War-Torn Hearts - An Empires SMP S2 War AU

Chapter 3

TW: Mild swearing

Scott was praying.

Well not praying like those weird cults that Gem and Sausage were so committed to, but praying nonetheless.

Hoping.

Wishing.

Begging the heavens for Stratos to be allied with Shelby.

Joel was reckless. He had clearly demonstrated that from the Life Games. And with Sausage, Lizzie and Hermes to protect, Scott wouldn't have been surprised if he bombed the opposing team's base with literally no motive at all.

In fact, that was what Scott was most worried about.

The pure chaos that Joel's empire could rain on him.

Literally.

The God of the Sky had decided it was a great idea to build a Fountain of Strength and let it ascend to the heavens right above Chromia. It would have been a piece of cake for him to let anything - lava, TNT, fire, floods - drop from above and destroy his hard earned work.

He stirred his cup of coffee restlessly, looking out the window and to the rolling hills and flourishing meadows of the Colour Kingdom, Chromia. Just beyond the flower fields, Scott could spy a silhouette of a large, floppy witch hat descending from behind the islands of Stratos.

"AHHHHHH!" Shelby screamed as she plummeted into the peony bushes, and Scott couldn't help but snort with laughter.

Draining the last of his coffee, he stood up from his seat next to the window and delicately placed his colourful ceramic mug in the sink. He turned the brass handle and pushed on the door, sunlight pouring through the wooden frame.

"Hey Shelby!" he called, picking up the pace as he skipped towards the peonies.

The Great Witch of the Evermoore, Shelby Grace, peeked out of the bushels, a strange purple aura glimmering around her as she carefully tried to extract herself from the pretty pink petals.

"Don't worry about the peonies," Scott told her as she gently pushed them away, but to no avail. "They need to be pruned again anyway, so it's not that big of a deal."
The cyan-haired man stuck his hand out, of which the amber-eyed witch gratefully took.

"So, what brings you to Chromia?"

Shelby smiled, her white freckles glinting in the light of the purple-tinted sunbeams as a dimple popped up at the corner of her mouth.

"Well, I'm officially handing out the allies list!" she exclaimed with a dramatic shake of her jazz hands. She attentively lowered her floppy, mossy green witch off her head and a lavender-coloured frog hopped out, croaking an earthy croak.

"Oh, sorry about that!" Shelby apologised as the frog leapt around her feet. "That's Tortoise - he won't bite."
The colourful man eyed Tortoise warily as the Great Witch of the Evermoore dug through her witch hat. To his golden eye, it looked as though a purple-dyed blizzard was whipping at the finely tailored fabrics, strong enough to tear off the petals of the coral-pink blossoms on her hat.

Fishing out a graceful origami swan, with its neck arched pompously and its wings outstretched, she very softly blew on it, making it come to life.

Its wings beat in evident glory as it slowly took flight, landing gently in Scott's palm.

Scott, who was curious about such magic, brought the delicate bird towards his face, squinting at it in hopes of understanding what it would do.

In an abrupt burst of purple hue, the swan unfurled, spitting out a mini progression of fireworks that read out the allies that Shelby had chosen.

The lime green array of blossoming lights popped and crackled, forming the names of the empires.

Dawn, he listed as the light bloomed and burned. Animalia, Sanctuary, Stratos.

The cyan-haired man let out the breath he had been holding at the sight of Joel's empire amidst the names of Shelby's chosen alliances.

He looked at the Great Witch of the Evermoore with a wide smile, and Shelby's expression looked surprised in the slightest, yet Scott thought nothing of it.

"You know that was so unnecessarily dramatic, right?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow in a more or less confronting manner.

Shelby shrugged.

"Wanted to add some flare, if you know what I mean," she explained, her palms yet again flashing open as she emphasised the word. "I don't really have the best experiences with letters," she hesitantly added, murmuring softly as if the whole server was watching the two converse.

The Witch bit her lip as if contemplating saying something.

"You do realise that means that the other Empires are allied with Pirate Joe, right?" she asked sincerely, wringing her fingers in a nervous manner. "That we'll have to fight them?"

Scott's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Of course!" he exclaimed before his face fell into surprise.

"Katherine's on Joey's side?" he said incredulously, oblivious to the grave remorse that Shelby wore on her face.

"No..."

Her voice trailed off, and Scott immediately became curious.

"What do you mean, Shelby? What is it that you aren't telling me?"

Shelby locked her gaze with the cyan-haired adventurer, her eyes ever so slightly glazed over.

"We're officially enemies against Joey, Pix, False, Oli, fWhip and..."

And then it hit him.

The reality hit him like a ginormous asteroid slamming into the earth's crust.

Jimmy...

His throat became raw as tears welled in both his yellow and blue eyes.

He crumpled onto the floor like a wilting poppy, Shelby instinctively kneeling beside him.

"Oh, Scott..."

She spoke with sympathy as she reeled him into a hug, gently caressing the other's back.

But Scott couldn't see her.

He couldn't hear her, nor feel her embrace him with open arms.

His senses were obscured by the fog of the harsh seas he had been tossed into.

The only sentence that Scott could form was that of nothing but the truth.

"I've really fucked up."

Word Count: 914

Hello everyone! Fox here, bringing you Chapter 3 of War-Torn Hearts! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the angst that it brought to your Flower-Husband loving souls.
If you want to see more content like this, go check out my and Minnie's accounts minimushr00m and FireFox7895!

Anyway, that's it for now! As always, stay safe, spread kindness and of course, have fun! 

~Fox Out!