AN: Hey, hey. This Chapter came out quicker because it was a continuation of sorts from the last chapter, but it has some really nice scenes which I enjoyed writing... and some scenes that got a little dark. Oof. Gotta give this Chapter an M-rating just to warn you all. M-Rated Chapter here for scenes of intense torture, only because of the last scene, near the end. I also changed the chapter title last second. Instead of using Fear, since I already used that for a chapter in the form of Fear of Knowing, I opted for What Are You Scared Of?
In more positive news, I actually did great in my Texas Holdem Tournament. Made it to the top 10 at the final table and broke even on the money I put up for it. I never made it to the final table before, so I call that a win. I beat out like forty other people without having to buy back in. Heheh. Just to immortalize the moment, however, I played conservative, losing half my chips after four or so rounds, then went all in on a flush draw and got it (Used my corny "That's why they call me the River!" catchphrase). Then I had a really good three hand in row run, getting trip tens, a full house of tens and queens, and then pocket aces. Whoo! Then I proceeded to hoard my chips like a wuss when there was only eleven players left so I'd make it to the final. As soon as I was assured the top ten, and my prize money, I went all in on the first hand just to call it quits after being there for three-and-a-half hours, but if I make it next time, maybe I'll take it further. I was too happy to break even, especially when my fellow competitors are using rebuys like crazy and still going broke. Good hands come to those who wait.
But you don't care about that! You want the M-rated Chapter. So here you go.
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd add Rags.
Chapter 255
What Are You Scared Of?
[Noman]
December 14th. It was a rainy day, like the weather was reflecting the mood within.
We were all in the resort room. Carys was back and steadfastly poring over the Citizenship Informations without bringing up her disappearance or her emotional outburst the day prior. Everyone knew well enough to leave her alone.
"Still no word from Cobb or Baltic." Reuben announced after checking his map for the morning update. "The fleet's still chasing Abyssmal across the Eastern Ocean. He changed his heading with a sharp turn from west to south, which is strange. It gave the pursuing fleet a chance to close the distance. He'll be passing over the Cadboro Bridge tomorrow afternoon, so maybe he's hoping to stand his ground."
"How tough is Abyssmal, even?" Soul asked. "Is he tough enough to beat the fleet?"
"Hard to say. He's an archer at the end of the day, so he's weakest in close combat. But then, he's got Teal with him." Ciro commented.
Soul unconsciously rubbed his neck. "Yeah, that girl's a handful."
"They're still only human." Spaatz shrugged, causing Albert to stand up straighter, having remembered something crucial. "Throw enough infantry at 'em and even they'll tire and topple."
"Oh, hey! Listen. I forgot to mention it yesterday, what with all the tension," Albert piped up, "but there was more in the report. One of the cultists in the Eastern HQ was some kind of part-Mob Hybrid thing." Soul, Floyd, and I rose to attention, as did the listening Paragons. Carys looked up from the Citizenship Informations.
"Part-Mob?" I asked, worried.
"Yeah, he looked like a Zombie Pigman, with the pink skin, the green rot, the exposed bone-"
"I'm trying to eat here!" Anibal threw her food away, looking ill.
"He looked like a Zombie Pigman." Albert hastily finished to spare Anibal the grisly details. "He had the strength and speed of one too."
"...We've seen something like that." Soul spoke up, causing Ciro and the Paragons to pay attention. "At the Wailing Vale, there was that spooky Ghast abomination."
"And Cobb and Lenz said they encountered a Creeper Hybrid in Herobrine's bunker in Daymonte." Floyd added, troubled.
"And... And the Slime Hybrid that Marble and I rescued from Maplefrost's bunker!" I added my own experience. We'd all encountered a Hybrid at some point in our travels.
"You guys see everything. Everything always happens to you." Reuben rolled his eyes before leaning his arms on the table and looking serious. "So what does this mean for us? The cultists have some new kind of weapon?"
"It's unprecedented. From the sound of it, the cultists found a way to blend Crafters with Mobs." Albert grimaced in disgust, and he wasn't the only one. "Lieutenant MarkAble said it was their Founder's research in action. You see anything like this, Ciro?"
"Just because I caught glimpses of you-know-who when he visited Notch, doesn't mean I was privy to his particular brand of mad science." Ciro spat in revulsion. "Because that's what this sounds like. Mad, mad, mad science. Turning people into monsters. What a thing!"
"But how are they doing it? If it's Herobrine's research, it can't have anything to do with Bounty Days."
"A Zombie Pigman." Carys murmured to herself, her red eyes troubled. Everyone stopped what they were doing to listen to her. "A Slime. A Ghast. And a Creeper... if the Creeper Hybrid was in Herobrine's bunker, then it's definitely got his signature all over it. Cobb and Lenz may have just found what was left of his experiments." She steepled her hands together. "What worries me is where this stops. What's preventing the cultists from moving on to bigger and badder Mobs? Endermen, Blazes... maybe even a Wither?"
A shudder passed through the group at the insinuation. Withers were a storm of chaos, killing everything in their path. What if a single cultist had the power, and, more frighteningly, could control it? Hybrids were a new threat to consider if the transformed cultists wielded all the strengths of the Mob they took the form of.
"...We need to interrogate some cultists, pronto." Spaatz declared as he got out of his seat beside Anibal and moved to get some Potions of Invisibility. "We need to know what they know about all these Hybrids cropping up. Kal, do you mind coming with me to look for cult-?"
"NO WAY!" Anibal rocked out of her chair and caught Spaatz by the hem of his shirt, forcibly dragging him back to her side. "You're not going anywhere! Not with those cultists out and about. In fact, unless you're trained in a Hack or artifact - or Carys - I don't think any of us should risk ourselves. We're still in enemy territory, after all."
That only left Floyd, Kal, Ciro, Carys, and me. Soul looked disgruntled, Reuben outraged, and Spaatz offended.
"...You're placing me under house arrest, ma'am? Again?" Spaatz asked, his tone hurt. "First the Obelisk, now this?"
"I'm just saying we need to be careful." Anibal tried to assuage him, even while she clung to his arm like he was an oversized teddy bear. "With everything that happened recently, safety should-"
Spaatz snapped his arm out of Anibal's grip. His eyebrows drew together as he glared at his leader with a shocked, deeply pained look. It was a look of betrayal.
"Spaatz..." Anibal tried to reach for him, but the Team Gamma grunt flinched out of her reach before retreating to the furthest corner of the room and refusing to look at her. He was joined by Reuben, the two murmuring together contumaciously. Those two had been left out of the attack on the Obelisk, and now they were being left out again.
"...I can go look." Ciro offered. "I can put any cultist I find on ice with the Arcticum Arma. Save them for interrogation later." He jangled the chainmail leggings before us.
"I'll go too." Kal offered.
""Same here."" Floyd and I echoed before I added, "I need to check in with Marble anyway about the details of what's in the mines."
Carys gazed indifferently at the team of four before waving her arm dismissively. "Do what you want. I doubt you'll find any cultists, but I'd like to see you prove me wrong."
"They just wanna escape all the awkwardness here." Soul commented.
"It's miserable outside. I'd much rather stay inside where it's warm." I tried to make our task seem less enviable to make Reuben and Spaatz feel better. It didn't look to be working.
"We'll do teams of two." Kal instructed. "Encounter anything you can't handle, you be smart and come back. Floyd, you're with me."
"Team Wayward Hacker?"
"Team Motherfucking Wayward Hacker, brother." Kal and Floyd bumped fists before dousing themselves in Potions of Invisibility and setting out.
"Language." I muttered before turning to Ciro with a timid smile. "Guess we're Team Illionths, eh buddy?"
"Don't make me regret getting out of bed this morning."
"Yes, sir." I concluded lamely before we doused ourselves and headed off to Marble's home address.
[Cobb]
Dwight reemerged from the Nether Portal shortly after venturing into it. His face was pale, but he was also damp with rain.
"Still there?"
"Still there." He answered tonelessly before wiping off the top of his hair. "And it's raining."
The Stigma hadn't wandered off, then. Dwight, Baltic, and I had been waiting in the Nether, in the strange blue-green forest, for an indeterminate amount of time for the Stigmata to despawn and wander away from our portal in the Minecraftia realm. I say indeterminate because there was no way of knowing how much time had passed with the Nether making our clocks go haywire. Dwight had offered to check, calling himself the most expendable, but he came right back to say they were still lingering on the other side of the portal.
Which frustratingly meant we were stuck.
"UGH! Screw this, let's just start walking!" I made my opinion clear. I wanted to take my chances following the cult's raised highways to the next available portal. I knew if I tried forcing the issue, Baltic would paralyze me again, so I was at least trying to be diplomatic. I just really wanted to do something - anything - to get myself closer to rescuing Lenz. Sitting around was just a colossal waste of time!
But, of course, Baltic made the same, mulish point.
"We know where this portal exits. It's here. We don't know where these highways will take us, or how long they stretch, or what new dangers will be waiting for us following the Bounty Days that overhauled this whole damnable place." Baltic listed his points with increasing disapprobation in his tone, but he didn't shout. He saw no need to. "Waiting may make us idle, but it's safer than needlessly risking our necks." He looked back to the portal determinedly. "I'm doing you a favor, Cobb. You'll thank me for this later."
"Oh, for Herobrine's SAKE-!"
"Quit swearing in his name!" Dwight snapped at me. "It's like saying, 'Hail, Satan'! What are you, a cultist? Knock it off!"
I clicked my tongue in annoyance, but I didn't challenge him on it. In truth, loathe as I was to admit it, using Herobrine's name was something I picked up from Jade. All those cultists used his name. Maybe it was because I read through his journal entries, but I hated and respected the man in equal measure. He did both great and terrible things.
The three of us were waiting when we heard an alarming noise that had no business being in the Nether.
*Gwup*
Shock and disbelief is what made the three of us foolishly turn our heads towards the source of the noise. Even if it was just to confirm, we should've kept our gazes on the ground instead of eye level.
It was a trio of idle Endermen, with the middle one holding a block of netherrack topped with the blue-green grass prevalent in the biome we were in. As they looked our way, the three of us quickly averted our eyes.
Dwight glanced at me. "...Did you lock eyes?"
"No."
*GHAIYA!*
"Maybe."
The three Endermen let out incensed shrieks, their jaws unhinging. They warped out of sight, leaving a few purple particles in their wake, but the danger was still present judging by the drawn-out screams that grew louder and louder.
"Don't be scared, don't be scared, just RUN!" Dwight bolted to the side. Baltic and I split up just before an Enderman swiped between us.
"Find a low tree!" Baltic called out, having already slid beneath one of the blue-green ones. The pursuing Enderman rammed into the low-hanging leaves, screaming as it futilely tried to thrash the aged alchemist.
"What are Endermen even doing in the Nether!?" Dwight cried out as he rolled out of the way of another Enderman's arms. "This isn't normal!"
"It's the new normal after the Bounty Days!" Baltic shouted. He threw a Splash Potion of Poison at the Enderman, hurting it. "I told you, this place is more dangerous than ever! And you would seriously go out and brave it?"
"You bet your ass I would!" I shouted back stubbornly from under my tree before swinging a diamond blade against an Enderman's thrashing forearms. It screeched in pain before warping away in a hasty retreat. It wasn't gone long, as it came at my tree from another angle that had me wriggling away.
Thanks to the Herobrine Mob books, these Mobs were no longer a challenge. I simply had to tuck my legs under the low-hanging tree and slash at the Endermen's spindly legs any time they tried to get to me. Even if they warped to my back, I still had the luxury to reposition myself and land a hit without taking any damage from their powerful arms. Even Dwight, with his scavenged weapons and armor, had no trouble handling an Enderman while safely ensconced in the shadow of the low-hanging trees.
When the last Enderman died of Baltic's poison, the three of us crawled out from under our respective trees and dusted ourselves off.
"Endermen in the Nether." Dwight shook his head. "Wasn't expecting that."
"We can't expect anything in this place. That's why traversing the Nether is out of the question."
"What are you talking about, old man? We did just fine." I pointed out. "I don't think any of us even took a sliver of damage."
"We got lucky, but luck runs out." Baltic asserted.
"C'mon, guys. Give it a rest." Dwight tried to stop us from arguing, but I kept going.
"With Herobrine's books, we can survive any Mob this dimension dishes out. I can keep us safe, so we should set off-"
"The Bounty Day has introduced dozens of new changes that Herobrine never could've documented!" Baltic shouted back, becoming unusually vocal on the subject. "Nothing can prepare us for what might now be out there! Can't you see that?" He ran a hand over his beard as he stepped back. "Besides, we just need to be a little patient since the portal NOOOO!"
Dwight and I flinched at the abrupt bellow of despair from the alchemist as he ran over to the Nether Portal.
Now an inert frame of a Nether Portal with a block of that blue-green covered netherrack placed within. From what I could guess, the Enderman we saw earlier carrying the block had placed it, out of sheer dumb luck, on our portal, disrupting the purple energy inside and inadvertently disabling it. We could re-light it, sure, but, as Baltic explained, it would pop out to a whole new area. Maybe closer to Lenz. Maybe closer to civilization. Maybe closer to the Border.
In essence, we were right back to the point when we first arrived in the Nether, with a portal we had no way of knowing where it exited in Minecraftia. That was probably why Baltic was on his knees before it, frustratingly beating his aged fists against the obsidian frame.
"...We now have but one choice." I spoke up since nobody else was saying it. I gestured to the cult's raised netherbrick highways. "We have to face the unknown of the Nether." Baltic made an unintelligible noise of protest. "Or we reset the portal and hope we get lucky this time. I'll test it if it comes to-"
"You're not testing it!" Dwight rounded on me with a grimace. "If anything, I'd test it since I'm the most expendable, but we're not gonna do that. I'm officially changing my vote. We're venturing into the Nether."
"We can't venture into the Nether." Baltic bemoaned, his fists still pounding on the portal futilely. "We can't. We can't. This place changes you..."
"You want me to roll the dice on the portal again? I will." I asserted, figuring it was another go at getting a portal closer to Oak Docks and Lenz. Despite Baltic's misery, I was glad for the Enderman that ruined the portal; it made it so we didn't have to sit around anymore. "I'll test it myself-"
"LISTEN TO ME!" Dwight grabbed me by the front of my hoodie and dragged me before his face with an intense expression. "Stop saying you'll risk it. There are things we need you to risk, and it's not on odds this long. Look at me." My gaze met Dwight's before he hissed through his teeth. "I know you're feeling frustrated and impulsive right now because of Lenz, but you can't be either of those things if we're to get out of here alive."
I grimaced, not wanting to hear this.
"Hey! Look at me, damn it!" He jostled me slightly to get my gaze back on him. "Y'know what Lenz said?" My gaze sharpened as I focused on the Team Gamma grunt. "He told us, 'No Beginner will ever let you down.' That was when he sprung us from the cult's prison. And he faced down Teal and a group of cultists with low ammo and none of his enchanted equipment. He got me out. I doubted him, but he got me out." Dwight let go of my hoodie with a light shove. "And now we need you to get us out, and you can't do that unless you pull yourself together."
He glanced between Baltic and the Nether stretching out before the netherbrick highway. "...Baltic's right about this place being different - something we're unprepared for. I'm scared to go out there, but I know we have to." He sighed. "But if we have you on board, fully focused, I know all three of us can make it out of here. We're not Lenz, and I'm sorry he isn't here to motivate you, but-"
"Shut up." I spoke lowly, making him clam up. My eyes were closed as I dragged a hand over my face and, with great effort, put Lenz's fate at the back of my mind.
Because, as much as I hated to admit it, Dwight was right. Gambling on the portal was too much a risk. There was only one way out of here, and it was rather obvious. I needed to be on point if I wanted us to escape the new Nether. I needed to be ready to use all my skills, all my experience, all my wits, and all of who I was to get us out in one piece.
I willed off my black and white hoodie since it was getting hot, and kept to my light-blue undershirt. It was the equivalent of rolling up my sleeves, ready to get my hands dirty. I slowly opened my eyes and regarded Dwight with steely determination.
"I'll lead us out of this hell." I vowed.
Dwight looked mystified before a relieved smile spread across his features. He could see the conviction in my eyes.
I slowly turned and walked to where Baltic was. He hadn't moved from his spot, still on his knees and beating his aged fists futilely upon the disabled portal frame. I reached down and gently nudged his shoulder.
"Let it go, Baltic. We should start moving."
He incessantly shook his head like some spoiled child. "We can't... we can't... we can't go out there..."
"We can and we will. And we'll survive it."
"...Survive?" He scoffed bitterly before turning his sad gaze upon me. He looked so old in that moment. "Surviving isn't what I'm concerned about. Survival is easy. Staying unchanged is the hard part."
I quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
He didn't elaborate. Instead he turned back to the portal, gazing at it as if he could will it into fixing itself. Since he wasn't being forthcoming and looking like he'd be difficult, I let out a weary sigh before reaching down and wrapping my arms around his midriff.
I thought I'd need Dwight's help to lift him, but, to my shock, I found that Baltic was far lighter than I expected. The muscles in my arms didn't strain in the least as I hauled him off the ground and into the air, and I think I could've even done it with one arm. It had to be my newly acquired EXP levels at work. All those cultists I killed in the Eastern Division HQ had bolstered my EXP levels to a staggering degree.
Baltic's struggles were feeble as I carried him, as if he was already half-resigned to accepting the truth of the matter: We had to start moving. We had a finite supply of food that wouldn't support us waiting around for help to come. We didn't even know how far the next nearest portal would be, or what horrors were out there waiting for us.
All we had was a starting path. A netherbrick highway. If all of Abyssmal's portals were connected, following the highway would eventually lead us to a working portal. Where it would take us in Minecraftia was another story.
But people were depending on me. People were waiting on me. I couldn't let it end here. I couldn't die. I wouldn't. And I wouldn't let Dwight or Baltic die either.
We're not dying in this hell. I firmed my resolve before carrying Baltic over my shoulder and leading Dwight with that first step upon the highway.
Baltic better not expect me to carry him the whole time.
[Noman]
While we didn't find any cultists, we did make it to Marble's apartment without incident. We had little trouble tracking down the address he left me. And when he opened up his door, he had his greeting ready.
"Well, well, well. Ain't this a shitty reunion, you son of a bitch." The Scout smiled thinly at Ciro.
"Er, hi." Ciro waved awkwardly before leaning to my ear and whispering. "I thought you said he was cool with me."
"He didn't raise any issues." I shrugged back helplessly before Marble let us into his home. He already had company - a young man with a round face and a two-tone quiff hairstyle, white on top, brown on the sides. He was staring listlessly out the wonder, not even taking the time to acknowledge us.
A moment later, a woman with a spiky, indigo mullet walked into sight. "Hey, Marble, your toilet isn't working-" She gave a start as she noticed unexpected company before bidding us a cheerful welcome. "Oh! Hey, hey. You're not prowlers by any chance, are you?"
"Whuh, no...?"
"Drat. Was hoping for my Fight the Prowler Badge, but these situations never turn out how I want them to."
"I take it you're one of Marble's fellow Scouts." I guessed, stepping forward to shake the woman's hand. She had a firm, friendly grip. Her name was Yulia_Kipri. The man staring out the window at the rain was named Pyritz_Boriska.
"These two were just leaving." Marble pointed out to us. "Though, this is the guy I was telling you guys about. Noman." Marble patted me on the chest in front of his two fellow Scouts. "He's gonna help us with the Troxler Mirror Badge."
"...For a price." I emphasized pointedly.
"For a price, yes." Marble agreed with a chuckle before gesturing to Ciro. "And this here... is some kind of murder hobo. Judging from the facemask concealing his identity, I assume he's here to kill us. Again."
"Marble!"
"If this is about the whole trying to kill you thing in Daymonte, I'm sorry." Ciro shrugged, not quite sounding it. "One thing led to another. Don't hold it against me."
"I'm not sure what you mean, murder hobo." Marble gave a thin smile, his tone dripping passive aggressiveness.
"Marble, I thought you were okay with Ciro. You told me you were cool with him. He's on our side, now." I said.
"Taking digs at him is me being cool with him." Marble folded his arms. "Passive aggressive, as opposed to aggressive aggressive with me running him through with Mr. Longsword down here." He shook his hip to make the Tinker's weapon bounce on his belt. "He doesn't become a donut and I get my Passive Aggressive Badge."
"Ooh, that's a good one." Yulia agreed.
"It's whatever, Noman." Ciro assured. "He's being reasonably fair for someone I tried to kill. If he wants to take shots at me, I don't mind. Sticks and stones. I can endure it."
"How very mature of you. Though, I'd forgive you faster if you let me tie your gonads to a lightning rod. During a thunderstorm." Marble's face was the picture of serene grace as he made that horrifying suggestion, prompting Ciro to cross his legs for a little while.
"I... don't... think... I can endure that..."
"The Nuts and Volts Badge isn't gonna earn itself."
"Can we stop talking about badges for thirty seconds?" I asked, only to receive three sets of affronted gasps from the Scouts in the room. "I guess not. Anyway, we're sorry for dropping in on you like this, Marble, but we had some questions about the mission into the mines we were hoping you could clarify."
"You think you have what it takes to join our crusade?" The guy by the window, Pyritz, asked coldly. "You think yourself like us, chasing the stretching horizon?"
"...I'm sorry?" I asked, earning a groan from Yulia.
"Marble, chop my ears off."
Pyritz kicked to his feet as he advanced on me with an emotionless face. I backed up only for Ciro to get between us and glare at the Scout.
"You got a problem or something?"
"I just want to verify whether the guy Marble's been trying to sell us on is worth anything." Pyritz answered emotionlessly. In contrast with his blank expression, his pale blue eyes were turned upon me with frightening intensity, threatening to burn right through my skull. "I don't waste my time on common badges. I only go for the best. The finest. The most coveted. We already let it slip between our fingers once. Understand that there won't be any horsing around while we're after the Troxler Mirror Badge."
"I understand." I swore, finding it difficult to gulp.
"Good." Pyritz nodded before holding out his hand to Marble. "Now credit me my Intimidation Badge."
Marble tore out a book and quill and started writing a note of credit or proof before handing it to Pyritz. After that, he and the female Scout excused themselves, Yulia giving a small wave as her way of saying goodbye.
"Those two will be accompanying us into the mines, alongside two others." Marble informed us. "They were there when we botched up the badge to begin with, so it's only right they help finish the job."
"Yes, we might have people accompanying from my side of things also." I let the Scout know. Floyd, Soul, and Ciro all wanted to go with me into the mines.
"Who? This murder hobo?"
"I'm a former Captain, you know."
"That's deserving of a That Just Makes It Worse Badge."
"Maybe you're deserving of an Annoying Nuisance Badge."
"Ha, and again, HA! I already have that one."
"Of course you do..."
"Guys, please, stay on track..." I tried to be civil. "Firstly, Marble, I know you wanted the ten-thousand emeralds, but would it be alright if I withhold payment until after the Wonder Wings are in hand? Not that I don't trust you're good for it, but we just want to be sure. We'll naturally still help with the Mob in the mine-"
"Illusioner, it's named."
"...The Illusioner." I hesitated on the unfamiliar name. "We'll help destroy it, you'll give us the wings, then you get the emeralds. Is that fair?"
"Of course. Perfectly fair." Marble nodded easily. "You'll be happy to hear I've already secured the wings through my workplace connections."
My eyes widened. "You have? Already?" I couldn't believe it. The clerk said the wait list was six months! "How'd you do it so quickly?"
"I told you, I got connections." Marble smiled proudly. "Don't sweat the details. Fact is, I have the wings waiting in the wings, hehe, and I'm ready to do the deal... and get my Young Entrepreneur Badge." He added at the last.
"Nothing motivates you Scouts like badges." Ciro remarked dryly. "If there was a Destroy the Endward Cult Badge, the world would already be saved."
"You make it sound like the world is teetering on the brink of total destruction."
With Hybrids now in the cult's arsenal, it may well be, but Marble didn't need to know that.
"Could you tell us more about the Mob we're hunting? The Illusioner?" I asked next. "We might have to prepare ourselves if it escaped you once."
"Oh, sure, sure. Let's see..." The Scout rubbed his chin in thought. "The Illusioner is a Mob that can't be found naturally. It has to be spawned from a Command Block. It's a type of Illager-"
"Illager?" I tilted my head.
"It's a classification for the gray-skinned, ill looking Mobs bearing a resemblance to Testificates, or villagers. Pillagers, Evokers, Vindicators. They're all Illagers, and so is the elusive Illusioner." Marble explained. "They wear a blue, glittery, hooded robe, and they fight using a mix of archery and magic."
"What sort of magic?" Ciro pressed, his mismatched eyes narrowing grimly.
"Two kinds. The first is a blindness spell, robbing you of sight. The second is a mirror illusion spell, one that summons visual pseudo-duplicates of the Mob while making the original invisible. That's how it escaped us the first time."
"Pseudo-duplicates? What does that mean?"
"He means they're not solid. They're not real, they just look real." Ciro explained. He made an aggravated noise. "They sound like a pain-and-a-half."
"It gets worse. Their bow fires an arrow every second, and they move quickly and evasively while firing. Take too long finding the invisible among the illusions and you'll become a pincushion. It's no wonder the miners are reaching out for help." With his explanation concluded, Marble clapped his hands together with a beaming smile. "Fortunately, we're just hunting the one, and its Hearts aren't that much different from a standard Crafter. Your chestplate should wrap things up the moment the Illusioner fires at you."
Ciro hummed to himself, one hand rubbing his chin over the facemask. "He's not wrong. The Severe Shield would do the job. And you have no qualms using it against a Mob, right?"
I nodded. I had long since categorized Mobs as 'nonliving' since they weren't capable of compassion or higher thought or self-betterment. Same with the animals we used for food. I had no problems dealing with them.
All of a sudden, I had a startling thought. What about these new Hybrids? They're half Mob, half Crafter. Does the Mob part make them less alive? Are they still capable of self-betterment, compassion, and higher thought?
While Ciro mulled over widespread area of effect countermeasures and spectral arrows against the Illusioner, I thought about the slime trio, and how they were kind and compassionate even while being part Mob. Aikido never covered a Hybrid scenario, but I felt the same applies. Hybrids were living too.
It was something I had to consider, though. Something I had to pause to think about.
We talked with Marble for a little longer, finalizing the time and place for launching our mission in the mines. It would be tomorrow morning, outside the Miner's Guild building, with a few of us using Potions of Invisibility to avoid unwanted attention from the guards. Marble was of the same mind in avoiding attention, as the Scouts were only slightly less liked around these parts than Dover Plainers. After everything was ironed out and we got all the information we needed, we left Marble's apartment and hurried back to the Hot Springs resort, my raised shield shielding Ciro and me from the rain.
[Soul]
Those of us left behind in the resort tried to keep ourselves busy, even with an uncomfortable misery hanging in the air. It seemed like everybody had a reason to be upset, and the rain putting a damper on everything didn't help.
Albert was a Dover Plainer who'd face persecution if he set foot outside. Reuben had a missing Team Leader and was told to stay safe. Spaatz was similarly placed under house arrest in light of Team Gamma losing so many members, most recently Dwight. Anibal was an emotional wreck unable to face Spaatz and his cold shoulder, and I hated seeing her so vulnerable. And Carys - bloody Carys - who should've been the most held together out of all of them, was throwing herself into rereading Citizenship Informations and seemed unconcerned with Floyd, Noman, Kal, and Ciro going off on their own into the capital. She should've vetoed them going out there, but instead she allowed it with a dismissive wave. I couldn't believe this was coming from me, but this was no time to be careless!
It was an odd juxtaposition between the female Paragons. The loss of Dwight made Anibal overcautious, while the loss of Baltic made Carys overcareless.
And at the root of all this was the certainty they felt regarding the fate of the missing five. They already believed they were dead.
It's like they have no confidence in their people. Cobb and Lenz are fine, and I bet the rest are too. Those dorks are probably escorting the Paragons back now. I thought to myself, drawing comfort from the idea. I played with my pets, trying to think of what an Axolotl would eat as I poured out and bucketed up the adorable, pink creature.
Besides the missing five, there were other things to consider. Namely, the cult's Hybrids. I still had nightmares remembering that Ghast thing in Shansi. One had been plenty. Would the cult make more of those monstrosities? How would they go about it? Could they pick and choose which Mob they wanted to mix with?
...What would the Lieutenants pick to become?
"Something on your mind?" Albert asked of me, noticing I stopped paying attention to my pets.
"I was just thinking."
"Call the presses. Soul's thinking." Reuben snarked without looking up from his potions.
"Ha ha." I gave a fake laugh. "I was just thinking about the cult and their Hybrids." I sat back and stared at the ceiling, with my hands resting behind my head. "If you could be any Mob, which would you be?"
Anibal frowned as she put reading on hold and placed her hand on the table. "That's dangerous thinking. Almost like you're considering becoming one of those things."
"I would never do it! I've seen one of them up close, and it was hideous. It had three tentacles with feet for goodness sake! Why would I want that?" I protested steadfastly. "I was just curious, like with one of those personality tests. What Mob are you?"
Carys' eyes shifted for a second, perhaps in mild interest, before they became glued to the books once more.
"Well, please keep your curiosity to yourself." Anibal frowned to show her discomfort for such a topic. "It's creepy."
"Okay, okay. Sheesh." I backed off, thinking that was the end of it. However, after a stretch of silence, it was brought up again. This time by Albert.
"...You know, it might not be a bad idea to explore this." Albert spoke up from his potions. "Not becoming one." He added hastily when Anibal looked at him in horror. "But deducing which Mob would be the best for the cult to transform into. If this is their secret weapon, we could stand to benefit from discussing which Mobs to expect, which ones would be the most troublesome to fight, and which cultist higher-ups would be what."
Again, Carys' crimson eyes shifted with intrigue. She actually put the book down and folded her arms, intent on listening.
"Yeah! We could benefit. What he said." I pounced on the excuse to procrastinate looking through books. "For starters, what Mobs do you think the Lieutenants and Executives would be?"
"...Are we assuming any Mob is on the table?" Spaatz asked, joining in and putting his book down. He likely wanted out of doing background checks as much as me. "Animals and Testificates included? We don't yet know the scope of the transformation, after all."
"Sure. Anything goes."
Anibal clearly thought the topic was unsettling, but she reluctantly joined in on the conversation when Carys allowed it. She also got the ball rolling.
"...Enderman. That one would be the most troubling."
Oh, yeah. Definitely. Superior strength and stride and reach and Health. Plus, you could warp around and be immune to arrows. Definitely good for a close combatant, but it was an upgrade for any kind.
"Oh, damn, and now I'm envisioning Teal as an Enderwoman." I shuddered aloud. "She'd be unstoppable."
"An Enderman is balanced in speed and strength," Carys chimed in, "but if we're talking raw power, an iron golem could do enough damage in a single blow to overcome a Hacker's Regen." She folded her arms as she thought on it. "You'd be slower, but the metallic skin would allow for a stronger defense and more Hearts. You'd be a literal, breathing tank." She hummed. "I could see XoX choosing that."
"We still haven't verified whether the Captain's a cultist or not." Albert pointed out, earning an indifferent grunt from the scythe-wielder. Sounded like her mind was already made up.
"If snakes were a Mob, and she wasn't already one, Jade would definitely become that." I spoke with gnashed teeth and vitriol. "But, since snakes aren't a thing, I'd see her... as a Spider - no, a Cave Spider. She poisons you and scuttles off into the dark."
One way or another, I would find her and finish her off. I had been away when her betrayal was revealed, and the Beginners were still feeling it after months.
"I feel like the more radical cultists would want to be Creepers. Or Charged Creepers." Reuben pondered. "They see death as a rebirth to a new, better life. Why wouldn't they opt to have their innards stuffed with gunpowder? They'd be walking bombs, driven to eliminate any foe."
"Maybe some would be like that." Albert nodded. "But what about for utility? If you could make potions out of thin air, like a Witch, that would be quite handy. No need to carry ingredients or brewing stands."
"If it even works like that. I wouldn't want to change myself to suit our support needs. Not when I've practically already done that." Reuben muttered under his breath.
"I'm just making a point." Albert assuaged. "That Eastern Lieutenant, MarkAble. He's an alchemist, so maybe he'd want to be part-Witch."
"That's like saying any archer would want to be a Skeleton. I can't see the Night-Raven becoming a Skeleton for unlimited arrows." Carys scoffed at the idea. "The Infinity enchantment already does that. The chosen Mobs would imbue something extra. Strays would be a better choice, since they have unlimited tipped arrows of Slowness."
"...Strays?" I asked, the Mob unfamiliar.
"They're a Mob from nine or eight Bounty Days ago." Anibal explained. "They came with Husks, though they inhabit the snowy regions to the north while Husks stay in the desert. Husks are a variant of Zombies, while Strays are a variant of Skeletons."
"Infinite Slowness arrows are fine and all, but wouldn't you look like a Skeleton too?" Spaatz asked. "Exposed socket eyes and bones? Yuck. The aesthetics wouldn't be pretty."
"I doubt the cult would care if their looks take a hit as long as they become stronger for it." Carys said. "For instance, having the size and flight of a Ghast, or the swimming ability and lasers of a Guardian, or the ability to split apart, like a Slime or Magma Cube-"
"Or the ability to conjure fire." I added, thinking of Blazes. "That could be cool. Not that I'd do it, of course."
"With all the Mobs out there, there are countless combinations to be wary of." Carys said, a thought dawning on her. "I wonder..."
"What is it, ma'am?" Albert asked.
Carys' eyes shifted. "...I wonder if this is why the cult asked that massterbaitor about the Dragon Egg. They aim to become part dragon, and having some piece of the Mob is a trigger to becoming it." Her words had Reuben drop a bottle in numb shock, the rest of us mirroring the emotion. Did Carys just guess the cult's end goal? To Hybridize into a dragon? "Executive Ember_Waves is already extremely powerful. If she were to become a dragoness," Carys scowled at her hands, "such a thing might be more apocalyptic than a Wither Hybrid. I can't help but wonder if becoming part dragon was the original reason Herobrine undertook this Hybridization research to begin with."
It was a frightening thought. One I wished I could relay to Cobb and Lenz if they weren't missing. Noman, Floyd, and Ciro would need to be informed. This could be the very thing the nine artifacts were meant to be gathered to stop. Thankfully, it didn't seem like the cult had any Dragon Eggs to work with, or else they wouldn't probe Cobb about it.
If they somehow got their hands on one, though...
...Who knows what devastation they could unleash.
"I'd want that." Carys broke our stupor with a simple sentence. "If I could be any Mob, I'd pick a dragon. Go big or go home."
Albert chuckled nervously. "...How big are we talking? I've never seen a dragon, and the only ones likely to have are unable to speak of it thanks to SutsCo's mark holding their tongues."
"I mean, it's a dragon." Carys commented casually. "When I think dragon, I think as big as a house. Big and winged and maleficent and spewing fire."
"Sounds reasonable... if you were aiming to lay waste to a city." Albert spoke dryly. "As for me, I'd err on the side of caution. Having infinite potions as a Witch would be my choice."
"And have a disgusting wart and a big nose?" Anibal scoffed. "No thanks."
"I'd be one of those new Raid Mobs." I made my pick. "The ones with the axes that Cobb fought in Milstatt. What were they called? Vindicators?"
Anibal grimaced. "Another big-nosed Mob. What is wrong with you people?"
"He's just doing it for the axe." Reuben commented.
"You can't prove nothing!" I stuck my lower lip out challengingly.
"Raaawk! Soul's an axe slut!"
"I think being an Enderman would be pretty good." Reuben threw in his opinion. "I'd be stronger, taller, more agile... and allowed to fight my own battles for a change." He added with a brooding scowl, getting a nod of agreement from Spaatz.
"But would you be able to look people in the eye without killing them?" Anibal asked shrewdly.
"Okay, Anibal. Since you disapprove so much, what Mob would you be?"
"If I had to," she started patiently, "I'd pick a Blaze. I'd float and have dominion over fire, like Serafina. Nobody would screw with me."
"What about showering?"
"I dunno. I'd shower in lava I guess. Immolate the dirt right off me."
Albert and I laughed at the imagery of a half-Blaze Anibal washing herself with lava and toweling off with a wool block only to set it on fire.
"What about you, Spaatz?" Anibal asked her Team Gamma member kindly. She wanted to get back in his good graces despite putting him under house arrest. The grunt scowled at her traitorously. "What Mob would you be?"
Spaatz glared at Anibal for a while, his eyes unforgiving. It was a look reserved for when somebody was in the doghouse. I didn't envy Anibal.
"...Gee, I dunno, ma'am." His voice was tight and clipped. I sensed he was about to say something mean. "I guess I'd have to pick..." His eyes strayed to my pets. "...an Axolotl."
Anibal and the rest of us showed various levels of confusion at his choice. "...An Axolotl? Why would-?"
"Because I might as well, right?" Spaatz cut her off, his voice still clipped. "I'd be a pet. One you could keep safe always." Anibal paled at the insinuation. "And then you can just bucket me up and keep me on your belt like a damn Pokémon, never having to send me into battle, always assured of my safety."
"Spaatz, no." Anibal pleaded desperately. "That's-"
"Hey, I'm already there now. Why not make it official!?" Spaatz's voice rose as his frustrations reached their peak. "I'm no better than an Axolotl! Tell me you wouldn't prefer me like that! Safely tucked away and out of harm! Soul at least trusts his pets to fight at his side in battle!"
"Okay, guys. That's enough." Albert got between the two before things could come to blows. "Let's all take a step back before we say something we might regret."
"...You know what? No." Reuben got to his feet, his eyes narrowed. "Let him speak. I want this out in the open as much as anyone. I can't stand being under house arrest either."
"You guys...!" Albert trailed off helplessly. He looked to Carys to induce some much needed calmness to rising tempers, but Carys seemed to be lost in thought, indifferent to the shouting match under her very nose. Of all the times to stop being a bossy bitch...
Noman would've thrown himself right in the middle of things if it meant keeping people from coming to blows. For me, however, I felt things needed to be aired out. Anibal was barely keeping herself together, and Spaatz was justified in his feelings of betrayal.
"You guys are taking this too personal!" Anibal got to her feet to declare.
"How are we supposed to take it!?" Spaatz snarled. "I've long since come to terms that we're infantry. We're not as special as most. Whatever. But that doesn't mean we should hang back and be protected! We've fought beside you! We've trained! You don't see all the cultist grunts cowering!"
"Yeah, because they believe in a 'Next Life' that doesn't exist and use it to justify their suicide attacks! Is that what you want to be?"
"Whatever I want to be should be my choice! I didn't sign up for this to stay safe! I thought you knew that."
"And I went to Team Beta out of necessity." Reuben tacked on. "Had I known I'd be doing this for the rest of my time with the Paragons, I'd have never agreed! I don't want to just be the guy that buffs and heals! I'm a warrior! I should be allowed to prove it!"
"Can't you see why I'm doing this!?" Anibal pleaded with them to understand. "Five of our strongest are gone, and-!"
"Quit telling yourself they're gone!" I suddenly shouted, propelled to my feet and throwing myself into the ring. "What's with everyone being convinced they're dead when there's not a lick of evidence saying otherwise? Cobb, Lenz, Baltic, Dwight, Perry. They're still out there! Why is that so hard to swallow?"
"Because, you great prick," Anibal surged to her feet, her furious black eyes blinking back tears, "in our line of work, those of us that go missing never come back! MIA is synonymous with PKIA!"
"Quit speaking in letters and talk straight!"
"Missing in Action and Presumed Killed in Action." Reuben filled in.
"So you've written them off? Just like that?" I asked Anibal in derision. "Your vaunted second-in-command is crowfood. Bye-bye Dwight and thanks for the memories. And you!" I pointed to Carys next, earning a slight glance. "You've given up on Baltic? These are your handpicked fighters. You trained them and fought beside them after all, no? Having no faith in them is like having no faith in yourself! Like you chose wrong!"
Carys and Anibal's lips twisted angrily, showing a flash of teeth.
Self-preservation dictates I shut up. I thought before ignoring that sensible voice and plowing forward.
"My friends have been running a race, clearing impossible hurdle after impossible hurdle ever since they spawned in. Both Cobb and Lenz. Why the hell would I think they'd stop now after getting this far? They're tough! They survived! I know it!"
"All they've done isn't enough!" Anibal shouted back. "All they've done doesn't make them invincible! The growing hurdles could just as easily have weakened them and made their legs give out! They're lost to us! Dwight is lost to us!"
"Falsely holding out hope only prolongs the pain." Carys spoke coolly. "Only after accepting the truth can the wound heal."
"It shouldn't matter if it's painful." I said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You go through the pain anyway and you hold out hope that they're not dead. Saying goodbye to someone that's not dead is the greatest spit in their face. You gotta believe that they can defy the odds. You gotta hang onto hope, especially if it's painful."
"And yet the world keeps on turning." Carys spread her arms out with a bitter smile. "The world doesn't weep for you. Life goes on. Evil plots, and goodness rots. You're not permitted to wait around. Not when there's work to be done. Better to accept they're gone. It's easier."
"Since when did you prefer doing things the easy way?" Carys quieted after my question.
"...The axe-man is right about one thing." Spaatz spoke quietly before he turned his attention on Anibal. "You don't have faith. In any of us."
"No. That's not true."
"It is! You think Dwight is already gone. You think he got himself killed because you think little of him... and me! I see how you look at me now. Like I can't defend myself."
"And I've been getting those looks for far longer, stuck in support as I am." Reuben added somberly, his gaze on the floor. "You think I can't do anything..."
"THAT'S NOT THE TRUTH and it isn't fair!" Anibal screeched, her hands opening and closing in frustration. It was like she was trapped by their words, grasping at straws for a suitable explanation. "Look at it from my perspective. My teammates, Buckner and Devers, died. I screwed up and cost Dyson and Stayer their lives. Now Dwight is gone too. So many people are gone under my watch." Anibal clutched her face, looking at Spaatz through her fingers. "Losing so many people so fast, is it so wrong for me to want to slow things down, just a little? Just so I can process it? Just so I can have a few days reprieve before the next important person is torn away from me!? Is that too much to ask!? Am I being too unreasonable!?" She clawed at her face, looking demented. "I can't stand any more deaths! I don't know how Carys does it!"
Carys' face and mouth twisted as she averted her eyes.
Spaatz listened to Anibal's ranting with a contemplative look. His hard gaze of betrayal melted, and, when she was done, he spoke more gently.
"You're not wrong to want to reduce casualties, Anibal. But this is one way that's too extreme. You're taking the choice out of our hands, especially when we ourselves signed up for this. We knew the risks. We joined the Paragons knowing our life expectancies were slim. We're infantry. We knew, but we did it because someone had to step up against the Endward Cult, and we felt it may as well have been us."
Anibal shook her head as tears began to leak and fleck. "But... I... don't want more of you to die..."
"We can't let our lives be ruled by fear or else we never really live." Reuben spoke sagely. "It's not enough to survive if we hung back while everyone else did all the fighting. We'd be no better than the sheeple we fight for. Where's the pride in that? Where's the sense of accomplishment? How can we call ourselves Paragons under house arrest?"
Anibal slowly fell to her knees, her head hanging in shame. "...I didn't think of it like that." She spoke quietly, conceding their point. "I just wanted you safe... and in doing so, I treated you like you were made of porcelain... when I should have treated you like warriors." She sniffled. "I-I made you think you were weak and in need of protection. That's no way to treat you."
"...They have a point." Carys spoke lowly, her mind somewhere else as she stared into the middle distance. "We can't decide what they do with their lives. That's not our place. Keeping them sequestered is no better than coddling, and coddling is just lying because you think them weak and ignorant children. That's what Ebr-" Carys bit her tongue, abruptly stopping herself and earning a fair share of quizzical looks. She closed her eyes. "That's... what's gonna happen. People can die any time, so let them go out on their terms rather than cowering inside, waiting to die. Respect their wishes."
Carys looked at me, then. Her crimson gaze was steady. "You really think the massterbaitor and the nerd are alive out there?"
"I do." I spoke with conviction.
"And... you think Baltic is too...?" Her voice warbled at the end, as if holding hope was an unfamiliar concept for one as thick-skinned as her. Her eyes, though. They showed pleading desperation. I'd never forget seeing that vulnerability in her, just as I'd never call her out for it.
"Not only do I think he's alive, I believe they're all alive." I asserted with absolute certainty. Now wasn't the time to dither. These people were hurting and in need of assurances, even if it was painful to do so.
Carys and Anibal breathed out a collective sigh of relief as they chose to accept my words. "...Fine. I'll hold out hope. I can endure a bit of pain." Carys shrugged one shoulder, acting to all the world that it didn't matter one way or the other. She always had to look tough.
Anibal was less afraid to show weakness. The tears were unmistakable, even as she dried them with her sleeve. She let out a noise that was something between a laugh and a sob. "Look at me, I'm a wreck. I should be coddled."
Spaatz came to her side in an instant, rubbing her back and soothing her. Reuben followed, awkwardly holding out a Thick Potion for her nerves.
"I'll have that drink, thank you." Carys swooped in, snatching the drink halfway out of Anibal's hand and knocking it back. The drink washed away any lingering emotion, allowing her to wholly fall back into her ruthless self. Anibal squawked in protest, prompting Reuben to make another drink, only for Carys to take that too and stiff-arm the dark-skinned thief by the forehead while she enjoyed the second drink with a smirk on her lips.
"Why don't we all have a drink? Hm?" I volunteered, turning to Albert. The alchemist thought on it for a bit before agreeing that the group could use some drinks. He got to brewing.
"Here, ma'am." Spaatz handed his Team Leader a drink while nursing one of his own. "Loading up on alcohol will make everything better." An uncontrollable giggle burst forth from the dark-skinned thief. "There's a smile. Down the hatch." They clinked glasses and knocked them back, Anibal slopping some of it down her jacket as she calmed down.
I was glad. I hated seeing Anibal so vulnerable. I knocked back my own drink, pleased that I had played a small part in helping the Paragons in the aftermath of the news.
Only thing to make this better would be if Cobb and Lenz reappeared on the map right now with Baltic and the others in tow.
The next morning, December 15th, the rain had ended, as did the group feeling sorry for themselves. No cultists had been brought back for interrogation on Hybrids. If there were any in the capital, they were laying low.
Noman, Floyd, and Ciro were getting ready to head out to meet Marble. I was prepping alongside them too, but I wasn't alone.
"Hey, you boys have room for three more?"
Three heads snapped up in surprise while I smirked down at my belt. I didn't have to look to know Anibal, Spaatz, and Reuben were ready and willing (and permitted) to tag along.
"...You guys want to join us?" Noman asked a little cautiously. "You're all okay with that?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Anibal played dumb. "Carys gave the okay, too. Said she doesn't want any fuckups where her Wonder Wings are concerned. Language." She said the word just as Noman was about to utter it, stunning him speechless. She laughed at his face.
I straightened up and thumbed the straps of my backpack. "You're awfully chipper this morning for someone who should be nursing a massive hangover."
"What can I say? I bounce back fast." She stuck her tongue out at me before throwing her arms around Spaatz and Reuben. "But these two knuckleheads really want to test their mettle hunting down this Mob. How could I tell them no?"
Floyd, Noman, Ciro, and I briefly conferred over the additions to our group. I was all for it, even while Ciro claimed it would make our party too big and our resort room too defenseless. In the end, however, we accepted the Paragons into our Mob hunting team. We didn't have much time to bat it around anyway. Not while Marble and the Scouts were waiting on us.
So, our team of seven - and three pets - set out. Floyd, Noman, Ciro, Anibal, Reuben, Spaatz, and me. Noman and Floyd were doused with invisibility just in case any guards were watching before we went out into the capital.
[Skies Over the Eastern Ocean]
"Be honest, this dagger I took off you, it's one of Scarface's, isn't it? Your noodle arms aren't suited for it. She gave it to you because she wuvs you~💙 She thought it would protect you. She was wrong, of course, but it's the thought that counts. I can't imagine what kind of face she'd make knowing this dagger," she slowly inserted the dagger between Lenz's ribs, eliciting an agonized whimper, before she rotated it even slower, extracting more painful noises from the engineer, "is being used on you like this." She tore it free and appreciated the sharpness.
"We can't sleep, you know. Not with a fleet chasing us. One of us has to fly and one of us has to watch you, because you'll surely use your nerdy brain to fuck everything over. Even in your current state I gotta watch you, because I've seen what you can do. Why should you get to sleep when we can't? It doesn't seem fair, right? Oh, but if you want to sleep, just say the word. You can rest all you like~ Just tell us where the portal is, Lenny. Just give in and tell us. C'mon~ Tell us where the End Portal is. Don't you want to help me out~? We're buds, aren't we~? We can forgo all this nastiness. I'll put you to rest, eternally, then Abyssmal and I can get some shut-eye instead of smacking ourselves awake, instead of smacking you awake. WAKE UP!" Teal punctuated the word with a meaty slap that rattled Lenz's brain and made him topple limply onto his side. His arms and legs were unable to support him as they were shattered. Not broken, as in two clean pieces, but shattered, as in twelve jagged pieces. Each. The skin was swollen and sticking out in places where the bones protruded. His Hunger Meter was too low to fix the damage. He was covered in bruises, his tinted glasses were askew, and he had dark rings under his eyes. He was barely cognizant, too sleep deprived and hurt to think.
"Did you hear a word I said? Geez, Lenny. You need to pay attention when a girl is talking. Aren't I pleasant company?"
Teal had dark rings under her eyes from two nights of no sleep. The Phantoms would start appearing after tomorrow. Her hair was a mess, she was quick to anger, and she smelled like she was in desperate need of a shower. Abyssmal was in the same state, stuck at the bridge and flying the airship on little sleep, bashing his head on the controls to stay awake. He and Teal were in no condition to take on a fleet containing thousands of guards and Paragons. Not even with her Wonder Wings' mastery of the sky and her Voda Shlem. All they could do was continue flying, though Abyssmal had an idea and a bearing.
The Executive also didn't want Teal around him. He blamed her for the disaster that happened at the Eastern Division HQ, and he was cranky enough to kill if she annoyed him. His only order was to interrogate Lenzington until he coughed up the End Portal location. Teal was all too happy to oblige.
"Or maybe you're feeling bored. Maybe I've been too tepid lately." Teal suggested, her slightly bloodshot eyes staring maniacally at the engineer. "You know what? I know what it is. You're not telling me what I want to know because you're not scared of me. You're scared of water. I think I've got just the thing. Just the perfect thing. Just for you. Now's the time. Now's the time to help you overcome your fear of water. Because I'm such a good friend."
Lenz's voice was scratchy and weak, too feeble to be heard. It was impossible for him to tell her anything about the End or the End Portal because of the Scouts' non-disclosure curse mark on his tongue. He wasn't being tough. He tried and tried to tell the Lieutenant, but she didn't understand. She just thought he was holding out or trying to trick her.
Lenz whimpered as Teal roughly grabbed his broken legs and dragged him by them onto a table. The pain was excruciating, but Lenz wasn't in a fit state to express it in its entirety. It made him black out only for Teal to slap him awake again. "WAKE UP! I'm doing this for your sake, after all. You're not gonna wanna sleep through this, college boy~ Ever hear of waterboarding~?" Lenz's unfocused eyes widened slightly in fresh terror at the bucket of water in Teal's hand, making her smile nastily. "Yeah, you've heard of it~"
Waterboarding. A form of torture, typically used as an interrogation technique, in which a person is strapped down on a sloping board with their face up and their mouth and nose covered while water is poured over their face, causing them to experience a sensation similar to that of drowning.
"...I cannot tell you anything!" Lenz's weak voice begged in a burst of energy brought on by terror. He babbled hysterically, all while Teal held the bucket over his face, teasingly tipping it further and further back. "Please! I am censored! I can't speak of _! I cannot say it!"
"Wuh-oh~! Wuh-oh~! Someone better start spilling before I get spilling~!"
"P-Please, no, Larkspur. I am t-telling you... the-the mark on my tongue..." Lenz pleaded desperately, tears coming to his eyes as he couldn't move. He wasn't built to withstand torture. Memories of being drowned by those bullies came to him unbidden as Teal smiled down at him. "I-I swear to you, I am forbidden from - I am physically unable to-"
"Bzzzt! Time's up! Let's fix you of your fears~!" Teal giggled sadistically before bucketing out a source block of water over Lenz's head, causing it to flow down over his face. Not even holding his breath worked since his head was hanging back against the table, exposing his nostrils for water to flow down like a drain. He convulsed and choked, causing his mouth to open and let in even more water.
"I'm gonna waterboard you until you're no longer afraid of drowning and more afraid of ME!"
Lenz cried and sputtered as his body found reserves of strength he never knew it had. His head and body thrashed and convulsed as he desperately fought for air that wouldn't come. Teal held him down against the table, foiling his efforts to unbalance or roll off it.
The water was in his lungs. His brain and nasal cavity were on fire, exploding. His throat was completely swollen up as it fought to stave off the unending deluge. Teal was laughing at him.
It was as bad as staring into the dark abyss of the ocean. That deep, inky darkness that stole his every breath and made him wish for death.
Help me, Cobbert! Z7! Help me!
The water was bucketed back up and Lenz was turned on his side, clearing his airway. He retched and threw up water before coughing and taking desperate, rattling breaths. All while a hand slapped his back to help.
Only for a moment, though. Just long enough to keep him alive.
"Break over!" Teal cruelly pulled him back into position before beginning the waterboarding anew. Lenz begged for death.
Teal relished in his suffering. "Hmhmhmm~! You are what you love~! Redstone gets washed away by water, doesn't it? Then I'll just keep washing you away until you can't take it~! Until I'm your new phobia~! And if you happen to die in the process, oh well~! Hmhmhmm~! Kyahahaha~!"
Inventory (Floyd): 1 Mob Head {Creeper}, 1 Diamond Pickaxe, 1 Iron Sword, 1 Diamond Helmet [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Boots [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Shears, 2 Iron Ingots, 24 Coal, 20 Torches, 17 Baked Potatoes, 3 Cooked Porkchops, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 16 Gunpowder, 9 Ender Pearls, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Splash Potion of Slowness {4:00}, 1 Splash Potion of Weakness {4:00}, 1 Splash Potion of Weakness {4:00}, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Bucket, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Written Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 48]
Inventory (Soul): 1 Diamond Axe [Sharpness V], 1 Iron Cleaver, 1 Diamond Pickaxe, 60 Iron Ingots, 19 Flint, 1 Flint and Steel, 5 Ender Pearls, 8 Gold Ingots, 11 Blocks of Diamond, 9 Emeralds, 10 Raw Salmon, 9 Pumpkin Seeds, 2 Cooked Porkchops, 16 Baked Potatoes, 1 Shears, 1 Bucket of Axolotl {Axolittle}, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Crafting Table, 1 Jukebox, 1 Music Disc {chirp}, 1 Bed, 1 Furnace, 24 Torches, 22 White Wool, 61 Cobblestone, 14 Jungle Planks, 2 Bowls, 1 Armor Stand, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Written Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Exter Entry Pass}, 1 Splash Potion of Slowness {4:00}, 1 Splash Potion of Weakness {4:00}, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}
[EXP: 41]
Cat-Face the Cat
Christopher Squawken the Parrot
Axolittle the Axolotl
Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Shield, 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Golden Boots {Stivali Magma}, 1 Leather Boots {Bottes Zephyr} [Dyed White], 1 Iron Helmet, 1 Diamond Chestplate, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 1 Diamond Pickaxe, 1 Flint and Steel, 10 Cobwebs, 1 Ender Chest, 17 Baked Potatoes, 4 Cooked Porkchops, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Water Bucket, 5 Buckets, 1 Bed, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Written Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Exter Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Paper {MarbleFinder; 1909 Oleg Street}, 1 Written Book {The Art of Peace}, 1 Written Book {Artifact List}, 1 Enchanted Golden Apple, 1 Splash Potion of Weakness {4:00}, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II
[EXP: 35]
Inventory (Kalmarin): 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Mob Head {Skeleton}, 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness III, Unbreaking I], 1 Map {Paragon Minecraftia}, 1 Written Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}, 1 Bow [Power I], 36 Arrows, 6 Ender Pearls, 17 Baked Potatoes, 1 Bed, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 40 Torches, 31 Sand, 12 Cobblestone, 21 Oak Planks, 1 Bucket, 1 Lava Bucket, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 43 Coal, 1 Clock, 1 Compass, 1 Iron Pickaxe [Unbreaking I], 1 Wooden Pickaxe {Old Reliable} [Unbreaking III, Efficiency V], 1 Written Book {Meetup}
[EXP: 43]
Inventory (Anibal): 1 Crossbow {Buckner}, 1 Crossbow {Devers}, 64 Arrows, 38 Arrows, 16 Firework Rockets {Flight Duration: 1, Large Ball x 7, White x 7}, 13 Firework Rockets {Flight Duration: 1, Large Ball x 7, White x 7}, 6 Ender Pearls, 4 Cooked Mutton, 11 Apples, 18 Oak Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 1 Bed, 39 Torches, 21 Coal, 1 Map {Paragon Minecraftia}, 1 Written Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 3 Ender Chests, 41 Emeralds, 29 Cobblestone, 1 Bow [Flame I], 1 Bow [Power V], 1 Diamond Sword [Sweeping Edge III], 1 Diamond Sword [Smite V], 1 Diamond Sword [Fire Aspect II], 1 Diamond Sword [Bane of Arthropods V]
[EXP: 53]
AN: What's this? Teal's leading in most despised character? Wonder why.
But I liked the Cobb scene in the Nether and the Soul scene with the Paragons. Good stuff. Also the whole talk about what Mobs you'd be, like some sick personality quiz.
FAV. FOLLOW. REVIEW. FORUM. DISCORD. MUFFINS.