Shady Hybrids AU

BOOK 5.5: Project W

Kindness doesn't look at him, instead bending down and building. Justin watches intently as she builds two blocks up, one block either side...what block is that? Is that soul sand?
...It can't be.
"...Kindness, what is that?" The tremble in his voice is unmistakable.
"You know already."
"I don't. I don't know."
"I've been warning you, Thinky. I've been warning you that something bad will happen to your house if you don't return my sister to me. I warned you that something bad will happen to you if you don't return my sister to me. But you didn't heed my warning." Despite the threatening tone of her voice, she doesn't drop her smile. Sister? Justin didn't have time to question that.

Kindness pulls out a wither head. Justin's eyes widen. It can't be - can it? She isn't doing that, is she?
"You- you wouldn't! You wouldn't dare!" Justin finds himself reaching out, but frozen in place. Frozen in place with fear. He wants to jump forward and attack, but his feet won't let him.

"Oh, but I would." Kindness places one wither head onto the left of the soul sand structure.
"You can't! That wither- that could destroy everything in here! You know how dangerous they are!"
"I know."
"This whole cliff could become a damn crater! And - what about me?! You know I'm a phantom- you made me a phantom! If my house gets destroyed-"
"You'll die, right?" Kindness narrows her eyes. It hurts, seeing her puppeteer Justin's friend so easily. The vines on Dan's arm slink further around his neck. That much control, huh? "You'll die. Over and over again. You'll lose your bed, and you'll get stuck at spawn. And you'll have no way to escape then."
"...I'll burn up."
"Exactly. Are you trying to appeal to me? Thinking I care if you die? Punishment gives no guilt, Thinkynoodles. I don't care if you die - hell, I'd prefer it. Be able to rob my sister from your grave."
"Dan- Dan will feel guilty! You care about him, right!"
"Oh, this whole thing was Dan's idea!" Kindness's voice jumps slightly. She's glad to be finally telling Justin about this.
"W-what?" A sense of sorrow washes over him and lands in his stomach.
"Oh, yeah. He was so excited to get this started, you don't even know."
"B-but he knows I'll die as well."
"Oh he knows all right. It helps the plan." Kindness places another skull on the soul sand structure. On the right this time. Justin's breath quickens, and so does his pace. He needs to stop this, he can't let her do this!

"N-no! You'll be hated! You can't, please! Everything I have will be destroyed!"
"I don't care, and I don't care."
"Please, I'll do anything - please don't destroy this place, it's the best I've got, I'll die!" Justin has to will himself to hold the tears back.
"Hand Revenge over, and I'll destroy the wither. Simple, really."
Oh no. On the one hand, Justin literally cannot afford to lose the roof over his head. He knows what will happen - best case scenario, dies once, bed gets destroyed, he goes to spawn and can get in the fountain. Worst case scenario...he doesn't wanna think about the endless pain he'll be in. On the other hand, if he hands Revenge over...what will Dan - Squid - what will Kindness do with them? He can't let her get more power, she's already corrupting the entire server.
"Hand her over? But I-"
"You can't? Then I'll release it. Simple."
"What will you do?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out." Justin will see that smile in his nightmares tonight. If he can sleep again.
An idea flies through Justin's mind. He grabs it and spits it out.
"..Fine. I'll give her to you. Just give me a few days, an-"
"I know she's in your inventory right now, Thinky." Finally she drops the smile. But that's not a good thing. Shoot.
"...No she's not."
"I saw you get her out of your chest. If you were serious about handing her over, you'd give her to me right now."
"..."
"Are you trying to trick me? Trying to fraud me just like this little goggle eyed goon did when he cursed me? You can't fool me twice, Shady Oaks."
"...please." Justin's voice is reduced to a pained whisper. "mercy."
Kindness's smile returns to her face.
"I am going to have so much fun watching you suffer. Good luck, Thinknoodles. Commence: Project W."
The last wither skull is placed onto the soul sand structure.
Justin's immediately blown back by the sheer force of the wither spawning. His feet scratch against the floor as he tries to stay upright. He squints as the blue light shimmers and illuminates his whole room, and Kindness steps back as her creation rises with sheer glee. He stares in horror as it fully forms - the wither's here.
Reaching for his sword, Justin wobbles upwards and points it at the creature. It doesn't see him. Doesn't see Kindness. It doesn't care.
It just starts shooting.
The first blast of the wither skull destroys Justin's brewing stand. He hears the shatters of glass as potion reserves spill everywhere. He sees the puffs of smoke. The taste of ashes fill his mouth.
"Go, my pretty!" Kindness cackles. "Show the traitor who's boss!"
Traitor? Justin thinks. He doesn't have time to think. He jumps forward, slicing at the wither's ribs. It just moves out of the way.
Another explosion. Another. It happens so quickly, the place already feels destroyed within a matter of seconds. Justin can't register the destruction before his whole left side starts to burn. Hard.
The sun is strongest at noon.
Justin screeches and he moves out of the way of the beams, only to find he's just entered another spot. Eyes shut, he fumbles his way into a corner, before opening again.
Everything burns. He feels like he can barely move. Move a bit and he'll end up in the sun again.
The wither continues its rampage of Justin's home. His ender chest splits into blocks of obsidian. His chests shatter open, spilling their contents. Bricks and cobble spread everywhere, debris starts hitting Justin from all corners. He curls up, using his wings to surround himself. They sting. Badly. He can't bear to look at them.
He makes eye contact with Kindness as he stares up. She just returns his pleading face with a smug smile. Dan's got cuts all over now, from his side of the debris, but Kindness can't feel it at all. Or she doesn't care.
"Enjoying sweet retribution?"
"You-" Justin chokes on air, as his wing starts burning again. Some explosions sound further away now, clearly it's gotten out. "You won't get away with this-"