Hello Everyone, I've managed to squeeze this chapter in sooner than I hoped, I've been a bit busy with Kingdom Hearts 2.5, so you can understand my distraction.
Enjoy.
Joe was bright and early the next day, going down the stairs to see Andr and Cupa still sleeping.
He smiled to himself, then went to his chest. He pulled out the rest of his iron ingots, making more equipment and armor, because he was about to go back to work today.
He readied himself and got everything he needed. He then realized something.
He should get some food for the girls while he was away.
He then put down his gear, grabbed some items that he could possibly trade with, and set out the door, making sure not to waken the girls.
He walked over to the village, which he was greeted with a warm welcome, as the blacksmith saw him first.
"Yo! Joe! Think you could help me out here?" She called back.
Joe noticed this, and walked over. "Sure. Whatdya need?"
She then looked over to her furnace. "I need some help with iron smelting, but my furnace is busted. Think you could help out by doing it the old fashioned way?" she asked.
"As in, incase it with something, and submerge it in lava?" he asked, staring at the lava pool.
":Yeah. Do that, I'll give ya something in return." she replied.
Joe then looked at his surroundings. "Alright, I'm game." He said, as he picked up and put on the blacksmith's special heat-proof gloves.
Little did he know, practically the entire village was outside the blacksmith;'s building, watching him work.
He used a Cobblestone container to house iron ore, as he dipped it in the lava, and let it sit. In the meantime, he worked on previously smelted ingots, but they had to be strengthened, since they weren't smelted in a furnace. He never fully grasped the idea of blacksmithing, but he did with what he had.
He pounded the iron ingot, turning it into a blade. He shaped it the best he could,then dipped it in water, cooling the metal. After a few moments of repeated heating, pounding, and cooling, the blade was ready for use, but after a quick sharpening.
The blacksmith herself was amazed at Joe's work, as she watched closely as well.
He used a special stone to sharpen the blade, and made a few touches here and there to finalize the sword.
After a quick polishing, he held the sword in front of him.
"Not bad for a first-timer, eh?" He said as he turned around, and was surprised to see the entire village in front of him, staring at him and the sword.
He then turned his attention to the container in the lava, and used large clampers to grab it. He used a hole in the container and poured the melted iron into a mold, making an iron ingot.
He wiped the sweat from his brow as the villagers watching him, including the blacksmith, applauded him.
"What is with the sword you made? It's unlike anything I've seen before!" She said.
"U-Uhm well, its kinda basic actually.." he said, scratching his head.
The entirety of the crowd watching focused their attention on the blade Joe was holding.
He gave it to the blacksmith.
"Here. This was made with your materials." He said, handing the sword over.
The blacksmith's hands were trembling as she took the sword. "O-Oh, T-Thanks…" she stuttered.
"Was that all you needed?" Joe asked.
"Y-Yes, That's all…" the blacksmith replied. She then went over to her wooden chest and pulled out an object.
She held it in front of Joe, which were two emeralds.
"Two Emeralds? Wow, thanks!" Joe said ecstatically, then took the emeralds and placing them in his pockets.
"N-Not a problem…" The blacksmith said, her face a tad pink.
Joe then nodded, and then proceeded to stop by at the different buildings around town, looking for work or someone to trade with.
He walked to the library, and asked to browse the shelves.
"By all means, go on ahead." the librarian replied, and returned to her work.
Joe looked through the books and found names to books he never heard of before. They were Minecraft books, so what can you expect?
He browsed around, until he heard the librarian moaning in worry. He turned around and saw that she was struggling with a large stack of books. He then hurried over and took half the stack.
"O-Oh, thank you…" The librarian thanked.
"Where you want them?" Joe asked.
"Over there, by the chair." The librarian replied.
Joe carried the books over to a counter by the chair she pointed at.
He then watched as the librarian struggled to keep her stack of books balanced.
In that moment, the librarian then stepped wrong, causing her to trip.
Joe then practically dived towards her and caught her before she hit the ground.
"You alright?" Joe asked.
The librarian was silent, as they were in a position where her face was really close to Joe's.
"Y-Y-Yes, I'm f-fine…" she replied.
Joe lifted her to her feet, brushing dust off her shoulder.
"Close one, huh?" He said, smiling.
"Y-Yes…" the librarian replied, looking at the floor.
Joe then offerd to pick up the fallen books, when one caught his eye.
"'Lost Legends'?" Joe asked, as he picked up the books.
"Y-Yes, its a book about various legends that go around this world. It has records of a variety number of folklore and myths, but it was all said to be false." The librarian replied.
"Myths, huh?" He asked, and remembered his dream the previous night. He then looked at the book.
"Mind if I borrow this?" Joe asked.
"O-Oh, by all means. As long as you return it." The librarian replied.
Joe chuckled. "Promise." He said, as he helped with the rest of the fallen books.
After a few hours, he walked from the village with four emeralds, a variety of colored stones, a book, and some raw pork chops.
He waved back at the village, who all in return waved back to him. He looked at the stones, and got an idea.
"Yeah, that would be good to do. I just hope I can make it right...:" He said as he kept walking.
He was at his front door, when he looked through the window and found the two girls sitting in their beds, both looking at the floor. They didn't seem to even be talking.
It was only when he walked through the doors did he notice the expression on the girls brighten when they saw Joe walk in.
The two immediately ran up to him.
"Where were you? You weren't in your bed when we woke up…" Cupa asked.
"I was in the village, trading and working." Joe replied.
Cupa then crossed her arms. "You could have at least told us before you left…" She said, looking away.
Joe then rubbed her head. "You know, you can tell me if you miss me" he said, smiling.
He looked over to Andr. "Anything happen while I was gone?" He asked.
"No, nothing really. Nothing really happens when you're not here…" she replied.
Joe then smiled. "Well, I think I can go gathering tomorrow. I already did plenty of work today, so I'm free for the rest of the day. Anything you two want to do?" He asked.
The girls' expressions then shot up brightly, as they both smiled.
"W-Well, we never really expected anything like this…" Andr replied.
"Yeah, we need time to think…" Cupa said back.
Joe chuckled. "Alright, in the meantime, I'll be doing some work upstairs." Joe said, then walked upstairs.
He looked back, walking up the stairs, as he saw the two girls hopping in excitement. He couldn't help but smile in happiness for the two girls.
He walked over and sat on his bed, as he pulled out the book he borrowed from the library.
He opened it, and went through the different subjects. He stopped at one, which was he thought the one he was looking for the read about.
"The Forsaken One.." He read out loud.
He then heard what sounded like giggling downstairs, as he read on.
He read as followed:
The Forsaken One, or so locals call "Herobrine", has been a subject of discussion and beliefs ever since this world was created.
It would seem that everyone fears this one, as it gives the locals a series of uncircumstanciating events, supposed to signal he was near or around.
First, was a sense of paranoia, as apparent victims would be walking through the woods, feeling that they are not alone, even no local fauna present.
Second, were a series of signs. They say he would leave "shrines", made of gold, a material from another dimension, and a torch.
We have yet to understand the interdimensional material he leaves, as it disappears whenever he was present.
Third and last, he would approach victims, making them catch him within the glimpse of their eyes, causing curiosity.
Victims would follow, until they were completely isolated. This would then be an opportune moment for him to strike.
We do not fully know of the ways he disposes of victims, as only a few claim to see this entity.
One said he attempted to throw him in lava, but with what would be telekinesis. Another said he attempted to murder him with a sword or one with an axe.
Not much is known about his entity, only gathering information from locals. We look forward to giving more informations in more recent editions.
Joe then closed the book after reading the article.
"So. He's real after all…" Joe said to himself. He laid in his bed.
"Son of a bitch. I thought he was fake. A myth. And here I am, thinking about a dream I had with him." He said to himself.
He sighed. "I just hope he won't go after anyone besides from me." he said, thinking about the girls.
And in a speak-of-the-devil moment, he heard a voice.
"Joe-kun! We're ready!"
He then shot out of his bed, and then went downstairs to see the two girls standing at the start of the stairs.
"So. What do you two have in mind?" he asked.
The two girls then pointed towards the fireplace, but Joe noticed something new.
There was a couch in front of the fireplace.
Joe was surprised. "You two made that?" He asked.
"It didn't take much time at all. We used some leftover resources you had to make it." Andr replied.
Joe laughed.
The two girls stood there, confused.
"You two are just getting more impressive each day." He said, chuckling.
The two girls then blushed profusely, as Joe went over to the couch.
He examined the couch closely. Not the best-looking, but he was impressed. He took a seat, and found he nearly sunk in it, he was so comfortable.
"How do ya like it?" Cupa asked.
Joe was so comfortable to make regular English, but what they could here was:
"Holy...Wow…"
The girls then giggled, while Joe was enjoying himself.
His mind then jumped.
"Oh! Uh, Wait here. I'll be right back." He said as the girls were sitting down with him.
He pulled out some items from his chest, went to his crafting table, and got to work
He was working for about three hours, as he saw the sun setting in the distance.
"Almost done…" he said, working with something on his table.
Another half hour passed, as he finally finished his work. The girls thankfully sat patiently, waiting for him to finish.
He then grabbed what he finished, and walked over.
"Hey, sorry about that, I got a little held up…" He said, with a guilty look.
The girls then smiled, as they invited him to the couch. He sat down, keeping his work hidden, with Andr to his left, and Cupa to his right.
"What did you make?" Andr asked.
"A little thing for all of us…" Joe teased.
Cupa then leaned on Joe. "Come on, tell us!"
Joe then chuckled, then asked for Andr's hand first.
He put something in her hand, but she couldn't see it yet.
She opened her hand to see what looked like a thin star, made with a purple stone, lined with iron engravings, which were based on a blue jewel, also lined with iron. It had a tiny strap in order to tie it to something.
She looked in saw at the beauty of the trinket, as Joe gave one to Cupa, expect instead of purple, Cupa had a green one.
"It's so pretty!" Cupa said, looking at the trinket.
Joe smiled. "Glad you like them." He said.
"What are they? I've never seen jewelry like this…" Andr asked.
Joe then held out his own trinket, which had dark blue stones instead of purple and green, and looked at it.
"I call them Wayfinders." He said.
"'Wayfinders'?" Cupa asked.
I probably shouldn't tell them they are from my world, from another game...I based them more off the Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Wayfinders, but I guess its the best I could do...He thought to himself.
He then scratched his head, remembering a line from the game.
"Somewhere, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit. Eating it together with someone means that they will be with you for the rest of their lives. Be it friends, or lovers, a connection is made…" He said, bull-shitting the line.
"Connection?" Cupa asked, cocking her head.
Joe then held up his Wayfinder, making the light from the fire shine in the stones, making a dark blue glow.
The girls then proceed to do the same, and were just as surprised as Joe.
"An unbreakable bond." Joe said, as the girls held their Wayfinders against his.
Everyone then laughed, and enjoyed the warmth.
"You two like the gifts?" Joe asked.
"Oh, they're so pretty!" Cupa said, as she then tied hers to her sweater.
Joe looked over at Andr, who tied hers to the strap of her skirt. He smiled at the girls' affection for the trinkets.
"And you?" He asked Andr.
"I love it...its so pretty, and I feel it reflects me…" she said, looking at her Wayfinder.
Joe then smiled, and rubbed Andr's head. "Glad ya like it" He said.
Andr went a bit pink, as he looked at the fire.
Joe then stood up, and ran upstairs to his bed, and pulled the blanket.
"Good thing I made my blanket thick and large…" He said, folding his blanket.
He then walked downstairs, and saw the girls comparing each other's Wayfinders.
He chuckled, as he approached the two girls on the couch, who looked back and noticed the blanket in his arms.
"Anyone cold?" He asked, then unfolded the blanket, enveloping the girls.
He then went over to his chest, pulled out some bottles, and put them in the furnace.
He made what looked like mugs out of wood and leftover precious stones, each one made with each of his and the girls respective colors.
He then picked up the hot bottle of liquid, and poured it in each mug. He took the mugs, and gave one each cup of liquid to each girl, each with their respective colors.
"This should warm us as well." Joe chuckled.
The girls each tasted the liquid, and found it was the tea they made, but it was heated up.
"I figured it would be good cold or hot, and it seems I'm right." joe said, sipping his tea.
"Thanks, it tastes great!" Cupa said.
"Yes, it's very calming...:" Andr said.
"Glad to hear." Joe said, then sat on the couch, joining the girls in tea, and wrapping himself in the blanket.
They all felt very relaxed and very warm with the tea, the blanket, and the fire.
As time went on, Joe noticed the girls were both leaning on him. He then felt, at the same time, the two girls wrapped their arms around his arms.
He was a bit surprised, but he felt he shouldn't dare move his arms, because he then felt steady breathing patterns from each girl.
"They're both asleep…" Joe whispered to himself.
He then felt tired himself, as the fire crackled and snapped.
"How is that fire still going..." He wondered to himself. He understood it was Minecraft, but he still questioned some things.
He sunk in the couch, and then relaxed his head, making it lean on Andr's head, which was leaning on his left shoulder, and held onto Cupa's hand under the covers.
He could only think of the current scene he was in right now. Warm, full, and happy. He held tighter on Cupa's hand.
He then looked over at his hand-made Wayfinder in his lap.
"An unbreakable bond…" He said, before he slowly drifted to sleep.
I thought the part with the Wayfinders would be cute. Don't blame me, I'm still playing 2.5, and I played Birth by Sleep again for the first time in a while. If my description wasnt good enough, just imagine the Birth by Sleep Wayfinders, but in each of the my characters' respective colors.
I thank you for your time, and I will see you in the next chapter.