CW: Horror Elements, slight Swearing

Series: Balancer Origins - Balancer Productions

AU: Sheep to the Slaughter

Characters: Box's Avatar, Lava, Box, TimeBalance

Short description: Lava, with Box by his side, meets BoxcarAssassin for the first time. It's something. Angst.

HI SORRY THIS TOOK LIKE. MOUTHS. I GOT INTO ANOTHER FANDOM, ONESHOT BE UPON THY.

An eye twitches, with a hand carefully tracing down the bottom of an eyelid as the water beneath reflects an abandoned body. The arm moves, the consciousness within it moving it to rest on its lap, as it sat and watched the stillness of the water.

It moves, sure, but it's just moving textures sliding on the non-solid block. Never made it less then what it is, yet something it noticed it nonetheless.

Of course it has. Would it truly be apart of the world if it didn't even know its world's own workings?

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There's not a lot of mobs here. Maybe it's a side effect of this world, maybe it isn't, but it's something different then what it has been used to. Is it uncomfortable by it? Oddly enough, no. It is, however, uncomfortable about its lack of a Player.

It's not ashamed to admit that it misses its Player severely. Glimpses of different worlds from different bodies mocking the one trapped without a way out, where its Player is still able to interact with their worlds as much as he wishes.

But those bodies are not it. They don't have a conscious, the ability to adapt and change according to the Player's wants. Only their bodies change, and nothing more.

It misses being able to learn about the worlds alongside its Player. Watching as he and it find new ores and mobs, as he searches for ways to use them. And when he finds all there is, a new world is created. Or stay there, and enjoy it all ‘till it becomes stale’.

It thinks it knows what that means now.

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The head rises to turn, looking around the trees towering over the forest floor. The lake has nothing but sand and cobblestone, with mirage of fishes swimming through the nonexistent waves. Why the world is so bland is beyond it, it wasn't made by a Player, it's sure of that.

The eyes blinked as in the corner of its eyes, something familiar enter its view. Something that should've never been able to access this world, just like its Player has.

A Username, floating idly without a care in the world. Not even trying to hide from the beasts this world contains.

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Slowly, it rises its body up, crouching as soon as it stood. The floating text above it disappears the moment it did. A feature meant to be noticed, hiden for safety.

It thinks it didn't crouch fast enough, as the Username it saw disappers close to immediately. That's fine, it was nearby anyways. It's... oddly close to its grave, too.

That doesn't bode well. It thinks that's what its Player would've said to this.

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Soft, slow footsteps echoes through the trees as it approached where it last saw the Username. Dragging itself back towards its grave to see who decided to pay a visit to it other then its murderer. Or maybe just approaching the grave, it wouldn't know.

It caught a glimpse of something moving, and so it peeks from behind one of the many trees within these woods. And oh, there they are.

The Player it's looking for. They look... familiar.

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"What the hell."

Oh, they're very familiar. This Player is a friend of its Player. They play together often. Oh!

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: la v a ?

Using the Chat is unfamiliar to it. Despite knowing its workings, it never needed to use it. It hopes it said it in a private chat instead of public, it didn't want anyone to hear them.

"What the hell."

Ah. It guess its appearance is... startling. It hid behind the tree a bit more, noticing that Lava's Avatar seems to have moved closer.

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: qui e t, pl e ase

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: t he y'l l  hea r.

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The Player, Lava, pauses. It could faintly hear his voice moving away from the microphone, along with... another one? This one sounds very familiar. It knows this voice. It knows.

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: b ox ?

Their voices cease, and it moves closer.

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: pla y e r?

The Player's Avatar snaps its head up for a moment, before moving it to look at it. Its eyes two different shades of blue. It's him. It's his Player, he's here. He's here.

"How do you know me?"

Oh, how it misses him dearly.

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: yo u  p la y , w ith  m e  as  y ou r  v e ss el
BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: w e  l ea rn t, s o  m u ch  to geth er

It opens its mouth, the smallest sample of a music disc plays. Its Player's favourite music disc. A step closer, and Lava's Avatar raises its hand out for it.

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: ho w, ar e  yo u?
BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: i m, sorr y, if i  sc a re  you

The other Avatar's head snaps down this time, and when it raises its head back up, its eyes are back to normal. Retracting his hand back to himself. His look is stern, yet it couldn't find itself to take it too seriously. Hello, Lava.

Not even a moment later, a ghost of itself appears from behind him. Code running through his eyes. He looks at it with wide eyes, his mouth slightly open. It looks back. Hello there, too, Player.

It didn't realize for a moment, but it feels itself smile without a mouth to smile with. What an odd feeling.

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"I, well..." The ghost starts, struggling. It doesn't blame him, not after everything.

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: doe s  it  sti ll  hu rt?

He flinches, and it backs away, crouching.

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: i  tri e d  to  mak e  it  hur t, l ess
BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: di d  it, wor k?

"Oh— uh." A look of suprise crosses his face, it reminds it of when he finds modded items in the strangest of places. Giving Lava a glance before continuing. "It, well... still does, sometimes. It's not as bad, but... y'know."

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: i do
BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: im sorry

"Okay, you need to stop apologising." This time, Lava speaks. "And tell us what you actually are. No offence, but you're being really cryptic."

It is? Has it not been telling enough?

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: i... am?
BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: im not used to, wor ds

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Before another word could be uttered, the dead Avatar freezes. Footsteps. Familiar footsteps. It stays couching, moving back farther back behind a tree. No, nonono.

"What? What's wrong? Why are you—?"

BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: they re  here
BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: please  dont  tell them im  her e
BoxcarAssassin → ItzLava_: nonono

It ran.

It ran as fast as it could.

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TimeBalance: what are you doing out here? didn't Balance tell you to stay in the village?

"I just— wanted to explore, chill."

TimeBalance: tell us where you're going next time. come with me

"Can't I stay out here a little longer?"

TimeBalance: no.

"... Alright, fine."

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(1205 words!! yippee!!!)