'Alright, dudes. Here's the plan.'

Ren looked out on the square table where the silent Etho, mutinous Cleo and incredibly nervous Bdubs sat.

'Kill Bdubs?' Cleo suggested. Ren ignored. Bdubs shrunk further into his seat.

'The plan... my fellow Greyskins. And... More alive ally Bdubs...' He added quickly. 'The plan is to get more kills... obviously. We need more people on our team... Pearl would be good, but hard to kill. Scar would be... the obvious choice, but I believe he'll be quick to die anyway and it will not be worth it... Doc, again hard to kill... does anyone else have another idea?'

'We kill Bdubs?'

'Maybe we don't kill Bdubs.' Suggested Bdubs weakly.

'I agree with Cleo, let's just kill Bdubs.' Etho pointed out. Ren slammed his hands on the table.

'Bdubs has the protection of the king and thusly will not be murdered it is thusly decreed!'

'If you weren't dead, you'd be on my list too.' Cleo spat back. Ren restarted his tactic of ignoring her.

'Let's... go after Pearl.' Bdubs insisted. 'It's... better than killing me.'

'I dunno...' Etho shrugged. 'I wouldn't mind killing you.'

'Ren says I'm protected!'

'Bdubs, when have I EVER cared what Ren says?' Cleo retorted.

'HANDS UP FOR SLAYING PEARL!' Ren hollered. Bdubs was quick to raise his hand. No one else did. 'Hands up for slaying someone that isn't Pearl or Bdubs.' No one raised their hands.

'Then it is thusly decreed, fellow Greyskins... we hunt down and kill Pearl.'

Bdubs let out a silent sigh of relief, already grabbing fireworks ready to fly away. Cleo narrowed her eyes, silent.

'How?' Etho asked, quiet. Ren smiled.

'We trap her base, my dude. Everywhere. With no chance of escape... Pufferfish, lava, TNT, fall damage... Everything. Do we all understand? I know we are all aware of how from our experience in the Life Series and expect us to use those abilities thusly.'

The group nodded.

'You are now dismissed.' Before anyone changed their mind, Bdubs sprang to his feet, wings out behind him. 'Also, Etho? A quick word?'

'Uhh... Sure!' Etho sat down again as Bdubs shot out the window, heart racing as he flew away, down towards his base... He was safe. He was still safe... Ren hadn't turned on him yet... He needed something to calm himself... Building... Interior work...

'Boo.'

He screamed, spinning, to see Cleo, laughing before pinning him to the wall behind with a diamond sword. A cold laugh.

'You're dead, Bdubs.' Cleo smiled, her voice never losing its chilling whisper. 'I don't care what Ren says, or what the others are planning, you're dead.'

A small whimper back, as Bdubs's mind scrambled for any kind of brave retort and coming back simply with a mumbled.

'You... You can't kill me with the sword...'

Cleo lowered the weapon, letting it hit the ground next to them, smile only growing.

'I know. I never said I was killing you now.'

And then she flew away.

'Hey Pearl.' Bdubs glided into Pearl's base, after another sleepless night waiting for Cleo to kill him. 'How's everything going?'

She jumped, turning, frowning as she stepped back.

'You... Killed Cleo...' She held out a shield in front of herself, totem tightly gripped in the other hand. 'How do I know you're not doing the same to me?'

'Because I don't need two people against me, ok? Cleo's bad enough! Cleo's TERRIFYING.'

'Yeah... I know.' Pearl laughed. 'Anyway, I know you lot are going after me, because I've now got 20 TNT minecarts I rescued from various traps under my base. So don't come snooping around saying you're 'not gonna kill me', ok?'

'Alright then.' Running low on sleep, sanity and patience. 'Maybe I am here to kill you. Maybe I'm about to pull out my OWN TNT minecarts and blow us both up!'

'You wouldn't dare.'

'I would.'

Chat buzzed. Bdubs glanced down, only seeing the name before disregarding it. Ren.

'Who's messaging you?'

'Scar.' Bdubs lied. 'He wants an alliance.'

'While you're allied with Ren?'

A pause.

'Yeah... He's Scar.'

Pearl gave a laugh.

'You do realise how bad at lying you are. Where's he waiting to kill me?'

'It doesn't matter. I'm going to kill you here.'

Another message. Then another. With a sigh, Bdubs checked.

Renthedog whispered to you: ICEBOAT COURSE

Renthedog whispered to you: NOW

You whispered to Renthedog: I'M KILLING PEARL

'Scar's... Very insistent.' Bdubs gave a fake laugh. Pearl laughed back.

And put down TNT between them.

'Light it then.' She grinned, voice still light, giving a mad 5am laugh. 'Kill us both.'

Bdubs backed away. Fast. But he has to do this. He had to if he didn't want to be the next target, if he wanted to prove himself to Ren...

Pearl threw over a flint and steel. Bdubs caught them, glaring.

'So you want to die?'

'I want to see if you've got what it takes.'

'I already killed Cleo. I shoved her into the pit that killed her. You should be scared of me.'

'Kill me and I'll know. And you dying with me means no more sleepless nights while I hunt you down. And Cleo hunts you down.'

'Fine.' But he didn't want to die.

'In 5.' But the alternative was Cleo killing him.

'4.' But he might survive Cleo.

'3.' But he was working for the Greyskins anyway.'

'2.' But he didn't want to die.'

'1.' But he wanted to kill Pearl.

'BOOM!'

He lit the TNT

And ran.

Explosion.

And a message in chat.

Xisuma blew up

:)