Man I'm getting tingly. I've been thinking about this the entire day, and I hope it will come out good. I wanted to make an arc of Joe's time in the Nether, so expect more chapters about it.
I'm expecting this arc to be pretty lengthy, so grab a snack.
Enjoy.
Joe…..
Joe, you must awaken….
You will be in great danger if you don't….
"Nrgh…"
Do you wish to keep your promise?
"...You again?"
You will be going through many trials...you must awaken!
"Trials? What are you talking about?"
AWAKEN!
Joe jumped awake from unconsciousness, with a bulging pain on his forehead.
"Ugh,man…"Joe grumbled, regaining his senses.
He recovered his sight, as he sees he is moving above the floor, but he knew he wasn't moving. He felt something grabbing both of his arms.
He looked to his arm to see a bony hand grabbing each arm, and saw black skeletons walking, grabbing his arms.
He then realized he was being dragged by Wither Skeletons down a lit corridor, but it didn't seem like any Nether Fortress corridor.
"W-Whats….going on…" Joe mumbled out loud.
"Sunshines awake."
"Yeah. And just in time to see Your Majesty."
Joe was confused. "M...Majesty?"
"Don't worry. We'll make sure your death is quick when she gives the word."
Joe shivered at this, as he tried to struggle, but found his strength left him, as his body felt too weak to move. Another factor that didn't help was he found he was bounded by chains and cufflinks around his wrists and ankles, which jangled with each step the skeletons took.
"Can...I at least stand up?" Joe asked weakly.
One of the skeletons made a chuckling sound, as they both stopped, allowing joe to stand on his feet. When he did this, the skeletons then pulled Joe forward, still dragging him, but he was walking on his own.
He was continued to be dragged by the skeletons down the corridor, until they reached a large metal double-door.
"We have the prisoner! Open the door!" One of the skeletons yelled, as the door slowly opened with a beam of light shining between the doors.
When the door was finally opened, the light from the room partially blinded Joe, since his eyesight was still recovering.
He then felt himself being dragged again, still bended from the light.
As his eyes adjusted, he was able to see the room he was being dragged into.
The room consisted of a circular court, with an audience above, almost looking like an arena battleground. The audience seemed to be talking among themselves, looking at Joe. He presumed they were talking about him.
At the center end of the court was an empty throne, with what seemed to be a pigman standing next to the throne.
At his level, he found a small elevation, along with two podiums on opposite ends.
He was dragged to the elevation, in which the stepped onto the small elevation, presuming it was where he was supposed to stand.
In that moment, one of the skeletons kicked Joe in the back of the knee, forcing him onto his knees.
The skeletons then attached his chains to links on the floor, rendering him immobile
"Now that the prisoner is here, we may begin our Royal Court." The Pigman next to the throne announced, as the audience went silent.
"C-Court?" Joe weakly asked, frantically looking around.
"And now presenting, Heir to the Throne of the North Kingdom, Princess Balazette."
In that moment, the audience, pigman, and the skeletons bowed forward, leaving Joe dazed and confused.
One of the skeletons then grabbed the back of Joe's head, and forced him down, as if bowing.
He heard a small series of footsteps, which ended with a word from a female voice.
"Rise."
In that moment, everyone in the court rose, including the skeletons, who let go of Joe's head.
He rose his head to the throne to see a woman, with one leg over the other, who had her head resting on her hand. She seemed around in her late teens or early twenties, judging from age appearance.
The woman had bright yellow hair, that seemed well groomed, that reached past her back. Her eyes were a fiery yellow, as she looked at Joe. Her clothing is what got to him, as her clothing consisted of a two-piece bikini that was a reddish-brown color, and exposed a good amount of her skin.
Speaking of her skin, it was a tad tanned, with her arms and legs covered in a yellow armor, only greaves and gauntlets.
She had barrettes in her hair, which were rectangles that had a brown color on a third of them, with the rest of the accessory white.
What struck Joe as peculiar was the yellow and orange rods floating around her.
Is that...a Blaze?
"Krieg, what am I here for?" The woman asked the pigman next to her, with an annoyed tone.
"Well, Princess Blazette, this...human was captured over near the northwest fortress, the skeletons brought him to this court." The pigman named Krieg answered.
The princess then looked at Joe, who was looking straight at her.
"Human, huh?" Blazette asked, raising her head from her hand.
The Wither Skeleton to Joe's right then stepped up.
"Yes, Your Majesty. We found him sneaking around, and he murdered one of our soldiers." It seemed to say.
"Murdered!? I was attacked! It was self-defe-Agh!" Joe tried to yell, as he was pulled back down, a pain surging through his arms.
"Collor went to apprehend him, but this human attacked him in a craze, and killed him on the spot!" The skeleton exclaimed.
"He attacked me first! I was defending mysel-Agh! God dammit!" Joe yelled in pain, as he was pulled by his chains again.
"So, Collor attacked this human, It defended itself, and you wanted to bring him to my court for murder?" Blazzete asked, seemingly annoyed.
"This human killed a good soldier! We deserve justice!" The skeleton to Joe's right exclaimed.
"Silence!"
The court then went dead.
"I will make the verdict here, not you!" Blazette screamed.
This caught Joe off guard, as he was both terrified and partially amazed at the princess.
Then, with a snap of her fingers, a staircase leading her to Joe then formed from the wall, as she rose from her throne and started to step down the stairs, as it was being formed.
He then stopped walking when she was mere feet away from Joe, who went a tad red, because he realized that her breasts were rather large, and he was prone to this embarrassment. He let his head down, focusing his vision away from the princess.
"Raise your head." She said, as she placed her hand on Joe's chin, and moved it to where he was looking at her.
Upon looking at Joe's face, her face seemed to change, from annoyance, to a bright expression.
Her eyes rested, as she made a slight soft smile at Joe.
Could it be...The princess thought to herself, as she let go of Joe's face.
"W-What is your verdict, Princess?" Krieg asked nervously.
The princess was silent, she then spoke, looking at Joe.
"Enter him into the Tournament as a prisoner. Nothing else."
The court seemed to be in a confused frenzy.
"P-P-Princess!?" Kreig exclaimed.
"I made my verdict." Blazette announced, as she turned around and made her way up the stairs. She stopped halfway, as she turned to the Wither Skeletons.
"If I find a hair on his head gone because of you, I will have you exiled. You're dismissed." She said, as she turned her head, and continued walking.
Joe was surprised to see his "fate" unfold in front of him. He noticed the skeletons detach his chains from the floor links, as he felt himself being turned around and dragged out where he came from.
He turned his head back to the princess, who he could swear had a look of intrigue on her face as she looked back at Joe.
He then was pulled past the doors, in which he saw the doors slowly closing behind him, only to have him again alone in the corridor with the skeletons.
"You're lucky the princess declared mercy. At least you'll be killed in the Tournament."
"T-Tournament? What are you talking about?"
"This tournament will determine the strongest fighter. The prize will only be announced during the final battle."
"Well...Could it be freedom for me?"
The skeletons seemed to laugh uncontrollably.
"I'm sure you'll be dead before the semi's. No need to worry about freedom now."
Joe then shivered, thinking of what could be ahead of him.
His mind went to the girls, as he was being dragged down the corridor.
Wait for me guys...This might take a while…
They walked on, until they reached another door, which opened much faster, to what looked like a prison cell room.
The inmates all were consisted of mangled Pigmen, and beaten skeletons in the cells.
Joe was guided to an empty cell, in which his binds were then looked off of him, and was pushed into his cell.
"Get some rest. Dying while tired and exhausted is a painful death. Your first match will be tomorrow." He heard one of the skeletons say.
He then heard the cage lock behind him, as he walked over near a wall in his cell, and sat against it.
"Man...I can't believe it...I never knew the Nether was a unison of kingdoms. Maybe it went deeper than I thought…" He said to himself, feeling the welts the binding bracelets made on his wrists. "And now I have to fight in a tournament for freedom….Just how long am I going to be here? If I manage to make my way above the ranks, that is…"
He sighed.
"Maybe this is how I go…" He said, his faith in his own strength leaving him.
When he felt his will was leaving, he heard a familiar voice.
"J-Joe?"
He turned his head to see a familiar face just a cell away, with the person against the bars of the prison cell at him.
"M...Mary!?"
It was indeed Mary, the witch that almost had Cupa kill Joe while she was hypnotized by the strange potion.
"Joe! What on earth are you doing here!?" She exclaimed.
"I should be asking you the same thing…" Joe said, as he stood up and walked over near her.
He noticed that her clothes were tattered and torn, indicating she had a few scraps here. Her hat was also missing, as he looked upon her scared face.
Little did he know, that when he was in range, Mary extended her arms and pulled Joe into a tight embrace.
He was surprised, but he couldn't say anything, as he could feel the reason why she hugged him.
Her whole body was shaking from fear.
He looked at the metal bars between them, as he thought of an idea.
"Mary, Let go of me for a second. I've got an idea."
She then let go of him, slightly confused of his words.
He stepped back a few feet, and beckoned Mary to do the same.
In that moment, he then popped his neck, as he hopped a few times in preparation, as he raised his leg, and made a swift and hard kick to the bars.
Much to Mary's surprise, the bars were so heavily rusted that the bars snapped from Joe's kick, as they fell apart upon breaking.
When the dust settled, Mary could see go, spreading his arms to her.
"Does the little witch need a hug?" He joked.
Mary's face seemed to tear up, as she sprinted at Joe, with her arms extended as well, as she jumped and wrapped her arms around Joe's neck. Her weight stumbled Joe, as he fell back, cushioning Mary.
She buried her face in Joe's neck, sobbing and wailing.
Joe could only chuckle, as he wrapped his arms around her waist, returning the hug.
"I was just….so scared...I didn't believe I would make it out of here…" Mary sobbed in Joe's neck.
Joe patted the back of her head, comforting her.
"Don't worry, I've got your back. Sure you tried killing me, but you seem truly desperate to hug me like this." Joe joked, rubbing Mary's head.
"S-Shut up...I was scared…" Mary said, her face turning a tad red.
In that moment, Mary turned herself around, making herself rest her body on Joe's with his arms still wrapped around her.
"M-Mary?" Joe asked, turning red himself.
"The guards say your match is tomorrow…" She said.
"Y-Yeah? So?" Joe asked.
"I've been scared white, and I've been here for a few days...Could…" Mary started.
Joe was slightly nervous at Mary's question, as he listened.
"Could...We stay like this...for the night?" Mary nervously asked.
Joe was surprised at Mary's request, as he thought to himself for a bit.
He then sighed, as he embraced her more tightly.
"You're lucky I'm a good person…" Joe said, accepting Mary's request.
Mary smiled, as he rested her head on Joe's chest, as she rested her hands on top of Joe's.
"Can I at least get near a wall? I need support." Joe said, as he and Mary moved themselves towards the wall, in which Joe leaned himself against the wall.
In that moment, Joe pondered a question.
"Hey, Mary?"
"Hm?"
"How old are you?"
She seemed hesitant, until she spoke.
"Nineteen…"
Joe couldn't believe it. This woman, who looked obviously more mature than her age, with her large breasts and curvy body, was the same age as him.
"Same here…"
Mary seemed to giggle, as he moved her body against Joe's getting comfortable.
Joe went a tad red at this, as Mary's body was on some of the more embarrassing parts of his body.
He tried to keep himself from getting aroused, as he tried to clear his mind. He felt comfortable with Mary on him. He didn't know why.
In that moment,Mary turned her head, her lips next to Joe's ear.
"Goodnight, Joe…" Mary said, as she gave a kiss on the cheek to him.
Joe went red at this, as Mary rested her head back on his shoulder.
He then could feel steady breathing on her, as her face was a peaceful smile, while she drifted off to sleep.
He then rested his head on the wall, closing his eyes, hoping to get some sleep himself.
His exhaustion got the best of his, as he started to drift off to sleep himself.
Where did this all go wrong…
Alright, done with this for the night. I promise you all I will make the next chapter tomorrow night, as I really want to continue this arc.
Some of you have been saying I should make an actual pairing between Joe and one of the girls. I didn't really think of it until now, but I'm kinda stumped.
Let me know what pairing you guys think I should make, and I'll consider making it near the climax of my story.
Thank you for your time, I'll look forward to seeing you in the next chapter.