Minecraft YouTubers But In Space

A Disturbance and Interlude

A smirk and flash of something pink, black, and red.

A slash of a sword pointed at a whirl of something gray that let out a horrifying screech.

A cave.

Coughing and the cold.

Pain.

Mega's eyes shot open as he struggled to even his breathing. It was the same recurring nightmare he had been having since their arrival on 454-1C. Mega rubbed the bridge of his nose in worry, sliding his feet over the side of the bed.

Months of living and adapting to the seemingly secure conditions of the planet numbed everyone to any potential dangers that they might have to face. Safety precautions were no longer taken seriously (such as checking water from lakes and ponds that opened up for swimming each month). Only a few worried about others' carelessness and tried to follow the regulations they were supposed to, but eventually, they were pulled into the never-ending stream of bad habits that were pulling everyone else along.

One of these few people worrying about the negligence was Mega. After leaving his bedroom, Mega tripped downstairs to where he knew Zelk would be sitting and reading or thinking. He might not care or even understand what his nightmares had been about, but it was comforting just to know that he wasn't alone.

At the sound of a creaking floorboard, Zelk was snapped out of his deep reading (though it wasn't really reading, it was just his distraction from his argument with Skeppy), looking up to see Mega's anxious face. He quickly set down his book and ushered his friend to sit on the chair adjacent to his.

"Is everything alright?" Zelk asked, glancing at the clock. He hadn't noticed it was nearly 2 AM until just then. Pulling a notepad and pen out of his pocket (Mega was always prepared), Mega started writing down his dream. Zelk's eyes scanned the page, reading the words with an eyebrow raised.

"... It's just a bad dream. You don't have anything to worry about," Zelk assured him. Mega could tell Zelk was spooked, but he didn't continue. Taking the notepad back, Mega wrote Zelk a question.

Are you OK?

Mega could see Zelk's eyes go over the short sentence over and over, but he didn't reply. He didn't expect his advisor friend to open up (Zelk was a pretty closed-off person), but he knew that recognizing that someone cared about your feelings feels nice. Eventually, Zelk settled on the words "I'm doing well," and didn't elaborate- which, again, Mega didn't expect him to.

"I won't be sleeping now that it's two in the morning, so if you're tired and if you feel safer, you could sleep on the couch," Zelk offered, making eye contact with his friend, who nodded. Picking up his book, Zelk resumed his reading.

~~~~~

Techno had woken up early that morning to head to the mines, and he didn't expect Tommy to be up. The young blonde was leaning over a book on the kitchen table, immersed in thought. It didn't seem like he was reading it, though, since his eyes were still and not scanning the page. It was unsettling that the boy didn't even notice Techno was watching him, so Techno cleared his throat, walking over to Tommy and flicking the back of his head.

"Hey!" Tommy exclaimed, snapped out of his thoughts. He glared playfully at Techno, who smirked at him.

"You were spaced out," Techno chuckled.

"Aren't we all?" Tommy snarkily replied, making the adviser laugh even harder.

"Yeah, I guess so," Techno realized, ruffling Tommy's feathery hair. "If you need me, I'll be in the mines, but I think you'll be alright." An elegant velvety-red cape was draped over Techno's arm, and the pink-haired man adjusted it over his shoulders.