There can only be one winner: Chapter 1: Pawns in his game
Duncan took a few steps back, only to collapse on an outcropping of stone, his eyes like saucers. He rested his elbows on his knees and took his head in both hands, memories whispering around him and nipping at his ears, reviving themselves within his mind. The last games were brutal. Teamed with Hannah, he watched his friends kill each other, for no prize. Everyone just wanted to live. Slowly, everyone lost their humanity, slaughtering each other just for scraps of food. He'd seen people punched to death, decapitated, hung and in one case even thrown off a roof. The next day, they'd wake up in their beds with nothing to show for it but nightmares, scars and a nagging at the back of your skull that reminded you how savage you became. It was Ridgedog's sick obsession.
Peaceful Pandora had never been exposed to the Games. Duncan just prayed that she'd kept a low enough profile and Ridge wouldn't know about her yet. Maybe, she'd be spared these Games. She could sleep without nightmares for just a little longer. He could keep her hidden, then she'd never have to see the horrors that occurred within the infamous glass dome, she'd be safe. The look in her eyes told him no such thing would happen. As if reading his thoughts, she narrowed her eyes into slits and said with a dark undertone to her voice,
"If your going in that arena, I'm going in with you."
Duncan looked up at her, her long ebony hair swept past her shoulders and her dark grey eyes shone out at him like little stars on a clouded night, her prized musket swung over her shoulder, she was everything to him. His best friend. He couldn't let her take on that burden for him. Especially as he knew the final rule of the Survival Games – there can only be one winner. If it came down to him and her, what would they do? He couldn't kill her just as Martyn had effortlessly killed Toby at the end of the last games to be crowned victor. He opened his mouth, but another voice spoke words he didn't say.
"What an excellent idea, my lady!" exclaimed the voice from between nimble Pandora and Duncan. Suddenly, a wild Ridgedog appeared out of nowhere, arms outstretched in a gesture of greeting. His smug smile was plastered onto his face, the gold thread on his long, midnight jacket shimmering in the light of the Nitor flames. Pandora loaded and raised her musket quicker than the eye could register it happening. Any instinct of protection turned to self-preservation as Duncan backed away from the godlike Ridgedog. The monster raised his hands in an act of surrender,
"Now, now, little lady, your coming with me if you like it or not. Shooting me is only going to make me mad, now isn't it?" his voice was like honey, soothing but made by bees. Pandora wondered if shooting him point-blanc in the head would kill him or simply maim him enough that he could never smile again.
"Thinking again?" he asked sarcastically, tilting his head sideways to meet her gaze.
"I have a right to think." she responded, her mind still wandering to places where there was less of his face intact.
"Just about as much right," he whispered menacingly, drawing slowly closer to her, "as pigs have to fly." With a speed like a bullet, he forced the barrel of Pan's musket upwards, sending it flying into her face. It hit her nose with a crack, sending her reeling into the wall, her prized gun clattering to the floor. Duncan went to help but Ridge stood in front of him.
"You have a choice, Lalna." he whispered, so quietly only he could hear, "You can come with me willingly..." he said before turning to Pan who had collapsed against the wall, clutching her nose, "Or we'll see how much of your girlfriend's face is left by the time I'm done" He run the back of his hand down Pan's cheek and she flinched away from it as if it was made of ice. Pan muttered something which sounded a lot like, "he's not my boyfriend" but no one seemed to hear.
Duncan stood, completely paralysed, listening to the rapidly increasing sound of his own heartbeat. This was no choice, this was a clean-cut, pre-made decision set out on a silver dish to look like he was in control.
"Then I go with you." he murmured, forcing his feet to take a step closer to the monster as if offering himself up for execution, which in essence he was, "So long as Pandora remains here." Ridgedog thought about this for a moment, calculations mixed with insanity swimming like tadpoles behind his hazel eyes. He hummed quietly, ever thinking of that world down the rabbit hole, and what tragedy he could create.
"Denied." he replied. In a flash of gold, all three of them disappeared, leaving behind the abandoned cavern lit by Nitor flames and a blooded musket alone on the floor. The first two members of the Survival Games were gone.
–
"What time did Duncan say he was getting here for?" shouted the spaceman as he flew up to the roof of his marble factory. There stood his shorter, ginger companion, with arms full of red wool as he disassembled the massive statute that had stood atop the Jaffa Factory.
"Dawn," Honeydew replied, dumping the wool blocks down the rubbish chute, "but then he mentioned something about a project and Pan, so I'm not holding my breath."
Lewis looked up at the sky, his dark blue eyes glowing softly, noting that it was, at best, midday. His red jacket billowed out behind him and he took a moment to relish the beautiful Minecraftian day. It was something he'd learned to appreciate since the war.
"So, if we're on our own..." Xephos turned to continue his conversation with the dwarf, only to find he had mysteriously disappeared, leaving a pile of red wool and a diamond pickaxe in his place. He looked around in a full circle, drawing his trusty diamond sword from the sheath on his back. He'd long since learned that it was a good idea to keep on your toes.
"Honeydew!" he yelled, looking off the edge of the roof.
"You know..." he heard someone say from directly behind him. He went to turn and look at the invader but he felt himself falling off the edge. He let out a surprised yell and before he could even activate his flying ring, he felt a par of arms catch him mid-fall.
"You really shouldn't stand on the edge of tall buildings unless you expect to fall."
Xephos looked up at the menacing grin and the murky eyes of Ridgedog. Fear swept through him but he would not give him the satisfaction of seeing it.
"Well, spaceman, you and I are going to play a game..."
–
"Zoey?" Rythian called, his voice echoing through the decrepit halls of Blackrock castle. His footsteps clicked on the marble floors as he scanned every inch of the fortress. The magic room was empty, the kitchen lie abandoned, even the Mooshrooms were un-fed, mooing out into silence. Rythian tried to ignore the nagging sense of panic that was rising within him. What if she left again? What if Sjin or Lalna took her? And where the hell is Teep? Reluctantly, the master of magic descended the ladder down into the mines, then to the Mushroom throne room, then down into B.A.R.R.Y which lie in near ruins. He followed down the stark white corridors, cringing at the loud alarms and the humm of unreliable equipment. He scowled at everything, trying to keep his mind purely focused on the task at hand. After a moment of fighting with awkward button controls, he entered the room of screens. Bright lights glared down, followed by each monitor. If he'd been looking, he would have noticed something strange about four of the monitors, but his main focus was on Zoey and Tee. He skimmed through their monitors until he reached Zoey's location.
Location: Down the Rabbit hole.
"Hello again, Enderborn." greeted the man in the black and gold coat- the mad hatter himself. Fearless Rythian spun around, shooting fire out of his fingertips. It achieved little more than singe his coattails as he dodged and swerved around the mage's enraged flurry of attacks.
"You know, this does get rather tiresome, do you greet all your guests like this? No wonder everybody's trying to blow you up!"
The mage halted his attacks briefly, only to respond.
"No, just you."
Rigedog let out an exasperated sigh and dodged a massive icicle that had been launched at him.
"Look, do you want to know where Zoey is or not?"
This stopped Rythian all together. He narrowed his lilac eyes and his face, even partly concealed by his mask, seethed fury.
"Let her go, fiend." he declared, his hands balling into fists, ready to unleash his true fury.
Godlike Ridge just shook his head, clicked his fingers and he was gone.
"I could never abide that man..." he declared to the empty room, before heading off to find his next victims.
–
"Martyn?" shouted the hooded boy as he entered the wooden cavern that was the entrance to their hidden bunker. The halls were warm and you could feel the power emanating from the boy within. That kind of warmth and power you could only ever feel within the embrace of the forest.
"Martyn, have you heard? Minty says people are going missing!" he said, throwing off his shoes as he descended the wooden steps to see his golden haired friend sitting cross-legged by the fire. The boys emerald eyes seemed to have the life of nature stirring beneath the irises. He had often expressed his dislike for the cold.
"Missing? People go off on random adventures all the time. Toby! Who's gone?" he exclaimed, his emerald eyes following his brown haired companion sitting opposite him, hugging the warm bricks around the fire.
"That's the thing. Pandora, Duncan, Simon and Lewis all going off on some adventure isn't unusual but the word is Blackrock is abandoned and Hannah and Nilsey disappeared on the way to visit Minty. I'm telling you, this is scarily familiar..."
His friend trailed off to look into the embers of the fire, the sadness echoing in his eyes.
"It's happening again, isn't it..." Martyn muttered, trying not to meet the eyes of his companion, knowing full well what he became when he entered that arena. A bloodthirsty, ambitious, power-hungry maniac with an unhealthy lust for victory. That wasn't him – or so he told himself – he couldn't hide that part of him any more. He was the Champion after all.
"Martyn, promise me, If it comes down to it..." Toby begun, looking over to his best friend. His eyes screamed for mercy in the path of a savage.
"OHH! Plans! I do love them! Please, continue!" shouted a voice from directly in front of them. The figure sat cross-legged in the air, blocking the firelight, his face hidden by shadow. Martyn leapt to his feet and took a few steps back from the shadow. Toby was not as athletically inclined and merely fell onto his back in shock.
"Tell me champion, what evil schemes do you have in your mind? Will there be another betrayal? Oh, do tell!"
Martyn scowled at the monster, fury emanating from him. Frightful Toby looked over to him, as if expecting him to answer.
"Ah, a surprise, is it? Good- they make for great entertainment! May the odds be ever in your favour!"
With this, all of them disappeared in a puff of gold smoke.
–
"Minty?" shouted the grey skinned man in the blue spacesuit, "Minty, your boyfriend's here to see you!" He got a solid thump on the back of the head from his bearded companion in the matching orange spacesuit, "What?" the first protested, rubbing the back of his head.
"You don't need to shout about it!" he protested, opening the door into the Captive Creeper and walking in with a ridiculous grin on his face. He had missed Minty. It seemed like they'd been working over at the dirt factory for months without any kind of break.
"I'm afraid Minty isn't here at the moment, please leave a message after the beep..." came a voice out of nowhere. It was one he recognised, however, the harbinger of savagery. Then came a screech, one he recognised belonging to his grey-skinned companion, which he normally heard when there was a creeper or something of equal malice. He turned around to see a familiar face, with a crop of brown hair floating just outside the door.
"A wild Ridgedog appeared!" exclaimed Sips, seemingly glad he had arrived to sate his boredom. Proud Sjin marched forward, barging his companion out of his path.
"We had a deal!" he shouted, as outraged as a lion who'd had his meat taken.
"That deal has..." he paused for a moment, stroking his chin, "Expired."
Sjin snarled at him like a wolf, outraged,
"Leave Minty out of the Games Ridge, or I swear to Notch I'll..."
"Do what?" Ridge interrupted, "A mortal can only dream of slaying Gods."
Sips looked back and forwards between the feuding duo. He'd clearly not been part of said deal as confusion was written into his face. Ridge floated only a few feet off the ground, his arms folded smugly across his chest, the gold hints in his coat sparkling in the bright afternoon sun. He did look frighteningly like a god.
"If you are a god." Sjin replied, "Then you are the god of Evil."
Ridge seemed to like this idea as a glint appeared in his eye.
"That I am, Sjin, you have learned well. Flattery pays, you see. So this is what I'll do. Your friend here, your precious Minty and yourself shall be placed in a different holding room. There, I will give you one hour to plan before I explain some of the...differences this game shall have to the norm. This is the deal I offer you, spacemen, will you play my game?"
Sjin looked at Sips who seemed to have already agreed inside. Planning was key. They could form a massive, merciless band and take on everyone. In the end, they would just have to see who survived. It was perfect.
"Agreed." Sjin muttered, clearly not happy that he had to make this choice at all.
"Perfect!" Ridge exclaimed, transporting Sips, Sjin and Minty to their room. Ridge was, usually, a man of his word. You just had to get on his good side. "Don't you just love it when a trap comes together?" he muttered, laughing manically into the empty air. The pawns were all in place, now it was time to toss a coin and see who took the upper hand.