#and reached the release of Xornoth

[pacificwaternymph]

"Darling, it's the middle of the night. Your watch ended hours ago. Why are you still up?" Joey was leaning against the cabin door, the lantern light from inside framing him like an angel. A very grumpy angel.

Xornoth was leaned against the railing on the deck, staring down at the waters below as the waves gently lapped at the sides of the ship, but looked up at the sound of his dearest's voice.

Joey looked tired, the bags under his eyes were more pronounced than ever. He likely had been waiting for Xornoth to come inside before going to sleep. They felt a slight twinge of guilt at that, making him wait, but it was quickly smothered by the resurgence of previous emotions.

"Apologies, my love. I lost track of time."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Really? And you expect me to believe that?" He sighed. "I know you, Xornoth. Tell me, what's on your mind, beloved." He walked over to where Xornoth was standing and placed both hands on his shoulders, running them down his arms and resting his chin on his shoulder.

"It's nothing. Unimportant." Xornoth tried, shrugging off Joey's touch. They turned back to the water and let out a long, slow breath.

"Oh for Aeor's sake- is this about Scott again?" Joey's voice turned snappish, as it always did whenever Xornoth's brother was brought up. He hated him, hated that he betrayed the navy, hated that threw away his friends and family and entire life for one person he barely knew, hated that that person was a pirate, of all people. And most of all, he hated that he still took up so much of Xornoth's heart.

"Can you blame me?" Xornoth sighed, finally turning away from the rail to face the other. Something in their face must have given away their true sorrow, because Joey's expression softened, and he reached up, placing a hand on their cheek.

"I know you still miss your brother, my dear. I don't blame you. But he's a traitor. He deserves not your sympathy nor your love." He said softly, leaning in close.

"I know." Xornoth placed his own hand overtop of Joey's. "It's just... easier said than done, no?"

Joey scowled, almost a pout, which was adorable. "Your heart should belong to me alone."

"You have it, my love, I swear to you." Xornoth pressed a kiss into his palm. "I suppose it's simply... difficult, to wipe away a lifetime's worth of memories when we share so few in comparison."

Joey blushed, a pleased grin wiping away any sign of his displeasure. "We will make more." He promised. "We will drown the very thought of that pathetic whelpling who dares to claim you as his blood until you've forgotten he ever meant a thing to you. Then, you will truly be mine."

Xornoth swallowed. His words were so easy. They could have been a comfort, if he would let himself believe them. It was what they were supposed to believe, what everyone wanted them to believe. It was what part of him wanted to believe too.

But they didn't. They couldn't.

"...Of course, my love." He whispered out loud, and Joey patted his cheek once, satisfied with his answer. He pulled Xornoth down into a long, slow kiss, full of a fire and passion they didn't know how to match anymore, if they ever did.

Joey released him, and started back towards Xornoth's cabins with one more stern look. "I'm going back to bed. I expect you to join me soon. Do not keep me waiting." He didn't wait for an answer before pulling the door shut, leaving Xornoth once again, in darkness.

~~~~

I wanted to write something to really emphasize the difference in relationship between Jornoth and Flower Husbands in this AU. Flower husbands is honest, brutally so at times, and a bit crude because it's so new, but it's also affectionate and genuine. It's a deep and profound connection forged on a basis of communication and mutual trust and a bond that not even a decade and a half spent apart could come between.

In contrast, Jornoth is... shallow. They love one another, but only for the personas they wear for everyone else's sake. Their world is all masks and thinly veiled threats warnings wrapped up in flowery language and passionate touches that have no true passion behind them. There's possessiveness but no real intimacy. There's no warmth there. Their love will never run deeper than the surface because its foundation was built on lies.

And I love that contrast.

[rose-lizzzy]

Sausage swooped into the Undergrove, unsure about what he was doing.

"Shrub?" He calls out suspiciously.

He hears rustling from inside her house. "Oh! Sausage! What a great surprise! What's up?" She asks, answering the door.

Sausage stares at her intensely. She seemed...brighter, given what had happened the day before.

"Can I ..come in?" He asks, and the gnome nods.

"Yeah! Of course! Come sit!" She leads him into her couches, lounging across one while Sausage sits stiffly in the other. "So what'd you wanna talk about?" She asks cheerfully.

Sausage takes a deep breath before letting it out.

"Why is Gem afraid of you?"

Shrubs expression freezes. She stares at Sausage, completely dumbfounded.

"what? S...sausage...gems corrupted. She's not afraid of me." She laughs it off. "She obviously hates anyone who isn't on Xornoths side."

Sausage shakes his head. "No. Not like that. Fwhip may be too distracted to see it, but I do. I've known both of them since we were little. Gem....Gems scared of you, Shrub. And I...I want to know why. What did you do to her?" He asks

Shrub stares at him, eyes wide. "I don't...why? Why would she be scared of me?"

"She'd be scared of you if you did something to her." He claims.

The gnome shakes her head. "No. I didn't do a thing."

Sausage stands, a bit of anger starting to build. "No. I saw the rage when Fwhip defended you. I saw the flash of panic when you attacked her. You did something, Shrub. And I want to know what. Are you the reason she's corrupted?"

Shrub fights the urge to attack him, eyes flashing red for a split second.

"You are!" He advances towards her, and she pulls out her axe nervously, but Sausage was too fast. "Shrub, I was corrupted too. You know that, obviously. I could feel the bluffing."

She glares up at him, backing up until she hit a corner.

Sausage towers over her. "What did you do to her?"

Shrub pings to Gem for help immediately or else, and in the next few seconds the wizard had teleported into her house.

"That's enough, Sausage." She commands, glaring at them both, but Sausage could tell where the anger was directed.

"Gem, what did she do to you?!" He demands, hurrying over to her.

The wizard just stares at him. "That. Is enough. Shrub did nothing to me." She claims, deadpanned, voice dull.

Sausage rolls his eyes and gives her a 'really' look. "I don't believe that. For one second."

Gem prepares a spell. "So be it."

He prepares his sword. "Why do you listen to her? She tortured you! She...turned you into this!"

The wizard doesn't respond, simply pointing her corrupted staff at him.

"Gem, I get it, you're scared of her! But we can help you. Just let us help you. You, me, Pearl, Fwhip. Like old times."

Gem releases a large fireball at him, which earns her a "hey! Watch my house!" From Shrub.

"You don't know anything." Gem growls. "Fwhip is besties with her now." She turns to glare at Shrub. "And I can't escape this. You don't. Understand. I'm not going back. I can't...go back...." She glances in the direction of Shrubs underground tunnel subconsciously, causing Sausage to turn as well, booking it out of her house into the tunnel, Gem following.

Gem fires at him before he could reach the secret room. "Get away from this place." She growls.

Sausage just stares at her. "...She really tortured you down here...didn't she...."

The wizards eyes flicker to the wall that she spent a month behind, before she swings her staff at him. "....."

He catches her swing, pushing her back. "..Gem."

He prepared to break the wall, but Gem screamed.

"NO! Don't. You. Dare."

He turns, and sees her in tears, her whole body was shaking, but she still held her staff aimed at him.

"...Gem......"

Gem fell to her knees shaking. "I'm not ...going back...I can't...don't make me...go back..."

She didn't...sound the same as she had since returning. She sounded...fragile... vulnerable.

"Gem....I'm not going to put you anywhere near her. Or whatever is behind that wall. Just let me help you." He reaches to take her arm but she smacks him back.

"NO! She'll take me back....or he will....I can't go back..I can't....I can't."

Sausage stares at her, before falling to his knees next to her and wraps his arms around her.

She leans on him, shaking, for a few minutes, before regaining her composure.

"I can't...let you leave freely....knowing about...her."

Sausage frowns at her. "Gem ....but she-"

"I can't have you telling anyone........ especially Fwhip."

He can hear more of their Gem in her voice, but he doesn't mention it.

Her eyes glow red, and she chants something under her breath before it fades.

"What-"

"You're not allowed to tell anyone. About this. No writing it, no drawing it. No one. Can know."

Sausage nods. "...Alright. Gem, we'll save you from her."

Gem glares at him. "...get out. Don't come back here. You don't want to know what's behind that wall."

Sausage shivers, nods, and takes off, leaving Gem in tears, falling back on her knees.

"Wow, you couldn't last a minute." Shrub scoffs, and Gems eyes snap up to her.

"What?" The gnome puts her hands up. "It's true. You're weak. No wonder your brother believed me immediately."

Gem growls. "Don't you dare." She swings her staff at Shrub, only to get sliced in the stomach by Shrubs axe.

Panic immediately settles in. Suddenly, she was back in the room, darkness surrounding her, nothing but pain. The maddening darkness.....taunting her...screaming at her.

"...finish it ....please ..finish me....end it...finish up already..." She mumbles, waiting for this torture session to end so she could go back to the silent, psychotic blackness.

Shrub laughs maniacally. "Such a shell of who you were. Pathetic." She stomps her foot down hard on Gems arm, hearing a snap as the wizard let out a yelp.

"Remember who's in charge, wizard. " Shrub demands, and Gem nods meekly. "Now go before I toss you back into that room."

Her eyes widen in panic and she pulls her broken arm to her chest, taking off on her wings. She had to get out of there. She couldn't be anywhere near this horrid place.

Shrub laughs and laughs. "That wizard is so pathetic now. A wimpy puppet, terrified of her masters."

[royaltysuite]

Her Downfall, His Redemption.... (An Empires x Reader Story) Chapter One - Prologue

Summary: When Y/n lost her home and her fiancee due to corruption, she thought it was only fair for her to die in the ruins of Rivendell. That is, until Aeor, the protector of Rivendell, gave her another chance, sealing her away in a crystal and through a portal to a new realm. Years after the corruption befell Rivendell, Y/n is found by a certain gnome and is brought back to their rising empire. However, things aren't going to stay peaceful as Y/n is soon released from her crystal and is thrusted into the lives of those she previously thought she'd lost.

Warning: Mentions of blood, death and attempted sewer****, HEAVY ANGST, read at your own discretion...

Word Count: 0.3k words

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter One - Prologue

____ P.O.V.

I never would've thought my life would end this way. Smoke clouded the skies of my home as the buildings around me began to collapse. "Scott! Scott! Where are you?!" I yelled, struggling to breath while I moved from underneath the ruins of my house. No response was returned and panic began to rise.

As I began to rise from my spot, I took in my surroundings and my heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach. Countless bodies, women and children, laid lifeless. The sight of our soldiers, all bloodied and torn, brought tears to my eyes. My eyes darted to every single body that they landed on, which each sight increasing the bile in my stomach. Soon enough, my eyes landed in the center of the ruined village. Standing there was Scott and the love of my life, limp in his arms.

I stood there frozen as Scott turned his head to my position, a look of defeat spread across his face. 'I'm sorry' He mouthed to me before crumbling to the ground. It felt like hours before sound escaped my lungs in the form of a devastating cry. Screams poured out of my mouth, tears running down my face. My body finally moved and I ran to their limp bodies.

"No...no,no,NO! Wake up, please. Don't leave me. Please, Xornoth.....Don't leave me here all alone.....i need you." I cried, holding their bodies close to me, trying to wake them up. ".....please, wake up." Whimpers and sobs continued shaking my body as I caressed their faces.

Sitting there for what felt like a lifetime, I sat up and reached into my pouch. Pulling out a dagger, I stared down at the blade. My reflection looked like I was a walking corpse. I might as well have been seeing as there was nothing left for me to live for. Raising the blade high into the sky, I hesitated before lunging it into my chest.

Before the blade could make contact to my skin, a bright light flooded my eyes and a voice echoed around me. "This is not how you will end. In years time, you will rise again and fight to keep Rivendell alive once more." The voice bellowed deep, the light growing bigger and bigger then everything went black.

Thank you, Mighty Aeor...........

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note: Introducing the first chapter of the 'Her Downfall, His Redemption...' series. This is simply the prologue giving you the backstory of what happened before Y/n ended up in the crystal and into the Empires realm. It ended up being a pretty deep start to the series, but it is what it is. This chapter ended up being shorter than I wanted, but I hope you all enjoy it. If you would like to be added to the taglist for updates, leave a comment or send me a message. With that being said, Stay Classy~

Taglist: @julesx1

Series Masterlist

[zlixlriffs]

Hot take but I really don’t think that Scott should have been the one to fight Xornoth. At least he shouldn’t have been alone on the offensive while Gem played barrier support.  Scott may be brothers with Xornoth in a past life but they treat him like anyone else. Pre-sealing battle Scott’s interactions with Xornoth mostly consisted of being stared at. Narratively speaking we have no reason to be attached to their relationship other than Scott telling us that they were brothers after he finds the book. They corrupted his land and placed tentacles and crystals but that’s it.  Xornoth does not treat him any differently from the other empires. There were no special interactions between the two. 

Like the thought and effort Scott put into making the flower husbands date cave. Instead of just saying “Hey we were married in a past life, we should be allies,” Scott made an entire cave and put in things, that reminded him of his past life and what their relationship was. Like how instead of us getting Xornoth trying to get Scott to remember his past life by leading him to old ruins every once in a while to show what their relationship was like, we have Scott going “I read that he was my brother in a past life from a book in a random cave I stumbled across. I have to defeat him.” 

I think at the very least Shrub and Jimmy should have been backing up Scott while he fought Xornoth.  Jimmy was the first person to be corporeally terrorized by Xornoth and was consistently bullied in his streams by the demon. He was the person that was terrorized the most by them to the point that fWhip pointed it out that it’s like a middle school boy picking on a girl he likes. Xornoth even threatened to blow up the entirety of his kingdom by turning all of the tentacles into tnt blocks and spawning a load of tnt minecarts onto his land. Jimmy deserves to finally be able to fight back against him. They’re much more frequent and severe than the one time that Scott hid in the Aeor statue and was teleported to.

Shrub’s connection to Xornoth probably has the most emotional weight behind it. Shrub was there when Xornoth destroyed her people. She’s the only one left. Xornoth followed her into the Empires world. Xornoth killed several of her wolves. She’s had so many conversations with him. Remember how she said "I know who you really are! You're a sad lonely spirit that lost! And keeps being reborn angrier and angrier, because nobody really loves you."  Remember how Xornoth told her that he belongs in the empires world more than she does. Those interactions have weight behind them. Much more than just a staring contest.

With Shrub and Jimmy, their anger with Xornoth is much more personal than Scott’s “we were brothers in a past life, it’s complicated”. 

The only people that have less of a personal reason to fight Xornoth are Lizzie and Joel who corruption can’t reach and can’t perceive the demon, respectively. Pixl has the guilt and shame for killing the Enderdragon and freeing Xornoth to the point he left his empire and traveled thousands of blocks to make a ghast farm to heal the dragon. Pearl saw the effects of Xornoth’s corruption on Sausage in the arena and was trying her best to de-corrupt him. Katherine was also in the arena and was part of the corruption experiments with fWhip and Gem. fWhip and Gem’s relationship with Sausage was broken by Xornoth. Sausage and Joey were Xornoth’s champions/pawns and were being manipulated by him.

Scott adding in lines about what happened to their mom and dad feel like a forced attempt to add in investment into their relationship. It was payoff for setup we never received because there was no reason that the audience should think that they have the same parents when Scott constantly refers to Xornoth as his sort-of-brother. tldr: There was no narrative payoff to Scott fighting Xornoth while everyone else fought Joey. Scott should have been fighting with Jimmy against Xornoth during the final battle and when Shrub was released by Gem she should have stabbed Xornoth while he was distracted.

[empiressmpheadcanons]

My predictions for empires !!

The emperor crown will be destroyed by someone who hasn’t gotten it or by it’s creator (Fwhip)

Xornoth or a bigger threat will be released which will lead to all the leaders banding together to destroy seal them away

Scott and Fwhip almost escalate to war— both get side tracked by bigger threat

Pixandria is destroyed by the bigger threat and disappears into the desert— pix later emerges for the final battle

The second ocean orb finally is discovered, Jimmy gets to transform into a rad fish-man

Joel finishes the interior to the mega base and reaches 500 horse kills

Scott and Lizzie become allies

Another musical number is produced

Jimmy villain arc ?!!?! (He mentioned it in a stream and I’m so excited)

Flower husbands content with them both in their villain arc

ik this isnt a headcanon but i liked these so im treating it like one

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

I was looking through your older requests and stuff from 3rd life, and I remembered the one with Scott and Jimmy nearly getting sacrificed to Dogwarts and I thought hmmm...demons, red aesthetics, a generally more powerful side?

Basically, I think it would be cool to have a version of that with Sausage and fWhip trying to sacrifice Jimmy.

(And wow, Jimmy really can't get a break with religious tones after EVO, huh?)

THIS. is genuinely one of my favourite things i've ever written, if not THE favourite. i'm so so proud of it :D

cw beating, blood

…

Jimmy no longer has the energy to scream or fight. Having been beaten periodically throughout the day, his chest and neck are in too much pain for him to move. Sitting slumped in the tiny cell he’s been put in with his hands tied behind his back, all he can do is keep fighting against the dull pain all over his body threatening to drag him into unconsciousness.

All he can do is keep fighting to stay awake.

Finally, they come for him. Led by fWhip, Sausage pulls Jimmy out of the former’s base and out to the altar that’s been set up in the centre of Sausage’s castle.

Jimmy knows exactly what’s coming. Neither fWhip nor Sausage has made any secret of what they intend to do to him. And after a full day of being kept in a cell, hands tied behind him, beaten every time he tried to escape or fight back, he doesn’t have the strength to try and stop it.

As they push him onto the altar, Jimmy stumbles. As a response, Sausage hits him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. Seconds from passing out, Jimmy is powerless to stop Sausage from pulling him up onto his knees.

Coughing weakly, Jimmy slowly lifts his head to look at his captors. “Wh-Why are you doing this…?” he croaks. “What did I do…?”

“Sorry Jimmy, but Xornoth demands a sacrifice,” fWhip responds, and Jimmy can almost hear a twinge of genuine remorse in his voice.

Jimmy tries to push himself up in one final desperate attempt to escape but his chest and throat are screaming in pain and he’s unable to stop Sausage from pushing him back down and holding him in place.

“Please…!” he rasps, pulling weakly at the ropes binding his wrists. “Please…”

Neither of them respond as Sausage pushes Jimmy’s head down and fWhip lifts the axe.

Tears fall from Jimmy’s bruised eyes. He wishes he could fight back but he barely has the strength to stay conscious. If he has to die, he’ll die with as much dignity as he can.

“STOP!”

Jimmy again lifts his head, and though he can’t see very well through his blurred vision, he can make out a figure standing on the wall several blocks away.

“Pixl,” Sausage growls.

fWhip’s demeanour completely changes. All his remorse and carefulness disappears as he roughly hauls Jimmy to his feet by the scruff of his neck and holds his sword against his throat, angling Jimmy in front of him like a human shield.

“Don’t come any closer,” he says coldly but calmly.

“Let Jimmy go,” Pixl orders, lifting his trident and aiming it directly at fWhip. “Now.”

fWhip’s grip on Jimmy tightens. “You’re in no position to bargain. One quick movement and we’ll see how much blood the Codfather has inside him.”

Nausea rises in Pixl’s stomach at the grisly mental image. “I’m not saying this again, fWhip: LET. JIMMY. GO.”

“How did you know to come here?” Sausage snaps suddenly. “You live thousands of blocks away!”

“I told him.”

It takes Jimmy’s fuzzy mind a moment to recognise this new voice but when he does, his heart skips a beat.

“Scott?” A hint of surprise is audible in fWhip’s voice. “Why would you do that?”

“Because what you’re doing is barbaric,” replies Scott icily. “Now listen to the Copper King and let Jimmy go.”

“What do we do?” whispers Sausage to his ally.

fWhip narrows his eyes, his analytical mind trying to calculate the odds of him winning this fight.

As he does, he twists the sword in his hand and nicks Jimmy’s neck with the sharp blade, causing him to let out a semi-conscious cry of pain.

That sound triggers something in Pixl and he lets his trident fly. His aim is remarkable and it slams into a tiny piece of fWhip’s armour visible just to the side of Jimmy.

fWhip staggers back, releasing his grip on the Cod Empire ruler, who collapses to the floor like a stone. “Retreat,” he hisses to Sausage. “We won’t win this fight.”

Sausage, clearly needing no further encouragement, takes off into the air with his elytra, followed closely by fWhip.

Immediately, Pixl and Scott both rush to the unconscious Jimmy’s side. Scott pulls out his dagger and cleanly slices through the ropes binding Jimmy’s wrists, while Pixl carefully rolls him into a position on his back. 

“Jimmy!” he gently cups his friend’s cheek as he leans close, trying to awaken him. “Jimmy, can you hear me?”

When he gets no reply, a horrifying thought occurs to him and he hurriedly checks Jimmy’s pulse.

“He’s alive,” he says in relief. “But only just.”

“He’s really beaten up,” Scott observes shakily. “How could fWhip and Sausage do this to him…?”

Pixl carefully lifts Jimmy into his arms and straightens up, making sure Jimmy’s head is secure against his chest. When he speaks, his voice is low and barely controlled. “I don’t know. But we need to get his injuries seen to as soon as possible.”

“Take him to his house,” says Scott. “Gem and I have been working on healing magic so I’ll fly over and get some of that to help him.”

“Okay. Good luck.”

“You too.”

As Scott takes off into the air, Pixl rushes back to Jimmy’s house and carefully lays him down on the bed. As he removes Jimmy’s gloves, he spots bulging red burn marks left over from where the ropes dug into his wrists.

This simple sight almost unleashes Pixl’s barely-contained fury. Tears of anger spring to his eyes as he gazes down at the bruised face of his unconscious friend, twisted in pain even in sleep.

He turns his head to look out at the darkness through the window. fWhip and Sausage needed a sacrifice for their stupid demon and they chose the easiest target. It makes Pixl’s blood boil to see them continually pick on Jimmy just because he’s unable to fight back.

A weak cough brings Pixl’s attention back to his injured friend. To his horror, he sees blood pooling at the corner of Jimmy’s mouth, so he leans down and checks his young friend’s breathing.

As he’s doing this, Scott returns, holding a leather pouch in his hands. “How’s he doing?” he asks worriedly.

“He’s not breathing well,” says Pixl quietly. “And he’s coughing up blood. A few more minutes and we may lose him. What have you got?”

“I have a healing crystal,” Scott reports, pulling a magenta crystal out of the pouch in his hands. “It should heal any internal injuries and ease his pain, but external injuries won’t be affected.”

“That’s fine. Do it.”

Scott moves over to Jimmy’s bedside and closes his eyes as he holds the crystal over Jimmy’s body. The crystal glows magenta, and similar-coloured energy starts to flow from it into Jimmy.

Pixl watches this with interest. He’s never had an affinity for nature magic and it intrigues him how crystals can have such magical properties. But soon his interest is outweighed by the relief that the colour has returned to Jimmy’s skin and his chest isn’t heaving so much anymore.

Finally, Scott lowers the crystal, which has stopped glowing, and tucks it back into the bag. “That should help,” he says.

“Good,” murmurs Pixl. “He looks like he’s breathing easier.”

Scott nods, not trusting himself to speak again.

A brief pause follows.

“I want to ask you something,” Pixl says, in a tone that makes it clear he expects no argument. “Why did you call me?”

Scott glances at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“You’re on their side. Why would you want to go against them like that?”

After a moment, Scott looks away. “Because a long time ago, Jimmy told me he didn’t want to look me in the eyes as I get sacrificed on an altar; I realised earlier that I didn’t want the reverse.”

Pixl nods slowly. He, like many others, heard about what happened on 3rd Life and even though he isn’t aware of specifics, he can’t help thinking that Scott’s remark is tied into that.

Scott lifts Jimmy’s limp hand and pushes back his sleeve slightly to reveal the burn marks that Pixl noticed earlier. He gives a deep frown as he tenderly traces the mark with his finger. “I don’t understand how they can do something like this to someone they once called their friend,” he murmurs. “No matter how much things have changed, he… They… You just don’t do that to someone.”

Pixl nods again as Scott carefully places Jimmy’s arm back down on the bed. As he turns to leave, he again glances back at Jimmy and hesitates. After a moment, he reaches out and gently brushes the bruise over Jimmy’s eye with the backs of his fingers, unable to hide a deep frown of worry.

“Why do you treat him so coldly all the time?” Pixl asks. “You clearly care for him a great deal and he cares about you. Why do you continue to push him away?”

Scott takes a moment to compose himself and steady his voice before he replies. “I’ve already gone through the pain of losing him once. I can’t do it again. I’m sorry, but I have to go now.”

Pixl almost argues but thinks better of it. “Okay. Thank you, Scott. For calling me and for helping Jimmy.”

“Of course. Goodnight, Pixl.”

“Goodnight.”

After Scott has left, Pixl locks the door behind him and pulls up a chair next to Jimmy’s bed. His friend’s face is a lot less pale than it was, though the bruise over his left eye and the thin cut in his neck are still very much visible.

Feeling a wave of affection and protectiveness, Pixl gently strokes Jimmy’s shoulder and takes a great deal of relief from seeing a small smile appear on Jimmy’s face in his sleep. Every instinct in his body is urging him to fly out there and enact vicious revenge on the people who did this to his friend.

“I’ll make them pay for hurting you,” he vows quietly. “I swear.”

[c-r-ash-crash]

Emptober Day 31: Beginning

Pearl dragged her hoe through the dirt, tilling the soil and pulling a few stray roots out of the soil. She paused for a minute, brushing the sweat out of her eyes. She had been working for hours, but the sun was only just now coming up.

She wondered if she would ever find a new playmate, now that Xornoth was gone. She didn't miss him, honestly. He had hurt her friends, hurt the people she cared about. She would find a new playmate eventually. For now, she would simply enjoy the company of her friends.

She returned her attention back to the soil. The spring had come and it was time for a new crop.

Shubble was woken by a wolf snout in her face. She pushed herself up to see her great wolf at the edge of her bed, a small lizard clutched in his jaw.

"We leave the animals alone," she scolded him, gently prying the squirming creature from between his teeth, and releasing it onto her window sill. She stretched and yawned. Worriedly, her wolf rested his head on her lap.

"I'm okay buddy," she assured. She'd had a nightmare last night, but they were becoming less frequent. She was starting to get better, even if it was taking a while. The mushrooms were beginning to sprout again, and so was she.

Katherine placed a flower gently into the soil, pressing the dirt down around it. Her hands were covered in soil, but she didn't care. It was beautiful in a way. She was bringing life into a previously lonely area.

She stood up, and moved to the next area. The grass here was still stained red, but it was starting to heal. The corruption was gone, and the land was beginning to recover. The other empires were too.

Everyone had looked less tired, more cheerful. The spring had come and with it came brighter spirits. Katherine thought maybe in the end, everything would be okay.

Gem scanned over the text, furiously writing notes. Apparently, one of her citizens had found a patch in the forest where anything that was planted their would grow to it's fullest in a single day, no matter how large it was.

It was a curious bit of magic to be sure, and Gem was determined to figure it out. She laughed softly to herself. Fwhip had always teased her about how she was never able to leave a mystery alone. She had to admit to herself that she was never able to rest until she had solved a puzzle.

Suddenly, Fwhip flew into her study, stumbling a few steps as he tried to regain his balance. "Hey," he greeted. "What're you up too?"

"Apparently, there's this really weird spot in the woods were things grow way faster than they should," Gem said, glancing up from her book. "Wanna go investigate?"

Fwhip nodded excitedly. "We better invite Sausage though. We don't want him feeling left out." Gem laughed, and gathered up her rockets.

Sausage reached Gem's study just as she and Fwhip were flying out. He intercepted them in midair, and the three exchanged greetings excitedly.

"Heya, Gem," Sausage said. "Guess what?" "What?" Gem asked. "I found this really weird spot in the woods where things grow overnight. Wanna check it out?" Fwhip and Gem burst out laughing.

"We were just about to invite you to do that," Fwhip explained in response to Sausage's baffled expression. Sausage burst out laughing too. "Well, let's go find it!" he exclaimed. The three of them flew off to investigate the mysterious spot.

Pix brushed the dust off the vigil. He had no candles to light today, something for which he was immensely grateful. Ever since Xornoth had been banished, the deaths had slowed. But that also meant Pix was left with next to nothing to do.

Suddenly, he decided he hadn't visited Joey in a while. He grabbed his rockets, and launched into the air, carving a path towards the jungle.

Scott watched as Pix darted through the sky, elytra framed by the setting sun. Jimmy was curled up next to him, sound asleep. His crown was tilted sideways, but Scott liked it better that way. It made him look more like Jimmy.

He sighed softly, and snuggled closer. Third Life was over now, and he and Jimmy had a second chance at a life together. Scott wouldn't give that up for anything.

Lizzie drifted through the water, hovering near shore. She rubbed her fingers along the edge of her seashell necklace. It was the one she and Jimmy had made, centuries ago before they had forgotten their life. It was strange, now that she knew she had a brother.

Nothing on the surface had changed, and to an outsider, things would be perfectly normal. But something was off that Lizzie couldn't explain. Maybe it was the fact that she and Jimmy were basically starting over. How do you even begin to explain a feeling like that.

Suddenly, she saw a smudge of bright magenta and poked her head above the water to see Joel standing on the shore. "Hey, Lizzie!" he called. She waved back softly. "Are you moping again?" he guessed. Lizzie paused for a moment, but then she nodded.

Joel gestured for her to come to shore, and Lizzie did so. Once she had stepped out onto the stone, Joel pulled a bucket from behind his back and dumped nearly a gallon of sand on her, covering her in mud.

Lizzie gaped at him open mouthed. Joel burst out into raucous laughter. Lizzie's eyes narrowed, and Joel swore softly under his breath. She lunged at him, but Joel leapt out of the way. The two darted over the shore line, laughter filling the evening air.

Joey strolled through the courtyard of his earth temple, admiring the various grasses and reeds that lined the paths. Things had been lonely in his kingdom lately, but he didn't have the courage to visit the others.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rockets flying, and Pix swooped overhead. Joey waved but suddenly, the Copper King tucked into a dive, and landed in the courtyard in front of Joey.

"Oh," Joey said, caught off guard. "Hey, Pix. What's up?" "Nothing," Pix said with a shrug. "Just haven't hung out in a while. I was wondering what you were up to." "Oh, nothing much," Joey said, not realizing how much his eyes brightened up at the prospect of hanging out with someone. "I've just been working on my earth temple."

"Really?" Pix asked. "Why don't you show me?" "Sure!" Joey said excitedly, pulling out his rockets and launching himself into the air.

The moon rose above the horizon. As one chapter of their lives closed, the emperors began to recover from the damage that had been left on the land. But now a new chapter was opening, one filled with the promise of love and joy. The emperors found themselves ready to begin anew.

Emptober Day 31: Beginnings

[soggylizard424]

I’ve been brainrotting and now have some evil fWhip angst because someone had to do it. Might make a part two if I'm feeling skrunkly enough. I'll link it here if I finish it.

Tw: possession, angst, body horror, mild to moderate violence, derealization

fWhip was digging through his chests when it happened the first time. He was shuffling around, looking for his lasts bits of deepslate for a building in the Grimlands. But so far all he had was less than half a shulker box full.

He grumbled, his body halfway into the chest in the storage room as he desperately rummaged around for the block. He huffed as he realized he might have to go mining for it.

He began to pull himself away from all of the contents in the chest when something red and glowing caught his eye. Thinking it might be some deepslate redstone, he reached out and grabbed it.

It wasn't.

It was a red vine of Xornoth.

The thing instantly began writhing in his fingers, though he was no bigger than his palm.

Immediately, fWhip tried to throw the thing across his room, but not before it had wrapped around two of his fingers. He shook his hand in a frantic motion, hoping, praying that the thing would release his hand.

This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. Please, Aeor, don't let this be real. The thing intertwining with his fingers began to squeeze, to pinch, to tighten. fWhip frantically tried shaking the thing off, pawing at it, anything, anything to get it off. The vine was nearly half way up his forearm now, sprouting and growing and squeezing. fWhip could hear his own breathing increase in speed, even as the thing seemed to have a mind of it's own.

Gem, he thought, she can help. Please, let her be able to help. As fast as he could, he began running, sprinting out of his storage hall. To his twin. To anyone who could stop this thing from growing.

It was under his skin now. It was seething. It was in his veins. It was his veins. He was almost cradling his right arm now. It seemed to be on fire, the red flames of pain spiking, slithering all the way up his arm. It was to his shoulder even as he shot off the ground as soon as there was an empty spot in the sky for him.

It was under his skin. It was crawling up his jaw. The corruption reached a cut under his eye he hadn't noticed was there. And it burned.

Please, whatever gods may be out there, fWhip prayed, make it stop.

The sky was blurring with red, tilting like a corrupted scale. The tinkerer could feel his body tipping as he flew over his starter base. Despratley, he spammed rockets like no other, but to no avail.

“No, no, no no no no,” fWhip hissed, desperate, the sound of his own corrupted heartbeat in his ears. This wasn't real. Xornoth was tricking him. Nothing was wrong. But everything was wrong. All of it was. He could taste the vines in his mouth. This wasn't right. It was wrong. It was bad. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. By Aeor’s name it hurt.

fWhip hadn't realized how close he was to the ground he was until he crashed into the snow of the mountain range.

Rocks, tree roots, snow, branches, vines were everywhere. The stone grated against his back, the snow doing nothing to smooth any of the pain down. Suddenly he was coughing, hacking, desperate for this thing to get out of him.

The world was shifting, he felt dizzy, the ground was swaying this way and that, even as he pushed himself onto his stomach, using an arm to hold him up as he spat into the snow.

“Get it out of me, please, please just get it out,” it was a whispered prayer that none would hear. The corruption was everywhere now, even crawling down upon his self-made wings. The world was red but white, corrupted yet grounded, hot but freezing. He was stuck between two worlds--that of Xornoth and his. Or was it some other force? Some sort of other entity?

It didn't matter to fWhip.

Suddenly, there was a figure with him in the snow. An unfamiliar one, but somehow he knew exactly what it was. He could barely look up at the demon as he continued to hack and spit red into the snow. It was all red. Red vines, red demons.

Red blood.

“What do you want from me?” fWhip spat, trying desperately in between breaths to shuffle away. It didn't work. He could only see the clawed feet of the creature as it creeped ever closer. Only right in front of the cursed tinkerer did it stop.

It crouched down, the red hand reaching out to grab the man’s chin, forcing him to look at the demon.

“Its not what you have, you have to understand, dear Count,” the thing said, “its what you can get me.”

fWhip felt his stomach drop, like a fist of iron had grabbed it and tugged it down. The demon smiled with sharp teeth, and swung itself into his body, the tinkerer flown out to other way. Where his eyes once were were now red, and he could feel his spirit bonded with the demon’s. They shared a body, but like an older sibiling taunting the younger by holding an item out of their reach, fWhip tried and tried again to regain his body but to no avail.

There was nothing he could do as Xornoth hunted for his brother.

[arospecsyourblockdudes]

Definitive ranking of the most dramatic Empires SMP self-exiles

5. Shrub! It was honestly more sad than anything

4. Scott! Love you king but it was very Elsa. While I appreciate the “I need to leave because I don’t want to hurt my friends or my people” sentiment, it doesn’t quite reach the level of the others

3. Pixlriffs! The original, the trendsetter, the classic. Really he did it first and did it almost best. Leaving out of guilt from endangering his people and everyone else by his participating in the dragon fight and releasing Xornoth was very nice as well as him finding a cool lightning temple. Respect

2. Jimmy! Had some banger lines in there! “I‘be got nothing to live for, basically” “I don’t belong here” “The Codfather wouldn’t have done that. I don’t even recognize myself anymore”. MAN!!! With the context of a worldwide disaster as well, it is spicy. Points for dramatic irony

1. Katherine! I mean, again with the worldwide disaster context it’s really very good. Feeling unworthy because she was entrusted with protecting the Spring and the Overgrown and she wasn’t able to do that at its time of greatest need?? One of the most reasonable motives for self exile. Also her having had to witness the destruction of her empire as it was happening, something few of the rulers had to do. Again points for the dramatic irony of the flower growing after she left. She might literally have been the one to save the world with the life seed (maybe idk what it does). Respect

[eevee-eclair]

If you're doing ship requests perhaps Sausage and Joey fluff? 👉👈 Maybe like after they're uncorrupted they both have nightmares a lot and they help each other get through it

Ooooo! Yes!!!

Since I didn’t know if you wanted platonic or romantic, I left it open so you could choose whichever one you want/are comfortable with! (They cuddle towards the end, but it can still go both ways since I hc Sausage as a very touchy person). Sorry if Joey is a bit ooc, I still haven’t made it through his pov yet! (I’m working on it, though!)

Tws: implied death, implied murder, nightmares, crying, mild body horror(?), (tell me if I missed one!)

Chase Away the Darkness

Sausage looked down at the Wither Rose Alliance. He could feel his mouth twist into a sick grin as he watched them cower from him. The staff was heavy in his hand as he drew from the magic within and aimed it at the group.

“Sausage…” Pearl whispered. “Please, don’t.”

He responded with loud, cackling laughter. With a flick of his wrist, the magic released and Pearl was nothing but a limp corpse. He heard Gem and Fwhip shouting, but he was laughing too loud to hear what exactly they were saying.

Two more flicks, and the yelling stopped. He was screaming now, his laughter having turned into painful cries. He blinked and it was completely silent. The bodies of his friends were gone and so was the staff, replaced by a large body mirror.

He stepped up to it, unsure of what it was there for. Instead of his normal reflection, in it sat Xornoth. The demon smiled wickedly at him and laughter echoed through the empty room. He clapped his hands over his ears and grit his teeth.

“Stop it!” he begged. “Just stop!”

The demon crawled out of the mirror and looked over him. His stomach dropped, but he couldn’t move. Xornoth reached to their face and yanked, pulling away black tar to reveal his own face, but different. It was his bad self, with black eyes and a too sharp smile.

Suddenly, he found the will to move. He turned tail and ran, not knowing where he was going. He tripped and fell, but he never landed. He just kept falling, and falling, and falling—

Sausage jolted up in bed with a scream. He looked around to find himself surrounded by the temple walls of the Lost Empire. To his left sat Joey. The normally energized ruler looked tired as he smiled at Sausage with something akin to understanding.

“Nightmares?” he asked. His voice sounded just as tired as he looked.

Sausage nodded. He swallowed and scooted over in the bed for Joey to sit down. “Yeah,” he muttered. “One of the worse ones, too.”

Joey took up the offer and sat with him. “It’ll be okay,” he said, looking lost in the eyes as he stared blankly ahead. “We’ll be okay, eventually. Right..?”

The Mythland king nodded. “We have to be. We’ve got kingdoms to run,” he added with a dry chuckle. “And… we can’t forever be broken… Can we?”

“No, we can’t,” Joey responded sternly. “We’ll heal and learn from our mistakes. For you not to chase power and for me to start acknowledging red flags in men.”

They laughed quietly, but it died off just as quick. Sausage looked down at his lap. “We hurt a lot of people.”

Joey nodded. “We did.”

They sat in silence for a while after that, just blankly looking around. Joey was brought out of his blank state by the sounds of sniffling. Looking over, Sausage was crying softly, wiping at his face to clear away tears. He patted his back.

“It’s okay, Sausage,” he said. “It’s over.”

He looked up at Joey. His eyes were red and watery and it broke his heart. “But is it?” he whispered. “What if they comes back? What if we’re not safe?”

That made Joey pause. He bit his lip and looked out the window, seeing the sky light up barely. It would be sunrise soon. “Then we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” he responded after a moment. “But for right now, we’re safe and we should just focus on healing.”

Sausage snorted and maneuvered himself to where he was laying on Joey, snuggling close to him. “I never took you as the sentimental type, Joey,” he teased.

The other giggled and wrapped an arm around him and laid them down on the bed, still half sitting up against the back wall. “Oh, hush. Let me be sappy.”

They laid there, propped up in the bed in each others’ arms watching the sun rise. And if a servant came in to find them dead asleep an hour later, it wasn’t spoken about.

[hermits-that-craft]

In My Dreams (Will You Remember Me?)

Flower Husbands Fic - Chapter Sixteen - You can’t carry it with you if you want to survive

AO3 and TW in reblogs.

The door Scott faces is not roughly hewn, not made from splintering pine. Not, this door is carved from the darkest oak, its handles brass and the designs etched into it are inlaid in gold. And Scott will reduce it to splinters.

If only Aoer had blessed him with powers, if only he could become one with an element, like his brother. No, instead Scott brings his axe down on Fwhip’s emblem, the door swinging open to the terrified faces of Fwhip’s staff. Silently, a maid points towards the bowels of Fwhip’s mansion, before hurrying away from Scott’s wrath. Satisfaction curls around Scott’s stomach at the fear filled silence that is left in his wake.

“I was wondering when you would arrive.” Xornoth says, sitting beside Fwhip as Scott slams open the door. Sausage and Fwhip reach for their swords, but Xornoth holds his hand up. “Not yet. I want to watch my brother realise that he will be killed in this room.”

“I won’t die here.” Scott juts his chin out, fire sparking in his eyes. “Let Jimmy go.”

“Jimmy isn’t here.” Sausage smiles, and Scott inhales the atmosphere, takes in the room.

“Where is he?”

“We don’t know.” Fwhip smirks. “He was warned, Scott. Xornoth can’t control his followers.”

“Jimmy wouldn’t bow to the likes of him.” Scott spits.

“But he would bend.” Xornoth stands, the playful tone leaving his body. “And he will break. You should leave now, Alinar, before what breaks Jimmy is you.”

“I wouldn’t hurt him.”

“But I would deliver your head to him, just to make him mine.” Xornoth smiles. “You sure can pick them, Scott. Must you have chosen the weakest to become your soulmate?”

“I had no say in this!” Scott defends, backing away from his brother.

“You had more say than you remember.”

“That’s rubbish and you know it.” Scott glares at the man brother demon, who just smiles down at him. “How could I have a say in any of this? If I had a say, you would be-”

“What would I be, Scott?” Xornoth glares, stepping towards Scott as Sausage and Fwhip unsheath their swords. “Dead? Never born? Imprisoned?”

“My brother.” Scott admits, his voice pathetic as the words never reach above a whisper. 

“Your brother?” Xornoth laughs, mockingly. “You’d have me as your older brother, ruling over your kingdom so you could chase that codboy? You can still have that, brother, even though Conal has passed.”

“What?”

“Bow to me, Alinar, and I will rule Rivendell, and leave you and your soulmate alone.”

“Yeah right.” Scott scoffs. “I won’t sit by and watch as you make the world cave in.”

“Have it your way.” Xornoth turns to Fwhip and Sausage. “Kill him.”

Scott’s wings flair out behind him, flapping as Scott flees the room, running down the corridor and fleeing into the air. Fwhip and Sausage laugh as Scott flails in the air, the instinctual part of his brain releasing him from the panic the subsides. They were going to kill him. His allies, his friends were going to kill him. They were going to-

Scott flies away, rubbing frozen tears from his eyes and cheeks as he flies. He doesn’t think, doesn’t let himself think about anything more than the familiar ache in his wings, then what he needs to plan for. War. Xornoth killed Conal, replaced him, and is vying for the throne that was always supposed to host his brother. Scott needs to prepare his citizens and allies for war. 

Does he have any allies left? 

Would Lizzie, Joel and Pixl take him back, after he revealed that he is the reason that Jimmy is gone?

Scott doesn’t know. He lands in front of his house, takes a deep breath in, and collapses onto the ground. Shouts sound around him, and panicked hands raise Scott from the ground. Scott catches a glimpse of pink hair, and lavender hair pops into his vision for a moment before the person moves.

“-cott, Alinar please!” Cyran says, pulling his head upwards. “Your highness, please respond.

“We’re at war.” Scott’s voice is dead, void of emotion and care. He can’t do this, he was never trained for what to do during a war. “The wither rose alliance has betrayed our people, helping to bring Exor’s champion to new powers, and has kidnapped my soulmate.”

There’s silence around the group, as though the whole universe heard him admit that his allies had betrayed them. Someone gasps, and another sobs into their partner’s chest. Arel turns, running to the town hall. Horror spreads throughout the city as the bells chime in the town hall, rusted and out of use.

Scott stands on shaking legs, and pulls out a piece of paper, writing a simple sentence onto the paper before sending an owl into the air. Scott takes a deep breath, and slowly descends to his town hall.

—

“Scott’s declared war.” Lizzie says, walking into her bedroom. Joel sits on their bed, brushing red sand off his boots as he nods, not even looking up. “You’re not surprised?”

“Pixl and I knew that was going to happen. Pixandria and Mezalea are just waiting for you to declare war for the Ocean and Cod empires to join the battle.” Joel stands, taking a deep breath. 

“You sound tired.”

“Because I am.” Joel says. “Jimmy became my brother when I married you in the eyes of the law, but I have seen him as a younger brother for so long Lizzie. I’m scared for him.” He takes Lizzie’s hands, holding them as though she would shatter. “I’m scared for you. Make the right decision, love.”

“Prepare my knights.” Lizzie takes a deep breath, steeling herself for a fight. “I’ll warn the Cod Empire.”

“Be safe.” Joel says, stealing a kiss from her as she leaves.

“I’ll see you at the Cod empire.” She says softly. “Bring Pixl and his troops.”

“Anything for you.” Joel says, a sad expression shared between them as she turns to leave. 

Lizzie walks into the ocean, letting her tears mix with the ocean water as she swims towards her brothers empire. Joel doesn’t let the tears fall as he swims through the empire, preparing soldiers and civilians alike for the upcoming war. Tearful goodbyes are exchanged between families, and Joel allows a stray tear to drop onto the letter he sends to Pixl, though he will swear its a droplet of water from the ocean. 

—

Jimmy laughs as his husband tells him a tale over the campfire. Scar and Grian roll their eyes, sharing a roast chicken between themselves. His husband makes an indignant noise, and Jimmy’s sure that if he had a face, he’d have rolled his eyes at Jimmy’s laugh.

“I’m not lying!”

“Elves? Gods? You’ll next tell us that there are little angels looking at us and listening to our conversations.” Scar says, and Jimmy’s stomach drops, exchanging a worried look with Grian over the fire.

“Yeah, thats crazy Scott.” Grian says, and Jimmy stuffs his mouth with food. Easier to lie when someone else is doing it for you. “Anyways, did you guys hear anything from the Crastle crew?”

“We’re not betraying them, Grian.” Scott says lightly. “Cleo’s nice.”

“Cleo’s terrifying,” Jimmy admits. “She’ll probably win this.”

“Don’t say that.” Scott says, the air around the campfire sobering. “Don’t say that.”

“I mean, you’ve had to have wondered who’ll win, right?” Jimmy says. 

“This isn’t a game, Tim.” 

“No it is.” Jimmy says, standing up. “If you’re all to naive to realise that, then you guys can keep staying here, but I’m going home.”

“You’re on your red life, Jimmy.” His husband stands, concern written on his features. “Just wait a moment, the sun’s set. Let me get my things.”

“No.” Jimmy says. “Stay here. You’re safe here.”

—

Pixl arrives to citizens leaving in droves. Families leave with not much more than a suitcase, and people hurry past his soldiers, as though they themselves would turn on them. A small militia, mainly of volunteers and farmers, stand alongside the Cod Empire’s small army. The knights from the ocean empire, and the soldiers from Mezalea arrive together, with Joel at the lead. The Cod Empire’s generals and Lizzie all share the same dire expression, and though Joel masks it, Pixl can see the fear in his eyes. Scott’s troops are the last to arrive, landing from the air with immortal grace and shining armour that masks the bags under their emperors eyes.

“Pixl, I know it’s taxing for you-” Lizzie begins, nervously rocking on the balls of her feet. “Could you-”

“I don’t want to look into the future for this battle, Lizzie.” Pixl says. “It’s easier to see deaths than survivors when it comes to battles.”

“That’s not what I want to know.” She says, looking to Joel and Scott. The two men talk to each other quietly, going over plans and exchanging tips. “I don’t want to know if Jimmy is even alive. I just need to know if-”

She takes a deep breath in, tearing her eyes away from her husband and new ally. Pixl makes eye contact with the woman, who’s eyes glow in the dying sunlight. The entire empire begins to fade with the sun, but Lizzie still glows.

“I just need to know if I’ll lose him too.”

Pixl nods, before opening his eyes.

It’s unsettling, and he’s never done it in the cod empire before. Once, when he was younger, he had shown the other emperors what to expect when he looks into the future. It was a precaution, a way to ensure that they knew why he would appear like that. He’s looked into the future in most empires by now, coming to make sure that the other emperors wouldn’t have any misfortune in their lives.

Pearl and Jimmy, however, share the same fear of his abilities.

He’s not entirely sure why. He understand that it’s upsetting, multiple purple glowing eyes surrounding him, as well as giant purple wings sprouting from his back, but no other emperor has ever shared the same fear, his predecessors have all shared his ability with the world after all. But the pair of them shared a knowing look when he looked into the future, and very politely requested that he not do that in their presence again. Something about things going both ways, though Pixl has never been comfortable to ask what they mean by that.

“You won’t lose him.” The eyes close, and Lizzie sighs a breath of relief. 

“Thank you.”

[carminite-wyrm]

So, after watching the most recent Empires SMP vids, my brain was pretty much like ‘so how can we make this even more full of angst’, but also I needed to sleep because it was like 1am where I live when Pixlriff's episode came out.

Anyways, now that I’ve had some time to Process and also to write, here’s 1k of words of post-Dragon fight, mostly c!Pixlriffs angst.

The dragon, the great Empress of the End, falls.

And as the gathered rulers feel the world shudder around them in response, the rising tides of chaos gathering and coalescing, all Pixlriffs, the Copper King, the King of Pixandria, can feel, is regret. He may not have landed the final blow, but he knows that his hands are stained nonetheless with the violet blood that even now is swiftly evaporating into the cold emptiness of the End, a realm now devoid of its rightful ruler.

That regret, as the truth of what had now been done, deepens even as he and the other rulers try to make sense of what had just happened, of the mistakes and reckless actions that had led to that point.

By the time Xornoth reveals himself to them, and they flee back to the overworld and their respective empires, whether to prepare themselves for the coming days, or to celebrate (in the cases of Sausage and Joey), the coldness of the end portal is nothing compared to the sinking feeling of guilt in Pix’s chest.

Death is sacred to the people of his realm. Death is supposed to be an act that, if it must occur, then the killer must be damn well sure they’ve thought through every single one of the possible consequences, and are prepared to face them.

Had he even thought, during that battle, when everything was a haze of desperation and confusion and ‘I just want to stop having to die in the void to go home’? He hadn’t, Pix knows, and it is this knowledge that makes him know that he was no longer worthy to walk in the light of the Vigil. How could he, when he knows that what drove his blade was the selfish desire to have a marginally easier way of going home from the End?

If he had thought for even a second, Pix thinks, as he approaches one of the desert villages, would then perhaps things would have played out differently. Perhaps the dragon would not have fallen, if he had stopped to consider just why the Wither Rose Alliance had arrived to heal the dragon, to do all they could to keep her alive, even to the point of sacrificing themselves just so the dragon could live for a minute longer.

The scorn and coldness of the villagers, the rumours of what Pix had brought upon them all with his selfish actions having already spread throughout the realm, was to be expected. But it hurts nonetheless, a pain on top of the guilt already wracking his every thought and bringing a chill to his soul.

The warmth and light of the Vigil isn’t present to offer comfort, and even if Pix could stand to be before it…he’s not sure it would be able to do so. Not when his thoughts, and maybe even his very soul, are in turmoil, over the what-ifs and had-nots of the past couple of hours.

He needed some time to…rest, to get his bearings, to start the process of finding out how to undo what he had wrought. Some time away, from everyone, from everything, from the light of the Vigil and the shame its sight now brings to him.

And with these thoughts, Pix turned his gaze, now belonging to a self-exiled wanderer, not the proud Copper King of Pixandria, to the wide, lonely, expanse of the desert.

-

The immediate aftermath of the demise of the End’s Empress, was, quite frankly, amusing to watch. Basking in his newly released powers, the restoration of his powers of chaos and destruction, Xornoth laughed as the rulers of the overworld Empires panicked, and blamed the death of the dragon upon one another.

The hearts and souls of mortals were so malleable, so easily manipulated and turned against one another. In his diminished state, he’d had to resort to petty tricks to strike fear into the ones who fancied themselves overlords of their realms, and sweetened words to bring two of their own to his side. And now that he was free of the seal that had been laid upon him?

The possibilities were, in Xornoth’s eyes, endless.

The seeds of discord and chaos had already been sown long before he had made himself known to the Empires, and this latest failure of the collective Empires to stop his rise had already broken them apart in a myriad of ways that would only further his influence.

And already, he could sense the fractures that had formed. The fear, the anger, the guilt, the despair. His powers could now reach further than just some paltry strikes of lightning, or basic imperviousness to their mortal tools, and though there were some that he knew he could not yet reach, could not yet shape with words and wisps of darkened power, there were others that, in their turmoil, were oh so vulnerable.

He had already toyed with the Wizard of the cliffs and the King of the Grimlands, and knew what desperation and fear to expect from them. He knew that so long as he offered power enough for the Mythland King and the ruler of the Lost Empire, they would not be a threat.

The cod king of the swamp was…well, one would expect easily exploitable weakness from that one, but the man’s stubborn determination made things a little more complicated, at present. The rest of that man’s allies were also similarly uninclined towards true fear, with attachments and resolve that, while inevitably breakable, were presently too strong for him to do much else with. Except…

His thoughts soon came to consider a king. A king who had laughed and dismissed him, who had even thought to be so bold as to use the corruption in his kingdom to his own benefit. Who was no longer within the protection of that sacred Vigil, the magic of his realm that would normally have strengthened his resolve against the spreading corruption. Who had clearly been dealt a great spiritual blow upon his realisation of how his actions had contributed to Xornoth’s rise.

And who was now, most importantly, alone.

The demon cackled, as he drew his form back into the now-familiar mortal shell.

First, he would pay his loyal supplicants a visit, a reward for their loyalty and deeds. And then, he would see just how strong the former King of Copper really was.

[rose-lizzzy]

She was going to end this. Get him out of her head so that she could make her own choices.

She followed the eyes of ender until she reached a hill, where she found a castle, and inside was some of the wither rose alliance, minus sausage, creating puzzles.

"Oh! That's where you guys are!" She exclaims when they noticed her, hiding the ender eyes.

"Shrub? What's up? What are you doing here?" Gem asks, looking up from her puzzle

"Well..." She looks around wildly for an excuse, spotting a crystal. "I was looking for you, Gem! But it's okay, I can meet with you later."

She nods "Alright! I'll finish up here and meet you at the Crystal Cliffs in an hour or two? Or would you prefer the Undergrove?"

"Um, we can do your place." She responds, having been completely thrown off guard. She was all prepared for an epic fight and releasing Xornoth without anyone knowing, and now that was going to be delayed. Such a bother...

"Can do! See you then!" She returns to her work as Shrub rockets away as fast as she could, scolding herself internally.

"How could you be so careless. You could've just snuck by and got in there!" She mutters angrily to herself.

Meanwhile Xornoth was being smug. "I thought you were all about keeping up appearances." He taunts, riling her up further.

"Oh shut up!" Shrub lashes out, mentally shoving him away.

What a relief it'll be when she destroys the dragon and he no longer will constantly aggravate her.

She could always get Gems help to get rid of him now......

No. That's ridiculous, she thinks, shaking her head. She'd have to blow every little piece of cover she's built for the past several months. It would reveal her true intentions, and she can't have that.

Speaking of Gem, she has to head over. She's been flying lost in thought for so long it's almost meeting time.

As soon as she crosses into the Crystal Cliffs she feels a strong magical aura, a powerful sense that immediately calms her. She stands by the waterfall, looking at the beautiful empire, painted in red from the scattered patches of corruption.

Not long after, Gem lands beside her. "You have a lot on your mind. I'm assuming this isn't just about crystals."

Shrub startles, turning and scrambling for words. "Uh ..well....I don't .....what do you...." She stutters, lost for words.

Gem turns to look out at her empire. "You're a lot more than you pretend to be, Shrub. A lot of secrets your hiding."

"Uh...no?" She weakly protests, completely taken off guard, struggling to think clearly through the magical aura of the Cliffs.

"You can't hide it from a wizard, Shrub. I could sense the dark energy coming off of you from the beginning. At first I thought it was the corruption that followed you, the demon that haunted you in your old world. But it's only grown stronger. You have such a dark cloud around you, so much that it's impossible to deny that..." She pauses, like the idea of what she was about to say pained her. "It's impossible to deny that you...you're corrupted, Shrub. You're working with Xornoth."