Chapter Text
You stepped back from the banner, scrutinizing it with a frown on your face.
“No, we did it wrong again.” You said with a sigh.
“Are you sure?” Kai looked defeated, the tip of her tail flicking as she set the banner aside with the others. “I thought for sure we needed the flower charge this time.”
“It might be the flower charge under the chevron…?” You mused, taking a fresh, white banner from the chest and setting it in the loom. The example that you were supposed to be copying stood at the front of the room beside the teacher’s desk, next to where Herobrine stood watching you work.
Today’s art class lesson involved trying to copy a banner without instructions, something that you had absolutely no experience in. You were paired with Kai, the guardian student, who was unfortunately similarly clueless. You could see a couple of pairs around the classroom who looked like they had gotten it right, but unfortunately you hadn’t spied on them long enough to see how.
“We’re almost out of time.” You said anxiously, looking at the timer on the board. “We’ve gotta try to get at least close .”
“We have gotten close,” Kai pointed out. “And, even if we don’t get it perfect, we’ll be okay! Mr. Herobrine just told us to try our best, after all.” She gave you a smile, and you felt yourself relax.
“Yeah. Okay.” You picked up the dyes again, setting them on the loom. “Okay, so blue first, right?”
“Right.”
This was your first time getting to talk to Kai, your only prior knowledge of her being that she was some kind of guardian princess. Even if you hadn’t known that, though, her diplomatic training was obvious from the way she acted. She was well-spoken, very sweet and friendly, and definitely more educated than most of your classmates. Just being around her made you feel more at ease, even if the one, huge eye was a little bit creepy.
You managed to throw together a slightly better banner just before the time on the blackboard ticked down to 0, making a chime sound.
“Alright class, time’s up.” Herobrine announced. “Leave your final banner where it is. For the rest of class, you’re free to experiment with the loom as you wish.” You perked up a bit, grabbing a new banner.
“I wanna see if I can make a kind of… sunset pattern.”
“Don’t add too many layers, or the colors will start to get muddy.” Kai cautioned. You nodded as you pulled purple dye out of the chest.
As you tried to make the pattern you were imagining, your gaze strayed over to where Cray was working. The creeper had been paired with Isabelle, Silvia’s cousin, and they were currently bickering over what pattern to try. Herobrine was watching them but hadn’t stepped in yet. You felt like Cray had gotten less insane after his near-death experience on the field trip, but he definitely had yet to completely calm down.
“Hey.” Kai whispered, and you glanced over at her. “Have you seen the other teacher today?”
“Uh…” You blinked, considering this. “...no, I don’t think so.” The last time you had seen 303 was yesterday after athletics class.
“I wonder if he left.” Kai mused. “I should think he would at least tell us.”
“Maybe…” You considered this as you added more dye to the banner. He’d arrived without warning, maybe he would leave without warning as well.
Your thoughts strayed back to Jace. Surely he wasn’t responsible for this… was he? 303 had put up a decent fight against your teacher, there was no way that Jace could beat him. Right? You’d missed combat class last week, so you didn’t know what Jace could actually… do. But there was no way that he was stronger than your immortal teachers.
The slime in question was sitting back, not interacting with his partner as Kaden messed around with the loom. His eyes were on the far wall, but it flicked to you after a moment of you staring, and you hurriedly wrenched your gaze back to your work. You didn’t want to give him any more reason to bother you.
“What class is this afternoon?” You asked Kai, trying to stop thinking about Jace.
“Brewing, I think.” Kai mused. “Yes. Then tomorrow is World Studies, then Combat.”
“And then Saturday will probably be a field trip again.” You agreed. Hopefully a less exciting one than last week’s.
“Right. I wonder where we’ll go?” Kai studied your banner for a moment. “Oh, that’s looking so good!” You broke into a grin again.
“Thanks.”
You had about fifteen more minutes to work, and you let Kai design a banner before class ended. Herobrine allowed you to take the ones you had made back to your dorm, and you did so happily, hurrying back to your room to hang up your banner by the bed. It made the small room feel just that little bit more your own.
When you reached the dining hall, you habitually sought out the skeletons to have your lunch with. In the process, you noticed that Kai was sitting next to Soliel, and they seemed to be having a cheerful conversation. She really was just that good.
Though you tried to keep up with the skeletons’ conversation, your mind wandered while you ate. You were still surprised that you hadn’t gotten in trouble for stealing a potion last week. Did Herobrine just… trust you not to do that again? Or would he stop you this time? He said he’d known. Which… wasn’t a shock, as everyone else probably turned in three potions and you only turned in two. You hadn’t thought that plan through very well at all.
When you got to brewing class, however, Herobrine was nowhere to be found. Instead, Entity 303 was lounging in his chair at the front of the room.
“Good afternoon, class.” He said cheerfully as you filed in and took your seats.
“Where’s Mr. Herobrine?” Silvia spoke up before you could.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Brine had to attend to a personal matter.” 303 informed you. “He asked me to cover brewing class for this afternoon.” You exchanged a glance with Morpheus. What could be keeping your teacher?
“Now, he gave me this lesson plan,” 303 held up a neat, stapled-together packet of paper. “But, frankly, it seems pretty boring. So I came up with my own.” He lifted his other hand, which contained a disorganized stack of paper on which words were scrawled in red crayon. “Who's ready to do some target practice?”
Fade raised his hand. “Um, sir,” He began hesitantly, “I don't think that I can safely participate in this activity.”
“You're right.” 303 pointed at Soliel. “You, either. Here.” He handed over Herobrine's lesson plan to Fade, who took it with a bewildered look on his face. “Knock yourself out.”
“I would rather do the activity.” Soliel announced. “I simply won't get hit.”
“Suit yourself.” 303 shrugged. “You can be the one to explain that to Herobrine if he comes after me asking why his on-fire student has burn marks. Now-“ He turned away from Fade, hefting a splash water bottle in one hand. “Let’s talk tactics. Splash potions are of no use if you can’t hit your target with them.”
Brewing class had been relocated to the gym, where 303 had revealed several double chests full of splash water bottles. The activity he seemed to have in mind was very similar to dodgeball, in that your class was going to be split into two teams and pitted against each other. If you got hit by a potion, you were out. Last team standing won. The teams would be uneven, you noticed, with Fade not playing. Did 303 plan to join a team?
“For maximum accuracy, I would recommend an underhand throw.” 303 demonstrated by tossing the bottle in his hand, and you watched as it shattered on a single red block on the other side of the gym. “But you’re welcome to try different methods. Now, everyone line up single-file on the center line and I’ll split you up into teams.” You obeyed, following Cray over as you glanced around the gym. Fade had teleported to the edge of the gym with the packet, paging through it, and you wondered how Herobrine would react when he got back from wherever he’d gone.
303 did not, in fact, join a team, and you were placed on the team that had only eight members instead of nine. Your teammates were Soliel, Morpheus, Dusk, Silvia, Soot, Kai, and Greyson. Jace was on the other team, and you weren’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. At least, even if he did target you, the worst he could do was get you a little wet.
“Blue team, you stay on this side of the gym. Red team, you stay on this side.” 303 directed you. “Do not step on or over the second line, or you will be immediately out.” You retreated to the back of your half of the court, glancing back to where there were several double chests of splash water bottles.
“I better not see any of you going easy on me!” Soliel shouted. “Give it your best shot!” Cray, who already had his arms full of projectiles, gave her a toothy grin.
“Oh, I will.”
“Students, arm yourselves!” 303 called as he teleported to the side of the gym, and you wondered once again how qualified he was to be a teacher. “Ready, set, fight!”
It didn’t seem like anyone was a very good shot just yet, which was lucky for you, as the air filled with potion bottles but none of them hit their intended targets. You promptly assigned yourself the role of supplier, sticking by the chests and handing off potion bottles to any of your teammates that came close. You knew you weren’t likely to hit anyone, and you didn’t really want to get wet.
Handing off a few potions to Silvia, you happened to be watching when the first potion hit its’ target, shattering over Silt’s head.
“Silt is out!” 303 called as the drowned staggered. “Come on over here!” Scowling, Silt jogged off the court. Geode was the next one to go down, sitting down hard with a squeak as a potion hit her in the stomach.
Cray was having the time of his life, hurling potions wildly with little care where they landed. One of his reckless attacks did get Soot, hitting her in the shin and forcing her off the court with the others. Soliel was the main firepower on your team, darting back and forth with such precision that she’d managed to avoid being hit yet. Maybe there was some truth to her gloating after all.
Jace was still up, and you eyed him, tossing a potion idly. You would really like to be able to hit him, if he didn’t get you first. Slowly, you edged towards the center of the court, focusing on the slime who was oblivious to your approach. You took aim, drew back the water bottle, and-
Crash! A bottle shattered over your head, drenching you in cold water and making you shriek in surprise.
“Y/N, you’re out!” 303 called, and you scowled, but obediently hurried off the court to stand with the others. Cray was cackling madly, and you heaved a sigh, but you couldn’t be too mad.
You sat down against the wall and watched as the round continued to progress. Morpheus managed to get Cray out, eliminating the red team’s main source of offense, and the rest of the team fell shortly after. Your team won with Soliel, Morpheus, and Dusk remaining.
“Excellent job, students.” 303 said cheerfully as Jace stomped off the court. “Line up again, we’re doing different teams for the second round.”
Marrow raised her hand. “How many rounds are we doing?”
“At least three.” 303 told her. “Maybe more depending on how we’re feeling. Afterwards we’re going to head back to the classroom and work on recipe memorization.” You made a face. You would much rather play water balloon dodgeball than sit and memorize stuff.
The teams were divvied out again, and you were put on red team this time - still on the opposite side as Jace, you noticed. You wondered if 303 was putting any thought into team dynamics, or just splitting you up randomly. You had Cray on your team this time, who greeted you in his excitement by running straight into you.
“I figured it out.” He announced as you staggered backwards. “Just throw as many as you can, and you’ll hit something.”
“Yeah, you hit me .” You gestured to your wet clothes. “But, um, in a real battle, probably you’d want to learn to aim so that you could conserve your ammo.” Cray considered this for a moment.
“Huh.” He finally said. “Maybe.”
“Ready, set, fight!” 303 shouted, and you promptly scrambled to the back of the court to arm yourself.
Cray was already hurling bottles at the other team, apparently disregarding your advice, but you’d barely gotten ammo of your own when Soliel hit him in the face and knocked him flat on his back.
“Cray is out!” 303 announced, and you edged towards the line as Cray dragged himself off the court. Soliel was definitely getting better, her gaze focused on Greyson as he approached the line with a water bottle held in both hands. Kaden pitched a water bottle at her, and she sidestepped it without a care in the world. Your brow furrowed a bit. You didn’t want to hurt her, but you would like to see her ego knocked down a peg.
You made your way as far to the right as you could get, sort of hiding behind Silt and Xa-Tul where they were lobbing potions at Marrow. You positioned yourself as close to the line as you could get, then hesitated. What was it that 303 had said about maximum accuracy? Underhand throws, right? You weren’t sure if your aim would be any better underhand than overhand, but it was worth a shot. You took a step back, then let the bottle fly, aiming for Soliel where she stood in the middle of her court.
The bottle shattered on her shoulder and she shrieked, stumbling back and clutching her arm where the water had made contact.
“Soliel!” 303 teleported out onto the court, appearing beside her to check on her. “Are you alright?”
“ Fine. ” She pushed past him, stomping off the court to stand with the others. You wilted a bit as she passed you, wincing when you saw the discolored mark on her arm. She’d insisted on participating, she’d specifically dared people to hit her, but… you still felt bad. A moment later, a water bottle hit you in the knee, which you supposed was karma. And that you weren’t paying attention.
You sat down next to Cray, who raised both eyebrows at you as you arrived.
“Okay, maybe I’ll try your way.” He said as you rested your chin in your palm. “You threw one bottle and hit her.” You managed a little grin.
“I think it was luck more than anything, but yeah.” You peered past him to get a look at Soliel. The blaze looked more mad than hurt, sulking where she sat against the wall with her team, so it must not have hurt too badly, and as you watched 303 appeared in front of her with a potion. Actually, you realized as she drank it, it probably felt a lot like when she had burned you during the first athletics class. You hadn’t meant to get payback, but maybe now you were even.
Soliel’s team ended up winning, and yours losing, and 303 lined you up to assign teams again. Soliel was still holding her arm, you noticed as she and you were dispatched to the red team. You also regretted giving Cray advice, since he was now on the blue team, and was currently staring you down with a wicked grin on his face.
“Get ready, students!” 303’s gaze lingered on Soliel for a second more than usual. “On your marks, get set, fight!”
You scuttled to the back of the court, watching Soliel as she took down Morpheus and Silt on the other team. Predictably, that meant that the rest of the team was now targeting her. Silvia and her cousin were both on your team this time, and with six arms they could throw potions considerably faster than you could, though with about the same accuracy as Cray had. Basically, there were just always water bottles flying everywhere.
You set your jaw, seeking out Jace again. You couldn’t spend time being worried about Soliel, she could handle herself. You picked out the slime where he was getting an armful of water bottles, looking around surreptitiously before making his way towards the center line to throw one at Isabelle. He hit her, and she squealed as she was drenched in cold water. Huh. He was a pretty good shot.
You came closer, a water bottle in each hand, sort of hiding behind Soliel so that Jace wouldn’t notice your approach. If you could just hit him, you’d be happy with whoever this round turned out. Was it wise to possibly provoke him? Maybe not. You aimed anyway.
Jace turned in your direction, and you froze, but he was focused on Soliel in front of you. The blaze girl was facing the other way, oblivious to Jace’s impending attack as he took aim and hurled a water bottle at her face.
Without thinking, you lurched forward, shouldering Soliel out of the way and taking the hit.
“Hey!!” Soliel snapped as she was shoved aside, but her withering glare faltered when she saw you shaking off the water that was now all over your front. You met her eyes, shrugged, then strode off the court. Even if you hadn’t hit him, that did feel like some sort of victory over Jace.
Your sacrifice was not in vain. Soliel never got out, and your team ended up winning. Soliel never thanked you for saving her butt, but at least she didn’t look at you with so much contempt.
“Alright, class, that was three rounds.” 303 announced as he gathered the class at the side of the court. “Now, who wants to go back to the classroom and memorize potion ingredient charts?”
Wearily, you raised your hand.