Kreek thinks that Pink and BigB have...an interesting base. It's a box. It's a decorated box, with a roof and windows, but it is still a box. That doesn't mean it's actually going to be that nice from the inside, or that useful.
Productivity is much more important than presentation, that's what he tells others when he looks like a hot mess.
(Which he is, but-)
(No, Kreek, confident thoughts. Come on.)
He's chatting idly with his teammates, and the duo in front, about anything and everything. Mainly, it's Albert just bringing up the wildest things, as per usual.
"Hey so what if we could steal lives? Like what if I stole someone's communicator and made me give them a life?" he asks, malicious intent clear in his voice.
"Albert, I think that's against the rules." BigB answers.
"What rules?
"The ones that were set at the beginning of the server, dummy. You know, by that weird 'Server' person?" Kreek chides, leading to a chuckle from Albert.
"Those aren't rules , they're suggestions by whomever trapped us here." Albert smirks as Kreek hears Pink angrily sigh in front of him.
"And even if there are rules, it doesn't look like there's any punishment for breaking them." Sketch adds, shrugging. "Other than a loud screech in my ears."
"That's probably the punishment, then." Denis looks mildly unamused. "Torture using sounds."
"Which is easy to get used to. Denis, give me your communicator."
Kreek defeatedly sighs as Denis struggles to prevent another life of his from getting stolen.
"No, Albert, I've learned my lesson."
"Pleeeease-"
"No."
Kreek ends up tuning out the argument and focusing on what's ahead, what he needs to get done. He's not got the energy to deal with his teammates' nonsense right now.
Maybe he should've stayed tuned in, though, because as soon as he stops focusing on them, it hits again. Something tells Kreek that he needs to run, that he can't trust BigB and Pink so easily. It's just doubt, as per usual. He'll be careful, he tells himself, and if they try anything he can fight back if he needs to.
And that's how it is, as the group crosses the river (Pink jumped over, much to Kreek's chagrin. What a showoff.) over to Pink and BigB's base on the other side.
~~~
"Okay, sweet, they're gone!" Tanqr says, full volume now, and he starts to dig directly up, first with his pickaxe, then with his axe through wood, until finally rays of light shine into the tunnel.
"Finally, fresh daylight." Hyper mumbles.
"You sound like you just aged forty years in 2 minutes. Cheer up." Tanqr rolls his eyes, much to Hyper's chagrin. But the two are past the point of no return - they're doing this, or they're cowards. And Tanqr is not a coward.
(Hyper is, but he'd rather Tanqr not be able to leverage that above his head.)
Tanqr mines out a hole on top of where Hyper's standing, filling his inventory with useless blocks, until Hyper can look up and see the room above.
"Well, build up." Tanqr instructs. "I'll hop on after you do, I'd rather keep a hole down here, for ease of escape." Hyper doesn't protest. He never thought he'd be more annoyed with Tanqr than scared of him, but annoyance beats terror any day.
He knows full well this is a stupid idea, but he's doing it.
The two rise out of the ground into a well lit room - unfortunately, not actual daylight. There's not much in it, other than one chest, and the pride and glory in the middle - the enchantment table.
Hyper's seen these things in videos and photos before, but they look much cooler in real life. They have all manner of sparkling particles coming off of them, the book on top opening as soon as the two step closer in a glimmer of light. The diamonds on the corners glisten and the book floats in place, just waiting to be used. It beckons the two closer.
Hyper looks around, making absolute sure Kreek and team aren't here, before he starts walking towards it to start enchanting - before he notices that Tanqr's just standing there, mildly entranced. He notices Hyper, and clearly he's showing his surprise, as Tanqr sheepishly laughs.
"It looks pretty cool, I'll admit." Tanqr shrugs, walking next to Hyper. He laughs a little, and it's a genuine one, if a bit spurred on by his nerves.
"I never thought of you as someone to get distracted by the wild and the whimsical." he teases, which does earn another chuckle from Tanqr.
"Yeah, well, new worlds do that to you, I suppose."
The two approach the table, and Tanqr pulls out his pickaxe.
"Let's mine this thing-" he starts, but Hyper stops him.
"Wait! Hang on. How long do you reckon Kreek and team will take at BigB's place?"
"Uh...dunno. 5 minutes to get diamonds, minimum. Depends on how long it takes to get diamonds out of a chest." Tanqr shrugs. "Why?"
"Maybe, it would be better for our safety to just...enchant our tools here, and then go, rather than taking the enchanting table?" Hyper becomes more unsure of his idea as he speaks, mainly due to Tanqr's unconvinced look.
"Can you not defend against them, in our own base, if they come hunting?" Tanqr raises an eyebrow, and Hyper sighs. Well, you might be able to, he thinks, but I can't.
Then he gets an idea. Why not play to Tanqr's wants, rather than his own?
"Or..maybe, we can make it look like we were never here. So then, if we fight-"
"-When we fight."
"-yeah, yeah, whatever - they'll think we don't have enchanted tools, and think they have an advantage over us - when in reality, they don't, and we can surprise them!" This has to work, it's a great idea! Or at least, great to avoid actually having to steal things. Hyper's quite proud of himself for coming up with it. Tanqr seems quite interested too, as he gives a nod of approval.
"I like your thinking, but I really want to steal this thing." Darn. "So here's a compromise. We'll enchant our stuff, and if we can, we'll steal it. If we run out of time, we leave it alone." He confirms, to Hyper's mild relief. It's good enough.
"Okay, you go first then. Since I have an idea of how this works, I'll be faster than you will be. Plus I can keep an eye on chat, just in case they come back." Hyper suggests.
"Sounds like a plan." Tanqr walks up to the enchanter, switches his pickaxe for a sword, and pulls out some lapis. "Alright, so, you said that Sharpness was the best for increasing damage on this baby, right?"
"Well, yes, but if you want strength against mobs, Smite might be better-"
"Are any of our competitors mobs, Hyper? No. Therefore, I'm going for Sharpness." Tanqr teases, before touching where he needs to on the book and watching the sword become almost pearlescent in a flurry of colour, turning different shades of purple when the light hits it right. "Ooh."
He smirks, slashing the sword in the air a bit to get a feel for it. It does feel much nicer in the air, almost more streamlined. Hyper backs away instinctively, of course.
"I wasn't going to hit you." Tanqr reassures, but with a slight mocking tone. "So, what do you say we get just our swords and armour enchanted first, and then later deal with our pickaxes and axes? That way, we get the important stuff dealt with."
Hyper shrugs.
"Sure, if it works."
"Alrighty then! Well, I'm aiming for protection, so let's go for that." Tanqr says, pulling out his armour and starting. Chestplate first. Protection 1, first thing that comes up, easy. It feels heavier when he picks it up and puts it back on, but it's more comfortable, so that's a plus.
Tanqr looks over at Hyper, and Hyper nervously laughs.
"D-do you want my input on something?"
"I can tell you're nervous. We'll be fine, trust me. Did you leave a hole for us to jump down through?"
"Uh...yeah, I did."
"Okay, good. Let's continue, shall we? Remember, you still need to enchant after I do..."
~~~
BigB gulps as he opens the door into his base, beckoning the quartet following him in. He's not really happy about all four coming, 'cause it might ruin his plans. But at the same time, it's more likely someone's gonna fall in that hole.
He marked out where it is using a torch, of course, as he didn't want to mine out the wrong blocks. He'd probably do that, knowing him.
Ah, the 'murder pox'. It's difficult to deal with when you haven't been through it many times before. The aching hunt for blood, the need to stab anything and anyone you see. He's been repressing it long enough, and now's a better time than any to bring it out.
"Well, come on into our humble abode!" he yells, smiling. Pink beckons the four in as well, before entering. Albert chuckles, bows a bit before entering, the whole routine, before Kreek just nudges him in and everyone else just follows along. BigB enters last.
But because he entered last, he couldn't help but notice Sketch giving him an odd look. Does he know, or is he just confused? Better not take any risks, and leave him alone for now.
BigB watches, trying to use a logical mind rather than an emotional one, because if he used his emotions to guide him, he'd never kill anyone. He needs to wait. He needs to wait.
Pink leads the boys ahead, walking them over to the chests. He's doing the speaking, but he looks over to BigB for approval. He nods, and Pink continues.
"Give me a second. They're in one of these chests."
"They better be, we came all the way here!" Denis whines, and the group starts bantering.
BigB instructed Pink to try and distract them as long as possible, while he's discreet about mining the blocks behind them. None of the boys are standing above it, thankfully, but Kreek and Sketch happen to be standing right by the pit.
BigB tunes out the others as he crouches down and pulls out his axe as silently as possible. His heart starts beating much faster than before, as he feels the blood rushing through his veins. The curse is yelling in pride and joy, excited for the bloodshed. BigB bites his lip, and deeply breathes. Keep calm, don't let it take over you. Don't pull out your sword instead of your axe.
In, out, in, out. It's not enough to keep the screaming of the curse at bay, not enough to tune out the rapid beating of his heart, nor the aching in his hands.
Crouching down, he sneaks up behind the group and-
(He needs to wait.)
-swings his axe into the ground. He was thinking about swinging it into someone's back, but he's got to remember to stick to the plan. It's going to work.
Pink does a great job of distracting the group, despite how scared he was to do it, as BigB carefully mines out the 4x4 space behind Sketch and Kreek, quiet as a mouse. The hole doesn't look to have an end from up here, though maybe that's just his foggy vision from the curse.
BigB shuffles away, and returns to reality to notice Pink looks quite hassled by Kreek.
"So do you have the diamonds or what?" Kreek says, with a deadpan tone in his voice which is just vaguely threatening, leading to Albert slapping him on the back.
"No need to yell!" Albert chides, but Pink just nervously laughs and looks back at BigB for immediate aid.
Time to put his plan into action.
"Oh, I've got them! I had them the whole time!" BigB yells, trying to sound as annoyed with himself as possible.
Kreek whips around and grimaces, but doesn't notice the hole. None of the group do.
"You...you had them the whole time."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry, I'm not the smartest." BigB nervously laughs, and it's not because he made a little error.
The curse builds in his mind and screams some more, enveloping everything in a red tint. BigB wipes away sweat and smiles, hiding the screams for murder in his mind.
It's time.
Time for some blood to be spilled.
Kreek sighs and starts walking forward.
"Well then, hand them over-"
BigB shuts his eyes instinctively, listens to the cries for blood, and braces for impact.
But instead of impact-
"WATCH OUT!"
~~~
"Done." Tanqr states triumphantly whilst stepping back from the enchanting table, as if most of the choices he made with his enchanting were his own choice. "Your turn."
"Okay, I'll be as quick as possible." Hyper's been rubbing his hands together nervously this whole time, trying to not think about what would happen if they were caught.
"And after that, we'll steal the enchanter."
"Only if we have the time, Tanqr!" Hyper yells, putting his hands up. "Why- please can we just enchant and go, we don't need to do anything else!"
Tanqr smiles, mischief building in his eyes.
"Come on, Hyper! It'll be so funny. They come back and it's just gone."
"No, Tanqr! That'll make things worse if we're caught!"
"Well, I'm doing it anyway. Go do your enchanting, Hyper. We don't have that much time."
Hyper sighs, and Tanqr pats him on the back. "We won't get caught, don't worry."
"Don't jinx it." Hyper mumbles, pulling out his sword and getting ready to enchant.
~~~
The cries of the curse stop, for a moment, and everything suddenly seems a lot clearer. Did it work? Did someone fall in?
BigB opens one eye, and then another to see clearly.
Kreek is in a mildly compromising position, being held back from falling into the hole by Sketch grabbing him by the collar and holding him there, but still leaning over the hole, about to fall in. Sketch, meanwhile, seems to be struggling to keep that position, wobbling slightly with his left arm in a weirdly twisted position in order to keep Kreek in place, all whilst standing on one leg, mouth open, and with his back to the hole. Why Sketch didn't use his other arm to grab Kreek, BigB doesn't know. Survival instincts, do that to you, I guess. Denis, Albert and Pink stand to the side in...some kind of shock.
Wait, BigB thinks. All six of the people in this building are still alive.
The trap didn't work.
Uh oh.
Awkward silence fills the room. BigB looks down at the hole and back at the mildly tangled group, as Albert and Denis slowly back away. Kreek pulls himself up and follows suit, as does Sketch once he wrings himself off of Kreek's collar and shuts his mouth.
Pink and BigB exchange glances of mild fear.
The silence stays for far longer than it should, the group of six looking between each other in confusion and terror. You could hear a grain of sand drop. Any noise would probably cause pandemonium.
It would be funny to BigB if he didn't know what was going to happen now.
He watches Kreek dust himself off and inhale, before making eye contact with him, which does not help when the curse's effects are building up again.
"BigB, why is there a hole here?" he asks, smiling with a false air of politeness.
Play dumb!
"I don't know, why is there a hole there?" BigB shrugs and nervously grins.
"It's your base, BigB, you should know why there's a hole there." Kreek responds, still trying to seem calm.
BigB can still hear his heart pacing again, getting louder and louder after stopping. The voice of the curse is louder this time, angry it got bested once before and knowing it wants blood again.
"Pink, do you know why there's a hole there?" BigB pushes the topic away, who looks very harrowed to have to take over.
"I-I don't know why there's a hole there?" he stutters out, looking around for any excuse.
"Oh wow, a new mystery of this server! The case of the mysterious holes, deep enough to kill a man!" Albert chuckles to himself, hoping the joke will land, but the others in the room just stare at him as Albert's laughter trails off, and it gets awkward again. "That...that was a joke, guys."
Silence again, but BigB can't hear it.
The group start looking amongst each other again, but the silence doesn't last for long when-
"HE'S THE BOOGEYMAN!" Sketch screams, pointing at BigB with a look of terror mixed with rage. "HE'S A BIG-B-BOOGEYMAN!"
Instant chaos.
Albert and Denis immediately run to the other side of the room, hugging each other for some reason and all yelling at once. Denis shouts, incredulous, as Albert cowers down and begs not to be killed.
"HE'S THE BOOGEYMAN?!"
"Don't kill me, I'm just a little guy!!! :((("
Sketch continues pointing at BigB, who's trying to have something of a conversation amidst the yelling.
"Wait, no I'm not!" He puts his hands up and denies it, but it's clear by this point that Sketch is pretty persuasive. Still, Pink tries to help.
"I-I think I would've known if he was the boogeyman." Pink once again stutters out, but is pushed aside by Kreek, who backs up into the chests.
(Pink instead sighs and covers up the hole while he thinks no one is looking.)
"Were you planning on killing us the whole time?!" Kreek accuses, but BigB doesn't get to answer as Sketch answers for him.
"YES! He was planning on killing us the whole time! I told you this was a bad idea!"
"No you didn't!" Kreek yells back.
"Yes I did, Mr Know-It-All! I'm smarter than you!"
"Should we really be arguing right now when the BOOGEYMAN is in the room?!" Denis cuts into the building argument. "BigB could kill any of us at any moment!"
"I don't know, he's just kind of standing there!" Kreek responds, motioning towards BigB, who's frozen in place. "He might not kill us!"
As for BigB? He is thinking. He thinks that if he tried to attack one of the bromance quartet now, he'd lose - he's not amazing at PVP, how would he win in a 1v4? Even if they weren't good at PVP, they could easily rush him - and they are good at PVP.
Yet he's still thinking about the past, thinking of drowning in voices and his heartbeat, thinking of the bloodlust flowing through his veins, thinking of the cries and screams of other victims. Red clouds his vision once more, even stronger this time. He looks up at the others.
He promised himself he'd be logical, but this time, he lets his emotions win.
BigB smiles his signature nice-guy smile and pulls his sword out.
"Actually, I just might."
Unfortunately for KreekCraft, it just so happened he's directly in front of him.
BigB lunges forward.
There's a slight difference between fighting in Minecraftia and fighting in Robloxia. Kreek has experience in both. Yet BigB is much more experienced than he is in the former.
BigB doesn't focus on anything else while he attacks. His first hit already dealt a lot of damage, with the force of his jump, and since Kreek wasn't ready to fight, his delayed reaction enabled him to get some extra hits. As soon as he does though, Kreek starts fighting back, hastily pulling out his own sword and trying to deflect, trying to get away as quickly as he can.
BigB hears some of the others scream, he feels someone from behind him slash at his side, he knows full well Kreek's just taken a swing for his arm, but he doesn't respond. The curse is fully in effect now, and all he knows is to kill.
Kreek's trying to look for ways to escape. He's managed to survive so far, he can keep going. Sketch has helped after running away initially, Denis and Albert have run off to a place he's not focusing on right now, and Pink's a sitting duck.
His attacker looks completely different with bright red eyes and intention to kill. Who would've thought the nice guy with the cookies could be such a ruthless murderer?
He doesn't spend much time pondering it, instead, he just fights back.
"HEY! GET OFF ME!" He yells.
Surprisingly enough, even to him, BigB responds.
"Sorry, Kreek!"
Kreek sees a slash to his left and starts to move to his right, but then he realises the drawbacks of fighting in a base that isn't his.
He's backed himself into a corner.
He defends himself with his sword, blocking as many hits as he can, but it's no use.
He tries to get a moment to breathe and run again, but it's too late, as he sees the sword coming down above his head.
"Oh NO-"
<KreekCraft was slain by BigBSt4tz2>
~~~
A/N
And with that, the second boogeyman kill has been done! RIP Kreek, nice knowing you. I mean, you're technically still alive, but...it's the principle of the thing.
I've been looking forward to this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!
As usual, thank you for reading!
(PS: If you try to pressure me into posting I will hold the next chapter back by another week. This is your only warning. =) )
- YanDan