Chapter Text
It had been a very very long time since anyone had been online.
Or maybe it had only been a week but the clocks had been broken for a bit so he couldn't really tell. The lab hadn't been the prettiest but it had been useful one would suppose. Useful for what? Not a cure that's for sure. As Lukey stirs awake; his eyes were barely wide enough for light to seep through; he sluggishly guided his arm across the desk.
"Where… the fuck is… it…?" he barely muttered as dragged his twig-like arm across the dark oak planks.
The faint smell of old ash too stirred as he began to dimly raise like annoyed child getting out of bed before the sun rises. Immediately, he felt something like an arrow being constantly shot at his forehead to the back of his skull. It's been like this for, lets say "2 weeks" for the sake of his dignity and he wouldn't try to change this. After all, what's the point of trying if the world's going to end soon right?
Soon enough, he reluctantly gets up from his deformed padded chair to make his breakfast. Though the halls were light less, it felt like the walls beamed an unnatural light into his eyes as he stumbled into the make-shift brewery. Like everywhere else, it was in a state of ruin. Bottles of wine, poison and weakness covered most of floor with the exception of an obvious pathway to the counter top. As the his skeletal hand searches for the sweet berries, he drifts into a memory from what feels like years ago. He could recall himself making some stupid joke and someone laughing at it. The laugh was near his ear yet soft enough to not hurt the eardrum. The voice added something to the joke but he couldn't remember what nor who. Or maybe he did but didn't want to remember. He was cooking or maybe fruitlessly work on a cure for… something. There was an area of warmth within the seemingly ice cold room come to think of it. However, when he tried to recall who it was or why they were there-
"Sshhit…!"
The berries were completely out again. With that abrupt snap to reality, he began uncharacteristically shoving and clearing the chests and barrels for at least enough berries to fill him for the morning. Luckily for him, he had just enough; even though the berries were clearly overripe and slightly rotting. Despite this, he swung another chest open to grab a cork and almost falling back due to immense head throb he got while doing so. Once he grabbed the clearly used and some what mouldy cork, he began to brew.
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Half a bottle of wine
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A quarter mix of weakness
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A few drops of blindness
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One drop of poison
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And the last few sweet berries for a decent taste.
After a little taste test, he stuck the cork inside the bottle mouth and begrudgingly made his way to the old water elevator. The main entrance at this point was beyond repair with dead branches and leaves littering the flooring. Even the tiles themselves seemed to be decaying or maybe they've become dirt…? Either way he had to get more berries to plant down there instead of having to occasionally travel outside to gather some. As he passed the doorway to the "dining" room, he thought he heard scratching or nibbling on something with a crunch to it. A part of him wanted to go inside the untouched and eerily clean room but something tugged him back. He couldn't care about that now he thought. He didn't hear anything, there's nothing in that room for him anymore.
His face kept flashing briefly in Lukey's mind as he winced. What would he think of him now anyhow? He chuckled somewhat solemnly and took a swig. Once his mind seemingly settled, he began his journey to the dreaded surface.
The sun seemed to pierce through his pupils as he shielded his face from the annoyingly luminous light in the pale blue sky. Judging by the few mandarin coloured leaves fluttering in breeze, it could September… or October… or maybe November? He knew at least it had to be late into the year as the wind pushed him into the world more. The cool air felt comforting at least as he trudged through the piles of leaf litter along the grass. The thought of flying did come to mind, it had been a while. However, flying with an agonizing headache made him feel nauseous. Besides, he didn't even pick up his elytra on the way out anyhow (not even sure where he put the thing regardless).
Taking the scenic route was somewhat refreshing though. Back before everything, he would just fly over all the forests and savannas on the way to spawn but this trek actually made him feel like he had first woken up in this world again. It felt so distant now… the innocence in his eyes, the somewhat naive understanding of how this world worked and… the friends he made… He felt a drop of something lightly kiss his cheek. Wiping it away and another drink helped to combat this watery vision (apparently). Afterwards, he found himself finally at spawn and of course, it's in more ruin than he thought. Most of the structure was essentially gone with the exception of the small pond blanketed in algae. The dark oak trees (at least that he remembered them being, or were they just oak?) were twisting and painfully stretching towards the oddly greyed out sky with no leaves to even photosynthesize with. Wait… wasn't the sky clear just a moment ago? Maybe he was in the forest for too long then but anyhow. As he stumbled past the Spawn, his vision was disrupted by… fog?
H-how? Why!? Whatever, it didn't matter at this point, he just needed the berries. Somewhat determined, he marched wobbly into the opaque fog to hopefully find what remains of the Castle. The only remaining structure he could actually go into (plus he could somewhat recall them having a large supply of food somewhere).
Unfortunately for him, the fog proved too difficult to even navigate through. Even in his non-sober state, he knew he could at least read and remember coordinates well enough but something wasn't adding up. His communicator, old but somewhat usable, said he was in front of the Castle but when he tried to climb its stairs or what remained, he would always fall face first into the prickly grass. His gut was screaming to go back home or maybe GreERROR HOME so he could forget all about this bullshit but something too stubborn to die yet pushed him forward. For roughly 20 minutes, he circled the base but again… no walls, no flowers, not even a creeper hole as the Fog enclosed on him.
The eerie mist began creeping up his ragged legs almost seeping into his skin. It seemed to cling onto to him the longer he stood there for. Even his, admittedly sad, attempts to shake the Fog off proved feeble. Slowly, he felt something stir inside him like a snake slithering around his guts, snail-like and painful. He could barely see the difference between the sky and the ground as the tiniest magenta sparks drearily floated among the dense thicket.
This was where he was gonna die huh? How ironic… how pathetic…
But the universe had another plan as per usual. As Lukey felt the strike of a newly sharpened arrow loge itself into his helmet and slightly slipping into his skull. A yelp that even the Keepers (if those bastards were still around) from the Null could hear bounced along the Fog's dense false walls.
"OW!?!? WHAT THE FUCK MAN!"
"O-OMG I'M SO SORRY!"
Strangely he thought he heard a response. An apology no less…
It wouldn't be his first time hearing or even seeing strange unreal occurrences but this one felt… different somehow. Instinctively, he whipped his head around holding nothing but a fist and his almost empty bottle (how did it get so empty already???) to somehow defend himself. As if on cue, a shadow gradually began to grow and darken through the blurred area followed by rapidly approaching footsteps scurrying throughout the Fog. It felt like the sound came from from every direction, completely cornering him like a small rabbit in the depths of a cave, waiting impatiently for its fate to-
"LUKEY!? I-I thought I was completely alone out here! Where were you!? HOW ARE YOU!? H-HOW ARE YOU LIKE… ALIVE!? Let alone why you haven't corrupted yet- oh my god YOU DON'T HAVE ANY ARMOUR???? WHY??? Wait one sec will ya?"
The rapid fire speech stunned him a bit. Who could blame him really? He just wanted some berries and never leave his base again! Not bump into apparently Oli from what he could make out from the insane amount of layers made from scraps of fabric and armour upon his small frame. His vision seemed to clear slightly as Oli dripped some regeneration brews into Lukey's eyes followed by clearly "well-loved" copper googles being forced onto his scrawny face that he got from his ender chest (Lukey didn't even bother looking in it… too many reminders).
"These should protect you til we get to my base, okay? Also try and not talk too much just in case the corruption fragments get into your system through your mouth and the last I'd want is for you to get corrupted like that ha ha… y'know??" he nervously rambled on as he pulled Lukey up to lean on him for support, almost reopening some scars surely (he definitely heard something pop).
He couldn't quite make out the expression on Oli's scarf-covered face but one could assume it was of slight insanity with a pure heart (hopefully…).
Shakily but reliably, the two walked towards a smaller clearing, well, it was more like Oli led the way with a barely walking Lukey to his base. Throughout the quiet journey, Lukey realised he didn't really know Oli all that well. Like sure, he's spoken to him about the… history of the Realm before but nothing outside his research really. So in the now slightly more awkward silence he tries to speak
"So…. you uh… like do to like uh… do you-"
"Do… I have hobbies?? Is that it?"
"Mmh… mhm…"
"I mean yeah. I'm learning how to draw and build better to keep myself occupied. Oh! I wanted ask you about Pang-"
Oli couldn't finish his sentence before darkness consumed Lukey's world once more. As if his mind couldn't even handle his name.