Nether Worry

Part 10

Pairing: Agent Washington/Tucker, Caboose/Church, Grif/Simmons

Description: In which the Reds and Blues come across a lonely Creative Mode dweller, Sarge makes about ten times more Iron Golems than are strictly necessary, and where Tucker learns that Wash is indeed not a replacement for Church and that may or may not be a bad thing after all.

A/N: Merry Christmas, you surprisingly clean animals.

Sarge stared with wide eyes at the portal as the silence continued, before he chinned up, a cocky look entering his ocean blue eyes. "Well, come on, boys! Let's show these here kids how it's done!" The old man strutted towards the purple portal, that grin all too terrifying, reminding Wyoming briefly of Florida.

Very reluctantly, the Reds started to follow, even Grif did, but Washington stepped into their path, eyes wide with worry. "Stop!" He ordered, Stone Sword drawn in-case they tried anything. "Let's think about this before we charge into danger!"

Carolina nodded at her younger brother. "Good call, Wash. It should be the Freelancers who investigate first. We have more experience in high stress situations."

"Experience!? You fuckers had limitless lives! Emphasis on the had!" Church pointed out, looking very much offended. "Try living in a Zombie and see how that goes for ya, princess!"

"You wanna say that again, corpse boy?" Carolina asked, getting up in Church's face, though she had to look up a considerable distance. "You really wanna start shit?"

"You start something with him, you start it with me too, kid." Tex promised, stepping in-between Church and Carolina, stormy eyes bearing into Carolina. "Pull out the sword. Come on, kiddo. Let's go a few rounds. See if you're that mouthy when you're eating dirt."

"Girls, calm down." North ordered, looking ready to step in himself, though he appeared a bit scared to do so.

"Will you quit fucking mothering everyone already!?" South asked, glaring daggers at her brother. "This ain't your fight, North!"

"Everyone calm down!" York yelled over the arguing, taking his teammates by surprise. "Look, it's late and we're tired as shit from building, so let's calm our asses down and NOT kill each other. Carolina, you've got a point, we are better at fighting, but the Reds and Blues also got extra lives to spare. We gotta be careful."

"York's right. We need to calm down and figure this all out." Connie agreed, picking up scattered sticks, cutting off some of them at perfect angles. "I've got an idea. We'll draw sticks and match off into pairs, and no trading sticks. We enter as a unit, while the pair with the shortest sticks stay put, in-case shit goes south and we need a rescue squad. Also, someone's gotta watch Tucker's kid."

"Good plan, lass," Wyoming mumbled, taking a stick obediently. "And how shall we go about this little adventure?"

"We all rest for tonight. Tomorrow, we head into the Nether. Whoever stays behind should have at least one Flint 'n Steel, in-case all of our's break. Only come back if you need to… we'll stock up and head out at dawn." Connie explained further, handing out the sticks until she had the last one. "Alright… pair up."

After twenty minutes of arguing, the teams all formed, but just to make sure no one forgot whose team they belonged to, York wrote out the pairings.

Tucker - Washington

Wyoming - Sarge

Caboose - North

Texas - South

Simmons - Church

Connie - Grif

Carolina - Donut

York - Doc

Maine - Lopez

"Alright… I think I've got everyone." York announced, smirking as he looked the chart over carefully. "Looks pretty damn solid, with Tuckington staying put and the rest of us heading into the Nether."

"Wait, wait, wait… did you just call us 'Tuckington'?" Tucker asked, grinning real wide as Wash blushed down to his neck. "The everliving fuck is with that, man?"

"It's what we call your guy's Gay-Romance behind your backs." South admitted, getting elbowed by North as a result. She glared at him with faked disgust in her eyes. "I am so glad we're not paired together tomorrow."

"I will be like you if you want me to, Miss East!" Caboose promised, smiling hopefully at South. "I do not want Mister West to be sad without you."

"Aw, that's sweet, Caboose. But I think North'll be okay." South assured the other, patting him on the back. "Wish you could be on my team… aw well, just take care of North, 'kay? He's fucking sensitive as dicks, like, he can't take a punch."

"I can confirm that." York shouted out from where he was chattering on with Doc, who he was obviously hesitant to travel for hours to even days with.

"Which bit? That dicks are sensitive or that North can't take a punch?" Church asked, looking curious either way.

"Um… both!?" York suggested, not remembering which it was, but they were both probably true either way. "I don't fucking know. Anyhow… let's go the fuck to bed, I'm beat."

"What, you and Carolina fuck under the snack table a little too hard?" Connie surprisingly inquired, much to the delight of South.

"So THAT was the bumping!" Donut yelled out, looking horror struck, yet oddly relieved. "Oh thank Steve, I thought I'd stepped in during a Grimmons thing again!"

"Grimmons!?" Church squeaked, his voice going up an octave out of confused anger/disbelief. "What is with all of these fucking ship names? What's the damn point?"

"Um… comedy?" Simmons suggested, not the least bit affected by Donut's reference to he and Grif's relationship, much less the sex and ship name. "I'm so fucking used to it, I hardly notice anymore."

"I'm so fucking done with everything, I'm just gonna lay down and nap for, like, ever." Wash admitted, walking away towards Blue Base. "I'm gonna go sleep before someone blows something up at daybreak."

"But no ones seen our fireworks display yet!" Sarge screamed, looking really, really excited about the fireworks.

"Aw, well, I guess I can stay for a few more minutes…" Wash mused, a bit excited to see the fireworks. He hadn't seen fireworks in so long… would they still be the same as before?

Hell fucking no. This is Nether Worry, not a fucking Christmas Miracle.

"Thata boy, Wash! Alright, Dakotas! You got it ready!?" Sarge asked through a walky talky, even though South and North were, you know, right fucking there.

"Yes, sir!" North shouted back through the device, pulling out a big remote with a big, red button in the middle. "You ready, sis?"

With a nod, the twins hit the button at the same time, eyes both big and happy… and full of murder.

It was quiet for a long time… until of course, the mountain quite a ways away from Blood Gulch exploded, making Sarge and the twins cackle like mad scientists. Everyone reacted like their fellow teammates:

*Freelancer Screaming*

*Blue Team Sobbing*

*Red Team Mixed Results*

Washington awoke that night with a minor headache, mainly because the baby had awoken and was crying up a storm. Hearing Tucker starting to get up, he muttered a quiet 'I've got it', knowing Tucker desperately needed the sleep. Sitting up, Wash scrubbed at his sandy eyes, groaning under his breath at his own exhaustion. It was late, around two or three in the morning, and the others wouldn't be up for at least five more hours. Ignoring his own need to rest, Wash walked over to the wooden/wool crib the twins had built a few days after Junior had been born, reaching in and scooping up said Endermen-Human baby.

The miner/Freelancer held the baby cautiously. Not because he was scared Junior would hurt him, but because he really wasn't that experienced with kids. Yes, he'd seen a few Villager kids and even one or two miner kids, but not many. Not to mention Zombie babies… dear God, those things were wicked fast, but Wash rushed those thoughts away. He focused more on the crying baby, rocking Junior in a monotonous yet comforting manner. Wash bit back a yawn, the rocking making him tired as well.

As Junior calmed down, Wash tiptoed to one of the more cold double-chests, mainly used to store their colder foods. Digging around with one arm, the other holding Junior against his chest, he grabbed a bucket of milk, placing it on top of the kitchen table. Quiet enough to keep from waking up the others, Wash grabbed a wooden bowl, pouring a bit of the milk inside the bowl. After filling it half-way, he grabbed his Flint 'n Steel, holding it close to the milk. Knowing it'd be a few minutes before it was warm enough for Junior, Wash took a seat at the table, patting Junior's back to keep him from waking up the whole canyon.

"Pretty noisy tonight, huh Junior?" Wash asked, starting a one-sided conversation with the baby. It was so easy to just talk to Junior… no awkwardness, no differing opinions, just a little human who was willing to listen to him… Wash figured he liked kids. "Sorry if our yelling scared you earlier… adults are really weird. We always argue."

"Not that we always argue… we just do it a lot." Wash continued, rocking Junior more as the milk began to warm further. "I wish we didn't, but we do. You're such a lucky kid, Junior. You have the best daddy ever, and you get so many uncles and aunts. I wish I had had so many people watching me as a kiddo, or at least a better dad, but the past is the past. Don't you worry about anything, Junior. We're all gonna take such good care of you, the whole lot of us."

Picking up the bowl carefully, Wash poured a few drops on his bare arm. Just right. Holding it up to Junior, the hybrid opened his mouth obediently, taking a grip on the edge of the bowl with his mouth as Wash tipped it ever-so slightly. Junior made a tiny, odd purr noise, which Wash couldn't deny he loved to hear. It always felt nice, knowing he'd fulfilled a need for the baby, especially whenever it showed and Junior would just smile so sweetly at him- goddammit, the kid had his dad's smile alright. Just as Junior finished, Wash heard shuffling from the ladder to the downstairs bedrooms, looking over to see Tex.

Tex had her hair down for once, reminding Wash for a split second of- She was so beautiful, blonde hair running like a river down her back, covering the star tattoo. She smiled so sweetly at him, her greyish blue eyes staring down at him with such intensity and trust- he shook his head, escaping that frame of mind. Tex was not in any way Washington's mother… didn't mean she didn't remind him of her though. Sitting up, Wash looked the blonde over carefully, noticing how she only wore a T-shirt (Church's) and a pair of way too big pajama pants (Also Church's).

"You up with the baby?" Tex asked, sitting down across from Wash before he could answer her. "He's getting bigger."

"Yeah… he really is." Washington agreed, smiling at Tex. She wasn't so bad once you got past her rough exterior. "You wanna hold him or… ?"

"Naw," Tex waved the man off, her eyes half-lidded as she watched the baby steadily. "You ever wonder if this kids gonna be trouble once he gets bigger?"

"Maybe… but, I'd rather just take things one step at a time, ya know? I just… he's fine right now, and that's good enough." Wash explained, noticing that Junior had fallen asleep. "I'm gonna put him to bed- you need anything?"

"I was just up to check on Junior, then I was gonna go see how South is. Me and her are partners, and we both agreed we should go out and practice on some monsters before tomorrow morning." Tex explained, standing up and pulling on Church's old jacket, one that he probably didn't need anymore.

"You should sleep, Tex." Wash advised, setting Junior gently down in the crib, tucking him in as the baby curled on his side, snoozing delicately. Wash couldn't help but smile, before he turned to Tex, looking sternly at her. "There's no telling what'll happen tomorrow morning, and it's dangerous to lose sleep."

"I'll be fine," Tex promised, pulling the hood up- it made her look younger, a bit cuter if Wash admitted it to himself. "You should worry more about yourself."

"I can't help it; I care about my friends." Wash replied, yawning loudly before crawling into his chilled bed. "You stay safe, okay?"

"Got it." Tex clipped out, before walking out the front door, leaving Washington to rest sleepily in his bed, soon falling fast asleep.

Washington, one day, would find out that a girl like Tex had once said 'I'll be fine' to his own father. Unlike the Tex he knew, the other Tex never came back from her training. This one did. That became the sole difference for both daughter and son in coming years, that this Tex was not exactly like their mother, but very close. She was close, but she wasn't her. This time, in this universe, there wasn't any place for obsession to form between Beta and the Director. They would never know how lucky they were to have that.

"Should we wake them up?" Church asked, staring down at the sleeping forms that were Washington and Tucker, both passed out in opposite beds.

"No, I do not think we should. If we do not say goodbye, we will not be gone, and they will not be sad then." Caboose explained his logic, giving the two sleeping men a sad look.

Carolina walked in, having heard Caboose's explanation. "I heard that, and that's bullshit. Leave a note." She ordered, before leaving them be.

After writing a quick note as ordered to, Church and Caboose dashed outside to join the others, all prepped and ready for combat need it be. Sarge even had Lopez with him, though Carolina had previously warned him that wolves had a hard time in the Nether, he hadn't really accepted her information, proclaiming Lopez to be a 'special' kinda wolf. He sorta was, to Sarge's defense, as anything other than white wolves were a rarity, and Lopez's coat was a muddy brown. He was truly an oddity. Approaching the teams, Church took his place beside Simmons, Caboose doing the same with North. All ready to depart, everyone looked to Carolina for a speech or for the battle cry.

Before Carolina could open her mouth though, Connie was, surprisingly, the girl to speak up. "LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLets FIGHT!" She screeched, grabbing Grif's hand and practically dragging him through the portal.

"Well, that's my cue." Donut decided, gently taking Carolina's offered hand and skipping through the Nether Portal with her.

"What nerds." Tex announced, walking right on over to the portal, not seeming to care if South followed or not. "We'll show 'em whose boss."

"Fuck yeah we will!" South agreed, enthusiastic as Sarge when given a new Sword as she entered behind her teammate.

Speaking of Sarge, he and Wyoming argued continuously as they walked through the portal, never breaking eye-contact with each other as they traveled through the purple mist.

Maine whistled at Lopez, patting his thigh. He motioned at the portal, to which Lopez loyally followed him through, allowing the Goliath to tie a leash around his red collar and lead them onward.

Caboose grinned as he took North's hand, both running to the portal, but slowing down as they approached, unsure of how to proceed. They didn't have to decide, as York happily shoved them in, and grabbed Doc last minute to tumble through with him.

Finally, Church and Simmons left, not daring to hold hands, as they saw no need, after all, the only hand Simmons wanted to hold was already in a whole other world by then. Both taking deep breaths and nodding at each other (They were probably pretending to be in an action movie, the nerds), they jumped into the purple darkness, never looking back.

((You thought I was ending it there, didn't you ;) ?))

As expected, Connie and Grif were the first to awaken in the new realm. Upon waking up though, Grif didn't even realize he wasn't in Red Base until he felt the hot coal-like rock beneath him warm his skin at the touch. He hummed, amused by the fluffy feeling of warm that radiated through his body and mind, the netherrack below him keeping him in a daze of sleepy haze. He peeked his eyes open, looking up at the never ending darkness of the cavern with a look of little impression on his face. Looks like Tucker had decided to prank him again, probably buried him underground while he was sleeping, though, it didn't explain the warmth under him. Was he near lava? The cracking of magma nearby confirmed Grif's suspicions.

"Grif, get up!" Connie ordered, suddenly appearing in Grif's line of vision, taking up most of his sight. She shook him, though it hardly even rocked him, as she was much smaller than her part-time partner. "We're in the Nether! Come on, hurry before something decides to come find us!"

"Go away," Grif ordered in return, rolling over and maneuvering his chubby arms to act as a cool and comfortable pillow in the very warm cave. "I'm trying to sleep. Why don't you ask Donut to hang out with you?"

"Grif, seriously, you need to get up," Connie explained, pushing harder at the giant sloth that was Grif. "We should get moving before a wall breaks and lava gets in, or worse! And trust me, you don't wanna know what worse is."

"Do YOU even know what worse is?" Grif asked, and upon only getting a few loud grunts from the struggling young girl, he decided to humor her and rolled over, effectively trapping her legs under his greater weight.

"Ow! Get the fuck off me, fatass!" Connie commanded, squirming and spitting like a water-soaked feline or ocelot. Grif chuckled, but obeyed, rolling off of his poor partner. "Look, Grif, do you really wanna find out what lives down here?"

"Kinda. I mean, think about it. Who knows what's down here? Probably something really badass, like Lava Spiders. God, Donut's gonna lose his shit if there're Lava Spiders. Like Cave Spiders weren't bad enough." Grif muttered to himself, closing his eyes in thought.

Connie sighed, shaking her head. Why the fuck did SHE have to take the lazy one? Oh well, she mused, pulling out the sheet of paper Sarge had given her the night before. He'd written some advice on how to get Grif going, and Connie smiled deviously as she found the perfect idea. "Oh my God, Grif! Hold still!" Connie yelled in a very well faked panic.

Grif froze up, fear actually beginning to take an effect on him. "What!? What is it, what the fuck is on me, man!?" He asked in a rush, trying oh so very hard not to run his hands all over his clothes to clear them of any Nether-dwelling mobs.

Connie wanted to grin, but held back for the sake of acting out her part. "Whatever you do, don't move a muscle… don't panic, okay? There's… oh man, it's hideous… there's a huge, black, disgusting bat on you!"

"BAT!?" Grif screamed so loud, jumping up in a rush and taking off over the netherrack path leading into the midst of the Nether, leaving Connie way behind to eat his dust. For such a big guy, he was fucking fast when he was in a panic.

Giggling like a bad scientist to herself, Connie followed at a much smoother pace, watching Grif exit the caverns of the Nether. Arriving upside with him, Connie looked upon the scenery with big, wide, brown eyes, amazed by the sight. Almost everything was dark above her, but down below and over the edge of the cliff, everything was bright and glowing with lava. The only things above her that weren't dark were lighted by various collections of Glowstone. Practically burning in the heat of the Nether, Connie trudged on carefully, soon finding Grif face-first on the ground, worn out by his panicked running.

Sitting down beside him, tired from staring at the amazing sights of the Nether, Connie rested her head on Grif's back, lying down to stare upon the Nether further. In the distance, she could see some sorta more organized structure, a castle maybe? Not much farther off, she could see other groups of her friends, all in very different places, some more hopeless than others. She smiled though, pulling out an empty book she'd brought along with her. She'd be the first to record what truly went on in the fabled Nether, and who knows, maybe she'd find out why the Nether was so special? But before she could even begin writing, Grif was up again, this time, running from a soot colored Skeleton of sorts. Connie sighed internally, following quickly behind.

In her book, this was all that was written: "This is the way the world starts. Not with a bang, but with idiots."

A/N: Very silly I think, but it's still amusing and something progressive. Will write more soon enough, but this is my (Late) Christmas gift to all my readers. Happy Holidays and take good care of yourselves this year!

~CabooseHeart.