Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
You squinted down at the map in your hands, confirming that your representative dot was, in fact, on top of the X, before lifting your gaze back up to the building in front of you.
"No way." You muttered under your breath. "Maybe I got the wrong map." But even you didn't believe your words as you scrutinized the building. It was built out of bricks and quartz, standing out against the dark forest, with a sign above the door that read "Monster School". It was absolutely silent, even the sounds of the forest seem to have gone quiet around it. Eerie atmosphere aside, you... weren't a monster.
Three months ago, at the end of your last semester of middle school, you were entered into a drawing for a full scholarship to a private boarding school. Last month, you received a letter informing you that you'd won. Your parents had been thrilled, and over the last couple of weeks you'd been packed up and shipped off to the rendezvous point, along with a map that had come with the letter. From the train station, you'd followed the map, and nothing about this had seemed weird to you until just now.
You snuck a glance around yourself, wondering if this was some sort of prank. Maybe there was a hidden camera? If there was, it was hidden well. You squared your shoulders, looking back at the building. Maybe the name was... unrelated.
Slowly, you made your way up to the building, climbing the steps and hesitating in front of the door. Should you knock? It was still so quiet. After a moment of consideration, you rapped your fist gently against the door, then fell quiet to listen. Nothing. You grabbed the handle and pushed the door open.
The inside was warmly lit by torches, but appeared empty. Before you was a hallway, with several branching off of it, but straight down at the other end was a door labeled 'classroom'. The semester didn't start until tomorrow, but maybe there would be someone in there?
"Hello?" You called quietly, slipping through the doorway and shutting the door behind you. No response. You made your way down the hall, your steps muffled by the thick, red carpet that lined the entryway. As you approached the door, you perked up at the sound of voices - the first sign of life in this odd place. Slowly, you reach out and grip the knob, then push the door open enough for you to peer inside.
The room beyond was - as expected - a classroom, at the head of which was a man with his back facing you as he wrote on the chalkboard. That was normal enough, what wasn't normal was the fact that nearly every seat was filled by a monster. Zombies, skeletons, spiders, and even a creeper were sitting patiently, listening attentively as the man spoke. Your heart leaped into your throat, and you started to try to ease the door shut, but before you could move the man turned and focused on you.
"Ah, Y/N." He called out, drawing the class's attention to you, and you promptly hid behind the door. "Come in! We've been expecting you." You hesitated for a moment. You couldn't exactly say no. So, you pushed the door open again, clutching your backpack straps as your heart pounded in your throat.
"My name is Herobrine, I'll be your teacher for the semester." The man greeted you. The glasses he wore only somewhat hid the fact that his eyes were glowing. "Welcome to Monster School."
Chapter Text
"I-I think there's some mistake." You squeaked, sitting down hard in your chair. All the mobs were staring at you, only increasing your feeling of dread. "I-I'm not a monster."
"I know," the man, Herobrine, assured you. "And there's no mistake. Just as each of my other students represent their respective species, you represent the players." He tapped the chalkboard with the stick in his hand, and you immediately found your name alongside with the others.
"B-but, um..." Your gaze darted around the room as you gripped the desk to keep your hands from shaking.
"You need not be afraid of your classmates." Herobrine told you patiently. "I have already spoken with them about this arrangement. Some of them were resistant to the idea as well, given the strained relationship between your kinds, but I assure you that here you will be treated just like any of your peers." You swallowed. You weren't sure you wanted to be treated like a monster.
Across the room, a creeper boy scoffed and folded his arms on his desk. "Well..." he began, and was immediately silenced by a harsh look from your teacher.
"As I'm sure you are all aware," Herobrine addressed the class again as the boy slumped down. "Our semester begins tomorrow, so today I will be giving you an overview of your education as well as discussing the rules." You shifted anxiously in your seat, finally lowering your backpack down next to you. Your skin still crawled with anxiety over being around all these monsters, but it wasn't like you could leave. At least, not right now. Maybe there would be a chance for that later. Thunder rumbled outside, and you shivered, sinking down further in your seat.
"As well as your standard high school education, history, math, language arts, etcetera, you will be trained in a variety of physical activities, such as acrobatics and hand-to-hand combat." Herobrine tapped the chalkboard with the stick, and words appeared on it, causing you to blink in surprise and lean over your desk to get a better look at them. "This is your class list. Since every student in this school is in this room right now-" Herobrine paused. "-except one, you will be attending every one of these classes with the people you see around you." You snuck a glance to your right, and found another empty desk. Which mob was missing?
"With only a couple of exceptions, all of these classes will be taught by me." Herobrine stepped away from the board, falling silent to give his students a chance to look over the text. Studying the list, you found several classes that you never expected to find at any high school, such as 'hiding' and 'brewing'. He knew you couldn't legally drink, right?
"A class schedule will be provided in each of your rooms," Herobrine gestured at the board and the words vanished. "But, in the vast majority of cases, going to class will involve coming to this same classroom at the same time every day, so it won't be too complex. Now-" Another tap with his stick, and 'Rules' appeared at the top of the board.
"Except for structured battles, there will be no physical fighting amongst students." Herobrine's voice was stern, and you could see him eying a couple of students in particular as he said this. "Second, all class work must be turned in on time, which will typically be the beginning of the next day." You heard a quiet groan from a zombie at the front of the classroom. "Third, you must be respectful of the grounds and of your uniform. Wanton destruction will not be tolerated." The creeper boy's hand shot up, and the teacher glanced over. "Yes, Cray?"
"Uhh, I don't know if you've ever met a creeper before, sir." The boy drawled. "But we're kinda... prone t' exploding. So, I mean, sometimes I just can't help it."
"I've met plenty of creepers." Herobrine responded. "I've had several of them in my school before. And after the first time they try it, they learn to 'help it'." You didn't know if the creeper heard the threat in his words, but you certainly did.
"Fourth," Herobrine resumed his speech. "You are here to learn. I encourage you to get to know your classmates, but do not let your friendships get in the way of your education. Beyond that, just have some common sense." You wondered what 'common sense' even meant to a bunch of monsters. "Now-" Herobrine stopped, looking back at the door to the classroom. You followed his gaze, as did several of your classmates, and after a moment heard footsteps pattering down the hall. The missing student?
Your thoughts were confirmed a moment later when the door burst open, admitting a skinny spider girl who was soaking wet. "Sorry!!" She squeaked, four of her six arms moving in an attempt to shake off the water. "I got caught in the storm, and- and couldn't find-"
"Don't worry, Silvia." Herobrine cut her off, his tone patient. "Go find your seat, I was just finishing up here." The girl ducked her head in a nod, hurrying over to the last empty desk to sink into her chair. You glanced at her sympathetically. The weather had been threatening as you approached the school, but you had managed to stay out of the rain that you could now hear pounding against the windows.
"Y/N." The sound of your name made you flinch, and you swiveled around to look at your teacher. "You share a dorm with Silvia, would you mind catching her up on what she missed?" You blanch, looking back at the cave spider, but hurriedly nod. You didn't want to cross your teacher so early in the semester.
"S-sure."
"Thank you." Herobrine turned his attention to an enderman in the first row. "Fade?"
"Yes sir!" The enderman shot to his feet.
"Please lead your classmates to the dorms and help them find their rooms." Herobrine nodded to the rest of the class. "All of you, follow Fade. Get settled in. You will be informed when it's time for supper." You hurried to obey, grabbing your backpack as you stood along with the others. The enderman turned and marched to the back of the classroom, having to duck to get through the doorway.
"Come on, everyone." He said authoritatively, and you merged into the small crowd following him out. You cast a glance back over your shoulder to find Herobrine not moving, just quietly watching as you left the room. You shuddered. Despite being surrounded by monsters, somehow you felt like he was the most dangerous one in the building.
Fade led all of you to the far right wing of the building, where there was a row of doors, all labeled with names and species. It didn't take you long to find your own room, labeled with your full name and 'player' underneath. It also had Silvia's name and species, and you hesitantly held the door for her as she scurried over to join you.
"Th-thanks." She said, teeth chattering. You cast one last glance out into the hall before stepping into your room, looking around at your living space for the next semester.
The room was divided in half, with each half having a bed, a nightstand with a glowstone lamp, a small walk-in closet, and a chest in which to store your belongings. Each bed had a package on it, and you wandered over to the closest one to take a look. A note on top of it read 'Y/N - Player'.
"So, um..." Silvia's voice caught your attention, and you turned around to find her scrunching her fingers through her short hair. "...what, um, are you?" You blinked at her, feeling a little intimidated with her beady red eyes trained on you.
"A-a player."
"Oh." She sank down to sit cross-legged, one pair of arms continuing to work on her hair while a third hand reached into the chest. "That's what I thought, but, um, I wasn't sure. What- why are you at the monster school?"
"I wish I knew." You blew out a frustrated breath. Of course you would be paired with the only student who Herobrine hadn't given a pep talk about not killing you. "U-um, mister Herobrine said I'm here to represent the players."
"Oh." Silvia blinked, pulling a cobweb out of the chest. "I didn't know that would happen."
"And he said no fighting between students, either." You added hurriedly. At least she was pretty small. If you could keep away from her sharp fangs, you could probably take her in a fight.
"Okay." Silvia just nodded passively, placing the cobwebs around her bed and draping herself over them. "What else did he say?"
"Uh... turn your homework in on time, don't break anything on the school grounds, and focus on learning." You recited. "Oh, and we should have a class schedule somewhere."
"This?" Silvia held up a piece of paper in a free hand, setting it down without a second glance. "Yeah, I found it." You glanced back at your own bed, and soon found your schedule set beside the package. Like Herobrine had said, it wasn't too complicated. You had normal classes in the morning, like science and math, and the strange 'monster school' classes in the afternoons. You rubbed your head, grimacing. This was going to take some getting used to.
Were you really going to be stuck here for the rest of the semester, rooming with a cave spider and mingling with all sorts of dangerous mobs? For most of these things, this was the first time you'd seen them in person- at home, you lived with your parents in the middle of a huge city. Very few mobs were foolish enough to even try to attack, and those that did were quickly and easily dispatched by border guards and the iron golems that roamed the streets. You'd expected something a lot like that when you departed on your trip- maybe a little more remote, but not... this.
There was a single window in the middle of the room, through which you could see the dark storm clouds gathered around the building. Though you couldn't see the sun, you were pretty sure it was getting to be late afternoon. Herobrine had mentioned something about supper, which you were grudgingly thankful for. You hadn't eaten since the train station that morning.
Your gaze went back to the package, and you finally sat on the edge of the bed to tear it open. Inside was a tailored uniform, black with a red emblem stitched into the breast pocket. You hold it up, scrutinizing it. It looked like your size. Had your parents sent in your measurements, or...?
"I hope they don't all look like that." Silvia commented, and you turned to find her ripping open her own package. Hers had six sleeves. "Guess not."
"Yeah." You stood up, folding the uniform over your arm. "I'm gonna get changed."
"Kay." Silvia didn't look at you, still admiring the garment, and you stepped into your closet to change into your new clothes.
Notes:
(gathers all the mob kids into my arms) I love them
also yeah I gijinkaed them lol
Chapter Text
You bit into the piece of bread, then leaned back, looking up at the ceiling about eight blocks above you and trying to block out the noise of your fellow students as they ate. Somehow, despite there only being about 18 of you, your class made as much noise as the dozens of students in the dining hall of your old middle school.
Some of them already knew each other, you had realized the more you were around them. The wither skeleton and the blaze seemed to be old friends, the drowned and the husk seemed to be old enemies (with the zombie trying to play mediator), and Isabelle, the spider, was Silvia's older cousin. That was also how you found out that not all of you were the same age. The skeleton claimed to be thirty-four years old, whereas Cray, the creeper, was only five. Which, you reasoned, checked out considering his attitude.
The dining hall was stocked with a variety of food, including raw meat for the zombies and spiders, some strange mushrooms for the blaze, and apples, bread, and steak for you. Also, weirdly, Cray ate grass? He didn't seem to see anything wrong with it, and in fact was currently mocking the zombies for not eating grass. You had a feeling that you weren't going to get along well with him.
You also... weren't sure where the food came from. Other than Herobrine, you hadn't seen any staff, certainly not a cook or kitchen staff. So where did it come from? Maybe someone dropped it off while you all were in the dorms. Your dinner consisted of meat, potatoes, and a loaf of bread. Fairly standard, if a bit bland. While you ate, you took the opportunity to study your classmates a bit.
This was your first time seeing most of these mobs, so you weren't quite able to identify them all. For instance, one of your classmates was a shorter girl with one, huge eye, and orange spikes that jutted out of the back of her head. You had no clue what kind of creature she was, and you were kind of afraid to ask. She had scales, and... was eating fish. Some kind of sea monster? There was also a boy with dark blue skin and sort of... webbed wings, whom you were pretty sure was a phantom. Those occasionally flew around over the city after dark. You wondered who on the Overworld was staying up for three nights in a row.
The skeletons, predictably, did not eat. The three of them were grouped up at the end of the table, chatting quietly as their classmates ate. The wither skeleton, Soot, seemed to be sort of the ringleader between the three of them, which made sense considering she was about a foot and a half taller than them. She was a little awkward with her gangly limbs when she walked, which was... weirdly endearing, especially when the other two skeletons flanked her on either side to make sure she didn't fall.
The skeletons had each other, as did the zombies and the spiders, and the Nether mobs, and even the phantom and the fish thing seemed to get along well with their companions. Short of Cray, who was doing his best to be as abrasive as possible, they all had friends here. All, for the most part, comfortable with each other.
Not you. You sat at the furthest end of the long table, as far from the monsters as you could get, eating your food and trying not to interact. You were trying to just get done with the meal as soon as possible so you could go curl up in bed and block everything out. You were exhausted, miserable, and scared, you just weren't willing to be hungry too.
Something appeared in the corner of your vision, and you glanced up just in time to see an apple fly past your head.
"Oh plaaaayerrrr!" Cray cajoled, tossing a second apple up and down in his head as you flinched back in shock. "C'mon down here and sit with us!" You shrank down a bit as the monsters focused on you again.
"Uh, so you can throw more stuff at me? No thanks."
"Your funeral!" Cray aimed, but the enderman teleported behind him and snatched the apple out of his hand.
"Mr. Herobrine said no physical fighting." Fade told him sternly. "That includes food fights." Cray swiveled around to glare up at him.
"Well you're no fun."
"I merely want to follow our host's rules."
"And who's gonna tell him? What he doesn't know won't hurt 'im!"
"I'll tell him."
"Ugh." Cray turned around in his chair, scowling. "I hate grass-pushers." He muttered under his breath. There was a small collection of gasps from around the table, and Fade stiffened. You gathered from this reaction that 'grass-pushers' was a very rude thing to say.
"Even if Fade isn't going to tell Mr. Herobrine about that, I am." The zombie piglin said icily. "You need to watch your mouth, creeper."
"And what are you gonna do if I don't?" Cray shot back. In response, the zombie piglin surged to her feet, leaping onto the table and brandishing a gold axe.
"No fighting!" Fade exclaimed as Cray shrieked and tipped his chair over backwards. The zombie piglin ignored him, giving chase as the creeper scrambled upright and ran. You stayed stock-still in your chair, watching as Cray spun around and began to flash red.
"ENOUGH!!" A roar louder than the thunder outside had the pair of them freezing where they stood, the zombie piglin's axe clattering to the ground. Your startled gaze followed the rest of the class as they turned to the doorway, where Herobrine was standing with his arms folded.
"Sir, they-" Fade began, but he was cut off.
"I know." Herobrine said simply. "I was watching." His gaze fell on Cray, who slowly shrank down to the floor. "Come with me, Cray, Azara." Silently, the two of them picked themselves up and obeyed. "The rest of you," Herobrine's disapproving glance swept over the room. "Finish your meal and get to bed." There was a small murmur of assent, then the room fell silent once more as Herobrine left with the offending students. Shoving the rest of your bread in your mouth, you were more than happy to drop off your dishes and hurry away to hide in your room.
"So 15 over 25 becomes what?" Herobrine's gaze swept across the room, and, when no hands were raised, he called on the stray. "Kaden?"
"3 over 5." The skeleton boy muttered. Herobrine nodded approvingly, gesturing towards the blackboard with his stick and causing the simplified fraction to appear.
"Good. That concludes math class for today." He gestured to a basket sitting on a side table, and a sheet of paper appeared suddenly on every desk. "This sheet will be due tomorrow morning when class starts. Late work incurs an automatic 10-percent penalty. Understood?" There was a chorus of small 'yes sir's, among them yours as you skimmed over the sheet and stuffed it into your backpack. Simplified fractions came easily to you, which was good since you could barely focus on what your teacher was saying.
You'd basically been in fight-or-flight since you woke up this morning and found Silvia lounging on several new webs she'd attached to the ceiling. Breakfast had been a similarly harrowing experience, though at least today Cray had toned down his insanity a little bit, and immediately after you were all called into class. After that it became... somewhat normal. You were in a classroom, studying equations, listening to a lecture and taking notes. This was what you'd expected from high school, not... having food flung at you by a 5-year-old creeper.
You managed to get out of the classroom first, which allowed you to hurry to the dining hall and get your food before the rest of your classmates showed up. Today, you decided to avoid the dining hall altogether and go back to your room to eat. There was no rule against this, so it should be fine... right? You just wanted to avoid the chaos and racial feuds that took place in the common area.
As you ate your carrots and chicken, you worked on your math homework. The afternoon class was one of the strange monster-school ones- hiding, your class schedule said. You weren't sure what that meant, but you wanted to get your homework out of the way just in case it took a while. Ordinarily you weren't known for being studious, but... you didn't like this place at all, and just wanted to get this one thing out of the way so you didn't have to do it later.
Before you knew it, the bell above the school went off once. 1 PM, time for class. Shoveling the rest of your food in your mouth, you hurried to drop off your plate in the dining hall and went back to class.
You were one of the first one there, and you quietly slid into your seat as the mobs filed into the room.
"Are we all here?" Herobrine asked as the ghast boy hurried through the door. A moment later, he nodded, answering his own question. "Good. Welcome to Hiding class." You snuck a glance around you, wondering if anyone else was as unfamiliar with this as you were.
"I'd like to begin this semester with an assessment of your skills," Herobrine went on. "So we're going to start this class with a game. I assume you're all familiar with hide and seek?"
Notes:
give me some plot dont be shy :)
Chapter 4: Chapter Three - Hiding Class
Chapter Text
"I've set up this barrier to ensure that no one goes beyond the school grounds." Herobrine gestured to the glowing, blue wall that surrounded the school and stretched up as far as the eye could see. "Otherwise, the only places that are off limits will be the dormitories and the locked doors. Understood?" There was a chorus of acknowledgement, which you heard only faintly. Your gaze was fastened on the force field. So you really were trapped here.
"I'll need a volunteer to seek first," Herobrine went on, and Cray's hand shot up before he could even finish talking. "Very well, Cray, you may go first." The creeper broke into a devious grin. "There will be multiple rounds," Herobrine went on, "not only to give everyone a turn, but to allow you to explore different strategies. You are caught as soon as 'it' sees you and calls you out. There will be no running or chasing- we'll save that for another time." There were a couple of murmurs at that, but Herobrine hushed them.
"You will be graded on a curve based on who is caught first, and when you are caught you must remain in that place until you hear the horn blow twice to signify the end of the round." Herobrine continued. "I will be watching to ensure the rules are followed. Cray, stand by me. The others will be given a minute to hide." The creeper sauntered over to him, and you snapped to attention, running through your mind your possible hiding places. There was a good amount of the school that you hadn't explored yet, but most of the monsters were probably thinking the same thing. Would it be smart to forfeit a potentially better hiding place in favor of being unexpected?
"On your marks, hiders." Herobrine raised a goat horn in one hand, resting the other on Cray's shoulder. "Get set, go." You bolted.
Your heart was pounding as you snaked around the side of the building, choosing to find a hiding place outside rather than in- hopefully that would give you a better chance, and being trapped in an enclosed space being hunted by monsters was a literal nightmare of yours. You bitterly wondered if Herobrine had considered this at all, but concluded a moment later than he probably didn't care.
It seemed like most of your classmates had gone inside, you only heard a bit of noise other than your short, anxious breaths as you searched for a place to hide. There were a couple of trees within the barrier, but you only had a minute, and you weren't sure if you'd be able to get up there in time, so you scratched that idea for now. Maybe in a future round.
Cray really was... the worst possible one of your classmates to be picked first. He was crazy, and violent, and he was willing to pick a fight with a zombie piglin with an axe, how much more would he be willing to hurt you?? You didn't have any special powers, or weapons, or- or anything!
Finally, you found a corner that was mostly blocked off by vegetation, and crammed yourself through the bushes into the small space. Sinking to the ground, you hunched yourself up in the corner as small as possible, covering your mouth with your hands to reduce the sound of your breathing. Moments after you'd gotten settled, the long, low drone of a goat horn rang out over the schoolhouse. Cray was hunting.
You stayed perfectly still, willing your heart to stop beating out of your chest. Before Cray, you'd never met a creeper in person, but you'd heard enough to know that they were called creepers because they were silent. They could be an inch behind you and you wouldn't know until they hissed, which was a warning that they planned to explode in the next five seconds. Would Cray do that?? Surely Herobrine had threatened him into behaving by now??
You swallowed thickly, trying not to freak out. You hated this. This was the kind of situation that people would tell horror stories about, and you were supposed to endure it every week?? For the rest of the school year?! And even when class didn't involve you being hunted by deadly monsters, Cray still seemed determined to make your life Nether, and you were sure that the others would do the same if given the chance. Maybe not Fade. He seemed to be a stickler for the rules.
A foot crunched in the grass nearby, and you seized with terror a moment before a red eye appeared between the leaves.
"Gotcha, player."
You shrieked, and Cray popped up out of the bush, cackling.
"Don't move!" He shouted as you tried to scramble up. "Mr. Herobrine said stay right there!" With that, he dashed off again. You blinked after him, your heartrate starting to slow as you pushed yourself up and brushed off your knees. Well, that wasn't... so bad. He seemed to care more about winning than bothering you.
You stood stiffly in your spot for a few more minutes, before the horn finally blew twice to mark the end of the round. You pushed your way out of the bushes and hurried back to the front of the school, where your classmates were gathering. Cray was standing beside Herobrine with a crap-eating grin on his face.
"Good job," Herobrine praised, not looking up from where he was writing on a clipboard. You craned your neck to catch a glimpse of it, and found that he was writing down scores. You had been the third-to-last to be caught. "I need another volunteer to seek."
As Silvia was selected next, you could feel a spark of excitement in your chest. Maybe this wouldn't be as terrible as you'd thought? Even Cray just wanted to play the game, and he was insane, so... probably it would be okay?
This time, when Herobrine counted you off, you ran into the school.
You quickly ditched the rest of the group, turning down a hallway you hadn't visited before. You tried one door, found it locked, then moved on to the next and found yourself in some kind of storage room. Even though it was a fairly obvious hiding place, you were running out of time, so you hauled yourself up onto the top of a large shelf and crammed yourself back into the corner just as you heard the horn go off.
Scrunching yourself into the smallest ball you could manage, you fell silent and still, heart pounding from anticipation this time rather than fear. At least you knew Silvia wouldn't eat you- she'd had plenty of opportunity for that already. You stared at the open door, the only source of light in the small space.
After a tense few minutes, you saw a shadow appear in the hall. A moment later, Silvia passed by, prowling to the end of the hall before coming back. She poked her head into the closet, her red eyes glowing bright in the darkness, but evidently didn't see you as she soon crept off again.
It was a few more minutes, during which you heard more than a few indignant yells from your classmates, before Silvia doubled back to the closet. This time, you were treated to a display of her crawling up the walls before she spotted you.
"Y/N!" She cried out. "There you are!" You gave her a hesitant grin, crawling out of your hiding place.
"Am I the last one?"
"Well, no, I still haven't found Kai." Silvia dropped off the wall. "But almost! Stay right there!" She scuttled out of the room again, and you sat upright, swinging your legs over the side of the shelf. It looked like you were doing pretty well, even if you didn't have any special powers.
A few minutes later, the horn blew twice again, and you hopped down from the shelf with a small grunt. Mr. Herobrine had said he was grading on a curve, surely you were doing well. You didn't know how many rounds he intended to play, but getting third and second place in the first two would definitely bump up your score.
By the time you made it outside, you were feeling a bit more confident. Almost like you weren't sharing this activity with a bunch of flesh-eating monster children. After marking down your scores, Herobrine selected the slime boy- Jace, you were pretty sure - to be 'it' next, and sent the rest of you off to hide again. This time, you headed up a staircase into the upper floor of the school, finding a large cupboard and tucking yourself inside.
You heard the horn go off, muffled by the cupboard door, and settled in for what you expected to be a long wait. To your surprise, though, you almost immediately heard slow, measured footsteps coming up the stairs. You held your breath as they came closer, unease beginning to turn your stomach. Did he... somehow know where you were?
Your fears were confirmed a moment later when the cupboard door flew open, Jace's yellow eyes glinting in the dark.
"Hello, player." He hissed as you flinched. You just stared in bewilderment. Had he heard you somehow? What powers did a slime even have?? "Get up." Jace beckoned you up, and you blinked.
"Mr. Herobrine said-"
"And I said get up." Jace snapped, cutting you off. A sliver of fear running through you, you obeyed, crawling out of the tight space and getting to your feet. You stood stiffly in front of the cupboard as the slime looked you up and down and crossed his arms.
"Why are you even here, player?" He asked, his tone scornful. "You make up the worst and weakest traits of every other student." You bristled.
"Well I didn't choose to be here, did I?" You snapped back. If it were any of the other students, you probably would've just stammered something and hid again, but you weren't really that afraid of a slime. "What's your problem, anyway? Shouldn't you be looking for the others?"
"I know where they are." Jace brushed you off. "Same way I knew where to find you." You blinked, suddenly feeling dread begin to pool in the pit of your stomach.
"Well, you've found me, good job." You lifted a hand to push him back. "You should go, you're probably losing points-" before you could finish, Jace seized you by the wrist and slammed your arm back against the cupboard, making you stumble back. His skin felt like cold rubber, and his grip was tight enough that you couldn't escape no matter how much you tried to twist away.
"You should go home." Jace took a step closer, leaning uncomfortably close. "Now." You gritted your teeth.
"I can't."
"Well figure it out! Because no one wants you here." Jace's hand seemed to morph around your wrist, his fingers melting into a solid mass. "Otherwise you might get hurt."
Abruptly, the slime jerked his hand free, turning away and leaving the room. You stood stunned for a few moments, your heart thudding as you watched him leave, then finally you sunk down to sit on the ground. Surely that was against the rules, right? Surely Herobrine would do something about it??
By the time the horn blew at the end of the round, though, there was no sign of your teacher.
Chapter 5: Chapter Four - Cooking Class
Notes:
whoops I forgot this site existed
Chapter Text
Apparently Herobrine either didn’t know that Jace had threatened you, or he didn’t care, because he’d never so much as mentioned it when the round was over.
Fortunately, that round was the last one. Herobrine spent the remainder of the class going over some specific strategies that he’d seen his students use, ones that worked and ones that didn’t. Since he obviously had been watching what was going on inside the school, you were forced to conclude that what Jace had done wasn’t against the rules. Maybe it didn’t count as physical fighting? Your wrist was bruised from where he’d grabbed you.
Wonderful, now you had two classmates who were determined to torment you.
You were quiet through the rest of class, gathering your things silently when the bell rang and leaving the classroom as Herobrine announced that grades would be posted at the end of the week. You dropped by the dining hall just long enough to grab an apple and a bread roll, then hurried back to your dorm before the others could arrive. Sinking down to sit the rug beside your bed, you let your chin rest on your knees, staring at your bruised wrist as you chewed morosely on the bread.
The night was long and restless, and when you did sleep you dreamed about being hunted down by terrifying versions of your classmates, over and over and over. After two rounds of this, you decided that sleeping just wasn’t worth it anymore, and spent the last hour before sunrise sitting up in bed and reading your math textbook by candlelight. What a miserable situation you were in that this was preferable to anything else.
By dawn you were exhausted, stiff, and sore. You dazedly studied your class schedule, and were relieved to find that history was your first class of the day. After that… cooking. Hopefully that wouldn’t be too horrible.
Exhausted as you were, you didn't manage to drag yourself out of bed until Silvia was heading out the door. You tried to straighten your rumpled uniform, then headed out to the dining hall for breakfast. You collected your food, an apple and some scrambled eggs, then carried your tray to the far end of the table, sitting down as far as possible from everyone else.
Nobody bothered you as you ate, but you couldn't ignore the glares that Jace kept giving you from the other side of the table. You just glared back. A lack of sleep made you completely done with his shenanigans.
Just as you finished eating, the bell rang, and you hurried to put away your tray and get to class. You weren't sure what to expect from history. Whose history would you be learning about? Players? Zombies? Some sort of obscure Herobrine history? What was he supposed to be again?
You slumped into your seat, resting your chin in your hand, and immediately zoned out as Herobrine began to speak.
To your fortune, this first class seemed to be a brief overview of player history, which meant you were free to drift in and out of attention as this was all stuff you’d learned in second grade. As Herobrine talked about the redstone revolution, you stared at the back of the ghast boy’s head where he sat in front of you. Was his hair… hair, or tentacles?
You think you must have drifted off at some point, because you were startled awake by the bell ringing above the schoolhouse. As you lurched upright to go to lunch, however, Herobrine stopped you and your classmates with a raised hand.
“Hold on,” he said. “Today’s afternoon class is cooking class. As such, lunch will not be provided for you today. You will be preparing your own.”
You blinked dumbly at the spread of ingredients in front of you, taking up the majority of the dining hall table. There was no way that had just… appeared there, right?
“Who here considers themselves a competent cook?” Herobrine asked. A few hands went up, including yours, albeit a bit timidly. You weren’t sure what he would count as ‘competent’. You could make box macaroni and cheese. “Alright,” Herobrine clapped his hands together. “Before you is everything you need to prepare food for yourselves. I will be putting you into pairs for the purpose of this exercise, since I know some of you do not need to eat. Such students will assist their partner in cooking. Each pair will have a shared grade, so I would advise not sabotaging each other.” You cast an uneasy glance at Jace. You weren’t sure how Herobrine was planning to pair you off…
“The rules are as follows.” Herobrine began. “No- Cray! ” The creeper froze, an inch from taking a bite out of a bag of flour. “No eating the raw ingredients.” The teacher went on, fixing Cray with a withering look until the flour was replaced on the table. “This means you cannot simply grab an apple and a potato and eat those for lunch. Everything must be prepared in some way, and you will get a higher grade for using more ingredients and techniques.” The husk’s hand went up. “Yes, Dusk?”
“What about us that eat food raw?” He asked. “I don’t eat anything but meat… and maybe sand.”
“It must be prepared in some way.” Herobrine repeated himself patiently. “Meaning it cannot just be a slab of meat. Even cutting it up would suffice, but I encourage you to be creative.”
“Are we being graded on whether or not it tastes good?” Isabelle, the spider, piped up.
“No, because that is subjective. Whether it’s good to eat only matters to you, since it’s all you’ll be having for lunch.”
“This isn’t much of a class. ” Kaden muttered aloud. Though he probably didn’t mean to be heard, Herobrine answered him anyway.
“Like yesterday’s hiding class, this is an assessment of your skills so I know where to begin.” The teacher told him. “Next week’s cooking class will begin at the highest point I think you can handle.” Kaden looked embarrassed and fell silent.
“Now, this is not a competition,” Herobrine went on. “So I don’t want to see you fighting amongst yourselves. Focus on your own team and your meal. I’ve already paired you off with a teammate who eats something different than you, so you- except those paired with skeletons - will have to prepare two different meals between the two of you. Ready?” There were a couple small, unsure murmurs of assent. “Alright. Cray and Marrow, you two are a team. Jace and Morpheus are a team. Silt and Greyson, you are a team.”
Herobrine continued rattling off names as you studied your fellow students, trying to assign each name to a face. Marrow was the skeleton, you knew that, and Jace and Cray you obviously knew. Morpheus was the… phantom, maybe? And Greyson was the ghast. As you watched, the pairs slowly began to move together, and you shifted your weight uneasily as Herobrine continued going through the class without assigning you a partner.
“Finally, Y/N, you are with Soot.” Herobrine finished. You blinked, looked back at him, and flinched as you were approached by the 2-and-a-half block tall wither skeleton.
“Sorry,” was the first word out of her mouth. “I’m afraid I don’t know anything about cooking.”
“O-oh, uh, that’s okay.” You stammered. At least you wouldn’t have to prepare raw meat for a zombie or something.
“Begin. We have all afternoon, so your only time constraint is your stomach.” Herobrine smirked a bit, and the students immediately flocked to the table to pick out their ingredients.
You hung back, studying your options. The table was spread with plenty of ingredients you recognized, and plenty you didn’t, such as weird, dark red, bulbous plants that the ghast boy immediately snatched and ran off with. Cray had the flour again, and was glaring at the poor skeleton that he was paired with.
Beyond the table were some more things that had been there at breakfast, including campfires, pans, cauldrons with water, and some knives, which you immediately hoped that Cray wouldn't notice.
“So, um, what do players eat?” Soot asked from over your shoulder. You sighed, scrutinizing your ingredients again.
“I guess… a sandwich?” You slipped through the small crowd, reaching for a loaf of bread- only to be nearly knocked to the ground by an elbow slamming into your ribs.
“ Sorry, ” Jace hissed as he passed by you, in a tone that said he wasn’t really sorry. You winced, squeezing an arm tight over your ribs. That was probably going to bruise. Trying to ignore him, you went for the bread again, and this time managed to get ahold of it and a package of pork.
“Can I help?” Soot hovered over your shoulder as you brought your spoils over to the campfires and set them down on the floor.
“Uh… can you get me an egg?” You sat down cross-legged by the campfire as Soot scampered off, taking a slab of uncooked pork and setting it onto the edge of the campfire. It immediately began to sizzle- a good sign, you’d never actually done this before.
Soot soon returned with the egg, and resorted to watching you curiously as you cracked it into a pan and set the pan over the fire. The pork was cooking nicely as well, and your spirits were starting to lift a little bit. This might actually be nice after a couple days of eating bland cafeteria fare… which apparently came from the void.
Soot sank down beside you, folding up her long legs as small as she could. “It’s Y/N, right?” She asked. You nodded, feeling slightly dwarfed. “Are you okay? I saw you stumble.”
“Oh.” You snuck a glance over your shoulder, eying Jace where he was fileting a chicken. “Yeah… I’m fine.”
“Okay.” Soot lapsed into silence, and the two of you sat quietly as you waited for the pork to cook. “Is it strange?” She spoke again in her slightly-accented voice. “Being the only player here?” You grimaced. Strange wasn’t the half of it.
“Yeah, it’s… different.” You answered vaguely. “Uh… did you have schooling before this?”
“No,” Soot shook her head. “This is our first experience with education, for most of us. The, ah, the guardian princess, she had schooling before.” You blinked, turning to find the guardian girl who was currently frying a cod with her eye laser. She was a princess?
“Huh.” You said at last. “I’ve been in school since I was five, so… that’s weird to think about.”
“So has Cray.” Soot shrugged. You snorted.
“Right.” You stood up, grabbing your loaf of bread. “Watch the food, please, I’m gonna go cut this up.
Except for being briefly distracted by the phantom boy being told off for eating an apple, cutting the loaf in half went without incident. Soot watched your food intently while you were gone, and refused to let you go get tongs to flip the pork, doing it with her fingers instead. At your gaping and stammering, she stuck her whole hand in the campfire, which was how you learned that wither skeletons were immune to fire. Her laughter at your reaction was infectious, and soon you were giggling along with her.
In spite of being incredibly tall and scary and made of scorched bones, you… found that you liked this girl a lot. She was funny and seemed genuinely friendly, and didn’t have the prejudice against players that some of your classmates did. She just treated you like a new friend. Even Silvia was still a little odd around you, so… it was a nice change of pace.
You assembled and ate your sandwich. It was good. You were a little annoyed that you were forced to cook for yourself and had no other option, but… it encouraged you to try your hardest, at least. Herobrine seemed to be a very hands-on, ‘there you go, good luck’ kind of teacher.
By about mid afternoon, everyone had finished cooking- or, preparing their food in one way or another. The zombie girl was eating what looked like a kind of chopped salad made of random ingredients she’d found, and Cray was eating what looked like a dumpster fire. It was a pile of ash. He did not seem at all bothered by this.
Once everyone had finished eating, Herobrine dismissed you, encouraging you to go back to your dorms and work on your homework until dinner time. You bid Soot farewell, then, with a little smile on your face, grabbed your backpack and headed back to your room for a nap.
Chapter 6: Chapter Five - Athletics Class
Notes:
I figured out how to make images smallerrrr yayyyyy
Anyway I forget if I’ve mentioned this but I was homeschooled for. My whole life. So anything regarding school I am completely making up which is why it makes no sense ✌️
Chapter Text
In a turn of events that didn’t surprise you at all, Cray couldn’t read.
You learned this at the beginning of language arts class, which was your first class on Wednesday. He wasn’t the only one who couldn’t read, though. The zombie, the husk, and Silvia couldn’t read either. Herobrine took it in stride, simply assigning a partner to each of them to help them work through the first few lessons. Cray was assigned Fade, the enderman, probably because he was the one most equipped to deal with the creeper’s chaos. Silvia’s cousin Isabelle volunteered to help her, and the zombie and husk were assigned the blaze and Soot, respectively.
You, of course, could read, so you focused on your own work and tried to drown out the sounds of Fade yelling at Cray to stop eating the pencils.
From how Herobrine described it, ‘language arts’ seemed to be a catch-all for anything involving words- reading, grammar, creative writing, essay writing, reading analysis, everything that was split into multiple classes back at home. Since not everyone knew how to read, much less write, the first assignment was going to be analyzing some myth that was apparently native to phantom society. The phantom in your class, Morpheus, had absolutely no reaction to any of it.
You dutifully copied down the story that Herobrine was telling, something about a sleep curse that plagued the players a long time ago. Apparently the phantoms had tried to save them from it by waking them up, but the players blamed them for the curse and as such gained their wrath as a species. Players had bad blood with a lot of the monster races, it seemed.
At least the phantom in your class didn’t seem to care. You snuck a glance at him, easy to do since he was at the desk beside yours. Morpheus was spinning his pencil between his fingers, not writing, looking bored out of his mind. He’d probably heard this story a hundred times before.
“Now,” Herobrine clapped his hands, making you jump and look up. “Now that you’ve heard the story, I want you to pick out the central theme. The central theme is an crucial part of the story that has a large impact on its conclusion.” He glanced at Clay and Fade. “If you have a partner, you may discuss this together. If not, go over it on your own and write down your answer. We will discuss it as a class once everyone is finished.” A few quiet voices started up as the pairs started to talk, and you skimmed over what you had written down. It kinda seemed like the central theme was ‘players are bad and selfish’.
“Hey.” A quiet voice came from your left, and you lifted your head to see Morpheus leaning over towards you. “You haven’t been sleeping, have you?” You blinked, unnerved by his eerily glowing eyes.
“…I have.” You argued, keeping your voice low to avoid being called out by Herobrine.
“Not enough.” Morpheus leaned his chin into his hand, his lax expression never changing. “I would say not more than four hours a night.” You clenched your jaw.
“Yeah, and?”
“Oh, I don’t mean anything by it.” Morpheus leaned back, lifting his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Just an observation. Everything alright?” He tilted his head, green eyes still boring into yours. “Players are supposed to get eight hours of sleep per night, last time I checked.”
“Are you trying to creep me out??” You hissed. “Because if you are, it’s working.”
“No, I…” Morpheus’s small smile died, and he looked back down at his blank paper. “Never mind.” You felt a small pang of guilt, but turned back to your own assignment.
Eventually, you wrote down ‘miscommunication causes strife’ as the central theme and pushed your paper back, subtly watching your classmates work. Fade was doing an impressive job keeping Cray under control, and Isabelle and Silvia were giggling to each other at the latter’s desk. Most of the others were mulling quietly over their papers. Morpheus still didn’t write anything down.
After a few minutes of standing at the head of the classroom, Herobrine cleared his throat. “Time’s up. Would anyone like to be the first to share their conclusion?” Cray’s hand shot up. “Cray?”
“The players are stupid.” He announced. You rolled your eyes. Of course he would come to the most basic answer.
“Alright.” Herobrine nodded. “Anyone else?” He skimmed the classroom until he came to the magma cube. “Geode?”
“Um,” The girl stood up, as if that would make her very small voice more audible. “that we should mind our own business and not get involved in other people’s problems. If the phantoms hadn’t tried to help the players, the players never would’ve gotten mad at them.” Herobrine gave her a noncommittal nod and went back to scanning the classroom.
You took a breath and started to raise your hand, but Herobrine spoke first. “Morpheus, what do you think?” You hesitate, glancing over in confusion. The phantom hadn’t even raised his hand.
Morpheus leaned forward a bit, looking unaffected by all the eyes on him. “Miscommunication causes strife.” He said at last. “The players didn’t give the phantoms a chance to explain themselves, choosing to attack first and ask questions later. Likewise, the phantoms responded with more hostility. If both races had simply sat down and talked, they could have avoided the feud altogether.” Your jaw dropped slightly. Had he- copied off of you?? He was a phantom and probably knew this story by heart, but he’d said exactly what you’d written down!! Why would he do that if he hadn’t read it off your paper??
“Very good.” Herobrine said amidst your seething. “Those are all valid takeaways- though, there’s some nuance to ‘players are stupid’.” He smirked at Cray. “Can anyone offer some?”
Someone raised their hand, but you weren’t paying attention, crumpling up your paper irritably and stuffing it in your backpack. Morpheus wasn’t looking at you, ignoring your small glares. Maybe he’d just been talking to you to try to get a look at your paper.
The discussion went on for about ten minutes, you were only really half listening. After that, Herobrine dismissed most of you to work on homework, keeping back only the non-readers for a specialized lesson. As you stood, you saw Morpheus turn in your direction, and you hurried out of the room before he could say anything. Just another classmate you'd have to watch out for, then.
You really weren't looking forward to athletics class this afternoon.
“Everyone dressed?” Herobrine eyed the few stragglers coming out of the changing rooms, and you leaned forward, craning your neck to see if you could spot anyone missing. It looked like the zombie girl was the last one, tugging at her short-sleeved shirt a bit self-consciously. You understood why- her arms were covered in marks that looked like scars. You respectfully tried not to look.
Gym, or ‘athletics class’, meant another set of school-assigned garments for you. This one was a pair of almost knee-length shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, which was the same for everyone except the spider girls. Their shirts were more like tank tops with 6 arm holes. Had the school run out of budget for sleeves?
"Now," Herobrine gestures to the large gym, in which some kind of obstacle course was set up. He was wearing the same old slacks and sweater vest. "I've set up a small parkour course to assess your skills. It will test your speed, climbing ability, jump height, and stamina." You cast a nervous glance at the course. It didn't really look small to you. Your idea of gym class was dodgeball and running laps, not… parkour.
"Who here considers themselves athletic?" Herobrine asked. A few hands went up. Not yours, because you had an idea of why he was asking and didn't want to go first. "Would one of you be willing to demonstrate to the class how to run through the course?" As you thought. As you watched, the blaze girl stepped forward, raising her chin.
"I can.”
"Thank you, Soliel." Herobrine beckoned her up to the starting line, and you shuffled to your left to get a better look. You used to sometimes watch parkour matches on TV, and could see some similarities between those and this. It was much simpler, though. The ones you would see on TV usually had water underneath them if someone fell, but this one was lined with hay bales. Probably because some monsters were hurt by water, you deduced. Hopefully the blaze girl didn’t set them on fire.
“Now, there is to be no floating, flying, or teleporting.” Herobrine’s gaze flashed to Fade as he said this. “Understood?” Soliel nodded, getting down into a ready position at the starting line. Her face was set and determined. She reminded you of a classmate you’d had that always took dodgeball way too seriously.
“On your mark,” Herobrine lifted his hand, then dropped it. “Go.” Soliel took off. As you watched, she scaled a set of vines, then jumped from the full block on top of it onto an iron bar. From there, she grabbed a chain and climbed up it to a concrete block, which led to a three-block jump that she cleared easily. She skipped across a series of one-block jumps like they were nothing, then followed a line of iron bars around a corner. Finally, she jumped off the last one, bounced on a bed, and landed on the platform that signified the end of the course.
“Very good,” Herobrine praised, writing down something on his clipboard. “Thank you for the demonstration.” Soliel smirked, stepping away from the finish line and sinking down to sit on the platform. Herobrine turned back to the class. “Who would like to go next?”
“Me!” Cray shouted. Herobrine waved him forward, and he scampered over to the starting line. Everyone else was wearing shoes, but he wasn’t, you noticed. Actually… was he ever wearing shoes?
“On your mark,” Herobrine said, coming to stand beside Cray, “Go.” Immediately, the creeper was off, his tail flicking with excitement as he climbed the vines. He took a step back, leaped onto the iron bars, and immediately lost his balance and fell straight on his face.
You snorted, immediately covering your mouth to try to hide your laughter. You heard a couple other snickers as well. Fortunately, neither Herobrine nor Cray seemed to have heard it, as the latter simply popped up again and went back to the vines.
Cray’s parkour run was equal amounts amusing and painful to watch. The only thing he didn’t suck at was speed- if he’d not fallen off every single obstacle more than once, he would’ve been faster than Soliel. As it was, though, he sucked, and eventually Herobrine just started teleporting him back to the obstacle he’d fallen off of so he could get through it and give someone else a turn.
When he finally dragged himself up onto the finish platform, he threw his hands in the air with a screech of delight. Herobrine just scribbled something on his clipboard.
“Thank you, Cray. Next?” Your teacher turned back to the class. Ignoring the raised hands of your classmates, he focused on you. “How about you, Y/N?”
“U-uh, okay.” Your heart rate spiked, you hadn’t been prepared to go so early! But you refused to give your classmates something to mock you for, so you didn’t argue, heading over to the starting line with hands trembling at your sides. You cared more about making it through unhurt than being fast, but you lowered yourself into a quick-start crouch anyway, leaning on your hands and focusing on the vines. You’d never… done anything like this before, but… you’d done each of these things individually, so it’d be fine, right?
“On your mark,” Herobrine stepped up beside you, his hand raised. “Go.” You took off towards the vines.
You tried not to think too hard about the class watching you, focused on scaling the vines and facing the first jump. Jumping onto a thin platform isn’t what you would call easy, but you were determined to do better than Cray, so you steeled yourself and made the leap. You landed, wobbled, and quickly grabbed the chain to begin hauling yourself up.
You scrabbled your way up onto the next block, took a step back, and made the three-block jump before you could overthink it. For the one-block jumps, you took them one at a time, and still almost fell off on the last one. You wobbled your way over the iron bars as quickly as you could, then jumped off the last one, bouncing on the bed and getting just high enough for you to grab the ending platform and haul yourself over the edge.
“Good job,” Herobrine called as you rolled over on your back, panting. “Next?” Tiredly, you started to push yourself up to get out of the way of the next student, only to freeze when Soliel appeared over you.
“Here.” She offered you a hand. You hesitated, then reached up to take it.
“ Ah! ” You shouted in pain, yanking your hand back in pain as her skin burned yours upon contact. You grasped your wrist, staring up at her in shock as Cray snickered to your right.
“Oops,” She said flatly. You huffed, scooting to the edge of the platform and sliding off to land on the haybales below.
You made your way over to the corner of the gym and sank down there, investigating your blistered hand. You bit your lip, trying to force back frustrated tears. Why were so many of your classmates such jerks to you?? You’d never done anything to her!
“Are you alright?” Herobrine appeared next to you, and you yelped in shock. Ignoring your shout, Herobrine knelt down beside you, taking you by the wrist to look at your hand.
“Soliel?” He asked. You nodded. Herobrine produced a red potion in his free hand, which he uncorked and poured over your scorched palm. Before your eyes, the burn faded, and the pain melted away as the healing potion worked its magic. “I’m sorry.” Herobrine said as your eyes widened. “It seems many of your classmates are still getting used to you.”
“I’m still getting used to them, and I don’t mess with them.” You muttered. Herobrine nodded.
“You’re handling this situation very well.” He told you. You forced a small smile, but it quickly died. You would rather just not be in this situation at all. “Who have you been having trouble with?” Herobrine asked. You hesitated.
“Um… mostly, Cray, Soliel, J- Jace, and… Morpheus cheated off me in class earlier.”
“I saw.” Herobrine nodded. “I don’t believe that was targeted. Morpheus is… troubled.” You cast a glance at the students still waiting for a turn, picking out Morpheus where he was rubbing at his nose. More like lazy. “I will speak to them,” Herobrine went on. “I am hopeful that this period will not last long. In previous years, it has taken usually three weeks to a month for the mobs to accept their player classmate.” You lifted your chin a bit, hopeful.
“They’ve never… a player’s never been, um…” You stumbled over your words. “…attacked, or killed, right?”
“No.” Herobrine shook his head. “Plenty of threats and posturing from their more hostile classmates, but by a month in my classes are almost always fast friends.” You couldn’t imagine ever being friends with Cray or Jace, but you nodded,
“Okay.” At least you had confirmation now that Herobrine didn’t tolerate them bullying you.
“How does your hand feel?” He asked. You flexed your fingers.
“F-fine.”
“Good.” Herobrine straightened up, then teleported back over to the starting line, just in time for the ghast boy to finish his run.
“Good job.” He called up. “For those of you who have finished the course already, head to the left side of the gym. There’s a tutorial course that you can practice on while your classmates finish the parkour.” Obediently, you dragged yourself up and followed the directions.
You kept yourself busy by going back and forth over a balance beam, idly watching Cray as he continued to fall over and over. Soliel was showing off by doing the hardest jumps she could find, and the ghast boy, Greyson, was sitting and watching Cray fail. Maybe it was a little mean of you, but you felt really good about outdoing Cray in something, even if he didn’t seem to care.
You really hoped that Herobrine was right about them warming up to you. Otherwise, this was going to be a really rough semester. If they did, though… it might be at least a little bit fun.
Chapter 7: Chapter Six - Brewing Class
Chapter Text
A distant bell alerted you to breakfast, and you lifted heavy eyes to the window. Huh. It was morning.
You closed your history textbook, stretching, as Silvia crawled out of her cobweb nest and plopped down onto her bed. The spider girl yawned, glanced at you, then frowned.
“How long have you been up?”
“Uh…” You shoved your textbook into your backpack, slinging your legs over the side of your bed to put on your shoes. “...couple hours.”
“Oh… okay.” Silvia tilted her head, but didn’t press the matter further, lurching up and stumbling out of the room to go to breakfast. You rubbed at your eyes and got up to follow.
Unfortunately, the phantom boy had been right. You hadn’t gotten more than about four hours of sleep at night since you got here. It was definitely taking a toll on your mood, and your reaction time, which was bad when surrounded by somewhat-hostile mobs, but… you just couldn’t seem to calm down. When you did sleep, you usually had nightmares.
Worse, you couldn’t think of a solution. If you could just leave you would, but Herobrine didn’t seem keen on letting you run off. You had no contact with anyone outside the school, so… you were stuck here until the end of the semester. Constantly exhausted, apparently.
You made your way out to the dining hall, beginning your typical routine of grabbing some edible food and taking it to the far end of the table. On your way over, though, a shout caught your attention.
“Y/N!” You lifted your head at the voice, turning to see Soot waving you towards her. “Come sit with us!” There was an empty seat between her and Kaden. You hesitated, glancing at Jace and finding the slime already staring you down. He wouldn’t bother you if you were sitting with them, right? Well, he hadn’t at meals before, but… sure, why not.
You hurry over to sit down in the free seat, glancing at Kaden, then Soot, who was beaming at you.
“Hello!” The skeleton leaned around Soot’s other side to smile at you. “I’m Marrow.”
“Hi.” You offered a small smile in return. Were the skeletons all just really friendly? Kaden still looked grumpy, but you’d never seen another expression on his face.
You took a bite out of your apple, swallowed, then asked, “You guys don’t need to eat, right?” A couple of nods from Soot and Marrow, Kaden gave you a disinterested glance. “Why do you come to meals, then?”
“Just to be here with the other students,” Soot said with a shrug. “It’s nice to have the sense of community.” You couldn’t relate to that sentiment, but you nodded anyway.
“Did you… three all know each other before this?”
“No,” Kaden spoke for the first time. “We didn’t. We simply gravitated towards each other, since we share common traits.”
“Oh.”
“You do, too!” Marrow piped up. “Players have a skeleton too, right? Inside of you!” You blinked, looking down at your hands.
“Uh, yeah, I guess we do.” A hesitant smile appeared on your face. “Though, don’t most people here have a skeleton?”
“I guess, but yours is most similar to ours in construction.” Marrow said. “That’s what the elders say, anyway.” You wondered momentarily if the skeletons were reanimated human skeletons, or if they were somehow something else entirely.
“Can I ask you a question?” Soot asked, leaning on the table so she didn’t dwarf you so drastically. You took a bite of your bread, nodding. “What do players do with their skeletons? When they die, I mean?”
“Um.” You swallow. “Put them in graves, usually.” Soot tilted her head.
“What are those?”
“Well, they’re holes that you dig to put a dead body in. It’s…” you shrugged. “It’s considered the respectful thing to do with a dead person.”
“What do they do then?”
“The bodies? Decompose after a while. Actually…” You paused. “How about we not talk about dead bodies while I’m eating?”
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Soot backtracked quickly. “Please, go ahead and eat.” You gave her a thankful smile and dug into your bread, and the skeletons didn’t speak for a couple minutes before Kaden poked you in the arm.
“Hey,” he said as you jumped and looked over. His fingers were cold. “I’ve heard players know a lot about redstone. Do you know about redstone?”
“Well, not a lot… ” You’d done some simple engineering projects in the past, but nothing major. “…a little bit. What do you wanna know?”
“Well, redstone dust is the main component, right?” Kaden leaned his chin into his hand. “It transmits energy. But what exactly is the energy? Is it light reflected? Or is it an energy specific to redstone?”
“Specific to redstone.” You answer easily. “There are situations where light becomes a factor, but usually not. Actually…”
The three skeletons continued to question you throughout the meal, about redstone, player society, what it felt like to have flesh, and so on. As long as you weren’t talking about decomposing bodies, you didn’t mind it one bit. The lack of hostility was very refreshing.
Just as you were finishing off your food, the bell rang for the first class. You stood, and the skeletons followed you over to drop off your tray and headed with you to the classroom.
“Welcome to art class.” Herobrine called out to you as you and the other students streamed into the classroom. You immediately noticed a display of art supplies at the front of the room- pencils, paints, crayons, markers, and paper. Your heart rose slightly. This would probably be an easy class, drawing was something that had come pretty naturally for you.
“You all know the drill by now, I hope.” Herobrine said as you sat down at your desk. “This week’s lesson will be an introductory assessment. For this class, all I want you to do is select your supplies of choice and draw a self-portrait.” You immediately zeroed in on a pack of colored pencils. “Now, you don’t have to draw yourself,” Herobrine went on. “For the purpose of today’s class, a self-portrait is anything you feel represents you. Interpret those instructions as broadly as you please.” He stepped to the side of the classroom, gesturing at the supplies. “Have at it.”
You waited until most of your classmates had already gotten theirs- specifically Jace, so he wouldn’t shove you again - to head up and select some colored pencils and paper. Returning to your desk, you set down your supplies, and mused over what you wanted to draw. Something that represented you? As a person? As your race? It probably didn’t really matter, since Herobrine said you could interpret his instructions however you wanted.
You glanced around at your classmates to see what they were doing. To your left, Morpheus was covering a piece of paper with black marker. Because phantoms liked the dark, you supposed. On your right, Greyson was drawing a jellyfish-like blob, and you could see Cray violently striking his paper with crayons. You don’t know why you expected anything else.
Eventually, you just started drawing yourself. It took you about half an hour to complete your drawing, colored in with the colored pencils, then you signed it with your name and flipped it upside down to wait for everyone else to finish it. Leaning your chin in your hands, you watched the others draw. Kai was painting, using a thin brush to detail her painting of a single eye. The zombie girl, on the other hand, was finger painting a simple little artwork of a field at nighttime. It had her, the drowned, and the husk standing in the middle of it. That made you smile despite yourself.
You hadn’t really interacted with the zombies at all. They hadn’t been openly hostile towards you, and seemed to stick together in their own little group. Zombies were one of the mobs that you would’ve been most wary of a couple of weeks ago, but… these ones acted just like people. Weren’t they supposed to eat players? These ones didn’t seem to. From what you recalled, they ate just about anything organic.
Your classmates seemed to be just about finished. As you watched, Cray held up his drawing to admire it, and you were shocked by how… actually good it was. His seemingly aimless crayon strokes had come together to create an abstract-ish drawing that clearly depicted himself, exploding. Huh.
Herobrine began to make his way around the room, collecting finished drawings and setting them in a pile on his desk. Once he’d finished, he teleported a pencil and a new sheet of paper to everyone’s desk, and instructed you all to pick an object in the room and to draw it to the best of your ability. You settled on a window, and spent the better part of half an hour trying to get all the straight lines right.
Just as you were putting the final touches on it, Herobrine stopped by your desk to collect your drawing. You hastily scrawled your name on the paper, then handed it over, and Herobrine gave you an approving nod before moving on. You sighed, sinking back in the hard chair. This class wasn’t so bad.
Once he’d collected all of the drawings, Herobrine teleported back to the front, just as the bell sounded. “That’s all for now,” he said. “Be back here at 1 for brewing class.”
“What is brewing class, anyway?” You asked around a mouthful of pork.
“I dunno,” Kaden said, picking at his navy sleeve. “Brewing potions, I guess.”
“ Oh .” That made a lot more sense, you realized, than what you’d been thinking. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“We can’t drink potions.” Soot rested her cheek in her hand. “So it doesn’t really matter for us.”
“Splash potions,” Kaden argued. “And I need to dip my arrows.”
“Dip?” Marrow leaned around Soot to give him a curious look. “Why?”
“To make them into arrows of slowness, of course.”
“…what for?”
“To slow my enemies, so I can slaughter them!”
“Alright, calm down.” Soot placed a hand on the stray’s head, making him sputter and shove her off. You smirked around your fork.
“He’s right, though. Splash potions will work on you, right?”
“I guess.” Soot gave Kaden a final pat before she relented.
“Do players know a lot about brewing?” Marrow asked. You shrugged.
“Probably. I mean, I’m sure we have that knowledge, as a race, but… I’ve always thought of it as an illager thing.”
“Yeah, witches, right?” Marrow nodded. “I met a witch once. He wasn’t very pleasant.” You nodded thoughtfully, focusing on your meal for a moment.
“What would happen if you did drink a potion?” You asked at last.
“It’d fall out of our ribs.” Soot answered. Without missing a beat, she lifted up the hem of her shirt, revealing a scorched ribcage. Your mouth formed an o shape.
The bell rang, and you hurried to shove the last of your food in your mouth. Mealtimes seemed to go much quicker when you had people to share them with.
The classroom had been cleared out of art supplies when you arrived. Now there was a chest beside every seat, and a curious, three-pronged… thing atop every desk. You could see a couple of your classmates peeking into the chests as soon as they sat down, while you opted to wait for your teacher’s permission.
Speaking of Herobrine… he wasn’t here. You frowned, glancing back at the doorway. He’d never been late before.
“Sorry for the delay, class.” Herobrine appeared at the front of the classroom, causing more than a few jumps and a shriek from Isabelle. “It took me a moment to find these.” He raised a hand, and a small booklet appeared on every desk. The front cover read ‘Potion Brewing - Recipe Guide’.
“In each of your chests is a collection of ingredients.” Herobrine continued. “Your assignment is to use those, and your booklet, to identify what potion you are able to brew. Once you’ve figured it out, brew the potion.” Marrow’s hand shot up. “Marrow?”
“Um, how do we brew the potion?” She asked.
“The instructions are in your booklet,” Herobrine tapped the booklet on his own desk. “But if you need any help, call on me. Any other questions?” The room was silent. “Begin.”
You leaned over to open your chest, scrutinizing the contents. Inside was a spider eye, sugar, a brown mushroom, and three bottles of water. Hmm. You let the chest fall shut, paging through the booklet to find a recipe that matched your ingredients.
Soon enough, you found what you were looking for. The recipe for a Potion of Weakness required water bottles and a fermented spider eye, which was crafted from the ingredients in your chest. You side-eyed Silvia as you crafted the ingredients together, but fortunately she was paying more attention to her own task. Once you had finished, you flipped back to the front of the book, where there was a short guide on how to use what you now realized was a brewing stand.
The class was fairly quiet as you worked, most of you engrossed in your task. As you waited for the potion to brew, you cast a glance at Cray, who was funneling gunpowder into his brewing stand. Herobrine was eying him, but said nothing. The zombie piglin was the only one who didn’t seem to be working - had she already finished? Huh.
Your brewing stand made a bubbling noise, and you looked down to find that the bottles of water you had loaded into it had turned a deep grey. A grin split your face, and you sank down in your seat again. That hadn’t been too hard. Plenty of your classmates were still working, though, so you opened the booklet again to read about the other potions.
There were lots of them, from fire resistance, which would allow you to sit comfortably in fire or lava, to water breathing which was self-explanatory. When you got to the page for the potion of weakness, you sat back to read it more thoroughly, and the description made you pause.
‘The Potion of Weakness causes intense exhaustion and drowsiness in the consumer. The primary use of this potion is to assist in the curing of the zombification virus, which consists of dosing a subject with Weakness before feeding them a golden apple.’
You were aware of the zombification virus - and that it was only curable in villagers - but the part that drew your attention was the part about exhaustion. Would it help you get some sleep if you drank it? You cast a glance at the front of the classroom, where your teacher was watching Soliel work. Would he notice if you took one…? Surely he would, right?
Carefully, you detached one of the bottles from the brewing stand, tucking it gently into your backpack while watching warily to see if Herobrine was watching. He never looked up, and you sighed quietly, detaching the other two bottles and setting them on your desk. Maybe he wouldn’t.
Even so, a pit of anxiety developed in your stomach, and remained for the rest of the class. Your heart jumped every time he looked at you, and you fidgeted uncomfortably in your seat for the next hour while Herobrine talked about recipe memorization. When the class finally ended, you headed straight back to your room instead of the dining hall. You didn’t have an appetite.
As soon as you were back, you kicked off your shoes, sat down on your bed, and pulled out the potion. You uncorked it, hesitated, then downed the bottle before you could have second thoughts.
The effect was immediate. As soon as the bitter taste had left your mouth, the room began to spin, and darkness overwhelmed you as you collapsed back on the bed and passed out.
Notes:
this chapter’s moral is brought to you by I Started New Prescription Meds And Feel Like Burning Garbage (don’t do drugs kids)
Anyway next chapter is ✨combat class✨ get excited
Chapter 8: Chapter Seven - Combat Class
Chapter Text
“…N. Y/N. Y/N! HEY!” The shout in your ear finally roused you, and you jerked, gasping as your head popped up from your pillow.
“H-huh?” You stammered, heart hammering as you blinked around in shock. Silvia was leaning over you, two of her hands grasping your shoulders.
“Oh my goodness,” she took a step back, sighing. “You must have been having some dream. You didn’t stir when the bell went off, and it took more than five minutes of me hollerin’ at you before you moved!” You blinked dazedly up at her, taking a good few seconds to process her words.
“Ss… ohh, yeah.” You slowly pushed yourself up, stretching. “I was… really tired.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” Silvia gave you a final, suspicious look, then turned away. “I’m going to breakfast before they run out of food.” With that, she hurried out of the room. You threw your legs over the side of the bed and rubbed groggily at your eyes. That potion really had worked. You could see the empty bottle on the floor by your feet- you must’ve knocked it off at some point, and you quietly thanked Notch that Silvia hadn’t noticed.
You dragged yourself out of bed and headed off to the dining hall for breakfast. The meal was in full swing by the time you arrived, and you hurried to grab your food and go sit with the skeletons. You brushed off their concerns for why you were late - you were tired, you overslept. They accepted that answer. Morpheus, on the other hand, side-eyed you throughout the whole meal.
Despite falling asleep before dinner and staying asleep past the morning bell, you… didn’t feel that well-rested. Maybe Silvia had startled you out of a dream? That had happened before. Whatever the case, you felt really sluggish, struggling to hold a conversation with the skeletons and not managing to finish your food before the bell rang for class.
The first class of the day was World Studies, the name of which confused you until Herobrine dropped off a short quiz on your desk. Apparently ‘world studies’ referred to the mechanics of the world, as you had questions like ‘what biome do acacia trees naturally grow in?’ and ‘how much farmland can a single water source block irrigate?’ You were far from being an expert, and your exhaustion made your job much harder. By the time you were forced to turn in the quiz, you had guessed on half of them and left a few blank. Herobrine had said it was just an assessment anyway… it probably wouldn’t affect your grade.
Once Herobrine had collected the quizzes, he began going over some of the questions with the class. You didn’t respond unless he called on you. You were busy trying to think of a way to get another potion of weakness.
Clearly your exhaustion was due to not having had enough sleep for almost a week, enough that one good night hadn’t been enough to make up for it. You didn’t want to have to wait until brewing class every week to get another potion - was there another way to get it? Herobrine must store the brewing stands and ingredients somewhere, and you knew the recipe for the potions if you could find them. You felt a little bad for plotting to sneak around behind your teacher’s back, but… this was the only way you could think of to make this semester bearable.
“Y/N?” Herobrine’s voice startled you out of your thoughts, and your head popped up.
“What?”
“I asked, what is the process for curing a villager infected with the zombification virus?” Herobrine’s eyes seemed to bore into yours, and you shuddered, feeling suddenly as if he could read your thoughts.
“A-a golden apple and a potion of weakness.” You stammered. Herobrine nodded.
“Excellent job.” He looked down at the papers, and you frowned. That question hadn’t been on the quiz.
You lowered your chin down onto your folded arms and shut your eyes. Maybe if you just rested for a moment you would feel more awake…
The next thing you knew, the bell was going off for lunch, and you lurched up in a panic as you realized you’d fallen asleep. To your fortune, no one seemed to have noticed. Flushed with embarrassment, you hurriedly collected your things and headed out of the room to go to lunch.
And nearly ran straight into Morpheus.
“Look,” he began as you staggered back with a yelp. “I know I’m creepy. I’m sorry. But there’s something really wrong with you and you need to tell the teacher.”
“Nothing’s wrong!” You hissed, looking over your shoulder to see if anyone was watching. The others were still collecting their things, and you backed away from the doorway, hurrying down the hall.
“Y/N, wait.” Morpheus pleaded, following you. “I can tell- I can’t help but tell how much you’ve been sleeping, and you haven’t slept properly since you got here.”
“I slept fine last night!” You argued.
“No you didn’t!” Morpheus shot back. “You ‘slept’-“ he made air quotations with his clawed fingers. “-like someone had hit you over the head. That isn’t rest. ” You frowned, momentarily wondering if there was any truth to his words before stubbornness took over.
“Why do you care, anyway?” You turned around to face him, folding your arms crossly. “It’s none of your business how I sleep.”
“Because I can tell you’re miserable?” Morpheus shot back. He took a step closer, and you took a step back, your backpack bumping against the wall.
“First of all, if I’m miserable it’s because I’m stuck in this school full of freaking monsters. ” You snapped. “Second, why do you care if I’m miserable??”
“Because I can be a monster and still have empathy!” Morpheus hurled back. You tried to move away, and he lifted his wings to block your escape. “Why won’t you let me try to help?? ”
“I don’t want your help! ”
“Y/N?” A voice interrupted your fight, and you turned to see Soot standing at the end of the hall. “What’s going on?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Morpheus, all but pinning you against the wall. “Is he bothering you?”
“No.” Morpheus muttered. He backed up, then turned and vanished around the corner without another word. You huffed a sigh, taking a step forward as your shoulders slumped.
“What was going on?” Soot asked, walking over.
“He was bothering me about sleep.” You muttered as you steered yourself towards the dining hall. “Phantom thing, I guess.”
“I guess…” Soot echoed quietly. “Kaden shares a room with him… he says the phantom seems sad.”
“Sad?” You blinked, frowned. Because of you? Surely not, right?
“Quiet, anyway.” Soot amended. “You could ask Kaden. They get along well.” You shrug, making a note of that. Hopefully the phantom would lay off once you started sleeping every night.
Morpheus never turned up for lunch. You felt a little bad for yelling, he really did seem to be trying to help, he just… creeped you out. Being pinned against the wall by a bat-dragon creature with eerily glowing eyes was never your idea of a good time. At the very least, you were a bit more awake after that.
When you returned to the classroom, Morpheus was sitting at his desk. He didn’t look at you as you sat down on his right.
“This class is one I know several of you have been looking forward to,” Herobrine began as your classmates settled down. “due to, in part, the fact that it will have no homework. Come with me, everyone, and leave your bags. We will need a bit more room.”
“Welcome to combat class.” Herobrine extended a hand towards the railing, and you approached it with a sinking feeling in your stomach to look down at the lowered platform. The room resembled some kind of medieval arena, consisting of a walkway - where you were now - around a circular area filled with sand. The walkway was barred off from the arena with iron bars, which you would guess were there to protect you from any flyaway projectiles.
“Before you get too excited, for the first couple of weeks there will be no combat between students.” Herobrine said, raising his voice to be heard above the excited chatter of your classmates. “The first week will consist of training your individual abilities, using primarily armor stands as targets. I would like a volunteer to demonstrate.” Half the class’s hands flew up. Yours was not among them. “Kai,” Herobrine selected after a moment. “Go down the stairs, there, and I will instruct you on what to do next.” The guardian’s face split in a grin, and she broke away from the crowd to comply.
You gripped the iron bars, watching as Kai made her way to the center of the circular room. Your heart was pounding in your chest, goosebumps spreading over your skin. As you watched, an armor stand appeared in front of Kai, suited up in diamond armor.
“Break the armor stand.” Herobrine called out. “Use whatever abilities you have at your disposal. You may not remove the armor.” Kai lifted a hand to her chin, gazing at her target thoughtfully. As you watched, she backed up, then her pupil abruptly dilated and a purple beam appeared between her and the armor stand. It warmed to a blistering red, then the stand shuddered harshly as it went off. It did not break.
Kai repeated the laser with no more luck. She took a step towards it, then spun around and roundhouse-kicked the stand where the chestplate met the leggings. The stand creaked dangerously, and Kai only had to repeat the attack one more time before it cracked, the armor crashing to the ground in a heap.
“Very good!” Herobrine praised her as she let out a whoop. “Come back up. Next?” Again, hands shot up. Your fingers tightened on the bars.
Kaden was selected to go next. The armor stand was reset on his way down, and he drew a bow from seemingly nowhere, filling the armor stand with arrows until it collapsed from the strain. After him was the husk, who simply collapsed on the armor stand and beat on it until it broke.
Finally, Cray was given a turn. He sauntered down into the inner platform, resting his hands on his hips as the armor stand was regenerated for him. Then he clenched his fists, flashed white, and exploded.
Boom. The first explosion didn’t break the armor stand, and Cray stepped closer, completely unharmed by the attack. Boom. Your stomach churned, mouth feeling dry as your eyes locked onto the scorched surface of the armor.
Boom. The armor stand broke, and so did your resolve. You staggered back from the bars and fled the room.
Herobrine’s shout after you was faint, as though heard through water, and you paid it no mind as you ran back towards the stairs that lead back up to the main building. Tears stung at your eyes, and a sob wrenched from your throat, hands shaking as you gripped the handrail and ran up the stairs. You took a sharp right at the top, blindly searching for the closet where you had hidden during hiding class on the first day. You found a door, opened it to find a small, dim room. Good enough. Shutting it behind you, you crumpled into a ball against the wall and buried your face in your arms to cry.
You hated it here. Half of your classmates would kill you if they got the chance, and you wouldn’t be able to do a thing to defend yourself. You were exhausted and sore and miserable, stuck a hundred chunks away from home in the middle of a dark forest filled with monsters. You wanted to go home. Even if you were bullied every day in a regular school, even that would be much better than this.
The door creaked open, and you jerked up with a hiccup to find Herobrine standing in the doorway.
You locked eyes with him for only a moment before lowering your head again, burying your face in your sleeves to soak up the tears that kept coming. Quietly, Herobrine stepped into the closet, shutting the door behind him and sitting down next to you. He said nothing for a few minutes, sitting quietly beside you as you sobbed into your arms, before he finally rested a hand on your shoulder.
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I h- hate it here.” You choked out. “I want t-to go home. ” Herobrine gave a small, sympathetic hum.
“Why do you hate it here?”
“B-because I’m surrounded by-“ Your breath hitched. “M- monsters all the time! I can’t- a-all my life I’ve been told that a-all these things will kill me if I ever run into them, a-and now I have to live and eat and sleep around them, a-and I’m scared. ” You dissolved into sobs again. “Wanna go h- home. ”
“I see.” Herobrine was quiet for a few minutes, waiting until your crying had subsided a bit. “I know you haven’t been sleeping.” He said quietly. Your breath hitched, and you looked up, rubbing your sleeve across your face.
“W-what?”
“I know you haven’t been sleeping.” He repeated himself. “And I know you took the potion from class yesterday.” Your eyes widened with shock, and shame immediately shot through you at the realization that you’d been caught. “And I owe you an apology,” Herobrine finished, “for not stepping in sooner. I wanted to give you room to handle your problems by yourself, but I see now that independence was not what you needed.” He turned to meet your eyes. “I’m sorry, Y/N.” You blinked at him, uncomprehending.
“I… f-forgive you.” You stammered at last. “Still want t’ go home, though.” Herobrine sighed, his thumb rubbing at your shoulder a bit.
“Your parents are aware of my curriculum, and they approved of it.”
“W-what??” You exclaimed. “They knew??”
“Not until after you won the scholarship.” Herobrine elaborated. “I came to pay them a visit, explained what exactly went on at my school. After some deliberation, they agreed to send you here.”
“Wh- why didn’t they tell me??”
“I asked them not to.” Herobrine gave you an apologetic smile. “In the past, my player students have acclimated better if they are not given a chance to develop a preconceived notion about what my school will be like. Perhaps it would have been better for you to be warned ahead of time, perhaps not.” You hugged your arms to your chest, feeling… still miserable, and a little betrayed, but knowing that your parents knew where you really were made you feel just a little bit better.
“I won’t ask you to return to class,” Herobrine went on, “and, from now on, if there is a lesson you would like to be exempt from, simply ask and I will almost certainly allow you.” You gave a tiny nod. “Which of your classmates do you get along best with?” His question caught you off guard, and you had to think for a moment.
“U-um… s-Soot, I guess.”
“Do you feel safe with her?” Was his next question. You considered the tall, lanky skeleton girl for a moment.
“Y-yeah.”
“Alright. Would it help if I asked her to accompany you around the school until further notice?”
“I d-don’t want to… b-bother her.” You stammered, but Herobrine just smiled and shook his head.
“I’m sure she would not mind.”
“Oh.” You gave a hesitant, jerky nod. “Th-then… okay.”
“Alright.” Herobrine shifted, letting his hand slide down to rest on your forearm. “Would you like to get some sleep? It is a documented phenomenon that players often struggle with insomnia when sleeping near monsters- I can give you another room for a while.” You perked up slightly at that.
“Y-yes, please.”
“Alright.” Herobrine stood, offering you a hand, and you accepted it timidly. Opening the door, Herobrine led you out into the hallway, and towards the upstairs staircase.
Soon enough, you found yourself in a dimly-lit room, cluttered with odd trinkets with a red bed at the far end. Herobrine gestured towards an empty space, and another bed appeared.
“This is my room.” He explained. “You’re welcome to sleep here until you feel comfortable with Silvia again.” You squared your shoulders, took a deep breath, then released his hand to go sit on the new bed.
“Th-thank you.” You whispered. Herobrine gave you a small smile.
“Get some rest, Y/N.” With that, he turned to leave.
“W-wait.” You exclaimed, and he paused. “A-are you a… player, or a monster?” Herobrine didn’t answer for a long moment, absently reaching up to adjust his glasses.
“A little of both, I supposed.” He said at last. Not sure how to respond, you simply nodded, and watched quietly as your teacher left the room again.
The room was lit by candles, and the warm, comforting light - plus the exhaustion from your rough night and the breakdown - had you falling asleep within minutes.
Chapter 9: Chapter Eight - Taiga Field Trip, Part 1
Notes:
I am putting zero braincells into this fic and I am loving it
Chapter Text
It really was shocking how much of a difference it made to have a single night of restful sleep.
You woke up briefly a couple times during the night, catching a couple glimpses of Herobrine moving around his room before drifting off again. You finally woke up properly when the bell rang for breakfast. Herobrine was nowhere to be found, so you dragged yourself out of bed, stretched, and headed for the door that would take you downstairs.
Everything seemed a little brighter, you noticed as you made your way to the dining hall, and you no longer jumped at every shadow. Nor did you flinch away from Jace's glare, which was the first thing to meet you when you appeared in the doorway.
"Y/N!" Soot called, standing up and hurrying over to greet you. You paused and waited for her, having to crane your neck to meet her eyes as she approached. "How are you feeling?" She asked as she came to a stop. "Mr. Herobrine said you had a hard day."
"Yeah, well…" You shrugged. "Kind of a rough week. But I'm feeling better."
"Good!" Soot clapped her hands together with a clack sound . "I'm happy to hear that. Come on, let's get you breakfast."
As you loaded up your tray, you felt eyes on you- not unusual, but this time when you turned around you found Morpheus watching you quietly. Not like he had been, though, as he went back to his meal quickly enough. He could probably tell that you'd slept well last night. A stab of guilt hit you as you heard over to your seat, you'd been pretty rude to him over the past few days. Sure, he was creepy, but he couldn't help the way he looked.
"Here," Kaden held up a sealed piece of paper as you sat down. "Teacher told me to give this to you." You took it with a thankful nod, breaking the seal and looking it over.
"We all got ours last night after class." Marrow cut in as you skimmed the page. It was your grades for the week. You had gotten a B in math, history, cooking, reading and writing, and brewing, an A in art, and a C in hiding, athletics, and world studies. Combat just had a dash through it rather than a letter grade. Not too bad all around.
"Thanks." You told Kaden, folding up the paper and putting it in your backpack. "What's on the schedule for today?"
"I don't know." Soot shook her head, sinking down next to you. "The class schedule says that Saturday is 'open'."
"Doesn't that mean no classes?"
"Well, no." Soot shook her head. "Because Sunday is 'off', not open."
"Oh." You scooped up a forkful of eggs, pondering this for a moment.
"I know what we're doing today." A voice piped up from across the table, and you looked up to find Cray leaning on the table and looking at you. "Teacher told me. We're going on a trip!"
"A trip?" You echoed. "Where?"
"I dunno." Cray shrugged. “Didn’t say.” He went back to his breakfast, which was… candles?
“Huh.” You took a bite of your food, wondering where Herobrine could be bringing you.
You wouldn’t have to wonder for long. Within a few minutes, the school bell rang, and you followed the others to the classroom where Herobrine was waiting.
“Good morning,” Herobrine greeted you as you sat down at your desk. “I hope you all had a good night.” His eyes lingered on you for a moment longer than everyone else.
“Today we are going to go on a field trip.” He went on. “When we arrive, we will have a short discussion on the local climate, then I will be putting you into teams and sending you on a scavenger hunt. Your grade for this outing will be based on your overall behavior as well as how you perform in the scavenger hunt.” You glanced over at Soot. You’d probably be paired up with her, right?
“This week, our field trip will be to a taiga biome.” Herobrine said. “Have any of you ever been to a taiga? Raise your hands.” A couple went up, including yours. You had some extended family that lived in a taiga. “Do any of you live in a taiga?” Most hands went down. Marrow’s stayed up. “Alright. Marrow, what are some of the most recognizable traits of taiga biomes?”
“U-uh, spruce trees.” The skeleton stammered. “And large patches of podsol. The air is colder there.”
“Good, thank you.” Herobrine clapped his hands together. “Everyone get your things together and follow me.” You grabbed your backpack and stood, merging into the crowd as Herobrine teleported to the doorway and guided you out into the hall.
Your class made its way downstairs, past the combat classroom and down a long hallway. You stuck close to Soot, ensuring that you knew where Jace was at all times. He had, you realized, not actually messed with you other than glaring at you for a few days. Maybe he’d calmed down like Herobrine said he would.
You turned the corner and were met with the sight of a shimmering nether portal. You caught your breath, startled. You were going through the nether?? You knew that nether travel was much faster than overworld travel, but… wasn’t that dangerous?? You didn’t seem to be the only one to think so, either, as Kai was lagging nervously behind the group.
“For those who have not been to the nether before, there is nothing to fear.” Herobrine assured you as he stopped beside the portal. “Our path is enclosed. It is just as safe as any passage in the overworld.” You swallowed, looking to Soot. Unlike you, the wither skeleton looked excited to be going into the nether. Which… made sense.
Soot noticed you looking at her, and she turned to smile at you, grabbing your hand. “Don’t worry. The nether isn’t scary.” Easy for you to say, you thought to yourself, but you just gave her a wavering smile back.
“Fade, please take the lead.” Herobrine gestured towards the portal, and the enderman stepped up, beckoning the rest of the class with him as he vanished through the purple light. You let Soot tug you along, and you took a deep breath before plunging through the portal.
The air on the other side was hot and dry, making you cough as you stumbled out into a dark corridor. You covered your mouth and nose with your hand, looking around. As Herobrine had said, it was enclosed, but that didn’t stop the air from being filled with flecks of ash. You coughed again, squinting in the dim light. Where exactly were you going?
Herobrine was the last one through, and he made his way up to the front of the group. “Follow me, all of you.” He instructed, and your class began to move down the corridor.
Every 20 blocks or so was a glowing block in the ceiling, providing a bit of light, but mostly it was just ambient darkness. You had always pictured the nether as being a bright place due to all the fire and lava. Maybe most of it was. This part was dark. Your class was almost silent, which was very impressive for you, the only sound coming from your footsteps as you made your way along.
After about a hundred blocks, Herobrine slowed, then took a right turn down an adjacent tunnel. At the end of this one you could see another portal, which made you perk up slightly. That was it? Nether travel really was fast.
“Fade?” Herobrine paused next to the portal when he reached it, and Fade took the lead once again to beckon you all through the portal. You were one of the last ones in, and you saw Herobrine fall into step behind you right before you went through.
You took a deep breath as you stepped out into the woods, suddenly far more appreciative of the cool air. Your classmates were chattering quietly, and Soot released your hand to crack her knuckles.
“Alright,” Herobrine called, catching your attention as he stepped up onto a tree stump. “Can anyone tell me how far we are from the school?” The class fell quiet for a moment, then the zombie piglin raised her hand. “Azara?”
“Around 900 blocks.” Azara answered.
“Correct, we’re 950 blocks from the school portal.” Herobrine nodded approvingly. “One block in the nether is the equivalent of eight in the overworld. We traveled about 120 blocks in the nether, placing us just over 950 blocks away in the overworld. Thank you, Azara.” The piglin girl preened at his praise, and you looked up at the cloudy sky. You’d had some idea of how nether travel worked before this, though you obviously hadn’t done it before.
“What about this biome is different from the biome around the school?” Herobrine scanned the class, then pointed. “Soliel?”
“It’s cold.” The blaze had her arms hugged tightly to her chest.
“Correct, it’s colder here. What else?”
“The trees are spruce, and not dark oak.” Isabelle piped up.
“Th-they’re also less crowded.” The ghast, Greyson, added. “Trees are f-further apart.”
“And the ground is hilly-er.” The magma cube continued. “And…” she pawed at the ground with her foot. “…squishier.”
“And we’re higher up.” Morpheus spoke up quietly. “I would say about 80 blocks higher than the school.”
“Correct, all of you, good job.” Herobrine praised. “Taiga biomes commonly generate at higher elevations than dark forests. This also factors into the colder air. Can anyone tell me what animals you might find in a taiga?” Your hand shot up. “Y/N?”
“Rabbits.” You blurted out. “And foxes. Sometimes wolves.” Beside you, Soot stiffened.
“Correct, Y/N, very good.” Herobrine nodded approvingly. “For those concerned, I have explored this area thoroughly to confirm that there are no wolves here.” You could hear Soot’s bones rattle as she sighed with relief. “Alongside those, you can also find common animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens.
“Now,” Herobrine stepped down off the stump. “I’m going to split you into groups of three. Each group will receive a list, and the first group to return to the portal with every item on their list will be the winners. Your grade will be determined by your group, so I would advise putting as much effort into this assignment as you want a return. Cray, Fade, and Marrow, you are my first group.” You watched as Marrow made her way towards Cray and Fade, who were already standing next to one another. “Silt, Jace, and Geode, you are my second group. Silvia, Kai, and Soliel are my third group.” You glanced up at Soot, then at the remaining students. Herobrine seemed to be grouping together people who usually didn’t spend time together… was that on purpose, you wondered?
“Y/N, Soot, and Morpheus are my fourth team.” Herobrine announced, and you winced. You were glad to be with Soot, of course, but… Morpheus? The phantom probably really disliked you at this point. You sought him out in the crowd, and immediately found that he was already looking at you. You looked away.
The rest of the students were swiftly divided, and you quickly lost track of who was going where. Once everyone was grouped up into six teams, Herobrine produced a stack of papers, handing one to each team. “Here are your items, everyone’s list is the same.” You took the paper you were handed, skimming down its contents. A brown mushroom, a block of mossy cobblestone, a spruce sapling, a feather, a block of black wool, sweet berries, and, with ‘extra credit’ written next to it, an emerald. Where on earth were you supposed to get that in a forest??
“I will be making my way around the forest, keeping an eye on you.” Herobrine told you as he stepped back into the middle of the groups. “Stay with your group and exercise common sense. When the sun begins to set and you hear the bell ring, return to the portal if you have not already. Ready?” A chorus of affirmations, and Herobrine gestured towards the forest.
“Go.”
Chapter 10: Chapter Nine - Taiga Field Trip, Part 2
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
You kicked a pile of mossy cobblestone and winced when pain shot up your leg.
“Ow.”
“Don’t kick it,” Soot scolded. “We should use a pickaxe.”
“Well, where am I supposed to get a pickaxe?” You shot back. “I wasn’t prepared to go mining today!”
“We need a sapling anyway,” Morpheus pointed out. “Let’s chop down a tree.”
“That-“ You started, then paused. “Okay, sure.” Picking out a small tree nearby, you made your way over and began to punch the trunk. “For that matter, how are we supposed to shear a black sheep without shears?”
“There are other ways to get wool from a sheep.” Soot said vaguely. You side-eyed her.
“We’re not killing a sheep.”
“Okay, fine.”
It had been about fifteen minutes since the class had split up to hunt down the items for the scavenger hunt. So far you had a brown mushroom and sweet berries, and your group was working on getting the sapling and the mossy cobblestone. After that all you would need were the wool and the feather, and you could hurry back to the portal. Maybe you’d even be the first? Your group had already placed Morpheus in charge of keeping track of where you were, since he could fly, so you should be able to easily find your way back.
“Do you know what I’ve noticed?” Soot commented. “Every time we’ve been outside, it has been cloudy.” You glanced up, on one knee collecting sticks and logs.
“I guess so. Huh.” It was definitely sunnier than this in the city… was this just a rainy part of the world?
Morpheus looked up as well. “Lucky thing, too. If it were sunny, the other undead and I would burn.” You gave him a shocked look, and he lifted a brow. “What? Didn’t know that undead burned in sunlight?”
“N-no.” You stammered. “I didn’t know you were undead.”
“Oh.” He scoffed quietly. “I am.”
“Oh.” You quickly crafted a crafting table, placing it down and crafting a wooden pickaxe. As you headed for the pile of mossy cobble, a sapling dropped from the decaying leaves above you, and Soot stooped down to pick it up.
“Got one!” She said cheerfully.
“How are you three doing?” A new voice made you jump, and you looked up from the mossy cobblestone to find Herobrine stepping out of the trees.
“Good.” You reported. “We already have almost everything.”
“Excellent.” He smiled, glancing at Soot and Morpheus before his gaze returned to you. “If you finish early, you’re welcome to relax until the rest of the teams return.”
“Okay.” You brightened up a bit. You wouldn’t mind that. It was nice here, if a little cool, and some fresh air would probably do you some good. You went back to mining with renewed vigor.
“If you need anything at all, I will be nearby.” Herobrine told you. “I’ll check on you again in a little while.” With that, he vanished. You picked up a piece of mossy cobblestone and put it in your pocket.
“Can he… hear us all the time?” You muttered.
“He does always seem to be aware of what’s going on.” Soot noted. Your thoughts immediately went back to Jace’s threat.
“Anyway, that’s four down, two to go.” You turned back to the direction you had been traveling, angling up the hill a little bit as you went.
“What about the emerald?” Soot asked.
“If we happen to come across an emerald, sure, but…” You shrugged. “I have no idea where to find one in a forest. So, I don’t plan to go out of my way to find one.”
“Okay!” Soot chirped. “Just a sheep and a chicken, then.” You nodded, and your group lapsed into silence as you walked.
It was hard to tell what time of day it was with the cloud cover, but you estimated that it was mid-morning. Did Herobrine really think it would take some people all day to find all six items? Maybe you were overestimating them. You could definitely see certain people (Cray) taking all day to find a mushroom that was on the ground all around them.
Being around Morpheus was… awkward. You didn’t have a great frame of reference for his personality, other than yelling at you for not sleeping, so… you weren’t sure if he was giving you the silent treatment or if he was just quiet. Hadn’t Soot said something about that?
“It’s nice here,” Soot commented, overtaking you slightly with her long strides. You nodded, falling back a bit to walk beside the phantom.
“Um… Morpheus?” You mumbled. He glanced up at you. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” He murmured back. “For what?”
“For… yelling and being a jerk.” You slowed further, widening the gap between Soot and the two of you. “You were trying to help, and I was being a brat about it.”
“Oh.” Morpheus blinked, looking a little startled. “Well, I was trying to help, I just… I assumed I was going about it wrong.”
“Well, you came on a little strong.” You acknowledged. “But you were trying to give me good advice. So, thank you, and, I’m sorry again.” A tiny smile appeared on the phantom's face.
“It’s okay.”
“There!” Soot exclaimed suddenly, and you looked up to find her pointing at a chicken that stood on the side of the hill in front of you.
“Great!” You broke away from Morpheus, hurrying forward. “Chickens drop feathers sometimes, so all we have to do is wait for-“
“I got it.” Before you could finish, Morpheus took off, his massive wings beating to give him altitude before he dive-bombed the chicken.
Predictably, the chicken did not like this one bit. It immediately fled, scrambling out of Morpheus’ hands as he tried to snatch it and tumbling down the hill. Soot gave chase as well, and you had no choice but to follow.
The chicken led you on a merry chase, squawking madly the whole way. No amount of yelling could convince Soot and Morpheus to stop chasing it and let it drop a feather itself, nor did it drop a feather while running, so you just followed the sounds of chicken panic and crashing through the underbrush as they quickly left you behind.
You finally caught up with them when you spotted Soot standing still, leaning over the edge of a small drop of about ten blocks. You came to a stop beside her and looked down. The chicken was slowly floating down to the bottom of the cliff, where Morpheus was standing with his arms outstretched to catch it. You sighed, leaning over to brace your hands on your knees.
"Your legs are a lot longer than mine." You grumbled.
"Sorry." Soot rubbed her head apologetically. "I was excited."
"Got it!" Morpheus shouted from the below. A moment later, he appeared over the edge of the cliff, landing beside you with the chicken nestled in his arms.
"Like I said, we could've just waited for it to drop a feather…" You shook your head.
"We don't have time to wait around for that. We haven't even found a sheep yet!" Soot protested. As she spoke, a feather came loose from the chicken and floated gently to the ground. You bent down to pick it up and tucked it into your bag.
"Alright, well, I guess it worked." You said. "Let's go find that sheep." Morpheus nodded and set down the chicken, which wandered away without a care in the world.
Before you could take a single step, a fox shot past you with something green and sparkling in its mouth.
You stopped short, staring after it, only to whirl around when you heard something crashing through the trees from the other direction.
“Out of my way, player!!” Cray shouted as he dashed past you. Fade and Marrow were close behind, the former holding a block of mossy cobblestone in both hands. Your team stood in stunned silence for a few moments, watching as the trio disappeared down the hill and out of sight.
“Did that fox have a-“ Soot started.
“-emerald.” You finished. “It did.” Immediately, your competitiveness kicked in. There was no way you were letting Cray get that. “Come on!” You yelled, giving chase, and Soot and Morpheus followed.
The phantom took off, whizzing overhead as you and Soot followed Cray’s group on foot. They had gotten a significant head start, but Morpheus could fly, so you were fairly confident that he would be able to get to the fox first. You weren’t sure how the fox had gotten an emerald, but at the same time you didn’t really care. As long as you got it before Cray did.
You stumbled on a root, then yelped as Soot scooped you up and kept running. “Hey!!”
“I can go faster than you!” She yelled. You blinked, acknowledged the truth of this, then turned to look at the path again. Marrow was the closest to you, with Fade in front of her, and Cray just barely in sight. How was he so fast?? He was the smallest student in the class!
You looked up to find Morpheus coasting over the trees. He was easily keeping up with the first group, but not overtaking them. You guessed because the trees got in the way. All of a sudden, he balked, turning in a circle instead. You frowned, why had he stopped-?
The next thing you heard was Cray’s scream.
Soot slowed to a stop, and you looked on in stunned silence as you were met with the edge of a cliff. Face and Marrow were standing on the edge looking stunned, and Morpheus landed beside you with a soft thump. There was no sign of the fox, or Cray. You pushed at Soot’s arms until she put you down, your heart thudding as you edged towards the cliff. It was at least 80 blocks down.
You heard a soft squeak sound from below, and you blinked, getting down on your hands and knees so you didn’t topple off before looking over the edge. About five blocks down was a small platform of just two overhanging blocks, upon which Cray was curled up in a ball.
“Cray!” You exclaimed. He jumped and looked up, his pupils dilated with fear. You let out a nervous laugh. “You okay?” No answer, except for a tiny flick of his tail.
“Somebody go get the teacher.” Soot ordered. Fade immediately teleported away. Marrow sank down to her knees, looking shocked, and Morpheus patted her shoulder.
“Soot, can you lower me down?” You asked, not breaking eye contact with Cray. Your heart was pounding- Cray was unpredictable on a good day, and now he was terrified, but he looked so scared that you didn’t want to leave him there alone.
“Are you sure?” Soot peered over the edge. “Shouldn’t we wait for the teacher?”
“I might be able to pull him up.” You insisted. “Let’s try it, anyway.” Soot’s jaw shifted, but she nodded.
“Okay.” Getting down on her knees, she grabbed both your wrists, and you shimmied over the edge.
Cray’s eyes tracked you as Soot lowered you down, eventually getting down on her belly so she could reach farther. Once you were as far down as you could go, you wiggled one wrist out of her grasp, reaching down towards Cray.
“Here, grab my hand, we can pull you up.” You urged him. Cray’s gaze flickered to the drop, and he huddled back against the cliff face. “Cray, c’mon!” Your wrist was starting to ache where Soot was holding onto you, and you didn't like dangling over the drop any more than Cray did. The creeper still didn't move, and you sighed.
"Soot, let go."
"What??" Came her incredulous voice from above.
"Let go! I'm over the ledge, I'll be fine." You insisted. If Cray wouldn't come up, the least you could do is keep him company.
Soot was silent for a moment, finally asking, "are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Alright…" Slowly, her grip loosened, then she let go, letting you drop about three blocks to land on the ledge.
You immediately sank down to sit cross-legged, pressing back against the wall with your heart pounding. Okay, Cray was right, this was terrifying. The creeper was staring at you in shock, his chest rising and falling quickly with panicked breaths.
“Wh-what are you doing, player?” He croaked out.
“Coming t’ keep you company.” You answered, a bit breathless. “And my name’s not ‘player’. Fade’s going to get Herobrine, he’ll be here in just a minute. We’re going to be fine, okay?” Cray stared at you for a few moments before giving you a tiny nod. You looked up, finding Soot and Marrow peering over the edge at you.
“Here,” You offered a hand to Cray. “Hold on to me, so neither of us will fall off, okay?” Cray hesitated, then his tight grip on his own shirt loosened, his trembling fingers reaching out to entwine with yours. “Are you hurt at all?” You asked. Cray shook his head. Then, slowly, he scooted closer, until he was all but squished up against your side with his tail curled around your ankle. Stunned, you gave him a small, awkward pat on the head. “We’ll be okay.” You whispered. “Promise.”
“Y/N? Cray?” Your head popped up at Herobrine’s voice, and your mouth dropped open as he appeared floating in the air in front of you. “Are either of you hurt?” You quickly shook your head, and Herobrine sighed with relief. The next thing you knew, both of you were sitting at the top of the cliff again.
Cray promptly released you to scramble away from the edge, and you slumped back on the grass with a sigh. Soot appeared over you, looking concerned, and you gave her a thumbs-up.
“I’m so sorry, teacher.” You heard Fade’s voice, and you lifted your head to find him bowing stiffly to Herobrine. “I wasn’t quick enough to keep him from going over. This was my fault.”
“No, it’s my fault.” Herobrine drew a hand through his hair, looking agitated. “I’m just glad no one was hurt. What happened?”
“Cray fell off while chasing a fox with an emerald.” Marrow piped up. “And Y/N got down to sit and wait with him.” Herobrine’s eyes fell on you, and you shrugged, pushing yourself up to sit.
“Yeah.” What happened to the fox, anyway? “I tried to pull him up, but he was frozen and wouldn’t move, so I got down to sit with him.”
“That was very brave of you,” Herobrine told you, “but, next time, please do not put yourself in harm’s way.” You ducked your head and nodded. As Herobrine got down on one knee to talk to Cray, a noise caught your attention, and you turned to the right to find the fox with the emerald standing in the trees.
You blinked, then froze. The fox stared back at you. After a moment’s hesitation, you dug your hand in your backpack and pulled out the sweet berries, holding them out in front of you as you eased yourself upright and took a tiny step towards the treeline.
“Y/N?” Soot spoke, and you hushed her. The fox squeaked, then edged closer. Then, before you could move, it dropped the emerald, snatched the berries from your hand, and vanished into the trees.
“Ha!” You exclaimed, snatching up the gemstone and spinning around to hold it up triumphantly. Soot broke into a grin, and even Morpheus smiled a bit. You glanced at Cray, smugness rushing through you for only a moment before you realized he wasn’t even looking. The creeper was staring at the ground, ears drooped, picking at the grass as Herobrine spoke to him quietly. A stab of pity went through you. Before you knew it, you had lowered the emerald, and were making your way over to where they were sitting.
"Here." Coming to a stop, you offered Cray the emerald. "You fell off a cliff for this, I think you deserve it." Cray's head popped up, his ears flicking back as he stared at you in shock.
"R-really??" He stammered. You nodded. Cray grabbed the emerald, a shy grin appearing on his face. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." You hesitates, then backed up, going to stand with your group again. "We should go find that sheep, huh?"
"Yeah." Soot nodded, looking at the cliff, then back to the woods. "Okay. Let's go. Maybe if we hurry, we can still be the first ones back to the portal.”
Notes:
if you wanna see something happen in this fic, leave a comment and maybe it will! (303 is coming guys never fear)
Chapter 11: Chapter Ten - Day of Rest
Notes:
I just went to post chapter 11 and realized I forgot to post this lol. Oops.
Sorry for the long hiatus, I’ve been having some really miserable health issues :(
Chapter Text
Unfortunately, you were not the first ones back to the portal.
When your group arrived with all six items (having found a black sheep and replaced the berries), you found two other groups already waiting. Shortly after you arrived, Cray’s group showed up with Herobrine accompanying them. It didn’t take much discussion for you to learn that Kai, Soliel, and Silvia had been the first ones back to the portal, which didn’t surprise you since Soliel seemed really competitive. Oh well. Third place wasn’t terrible, and Herobrine said your behavior would make up the rest of your grade, so… giving Cray the emerald had to count for something, right?
It was midafternoon when the last team arrived, the zombie, Isabelle, and Kaden. The spider waved an emerald above her head as they arrived, and didn’t seem too concerned about being last.
“Excellent work,” Herobrine called out as they stepped into the clearing. “Let’s head back to the school.” Without prompting, Fade took the lead, guiding you all back through the nether to the monster school basement.
When you made it back to the classroom, Herobrine informed you that school was done for the day. He encouraged you all to work on any unfinished homework and dismissed you. You, having spent many sleepless nights this week doing just that, decided to catch up on some rest instead. Your earlier fright had completely worn you out. Informing your teacher of your plans, you made your way up to his room and fell asleep within moments of hitting the mattress.
When you woke up, it was Sunday morning.
You stayed in bed for a few minutes, curled up comfortably in your blankets and gazing idly at the candles that were lit on the table opposite you. Herobrine wasn’t here, though his bed was made, and you were fairly sure that it hadn’t been when you arrived. For that matter, the candles hadn’t been lit either. He’d probably slept here overnight and left when the sun came up.
Slowly, you sat up, stretching and looking at the window. It was only a single block to let light in, but you could tell that the sun was shining. Maybe 9 AM?
You made your bed and headed downstairs for breakfast. Not everybody was there, but the food was still out, confirming your suspicions that it was later in the morning. The skeletons were still there, and Soot perked up at the sight of you.
“Good morning Y/N!” She shouted cheerfully. You waved, smiling as you went to join them.
“What are you guys going to do today?” You asked as you sank down in your seat.
“Homework.” Marrow replied, sounding dejected. “I need to finish for math tomorrow.”
“Same here.” Kaden chimed in.
“I’ve already finished my homework,” Soot said, “but I’m going to help them with theirs as much as I can. After that, maybe we’ll walk around the school grounds. The teacher said we were allowed as long as we didn’t go too far.”
“Oh?” You glanced over at the door. “Maybe I’ll go and look around too, then. I’ve already finished my homework.”
“That sounds like fun!” No sooner had the words left Soot’s mouth than thunder rumbled outside.
You looked up in shock amid a few murmurs, including a nervous warble from Fade. Thunder? Hadn’t it been sunny when you woke up??
“Or, maybe not…” Soot murmured. You shrugged, sticking your fork in your mouth.
“I can still go out.” You mumbled around your food. “I’ll just stick beneath the trees so I won’t get struck by lightning.”
“Is that how that works?” Kaden asked incredulously.
“Yeah, lightning always strikes the tallest thing. unless there’s a lightning rod.” You pushed back your chair, taking your mostly-empty tray to the drop-off point. “I’ll see you guys later.” Soot waved to you as you headed to the hallway, making your way to the front door of the school and pushing it open.
If it was sunny before, it certainly wasn’t now. Dark clouds covered the sky, a few threatening drops pattering against the front steps of the school. Cautiously, you stuck your hand out, then stepped out from beneath the porch overhang and into the drizzle. The rain was cool, but refreshing, and you shivered as it soaked into your clothes, shuffling across the small front yard and beneath the dark oak trees.
The canopy of leaves served as a reasonably effective umbrella. Even though you could hear the rain getting faster, only a few stray drops hit you, allowing you to stay mostly dry. With a small sigh, you started to walk, enjoying the peace and quiet. After all, who else would be wandering around out here in a thunderstorm?
Your thoughts began to wander as you walked. It had now been a week since you first arrived here, and, despite your rough few days, you… found you didn’t entirely loathe the experience. Some of your classmates were cruel, sure, but some of them were nice to you, and really interesting to boot. None of your former classmates back home could say that they had lunch with a skeleton.
It made you think, too, about the relationship that players had with the monster races. You had been raised to believe that mobs were mindless killers who saw humans as nothing but prey. And, sure, you could see some of those thoughts in your classmates. Especially Jace. But, for the most part, they just seemed like… kids. Most of them around your age. Maybe this… wouldn’t be as completely awful as you’d thought it was going to be.
A flash of movement caught your eye, and you glanced up from the carpet of dead leaves to find Jace standing fifteen blocks in front of you.
You froze in your tracks, your heart rate skyrocketing as you met his cold eyes. What was he doing out here?? Had he followed you?? You were completely alone and you were pretty sure that you couldn’t beat him in a fight, what were you going to do??
“Player.” He called out. “We should talk.” He took a step forward, and you took one back. Not with no witnesses you shouldn’t. You slid back another step, then turned on your heel, intending to flee back to the school and hide in Herobrine’s room for the rest of the day.
“Hi Y/N!” The exuberant shout made you shriek and whirl around, clutching a hand to your chest as Cray popped out of the bushes.
“Cray!!” You exclaimed. “What’re you- why are you outside??”
“Looking for you.” The creeper chirped. Your gaze flashed back to where Jace had been standing. He was gone. “Soot told me you went outside, so I went to look for you.” You blinked.
“…why?”
“Uh…” Cray averted his gaze, fidgeting with the tip of his tail. “…wanted to ask you for help.”
“With… what?” The rain had now thoroughly soaked through your clothes, and you were starting to shiver, though you weren’t sure if that was from cold or from the fright of Jace’s sudden appearance… and disappearance.
“My homework.” His voice lowered to a mumble. “I, uh… can’t read it.” You stared for a moment before your gaze softened slightly. He’d… come to you for help?? “Soot said you already did all of your homework, so you must be good at it.” He added quietly.
“Um… sure.” You hesitantly agreed. Cray immediately perked up. “Let’s get inside out of the rain, okay?”
“Yes! Okay! Thank you!” Cray took off in a sprint towards the school, and you broke into a jog to try and keep up. You didn’t want to be left alone with Jace still lurking in the woods.
“We can go to my dorm!” Cray told you as you stepped through the front door. “My stuff’s already in there.”
“Uh, okay.”
Ten minutes later, you found yourself sitting in the middle of a standard dorm room with a small teenage boy seated on either side of you.
“You saved Cray when he fell off a cliff??” The ghast boy, Greyson, gaped at you in astonishment. “ Whoa. I would never expect a player to do that.”
“Well,” You tried to correct him but Cray cut you off.
“They did!! And they gave me the emerald they got from the fox, so my team got extra points in the scavenger hunt!” The creeper was all but bouncing where he sat on the floor.
“Rrrright.” You said at last. More or less. “What homework do you need help with?”
“Um, my math.” Cray grabbed a bright green bag and dug out a few crumpled sheets of paper. “I, um, don’t know what these symbols mean.” He straightened out the paper a bit sheepishly and set it in front of you. You pressed it flat, immediately recognizing it as containing simple addition problems.
“Well, reading aside, what do you know about math?” You asked Cray. He blinked at you owlishly. “What’s one plus one?”
“Two.” He answered automatically.
“What’s two plus two?”
“Four.”
“What’s four plus-”
“Eight! I know all that stuff! I just don’t know what this means!” He gestured at the paper in exasperation. You scoffed quietly, pointing to the first problem.
“Okay, so, this symbol means ‘three’.” You traced the number on the paper. “Got that?”
“Okay,” Cray leaned over the paper with a serious look on his face. “And this?”
“That’s ‘plus’.”
“So three, plus…”
“This is a four.”
“Seven!” He exclaimed. “This is easy!”
“It’ll get even easier when you learn how to read.” You poked him in the forehead, and he squawked in indignation.
“Well, I know ‘three’ and ‘plus’ and ‘four’, now, so it should be easy.”
“Right…”
Chapter 12: Chapter Eleven - Math Class
Notes:
I had to watch a math lesson to write this
Chapter Text
“Y/N?” You were startled out of your daydreams by your teacher’s voice, and you jerked your head up to see him watching you. “Did you hear me?”
“U-uh, no, sorry.” You stammered as your face went red. Cray snickered, and you glared at him.
“I asked if you know what the Pythagorean Theorem is.” Herobrine crossed his arms, and you wracked your brain for a moment before it came to you.
“A-squared plus B-squared equals C-squared.” You answered as you sat up straight. “It’s a formula for calculating the, uh, longest side of right triangles.”
“Very good.” Herobrine nodded approvingly, waving to the board and causing your answer to appear. “Does anyone know what the longest side of a right triangle is called?” Soliel’s hand shot up. “Soliel?”
“The hypotenuse.”
“Correct.” Herobrine filled in her answer on the board, and Soliel shot you a smug look. You just side-eyed her and rested your chin in your hand again. You weren’t going to fight with her over math of all things.
This afternoon would be hiding class again. You were more comfortable in this place than you had been last week, but… that was the first time Jace had threatened you. Would he go after you again once you were unsupervised? You shivered, wondering if you would be able to stick with Soot the whole time.
You snuck a glance at Jace out of the corner of your eye. He wasn't paying attention to you, looking down at his notebook with his yellow beanie askew on his head. He didn't look all that threatening in class, but… appearances could be deceiving. You found yourself wishing you had seen his abilities in combat class. Maybe that would've given you some idea of what he was able to do.
"Can anyone tell me what the square root of 25 is?" Herobrine asked, and you went to raise your hand but Cray did so first. "Cray?"
"Five." The creeper said proudly. You blinked in surprise. He really did know his stuff.
"Good job." Herobrine praised. "So that makes our hypotenuse five." A wave of his hand, and the equation filled itself out on the board. You silently wondered what kind of magic had to do with blackboards. “Does anyone have any questions?” The class was quiet, and he nodded, waving a hand towards his desk and causing a piece of paper to appear in front of every student. “Here is a worksheet with several sample problems. Go ahead and work through these, raise your hand if you need any…” Herobrine trailed off, glancing to his left. You followed his gaze and saw nothing but a blank wall.
Abruptly, a diamond pickaxe appeared in his hand. “Stay in your seats, please,” he said, an instant before a white-robed figure blinked into existence and brought down a scythe on your teacher’s head.
Your gasp was drowned out by Isabelle’s shriek, followed swiftly by the sharp sound of metal on diamond as Herobrine struck the blade away with his own weapon and lunged at the intruder. The newcomer fell back, vanishing just before he hit the floor. He appeared behind Herobrine again and swung his scythe, Herobrine ducking beneath it and rolling to the side to kick his opponent’s feet out from under him. The man in white vanished once more, and this time dropped from above, using his additional momentum to drive his scythe into the floor where Herobrine had been a moment before.
Herobrine staggered upright, shouting “ Stay seated! ” as Fade surged upright. Fade sat down again with a small thump, and you covered your mouth in horror as the man in white spun and kicked your teacher in the jaw. The man spun again, aiming a second kick at Herobrine’s ribs, only for his ankle to be seized mid-flight and Herobrine slam him into the ground. The man grunted in pain, tightening his grip on his scythe, then Herobrine stomped down on his wrist and his fingers went lax, the scythe clattering to the floor.
Herobrine rested the blade of his pick against the intruder’s throat, and you forced your gaping mouth to shut. What in the overworld was happening?? How was your teacher so calm about this, was he regularly attacked during school hours?!
The man on the floor coughed, then grinned. “S-so, that’s… what, 78 to 0?”
“79.” Herobrine removed his foot, returning his pickaxe to his side as the young man continued to lay limply on the floor. “You got closer this time. You were only seven chunks away when I heard you coming.”
“Don’t need to brag.” The newcomer grumbled, vanishing from the floor and appearing perched atop Herobrine’s desk. “I’ll get you in another couple years for sure.”
“Maybe in ten. Or fifty.” Herobrine amended. “But likely not. Now get off my desk, you ruffian, you’re making a scene.” With a shrug, the young man hopped down, knocking over a stack of papers as he did so.
“Morning, class.” He greeted you cheerfully. “My name’s Entity 303, it’s a pleasure to meet you all.” The man met your gaze, and you swallowed nervously, glancing at his scythe where it was strewn on the floor.
“Class, I’m sorry for the interruption.” Herobrine rested a hand on 303’s shoulder. “This is 303, a friend of mine. He likes to start out the semester by trying to get the jump on me while I’m in the middle of class.”
“Yeah, because apparently I can’t get enough of getting my butt handed to me.” 303 rubbed at his right wrist.
“He’ll be helping me out with some of the classes this semester,” Herobrine went on. “If he can find some time in his busy schedule, anyway.” 303 rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, and you got the feeling that this was an inside joke between them. “Now, get to the back of the class, I’m in the middle of a lesson.” Herobrine pointed authoritatively to the back of the classroom. 303 saluted, then vanished along with his scythe, and a small pop! from behind you made you turn to find him sitting cross-legged in the air in the back corner of the classroom.
Though he remained there quietly for the rest of the lesson, you found it much harder to focus on what Herobrine was saying - and, if your classmates constantly turning back to look at him was any indication, they couldn’t either. Entity 303 eventually produced a spiral-bound notebook and began taking notes with an incredibly serious look on his face. Surely he could… do math already, right?
Herobrine had said ‘79 to 0’, and then he’d said that 303 came at the beginning of the semester… so 303 was over 80 years old? He didn’t look that old, but neither did Herobrine, so you were forced to conclude that they were both immortal. And that Herobrine had been running this school for almost 80 years.
Before you knew it, you were hurriedly scribbling down some final notes as the bell rang and you were dismissed for lunch. When you turned around, 303 had vanished, and you ran to catch up with Soot as the class streamed out towards the dining hall.
“That was crazy.” Soot exclaimed as you fell into step beside her. “I never thought that our teacher would have friends.” On her other side, Marrow snorted a laugh, and Soot quickly corrected herself. “Like that, I mean.”
“No, I know what you mean.” You grinned, sneaking a glance over your shoulder to see if Herobrine had heard her. “I just hope he doesn’t attack us like that.”
“Oh, I’m sure he won’t.” Soot assured you. “That would be too dangerous.”
“I don’t like him.” Kaden announced. “He seems too… unhinged to be a teacher.”
“He’s not going to be a teacher.” Soot said.
“Herobrine said he was going to be helping out with classes.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s a teacher.”
“Close enough!”
“I’m sure Herobrine will keep him in check,” Marrow broke in, taking the lead as your little group entered the dining hall. “He’s really careful not to let anything happen to us.” You nodded, turning to look for a seat, and immediately balked at the sight of Entity 303 lounging at the head of the table. Feeling your eyes on him, he turned to look, and he grinned and waved at your group.
“Right…” You mumbled, changing direction to go get food. “…I sure hope so.”
Chapter 13: Chapter Twelve - Hiding Class
Chapter Text
Despite Entity 303’s presence, lunch was mostly calm. You had been worried that he was going to try to talk to you, but before he got the chance his attention was captured by Cray, who was thoroughly impressed by the guts he had to just attack your teacher without warning. 303 seemed to enjoy the hero worship, which meant that the rest of you could eat in peace.
You… weren’t sure what to think about 303 just yet. He seemed friendly enough, but having a wildcard like him who was so obviously powerful was just… unnerving. You felt kinda bad for it, but you hoped that he wouldn’t stick around for too long.
As you finished up your meal, the bell rang, and you joined the rest of the class in going outside for hiding class.
“Welcome back, class.” Herobrine called as you streamed out onto the front lawn. There was a light cloud cover, protecting the undead mobs from sunlight. “Today’s exercise will be a bit different than last week’s.”
“Herobrine and I went over his class notes from last week,” 303 popped into existence beside Herobrine, making you jump. “And it seems like you guys did well! But there are some certain tactics that can help you stay hidden for longer.”
“When one is spotted, their first instinct is usually to run.” Herobrine went on. “However, in most cases, staying perfectly still can continue to conceal you for longer, especially if you’re well-camouflaged in your environment.” The magma cube’s hand shot up. “Yes, Geode?”
“Um, I glow, sir.” She patted at her glowing hair. “It’s really hard for me to hide.”
“I understand.” Herobrine nodded. “But you needn’t worry about it for this lesson. Today, everyone will be getting an invisibility II potion and a leather chestplate, to even the playing field. Focus on camouflage and remaining still even when you think you’ve been caught.” There was a round of surprised murmurs, and 303 teleported to the left, over to where a chest was sitting on the ground. He kicked it open.
“Come and get a potion and a chestplate, one each!” He called, and he and Herobrine watched as each student came forward to collect them. You grabbed a chestplate that was dyed green, slipping it over your head before grabbing an invisibility potion.
“Don’t drink it yet,” Herobrine warned, and you followed his gaze to where Cray had frozen with the bottle halfway to his mouth. “They last for five minutes, so don’t drink them until you hear the horn sound.”
“Everyone ready?” 303 called, scanning the class. There was a general murmur of assent, and he put his hands on his hips. “Alright. This will be just about the same as last week’s lesson, the only differences being that you have the chestplate and invisibility potion, and that I will be seeking for the first round.”
“The round will end five minutes after I blow the horn for the first time.” Herobrine said. “Are there any questions?” No one spoke up. “Alright. You have one minute to hide. Go!”
Your heart was already racing by the time you reached the school doors. You couldn’t stop thinking about how Jace had threatened you last week - even though he wasn’t seeking, he could still bother you, and now he had the potential to be invisible . Did Herobrine know what he’d done? He’d never mentioned it. And now you were alone with him again.
“Y/N! Psst.” A voice made you look up as Soot touched your arm. “Let’s hide together!” You blinked, then a small smile crossed your face.
“Is that a good idea?”
“Sure.” She shrugged. “Well, we can try. If it isn’t, we can try something else next round.”
“Okay,” You agreed. “Come on, I have an idea.”
You led Soot to a storage closet, one of the ones you had hidden in last week. There was a table on the left side, which you scooted underneath and pressed your back against the wall.
“Your chestplate is brown, it’ll blend in even better than mine.” You whispered. Soot nodded, and carefully crammed herself under the table to hide next to you. No sooner had she settled, though, that another figure appeared in the doorway.
“ Ugh .” Soliel scowled at the two of you, then made her way further into the closet. She hopped up onto a shelf with a little bit of room, scrunching herself up as small as possible to make her chestplate blend in with the rest of the clutter. You scowled back at her. You had been here first.
Far away, the horn sounded, and you quickly chugged your potion. Soot poured her splash potion on herself, and she vanished, leaving a brown chestplate pressed against the wall next to you. Five minutes, Herobrine had said. You just needed to survive that long without 303 spotting you.
For the first few moments, there was silence. Then there was a blip! from the hallway as 303 appeared, scanned the area momentarily, then vanished again. Your jaw dropped. Oh, he was going to be fast.
Silence again, broken by the occasional startled yell from one of your classmates. You heard a small clatter, and your head popped up, then you frowned at the sight of Soliel’s chestplate coming down from the shelf.
“ We’re supposed to practice staying still. ” You hissed in her direction.
“ You’re going to get me caught. I’m not hiding in here with you.” Soliel hissed back. The chestplate moved into the closet doorway, and immediately 303 appeared in front of her.
Soliel shouted in surprise, and 303 poked her in the stomach.
“Got you.” With that, he vanished again. Soliel growled, tearing off her chestplate and throwing it to the ground before you heard her retreat down the hall.
“She’s grumpy.” Soot noted softly. You hummed in acknowledgment.
It was another minute before you heard anything, and you were just daring to hope that you might last the five minutes when 303 strode into the closet. He glanced to the right, then the left, then he ducked down to look under the table.
“Found you, and you.” He pointed at both of you in turn, then vanished again. You sighed.
“So much for staying still.”
“We made it longer than Soliel did.” Soot said brightly. You nodded, looking down at your hands as they faded back into view.
“Guess so.”
You two were some of the last ones out, you realized as you made it back outside. The only one that came out behind you was Greyson, who looked very pleased with himself.
“Excellent job, everyone.” Herobrine said as you joined the group. “We’re going to go again, now that you’ve gotten a feel for this technique. Soliel, go fetch your chestplate.” The blaze flushed and hurried back towards the building. “This time,” Herobrine continued, “I will be picking a volunteer to seek.” A number of hands went up, and as they did you saw 303 slipping on a chestplate. So he would be hiding this round.
Herobrine selected the drowned to seek, and you saw him take off his chestplate as the rest of you grabbed another potion from the chest. You grabbed Soot’s hand in your free one.
“We should probably try splitting up this round.” You said. “Just to give it a shot.” Soot nodded.
“On your marks, hiders.” Herobrine said, and you focused on the schoolhouse door. “Get set, go.” And you were off again.
You split apart from Soot as soon as you got through the doors, making a note of which way Jace was going and making sure you picked a different path. You ended up going upstairs, picking your way down a hallway before selecting what seemed to be an unused classroom and slipping inside. There was a closet with the door ajar, but you quickly decided that would be too obvious and picked a desk in the corner of the room instead. You ducked underneath and pressed yourself up against the wall, taking a deep breath to calm your racing heart. Jace hadn't bothered you last time until it was his turn to seek. It would probably be fine.
The horn sounded, and you drank your potion. Five minutes.
The first few minutes were quiet. Eventually, the husk hurried into your room, looked around and peeked in the closet, then hurried back out. You could swear he looked directly at you at one point, but apparently didn't realize what he was looking at. So there was something to this holding-still thing.
Eventually, the invisibility potion wore off, and you heard the goat horn sound. Triumphantly, you made your way back into the hall, where you nearly bumped into 303 where he was heading towards the stairs.
"Oh! Hey Y/N." He greeted you cheerfully.
"H-hi." You slunk back to walk behind him. He must have gotten your name from Herobrine's notes… unless he was some kind of mind-reader.
You saw several of the other students come out of their hiding places as well - it looked like the husk had struggled. It made sense, five minutes wasn't a lot of time to find eighteen invisible people. There were only a few people waiting outside with Herobrine when you arrived, and you weren't sure if they had been caught or just got out before you.
"Let's change things up a bit." Herobrine said as the last few stragglers drew near. "This time, you will all be given a five-minute potion as usual, but the round will last for ten minutes." You saw Geode shift and look at Soliel, both of whom glowed. "You are welcome to use any strategy you want to stay hidden, but I recommend continuing to utilize staying quiet and still. It is effective even without a potion. Who would like to seek this round?"
As hands flew up again, you went to get a new potion, trying to stay aware of where Jace was. You were starting to feel like you were being paranoid, but at the same time it was only yesterday that he tried to corner you in the woods to 'talk'. You just wanted to avoid giving him any opportunity to hurt you.
Soliel was picked to seek, which made you uneasy as well- she was already in a bad mood and had burned you before. But at least she didn't seem to specifically hate you like Jace. Herobrine sent you off, and you went back into the building.
This time, however, you slipped out again once the others had passed to hide on the outside. That had been allowed last week, and Herobrine hadn't mentioned that rule, so you could only assume it was allowed this time. You skirted around the building to where there was a decorative patch of tall grass, and carefully made your way to sink down into the middle of it.
…only to realize an instant later that the patch was already occupied.
The zombie girl blinked at you, and you blinked back, before stammering "O-oh, sorry, I can find another spot."
"No need." She lifted a hand to stop you as you started to rise. "This is a good hiding place. I have hidden here every round, and I have only been caught by the teacher's friend 303. You should stay." You hesitated, then the horn went off and you realized that you had little choice.
"Okay," You agreed, and you hurried to drink your potion. The zombie girl followed suit, and you both fell silent.
You could hear the schoolhouse floors creak as Soliel walked around inside, and you dared to whisper,
" Hey, um… what's your name?"
"It's Xa-Tul ." She murmured back. " And yours? "
" Y/N. " You were a little surprised by how… chill she was. You had always grown up thinking of zombies as being mindlessly violent, but Xa-Tul was very calm and well-spoken from what you had seen. Then again, before last week you would've assumed that most of these mobs were mindless killers. Every day this school forced you to reexamine your expectations.
True to her word, you and Xa-Tul were never found. Soliel didn't even come close. After ten minutes, the horn sounded, and the two of you climbed out of the grass and went to rejoin the class at the front of the school.
"Good job, everyone." Herobrine praised. "That will be all for today. Please return your chestplates, then you are dismissed."
Soot ran to join you as you slipped your chestplate over your head. “That was fun!” She chirped. “Even though I got caught every time. Did you?” You shook your head with a grin.
“I made it the second and third rounds.”
“Oh.” Soot shrugged. “I’m not very good at hiding.”
“You’ll get better.” Marrow assured her as she joined you. “That’s what this class is for.”
“Yeah. We-“ You cut yourself off when you found Jace staring you down, and you hurriedly looked away. “-can only get better.”
“I guess.” Soot started to walk back towards the schoolhouse. “It’s hard when I’m so big.”
“But you’re dark.” Marrow pointed out. “So you could hide in dark places easily.” Soot considered this for a moment.
“Maybe if I closed my eyes.” She said at last. You looked at her red, glowing eyes, then nodded.
“Maybe.”
Chapter 14: Chapter Thirteen - Crafting Class
Chapter Text
It started storming not long after class ended.
The sound of rain beating against the roof and windows was calming - to you, at least. You could see Fade shooting nervous glances at the walls. You had no qualms about getting wet, and the rain sounded like a great backdrop to do homework to.
Dinner was peaceful. Entity 303 wasn’t there. Where he was, you didn’t know, you just enjoyed the quiet and chatting with the skeletons. Xa-Tul stopped by to say hello to you on her way out, which made you smile. You couldn’t believe you were actually making friends in this weird place.
It got dark early, and you talked with the skeletons for so long that they retired to their respective rooms before you finished eating. You were almost the last one there, you noticed as you hurriedly finished your cold food. The only others there were Kai and Soliel, who were chatting quietly at the far end of the table. Neither of them were paying much attention to you, but Soliel disliked you and Kai… could easily kill you, so you weren’t keen on sticking around for long all by yourself. Putting away your dishes, you quietly left the room, making your way towards your dorm to work on your homework.
You weren’t sure if it was just the rain, but you felt… very peaceful tonight. You weren’t worried about whether or not you would be able to sleep, or nervous about Jace popping out at you. This school, as odd as it was, was starting to feel like home to you.
As you turned a corner, a voice echoing down the halls made you pause.
“ -know what you are. ”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“Answer the question!! ”
You frowned. That sounded like… Jace? You crept closer, peering around the next corner to see Jace and Entity 303 standing at the far end of the hall. 303 had his arms folded, leaning back casually against the wall as Jace leaned over him. You frowned. Was he really threatening a teacher??
“If you want to know so bad,” 303 gave a small shrug. “I’m a griefer.”
“That’s not what I meant!” Jace snapped.
“Look, it’s been a long day, and I’m ready to hit the hay. You look like you could use a nap too.” 303 suggested. He lifted a hand to push Jace away, and the slime seized him by the wrist.
“I don’t want you here, player.” Jace hissed as you stiffened. “Leave.”
“No.” 303 met his gaze evenly.
“You will, or I will make your life here miserable.”
“You simply don’t have that power.” 303 vanished for a split second, appearing behind Jace. “Goodnight, Jace.” He said as the slime spun around in shock. With that, he vanished.
You quickly hid behind the wall as Jace looked around for his victim. Finding nothing, he retreated- fortunately the other direction. You breathed out shakily, your sense of relaxation shattered. Why did Jace have to be such a- such a jerk??
You spent a couple minutes in the hallway, ears peeled for approaching footsteps as you tried to calm down your breathing. Finally, you composed yourself enough to flee back to your dorm, where you intended to hide with Silvia for the rest of the evening.
You did not expect to return to the sight of Entity 303, lounging outside and eating a golden carrot.
“Ah, Y/N.” He greeted you cheerfully as you froze in your tracks. “Hey- you’re not in trouble.” He added, voice softening slightly. “You saw me and Jace, didn’t you?” Heart in your throat, you nodded. “Here,” 303 beckoned you over, sinking down against the wall. “Sit with me.” Meekly, you obeyed, going to sit against the wall with your new teacher.
“Now,” 303 began conversely. “I’d like to hazard a guess that if Jace doesn’t like me, on account of being a player, he doesn’t like you either. Am I right?” You nodded. “He do that to you too?”
“Sorta.” You muttered, hugging your knees to your chest. “Told me to leave. And I- I can’t, I don’t have any way to go home, and I told him that but he doesn’t… care.” You sighed heavily. “Don’t know what his deal with players is.”
“Some mobs are like that.” 303 shrugged. “Anyway, I’ll talk to Brine. Obviously that kind of behavior isn’t okay.” Could’ve fooled you, you thought bitterly. “Has he hurt you?” 303 went on. “Seems to me like his bark is worse than his bite.”
“No. Well-“ You hesitated. “He’s shoved me a couple times, and he grabbed my arm and bruised it.”
“Right.” 303 nodded thoughtfully. “Alright. G’night, Y/N.”
“Wait,” You blurted out as he started to stand. 303 paused, meeting your gaze. “Are you actually a- a griefer?” You averted your gaze, not sure if you were nervous or just embarrassed. Griefer were, reportedly, violent men and women who roamed the less-civilized areas of the overworld, stealing, murdering, and burning everything in their path. You had never met one - obviously - but just the thought made you… uneasy.
“Oh.” 303 chuckled a bit. “Well, yes, but no.” He sat down, facing you this time. “I’m kind of like a… griefer-griefer. I give them a taste of their own medicine.” He gave you a little smile. “Not gonna hurt you. Or anyone here, promise.” Your heart lifting slightly, you returned the smile.
“Okay.”
“Except Brine, if he gives me the chance.” 303 stretched, then teleported to his feet. “See you tomorrow, Y/N.”
You scrambled upright. “Night.”
With a small salute, 303 vanished, leaving you free to duck into your dorm and stay there until morning.
“I would like you to select one of the recipes in the ‘utility’ category and commit it to memory.” Herobrine instructed, walking through the classroom to ensure that each student had their book. “You will be given 15 minutes to do so, however you see fit. Once those 15 minutes are up, you will put away your books in preparation for the second part of the lesson.”
“Teacher!” Cray’s hand shot up.
“Yes, Cray?”
“If we have the book, why do we have to memorize it?”
“You’re not always going to have a recipe book available to you, Cray.” Herobrine told him patiently. “It is my job to prepare you for such a situation.” Cray grumbled to himself, but flipped his textbook open. “Your time starts now, class.” Herobrine gestured to the blackboard, and a 15 minute timer appeared, slowly counting down. You didn't waste time wondering what the heck kind of magic that was, and instead set to work looking for a recipe to follow.
Evidently, the ‘cooking’ and ‘crafting’ classes would switch out every week, so after History class this morning you had been sent to lunch as usual. You wondered if you’d have to cook for yourself every cooking class, or if that was a one-time thing. In the meantime, you were pretty confident in yourself in this class. While some of your classmates were staring at their recipe books like they were about to bite them, you were well familiar with crafting.
You paged to the ‘utility’ section of the book and began to look through the recipes. Some of these you had already memorized, such as the recipe for a bucket, which was just three iron ingots in a ‘V’ shape. Others, like an anvil, you were a bit more fuzzy on. Eventually, you decided on a spyglass, which took you only a moment to commit to memory before you sat back in your chair and looked around at the classroom.
Herobrine was ambling around the classroom to keep an eye on everyone, and most of your classmates were focused intently on their books. One exception was Azara, the zombie piglin girl, who had already closed her book and was watching the timer. Was she an experienced crafter as well? Cray was scrunching his hands in his hair and glaring at the pages of his book, as though threatening it would cause it to reveal some hidden knowledge. You wondered briefly if he needed help, but the book was mostly pictures- you were sure he could figure it out.
Entity 303 was here too, messing with a chest full of items and a crafting table up at the front of the classroom. You wondered if he had talked to Herobrine yet. Neither of them had said anything to you, and Jace was still at his desk, currently poring over his textbook.
The timer slowly ticked down until it reached 0, at which point Herobrine clapped his hands together.
“Time’s up.” He announced. “Put your books away.” As the class obeyed, he gestured to the front of the classroom, and several chests appeared. “Find and obtain a crafting table, as well as the ingredients for your chosen item.” He instructed. “Once you’ve crafted your item, you’re welcome to use the remaining materials to craft whatever you want. Just don't damage the classroom.” You didn't miss how his gaze lingered on Cray as he said that, and the creeper gave him a perfectly innocent smile.
Ducking out of your chair, you made your way up to the front and rummaged through the chests until you found what you were looking for - a crafting table, two copper ingots, and an amethyst crystal. You marveled at the purple gemstone for a moment, turning it this way and that in your hand to let the different facets catch the light. You had never seen one in person before.
“Quit dawdling, player.” Soliel’s voice made you bristle, and you glared at her as you backed away and hurried back to your desk. The blaze watched you with crossed arms until you reached it, then took her sweet time picking out her own items- three pieces of string and a slimeball. You couldn't help casting a glance at Jace, who was trying to piece together a small assortment of items on his crafting table.
It only took you a moment to place your table and assemble your spyglass, which popped into existence when you laid down the materials in their proper place. You lifted the spyglass to your face and looked around the classroom, momentarily amused by how you could zoom in on a single star in Geode’s hair. On your second sweep, though, you accidentally focused on Fade’s eye, and the enderman’s chin shot up as he stared you down. You all but dropped the spyglass, fumbling it into your lap.
“Sorry!” You exclaimed, face flushing when a few more faces turned your way. “I didn't mean-”
“Don't worry,” Fade assured you. “It was an accident.” He turned back to his crafting table. You breathed out slowly, carefully setting your spyglass on your desk.
It was common knowledge that if you looked an enderman in the eye, they would immediately fly into a rage and attack you. Obviously, Fade hadn't done that, but he hadn't seemed to like it either. Would it be polite to ask him about that? He seemed really nice in general, if very focused on school.
Your thoughts wandered back to that morning’s history lesson. Herobrine had been talking about zombies today, how the race had originated with a great battle where the fallen were irradiated with magic. Each new generation of zombies, he had said, had a slightly altered version of that same magic. Not weakened, just different. So the zombies didn't all come from players, like you had been taught growing up, and Herobrine had alluded to skeletons being similar.
How much of player ‘common knowledge' was nonsense, you wondered? How much was based entirely on rumor? How many rumors about players did your classmates view as fact? Were those why Jace hated you?
Maybe this was the point of the school, you realized as you looked around at your classmates. To force all of your different races to come together and learn about each other, learn to respect one another, each one having been selected to be an ambassador for their respective species. That seemed like the sort of thing your quiet, yet clearly very powerful teacher would do.
You squared your shoulders, sitting upright in your seat. If you were going to be an ambassador for the players, you were going to be a good one. You needed to abandon your prejudices and assumptions about your classmates and treat them as people, not monsters.
Your gaze shifted back over to Jace, who was holding an iron axe. You just wished that they would do the same for you.
Chapter 15: Chapter Fourteen - “Homework” at Midnight
Chapter Text
You were roused very early that morning by thumping in the hallway outside.
Your first reaction was to sit straight up, momentarily panicked that you'd somehow slept in late, but you quickly realized that it was still very dark outside. You rubbed at your eyes, frowning at the door. What had woken you? Had you just imagined it?
A moment later you heard it again- followed by footsteps that ran past your door. You frowned, slowly slinging your legs over the side of the bed. Who would be running around the school at this hour? Was there something wrong?
Your curiosity got the better of you, and you opened the door, onto to immediately jerk back when a figure darted past you.
“Huh?” The figure skidded to a stop, turning to look at you, and you immediately recognized him as the husk.
“Dusk, shh!” Another voice came from your left, and you turned to find Xa-Tul freezing in her tracks at the end of the hall. You slowly eased out of your room, shutting the door behind you as not to wake Silvia.
“What are you doing?” You hissed. It was dim, but Xa-Tul and Dusk were both clearly visible, as their pupils glowed in the dark. “It’s the middle of the night!”
“Practicin’.” Dusk shoved his hands in his pockets. “For hiding class.”
“Wait, who are you hiding fr-“ Your question died on your lips as another zombie - the drowned - shot around the corner and tapped Xa-Tul on the head.
“Got you.” He exclaimed as she jumped.
“But… why??” You frowned. “What about, I don’t know, sleeping?”
“We couldn’t sleep.” Dusk explained. “So we decided to practice. Why are you not sleeping?”
“Because your running around woke me up!”
“Oh.” Dusk had the decency to look at least moderately ashamed. “Sorry.”
“A-anyway, are you allowed to be doing this?” You looked back and forth between the zombies. “Aren’t we supposed to stay in our rooms at night?”
“ Technically , no.” The drowned cut in “We are not forbidden from leaving our rooms. Or required to sleep, for that matter.” You shook your head in disbelief.
“Want to join us?” Xa-Tul’s question made you pause, and you considered this for a moment. You weren't really tired anymore, and this was sort of like homework.
“Sure.” You broke into a small grin. “But, uh, maybe we shouldn't do this by the dorms. What are the rules?”
“Wait, we need to tell the others that you're playing.” The drowned interjected.
“Who else is playing?” Before they could answer your question, two more figures rounded the corner, ones you quickly identified as Morpheus and Azara, the zombie piglin. Morpheus lifted his hand in greeting.
“Hi Y/N.” He said. “Not sleeping again?”
You scoffed. “Like you're one to talk!”
“Hey, I don't need to sleep.”
“Oh.” You blinked. This was new information.
“Come on, let’s get away from the dormitories.” Xa-Tul nodded around the corner. “Then I’ll tell you the rules.”
“Rounds last fifteen minutes each, or until every player has been caught.” Xa-Tul explained, standing in the center of the group with her arms folded. “Whoever is ‘it’ remains ‘it’ for the entire round. When ‘it’ touches someone, they must freeze in place and remain silent until someone who has not been ‘frozen’ comes and touches them, freeing them. Anyone who is frozen at the end of the round loses, as does ‘it’ if they have not caught everyone.”
“Oh.” You snapped your fingers. “So, freeze tag. Wait, but how does this tie into hiding class? Isn’t this game mostly about running?”
“It’s about outsmarting the chaser.” Azara told you. “On one hand, if you hide, whoever’s chasing you might not be able to find you to tag you. On the other hand, if they do find and catch you, your allies might not be able to find you since you can’t call for help.”
“Okay.” You nodded slowly. “So we’re not allowed to go to the dorms, where else?”
“Not upstairs, because we might wake the teacher.” Morpheus said. “And not outside.”
“So most of the first floor. Okay.”
“It’s still my turn, right?” Silt looked to Xa-Tul, who nodded.
“Correct, because your round had just started. Azara will be ‘it’ next round, then, if you like, you can go next, Y/N.”
“I… uh.” You hesitated. “Sure. I dunno if I’ll be able to catch anyone.”
“Even if not, it will be good practice.” Xa-Tul said firmly. “Now, do you have any questions?” You shook your head. “Very well. Silt, count to ten seconds, then once you reach it you may give chase. Understood?” She held up a stopwatch, clicked it twice.
Silt nodded, stepping back from the group. “One, two…” You bolted.
You ducked down a hallway, making sure to avoid the dorms as Dusk followed you. You were pretty familiar with freeze tag, but doing it in the dark, in the middle of the night, made it feel that much more… exciting. And scary. Especially the thought of Silt, the tallest in the class next to Soot and Fade, chasing you down a long hallway. You needed to keep track of where he was, and where your teammates were, and also not be loud so that you didn’t wake up the people who were still sleeping.
Being preoccupied with what you should be doing had the unfortunate side-effect of leaving you totally unprepared when Silt popped out of a side hallway and grabbed your arm.
“Got you.”
“Aah-!” You managed to cut off your shriek, planting your feet where you stood. Dusk hightailed it in the other direction and Silt gave chase, leaving you alone in the hallway. You hesitated, then cautiously looked over your shoulder. So this game was equal parts speed and stealth, it seemed, even for ‘it’.
It took a minute for someone to run across you, Xa-Tul, who patted you on the arm and beckoned you with her as she hurried back down the hallway. You stayed as quiet as you could as you followed, listening for approaching footsteps. Someone appeared just behind you, making you jump, but you identified them as Azara a moment later.
“I haven’t seen Dusk or Morpheus.” She hissed. “Have you?”
“No.” Xa-Tul responded, and you shook your head.
“Should we split up?” You whispered.
“Then we run the risk of being caught one by one.” Azara pointed out.
“If we stay together, he could take us all at once.” Xa-Tul countered. “And then it’s game-over.”
“If we do get caught, you guys run and I’ll distract him.” You said. “You’re faster than me.”
“Very well.” Xa-Tul nodded seriously, slowing as she approached the corner. “Let’s go search the library.”
The three of you remained silent as you crossed to the other side of the building, your ears pricked for any sign of Silt. The longer you didn’t see him for, the more uneasy you became, until you stepped into the candlelit library and saw three pairs of glowing eyes.
Xa-Tul and Azara halted beside you, taking in the scene. In the center of the library stood Silt with his arms crossed, with Morpheus and Dusk frozen behind him. Silt made no move towards you, and you realized that he was keeping them prisoner.
Xa-Tul shouldered past you. “I see we are at an impasse.”
“So we are.” Silt returned.
“If you do not leave them, you will not be able to catch us, and thus will lose.” Xa-Tul pointed out.
“But so will they.” Silt countered, triumphant. “There are only eight minutes left in this round, and I am content with this victory.”
“Not if we free them.” Azara fired back. You slipped behind the two girls, using them as a shield as you ducked behind a bookcase. Maybe you could get around behind?
“If you try, I’ll catch you.” Silt threatened.
“There are three of us, and only one of you.” Xa-Tul told him. “At least one of us will make it through.”
“Three? Where-“ Silt cut off, and you mentally cursed Xa-Tul for drawing his attention to you. “I can hear you, Y/N!” He called out, and you froze in your tracks. “Give up!”
“Azara, go!” You heard a flurry of footsteps and took off again, aiming for the back of the room. Through a gap in the bookshelves you caught a glimpse of Morpheus, whose gaze flicked to you just before you ran out of sight. You caught movement out of the corner of your eye and ducked through a space in the bookshelves, only to see Xa-Tul run past you a moment later - with Silt close behind. You froze, holding your breath, but his attention was on her and you managed to slip away unscathed. Emboldened, you dashed into the center of the room, tapping first Dusk, then Morpheus on the arm.
“Go, go, go!” You hissed, and they were only too happy to obey. You met Azara at the front of the library, and the four of you fled out into the hall, only for Dusk to skid to a stop.
“Where’s Xa-Tul??”
“Caught.” Azara told him grimly. “Now, we need to get out of here before-“
“Never!” Dusk charged back into the library, and you groaned.
“Is there any way for us all to make it out of this?” Morpheus asked slowly. You bit your lip.
“Maybe.” You said. “I guess we have to try.” Silt had yet to emerge, so you could only imagine that he was keeping Dusk away from Xa-Tul. You and Morpheus both looked to Azara, who looked torn.
“Good luck.” She finally said. Then she turned and jogged off down the hallway, leaving you behind.
You and Morpheus reentered the library, following the sound of voices to the far corner. Xa-Tul was frozen in the very back of the library, and Silt stood between her and Dusk who stayed just out of reach. You couldn’t see very well in the dim candlelight, but, was she… blushing? Maybe she was just out of breath.
“You’re losing!” Dusk taunted him, taking a step closer, only to leap back when Silt lunged at him. “You had two caught, now you only have one!”
“I’ll have two.” Silt lunged at him again, and this time didn’t pull back, giving chase as Dusk fled the other way. You broke into a dead sprint towards Xa-Tul, smacking her arm and making to retreat- only to crash straight into a returning Silt. And he was solid for a zombie.
You rubbed at your nose, wincing as Silt prowled around you and Xa-Tul. Morpheus and Dusk were skulking nearby, but you weren’t sure if they were going to get to you in time. How much longer did you have? It had to be less than five minutes.
“Siiiiilt!” Dusk cajoled, popping out from the bookcases. “Come get meeeeee!” Silt glared at him.
“Not falling for that.”
“Xa-Tul likes me betterrrr!” Dusk went on, and Xa-Tul’s face noticeably flushed. Silt’s glare intensified, but he didn’t seem to notice the flash of movement that drew your vision upwards.
Morpheus was on top of the bookshelves, crouching with his wings spread to either side. Dusk continued to taunt Silt, and you wondered nervously if their plan was going to work in time.
Finally, Silt had had enough, and he lunged towards Dusk who vanished into the bookshelves. Silt followed, and Morpheus leaped off the top of his bookshelf, landing in between you and Xa-Tul and freeing you both at once.
“Run!” He hissed, and you took off. You could hear Dusk continuing to yell, meaning he wasn’t caught yet, as the three of you bolted for the exit.
A chime sounded behind you, and Xa-Tul skidded to a stop, drawing the stopwatch from her pocket. “The round is over!” She announced. “Regroup in the entry hall!” Dusk and Silt emerged from the bookshelves, the husk with a crap-eating grin on his face as Silt sullenly followed.
You merged into the back of the group, a wide grin on your face as you followed them back into the hall. As it turned out, zombies were a lot more fun than you would’ve thought.
Chapter 16: Chapter Fifteen - Language Arts Class
Chapter Text
“Y/N?” Soot’s voice startled you awake, and you jerked your head up.
“Huh?”
“Are you okay?” She was staring at you, looking concerned. “You just almost fell asleep in your oatmeal.”
“Oh.” You yawned. “Um… yeah, I was just up late.”
“Doing what?” Marrow asked, resting her chin in her hands.
“Um…” you poked at your bowl with your spoon. “Homework?”
“Ah, so studious!” A hand clamped down on your shoulder, and you looked up with a yelp to find 303 standing over you with a wide grin on his face. “As always, only the finest work from Herobrine's students.” He gave you a wink and marched away. You shot a wide-eyed look down the table to where the zombies sat with Morpheus. He definitely knew.
You had played freeze tag with the zombies and Morpheus for a couple of hours last night, before eventually you were all tired out and headed back to your respective rooms. You slept very well, but had still woken up tired. What were the classes today? Reading and athletics, right? You were all sore from running around, hopefully it wouldn't be too bad.
Even though you were tired and sore, you didn't regret last night at all. You had fun, safe from Jace, and you got to know some of your classmates a bit better. Maybe you could do it again sometime. Just… not this night. You needed to get some actual sleep.
The bell rang for class, and you hurried to shovel a couple more bites of oatmeal in your mouth before ditching your tray and following the skeletons to class.
Herobrine was at the front of the classroom, as usual, and his desk was covered with various books. You slid into your seat, wondering what the lesson was about. Last week’s had been about critical thinking stills… or something. All you remembered was Morpheus cheating off of you.
“Good morning, everyone.” Herobrine called as the last few stragglers made it into the classroom. “Today’s lesson will be twofold. As most of you will be aware, some of the students in this class cannot read.” Cray squirmed in his seat. “As such, I will be taking everyone who cannot read into another room to have a reading lesson.
“Everyone else will select a book of their choice, and write a three-to-five paragraph summary of its contents. 303-” Herobrine gestured to his left and 303 appeared beside him, making a sweeping bow. “-will oversee the lesson here. If you need any help, he will be here to assist you. Now, Cray, Silvia, Xa-Tul, and Dusk, come with me.”
Obediently, the named students got up, following Herobrine out of the room. 303 sat down backwards on a swivel chair and spun himself in a circle.
“Well,” He gestured to the desk, covered in books. “Have at it.”
Since your desk was at the back of the room, you ended up being one of the last ones to pick your book. You grabbed the first one that looked vaguely interesting, which, when you got back to your desk, you realized was about desert biome ecosystems. You rested your chin in your hand and flipped it open, skimming the first few pages and trying to absorb as much as you could while running on only a few hours of sleep.
The book was short, probably meant for like a 7 or 8 year old, and you finished the assignment within just a few minutes. Some of your classmates had done the same, but some were still hard at work. You glanced to your right and found 303 leaning over Geode’s desk, so you leaned to the left to whisper to Morpheus.
“You done?”
“Yeah.” The phantom whispered back, also watching 303. “I got done ten minutes ago.”
“What?” You sputtered. “How? I’d barely gotten started ten minutes ago.”
“Maybe you should’ve gotten more sleep last night.” Morpheus smirked at you, and you stuck out your tongue.
“My whole body hurts, and I’m blaming you guys for it.”
“You need to get more exercise.”
“I- I get plenty of exercise! I’m just not used to that much! ”
“You’ll be getting a great workout this afternoon in Athletics class.” 303 appeared behind the two of you, startling you both and making you jump. “All done?”
“Um.” You grabbed your paper, holding it up. “Yeah.”
“Thank you kindly.” 303 took your paper, then Morpheus’s, then teleported to the front of the classroom to set them on Herobrine’s desk with a flourish. You gave a small shake of your head.
“I like him.” Morpheus whispered.
“I think I like him too.” You whispered back. If only because he’d stood up to Jace, and gone out of his way to make you feel better.
Jace didn’t like you, or 303, because you were players. You wondered why he was okay with Herobrine, then. Herobrine looked much more like your average player than 303 did, if someone had asked you probably would’ve said that 303 was some kind of… enderman-blaze hybrid or something. Herobrine had told you that he himself was ‘a little of both’ between player and monster, did… Jace have some innate way to tell? Or maybe they had the same conversation that you did.
It took about 20 more minutes for the rest of the class to finish their assignments. Once they were done, 303 picked out a few at random and went over them, asking the class to point out things done right and wrong. Your paper wasn’t one of them, but you were happy to offer pointers. A lot of your classmates, even the ones who could read and write fluently, weren’t nearly as good as you. Which made sense considering a lot of them had never had formal schooling before.
When the bell rang, you headed back out to the dining hall, running into the reading class students on the way. Dusk dragged you over to sit with him and the other zombies today, which you were fine with. You sat in between him and Xa-Tul, with Silt on her other side, providing a barrier between the boys so they wouldn’t start biting each other. Which, from your experience last night, you knew was totally possible.
“I just don’t think it’s fair that none of you are as tired as I am.” You said, cheek resting in your palm as you chewed on a roll. “Morpheus, I get, but the rest of you?”
“It’s your human flesh.” Dusk told you bluntly. “It’s weak and fragile.”
You coughed. “Rude.”
“Well, undead are sustained mostly by magic.” Morpheus told you. “Phantoms especially, but zombies and skeletons too, so they don’t really need to sleep or eat.” You glanced down the table to the end, where the skeletons were sitting.
“But you guys are eating.” You pointed out.
“We know.” Dusk tossed a sweet berry in the air and caught it in his mouth. “It’s more for fun than sustenance. We could survive without it.”
“That said, it is uncomfortable for us to go long periods of time without food.” Silt cut in. “So we eat normally when we can.”
“But we would be able to survive indefinitely without it.” Xa-Tul agreed. You turned to look at her, thoughtful.
“Why…” You started, then trailed off. “…ugh, nevermind.”
“What?” She caught your eye, and you pursed your lips.
“I don’t wanna be rude, but… why do players think that zombies eat them?” You asked. “You obviously… don’t.”
“Probably because zombies can eat just about anything.” Silt told you. “Grass, leaves, dirt, and… well, bodies. It doesn’t really matter what the food is made of, but it probably gave us a bad reputation.” You made a face.
“I guess.”
“You have nothing to fear, though.” Xa-Tul assured you hurriedly. “We have no intention of eating you - or any living player, for that matter. My clan is primarily vegetarian.”
“Oh, I wasn’t worried about that.” You glanced at her plate, which had several carrots on it. “I was just curious. The players have… some really nasty stories about a lot of you guys.”
“Are any of them true?” Morpheus asked. You gave a small shrug.
“I don’t know.”
The bell rang, and you sat up straight, pushing back your chair and grabbing your plate.
“I’m gonna go change. I’ll see you guys at class.” You ran to drop off your plate, then headed back towards your dorm to change.
Instead of the gym, today's athletics class took place outside.
“Thank you for arriving in a timely manner, class.” Herobrine greeted you from where he stood on the front lawn. It was cloudy - as it always was when you were outside - but warm and humid. You were fairly comfortable in your shorts and t-shirt, but you couldn't imagine how your teacher could be while wearing slacks and a sweater vest. “Today’s athletics class will be a test of stamina.”
“As you can see-” 303 gestured to the woods, towards where you could see a red banner standing next to a tree. “-Brine and I have marked a path through the woods. It’s about twelve chunks to the end, where there’s a yellow banner instead of a red one. When we reach it, we’ll turn around and go back.”
“You all are welcome to follow the trail at your own pace, just do not stray from it. You should never be out of sight of at least one of the red banners.” Herobrine instructed. “303 and I will be keeping an eye on you to ensure that no one is lost. This is another assessment lesson, of sorts, so don’t worry about the place in which you finish.” You stretched, looking at the woods. Running in this heat didn’t sound great, but you’d run laps in worse. At least the sun wasn’t out.
“You may start whenever you’re ready.” Herobrine gestured to the woods, and a few of your classmates took off immediately, Cray at their head in a dead sprint. You rolled your eyes. He would be tired out within minutes. You, on the other hand, took your time stretching before heading for the woods, settling into a jog as you entered the roofed forest.
Jace was one of the first ones to leave, which meant he was all but out of sight as you maintained a leisurely pace. You were in about the middle of the pack, with Kaden just ahead of you and Geode behind. Fade was one of the last ones to start, but he quickly overtook you on account of his legs being twice as long as yours.
Before long, you found yourself running alone. The woods were quiet, with only the occasional, distant sound of wildlife, and you focused on breathing evenly and following the red banners. Despite the heat, this was nice.
After a few minutes of this, you came upon Cray, who was laying face-down on the ground.
“Hey.” You greeted him, pulling up short beside him. The creeper made a choked noise. “You okay?”
“Side hurts.” He groaned.
“Well, yeah, it would.” You leaned on your knees, reaching down to pat his shoulder. “You ran a long way.”
“Yeaaaah.” He rolled over on his side, revealing a face covered in dirt. “How much farther?”
“I’m not sure. C’mon.” You beckoned him up, and he reluctantly dragged himself to his feet. “Don’t run like something’s chasing you, okay? Run slowly.”
“What’s the point of running then??” Cray complained, but obediently matched your pace as you started to jog again.
“It’s faster than walking, but doesn’t tire you out so fast.” You told him. You were surprised by how attached you’d gotten to the creeper in such a short time. Once you got past his insanity and penchant for explosions, he was… really just a kid. Probably part of his craziness was on account of him being surrounded by older people, and trying to prove himself. Maybe. You weren’t a therapist.
“Hey, Cray.” You caught his attention as he puffed along at your side. “You’re kind of young for high school, aren’t you?”
“I dunno.” Cray shrugged. “I’ve only known one other creeper who ever went to school, and he was… seven, I think. Makes sense, though, ‘cause creepers usually die before they turn 20.”
“Oh.” You felt a sudden stab of grief on his behalf. “...why?”
“Prone to exploding.” Cray looked unconcerned by this news. “Sometimes if a creeper gets really badly hurt, they just… fully blow up. Not like I do, like their whole body blows up. And they’re dead.”
You were quiet for a moment. “What sorts of things can hurt you?”
“Same things that hurt players, I guess. Swords, arrows, fire. If I’d fallen off that cliff, I probably would’ve exploded.”
“Oh.” You felt a sudden chill at how close that field trip had come to going horribly wrong. “Well… I’m glad you didn’t, then.”
“Yeah, me too.” Cray said brightly. It didn’t seem like the thought of death bothered him half as much as it did you.
Some of your classmates soon passed by, going the other way, which meant the turn-around point couldn’t be far from here. You ignored Jace as he passed, and he ignored you in turn. Maybe Herobrine was right a week ago about him warming up to you over time… or maybe he and 303 had gotten on his case. Or maybe Cray’s presence had warned him off. Whatever the case, you were glad to not get in a fight with him today.
You and Cray reached the yellow banner not long after, then headed back towards the school, chatting a bit whenever Cray wasn’t too out of breath to do so. That, coupled with the fact that he had to stop for a break a couple more times, meant that the two of you were the last ones to reach the schoolhouse again, where Herobrine and 303 were waiting with the rest of the class. You wondered how much they had really been observing - you hadn’t seen them once. Maybe that just meant that you hadn’t done anything worthy of correction.
“Good job, class.” Herobrine called out cheerfully as you approached. “Good work this afternoon. Go ahead and get changed and ready for dinner, I will see you all tomorrow for art class.”
Chapter 17: Chapter Sixteen - Brewing Class
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.
Chapter 18: Chapter Seventeen - Combat Class (with a special guest)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
”I apologize for my absence yesterday, class.” Herobrine said from the front of the classroom. “Something came up that I could not ignore. I trust that 303 was responsible in my place?” 303 coughed quietly from the back of the room. None of the class responded, however, as they were shocked into silence by the sight of your teacher’s arm in a sling.
You hadn’t put all that much thought into your teacher’s disappearance until now. A lot of things that he did didn’t make much sense to you. But for him to come back injured was… a little scary. He seemed so powerful that you hadn’t thought that anything could hurt him.
Before you could ask, Cray’s hand shot up, followed by him immediately asking, “What happened to your arm??”
“It’s only a sprain,” Herobrine told him cheerfully. “It will have mended by tomorrow. Open your books to page 139, please.” You could tell that you weren’t the only one still curious, but no one argued, and there was the sound of pages turning as you and your fellow students opened your books.
This morning’s World Studies lesson was focused mainly on the oceans, meaning that it was a class that Kai and Silt excelled in, and your classroom gradually settled back into its typical atmosphere. You still wondered what happened to your teacher’s arm, but you figured it was just going to be another one of those Herobrine mysteries. Soon enough, the bell went off for lunch, and you filed out into the dining hall to eat.
As you sat down next to the skeletons with your tray, Cray bounced up and down in his seat across from you.
“Today is fighting class!” He exclaimed. ”You didn’t get to be in it last week, Y/N!”
“Uh... yeah.” You rubbed at your head sheepishly at the reminder of how you’d fled in a panic at the sight of Cray exploding. A twinge of nervousness hit you, worried that you’d somehow have the same reaction today, but you tried to ignore it. “I should be able to do it this week.”
“I hope so. I wonder what we’re going to do this time? The teacher said we wouldn’t be fighting each other last week, but maybe we can do it this time.” Cray paused, staring you in the eye. “Do you wanna fight me??”
“Not really??” You sputtered. “You can explode! I can’t!”
“I wouldn’t explode you,” Cray assured you. “I’d probably just… I dunno. Wrestle you down.”
“I assume, if Mr. Herobrine pitted us against each other, that he would find a way to even the playing field.” Marrow piped up on your left. “Maybe give all of us a wooden sword. And armor.”
“I guess that would work.” Cray frowned, then popped a bit of moss in his mouth. You gave him an odd look.
“Cray, can you just eat anything?”
“Yeah.” He nodded readily.
“Does that…” You eyed the moss on his plate. “…taste good?”
“Yeah!” Another, enthusiastic nod. “It takes like sunlight.”
“Oh.” You poked at your own food with your fork, trying to imagine what sunlight would taste like. If Herobrine did pit you against each other, he’d make sure not to match you against Jace… right?
You frowned at your carrots and potatoes. 303 had told you that he would talk to Herobrine about Jace… had he? You hadn’t noticed any change in the slime’s behavior. He hadn’t attacked you or anything, but he hadn’t acted any more friendly towards you either. Maybe you should talk to Herobrine yourself.
You glanced at the clock. You were given half an hour for lunch, with about 20 minutes remaining. If you hurried, maybe you could talk to Herobrine about Jace before class.
You finished your food as quickly as possible, politely turning down Cray offering to let you taste his moss, then told the skeletons you had to go do something and hurried out of the lunch hall. Herobrine would probably still be in the classroom, right? Where else would he go? Actually, since he could teleport, he really could be anywhere.
As you neared the open door, however, the sound of voices made you slow. That… didn’t sound like 303. Had someone else had the same idea as you?
You leaned into the doorway, and were greeted by the sight of Herobrine standing with a stranger at the front of the classroom.
The newcomer was a lady, a very tall lady with blonde hair and a green dress, who could be mistaken for a player if not for the massive pair of white wings on her back. She glanced over at you and you froze, but she only smiled and lifted her hand to wave.
“Oh, hello there!”
“Um… hi.” You shuffled into the doorway, feeling a bit self-conscious. Herobrine had noticed you by now as well, and he turned to you with a smile.
“Y/N. Do you need something?”
“Um, I was going to ask…” You trailed off, not sure you wanted to talk about Jace in front of this lady. “…nevermind, you look busy.”
“Not too busy.” He assured you. “This is my wife, Evangeline. I asked her to come and assist with combat class this afternoon.”
“Oh. I-“ You immediately broke off as you registered his words. Wife?? You immediately looked to his finger for a wedding ring, but didn’t find one.
“Eva, this is Y/N, my player student for this semester.” Herobrine went on cheerfully, as if you weren’t still in utter shock at the revelation that your teacher was married.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Evangeline said with a warm smile. “Herobrine has been telling me about how pleased he is with your class’s progress so far.” You hesitantly returned her smile.
“Nice to meet you too.” You glanced at Herobrine, not quite startled enough to have forgotten your original mission. “Um… can we talk after class?”
“Of course,” He agreed. “If you’re done with lunch, go ahead and head downstairs to the combat room, alright?” You nod, then slip back out of the room, hurrying towards the stairs to get ready for class.
Cray leaned over towards you and whispered loudly, “I can’t believe our teacher is married to a bird.”
“She’s not a bird!!” Isabelle hissed back at him, apparently overhearing. “She’s a valkyrie! Did you grow up under a rock?!”
“Yeah,” Cray fired back. “Or- well, yeah, close enough.”
“She’s pretty,” Geode whispered reverently. At the front of the class, Evangeline cleared her throat.
“If you would direct your attention to me,” She called out over the chatter. “We can get this activity started.” The class quieted down surprisingly quickly. You weren’t sure if it was because the order came from a valkyrie, or if they were just excited to get to fighting.
Herobrine’s introduction of his wife had garnered about the same reaction in the rest of the class as it had in you, with varying degrees of intensity. Having already gotten over the shock of it, you’d been a bit embarrassed by their reactions, but at least Herobrine’s wife seemed to get a kick out of it. Did they do this every year, you wondered? Apparently by ‘assist with class’, Herobrine meant that Evangeline was going to be in charge - your teacher was standing back by the doorway. His wife looked completely at ease with the class’s attention on her, and you wondered if she was a teacher too.
“Now, while I’m sure you’re all excited to start hitting things, today’s lesson is going to focus more on the defensive side of combat.” Evangeline told you. Cray’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “You may have already noticed that the arena is set up slightly differently than it was last week - and that we have a friend.” You stood on your tiptoes to look over Isabelle’s shoulder, and found that the lowered arena contained two flags, one on each end, several pillars throughout the arena, and a snow golem. The golem was confined to one side of the arena by fences, and was drifting back and forth, leaving a slowly accumulating layer of snow beneath it.
“This exercise will be a relay race.” Evangeline pointed to the flag closer to you. “You will be split up into teams of six, then, starting at this flag, cross the room one at a time. Once you’ve touched the flag you may come back. The snow golem will be firing upon you at every opportunity, and if you are hit, you must stop and restart your run, even if you were already on your way back. Your aim should be to use the provided cover effectively.” She paused, scanning the group. “Unfortunately, Soliel, you will not be able to participate.” Soliel lifted her chin proudly.
“I can-”
“No,” Herobrine interrupted from behind you. “I’m not risking you getting hurt again.” Soliel deflated slightly. “Instead, you will be sparring with 303.” Herobrine gestured with his good hand as 303 appeared in a blip of red light beside him, and Soliel lit up again.
“Now, of course, this means that one of your teams will be lacking a player.” Evangeline went on. “So someone will have the opportunity to go twice. Any volunteers?” Several hands immediately went up, and she lifted a hand to her chin. “Oh my. Well, I’m glad you’re enthusiastic. We’ll be doing multiple rounds, so don’t be too disappointed if you’re not picked.” She hesitated, then pointed out the zombie piglin. “Azara, right?” She beckoned her forward, and Azara pushed her way to the front of the group. “You may go twice in the first three rounds. Now,” Evangeline clapped her hands together. “Before I select teams, are there any questions?” Morpheus’ hand went up. “Yes?”
“Are we limited to running, or can we fly?” He asked.
“You can cross the room by any means available to you,” She glanced at Fade. “Except teleportation, as that rather defeats the purpose of the exercise.” Her gaze turned to Cray, who was waving his hand back and forth to get her attention. “Yes, Cray?”
“Can we break the snow golem??” He demanded.
“No.” Evangeline gave him an apologetic smile. “While in a real battle, yes, it may be wiser to take out the source of danger if at all possible. However, this is just an exercise in utilizing cover, so, no. You may not destroy the golem.” Cray crossed his arms, but didn’t argue. “If there’s no one else…” Evangeline trailed off, scanning the group a final time. “Alright. Azara, stay by me. Everyone else, come to this side so that I can divide you up.”
You were placed on the first team with Geode, Xa-Tul, Soot, and Fade - as well as Azara, probably. You noticed that Dusk and Silt were split up as well, and you were kept away from Jace. Herobrine had probably filled her in on the ongoing feuds between you. “Come on down, all of you.” Evangeline beckoned you with her down the stairs, and you followed her down into the enclosed passage that ran around the edge of the ring. “If my first group would come here,” She directed you to the doorway that opened out into the arena. “And form a queue. One at a time, you will be making your way directly across to the flag on the other side.” As you looked across, you saw Herobrine teleport into the passage on the other side, watching quietly as your team formed a line with you in the middle.
“This is the rate of fire that you will be dealing with.” Evangeline stepped into the arena, lifting one wing to shield her face as the snow golem immediately zeroed in on her and began pelting her with snowballs. It looked to you like you were going to have to dash from one pillar to the next. Stepping back into the passage, Evangeline looked at your team. “Are you ready?” Xa-Tul, who had been nudged into going first, gave her a determined nod.
“Ready.”
“Then I won’t keep you. Oh-” Evangeline held up a stopwatch as she stepped out of the way. “I will be timing you, and you will be competing, so I hope you came ready to win.” You immediately felt bad for anyone standing too close to Cray, as he let out a shriek of delight, “On your marks, get set-” Evangeline clicked the stopwatch. “Go.”
Xa-Tul immediately took off running, though she was forced to a stop almost immediately by the barrage of snowballs. You felt impatience well up inside you as she stopped to search for the next safe place, but forced yourself to calm. You would probably have to work your way along just like that when it was your turn.
Slowly, Xa-Tul picked her way across the room, eventually finding a rhythm of stopping and starting just enough that the golem wasn’t able to zero in on her. It was about forty blocks across the arena, and it took maybe forty-five seconds for Xa-Tul to make it all the way to the flag on the other end. She tapped the flag, then started making her way back - fortunately slightly faster than she had gone on her approach.
Geode was next, and she high-fived Xa-Tul before springing out into the arena. You were up next, and you stepped up to the doorway somewhat nervously as you watched her make her way across the arena. There were a couple of close calls at points, as she was obviously trying to go faster than Xa-Tul, but she made it back safely and high-fived you as she ducked back through the doorway. Feeling suddenly unprepared, you took a deep breath and dashed out onto the battleground.
You’d made it all of five steps when a snowball slammed into the side of your head, and you staggered back with a shriek.
“Back! Y/N, come back!!” Soot yelled, and you hurried back to the doorway, shaking the snow out of your hair. Evangeline watched quietly from a few feet back as you started again, this time far more cautiously.
“Go faster!!” Cray hollered, and you did your best to ignore him. This was way more stressful than Xa-Tul and Geode had made it look.
You made it to the flag, catching Herobrine’s eye through the iron bars that separated the outer ring from the arena, and he gave you an encouraging smile as you turned and ran back. You slightly misjudged one dash and almost got hit again, but managed to make it back and high-five Soot, staggering to the back wall to sit against it as you watched her lurch out into the arena.
Cray came over to crouch down beside you, brushing a bit of remaining snow out of your hair. “So,” He started. “What do you think of combat class?” You considered this for a moment.
“...colder than I was expecting.” You said at last. Cray snickered at that.
“I’m gonna ask Ms. Evangeline to put you on my team next time.” He said cheerfully, then scampered off to his own team again. You had a feeling that if you got hit while on his team you would be subject to a lot of heckling.
At least your fears had been put to rest. If the worst that could happen was that you were hit with a snowball, combat class really wasn’t all that bad.
Notes:
I don't know if anyone here actually reads my other fics, but Evangeline is an OC from my fics "Fall, Angel, Fall" and "Fly, Phoenix, Fly". A friend of mine suggested I do a little crossover tomfoolery for april fools, teehee.
Chapter 19: Chapter Eighteen - Nether Field Trip, Part 1
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
As Herobrine had promised, his arm had healed by morning.
You noticed the lack of a sling when he appeared in the dining hall at breakfast with Evangeline, who was on her way out. When asked why, she said that she needed to return to her duties, and wasn’t particularly comfortable going where today’s field trip would be leading you. You were a little disappointed - and worried, where could you be going that would bother a valkyrie?? - but you and your classmates bid her farewell, and you caught a glimpse of her through the window when she flew away.
“I’m sure you’re all curious where we’ll be going today,” Herobrine began once all of you had assembled in the classroom after breakfast. “And I would like to preface this by saying that you will be in no danger from the environment - 303 and I have made sure of that. Today we’re going to the nether.” Immediately, the class lit up with whispers and murmurs, but you just stiffened. How could they possibly make sure that it was safe?? It was full of fire and lava and- well, you were about to say ‘monsters’, but…
“Class,” Herobrine called to bring down the noise level enough to go on. “Each of you will be getting one of these.” He held up a small pouch, which fit in the palm of his hand. “It contains a stack of fire resistance potions, each one of which will give you eight minutes of full protection from fire and lava. And yes, I am aware-“ He lifted a hand to quiet Soleil, who had already put her hand up. “That those of you native to the nether have no need of these. However, I will ask you to hold onto them anyway, in case one of your companions somehow loses theirs.
“You will be split into six teams again, as you were last week.” Herobrine went on. “And you will be venturing out into the nether with the objective of locating each of the five major biomes. Can anyone list those biomes for me?” Greyson’s hand went up. “Greyson?”
“N-Nether wastes, soulsand valleys, basalt deltas, crimson forests, and warped forests.” The ghast rattled off.
“Good job,” Herobrine praised. “We will be starting in a nether wastes biome, so the last four are the ones you will be seeking out. I have found a location in which all four biomes are within reasonable distance, which also lacks especially dangerous terrain, and 303 and I will be moving between your groups at all times to ensure that everything is alright.” You saw his gaze linger on Cray for a moment. Hopefully he wouldn’t run off any more cliffs.
“For a biome to count,” 303 popped into existence on the other side of Herobrine’s desk, making you jump. You were pretty sure at this point that he got a kick out of scaring you. “Everyone in your group must step inside of it. Yes, we’ll be verifying this. And you may have to cross biomes at points in order to get to the others.” Azara’s hand went up, and Herobrine nodded to her.
“What about the hoglins?” She asked. “If we’re meant to enter a crimson forest, they could be a problem.”
“Not today,” Herobrine shook his head. “I’ve already cleared out the area to ensure that there are no hostile creatures. As long as you do not go far outside the intended parameters of this trip - and we’ll make sure you don’t - there will be no hoglins.” Azara nodded, looking pacified by this.
“Unlike last week, this trip isn’t a race.” 303 told you. “So take your time. If it gets to be too late in the day without you finding all four biomes, Herobrine and I will come and get you. We’ll go over teams and how to meet back at the portal when we get there. Any other questions?” All was quiet, and he clapped his hands together. “Great! Then let’s get moving. Down to the portal, please.”
You followed your classmates downstairs to the portal in nervous silence. Despite Herobrine’s assurances that it was perfectly safe, it was still… the nether. And Cray had nearly died in a taiga, how could they possibly make a cave dimension full of fire and lava more safe than that?? Granted, Cray’s fall was kind of his own fault…
Soot grabbed your hand as you made your way down the hallway. “Don’t worry,” She chirped. “I’m sure Mr. Herobrine has everything under control. And we’ll probably be in a group together again, so I’ll watch out for you!” She beamed down at you, and you gave her a hesitant smile back. She was probably right, and it would be fine. Still…
“Do players ever go in the nether?” Soot asked as the two of you stepped out of the portal together.
“Sometimes,” You told her. “Before now, I’d never been in the nether, but there are nether tunnels in between major cities to make travel faster.”
“Hm.” Soot hummed. “Kind of like this tunnel?” She gestured with her free hand to the enclosed, dimly lit passage that you were following.
“I guess.” You shrugged. “Like I said, I’ve never been there. I’ve only seen drawings in my school books.”
“Hm.” Soot fell silent, musing over this quietly.
Herobrine led your class further down the tunnel than you had gone last time, passing a couple of other portals before directing you to a staircase about twenty blocks up. When you reached the top, now slightly out of breath, you were greeted by the sight of an immense, lava-lit cavern.
Your jaw dropped slightly as you craned your neck to look around. It was still dim out here, but you could see pillars of glittering lava that flowed from the cliffs and shining clusters of glowstone that grew from the nether ceiling. All the terrain for nearly as far as you could see was made up of a dull, reddish rock- netherrack, right? In the distance, though, you could see trees with bright red foliage. That must be the crimson forest that Greyson had mentioned.
“Alright, class!” 303 clapped his hands together to get your attention. “We’ve got a couple more goodies for you.” He raised a hand, and a compass appeared within it. “Now, if you know anything about the nether, you may know that these things don’t work too well in here.” He flicked the casing, and the needle spun in a circle. “However…” he trailed off, and you leaned in to get a closer look at the compass in his hand. As you watched, the needle stabilized, aiming back at the staircase that you had just ascended.
“These compasses are bound to a lodestone, which allows them to function in any dimension.” Herobrine explained. “And they will always point back towards their lodestone- which, in this case, is at our meeting place. Each team will be given one of these to hold onto, which you will use to find your way back here once you’ve completed your task.”
“You’ll also be getting one of these.” 303 held up a clock in his other hand. “They’re set to chime every seven minutes, reminding you to refresh your fire resistance potion. Better safe than sorry!”
“And, lastly, you will all receive a bundle with your lunch for today.” Herobrine told you. “As I expect we will be here long past noon. Line up, please, and I will divide you into teams of three.”
You shuffled into a line with the rest of your class, and you weren’t surprised to be paired with Soot. The last member of your team this time, however, was Fade. You gave the enderman a curious look as he came over to join you. You liked him well enough, and he seemed like a nice guy, but you sure didn’t know very much about him. Cray, you noticed, was placed with Soliel and Xa-Tul. Hopefully they would keep a close eye on him.
“Here you are, Y/N.” 303’s voice interrupted you from where you were watching the others be split up, and you turned to find him offering you two bundles. “This one has your potions, and the other one has your food.” You took them with a nod of thanks. “Which one of you wants to hold the timer?”
“I will,” Fade volunteered. 303 clicked a button on the clock, then handed it over.
“Go ahead and take your first potion,” He instructed. “And don’t be shy about wasting them- you have enough to last you hours.” You nodded, drawing one of the orange potions from your bundle and popping open the cork. Fade, you noticed, had splash potions. Was he not able to drink potions, like the skeletons? You knew endermen were hurt by water, but… why was a splash potion okay, and not a regular one?
“Is everyone ready to go?” Herobrine called out as you downed your potion. There were a few murmurs of assent. “Stay with your groups, and be safe. I will be around to check on you shortly.” Herobrine gestured out towards the cavern. “Go ahead.” Soot grabbed your hand, and the two of you began to follow Fade out into the nether.
Notes:
this can't go wrong
Chapter 20: Chapter Nineteen - Nether Field Trip, Part 2
Notes:
username change jumpscare
Chapter Text
Soot cautiously lowered one foot into the lava, feeling around until she got a foothold before transferring her weight. She stepped fully into the lava, which came up to just below her knees, before turning to face you with a smile.
“Come on!” She coaxed. “It’s not deep!”
“For you , maybe.” You stared at the lava, feeling chills despite the oppressive heat. Even with the fire resistance potion, you still couldn’t imagine willingly stepping into lava .
“Regardless, we must cross this pool.” Fade pointed out, gesturing to the small lava lake that Soot currently stood in. “If we want to reach the next biome, anyway.” On the other side of the lava was a forest made up of bright, teal mushrooms, which Soot had already identified to you as a warped forest. You were standing at the very edge of a crimson forest, that and the wastes being the only biomes you had gotten so far.
You made a face, looking up at the forest again. Surely there was another way around…?
“Would you like me to go first?” Fade offered. You swallowed, feeling a bit embarrassed about your reaction.
“Uh, yeah.” You shuffled back a bit. Fade nodded, then took a large step over to the edge and joined Soot in the lava. You hesitated to study him. He didn’t seem to be in any discomfort, and even his and Soot’s uniforms seemed immune to the heat.
“Come on!” Soot offered you a hand, and you took a deep breath before taking it.
The lava was thick under your shoe, like stepping into warm pudding. You wobbled as it slowed your movements, thankful for Soot’s hand keeping you steady. How were you supposed to walk in this, it nearly came up to your waist!
“Okay,” Soot said. “I’ll go first to make sure it doesn’t get deeper. You two come behind me, okay?”
“I’m the tallest, I may as well go first.” Fade pointed out.
“It doesn’t bother you?”
“Not at all.”
“Well, then, you can go first.” Soot gave him a cheery smile as she adjusted her grip on your hand, and Fade gave her a passive nod before pushing ahead through the lava.
Thankfully, the lava remained no deeper than a block all the way across. You didn’t like not knowing where your feet were going, but Soot held your hand all the way across and you made sure to walk on the same blocks that Fade had. Soon enough, you were clambering out onto the shore, feeling a little better about being so close to the fire.
As you brushed the sparks from your uniform, a chime sounded from the clock that Fade held. “Time to take our potions,” he announced, and you fumbled for the bundles that Herobrine had given you to refresh your eight minutes of fire immunity.
You nearly choked on your potion when 303 appeared about five blocks in front of you.
“How’s it going?” He asked cheerfully as you coughed harshly. “Sorry, Y/N.”
“All good!” Soot beamed at him. “We’ve just found our third biome.”
“Great!” 303 clapped his hands together. “You’re making great time. Alright, see you in a bit.” With that, he warped away again. Fade cleared his throat quietly as he looked up at the trees.
“It seems we are in no rush,” He said. “We may as well stop here and eat.”
“Okay,” You agreed. You weren’t sure how much time had passed since you entered the nether, but you were just starting to get hungry and this was as good a place as any to stop.
“I’m going to look around a bit,” Soot announced as you found a block of nylium-covered netherrack and sank down onto it. “To see if I can see another biome from here.”
“The teachers told us to stay together,” Fade countered. “It isn’t safe for us to wander off alone. If something unprecedented were to happen, it would be in our best interests to be able to help one another.”
“Oh, I won’t go far.” Soot promised. “I won’t even go out of sight.” Fade made a face, but slowly nodded.
“Very well. As long as you remain close.” With that, he sat down on the block beside yours.
You pulled a sandwich out of your lunch bundle and tilted your head back, gazing up at the glowing blocks of shroomlight in the trees above you. While you hadn’t quite shaken the feeling of impending doom that being in the nether imparted, you were far calmer about the whole experience than you had been when you first arrived. It was eerily quiet, the only sounds being the bubbling of molten lava around you, but that meant it was really peaceful here. Maybe it wouldn’t be if Herobrine and 303 hadn’t prepared the area first, but… you were grateful for the opportunity to explore, anyway.
You glanced over at Fade, and found him biting down on the same purple fruit that you would always see him eating at mealtimes. You hesitated, watching him out of the corner of your eye for a moment. You’d never gone out of your way to talk to him, but, this was as good a time as any to get to know him, right?
“What’s that?” You finally spoke up. “That you’re eating?” Fade glanced over at you, and you noticed that he focused on your forehead instead of your eyes.
“Chorus fruit.” He held it up to show you. “It grows in the End, where I come from.”
“Oh.” You studied it for a moment, wondering if you’d imagined the slight shimmer where it caught the light. “What’s it taste like?”
“A little sour,” Fade admitted. “Would you like to taste it? It’s perfectly safe for player consumption.” He offered you one of the unbitten fruits, and you accepted it with a nod of thanks. Setting aside your sandwich, you took a bite, immediately able to compare the taste to unripe sweet berries.
Directly after, you shot through space, and you shrieked as you toppled off the edge of the block you’d been teleported to.
“Y/N!!” Fade shot to his feet as you pushed yourself up, stunned. “I’m so sorry, I completely forgot- I’ve been told that chorus fruits teleport players, I didn’t remember-”
“It’s okay,” You assured him, pushing yourself up as you recovered from your fright. “I think I’ll stick to my sandwich.” You let out a nervous giggle, and the alarm in Fade’s eyes calmed slightly.
“Y/N??” Soot appeared over the hill. “I heard a scream, are you okay?” You just gave her a sheepish grin.
Soot soon went back to her scouting, and you returned to your seat and your sandwich. “Have you ever been to the nether before?” You asked before taking another bite.
“Yes, several times.” Fade nodded. “I have family who live here, who I have visited several times during my upbringing. While we may not be immune to fire, the nether is not so dangerous when we can teleport.”
“I guess so.” You hummed thoughtfully. “...have you ever been in danger here?”
“Not that I can recall. My family kept me well out of danger.”
“That’s good.” You couldn’t imagine this upright, studious young enderman ever being the kind of person to seek out danger anyway. “What, um… is the End like?” Fade was quiet for a moment, mulling over this.
“Dark.” He said at last. “The sky is always dark, there’s no day or night. Sometimes it looks like you can see stars, but it’s hard to tell. There’s enough light to see, but not much more than that away from the towns and cities.” You frowned, reaching into your bundle to find an apple.
“Do you… like it there?” You finally asked. Fade was quiet for a moment.
“It’s home,” He finally said. “It’s familiar. It’s not as beautiful as the overworld, or even the nether, but it’s home. That said, I am looking forward to finishing my education so that I can choose which dimension I would like to live in.” You nodded, falling silent again until you’d finished your apple.
“Can I ask you something?” You finally spoke up again.
“Of course.”
“Why, uh…” You shifted, hoping you weren’t getting too personal. “Why don’t endermen like eye contact?” Fade blinked, then looked over at your forehead again.
“It’s a little difficult to explain,” He said slowly. “But… we are… acutely aware of when someone is looking at our eyes.” He gestured to his face with his last chorus fruit. “It makes us… hmm. How do you feel when someone startles you?”
“Um… shocked?”
“It’s sort of like that. We get a…” Fade snapped his fingers with his free hand. “A jump. It’s uncomfortable.”
“Oh.” ‘Uncomfortable’ was a far cry from the myth you’d heard growing up, that an enderman would fly into a rage if made eye contact with. “I’ll try not to, then.”
“I appreciate that, Y/N.”
“Hey!” Soot called, and you glanced up to find her waving to you from about ten blocks to your right. “I see the next biome! Come look when you’re finished!” You glanced at Fade, then scooped up your bundles and pulled out a fire resistance potion as you went to look. Sure enough, from your vantage point in the forest you could see the stairsteps and pockets of lava that characterized a basalt delta.
“Excellent,” Fade called as he followed you over. “After this there is only the soulsand valley. Once we’ve found that, we can make our way back to the portal to rejoin the others.” He stepped in front of Soot, beckoning you alongside him as he led the way.
You observed your surroundings idly as you followed your classmates through the warped forest. You could see a large lava lake from here, with a pair of striders wading through it on the far side. While your knowledge about the nether was fairly limited, you recognized striders when you saw them - you’d had a plushie of one growing up. Where was it now? Probably buried somewhere in your closet at home.
As you walked, you caught a glimpse of Herobrine, appearing silently in the forest to check up on you. When you spotted him, he smiled, gave a small wave, and vanished again. You wondered how many times he’d dropped by without you seeing him.
Soon enough, the nylium-coated netherrack thinned out, replaced by small, basalt pillars interspersed by blocks of lava. You held onto Soot’s hand as your group began to clamber over them, mindful of your balance. While you knew the lava wouldn’t burn you, you still weren’t keen on falling into it. Getting a lungful of lava was not on your nether-trip bucket list.
“This is where Geode would have come from,” Soot told you as she helped you over a particularly large gap. “The magma are native to this biome.”
“What about you?” You asked. Soot shrugged.
“We come from anywhere,” She said. “In ancient fortresses from wars a long time ago.” You frowned a bit, remembering your history lesson about undead. Something about places where battles had taken place being covered in magic… that was probably where wither skeletons came from, too.
“How old are you?” You asked. Soot hummed thoughtfully.
“I think forty-seven. No!” She held up a finger. “Forty-eight.”
“Oh.” You shook your head in astonishment. It still boggled your mind what each race considered ‘teenager’ age.
“How old are you, Y/N?” Fade asked from your other side.
“Fourteen.”
“Oh, I’m seventeen.” Fade told you. “So we’re fairly close in age.” You nodded, relieved to have at least some frame of reference for endermen ages.
Fade’s timer went off shortly after, and you drained another potion. You had gone through about half of them by now, which, if your math skills were correct, meant you’d been out here for about four hours. You knew Soot had another bundle full, so you weren’t at all concerned about running out. If worst came to worst and you did run out, you could just find a place away from the lava and wait for your teachers to come and get you.
The next biome after the deltas was, unfortunately, another nether wastes. There was no sign of a soulsand valley just yet, so you and your teammates just kept walking. Surely you’d run across the last biome eventually.
“They say if you get deep enough in the nether, you can find debris from the ancient civilizations that once lived here.” Soot told you as your path began to angle downwards. “I don’t think we’re quite deep enough for that, though.”
“I’ve heard about that,” You agreed, carefully stepping down a block. “Players use that debris to make some super-tough material, but it’s really rare.”
“Netherite, right?” Fade chimed in. “I’ve heard of it. Occasionally it can be obtained via bartering with the residents of a ruined bastion, the endermen are aware of it.”
“Residents?” You echoed. “You mean the piglins?” You’d heard of them, too. Players would occasionally bring stores of gold to trade with them, in exchange for rare materials that were impossible for you to get on your own. “I wonder why we don’t have a piglin student,” You murmured thoughtfully.
“Because piglins cannot survive outside of the nether,” Soot told you. “The overworld makes them very sick, if they stay they will die.” You sobered a bit at that, and were about to respond when a sound caught your attention.
“Doesn’t a piglin-” Fade began, but you hushed him, trying to listen. Your teammates fell silent, and you frowned as a distant clanging reached your ears.
“What’s that?” You asked in a hushed voice.
“I don’t know.” Fade muttered. “But I think we should be quiet.” Soot nodded in agreement, keeping her steps soft as she led you forward towards the source of the noise.
Lowering yourself into a crouch, you peered around an outcropping of blocks to find a railroad.
About 20 blocks away were 8 to 10 players, who were in the process of constructing the corner of a minecart track. Two tunnels came out of the walls to meet at a right angle, and the players were building a wall to contain the track as it made the turn. While some of them were building, a couple others were standing by with swords and armor, watching warily for signs of danger.
You swallowed, glancing at your classmates where they were crouched just behind you. Those people were clearly on guard for mobs. They might not hurt you, but if they saw Fade and Soot…
“I thought the teacher said that he made sure this place was safe,” Soot hissed.
“Perhaps the players came afterward?” Fade whispered back. “Or maybe we’re outside of the intended area.”
“I just saw Mr. Herobrine a minute ago,” You told them under your breath. “So we can’t be too far out. Anyway, we should get out of here before they see us.” Fade nodded readily, clearly anxious, and you edged back to get out of sight.
“ Hey!! ”A shout made you spin in alarm, and your breath caught in your throat at the sight of two, armed players blocking off your escape. “There’s a wither and an enderman at your four-o-clock,” one of them spoke into a radio as you shot to your feet. “And, a… kid?” Fade flinched, hissing as one of them made eye contact with him. The sound of footsteps had you looking over your shoulder to find the guards from the railroad coming to box you in.
“Kid, come here.” One of the guards drew a bow, aiming it at Soot. “I don’t know how you got out here, but we’re gonna get you home, okay?”
“N-no, you don’t understand.” You stammered out, trying to block his aim as Soot took a step back. “They’re my friends, I’m here willingly!” Mostly, anyway. Your protests only served to make them more confused, and the archer advanced towards you as you and your classmates backed up against the wall.
“Don’t come any closer!” Fade snapped, brandishing sharp claws as the guards pinned you against the face of the cliff. You grasped Soot’s hand tightly, heart pounding in your chest. Should you call for your teacher?? You don’t want to provoke them to attack!!
“Stand down!” The archer warned, shifting his focus, and Fade’s eyes flashed as the man made eye contact with him again. A stone sword appeared in Soot’s hand, and she nudged you behind her.
Fade took a step forward and the archer fired, making your heart lurch into your throat before Fade teleported out of the way. He lunged for the archer, only to have to duck away hastily at a swordsman swung at him, and Soot barreled forward to defend him. You froze - you wanted to help, but you weren’t armed!! - and then one of the swordsmen had thrown strong arms around you, dragging you away from your friends.
“Let go!!” You shrieked, struggling with all your might. The swordsman grunted as your foot slammed into his knee, but he just adjusted his grip and kept pulling you away. You could do nothing but watch as Fade was hit in the head with the crossguard of a sword, and Soot pinned against the wall and her weapon knocked from her hands.
“ LEAVE OFF!! ” The shout from behind you was accompanied by a burst of flame, and the swordsman released you, scrambling back in a panic as Herobrine swung a diamond pickaxe at him.
You gasped as you crumpled to the ground, remaining there, stunned, for a moment as Herobrine attacked the players. After a moment to regain your wits, you scrambled upright and dashed over to Soot, who was joined by Fade a moment later. Grabbing each of their hands, you watched your teacher in awed silence, who was sending the frightened players fleeing back down the railroad tunnel.
Only once they were long gone did Herobrine turn back to you. His glasses were missing, his hair unkempt and eyes blazing white in the dimness of the nether. “Are any of you hurt?” He asked quietly. You glanced up at Fade, who was rubbing at his cheek, but he shook his head. “Good.” Herobrine beckoned you towards him, starting to walk back the way you had come. “We’re finished for the day.”
Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty - Day of Rest
Notes:
Hey yall sorry for the delay I forgot how to write
Chapter Text
You decided after Saturday’s field trip that you did not like the nether.
Herobrine escorted you and your team straight back to the portal, sending 303 to round up the rest of the class. Once everyone had assembled, Herobrine had brought you back to the classroom, where he made up for the trip being cut short by hosting a trivia game focused on the features of the various nether biomes. Despite being a little rattled from your player encounter - funny, since you were a player - you still tried to participate as much as possible. The nether natives were obviously the most knowledgeable, but you didn’t do too badly.
When class was over, however, and you stood to go to the dining hall for dinner, Herobrine stopped you. “Y/N, Fade, and Soot, please stay here. I’d like to talk to you all. Everyone else may go to dinner.” You hesitated, then sank back down in your seat. You got a few curious glances, primarily from Cray, before he dutifully followed the others out to eat. You were pretty sure you knew what your teacher wanted to talk to you about.
303 followed the rest of the class out of the room, leaving you and your two groupmates alone with your teacher. Herobrine beckoned you up to the front of the classroom, and he came around his desk as you drew near. “I wanted to apologize to you three for what happened on our trip,” he told you quietly, meeting your eyes before looking up at Fade and Soot. “I promised you that you would be safe, and I broke that promise. I cannot apologize enough.”
“It’s okay,” Soot was the first to pipe up. “Nobody got hurt.”
“You could have been,” Herobrine pointed out. “The players must have arrived between the time that I swept the area for danger, and the time you arrived. They were armed, and any of you could have easily been injured. Especially you two.” He nods to Fade and Soot. “I will see to it that you are not put in danger like that again.”
“I know you did all you could,” Fade said, ever polite. “And we all appreciate your continued vigilance.” He bowed, and Herobrine offered him a small smile.
“Thank you, Fade.” He straightened up, running a hand back through his disheveled hair. “Alright, you may go join the others. Oh-“ he held up a hand. “Your classmates are likely to be curious. I won’t forbid you from telling them what happened, but please…” he hesitated. “…try not to scare them.”
“We will,” you spoke up for the first time. Herobrine nodded to you, then gently shooed you away, and you turned to follow Soot out to the dining hall.
As your teacher suspected, the moment you appeared in the room you were swarmed by concerned and curious classmates.
“What happened?!” Cray demanded, throwing his arms around your middle to keep you from getting away. “Mr. Entity 303 told us that something happened to you and that we had to go home! But he wouldn’t tell us what it was!!”
“Yeah, are you guys okay?” Silvia chimed in, wringing two of her hands nervously. “You didn’t fall in lava, did you?”
You coughed, trying to get a word in edgewise. “Uh, no,” you tried.
“Did you fall off a cliff??” Cray demanded, “or get attacked by a hoglin??”
“Shush! I’ll tell you!” You batted him off of you, glancing over at the table. There were a few of your classmates still at the table, but Jace, Azara, and Soliel were the only ones ignoring you altogether. “I’m hungry, so let us go eat, okay? I’ll tell you over dinner.” Cray made a face, but reluctantly backed up, waving your other classmates out of the way so that you and your groupmates could make it to the table.
Only once you had started eating did you explain your encounter with the players. Although Herobrine had seemed concerned that your classmates would be alarmed, they seemed more intrigued than anything else. Even Soliel, despite her attempts to ignore you, was obviously listening with interest.
“How many of them were there?” Cray demanded as soon as you got to the part where Herobrine arrived. You paused, trying to think.
“…I dunno. Maybe six workers, and four guards?”
“There were more than six,” Fade chimed in. “Closer to ten, I should think. But it matters little. The workers were more afraid of us than we were of them.”
“Anyway, Mr. Herobrine told us that he would be careful that it didn’t happen again,” Soot told the group. “And I believe him. He’s very careful.” Your mind went, against your will, to Jace. You still needed to talk to Herobrine about that.
You lapsed into silence, chewing your food quietly as Soot and Fade tried to answer all of your classmates’ questions at once. You hoped that running into players wouldn’t keep your teachers from letting you have field trips in the future. Sure, the first two trips had ended in near disaster, but… they were still fun, while they lasted. And you really liked being able to do stuff on your own, rather than with a teacher hovering over you.
Still, you were glad for tomorrow’s day off. You could definitely use the rest.
Eventually you managed to slip away from the dining hall, away from Cray and his insistence on knowing what kind of weapon each one of the players had. It was cloudy outside, as it often was, but you could tell that the sun was beginning to set. You enjoyed the quiet of early evening as you changed out of your uniform and into your pajamas, then crawled into your bed and fell asleep.
“If you have been in school prior to this semester, your facilities may have had a custodial staff employed to keep the building clean,” Herobrine said, his hands met behind his back where he stood before the class on one end of the dining hall. “But, as I’m sure you’re aware, the only ‘staff’ here is me- and, to some extent, 303. As such, you all will be responsible for keeping the school grounds clean.” You stood blearily in the midst of your classmates, hugging your arms to your chest in the early morning chill. This was not how you’d expected your day to start.
It was, actually, on your class schedule, you just hadn’t thought to look at the second weekend. You had been woken by Fade at 8 AM, who told you to hurry up and get dressed so you could meet the rest of the class. Silvia seemed just as thrown as you were, so the two of you had dressed as fast as you could and gone out to join the others, to the dining hall where Herobrine and the rest of the class had been waiting.
“Who here considers themselves experienced in housekeeping?” Herobrine asked, and you put up your hand. You’d done plenty of housework growing up, so yeah, you were pretty experienced. Xa-Tul, Fade, Geode, Silt, and Kai had put up their hands as well. “Very good. The six of you are going to be my team leaders,” Herobrine told you. “Pick out two partners, and you will be assigned an area of the school to clean.” Wearily, you turned to the left just in time for Cray to smack into you and throw his arms around your waist.
“I wanna be on your team,” he chirped. You would’ve given him a thumbs-up if you were able to move your arms.
“Okay.”
“I will be on your team as well.” Soot announced, stepping over to stand at your side. “If that’s alright with you.” You craned back your neck to give her a smile.
“Yeah, of course.”
You watched as the rest of your classmates grouped up. Jace, you noticed, joined Geode’s team along with Dusk. Herobrine had said that you would be assigned a different area per team… hopefully you and Jace wouldn’t have areas that were close together.
“Does everyone have their teams?” Herobrine asked as the class split into groups. To the chorus of ‘yes’s, he said, “Good. Now,” and he held up a hand, into which a bucket full of slips of paper appeared. “Each team leader, come take one of these. Your piece of paper will tell you which section you have been assigned to clean, and your duties within that space. Once you have finished, you may find me or 303 to ensure that you have done a good job, then you will have the rest of the day off.” Herobrine held out the bucket, and you stepped forward to take your assignment.
You stepped back over to Cray and Soot as you unfolded your piece of paper and looked at the writing at the top. ‘Dining Hall’, it said. Looked like you wouldn’t be going far.
“All the necessary supplies have already been delivered to each respective location,” Herobrine told you as you read over your list of duties. “So you should not have to worry about materials. If you need anything, though, don’t hesitate to call on myself or 303. Any questions?” The class was silent. “Alright, then.” Herobrine waved you away. “I recommend you get started, as the sooner you finish the sooner you will be able to have your day off.” He took a step back, and the class erupted into quiet murmurs as each group filed off towards their assigned area.
You, however, were already standing where you needed to be. You turned around to glance around the dining hall, soon spying cleaning supplies at the far end of the table.
“Where are we going??” Cray demanded, and you were abruptly reminded that he couldn’t read.
“Oh, uh, nowhere.” You gestured to the dining hall. “This is our room. We need to wipe down the table, sweep the floor, get rid of any garbage, and wash the windows.”
“Oh.” Cray cast a suspicious look around the room. “I’ll get the garbage.”
“Okay. Soot, how about you get the windows?” You nodded to the far wall, where the windows reached three blocks above the ground. “You’ll be able to reach them the easiest out of all of us.”
“Okay,” Soot agreed cheerfully.
“Great. I’ll wipe down the table, then whichever one of us is finished can sweep the floor.” You started towards the table. You weren’t sure if your assignment had been the easiest out of everyone’s or if there really just wasn’t much to do, but you were pretty sure that, between the three of you, you could get the dining hall clean within half an hour.
You hadn’t accounted for Cray’s brand of craziness in your calculations, but even wrangling him didn’t slow you down too badly. You had to pause in your own work a couple times to keep him from eating things off the floor (he insisted that he couldn’t get sick from it, but you didn’t want him eating day-old, stale floor muffins anyway), but soon enough you had the table clean and shining in the light from the hanging chandeliers.
Soot, as it turned out, had trouble reaching the bottoms of the windows without losing her balance, so she teamed up with Cray to get them clean while you started to sweep the floor. Every now and then you would see someone pass by in the hall, either one of your teachers or a classmate making their way from one room to the other, but for the most part your work was quiet. Peaceful, even.
As you worked your way from the front of the room to the back, however, you were startled by a loud crash and spun around, momentarily afraid that Soot or Cray had fallen.
Instead, you found Jace standing at the far end of the hall, with your filled garbage can overturned on the floor in front of him. “Oops,” he deadpanned, then he turned and walked away.
Your face reddened, but you didn’t even have a chance to react before Geode stormed into the room and blocked his path. “Pick that up!” She snapped, stopping a very startled Jace in his tracks. “You can’t just make a mess and leave it for them to clean! Help them!”
Jace stammered. “I have to-“
“Dusk will get it!” Geode interrupted, drawing herself up to her full height - which was still more than a head shorter than Jace - and pointing to the overturned trash can. “Clean it up!” Jace opened his mouth, then shut it. Finally, he turned back around to obey, and you promptly averted your gaze and kept sweeping like nothing had happened.
Geode remained where she was, her hands on her hips as she stared Jace down until he’d picked up all the trash that he’d knocked onto the floor. Only then did she allow him to slink away, and she shot you an apologetic glance before following. You found your respect for her growing significantly - a petite teenage girl with bows and charms in her hair was far from whom you’d expected to defend you from Jace’s bullying.
You had to sweep the area by the trash can again, but even so you finished up within a few minutes. Soot and Cray had finished with the windows already, and you sent off Cray with his boundless energy to go find Herobrine and check your work. As he ran off down the halls, Soot leaned down to murmur to you,
“Jace is the one that bothers you, doesn’t he?”
You grimaced, nodding. “Yeah… sometimes.”
“Ah…” Soot straightened up again, a frown on her face. “I wonder why he doesn’t like you.”
“Yeah,” you mumbled. “Me too.”
Soon enough, Cray had returned with your teacher in tow. Herobrine took a little stroll around the room, checking the window panes and the corners for dust, then he turned back to you and your group with a smile.
“Very good,” he praised. “You are the first group to be finished. Enjoy the rest of the day.” With that, he blinked away, and you gleefully left your broom behind, running back into the hall to head back to your dorm.
Chapter 22: Chapter Twenty One - Math Class
Chapter Text
Monday morning came around again, and with it, math class.
You didn’t hate math- at least, not as much as some of your classmates from your last school had. But it barely held your interest. So here you were, sitting slumped over your desk and twirling a pencil between your fingers while Herobrine droned on at the front of the classroom about equivalent fractions.
Your thoughts began to wander as class went on, to your encounter with the players in the Nether two days ago. It looked like they had been constructing a minecart track… probably for long-distance travel. The armed players had been there to protect them, then, and must have seen Soot and Fade as a threat even though they had just been curious. It made you think about how much your perspective had changed since you came to this school just two weeks ago. Before then, you would have never considered talking to a monster, much less living and learning with them.
You rested your cheek in your palm, gazing at your pencil as you spun it back and forth. It seemed to you that if all players knew what great friends the monster races could be, then maybe they could travel and work in the nether without having to worry about them.
You were interrupted from your thoughts when Morpheus’ wing bapped you in the back of the head. You jumped, swiveling immediately to scowl at him, and found the phantom holding a folded slip of paper in your direction, looking as nonchalant as possible as he focused on the blackboard. You took a quick glance at Herobrine- who was, fortunately, also facing the blackboard at the moment - before snatching the note and unfolding it under your desk to see what it said.
“ Kai seems sad today :( know why? ”
You glanced to your right with a frown, seeking out the guardian girl where she sat on Silvia’s other side. Sure enough, Kai’s huge eye was half-lidded, and she was leaning her chin into her palm with a little bit of a pout. You would have thought she was just bored, but usually she was alert and attentive, even in the most mind-numbing of classes.
You hastily scrawled out a response - “ no I don’t, should we ask? ” before passing it back to Morpheus. Herobrine turned around for a moment, scanned the classroom, then went back to his lecture.
After a moment, Morpheus passed back his response. “ I think so. at lunch?” Instead of responding with a note, you just gave him a thumbs-up under your desk.
You really liked Kai. Her upbringing as a princess was clear in her mannerisms, the way she was able to defuse a fight with just her words. She was super sweet and friendly, and made everyone in class feel welcome. If there was anything you could do to make her feel better, you were sure as heck going to do it.
The bell for lunch rang before too long, and you hurriedly shoved your books back into your backpack before joining Morpheus and following him into the hall. Kai had been one of the first to leave, having been sat closer to the door, and you and Morpheus agreed to wait until you’d all gotten your food before you talked to her.
She was, you noticed as you filled up your tray with player-appropriate food, sitting by herself today on the far end of the table. Usually she sat with Geode and Soliel, and sometimes across from the zombies, but today she was alone.
Not for long. You strode over to the table, stopping on her left. “Hey, can I sit here?”
Kai blinked at you. “Oh, y-yeah. Sure.” You scooted out the chair to her left, sinking down into it and setting down your tray as Morpheus came and sat down on her other side.
“Is everything okay?” He asked her, not wasting a moment before launching into his interrogation. “You haven’t really seemed like yourself today.”
“Oh.” Kai’s voice faltered. “Oh, no, I’m okay, I just…” she sniffled. “T-today is my little brother’s birthday, and I’m missing it.” Her large eye welled up with tears, and you immediately felt your heart drop.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” You reached out to put a hand on her arm, trying to give her some comfort as she swiped her opposite sleeve across her face. You didn’t know that she was an older sister. “How old is he?”
“Six.” She sniffled, blinking rapidly as she tried to compose herself. “I-I left a gift for him, but I hope- I hope he doesn’t miss me too much…”
“I’m sure he’ll be just fine,” Morpheus tried to reassure her, patting her shoulder gently. “But I know he’ll be excited to see you come back. What’s his name?”
“A-Aoto.” Kai took a deep breath, then let it out. “I-I left him a new Focus… I hope he likes it.” You and Morpheus exchanged a glance, then concluded that neither of you knew what a Focus was.
“Hey,” Morpheus said instead. “You wanna skip class?”
“What??” Kai turned her wide-eyed gaze onto him. “We can’t- we can’t skip! Class is important!”
“Yeah, and, with only eighteen students I don’t think we’re going to be able to slip away unnoticed.” You pointed out.
“Yeah, but- “ Morpheus held up one finger. “It’s hiding class. Maybe we’ll get extra credit.” You exchanged a doubtful glance with Kai. “Come on, it’ll be fun,” Morpheus insisted. “And it’ll take your mind off of things. We can see how long it takes them to find us.” Kai bit her lip, considering this for a few moments.
Finally, she squared her shoulders. “Alright,” she said brightly. “We’ll… um, skip class.” She still looked a little uncertain, but she returned to her meal with gusto. You shot a triumphant look at Morpheus. You’d completed your mission, now you just had to hope that you wouldn’t get detention for it.
You carefully shut the closet door behind you, then tiptoed over to where Morpheus and Kai were sitting against the far wall, sitting down beside them.
“Okay,” you whispered. “I don’t think they’d think to look down here.”
“Hopefully,” Morpheus whispered back. Kai just giggled into her hands.
As soon as the bell had rung for class, you and your co-conspirators had waited for everyone else to leave the dining hall before slipping away in search of a place to hide. The three of you had made your way down into the combat classroom, where you found an unlocked closet filled with various weapons and equipment. Once the door was shut, the only light came from Morpheus’ green eyes.
You were 100% sure that your attempt at playing hooky wouldn’t last long. Your teacher had an uncanny ability to be aware of everything at once… except Jace that one time, maybe. And when Cray fell off the cliff. Hmm. Anyway, you were pretty sure that you wouldn’t be in too much trouble, if his reaction the time you ran away from combat class was any indication.
“How many siblings do you have, Kai?” Morpheus was asking as you settled down on the floor. “Just one?”
“Just one,” Kai confirmed. “I have an older cousin who is like a sister, but in my immediate family I only have one. What about you?”
“I’m an only child, but phantoms are typically raised all together, so I had a lot of playmates growing up,” Morpheus said, picking at a loose thread coming off of the golden ‘MS’ emblem on his shirt. “I was one of the older ones, so I feel like I have a lot of younger siblings.”
“Where do phantoms live?” you cut in. “You burn in the sun, right? Do you live underground?”
“Ahh… sort of.” Morpheus shrugged a bit. “We prefer to be at high altitudes, so I grew up in caves at the top of a mountain.”
“And you don’t sleep, right?” Kai chimed in. “Are you just awake all the time?”
“We need to rest, we just kind of doze instead of going to sleep,” Morpheus explained. “Normally I would rest during the day, but since we have class during the day I’ve had to do it at night.”
You raised your hand. “Do you sleep upside down like a bat?” Morpheus was silent for an almost uncomfortable period of time.
“Yeah.”
“Upside-down??” Kai exclaimed, a grin splitting her face and showing off her sharp fangs. “How??”
“We can cling to the ceiling.” Morpheus pointed up. “I can’t do it with my shoes on, though.”
“Show me!”
“I can’t! That’s not enough room for me to fly in here!”
“Aww…” Kai pouted, and you couldn’t help but grin at her. Normally she was so poised and cheerful, but today she seemed… younger, for some reason.
“Hey, Kai, how old are you?” you asked.
“I’m nine.”
“Nine??” You did a double take, looking her up and down. You would have thought that she was at least sixteen. “I thought you were older.” Kai gave you a sheepish grin, shrugging.
“I think guardians grow more quickly than players.”
Before you could respond, the closet door flew open, and you whirled around with a yelp of surprise.
“There you are!!” Azara exclaimed, pointing at the three of you triumphantly. “Were we the first to find you?” Marrow, standing behind her, gave you a wave and a sunny smile. You exchanged a confused glance with Morpheus and Kai.
“Um… yeah.”
“Good!” Azara spun on her heel, marching back the other way. “Come on, we’ve gotta tell Mr. Herobrine that we found you.” Obediently, you got to your feet, and gave Kai a hand up before following Azara and Marrow out of the closet and back upstairs.
When you got outside, you found Herobrine and 303 standing on the lawn. “Good job, you two,” Herobrine called out cheerfully. “You made excellent time. Six minutes and twelve seconds.” He caught your eye and raised a brow, and you gave him a sheepish look. “If you two could go and collect the rest, that would be much appreciated,” Herobrine went on. Marrow saluted, and she and Azara turned to go back into the schoolhouse.
Herobrine beckoned you over, and you reluctantly trooped over to where your teachers were standing with your classmates in tow. “This is out of character for you three,” he said as you stopped in front of him, his hands met behind his back. “Is everything alright?” You opened your mouth to respond, but Morpheus beat you to it.
“Kai was having a bad day, so I wanted to cheer her up,” he said, standing up straight and squaring his shoulders. “It was my fault. I’m sorry.”
“No need, you’re not in trouble.” Herobrine reached out to give him a pat on the head. “But I appreciate your honesty.” He looked to Kai, who was standing behind Morpheus looking slightly abashed. “Kai, is everything alright?”
“Yeah.” She nodded readily. “I’m a little sad because I’m missing a family birthday. But I feel better now.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Herobrine gave her a warm smile. “Now, are the three of you ready to begin class?”
“Yes sir,” Kai chirped, and you and Morpheus nodded.
“Very good. In that case…” Herobrine glanced at 303, who held out three portions of invisibility with a grin.
“How do you guys feel about going and hiding again?”
Chapter 23: Chapter Twenty Two - Cooking Class
Notes:
yall i got a new keyboard and im struggling fr
Chapter Text
“Now I understand, class, especially those of you who do not need to eat,” Herobrine’s gaze swept over the skeletons as he said this. “That you may not find this class to be a good use of your time. However, I believe that it is important for all of us, regardless of race, to be familiar with the diet of our fellow students should we ever need to prepare food for them.” You cast a glance at Cray, who was gnawing on the eraser of his pencil. At least for him, you noted, you would never have issues with knowing what to feed him.
You had slept well last night, having been thoroughly tired out by being the target for hiding class over and over. You weren’t sure if Herobrine was giving you a lighthearted punishment for sneaking off, or giving you, Kai, and Morpheus some more quiet time, but either way you didn’t really mind. You had fun finding new hiding places, both with and without the help of an invisibility potion.
History class had flown by, and had been about guardians and how they settled in the oceans despite being able to live comfortably on land. Herobrine had told you that there were land guardians once, but they picked a fight with the players and were defeated in a violent and bloody war. It had ended with the guardians that remained retreating into the sea, and since then guardians had remained a peaceful race who devoted themselves to knowledge and bettering the lives of their people.
You wondered what it would be like to live in a world where players respected the monster races as sentient. At the very least, Kai didn’t seem to hold a grudge against you like some of your other classmates did.
“I could simply list off the typical diet of every race, but I’ve found that information tends to stick better when it comes straight from the source,” Herobrine went on. “So, one at a time, I would like you all to come up and tell the class the diet for your race, then what a typical meal may look like for you. I advise you all to be prepared to take notes, as you will be tested on this.” He glanced to the front left corner of the classroom. “Marrow, since you do not eat, I will skip over you. Isabelle, would you like to come up first?”
The classroom was filled with the sounds of paper shuffling as you and most of your classmates pulled out pieces of paper or notebooks with which to take notes on. Even Cray was prepared with a half-eaten pencil and paper, though you were pretty sure he didn’t know how to write.
As the class quieted down, Isabelle cleared her throat softly. “Um, hi,” she said. “I’m a spider, and I eat meat. Um, usually at home I would eat mutton or beef, raw, for every meal.”
“Thank you, Isabelle,” Herobrine said as you scribbled down her preferences. “You may return to your seat. Azara, please come up next.” The girls switched places, Azara standing at attention as she stopped beside your teacher.
“I’m a zombie piglin,” she stated, her voice flat. “And I’m an omnivore- I can eat plants and meat. At home in the nether, I would eat whatever was available to me, which may be hoglin pork, netherwart, or mushrooms.” With that, she returned to her seat without prompting.
“Xa-Tul?” Herobrine called up the next student, and you sat back. You knew already, from conversations in the lunch hall, what she and the other zombies ate- pretty much anything organic. Although, Azara was a zombie too, wasn’t she? She didn’t say whether or not she had to eat, and Herobrine wasn’t skipping over her and the other zombies like he had with Marrow… whatever. You could ask for clarification after class.
Herobrine gradually moved through the class, working his way from the front of the room to the back. Since you sat in the back row, you were one of the last ones to be called, which gave you plenty of time to rehearse what you would say and also focus on what your classmates were telling you. You’d observed a lot of their diets just from sitting with them during lunch- Fade, for example, you already knew ate chorus fruits from the End dimension.
It turned out that Jace’s diet was actually the one most similar to yours, consisting of bread, meat, and fruits and vegetables. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Cray and Greyson both had a digestive system that worked something like a furnace, letting them eat just about anything for fuel. Greyson was a lot more reserved in his food choices than Cray, though. Geode ate rocks and coal and Soliel ate mushrooms, and Morpheus, as you’d observed in the dining hall on several occasions, ate meat- although, unlike the other undead, he preferred his to be cooked first.
As Kai returned to her seat, having been the last one as Soot was the only student left, Herobrine cleared his throat. “I hope you all were paying attention,” he said. “Because, now, each of you is going to be assigned a fellow student, and instructed to put together a meal for them. Not a physical meal,” he added as several worried looks were exchanged around the classroom. “You only need to write down at least two separate items you believe that they can eat.” Cray’s hand flew up. “Yes, Cray?”
“I can’t write,” Cray announced.
“If you or anyone else needs assistance, you are welcome to ask either myself or 303, or one of your classmates,” Herobrine told him patiently. “Or, if you prefer, you can simply wait until the discussion period and tell me verbally what you’ve come up with.” Cray immediately swiveled around to look at you, and you gave him a wave and a grin.
“Each of you will be getting a different student, though there will be some duplicates,” Herobrine went on. “Since there are fewer students who eat than students in class.” He waved a hand, and a piece of paper appeared on each desk, folded over to hide its contents. “Your time starts now.” Amidst the sounds of your classmates doing the same, you grabbed your slip of paper and unfolded it to reveal the name of your chosen classmate- Geode.
Geode was easy. Well, most of your classmates would be, as you’d taken notes and were pretty familiar with the various classes of food. Geode, as you’d noted down, ate coal and various types of minerals, so completing your assignment was as simple as writing down ‘coal’ and ‘nether quartz’ on a clean sheet of paper. You were just in time, too, as no sooner had you finished than Cray squished onto your seat next to you.
“What does this say??” He smacked his slip of paper down on top of your notebook, and you peered at it.
“Soliel,” you read it off, wrinkling your nose as you glanced up at the bratty blaze. The blaze in question, fortunately, seemed to be hard at work and probably hadn’t heard her name.
Cray crossed his arms on your desk, leaning his chin on them. “Okay, so what does she eat?”
You gave him a mock glare. “I’m not helping you cheat!”
Cray stuck out his lower lip in a pout. “ Fine .” He lurched upright and marched away, and for a moment you thought that he was rage quitting before he scooped up a notebook from his desk and brought it back to you. He squished into your chair again and flipped it open, and you were immediately treated to pages of doodles - a crude representation of you and each of your classmates alongside drawings of the foods you could eat.
“Let’s see.” Cray dragged his finger down one page, then the next before stopping on a drawing of a girl whose head was depicted as being on fire. “Okay, Soliel. She eats…” he dragged his finger over to a drawing of a mushroom. “Mushrooms! But, wait.” His face dropped. “I’m supposed to write down two things, and she only eats one!”
“W-well, there’s multiple kinds of mushrooms,” You pointed out, trying to avoid giggling over his drawing of you. “Red, brown, crimson, warped…”
“Aren’t red and crimson the same?” Cray interrupted.
“Well, they’re similar colors, but red mushrooms are red with white spots and crimson mushrooms are red with orange.”
“Oh.” Cray pondered this for a moment. “Well, just write down red and brown mushrooms then.” He flipped to a new page and offered you his chewed-up pencil, which you politely declined in favor of using your own. Whoever had gotten Cray for this assignment would definitely not be failing.
You only had a few minutes for your assignment, which made sense considering that it… wasn’t very hard. Within ten minutes, Herobrine had announced that time was up, and instructed you and your classmates to go to your assigned student and have them sign off in confirmation that the meal you had selected was correct. You pointed Cray in Soliel’s direction and crossed the classroom over to Geode’s desk, and she signed off on your piece of paper with a swirly signature and a heart at the end.
You turned around to return to your desk and nearly smacked right into Jace.
You flinched back in alarm, hugging your notebook to your chest as you craned your neck back to meet his eyes. Jace’s yellow eyes were cold and narrowed, and a shiver ran down your spine.
“Um…”
“Does this work?” He lifted a piece of paper in front of your face, onto which he had scrawled ‘chicken’, ‘bread’, and ‘carrots’. You blinked, gaze skimming down the paper in front of you.
“Um… yeah.”
“Then sign it.” He pushed it at you, and you grabbed it, giving him a halfhearted glare before bracing it on your notebook and signing your name. You weren’t sure what you were worried about - Herobrine was standing right there, there’s no way he would let Jace mess with you in broad daylight. Still, you… really didn’t like him being in your personal space.
“There.” You held it back towards him, and Jace snatched it before turning on his heel. You stared after him dumbly for a second, then turned and scurried back to your desk to finish out the rest of the class.
Chapter 24: Chapter Twenty Three - Makeover
Chapter Text
You rested your chin in your hand, watching across the table as Cray stuffed a handful of dirt in his mouth.
“Does that taste good? ” you finally asked. “I know you can eat whatever you want, but…”
“Sure!” he chirped through his mouthful of dirt. “‘S full of minerals.”
“I didn’t ask that, I asked if it was good ,” you specified. “What does that even taste like?”
“Like minerals. And…” Cray chewed thoughtfully for a few moments, swallowed. “…dirt.” You just rolled your eyes and went back to your meal.
It was getting to be night, the sky painted with streaks of orange, red, and purple through the windows as the sun crept below the horizon. You were one of the few stragglers still in the dining hall, along with Cray, Morpheus, and the skeleton trio. You still had food in front of you, but you were mainly just stalling until the others were finished. You didn’t really want to walk back to your dorm alone.
You weren’t sure what it was that had you so jumpy tonight. After all, it wasn’t like Jace had hurt you. He hadn’t even pushed or tried to sabotage you, like he had before. He’d just managed to draw you as his assignment, and had obviously had to approach you to get it reviewed. Still, he’d spooked you, and you couldn’t help but remember the time you’d come across him threatening 303 in the halls.
Finally, Cray pushed back his chair, apparently finished with his bowl of dirt, and you hurriedly shoved the rest of your loaf of bread in your mouth before standing up. “Man, it’s late.” Morpheus commented, getting up as well. “The sun’s almost gone down.”
“Yeah,” you mumbled around your mouthful, then swallowed. “Do you, like… feel anything when it becomes night? As a phantom?”
“Mainly I feel like if I go outside I won’t catch on fire.” Morpheus shrugged. “But, no, I don’t feel anything particular at nighttime. I just know when you don’t sleep.” He reached out to ruffle your hair, and you squawked as you ducked away.
“Well, I am sleeping now, so that should make you happy.” You tried to muss your hair back into place.
“It does!”
“It makes me happy too,” Soot piped up. “It’s good for you to get a lot of sleep. You are very young.”
“Not that young,” you grumbled, glancing over at Cray as he rounded the table to join you. Not to be outdone, Cray also tried to mess up your hair, but you were able to use your height advantage to fend him off. “Speaking of being young, come on, you.”
“Hey!” Cray’s tail flicked in irritation. “Y’know, in creeper years, I’m actually older than you.”
“You’re younger, and smaller,” Kaden pointed out. “Regardless of comparative age.”
Cray pointed an accusatory finger at him. “Stay out of this, you!”
“Alright, alright!” You grabbed him by the shoulders, steering him towards the large doorway into the hall. “Bedtime for baby creeper.”
“ Hey!! ”
As Cray continued to rage, you spied a colorful shape on the floor in the hall in front of you. You slowed a bit, releasing Cray as you did so, and bent down to find a small, plastic bow colored bright purple laying on the wooden floor.
“What is this?” You asked, picking it up and cutting off Cray’s complaints. Soot leaned over you to get a better look, and made a sound of recognition.
“Oh, that belongs to Geode!” She exclaimed. “It’s one of her hair ornaments.” You held it up to the light of one of the torches, and, sure enough, she was right.
“Oh.” You reached up to tuck it into your shirt pocket, paused. “I’ll… well…” You were about to say that you’d give it to her tomorrow, but you realized that you’d probably forget. “I’m going to bring this back to her,” you said instead, lowering your hand back to your side. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Cray frowned, made an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture in your direction, then pranced off down the hall. Marrow gave you a little wave, and Morpheus gave you a smile before the rest of them followed Cray.
You lagged behind as you followed them down the hall, arriving after just a few moments at a door with a block of yellow wool above it. You double checked the sign beside it for the assigned residents, then knocked. Geode shared this room with Kai, and it was early enough that you doubted that they would be asleep yet.
Sure enough, a few moments after you knocked, the door swung open in front of you to reveal Kai’s large, red, eye. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “Y/N! Hello, I wasn’t expecting you!” You opened your mouth to respond, but stopped short when you took a closer look at her. Kai’s cheeks were covered in stickers in varying colors, and there were several hair clips in her bright orange hair.
“Y/N?” Geode poked her head out beside her roommate, then gave you a cheery smile. “Good evening!”
“Uh, hi.” You tore your bewildered gaze from Kai’s face, and held out the purple bow. “I found this on the floor. I think it’s yours?” Geode’s yellow eyes dropped to your hand, and she gasped.
“Ohh, I was looking for this!” She snatched it from your hand, sticking it back into a glob of her glowing, orange ‘hair’. “Thank you!!”
“Yeah, of course.” You glanced back at Kai’s bestickered face. “What, um, are you doing?” Geode followed your gaze, then giggled sheepishly.
“Oh, we’re doing makeovers!” She poked at her own cheek, which was covered in little hearts. “I know we should be going to bed, but I couldn’t resist… oh!” She grabbed your hand, beaming at you. “You should join us! If you’re not too tired, anyway.” You blinked at her, then Kai.
“Oh, I’m…” Were you too tired? Not really. The sun hadn’t quite set, you’d had a peaceful day, and you were probably going to spend a couple hours reading or doing homework once you got to your dorm. Even though you weren’t really into Geode’s sense of style, you liked her and Kai, and would happily take the opportunity to hang out with them. “Sure,” you said. “I’m not planning to go to bed for a few hours anyway.”
“Great!” Geode dragged you into the room, forcing Kai to hastily get out of the way to avoid being body-slammed on your way past.
The interior of Kai and Geode’s room was, in construction, all but identical to your own. It had a bed, a chest, a lamp, and a closet on either side, with a window on the wall in between. Whose side was whose was clear, as one side was decorated with shells and trinkets from the ocean, and the other had brightly-colored posters and stickers hung all over the wall above the bed.
The floor was currently covered in accessories in pastel and neon colors, in the midst of which Geode tugged you down to sit cross-legged. “Okay, do you have any preferences?” She asked, reaching out to poke at a lock of your hair. “What’s your favorite color?”
“I don’t mind what you do, as long as you don’t cut my hair or anything,” you told her with a shrug.
Geode grinned, scooping up a handful of hair clips. “You sure?” You gave her a determined nod.
“I’m sure.”
Half an hour later, you had a variety of brightly colored clips in your hair, sparkly stickers all over your cheeks and nose, and your hair was in buns on the top of your head. Geode had also gifted you a necklace made of chunky beads, which she told you proudly that she had made herself. She was currently in the process of carefully applying some lavender blush to your cheeks, using her finger in lieu of a brush. Unlike Soliel, whose hands had burned you at a touch, Geode’s were just pleasantly warm.
“Do you do this every day before you come to class?” You murmured as she patted at your face.
“Kind of.” Geode ran a finger over her blush palette, then continued to pat your face. “It doesn’t take me very long to put in my hair accessories, since I can just poke them into place and they stay. Usually.” She grinned at you. “And I sleep with my stickers on. But I have to replace them every now and then and do my makeup.”
“Sometimes she does my makeup too,” Kai pipes up. “It doesn’t show up very well on my scales, but it’s fun.” You glanced over at her, being careful not to move your face and interrupt Geode’s work. Sure enough, you could see a bit of a deep blue on her teal cheeks.
“I think if I slept in stickers, my skin would break out,” you said sheepishly. Geode tilted her head.
“Break… out?”
“Get acne, and stuff.” You paused, glancing at her. “Do you not have that??” Geode shrugged.
“I’m not sure what that is.”
“What about you??” You looked over at Kai, and Geode hissed at you to keep still. Kai, with her face covered in shimmering scales, just gave you a helpless look.
“I’m afraid I don’t know what that is either.”
“That’s no fair!” You complained. “If I don’t wash my face every night, I get little- sores all over my face!”
“What??” Geode’s eyes shot open wide. “Why??”
“I don’t know, oil overproduction in the skin or something. Are players the only race to have that??”
“Maybe.” Kai reached over to nudge you playfully. “And serves you right.” You stuck your tongue out at her.
Geode continued to do your makeup for another fifteen minutes or so, while you chatted with her and her roommate about school, style, and your other classmates. Geode expressed her dislike for Jace’s attitude towards you, saying that at least, when you weren’t around, he wasn’t a half-bad guy. You weren’t sure if that made you feel better or worse.
Kai told you a bit about her little brother, from whom she had received a letter the previous day. Apparently he had the means to send a letter to this remote, all but hidden school. Did your parents have your address? Would they come to get you if you needed it?
Eventually, you grew tired, and decided to head back to your own dorm before you fell asleep on their floor. Geode and Kai wished you a good night, and you returned it, then slipped out of their room and made your way quietly back to your own.
Chapter 25: Chapter Twenty Four - Athletics Class
Chapter Text
Cray stared intently at you over the breakfast table, his beady eyes narrowed as he studied your face.
“…what is wrong with you?” he finally asked.
“Nothing’s wrong with me!” you protested, pausing in the midst of your eggs and bacon to give him a bewildered look.
“Then why’s your face-“ he pointed accusingly. “-purple??”
“It’s makeup!” You had made the somewhat questionable decision to sleep without washing your face or removing the stickers from last night, which you were sure that your skin wouldn’t be too happy about, but you wanted Geode to see that her work had been appreciated. Some of the stickers had come off during the night, but most of them were still in place.
“Oh.” Cray seemed momentarily appeased, then his eyes narrowed again. “Since when do you wear makeup?!”
“I don’t, usually! Geode did my makeup last night!”
“I did!” Geode chirped from a few seats down. “And I’ll do yours too, if you’re not careful!” Cray stuck out his tongue out at her.
“I’ll eat your makeup.”
Before Geode could protest, the bell rang for class, and you popped your last sweet berry in your mouth before wandering down to the classroom with Cray hot on your heels. You had language arts class today, which usually wasn’t too bad. So far it had only required a little bit of some things that you’d learned in second grade.
You settled down in your chair, not missing the few curious looks sent your way at your appearance. You were a little embarrassed, but glad that at least none of them had gotten on your case about it. Jace was the only one you could see doing something like that… and maybe Soliel. She was kind of a jerk too.
As Herobrine organized his papers, Morpheus slipped into the classroom behind you, looking embarrassed and groggy as he slipped into his seat. You side-eyed him as he sat down. He hadn’t been at breakfast either, had he slept in? Or… whatever phantoms did when they rested? Morpheus didn’t meet your gaze, and you were forced to put off questioning him until later as Herobrine began to speak.
Herobrine opened up language arts class with a lesson on storytelling, going over the various parts of a story’s anatomy. This actually held your interest pretty well, since you hadn’t been taught very much when it came to creative writing. Back home, your language arts education was mostly focused on grammar and essay-writing and stuff, which… made sense for higher education, sure, but this was way more fun.
“I want you to find your dormmate and work with them,” Herobrine announced at last. “You will be analyzing a story to find the conflict, climax, and resolution. Find your partner and I will hand out the story we will be analyzing in a moment.” It wasn’t hard for you to find Silvia, considering that she was directly on your right. She was already looking at you when you turned to face her, and offered a small, shy smile.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” You beckoned her over, scooting over to give her some room, and she stood up and dragged her chair over to sit beside you. You always felt a little awkward around Silvia, despite the fact that she was your roommate. You typically preferred to hang out with the skeletons, or zombies, or Morpheus or Cray. You had nothing against her, except maybe that her six, red eyes were a little off-putting, and she was really sweet. There were definitely much worse partners you could’ve gotten for this exercise.
Silvia scooted in beside you, then told you bashfully, “I don’t know how to read.”
“Oh.” You vaguely remembered that from last week. “That’s okay, I’ll read and we can find the plot points together.”
“Okay!” Silvia chirped. A moment later, a book appeared on your desk, making you jump.
“The Turtle and the Hare,” you read aloud off the cover. “Oh I know this story.”
“Great!” Silvia clapped her first set of hands together. “It’ll be easy, then.”
You spent the next fifteen minutes reading out the storybook to Silvia, who listened with rapt attention. Apparently this wasn’t a well-known story in spider culture. Once you were finished, together, you identified the conflict, climax, and resolution, and marked them down in your notebook. While you waited for the rest of the class to be done, Silvia made chibi-style little doodles in the empty space.
The remainder of the class involved talking over the plot of the story, which also wasn’t very hard. Basically just confirming that everyone was right.
“Good job, everyone,” Herobrine praised as the bell rang for lunch. “Go ahead and eat, and I will see you all out on the lawn for athletics class.”
Morpheus leaned around Kai on your left, shooting you a grin. “Looking good, Y/N,” he told you. “Who’re you dressing up for?”
You scoffed. “ Nobody . Geode did my makeup after I brought back her hairclip last night.”
“Oh.” Morpheus frowned for a moment. “...and you slept in it?”
“Yes- well, wait-”
“Class,” Herobrine called, interrupting your half-whispered conversation. “We’re about to begin.” You turned back towards your teachers, standing at attention. You were in your gym clothes, out on the lawn again, same as last week. It was cloudy, and the air was hot and humid. You were already sweating through your shirt, and you couldn’t imagine how your teacher was managing in his button-up shirt and sweater vest. Or Entity 303 in his hoodie, for that matter!
“Today we’re going to be practicing cooperation,” Herobrine announced. “So we will be doing three-legged relay races. If any of you are unfamiliar with the concept, a three-legged race involves all participants being divided into pairs, then one of each runner’s legs is bound to their partner’s opposite one. The goal is to step together with your partner in order to move as fast as possible without falling over.” Cray’s hand shot up. “Yes, Cray?”
“Can we pick our partners??”
“Not today,” Herobrine told him with a shake of his head. “Today we’ve paired you up by height. You will be partnered with Silvia, as she’s just an inch taller than you.” Cray frowned, but didn’t protest. “You’ll be divided into three teams,” Herobrine went on, “with three pairs per team. Whichever team can have all three pairs make it to the banners-“ he gestured to the colorful banners set up on the far side of the lawn, “and back the fastest, will win. 303 will read off your assigned partners.”
You drifted over to the starting line with your classmates as 303 rattled off the pairs. You were to be paired up with Dusk, whom you were familiar enough with from hanging out with the zombies, since the two of you were the exact same height. You felt sorry for Fade. No one else came within nearly half a block of his height.
You were directed over to where several colored bands were strewn on the ground, yours blue, as that was the team you had been assigned to. Dusk sauntered up to you, and you straightened up, offering him the band.
“Right leg, or left?”
“Hmm.” Dusk rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Right, I guess.” You nodded, kneeling on his right side and beginning to tie your leg to his. “Hey, Y/N,” he caught your attention as you worked. “D’you think Xa-Tul likes me?” Your chin snapped up, and you found him gazing across the lawn towards where Xa-Tul was speaking with Isabelle.
“Uh,” you stammered. “You mean like like, or…”
“Yeah.” Dusk didn’t look at you. “I know Silt likes her too, so… I just…” he blew out a frustrated breath, finally meeting your eyes. “How do you get a girl to like you??”
You flushed. “And why would you think I know that??”
“I dunno! You went to school before, didn’t you? I figured you knew more… people, and stuff.” Dusk shrugged helplessly. “Maybe you knew something.”
“Well…” You thought back to the classmates that you had seen get into relationships, the ones you saw work out and the ones you saw that didn’t. “Don’t… uh, if you like someone, you need to be willing to put in the effort for a relationship.” You pulled the band tight, then stood up. “You need to respect them and appreciate them for who they are, and not try to force them into what you want them to be.” You wrapped an arm around Dusk’s back for balance, and almost knocked him clean over. “Oh- you’re really light.”
“Sorry.” Dusk grinned sheepishly. “But, um, what do you do if you’re already doing those things, but she still doesn’t like you?”
“Well…” you shrugged. “Then you have to accept it, I guess. You can’t make her like you. You can only… continue to be there for her as long as she needs you.”
“Oh.” Dusk heaved a sigh. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” He wrapped his arm around your back, looking down at your bound legs. “Do we get to practice-?”
“Each team, select a pair to begin, and step up to the starting line,” Herobrine called out. You glanced at the two other pairs in blue team- Kaden and Kai, and Greyson and Geode - then, when none of them moved, you shuffled your way with Dusk up to the starting line.
“Guess not,” you said. Dusk grinned at you, then tightened his arm around your back and crouched down slightly.
“Are you ready?” Herobrine called out. You cast a glance to your left and found that you would be racing against Azara and Soliel, and Soot and Fade. “You will need to reach the banner of your team’s color and touch it before you are able to return and switch out with the next pair,” Herobrine informed you. “On your marks, get set-“
“Go!” 303 interrupted, and you lurched forward, dragging Dusk along with you for about a block before you tripped over each other’s feet and fell on your face.
Dusk was laughing as you struggled to push yourself up, and you couldn’t help but giggle along with him. “Come on, get up-“
“I’m trying!!” Dusk hauled you back to your feet, and immediately tripped again, causing you to sway dangerously in your attempt to catch him.
“We’ve gotta move our legs together!” A quick glance to your left assured you that your opponents were having just as much trouble- on the far side of your makeshift racetrack, poor Fade and Soot were in a tangle of limbs on the ground. “We just need to get into a rhythm.”
“Okay, here, follow my lead.” Dusk stepped forward with his free foot, then cautiously moved his right one, and you hopped along to keep up. You and Dusk managed to limp into a walk, then a half-jog, and before you knew it you’d reached the banner.
You smacked the blue fabric, and spun on your heel. “Okay, turn-!” You fell over again.
When you finally made it back to where Kai and Kaden were waiting, and tagged them in to begin their leg or the race, you and Dusk were covered in dirt and dust. You were panting as you sank down to the ground beside him, running a hand through your hair.
“Well,” you said breathlessly. “We tried.” Dusk shook his head like a dog, causing a cloud of dust to come up from his hair.
“We did,” he said brightly. “And I think we got our team a head start.” You sneezed, then glanced over to the other teams, and found Fade and Soot finally making it back to the starting line, with Soliel and Azara bickering at the back of their team. Kai and Kaden were the furthest along, despite moving very slowly in an attempt to avoid eating dirt.
“Yeah.” You lowered your gaze back to your leg, still bound to Dusk’s. “…wonder if we’re allowed to take these off yet.”
Ultimately, your team landed in second place, just beaten out by Cray and Silvia’s impressive coordination in yellow team. You were a little disappointed, but at least the activity was fun.
“Good job, everyone,” Herobrine called as the last pair made it back to the starting line. “You may put away the bands, now. It’s very hot out, so we’re going to go in to the gym for the remainder of class.”
Chapter 26: Chapter Twenty Five - Art Class
Notes:
DISCLAIMER: I am aware that this is not how pottery works irl. I wanted to do something slightly more interesting than Minecraft pottery which just uses a crafting table. Please enjoy.
Chapter Text
You patted gingerly at the soft clay in front of you, trying to keep the narrowing walls from collapsing as the pot before you grew taller.
“Careful,” Isabelle urged, three of her six hands positioned to catch the pot should it start to tip over. You didn't answer, completely focused on the task at hand. Even though Herobrine had assured you that making something sturdy was not required for a good grade, your competitive streak still had you determined to make something that could outdo some of your less cautious classmates.
This week's art class consisted of pottery, crafting pots of various sizes and things such as plates and bowls. It didn't look to you like anyone in the class had any clue what they were doing, but at least you all were having fun.
You had been partnered up with Isabelle today, Silvia’s older cousin. You hadn't had much opportunity to connect with her so far, and, though she seemed a little bit high-strung, you were finding her to be friendly enough. Since she had a couple of years on you, she seemed inclined to treat you like she did her younger cousin, and while it irked you slightly to be mothered it was better than some alternatives.
“Okay,” you announced, carefully drawing your hands back. “I'm going to press the stamp into it now.” Isabelle remained poised to catch the pot as you stepped back, collecting a raised plate and pressing it gently into the side of your pot to create a design. You held your breath as you pulled it back, and, miraculously, the walls of your pot held.
…for about five seconds before the entire thing collapsed in on itself.
“Noooo,” Isabelle whined, laying one tentative hand on top of the pile of clay. “Now we have to start over.” You nodded sadly, glancing around the classroom to check on your classmates’ progress. A few of the pairs were working on one small thing each, such as Kai and Marrow, while others, like Cray and Silt, were trying to make as large of a pot as possible.
Your gaze strayed over to Morephus’ seat in the corner, where your phantom classmate was sitting and watching listlessly as his partner, Xa-Tul, tried to shape her mound of clay into a bowl. Morpheus had been late to class again today, and he looked exhausted. You made a note to ask him about it at lunch, since you had forgotten the previous day.
Isabelle was trying to squish all the clay back together into a big lump again when you looked back to her, and you grabbed your provided pitcher of water to try and help. However, when you looked inside, you found that your supply had been exhausted. You leaned around Isabelle to seek out your teacher, opening your mouth to ask for a refill.
Instead, your question died on your lips when you realized that Herobrine was asleep.
You fell silent, staring at him where he slept at the front of the classroom. You had never seen your teacher in a state other than poised and alert before. Even when you spent several nights in his room, you'd never seen him sleep, only occasionally heard faint sounds as you floated in and out of wakefulness. Now, however, he seemed completely out, folded over his desk with his head pillowed on his folded arms.
“Oh,” you whispered. Isabelle shot you a quizzical glance, then followed your gaze, before her top right hand flew to cover her mouth.
“Oh,” she echoed. Your voices attracted the attention of your fellow classmates, and the soft hubbub of the classroom faded away as more and more of your classmates focused on your sleeping teacher.
You shot a glance at Fade, who was hovering over Geode’s shoulder, for direction. Unfortunately, the enderman seemed just as shocked as you were.
“What do we do?” Cray hissed loudly, only to be hushed by Soot.
“He must be very tired,” she said in a low voice. “We should be quiet to let him sleep.”
“But what if we need something??”
“Hey, what's-” 303’s voice cut off, and you looked over your shoulder to see him frozen in the doorway. “...oh.” No one spoke for a few moments, and the only movement was the rise and fall of your teacher's chest.
“Alright, class,” 303 finally began in a hushed voice. “Mr. Herobrine had a very long night last night, and he needs to catch up on some sleep. Finish up your assignments, then as soon as you're done go out to the dining hall, alright? For now, just stay quiet.” You gave a mute nod, then turned wide eyes back on Isabelle before you went back to work on your pot.
Your mind whirled in the quiet classroom as you began to build up the walls of the pot again. What had Herobrine been doing last night?? And how long had he not slept for?? Last week he’d banished and come back with an arm in a sling, and this week he passed out in the middle of class? What was going on with him??
All these questions were ones that you knew you weren't going to receive answers for- at least, not right now. So you finished up your pot as quietly as possible instead, then slipped out of the classroom with Isabelle at your heels on the way to the dining hall.
You bit off the end of a baby carrot and frowned down at your plate. “I didn’t even know that Herobrine could sleep,” you admitted.
“I did.” Across the table, Morpheus raised his hand. “And I don’t think he’s slept in at least a couple of nights.
“Weird,” you mumbled around your bite. “Wonder what he was doing.”
“Maybe he went to go visit his bird wife,” Cray suggested. “‘Cause he’s busy teaching all day.”
“I guess , but he’s been teaching for decades,” you pointed out. “You’d think he would’ve figured out a better arrangement by now.”
Cray shrugged, popping a thumbtack in his mouth. “Love makes you dumb.” You couldn’t really argue with that.
Since class had ended early, you and the other students had spent the time until lunch just hanging out in the dining hall. Fade had placed himself in charge of making sure everyone stayed quiet and behaved, and, other than Silt threatening to put Dusk through a window, everyone had remained more or less calm until lunch.
You expected that Herobrine was awake now, as the bell had rung when it normally did to signify the end of class. The way Morpheus had talked about him implied that him staying up for several days wasn’t normal, so he probably hadn’t just been grading papers or something. You weren’t aware of all of his abilities, but you knew he could fly, and that he’d chased off the players that had threatened you in the Nether without so much as breaking a sweat, so…
Abruptly, you remembered Morpheus’ tardiness, and turned to face him again. “Have you been sleeping?” you asked. “You’ve been late to class two mornings in a row.” Morpheus blinked, then flushed a bit.
“I don’t sleep, you know that,” he protested. “So, no, I haven’t. I’ve just lost track of time in the mornings.”
“Doing what?” you pressed. Morpheus shrugged.
“Chilling?”
“Hmm.” You gave him a mock-suspicion look, then returned to your carrots.
You liked Morpheus a lot. While Cray was virtually joined to you at the hip and Soot protected you from your bullies, in terms of just getting along with them you considered Morpheus your closest friend. Your relationship had gotten a bit of a rocky start, but he was one of the closest in the class to your age, and he was funny and sweet and always made you smile. You had a feeling that something was going on that he wasn’t telling you, and you knew you couldn’t make him tell you, but you were still determined to help him in any way you could.
Above you, the bell went off once again, and you stood up and grabbed your tray to return it and head back to class.
As you’d expected, Herobrine was awake again when you and your classmates filtered back into the classroom, standing at the front with his hands met behind his back. “Good afternoon, class,” he greeted you as the last few stragglers made it into the room. “I apologize to you all for my inattentiveness this morning. I was impaired, I assure you that it will not happen again.”
“It’s okay!” Geode piped up. “Rest is important, and you should get some if you need it.” To your left, Morpheus gave a firm nod.
“I know it is,” Herobrine told her with a smile. “But I prefer to do it when I am not supposed to be taking care of my class. Open your brewing textbooks, please, we’re going to start with a short quiz to see what 303 actually taught you last week.” On the far left side of the room, 303 casually averted his gaze.
You had, actually, spent at least an hour going over potion recipes following potion bottle dodgeball the previous week. You were able to correctly identify the recipes for a jump boost, strength, and weakness potion- though, that last one was stuck in your mind still from the first week.
After the quiz, you and your classmates played a fast-paced game where you were divided into three teams, then Herobrine would show you all a potion recipe and the first team to have someone correctly identify it would get a point. Your team lost, mostly because Cray kept shouting out random potions in an attempt to beat out the other teams, but you still learned, and trying to muffle Cray long enough for the much-more-knowledgeable Azara to get the correct answer was pretty funny.
Potions class got out early too, which you suspected was because Herobrine really needed to sleep. Your thoughts were confirmed when 303 herded you and your fellow students out of the classroom, out to the dining hall to give your teacher a chance to clean up and rest.
Chapter 27: Chapter Twenty Six - Rooftop Talk
Notes:
CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains discussion of severe depression including suicidal thoughts. It is not a plot-heavy chapter and you should be fine to skip it if need be, I will summarize the contents at the bottom.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Thursday night, you couldn’t sleep.
You gazed idly at the moonlight that reflected off your door, eyes half-lidded as you mused over your day. Nothing in particular was wrong, at least not that you were aware of, you just weren’t tired enough yet to go to sleep. Other than the shock you’d gotten when your teacher had fallen asleep during class, your day had been largely peaceful. You’d had fun in class and spent time with your friends, in a place that you were slowly coming to think of as safe.
It had been nearly three weeks now since you’d arrived. What was it that Herobrine had said, back in your first gym class after Soliel had burned your hand? That the monster students usually took three or four weeks to get used to the player, right? And that after a month the class was usually all friends. You still weren’t so sure about Jace, and maybe Soliel, but with everyone else you could definitely see yourself being good friends with them for the rest of the school year.
Who else weren’t you particularly close with? Your thoughts strayed to Azara, whom you’d barely spoken to except for the night that you played freeze tag. Greyson, too, you rarely ended up in contact with, and Silt and Kaden you really only talked to when you hung out with their respective friend groups. Even Silvia, your roommate, who was currently fast asleep sprawled out in her cobweb hammock, you didn’t have more than an acquaintanceship with. You made a note to try and talk to them at least a little more.
Through your door, you heard quiet footsteps making their way down the hall.
You perked up, lifting your head to listen more closely. Who would be up at this hour? Your first thought was that it might be the zombies playing freeze tag again, but the footsteps were walking, not running, and it would be rude for them to do so without inviting you anyway. Maybe 303 or Herobrine? Herobrine better be sleeping tonight.
It only took a moment for curiosity to get the better of you, and you slid out of bed, making your way carefully over to the door and easing it open to poke your head out into the hall.
The hall was dim, as was standard for the middle of the night, but when you turned to the left you managed to catch a glimpse of a dark blue bat wing vanishing around the corner. Morpheus? You slipped out into the hall and shut the door behind you, tiptoeing down the hall after him.
You followed him through the halls and towards the front of the school, musing over his actions as you went. You knew you technically weren’t forbidden from leaving your rooms at night, and Morpheus had claimed that he didn’t need to sleep, so far all you knew maybe he did this every night. Still, he’d seemed uncharacteristically tired the last couple of days, and you had a feeling that something else was at play.
You paused in a doorway, leaning around the corner to watch as Morpheus pushed open the front door and headed outside. You frowned, a little bit of anxiety starting to pool in your stomach. What was he doing? He wasn’t leaving … was he?
A moment after the door swung shut behind him, you’d made up your mind to confront him, and you hurried forward to follow him outside.
You pushed through the door and shut it behind you, stepping out onto the front steps and searching the lawn for any sign of your friend. A moment later, you realized abruptly that this was the first time in several weeks since you had seen a clear sky, and your head tipped back in astonishment.
You had been raised in the middle of a large city, meaning that it was always bright outside regardless of the time of day. This was, in part, to discourage monster attacks and make it safer for people to travel and work at night, but it had the side effect of greatly reducing the number of stars that you would be able to see. You had traveled to visit family in less developed areas on occasion, but none of them had offered such an unobstructed view of the night sky as this.
Bands of stars stretched across the sky, only dimmed around where the crescent moon shone. You could see orange and pink and cyan glows from faraway galaxies, and the sight took your breath away. It was more beautiful than you ever could have imagined, and you realized immediately that you were never going to be able to look at the night sky at home the same.
Movement caught your eye, and you looked over to see a shape settling down on the schoolhouse roof.
“Morpheus?” You called up. There was a brief pause, then glowing, green eyes leaned over the edge to look at you.
“Y/N?” His voice floated down to you. “What are you doing up?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” You glanced down, looking for a way up that didn’t require having wings, and soon spotted some thick vines growing down the side of the schoolhouse.
Morpheus was sitting cross-legged on the roof as you hauled yourself up next to him, staring off into the distance. He didn’t say a word as you sat down beside him, and he looked… sad. You were quiet for a few moments, admiring the stars for a few moments longer before you asked,
“Are you okay?”
“Mmh.” Morpheus gave a halfhearted shrug. “Yeah, I’m fine.” That didn’t really inspire any confidence, and you gave him a frown.
“…are you homesick?”
“No.” Morpheus shook his head. “No, I like it here.”
“You can enjoy being somewhere else and still be homesick,” you pointed out.
“Yeah.” Morpheus didn’t move, his gaze lowering down to his hands in his lap. “But I’m not.” You didn’t know what to say to that, so you just fell silent again. For a little while, both of you were quiet.
“What are you doing out here, Y/N?” Morpheus finally asked.
“I couldn’t sleep,” you said. “And I heard you walking in the halls and wanted to see what you were doing.”
“Oh.” Morpheus gave you a halfhearted smile. “You should sleep. It’s good for you.”
“You should rest too,” you countered. “Even if you don’t need to sleep.”
“Yeah.” Morpheus turned back to the forest. “I’m not tired either.” You hummed quietly. You knew you’d have to go to bed at some point, but Morpheus seemed sad, and you didn’t want to leave him alone.
After a few minutes, Morpheus finally broke the silence. “Y/N…” he started. “…d’you ever feel like… you’ll never amount to anything?” He glanced over to meet your eyes. “Like your whole life is dark and cold and you’re just going to suffer until you die?” You turned to look at him, startled.
“Um… not really.”
“Oh.” Morpheus looked down at his hands again. “That’s good."
“Why do you feel like that?” you pressed. Morpheus shrugged helplessly.
“It just feels right.” He squeezed his hands into fists. “I don’t think I… I don’t think I’ve ever been happy. I don’t even know what being happy feels like.”
You stared at him, stunned and concerned. Was he serious?? Morpheus was almost always cheerful and smiling, you never would have guessed that he was dealing with something like this.
“Really?” You finally managed. “But you’re…”
“Yeah, I know,” he interrupted. “I pretend to be normal, I don’t want to worry people with my problems.” He paused, gave you an apologetic look. “Sorry…”
“N-no, no, I don’t mind,” you assured him hastily. “I don’t mind at all. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be bottling up your emotions like this.” Morpheus didn’t look convinced.
“It’s not like they can hurt me any worse.”
“Then why are you talking to me about this?” you countered. “If talking doesn’t help?” Morpheus set his jaw and looked away. “I’m really glad you told me, by the way,” you added softly. “I don’t know if I can help, but… I wanna try.” Morpheus was silent, facing the other way, and a stab of nerves went through you as you wondered if you’d said something wrong.
Morpheus’ breath hitched, and your heartbeat spiked as he buried his face in his hands and started to cry.
“Hey-” You rested a hand on his shoulder, not sure what you should do. “It’s okay, I’m not mad or anything-”
“No-” Morpheus choked out. “N-no, I-I don’t think that, I just…” he took a shaky breath. “I don’t want t’ be here. Alive , I mean. I can’t stop thinking about just- just running outside in the sunshine and just-” He choked on a sob. “I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t think of any reason why not .” He sniffled, trying to dry his tears. “I don’t- I’m sorry, I don’t want to-”
You cut him off by throwing your arms around his neck.
Morpheus jumped, his wings flaring to keep him balanced as his arms went around you automatically. “Y-Y/N-”
“I’m sorry,” you mumbled into his shoulder. “I don’t… I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to help, but…”
“ Why? ” Morpheus whispered, holding you awkwardly as you hugged him. “Why would you… want to? I’m not- you only just met me, and at first I scared you and cheated off you, why would you want-”
“Because you’re my friend!! ” You cut him off vehemently. “You’re my best friend in this whole school, and you’re funny and nice and you always make me smile. So I want to make you smile.” Morpheus didn’t answer for a moment, then let out a watery laugh.
“I thought Soot o-or Cray was your best friend.” His arms tightened around you, hands fisting in the back of your pajama shirt.
“They’re nice,” you admit. “But Soot feels kind of like my mom, and Cray is… Cray.” Morpheus giggled at that, lifting one arm to wipe the tears off his face.
“W-what about Kai?”
“Kai is really sweet, but I don’t really talk to her that much,” you told him. “I’d much rather hang out with you.”
“Oh.” Morpheus wrapped his arms around you again, and finally rested his chin on your shoulder. “...thanks.” You hummed into his shoulder.
You squeezed him until he stopped crying, until his breaths stopped hitching every few seconds. Only then did you let him go and sit up straight again, much to the relief of your aching legs.
“I think you should talk to the teacher about this,” you offered quietly.
“He knows.” Morpheus sniffled, dashing his sleeve over his eyes a final time. “My… family told him when he came t’ pick a student. Said he wouldn’t want me because I was too messed up t’ learn anything.” A flash of incredulous rage went through you.
“You are not!” you protested. “You’re smart and funny and friendly, that’s more than I can say for some of my player classmates back home.”
“Yeah, well, you haven’t met the other phantom kids.” Morpheus chuckled mirthlessly. You huffed.
“I’d rather have you here than any of them,” you muttered. Morpheus raised a brow, but didn’t argue.
“Thanks, Y/N.”
“‘f course.”
Notes:
Chapter summary, if anyone happened to skip it:
Y/N is laying awake after dark and thinking about their last few weeks in school when they hear footsteps outside, and they go out into the hall to find Morpheus going outside. They go outside to see what he's doing and find him sitting on the roof. Y/N goes to sit with him and they talk, and Morpheus admits that he's very depressed. He starts crying and Y/N gives him a hug, and tells him that they want to do what they can to help him feel better. Morpheus is appreciative and they sit on the roof together for a while longer.
Remember to leave a comment with chapter suggestions!
Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty Seven - Combat Class
Notes:
obligatory disclaimer: I don't know how to swordfight
Chapter Text
“This,” Herobrine produced a bucket, holding it up to show the class its contents. “Is powder snow. Who here can tell me what special properties it has?” Several hands went up, and you glanced around the classroom. Kaden’s didn’t come as a surprise to you, since he came from a cold biome, and Marrow had raised her hand as well, as had Morpheus and Azara. “Marrow,” Herobrine called on her, and Marrow cleared her throat.
“Powdered snow, unlike packed snow, can’t support the weight of an average person,” she explained. “If you try to walk over it, you’ll sink and freeze.”
“Correct.” Herobrine nodded approvingly. “Does anyone know how to safely walk over powder snow?” Kaden and Azara’s hands stayed up, while everyone else’s fell. “Azara?”
“Wear leather boots.” Azara’s voice was flat and deadpan. “The boots help distribute your weight so that you don’t sink through the snow.” You looked over in mild surprise. Azara was a nether resident, you were really impressed that she knew stuff about colder biomes.
“Correct, Azara, very good.” Herobrine set down the bucket on his desk. “Powder snow is often found in mountainous areas, such as grove and snowy slopes biomes. It can also be obtained by collecting snowfall in a cauldron. Who can tell me what someone might want to use powder snow for?”
You started to tune out of the discussion as class went on, your fellow students offering a few ideas for what powdered snow could be used for. Cray had immediately suggested a trap, which Herobrine had acknowledged before moving on to Fade. You didn’t have much to offer, so you stayed quiet, focusing instead on Morpheus where he sat on your left.
He looked happy today, engaging in the class discussion and smiling, but you knew better now than to take that at face value. After Morpheus had confided in you the previous night about his depression, you were determined to give him as much support as you could, even when it looked like he didn’t need it.
You and Morpheus had sat out on the roof for about half an hour last night, chatting and enjoying the stars, before you convinced him to go back inside with you and rest. You’d spent about an hour laying awake after returning to your room, just thinking about the conversation you'd had. You had a hunch, based on what Morpheus had said about his family, that they had a hand in him feeling as bad about himself as he did. You weren’t sure if you were going to be able to undo that damage, but you were sure as heck going to try.
“Y/N?” Your teacher’s voice caught your attention, and you hastily looked over, trying to retroactively figure out what the discussion had been about before you were called on. “Can you tell me what kinds of creatures can walk safely over powder snow?” You blanked, your mouth dropping open for a second as you tried to remember if you’d ever learned that.
“Uh…” you stammered out. “Foxes?”
“Foxes is correct,” Herobrine praised. “Good job. Rabbits, also, will not sink through powdered snow. Can anyone tell me what creatures will not be harmed by powder snow, even if they should sink into it?”
“Strays!” Kaden blurted out, apparently tired of being skipped over. “I won’t get hurt by powder snow.”
“That is correct, Kaden, but please raise your hand,” Herobrine reminded him gently. “What else?” Kai’s hand shot up, and Herobrine pointed to her. “Go ahead, Kai.”
“Polar bears,” Kai announced. “Their fur keeps them warm.”
“Correct, Kai, very good.”
As your teacher focused on Dusk in the front row, Morpheus leaned over to you and whispered, “Long night?” You glanced over at him, and he grinned at you. “You seem kinda out of it.”
“Not that long,” you hissed back. “I’m just not super interested in powdered snow.”
“You should be,” Morpheus told you. “What if you fall in some someday? That stuff is deadly.”
“Well.” You shrugged. “I guess I’ll carry leather boots on me.”
“Smart.” Morpheus cuffed you gently on the shoulder. He started to pull away, but you whispered to him before he could,
“How are you doing today?”
“Fine,” he whispered back without missing a beat. You fixed him with a small glare.
“Really fine?” you pressed. Morpheus’ gaze lingered on you for a moment, then he finally said,
“Yeah. I’m alright.” He gave you a small smile. “Thanks, Y/N.” You nodded, satisfied, and leaned back into your seat before turning your attention back to class.
“Today is combat class!” Cray cheered as he sat down beside you, his tray loaded up with carrots and pebbles. “I love combat class.” Isabelle, seated across the table from him, scoffed quietly.
“You’re such a boy,” she muttered.
“You’re such a girl,” Cray fired back. “And what’s that got to do with anything??”
“You’re a boy! Boys love fighting!” Isabelle stuck her nose up in the air. “Girls have more… refined tastes.”
“What??” Cray exclaimed. “But Greyson doesn’t like fighting, and he’s a boy- and Soliel’s a girl and she likes fighting!”
“Guys, can we not stereotype?” You cut in. Your words only got blank stares from both of them.
“Story-what?” Cray finally asked.
“Stereotype! It’s when…” you hesitated, trying to work out how to explain it in a way that they would understand. “It’s when you make assumptions about someone based on their species or gender, or how they look, instead of getting to know them as a person.”
“But you did that with us when you first got here,” Morpheus pointed out, folding his arms and leaning over the table to arch a brow in your direction. Your face flushed bright red.
“Well I shouldn’t have, should I?”
Today was fighting class again, and you were turning the thought idly over in your head as you ate lunch with your classmates. At what point would you be doing actual combat? This was, of course, only the third week, but so far you hadn’t done any fighting, only running and hiding. Granted, you’d missed the first class, so maybe there had been some kind of fighting there. You weren’t sure.
As you thought about it, you remembered that you still hadn’t talked to Herobrine about Jace. Now you needed to talk to him about Morpheus too. Maybe this Sunday, while you had a day off, you could get an opportunity to talk to him.
“To be fair, you guys stereotyped me too,” you pointed out. Some more than others.
“To be fair, your race sucks,” Cray shot back. You shrugged helplessly.
“Yeah, kinda.”
“Be nice, Cray,” Soot reminded him from a few places down. “Y/N can’t help being a player any more than you can help being a creeper.”
“Yeah, but I love being a creeper.”
“That is… not my point.”
“It’s okay, Soot,” you assured her. You’d been around Cray long enough to know not to take his nonsense seriously.
Jace, on the other hand… you cast a glance down to the far end of the dining table, where the slime was picking at his lunch. He’d hated you from the get-go, and never called you by name, only ‘player’, so he must have some sort of grudge against your race. You just wished he would figure out that you were not responsible for the crimes of all playerkind.
“I’m glad I’m a boy, then,” Cray remarked. “So when people storytype me they can be right.”
You sputtered incoherently. “You shouldn’t want to be stereotyped!”
“Why not?” Cray challenged. “Why do you get to tell me what to do?”
“The issue isn’t when they’re right, Cray, it’s when they’re wrong,” Morpheus tried. “Like, what if somebody assumed that because you’re a creeper, you’re just mean and violent all the time?”
“I kind of am,” Cray pointed out.
“No you’re not!” You leaned over to throw an arm around his shoulders. “You’re funny and cool. And soooo nice.” Cray leveled a murderous glare at you.
“I’ll blow you up.”
“No you won’t.”
The rest of lunch passed by in roughly the same fashion, with gentle bickering between yourself and your friend group. After your hour for lunch had passed and the bell rang, you tucked away your tray and headed downstairs to the combat classroom.
“Welcome, class,” Herobrine greeted you as the last of your classmates filed into the room. “Today’s lesson is one that I’m sure some of you have been looking forward to. Today you will be able to fight each other for the first time.” Your heart leaped into your throat, though you were sure that nobody would notice your distress as Cray let out an ear-piercing screech to your left. “You will only be permitted to use wooden swords,” Herobrine went on. “And none of your unique abilities. 303 and I will demonstrate a mock battle first, then you will be paired up and allowed to give it a try, two at a time. Your intent should not be to hurt one another, is that understood?” There was a murmur of assent from the class.
Entity 303 popped into existence on Herobrine’s right to ask, “who here has experience in fighting of any sort?” A few hands went up, and you spotted Jace’s among them. Of course. “Good.” 303 nodded approvingly. “Alright, everyone come to the barrier here, and pay attention. Even if you’ve fought before, we still want you to be watching the demonstration.”
You shuffled forward with the rest of your class as both of your teachers vanished. You grasped the iron bars that made up the barrier around the viewing platform as Herobrine and 303 reappeared from opposite sides of the arena, each one holding a wooden sword. Surely they wouldn’t pair you up with Jace, right? Or any of the students who knew how to fight?
“While this is a training exercise, and you are not expected to hurt each other,” Herobrine called up as he approached his opponent. “You must be aiming for your opponent, not his or her sword.” He swung at 303, who lifted his sword to block it, then swung back. “In a real battle, aiming for your opponent’s sword does nothing,” Herobrine continued as their swords met with a clack. “You may be able to stall your opponent, but if you are not fighting back you will only be giving them an opportunity to hit you.
“Secondly, you should be keeping your movements small, especially when blocking or parrying. If you are swinging madly-” Herobrine paused, and 303 swung recklessly at him in demonstration. “-you will only-” Herobrine darted forward, pressing the tip of his sword against 303’s ribs. “-be giving your enemy an easy opportunity to hit you.” 303 folded around the point of the sword, collapsing dramatically with his arms and legs splayed out on the sand.
“Third, keep yourself at a reasonable distance from your opponent if at all possible,” Herobrine went on as 303 hopped back to his feet. “Being too close limits your movements, and offers too many openings for attack.” He took a large step towards 303, until there was only about half a block between them, then swung, but 303 had jabbed him in the stomach with his own sword before the blow could connect. “Obviously, there is a lot more to fighting than just these three points, but this is all that we will be going over today.” Herobrine lowered his sword, glancing up to where the class was watching. “Watch closely, please, as we demonstrate these principles.”
You leaned your forehead against the iron bars as you watched them spar, staying about a block and a half apart now and only getting closer when they went in to attack. You had seen them fight before, the day that 303 had first showed up, and they were moving noticably slower now than they had then. Probably so that you would be able to follow what they were doing. Their movements were fluid and graceful, and a bit of hope swelled up inside you that one day you would be able to fight like that.
After just a couple of minutes, they stopped, and Herobrine once again turned to the class. “My first pair is going to be Silvia and Greyson,” he announced. “Come on down, you two.”
The two of them hesitantly emerged from the rest of the group, making their way down the stairs into the arena. Herobrine beckoned them close, most likely having noticed the frightened looks on their faces as they approached. “These aren’t sharp, see?” He jabbed the point of his wooden sword into his palm, then held out the blade for them to inspect, and you could see Greyson run his hand along the side of the blade. “They will hurt if you hit someone hard with them, the same as if you you were to hit them with anything else. If you get an opportunity to hit the other, do so gently, as I did with 303. Alright?” You could see them nod and hear a murmur, but you couldn’t make out what was said from your vantage point in the viewing area.
Herobrine took Silvia to the left side of the arena, and provided her with a sword as 303 did the same with Greyson on the right. You could hear Herobrine instructing your roommate quietly, prompting her to hold the sword with only one hand instead of two, and adjusting her stance before directing her to the middle of the arena to face Greyson. The two of them were the same height, and neither one of them seemed at all comfortable with the weapon in their hands, but Greyson eventually worked up the courage to grip his sword tightly and step forward to attack.
He swung, and Silvia raised her sword with a squeak, only for the weapon to go flying onto the sand as soon as Greyson’s strike connected.
“Hold on.” Herobrine collected Silvia’s sword, bringing it back to her. “Don’t trap your thumb under your fingers. Hold it here- along the side of the hilt.” He guided her fingers into the correct position. “And don’t just block, swing back into it.” He released her, turning her towards Greyson again. “There you go.” Silvia set her jaw, planted her feet, then swung at Greyson again.
The two of them went back and forth for a few minutes, both of them gradually growing more confident with their strikes as time went on. By the end of their ten-minute segment, they were going back and forth fairly easily, and Silvia was giggling.
When they were finished, Herobrine sent them back up to the viewing platform, and called down his next pair. “Geode and Y/N, come down.”
Your heart fluttered anxiously in your chest as you descended the stairs, following Herobrine as he beckoned you over to the left side of the arena. “I take it you were watching closely?” He asked as you got close. You nodded, studying the wooden sword in his hand. True to his word, up close you could tell that it was very dull.
“What happens if someone does get hurt?” you asked, a bit hesitant.
“We have health potions ready should there be an accident. But the worst that could happen is that someone gets a bruise,” Herobrine assured you. “Here.” He offered you the sword, and you took it, trying to copy what he had told Silvia.
“Whenever you’re fighting, you need to make sure that your feet are correctly positioned,” he told you as you gripped your sword. “If your feet are too close together, like that-” you looked down at your feet as he took your shoulder and pushed gently, making you stumble to catch your balance. “-you will be easily knocked over. Spread your feet apart until they’re just wider than your shoulders, and bend your knees slightly, don’t lock them.” You followed his instructions, glancing over your shoulder where 303 was undoubtedly having the same conversation with Geode.
Herobrine followed your gaze. “Are you nervous?”
“A little,” you admitted as you turned back to him. “But I know Geode won’t try to hurt me.” Herobrine nodded, smiling.
“Learning to swordfight can be daunting at first, but I am sure you will get the hang of it without too much trouble.” He gestured for you to turn, and you did so, making your way to the middle of the arena where Geode and 303 were waiting.
Geode’s eyes were wide, and she offered you a nervous smile as you stopped in front of her. You returned it, holding out your sword in front of you and adjusting your footing. Herobrine and 303 had moved around a lot when they were fighting… you should probably just be keeping your stance wide and your knees bent when you walked, right?
“Go ahead,” Herobrine encouraged you, and you hesitated a moment longer before taking a large step forward and swinging at her.
Geode swung back, and your sword was nearly jarred from your hand by the vibration when your blades met. You took a hasty step back as she swung again, the tip of her sword whizzing a couple of inches in front of your face. As it passed, you saw your chance, and you lunged forward to tap your sword against her unprotected side.
“Good job, Y/N,” Herobrine praised as Geode groaned. “Geode, remember to keep your movements small and quick to avoid giving your opponent an opening.” Geode squared her shoulders and fixed her footing, then faced you again.
She attacked first this time, and you met her strike, pushing back hard to try and knock her off balance, but she was a lot more solid than you had expected. You tried to back up before she could retaliate, but Geode was eager to get you back, and before you could get out of range she had whacked you in your sword hand.
“Ow!!” You dropped your sword with a yelp, shaking out your hand. Geode’s free hand flew to her mouth.
“I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay.” You grimaced, looking at your hand. It wasn’t bleeding, of course, and the pain was already fading. You could hear snickering from the viewing area, and you shot a glare up at them.
Herobrine had stepped up as well, frowning at your hand. “Are you alright? Do you want a potion?”
“No, I’m fine.” You shook out your hand a final time, then grabbed your sword off of the sand. “Come at me.” Geode broke into a hesitant smile, then corrected her stance and lunged.
Chapter 29: Chapter Twenty Eight - Dark Forest Field Trip, Part 1
Notes:
Sorry if there’s any errrors im half blind at the moment
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
You emerged from your walk-in closet with your pajamas hung over your arm, and found Silvia sitting in her web and messing with her hair. “Morning,” you greeted her, folding your pajamas and setting them on the bed. Silvia glanced up.
“Oh, morning!” She gave you a fanged smile before turning back to her mirror. You stretched your hands above your head with a yawn, glancing out the window to where a light rain was drizzling over the forest. Not good for Fade or Soliel… maybe you weren’t going outside today.
It was Saturday morning, which meant field trip day. You were a little apprehensive after how the last two field trips had gone, but you remained hesitantly hopeful that Herobrine had gotten things under control. After all, he’d been doing this for 80 years, hadn’t he?
“Hey, Y/N.” Silvia caught your attention, and you looked up to meet her eyes. “Do you think I should grow my hair out?” You blinked owlishly in her direction. You were friendly with Silvia, sure, but that was… a little more personal of a question than you were ready for.
“Um.” You had to think for a moment. “If you want. But I think your current hair looks really nice on you.”
“Oh.” Silvia turned back to her mirror with a frown on her face. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Do you not like it?” You pressed.
“No…” Silvia trailed off. “...but my boyfriend doesn’t really like it.”
Your jaw dropped. “You have a boyfriend??”
“Yeah.” Silvia blushed, combing her fingers through her hair again. “He’s back at my home… I had long hair when I met him, and I cut it at the beginning of the summer. He didn’t like that.”
“Well it’s not his hair, so he doesn’t get a say.” You plopped down on the edge of her bed, looking up to where she was reclining in her spiderweb. “It’s your hair, and if you’re happy with it, he should be happy for you ‘cause he loves you.” Silvia bit her lip.
“My mom told me I should be doing what he says if I want him to marry me.”
“That’s dumb.” You frowned up at her. “Players definitely don’t teach that. If he only marries you because you’ve made yourself into his perfect girl, then he doesn’t really love you, does he?”
“I… guess.” Silvia’s face fell.
“Besides,” you went on. “You’re only about my age, aren’t you? You don’t have to figure out who you’re going to marry for a while.”
“I guess so. But I really like him.”
“That’s part of it, but if you and him are going to be happy together he needs to like you too,” you pointed out. “For who you really are.” Silvia was quiet for a few moments.
“Yeah,” she said at last. “You’re right.” There was a moment of silence. “Have you ever dated anyone?” she finally asked.
“No.” You shook your head. “Not yet. But I’ve seen my classmates date.”
“Oh.” Silvia swung her legs over the edge of her cobweb hammock, sliding out to drop onto the floor. “Well… thanks, Y/N.”
“Sure.” You weren’t sure if you’d actually been helpful, since Silvia still looked sad, but you stood up and offered her a hand. “Let’s go get breakfast.”
You slid into your chair with a sigh, setting down your backpack beside your desk and glancing around at your classmates. The last few were filtering into the classroom behind you, Silvia sinking down on your right and flicking her hair out of her face. She had cheered up a little bit throughout breakfast, and she shot you a smile when she saw you looking. You returned it and turned back to face forward.
You could see Herobrine at the front of the classroom, sitting in a chair with his back to you. That immediately struck you as odd. Herobrine usually stood next to his desk while he waited for everyone to arrive, you rarely saw him sit, and when he did it was never facing the other way. Something must be up. You glanced at Morpheus on your left, who was frowning at your teacher as well, and you raised a brow in his direction. What’s up with him? Morpheus just shrugged.
The class fell quiet as the last of the stragglers sank down into their seats. You glanced around at your classmates, observing that none of the rest of them seemed to have any clue what was going on either. You could see Herobrine breathing, was he… asleep?
“Good morning, class.” A voice from behind you made your chin snap around in shock as Herobrine walked into the classroom.
You promptly swiveled back around to the front of the classroom, just in time to see the ‘Herobrine’ in the chair spin around to face you. “Good morning, class,” he said cheerfully, a wide grin on his face. Your jaw dropped, looking between the newcomer and your teacher, who was standing by the doorway with an amused look in his eye.
The man sitting at Herobrine’s desk could just about be his clone. They had the same mid-toned skin and dark hair, and the stranger even had similar facial hair. The main difference between them was that instead of having blank, white eyes like your teacher did, this man had deep purple ones.
Herobrine made his way up to the front of the classroom, waving away the barrage of questions coming his way. “Class,” he spoke up above the cacophony. “This is my brother, Steven.”
“What??” Cray shot to his feet in astonishment. “You have a brother, too??” Herobrine held out a placating hand.
“Yes, Cray, I do,” he said patiently. “And he will be joining us for our field trip today.” He turned to his brother, who got to his feet and offered the class an easy smile.
“Good morning, everyone,” he greeted you. “My name is Steven Ironshard, but you can call me Steve. I am an explorer and a mapmaker, and your teacher’s brother. Bria-“ Herobrine cleared his throat loudly. “I mean, Herobrine.” Steve coughed. “Asked me to come and assist with this weekend’s trip.” At the back of the class, Soot’s hand shot up. Steve gestured to her. “Yes, young lady?”
“Where are we going today?” Soot asked.
“Not far,” Steve assured her. “Actually, only a few chunks from the school. But we will be camping out in the woods overnight, and coming back on Sunday.” You blinked at him, excitement beginning to build up in your chest. You hadn’t been camping in years. “Over the course of the trip, we’ll be going over survival skills,” Steve went on. “And how to find food when out in the wilderness. The sort of thing that I have to do a lot when I’m on a trip. Now, I know not all of you need to eat, but you’ll be joining in the foraging lesson should you have a flesh-and-blood companion who needs it.”
“Food and necessary supplies have already been collected,” Herobrine broke in. “So all you’ll have to do is follow Steve’s instructions. Leave your books in the classroom, everyone, and let’s go out onto the lawn.”
“Unlike with previous trips, today we will be remaining in one large group,” Herobrine told your class. “You may be paired off in order to do specific tasks when we arrive at the campsite, but until then I expect you to remain with the rest of the class at all times. Is that understood?” There was a small murmur of confirmation, and Herobrine nodded, stepping back and gesturing to his brother. “Go ahead, Steve.”
It had stopped raining by the time your class had gathered out in front of the school. You and your classmates were gathered in front of Herobrine and his brother, with 303 standing off to the side. Each of you had been provided already with a bundle, which contained both food specific to your diet and blocks with which you would be able to build a shelter for the night.
“Have any of you had to survive out in the wilderness before?” Steve asked. “Raise your hands.” A few went up, including Azara’s, Xa-Tul’s, and Dusk’s. Maybe it was a zombie thing. “Good. Alright.” Steve clapped his hands together. “The first thing I want you to remember is that the wilderness is never your friend. Even if you think you know an area well, you need to always be wary and watching your surroundings.” Cray’s hand shot up, and Steve pointed to him. “Go ahead.”
“If I was attacked, I’d just blow them up,” Cray said proudly.
“Maybe you would,” Steve allowed. “But bad guys are really the least of your worries. Your real concern is gonna be uneven ground, hidden pitfalls, or other environmental hazards. Even the calmest plain can have a ravine that you won’t see until you’re right on top of it.” You frowned, then raised your hand, and Steve caught your eye. “Yes, Y/N?”
It took you a moment to re-collect your thoughts- he knew your name, but nobody else’s? “Um,” you started. “Is there going to be anything like that along our path?”
“No.” Steve shook his head. “Not unless somebody wanders way off course, and I hope that nobody intends to.” You lowered your hand, relieved.
“Second,” Steve went on. “If you have any opportunity to do so, be as prepared as possible before you go out. Take with you a map or a compass to find your way home, food and water to last for longer than you intend to be gone in case something goes wrong. Warm clothes if it’s going to be cold or wet, blankets, blocks to use as a shelter, any tools you think you might need - you’ll probably want an axe or a shovel, but not a hoe - and at least one weapon.”
Cray’s hand shot up. “Do we get weapons?!” he demanded before he could be called on.
“I’m afraid not.” Steve gave him an apologetic smile. “But your teachers and I will be armed in case of an emergency.” Cray pouted, but put his hand down. “Lastly, you’ll need to know how to navigate if you want to keep your bearings. Can anyone tell me how to tell which direction you're facing?” Your hand shot up. “Y/N?”
“The sun!” You blurted out. “It rises in the east and sets in the west.”
“Correct.” Steve nodded, smiling. “But that knowledge isn't very useful when it's cloudy, is it?” You hesitated, glancing up at the clouds.
“...no.”
“The other method is to use any map.” Steven held up a map, showing you and the rest of the class the school as it appeared in the middle. “I'm here, as you can see.” He pointed to the little white arrow out in front of the school. “Even if I move off the map, unless I'm in a corner, I can use my movements to tell which way I'm going in relation to north, south, east, and west.” You weren't quite sure you understood, but you nodded anyway.
“That's all we’re going to go over beforehand.” Steve rolled up the map and tucked it away into his inventory. “Anyone have any questions?” The class was quiet, and Steve clapped his hands. “Okay! Follow me, class.” With that, he turned around and began to walk into the woods.
Notes:
pls leave comment im working so hard
Chapter 30: Chapter Twenty Nine - Dark Forest Field Trip, Part 2
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"I'm tired," Cray complained, his steps dragging where he plodded along in the dirt beside you. You side-eyed him.
"We left five minutes ago."
"It's been longer than that!" Cray protested. "At least ten."
"Either way, I've seen you walk for way longer than ten minutes." You poked him in the side of the head. "Remember when we were playing dod- well, potion dodgeball?"
"That's completely different." Cray crossed his arms, turning up his nose at you. "I was fueled by the thrill of the hunt."
It was nearing ten minutes since you left the schoolhouse with your class, headed by Steve and Herobrine and followed by 303. Due to the rain earlier this morning the air was fairly cool, and combined with the shade of the dark oak trees it made for a really nice walk. You wondered if your teachers had somehow planned that. Steve had told you that you wouldn't be going far, so you were pretty sure that you wouldn't be walking for more than half an hour.
You could see your guide up ahead of you at the front of the procession, chatting with Kaden who was sticking close to his side. What was Steve, exactly? He looked exactly like a regular player, but Herobrine was, by your estimation, at least a hundred years old, so if Steve was his brother he was probably of a similar age. And he sure didn't look a hundred.
You snuck a glance over your shoulder to where Jace was stalking along at the back of the group. After how he'd reacted to 303's arrival, you were sure that he didn't like Steve either... but surely he wouldn't threaten your teacher's own brother?
Cray groaned again, his shoulders slumping. "I think I fought too hard in class yesterday..."
"Maybe," you agreed. Cray had been pitted against Soliel, and both of them had been... very eager to fight.
"Don't worry, Cray." A voice made your head snap around, and you found Herobrine walking along on your right. "We're nearly there. And I'm sure that Steven doesn't intend to give you too many chores." Cray just pouted.
Sure enough, within the next five minutes, you were being led into a larger clearing. "Welcome to our campsite," Steve announced, turning around to face the class as he came to a stop in the middle. The open area was about twenty blocks by twenty blocks, and was shielded from the sun by winding branches and blocks of leaves that interlocked above your head.
"Now I know it's still morning, but we're going to go ahead and build our shelters," Steven told you. "Can anyone tell me what the first step is to building a shelter?" There was a moment of silence, then Xa-Tul raised her hand.
"Finding a safe place to build it," she said.
"Correct!" Steven nodded approvingly. "Now, I've already checked out this clearing to ensure that it's all safe and on relatively even ground. Generally you're not going to want to build off the side of a block, if at all possible.
"The next step is going to be determining the direction of the wind," Steven went on. "Is it windy today?"
"No," Cray immediately piped up. Steve lifted his hand in a so-so gesture.
"Not very windy. And when there's this little of a breeze, it's not that important, but I'm still going to show you how I check." With that, Steve produced a length of thin cloth, and held it up at one end so that the rest of it dangled down towards the ground. As you watched, it caught what little breeze there was, causing it to drift to the left.
"As you can see," Steve gestured with his free hand. "The wind is going east. If the wind was stronger, that might be important for me to know, so that I could put a solid wall towards the east so that the wind wouldn't be getting into my shelter. This forest is full of big, strong trees that provide a wind break, so in a biome like this you wouldn't have much trouble. On a mountain, or in an open place like a plains or tundra biome, you might need to worry about it a little more.
"Finally, your shelter itself." Steven put away the fabric, and a block of wool appeared in his hand instead. "How big do you think it needs to be?" Azara's hand shot up. "Go ahead."
"Not big," she answered. "Just enough room for you to lay down comfortably."
"Correct, unless you plan on remaining there for a longer period of time," Steve told her. "For example, if you were in a cold biome and waiting out a snowstorm, you may want a larger shelter, so that you could move around a little bit. But for our purposes, yes, you really only need room to lay down.
"Check in your bundles, please," Steve instructed. "You should have all the necessary materials for building a decently sized shelter." You looked down to rummage through your bundle, and found 16 planks, 16 wool blocks, and a banner. Yours were cyan, the same color as the block of wool placed above the door to your dorm.
"You may choose any spot within this clearing to build your shelter, as long as it isn't right in the middle." Steve gestured around himself. "Since we're going to build a campfire here. If you need any more help, ask me or either of your other teachers." He clapped his hands together. "Have at it!"
You looked around the clearing in search of a good spot as your classmates began to disperse. Like Steve had said, the clearing was mostly flat, so there were plenty of places to build.
"Hey." A hand landed on your shoulder, and you turned to see Morpheus standing behind you. "Wanna build together?"
You broke into a smile. "Sure."
You and Morpheus picked out a spot near the edge of the clearing, in a spot that nobody else had claimed yet. You weren't the only ones to pair up- the skeletons were all building together, as were the spiders, and Kai, Soliel, and Geode. Cray was building his shelter halfway up a tree, which was... a choice. Steve was watching him and hadn't intervened, so you figured it must be okay.
You and Morpheus built up your shelters so that they shared a wall, and you knocked out one block between them so that you could talk to him during the night. You weren't sure at first what the banners were for, until you saw that Kai and Geode had hung theirs over the entrances to their shelters to offer them a little bit of privacy.
Once everyone had finished building, Steven gathered you all to the center of camp again, where he taught you how to craft a campfire. You knew how to craft one already, but what you didn't know was that you could also craft them with charcoal, which Steve had gotten by smelting a whole log. That was... convenient, especially if you were in a forest. Probably much safer than trying to go underground for coal, too.
At this point, it was nearing noon, so Steve went ahead and instructed you to eat the lunch that was packed in your bundles. "While we will be talking about foraging, and practicing later this afternoon," Steve told you, "I know not all of you have the same diet that I do. So I had your teacher pack a regular meal for each of you that eat." With that, Steve produced a bundle of his own, and you sank down to sit cross-legged on the grass.
Morpheus sat down beside you, stretching out his wings with a sigh. "I don't know if I'll be able to rest out here," he admitted as you pulled a golden carrot out of your bundle. "Can't exactly hang upside-down in a four-block space." You snorted quietly.
"Couldn't you hang from a tree?"
"I guess." Morpheus bit off a bite of his pork chop. "But that kind of defeats the purpose of the shelter."
"It can protect you from monsters," you pointed out. Morpheus leveled a flat stare at you. "I was kidding."
"You'd better be!"
"Alright, class," Steve called, sinking down atop a log he had placed beside the campfire. "Which of you can tell me the kinds of food you can find while out in the wilderness?" Several hands went up, including your own. "Y/N?"
"Sweet berries," you announced, sitting cross-legged before the fire. "And melons."
"Good, yes." Steve gave you an approving nod. "What else?" He pointed to Kai.
"Fish!" Kai exclaimed as her hand dropped into her lap. "In rivers and ponds, or in the ocean."
"Yes, good job. Can anyone tell me what kind of food you can find in this biome?" Steve scanned the class, his gaze lingering on you before Marrow raised her hand. "Marrow?"
"Mushrooms?" Marrow tried.
"That's the one." Steve snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Excellent job."
It was late afternoon now, the light in the cloudy sky just starting to dim. You and your classmates had spent the afternoon gathering wood, hanging lanterns, and learning how to follow tracks. You were having a lot of fun. Steve was a good teacher, the weather was nice, and you were enjoying being outdoors with your friends. Even Jace was behaving.
You did notice that, at some point, 303 had vanished. Where and why, you didn't know, but he often disappeared and reappeared from class without warning, so you figured it wasn't anything serious.
"Now, I know not all of you can eat mushrooms, but they're going to be our practice food for today," Steve announced. "Herobrine and I are going to divide you up into pairs, and each pair is going to venture out into the woods with the intent of finding at least four mushrooms. Do not- listen to me." He paused, scanning over the class to ensure that everyone was listening. "Do not leave your buddy. You must be together at all times, understand?" You nodded, and saw several of your classmates do the same.
Herobrine appeared behind his brother at this, his hands met behind his back. "Once I call out your name, go and find your partner for this exercise," he instructed. "Cray and Fade. Silt and Morpheus. Azara and Greyson. Y/N and Dusk."
You sought out Dusk in the crowd, and when you caught his eye he flashed you a grin. You made your way over to him, only half listening as Herobrine called out the rest of the pairs.
"We're gonna find so many mushrooms." Dusk offered you a fist bump, and you returned it.
"You can eat mushrooms, can't you?" you asked.
"Yeah, I can." Dusk shrugged. "But I don't really like the taste."
"Herobrine and I will be keeping an eye on you to ensure you don't go too far from camp," Steve was telling you as you looked over. "Be aware of your surroundings, and stay close to your buddy. Okay?" He waited until he got a few murmurs of assent, then gestured towards the woods. "Go on, now."
You had only taken a single step towards the trees before Dusk broke away from you. "Hey, Xa-Tul!" he called. "Want to come with us?"
"Oh, sure." Xa-Tul stopped in her tracks, turning to face him as he approached her. "If it is alright with my partner." You stopped to watch them, and your heart immediately dropped into your stomach.
Towering over Xa-Tul at her side was Jace.
"Sure." Jace's voice was flat, his yellow eyes on you where you stood frozen on the packed grass. "I don't care."
"Great!" Dusk turned on his heel and marched towards the forest. "Come on, Y/N!" You hesitated, then scrambled after him before he had a chance to get too far.
You tried to calm yourself down as you and your teammates began to pick your way through the trees. Jace had never threatened you when someone else was present. Surely Xa-Tul and Dusk wouldn't let him mess with you... and Steve had said that he and Herobrine would be watching. Still, it made your skin prickle with unease to have Jace looming just over your shoulder.
"Wow, it's dark in here," you finally managed, pushing your way through the ferns and tall grass.
"Well it is a dark forest biome," Dusk pointed out.
"And it's getting late," Xa-Tul added. "It will be night soon."
"My kind of party." Dusk grinned, and you realized you were the only member of the foursome who didn't have glowing eyes.
"Can you see in the dark?" you asked as you stepped over a root. Dusk nodded.
"I can't as well as some other zombies, but yeah. I can see pretty well." Dusk reached over to pat Xa-Tul's shoulder. "Xa-Tul has really good night vision."
"I do." Xa-Tul nodded, looking a little flustered. "It is important for my species, since we are active mostly at night."
"Huh." You pondered this for a moment. "Was it hard to switch to being awake during the day at school?"
"A little," Xa-Tul admitted. "But only for a few days."
"Well, I guess we can put you in charge of spotting mushrooms, then," you offered. Xa-Tul nodded thoughtfully.
The four of you continued to make your way through the woods, chatting quietly as you did so. Jace remained silent where he followed behind Xa-Tul, glaring if you looked in his direction but otherwise ignoring you. Maybe he was starting to get used to you after all.
"Look, there." Xa-Tul pointed, and you followed her gaze to the base of a large tree. "Mushrooms."
"Let's go!" Dusk cheered, hurrying forward to pluck them out of the ground.
"That's five," Jace spoke for the first time. "So we're finished, right?"
"We're supposed to find four per group," Xa-Tul pointed out. "So we need three more."
"Fine." Jace stalked past you, passing by Dusk as he picked the last of the mushrooms, and you hurried to catch up. It was getting pretty dark now, and you figured that, with your poor night vision and lack of glowing eyes, you were the one who would be easiest to lose.
"So what do we do when we're ready to head back?" you asked. "I can't see the camp anymore."
"Turn around?" Dusk suggested as he came up on your right. "We've mostly been going in a straight line."
"And if we should get lost, I am sure that our teachers will come and collect us before too long," Xa-Tul assured you. You nodded, but the thought of being lost in the woods with Jace still made you shudder.
As you glanced around the dim forest, you spotted a flash of red. "Hey," you started, breaking away to make your way towards it, and you pushed your way through an especially thick patch of grass.
You tripped over something soft and heard a muffled shriek.
Immediately, you backtracked, staggering to try and catch your balance. Your first thought was that it was Cray, but that thought evaporated when large, yellow eyes opened within the brush and focused on you.
"Uh-" you stuttered out, trying to get a better look at the person in the darkness. You caught a glimpse of puffy, white hair, and deep blue skin. Definitely not one of your classmates, but who in the Overworld-?? "Who are you? What are you doing out here??" The stranger was frozen, not answering, so you took a hesitant step closer. "Hey-"
The stranger lurched upright with a cry, thrusting a hand in your direction, and a burst of wind sent you flying backwards towards the trees.
You grunted as you slammed into a solid body, strong arms going around you as whoever caught you took a large step back. "Are you alright?" came a voice from behind your head, and you tilted your chin back to catch a glimpse of your teacher's glowing eyes.
"Y-yea," you stammered. Herobrine set you on your feet, gesturing for you to join the rest of your group who was watching with wide eyes.
"Young lady," Herobrine's voice was gentle as he addressed the stranger in the grass, crouching down to her level. "Come on out. We don't mean you any harm." The yellow eyes remained wide and fearful, and the stranger didn't move.
Herobrine shifted, then his gaze snapped over to you and your classmates. "Get back," he ordered, and an instant later he teleported as an arrow struck where he had been standing only moments before.
You promptly scrambled back behind a tree trunk, grabbing Dusk's hand when he didn't move and pulling you with him. Herobrine was scanning the treetops, searching for the source of the arrow, when a blue orb struck the ground beside him and a skeleton appeared in a flash of purple.
"Get AWAY from her!!" The newcomer lunged at Herobrine, a short sword clutched in one hand, but Herobrine caught his wrist nimbly and twisted it until his weapon dropped to the ground. The skeleton threw an elbow back into his gut, and Herobrine grunted, sweeping a leg underneath the skeleton's feet and sending him crashing to the ground. Before his opponent could move, Herobrine's glowing pickaxe had appeared in his hand, resting an inch above the skeleton's chest.
"Hold," Herobrine ordered lowly. "I don't intend to hurt you." The skeleton growled, but remained motionless in the grass.
"Let us go then, you #######."
"I have not laid a finger on your friend, and I would not have had to take you down if you had not attacked me first," Herobrine answered calmly. "I will not hinder you if you intend to leave peacefully. However..." his gaze drifted over to the girl again, who was watching worriedly from where she was half-concealed by the tall grass. "Both of you look tired, and I imagine she is hungry. If you come back with me, I have plenty of food to spare."
The skeleton glared fiercely at him. "We don't have any emeralds."
"I don't want anything from you," Herobrine assured him, cautiously removing the pickaxe from his chest. "As I stated, I have food aplenty. It only seems to me like you could use some help." The skeleton's glare faltered, and he looked back to where the girl was waiting. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but you realized now that both of them were dressed in tattered, white clothes, and the skeleton's shirt was marked with a number - 04.
"You swear you won't hurt her." The skeleton's voice was defeated.
"I swear." Herobrine's pickaxe vanished, and he offered him a hand up. The skeleton ignored it, staggering back to his feet himself.
"A-alright. Fine." He glanced over at you, looking you up and down briefly, before turning back to Herobrine. "But I have to get my other friend first."
"Alright." Herobrine nodded passively. "Y/N, take the others and get back to camp." You blinked at the address, then nodded, hastily turning away.
"C'mon guys," you beckoned your companions with you and hurried back into the trees, leaving Herobrine and the strangers behind.
Notes:
Putting a name + species list next chapter since we will be properly meeting some new characters :)
Chapter 31: Chapter Thirty - Dark Forest Field Trip, Part 3
Chapter Text
“We’ve been underground for almost twenty years.” The skeleton, Fenn, had an arm around the younger girl’s shoulder, who was currently scarfing down a bowl full of mushroom stew. “Or, I was. These two were spawned down there.”
“For what purpose?” Herobrine asked quietly. Fenn shifted, looking over at his other companion.
“They didn't tell us,” he muttered. “Never told us anything. But they called it ‘the trial’.” You were silent where you sat and listened, huddled up with Geode and Morpheus as you listened to the trio’s tale.
You had managed to get yourself and your group even more lost than you already were, but thankfully had run into Fade and Cray, who did know where you were. You had gotten back to camp just before Herobrine himself did, with the skeleton, the mob girl, and another girl in his wake.
The skeleton’s name was Fenn, and, in the light of the campfire, you could tell that he was unlike any skeleton you had ever seen… not that you had a ton of experience. But Fenn had a patch of shaggy moss growing on top of his head that resembled hair, along with several itty-bitty mushrooms. His skin- er, bones, had a green tint to them, suggesting that the moss wasn’t limited to his skull.
The little girl who you had run into in the brush was named Zephyr, and you frankly had no clue what she was supposed to be. Not a player, for sure, but her purple skin and glowing, yellow eyes suggested little about her origins. She had also blasted you with… some kind of force. Wind? You weren’t sure yet.
The last girl, whose name was Nightshade, was one that you had originally thought was a phantom, as she sported a pair of large, deep blue wings and glowing neon-green eyes. But her dark skin lacked the yellowish tint that Morpheus’s had, and her ears were not quite as pointed. She also didn’t have claws. Maybe that sort of thing varied from phantom to phantom, but… you didn’t know. Hence staying quiet and listening.
The three of them were seated on a log that had been placed next to the campfire, with Fenn and Zephyr in the middle and Nightshade off to one side. Nightshade was currently picking at a piece of pork chop that Steven had given her. Apparently she couldn’t eat the mushroom stew.
“They were trying to make us… stronger.” Fenn plucked a bit of dirt out of the moss on his head, flicking it to the ground. “Or, well… not them. Me. I didn’t look like this when I was captured, I was normal, but they…” he held up a hand so that the green tinge was highlighted by the light of the fire. “Wanted to… enhance me. They put this- some kind of poisonous plant on me, so that my touch would poison a regular arrow.” He shrugged, looking back at Zephyr. “It sort of worked.”
“But you did not consent to such an experiment,” Steven supplied, sitting next to his brother on the left side of the group.
“I didn’t.” Fenn shook his head. “Zephyr- she’s a blaze that was crossed with shulker traits. They wanted to make a blaze that was invulnerable to water, and she is, but she can’t burn either. And Nightshade…” Fenn cast a glance at the winged girl, whose green eyes flickered up to meet it.
“I’m a player.” Her voice was soft as she spoke, and you had to lean forward and strain to hear her. “With phantom traits. They wanted to make a player that was able to fly, but my body is too heavy.” Her wings drew around her body slightly. “So, I can’t.”
You felt a little pang in your chest as you listened to her. Not only had she been raised in what sounded to you like a mad scientist’s lab, but she had been born with wings, and wasn’t even able to use them.
“How long has it been since you left?” Herobrine was asking when you tuned in again.
“A few weeks. I don’t know.” Fenn side-eyed him. “We’ve been in the woods so that Nightshade and I don’t burn. It works for us, but it’s hard to find her food.”
“I see.” Herobrine shifted, then cast a glance over to where you and your classmates were gathered in the dimness. “Class, it's time to go to bed.”
“But-” Cray began.
“Go,” Herobrine cut him off. “I want to speak with our guests in private.” Behind you, Fade stood, herding Cray towards his tree-tent.
“Come on, everyone,” he urged you. “Let's all get some rest.”
You and Morpheus retreated to where you had built your shelters, and you pushed your way past the banner, sinking down onto the wool blocks that you had placed down as a makeshift bed. You settled down into the squishy wool with a sigh, staring up at the top of your little tent. You had blankets, but it was warm enough outside that you didn’t need them, so you just crumpled them up into a makeshift pillow.
“Psst,” you heard a hiss through your little window, and you pushed yourself up to find Morpheus’ green eyes peering through at you. “What do you think?” He whispered.
“About them?” You whispered back. “I dunno. I think… I mean, poor kids.”
“Yeah.” Morpheus leaned against the wall between you, a frown on his face as he stared at the banner that covered the entrance of his tent. “I just… I mean, I thought I had it bad.”
“Because of your family?” You rested your elbow in the window. “You did have it bad, your family sounds like a bunch of jerks.”
“Yeah.” He cracked a tiny smile. “But at least I had one.”
“Mm.” You turned back to the campfire, able to catch the smallest glimpse of those who sat around it. “I think they’re each other’s family.”
Morpheus hummed. “Probably.”
The two of you chatted for a little while longer, until Morpheus finally bullied you into going to sleep. You laid down again and shut your eyes, your mind whirling with thoughts of skeletons and twisted experiments until you drifted off to sleep.
“Good morning, class,” Steve greeted you cheerfully as the last few stragglers made their way out to the fire. “I hope you all slept well- or enjoyed your night, if you’re not the kind of person who sleeps.” You hid a yawn behind your hand, glancing up at the sky between the twisting boughs of dark oak. For once, it was blue.
You had woken up early, as you usually did when you were sleeping in an unfamiliar place, and had gotten your first look at how a phantom ‘slept’. Morpheus was sitting cross-legged, upright in his tent with his eyes opened just a slit, and he didn’t answer when you whispered his name. It was a little creepy, but you were just glad that your friend was getting some rest.
The campfire was still burning when you’d emerged from your shelter, and 303 was seated on a log beside it, joined by Xa-Tul and Silt who must have gotten up just before you. When you’d asked where 303 had wandered off to the previous day, he had told you that he and Herobrine had decided to take turns sleeping and watching you, so that the class would never be unsupervised. 303 had popped in after you all had gone to sleep, allowing your teacher to get some rest of his own.
You had asked after the newcomers, too, since there was no sign of them, and 303 had pointed out a new shelter built on the far side of the clearing. They had spent the night with you.
Now, they were gathered in a small cluster at the very edge of the class, watching Steve quietly as he greeted you all. You wondered if that meant that they were going back to the school with you.
“We’re going to be heading back today, and once we arrive you guys will have the rest of the day off,” Steve went on. “First, we’re going to break down our shelters and make sure the fire is out. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what can happen if you leave a fire burning in the woods.” There were a few nods from the class, yours among them, then Isabelle raised her hand. “Yes, Isabelle?”
“Where’s the teacher?” she asked. You nodded along with her. Steve had returned at breakfast, but you still hadn’t seen any sign of Herobrine.
“He had to run and do something, but he’ll be back,” Steve assured you. “Probably by the time we get back to school.” You wondered how normal it was for him to vanish during field trips. “Alright, let’s get moving.” Steve clapped his hands together. “Go ahead and break down your shelters, put all the materials back in your bundle, then we’ll meet back in the center of camp. Have at it!” Casting one more glance at the newcomers, you turned on your heel and hurried to obey.
It didn’t take long for you to break them down, which you supposed was another benefit of having such a small shelter. Within ten minutes, everyone was finished, although you noticed that it was 303 that took down Fenn and the girls’ tent, not them. They probably hadn’t built it, either.
When you met back in the center of camp, Steve showed you how breaking a campfire while it was still lit could cause sparks to scatter out over the grass. Instead, he used a shovel to put out the fire, then broke it safely into sticks and charcoal. Once the fires were gone, the clearing looked just about like it did when you got there, other than a few grass blocks that were moved here and there.
“Everyone ready to head back?” 303 asked, his hands on his hips. There was a chorus of ‘yes’es, and he pointed to the north in a sweeping gesture. “Then let’s be going. Tally ho!” And he began to march.
Your suspicions were confirmed as soon as you began to head home- Fenn, Zephyr, and Nightshade were following along at the back of the group. Steve stuck close beside them, not drawing attention to them, but instead quizzing the class on the sorts of things you’d learned over the course of your trip. 303 stayed at the head of the group, making sure nobody wandered off. If anyone asked about the new kids, he just told them that it would all be explained to you soon.
The walk wasn’t long, of course. You hadn’t gone very far in the first place. When the schoolhouse came into view, between the towering trees, you could see Herobrine waiting in the front yard.
“Good morning, class,” he greeted you cheerfully as you emerged from the woods. You immediately noticed that the sky was cloudy now. “How was your trip?”
“How was yours?” Dusk fired back. “Where’d you go off to?”
“I was handling a personal matter.” Herobrine’s placid smile never faltered. “It’s all resolved now. Everyone, please return your bundles to one of your teachers.” Obediently, you turned to 303, handing over the bundle containing the blocks and materials you had been given yesterday at the beginning of the trip.
“Now,” Herobrine went on as Steve was collecting the last of the bundles. “I am sure all of you are aware of our new friends that we met last night.” You turned to find them, still huddled up near Steve at the back of the procession. “They will be joining us for the rest of the semester,” Herobrine went on. “I expect you all to treat them as you would any of your other classmates.” You turned to exchange a glance with Morpheus, who raised his eyebrows at you. So, despite the fact that Fenn had attacked your teacher when you first met him last night, they… were going to live here now? Whatever they had talked about with Herobrine last night, it must have given your teachers reasonable assurance that they weren’t dangerous, at least.
“If any of you have questions or concerns about this arrangement, please come and speak with me about them,” Herobrine went on. “That is all. Go on inside, and enjoy the rest of your day.” You cast a final glance at Fenn and the girls, then reluctantly turned for the door.
“We have one more room available for students,” Herobrine was saying as you fell into step behind Soot. “And it only has two beds. Zephyr and Nightshade, if you would like to sleep there, I can make up a room for Fenn upstairs-“
“No.” Fenn cut him off. “I’m staying with my sisters.”
“Are you sure?” Herobrine pressed, and you lagged behind in order to hear the rest of the conversation. “I can add another bed, but there isn’t much room in there.”
“I said,” Fenn’s voice took on a hostile tone. “I’m staying with my sisters.”
“Very well,” Herobrine relented. “I will show you to your room. Tomorrow…” and you missed the rest of what he said, as the front door fell shut behind you.
Chapter 32: Chapter Thirty One - Math Class
Notes:
I am once again forced to learn math for this fic
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cray’s hand shot up, and Herobrine stopped, pausing to call on him. “Yes, Cray?”
“What if you had a pizza that was four hundred blocks big?” Cray demanded. Herobrine stared at him for a moment, collecting his thoughts.
“Well,” he finally began. “The same formula would apply. If the diameter was four hundred blocks, that would make the radius two hundred blocks. Two hundred squared would be forty thousand, multiplied by pi, which can be simplified to 3.14-“ As he spoke, the equation appeared on the blackboard. “-making the area of our hypothetical pizza one hundred and twenty-five thousand, six hundred blocks.” He shot Cray a little smirk. “That’s a lot of pizza.” Cray nodded enthusiastically, and you hid a grin behind your hand.
It was Monday morning, meaning math class, and today you were going over how to calculate the area of a circle. You had gone over this during your last year of schooling, so you could just about breeze through it. Some of the other students looked very comfortable with the idea as well, namely Kai and Azara, while some of the others still looked pretty confused. Also, the new students were here.
The classroom had been very slightly restructured to accommodate for three new students. All of the desks had been nudged to the right to make room for another column of three on the left side of the room, and Jace had been moved from his previous spot in the middle row to the new farthest back left. Fenn was seated in the far-left middle position, with Zephyr in front of him, and Nightshade in Jace’s old seat.
They had each been provided with a uniform, as well, which were just as neat and professional as the ones that you and your fellow students had gotten at the beginning of the semester. Did your teacher make them himself? How else would he be able to get three tailored uniforms in the span of a single day? Although, you could make that argument for the food that showed up every day, as well.
You hadn’t seen Fenn and his sisters at all, yesterday, and they hadn’t shown up at breakfast today either, so you figured they were taking the time to get settled in. They hadn’t contributed to class at all, and it didn’t really look like they were paying attention, but you couldn’t blame them. It wasn’t like they had any idea how school worked. Hopefully they would be able to figure it out by watching the rest of you.
Herobrine’s brother Steve had stayed the night too, though you hadn’t seen any sign of him yet today. You were pretty sure he hadn’t left- usually your guests said goodbye before they did so. Maybe he was just resting after the excitement from your camping trip.
“Alright, are we all fairly comfortable with the equation?” Herobrine’s gaze swept over the classroom, noting the few murmurs of confirmation, then he nodded and swept a hand over the board to clear it. “We’re going to play a little game. I’m going to divide the class in two, then I’m going to put an equation on the board, and whoever solves it correctly first, their team gets a point. Alright?” There was a buzz of excited chatter from your competitive classmates, and you sighed, leaning back in your chair. How was he going to divide you evenly when you had an odd number of students?
As it turned out, the answer to that question was that he just didn’t. The three newcomers were excluded from the game, allowed to watch instead. It kind of made sense, you reasoned idly as you tried to do long-form multiplication as fast as you could. After all, they weren’t even here to learn, they were just here because they needed someplace to stay, right?
It didn’t come as a surprise to you that Kai’s team ended up winning the math game. She was smart and had probably learned this a long time ago. What did surprise you was that Azara, on the other team, had dominated the first few rounds, getting the correct answer before you’d had a chance to assemble your equation. After the first three rounds, however, she seemed to fall off, working much more slowly and giving Kai a chance to come back with the victory. Since you were on Kai’s team, you were glad, but Azara’s behavior was definitely weird.
You didn’t know Azara very well, possibly the least out of all your classmates. You had been at school for almost a month now, and there was no reason for you to not talk to her, you just… didn’t. She wasn’t really a part of any of the friend groups that you were in contact with. Actually, you didn’t usually see her with anyone at all. Did she… not have friends?
That was probably mean, you realized a second later. Surely she had friends, she just probably wasn’t as open about them as some of your classmates.
“Good job, class,” Herobrine praised as the game drew to a close. “We’re done for the morning. Go ahead and go out to the dining hall for lunch.” As you stood, he turned to address the new students. “Fenn, Zephyr, and Nightshade, you may stay in here with me.” You grabbed your backpack and slung it over your shoulders, taking a final look over your shoulder at the newcomers before heading out into the hall.
Cray mushed into your side as you walked down the hall, throwing his arms around your waist and staring up into your eyes. “I think I’m in love,” he announced.
You blinked at him. “With a hundred-thousand-block pizza?”
“No! With Zephyr!” Cray bapped you, and you just gave him an incredulous look.
“You only just met her!”
“I know, but she’s so prettyyy.” Cray draped against you theatrically. “And she’s so sweeet.”
“You barely know her!” You managed to untangle yourself from him enough to walk to the dining hall without tripping over your feet. Today’s lunch offerings for players and player-adjacents were chicken, carrots, and warm rolls. “She is cute,” you admitted. “But I think she’s really young, so…”
“I’m really young too,” Cray pointed out. “I’m five.”
“You are.” You grabbed a tray, and Cray detached himself from you in order to grab his own. “But maybe you should try getting to know her a little better before you declare your undying love for her.”
“And befriend her brother,” Morpheus chimed in as he popped up behind you. “Because if you don’t, I think he might beat you up.” Cray frowned.
“True…”
Lunch that day went by smoothly. You had seated yourself between Morpheus and Cray, as you often did, though today you had considered seeing if you could sit next to Azara. You’d decided to put it off for today, in the interest of giving Cray some more advice on his love life. Since… people kept asking you for your opinions on that, for some reason.
As lunch drew to a close, 303 appeared at the head of the table.
“Good afternoon, class,” he greeted you cheerfully. “When you’re all done, come out on the front lawn for hiding class.”
When you arrived, Herobrine was out on the lawn with the new students.
“Good afternoon, everyone.” Your teacher’s hands were met behind his back as he watched you file out of the building. “We have two activities planned for this afternoon, so I’m going to try to get through them at a reasonable speed. For the first, I’ve asked our new friends-“ he gestured to Fenn, Zephyr, and Nightshade. “To assist. They will be stationed throughout the school, and your task will be to make it past them to your destination without any of them seeing you.” A small thrill of excitement went through you. That sounded like the sorts of games you used to play with your friends when you were younger.
“303 and Steven have been setting up the school for the past hour,” Herobrine went on, which confirmed your suspicion that your teacher’s brother was still around. “With markers to show you the path that you are meant to take. When you arrive at the end, 303 will be waiting for you. If you are caught, you must go all the way back to the front doors and try again.” Fade raised his hand. “Yes, Fade?”
“Are there any methods of movement that are banned?” he asked.
“No.” Herobrine shook his head. “You may teleport, but you may not go outside of the boundaries of the course. Use whatever methods you deem necessary to get past the guards.
“The moment you are spotted,” Herobrine went on, “Whoever has spotted you will blow a horn in order to announce that you have failed, and you must return to the beginning. You will be sent through one at a time, and you will all be on the same team. Are there any other questions?” Geode’s hand slowly went up. “Yes, Geode?”
“I still glow,” she pointed out. “Won’t I get caught really easily?”
“Not necessarily.” Herobrine gave her a smile. “The guards that you will be avoiding will move around through a space, giving you openings to get past them if you are not particularly subtle.” He nodded to her and Soliel. “There are also multiple paths in some places.” Geode nodded and put down her hand. “Anyone else?” When there were no further questions, Herobrine turned to the new students. “Go on inside,” he said. “I will remain out here with the others, and determine the order in which everyone will go inside.”
Notes:
Remember to leave suggestions for the next chapter!
Chapter 33: Chapter Thirty Two - Hiding Class
Chapter Text
You shifted your weight from one foot to the other where you stood on the lawn, waiting tensely for the bell that would signal when someone made it all the way through. Unfortunately, instead of the bell, the next thing you heard was the low call of a goat horn that echoed down the hallways of the school.
“Seriously?” You hissed as a disappointed Cray popped up at the doors again. “This is the third time! You’re a creeper! You’re supposed to be stealthy! Plus, you’re like a block tall!”
“I am not a block tall!!” Cray hissed back indignantly. “And I’m sorry, I keep getting distracted!”
You facepalmed. “Please tell me you don’t keep getting caught by Zephyr.” Instead of responding, Cray turned on his heel and marched back into the building.
Cray was the third one to go, after Kaden and Greyson. Kaden had gone first and gotten caught once, and Greyson had gotten through without a hitch. Cray was having a little bit more trouble.
Next in line was Morpheus, and after him was you. You were a little nervous, but also excited. There was something about sneaking around through the dark that was just inherently thrilling.
“What’s up with him and Zephyr?” Kai asked, leaning against one of the quartz pillars on your right.
“He has a crush on her,” Morpheus piped up gleefully.
“Oh.” Kai covered her mouth to hide a grin. “Does Fenn know?”
“Not yet,” you told her. “At least, I don’t think so. And I think it’s better for Cray if it stays that way.”
You glanced back towards your teacher, who was standing with his brother in the middle of the lawn. Steve had come out of the school not long after the new students had gone in, and joined Herobrine in supervising the class still outside. They were chatting quietly, out of earshot from you and the rest of the class. You wondered what they were talking about.
Abruptly, a bell sounded from inside the school, and your head popped up to look.
“Cray has made it through,” Herobrine called over. “Morpheus, go ahead.” Morpheus squared his shoulders, shot you a grin, then vanished into the building.
You reclined against one of the pillars, drumming your fingers against the compressed quartz. You were a little surprised that the new students had agreed to be a part of this lesson. Fenn seemed really reluctant to leave the girls alone, and… was really unpredictable. Was it really safe to put them in a situation where they were constantly on the alert for people trying to sneak past them?
Herobrine had mentioned another lesson as well, you mused. Would the new students be a part of that as well? Or was that something totally different? Usually any given class would only have one major activity, so this was an interesting change of pace.
The bell went off once again, and you looked up in surprise. Morpheus had made it straight through.
“Morpheus has finished,” Herobrine announced. “Y/N your turn.” You pushed off the pillar, heading up the stairs and plunging into the dimly lit schoolhouse.
All of the torches and lanterns had been doused, meaning that the only light that remained came from the various windows. There were glowing signs on the walls pointing you forward and down the hall, and you made an effort to keep your steps light as you peered around the corner. It was even darker there, but you couldn’t see any sign of the guards, so you began to advance down the long hallway.
This exercise reminded you of the time you had played tag with the zombies and Morpheus. It was a very similar feeling, sneaking through the halls in the dark. Only this time, if you were spotted you weren’t able to run away.
You passed by the dining hall, the doorway to which was blocked by two pieces of wool. Ahead of you, the hallway rounded another corner where the dorms were located, and as you peeked around the wall you spied the first of your guards.
Fenn stood halfway down the hallway with a lantern in one hand and a goat horn in the other. He looked pretty tense, peering around himself into the darkness before turning around and walking the other way. You held your breath until he walked around the corner, then began to tiptoe after him. Herobrine had told you that this was possible, so even though Fenn seemed to be blocking the path, surely…?
You saw the light turn and grow closer again, and you froze, then ducked through an open door into one of the dorms.
You pressed yourself to the wall beside the door, listening as Fenn walked back down the hall in your direction. As you waited, you blinked, then glanced around at the room you had used as a hiding place. There had been glass put up to keep you from going very far into the room, but you could see that one side was messy- books and papers strewn around haphazardly, bed not made, posters crooked on the walls - and the other was very bare and neat. Almost as if no one even lived there.
You watched as Fenn passed you by, and you waited until he was nearly at the opposite corner before slipping out of the room and tiptoe-running the rest of the way down the hall. Having cleared your first obstacle, you hurried onward, following the glowing signs as they led you around to the library.
You could see your second guard walking around in the midst of the bookshelves, holding a lantern aloft as she did so. You caught a glimpse of deep blue wings poking over one of the shelves, meaning that this one was Nightshade. So Cray had gotten past the first two guards every round…?
You already had experience with sneaking around the library from playing zombie freeze tag, so you just skirted around the bookshelves, listening carefully to her footsteps to ensure that you were out of sight. You did bump into one of the shelves at one point, and you heard her stop and turn, but you quickly scuttled away and down the adjoining hall before she could catch you.
The path led now down into the basement, and you had a hunch that the course would come to an end at either the nether portal or in the combat classroom. Sure enough, the signs directed you towards the combat arena, and you crouched down as you made your way into the wider room.
The combat classroom was very eerie with all the lights out. The only reason you could see your hand in front of your face was because Zephyr was standing in the middle of the sand pit, clutching a lantern in both hands as her wide, yellow eyes flickered around at the walkway above her. The signs displayed arrows in either direction, meaning that you could choose to go around either way, but both sides were basically in plain view of the guard. You were going to have to play this carefully.
You cautiously began to make your way around to the left. Zephyr turned around in a slow circle in order to scan the walkways, and while she was looking the other way you crept along the outside wall. Whenever she looked your way, you froze, remembering your lesson that had talked about staying still as a method of stealth. It worked- and, before you knew it, you were scrambling down into a lit room where 303 waited with the rest of the students.
“Good job, Y/N!” 303 praised, pressing a button on the wall and causing the bell to ring. “You made that look easy.” You grinned, casting a superior look at Cray. Cray narrowed his eyes, then lunged at you and clamped his jaw down on your sleeve.
“Excellent job, class,” Herobrine greeted you as you made your way out of the dark schoolhouse and back out onto the lawn. “I hope everyone had fun with that activity.” You turned to glare at Cray, then lowered your gaze back to the bite marks in your sleeve. Cray just shot you a cheeky grin.
Waiting for the rest of the class to finish the activity had been a little boring, but you’d passed the time by fooling around with Cray and Morpheus. Jace had arrived a few students later, and, fortunately for you, he had basically just ignored you. Good. Hiding class always made you a little nervous.
The new students came out with you as well, squinting and blinking in the sunlight. Except for Nightshade, you noticed. She didn’t seem to have any issue with bright lights. 303 brought up the rear, shooing out the stragglers to join the rest of the class on the lawn.
“Our next activity is going to involve, rather than everyone hiding, everyone seeking,” Herobrine informed you. “I have hidden a number of tokens throughout the schoolhouse. I am going to divide you into teams, and the team that finds the most tokens will win the activity.” You wondered what skills this activity was teaching you. The first was obvious- teaching you how to avoid detection. But this one kinda just felt like a treasure hunt. Which was fun, you weren’t complaining, but…
“You’re going to be split into teams of five, with one team of six,” Herobrine went on. “Team one will consist of Soot, Y/N, Isabelle, Fenn, Zephyr, and Nightshade. Team two will be Cray, Fade, Azara, Dusk, and Jace. Team three will be Kai, Silvia, Soliel, Kaden, and Greyson, and team four will be Geode, Morpheus, Marrow, Xa-Tul, and Silt.” You looked over to seek out Soot and Isabelle, and spied the new students looking around warily for their partners. So they would be a normal part of this activity. Why did Herobrine pair them with you, you wondered?
“Fenn, Zephyr, Nightshade,” Herobrine walked over to you, beckoning them closer. “This is Y/N, and here,” he gestured to the remaining members of your team as they approached. “Are Soot, and Isabelle.” Zephyr gave you a shy glance, then looked away. Fenn merely continued to glare, and Nightshade looked around the yard in a disinterested fashion.
“This,” Herobrine held up a small disc, which shimmered gold where the light hit it. “Is one of the tokens that you will be searching for. They are scattered all throughout the schoolhouse, and you may explore where you wish, but only through doors that are already open. Leave any closed doors alone, there will not be any tokens beyond them.” Fade raised his hand. “Yes, Fade?”
“Should we stay together?” Fade asked. “Or are we permitted to split up and extend our reach to cover more ground?”
“Thank you for asking, Fade. You and your teammates must stay within view of one another at all times.” Herobrine gestured to you and your group. “So, you may spread out to search a room more quickly, but when moving to another room you must ensure that you have your group all together. Alright?” Fade nodded, satisfied. “Does anyone else have any questions?” Herobrine scanned the class, then, when no one else spoke up, he gestured to the schoolhouse. “Alright then. You will have approximately an hour to find as many tokens as possible, then once the bell rings you will return to the front lawn so that they can be counted. Your time starts now.” Herobrine gestured towards the building, and Soliel and her team promptly tore off towards the schoolhouse doors.
Your team had yet to move, so you forced a bright smile onto your face as you turned to Fenn and his sisters. “Ready?” You asked. “Let’s go inside.”
You straightened up with a shiny coin in your hand, tucked it into your pocket, then turned to rejoin your group only to nearly jump out of your skin at the sight of glowing yellow eyes.
“Geez!” You gasped out as Zephyr blinked at you in bewilderment. “Sorry. You scared me.”
“Oh.” Zephyr laced her small fingers together. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no, it’s okay.” You cast a nervous glance at Fenn, who was staring you down warily. “C’mon, I think we’re about done in here.” Soot straightened up from where she had been looking under a table, and Isabelle detached herself from the wall as you made your way into the library. Your group had been searching for just about fifteen minutes now, and had yet to run across any of the other teams, so you must have all gone in different directions.
Your luck as far as finding tokens had been pretty good so far. You weren’t sure how many Herobrine had hidden, but you had found at least a couple dozen, some of which were in plain sight atop tables or chairs while others were slightly more hidden. You wondered when he’d had time to do this. Had he hidden them already while the first activity was playing out? Surely someone would have seen them… but, then, on the other hand, you were very focused on being sneaky. The signs and directional blocks from the first activity were gone, now, too, and Herobrine certainly hadn’t gone inside to do it. Maybe Steve had…? No, he was outside too. You supposed that that was just going to be another Herobrine mystery.
The library was quiet, still dark, as the lights hadn’t been turned back on from the first activity. You quietly directed Soot and Isabelle to start looking on top of the bookshelves, since Isabelle could climb and Soot was very tall. In the meantime, the new students began to join you in searching the lower areas, Zephyr getting down and crawling under one of the tables while Fenn and Nightshade scoured the lower shelves.
“Ooh.” You heard a soft voice from behind you, and you turned to find Nightshade holding a token in her palm. “I found one.”
“Good job!” You exclaimed. “Here, put it in your pocket.” Obediently, Nightshade slipped the coin into her pocket and went back to her search, wandering around the side of the bookshelf.
You had only just returned to your own search when a hand seized you by the arm, and you whipped around to find Fenn glaring down at you. “Hey,” he said, his voice low. “Don’t tell her what to do.”
“A-ah.” You shrank back against a bookshelves, wilting a bit under his murderous gaze. “Sorry, it was just- I was just-“
“I know,” Fenn interrupted. “I know what you meant. But she doesn’t think- she just does what people tell her to. So don’t.” You blinked at him, first startled, then horrified.
“…oh.” You nodded hurriedly. “Okay. I won’t.” Satisfied, Fenn backed up, turning away and allowing you to go back to searching.
You drifted away from the rest of your group, picking out a corner of the library to search on your own. You knew you weren’t supposed to be out of sight from the rest, but you were barely around the corner, so it was probably fine, right?
Something glinted in the dim light, and you stood on your tiptoes to find a token placed atop a high shelf. You briefly considered calling for Soot, but decided that you would be able to get it on your own, and you grabbed a chair and pulled it over so that you could climb up and get it.
You snatched the token off the shelf and turned around to hop down, only to come face-to-face with narrowed, yellow eyes. And this time it wasn’t Zephyr.
“Hello, player,” Jace hissed as you froze. You didn’t even have a chance to react before he planted a shoe on the side of your chair and gave it a shove, knocking it over and sending you crashing backwards onto the ground.
A grunt forced itself from your chest as you hit the ground, your head cracking against the wooden floorboards. Your hand flew up to cradle the back of your head, teeth gritted against the pain that was spreading through your skull. You opened your eyes, blinking back reflexive tears to find Jace unmoving, standing on the other side of the toppled chair and staring at you where you lay on your back on the ground.
“ Y/N!! ” Soot shot out from behind a bookshelf and stopped between you and Jace, fixing you with a horrified look before spinning around to face your attacker. “What did you do?!”
“I bumped into them.” Jace’s voice was flat. “They fell.”
“Liar!!”
“Oh my gosh!” Isabelle appeared shortly after, crashing to her knees next to you and grabbing your arm. “Y/N, can you hear me?!”
“Y-yeah, yeah.” You pushed yourself up, Isabelle using three of her arms to assist you in sitting up. “I’m fine. He pushed me.”
“You’re lying,” Jace snarled. You could see Zephyr peering around the corner over your shoulder, Fenn and Nightshade just behind her.
“Isabelle, go get the teacher,” Soot ordered.
“No need.” Herobrine stepped out from between the bookshelves, his white eyes sweeping over the scene. “I’m here.” He looked at Jace, eyes narrowed. “Jace, go to the classroom. Everyone else, come on, we’re going back outside.”
Chapter 34: Chapter Thirty Three - History Class
Chapter Text
You cradled the towel-wrapped block of ice against the back of your head, taking a sip from your glass and tipping your head back with a sigh.
“Feeling better?” Steve asked. You nodded, lowering the block of ice.
“Headache’s almost gone,” you reported. Your glass was half full of a potion of healing, which tasted sweet, almost like melon soda.
Once you had gotten back outside, Herobrine went back in to speak with Jace, and 303 stayed on the lawn with the rest of class while Steve took you in to the nurse’s station. He’d first checked you over for concussion- which, luckily, you didn’t have - then gave you a block of ice and a health potion for your headache. Considering how fast you had seen health potions heal in the past, you were sure that by the time you were finished with it your headache and the knot on the back of your head would be gone.
“So he pushed you, right?” Steve asked. You grimaced, nodding.
“Well, he pushed my chair. He…” You lifted a foot to rest it on the lip of your seat. “…put a foot on the side and pushed it down. I was standing on it to get something off the bookshelf.”
“Ah.” Steve nodded. “I’ve heard he’s not the biggest fan of yours.”
“No.” You frowned down at your glass. “No, he hates my guts. And it’s just because I’m a player.”
“Ah.” Steve folded his hands in his lap, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. “Sometimes… some students have had poor experiences with players.”
“Yeah, nobody really liked me at first, but Jace still hates me.”
“Yeah.” Steve nodded sympathetically. “I’m sure there’s a reason for it, but it’s still not fair to you.” Your chin drooped slightly.
“Yeah.” Not fair at all.
The door clicked, and you looked up as Herobrine stepped into the room.
“Y/N.” He came to crouch down in front of your chair, his blank eyes flicking over you. “How are you feeling?”
“Good,” you told him honestly. “Headache’s going away.”
“Good.” Herobrine nodded, straightening up. “I have had a serious talk with Jace, and informed him that continued poor behavior will result in him being sent from the school. If he ever so much as touches you, inform me immediately.” You blinked, a little stunned by how seriously he was suddenly taking this. Before, it didn’t seem like he could be bothered to deal with Jace or the other students bullying you.
“O-oh, okay.” You stammered out. “Good.” Herobrine nodded, then beckoned you up, glancing over at his brother.
“Thank you, Steve.” With that, Herobrine led you out of the room towards the dining hall.
When you arrived, you found the rest of the students eating- except Jace. Maybe he was grounded. Whatever the case, it seemed like the issue with him had taken up the rest of class time, and now the school day was over.
“Go ahead and eat, Y/N. I will see you tomorrow.” Herobrine gave you a pat on the shoulder, then turned and walked away.
You collected your tray of food, taking your time picking out your meal for the night. Unlike at lunchtime, there was no time limit for dinner, so you could fool around with your friends for as long as you wanted. The new students were here now, you noticed, sitting at the table with the rest of you for the first time. Fenn wasn’t eating, of course, since he was a skeleton and didn’t have to, but at least his glare at the rest of the class looked less murderous than it usually was.
You carried your tray over to the table, picked out an empty seat next to Soot, and came over to set down your tray.
“Y/N! Hello.” Soot gave you a sunny smile. “How are you feeling? It looked like you fell very badly.”
“It wasn’t too bad,” you said sheepishly. “I hit my head, but I’m okay. My headache’s all gone now.”
“Good!” Soot clapped her narrow hands together. “I’m glad. I hope the teacher handled Jace.”
“Yeah, he said he talked to him.” You scooped up a bite of mashed potatoes, mixing it in with your steak and gravy before sticking it in your mouth. “Hopefully that’ll help.”
Soot frowned. “I’m not so sure that Jace will take talking seriously.”
“I don’t know either, but it’s not like I can do anything else about it.”
“Besides,” Geode piped up from the other side of the table. “He might not normally care, but since the person talking is Mr. Herobrine , maybe he’ll take him seriously.” You offered her a little grin.
“Maybe.” You were just hoping that you wouldn’t have to deal with Jace for at least the rest of the week.
You got to finish your dinner in peace, chatting quietly with your classmates until they gradually filtered off to go to bed. Once you were done eating, you got up to return your tray, then headed off in the direction of your dorm.
As you ambled down the hall, however, you nearly jumped out of your skin as you were seized by the wrist and dragged down into an adjoining hallway.
“ Hey!!” Adrenaline shot through your body as you spun, still on edge, and came face-to-face with Fenn’s glowing, green eyes.
“Y/N.” Fenn’s face was grim as he stared down at you, still holding onto your wrist. “I wanted to talk to you.” You blanched, going stiff.
“Um…”
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he clarified quickly. “I just wanted to get your attention.” He released your wrist, and you took a step back, rubbing at your wrist where he’d grab you.
“Well, you definitely did that,” you grumbled. Fenn looked slightly guilty, but he didn’t apologize.
“I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier,” he said. “With… Jace.” You frowned.
“What about him?”
“I need to know if I should be worried about him,” Fenn said simply. “Most of you seem to be harmless, but he is… different.” You wondered briefly if he considered Cray to be harmless before getting back on track.
“Jace…” You hesitated. “He… never bothers any of the other students. But he hates players.” You paused. “Where are the girls, by the way? I don’t usually see you without them.”
“They’re in our room.” Fenn’s face remained a mask. “That is what I thought.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked off down the hall, leaving you staring, stunned, in his wake.
You slowly shook your head as he disappeared around the corner, still reeling from being jumped twice in one day. Fenn had obviously been treated very poorly by his captors… but, whatever species they had been, he didn’t seem to hold additional ill will against any of your classmates. He just suspected everyone equally. If only Jace could be so mature.
Eventually, you peeled yourself away from the wall, shifting your backpack straps on your shoulders and heading off towards your room before anyone else could jump out at you from the darkness.
By next morning, Jace was back with the class.
He ignored you at breakfast, but you could feel his yellow eyes glaring daggers at you during history class. You did your best to ignore him, focusing doggedly on the blackboard before you where Herobrine was going on about the history of spider races. Silvia, on your right, was listening with rapt attention with her chin resting on her two upper hands, listening as Herobrine described the geographical shift that caused spiders to split into two unique, distinct subspecies.
The glaring continued to bother you, and you lowered your chin down to rest on your crossed arms with a huff. Apparently he knew that Herobrine had only forbade him to touch you, so glaring was still on the table. Could he not just figure himself out? You’d never even done anything to him.
On your left, Morpheus stretched, then casually placed his wing where it blocked Jace’s view of you. You snorted quietly, giving him a grin before turning your attention back to the blackboard.
The rest of the class passed by quickly, and soon enough Herobrine was assigning worksheets and dismissing you to lunch. You popped up first, hurrying to catch up with Soot as she left the classroom, and enjoyed the relative protection of her presence as you went to the dining hall to eat.
“Hey.” Cray’s voice caught your attention as you sat down with your tray between Soot and Marrow, and you looked over to find him plopping down in an empty seat beside Fenn. “Are the mushrooms on your head eat-able?”
“What??” Fenn fixed him with a vicious look, scowling. “No.”
“Are you sure?” Cray cocked his head innocently. “I can eat pretty much anything. I could probably eat your mushrooms.”
“I would not let you.”
“Ohh.” Cray was quiet for a moment. “You don’t eat anything, right?”
“That’s right.” Fenn sounded exasperated.
“And Zephyr eats mushrooms, right?”
“She eats all sorts of things. Why does it matter?”
“Just wondering.”
“Cray,” you called over, anxious to get him away from Fenn before he got smacked. “Come sit with me.” Cray turned to scowl at you, obviously unhappy with being pulled away from his lady love, but he reluctantly stood and carried his tray full of dirt over to sit across from you.
“What do you want??” He hissed as he sank down on the bench. “I was making friends with him!”
“Yeah, uh, I don’t think that’s how he saw it.” You hiked up a brow. “He likes to sit with his sisters, just inviting yourself to join him isn’t going to make him like you.”
“Well how am I supposed to be friends with him then?!”
“I don’t know! Nobody is friends with him yet!” You hissed back. “Just… be patient, I guess. And be nice to him.” Cray pouted.
“I am being nice.”
“The lack of being mean is not the same thing as being nice,” Soot cut in.
“I’m not not being mean!” Cray shot back. “I’m being nice!”
“Okay, yes,” you tried to interject. “You are being nice. But Fenn and his sisters have had a really hard life, so they’re probably gonna need some time to get used to us.” Cray huffed, but lowered his gaze back to his lunch tray.
“Fine,” he said, but his tone made you believe that he wouldn’t let this set him back for long.
You finished up lunch in relative quiet, and you pondered over this afternoon’s class as you returned your tray to the counter. Today’s afternoon class would be cooking, right? No, crafting. Unlike most of your other classes, this class switched out every other week.
Cray came up beside you and grabbed your hand as you headed back to the classroom, glancing around himself before leaning in to hiss at you, “is the slime guy leaving you alone?”
“Jace? Yeah.” You looked around as well, but couldn’t spot him from where you were walking down the hall. “Yeah, since yesterday he’s just… glared.” Cray hummed thoughtfully. He hadn’t been there last night, when Jace pushed you, but you were sure that when the rest of your group had been sent outside they had wasted no time in spreading the news to the rest of the class.
“Well,” Cray went on conversationally. “If he pushes you again, I’ll bite him.” You snorted loudly.
“Y-you don’t need to do that,” you assured him quickly. “Herobrine said that if Jace bothered me again, he’d be sent home.” You paused. “What would he even taste like?” Your mind was filled with thoughts of lime jello.
“I dunno.” Cray took a moment to think about this. “Leaves, I guess. Grass maybe.” At this point, you had reached the classroom door, so you broke apart and made your way to your individual desks.
Herobrine was standing at the front of the classroom as you settled into your seat, watching the class quietly, and you wondered about the contents of today’s lesson. What was there to teach as far as crafting? Would you just be memorizing recipe books?
“Good afternoon, class,” Herobrine spoke up as the noise in the classroom dwindled away. “Today’s class will be taught by a close friend of mine, and a former student at this school.” You perked up, immediately curious. A former student? Maybe they would have insight about making peace with grudge-holding classmates.
“He should drop in in just a moment,” Herobrine went on. At that, there was an explosion from the ceiling just beside your teacher’s desk, causing gasps and shrieks from several of your classmates. A moment later, a figure dressed all in red lowered themselves through the new hole, stopping suspended in the air from what looked like a modified fishing rod.
“Good afternoon, class,” he greeted you with a wide grin. “I’m looking forward to working with you today!”
Chapter 35: Chapter Thirty Four - Crafting Class
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
You gaped at the newcomer as he placed his feet on the ground and released himself from the line, which shot back up through the hole in the ceiling. This man was a player, and you immediately turned to get Jace’s reaction. Jace was staring at the wall with a scowl on his face.
“You can call me Red,” the man introduced himself. “I was a student at this school a good few years ago. It’s a pleasure to meet you all!”
“Red and his siblings are somewhat of innovators when it comes to crafting,” Herobrine went on as you studied Red in curiosity. “While many players are content to restrict themselves to the crafting recipes that have been passed down in recipe books for generations, Red has found many unique ways to use items that the average player has never taken advantage of. Thus, I have asked him to come and talk to you about both his findings, and his worldview when it comes to crafting. Red?” Herobrine gestured to him, then teleported away, and you spotted him appearing in the back left corner of the classroom behind Jace.
Red was dressed from head to toe in red, which matched his bright red hair. The only items he wore that weren’t red were a yellow ribbon tied around his head, and his dark grey wrist braces. Otherwise, the cause for his nickname was clear.
“Alright!” Red clapped his hands together, sitting down on the edge of Herobrine’s desk and crossing one leg over the other. “Who here is familiar with basic crafting? That is, any crafting recipe that uses a crafting table?” You put your hand up, along with most of your fellow students. Cray did not. “Okay… you.” Red pointed out Azara. “Can you tell me how crafting using a crafting table works?”
“You place items onto the crafting table grid in a certain order and they combine into a new item.” Azara’s voice was flat.
“Correct!” Red nodded wisely. “And that’s all well and good for the majority of recipes. However, combining created items in the physical world can allow you to do things that you can’t by using crafting recipes alone. For example!” Red stood and produced a fishing rod, glimmering with enchantments. “What is this for?”
“Fishing!” Kai exclaimed.
“Correct! But-“ Red produced a crossbow, fitting the modified barrel against the fishing rod with a click. “If I enchant it with strength II or higher, and attach it to a crossbow like so-“ He aimed up at the ceiling, and as you looked up you found the last few blocks from the hole blown into it being replaced from above. “It can-“ he fired, and the fishhook stuck in the wooden planks above them. “-hold my weight.” He tightened his grip on the fishing rod, then reeled it in, and he was lifted up and off the ground.
“Um, Mr. Red?” Geode’s hand shot up as you gaped in astonishment.
“Yes?” Red dropped back to the ground.
“How do you enchant a fishing rod with strength?” she went on. “Isn’t that a sword enchantment?”
“Oh, yes. Well, there’s a bit of a trick to it, but…” he trailed off. “Actually, that’s a lesson for another day. Today I want to go over some of my favorite combinations, then I’m going to have all of you come up with a combination of your own. Sound good?” There was a murmur of assent from the class, and Red nodded, sinking down to sit on the desk again. “Alright, who here is familiar with the concept of a cannon?”
“Y/N!” A voice caught your attention, and you turned to see Silvia holding a banner to her shoulders like a cape. “Look!” You snickered.
“I don’t think that counts as ‘altering an item’.”
“Sure it does!” Morpheus argued. “It’s using it for something that isn’t its intended purpose.”
“And-“ Silvia lowered the banner to show you, drawing it in front of her. “I took the stick out, see?” You rubbed your chin.
“I guess.”
“Better than what you’ve done, anyway,” Morpheus ribbed. You scowled at him and pulled your bucket close to your chest.
“Look who’s talking!”
“Hey, I have a personal rain-shielding device.” Morpheus held his block of dirt above his head. “See?” You rolled your eyes up to the heavens.
“That’s a block of dirt, Morpheus.”
Your class had moved to the gym to continue your lesson, and had been provided with chests full of various items with which to play with. Cray was disappointed that there was no TNT. Most of their creations were simple, like your own- you had shoved a block of sand into a bucket and mixed it with water. What you were going to do with it, you weren’t sure, but now you had wet sand in a bucket.
Some of your other classmates had been a lot more clever. Azara had used soul sand to create a bubble elevator, and had shot a number of arrows into it, which were just floating at the top of the water. You could only imagine that anyone falling into it would take a significant amount of damage. Fade had pressed a thin layer of clay into a crossbow and then filled it with seeds, which allowed him to scatter them over a large area at once, and Kai was using glowstone dust to create a glowing path on the floor.
Jace, you noticed, remained in the far corner of the gym with Herobrine standing at his side. You were pretty sure that he was some kind of grounded.
Red was in the middle of the gym with Marrow and Soot at his sides, chattering away with them. Unlike Jace, most of your class - you included - really liked this teacher. He was a lot like 303, fun and cheerful, but he seemed a lot more willing to get down and join you in your work. He couldn’t be that much older than you.
“Hey Y/N, look.” Morpheus pointed behind you, and you turned to see Cray creeping along the far wall towards where Fenn, Nightshade, and Zephyr were sitting.
“Uh oh.” You abandoned your bucket, scrambling to your feet. You had a feeling that Fenn would not respond well to being snuck up on. “Hey-“
“Wait.” Morpheus grabbed your hand. “He’ll be fine. Let him see what happens if he fools around.” You frowned, but relented, watching as Cray snuck up behind Zephyr and reached out to pat her on the arm. Predictably, Zephyr startled harshly, and Fenn whipped around to give Cray a verbal lashing. Before he could get more than a couple of words into it, though, Cray extended the hand behind his back to reveal a small bouquet of slightly-crumpled flowers.
Your mouth formed an o shape, and you looked down to meet Morpheus’ equally shocked expression. When you looked back, Zephyr looked just as startled, but she shyly reached out and plucked the bouquet from his grasp. Fenn was still glaring, and Nightshade was watching with what looked like nervousness, but Zephyr sniffed at the blossoms and broke into a little smile.
“Whoa,” Morpheus breathed softly. “Cray’s got game.” You snorted, then sat down again.
“Is that his way of using an item for an un-intended purpose?” You asked.
“Maybe.” Morpheus lifted a brow. “Still better than yours.” You glared at him before turning back to watch as Cray gave Zephyr’s hand a squeeze and skipped away in your direction.
“Hey!” Cray called out, and you hurriedly looked back to your bucket of wet sand as you pretended you hadn’t been watching. He came to a stop beside you, breathless, and he dropped to his knees before he exclaimed, “I think I just got a girlfriend.”
“What??” You whipped around to look at him. “Are you sure?” Did you ask her to be your girlfriend?”
“Well, no.” Cray faltered slightly. “But I gave her flowers and she accepted them.”
“You gotta ask, bud,” Morpheus cut in. “As if she wants to be your girlfriend. Or she can ask if you want to be her boyfriend.”
“Fine.” Cray started to get to his feet, but you grabbed his arm.
“Don’t ask now,” you told him hastily. “Give her some time to think about how nice you are. And find some more gifts for her. If you ask her now, she might be scared and say no.”
“Why would she be scared?” Cray’s face fell. “I didn’t do anything around her.”
“Well- uh, not scared of you, ” you tried to clarify. “Scared of commitment.” Cray just blinked owlishly at you. “Okay, well, she might be overwhelmed.”
“Ohh.” Cray turned to gaze adoringly across the room at her, and he caught Zephyr’s gaze, who raised her hand to wave shyly at him. “I don’t think so.”
“Give it two days.” Morpheus held up two fingers. “Okay? Just in case. And get her more presents.”
“Well, I don’t know what she likes!”
“She likes flowers, you know that.” You scoop up a handful of wet sand, squishing it between your fingers. “And you could ask. Or, if you wanted it to be a surprise, you could ask Fenn or Nightshade what she likes. Maybe they would know.”
“Well it’s hard to get more flowers…” Cray lapsed into silence, appearing deep in thought. You gave him a pat on the arm.
“You’re doing a good job,” you told him. “Except you might have scared her a bit when you snuck up behind her.”
“Yeah.” Cray looked a little guilty. “I just wanted to surprise her.”
“Well you definitely did that,” Morpheus pointed out. “Anyway, how’s your assignment going?” Cray stared at him.
“Assignment?”
You flicked wet sand at him.
Notes:
thinly veiled animation vs animator reference (where are my fellow sufferers)
Chapter 36: Chapter Thirty-Five - Athletics Class
Chapter Text
The sound of a grumble from your right caused you to turn, and you found Dusk slumped over his arms with a pout on his face. “I can’t believe Cray got a girlfriend before me,” he muttered.
“Cray did not get a girlfriend,” Morpheus countered from your other side. “He gave a girl some flowers, that’s not the same thing.”
“It is too the same thing,” Cray hissed from under the table. You nudged him with your foot.
“What are you even doing down there?”
“Um, eating?”
“Yeah, but why under the table??”
Cray shrugged, leaning out into view. “Mushrooms taste better in the dark.” You glanced across the table to where Soot was sitting, who just smiled and shrugged.
It was storming outside today, the rain hammering against the dining hall windows and rumbles of distant thunder echoing in the clouds. It felt cozy, at least to you. Fade and the Nether mobs seemed a little less enthused.
Red, Herobrine’s old student, had eaten with you last night at dinner but hadn’t been present at breakfast, nor had he shown up yet for lunch. In fact, you hadn’t seen him, 303, or Herobrine’s brother Steve all day. It was awfully quiet in the school. You wondered if they’d left, but… surely they’d at least let you see them off, right?
Either way, you were looking forward to athletics class this afternoon. It was storming outside, so it must be something in the gym.
Morpheus leaned down to poke his head under the table. “So, have you talked to her again yet?”
“No,” Cray admitted. “She’s been with Fenn.” You glanced down to the end of the table, where Fenn and his sisters were sitting and eating. “And he’s kinda scary,” Cray added.
“Maybe you should give him flowers too,” Morpheus suggested. Cray frowned, looking deep in thought.
“Finish up,” Soot prompted you. “Lunch time is almost up.” Hurriedly, you dipped your loaf of bread in your mashed potatoes and took a large bite.
“Dude.” Morpheus leaned over to rest his chin on your shoulder. “That looks gross.”
“H-hey!” You almost choked on your bite. “Leave me alone, I’m hungry.” The bell went off only a couple of minutes later, and you returned your tray to the counter before hurrying off to your dorm to grab your gym clothes and change.
Upon arriving at the gym, you were promptly treated to the sight of your missing stand-in teachers- 303, Steve, and Red were all waiting there with Herobrine. The layout of the gym somewhat resembled the obstacle course that had been set up on your first gym day of the semester, but this one was all jumps of varying sizes.
“Welcome, class,” Herobrine greeted you as the last of your classmates filtered in. “Today we’re going to be working on jumps. I know that this is somewhat irrelevant to some of you-“ his blank gaze flickered over Morpheus. “But, even so, learning to jump over large gaps is an important and worthwhile skill. Henceforth, even those that can fly or float, I will be asking you to refrain from using your abilities in the name of practice.”
Steve stepped forward, clapping his hands together. “Alright,” he said. “We’re going to start by splitting the class into those with a normal jumping ability, and those with an increased jumping ability. Soliel, Greyson, Zephyr, Geode, Jace, and Fade, come with me.” You glanced over at Morpheus as the named students broke away, raising a brow.
“You don’t count as being a better jumper?”
“Not if I tuck my wings away,” he whispered back. “I mean I can fly, obviously, but if I keep my wings against my back then they don’t catch the air.”
“Oh.”
“Those that remain, come on over here.” Herobrine beckoned you over to the left side of the gym, where the smallest jumps were. They started with jumps of only two blocks, and gradually moved up to the huge jumps on the other side of the gym.
“Alright, class,” Herobrine began, stopping before the smaller jumps. “As you can see, there are four sets of each jump, which means four students can go at a time. We will start with these two-block jumps, and each student will try gradually longer ones until they can no longer make it. Who would like to go first?” Cray’s hand immediately shot up, to absolutely no one’s surprise, and you raised your hand next to him. “Cray, Y/N, Azara, and Silt, go right ahead.”
You picked out one of the four jumps and climbed up the short staircase, a little bit of adrenaline snaking through your belly as you reached the top. You were only three blocks off the ground, and there were hay bales beneath the drop in case you fell. Still, being up high was a little scary.
“Go ahead whenever you’re ready,” Herobrine prompted. You took a deep breath, then took off down your short runway and jumped.
You cleared the gap without any issue, of course. You had made two-block jumps hundreds of times before. Your three companions made the jump as well, and Herobrine gave you all a wide smile. “Very good,” he praised. “Please move on to the three-block jumps, and four more students can attempt the two-block.”
You scrambled down to the floor again, casting a glance across the gym as you headed over to the next jump. Why had Fade been pulled into that group, you wondered? He didn’t have any jumping abilities that you were aware of… though he did have very long legs.
“Race you!” Cray startled you as he slipped past you and scrambled up the next set of steps on all fours, only to immediately fall off the runway and crumple onto the hay bales. You suppressed a snort of laughter, then climbed up your own set of stairs.
You paused at the top to watch what was going on at the far side of the gym. As you watched, Geode took a running start and launched herself nearly four blocks in the air, easily clearing what must be a six or seven block gap.
“Ha!” An exclamation from Cray made you spin to look at him, and you turned just in time to see him fall off the platform again and land with a thump on the hay bales. You sighed, then backed up a step and cleared the three-block jump.
You moved onto the four-block jumps as Cray went in for a third try. These were ones you were pretty sure you’d never done before, so you backed up, crouched down, and took a deep breath before rushing towards the edge and jumping.
You landed with nearly a shoe’s length of space, which was more than you could say for Cray, who had only just barely finished the three-block jump. Your confidence boosted by this success, you hurried on to the five-block jump, scrambling up the stairs and launching yourself off the platform before you could lose your nerve.
This time, instead of landing safely on the other side, you slammed stomach-first into the block you were supposed to have landed on, crumpling down onto your back on the hay bales with a small grunt.
“Y/N?” Cray’s face appeared over yours, looking half concerned and half smug. “You okay?” You opened your mouth, trying to inhale, but you couldn’t seem to draw in breath.
“Sit up, there you go.” Herobrine had appeared at your side in an instant, pushing you up as you gasped for breath. “Are you alright?” You finally managed to breathe, gripping at your shirt over your chest
“Y-yeah,” you wheezed. “Just- uh-“ Herobrine patted you on the back as you recovered, Cray plopping down next to you and watching as you caught your breath.
Finally, you swallowed, giving a shaky thumbs-up. “I’m okay. But ow. ”
“The five-block jump is a very difficult one,” Herobrine told you. “Very few players can complete it without extensive training. But I’m very proud of you for trying.”
“Th-thanks.” You coughed. “I’m not going to try again.”
“Well, you’ve finished the course, then.” Herobrine gave you a pat on the shoulder. “You’re free to continue practicing the smaller jumps if you wish, or, if you’d like, 303 has jump boost potions so that you can play around with the larger jumps.” You and Cray both perked up at that, seeking out 303 where he was leaning against the wall with an open chest full of potions at his feet.
“O-okay. Thanks.” With that, you scrambled to your feet, Cray at your heels as you headed over to collect a potion each.
The two of you soon found yourselves on the rightmost end of the gym, watching the higher jumpers clear gaps as great as nine or ten blocks. Jace, like Geode, was able to jump quite a bit higher than a player. Fade on the other hand, had no special jumping ability, he was just so tall that he could easily clear gaps like the five-block one that had defeated you.
Greyson, you noticed, was just standing back and watching. Cray seemed to be following your gaze, as he raised his arm to caught his attention.
“Hey, Greyson!” He waved, and Greyson turned to look.
“Hi.” He broke into a little smile, hurrying over, and you were reminded of the time that you’d helped the two of them with homework. “Are you all done?”
“Are you all done?” Cray countered. “Why are you just watching?”
“O-oh, yeah, I’m done.” Greyson shifted anxiously. “The teacher told me I could practice jumps if I wanted, but I thought I’d just watch.”
“Oh.” Cray twitched his tail, shimmering particles floating up all around him from the jump boost potion.
“Do you jump really high?” You asked, trying to put Greyson at ease. He always seemed to be really shy, and never really talked to anyone but Cray.
“Uh- no.” Greyson’s shoulders slumped a bit. “I just… I float. The teacher told me not to fly, but I can’t help the floating.”
“Oh.” You looked at him curiously. “That’s cool. Can I see?”
“Yeah, sure.” Greyson looked over towards the jumps, currently occupied, and hesitated.
“Here,” you offer, holding out your hands. “I’ll give you a boost.” Greyson blinked up at you, then shyly reached out his hands, and you picked him up under the armpits and hoisted him into the air.
Greyson squeaked as you tossed him into the air, and you watched in amazement as he drifted back to the ground. “That’s cool,” you commented.
“You’re strong, ” Greyson shot back.
“Do me next!!” Cray crowed before you could respond.
“No!” You sputtered out. “You’ll fall!”
“I have a jump potion!” Cray argued. “I’ll be fine!”
“Jump boost potions don’t negate fall damage,” you argued back. “And it only works if you land on your feet!”
“I’ll land on my feet, then!”
“Fine!” With that, you scooped up Cray as well, carefully tossing him a couple of feet away. Cray, predictably, did not land on his feet, but he tumbled on the floor for about a block before popping back upright.
“Do it again!!”
“How can you do that?” Greyson marveled as Cray dashed back over to your feet. “I know me and Cray are pretty small, but…”
“Yeah.” You grabbed Cray again, squishing him against your chest as he screeched. “I just… I don’t know. I’m good at throwing things, I guess?”
“Can you throw…” Greyson rummaged through his inventory, then dropped a wooden shovel onto the ground. “This?” You nodded, then set down Cray and tossed the shovel a few feet. Greyson’s mouth formed an o.
“It’s not very heavy,” you pointed out sheepishly. In response, Greyson ran to collect it, visibly struggling with the weight as he dragged it up off the ground.
“It is for me!”
“Well…” You shrugged, a bit bewildered. “I am bigger.”
“Can you pick up me??” Geode’s face appeared unexpectedly in the corner of your vision, making you jump.
“Uh…” You looked her over, thoughtful. Geode was shorter than you, but she was definitely a lot bigger than tiny little Cray and Greyson. “Sure. I’m not going to throw you, though.”
“Okay,” Geode readily agreed. With that, you scooped her up, holding her up about a foot off the ground and prompting a fit of giggles.
“It looks like you all are having fun,” Herobrine commented, making his way over as you set Geode down again.
“Y/N’s really strong!” Cray exclaimed.
“Yes,” Herobrine agreed. “Y/N is a player, which means they can hold just about anything regardless of weight.”
“Really??” Cray’s wide eyes turned back to you, followed by the other two, and you rubbed the back of your neck.
“I thought everyone could do that.”
“Not quite.” Herobrine smiled, giving you a pat on the shoulder. “You all enjoy yourselves.” With that, he walked away, leaving your classmates to hound you about your feats of strength.
Chapter 37: Chapter Thirty-Six - Art Homework
Chapter Text
You sank down against the dining hall wall with a sigh, tilting your head back against the wood planks and closing your eyes. The rain still hammered against the wall behind you, it had barely let up all day. Your parents would say that it was a much-needed storm, especially this time of year.
You were a little worn out after athletics class. Apparently players were the only race that could easily lift anything small enough to hold, which meant half your class was quickly distracted from their work by the promise of you picking them up. None of them were very heavy to you, but lifting a lot of people was still hard work.
It was just after dinner now, your classmates finishing up their meal and slowly filtering off to their respective rooms. There were only a few left, as well as Red, who had stuck around to have dinner and keep an eye on everyone. You thought you’d noticed that he was paying special attention to you and Jace, though maybe you were just biased.
You breathed out, relaxing as you listened to the rain and the soft murmur of your classmates’ voices. Tomorrow would be art and brewing class, the homework for which you had already long finished, so you had the rest of the evening to chill. Maybe you could go hang out with Geode and Kai again.
As you mulled over the idea, you heard soft footsteps approaching you, and you opened your eyes to see Morpheus making his way across the room.
“Hey, Y/N,” he greeted you softly. You lifted your hand to wave.
“Hey.” Your gaze fell to the folder in his hands as he sank down at your side, sitting cross-legged on the floor. “What’s that?”
“Um, my homework.” He fidgeted a bit. “I had a favor to ask you.” You blinked at him, looked over to the nearly-empty dining table, then back to him.
“Yeah?”
“Can you help me with my art homework?” Morpheus held up the folder sheepishly. “I’m not… very good at this kind of stuff.”
“Oh.” You sat up straight. “Um, sure. How about we go sit at the table?”
“Sure.” Morpheus got up again, and you staggered up against the wall, heading towards the far end of the table where nobody was sitting.
“What part are you having trouble with?” You asked as you sat down. Morpheus pulled out the chair on your left, sinking down onto it beside you. Across the room from you, Kaden and Dusk got up, heading down the hall towards the dorms and leaving only Red behind.
“Um.” Morpheus opened the folder, sliding out the page he had been working on. “We’re supposed to draw a place that’s important to us, right?” The paper only has a few messy scribbles on it, smudged charcoal from a pencil. “Well, I was trying to draw my dorm, but, uh…” he shrugs. “I’m not very good at it.”
“Oh.” You frown down at the page, trying to make sense of the lines. “…hmm. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do any better…”
“What did you draw?” Morpheus leaned his chin into his hand as you picked up his pencil.
“I drew a street that I used to walk down with my parents when I was younger,” you said, trying to sketch out the corner of one of the cookie-cutter dorm rooms. “We’d walk down to the ice cream shop. It’s a really good memory.” A frown appeared on your face as you realized that being at this school was apparently the most meaningful time of his life.
“Oh,” was all that Morpheus said. For a minute, neither of you spoke as you sketched out a bed and a chest, and out of the corner of your eye you watched as Red quietly left the room.
After a long moment, you cleared your throat. “How have you been doing?” you asked quietly. It took Morpheus a long moment to respond.
“Better,” he finally said, “I think. I’m not so sad at night anymore.”
“That’s good.” The worry in your chest eased a bit at that. “Have you been liking it here?”
“Yeah.” Morpheus gave you a tiny smile. “Have you?”
“Yeah.” Your thoughts went to Jace, and you grimaced. “Mostly, anyway.”
“Jace?” Morpheus guessed. “Yeah, he’s a jerk.”
“Understatement of the year.” You snorted softly. “I mean, as long as the teachers keep an eye on him, I don’t care.”
“Yeah…” Morpheus fell quiet again, and you stopped drawing, offering him the pencil.
“Here. I don’t know what your room looks like. Add some details,” you told him. Morpheus squinted at the paper, then shrugged.
“I didn’t decorate. That’s just what my room looks like.”
“Really?” You frowned back at the paper, which held a half-decent drawing of what your half of your dorm had looked like at the beginning of the semester. “So, wait, you just tricked me into doing your homework for you?” Morpheus choked on a laugh.
“No! Okay, fine, I’ll add something.” He grabbed the pencil, beginning to try and draw some shaky lines to represent the planks that made up the walls and floor.
You watched him for a minute, offering suggestions where you thought they would be helpful, before Morpheus spoke up again.
“How do you make so many friends?”
“Mm?” You glanced up at him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean… just what I said, I guess.” Morpheus shrugged, not looking up from his drawing. “Except for Jace, everyone loves you. You saw how they flocked to you in the gym today.”
“Not everyone,” you protested, but you realized that he was mostly right. “They only did that because they realized I could pick them up.”
“Yeah, but… in all of our classes they love you,” Morpheus told you. “You get along with just about everyone, and I’m just…” he shrugs. “…your friends are friendly with me, but that doesn’t make them my friends.”
“Sure it does,” you protested. “They like me because I’m nice to them, and you’re nice to them too.”
“But they don’t seek me out to sit with me at meals,” Morpheus pointed out. “Or partner with me in lessons. Or hang out with me outside of class, or-“ his breath hitched, and he dropped the pencil, reaching up to rub his sleeve over his eyes. “What am I doing wrong? ”
“Morpheus-“ you sat up straight, reaching out to grab the pencil before it could roll off the table. “Listen, it- you know you have friends other than me.”
“No I don’t.” Morpheus’ voice was dejected.
“Yes you do,” You insisted. “Kai loves you, especially since you and I played hooky with her last week.” Morpheus sniffled, not answering. “And Cray loves you too,” you went on. “Maybe I was the one that helped you two get to know each other, but you know he loves you. And what about Kaden, your roommate?” Morpheus didn’t answer for a moment.
“He’s nice.” His voice wobbled when he finally spoke. “But that doesn’t mean he likes me.”
“Morpheus, you can’t expect every person who wants to be your friend to come and join you on the roof.” You smiled at him, but Morpheus only looked more upset. “I’m sorry-“
“No,” Morpheus interrupted, reaching up to scrub at his eyes. “No, I- you’re right.” He swallowed, blinking rapidly to force back his tears. “I-I’m being a downer again, aren’t I?”
“You’re sad.” You hugged his arm, giving him a squeeze. “Which is fine, and normal, but I don’t want you to feel bad.”
“I’m not used to not feeling bad,” Morpheus said listlessly.
“Well, let’s get you used to not feeling bad.” You looked down at the drawing again, at the bare walls and the bed with its undisturbed blankets. “I have an idea. What if you drew something that you wanted in your room?”
“Um…” Morpheus looked lost, momentarily distracted from his tears. “Like what? Like furniture?”
“It could be furniture, or something like a decoration,” you explained. “Something that makes you enjoy being there more.” Morpheus frowned down at the paper again.
“Kaden has pictures of family on his side.”
“You could hang up art you’ve done,” you suggested. “Or, maybe something like stars.”
“Stars?” Morpheus hiked up a brow, breaking into a bemused grin. “Like, real stars?”
“No, no, but like- Okay. In the house where I grew up, I had these little stars, made of glass and glowstone dust that I stuck to my walls and ceiling, and they glowed a little bit in the dark.” You pointed to the wall in the drawing. “It made my room more fun, and I would watch them while I fell asleep. I kinda want them now, actually,” you added sheepishly. Morpheus stared down at the paper for a few moments.
“Yeah,” he finally said. “I’d like that.”
The two of you spent the next ten minutes dotting the wall in his drawing with little stars. He would, as he told you, have to leave the ceiling bare so that he could hang from it, but the walls were fair game. You made a mental note to ask Herobrine about getting him some glowstone stars.
By the time the two of you were happy with his assignment, the windows had gone dark, and you were sure that some of your classmates were already asleep. When Morpheus got up to leave, you threw your arms around his neck, wrapping him in a hug.
“You do have people who care about you,” you whispered. “Me most of all, I think, but… you do.” Morpheus huffed a sigh, wrapping his arms around your back.
“Thanks,” he mumbled. “…and thanks for helping with my homework.” You broke into a little grin.
“Sure thing.” You pulled away, making sure he collected his pencil and paper before scooting your chairs back up to the table. “G’night, Morpheus.” Morpheus gave you a small smile and a wave.
“Goodnight, Y/N.”
Chapter 38: Chapter Thirty-Seven - World Studies Class
Chapter Text
“Illagers.” Herobrine tapped the blackboard with his stick, causing the word to appear in perfectly crisp handwriting. “Who can tell me what they are?” A few hands went up, and Herobrine pointed to Azara. “Yes.”
“Illagers are a race of people that look like villagers, but with grey skin,” Azara told him. “They tend to have more skill in weaponry and fighting than their more peaceful counterparts.”
“Very good, thank you,” Herobrine praised as the information appeared on the board. “Marrow, would you like to add something?”
“Yes.” Marrow lowered her hand. “Illagers also are considered monsters, unlike villagers, who get along well with players.”
“That is also true.” Herobrine turned to mark it down on the board, and you sighed, resting your chin on your folded arms as you braced yourself for a round of inevitable looks from your classmates.
From your left, a pale hand nudged a note onto your desk, and you glanced up to see Morpheus easing back into his seat. Carefully, you unfolded the note, which just said ‘lol’. Quietly, you folded it into a paper airplane, then threw it back at him while Herobrine wasn’t looking.
Ever since you and Morpheus had talked the night before last, you had been brainstorming ways to try and get him some more friends. In your opinion, he already had friends, but it didn’t look like he really believed that. Throughout art and brewing class yesterday, you had tried to get him to talk to other people as much as possible, but, getting him to hang out with other people than you was difficult without just… ditching him.
You plunked your chin into your hand, watching him out of the corner of your eye as he scribbled another note. You weren’t his mom, far from it, but you still felt… responsible for him. Maybe just because nobody else would be.
“Illagers live in a variety of different manners of community,” Herobrine went on. “From solo nomads to sprawling cities. Who can tell me about the different kinds of illager settlements?” A few hands went up, and you glanced lazily around the classroom. Herobrine didn’t, however, call on any of them, instead turning to the back left corner of the classroom. “Jace,” he said. “Why don’t you go?” You turned back in interest, and you watched as Jace scooted his chair back and got to his feet.
“Most commonly, illagers that live alone are witches,” he began. “They usually travel between swamps, collecting ingredients for their potions, then trading with other illagers at outposts. The outposts serve as both watchtowers, allowing the residents to watch over their lands and prevent enemies from getting within their borders. Beyond the outposts are small towns, and at the heart of their lands are larger cities, ruled over by a council of elders that keep each other in check.”
“Thank you, Jace,” Herobrine said as you gazed at him in shock. “Can you tell us about the different warrior classes?”
“Well, I’ve already mentioned witches,” Jace started. “In battle, they use their potions to poison and damage enemies as well as providing helpful buffs to their allies. There are also bowmen, who wield crossbows and defend the outposts and the walls of towns and cities. Vindicators wield axes and can range from defenders, to attackers, to assassins should the situation call for it. Illusioners take advantage of low-level magic to cloak themselves while they fire upon their enemies, and evokers wield the highest level of magic, able to summon sprites to fight for them and draw up thorns from the earth.”
“Very good.” Herobrine nodded and gestured for him to sit down. Jace sank back down into his chair, focusing on his notebook again, and you stared at him until he caught your eye and forced you to look away. How did Jace of all people know so much about illagers?? Actually, now that you thought about it, why wasn’t there an illager student at your school?
“Teacher!” Geode’s hand shot up, waving until he called on her. “Um, why isn’t there an illager in our class?” She asked. Apparently you weren’t the only one to have that question.
Herobrine gave her a peaceful smile. “It just didn’t work out,” he told her. Geode didn’t look entirely satisfied, but she nodded and lowered her hand.
Herobrine went on to describe the ranking systems of illager laymen, which you half paid attention to as you mulled over Jace’s speech. You knew that slimes lived in swamps too… maybe he’d had a lot of experience with witches? You couldn’t remember if you’d noticed him having any particular skill in brewing class.
You leaned your chin into your hand again, doodling idly over the corner of the page in front of you. The thought of Jace being able to brew potions was… not a comforting one. You were just going to have to count on your teachers to keep an eye on him.
“For today’s combat class, we’re going to be practicing combat with a variety of weapons,” Herobrine told you. “We’ll be sparring, just like last week, paired off in groups.” You peered around him in curiosity, catching a glimpse of barrels filled with swords, axes, bows, and tridents. You shivered at the last one. You weren’t looking forward to being on the receiving end of one of those.
The combat classroom always filled you with a sense of awe, perhaps just from the high, vaulted ceiling and the lights inset into the rounded walls. It also made you a little nervous, but that was easy enough to explain. This was the room where sharp things lived and hitting people happened.
You could see Cray making eyes at one of the wooden swords, and you gave him a pat on the head to remind him to pay attention. Jace was standing on the other side of the group from you, which meant you didn’t have to get too close. You weren’t worried about being paired with him- Herobrine usually did a pretty good job of keeping the two of you apart.
“You may go ahead and select one weapon to try first,” Herobrine went on. “And you will be paired with someone else wielding the same one.” He stepped aside, gesturing towards the weapons, and you hurried forward to check them out.
The tridents, you had quickly realized, weren’t like any trident you had ever seen before. These were made of wood, and had blunted tips so that nobody could get skewered. You had no idea how these had been manufactured- players didn’t have any way to make tridents, apparently that was a secret that only the drowned were privy to. And Herobrine.
You scooped up a wooden axe, testing the edge of the blade and finding it blunted. No trees were being chopped down with this.
“Is that your pick?” 303 leaned over your shoulder, scrutinizing it. “Good choice. Axes can do a lot of damage when you learn how to use them right.”
“Yeah…” You looked up, glancing around for someone else with an axe, and your eyes immediately fell on Jace.
“Here.” 303 took you by the shoulders and turned you the other way, towards where Azara was picking up one of the axes. “Azara! You’re with Y/N.” Azara’s head popped up, and she looked momentarily panicked before she was able to cover it up again.
“Oh,” was all she said. “Okay.” You looked up at 303, who steered you over to an empty patch of sand.
“Alright,” he said. “You both know the drill. Aim for each other, but don’t aim to hurt anyone. Alright?” He clapped his hands, stepping back. “Alright, go!”
“Wait,” you blurted out, clutching the axe in both hands. “I don’t- uh, know how to fight with this.” Azara’s face was passive where she stood about three blocks in front of you, her hands steady and firm where they gripped the handle tight. You were abruptly reminded of your first night at the school, when she lunged at Cray with an axe.
“Well, here.” 303 came to stand over you, guiding your white-knuckled hands to their proper places. “Grip it here, and here. It’s not like a sword, where you’re trying to get any part of the sharp part to hit them- here you have an axe blade and it’s in one spot, and that’s where you want to hit your enemy with.
“You can swing like this-“ 303 moved your arms, miming a sweeping strike across an invisible foe. “Or this-“ he swung the other way. “Or, if you’re feeling fancy, you can jump and bring the blade down on their head. Give it a try, okay?” He released your hands, giving you a nudge forward. “Just so I can see how you do with no practice.” You swallowed, staring down Azara, but you obediently found your footing and raised your axe.
Azara took a threading step towards you, then charged. You watched her movements, taking a small step back, then you swung just as she did and braced yourself as your axes met with a clack.
Azara yelped as her axe flew out of her hands, landing in the sand a few feet away. You froze for a moment, then hurriedly leaned in to tap your axe against her stomach.
“Good job,” 303 praised, clapping his hands lightly. “Azara, get your axe and try again.” Azara turned on her heel in the sand, hurrying to go get it, and a pang of worry went through you as you watched her scoop up her weapon. She’d probably gone a little easy on you the first time, and you’d just gotten lucky.
Azara took her stance again, and 303 set you off. “Alright, go.” This time, it was your turn to charge, swinging your axe recklessly in her direction as you barreled down on her. Azara sidestepped you and swung, and you scrambled to dodge, sitting down hard in the sand. Before she could swing again, you shot to your feet, sending sand spraying across the floor as you swung the axe at her legs.
Azara yelped in pain as your axe thunked against her knee, and you stumbled back, dropping your axe as you stood upright.
“Sorry-”
“Azara, you alright?” 303 stepped in, but he was waved off, Azara’s teeth gritted as she rubbed at her knee.
“Fine,” she muttered, but 303 turned away anyway.
“Go sit down, I’ll get you a potion,” he ordered. Grumpily, Azara stomped over to the classroom wall, slumping down against it and holding her leg.
Slowly, you followed her over, sinking down half a block away on her left. “Sorry,” you repeated quietly.
“It’s okay,” she muttered. “It’s not- I mean it’s not that I got hit.” She huffed, folding her arms over her chest. You fell silent again, not sure what to say.
Instead of talking, you watched the rest of the class, sparring under the supervision of your teachers. You could see Silt absolutely dominating Dusk with a trident, up until Herobrine forced him to pick a weapon that he was less skilled in. In the meantime, Cray and Greyson were bapping each other with the flats of their blunt swords. It looked like, for the most part, everyone was enjoying themselves.
After a moment, Azara quietly cleared her throat. “I’m not supposed to lose to you,” she muttered. You turned to look at her, brows hiked up, and she hurried to specify. “I mean, not because you’re a player.” She rubbed at her knee. “You’ve never… it doesn’t look like you’ve ever touched an axe before.”
“I haven’t,” you confirmed. She obviously had, since she carried a golden one around. And yet, you’d beaten her easily… twice. “But, um, it’s okay,” you pressed on. “Maybe I’m just naturally talented.”
“I lose to everyone,” she mumbled. “I always have.” Azara folded her arms on her knees and buried her face in them.
“Hey…” You reached out to touch her good leg carefully. “That’s okay. Not everyone can be really good at fighting- I know I’m not.”
“Not for a zombie piglin.” Her voice was muffled. “I haf’ta be good at fighting, nothing else is good enough. ”
“Oh. Well- listen. ” Your grip tightened on her leg. “Sometimes people’s families suck. And just because your own family is crabby about something doesn’t mean it’s true or right.” Azara didn’t say anything, and you pushed on. “You’re really smart, Azara. I’ve never seen you struggle once in class. And you know everything. ”
“Except how to fight,” she muttered.
“Well, isn’t that the point of the school?” you pressed. “To teach us how to work together? Some people’s strengths are more brawn, yours are more brain.” Azara sighed miserably. “Besides,” you added. “Just because you can’t fight now doesn’t mean you can’t get good at it.”
“I can’t,” Azara mumbled. “I’m clumsy, I have no reflexes, and I can barely hold an axe upright.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t fight with an axe, then,” you suggested.. “Have you ever tried a bow?”
“I’ve tried a crossbow.”
“A bow’s different.” You scrambled to your feet, looking up as 303 crossed the room towards you with a potion in hand. “Come on,” you urged her. “I don’t know how to use a bow either, so we can learn together.” Azara stared up at you, looking dejected, but she eventually set her axe aside and got to her feet.
“Alright,” she mumbled. “I can try to shoot a bow.”
Chapter 39: Chapter Thirty Eight - Combat Class
Chapter Text
Azara bit down on her lip as she drew, straining against the bowstring as she aimed for the target block on the wall about six blocks away.
“Don’t overthink it,” you urged her. “Just look down the arrow and fire.” Azara scowled, more at the task than you, you were pretty sure, and she squeezed her eyes shut before releasing the string. Unfortunately, in the same movement, she positioned her hand to catch the wooden arrow as it flew, causing the projectile to wobble dangerously and clatter to the ground.
“Ugh!” Azara’s chin drooped, her shoulders tense as her arms dropped to her side. “It’s pointless. I’m no good at this.”
“Well, nobody is, when they start!” Marrow materialized behind her before you could say anything, leaning over Azara and moving her hands on the bow. “Here, I’ll help you. It’s really not that hard, you just have a couple of things you need to fix.” Azara looked over at you, and you shrugged, taking a step back.
“Thanks, Marrow,” you said, and you backed away to let her teach.
“Y/N!” No sooner had you passed the weapons display than a small, green body smacked into you, and you staggered back a couple of feet, just far enough to get you out of range as a wooden trident clattered to the ground where you had been standing a moment before. “Sorry,” Cray said sheepishly, peering up at you. “I didn’t mean to throw it that high.” You let out a nervous laugh, nudging him away from you.
“Okay, maybe time to pick something else.” You glanced around the room again, studying what the rest of the class was doing. Fenn and his sisters, you noticed, were on the far side huddled against the wall, with Steve standing over them and talking quietly. It looked like that they weren’t feeling up to combat just yet… or maybe they were just avoiding being hit by flying tridents.
“Why don’t you go sit with Zephyr?” You suggested, pointing in their direction. “It doesn’t look like they want to practice right now.” Cray perked up at that, and without so much as a goodbye he dashed off in their direction. You watched as he slowed when he came close to them, plonking down to sit cross-legged next to Zephyr. Thankfully, it seemed that Fenn had become used to his presence by now.
“You slacking off, Y/N?” Morpheus’ voice, his tone teasing, had you glancing over your shoulder.
“I don’t slack off,” you defended yourself. “And that’s rich from the guy whose homework I’ve been doing.”
“I asked for help once!! ”
“ Still.” You crossed your arms, delighted to be winning this argument. “Anyway, uh- I don’t see you practicing either.”
“Ah. Yeah, my partner left.” Morpheus twirled his wooden sword around his hand, glancing over to where Red was keeping Silt and Dusk from throttling each other. Beside them, poor Xa-Tul was looking very flustered. “So… yeah.”
“Well, I can…” you trailed off, glancing back to the target blocks that Azara was aiming at. As you watched, she released her arrow, which bounced off the wall beside the target. Marrow clapped in delight. “Hey, why don’t you go and try shooting with them?” You suggested instead.
“Um.” Morpheus frowned, apprehensive. “I don’t know how to do that.”
“Neither does Azara, but Marrow is teaching her.” You grabbed him by the arm, tugging him over to the makeshift range. “Go on, I’ll join you in a minute.”
“Oh, uh- okay.” Morpheus grabbed a bow as he passed by, hesitantly breaking away from you and going to join the girls. Satisfied with your effort in getting him to socialize, you looked around the room again, searching for something to occupy you long enough to give him time to talk.
Greyson was getting a fencing lesson from 303, Kai and Geode were sparring lightly, using a pair of tridents more like swords than how they were intended, and Soot was holding up a haybale for Silvia to repeatedly stick her two swords into. Soliel was occupied sparring with Jace, each of them wielding a wooden axe, and Fade was holding a bow out of Kaden’s reach. The only one of your classmates not currently occupied was Isabelle, who was rummaging through the barrels of weapons.
As your gaze swept over the room, it met that of your teacher’s. Herobrine smiled at you, and you returned it.
You jogged over to the barrels of weapons, stopping next to Isabelle. “Hey,” you said. “Wanna partner up?”
“Huh?” Isabelle looked up. “Oh, sure!” She grabbed a sword out of a barrel, frowned at it, then put it back. “I just…. Mm, I tried a sword last week, and I didn’t like it!”
“Have you tried an axe?” You offered. “It’s different, but…”
“Yes, but it’s heavy.” Isabelle’s lip jutted out in a pout, and you hummed quietly, scooping up one of the wooden axes and settling your hands on the grip.
“Were you holding it with two hands?”
“Yes.” Isabelle collected an axe of her own, holding it with the first and second arm on her left side. “I can carry it, it’s not bad, but…”
“Try it with one hand on each side.” You held out your own axe, showing her. “Like me.” Isabelle obeyed, but she didn’t seem any more enthused about this new position. “I think,” you continued thoughtfully. “Most of your power in a fight would come from your movement, more than what weapon you had.”
Isabelle blinked her six eyes at you. “Oh… mm, I guess so.”
“If you could crawl up onto the ceiling, or a tree, or, well, whatever’s available, you could attack an enemy from above or behind,” you went on. “So maybe a small sword, or whatever is the lightest weapon would be best.”
“Imagine if you could shoot a bow,” Silvia chirped, skipping over to join the two of you at the barrels. Soot was putting down the haybale, brushing the loose straw off of her uniform. “Then you could climb anywhere you want, and shoot at anyone trying to hurt you.”
“That would be pretty cool,” Isabelle admitted. You nodded over your shoulder to the targets.
“Well, they’re practicing shooting over there…”
“C’mon!” Without missing a beat, Silvia seized her cousin by the hand and ran off. You lingered by the barrels a moment longer, and you smiled up at Soot as she ambled over to join you.
“They’re sweet,” Soot told you. You nodded, looking over to where poor Marrow was trying to get bows and arrows for every student in her impromptu archery class.
“They are,” you agreed. “Most of the people here are really nice.”
“Most,” Soot echoed. You glanced over to where Soliel and Jace were sparring.
“Yeah, most.”
“Which weapon is your favorite?” Soot nodded to the weapon displays and you turned back to the barrels, looking them over.
“Hard to say,” you admitted. “I haven’t had practice with most of them yet.”
“Ah, true.” Soot drew a stone sword from her inventory, showing it to you. “I like a sword… though, mine is a big one.” You nodded, eying the definitely-sharp edge of her blade.
“Yeah… maybe don’t show that to Cray,” you said. Soot laughed softly, a rattling sound from the middle of her chest.
“Maybe not.”
You and Soot watched the archers for a few minutes, Marrow going back and forth and checking their form as they loaded up arrow after arrow. Soon, more arrows were going into the target blocks than the ones bouncing off the stone walls. Morpheus, you noticed, was cracking jokes and grinning over at Azara on his left, which made you smile.
“I’m so proud of you,” Soot spoke up softly. You glanced up before you had fully processed her words, and your cheeks flushed a bit at the look of admiration on her face.
“For what?”
“Well, look at you.” Soot gestured to you with her free hand, tucking her sword away. “When you first came here, you would be so shy, and scared of everyone. Now look how brave you are.” You scoffed a bit, ducking your chin in embarrassment.
“I just got used to everyone, that’s all.”
“When the ‘everyone’ is scary people, that’s still a great accomplishment.” Soot patted you on the shoulder. You just smiled and tried to accept the praise.
It was true. Aside from Jace, and on some level Soliel, you were no longer afraid of your classmates, your teachers, or the school you had lived in for the last almost four weeks now. You had learned to learn and eat and sleep around creatures that a year ago- a month ago, really - you would have considered as bloodthirsty savages. Most of them you would even call friends. What a drastic change to have happened in only a month.
“Y/N!” Morpheus’ voice snapped you out of your thoughts, and you looked up to find him waving at you. “ Now you’re slacking off. Come on!”
“Fine!” You shouted back. You cast a final smile at Soot, then grabbed a bow from the barrels and jogged over to join them in their archery lesson.
Chapter 40: Chapter Thirty Nine - Caves Field Trip, Part 1
Chapter Text
You swallowed hard as you looked down the staircase, over the rows of torches that stretched off into the distance. On your right, Cray snickered, squeezing your hand.
“You scared?” he teased.
“No,” you shot back. “I’m just imagining tripping and falling all the way down.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Cray waved you off. “I would catch you.”
“Not if I bowl you over on the way down!”
“No need to worry about that,” 303 told you, coming up on your right. “There’s a landing every twenty steps or so to stop you if you should fall. Come on, now.” With that, he started to descend the stairs. You looked down at Cray, who grinned at you, then the two of you began to follow.
Today’s ‘field trip’ wasn’t taking you very far at all- in fact, you were going just under the school. Herobrine had told you all after breakfast that today you would be learning about the cave systems that stretched beneath the Overworld, how to navigate them and about the precious minerals that you could find down there. You knew that it was perfectly safe, and that most of your classmates were accustomed to being underground. It still made you a bit claustrophobic.
Cray, as you had been told, was raised in a cave, as had Silvia and Isabelle. Most of your undead classmates spent a fair amount of their time underground as well, since being in the sunlight would hurt them. You had been in caves a few times in your life, on vacations and on field trips with your old school, but they were always very well lit and only twenty or so blocks beneath the surface. You never went to the very bottom like this.
The staircase was very tall, with at least five blocks of room on each step, allowing your taller classmates to comfortably walk without hitting their heads. 303 was leading the way in the front, and Herobrine was at the very back, with Steven and Red arranged in various positions in the middle of the group. Being close to the front yourself, you were mostly focused on not tripping over the next steps.
You could hear soft chatter behind you, and could pick out Morpheus and Azara’s voices a few steps behind. They had been a lot more friendly with each other since the last combat class, you noticed. That made you smile.
It took you nearly fifteen minutes to get all the way to the bottom of the stairs. The further you got, the more you could feel a sort of… oppressive weight in the air around you, which made goosebumps break out all over your skin. You shivered, tucking your free arm against your chest. No wonder mining was considered a highly skilled profession.
The staircase eventually emptied out into a large, cleared-out area at the bottom, from which you could see natural tunnels that stretched out in several directions. There were torches illuminating them for a few blocks, but they soon faded out into darkness.
“Class,” Herobrine warped to the front of the group, raising his voice a bit to catch the class’s attention over their excited murmurs. “Pay close attention, please, I’m going to explain today’s assignment.” He waited for a moment for the class to quiet down, then continued. “We’re going to be breaking up into four groups, three of five and one of six. Those groups are going to work together to find as many ores as possible in three hours.” You looked down at Cray, excitement welling up in you. As long as nobody walked off a cliff or fell into lava, this should be fun.
“There will be a few different roles within each group,” Herobrine went on. “One member will be given several stacks of torches, and will be responsible for lighting the way for their team. Another member will have a compass bound to this lodestone,” he pointed to a block at the base of the stairs, inset with shimmering black netherite. “And a third will have a pickaxe. The remaining two or three members of the team will be carrying all the ores that their team finds in their provided bundles.
“Each team will also be accompanied by one of the teachers,” Herobrine went on. “And every hour, on the hour, the roles within the team will be switched to allow different members to try different roles.”
“We’ll be assigning team members randomly,” 303 broke in, stepping forward with a basket in hand. “Come and take a piece of paper, and the number you get is which team you’re on.” A sliver of nervousness went through you as you imagined getting paired with Jace, but you squared your shoulders and stepped forward to get your assignment.
You grabbed a slip of paper and backed up again, unfolding it to reveal the number ‘2’.
“All of those who drew a ‘1’, come here.” Herobrine gestured to himself. “All those who drew a ‘2’, go to 303. Those who drew a ‘3’ can gather with Steven, and those who drew a ‘4’ may go to Red.” You glanced around warily as you made your way over to 303, and were relieved to find Jace heading for Herobrine instead.
Your team, you quickly learned, was composed of Azara, Isabelle, Fade, and Zephyr. Zephyr looked nervous as she was nudged up next to 303, but her assignment didn’t last long as Fenn promptly raised his hand.
“Teacher! I would like my sisters to stay with me.”
“Very well.” Herobrine nodded pleasantly. “Greyson, please switch with Zephyr. Kaden, switch with Nightshade.” Zephyr broke away gratefully, hurrying over to Fenn as Greyson joined you in your group with a wide smile on his face.
“Hi, Y/N.”
“Hi Greyson.”
“Now that you’ve found your teams,” Herobrine went on, gathering his group around him. “Determine amongst yourselves who will start with which role.” You glanced around at your companions, trying to determine who would be best suited for each one.
“Y/N, you’re really strong,” Greyson piped up before you could say anything. “How about you start with the pickaxe?”
“Oh. Um, sure, if no one else wants to.” You looked up at Fade, making sure to focus on his chin and not his eyes. “Fade, do you want to hold the compass? You held the clock when we were in the Nether.”
“I can do that.” Fade nodded.
“Okay, who wants to carry torches?” You looked down at the others, and Azara raised her hand.
“I can do that,” she said quietly.
“That puts Greyson and Isabelle on ore-carrying duty,” 303 announced, and he produced a bundle for each of them. “If you fill these up, then we’ll give you more, but I’d be surprised if you guys manage to get two stacks of ores in an hour.”
“Challenge accepted,” Cray hissed over from Steven’s team. You just rolled your eyes at him.
303 offered you a sturdy, iron pickaxe, Fade a shimmering compass, and Azara a couple of stacks of torches. With that, he pointed off at one of the tunnels. “Once everyone is ready, we’ll all set off,” he told you. “And that one is ours.” You nodded, shouldering your pickaxe and standing up straight. As you watched, the rest of the teams sorted out the positions among themselves, and before long the rest of the class was watching the tunnels as expectantly as you were.
“Alright,” Herobrine said, gesturing for the tunnels. “You may go.” Gripping your pickaxe tightly, you nodded and led your team forward into the darkness.
You grunted as you scrambled up on a block of stone, stretching to lift your pickaxe above your head in an attempt to get at a block of shimmering gold ore.
“Y/N, here.” A pair of dark hands took you by the waist, and you yelped as Fade lifted you up off the ground. You paused to steady yourself, then slammed your pick into the gold until it broke, a chunk of gold falling and narrowly missing Fade’s shoe.
“I got it!” Isabelle scrambled forward to scoop it up, tucking the chunk of ore into her bundle as Fade set you on your feet.
“Thanks,” you told him, then looked over to where Azara was holding a torch above her head.
“This way,” she urged you.
“Beep beep!” 303 interrupted, tapping on his wrist. “It’s been an hour, time to switch roles!” You stopped in your tracks to look around, holding up your pickaxe.
“Okay,” you said. “Who wants to go next?”
In your hour as the miner of the group, you had quickly gotten more bold in the darkness of the caves, going from flinching at every sound to plunging down new corridors before Azara could catch up to light them. 303 had to remind you a couple of times to be careful- he said he’d get in trouble if you plummeted into lava.
When no one spoke up, you turned to Azara. “Azara, how about you take a turn mining?”
“Oh, um-“ Azara clutched her torch tighter to her chest. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea…”
“You’ll be fine,” you insisted. “And if you really don’t like it, you can switch again.” Azara looked to 303, who nodded, before she hesitantly stretched out a hand for the pickaxe.
“Isabelle, how about you take the torches?” You went on. “Greyson, you can by the navigator, and Fade and I can carry ores.” Nobody argued, and 303 observed as you switched around your items and ventured forward again.
You were in the back now, craning your head back and admiring the formation of the caves as you walked through a massive cavern. It was eerily quiet down here… as with the Nether, Herobrine must have made sure ahead of time that there were no monsters here. And, since you were right under the school right now, there better not be any players either.
You had a lot more freedom to move around than when you were the miner, and you took advantage of this to wander off as Azara focused in on a block of redstone ore, peering around a corner down a thin passageway.
Instead of the inky blackness that you had been expecting, or the warm, reddish light of pools of molten lava, you were treated to the sight of stone walls dotted with tiny, blueish-green lights.
You stopped in your tracks, staring, trying to figure out what exactly it was that you were looking at. At first, you thought it might have been glow lichen, which you had encountered a couple of times already. Then you thought maybe it was light reflecting off of lapis or diamonds, but, the walls were covered in it, and there was no way that there could be that many of them.
“Hey,” you called out. “303?” Your teacher looked up, then broke off from the rest of the group to investigate. He leaned over to look down the tunnel, then whistled lowly,
“Oh, good find, kid. Hey!” 303 turned around, beckoning the others over. “Check this out.” You turned back to look again as they followed you over, waiting for an explanation on what exactly it was that you had found.
As Azara came into range, she gasped, clutching the pick closer to her chest. “Oh my,” she breathed.
“What is it?” You pressed. Azara swallowed, looked to 303, then spoke.
“It’s a Deep Dark,” she said worriedly. “That stuff all over the walls? It’s sculk. We need to get out of here.”
Chapter 41: Chapter Forty - Caves Field Trip, Part 2
Notes:
I love it when I can write without using braincells
Chapter Text
“Hey, now, no need to panic,” 303 cut in soothingly as your heart jumped. “There’s really nothing to worry about from a Deep Dark, as long as you’re quiet.”
“Yes, as long as you’re quiet, ” Azara repeated, clearly stressed. “And if you’re not quiet, you start to draw in wardens.”
“What’s a warden?” Greyson broke in worriedly. Isabelle nodded, twisting her hands together.
“Wardens,” 303 broke in before Azara could explain. “Are a race of monsters that are completely blind, and navigate their surroundings based on sound. They are very protective of their homes, the ancient cities present at the heart of the deep darks. This can make them dangerous, but I’ve interacted with them before with no issues, okay?” Azara did not look comforted by this.
“I’ve read about wardens,” Fade spoke up for the first time. “They are… not pleasant.”
“On the other hand,” 303 began again, his tone conversational. “A deep dark is often filled to the brim with mineable resources, since players rarely venture inside.” He raised his brows at you.
“I think it might be educational to explore,” Fade went on. “I have never seen sculk myself.”
“No, we should go the other way,” Azara argued.
“If something does happen, can’t Mr. 303 save us?” Greyson interjected. “That’s why you’re here, right?”
“That’s right.” 303 plunked a hand atop Greyson’s tentacles. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“I don’t know,” Isabelle said, sounding nervous. “It’s pretty dark in there, and it…” she shivered, hard. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel good. We should just get back to the normal caves.”
“We could be missing out on a great opportunity here,” Fade protested. “Especially if we should find one of the ancient cities.”
“The ancient cities guarded by wardens??” Azara snapped. “That’s not safe! At all!”
“It’s safe because Mr. 303 is watching us!” Greyson insisted.
“It’s still scary!” Isabelle wrung her many hands. “I don’t like this. I just want to go back.”
“It seems as though we’re tied in our opinions,” 303 cut in, interrupting their argument. “How about we let Y/N decide?” Immediately, all four of your classmates’ eyes were on you, and you froze.
“Wait, what?”
“We need a tiebreaker.” 303 shrugged. You hesitated for a long moment, looking from Fade’s determined face to the nerves in Isabelle’s red eyes.
“Um,” you finally said. “What if we just walked down this tunnel, only to where we can still see this cave here, then came back?” The other kids exchanged glances.
“Okay,” Azara said reluctantly. “I suppose. But we can’t collect any ores- that would make noise.”
“There’s no reason to avoid making noise unless there are shriekers around,” 303 told her. “Those are what draw in wardens. So, as long as you keep an eye out for shriekers and keep quiet around them, there’s nothing to worry about.” Azara frowned deeply, but didn’t argue.
“Can I stay back here?” Isabelle asked, obviously reluctant.
“You can’t stay in the cave,” 303 told her. “We need to all stick together. But you can stick close to me, and if anything happens I’ll teleport you to safety. Okay?” He offered her a hand, and Isabelle took it, clinging to his fingers with two hands.
“Isabelle, can I have a torch?” You asked. “Since you’re going to be in the back?” Isabelle nodded, passing over a stack of torches, and you raised one above your head as you turned and stepped into the dark tunnel.
Wardens- another monster curiously absent from the monster school. 303 had said that they were blind, you mused as you tiptoed your way down the narrow corridor. Maybe that was why? Or maybe they were as aggressive as Azara seemed to think they were, making them a bad choice for a boarding school with a bunch of other kids. But 303 wasn’t worried…
Your foot slipped on the slippery sculk vine, and you released a soft squeak as you caught your balance. Half a second later, a block with twisting arms atop it lit up green accompanied by a quiet chirp.
You froze in your tracks, staring at the block until it went dark again. Your eyes wide, you turned back to look at 303, who leaned in close to whisper,
“That is a sculk sensor.” He pointed to the half-block, the small vines on top of it still writhing in the darkness. “It’s what detects any sounds you make. If it’s next to a shrieker, it’ll make it go off. Fortunately for you, there aren’t any here.” He grinned, then pulled back again. You swallowed, standing up on your tiptoes to try and see further down the corridor.
“What does a shrieker look like?” You hissed back.
“It’s kind of a tan color,” 303 told you. “I don’t see any here, so don’t worry about it.” You swallowed, eying the sensor, then nodded and moved on.
The tunnel was long, and mostly straight, allowing you to get almost twenty blocks down before you started to lose sight of the cave behind you. At that point, you stopped, lifting up a hand to stop those behind you.
“Okay, we’ve gone far enough,” you whispered. “Let’s turn around.” Isabelle sighed with relief.
“Wait!” Greyson stuck out a hand to point. Following his gaze, you turned around, and you lifted your torch to illuminate bright-blue sparkles peeking out from behind the twisted sculk.
“Diamonds!” You exclaimed, nearly forgetting to whisper. You spun around in excitement, beckoning towards Azara. “Come get these!”
“No!” Azara hissed back. “Using a pickaxe would be far too loud!”
“There’s no shriekers, look!” You gestured down the corridor, which was clear other than a couple of sensors further on. “And we can’t just leave these here, these are the first diamonds we’ve found!” Azara hesitated, conflicted, and you offered her a hand. “Here, I can do it.”
“Well…” Slowly, Azara offered over the iron pickaxe. “…okay.” You shot her a grin, then carefully climbed up onto the nearest block, raising the pickaxe and slamming it against the block of diamond ore.
A crack echoed down the corridor, startling you and making Azara flinch and cover your ears. You stayed still for a long moment, your ears pricked for any signs of movement.
“See?” you finally whispered. “It’s fine.”
No sooner had you stopped speaking than an eerie, bloodcurdling scream echoed down from the other end of the tunnel.
Isabelle was already running by the time the sound had stopped, and Greyson was right at her heels. Luckily for you, Fade had the presence of mind to seize you by the hand before taking off after them, Azara close behind you as the five of you fled from the deep dark and the shriek that was still echoing off the walls.
None of you stopped running until you were at least ten blocks from the opening of the tunnel, Greyson collapsing in an exhausted heap on the stone floor as you leaned over to rest your hands on your knees.
“I told you,” Azara gasped out. “I told you it wasn’t safe.” You just shuddered, replaying that awful scream over again in your head.
“Where’s-“ Grayson coughed. “-the pickaxe?” You blinked at him, then groaned, realizing that you must have dropped it when Fade grabbed you and ran.
“Wh-where’s the teacher? ” Isabelle managed. You craned your neck to look over your shoulder, just in time to see 303 coming out of the tunnel with your pickaxe in hand.
“Guys, it’s okay.” 303 was obviously struggling to hold back a laugh. “I promise. One shriek isn’t gonna bring any wardens, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“I’ll worry if I want!” Azara shot back.
“Fine! Worry!” 303 raised his hands in surrender. “Anyone wanna go back in there?” Five, very determined head-shakes no. “Okay.” 303 gestured down through the deepslate cavern again. “Let’s get going, then. We only have a little more than an hour and a half to fill those bundles!” Wearily, you straightened up again, reaching out a hand to take the offered pickaxe.
“Okay. Alright, team.” You waved your classmates with you, starting off through the caves again.
Morpheus waved his hand in front of your face, then snapped his fingers. You smacked his hand.
“I’m not in shock.”
“Not in shock?” He echoed. “No way. You look pale.”
“I am not pale! You’re pale!”
“If they’re pale, it’s because they lost,” Cray announced smugly. You gave him a withering look.
“If I’m pale, it’s because I haven’t been in the sun for about three weeks.”
“Oh, yeah.” Morpheus rubbed his chin. “I forgot that was a thing for players. We should put you out in the sun tomorrow.”
“Like a flower,” Cray added. You flailed a threatening hand at him.
It hadn’t taken long after your groups had reconvened again for Isabelle to spill to the rest of the class about your encounter with the sculk biome. You had been a little nervous at first, worried that you’d get in trouble- although, logically, if anyone should get in trouble, it should probably be 303 since he allowed you to go in there. You still couldn’t help but be nervous. Either way, Herobrine didn’t seem concerned at all about your foray into the deep dark, and had congratulated Isabelle on her bravery. You were the one to decide that you all should go in in the first place, but whatever…
Unfortunately, whether by dumb luck or from the residual nerves from your encounter with the sculk shrieker, your team had collected the fewest ores out of any of the teams, and Cray’s, much to his delight, had gotten the most. You were sure that you wouldn’t hear the end of it for at least a week.
“Flower or not, I think the sun would do you some good.” Morpheus clapped you on the back, climbing up the stairs next to you. With your mining activity finished with, you were headed back upstairs for lunch and then a classroom discussion about your experiences.
“Yeah, maybe.” You clasped your hands behind your head, raising a brow. “I need to work on my tan.”
“I would do that,” Morpheus said. “But I’d burst into flame.” You snorted.
“Yeah, too much tan. Don’t do that.”
You glanced back at your classmates as you reached the top of the stairs, emerging into the basement down the hall from the combat classroom and heading towards the staircase back up to the main building. You were sure that you would learn more during the discussion period, but, from what you could tell, it didn’t look like any of the other groups’d had nearly as eventful a trip as you had.
“Go ahead and go to lunch, class,” Herobrine instructed as you reached the main-floor hallway. “I will see you all at 1PM.” He waved you off, and you broke away from the group, hurrying down towards the dining hall. Wielding a pickaxe for almost two hours was enough to make you really hungry.
You loaded up your tray with chicken, pork, and mashed potatoes before you headed back to the table, scanning over the available seats as you determined who to sit you. Azara, you noticed, was sitting at the end of one bench by herself. Right. This… was probably a good time for you and her to talk.
You slid into the seat next to her, setting down her tray. “Hey, Azara.”
“Y/N.” Azara stared into her tray dejectedly. You took a bite of your food, chewing slowly, then swallowed.
“I wanted to say thanks,” you said quietly. “And sorry.” Azara glanced up at you.
“For what?”
“Thanks for trying to keep us safe down there,” you explained. “And sorry for not listening.” Azara picked at her fork, then finally picked it up.
“It’s okay,” she murmured. “Thanks.” You gave her a little smile, then fell ravenously on the rest of your food.
Chapter 42: Chapter Forty One - Day of Rest
Chapter Text
Another peal of thunder rolled through the clouds overtop of the school, clearly audible even against the cacophony of the pouring rain against the roof and windows. You looked up instinctively from your notebook, then back down, trying to focus on the sketch on the page in front of you. Having finished all your homework for the week, you had been trying to draw one of the sculk sensors you had seen the day before… with limited success.
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and you were in the dining hall, sitting across from Morpheus at the dining room table. There were a couple of other students here, but most were elsewhere in the school, in their rooms or gathered in the library or classroom. Geode and Kai were at the far end of the table from you, both of them quietly reading their textbooks. On the opposite wall, Cray was draped over the windowsill, staring morosely out at the storm.
The school felt quieter than normal, even with the constant background noise from the rain and thunder. Red and Steve had left late the previous day in an attempt to beat the storm, saying that they had to get back to their own jobs. It made sense, but still… they were fun, and you missed them. Cray definitely did, if his current attitude was any indication.
You set your pencil on its tip, tried to spin it like a top, and watched as it fell over. “Okay,” you announced, standing up. “No more moping around. We need to do something."
“Like what?” Morpheus complained as Cray looked up from the window, not lifting his head from where his cheek was pillowed on his arms. “There's nothing to do. I've already finished all my homework.”
“Just because we're out of homework doesn't mean we can't find something to do,” you protested. “Like…” Your gaze drifted to the window, past Cray’s head to the driving rain beyond. “Come on, we're going outside.”
“But it's raining!” Cray protested, gesturing wildly towards the glass and wincing when his fingers smacked into it.
“A little rain never hurt anybody,” you began confidently, only to reconsider. “-um, unless you're an enderman or a blaze, or…” you trailed off, looking to the other end of the table where Geode and Kai were watching.
“Um,” Geode spoke up. “I don't get hurt by water.”
“Cool! If you want, you could come,” you suggested. Kai and Geode exchanged a glance. Geode looked a little hesitant, but Kai’s tail was already flicking with excitement.
“Yes, that sounds nice,” she exclaimed. You raised your brows and looked back to Morpheus and Cray.
“Come on,” you coaxed. “Don't tell me you don't want to go splash around in the puddles.”
“I don't,” Morpheus said flatly, but Cray’s ears perked up. “Besides, it's thunderstorming. That's not safe.”
“It will be if we stay close to the school,” you countered. “Lightning only strikes the tallest thing.”
“That's not true.”
“Sure it is!”
“I'm down,” Cray interrupted loudly. “Better than staying in here.”
“Me too,” Kai piped up. Geode raised her hand as well, a tentative smile on her face.
“I want to come too,” she said. You looked expectantly at Morpheus, who was looking very annoyed at being outnumbered.
“Alright, fine,” he finally caved. “But I'm not staying out there for long.” Before you could say anything, Cray whooped loudly, darting out of the room and towards the front door.
The door was already open by the time you got there, Morpheus at your heels, and Cray was standing in the center of the front yard with his head tilted back and his hands lifted up towards the sky. You hesitated in the doorway for a moment, realizing how hard the rain was falling, but you'd come too far to let it stop you. You took a deep breath, then stepped out into the rain.
Your hair and clothes were soaked in an instant. Luckily, it was still summer, and it was warm enough that the wetness didn't really bother you. Lifting a hand to shield your eyes, you ran out into the middle of the front yard to join Cray.
Cray turned as he heard you coming, a wide grin on his face, and before you could say a word he lunged at you and tackled you onto your back.
You shrieked as you hit a puddle, wrestling him off and pinning him in the grass. Cray cackled, then choked on a raindrop. You caught movement out of the corner of your eye, and you looked up as Kai ran out after you, followed a bit more hesitantly by Geode and, finally, Morpheus.
“We’re going to get in trouble,” Morpheus shouted warningly.
“We’re allowed to go outside!” you shouted back. “I've done it before.”
“Weren't we supposed to get you in the sun today?” Cray yelled, wiggling out of your grip. You snorted.
“Yeah, so much for that.”
“Oh my.” Geode hugged her arms to her chest, a tremor going through her. The raindrops turned to steam where they hit her skin, a little hiss sounding off with each one. “I didn't… okay, I didn't think it'd be this wet.” She giggled helplessly.
“Oh, sorry.” Kai wrapped her arms around her, giving her a squeeze. “Are you cold?”
“A little, but it's not too bad.”
“You’ll heat up if you run around!” Cray called cheerfully as he popped to his feet. “Come on!” He smacked you on the arm, then bolted. “Tag!” You gasped, then tore off after him.
It didn't take long to involve the others in your game, even Morpheus who still looked less than enthused with being outside. Playing tag outside during a rainstorm was a little more treacherous than playing inside, and you and your friends slipped several times on the slippery grass. Still, getting your heart pumping and playing silly games with your friends made the temporary discomfort more than worth it.
About twenty minutes after you'd started, you slumped down onto the front steps, panting, trying to give your legs and lungs a break. Morpheus soon sank down next to you, lifting a wing to shield you from the rain.
“Tired?” He asked. You nodded breathlessly, giving him a wordless smile of thanks.
“Are you having fun?” you asked. Morpheus’ face grew pinched, but he reluctantly nodded.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Come on!!” Cray yelled, standing near the treeline. “Come get me!” You opened your mouth to yell back, but you never got the chance as a streak of white shot down from the sky, enfolding Cray’s body with a deafening boom .
“ Cray!! ” you shrieked, shooting to your feet. You stared across the yard as the dust cleared, expecting the worst, only to find Cray alive, upright- and with what looked like a cloud of shimmering sparks around his body.
“Oops,” he called over. You broke into a run towards him, only for him to throw up his hands to stop you. “ Wait!! ” He squeaked. “Don't come over here, I might-”
He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before the sparks erupted, the resulting explosion drowning out the rain and thunder as it consumed the ground and trees around him.
You scrunched up your face as you rested the block of ice against your cheek, the cold only just soothing the scrapes on your face. In front of you, Herobrine straightened up with a healing potion in each hand, a disapproving look on his face.
“Alright,” he said, looking over each of you in turn. “What did we learn?”
“Don't play tag in a thunderstorm with a creeper?” Geode offered.
“Don't play tag in a thunderstorm at all, ” Herobrine corrected sternly. “If that lightning bolt had struck anyone other than Cray, they could have been seriously hurt.”
“It was my idea,” you told him guiltily. “I'm sorry. I thought we were safe as long as we stayed close to the school.”
“The presence of a tall building alone will not protect you from lightning,” Herobrine told you as he handed out the potions. “The city you grew up in uses lightning rods to keep its residents safe.”
“Oh,” you mumbled. Morpheus patted you on the arm.
The sound of the charged explosion had quickly gotten your teacher’s attention, who had come out to check on you and found several dazed teenagers sitting around a massive crater. You had promptly been shipped off to the nurse's station, where you currently sat squished on a bench with the rest of your friends, a towel wrapped around your shoulders.
Across from you, Herobrine sighed, sinking down to sit on a chest. “I'm only glad none of you were hurt,” he told you. “You have learned from this, and that's what's important. If you wish to play outside in the rain again, let me know beforehand and I will make sure it is safe.” Embarrassed, you nodded.
“Okay. Will do.”
“Go back to your rooms, now, and get changed,” Herobrine instructed. “It will be dinner time soon.” Obediently, you stood, clutching your towel around you and leaving a trail of wet footprints as you padded out of the room.
As you made your way around the corner, Cray came up beside you, leaning in close. “We should definitely do that again,” he hissed. “I've never gotten to get charged before.”
“Did you know that would happen??” You hissed back. Cray shrugged.
“I knew it could.”
“We're not doing it again, because we just got in trouble,” Morpheus scolded from behind you. “Next time, we only go outside if it's not thundering. Okay?” You sighed, lifting your towel to rub it through your hair.
“Yeah, okay.”
Chapter 43: Chapter Forty Two - Math Class
Chapter Text
Geode leaned over from her desk towards Cray where he sat beside her, poking at his hair where it stood up straight on his head. “Are you still electrified?”
“A little bit,” Cray told her, poking her hand and causing her to yelp as he shocked her. “I need to blow up a couple times before the lightning goes away completely.”
“Not in the classroom.” Fade turned around in his seat to regard him sternly. Cray just stuck his tongue out at him. At your desk, you hid a yawn behind your hand, rubbing at your eyes and resting your chin in your palm. It seemed Monday always came far too soon.
You and your friends had rested well last night, after the excitement of what was usually a quiet weekend. You were still a little sleepy, but you weren't sure whether that was actual sleepiness or just preemptive boredom of math class. Math class was usually either things you already knew, or just… not interesting.
You felt a nudge, and you looked up as Morpheus leaned over towards your desk. “Where's the teacher?” He whispered. “Usually he's here before us.” You blinked at him, then up to the front of the classroom.
“I dunno,” you whispered back. “Maybe he fell asleep again.”
As the last of your classmates filed into the room from breakfast, they were followed by your teacher, who made his way up to the blackboard as everyone settled in their seats. “Good morning, class,” he greeted you, and you sat up straight in an attempt to pretend that you were paying attention.
“I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine,” he went on. “He runs a similar facility to this one, only with fewer students and a more specialized curriculum.” He nodded to the door at the back of the classroom and you turned as you heard the hinges squeak open.
The newcomer was a tall, jet-black man dressed in a formal suit, a trail of black mist that seemed to flow from his skin in his wake as he walked down the central row of the classroom. He didn't look at you, or anyone, for that matter, but you caught a glimpse of white, glowing eyes just like Herobrine's.
It wasn't until he reached the front of the classroom that he turned, standing beside Herobrine with his hands clasped behind his back. “Good morning, class,” he spoke, and his deep voice reverberated throughout the classroom. “My name is Null. I am the headmaster of the Academy of Academic and Athletic Excellence.
“Unlike my compeer,” Null continued, gesturing to Herobrine. “I have only six students. Them and I will be spending the week working in tandem with you, both for your sakes, able to learn from their greater experience, and for theirs to be able to pass on their knowledge.” With that, Null looked expectantly to the classroom door, and you once again turned as six students filed into the classroom.
They looked older. You weren't sure if that was just due to the way they walked and held themselves, with practiced poise and grace, or their focus as they walked in a straight line up to the front of the classroom. They lined up beside your teacher when they got there, looking out over the class with passive expressions on their faces. Each one was dressed in all black, a black turtleneck with black, tailored slacks. Despite their cool demeanor, you could see them looking around at you, curious.
They were all monsters. On the far left was an enderman, this one a girl, and beside her was a spider boy whose three sets of arms were all folded behind his back. Next to him was a magma cube, her lava ‘hair’ tied up in a bun, and on her right was a stray, who looked very different from Kaden since he wasn't wearing a hood. Finally, beside Herobrine were a guardian girl, staring straight at Kai, and a blaze boy whose face was set in a stern expression.
“These are my students,” Null told you, just in case that wasn't already very obvious. At the left side of the line, the enderman (enderwoman?) stepped toward.
“My name is Chime,” she said stiffly, then stepped back.
“I’m Ezra,” the spider piped up.
“I’m Elaine, and this is Zeph,” the magma cube said as the stray lifted his hand to wave.
“I'm Amphitrite.” The guardian girl's gaze never left Kai's.
“And my name is Flint,” the blaze said coldly. With that, they broke formation, filing back down the center of the classroom to stand along the back wall.
Herobrine cleared his throat, drawing you and your classmates’ attention back to the front of the classroom. “As he's told you, Null and his students will be joining us for the rest of the school week. I encourage you to spend time and learn with them even outside of learning hours. Now, since introductions are out of the way-” Herobrine clapped his hands once, and an array of numbers appeared on the blackboard. “Let's move on to the lesson.” Null vanished in a puff of smoke, and you glanced back to find him standing in the back right corner of the room.
It was hard for you to focus on class with seven strangers standing behind you, but you tried your best, even as your mind swirled with questions and curiosity. You could see Kai sneaking glances over her shoulder towards the other guardian, who snuck her a little wave. It looked like they knew each other… or, at least, the other guardian knew her. Kai was a princess, after all.
After a couple of hours of struggling through class, the bell finally rang for lunch, and you lurched up straight to pack away your notebook in your backpack.
As you stood up and slung your backpack over your shoulder, Kai sprang up from her seat and hurried back through the desks, giggling as she threw her arms around the new guardian’s neck.
“Amph!”
“Hey, Kai!” The guardian, Amphitrite, bent over to give her a tight hug, lifting her half a block off the ground. “How’re you doing, kiddo?”
“Good!” Kai was beaming as she was set back on her feet, her tail lashing back and forth in excitement. “What are you- I didn't know-”
“This is where I've been since I left,” Amphitrite interrupted. “It's my second year.” She glanced up to find Null watching them, and she released Kai in favor of holding onto her hand. “Teacher, this is my little cousin, Kai.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Kai.” Null gave her a small bow, pressing a hand to his chest. You wondered if he knew she was a princess, or if he just bowed to everyone he met. “I had no idea that any of my students had a relative here.”
“Neither did I.” Amphitrite was grinning.
You tore your gaze away from their reunion to look at Null’s other students, and how your classmates were reacting to them. Silvia and Isabelle were attempting (without much success) to be subtle as they whispered about the spider boy, Soliel was locked in a staredown with the new blaze, and Fade had already approached the enderwoman and engaged her in conversation.
You looked to the front of the classroom where Herobrine still stood, and he gave you a smile. One thing was for sure- this week was going to be interesting.
Chapter 44: Chapter Forty Three - Hiding Class
Chapter Text
You turned away from the food with your full tray, scouting out the table for a place to sit. It was starting to get pretty full with… what, 27 students now?
“Y/N!” The call caught your attention, and you looked over to find Soot waving to you. “Come sit with us!” You obliged, hurrying over to squish yourself between Soot and Marrow.
“Hey,” you greeted them breathlessly as you sat down. “So… what do you think?”
“About the visitor students?” Soot’s red eyes tracked the stray, Zeph, as he followed the magma cube over to the food options. “I don't know. They seem nice.”
“Yeah, I like Kai’s cousin,” Marrow piped up. Kaden just eyed the newcomers warily.
“I would like to meet the stray. Hey!” Soot raised her hand again, waving to get their attention. “Zeph, Elaine! Come sit with us!” You hurried to scoot aside as they obeyed, making space on the bench and allowing them to take a seat.
“Hello,” Elaine greeted you as she sat down, and Zeph waved as he sat beside her. “I’m Elaine, as I'm sure you know, and this is Zeph.” Her voice had an accent to it, one you weren't sure you'd heard before. “And you all?”
“I am Soot, and this is Y/N.” Soot placed a bony hand on your head. “And these are Marrow and Kaden.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you all.” Elaine gave you a warm smile. “I'm afraid Zeph will not be able to converse with you, as he is unable to speak.”
“Can't speak?” Marrow echoed as your face fell into a frown. “Why not?”
“Due to an older injury,” Elaine said, and Zeph grasped the hem of his shirt and pulled it up to his neck. His ribs and collarbone were spiderwebbed with cracks, making you wince at the sight.
“Ouch,” you whispered. Zeph lowered his shirt, his fingers lifting to his mouth before flitting away.
“He says he's okay,” Elaine translated. “It doesn't hurt him anymore. But it does mean that he needs me around to act as his translator.”
“It's good that he has you,” Soot said cheerfully. “So tell me about your schooling.”
You worked on your lunch as the others talked, Elaine explaining how Null’s school worked while occasionally translating Zeph’s interjections. Apparently, Null had selected them each based on their intelligence and fighting ability, and had been training them since the summer before last. This was the second one of Herobrine's classes that they had met, Elaine told you.
“What exactly is the end goal?” Kaden broke into their discussion. “Why is he putting so much effort into teaching you?”
“To make us into champions,” Elaine told him. “To allow us to protect our families and homes, to correspond peacefully with those of other races. He has done this for more than a hundred years, he’s said,” she added. You wondered how many students he’d taught in that time.
Above you, the bell rang to signal the end of lunch, and Elaine sprang to her feet. “We need to go,” she said hurriedly. “Your teacher said that we should meet him out front before hiding class.” With that, she stepped over the bench, waving Zeph behind her as they hurried for the exit.
“I'm sure you all have become accustomed to doing the hiding during hiding class.” Herobrine stood just before the front steps of the building, his hands met behind his back and Null standing at his side. “This week, however, you will be the seekers. You all will be attempting to find the students from Null’s academy, and you must tag them all as a class in order to win.” You peered around Silt to get a better look at the newcomers, who were lined up in a row beside their teachers. The blaze, you noticed, was geared up in a full set of red-dyed leather armor.
“In order to ‘tag’ a hider, you must hit them with a snowball, of which you will be provided several stacks.” Herobrine held up a snowball in illustration. “Hiders will be permitted to run from you if they are spotted, making this less of a ‘hide-and-seek’ and more of a ‘chase-and-seek’. Both seekers and hiders will be permitted to use any space in the building except for that which is blocked off. Are there any questions?” Herobrine's gaze swept over the class, and Soliel’s hand shot up. “Go ahead.”
“Blazes are hurt by snowballs,” she pointed out.
“So they are,” Herobrine agreed. “That is why Flint is wearing armor, and you will be given a pair of leather gloves along with your snowballs.”
“His armor won't protect him completely,” Soliel countered. “There are plenty of gaps.” She was right, you noted. While the leather protected his chest, shoulders, head, and shins, it didn't do much else.
“That won't be an issue,” Flint spoke up, his voice low and velvety. “As I don't intend to get hit.”
“Regardless of whether or not you intend to, you're still in danger,” Soliel snapped back. “I wasn't allowed to participate in the snow golem activity, so-”
“Soliel, Flint is older,” Herobrine interrupted. “And he has been in training for longer. His teacher and I have deemed this to be a safe exercise for him.”
“That's not fair!!” Soliel protested.
“Regardless, I have made my decision.” Herobrine's voice remained calm. Soliel scowled, and Flint smirked at her. She gave him a stink eye that could curdle milk.
“Students of the Academy, I am beginning your timer now.” Herobrine held up a clock and clicked the button, and Null’s students filed into the front doors, vanishing quickly through doorways and around corners. “They will have five minutes to hide, then the rest of you will be released into the building to find them. All of you come here-“ he gestured to Null, who snapped his fingers and a chest appeared in front of him. “-and get your snowballs.
“As you hunt, I want you all to be paying close attention to the tactics that the hiders are using to evade you,” Herobrine continued as you tucked a few stacks of snowballs into your inventory. “Since after we’re finished with the active portion of class, everyone will be giving me either a written or verbal report on what they learned from watching them.” Dusk’s hand went up. “Yes, Dusk?”
“Can we team up?” He asked. “Or should we all work alone?”
“You may team up into groups if you wish,” Herobrine told him. “Or you can go by yourself, but I think it unlikely that you will remain alone for the entire round.”
“How much time do we have to tag all of them?” Fade asked.
“Fifteen minutes,” Null responded. “And then we will regroup out front.” Fade nodded, crouching down to fill his inventory with snowballs.
It didn't take long for Herobrine's timer to go off, and he waved you towards the doors, releasing you and your classmates into the building.
You hurried down the front hall and stopped at the corner, hesitating for only a moment before a hand grabbed your arm. “Come on,” Morpheus hissed as you jumped. “I'll bet at least one of them is hiding in the library.” You nodded, and the two of you headed down the hall together towards the library.
The dorms had been blocked off with red wool, and you and Morpheus tried to be as quiet as possible as you passed them by and rounded the corner. In front of you, the library was completely dark, and you couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive as you stepped over the threshold.
“Split up,” you whispered, and you went one way while Morpheus went the other. You tried to keep your steps quiet as you crept around the room- maybe pointless, since you weren't the one hiding, but if you managed to sneak up on someone then it would be easier to hit them. It was dark, but your eyes were adjusting quickly. Still, you made a full lap around the library without any sign of your targets.
“I don't believe there's nobody in here,” Morpheus whispered as you met him back at the entrance. You frowned, rubbing at your chin.
“Maybe they're on the bookshelves,” you suggested. “Can you fly up?” Morpheus nodded, then stepped back and beat his wings, lifting up off the ground and scrambling up onto the top of a bookshelf.
No sooner had he caught his balance than a set of glowing, red eyes appeared in the darkness on the ceiling, and you gasped as the spider boy scuttled out of the shadows and dropped down to the floor behind a bookshelf.
“Get him!!” you cried, and Morpheus nearly toppled off the bookshelf in his haste to pursue. You dashed around the bookshelf, but the spider was already gone, causing you to spin around in bewilderment.
“That way!” Morpheus crashed to the floor behind you, and you darted off between the shelves again. You caught the barest glimpse of something moving, then heard a soft noise from your left, and you wheeled around to follow - only to nearly smack into the shelves, led into a dead end.
You recoiled, trying to catch your bearings. He must have crawled up the shelves, right?
“There!” Morpheus' shout made you jump, and you hurriedly retraced your steps back to the outskirts of the room. “He went into the gym!” Morpheus pointed, then took off running with you close on his heels.
The gym looked pretty eerie with all the lights gone, but even more so with a face full of beady red eyes staring at you from the ceiling. You hurriedly lobbed a snowball, but the spider scuttled away.
“We need to get closer,” you exclaimed, and Morpheus promptly threw his arms around your chest and took off.
Unfortunately, being carried made it slightly harder to throw snowballs, even if your target was much closer now. The spider dropped down from the ceiling, using a web to stop his fall and forcing you to redirect immediately. Morpheus dropped down again to set you on your feet, and you reeled back to pitch another snowball, which thudded harmlessly against the wall as the spider was already halfway up again.
“Just keep throwing! We have to hit him eventually,” Morpheus shouted as he started throwing snowballs. You followed suit, but your target was moving too fast for you to get a good lock on him, crawling all over the gym ceiling as easily as if he were running on two feet. You took a few steps back, trying to come up with a plan.
“What if we corner him?” you called.
“How?? He keeps going!”
“You stand here, and I'll stand there-” you pointed, well aware that the spider boy was listening to your plans. “And we try to force him into that corner. He’ll have to come towards us to get away.” Morpheus frowned, but he ran to obey, continuing to throw snowballs as you took up your positions.
At first, your plan seemed to be working. Though the spider boy continued to evade you, he was steadily being backed up into the corner, giving him less and less room to dodge. Just when you thought you had him, though, a line of silken spiderweb shot from his hand across the room to the middle of the gym. Gripping the web, he released the wall and swung across the room, sailing through your onslaught of snowballs and landing safely on the other side of the room.
Your jaw dropped as you turned, letting the snowball in your hand fall to your side. “Seriously?” Morpheus muttered. On the other side of the room, the spider straightened up and flashed you a grin.
Without thinking, you wound up and pitched the snowball across the room, smacking your target in the middle of his chest.
“Woo!” Morpheus exclaimed, startling you. “What a shot!”
“Yeah, that's on me,” the spider called over. He started to cross the room towards you, dusting the snow off his shirt. “That was clever, though, good job.” He flashed you another grin as he neared. “I know I introduced myself earlier, but, I’m Ezra.” He offered you and Morpheus each a hand, and you awkwardly accepted one for a handshake.
“I’m Y/N,” you said.
“And I'm Morpheus.” Morpheus nodded to the web hanging down from the ceiling. “That was pretty cool.”
“Yeah, it's fun.” Ezra chuckled a bit. “Though teacher tells me not to do it too often, ‘cause I leave webs everywhere.”
“I guess.” You gave him a rueful smirk.
“But yeah, it's nice to meet you both.” Ezra took a step back, lifting his top set of hands to interlock them behind his head. “You two are really different than the Player and Phantom students from last year.”
You and Morpheus exchanged a glance. “We are?” you asked.
“Yeah. They were-” Ezra paused, then held up one finger with a free hand. “Hold that thought.” The words had barely made it out of his mouth before he vanished.
You looked at Morpheus again, who looked just as surprised as you were. “That was weird,” he said.
“Yeah,” you agreed. “Well, come on. Let's go find the others.” Morpheus nodded, and the two of you headed out of the gym to hunt down the rest of the class.
Chapter 45: Chapter Forty Four - History Class
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Oof.” You grunted as you sat down hard on the edge of your bed, shrugging your heavy bag off of your shoulders and sitting up straight. “I think I need to clean that out.”
“Maybe.” Silvia smirked at you, then turned away to dig through her own satchel. You leaned back on your hands, wincing as your shoulder ached. You might have overdid it just slightly during this afternoon's lesson.
Unfortunately, you and Morpheus hadn't managed to catch any of the others from Null’s school. You had joined Cray and Kaden in chasing down Amphitrite, but she had managed to evade you until the end of the round. While she couldn't climb walls and shoot webs like Ezra could, she was still very slippery.
After giving your reports, class has been adjourned, and you were released to go have dinner. Before that, however, you and Silvia had taken a detour to go back to your dorm first and drop off your school books.
Once Silvia was finished with her bag, you got back to your feet, and the two of you headed down the hall towards the dining room again.
“Hey, Y/N,” Silvia spoke up as you walked. You glanced over, and she went on. “You were the one to tag Ezra, right?”
“Yeah.” You nodded. “Me and Morpheus. Why?”
“No reason, I'm just…” she shrugged. “I'm curious about him. It's nice to see another spider.”
“Oh, yeah.” You eyed her for a moment. She wasn't looking at you. “Well, he's really cool, I can say that much. Morpheus and I had a really hard time catching him.” Silvia cracked a little grin.
“Yeah, I bet.”
“He shot a web onto the ceiling and then grabbed it and swung it across the room,” you went on. “You need to make sure that he teaches you and Isabelle that.” Silvia giggled.
“Okay.”
The dining table was all but full by the time you reached it, barely able to accommodate the 25 students currently seated. On the far side of the room, Herobrine, 303, and Null were standing by the window, talking quietly. That was a little odd. Usually they weren't here while you guys ate.
You and Silvia made your way over to the buffet, and you studied the table while you picked out your food. Ezra was sitting with Flint, Zeph, and Elaine, while Isabelle sat whispering with Kai and Amphitrite. You made an executive decision.
“C'mon,” you grabbed one of Silvia's free hands, balancing your tray against your chest. “Let's go sit with the new people.”
“Wait,” Silvia squeaked, but she didn't fight as you pulled her across the dining room to sit next to Ezra.
“Hey,” you greeted him breathlessly as you sank down in the margin of space beside him. Ezra grinned and waved to you, and Elaine piped up with a “hello, Y/N!” On Ezra’s other side, Flint gave you a nod and offered you a hand.
“You must be the player,” he said. “I'm Flint.”
“I’m Y/N.” You shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. Guys, this is my dormmate, Silvia.” Silvia, hiding behind you, lifted her hand in a shy wave.
“Silvia! I'm Ezra.” Ezra stuck out a hand. “Love your hair.” Silvia's cheeks turned pink as she accepted it.
“Um, th-thank you.”
“This is Flint, Zeph, and Elaine,” Ezra introduced his friends. “Amph and Chime are sitting over there.” He pointed to the other end of the table, and Silvia craned her head to look. “We wanted to sit all together, but Amph wanted to sit with her cousin, and I think Chime really likes your friend Fade.” Ezra grinned, showing off sharp fangs.
“I can't blame her,” you cut in. “He's nice.” Ezra smirked, nodding.
“I'm sure he is.”
Dinner was a little livelier than normal with the extra students, which was maybe why your teachers were nearby. Silvia did gradually get less shy around the newcomers, especially Ezra. By the time you were finished, the two of them were chatting happily across you, Silvia's chin resting in two of her hands.
The diners gradually began to disperse, leaving a quieter room and a lot more space around the table. “Where are you guys sleeping?” Silvia asked.
“Your teacher set up an unused classroom upstairs for us,” was Ezra’s response. “That's what we did last year.”
“Oh!” You exclaimed, interrupting. “That reminds me. Earlier you said something to Morpheus and me after we caught you, something about us being different from the player and phantom last year.” You looked across the table, and you spotted Morpheus sitting alone. You waved to catch his attention and beckoned him over.
“Yeah, I forgot about that.” Ezra shot Morpheus a smile as he came over, sinking down on the opposite side of the table. “But, uh, I was just gonna say, the player and phantom from last year didn't get along too well.” You and Morpheus exchanged a glance.
“I'm not too surprised,” Morpheus said. You made a face at him, and he specified. “I mean, players and phantoms usually don't. They kind of famously don't like each other.”
“True,” you muttered.
“These two hated each other,” Flint stressed. “Your teacher had to break them up in Athletics class. I guess he didn't think that a shovel was enough of a weapon to be worried about until it happened.”
“Anything in their hands was a weapon,” Elaine muttered.
You looked across the table to meet Morpheus’ eyes again, and you stretched out an arm over the table. “Well,” you said, “I'm glad I got this phantom then.” Morpheus snorted, but grabbed your hand.
“And I'm glad I got this player.”
You grinned at him, letting go, but you couldn't help but wonder about the player and phantom from the previous year’s class. Was it really just the hatred between their races that made them such enemies? Herobrine had told you that usually his classes got along well after a few weeks… had the two of them ever become friends?
“Class.” Null's deep voice reverberated across the large room, drawing heads in his direction, and you turned to find him beckoning. “Come. It's time to go to bed.” Obediently, the new students stood, Ezra giving you and Silvia a final smile before they walked away and joined the others. As you watched, they followed Null out of the dining room and to the right, towards the stairs up to the second floor.
You sighed, stretching your arms up behind your head. “We should go to bed too,” you commented.
“Yeah, you should.” Morpheus raised his brows at you.
“I will,” you hurled back. Besides you, Silvia got up, stacking your tray with hers and taking both of them away to the counter. “I'll see you tomorrow,” you told Morpheus.
“See you tomorrow,” he echoed. With that, you got up and followed Silvia, with the intent of walking with her back to your room.
“The ghast race migrated to the Nether several centuries ago, on account of-”
“Teacher!” Cray shouted, throwing his hand up in the air and interrupting Herobrine mid-sentence. Herobrine paused where he stood before the blackboard, turning to look at him.
“Yes, Cray?”
“Can you teach us about wardens?” Cray rested his chin on his clasped hands, a wide smile on his face. Herobrine tapped the blackboard with his stick.
“Today we are learning about the history of ghasts.”
“But, but Y/N saw a deep dark the other day,” Cray pressed on. “And now everyone wants to learn about it.” Herobrine looked at him, then glanced around at the rest of the class.
“Is that so?” He asked. “Very well. Those who want to learn about the Deep Dark today instead, raise your hands.” Several hands went up around the classroom, including, rather guiltily, yours. You felt bad about hijacking the lesson that your teacher had prepared, but you were really curious about some of the things that 303 had mentioned when you were down in the deep dark.
You were currently in history class. Null’s students were lined up against the back wall again, apparently they didn't get chairs? You were surprised and impressed. You knew you wouldn't make it through a whole class standing, at least not without being able to stretch your legs a little. Null was still in his corner, this time with 303 at his side. Though the latter mostly stood at attention, you could hear and see him whispering something to Null every few minutes.
“It seems we have a majority,” Herobrine noted as he looked around the classroom. Even Greyson's hand was up. Though, you reasoned, that made sense since he would already know his own history. “Very well. The deep dark it is.” With a wave of his hand, the drawings and symbols on the blackboard were swept away, and a moment later they were replaced by a drawing of a sprawling, ruined city.
“This is an ancient city.” Herobrine tapped on the blackboard again. “Who can tell me why it's called that?” Several hands went up, and Herobrine gestured. “Kaden.”
“Because it's ancient?” Kaden tried.
“Exactly.” Herobrine nodded approvingly. “The ancient cities that the wardens now call their home are the remnants of an ancient player kingdom, one that has long since dispersed and left only the ruins of their underground metropolises. These ruins have since been overrun by the sculk that characterizes a deep dark.
“It's unclear where the first wardens came from,” Herobrine went on. “But those that exist now have appropriated the ancient cities for the protection of their offspring. Their young go through an almost larval stage of life where they spend several years buried in the soft sculk, while the adults in their tribe patrol the city and adjoining tunnels to repel intruders. Any threats to their tribe or home will be killed, and their bodies fed to the sculk that makes up their home.” You wrinkled up your nose at that.
Geode’s hand went up, and Herobrine called on her. “Yes, Geode?”
“Is that why we don't have a warden classmate?” she asked. “Because they're buried in the ground?”
“That's correct, Geode, very good!” Herobrine praised. “Wardens have nearly reached adulthood by the time they emerge from their sleep. Not only are adult wardens very large and difficult to host in a building this size, but they can also be very aggressive and destructive, especially before they have been taught proper manners by their elders.” Now it was Fade's turn to raise his hand. “Yes, Fade?”
“During our last field trip,” Fade began as he lowered his hand. “Mr. Entity 303 told us that he had spent time with wardens before without any danger. Does that mean that adult wardens are safe to interact with, provided you do not pose a threat?”
“Yes, and no.” Herobrine set down his stick, leaning against his desk. “As a warden ages, gaining life experience, they gain a better understanding of what is and is not a threat. A very young warden is more likely to attack anything that moves, while an older warden can assess a situation for true danger. If an older warden believes that an intruder is merely a lost traveler, they are likely to scare the intruder away rather than take their life.” You folded your arms on your desk and rested your chin on them, thinking this over. So even a warden respected the lives of monsters more than players.
“Wardens,” Herobrine went on. “Are completely blind. They have no eyes at all. Instead, they are capable of fine-tuned echolocation, able to monitor their surroundings and any movements nearby by the sounds they hear alone. This means that they can easily be disoriented by loud, discordant noises, since it overwhelms their senses and disallows them to follow their target’s movements. I would not recommend screaming as a method of escape, however.” A small smirk appeared on his face at that. “Unless you are in a group of eight or more, since that simply gives the warden an easy method of tracking you.
“If you should find yourself trapped with a warden, you should never assume that it will treat you kindly.” Herobrine began, only to be interrupted by a voice from the corner.
“Unless you're Herobrine,” 303 chimed in. Herobrine gave him a look, then continued.
“The best method of evading a warden is to crouch down and keep yourself quiet, make as little noise as possible, and move as far away as you can get.” He eyed 303 for a moment longer to ensure he stayed quiet. “A warden's sense of smell can allow them to detect a target that strays too close. If you can keep away from a warden for long enough, it will retreat back into the ground, which will muffle its hearing enough to allow you to escape.
“Is that satisfactory?” Herobrine glanced around the room. There were a couple of nods, but Cray’s hand stuck straight up in the air. “Yes, Cray?”
“What did he mean ‘unless you're you’?” Cray pressed. “Do wardens like you?” Herobrine shrugged.
“I have a good reputation among them, but that does not mean that a young warden would not attack me,” he elaborated. Satisfied, Cray put his hand down. “Now.” Herobrine cleared the board again, once again replacing it with an image of the Nether. “If there are no further questions, we will return to our original lesson.”
You snuck a glance back at 303 as Herobrine began his lesson on ghasts again, finding him whispering to Null again as he hovered cross-legged above the ground. While Herobrine was adamant that wardens were dangerous, 303 had been very chill while he was in the deep dark with you this past weekend. Maybe he just knew that he could teleport you all away if there was any danger? Or maybe he could take a warden in a fight. You didn't know.
You sat up straight again, taking your pencil and resting it on a blank page of your notebook. It probably wouldn't end up being relevant anyway- most players never went underground, much less to a hostile deep dark. But you tucked the information away for later just in case, making a little note of Herobrine's instructions before focusing your attention back on the lesson.
Notes:
If there are any side characters who you would like to get more screen time, please let me know and I'll try to give them some spotlight!
Chapter 46: Chapter Forty Five - Cooking Class
Chapter Text
Ezra whipped the knife out of the block with a flourish, tossing it in the air and catching it with another hand before setting it to the slab of beef on the cutting board before him. You watched, openmouthed, as he sliced the meat into equal-sized cubes, and he swept them off the cutting board in a single motion to the pot he had set beside it.
“Um,” you said. “Careful?”
Ezra laughed, setting aside the knife and cutting board. “Sorry,” he said with a grin. “I can't help showing off a little.” You snorted and rolled your eyes, your eyes roving across the dining room to where your chosen target sat. Nightshade was sitting at one of the tables set up for today’s cooking class, her eyes wide and curious, as she watched Fenn struggle to dice a potato at her side.
Working off of your last cooking class, this week you and your classmates had been divided into pairs and assigned a student to cook lunch for. You and Ezra had been assigned Nightshade- who, you had learned, was entirely carnivorous and couldn't digest vegetables at all. It seemed like her phantom DNA had gone too much towards her stomach, and not enough towards her wings.
“Now, phantoms can digest a small amount of herbs and spices,” Ezra told you as he pushed the pieces of meat around in the bottom of the pot. “So it doesn't have to be entirely flavorless.”
“Right.” You nodded, watching as he sprinkled the beef with a mix of spices, scribbling down notes. One of the requirements of the assignment was to write down everything that went into your dish. “Do you spend a lot of time with phantoms?”
“Not a lot, but I've been around them.” Ezra shrugged as he worked, then he handed you the spatula. “Keep stirring.”
“Okay.” You took over for him as he stepped away to grab another jar. That reminded you of a question that you wanted to ask your teacher, if you got the chance.
The dining hall smelled really good right now, with you and your fellow students cooking all manner of foods. You could see a couple pairs just sitting and chatting, apparently already finished. Zeph and Dusk had a bowl full of broken-up sticks. You could guess whose food that was.
“This would be really good with some dandelion greens,” Ezra mused beside you. “But oh well.” He sprinkled some sugar over it. “Sugar helps it brown,” he explained to you. “Which gives it more flavor. Here.” He extracted the spatula from your hand again, letting the meat rest in the bottom of the pot for now. “It'll be ready in a minute,” he said. You nodded and stepped back.
“So,” Ezra began again, his voice conversational. “Your teacher told me a little bit about Nightshade, and her friends. That they came from a lab, or something.” You nodded, leaning against the table you were working on.
“I ran into them in the woods while we were on a field trip,” you told him. “Like- literally ran into them. We collided.” Ezra snorted.
“Well, what do you think about them?” he asked. “I mean, I’d think having a bunch of mutants in your class would be a little unnerving.”
“No more unnerving than monsters,” you shot back, feeling a little defensive on the Trial trio’s behalf. “It's not their fault that they are what they are. They were forced into it. If I feel anything about them, it's just… sympathy.” To your surprise, Ezra broke into a smile.
“Good,” he said. “You really are a good kid.” He stuck the spatula into the pot again, giving it a good stir before lifting the pot from over the campfire. “It's done,” he announced. “Go and tell the teacher.” You nodded, and you scampered off across the room towards where Herobrine stood.
“Our food’s done,” you exclaimed breathlessly as you got within earshot. Herobrine glanced over at you, smiled.
“For Nightshade, correct?” he clarified, and you nodded. “Show me your notes.” You offered him the piece of paper on which you had noted down ingredients, and he read over it before he gave you an approving nod. “Very good. This should be safe for her to eat.” You nodded, relieved, then turned to relay the news to your partner. Before you could move, though, you hesitated. Now was as good a time as any to ask.
“Herobrine?” You asked. Herobrine inclined his chin to show he was listening. “You told me that… well, Ezra told me,” you started. “That they visited your class from last year.”
“That's right,” Herobrine confirmed. “Null’s classes typically spend a week here, with my students for that year.”
“He told me that the player and the phantom students from last year hated each other,” you pressed on. “Like… really bad. But you told me that usually the classes become friends really quickly.” Herobrine didn't answer for a moment, and you added, “Did they ever become friends?”
Herobrine was quiet for a little while, in which time you started to get worried that they didn't, but his next words soothed those fears. “They did,” he assured you. “It took time. It was not until after Null and his class visited.” Your shoulders slumped a bit in relief- you'd never met these two, but you were still glad that they'd worked things out. “The basis of their conflict was that they did not understand each other,” Herobrine went on. “And once they began to do so, respect soon followed.” He placed a hand on your shoulder, turning you until you faced where Jace stood with Geode, far on the other side of the room. “I think that if you and Jace grew to understand each other, you would be able to get along, too.”
“Tell him that,” you grumbled, a stab of irritation going through your chest. You weren't the aggressor here, why were you being treated like you were contributing to the problem?? “I've never done anything to him.”
“I know,” Herobrine assured you. “I know you haven't. But you still harbor resentment against him. Even if he flipped a switch and became apologetic overnight, any resentment you held would stand between your friendship with him.” Your face twisted a bit in annoyance. You didn't think that was ever going to be a situation that you would have to worry about.
“Though you may not believe it, Jace does have a reason to dislike you,” Herobrine went on. “To dislike players. It is not a reason that excuses his behavior, but it is a reason.”
“Why? What is it?”
“That, I can't tell you.” Herobrine shook his head. “Not until he's ready to share.” You scowled, and Herobrine chuckled, reaching up to ruffle your hair. “I respect his right to privacy, Y/N, as much as with any of my other students.” Your scowl softened somewhat, and you turned your attention back to Jace. He was focused intently on Geode beside him, where the latter was pushing and kneading a lump of bread dough.
Maybe Jace had been bullied by a player in the past. Did slimes have schooling? Maybe they heard the same rumors about players as players did about monsters- that they were ruthless and bloodthirsty, and would kill indiscriminately. But Jace hadn't seemed nervous that first day, when he cornered you upstairs during hiding class. He seemed angry.
“Did you know he threatened me?” you suddenly asked. Herobrine glanced down at you.
“When he pushed you?”
“No.” You shook your head. “During the first hiding class. He told me to go home, or else.” Herobrine didn’t answer for a little while.
“No,” he finally said. “I didn’t see.” Silently, you rubbed at your wrist, where Jace had grabbed you almost a month ago now.
“Oh.”
“Since I became aware of his behavior, I have given him extra attention,” Herobrine went on. “Rest assured, I won’t let it happen again.” He rested a hand on your shoulder again, and you took a deep breath.
“Okay,” you said. “Thanks.” With that, you broke away and jogged back across the dining hall, to join Ezra again at your station.
Chapter 47: Chapter Forty Six - Athletics Class
Chapter Text
Soliel’s bare feet slammed against the balance beam as she ran, launching herself off the end and grabbing the chain almost two blocks away in midair. She hauled herself up, all but throwing herself onto the final platform, and punched the copper bell.
“Time!” Herobrine looked at his clock. “Thirty-four seconds.”
“No!” Soliel shrieked. Unfortunately, you knew why. Flint’s time had been 32 seconds.
You had known Soliel (distantly) for long enough to know that she was competitive. Very competitive. But, even then, surely she was aware that Flint was… older? And had more professional training? It made total sense to you why he outdid her in pretty much everything, but Soliel didn't seem to be able to handle that truth.
“I want to go again!” Soliel snapped. Herobrine looked to Flint, who shrugged.
“I don't care.”
“Very well Soliel, go ahead.” Herobrine nodded to her, and Soliel pushed herself off the platform, floating down to the ground before scrambling back to the front of the obstacle course.
Today's course focused on training balance more than anything else. You’d had to tiptoe over fenceposts, shimmy along the edges of blocks, and hop from narrow platform to narrow platform. Your time had been well above a minute. Soliel, on the other hand, was determined to cut her time down as far as possible.
While Soliel fixated on winning, most of the class was just sitting on the gym floor, waiting for the bell to ring that signaled the end of the day. You had been practicing on a balance beam for a while, but now your legs hurt, so you were just sitting against the wall with Cray’s head pillowed on your legs.
“Are we gonna have to stay here until she wins?” Cray complained as Soliel started to navigate the course again. You snorted, patting his messy hair
“I mean, I don't think so. Teacher will probably just end the class when the bell rings.”
“I think if she gets any more mad, she's gonna set something on fire,” Morpheus commented. You snickered.
“Be nice,” Geode scolded him gently. “She's obviously upset.”
“For a silly reason,” Morpheus countered.
“ Maybe , but making fun of her won't help,” Geode said obstinately. You ducked your chin, feeling just a little guilty at the confidence and determination of her words.
“Alright, yeah.”
The sound of a bell ringing drew your attention back to the obstacle course, but this time it wasn't the bell at the top- it was the school bell ringing to announce the end of class. “That's all for today,” Herobrine announced as Soliel released a shriek of frustration. “You may all go and have your dinner. Except-” Herobrine turned to look at Soliel. “Soliel, please wait. I want to have a talk with you.”
“Everyone else, out!” 303 blinked over to where most of you were sitting against the wall, shooing you with his hands. “Skedaddle!” You pushed Cray off your legs, scrambling upright and the two of you followed 303’s direction to get out of the gym and head towards the dining room.
It was extra dark outside when you got there. Stormy. You were immediately reminded of playing outside during the thunderstorm this past weekend, followed by a rather painful memory of Cray nearly blowing you up.
You wondered, as you ate your dinner, how Herobrine's conversation with Soliel was going. Null had stayed back too, it seemed, but all his students had joined you for dinner. From your own experience with your teacher, you guessed that his advice would be a little too soft-spoken to make much of a dent in Soliel’s rage.
“Hey, Y/N.” Morpheus caught your attention as you were putting away your tray, and you turned around to find him standing with Azara and Kai. “The girls and I were going to go to the library to play hide and seek after dinner. Wanna come?” You looked over them, feeling a pang of envy, but you had already determined what you needed to do for your evening.
“Sorry,” you said ruefully. “I didn't finish my brewing homework for this week yet, and I don't wanna get in trouble.”
“Aw.” Morpheus slugged your shoulder gently. “Maybe next time.” You punched him back.
“Yeah. You should count your blessings, this just means you guys will have a chance to win,” you told him. Morpheus rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
“Riiiight.” He stepped back, turning back to smile at Azara. “Well, g’night, Y/N.” You gave him a little wave, then turned back to the tray return as the three of them walked away.
You wandered down to your room, listening to the thunder rumbling softly outside the school. It wasn't even 6PM yet, but it still looked like night outside. The leaves in the trees tossed in the blustering winds, and you could hear raindrops pattering against the windows.
These sounds continued as you slipped into your room, getting a little louder when you sat down on your bed beside your dorm room window. It seemed like you weren't the only one to go to bed early. On Silvia’s bed, across from you, there was a lump under the covers, but you paid her little mind. Propping your potions textbook over your legs, you bent over it in the light of your lamp and started to read.
Muffled by the sound of the storm outside, it wasn't until probably fifteen minutes later that you noticed the tiny, stifled noises coming from Silvia’s bed.
You noticed them gradually, hearing a sniffle here, a hiccup there, until you abruptly became aware that those weren't normal sounds for a rainstorm. You looked up from your book. Silvia hadn't moved, remaining a tightly-wound ball under her covers, and you felt a stab of guilt. You should have realized that something was wrong as soon as you came in- Silvia barely used her bed, she usually slept in the webs that she had woven in the corner along the ceiling. Slowly, you set your textbook aside, abandoning your homework and getting to your feet.
“Silvia?”
Your voice prompted a muffled sob, and you took a step closer. “Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?” Silvia sobbed louder, and you slowly crossed the small space between your assigned beds, sinking down on the end of her mattress. Silvia didn't make any response for a moment, sniffling and trying to get some control over her tears. It took her a minute to succeed, and only then did she shift, moving around under her blanket until one, little hand peeked over the edge and pulled it down enough to reveal four teary eyes.
“I-” she choked out, then swallowed with obvious discomfort. “I-I like Ezra.”
You blinked at her in bewilderment, the gears turning fruitlessly in your head. That was the cause of her breakdown? You liked Ezra too, but you weren't going to shed any tears over it.
“Um,” you started. “Why is that bad?”
“No, no, I mean-” she sniffled miserably. “I like Ezra.” Her meaning dawned on you suddenly, and you sobered.
“Oh.”
“And I already have a boyfriend.” Large tears began to collect in her eyes again, trailing down her face to soak into the edge of the blanket. “I-I-I love Liam, but I feel- I like Ezra too, and I-” she burst into inconsolable sobs again and hid her face under the blanket. Tentatively, you reached out, patting her gently in the middle of the back. Between Dusk’s love triangle and Silvia’s boys situation, you were really glad right about now that romance wasn't one of your priorities.
“Silvia…” you tried. “Having feelings for a boy isn't cheating, or anything.”
“It feels like cheating.” Silvia whimpered under the blanket.
“Okay, well…” You reached under the blanket and felt around until you found one of her hands- a dry one, thankfully - and gave it a squeeze. “What do you like about Ezra?”
“He's just-” Silvia sniffled as she squeezed your hand back. “He's so nice , and he's smart and cute, and- oh no, I can't say that…”
“And ‘Liam’ is…” You thought back to the last time he was mentioned. “The one who says he doesn't like your hair?” The reminder only served to make her cry harder, and you winced.
“Ezra’s so nice,” she sobbed. “But I love him, I love Liam, I just- it's not his fault, it's my mom, and…” Her words became incomprehensible, and you resigned yourself to just holding her hand until she calmed down a little bit.
Once her sobs had subsided into sniffles again, you hesitantly started to speak. “I,” you began. “Don't think this is a big deal. You can like someone without acting on your feelings for them. Maybe you've just not seen Liam for a month, and you miss him and Ezra reminds you of him.”
“I-I don't think so,” Silvia mumbled. “I keep… c-comparing them. In my head.” She mopped at her face with the blanket. “About h-how nice, and sweet Ezra is, and… how Liam doesn't… p-pay much attention to me.” She sniffled. “M-maybe I should break up with him.”
“Okay, well…” You gave her hand another squeeze. “Breaking up with Liam and asking Ezra out are two different decisions. I think you should spend some time thinking about whether you’re happy with Liam or not.”
“But Ezra might be gone by then,” Silvia protested miserably.
“Yeah, uh…” You hesitated. “Making the decision to break up with your long-distance boyfriend for another boy in a single week might not be the best choice. Besides- I think Ezra might be, um.” You shifted. “Older.” Silvia was quiet for a bit.
“Maybe,” she finally said.
“Is there any way you can contact your boyfriend?” You asked. Silvia reached up with a free hand to scrub at her eyes.
“U-um.” Her voice wavered. “I-I could send him a letter, maybe. If the teacher lets me.” You nodded decisively.
“Maybe you should do that,” you suggested. “Tell him how you’ve been thinking about the way he treats you and what you would like to change. That telling you he didn’t like your hair hurt your feelings. Have you ever talked to him about it before?” Silvia shook her head. “You probably should, then. Boys-” You cracked a rueful smile. “Sometimes boys can be kinda dense.” Silvia side-eyed you, but managed a tiny giggle.
“Y-yeah. Maybe.”
“If he responds really badly, that might be a sign that you should break up,” you went on. “But if he apologizes and tries to change, then maybe things will get better. Yeah?” Silvia rubbed at her face again, her breathing slightly calmer.
“Yeah,” she managed. “M-maybe.” She sniffled again. “Th-thanks, Y/N.” You gave her a little smile.
“I don’t know how old Ezra is,” you went on. “And I know he’s leaving at the end of the week. But maybe, if you’re meant to be, you’ll run into him in the future.” A wobbly smile appeared on Silvia’s face.
“Y-yeah.”
Slowly, Silvia pushed herself up, wiping off the rest of her tears on her sleeves, and you released her hand. Before you could stand up, Silvia launched herself at you, wrapping all six of her arms around your chest and burying her face in your shoulder. You wrapped her in your arms and hugged her back.
Silvia was only a year younger than you, if you remembered correctly. But she was small, almost as small as Cray, which made you feel like she was younger than she was. You gave her a squeeze, a little bit of a protective feeling welling up in your chest. You couldn’t fix her problems for her, but you wanted to try and help, if you could.
After a minute, Silvia unwound her arms from around you, sitting back and running her arm over her face again. “Thanks,” she said, and her voice was more even now.
“No problem.” You smiled at her, and she returned it. “Did you have dinner?”
“Yeah.” Silvia bobbed her chin in a nod. “I’m, um… I guess I’ll just go to sleep.” She reached for the wall, the pads of her fingers sticking to it. “I’m… tired.” You nodded sympathetically. Crying a lot would do that to you.
“Okay,” you said. “I’m gonna work on my homework. If you need anything, tell me, okay?” Silvia nodded, and you got up as she crawled up the wall, curling up in her spiderweb hammock and shutting her eyes. You watched her out of the corner of your eye as you went back to your studies, keeping an eye on her as she gradually drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 48: Chapter Forty Seven - Brewing Class
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
You scooped a bottle-full of water out of the cauldron, corking it hastily before setting the bottle aside and grabbing the next. On your left, Silt was setting out potion ingredients on his desk, lining them up in neat rows where they would be easily accessible. Your brewing stand, on your own desk, was already filled with blaze powder.
“Everyone ready?” At the head of the classroom, Herobrine’s gaze swept across the desks, noting each pair’s level of preparedness. Filling up your twelfth bottle, you nodded. “Alright.” Herobrine’s hands met behind his back. “Let me explain today’s activity.
“Each round, I will ask you all what potion one would use in a specific situation. If you know the answer, do not say it aloud, just brew the potion. The first team to successfully brew the correct potion will get a point.” Herobrine nodded to the board, upon which fourteen rows marked fourteen teams. Everyone was in pairs except for Fenn and his sisters, who were in a team of three. Null’s students had all been paired with one of your classmates who might struggle more in this exercise. “There will be twelve rounds, and for each round you will use one water bottle. Whichever team has the most points at the end will win.” You cracked your knuckles, looking up at Silt. He gave you a little smirk.
You hadn’t spent much time around Silt. Most of what you knew of him was his and Dusk’s ongoing rivalry over Xa-Tul, which fortunately hadn’t progressed beyond being friendly. He was also really tall. Next to Soot and Fade, he was the tallest in the class, towering over you at nearly two blocks tall. You just hoped he was fast.
“Are there any questions?” Herobrine waited for a beat, then launched into his instructions. “Round one- imagine that you are at the bottom of a ledge and it is just too high for you to jump up. What potion would best be able to assist you in scaling the ledge?”
You and Silt nearly smacked into each other as you both scrambled for a rabbit’s foot. You diverted your aim at the last moment, grabbing a piece of netherwart at the last moment and cramming it into the funnel. You quickly slotted a water bottle into place, then waited impatiently for it to brew into an awkward potion. The leaping potion was a pretty easy one, one of the more intuitive potion recipes. Rabbits hopped, and their feet were used for hopping.
You glanced around the classroom as you waited for it to brew, and found most of your fellow students in the same stage of the exercise- which was to say, waiting and watching everyone else wait. A few teams were still struggling to get started, and you spied Cray having a tug-of-war over a piece of netherwart with his partner, Chime.
Your brewing stand gurgled as the awkward potion finished brewing, and Silt immediately shoved the rabbit’s foot into the funnel. Unfortunately, your potion of leaping was only halfway finished with Isabelle triumphantly lifted a potion above her head. “Done!” She crowed.
“Very good job,” Herobrine praised. On the blackboard, one of the rows changed to ‘1’. “Isabelle and Greyson’s team gets one point.” You huffed a disappointed sigh, but acknowledged that, with six arms, Isabelle was definitely faster than you.
“Round two,” a Herobrine went on. “Imagine that you are a land-dwelling species, and you need to spend a period of time underwater.” Around the classroom, you could see hands already moving. “What potion would you brew to ensure that you do not drown?”
“Water breathing,” Silt hissed, and he grabbed a piece of netherwart as you went for a dried pufferfish. Your heart raced as you watched your brewing stand, tipping your pufferfish into the funnel the moment it was empty.
“Done!” A shout came just before your potion finished brewing, and you looked up to find Soot holding up the potion with Dusk at her side. Silt gave him a nasty look, which was met with a cheeky grin.
“Soot and Dusk, one point.” Herobrine changed the score to reflect this. “Round three. Imagine you are in a battle-“ You saw classmates reaching for blaze powder. “-in which you need to move quickly-“ They reached for sugar instead. “-but then proceed to tumble off a cliff. What potion would give you the best chance of landing unharmed?” There was a moment of quiet confusion as you grabbed for netherwart.
The next few rounds continued in the same manner, with Herobrine occasionally trying to trip you up. You managed to get the point for the slow-fall potion, but following that the game began to be dominated by Flint. He was paired with Geode, who had started off slow, but once she warmed up was as quick as you and Silt. And Flint was, of course, really good at everything.
Round nine was brewing a splash potion of weakness, which was a recipe that you’d already had hammered into your head. You had nearly tripped over Silt’s foot trying to grab the gunpowder when a shout cut you off prematurely.
“Done.” Flint tossed the bottle, filled with a dark grey liquid, into the air about a block before catching it again. You huffed a defeated sigh, and were about to remove your failed potion from the stand when a deafening CRASH caused you to freeze in your tracks.
The classroom had gone silent by the time you registered the source- Soliel. Her brewing stand, which she had been sharing with Silvia, now lay on the ground beside her desk with shattered bottles scattered across the ground beside it. Her fiery ‘hair’, usually glowing calmly along her scalp, was flaring up nearly half a block above her, and her eyes were glowing with a vengeful intensity.
“Soliel,” Herobrine began, but never got a chance to finish as Soliel turned and stormed from the classroom.
Immediately, the classroom erupted into startled whispers and murmurs, but you stayed silent. Despite Soliel’s hotheadedness, you got the feeling that her behavior over the past week had been… something more than just being competitive.
You locked eyes with Herobrine, still standing at the blackboard, and he dipped his chin in a nod. Quietly, you turned and slipped out of the classroom after her.
It wasn’t hard to track her down. Not when she left a trail of scorched footprints on the floor behind her. You followed her quietly through the building, wincing as you felt the building rattle with the force of a slammed door. Eventually, you followed her up the stairs to the upper floor, and you found that the trail of footprints stopped at the door of the unused classroom. Timidly, you grasped the knob and eased the door open.
The room was dim, as usual, except for the far corner in which Soliel was still glowing brightly where she was curled up against the wall. She was hugging her knees to her chest, running her fingers through her braids with her head bowed. She looked… not angry. Just sad.
You took a step into the room, easing the door shut. “Soliel?”
Soliel stiffened and turned her face away. “Go away.”
“Are you okay?” You eased a step closer. You knew that Soliel could do plenty of damage if she was motivated enough. “It’s okay. What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” she spat, and she whirled to face you, tears of white-hot flame leaking down her face. “Nothing a- a player would understand.” She hid her face again, and you bit your lip uncertainly, musing over your next move.
Carefully, you made your way across the dim classroom, sinking down to sit cross-legged about three blocks away. “Then help me understand,” you offered. “I know I’m a player, I don’t know very much about any of the other races except my own- but, since I’ve come here, I’ve learned a lot. Let me learn about you.” Soliel didn’t answer for a long moment.
“We… um.” Her voice wavered, and she sniffled, rubbing her sleeve across her face. “Back at home, I was th-the best. That’s why they sent me here. And that’s all that matters to blazes.” You stayed quiet, letting her talk. “Whoever can fight the best, whoever’s s-smartest and fastest and strongest, they make the choices for us.” She wiped her tears off her face again, and you winced as a speck of white fire flew wide and hit the leg of a desk. Fortunately, it fizzled out before setting anything on fire. “I was supposed t’ be our champion. Was gonna be our matriarch. But now I’m… I keep losing.”
“To Flint?” You supplied softly. Soliel nodded. “Soliel, he’s older than you.”
“Doesn’ matter. I’m better than the older kids back home.”
“He’s also been a part of a specialized school for a year already,” you pointed out. “Selected out of every blaze kid out there. You don’t have to be the best in the world, Soliel.”
“Yes I do. I was supposed to be.”
“No you don’t.” You reached out and touched her shoulder- very carefully, at first, making sure she wasn’t hot to the touch before you set your hand down. “Why do you want to be matriarch?”
“Because I…” she sniffled, hesitated. “…it’s… what I’m supposed to do?” Her voice lilted up uncertainly. “My parents have been training me my whole life for it.”
You cocked your head. “Ok, well, first of all, is Flint a member of your… town?” Soliel shook her head. “So it doesn’t matter if he’s better. Also, he’s a boy, I don’t think he could be a ‘matriarch’ either way.” Soliel choked out a tiny giggle at that.
“Second,” you went on. “Isn’t the ability to know another person’s strengths a good trait for a leader to have? To be able to acknowledge that someone is a better fit for a task?” Soliel wiped away her tears again.
“…maybe.”
“I think-“ You hesitated. “I think you’re just… not used to losing. I know it sucks, but, you can’t be the best at everything. It’s literally impossible, there are so many people in the world. But-“ you added on hastily as Soliel’s face screwed up again. “You can still be great. And you’re amazing, Soliel. You’re smart and quick on your feet and you memorize things like a champ, you’re one of the most skilled people I know. The only flaw you have is that you’re a little bit… mean.” You finished lamely. Soliel sniffled.
“Mm.”
“You can be great without putting other people down,” you told her. “And I know Flint really annoys you, but he'll only be here for a couple more days. Then you can get back to being the best. Here, anyway.” Soliel released a shuddering sigh.
“Mhm.”
“Do you wanna come back downstairs?” You offered. Soliel shook her head. “Do you want me to go away?” Soliel hesitated, then shook her head again.
“You’re-“ her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “…nice.” You broke into a little smile.
“Thanks.”
The two of you sat in silence for a little while, Soliel’s tears eventually running dry. You busied yourself by watching the little sparks that came off of her body, drifting down to the floor before winking out.
Eventually, Soliel spoke up again. “If you were a blaze, you would’ve mocked me for my failures,” she muttered. “Especially after how I’ve treated you.”
“Well, a lot of people don’t do that,” you told her. “I mean, some would. Cray probably would.” She smirked a bit.
“Yeah.”
“But Flint has never mocked you,” you went on. “Even though he is a blaze.” Soliel made a face, but gave a little nod.
“He’s… probably… not insecure in his skills.”
“Or maybe a part of Null’s curriculum is telling him to be nice,” you suggested. Soliel rolled her eyes.
“Maybe.”
It was nice to sit here like this, you noted. Soliel was one of your few classmates who you weren’t on good terms with, and now the two of you were sitting together in comfortable silence. It was a nice change of pace. With her at least sort of befriended, that left only Jace.
Above you, the bell went off, announcing the end of class and the beginning of dinner. You looked up, then down to meet Soliel’s eyes.
“Wanna go eat?” You asked. Soliel rubbed at her eyes with the palm of her hand one more time, then nodded.
“Y-yeah.” She braced a hand on the wall and straightened up, and you were glad to discover that she was no longer leaving scorch marks.
“Let’s go.” You offered her a hand, and she took it. Her hand was warm. Together, the two of you walked out of the classroom and headed back downstairs for dinner.
Notes:
Oh hey, we hit 100k words
Chapter 49: Chapter Forty Eight - Combat Class
Chapter Text
“Today’s combat lesson will be twofold.” Herobrine gestured across the combat classroom, towards the far wall where five of Null’s students were standing with bows and quivers. “There will be the archers, and the runners, those dodging them. I’ve asked Null’s class to assist me in demonstrating the activity. Ezra?” He turned to where you and your classmates were waiting, and Ezra straightened up, sauntering out of the group and positioning himself behind a stack of three blocks.
It was Friday afternoon. Your week with Null’s class was almost over. You were a little disappointed, they were nice people and you liked them quite a bit. If nothing else, though, at least Flint leaving would probably help Soliel to calm down a bit.
You chanced a look over your shoulder, to where Soliel was standing behind you on your right. You had sat next to her at dinner last night, where you continued to talk, and she had continued to calm down as the evening went on. By the time you had gotten around to class this morning, she was back to her old, superior self- but not without a little bit more patience, and a few more smiles shot in your direction.
You glanced over to the other side of the room as the archers lifted their bows. Each one had an arrow fitted to the string, though it wasn’t a normal arrow- these ones had a sort of lump on the end, instead of a sharp arrowhead. Probably so that it wouldn’t hurt as much.
“You will recall the lesson that my wife taught several classes ago,” Herobrine said, “where you had to dodge snowballs being thrown by a snow golem. This activity will be similar, but, instead of snowballs, it will be arrows. Worry not, these arrows will not be able to hurt you.” In demonstration, Ezra stepped out from behind his cover, and Chime promptly shot him. The lumpy arrow bounced off his shoulder, knocking him back a step, but he didn’t so much as flinch.
“The goal of this activity is for each participant to get to the end of the course, take a stick from the basket-” Herobrine gestured to the basket on the other side of the arena, past all of the hiding spots and cover, which was filled with sticks. “-and bring it back here without being shot. If you are hit, you must return to the beginning and start over.
“This is not a competition,” he went on as Ezra crossed the arena to join the other archers. “I encourage you to support each other however possible during this exercise. The archers will switch out with the runners every few rounds. Are there any questions?” Cray’s hand shot up, and Herobrine gestured to him. “Go ahead.”
“How do you choose who will get to shoot next?”
“The first six runners will be allowed to shoot next, then the next six runners will replace them after that,” Herobrine explained.
“Can I go first?” Was Cray’s immediate follow-up question. Herobrine smiled.
“Yes, Cray, you may go first. Are there any other questions?” He scanned the class, then nodded decisively. “Very well. Cray, you may come to the starting block.” Herobrine teleported to the beginning of the run, pointing to a red terracotta block on the ground. You shuffled to the side, a little nervous, to get a better look as Cray scampered over to the block and crouched down upon it. Ezra hadn’t really been bothered by getting struck by the arrow, but Cray was a lot smaller… and lighter. On the other hand, maybe his size would keep him from getting hit.
“Are you ready?” Herobrine asked, and you watched as the archers strung up their arrows. Cray nodded, his tail flicking. “And… go.”
Cray shot forward, ducking behind the first piece of cover as Zeph loosed an arrow, which pinged harmlessly off the wall behind him. Cray darted forward again, pausing only for a moment behind the second shelter before moving again, only to let out a startled squawk as an arrow hit him and sent him crashing face-first into the sand.
“You alright?” Elaine called over as you tensed, craning your neck to get a better look at Cray’s prone body. Cray lifted his head, spitting out a mouthful of sand.
“Yeah.”
“Come on back,” Herobrine urged him, and Cray hauled himself upright, traipsing back towards the starting block. You glanced over at the archers again, watching as Zeph strung up a new arrow. The first six runners were probably going to have the most trouble.
It took Cray two more tries to make it through, being shot on his second run by Amphitrite, Kai’s cousin. The next volunteer was Marrow, who you suspected was excited to get to the shooting part as quickly as possible. It took her several tries to get through as well, and you had a hunch that, on her final try, Null’s students might have just taken pity on her.
“Good job,” Herobrine praised her as she made it back to the starting block. “Who’s next?”
“I’ll go,” Soliel spoke up, striding forward from where she’d been waiting on your right. You watched her as she made her way up to the starting block. You really hoped that this wouldn’t end up a repeat of yesterday.
“Ready?” Herobrine asked as she crouched down. “...go.” She took off, skipping the first two shelters before ducking down behind the third, which several arrows immediately bounced off of. Taking advantage of their reloading time, Soliel darted forward again, only for a training arrow to immediately bounce off the side of her head.
“Ugh!” She exclaimed as she staggered to a halt. She whipped around to come back to the start, and you looked over to find Flint reloading his bow with a smirk on his face.
You caught her eye as she was coming back, and you mouthed “ breathe” in her direction. Soliel scowled at you, but took a deep breath, causing her glowing hair to flare up momentarily at the influx of oxygen before she let it out. She crouched down on the block again, and Herobrine sent her off.
You glanced at Herobrine as she made her second attempt, ducking from shelter to shelter as she was pelted with arrows. He had told you to ‘support each other however possible’ for this game… did that mean you could… sabotage the archers, or something?
You leaned over to Kai and whispered, “ Hey, can you laser Flint, just for a second? ”
Kai balked, looking back at you incredulously. “ That would be cheating! ”
“ The teacher said to support her however possible, ” you hissed back, watching as Soliel paused behind a section of blocks for a long moment. “ So it’s not cheating.” Kai frowned, then looked over at the archers.
“... okay ,” she finally whispered. She focused on the archers across the room, then her eye widened, and a pinkish-green beam of light shot across the room towards the arrow he had nocked in his bow.
The bow wobbled abruptly as the laser hit it, and Flint jerked, yelping in surprise as his arrow flew wide. Soliel lurched forward as the arrow hit the wall above her, snatching a stick from the basket and ducking back behind a shelter. You broke into a grin, then froze when you noticed Herobrine looking back at you. He just smiled and looked back towards Soliel.
“Hey, I can do that too!” Cray shouted. Before you could stop him, Cray charged out into the center of the arena and exploded, sending dust and sand flying into the air.
You covered your mouth with your sleeve as Soliel appeared at the starting block again, a wide grin on her face. Herobrine fanned the dust away with his hand, beckoning Cray back towards the group. “Excellent teamwork,” he praised. “Who would like to go next?”
You watched as Greyson went, then Soot, then Morpheus. As the first set finished, Null’s students set down their bows and arrows, and crossed the arena towards the rest of the class.
“Those who have already run, you may go and pick up your bows,” Herobrine told you. As they obeyed, you noticed that a couple of the bows had been switched out with smaller versions. Probably for Cray and Greyson. “Who would like to go next?” Herobrine went on. Nobody spoke up, and he prompted, “Y/N? How about you?”
“Sure.” You stepped out of the group, eying the archers as they picked up their bows and arrows. Null was standing beside them now, helping Cray to get his posture right. That made sense. Archery was half the lesson, after all.
“Ready?” Herobrine asked as you crouched down on the terracotta block. “And… go!” You launched yourself forward, plastering yourself to the first shelter as a volley of arrows flew in your direction.
The arrows, harmless as they may be, were a lot more intimidating, when they were flying towards your head. You waited until the archers were occupied with reloading before you lunged for the next shelter, just narrowly dodging an arrow that flew past your head.
“Oh Y/N!” Cray called over in a sing-song voice. “Come out come ouuuut!” You stuck your head out from behind the wall for just long enough to poke your tongue out at him, then ducked back to safety as more arrows flew your way.
“Hey Cray!” You heard Geode shout from behind you. “Your shoe’s untied!” There was a brief pause.
“...my what ?”
You darted to the next shelter, then to the next before you could lose your nerve. Cray, of course, wasn’t wearing any shoes.
You snatched a stick from the basket, then turned around, taking a daring look over at the archers before hiding again. You could see Cray and Soot struggling with proper form, and Null trying to assist them. Undoubtedly your run was the easiest one so far.
Steeling your nerves, you charged forward again, only to be smacked in the side of the head by a training arrow.
“Sorry!” Marrow shouted over as you staggered and grasped at your head. Grumbling, you turned around to return the stick. The arrow hadn’t hurt , but it had rattled you a little bit.
“Come on back,” Herobrine urged as you returned to the starting line. You crouched down, glancing over at the archers. Cray stuck his tongue out at you.
Your second attempt went better. You went faster, and managed to bait the archers into firing several times before you actually moved to the next checkpoint. This time, you made it back to the starting block unscathed, and you shot Cray a superior look as you returned to the rest of the class. You watched the next few rounds, admiring how quickly Cray picked up the correct way to use a bow. Fenn, Zephyr, and Nightshade, you noticed, were watching from an upper balcony, Zephyr curled up across Fenn’s legs with her head pillowed on her arms.
As your group finished, you were shuffled into the archer position, and you got to shoot for the next six rounds. This part was fun. Maybe it was your violent, warmongering player nature, but hitting people with blunt objects never got old.
By the end of the lesson, it was Null’s class’s turn to run. This round, Herobrine conjured up more bows and training arrows, and had the entire class firing at them. You got the feeling that this was intended to be a ‘fun’ round. It was fun. Getting to watch almost twenty arrows fire off every time one of Null’s students so much as showed their face was funny.
You caught sight of Soliel, who had a wide grin on her face as she fired off another arrow. She spotted you looking and met your eyes, raising a brow.
“What?”
“Nothing.” You broke into a grin. “I’m just proud of you.”
“Proud?” Soliel’s shoulders straightened. “For what?”
“For…” You gestured to her aimlessly. “…being chill. And not letting your dislike of Flint ruin your day.”
“Oh.” Soliel turned back to her target, Chime, where she was trying to make it back across to the finish line. An arrow nearly struck her, but she teleported away just in time, and Herobrine called her back to the starting line to try again. “…thanks, I guess.” Despite her disinterested words, there was a notably proud tone to her voice.
“You’re welcome.” You turned back to your task, fitting another training arrow to your bow and aiming across the classroom.
Chapter 50: Chapter Forty Nine - Ocean Field Trip, Part 1
Chapter Text
“As I’m sure several of you have already guessed, there are a few members of our class who will not be able to participate in today’s field trip,” Herobrine told you. “Soliel, Flint, Fade, and Chime, you will be spending the day with Null, on a separate trip.” Soliel wrinkled up her nose as she glanced over at Flint. You just wiggled your toes in the sand.
You and your classmates were standing on a beach. Waves lapped at the sand beneath your feet, and you could see glowing formations of colorful coral beneath the water. Tropical fish darted to and fro, drawing Kai’s gaze even as she tried to focus on your teacher.
You were dressed in your swimsuit, a swim shirt and swim trunks that you remembered being confused to find on your packing list at the end of summer break. You’d figured at the time that maybe you would be swimming laps. Nope. Apparently you were going straight into the actual ocean.
Dusk raised his hand, and Herobrine pointed to him. “Go ahead.”
“Um, I’m not hurt by the water, but it’s…” Dusk fidgeted. “...uncomfortable. I get all soggy.”
“I understand. Your roommate doesn’t particularly enjoy being in the water either.” Herobrine nodded to Jace, who was standing at his side with 303 and staring down at the sand. “The two of you are welcome to spend the day in a boat instead, following the rest of the class on the surface.” Pacified, Dusk nodded.
“Other than those already excused, who here considers themselves a competent swimmer?” Herobrine asked, and several hands went up, including yours as you glanced around at your classmates. Kai and Silt’s hands were up (obviously), while none of the skeletons had raised their hands. Zephyr and Nightshade had their hands up, Cray did not. “Very good. Regardless of your ability, all of you who need one will be provided with a water breathing potion, so that you will be in no danger of drowning.
“For today’s field trip, the goal more than anything else is just to explore,” Herobrine went on. “We will be traveling as a group, but you are welcome to take your time and enjoy the sights as we move. For those of the class that are native to the ocean, I encourage you to answer any questions that your classmates may have.” Herobrine glanced around the group again. “Are we all ready to go?” There were a few murmurs of assent. “Alright. Those who are going with Null, please join him now. Everyone else, come here to get your potions.”
Your class split into two groups, and you caught Soliel’s eye for a moment before hurrying forward to get your potions. She looked a little irate about being stuck with Flint, but it didn’t look like she was in any danger of setting fires yet. Obviously, today you wouldn’t be around to try and mediate… so, hopefully Null would be able to fill that role. Either way, Flint would be leaving after today. Ezra had told you this morning at breakfast that they would be heading out tomorrow afternoon.
Herobrine handed you a bundle, which you opened to find several potions. “These are all eight-minute water-breathing potions,” he explained. “Have you ever used one before?”
“No.” You took one out, tucking the bundle away into your inventory.
“It takes a little while to get used to,” Herobrine told you. “But once you have, you’ll all but forget that you’re underwater. Since I’m going to be with the group, I’ll be reminding you every seven minutes to drink a new one.” You nodded and stepped back, letting your classmates get in to accept potions. While you waited, you wandered over to the shoreline, stepping into the wet sand where the waves just barely reached.
Morpheus came over to stand next to you, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Don’t drown on me, okay?” he said cheerfully. You snorted.
“I could say the same thing to you.”
“I can’t,” Morpheus told you. “I’m undead. I don’t need to breathe.” You gave him a funny look.
“Really?” It made sense, you guessed. It was still weird to think about.
“Really. And swimming is really similar to flying, so…” Morpheus shrugged. “Try to keep up, I guess.” You scoffed.
“We’re supposed to stay together.”
“And I’m going to be swimming circles around you, apparently.”
“Hey!” Kai appeared in between you before you could retort, throwing an arm around each of your shoulders. “Are you ready to go?”
“Just about.” You held up your potion. “I need to drink this first.”
“Are you excited?” Morpheus asked her, which was pointless since she was practically bouncing up and down beside you.
“Yeah!” she chirped. “I haven’t been in the water for a while. I’ve missed it.” You reached around her spikes to ruffle her hair.
“I figured.”
“Does everyone who needs them have their potions?” 303 called. You turned around to look at him, and watched as 303 downed a potion of his own. “Alright,” he said. “Let’s go. Into the water, guys.” Kai wasted no time in releasing you and Morpheus, charging forward and splashing into the waves. Morpheus smirked at you, then followed.
You uncorked your potion and drank it, swallowing, then grimacing at the weird, salty taste. You coughed, then tucked the empty bottle back into your inventory before stepping into the water. You shivered as the water reached your knees, then your waist, and you felt a small thrill of nervousness go through you as the sand dropped off beneath you and you plunged into the water.
You held your breath at first, instinctive. It took until your lungs were burning before you took a nervous gasp of the saltwater, which rushed down your throat and into your lungs in a fashion that made you panic briefly before you realized you weren’t choking to death. You exhaled, watching a cloud of bubbles wobble their way up to the surface, then took another gulp of water. You could breathe. Okay. As long as you kept up with your potions, everything would be fine.
You blinked around at your surroundings, swimming away from shore and watching as several of your classmates followed you into the water. Soot was standing on the bottom of the ocean already, and she waved up at you cheerfully. Greyson was bobbing along on top of the water, struggling to get underneath it, and you watched as 303 called him back to shore. At the same time, you could see Herobrine placing a boat in the shallow water and helping Jace and Dusk to climb into it. Well, you now knew a surefire way of avoiding Jace, you guessed.
You spotted flailing up the shore, and you saw Cray splashing around in the shallow water. Snickering, you swam up to check on him.
“Hey!” You popped out of the water in front of him, prompting a shriek. “Did you drink your potion?” Cray glared at you, dusting off his front.
“ Yes , obviously.”
“C’mon then, what are you doing up here?” you urged. Cray made a face, and he shuffled back, sinking down to sit on a block of sand that stuck out of the water.
“I can’t swim,” he grumbled. “And I don’t like the water.”
“You don’t need to swim, remember?” you prompted. “You can breathe underwater right now.”
“ Yes , but…” he hesitated. “I just don’t like it.”
“Why not?” you pushed yourself up to sit next to him. Cray didn’t answer for a moment, reaching down to pick up a handful of sand.
“There’s an underground pool running next to the cave where I grew up in,” he finally said. “One time, some of the other creepers pushed me into it. And they kept pushing me back in when I tried to get out.” You stared at him, aghast.
“What- why?? ”
“They didn’t like me.” Cray was obviously trying to keep his tone light, but the way he stared down at the sand instead of meeting your eyes was a clear enough indication that he was upset. “So I had to- I kind of swam somewhere else to get out. But I was really scared, ‘cause I almost sank.” There was a moment’s pause. “So now I don’t like water.”
You wrapped your arms around him, squishing him against your side. “Yeah.” You were trying not to show it, but you were horrified at the idea that some of Cray’s neighbors had apparently tried to drown him. “Well- uh, I’m sure the teacher would let you have a boat if you asked,” you started. “But you’re safe here, I promise. You can’t drown, and I’m gonna be right here with you.” Cray took a deep breath, then let it out, gripping onto your arm.
“Okay,” he finally said. “I can try, I guess.” You nodded, standing up and grabbing his hand.
“It feels weird,” you told him. “When you first start. But you get used to it pretty fast.” Cray nodded, and he pushed himself off the block, wading into the shallow water again. You released his hand to duck back underwater, and Cray hesitated on the last block for a moment longer before jumping in after you.
Cray had sunk almost all the way to the ocean floor before he took a breath, making a choked noise before his brain caught up with his body. He took another breath, then looked up at you, floating about a block above him. “This is weird,” he said, and his voice sounded weird and echoey. You couldn’t help but giggle.
“Yeah,” you acknowledged. “C’mon.” Cray pushed off the bottom to join you, trying to mimic your swimming motions, but he wasn’t able to get very far before he sank again. “Here.” You grabbed his hand, tugging him up, and you started to swim towards the rest of the group with Cray trailing behind you in the water.
Herobrine was standing on the ocean floor as you reached the rest of the class, fully dressed in his usual clothes. Apparently nothing could get him out of that sweater vest.
“We’re going to be moving southward, away from shore,” he was saying as you and Cray got close. “Our goal is to have reached our endpoint by noon, then to reach the shore again by 2:00PM. I can see that some of us are having a bit of trouble getting used to the water-” he glanced over to you and Cray. “-so I’m giving us plenty of time to move. Is everyone ready?” You looked down at the rest of the class as you swam over them. Greyson was underwater now, a pair of shimmering, iron boots on his feet. Probably enchanted with Depth Strider. Zephyr was outfitted with the same equipment, and you could see Jace and Dusk’s boat above you on the surface of the water.
“Alright.” Herobrine turned around, beginning to walk over the ocean floor as easily as if he were on land. “Let’s go.”
“Hey, Y/N!” A shout made you look up, just in time for you to see Cray doing a somersault in the water above you. “Look at me!” You snickered.
“See?” You called up. “Swimming’s fun, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, when I’m not dying.” Cray grinned at you, now upside-down.
“Class,” Herobrine called out from ahead of you. “It’s time to refresh your potions.” Obediently, you fumbled one out of your bundle, popping the cork out and hurriedly downing it before the potion could mix with the water and float away.
Your class had gradually moved away from the coral reef and into the open ocean, which was speckled with pockets of long, winding kelp. Cray had already gotten stuck in it once, which Silt was gracious enough to come and deal with with his trident. Just as your teacher had told you, there wasn’t much in the way of actually doing things on this field trip. It kind of felt like a mini vacation.
You turned onto your back, gazing up at the sunbeams that sparkled down through the water and illuminated the sea floor in dazzling, hypnotizing patterns. This was the first time in a while that you had seen the sun shining properly. Earlier, on the beach, there had been a pocket of clouds that conveniently blocked the sun from shining down on you directly until everyone had gotten in the water. Except Jace and Dusk, of course. Dusk was undead, but… apparently, was fine in the sunshine? Either way, if you’d had any doubt before that Herobrine could control the weather, you definitely didn’t now.
You turned over and began to swim again, kicking your feet in an effort to catch up with the rest of the class. After the initial adjustment period, everyone seemed to be having a great time. Before you had left the coral reef, half the class had gotten caught up in an attempt to catch a particularly striking tropical fish, and since then you had spotted a few of your classmates playing a rudimentary version of hide and seek amongst the kelp. Kai was constantly swimming around the group, checking in on everyone, while 303 remained on the edges of the group and Herobrine led the way. It was nice.
Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted movement, and you turned expecting to see Cray trying to sneak up behind you. Instead, you locked eyes with a completely unfamiliar face poking halfway out from behind a thick tendril of kelp.
You gasped, but the figure only waved to you before vanishing behind the kelp again. You whirled around, seeking out Herobrine for answers.
“Who was that?” you called out. Herobrine looked up to you.
“One of the drowned who lives in these waters,” he called back. “I informed them beforehand that we would be in the area, and they were content with it. You have nothing to fear from them.” Satisfied, you looked back to the kelp. That made sense, that there would be other people living here… you had just never seen anyone on your field trips before. Except for those players in the Nether, anyway.
“Silt,” you called over, catching his attention where he was floating lazily nearby. “Where do you live?”
“A lake,” he called back. “I’m a freshwater drowned. I live in the lakes and rivers beside Xa-Tul’s jungle.”
“Oh.” You looked down curiously, towards where Xa-Tul was walking along the bottom of the ocean with Marrow at her side. So that’s why they had a thing. “Does Dusk live near there, too?”
“Yes.” Silt’s face wrinkled up a bit as he looked up at the boat. “The jungle is bordered by a desert. So we all knew each other before school.”
“Is that why Herobrine picked the three of you?”
“Probably,” Silt said, sounding unconcerned. “He came to visit the jungle, and he found the three of us there. It probably cut down on the time he had to spend finding students.”
“I guess.” You wondered if that was all it was, or if Herobrine preferred to have students who knew each other beforehand. It probably cut down on having students who hated each other, like Jace with you… or like the player and phantom students from last year.
“If we’re seeing drowned, it means we’re close,” 303 called out, floating along near the edge of the pack.
“Close?” You looked over. “To our destination.”
“Yup.” 303 pointed forward, and you followed his gaze to where you could make out a large, well-lit structure in the water about 100 blocks ahead of you.
Your eyes widened as you got closer, close enough to make out what it was. It was a huge, sunken ship, mostly intact, that was lit by sea lanterns built into the hull along the sides and up the mast. Some of the holes that you could see in the sides of the ship had a weird shimmer to them, and it wasn’t until you got closer that you realized they had been filled in with glass. Through these ‘windows’, you could see torches burning, next to furnaces and even bookshelves. The inside had air.
“Who lives there?” Geode called out, swimming along with Kai at her side.
“Nobody,” 303 replied with a grin on his face. “At least, not anymore. Once upon a time, this place was used as a sort of hideout, or checkpoint for griefers that targeted the nearest ports. However, several years ago a certain someone…” 303 wiggled his fingers, catching Herobrine’s gaze. “... liberated it.” You blinked, looking between the two of them as Herobrine smiled back. Your first instinct was to assume that your teacher had been the person 303 was talking about, until you remembered the conversation you’d had with 303 on the first night after he arrived.
“I’m kind of like a… griefer-griefer. I give them a taste of their own medicine.”
“Cool!” Cray said cheerfully.
“Heck yeah it’s cool. Now c’mon.” 303 kicked his feet, swimming ahead of you. “The guards are expecting us.”
Chapter 51: Chapter Fifty - Ocean Field Trip, Part 2
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
You swam towards the open door, staggering a little bit as you stepped out of the water and into the air pocket within. Immediately, you hugged your arms to your chest, shivering.
“Cold?” Herobrine gave you an apologetic look from where he stood before you. “Sorry about that. The residents are far more accustomed to the cold than players are.”
“Y-yeah.” Your teeth chattered as you stepped away from the door, letting Kaden clamber through behind you. “It’s okay.”
“Does this help?” Geode asked, and she wrapped her arms around you tightly. You giggled and leaned down, resting your chin on her shoulder.
“Yeah.”
“Good day to you all.” The sound of a new voice caused your head to pop up again, and you looked down the hall past Herobrine to find a tall, armored guardian coming to a stop beside your teacher. “My name is Caspian, and I am the standing officer over those stationed here at this time. I will be giving you a tour of the ship.”
Caspian was tall, standing at least half a block taller than Herobrine beside him. He was clean-shaven, and had long hair that was pulled into a bun behind his head. His hair was lighter, almost blond, as opposed to red like Kai and her cousin. Actually… his scales were lighter too, for that matter. Rather than a bright, intense teal, his scales were a sort of a mint color.
He was dressed in full, gold armor, except for his helmet which he held under his arm. His armor was intricately forged, much more slim and fancy than the bulky armor that you usually saw players wear. His tail was armored as well, stacking gold plates that ended about halfway down. The gold armor was embedded with shards of emeralds along the seams, which sparkled in the light of the sea lanterns on either side of the entryway.
Caspian wasn’t the first guardian you’d seen here. Several more had greeted you as you approached the shipwreck, swimming around to confer briefly with Herobrine before darting away again. Their armor had been more plain, no emeralds and not as many fancy designs, but it was still beautiful. You wondered why they chose gold.
“Your majesty.” Caspian smiled over your shoulder, and you looked back in surprise to find Kai stepping through the open doorway. “It’s a pleasure to see you here.” Kai’s eye widened, then she hurriedly dropped into a bow.
“Likewise, officer.”
“I hope your trip here was agreeable,” Caspian went on as you looked between him and Kai. Did she know every guardian?? “These waters are typically peaceful, but we do get the odd group of griefers from time to time.”
“Our only encounter was with the drowned of the kelp forest,” Herobrine responded pleasantly, and you shuffled aside as more of your classmates came through the door. “That should be everyone,” he added, looking towards the door. “Class, this is Caspian. He’s going to be our tour guide today.” Caspian bowed, then straightened up, the spikes on his head almost brushing the ceiling above you.
“Let’s get started,” he said. “Come with me.” He beckoned you towards him, then turned and began to walk down the hallway. Geode grabbed your hand and followed.
“This ship would have been built in the early 1100s,” Caspian began, ducking his head as he started to ascend a creaking staircase. “It is a freighter, intended for storing goods. The name of the ship has been lost, as any records were destroyed when it was sunk, but scholars agree that it was most likely lost during the raids of 1170.” You looked out a portion of glass as you passed it, catching sight of a gold-armored guardian swimming by. That made this ship… at least 600 years old.
“This is the captain’s cabin,” Caspian told you as you reached the top of the staircase. “And, during the ship’s griefer occupation, their meeting place. We now use it as our bunkhouse.” Sure enough, the walls of the large cabin were lined with beds, stacked three high. You made a quick count, and found that there were twelve beds. Twelve guards must be the most they had at one time. You could still see remnants of the cabin’s original purpose in the desk that was bolted to the ground at the back of the room, the empty bookshelves that sat behind it, and a weathered, sepia globe. You could also see signs of griefers- at least, that was what you assumed was the source of the old scorch marks on the floor below you.
“It was the griefers who repaired this ship with glass,” Caspian told the class. “And removed the water from inside. Most of them are players, after all, and using up dozens of water-breathing potions every time they wished to stop here was not economically sound.” He stepped over to the door, pushing it open. “Let’s keep moving.” Obediently, you and your classmates trailed out behind him.
The deck was in an air pocket as well, encased in a layer of glass speckled with sea lanterns for light. You could see trapdoors at the bottom of the dome, which would serve as another way to enter or exit the ship. You wondered if the griefers had any defenses here, or if they were just recklessly confident that nobody would find them.
“Up at the top of the mast,” Caspian pointed, and you craned back your neck to look. “You can still see the ship’s original colors.” Sure enough, there was a tattered flag that moved lazily in the currents, just barely visible in the light of the sea lanterns. “That is the flag of the Red Rock kingdom, which had an extensive trading network from 1000 to roughly 1230. They would have had dozens of these ships on the seas at once, transporting anything from emeralds, to wheat and seeds, to chiseled stone.”
You remembered the Red Rock kingdom from your history classes in middle school. As far as you could remember, the kingdom had fallen apart sometime in the late 1200s, after a huge dispute over who the next monarch would be.
“Because this was a trading ship, most of the space is in the hold,” Caspian said as he walked towards a hatch in the middle of the deck. “The griefers used it to store gunpowder and stolen goods. Now, it is primarily used for our living space and food.” He pulled the hatch open and gestured to it, and several of your classmates hurried ahead to be the first down the ladder.
True to his word, the hold was massive. It felt like being in a train station, if the train station had grass and flowers and a large dining table in the middle of it. Because the sand that had crept into the hold over time had been dug out and replaced with dirt, which had grass and flowers growing on it. You wondered if that happened before or after the griefers were chased away. There was another giant ‘window’ in the wall here, and you looked outside, watching as a glow squid slowly swam by.
There were barrels and chests along one end, which you guessed was probably their storage and food. There were a couple of guardians sitting at the table, without their armor, leaving them in thin, dark blue clothes. Unlike Caspian, their scales and hair were the same color as Kai and Amphitrite’s. They waved to you, and you waved back.
The other end of the hold looked like a game-room kind of area, with makeshift tables and chairs that held checkerboards and cards. There was a string of glowstone lights hung over a wool couch, and a target block on the wall with several arrows sticking out of it. You wondered how long this group of guardians would be stationed here. They must have families back at home.
303 ambled past you, his hands in his pockets as he stopped in the middle of the group. “When I first came, this place wasn’t nearly as cozy,” he said cheerfully. “The ship’s tenants were less focused on making it nice, and more on making it hold as much loot as possible. Half the hold here was a maze of chests, most of which didn’t even hold anything.”
“Indeed.” Caspian smirked at him. “It seems the residents had eyes a little bigger than their stomachs, in that regard.” He turned back to the class, clapping his hands together. “This concludes the tour. Your teacher has asked me to give you some time to explore before you head out again.” You glanced back at Herobrine, who nodded, then you wandered away from the group towards the glass wall.
You leaned your forehead against the glass blocks, gazing out at the ocean floor before you. It was pretty dark this deep down. The kelp that grew around the ship writhed ominously in the currents, and you shivered.
Cray bonked into the glass beside you. “The squid’s gone,” he commented.
“The glow squid?” You scanned the ocean floor. “I guess so.”
“They probably ate it,” Cray said. “Guardians eat squids.”
“Do they??” You broke into a grin. “Who told you that?”
“Kai did!” Cray stuck an accusatory finger in her direction. “She said that guardians like to eat squid if they can.”
“Huh.” You’d thought they only ate fish. “I never knew.”
“I want to try one.” Cray squished his face against the glass again, and you snickered.
“I mean, maybe you can, when we leave. And, uh, don’t break the glass,” you added. Cray leaned mournfully against the window.
“But it would be so easy.”
“Cray, no.”
You were allotted about fifteen minutes to explore before Herobrine announced that it was time to go. You said your goodbyes to Caspian and the other guardians, drank another water-breathing potion, then headed back out into the ocean. While you were really enjoying this field trip, you were glad to be heading back to the schoolhouse. It was already past when you would usually have lunch, and you were getting hungry.
You sank down on the bench next to Soliel, setting your tray down on the table with a clack. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Soliel glanced over, then back down at her own food. “How was your trip?”
“It was good.” Your hair was still stuck up in every direction, having been flash-dried by the heat of the Nether as you were heading back from the beach, and you hadn’t had a chance to style it yet. “How was yours? Where did you go, anyway?”
“We went to the desert. We looked at a desert well and went into a pyramid.” She shrugged. “It was fine. What did you do?”
“We went to a shipwreck that had been turned into a griefer hub, which has been taken over by guardians now.” You scooped up a bite of potatoes, chewed, then swallowed. “And I taught Cray how to swim.”
“Oh. So now we have to worry about creepers in the water.” Soliel scoffed, but you could tell she was holding back a smirk. You took another bite of your food and shut your eyes, resting your elbows on the table. Your field trip was fun, but it had definitely tired you out.
“…Flint’s nice.” Soliel’s voice drew your attention back to her, and you stared.
“Nice?”
“Yeah.” Soliel poked at her food with her fork, looking irritated. “We… talked some, on our field trip. And he’s… yeah. Nice.” She paused. “I’m still glad he’s leaving tomorrow.”
“Yeah. But, I’m glad.” You leaned over to nudge her with your elbow. “That you and him got along.” Soliel grunted and stabbed viciously at the mushrooms on her plate again.
You looked across the table to where Null’s students were sitting, all together and all in a row. You hoped that, someday, you would get a chance to see them again.
Notes:
im tired
leave a comment :3
Chapter 52: Chapter Fifty One - Day of Rest
Notes:
proofreading is for nerds (I am about to make some huge error)
Chapter Text
You leaned back on the lunch table, pitching a ball at the far wall and catching it as it bounced back towards you. You would back to throw it again, only for it to be snatched from your hand, and you shoved yourself up straight. “Hey!”
“You're distracting me,” Morpheus growled, sticking the ball in his inventory. You pouted.
“I wouldn't be distracting you if you had finished your homework already.”
“That's what Sundays are for!” Morpheus threw his hands up in the air. “Not all of us can be overachievers and do all our homework in like five minutes.”
“I'm not an overachiever!” You folded your arms, slumping back against the table. Unfortunately, there was no way to get your ball back unless he handed it over, since it was impossible to get into someone else’s inventory. “There's just hardly any homework compared to what I'm used to.” Morpheus just grumbled and bent over his paper again.
It was Sunday afternoon. Null had left less than an hour before, with his six students in tow, back into the Nether portal in the basement. You had been sad to see them go, but the ache was already starting to ease. You liked them, but you hadn't known them for long enough to really get attached.
It was raining lightly outside, and through the dining hall windows you could see Cray and Grayson running around on the front lawn. You cracked a smile as you watched Cray lunge at his playmate, only for Greyson to suck in a breath of air and float up out of the way. You were tempted to go out and join them, but, after being in the ocean for half the day yesterday, you didn't really feel like getting wet again.
You stuck your hands behind you, tipping your head back to relax again, only for your attention to immediately be grabbed by an odd sight out of the corner of your eye.
Jace was sitting in the corner of the room. That wasn't that odd. You had noticed that he was here when you first came in, as you usually did when you entered a room with him- more of a survival instinct than anything else. What was odd was that he was sitting in front of Nightshade- the half-player, half-phantom hybrid that you had met in the woods that one night.
You immediately stiffened, sitting up again. Not only had Jace been hostile to you, but he had threatened 303 as well, simply because both of you were players. You couldn't help but assume the worst. Where was Fenn, anyway??
He didn't… look aggressive right now, though. You leaned towards them a bit, trying to figure out what they were doing. Jace was speaking quietly to her, leaning in so that he couldn't be heard, and she was watching him calmly as he did so. Not that you had ever really seen an expression on her face other than ‘calm’ or ‘passive’, so… maybe that wasn't the best indication that he was being nice.
You watched them for a few minutes as they chatted back and forth, too quiet for you to make out anything that they were saying. Weird that he wasn't being mean… though, he seemed to like Herobrine just fine, who had told you that he was ‘a little of both’ between player and monster. Maybe that meant he was fine with Nightshade, too?
Abruptly, Fenn appeared in the doorway, marched over to the corner, and grabbed Nightshade by the hand and pulled her away. He turned directly towards you, and you hurriedly looked down to pretend you hadn't been watching, only for him to walk straight up to where you and Morpheus were sitting.
“Sit with Y/N and Morpheus,” he ordered, and Nightshade obediently sank down onto the bench beside you. “Watch her,” Fenn told you, and then he marched out of the room again, leaving you stunned and staring after him.
Morpheus was silent for a long moment before he opened his mouth. “Uh.”
“Uh,” you echoed, looking at Nightshade. She was fiddling with her sleeve, not seeming bothered at all by this arrangement. “Uh. Okay.” You turned to face her, clasping your hands together on your lap. “Hi Nightshade.”
“Hi,” she said. You exchanged a glance with Morpheus.
“Um,” you finally said. “What were you talking about with Jace a minute ago?” You glanced back to the corner to find him glaring daggers at you, and you hurriedly looked away. It wasn’t your fault that Fenn brought her here!
“He was just asking me some questions,” she said vaguely. You opened your mouth to press further, then hurriedly shut it, remembering what Fenn had told you about her. Something like, she couldn’t say no, and… asking her things like that might be a breach of privacy.
“Oh, okay,” you said instead. At least, whatever he’d said, she didn’t seem to be bothered by it. “Did you, um…” You glanced past her to the papers spread out in front of Morpheus. “…get your homework done for the week?”
“Homework?” She followed your gaze to the papers. “What’s that?”
“It’s like practice for our classes,” Morpheus jumped in. “It’s to make sure we understand what we’re learning. Here, look.” He nudged his paper over so she could see. “This is my world studies class homework. It’s a quiz to make sure I was listening.” Nightshade leaned over to look. For a moment, you wondered if she could read, but she seemed to be having no trouble.
This past world studied class had mostly been about caving safety, from the cardinal rules of ‘don’t dig straight up/down’ to torch placement to avoid being lost, and bringing down extra wood in case your pickaxe were to break. Nightshade’s brow furrowed as she read over the quiz, including the answers that Morpheus had already put down.
“I've done this.” She pressed a finger to one of the spaces, and you craned your neck to look. The space read ‘water bucket'.
“You've used a water bucket?” You translated. She nodded.
“They would teach us to jump and use a water bucket when we landed so that we wouldn't get hurt.” She returned to picking at the cuff of her sleeve. “I wasn't very good at it. My wings always got in the way.” Morpheus looked at you, then back to her, and he tentatively asked,
“Can you, ah… use your wings at all? Like, can you glide with them?”
“A little bit.” She nodded. “I can slow my fall a little bit if I flap. But not very well.”
“Have you ever…” Morpheus paused to choose his words carefully. “...did you ever meet a phantom before me? A full phantom?”
“No.” She shook her head, not looking up from her sleeve. “There was a blaze there, and a stray, and a zombie and two endermen. But not a phantom.” You stayed quiet, wondering if these people were fellow experiments, or the people that experimented on them.
“I wonder if I could teach you how to fly, then,” Morpheus murmured. Nightshade looked up at that, distracted from her sleeve.
“I’m too heavy. I can’t fly.”
“Sure, maybe, but maybe you just haven’t been taught correctly.” Morpheus leaned back, his wings unfurling to stretch out to either side. “Here, spread your wings for me. Your wings don’t look that much smaller than mine.” Obliging, Nightshade spread her wings, and you ducked away hurriedly to avoid being smacked in the head. Her wings stretched at least three blocks wide.
Morpheus stepped around her, nodding thoughtfully. “Yeah, I mean, just going by your wing-to-body ratio, I should think you’d be able to fly.”
“I’ve tried,” Nightshade protested.
“Yeah, but you didn’t have a real phantom to teach you,” Morpheus pressed. “I just don’t… think you should give up on it so soon.” Nightshade stared at him for a few moments, then her gaze dropped back to her feet.
“Okay.”
“Hey, Nightshade,” you interjected. “How old are you?”
“I’m fifteen,” she said. You blinked, then locked eyes with Morpheus, who looked similarly startled. She acted… a lot younger than that. You briefly wondered if there was something wrong with her, before you mentally knocked yourself in the head. She had been spliced together out of two opposite species’ DNA and raised by mad scientists. Of course there was something wrong with her.
It was at this moment that Fenn reappeared, striding up to the three of you with Zephyr in tow. “Come on, Nightshade,” he said. Nightshade hopped up, gave you and Morpheus a little smile, then trailed after Fenn as he headed back out of the room.
You and Morpheus exchanged a final look. “That was weird,” you said.
“Yeah…” There was a moment of silence between you. “I guess,” Morpheus finally said. “That if Fenn’s picking us to babysit, I guess that means he likes us?” You snorted.
“She’s older than us.”
“Physically, maybe,” Morpheus shot back. You shrugged.
“Yeah, she’s…” you hesitated. “...a little… off. But, anyway, yeah, you’re probably right.” Morpheus nodded, then he grabbed his pencil, bending over his homework and starting to write again.
Chapter 53: Chapter Fifty Two - Hiding Class
Chapter Text
Fenn stared both of you down, stone-faced, from where you and Morpheus sat across from him on the dining room table. "No," he said. "I'm not letting you teach Nightshade to jump off the roof."
"She won't be in any danger," Morpheus argued. "We can put down a bucket of water. And you don't want her to learn how to fly?"
"She can't fly," Fenn said icily. "They tried to teach her a dozen times, it never worked. I don't want you getting her hopes up for nothing."
"None of them were a real phantom!" Morpheus shot back. "And think she should get to try." On Fenn's left, Nightshade was poking at the cooked pork chop on her plate, seemingly oblivious to the subject of their argument.
It was lunchtime on Monday, and you had only just finished math class and were heading to lunch when Morpheus had grabbed you and dragged you along to be backup while he propositioned Fenn to let him be Nightshade's flying teacher. You weren't that fond of this plan— Fenn had a reputation for being scary and aggressive. Morpheus didn't seem to have any such concerns.
"You're not the one responsible for keeping her safe* Fenn told him. "I am. And I said no."
"Well I think we should let Nightshade decide what she wants to do." Morpheus crossed his arms. "Nightshade, do you want to try learning to fly?" Nightshade blinked up from her pork chop.
"Whatever Fenn wants."
"No, what you want," Morpheus tried, but Fenn cut him off.
"Just because I trusted you to keep an eye on her yesterday doesn't give you authority over her." Fenn's tone was warning. "You are not doing anything with Nightshade without my permission. And I don't grant it."
"Morph, I think, uh…" You tugged on his arm . "C'mon." Scowling, Morpheus stood up, and the two of you retreated back to the other end of the table.
"She's not a baby," Morpheus muttered as you sank down in an empty spot on the bench. "She deserves to be able to make her own choices."
"She is messed up though," you pointed out. "All of them are. I can't really blame Fenn for being protective."
"More like paranoid." Morpheus jabbed viciously at his cut of steak with a fork. "He has to know I'm not gonna do anything to her. I mean, he left her alone with us yesterday."
"That's probably not what he thinks." You pushed your mashed potatoes around in a circle. "He probably just… is hung up on the idea of you trying to teach her something you think is impossible. Maybe he thinks it'll bum her out if she can't."
"Maybe." Morpheus didn't look cheered up by this.
The two of you ate for a few minutes, listening to the conversations of your classmates going on around you as Morpheus' scowl gradually faded. You noticed that Soliel seemed more social since you had comforted her last week in potions class, which warmed your heart. Has she been thinking of everyone as an enemy or a threat the whole time? That was an exhausting way to live… as you could attest to.
"Why, uh…" you eventually spoke up. "Are you so excited about teaching her?" Morpheus made a little face.
"'Cause I just… want to help. I mean, I know what it's like to feel… outcast. Not as bad as being a literal hybrid, I'm sure, but… I want to do something to help her. I'm sure she needs it."
"Mm." You nodded and scooped up another bite of potatoes. "I think she'll keep coming out of her shell. All of them will, with time, probably. In the meantime I think the most important thing is to just be friendly, so that they know we're safe to be around." Morpheus heaved a heavy sigh.
"Okay."
You two didn't talk to Fenn or his sisters again as you finished up lunch, just chatted with your other classmates until the bell rang for hiding class. You instinctively looked around for Jace as you headed back to the classroom. He'd hurt you a couple weeks ago.
Fortunately, Jace kept his distance as you returned to the classroom, where Herobrine was waiting with 303. "Good afternoon, class," he greeted you. "Please take your seats. I will explain this afternoon 's lesson as 303 goes and does some setup." You moved to your desk as 303 bowed and vanished.
"Some of you," Herobrine began as the scraping of chairs came to a stop. "Have encountered a sculk sensor before." You tensed an instant before he placed down a sculk sensor on the classroom floor at his feet. "I'm sure that many of you are familiar even if you have not seen them in person. Any noise that is made around a sculk sensor, including my voice—" Sure enough, the sensor was clicking away. "— will cause it to activate. If it is adjacent to a piece of redstone machinery, or a sculk shrieker, that will be activated as well. This is what necessitates one to be quiet within a Deep Dark biome, as these shriekers are what draw in wardens.
"Now you won't have to worry about wardens today," Herobrine went on. "But you will be avoiding setting off sensors. Generally, as I touched on briefly the other day in World Studies class, the best way to avoid setting off a sculk sensor is to crouch, and walk slowly and quietly. Today though you will need to be quick as well.
"303 is currently spreading sculk sensors all throughout the achool, including in the basement and upstairs. As per usual, areas that are out of bounds will be blocked off." Herobrine held up a red candle. "Candles have also been placed throughout the building, and blowing one out will give you one point. However, if you are caught by a sculk sensor—" he placed down a line of redstone dust, then a bell. "You will lose a point." The sensor activated, and the bell clanged loudly. "Any other questions?" He placed a foot in the redstone line, interrupting the circuit and keeping the bell quiet as the sensor went off again.
Soliel raised her hand. "Are we going to be in teams?" She asked without waiting to be called up on.
"That's a good question. No, you won't. Everyone will have their own individual point values."
"Can we sabotage each other?" Cray piped up.
Herobrine smirked at that. "You may… but no attacking or otherwise hurting each other. Keep it above the belt." Even though he didn't have pupils, you got the impression that he was looking at Jace.
"Anyone else?" Herobrine glanced around. You slowly raised your hand. "Yes, Y/N?"
You dropped your hand back to your desk. "How are you gonna keep track of everyone's points?"
Herobrine chuckled. "I have my ways, he said." In an instant, a shape had formed about each student's head, made of… smoke? Or sparkles? Currently it was in the shape of a '0'. Your jaw dropped, and you mentally categorized this trick under the same division as 'chalkboard magic'.
"Anyone else?" Herobrine glanced over the class once more, then nodded. "303 has finished. You may begin." Cray immediately vaulted out of his seat, and you scrambled up to give chase before the rest beat you to it.
You sucked in a breath and held it as you clung to the edge of a bookshelf, watching with wide eyes as a book teetered on the edge of a shelf. For a moment, it seemed to stabilize, and you exhaled— only to whimper in defeat as the book fell and hit the floor with a thud. Before you, a bell ring loudly, and your scowled as the number above your head dropped from 9 to 8. Abandoning stealth, you stomped over to the candle on the library table and blew it out.
You had lost your friends soon into this game, which made you… a little nervous, but mostly you were having fun. Sneaking around in the dark was always fun. You had caught a glimpse of classmates from time to time, each with their own number above their head, or heard bells ringing or the sounds of shrieks from elsewhere in the building. You were almost positive that Cray was out biting people.
Currently you were in the library, where candles glowed from tables, chairs, and the tops of bookshelves. You were pretty sure you were alone in here, meaning if you were quick then you could get all the candles for yourself. You'd already gotten about half. You peeked around a corner, then crept around the shelf and grabbed a chair.
You double checked for Jace before clambering up onto it, and you stood on your tiptoes to blow out a candle resting on the top shelf. There were more on top of the bookshelf… but there wasn't a clear path up. Biting your lip, you glanced around once more before bracing your foot on a shelf and hoisting yourself up.
The shelf creaked under your weight, fortunately not loud enough to set off the sensors. You hauled yourself up on top of the bookshelf and held your breath until it stopped creaking underneath you. Carefully, you lifted yourself into your knees, and you crawled over the top of the bookshelves towards where a candle was placed.
As you took a deep breath to blow it out, a face appeared on the other side of the candle.
"Ahh!" You shrieked, and immediately three different bells began ringing obnoxiously around you. In the time it took you to whip your head around towards the noise, you realized that the eyes glowing in front of you were green, not yellow— and when you looked back you finally recognized them as belonging to Nightshade.
"Sorry Y/N," she whispered. She was laying on her belly on the other side of the candle, her wings flopped awkwardly over either side of the shelf. How had you not seen her from the ground?
"It's okay," you whispered back. "Um… wow, you're quiet. Did you just get here?*
"Not really. I've been over there for a while." She pointed across to another shelf. You blew out the candle between you two.
"Where's Fenn?" you asked. Usually it was a bad thing if you found her alone. "And what're…" Your gaze drifted above her head to find a '17' hanging above her. "How'd you get so many points??"
"I'm quiet." Her face stretched into a grin. "I dunno where Fenn is. I went to find candles."
"Oh… okay." You looked down at the floor, immediately trying to strategize how you were going to get her back to him. He probably wasn't going to be happy about her sneaking off.
"Y/N." Nightshade's voice drew your gaze back to hers. "I want to learn how to fly."
"Oh. You do?" You blinked at her. "But… uh, what about Fenn?"
"Fenn wants me to be safe. I think I am safe." There was still a smile on her face, the most emotion you had ever seen from her. "And I want to try."
"Okay…" You shifted, pushing yourself up to sit with your legs dangling over the side of the shelf. "You're gonna have to talk him into it," you told her.
"Okay." Nightshade pushed herself up to sit next to you. "Should we go find him?"
"Yeah. Uh, probably." You began searching for a way down. Nightshade just dropped over the edge, landing on the library floor with barely a sound. As you clambered down the shelves again, Nightshade slunk away, leading you through the shelves and towards the hall that led out of the library.
Chapter 54: Chapter Fifty Three - Flying Lessons
Chapter Text
Nightshade leaned over the edge of the rooftop, looking at the water placed below her. "Don't look down," Morpheus prompted. "Look at me. Don't worry about falling." Obediently, Nightshade lifted her gaze back to him. You shifted nervously where you sat beside Fenn and Zephyr.
Fenn had, as expected, been a little ticked off when you had brought Nightshade back to him, but he bent pretty easily when she asked him if she could try to fly. She had ended up being the winner of the game as well, racking up 24 points on the merit of being incredibly quiet. You had been really impressed by her stealth— for being cursed with such an unnatural body, she used it with considerable skill.
Now it was evening, and the five of you— Fenn, Zephyr, and Nightshade, plus you and Morpheus — were up on the schoolhouse roof. Herobrine was aware of your shenanigans, which you learned when he appeared to offer buckets of water. He had left shortly after. Apparently he trusted you and Morpheus to be responsible.
You were there for moral support more than anything else. Right now you were sitting with Fenn, who sat stiffly on your left with his legs crossed and his hands folded in his lap. On his other side, Zephyr was snacking on a bowl of sweet berries.
While Fenn looked tense, and Zephyr was occupied eating her snack, Morpheus looked more animated than you had seen him in a while. He had a smile on his face and his eyes were earnest, genuine. He looked… different than he usually did. When he was teasing you in class, or joking with you at meals, or doing… anything, really, he usually smiled. He would snark and joke with you just like anyone else. But those smiles never reached his eyes, which you noticed way more now that you knew about his depression. This smile was real.
"Okay, spread your wings for me." Morpheus unfurled his wings in illustration. You rarely saw him fly, and you were always astounded by how big his wings really were. His wingspan was wider than he was tall. "First we're just going to try gliding. And the water is right there, so if you don't make it then that's okay."
"I used to try gliding sometimes," Nightshade said. "I usually fell. They were trying to train me with an elytra."
"Elytra?" Morpheus echoed, and you jumped in to explain.
"An elytra is a glider that players sometimes use," you told him. "It can be strapped to your back and used to sort of fly, if you have a source of propulsion. It's not like phantom wings, an elytra is stiff and can't flap."
"Huh. Okay." Morpheus pushed a strand of hair back behind his pointy ear. "So yeah, not the same. If you're gonna glide with phantom wings, you're gonna want to tilt them, like thiiiiis." Morpheus bent forward, finding a good stance and angling his wings to catch the air. Nightshade awkwardly copied his movements, shuffling her feet until she'd matched him. "Good," he praised. "Now c'mon. I'm gonna jump and glide, and you follow. Ready?" Nightshade nodded. "Okay, go!" Morpheus jumped off the roof, gliding easily about twenty blocks. Nightshade leapt after him, but her wings just flopped upwards and she fell into the water with a splash!
Fenn promptly scrambled up to check on her, and you leaned over the edge of the roof with him to find her staggering out of the pool. She looked up at you and smiled, and Fenn reluctantly sank back down.
"Huh." Morpheus flapped back over to her and landed beside the pool. "Okay, here— you gotta stiffen your wings so they catch the air. Can you flap your wings for me?" Nightshade flapped her wings a couple of times, and the movements were jerky and uncoordinated, with more of an up and down movement than a back-and-forth. "Hmm. Here, so… pretend you're pushing something with your hands, but with your wings." Morpheus came up beside her, thrusting his hands forward in a shoving motion. "Like that. Woosh. Can you try that?" Nightshade flopped her wings forward again, mimicking his hand motions. "Good! Let's do it again."
On the rooftop, you shifted, looking up from them practicing to Fenn where he sat beside you. "Hey— uh, Fenn?" Fenn's green eyes flicked over to you. "Can I ask a question?" you ventured. "About Nightshade?"
"You may ask." His voice was flat.
"Right. I know this is sort of personal but…" your gaze drifted back down to the ground. "Why is she… so, compliant?" Fenn didn't answer for a moment, and you tried to clarify. "You told me once that she just listened without thinking. Is that because she's a hybrid, or…?"
"No," Fenn finally spoke. "She used to be rebellious. She'd fight for every inch. But the scientists crushed that out of her, now she just listens." Your heart seemed to sink down to your toes. You stared at her where she stood beside Morpheus, beating her wings with a smile on her face. You wondered what she had been like before that happened.
"I'm so sorry," you said quietly. Silent, Fenn inclined his head.
"Zephyr is younger than her." He rested a hand atop Zephyr's bouncy poof of hair. "She wasn't there as long. So it's not as bad for her." You nodded quietly.
"D'you, um…" you mumbled. "Think they're looking for you?"
"They can't be," Zephyr piped up at Fenn's side. "Mr. Herobrine killed them."
"Zephyr!" Fenn exclaimed, but the damage was already done. Your jaw had dropped.
"He what?"
Fenn turned to look at you again, a pinched look on his face. "Killed them," he confirmed. "The night after we found you, he went off and hunted them down. When he came back he told us that they were dead." You stared at him, slack-jawed. You had noticed Herobrine's, absence after the camping trip, of course, when his brother and 303 had brought you back by themselves. You'd thought that it was odd when he brushed his disappearance off. But you never thought he'd… do that.
"Oh," was all you could say. On the ground, Nightshade accidentally whacked Morpheus with her wing, and he yelped and laughed. Nightshade pressed a hand over her mouth, but her face was crinkled up in a smile.
"They did a lot of bad things," Fenn said quietly. You nodded, numb.
"I-I know, but… shouldn't that be a matter for the police, or something?"
"'Police' is a player concept. Most races don't have 'police'." Fenn made air quotes with his free hand. "If the scientists had been caught by any of their races, they would have been thrown in prison and possibly executed. I heard them discussing this plenty of times. But I don't— and I'm sure none of them either — mind that your teacher took matters into his own hands." You nodded, lowering your gaze to your hands where they rested in your lap.
You had never thought of your teacher as being a killer. You knew he was powerful, yes, he could control the weather and fly and teleport. You knew he could fight, he attacked those players that threatened you, Fade, and Soot in the Nether. But to kill? Multiple people, by himself? And not show any indication that he had done so when he returned to the class? You thought about the time he came back with a broken arm, the time he fell asleep during class. Had he been out… killing people then, too?
"He asked us not to tell you," Fenn said quietly. "Said he didn't want to scare you."
"I'm not scared," you assured him. And it was true. This revelation didn't make you afraid of him, or anything like that. Herobrine had always been soft-spoken and kind, had comforted you after your meltdown the first week and had defended you in the Nether with vicious efficiency. But it did make you… think.
On the ground, Morpheus crouched, then took off and landed on the edge of the roof again. "Come up here," he prompted. "Let's try gliding again." Nightshade nodded and ran to scramble up the vines. You leaned forward to watch as they took their positions at the edge of the roof, and it looked like Nightshade was a little more stable this time. "Ready? Go!" Morpheus launched himself off the roof again, and Nightshade came right after. This time, her wings stayed mostly stable, and she wobbled her way through the air for about two blocks before she lost her balance and splashed into the water.
"You did it!" Morpheus cheered as she staggered upright. "Good job!" Nightshade broke down into giggles, reaching up to try and scrunch some of the water out of her hair.
"Can I try again?" She asked. Beaming, Morpheus nodded and they hurried back to climb up the vines again.
You put down your fork, staring at Morpheus' face for a long moment.
"You look good," you finally said. Morpheus hiked up a brow.
"What do you mean?"
"You look happy," you elaborated. "You look… alive.* Morpheus snorted.
"Well, I'm not. I'm undead, rememeber?"
"Bah." You flicked a bit of scrambled eggs at him. "Don't be pedantic."
"Hey!" Morpheus flicked them back. "I don't even know what that means!"
Flying practice last night had gone really well. Morpheus had told you that Nightshade's wings were really weak from lack of use, and she would need to practice and use them a lot if she wanted them to get stronger. But even so, she'd managed a couple of glides, and was starting to get the form down. She was obviously really excited— and so was Morpheus . He was practically glowing today.
You glanced across the room at the clock. 8:30. Class started at 9:00. Cramming the rest of your eggs in your mouth, you grabbed your tray and threw your legs over the bench. "I gotta go," you announced.
"What for? It's not time for class yet." Morpheus protested as you stood and went to return your tray.
"Yeah, I just have something to do first." Without elaborating further, you hurried off, dropping off your tray at the counter before heading down the hall to the classroom.
You hadn't told Morpheus about what Fenn and Zephyr told you last night. Hadn't told anyone, for that matter. But you kept thinking about it. About what your teacher was capable of and willing to do. You had laid awake for quite a while last night wondering if it was true, and what better way for you to find out than to just ask?
You slowed down before the classroom door, which was ajar, allowing a small beam of light to filter through the crack. Was Herobrine preparing for class? Last time you had come early he was.
You reached for the door, only to jump as your teacher's voice came from inside.
"Y/N, come in."
You pushed the door open to find Herobrine sitting at his desk, a stack of papers sitting in front of him, and he smiled at you. "Good morning, Y/N. Did you need something?"
"Yeah, I just… wanted to talk to you about something." You eased the classroom door shut behind you. Herobrine's smile faded and he beckoned you over.
"Is something the matter?" He asked as you came close, then his brow furrowed. "Has Jace been bothering you again?"
"No." You stopped by the edge of his desk, feeling awkward, and you clasped your hands together in front of you. "No, it's not Jace. Um, last night I was helping— well, I was sitting out with Morpheus and Fenn and Zephyr while Nightshade was practicing flying."
Herobrine nodded. "Nobody was hurt, I hope?"
"Nope." You shook your head. "It went really well. Nightshade seemed really happy. But, uh, I was sitting and talking with Fenn and Zephyr, and they told me…" Your voice faltered, and you glanced over your shoulder to ensure that no one was listening. "That you… um, the scientists who captured them. You killed them."
Herobrine's face fell a bit, though he didn't break your gaze. "I see," he said. "It's true. I did kill them." He gestured to a chair sitting beside his desk. "Sit down, Y/N." You sank down into the chair with a small thump.
Herobrine didn't say anything for a moment, leaning back on his chair, which made you even more nervous. "Are you upset?" he finally asked. "Or afraid?"
"No." You shook your head hurriedly. "I'm not. Just… wanted to know if it was true." Herobrine nodded, looking relieved.
"You know I would never hurt any of you, right?"
"Yeah." You bobbed your chin. "I know."
"The men who held those three captive had done many awful things to them, had altered Fenn beyond repair and subjected the girls to lives as hybrids regardless of the consequences. If left unchecked, they could have hunted Fenn and his sisters down, or found new subjects for their experiments. I couldn't allow them to do that."
"Right." You nodded again, and you twiddled your thumbs in your lap. "Fenn… um, said that most races don't have any sort of police, which is why you had to deal with it."
"That's right," Herobrine confirmed. "A number of races have law enforcement of some sort, but this group was made up of several different races. Fenn, Zephyr, and Nightshade don't properly belong to any race at all, so there was no particular authority for me to submit the issue to. And so I dealt with them myself."
"Okay." You stared down at your hands. "Thank you. For telling me."
"Of course. I didn't want to alarm you or your classmates, so I didn't tell you at the time." Herobrine searched your face carefully. "Does anyone else know?"
"No. We were sitting away from Morpheus, and I didn't tell anyone."
"Alright. That's good." Herobrine rested his hands on his desk. "Is that all you needed to talk to me about?"
"Yeah." You pushed yourself up, stepping away from the chair. "I'll see you after breakfast."
"See you in class, Y/N." Herobrine watched you as you walked down the center of the classroom.
As you reached for the doorknob, you paused. "Herobrine?"
"Yes, Y/N?"
"You're… uh, really powerful, aren't you?"
"I am." Herobrine nodded. He didn't look the part, with his pressed shirt and sweater vest, and eyeglasses perched on his nose, but you had seen enough to know better.
"Can I… ask why? Or, how?"
Herobrine reached up to remove his glasses, looking down at them. "It's a long story, one we don't have time for today. But… perhaps someday."
"Oh." You hesitated for a second. "Okay. I'll see you later." Herobrine lifted a hand to wave you goodbye, and you slipped out of the classroom and back down the hall.
Chapter 55: Chapter Fifty Four — Crafting Class
Chapter Text
"Ready?" Herobrine lifted a clock, and you tensed, your hand poised over the closed chest in front of you. You glanced up at Fade, bent on one knee, and he looked at your nose. "Go!" Herobrine clicked the stopwatch, and you threw open the chest to reveal its contents.
"Dirt. Gravel." You hovered your hands over them, uncertain. "Uhh…"
"Coarse dirt!" Fade exclaimed, scooping up the blocks and tossing them onto the crafting table. You scrambled to help him arrange them, then seized a block of coarse dirt as soon as it crafted.
"Done!" you shouted. Herobrine clicked the stopwatch.
"6.43 seconds. Good job."
"No fair!" Dusk exclaimed from the other side of the room, hunched over his own crafting table with Greyson at his side. "We get a lantern, and they get coarse dirt??"
"A lantern isn't that hard," Kai argued, standing with Soliel. "They're just a little faster."
"Each round is randomized, and I have ensured that the recipes are of fairly equal difficulty," Herobrine confirmed. "Don't focus on the others, focus on your own task." Dusk made a face that said he wasn't quite convinced.
Today's crafting lesson was an exercise in being able to quickly recall crafting recipes, in which you'd been paired up with Fade. Fade was obviously very smart, which made this a lot easier than if you had been paired with someone like Cray. You loved Cray, but he wasn't the most academically intelligent of your classmates.
"Next chest." Herobrine snapped his fingers, and your crafting table was cleared, the open chest swinging shut. "Ready? Go!" You yanked open the chest again as the stopwatch clicked, finding two iron ingots and a stick.
"Hoe? No, sword!" You snatched up the stick while Fade grabbed the ingots, and he was arranging them on the crafting table when Xa-Tul shouted,
"Done!" And held a fence post above her head.
"5.12 seconds. Excellent job, Xa-Tul." Herobrine clicked the stopwatch. You sighed, picking up your crafted sword.
"Almost," you muttered. A war cry had you whipping around, and you turned just in time to block as Cray chopped at you with a wooden axe.
"En garde!* he shouted. You snorted, pushing him away with your sword.
"You're supposed to say that before you try to hit me!"
"Whatever." Cray chopped at you again, and you blocked it, jabbing at his unprotected belly and making him shriek and scamper away. Herobrine watched you as you gave chase, keeping the blade of your sword close to your body so that you didn't accidentally stick anyone with it.
Cray passed by Soot and was scooped up into her arms, shrieking as he dropped his axe. "Got you!" Soot said cheerfully. "Let's continue the lesson."
"Wait, wait, I gotta finish him off first." You hurried up to her, then reached out with your free hand to poke him in the belly. "Gotcha." Cray yowled, then went limp in Soot's arms.
"I died," he whispered. "I'm gonna explode. You should run away." Soot rolled her eyes and lowered him to his feet, where he slumped bonelessly into a puddle on the floor.
"Back to your seats, please," Herobrine told you with a smirk on his face. Your sword vanished as you turned around, starting to head back to your own desk.
As you sat down, you could feel eyes boring into the back of your skull, and you glanced to the left to find Jace staring straight at you.
His hands were clamped onto the edge of his desk, ignoring his partner completely as he stared you down. His yellow eyes were narrowed and smouldering with hatred, his jaw clenched and his lips pinched into a thin line. He didn't react at all as you turned to look at him, just continued to stare at you with murder in his gaze.
Your smile vanished and you averted your eyes, focusing on Herobrine at the front of the class again. What… was thatabout?? You knew Jace hated you, but you'd never seen him look at you like that… maybe you just hadn't noticed. Or maybe seeing you with a sword had made him angry…?
"Next chest," Herobrine said, and you swallowed as you tried to re-focus on the lesson. You knew Jace wouldn't do anything… Herobrine was right here watching him. But that didn't make this situation any more comfortable.
The rest of the lesson sort of went by in a daze, and you felt bad about putting the brunt of the work on Fade but you were having trouble focusing. As soon as the bell rang for dinner, you grabbed your things, trying to ignore the way Jace still stared.
"Hey, Y/N," Cray called, and you looked up as he poked you in the stomach with his index finger. "Gotcha."
"Ouch." You clutched at your heart, slumping back down onto your chair. "I'm dead."
"Ha!" Cray spun on his heel and ran off. Slinging your backpack over your shoulder, you ambled out into the hall in pursuit.
The sky was pink and orange, illuminating the hallway with golden light. You paused a moment to admire it— you didn't get to see the sun a lot nowadays. For good reason, obviously, since some of your classmates would catch on fire if exposed. But it was still nice to see sometimes… and you were probably vitamin D deficient.
"Come on!" Morpheus shouted down from the dining hall, and as you turned you caught sight of a tall, green figure striding down towards you in the corner of your eye.
Your body seemed to lock up and you froze, your wide eyes on Jace as he marched down the hall from the classroom door. He had the same look on his face as when he'd stared at you during class. His hands were empty, but you didn't have any doubt in your mind that he could hurt you even without a weapon. And he wasn't slowing down. Where was Herobrine?!
Just as you felt you'd unlocked your legs enough to move, a large, bony hand clamped down on your shoulder
"What do you want?" Soot asked coldly. Jace stuttered to a stop.
"I—" he broke your gaze, looking up to Soot where she towered over you. "Nothing. Just going to supper." Deviating from his path, Jace went around, narrowly avoiding you as he turned to head down to the dining hall.
You and Soot stared after him, and Soot said quietly, "I don't think he was telling the truth."
"M-me either," you squeaked, your voice cracking as you tried to calm your racing heart. "He, uh… if you hadn't come, I don't think he would've stopped."
"Hmm. You should tell the teacher."
"I will," you said, though you weren't sure if you actually would. Jace hadn't actually done anything, after all.
"Okay," Soot said, and she started to steer you down the hallway. "Let's go to dinner."
**
"Bend your knees. Pretend you're gonna do a water bucket clutch." Morpheus modeled the proper form, crouching down on the edge of the roof. "Wings up and steady. Ready?"
"Ready." Nightshade was perched on the edge of the roof beside him, her wings lifted almost comically high. They had a small pool of water set up below them for a crash pad, but Nightshade looked determined to stay in the air this time.
"Okay… go!" Morpheus leapt off the roof and Nightshade followed suit. She threw out her arms to either side as she beat her wings, wobbling through the air, and though she cleared the pool she proceeded to crash straight into a pile of haybales.
"Shade?" Fenn called out as the hay settled. Nightshade pushed herself up, brushing strands of hay out of her hair.
"I'm okay."
You and your fellow audience members were on the ground today, sitting on the path that led up to the front stairs of the schoolhouse. Fenn was sitting cross-legged with Zephyr in his lap, who was nibbling on a few pieces of sugarcane. He seemed a lot less stressed about Nightshade's well-being than he had been last night.
Morpheus made his way over to her and offered her a hand. "That's the furthest you've gotten yet," he praised as he pulled her to her feet. "Good job!"
"Thanks." Nightshade looked at her palms and dusted her hands off.
"Let's try again. I have some ideas." Morpheus beckoned her, and they headed back towards the vines. Fenn glanced over at you, but you barely noticed.
You had been preoccupied since dinnertime. Jace's behavior kept grating on you… you kept thinking that something had set him off, but what? You having a sword? Surely he didn't think you'd attack him, and you'd had weapons around him in combat class before and he didn't show any signs of being weird about it. Was he just extra angry today?
He had also been really bold about going after you. Usually he would keep his distance if there were other people around, especially Herobrine. But today… he'd backed off when Soot showed up, but what if she hadn't? What was it that he meant to do to you?
"Hey." Bony fingers snapped in front of your face, and you jumped. "You okay?" Fenn asked.
"Uhh… ah. Yeah." You reached up to rub at your eyes. "Just tired… and thinking."
"About the slime?" Fenn guessed. You gave him a startled look. "I notice things."
"I— yeah, it's… Jace." You sighed and clasped your hands in your lap. "You've seen that he doesn't like me."
"Is that normal for a slime? To not like players?"
"I don't know. He's the only slime I've ever met." You shrugged helplessly. "And… based on what I saw this weekend, I don't think he has any problem with Nightshade."
"Nightshade!" Fenn called out. On the roof, Nightshade jumped off and landed in the water, staggering up and shaking her head like a dog before trotting over to you. "Do you remember on Sunday how the slime was talking to you?" Fenn asked as Morpheus landed in the grass, looking bewildered. Nightshade nodded. "What was he talking to you about?"
"He was asking me who made me a hybrid."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him it was the scientists. And he asked me what species they were, so I told him." Nightshade looked completely unbothered by this line of questioning. You remembered from your discussion with her after Fenn had assigned you as babysitter that there were no players amongst her captors.
"Did he ask you anything else?" Fenn continued.
"He asked if I was okay. I told him yes."
"Okay. Thanks. You can go back to practicing." Fenn waved her away, and Nightshade turned to scamper back to the vines. Morpheus gave you a baffled look and turned back to follow.
You rested your chin in your palm. "Not only is he not bothered by Nightshade," you murmured. "But it seems like he was worried for her. And he doesn't mind Herobrine, but he hates 303."
"Mm." Fenn grunted. "It's odd. Maybe we'll never know what his problem is."
"But I can't just— I really don't want to go the rest of the semester with him breathing down my neck." You buried your face in your hands. "Nothing I do seems to help. Even Herobrine can't stop him from threatening me." Fenn was quiet for a few moments.
"Then you should be ready to fight back," he finally said. You lifted your chin, incredulous.
"I'm not— I'm not a fighter. I only started learning how to fight a little more than a month ago, I can't…" You shrugged helplessly. "I don't think I can beat him."
"Maybe not," Fenn allowed. "But you can't always be waiting around for somebody else to save you. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands." You looked over at him, where he was cradling Zephyr in his lap. He hadn't been able to rely on anyone while he was imprisoned… he'd had to take his sisters and rescue himself.
"Right," you finally said. You'd relied on others to take care of Jace for a while. On Soot, on Herobrine. If you stood up for yourself, would he finally stop targeting you?
Nightshade took a flying leap off the roof again, and this time she held her wings steady, gliding a few feet before losing control again. She plowed into the haybales again, flopping head over heels and smacking into the ground.
"Shade?" Fenn called out. "You okay?" Nightshade pushed herself up and grinned.
"I'm okay." She scrambled to her feet and headed for the vines again, leaving you to sit and mull over Fenn's words.
Chapter 56: Chapter Fifty Five - Athletics Class
Chapter Text
"I'm sure none of you would think it strange if I said that each species have their own physical strengths and weaknesses," Herobrine said. "A spider, for example, would have no trouble at all climbing, while an enderman or a phantom could negate a jump altogether via flight or teleportation. Such skills are not ones that need to be further honed.
"On the contrary," Herobrine went on, "my aim is to help you to grow in areas that you might be less skilled in to allow you to prepare for all manner of situations." He stepped back, his hands met behind his back. "Today is somewhat of a free-choice lesson, but I specifically want you to choose a skill that you find yourself lacking in." You looked over the gym, scanning the available equipment. Lucky for you, you had the pick of the bunch— players didn't really have any special abilities when it came to athletics.
Today's gym class reminded you of the first one you'd been to here, where Herobrine had made you all go through an obstacle course and Soliel burned your hand. You also remembered Cray falling off over and over again. Hopefully both of them had seen some growth since then.
"You all can go ahead and select which section you'd like to start in," Herobrine said. "303 and I will be monitoring to ensure that you are using them as intended. Safety is our highest priority today, so I don't want any of you pushing yourselves too hard."
"Yeah, guys." 303, standing next to him, gave you all an exaggerated wink. "Safety." Herobrine gave him a look.
"Go on, now." Herobrine gestured towards the gym, and you broke away from the group to study your options.
Each segment was sort of a mini obstacle course, with haybales that lined the floor beneath to protect you from tumbles or falls. There was one with several long jumps spaced several blocks apart, another with vines and a chain that hung down from the ceiling to climb, and a third had gradually smaller platforms to jump to. Training different parkour skills. You always wondered when you had a lesson like this— did Herobrine think that you were going to actually need to do parkour in real life? Well, maybe some of your classmates did, but… it was pretty uncommon for a player.
You were distracted from your decision making by a blur of movement, and you turned to look as Nightshade ran across the gym towards the long jumps area, Morpheus right at her heels. You watched as she scrambled up the ladder, crouched down and spread her wings, then launched herself off the platform.
"Shade!" Fenn yelled, hurrying after her even as she stuck the landing. You grinned and headed off towards the climbing zone instead.
You stopped at the base of the chain, wiping off your palms on your shirt and looking up. When it came to P.E., you had always preferred lessons based around running, jumping, or throwing over climbing— you could do it, but it was harder, and usually left you were palms rubbed raw. Still, it was a good skill for real life even if one wasn't doing parkour. It was never a bad thing to be able to climb straight up. Setting your jaw, you grabbed the chain and prepared to hoist yourself up.
"Y/N!" A shout from behind you made you jump, and you turned to see Cray grinning up at you. "Can I ride on your back?"
You blinked at him. "…while I climb?" Cray nodded enthusiastically. "No! You're supposed to be exercising too!"
"I will in a minute!" Cray made grabby hands up at you. You glanced at the teachers, who were occupied elsewhere, and sighed.
"Fine," you relented, and you crouched down to let him clamber up on your back. Only once he had wrapped his arms around your neck did you grab the chain again and start to climb.
Cray wasn't heavy at all, so his weight wasn't much of an issue, but his skinny arms clamped over your throat did hinder you somewhat. Still, you managed to make it to the top of the chain, and you reached around with your foot until you found and pulled yourself over to the platform at the top.
"Oof." You sat down hard at the edge. "Now quit stranglin' me."
"I wasn't!" Cray plopped down at your side, swinging his legs over the edge of the platform. "Thanks for carrying me."
"You're welcome." You rubbed at your throat, making a face.
The two of you sat there for a couple minutes, watching your fellow students as they took turns at the different stations. The skeletons had disregarded the zones entirely, instead chasing each other around the room. You mused over the fact that there definitely wasn't enough room for all the students to work at once… that had to be on purpose, right? Your teacher usually thought things out pretty well.
You glanced down at Cray. "I see you not exercising."
"You're not exercising either," Cray fired back.
"I climbed up here!" You nudged him, and his knuckles whitened where he held onto the edge of the platform. "…are you scared to get down? Cause I can bring you down."
Cray's tail flicked. "Nah, I was just gonna jump. There's haybales at the bottom anyway."
"I guess." You glanced down, and your eyes met yellow ones.
Before you could fully register that Jace was at the bottom of the chain, he had already taken ahold of it and started to climb. You immediately shot to your feet, looking for another way down, and Cray grabbed your hand.
"Jump!"
You didn't need more prompting. Releasing Cray's hand (as not to yank him along with you), you jumped off the platform and braced yourself to hit the ground.
The haybales did their job, cushioning your landing so that you barely winced as your feet hit the ground. A moment later, Cray landed next to you with a small "oof."
"Now run," he whispered loudly.
"Wait." You looked up to find Jace still climbing. "Uh… I probably don't need to."
"Well, come on anyway." Cray popped upright and grabbed your hand, pulling you with him as he trotted off towards the middle of the gym.
You let yourself be led along, but you were looking back over your shoulder to where Jace was just now reaching the platform. Was he coming after you? Or was he just… doing his work? You felt a little sheepish now at the way you'd panicked, especially when the teachers were right here. But, in your defense, Jace usually kept his distance unless he was trying to mess with you.
You heaved a sigh and looked back at Cray, who was now looking at you with a pinched look on his face.
"I don't like that guy," he muttered.
You scoffed. "You and me both." You reached out and ruffled his hair into his eyes, making him screech. "Now come on," you said, with a brightness in your voice that you didn't really feel. "I think they're all done with the jumps."
The sound of thunder rumbling drew your gaze instinctively to the windows, and you realized that you couldn't even see the rain beyond with how dark it was outside. You yawned, glancing down at the textbook in front of you.
"Guess it's not good weather for flying practice tonight," you commented.
Morpheus shrugged. "Yeah, but we were taking the night off anyway." You hummed and flipped your book shut.
"Okay. Well, I'm going to bed."
"Cool." Morpheus swung his legs over the bench and stood, grabbing your backpack and offering it as you collected your things.
Other than your minor scare with Jace, gym class had been largely uneventful. Cray had followed you around for the rest of class, and hadn't left your side until about half an hour ago. You were pretty sure he was trying to guard you. Which was cute, in a puppy sort of way.
"Brewing class tomorrow," Morpheus commented idly as the two of you walked down to the dorms together.
"Huh. Yeah. I should probably skim over my recipe sheet before class." Having reached your door, you stopped, placing your hand on the knob. "Night, Morpheus." You pushed your door open and six faces turned to look at you.
You froze in the doorway, and Cray immediately sprang up off the floor. "Hi!"
"Uh." You blinked, gaze skimming over the other occupants of your room— Soot, Greyson, Geode, Kai, and Silvia, of course. "Whaaaaat's goin' on?"
"Sleepover!" Kai piped up. She was sitting on the edge of your bed, Geode at her side. "Cray said you needed some extra backup because Jace has been messing with you again."
"Oh. Well…" You rubbed at the back of your neck, noticing that Morpheus has paused to stare as well. "Not exactly. And I sure don't think I'd be in any danger in my room."
"He is getting bolder," Soot spoke up quietly. "He tried to go to you even when I was close by."
"Well I'm sure the teachers wouldn't let him harass me while I sleep…" you trailed off, looking from one earnest face to the next. "But, uh, I won't say no to sleepover, if Silvia's okay with it."
"Fine by me." Silvia was hanging upside-down from a strand of webbing.
"Okay." You broke into a small smile, stepping into the room, and you had just reached back to grab the door when you realized Morpheus was still standing there. You glanced up at him, and he met your eyes.
"Um," he said, and then you'd grabbed his arm.
"C'mon."
"Okay."
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