Set in season eight
—
"So, you really don't love me?"
Iskall was a bit shocked at the question. They were dating Etho, they had been since the beginning of the season! Everyone knew that? So why had Stress tried to confess her love to the Swede? Especially while they were on a date with their boyfriend!
"Stress, I'm dating Etho. I'm really sorry, but I really love him." Iskall said as they reached for the Canadian's hand, shining a happy grin at Etho before planting a kiss on his cheek.
The brunette crumpled up the love letter in her hands, shoving the handwritten note into her pocket. "O-of course!" She mustered up a smile, though Iskall could spot the tears forming at the edges of her eyes.
Before Iskall could try to assure her, she flew off, back to her base and out of sight. The Swedish hermit frowned, locking eyes with their snowy-haired boyfriend.
"I-I don't know why she would do that. I'm sorry, Etho." Iskall remarked as they sat down on the picnic blanket, leaning their head against the Canadian's shoulder.
"It's cause you're so irresistible," he chuckled carelessly, jokingly punching his partner's shoulder. Iskall let out a weak laugh, but they couldn't help but feel bad. It's not that often that one of your best friends admits that they've been in love with you.
The Swede glanced up at the night sky, the stars above glistening as the chipping of crickets managed to soothe Iskall's nerves. Before long, their worries slipped away, as they relaxed against their boyfriend's shoulder.
As Stress flew back to her ravine base, hot tears streamed down her cheeks, what did Etho have that she didn't? This wasn't right! Iskall was supposed to be with her!
She stormed into her base, heading back into a secret room her bedroom, a wall of photos along with things that belonged to Iskall. Old hoodies, strands of hair, anything that the brunette could get her hands on.
Stress stared at the bulletin board that hung on the wall, her eyes burning with rage as she studied each of the photos carefully. They were all of Iskall, the brunette had collected them over the seasons. In a fit of rage, she ripped every photo off the board.
"STUPID ETHO!" She cried, ripping up the more recent photos of Iskall, all of which had Etho in them. "HE'S TAKING ME AWAY FROM MY LOVE!"
After taking a few breaths to relax herself, Stress bent down, lifting a photo of Iskall off the ground before planting a kiss onto the picture.
"Awe, I can't be mad at you, though. You're too perfect, Iskall. You don't know it yet, but we're in love! And Etho won't keep us apart!"
She reached into a chest, pulling out a few special potions that she had brewed. Tucking them away into her inventory, Stress then grabbed the handle of a knife, grinning as she stared at her reflection.
Iskall was going to be all hers!
—
"Etho, I'm home!" Iskall called as they stepped out of the nether portal, yawning as they trudged into their base. After spending most of the day building a guardian farm, they were drained. The Swede really just wanted to cuddle.
They pushed open the door to the bedroom, greeted by the rotting smell of death. Iskall stepped in a puddle of blood, glancing towards the corpse in the middle of their floor. On the wall, drawn in blood, was a large heart.
Iskall was dumbfounded, the Swede laughing doubtfully as they stumbled to their boyfriend's corpse, falling to the ground as they studied his pale expression and chest that was spewing blood.
"T-this is a prank, right? Right? Haha, v-very funny, dear! I-I really thought you were dead. C-come on, w-where are you hiding? I-is this an a-armor s-s-stand?" They asked between shaky sobs, staring directly into Etho glassy, dull eyes as they spoke.
Iskall reached for the Canadian's hand, intertwining their fingers to hold hands for one last time. They slightly lifted Etho off the bloodstained floor, the Swede placing their forehead against the snowy-haired hermit, as the tears that they had been holding back finally managed to break free.
Clutching Etho close to their chest, feeling the cold blood stain their clothes, Iskall sobbed hopelessly, brushing their hand through their boyfriend's snowy hair. Why? What did Iskall do to deserve this?!
"Oh Etho," Iskall cooed sadly, their cheeks were damp and red from the unending mess of tears that fell down their face and onto their boyfriend's bloody chest. The Swedish hermit planted a soft kiss against Etho's forehead.
"we were supposed to grow old together... P-please, you can't be gone! You and I were going to live out last days out together, I-I can't be without you! Please, please, please!"
There was no response from Etho, he wasn't breathing and his heart wasn't beating. Iskall cried over his body, hugging his boyfriend, barely caring about the Etho's blood that stained their clothes.
There was a faint knock at the door, which Iskall didn't notice, they were too busy sobbing and crying over Etho's body. Stress opened the door, poking her head into the bedroom, her face turning surprised as she she noticed the bloody corpse.
Stress ran to the Swedish hermit's side, they were a mess of tears and emotions, struggling to breathe as they hyperventilated from the panic. The brunette ran her hand through Iskall's hair to try and comfort the Swede, they didn't seem to notice, too panicked from the death of their boyfriend.
"It's going to be alright, luv. Just breathe. Here, drink this." She said, pulling out a milky white potion, handing it to the Swede.
Iskall's eyes never left the bloody corpse, they were too panicked to notice the color of the potion. They just did what Stress said, drinking the sweet liquid to try and calm their nerves to make sense of everything.
They set down the empty potion bottle, looking at Stress with tear-filled eyes. "He's dead," Iskall choked between sobs, barely able to speak above a whisper. "g-get Xisuma. He can fix this, he has to fix this!"
"Awe," Stress cooed, placing a hand on Iskall's cheek to use her thumb to wipe the tears from the Swede's non-cybernetic eye. "I won't be doing that."
The Swedish hermit's head turned fuzzy as she spoke. "W-what?" They managed to choke as the room began to spin, the corners of Iskall's eyes beginning to black out.
"Now that Etho is gone, we can be together! I know you didn't want to break his heart, so I did it for you! Now you're all mine!"
"S-..Stress.." Iskall groaned as their eyes slowly fluttered, the redstoner falling against the ground, knocked out cold from the potion they had been given.
The brunette giggled, even sleeping, Iskall was perfect. Not to mention that he looked gorgeous soaked in Etho's blood, it was just a reminder that now Iskall would love her and her only!
—
Iskall hung their head low, on their knees with heavy iron chains restricting their movements. Their consciousness was slowly coming back, a headache leaving a fuzzy static in their mind.
The handle on the door began to twist, the Swede drowsily looking up from the ground. Their vision was blurry, making it hard to make out the figure that stepped into the bedroom.
They were covered in blood, holding a knife, that was easy enough to see, but the rest was blurry and hard to make out. "S-stress?" Iskall groaned with an exhausted voice, fighting the feeling of drowsiness that lingered in the back of their mind.
"You're awake!" She giggled as she dropped her knife by the entrance of the bedroom, running over to Iskall with a wide smile.
She got onto her knees to stay eye level with the Swedish hermit, placing her hands on their cheeks to cup their cheeks before she pressed her lips against Iskall's.
They struggled to pull away, it was hard when Iskall felt so weak and powerless. The chains wrapped around their body weighed down on the Swede, making it so hard to move or fight Stress. Maybe it was from the potion that they had been given, but Iskall felt helpless.
As she finally pulled out of the kiss, Iskall's eyes widened. "S-stress! I have a boy-.." the Swedish hermit stopped themself. They didn't have a boyfriend. Etho was dead.
Iskall's eyes dulled with sadness and guilt, the Swede glancing towards the floor as their eyes turned watery. They had plans to grow old together, they were going to spend every moment together, so why did all this have to happen?
"Don't look so sad, we're in love, Iskall! Etho was just in our way!"
That caused for Iskall to glance up from the floor, eyes widening at Stress. "D-did you—?"
"Of course!" She admitted with a smile, "I killed Etho so we could be together! And now we are!"
"S-stress, you ruined my life."
"You think that, but we were destined to be with one another! You shouldn't be in love with Etho, it should be me!"
Before Iskall could respond, Stress pushed them against the wall, forcing them into a kiss once more. What could they do? They were weak, heartbroken, and trapped with this maniac!
"Xisuma will find me! H-he'll save me!" Iskall choked while Stress littered tiny kisses across their nose and cheeks, running her hand through the Swede's hair.
"No, he won't. No one will. Not Xisuma, not Mumbo, no one will! I took care of all of them before you woke up. Now it's just us, together forever!"
"Y-you killed them a-all...?"
"For you, of course! No one is left but us two, it's perfect, right? Now we can get married, and have kids, and grow old together!"
"B-but that was w-what I-I was going to do with E-..." Stress silenced Iskall with another kiss on the lips, which made the Swede shut their eyes to avoid crying.
Everyone was dead. Now it was just Stress.
Stress pulled away, a serious expression across her face as her eyes darkened. "I don't like it when you mention Etho. It's just us, now, no other hermits to take us away from each other. Don't you like that?"
Iskall wore a strained smile, weakly nodding in agreement. It was all hopeless. Escape, trying to hide, being without her. It was all hopeless now.
What was the point of trying to fight, when there was no one left? Iskall knew that they would eventually come crawling back to Stress once the loneliness set in, so what was the point in trying to escape her?
"Right..the other hermits are...gone.." Iskall said as they glanced to floorboards, which were still stained with Etho's blood. They looked back up with a warm smile and emptiness in their eyes. "It's just us now."
Stress giggled as she undid the chains around Iskall's body, pushing the Swede against the wall to litter kisses all across their face. Iskall didn't fight or resist, they just let it all happen.
Maybe if they had never rejected Stress, this never would have happened.