Archive of Our Own ^beta

Minecraft’s universe was created from universal constants in language. Every mob, every group of players, they all had a language. The villagers spoke in hrmms, basic, simple inflections to the ears of an average player, who only communicated to a villager in sign. But a villager’s language went deeper then signing ‘emerald’ or ‘wheat’. They communicated the harvest times, they gossiped and told stories, some silly, some serious. But, to a player, it was incomprehensible, unless one desired to learn, a villager’s chatters meant nothing. But why desire to learn it?

Player speak was built from villager. It contained its patterns of speaking, the way words were put together, and some simple, common vocabulary. The words themselves, however, have a closest equivalent in Voidspeak, the language of Endermen. Indeed, most endermen spoke words so similar, so oddly similar that sometimes, a player might hear them and almost understand. But after generations of changes, the words pronunciation was so garbled up that it was meaningless. The words meant nothing to either players or endermen, strings of vowels and consonants strung together to make patterns that made meaning.

But voidspeak was built on one language, the deepest one a player without access to admin permissions could reach. Galactic, the language of enchanting. The language of curses, and the language of magic. Few spoke it, it was a dead language, as every word made in it had potential to affect the world in a way not even the next layer, Commands, could.

But potential doesn’t mean it would. Because Galactic was, long ago, the common language, and some ancient books, tossed between servers, still were untranslated. Almost disappeared.

So when Chim came scurrying in to Lime’s base one day, chattering nonsense about wanting to read the symbols surrounding an enchantment table, Lime had his own curiosities. The man was clearly hiding something, you could tell from his shuffling, his smile a bit too wide, his eyes dashing a bit too much. Chin found something, and Lime’s curiosity was already piqued. He shouldn’t have— no, he wouldn’t let Chim go off and translate some forgotten tome without at least investigating to see if it was dangerous. That would be irresponsible of him as a Developer.

Not all the code and data that built up the world was safe. Some of it could cause great damage if abused. Lime had to find out.

“Chim,” Lime said, “I do not feel comfortable with you translating your book without at least taking my own peek.”

Chim said some nonsense, trying to hide the contents, trying to pretend it was nothing.

Lime gave a look.

Chim relented. He turned his face from Lime, offering to bring Lime to the church. That is where Lime knew the book would be kept, as Chim spent so much of his time there, tidying up and worshipping. The church was Chim’s purpose on Legacy, his sole passion. He probably found the book hidden there, by some malevolent entity, wishing to stir up chaos and disorder. He wouldn’t have known what the book, pure black with a flaking cover, actually contained.

The book. The one that Chim found. The one that started this mess. Lime found himself inhaling, exhaling, too fast, at the thought of it. That this small book Chim wanted to translate could hold so much potential. Potential that Lime wouldn’t let see used. It was dangerous, the aura. It almost burned to simply be around it, even as Chim looked upon the book with an odd reverance. Lime opened a page, ignoring the cover. The cover didn’t matter, he never saw the cover. What mattered was the contents.

Dark contents. Rituals, spells, curses, all sending shivers down Lime’s spine as he read his way through them. They weren’t magic for good or for fun. This was evil, this House of the Withers. The costs of the spells, wither skulls, wither roses, animals, even cats and players, these were costs only one evil would even consider. 

But Chim wouldn’t know. He would have just seen this book and its influence and thought it was safe. He would have translated it slowly, enjoyed the process, and been corrupted. But Lime would not let that happen. 

He took the book and, with a flick of flint and steel, it was burned. No more. Chim complained but Lime had other, safe books to translate.

Chim wouldn’t be corrupted. Lime wouldn’t be responsible for the server’s, and his own, doom.

But that isn’t what happened…

———

Logic once called himself the One True King of the Server. His and Sausage’s squabbling over the title lead to fun events, just like how Chim’s church of bees lead to others. However, it wasn’t real. It was never meant to be anything more then fun, and Logic didn’t want it to be. Had Sausage taken him aside and said that the fight for the title was causing him pain, Logic would have dropped the story instantly. His friendship was worth more then a title he himself barely believed in.

What was a king, after all? A crown, a castle, authority over others? Responsibilities to the server and to his friends? Could Logic ever have truly lead an army against anyone? When Slicer had awoken, piloting Lime’s old body, he had called Logic the One True King. Logic had affirmed this title, refusing to show weakness in front of Slicer. He could remember how the withering beast inside of Lime had moved, dragging the body like it wasn’t used to being inside it. Disturbing. Cold. And bent on bringing death to Logic. He could remember after, for months as he slowly lost himself, staring again into those eyes, haunted by the memories and by the title that he was never deserving of.

He would never be a king again. He would never call himself one. He had summoned the withers into their world by his own hand, and now, he was the one who had to fix this. He was exhausted, just barely having finally awoken after all the time he lost. His body was barely able to get up even as he forced himself to, to turn around and see Poppy struggling against Lime, Pearl in shock, the Withers demanding Logic grab her, make their plans come to fruition.

Logic could have just stood there, in shock, told Pearl to run, let Poppy and him be captured. He shouldn’t have done that. He wouldn’t do it ever again. Not when he still had a sword by his side and an urge to save his server, and to save Lime. If both Poppy and Pearl escaped, maybe they would have more of a chance. Lime may be powerful beyond anyone’s imagining, but he was only one Developer. And Logic was only one, true king. 

He would bring up his sword and drive it, narrowly avoiding the shield of Poppy, straight into Lime. The pain loosened Lime’s grip, and he let go of Poppy. She turned and kicked Lime away. Lime gasped as he tripped onto the floor, hissing in pain. Logic could see his eyes. They weren’t full of hate. They were full of fear. Fear of the withers’ retribution. Logic once heard how Lime fell, the other describing in a broken state the encompassing rift that tortured him until his only option was to give in.

Logic didn’t know how to save Lime. He had to run, he, Pearl, and Poppy had to run. Grabbing a rocket, Logic full onto his wings, grabbing Poppy’s hand, and flew away, the trio escaping, instead of just one, and all it took was Logic attacking Lime. Something he could do, it was so easy, why wouldn’t have? 

He wasn’t fit to be the one true king, but with Pearl and Poppy by his side, together they could lead and resist. Bring together the Legates and finish the Withers once and for all. 

No one would have to go to war. No one would have to die. Misery would cease, and no destruction would reign. Darkness would turn to light and they would be happy.

But that isn’t what happened…

———

Even before everything, Poppy had always avoided the Citadel of Power that Slicer had built. It was the darkness of Quantum Reef City, so contrasting to the pure white concrete that surrounded it. There was an aura of evil that was sickening. She didn’t understand how she saw Chim and Lime talking in that place, once. She supposed that if they wanted to have a private conversation, that was one of the few places they wouldn’t be disturbed.

Because of her avoidance, it was probably the build she knew least about. Her survivalist nature, refusing to accept her potential demise, lead to her scouring the server, making note of any place that may bring harm to her. No creepers would creep up on her, no zombies would bite from behind no matter how much Zloy could try. She was the Queen of Hardcore, and even now, stuck inside the Citadel, Lime and Logic corrupted, she wouldn’t let them hold her hostage here.

Sitting alone, allowing the Withers to ruin her until she yearned for them and them alone? That would never be her place. She would never have let that happen. They may want her to stay, they may claim that escaping is a way for her to belong to them, but she would have seen through their lies. Poppy was going to run, and she just had to bide her time for an opening. 

Preferably, Logic and Lime wouldn’t be around, knee deep in destroying and desecrating another Legate’s build, or polishing QRC or whatever inane tasks the Withers would impose upon them. They always ignored her, even inside their Citadel, so long as she behaved like the Withers want. Once she escapes, once she warns the Legates of the traitor lurking among them, of Lime and Logic’s plans, they would go down. And the server would finally be safe again, and her home would finally be free again.

When she overheard them talking about meeting with the traitor, she knew that was her shot. Those meetings were usually long, and the two came back more solemn then before. If she found the rebellion in time, maybe she could even figure out who was missing and meeting up with the duo. She just had to wait, and sneak out.

The first time she tried this, Lime had appeared, forcing her away as the Withers tried to convince her to fight him. When she fought Logic, that was her confirmation that what the Withers said was true. But her fighting Logic was her anger at never trying to escape; maybe she could run, avoid the others, and she would escape and not give in to her anger.

The Citadel was wide open. All she had to do was run and jump.

She fell into the water with a splash, and began swimming to the shore, hiding herself underwater as she swam away from the Citadel. She was coming, Nash, Niko, Pearl, everyone. She was coming and the Withers would fall and she would never accept anything they offered her because she was a Queen and didn’t need it.

But that isn’t what happened…

———

Avomance wasn’t perfect. He knew he wasn’t but he didn’t let that bother him too much. He made his fair share of errors and mistakes in this situation just like everyone else. He wouldn’t let himself make a mistake now, not when Pearl was counting on him to make this right, not when he had been told about a traitor in their resistance, that he couldn’t trust everyone. He couldn’t trust everyone and it plagued him wondering who wasn’t trustworthy. Who in the people he had grown close to could he imagine the Withers calling a priest? Could he imagine anyone throwing aside all that they worked for to exchange it for a crown of destruction?

Technically, Pearl had. She was desperate, she was crying and she had given in to... something. Avo wasn't sure what the Withers offered at that time, whether it was freedom from pain, power, but whatever it was, he knew it wasn't something Pearl would want if she wasn't desperate. Because even now, she was working against them. She never wanted them in the first place, and she was ready to fight to make it right. She put her trust in him, she told him a warning before she ran to keep the resistance safe. She trusted Avo, and Avo wasn't going to let her trust down.

Who was the priest? Without the brain fog that had originally gone up, hiding and shielding his own thoughts, it would be so easy to figure out the identity of the man who had ruined their lives. Who else was a pastor, who else ran a church? Arguably, Zloy, with his graveyard and church, but Zloy wasn't the one disappearing, just to come back with the scent of decay and a more cheerful look, like things were going well. It had to be Chim, and he wouldn't let any brain fog mislead him.

"Chim is the traitor," he said to Sausage. His friend looked surprised, but narrowed his eyes.

"Beware of the priest... that checks out. He's the only 'priest' on this server," Sausage confirmed.

"But how would we be able to defeat him, if we confront him on our own, he'd probably use whatever potion he's brewing on us," Avo pointed out.

"That's why we bring everyone! We tell them of Chim's betrayal, and we smack him with our sword until he gives back Pearl, and the others!" Sausage declared, his eyes shining in determination.

Avo smiled. He already had his sword, strong netherite, enchanted and engraved, with Smite V placed upon it. The perfect weapon to kill a wither. The perfect weapon to face off against a Wither Commander.

 There was no time to lose. Avo and Sausage rallied up the legates, cornering Chim. He looked confused. Avo narrowed his eyes.

"Chim, you've betrayed Legacy," Avo accused, holding out his sword.

"What?" Chim said, looking with an obviously false surprise. The others seemed to agree with Avo, calling out for Chim to give back their friends. "No, I would..."

"Wouldn't you, *priest*?" Avo snarled.

Chim's face turned cold. He had been caught and Avo would never let him harm a friend again. 

"How could you?" Archie cried.

"I built you a graveyard!" Zloy snapped.

"Traitor!" Sausage yelled.

Avo had won. Chim had lost. And soon, the withers would follow.

But that isn’t what happened...

———

It  was like she was floating, drifting aimlessly in her sleep. Nothing seemed to make much sense as she stared, beyond herself, towards the blank, empty wall. All that she had was what she surrounded herself with, the rest, gone. Destroyed. 

She was destroying herself in a similar manner, she knew. She was busy, too busy for resting and too busy to be able to think clearly. How dangerous it was, her forced alertness, but did it really matter? She had to press on every day. She had to smile and keep her façade as well as Chim did. Chim and her's façades, even if his did become the more insidious, they both served a purpose. They both were meant to make the Legates comfortable, to make them happy, to make them believe that they would get out of this.

She couldn't. She would never get out of this. Despite her smiles, her exhaustion kept plaguing her, and despite her battle plans, she couldn't defeat her self doubt. The others, they all had regrets, but she wondered if she could call these her regrets. They felt more like inevitabilities. She was destined to fail, and she had no agency, no choice in how to proceed.

She had already made all the choices she coupd to successfully escape, but still she had lead to another's ruin. Maybe that is how she could change things, she could ignore Avo in that hallway. It was her fault he was harmed, trapped, forced to be another pawn in the Wither's games. If she just had gone the other direction, if she just had fled, maybe Avo would have been safe. He was the only choice she made.

Maybe she could have chose to attack Lime, but she wasn't a good enough warrior to ensure that both her and Poppy could make it. Maybe she could have lead the resistance better, but she had done all that she could. She had no plans that she wished she could have redone. Maybe she could have seen Chim's betrayal, guessed that his behavior was suspicious, his cheer, his charm, his... Chimness. 

She couldn't have seen through that face either. She truly was their Doll.

She had done all she could to resist them. What more could she offer? What more did they want to take from her? 

She had given up her life and her soul. She had never had a choice, not from the very beginning. 

But, the choices she could make, she did against the Withers. And maybe that was one thing she could allow her mind to have peace about, to finally let herself rest instead of staring at an empty wall. 

She wasn’t the others, and they weren’t her. They would always have a divide between them, Lime and Chim, the old servants, and Logic and Poppy, the bright new ones, and her and Avo, the new slaves of the Withers.

And this is what actually happened…

———

A Voice, who wished he would never speak the words he was forced to.

An Acolyte, who once would have tried to hold a crown.

A Warrior, who’s pacifism lead to her own doom.

A Spare, who could have been more had he tried.

And a Doll, who has already accepted her place in this scheme.

And a King, to lead them and take his rightful place among destruction.

They all had regrets. Lime had confided, before he had fully accepted his place, that he wished he had destroyed the book before it became an issue. Chim knew the others also had their own shatterpoints, that they could have changed things.

Even he could have, if he had just decided to throw away the book, to not dedicate himself to the Withers, to maybe even resist accepting them as his masters, things would have turned out different.

When Logic had come to him after the first few weeks, so scared and cute, Chim could tell he still thought about what would have happened if he hadn’t frozen in those moments.

Poppy, her head so focused, had barely reflected on things after accepting the Withers into her. She just wished she had been a Warrior sooner, but to run away and shirk her duties instead.

Avo,trapped in his cell, poured over every scenario that he could have changed something.

And then there was Pearl. She claimed to have accepted everything. Even to herself, she seems to believe that she was, always, the pawn, the Doll. But Chim had some deep suspicions. She had more choices then she knew. 

There were still ways things could go wrong, but Chim wouldn’t let them. 

The Withers would rule over the land, and their regrets would crumble as they accepted their places underneath Chim. 

It was only a matter of time .