Lesson One - A Monster School Fic

Chapter Thirty - Dark Forest Field Trip, Part 3

"We've been underground for almost twenty years." The skeleton, Fenn, had an arm around the younger girl's shoulder, who was currently scarfing down a bowl full of mushroom stew. "Or, I was. These two were spawned down there."

"For what purpose?" Herobrine asked quietly. Fenn shifted, looking over at his other companion.

"They didn't tell us," he muttered. "Never told us anything. But they called it 'the trial'." You were silent where you sat and listened, huddled up with Geode and Morpheus as you listened to the trio's tale.

You had managed to get yourself and your group even more lost than you already were, but thankfully had run into Fade and Cray, who did know where you were. You had gotten back to camp just before Herobrine himself did, with the skeleton, the mob girl, and another girl in his wake.

The skeleton's name was Fenn, and, in the light of the campfire, you could tell that he was unlike any skeleton you had ever seen... not that you had a ton of experience. But Fenn had a patch of shaggy moss growing on top of his head that resembled hair, along with several itty-bitty mushrooms. His skin- er, bones, had a green tint to them, suggesting that the moss wasn't limited to his skull.

The little girl who you had run into in the brush was named Zephyr, and you frankly had no clue what she was supposed to be. Not a player, for sure, but her purple skin and glowing, yellow eyes suggested little about her origins. She had also blasted you with... some kind of force. Wind? You weren't sure yet.

The last girl, whose name was Nightshade, was one that you had originally thought was a phantom, as she sported a pair of large, deep blue wings and glowing neon-green eyes. But her dark skin lacked the yellowish tint that Morpheus's had, and her ears were not quite as pointed. She also didn't have claws. Maybe that sort of thing varied from phantom to phantom, but... you didn't know. Hence staying quiet and listening.

The three of them were seated on a log that had been placed next to the campfire, with Fenn and Zephyr in the middle and Nightshade off to one side. Nightshade was currently picking at a piece of pork chop that Steven had given her. Apparently she couldn't eat the mushroom stew.

"They were trying to make us... stronger." Fenn plucked a bit of dirt out of the moss on his head, flicking it to the ground. "Or, well... not them. Me. I didn't look like this when I was captured, I was normal, but they..." he held up a hand so that the green tinge was highlighted by the light of the fire. "Wanted to... enhance me. They put this- some kind of poisonous plant on me, so that my touch would poison a regular arrow." He shrugged, looking back at Zephyr. "It sort of worked."

"But you did not consent to such an experiment," Steven supplied, sitting next to his brother on the left side of the group.

"I didn't." Fenn shook his head. "Zephyr- she's a blaze that was crossed with shulker traits. They wanted to make a blaze that was invulnerable to water, and she is, but she can't burn either. And Nightshade..." Fenn cast a glance at the winged girl, whose green eyes flickered up to meet it.

"I'm a player." Her voice was soft as she spoke, and you had to lean forward and strain to hear her. "With phantom traits. They wanted to make a player that was able to fly, but my body is too heavy." Her wings drew around her body slightly. "So, I can't."

You felt a little pang in your chest as you listened to her. Not only had she been raised in what sounded to you like a mad scientist's lab, but she had been born with wings, and wasn't even able to use them.

"How long has it been since you left?" Herobrine was asking when you tuned in again.

"A few weeks. I don't know." Fenn side-eyed him. "We've been in the woods so that Nightshade and I don't burn. It works for us, but it's hard to find her food."