Chapter Text
How much longer would the night last? Sb and Ecko wondered as to why it took so long for the sun to rise again. The two walked away from the retirement center with tired eyes. They were sore from fighting and crying. The blood of their past “friends” stuck to their clothes, almost as if Dan, Squid and James were still clinging onto life from beyond the grave. Maybe digging graves would push away the guilt, but giving them that respect felt like an insult to the actual victims. As the two walked home, Sb heard soft weeping. He and Ecko made their way to the source of the cries which was coming from Yammy’s home.
Her abode was shone in the moonlight. A peaceful haven away from the bloodshed. Flowers bloomed by the makeshift waterfall of her home. A calm, serene site that felt almost undeserving. Ecko and Sb took in the peaceful moment for a second but immediately went back to searching for Yammy. They heard the weeping from around the corner of her house, from a cave at the side of the house. Vines covered the opening of the cavern but they couldn’t hide the crying. That was until Sb tried peeking through the vines. A startled Yammy instantly shrieked,”Go away!” Before intruding any further, Sb assured Yammy that he and Ecko weren’t there to hurt her. Though she wasn’t very convinced.
“How do I know I can trust you? You’re probably here to kill me too aren’t you! Just go away!”
“Yammy, we promise we won’t hurt you. We just want to see if you're ok. Can we come in?” Ecko said in an attempt to comfort her. She nervously obliged and let them into what was basically a den. There, she was cuddling her pet fox to comfort herself. Sb and Ecko sat on the ground with her. Yammy was in obvious distress. She told the other two that when Squid and Dan started fighting, she ran back to her house and chose to hide away in her cave with her pets. She thought that she would have to spend the rest of the night alone and afraid. It took them a while but eventually, Sb and Ecko admitted to Yammy of their murders. They skimped on the details to avoid startling her again. Still, she was quite freaked out by the news, but she couldn’t blame them. All of them had been through so much in such little time. As the night came to a close, the three of them sat together in silence as each of them drifted off to sleep.
They awoke to the sounds of a peaceful and simple morning. The sun poked through the vines of the cave. Sunlight gently appeared and encouraged Sb, Yammy and Ecko to wake up and move around. As the three of them walked about the retirement home, they saw the lifeless bodies of the previous friends. Ecko and Sb also saw the netherite axe laying in the courtyard. Quickly, Ecko took the axe and put it in his inventory. He gave a quick nod to Sb, assuring that he wasn’t keeping it for ill intent. Sb contacted the other guests who were hiding away in the server to join the rest of them in the courtyard. As all of them arrived, they knew what they had to do. Sb explained to them that they needed to properly bury the bodies and that “it’s the right thing to do even if it’s not what we want to do”. Although there was some protest, especially from Ecko who said that “but it’s not fair that we’re giving fair treatment to murderers and liars.” Sb remarked that even though they were gone, “the dead still need their respect or they may seek revenge from beyond the grave.” Eventually, the members obliged and began carrying the bodies to the backwoods of the home. Holding shovels, the remaining members dug graves for the fallen. After mourning the loss of the victims, the members returned back to their homes, leaving Sb and Ecko alone. Realizing that no one else was around, Ecko took out the axe, showed it to Sb and asked,
“Now what do we do about this?”
Staring at the weapon and then at the ground, Sb answered, “Let’s make sure it doesn’t get into anyone else’s hands.”
The two of them took out their shovels and dug a hole for Justice, the axe, to lie in. Hopefully never to be used again.
As time passed, the server found peace again. Members got along well with each other much better now. Some even began businesses and other fun ventures. Luckily, there was rarely any drama or disputes. But it was lonely and quiet from time to time. It was a quiet pain knowing that so many of the members were gone now. Every morning, part of them hoped that they would respawn in their beds and everything would return to normal. Yet deep down, they knew that there was never going to be a new normal. Their graves were adorned with flowers and plants. Lily of the valley, blue orchids and even some warped vines would appear around the gravesite. The days passed and everyone began to move on with their lives on the server. Living comfortably, the remaining members formed themselves a quieter and simpler life.
~
Sleeping in a random bed that he didn’t recognize, Cody found himself awake and alive again. Unsure and afraid of how he got there, he looked around to see that he was at a random spawn point. He felt a small but sharp pain in the back of his head. As he brought his hand to it, he winced at the pain but then it left. It was like a vivid but fleeting memory. Not knowing where he was, Cody wandered around the server, hoping to find his way back home. Wherever it may be.