Chapter Text
It’s hot.
You stumble, turning to get away from Green and the others. Elytra flapping blindly, you bound forward and launch into the air. You feel fishing rods latch onto your wings, creating holes that straight through your heart.
Ahead of you, one of the darkened brick spires of the fortress stands, and King is floating above it. Something pulls you towards him— either your duty, or the literal black hole he seems to be creating. (Why? Why? This wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t what you agreed on.)
You quickly grab onto the edge of the spire, gripping at it as your old friends tug you away.
PURPLE: king i-
PURPLE: i could use some help over here!
KING: …
PURPLE: king! please!
KING: …
Without even a hint of remorse, he turns away, abandoning you.
...What?
No, he… He just…
...
Fuck this.
Fuck all of this.
You throw off your elytra, a sudden weight off your back. You feel a little lighter.
Behind you, you can hear others clamber onto the spire. Without even looking back, you make a run for it, ignoring the fight around you. You couldn’t give less of a shit about this anymore.
GREEN: PURPLE!
GREEN: get back here!
YELLOW: Green, leave it. We’ve gotta deal with King first.
Green glances back as Yellow takes his hand. Red and Blue climb onto the platform, looking at him expectantly. He hesitates.
GREEN: …okay.
He doesn’t follow you.
Without thinking, you run to a portal you had set up months ago, while King had been working on other things. The very thought of him makes you grimace now; Back then, you didn't bother to question him when he sent you away, claiming that he needed to do something important. You can't help but wonder if he'd been spending that time figuring out some sort of escape route for when he blew the Nether to hell, or whatever it was he was trying to do.
Blocks start to float up into the air, but you ignore them. You aren't going to be a part of this bullshit anymore. You were a fucking idiot for ever thinking this was a good idea in the first place.
Entering the portal barely disorients you these days, and you come out the other side squinting at the brightness. Familiar music rings in your ears, causing your head to ache rather than soothing you. You tune it out, barreling past the bemused animals with your eyes trained solely on the ground.
The environment goes by in a blur. You focus solely on moving forward, trying not to think at all. You don't fight the mobs you cross in the cave. Despite their greetings, you rush past the villagers too, trying to calm your racing thoughts.
You begin to tire as you reach a large mesa. The heat beats down on your messed up outfit. You continue to walk, further than you've ever explored before, and simply watch as the red floor transitions into stone, and then snow, unnatural in the way only Minecraft could accomplish. Slowing down even more, you hold yourself tight, trying to stave off the chill creeping into your bones. The thin shirt and leggings don't do anything to help.
Honestly, seeing the villagers made everything worse, as guilt belatedly worms its way into your heart.
With little pride, you recall the village you'd had back on the Mac. It'd been easy to cultivate, especially after your animator disappeared, leaving you with old documents and games to mess around with. As time had passed by, you'd gotten used to functioning on the computer alone, adjusting the settings so that it'd never turn off. The villagers were company, sure, but they weren't really real— just constructs of a game made to cater to the player’s whims. It was next to impossible to understand what they were saying anyways.
And then along came Blue. Blue and Green, the first stickfigures you'd seen since you commissioned the grave for your mother in Carteblan. Just as fast as it had been built, your town came crumbling down, all because of those meddling fucks.
You were kicked out of your own home, and you swore to get even with them. You sought out their computer as they'd done yours, waiting till their animator left to mess with their game and win against them.
Was it unfair? Yeah. But you'd already been taught over and over that life was unfair. No matter how small or hurt or tired you were, life would beat you down anyways, so there was no point in fighting “fair”. You'd take every advantage you could get, whether it was earned or not.
Obviously, it hadn't been enough, but yet… They forgave you anyways. (Not that it had been a matter of forgiveness to you; You were focused on revenge, not closure. You'd done nothing wrong— or so you'd thought at the time.
Later, Second had taken the time to explain to you what exactly you'd done wrong. “Selfish”, he'd said.
That day, you learned that your definition of selfish was a little different from most other sticks. To you, selfishness was quitting, giving up, refusing to listen even when every part of your body ached. In reality, not being selfish had just been a matter of doing things for other people.
Your friends had been so forgiving, even after you'd wronged them. And you threw that forgiveness back in their face.
You stopped in your tracks, flopping face-first into the snow and rolling onto your back. The cold burns, and you can't help but feel that you deserve it.
You'd been so desperate in your chase for power that you'd gone and hurt your only friends. You know Papa would've been proud, but that doesn't help to ease the guilt sitting in your stomach. You thought it'd be fine; all’s fair in love and war and all that stuff, but the look of absolute hurt Green had regarded you with when he escaped from the tower was making you reconsider.
You and King, you'd had a plan. Get the Minecraft Icon and gain ultimate power. You were supposed to share it.
Instead, he'd launched you across the fortress, and created a massive void to do… god knows what.
A realisation hits you.
All of this— it was his fault. He’d convinced you to help with the plan, he’d turned you against your friends. You feel a sense of determination light up in your soul. If it hadn't been for him, none of this would've happened. He'd ruined everything.
And you'd make him pay for it.