Seto constantly woke up and fell asleep in constant motion. Dreams blurred days together, and when he finally managed to snap out of it for ten or so minutes, he would find a cup of water and some meat on the table beside him, which he would quickly devour before giving into exhaustion again. He was healing, he supposed, from his various injuries and exhaustion. Once he was feeling better, the dreams became less wild, and his breathing calmed. Finally, he snapped himself awake and into full consciousness again. This is where we start again.

Seto gasped, sitting up in bed. He had been having the craziest dream about a mask, some black dust, and... a potato? It was best not to question it, he was running on brain power alone, after all. However, something was different this time he woke up. He no longer ached or felt sore, and the compulsion to sleep had all but vanished. Instead, he got up again, and felt amazing for once in a very long time. There was a glass of milk and two small uneven slices of bread lying on the table. He ate it slowly while looking out of the window, now adjusted to the vast difference in height. It was daybreak again, with mist coating the bottom of the Overworld jungle below. A rich, sweet smell hung in the air, surely a few floors' distance away. Feeling confident, he walked past the mirror on the adjacent wall, and opened the door. This time, he was prepared for the burst of icy, gusty wind.

There were a slabs of wood in various colors and textures pressed firmly into the sturdy branches of the tree. Nothing groaned or creaked under his careful steps; it had been constructed with expert craftsmanship and soundly enough to hold more than the likes of him. He pulled his hood up over his head, hair, and ears again, thus protecting his from the weather's adverse affairs. He looked from his left to his right, deciding on whether to ascend upwards or descend towards the roots. Suddenly, he realized he had left his bag beside the nightstand that had held his meal. Rushing back inside, his eyes darted frantically. It was gone, someone had moved it! Forcing himself to calm down, he reasoned that Sparklez had simply taken it with him when he left him his breakfast, possibly to a safer location. Shutting the door behind him again, he turned to his right, and started walking up, hand running along the bark of the tree, almost cautious. He had no reason to, but he still was on edge. Possibly from adrenaline, but he was playing it safe. No use getting lost, anyway.

When he got to the next floor, he was taken by great surprise. Large double chest were placed in-between crafting benches and furnaces, in neat lines along the wall. Fences were attached to the outside platform, adding more stability and ease of transition. A large doorway cut into the bark and heart of the tree showed that it had been hollowed out, a set of spiral stairs swirling inside. Shortly behind it tucked into a neat corner was a small building with glass windows. Turning the stone-cold doorknob, he pushed it to reveal a few cats, a bed, and a few more chests. It appeared to be a temporary bedroom to sleep in if someone, most likely CaptainSparklez, had spent the entire day crafting and creating. Someone spent their time well.

He shut the door again, hearing it lock into place as he walked away. He could either go below to ground level via spiral staircase or keep going up. He reasoned that his belongings weren't in the ocean or greens below him swiftly, and continued upwards, marveled more and more at the structure and layout of the massive tree house. It must have taken years to complete, not to mention architectural skill. The paths began to diverge into others, revealing more rooms, ledges, and dead ends. He heard the cry of mobs as he climbed higher, but he tried his best to tune it out, albeit uneasy. He didn't know where they were or why he could hear them, but he had much more pressing issues, to him, anyway. Keep in mind he did just wake up from recovery, so he wasn't exactly thinking things through all the way, okay? He was happy he had just been allowed to stay here, regardless of the exact situation. He stopped briefly when he spotted a small section of bookcase, completely surrounding something. Turning his attention away from the main path, he walked up the guardrails-free steps to find an enchanting table, absorbing the energies from the books around it. He had personally never been able to make an enchanting table, for lack of proper resources and recipe, not to mention the time. He stared for a minute, almost mesmerized by the flow of power from shelf to table and soft white glow it gave off, before shaking it off and turning back to the task at hand.

The air grew lighter and lighter the higher he went, and his ears popped under the lack of pressure. The wind was more rough, pushing his robes roughly against his skin. The view was pretty nice, though. It overshadowed the entire jungle, even allowing him to see the plains, even a hint of the ocean. His mind slapped two and two together as he realized that this is what he had seen over the treetops when he himself had been in the plains. Finally, it appeared he had reached the summit. He was surprised to see the steps lead up to a wooden frame surrounding grass with small yellow flowers on top. The Captain was there, but why was unclear. He moved slowly, almost as if he was afraid to break the silence. When he stepped onto the spiky jungle grass, though, it crunched soundly, alerting the other. Sparklez' attention wavered, focusing on the sound instead of whatever it was he was doing, stopping when he noticed Seto out of his peripheral vision. Visibly relaxing, he stayed quiet, laying down a small red rose from the plains, and moved so Seto could see.

'Here lies Jerry.'

'He was a noble slime.'

'May he rest in peace.'

"So.. Jerry was your pet?" He asked, wishing nothing more than to relieve the thick tension.

"Yeah... he was awesome. We went on a couple of adventures together, and on our last one, someone got upset at me for something that was entirely my fault. To get back, he... he pushed Jerry into the water. He got trapped... I know he didn't mean to kill him, but still. Jerry's gone." His head was still tilted down, away from wandering, thus unclear to see his true emotion. What was it in his voice? Regret? Sadness? Anger? Pain? Revenge? Fear? Maybe it was a mix of all of them.

"I'm sorry about that." Seto said, unsure where Sparklez was standing emotionally. "I've never had a pet, but just from your tone you sound like you were close to him." Sparklez looked up, and gave him a grateful smile, and then started to walk back down the wooden steps. Seto would have quickly rushed to join him, eager to get out of the crisp morning air, but he paused for a second to look back at grave. It looked so nice, but it had triggered something in the Captain he probably would never see again. Turning back around, he followed him down, surprised at how quickly his mood had changed. Gone was the emotional emptiness, replaced by a carefree and happy smile.

"Alright, let's check on what I was doing earlier!" He said, more or less talking to himself rather than Seto. Bringing his pace to a brisk walk, Seto interjected, wanting to know where his books and reagents were.

"Did you take my messenger bag? " He inquired, "Red creeper face, black accents..." He trailed off as Sparklez turned into a room, leaving the door open behind him. Once it closed with Seto inside, warmth took over the atmosphere. The sweet smell had intensified tenfold; now Seto could see something was baking on an iron sheet, resting above the ruby-red coals only a furnace could produce. He watched carefully as the other pulled the sheet from the top and set it on another, cooler stone furnace, not in use of course. Whatever he was making, it wasn't cake. Cooling quickly, the Captain picked up a piece of what looked like brown wool and took a bite. The dark eyes behind red-rimmed shades lit up with success as he swallowed. He broke a few more pieces off, and said,

"Try this. I've been trying different recipes for a while, and this one worked. It's called "chocolate"." He handed on of the bigger pieces to Seto, who received it in his gloved hand hesitantly. Trying random things never ended well for him, but this wasn't made by him. He owed it to him to at least try this "chocolate", not to mention it smelled like Aether above. Cautiously taking a bite, his eyes widened as the sweet rich taste flooded his senses, a much needed relief after bland bread and steak.

"This is amazing! How did you make it?!" He asked, finishing off his chunk.

"Just some milk, sugar, and cocoa beans. It didn't take that long, either." Sparklez bit into a another piece with increased vigor. "I put your items in the mob spawn chest, since I was getting some extra materials and it would be the easiest chest to get to. I'll go get it if you want." Seto, still enjoying the newfound treat, nodded eagerly in response, and turned to leave. CaptainSparklez started to lead the way back, placing the tray on the still-warm furnace to conserve heat while preserving the candy. Now that he knew his way around, more or less, Seto was much more comfortable at simply looking around, and he noticed things he missed before. Items that held what he supposed something significant to the contents of the chest hung in frames above, some organized and others rapidly emptied. A mob spawner would explain the noises he had heard prior, and based on their sounds, the mob spawner itself was in the tree, not around it in a room somewhere. The stairs weren't as bad as they seemed, and it was nice once you got used to the cold air. Finally turning in, Sparklez opened the chest and grabbed the bag out of it, shutting it back in one swift motion. Tossing it back, Seto fumbled with it, dropping it on the floor. Unfortunately, whatever monster was above immediately became attracted to the sound like a bat to a dark cave. It fell, but the "trap" failed at its basic duty, allowing two zombies and a spider to reach them.

Seto instantly backed up, eyes widening at the mobs. He had just recovered, he didn't want to be broken and battered again! Sparklez, however, didn't even hesitate. Unsheathing a diamond sword previously concealed at his side, he slashed through the mobs effortlessly. It was amazing at terrifying at the same time. It only took three hits, too. Picking up the loot from the floor, he glanced back at Seto, who was, not going to lie, pretty terrified at this point. The Captain was obviously a master at swordsmanship, while he was utterly defenseless. Sparklez didn't seem angry that Seto didn't help, rather was more or less confused at his reaction.

"Are you okay? It was just a few mobs, not a swarm." He stated, sheathing the weapon just a quickly at it had been drawn out. It seemed to almost blend into his attire, almost invisible.

"Yeah... I'm just.." He sighed. "I can't fight. At all." He looked down at the floor, embarrassed. Now he was only a hindrance to the other. However, instead of doubting him, Sparklez looked at him for a second, and then went back to the mob spawn chest, returning with two wooden swords, offering him one. Seto looked up, confused.

"Just because you don't know how doesn't mean you can't learn." Seto's expression lit up as he understood what he was trying to say.

"You'll teach me?!" He said, partially out of shock and partially out of gratitude. Sparklez smiled, and Seto took the sword from him, trying to find a balance. Even though it was just wood, it didn't feel quite right, but at least it wasn't at crazy as him trying to balance and axe.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I help you? Now, try to get a good stance first, if you can't move, you can't fight." Moving himself, he put the wooden weapon to his side, and shifted himself to a standpoint between both shoulders, feet bracing themselves against the wooden floor naturally. Seto shifted the sword to his right hand, and moved into what he assumed would be a threatening position. "That's good," Sparklez commented, "but you want your feet closer together; it's very easy to fall like that." Correcting himself, Seto stood up a bit more. "Now, move the sword so that the sharpened edge lines up with your arm, straight up-and-down." Following the instructions, he adjusted the weapon in his right hand, and turned back. "Then, all you do is take turns stepping forward and swinging, occasionally blocking. Watch me." He said, and then step forward swiftly, slashing horizontally at the air. Pivoting around on the foot he stepped forward with, he repeated the steps with the other foot, this time taking a stab and an imaginary foe. "You try." He offered, stepping back and trading spots with a very focused Seto.

Moving his stance again, he checked the wooden sword; it was blade-first. Taking a breath, he moved forward and made a desperate-looking slash, turning around to almost fall down, barely regaining his balance. With an encouraging smile from C.S., he tried it again, moving much more fluidly this time. After he did this a few more time, the Captain stepped in, and immediately went to the battle stance. Catching on to what he was doing, Seto braced himself, and waited. Sparklez struck first, Seto shakily blocking it. Stepping over, Seto moved to the left, and took a simple slash at him, narrowly missing his right arm. Reaffirming his position, he moved first again, this time missing his leg by an inch. Sparklez side-stepped, and took a jab, which Seto blocked quickly. Taking the moment of hesitation, he swiftly shifted his weight back, and slashed back, moving behind him. Turning around, he saw that Sparklez was clutching his right side, but recovered. He had actually hit his opponent, who was smiling again. He had actually done it.

"See? It's easy if you know how. What do you say to another match?"

"You're on!"