Across Time and Worlds

Chapter Nine

I found out that I hated nature.

Grumbling under my breath, I kicked at the leaves and whatever stone that decided to take the punishment. SC has been gone for an entire day. I used to think that he was immensely brilliant, but with this radio silence, doubt was starting to creep into my mind, ready to explode like one of those leathery creepers. And all these tree roots trying to trip me were not helping.

Purple romped on through, calling out the name of his friend occasionally and stabbing trees with his netherite sword in frustration when nobody but the frogs answered him.

"Do you think we'll find him?" he finally asked in a quiet voice, his wide purple eyes stared into the depth of the hungry forest. He swallowed and fixed his crown.

I unconsciously tilted my own. "All I know is that as soon as I see him, I'm going to throttle him." His eyes widened and he took a step back. With a sigh, I explained. "He's the one that got lost, somehow. He's forcing us to walk around and waste extra time here. I actually despise it here, and the sooner I can get to reclining in the real world on one of my couches, the better I will feel."

He nodded quickly. "Oh-h. Well, I think it would be best if we keep him alive. He does have powers to match Dark and Chosen."

"He does? And what powers might that be?"

"It's like fire, except it doesn't really burn anything unless he wants it to. It can propel him up and make him fly, and he has a lot of durability during that time, basically making him withstand a lot of pressure." He crunched a stick. "I remember hearing about an SC more powerful than Dark, and he beat him after Chosen had failed. I don't know if our SC will be the same."

I nodded. "Okay. But aren't Dark, Chosen, and SC brothers? Or at least cousins?"

"No." He pulled his coat over him. "They aren't. Legend has it, they were the first stickmen in this world. They weren't coded from two other stickmen like us. Instead, they were drawn by somebody. I believe his name is Alan Becker."

I paused. "Who . . . is he?"

He shrugged. "No idea. I just have a bunch of random information that I can't use anyway."

"Oh."

I took another step and seethed when another hidden branch caught my other leg, trying to make me fall. I grit my teeth and straightened my back.

"So how close are we to the first chest?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Still a few days away. It's in a jungle," he added quietly.

"Of course." I sighed. "Are there any closer ones? Why do we need to do it in order?"

"Because there's a story!" Purple answered, his face lighting up. "And I want to know what it is! I know so much of this world's history, and while it is utterly useless, it's fascinating. I can't hide in a library here—" He cut himself off and I saw him flicker his eyes towards me for a second before they glued to the forest we walked through. "Um, I just kind of like stories."

I looked around me. Tall trees stretched to the sky; moss clambered up every available stone; and plants quivered in the slow air. I didn't really care that much about the scenery, especially since it hates me, but I was forming the right words in my head. "Do you like history or just stories?"

He relaxed his tense shoulders. "I mostly like fiction, but nonfiction can be fun too. What do you like?"

"Me personally, I don't like to read. What I like to do is study maps. The older maps are really interesting, and it's funny to see how people used to draw the world." I let out a breath, watching for his reaction. I saw a faint smile before he wiped it off and simply nodded.

At least he doesn't completely hate me. I can work with that.

"Wait."

I turned and frowned. "What?"

"I heard something," Purple said, inching closer to me. His reaction warmed me, until I realized I was the one holding the staff, and was therefore the only protection we had against the world.

I narrowed my eyes at the ground and gripped the staff harder. Like I thought I could make amends and befriend Purple. Like I thought there was a chance.

"Where did you hear it from?" I asked, stepping forward.

"I think it was to the side," he answered, his eyes flicking everywhere.

I nodded and cautiously moved on, holding the staff up high, ready to spawn a few hundred creepers if it was Dark or Chosen. I suppressed a grin when I thought about what his reaction would be. Shock? Rage? Both? Even if he burnt a few, there were more than enough to knock him unconscious. And before they went off I could grab Purple and fly the heck out of here.

Was it evil to say that I was trying not to laugh?

Something flashed out of the corner of my vision and I whirled, pointing the staff at a tree. "Who's there?" I demanded.

"It's you guys!"

"SC!" Purple darted forward and I heard an "oof!"

With a silent sigh, I loosened my grip on the staff. I had almost hoped it was Dark. But, well, the orange troublemaker finally decided to show up. Never, since I first saw Purple, had he ever done something as worthless as lose himself in a forest before. And our most powerful stick in our group manages somehow.

"SC," I said in a clipped voice, watching as Purple helped him off the floor after his surprise hug.

"I can explain!" he blurted out, holding his hands in front of him.

"You better," I retorted, crossing my arms. "And it has got to be good."

He took a breath and slowly exhaled it. "Okay. So, I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings, nor walking as fast as you guys, and I kind of lost you guys. But! I found one of the chests! Purple, you never said there was one right here!"

He frowned. "I never knew there was. I only know about five of them so far." He sighed. "And there goes the crafted story I was hoping to figure out."

SC gave a nervous chuckle. "Um, well, I tried."

"No, you did good," he insisted. "What was in the chest?"

"These." SC opened his inventory and took out a white envelope and a blue ball. "I haven't opened the letter yet, but this is the Heart of the Sea. Helpful, if you want light underwater, but it doesn't do much else."

"Can you show us where the chest was?"

"We don't have time for that!" I invervined, looking around. "Who knows when Dark or Chosen will come back, or what they will do? I would rather get out of this world sooner than later."

"So you do hate this place!" SC accused, pulling on his hood.

"It's getting to me," I agreed. "So let's go get the first chest?"

"Can I read the letter?" Purple asked, bouncing on his heels.

SC handed it over. "Sure."

With nimble fingers, Purple ripped the envelope open and took the light blue paper out. His violet eyes skimmed the words, and after a moment he frowned. "But the papers don't lie, and all that is recorded is true. Write a lie, and the paper burns." He flipped the page, but there was nothing else. "What does that mean?" 

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Merry Christmas you all!