nothing-built

[nothing-built]

(Ported it to google docs to maybe post an ao3 port of this later [once ep 1 is done] and holy moly)

[nothing-built]

"Alright, alright, let's jump!" You decide against using your sword against the horde of mobs. You're pinned at both sides, and while there's one person for each side, it's just not worth it. You brace as you hop off, hearing the hiss of a creeper about to blow behind you. There's the sound of the bridge breaking as it does. So much for that way, but you lost that the moment you jumped.

Bats flutter by you and you can hear a torrent of mobs hit the water after you. It takes you a moment to realize both of you are screaming. The cold water rushing around your form once you hit and you nearly inhale a bucket's worth out of shock. For a moment, you flail, before your consciousness kicks back in and you start to swim. It seems Petra didn't give you the benefit of the doubt as you notice her swim over.

"You know you're supposed to swim, not fight the water, right?" She comments with a glare as you sputter, snorting water out of your nose. "Come on, I know a way back." As you follow her lead to shore, you hack and sputter.

The way back isn't very long, persay, but it definitely felt longer with how cold you are. You're grateful you live in a forest biome, that would have been a death sentence in a snowy biome. You hear Petra fiddling with something before an inactive, soft block hits you in the shoulder.

"Wha--?" You pick it up, noticing how the block squishes strangely.

"It's a sponge, sucks up water, the works. Unless you have spare clothes or would rather head into Endercon sopping wet."

You press it to one shoulder and suddenly you're no longer damp. You're about to use it on Reuben when he shakes off all the water. "That's freaky." You say as you pass it back to her.

"It's pretty effective." She says, tossing it up and down. "Still not wet. Good. I'd hate to have to smelt it today."

"Because--?"

"Did you not pick up what I was putting down? You're coming with me." She presses you forward and you can see the threshold of town before you. Once you enter, she hushes down a little, a few people passing you two. It's hard to strain your ears to hear her with the music playing. "Just let me do the talking."

"Why do you want me to come along?" You whisper back.

"Wouldn't hurt to have backup, y'know." She slugs you gently. "Try to look intimidating, okay?"

"Like this?" You do your best impression of someone that'd make even Gabriel shudder.

"So, about that warrior's spirit..." Petra looks like she's regretting being in your presence. You deflate a little.

"Jesse!" Axel's voice drags you from your embarrassed show.

"And Petra...?" Olivia looks almost like Petra just hopped out of the shadows. Your eyes glance to the building behind her. Your build.

"Haha yep, We all know Petra and how super super close we are!" You say and Petra looks like she wishes that mob horde had killed her. "Ugh. Fine, she saved me while I was looking for Reuben." Reuben hops over your feet and runs a full circle around your friends' legs. Olivia scritches him behind the ear and he leans into her hand.

"You couldn't save the costume?" Axel sounds like his heart's been torn out. You awkwardly flick some hair back.

"Yeah, it was pretty... singed." It's a half lie. Not like you'd remember where it is now anyway.

"Sorry we didn't come with." Axel gestures a little awkwardly.

"Oh come on, I handled myself out there. Give me some credit." You smirk. Petra clears her throat. "What? You said I fought valiantly."

"There's a fine line between brave and suicidal. Just because you got lucky tiptoeing it..."

"Whatever." You fire back.

"I should have let the mobs eat you." Petra nearly tackles you to the ground and you laugh so hard it hurts.

"Oh, break it up you two! I wanna savor my first win!" Olivia pleads. You wiggle out of Petra's grasp and look up at your build. A few plucky cosplayers sit at one of the dragon's thin feet, discussing the origin and effort of their costumes. You can hear Olivia poke Axel and ask why he didn't end up joining in.

The fireworks seem to have finally run out and your build appears to be more akin to a hangout now. As you peer back at the cosplayers, you wonder why they seem they're missing someone. That's weird. The Order only has four members. Right?

"I still can't believe we won." You say.

"I really wish I could have gotten that part in the back to look better." Olivia admits. Maybe you shouldn't focus on that. You stand before it, peering up at the grand dragon. It seems Reuben still wishes he could be flairing his own set of wings at it.

You feel Petra tap you on the shoulder. "Can I steal you for a minute?"

"Oh, right." You stammer.

"Wow, subtle." Olivia comments as Reuben jumps at her heels. It seems he'll be heading off with them. Probably for the best.

"Ah... Well! Nothing to see here." You back away and you can feel Petra die inside again.

"...As a punch to the face." Olivia scrunches up her face. "Axel and I were gonna head into Endercon anyway. See you in there?"

"Dibs on the free cake by the map booth!"

"That stuff tastes terrible, Axel!"

"Really? I like how they make it."

"They bake it... It takes forever and it doesn't even---" You can't make out the last of Olivia's words as they head off. Damn. You kind of wanted to hear the cake gossip.

"Focus, Jesse. We're supposed to meet in there." Petra points to an alley that's barely bright enough to ward off mobs.

"In the dark alley?"

"You think a trade like this will happen in the light?" Petra scoffs before heading into the alley. You follow her, head on a swivel. This doesn't seem right. She looks around, utterly bewildered. "He said this alley. This time... That's weird."

Eyes peering around, you spy a chest. You step to it and Petra grabs you on the arm. "What? I'm just trying to get a look at it."

"That's stealing."

"I wasn't gonna open it!" You bark back. "I was gonna say that he's probably meeting us here." Petra releases your arm and looks at the chest. She tilts her head.

"Why would he do that?"

"Either a test of good will or he's an idiot." You respond. "Do you really want to give a guy who'd dump diamonds into a chest a Wither skull?"

"Ahem." A voice rouses you from your monologue and you nearly hop onto Petra's shoulders. She presses you back and her face drops into a grimace.

"Ivor. Hey." She steps forward. You eye up the stranger. His eyes carry something heavy, almost like he's calculating every move. His eyes pass from Petra to you.

"You said this was between us. Not some scared little fresh spawn you snatched out of the woods." He turns his head up and you feel offense twist inside you. Is he really doing the whole 'not even worth my sight' gesture on you? You meet his gaze. He tries to turn to Petra. You keep staring at him.

"He's here to make sure you keep your end of the bargain. Isn't that right, Jesse?" She pats you on the shoulder and you harden your gaze.

"Keep your eyes off, I'm not armed." Ivor retorts, gaze falling onto you. There you go.

"What do you need the skull for, Ivor?" You keep your eyes locked on him.

"Can't a man have a hobby?" He steps to you, raising his head above you. You flick your gaze off him for a moment. "I collect things. That's all." He looks back to Petra. "You have the skull, correct?"

She pulls it out and hands it to him. He examines it as if it'll grow legs and jump out of his hands.

"I already know you saw the chest." He looks over the skull, gaze locked onto you for a moment before peering back to the skull in his hands. "Go on now, you've earned it." You're about to look back at him before Petra pulls you back to the chest.

Well, he's been willing to be vulnerable, a chest out here and all. You let Petra open it. It's her spoils, after all. You peer down into the chest and nearly jolt back.

"Lapis? Lapis? Are you trying to---!" She turns and he's gone. It's like he was never there at all. You charge out of the alley and realize with horror that he's gotten the jump on you. You hear Petra hiss in some air through her teeth. "Oh he's deadder than the damn skeleton I plucked that skull from."

You try and figure out what the hell to do next. What could he want with a Wither skull? Come on, dammit, think for a moment!

"Wait..." You gasp and nearly stumble back. "Nobody collects Wither skulls."

"What?" Petra looks at you like you've uttered something ludicrous. She looks like she's about to shake a thought back into your head.

"It's suicidal. Any self respecting trophy collector is told to stay away from them! You... Anyone could break in with enough soul sand to make a Wither!" You look to Petra. "You should know this, you got the Star!"

"That was a trade with---oh dammit!" She curses and nearly slams a fist into the nearby wall. "Of course a sleazeball willing to summon a Wither would do that."

"We're going to stop him." You retort.

"And how are you planning on doing that, genius?"

Combing Endercon for him might be ridiculous... But someone might have seen him. He might have gone somewhere you can't quite fathom. Who knows if he's really going to stick around for Endercon? But with Gabriel here... Withers are often used for sabotage. That's why they require a ton of permission to even get clearance to start making one.

[nothing-built]

"Stay here, save the build. I'm going after him!" You take one glance back as you jump off the build. In your periphery you can see them jump down as well, bracing around the lava flow.

"We've got it covered, Jesse! Be careful!" Olivia yells as you charge into the woods like your legs are on fire. "Just follow the lights back, we'll be there!"

As you leave behind the civilized world, you realize then and there that the sun's rays have been dying for longer than you've thought. You strain your ears, not only for Reuben's oinks but for the telltale noises of shuffling feet.

This was a terrible idea. Going out at the beginning of twilight was suicide alone, especially with just a wooden sword. Very rarely did monsters go after other animals.

Your mind flicks back to the fire as you shuffle. Out here, still on fire or not, he's an easy target. Assuming he's survived the damage from his burning costume.

The moon's out, full and barely paler than the darkening sky. It's not dark enough yet. You can afford to be noisy.

"Reuben?" You call out. "Are you out here, buddy?"

There's oinking in the distance. A small drove is out there, at least. At least Reuben is distinct, a big spot on one side and all. You take one last glance at the sky and press through a small dip in the hills.

Hoofprints. There's hoofprints. But they're too many and too big. You do a double take, running your eyes along them. Still too big. Still too many. Reuben may have gotten too big too fast but he's not an adult yet.

Regardless, you follow the too big hoofprints, just in case his have been trampled over. In the worst, would you not crawl too for companionship?

But as you step into the drove, a few pigs scurrying together for protection while others eye you up, you don't find him there. You know him. He'd be running between your legs by now.

And then the smell of smoke hits you.

Your legs burn, your throat aches, it's like every part of you is on fire. Please no, please no. Don't do this to me right now. Was this the cost of winning? Throw it away for anything---

You see the smoldering costume. It looks limp and empty. Was it long enough for him to crumple into dust.

"Please," you wheeze, your fingers clutching one warm wing, "don't be toasted Reuben."

There's nothing under there. No side of death or struggle. More like he just shoved it off. Your gaze flicks and you find hoofprints. Big but not... Too big.

"Sorry, Axel." You wheeze on the smoke and grab the warmest part, trying to fan it into a renewed flame. Instead, what remains dies soon enough. Just your luck. It clatters out of your hand and you debate scooping it up just as a keepsake. As if somehow anyone would want to see it again.

You can't think about this right now. You're losing what little light you have.

There's rustling. Every part of you tenses. Has the darkness crept in already? You're still and silent and realize whatever's in there is too small to be a threat. Besides, if it was hostile, it'd have gotten to you already.

You should probably pull out your sword soon. You consider this as you approach the tall grass, hearing whatever is inside panic a little and back against a block.

"Reuben?" You call to him before you even see his head. He stops shuddering and pulls out from the grass. He seems uninjured but you look him over just in case. "You gave me quite the scare buddy." You kneel down as rub the top of his head and he leans in close.

"Okay, I definitely owe you one for that. Hopefully Endercon is also including pig snacks in the prizes." You look back for the trail of smoke from the dragon costume, hoping it'll work as a beacon of some kind. Nope. Seemed to have stopped smoldering. That's... Good, sure, but not when you're feeling like every direction is alien.

"Follow the lights..." You murmur as footsteps echo around you. Reuben tenses in turn and you catch the faintest movement of green. Your voice rises to a shriek. "Run!"

You're not going to fight them all off with a wooden sword. Anyone knows that. If you keep running, they can't catch you. They won't. You can't stop until you see the lights.

They echo across every corner, every direction. No lights, no lights, just the woods, the trees, the hills, more grass and some grass that moves and red eyes and and--

Keep running.

An arrow wooshes by your head, barely missing it. You charge again, Reuben at your heels. There's another wizz in the air and this one hits you in the shoulder, taking you to the ground out of the shock of sheer pain.

You'll give them one thing, you think as you pull out your sword, they're good at working together. Zombies on the ground, slowly shuffling over, skeletons at the front and back, and who knows how many spiders clutching onto the treetops.

It seems they hesitate, trying to figure out who goes first. You manage to slash one excited zombie's arm, rotten blood pouring out like a flood. You curl your shoulder away, you're not fresh enough to try and pull out that arrow this far away from help. It stumbles back and you rise up and stab it straight through the chest. It crumples into dust around your sword, rotten flesh hitting the ground with a loud thump.

That awakens the mob and the skeletons rush in. There's a flurry of arrows and you can barely dodge out of the way. You can hear them clatter their jaws in a strange mock frustration. You do not want to wonder how conscious they are.

A spider takes the open opportunity, fangs piercing into your wounded arm. It tries to drag you, its weird feet pawing at you. It's so hairy. You swipe at one of its eyes, slashing it harshly enough for it to let go, a greenish blue fluid weeping out. It tries to cling onto you and you slash again, nearly taking its head apart.

There's a crack and your sword decides this is the end for it. You're downed on the ground, arm bleeding, vision blurring. You don't know if it's blood loss or fear. You coil close to Reuben, a selfish impulse of some kind.

The spider takes the opportunity with malice glee, even as you desperately trade blows with it. You manage to break one of its fangs off and it shrieks, slamming one awful furry limb into your face. You can feel the bruise already, assuming you live for it to hurt in the daylight.

Something pulls the spider back and slams it to the ground with a force you haven't seen before. You heard something crunch and the rapid swooshes of a pickaxe through the open air. Then there's a strong hand on you, pulling you away, greenish blue blood in your periphery. You can hear the mob balk altogether, taking a moment to hesitate.

"Do your legs still work?!" Petra yells but it seems more out of concern. You can barely see her face. "Dammit." Her eyes land on the wounds on your arm. She pulls you like dead weight and Reuben desperately follows.

If your vision wasn't a haze before, her speed would be enough to turn it into one. You can barely register the lights of the torches and the sudden cold draft of the cavern before your shoulder screams. Then there's the feeling of wounds being stitched closed by something wet and warm.

"You should be glad I didn't get Wither today." You hear her comment as your vision finally ebbs back to normal. Reuben sniffs around you rapidly, like you're going to disappear.

"I didn't take you for an alchemist." You admit.

"No, this cost me a pretty blaze rod." Petra pushes you up into a sitting position, eyes flickering back to the outside. "Can you walk now?"

"I'm too busy figuring out how the hell I'm still alive." You look at your limbs like they're going to vanish into the void.

"I wanted to show you something. That's how."

"And why me?" You shamble onto your feet oddly. "Don't you like palling around with Lukas?"

"The Ocelots can't keep their mouths shut. And before you ask, your friends also weren't an option."

"What? You were afraid Axel would blabber?" You laugh as she stares at you. "Oh. You know what... That's probably true."

"And Olivia would freak out if I showed her this." Petra comments before she flashes a strange sort of smile. "I'm kind of not regretting it. You did pretty good for someone with a sword worth less than gravel."

"I was flailing like an Enderman in a boat." You fire back.

"A lot of people would have gone down without a fight." Petra nods and Reuben paces around you.

"I had my reasons." You look down.

"It's not stupid to want to stay alive." Petra passes you. "Now come here before the mobs decide torches aren't scary."

You follow her, Reuben trotting anxiously at your heels. He occasionally glances back as if you're being followed. Where the cave should be darker, you notice it grows brighter, almost like daylight.

"Do you live here...?" You ask, noticing the bed tucked in one corner.

"Noooo... We're breaking and entering into someone's terribly closed off cave home!" She rolls her eyes before gesturing you in close. She takes one last peek around. "How much do you know about the Nether?"

"Politically or in general?"

"Why do you think I would be asking about politics right now?" Petra seems genuinely flabbergasted at that.

"Full of fire? Like nighttime mobs but way worse?"

"Close enough." She flicks something into her hands and you notice the outline of a skull. It's awfully dark.

"Is that a Wither skull?"

"Yeah, fresh off the skeleton's neck. You're the first person to have the pleasure to see it."

"Will I be the last?"

"If things go right, hopefully not."

"Why did you decide to get that?" You reach out one hand to touch it. It still feels warm. A strangled noise escapes you as you pull your hand away. Petra pockets it.

"They go for quite a few diamonds. Makes a very good display piece." Petra turns to head deeper into the cave. You follow her.

"How many?"

"Take an armor set's worth and multiply that by four."

"Four?" You echo and Reuben squeals in shock at the amount.

"Yep. I had to haggle a bit with this guy who's meeting me today. Hopefully he pulls through at Endercon today."

"I honestly thought you'd... Already have diamonds by now."

"Nah, I'm not much of a miner. Besides, people like someone who'll do the dirty work for them."

"But if he's got enough diamonds for it, then doesn't that mean he could just get it."

"Not the kind of guy who has the time for it. Kind of my inverse, you know?" Petra laughs a little at that.

"You did that all in one day?"

"And saved you from the jaws of doom, too."

"Damn. You're one hell of person, you know."

"Oh believe me, I already know." You step to her side and she stops and looks at you. "You know, you could come with me. If you had some better tools you could have taken them."

"You know me, I'm more of a builder." You stop as well, meeting her eyes.

"Really? I saw what I saw, Jesse. You have a fighting spirit in there." She seems genuine about it, her voice soft for a moment. "You'd make a hell of an ally."

You're not sure what to say to that. Your eyes peer around and you notice the crafting table and chest. A strange chuckle escapes you. "Why do you keep your stuff so far from your bed?"

"Who wants to fall onto their chest in the middle of the night?" She retorts.

"Not that close!"

"Sureeee." Petra rolls her eyes with a wry smile. She steps over, shuffles through the chest, and hands you some things. You run your eyes over the stick first before noticing the two shiny gray ingots.

"Iron?"

"Yeah. Stone breaks pretty fast too. Why would I leave you high and dry like that? Besides, I'm about to come into some diamonds." She says and you take that opportunity to start crafting. She really let you do that? Honest and true?

"I think you have a little too much faith in me." You say, holding out the sword. The way it shimmers is like nothing you've seen before. An iron sword. A whole milestone given to you. She steps towards the exit, seeming to expect you to want to soak in the moment alone. You swing it through the air a few times, hearing how it swings. Reuben rolls his eyes a few times.

You step to her side and she leaves. Outside is a sprawling bridge. She lives within range of Endercon? Makes sense. There's a lot of people to trade with nearby.

"Check it out, Endercon's all lit up." You can see the lights dance in her dark eyes. As you look over, you notice the fireworks. A gasp crawls out of you.

"We did it... We won." You can't believe it. An actual win. You won. All of you. Was it the dragon? The fireworks? Something else?

"Good for you, Jesse." Petra smiles at you.

"It's about time, Lukas and his gang of jerks have been giving us so much trouble. Might as well give him trouble for once." You're about to say something worse before Petra interrupts you. So much for having one moment of being a meanie.

"Lukas might be a bit arrogant but he has come through for me, even in tricky situations. It wouldn't hurt to get to know him." Her voice is soft again. It's hard to imagine this is the same person who eviscerated a spider a few minutes ago. "If anyone's more of a builder than a warrior, it's him."

Not you. You think of the word left unsaid. You consider the way he dragged Aiden off, as if he was a rowdy wolf chasing after a sheep. What was his deal, exactly? He didn't exchange insults with you.

"I'll be a gracious winner. That's all I'm promising." There's still some fire there. Maybe she's right. Maybe you are a bit more of a warrior.

"Little steps, I guess. Endercon didn't start in a day."

"C'mon, I don't wanna miss what's left." You start walking and she follows behind you.

"Speaking of, remember what Endercon was like before it was cool?" Petra speaks up as you step towards the middle. You remember the days of it being a smaller convention. It was your personality for a few hazy months as a fresh spawn.

"Remember what we were like before we were cool?" You beam.

"Don't get cocky."

"Oh you wound my warrior's spirit, Petra. You really do." You scrunch your eyes closed as you laugh. Petra holds out one arm to stop you.

A few mobs spill out from the treeline. Creepers coiling together. They step onto the bridge and you look back. Spiders and zombies descending from above the cavern. Your eyes drift belong the bridge, to the waters below shimmering in the moonlight.

"This... Doesn't look good." Petra admits as she takes up the position at your back. She did say you could fight them off with a sword. But a fight you can avoid is a fight won regardless. The water will cushion your fall. Who wants to wander into Endercon bloodied? "And there's only one way off this bridge..." She says as if you haven't seen that.

"Whatever we do, we do together!" Petra speaks up and you eye up the mobs.

[nothing-built]

"We're the Dead Enders." You flare your arms akin to a dragon's wings. Reuben follows your initiative and it takes so much effort to keep him from charging up onto the booth and flaring his wings as well.

"Sounds like a name for pirates."

"No, like Endermen, Enderdragons." You hiss at Axel under your breath.

"It's cool." Olivia beams at your side.

"Okay, Dead Enders, you guys are in Booth 5." The attendant says with a gesture that points in the vague direction of the booth.

Axel heads through the gate and almost trips on his own feet in an excited haze. Reuben rushes over the gate right as Axel stands up straight, but not before the Ocelots laugh again. That's enough to turn your excited march to Booth 5 into a strange sort of combined agonizing shuffle.

As you mull over each and every detail in your head, each stack of wool--

"Is that---a freakin' beacon? They have a freakin' beacon!?" Axel is adjusting himself like he's seen a whole new star in the sky.

"That's stained glass. They're not just building a beacon." Olivia inches closer, gesturing for you to follow her lead. "They're building a rainbow beacon!"

How in the hell are you supposed to compete with a beacon of all things? On sheer impressive scale alone you're not winning that fight. A beacon needs a Nether star for crying out loud! And it's not like you're going to be ending up with anything of that caliber anytime soon.

"We're gonna lose." Olivia whines softly and you agree with her for a moment.

"No, we have... A theme." You desperately scrounge up any excuse to not wallow in a miserable future. Olivia just looks at you like you've grown another head.

"We should probably stop staring at them." Olivia attempts to pull her eyes away right as Gill slugs Aiden with his elbow.

"Look who's back! The Order of the Losers!"

"Good one, Gill!" Maya is practically high fiving him as she speaks, a giggle trailing at the end of her voice.

"Hey." You hear someone say from behind them but you can't make out who it is.

"There'll be enough time stare at it when it wins at Endercon." Aiden steps toward you, soaking in the gloat like it's sunlight."

"You're more obnoxious than usual." Axel comments from behind you.

"Hmmm, well, maybe not all of you." Aiden kneels down to Reuben's level.

"Hey!" The voice echoes again.

"Endercon doesn't allow outside food, you know."

Reuben squeals as you step forward, face on fire. "Shut up."

"What's that?" He's in your face now, doing his best to tower over you. Every muscle in your body tenses, teeth gritted together like iron bars.

Olivia makes direct eye contact with him, if she were to be holding a weapon he probably would have thought she was going to kill him with it. He pulls back as she speaks. "Jesse said shut up. Do you need to hear it again?"

"Maybe I do."

"Stop wasting your time, Aiden!" Lukas is on him suddenly, grabbing him by the sleeve. "We've got work to do."

"You're lucky I'm busy." Aiden says as Lukas looks about ready to drag him away. He squirms out of his grip, nearly swatting at him as he does so.

Someone snakes behind you, pickaxe draped over their shoulder. "Hey Jesse." Petra turns to you and then pays a glance to the Ocelots, who are now too busy looking her way to give Lukas a verbal lashing. "Guys."

"Hey, Petra." Seeing her is like catching sight of a wild pink sheep. Or maybe like catching a phantom through the trees for a brief moment as it hunts someone else down.

"How's the build going?" Her eyes are back on your group.

"Only time will tell, but we're optimistic." Axel says and Olivia seems to want to nod along to that.

"Hey, Petra," Lukas diverges from the Ocelots, "I forgot to thank you for that Nether star."

"Hey Lukas, not a problem."

"You helped these tools?" Axel takes the words right out of your mouth.

"For the right price, I'll help anyone." She somehow finds a way to shrug with a pickaxe over her shoulder. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." She starts to head off.

"None of us know where to find you." Olivia utters, a little bewildered, as Petra slinks through the treeline.

"Exactly." She says before she is gone. Mmm... A phantom would have been much nicer about their exit.

"Hey, if you're cool with Petra, you're cool with us. No hard feelings, guys." Lukas says and he passes a glance behind him. "So how about we forget about all this and y'know... Go back to it being about how cool our builds are?" His eyes are mainly on his group as he speaks.

Weird... You can't make heads or tails of him.

"Sure. May the best team win and all." You hiss at him. He smiles strangely, it doesn't meet his eyes fully.

"Alright, alright. Well, we'll see how that goes, then."

"Would it hurt to put your wolves on a leash too?" Your eyes fall onto Aiden and he recoils, nose crinkling as you say that. Lukas shoots him a look.

"Haha, you're... A funny guy, Jesse." His words come out strangely, as if he suddenly wants to be somewhere else. Maybe if Axel is right about those Old Builders...

"People of the Overworld!" Interrupts the announcer before either of you can give the other another verbal blow. "Welcome to the Endercon building competition!" As you turn, you realize it's the woman from the booth, now standing up on stone blocks like it's a grand stage.

"Now this is a very special Endercon," She raises her voice above the crowd that has begun to clap and cheer. Seems you weren't the only ones to see the posters. "not only will the winners have their build displayed at Endercon, but they will also have the honor of meeting Gabriel the Warrior!"

The crowd roars and for a moment there's a kinship between you all. The echoing of building plans and the strange thought of 'hey, wait, do I need to tear it down when they move it?'

You realize then that you and your group are cheering as well when the Ocelots' dumb rituals echo across your hearing. Ugh. A handshake and everything?!

"Handshake? They have a handshake? We don't have a handshake!" Olivia suddenly drags you out of it and you stammer something.

"Then we'll just... Make... One?" As soon as the words leave you, Axel and Olivia are holding up their hands. Oh dear. You're stuck in this, aren't you? "We'll call it the uh....?" Griefer Grab? No, the announcer lady just told you not to grief, Redstone Rap?? Maybe?? Warrior Whip?? Are you going to fight the build?

"Builder... Bump...?" You press your fist between them and everyone awkwardly stretches out their fists to meet you. If Reuben could, he'd stuff a hoof in his face.

If you could, you'd make yourself forget that instantly.

"Aaaand now I'm nervous again."

"We just suck at... Handshakes, alright?" You hold out your hand. "But last time I checked, the Dead Enders were damn good builders." You all put your hands together, grinning, even as Reuben joins in.

"Building starts... Now!" The announcer's voice echoes as you all enter position. With one last pat to Reuben's head for good luck, you and your friends build that fireworks machine so fast it feels like a haze.

"Oh noooooo, a fireworks dispenser! I'm so scared!" Aiden mocks as you place the last block, standing on your handiwork.

"Stay in your lane, Aiden." You jab back, hands pressing against each wool block in your inventory. You hop down, Olivia and Axel following suite. You pass the wool between them, whispering which wing and limb they'll each take.

"Phase too, go!" You say as you build at a speed you never have before. You hope you've calculated this right. As it comes into form, you realize, with the familiar pit of anticipation in your stomach, that this is it. You're not going to be able to top this Enderdragon.

At least you were here, you think as you peer out on the top of its massive snout. You peer at each build, the height being the least of your concerns now. Olivia places the lever next to you.

"And now," You press your eyes closed, "the moment of truth." You and Axel turn to Olivia as she reaches her hands towards it.

"Here goes nothing." She pulls the lever.

Fireworks burst into the sky, seeming to fire from its throat. It makes you feel like a genius, thinking of how to position its head so that you would achieve such an effect.

"Aw man, it looks so cool! We're gonna win this for sure!"

"The dragon was definitely clever." Olivia says and your ego grows to a ridiculous size.

People step from their builds, announcer included. Reuben peers at them, laying down on the ground. Their necks crane to the sky as the glow of the fireworks lick your back.

"Guys, people are looking at us." You say as Axel strikes a pose in a desperate attempt to look cool. Olivia puts her hands behind her back, beaming.

"Good build, man!" Someone yells out in the crowd, pumping their fist into the air.

"What?! No way..." Aiden's looks like he's never seen such an injustice in his life. "It's just a bunch of dyed wool!" He looks like he's about to throw a fit.

His eyes glance to a small pool of lava. Somehow, he has enough anger in that stupid body of his to smash straight through the stone, recoiling for a moment.

Reuben shrieks as the lava hits his wing, erupting it into flames. "Oops!" Aiden mocks innocence, eyes locking onto yours like he's savoring it. Reuben runs for the woods, squealing all the way.

A yelp tears from your throat. "Reuben's on fire! No, no, come back boy!" It takes everything to not break your legs jumping down there.

"That punk! I saw him do it!" Axel glares down as Aiden tries to step away from the growing flow of lava.

"The lava's getting closer!" Olivia echoes as Lukas hops down the wooden parts of his build and snag Aiden away. This time, you can see the anxiety on his face.

"It's gonna ruin the build!" Axel echoes.

"Reuben's going to get lost out there!"

Or worse. You think. You look at the woods, then the setting sun. All you can think of are the mobs. You might need backup. But the build! Won't someone come and close down that damn lava flow!?

[nothing-built]

(quick note, the last poll was a tie so I ended up using wheel decide to pick the result)

(I'm not sure if this is going to be a mainstay for all ties in the future but now to work on the next part)

[nothing-built]

"An Enderdragon!" You beam. Axel and Olivia exchange glances for a moment. You can feel the anxiety about to swallow you whole.

"Do we even have enough materials for that?" Olivia seems unsure as she turns to Axel for a moment. He looks a little like he has something to hide.

"Well, I have enough purple wool for the eyes, and... Hey." Your eyes narrow as they fall on Axel. He seems to be sweating bullets.

"Alright, alright! I have some wool." He holds out a few swatches of black and gray wool, averting his eyes. It takes you a moment to take the hint and scoop them up.

"Nether beds, again? Really?" Olivia asks with a sort of disappointed snicker. Reuben's wing brushes against your leg and you recognize the fluffy texture. You can't help but let out a startled laugh.

"I didn't know you could shape wool like that!" Your words are almost a bark. Axel looks like he could give redstone a run for its iron with how crimson his face is. "That's very impressive." And now his embarrassment has melted into an utter inability to get a single word out. At least he's more pink than red, now.

"We better win, now." Axel slugs you as you look over the wool in your hands.

"If we don't I'll shear all the sheeps for you." You inventory the wool after your sacred vow.

"You'd better."

"Crafter's honor." You hold your hand to your chest as if your heart will leap out if you don't.

"You brought the wood too, right?" Olivia approaches, eying you up for a few moments. You nod solemnly, showing enough wood, planks, and fences to make Olivia's wrist ache for you.

"You have the dispensers, right?" You ask her in return.

"Right." Olivia nods back.

"We cannot lose," You beam, forgetting the temporary anxiety and every terrible loss ever, "bring it in!" You hold out your hand. Axel and Olivia's hands meet yours. Reuben taps one hoof on top. You stammer, suddenly, unable to think of something witty to say.

"Prepare to dare!?" Your words jumble out of you and Olivia fights back a snort.

"Dare to prepare!" She inverts your saying eagerly.

"Predare!" Axel doesn't notice his screw up. Olivia looks like she has a frog hopping in her mouth. Reuben seems to be embarrassed by everyone's existence.

After that awkward deal, you head to Endercon, occasionally running your hands through your inventory as if it'll walk away. Your mind swims with imagery. Of talking to Gabriel, to standing under your grand dragon, to the Ocelots glowering under its wings, unable to compete or compare.

"We are so ready!" Axel beams, dragging you out of the visions of grandeur. You nearly choke on your own throat, wheezing for a few moments.

"This is going to be different, we're going to win." Olivia sounds like she's trying to will it into existence. If you could get some air in you'd concur as well.

"Nice pig, losers." You can barely see the offending person as they walk past. Seems the threshold for Endercon's beginning is you being unable to even muster a swear. It seems you'll be raving a thousand better insults in the treehouse later. Reuben whines and Axel and Olivia seem to be trying to kill the offender with their glares.

It's almost enough to distract you from---

"Great. There's Lukas and the Ocelots." Axel's words are almost a hiss.

"Man. They've got matching leather jackets and everything." Olivia flanks you and the sight is almost enough to make you choke on air again. What do they need leather jackets for? Especially dyed as black and shiny as they are. It makes you feel like every social interaction you've ever had is a failure.

"So cool..." Axel seems like he's caught in haze. It's like your battered ego has been set on fire.

Don't spiral about it, don't-

"Well, well, well," Aiden's eyes are on you now, piercing and green. You can feel fire at the back of your throat, burning any attempt at a dignified word. "if it isn't the Order of the Losers." You expect someone among them to mutter not to even try and compare you to the Order.

"Great, the fail squad's here." Maya's voice is a sneer, almost fading into a chorus of undignified snickering. All their eyes are on you, as if the very sight of you is enough to humor all of them.

"Lukas, get a load of these losers!" Gill beams, paying a glance to Lukas, who seems to be the only one of them not looking your way.

"Let's go, guys." He turns, suddenly, fingers wrapping around Gill's arm like the leather will slip from them like water.

"Can't stand to look at us?" Your voice finally works at the last moment. Lukas' eyebrows nearly suffocate his eyes and he sighs, pulling Gill away.

"I said, let's go." He glares at Aiden as Maya slinks to his side, almost catlike. Lukas seems to mutter something into Gill's ear and Gill looks back at you, eyes softer than a few moments ago. Aiden stays still for a moment too long before slinking away as well.

What was that about? You wonder for a moment. For a moment, in your periphery, you catch Lukas gesturing at the chests and the Ocelots bickering back at him, something about 'all in good fun.'

"Your name?" The woman at the booth suddenly interrupts and your eyes lock onto her. You can barely catch what the Ocelots are yammering about now, all you know is it sounds like a quiet argument.

"Axel, and how do you do?"

"Team name, please." It seems she's been getting a barrage of jokes. Axel looks like he was just hit in the face.

"Team name?" He echoes and you all pay glances between each other. They hadn't asked for that before. Maybe it was to do with the Gabriel stuff? "We are not ready for this."

"Our anonymity..." Olivia wails quietly.

The Ocelots eyes lock back onto you, a snickering wave between them. Lukas stands there, almost unreadable. What is his deal?

[nothing-built]

"I NEARLY HIT YOU WITH A SWORD!" Your words are almost akin to a roar. It makes you want to recoil from the force alone. For a moment, Axel seems tiny. You're surprised the words didn't take every spare bit of oxygen from your lungs.

"I didn't think it'd be that bad..." He admits, finally peeling off the creeper mask and running his hands along it.

"Well, if Endercon ever has a mob costume competition, at least we won't be losers there." Olivia sounds like she hates that shes' admitting that. "But next time, pretend to be an ocelot or something!" She slugs him gently and Reuben nods.

You manage to finally stand up straight, unaware your shoulders and neck are clenched harder than a piston ready to spring. You nearly jolt when Reuben nibbles on his foot.

"Alright, alright, creepers are off limits! I get it!" Axel can barely get the words out between tickled laughs.

"Please tell me you didn't just bring the mask..." Olivia groans.

"Reubennnn, come on!" Axel begs and Olivia rolls her eyes. "Jesse! Call him off!"

"I don't think I can do that." You can't help but snicker as well. Olivia looks like she's about to develop a migraine.

Reuben nearly jolts in surprise when Axel deploys his secret attack, wrapping him in an enderdragon costume. That seems to be enough to get him to stop attacking Axel's toes and he breaks into a trot and squeals mightily. Axel beams like it's his calling.

"The fireworks?" Olivia's voice ups a small notch and Axel deflates.

"Right here." He juggles one as proof. Olivia looks like she's about to burst a blood vessel and she lunges for his arm. "What? It's not fully out and about, look." He holds out his hand in front of her and she pulls back.

You pay it a glance. The firework sits in its small, inactive form. Harmless and easy to juggle with. You wonder how many fireworks jugglers use that trick.

"I'm not stupid." Axel scoffs. "I like a good explosion as much as anyone but all our stuff is here. That's stupid."

"And it's for our build today." You step forward, narrowly avoiding Reuben as he charges between your legs.

"Look what you've done!" Olivia mocks betrayal as she clings onto Axel. "Now Reuben is going to destroy the Overworld!" She manages to shake him side to side and he can't help but snort.

"Oh no! Who's going to tell the Order?!"

"You're the one who gave him the idea!" You say as Reuben jumps onto your back. You mock a defeated fall and he squeals triumphantly. "AHHH!! Gabriel help me!"

There's a chorus of laughs between you, at least until Olivia's eyes go wide. "Right... We're going to be late at this rate." She takes a glance to the open trapdoor, as if she's secretly thanking Axel's prank for that. You know she'd never admit that.

Instead, she snakes down the ladder. "Don't forget to check your inventory!" Those words sound like they just occurred to her. Axel follows shortly after.

You take one last glance at the posters dotting the treehouse, for a moment almost living vicariously through them. A sigh escapes you, if you keep your head in the clouds you'll never get there!

"Olivia's got the redstone and cobble, Axel's got the fireworks..." You mutter as Reuben snaps out of his draconic persona and paws at the open trapdoor.

"In a minute, I'm thinking..." A fireworks machine... Would that be enough? Your hands absentmindedly peel open a chest and your eyes land on enough wool to last a while. Right. Axel had a 'Nether beds' phase. You do not want to think about the time you begged Petra to come along, just in case you found ancient debris. She was 'busy.' Yeah right.

"What if we made something scary?" You ask as Reuben hops to your side. He tries to flare his wings, somehow. "...Hm. I dunno if we have enough for a dragon."

But maybe...

You slide down the ladder one handed, Reuben tucked close to your chest. It makes you wonder if the dragon egg could hatch for a moment. Come to think of it, has anyone besides the Order seen it?

"I'm telling you, if people could make a portal to the Nether, who's to say they can't make a portal to another world?" You catch Axel in one of his little rambles.

"Please don't start with this again! If the Old Builders were real then someone would have seen one of those portals already!"

"What if they're hidden somewhere really secret?"

"...Whyyy?" Olivia whines, clearly too tired to even try to logic this out.

"How about we focus on Endercon, first?" You interject as Reuben starts to squirm out of your arm. It's not like you're against the whole discussion, but you have better things to talk about!

"Speaking of Endercon..." Axel beams, "I heard a rumor. But you need to promise not to tell anyone."

"Okay." Olivia says, hoping and praying it does not involve the word 'portal.'

"It's in two parts! One more awesome than the last!" Axel beams as you all break into a slow pace. The overwhelming urge to spill your idea is pushed down for a brief moment. "Part one, the special guest at this year's Endercon is none other than Gabriel the Warrior him-freaking-self!"

If that's part one, then what the hell is part two!? "Whoa! Okay, that's hard to top."

"Indeed." Olivia concurs with a nod.

"Part two: according to my sources, the winner of the building competition's gonna get to meet him!" You can hear Olivia gasp behind you before her eyes peer around.

"That'd be the highest honor, can you imagine?" You beam and Olivia nods.

"Really? I can barely think of it. He's awesome. It'd be amazing to meet him!" You honestly didn't expect her to be just as excited as you. Wasn't she more of a redstone person. Well... Everyone liked the Order, you suppose.

"You know, Reuben should be reallll careful around Gabriel." Axel leans in close to Reuben, nearly tripping over himself as he walks. "Last time he saw a dragon, it didn't... End well."

Reuben glares a hole into him.

"What? End well. It writes itself."

Olivia interjects, eyes crawling back to the both of you. "So... Your source makes posters for a living?"

Axel looks like he just swallowed a live fish as a horde of posters come across your vision.

"A source is a---ugh. You should know by now you're my only friends."

"I honestly thought Petra told you." You admit.

"Oh come on, she's too busy to even think of spreading a rumor like that!" Axel seems even more cowed than before. "I wish I could get a rumor from her. That'd be awesome."

"Hm..." You think for a moment. "You know what else would be awesome? Building some kind of scary mob on top of our fireworks machine!" You gesture some inactive wool in front of them, doing a sort of awkward dance.

"Wouldn't it catch on fire?" Olivia raises an eyebrow.

"Not if we're really careful!" You strike a pose like you're about to tear into a horde of mobs. "But think about it, a big, scary mob!"

"Like a creeper!" Axel interjects. Olivia rolls her eyes.

"Endermen give me the creeps more than creepers do. Ironic, honestly."

"Really? You're going to say that after today?" Axel snickers.

[nothing-built]

"Duh, ten chicken sized zombies! Who wants to fight a horde of tiny, fast moving zombies? That just sounds like suicide." Your words are a half scoff. Sure, you're not the worst fighter to ever live, but even Gabriel the Warrior would run at the sight of all those zombies!

"Ugh," Olivia shudders, "but imagine their feet."

"Imagine being the guy who got devoured by a horde of chicken sized zombies." There's a strange. almost startled half-laugh from you. "Well, that's assuming the chickens' abominable nature doesn't win out. Then they'd be terrifying."

"That's what their giant feet are for, obviously. Have you seen chicken talons?"

If you were to peel your eyes away from the armor stand now, you could catch a glimpse of Reuben rolling his eyes. He snorts, almost like a human would at such a thought.

"Seems Reuben thinks he can square up with them." You take another swipe, this one sloppy, and he squeals in agreement.

Olivia trails the beginning of her sentence in a way that makes you realize you're getting a redstone lecture. The armor stand might as well have been hit with a spectral arrow at this point. If anything could get you laser focused, it would be squirming out of feeling like an idiot while she goes on about redstone like it's as easy as crafting a stack of sticks.

"It took me some time to get the materials but the daylight sensor's finally on the roof," You can hear the redstone click from her hotbar into her hands. It's almost like she's speaking another language entirely.

"Uh huh."

"and if I did this right," There's the shuffling noise of redstone being placed down, "these lamps should turn on once it gets dark."

Okay, that's something you can half understand. Technically, everything needs at least some illumination, and your eyes take in some of the torches lining the walls. Just enough to drive the mobs away, tell them that this is not their turf.

Nobody likes talking about the spider incident. Nuh uh.

Anyway, why do you need more light? There's plenty---

"I just didn't want to leave Reuben here with nothing while we're at the building competition."

"He's coming with us." Your sword nearly clatters out of your hand as you turn to her. The armor stand would probably be breathing a sigh of relief if it had lungs.

"Really?" Olivia asks as Reuben makes the armor stand's relief end with a headbutt.

"What kind of question is that? Of course he's coming along!" You avert your gaze for a moment as your sword vanishes. Olivia may never think you'd hurt her but it's just bad form to stare someone down with a sword.

"Okay, I'm not saying he shouldn't come, I'm not... But don't you think it's a little weird that you take him everywhere you go?"

How could she say that? Reuben sits at the windowsill now. When the heck did he get that fast? It felt like just yesterday he was tripping over his legs.

"He's my best friend, you know that." Okay, maybe that's a poor choice of words. Not for Reuben, it seems, who beams at your side. Again, who let him get this fast? It's not fair.

"I didn't mean... I didn't mean anything by it." Olivia's words are a sort of defeated sigh. "I"m glad he's coming, it's just... I don't want people to have one more reason to call us losers. I'm tired of it."

For a moment, you wonder how you ended up here.

"I'm tired of being a laughingstock." She says, and for a moment, you can feel that in your bones. Year after year you've lost and lost miserably. You can see the Ocelots grinning, high fiving, rubbing it in like a harming potion straight into a wound.

Well, they're jerks. A thought bubbles in your mind, Who cares what they think? But that's shut up by the thought of being laughed at again. It makes you want to crawl into a hole and die.

"Yeah." The word crawls out of your throat like a wounded spider. But we can do it this time, say the words caught in your throat.

Reuben steps between the two of you, passing glancing between the both of you, as if he's not sure where to go first. Somehow, this is enough to get Olivia to snicker.

"Alright, he's worth it." With her words, he brushes his head against her leg. You ignore the momentary betrayal.

Before he can leap over to your side, a hiss echoes from below the treehouse. Visions of climbing creepers enter your mind. A spider would crawl up the outer edge of a treehouse.

Your hands hover over the sword slot and Reuben immediately charges behind you. Here's hoping your armor stand skills translate to fighting a creeper. You wave Olivia back. If you're about to do something stupid, she shouldn't be caught in the inevitable blast radius. She hesitates, but steps back regardless.

Reuben, however, does not.

"Reuben, don't---" You nearly kick him back with your foot from impulse. Right. That would hurt like something awful to him.

The trapdoors roar open, nearly knocking you back. Your sword flies out of your hand and you wail like a terrified ghast. Reuben shrieks and nearly rams you to the ground in panic. Olivia seems to be scrambling for purchase, at least until she stops and her brows furrow.

"Axel!" She shouts and you realize your vision has become a haze. It takes a moment to catch your breath, realizing it's coming out in a thousand sputtering gasps.

"Oh man! You guys totally freaked out! That was---!"

His beaming is cut off by Reuben hitting him full force to the stomach. If he wasn't built as wide as an iron golem he'd be on the floor writhing in pain. Instead he just grimaces, brow furrowing as he tries to impart that pain onto Reuben with his eyes.

"What is wrong with you?!" Olivia charges to his side. You manage to stand up straight, your breaths finally feeling like something other than lava to the throat.

"Great, now I'm going to smell like a pig at Endercon!"

"Is that really your priority right now?"

You inhale sharply, like it's foreign to you. It takes a moment to shove back the fear of being fresh spawned and in front of a creeper for the first time. To think of death by explosion or your home being torn apart.

It takes you a moment to think of what you'll say next. "I nearly... I could have..." You wheeze. Axel seems to soften a little.

[nothing-built]

Well then! Nice to meet you, Jesse.

It's easy to forget Endercon is today for a few moments as your wooden sword locks against the armor stand. It never hurts to have some practice, especially with Endercon lasting long into the night.

Not that you've ever had a terrible run in at Endercon, but the thought has your stomach twist for a moment. It's enough to get you to slash one of the arms off the stand. Reuben manages to shove his head under it before it clatters to the ground with an obnoxious sound.

"Which would you rather fight," Olivia's voice suddenly draws you from your focus, making you swing sloppily and nearly knock the armor stand over. Your eyes glance at her for a moment before returning to the armor stand as she continues.

[nothing-built]

Today's the day.

Endercon. You can feel it in your bones. Something is going to happen and everything will change.

For the better! Of course. You're going to win. You have to!

But first...

(poll goes from left to right and top to bottom)

[nothing-built]

Hello and welcome to my interactive little MCSM rewrite blog!

From this point, every post not marked with parentheses will be in character. It will be in second person and mainly prose based.

Current arc: Wither

First choice shall be up in a few minutes!