They ran.
Panic flooding through them as the severity of their situation sank in.
Because their plan had failed.
They ran back towards the safety of the roofed area, staying a safe distance away from the fight and squatting to hide their name tags.
Sapnap began quickly typing in an emergency message in chat as George broke open a hole in the wall observing the fight.
The hunters had found their coordinates and built a portal to that exact location in the overworld.
It was another surprise attack one that was certainly successful as George noted the numerous deaths.
They appeared out of nowhere, killing the players near their newly made portal and breaking the spawner.
They were outsmarted.
Again.
"How the fuck did they crack our code?" George managed to ask through his breaths.
His friend grunted, the stress rising through him as he sent out the warning. "The spies, George. I don't know how the hell they were able to relay the info back to them, but we were probably just careless."
George winced, the heat of the nether getting to him as his hands began sweating.
He looked back over at what was once the spawner, watching in horror at the blood bath it was.
A part of him wanted to run in, a part of him wanted to try and save them.
But that would have just been a death wish, and he knew it.
"Back up is on it's way." Sapnap said, briefly. "100 players are staying by the trap in case they try going through it, the rest are headed here."
George nodded, a new sense of relief washing over him.
Still, it would take 30 minutes at the least for them to arrive, and they really were short on time.
"How do we know who can respawn?" He asked, already anticipating a fight.
Sapnap didn't look back it him, his eyes focused on the players as he tried making out their names. "You'll be able to tell from the way they fight. How recklessly they attack you."
And as they waited George fiddled with his sword, his heart pounding on his chest as he digested the situation around him.
The players at the spawner began scattering, most of them were dead, and the others were being chased as they ran away.
And George felt that same fear in his chest rise once again.
Because those hunters had only two goals.
To break the spawners.
And to kill them all.
"Listen George," Sapnap said, turning to face him, but George shivered at the eye contact, his friend's expression being so serious and cold. "We need to find another blaze spawner and fast, before they do."
He stood up, revealing his name tag, as he surveyed all the directions.
"We haven't explored that way yet so I thin-"
He was cut off by an attack from above, someone who broke a hole in the roof above them and dropped down to attack him with his sword.
There was no time to react as the attack landed, bouncing off of his armor, but lightly grazing the skin on his arm.
Sapnap winced, watching as his health went down. He quickly brought out his shield and axe, as George frantically stood up.
The hunter was in full enchanted iron, but dawned a diamond chestplate, and the largest, most obnoxious looking sword George had ever seen.
And from the cocky smirk on his face, George could just assume he was skilled.
Sapnap took a step back, ignoring his new wound as he protectively stood in front of his friend. His expression so painfully cold and angry as he stared straight at the man in front of him.
Because Sapnap despised those hunters more than anything else in the world.
It was so easy to tell by the way he looked at them, by the way he spoke about them. He was trapped here against his will, and his girlfriend was waiting for him on the other side.
To most people Sapnap wouldn't be perceived as a victim, for his skills and the way he hides everything with jokes and smile. It would've been easy to assume he didn't mind being here, and that the adrenaline was enough.
But Dream wasn't the only one to wear a mask.
And George could tell, more than anything that Sapnap wanted to be freed. He'd put his own life on the line as many times as it would take.
That's why this fortress was so important to him. This was his last shot. It was all of their's last shot.
If they failed, it was game over.
Either get trapped here for eternity, or death.
But as George bottled up his fear, moving forward to take a stand next to his friend, who just pushed him back.
"Sapnap, the hell are you okay?" He asked, catching the attention of the hunter, whom at reading George's name burst into fits of laughter.
But his laugh was not that of any sane person, and George could make out scars on his face behind the gas mask he wore.
And the scars didn't really seem like a part of his skin.
He didn't recognize the player's username, but from his friend's stance he could tell Sapnap did.
"Xeno" George read out loud, causing the man in front of him to be thrown back into a continuous spree of a chilling laughter.
Whatever the fuck this game did to him, George didn't want to find out.
"George. Not. Found." He countered, the tone of his voice terrifying him.
George looked to his friend for reassurance, but he didn't receive any. Instead Sapnap, calmed his breaths ready to engage. He held out his weapon, straightening his stance as he shot his friend an urgent look. "George, run."
"What?"
"You heard me, run and get the fuck out of here!" He snapped, blocking his shield as 'Xeno' attacked him. "He wants to kill you!"
And although George questioned it, he followed his friend's orders and took off.
His hands were shaking, and his endurance was slowly starting to break, but he ran.
George took a glance behind him, his breath hitching as he watched Sapnap fight the hunter.
He debated running back, to help fight the hunter with his friend, but thought against it when he noticed how the hunter wasn't aiming to kill Sapnap.
The way he moved just proved it. He was only trying to push past him.
Only to get to George.
So he could kill him instead.
He shook his head as he continued running, questions flooding his mind.
And as he ran through the fortress, he realized one key issue.
He was alone, and there was no one to save him from the wither skeletons that were running straight at him.
***
George had the wither effect.
He winced as he surveyed the wound. The blood seeping out of it was pitch black, feeling like burning fire on his skin that kept igniting over and over again.
He took slow, deep, breaths over and over again, just like Dream had advised him to, trying to put away the pain as he closed his eyes.
It hurt.
It hurt like hell.
George held onto his upper right arm where the wound was, trying to stop the bleeding, but it only made the pain worse.
He watched in panic as he slowly began losing his hearts, one by one. It was certainly at a slower pace than the actual minecraft, but he had no clue how long the effect would last.
He eyed the wooden wall he made to separate himself from the wither skeletons on the other end of the corridor, holding his breath as he listened to the clanking of their bones.
He had ran approximately a thousand blocks away, and those things just didn't stop chasing him the entire way. When he ran out of hunger and had to quickly eat, they were able to wound him, and although it initially didn't do too much damage, George should've known the wither effect would've caused problems.
And now they were only a few blocks away from him, barely being separated by a makeshift wall he had built with the few extra blocks he had.
He gritted his teeth again at the wound, frowning as he touched the black liquid which seemed too thick to be blood at this point. He winced again at a sudden burst of burn like pain as he checked his health, blackened by the wither effect.
7 hearts.
And it was only going down by the minute, leaving George with no clue as to how to end it.
"Come on, come on, fucking stop already!" He panicked to himself, but could only wince as the wound opened wider.
He was about to search his inventory for any items to stop the bleeding but stopped in his tracks as he heard footsteps.
A hunter.
And George could easily guess who it was.
He brought out his sword, holding it with his dominant hand, just hoping his injury wouldn't bleed too much.
Hearing the sounds of the skeletons get killed, George held his breath. This man had dealt with it so easily, like it was nothing, and that terrified him.
George took a step back as the man broke open the wall, his same obnoxious looking netherite sword, pointed right as it his neck.
Taking a good look at the hunter, he seemed to be at around his own age, maybe younger. He was certainly taller than George, but only by a little bit and besides the gas mask he wore from what George it was all complete black.
And he was also completely and utterly insane, George could tell that much.
He lunged forward, and George quickly blocked it with his sword before distancing himself, feeling the pain in his wrist from the force of his attack.
His eyes darted towards his hotbar at the strange sound his sword made at the impact. He checked the slot of his weapon and gasped in shock.
Because countering that one attack had taken up almost half of his sword's durability.
Meaning he couldn't block attacks.
He had to dodge, all of them.
He gritted his teeth, as the man in front of him let out that same chilling laugh.
"You're really lucky to have noticed that." He taunted, carelessly walking towards him. He didn't bother protecting his front with the sword, giving George an opportunity to strike.
And he did, running towards him trying to lunge at him with his weapon, but the attack was blocked, causing the durability of his sword to drop again.
George frowned at this player's skill, suddenly feeling worry for his friend. "Where's Sapnap?" He asked, trying to hide the fear in his tone.
The hunter looked unfazed, as if the question didn't matter to him. "Is that your friend?"
George cautiously nodded. This man didn't even seem to be taking the whole thing seriously, his stance being so careless and open.
"Left some other people to deal with him, kind of wanted to kill you."
George let out a sigh of relief at those words, noting that Sapnap was not dead as the hunter reached forward, recklessly swinging his sword.
The attacks were slow, but just quick enough to prevent George from moving anywhere but back, as he frantically dodged the hits.
If he blocked his weapon would break.
If he blocked he'd just be unarmed, an easy target.
As if he wasn't one already.
Because he was wounded, wielding a half broken sword, and completely alone.
George tried to look for an opening but the sheer size of his opponent's sword was almost impossible to get around without getting hit.
Xeno swung his sword again, and George just narrowly dodged it.
It should've been plausible to win the fight, but the man in front him wasn't even trying, and George was just struggling to stay alive.
So he kind of knew he was fucked.
He noted the man's skill, to be able to wield such an obviously heavy weapon and still hit so precisely, so effortlessly. The mere fact of the matter being with players like this, the game should've already been beaten.
This man didn't need to respawn, he wasn't going to die in the first place under the normal circumstances of the game. He was skilled enough to stay alive.
And the words left George's mouth before he could stop them.
"Why the fuck, would you still be on their side?"
The man suddenly stopped, eerily processing the question, before a sickening smirk appeared on his face. "Come again?"
George frowned, the anger rising within him. "You don't need to respawn, you're not going to die. What are you even doing this for?!"
The man dropped his stance, laughing to himself in a fit of insanity. But his laugh was so furious, so full of rage.
"Think of it like this, you know how time works faster here right?"
George nodded, remaining careful in his stance, as he held his sword, and he man seemed almost amused at his fear.
"Well, as long as our physical bodies stay alive, and as long as we don't die here we, live. Taking it that way, if I never die in the game, I would live around seven times longer than I would in the real world."
He said it as if the answer was so obvious, as if made just too much sense and that it was so plain and simple, but George just gritted his teeth at the selfishness of that statement.
"Trading the lives of players for your own gain." George whispered to himself in disgust, but the hunter caught on to this, and his face dropped into a frown.
He walked over to George as he switched out his sword, bringing out a small knife like weapon as he approached him. "There's one more reason." He said, his mouth curving back into a wicked smile.
George frowned as the wither effect burned his skin again, and he watched as the black liquid continued to drip out of it, causing him to loose more health.
He had to end this fight fast, or through time the effect would just kill him.
The Brit feigned a brave look, searching his surroundings for an escape as he spoke to hunter in order to distract him. "And that is?"
"To kill Dream."
George's face immediately morphed into a mortified expression of shock, as he took a step back, his breathing quickening and his heart racing.
This crazy lunatic had the goal of killing his best friend.
The hunter laughed at his, fiddling his knife before facing George.
"And what a perfect way to start on that by killing you, GeorgeNotFound."He taunted, and before George could even register it, he had thrown his dagger right at the wound.
George yelled in pain, as the cut deepened, and the black liquid began oozing out of his arm at a rate he couldn't control.
He was starting to hyperventilate as he felt another pang of pain, wincing as the rate of the burns sped up. He grasped onto the dagger trying to pull it out, but it was pierced onto his armor, and there was no way to remove it with out causing more injury.
And then it burned him again, but it wasn't necessarily on the wound, it almost felt as if the pain was coming from within him.
From the very core of his heart.
And his health was dropping by the second as the speed of the damage increased, leaving him to panic as he stared at his hotbar.
5 and a half hearts.
As another burst of pain followed, he let out a pleading scream, leaning on to the wall as his health continued to drop.
And the hunter just watched him, seemingly enjoying the whole ordeal.
George winced, clutching onto his arm as tears welled up in his eyes.
It was painful, it was so horribly painful.
The tears, they fell again as fear flooded through his mind.
Because he was going to die, and there was no one to save him.
The hunter walked up to him, grabbing onto the dagger with a playful grin on his face as he deepened the cut, laughing to himself.
George closed his eyes, barely able to keep a steady breathing pattern as his hearts dropped even faster, the burns in his chest happening over and over again.
Xeno twisted the knife, causing more blood to spill out, as George kicked him away with as much force as he could. He backed himself onto the wall, the tears blocking his vision.
He didn't want to die.
But his hearts were dropping at a rate faster than he could stop, and the pain was beginning to engulf his whole body.
He couldn't fucking die.
But he couldn't fight the hunter either, he couldn't even walk to try and run away.
He rested his head on the nether brick, closing his eyes in an attempt to stop himself from sobbing.
He had to live.
Dream was waiting for him.
George let out another yelp in pain, as his hearts dropped again.
3 hearts.
The hunter brought out his netherite sword once more, walking towards George as he lifted the weapon above him, right over his head.
But he didn't immediately strike, relishing in the fear George emitted as he seemingly taunted him.
Once he dropped down that blade, George was dead. Plain and simple, it was over.
But he couldn't accept that, not yet. Not when he had so many unanswered questions.
Questions about Dream.
Questions to which deep down he knew the answer.
He just had to admit it to himself.
George rolled to the side, narrowly dodging Xeno's attack, as the man chuckled at his attempt to escape.
As George tried to get on his legs and run, he felt a sudden pang in his body as his hearts dropped further. He dropped onto the ground again, clutching his arm as the blood poured out of it.
And when Xeno lifted his sword again, George shuffled to the side, in a desperate attempt to avoid the attack.
But they both knew it was no use, and when the hunter slashed down his sword at him George just found himself bracing for the impact, closing his eyes as he lost control of his emotions.
Maybe his armor would be enough to save him on a heart. Maybe the hunter would miss. Maybe the wither effect would just wear off.
There was no longer anything George could do but hope.
Hope, because he wasn't ready to die.
George gritted his teeth as he awaited the pain of a sword being stabbed into his stomach.
But the pain never came, and instead George only heard the sound of his opponent's sword dropping onto the floor, followed by another laugh of insanity.
Only this laugh was more filled with anger, more targeted and drenched in vermin.
And when George opened his eyes to assess the new situation, he gasped as he noticed the sword, pierced into the hunter's body.
The laughter echoed through the hall, as the sword was pulled out of stomach, causing the man to fall onto the ground as he whispered a few words through his laughter.
"I'll just respawn anyways."
And suddenly he disappeared, his items scattering all over the floor, leaving George to sit there in shock as a new message appeared in chat.
***
Xeno was slain by Dream.
[A/N]
I hate this bitch too. I suck at naming things if u can't tell, and holy shit was this hard to write. I dont usually like OCs, but i didn't wanna make someone we know this lunatic.
I hope this wasn't poorly written, I'm new to these sort of scenes.
Also, sorry school's getting to me, and chapters have been getting longer, so I don't think I'll be able to keep up with twice a week. On the weeks like this one where in I only post one chapter what day of the week do you all want? Monday or Friday or like smth else.
Insert pls vote here :)