The Battle: Hearts or Friendship?

Chapter 4: The Hunting of the Clown

!TW! Mention of killing

(Clown's POV)

After spotting Vitalasy and Subz, I knew I had to leave. I wasn't completely sure if they were looking for me, but even if they weren't, they were looking for something. I wanted to drag Branzy away with me, but that would cause suspicion if they heard us nearby. So I chose to leave him. There. Near Subz. And Vitalasy. I thought it was a horrible idea, especially after I just said to myself that I would protect Branzy. But I know that if the two of them saw me, they could kill me, even with my diamond chestplate. That's the only armor I have, and it wouldn't match to their skills. Besides, they didn't seem to be aggressive towards Branzy for some reason. So I ran back home as fast as I could, hoping no one saw me near my base. Just as I had just closed my door, my communicator rung.

[BranzyCraft whispers to you: Get ready]
[You whisper to BranzyCraft: For what? What's going on?]
[BranzyCraft whispers to you: Vitalasy and Subz. I'm pretty sure they're coming to kill you.]

I knew it.
Of course they were trying to kill me, probably because I killed Subz. I just hoped that Branzy would be okay.

(Branzy's POV)

After I had came around the tree, I decided to risk my life and try to see what Vitalasy and Subz were doing. I had to do it for Clown, what if they were looking for him? As I came closer to them, I could faintly hear their voices. I had typed to Clown to be prepared, in case what they were looking for was Clown, but none of us were sure. I pretended to make sure that I looked calm and unsuspicious before walking up to them.
"Heyyyy guys! Whatcha talking about?" I asked Subz and Vitalasy.
They exchanged a look before Vitalasy told me," We're looking for Clownpierce. He stole Subz's heart-and we want it back."
I could feel myself turn slightly pale as I slowly said, "So, you-you're gonna kill him?
"Yep," Subz said. "We've been trying to make a plan to trap and kill him-or just kill him. Wanna join in? Or are you too scared to make an enemy?" Subz teased.
"N-n-no... I'm not scared-" I stuttered. "I'll...join your-plan I guess." I lied. I knew I was never going to kill Clown, he was my friend! But I knew that if I was going to help Clown, I had to get information about Subz and Vitalasy's plans.
"Great, Prince Zam is also in on this plan, since he might have some plans for traps. I know you do your fancy redstone traps, Branzy. You got any ideas? Branzy? Braaanzy? You there?" Vitalasy said as he waved his hand in front of my face.
"Wha-? Oh! Uhm...yeah... I got some... ideas." I replied nervously.
"You good? Did something happen to you while you were gone?" Subz asked me in a concerned tone.
"No, nothing happened! I was just-uh-thinking about plans...for the traps!" I said.
"Okayyyy... well we were thinking of making a dripstone trap with buttons surrounding the hole so Clown can't water clutch safely." Vitalasy tells me.
"And we were thinking of building it in one of the wells in Zam's base." Subz added.
               "That's a good idea, and I could go get the materials for the trap, it needs a little bit of redstone after all." I told them, slowly walking away from the two of them.
               "Oh yeah! Good idea Branz! You do that, and we'll talk with Prince Zam about his part of the plan." Vitalasy shouts after me.
After I walked far enough away from them, I started running as fast as my legs could take me towards Clown's house, making sure no one followed me as I looked around. I walked around for about an hour and looked at the coordinates to see how close I was to Clown. I was still about 200 or more blocks away. Why did Clown's house have to be so far?! So I kept walking, until about 50 blocks after I had stopped before, my feet were starting to cramp up and give out. I didn't usually walk this much around, and doing an excessive amount like this was torture. I don't understand how Clown can withstand this, but maybe that was his strategy: to get his opponents tired before the fight. I saw a tree with a big space of shade, and decided to rest there for a bit before continuing. As I was limping over to the tree, I saw two figures in the distance. Knowing that most of the members didn't seem to be too friendly right now, I decided to keep hidden in the cool shade of the tree to avoid being seen. I hoped that they weren't looking for Clown, since everyone seems to be looking for him already. After a few minutes, I got up and continued to trek the rest of the way towards Clown's house. I hoped he wouldn't mind if I stayed at his house, because I wasn't willing to walk all the way back to spawn. I wonder what path Clown took me on to get back to spawn so fast. As soon as I saw the forest where Clown's house was, I just hoped that he was home. I saw his house a few blocks away, and there seemed to be an illuminated window that was coming from inside the house.
                  "Please be home, please be home, please be home..." I begged to myself.

(Clown's POV)

The doorbell of my house rang. Who would be here? Who found my house? Or was it Branzy? I grabbed my sword out of my inventory as I walked toward the door. I opened the door to find, "Branzy?" I said. "What are you doing here?"
                 "Vitalasy and Subz. They're planning to trap you. And Prince Zam, he's in it too." Branzy said, seemingly out of breath.
                 "Haaaaaaang on there, Branzy. Vitalasy, Subz, and Zam are planning to trap me in some sort of-thing? And why are you so out of breath?" I asked him.
                 "Yes, they're planning to trap you... in one of Zam's wells... and I ran here to tell you about their plan." He panted out.
                 "Okay... and how do you even know all of this?" I asked him.
                 "Vitalasy and Subz wanted me to join in on their plan to trap you," Branzy told me after he regained his breath and sat down on my couch. "Also, can I stay here for the night? I don't want to walk all the way back to spawn, and I don't want to get attacked by anyone at night." Branzy added.
I put my sword away as I told him with a smile, "Of course you can stay here, Branzy."
                  "Thanks, Clown!" Branzy said. I led him to his room, happy that I had made extra rooms in case of a situation like this. As I opened his door to his room, I told him, "If you ever need a room, you're welcome to stay here whenever you like." I said softly.
I left him alone so he could get settled in, and at that moment I realized: I was in danger, but so was Branzy now. If he betrayed them, they would surely go after him too. So I sat down, and started to devise my own plan to counter theirs. But how could I keep both of us safe without dying and losing one of my own hearts? This would be slightly easier, knowing part of their plan thanks to Branzy, but they probably still didn't tell him everything. I sat at my table for hours, until I decided that I would just have to fight it out, or outsmart them. I wanted to tell Branzy my plan, so I headed to his room. But he must've been tired out, because when I opened his door, he was fast asleep. So I said to him, softly and with a smile as I closed the door,
                   "Sleep well, and may the hunt... begin."

IT'S DONE!
This took so long to do, oh well. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, next one should be coming out hopefully soon!

(1400 words) :)