New Map - Riot (Part 2 of the Prompt Swap long story thing)
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mindcrackloveYay! Second part of this. Next part will be out in another couple of days, and it will be the final part.
So here it is! Part two of the ever so terrible and heart-wrenching prompt swap story I wrote. All the tags! Comment if you like it!
WARNING!: The feels are in this chapter. Don't hate me. Also some language on Z and Pause's part.
- Aureylian
“Good night Vechs,” I whispered to my bedmate, as we curled up to go to sleep once more. It was the end of the second day of challenges and it had gone even worse for her and Vechs. It was an obstacle course involving lots of balance tests and running tests, both of which I had skill in. I ran like a two-legged horse and had the balance of a feather in the wind. Vechs had done well, but since it was a team effort, I had ended up dragging us down to nearly last place. Nearly, because no one had seen Etho or Nebris since the previous morning, and therefore they couldn’t participate in the challenges. But these thoughts were too negative to go to sleep thinking, so I let my mind wander and fell asleep much more quickly.
--
I awoke to a pitch-black room that seemed to have no end. Where am I? I wondered.
“Aurey? Aurey! You’re alive!” I heard a familiar voice call out to me.
“BTC? What? How are you here? And where is here?” I asked him, but he shook his head.
“I don’t know. But everyone’s so worried about all of you. Come back with me! You can see everyone again.” I didn’t know what to make of this. Could I really go back with him? But, I would be leaving everyone behind. I would be leaving Vechs behind.
“But what about the other nine guys there? What about Vechs?” When I asked the second question, I immediately regretted it. BTC looked hurt by my comment.
“So you love Vechs more than me now? Is that it? Then you won’t come back…”
“Blame, it’s not like that.”
“Of course it is. You love Vechs now. You want to stay with him in whatever place you are in, making the rest of us worry for your lives. And I thought that we would be together forever. But when you started talking to Vechs, you became all rebellious and you treated everyone terribly. Why don’t you leave him and his bad influence and stay with me on Mindcrack?” I gasped at what he was suggesting. Leave Vechs? No, I couldn’t. But even standing here, looking at his well-defined body and mysterious mask that gave me chills of anticipation, I felt my body betray my thoughts on the matter.
“Come on Aurey. I know you wanted this for so long now. Vechs won’t bother you ever again.” He appeared at my side and I screamed loudly, not expecting that. But he didn’t falter, and began to undo the thin silk blouse I was wearing. I made no moves to stop him, feeling a strange need come over me. I told him my thoughts on his actions.
“BTC! Stop that! I’m with Vechs and I don’t want this.”
“Can you really say that Aurey? I can feel your need coming off of you in waves, and I know you can’t hold out against me for long. Stop resisting.” I struggled more and felt a significant strain begin to grow in my forehead. I kept screaming at myself to stop this, but I could break free of BTC’s strong grasp. With one final scream, I felt my thoughts turn to mush as my need overwhelmed me.
--
“Oh God!” I awoke with a start, shaking Vechs and causing him to fall from the bed.
“Aurey! Are you okay? What’s going on?” Vechs asked me, startled by my sudden outburst. I turned to him and gazed at his face, and for a moment, saw only BTC. I blinked and saw Vechs’ watery blue eyes gazing at me with concern. I felt my eyes tear up, knowing what I had done with BTC. I let out a single sob before I leapt out of the bed and opened the door, rushing out into the cold night air in only my thin nightshirt.
Behind me I heard shouts of alarm from the others.
“Vechs? Was that Aurey?” and “What happened Vechs?” were some of the things I heard before I ran out of earshot. I could face Vechs. Not after seeing BTC in him. I felt my heart begin to tear itself apart with my love for the two men in my life. BTC, commanding, willful and sweet most of the time, or Vechs, silly, crazy, charming, and someone I could count on any time of day to help me. I sank to the grass at the edge of the plains biome and looked up at the moon, my vision now blurred by tears of hatred towards myself, the situation, and the voice who put me here.
“Why me?”
- Vechs
“Why did she run off? Did I upset her somehow?” I asked my friends, who were around me, comforting me and telling me it wasn’t my fault Aurey ran out into the night like that. But I could feel that it was somehow. She had begun to cry when she looked at me, and I didn’t know what had gone wrong.
“It’s okay guy,” Guude told me, rubbing my back to keep me from remaining tensed up like a spring. I loosened up, but made sure I could be off like a shot if Aurey came back into the clearing.
“I’m gonna go look for her. She was only in her nightgown, so she’s probably cold and worried out there in the woods. Can you set up some torches if she comes back without me?” Guude and Pause agreed, and the other’s let me past them.
“Aurey?” I called out to her when I was a ways away from camp. “Are you out here? Come back to the cabin! I don’t want you to get hurt!”
“Oh really?” I heard an eerie voice call out to me from a nearby pond. I walked over and peered into the pond to see my reflection, but it was different. I looked crazed and my eyes were black orbs on pale skin as opposed to my normal blue eyes and tanned skin. “You’re causing her so much pain. She wants to be with BTC and you just keep getting in the way. You are so much better than her anyway.”
“No! I love Rel Rel, and I am most certainly not the kind of dick to say I’m better than her.” A chuckle came from my reflection.
“Of course. Keep telling yourself that. But while you do that, Aurey is suffering and it’s your fault. She can’t decide between you or Blame. I can help you get her, and make her yours.” The voice was smooth and caressed my thoughts, making me feel more attracted to its offer. I nodded my approval, and a moment later I felt a slimy grasp on my ankle. I thought about what it had said, but before I could tell it to stop, I was drug under the murky water of the pond, feeling a dark entity close in on me, wrapping around my body, and making its will my own.
- Aurey
I made up my mind. I would tell BTC to just leave, and go find Vechs and show that dream BTC what I felt for him. I turned to run back to the cabin, but bumped into something cold and leathery. I looked up to see Vechs looking at me, but something was different. His eyes looked more shadowy than their normal bright aqua color, and his smile was one that looked forced, unlike his usual devious one.
“Vechs! I’m so glad to see you. I want to apologize for the way I-“ He cut me off.
“That’s okay. Because I forgive you. I hope that you can forgive me too.”
“For what?” I asked, puzzled as to his reasons to apologize.
“I never loved you. It was all a lie. I mean who wouldn’t want to have a relationship with the only girl on the server? So no need to actually pretend to love me either, now that I’ve told you. Have a good night.” And he walked off into the woods. I stood there, not sure if I had heard him right. A lie? He only liked me because I was the only one in our group? I shook my head to deny the thoughts that had sprouted there, but when I looked at Vechs receding form, a fresh wave of tears burst from my eyes. He had said it so mechanically and matter-of-factly that I knew he hadn’t been joking or lying.
“Vechs, you... you... Ugh! I hate you and I never want to see you again!” I yelled at him, and he just turned around and replied that he hoped for the same. My heart, held on by a single thread at this point, felt like it had just been used as target practice for a giant with a war hammer. I couldn’t breathe. Vechs… I thought, but even his name drew more tears to my eyes.
“Why would you leave me to suffer like this? I thought you wanted to have us complete simple challenges until you were bored and let us go. WHY DID YOU DO THIS!?” I yelled to The Voice. This time, when he answered, I recognized it.
“Because I knew he didn’t care about you. I care about you though.” I looked up to see BTC standing before me, black boots reflecting my messy features, marred by tears tracking through dirt on my cheeks, my sniffling nose, and my puffy eyes.
“BTC? You’re here! Please take me away from Vechs, and this terrible place. I… I don’t want to be reminded of this place ever again.” I choked out over sobs. He leaned in and put a gloved hand under my chin to have me look up at his mask-less face.
“Of course Aurey. I’d do anything for you.”
I hope that this would end the same way.
- Seth
“Vechs?” I asked, going into his and Aurey’s room. He hadn’t come out for days at this point. Winter had begun to set in, and I knew he would need to have food and supplies to survive the cold.
“Get out, Seth. I’m a monster. Keep everyone else out too. I deserve to die.” Vechs looked utterly defeated, his eyes having lost any shine they once had. He no longer was the devious, silly mapmaker he and the other Mindcracker’s once knew.
“Vechs, what happened out there? Why did Aurey never come back? Are you even listening?”
“Not like I want to, but you’re hard to drone out.” Vechs speech pattern changed, and his voice sounded deeper. “But I told Aurey how I felt about her, and she never came back.”
“What did you say?” Although I knew how this was going to go.
“I pretty much told her to fuck off and go be with BTC, since that’s what she always wanted,” he told me, the last part sounding extremely sarcastic. He sounded so nonchalant about it too. This was making me contemplate bludgeoning him to death right then and there with the shovel in my hand. But before I did that, I caught something that he said.
“BTC? So we aren’t the only one’s like that Voice was leading us to believe…” I said quietly, but not quietly enough apparently.
“What? Shit. Well since you know that, you need to die now, so enjoy going to hell!” He rushed at me with a stone sword in hand, but I saw him coming a mile away, since his movements were extremely obvious and slow. I swung my shovel upwards and it connected with a sickening thud with the back of his head. I restrained myself so that he wouldn’t suffer any permanent damage. At least I hoped. He fell to the floor with another thud, drawing everyone to the room I was standing in, over top of Vechs’ still form on the floor with my shovel still in hand.
“What did you do Seth?” Guude asked me, seeming unsure what to make of the situation.
“He charged me. But, really guys, I need to tell you something first.”
“No guy! You might have just killed him for all we know!” Guude shouted out before I could continue. Kurt came over and checked Vechs’ pulse.
“Nope. He’s alive. What were you saying Seth?” I nodded my thanks to the levelheaded astronomer.
“Guys. We aren’t the only –“ I was cut off from telling the rest by a sudden lack of air in my lungs.
“Bad move Seth,” came the voice. I inwardly cursed my stupidity. Obviously he wouldn’t let me say anything if he wanted to keep it a secret.
“Seth!” came Zisteau’s cry from near me. He moved into my vision as I now lay on the floor, grasping my throat to try and tear away the hands that were constricting me. But there were none there. I looked toward him slightly and gave him a little smile.
“Seth! Don’t die! You can’t! We… We just…” Zisteau tried to continue, but couldn’t get the words out. I reached out and stroked his cheek to reassure him. But even as I made the effort to calm my friend, I knew I was on the verge of dying. My vision was already fading on the edges, and my breaths now came in shallow gasps, trying to preserve my remaining air.
The last thing I heard was Zisteau’s cry of agony when I finally shut my eyes and lost all feeling, fading away.
- Zisteau
“You god-damn piece of shit! I’m going after Etho! And just try and stop me. Killing me with that shitty seizure thing would be a blessing!” I made every move to get the voice to speak up again. I was ready to die with Seth. I wouldn’t let that bitch kill him without a fair fight, and even then, I would gladly give my life to let him live.
“Z!” Kurt shouted at me, as he shook me back and forth to snap me out of my tirade at the voice. I stopped yelling to look at him, but as soon as the anger went away, only sadness and pain filled me. I pushed my face into his thick coat and let out loud sobs, not caring if anyone thought less of me as a result. All I could think of was Seth trying to comfort me in his last moments. His beautiful features marred by the pain and lack of oxygen, and me being unable to do anything to help. I let myself stand there, in Kurt’s arms as the other guys came over and did the same around me. I could hear all of them talking, but I really didn’t take any of it in. It was all just words of sympathy and crap like that, nothing that would actually help me get Seth back.
Once everyone had left, I went back into our… no now it was just my room, I remembered. I gathered up a few good supplies, not that we had anything great to speak of. A single, mostly used stone sword and a couple of apples I had picked for Seth and I to eat later tonight as we talked in bed. Remembering the great few days we’d had so far here made my heart shatter into a million tiny pieces once again, and even though I wasn’t the only one in this world, it was the first time I felt like I was completely and utterly alone.
Just so alone without him…
- Pause
“It feels so much different here now. Etho, Nebs and Seth are gone, and Z isn’t much better off than them. I feel so helpless knowing I we could lose anyone just in a second like that. That I could lose you, Guude.”
“I know how you feel Pause. I’m supposed to be the leader, and I’m letting our friends die just anytime, but I can’t do anything to save them. This just pisses me off to no end!” Guude let out a loud sigh of anger before lying down onto his pillow roughly. I was lying on one side, arm propping my head up, and looking at Guude. His normally cheery face was covered by a frown. I wished I could help, but I felt like I didn’t have any way to help.
“Is there any use in worrying like this Guude?” I asked in an attempt to get him to relax. I ran a finger across his chest to get him to the point where we could spend the night avoiding the worry. But Guude pushed my hand away.
“Not right now Pause. I can’t do that when so many of our friends have been killed or lost to us entirely at this point. You understand right?” I did, so I nodded my head, but this saddened me. Normally Guude wouldn’t turn me down for anything. He must be even more worried than I thought.
“Motherfucker,” I whispered under my breath to the Voice before I turned back to Guude and put my arms around him, falling asleep to his worried mumblings that I knew he would allow me to help him with.
- Etho
Almost there, I thought once I had finally made it to the flat area of the tall mountain I was climbing. I had been battling storms of rain and now ice along with chilling winds on my climb to the dark area I had seen. Days had passed since I had begun the climb, and now, with the last bit of my strength, I had made it to a shallow cave to take a rest. With my light bag of equipment slung over my shoulder, I went into the cave to take a nap before resuming my climb. Nothing can stop me from getting Nebris back, I told myself. I will kill this Voice and get my wonderful, funny, beautiful boyfriend back. But I would never actually tell him that I was thinking that.
I woke in a few hours, and took note of the meager supplies I was packing. A few raw pork chops, my bow and ten usable arrows, the knives that I could summon, and the thin blanket from my bed in the cabin. When I thought about the cabin, I wondered how everyone else was doing. Hopefully no one else has had to suffer like I have, I thought. But I was worried by the lack of opposition, as I got higher up the mountain. Lower down, many spiders, skeletons, and silverfish had tried to kill me or knock me down the mountain. But my bow and knives quickly ended most, the others falling after a second or third strike. But once I had made it up to the point where it began to snow and hail, no hostile creature continued their attack on me. They simply turned around without any good cause. Or was there? I shook my head to rid myself of any negative thoughts and began the rest of my climb. My muscles complained about the constant stress resuming, but I pushed it aside and continued farther and farther until I came to the peak of the mountain. What awaited me was breathtaking. A fortress of shadows stood in front of me and a large open door seemed to await my arrival so it could trap me there to suffer in the darkness. I steeled myself to resist any dark influence and proceeded through the doors.
“Well Etho. I didn’t expect you to get past all of the mobs. There were quite a lot of them after all. But it doesn’t matter. I can have something worse do the job here.” That voice! I recognized it immediately and cursed myself for not realizing it earlier. It was BTC. He was the voice. I looked around to find him so I could slay him, but I only saw shifting shadows moving around my feet.
“Aww,” he crooned tauntingly. “Etho can’t find me? Well better get him what he’s looking for, right?” A giggle of laughter followed his question. And suddenly he was there, standing about twenty meters away from me, with three people standing behind him.
“Hey Etho. Remember these three?” he asked pointing to the people behind him. I looked from him to the others and gasped, my eyes focusing all their attention on one man in particular.
“Nebris!” I cried out, tears beginning to form in my eyes. He looked my way, but I saw it was all wrong. His eyes were shadowed over and looked glossy with death. His movements were forced and quick, like a zombie. I turned to the other two to see what they were like.
“Seth? Aurey? Are you dead too?” I asked them.
“Of course I’m not Etho? Do you think BTC would kill his girlfriend?” Seth did the same as Nebris, and his movements and eyes were the same as well.
“But, what about Vechs?” I was confused. She and Vechs had seemed so connected when he was there, and it didn’t make sense that Aurey was now here, with BTC. She and BTC had been together once, but she had left him a long time ago and had begun to do a lot more with Vechs. She just laughed at my question, but it was a strange, almost angry laugh that wasn’t like her normal, more light-hearted laugh.
“Vechs? He was terrible to me, so I left. But BTC is a much better boyfriend. He wouldn’t hurt me like Vechs did.” It almost didn’t seem real, but I realized it wasn’t. BTC was somehow manipulating everyone’s minds to attack them from afar and change their thoughts and opinions. Obviously how he had made Aurey do this.
“Okay BTC. Here’s how this is going to go down. I’m going to kill you, fix Nebs, Aurey and Seth, and leave this place, in turn getting everyone else out and returning to Mindcrack and telling everyone what you did. So, if you have no objections, let’s start on phase one of the rescue plan.” I pulled out a pair of daggers, the ones that were colored in my remembrance of Nebris, which had since begun to glow with power.
“Oh but I do Etho. See, you won’t survive this. And be careful, if you kill them with those knives, they’ll die in Mindcrack as well. Seth, Nebs, kill Etho,” he told my friends, who nodded lethargically, and ran at me with iron swords. Crap, I thought. This is not going to be easy, especially when I can’t kill them or wound them without them feeling the pain on Mindcrack. I had only one option left. I backed up and expanded my mind once more, this time calling far beyond the world where I was. I called all the way back to my friends in our world.
“Guys! I need your help!” I called out into spawn town.
- Doc
I looked up at the sound of Etho’s voice.
“Etho? What? Where are you?” The other guys in the meeting hall looked around, seeming to be as confused as I was.
“I’m going to bring you here. You need to keep hold of Nebs and Seth so they don’t kill any of you. I’ll explain after I’m done, but I need you guys to help. And with those words, I felt a piercing pain behind my eyes, and I fell to my knees, not expecting such an effect to occur. The other’s seemed to be having similar issues. I fell to the ground shortly after. Etho, you’d better have a good reason for this.
- Avidya
“There you guys are! Help me restrain Nebs and Seth!” came Etho’s voice from nearby. I pushed myself up off of the floor, having heard his plea for help, and opened my eyes to a very strange scene. Nebris and Seth were swinging iron swords at Etho, and Etho was armed with strange looking knives, but wasn’t retaliating. Must be why he needs to restrain them, I thought. Doesn’t want to hurt them. I bent over into a sprinting stance and took off, hearing someone else beside me do the same. I ran head on into Seth and tackled him to the ground, knocking the sword from his hand. I looked down to see Seth, but not really him. He looked more like a zombie. His eyes were glazed, almost like he was dead, and his speech was impaired to the point where all I could understand was a few groans and mumbles. I looked over at another crash, and saw Doc and Pyro on top of Nebris, and seeing their eyes widen at seeing Nebris’ face. I turned to Etho, about to ask what happened, but I decided to heed his words about saving the questioning for later, and simply nodded him good luck for whatever he needed to do that he couldn’t without help. He nodded back to me, looking very grateful. He then called over to Jeff and Baj, the others who came with us into this strange shadowy world, and told them to come with him. I tossed Seth’s iron sword to Etho, who deftly caught it and gave it to Baj, and Doc did the same, Etho giving the other to Jeff. They ran off toward a large, foreboding doorway and watched them disappear around the corner, leading to Seth and Nebris struggling much harder, so I had to focus all of my efforts on keeping him down. Do what you have to Etho, and keep everyone safe, I thought, just in case Etho could hear me somehow.
So here it is! Part two of the ever so terrible and heart-wrenching prompt swap story I wrote. All the tags! Comment if you like it!
WARNING!: The feels are in this chapter. Don't hate me. Also some language on Z and Pause's part.
- Aureylian
“Good night Vechs,” I whispered to my bedmate, as we curled up to go to sleep once more. It was the end of the second day of challenges and it had gone even worse for her and Vechs. It was an obstacle course involving lots of balance tests and running tests, both of which I had skill in. I ran like a two-legged horse and had the balance of a feather in the wind. Vechs had done well, but since it was a team effort, I had ended up dragging us down to nearly last place. Nearly, because no one had seen Etho or Nebris since the previous morning, and therefore they couldn’t participate in the challenges. But these thoughts were too negative to go to sleep thinking, so I let my mind wander and fell asleep much more quickly.
--
I awoke to a pitch-black room that seemed to have no end. Where am I? I wondered.
“Aurey? Aurey! You’re alive!” I heard a familiar voice call out to me.
“BTC? What? How are you here? And where is here?” I asked him, but he shook his head.
“I don’t know. But everyone’s so worried about all of you. Come back with me! You can see everyone again.” I didn’t know what to make of this. Could I really go back with him? But, I would be leaving everyone behind. I would be leaving Vechs behind.
“But what about the other nine guys there? What about Vechs?” When I asked the second question, I immediately regretted it. BTC looked hurt by my comment.
“So you love Vechs more than me now? Is that it? Then you won’t come back…”
“Blame, it’s not like that.”
“Of course it is. You love Vechs now. You want to stay with him in whatever place you are in, making the rest of us worry for your lives. And I thought that we would be together forever. But when you started talking to Vechs, you became all rebellious and you treated everyone terribly. Why don’t you leave him and his bad influence and stay with me on Mindcrack?” I gasped at what he was suggesting. Leave Vechs? No, I couldn’t. But even standing here, looking at his well-defined body and mysterious mask that gave me chills of anticipation, I felt my body betray my thoughts on the matter.
“Come on Aurey. I know you wanted this for so long now. Vechs won’t bother you ever again.” He appeared at my side and I screamed loudly, not expecting that. But he didn’t falter, and began to undo the thin silk blouse I was wearing. I made no moves to stop him, feeling a strange need come over me. I told him my thoughts on his actions.
“BTC! Stop that! I’m with Vechs and I don’t want this.”
“Can you really say that Aurey? I can feel your need coming off of you in waves, and I know you can’t hold out against me for long. Stop resisting.” I struggled more and felt a significant strain begin to grow in my forehead. I kept screaming at myself to stop this, but I could break free of BTC’s strong grasp. With one final scream, I felt my thoughts turn to mush as my need overwhelmed me.
--
“Oh God!” I awoke with a start, shaking Vechs and causing him to fall from the bed.
“Aurey! Are you okay? What’s going on?” Vechs asked me, startled by my sudden outburst. I turned to him and gazed at his face, and for a moment, saw only BTC. I blinked and saw Vechs’ watery blue eyes gazing at me with concern. I felt my eyes tear up, knowing what I had done with BTC. I let out a single sob before I leapt out of the bed and opened the door, rushing out into the cold night air in only my thin nightshirt.
Behind me I heard shouts of alarm from the others.
“Vechs? Was that Aurey?” and “What happened Vechs?” were some of the things I heard before I ran out of earshot. I could face Vechs. Not after seeing BTC in him. I felt my heart begin to tear itself apart with my love for the two men in my life. BTC, commanding, willful and sweet most of the time, or Vechs, silly, crazy, charming, and someone I could count on any time of day to help me. I sank to the grass at the edge of the plains biome and looked up at the moon, my vision now blurred by tears of hatred towards myself, the situation, and the voice who put me here.
“Why me?”
- Vechs
“Why did she run off? Did I upset her somehow?” I asked my friends, who were around me, comforting me and telling me it wasn’t my fault Aurey ran out into the night like that. But I could feel that it was somehow. She had begun to cry when she looked at me, and I didn’t know what had gone wrong.
“It’s okay guy,” Guude told me, rubbing my back to keep me from remaining tensed up like a spring. I loosened up, but made sure I could be off like a shot if Aurey came back into the clearing.
“I’m gonna go look for her. She was only in her nightgown, so she’s probably cold and worried out there in the woods. Can you set up some torches if she comes back without me?” Guude and Pause agreed, and the other’s let me past them.
“Aurey?” I called out to her when I was a ways away from camp. “Are you out here? Come back to the cabin! I don’t want you to get hurt!”
“Oh really?” I heard an eerie voice call out to me from a nearby pond. I walked over and peered into the pond to see my reflection, but it was different. I looked crazed and my eyes were black orbs on pale skin as opposed to my normal blue eyes and tanned skin. “You’re causing her so much pain. She wants to be with BTC and you just keep getting in the way. You are so much better than her anyway.”
“No! I love Rel Rel, and I am most certainly not the kind of dick to say I’m better than her.” A chuckle came from my reflection.
“Of course. Keep telling yourself that. But while you do that, Aurey is suffering and it’s your fault. She can’t decide between you or Blame. I can help you get her, and make her yours.” The voice was smooth and caressed my thoughts, making me feel more attracted to its offer. I nodded my approval, and a moment later I felt a slimy grasp on my ankle. I thought about what it had said, but before I could tell it to stop, I was drug under the murky water of the pond, feeling a dark entity close in on me, wrapping around my body, and making its will my own.
- Aurey
I made up my mind. I would tell BTC to just leave, and go find Vechs and show that dream BTC what I felt for him. I turned to run back to the cabin, but bumped into something cold and leathery. I looked up to see Vechs looking at me, but something was different. His eyes looked more shadowy than their normal bright aqua color, and his smile was one that looked forced, unlike his usual devious one.
“Vechs! I’m so glad to see you. I want to apologize for the way I-“ He cut me off.
“That’s okay. Because I forgive you. I hope that you can forgive me too.”
“For what?” I asked, puzzled as to his reasons to apologize.
“I never loved you. It was all a lie. I mean who wouldn’t want to have a relationship with the only girl on the server? So no need to actually pretend to love me either, now that I’ve told you. Have a good night.” And he walked off into the woods. I stood there, not sure if I had heard him right. A lie? He only liked me because I was the only one in our group? I shook my head to deny the thoughts that had sprouted there, but when I looked at Vechs receding form, a fresh wave of tears burst from my eyes. He had said it so mechanically and matter-of-factly that I knew he hadn’t been joking or lying.
“Vechs, you... you... Ugh! I hate you and I never want to see you again!” I yelled at him, and he just turned around and replied that he hoped for the same. My heart, held on by a single thread at this point, felt like it had just been used as target practice for a giant with a war hammer. I couldn’t breathe. Vechs… I thought, but even his name drew more tears to my eyes.
“Why would you leave me to suffer like this? I thought you wanted to have us complete simple challenges until you were bored and let us go. WHY DID YOU DO THIS!?” I yelled to The Voice. This time, when he answered, I recognized it.
“Because I knew he didn’t care about you. I care about you though.” I looked up to see BTC standing before me, black boots reflecting my messy features, marred by tears tracking through dirt on my cheeks, my sniffling nose, and my puffy eyes.
“BTC? You’re here! Please take me away from Vechs, and this terrible place. I… I don’t want to be reminded of this place ever again.” I choked out over sobs. He leaned in and put a gloved hand under my chin to have me look up at his mask-less face.
“Of course Aurey. I’d do anything for you.”
I hope that this would end the same way.
- Seth
“Vechs?” I asked, going into his and Aurey’s room. He hadn’t come out for days at this point. Winter had begun to set in, and I knew he would need to have food and supplies to survive the cold.
“Get out, Seth. I’m a monster. Keep everyone else out too. I deserve to die.” Vechs looked utterly defeated, his eyes having lost any shine they once had. He no longer was the devious, silly mapmaker he and the other Mindcracker’s once knew.
“Vechs, what happened out there? Why did Aurey never come back? Are you even listening?”
“Not like I want to, but you’re hard to drone out.” Vechs speech pattern changed, and his voice sounded deeper. “But I told Aurey how I felt about her, and she never came back.”
“What did you say?” Although I knew how this was going to go.
“I pretty much told her to fuck off and go be with BTC, since that’s what she always wanted,” he told me, the last part sounding extremely sarcastic. He sounded so nonchalant about it too. This was making me contemplate bludgeoning him to death right then and there with the shovel in my hand. But before I did that, I caught something that he said.
“BTC? So we aren’t the only one’s like that Voice was leading us to believe…” I said quietly, but not quietly enough apparently.
“What? Shit. Well since you know that, you need to die now, so enjoy going to hell!” He rushed at me with a stone sword in hand, but I saw him coming a mile away, since his movements were extremely obvious and slow. I swung my shovel upwards and it connected with a sickening thud with the back of his head. I restrained myself so that he wouldn’t suffer any permanent damage. At least I hoped. He fell to the floor with another thud, drawing everyone to the room I was standing in, over top of Vechs’ still form on the floor with my shovel still in hand.
“What did you do Seth?” Guude asked me, seeming unsure what to make of the situation.
“He charged me. But, really guys, I need to tell you something first.”
“No guy! You might have just killed him for all we know!” Guude shouted out before I could continue. Kurt came over and checked Vechs’ pulse.
“Nope. He’s alive. What were you saying Seth?” I nodded my thanks to the levelheaded astronomer.
“Guys. We aren’t the only –“ I was cut off from telling the rest by a sudden lack of air in my lungs.
“Bad move Seth,” came the voice. I inwardly cursed my stupidity. Obviously he wouldn’t let me say anything if he wanted to keep it a secret.
“Seth!” came Zisteau’s cry from near me. He moved into my vision as I now lay on the floor, grasping my throat to try and tear away the hands that were constricting me. But there were none there. I looked toward him slightly and gave him a little smile.
“Seth! Don’t die! You can’t! We… We just…” Zisteau tried to continue, but couldn’t get the words out. I reached out and stroked his cheek to reassure him. But even as I made the effort to calm my friend, I knew I was on the verge of dying. My vision was already fading on the edges, and my breaths now came in shallow gasps, trying to preserve my remaining air.
The last thing I heard was Zisteau’s cry of agony when I finally shut my eyes and lost all feeling, fading away.
- Zisteau
“You god-damn piece of shit! I’m going after Etho! And just try and stop me. Killing me with that shitty seizure thing would be a blessing!” I made every move to get the voice to speak up again. I was ready to die with Seth. I wouldn’t let that bitch kill him without a fair fight, and even then, I would gladly give my life to let him live.
“Z!” Kurt shouted at me, as he shook me back and forth to snap me out of my tirade at the voice. I stopped yelling to look at him, but as soon as the anger went away, only sadness and pain filled me. I pushed my face into his thick coat and let out loud sobs, not caring if anyone thought less of me as a result. All I could think of was Seth trying to comfort me in his last moments. His beautiful features marred by the pain and lack of oxygen, and me being unable to do anything to help. I let myself stand there, in Kurt’s arms as the other guys came over and did the same around me. I could hear all of them talking, but I really didn’t take any of it in. It was all just words of sympathy and crap like that, nothing that would actually help me get Seth back.
Once everyone had left, I went back into our… no now it was just my room, I remembered. I gathered up a few good supplies, not that we had anything great to speak of. A single, mostly used stone sword and a couple of apples I had picked for Seth and I to eat later tonight as we talked in bed. Remembering the great few days we’d had so far here made my heart shatter into a million tiny pieces once again, and even though I wasn’t the only one in this world, it was the first time I felt like I was completely and utterly alone.
Just so alone without him…
- Pause
“It feels so much different here now. Etho, Nebs and Seth are gone, and Z isn’t much better off than them. I feel so helpless knowing I we could lose anyone just in a second like that. That I could lose you, Guude.”
“I know how you feel Pause. I’m supposed to be the leader, and I’m letting our friends die just anytime, but I can’t do anything to save them. This just pisses me off to no end!” Guude let out a loud sigh of anger before lying down onto his pillow roughly. I was lying on one side, arm propping my head up, and looking at Guude. His normally cheery face was covered by a frown. I wished I could help, but I felt like I didn’t have any way to help.
“Is there any use in worrying like this Guude?” I asked in an attempt to get him to relax. I ran a finger across his chest to get him to the point where we could spend the night avoiding the worry. But Guude pushed my hand away.
“Not right now Pause. I can’t do that when so many of our friends have been killed or lost to us entirely at this point. You understand right?” I did, so I nodded my head, but this saddened me. Normally Guude wouldn’t turn me down for anything. He must be even more worried than I thought.
“Motherfucker,” I whispered under my breath to the Voice before I turned back to Guude and put my arms around him, falling asleep to his worried mumblings that I knew he would allow me to help him with.
- Etho
Almost there, I thought once I had finally made it to the flat area of the tall mountain I was climbing. I had been battling storms of rain and now ice along with chilling winds on my climb to the dark area I had seen. Days had passed since I had begun the climb, and now, with the last bit of my strength, I had made it to a shallow cave to take a rest. With my light bag of equipment slung over my shoulder, I went into the cave to take a nap before resuming my climb. Nothing can stop me from getting Nebris back, I told myself. I will kill this Voice and get my wonderful, funny, beautiful boyfriend back. But I would never actually tell him that I was thinking that.
I woke in a few hours, and took note of the meager supplies I was packing. A few raw pork chops, my bow and ten usable arrows, the knives that I could summon, and the thin blanket from my bed in the cabin. When I thought about the cabin, I wondered how everyone else was doing. Hopefully no one else has had to suffer like I have, I thought. But I was worried by the lack of opposition, as I got higher up the mountain. Lower down, many spiders, skeletons, and silverfish had tried to kill me or knock me down the mountain. But my bow and knives quickly ended most, the others falling after a second or third strike. But once I had made it up to the point where it began to snow and hail, no hostile creature continued their attack on me. They simply turned around without any good cause. Or was there? I shook my head to rid myself of any negative thoughts and began the rest of my climb. My muscles complained about the constant stress resuming, but I pushed it aside and continued farther and farther until I came to the peak of the mountain. What awaited me was breathtaking. A fortress of shadows stood in front of me and a large open door seemed to await my arrival so it could trap me there to suffer in the darkness. I steeled myself to resist any dark influence and proceeded through the doors.
“Well Etho. I didn’t expect you to get past all of the mobs. There were quite a lot of them after all. But it doesn’t matter. I can have something worse do the job here.” That voice! I recognized it immediately and cursed myself for not realizing it earlier. It was BTC. He was the voice. I looked around to find him so I could slay him, but I only saw shifting shadows moving around my feet.
“Aww,” he crooned tauntingly. “Etho can’t find me? Well better get him what he’s looking for, right?” A giggle of laughter followed his question. And suddenly he was there, standing about twenty meters away from me, with three people standing behind him.
“Hey Etho. Remember these three?” he asked pointing to the people behind him. I looked from him to the others and gasped, my eyes focusing all their attention on one man in particular.
“Nebris!” I cried out, tears beginning to form in my eyes. He looked my way, but I saw it was all wrong. His eyes were shadowed over and looked glossy with death. His movements were forced and quick, like a zombie. I turned to the other two to see what they were like.
“Seth? Aurey? Are you dead too?” I asked them.
“Of course I’m not Etho? Do you think BTC would kill his girlfriend?” Seth did the same as Nebris, and his movements and eyes were the same as well.
“But, what about Vechs?” I was confused. She and Vechs had seemed so connected when he was there, and it didn’t make sense that Aurey was now here, with BTC. She and BTC had been together once, but she had left him a long time ago and had begun to do a lot more with Vechs. She just laughed at my question, but it was a strange, almost angry laugh that wasn’t like her normal, more light-hearted laugh.
“Vechs? He was terrible to me, so I left. But BTC is a much better boyfriend. He wouldn’t hurt me like Vechs did.” It almost didn’t seem real, but I realized it wasn’t. BTC was somehow manipulating everyone’s minds to attack them from afar and change their thoughts and opinions. Obviously how he had made Aurey do this.
“Okay BTC. Here’s how this is going to go down. I’m going to kill you, fix Nebs, Aurey and Seth, and leave this place, in turn getting everyone else out and returning to Mindcrack and telling everyone what you did. So, if you have no objections, let’s start on phase one of the rescue plan.” I pulled out a pair of daggers, the ones that were colored in my remembrance of Nebris, which had since begun to glow with power.
“Oh but I do Etho. See, you won’t survive this. And be careful, if you kill them with those knives, they’ll die in Mindcrack as well. Seth, Nebs, kill Etho,” he told my friends, who nodded lethargically, and ran at me with iron swords. Crap, I thought. This is not going to be easy, especially when I can’t kill them or wound them without them feeling the pain on Mindcrack. I had only one option left. I backed up and expanded my mind once more, this time calling far beyond the world where I was. I called all the way back to my friends in our world.
“Guys! I need your help!” I called out into spawn town.
- Doc
I looked up at the sound of Etho’s voice.
“Etho? What? Where are you?” The other guys in the meeting hall looked around, seeming to be as confused as I was.
“I’m going to bring you here. You need to keep hold of Nebs and Seth so they don’t kill any of you. I’ll explain after I’m done, but I need you guys to help. And with those words, I felt a piercing pain behind my eyes, and I fell to my knees, not expecting such an effect to occur. The other’s seemed to be having similar issues. I fell to the ground shortly after. Etho, you’d better have a good reason for this.
- Avidya
“There you guys are! Help me restrain Nebs and Seth!” came Etho’s voice from nearby. I pushed myself up off of the floor, having heard his plea for help, and opened my eyes to a very strange scene. Nebris and Seth were swinging iron swords at Etho, and Etho was armed with strange looking knives, but wasn’t retaliating. Must be why he needs to restrain them, I thought. Doesn’t want to hurt them. I bent over into a sprinting stance and took off, hearing someone else beside me do the same. I ran head on into Seth and tackled him to the ground, knocking the sword from his hand. I looked down to see Seth, but not really him. He looked more like a zombie. His eyes were glazed, almost like he was dead, and his speech was impaired to the point where all I could understand was a few groans and mumbles. I looked over at another crash, and saw Doc and Pyro on top of Nebris, and seeing their eyes widen at seeing Nebris’ face. I turned to Etho, about to ask what happened, but I decided to heed his words about saving the questioning for later, and simply nodded him good luck for whatever he needed to do that he couldn’t without help. He nodded back to me, looking very grateful. He then called over to Jeff and Baj, the others who came with us into this strange shadowy world, and told them to come with him. I tossed Seth’s iron sword to Etho, who deftly caught it and gave it to Baj, and Doc did the same, Etho giving the other to Jeff. They ran off toward a large, foreboding doorway and watched them disappear around the corner, leading to Seth and Nebris struggling much harder, so I had to focus all of my efforts on keeping him down. Do what you have to Etho, and keep everyone safe, I thought, just in case Etho could hear me somehow.
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Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 03:49 am (UTC)-Eclipse
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Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 03:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 03:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 04:05 am (UTC)Thanks unnamed person!
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Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 05:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 06:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 08:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 08:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 08:14 am (UTC)Wow, I wasnt expecting this! This has gone and created itself it's own plotline, rather than just the day-to-day surviving stuff I imagined this having. I dont think you can compare the two, but either way, this is great! Not exactly what I was looking for, but great never the less.
I think this a bit strange for BTC to leave himself open to attack by his toys like this, but it makes the story make sense, so that's fine. I think it would make a lot more sense if BTC used his insta-death powers on Etho (perhaps semi-successfully), so that it doesnt seem like BTC is holding back, but he is stopped by the other mindcrackers, because he doesnt know that they were there.
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Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 08:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 02:06 pm (UTC)Aurey and BTC? According to r7 it's "get away from me" but what happened before that?
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Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 06:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 07:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 10:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, July 20th, 2014 10:14 pm (UTC)