Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Joll held their netherite sword with a tight grip, reading over the book given to them by the Infinity Tower once more. They're..

THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT READY FOR THIS.

Rewind… Hello! This is Joll. A frog.. prince(?) just trying to have a good time adventuring with their friends Conk – a sentient piece of stone who's not the brightest, Kibble – a dog who used to be a parasite prince (well- they're actually not sure if the parasite died or not… But that's for another day!) and is shockingly the brains of the team, and Golem – an iron golem who's always in a bad mood, but Joll thinks he has a soft spot for all of them.

They've recently discovered what's called the Infinity Dungeon, an endless hole full of — you guessed it — dungeons! At first they started as mini challenges like killing an enderman or killing 4 zombies, but they quickly escalated into full blown worlds! They've made a lot of friends and an equal amount of enemies along the way too.

At the end of their recent adventure, the villagers (basically their guides in the Inf Dungeon) said it was time for a challenge, and that's how they ended up here!

About to fight an absolute legend.

That's no exaggeration either! This guy's title was LITERALLY a Tower Legend . If the villagers thought they were ready to fight this dude, they were sorely mistaken. 

They looked down at the book once more, swallowing with anxiety.

Username: Spark

Tower Legend – Legendary Fighter – Light of ▇▇▇▇▇

Infinity Dungeon Record: Level 890,500,022(?)

they're cooked.

“Joll!”

The frog flinched as Conk shouted in their ear, instinctively shoving him away.

“I'm right here, Conk. You don't need to yell.”

Conk only smiled at them, flapping his sleeve happily and trying to look at their book.

“Who’d you get??”
“Some guy named Spark.. Little scared of him.”
“You haven't even met him! Maybe he's a nice guy.”

He chuckled. Joll dragged their gaze over to the various photos provided on the next page and all of a sudden they were getting mixed vibes.

His stats looked scary, that's for certain. Joll has been to level 1,000,000 before, but they've never entered any dungeons. Hell- they've been to floor 1,000,000,000 ! But those are seperate worlds, so do they really count…? Anyways! Stats? Scary. Terrifying even. What do you mean the book doesn't know what level he's been to. That sword is overpowered SOMEBODY NERF HIM???

But the pictures gave an opposite vibe than threatening. Or at least shattered the image of what Joll thought he'd look like. He was nearly decked out in gold armor, only missing the helmet and leggings. But he also didn't seem like a “normal person”.. Granted, Joll and their friends weren't “normal people” either. Look- their point is Spark looks WAY too happy to be a fighting legend.

They closed their book, looking at Conk.

“Who did you get?”
“This guy named Pickle.”
“.. Pickle?”

A deep, poorly concealed chuckle was heard from behind them, making Joll turn around.

Golem removed his hand from his mouth, a small smirk still on his face.

“That is tragic. ”
“What?”
“Being named Pickle. Clearly his parents didn't love him.”
“relatable.”

Conk flatly said, earning 2 sets of concerned stares from both Joll and Golem. The latter slowly crouched down to Joll's level.

“are we ever unpacking that?”

He whispered, pointing to Conk. Joll just shook their head.

“better if we don't..”

A loud yet muffled bark attracted all of their attention as Kibble came running (where even was he??) with his own book in his mouth. Conk excitedly waved with both hands.

“Kibboll!!” 
“Kibble."

Joll corrected, being ignored like always as Conk crouched down to spam Kibble with pets. Kibble leaned into his hand- hands? That sleeve always confused them. Nevertheless, the book disappeared from Kibble's mouth as he barked again. Golem stood up straight and looked around.

“Mh.. where are those guys anyways? Clearly not the legends of being on time ..”

He grumbled. That was a good question though.. They’ve been here for a few minutes already. 

Apparently they have REALLY bad luck since the next moment, a gold sword whizzed by them and managed to get a good cut on their cheek.

“Ow!”
“Oh, no headstarts? Whatever.. that’ll just make this more interesting.. Sparky!”

The sword turned around and flew past Golem and Joll again, Joll managing to dodge this time. They actually looked where the sword came from and took a step back.

Yup.. those were the Tower Legends..

But.. why did they look so different? Spark did, at least. They're not sure what the other photos looked like or who got them, but from similar looks of confusion from both Kibble and Golem they knew it wasn't what they had expected either.

The legendary fighter, now lacking a chestplate or a shirt entirely(?????) , ran a hand through his golden hair as he actually got a look at Joll and the rest of them.

“Let’s see.. a frog, a rock, a dog, and an iron golem…”
“My name is Conk.”

Conk, as always, attempted to correct. And as always, he was ignored. The tower finally granted the SOON TO BE EX-legends their books. Although one immediately dropped to the grass instead. Spark gave an audible sigh. 

“Pickle, be a good brother and get that.”
“Was already doing it, Spark.”

Pickle replied in a snappy tone. Joll had enough of awkwardly standing there. They wiped the blood off of their face with their sleeve and gave a small wave.

“Hey!”

Instead of acknowledging them AT ALL, Spark immediately turned around to converse with the only girl on their squad. They frowned a bit, which seemed to set off another one of the Legends. His arms were bound with caution tape, tied in a sort of bow in the back.

“Haha! A being with status such as our knight by no means has to indulge in conversation with filth such as yourselves! Now, which one of your fruitless lives shall I, Axel, have the pleasure of ripping from your bodies today??”

. . .

“e-excuse me..?”

Joll awkwardly laughed. Pickle let out a smooth laugh of his own.

“Oh, it's always like that when he opens his mouth. Try to get used to it. What he means is Spark wouldn't talk to people like…”

He looked the 4 of them up and down.

“ Things like you. And he'd like to know who he's facing.”

Joll frowned slightly before looking back at Kibble and Golem. Kibble shook his head and after a moment, Golem raised his hand.

“Yeah- can I kill myself instead?”
“Golemmmmm :(“

Conk frowned deeply, leading Axel to laugh again. Pickle roughly elbowed him in the spine which silenced the frankly loud legend before speaking again.

“Spark always says ending yourself is just as cowardly as surrender.”
“Then I'm a coward.”

Spark scoffed.

“Thank Infinity I'm not facing you then. Speaking of such pleasantries…”

Joll let out a quiet croak as Spark's gaze landed on them. At a moment's notice, the golden sword dubbed “Sparky” was back in his hand and pointed at them.

“You're Joll, correct?”
“Y-Yeah! That's me.”

They gave a nervous smile and another small wave. Spark let a smirk overcome his face.

“Well, what are we waiting for?”
“Me, you brute.”

A feminine yet echo-y voice interrupted them. Spark let out a groan while the girl tower legend patted him on the shoulder.

“I am the Infinity Tower. Or, the ‘referee’ of this whole situation. Team 2 (consisting of Joll, Conk, Kibble, and Golem) are attempting to challenge Team 1 (consisting of Spark, Pickle, Sprout, and Axel) for the title of ‘Tower Legend’ and furthermore, their Soulcores.”
“Soulcores??”

Joll interrupted. What the hell is a Soulcore? That was NOT mentioned by the villagers! Sprout, as the tower called her, finally spoke.

“The crystal-like.. thingys.. that carry a good portion of our power.”

She reached behind her hair, pulling out a green heart shaped gem. It sorta reminded them of the one of Kibble's collar! Except Kibble's was smoother and red. 

“I assume all of you have one.”
“I.. don't know.”

Joll sighed. If they were similar in shape, then Joll probably doesn't have one.. Spark's was a bright yellow, X shaped gem on the one golden glove he had. Meanwhile Pickle was enthusiastically searching Conk for his, while Golem took another step back from Axel.

Spark suddenly cleared his throat very loudly.

“Yes you do, you fool. On your sword.”
“Nnno?”
“The end of your sword!”

He pointed his sword at the charm hanging off the end of their sword handle. It was teal in color and in the shape of a plus sign.

“Ohhh…”
“Am I really fighting an idiot??”

Joll frowned at that, but the Tower continued speaking.

“Now that you all know what you're here for, I will explain the rules. For 5 days, including this one, you will be teleported to your corresponding Tower Legend's level of choice. You will not be able to leave until 3 players in all forfeit the fight for that day, or are defeated. Each day, Team 2 will get more of the Soulcore's power.”
“What?”

Pickle interrupted, momentarily pausing his search of Conk.

“You realize your Soulcores are linked, yes?”
“WHAT???”

Conk let out a low “ow” as Pickle's grip tightened on his arms. Can Conk even feel pain? He’s a rock..

“Ahem… continue.”
“Thank you. Now, as I was saying, Team 2 will be allowed more of the Soulcores power each day. If you learn to control it and successfully defeat Team 1, the title of Tower Legend will be passed on to you.”

Okay.. that doesn’t seem absolutely horrible. Good to know they won’t be completely powerless against the Tower Legends! They’re still a bit scared of Spark, though. The guy had scars littering his body! Sword slashes, arrows, even one that looked like an explosion.. 

“You will be given 10 minutes of preparation time before being teleported. Good luck.”
“Finally! … Pickle, stop, you look insane.”

Spark turned to the miner who seemed 5 ticks away from shaking Conk for his Soulcore. He sighed, letting go of Conk and lightly pushing him back towards Joll.

“Fine. I’ll have time to search him later anyways..”
“Your obsession shall swallow you whole one of these days, my brother! Should you lose yourself in your endless greed.. There’s no saying you shall return to us sound.”
“Ah yes, being criticized for ‘losing myself’ by the person who we had to tie up. Yes, yes, you’re the perfect person to take advice from, Axel..”
“I give my thanks.”

Joll blinked once he felt Golem grab their cape and start dragging them away from the Tower Legends along with Conk. Kibble just followed along.

“Golem?”
“Those people are crazy. Not dealing with it.”

Well, they’re gonna have to deal with them in a few minutes. At least one of them. And Golem is going to have to deal with arguably the craziest of them all. Yeah- it’s obvious that Axel isn’t quite sane.

Joll just sighed when Golem stopped dragging the two of them. Kibble barked, to which Conk quickly translated.

“Kibble says we need a plan.”
“What? We’re not on the same floor, idiots.”

Golem scoffed, making Kibble let out a low bark. Conk suddenly chuckled.

“Oooo. burn.”
“What’d he say?”

Joll asked. Conk just blinked before leaning to the side.

“Ahhhh.. It’s not appropriate for the channel..”
“Wut.”
“Nothing!!”

Conk suddenly jumped up, squishing Joll’s face. Was he trying to start another bit? They already had the whole “plot armor” thing which even Golem was in on at times. Joll took Conk’s hands away from them, sighing.

“The only thing we can do is just hope, I guess..”

A thought suddenly occurred to Joll.

“Conk- where is your Soulcore?”
“My what”
“The things we got after choosing our classes way back in the Infinity Dungeon, remember?”

That’s another thing Joll remembered! They didn’t know what it was at the time [mainly because the villagers didn’t TELL THEM] but after they chose their classes, they and Conk received a crystal thing for each of them. Golem and Kibble got theirs after clearing the Slime King dungeon.

“Ohhhh! . . .”
“Conk what did you do with your Soulcore.”
“Uhmmm.. I plead the fifth!”

The rock shook his head and almost ran off. That would be if Golem didn't yank him back.

“Get over here, rock.”
“This is against the law!!!!”
“Shut up…”

Conk flailed his arms around, Golem rolling his eyes.

“3 minutes left.”
“Only 3 minutes?.. Well, see you guys on the other side.”


Joll chuckled awkwardly. Honestly? Yes, they were still nervous about fighting Spark THAT GUY IS SCARY!!! Why did the villagers from the Core dungeon think they were ready for this?! Genuinely shaking in their boots right now. Well- non-existent boots. Grass beneath their toess… Golem interrupted their thoughts.

“Joll, you’re not gonna die.”
“1 minute remaining.”
“Euhhhhhhhhhh…”

Joll gripped their sword tighter and let out a high pitched whine. They’ve barely sword fought for over a YEAR! It was all just their end aura..
Eugh they never want to hear that again.
Golem sighed and put a hand on their shoulder.

“Look, remember what I said in the Infinity Dungeon. You’re a good sword fighter, Joll, no matter what you or anybody else thinks. You’re better than you realize.”
“Can I get a pep talk??”

Conk cheerily asked, somehow popping up in between Joll and Golem.

“Uhh. no time. Don’t die.”
“Teleporting..”

Kibble let out a few barks and that was the last thing they heard before feeling the air around them shift. They held onto their sword, gripping the blade and accidentally slicing their hand. Hey- preparation for getting their butt sliced into a new food item.. Heh.. Coping mechanisms.

They realized they were getting teleported for a bit too long. They know they weren’t supposed to, but they cracked one of their eyes open just slightly. Black void.. Of course. Did the Tower malfunction or something? Teleportation had been fine for them up until now.. This MUST be the work of Henderson. They’ve made it their life goal to blame everything bad on that guy.

“.. Tower..?”
“Floor 103754. Legendary Miner’s Mineshaft.”

Wait- the legendary miner ? Like the Pickle guy?? Conk’s guy??? All that mental preparation to fight Spark and they’re not even on his floor! Pickle was standing dramatically on a pile of diamond ore, a netherite pickaxe in hand. He appeared to have elytra-like wings, but they couldn’t see the harness.. Under his hoodie, maybe?

“Conk, right? Well if you don’t mind, I’d rather get my Soulcore now rather than-”

Though once he turned around, he stopped speaking. His smile that Joll dared to describe as suave stayed on his face for a moment before falling.

“Uhm.. you’re- you’re not supposed to be here. I need the rock- where’s the rock??”
“Well.. 1. His name is Conk. 2. I don’t know..? I don’t know why I’m here!”

They balled their hands into fists, only making more blood come from their injured one. Pickle gave a hum of understanding, looking him up and down for a moment or two. They were not a fan of the way they were being stared at right now.

“I see… Well, you still have my friend’s Soulcore. Sooo.. yeah.”

Joll snapped to attention, getting in their signature battle stance and managing to hold the handle of their sword with both hands.

“Well- come at me!”
“Boomerang.”

Pickle threw his pickaxe to the side, momentarily confusing Joll until they remembered what a boomerang was. OH SHI

They held up their sword, managing to block the rapidly spinning pickaxe. Netherite scraping against netherite was a horrid sound so they quickly shoved it away. Ha- they blocked it! They actually blocked a Tower Legend attack! They’re LITERALLY THE BEST! 

The miner managed to fly over and swoop their pickaxe back before Joll could counter-attack, jamming his pickaxe into the ground once they landed.

“Strip mine.”

The ores under them started to disappear and quick . Only in rows though.. Oh- strip mine, right! They really need to open their ears.. They locked in and sent a wave of fire at Pickle, the latter smoothly dodging to the side.

“Oh- that reminds me of Spark’s sword! I’m sure you two would’ve gotten along. You know, if the tower didn’t mess up the teleport.”

Pickle stretched like this was just a casual sparring match, his elytra stretching with him. Joll just frowned slightly, sending a water slash his way.

“No, your ‘friend’ looks like he wants to kill me.”
“That’s just him- ouh.”

The water had lost nearly all of its speed thanks to the holes in the ground, so they might as well just dumped a bucket of water on him. Pickle placed down a chest and started to approach.

“Like I said, that’s just him. The whole Light of Battle and all, amirite?”
“Wait- Battle? That’s not what it said in my book.. Wait, why am I even talking to you?!”

They shot fire at him again. The chest- and you’re gonna LAUGH at this one- the chest moved and managed to SWALLOW THEIR FIRE. WHAT THE F*CK. Their expression seemed to be one of horror, as Pickle started to laugh.

“Sorry, sorry! It’s so funny just to pull that one out on people. Eheh.. Anyways Demon Chest.”

He pointed at them and the chest charged for them, making them squeal like a little girl and jump back. Thank infinity they were a frog! Hopping around comes in handy in hyper-specific scenarios like these! They kept sending fire towards both Pickle AND the chest, but the chest just kept taking them. How could it even do that. It’s a chest. Made of WOOD. Which is WEAK TO FIRE. It should be burning to ash right now. Now he misses Ash. Man. . .

They could feel Pickle’s eyes on them, and frankly it was an uncomfortable feeling. They shot some more water at him, which once again he just stood there and took. Mildly inconvenience the man, Joll, that’ll surely work! Idiot. 

“Your sword can use both fire and water?”

They figured it was better to not distract themself by talking to him, so they started running at him instead. Fire sword to the face, loser!!!! Pickle mumbled something sounding like ‘rude’ under his breath before throwing his pickaxe behind Joll. They whipped around to block it again, but were taken by surprise when a pillar of nether brick appeared beneath them and took them many blocks into the air.

“woAH-!”
“There we go!”

Pickle soon arrived to their level on another pillar, a netherite axe in one hand while catching his pickaxe with the other.

“Wait- you have two! That has to be cheating.”
“Normally Axel — my brother — would have this but.. Y’know. Well, you don’t but still. Let’s just say he can’t be trusted around weapons.”

‘And Spark can?’ They almost asked, but decided to hold their tongue. Pickle cleared his throat and held the axe over his shoulder.

“Anyways.. Answer my question, please?”
“Why would I?”
“Well, you can’t get down from here without fall damage even in all of your froggy glory, so there’s not much else to do!”

That..! Was true. Even with Joll’s reduced fall damage [only reason they knew that was because of Conk blowing them off the edge of a cliff] they’d still take a lot of damage. Which Pickle would no doubt use to his advantage..

“Uhm. Well, yeah. Infinity Dungeon gave it to me.. Floor 25, I think it was? It was so long ago I can barely remember.”
“Mhm.. And the crown? Oh- Are you royalty??”

Pickle immediately brightened up at the realization. Joll let out an awkward and loud laugh.

“Kinda- maybe, not really?.. It’s- a whole thing.. I mean, the queen, my mom, is dead and I haven’t been to Water Civ in a year or two..”
“So you have no need for it?”
“What-? No- yes I do!”
“Too forward?”

The miner laughed. They glanced to the side nervously. Honestly they didn’t know how to feel that they were being all buddy buddy with the supposed enemy. Pickle adjusted his hold on the axe, holding it out in front of him. Joll’s pillar suddenly expanded into a full on platform, letting Pickle jump across and join them.

“Y’know, your sword's pretty up there in power.”
“Really? It’s just a fire and water sword..”
“Mhm! While I wouldn’t say you’d be able to go hand to hand with Spark, you’d sure as hell give him a run for his money. How old are you?”

Joll blinked, taking a step back from him.

“Six..teen..? No- Seventeen. Maybe?”
“Same! But also forget what I said before.. Not even I could land a hit on him and we’ve been teammates for like- months. ”
“Thanks for the reassurance, man! Really helpful!”

The frog smiled sarcastically. Pickle laughed again, planting the axe into the ground.

“Sorry, sorry! Just being realistic, you know? I wouldn’t want to give you false hope then find you’ve been sliced into minced meat the next day. Even if we’re supposed to be enemies, that’d just be mean .”

Joll gave a small laugh along with Pickle. They were just- confused, really. Why wasn’t Pickle fighting them? They’re linked to Spark’s soulcore, meaning he gets his power taken away day by day. Wouldn’t Pickle not want that? Their friendship doesn’t sound the STRONGEST in Minecraft but they’re still teammates.

“1 player has forfeit: Conk.”

Pickle looked up when the Tower spoke, musing to himself.

“Well that’s interesting..”
“Wait- if I’m here.. Does that mean Conk’s with Spark?!”

How are they JUST NOW realizing that possibility?! They usually don’t dictate what Conk does or doesn’t do but Conk is NOT ready for Spark! No way in hell! Pickle merely hummed again.

“I mean, we don’t know if it’s just a swap of floors or if it’s all jumbled up. He could be with Spark. But he could also be with Axel or Sprout. Those two would be boring for somebody like him.”
“But I have to know for sure . I’m not taking a risk! Tower, I forfeit!”
“2 players have forfeit: Joll and Conk.”

Dang it, that’s only 2! There has to be a third.. There’s no way Pickle would forfeit just for Joll. They could only think about whatever Conk was experiencing.. They shifted uncomfortably at the thought.

“Calm down, Joll. Hey, maybe Spark isn’t even fighting him right now.”
“Don’t lie just to make me feel better!”

Pickle’s eye widened in surprise before he huffed and crossed his arms, taking another few steps towards Joll.

“Listen, I’m not lying. Even if Spark is described as a little kooky, he prefers fair fights. And he also prefers if there’s blood involved in said fights. Does Conk bleed?”
“N..No.. He's a rock, of course not.”
“Then there’s a good shot Conk’s just bored! Look, I might not know him personally, but from the book that the Infinity Tower gave me he seems like the type for action.”

That made them feel a little better.. But they were still worried. Conk’s the type of person to get bored easily, yes. But he’s also the type of person to annoy the enemy so much they end up focusing on him anyways. 

They just need to make sure he’s okay..

“You worry a lot.”
“I know.. I just can’t help it though. Conk always gets into some sort of trouble..”
“You should have some faith in him! Again, I don’t know him all too well but he reminds me of Axel before we officially entered the Infinity Dungeon. Impulsive, mainly.”

Conk was pretty impulsive. It was almost concerning. Sure, he’s a rock so of course Joll wouldn’t be able to expect much in the ‘brains’ category from him, but still.

“Hey, maybe he’s stuck with Axel. That’d be a pretty free fight!”
“How?”
“Don’t you remember? He’s tied up. Can’t move his arms at all. Thank Spark for that.”
“Oh yeah- why is he tied up??”

Pickle finally gave an awkward laugh of his own, tapping his nails on his knuckles.

“Uhm.. Reasons! He’s just- not doing the best right now. So for my- our safety, it was a team-wide decision.”

He sighed, but Joll felt it wasn’t sincere.

“Well, it's best I don’t keep your curiosity waiting. I forfeit.”
“3 players have forfeit: Joll, Conk, and Pickle. Teleporting..”

Joll blinked, bewildered before a smile came over their face.

“Thank yo-!”

They were all back outside the tower before they could finish their sentence. They immediately heard heavy breathing and holy infinity Conk was on the floor -

“Conk!”

Joll crouched down, putting a hand on Conk’s shoulder. Golem stepped in front of the two of them while Kibble whined and sat next to Conk. Conk finally looked up and let out a wince .

“It hurts..”
“Of course it hurts, I have golden boots.”

Spark laughed, unequipping said boots and trying to empty out any pebbles. Speaking of pebbles, whole lot of them on the ground right now! Conk removed his hands from his stomach, chunks of rock and pebbles falling onto his hands.

“Oh..”
“ Ohmygod- okay! It’s- fine, Conk. You’re- You’re fine. Right..? You’re fine, just a few.. A lot of- YOU- Uhm jeez okay-”

Joll tried to get some words of comfort out but all that they were saying were useless stammers. A loud crack silenced any and all conversations. One of the two fractures on Conk’s face had grown larger. Joll let out a small scream.

“Hey, can we like, forfeit this entire thing? I’m getting level 25 flashbacks.”

Golem asked the Tower.

“And you should know from that experience that the answer is no. You must either defeat the current Tower Legends or perish while trying.”
“great.”

Well now Joll feels guilty again. Even if it wasn’t their choice to go into this dungeon, Spark was supposed to be their fight. Not Conk’s. Kibble barked which- surprise surprise they couldn’t understand because they don’t speak DOG. But it seemed to make Conk feel a bit better.

“Haha.. you’re funny.”
“Okay- Let’s just all try to get some rest. Things will hopefully be normal tomorrow..”

Joll suggested, getting up and holding a hand out to Conk who took it with a smile. The rock suddenly brightened up and squeezed Joll’s hand.

“Sleepover!”
“Absolutely not.”

Golem deadpanned, making Conk frown.

“It’s my final wish!”
“You’re not gonna die, Conk.”
“You don’t know that!! You can’t see my hearts!!”

Conk shook his head rapidly, Golem only sighing in response and walking off. Conk let go of Joll’s hand to follow him to which both Kibble and Joll followed.

They were still wondering why they ended up on Pickle's floor, but it’ll probably get fixed tomorrow. So they still need to mentally prepare for Spark.. If he got Conk to feel pain and show it, who knows what he could do to Joll?! They’re nowhere as resilient as Conk is… Conk’s a rock and they’re just- a fleshy frog! They might be good at fighting, yeah, but Spark’s better . 

They let out a sigh. They’ll.. worry about that later. If they keep thinking like this they’ll drive themself up the wall with anxiety.

“Conk, slow down!”

“Well, maybe the tower did that on purpose..?”

Sprout slowly suggested, keeping her hands together as she sat on the stairs to the small house. Spark only raised an eyebrow.

“How so?”
“Well, the skill difference between you and.. whatever its name was–”
“Joll.”

Pickle interrupted, Sprout momentarily pausing before clearing her throat.

“Between you and Joll is a lot . And Pickle was going to the ends of the world to find his Soulcore. So, to keep things ‘fair’, it put Joll with Pickle and Conk with Spark.”
“A foolish notion. While this tower can talk, it has no eyes to see. It is composed of command blocks and redstone, set to answer questions we ask of it until it is time for battle.”

Axel scoffed before throwing his head back to raise his sunglasses. Pickle snickered before speaking.

“So Spark but more helpful?”
“You little bat , shut your mouth. I didn’t see a singular scratch on the frog once we got back. And what was with your surrender anyways? Just because it wasn’t your guy doesn’t mean you could just forfeit.”

Pickle straight up laughed, putting his hands up in mock surrender as Spark’s grip on his sword tightened.

“Calm down, Spark! Just a joke. As that second part. Honestly I couldn't focus on the fight ‘cuz of that sword.. Netherite with water and fire abilities.. Eheh..”

He smiled to himself for a few more moments before snapping back to the conversation at hand.

“I also surrendered because he was getting worried for his rock friend.”

Spark rolled his eyes, leaning back against the house. Pickle hummed and stretched, elytra spreading out behind him.

“I hope the thing stays bugged though. I really want that sword. And his crown! Oh- did you guys know he’s a prince from Water Civilization??”
“I don’t recall any of us requesting that information, brother.”
“Shhhhh.. Hear that?”

He held up a finger in front of Axel, letting silence fill the air.

“Exactly.”
“I don’t get it..”

Sprout mumbled, leading to a sigh from Pickle. 

At least he’ll get to see Joll tomorrow. Not out of any positive feeling towards the frog, no. Pickle couldn’t care less about him if he tried. But a simple break from his fellow Tower Legends is both well needed and well deserved. Seriously, putting up with Spark for this long in itself should earn him stacks upon stacks of netherite.

Chapter Text

Joll, arising from their peaceful slumber, awoke to find themself unable to breathe. Yes, we’re starting off the chapter like this. Their eyes snapped open as they tried to sit up only to find they were being weighed down by something. Panic flooded their mind for a moment before a loud snore interrupted their line of thinking. Oh- wait a minute.

“Conk??”

They wheezed out, looking down at the sleeping rock on top of them. While he didn’t wake up, they could quickly see they were correct. They sighed, shaking the rock.

“Conk, get up.”

Surprise surprise, the rock slept like a rock. Joll only got another snore in response. Damn it-

“Holy guacamole is that a STACK OF STEAK OUTSIDE MY HOUSE??”
“whuh…?”

breh.

“Get offa me.”
“noooooo…”
“Conk please you weigh like 15 tons.”
“I’m not that heavy!”

Conk finally rolled off of them and onto the floor with a loud thud. Joll rolled over to look at the rock on the floor, inhaling deeply to get a taste of that sweet sweet oxygen they take for granted. Never know how much you love breathing until you have a bolder crushing your lungs!

“I don’t wanna fight the gold guy again..”

Joll over at Conk as he mumbled that, a small frown of sympathy coming over their face. They sat up and stretched slightly.

Right.. Joll and their friends had been put into a dungeon that’d serve as “one of their final challenges”, as one of the villagers put it. They’d have to face off against a group of 4 known as the “Tower Legends” in an attempt to claim their title for themselves and prove THEY were the real deal.

Joll themself was supposed to be going up against Spark – the gold guy in question – but the Tower had made some sort of error and Conk got stuck with him instead. Safe to say that didn’t end well for Conk.

They just shook their head, trying to get the horrifying image of Conk practically crumbling on the ground before them out of their mind. They pat his head once or twice before speaking.

“Don’t worry, Conk. That first day was probably just a fluke.. Even machines make mistakes! I’m.. sure you’ll actually get paired with Pickle this time.”

Conk made a small ‘ohh’ sound, looking up at Joll with a newfound smile.

“Okay!”

Easily convinced much? Joll shook their head with a soft laugh and reached over to their chest, grasping at air. Well, that wasn’t right. They looked over, thinking they’d simply missed the item like an idiot but nope. It just wasn’t there.

“Hey, where’s my crown?”
“Your what?”
“My crown. Ahem- the ‘pointy rock’ on my head.”
“Ohh.. Where’s it?”
“That’s- why I’m asking you, Conk..”

Conk merely shrugged, leading Joll to sigh once more. They’re going to die from Conk’s stupidity one day, they just know it.. Maybe their crown fell off in Pickle’s floor or something. That’d be a pain.. But- they’re sure they had it last night! Sigh.

“Keep an eye out– er… Nevermind.”

YIIIIIKESS. Sometimes it escapes them that Conk doesn’t have eyes. They suddenly flinched at the sound of loud knocking on their door, and so did Conk. Man, normally that guy NEVER flinches! They think it’s because he’s too dumb to realize he’s in danger but AHHHH that’s for another day! Are they really best friends if they don’t accidentally-on purpose insult each other in inner monologues?

But the knock inspired Joll to finally get up, fixing their hooded cloak and peeking out the door. Wait. Where’s the knocker. Though, just as they thought that very thought, a small bark came from the other side of the door.

“KIBBOL!”
“How are you– Y’know what nevermind.”

They just sighed and opened the door, completely giving up on questioning the rock at this point. Honestly they should’ve known all the way back in Mining Civilization not to question him. “He stole my iron!” No, Conk, you HANDED IT to Joll very politely. What the hell. Almost got them executed on the spot.. Okay they might have trauma from Dirt Civ. Lol.

Kibble barked again, running straight inside and jumping atop of Conk. Joll looked outside, seeing if anybody else could’ve knocked. They stepped outside, but nobody was even near their house. Golem seemed to be pondering while looking over the edge of the platform they were on and looking to the right, they saw Sprout on the roof of her house. Even if they were supposed to be enemies, a bit a worry flickered inside of them.

“Hey- uh- isn’t that kinda dangerous?”

They called out. That managed to get Sprout’s attention, turning her head towards them. She stared at them for a few moments, not bothering to get down from the roof.

“Do you.. need help? I can like.. get Golem? Maybe?”
“You’d go really well with cornflowers.”

She suddenly said, holding up some sort of flower in front of herself. Joll only blinked with confusion.

“Huh?”
“Your look, I mean. The green goes well with a hyper blue like them.”

She then smiled, swinging her feet on the edge of the roof as she spoke.

“It’s funny. I gave Pickle the same flower.”
“Oh?”
“Your greens are very similar. Normally he wears a hood, but since he got the elytra wings on his head, he can’t do that anymore. It's sad, really.”

They don’t remember asking for Pickle lore but okay!

“Right.. Y’know, you’re oddly nice for a Tower Legend.”

They couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of their mouth. Sprout tilted her head slightly for a moment before looking back at the flower in her hand. That wasss... a poppy, if they remembered correctly. Golem has some in his hair. She set the poppy down before jumping off the roof. With how easily she did it, they almost expected her to land gracefully. But no. Just.. plop . Right onto her face.

“Oh-! Are you okay??”

They raced over to her, a hint of a laugh in their voice. Truly, they were worried but it was just a LITTLE funny. Sprout sat up, laughing herself and wiping the dirt off her face with the section of her sleeve NOT covered in moss. How was that- Nope. Y’know what? Not going to question it.

“I’m fine! And as for what you said before, we’re all weird, but we’re not all mean .. I think Spark’s the only one who actually tried fighting yesterday.”
“Pickle almost took my head clean off with his pickaxe.”

Joll wheezed, helping her to her feet. She merely hummed.

“Oh. Well, that’s a shame. Not what he told me.. Speaking of, can you tell your dog to stop being so avoidant?”
“Kibble?”
“Yes. I swear, I’m not trying to fight..! He just seems to be troubled about something.. I'd like to help but he keeps growling at me when I try to talk.”

They were a bit confused. Kibble wasn’t the type to be avoidant. About the whole parasite thing? Maybe , but Sprout doesn’t know about that! Joll slowly nodded.

“O..kay.. I’ll- be sure to tell him about that.”

Sprout nodded with a smile before walking back into her house. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments, honestly still trying to process the cornflower comment.

“Day 2.”

Infinity Tower jumpscare. They flinched a bit thanks to how loud it was compared to everything else. When they turned around to go back to their house, Conk and Kibble were already bothering Golem. Ah… they love their little group.

“Hey! You guys alright?”
“Morning. And- no.”

Golem lightly shoved Conk away from him, leading the rock to fall on the ground. He seemed slightly confused at how easy that was, but turned back to Joll.

“You much better?”
“Uhm.. I don’t know!”

They helped up Conk, tugging him to his feet.

“What about you, Conk? You alright?”
“My face hurtsssss.”

He rubbed one of the cracks on his face with his sleeve, not really helping a lot with Joll’s guilt. Even if that entire teleportation thing was out of their control, they still felt bad for how badly Conk got messed up.

Kibble suddenly let out a loud bark, snapping Joll out of their thoughts and making them look over at the dog. Golem had him raised in the air on one hand.

“What? He kept biting my hair.”
“That’s- how does holding him in the air help with that?”
“Air jail.”

Golem answered simply, earning another bark from Kibble. Conk suddenly laughed.

“Oh yeah, he did that to me too!”
“Y’know what, yeah.”

The next moment, Conk was lifted up over Golem’s shoulder. Well… at least Joll’s a free man! Kibble had started kinda tweaking at this point, moving every which way in an attempt to squirm out of Golem’s hand. They’ll admit, it was a bit funny. Okay not a bit, it was hilarious. Kibble whined as they let out a small laugh.

“Sorry, sorry!”
“You’re a cruel, cruel man Joll.”

Golem shook his head with a particularly loud sigh, making Joll pause.

“Hey-! I’m not the one picking them up!”
“Still, laughing is just as bad.”
“No it’s not!”

Despite trying to defend themself, Joll was still giggling a bit. Like they said, they loved their little group. Conk had started kicking his feet at this point, only leading to another sigh from Golem.

“Well isn’t this a disgustingly heartwarming sight?”

Joll’s laughter abruptly cut off at the sound of Spark’s voice. Looking to where it actually came from, Spark had his fingers in a rectangle over his eye as if framing Joll and the rest in a picture. The rest of the Tower Legends weren't with him and it was a bit unsettling seeing him alone. He smirked, amusement written all over his face as he put his arms down.

“Can't you stay with your weird friends until I'm forced to look at you??”

Golem scoffed, the rare look of contentment having been replaced with annoyance in a heartbeat. Kibble had started glaring at the fighter from the moment he'd spoken, and Conk.. Well, they couldn't really see his face.

Joll suddenly shivered as fingers traced over their shoulders in a gentle manner before harshly grabbing them. A simple turn to the side revealed it was Pickle.

“Oh, but where's the fun in that?”
“Pickle, dude, too close.”

Spark's smile dropped as he observed the sight. Pickle laughed a bit before backing off from Joll. As much as they'd hate to agree with Spark, WAYYYY TOO CLOSE YEAH. Not a fan of feeling people's breath on their neck nuh uh no thank you!!

“Sorryy! I just hate him the least.”
“Uhm- thank you..?”

They weren’t sure how to feel about that. Pickle just nodded and patted them on the shoulder.

“You're very welcome.”
“Welcome to day 2 of the competition. Soulcore power is currently split 25-75 between Team 2 and Team 1. Good job Team 2. On… not dying.”

The tower seemed almost hesitant to give its praises. RUDE…  but also valid. The only person who had signs of actually getting harmed yesterday was Conk. Not even Sprout had a bite mark on her from Kibble! That was noticeable, anyway. The majority of her skin was covered.

“Your 10 minutes of preparation starts now.”

At that, Golem dropped Conk and set Kibble on the ground. Pickle hummed from behind them before walking off.

“Bye Joll!”
“. . . Bye..?”

They awkwardly waved as he waltzed over to Spark. There was a few seconds of silence before Golem spoke.

“He’s a little too buddy-buddy with you.”
“I don't know why! I mean, we had an okay talk yesterday but it's not like we're friends!”

Joll rapidly shook their head, earning an audible laugh from Spark. ANYWAYS..

They rolled their eyes before looking at Conk. He seemed to be- chewing on his arrows again.. god damn it-

“Conk.”
“Hello!”

He smiled at them, fletching between his teeth. They only gave a disapproving shake of their head. Classic Conk. Unfortunately.. They hate how they’re getting used to this.

“ Out . Your mouth.”
“Whaaaaat”
“Moron.”

Golem muttered, snatching the arrow from Conk. Conk, in Conk fashion, gave a comically large frown before he pulled out another arrow. Riiight… Infinite arrows.. Why was Conk the ranged class again?

Speaking- of their classes, were any of the Tower Legends even IN classes? Last time Joll checked their book it didn’t say anything about Spark’s class, just his status is the Legendary Fighter. They pulled out their book, thinking they just remembered wrong.

Username: Spark

Tower Legend – Legendary Fighter – Light of Bloo▇▇▇

Infinity Dungeon Record: Level 890,500,022(?)

LMFAO Light of Bloo.

Okay- no- lock in. Though that was interesting. The text they couldn’t read before had revealed itself somewhat. Was this a day by day thing?? Ohh boyyy.. Let’s hope they don’t DIE before they find out!! 

Oh hey SPEAKING of text they couldn’t read, there was a lot more they’d neglected to mention at the start of this whole thing, mainly because it’d be pointless and it’d cause them even more worry than they were already feeling. But PSHH they can just READ some of it now??!/!/! WHOOPIEE!!!! YAY!! They love plot conveniences!!!!!! ANYWAYS let’s see what this sayssss…

Spark is notably quite the aggressive individual. Similar to a hyperactive child. Let him tucker himself out by playing defensively and then punish.

AWESOME video game tips! Y’know, they really wanna meet the person who wrote this book and just. Get mad at them. Because why would you not give them this information from the start???? Conk was CRUMBLING yesterday! Granted, for the billionth time, Spark was not his assigned Tower Legend but HEY if it WAS readable on Day 1 then they might’ve mentioned how video game-y and convenient it was to Conk and MAYBE he could’ve used that information to not almost DIE!

Maybe Conk wouldn’t have remembered what they said and probably would’ve gotten beaten to a pulp anyways, but it’s the thought that counts.

“nerd.”
“What??”

Joll looked up from the book at the sudden comment from said rock because what the hell. Golem smacked him on the back of the head which led to Kibble trying to bite him. Unfortunately all he could reach were Golem’s iron boots so that didn’t really end up well for him.

“Ignore him. What’re you reading for anyways?”
“I thought I forgot something – which I didn’t mind you – but there’s new information in the books!”
“Eugh. I’d rather die than read about that guy- damn it-! ”

They jumped from Golem’s sudden exclamation and the hit to his own head that followed.

“Are you okay??”
“He rhymes like every sentence . I think it’s more annoying than Conk.”
“Wow.. that’s.. A lot.”

If something is more annoying than CONK, then it’s a bigggg problem. Not to say Joll finds Conk that annoying! He’s been their day 1 so they’ve gotten used to his IQ deficient shenanigans by now. It was a slow and painful process, yes, but they’ve gotten used to it.

“4 minutes remaining.”
“Mmmmm :(“

Conk held onto his book tightly before opening it. Both having no eyes and being illiterate in general, he just seemed to be staring at it. Joll leaned forward slightly to get a better look at the pages.

Looking at the photos, Pickle actually seemed to be a nervous guy before.. Whatever happened! And similar to what Sprout said, he wore his hood way more often. A majority of the photos pasted into the book had shown him either panicking or awkwardly complying with the situation.

Name: pickle

Tower Legend – Legendary Miner – Light of G▇▇▇▇

Infinity Dungeon Record: Level 890,500,021(?)

Pickle’s swift but reckless. He makes easily punishable moves and tends to let his weapon leave him for long periods of time.

Joll had briefly noted it said “name” instead of “username” rather than anything important, but whatever. That tip was a DAMN lie though, they tried to punish him when his pickaxe was LIGHTYEARS away from him and- okay well.. They used the water power so,,,,,,, that was kinda on them.

“It says Pickle’s fast but clumsy.”
“Ooohhh… what’s that mean.”
“nevermind.”

Joll shook their head and looked down at Kibble who was currently making the :3 face IRL. Oh- yeah that reminds them.

“Hey, Kibble!”

They crouched down to Kibble’s level, hearing their knees pop and suddenly feeling like they just aged 50 years. Golem mumbled a ‘damn’ under his breath which Joll had the willpower to ignore and instead focused their attention on Kibble who’s tongue was now back in his mouth. HORRAY!! He tilted his head, raising one ear to better hear them.

“Sssprout said something about not wanting to fight. Don’t get me wrong-! I think you should still be on the lookout, but maybe like.. Chill out a bit?”

Kibble seemed skeptical, almost annoyed at the request as he gave a low ‘woof’, to which Conk gleefully translated.

“He thinks that’s bullshit!”
“I’m a little on edge too, but like.. Sprout doesn’t seem as crazy as the rest of them..”

Joll stood up straight, leaning to the side slightly. Golem huffed with sarcastic amusement.

“She doesn’t wear shoes. I think that crosses several lines of insanity.”
“Oh, ew.” “Gross!” “woof.”
“How am I the only one who noticed that??”

Joll and Conk shrugged while Kibble shook his head.

“1 minutes remaining.”
“Minutes ? That’s plural.”

Joll looked up as if talking to the Infinity Tower but of course didn’t get a response. Axel gave an obnoxiously loud sigh.

“The thing’s still bugged, apparently . I fear the results are going to be unpleasant… ly– unpleasant..ly- Unpleasantly!”
“Would you stop.”

Golem’s voice was almost pleading but Axel just rapidly shook his head.

“No can do my iron companion! For that, you’d.. have too.. beg with wild abandon! Only then shall I listen to your demands, won’t you understand?”
“I’ve tried to make him stop. It’s nigh impossible.. His rhymes are simply unstoppable!”

Pickle laughed slightly. Golem just groaned into his hands.

“Teleporting..”
“No way that was a minute-!”

Joll got cut off by the teleportation, shutting their eyes and pulling out their sword. They felt the warm air of the outside turn to the cold emptiness of “the inbetween” as they dubbed it.

They took a deep breath, letting out a long exhale through their mouth. Just remember what the book said, Play defensively and when he’s done attacking, counterattack. Easy enough, right? They blocked Pickle’s boomerang pickaxe yesterday, so surely Spark’s sword wouldn’t be that different, right? Plus, they already had experience in swordfighting! 

Golem was right. They’re going to be fine! They can hold their own against Spark, surely!

“Floor 936745. Legendary Fighter’s Battlefield.”

Okay, so it worked! Awesome, cool.

“What???”

NEVERMIND?!?!

Joll’s eyes snapped open at the sound of PICKLE’S voice. The floor was different from his- obviously. The floor was made of sandstone with occasional patches of cobble/mossy stone and unlike Pickles, it was flat for the most part. The walls also seemed to be decorated with various banners and chains.

They realized it was meant to look like an arena despite there not being people to watch. The audience’s seats were made from stone and where they assumed the announcer would be hung in the air in the middle of the room. They could be wrong though.

Ewww they’re getting flashbacks..

“This is just getting ridiculous..”

Pickle frowned, running a hand through his hair. Joll only hummed in agreement, nodding. This was getting ridiculous. Two days in a row?? They adjusted their hold on their sword, prepared to try and fight again until the Tower interrupted.

“Reminder that you cannot IMMEDIATELY attempt to forfeit the fight for the day.”
“What? That wasn’t a rule!”

Who was even attempting to.. WAIT CONK!

He was trying to surrender this early?? That only increased Joll’s worried tenfold. Yesterday was not this quick.. Did Conk finally recognize he was in danger?? That’s both slightly reassuring and greatly frightening. They’ve noticed Conk’s memory gets slightly better in absolutely dire situations, so if he realized something was wrong this early, whatever was going on between him and Spark had to be worse than Joll could even imagine..

“The tower clearly doesn’t remember its own rules. Like Axel said, it’s buggy.”
“But- That's not even safe, then!”
“I know, believe me. It's what got the last group killed.”

Joll blinked, their grip on the sword weakening slightly in surprise.

“You've.. done this before?”
“Of course. A lot of people want the power of the Soulcore. But, clearly, we can't let that slide.”

Pickle stretched a bit, smiling at the memory.

“Y’know the ‘ 3 people must forfeit’ rule? The Tower completely bugged out and it suddenly became 500 ! Safe to say they got dealt with.”

They paled. Knowing it was a possibility they wouldn’t be able to forfeit all because the tower was glitching out of their control was- terrifying. And that’s a HUGE understatement.

Pickle seemed to notice their distress, his laugh becoming slightly more awkward.

“Ahm- I’m sure that won’t happen though. I mean, what are the odds the requirement would bug out back to back??”  

He nudged their shoulder, admittedly making them flinch a bit harder than they should’ve. That being at all. They only loudly cleared their throat and shifted slightly away from Pickle.

“haha yeah whatre the odds..........................”

Their voice descended into a mumble, nervously tugging on their sleeves. Pickle frowned slightly, giving a loud sigh.

“You need to stop worrying about the worst case scenario. It’s only gonna make things worse for your head in the long run.”

He lightly smacked them upside the head, making them whip around to face him with an annoyed expression. Do not the frog. Pickle chuckled a bit at the face they made before continuing with his encouragement speech.

“Seriously! If all you think about is problems then you’re gonna make more problems in your head that don’t exist. And since they don’t exist, they don’t have a solution and then it goes wayyyyyy down from there.”

He pointed at the ground to make his point clearer, only making Joll sigh. They then remembered they were supposed to be fighting right about now and jumped back from Pickle, earning a confused look before they pointed their sword at him.

“You’re not gonna win me over with your smooth talking! I know you’ve already won before, but that doesn’t matter. I’m gonna change things!”
“You’re not the first person to say tha–”
“Shush.”

Pickle merely smiled, shrugging before he quickly pulled out Axel’s axe [ HIS NAME IS A PUN??? ] and put a wall of nether brick between the two of them. Joll took a few steps back, the blade of their sword catching on fire as they jumped on top of the wall and-

Proceeded to eat absolute shit.

Pickle had made the wall – which was initially only two blocks tall – four blocks tall. And as the other two rows of blocks rose underneath it, Joll was in the prime position to get their jaw hit. They got knocked back, landing on their back and like 75% sure they bit their tongue. Heheh didn’t know frogs had teeth didja?? Cool fun fact for you!

But seriously OW, OW, OWWWW .

“Oh my-! Are you okay??”
“NO.”

Do they look okay?? Of course they don’t! What kind of question is that???? Pickle sat atop the wall, a look of concern on his face.

“Uh…”

He awkwardly looked around while Joll writhed in pain. Jerk.. But even with the clear advantage, Pickle wasn’t attacking them.. It was almost off-putting. He had 2 types of weapons, high ground, the ability to FLY, and was quick as hell! And he just?????? Wasn’t!?!? Using that?!?! What was he planning??????????? Joll’s scared.

“Oh! Sorry. I- forgot about that. Sorry.”

Bruh.

“It’s.. fine. Well, not really– But you get what I mean.”

They mumbled, rubbing their jaw as they got up. Pickle tilted his head.

“Nnnoo? I don’t, actually.”

Silence..

“Anyways!”

Joll quickly pulled out their sword again, shooting a wave of water at Pickle which somehow managed to hit. They blinked once they heard him fall over, taking their chance to scale the wall and try to get another hit in. Normally they wouldn’t play so aggressively, but their friend and boy Conk’s life was- basically at stake here. Oh yeah that reminds them–

“Tower, I forfeit.”

They dropped from the wall, leading to Pickle sigh and roll out of the way. He pulled out the pickaxe again but didn’t use it quite yet. Joll figured he was trying to think of what move to use, so they used the opportunity to get closer.

“1 player has forfeit: Spark.”
“What??”

They stopped moving for a moment, allowing Pickle to shove him away and swap to the axe to get onto the announcer’s seat in the air, quickly getting rid of the blocks to not even chance Joll getting up there. Smart, they’ll admit. But they’re still focused on the Tower because WHAT??

“Augh- Tower, I forfeit.”
“The same player cannot forfeit twice.”
“DUDE??”

Pickle seemed to be snickering at the sight. They’ll… deal with him in a moment.

“Joll forfeits!”
“Impersonation or forfeiting for another player is not allowed.”

Pickle finally let out the laugh he’d been holding, looking down at Joll.

“Oh- Oh man, sorry dude! That’s just- pffft –”
“Stop laughing!”

They sent another stream of water to his face, but he managed to duck just in time. Lucky son of a– 

Joll just gripped their sword slightly tighter. These bugs that the tower has going on have gone from slightly confusing to just straight annoying ! Making new rules out of nowhere, confusing them for ANOTHER GUY who sounded the TOTAL opposite of them, it’s insane!

Pickle smiled, taking another look down at them.

“I think since you and Spark’s Soulcores are 2 sides of the same coin, it confused you two!”
“That’s dumb..”
“I’ve seen dumber.”

He smirked, leading Joll to roll his eyes and go under the announcer’s chair. They aimed their sword up, taking a few seconds before shooting some fire underneath the iron trapdoor. Pickle yelped, jumping to the sides since some fire managed to go between the 4 holes.

“Rude!”
“A teleportation error has been detected. I formally apologize for this and will promptly fix my mistake. Teleporting..”

Joll blinked, putting their sword down. Hey, maybe they spoke too soon! Maybe the Tower isn’t as bugged as everybody thought.

It took a moment, but eventually Pickle disappeared. Well, that was.. not fun. Pickle was a sorta weird guy, in Joll’s opinion. They still want to know why he wasn’t attacking them, but outright asking him would just be strange.. And awkward. Like they said, they don’t think they’re at the friend stage with him. At least not yet

Wait.. that’s a decent idea! Why waste energy on trying to fight Pickle when he’s not even trying to fight them?? Pickle clearly wants to get to know them if the way he bombarded them with questions yesterday didn’t make that obvious. Maybe they could have something nice going on here!

Something dropped onto the floor behind them. Assuming it was Spark, they jumped back and held out their sword to prepare for a block. Spoiler alert: wasn’t Spark.

“CONK??”

They dropped their sword out of panic, running over to him with little care for their knees as they practically slid on them over to him. Conk flinched – that felt wrong to say – and looked up at them, teeth clenched.

“hurts.. it hurts..”
“I know, I know Conk- but it’s fine! You’re with me now! I’m not gonna hurt you, Conk, okay?”

Conk managed to wrap his arms around them in a hug, letting out a noise that sounded like a choked sob. That alone had Joll’s heart shatter into a million pieces. They quickly reciprocated the hug, a pang of guilt going through them at Conk’s tiny ‘ow’ that followed.

They loosened their hold on him, trying to hold back tears. Conk shouldn’t be going through this. Spark was supposed to be their fight and they’re already tired of seeing Conk get hurt because the Tower is malfunctioning!

Conk was kinda crushing their ribs, but they didn’t mind. Not right now. Behind them, metal softly clicked against cobblestone. Then, a laugh.

“Aha! Oh, this is just sad .”
“Shut up!”

Joll snapped without really thinking, getting up and- realizing their sword was on the other side of the area . Damn it. They heard Conk stagger to his feet behind them, glancing back with worry on their face. Conk’s breathing was shaky- he was shaking. Small bits of rock falling from his arms as he trembled. Before Joll knew it, Conk had his bow in his hands and was pulling back the string.

Spark huffed with amusement, Sparky floating next to him before he pointed forward and she went FLYING. They jumped to the side, their cape narrowly escaping the cut. They caught their breath, prepared to dodge again but- the air was colder.

Their head snapped up, taking in the sight of what quickly clicked as Pickle’s floor. Stacks of diamond blocks, gold, netherite. No-!

“No, no, no-! Conk!”
“Hm?”

Pickle was looking down at him from one of the mountains of raw gold blocks, one leg crossed over the other and his head tilted slightly. Joll felt their chest tighten, gripping the edges of their sleeves.

“Conk’s hurt and- Spark’s there! My sword-”
“Hey, chill. Take a moment.”
“I can’t! How am I supposed to ‘chill’ when my best friend is getting hurt out there?!”

Pickle awkwardly blinked, wings flat against his back as he stayed silent. Tears welled up in their eyes and soon enough they were falling down their face. Normally Joll wasn’t one to cry, but they just couldn’t hold it back anymore. Conk was getting hurt and they couldn’t do anything about it, who wouldn’t stress?? 

The metal from Pickle’s boots slammed against the floor as he landed next to them, making them flinch slightly. Pickle started to speak, then went silent, then started again.

“Okay. That’s.. fine. Sprout tells me crying is good for you…”

Joll covered their eyes with their sleeve, starting to walk away from Pickle. But he quickly fell into step behind them.

“Hey-! Wait a minute.. I can- I’ll try to convince Spark to chill, alright? Lessen your worry.”
“Don’t–”

Joll cut themself off, sharply inhaling. They had to clear their mind for a moment. This.. could be a little helpful. They wanted to be friends with Pickle. Being friends with him could mean Spark could STOP abusing Conk [at least make it a fair fight.] and less stress for Joll overall. They want to be friends with Pickle. They want to be friends with Pickle.

…

They sort of don’t. They needed to, but they had to convince themself it was a want.

They hadn’t realized how long their silence was until Pickle tapped them on the shoulder twice, the concern in his tone obvious when he spoke.

“Joll?”
“... Yeah. I’m.. trying to calm down.”

Joll wiped their teary face, fully turning to face Pickle.

“But.. you’d really ask Spark to hold back on Conk for me?..”
“Yeah! Anything for you, prince.”

Pickle bowed slightly, his tone a bit taunting. Joll rolled their eyes with slight annoyance. They’re in tears right now and he’s cracking joke. Oh, hilaroussss.. Conk’s getting crumbled right now and Pickle’s cracking jokes– PRIME time here!

“Tower, I forfeit.”

Third time’s the charm..

“2 players have forfeit: Spark and Joll.”

OH HELL YES.

Their eyes widened in shock, a relieved sigh escaping them and gripping the collar of their shirt. Pickle gave an amused yet small laugh himself.

“Alright, alright. Tower, I–”
“3 players have forfeit: Spark, Joll, and Conk. Teleporting..”

Joll closed their eyes for a moment, tuning out Pickle’s comment and [probable] goodbye. They moment they felt the grass beneath their feet they opened them, looking around for Conk. he was still standing this time, but just barely. Kibble was in the middle of barking, seeming strangely ticked off and didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Golem held up Conk as he nearly collapsed, leading Joll to also support him.

Conk grabbed Joll’s arm a few times before clinging onto them again,, alarmingly silent. 

They didn’t like when Conk was quiet..

“Oh my! Spark, did you have to be that rough with him?”

Sprout said condescendingly, making Joll look over to the Tower Legends. The most noticeable thing was the fact Spark was now glowing thanks to Conk’s spectral arrows. Spark rolled his eyes, ruffling Sprout’s hair.

“yes.”
“So it seems you survive another day.. Impressive, I must say! But can you go for a third..? Well, that’d simply be absurd!”

Axel cackled. Spark sighed, tripping Axel as he tried to walk forward. He heard Golem snicker a bit before sucking in a sharp breath.

“I’m gonna kill him. Let’s go– Kibble .”

Golem looked down at the dog who, yes, was still barking. Kibble stopped, but gave a growl with his ears pinned back against his head. Jeez.. was Sprout that bad??

Joll’s attention was pulled back to Conk as he slumped against them a bit more, face buried in their shirt.

“Joll…”
“Yeah, don’t worry bud. I’m still here.”

They gently patted his back, tugging him up so he was standing on his feet again. Golem was already walking off with Kibble trailing behind. Joll made sure Conk was fine before following them.

“Eheh..”

Pickle sat atop his chest, turning the cyan crown in his hand. It didn’t seem to be made of anything actually valuable like diamond, which was disappointing. Pickle preferred valuable things. Buuut.. It’s Joll’s crown, anyhow. A crown from an actual prince was valuable in itself. He can probably add it to his collection!

He ran his thumb over the points again. There wasn’t anything special about it at all, now that he’s taking a second glance. No gems, no decorations, no engravings, not even on the inside. A bit boring… But hey, he’ll deal with it.

He got off the chest, humming as he set it gently down inside. The first item in there! Not ever. No, there have been many in there before. Jewelry, swords, bows, whatever you can think of. But not much has piqued his interest about the challengers this time. Aside from Joll, of course. But the rest of them are just as boring as the crown.

Conk is pretty barebones already. The only mildly interesting thing is the iron plating on his right sleeve with an iron golem on it. Aweee, friendship! He used to care about that.

Golem was a bit intriguing, being an iron golem and all. The armor and everything.. but he’s not interested in stripping people of their clothing. That’s just weird! Pickle might be a stalker and a thief, but he’s not a weirdo.

And then you have Kibble, a dog.

…

What in Infinity’s name would he steal from that??

Pickle shook his head, standing in the center of his room and stretching his elytra. He doesn’t remember how it got there and why it’s suddenly apart of him, but not gonna lie he is NOT complaining! Making swooping things easier and adds to his already high speed.

He glanced out the window, humming as he saw Spark exiting Axel’s house with a less than enthused expression.

those two. . . . . 

Axel glanced back at him, flashing his sharp teeth and giving a wave. It never bothered him to see Axel not wrapped in caution tape, even if he was the main victim of what led to him getting tied up in the first place. Axel’s still his brother at the end of the day!

“PICKLE!”

Oh hey Spark’s at the door.

Before he could make it over, Spark had opened the door. His unenthused expression has shifted to annoyance, the x shaped iris on his screen glowing a bit brighter.

“Careful, you’re gonna overheat again.”
“Shut it. Here.”

A netherite sword got shoved into his chest. Oh- not in a murdery way! Like Spark was giving him the sword in a very rough and rude way. He blinked, taking it by the handle and noticing a cyan glow coming from the bottom. Wait a minute this was–

“Joll’s sword??”
“The idiot dropped it on my floor. You’re lucky I managed to snag it before we got teleported back.”

Pickle let out a soft chuckle, looking back at the sword. The blade was bent somehow near the bottom, but other than that it may as well have just been crafted. Sleek. He could see his own reflection in it.

“Jeez.. never thought I’d get my hands on this without blood involved.”

He smiled, gripping the blade tighter as he finally looked up at Spark. The other, leaning against the wall, just waved his hand.

“You probably wouldn’t have. That frog’s an idiot.”
“Don’t be mean now.”
“You’re too nice.”

Spark scoffed with a roll of his eyes. Pickle looked down slightly before making a noise.

“Dude, you’re getting blood all over my floor.”
“It’s like 10 drops–”
“GET OUTTT.”

He absentmindedly pointed the sword at Spark, leading to a blinking animation before it was quickly knocked out of his hand. Pickle let out a cry as the sword got stuck into the wall, already thinking of the durability that cost it.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Spark muttered before leaving the house. Pickle was too busy pulling out the sword to care, making sure it was still fine. He let out an annoyed sigh as he saw the durability went down by one. Spark was such a- augh!

He lay the sword on top of the chest, sitting down on his bed. That chest may as well have been for items stolen from Joll exclusively. He let out a small chuckle at the thought. That’d be funny.

Joll was more powerful than Pickle has initially thought. But that wasn’t exactly a problem for him. Him and Spark had traded books [might as well. The Tower is never getting fixed at this rate.] so at least he gets information on him!

He took the book from out his inventory, opening it up.

Name: Joll

Fighter – Mercenary Class – Light of Curiosity

Infinity Dungeon Record: Level 9,999,999

Joll is hesitant to commit to any moves unless they have a clear advantage. Attack even when the advantage is unclear.

He stared at the pictures to the right for a moment. Joll looked a LOT happier in those. Then again, his best friend [probably] wasn’t getting the everloving hell beat out of him while he couldn’t do anything about it, so that probably explains it.

“Heh- here’s another one. Joll’s a crybaby. ”

He was just a tick away from closing it before he heard a sound that was similar to when you just enchanted something. He looked back down and almost bursted out laughing

Joll is a crybaby.

Holy Infinity, he loves this place.

Chapter Text

“Stop squirming. You’re gonna make it worse.”
“It huuuurtsss :((“

Golem let out a sigh at Conk’s complaining, the latter only letting out another wince. While Conk had seemed to get better overnight, the cracks were still there. After Joll practically shoved Conk off of them this morning, he’d been walking with a slight limp. Golem had noticed almost instantly and all of a sudden he was licensed in physical therapy.

"Put pressure on my hand.”
“Gollummmmmm!”
“where’s buzz when you need her…”

He ran a hand through his hair, a tired expression on his face while his other hand remained under Conk’s heel. Kibble let out a quiet whine at the mention of Buzz, Joll crouching down and patting him on the head gently.

“It’s gonna be fine Kibble.. I’m sure we’ll see her again!”
“Yeah, if we somehow get out of here alive- Down, Conk.”

Conk only let out another sad noise, attempting to push his foot down on Golem’s hand. A crack was suddenly heard and Conk let out another wince. Oh. Oh that can’t be good.

“damn.”

Golem blinked at the new line of cracks that had formed across Conk’s thigh, removing his hand. Conk looked down, touching the new cracks tentatively. After a moment of dead silence, he spoke.

“It’s fine.”
“What? No, Conk, you look like you're about to fall apart.”

Joll frowned while Conk nonchalantly got up, lifting his foot above the ground and spreading his arms out to maintain balance. A smile overcame him, audibly worsening more cracks on his face. There was a real nasty one going vertically up his entire face that Joll was most worried about. Granted, they don’t think it’s gonna like.. split his head in half. But if it gets any wider..

“I’m okay! I can barely feel it anymore.”
“Try standing on both your feet and saying that.”

Golem scoffed, standing up straight and crossing his arms. Conk immediately put his foot down again, only to JUMP up with a wince and go back to standing on his good foot.

“Exactly.”

Joll just stared on with worry, their nerves already rising at the THOUGHT of the fight today. Spark has already made himself out to be a brutal fighter, so adding Conk’s leg injury into the whole mess just..

“Conk.. maybe you should try to sit out today?”
“Negative. ‘Sitting out’ is not an option.”
“oh.”

Conk’s smile immediately damped at the mention of the fight, starting to poke the cracks that’d started forming on his arm.

“Uuuhhh.. I’m gonna fight pikol today. Trust.”
“Hopefully! I can’t bear another dreadful minute of just toying with you.”

Spark was atop a nearby house, just barely standing on the edge of it. Golem rolled his eyes and sucked his teeth once he heard the fighter’s accent.

“Go away.”
“Rude.”
“Get used to it. Now go.”

Joll subtly grabbed Conk’s hand and pulled him away from Spark, almost making him trip. Not so subtle anymore. Spark just snickered at the sight.

“It’s not like bullying your rock fellow was my original intention. The tower merely gave me a different opponent than expected.”

Spark dropped down, talking slight fall damage and making Kibble get into a defensive position. The fighter merely raised his hands, showing nothing but the sharp claws his glove was equipped with.

“Oh, relax, mutt. I have nothing. Sparky is currently out of commission.”

Kibble merely barked. Spark took a step back, his expression twisting into one of annoyance. Strangely, Conk started to smile again.

"I'm not fighting you anyways! It’s an easy win for Jall!!”

Joll let out a small squeak as Conk suddenly hugged them. Tight. Again, probably gonna crush their ribs or something. They repeatedly tapped Conk on the shoulder, trying to get him to let go but he just– is not getting the hint.

“Easy?”

Golem raised an eyebrow. Okay- YEOWCH?? Wasn’t he just talking about how good of a fighter they were on the first day?? Golem is SO fake. 

Their face must’ve indicated their hurt feelings, seeing as Spark let out a small snort.

“Don’t be so surprised, froggy. He’s right, after all. Remind me again where your sword currently resides?..”

Where their swo– OHHHHHHHH SHITTTT.

Of course. The only thing they’re actually good at fighting with. Gone. In SPARK’S floor. What the hell. Kibble turned to them with a slightly annoyed look, only leading to a nervous laugh from Joll themself.

“M-My sword? It’s on me! Obviously. But- I’m not gonna pull it out just for you to see. What if you like.. steal it or something.”
“Why the hell would I steal your pathetic, bent sword.”
“‘Cuz it’s netherite!! And- netherite is better than gold! right?”

They turned to Conk for confirmation, as if he was gonna be of any help. He just squeezed them tighter. Kibble put his paws over his face (or. tried to. his paws are small) (also WHY IS HE STANDING) while Golem was the only one to actually give them an answer.

“Yes, Joll. Netherite is better than gold.”
“SEE!”

Spark stared at them for a few seconds, silence filling the space between the 5 of them before he just let out a loud sigh and mumbled something under his breath. Knowing him, probably was an insult or something. Jerk.

“It’s– astounding how you made it past level 1,000,000 with how idiotic you are. All of you, actually.”
“Gollum and Kibbol are pretty smart!”

Conk said, hopping away from Joll and putting his hands on his hips. Joll gasped for air, momentarily undoing the clip of their cloak as if that’d help in the slightest. But still. Sweet, sweet air..

“Well, yes, everybody else would seem intelligent to you, rock.”
“My name is Conk.”
“Who?”
“Con-”
“asked.”

DAMN!

Joll immediately slapped a hand over their mouth, and from the distant clink of iron meeting iron so did Golem. Look, LOOK. Conk IS their best friend, but they also have to admit when he gets cooked. Which.. is honestly all too common. Poor Conk..

“Idiot.”
“Spaaark!”

A soft voice finally took Spark’s attention away from Conk. Joll looked over just to see Sprout trying to wave him over. She seemed to notice their staring and smiled before waving back. They paused for a moment. Should they wave back? Would that be weird?? Well, they’re trying to be friends with Pickle. That’s already weird. And being on good terms with Sprout would make being friends with Pickle easier, right?

Does.. Does Pickle even like Sprout??

They thought that was a silly question, but generally the Tower Legends don’t seem to all be on the BEST of terms with each other? Even if Joll’s only known them for barely 2 days, they can see that. Spark and Pickle were already bickering with each other on the first day, Spark tripped Axel when he was trying to walk and- speaking of Axel, the guy was TIED UP in the first place. They remember Pickle saying that it was for his safety (yes, they caught that stammer), so that implies he did something to Pickle. Weren’t they brothers??

Anyhow, they can’t think of anything that suggests Sprout’s on negative terms with the rest of the Tower Legends. Spark even ruffled her hair yesterday! And Pickle had accepted that flower from her, right?

After nodding to themself, they looked back at Sprout just to hear a loud shattering noise and Spark– ON THE GROUND??

“Sprout!”

Pickle literally flew out of his house, lingering in the air for a bit. His voice was between worried and laughing. WHICH only re-affirmed their thoughts that Spark and Pickle don’t like each other.

Sprout’s sleeve was slowly starting to get covered in her own blood, glass from Spark’s screen sticking out of her fist. Despite that, she still had a smile on her face as she crouched down.

“Sorry Spark! You just need to calm down sometimes, y’know? I mean seriously, I get you’re competitive but sometimes you’re just downright mean.”

They couldn’t see Spark’s face from here, but they do know that Pickle was trying his best not to laugh. Sprout stood up straight again and stepped away from Spark.

“Sorry about him. Hello, all! Good morning!”

Joll nervously chuckled and gave a slow wave back. Kibble just started growling again, making Golem shush him. Maybe it’s because they haven’t dealt with her, but what was so bad about Sprout to earn that type of response from Kibble? Kibble usually only held grudges against people who hurt Conk. Or Joll themself. They’re shocked he wasn’t directing his anger towards Spark or even Pickle!

“Hi flower lady!”
“Hi Conk!”

Pickle’s attention was suddenly on Joll, making the frog freeze up for a moment before they tried to give a slightly more enthusiastic wave. Pickle quietly snickered before waving back as well.

Alright.. this is going fine.

“Day 3.”
“There it is.”

There AXEL is! Without- the caution tape. huh. Now they’re scared. They heard Golem let out a sharp curse from under his breath before starting to walk away from the scene. 

“I haven’t even said anything yet!”

Axel called out, only scaring Joll even MORE thanks to the sudden lack of rhyming. Golem didn’t seem to care though.

“Good. Stay quiet.”

Kibble watched as he walked off before letting out a huff and following him. Joll debated on also following them for a second before deciding to stay. Pickle. Friendship with Pickle. Top priority. Axel doesn’t.. seem like himself [which they can’t tell if that’s a good or bad thing, but hey. if he starts trying to murder them, they’ll know.], Sprout’s relatively nice aside from. . . whatever the hell just happened with Spark, and SPEAKING of Spark, that guy seems out of commission!

They can’t tell if he’s even conscious or not. He hasn’t moved from his position on the ground, but Joll can still hear glass occasionally falling from his screen.

“Hi!”

HOLY F*CK–

Pickle was now both in the air and behind them, a smile on his face. He looked over at Conk for a moment before his attention went back to Joll.

“Are you not going to follow the other two?”

Give them a moment… near heart attack.

“N-No.. not today. I- uhm. I wanted to talk to you, actually.”
“.. Really?”

Pickle blinked, his tone disbelieving. Joll just nodded rapidly.

“Yeah! I figured.. since you clearly don’t want to fight me- we could maybe.. be friends? Like. Get to know each other better!”

They stuck their hand out for a hand shake, a hesitant smile on their face. Pickle stared down at it for a few seconds, looking back at the rest of the Tower Legends before turning back to Joll. His exhale came out shaky for a moment before it turned into a laugh.

Their smile faded slightly, starting to pull back their hand as they thought Pickle was just going to laugh in his face. They were supposed to fight each other, not build companionship or whatever. But Pickle was quick to grab their hand back and tightly.

“Yeah, yeah! Of course we can be friends! Who cares what they think– it’s not our fault we just. Go together.”
“Go together?”
“I mean–”

Pickle pulled back, glancing to the side and turning his hands into fists.

“Our conversations flow very fluidly. I like that. I like talking to you! You’re fun. NOT! That I see you only as like a source of entertainment y’know- You make me laugh! You’re funny. You're like– interesting. Especially with that whole possible royalty thing. And your sword–”
“Pickle- Pickle, it’s fine. I get it.”

They held their hands out, almost shocked that they’d managed to get Pickle this flustered. He seemed like a very well-put together guy. The only time they’ve seen him not like that is the first time they asked him as to why Axel was tied up.

SPEAKING OF THAT–

“Oh- what’s up with Axel, by the way?”
“Huh?”
“Axel. Y’know.”

Joll glanced over in his direction, accidentally making eye contact with the builder and proceeding to get flipped off.

“Axel!”
“It doesn’t have manners. Who talks about somebody when they’re right there and listening??”

Pickle only scoffed while Joll muttered a small apology under their breath.

“Ignore him. He lacks manners. Let’s just..”

The miner thought for a moment, looking around before brightening up and taking Joll’s hands.

“Hold on tight!”
“Whaaat.”
“HOLD ON!”

Next thing they knew, they were in the air. They do NOT like this. They kicked their feet out of pure instinct, leading Pickle to giggle. He adjusted his hold on them, putting his arms under theirs to hold them close. Naturally, they CLUNG onto him.

“Can you give me a warning next time!?”
“Umm- sure, sure!”

Pickle flew on top of one of the nearby houses, dropping Joll onto it before landing himself. Ow! Stairs!

A book ended up dropping from their inventory, making Pickle pause as they winced and sat up.

“Is this the info book about Spark?”
“Huh? Oh- yeah.. I don’t think it’ll provide a lot of use though..”
“Hey, you never know! The tower can lock in.”

He sat down next to them and opened the book.

Username: Spark

Tower Legend – Legendary Fighter – Light of Bloodsh▇▇

Infinity Dungeon Record: Level 890,500,022(?)

Spark is notably quite the aggressive individual. Similar to a hyperactive child. Let him tucker himself out by playing defensively and then punish.

“That’s a lie.”

Pickle muttered under his breath. Joll barely had time to think about that before he pointed to a new paragraph that had been revealed.

Spark’s screen is fragile and a weak point of his. Aim to shatter it. It will render him (mostly) blind.

“Mostly?”

Joll asked, looking over at Pickle. The other paused.

“... Oh! It’s his anti-blindness thing. He can still see your hitbox. It’s like a rough outline of your body.”

He smiled, then looked over at the pictures on the next page. He ran a finger over a certain picture, a far more innocent and almost air-headed Spark smiling and waving at the camera with both a younger Axel and Pickle on either of his sides. Neither of them had the elytra they had now. And hey, Spark actually has a shirt on!

They looked from the picture back at Pickle, about to crack a joke but their expression faltering as they saw Pickle’s more somber expression.

“... Have you heard of the Tourney Dungeon?”

The sudden question caught Joll off guard, more so with how seriously Pickle had asked it. They opened their mouth to answer only to finally see Spark move.

“disrespectful bi▇▇▇–”
“Telepo–”

Spark barely had time to make his way over to Sprout before the Tower had started to teleport them to their floors. The wood underneath them had turned into the cold void and they were alone. They closed their eyes and just prayed that they got Pickle again. Anybody but Axel, honestly. Can all of their friends just get teleported to Pickle’s floor this round? Pickle’s nice. Pickle’s chill.

“Floor 622947. Legendary Farmer’s Garden.”

OH COME ON.

Actually, no! This is.. Fine. This is okay. They’re content.

The void was now patches of grass beneath them, immediately standing up. The Tower had gotten the correct Legend this time, though. Sprout was sat in the middle of the garden with her head buried in her knees.

They stared at her for a moment, concern overwhelming them at her unusually somber mood before they walked over to her and crouched down.

“..hey.. Are you okay..?”

Sprout sniffled, letting Joll quickly know she was NOT okay. She lifted her head slightly, wiping her tears with her non-bloody sleeve before speaking.

“I-I’m sorry you have to see me like this.. I just- Look, I know this is sorta.. dumb for me to say.. but I didn’t expect Spark to try and attack me like that..”

She let out a weak laugh, sniffling again as the tears finally fell from her eyes. Joll paused, momentarily frozen before they cleared their throat.

“Well– you did punch him in the face. N-Not that I’m saying you 100% deserve it or anything–!”
“No, no, I get it.. It’s just- karma. Plus, Spark’s just that type of person. I should know that.”

Sprout said, laying down onto the field. The thick vines in her hair spread out underneath her. It was only now that Joll actually realized the golden bandages covering one of her eyes. Mainly because it was practically glowing underneath the extra lights of the floor.

“Did.. something happen?”
“Hm?”
“Your eye. Sorry if that’s insensitive- morbid curiosity.”

Sprout only giggled, wiping some more tears from her face before rolling up her sleeve [on her good hand] and placing her fingers under the bandages. Joll was ABOUT to say “No, no, it’s okay! You just have to tell me”, but Sprout pulled them to the side to show– her LITERAL SKULL WHAT THE HELL WHAT THE HELL WHAT THE HELL.

“OH!”
“Spooky, right?”

A little more than. Terrifying, actually. Maybe traumatizing! ZERO skin was left in the area, her eye socket only leading to emptiness. They wouldn’t know what human insides look like because none of their companions are human, but they can assume that’s NOT normal!

“Uhm. A bit… D- .. did spark–?”
“Oh, no! Even if he’s cruel, he’s not that cruel. He’s the one who gave me these bandages actually!”

She released the bandages, letting them fall loosely over her exposed eye socket once more. They could still see a bit of it if they really focused.. Gross. 

“You can guess what happened.”
“I.. really can’t.”
“Oh.. well–”

“Teleporting…”

“Nevermind. Have fun!”

She waved him farewell while Joll just sighed, covering their eyes. They hope she does better though. The glass in her hand looked nasty and she seemed genuinely shaken up from Spark’s attempted attack on her. They can already imagine how scary having somebody like that on your team must be. What was his light again even? Light of Bloo… Blooming? No, that’s stupid. Bloo.. Bloo..

Blood.

It was Blood something. That.. scared them just a bit.

Pickle did say he preferred when blood was involved in a fight.

“Floor 103755. Legendary Builder’s Castle.”

BRUH.

Joll immediately stood up, trying to back away but only finding themself to be RREAAAALLLY hot. GROSS!

Looking in front of them revealed a huge nether castle, almost touching the ceiling of the level. There was a ring of lava around it, with none other than Axel standing on the outside of the rail. The pool of lava popped and sizzled below him. 

“That.. can’t be safe.”
“I would have never noticed.”

Axel’s reply was instant. Sarcastic. Annoyed. Honestly going from Sprout’s soft spoken and gentle tone to Axel’s loud and biting one was one hell of a trip. They shook their head, standing straighter.

“Well- uhm-”
“I’d prefer if you didn’t talk to me, frog.”

Frog discrimination?? Already??? It’s been 30 seconds!

“It’s not like I asked to be teleported here!”
“Did I not just say be silent?? Or are you as deaf as you are idiotic??”

Axel sharply turned to them, his expression a scowl. Oh, all this was making their head spin. The heat, the insults, this entire SITUATION, honestly.

“I’m–”
“Shut up.”
“No!”

Joll snapped without realizing, and is now suddenly fearing for their life. Except.. Axel didn’t berate them with insults or even try to physically attack them like they thought he would. He just.. Stared at them. It was a bit creepy honestly. But he finally gave a reaction, stepping off the edge of the bridge and onto the actual safe land.

“You wish to converse? Fine. I shall indulge in such.”

He was suddenly getting a lot closer than what Joll felt safe in. They took a few steps back, but Axel roughly pulled them forward by the collar of their shirt. GULP!

“What are your plans with my brother?”

. . . 

What??

“What?”
“Don’t act so naive! To get within his heart is what you wish to achieve.”

WHAT ARE THESE ALLEGATIONS????

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? Like- platonically?? If you mean platonically then- yes! I want to be his friend! What- do I need your blessing or something??”
“Ohmyinfinity– Don’t. Don’t say that.”

Axel pinched the bridge of his nose for a second before looking at Joll straight again.

“To sneak inside is what you wish. I will not.. I- oh f*ck it–”

He pushed them away, making them stagger for a moment before regaining their balance on the back wall.

“You’re trying to gain my brother's trust by any means just to manipulate him, aren’t you.”
“Genuinely WHAT are you talking about.”

Joll smoothed out their shirt slightly, gathering their bearings and fixing their posture. They didn’t want to appear terrified, even if they were just a little scared.

“Tch! Do you seriously think I don’t see how the two of you interact? Like you have been the best of companions for years on end- how casually Pickle speaks of you with such admiration and fondness in his tone???”
“We’re just– wait, he talks about me?”

Axel only scoffed.

“Of course he does! It’s not his usual greed either. It’s genuine infatuation! But oh, I shall not let this progress any further. You didn’t come here to make friends. And we didn’t either. We were summoned here to defend our titles- our very cores from the grubby hands of selfish fools like yourself.”

He flicked Joll’s button, making them put a protective hand over it before pausing. That- was a lot to take in. And Axel wasn’t even rhyming! Golem was right, this guy never shuts up. Wow..

But okay. Pickle talks about him. And it seemed to be in a very positive light too. Maybe he thought they were already friends from day 1? That’d explain his passive nature yesterday and his eagerness to accept Joll’s actual request for friendship today! And.. the Tourney Dungeon.. They still want to know what all that was about.

“Uhm- First off, I didn’t even know Pickle talked about me. I didn’t know he even liked me that much until today!”
“Of course.”
“Second, you’re calling us selfish?? Did you NOT see how Pickle was searching Conk for his soul-thingy on the first day??? And- didn’t you JUST say he’s usually greedy?!”

Axel crossed his arms, turning away from Joll.

“That matters not.”
“YESITDOES???”
“Pickle is mine own kin. I haven’t seen him that joyous since before– .. all this shit happened.”

He motioned to his face, but Joll couldn’t see what he was referencing specifically. Axel took a deep breath, running both hands through his hair before he turned back towards Joll. They may have flinched. They may not have. Why do you want to know?? Creep.

“I know you’re planning something.”
“What?? No I’m not.”
“I know.”

Axel’s voice was biting, sure, but it was also too much of a statement. It wasn’t an accusation, he wasn’t gloating. He was just.. Saying it. Saying it like it was a fact. He can’t SEE the future or something so Joll’s not so sure why he sounded so sure of himself.

“I do think it’s better you lot just surrender until this is over. You won’t end victorious. Perhaps even a worse fate awaits you in particular."
“..Huh?”
“Get out.”

“Teleporting..”

“Okay there’s NO WAY YOU CAN CONTROL THA–”

Joll was cut off by being sent into the void again, making them clench their fists with a heavy sigh.

Axel was… interesting. Though they feel they shouldn’t keep the majority of this conversation in mind for future reference. Axel hadn’t been acting like he did in the first two days. No too wide smile, no rhyming, no nothing. Just a creepy guy. They still didn’t like how sure of himself he sounded.

Just then, the tower started to speak.

“Welcome to Day 2– 4– 3 of the competition. Souljam power is currently split 25-75 between Team 2 and Team 1.”

Wait- wasn’t that the same as yesterday?? 

“You may have noticed that this split is the same as Day 2.”

Well shit.

“This is punishment for one of your team members, ▇▇▇, doing so horrbily that ▇▇▇▇▇▇ thinks it would be a moral wrong to reward you for that behavior.”

???????????? DUDE??

They don’t even know who it was talking about! The name got CENSORED???

They let out a sigh, kicking the ground before the tower spoke again.

“Floor 936745. Legendary Fighter’s Battlefield.”

F*ck.

They immediately jumped back. And apparently they had the prediction skills of a GOD because Spark swung right where they had been standing just a moment prior. Spark’s LED looked at them through his hair before a smile came over his face.

“FINALLY! Oh, you don’t know how LONG I’ve waited for this.”

Bigger f*ck.

To update on the punch from before the fights, Sprout had done a number on him. The eye that hadn’t been blocked by his bangs had stopped working, only certain lights glowing and even those were flickering. The cracks webbed out like. . . a cobweb. 

“The rock is fun, yes, BUT I think I’d have more fun with you! Too bad about your sword.”

Wait DAMN IT their sword! He probably picked it up. Oh. Oh their life’s over. Even if he was being truthful about Sparky being ‘out of commission’, he DEFINITELY still has theirs. No matter how hard he was trying to deflect that he wasn’t.

“Hey. HEY. Stop that.”

They blinked.

“What??”
“Don’t get lost in thought like that. That’s hlame.”

He unequipped his golden glove, tossing it aside with a clattering sound. They suddenly jolted and Spark randomly had a warning sign on his screen.

Huh.

Well, anyway. They’re gonna have to fight him aren’t they. Look, they knew they said they wished for Conk and them to swap places but THIS IS SCARY. They took a deep breath, closing their eyes for a moment before putting their fists up.

“Ready when you are.”

They’re lying. They’re not ready. Honestly, they don’t think they ever will be. Sword or not.

Spark just snickered, popping his knuckles [not sure how that’s possible. He’s a robot.] and taking a step forward. Joll stepped back. No! They need to stand their ground. They need to do this. There’s two more days of this crap and they need to be prepared! Plus– he’s not even wearing his glove! This shouldn’t be as bad as they were think–

“KHh-!”

Immediate blow to the stomach. 

OW.

They almost immediately dropped to their knees, trying to get the oxygen back in their lungs while Spark just sucked his teeth.

“Right. Fleshy. Squishy.. Mortal.”

Spark allowed them the privilege to get up. Thank god. Speaking of god, their prediction PROWESS kicked it once more and they threw out a punch right as he was going to. Not anywhere like.. Important though. It was aimed at his chest but ended up landing on his collar bone. 

But honestly? That’s all they needed as motivation.

Spark may be a robot, a legendary fighter, an egotistical jerk that hurt his best friend.. But he wasn’t invincible. He could be hurt. Sprout had proved that enough. The scars on his body had proved that enough. This had proved that enough.

He staggered back. If just slightly.

Spark wasn’t invincible.

They threw another punch, successfully landing the blow in his chest this time. Spark staggered back again, gritting his teeth. But it was also in a sort of smile. . .

Infinity help them..

They sighed, holding up their arms as he tried to land a blow of his own. OW. HOLY DAMN.

They winced, shaking their arms as if shaking the pain away.

“No, no, come on! Fight me!”

Joll jumped to the side as Spark once more tried to punch them. A hint of smoke escaped his mouth. Joll's face scrunched up slightly. They didn't like smoke, but they can't say why. Just gave them a sense of unease. And hate. Grr.

But that was when it caught their eye. It was barely visible compared to the sandstone of the stands, but in the few blocks of stone brick they could see it.

Spark was genuinely steaming.

They can't tell if it was from anger or – the more horrifying option – excitement. 

“You're insane..”
“So is Pickle. Yet you seem oh so keen on hanging around him!”

Not this again.

Joll tried to land another blow. Blocked. He actually CAUGHT THEIR ARM and tossed them to the side. They almost fell but managed to regain their footing.

“Pickle's not insane. Not like you.”
“You don't know that.”

Spark just smacked them on the back of the head. Not only did that hurt physically it also hurt their feelings! 

“Yes I do!”
“How can you be so sure? Pickle is a Tower Legend like the rest of us.”

More smoke came from his elbow and arm joints. Joll wanted to fight back, but. Honestly. The fact he was probably overheating was frightening them a bit. BUT! They can also use that to their advantage! Machines.. they can just stop working, can’t they? Getting too hot must be a requirement for that.

Maybe if they get him frustrated? 

“Pickle’s a nice guy! He wouldn’t–”
“Wouldn’t–dn’t what??”

Spark cocked his head to the side, a smirk on his face that made Joll want to punch it right off.

“He wouldn’t do all of this! He’s not trying to fight me, he’s not trying to break my bones!”
“Pickle also doesn’t possess the Light of Battle, unlike myself–f.”

Again! That’s wrong. He has the Light of Blood-something.

Joll jumped onto the stands, letting out a sigh of relief when Spark didn’t immediately follow. Gives them a second to gather themself again..

“That’s- ..”

Should they mention it..?

“Pickle’s still way nicer. If what Axel says is true– if he’s really just really greedy, then why would he try so hard to be friends with me??”
“Pfft- Manipulation lays itself–self bare in front of your fa–a–ace and yet you’re still so blind! Oh- This is almost comedic!”

Spark covered his mouth for a moment, finally walking towards the stands.

“Just because you and him are ‘friends’ now, doesn’t mean he doesn’t want anything from you. He’s a selfish bas▇▇▇ that only does things to benefit himself.”

He put his hands on the stands, as if preparing to jump up. Joll stepped back and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"T-Tournament Dungeon!”

Spark paused.

..

Huh.

“He- He was going to tell me about it. Before we got teleported into the tower. And.. If that gets a reaction like this out of you, then.. Then it has to be personal. It has to mean something. If Pickle just wanted to benefit himself.. Then why would he try to tell me about that??”

Spark remained silent for a few moments before his screen glitched, a scoff coming out of him.

“Pickle has nothing to do with that.”

He jumped onto the stands, managing to grab Joll by the cloak and tug on it hard enough to make them fall on their back.

“Ow-!”
“Pickle is an idiot. And so are you. The Tournament Dungeon has nothing ‘personal’ or ‘sensitive’ about him, it’s about me. Tch- does he think telling you my ba–ackstory will earn him brownie points–? Ha!”

Joll quickly rolled out the way when Spark tried to STOMP on them like a MANIAC, catching their breath before getting up and throwing out another punch.

On one hand, it connected! Yay!

On the other, they punched his screen. Glass now resides in their fist. Nay!

“Damn it-!”
“DUMB▇▇▇!”

“porti–”

Spark threw another punch, Joll jumped off the stands (finally). Yet, everything suddenly turned black. And cold. And the noise Spark was making that they apparently just tuned out suddenly stopped. And their hand is throbbing.

“Ow- ow ow ow oww…”

They looked at the glass embedded in their knuckles, starting to carefully remove the glass. And by carefully they do in fact mean just pulling them out with no precaution.

They’re more upset at the sudden teleportation than anything. They don’t want anybody else to have to deal with Spark. Maybe if they’re lucky he’d overheat in the middle of the fight.

“Floor 103754. Legendary Miner’s Mineshaft.”

Of course.

Once they were actually on the floor, Pickle seemed to be dusting himself off. He also seemed to look.. Oddly annoyed? He let out an annoyed huff before turning around, his eyes immediately widening before a smile overcame his face.

“Joll!”
“Hi Pickle!”

Joll waved at him, smiling right back. His expression immediately shifted to one of worry when he saw the blood on their hand.

“Oh my god- what happened??”
“I got Spark’s floor right before this one.. I’m sure you know how he is.”

Pickle sighed, grabbing their hand gently and looking at the small glass bits still stuck inside. Their hand was covered in blood at this point. It was sorta gross to look at. But Pickle only looked at it with pity and slight frustration.

“Sorry about him, really. Y’know, I thought that punch from Sprout would knock some sense into him for once, but I guess not even she can do that.”

He muttered, swiping his thumb over one of their more larger wounds. They let out a small hiss, making Pickle snap his head up to look at them.

“Oh- Sorry, sorry!”
“It’s fine.”
“No- I’m really sorry-”
“It’s fine, Pickle. Really. Just a small sting.”

They awkwardly laughed. Pickle seemed to be making this much deeper than it was. Honestly, they’ve been through worse! A little glass in the hand wasn’t gonna permanently cripple them or something.

“It’s not just that.”

Pickle sighed, squeezing their wrist for a moment.

“Spark’s been doing too much lately. At least I think so. And Sprout seems to think so as well if that punch doesn’t say anything. We’ve tried to tell him to chill out before but he just- doesn’t listen! It pisses me off!”

He released their hand, covering his eyes with his own for a few moments. Joll blinked. It almost sounded like his voice was breaking..

“He’s not just hurting your friends, I think he’s just- tearing the Tower Legends apart. We weren’t like this at first.”

Oh, that reminds them. 

Actually..

..

They were to ask about the Tournament Dungeon, but then something Spark said just came back to them.

“Just because you and him are ‘friends’ now, doesn’t mean he doesn’t want anything from you.”

They paused for a few moments, just watching Pickle. To see if this was a good time. After they confirmed he WASN’T crying, they spoke.

“Pickle.”
“Yeah?”

He took his hands off his eyes. They were teary, not but full on crying yet. They hesitated, then spoke.

“Do you.. want something from me?”

A beat.

“.. What?”
“Like- is this entire friendship just for you? Are you just.. using me?”

Pickle immediately panicked.

“What?? No- no no, it’s not like that at all! I’m- sorry if it came off that way?? I didn’t mean for it to.”

He grabbed their non-injured hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“I like gifts, yeah, but that’s not all our friendship is for. I want to get to know you better, like you said! Since day 1 you were by far the person who caught my eye the most.”

Joll blinked, their face getting slightly warmer at the admission before they smiled.

“Good.”

Pickle seemed to be relieved, but didn’t release their hand quite yet. The two of them just stood like that for a few more seconds before Joll declared the silence unbearable and removed the button from their cloak, holding it out to Pickle.

“Here!”

Pickle blinked, hesitantly taking the button. Though his eyes seemed to immediately brighten up once his actual finger tips touched it.

“Is this actual gold?”
“Yeah! My mom gave it to me before she died. Not like– right before she died but after I reunited with her after like… a decade.”

The miner didn’t immediately pocket it, which was somewhat surprising for, and they quote, ‘a selfish bastard who only does things to benefit himself’.

“And you’re giving it to me?”
“Yeah!”
“. . . Why??”

The question came out more as a laugh than anything else. Joll just smiled.

“You said you liked gifts. So, there’s the first!”

Pickle’s smile widened, putting the golden pin in one of the pouches on his belt before pulling Joll into a hug. OKAYY a liiiittle too much touching but hey. The power of friendship!

“You’re welcome.”
“Oh yeah- thank you! Thank you-  thank you so much.”

Pickle pulled back, about to say something but just- deciding not to. The room went silent once more before–

“2 players have forfeit: Axel and Golem.”

That’s new.

…

OH SHIT CONK–

“I forefit!”

Joll suddenly shouted, making Pickle flinch slightly. Even his elytra spread slightly out of panic,

“3 players have forfeit: Axel, Golem, and Joll. Teleporting…”

“Sorry Pickle-!”

And just like that, they were outside the tower again. Their eyes scanned around for Conk out of pure instinct, but he was surprisingly standing. Trembling, but standing.

“I’M OKAY!!”

He announced, jumping on his bad leg and immediately collapsing. Not okay. Not. Okay.

Joll chuckled, helping him up before noticing his sleeve. It was like somebody had taken a bite out of it. Look, he knows Conk’s stupid, but not that stupid.

“Conk- what’s up with your sleeve?? DID YOU GET BIT???”

Conk blinked. He momentarily got distracted by Golem and Kibble before turning to Joll again.

“I was set on fire :(“

wait what.

“What.”

Conk was silent for a moment before sticking out his tongue.

“Blep.”
“Conk.”

Golem suddenly cut in, helping him up as well. Kibble barked once, honestly for no particular reason [Sprout was nowhere in sight] which had Conk jump a bit. 

That’s slightly worrying.

Again, Conk’s not a jumpy person. Golem seemed to note this too, his usually stone cold gaze softening for just a tick before he sighed heavily.

“Let’s go.”

He muttered, already walking away. Conk made a sound before hopping after him, Kibble and Joll sharing a look before trailing after.

Chapter Text

“My mom gave it to me before she died. Not like– right before she died but after I reunited with her after like… a decade.”

“You said you liked gifts, so here’s the first!”

Those sentences from Joll replayed in his mind like a music disc on loop.

The genuineness in their voice almost made him sick. With them not knowing what kind of person he is. He’s revealed a lot to them, sure, but they don’t know to what extent. He loves gifts, yes, but that’s greed. It’s not a love language, it’s GREED in its purest form.

When they had asked if he wanted something from them, a billion thoughts raced through his head. He wanted every aspect of them.

..

rewording.

He wanted everything they could possibly offer him. Their story, their valuables, their power, their sword. He wanted everything and then some. He wants to see who they are inside.

He wants. That’s all. He just wants and wants and wants. He wants everything available to him. He wants Joll. He wants them in a way that crosses the borders of platonic and farther. 

Before he knew it, he was standing outside of his house with Joll’s crown in one hand and the golden pin in the other.

Joll…

He doesn’t know what he wants to do. Going over to Joll’s house would be too creepy and he can’t just gush about these feelings to any of the other Legends. They’re busy anyways. Spark had overheated during his fight with Conk and hasn’t turned back on yet. Axel’s been by his side since the fight ended for today and Sprout’s probably asleep.

She’s so airheaded it frustrated him sometimes.

He stepped forward, off the single oak wood step and onto the grass below. A chill ran through him, the subtle wind making it less than Pickle’s ideal temperature. 

He walked forward anyways.

He knew where he wished to go. Joll’s house. He wanted to talk with them more. Get deeper under their skin. Hear their stories, get more gifts, get them. More.. companionship.

The thought makes him immediately stop. His spine aches. Right where his soulcore resides at the point where his spine actually starts. It aches as if it’s yelling at him, yelling I told you so. You want friendship. You want people, not just valuables.

He scowls. It doesn’t know that. Just because he wants one friend doesn’t mean he’s not greedy.

If he had the option, he’d reject these stupid fights. Each and every time he has to be summoned here to ‘defend his title’. That may seem out of character for someone who ‘wants everything’, but it gets tiring at a point. Pickle can get more titles. He has more titles than just Legendary Miner. He doesn’t need it.

But, what can you do?

He continued forward towards Joll’s house, ignoring the ache in his back as it slowly died down. 

“Pickle!”

Fuck.

Pickle stopped, turning around to see Sprout standing on her stairs with a slightly nervous smile on her face.

“Mh?”
“Are you okay? You looked kinda..”

She trailed off, just motioning to him. He blinked, trying to fix his expression before clearing his throat.

“I’m good. Uhm- Kibble was kinda mean to me today, haha! IIIII bet y’know how that feels.”

Pickle snickered, putting the crown back in his inventory. Sprout let out a soft giggle.

“Yeah.. Though, I’m not sure why he has so much hate in his heart! Maybe it's about Buzz…”

She put her sleeve over her mouth in thought. He slowly started to walk backwards but Sprout quickly snapped out of it.

“Ah ah! Tell me what’s wrong. Please?”
“Nothing’s wrong, Sprout.”
“No, something’s wrong.”

She walked over to him while Pickle just held back the urge to sigh.

Look. Sprout was a sweet girl, she really was. She’s a hell of a lot better than before anyways. But she’s so– pushy. She’s very pushy. Ever since she’s gone back to being a pacifist, she wants to solve every problem instead of causing them. Yet she’s STILL causing them! She doesn’t know when to quit or back down. It’s frustrating.

“Sprout, I just want to walk around for a bit, seriously.”
“Let me walk with you! Having somebody to talk to would be nice.”
“I don’t really want anybody to talk to.”

Aside from Joll, that is. But Joll’s asleep.

Sprout just tilted her head, that smile never wavering. Never fading. It’s almost creepy.

“Something’s wrong, then!”

Oh my god.

He just sighed, holding onto the golden pin tighter.

“Sprout.”
“Pi–i–ckle–ickle.”

OH GREAT!

Sprout seemed to brighten up at the sound of Spark’s glitchy voice, the moonlight shining in her eyes. He took another step back as Spark’s deactivated screen peered around the corner of Axel’s door.

He gritted his teeth, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Spark! .. unfortunately.”

Spark sucked his teeth and exited the house, followed by Axel in his usual manic state.

His eye aches.

“F▇▇ off you ungrateful prick.”
“Well I don’t exactly appreciate you getting your glass all over my friend’s hand.”

Sprout noticeably smiled at that. Not that Pickle was talking about her, but he wouldn’t be the one to correct her. Spark would though! Piece of shit.

“The frog–g punched my screen. I didn’t just sti–ick glass shard in their hand for fun.”
“oh.”

There’s Sprout’s depressed reaction. Spark’s screen came back on, the right side still damaged before he sharply turned his head to Sprout.

“Speaking of that..”
“Machine! You best not lay a finger on her! Need I remind thee why things can’t go back to as they once were?”

Axel pulled Spark’s hair to get his face down to his own level. Despite there being only like.. a 4 inch difference between the two of them. Spark let out a sharp hiss, smacking Axel’s hand away. But the builder just laughed.

“You best keep your level of violence in check, less you wish for me to fiddle around with your tech. Again.”

His voice flattened just slightly at the end, but it was enough to get the message across. Spark let out a sharp exhale, standing up straight before staring at Sprout for a few moments. The tension was rising and quick. Though..

Pickle didn’t like what type of tension.

He ended up just grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her off, not even letting her say her goodbyes to Pickle.

Speaking of..

“You look more suicidal than usual when Sprout is around.”

Axel immediately commented, making Pickle send a glare his way.

“Oh, shut up for five seconds. You know I don’t hate her. It’s just.. she...”
“Leaves you feeling unsound?”
“No! I don’t hate her and she’s not annoying- well.. she’s not like Spark levels of annoying. She’s not the worst.”

He flipped the golden pin in his pocket, glancing to the side before looking back at Axel. The elder spoke before Pickle even had the chance to.

“By the way.. you and that mercenary..”

Oh no.

Pickle immediately stiffened up, taking his hand out of his pocket.

“What about them?”
“Pickle.”

Axel kicked himself off the wall, dropping off the stairs and placing his hands behind his back.

“Don’t be coy. You know precisely I refer to your little boytoy.”

His- his WHAT.

“AXEL!”
“I’m correct, am I not?? You and it, your bond looks to be tighter than a knot. Your brother knows best and this has to be addressed, that frog is an unwelcome guest!”

Pickle’s face has turned a hint of pink. Not only from sheer embarrassment, but from.. a hint of anger boiling deep within him. Pickle wasn’t one to get angry so quickly, but that word– that singular word–

“Oh, now I’m your brother. Real nice, Axel! Use the brother card when you want something, yup!”

He turned around, planning to walk away from Axel but- this is really why he should stop wearing hoodies. He got YANKED back by the hood. ASSHOLE. He landed backwards at Axel’s feet.

“My choices in words do not matter, Pickle. This relationship of yours is merely artificial.”
“Joll’s my friend so I’d appreciate it if you stopped implying there’s something deeper than that.”

Axel stared down at him for a few seconds before he started to laugh. Like- actually laugh.

“Friend, yes, yes, of course! Yet this ‘friendship’ is not one you should endorse. For what if, come day 5, they decide to turn on you with no remorse? What then?”

Pickle was silent for a few seconds, the anger starting to flare up more and more.

“Axel- just shut up! I know you’re like ‘god’s hand’ or whatever the hell you’ve been blabblering on about and you’ve been ‘blessed by infinity’, but I don’t care! None of us do! You’re still Axel at the end of the day.”

He stood up, pressing his finger into Axel’s soulcore.

“I don’t care what soulcore you have, or what stupid wings you have, or what color your eyes are, you’re my brother. You’re Axel. You’re just another player in the Infinity Dungeon like the rest of us!”

Axel backed up slightly, tilting his head with a smile. Pickle just kept going. His elytra was flaring out behind him.

“I don’t know what you’ve conjured up in your delusions this time, but you’re not coming between me and Joll. I’m going to be Joll’s friend. Best friend even! And we’re going to have a better friendship than what you’ve prophesied or– whatever!”

The ragebait succeeded on Pickle it seemed. He stopped yelling, but it was clear he was a bit frustrated. More than a bit, actually. He was ticked.

“Joll is going to be mine. Everything they have and will have is going to be mine. My greed extends beyond physical items and you should know this. You’re my brother, right??”

Axel was silent for a few moments. But he still has that smug expression on his face. It was only pissing Pickle off even more. But then he shrugged.

“Yes, I suppose. Go on, don’t let me stop you. Build your friendship. Goodnight, Pickle.”

And just like that, he spun around and walked back to his house, leaving Pickle outside in the middle of the night.

Pickle just stared at where he had been moments prior. That was.. too easy. Too easy to get rid of Axel. Axel always stuck around. Always dug deeper– always forced you to dig deeper to get what he wants. Always rambled on about something incomprehensible that Pickle could only understand hours later when the conversation was over.

He just.. left. He actually encouraged him to go over Joll’s house.

…

So that’s what he did.

His feelings hadn’t changed even after that argument. He wanted to see Joll. He wanted Joll, even just for a moment. 

Their crown was in his inventory, their golden pin in his pocket. And.. a little something else in his pocket too.

They were in front of his house, his hand lingering over the doorknob for a second. Just.. listening. It’d be weird if he just barged in while they were awake. “What are you doing in my house!?!?!?!?” yeah, he did not want to answer that right now!

After confirming there was no noise, he opened the door and stepped inside. Everything was just like a usual house. 3 by 3. Chest. windows, bed. Bed with Joll on it.

He wanted. He wanted.. something. He just wanted. Like a hunger that couldn’t be cured with even an enchanted golden apple. 

His hand hovered above their head for a few seconds. Just.. frozen like that. They looked peaceful when they were asleep.

..

God, what the fuck Pickle.

He pulled his hand back, setting the crown on the chest next to their bed and also the little something-something he had prepared for them.

He’s not usually the best at giving gifts. He’s much more skilled in receiving gifts. But, maybe he'd try just this once, right?

He sighed, turning around and exiti–

“Pickle..?”

HELL NO.

Pickle jumped, but didn’t even look back at them. He just hit the wall twice.

“You’re dreaming. Go back to sleep.”

He left.

Correction: he flew the hell out of there.

Chapter Text

One hell of a dream, then.

Joll sat up with a yawn and a rubbing of their eyes. A dream.. yeah. Yeah- they could believe that.

It was a short dream, apparently. They could only remember being in their bed and.. Pickle. For some reason. Jeez, become friends with a guy and immediately start dreaming about him. Real smooth, Joll.

Pickle hadn’t looked at them, just told them to go back to sleep the moment they acknowledged him. Seems like creepy dream things that’d happen.

And it’s not like he just blindly trusts Pickle and believes everything he says. He’s still a Tower Legend and has probably done bad things.. And– yeah, they know that goes against a lot of what they’ve said about him previously but- They don’t know! Maybe what Spark said had more of an effect on their thoughts on Pickle than they originally thought.

But still, they believed him because everything that happened in those few seconds just seemed like a dream. Even if they couldn’t see his face, he looked a little too ethereal for it to be real.

They got out of their bed, fixing their blanket and stretching. Well, creepy dream asiiiideee… they need to prep for the fight today. The teleportation yesterday was messed up to an INSANE degree. Even when it had teleported them to the right floor it almost immediately undid it! Ugh.. This entire thing seemed like it wasn’t even worth it. Going through hell for 5 days just for some cool, flashy title.

Something caught the corner of their eye, so they turned to their chest. Guess what decided to show up.

THEIR CROWN!!!

Finally, they’re not bald anymore!! Well, they’re still bald. But they don’t feel bald-er anymore. YESS!!

They were quick to pick it up, but paused as they saw something else on the chest. Picking it up as well, the item revealed itself to be named ‘Friendship Bracelet’.

from.. Pickle.

‘I realized I haven’t given anything back to you yet, and just taking things would be rude. So, here! Something to symbolize our newfound friendship :)’

Giving it a closer look, they recognized it to be Pickle’s hoodie strings. Y’know, the things that make his hood tighter or looser. And a combination of lapis lazuli, emerald, and diamond as decorations. A smile spread on their face before they even realized it.

It was such a small gesture and yet it already made their day. They both put their crown back on and slipped on the friendship bracelet, clenching their fist after.

Nice.

They fixed themself up slightly before walking out the house, squinting their eyes as the sun hit them directly in the face. Ouch! They hopped off the stairs, looking around to see if anybody was awake yet.

Looking on the Tower Legends’ side, they saw Axel conversing with Sprout. It seemed to be a pleasant enough conversation, since the both of them were laughing at least a bit. They quickly looked away before they accidentally made eye contact with either of them. They’re sure Axel was not a fan of them (especially after yesterday) and they just didn’t want to be a bother to Sprout.

So, they looked over to their side instead. Conk was sitting on his stairs, his sleeve covered hand tracing the cracks on his face. They failed to mention it yesterday, but yes, they’d gotten worse again. Multiple cracks, actually. It was more than worrying, it was downright terrifying.

They quickly walked over to him, crouching down.

“Hey Conk!”
“Gh-!”

Conk flinched, gritting his teeth. A small snap made Joll freeze up. Another split that had gotten worse.. This time on his arm. Conk took a moment to recover before smiling at Joll.

“Hi Jall!”
“Conk, you can’t just–”

They cut themself off, taking a deep inhale and an even louder exhale. This guy..

“You want a hug?”
“YES!!”

Conk immediately hugged them. Oh, they love not having oxygen! So much! Whatever- it’s fine. It’s fine. Conk needs this.

Yet after a few seconds, Conk let out another wince and pulled back. Joll was about to ask if he was okay but any words in their throat died when they saw the line of cracks going across Conk’s torso. Like. Horizontally. He looked like he was about to split in two.

“Conk!”
“Ya?”
“Conk- why didn’t you speak up about this?? How didn’t I notice?!– I’m so sorry..”

Conk didn’t seem too bothered. As always. He just smiled.

“It’s okay!! I got that.”

He stood up, his smile faltering for just a second before he spun around.

“See?”
“Just be careful, please.”
“Careful is my middle name!”

That’s a lie.

“I lied. It’s actually Bakuhatsu.”
“I thought Baku– Baku-hat-su was your last name.”
“I lied.”

Silence..

“What’s your actual last name?”
“Dukis.”
“What??”

Conk smiled even more.

“It means legend.”
“Your full name is Conkrete Bakuhatsku Dukis??”

The rock jumped slightly when Golem’s voice suddenly came from behind him. But he quickly recovered and spun around to face Golem.

“Da third.”
“The third– aren’t you an only child???”

Golem makes a good point. Conk never mentioned having any siblings. Unless they were back in Mining Civ. Then that’d be awkward. And wasn’t ‘the first’ usually the father?? Wasn’t Conk’s dad’s name Donk?? That didn’t make sense! Then again it’s Conk we’re talking about–

Conk then tugged Joll closer in a half-hug, snapping them out of their train of thought.

“Jall’s the second!”
“Conk-”

Joll’s voice came out as a laugh instead of a plea to be let go. They really couldn’t help it. Conk WAS like a brother to them. They’re all one huge happy family!

“OW GOD DAMN IT-!”

Nevermind.

Kibble decided to TROLL and bite the holy hell out of Joll’s leg, immediately making them collapse to the ground. Golem let out a small snort before pulling Kibble off of their leg. Why does he relish in their suffering.

“Down boy, chill.”

Golem sighed, standing up and putting Kibble to the side. Joll held their now bleeding leg with a sharp hiss. It wasn’t like Kibble was trying to maul them, but he still bit down hard enough to leave puncture wounds.

“I didn’t even DO anything!”

Joll groaned. wiping the blood on their hand onto the grass. Conk just blankly stared into space until Kibble barked, both making him flinch again and having him translate.

“Kibble says he knows what you are.”
“What?? What does that mean????????”

Joll blinked back tears, looking at Kibble as if he’d start speaking English to give him an answer. He did not. He just gave him probably the nastiest look he’s ever gotten from a dog.

Genuinely, what was he even talking about?? Joll didn’t have like– a secret identity or anything. They weren’t keeping any secrets from anybody either! They’ve told them everything they know about themself!

Except Aura. They don’t talk about Aura.

Kibble let out a low woof, momentarily putting a look of slight confusion on Conk’s face before he dropped to his knees next to Joll.

“I’m thinking for once!!”
“Conk- ow- you think all the time. Just.. not very smart thoughts.”

Conk paused, staring at Joll for a few seconds and QUICKLY making the moment more awkward than they intended for it to be.

“Rude.”
“Sorry!”

Conk tore the strap attached to his quiver [which held a grand total of one spectral arrow. Infinity is a really good enchantment!] and wrapped it around Joll’s injury.

“Yay!”
“Oh- that’s.. Kinda a good idea Conk! Thanks!”

Conk smiled at them, his singular iron fang catching the sunlight in a way that almost blinded Joll. OW! They actually like seeing, little known fact. They closed their eyes for a second, opening them before looking literally anywhere else. Their gaze landed on Golem. Who.. didn’t seem all that much there?? He seemed to feel their eyes on him though, since he blinked a few times before meeting their eyes.

“What.”
“Nothing! Nothing.”

Joll looked away, putting a fist to their mouth as they cleared their throat. 

“That’s not gonna hold.”

Golem said. Conk made a small, sad sound at that, making Joll pat him on a shoulder before getting up. The strap slipped down just slightly, revealing more of Kibble’s bloody bite marks. Joll winced slightly. The air hitting the still-fresh wound stung a bit. Still don’t understand why Kibble would bite them.. They’re on the same team, c’mon!

“It’s- fine. I can tighten it later or.. Something. Maybe if I get Pickle’s floor again?”

Kibble barked at that– seriously what was his issue??

“Kibble! Come on- just tell Conk what’s wrong so he can tell me! Please?? I don’t know what I did wrong!”

Joll crouched down to the wolf’s level again, almost begging. Kibble seemed almost caught off guard for a moment before he loudly barked at Conk. 

You could practically see the gear shifting in that rock’s head.

“It’s about Pickle.”

Joll couldn’t help the loud groan that escaped them. It’s always about Pickle– like seriously WHAT THE HELL. 

And suddenly they were getting stared at OKAY!!

“Okay- okay- I’m sorry. It’s just- Is he mad I’m friends with Pickle?”
“YOU’RE FRIENDS??”

Conk quickly questioned, covering up Kibble’s woof with his sheer volume. Luckily Kibble also nodded. It was definitely that, then.. Oh god..

“Yes, we are. Look- Remember yesterday where the Tower was super messed up and we kept getting teleported from floor to floor? Spark and Axel were hounding me for my friendship with Pickle too. I’m just- sick of it! Pickle’s a nice guy. He’s especially not as insane as the rest of the Tower Legends!”

They put their head in their hands, trying to keep cool. They shouldn’t be getting this worked up over it. The others had a valid reason for being mad at them. Pickle’s–

“He’s still a Tower Legend, Joll.”

Golem said, crossing his arms in an attempt to be stern. And it worked. Joll put their hands down and looked at the ground for a few seconds before speaking again.

“And? Sprout’s a Tower Legend too! She might not wear shoes but she's really nice.”

Kibble let out a bark that sounded almost feral, making Joll flinch. Joll seriously doubts the parasite actually died when he fell into the lava way back when. Both Golem and Conk seemed surprised at whatever he said. 

Why is Joll the only one who can't understand Kibble???

“KIBBOL YOU'RE GONNA GET US DEMONETIZED.”

And WHY does Conk seem so genuinely distressed over this oh my god.

Joll doesn't think they've seen Conk this panicked in their entire life. Granted, they've only known him for around 2 years but still. Kibble just let out another huff before running off, leading Conk to follow him.

Joll sighed, a bit of guilt building up inside them. Was making friends with Pickle actually a bad idea? He is still a Tower Legend, after all. Even if he's nice to them, he's done this all before. Multiple times, it seems. What if Pickle was just lying to them??

No, that wouldn't make sense. Pickle would've definitely just killed them by now! It's day 4, who would wait that long?

Well, Spark would. But Spark’s a psychopath.

“Golem!”

Joll snapped their head up to look at the golem who, once again, seemed like he was coming out of a daze. He blinked before looking down at Joll.

“What?”
“Uhm- First of all.. Are you oka–”
“Yeah, yeah, just thinking.”

Golem was quick to wave them off. That.. only made them even more suspicious, but they weren’t going to be the one to push. Conk can do that. He does that well, too!

“Okay… Well, do you think I’m a bad person for being friends with Pickle?? It’s- it’s not like the worst thing in the world, is it?”

Golem sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he did so.

“It’s… I think it’s a bad decision. Everybody on that team is just a freak. Who knows what Pickle’s planning?”
“I don’t- think Pickle would do that.. He’s–”

Joll gripped the torn edges of their sleeves. Now they feel silly..

“I- think we’re pretty close. He even made me this!”

They held up their wrist with the friendship bracelet, Golem’s eyebrows raising slightly.

“I was wondering where you got that.”
“Yeah- it’s a friendship bracelet he made! Something to symbolize our newfound friendship.”

They smiled reading the message again, that warm fuzzy feeling from yesterday when he was worrying over the glass in their hand coming right back. Golem stared down at the bracelet for a bit before shaking his head.

“Y’know what… You just.. You do what you want, Joll. Just stay safe and come to me if anything goes wrong, alright?”
“Definitely! Hah- y’know, you’re being really nice lately!”

Golem blinked before clearing his throat, glancing to the side.

“Just.. looking out. I’m still a golem, y’know.”
“Orrrrr… It could be that you actually care about us!”

The familiar look of unamusement slipped back onto Golem’s face far too easily.

“Right!”

“Day 4.”

Joll flinched. Just a little bit. Though, that reminded them it’s been four days. What happens after day five?? They don’t think the tower ever said what happens after that.

All of a sudden a platform of prismarine bricks was under them, lifting them to the roof of their house. Pickle sat on said roof with a smile on his face and a netherite axe in hand.

“Oh- Hey Pickle!”
“Hi Joll! Do you like the prismarine?”

Honestly they could care less buuuut..

“Yeah! It kinda matches you.”

They stepped off the platform and onto the roof with the now giddy Pickle, clutching the axe in his hands so tightly Joll would've normally taken it as a sign of murderous intent. Pickle spoke again.

“They- They also reminded me of you. Kinda.”
“Aww!”

Joll was a bit flattered to say the least. It's strange being thought of in a positive light for an extended period of time by somebody who wasn't his main group of friends. Everybody usually hated him by this point! Endy, Dyna, Frost, Pea. 

Huh. Now that they think about it, they kinda form a rainbow. Dyna's red, Pea's green, Frost is blue, and Endy's purple. Fate is silly like that. Maybe that's why Spark's their match this time around. He's a yellow-organish color. He's a blondie! Like. Blindingly blonde sometimes. His hair wasn't BRIGHT BRIGHT but it was just very yellow. Does that make sense?

Oh that reminds them!

“Pickle! Were you gonna say something about the Tournament Dungeon yesterday or were you just asking if I knew about it?”

Out of the corner of their eyes they could see Golem walking off, running a hand through his hair. Poor guy seemed to be plagued by something. He was in his own head more often than not.

Pickle, meanwhile, put the axe in his inventory and took out a book- wait that's their book about Spark! They almost forgot about that. But Pickle turned to the page with the pictures again.

“Yeah. Have you heard of it?”
“Not recently, no.”

Pickle smiled a bit.

“It's a dungeon similar to the Infinity Tower. Well, the 1st run of the Infinity Tower- look, look. The Tournament Dungeon was what it sounded like. A big tournament with players all over the Infinity Dungeon competing to be at the top. There were multiple tiers too. Wood, Stone, Copper, Iron, Gold, Diamond, Emerald, and Netherite. I'm sure you can imagine which one was the top.”

He seemed to reach to fidget with his hoodie string, but remembered its absence and instead started to rummage through his pouch. After a moment, he pulled out a pin of a oak wood block.

“Me and Axel went there! Never offically got further than wood, but that's cuz we didn't really wanna do it. We kinda just stuck around the training area. BUUUT that's when we met Spark!”
“Was he a high tier? No- of course he was.”
“Higher than netherite, technically!”
“Whaaat.”

Why is Pickle already lying to them. This is traitorous withholding of information and they will NOT stand for it.

Well they're sitting right now but- yeah.

“Back then Spark was the equivalent to a training buddy. That's why he's a robot, actually.”

He smiled, looking over at Spark who just seemed to be exiting his house. His screen still had cracks all over it. Joll could barely see his eye anymore! 

“Originally, he was built to help players train for a tournament. But Axel ended up taking a liking to him and just.. took him.”
“.. just like that?”
“It’s crazy, right?! Just threw him over his shoulder and told me we were leaving. I tried to get him to put Spark back but he just wouldn't listen to me!”
“He doesn't really listen to you now, does he?”

The words left Joll before they could even think of them, quickly slapping a hand over their mouth. Pickle blinked, his gaze going from the book to Joll's face.

“I'm- so sorry-”
“No, no, you're fine. Axel used to actually listen to me back then, though.”

Pickle sighed, closing the book and leaning back onto the roof.

“I'm sure it's obvious from the pictures, but y'know we weren’t all like this before, right?”
“I- guessed so.. You guys looked pretty different. Dunno about Sprout though.”

Joll awkwardly laughed, slowly putting their hands down. Pickle snickered a bit.

“I mean, compared to when we first met her she was much the same. But after our first round of the Infinity Tower? My god! She was just as bad as Spark when it came to violence!”

They blinked. That.. was hard to imagine. Somebody as sweet as Sprout being a fighter? Was Pickle pulling their leg or something?

“ohh..”
“Crazy, isn't it? Oh, here’s a picture from that time!”

Pickle pointed to another photo. Sprout was posing in the foreground with a smug expression, her hair considerably shorter than currently, while Spark was kept in place by thick vines attached to his wrists and legs. The words “Life's only recorded victory over Bloodshe▇” were written under the picture.

“..Huh.”
“I dunno why he wore those bandages over his eyes either. Purposely giving yourself a disadvantage sounds insane to me, but Spark was always a little crazy.”
“No, it's just.. Why does the book refer to them like that?”
“Huh?”

Joll pointed to the words Life and Bloodshed (there's no way that was any other word), making Pickle tilt his head slightly.

“I dunno either. The Tower refers to us as our soulcore’s name a majority of the time.”

Pickle lifted up his hoodie over his head, seemingly not being careful of his elytra as he let out a wince or two. Joll almost tried to help until Pickle actually got it off and turned around.

The back of his shirt had been ripped to hell and back, clearly to make room for his wings. Right between said wings was something cyan in the shape of a diamond with a line down the middle.

“Cool, isn't it??”
“Yeah! But- doesn't that hurt?”

They traced their fingers over the edges, making Pickle's wing flutter slightly.

“Oh- sorry! So sorry!”
“It's okay, I promise! Just uh. Does kinda hurt..”

Joll pulled their hand away immediately.

“Anyways. uhm.. I'd be Companionship! Cuz I have the Light of Companionship. And you'd be called Curiosity.”
“Curiosity?”
“Yeah! Cuz you're the Light of Curiosity?..”

Joll blinked.

“I didn't know that.”
“Oh.”

The two sat in silence for a little bit until Pickle put his hoodie back on, his elytra poking through the holes in the back.

Light of Companionship, huh. Maybe that's why Pickle wanted to be friends with Joll so badly.

…

“Wait a minute-”

Joll pulled out Pickle's book from their inventory. Conk had dropped it yesterday while hopping after Golem and Joll had picked it up. When they tried to return it, he said he didn't care for it so they just kept it.

But they remember Pickle's light being something else.. It started with a G.

Name: pickle

Tower Legend – Legendary Miner – Light of Gree▇

Infinity Dungeon Record: Level 890,500,021(?)

Gree??

Greed??

Is that why Axel and Spark were so adamant that Pickle was selfish?? That's-

Before they could finish their thought, Pickle grabbed the book from their hands.

“Oh, wow! Holy error.”
“Huh?”
“That's.. That's a really bad glitch- hah! I'm like the opposite of greedy??”

Pickle snickered before pointing at Joll's bracelet.

“I gave you that! that's not something a greedy person would do.”

Joll blinked, staring at him for a few seconds before they hesitantly nodded.

“..right.”
“Oh- please don't get all shy on me.. You know how bad this Tower is. Look, I'll show you some pictures!”

Pickle flipped the page. The book was mainly full of photos of him with Axel. ‘Gree▇ and Delusi▇▇▇ in a cave’ (what was that about?), ‘The Legends in a Pillager Raid’. Some with Pickle having elytra and some not. Strangely, Pickle seemed to have an eyepatch in one or two of them.

Pickle flipped the page and Joll froze.

‘Guess you can say Axel AXED him a question. LOL. – Spark’

Red. So much red that could only be blood.

The book snapped shut and was promptly thrown off the edge of the platform. They didn't get to see the real caption. They didn't have enough time to put the picture into words. 

And Pickle..

He wore an expression Joll hadn't seen on him before. Pure panic. Sure, he'd been nervous in the past but this was genuine fear.

“.. pickle?”
“Yeah!”

Pickle quickly put on a smile again, but the worry was still in his eyes.

“... are you–?”
“I’M FINE! Just.. fine. Don't ask about it, please. It's just- It was a long time ago y'know.”

Pickle pat them on the shoulder before standing up.

“Anyways!! I’m fine, it’s alllll good. Light of Companionship! Yes!”

His words only made them worry more, but they sighed before deciding to drop the topic.

“I’m.. willing to listen, Pickle..”

They mumbled, causing Pickle to freeze up before smiling.

“KKHZ– Soulcore power is currently split 50-50 between Team 2 and Team 1. Congratulations once more for your survival despite my own errors the previous day.”

The tower managed to get both of their attention.

“Teleporting now.”

Great.

The world around them disappeared and turned into the inky black void they’ve come to recognize. Honestly.. they almost didn’t want Pickle’s floor today. Not just because of the gory photo and possible secrets Pickle is withholding, no, they could definitely survive with that. They’re holding secrets and trauma of their own! But, mainly because of Conk.

He’s getting worse and worse by the day. At least physically. He’s still in high spirits with a smile on his face, but it makes Joll sick just thinking about every wince and whine that escaped him. They can probably help him more when they get out of here. Just.. two more days.

“Floor 103754. Legendary Miner’s Mineshaft.”

Damn it.

After a moment or two, Joll felt the cool stone under their feet. They opened their eyes, expecting to immediately hear Pickle’s voice. But to their surprise there was nothing! Just silence.

“Pickle?”

Joll looked around, searching for that turquoise elytra or dull blue hoodie anywhere. Nothing.

Did the tower fail to teleport him here or something? It’s always bugged. Stupid, stupid bugs. They’re the reason why Conk is constantly getting hurt. The reason why Conk was fighting Spark and not them. Why was only Joll and Conk’s teleportations messed up?? Kibble gets teleported to Sprout’s level and Golem gets teleported to Axel’s, what about Joll and Conk causes the tower to teleport them to the wrong floor?!

They kicked a stray piece of coal to vent their frustration, watching it bounce off a mountain of iron ore blocks.

Y’know, now that they’re alone.. Pickle’s floor wasn’t.. actually a mineshaft.

Granted, they haven’t seen a lot of mineshafts in their adventures of the Infinity Dungeon, but this was just mountains upon mountains of ore. That is NOT a mineshaft. Although, a mineshaft definitely wouldn’t be able to fit in one of these floors.

Joll made their way to the mountain of deepslate emerald ore. They debated on climbing it for a moment before deciding nah and just sitting on one of the blocks.

This entire thing was just.. ugh. They felt fine. They themselves haven’t been hurt a lot. Aside from yesterday of course. But still, they’re practically the same as when they entered the dungeon! The thing that frustrates them is that the dungeon itself seems to be after their friends more than them this time.

Conk’s fighting a person– a thing way above his skill level and constantly suffering because of it, Kibble’s become almost alarmingly aggressive and even bit Joll earlier today, and Golem just seems more bothered than usual. They haven’t mentioned it previously because they thought it was just him being his usual grumpy self, but it’s like he’s stuck in his own head. 

Yeah, they don’t like being the victim of every evil person’s plot, but they’d rather that than seeing their friends who haven’t done anything wrong [for the most part..] suffer like this.

“Joll!”

Joll’s head snapped up in the direction of the voice. Pickle, unmistakably. The netherite axe was in his hand again and he still seemed a bit worried. He flew over to them.

“You wanna come to Axel’s floor with me?”

what.

“Wh- huh??”
“Axel’s floor!”
“How- what?? How- would we even get there??”

Pickle pointed the axe up, the prismarine brick platform forming under Joll while Pickle just flew up. Joll tried to maintain their balance, but just ended up falling. Hh…

“Our floors are connected to each other. Well, normally a person wouldn’t be able to figure this out unless they’re me, AKA the Legendary Miner. But the Tower also says the floor number, doesn’t it?”
“That.. kinda just goes in through one ear and out the other, heh.. I don’t really see a need for it, yanno?”
“I get that. Buut, you never know when it’s gonna come in handy!”

Pickle smiled, putting the axe in his off hand before equipping his pickaxe again. Though..

If that’s Axel’s axe and if that note Spark left was true.. wasn’t Pickle using the very thing that hurt him so much?? No, it had to be true! Why else would Axel be tied up for safety reasons?? Why wouldn’t he be allowed to have his own axe?? 

How can Pickle still want to talk to him after that..?

They felt a tug on their hand. Looking up, Pickle was looking at them with a mix of concern and expectancy.

“Soo..?”

Joll blinked, sighed, then nodded.

“Yeah, sure!”

They put on their best smile, trying to hide their concern. It seemed to work pretty well as Pickle didn’t question their sudden silence.

“Gooing upp!”

Pickle pulled Joll against his chest and flew up through the 1x1 hole. They may have squealed. Though the two ended up in Axel’s floor. Nether castle with the lava mote and all.

Pickle made sure Joll wouldn’t fall when they touched the ground, holding their hand for a bit longer than necessary. They were fine, for the most part. If not just a bit dizzy because of Pickle’s flying speed.

Joll shook their head before looking around. Golem’s long white hair caught their attention almost immediately.

“Hi Golem!”

They shouted, making Golem quickly whip his head around to face them. They heard a low curse that could’ve only been from Axel– did his hair hit Axel’s face?? That caused a little chuckle to escape them.

“..joll?”

Golem’s voice at an unfamiliar tinge of panic to it. They almost questioned it until he swallowed, cleared his throat, and stepped away from Axel.

“Jolllll.. What.. what are you doing here. Why is he here.”
“Why is that frog in my humble abode??”

Frog discrimination..

Joll waved at Golem while Pickle flew over to Axel. But they weren’t much concerned with that. Golem was here!! And walking over to them a bit too quickly. Something had to be wrong but they were almost too scared to push and outright ask him.

“Pickle brought me here! I think he wanted to talk with Axel about something? I dunno. But I’m here now!! Isn’t that cool??”

Golem stared at them for a bit, almost uncomfortably so. He then sighed.

“Yeah. I guess.”
“Whattt? You know I’m awesome!”
“Yeah, yeah.”

He waved them off. Joll snickered before falling into silence.

.   .   .

They need to ask him.

“Golem?”
“What?”

They glanced to the side, too nervous to look him in the eyes.

“Uhm.. Please- just answer me seriously this time. Are you good? You’re like.. not in conversations anymore and like– I know you never really are but you just seem to be thinking a lot lately. And after yesterday you don’t seem to be doing too great?? I might just be getting paranoid though– But- but just in case! I–”
“Joll.”

Golem’s voice was as flat as ever, but Joll tensed nonetheless. Ugh- they look so stupid! Golem’s fully capable of dealing with his own issues if any at all. They’re just paranoid from Conk ignoring his own problems. They just want to fix something for once- god they look stupid..

“I’m fine, Joll. You worry about yourself and Conk and Kibble, alright?”

An iron glove came to pat them on the shoulder, the sudden weight surprising. Not because of how heavy it was, but the touch itself was unexpected.

“Just an old man thinking too much. Nothing to drive yourself crazy thinking about.”
“.. You sure? I-I might not be like.. a professional or anything but I can listen really well!”
“I’m sure, Joll.”

Golem gave just the smallest smile, but that was enough for Joll to start smiling too. He put his hand back at his side before crossing his arms.

“not like you can help with it anyways..”
“Huh?”
“Pickle planning to backstab you or anything?”

That’s NOT what he said.

“Noooo.. I’d hope not!”

Joll laughed. Golem nodded before looking back at nether castle, just staring in silence for a few moments. Joll was about to ask if anything was wrong (again) before Golem spoke.

“This guy's weird.”
“Yeah.. kinda dangerous too.”

The last part came out as a mumble, but Golem just scoffed.

“The only thing he's a danger to is himself and my psyche. Seriously, he never stops talking.”

Joll looked over to where Pickle and Axel were talking at the entrance to the castle. Saying Axel didn't look pleased was an understatement. He also seemed to be motioning to Joll in particular.. for some reason… They didn't like that.

“Y'see? I swear if I have to hear his voice and those stupidly forced rhymes for more than 20 minutes again I'll need more than just Advil..”

Oh, that reminds them.

“Heyyy… since you were here yesterday, what made Axel forfeit?”
“What?”
“You and Axel forfeit yesterday. It seemed to be at the same time too.”

Golem let out a small ‘oh’ before clearing his throat. 

“I dunno what was up with that guy yesterday and I don't really care.”
“He was really mean..”

Joll frowned, but Golem just shook his head.

“When isn't he?”
“True.”

They flexed their hand, wincing at the bit of pain that came with it.

“Tower, I forfeit.”
“1 player has forfeit: Golem.”

OHYEAHTHEYSHOULDPROBABLYDOTHAT–

“I forfeit too!”
“2 players have– 3 players have forfeit: Golem, Joll, and Conk. Now teleporting..”

Well that was easy.

They spread their arms out to maintain their balance, immediately looking out for Conk. Once again, he was on the ground.. There was a twinge in their heart as they immediately dropped to one knee to try and help him up. They couldn’t help but notice the crack going up his face was.. far wider than this morning..

“Conk?”
“.. i-is it bad..?”

Conk was crumbling like usual [they hate how they can say that and have it be true.] but he was also covering a part of his face with his hand. Kibble joined his side, whining in distress. Joll’s head was already starting to spin..

Some of Conk’s sleeve had been stained with gold, though..

Looking across from them at the Legends, they could see Spark was covering his mouth. Gold stained his hands and some of his chest. Okay- now they had questions. But questions that must remain unanswered for now.. Conk was clearly more hurt.

“I can’t see it, Conk. You have to show me.”
“It hurts tho..”

Conk moved his hand slightly, revealing just how wide the crack had gotten. Joll would say it was more than a crack, but they also don’t know the word for it… But it reminded them of Corey from like. A year ago. They could see the inside of Conk’s head..

It wasn’t gory by any means, just pitch black, but it was also really unsettling.

“Let’s go.”

Golem gruffly said, tugging Conk up to his feet. Another whimper escaped Conk as he was forced to stand on both of his feet again, but Joll was immediately at his side again.

“You shhould–should be proud of yourself, rock! You actually–lly managed to land a long lassssting hit–t!!”

Spark called out, more glass dropping from his screen. Now that Joll’s looking at him more carefully, his screen seemed to be entirely shattered. That was.. Surprising, but also not at the same time. Conk was a rock, so his punches would be more devastating than Sprout and Joll’s fleshy hands.

“Shut up!”

Conk snapped, making Spark [and everybody else from the looks of it] take a pause before he laughed.

“THERE’S that fire I wish–shed to see so! Maybe I won’t kill–kill you tomorrow.”

They managed to snuff out the want to yell back at Spark, not even knowing what they’d say. They just scoffed and urged Conk to walk back to their house. Conk did so, with Golem and Kibble not too far behind.

Once they were all actually inside, Conk finally removed his hand from his face. Joll immediately turned to their chest just in case they had anything so they didn’t see, but Golem sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.

“Yeeeesh.”
“Is it that bad?? AM I CHOPPED.”
“What??”
“GOLLUM AM I CHOPPED.”
“It’s not– uhm. It’s.. you remember Corey?”

Conk let out a despair-fueled cry and immediately collapsed on Joll’s bed. They closed the chest, not finding a single item that could help and turned around to tell them the bad news. Though actually seeing Conk’s face made them pause.

Remember yesterday when they said they were worried that large fissure going up his head was gonna split him in two?

Well, it did.

Kind of? It seemed they were right in their theory a while back that all people from Mining Civ had a “core” similar to the Netherite Guard. Conk’s wasn’t any different, being just a black void that Joll was suddenly curious about the texture of, but there was now also a white eye where.. Well. Where his eyes would be if he actually had eyes.

“You’re not chopped, Conk.”
“Gollum said I looked like CORY.”
“. . And?”
“CORY WAS UGLY!”

Well, Conk seemed to be in higher spirits than just a few minutes prior. Which.. Was actually pretty concerning. The Netherite Guard was pretty unstable when he had the crack in his head, doing everything that he did just because he wanted an apology from Conk. And yeah, Joll knows that Conk isn't anything like the Netherite Guard, but they still came from the same dungeon.

Is that racist?..

They shook their head, dismissing the thought. Kibble jumped up next to Conk and pressed himself against the rock, whining again.

Just.. one more day.

“Sooo?”

Pickle sat atop the chest in the corner of the house, looking over at Axel. The builder stopped rotating the bloodied tooth in his hand, looking over at his brother.

“Soooo… what?”
“Joll, you doofus! What’re your thoughts on them?”

Axel narrowed his eyes.

“You haven’t changed my opinion in the slightest, Pickle.”
“Oh come on! They’re the pinnacle of perfection though!! Prince of an entire civilization, their sword, even water powers beyond that!”

Pickle sighed in an almost dreamy manner, running his finger along the blade of Joll’s sword.

“I’ve seen a lot of items in my days, but Joll is just..”
“Pickle, what do you see your future with the frog as?”

Axel sharply asked, crossing one leg over the other at the edge of his bed. Pickle blinked. Honestly… he hadn’t thought that far ahead. He had their friendship, did he want to go further than that? Would it simply be a miner and his sword or..

“Because I see it in tragedy.”

Pickle tensed.

“Well what do you know??”
“I-”
“And don’t say that stupid eye! You’ve been wrong about like HALF of the things you see with it!”

He pointed the sword toward Axel, his grip on it so tight he felt his hand tremble. Axel just stared at him for a few seconds, the eye hidden by his hair momentarily glowing purple.

Fucking Infinity.

“I think that ‘blessing’ was more of a curse. How many prophecies have you received that turned out to actually be true, Axel??”
“How many have been false?”

Axel covered his eye further, a smile growing on his face.

“Believe me, I share with you my divine intel not for my own ego, but as a warning as well. Your story with that mercenary will only end in despair and calamity.”
“You’re wrong, Axel.”
“Believe what you will, brother. Just don’t say the outcome you get was unexpected.”

Pickle, for some reason, felt tears in his eyes already. He did want a future with Joll, he really did. He just.. Gods, he needs to just tell it to them straight. No beating around the bush. That’s what Bottlecap said last rotation! He got yelled at for the amount of “mixed messages” he was sending.

Though he didn’t like Bottlecap as much as he likes Joll.

He grit his teeth, standing up and storming out of Axel’s house. He needs to talk to Joll. He knows Axel’s visions can be changed, he has to change it. Even if he doesn’t fully believe whatever Axel says, he wants to be sure. He needs his future with Joll to be safe and secure.

He put the sword back in his inventory, stopping at their door before knocking on it with a little more force than necessary.

After a few seconds, a very sleepy Joll opened the door.

“Hey.. Pickle?”
“Hi. Joll. Uhm.”

He hates when he starts stuttering.

“After.. This is all over. Tomorrow. Would you- like to.. Uhm. Join me! In the Infinity Dungeon?”
“..Join you?”
“Yeah! We can like.. Go through dungeons together! Earn stacks upon stacks of rewards!! Rewards, Joll! So many! Think about it!”

He grabbed their hands before he could help himself, squeezing slightly. Joll stared at him for a few seconds.

“Uhm.. What about.. Your friends?”

Gods–

“I can convince them! Or just not listen to what they say. Who cares at this point. It can just be you and me.”
“My friends too.”
“Yeah-! Yeah. And Conk and Golem. aaand.. Kibble.”

Secondary thought. He just wanted Joll’s word.

Joll glanced to the side for a moment before sighing, slightly taking their hands back from his grasp. He had to restrain himself from immediately grabbing them again.

“Pickle.. I don’t think I can just- do that, y’know? We can still talk! And whisper to eachother. But unless you want there to be like.. Huge fights, I don’t think we can officially be a team.”

Ah.

“We’re still friends though.”

That reassurance softened the blow slightly, but the feeling of being absolutely stabbed in the gut didn’t go away. He swears, this was worse than the whole Axel incident. Or when he had a block of deepslate emerald ore stolen from him. 

Scratch everything, this is absolutely the worst thing to happen to him!

“yeah.”

His voice was more of a murmur, leading Joll to pat him on the head two times.

“Now. . . Uhm. You should probably go to sleep. It’s pretty late.”

They looked up at the sky where the moon was right above them. Pickle nodded.

“yyeah. Night, Joll.”
“Goodnight Pickle! N-Nothing personal–”

They hastily added on before shutting the door. Pickle walked away, only taking a few steps before he pulled out Joll’s information book again and promptly dropped it off the edge of the platform.

It’s.. fine. Joll had their own things to worry about anyways! Conk is really injured! And.. Axel’s been messing with Golem’s head. And whatever Sprout was talking about with Kibble to make him so frustrated.

Pickle’s not crying. Why would he cry over something like this?