed and nowhere to fly to as all the windows were covered in bars. Now, the king had just witnessed another act of treason that Grian had clearly assisted in. Shit...

While Ren walked forward, he started to think about how to stop this madness. He was coming up with a plan that he didn't think anyone would like, but it seemed to be his only option to remain in power. In control.

See, Everyone already knew that Grian would be the someone who would start a rebellion. As much as he tries to remain detached, he still supplies the others with ideas and propaganda against power. No one would willingly put themselves in the spotlight like that, while he was constantly pushed into it. 

No one was willing to step up. So if he made an 'example' out of Grian, then he'll make sure no one ever will want to be put in that position again. It may be cruel, as Grian was one of his friends, but Grian and the rest of the resistance betrayed him. This was in the name of justice, of doing what's right.

And Grian is in the wrong, right?

Of course he was, he had to be. Grian kept spreading rumours that had to stop. Ideas that had to stop. 

Grian had to be stopped.

Ren grabbed ahold of the handcuffs that Grian had on, so he couldn't scurry away. They looked at each other dead in the eyes. Grian's once proud look now became fearful, knowing that he had gone to far, that he had fucked up, as his eyes met cold dead ones that only seemed fuelled by the power adrenaline. Ren was mad. He yanked Grian upwards by the handcuffs, rubbing his wrists raw.

Ren called in a couple of guards that were waiting just outside the room, as they ran over to detain the avian's wings. This made Grian way more scared and he started flapping them, knocking down one of the guards and startling the other one. Ren then pulled Grian back to facing himself. "Grian, you haven't just started a rebellion here. You've started a war. And I'm going to end it for good,"

What? What was that supposed to mean? Grian thought, keeping his eyes on Ren until he felt one of the guards place a blindfold on him. Were they going to kill him? He tried thrashing about but they held him down firmly this time. He could barely move, which is when someone put him in a choke hold.

He couldn't get out of it, his movements becoming slower and weaker. The last thing he remembered hearing was the sound of fireworks going off followed by Ren's disapproving grunt at them. All Grian could think about was the resistance, on how well they had pissed off the king.

At the same time, he thought oh fuck, we REALLY pissed off the king.

Once the life drained out of Grian’s eyes and his body slumped over against the guard who had him in in the chokehold loosened their grip on the unconscious body. It was clear Grian wasn’t about to get away any time soon.

Ren felt no guilt or empathy, only a sense of pride and relief. Finally, he could end the constant worry against him. All he had to do was lock Grian up for a while, which is a luxury compared to what Grian has done to his reign.

Meanwhile, the guards watched the king with worry, he looked psychotic with the way he stared and held himself. They didn’t mention it though, as this was their king and surely Ren wouldn’t do anything too harsh, after all. This was all just stop the resistance.

At least, that's what themselves as the king picked the avian up by the arms and started to drag him across the throne room. Ren called the guards over to help since he could only manage to hold Grian a bit awkwardly, as the wings made a useless attempt to shield his body from the world. Nothing was gonna hurt him though, Grian would be fine. This was all just to end a rebellion.

He'll be fine.

Chapter Text

Down the dungeon staircase, leading down into a large amount of pitifully small cells that one wouldn’t even dare to keep their pet bird locked in. The inside of the cells were pitch black except for a small amount of area being illuminated outside of them by a torch that would get dimmer and dimmer but never go out. 

From that dim light, it was clear there was something behind one of those particular cells. One would roughly be able to make out the outline of a certain avian being kept in there. 

Grian sat with his back up against the wall, watching the outside. He was silent. He had only woken up an hour before, he was confused and scared if anything. If he was being honest with himself, the moments before he had passed out in the King’s throne room he was certain he wasn’t going to get out of this alive.

Ren was livid.

There was no doubt about it. Grian was just the natural enemy to government figures, so it was bound to happen at some point. He just didn’t realise this would be their approach, locking him away from his own resistance. Watching to see if it falls apart without Grian there.

What Ren and all the people who worked for him didn’t know was that this could go either way. The resistance could fall without Grian leading the charge, or they could work quicker to take down the unelected power. Grian was banking on the second option. 

The cell was cold. His hands were shaking from the lack of warmth and his teeth were chattering. His back was pressed against the stone wall which was frozen to the touch. He longed to spread his wings out and wrap them around himself, but the cell was two small and the avian was scared of the damage that could be done to them in these conditions.

There was no bed. No pillow. Not even a measly blanket. Even the dim torch that provided the only light was too far to give off any warmth. He had been stripped of his shoes and socks, which would have provided the bare minimum so that his feet didn’t go numb. 

Then there was the fact he was alone. The avian was trapped in a cage, alone, and he had know idea if it was going to stay that way. He had no idea what Ren was capable of, since before he never would have guessed that the king would take prisoners.

Then again, maybe he wasn’t a prisoner. Maybe he was already dead.

No, he couldn’t be. If he were, they wouldn’t have bothered with the cell. Then again, it did seem like they had a few to spare, given that when he tried to look beyond the cell bars, he was met with thousands of replicas. Each as small and pitiful as the last. He wondered what the King was planning to use them for, silently praying that it wasn’t meant for his own resistance team.

They don’t deserve this.

So, he further pressed his back up against the wall and watched the outside of the cell, waiting. Someone has to check up on him at some point, if not to talk then to provide food or make sure that he’s still alive. 

Couple hours later, Grian could see a brighter light approaching the cell…

-

“This was the best move, right?” Ren thought to himself as he paced his castle. 

It had been nearly a full day since he put Grian in the cell. He hadn’t thought to check up on him till then, last time the king had seen the avian he was basically unconscious, being dragged off down to the cell by the guards. 

Since then, the resisting side has gone quiet. Ren had no idea if his plan had succeeded in removing the main issue being Grian; the one who initiates chaos, or if they were planning something. If the reason they had gone quiet is to not draw attention to their true plan of overthrowing the king rather than just backing down. 

Maybe he was a little paranoid, but in Ren’s opinion, he had every right to be. 

In his mind, there should be an attack any second now. Not that he didn’t appreciate the silence that was there instead, but he preferred it when he knew what was going on. Maybe they were seeking revenge? From a governmental position, he had technically detained someone without trial, imprisoned him without cause and not told anyone about it.

What if they found out on their own? How could he control his land and people if they found out he was being secretive?

Unless he’d tell them first. 

He stopped pacing with the idea he had. Just tell them. It could work, in a way. No one would accuse him of unjust imprisonment if they think he had a reason to do so and who would admit it if they did something wrong? It was genius, calling himself out before anyone had reason to question his authority.

The king opened the chat from his communicator, ready to call everyone together to make an announcement, only for his chat to have been flooded with notifications. His citizens, some of which must have been resistance members but he couldn't be sure, progressing through the game silently. Some even receive such achievements as 'The Beginning?' for spawning withers.

This, of course, was natural on the server. 

People were always progressing through Minecraft, even spawning Withers to get nether stars for beacons, but at this point in time it spooked Ren. It reminded him that these people had resources, enough to plan a full on assassination if they wanted to. He was the king, he couldn't let them be the ones to hold the power. 

He sat back down on the throne, currently gold with a diamond-encrusted layer, made from the taxes of the citizens he wanted to keep calm. There were issues within the plan. If they decided that his reasoning for detaining Grian was unjust, then no one was going to protect him when they eventually got revenge.

Instead of setting a meeting for that day, Ren decided to write;

'Next week, I have an announcement to make. Please meet at -2680, 65, 3288 on Monday.'

This was met with a few replies, mostly confused but all around positive responses. Liars, he thought, all pretending to be friendly when they were really planning to destroy him and his kingdom.

He needs protection. His other guards were already trying to question him, his authority. He needs someone that would want to work for diamonds, no questions asked. One he could trust, but would also be open to risking their life for the king's survival. One who Ren could truly believe was not going to be part of the resistance, as they would be unable to lie to his face. 

Or just someone who really didn't want to do anymore tasks for money that they would rather become a personal bodyguard.

Hastily, he added on from his announcement;

'Also, anyone want a job as a bodyguard?'

-

Slicing echoes through the cave system, only tuned out by the redstone machinery that held the wither in place between the bedrock. It hummed as it produced another wither once the last one was destroyed, Scar's blade collecting XP to further its own durability. 

"This wither farm is great," Scar turned towards the Redstone Engineer, who was watching him while leaning against the stone, "I never knew you could make it out of redstone". 

Mumbo smiled at the compliment, he had worked all day to create a system that would allow people to gain nether stars without the destruction of the server. Now, all they needed to do was get a few hits on the wither and the machine does the rest. Resources do cost a lot though, to gather and to use, so he charges people to use it.

The machine powered down and Scar delivered the final blow to the wither as it exploded and evaporated into dust, leaving behind the glowing nether star that gets sucked up by the hoppers below and deposited into the chest. He walked towards Mumbo who got up from the cobblestone and held out his hand.

"It's 25 diamonds to use, Scar" He held his hand out, waiting for the money. Scar froze in place, clearly caught off guard by the amount mentioned by the moustached man. They waited for a moment before Mumbo spoke up again, this time more slowly to make sure Scar was still there and not disassociating given his completely blank look.

"Scar...this is the price we agreed on"

Scar snapped out of his trance. "What do you mean we agreed on it?"

Mumbo pulled out his communicator, showing where he repeated the price continuously in their conversation, where Scar had just responded with 'Yeah, yeah, I got you'. Judging by Scar's flabbergasted face, Mumbo realised that this must be news as he watched the hermit recheck his own communicator and let out a slow groan of disappointment.

"There was a smudge on my screen," Scar facepalmed, "I thought you said 2.5, as in 2 and a half". 

It was Mumbo's turn to be shocked, wondering how that could even happen while Scar was busy hiding his face from shame and clearly bringing the wrong amount of diamonds to pay for what he had already used. In Mumbo's shock, he also let out a small laugh before talking again.

"Wha - How - Scar, how did you think you were going to pay HALF a diamond? What do you think I would WANT with half a diamond?"

Not taking his hands off his face, he let out a mumbled "I...was going to give you an IOU on that. Pay you back when I owed you another half a diamond". He sounded unsure of his plan now, thinking about it compared to saying it out loud made him feel kinda silly, wondering why he didn't question the pricing system. 

A ding went off on the communicator.

It was an announcement from Ren. The king no one asked for and has ruined their little economy through making the main source of income basic chores that no one wanted to do. One of the reasons Scar didn't have a lot of diamonds at the moment was that he could never complete the tasks, always dying or getting distracted instead of finishing them. 

He looked down to read it, Mumbo also checking to see what the fuss was about.

'Next week, I have an announcement to make. Please meet at -2680, 65, 3288 on Monday.'

Scar stared at it for a longer moment while Mumbo put the communicator back in his pocket, with a brief nod and a quick "Huh, I wonder what that's all about" before turning back to Scar to discuss the matter at hand.

"Look, I would normally let this go because you clearly made a mistake, but I need those diamonds, man. This machine takes a lot to run it and I use up enough of it's power lending it out to people at this reasonable price."

Scar scoffed at the word 'reasonable' because it was ten times the price he had thought it was, but he couldn't fault Mumbo for that. It was a complicated redstone contraption and technically he should be charging double for what it takes to get resources and even get the diamonds to buy them would be nearly impossible due to how messed up their market is at them moment, considering the king decided to steal all their earnings beforehand in an effort to cleanse the market of too many diamonds.

"You don't have to pay me back now," Mumbo stated clearly, "but it needs to be by next week, and no more using the machine before then, you don't want to rack up debt."

It was a generous offer, but Scar still had no idea how he was going to make it by that time.

He thanked the redstone man and headed out, packing up what he had already collected from the automated wither farm. There was no way he was going to get the diamonds on time, Scar thought as he packed up his things and started to walk out of the cave space back to the overworld on the carved out stone staircase. At least Mumbo seemed reasonable enough, maybe he'd understand.

"Oh and, Scar?"

Scar whipped his head around only to see the moustached man brandishing an enchanted, netherite axe, glowing a translucent    purple hue that reflected in the man's eyes. His face that seemed friendly before vanished into a stone-cold, blood-lust stare. He was terrifying. The only thing that didn't seem to change about his expression is his smile, except before it had come across as kind was now seen as an unspoken threat.

"You should get me those diamonds."

It was clear what he had to do now. Scar knew that he didn't want to get on the wrong side of the moustache, he felt glad that they were friends but he can't say that the threat wasn't loud and clear. He had to get the diamonds but he needed to figure out how to get them quickly. Tasks are difficult and he'd have to do a lot of them to save up enough, but his wagon wasn't selling enough to generate a good profit. 

He turned his back on the moustached Mumbo once again, to head up the stone staircase again, narrowly missing the stone that grazed his head due to someone not making the staircase tall enough, making travelling an agonising process

Another ding went off from his communicator. It was from Ren.

'Also, anyone want a job as a bodyguard?'

Looks like there's a way to get those diamonds after all. Normally he would be suspicious of something like this, especially coming from someone like Ren, but he really needed diamonds and soon, so once he reached the surface, he typed out a response and headed over to Ren's palace.

He was a bit reluctant due to how bad of a state the server is in and he didn't want to add to it by helping Ren but he reasoned with himself that it was just gonna be a simple job, it's not like he agrees with what Ren is doing to the server or anything. 

He looked at the giant doors that towered over him at the palace's entrance, the sight both intimidating and belittling but he still knocked and still went in to ask the simple question of how much does the job pay. Once he heard the payment was going to range in the 3 digit numbers if he does well and gets to next week, there was no going back. 

Silently he apologized to the people secretly resisting the King's demands and the person who was not so secretive about it; Grian. 

But he didn't feel too sorry, after all, how bad could this job really be?

Chapter Text

The knock on the giant doors made Ren jump from his chair. He had dozed off while sitting on his throne, waiting for an attack that he was sure the other side was planning, so he woke up in a slightly disoriented state.

“Who’s there?”

The wooden doors remained silent again but when Ren thought that whoever was at the door had walked away, he heard another knock. This one was a little louder and a little harsher. They must be getting impatient, Ren thought, so the best course of action would be opening the door.

He got up from his throne and scraped his shoes against the carpet as he dragged his feet over to the door. He hesitated, though. What if whoever this was knows that he’s been keeping Grian locked away?

Ren hadn’t even been down there to check on him yet, not since he was first put there, forced unconscious. Safe to say, Grian was probably awake by now. The king would have to face the avian soon, at least to keep him alive. If Grian died because of his living conditions, no one would listen to reason on why he was down there.

The reasoning, Ren thought, was completely justified. Despite his paranoid beliefs, the rebellious citizens have been awfully quiet and the server has never been more peaceful since he took charge of the land’s diamonds.

Another knock. Whoever was at the door remained persistent, so the king had no choice but to equip his sword and slowly open the door, ready to see who was waiting for him on the other side. 

“Well, Hello, your majesty!” The cheery voice was unexpected when Ren opened the door. Standing there was a well-dressed, grinning man who still somehow managed to look scruffy given his energetic nature. 

“Scar,” He stated, surprised,  “What are you doing here?”

The man gave a playful scoff as he let himself into the house, it was all part of the performance to Scar. All just a way to put on a show to intrigue the audience into buying whatever he’s selling.

“I’m here, my good sir, to answer your call to a job offer”

Ren forgot about the request for a bodyguard he’d asked for. Other than Scar, no one else stepped forward. 

“Just one question; how much does this job pay?”

Ah, that’s why he was here. Ren felt relieved, the fact that the man was only chasing the money from the job was way better than the idea that he was secretly a spy. Ren put away his equipped sword but still keeping it close because you’d never know.

Scar was also quite relieved that he put away the sword he had held since the moment Scar had got there. 

Ren clapped his hands together with a wide eyed expression which got Scar’s attention instantly. “Right yes, payment”

The king shuffled through his inventory, already filled with the diamonds that he swore to the public that he had ridden from their economy system, making a full show out of it, practically waving it in front of Scar's face the full stacks before putting it away.

“Do you swear that you’ll protect me no matter what the cost?”

“Yeah, yeah, exactly all that.”

“Also, no conversing or siding with the enemies that are currently against me.”

“Definitely not,” Scar raised his voice dramatically to emphasise his point, “I absolutely HATE those resistance people, those rapscallions! Nope, I will NEVER side with them or ANYTHING they stand for”

“...do you really hate the resistance members that much?”

The question was genuine. Ren was curious if he could really trust Scar. The man was a salesman at heart so he could be exaggerating certain things to make the right sell, just to get his hands on diamonds, but if this was genuine then maybe…

Maybe Ren won’t have to face Grian as soon as he thought.

“Yes! I mean, that’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”

Scar ended that statement a little nervously, seeing the crazy king now deep in thought. He knew what he was getting himself into but he really needed the diamonds, so at this point he’d take any job he could get no matter who he’s working for.

“Then you’ve got the job, as well as an extra bonus job that I assure you pays well,”

Ren’s face became serious.

“But you’ve got to promise me this one thing.”

The king leaned forward, as he approached as close as humanly possible towards Scar and lowered his voice so that the impact of his words came out more forceful and strict, while Scar leaned backwards to not be so close to him.

“You do not question what I do, you don’t help the rebellion and you don’t say a THING about what I’m doing here.”

“Yeah…okay, yeah I got that.” 

“If you don’t,” Ren continued, “then you won’t see a slither of those diamonds. Better yet, I could have you arrested.”

“Hear you loud and clear,” He smiled his salesman smile but for some reason, Ren believed that he wouldn’t say a thing. It was clear that Scar had accepted his terms and conditions and he had gotten the job. There was an uneasy silence before Scar realised something.

“Wait, you don’t actually keep prisoners, do you?”

-

Small group of resistance members gathered in an underground basement, the lowered mutterings of questions and concerns being thrown out into the discussion. The torches burned as half drawn up plans lay discarded on the table.

There was only one real question on their mind; Where was Grian?

It had been a few hours since the last harmless attack against the King to get him to give them their diamonds and step down without provoking him too much. It had gone well, they were able to execute the plan and it went ahead without any issues.

Yet now Grian was missing and they didn’t know what to do. 

Ironically, most of the members hadn’t met each other until this day. Usually they work individually, working with Grian in terms of him providing the service so that they could carry out the plans but not tie it back to Grian or the resistance member.

It wasn’t long until people realised that Grian was a major factor in assisting the majority of the plans, which wasn’t really hard to figure out due to his nature of being a menace to any form of Government and the fact he wasn’t selling the whole ‘I’m staying out of this one’ statement that he had claimed the moment Ren announced his monarch status.

This worried the members. He hadn’t been absent since the moment he first started this venture. There was talk that maybe something bad happened to him, that maybe Ren was behind what went wrong and that he had caught wind of their operation and was now retaliating.

Except, they couldn’t believe it. 

All the resistance’s plans had ended in being harmless pranks that worked only as an annoyance to the king, nothing more. It wasn’t as if they had attempted an assassination or called for a royal beheading. Therefore, the King had no reason to possibly go through extreme measures that could affect Grian so badly that he would be unable to show up to resistance meetings.

The logical guess was that Grian was laying low. It made sense, considering that while no one would do anything drastic against him because of a prank, someone could still find a way to get him in trouble for all his resistance activity.

Nonetheless, they have to continue forward. There was no telling what ‘royal law’ Ren was going to implement next to forbid them from committing to any of their newer plans. It was time they all stepped up in Grian’s absence to prove it wasn’t just him the King should worry about.

Who knows? Maybe the sheer fear of what he’s up against will cause him to step down from the position of King and return the server back to normal. 

Which is why they began planning. The next event has to be a big one, it has to be something noticeable while Grian is still MIA. It would need to grab the attention of the entire server and perhaps get them more members all while sending a message to the king.

It was like a gift from the Heavens when King Ren sent that message;

'Next week, I have an announcement to make. Please meet at -2680, 65, 3288 on Monday.'

It was decided that that was the event they needed to make their debut. No one was holding it against him, the fact that Grian had disappeared on them. If anything, he was putting himself at risk being the main face of the operation and if he needed to opt out for a while to keep a low profile then that would be the best course of action. 

So, they had a week to prepare the most epic prank that this server had ever seen.

They spent the night shooting out ideas on what to do and how to gather the supplies undetected, so that Ren wouldn’t get suspicious but also so they would be able to move the items between places.

Hopefully, Grian would show up by then. Either way, Ren had no idea what was coming his way…

-

Utter darkness was what Ren and Scar had wandered into, it was only when Ren lit the torch that Scar realised that there was a staircase there. The king beckoned him to follow as he led the way down the stairs.

It was quiet, if not for the dripping water that came from the ceiling. Scar wondered how far down they were, and why no one else knew about the castle’s basement. It was giving serial killer vibes and he didn't even notice when they reached the bottom of the stairs. 

“Give him this”

A loaf of bread was shoved into Scar’s hands as well as the torch, as Ren pointed down the long corridor of cages to a specific cage. Scar knew better than to ask any questions.

“Don’t let him out”

Ren turned around and walked back up the stairs, clearly not wanting to face what he had left down here. Or who he left down here, considering that he was clearly referring to someone when talking. 

Scar continued walking further down the hallway, next to multiple cages that seemed barely big enough to keep a person but still possible. It made him question what had he gotten himself into, and if he could stomach whatever awaited him in one of these cages. 

As Scar approached the cage Ren had pointed him to, he saw discarded feathers next to it, which made him breathe a sigh of relief. Ren was keeping a bird down here, clearly. Scar found it kind of strange why he was keeping an animal down here, but maybe it was a pet that he wanted to hide in case the resistance members took it as leverage.

Scar didn’t think that they would be that cruel, but he couldn’t fault Ren for being worried. 

Except, as he got closer, the fallen feather seemed...bigger? 

It wasn’t like your regular chicken feather, and it also was too colourful to be something like a chicken. However, it was also way too big for a parrot. In fact, Scar couldn’t think of any bird on the server whose feathers were that large except avians, obviously.

Scar froze in thought.

Except Avians… 

He lifted up the torch to see better, praying that it wasn’t true. He turned round the corner to face whatever it was waiting on the other side, and he hoped to Void that it wasn’t an avian. They were people, people Scar was friends with no less. Hell, Grian was an avian.

A very dark thought occurred to him that he quickly waved away.

It was dark in the cell, so Scar brought the torch up closer to the bars to see who was in there. The eyes that matched his gaze made his heart stop. He recognised those eyes. He really wished he didn’t recognise them but he did. 

In hindsight, it was obvious. There were no other avians on the server and it was clear that Grian was on a mission to take down the King’s reign but Scar couldn’t have imagined that Ren would do something this drastic. Had he gone mad?

“Scar,” Grian recognised, “What are you doing here?”

It took him a moment to realise what Grian had said, mainly because he was too baffled for a response. It was as though his mind wasn’t allowing him to understand what was going on, not taking in the information because it was tremendously messed up.

One of his best friends was lying chained up in the basement of his new employer.

What had he gotten himself into?

Chapter Text

One of his best friends was lying chained up in the basement of his new employer.

What had he gotten himself into?

-

Scar was at a loss for words, but it didn’t take long for Grian to find his own. 

“SCAR!? What are you DOING here!?”

Whatever tired, confused state Grian was in was completely masked now with sheer shock, pure confusion and disbelief that the first face he had seen since his unjustified kidnapping was his friend, who was clearly just as confused to see Grian there.

“Ren didn’t kidnap you too, did he?”

It didn’t make sense, since Scar was clearly conscious, standing on the other side of the cages and not locked up in any way, but what other explanation was there? It wasn’t too strange to believe that Scar had managed to push the king’s sanity to the edge.

“Kidnapped? No, no, I was hired!”

“HIRED?!” Grian screeched, although it came out more like a squawk.

“Yeah, as a bodyguard, but what are you doing here, Grian? No ones seen you for a while”

Grian chose not to answer, only to stare at the man in disbelief, waiting for him to realise the messed up situation surrounding him. He couldn’t believe what was happening, and had no idea how Scar ended up working for the mad man that is the king.

 It took Scar a while to register that since Grian was in a cage with no outside lock, as well as the heavy chains draped across his body and how his wings were clearly immobile that the avian might not be staying in the cage based on his own free will.

Also, Grian said something about being kidnapped too, so that must mean…

“Oh.”

Scar realised what was going on.

“Yeah,” Grian confirmed, “Oh.”

It was silent for a while, Scar taking in the information while Grian began to be increasingly irritated towards the king. A bodyguard? Was he serious? The fight between the resistance and the king had only been (well, up until this point) harmless. No one had taken any extreme measures against each other, one could even assume their rivalry was purely banter and not even a rebellion against the government at all.

But now?

Kidnapping had crossed a line. Grian would never have thought he’d go to these lengths, the power of being king had gone to his head. Hopefully, he won’t do anything too drastic. 

Problem was, that hope was fleeting every moment Grian waited in the cage. He had to get out.

“Scar,” Scar turned to him, “you’ve got to get me out of here!”

Snapping Scar out of whatever state he was in from hearing the news, he quickly leapt into action to check for any locks or loose bars that could potentially let the bird man out of the claustrophobic space.

Grian was thinking about all the ways they could get him out of there, calculating the likelihood for Ren to be by the main door when they make their big escape. It took a while for him to realise that Scar had stopped trying to get him out.

“Wait, what?” He exclaimed, “Scar? Is there a door or lock over there--?”

“I need this job, Grian.”

Scar had stepped away from the cage entirely, still maintaining eye contact with the avian. The contrast between Grian’s shocked and betrayed expression compared to Scar’s slightly guilty look was almost humorous, in a dark sort of “Telling you I ran over your puppy” way.

Scar wanted to get him out of there, that’s true, but it was also his first day on the job. Those diamonds weren’t going to earn themselves and this job was his way out of the debt he managed to rack up for himself. 

Grian moved to the bars of the cage, trying to make himself eye level with Scar. “Think about what you’re doing here.” He said slowly, pronouncing each word “You are working for a MAD MAN!”

Scar looked over to the hall where he came from and then back at Grian. He took a deep breath, “I understand your frustration, but you need to understand…

He paused before admitting it quietly, like a secret.

“I don’t have a lot of diamonds”

Grian rolled his eyes. Scar continued, “I’m not saying I won’t let you out, It’s just that I can’t let you out NOW!”

“Scar,” Grian pinched his nose in frustration, “Are you seriously telling me you are leaving me kidnapped by someone who is borderline psychotic and clearly paranoid, who may or may not kill me depending on his mood because he promised to pay you?”

He’s words became much slower “You are ditching me for DIAMONDS? For FUCKING DIAMONDS?!”

He puffed out his wings in a manner that could be seen as intimidating if he weren’t malnourished and behind bars. Scar made no attempt to move.

“Look, I’ll just get the diamonds and THEN I’ll let you out, ok? Great!”

It was indeed, not great. There was no room to argue though, as Scar was not going to listen to him anyway. At that moment, Scar remembered something and pulled out a piece of stale bread out of his inventory.

“Oh, and I think this is for you.”

He tossed it over to the bars, missing the gap inbetween and letting it roll onto the dirty prison floor. Grian looked at it in disgust but to be fair that could have been directed at either Scar or the bread.

He didn’t break eye contact with the bread even when Scar said his goodbyes and made his way back down the seemingly never ending hall. The avian couldn’t believe the fact that his one escape had decided to sell him out for diamonds.

Despite Grian not being able to see whether or not Scar was still down the hall, he decided to scream out anyway, “SCAR, YOU COWARD!”

Unbeknownst to Grian, Scar could hear his taunts. He had been far enough to not see Grian’s cage anymore but it didn’t stop him hearing anything the prisoner was yelling.

“SCAR, YOU ARE MAKING A MISTAKE!”

Scar had stopped in place, listening to everything the avian said even though he was probably only venting at this point. It was constant flip between pleading to be let out to yelling about how he was sold out for nothing but blue rocks, to even confessions on how he was scared of what Ren was really planning.

Overtime, Grian’s voice became smaller and smaller and was growing hoarse. It wasn’t long until Scar could only barely make out what seemed to be a whisper.

“Please, just let me go…”

Then silence.

Scar continued walking.

-

Meanwhile, at the Resistance's underground headquarters, all the members were gathered to discuss the next steps with their big plan. Luckily they were able to secure most of what was needed.

Large shipments of gunpowder and paper were stacked together next to the Resistance's meeting table. Individually, every member worked hard to craft the fireworks needed for the top secret prank they were going to perform at the King's announcement. It was going to be glorious and by far the most flashy act of rebellion against the monarchy they had ever done. It had been difficult to gather the supplies due to having to avoid the King's suspicion. 

It was clear that recently Ren had doubled down on any suspicious activity going on in case of 'acts of treason' even though everyone laughed it off. The resistance believed they were honestly in the clear considering that this was barely an act of treason, more or less being a harmless display on what otherwise seems to be a boring announcement.

Problem was, there was still no sign of Grian.

Most had realised that he won't be there for the execution of the plan, which is disappointing considering that he would have really enjoyed the chaos and mayhem that they planned to stir up. Either way, they couldn't wait for him to come back to go one with the stunt, time was of the essence and if Grian needed to take a well-deserved break from the chaos then they would have to go on without him. 

If only they knew what really had happened, that Grian wasn’t off laying on a sun bed putting his feet up, but rather held against his will inside a tiny cell underground, praying someone would notice his absence.

They did not.

-

All the members had been cheering and laughing, knowing that all their hard work would pay off and create one of the best events the server had ever seen. However, they had clearly doubted Ren’s reign of terror on the server, not knowing what the King had truly become.

Little did they know, the king had been tracking the amount of gunpowder being made on the server.

He sat on his diamond-encrusted throne, rereading the increase again. There was no doubt in his mind, as Ren’s paranoid state only drew him to one conclusion: 

The resistance were planning an attack. 

Did they know about Grian? No - It wasn’t possible. Someone would have tried to rescue him already. 

This was clearly what he was afraid of, it was only a matter of time before they found out. Now it was the question of what they were going to do with the large amount of gunpowder they had collected over the course of this week…

Of course! It was the only plausible explanation; TNT! Why else would they gather all that gunpowder? But the thought frightened Ren, there was no way he could fight against all that TNT. Especially since he didn’t know where it was coming from.

…Unless he did.

Without hesitation, Ren called Scar to come back to the throne room for his plan to take place. Scar was a little bit more hesitant when approaching Ren who had a crazed look on his face.

“Scar,” Ren began “I have a job for you”

Scar looked back at the door, weighing his options to leave because he knew this job won’t end well but he did need the money. So he stayed.

“You are going to infiltrate the resistance to find out their plans”

Well fuck…