Bonds of Death; A Camp Minecraft AU

Chapter 15; Wilbur

When Wilbur felt like an outcast, he did battle training.

He had his golden axe with him and was attacking the monsters that roamed the woods north of the town.

Wilbur drove an axe into the last spider in his line of sight. He paused for a moment to breathe and wipe the sweat from his forehead.

The little piglin heard no hissing from creepers or groaning from zombies, so he sat down and leaned against a tree. He sat there for a while before hearing a sharp sound echoing through the forest.

Wilbur quickly sat up and scanned the trees. He heard it again and realized it was a violin. It was followed by a few notes plucked from a guitar.

Wilbur stumbled to edge of the woods to see Henwy and Sigils, the mayors of Camp Minecraft.

Henwy was leaning against a tree, tuning his guitar, and Sigils was standing, playing random notes on the violin.

Wilbur watched as they played together, the song bringing life to the haunted forest. Wilbur sat down and watched them. They hadn't noticed he was here yet.

"Remember that one song we used to play together?" Henwy asked out of the blue.

"We've played a lot of songs, be a bit more specific," Sigils scoffed.

A/N: Lyrics from "Hidden in the Sand" by Tally Hall.

"We were playing in the sand," Henwy began, followed by a few strums. Sigils smiled.

"And you found a little band," Sigils quickly caught on, playing a few notes on the violin.

Wilbur had heard this song but not with these instruments. He tried to remember where but turned up empty handed.

"You told me you fell in love with it, hadn't gone as I'd planned," They sang together in a gentle tone.

"When you had to bid adieu,
said you'd never love anew,
I wondered if I could hold it
And fall in love with it too."

"You told me to buy a pony," Henwy finished, "But all I wanted was you."

The two were silent for a while, staring down at the town.

"Alright, I forgive you," Sigils said out of the blue.

Henwy smiled.

"God, I still remember when Biffle and I found you as a kid," Sigils sat down and placed his violin on the ground.

"I wasn't that young," Henwy snorted in response.

Wilbur shifted to leave, feeling bad for intruding on a private conversation, and stepped on a branch. The mayors turned and spotted the piglin.

"Wilbur! What are you doing out here?" Henwy asked.

"I was just training. I'm sorry," Wilbur shuffled his feet.

"Don't be. You might want to head back to town though. Siimii is probably worried sick about you being gone," Sigils advised.

"Okay, I will," Wilbur nodded and disappeared back into the woods. He was heading towards the Nether Portal he had built in secret so it was easier to get to the faraway forest. He also enjoyed the small taste of his old home.

Wilbur stepped into the glowing portal and the heat of the Nether washed calmly over him. In the Nether, the portal was positioned on a cliff. Wilbur picked his way down and started walking across the barren wasteland. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

Wilbur heard the grunts of piglins and spotted a group in the crimson forest. He groaned silently to himself, knowing he had to go through it to get to the other portal.

"Hey, would you look at that! Wilby the Human Pet decided to pay us a visit!" A younger piglin, around Wilbur's age, called to him.

"Shut up, Reuben," Wilbur snarled.

"Yeah, leave him alone," A female piglin spoke up.

"Did your dad teach you anything about respecting brutes?" Reuben growled.

"You aren't a brute yet, you don't even have the axe," Wilbur snapped.

Reuben snarled, "One day I'll have my father's axe and I'll chop your head off. I'll lead my clan and murder every last human in the overworld, again and again until they surrender."

"Reuben!" Another female yelped, "Be nice to him!"

"Shut it, Helen," Reuben growled.

"If you're so confident in your abilities then prove it in a duel!" Wilbur was surprised by his own words.

Reuben froze before a smile crept across his face, "Deal. Tomorrow at dawn."

"In front of the portal," Wilbur agreed.

When Wilbur made it back to the overworld, he ran up to Zud and told him about the duel.

"You agreed to duel a brute?" Zud yelped.

"If you had heard what he said about us, you wouldn't have let it slide and I wasn't about to," Wilbur snapped angrily, "This is my first duel. I've watched a few but I've never been in one."

Zud thought for a moment before responding, "You have to stand and look your opponent in the eye. At the end of the ten steps, fire the crossbow in the air. This will end the whole event and signal a peace."

"But what if he shoots at me?" Wilbur asked, fear creeping through.

"If he does, you'll be fine. You aren't considered a mob anymore, the Chamber will revive you. Trust me, you don't want his blood on your hands," Zud wrapped his hands around his adopted son's wrists as he spoke, "Take my crossbow and make me proud."

Wilbur had decided to bring Kate and Lookumz with him to the Nether. If things went wrong, they would be there for him.

The trio stepped through the portal. The piglins were there waiting for him. Wilbur knew Kate and Lookumz had picked up a bit of his language, so he didn't feel the need to translate much.

"Ah, hello Wilby!" Reuben stalked forward with a grin.

"Let's get this over with," Wilbur grunted. Kate and Lookumz stood defensively beside the portal as the piglins cleared a large area for the duel to take place.

Wilbur held his crossbow firmly in one hand. Kate placed a comforting hand on Wilbur's shoulder and mouthed "You've got this" to him. Wilbur smiled and turned back towards the piglins. Reuben was standing in the center, clutching his crossbow.

Wilbur slowly walked to join him. They stared at each other for a few moments before turning their backs to each other.

"Ready when you are," Reuben grunted.

"Ready," Wilbur responded.

An older piglin sauntered towards the two younger piglins, standing to Wilbur's left, "The duel will begin after we count to ten. Each number spoken is one step the two of you will take away from each other, until you are ten steps away from the place you currently stand. Once you have hit the tenth step, you may turn and shoot. You both only get one shot, so make it count."

Wilbur gritted his teeth and kept his eyes aimed ahead. The portal was to his right, the piglin clan to his left.

"Begin counting!" The pigling commanded to the group.

One, two three.

Wilbur started forward.

Four, Five.

Wilbur felt hundreds of eyes bearing into his skin. Halfway there.

Six.

He started aiming at the sky.

Seven-.

"WILBUR!" Twin shrieks.

Pain.