Today, I'm going to recommend the fic "Subterra" by Punished 'Dread' Angel. I very much enjoyed his first chapter – and he's posted a second one. If you want to see a Guide that kicks ass and a player with a deadly, deadly curse, check it out.

Many thanks, once again, to V1ralGam3r and Alphy for their input. :) You guys make my day! :D

After our routine zero hours of sleep, I was feeling considerably better. Forid and I gathered up our gear and headed to trapdoor in the kitchen that led to the mine.

"Come back straight away if you need anything," I told him. He humoured me, nodding. "And stay away from the Underworld, for now, if you can. Oh! And, maybe, you should bring this."

I handed over my Shadow Orb, but he didn't take it.

"I won't need it," I assured him, "I'm only fishing. I know it's not the greatest light pet, but it's better than nothing. And I can get another one, if that's what you're worried about."

He took it, and I ignored the celebration my heart held in honour of his fingers barely brushing mine.

"Make sure you have some Healing Potions on you – and maybe some food. I have some extra Ironskin Potions, if you want. If you come back at lunch, I'll make some food."

He put a firm hand on my shoulder and gave me a look that clearly said "Stop." Then, he smiled, waved, and went down the trapdoor. I watched as he closed it and descended down the rope, wishing I could go with him, or that he didn't have to go, or that I wasn't wishing for any of those things.

"He'll be fine," Jarut assured me. I jumped. I didn't remember he was there.

"You're right," I told him, and left through the back door to catch some crates.

Fishing was uneventful, for the most part. My imp took care of any ascending crabs that threatened to pinch me. Timmy joined me, and I was surprised to find myself glad of his company. He sat next to me, fishing with a Golden Fishing Rod.

"Let me know if you catch a Clownfish," he said.

"Clownfish?"

"Yeah. It's this bright orange and colourful fish that lives in the ocean. I saw it looking around frantically as though it was seeking a lost family member."

"That's kind of sad," I remarked.

"Well, if we catch it, maybe another one will show up looking frantically for him, instead!" Timmy grinned at me.

"If you say so," I said, smiling back at him. My line went taught and I reeled in a Wooden Crate.

"Hey! Are you using a Crate Potion?" Timmy asked, accusingly, "You lessen the chance of catching my fish!"

"I'm sorry," I said, but I chuckled. "I have to. These crates will be useful after I beat the next boss."

"Oh," Timmy said. "Then, I'll give my crates to you."

"You'd do that?"

"Uhuh. And then you can focus on catching my fish."

I laughed. Wow, that felt good.

"Thanks," I said.

We watched our lines, peacefully, for a minute. I had never seen the kid so still and so quiet. I guess that's why fishing is his passion. It was nice to see his good side, after all those weeks of him bugging me about fish.

"Why isn't King Slime, here?" he said, tugging on the line, a little. "You know, the other day, I asked him to catch me a Slime Fish, but I think he just kept it for himself."

"He is the king of Slimes," I pointed out to him. "But, he doesn't have a Fishing Rod."

"Ohhhh," Timmy nodded. "Are you going to marry him?"

"Marry him?" I sputtered.

"Yeah. Isn't that why you built the chapel?" I couldn't tell if he was being serious or if he was messing with me.

"No, that's not why."

"But, are you going to marry him?" he pressed.

"We're not even dating, so I have no idea why you're asking this," I said, scowling at the ocean. So much for seeing the kid's pleasant side.

"But it's obvious that he has a crush on you," Timmy said – rather nonchalantly, considering the weight of his words. I always worried that my crush on the king was obvious, but I never dreamed that he might also like me in that way. Certainly not to an obvious degree.

"It is?" I asked. "Really?"

"No, not really," Timmy smirked, "but, since you say that, it's obvious that you have a crush on him!"

"Uhuh," I said with fake sarcasm. I didn't really have the heart to deny it. "If you say so."

"See? You're agreeing with me!" Timmy reeled in his line and pointed a finger at me, cackling like a maniac.

"Whatever you say," I said, laughing, once more. Okay, so Timmy could be entertaining, sometimes. I had no idea how he could find so much amusement in my personal life.

"You're in love with King Slime," Timmy insisted.

I shook my head, smiling. I figured fewer words were more effective than more, in this situation.

"And with the Guide." That caught me off guard.

"Steve?" I asked, "We were just friends." I was absolutely sure of that.

"Or Joe."

"I don't even know Joe."

"He's like Steve, only his name is Joe."

"Yeah," I said, chalking this up to childish oversimplification, "but they are still two different people. Like, Steve was the first villager you ever met besides me, not Joe. Joe wasn't there for the water fight, but Steve was."

"If you say so," Timmy said.

"It's true," I told him. He'd get it, someday.

I caught his Clownfish, and he traded it for some crates, gold, and bait. Then, to switch things up, we went to the pond. It was the same pond Forid had trapped himself in. We sat on the edge of the stone steps I'd made and let our lines dangle into the water, below. A wooden staircase led down to the water so that Forid and I, with our Lava Waders, could climb up, easily.

"A Slime!" Timmy exclaimed as a Blue Slime floated over the water to meet us. "A Sli-ime!"

"Don't worry about it," I told him. "They're friendly, now, remember?"

Indeed, the slime climbed up the steps, but otherwise ignored us, taking off in a different direction.

"Oh yeah!" he chirped, relaxing on the stairs, again. "Maybe your boyfriend sent it to spy on you!"

"I told you," I said, "we're not dating."

"But you wish that you were, don't you?" Timmy teased. Wow, he was worse than every villager combined.

Despite that, I enjoyed our time, together. Timmy was a good kid. Clever, energetic, mischievous, but good. I probably would continue to avoid him due to his insistence that I drop everything I'm doing and go fishing. But, maybe I'd take him with me whenever I specifically went fishing.

Joe stopped by in the late afternoon to let us know that Forid had returned.

"Ah, he might be wanting lunch," I said, standing and stretching.

"That's a late lunch," Joe pointed out. I checked the time. It was just past 3 p.m.. He had been gone for about ten hours.

"Well, I should check on him," I said. "Do you guys want to eat, too?" I offered. Joe and Timmy agreed to a late lunch.

When we arrived in the storage room, Forid was sorting the materials he found in the chests. He looked up and waved.

"Hey," I said, taking a peek at what he found. Ores galore! Well, mostly Iron, but that was what we were after. I wouldn't be able to count and refine them all, right now. "Thank you for doing that. Are you hungry? We were planning on having lunch in the dining room."

He waited for Timmy and Joe to leave.

"Sure," he said.

"Great, I'll meet you up there. I'm just going to make the food."

I went to the kitchen to cook. Given that I had been fishing, all day, I made Cooked Fish and Sashimi, remembering that Forid said he liked Sashimi.

Joe entered as I was preparing the food.

"Mensa," he greeted and I nodded, "I wanted to say thank you. I've arrived under very unpleasant circumstances, but you've made me feel welcome. Not everyone notices when a new villager shows up."

"What do you mean?" I asked, "We're such a small community that we always notice when there's a newcomer. Anyway, I'm glad that you're making yourself at home and please let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks, again," Joe smiled. He looked at the massive amount of fish I was dealing with. "Do you want help with that?"

"No, thanks. I'll be up in a minute."

Joe nodded and walked upstairs to the dining room. To be honest, I didn't want to spend any more time alone with him. He behaved so much like Steve, but I was completely uncomfortable with that. It's not that I thought Steve would be bothered by it, since he was dead, but I was bothered with the idea that I might be tempted to replace Steve with Joe.

The trouble with that was that Joe hadn't earned what Steve had. Steve was there on the first night. He spent his first night huddled in a dirt hole with only a torch. Joe arrived and was immediately housed in the castle. Steve was there to help me with the Eye of Cthulhu, King Slime, the Eater of Worlds, Skeletron, and Queen Bee. Joe would only be here until I challenged the Wall of Flesh.

I could see why Timmy couldn't distinguish the difference between them. Joe was so similar to Steve in so many ways, but he didn't have any of the shared memories that I had with Steve.

In time, we might have become close friends, too. But, right now, I needed time to deal with Steve's demise in a healthy way. And the horrible reality was that Joe and I would never get the same amount of time to bond, because I was going to kill him as soon as I was ready to fight the wall.

I heard footsteps and the voices of Scarlett, Bambi, and Rupert as they came upstairs from the downstairs wing and realized I was just standing there instead of preparing lunch. I was sure to look busy before they could see me.

"Are you coming to lunch, Mensa?" Scarlett called.

"Yep!" I said, holding up the finished fish and forcing a smile – a smile that they bought and hurried me upstairs.

The dining room was packed, again. I was glad to see that the villagers were more inclined to spend time together, rather than isolating themselves to their rooms, as they used to do at the old house. In the heart of it all was Bambi, making sure everyone was seated and having a good time.

There was other food. Alalia and Koghi-gi lived close to the garden and they brought pumpkin pie. Wilbur brought Sake and Pad Thai, bragging that he bought them off of a Travelling Merchant at a steal of a price. With my two dishes added in, we had a pretty impressive potluck going on.

Jamal, Jenna, and Forid wanted me to sit at their table, so I brought a few plates of Sashimi over for us to share.

"I can't say I've ever tried this," Jenna said sceptically.

Forid gave her a cheerful thumbs up and pulled down his mask to eat. We stared at him, shocked that he had so casually revealed what he had been stealthily hiding until now – his face. But, he was hungry, and there wasn't really another way around the fabric.

Jamal was the first to clear his throat to get Jenna's and my attention.

"So, Mensa," he said, "Jenna and I were thinking that you built the red house large enough that we could have a double date." He put food in his mouth, but kept talking, much to my dismay. "So, you know, you just gotta chose a date and the four of us can hang out." He gestured around the room, but not-so-subtly looked pointedly at Forid.

"Jamal," I shook my head, "You're an excellent Gun Dealer, but the idea of spending hours with you in one room is just the worst."

Jenna giggled and Forid snorted. Jamal looked unimpressed and elbowed Forid, who quickly went back to eating.

We spent the rest of lunch debating whether guns or explosives were more deadly. Having been in close range of a grenade detonation, I was more inclined to believe in explosives as the more lethal weapons, but Jamal wasn't having it.

"Bombs, at least, are versatile, too," I said. I wasn't nearly as invested in this conversation as Jamal was, but I enjoyed seeing him so riled up. "Let's say someone is trapped in a mine. I can use a bomb to blast away the rubble."

"Yeah, but you might blast away the person, too," Jamal, "that's too dangerous."

"So, you admit that explosives are the more dangerous weapon?"

"No!" The Gun Dealer growled. I burst out into laughter at the angry look on his face. So, this is why people tease each other.

The room was clearing out. Jenna stood to leave with the other girls. Jamal clapped Forid on the back, which I thought was oddly familiar for someone who wanted vengeance on him for ruining his date, but I supposed somewhere between throwing Love and Stink Potions and having a whole new room built, he got over it. Joe approached our table.

"What's up?" I asked. He didn't look nearly as happy as he had going to lunch.

"I noticed that you had another house built in a forest…" he said, looking around him as though afraid someone was listening. "I was wondering if you'd mind if I moved in, there."

"That's pretty far," I said.

"I think I would prefer to be alone."

"What? Why?" I didn't mind if he wanted to be alone. I couldn't even imagine how hard it must have been to deal with knowing how short your life span is. But, if something else was bothering him, I'd want to know. "Are the villagers being…"

"No, the villagers are fine. I like them. But…" he scowled, "but some of the things they say are pretty twisted."

"Twisted?"

"Nevermind. Look, I do like them. I just think it would be better if I had some space to deal with this my own way."

"Okay," I said. "I'll be sure to visit every now and then, unless you don't want me to."

"No, I think I'd like that," Joe gave a small smile.

He packed some food and, with a final goodbye, walked out the front gate.

I hated to admit it, but I was relieved to see him go.

Reminder to read and review "Subterra" by Punished 'Dread' Angel.

Oh, and I'm posting screenshots and artwork from this story on Deviantart. If you wanna check it out, my username is Namu-KY, and I have a Terraria gallery set up.