The Turf War Twisted

Nothing More Than a Chat

During the ride down the hobbit tunnel, Grian fastened the Tag to the side of his belt, keeping an eye on it the whole way. The minecart clicked to a stop and Grian swiftly dismounted it. As he did, it started making its way back down the tunnel to Grian's starter base. He slipped past the small corner. Now, he was inside the hobbit hole that connected to his hobbit hole, that was inside Mumbo's hobbit hole... you get the point. The space inside the hobbit hole in a hobbit hole was small, so he knew he'd have to move before someone could corner him.

He threw the double doors open, now face to face with Mumbo's nether portal. It almost seemed to whisper as the purple swirled endlessly inside it. He squinted through the portal, trying to see if there was someone on the other side. All he could see was an empty base, empty besides all the storage it was filled with.

From what Grian could see through the portal, it was completely deserted. It made sense, though. Mumbo already had his mega base going and didn't go back to visit his old hobbit hole much. Grian leapt through the portal, looking side to side quickly. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw no one was around.

That relief dissolved suddenly when Grian felt two arms wrap around him. His body was swiftly pulled backwards and he thought it might fold in half if he stayed so loose. Grian tightened his core, throwing the top half of his body back towards the attacker. He tried to glance backwards and see who it was but everything was moving too fast. He grabbed the arms that wrapped around him, trying to loosen their grip as much as possible.

Neither one of them said anything, and they didn't really have a moment to think of what to say. Whoever was attacking Grian just pulled him back into the hobbit tunnel. After a moment of struggling, Grian heard a quick SNAP!... the Tag.

As it ripped from his belt, the arms wrapped around him completely relaxed. He fell shortly, landing right on his back. The wind was blown out of Grian's lungs and for a moment he wished he could just lie there peacefully. When Grian looked up from his prone state, he saw that it was Scar standing behind him, towering over him. He wondered why Scar hadn't just left with the Tag already to get away from the other contestants, but he was so out of breath that he couldn't even think straight.

Grian sat up slowly, noticing that Scar was pacing back and forth, still holding the Tag with both hands. "Scar..." he said groggily, sitting against the wall of the tunnel for support. Before he could get a chance to react, Scar sprung at him, pinning his hands up to the wall. Grian's eyes widened at the sudden action. "Scar, what're you doing?" He said it as calmly as possible, though he wasn't sure how to remain calm when Scar was acting so out of character.

Scar stared deeply into Grian's eyes, trying to read him like an unopenable book. He sighed, his grip softening but still keeping Grian pinned. "Grian."

Grian hesitantly looked into Scar's eyes. "Yes?"

"Is this really just a game you've set up to have fun?" Scar's tone was low and serious.

"What do you mean?" Grian raised his eyebrows, tilting his head slightly. He knew exactly what Scar meant, but he needed a moment to think his next answer through. He wasn't sure whether it'd be more effective to lie to Scar and get in his head or to be honest and maybe not die in that tunnel. Of course, dying would be overdramatic, but with how Scar was acting, Grian knew he was a loose cannon. Scar was unpredictable in that moment, so Grian had to be strategic.

Scar glanced down the tunnel, almost glaring. "I know you called off the Turf War stuff just for this." He looked back at Grian, staring into his expressionless face. "I don't know if that's just some malicious plan to put the HEP at ease. I know you have a super mastermind brain, but it's not gonna work on me. So, I need to know that this is a genuine game."

Grian snickered, then burst into laughter. He just kept laughing and Scar couldn't wrap his head around what Grian could possibly be thinking. Was it evil laughter? Something like a 'everything is going according to plan' thing? He couldn't decipher it.

"Auh-" Scar's whole body just seemed to heat up. He wasn't sure if it was because this whole situation felt awkward or if it was something else. "Are you laughing at me?!" Scar had completely given up on holding Grian to the wall and just let him go. He knew he was fast enough to catch back up to Grian, unless he somehow had another elaborate escape route.

Grian wiped a tear from his eye, his laughter dying down. "I mean, I kinda am." He crossed his arms with a grin that Scar didn't expect him to sport. "I 'have a super mastermind brain'? Are you kidding me?" There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "You overestimate me Scar, you always have."

"Overestimate you? I was lucky enough to catch you here so we could talk. We haven't had a proper talk in ages."

"Proper?" Grian raised an eyebrow, his eyes almost rolling. "You just pinned me to the wall and you're basically sitting in my lap."

"Oh!" Scar scooted himself backwards, keeping the Tag close to his chest as if it was emotional support.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Scar. I'm messing with you... kind of." Grian stood up and Scar promptly mimicked him. Scar didn't take his eyes off Grian, not even for a second. "Well, you have the Tag, so I'll be leaving now." He repeated his move from before of tipping an imaginary hat at his exit, before turning to face the double doors of the hobbit hole inside Mumbo's hobbit hole.

"I don't know how well that's gonna work," Scar mumbled, loud enough that Grian could hear it.

Grian shrugged and pulled on the doors. They wouldn't budge. No movement, not even much of a noise. He thought maybe he did something wrong and tried pushing on the doors. The same stillness repeated. He looked at the doors sceptically. The doors were opening just fine before, so why not now? He turned back to Scar, who was sitting on the floor by the tracks. "Is this why you didn't leave earlier?"

Scar looked up at Grian with a dull expression. He nodded, fiddling with the Tag in his hands. "I would've just walked back down the railway, but that thing must go on for miles. And there's no way I can get through there with my elytra."

Grian walked back over to where Scar was. "So... we're stuck here?" Scar nodded again. Cautiously, Grian sat down next to Scar. Scar was a bit taken aback by it, but didn't move. "I guess we'll have to wait for someone to find us then."

"Pssh, who knows how long that'll take?" Scar's words were bitter and he was obviously not too pleased with being stuck in a tunnel with Grian.

"Hopefully not too long," Grian said in a cheerier tone, trying to lighten the mood. "After all." He gestured to the Tag that Scar was still fidgeting with. "They're all gonna be looking for the Tag."

(word count: 1247 words)