The Frozen Empire - An Empires SMP AU

14 - Emperor's of the Square Table

Gem sat at the head of the table, plates of birch were settled by rows of chairs. Plant pots dangled Red fungi in their cracked outer shells. A Piglin stood cradling a chest of food.

Gem was dressed in her traditional witches attire, she had polished it up just for this occasion. FWhip had sent word that he had found most of the empires members, so Gem got to setting up the table right away.

One of the chairs almost fell over, Gem flicked her wrist and it positioned itself neatly by the table.

Wincing, Gem shuddered, she hadn't used her magic much since coming to the nether, she had lackeys of Piglin to help her instead. So now she felt a painful stab in her arm every time she cast the simplest of spells - casting the undying spell was enough to wind her completely.

Then FWhip came swooping in, his wings flapping as he settled in the pavillion. Following him, Pix, Shelby, Jimmy, Joey and Pearl. They landed less elegantly than FWhip, each of them landing with a thud.

Gem pulled FWhip over to the town hall, they ducked behind one of the towering pillars.

"I brought them..." FWhip gestured. "Half of their empires were gone, they were all at Pixandria." Gem bobbed her head in agreement.

"Thank you," She told him courteously. She glanced out at the remaining emperors, tears welling. "Go out just now," She told him. "And tell them I'll be out soon." FWhip's eye twitched, he then bowed in acknowledgement and then went over to talk to the now-seated party.

Gem leant against the calcite wall, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and exhaled an exhausted breath.

She hadn't slept much the previous nights, nightmares kept her up with vivid images of pain. But not her pain, others suffering at the hand of reptilian foe, who encased their necks in the tight embrace of snake-like hands.

And then there was FWhip, Gem saw him eying the crystal, so part of her was thankful it was gone.

..but she knew what it meant.

Pix stood up in shock, his chair landing with a clunk on the cobble. Shelby's eyes widened, the grasp on her bread causing it to crumble under the pressure. Pearl didn't flinch, she plowed through a rabbit stew like a farmer on wheat. Joey started clapping, but he soon realised his error, and sunk back into his chair with pursed lips. Jimmy waved, then continued to roll on the floor.

"Gem?!" Pix marveled, scanning her with awe. "You've been in the nether this whole time?"

"With little choice of my own..." She forced a smile.

She paused and searched the crowd. "Where's Katherine?"

"We haven't seen her in weeks," Pix stated, pursing his lips. "Last time I saw her was Joel's game show." Gem sighed.

Joey smiled.

"So Gem!" He grinned. "Why did you tell FWhip to bring us here?" All the eyes returned to gaze at Gem, she released a stressed breath.

"So as you may know," She started. "Xornoth has returned." The only one in shock was Joey, who clasped the table cloth with sweaty palms. "And Xornoth has already attacked my... home." Despite having lived here for months, it still didn't feel any bit like Crystal Cliffs.

Gem pointed at a hole in the nether roof, the marks of thick tentacles were imprinted on the netherrack. The residue of golden particles scattered in the streetways, tucking themselves within the crevices in the bricks.

"I sent FWhip out to get the remaining Empires members so we could resist against Xornoth together." The group all lowered their heads.

"Look..." Shelby said with a disgruntled face. "As much as we want to 'reclaim' empires..."

"It ridiculous!" Jimmy yelped. "This server is long gone! Half of our empires are gone! A demon runs rampant! And we are running out of food!" Jimmy stood and flailed his hands manically in the air. "We can't do nothing! Last time you defeated him, you had Scott! Now Scott is gone so there is no way we can do anything but leave... the server..."

Silence... And the Pearl-

"I'll admit..." She spoke sheepishly. "I have considered bailing..." And then Pix-

"So have I..." He furled his bottom lip, scratching his neck.

Gem stared around hastily, she felt as if she was clawing at sand, it constantly slipped through her fingers. Shelby shared her saddened look, but Joey had a submissive look that agreed with Jimmy.

"No, we can't just give up, there has to be a way... Without any elf magic or swords..."

Then, like an arrow to the face, it hit her.

"We reset the server..." She said quietly. "We reset the server!" Everyone lurched closer.

"If we reset the server, we can start again, and Xornoth will be no more." They all look enticed by the idea, but then-

"But everyone needs to consent..." Joey pointed out. "How are we gonna get Scott to reset the server and kill his brother, who we can assume he's in cahoots with."

The group erupted in angry uproar, all of them bickering and yelling, except for Shelby, who's eyes were tilted into sad shapes, but her mouth was smiling a devilish grin.

"Shelby?" Gem came around to kneel beside her chair. "Why are you smiling?" Her face then sunk immediately.

"Pardon? Sorry..." She said, her eyes blinking the daze out of them. "Why are we yelling?" Gem shook her head.

"One second," Gem walked around to stand at the foot of the table. "Guys!" She yelled, the group continued barking at eachother back and forth.

With no choice, Gem urged the table to burst to flames. Nothing was damaged, nothing had been burnt, all that it did was make everyone shut up.

"Guys!" Gem continued. "In your fits of yelling, have you figured out anyway we can get rid of Xornoth?"

"What if we get Aeor?" FWhip was met with dubious gazes. "As in the god himself?"

"How do you suggest we get him back?" Pix spoke up.

"I don't know.... But didn't Lizzie have a book of Prophecies?" All eyes turned to Jimmy, who gave a meek thumbs up between mouthfuls of pumpkin pie.

"She does," He told them. "But I last saw it in her Empire, and that's almost gone."

"Okay... So we get the book of Prophecies, find out how to bring back Aeor, and then we ask him to defeat Xornoth..." Gem recapped, releasing a stressful sigh.

"Sounds easy enough." Pix smiled.