Hey y'all, it's Ender! I hope you're having a great day and I hope to make it even better with this new one-shot. NOTE: I do NOT own Mianite, Minecraft, any YouTubers mentioned, or any other copyrighted thing mentioned.
S1 AU around episode 80, Syndicate's POV, where Twisted is still a half-wizard, but he doesn't have fits. Using Laura Mackenzie's (KiwiDrawer) design of Syndicate's MC skin, with green patches of zombie skin.
Welcome Home
I stared out at the tiny little house in front of me, perched on the railing of the red-flagged ship. I had no idea where I was in this strange land, but I knew that I was meant to be here. It wasn't like there was a giant sign or anything saying "Welcome to your new home, Twisted!", but I just had a... feeling.
Of course, anywhere was better than the burning mess of my previous home in Ianarea.
I sighed, feeling a stab of homesickness in my heart. There was no way I could have saved any of the victims of the destruction, and it was only by sheer dumb luck and ignorance that I had survived Dianite's wrath. I swung my legs like a pendulum, the cerulean ocean glittering below. The ship bobbed gently in the pulsating waves and I stared at the calm water, trying to block out the echoes of screams that were running through my head. Cries for help, for mercy. Then a sickening gurgle as their lives were snatched away from them.
I watched all of that, half hidden under a split and scorched beam, fear lighting my eyes and firelight dousing my soot-stained face. Dianite had stalked past me, shot a contempt-filled glance at the remains of my old house, and went about his way with a smug smirk.
I had lain there until the fires died down and the night faded into day. Once I was sure Dianite was gone, I had gone to check if the portals were still working. The only one that was had led to here and I went through it, expecting it to disappear upon my going through it - which it did. Now I was trapped in this strange land, with no way if getting back home and no means to contact anyone who may be able to help me. Not that I knew of anyone who was still alive - I only knew those from Ianarea and they were dead.
I sighed again, slipping off of the railing and down to the polished deck of the ship. It didn't look like there was anyone aboard save for me, and it was rather small for a pirate vessel. It would hold maybe a six man crew and a captain - not large at all compared to the ships from my hometown, able to house fifty sailors and still have room for booty and prisoners.
But that wasn't saying it was a bad ship - in fact, it had been designed very well to accommodate small crews, with one easy-to-maneuver sail and a light, narrow frame for top speed.
"Hey! You! Get off of me ship!" I jumped when I heard a male, English-accented voice shout at me from the shore. I whipped around to see a - thing - running towards me with a shining diamond sword in hand. He looked like a human... but he had patches of green skin, like a zombie. His eyes were a beady black and narrowed with anger, and he had on a tuxedo. Odd. "This is your last chance! Off. My. Ship."
"Make me," I taunted. It was probably unwise, further maddening the zombie-man in front of me, but I had just seen the face of Dianite. I wasn't scared of anything.
The zombie-man growled, pacing the sandy shore, before grabbing a dark orb from his pocket and throwing it just over my head. I instinctively ducked and it shattered on the mast, disintegrating into purple particles. The zombie-man appeared out of nowhere and within half a heartbeat, had the tip of his sword pressed up against my chin. It felt like someone had dropped a stone in my stomach and I suddenly found it hard to breathe.
"I warned you," the zombie-man hissed, his face inches from mine. "I don't like killing innocent people."
I let out a rather embarrassing squeak as the zombie-man poked me with the shiny sword a little harder, piercing the skin just enough to draw a small bead of blood. "Pl-please no," I whispered. Please, please don't tell me I had survived Dianite's attack just to be killed by some random person.
"I told you to leave my ship. You didn't listen," the zombie-man dug his sword in a little more and I started to tremble, tears brimming in my eyes. I didn't like the look of malice in this man's eyes. It was like he had seen Chaos and had absorbed it into himself.
The zombie-man blinked when I began to cry silently and the wild look in his black eyes disappeared. His whole demeanor changed entirely and he lowered the sword, allowing me to fall to my knees and gingerly feel the fresh new scar on my throat. It was very shallow and had already stopped bleeding, but it scared me to know just how close I had come to dying for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. I wiped away the tear streaks, sniffling a bit as I tried to regain some of my previous calmness.
"Mate? You okay?" the zombie-man asked hesitantly. "I didn't want to hurt you after I saw you didn't have a weapon."
"I - I'm fine," I stuttered, pushing myself to my feet. "As long as you don't gut me anyway. Look, I'll just be going now. Don't stab me while my back is turned, please and thank you," I muttered, turning around to dive off the railing. I almost yelped when the zombie-man suddenly grabbed my wrist with his free hand, restraining me.
"Wait a second! Let me apologise first!" the zombie-man did sound regretful and I reluctantly turned to face him. "Okay, I am sorry for jumping to conclusions and almost slicing your throat out. Now, let's try this again. My name is Tom Syndicate," the zombie man sheathed his diamond sword and stuck out his right hand.
"Twisted," I took it cautiously and his fingers closed firmly around my own hand. He gave me a warm handshake and an even warmer smile.
"Pleased to meet you," Tom said casually. "Are you new here? You must be."
"Yes, I just arrived a few minutes before you got here," I explained, letting my gaze fall to the ground. "I used a portal, but it was too weak on power to transport me back home."
"Oh... I'm sorry about that, mate," Tom frowned. "If I knew anything about portals I'd try to help, honestly."
"It's fine," I waved my hand in a dismissive fashion. "There's nothing left for me there anyway. Dianite burned it all."
Tom's eyes widened and he opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but he clearly thought better of it and closed his mouth. He was silent for a few seconds before a wide grin spread over his face once again. "Hey, do you want me to show you around the world? It sounds like you're gonna be here for a while."
"I guess so," I shrugged. "So why not? Can't do any harm."
Tom chuckled a bit and paced over to the railing, swinging first one foot over the beam; then the other. He flashed me a smirked and proceeded to back-flip down into the ocean, creating a large splash in the salty waves. I grinned and decided to one-up him - I ran up to the railing, leapt onto the it, then using the momentum from my run up, curled up into a rapidly spinning cannonball and created a giant splash as I hit the water.
I came up and gasped in a bit of air, pushing some wet hair out of my eyes. Tom was laughing gleefully and I joined him, starting to swim back to shore. We both reached the sandy beach at about the same time and scrambled out onto the shore, splashing each other as we shook ourselves off like dogs.
"Come on - you can dry off as I show you around," Tom grabbed my arm and started tugging me along. I followed quite willingly, letting my new friend lead me over a strange half-cobble, half-quartz bridge across the nearby river. There was a tunnel in the hill and I hesitated slightly, unwilling to trust the darkness that seemed to be beckoning me inwards. "Oh come on, Twisted. It's just my old home. There's nothing bad in there that's gonna eat you up," Tom teased and I relaxed, once again letting him drag me into the tunnel.
After a few steps, I found that Tom was right; there were glowing torches and daylight just beyond. However, it was all blurred by the shifting glow of a Nether portal. Tom walked through it like a doorway, emerging on the other side perfectly unharmed, but I had to force myself to step through, feeling the portal suck at my cow hide clothes like a thick gel.
"So like I mentioned, this is my old home. This used to be my vault, but I moved once my front room got blown up," Tom pulled a sour face and I couldn't help but laugh, realising that Tom was being purposefully ridiculous to help ease my tension. "I even had the most awesome doorbell ever, rigged up under my house."
"Cool," I commented, staring around. It was nothing too special, just a little hollowed out hole in a hill made of stone bricks - at least, until we got into what was left of the front room.
I gasped and it seemed that my brain just couldn't comprehend the absolute weirdness that was sprawled in front of me. Coloured wool, half-hidden noteblocks and redstone, and a random sheep whose wool changed colours was just too much for my poor little mind to handle.
"This was a prank and it got turned into a disaster," Tom gestured towards a large crater in front of us, possibly from an explosion. "Anyway, the remains of Club Saulht aside, follow me! We'll go see Jerry's Tree!"
"Alright Mr. Poet," I snickered. "Lead on."
Tom wasted no time in jumping over the explosion hole, half-crumbled redstone blocks sprinkling a bit of brightly coloured dust to the bottom of the the pit. I followed and when I stumbled a bit on the edge, Tom grabbed my hand to steady me. I thanked him and watched the world with wide eyes as he led me onto a neat pathway leading up to where I could just barely see a massive cluster of leaves. As we topped the hill, my mouth fell open as I saw the huge tree just beyond where the curve of the hill ended.
"That's Jerry's Tree. And next to it, that's Crapa de Sparklez," Tom said jokingly, gesturing towards a quaint modern house that was almost completely surrounded by trees. "We went Eco-friendly with decoration. Gotta save the environment, y'know?"
"Wait - did you say 'Crapa'? What's that supposed to mean?" I asked confusedly.
"Oh, it was just a joke. It's supposed to be 'Casa', but I like to tease Jordan. Oh, there's Sparkley-pants now!" Tom's voice rose to a shout and he waved at a distant figure coming out of the house. The other person waved back and started running towards us and as he got closer, I saw that he was wearing a tuxedo like Tom, but it was more sloppily done and the front of the white undershirt was torn. He was well-tanned, had a wild black beard, and donned a pair of bright red sunglasses.
"Hello Tom! Who is this?" the new person asked with a very strange sounding accent.
"Cut the accent Jordan, this is Twisted," Tom grinned.
"Oh. Pleased to meet you," Jordan tried again with a more normal-sounding voice. "As you've probably guessed, I'm Jordan Sparklez. And this is my regular voice," Jordan extended his hand and I shook it. "So I suppose Tom is showing you around?"
"Yeah. I've only seen his old base so far," I shrugged casually. "Is there much more?"
"Well..." Jordan started, "It depends on your definition of 'much'. There's many things here. Some are abandoned. Others are far away. What's Tom planning on showing you?"
"Just Tucker and Sonja's place, the Quartz-house, and then I'll swing by the wizards," Tom summed up. "I'm not going into the desert at this time of day - one, it's too hot, two, I would like to get a few more things accomplished today."
"Okay. Hope to see you around sometime, Twisted!" Jordan nodded once to me and sprinted past us towards a half-hidden path to who-knows-where. After that, Tom showed me the Quartz-house - "Don't do anything bad, or you'll end up getting trialled" - Tucker Jericho and Sonja Firefoxx's house - "Lovebirds, they are. But Tucker's still my best friend" - and the Fyre hall of wizardry - "And we can have them build stuff for us!"
"Y'know, I'm half-wizard," I stared at the massive curved structure. "I can do a little magic like summoning, but it has limits. No potions, no enchantments, and no hostile mobs. I can also fly if I try really hard."
"Really?" Tom's eyes widened in disbelief. "Show me! And teach me your ways!"
I conceded and jumped up into the air, hovering about a foot up off the ground. Then I summoned in a simple iron sword and tossed it up above my head, forcing it to dissipate as soon as it started to fall back down. Then I let myself descend onto the grass, feeling a bit more tired than I had just a few seconds before. My magic didn't have a lot of duration so I had to use it in small increments to avoid passing out from exhaustion.
"That was so cool," Tom breathed. "You're a flippin' wizard, mate!"
"Half-wizard," I corrected. "Don't expect me to be able to do much more than that."
"It's still cool," Tom argued. "You can't deny that."
"Sure," I conceded, figuring that the only way Tom would leave it was if I gave up first. Tom seemed satisfied but then an expression of concern crossed his face.
"Hey, where are you gonna stay? I mean, you could stay at my place for a while if you wanted, but I think that would get kinda awkward..." Tom trailed off and since I honestly had no answer, I stayed silent. Then Tom's eyes lit up again and he snapped his fingers. "Oh! I could build you a little place!"
"Really? You'd do that for me?" I asked him, incredulous and stunned for a few seconds. He nodded and a wide grin spread across my face. "Thank you! I'll help too -"
"No, no, no, you just relax. I can handle it," Tom reassured me. "Hey, maybe you could go find User - he usually hangs out around the Quartz-house, messing around with redstone. I think you would probably like each other. He's really friendly and helpful."
"Alright - you said his name was User?" I queried, just to make sure. Tom nodded in confirmation and he walked me back to the Quartz-house, leaving me outside the iron doors. "I guess I'll see you later."
"Bye!" he waved, running off back towards his house. I waved back, then started looking around. There didn't seem to be anybody nearby and I felt a bit nervous. I didn't want to just go running after Tom because I was afraid to be alone when I knew almost nothing about the world I was in, but I was seriously on edge.
"Hello there!" I almost jumped out of my skin when a friendly, cheerful voice interrupted my musings. I whipped around and saw a young man with slightly curly brown hair and shining eyes standing just behind me. He looked a little older than I was and donned a dark blue jacket, an orange-and-white striped T-shirt, and tan breeches. "Are you new here?"
"Y-yes," I stammered nervously. "My name is Twisted."
"I'm User," the young man smiled at me. It clicked that this must be who Tom had been talking about; that I would supposedly like. "Let me guess... Tom told you to meet me?" I started, surprised by User's unusually accurate guess. He laughed when he saw my face and adjusted a pair of gold-rimmed goggles that were nestled in his hair. "Oh, don't give me that look. I overheard you talking. I live just under the Quartz-house," User pointed to the ground beneath our feet. "It's my own secret room surrounded in bedrock - it took forever for me to summon in but it was worth it to get peace and quiet."
"Wait - so you're a wizard?" I asked, slightly hesitant.
"Yup," User nodded, popping the 'p'. "I prefer to be left on my own though. The Fyre guys understand - besides, they're always like their own little family. I help them with building but I don't intrude on their living space too often because it makes me feel really awkward."
"Understandable," I shrugged. "So you like redstone?"
User's eyes suddenly lit up like someone had just placed down a torch. I almost instantly regretted ever mentioning redstone - because I couldn't have ever gotten a word in edgewise between User's excited rambling on all his creations. I was nodding and acting like I understood what he was talking about - in reality, I only understood about fifteen percent of all the things he was going on about.
It was almost sundown by the time Tom came to rescue me from the ramblings of redstone. My eyes had long since glazed over but even though User's voice was hoarse from talking, he was still chattering about something to do with hoppers and pistons creating a movable gathering system for a farm.
"Oi, User! Can I have my friend back?" Tom called jokingly from a distance, walking towards us. User abruptly stopped talking, glanced first at Tom, then the sky. His eyes widened and he turned back to me, face set in an apologetic expression.
"Oh my Notch, I'm so sorry Twisted," User sounded very guilty, like a wolf pup that had just done something bad. "I didn't mean to keep you so long. It's just - I love redstone. A lot."
"Yeah, I gathered that," I snickered, shaking out the stiffness in my arms in legs. User's face fell even more and I gave him a small smile to show that there were no hard feelings. "It was nice meeting you, anyway."
"Nice meeting you too!" User waved to me as Tom gestured for me to come over, to which I complied most willingly. "See you around?"
"Definitely! Goodbye!" I watched as User squeezed his eyes shut and disappeared a second later with a faint pop, most likely teleporting to his home that he had talked about. Tom stared at me with an amused look on his face and I turned to him, quizzically tilting my head to the side.
"I guess I forgot to mention User's huge obsession with redstone?" Tom sounded like he was suppressing laughter and my gaze turned into a half-hearted glare.
"Kinda, yeah," I huffed, semi-annoyed with Tom. He put on a pretend look of hurt and stuck his bottom lip out like a little kid pouting because they had dropped their cookie. I couldn't help it - I bursted out laughing at my new friend's hilarious expression of mock betrayal. Tom started to laugh as well and it took us a few minutes to recover our wits enough to hold a fairly normal conversation. As we did finally stop cracking up, we had just passed the Nether portal and came out on the other side of the hill to view Tom's smallish-looking hut. Down on the shore, closer to the ship I had been placed on by the portal, was an even tinier shack made of stone brick.
"I hope you appreciate the creative genius that went into this work," Tom joked. "Don't worry though, it has a ladder down to a larger underground area so you won't be too cramped."
"Thank you," I breathed, amazed by the sheer fact that a complete stranger would put in this much effort for someone they had just met. "This does mean a lot to me, y'know."
"Ehy, don't mention it," Tom winked. "All for a friend. And remember, if you ever need anything, you know where to find me," he nodded at his own little hut, just ahead of us; we had crossed over the bridge whilst talking. "Goodnight Twisted."
"Goodnight," I smiled at Tom, mind spinning from all these new people and places. I walked over to my new home, noting with pleasure the sign above the door that read 'Twisted's Shack'. I found that there was indeed a ladder that led to a rather spacious cave area, with a bed and enough torches to keep it bright. I immediately went for the bed and collapsed on the sheets, too exhausted to bother with taking off my cow hide clothing and knowing full well it was comfortable enough to sleep in.
I closed my eyes and within just a few minutes, was deep in the land of a peaceful sleep.
A week later, I had settled into the land of Mianite pretty well.
As it turned out, Tom was right - User and I had made fast friends, even though his 'Redstone Rambles' could get on my nerves at times. Other than that, we had a lot in common, like a similar sense of humour, a love for building and creating our own stories, and just general personality. He was very outgoing and that made a lot of difference on the shyness I would often develop when around new people.
I had decorated my shack a little more, adding touches of colour with carpet to the underground area, and even had put in an "ocean-view window" - meaning that after finding that extending the room would cause me to create a hole underwater, I had used it to my advantage to create a floor-to-ceiling glass wall that looked out into the azure water. Of course, spending this much magical energy on building had exhausted me enough to keep me bed-bound for the next few days until I could recover enough strength to stand. And after that, I had wolfed down every bit of food I had, promising myself never to use that much magic all at once again.
Tom was always very helpful whenever I needed anything, showing me around and introducing me to the wizards while they were working on random little projects. Jordan had set aside a whole day to explain everything about the world to me; the gods, teams, rules, and people. Tucker and Sonja were nice enough to help me collect resources and had turned a normal mining trip into a hilarious competition.
But there were apparently still some people that I didn't know about.
I was just walking over to hang out with User and see what he was up to, when a flash of brightly-coloured fabric caught my eye. I turned to see someone dart down a tunnel made of stone brick and edged with lava under cobble walls. I hesitated, unsure of whether to investigate or just ask User about it. Then, curiosity got the better of me and I followed slowly after the retreating figure.
The tunnel itself was cast in a dark red glow from the lava and there was a thick smoky haze hanging in the air. I coughed slightly, the smoke stinging my eyes, and I stumbled. Suddenly, someone had caught me in a firm grip and I jerked my head up to see a young man who I could've sworn hadn't been anywhere around just a second ago.
"Watch yourself," the young man warned, his voice cold and as deadly as a viper. "There are spirits in this smoke. You'd do best to hold your breath if they haven't granted you access."
I nodded nervously and let the stranger lead me out of the tunnel. There was a small courtyard area but instead of the bright daylight that had been covering the land just before I entered the tunnel of smoke, there was only the night sky filled with thousands upon thousands of stars. When I glanced back down the tunnel just to make sure I wasn't going crazy about it actually being daytime, the smoke had become too thick for me to even see through at all, though it seemed bound to the tunnel.
"It's just an enchantment," the young man eyed me down. "It allows me to better communicate with Mianite, as he usually sends omens through the stars."
"You're... an oracle?" I asked confusedly. The young man's dark eyes flashed with anger and within less than a heartbeat, had grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back up against another wall made of stone brick. I cried out in shock, trying to shove him away from me, scared of the wild look etched on his face.
"Don't ever call me that," he hissed. "I am Mianite's priest, and I know so much more than an unseeing oracle ever could. I know all about your past and your future. I know your name is Jordan Miller, but of course, you left that name behind when your father killed himself." My jaw dropped, but the young man didn't stop there. "I know that your home was destroyed by Dianite, and I know that you are destined to die in your true love's arms as they cry over your body. I know everything about your life and death, Twisted. So you better not mistake me for a prophetic mummy ever again, do you hear?"
"Y-yes," I stuttered, scared out of my wits with a feeling of turmoil deep in my stomach at the priest's cryptic words. Dying in my true love's arms? But I didn't even love anyone!
"Good," the priest huffed. "Now come with me. Mianite wanted me to do something that concerns you." I tried to protest, but before I could, the priest had grabbed my wrist and was forcefully pulling me along behind him over to an enchantment table surrounded by bookshelves. He pressed in a chink of obsidian and the entire table swung out like a trapdoor. Before I could even register what had just happened, the priest shoved me down into the dark opening.
I screamed as I fell through the air and though it was only seconds, it felt like years were slipping by like the wind through my fingers. Then I splashed into a deep pool of water, shock momentarily paralysing me and rendering me unable to swim as I sank to the bottom.
The priest dove down after me and was able to swim up to the surface with much more ease. Finally coming to my senses with my lungs burning for air, I thrashed my way up above the water, gasping in oxygen greedily as I wiped away the wet ginger hair plastered to my face. The priest had already hauled himself up onto the chiseled stone floor surrounding the pool and was glaring at me like I had done something that wronged him. I felt a twist of fear deep in my heart - I had a feeling that this was not someone I would want as an enemy.
"Give me your hand," the priest demanded as soon as I had climbed out of the water. I cautiously obeyed him and he grabbed my wrist once again, squeezing it tightly as he brought out what looked like a sacrificial dagger. I suppressed a scream as he sliced a strange shield-like symbol into the palm of my hand with the knife, peering at the already-bleeding cuts like how someone would study a particularly interesting bug.
"Ah... I see," the priest muttered. "Insecure, worries often... you suffer from anxiety, don't you?"
"Uh - s-sometimes," I forced the words out, getting increasingly more terrified. "Only when I'm in unfamiliar environments or ar-around new people."
"So why hasn't it come back so hard this time?" the priest narrowed his eyes even further. "Oh... oh... I see. No wonder. It seems that your day of death is closer than I originally thought. Pity that your life has to be -"
"Declan!" the priest suddenly jerked away from my hand and I whipped around to see User staring at us both with a look of shock and horror dancing in his eyes. "What the heck are you doing? Leave Twisted alone!"
I felt no shame when I ran over to User, trembling slightly as he picked up my hand with the scar on it, taking one glance at it before glaring angrily at the priest - or Declan as it seemed his name was. "You stay the hell away from him, you hear? He doesn't want any of your prophecy crap and he certainly doesn't need his hand sliced open!"
"I was merely obeying Lord Mianite's orders," Declan's voice was clipped and cold once again.
"Well you can go tell Mianite to go rot in a pile of dung," User hissed. "Because I don't care what kind of crap Mianite wanted you to do, you are not going to hurt or scare my friends in any way! If you do this again, I won't hesitate to slay you for it," User's voice became deathly quiet and with a quick swish, we had left Declan's hidden room and were standing back at the Quartz-house, the sun shining brightly once again.
I couldn't help it - I broke down crying, having to sit down on the steps of the Quartz-house mere seconds later because of how badly I was shaking. User sat down next to me and let me lean on his shoulder, massaging my back gently as I sobbed. It was just too scary to know that with only a few drops of my blood, a random stranger had been able to see my deepest secrets, things that I myself didn't know. And the fact that he could tell that I dealt with severe anxiety every time I was around something new - that had hit home in the worst possible place.
"Hey, Twisted, it'll be alright. Dec - he may not be the best of us here, but you shouldn't let anything he says get to you," User tried to reassure me, only to no avail. After finding that his words did no good for my crying wreck, he just went back to physically comforting me.
After some time, I was able to pull myself together. My nerves were a mess and my anxiety had fully set back in. I didn't even want to look at User anymore. I just wanted to go home.
"Twisted? Hey buddy, can you look at me?" User asked softly. I shook my head, staring down at my feet. "Do you want me to take you back home?" I nodded. "Alright, but I'm going to get Tom." At this, I frantically shook my head, but it didn't seem like User much cared for that objection. He wrapped his arm around me to help me to my feet and he led me back to my house, even being gracious enough to make sure I didn't fall while I was going down the ladder. After that, he told me to wait for him to get back, so I lay down in my bed, pulling the covers over my head and trying to think.
So Declan, a creepy priest that I never met before, knew everything about me. He had said that he knew my old name - Jordan Miller. I had never told anyone about that; not since my mother had committed suicide out of grief from my father's death. Most people in Ianarea wouldn't have remembered it anyway. Being a half-wizard, I had aged much more slowly than my friends, and most of them had perished in a giant battle with the sky pirates. Anyone else who knew me before I had started calling myself Twisted had long since died of old age.
He had also known about how insecure I felt. Truth was, I was always scared that I wasn't doing well enough and that if I didn't try my hardest, everyone would hate me. I hadn't even realised it for myself until very recently, when I made a mistake after someone had told me to do something and was getting so worked up about it that I had almost had a panic attack. I even remembered blacking out for a few seconds from the anxiety.
I almost didn't notice when Tom came down the ladder. He was taking soft steps and I flinched slightly as I felt him sit down on the side of my bed. I still had my head buried under the covers and had no intention of coming out.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tom asked gently.
"No," I mumbled, feeling thoroughly discouraged and wretched.
"Do you want me to stay?"
"W-would you?"
"Of course. I told you I'd always be here if you needed me."
I smiled just a little bit and felt my heart lift. I guess I was truly lucky to have a friend like Tom.
After another couple of weeks and a bit of showing off building skills in front of Tom during his own building lesson with Waglington, I had completely recovered from any form of anxiety attacks. Tom's quiet encouragement had slowly pried out what was wrong and he had indeed done his best to help me. He was always inviting me to participate in activities and never criticised me harshly if I did something wrong. All in all, he had made such a huge difference in my overall emotional state and I couldn't have thanked him enough.
Now I was strolling around mine and User's new house, that in all honesty, had been just to boast our building skills. But just as we were about to destroy it, Tom intervened, saying how we could live in it. It was nicer than my shack, I'd admit, but I felt a bit hurt that Tom wouldn't have wanted me to stay in the home he'd built.
"Twisted," I heard Tom call from outside the house. "I have something to show you!" I wasted no time in sprinting out of the house and practically ran into Tom, who was standing just outside the door. He laughed and had to grab onto my shoulder to steady himself. "Enthusiastic, much?" he teased.
"What is it?" I asked enthusiastically. By the look on Tom's face, it couldn't have been anything bad.
"Just come with me!" he encouraged. I saw a suspicious gleam and realised that there was a diamond sword resting on Tom's leg from where it hung in a sheath. I didn't pay much mind to it and followed Tom as he led me down the hill and into the entrance of his old base. He paused at the Nether portal and I began to feel a bit nervous. I had mentioned before this that I wasn't comfortable with going to the Nether - did Tom have something he wanted me to see in there?
"It'll be alright, Twisted," Tom sounded like he was trying to reassure himself as well. "We'll be in and out in a flash."
"Alright," I mumbled, not at all excited anymore. "I trust you, Tom."
Tom's eyes flashed with an unidentifiable emotion and he visibly swallowed. Before I could ask what all that was about, he had wrapped his arm around my shoulders and stepped into the portal, forcing me to go along with him. The portal moulded itself around us and the world swam for a few seconds before fading into a dimension of lava and fire.
Welcome to the Nether.
Tom almost had to pull me out of the gel-like portal, face filled with worry and something like... regret? I was legitimately petrified from being in the realm of the god who had destroyed my home. I hadn't realised just how terrified I had actually become of Dianite, and could barely keep my limbs from locking up.
"Tom," I whispered, my face ashen grey. I was too scared even to tremble, and Tom hesitated as though considering just taking me back home. Instead, he didn't answer and practically carried me through the hills of gritty Netherrack. I saw a few ghasts and blazes staring at us from a distance but none of them approached us. In fact, they seemed to be like guards, escorting us to the king of their realm.
It wasn't long before a massive Nether brick structure appeared from the red haze that lay over the Nether. There was no doubt that it was Dianite's temple, and Tom had to lead me down a treacherous path to get to the bridge that led over the ocean of lava. It seemed like with each passing breath I took, the feeling of power surrounded the temple intensified to yet another degree. I was sweating, but I also felt chills running up and down my spine from the sheer terror of facing the demon who destroyed my life before Mianite.
Tom laid down his sword right as we got to the bridge and I cast him a terrified glance, wondering what the heck he thought he was doing. "Dianite - he doesn't like to think that I could threaten him. And besides, we aren't here to fight."
I wanted to ask what we were here for then, but it seemed that my thoughts and my mouth were no longer connected. Tom walked me into Dianite's temple and I froze when I saw the devil-god sprawled casually on his obsidian throne, glaring at me through marbled white eyes.
"So Syndicate," Dianite drawled, sounding emotionless and uninterested. "This is your new friend, eh? The one you've told me about?" Tom nodded silently, avoiding Dianite's gaze, but I was in a state of shock, staring at the devil with fear dancing on my face. "Seems pretty useless, if you ask me."
Tom flinched but stayed quiet, not bothering to come to my defense. A deep rooted fear began to curl around my stomach and for the first time since Tom had introduced himself to me, I began to doubt him.
"Weak," Dianite stood up from his throne and stalked over to me. "Pitiful," he hissed, grabbing my shoulder with one clawed hand and lifting my chin with the other to make sure I was looking at him in the eyes. "An overall waste of space."
I flinched back, almost stumbling over my own feet. Get away, get away, I have to get away, I repeated over and over in my mind. This was the god who had murdered all of my friends standing right here in front of me, staring me in the face and calling me worthless. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes and my breath caught in my throat, creating a strangled half-sob.
"Get this pile of trash out of my sight," Dianite snorted, grabbing the collar of my cow hide, his claws tearing the soft leather as he hoisted my up. I struggled, choking out more horrible noises of fear.
"My lord, please! He's scared!" Tom finally protested in my defense. "You destroyed his hometown - at least cut him some slack. And you said to bring him here anyway - I did what you said!"
Dianite shot Tom a sideways glance and for a moment, I couldn't tell what he was thinking. "If I killed the rest of the people in that disgusting village of Ianite," he slowly growled, "then this useless creature may as well have joined them... when I first attacked!" The Nether king's voice rose to a roar and he flung me out of the temple with a mighty toss, with enough momentum to send me flying over the bridge and painfully crashing into a small wall of Netherrack. I howled as I felt something snap inside my body and curled up on myself in pain, hyperventilating and in danger of the most severe panic-slash-anxiety attack yet.
"Twisted!" Tom shouted, and I heard his footsteps rapidly approacing where I lay gasping on the Netherrack. Tears were streaming down my face now and I yelped as he gently rested his hand on my ribcage.
"Oh Notch, I'm sorry Twisted!" Tom's words frantically tumbled out of his mouth, going so quickly I could barely understand him. "I don't - I didn't think -"
"Just get the hell away from me, Tom!" I screamed, ignoring the pain in my chest and shoving him away as forcefully as possible. Tom stared at me with shock and hurt dancing in his eyes, but I was too upset to care. Here, I thought the hybrid zombie-man was my friend - but he had betrayed me, forced me to meet his god. And he hadn't even told me he was a follower of Dianite! I felt a dark empty feeling take over my heart at Tom's betrayal of my trust.
"Twist-"
"No! I don't care! I can find my own way home, just go away!" I snapped, voice cracking near the end of my sentence. Tom gasped, pain and some other heartfelt emotion written on his face before turning his back to me and running away, leaving both his diamond sword - and our friendship - behind.
Why the hell did I do that? Why? I muttered to myself in my head. I had retreated to a small alcove near the Nether fortress to mull over my own thoughts and beat myself up for even thinking that taking Twisted into the Nether would have been a good idea.
Dianite had of course wanted to inspect Twisted to see if he was worthy of me 'fawning over him', as the Nether king described. I had blushed, but of course, agreed. Surely Dianite would give him a chance.
But of course, that had led to me cursing myself for being so stupid. What had I been thinking? Dianite was not a merciful god!
"I'm an idiot," I hissed, rubbing my eyes with my fist. "Twisted probably hates me now." I remembered the look of mistrust and hurt shining clear in his eyes and how betrayal rang clear as he shouted at me.
"Go away!"
And Dianite had been right on one thing - I was fawning over the half-wizard. I wasn't sure why, but after spending some time around him, I had begun to find his shyness adorable and his talent as a person with magical energy intriguing. We had gotten along so well, and he had seemed to enjoy my company just as much as I did.
"Get the hell away from me, Tom!"
I sniffled, heart aching just to go back in time and ditch the whole thing. Even Dianite's rage couldn't hurt as much as this. What if I had ruined my only chance of friendship with Twisted?
"Idiot," I whispered again, though this time it lacked the anger that it previously had. Out of frustration, I grabbed a loose Nether brick and threw it as far as I could.
My eyes widened as I heard an angry squeal from a pigman in the direction I had thrown the brick.
Shit!
I saw a hoard of pigmen rushing at me and instinctively reached for my sword. Instead, my hand only closed around empty air - I had left the sword back at Dianite's temple. So I did the only thing I could do in the situation: run. My feet skidded against the gritty Netherrack as I tore back down the direction I had come, the pigmen now only a few steps behind.
"Help!" I screamed, panic clouding my mind and sending irrational thoughts to my brain. There was no one to help me here - Dianite wouldn't care if I lived or died to his mobs and Twisted certainly wasn't going to be my knight in shining armour - at least, not after what I had done. So that left me weaponless and alone, running for my life against angry pigmen who were much better suited to navigating the treacherous trails of the Nether than I was. I kept losing my footing on the unstable grit and the heat on the ground was burning the soles of my feet, even through my shoes. However, the pigmen had heavy enough builds to keep themselves steady on the shifting ground and enough speed to catch up despite their weight.
I stumbled as I hit a wide patch of soul sand and a pigman's golden sword grazed my arm, slicing open a long cut in my skin. I cried out and fell, unable to keep on running because of the shock of being hurt - and this sword must have been enchanted too, for it stung too much to have been dealt by a normal gold weapon.
And within the single moment that I was down on the sucking sand, the whole herd of pigmen were upon me.
My screams echoed around the fiery cavern, my tuxedo ripped and torn by the countless mobs brutalising me. Pain exploded in every area pf my body and I quickly stopped struggling, focusing instead on shielding my face and neck with already cut and bleeding arms. The pigmen's squeals grew louder and I thought for sure that this - this - dying to a herd of pigmen, must be my end. I was already starting to feel dizzy from the blood loss, and a sword was brought stabbing into my gut, making me black out for a few seconds from the pain. My newest wound had definitely pierced something internal and I felt blood catch around the edges of my throat.
The squeals abruptly faded away, but I was in too much agony to notice, coughing up flecks of blood onto the dragging soul sand, my light brown hair plastered to my forehead with more blood. I heard a soft shink and a clatter of breaking glass near my face and a warm feeling spread over my body as something cool and minty-smelling came in contact with my skin. The pain numbed and I shakily reached down to feel the wound in my gut. It had melted into a shallow scab on my skin, even though the tuxedo itself was still a horrific shade of scarlet.
I slowly turned my head to look at my saviour and my jaw dropped open in shock. There was Twisted, his eyes cold and unforgiving, with my sword in his hand, adorned with freshly glittering blood. He tossed the sword at me and it landed next to me head in the soul sand.
"You should remember your weapons when run off in the Nether," Twisted told me, speaking in the most monotone voice I had ever heard. It hurt to know that I had driven him to this; to have to seal off all emotions towards me, but yet still be there to help. I scrambled to my feet as he turned his back to me, about to walk away without another word.
"Wait!" I called out after Twisted and he hesitated just long enough for me to reach him and grab his shoulders, spinning him around to face me. He stared at me with quizzical eyes and a moment of lightheadedness came over me. A deep feeling in the pit of my stomach urged my instinct onwards for what I knew in my heart had to be done.
I didn't know what came over me, or even how I felt when I realised what was happening.
I wrapped my arms around Twisted and pulled his face close to mine, pushing my lips against his in a moment of passion. Twisted first tensed, then leaned into the kiss, sliding his arms around my own and holding onto the back of my neck as I leaned forwards further, melting into the moment. His lips were smooth and tasted slightly salty from tears, and I allowed myself to lose myself in the feeling. There had to be no doubt in this - this was our moment; our time. I could hear his heartbeat, rapid from excitement, and thought giddily that maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way.
Then Twisted suddenly broke away from our kiss, eyes flying open and gasping as he brought his hand up to his mouth. My lips tingled and my body urged for more, but when I tried to kiss Twisted again, he shoved me away, shock and fear brimming in his eyes. I felt an ache in my chest as I gazed at him in bewilderment, watching as he stumbled backwards, shaking with barely contained tears.
"Get away from me," he whispered, turning around and running off without a backwards glance.
I stared brokenly after him and felt my heart snap in two.
After a few minutes I finally shook myself out of my stupor and realised that I was crying. I forced myself to pick up my sword, my mind clouded with hurt and tears occasionally tracing their way down my cheeks. What had I been thinking? I just up and kissed Twisted, acting purely on instinct - and I hadn't even bothered to consider how much he may have hated me already. Now he may never talk to me again.
It was a long walk back to the Nether portal and I trudged through the gel-like substance, feeling like I just wanted to stay in the portal forever and let it consume me. I was at my lowest low right now. Twisted hadn't even asked me why I did it. He had just... run off. Left me broken-hearted, as it were.
The memory of his cheerful smile taunted me now. His laugh was like nails against slate. His kiss - left me with my heart snapped. It hurt too much, far too much for it just to be a silly crush. I couldn't make him see that I loved him, and I sobbed, stumbling out of the portal and slumping down against the wall of the corridor that I had led Twisted down just a few hours earlier. Now, I didn't know if he would ever trust me again.
I stumbled to my feet and tripped over my own feet on the way out of the passage. I paused at the gravel and cobblestone path up to Twisted and User's mushroom house, silently wondering if I dared to confront him so soon after the kiss. I made up my mind and began to climb the path up to their house, beginning to hear talking and crying coming from inside. I hesitated again before softly knocking on the door twice, not even bothering to brace myself for possible rejection.
"Go away!" I heard a muffled shout from inside the house, as well as a loud crash. I waited for a few more seconds before User flung open the door, his eyes filled with annoyance that quickly changed to hatred when he saw me.
"Twisted doesn't want to speak with you right now," User told me harshly, words clipped and spiked with rage. He slammed the door in my face and I flinched, listening closely as the crying grew louder and less controlled. I knocked again, stomach churning and more tears pricking the corners of my eyes. User opened the door again, but this time, he grabbed my by the collar of my undershirt and pushed his face as close to mine as possible without touching.
"Listen to me," he hissed, having to bend down slightly, seeing as he was quite a bit taller than I was. "I don't know what the hell you did to Twisted to make him so upset, but you can be sure that as soon as I find out, you are dead." With that, User shoved me away as hard as he could before slamming the door yet again, and I fell to the ground, staring at the house with a wounded expression.
And then my already broken heart shattered into a thousand irreparable pieces.
I had been in sort of a trance after Tom took me to the Nether, betrayed my trust, and then kissed me. I didn't remember anything else that had happened that day, but User was furious and Tom apparently had locked himself in his house. I didn't even want talk to anyone about it, but my throat had been raw like I had been crying. User and I hadn't spoken much in the couple days after, and he kept muttering under his breath - something about slitting Tom's throat and tossing him in a river. It almost scared me until I reminded myself that Tom had betrayed me, then committed to an act of love. I was unsure of how to feel about him any more other than just... hurt.
I remembered how bright and cheery he had been when first welcoming me to the world. I remembered his understanding patience when I told him about my anxiety. And I also remembered the shattered look in his eyes when I had torn away from our kiss.
There had been a deep craving tugging at my stomach during the kiss, as if I was being urged onward. It made me lose myself, my thoughts, my entire being just so I could experience the passion and the drive that fueled me and made me want more. Even after I had pulled away, Tom had also leaned forwards, as if to kiss me again.
But then the feelings of betrayal and hurt kicked back in and whatever had me making me strive for more than just a petty kiss were lost, buried deep. I had shoved Tom away and... I couldn't remember much after that. And of course, it may have been because I didn't want to. I recalled faint knocking and loud shouts of anger, but the rest of the night had been lost to a haze of nothingness.
But whenever I thought back to the kiss, I couldn't help but recall that strange urge that told me to just forget my feelings and embrace the love Tom had clearly shown for me. I wasn't sure if it was that I loved him back because right now, my head and my heart just couldn't get along. My head told me not to trust Tom and that he had only wanted to gain my trust so he could hurt me. But my heart said that he truly did love me and that I should love him back. It was the worst kind of conflict, and it hurt to realise that it might stay this way for me for a long time.
I shook my head, dismissing my contradictory thoughts on Tom and decided that one of the best ways to sort my problem out might be talking to the one and only follower of the peace goddess - Jordan.
I made my way over to Jordan's house, forcing the memory of Tom calling it Crapa de Sparklez out of my mind. I had to stop thinking about him, as the situation would surely get worse for me if thoughts of the zombie hybrid kept drifting through my head. I knocked on Jordan's door, though slightly hesitant, as I wasn't sure what I would even say once the problem was brought up. I caught a glimpse of the young man through the large windows on either side of the door and he opened the door, smiling when he saw me, although the joy didn't reach to his worried eyes.
"Nice to see you, Twisted," Jordan greeted, sounding as though it was forced. "What did you need?"
"To talk," I swallowed back my nervousness and cut straight to the point. "About Tom. I - I needed to talk to someone who might be able to help me sort out how I feel."
Jordan's expression immediately softened and he ushered me inside, waving me towards a pastel couch in his living room while he closed the door. I peered curiously at a jungle tree that was growing straight through the floor and only forced my attention away from it when Jordan sat down in the couch perpendicular to mine.
"So what all happened?" Jordan prompted, staring at me curiously behind his sunglasses. I took a deep breath, deciding to start with Tom taking me into the Nether.
Over the course of the next several minutes, I told Jordan what had happened; Dianite scaring me before tossing me out, snapping a rib, me making up my mind to go after Tom after downing half a healing potion, saving his life from a hoard of pigmen, and even our kiss. I didn't mention the fact that I had enjoyed it though - rather, I merely said that I had shoved him away after he tried to kiss me again. I felt bad lying, but I wasn't ready to tell Jordan about the probability that I may be - well - gay. Bad enough that Tom was and that he was attracted to me.
Jordan already had a smile playing on his face by the time I finished my story and I had to admit, I was slightly confused as to what he was thinking. "So..." he paused, taking his time to get to the point. "Tom likes you, huh? He's no fool, Twisted. His actions are his thoughts. If he kissed you, then he meant it and there's no two ways about it when it comes to Tom."
"But what do I do?" I sighed, placing my hands on the sides of my head and resting my elbows on my knees. "How do I speak to him anymore? He thinks I hate him, I don't know how I feel, and you say he loves me."
"I know he loves you," Jordan corrected. "And all you have to do is say to him that whatever happened between you two - you don't hate him for it. You just need time to sort your own feelings out."
"I guess," I mumbled, not very enthused by the idea. Sure, it would be simple, but what if Tom wouldn't take that as an answer? What if he wanted more than what I could offer him as an explanation at this moment?
Did I want to give him more was the real question here.
And I had no answer to that for anyone who may have asked.
Food - nah, it wasn't necessary. Talking with friends - they were worrying that something was wrong since I hadn't come out of my house at all these past few days, but they would be fine. Sleep - sleep only brought nightmares when I needed rest, so it was useless as well.
But I needed a distraction. Something to take my mind off Twisted. Something dull and monotonous that would lull me into a droning state.
Mining should do the trick for that quite nicely.
I grabbed my diamond pick and slung an iron shovel over my shoulder. I buckled on my belt with my sword already clipped on, my mind dully fogged over. I couldn't feel emotions anymore, as it seemed that the heartbreak was finally getting to me. I couldn't feel sadness that Twisted had rejected me, I couldn't feel hunger even though I hadn't eaten in almost five days, and I couldn't even feel lonely because of how badly I had been shattered. Life dragged on, day after day. Routine kept me from staying in my bed to waste away, but heartbreak pulled me down, reducing me to unstable tears several times a day.
Twisted hated me. I was stupid for ever believing a kiss could change that. I paused as I was about to leave the house, wondering for a second if going outside was worth it. There was always the chance that I would see Twisted, or even just one of my other friends. I hesitated because I doubted myself. I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep myself together. I wasn't sure if I would just lose control and either attempt to hurt myself out of grief or do the complete opposite.
Either way, I had to go out sometime, so I opened the door, thankfully not seeing anyone before I descended into the darkness of the cave I usually mined in, noting the position of the sun in the sky showing that it was mid-afternoon.
Ores were bountiful in the cave and I found the sharp clink of my pickaxe against the minerals soothing, in an odd way. With each beat of the tool, my thoughts strayed back to Twisted, seeking a comfort that common sense told me I could never find.
Clink
"I bet I can out-build you," Twisted teased me, eyes glinting with humour as I struggled to build a simple house under the guidance of Waglington.
Clink
His eyes shone with tears as he choked out what had happened between himself and Dec that had driven him to be lying in his bed, crying his eyes out while I did my best to comfort and reassure him.
Clink
"Get away from me," he whispered, the moment he had withdrawn from our kiss in the Nether.
Clink
"Get away from me."
Clink
"Get away!"
Tha-chunk
I let out a heartbroken sob, the pickaxe clattering to the ground. Who was I kidding? I couldn't get over Twisted that easily. I loved him. And he hated me. I had gone and screwed everything up and now Twisted hated me.
Why was I such an idiot?
The new question rang through my mind as I slumped to the ground, the sounds of my crying echoing loudly in the torch-lit cavern around me. If I wasn't so dim-witted, this whole situation wouldn't have even happened. Heck, Twisted and I might have been dating by now. But no, being the idiot I was, I had to ruin everything.
I dragged myself to my feet, grabbing my pick and choosing a tunnel to go down at random. The cool air in the cave suddenly seemed stifling and the shadows dancing at the edges of the torchlight seemed filled with malice, beckoning me to come over to them and just fade away into them. To be honest, I was considering it.
I need to get out of this cave.
I sighed and decided the quickest way out wold just be to mine up to the surface. My rucksack was weighed down with ores, though no diamonds this time, and I was nearing the end of the torched up area. I swung my pick at the wall and the stone crumbled under the sharp edge, chipping off in stinging shrapnel.
It took a while to mine all the way up to the surface and when I finally broke through, wet sand cascaded onto my head and shoulders. I spluttered, spitting out the grit while more rain fell on my head, noticing the distinct lack of light from the sky. It must have been around midnight by now and the mobs would be out. I silently thanked the gods that I had remembered to bring my sword and lightly rested my hand on the pommel, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice if need be.
Surprisingly, by the time I had made my way up to the top of the sand, there were only a few zombies several yards away. They didn't even notice me, so I just snuck quietly past them, recognising the area I was in. It was fairly close to the wizard's pyramid and I decided just to camp out there for the night, since it would be dryer than out here in the pouring rain.
It didn't take long for me to make it to the pyramid and I darted into the upper room with a faint sigh of relief. Torches surrounded the temple, keeping the dry sandstone floor warm, but not hot as it would have been earlier today. I let my tools and weapon fall to the ground with a clatter and stripped off the black jacket of my tuxedo, wringing it out and tossing it closer to one of the torches to dry off. My tie soon followed it and I hesitated before unbuttoning my undershirt, peeling the soaked piece of clothing off and shivering as droplets of water ran down my bare back. I ran my hand through my hair, ruffling it up into wet spikes and glanced down at my chest, tracing a finger over the small scar just above my heart.
I hadn't always been like this; half-zombie. Someone or something had infected me a long time ago, and the only proof I had of that was the faint white scar, barely visible against my pale human skin, but showing out in a bright contrast next to the darker green flesh. Thankfully, the infection hadn't changed much more than my skin tone - the worst it had done was make me a bit sluggish during the day, but that was about it.
I sighed, reclining back against the pale wall of the temple, resting one hand over my stomach and leaning my head back until it bumped into the sandstone. I relaxed, closed my eyes, and listened to the screaming of the wind.
Strange... it hadn't even been that windy out...
Then a piercing shriek shot through the night and my eyes flew open, gasping as I realised that it hadn't been the wind; there was someone out there!
I darted to my feet and grabbed my overcoat, hurriedly tossing it on before grabbing my sword and sprinting out into the night. No matter how retched I was feeling, I would never leave someone in pain.
I ran towards the direction of the scream, instantly getting drenched again as soon as I left the safety of the pyramid, and saw a hoard of skeletons, spiders, and zombies all clustering around a small area. The sharp tang of blood split the air and I winced, shuddering as I realised how badly wounded this person must be for me to smell the blood through the damp air. I wasted no time in attacking the mobs, hacking away at their limbs before they switched their attention to me. It didn't take long for me to thin down the attackers to just a few spiders, who scuttled off when I swung at them. Panting slightly from the strenuous exertion, I glanced around for the person who had been attacked, freezing as I recognised the bloodied shape on the ground.
It was Twisted - there was no doubt about that - and he had his eyes tightly shut, breathing laboured as the rain splattered on his wounds, sending light red trails of bloody water trickling down his sides. His cow hide suit was torn by pincers and sword slashes, and there was an arrow buried deep in his stomach. I felt sick as I remembered how I had been in a similar situation not that long ago, but had been saved by a healing potion. Now... there was nothing.
At a loss of anything else to do, I slowly knelt down beside Twisted and slipped one arm under his shoulder blades and the other under his knees. I picked him up as gently as possible, legs shaking a bit from the weight. I carried him back to the pyramid and swallowed back the fear in my stomach. His wounds were very severe and he hadn't even groaned whilst I was carrying him; showing that he was almost too far unconscious to even consider saving.
But I had to try. After all, I still loved him.
The rain had cleaned all of the injuries save for one; the arrow stuck in his stomach. I took a shaky breath and slipped my rucksack of my shoulder, searching for anything that may be of use. There was some iron, a bit of gold, a couple arrows from a skeleton that I had attacked earlier, gunpowder, string...
My breath hitched as I stared at the arrows and string. I could maybe use the flint to help with getting the arrowhead out and the string for sewing up the wound. It was a long shot, but I just had to cross my fingers and hope.
I soon found that I would have to cut away a part of Twisted's suit and I sawed it off using the flint, which I had detached from the arrow itself. I felt like retching when I stared at the edges of the injury, half-dried blood and pus welling up around the shaft of the arrow. It was disgusting, but I used the soft hide that I had cut away to wipe off some of the nasty gunk. I decided that the best way to go about removing the arrow was to widen the puncture just enough to make sure that I wouldn't tear any skin when I pulled out the arrowhead. I gingerly slit open about an inch of skin around the wound and forced back my disgust as I dug my fingers far enough to where they brushed part of the arrowhead, closing my eyes as I pulled it out, the arrow still intact and dripping with blood.
Twisted whimpered and he shifted slightly, as though in pain. I couldn't blame him for it - but I was far too focused on my task at hand. More blood and pus was oozing from the open cut and I grabbed the flint I had used, smashing it against the sandstone floor and shattering it into needle-like shards. I grabbed the longest and thinnest one I could find and wrapped a bit of spider string around it, testing to make sure it was secure.
My hands weren't even shaking any more as I began to sew up the wound as best I could with makeshift materials. Twisted was continuously moving around now, letting out occasional moans of agony, which made it harder for me to work. He stilled for a second and I stole a quick glance at his face, freezing as I realised his eyes were open and that he was staring at me.
I could imagine what it must be like for him - he wakes up in pain to find none other than me, the person he hates most, wearing just my overcoat, stitching up a wound in his stomach. I felt guilt fill my heart and I turned away from his piercing brown gaze, silently continuing my work.
"Tom?" he rasped, his normally calm voice filled with a tight hurt. "Why...?"
"Because I love you," I mumbled, finishing the job and tying off the ends of the string. It had gotten sloppy near the end of the incision and I silently cursed myself for not paying better attention to the task. "And I understand that you don't feel the same way, but I still do love you."
"I didn't know how I felt," Twisted admitted after a few seconds. "I wasn't sure whether to feel betrayed or - or embrace it. I'm so sorry that I hurt you."
"No," I shook my head mournfully, tears brimming in my eyes again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that. It was -"
"Amazing," Twisted interrupted and I cast a surprised glance at him, seeing a playful look dancing in his eyes - a look that I had missed for so long. "Tom, I know how I feel now. A-and... I love you too."
I was shocked for a few seconds, my mind trying to process what he had just said. Twisted... loved me back?
Twisted loved me back!
Happiness lifted my heart and I leaned over, wrapping my arms around Twisted and engaging him into our second kiss together... only this time, we both knew that this was what we wanted. We both needed even. Twisted closed his eyes and kissed me back, a tear slipping down his cheek.
I lifted my head up for just a second, smiling at Twisted. But the smile quickly changed to an expression of fear when he didn't show any response. I hurriedly held my hand over his heart, desperately listening for some sort of beat.
Nothing.
My true love had died in my arms just moments after he had confessed his own love for me.
I let out a strangled sob and the final bits of my shattered heart were reduced to nothing more than fine dust.
Twisted was dead.
Oh my shite... that was just - just - *bursts out crying*
12,500 words. I hope you're happy. I've been neglecting Magic to bring you this masterpiece of heartbreak.
I cri e'rey tiem... these feels are just... too feelsy. Way too much for my poor little Ender heart to handle.