A Path to a Different Happy Ending (Flower Husbands Empires Fic)

Chapter Six: Nothing Good

"Okay, we'll search his house. If we find your things, he'll be arrested. If not, then we have no proof and you may just need to move elsewhere so he can't steal from you anymore."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." He turned and left.

What if someone's taken it? Maybe someone else saw the power it gave you, and took it for themself?

You think you know your friends, and that they wouldn't do that, but did you ever expect Sausage to turn evil, for power? Usually he's so friendly, just wants to give and make others happy.

Who says your other friends aren't hiding a hunger for power?

"Tiger-blood Princess, would you deal with the rest of these people?" Joey stood up as she nodded.

He walked down the steps of his fire temple. He had to check. Just checking couldn't hurt anyone. Maybe one of his friends had taken the crown. Or someone else was in the world that they didn't know about, and had stolen it! Anything could happen... But the temptation. He should ask someone else, some less power-hungry, less tempt-able, like Gem, to do it. But what if Gem was actually secretly power-hungry? Anyone could be. He could only trust himself with this task.

But was he just making excuses to see it again? Was he caving in, going for the power, taking the crown? It wasn't his friends he couldn't trust, it was himself. Maybe he shouldn't've taken it, should've given it to the others.

Maybe he should just destroy it.

He found himself in front of the painting that guarded the way. He pulled it away and headed in, intending to destroy the crown, getting rid of the temptation.

Then he saw it and thought of Xornoth. He had loved him - no matter what the others said, Joey was sure of it - and it would be disrespectful to destroy his gift... Maybe he should just take it to Gem. She wouldn't use it... But no, he couldn't trust her. The best person to give it to was Scott, he really didn't want his brother back out in the world.

Joey picked up the crown, planning to give it away, to someone else, but he couldn't stop himself. He wanted the power.

He put it on.

~*~

Oh, no.

Evil Sausage was out in the world again.

"Shubble! We have to go! We have to warn the others!" Gem grabbed Shubble's arm and dragged her through the Nether portal.

The two stumbled out of the portal in a panic.

"I-I'm headed to Mythland! I'll check if Sausage is there, and warn him!" Gem flew off before she could hear Shubble's response.

Her panic made the trip pass in a flash. She landed outside of one of Sausage's castles, she didn't know which.

"Hello? Sausage? Where are you?" She called out.

A chicken walked up to her.

She blinked at it. Didn't Sausage have some intelligent chicken friend?

"Sir... Carlos?"

The chicken nodded, and Gem cast a quick spell to let her speak with animals.

"Sir Carlos, do you know where Sausage is?" She asked.

"Well, he was just hired to kill Scott, so I assume he's in Rivendell."

Crud. That probably wasn't good. "Who hired him?"

"I don't know. He just told me where he was going and left. But... Something seemed off. I think... I think his eyes may have been red."

"That would make sense!" Gem laughed somewhat hysterically. "Evil Sausage did get back in! Aah-ha-ha-ha this is bad. So bad. He's been possessed again. Bad, bad, bad. I need to get to him!" She flew off before Sir Carlos could say anything else.

~*~

Scott had a plan.

He was going to go to the Church of Aeor and ask his god about his dreams. They hadn't stopped, and had actually become clearer. He knew the names of his closest allies - Grian, Scar, and Cleo - and remembered another time. He had started with less lives... Just two, but someone had given him another. He couldn't see her face, just like he couldn't see his mysterious husband's (he could now remember that they had been married). He knew they had been friends, and had built a house called the Scottage together.

Aeor was a god. Surely he would have answers?

Scott was about halfway to the church when-

YOU DIED!

Smajor1995 was killed by MythicalSausage using [Mythland Crossbow]

       [RESPAWN]                    [TITLE SCREEN]

Really?

Scott walked back to where he had been before, to find one MythicalSausage, in full assassin gear.

"Hi, Scott! I put your things in that chest." Sausage pointed to it. "Sorry about that. I was paid, as usual. Other than suddenly being murdered, how's your day going?"

"Normal? There's nothing special happening." Scott said, gathering up his stuff.

"Nice. I have to go back to my empire now. See ya soon!" Sausage flew off.

Scott wasn't sure, but he could have sworn Sausage's eyes were red.

He shook it off and continued to the church to ask his questions. The moment he stepped into the church, though, he heard a voice echoing through his head.

The crystal, the crystal! Something's been done to the crystal!

Aeor was speaking to him, and this was urgent. Scott ran off to the cave where he'd put the Xornoth crystal, because really, what else could the god be talking about?

Scott slipped down into the cave to find a shattered ice pillar, and no crystal.

Oh, no...

Eyyyyyy main plot is finally revealedish!!!