Misplaced Lens Cap
Xuebing Du
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One Nice Bug Per Day
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"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
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Today's Document
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
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JBB: An Artblog!
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JVL
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
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@player-42
THE EXECUTIONER.
ādon't make your own rules. break all the pre-existing ones.ā
an ask & roleplay blog dedicated to āilluxā player 42 of the mailboxverse. written by mod ray, she/her prononus ic, they/them pronouns ooc. please read rules & boundaries + notes before int.Ā
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It takes her so, so long to track him down. Finding him is one of the hardest things she's ever done in her life. The Watchers are thorough with their work in the code, after all - isolating him as punishment and making sure that people don't get through so that they can revel in the solitary punishment and the sorrow, she can already imagine it. (It makes a part of her heart squeeze - leaving him behind, running away like that, how cowardly - she's Illux, she's unstoppable, unbeatable, she's more than that. And yet, in that moment, she had fled. How pathetic.)
It doesn't matter, though, because she's found him, after all this time of searching. Wandering through the fog and bashing through every single piece of code that tries to stop her, making a path through and forcing it aside through sheer force of will - that is what brought Illux to, finally, the other end. She knows she's near, heartbeat thrumming and fluttering like that of a hummingbird's in anticipation as she sees the first clearings of the fog up above. She's been checking the code every other second to make sure she's still moving forwards, still moving towards him. The anxiety makes her almost ready to puke - so many hours of work, all leading up to this moment where they will finally be reunited.
She pushes through the last remnants of the fog, and makes a break through it, the fog dispersing around her form as she steps through onto grass that is much less green than it should be. The Pale Garden eats away at the colour of things, turns them lifeless, saps the energy from them - Illux knows this well. She's been researching this place, after all. Her boots crush the grass as she approaches, pushing past brushes and trees.
It's a beautiful day outside. The sun shines through the branches, the sound of crows are chirping - and those must be his. Illux remembers that he always inexplicably seemed to have them gather around. She pushes through, step after step, hands shaking with the effort. And then, there it is - the sound of his voice. He is singing.
Illux chases.
(We will be reunited.)
The days go by slowly, sometimes, even more so after Jimmy is gone. He finds himself missing the presence of his friend more and more as time passes, the letters they exchange not enough to fill the gaping, vacant hole in his chest. Jimmy had brought with him this sort of warmth - and he was a man who had never known it before. He is left craving the last ebbing traces of sunshine. To fill in the gaps, he writes. He talks to his crows, and now, he is singing his song. He does not notice the approaching of another person until he hears the cracking of a branch, and his voice comes to a trembling halt. Nobody had told him that they were coming. Is someone here to hurt him? It could be a surprise visit, but he doesn't want to assume.
The guitar is set aside, and he pulls out his sword with practiced ease. Why is it so easy? Why is it natural? What life has he lived before? And then, he waits. Waits for someone to come.
And come she does.
She steps into the clearing, eerily familiar, and yet a stranger all the same. Her long green hair, the black streaks in them, the eyes that are red - they are things that hold this sense of deja vu, in dreams that he scrambles to remember. He remembers the rain, the billboards, the neon signs - who was she? The woman that had been haunting his dreams for the past few weeks? He could get his answers now it seemed, because inexplicably, she is standing in front of him. Right up in the path that leads up to his house, she stands, hands shaking, eyes wide.
They hold eye contact. He opens his mouth to speak, to say something, anything - what's going on, why have you been in my dreams? But she speaks first.
"Lethe," she breathes, and-
("Lethe, soldier boy, you're gonna do me a favour-"
"Lethe, my friend-"
"Lethe, my most valiant knight, I beseech this of you-"
"Protect him with your life, Lethe-"
"Lethe!"
"Lethe, what are you up to?")
It's his name. His name, she knows him, she's known him from this before, this before, this thing he thought he almost might have not had. The thing he - Lethe! - has been searching for, for so long, she has come and she brings questions but an answer and she brings his name and his face opens into the widest smile he's had in so long.
"Is that my name?" He breathes, out loud, staring at her with wide eyes.
She frowns back at him. "What do you mean?" She says, and that excitement that had been on her face has now twisted into this confusion that makes Lethe's mouth go dry.
"I..." He tries to form a word, a sentence.
"Lethe, what do you mean, is that my name?" Her voice comes out sharper, now.
"I'm sorry, it's just - who are you?"
Everything comes to a sickening halt, when Lethe asks her that question. It's like the world has fallen, shattered into pieces before her very eyes. Lethe doesn't look at her with that recognition that he usually has - he's staring at her with wide, confused eyes. He's so genuine, too - who are you? There's no way They could have taken his memories, too. And his eyes, dear Gods his eyes - purple, the same shade that They had. Is this his punishment? The punishment he had to take in place of her? To be wiped to almost a clean slate? How ironic - his eyes are purple, because they watch. A permanent reminder of her failure.
"Lethe," she breathes, shaky. She's started to tremble as she stumbles towards him. She expects for him to run away, to step backwards, but in a moment, he's in front of her, grasping her hands.
"Hey, it's okay, I'm here," he soothes her. He shouldn't be soothing her. She should be helping him. He's always been the one helping her, over and over and over again, being her anchor, the voice of reason. "It's okay."
"I'm Illux," Illux says, hands still shaking. "I'm your sister." She watches in real time as his eyes widen, watches how he realizes. She's from his before, before everything happened, before she had that stupid idea, before she fucked everything up. Before. Before, before, before she'd gotten him trapped here.
"My... my sister?" Lethe asks, voice also beginning to falter. "You're my sister, Illux?"
"Yeah," Illux says, and then takes in a deep breath. A deep, deep breath in. "We used to travel with one another to all sorts of servers, before that event happened. But - that's not the point. I'm here. I'm here and I'm going to get you out, okay? I've figured out a way to get me in and out, and I might have to ask someone else for help, but I'm going to get you out of here."
It's so strange. One moment, he is alone, and the next, he has a sister, tellig him she's going to get him out of here. His head spins with unanswered questions, with queries that haunt him. His nightmares, the before, who had he been, what had happened? What event had spurred this all to happen? But for now, there's so much going on. He invites her in. Makes her tea. Illux tells him he always used to make tea this way for her, too. They share stories. He tells her about all the mailboxes, and meeting his friends. She tells him about how she'd gotten involved in some scheme about beheading a guy. Lethe can't help but chuckle - for some reason, that feels right when associating that with Illux.
They talk. He asks questions. She hesitates before answering, sometimes, like she's considering lying. He asks about his past, and Illux shakes her head. "Let's not talk about that right now, with all that I've already dropped on you, I don't think you could handle it." The worst part is that she's right. She knows him well, if he had doubted her words before, he can't now. She reads his body language like it's second nature, catches onto what he really means to say - she knows him, knows who he is, knows what kind of person that he is. They talk. She tells him about the event.
Apparently, Illux had decided it was a great idea to hack into a game of these creatures called the Watchers, and he had wanted to go with her to protect her (and he knows he would do that kind of thing. It's just in his nature). They had caught him instead of her, and he had been sentenced to this entire thing in the pale garden. That is why he had been stuck in this limbo for ages.
At first, Lethe wants to blame her. He wants to blame her for everything he's gone through. He had breathed in deeply, hands tightening around his cup, and then he had left to go outside. Illux had watched him, and then when he had come inside, asked if he was angry.
He told her he was upset, but that he wasn't going to take it out on her. Illux's shoulders, which had been tensed, relaxed. He asked if he did that before. Illux shook her head, and told him that she was just anxious. He left it at that. So they turned to better topics.
Back to better stories. Better times. They didn't talk more about the past, or his unanswered questions. He made her laugh, she made him laugh, and through the course of that night, Lethe came to understand why they were siblings.
Morning comes too fast, and after Illux crashes on his couch, she's up bright and early.
"Do you want some breakfast?" Lethe offers her, but she shakes her head.
"I gotta get going," she says, and watches in real time how his face seems to fall like that of a kicked puppy. "I gotta figure out how to get you outta here, soldier boy." It's an old nickname that Lethe, thankfully, doesn't question. "And that'll take some time. But of course, I'll make it happen. Wanna walk me to the edge of the fog?"
Lethe, whose voice is thick with emotion, agrees to it. They walk together down the path, through the woods.
"I walk down to this lake a lot," Lethe tells her as they continue to trek together. "It's very nice. I go swimming in it sometimes, too. It has a lot of good memories. Even though this feels like limbo, sometimes, interferences from the outside world and other people make it so much less lonely. And - thank you. Thank you for working so hard to get me out of here. I appreciate that a lot, 'lux."
Illux had grabbed at the bottom of her shirt, the old nickname causing her breath to catch. "Yeah," she agrees, and blinks back tears. "Of course, Lethe. It's my fault you were in here, after all. So I gotta get you out. And if I can't get you out for a bit, I'll just start kidnapping people to come visit you so that you can have fun, okay?"
"Okay," Lethe agrees, with that soft sort of smile he always wore when he was placating her - but this time, it's mixed with this sort of hungry desire she hasn't seen on his face in a long while. "Of course." He wants to see more people, clearly.
They walk in silence until they reach of the edge of the fog. Illux pokes a finger into it, and it puffs around her finger. She laughs. "It's sort of cold, isn't it? It's not that bad to walk through, thou-" She barely has time to get the rest of her sentence out before her brother is grabbing her and pulling her into a hug, those tight hugs that he used to give her after she came back from doing something stupid. Don't fucking do that to me again, he had muttered as he had squeezed her so hard she thought her bones were going to break. Now, he tells her-
"Please, come back."
"Yeah, of course I will," she promises.
They don't let go for an amount of time that could have been minutes, maybe hours. But when they do, Lethe looks away, blinking back his own tears.
"It was good to see you again," he tells her.
"You too, Lethe."
He watches her disappear into the fog, and prays that she will come back, just like she promised.
(I won't abandon you this time, Lethe.)
It takes her so, so long to track him down. Finding him is one of the hardest things she's ever done in her life. The Watchers are thorough with their work in the code, after all - isolating him as punishment and making sure that people don't get through so that they can revel in the solitary punishment and the sorrow, she can already imagine it. (It makes a part of her heart squeeze - leaving him behind, running away like that, how cowardly - she's Illux, she's unstoppable, unbeatable, she's more than that. And yet, in that moment, she had fled. How pathetic.)
It doesn't matter, though, because she's found him, after all this time of searching. Wandering through the fog and bashing through every single piece of code that tries to stop her, making a path through and forcing it aside through sheer force of will - that is what brought Illux to, finally, the other end. She knows she's near, heartbeat thrumming and fluttering like that of a hummingbird's in anticipation as she sees the first clearings of the fog up above. She's been checking the code every other second to make sure she's still moving forwards, still moving towards him. The anxiety makes her almost ready to puke - so many hours of work, all leading up to this moment where they will finally be reunited.
She pushes through the last remnants of the fog, and makes a break through it, the fog dispersing around her form as she steps through onto grass that is much less green than it should be. The Pale Garden eats away at the colour of things, turns them lifeless, saps the energy from them - Illux knows this well. She's been researching this place, after all. Her boots crush the grass as she approaches, pushing past brushes and trees.
It's a beautiful day outside. The sun shines through the branches, the sound of crows are chirping - and those must be his. Illux remembers that he always inexplicably seemed to have them gather around. She pushes through, step after step, hands shaking with the effort. And then, there it is - the sound of his voice. He is singing.
Illux chases.
(We will be reunited.)
The days go by slowly, sometimes, even more so after Jimmy is gone. He finds himself missing the presence of his friend more and more as time passes, the letters they exchange not enough to fill the gaping, vacant hole in his chest. Jimmy had brought with him this sort of warmth - and he was a man who had never known it before. He is left craving the last ebbing traces of sunshine. To fill in the gaps, he writes. He talks to his crows, and now, he is singing his song. He does not notice the approaching of another person until he hears the cracking of a branch, and his voice comes to a trembling halt. Nobody had told him that they were coming. Is someone here to hurt him? It could be a surprise visit, but he doesn't want to assume.
The guitar is set aside, and he pulls out his sword with practiced ease. Why is it so easy? Why is it natural? What life has he lived before? And then, he waits. Waits for someone to come.
And come she does.
She steps into the clearing, eerily familiar, and yet a stranger all the same. Her long green hair, the black streaks in them, the eyes that are red - they are things that hold this sense of deja vu, in dreams that he scrambles to remember. He remembers the rain, the billboards, the neon signs - who was she? The woman that had been haunting his dreams for the past few weeks? He could get his answers now it seemed, because inexplicably, she is standing in front of him. Right up in the path that leads up to his house, she stands, hands shaking, eyes wide.
They hold eye contact. He opens his mouth to speak, to say something, anything - what's going on, why have you been in my dreams? But she speaks first.
"Lethe," she breathes, and-
("Lethe, soldier boy, you're gonna do me a favour-"
"Lethe, my friend-"
"Lethe, my most valiant knight, I beseech this of you-"
"Protect him with your life, Lethe-"
"Lethe!"
"Lethe, what are you up to?")
It's his name. His name, she knows him, she's known him from this before, this before, this thing he thought he almost might have not had. The thing he - Lethe! - has been searching for, for so long, she has come and she brings questions but an answer and she brings his name and his face opens into the widest smile he's had in so long.
"Is that my name?" He breathes, out loud, staring at her with wide eyes.
She frowns back at him. "What do you mean?" She says, and that excitement that had been on her face has now twisted into this confusion that makes Lethe's mouth go dry.
"I..." He tries to form a word, a sentence.
"Lethe, what do you mean, is that my name?" Her voice comes out sharper, now.
"I'm sorry, it's just - who are you?"
Everything comes to a sickening halt, when Lethe asks her that question. It's like the world has fallen, shattered into pieces before her very eyes. Lethe doesn't look at her with that recognition that he usually has - he's staring at her with wide, confused eyes. He's so genuine, too - who are you? There's no way They could have taken his memories, too. And his eyes, dear Gods his eyes - purple, the same shade that They had. Is this his punishment? The punishment he had to take in place of her? To be wiped to almost a clean slate? How ironic - his eyes are purple, because they watch. A permanent reminder of her failure.
"Lethe," she breathes, shaky. She's started to tremble as she stumbles towards him. She expects for him to run away, to step backwards, but in a moment, he's in front of her, grasping her hands.
"Hey, it's okay, I'm here," he soothes her. He shouldn't be soothing her. She should be helping him. He's always been the one helping her, over and over and over again, being her anchor, the voice of reason. "It's okay."
"I'm Illux," Illux says, hands still shaking. "I'm your sister." She watches in real time as his eyes widen, watches how he realizes. She's from his before, before everything happened, before she had that stupid idea, before she fucked everything up. Before. Before, before, before she'd gotten him trapped here.
"My... my sister?" Lethe asks, voice also beginning to falter. "You're my sister, Illux?"
"Yeah," Illux says, and then takes in a deep breath. A deep, deep breath in. "We used to travel with one another to all sorts of servers, before that event happened. But - that's not the point. I'm here. I'm here and I'm going to get you out, okay? I've figured out a way to get me in and out, and I might have to ask someone else for help, but I'm going to get you out of here."
It takes her so, so long to track him down. Finding him is one of the hardest things she's ever done in her life. The Watchers are thorough with their work in the code, after all - isolating him as punishment and making sure that people don't get through so that they can revel in the solitary punishment and the sorrow, she can already imagine it. (It makes a part of her heart squeeze - leaving him behind, running away like that, how cowardly - she's Illux, she's unstoppable, unbeatable, she's more than that. And yet, in that moment, she had fled. How pathetic.)
It doesn't matter, though, because she's found him, after all this time of searching. Wandering through the fog and bashing through every single piece of code that tries to stop her, making a path through and forcing it aside through sheer force of will - that is what brought Illux to, finally, the other end. She knows she's near, heartbeat thrumming and fluttering like that of a hummingbird's in anticipation as she sees the first clearings of the fog up above. She's been checking the code every other second to make sure she's still moving forwards, still moving towards him. The anxiety makes her almost ready to puke - so many hours of work, all leading up to this moment where they will finally be reunited.
She pushes through the last remnants of the fog, and makes a break through it, the fog dispersing around her form as she steps through onto grass that is much less green than it should be. The Pale Garden eats away at the colour of things, turns them lifeless, saps the energy from them - Illux knows this well. She's been researching this place, after all. Her boots crush the grass as she approaches, pushing past brushes and trees.
It's a beautiful day outside. The sun shines through the branches, the sound of crows are chirping - and those must be his. Illux remembers that he always inexplicably seemed to have them gather around. She pushes through, step after step, hands shaking with the effort. And then, there it is - the sound of his voice. He is singing.
Illux chases.
(We will be reunited.)
Written in perfectly printed text - entirely anonymous, with no hints to who the sender is, this is written.
Martyn, I know where your wither is. Should you wish to have him returned to you, please head to the coordinates of 44, 68, 110. He will be there, safe, and ready to go home with you.
[Martyn stared at the note. Was this Pearl? Thatād make no sense, Pearl has very distinct handwriting, maybe someone kidnapped Steve?]
[Yeah, thatās it. Martyn scowled, heād teach them quite a few lessons in that case. One of which was how bad getting your head chopped off hurts.]
[The weird code weapon was unreliable, so he quickly grabbed an axe from Renās collection, the blade was blunt but with enough force and a few whacks itād get the job done.]
[He also gathered his army of a skeletal dog and axolotl. Yes, this display of strength would really show the kidnapper not to mess with him.]
[Martyn set off, he could make the distance on foot as it wasnāt too far. He soon arrived at the coordinates on the letter, squinting at them, and then at his communicator for confirmation. Yep. This was the place.]
Ah, and here he was, like a fool, walking blindly into a very obvious trap. Having a skeletal dog and an axolotl didn't mean jack shit in the face of Illux's wrath.
It starts out as a giggle, before descending into a series of laughs that sounds like it could come right out of a horror movie. Watching him stand in the middle of a clearing, looking around like an idiot? Now this - this was prime entertainment material.
It starts with red. Red gleaming from between tree branches, peering at him from high, and then low. Flashes of glowing red 'x's peer at Martyn from all sides, an all-encompassing feeling of dread coming with them as they seem to come closer, and closer, and closer, and then-
"Hello, Martyn," she says, stepping out from the trees and into the clearing, twirling a lock of green and black hair around her finger idly. She holds no weapon in her hands, but the smile on her face is truly a wicked thing, as she gazes at him like he is something to be devoured, to be eaten, to be hunted-
To be killed.
"I'm so excited to meet you," she purrs, slinking closer, step after step. There is something familiar about her. Something terrifying about the smile. She looks like some sort of witch - beautiful, yet absolutely without a shred of sanity in every fibre of her being, everything that makes up her code. "I've been waiting for some time to come and see you, after all."
[He drew in a sharp breath, eyes flitting warily from x to x.]
[Was this some new game-breaking mechanic from Doc? But that wouldnāt make sense, the guy was terrified of his wither, surely he wouldnāt go out of his way to kidnap the wither from Pearl and take it out there, heād just lie about it!]
[ā¦Oh. Yeah no, thatād make sense.]
[However, the person that approached was definitely not Doc.]
[His communicator began insistently buzzing. He glanced at it, it was just a stream of profanities and keyboard smashes. Eh, he could deal with it later. Martyn turned it off.]
āWhereās Steve?ā
[He snarled, raising his axe and pointing it at the thing infront of him.]
"Well, how should I know that?" Illux drawled, letting the lock of hair she'd been twirling around fall. "I don't have him. Your precious little Steve is safe and sound though, I promise. I heard that someone else has him."
She looks at the assortment of pets Martyn has around him, and she can't help but laugh. "Awee, you got a doggy. A cute little doggy. Y'think that tiny little thing can rip me to shreds?" Illux could almost be offended... almost. However, she doesn't feel like killing an animal, even if it's all... gross, and skeletal. "I'm feeling nice... you should tell your little dog to run away. I'm not in the business of harming pets, after all. The poor things!" She pouts.
For all of Martyn's threatening, she seems entirely unbothered. She doesn't even take out a weapon in retaliation to his threats, instead smiling more, finding it more amusing than anything else.
"That axe though... that's cute. You think you can beat me with that?" Illux sighs, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was expecting something a little... more, but oh well. Your performance the other week," she says, drawing more near. "Against the goat man. Doc. You pulled an axe out of nowhere. Quite the little feat, Martyn. How did you do it?" Curiosity goes first, after all, even though she knows exactly how he did it, Illux wants to know how he'll respond. That'll make for a more... entertaining buildup, after all.
[Panic was very swiftly building in him, first of all, threatening his dog wasnāt cool at all, secondly, yeah, actually he did think he could kill her, and thirdly, how on earth did she know about his axe trick the other day?]
[Martyn took a few steps back, narrowing his eyes.]
āI aināt tellinā you nothinā. If ya havenāt got anythinā important for me, Iāll just go home rather then wasting my time here.ā
[His dog, having the right idea here, ducked behind Martyn. The axolotl just sort of squirmed across the floor to join it.]
"Aww, that's cute," Illux coos, incredibly patronizing. "That's adorable. It's so cute that you think you can walk out of this without any consequences. Y'see, Martyn," and every step is deliberate, controlled perfectly to inspire fear. Code crackles and breaks at her fingertips, a void of hungry nothingness splitting open, neon red at the edges. "You're not the only one who has access to the code."
The way it gnaws at the fabric of reality is controlled, precisely so - an incredible amount of pull and sway over the code (and concentration, as she advances, like a predator hungry for the blood of its prey) as it opens up, numbers to wood and metal. Illux's hands grasp the handle of a weapon, and the world behind her opens up, collapsing momentarily to make room for the sheer size of the weapon that she wishes to create. It's like lightning, the way it seizes and churns and twists and turns, forming into something it shouldn't.
The handle is perfect in Illux's hands as the last of the code fits into place to reveal a massive scythe, made out of dark oak and wicked metal. She handles it with practised ease, having clearly done this a hundred times before, and in the sunlight, instead of reflecting light off of it, it glows the same red as her eyes. The smile on her face is wild as she brandishes her weapon, giving it a twirl just for the sake of it.
"Tell your Doctor that I say hello, and that I've just been dying for the chance to rip into his throat." She laughs, the sound coming out all wrong all horrible and all pure amusement. Illux is taking pleasure in his misery. Illux is thriving off of his fear, and she wants him to know it right down to his bone marrow.
[Martyn opened his mouth to scream, raised his arms to protect his face and then froze.]
[There was no sign of life, he didnāt appear to be breathing or blinking, he was more statue then human.]
[A pop-up appeared infront of him, white box with a light blue line across the top. The text read:]
ā1nTh3L1ttl3C0d3.exe has crashed. Retry?ā
[Along the bottom were the options for yes, no and cancel.]
By the time that the pop-up has shown up, Illux has already swung her scythe with a gleeful cackle. The cut is clean - perfect - slicing through his neck with an efficiency and accuracy that speaks to how both the fact that she has done this before, and also her skill in the art of murder.
Martyn's head goes clean off just a moment after he's frozen in place, and blood splatters against Illux's face, delight in her smile that's a little too wide to be comfortable. His head hits the ground and rolls before turning into a puff, signalling a respawn.
He had been terrified. The look on his face had been glorious.
Illux throws her head back and laughs.
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Written in perfectly printed text - entirely anonymous, with no hints to who the sender is, this is written.
Martyn, I know where your wither is. Should you wish to have him returned to you, please head to the coordinates of 44, 68, 110. He will be there, safe, and ready to go home with you.
[Martyn stared at the note. Was this Pearl? Thatād make no sense, Pearl has very distinct handwriting, maybe someone kidnapped Steve?]
[Yeah, thatās it. Martyn scowled, heād teach them quite a few lessons in that case. One of which was how bad getting your head chopped off hurts.]
[The weird code weapon was unreliable, so he quickly grabbed an axe from Renās collection, the blade was blunt but with enough force and a few whacks itād get the job done.]
[He also gathered his army of a skeletal dog and axolotl. Yes, this display of strength would really show the kidnapper not to mess with him.]
[Martyn set off, he could make the distance on foot as it wasnāt too far. He soon arrived at the coordinates on the letter, squinting at them, and then at his communicator for confirmation. Yep. This was the place.]
Ah, and here he was, like a fool, walking blindly into a very obvious trap. Having a skeletal dog and an axolotl didn't mean jack shit in the face of Illux's wrath.
It starts out as a giggle, before descending into a series of laughs that sounds like it could come right out of a horror movie. Watching him stand in the middle of a clearing, looking around like an idiot? Now this - this was prime entertainment material.
It starts with red. Red gleaming from between tree branches, peering at him from high, and then low. Flashes of glowing red 'x's peer at Martyn from all sides, an all-encompassing feeling of dread coming with them as they seem to come closer, and closer, and closer, and then-
"Hello, Martyn," she says, stepping out from the trees and into the clearing, twirling a lock of green and black hair around her finger idly. She holds no weapon in her hands, but the smile on her face is truly a wicked thing, as she gazes at him like he is something to be devoured, to be eaten, to be hunted-
To be killed.
"I'm so excited to meet you," she purrs, slinking closer, step after step. There is something familiar about her. Something terrifying about the smile. She looks like some sort of witch - beautiful, yet absolutely without a shred of sanity in every fibre of her being, everything that makes up her code. "I've been waiting for some time to come and see you, after all."
[He drew in a sharp breath, eyes flitting warily from x to x.]
[Was this some new game-breaking mechanic from Doc? But that wouldnāt make sense, the guy was terrified of his wither, surely he wouldnāt go out of his way to kidnap the wither from Pearl and take it out there, heād just lie about it!]
[ā¦Oh. Yeah no, thatād make sense.]
[However, the person that approached was definitely not Doc.]
[His communicator began insistently buzzing. He glanced at it, it was just a stream of profanities and keyboard smashes. Eh, he could deal with it later. Martyn turned it off.]
āWhereās Steve?ā
[He snarled, raising his axe and pointing it at the thing infront of him.]
"Well, how should I know that?" Illux drawled, letting the lock of hair she'd been twirling around fall. "I don't have him. Your precious little Steve is safe and sound though, I promise. I heard that someone else has him."
She looks at the assortment of pets Martyn has around him, and she can't help but laugh. "Awee, you got a doggy. A cute little doggy. Y'think that tiny little thing can rip me to shreds?" Illux could almost be offended... almost. However, she doesn't feel like killing an animal, even if it's all... gross, and skeletal. "I'm feeling nice... you should tell your little dog to run away. I'm not in the business of harming pets, after all. The poor things!" She pouts.
For all of Martyn's threatening, she seems entirely unbothered. She doesn't even take out a weapon in retaliation to his threats, instead smiling more, finding it more amusing than anything else.
"That axe though... that's cute. You think you can beat me with that?" Illux sighs, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was expecting something a little... more, but oh well. Your performance the other week," she says, drawing more near. "Against the goat man. Doc. You pulled an axe out of nowhere. Quite the little feat, Martyn. How did you do it?" Curiosity goes first, after all, even though she knows exactly how he did it, Illux wants to know how he'll respond. That'll make for a more... entertaining buildup, after all.
[Panic was very swiftly building in him, first of all, threatening his dog wasnāt cool at all, secondly, yeah, actually he did think he could kill her, and thirdly, how on earth did she know about his axe trick the other day?]
[Martyn took a few steps back, narrowing his eyes.]
āI aināt tellinā you nothinā. If ya havenāt got anythinā important for me, Iāll just go home rather then wasting my time here.ā
[His dog, having the right idea here, ducked behind Martyn. The axolotl just sort of squirmed across the floor to join it.]
"Aww, that's cute," Illux coos, incredibly patronizing. "That's adorable. It's so cute that you think you can walk out of this without any consequences. Y'see, Martyn," and every step is deliberate, controlled perfectly to inspire fear. Code crackles and breaks at her fingertips, a void of hungry nothingness splitting open, neon red at the edges. "You're not the only one who has access to the code."
The way it gnaws at the fabric of reality is controlled, precisely so - an incredible amount of pull and sway over the code (and concentration, as she advances, like a predator hungry for the blood of its prey) as it opens up, numbers to wood and metal. Illux's hands grasp the handle of a weapon, and the world behind her opens up, collapsing momentarily to make room for the sheer size of the weapon that she wishes to create. It's like lightning, the way it seizes and churns and twists and turns, forming into something it shouldn't.
The handle is perfect in Illux's hands as the last of the code fits into place to reveal a massive scythe, made out of dark oak and wicked metal. She handles it with practised ease, having clearly done this a hundred times before, and in the sunlight, instead of reflecting light off of it, it glows the same red as her eyes. The smile on her face is wild as she brandishes her weapon, giving it a twirl just for the sake of it.
"Tell your Doctor that I say hello, and that I've just been dying for the chance to rip into his throat." She laughs, the sound coming out all wrong all horrible and all pure amusement. Illux is taking pleasure in his misery. Illux is thriving off of his fear, and she wants him to know it right down to his bone marrow.
Written in perfectly printed text - entirely anonymous, with no hints to who the sender is, this is written.
Martyn, I know where your wither is. Should you wish to have him returned to you, please head to the coordinates of 44, 68, 110. He will be there, safe, and ready to go home with you.
[Martyn stared at the note. Was this Pearl? Thatād make no sense, Pearl has very distinct handwriting, maybe someone kidnapped Steve?]
[Yeah, thatās it. Martyn scowled, heād teach them quite a few lessons in that case. One of which was how bad getting your head chopped off hurts.]
[The weird code weapon was unreliable, so he quickly grabbed an axe from Renās collection, the blade was blunt but with enough force and a few whacks itād get the job done.]
[He also gathered his army of a skeletal dog and axolotl. Yes, this display of strength would really show the kidnapper not to mess with him.]
[Martyn set off, he could make the distance on foot as it wasnāt too far. He soon arrived at the coordinates on the letter, squinting at them, and then at his communicator for confirmation. Yep. This was the place.]
Ah, and here he was, like a fool, walking blindly into a very obvious trap. Having a skeletal dog and an axolotl didn't mean jack shit in the face of Illux's wrath.
It starts out as a giggle, before descending into a series of laughs that sounds like it could come right out of a horror movie. Watching him stand in the middle of a clearing, looking around like an idiot? Now this - this was prime entertainment material.
It starts with red. Red gleaming from between tree branches, peering at him from high, and then low. Flashes of glowing red 'x's peer at Martyn from all sides, an all-encompassing feeling of dread coming with them as they seem to come closer, and closer, and closer, and then-
"Hello, Martyn," she says, stepping out from the trees and into the clearing, twirling a lock of green and black hair around her finger idly. She holds no weapon in her hands, but the smile on her face is truly a wicked thing, as she gazes at him like he is something to be devoured, to be eaten, to be hunted-
To be killed.
"I'm so excited to meet you," she purrs, slinking closer, step after step. There is something familiar about her. Something terrifying about the smile. She looks like some sort of witch - beautiful, yet absolutely without a shred of sanity in every fibre of her being, everything that makes up her code. "I've been waiting for some time to come and see you, after all."
[He drew in a sharp breath, eyes flitting warily from x to x.]
[Was this some new game-breaking mechanic from Doc? But that wouldnāt make sense, the guy was terrified of his wither, surely he wouldnāt go out of his way to kidnap the wither from Pearl and take it out there, heād just lie about it!]
[ā¦Oh. Yeah no, thatād make sense.]
[However, the person that approached was definitely not Doc.]
[His communicator began insistently buzzing. He glanced at it, it was just a stream of profanities and keyboard smashes. Eh, he could deal with it later. Martyn turned it off.]
āWhereās Steve?ā
[He snarled, raising his axe and pointing it at the thing infront of him.]
"Well, how should I know that?" Illux drawled, letting the lock of hair she'd been twirling around fall. "I don't have him. Your precious little Steve is safe and sound though, I promise. I heard that someone else has him."
She looks at the assortment of pets Martyn has around him, and she can't help but laugh. "Awee, you got a doggy. A cute little doggy. Y'think that tiny little thing can rip me to shreds?" Illux could almost be offended... almost. However, she doesn't feel like killing an animal, even if it's all... gross, and skeletal. "I'm feeling nice... you should tell your little dog to run away. I'm not in the business of harming pets, after all. The poor things!" She pouts.
For all of Martyn's threatening, she seems entirely unbothered. She doesn't even take out a weapon in retaliation to his threats, instead smiling more, finding it more amusing than anything else.
"That axe though... that's cute. You think you can beat me with that?" Illux sighs, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was expecting something a little... more, but oh well. Your performance the other week," she says, drawing more near. "Against the goat man. Doc. You pulled an axe out of nowhere. Quite the little feat, Martyn. How did you do it?" Curiosity goes first, after all, even though she knows exactly how he did it, Illux wants to know how he'll respond. That'll make for a more... entertaining buildup, after all.
Written in perfectly printed text - entirely anonymous, with no hints to who the sender is, this is written.
Martyn, I know where your wither is. Should you wish to have him returned to you, please head to the coordinates of 44, 68, 110. He will be there, safe, and ready to go home with you.
[Martyn stared at the note. Was this Pearl? Thatād make no sense, Pearl has very distinct handwriting, maybe someone kidnapped Steve?]
[Yeah, thatās it. Martyn scowled, heād teach them quite a few lessons in that case. One of which was how bad getting your head chopped off hurts.]
[The weird code weapon was unreliable, so he quickly grabbed an axe from Renās collection, the blade was blunt but with enough force and a few whacks itād get the job done.]
[He also gathered his army of a skeletal dog and axolotl. Yes, this display of strength would really show the kidnapper not to mess with him.]
[Martyn set off, he could make the distance on foot as it wasnāt too far. He soon arrived at the coordinates on the letter, squinting at them, and then at his communicator for confirmation. Yep. This was the place.]
Ah, and here he was, like a fool, walking blindly into a very obvious trap. Having a skeletal dog and an axolotl didn't mean jack shit in the face of Illux's wrath.
It starts out as a giggle, before descending into a series of laughs that sounds like it could come right out of a horror movie. Watching him stand in the middle of a clearing, looking around like an idiot? Now this - this was prime entertainment material.
It starts with red. Red gleaming from between tree branches, peering at him from high, and then low. Flashes of glowing red 'x's peer at Martyn from all sides, an all-encompassing feeling of dread coming with them as they seem to come closer, and closer, and closer, and then-
"Hello, Martyn," she says, stepping out from the trees and into the clearing, twirling a lock of green and black hair around her finger idly. She holds no weapon in her hands, but the smile on her face is truly a wicked thing, as she gazes at him like he is something to be devoured, to be eaten, to be hunted-
To be killed.
"I'm so excited to meet you," she purrs, slinking closer, step after step. There is something familiar about her. Something terrifying about the smile. She looks like some sort of witch - beautiful, yet absolutely without a shred of sanity in every fibre of her being, everything that makes up her code. "I've been waiting for some time to come and see you, after all."
Word gets around quick.
There was something about what he heard, some idea creeping in the back of his head. Wrong as he knew it was, he couldnāt denyā it was enticing. Enticing to be able to show this prick Martyn Littlewood what it meant to start a war with people other than himself.
Doc held the name tag in his hand.
And with a swift motion, something sprang into view.
I donāt know if this is too far, butā¦ Iāve been thinking up a way to lure him somewhere. Care to listen?
@docs-mailbox
There's a tug in the code, and Illux is being pulled through it to appear before Doc, axe still in hand. She had been cutting down a few trees (honestly for the fun of it) and had been hanging around by herself in the small cabin she'd built in the woods for herself - if she was going to be staying, best to make a residence. However, she appears with a grin on her face, knowing exactly what this is about if she's been called by Doc.
"Too far? I doubt many things in this situation are too far, considering the base that Martyn has laid out for me in terms of how far he's willing to go. What's your plan, Doc?" The axe is exchanged for a piece of bread that she begins to gnaw on, tilting her head expectantly for him to explain his plan.
The new chairs are quite sturdy. He pulls one up and takes a seat, then raises his chest as he takes a single sharp breath in.
His pet Wither, itāsā¦
Missing.
His fingers are balled up, interlocked with each other.
Been confiscated. Martyn doesnāt know where he is, and we donāt know where he is. Only Pearl knows where he is.
ā¦but, you knowā¦
ā¦he doesnāt know we donāt know where he is. So, hypothetically, if you sent an anonymous note with some coordinates, something about finding his witherā¦
This feels like too much, is thisā
Heās laughing now.
Is this too far? I mean, I gave him a chance to step down, and he wanted a warā¦ soā¦
"Well, I don't think it's too far," this hardly seems like a war to Illux. This is just two men who are providing entertainment to her, honestly. It doesn't seem like too many other people are directly involved, and a war feels like far too big a word to describe this. This feels more like a spat between two bitter people.
"You gave him an opportunity to back out, and he didn't take it. It's only natural to escalate," she shrugs. However, when she mulls over the plan, a smile spreads across her face.
"Oh? His wither? And you're suggesting we... lure him in, and then I can kill him? Oh, Doc, you devious man!" She pats him on the back, almost a little too hard. "At least we're not killing his actual pet! He should be grateful." She flips some of her hair over her shoulder for dramatic effect and flair.
Doc leans forward, having vanquished every trace of doubt in his mind.
How good are you at forgery? Because, um, heās not going to want to hear this from me.
"Forgery? You've come to the right gal!" Illux is great at pretending to people she isn't. "Do you just want it to be completely anonymous, or do you want me to pretend that I'm sending it from someone I'm not?" The way this guy thinks is evil. Illux loves it.
I think the best route would be to go anonymous? Heād probably take any tips he can get. Thatās just what I think, end of the day, itās up to you. As long as he gets whatās coming to him.
He leans back in his chair.
The guyās got a complicated relationship with Watchers, if that sways you one way or another. Just saying.
"I think if we really wanna catch him off guard, I'll make it neutral sounding. Just a statement. Being too friendly or too mean will set him too on guard. Well, everything might set him on guard. Best to just make it the most neutral sounding thing ever, which is kinda boring, but the main event will make it even more exciting..." Illux taps her foot against the ground as she speaks, restlessly. "But I can do anonymous. I'll make it unidentifiable!" She looks at him. "Can I borrow a pen and paper?"
Oh, yeah, uh, give me a secondā
He rummages through his drawers and cabinets, eventually pulling out some paper and a reddish-black pen. Nearly runs right into Illux speeding back to hand her the writing utensil.
Here.
And he lets out a bit of an evil laugh, he canāt help it, really.
Iām excited, Illux, I am so excited to see this.
It's funny, how excited Doc is to pull this off - but Illux can't judge, she's just as excited with the way that she nearly rips the pen out of his hands, before taking the paper a little more carefully. She doesn't want to rip it, after all. Her grin is just as evil as she finds a nearby surface to write on. "I am also very, very excited," she informs him in a gleeful tone as she begins to write, slow, but dedicated. "This is going to be the best thing ever. It's gonna go down in the most dramatic way possible," she pauses to look over her handwriting before she continues. "There'll be so much... well, excitement to be had." With deliberate strokes, she crafts her letter to Martyn, and although she nearly wants to shake with excitement and bounce around the room, Illux forces herself to focus. She writes, and then, she hands over the letter to Doc to look over.
"Does this seem good?"
Slow nod.
Itās perfect.
His words are drawn out at a low whisper.
Send it over.
Illux grins so wide she swears it hurts her face.
"On it."
This is going to be good.
Word gets around quick.
There was something about what he heard, some idea creeping in the back of his head. Wrong as he knew it was, he couldnāt denyā it was enticing. Enticing to be able to show this prick Martyn Littlewood what it meant to start a war with people other than himself.
Doc held the name tag in his hand.
And with a swift motion, something sprang into view.
I donāt know if this is too far, butā¦ Iāve been thinking up a way to lure him somewhere. Care to listen?
@docs-mailbox
There's a tug in the code, and Illux is being pulled through it to appear before Doc, axe still in hand. She had been cutting down a few trees (honestly for the fun of it) and had been hanging around by herself in the small cabin she'd built in the woods for herself - if she was going to be staying, best to make a residence. However, she appears with a grin on her face, knowing exactly what this is about if she's been called by Doc.
"Too far? I doubt many things in this situation are too far, considering the base that Martyn has laid out for me in terms of how far he's willing to go. What's your plan, Doc?" The axe is exchanged for a piece of bread that she begins to gnaw on, tilting her head expectantly for him to explain his plan.
The new chairs are quite sturdy. He pulls one up and takes a seat, then raises his chest as he takes a single sharp breath in.
His pet Wither, itāsā¦
Missing.
His fingers are balled up, interlocked with each other.
Been confiscated. Martyn doesnāt know where he is, and we donāt know where he is. Only Pearl knows where he is.
ā¦but, you knowā¦
ā¦he doesnāt know we donāt know where he is. So, hypothetically, if you sent an anonymous note with some coordinates, something about finding his witherā¦
This feels like too much, is thisā
Heās laughing now.
Is this too far? I mean, I gave him a chance to step down, and he wanted a warā¦ soā¦
"Well, I don't think it's too far," this hardly seems like a war to Illux. This is just two men who are providing entertainment to her, honestly. It doesn't seem like too many other people are directly involved, and a war feels like far too big a word to describe this. This feels more like a spat between two bitter people.
"You gave him an opportunity to back out, and he didn't take it. It's only natural to escalate," she shrugs. However, when she mulls over the plan, a smile spreads across her face.
"Oh? His wither? And you're suggesting we... lure him in, and then I can kill him? Oh, Doc, you devious man!" She pats him on the back, almost a little too hard. "At least we're not killing his actual pet! He should be grateful." She flips some of her hair over her shoulder for dramatic effect and flair.
Doc leans forward, having vanquished every trace of doubt in his mind.
How good are you at forgery? Because, um, heās not going to want to hear this from me.
"Forgery? You've come to the right gal!" Illux is great at pretending to people she isn't. "Do you just want it to be completely anonymous, or do you want me to pretend that I'm sending it from someone I'm not?" The way this guy thinks is evil. Illux loves it.
I think the best route would be to go anonymous? Heād probably take any tips he can get. Thatās just what I think, end of the day, itās up to you. As long as he gets whatās coming to him.
He leans back in his chair.
The guyās got a complicated relationship with Watchers, if that sways you one way or another. Just saying.
"I think if we really wanna catch him off guard, I'll make it neutral sounding. Just a statement. Being too friendly or too mean will set him too on guard. Well, everything might set him on guard. Best to just make it the most neutral sounding thing ever, which is kinda boring, but the main event will make it even more exciting..." Illux taps her foot against the ground as she speaks, restlessly. "But I can do anonymous. I'll make it unidentifiable!" She looks at him. "Can I borrow a pen and paper?"
Oh, yeah, uh, give me a secondā
He rummages through his drawers and cabinets, eventually pulling out some paper and a reddish-black pen. Nearly runs right into Illux speeding back to hand her the writing utensil.
Here.
And he lets out a bit of an evil laugh, he canāt help it, really.
Iām excited, Illux, I am so excited to see this.
It's funny, how excited Doc is to pull this off - but Illux can't judge, she's just as excited with the way that she nearly rips the pen out of his hands, before taking the paper a little more carefully. She doesn't want to rip it, after all. Her grin is just as evil as she finds a nearby surface to write on. "I am also very, very excited," she informs him in a gleeful tone as she begins to write, slow, but dedicated. "This is going to be the best thing ever. It's gonna go down in the most dramatic way possible," she pauses to look over her handwriting before she continues. "There'll be so much... well, excitement to be had." With deliberate strokes, she crafts her letter to Martyn, and although she nearly wants to shake with excitement and bounce around the room, Illux forces herself to focus. She writes, and then, she hands over the letter to Doc to look over.
"Does this seem good?"
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Word gets around quick.
There was something about what he heard, some idea creeping in the back of his head. Wrong as he knew it was, he couldnāt denyā it was enticing. Enticing to be able to show this prick Martyn Littlewood what it meant to start a war with people other than himself.
Doc held the name tag in his hand.
And with a swift motion, something sprang into view.
I donāt know if this is too far, butā¦ Iāve been thinking up a way to lure him somewhere. Care to listen?
@docs-mailbox
There's a tug in the code, and Illux is being pulled through it to appear before Doc, axe still in hand. She had been cutting down a few trees (honestly for the fun of it) and had been hanging around by herself in the small cabin she'd built in the woods for herself - if she was going to be staying, best to make a residence. However, she appears with a grin on her face, knowing exactly what this is about if she's been called by Doc.
"Too far? I doubt many things in this situation are too far, considering the base that Martyn has laid out for me in terms of how far he's willing to go. What's your plan, Doc?" The axe is exchanged for a piece of bread that she begins to gnaw on, tilting her head expectantly for him to explain his plan.
The new chairs are quite sturdy. He pulls one up and takes a seat, then raises his chest as he takes a single sharp breath in.
His pet Wither, itāsā¦
Missing.
His fingers are balled up, interlocked with each other.
Been confiscated. Martyn doesnāt know where he is, and we donāt know where he is. Only Pearl knows where he is.
ā¦but, you knowā¦
ā¦he doesnāt know we donāt know where he is. So, hypothetically, if you sent an anonymous note with some coordinates, something about finding his witherā¦
This feels like too much, is thisā
Heās laughing now.
Is this too far? I mean, I gave him a chance to step down, and he wanted a warā¦ soā¦
"Well, I don't think it's too far," this hardly seems like a war to Illux. This is just two men who are providing entertainment to her, honestly. It doesn't seem like too many other people are directly involved, and a war feels like far too big a word to describe this. This feels more like a spat between two bitter people.
"You gave him an opportunity to back out, and he didn't take it. It's only natural to escalate," she shrugs. However, when she mulls over the plan, a smile spreads across her face.
"Oh? His wither? And you're suggesting we... lure him in, and then I can kill him? Oh, Doc, you devious man!" She pats him on the back, almost a little too hard. "At least we're not killing his actual pet! He should be grateful." She flips some of her hair over her shoulder for dramatic effect and flair.
Doc leans forward, having vanquished every trace of doubt in his mind.
How good are you at forgery? Because, um, heās not going to want to hear this from me.
"Forgery? You've come to the right gal!" Illux is great at pretending to people she isn't. "Do you just want it to be completely anonymous, or do you want me to pretend that I'm sending it from someone I'm not?" The way this guy thinks is evil. Illux loves it.
I think the best route would be to go anonymous? Heād probably take any tips he can get. Thatās just what I think, end of the day, itās up to you. As long as he gets whatās coming to him.
He leans back in his chair.
The guyās got a complicated relationship with Watchers, if that sways you one way or another. Just saying.
"I think if we really wanna catch him off guard, I'll make it neutral sounding. Just a statement. Being too friendly or too mean will set him too on guard. Well, everything might set him on guard. Best to just make it the most neutral sounding thing ever, which is kinda boring, but the main event will make it even more exciting..." Illux taps her foot against the ground as she speaks, restlessly. "But I can do anonymous. I'll make it unidentifiable!" She looks at him. "Can I borrow a pen and paper?"
Word gets around quick.
There was something about what he heard, some idea creeping in the back of his head. Wrong as he knew it was, he couldnāt denyā it was enticing. Enticing to be able to show this prick Martyn Littlewood what it meant to start a war with people other than himself.
Doc held the name tag in his hand.
And with a swift motion, something sprang into view.
I donāt know if this is too far, butā¦ Iāve been thinking up a way to lure him somewhere. Care to listen?
@docs-mailbox
There's a tug in the code, and Illux is being pulled through it to appear before Doc, axe still in hand. She had been cutting down a few trees (honestly for the fun of it) and had been hanging around by herself in the small cabin she'd built in the woods for herself - if she was going to be staying, best to make a residence. However, she appears with a grin on her face, knowing exactly what this is about if she's been called by Doc.
"Too far? I doubt many things in this situation are too far, considering the base that Martyn has laid out for me in terms of how far he's willing to go. What's your plan, Doc?" The axe is exchanged for a piece of bread that she begins to gnaw on, tilting her head expectantly for him to explain his plan.
The new chairs are quite sturdy. He pulls one up and takes a seat, then raises his chest as he takes a single sharp breath in.
His pet Wither, itāsā¦
Missing.
His fingers are balled up, interlocked with each other.
Been confiscated. Martyn doesnāt know where he is, and we donāt know where he is. Only Pearl knows where he is.
ā¦but, you knowā¦
ā¦he doesnāt know we donāt know where he is. So, hypothetically, if you sent an anonymous note with some coordinates, something about finding his witherā¦
This feels like too much, is thisā
Heās laughing now.
Is this too far? I mean, I gave him a chance to step down, and he wanted a warā¦ soā¦
"Well, I don't think it's too far," this hardly seems like a war to Illux. This is just two men who are providing entertainment to her, honestly. It doesn't seem like too many other people are directly involved, and a war feels like far too big a word to describe this. This feels more like a spat between two bitter people.
"You gave him an opportunity to back out, and he didn't take it. It's only natural to escalate," she shrugs. However, when she mulls over the plan, a smile spreads across her face.
"Oh? His wither? And you're suggesting we... lure him in, and then I can kill him? Oh, Doc, you devious man!" She pats him on the back, almost a little too hard. "At least we're not killing his actual pet! He should be grateful." She flips some of her hair over her shoulder for dramatic effect and flair.
Doc leans forward, having vanquished every trace of doubt in his mind.
How good are you at forgery? Because, um, heās not going to want to hear this from me.
"Forgery? You've come to the right gal!" Illux is great at pretending to people she isn't. "Do you just want it to be completely anonymous, or do you want me to pretend that I'm sending it from someone I'm not?" The way this guy thinks is evil. Illux loves it.
Word gets around quick.
There was something about what he heard, some idea creeping in the back of his head. Wrong as he knew it was, he couldnāt denyā it was enticing. Enticing to be able to show this prick Martyn Littlewood what it meant to start a war with people other than himself.
Doc held the name tag in his hand.
And with a swift motion, something sprang into view.
I donāt know if this is too far, butā¦ Iāve been thinking up a way to lure him somewhere. Care to listen?
@docs-mailbox
There's a tug in the code, and Illux is being pulled through it to appear before Doc, axe still in hand. She had been cutting down a few trees (honestly for the fun of it) and had been hanging around by herself in the small cabin she'd built in the woods for herself - if she was going to be staying, best to make a residence. However, she appears with a grin on her face, knowing exactly what this is about if she's been called by Doc.
"Too far? I doubt many things in this situation are too far, considering the base that Martyn has laid out for me in terms of how far he's willing to go. What's your plan, Doc?" The axe is exchanged for a piece of bread that she begins to gnaw on, tilting her head expectantly for him to explain his plan.
The new chairs are quite sturdy. He pulls one up and takes a seat, then raises his chest as he takes a single sharp breath in.
His pet Wither, itāsā¦
Missing.
His fingers are balled up, interlocked with each other.
Been confiscated. Martyn doesnāt know where he is, and we donāt know where he is. Only Pearl knows where he is.
ā¦but, you knowā¦
ā¦he doesnāt know we donāt know where he is. So, hypothetically, if you sent an anonymous note with some coordinates, something about finding his witherā¦
This feels like too much, is thisā
Heās laughing now.
Is this too far? I mean, I gave him a chance to step down, and he wanted a warā¦ soā¦
"Well, I don't think it's too far," this hardly seems like a war to Illux. This is just two men who are providing entertainment to her, honestly. It doesn't seem like too many other people are directly involved, and a war feels like far too big a word to describe this. This feels more like a spat between two bitter people.
"You gave him an opportunity to back out, and he didn't take it. It's only natural to escalate," she shrugs. However, when she mulls over the plan, a smile spreads across her face.
"Oh? His wither? And you're suggesting we... lure him in, and then I can kill him? Oh, Doc, you devious man!" She pats him on the back, almost a little too hard. "At least we're not killing his actual pet! He should be grateful." She flips some of her hair over her shoulder for dramatic effect and flair.
Word gets around quick.
There was something about what he heard, some idea creeping in the back of his head. Wrong as he knew it was, he couldnāt denyā it was enticing. Enticing to be able to show this prick Martyn Littlewood what it meant to start a war with people other than himself.
Doc held the name tag in his hand.
And with a swift motion, something sprang into view.
I donāt know if this is too far, butā¦ Iāve been thinking up a way to lure him somewhere. Care to listen?
@docs-mailbox
There's a tug in the code, and Illux is being pulled through it to appear before Doc, axe still in hand. She had been cutting down a few trees (honestly for the fun of it) and had been hanging around by herself in the small cabin she'd built in the woods for herself - if she was going to be staying, best to make a residence. However, she appears with a grin on her face, knowing exactly what this is about if she's been called by Doc.
"Too far? I doubt many things in this situation are too far, considering the base that Martyn has laid out for me in terms of how far he's willing to go. What's your plan, Doc?" The axe is exchanged for a piece of bread that she begins to gnaw on, tilting her head expectantly for him to explain his plan.
[ there's a note left on a counter. the writing is a little smudged, having been done in a haste. ]
hello, the goat! i have a little game for you.
i've scattered a plethora of candles through your house. not just for fun, though. if you find them all, i'll give you a shiny, shiny gift! perhaps some ore... if you catch my drift. good luck, have fun!
[ a terrible smiley face stares at you from the bottom of the paper. ]
Seeing as he had no plans of leaving his house unattended for any reason, an activity such as this seemed perfect.
A nice, relaxing little break from whatever the fuck was going on with Martyn.
77 candles in Docm77's house that had been placed while the chaos of Marytn's visit was one of Illux's best works, if she did so say herself. She'd even had extra time to climb on his roof and watch the aftermaths of the utter chaos - Grian's head being cut off, Doc's panic, and Martyn's utter bullshit.
She doesn't know these people, but it had been the perfect form of entertainment for her - absolute, unfiltered, untethered chaos. So, sue her for wanting to pay an in-person visit to Doc - the first Hermit she'd actually show her face to. A few pranks here and there without actual contact is fun, but quickly boring, and so she finds herself knocking at his door with a stack of diamonds in tow (that was definitely not stolen, no...).
A chill makes its way down his spine. Someoneās at his door. Thereās no telling who it is.
Doc raises the blinds and takes a peek. Itās someone he doesnāt recognize. Strange, yes, but at least itās not Martyn.
Itās much easier opening doors when there arenāt candles wedged into the hinges.
Elo.
His eyes are drawn to the ore.
Oh, are you the guy who hid all those candles?
Illux stands out like a sore thumb. Green hair with black streaks in it, red eyes with the symbol 'x' for pupils, dressed in a multitude of accessories like black random straps along her arms and a singular leg for literally no reason. Green shirt with what seems to be a spray-painted red 'x' on it, black shorts and a belt, it feels like she had just grabbed whatever she could out of her closet and called it a day before coming here. When the door is opened, Illux brightens up.
"That's me!" She's more than happy to hand over the whole stack of diamonds. "Thanks for playing along with my game - Doc, right? I'm Illux, it's nice to meet you." Social interaction after so long is great! Oh, she's so excited. "77 candles for the 77 in your name - funny, right?" Illux is hilarious, she knows this. Trust her on this.
Doc nods along.
Yeah, pretty funny. Thanks for the shinies by the way, this whole thing was like a personal Easter egg hunt.
He shuts the hatch on his bionic arm.
No clue how you managed to get one in here, but Iām impressed.
Truth be told, he was already half-convinced that he was speaking to a Watcher, and this whole hunt was set up using whatever crazy Watcher magic this entity employed. Regardless, he was more than willing to engage, even with all the risk.
Youāre welcome to come in if youād like.
"Oh, it was my pleasure. Coming up with ways to shove candles into places when they're gone is really, really funny. Now, I would tell you how I got that into your arm, but a magician never reveals her secrets!" She says, with a wink. However, upon being invited in, she perks up. Illux gets to talk more with this interesting guy, how lovely.
"Coming in? Don't mind if I do, actually. I've been meaning to talk to you for a bit, for reasons I'll explain shortly," she allows herself in, the door closing behind her. For a moment, she takes a pause to appreciate how well his house was built - it was great for hidey places for pranks, but it was well-done. Not that Illux is a builder, because she isn't. "Not anything like, life or death threatening, or like, too serious, but I'm just curious about a few things."
Curious?
It swiftly becomes apparent that thereās nowhere to sit.
Go ahead, go ahead.
Unfortunately for Doc, Illux is not interested in redstone - no, no, she is far more interested in the workings of the interaction she had managed to witness. She's not very deterred by the fact that there's nowhere to sit down, instead beginning to pace around as she speaks.
"So, when I was pranking you yesterday, I was getting on the roof, right," she recounts it as if telling a story. "Right, and so, I was gonna place some candles right at the top, and I was working on it, because, I love going a little further to make things extra fun. And then, I look down below, and lo and behold, there's this thing going on between you and some guy who's name is Martyn, right? And I ended up watching but not interfering 'cause like, that's your thing - wow, how did he not notice me up on the roof, is he blind? - but what's really gotten me interested," she pauses, for dramatic effect.
"Is that whole thing he did with the code. I texted Grian 'bout it, and he says he doesn't know, but that Martyn's been making deals with watchers, right, and that maybe that's how he's been fucking up with code," Illux puts her hands on her hips. "I also heard that he glitched Grian out with that axe of his. I was wondering if you knew anything about it?" There's a strange smile on her face as she speaks about this - malicious, but it's easy to tell that she's only interested in maybe kicking the shit out of Martyn, not Doc. In fact, Illux is very sympathetic towards Doc, she knows that dealing with someone insane who's good with code (ooh, that's two people who fit that criteria that Doc know knows, how fun, but maybe one can be on his side, wouldn't that be fun?) and getting killed by them is a bitch. Also, Martyn is totally stealing her thing. She's not gonna let that slide.
His countenance shifts at those last couple sentences. Something akin to a grimace of sorts.
Yeah, I donātā nobody has any idea what that is. The tech communityā the HIVEMINDā I reached out and told them about this and nobodyās heard of anything like this. Mango thinks it has to do with Ender Chests somehow, but like, I watched that scoundrel Martyn Littlewood weld that axe out of raw code, I donāt think this is a storage mishap. But thatās the closest thing we have to a lead, other than āitās probably watchersā, which is likeā¦ a non-answer. That explains nothing about what he did or how he did it.
His posture stiffens.
Anything would help here, really. But until we get more info, thatās all we have to work with.
"I honestly have another answer to how he managed it," Illux says, slowly. It would do no good to reveal all her cards too early, but getting Doc's trust is integral. "I think, according to what I saw, he directly coded that axe into being on a whim. He's good at coding, I'll give him that, but he's nowhere near my level." She can't help but shove in a brag, but it's also most likely true. That man hadn't been able to delete her, so, his 'vessel' or whatnot, whatever you wanted to call Martyn, couldn't kill her either, and certainly wasn't on her level of skill. Pure insanity? Maybe they're matched.
"It's probably some watcher involvement, too," she puts a hand on her hip. "I wouldn't doubt it if some of them were helping him, but I'm not all that big of a fan of their council, or whatever the hell that thing's going on with those who make those... Life games? Or something?" She isn't too interested in those right now, but she can return to those for her interest later. "However, due to the fact that he made it on a whim, it was sloppy. Glitched Grian out because it wasn't created properly. I'm not sure if it'll even last, or how much endurance it has because it was made within a matter of seconds."
The hand moves from her hip to start twirling her hair around. "But that's what I know from observation, so I hope that helps you out. If I saw more of him in action, I could tell you more about what he's doing and what he's capable of, but one interaction isn't enough to show me too much." She almost sounds disappointed. "Also, that thing was totally named xX_DEATHSHADOWLORD_Xx, by the way. However, maybe this'll help you come up with countermeasures."
Heās holding his wrist in the grasp of his robotic hand.
So it wasnāt just some sleight of hand, he actually coded that, right in front of me.
Something escapes him, a laugh? It sounds enough like a laugh.
No wonder he thinks he can mess with me, heās been out here toying with the fabrics of servers to get his way! Heās never met anyone above him on the pecking order. Iā man, I almost kind of feel bad for him now! Having to be told ānoā after living a life of zero consequencesā¦ oh, thatās got to sting. But of course, someoneās got to show him whose world it is heās living in.
His hands interlock.
The HIVEMINDās gonna have a field day with this one.
Oh, this, this is perfect. This is exactly what Illux wants. A smile spread across her face, wider, more excited. This is exactly what she wants. A source of perfect entertainment where she can watch everything play out right in front of her, with front row seats! A giggle bubbles out of her chest, and she can't help but laugh, so hard her shoulders start to shake.
"Oh, Doc, you're right," and he is, because Illux is now itching to show Martyn what a real coder looks like, and the look of despair on his face as he realizes he's got nothing on her is something she will devour, lick off of her fingers like the blood that will stain her hands in the wake of the finale. "He hasn't. The poor thing," she spins a lock of her hair around her finger, and imagines his expression moments before death.
"I'm sure he's on some kind of power high, thinking that he can pull into the code with a last resort," she looks visibly amused, if not from the laughter, then from the cat's got the cream kind of look on her face. "I'm having a field day with this one. The idea of this random guy thinking he's all that for being able to code is funny as fuck."
Heās grinning now. Little giggles work their way into his speech.
Right?! Like, cāmon, Iāve analyzed code with the likes of 2no, and Iāve even dabbled in modifying the world generation before. Season Eight.
Ah, Season Eight. Good memories.
Overloaded a chunk with a magic book, and all those platforms I built were actually likeā they were strategically placed so that it regenerated the chunk with eight spawners.
Didnāt even realize what I did until after it was already done, and when I went to tell my friends at SciCraft, it turns out they already knew about the whole thing.
He knows heās rambling, but he canāt stop himself, itās fun to talk about Season Eight.
I knew the Watchers were gonna be pretty involved that season, but I didnāt think they were gonna consult SciCraft for code injection. Like, what?!
Doc puts a hand on his hip.
But of course, weāre dealing with something completely different here, arenāt we? Martyn and I are not the same.
Iām a technical exploiter, Iām vanilla, Iām old-school, I donāt mess with the core fundamentals because itās more impressive to work within them. But Martyn just does whatever he wants.
Eyes locked on Illux, he smirks, speaking slowly and concisely.
Somebody should stop him.
Crossed arms, a glow in his robotic eye.
Iād be more than happy to lend a hand to whoever needs it.
"I agree," Illux says, sounding all too-happy to be apart of this new, growing, grandiose scheme. "I think I should stop this egotistical man," she meets his gaze, and the glowing in the robotic eye feels almost like looking into a mirror - she can faintly see her own reflection in it, the way her smile curves.
For a moment, she sees it - a memory of her hands covered in blood, hollowed eyes, an empty smile in the wake of carnage, covered in it, drowning in it, red so deep that her eyes outshine it in the dark, pupils abnormal, inhuman, not quite a person.
And he shook on it.
You and I could make a great team, Illux.
What exactly do you have in mind?
"There are plenty of things that can be done, but I'm assuming you two have history," Illux taps a finger against her wrist when they let go of their handshake. "So you probably know to hit him where it hurts, if you want to do that. But in terms of me wanting to best him, we have to lure him out so that he can meet me. If I just send him a letter, there's no promise that he'll appear. Say, how do you think I could get him to come see me so I can chop off his head after summoning my axe from the void in an overly flashy manner?"
No matter what, his mind circles back to Ren. Thereās nothing else he knows of that is sacred to Martyn except for Ren. Martynās world has already been destroyed, and Doc has found that this unruly allay is more than willing to destroy himself further to get that sick, twisted āwinā he desires so badly. But no matter how dire things get, Doc knows one thing for certain; he is not going to use Ren as a pawn.
ā¦the question is, what other choice is there?
Why donāt we just put a pin on that, Iām not reallyā¦ Iām not in the best thinking headspace, you know? Not many ideas. Stressed.
His hands are in his pockets.
Iāll come up with something. And like, whatever magic you used to know how many candles I picked upā I donāt know if itās watcher stuff or something, maybe youāre a runaway and youāre hiding it, I donāt judgeā but whatever magic you used there, you should, umā¦
ā¦
ā¦see if I could like, call your name or do something when Iāve got an idea?
Something like that.
"I mean, I don't qualify as a Watcher," Illux puts her hands in her pockets, because unfortunately, she cannot peek into people's business and know what they're doing all the time, like how a Watcher could. They seem stuffy, though, and she's glad she's not one of them. "However, I think I could set up something like that. I'll give you an object, and if you destroy it, that'll summon me, so I can jump in."
She rifles through her inventory until she finds a nametag, and she pulls it out. She narrows her eyes, and wiggles her finger into the code of it, which must look strange from the outside, pushing her finger into the nametag, a wave from the impact rippling over its surface. She rigs a few things here and there, and then she's done, tossing it over to Doc. "Whatever you use to lure him is up to you. I'll just make sure that I get the job done."
Carefully, so as to not split it in two, he places the object in his pocket.
I wonāt forget.
We gonna get this done together, man.
He shows her a peace sign, then peers at an unfinished project; a chair he was yet to construct. It was clear he intended to retreat into that for the remainder of the day.
"We will," Illux agrees, watching him as he peers at the project. She knows when a conversation is over, and she's gotten what she's wished for. A source of entertainment. "Well, Docm77Candles, I'll be seeing you around, then." She turns around, pushing open the door so that she can exit.
Illux waves goodbye before she closes the door, not turning around to see if he waves back, and then, she is gone.
Whatever happens next will be entertaining. And that's all she needs.
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[ there's a note left on a counter. the writing is a little smudged, having been done in a haste. ]
hello, the goat! i have a little game for you.
i've scattered a plethora of candles through your house. not just for fun, though. if you find them all, i'll give you a shiny, shiny gift! perhaps some ore... if you catch my drift. good luck, have fun!
[ a terrible smiley face stares at you from the bottom of the paper. ]
Seeing as he had no plans of leaving his house unattended for any reason, an activity such as this seemed perfect.
A nice, relaxing little break from whatever the fuck was going on with Martyn.
77 candles in Docm77's house that had been placed while the chaos of Marytn's visit was one of Illux's best works, if she did so say herself. She'd even had extra time to climb on his roof and watch the aftermaths of the utter chaos - Grian's head being cut off, Doc's panic, and Martyn's utter bullshit.
She doesn't know these people, but it had been the perfect form of entertainment for her - absolute, unfiltered, untethered chaos. So, sue her for wanting to pay an in-person visit to Doc - the first Hermit she'd actually show her face to. A few pranks here and there without actual contact is fun, but quickly boring, and so she finds herself knocking at his door with a stack of diamonds in tow (that was definitely not stolen, no...).
A chill makes its way down his spine. Someoneās at his door. Thereās no telling who it is.
Doc raises the blinds and takes a peek. Itās someone he doesnāt recognize. Strange, yes, but at least itās not Martyn.
Itās much easier opening doors when there arenāt candles wedged into the hinges.
Elo.
His eyes are drawn to the ore.
Oh, are you the guy who hid all those candles?
Illux stands out like a sore thumb. Green hair with black streaks in it, red eyes with the symbol 'x' for pupils, dressed in a multitude of accessories like black random straps along her arms and a singular leg for literally no reason. Green shirt with what seems to be a spray-painted red 'x' on it, black shorts and a belt, it feels like she had just grabbed whatever she could out of her closet and called it a day before coming here. When the door is opened, Illux brightens up.
"That's me!" She's more than happy to hand over the whole stack of diamonds. "Thanks for playing along with my game - Doc, right? I'm Illux, it's nice to meet you." Social interaction after so long is great! Oh, she's so excited. "77 candles for the 77 in your name - funny, right?" Illux is hilarious, she knows this. Trust her on this.
Doc nods along.
Yeah, pretty funny. Thanks for the shinies by the way, this whole thing was like a personal Easter egg hunt.
He shuts the hatch on his bionic arm.
No clue how you managed to get one in here, but Iām impressed.
Truth be told, he was already half-convinced that he was speaking to a Watcher, and this whole hunt was set up using whatever crazy Watcher magic this entity employed. Regardless, he was more than willing to engage, even with all the risk.
Youāre welcome to come in if youād like.
"Oh, it was my pleasure. Coming up with ways to shove candles into places when they're gone is really, really funny. Now, I would tell you how I got that into your arm, but a magician never reveals her secrets!" She says, with a wink. However, upon being invited in, she perks up. Illux gets to talk more with this interesting guy, how lovely.
"Coming in? Don't mind if I do, actually. I've been meaning to talk to you for a bit, for reasons I'll explain shortly," she allows herself in, the door closing behind her. For a moment, she takes a pause to appreciate how well his house was built - it was great for hidey places for pranks, but it was well-done. Not that Illux is a builder, because she isn't. "Not anything like, life or death threatening, or like, too serious, but I'm just curious about a few things."
Curious?
It swiftly becomes apparent that thereās nowhere to sit.
Go ahead, go ahead.
Unfortunately for Doc, Illux is not interested in redstone - no, no, she is far more interested in the workings of the interaction she had managed to witness. She's not very deterred by the fact that there's nowhere to sit down, instead beginning to pace around as she speaks.
"So, when I was pranking you yesterday, I was getting on the roof, right," she recounts it as if telling a story. "Right, and so, I was gonna place some candles right at the top, and I was working on it, because, I love going a little further to make things extra fun. And then, I look down below, and lo and behold, there's this thing going on between you and some guy who's name is Martyn, right? And I ended up watching but not interfering 'cause like, that's your thing - wow, how did he not notice me up on the roof, is he blind? - but what's really gotten me interested," she pauses, for dramatic effect.
"Is that whole thing he did with the code. I texted Grian 'bout it, and he says he doesn't know, but that Martyn's been making deals with watchers, right, and that maybe that's how he's been fucking up with code," Illux puts her hands on her hips. "I also heard that he glitched Grian out with that axe of his. I was wondering if you knew anything about it?" There's a strange smile on her face as she speaks about this - malicious, but it's easy to tell that she's only interested in maybe kicking the shit out of Martyn, not Doc. In fact, Illux is very sympathetic towards Doc, she knows that dealing with someone insane who's good with code (ooh, that's two people who fit that criteria that Doc know knows, how fun, but maybe one can be on his side, wouldn't that be fun?) and getting killed by them is a bitch. Also, Martyn is totally stealing her thing. She's not gonna let that slide.
His countenance shifts at those last couple sentences. Something akin to a grimace of sorts.
Yeah, I donātā nobody has any idea what that is. The tech communityā the HIVEMINDā I reached out and told them about this and nobodyās heard of anything like this. Mango thinks it has to do with Ender Chests somehow, but like, I watched that scoundrel Martyn Littlewood weld that axe out of raw code, I donāt think this is a storage mishap. But thatās the closest thing we have to a lead, other than āitās probably watchersā, which is likeā¦ a non-answer. That explains nothing about what he did or how he did it.
His posture stiffens.
Anything would help here, really. But until we get more info, thatās all we have to work with.
"I honestly have another answer to how he managed it," Illux says, slowly. It would do no good to reveal all her cards too early, but getting Doc's trust is integral. "I think, according to what I saw, he directly coded that axe into being on a whim. He's good at coding, I'll give him that, but he's nowhere near my level." She can't help but shove in a brag, but it's also most likely true. That man hadn't been able to delete her, so, his 'vessel' or whatnot, whatever you wanted to call Martyn, couldn't kill her either, and certainly wasn't on her level of skill. Pure insanity? Maybe they're matched.
"It's probably some watcher involvement, too," she puts a hand on her hip. "I wouldn't doubt it if some of them were helping him, but I'm not all that big of a fan of their council, or whatever the hell that thing's going on with those who make those... Life games? Or something?" She isn't too interested in those right now, but she can return to those for her interest later. "However, due to the fact that he made it on a whim, it was sloppy. Glitched Grian out because it wasn't created properly. I'm not sure if it'll even last, or how much endurance it has because it was made within a matter of seconds."
The hand moves from her hip to start twirling her hair around. "But that's what I know from observation, so I hope that helps you out. If I saw more of him in action, I could tell you more about what he's doing and what he's capable of, but one interaction isn't enough to show me too much." She almost sounds disappointed. "Also, that thing was totally named xX_DEATHSHADOWLORD_Xx, by the way. However, maybe this'll help you come up with countermeasures."
Heās holding his wrist in the grasp of his robotic hand.
So it wasnāt just some sleight of hand, he actually coded that, right in front of me.
Something escapes him, a laugh? It sounds enough like a laugh.
No wonder he thinks he can mess with me, heās been out here toying with the fabrics of servers to get his way! Heās never met anyone above him on the pecking order. Iā man, I almost kind of feel bad for him now! Having to be told ānoā after living a life of zero consequencesā¦ oh, thatās got to sting. But of course, someoneās got to show him whose world it is heās living in.
His hands interlock.
The HIVEMINDās gonna have a field day with this one.
Oh, this, this is perfect. This is exactly what Illux wants. A smile spread across her face, wider, more excited. This is exactly what she wants. A source of perfect entertainment where she can watch everything play out right in front of her, with front row seats! A giggle bubbles out of her chest, and she can't help but laugh, so hard her shoulders start to shake.
"Oh, Doc, you're right," and he is, because Illux is now itching to show Martyn what a real coder looks like, and the look of despair on his face as he realizes he's got nothing on her is something she will devour, lick off of her fingers like the blood that will stain her hands in the wake of the finale. "He hasn't. The poor thing," she spins a lock of her hair around her finger, and imagines his expression moments before death.
"I'm sure he's on some kind of power high, thinking that he can pull into the code with a last resort," she looks visibly amused, if not from the laughter, then from the cat's got the cream kind of look on her face. "I'm having a field day with this one. The idea of this random guy thinking he's all that for being able to code is funny as fuck."
Heās grinning now. Little giggles work their way into his speech.
Right?! Like, cāmon, Iāve analyzed code with the likes of 2no, and Iāve even dabbled in modifying the world generation before. Season Eight.
Ah, Season Eight. Good memories.
Overloaded a chunk with a magic book, and all those platforms I built were actually likeā they were strategically placed so that it regenerated the chunk with eight spawners.
Didnāt even realize what I did until after it was already done, and when I went to tell my friends at SciCraft, it turns out they already knew about the whole thing.
He knows heās rambling, but he canāt stop himself, itās fun to talk about Season Eight.
I knew the Watchers were gonna be pretty involved that season, but I didnāt think they were gonna consult SciCraft for code injection. Like, what?!
Doc puts a hand on his hip.
But of course, weāre dealing with something completely different here, arenāt we? Martyn and I are not the same.
Iām a technical exploiter, Iām vanilla, Iām old-school, I donāt mess with the core fundamentals because itās more impressive to work within them. But Martyn just does whatever he wants.
Eyes locked on Illux, he smirks, speaking slowly and concisely.
Somebody should stop him.
Crossed arms, a glow in his robotic eye.
Iād be more than happy to lend a hand to whoever needs it.
"I agree," Illux says, sounding all too-happy to be apart of this new, growing, grandiose scheme. "I think I should stop this egotistical man," she meets his gaze, and the glowing in the robotic eye feels almost like looking into a mirror - she can faintly see her own reflection in it, the way her smile curves.
For a moment, she sees it - a memory of her hands covered in blood, hollowed eyes, an empty smile in the wake of carnage, covered in it, drowning in it, red so deep that her eyes outshine it in the dark, pupils abnormal, inhuman, not quite a person.
And he shook on it.
You and I could make a great team, Illux.
What exactly do you have in mind?
"There are plenty of things that can be done, but I'm assuming you two have history," Illux taps a finger against her wrist when they let go of their handshake. "So you probably know to hit him where it hurts, if you want to do that. But in terms of me wanting to best him, we have to lure him out so that he can meet me. If I just send him a letter, there's no promise that he'll appear. Say, how do you think I could get him to come see me so I can chop off his head after summoning my axe from the void in an overly flashy manner?"
No matter what, his mind circles back to Ren. Thereās nothing else he knows of that is sacred to Martyn except for Ren. Martynās world has already been destroyed, and Doc has found that this unruly allay is more than willing to destroy himself further to get that sick, twisted āwinā he desires so badly. But no matter how dire things get, Doc knows one thing for certain; he is not going to use Ren as a pawn.
ā¦the question is, what other choice is there?
Why donāt we just put a pin on that, Iām not reallyā¦ Iām not in the best thinking headspace, you know? Not many ideas. Stressed.
His hands are in his pockets.
Iāll come up with something. And like, whatever magic you used to know how many candles I picked upā I donāt know if itās watcher stuff or something, maybe youāre a runaway and youāre hiding it, I donāt judgeā but whatever magic you used there, you should, umā¦
ā¦
ā¦see if I could like, call your name or do something when Iāve got an idea?
Something like that.
"I mean, I don't qualify as a Watcher," Illux puts her hands in her pockets, because unfortunately, she cannot peek into people's business and know what they're doing all the time, like how a Watcher could. They seem stuffy, though, and she's glad she's not one of them. "However, I think I could set up something like that. I'll give you an object, and if you destroy it, that'll summon me, so I can jump in."
She rifles through her inventory until she finds a nametag, and she pulls it out. She narrows her eyes, and wiggles her finger into the code of it, which must look strange from the outside, pushing her finger into the nametag, a wave from the impact rippling over its surface. She rigs a few things here and there, and then she's done, tossing it over to Doc. "Whatever you use to lure him is up to you. I'll just make sure that I get the job done."
[ there's a note left on a counter. the writing is a little smudged, having been done in a haste. ]
hello, the goat! i have a little game for you.
i've scattered a plethora of candles through your house. not just for fun, though. if you find them all, i'll give you a shiny, shiny gift! perhaps some ore... if you catch my drift. good luck, have fun!
[ a terrible smiley face stares at you from the bottom of the paper. ]
Seeing as he had no plans of leaving his house unattended for any reason, an activity such as this seemed perfect.
A nice, relaxing little break from whatever the fuck was going on with Martyn.
77 candles in Docm77's house that had been placed while the chaos of Marytn's visit was one of Illux's best works, if she did so say herself. She'd even had extra time to climb on his roof and watch the aftermaths of the utter chaos - Grian's head being cut off, Doc's panic, and Martyn's utter bullshit.
She doesn't know these people, but it had been the perfect form of entertainment for her - absolute, unfiltered, untethered chaos. So, sue her for wanting to pay an in-person visit to Doc - the first Hermit she'd actually show her face to. A few pranks here and there without actual contact is fun, but quickly boring, and so she finds herself knocking at his door with a stack of diamonds in tow (that was definitely not stolen, no...).
A chill makes its way down his spine. Someoneās at his door. Thereās no telling who it is.
Doc raises the blinds and takes a peek. Itās someone he doesnāt recognize. Strange, yes, but at least itās not Martyn.
Itās much easier opening doors when there arenāt candles wedged into the hinges.
Elo.
His eyes are drawn to the ore.
Oh, are you the guy who hid all those candles?
Illux stands out like a sore thumb. Green hair with black streaks in it, red eyes with the symbol 'x' for pupils, dressed in a multitude of accessories like black random straps along her arms and a singular leg for literally no reason. Green shirt with what seems to be a spray-painted red 'x' on it, black shorts and a belt, it feels like she had just grabbed whatever she could out of her closet and called it a day before coming here. When the door is opened, Illux brightens up.
"That's me!" She's more than happy to hand over the whole stack of diamonds. "Thanks for playing along with my game - Doc, right? I'm Illux, it's nice to meet you." Social interaction after so long is great! Oh, she's so excited. "77 candles for the 77 in your name - funny, right?" Illux is hilarious, she knows this. Trust her on this.
Doc nods along.
Yeah, pretty funny. Thanks for the shinies by the way, this whole thing was like a personal Easter egg hunt.
He shuts the hatch on his bionic arm.
No clue how you managed to get one in here, but Iām impressed.
Truth be told, he was already half-convinced that he was speaking to a Watcher, and this whole hunt was set up using whatever crazy Watcher magic this entity employed. Regardless, he was more than willing to engage, even with all the risk.
Youāre welcome to come in if youād like.
"Oh, it was my pleasure. Coming up with ways to shove candles into places when they're gone is really, really funny. Now, I would tell you how I got that into your arm, but a magician never reveals her secrets!" She says, with a wink. However, upon being invited in, she perks up. Illux gets to talk more with this interesting guy, how lovely.
"Coming in? Don't mind if I do, actually. I've been meaning to talk to you for a bit, for reasons I'll explain shortly," she allows herself in, the door closing behind her. For a moment, she takes a pause to appreciate how well his house was built - it was great for hidey places for pranks, but it was well-done. Not that Illux is a builder, because she isn't. "Not anything like, life or death threatening, or like, too serious, but I'm just curious about a few things."
Curious?
It swiftly becomes apparent that thereās nowhere to sit.
Go ahead, go ahead.
Unfortunately for Doc, Illux is not interested in redstone - no, no, she is far more interested in the workings of the interaction she had managed to witness. She's not very deterred by the fact that there's nowhere to sit down, instead beginning to pace around as she speaks.
"So, when I was pranking you yesterday, I was getting on the roof, right," she recounts it as if telling a story. "Right, and so, I was gonna place some candles right at the top, and I was working on it, because, I love going a little further to make things extra fun. And then, I look down below, and lo and behold, there's this thing going on between you and some guy who's name is Martyn, right? And I ended up watching but not interfering 'cause like, that's your thing - wow, how did he not notice me up on the roof, is he blind? - but what's really gotten me interested," she pauses, for dramatic effect.
"Is that whole thing he did with the code. I texted Grian 'bout it, and he says he doesn't know, but that Martyn's been making deals with watchers, right, and that maybe that's how he's been fucking up with code," Illux puts her hands on her hips. "I also heard that he glitched Grian out with that axe of his. I was wondering if you knew anything about it?" There's a strange smile on her face as she speaks about this - malicious, but it's easy to tell that she's only interested in maybe kicking the shit out of Martyn, not Doc. In fact, Illux is very sympathetic towards Doc, she knows that dealing with someone insane who's good with code (ooh, that's two people who fit that criteria that Doc know knows, how fun, but maybe one can be on his side, wouldn't that be fun?) and getting killed by them is a bitch. Also, Martyn is totally stealing her thing. She's not gonna let that slide.
His countenance shifts at those last couple sentences. Something akin to a grimace of sorts.
Yeah, I donātā nobody has any idea what that is. The tech communityā the HIVEMINDā I reached out and told them about this and nobodyās heard of anything like this. Mango thinks it has to do with Ender Chests somehow, but like, I watched that scoundrel Martyn Littlewood weld that axe out of raw code, I donāt think this is a storage mishap. But thatās the closest thing we have to a lead, other than āitās probably watchersā, which is likeā¦ a non-answer. That explains nothing about what he did or how he did it.
His posture stiffens.
Anything would help here, really. But until we get more info, thatās all we have to work with.
"I honestly have another answer to how he managed it," Illux says, slowly. It would do no good to reveal all her cards too early, but getting Doc's trust is integral. "I think, according to what I saw, he directly coded that axe into being on a whim. He's good at coding, I'll give him that, but he's nowhere near my level." She can't help but shove in a brag, but it's also most likely true. That man hadn't been able to delete her, so, his 'vessel' or whatnot, whatever you wanted to call Martyn, couldn't kill her either, and certainly wasn't on her level of skill. Pure insanity? Maybe they're matched.
"It's probably some watcher involvement, too," she puts a hand on her hip. "I wouldn't doubt it if some of them were helping him, but I'm not all that big of a fan of their council, or whatever the hell that thing's going on with those who make those... Life games? Or something?" She isn't too interested in those right now, but she can return to those for her interest later. "However, due to the fact that he made it on a whim, it was sloppy. Glitched Grian out because it wasn't created properly. I'm not sure if it'll even last, or how much endurance it has because it was made within a matter of seconds."
The hand moves from her hip to start twirling her hair around. "But that's what I know from observation, so I hope that helps you out. If I saw more of him in action, I could tell you more about what he's doing and what he's capable of, but one interaction isn't enough to show me too much." She almost sounds disappointed. "Also, that thing was totally named xX_DEATHSHADOWLORD_Xx, by the way. However, maybe this'll help you come up with countermeasures."
Heās holding his wrist in the grasp of his robotic hand.
So it wasnāt just some sleight of hand, he actually coded that, right in front of me.
Something escapes him, a laugh? It sounds enough like a laugh.
No wonder he thinks he can mess with me, heās been out here toying with the fabrics of servers to get his way! Heās never met anyone above him on the pecking order. Iā man, I almost kind of feel bad for him now! Having to be told ānoā after living a life of zero consequencesā¦ oh, thatās got to sting. But of course, someoneās got to show him whose world it is heās living in.
His hands interlock.
The HIVEMINDās gonna have a field day with this one.
Oh, this, this is perfect. This is exactly what Illux wants. A smile spread across her face, wider, more excited. This is exactly what she wants. A source of perfect entertainment where she can watch everything play out right in front of her, with front row seats! A giggle bubbles out of her chest, and she can't help but laugh, so hard her shoulders start to shake.
"Oh, Doc, you're right," and he is, because Illux is now itching to show Martyn what a real coder looks like, and the look of despair on his face as he realizes he's got nothing on her is something she will devour, lick off of her fingers like the blood that will stain her hands in the wake of the finale. "He hasn't. The poor thing," she spins a lock of her hair around her finger, and imagines his expression moments before death.
"I'm sure he's on some kind of power high, thinking that he can pull into the code with a last resort," she looks visibly amused, if not from the laughter, then from the cat's got the cream kind of look on her face. "I'm having a field day with this one. The idea of this random guy thinking he's all that for being able to code is funny as fuck."
Heās grinning now. Little giggles work their way into his speech.
Right?! Like, cāmon, Iāve analyzed code with the likes of 2no, and Iāve even dabbled in modifying the world generation before. Season Eight.
Ah, Season Eight. Good memories.
Overloaded a chunk with a magic book, and all those platforms I built were actually likeā they were strategically placed so that it regenerated the chunk with eight spawners.
Didnāt even realize what I did until after it was already done, and when I went to tell my friends at SciCraft, it turns out they already knew about the whole thing.
He knows heās rambling, but he canāt stop himself, itās fun to talk about Season Eight.
I knew the Watchers were gonna be pretty involved that season, but I didnāt think they were gonna consult SciCraft for code injection. Like, what?!
Doc puts a hand on his hip.
But of course, weāre dealing with something completely different here, arenāt we? Martyn and I are not the same.
Iām a technical exploiter, Iām vanilla, Iām old-school, I donāt mess with the core fundamentals because itās more impressive to work within them. But Martyn just does whatever he wants.
Eyes locked on Illux, he smirks, speaking slowly and concisely.
Somebody should stop him.
Crossed arms, a glow in his robotic eye.
Iād be more than happy to lend a hand to whoever needs it.
"I agree," Illux says, sounding all too-happy to be apart of this new, growing, grandiose scheme. "I think I should stop this egotistical man," she meets his gaze, and the glowing in the robotic eye feels almost like looking into a mirror - she can faintly see her own reflection in it, the way her smile curves.
For a moment, she sees it - a memory of her hands covered in blood, hollowed eyes, an empty smile in the wake of carnage, covered in it, drowning in it, red so deep that her eyes outshine it in the dark, pupils abnormal, inhuman, not quite a person.
And he shook on it.
You and I could make a great team, Illux.
What exactly do you have in mind?
"There are plenty of things that can be done, but I'm assuming you two have history," Illux taps a finger against her wrist when they let go of their handshake. "So you probably know to hit him where it hurts, if you want to do that. But in terms of me wanting to best him, we have to lure him out so that he can meet me. If I just send him a letter, there's no promise that he'll appear. Say, how do you think I could get him to come see me so I can chop off his head after summoning my axe from the void in an overly flashy manner?"
