Life Hearts [A Third Life Fanfiction, previously called Three Hearts]

Four Allies, Two Swords

Refugees from all over the world came to the Crastle for defense and materials.

Grian and Scott stopped prancing around in the daisy fields and finally came out to the battlefield. Tango gave up on his cow monopoly and moved in permanently. And Joel came in from Dead Bush Hill, and I finally got to meet him.

Joel had brown eyes and brown hair with a bright green streak in it. He got along great with Scott, and the familiarity about him made me think he was from X Life. And it was a good thing I liked dogs, because he had tons of them.

One of them, which he had named Helena, seemed to like Ares a little too much. So the Crastle People got a litter of puppies that we had no idea what to do with. Impulse and Bdubs excitedly volunteered to adopt them. From then on, all we heard was barking and the occasional yell when one of the puppies did something unexpected.

The new seriousness of the situation forced us all to share our skills with the group so that we knew what to do. Scott was an archer. Grian and Tango could make traps, as long as they weren't caught. Impulse had access to a villager trading hall and all the resources that came with it, and he was also a good redstoner. Cleo, Bdubs, Joel, and I would be best fighting up close, but Bdubs and Cleo could use crossbows and would if we had to.

Since there were eight people there, chaos could only be expected. One particularly funny encounter occurred between Grian and Bdubs, when Bdubs was down in the secret tunnel that had been built between Dogwarts and the Crastle, back when the two were still solid allies. Now that we were harboring "criminals" and "traitors," it was only a matter of time before we became official enemies.

Bdubs had widened the tunnel so that a lot of us could go through at the same time and invade Dogwarts. But while widening it, it was exposed, so Bdubs had covered it with a haphazard dirt pile. It was pretty obvious that there was something under there because the grass hadn't spread to that pile yet.

Anyway, Grian walked up to the dirt pile and said loudly, "Surface level to secret tunnel, come in?"

"Hey, Grian," Bdubs whispered loudly, his voice seeping through the dirt.

"Is it okay if I just sit here and mock your tunnel because I'm bored?"

A long silence. And then, "...No!"

"Nice tunnel, Bdubs!"

Bdubs whisper-yelled back, "Be quiet! I'm almost there!"

"I wonder where it leads!"

"Ggah! Shut up!"

Despite the ongoing war with Dogwarts, Grian still managed to lighten the mood. And making Bdubs mad was a classic.

On the subject of the war, I didn't want to go against Martyn. But most of my allies were. And that's what I told them.

"I don't think I trust anyone here but you four," I told Impulse, Bdubs, Cleo, and Grian one day. "I don't want to kill the Red Army. Especially not Martyn. So I'm going to leave the Crastle and fend for myself out there alone, but if anyone wants to come with, they can."

They all agreed, or Grian, Impulse, and Cleo did. Bdubs was only coming because Cleo was. He was a little angry that he had to leave his home that he had been in since the beginning.

We left under the cover of night, when everyone was asleep. Bdubs, Impulse, and Cleo cast longing glances back at the Crastle.

All three of them were leaving something behind, whether it be builds or friends. I gave them one last chance to leave.

"I don't know... I mean, first day crew and all, but Tango's in there," Impulse stressed.

"It's okay," Cleo assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You can go."