Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 Four worlds down, many more to go. A silly Minecraft series shouldn’t be taken that seriously as their friends say, but it’s not just a Minecraft series to them. It’s a reality they’ll live through. 

 The Void, The Mainline, The SMPs; they're all the same to the mystic duo. Except for the access to their own memories. Once they crossed from the Mainline into the Void or a realm, they’d only retain memories from the SMPs and Void, and vice versa. They felt as though they weren’t complete; that part of them was missing. 

 Maybe that’s why they turned to SMPs in the mainline. It felt so comforting, so familiar to them but they didn’t know why yet. Ninth grade had been tough for both of them. A mutual friend moved away, it was their first year in high school and to add salt into the wound they had no classes together and had different lunches. 

 The two were thankful that they still had each other's numbers and added each other on messenger. Too much happened in too little time, but they were able to stick together through it. Even if it was only through a screen or accidental meets in the bathroom. 

 Their combined love of SMPs was nowhere near its end, so when they both started watching WitchCraft SMP, it was only a matter of time before they ended up opening a portal. They wound up in the void, assuming that they had just fallen asleep after returning from Double Life. 

 They were both still dealing with the effects of their last adventure, mostly the carry-over pain in both their chests. It made walking around and especially sitting down uncomfortable, but the two had gotten used to it over the past few months. 

 “I’m ready for bed, man.” Kierian said, stretching his arms above his head. Now dressed in a pair of purple star-embroidered pajamas, he laid down on the couch in the living room. Chris sat down beside him, chuckling at her little brother. 

 “Like you didn’t just drink 5 cups of coffee in the past hour.” She ruffled his hair which had somehow gotten a few inches longer since the last time she remembers seeing him. 

 “That’s normal-“

 “That’s too damn much!” Chris scolded him. “You’re going to make yourself sick.” 

 “If I do, oh well.” He sat up, smiling at her. “I’m ready to go do stuff. What do you wanna do?”

 You were just about to sleep? You know what- he’ll have a caffeine crash later anyway. “I dunno- I didn’t have anything planned.” She leaned back as she looked around the room. Everything in the cottage looked normal, the same plants decorated the walls and all the books were in the same spot on the shelves. Everything was normal, except for a purple witch hat and mushroom cap resting on the dining room table. 

 “The hell is that?” She got up quickly, making her way to the two caps on the table. Each one was perfectly tailored for one of the duo. The mushroom cap fit perfectly on Chris’ head and she could only assume the other fit Kier just as well. Underneath the hats was a folded letter, sealed with a green wax stamp of a frog..?

 Chris opened the letter, Kierian now appearing at her side. He picked up the hat and put it on as he read the letter over her shoulder. 

 You’ll need them soon enough 

         - A.I.

 “What does that mean..?” She put the paper back down and turned to Kier, who had already started playing with the tassels on his hat. 

 “I dunno, but I think they’re pretty neat.” Kierian smiled, but that joy quickly faded away into bittersweet reminiscence. “Do you ever miss them?”

 “Every day…” It was obvious who they were supposed to be; the three people that helped raise them. “But one day we’ll find a way back to them. And maybe we can find a way to get Scott to remember.”

 Kier bit the inside of his cheek, memories of the end of Double Life flooding back. Should I tell her? It felt as though Scott had betrayed him when he found out… But would it hurt Chris even more if she found out that star knew? “Hey Chris-“

 As she turned to him, an unfamiliar sound grabbed their attention. To their surprise, what they could only assume was a portal had appeared beside them. A ring with a forest on the other side waited for the two to explore it. 

“Holy shit-“ Chris gasped, stepping closer to Kier. She grabbed onto his arm, the mushroom hat in her other hand. It reminded her of home. “Did we do it??”

 “I think we did.” Kierian looked down at his necklace, Chris following suit to look at her own. Both were glowing a bright sky-blue. They had opened a portal!

 Star took Chris’ hand in stars own, adjusting the witch hat on stars head. “You ready to do this?”

 “Nope.”

 “Neither am I, let’s go!” Kier smiled and pulled her into the portal.

 Instead of waking up somewhere without the other, they could finally be together. Their outfits had changed once they stepped through the portal, but it wasn’t an overwhelming feeling that they were so used to. Instead of a sudden wave of difference, it was a cool breeze, welcoming them to the world. 

 With that, they had entered a new world, oblivious to what lay ahead. 

Chapter Text

 Being born powerless in a world full of witches was one of the hardest things she’d ever come to terms with. That’s what she would tell people, anyway. Not many people came to the desert, it was barren and unpleasant to the eye. Maybe that’s why Lauren liked it much more than her old home. 

 Her old home is far away; it’s unreachable now. But her old home was cluttered and filled with people. Businesses lined the streets and people ran about day in and day out. It wasn’t always “bad”, just got overwhelming after a while. Then she had to leave. Leaving wasn’t a voluntary decision, but mandatory for her survival. Now her home was here among the sand dunes and tumbleweeds, a peaceful life out on her own. She was completely self-sufficient and after a whole day of farming, she was exhausted. 

 As Lauren settled into bed for the night, she recited her nightly prayer to whatever was above. Please.. Make me a sand witch. 

 She woke up the next morning, ready for another uneventful day when she went out to check on her farm but found mail waiting for her. 

 “Mail? No one ever leaves me mail…” She checked around her home briefly, assuming this was a trap. Once the coast was clear, she opened the box. The inside of the box was barren except from a book and a yellowish-gray orb. Lauren picked up the book and opened it. 

 Dearest Sand Witch,

 “Sand witch? Hah.. I wish- holy heavens above-“ Shocked she hadn’t noticed it earlier, she looked at her arms which were now filled with peanut butter and jelly with her sleeves acting like bread. “Oh my gosh.” Sand-witch. Sand-wich. Ugh, she felt like a fool. She couldn’t completely complain, though. Lauren finally had powers. They may not be ideal, but she finally had something. 

 You have been chosen to participate in the witching event of the century. In the event of my death, I always knew that someone would have to rise to take my place as Supreme Witch, which is why I have devised a series of games to determine my successor.

 Eight witches. One winner. Will you come out on top?

 Follow the North Star during the Witching Hour. It will show you the way. 

 Yours Truly,

    The Supreme Witch 

 She tucked the book away into her inventory with a smile before grabbing the orb. The orb felt… right in her hands. A sudden rush of energy shot through her being, her head feeling fuzzy for a moment before grounding herself back to reality. 

 Lauren waited till nightfall, giddy with excitement that she was now an actual witch. She tested some of her newfound powers on the sand around her home. Let’s just say she didn’t get as much power as she’d like. Lauren could manipulate sand, levitating it a few feet off the ground before it would fall. These new powers would need practice, that’s for sure. She didn’t let herself get disheartened, though. She took a few bites of some bread and began her trek to follow the North Star. 

 The walk was… long, to say the least. Lauren fought through mobs and had to get soaking wet before she reached the main area. 8 towers arranged in a circle, each with their own color pallets reflecting the witch who owned the tower. Among the inner area of the paths, a cloaked figure stood atop a small platform. They were unmoving, and their face nothing but a black void and two pure white eyes. 

 Their name was Bertha. When they spoke, their voice echoed off the towers around them. Lauren was explained the importance of her trials and then led her to her tower. Inside the tower, a spiral staircase led up to a smaller room with a few things scattered around. She didn’t stay long. She spoke to the other sandwich creature, got her training robes and hat, then left. On her way out, she ran into another trainee. 

 “Oh hello!” She greeted, waving at the man. He turned around, green eyes meeting heterochromic brown and purple ones. He was dressed in a blue and red cape, a white button up shirt underneath. A brown corset-like piece wrapped around two thirds of his torso, the sides of the piece matching the colors on the cape behind it. “I’m Lauren! What’s your name?”

 “I am Joey, the great Fire-Frost witch!” He proclaimed, hand on his chest to add dramatic effect. “I have both fire and ice powers,” he announced proudly. Lauren looked at him in awe; someone who had such a unique power set and could just flaunt it without a worry in the world made her jealous. Joey’s expression fell as Lauren continued to somewhat stare at him. “Are you alright?”

 “Yeah- I’m fine, sorry. I just- You’re the first person I’ve ever met!” She said, face turning slightly red from embarrassment. That bashfulness quickly faded as she made a realization. “Oh my gosh, you’re my first friend!” Lauren grabbed his hands, Joey looking at her with confusion as this very energetic woman continued on. “I really hope you don’t betray me!”

 “Oh my god-“ Joey laughed, pulling his hands back. “That’s so sad!” Lauren shrugged as he took a few steps back. Better than last time I knew him, I guess. 

 “I suppose- But it’s gonna be okay!” She smiled, a bit of the jelly in her arms falling onto the path below them. “I have a friend now!” 

 “Yeah. Well, um, I have to go!” Joey waved as he ran off. “Oh my god,” he mumbled to himself. “She doesn’t seem very powerful. I doubt she’ll be the Supreme Witch.”

 Lauren watched him walk off and let her over-energized smile fall to a more neutral expression when he was out of her view. She hummed as she continued down the path and through the river to make it home. The forest was less of a hassle in the daytime, the only creatures she ran into were the wild life going about their day. 

 A smile came to her naturally as the breeze ran through her hair. She wouldn’t admit it, but seeing Joey again brought back all sorts of memories she had forced away. She knew that this realm was safe, there wasn’t any imposing threat she was aware of. But last time she thought that, her and Scott were proven wrong. 

 She shook her head. No. No. Don’t think about Empires. You were there for one reason and one reason only… Don’t think about them, don’t think about him, do not think about the contract with the goddess that now owns your soul. 

 Well now she spiraled. Her body was on an autopilot of sorts as her mind went through the events of her life over the last few years. She signs a contract with a goddess, the traveler symbol now forever on her left wrist as a reminder. She gets to see her friend more often, but she has to uphold an end of a deal. She gets access to her own memories, but if she messes up even slightly, it could all be taken from her. 

 She got to live in a realm she wasn’t supposed to be in to watch over two kids and she couldn’t even do that right. They got kidnapped, one got his vision permanently damaged, and then eventually all her friends there died. The two kids ended up going to a realm where the gods forsaken Watchers had their twisted death game and Scott ended up killing them. She barely got Scott to calm down and Chaos wasn’t helping. He’s lucky he still has his powers… It took hours of begging to get Astral to leave Scott alone.

 Scott’s fear definitely wasn’t misplaced. It’s not above Astral for it to take their immortality. It’s threatened to do just that multiple times. I understand it’s a “privilege” but you don’t have to flaunt the fact it can be taken so easily… She was left feeling like she was walking on eggshells each time she was in a realm with the kids. It was taking a toll on her mental health, the dying and caretaker part.

 Lauren sighed, forcing the thoughts away once more. She was here to learn about the players; she was here as a Traveler, not caretaker. It’s not her job to take care of them anymore. Besides, they’d be in high school now, they were no longer children but teens. They were much more independent than last time she saw them. 

 She pushed aside a few hanging vines out of the way of her head. Looking up, she expected to see the same empty clearing she passed through earlier. She didn’t expect to see what she did. Two teens standing in the middle of the forest, neither of them an unfamiliar face. Her heart sunk and her shoulders tensed. Standing in the clearing were Chris and Kierian. 

 Her face showed excitement, her eyes lighting up with joy. Her mind was riddled with anxieties and worries of how they even got here and how they’ve been. Astral was gone away on “business” and Kristin was busy with her husband. Either Astral pulled some strings or they had finally developed their portal powers. She didn’t care which one it was, she was glad that they were okay but why were they here?

 Chris held her hand in front of Kier. The elder of the two had brought along her staff, her scarf still missing. Each time she rubbed her thumb along the red cloth, she’d be reminded of the brown one missing from her neck. They tried their best to brush it off, but they knew it would pull at the back of their mind like in Double Life. 

 She looked around, starting with their backs turned to the witch she wasn’t aware was there yet. Only once she nearly completed a 360 look did she see Lauren slowly walking towards them. Kierian turned to match her gaze, smiling brightly once he processed who the woman walking towards them was. The new world seemed less scary to him now. 

 “Oh hello,” Lauren smiled, standing in front of the two. “I’m Lauren.” The two fought down the urge to say ‘I know’.

 Chris couldn’t help but smile. “Hi. I’m Chris. This is Kierian.” She shook Lauren’s hand before she could even get another word out. Kier waved while biting his tongue. Don’t say anything. Don’t say anything. Do not say anything.  

 Lauren smiled along, shaking Chris’ hand with a weaker grip than her. She chuckled nervously, letting her hand fall back to her side. “Nice to meet you two.” Scott was right… I didn’t think he actually kept it. 

 “Nice to meet you, too,” Kier said, shaking Lauren’s hand with the least amount of energy of the three of them. Now he was really biting his tongue; if Scott remembered he was positive Lauren would remember. If the two of them could get better at acting, what stopped Lauren and Scott from already mastering pretending to not know. 

 “Are you two training to become the Supreme Witch?” Lauren subconsciously started to continue her walk home, the teens following close behind. She didn’t mind though, there wasn’t an ounce of animosity towards them in her being. Astral, though, she was a different case. The two shook their heads. 

 “Nope,” Chris said, “Just… Just passing through.” She held onto Kier’s hand, the youngest of the three having fallen behind a bit. It nodded along. She wasn’t technically lying- they didn’t necessarily have a reason to be here, they were just visiting. 

 “That’s nice. Where are you two headed?”

 “Nowhere in specific,” Chris chipped in. “Just kinda wandering about.”

 “We’re travelers- it’s kinda normal for us to go about as we please.” Kier added, not thinking over his word choices. Lauren nearly tripped over her own feet, her heart skipping a beat as he mentioned the title. She nodded as she regained her balance. 

 “That’s nice. You two look young, how old are you?” 

“14.” They said in unison, both a little confused. Lauren went to say something, stopping herself as she concluded that it most likely had something to do with the mainline. 

 “Ah. Birthdays?” She knew the answer already, August 1st and December 31. And they answered just that. They continued talking about pretty much nothing until they got to Lauren’s house. “Welp! This is my home!” 

 “It’s very hot.” Kier pulled off his mask, keeping it around his wrist with the ear loops. “But it’s better than being soaking wet.”

 “Yeah but I love it.” She smiled, leading them inside. While the two teenagers discussed their odd jump in age, Lauren opened her chat. 

> laurenzside : Scott. 

> laurenzside : Scott!

> Smajor1995 : What’s up? 

> laurenzside : The kids are here.

> Smajor1995 : Lauren don’t joke about that. 

> laurenzside : I’m not, Scott. 

 Scott shut his comm, stunned with shock as he stood with his mouth slightly agape. He didn’t reopen the device, even as it continued pinging with messages from Lauren. No… He wasn’t going to this to them again- to himself- to Lauren! 

 He remembered. Scott knew that. He knew how mad he’d be, how quickly he’d be willing to turn on him again… but he was scared last time. Also possibly under the Watcher’s influence but maybe, just maybe, he’d understand. Maybe they wouldn’t have remembered Double Life, slim chance but there’s still a chance, right? 

 He didn’t know how to even approach them normally. Double Life had been eating at him from the back of his mind since it happened. That was- what? Nearly a year ago, now? Each time he picked up a sword he could feel that disconnection from himself wash over him again, even if it was just for a second. His actions as a red always left him with guilt, but this time? Gods, why couldn’t he think clearly in that moment?! 

 A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. He went over, pulling it open slightly to see who was on the other side. “Shelby..?”

 “Hey Scott.” She smiled softly. “Are you doing alright? Can I come in?” 

 “Yeah- come on in.” He pulled the door all the way open, welcoming the witch inside with a hug. “How have you been?” Dodge the question. 

 “I’ve been alright.” She leaned against the table, Scott shutting the door. “But you didn’t answer my question; are you doing alright?”

 “I’m fine, Shrub.” He smiled, clearly a bit too forceful. 

 She nodded, knowing better than to push. “Scott, I need to tell you something.” He looked up at her, tilting his head in confusion. It’s our first week in this world. What’s already been happening? “Last time we had a conversation one-on-one like this, I wasn’t honest.” Shelby pulled up her sleeve, the two infinity signs in the shape of a “T” on her wrist told Scott exactly what she meant. 

 “Oh.” 

 “I’m signed under Mumza.” She pulled her sleeve back down. “That’s why Kier was placed under your and Lauren’s care, and Chris under mine.” She smiled softly. “So now we’ve looped full circle, huh?”

 “A year and a half later.” He chuckled. “So… they know now. And they can open portals on their own.”

 “Are they still with Lauren?” Scott nodded. “Alright so that buys us some time to come up with a plan.” 

 “A plan for what?”

 “To tell them we know, Scott. Cha- Dragonfly is signing soon, we can finally tell them!” 

Oh. Oh no. 

 Scott nodded slowly, hiding the growing pit of guilt in his stomach. “Yeah- they deserve to know, right?”

 “Exactly. But for now, we’re back to where we were.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “For now, we’re going back to the basics.”

Chapter Text

 Shelby jolted awake, breathing erratically as she came back to reality. It was just a nightmare, it was just a nightmare, just a nightmare…

 Her and her family were safe now. She’s with her friends and her loved ones. No demon to torment her loved ones, no impending doom. It had been over a year; it shouldn’t be bothering her anymore. She pushed herself out of bed and the nightmare to the back of her mind. 

She grabbed her comm, the device already buzzing as more messages came through. Most of it was people getting achievements and others just asking for coords. One message stuck out from the rest;

> laurenzside : hey Shelby! wanna come over? Idk if Scott told you or not, but i have some friends over!! I think you’d like to meet them! 

 She smiled softly. She typed out a message on her comm before heading out the door.

> Shubble_YT : yeah!! I’ll be over in just a bit. 

  Lauren tucked her comm away as she continued her walk home. She hadn’t gone too far, just into the woods to collect wood to build another house. The two teens had insisted on coming along, both now following behind her like little ducklings. It was like they were scared of losing her and she couldn’t blame them. 

 “Hey Lauren?” “Hm?” “What’s that?” Chris pointed past the tree line. Over the river, something was flying in the air. It would do loops and turns while staying airborne. It was a soft green, nearly mint, color and appeared to be fuzzy. 

 “I don’t know actually-“ Chris walked off towards it. “Chris!”

 “What? It’s fine.” She came out of the trees, looking up at the creature. Upon closer inspection, the mob was found to be a moth; a lunar moth to be specific. It continued fluttering around before landing on Chris’ head. She smiled softly, lifting her finger and the moth crawled onto it. “Hi buddy.”

 The moth fluttered its wings softly, as if it was saying hello. It’s body was covered in a soft fur that brushed against Chris’ skin. The creature fluttered down to the ground, landing gently beside Chris’ feet. To her and everyone’s surprise, it grew to about the size of a Collie. She jumped back, obviously startled, when the moth began rubbing against her leg. 

 “Um.. I don’t think moths are supposed to do that.” Lauren chuckled nervously. She backed away a few paces, pushing Kier behind her back. He looked up at her before stepping around and joining Chris’ side. The moth continued rubbing against the elf’s leg. “Please don’t get hurt.”

 “I don’t think he’s gonna hurt us,” Chris smiled, running her hands through the moth’s fur. The pale green coat was softer than anything she’d felt before. “He’s friendly.” The moth fluttered its wings again.

“See? Lauren, it's ok.” 

 “Maybe he’s your familiar. Lauren got one, maybe he’s yours?” Kierian smiled, placing a hand on the moths head. “He’s a very good boy so far. I don’t think a moth would be this relaxed around humans unless he was a familiar.”

 “If this is how you get your familiar, I liked the path with the hot deer man,” Lauren said, folding her arms. 

 Chris chuckled. “What’s it with you and deer? And that was a statue, he probably didn’t hear your compliments.” The moth shrunk down to normal as the conversation continued on. 

 “Well- It’s in the past now, so let’s move on.” She walked in front of the two teens. “It’s besides the point- do you think this is your familiar?”

 “I mean.. it feels like it? There’s no ceremony or anything?” 

 Lauren shrugged her shoulders. “Depends. I’m new to being a witch so I can’t speak for everyone, but all the stories I heard growing up were different. Some people got theirs like how I did, a whole ‘follow this path’ type thing, or they got them like you and your moth here.” 

 “Citrus.” 

 “Hm?” 

 “His name is Citrus.” She said blankly. “He told me.” 

 “You can speak to animals?” Lauren knelt down to the teen’s level. “I never knew that.”

 “Neither did I,” she chuckled. “But his name is Citrus. He says he’s my familiar.” She smiled as Citrus settled on her head. “He says- hey, that’s not nice!” 

 “What did he say?” Lauren asked, continuing the walk back to her desert home.

 “He said you smell soggy.”

 Kier laughed loudly as the three continued walking, Lauren being taken aback and continuing the walk in silence. The three would eventually make their way home, leading to the younger two to start playing with Citrus in the yard. Lauren rolled her eyes playfully and began to build another house for the two. She finished up the foundation before calling it a day. 

 “Okaya, you two! Come inside, I’m going to make dinner.” She left the half built structure and entered her own home. He theenagers followed her inside along with Citrus close behind. Lauren shut the door once the three were inside and began to prepare dinner. 

 She got 4 steaks from the ice box, promptly seasoning them to each person's liking. Firing up the furnace with the sounds of teens laughing in the background brought back good memories. The ones she was glad she kept. Yet there were also ones she longed for. Ones that she couldn’t quite get again. 

 A sudden knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts. Chris and Kier looked at each other with confusion. Lauren rushed over to the door, greeting the witch on the other side with a hug. “Shelby! You made it!”

 Chris’ ears perked up at the name and instincts forced herself to stand. Her heart pounded in her ears, blocking the others’ voices. It was her. She was here. Her mom holding her again, the warmth of her arms shielding her from the harshness of the world. Shelby stepped through the door, silver hair shimmered in the light of the setting sun. She greeted Lauren with a hug before turning to the two teens. “And who are you two?” 

 “My name is Kierian,” he chirped up, a smiled plastered on his face. “And this is-“

 “Chris. My name is Chris…” She had a white-knuckled grip on the edge of the table. She was here, Shelby Mom was here. They couldn’t help the tears welling in her eyes. Little did she know Shelby tried the same. However, the storm witch could easily hide the tears while Chris could not. She walked over to Shelby, begging the gods above for her mom to remember. They couldn’t make something already happening happen again. 

 “Are you okay, kiddo?” Shelby put a hand on Chris’ shoulder, her form barely visible from the film of water Chris’ eyes were covered with. They pulled Shelby into a tight hug, burying their face into her shoulder. “Oh okay.” She hugged the teen back, a familiar lump growing in her throat. 

 “Mom!” Chris called, running into Shelby’s arms. She’d been on her own for days now, Shelby could only imagine what it was like to be abandoned again. 

“Chris, kiddo, I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to disappear for so long.” She hadn’t mean to disappear at all. Xornoth was tearing everyone apart, especially the different emperors. She held the teen in her arms, running a hand through her hair. Green and read strands matted together from worry-caused neglect. “I’m home, and I’m safe.”

 “You promise you won’t leave again?”

“You said you wouldn’t leave…” Chris whispered into her shoulder. “You said you’d stay.” Shelby ran her fingers through her hair. This time, it wasn’t matted. She didn’t say anything; any and every word that would leave her mouth would be incriminating. Lauren understood Shelby’s pain, wrapping an arm around Kierian’s shoulders. The room fell into a comforting silence, each of them dealing with their own memories and the longing associated with them. 

 After a few minutes of the silence, Lauren continued making dinner. The group ate together, small conversations coming up but nothing groundbreaking. The revelation had already been made. 

 As the sun rose the next day, Shelby left to head home. Both the storm witch and her daughter now content knowing the other was safe. Lauren turned to the two teens.  “I have some more errands to do today if you’d like to come along?” 

 “Sure, that turned out pretty well yesterday.” Chris smiled, a vast contrast to the silent sobs of last night. Lauren smiled softly, a person she needed to see coming to mind. 

 “I have another friend I need to visit if we have time. Is that okay with the both of you?” They nodded, holding each others hands. “Alright then! I don’t have much to do, just getting some materials for your house.” 

 “Okay, we’ll go.” Kier said. Lauren led the two through the now well beaten path in the forest. Lots plagued her mind, especially how quiet Kier has been this time. In Empires, he was a little chatter box ( which she wasn’t complaining about.) Now, he was quiet and resigned. He’d been more hesitant to speak since Shelby showed up. Maybe it was what happened in Empires that made him so quiet. Seeing Shelby must have brought back a paining lot of memories. Seeing Scott shouldn’t be that bad, right?

 They got to the edge of the forest, a new bridge having been built over the river. Lauren branched off to gather supplies, leaving the teens alone. They wandered around, Chris holding onto Kier’s hand tightly. “We should probably get Lauren something. As a thank you.” Kier nodded, once again not saying a word. “What is going on with you, man?” Chris pulled him into a side hug as he shrugged. 

 “Just weird seeing Lauren and Shelby again, I guess.” He looked down, kicking the dirt at his feet. 

 “But seeing Scott was fine?”

 “Please don’t talk about Scott right now…” He sighed so the grip he had on Chris’ hand wouldn’t tighten. 

 “What happened?” She attempted eye contact. “Kier, talk to me.”

 “It’s nothing. I don’t want to talk about it.” He let go of her hand. It knelt and pulled a poppy from its stem. 

 “Hey.”

 “Hm?”

 “How did we die in Double Life?”

 He froze, a lump growing in his throat. “An explosion.”

 She looked down at the ender, obvious tears welling in his eyes. “Alright.” That pain wasn’t caused by an explosion. It was different. Its source was from a single point, like a piercing. “Let’s go get Lauren her stuff.” 

 “Do you want to split up? Cover more ground that way. Get stuff faster, y’know.” Mumbling. He was hiding something. 

 “Um..” Did he really just ask that? Last time they split up…. This world should be safer. “Sure…” 

 “I’ll go into the forest, then? Grab some flowers and berries for her.”

 “That works. I’ll go into the main area and trade or buy something.” Kier nodded before walking off. Chris went to grab her scarf, only for her hand to be met with the cool silver of her necklace. She forgot she didn’t have it. They were so used to keeping it on them, it was a force of habit. How do they keep losing it..?

 They looked towards the woods, wanting to call out for Kier. She knew if she did, there’d be no response. She turned on her heel and continued onto the stone path of the area. 

 Following the stones, she went into the inner circle. She looked around to find something for Lauren. The only thing she found besides the towers was… a statue?  A cloaked- okay that’s not a statue. A cloaked person was standing in the town centre. They stood on a pedestal, their face engulfed in shadow and two pure white eyes pierced through their face.  

 Cold eyes stared into her soul, the teen feeling a sudden chill run down her back. 

 Not here. 

 What? She eyed the person.

 Not. Here. 

 What does that mean?

 You’re not supposed to be here. Not a witch. 

 “I don’t…” She choked on her voice. “I am a witch.”

 You’re an elf. From Fallen. 

 “How do you know what that is?”

  I know all. I’m not just a person standing here. 

 “What are you then?”

 I’m an oracle, so to speak. 

 “So you know, like, the past and future? That kind of thing?” 

 If that’s what you’d like to believe, yes. 

 Chris paced in front of the person, feeling for her scarf. “Fuck. I forgot I don’t-“

 It’s with your mother. Do not fret. 

 “Okay. That’s..”

 “Who are you talking to?” A man’s voice came from behind her. They turned around, expecting to meet a new person. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Joey looked down at her, eyebrow raised in confusion. Her heart skipped a beat, breath becoming stuttered. An instinct told her to run. Her reason told her he didn’t remember. Panic overtook her, a small squeak escaping her lips. “Are you ok?”

 “Or are you one of those kids with that sand lady? You know- she’s not very powerful, it’s better to become my ally.”

 “Her name is Lauren.” 

 “See! She’s so weak, I didn’t even bother remembering her name!” He started circling her, not helping the fear spiraling around her mind. He looked her up and down. “Hm. You could use some better clothes. You don’t even have a robe! Every great witch needs a robe.” 

 “I.. I’m fine without one.” Run. Run. Run. She clutched onto the crystal of her necklace, running her finger around the edges and counting them. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 

 “Nonsense!” He went to grab her hand before she pulled away. 

 “I- I really need to go.” She took a few steps back. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. “Thank you though.” Chris ran off, using the necklace as a constant grounding tool. Joey shrugged and walked off, deeming that if she wasn’t going to agree, she wasn’t worth his energy. 

…

..

.

 The scene played like a broken record over and over in his mind. The pain came back worse each time and the feeling of betrayal ten-fold. All the details more vivid than the moment it happened. 

 He kicked a rock in front of him as he picked a few more flowers. Alliums and Poppies filled his arms, a few smaller daisies along the outside of the bundle. Star continued walking forwards, meeting that same stone each time and kicking it further. After a dozen or so times of doing this, star decided it’s time to head back. He kicked the stone one last time before turning back.

 Instead of hearing it hit the grass, he heard someone say “ow!” Kier looked back, cursing under his breath as he saw a man standing there. The man in dark robes rubbed his leg where the stone had hit him. He looked up at Kier, and as their eyes met, both of them froze. 

 Kierian darted off, Scott chasing after him. “Kier!” He ran around a tree, Scott following his steps. “Slow down!” A turn, he matched it. A jump over a creek, he jumped further. Scott eventually caught up, grabbing Kier by the wrist. His grip on the flower bouquet tightened, and with the other hand he flew it up, punching Scott in the nose. 

 Scott let go, holding his nose. “Kier, what the hell?!” Kierian didn’t know whether to run or punch him again.

 “Don’t ‘what the hell’ me! You- You fucking chased me!” 

 “Because you ran! Oh gods that hurts..” He pulled his hand away, expecting to see blood. 

 “It’s just bruised. It’s fine.” He went to leave before Scott grabbed him. “You want me to break it?”

 “Kierian, talk to me.” He sighed, tension falling from his shoulders. “If this is about Double Life.. Kid, it’s been eating at me too.”

 “You fucking killed me, Scott. You made that conscious decision.” 

 “No, I didn’t. The red took over, kid.” 

 “The ‘red’?! Really?!” He turned back around to the man. “Woooow. Okay, so blaming some fake shit now!” 

 “It’s not fake! That was your first Life world, Kierian! You don’t know how the Watchers work.” 

 “And you do?!” A purple sheen came over Kier’s eyes, making Scott let go of him. “Im.. I’m not in the mindset to have this conversation. I will talk to you when I am.”

 “Kier…”

 “No. I’m not talking to you, Scott.” He started walking away, tail flicking side to side aggressively. 

 “Oh my gods… they’re getting to him….”

Chapter Text

Tense silence filled the house. The teens sat on opposite sides of the room; Chris on the bed and Kierian in a beanbag chair. They gave Lauren her gifts last night and she loved them. Chris eventually found an amethyst geode and grabbed about a bundle full of shards for Lauren. She kept them by her bed in a little jar. Said she wanted to keep them close to her heart, which both of the teens could have said was sappy. However, neither said anything. An argument broke out last night over Scott after going to bed. They kept Lauren out of it. Even if she remembered Empires, they wouldn’t dare mention Double Life to her. 

 “What happened? You aren’t telling me; of course I’m worried!” 

 “I told you, we blew up.” He turned around, folding the blanket in his arms. “I wanted to get home, we didn’t need to stay longer.”

 “And you didn’t tell me? That’s such a stupid secret to keep, Kier.” 

He’s lying. 

She doesn’t need to know. 

 It shrugged. “I care about you, it felt stupid to do so I thought I’d be best if you didn’t know.” 

“It would have been nice to know.” 

 “Alright. I’m sorry.” 

“I’m not going to tell you it’s okay, but.. just communicate next time. We had our comms..”

 He nodded, “mhm.. I’ll do that.” It picked up the white blanket Lauren had laid out and gave it to her. “Here.”

 “Thanks.” She took it from his hands and sat on her bed. “Do you want to head to bed?” 

He nodded silently before crawling into his bed. “Night.”

“Good night, Mizu.” 

-

 Chris was the first to leave the room with Kierian still in the corner. He pulled his socks on as he heard footsteps approaching the room. “Have you seen Lauren?”

 “No, I’ve been in here with you all morning. Why?” 

 “I can't find her.” 

 “What do you mean ’you can’t find her’?”

 “I mean I don’t know where she is. She isn’t in the house and there’s no note about where she went.” 

 “Should we go look for her? I don’t think that’s like her…” Chris nodded and started throwing on her shoes. Kier paced around the room before grabbing his tennis shoes and pulling them on. “Hey, Chris?” They looked up at her. “I’m sorry about snapping last night.”

 “It’s.. Thanks. We’ll work past it, okay?” Kier hummed in response and pulled on his cardigan. She also grabbed a jacket before the two headed out. Shutting the door behind them, they started on their trek to find their friend. They followed the beaten path, conversation popping up occasionally over small things. Tension still hung between them but each word helped to release the pressure into the air. Until they got to the main area.

 There was no sign of Lauren anywhere. Her home was empty, the trail had no sign of her walking it, and the town (?) was practically empty. Wandering the circle didn’t lead to anything. They stopped in front of the statue, hand still in hand as Chris began to speak to it. “Hi, I think you may remember me- by chance, have you seen a woman with half purple half brown hair? Her name is Lauren?”

  The sand witch? No, I have not seen her. 

“What the hell was that?” Kier clung to Chris’ side. “Did that statue just talk?”

 “Yep! She’s friendly though, so don’t worry.”

  Heed your friend’s words, young star. I am not here to harm, but help. 

 “It’s a talking statue. How am I supposed to believe it?” 

 “Be nice to- oh what is your name?”

 Bertha. My name is Bertha, young elf. 

  “Be nice to Bertha, Kier.” 

 “Yeah, be nice.” A man’s voice came from behind them. “Bertha is a sweet person once you’ve gotten to know them.” Chris turned around and waved, not really reacting to the man in front of her. He came up and put a hand on Kier’s shoulder. “They aren’t giving you trouble, are they?” Scott asked. 

No. Do not worry, Scott. 

“I don't tend to worry, just checking in on you.” He smiled at them before looking back down at Chris. “My, where are my manners? I’m Scott and this is Cleo,” he held his free hand out to Cleo as she walked up the steps to the centre circle. “And you two are?”

 The hand on his shoulder was enough for Kier to swing again but he couldn’t- not with Chris here. She didn’t need to know. But it’s not just Scott and Lauren and Shelby; Cleo’s here too. Does she remember? Are they all lying to them? Is it all one big scheme of lies and deception just to fuck with two teenagers heads?! 

 “I’m Chris and this is-“ Kierian pulled his shoulder from under Scott’s hand, stepping over beside his sister. “Kierian.. are you ok?” 

“‘M fine.” Turquoise and grey eyes shot through Scott, a scowl scrunching the teens face. “Just don’t want a stranger touching me.” Scott nodded as if the words didn’t sting like a thousand knives piercing his skin. Kier was upset, as he expected (and star showed the other night.) He backed up, he knew what was better for him and his nose. Cleo shook Chris’ hand, a conversation flowing naturally between them. Chris put up the facade and Cleo didn't have to fake anything. Why was hiding this so hard for him? It was so much easier when he didn’t remember anything at all. Kierian’s heart sunk to his stomach. His mother did something. Was that why Cleo didn’t remember? Was Scott immune to his mothers magic? Does Lauren actually remember or is she acting too? Who all actually knew? Then theres that “Dragonfly” person he keeps bringing up, what all do they know?

 Chris shook his shoulder lightly, “Are you coming with us?” 

 He blinked rapidly, trying to ground himself again. “What?”

 “For the prank,” Cleo added in. “Do you want to come with?”

 “Who are we pranking?” 

 “A girl named Pris.’ Chris chimed in. “It’ll be harmless.” They held his hand gently, “Maybe it can take your mind off Lauren?” He sighed. There wasn’t really much for him to do. 

 “Fine, I’ll go. But if something starts happening that I don't like, we’re leaving.” Chris nodded excitedly. 

 “Deal!” She smiled widely as she pulled him down the path by his hand. The two adults had already begun walking, giving Chris a bit of space to catch up. Kier reluctantly went with her, giving her not much resistance down the path. 

 The adults carried the conversation while the younger two added in occasionally. Chris was more eager to talk while Kierian kept quiet. It was all too much to think about. Scott had to be following them, that's why in every world they’ve been in, he's here. How come Chris hadn’t picked up on it yet? Its so obvious… 

  “Why were you living with Lauren? I haven’t heard much about her?” Scott looked back at the duo, a smile on his face. “Actually, I didn't even know we had someone named Lauren.” 

 “She found us and started building us a home.” Chris responded. She always knew what to say to keep tensions low. Or maybe it went back to that good at faking thing. Kier looked over at Cleo. It was so odd seeing her go from a simple shirt and shorts to an elegant layered gown in the span of weeks. Even the people he hadn’t recognized, everyone was so relaxed compared to previous worlds. Yes, the other worlds had some demon and some curse that Scott made up, so it makes sense they were tense. This world was… weirdly calm. It felt like there should be some monster or overarching villain, but there wasn’t. It was safe. 

 “Here we are.” Cleo smirked, peering past the tree line to the house of the water witch. Scott pulled a small doll out from his pockets. The doll was handmade and wore lots of blue robes. He didn’t notice what it was immediately until Cleo pulled out a lighter.

 “What the fuck are you doing?” Kier pulled Chris back. She wiggled her arm out of his grasp. What's gotten into him? Scott and Cleos smiles faded. 

 “We’re pranking her with the voodoo doll.” Cleo stood up, looking over at the witch in the house. “Why are you two acting like it's so bad?”

 “You’re going to burn someone! Of course we think it's bad!”

 “Mizu, it's just a prank…”

 “We’re messing with someone’s life here. I don’t see how that is just a prank.” He took a step back, trying to pull Chris further away. She met him with the same confused and slightly annoyed look of the adults. “If someone did that to you, you wouldn’t be so happy.”

 “Kier, it’s going to be fine.” She turned her back towards him, watching as Scott and Cleo got the lighter back out. He scoffed quietly before teleporting away. Pris’ house was quiet even with the water witch practicing her magic. 

 “Oh hello! Who are you- and why are you in my house?” The water floating around the witch dispersed. Kier didn’t respond as he was trying to catch his breath. It had been far too long since he last teleported. 

“I'm in your house because some people are trying to burn you alive!” He knew he sounded crazy because of how the water witch looked at him. “They’re using a voodoo doll- it’s a whole thing, I didn't bother to stay and learn.”

 “So you broke into my house..?” 

 “No; I teleported into your house, not the same.” He folded his arms before going to the window. Sure enough, he could see Scott and Cleo showing Chris what to do. He didn't know how to stop it, but he could have done something to keep her from getting hurt. The flint and steel sparked and he turned around. Pris looked him up and down, “What are you going on about?”

 “Do you feel heat at your feet?”

 “No?” She shifted the weight on her feet, “And whats your name? You didn’t tell me.” 

 “I'm Kierian. You’re Pris, right?”

 “Yeah. How do you know my name?”

 “Scott and Cleo…” Pris winced, making Kier look up at her. She winced again. “Pris?”

 “Hm? I don't- know whats going on.” Sparks grew at her feet, red beginning to form under her shoes. 

 Kier panicked and pointed at her feet, a sheet of crystal spawning under and around her lower legs. “Um-” 

 “That's- that's really cool!” She smiled, tapping on the crystal shield beneath her feet.

 “I didn’t know I could do that…” He stared at the crystal in just as much awe as the witch standing on them. 

 “Well, it's impressive!” 

 “Thanks…” His breath stuttered, looking down at his shaking hands. Well, that was something else to tell Lauren when they find her.

…

..

.

 The sun wasn’t yet crossing the horizon when she woke up. The house was mostly silent besides the two teens sleeping in the other room. Lauren pulled herself out of bed , nightgown falling to her feet. She got dressed quickly, she had an unknown sense of urgency this morning, like if she didn’t move quickly, something would happen. She wanted to make breakfast but there was a book on the kitchen table, her name written on the cover in purple ink. She took the book into her hands. When she flipped open the cover, it called her to an unknown set of coordinates. She followed the call, finding Joey and Bertha in an unknown clearing. The sun had risen by now, and the daze the book trapped her mind in was pulled away with the light. “What the world?”

  Hello, Sandwitch. I see you got my letter.

 “ She’s my opponent? This will be a breeze!” Joey scoffed quietly. Lauren’s brow furrowed in response. 

 Ignore him, dear. You two have been chosen to participate in a competition for a powerful prize. Winning this will give you a ‘head start’ so to speak.

 “What exactly is it that we have to do?” Lauren’s hand brushed past the handle of her sword, the worst crossing her mind. Joey would have killed her in an instant if they were in the last world. 

It’s just an obstacle course. You both should be fine. 

 They smiled as the two were teleported to the course and they began. Lauren breezed on through, gaining far more ground than Joey. The wizard noticed, so he made ice form under Lauren’s feet. She slipped, falling onto her side. Joey smiled proudly as he passed her. 

 She huffed before pulling herself up, fixing her hat back on her head and continuing on. Joey had gained significant distance for how little she had been on the ground. It didn’t take long for her to catch up, though. A ledge was approaching rapidly, but she knew she could make it over. Joey came to a stop. Now was his chance to get the powerless witch out of the game.

 He stood still, acting as though he was contemplating the jump. Lauren got to the ledge and as her feet left the quartz, he took his chance to strike. He shoved her into the gap, making her loose her trajectory. Now she couldn’t save herself if she tried. Falling into the darkness and watching Joey clear the jump, only one thought crossed her mind; he will always be a dirty trickster. 

…

..

. 

The sun had met the mountains once more, now painting the desert in purple and orange hues. Her body ached all over, leaving her to limp to her eerily quiet house. Her arms and legs, now and beaten and bruised from the falls, brought her to the door. A gentle push let the door open. Kierian was sitting on the couch with his tail swaying angrily, his eyes locked on the setting sun. Chris wasn’t in the living room but the jacket on the coat rack told her she was home. 

“Hey…"

 Kierian looked up, eyes widening when he realized who was standing in the darkened doorframe. 

“Im back...”

Chapter Text

 Lauren had noticed the two starting to separate more and more but didn’t notice how quickly the two were to be completely apart from one another. Chris left the house first, the sandwitch assuming that she’d left to go visit Scott and Cleo. Kierian left maybe 20 minutes ago, only giving her a small wave before leaving the house. 

 She decided a walk would be nice. Staying in a house alone never gave her peace of mind. It was always accompanied by a feeling of worry and panic. The silence brought her back to her pre-contract days. An empty house in an empty world filled with an eerie silence. She put on her hat and left the desert home. 

 Instead of staying in the desert, she went to the main town as usual. Instead of being greeted by Bertha, she saw Shelby and a woman with purple hair. Purple hair was Lauren’s thing- or it usually was. This lady was either about to be her best friend or they’re gonna have beef over who got to keep the purple hair brand. She continued down the stone path, waving at Shelby as she crossed the bridge. 

 The storm witch waved back enthusiastically, “Hi Lauren!” The other witch waved, a small smile on her face. “Oh! Tiff, this is Lauren, Lauren, this is Tiff!” Shelby held her arm out as if pointing to each of them while introducing them. 

“Nice to meet you, Lauren.” Tiff smiled while shaking the sandwitch’s hand. “I’m the nature witch, what type of witch are you?”

 “Oh… I’m a sandwitch!” Lauren smiled brightly despite the confusion on Tiff’s face. “I can manipulate sand- it makes sense since I live in the desert.” Tiff nodded along. Lauren made sand appear above their heads before it fell around them on the bridge. “Ok so it's not… the best but it's something!” 

 “I think it’s neat!” She agreed. Shelby nodded along to their conversation; she wasn’t fully paying attention. “Especially with you living in the desert, can’t it help you, like, build and such?” 

 “Yeah but I haven’t used it much for building. I worked on the kids’ house but haven’t even finished it.” 

 “Kids?” Tiff adjusted her hat. “You’re a mother?” 

 “Uhh- not exactly?” Lauren pressed her palms together, biting her lip. “Sooo I found them in the forest and took them home.”

 “Are they kid kids?”

 “They’re teenagers. I think they’re 15? Don’t quote me on that.” 

 “They should be fifteen,” Shelby added. Tiff met her with more confusion while Lauren told her with her eyes she said too much. “I- I was talking to Chris, the older one, and she said they’re both fifteen. She’s like- 4 months older? August and December are all I remember.” 

 “Okay. Well, it was nice talking to both of you but I’m going to head home and work on some spells. It was nice to meet you, Lauren!” The nature witch waved to both women before walking off. They waited for her to be out of earshot before talking again. 

 “Lauren- where are the kids?”

 “I don’t- I don’t know! Chris left before I woke up and Kier was gone after about 30 minutes. Why?” She hadn’t realized but Shelby grabbed her hands, pulling her close with her eyes wide. 

 “Because there’s something off about them.” Lauren shook her head, chuckling quietly. “Have you not noticed it, Lauren? I’m serious. Scott and I were talking about it and-“

 “And Scott is convinced he gave them a giant scar on their chests. He’s worrying over every little thing here. I get he says he messed up in Double Life, but he just worries over nothing.”

 “You heard what Astral said to him after Origins. You and I were both there, Dragonfly and Xelqua were there. It’s.. Astral’s been so weird recently… I worry for him, maybe you should too…” 

 Lauren pulled her hands from Shelby’s, laughing awkwardly. Guilt pulled at the back of her mind, making her pull even further from her.  Shelby was right, of course she was right. Astral was never that lenient with any of them but especially not Scott. They were always saying he had a tie to the watchers, but they didn’t interfere with Astral and Kristin’s lives. She always found the situation with the watchers weird yet never asked. 

 “I do worry but… Shelby. Scott will be okay, I promise. I’ll talk to Astral and work it all out.”

 “And when Astral gets fed up with us taking care of them? What will happen then?” 

 “Kristin won’t let anything happen to you.”

 “What about you and Scott?”

Lauren paused. “I’ll.. make sure Scott is ok.” 

 She sighed, hating how Lauren did this to herself. She didn’t really know what to say. Lauren was incredibly stubborn when it came to taking care of others but never herself. “Well, for the time being can you make sure Lauren is ok?” 

 “Sure. I can do that.” Lauren smiled softly. “I’ll take care of myself, I promise.” 

 “Okay, good. I’m not letting you forget to put yourself first.” Shelby put her hand on Lauren’s arm. She didn’t mind the fillings smearing onto her hand, all she wanted was to comfort and care for her sister. “Neither will Kristin or Dragonfly, so keep that in mind when you get back home.”

 “Are you going to visit? It’s been a while since you were in the Void.” Her shoulders became less tense while some of the guilt started fading. 

 “I’ll try. Can’t promise much since I don’t know if there’s another world I’ll go to after here but I’ll try.” 

 “Scott and I were going to head to the Void once the eight weeks are up; you should come.” 

 “We’ll see. Like I said, it all depends.” She patted Lauren’s shoulder. “And I’m sorry but I have to go. Message if you need anything and I will be there as quickly as I can.” 

 Lauren nodded, hugging Shelby before the women parted ways. She stood in the same spot for about 10 minutes before walking into the woods to look for some friends. 

…

..

.

 Chris paced around the trees, shoulder tense as the same thoughts circled their mind. Why would he keep lying? What does he know? It wasn’t an explosion. She thought coming to the forest would help clear mind, but it only left her with a silence that the worries decided to fill. They wouldn’t go away no matter how hard she tried. She thought of memories with Shelby in Empires, or times when Mumza would bake her cookies, but it all circled back to the burning pain and waking up in the void. They huffed, trying to force the thoughts out but all it did was cause the birds in the trees to fly away.

 “Where’s your buddy?” Scott leaned against a tree, Cleo at his side. Both witches had easily befriended Chris after last week’s prank. They took her on a few more mining trips between then and now yet she never once mentioned what had her and Kierian going on more and more separate adventures. “From what the sandwitch told me; you two used to be inseparable.” 

 “It's…” Do I tell him? “It’s an argument Kier and I have been having for a while, it just got out of hand the other day.” 

 “Oh? Do you want to talk about it? It's alright if you don’t,” Cleo added. She held her hand on her hip, the other rested upon Scott’s shoulder. Their arrival together must have meant they were looking for Chris or someone else together. 

 “Why not? It’s been like- 3 weeks but he’s still being dodgy about it.” The two shared a confused glance. She nearly started to speak the truth before realizing they didn't know what she would be talking about. “We got into an argument about… how our dog died. He keeps telling me it was a Creeper explosion but there weren't any blocks missing around the fences.”

  Fuck. “Well, do you think he might have patched the blocks up?” So they’re both pissed about Double Life for different reasons… “Were there any other things that could have caused the dog to die?”

 “I don’t know, but I doubt it was an explosion. I think he knows what happened but won’t tell me.” She started pacing back and forth faster, her anger driving her legs forward. 

 “Why would he keep that from you? If it was your dog, wouldn’t he want you to know?” Cleo was as lost as anyone would be in this conversation who didn’t truly understand. Keeping the cause of death of your dog from your best friend? Now that doesn’t make any sense. But keeping the cause of death of you and your best friend from said best friend, that made sense. At least to Scott. 

 “That’s what I’m saying!” She stomped her foot to add emphasis to her disappointment. “After everything we’ve been through you think he’d be a bit more open with me?!” A dark fog started forming at her feet, turning the grass around her feet yellow and dried. 

 “Uh… Chris?” Scott took a step back, Cleo getting pushed back with him. 

 “We’ve been by each other's sides since we were 8 and 10, and yet this, this majorly important thing, is what he decides to keep from me?!” The fog grew and the grass became dead and straw-like. Even the small flowers around her feet began to shrivel up and lose their color. 

 “Chris.” Cleo tried to grab her attention once more, but to no avail. She took the chance, stepping over to the teen and grabbing her shoulders. It snapped Chris out of her spiral, the fog dissipating only once the majority of the grass was dead and the dirt dried out. “Let’s take a few breaths, okay?”

 “What happened to the grass?” 

 “The fog you made, but hey it’s okay! We can work with this.” She smiled brightly at the teen who was clearly dealing with some inner turmoil. “Scotts a necromancer and if your magic is death magic, you two can work together!” 

 Chris nodded softly, still shocked she killed so much grass from just getting angry. She couldn't believe either of them believed the dead dog thing. Scott came up behind her and patted her shoulder. 

 “Don’t worry, kiddo. We can help you gain control of your powers.” Maybe Scott was being delusional, but he hoped if he built a better relationship in this realm, breaking the news back in the Void it won’t be too bad.

 “Yeah… Alright.” The death witch smiled. “So… when do we start with this training thing?”

 Cleo looked up at Scott. “I’m free today.”

 “Me too. So, right now?”

…

..

.

  Sitting around in a new friend’s house while trying to figure out his own random powers was not on his bucket list for this world. Pris was explaining these gems or something to trade with that talking statue. Kier just stared at her; he didn’t understand a word coming out her mouth. 

 “Pris, this is all Piglin to me…”

 “The saying is 'it's all Ender to me’.” She put her book down, giving him a quick glance before realizing what she said. “Yeah,I take that back. But what about it don’t you understand?”

 “The whole ‘needing gems to get your powers’ thing. I’ve had powers since I was 12, okay? I didn’t need any gems, it just kinda… happened. ” The image of the stars he summoned that one night in Origins hadn’t left him. It was so weird. He thought of star gazing out in Rivendell then poof, stars in his hands. “I summoned stars when I was staying with a family friend a few years ago…”

 “That’s incredibly impressive, Keir! You should be proud!” Pris gave him a quick side hug with a huge grin on her face. “Have you done it since?”

 “Oh, no. It was a one time thing…” He shrugged. “I haven’t really tried to do it again. Never saw a reason.”

 “Well, why did you do it back then?”

 He knew the answer because it was a simple one that any 12 year old would say; “Comfort.”

 “So it was a need for comfort, alright.” The water witch placed her hand on her chin. “And I’m assuming that the crystal was for my protection.” Kierian nodded. “Do you think you could try making that star appear again?”

 “Why the stars instead of the crystal?” The crystal shield seemed much more practical than the silly nebula he formed because he missed star gazing. 

 “Because the stars you summoned seem to have come easier to you since you did them at such a young age.” Her logic wasn’t wrong, it was very simple and he did get close to making another nebula once in the void. 

 “Alright.” He turned to face her, holding out his hands. He closed his eyes and focused his energy into creating the same ball of light he started with in that room. Pris watched intently, honestly quite intrigued that someone could have powers without the use of the gems. A small star formed in his hands before it dimmed out into nothing. 

 He sighed, shoulders falling. “That's as close as I’ve been for the past 3 years to ever recreating it. It’s been so hard.”

 “Maybe you’re overthinking it. Maybe you’ll have to relearn it. Either way, it’s a start and we’ll work on it, okay?”

 “Okay.” Pris took Keir’s hands into hers, squeezing gently when the teen agreed to her helping to train him. Maybe these powers weren’t that scary, he was just overthinking it all.

 Except what’s been weighing down his mind. He wasn’t overthinking that.

Chapter Text

 This is all being blown out of proportion. Chris rolled in her bed, comforter pulled up to her chin as she thought about these past few weeks. Maybe she was just getting angry over a non-issue. But no matter how much she tried to convince herself it wasn’t something to be mad about, she just became more angry. They sighed, continuing to roll over once more. The room was silent, meaning Kier was either gone or still asleep. Lauren was home; she could hear her voice in the other room. She was talking to someone else but their voice was too muffled to figure out who it was. 

 She pulled herself out of bed, an odd weight on her back catching her off guard. She whipped her head around, eyes widening once she caught the sight of black feathers in her vision. They froze, then screamed. Lauren ran in with Shelby right on her heels. “Hey, woah woah. Whats-” She froze, eyes just as wide as Chris’. “Umm…”

 Shelby approached the teen, her demeanor calm. “Hey, kiddo. Look at me.” She held Chris’ hands in hers. “You’re okay. You’re safe . We can work through this.” 

 Chris hesitantly nodded while her heart rate began to slowly de-accelerate and the shaking began to fade from her hands. “Mom..?” 

   “Yeah, I’m right here. Let’s take some breaths.” Shelby held Chris’ face gently, rubbing her cheek with her thumb. “I’m not going anywhere; I made a promise, remember?”

 Chris nodded, wings pulling closer to her back. Just 5 minutes with these things and she hated them already. They felt so heavy and she didn’t understand why they had just shown up. She pulled Shelby into a hug, hiding just how much her hands were shaking. 

 “Do you want to go outside and try moving them around? Do you think that will help?”

 “Yeah- maybe.” She buried her face into Shelby’s hair. ”’m sorry for yelling, I panicked.” 

 “Hey, that’s okay. You’re okay, I promise, Chris,” She pulled from the hug, once again holding her daughter’s face in her hands. “Now, we’re going to go outside and it’s all going to be okay.”  

 Shelby led Chris out to the front yard, the teen still in her pajamas. Chris‘s grip on her moms hand was tight, turning the skin on their hands red. Shelby didn’t mind. Lauren stayed inside, already beginning to make food for the 3 of them. 

 Her feet sunk subtly in the sand, eyes locked on her mom. The wings weighed down her back, so she wiggled her shoulder blades to try and make them feel less heavy. That did nothing but rustle her feathers.

 “Okay,” Shelby stood in front of them. “Let’s try opening and closing them. Can you do that for me, love?” 

 They forced a nod before opening her wings. Despite knowing it was a simple task, she had to strain her muscles to lift them. Opening them was a struggle, like when you lay on your arm wrong while sleeping. You can’t stretch it out without feeling weird or in pain. “It’s weird…”

 “It’s going to be weird, love, but you’re doing great, okay?” She gave Chris’ hand a gentle squeeze, encouraging her to open them again. This time, the wings unfolded with slight ease. She pulled them to her back once more and repeated the processes until it didn’t feel so foreign. ”Is that any better than before, hun?” 

 “Yeah, I guess. Still weird as all hell.” She tucked them back the way they were. “Do you think this has to do with my death magic?” 

 “Your what now?” For some odd reason, she hadn’t thought that the rules of this world would affect them to the point of getting new powers. She had originally believed the wings had something to do with Mumza, but apparently not. 

 “Oh, right. So I can make death mist.” The expression on Shelby’s face said it all. “Just watch, ok?” She flicked her wrist, a fog forming around her feet. The grass became dry and drained of its bright color. The fog circled her feet a few times before dispersing. “See? Death mist!”

 Shelby nodded. “Thats… Really cool, hun.” It was definitely shocking to learn that her daughter was gaining such powers, but a realization she had to come to terms with nonetheless. “Are you handling them ok?”

 “For the most part. These wings and this mist, what's next? Mushrooms or something??” The two chuckled softly. Shelby let out an inaudible hum, tucking a piece of Chris’ hair behind her hair. Her comm buzzed in her pocket but she didn't bother to check it. Lauren received the same message on her comm, reading it quietly aloud to herself.

  Sschaoss -> laurenzside , Smajor1995 , ShubbleYT_ 

 Hey! Kinda hacked into the code to let you know Mallette, Goose, and I finished coding the world! I left a few spots open for you and the kiddos if you’d like. No rush to get back to the Void tho!! 

 Scott put his communicator away, turning back to the teen sitting on the counter. “So I’m not technically supposed to tell you but our friend is done with their world. We’ll all probably go there next.” 

 “Hm. And is this someone we know, or some new random person yall are pulling out your ass?” Kier crosses his arms. He couldn’t believe that he convinced himself to go to Scott’s. He was absolutely ready to interrogate him over everything… but maybe he should hear him out. 

 “She’s new to you and Chris, but Lauren and I have known her for about 2 years.” 

 “Ah.” He nodded sarcastically. “So someone who is still new but also probably has been lying to people who are supposed to be their friends for years on end.” 

 “Kier…” Scott placed his hand on the teen’s shoulder before it swatted it away. 

 “No, you don’t get to tell me to calm down Scott! You lied to me for years! Has Lauren been lying too? And Shelby?!” Rage rushed through his veins, forcing him to jump down from the counter. “What haven’t you been telling me?!”

 “So much, kiddo… Have you not realized that I’ve been in every world you have minus when you went to the In Between?” He ran his hand through his hair, something Kier had recognized from when he’d do it back home. He did it most often when anything with Xornoth came up, but the demon was dead. They were gone. They were supposed to be safe here in this new world, yet Scott was clearly hiding something bigger. Was he right? Did it have to do with Astral? “We, uh, don’t actually know how you two got to the In Between. Probably opened a portal, even without your necklaces.”

 “Why are you in every world we go to? Does it have something to do with mom?” 

 “Actually, yeah. Have you- have you not realized this sooner??” 

 “No; it’s a little hard to process shit when one of your closest friends fucking stabs you, Scott!” 

 “I wasn’t lying about the red, Kier. It’s part of the Watcher’s twisted death game. Why did you think we changed from green to yellow to red?” He hadn’t ever really thought about it. He just assumed it was a visual way to show how many lives you had left, but he didn’t guess it was that serious.

 “You really didn’t want to kill me and Chris?” His arms fell to his sides. Star hoped this wouldn’t lead to another trick. 

 “No, never…” Scott pulled him into a tight hug. The same hug that kept out the Rivendell cold, the same arms that built him and his sister a home, yet the same arms that drew his blood brought a long missed comfort. “I never wanted to hurt you. I watched you two grow up, why the hell would I want to hurt you?”

 “I… I don’t know… I keep thinking about everything and I get so suspicious of everyone and you were at the top of the list of people to distrust.” Stars voice was no louder than a whisper as it was hushed by guilt. “You were everywhere so I just started to doubt you more an’ more…”

 “I… I get it, kid… Trust me, it never gets easy to have to balance so much at once on such a small plate.”

 “You’re not mad??” Kier looked up at Scott, tears blurring his vision.

 “I’m not really mad. I’m more so upset that so much has been kept from you two and I’ve played a massive part in it. But no, I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at your mother.”

 “Oh..? I haven’t seen mom in so long…” The teen sniffled away tears. “Do you know if she’s okay?”

 “I have no clue, kid…” He ran his hands though Kier’s hair, minding his horns. “I don’t know…”

Chapter Text

Two weeks. Two weeks was all she had left to build her power set and become the Supreme Witch. The gods knew just how much that was weighing on her, so she decided it would be best to clear her head for a bit. What better way than to go visit some old friends.

 Lauren adjusted her hat on her head before leaving her house. Her eyes glanced over the unfinished house across from hers. Despite having started it weeks ago, she hadn’t gotten close to finishing it. Working on and finishing the house could have helped strengthen her powers, but it continued to slip her mind. 

 She quickly followed the path she knew oh so well before passing Bertha. Something felt… off about Bertha this time but she didn’t let it weigh on her mind. Lauren found herself at the door of an old friend far sooner than she thought she would. She raised her fist and knocked. The door opened with Scott and Shelby waiting on the other side. 

 They didn’t bother with a greeting, immediately pulling each other into a hug. They’d been meeting up separately, but getting to see each other all together brought a long missed smile to their faces. They brought her inside before quickly shutting the door. 

 “How’s the desert, Baker?” Scott passed her a cookie, the dessert still warm. 

 “Hot. Nothing like Galaxia, I’ll tell you that.” She bit into the cookie, glad to have eaten something since she forgot to grab a snack this morning. “How’s living in a swamp? Do you miss the snow?”

 “Eh.” Scott shrugged, “Either way, my boots end up soaked.” He took a cookie from the plate and broke it into halves. “Just not as pretty as Rivendell was.” 

 “I think we can all agree The Undergrove was beautiful, but I love my flower mountain. There’s only oh so many colors of mushrooms that you can grow,” Shelby sipped on her tea. “The range of colors with flowers has them beat.”

 “You just love your colors, don’t you?” Scott sat at the table, crossing his legs. 

 “Well, can you blame me? You went from a myriad of colors to swamp, Scott. Gods forbid a girl likes some color.” Shelby chuckled, leaning onto the table across from the necromancer. 

 “You know, the desert is full of color Shel-“ 

 “Not beige, Lauren,” Shelby cut her off with a playful remark and marching smirk. Lauren met her with a just as playful eye roll before she grabbed another cookie and bit it in half. 

 “Hey… so now that the three of us are alone,” Scott started, voice mumbled. He lowered his face to his plate, fidgeting with the cookie halves. “How are we going to go about telling the kids? Because- hypothetically of course, what if they didn’t take it well..?” 

 Lauren and Shelby looked between each other then back at Scott. Shelby looked down at her tattoo before speaking,“I dont see why they wouldn’t understand. I mean, yeah they’d probably be upset we lied but-“  

 Lauren put her hand on the table beside Scott’s face. “What’s wrong? Did one of them find out?” 

 His eyes jolted up to hers, trying his best to hide what he knew. “No- Im just saying! You remember how Kier took us lying about his eye, he hates being lied to.” 

 “Most people do; including myself. I’ve been your friend for nearly 1,000 years, so I know something is on your mind, Smajor.” Her voice turned stern, “You’re terrible at lying- you’re terrible at lying.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “They know, don’t they?”

 “Just Kier.” 

 “Do you think Chris would take the news as bad as Kier?” Shelby slowly paced around the room, more so to focus her train of thought rather than calm any worries. “Obviously, Kierian didn’t take it well, so do you think Chris would?”

 “Hopefully not. I don’t think she would.” Lauren turned from the table, going to Shelby’s side and holding her hand. “Only point I see her being upset would be if she got her mainline memories.”

 “I'm glad we don’t have ours. Far too much for one person…” He had stopped messing with the cookies, leaving them discarded on the plate. “I wouldn’t wish that kind of stuff on my worst enemy.”

 “Not even Pearl?” Shelby smirked, trying to bring some lightness back to the room. The old topic had clouded the air, making it thick and heavy. Scott met her with an expression of mild annoyance despite teetering on the edge of a smile. 

 “You know I love her,” He rested his hand on the small chain of items on his belt, a tiny ax charm on top. “Just couldn’t team two seasons in a row.”

 “I still don’t understand how you handle that gods forsaken world,” Laren looked away from Scott. “I could never hurt people I love. Friend, family, ‘foe’; doesn’t matter. Can’t do it.”

 “I’ve never had a choice, really. Astral thinks I have a choice, but I don’t. Sometime long ago I pissed off the watchers and now I’m here.” He forced a smile, utterly hating that story. It’s easier to think it's just a story, anyway. 

 “Can’t you just stop going.?” Shelby squeezed Lauren’s hand gently, forcing the reality of their friend going to his death over and over out of her mind. “Or do they force you?”

 “Force. They just send Grian to the Void to make it seem less serious, hence why Astral thinks it’s voluntary.” 

 “And if you didn’t go…?”

Scott’s face turned serious. “You don’t want to know, Shelby. Trust me.” 

 Lauren smiled, unable to tell if she forced it or not. “Even though we’ve been talking about the other realms- what about this one. Are you two aiming for supreme witch?” 

 “Yes and no, I mostly want to rest. Once I’m done here, if there’s not another world for me to go to, I’ll be in the Void. Or my singleplayer world.” Shelby stretched her arms above her head. “I don't want to stay too busy, you know?” 

 “Me neither. So I’ll most likely be resting with Shelby or-“ she sighed softly, “talking to Astral.” 

 “Oof, good luck with that.” Scott quickly glanced away. “I’ll be sleeping soundly somewhere- as long as Astral or the Watchers leave me be, I’ll be catching Zs.” 

 The three settled into a familiar silence as they watched the sun set out the window. They weren’t mad or upset with each other, just thinking. Thinking about their pasts, their futures, anything and everything. Half an hour passed by in a breeze, and once the stars had all come out, Lauren and Shelby departed for their homes.  

 Scott laid in his bed, too tired to pay attention to heavy thoughts dragging him to stay awake. He quickly drifted off, thankful he got some things off his chest.  

Chapter Text

 He was getting quite sick of living with these powers. They had started to become more of an inconvenience than a tool. The bit of stars he could summon would be dim, but there. They were easy to summon but were dim and difficult to sustain unless he focused every ounce of energy into making them bright. The crystals were easy to form, but incredibly fragile. So much as a tap would shatter them, which baffled his mind since the crystal he made to protect Pris was strong and only disappeared once he put a conscious effort into doing so. 

 Kier never imagined anyone but Lauren or Scott ever being a mentor- but he also never really knew any other adults besides those two that played a major role in his life. Pris wasn’t a bad mentor- no, not at all. He just needed to spend time with someone close, besides who knew when he’d get to see her again after this world? He tried to think about how inconsistent his life was as little as possible. 

 “Okay kiddo, show me what you’ve got!” Lauren stood across the yard from him, a wide smile on her face. The light of the rising sun covered the desert in an orange film. Kier was not a morning person whatsoever, so he crawled out of bed half asleep to meet her out here. 

 “It’s not much.” He kicked at some of the sand before making a small crystal ball in his hands. “I can make the things just fine it’s just that-“ He tapped it and the crystal fell apart into the wind. “They’re not very strong.” 

 “That’s ok! What have you tried to make them stronger?” Lauren held out her hand and he made an identical crystal ball form in her hand. 

 “I can make them strong but it drains all my energy. I made a shield out of it once without draining my energy but that was a spur of the moment thing.” 

 “If you can do it once, you can do it again. It’s just about finding balance. See,” she handed him the ball before pointing to a random patch of sand, “this used to make me exhausted.” She flicked her hand to the side, causing a giant wave of sand to crash down onto the rest. “But now I can do it with ease.” She paused. “Wait here.” Lauren went inside for a few minutes before returning with.. a bow? What was she going to do with a bow and no arrows? 

 “Kierian,” She sat the bow in his hands, “make arrows, shoot them into that dune of sand I just made and don't let them shatter.”

 “Let it..?” He held the bow properly in his hands, summoning an arrow in its proper place. “Lauren, they aren’t strong enough.”

 “You’re going into it with that mindset, making them shatter to prove your point. Confirmation bias. Just believe they’re not going to shatter, trust me, honey.” 

 Kier took a breath, shooting the arrow into the sand. The arrow stuck for a moment before falling apart identically to the one previously. “That’s okay. Again.” He looked over at Lauren, a stutter in his hands. “Again, Starshine,” she repeated. 

 He repeated his motions, the arrow staying for just a few seconds longer before falling like the others. “Lauren-“ 

 “No. You’ve got this, starshine.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Just take a breath and try it again.” 

 With another stuttered breath, he shot another arrow. The arrow managed to stay solid. Kier gasped happily, a shocked smile on his face. “Oh my gods- I did it!”

 “See? I knew you could do it!” She hugged him tightly, a proud sparkle in her eyes. “Now do it again, now that you’ve proved to yourself you can do it.”

 Kierian repeatedly shot arrows till his hands were tired of holding the bow and his fingers sore from pulling the string. He set the bow down while plopping into the sand. “I’m done for the day.”

 “Okay.” Lauren knelt beside him, “Do you want to go inside to rest or do you want to find something to do?” 

 “I wanna go inside and sleep- plus you need to train for supreme witch.” 

 “Sweetie- it’s noon, but suit yourself.” She shrugged her shoulders, standing up before pulling Kier up. He placed the bow over his shoulder and went inside. Lauren’s smile faded slowly. Oh yeah, supreme witch. 

 Lauren hadn’t truly realized how close the final test was. Everything had just been so leisurely but this last week had been speeding by. She went inside after a few hours of practice, taking the rest of the night to rest. While making herself some dinner, she realized just how low she was running on coal. 

 Instead of going mining, the next day she decided to spend with Chris. Giving her time to practice with her only felt right, besides she’d spent all of yesterday with Kier so it was only right to spend time with Chris as well. 

 “Alrighty, kiddo, how’s the wings coming along?” Lauren brought Chris out to the yard like she had Kier the day prior. Chris threw on her regular clothes and met Lauren out here. 

 She shrugged, “They’re fine. Still getting used to them but I’m good. Oh!” Her eyes lit up, grabbing Lauren’s attention. “I showed Mom but- I mean Shelby-“ She stumbled over her words; this Shelby wasn’t her mom. For some reason this Shelby let her call her mom without stopping her, but it wasn’t her mom; that Shelby died in the Undergrove. 

 “Chris?” Lauren’s hand resting on her shoulder nearly scared her out of her own skin. “You okay, hun?” 

 “Yeah- yeah I’m ok..” Her wings had tensed up at the thought of her mom, but Lauren’s comforting presence had soothed her nerves. “Just- got lost in my head.”

 “Okay, do you need a minute?” She took her hand off Chris’ shoulder. She shook her head before stepping back from Lauren.  She adjusted her shoulders before she lifted off the ground. Her wings weren’t very strong, especially with how little time she’d had with learning how to use them. 

 Chris circled around Lauren about 5 times before landing and settling her feet into the sand. “I’m getting far more comfortable with them quicker than I thought I would!” 

 “That’s great, sweetie! Do they feel okay? You keep ruffling them; I don’t know if that’s good or bad.” Lauren looked over Chris’ shoulders, taking note of how some of the feathers were poking out from the rest. 

 “They feel weird but that’s probably just because I’m not used to them. I’ve only had them for like a week and a half so… It’s like I need to stretch it but it can’t, just inconvenient but not terrible.” She opened her wings behind her, too scared to touch them with her hands. The idea of anything besides her blankets or shirts touching her wings freaked her out. She already had to cut holes for her wings and that was far too much contact for her own comfort. 

 Lauren hummed softly, “Alright. So, my main question is how comfortable do you feel with your magic right now? I’m not gonna push you to train if you feel like you don’t need to.” Chris had began to flutter her wings enough to keep them moving, but not enough to lift her off the ground. 

 “I think I’m good, honestly. The only way to make my wings stronger is to keep progressively doing more so if I keep flying everyday, I’ll be doing laps around the world in no time.” Her eyes had this child-like eagerness to them. There was a clear sense of confidence and pride in how well she was able to control her wings that Lauren couldn’t help but smile along.

 “Alrighty, come on, let’s go get you some lunch.” Lauren ruffled her hair before the two headed inside. “I got to make sure my two favorite gremlins have enough energy to become strong witches.”

 “I’m not a gremlin-“

 “Yeah you are.” 

Chapter Text

 The battle was a tiring one but a show nonetheless. It went on for an exhausting few hours, yet one Witch came out victorious. Scott was crowned Supreme Witch, the other Witches congratulating him as he deserved. 

 Chris and Kierian had stayed behind at Lauren’s house; they just couldn’t handle the idea of seeing their friends fight each other again. Whether it was with swords and arrows or fireballs and zaps, they just couldn’t handle it. They’d waited in silence, and it wasn’t the most comfortable either. One of the two only got the nerve to talk once they got the message from Lauren saying she was coming home. 

 “Now that this world is like- ‘done’,” Kierian started, “how do you think we’ll get home…?” Chris chuckled softly to herself. 

 “Why do you want to leave? It’s so much nicer here.” She ran her hands over the blankets. “We’re safe, there’s no threat, and we have cool as fuck powers. Why do you want to leave?” 

 “Well…” He pulled at his star earrings, “Don’t you want to see Mumza? I know I want to see Mom…” Kier didn’t want to admit that this world was making him homesick, because it wasn’t, at least not fully. He missed home; Rivendell with Lauren and Scott and the snow and the sheep, not even the Void could give him that sense of belonging. But being here in a world where they were there but not themselves; it was just wrong. 

 “Well, I have Mom.. and Mum, and I dont see Mom in any other worlds….” The friendship bracelet felt like it was mocking her. The charms were the same as they’d been back home, but this wasn’t home anymore. Home was destroyed with the rapture. “I’d like to stay just a bit longer.. to see mom some more before I have to say goodbye again. Don’t you want to see Lauren and Scott before they go away again too?”

 He tensed at the name. “I know we’ll see them again. They won’t disappear forever.”

 “How can you be certain?” How could he say that?! “I get you aren’t that close with Scott and Lauren like Shelby and I are-“

 “They raised me just like she raised you, we are plenty close, Chris.” How could she even think that?! “You want to know the truth?” 

 She held onto her necklace, running her thumb over the sun. What was he even talking about.? Before she could ask him, the door opened and the three other individuals who had been at the centre of this conversation walked in. The three of them were smiling and laughing amongst themselves until they turned to the teens. Chris looked at them with confusion written across her face, repeatedly making eye contact with Shelby for a hope of Kier lying. Kier’s eyes were locked on Scott, disappointment and hurt keeping them locked on the man, “Tell her.”

 Lauren and Shelby’s eyes widened, the two looking at the other while Scott walked forward. Their minds synced up with the same paniced thoughts; they knew. Scott went to place his hand on Kier’s shoulder before the teen grabbed it. “No. Tell her what you told me, Smajor.” The name was filled with a bitter anger that soiled the taste of victory from earlier. 

 “Let go of him, Kier,” Chris pulled him back before walking over to Shelby and hugging her. She didn’t hug back, which confused the teen. “Mom, what’s he talking about? Why is he acting like this?”

 “Chris, Kierian, sit down.” Lauren placed her hat on the table. The usual cheer and peppiness in her voice was gone. “We need to talk.” 

 “Oh my gods-“ Chris sat back down on the couch, “so he wasn’t lying?” Her wings flared out when she sat down, yet she didn’t bother to try to keep them still. She thought she wouldn’t have them anymore here soon. 

 Shelby sat beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder, “No sweetie, unfortunately not.” She sighed as Kier sat down. “So… there’s a lot but…”

 “I signed a contract with Astral after she approached me one day,” Lauren cut Shelby off while taking out her earrings. “I, Scott, and Shelby have the same powers as the two of you. Which means we’re all immortal, and can access the Void or the SMPs, and have our memories from the other SMPs.” She held out her earrings while Scott took off his solid gold ring and Shelby held up her kandi mushroom anklet. “And just like how you two have your necklaces to help make portals, we have our jewelry.”

 “Yall really like pretty with a purpose, huh?” Kier looked around at the jewelry, then at his own. They followed the same sort of pattern; a simple chain then the charm was something that was special to the person. Lauren had Saturn shaped earrings that were purple. Scott’s ring was solid gold but had the Rivendell horns etched into them. Shelby’s anklet was all pink and green beads and the mushroom in the center. His and Chris’ had their respective sun and moon charms with the matching crystal. 

 “It was Mumza’s idea,” Shelby said with a smile. “She thought it would help control all this power, and it does so none of us are complaining.” She slipped her anklet back on while the other two adults put their jewelry back on. 

 “I used to get horrible migraines without my ring because of the power. It was super noticeable because I had remembered before I signed, and I got hit with a migraine immediately-“ Scott had started to rub his temple subconsciously, memories of the pain clouding his mind. 

 “I don't remember signing anything when Mumza adopted me?” Chris held onto Shelby’s hand tightly, leaning her head onto her mom’s shoulder. 

 “Well there’s the difference; you’re her kid. That power was just kinda passed onto you even though you’re adopted. It most likely didn’t hit you all at once like it did us.” Scott stood up, stretching his arms above his head. “It was something you were exposed to over a period of time, not just a ‘ok you’re immortal now- boom’ kinda thing.”

 Kier stood up off the couch, clearly a little aggravated, “Okay so that’s all fine and dandy but how do we get back to the Void?” He looked up at Scott, his eyes widening once he realized what Kier was about to say. “Isn’t there a friend we need to meet?”

 “You told him about Chaos?!” Lauren practically snapped her neck to stare the man down. “What happened to the promise?” 

 “I- it slipped out!” 

 “That’s a lie,” Kier hopped onto the table, “He said they have some world or something.”

 “Oh my gods-“ Shelby put her face in her hand. “She isn’t signed yet, what is Astral going to say?”

 “Astral will not say or do anything,” Lauren turned to the woman, holding her free hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I promise that.” 

 Chris hid her face in Shelby’s shoulder, just glad to not have to say goodbye again. “Wait- so, so you remember everything?!”

 “Yep, why?” Shelby ran her hand through Chris’ hair. Kier immediately realized what she was going to ask when her eyes went over to Scott so he jumped into the conversation. 

 “So uh- getting home?? How about that?” 

 “Simple,” Lauren held her arm out in front of her. Her earrings began to glow as a light started to form in front of the door. The light grew into a portal and on the other side was the interior of their cottage. “Boom. Just visualized the inside of the house and focused on going there-“ In the middle of her explanation, Kier jumped through the portal. The rest of the group made their way through the portal, leaving the desert home deserted. 

Chapter Text

 The next morning was filled with lighthearted chatter and the smell of brewing coffee. The house that was normally devoid of life was full of it. The Void didn’t feel so empty; it felt like it could be a home. Chris woke up confused on why her wings had stayed but she was happy they were there. 

 Shelby held Chris close, the two rarely leaving the other’s side. Lauren and Scott talked amongst themselves about things that seemed like miniscule things to Kierian. Lauren had mentioned meeting someone soon, but he assumed it would be a few days or weeks before this person would show up, not the next day. 

 Midway through breakfast, a noise came from outside. Lauren got up and ran out, a smile on her face. Laughs came from the open door while inside was fairly quiet. The two walked in, Lauren’s arm around a person with a cane. Their caramel hair was pulled into a brain, a singular red streak running through it. Their glasses had a chain that matched the beading on their shirt; red and blue and green gems arranged in no particular order. Her wooden cane had a few faded stickers along the sides, but the most recently added one was a frog-looking bucket hat. Lauren was blocking them, but behind her were a set of dragonfly wings that fluttered happily. 

 “Chris, Kier, this is Chaos.” While the teens waved, both Shelby and Scott got up to greet her with a hug. The trio had missed their fourth member, especially since their last visit was cut short. 

 “How have you guys been?” Chaos took a seat on the kitchen counter, resting her cane by her legs. “How was WitchCraft?” 

 “Pretty good actually,” Shelby replied, hugging Chris from behind. “We got to see these gremlins again.” 

 “Mom- I’m not a gremlin!” Chris looked up at her mother and she couldn’t help but smile. They turned their attention to the person on the counter, “But I did get wings! They’re- like- crow wings and really fun to fly around with!” She turned to show the Admin her wings. 

 “Nice, kid! I’ve had some friends with avian wings in the past- make sure you take care of them, ok?” Chaos grabbed a cup of water from the sink beside them and took a sip. They didn’t notice Kier sneaking up beside them till he pointed to the ‘A’ on their wrist, “What’s that?” 

 “Oh, that?” She set the cup down. “That’s the Admin symbol. I have that specific one because I’m not a Traveler like all of you guys are, I’m an Admin.” 

 “What does that mean?” Kier sat on the counter beside her, tail flicking side to side behind him. 

 “I can make worlds unlike how travelers can just go to the SMPs. Speaking of SMPs,” Chaos pulled up a blue screen with lines of code that made no sense to the teen beside her, “who wants to go to World Hoppers?”