Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 “Do you think death hurts?” Artemis asked, holding her phone up to her ear. “Like- do you think it’s painful for the characters when they die?” 

 “I dunno. Maybe? It could also be when the pain of dying stops, you know?” Chris said, setting her phone down and putting it on speaker. “Like when someone is burning or something then they die and it stops?”

 “I get that bit, but for ‘painless’ deaths? Do you think they just wake up and are like ‘oh I’m dead now’?” He paused, playing with his necklace. He couldn’t remember when he got it but he and Chris woke up one day and the matching necklaces were on their dressers. They knew they were important and meant to match with one another, but they didn’t know why. “Like- I’m probably overthinking it but I think death is when the pain stops.” 

 “You could be right. I guess we’ll find out when we die.” 

 “Do you think we’ll remember this when we die?”

 “Y’know, I don’t know. Hopefully.”

 “Hey, have you played the new MC update? With the deep dark?” Artemis rolled over in his bed. “That warden thing is scary…”

 “Not yet, but imagine dying to that thing!”

 “Oh hell no- that would be scary and painful as hell.”

 “Yeah. I can’t wait to see what they do with it in Double Life.”

…

..

.

 “Welcome to Double Life,” Grian’s voice echoed through the world. He continued with his usual little speech about the life system, explaining that this time everyone is soul bound to someone else. “If you die, they die as well.” 

 He brought up the only enchanting table being hidden within the deep dark and the rules along with it. Any questions were answered and then this season was officially started. 

 The players exchanged a few words and nods before everyone left spawn except for Grian and Scott. 

 “Wow, another season already, huh?” Scott said, looking out into the horizon. 

 “Yeah. It’s only the third one, we have more planned but-“

 “-they can’t know that, yeah, I know. Well, same pact as always?” Scott hopped off the stump he was sitting on, hand outstretched to the avian. 

 “Same pact as always.” Grian smiled, a purple undertone in the green of his eyes. 

 “Travelers don’t mess with Watchers, Watchers don’t mess with Travelers.” 

 “Travelers don’t mess with Watchers, Watchers don’t mess with Travelers.”

 Grian took Scott’s hand, they shook on it, and parted ways without another word.

Chapter Text

 Kier woke up lying on his back in the middle of nowhere. Was he going to have to get used to this? His head was pounding and everything hurt. Last thing he remembered was about 2 weeks ago, no clue why he knew how long it had been, when his mom gave him and Chris their necklaces along with a note on how they worked. 

  Think about a realm and wanting to go there, then a portal should appear, but he and Chris never talked about going somewhere. He didn’t even know where he was. He heard some people laughing, and then one of them yelped and something hard hit the stone. 

 He sat up and looked around, spotting said people below him on the plateau of the mountain. One with teal hair was standing a few feet away from the other person, laughing at the man who was rubbing his arm. The man rubbing his arm was brunette, wearing less armor than the other man, and had a red sweater on. 

 Neither had noticed him so Kier laid on his belly and peeked his head over the ledge of the stone to watch the men. One of them sounded and looked familiar, uncomfortably extremely familiar. Kier ducked right as the closer one turned to look at the mountain. 

 “Did you see something, Scott?” Grian asked, stepping down and waiting for the goat to charge again. 

 “Thought I did…” Scott said quietly. He turned back around. “I dont get why whoever it is wouldn’t just come over here.”

 “Yeah, well. I got another bad horn, so here you go!” Grian tossed Scott the goat horn, smiling proudly as he held up his own “ good ” horn.

 “Mm, thanks.” Scott tucked the horn into his inventory before going over to a patch of surface iron. “I’ll be over here if you need me.”

 “Or more food!” Grian called back, the two laughing. 

 “Definitely. I’m sorry for you, Grian. My soulmate’s been pretty good about their health.” He smiled, continuing up the mountain to get the remaining necessary materials. 

 Kier backed away from the edge as the voice got closer. No, go away- stay back. Please don’t see me.

 He got to the top of the mountain, getting the last bit of coal. He looked to his right, the shuffling of cloth getting his attention. 

 Looking back up at him was a terrified teenager. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail and a green mushroom hair clip was on the left side of his bangs. A black turtle neck covered his torso, the purple scarf draped around his chest and over his arms added a splash of color to the monochrome outfit. He prayed that it wasn't Kier but oh gods, he could recognize that scar anywhere, even with half of it covered by a mask. 

 “Hey- Hey. Do- do you know where you are?” Scott held his hand out to the kid. No no no no , please no . The teen shook his head no. Oh god, please… They don’t need to experience this. If he’s here, she’s here. “Okay, well you’re in Double Life. Do you know what’s going on?” He shook his head no again. Fuck… no, please. “Well, I can help explain that in a minute. My name is Scott. And you?” Please don’t be -

 “Kierian… My name is Kierian…” Star said quietly. “I- Im looking for my friend… Her name is Chris…” He probably doesn’t remember, so I shouldn't say anything. 

 “Nice to meet you Kierian…” Scott looked over his shoulder, Grian still messing with the goats. “Come on, I know someone who can help explain what’s going on.” Kier reluctantly took Scott’s hand, pulling himself up. 

 Scott led him down the mountain to where Grain was still collecting goat horns. Each of Kier’s steps were wobbly and unsteady. “Sorry- everything is kinda… tired? Sore? I can’t really tell..”

 “That’s okay, I’m not going to let you fall.” Scott held his hand until they were on even stone then he let go, Kier leaning into Scott’s side unintentionally. Scott wasn’t complaining, though. “Grian, there’s a new person.”

 “Oh..?” Grian walked over, clearly just as confused as Scott. “Hi, I’m- Grian. You are..?” 

 “I’m Kierian. I don’t- really know how I got here or what’s going on…”

 “That's alright. Scott and I can give you a run down of what’s going on and you don’t have to worry, okay?” He smiled at the teen who nodded back at the avian. Grian looked over at Scott, having to hide his surprise when he saw tears welling in his eyes. 

…

..

.

 Chris found herself in the middle of the forest but she could tell she wasn’t in the Void. It felt different… She couldn’t explain it, she could just tell it wasn’t home. How did she even get here? Where’s her brother?

 She jumped to her feet, immediately grabbing a stick to defend herself, and kier once she found him. They looked around the area, finding nothing but forest surrounding them. “My god… MIZU?!”

 “Who are you calling for? I’ve never heard that name before?” A voice came from behind her along with the crunching of leaves and twigs. 

 Chris swung around, holding her twig out at the approaching adults. One was in a gray-ish blue jacket and a beanie, tossing an ax back and forth between her hands. The blonde guy had a green shirt with some swirl on it, he wasn’t the one who spoke. It was the girl because that same uneasy voice filled the air as she spoke. 

 “Kid?”

 “Who the hell are you?! Where’s Mizu? Did you two take him?!” Chris huffed, trying to threaten the adults with the twig. The two looked at each other before laughing. She could feel her face getting red with embarrassment. 

 “First, if you’re going to threaten someone, use an actual weapon.” She held out the ax for Chris to take. They just stared at the weapon, trying to decipher if this was a trap or not. 

 “Come on, take it.” The man spoke up. The teen hesitantly took the ax from the woman. She nodded at Chris. “What’s your name kid?”

 “… My name is Chris. You two?” She held the ax in one hand, the twig in the other. 

 “I’m Martyn.” He smiled, placing a hand on his chest as if his name was some grand title to flaunt. 

 “And I’m Pearl. Why don’t you stick with us, kid?” Pearl said, pulling out another iron ax from her inventory and continuing to fidget with it like the previous one. Something felt… off yet welcoming about these two, especially Pearl. 

 “Why should I…?” She backed away a few steps before Pearl stopped her by leaning onto her shoulder. 

 “Well, clearly, you’re new and we can help you get your bearings. Plus it’s good to find your soulmate, I doubt it would be either of us, but alliances are still a good thing to get early in the game.” She smiled. “So let us be your allies and we can help you.”

 “Wait- pause.” Chris pulled herself out from under Pearl’s arm. “What- ‘Soulmate’? What game?!” 

 “Your soulmate. It’s the person you’re bound to, when they lose health, you lose health. And when one of you dies, so does the other.” Martyn started. “And you have the three life system, once you die when you’re red, you’re out for good!” 

 Chris had started shaking, clutching the charm on her necklace tightly. “We- you die repeatedly…?”

 “3 times, then you’re out.” She said blankly, stating the facts. “Why are you freaking out? Don’t you know what you signed up for?”

 “I-i didn’t sign up for anything..!” She reached for her scarf only to find it missing. They tuned out what Pearl and Martyn were saying as they scanned the ground for the prized possession. It wasn’t anywhere. 

 “-o, I’m confused on why you’re here but we’re glad to have you.” Pearl smiled, Chris eventually tuning back in after her silent panic attack. 

 “Hm, yeah. I guess you’re right.” She didn’t know what she said was correct but it must have been good seeing as Martyn and Pearl smiled. 

 “Alright, so off to the nether?” Pearl swung the axe over her shoulder, Martyn pulling out some obsidian. 

 “Wait what?? The Nether. Already?!”

 “Yeah- wait I gotta check something. I doubt it but,” Pearl punched Chris in the shoulder lightly, taking half a heart from her health. Neither Pearl nor Martyn took damage. 

 “What was that for?!” She held her arm, rubbing it gently. 

 “Testing if you were one of our soulmates.” Pearl shrugged. “Okay, now off to the nether!”

…

..

.

 Kier followed behind Scott, twirling his stone pic in his hands. Did Scott remember? The two had traveled in silence once they left Grian and the other two people behind, he couldn’t remember their names. The four had said something about Jimmy always being out first each time, but he didn’t understand what they meant. They were all shocked when they got the message:

> Solidarity blew up <

> TangoTek died <

 He asked Grian what that meant and he went over the life system (again) and it finally settled in Kier’s mind what was going on. Star never wanted to deal with death three different times in one realm before going home, but star was stuck with it this time. 

 “-rian? You alright?” Scott had stopped in his tracks, placing his hand on Kier’s shoulder. The teen looked up, snapping back to reality. 

 “Hm? Yeah, I’m okay.” It nodded, biting at its nail. “Sorry.”

 “You’re fine, Ar- Kier.” He smiled, continuing on with his walking. Star continued a few paces behind him, still weary about the situation.

 He jumped. Did someone hit him? It felt like it. “Ow..” It rubbed its arm. “I think someone hit me.”

 “Probably your soulmate.” Scott shrugged. “It’s going to take getting used to.” 

 “Right…” Kier peered over Scott’s shoulder. “What are you looking at?”

 “How did they already go to the nether??” He stared at the gray panel in front of him. 

 “What do you mean..?”

  > Pearlescentmoon has made the advancement [Into The Nether!] < 

> InTheLittleWood has made the advancement [Into The Nether!] < 

> Ccshoom5355 has made the advancement [Into The Nether!] < 

  Scott quickly closed the chat once he noticed kier over his shoulder. He cleared his throat. “Don’t mind that.”

 The teen eyed him up and down. “Sure… I’m gonna… head off. Try to start a base somewhere.”

 “Alright, have fun, Mizu!” Scott walked off. 

 “You too-“ How did he know that? Star turned around, “Scott-“ He was gone.  

…

..

. 

Chris sat down on the bed, looking at the frame of the house she built. It was going to be a small cottage once she was done, big enough for two people. Once she finds Kier, they’ll be able to settle down together and then they can find a way home. 

 That’s what she hoped at least. She hadn’t heard any word of Kier or seen anyone they knew. How did they even get here? Did Mumza and Astral send them? 

 That was something for her future self to worry about. She was exhausted. In one day, she went to the nether, met like 8 people, and even started building a base. They laid down in their bed, pulling her comforter over her shoulders. 

 She looked up at the stars. I miss you, Mumza… Then she went to bed. 

…

Kier had wandered into a cave, only a few dozen torches in his inventory. Even though he had stuck by Scott all day, he didn’t try to take many resources from him. It didn’t feel right to take from him. 

 He went deeper into the cave, only placing torches once he couldn’t see with the light from the last one he placed. 

 After a while he started backtracking up to the surface. It was getting late and he didn’t want to be stuck in a cave when night fell. 

…

..

.

 Grian knocked on Scott’s door, his eyes glowing purple in the night. He opened the door cautiously. “Xelqua.”

 “Stag. Can I come in?” He nodded, letting the avian in before shutting the door. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

 “Listen, I know we made a pact to not interfere with how our lives played out but- Chris and Kierian aren’t supposed to be here. Astral wouldn’t send them here.”

 “You’re sure of that?” Xelqua crossed his arms. 

 “I’m positive.”

 “Then what do you need from me?”

 “All I’m asking is if you can help it, just don’t hurt them.” Stag said, eyeing his golden ring. “You know it could start a dispute between Travelers and Watchers-“

 Xelqua opened the chat, eyeing Stag. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

 “What do you mean…?”

 He flipped the gray square around, the newest messages reading:

> ThatBiBlob blew up <

> Ccshoom5355 died <

Chapter Text

 Chris jolted to her feet, gasping for breath. Her whole body ached, especially on her left side. It was a searing pain, as if she was hit with something large or a fire erupted beside her. 

 She spun around in circles, frantically looking for any motion in the dark of night. He had to be out there right? Her soulmate must have died, that’s what Pearl was going on about. Where you and someone else’s lives are tied together and when one dies, so does the other. Her soulmate died and she had no clue who it was… unless. 

 They ran out of the unfinished house, darting into the forest with only a stone ax to defend themself. He had to be out here. That bird guy said he saw Kier, meaning he came here with her. Oh god.. Is he okay? I don’t want to lose him t-

 “Chris!” A familiar voice called out. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face the voice. Kier was running towards her. The two could only see what the moonlight allowed them too, which wasn’t much, but they could tell they had found each other. 

 Kier hugged Chris tightly, the older dropping her ax to pull him close. “Oh my god, I thought I lost you.”

 “I thought I lost you too, Mizu…” She held him close, the two now on the ground. Chris’ legs had collapsed once Kier ran into her, pulling them both down. She kissed his forehead as she fought back tears. The two of them were thankful to see the other 

 Chris let go of kier, turned around and knelt down. He hopped onto her back and they started going back to the cottage. “I have a house in the works. I made it big enough for both of us and there’s a bed already in a chest for you.”

 “Shrooms, you didn’t have too.” Star said, resting stars head on her shoulder. He was exhausted even after just dying. 

 “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.” She smiled, leaning her head to the side. 

 “Thank you…” 

 “Of course, Mizu.” She opened the door and stepped in before kneeling and letting him hop off her back. “You’re my brother. Why wouldn’t I?” 

 “I dunno. I just don’t want you to try and overwork yourself for my benefit.” He shrugged, pulling up the scarf that had fallen off his shoulders. 

 “Kierian…” They held his face with her hand, rubbing her thumb on his cheek. “You’re my brother, I’m going to protect you and care for you.” And I’d gladly die for you like Carter did for me… 

 Kier smiled, leaning into her touch. “I missed you… Nice fit by the way.”

 “Thanks. I got a few comments on it.” They smiled, letting go of him. Her outfit resembled the one she had in empires; only now it was modified to match how much fighting and running she’d yet to do. Her simple white shirt and mushroom sleeves stayed the same but her skirt had become short and made of mesh. She had a pair of leggings on, the left leg black and the other red. The leggings and short, non-restricting skirt made it easier to get around than before. “I like it.”

 “I like it too. Where’s your scarf?” It opened the nearest chest, taking out a purple bed. 

 Chris tensed up at the question. “I left it in the Void. I’ll get it back when we go home.” She forced a smile, knowing he’d worry if she let her worry show. It was a scarf, she shouldn’t be this worried. But it was Carter’s scarf. If it truly was lost, she had no idea what she'd do. 

 “Alright. Are you ready for bed? I’m ready to pass out…” He laid it out beside hers, curling in on himself above the sheets. 

 “You get some rest, Mizu.” She patted his shoulder and pulled the blankets over him. 

 “Aren’t you going to lay down?”

 “No, I’m gonna keep working on the house. I’m not tired, I slept a bit before I went and found you.” 

 “Are you 100% sure?” He rolled over to face her. 

 She smiled at him. “I’m sure.” It rolled back over, mumbling ‘good night’ in ender before drifting off to sleep. They made sure he was asleep before going back to building the house. 

 Chris went through the house, filling all the windows with glass first before building up the walls. Weird. It was easier than she remembered. 

 They brushed it off and continued with the house. She got to the roof after a while and by the time she’d finished, the sun was coming up. 

 She slipped back into the house and laid on her bed. She didn’t want to fall asleep since Kier would be up any minute, but inevitably she did and she was awoken by a very cheery ender around noon. 

 “-nd I made this farm for us. Scott gave me some cows- he’s been acting weird- but we have cows, wheat, and potatoes now!” 

 “Mm.. that’s great Mizu.” She smiled groggily, slowly sitting up. “What time is it?”

 “About 12:30. I let you sleep in, you were out cold.” It smiled, mask discarded into its pocket after working in the sun for a few hours. 

 “Thanks bub.” She smiled, ruffling his hair. “What were you saying?”

 “Oh- yeah, I made us a farm and got some cows from Scott!”

 “You’ve seen Scott?! Is it the Scott we know?” She moved to the edge of her bed, sitting with her legs hanging over. They had guessed that there would be people here they knew (possibly why they were brought here?) but they found it weird how Scott was in all three realms they’d been in. Maybe he was pulling them here and he didn’t know? Did he remember? That was a big one; Kier said he was acting weird, so does that mean he remembers and is being weird about it? If he remembered why didn’t he say so? 

 “Chris?” Kier shook her lightly. “You zoned out again…” 

 “Oh.. sorry. Just a lot on my mind.” They smiled as they stood up. Kier wasn’t buying her forced smile and lack of exhaustion. 

 “I get that. You can just stay inside and rest if you need. I’ll make some food and work on the house for you-“

 “Mizu, I got it.” She reassured, waving her hand as if to brush the worries away. “Trust me. If anything, you should rest. You’ve been working all day.” 

 “I'm not tired though.” He helped her off the bed, the elf clearly still tired. “I’ll make lunch and you can work on the house?”

 “Yeah.. yeah that works.” They smiled, pulling Kier into a hug. She held him like it would be the last time. It felt right to do… Why did it feel right to do…? “Don’t overwork yourself, bub.”

 Star chuckled. “I should be saying that to you.” The ender started purring, holding her close. Chris let go out of shock. 

 “Are you purring???”

 “I think I am-“

 “How????”

 It shrugged. “Ender genetics..?” 

 “Somehow.. that makes sense.” She gave him a few head pats before getting materials out of the building chest. “Just don’t hurt yourself while you’re cooking.”

 “I won’t! And you don’t hurt yourself while building.” Kier went out to the garden and began collecting wheat. He fed the cows a few pieces each and filled the watering trough with some water. Star came back in with some of the spare wheat and brought it to the small kitchen in the corner to make it into bread.

 Chris was overhead, working on the second story of the house. It wasn’t big enough for two separate bedrooms, but definitely one bigger one to be shared and the other half of the space was enough for storage. She finished the framework and went down the stairs she had built earlier to find Kier cutting up two loaves of fresh bread. 

 “The house looks great.” It smiled, plating up some of the slices. 

 “The food looks great. Did you do it all by hand?” They joined him over at the furnace, taking a small bucket of water and pouring out the flames. 

 “Mhm!” It put the two plates on the kitchen table and wrapped the remaining bread up in plastic. 

 They finished the day with full stomachs and an almost finished home. The two cleaned up their dinner and went to bed. Kier fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the pillow. Chris gave Kier’s hand a light squeeze and whispered “good night” before she too drifted off to sleep. They were thankful they ignored their messages going off; they didn’t want to think about the death around them. They were just happy to be with each other again.

Chapter Text

 Scott held up the green streak in his hair, eyeing the hair and crystals around his head of the same color with disgust. He hadn’t lost a life yet, slowly increasing the chances of winning. Winning what was the question he should ask Grian. He never understood this fucked up game the Watchers loved to orchestrate- or was it the Admins? Listeners wouldn’t do this to players, nor Travelers. Admins were kind, they provided worlds for the players, they wouldn’t make this world for them. But could there be corrupted Admins out there, just like their could be morally corrupt Listeners, or Travelers-

 “Scott?” Cleo stepped into the house, her face was hidden by the darkness of the home and her bangs draped around her face only hid it further with more shadow. “Are you okay?”

 “Hm.? Yeah- I’m fine.” He turned around, leaning against the counter he was just leaning over. “Why- why do you ask?” 

 “You didn’t come out to meet me on the bridge and all the lights are off in your house.” She pointed to him then around the room. “You haven’t been yourself, I’m worried.”

 “I’m fine Cleo. You don’t need to worry.” He smiled at her. She was right; he wasn’t acting like himself. He’d been worried up, down, left and right about one, Chris and Kier, and two, his soulmate. He left Pearl to be Cleo’s soulmate. Both Pearl and Martyn were upset about it, he would if he was in their shoes but they just kept nearly killing them and Cleo stuck by his side. Screw the watchers and their assigned soulmates; he found his in Cleo. 

 She looked him up and down with her hand on her hip. “When Scott Smajor tells you not to worry about a situation, you don’t worry. But when Scott Smajor tells you to not worry about himself, then you worry.” 

 He chuckled, grabbing a brush. “Cleo I’m fine. I promise.” He brushed the tangled mess that was his hair as she turned on the lights. He flinched at the sudden brightness. “Cleo- we can keep them off. I was going to go out and trade, anyway.” 

 “Can I come with you? I don’t have anything to do.” She stood beside him, quietly eyeing the crystals above his head. They looked off in a way she couldn’t quite place. 

 “Sure, I’ll probably try to meet back up with Kier. He said he wanted to introduce me to Chris once he found her.” He put the brush up, fixed his shirt and opened his chat. “Mm. Ren and BigB died.”

 “Yeah, I saw that yesterday.” Cleo said, pointing to the date the message was sent. “You were busy building.” 

 “Ah. Thank you.” He closed chat and opened the door. “Ready to go out?”

 “Yep. Oh, wait.” She went up to his side and punched his shoulder. He smiled, punched her shoulder, and the two left the house. 

…

..

.

 The golden morning sun crept in through the windows, shining onto the sleeping ender. Chris stepped into the way of the light, shaking his shoulder lightly. “Mizu. Mizu, bud, it’s time to get up.”

 “Mmm..” he groaned, rolling over. “No.”

 “Kierry.” She shook him again. “C’mon. We’re going out to meet people.” 

 He sat up, back and purple hair a tangled mess. “But socializing is gross.”

 “Fair- but maybe we can try and trade? Upgrade past iron tools that are 2 hits away from breaking?” She twirled her staff in her hands. Chris had gone out last night and carved down a stray branch she found. She was never one for weapons with blades or sharp edges. “I’m not letting you use crappy weapons Kier.”

 “And you’re okay with your staff?” Kier got off the bed, tying his boots and fixing the bottom of his leggings. “I’m most comfortable with bows and arrows, but I don’t know about you.”

 “I’m good with the staff. It feels more natural in my hands compared to that ax Pearl gave me.” She rested the staff over her shoulders. “I’m more worried about you.”

 “I can fight.” It stood up, chest puffed out and tail flicking back and forth. “I’m a great fighter.”

 “Mhm. Well, I’ll get you a bow and some arrows while we’re out but for now use the ax.” She took the ax off the wall and handed it to him. The handle had a few smudges of dirt and part of the blade was dull and scuffed. “Just until I can get you a bow.”

 “Alright. Hopefully I won’t have to use it…” He held the ax in his right hand. Even with the weapon in stars dominant hand, it felt foreign. 

 “Unless it’s to gather wood.” Chris smiled, heading out the front door. 

 “Unless it’s to gather wood,” he repeated, following her into the woods. 

…

..

.

 Cleo finished cutting down a tree, gathering the remaining wood that was on the ground. She turned around to find Scott leaning against a tree, staring off into the distance. She walked up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. “Scott.”

 “Hm..” He barely reacted, let alone responded to her. 

 “You alright?” She looked past him, trying to find what he was so fixated on. She couldn’t see anything. No movement, no players, nothing except for the treetops laying across the landscape. “What are you looking at?”

 “Nothing.” 

 “Alrighty then…” She let go of his shoulder and went back to chopping wood. Off in the distance she could swear she heard giggling, but she thought she was just hearing wrong. In the corner of her eye she watched two figures make their way through the forest. 

 She switched her ax out for her bow and drew it back, her aim fixed on the moving figures. She was ready to let the arrow go, string already slipping from her fingers as Scott called out, “Hey, Kier!” 

 Cleo aimed the bow at the grass as quickly as she could before the string shot the arrow into the ground. She looked back up at the two coming out of the forest while pulling the arrow up and throwing it back into her inventory. Two teens, who couldn't be any older than year 10s, ran over to Scott, the shorter one hugging him tightly. 

 “How have you been?” Scott smiled, seemingly out of his daze that he’d been stuck in for days. They’re still on yellow… it’s okay. 

 “We’ve been alright. We almost finished our house and started a farm. Thanks for the cows, by the way.” He and Scott made some small talk as Chris went over to Cleo. 

 “Did you find your soulmate.?” 

 “Yeah, but I chose to stick with Scott. I see you found your buddy.” She gestured to Kierian and Scott on the other side of the clearing. “How’s that going for you?”

 “It’s going well. He and I live together and now that I’ve found him, I can protect my little brother…” She smiled softly. It was nice to know he was alright, even if when she got hurt, so did he, or that when she di- 

 “Are you sure? It doesn’t feel like a fair trade…” Kier looked up at Scott who was handing him half a stack of iron. 

 “I’m sure. I needed food anyway.” He held what Kier had to offer in his other hand, two dozen steaks. “You two need iron and I don't know how much is left within the border. I already upgraded to diamond; I don't need it anymore. I have more at my house if you need it.”

 “Probably, I’ll have to look at what we have at the house.” Star paused, looking at what Scott had given star. “Are you sure this is alright with you?”

 “I’m positive, Kier. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have offered.” He smiled, ruffling the teen’s hair. 

 “We don’t have any at the house.” Chris spoke up. “I used the last bit to make us both axes. I’d be willing to go to Scott’s house and grab some if you’re alright with me coming along.” 

 “The more the merrier.” He tucked the steaks away to his inventory before looking up at Cleo. “Do you need us to wait before heading back?”

 “Nah, I’ll be okay. You three can go ahead and head out; I’m going to get some more wood then I’ll be home.” She swung her ax in her hand. “Scott, message me when you get home, okay?”

 “Can do.” He nodded, signaling for Chris to follow him. She leaned up to Cleo, “I’m sorry about stuff with your soulmate.” 

 “It’s fine.” She whispered back. “Go with Scott, and you better message me when you get home.”

 “I will.” She gave Cleo a quick side-hug then ran after Scott and Kier who had already started weaving through the forest to Scott’s house. 

 Cleo waited till they were out of sight before going back to the wood she was chopping. She lifted her ax and swung down, slicing the log clean in half. Martyn and Pearl weren’t the happiest with them, she knew that. Word of ‘The Scarlet Witch’ had spread like the fire she would later watch burn. 

 Everything was going fine, neither her nor her soulmate had lost a life. Oh, and Martyn hadn’t died yet either. Despite the twisted death game she was stuck in with her friends, she was content. And hey, those two kids weren’t too bad either. She gathered the last bit of wood and started her trek home. 

 Halfway through the forest, Martyn ran over to her. He sparked up a conversation and, due to his insisting, he had walked all the way home with her. He pointed out his floating heart home, while Cleo pointed out her bridge that was meant to meet halfway to his house. 

 “You’re supposed to meet me halfway. That’s how relationships work, Martyn.” She joined him on the second platform, looking over the giant river.

 “Oh look at the shadow. Doesn’t it look better than my house?” Martyn pointed out.

 Cleo leaned over the edge to get a better look at the silhouette on the surface of the water. “Oh yeah-“ Next thing she knew, she was falling off the edge of the deepslate platform and through the air. 

 She hit the ground, only a few blocks away from the water. Her items were scattered as she gasped her last green breath. 

> ZombieCleo fell from a high place <

> InTheLittleWood died <

Chapter Text

 Her chat pinged with the message of yet another death. She had left her chat off since last session, so she didn’t know if it was a new death or an old one. She didn’t bother checking; it wasn’t Scott and that’s all she knew. If he had died, her items would be scattered across the forest and Tilly wouldn’t be by her side. Her red silhouette moved swiftly through the forest. Her ax was by her side, the only companion she needed besides Tilly. Scott and Martyn had proven they didn’t want her around. “We don’t need you, bye,” Scott’s voice echoed in her mind. If he didn’t need me, I don’t need him either. She swung her ax into a nearby tree, an unamused Grian on the other side. “Pearl.”

 “Grian.” She sighed, ripping the ax out of the tree’s flesh. “What do you need?” Pearl pulled her hood down, letting golden light illuminate her normally hidden green eyes. Tilly curled around her feet, rubbing against her legs. 

 “Nothing really. Just checking in on The Scarlet Witch.” He paused. “There's a pool party.” He leaned against the tree she just struck. “You coming?”

 “I don’t really have a reason to go…” She eyed him up and down, both pairs of eyes flashing purple once they met. 

 “I know Stag will be there.” He said blankly. That’s all she needed to know. 

 “I’ll check on Tilly then I’ll see you there.”

 Chaos ensued at the pool party. Soulmates scaring each other with pushing the limits of how low they would get their health. Scott wasn’t as scared and Pearl had hope. Sadly, he had a bucket to stop the fall damage. The chaos evolved into pulling people around on fishing rods. Grian stacked up a dozen or so blocks and hooked Joel who had hooked Pearl who hooked Etho. Everyone there looked over one small but significant detail. Two of those four were soul bound. 

 After a countdown, Grian pulled Joel up with Pearl and Etho following him into the air. Pearl hit the ground, being left with only half a heart. Joel and Etho struck the ground, taking twice as much damage as her. Their items scattered across the field, the other members quick to grab their stuff. Pearl snatched up both of their diamond chest plates. Everyone was laughing, some twisted humor found in the loss of the yellow lives. 

 The two reds came back, frantically rummaging through the chest where the others had placed some of their items. They were furious to find their chest plates missing. Scar sat upon his horse, “Joel? Etho?” The men looked up at him. “If you’re looking for your chest plates, I see them in Scarlet Pearl’s hands.” Both men looked over at her, the witch caught red handed. 

 She darted away from the pool party and into the woods, laughing while she clutched the diamond armor to her chest. The two chased after her, Joel drawing his diamond ax. 

 “Give them back, Pearl.” Etho warned. “The easy way or the hard way; it’s your choice.” 

 “Well neither of you are getting them back, sooo-“ Pearl taunted, holding a single chest plate in each hand. Her joy was cut short as Joel charged at her with his ax, chopping away at her health until scarlet blood coated the blade. The bloodshed felt… exciting in a way. Her items scattered about and the two got their chest plates from the mess.

> PearlecentMoon was killed by SmallishBeans <

> Smajor1995 died <

 Scott jolted up in his bed, clutching his torso. The coolness of blood wasn’t truly there, but dammit, it sure as hell felt real. His hands shook as he climbed out of his bed. He was now a yellow. 

 Cleo ran in. “I just saw the message- what the hell happened?? Are you ok?”

 “I’m fine- Just… Need to get my bearings. Give me a second.” He held his hand out, Cleo quickly taking it and helping him up. “Thanks…”

 “Of course. Do you need me to get you anything?” She wrapped an arm around him, keeping him steady on his feet. 

 “No, thank you though. My torso hurts…” The two made their way down the stairs to the crafting area of Scott’s house.

 “Well, how did Pearl die?” Cleo let go of him as he clung to a nearby table. 

 “Uh- Joel killed her. He chased after her with Etho and he had his ax in hand…” They both paused. 

 “Scott, lift up your shirt.”

 “CLEO NO- WHAT THE HELL?! IM GAY!” 

 “NOT LIKE THAT- I was going to look for scars or open wounds.” She backed up from him. “Just lift it up.”

 He slowly lifted the cloth enough to show his abdomen and stomach. “I’ll be damned…” She muttered. A dozen sporadic scars covered his skin, varying in size and intensity. Some went up to his chest and others dipped down past his abdomen. She could only assume that more wrapped around his back. 

 “How bad are they?” He let his shirt fall back down. “Are they still bleeding?”

 “No, they're just scars. I think they’re fine. Are you still hurting?” 

 “A bit but I can walk it off.” He shrugged, pulling his over shirt down. 

 “Hm..” 

 “What?” He looked up at her, an uneasy feeling falling over them.

 “I couldn’t see it when they were green but I can see it now…” She leaned in close, examining the crystals around his head. “The bottoms; they’re blue. Like a navy blue. It’s obvious now.” 

 “Oh- I dunno why they’re like that.” Scott leaned away, taking a few steps back. “Your flowers were blue-“

 “And they still are.” She held up her hair, the flower buds blue as ever. “Your crystals weren’t always blue.”

 “It might be the lighting, I don’t know.” The two held eye contact, a tightness growing in the back of Scott’s throat. Was it that obvious now? 

“Fine.” She stood up straight, neither having realized that she was leaning forward. “But if you get hurt or something because they’re blue,” she punched her hand with her fist, “I’ll take care of them.” She smiled brightly. “I got you, soulmate.”

 He smiled, face heavy with exhaustion.   “I’ve got you, soulmate.”

…

..

.

“Chris, I don’t want you going there. Almost everyone is a red…” Kier stood behind Chris, the elf busy making armor. 

 “I’ll be okay, Mizu. Trust me.” She smiled, handing him a pair of iron leggings. “If anything gets dangerous, I’ll message you and you can teleport to me and get me out. Does that make you feel any better?”

 “A little, but that doesn’t mean I like it that you’re going out to the main area.” He put on the armor. “Please be careful… Or let me-“

 “Hell no. I’ll go to the main area but you are not coming with me. I’m going to get a scope of things, see who’s out there, then I’ll come home.” She turned around, putting on her helmet. “But you, Kierian, aren’t coming along.” She smiled, “I’ll be back.”

 “Be safe…” He gave her a tight hug before she went out the door. He never imagined a door clicking shut would be one of the last things he heard as a yellow.

Chapter Text

 She didn’t even get 5 minutes before she was engulfed in the flames. They wanted to meet people, maybe form some new allies, but no. The Relation-Ship had been burnt, so everything needed to burn. The lack of understanding anything the others were talking about made her regret not making alliances sooner. Would Pearl want to cash in on that alliance offer now that she was a red? It’s two health bars instead of one…

 “Chris, what happened?!” Kier respawned beside her, both of their hands shaking from the burning pain of death. “Are you okay.?”

 “I’m fine- I’m fine- are you ok??” She turned to him, ignoring their chats going off with the sound of the last green life lost. 

 “I’m fine- you were the one who died!” He hugged her tightly. “Are you okay!?”

 “I’ll be okay…” She admitted, resting her head on his. “Did you put the extra stuff in the chest like I asked?” 

 “Yeah. I’m glad you left your staff.”

 “Me too.” She let go, walking over to the double chest on the far side of the room. They threw open the lid and eyed the supplies. Two sets of full iron armor, her staff, an extra bow and half a stack of arrows. 

 “I didn’t get to enchant them.” He looked past her into the chest, putting his hands on her shoulder. “Will they still be enough?”

 “Yeah, it’ll be enough, Mizu.” She put her hand over his. “This might sound silly… but do you know what we’re fighting for..?”

 “No, what?” She got up, it following her to their kitchen. 

 “I don’t know either.” Chris broke their last loaf of bread in half, giving one of the halves to Kier. “I’ve heard others call this a game and say we’re fighting for something but no one knows what.” 

 “That’s… Weird.” It bit into the bread, no butter or jam at all. “Do you think that Pearl person you met would know?”

 “I could ask. Would you want to come with me?” She took a bite of her half of the bread. “I don’t think she’d mind.” The elf summoned her chat, the feeling of doing so still foreign to her. 

 “Please?” He sat down at the table. “I don’t know who we can trust.”

 “I know, Kier, neither do I. She said we can come over.” Chris closed the chat, an uneasy feeling coming over her. Pearl was supposed to (hopefully) be an ally, why was going to visit her so scary? “You ready to go?” 

 “Yeah. Should we grab our weapons though?” It looked back at the chest in the living room. “Just to be safe?”

 “And the armor, too.” She ran over to the chest, throwing it open and grabbing her staff. Just having it in her hands brought a sense of ease to her. Kier grabbed its bow and set of armor from the chest, tucking it away into his inventory. 

 “Now are we good?”

 “Yeah, we’re good.” She did the same with her armor. He held his hand out for her to hold, which she quickly took. “Even when we get there, don’t get too far.”

 He nodded and the two were off to Pearl’s tower. It was a decently far walk, taking the two roughly 45 minutes to get there. 

 The scarlet witch was tending to her farm when the two arrived. “Oh, hello Chris! It's nice to see you again.”

 “You too.” Chris smiled while Kier took a step back to hide behind her. “I found my brother a while back.” She pulled him forward ever so slightly as they were still holding hands. The ender’s tail wrapped around his own and her legs. “Pearl, this is Kierian, also known as Mizu.” He waved sheepishly. 

 “Hi.”

 “Why, hello Kierian. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.” She held out her hand for him to shake. He returned the gesture hesitantly. “So what did you want to talk about, kid.”

 “Nothing much. How have you been?” 

 “I’ve been… peachy.” She put emphasis on the last word with a forced smile and gritted teeth. “Found my soulmate and he left, then Martyn left. But I’ve been fine on my own! How about you two?”

 “Fairly the same. We’ve been staying on our own in our cottag-“

 “You’re reds.”

 “What?”

 “It took me a minute to realize, but you’re reds.” Pearl took a step towards them. “Who made you lose your yellow life? And how aren’t you attacking me?”

 “I died in a fire. Of course we aren’t attacking you?? Why would we?” Chris held onto Pearl’s hand with her free one before the witch pulled her hand away and held Chris’ face with both hands. 

 “Do you feel the need to fight?” She shook her head. “Need for bloodshed?” She shook her head. “Do you want to kill someone?” She shook her head no again. “I’ll be damned.” She let go of Chris. “You’re both reds but aren’t acting like reds.”

 “Are reds supposed to be violent?” Kier had spoken up this time. Chris squeezed his hand gently. 

 “Supposed to, yes.” She twirled the ax she had in her hand. “I’m going to guess that if she’s not being violent, neither are you?” Kier shook his head. “Alrighty then.”

 “Is that bad..?” 

 “That you aren’t violent? Kinda. You aren’t putting yourselves into danger to kill someone right now but you’re also not going to be able to fight someone off to save your skins.” 

 “I have my staff, I can fight animals off.” She drew her staff from its holder on her back. “And Kier is really good with his bow.” The younger nodded, turning to show off the quill of arrows and bow across his back. 

 Pearl shook her head, “No, not something. Someone.” The two shared a confused and slightly scared look in their eyes as she continued. “The other players are going to fight with everyone to the death…” She leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees. “We all have to fight to the death, kids. It’s the only way to win… How did you two not know that..?”

 “We- we didn’t know anything before we woke up here.” Chris pulled Kier closer to her, “Why do you know that..?”

 “It’s.. common knowledge here.” She looked down at the two, finally noticing something her and most likely everyone overlooked. “I’m sorry that you two weren’t told…” I thought Constellations and Death were smarter than that. “But I promise that I won’t hurt you. You two shouldn’t be here but that doesn’t mean you two are going to be exempt from the fighting. Truly, I don’t like fighting without purpose. You two haven’t proven to have any reason for me to not trust you. I just need you two to be prepared for the fighting when it comes your way.”

 “We are. Pearl what’s going on?”

 “No, you’re not.” She grabbed Chris by the shoulders. “Listen to me, you two need to prepare for tomorrow. Iron won’t cut it. I’ll give you diamonds and you two need to go home and upgrade all your weapons and armor.” Pearl took almost a full stack of diamonds and gave them to Chris. “For your own sake, you need to go home and prepare.”

 “O-okay. But what about you- will you be okay?” Chris handed off half of the diamonds to Kier. 

 “I’ll be fine, just go.” She pulled the them both into a hug before sending them off. Chris stopped, glanced back at her for a moment, then continued running. 

 Pearl stood at the edge of her property, muttering to herself, “How the hell did two Travelers get here?”

Chapter Text

 Everything had become so chaotic overnight. It felt like just yesterday everyone was on green but we could only wish that was reality. BigB, Ren, Tango, and Jimmy were already gone, left to just watch as the rest of the players were forced to fight during the final day. 

 The last day would be filled with bloodshed, everyone knew that. Scott wasn’t expecting to be the first one to die this episode, but at least it was near the end. It was to be expected that he and Cleo would be targets; them, Martyn, and Pearl will all still yellows. Well, they were still yellows. 

 Scott got his things back before heading home to repair them and get ready for the fight he was about to face. He decided he should check on his soulmate soon. Plus he needed to get ready to team up with his crazy ex. 

…

..

.

Grian had a lot on his mind. Mostly pride in having lost his green life just last episode. On the other side of that coin, he also lost his yellow life last episode. This plan was risky, he knew that, but he had confidence in himself and his soulmate who was at the entrance to the ancient city on lookout duty. 

 He finished summoning the Warden, an impressed grin on his face. He heard Scar yell something to him from a distance and his chat ping with a message but he was too focused on leading the Warden out to process what he said. He was too focused on leading the Warden out to pay attention to the noisiness of his steps. 

 Grian took a very carelessly loud step up the stone, his heart sinking once the creature behind him roared. The waves shook his whole body, chipping away at his health. He could only cry out as the beast would strike him down before he could land a single hit on it’s fungi-covered being. “SCAR-“

> Grian was killed by Warden using Sonic Shriek <

> GoodTimesWithScar died <

 Scar, I’m so sorry…

…

..

.

 “Hey- don’t go yet.” Kier grabbed Chris’ wrist, hiding the fact his hands were shaking. “I… I’m scared.” They’d been hiding out at their base all episode. He was the one who opted for it. If they left too early, he’d feared they would be killed off. Two teenagers with the least amount of fighting experience out of everyone made them an easy target. That along with being friends with the people who were yellows until just minutes ago. 

 “I am too…” She pulled him into a tight hug. “But it’ll be okay. If we do die, we’ll be home. Look at it like that, okay?” That’s what she was telling herself, anyway. 

 “I’m trying but do we really have to split up?” Kier clutched onto her as if it was the only thing keeping him alive. He hated what they’d been through these past weeks. He wanted to go home but despised what had to happen. 

 “We’ll cover more ground like that.” She looked down at him, smiling. The irises of her once green eye and his blinded eye both ruby red. “It’ll be okay. If you need me, or find Scott, just message me, okay?”

 He nodded, hugging her one last time before letting go. “I love you, sis.”

 “Love you too, Mizu.” And with that they parted ways. 

 Chris made her way towards Pearl’s tower, pulling her staff from its harness. Last night she wrapped a piece of spare cloth around her staff, making a grip. She was proud of her work, the splash of red truly making it feel like hers. 

 As she was making her way through the forest near Pearl’s tower, she heard a few voices to her left. They didn’t want to intrude on something, so they continued through the forest, not realizing they had stopped. A dozen or so wolves ran past her, keeping her from going any further. 

 She followed the direction they were going, stopping and peering from behind a tree. Bdubs and Impulse were talking on the other side of Pearl and her pack of wolves, Tilly right by her side as they started moving in on the two. Pearl repeatedly muttered “Something wicked this way comes,” over and over while approaching them. Chris could do nothing but stay behind the tree. Obviously Pearl was trying to do something, she shouldn't get involved. What was she doing?

 She didn’t know Bdubs or Impulse well but she heard one of them call Pearl crazy. Crazy?! Pearl wasn’t crazy… The pack of wolves filled the area like snow covering ground in a blizzard. The wolves slowly surrounded the two, Tilly at the head of them all. She took some fall damage but she wasn’t paying attention to that. She had her human to protect. 

 She bit at Impulse’s ankles, who yelled out in pain before grabbing his lava bucket from his inventory. He poured the lava around him, multiple of the wolves getting burnt from the magma and flames. Tilly was one of them. 

 Her coat burned up as she whimpered and whined out for her human. She continued to bite at his legs until she collapsed into the lava. Pearls eyes flooded with tears and rage filled her veins as the message came into view;

> Tilly tried to swim in lava <

 “YOU KILLED HER!” Pearl charged at Impulse, ax in hand as tears ran down her face. “My baby! Tilly did nothing!” She swung at him, nicking his arm as he dodged. 

 “Pearl! Calm down!” He pulled out his shield, blocking her next attack with the ax cutting right through the wood of his shield. 

 “Calm down? Calm down?!” She pulled her ax back, the remains of the shield shattering around them. “You killed Tilly! I’m not going to ‘calm down’ until you’ve paid for what you’ve done!” She continued attacking. Impulse dodged every swing by a hair. Pearl swung again, this time landing her ax right into his chest and cutting through his armor. 

 Blood covered her face and hands as Impulse fell to the ground, landing in the same lava that killed her best friend. “That's what you deserve…”

> ImpulseSV was killed by PearlescentMoon using Diamond Axe <

> BdoubleO100 died <

 Chris covered her mouth with her shaking hands, unable to move from her spot on the edge of the forest. Pearl wiped the blood off her blade on her cloak. Her back was still turned to the teen, unaware that she had watched the bloodshed just seconds before. 

 “Pearl, what the fuck?!” Chris pulled her staff back out, holding it defensively between her and Pearl. “Why- how- what the actual fuck?”

 “Chris, it’s not what it looks like.” She turned around slowly, still holding the ax in her bloodied hand. 

 “Then what the hell is it?! Because I’m pretty sure I just saw you kill two people!” She took a step back as Pearl took a step forward. 

 “Chris-“

 “You’re a murderer! How could you live with yourself?!”

 “Chris-“

 “There is blood on your face- I can’t be allies with a killer. I don’t want to kill like you-“

“Abigail!”

 The two fell silent. Chris’ grip on her staff tightened as Pearl let out a sigh. “Chris, they killed Tilly. They were going to kill me.” 

 “No- no, why’d you call me ‘Abigail’? That’s not my name…” That name felt weird. Not foreign weird, but that it should be familiar weird. Was this what Kier felt? 

 “You look like someone I knew named Abigail.” She looked down, cursing herself for slipping up. “Just- I need you to go. I promised I wasn’t going to hurt you and I'm a woman of my word.” 

 “But you just killed someone.”

 “That doesn’t mean I want to kill you, that’s why I’m telling you to leave.” Pearl sighed, pulling down her hood. “Listen, kid. You and Kier are great kids, you’re barely teenagers. Astral and Kristin shouldn’t have brought you here in the first place and you two should leave. Leave meaning run from the fighting or going home, I don’t care. Just as long as you are safe.” She had walked towards Chris as she was talking, finally putting her hands on their shoulders once she was in front of them. “Go, I’m not hurting you...”

 Chris nodded. She pulled her into a tight hug before running off. Pearl’s smile quickly faded as she turned to leave. The Watchers will be pissed I slipped up. I can deal with them. 

…

..

.

 Star ran through the forest. He ran as fast he could, hoping he’d run into a familiar face. Scott, Cleo, Lauren, Mom. Even if they weren’t there, he wanted- needed them to get there so he could have someone to cling to. If he could just find a way home, he and Chris wouldn’t have to die again. They’d be able to go home peacefully without being blown to smitheries, or burnt to a crisp, or sliced-

 “Kier-“ He turned around, bow drawn and ready to shoot at Scott. “Kierian. Put down your bow.”

 “Stay back…” His voice nothing more than a pathetic whisper. “I-I’ll shoot.” 

 “Kierian, lower your bow.” Scott took a step forward, Kier flinching back. “I’m not going to hurt you, kid…” 

 “You’re red. What happened?” He lowered the bow, letting the tension of the string release while holding the arrow in place. 

 “Joel happened.” He said blankly. He took a few more steps towards Kier, its grip on its bow tightening. “You?” 

 “My own stupidity and the fire.” He scoffed. “I don’t think anyone smart would walk into a cave without proper protection after dark.”

 “You’re not used to surviving.” He nodded, rolling his golden ring on his finger. “I get that. Partially my, Shelby’s and Lauren’s fault, but.” He chuckled. 

 Kier paused, pulling the string on his bow ever so slightly while keeping it pointed at the ground. “You remembered..?”

 “Well, you’re not supposed to know-“

 “You remembered and just led us on by calling me Mizu and acting like you didn’t even know Chris!?” He pulled the string back and aimed it at Scott, rage flowing through his veins. “You knew. You knew and you didn’t bother telling us?! You could have helped us!”

 He threw his hands up in surrender. “Kier- bud. Please, listen to me. Put down the bow…”

 It lowered its bow once more, retracting its arrow and putting it back in the quill. “What?” 

 “You two weren’t supposed to know until Dragonfly signs her contract. It was part of Kristin and Astral’s agreement.” 

 “Who the hell is Dragonfly?” 

 “Someone you’ll meet soon enough.” Scott sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry, kid. C’mere.” He held his arms out for a hug. 

 Kier dropped his bow and ran into him, hugging him tightly. Scott wrapped his arms around it, resting his head on Kier’s. As quickly as he had turned on him with his bow, he turned back to a child. The same child that Scott had helped raise, the same one that would speak ender just to spite Scott, the same one he and his sister promised to help protect. “I’m sorry.”

 “It’s okay, Kier… It’s okay. I’ve wanted to tell you and Chris since you both arrived in Empires.” He sighed. “You two should have been told things. You deserve to know. You both were born into being immortal, you didn’t get to choose. Lauren and I got to choose, we willingly signed the contract.” Kier hummed as he continued. 

 “I really didn’t want you two to be here. Empires, that’s fine, we didn’t anticipate that. Origins, all we did was goof around with friends. But here? You two didn’t need to be here. You didn’t need to fight like this. I would gladly actually train you in the Void but not in a world like this.”

 “I think it’d be fun if I could actually fight.” It chuckled, both of them still holding each other in the hug. “And if I didn’t think about killing other people.” 

 “That’s understandable. This time they had the soulmate thing, the past two times there was the boogeyman. I don’t know what they’ll do next time.” He gave it another tight hug before letting his right arm fall to his side. “Kier, I’m so sorry…”

 “Scott, what do you mea-“ Kier leaned forward, pain shooting through his torso. He looked down, a diamond sword plunged through his chest with Scott’s hand on the grip. Violet blood spilled from his chest, a small bit of blood starting to pool in his mouth. “Scott…?”

 “I’ll see you in the next realm, kid…” He held Kierian as his body went limp and its blood soaked his shirt and coated his arms. He set his body down on the ground, pulling his sword from Kier’s chest. 

> ThatBiBlob was slain by Smajor1995 using Diamond Sword <

> Ccshoom5355 died <

 Scott sighed, trying to wipe the blood off his arm. The blood was gritty as he rubbed it between his fingers. I’ll be damned. The kid really is made of stardust.

 His heart sank watching the message of Cleo and Martyn dying appear, leaving just him and Pearl as the only survivors left. He marched through the forest to the place he promised to meet back up with his soulmate. 

 Pearl and her pack of wolves got to their rendezvous spot quickly. Scott got there a few moments after her. Both of them were covered in blood, luckily it was neither of their own. “Hi Pearl…”

 “Hi Scott.” She looked him up and down, fighting between asking about the obvious or keeping her mouth shut. “I honestly didn’t have much faith in us…” She chose the safer option. 

 “Neither did I. But, Pearl,” He took out a few bundles of TNT from his pocket, “you deserve this much more than I do.”

 “What..?”

 He took out a flint and steel, struck the TNT, looked her dead in the eyes, “Tilly death do us part, Pearl. Tilly death do us part.”

 “Scott- what are you doing?! SCOTT!”

> Smajor1995 blew up <

> PearlescentMoon died <

Chapter Text

 “Bro I have had the worst summer ever.” Artemis sighed, holding her phone in front of her face. Chris was on the other side of a video call, the two having stayed up past midnight together. “All this family stuff and now these weird ass nightmares.”

 “You’ve been getting them too?” Chris sat up. “The weird ones?”

 “What are yours like?”

 “Dreams of living in the SMPs we watched but the feel real. Like-“

 “When my eye got blinded?” He chuckled, not expecting a reaction. 

 “Holy shit- you remember that?!”

 “Yes?? I thought that was just my nightmare! So, do you remember-“

 The two finished the sentence in unison, “Lauren being in empires even though she wasn’t!” 

 “I thought it was just me!” Artemis chuckled. 

 “No- that’s what I thought.” She smiled. Their smiles quickly faded into concern. “What does that mean?”

 “I, um, I don’t know.”

…

..

.

 Scott paced circles around the dining room, biting on his nail. Lauren set down the cups of cocoa she made, one for each of them and Dragonfly. He was going over everything he was thinking, or not thinking, in the moment. He killed Kierian. What would Astral say? What would she do??? She’s made it abundantly clear their immortality is something she could take away at any moment and he killed her kid. That would definitely be a reason to make him mortal again. Take back his ring and his memories, his powers reduced to nothing. 

 “-ott. Scott!” Lauren grabbed his shoulders, making him stand still. “Scott. Look at me.” She took his hand from his mouth, forcing him to put it in his pocket. “Don’t chew your nails. I need you to breathe. In for 5, hold for 5, out for 6. Can you do that?”

 He nodded, following her guidance through the breathing exercise. They repeated it a few times until Scott’s hands stopped shaking. “I’m gonna help you through this- I can talk to Astral. If I can explain that it didn’t harm him since it was in one realm-“

 “He kept the scar.”

 “Scott, that’s not the point. That blinded him, so it only made sense it stayed. This one was in one of the life realms, I doubt he’ll keep a scar.” She pulled him into a hug, their height difference making it awkward. “I’ll talk to Astral. Just trust me-“

 “Lauren?” The two looked to the source of the voice. A young adult with short, caramel hair was standing in the door frame.  “You called for me?” 

 “Yeah, hey.” She walked over to them, hugging them tightly. They hugged her back with confusion written clearly across their face. 

 “Hi. Hey, Scott.” She waved at him, Scott replying with a nod. “What’s going on?” 

 “Chaos, I fucked up.” 

 “You didn’t fuck up-“

 “Oh yeah that’s great news, Stag.” Chaos hopped onto the table and sat with her legs hanging off the side. She stretched her wings out behind her, nearly catching her wings on a few of the hanging plants. “Right when the kids are about to go off to high school, too. Astral totally isn’t on edge.”

 “He didn’t-“

 “I killed Kier.” He cut her off. “I killed Kier while we were both reds.”

 “Oh shit… Yeah, you fucked up.” Chaos chuckled nervously. 

 Scott held his hand out towards Chaos, “See!”

 Lauren sighed, “If you let me do the talking for you, Astral will understand!”

 “That I killed Kierian?”

 “You were red! It shouldn’t cause too many long term issues!”

 “Hey guys?” Chaos but in. The two looked over at her, frozen mid-way through the same argument they’ve been having for hours. “As much as I’d love to stay, I gotta bounce. I have to catch up with Mallette and Phantom since we have something planned that we have to work on.”

 “That’s fine. What is it?” Lauren handed her her cup as she got off the table. They took a sip of the cocoa before replying. 

 “An SMP. It probably won’t get off the ground any time soon.”

 “I thought you weren’t an Admin yet?” Scott sat down at the table, picking up his own cup of cocoa. 

 “I’m almost an Admin. Just need to sign the contract with Kristin and I’m good as gold.” She finished her cup and set it in the sink. “Well, thank you both for having me, but I will be on my way.” She waved to them both before stepping out the door. Dragonfly turned around, “Take care of yourselves.” Then she left. 

 “You know what?” He stood up, grabbing a necromancy book off the bookshelf by the staircase. 

 “Hm?” Lauren went over to the counter and started gathering the things needed to make herself and Scott some sandwiches. 

 “I finally realized why she was called Dragonfly.”

 “Yeah. I think her wings are really pretty. Maybe in one realm, we’ll get some again.” She elbowed him jokingly, handing him a PB&J sandwich with one for herself in her other hand. 

 “Maybe in another realm,” he agreed.