Pix set down the shulker box of froglights with a mildly confused glance around the area. Didn't Shelby say he was going to meet me here? He cleared his throat. "Shelby? You here?" The brunette called, mildly alarmed and unsettled by the absence of the odd witch who wore an incredibly large hat.

Pix picked up the shulker box again, wandering over to the building where Shelby could often be found and peeking inside. "Uhhhh... Shelby?" He tried, frowning.

He jumped slightly as someone tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around to see Shelby, although something about her was... different.

Maybe it was that her hat was pulled forward to cover most of her face, or the fact that she looked incredibly pale.

"Oh, hey Pix. Keep it down, would you? You're being loud." Shelby said blankly, her voice completely void of emotion.

Pix lowered his voice slightly. "Uh- sorry. Are you... okay? You seem a little off."

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" The witch asked quietly, messing with something near her bag.

"Uh- no- reason? I was just- I brought the... froglights you wanted." Pix said quietly, wincing.

"Oh. Okay." Shelby fixed her hat for the first time during the conversation, and Pix couldn't hold back a mildly startled sound.

Her eyes were black, and she had thin, vein-like dark blue markings spreading from them (that reminded Pix all too much of when Cub had been infected by the... sculk... thing. He didn't know what to call it). They were also glowing slightly, he noticed. The witch also had a glowing vine curled around her ear that had similar colouring to a sculk catalyst.

Pix frowned slightly as the woman gritted her teeth, and when the brunette spoke her words came out in an almost irritated hiss. "I told you to be quiet."

"I'm not going to- what happened?! Did you..." The man glanced uneasily at the fog surrounding Shelby's empire. "Do you not remember what happened with Cub?"

Shelby shrugged. "Oh, I remember. I just had a really flawed point of view back then. Didn't really pay attention to what Cub was saying." I do- not like where this is going-

"Okay, well on an unrelated note, can I have those potions you were going to trade with me?" Pix said with a slightly forced smile.

Shelby smiled back, although it was a much icier smile. "Sure, but I know what you're thinking, and it won't help. We- I'm smarter than Cub. I've come up with a way to prevent potions from... swaying my point of view." She gestured to a gray shulker box discarded nearby. "There it is." The brunette turned and walked into the building they were stood by without another word, leaving Pix standing outside, alone, confused and very concerned.

——

Pix smiled awkwardly as Oli ran up to him, mildly alarmed by the fact that the blonde was gasping for breath. "Uh... you okay?" He added, frowning slightly.

"NO! I just went to see Shelby, and she- and there was- and then- sculk stuff everywhere- she's CRAZY!" Oli finished in a rush, looking as if he was about to pass out as he leant against Pix. "I had to run as fast as I could just to get far enough away to activate my elytra! She's like Cub but ten times worse!"

Pix shot Oli a concerned look. "Are you okay?" He asked hastily, his voice dripping with concern.

"I'm fine, I just- eurgh. It was weird. There was sculk everywhere! EVERYWHERE, PIX!" Oli added dramatically as he stood in front of the brunette, grabbing Pix by the shoulders and shaking him violently. "We need to stop her!"

"Well- maybe if- you'd- stop shaking- me- we could do- that-" Oli let go of Pix with a slightly sheepish smile as the man shot him a skeptical look.

"Sorryyyy. But like- you get my point." Oli said with a huff.

"I do. Maybe we can talk to Sausage? He talks to Shelby a lot. Maybe he knows what's going on?" Pix suggested, smiling as the blonde brightened.

"That is a fantastic idea!" Oli said, grinning. "Come on, lets go!" He added brightly.

"Right... now? There was kind of something I wanted to- okay, yeah, sure." Pix cut himself off, smiling awkwardly. "Let's go."

——

When the two landed in Sanctuary, they were greeted by a startled shriek.

"WHY IS THIS STUFF BACK AGAIN?!" Well that definitely sounds like Sausage. Oli and Pix walked towards the shouting for a few minutes before discovering Sausage desperately trying to dig up some sculk veins with a shovel.

"Oh- hey king." Oli said with an odd laugh. "You... okay?"

"Nope. This stupid sculk stuff is back." The brunette complained. "I thought once Cub left it would just be gone." He added with a huff.

"I'm pretty sure there are better tools to clean it up with than a shovel." Pix commented. "Also, we... think we know what's causing it? That's why we're here, actually." The man added as Sausage glanced between both of them with a slight frown.

"Yeah, I went to go see Shelby before, and she's all sculky and stuff. Not nice." Oli said, pulling a face. "I barely made it out of there." The blonde added dramatically.

"Oh, that is- not good. Didn't you use potions and stuff to cure Cub?" Sausage added to Pix.

"Well... yes, but according to Shelby, she's figured out a way to stop the effects of potions." Pix said with a shrug, and Oli turned to stare at him.

"How do you know that?" The blonde demanded, somewhat curious.

"I saw her the other day, but... I don't know, I just... didn't say anything? Not sure why." Pix said with a shrug.

"Well, that seems somewhat important, but moving on- we came to talk to you because you talk to Shelby quite a bit, so- we thought you could help? Maybe?"

Sausage shot him a somewhat skeptical look. "How would I be able to help?"

Oli exchanged a look with Pix before talking. "That is- a good question."

I did not expect so many people to read this-

Anyway, sculk and stuff is here now