let's write stories at 5am

What is this

It’s a dull day in the Sky camp. I’m just chatting to some of my friends, since the man himself is away on a trip to Notch knows where. And yet… there’s a tension in the air. Everything seems slightly off, somehow. It’s just the usual bunch, us Elemental Crafters, but something feels different.

I can see it reflected in Time’s eyes as well. One green, one red, both confused. Fire seems oblivious to whatever the Nether is wrong, and just keeps talking away about the time an enderman griefed his house, even though nobody is listening to him except me. I’m trying to look like I don’t care as well, though.

Ever since I found out I was Sky’s sister, things have changed. Time used to be the centre of all attention – after all, she was with Sky when he first appeared. But when Seto cast that spell, my world turned upside down. Time’s been trapped in my shadow, and I feel terrible for that.

And yet there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t change my code. I still don’t know how it’s possible. Seto’s spell showed it was true, though – the undeniable matches in our code showed that despite the fact that Sky was spawned after me, he was still my brother.

Usually, siblings spawn at the same time, and so their code is linked. After all, it’s not natural for people to spawn simultaneously. When it does happen, it doesn’t change much – just that the siblings can donate code to each other if one of them is dying.

I saved Sky’s life once. The squids had unleashed their deadliest plan yet: to drown him. He fought well at first, but it was all part of the squids’ ploy. They dragged him under, and no-one could save him, for they would die themselves. Yet I remembered my past, and dug up old memories on how to swim.

I swum down into those depths like a rocket, and sliced those squids open before they knew what had hit them. When I dragged him back to the surface, I saw that he was leaking code from a gash in his side. Seto used his magic to transplant some code from me to him, and soon he was perfectly healthy again. If it weren’t for me, his sister, he’d be lost in a watery tomb.

“…and that was when I noticed the sand on top of my house!” Fire finishes, and I jolt back to the present. I look at him, and in his eyes I can see his warm smile. I shiver slightly. “So, have you got any funny stories to tell?”

For a moment, there’s only silence. Then I notice that the question was directed towards me, and hastily try to form a sentence. “I, uh… well, there was… no, I…”

“Time?” Fire says, and when he looks away I breathe out a breath that I didn’t realise I had been holding in.

“I got nothing,” Time shrugs casually. My body tenses.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you guys. I’ve got some packing to do,” Fire says.

“Packing!?” Time and I exclaim at exactly the same time, and we glare at each other. Fire laughs.

“Weren’t you listening? I received a letter yesterday, telling me that Sky needed some help fighting off the Air Army after they refused his alliance. So I’m going to go out there and help him!”

“You can’t do that! You’ll get killed!” Time blurts out before I can say anything.

“I’ll go down fighting,” Fire says fiercely, and his flames seem to burn brighter than ever.

“Just be careful,” I say.

“You sound like my mother,” Fire says with a laugh. We laugh too, but it’s somewhat forced. That’s when I realise it. I’m worried about Fire. Worried I’ll lose him forever. I’m even more worried than I was when Sky left. I can’t stop my face reddening.

“See ya later,” Fire says, and before I know it, he’s gone. The instant he disappears, a hand grabs my neck. Time.

“You’ve already stolen one person from me, and you’re not stealing another,” she growls, before stalking away. I grimace.

Ah crap, I don’t know what to do with this story next. Into the 5am book it goes. It was originally going to be an entry for Olivia’s contest as a sort of shipping battle between JoolzanTicking and FireLovesSnow, but I didn’t really have any plans for it…