"You!" Sjin cried. He quickly drew his diamond sword. Kim and the others did the same. Rythian held his Thaumium sword in front of him, and Duncan powered up his mining laser.
"You've found this place, and uncovered my secrets. Good job," Strawfingers said lazily. Sjin narrowed his eyes. Why wasn't the bastard worried?
"Your reward, death." Strawfingers pulled out a remote control. Sjin's eyes widened in horror.
Too many things happened at once.
Duncan and Rythian understood immediately what was going to happen. "I didn't finish the forcefield!" The scientist cried.
"Everyone, out! Out!" Rythian shouted. He pushed the team to the entrance. "Let's go! Hurry, hurry!"
"Shit!" Sjin panicked. "The ladder only goes down halfway! Kim, make more ladders! We need to get out of the blast range!"
"Okay, okay, I'll make more ladders!" Kim yelled as she hurriedly started making a makeshift rope ladder.
Strawfingers watched them scramble to get out of the hole with amused, empty eyes. He glanced at the remote control and the big red button in the very center. He looked up at the four panicking friends, an evil glint in his black eyes.
"Time to go, my little friends. Good night." Strawfingers grinned insanely as he pushed the button. Behind him, the nukes started lighting up.
10.
"I've got the ladders!" Kim squealed. She threw the ladders to Duncan, who flew up and attached them to the end of the other rope ladder. The ladder fell down, but stopped short just a few feet above them.
9.
8.
"Come on! Hurry!" Rythian yelled. "I'll boost you up!" He laced his fingers together and boosted Sjin up, so he could just reach the ladder.
7.
"Let's go, Kim!" Rythian yelled to her. Kim shook her head.
6.
"You go first!" Kim said to him. The Mage shook his head, but wasted no time. He stepped onto Kim's hands and she boosted him up to the ladder.
5.
Rythian held out his hand to Kim. "Hurry! Grab my hand!" He yelled desperately.
4.
3.
Kim jumped up and took Rythian's hand, but a claw grabbed her ponytail and pulled her back. Rythian lost his grip on the girl, and she fell back, knocking her head on the ground. The impact shattered her helmet. Shards of diamond and metal flew everywhere.
2.
"KIM!" Sjin screamed. "Kim, no!" Strawfingers leaped up to grab the folds of Rythian's robes, forcing him to ascend the ladder to avoid being pulled down as well.
1.
"Sjin!" Kim sobbed. "Sjin, help me! SJIN!"
0.
Sjin closed his eyes and braced himself for the nuclear blast.
xxXxxXxx
"Kim… Kim… I… I'm so sorry… Kim, please don't hate me… I couldn't… I couldn't help you..." Sjin sobbed. He hugged his pillow tightly, or what he thought was his pillow.
"Ow, Sjin! Ow! Don't squeeze me! Jeez, what the hell's wrong with you, ya big dum dum!?" Sips squirmed his way out of his friend's tight grip. "It's the middle of the night, Sjin. You're badly hurt, so go to sleep! You can worry about everything else in the morning!"
Sjin whimpered and hugged Sips' arm. The CEO sighed but let the dumb babby hug him. "Jeez… Sjin," He muttered. "You're making me all red…"
Sjin didn't hear him. All he could hear was Kim's final scream as the nukes exploded, ripping through the stone, the dirt, the farm.
Ripping through Kim.
He could've helped her. He could've stayed behind and helped her get up. She could've made it out of the blast range if he hadn't gone first.
It was all his fault. His fault that Kim died. His fault that Rythian was blown to smithereens. His fault that Duncan was sent flying into the ocean, beat up and bruised. It was his fault that his farm was blown up. His fault that all the trees and crops were destroyed in a matter of seconds. His fault that Jake, Charlotte, and Baby Sips lived such a short life. Kim was too young to experience this.
It was all his fault. It was all his fault. It was all his fault.
There were so many things that he could've done. He didn't have to call Duncan and Rythian over. It was his fault that his friends barely survived a nuclear blast. He could've left Kim back in the Nether and made it a solo mission. She didn't have to die.
But she did, he told himself, and you couldn't do anything.
Sjin didn't know where she ended up. She could've ended up anywhere. Her bed was destroyed by the nukes. She could've landed in the cold, snowy north, or in the depths of the Sands. She could've ended up anywhere, and no one would be able to help her recover from her wounds. She would just die again, untreated.
Sjin let out another series of sobs. Sips shifted uncomfortably in his bed, awkwardly trying to position himself as far away from Sjin as possible.
"Sips…" Sjin sobbed. "I could've saved her… She didn't… she didn't have to… I don't even know… where… she is…"
Sips smiled awkwardly and patted Sjin's back, trying to make him feel better. "Go to sleep, you big babby. Don't worry, I'll be there for you. We'll find Kim."
"Sips…" Sjin whispered. "Thanks… I just…"
"Yeah… Sjin? Sjin? You asleep? God, he fell asleep that fast? I envy him," Sips chuckled bitterly as he closed his eyes. In a few minutes, the two dirt traders were fast asleep.
xxXxxXxx
Sjin sat at the edge of the pool, looking at his reflection in the clear, undisturbed water. It had been a month since the explosions, but Kim's absence would forever remind him of the painful night.
He missed her cheerful and eager smile that she always flashed at him when he was down. He missed her laughter and the funny conversations they had when he taught her how to grow crops.
She would never be able to show him her farm again.
He and Sips continued to work at the factory after Sjin's worst wounds were healed. But it wasn't the same. There wasn't a ton of joking around anymore… not after what happened.
Rythian and Duncan came over several times in honest attempts to cheer him up. They tried reassuring him that it wasn't his fault, anything could've happened. Sjin didn't believe them. He guessed the good part was that all of them trusted each other now, but that didn't really help.
Everyone suffered injuries. Duncan was the one that was least affected; he was wearing quantum armor and was at the edge of the blast range and just got a couple of bruises and burns. Rythian respawned with a bloody leg and broken bones, and Sjin fell from the sky into the pool. He wasn't too badly hurt, but the screams that pierced the night were still fresh in his memory. Every time he closed his eyes, the screaming would come back, louder and more terrifying.
Strawfingers had gotten away. Duncan had raced back to the blast site after the explosions. He didn't find Strawfinger's body anywhere, just two stacked blocks of Thaumium and two levers placed in a scarecrow shape.
His farm was ruined. A few trees on the outskirts of his farm survived, but the radioactivity would soon kill them too. All his hard work, all the buildings, the crops, the trees, the bees… He could hear the evil, purple scarecrow laughing at him right now, but he couldn't face the inevitable truth.
Strawfingers had gotten his revenge.
A/N: I'm sorry everyone! I decided to combine the two bad endings together, since the two of them were very similar anyways and I didn't really want to write two bad endings. It made me a bit sad writing them, and I'm a really nonchalant person... except when I'm watching the Yogscast, I guess. Anyways, the real ending will be up soon, and then I need to get onto writing another story! I have a vague idea of what I want to write, but suggestions are always appreciated!
Havs, out!