Castle by Halsey pointless_ships skylox
Heavy by Linkin Park Zeta_Knight Setosolace
My Demons by Starset AnonymousMagic merome
Fire by Gavin Degraw Velociraptor30   Fire flower
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing KitonaStorm MotSyndi

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Sky walked through the golden halls, steps light besides the echoing tap of his heeled boots. Just hours earlier he had to attend a meeting with a few other generals about trespassers on their land. While the leader was forgiving, their 'vagabond' was giving Sky the death glare. It wasn't like Sky sent them on purpose, he had no control over every crafter as the rumors went.

Days earlier even he got surrounded by admirers in Spawn City when he was trying to find Ross. With cameras out and flashing, Sky had to pose and smile and act like he wasn't a grumpy person. Mithzan was able to pull him out of there, but Sky was already tired of being poised and left for home.

Everyday he had to deal with these kind of things. He was sick and tired of being used as the minutes passed. He was ready to be relieved of this position, but every time he tried he was stopped by either guilt, or respawn. Thinking back to how this all started, he regrets his decision.

----

Walking through the thick dark wood forest, a young warrior kept his eyes locked on the surroundings in front of him. Word was spreading fast around from the independent poeple that the nearby Kingdom of Gold was overthrown by beasts. No one was stepping up to be the new ruler, because each one who did seemed to be plagued by insanity or sorrow. This didn't stop the determination in the warrior. Through the trees a stone castle came into view, making him pause for just a second. The village was larger than he expected and he began to have doubts. Would these citizens even welcome him?

Heading straight for the castle, the warrior tucked his stone sword away, not wanting to draw attention just yet. The village was bare besides some towers, houses, and the castle. Not a person in sight. As he stepped into the perimeter, a gust of wind blew past him, making him shield himself with his cloak. When he pulled it back, he was shocked to see a whole new surrounding.

The pathways were paved in gold, the towers gleamed white in the sun along with the houses resting below. What scared the warrior the most was the sudden statues of villagers all around him. Frozen in stone with fear in their faces. Pulling his sword out once more, he looked towards the castle, seeing it gleamed white as well. Whatever curse laid on the town, he was going to break it.

Avoiding the townsfolk, he made his way inside the castle, the walls glittering gold. At the foot was a throne made of white and red, a man sitting right in the middle. The warrior froze for a moment, not expecting to see another person, let alone someone in the throne. The man rose, a red cloak behind him that was fastened to his white attire. The warrior once again put his weapon away, now seeing the crown on his head.

"Do you want the kingdom?" The man questioned moving closer to the warrior. Bowing his head just slightly, the other nodded, looking back up; seeing that the man only had void eyes.

"Everyone who tries, fails," The man continued as he began to circle the warrior, "but... I can see into your future."

"Do I rule with kindness and loyalty?" The warrior spoke up. "Do people like me?"

"They love you. Worship you. You raise the biggest army and have many loyal friends... and... lovers."

The warrior looked pleased, but saw the cruel smirk rise on the man's face.

"You will be plagued with taking care of millions, feeding millions, making sure each has a home. With love, comes jealousy and hared. Friends will leave you, lovers will break you. A past you have forgotten will haunt you."

The warrior thought it over. Love and glory, or become poor again. Becoming determined, the warrior nodded in agreement.

"I still want to become king."

The man chuckled, bowing his head.

"Then... King Sky. Take my warning words. Don't become ruthless and mean. And keep that mouth shut."

------

Blood ran into an iron bowl, the hand above it shaky from the loss of so much. A knife was dropped next to it, making the table a bloody mess as well. The figure wrapped his arm tightly in bandages, letting out a sigh. The door opened and flooded the room with light. Previously the only light was some candles. Tensing up, the taller figure held tightly to his arm, muttering words and making the blood change from red to blue.

"Solace what are you doing in here?" Seto questioned, worry on his face. Solace looked at the sorcerer and gave him a smile to reassure him, face pale.

"Practicing magic. The book said the room needed to be dark."

"I hope it isn't blood-"

"I promise it's not."

Seto kept watching him for a few seconds before nodding, closing the door and leaving Soalce alone again. The taller sighed again, a frown replacing the smile. He hated lying to Seto, stacking up the lies and problems was not needed between the two at the moment. They were already fighting about Diamond. Spilling all the lies wasn't an option either, Seto would be beyond mad and it would drive Solace insane if he wasn't around. Seto kept him from thinking the world revolved around him.

Packing everything up, Solace stashed the blood away, making sure it would be out of sight so Seto wouldn't find it. Ever since the sorcerer taught him magic he's been diving deeper and deeper into the darker side of it. Seto was the light magic, but it was boring. Soalce suddenly froze, mind wandering back to before the tech era. The dark era, that's what crafters called it. Solace was born into that era.

Beasts were insane and uncontrollable along with the bloodthirsty leaders. Solace got wrapped up in the use of blood magic long before Seto, but it never involved real magic. Only prayers of luck and sacrificial things. He would never breath of word of this to anyone. It was too dangerous.

---

The kingdom era was a sight to behold. Isolated crafters were pulling together to make kingdoms and order. As this was happening Seto had found himself in the hands of Sky, a new King rising to power fast. While he had no say, Seto felt the pressure to be the best.

Seto is paranoid that Solace and everyone is out to get him like what Bajan had done. He pushes himself aside to let the others shine. Seto paused in the hallway, thinking about how much he really needed Solace. Seto would be isolated from everyone if Solace didn't always drag him everywhere. He hoped himself that he meant as much to Solace as he did to him. Everything little thing was a massive weight Seto, but Solace helped carry some.

"Hey Seto can I have some help?" Diamond had appeared around the corner, holding two vials. His goggles were properly over his eyes, unlike when he has them on his head. Seto nodded and walked over to him, joining him to walk back to the lab they set up for him. Diamond... was Diamond. He didn't understand what the two went through daily. It wasn't like they couldn't trust him, he just never saw what they saw.

------

With Sky's kingdom growing, new members were being added to help control the followers. Sky had Deadlox, Seto, Ssun, and Bajan become generals as soon as they joined, but even with four it was too much. Sky said someone knew was joining, despite Deadlox protesting. Bajan was supposed to meet at the front gate with Seto, but the sorcerer wasn't anywhere to be found. Bajan messed with his hands, feeling worry flooding him. What if the person was violent? He'd never respawned before, he didn't know if it would hurt or not. Bajan was in no state to fight, he was shorter that Deadlox and didn't even know how to.

A shadow loomed over him, making him look up and almost have a heart attack. It had to have been Sky was talking about, he was a giant. Bajan couldn't tell, but he had to be Ssun's height. The guy had an axe strapped to his belt, and the handle had dried blood. Bajan froze like a deer in headlights, words not even forming in his mind. Seto then appeared and greeted them guy, pushing Bajan back. He took off as soon as he could, making it into the castle. Sky was just passing by with Deadlox, and Bajan felt even more terrified.

"Where's the new guy? Weren't you supposed to get him?" Deadlox snapped. Bajan pointed back outside, still not having any words form. Just then Seto came inside, the guy right behind him. Neither looked happy.

"Sky. Explain why you're making a beast a general," Seto sounded worried, keeping his eyes narrowed when looking at the other. Sky began explaining but Bajan was looking back at the beast. He looked like any other crafter. The guy glanced at Bajan and Bajan looked away, taking a few steps away.

---

"How do you do that?"

Bajan jumped, dropping his paperwork. The beast, or Jerome, had snuck up on him. He scrambled to pick everything up, looking at the beast. In the months of him being there, Bajan was the only one to talk to him. Deadlox and Seto avoided him, Ssun and Sky were too busy. Bajan was stuck watching him and doing the things no one else wanted to.

"Paperwork? It's boring," Bajan set it down on the table. Jerome picked up a sheet and looked at it, squinting his eyes. Bajan took the paper and moved it so it wasn't upside down. "Did you ever learned to read? Words are this way."

"Reading wasn't useful when I had a pack," he explained.

"How did you keep order?"

"Everyone knew I was the leader. And they knew their roles. Simple," Jerome set the paper down, "Sky overworks everything. You just need food and shelter."

"Well he likes fighting and power. But yeah it sounds a lot nicer than here," Bajan sat at the desk, pulling out a pencil. "I would love to live in the wood. Thunderstorms are great. Hearing the trees in the breeze, no need for shoes," he paused, putting his pencil down. "But I can't fight."

"Why not? I knew a fox beast that was shorter than you who could take down a skilled fighter," Jerome said.

"Deadlox won't let me. He says I'm weak and too nice."

"As Sky said once, fuck that." Jerome leaned over the desk, getting Bajan to back up. "I'm teaching you to fight."

---

Bajan pulled the string back, pausing a second before letting it go. It hit it's target, a crafter who was just about to climb a tree. Jerome ran out from hiding and collected the things before they disappeared. Bajan grinned and joined his friend, packing the bow away.

"Anything useful?"

"No. Great shot though."

"Thanks," Bajan pulled his sleeve up to show a prosthetic arm, flexing the fingers, "It's getting better. The reaction time is great."

Jerome nodded, looking up when the cannon fired. Five people left in the arena now for the fun. A bell was sounded, a screen flashed on, alerting them that beast mode was enabled. The two shared a look before Jerome shifted, kneeling down so Bajan can climb on his back. With that the two were off.

------

The nether's lava flowed red while a person passed by wearing a black cloak. A hand raised to the side and made the lava changed to various oranges and yellows. The hood fell to show a head full of brown hair, a lava colored bandana around his neck. A black crown rested on his head, gleaming with white gemstones. Ever since this king was young, he was taught that dreams are made to be caught.

Another joined his side, much taller than him. A crown also rested on his head, the gems placed to signify a type of flower crown. This person was taught that friends can't be bought. The two interlocked hands and walked along the nether brick together, chatting quietly. Rumors had gone that the Lava King made the other join him, but in truth; the Flower King willingly went with him.

----

"And then we can rule forever," Preston finished, placing another flower in his boyfriend's hair. Rob hummed in slight agreement but was too busy with picking apart a blue daisy. Preston let out an annoyed sigh but smiled anyway, running his fingers through the grass. He loved Rob with all his heart, which is why he was not leaving him out of his plans. He was getting that crown one way or another.

Preston was sitting up with Rob's head in his lap, The flower field they were in was just east of the jungle where the Duo army was. It was nice to be apart of an army but Preston wanted more. He also thought back to the times where he was in the Nether, when the demi-god was his friend and not threatening to kill him every time they saw each other.

Preston felt his skin heat up, a frown tugging on his lips. He did nothing wrong to the demi-god. The god made Preston out to be a bad guy; and maybe he was. The God Herobrine himself his heart had no room for emotions, that he was a husk of lava shaped into human form. The demi-god proved him wrong, giving Preston emotions like love, compassion, abandonment, isolation, loneliness, hatred, revenge-

"Hey, you okay? You're burning the flowers," Rob suddenly spoke up, getting Preston to cool down. He shook his head and forced a smile, getting the tall boyfriend to smile back.

----

Keeping the dagger close, Preston slipped alongside the nether walls, keeping his back to the brick. If needed he could swim through the lava, but a small thought was bothering him. That he wanted to be seen and caught.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Holding his breath, Preston saw Sparkles appear near him, white eyes glaring at him. Preston let the knife melt in his hands, until nothing was left.

"What did I tell you about coming here? Hero will kill you!"

"Don't play dumb. You know why I'm here," Preston replied. Sparkles narrowed his eyes, clear annoyance on his face.

"It's pointless Preston. Herobrine cannot be killed."

"No one has tried hard enough," Preston snapped, skin beginning to glow red, "he who stops won't get what he wants."

"Don't pull that bullshit on me." Sparkles took a few steps closer, but Preston held his ground. "If Hero ever finds out what you plan to do he will kill Rob"

This got Preston to freeze, anger turning to rage. He let out a scream and charged at Sparkles, only to have the demi-god vanish on him. Preston's hands melted into lava, dripping onto the nether floor. He let out another scream out of frustration, body melting more into his lava form. Soon his body was a walking mass of lava, only two glowing orange orbs representing his eyes was the only indicator that he was in fact mostly human. His life was never the same after the abandonment those years ago.

------

"I want you two to get along. I know you have Sonja and Tucker but he's apart of your team."

Syndi crossed his arms tighter, not looking at his God. The idea that someone was joining his team with nice, but when hearing it wasn't one of his friends he was mad. He tried to convince at least one to join him, but they're happy where they are. The new member stood off to the side, a red scarf pulled over his mouth and nose. Syndi was skeptical of this new guy. The new member walked over to where Syndi was, pulling down his scarf and flashing him a smile.

"I'm Mot, Nice to meet you." Mot introduced, holding out his hand. Syndi hesitantly took it, but was pulled uncomfortably close to him. He still was smiling, but now it seemed off.

"Has anyone told you that you're really cute when scared?" Mot purred out, finally letting go of Syndi. Syndi immediately took a step back, hands close to his chest in defense. Mot laughed and look at their God, saluting him.

Syndi knew then this guy had no morals.

---

Sonja knew something happened after Mot joined a few weeks ago. Syndi was avoiding them like the plague and spending his time with the new guy. Tucker also noticed but didn't want to bother them.

"He spent all his time with you when you met him," Tucker pointed out, "he never spoke a word until he knew you well enough."

"But he knows us!" Sonja argued, "I don't like Mot. He's too nice!"

"You're nice."

"You know what I mean! He's lying like it's second nature to him!" The two quieted down when Syndi passed by them, Mot not inches behind him. Sonja held in her anger when seeing them holding hands. Now the guy was pissing her off, acting like he owed Snydi. Their friend wouldn't even talk to them.

---

"What's the fucking deal with you?" Sonja wasn't holding back her anger. She was able to get Mot away from Syndi for a second. Something happened, she could sense for miles. Syndi was near Tucker but still in view, acting quiet and distant.

"I don't know what's the fucking deal. How about you tell me?" Mot grinned, teeth sharp. Sonja wanted to rip him to shreds.

"What did you do to our Syndi?"

"Nothing, And he's not yours." Mot growled, smile turning to a sneer.

"Fight me you petty little coward-"

Sonja stopped mid-sentence when Tucker picked her up, Syndi by his side. Mot immediately grabbed Syndi and pulled him by his side, ignoring how he flinched. Sonja yelled and reached for Mot, claws out and ears standing up.

"If I could kill you I would!"

---

"Maybe he'll change," Syndi said, looking defeated but still hopeful. Sonja shook her head and stopped walking, looking at her friend.

"Join us. Mot can go rot in hell." Syndi got quiet at the offer, avoiding her eyes. Sonja felt her anger flare up again.

"You used to be tough! You used to beat me in fights and you used to be so confident! You can't even look at me!" Sonja yelled, getting Syndi flinch back. She took in a deep breath, mumbling out an apology. Tucker gently lead them forward to where everyone met.

"Let's say hi to the new guy," Tucker suggested, "wasn't he the one at the coffee place?"

"Yeah yeah," Sonja rolled her eyes, looking ahead to see Mot having a stare down with someone. The guy was tall, very tall. Sonja could feel the rage inside the other guy, it was worse than hers. He was someone you shouldn't mess with. When they finally got close Mot looked away from the guy and at Syndi, smiling again. The new guy looked over as well, and it stopped the trio in their tracks. It was the guy from the coffee shop, but he was immensely different from when they last saw him. Coffee shop guy was shorter than Syndi, now he was taller. Sonja got a worse feeling about him now.

"Hey," the guy gave a wave, "I'm Sparkles."

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This took forever. Enjoy!