Chapter 9 - (un)Decided
"Ren?"
Doc didn't look up at the sound of False entering the caves, knowing she and Ren had a connection. He stayed hunched over the body of his friend, begging silently for him to just come back already-
"No!" The blonde collapsed to his left, pulling Ren's head into her lap. She cradled him, tears slipping down her face. "No no no no no! This... this isn't real!"
Doc leaned towards her, tears building in his own eyes. He tried to reassure her by his presence alone that her grief was shared, that she was not alone. That neither of them were alone
"Oh shit..." Another female voice, from the cave entrance. Cleo stood, looking at the scene, the scent of death filling her with both power and a dark sickness. "We... we shouldn't be able to die here."
"Bring him back!" False struggled to not scream, keeping her voice to a lower demand. "Cleo, bring him back!"
"If I could, I would have!" Cleo walked forward, standing opposite False and Doc. "Something happened, something... bad. My powers are limited to mindless ghouls in the first place, and now I can't even summon one of those!"
Doc choked back his words, unable to speak. He couldn't say anything, he might lash out. His best friend... His eyes stayed fixed on Ren's body.
Cleo coughed a bit, clearing her throat. "Look... something happened with the moderators. Or an admin. I don't know. But there was some kind of power shift, and I think that threw off the balance enough that respawning is... not likely to happen anymore. We need to find out what's happening, and why it's happening."
"Right." False forcibly wiped her tears away, standing. Whoever caused this, whoever got her friend Ren killed... she was going to make them pay.
~
"Xisuma!" Cub called to the empty base, coming in for a landing. Scar plopped next to him, an involuntary shiver rippling down his spine.
Something was wrong. The base was eerie, echoes of something darker calling to the duo as they wandered further and further into the base.
Scar moved close to Cub, a hand on the bow strapped over his back. Cub had already drawn his sword, the two Vex moving in sync towards the center of Xisuma's base.
There they found a man in a red and gray suit, almost identical to X's getup. He was knelt over something, a light aura of red flickering around his arms and legs. Cub walked forward, holding a sword at the man's back.
"Xisuma is gone," The man in red didn't turn, seemingly sensing the two moderators enter the room. "You won't find him here."
"Who are you?" Cub levelled his sword, glaring at the stranger ahead of him.
"I... don't really know." The man looked up, the red glass of his helmet hiding his eyes well. "I thought I did. But now... I really know nothing."
Scar headed the other direction, hand still on the curved wood of his bow. "If you know Xisuma is gone, do you know where he went?"
The man in red stood, his aura overwhelming. Scar felt another chill down his spine, stomach turning with nausea.
"I can't find him," The man in red conceded, spreading the wings of his elytra out. "But I know someone that can."
A rocket appeared in his hand, and he took off towards the Shopping District. Cub and Scar paused in the empty base, focusing on each other.
"Well Scar," Cub's elytra opened behind him, "Let's get to the bottom of this whole situation."
"Right." Scar flew into the air, following the red-gray blur in his flight path to the shopping district.
~
Stress was sat at the side of the bed in her castle, Iskall's limp left hand clasped in both of hers. Wels was nearby, tending to a fire at the front of the room. The only sound was the crackling of flames, the whistle of wind just outside the stone room.
There was a small knock on the wooden door to the room, quietly polite. "Hey y'all, I heard Iskall was not feelin' so great. Mind if I step in?"
Stress stifled her tears for the moment, nodding to Wels as the knight crossed to the door. He undid the lock, allowing entrance to the southern man on the other side.
In walked Joe Hills, whose light blue shirt and jeans were so plain for the eloquent man. In his right hand was a medical kit; his left shoved into his pocket.
"Howdy," Joe tipped his head at Wels, walking to the bedside to look over Iskall's injuries. "Do we know what happened to Iskall here?"
"I don't know exactly," Stress's voice was shaky, tears threatening to spill again, "but someone dropped him off a spike. He... he crashed next to me, and he wasn't moving..."
"Seems like someone got friendly with a sword," Joe pressed a hand to Iskall's chest, a faint blue aura surrounding the area. "Some broken ribs from the fall, but nothing I cannot fix up."
Stress nearly cried more as the scrapes littering Iskall's body faded. His breathing levelled out, the tension in his face finally fading into nothing. Joe pulled back, face slightly paler than when he had walked into the room.
"Joe..." Wels walked forward, facing off the southerner. "You're an Admin?"
"Nah," Joe shrugged, smiling. "I'm a healer. Had a brother who was a sorcerer, taught me a few tricks. Transfers better than mod or admin abilities do."
The knight nodded in gratitude. "Well... thank you for saving his life. Do you know why he didn't just-"
"Respawn?" Joe shrugged. "He should've, with injuries like his. I think somethin' changed, somethin' bad... somethin' to do with that Grian fellow."
"Grian?" Stress wiped away her tears. "What would he have had to do with this?"
"Y'know, I'm not quite sure. But if ya wanted to listen to me, I would suggest givin' him a visit soon. He might have some answers for ya'. Either him or our Admins, Biffa, Tango, Xisumavoid... they may have answers."
Iskall's hand moved, his face scrunching up. Stress bent over him, numbing any aching he may have had with a cool touch. Wels nodded at Joe, smiling.
"I'll visit Grian then. Stress can stay here with Iskall until he's back on his feet."
"Right." Stress flung herself at Joe, hugging him tightly. "Thank you Joe."
Joe chuckled a bit, hugging Stress back gently. "Of course Stress."
The duo separated, Joe turning to Wels. "I'll head with ya' to Grian. I'm a bit curious myself on what's been happening around here, and intend to find out myself."
Wels slid his elytra on, heading to the balcony. "Let's check his base first. If he's not there, check Mumbo's, then the shopping district. He's bound to be somewhere around those places."
Joe followed Wels's lead, the two of them taking off into the night. Stress waved at them until they were out of sight, turning back to Iskall, who seemed to be waking up.
"Stress?" His voice was lower than normal, more hoarse. The girl turned, grinning as she ran to his bedside once more.
"Iskall!" She ran a hand through his hair, scanning for any signs of lingering pain. "How're you feeling?"
"I..." He pressed a hand to his side, which was immediately covered by Stress, this world's natural ice pack.
"Who did this to you?"
Iskall's face paled, his eyes turned to the ceiling.
"It was-"
~
"I'm... I'm an Admin?"
I watched Tango pace the field in front of me, steam rising from the area around his feet. Grass was dying under his feet as his anxiety grew.
"I don't know how, but you are! You replaced me as an Admin at some point, which should be fucking impossible!"
My wings fluttered anxiously, stretching and unfolding quickly. I tried to keep my breathing level at the sudden information which... somehow wasn't a complete shock?
"So we need to hide you away until you can put those wings away-"
"Guys I think something's wrong!"
I looked to the sky, where Mumbo was coming in for a quick landing. I did my best to press my wings completely against my back, hiding them mostly from view. The moustached man landed between Tango and I, looking to the former.
"Tango, my mod powers are going insane!" He seemed to ignore me for the moment, his normal black blazer missing while his white button-up was stained red. "Everywhere I walk, ores appear. I'm not trying to make it happen, it just is!"
Tango shot me a look over Mumbo's shoulder, panic in his eyes. I said nothing, backing up a few steps from the situation at hand. Unfortunately, Mumbo turned to me at that exact moment, the sun shining directly in my face. I raised my arms up as a shield... exposing the wings on my back.
"Oh..." Mumbo was staring, I closed my eyes to avoid his look. "Oh... oh I see what's going on here..."
"Mumbo-" Tango took a step towards the redstoner, but shrunk back at his glare.
"How long?"
"I don't know-"
"How long have you known, Tango?" Mumbo stepped forward, facing fully away from me once more.
"Ever..." Tango looked down at the ground. "Ever since the Admin Scan. I felt... something hollow, something vanished, and... and I couldn't find it again. I'm just a mod now, with my old flame powers."
"You lied to us," Mumbo's voice shook slightly, his anger evident in the sudden appearance of coal, replacing the dirt around his feet. "You... you kept this from us!"
"I was trying to keep the situation under control!" Tango paced once more, the grass sparking with flames. "We're trapped in his hellhole, with no way out, with someone we don't know, and suddenly I have no power over the Overworld. What the fuck was I supposed to do, Mumbo?"
"Maybe you should have, oh, I dunno, told us the truth?"
I heard the faint sound of fireworks approaching, and turned to see three people in the sky over the shopping district. Mumbo and Tango's fighting went to the back of my thoughts as I tried to identify the incoming group of people.
The mix of red and grey in the front of the group eased a significant amount of my tension. I found myself smiling as the trio landed, moving forward to greet them.
"Not-X!" I unconsciously spread my wings before I could identify the other two. I... had never met these two - a greying man in a lab coat and an indiana-jones-looking teen - but I somehow guessed they were the ConCorp that had threatened me a while back.
Not-X stared at the wings on my back, a sigh leaving him. "Well... this is about as great as I had originally thought."
~
This is probably the second-longest chapter I have ever written. The first was the first full chapter in this book.
Now, I recognize the pain I put a lot of you through with Ren's death. Am I sorry? No. Do I regret my choice? Nope. Am I gonna make it better eventually? ...nope!
Also, to anyone about to scream at me for the cutoff on Iskall's dialogue... I'm not sorry. What? Did you expect me to be sorry?
Never!
Anyways, there is a major hint at something bigger to the lore of this world in the scene with Wels, Joe, Iskall, and Stress. It may seem insignificant, but it will be huuuuuuge coming up in later parts. Don't spoil it, but if you think you've found it send me a smiley face.
One last thing: I put a sneak peek of this in my oneshots book, and I plan to do that more. Please feel free to shoot me some writing prompts over there!
~Parker
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