Nether Worry

Part 13

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: The next chapter! Hope you all enjoy, and please review/comment if you can! It'd make my day! 3

It was a harsh, windy night in Blood Gulch when Tucker awoke to the sound of crying. Not even sighing with anger or tiredness, Tucker rolled out of bed, landing gracefully on the wooden floor. Quiet as a mouse- though not entirely on purpose- Tucker walked to the side of Junior's crib, easily scooping out the hybrid child. Junior let out a pathetic excuse for a cry as Tucker rocked him softly, trying to usher the infant back to sleep. Washington wasn't in his bed, Tucker noticed, as he turned to face the beds they'd set up in the main room. Concerned, Tucker pulled on a button-less robe, wrapping Junior in several small blankets before leaving Blue Base, the winter air greeting him like a shout of pain. Thankfully, Tucker heard no such thing upon leaving the base, and slowly started walking around, in search for Washington.

No monsters dared to enter Blood Gulch, as Andy tended to have a sour enough personality to ward them away. On one hand, Tucker was thankful for the lack of dangerous Mobs, on the other, Andy was an asshole and he could hardly stand him when Tex wasn't around. Speaking of Tex, Tucker was actually beginning to get worried about her and the gang. There had been no word from them thus far, yet Tucker and Wash had hope that they'd return soon enough. As Tucker crossed the bridge over the trench dividing the canyon, he swore he could hear soft singing and music coming from the darkness below. Curious, Tucker peered over the side of the bridge, Junior held tight to his chest in fear of dropping him.

For a moment, Tucker saw the flash of a torch, but it was gone too quickly to decipher if it was real or imagined. Shrugging it off as the latter, Tucker continued across the bridge, ignoring the way Junior squirmed and made grabby hands towards the ravine. "Calm down, Junior. It's nothing." Tucker assured his infant son, rubbing the baby's back soothingly. "Don't worry, nothing's gonna get ya."

Continuing towards Red Base, Tucker looked up at the sky, grey eyes reflecting moonlight as the full moon shined down upon the lonely canyon. "Fucking sweet, right Junior?" Tucker asked his boy, placing Junior on his shoulders so that he could stare up at the moon alongside his father. "One of these days, I swear to Steve, we're gonna go there. Won't that be awesome? I'm gonna show you the whole damn galaxy."

Junior, who was still an infant and had yet to say even one word, didn't respond. Instead, he did the same thing he did for the ravine, and squeaked pathetically as he made grabby hands at the big, white square in the night sky. "You're a weird little fucker, ya know that?" Tucker asked, before heading towards Red Base.

Red Base was lit up like a Christmas tree, covered specifically in Redstone torches. Redstone torches weren't as bright as regular torches, so Tucker liked them, as they kept him from being nearly blinded while walking Junior around the canyon at night. He entered briskly, glad to be out of the cold, and stopped dead in his tracks as he smelled something brewing in Sarge's workshop. Careful not to be seen or heard, Tucker poked his head into the workshop, eyes widening as he recognized Washington as the potion brewer. Except he wasn't making a potion: Wash was trying to warm up a cauldron's worth of milk. The way Wash was doing it, Tucker could tell that it would be of better quality than slowly-warmed milk via torches. Noticing Tucker in the doorway, Wash faltered, before giving the other man a warm smile.

"Hey, Tucker." Wash greeted, unable to keep the fatigue out of his voice. "Sorry if I woke you two up, just figured I'd get Junior's breakfast warmed early."

"Naw, ya didn't wake either of us up. Junior kinda… woke up… on his own…" Tucker found it hard to form words, as he became very, very well aware of the fact that Wash was only wearing tight-fitting boxers and an apron, the same one from the maid's costume.

"That's good. Seems like Junior's been getting bigger and bigger." Wash commented, turning around and dear fucking God, that is NOT what Tucker needed a good look at, not while he was still holding Junior. "He hungry yet? I think the milk is ready."

"Uh…" Tucker again trailed off, before settling on just handing Junior to Washington, who took the baby tenderly, as if he were just as scared as Tucker was everyday of dropping him.

Tucker continued to watch as Wash took a wooden bowl and, careful not to burn himself, dunked most of the bowl in the warmed milk, pulling it out gently to blow on. After a few seconds, Wash held the rim of the bowl up to Junior's lips, watching the baby carefully before Junior began to drink down the formula. Sighing with relief, Wash gave Tucker a small, hesitant smile, as if asking if what he was doing was alright. Not wanting Wash to get the wrong idea, Tucker nodded almost too enthusiastically, giving the blond man a thumbs up. Wash nodded back, though he was more courteous, and focused his attention back to Junior. It was moments like these that reminded Tucker briefly of his childhood, however little he remembered of it.

Tucker remembered very little of his days prior to living in Blood Gulch. According to Butch Flowers- or Cappy as he preferred for Tucker to call him- he had found Tucker during a hunting trip, ironically enough near where Tucker later on found Washington. He'd been knocked out, dehydrated, and mumbling things that made no sense whatsoever. However, instead of killing off the young miner or stealing his gear, Flowers had scooped him up onto his back and carried him back to Blood Gulch, where he'd made a home for himself and his companion, Leonard Church. Tucker, upon waking, had known only his name, but his personality made up for his lack of memory. Snapping back to the present, Tucker realized that Wash was looking at him funny, holding a sleeping Junior in his arms.

"Tucker?" Wash inquired, eyes big and concerned. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"It's… it's nothing." Tucker assured his teammate, not knowing how else to explain himself to Wash. He supposed Washington would learn of Tucker's past sooner or later, but for now, he preferred Wash thinking of him as just some arrogant asshole. "I'm fine, Wash. Really."

Wash, knowing a thing or two about awkwardness and complicated thoughts, politely moved away from the subject, gently handing Junior back to Tucker. "Here. Sorry I held him for so long."

Tucker shrugged, taking Junior back with a carefulness he'd only recently acquired. "Naw man, it's fine. It's not like I got four arms here."

"True. So… how you feeling lately?" Wash asked, trying to start a conversation of some sort as he leaned on Sarge's desk. "I've noticed that you've been up later than normal. Everything alright?"

"I guess so." Tucker muttered, rocking Junior out of habit. It made him feel more there, like he wasn't going to fade away or anything like that. "I'm just worried about the guys, ya know? They're usually pretty damn fine without me, but… ya get the picture."

"I completely understand. Back before I was allowed to go hunting and mining, 'Lina said that she'd come home to find me passed out on the couch, waiting for her. Everyone stresses out sometimes, especially when people we care about are away for awhile." Washington explained, placing a hand on Tucker's shoulder. "They'll be back any day now, you'll see."

Wash kept his hand there, the warmth seeping into Tucker's shirt, leaving Tucker's shoulder warm and comfortable. The two stared at each other for a long time, as if debating on whether or not they should do what they were planning on doing. Well, Tucker was just about done with waiting, and jumped for it. He leaned forward, ever so slightly, and he and Washington's lips connected. It was brief, and could hardly count as a full-on kiss, but it was real and needed at that moment. Tucker backed off afterwards, breathing hard as he held Junior to himself, the look in his eyes telling Wash that he was unsure if what he'd just done was okay.

Instead of verbally answering Tucker's unspoken question, Washington leaned forward this time, taking a full step towards the shorter man to start another kiss. This time, it was longer, with both men lingering for a little longer than necessary. As soon as Wash let go, Tucker blinked, letting out a small, content sigh of relief. Wash copied him, prompting Tucker to stare at him again. A beat passed, before the twosome broke into loud, almost thunderous laughter. Junior stirred, awoken by the two's laughing, but didn't cry or whine, making small, joyful coos as the two adults lost their dramatic flares. Tucker tried to look into Wash's eyes again, but had to look away, laughing too hard to keep a straight face.

"Fucking finally." Tucker muttered under his breath, as he recovered from his laughter, a little worn out from it all. "You are so fucking dense. I've been into you, for like, months! About time you finally kissed me, ya big nerd."

"Shut up, idiot." Wash laughed back, wiping a few tears from his eyes. He was tired too, but had an air of relief that seemed to linger around him. "It's not my fault I get nervous! I thought you'd get creeped out, considering I'm older than you."

"Dude, you're like, barely five years older than me. It's not nearly as big of a deal as you think it is." Tucker promised the blond miner, trying to make a very serious face, failing utterly. "So… I guess we're boyfriends now. Right? This is how this works?"

"You've never dated anyone before?" Upon earning a blush and a head shake, Washington tried to stifle a giggle, unsuccessful in his attempt. "And I thought I was the nerd! But to answer your question, yes. I think we're officially boyfriends now."

"About time." Tucker decided, looking down at Junior to give him a big, gleeful smile. "Ya hear that, Junior? Me and Wash are gonna be dating now!"

Junior seemed unimpressed (We're pretty sure he thought they were married to begin with), then looked to Wash, making a string of babbles as he tried once again to speak. "Ba- Ah- pa… Papa!"

Both Washington and Tucker simply stared at Junior, Wash looking ready to cry (Okay, yeah, he was totally crying). "Did… did he just call me…?" He sounded so touched, yet so uncertain.

"Yeah, man." Tucker promised Wash, causing the blond to suddenly surprise Tucker with a strong, unrelenting hug, the older man rubbing Junior's head lovingly. "Whoa, hey, watch it there, dude! You're gonna squish him, and me, which is fucking rude since I'm kinda your man-date now!"

"Dada!" Junior added, patting Tucker on the chest to indicate that it was him he was referring to. "Dada, Dada!"

"Oh my God…" Tucker started sobbing, looking just as if not more touched than Washington was. "He called me Dada!"

So busy with their beautiful moment, neither Washington nor Tucker heard the soft, mystical sound of the Nether Portal. However, both became acutely aware that their friends had returned as South whistled with the Blood Gulch Crew, along with York shouting 'Get a room' in a rather loud voice that made Junior let out a tiny 'Eep' and disappear in a puff of purple smoke. At first, Tucker and Wash were horrified, but thankfully, Junior reappeared on Maine's head, idly sucking his thumb. The two sighed with relief, before giving York a harsh glare each. York shuffled awkwardly under their gaze, unprepared for such an intimidating double-glare, before Carolina stepped in front of him, breaking off the glare.

"Good to see you two are well." Carolina promised, giving her younger brother an excited look, though it was clear that she had worry in her eyes. "Miss us?"

"Like crazy." Wash promised, almost ready to let go of Tucker and hug Carolina, but stopped, giving his friends an odd look. "Wait… why're you all back so soon? It hasn't even been three days!"

"Oh, well, that's a long story." Carolina mumbled, before beginning her tale…

"I hate you." Carolina decided, even though she probably didn't actually hate him. Dislike him maybe, but not hate him. "You're completely ridiculous."

"But you look so precious!" Donut cooed, referring to the teal bows he'd tied into Carolina's fiery hair while she'd been asleep. "Don't you like them? They even match your armor!"

"I will throw you into the lava lake." Carolina announced, looking ready to run after Donut. She and him had been trapped on a tiny-ass island in the middle of the Nether's lava lake for over a day, and already she was feeling her humanity leave her. "You know, when we entered the Nether, I was expecting something a little more… entertaining."

"I think this is fun!" Donut replied, throwing yet another snowball into the lava lake, watching it melt before it could even impact with it. He'd packed plenty of snowballs beforehand, for whatever reason. "I mean, we're in the Nether of all places! Isn't this exciting?"

Before Carolina could reply, she heard a loud, distant scream from overhead. She stared up, spotting a bridge from the Nether Castle above. She would've climbed up to it the day before, but she didn't have nearly enough netherrack or materials to reach the cut-off bridge. Carolina squinted her eyes, peering up at the edge of the bridge. Something- or someone- was up there, decked in white with something big, orange, and glowing chasing after them. Suddenly, the white mass lost it's balance, revealing itself to be none other than Maine as the tall miner fell from the bridge, a Blaze following after him. Maine landed with a shout, by some miracle not dying from the fall damage, while the Blaze gently hovered to the ground beside him.

"Oh my God!" Carolina shouted, jumping up as she ran over to inspect Maine's wounds. "Are you alright? What happened up there?"

Maine, as usual, didn't reply, too busy glaring at the Blaze as he wiped himself off, bits of netherrack coming off his armor as he dusted it off. "My apologizes." The Blaze's voice was smooth yet terrifying, making Carolina feel uncomfortable in front of the Mob. "Allow me to introduce myself: I am Sigma. This miner is my newest companion."

"Your newest companion?" Carolina asked, confused. "Maine, where'd you find this… Sigma character?" She turned her attention back to Maine, who still looked upset at the Blaze.

Maine huffed, shrugging as he looked away, rolling his eyes at Sigma. "It seems my new friend is upset with me. Please forgive him, for this behavior is just how he is." Sigma explained, as if he'd known Maine for decades.

Donut's eyes were wide as he looked the Blaze over, amazed by the newly discovered breed of monster. "Wow! What are you? You're amazing looking!"

Sigma seemed to enjoy this, and turned to Donut, going off on an explanation of sorts. In the meantime, Carolina had Maine step aside with her as she examined his wounds more closely. "Are you sure you're okay?" She repeated, and once he'd snorted and nodded, she softened, glad to hear that he was still in one piece. "That's good. Can't lose you, buddy."

From overhead, another, much bigger white mass appeared, making a huge, square shadow cover the tiny island. Sigma, Donut, Carolina, and Maine all looked up, eyes widening at the sight. Overhead, riding on a Ghast, was Caboose, North, South, Tex, Church, Simmons, York, Doc, Grif, and Connie. They waved excitedly, Doc throwing down a rope. One by one, Donut, Maine, and Carolina used the rope to climb up onto the Ghast, with Sigma hovering up beside them. Once situated on the Ghast, everyone began talking excitedly at once. Carolina looked to South, who gave the red-head a soft shrug, her grin big and unaltered by the dramatic entrance she and the others had made. Behind her, North was trying not to vomit, the older twin unused to air-travel.

"Uh… you wanna explain what the Hell is going on?" Carolina asked, a confused smile on her face as she kept looking around, amazed by the situation.

South shrugged again, smiling at Carolina. "It's a long story, but fuck it, we got time! Tex and I got jumped by Caboose's Ghast here, and she got hurt, so we found Simmons and Church who helped save her burned ass from dying. After that, Caboose got lonely so we went and tracked down my shitty brother. Turns out he was almost married off to a Zombie-Pigmen- could've had a family, house with a white fence, tamed wolf in the backyard, all that jazz. Well, we kidnapped him and then we found Connie, Grif, York, and Doc on the way here!" She rattled off, looking undisturbed by her brother's own experiences in the Nether.

"How'd you even find us?" Carolina asked, still a bit confused, but more of it was starting to make sense… kinda.

"You're in the middle of the entire Nether. It wasn't that fucking hard." Church announced, leaning back against Caboose's back as the taller miner tried to make Freckles stay still. "Caboose, the fuck is going on? Why's your pet shaking so damn bad?"

"I… do not know." Caboose admitted, unable to control Freckles as the Ghast shivered and shook. "Freckles! What is wrong?"

All too suddenly, Sarge, Wyoming, and Lopez came jumping over the bridge Maine had fallen from not too long ago, screaming like animals the whole way down. They landed dead square on Freckles, causing the Ghast to let out a cry of pain as it lost control of itself. Everyone on-board screamed in terror as Freckles tilted over, dropping all of the unfortunate miners into the lava. They all died quickly, except for Caboose, who had grabbed onto Freckles' legs just in time. And that's where Carolina's story finally ended…

"So what happened to Caboose!?" Tucker asked excitedly, eyes wide as Carolina retold the story of their adventures. "Is he still there? Where is he!?"

"Calm down, lad." Wyoming ordered, nursing what was possibly a broken left arm as he leaned on Sarge for support. "I'm sure your little friend is just fine."

"But where-" Washington was cut off as the Portal outside revved up. He and the others immediately took off outside, eyes wide as they stared at Caboose, who had Freckles by a leather lead. "-Caboose!" He shouted, running over to hug the blue miner. "What happened to you? Are you hurt?"

"I am okay." Caboose promised, before pulling out a glass bottle from his inventory. "But… you might want this."

Back in the Nether, Freckles soon calmed down, stilling so that Caboose could reclaim his balance on the Mob. The blue miner looked unfazed by all of his friends dying so horribly, and quickly took back the ropes that were connected to the Ghast, sighing with relief as he adjusted himself on the Mob.

"That was scary." Caboose mused, directing Freckles towards a purple glow emitting from the top of a floating island. "Let us go home, Freckles."

"Wait!" A voice called, and Caboose stopped, looking up at the bridge Sarge, Wyoming, and Lopez had fallen from earlier. There, standing at the edge, was a woman wearing a baby blue hijab with dark brown skin. "Are you… are you from the Overworld?" When Caboose nodded hesitantly, the woman's face lit up. "Then can you do me a favor?"

Caboose flew up to where the woman was, a bright smile on his face as he faced her while still riding on Freckles. "As long as it is not a hard favor, I will try to help you!"

The woman grinned then, something Caboose had a feeling that she didn't do very often. "Here-" She pulled out a glass bottle with a note inside, handing it to Caboose. "-Please take this to someone who can help us. We need a hero, preferably one who can help us win a war."

Caboose took the bottle, tucking it into his own bag. "I will try to find someone who can help you!" He promised, shaking the woman's outstretched hand. "My name is Caboose by the way. What is your's?"

The woman chuckled, shaking her head. "You can call me Vanessa. Vanessa Kimball. I hope I'll live long enough to see you again, Caboose. Good luck out there!" With that, she took off, back into the Nether Castle to go Steve knows where.

"She was very nice, Freckles." Caboose decided, leading Freckles towards the Nether Portal. "I hope I get to see her again." In an instant, they disappeared, a purple mist left behind in the Nether.

"What does it say then?" Connie asked excitedly as Washington opened the bottle after Caboose's explanation. "Read it outloud so everyone can hear."

"Dearest Overworlders, my name is Vanessa Kimball-" Wash began, looking uncertain as all eyes were on him. "-If you are reading this note, it means that you have at least once visited the Nether. We need your help. There is a nation of miners from long ago who live here, but civil war has broken out. I am a Rebel. We are losing. We need allies: the Feds have a new merc and our's can't keep up with him 24/7. We can hold them back for a few more months, but we need your help. Please, if you can, send supplies or join us in our war against the Feds… the note ends there." He explained, handing the note off to Carolina for her to read to herself. "What do you think, boss?"

"I think…" Carolina paused, both for effect and to consider her plan. "… I think we'll need to visit the Nether again someday."

To Be Continued…

A/N: Aaaaand, here's that update! That last bit with Caboose and the note is going to be VERY important for this story's hopeful sequel (Something I'll get started on writing on the side this summer), but at least I've updated! Please R&R, it'd make me SO happy!

~CabooseHeart.