Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Capsize truly considered just leaving the group to whatever fate might befall them as she stared down at the message from Sparklez. Had he actually called her baby? Did he seriously think in any world that they were together?

Her frustration towards the man was at a boiling point. She had absolutely no desire to be anywhere near him. It would be so easy to just leave the champions to explore Lord Dianite’s temple by themselves. She could simply let whatever is going to happen, well, happen while she stayed in the overworld.

Unfortunately, though, Redbeard had been the one leading the charge. As annoyed as she currently was, after losing so much already, she wasn’t about to abandon her brother to potential death.

So, with a heavy frustrated sigh, she slipped through the glowing purple portal.

The stagnant, impossibly hot air hit her immediately as she was transported into the hellish dimension. She had to lean on the obsidian frame of the portal for a second, having to push through the wave of sickness that it immediately caused.

How on earth did the champions stand being here in full suit of armour? She was only wearing two layers, and the heat was immediately insufferable. It was a mystery that had baffled her in their quest to find Ianite’s heart too. But it could not be her focus right now.

Down the abyss, she could see the entrance of the temple. With no sign of any of the others, it was clear that they had all already gone inside.

Of course they had. Why on earth would they wait for her when they were doing something incredibly dangerous? She could feel that building maddening, frustration, but she just sighed and merely reached down into her pocket to retrieve an elder pearl.

She took a moment to hold the orb, feeling the energy crackle beneath her fingertips, before tossing it over the cliff towards the temple’s entrance. She watched it fly for as long as it stayed visible. Then merely prayed that it would land in safety rather than in the lava.

The sharp sting of the ender teleportation hit her, though at this point, that was something she merely ignored. And it was not the effect of the pearl that made her freeze.

The moment that she landed, her vision blackened for a moment. She tensed, drawing her cutlass. Clearly danger was already present.

With careful steps, hoping desperately to remain hidden, she peered around the entrance of the temple. It was with a sharp intake of breath that she spotted the others. All of them stood in the prayer room, which was expected enough, she supposed.

The entrance to said room being blocked by Furia was not.

Perhaps that shouldn’t have worried her. They had taken on the guardian and defeated them before. There was no reason to presume that they would be unable to do so again.

The champions clearly shared this opinion. Well, Sparklez and Jericho clearly did as they stood mocking the guardian with thick grins, their laughter audible from the entrance where she stood. Tom had thrown an arm over the shoulders of the stoic figure. Clearly not scared, and once again happily taking the role of the villain.

Yet, despite how the champions seemed quite locked in their typical behaviour, there was a dread in Capsize’s stomach that she had difficulty shifting. As, while she couldn’t actually see the guardian’s eyes, she could just tell that their entire focus was on her brother.

“Ianite has the heart! She needed it!” She heard Redbeard say as she began to creep her way into the temple. His tone caused her throat to go dry.

It shouldn’t have, he was talking to a guardian of a god without so much of a shake of his voice. But Capsize knew her brother too well. She could always tell when he was putting on a front.

She needed to end this. End this quickly.

Thankfully it seemed that she at least had an advantage of being unseen. With the champion paying little attention to the situation, she had at least half a chance of being able to sneak up on Furia and end them before they were any the wiser. If only anything ever went the way she hoped.

It truly seemed like she would be able to strike without ever being seen by the guardian. She was maybe ten steps away. Her heart beating in her ears as she was sure that her blade would soon bite their flame-like flesh.

However, as seemed to be a recurring annoyance in her life, it was at this point that the gods decided to mock her. It was at this moment that Tom, still very much playing the villain, decided to turn around.

“Behind you!” He yelled.

He grinned at her widely as she could only flatly glare at him. She wanted to slap him, but that wouldn’t actually do anything at this point.

Furia turned around, eyes brightening in a way that felt distinctly dark as they fell upon her.

The group of them should have the advantage still, even with Tom possibly fighting against them. After all, both of the Dianitees were flanked. But Furia’s expression…

There was something wrong with them wearing an expression like in a supposedly losing situation.

“Don’t be stupid, Skipper,” Despite speaking to her brother, Furia kept their gaze focused solely on Capsize.

Perhaps she should take it as a compliment, that despite there being three, armed men behind them, the guardian still deemed that she was the one their eyes should be kept on. However, it instead just made her all the warier for how exactly this situation was going to progress. “She is a pointless god.”

“She’s the best!”

“You’re not even a god.”

“She is a hoe.”

“Shut up, Furia,” Capsize spoke over the comments of the champions. Despite her volume, she could not muster anything more than flat annoyance.

On one hand, it was obvious that the guardian was planning something. That certainly did scare her. She desperately wanted their gaze anywhere else but on her as there was something almost hungry about it.

On the other, it was hard to muster any real energy to dismiss their comment. After all, they sound more like a petulant child annoyed about not getting their way than a formidable force to be reckoned with.

Briefly, their gaze flicked to Jericho.

“I am just as powerful as the great Lord Dianite,” Furia said, revelling in their words as if merely saying them was a crowning achievement of glory.

And when they turned back to her, Capsize could see it. A look of true delusion as if they truly believed themself a god. The captain recognised the look of would-be mutineers, and it sent a chill through her.

The last thing they needed at this moment was Furia launching a coup on Lord Dianite.

“Erm, no, you’re not,” Tom said, with genuine offence in his tone.

For the first time since she had entered the temple, he left Furia’s side. He instead moved to hers. Though he still did not draw his weapon, him joining her did give Capsize at least a small notion of safety.

No, perhaps not safety. She still had no idea if Tom would fight with her within his god’s own temple. But at the very least she was now confident she would not need to fight both the Dianitees.

“Oh, I will be thought,” Furia said with a tilt of their head. “Once I have the heart.”

Their gaze was lingering on Tom, but not towards his eyes. A hungry, greedy look boring into Tom’s chest. The stare was so deeply wrong in a way that Capsize couldn’t describe but certainly didn’t trust.

She grabbed a hold of the undead champion’s arm, pulling and half-shoving him behind her. She briefly caught the look of annoyance rippling across his features, but she elected to ignore it.

Tom could be annoyed all he liked. Seeing the delight fade from the guardian’s features the moment she was in the middle of two told her all she needed to confirm this was the correct decision.

Once again, Furia turned away from her and back to those in the prayer room. This time, however, they kept their sword pointed toward her.

This left her just waiting. She couldn’t rush them while they weren’t looking. Even if Tom didn’t warn them, with their sword aimed at her, they’d be able to parry her far too quickly.

She had no idea what she could do, which made seeing their gaze once again fall on Redbeard all the worse.

“But I suppose I can’t do that if I just kill you all. So leave, Skipper. Now!”

“No,” He replied immediately, remaining exactly where he was.

Capsize had no idea if she should be glad for him holding his ground. Obviously no good could come from doing what Furia wished, but it still seemed far too much that they were already precisely where they wanted them.

Seriously, what the hell was their plan here?

Were they telling Red to leave with the plan to kill the two champions? Leaving herself, him, and Tom alive so they would bring them the heart? She couldn’t fathom Furia, even as delusional as they seemed at this moment, actually believing any of them would do that.

No, they surely couldn’t be that stupid.

So, then what? Were they trying to just trick Red? Hope he was coward enough to flee to skewer him when he had to walk past them to leave? That idea seemed more possible, more like something the guardian would do.

But it still struck her as wrong. After all, with their sword pointed her way, they’d have to swing around to strike and that would be all the forewarning she needed to prevent it.

So then what?

Capsize regretted her desperate theorising as Furia twisted their gaze right back onto her. Pits of flames that made up their flames staring right into her very being. She knew their plan before their smarmy voice said anything.

“Leave, or I will kill her,” They said, grinning at her with pointed teeth.

She had been threatened before. She was pirate captain; it came with the gig. However, having the threat of her death directed towards someone else felt unexpectedly cold.

“Who? Capsize?” Redbeard questioned.

She couldn’t tell if he was somehow actually confused or merely attempting to deny the clear threat. Frankly neither opinion slowed her rapidly increasing heart rate.

Heck, if she really floundered for an explanation, she could imagine that he was trying to keep Furia talking so he could strike while they were distracted. But, given that he remained fixed to the spot as if he was stuck to the floor, she sincerely doubted that idea.

Though she could not exactly only push anger towards her brother for inaction. As, while he was frozen, neither of the champions were doing anything either besides just joking and laughing between themselves. If she focused on them, she could be put under the impression that there was no danger whatsoever.

She supposed, bitterly, that to champions there wasn’t. They had the ability to come back from the dead as if nothing had happened at all barring their belongings being left behind.

Even more bitterly, she realised it was not just the champions who got this safety net. Given her own gifts from Ianite, Redbeard too didn’t exactly need to fear death as she could bring him back. And seeing that they had already killed Furia once, yet they were here once again, the guardian too seemed immune to death by typical means.

So, that left the only one here in any danger of permanent death herself. A fact that was quickly setting a sickness with her. A fact that only Furia seemed to be acknowledging as they stared at her with those eyes and that grin.

“Yes,” Furia confirmed their intentions aloud as they advanced a single step towards her.

Instinctively, Capsize took a step back. Tom read her move and followed suit rather than acting as a wall like he could’ve.

Whether he moved back out of instinct or because he actually realised the danger she was in here, Capsize had no way of confirming with her current position in front of the man. But she appreciated it all the same. Any tiny advantage she could have she would take. “Leave now or feel pain.”

“Okay,” Tom spoke so casually.

She felt his hand loosely grip her arm. She wished that she could just leave with him. But she was absolutely certain the moment she took her eyes off Furia, that would be the moment that they struck.

She couldn’t do anything on her own. Yet not a soul in the prayer room was doing anything.

“Furia, we can work this out!” Redbeard tried what he had always done best, ending situations with words to make the attacker hesitate or reconsider.

As the guardian lunged towards her and she barely computed a sword swinging towards her throat, she wished he had done anything else.

Everything in the next few moments happened so quickly that she struggled to actually process it all.

She acknowledged Furia’s swing, though not with nearly enough time to actually defend herself. Before it actually hit, she was roughly pulled backwards as Tom dragged her out of the way of the blade.

Redbeard’s eye widened and he finally began to rush the guardian. He shoved through the two champions, causing both to stumble. Jericho ended up falling into the hole meant for offerings in the middle of the room, but Sparklez too was finally alerted of the danger and drew his sword to enter the fight.

Capsize could not focus on any of it.

The moment after she had been pulled to safety, she was raising her cutlass to parry a second swing for her throat. Metal clashed and her arm was pushed and twisted uncomfortably.

The third strike parried by Tom actually managed to push the guardian back a few steps.

“Keep fighting, Captain. You still won’t be getting out of here alive,” Furia spat as they once again launched themself at her.

Despite her usual self-assurance, as she had to block the fourth swing in quick succession aiming for her throat, it was impossible to ignore her creeping nerves. She was undeniably already on the defensive. It would only take one slip up now for her to wind up dead.

Still, what good would worrying do her now?

“Like hell am I dying by your hand!” She said through gritted teeth as she pushed back their blade and kicked towards their knee.

Though the guardian stumbled, she could feel a burning cut under her jaw. Just a second late. Just a tiny cut. But Furia was getting too close for comfort.

However, their next strike had to quickly swing away from her. Their attention was suddenly pulled from herself to Redbeard as he leapt to strike from behind. His strike was parried in a horrible clang and painful landing.

Sparklez’ blade, however, wasn’t.

The diamond blade cut into the guardian’s side and there was so clearly weight put into the swing. Yet the wound left still looked merely like a glancing blow.

They should be in a winning scenario. Even with Jericho stuck, they still overnumbered Furia and had them surrounded. But Capsize’s mind kept itching, because the most confident person in the room remained Furia.

The fight itself was merely noise to Capsize. A mess of clashing metal and just barely dodging death.

It was impossible for her to ignore that she was on the backfoot. All of her moves where in defence as Furia continuously aimed for her throat.

Though, at the very least, her nerves had not transferred to the champions. Tom and Sparklez, understandably far less concerned about dying, were fighting with reckless abandon.

She knew at least some of the stinging cuts beginning to litter her body were from Tom rather than Furia – but their overly confident fighting style was still an additional defence the guardian had to break through if they wanted to get to her. That much she could appreciate.

But Furia was breaking through.

The guardian was out for blood. The only swings of theirs not aimed for her throat were strikes aimed at similarly vital parts of the others. However, the strikes aimed at the others were all quick things, the guardian sometimes not even turning to look at them.

Meanwhile, they never failed to grin at her when attempting to strike her down.

Still, with them surrounded and having to fight all four of them with reprise between strikes, there was clearly a want from Furia to end things. Though it was not a weariness, but a frustration.

And that frustration was causing them to get reckless. Capsize could use that.

She spotted an opening. The tiniest opening, but one that she couldn’t waste.

Redbeard and Sparklez both went to strike at once. Furia was forced to turn and focus on the two. And she was sure that she could strike from behind without getting the guardian the opportunity to parry or dodge.

This had to count.

Again, everything happened in seconds.

Capsize pushed back on her left heel before launching herself forward at Furia’s back with her cutlass handle gripped in both hands.

Furia deflected Sparklez’ blade while catching Red’s in their other hand. They gripped the blade, golden blood dripping down it, and wrenched it from her brother’s hands. Redbeard stumbled back from the force.

The guardian’s attention and blade swung wholly towards Ianite’s champion. They threw back their arm then swung forwards.

Capsize thrust her own blade forwards. Her cutlass cut through the back of Furia’s neck. Golden blood oozed out of the wound as she twisted her sword to make sure the wound would end the fight.

The guardian disappeared as they had the last time. Turning into a thick, dark smoke. It quickly invaded her eyes and lungs, causing both to sting.

Despite this happening the last time that they had ‘killed’ the guardian, Capsize found herself wearily looking around as she turned on her heel. She couldn’t calm herself at all, still expecting Furia to strike again from any angle.

It was only when the smoke started to dissipate that she realised the guardian did not need to launch another attack. She’d been a moment too late.

Jordan lay in a slump on the ground choking on his own blood that was quickly spilling out from a wound in his neck.

It was not the first time that Capsize had seen the man die. Yet she still couldn’t shake the wrongness of watching someone die and having no one around her react in any serious way. To look at a dying man and see annoyance rather than fear.

Yet even though she had seen Sparklez die at least a dozen times since coming to the champion’s realm, she could not shake the nagging that this felt different.

Neither Jordan nor Tom’s expressions held any hint that she should see this as different than any of their other deaths. But she still should shake that one burning question in her mind.

Didn't the champions normally die quicker than this?

“Ha! Get wrecked!” Tom laughed at his dying friend.

Sparklez responded with a weakly held up middle finger before he fully slumped and became still.

Despite all her concerns and sureness that something was wrong, Jordan’s body then disappeared as the champions’ bodies always did upon death. As typical, all that remained was a pile of his belongings that Tom immediately walked over to and began picking through.

Everything seemed normal.

“Can one of you get me out this hole?!” Jericho yelled with annoyance as if he’d made the request several times. With a small amount of embarrassment, Capsize realised that he likely had.

Within the fight he’d just become background noise among all the important things she needed to keep her focus on.

Redbeard began to move to help him as Tom smirked.

“Nah, leave him down there. He doesn’t deserve any of the loot, he didn’t help.”

“Fuck off. It's Jordan's stuff. I have as much right to it as you.”

The two remaining champions began to bicker, yelling to hear each other. Though it would typically be insufferable, right now it gave Capsize a sense of normality. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe that had just dodged anything bad happening.

As always, it seemed that the fates were just waiting to mock her.

Furia’s laughter flooded the temple. Capsize’s dulling dread came sharply back in a sudden intense flash.

This time Redbeard did not hesitate. She was surprised that he even remembered to pick up his sword with how quickly he rushed to her side.

With far too many possibilities running through her mind, Capsize knew that leaving Jericho vulnerable any longer would be beyond foolish.

So, she focused. Allowing the world around her to blur, she pictured the strings that she had come to associate with this particular gift from Ianite. She found Jericho’s easily within reach. A rough blue knotted twine.

She tugged.

A sharp pain ran through her body. Jericho appeared in front of her.

Now with eyes on everyone, she had at least some confidence that she would be able to prevent any attack should Furia reappear.

But despite their laughter suffocating the air, their physical presence did seem to be gone.

“What a shame I missed my target,” She spun on her heel as their voice seemed to come from directly next to her ear. All that greeted her was laughter and smoke. “Still though, I feel powerful.”

The voice seemed to echo around from every angle yet still seemed to be right next to her. That mocking tone that she had come to expect from the guardian.

What was their game here? “Until I get the heart, I will continue to kill.”

Her grip remained on her cutlass as her eyes kept flickering around the room. Was another strike coming? It seemed unlikely, but she couldn’t get the idea to leave her head.

Yet the champions, as ever, remained nonplussed.

“Oh, yeah, sure. One v one me.”

“And get over yourself. We’ve all killed Jordan,” Jericho added after Tom’s comment as he went to join the zombie in picking through his friend’s belongings.

Tom pushed him away and she could already hear the two bickering quietly. She wished she could allow herself to listen to them, but something here was so clearly wrong that she couldn't take her focus away from Furia.

Still, she couldn’t say there was anything incorrect about Jericho’s statement. He was right. All the champions had killed Sparklez – they made an event about killing each other as many times as they could in one night.

Hell, she had killed him before and frankly she found it quite a relieving action.

However, the laughter in the air, the slowness of his death, the way Furia still sounded like they were the winner here. All of it just sang wrong to her.

“No grief? No concern even though your friend is now locked away with his goddess?” The laughter that accompanied the guardian's words froze Capsize completely.

There could not be any truth to their words.

What Furia was saying made no sense with how the champion’s deaths had come to work. Even if they did have a way to capture someone in such a manner – to target a champion when the four’s bonds seemed stronger than those they held towards their gods would be an obvious misplay.

A ghostly burning in her neck reminded her that Sparklez was not their intended target. This was supposed to be her fate.

Though she attempted to write it off. Convince herself that Furia was bluffing as to give themself the win here, what would be the point in them doing so when their words would be disproven the moment they left the Nether.

As the champions began to argue, to bicker with the guardian, she met eyes with her brother. The look of fear in him only made her surer.

Ignoring the yells that came from behind her as she made her decision, she ran from the temple. She had to find Sparklez in the overworld. Or she had completely ruined her mission.

Chapter Text

Jordan woke up with a far groggier head than he usually associated with respawning. Typically, it felt like a sharp snap. Like one moment he was being stabbed, the next he was back in his bed. This certainly wasn’t that.

When he finally began to push himself into a sitting position, he realised that he wasn’t even in his bed.

That was enough to jump start his brain.

His eyes shot open. Jordan saw his surroundings and it was immediately obvious that something had gone terribly, unimaginably wrong.

He was still in the Nether, though he could only know that for certain due to the ambient heat surrounding him. Otherwise, he could’ve theoretically been anywhere as he was in a completely closed-off room made of Nether bricks.

Normally, he would’ve assumed that one of his friends had set this up as a prank, but that wouldn’t explain why he was still in the Nether. Plus, even if it was possible for one of them to set his spawn point here, that certainly wouldn’t explain the manacle on his ankle that left him chained to the floor.

“What the hell is--?”

“Apologies for the lacklustre décor,” His spoken thoughts of confusion were cut through by a voice that he knew all too well. Appearing in the far corner of the room, certainly out of the reach of Jordan for the little it mattered given he was disarmed, was Lord Dianite.

He scrambled to his feet. How he had been captured he had no idea, but he was not about to face the devil sitting down.

Dianite, knowing that there was absolutely nothing that the champion was going to be able to do to escape, merely smiled at the tiny bit of resistance. He had been given a far greater prize than he had expected. He was going to keep basking in his victory for as long as possible.

So, he continued his monologue. “I was expecting the other captain, so I didn’t think to decorate.”

That statement caused a world of confusion in Jordan, the thoughts slowly working behind his eyes delighting the god before him. The smile that began to play on the devil’s lips only muddled his thoughts more.

He was being mocked, even he couldn’t miss that. He couldn’t just stand here and let that happen. But what exactly had happened?

He’d been killed by Furia. Then he’d respawned here. That much was obvious.

Dianite was clearly claiming that he had been expecting Capsize – who else could the other captain be? So, he had wanted to capture her? That made enough sense, Jordan supposed, Furia had attacked her first after all.

However, none of that explained how he’d actually ended up here when he should be in his vault. Somehow Dianite had changed his respawn point.

Maybe that wasn’t so surprising. He was a god, it seemed likely enough that he’d have the power to do so, even if it seemed unlikely that the god wouldn’t have used that power both now given his obsession with him.

Still, that wouldn’t explain how he was meant to have captured Capsize. Furia had obviously been looking to kill. All their strikes had been aimed at their throats. Sure, his respawn point could’ve been changed, but he wasn’t even sure that Capsize could respawn.

All the facts made his head spin as he tried to fit them all together. Though he couldn’t quite make sense of it, he managed to cram enough of them together to come up with a reasoning for the situation he was now stuck in.

“Furia’s sword. You enchanted it so it would teleport whoever it lethally struck here,” He said, wishing the sting in his throat hadn’t caused his voice to creak and undermine his confidence. It was the only explanation he could think of that would mean both he and Capsize could’ve been teleported here, so he had to be right.

A wave of delight ran through Lord Dianite.

Unlike his sister’s precious little captain, Sparklez had little idea of the many workings of the world. None of the champions did, really, all isolated in their own little bubble. Aside from the rank of champion and the occasional smiting, the laws of the gods remained utterly unknown to them.

What fun he was going to have letting him know the truth.

With this delight, a laugh escaped the god. A laugh that Jordan had to force himself to stand strong through as the mocking tone threatened to make him falter.

The amount of joy the devil was taking in this just left him nauseous.

“That’s certainly what Furia believes. Well, not quite. Furia believes that you’ve been sent to the same prison as my sister. In fact, that’s where they’re currently telling all your friends you are,” Dianite said, enjoying the subtle tells on the champion’s face that he was nowhere near as fearless as he was trying to put on.

The god was utterly in control here. He was having such fun with his new toy and wasn’t about to stop. “I’m sure that’ll send them all off on a little adventure far away from where you really are.”

“Then where am I? If I’m not in the same prison as my Lady?” Jordan demanded, taking a step forward and causing the chain connected to him to begin to pull from the loose pile, rattling and undermining any aura of strength he may have had.

The devil clearly wanted to play a game, but he wasn’t going to have any part of it. Even if Jordan was on the backfoot, he wasn’t anyone’s plaything.

At the very least, he’d take control of the conversation. “And I don’t know what you’re trying to imply by saying that’s what Furia believes. Obviously, I was teleported here by them! That’s the only way Capsize could’ve been captured when they were trying to kill her!”

“You’re so easily confused, aren’t you? You know, the pirate wouldn't have had all these questions. She would’ve just known what had happened to her.”

“I don’t care what Capsize would’ve known!” He snapped without meaning to, immediately regretting doing so as he saw how the devil smiled.

He should’ve held back. Outbursts were just giving the bastard further entertainment.

And what entertainment he was to Lord Dianite. He was such an easy fiddle to play.

“All I did was compliment your little girlfriend… What? Are you really so possessive? So jealous?” He asked as he slowly began to approach the champion.

The god, of course, knew damn well that the woman in question would rather die than have any sort of romantic relationship with Sparklez. But that was a fact to break him with later, when his sister inevitably asked the impossible of her messenger.

For now, he merely wanted to make him squirm. He wouldn’t even need to try either, seeing that the truth he was demanding would be more than enough for that. “But, fine, since I like you Sparklez, I’ll answer your questions. You’re under my temple. Any one of your friends could find you in less than an hour if they were given any reason to believe that you’re down here.”

That should’ve reassured Jordan.

He was within reach of his friends. They would be able to find him. Even if it took a while, they would obviously find him.

But Lord Dianite was still smiling.

Despite Jordan’s attempt at confidence, that look was chipping away at him. And Dianite hadn’t even given him the bad news yet.

“As for the how: no enchantments were needed to capture anyone. It’s a simple rule of the world that when something is killed in the name of a god or in their temple, that it becomes a sacrifice. Regardless of Furia’s delusions of grandeur, they are still my guardian, and they killed you in my prayer room. So, you were made a sacrifice, and your very soul belongs to me. I can revive you how I see fit.”

The jubilation in the devil’s voice was matched only by the horror descending into the champion’s bones. He looked down at his prize with a dark smile of total victory.

“I told you I would get you on my team.”

“No! No, I’m not--!” Jordan began to argue only for his voice to die in his throat. Though it was not for lack of trying to speak.

Dianite made a swift movement, raising a hand and clutching his fist, and it was as if Jordan’s voice was crushed. Every noise he attempted to make was forced into silence. Maybe Dianite would’ve been able to do that even if his claims weren’t true, but the demonstration was clearly saying just the same as the god’s words.

Whether or not he had literal physical control over Jordan’s soul, he still had him imprisoned and at his control. In his own mind, he had already won.

“Oh, you most certainly are,” He said, tightening his grip on the champion as he stalked over.

Jordan tried to move back, but his bones were locked in place. He had no chance but to stay as the devil ran a clawed finger across his cheek. He was utterly at the god’s mercy, unable to even fruitlessly resist as that power was lorded over him. “Or you will be. You aren’t leaving here until you renounce my pathetic sister.”

He dropped his hold on Jordan, the champion staggering back with a gasp as he was suddenly released. However, the spite and resistance had not left his tongue.

“So that’s your plan! You capture me or Capsize and hold us here until we agree to follow you?!”

Lord Dianite once more laughed, almost cackling. Still Sparklez didn’t get it. Whether by vanity or simple obliviousness, he seemed quite unable to keep hold of the idea that he was never intended to be here.

“No. My plan was to capture my sister’s most precious follower. Then I’d leave her to slowly die here as it would utterly break my sister that she would be able to do nothing to help. But then Furia missed their strike on her and killed you instead,” He spoke coldly, almost matter of fact, about the grim plan. Up until the last sentence where he couldn’t stop a grin from forming and excitement from leaching into his voice.

All the while, a sickness was forming inside Sparklez, but not from being told that Capsize was meant to have been left to a slow, painful death. This was the uneasy nausea of a child being told they were their parents’ least favourite. So utterly full of denial, but unable to force any words out lest his fears be confirmed.

All his silence did was allow Dianite to continue. “Obviously once I had your soul, the plan had to change. Unlike the pirate, you might have the brains to cut your losses and join the winning team. Besides, I’m not killing my favourite follower for only half the effect that killing her would’ve had.”

“I’m not your follower and I never will be!” Finally, Jordan exploded, all his righteous belief in his championhood strengthening his resolve. “And I’m just as important to my Lady as Capsize is! You aren’t going to get me on your side with blatant lies!”

He was not just going to stand here as the devil tried to convince him that his Lady valued Capsize over him. That couldn’t possibly be true! He was her champion! The one who had restored her heart and was going to free her from Dianite’s clutches!

Capsize didn’t even have a title aside from captain.

All his yells did was stretch Dianite’s smile ever wider.

“Oh, I see. You just want to be in denial.”

Upon those words, Jordan attempted to strike him, but Dianite caught his fist. As he held it with a grip just weak enough to avoid breaking bones, he leant close to the champion’s ear. If he wanted to live in the fantasy world he had created, the god would happily play along.

“Then you should be happy. Without your sacrifice, your Capsize would be enduring a slow death at my hands. You saved her life. What a great boyfriend you are.”

Again, Jordan had bitter arguments on his tongue, but Dianite was not going to waste his time listening to those. Sparklez would have a long time to stew over his fake relationship and where his goddess’ true favour lied. After all, he wasn’t getting rescued anytime soon.

So, Dianite shoved him to the ground. All the weight the champion had been throwing into his swing turned into unbalance with the sudden lack of support. He landed painfully in a heap, the red bricks that made up the room in no way cushioning his fall.

“I’ll be back later to make sure you don’t starve. Oh, though obviously I’m sure your friends will come and rescue you before we have to worry about that,” Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

Jordan attempted to scramble to his feet and attempt another swing, but the god was already gone before he even got his bearings. Jordan was left alone in the empty cell with only his thoughts and the sound of the rattling chain whenever he moved.

He knew that everything Dianite had said was nothing more than lies meant to make him betray his Lady and resent Capsize. There was nothing else his words could’ve been. But as much as he tried, he couldn’t fully reassure himself of that.

Over and over, he tried to repeat the truth. He wasn’t worth less to his Lady than Capsize. He didn’t belong to Lord Dianite. If Furia had struck true, Capsize would’ve been presented with the exact same manipulations as he had been to attempt to get her to abandon Lady Ianite.

Yet still there remained a looming wave of doubt in his mind, lapping ever closer the more time passed.

Just the tiniest voice in the back of his mind that he didn’t want to recognise as his own. The quietest whisper that continued to ask, “What if Dianite had been telling the truth.”

He wouldn’t listen to it. His faith in his Lady was being put to the test, and he could not allow himself to falter at this hurdle. It was nothing worse than the mocking he’d faced from the others for so long.

But as the hours drew on, stuck in the silence and the heat, the whispering doubts only grew louder.

Chapter Text

It was amazing though completely horrifying just how quickly everything could go wrong.

Whatever modicum of hope Capsize had been clinging to against her gut instinct had been thoroughly crushed upon her return to the Overworld. It had very quickly become undeniable that Sparklez was gone. She’d searched his house and the giant tree that cast shadows over it, both were empty. The one time she’d give anything to see his face, he was nowhere to be seen.

Before she could even begin to take in what in the hells that meant, she was joined by the two champions and her brother. Still only Red held the appropriate level of worry for what had happened in the Nether, looking to her with panic that held a question he didn’t need to ask out loud.

Her response was a despairing shake of her head. That was all he had needed to know just how fucked they were.

The champions, however, had still not realised the reality they had found themselves in.

Both had assumed Sparklez was sulking. That when she said he was gone, she meant he was hiding in his vault out of embarrassment. As much as she’d never cover for his ego in such a way, she understood their inability to compute the reality they’d stumbled their way into. This was, after all, a completely unprecedented situation for the champions to find themselves in. That didn’t make their dawning realisation any less painful.

The search for Sparklez had begun anew with Tom and Tucker at its helm. The two champions began running around yelling for the man with no more direction than a headless chicken.

She had joined them, as much as she couldn’t muster the energy they both possessed. She just wanted herself to pretend for a little longer than maybe, somehow, Sparklez would appear from around the next corner was a hell of a lot easier than sitting defeated because she had allowed Ianite’s champion to be lost.

Of course though, he had never appeared. As much as hope was nice to cling to, it did nothing when reality was so starkly obvious. And that plain and simple fact that Sparklez was gone had had to sink in for the champions eventually.

That was how she had found herself standing before the champions each with a very different expression on their face. She stood in one of Tom’s houses, Red by her side, in the all too familiar position of having answers demanded from her that she simply didn’t hold. Unlike those she had faced back on Ianerea, she couldn’t find herself frustrated at their demands. All she could hold was a hollow upset at being just as lost as those she was meant to be guiding.

“So what then? Jordan’s dead? We just need to move on?!” Jericho demanded, barely containing his anger enough to stay sat down. He would be fighting the devil himself right now if he was given the go ahead. Frankly Capsize only thought that was a bad idea because they couldn’t afford to lose anyone else. If not, she’d jump at the opportunity to redirect his anger at the actual cause of the situation.

“Obviously not! Just give me a minute to think!” She ordered, her patience wearing thin. She understood the anger, of course she did, but understanding didn’t make it any quieter. All his yelling was doing was slowing down her own thought process.

Still, she understood anger. She knew how to deal with being yelled at. She had no idea how to process the fact that Tom had been silently staring at a wall the entire conversation.

It wasn’t necessarily something that needed to be dealt with like being yelled at was. She could continue her attempt to keep order with him looking like he might break at any moment, but she knew such an expression on him was wrong. It was most certainly harder to process than if he was loudly demanding answers from her.

But if she lingered on it, they’d just get answers slower. It wasn’t as if she had any comfort to give him anyway.

“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Then there was Sonja.

The lass looked exhausted, sat wedged between her two friends with a thick blanket wrapped around her. She’d been awoken by all the ruckus. Not that that had been hard when her friends, in their desperation, had decided Jordan might be hiding within her house. Now, despite how she was obviously held in the clutches of illness, she too sat with the group wondering what the hell had happened to their missing friend.

Capsize pinched the bridge of her nose and took a breath. She could do this.

“Great question, lass. Let’s actually lay out what happened,” She said, hoping that she didn’t sound sarcastic or belittling. They needed to get a straight head on this. Maybe going through everything from the beginning would bring forth an answer. It was better than standing here just yelling at each other, anyway. “So, we all go to Dianite’s temple. While we’re there Furia appears, and they demand we give them Ianite’s heart. Am I missing anything?”

“No, Captain,” Red responded immediately. He had slipped into the stance that he only ever wore on the ship. Listening, ready for orders. His own way of coping with the disaster, she supposed.

It was the confirmation she needed to continue on. Nothing of significant importance had happened prior to her arrival.

“Furia refuses to believe that we’ve returned the heart to Ianite and clearly has delusions of overthrowing Dianite,” She had no idea how important that particular fact was in the grand scheme of things, but it was at least a scenario they had to prevent. Dianite was a monster, but he was one with clear goals and that they all understood. Furia was a wildcard that they couldn’t afford to become a main threat.

But that was also a digression that she’d need to think about later. “They threatened to kill me if we didn’t give them the heart, then actually attempted to kill me but ended up killing Sparklez instead. Furia claims he’s been imprisoned with Ianite, seeing that he hasn’t respawned so it’s possible they’re telling the truth on that front. Did they say anything else after I left?”

“Nothing but the same delusional ramblings.”

“What does it matter?!” Tucker butt in, actually standing this time. The tone and the suddenness of his yell gave him a very dangerous edge, one that she had to remind herself not to rise to. Now more than ever she needed the support of the three.

“Firstly, Foxx asked, and I think she’s owed an explanation rather than being forced to remain in the dark,” She started, not allowing this to be spun into her wasting time. They all needed to be on the same page and that required retelling the story.

Even just stating that obvious fact took a bit of wind out of Jericho’s sails. He looked with hesitation towards his friend who frankly looked like death within her fabric cocoon. “Secondly, I needed to make sure I had everything clear since I wasn’t with you all at the beginning.”

As much as she didn’t particularly think when she showed up made much of a difference, there was the undeniable unsaid statement that they’d all left her behind. They had been frankly lucky that Furia had been looking to bargain at all. If their goal had been to simply kill her, they could’ve done it when they’d all left her behind.

The idea rolled around her tongue, sour and off. This very much seemed like her day to die. Only, somehow, she’d survived. She was left to figure out the why of her own near murder. Hopefully that’d explain what had happened to Sparklez.

“Is it true then? Is Jordan imprisoned with Ianite?” Tom asked. He didn’t meet anyone’s eyes as his choked voice filled the room. She wasn’t sure if he was blaming himself. She hoped not, even if there was a mutinous chastising voice in her head telling her this was Tom’s fault.

He sold you out to Furia, it said, that’s what started this whole mess.

But it was a completely unfair thought, she knew. One borne of Ianite’s constant judgement for her trust in the lad rather than her own belief in its truth. So, she crushed it down and forced it to be ignored as she instead just answered the actual question he had posed.

“I think he’s imprisoned, for certain. If he were dead, we’d have found a body by now,” She said, her brain liking the logic of that. Though she didn’t quite understand how the champions’ respawning worked, she saw one of the consistent components as their bodies disintegrating right before they awoke once more.

She wasn’t sure if this was some simple fact of the universe, that one could only have one body; done to avoid existential crisis within the champions; or simply a gift from the gods of not needing to clean up their own kill sprees. What Capsize was quite sure of, though, was that it was a property unique to the respawn process, rather than a property of the Champion’s Realm.

When she’d killed Red for sinking her ship, for that brief half a minute before she’d used the revival spell, he had simply been a corpse. That implied, to her mind at least, that Sparklez had respawned as he should after Furia’s attack. Sure, maybe the champions just always disintegrated and all that signalled was he died, but everything else seemed consistent with his revival somewhere else. But then where the hell had he ended up?

His current location wasn’t the only itching question in her head, either. “I have absolutely no idea how he was actually taken, though.”

“Surely he just had his spawn point moved,” Sonja said. Capsize had to admit, it certainly was the simplest explanation. Sparklez died then woke up as he was meant to, he just woke up somewhere different than he and the rest of them expected.

But, and maybe this was just a case where she should stop being so self-centred, she couldn’t think of any way that method could’ve been used on her. Sure, Furia could’ve just been aiming to kill her but switched to capture when it came to Jordan, but she didn’t precisely think the guardian the type to switch plans on the fly. Maybe she was just too easily discounting their intelligence, though she sincerely doubted it.

“But if Dianite could change Jordan’s spawn point, he would’ve done it ages ago. He’s been talking about getting him on his team since the beginning,” Tucker interjected.

That very much was a useful thought. It made everything more complicated, but she couldn’t deny it was a good consideration. For one thing, Dianite’s obsession likely meant Sparklez wouldn’t be killed anytime soon.

Still, what could’ve changed? How could Dianite have captured--?

“Shit,” It clicked. The answer that explained everything but was perhaps the worst-case scenario for what it implied. “He’s been sacrificed.”

The very idea was one she hoped wasn’t possible, it would leave both Ianite and Sparklez in precarious situations.

Beside her, understanding the implications, Redbeard’s face turned to horror. However, the heroes did not have a similar reaction. Rather, they all held confusion.

“What does that mean?” Tom asked. With how his voice shook, she almost hesitated to tell him. But keeping the information to herself wouldn’t change reality and it wasn’t going to help in any way.

“Sparklez was killed by Dianite’s guardian in Dianite’s temple. If the old stories are right, his soul now belongs to Dianite,” She’d heard so many stories about it, old tales told as warnings or the tragedy of a hero’s end. She’d never considered it a fate she could actually receive. If she was to die, it was always meant to be for Ianite, so to her goddess her soul would go.

Her neck burned. Furia’s strike had come so close to hitting her. If Tom hadn’t pulled her out of the way, she would be in Dianite’s possession and none of the others would’ve been any the wiser. She came so close to a fate she’d only imagined in her worst nightmares.

Instead, she reminded herself, Sparklez had suffered it. Regardless of what she thought of the man, she knew that he didn’t deserve to be stuck in the devil’s clutches. Sure, she had confidence that Dianite wouldn’t kill him, but she doubted he was being kept in luxury accommodations. Even the most spiteful part of her had to acknowledge that Ianite would be hurt while her champion remained her brother’s prisoner.

So, she needed to stop thinking about the situation in terms of what could’ve happened to her and instead what had happened to Sparklez. “Dianite has possession of his soul, the god can revive him wherever he wants.”

“But we kill each other all the time!” Jericho insisted with a sentence that would’ve sounded like nonsense to her a month ago. “If that’s how this works, how hasn’t this happened before, even by accident?!”

“Intent, I assume,” She said, honestly not having a real answer. This wasn’t exactly an issue she dealt with every day. She didn’t know the day-to-day implications that soul claiming held for the champions. She was just doing her best to piece together the logic she was being presented with. “But I think it should be easily reversible once we free him.”

She put her everything into just sounding confident. Logically, she had nothing to fear. Even if Ianite didn’t have the strength to reclaim it on her own, Capsize could just kill him in one of Ianite’s temples. Admittedly, it wasn’t the most elegant solution, but if it worked then it worked.

The champions all stared at her. She awaited their judgement, their questioning. This was their friend in danger, she’d have no reason to judge them for demanding more answers whether she had them or not. She almost expected anger.

It never came.

“I guess we’re saving Ianite then,” Jericho said with a shrug. It was said with such a casual air that one would be forgiven for assuming he had forgotten that was always the plan. He hadn’t, at least he’d never admit that, but the mission did suddenly seem far more important. “We save her and Jordan at the same time. Two birds, one stone, right?”

“Yeah! Dianite won’t know what hit him!” Sonja said, her enthusiasm almost making it possible to forget that she currently looked and almost certainly felt like death. Her attitude, as always, was infectious. Capsize almost believed this would be easy.

“No, he won’t,” Tom said quietly, almost inaudible.

“Wait, you’re going to help?!”

“Obviously, he’s going to help,” She said, shooting an elbow back into her brother’s stomach. He coughed and sputtered, but she didn’t care. If he and Ia could stop undermining Tom’s efforts to help, her life would be just that bit easier.

She offered the zombie a look. Not a smile, now wasn’t the time for that, but what she hoped was a look of comfort. “I’d be happy to have you on the crew, we all would.”

“I’ll help. For Jordan, I’ll help,” He confirmed, and she gave him a nod. She’d expected nothing less from him. He’d helped them when they were retrieving the heart, he’d help them again now his motivation was stronger.

But though their group was together and motivated, they didn’t exactly have any direction. That was why they’d entered the Nether today in the first place, at least she assumed that had been Red’s goal. Instead, they’d gained nothing but lost far too much.

Still, she couldn’t admit how lost she was. Right now, the appearance of a confident leader held far more importance than actually being one. She gave her reassurances, carried as much of an air of confidence as she could, given the situation. They seemed to buy it well enough.

When she and Red finally left, she allowed the façade to drop. Her brother wouldn’t have fallen for it anyway.

They walked back to their cove in silence. He definitely had questions, but whether he thought better of asking them or simply didn’t think she’d hold the answers remained unknown.

There were questions she had for him too, about the way he’d acted in the Nether. All those questions though were ones borne of anger. An anger she absolutely could not allow herself to release right now.

She had to do what was best for their mission. That meant biting back her emotions and focusing on what would make them progress.

“I’m going to try and get word from Ianite tonight. Losing Sparklez will mean she’s lost strength, but our connection should still allow us to talk. If I hear nothing, we head out to Ianerea in the morning,” She needed whatever guidance her goddess could give. Hopefully her position of messenger would prove useful, and they wouldn’t waste several weeks needing to sail home and back.

For a moment, Red was silent. He definitely wanted to say something, Capsize could sense it. However, whatever he actually wanted to say remained in his head. All he actually said was, “Yes, Captain.”

Reality had settled, a horrid reality that was far worse than the one they had been in just that morning. Both siblings held a whirlpool of emotion within them for what the champion’s capture meant for their future and about the events that had led to it. However, as most of their complex thoughts had for years now, they remained in their heads and a complete mystery to the other.