#WE HAVE 4/4 DIVORCE QUARTET WOOOOO

[firefly464]

Scott | Pearl | Martyn | Cleo (You are here!) | Scar | Grian

Massive thank you to both @prismartist and @theminecraftbee for their help with cleos characterization in this, very much would not have been able to do it without them!

Fandom: 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Scott Major | Smajor1995 & ZombieCleo, John Booko | BdoubleO100 & ZombieCleo, Anthony Viviano | Bigbst4tz2 & ZombieCleo, Pearl | PearlescentMoon & ZombieCleo

Characters: ZombieCleo (Video Blogging RPF), Scott Major | Smajor1995, Anthony Viviano | Bigbst4tz2, Pearl | PearlescentMoon

Additional Tags: Character Study, POV Second Person, Canon-Typical Violence, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series-Typical Character Death, ZombieCleo-centric (Video Blogging RPF), ZombieCleo Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Only Winners Remember the 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series, Suicidal Thoughts, kind of sort of not really? Its more of a "wow i wish i was red so i could go kill this guy", but im tagging it just to be safe, Cleo and their relationship with trust

Series: Part 4 of Life after Life (again and again and again)

Summary:

Anyone who says that being by themselves is the best way to survive is an idiot.

Sure, they’ll tell you that trusting others is going to get you killed, that the only person who won’t betray you is yourself, but you have a hard time believing any of it.

People are social creatures. You know this better than anyone. If someone is on their own for too long they start to doubt their own mind.

~~~

Or, an exploration of the trust and loyalty that Cleo gives to her allies over and over again.

~~~

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62318464

Or read it under the cut :D

~~~

Anyone who says that being by themselves is the best way to survive is an idiot. 

Sure, they’ll tell you that trusting others is going to get you killed, that the only person who won’t betray you is yourself, but you have a hard time believing any of it. 

People are social creatures. You know this better than anyone. If someone is on their own for too long they start to doubt their own mind. 

So you stick with others. You find someone, and you decide to trust him. You trust that the two of you will keep each other safe, that you’ll be able to reign each other in if things get bad. 

You do your best to protect the home that you’ve built. When someone comes and attempts to destroy it, you smile and tell him that his days are numbered. 

Your team cheers as his roof goes up in flames. 

When Bdubs goes red, you do your best to help him stay calm. You remind that the two of you need allies, that the more enemies you have, the quicker you’re going to die. 

In with anger, out with love. That’s what you tell him. It’s a joke, but it works. 

You know that being around a red life is dangerous. Trying to pretend otherwise would be foolish. You can see it in the way that he paces back and forth at night, long after he thinks you’ve gone to bed. You can see it in the way that he glances at the knives in the kitchen, his gaze lingering for a fraction too long. 

Not once do you consider leaving him behind.

~~~

You don’t expect him to outlive you. Not that you don’t trust him, far from it in fact. But he’s red, and you’re green, and once he dies you’re on your own. 

Being on your own is a death sentence. 

You make a backup plan. You find someone you trust, and you agree to stick together once your teammates are dead. 

You call it the widows alliance. It makes you both laugh. 

You pray you’ll never have to follow through with it.

You die before you’re ever given the chance. 

~~~~~

You don’t know why you decided to make a castle on the hill, but something about it feels right. It’s safe. Easy to protect. 

You build up an alliance. You find someone, and you decide to trust him. You chose to believe that the two of you will keep each other safe.

You allow him inside of your home, inside the walls the protective walls that you built from the ground up. 

When Lizzie asks to join your alliance, to create a tunnel connecting your homes, you can’t help but say yes. 

~~~

The curse chooses its next victim. You ask him if it’s settled on his shoulders, if he can feel it racing beneath his skin. 

He says no. 

You have no reason to doubt him

~~~

You’re going to kill him. You’re going to kill all of them. You had accepted them into your home— into your little castle on the hill— and this is how you’re repaid!!

He finds you when you wake up, tries to tell you how sorry he is, how he had no choice but to kill you, how the curse had forced his hand. 

Bullshit.

You tell him that he always had a choice. He could have told you the truth, could have trusted you!!

You had asked!! You had asked and he had chosen to lie!! And now he dares to look you in the eye and tell you that he had no other option!!

How dare he.

You’ll have to thank Joel for turning you red later. 

~~~

Lizzie attempts to help him. She gives him a place to stay, takes him under her wing. 

You burn the fairy fort to the ground. You look Lizzie in the eye and burn her precious ring of trees to the ground

You make sure that she knows, that everyone knows how easily this could have been avoided. 

~~~

The castle is cold that night. BigB would always complain. He would always make sure the fire stayed burning. 

The fireplace is empty now. 

~~~

Scar gives you a life. The red clouding your vision recedes. 

You’re on your own now. You’ve burned all your bridges, watched the flames grow until there was nothing but a pile of ash left. 

Being alone is a death sentence. 

You go out in search for new allies. You find people you can trust. 

You’re not sure why you trust them so much. It’s a decision that could bring you more pain and suffering. 

But you have to try. You have to try.

They ask you if you plan on doing the same to them that you did to Lizzie. 

You ask if they plan on stabbing you in the back. 

They tell you no. 

That’s the end of that. 

~~~

You watch Pearl lead a group into a trap. They all trust her, lured in by promises of safety and refuge. 

You know better than to step into the room. 

Later, after the curse has lifted itself from her skin, you will ask her if she would have pressed the button with you in the room. You will watch her hesitate and desperately try to find the right words to say before she settles on a simple “I don’t know.”

Relief will flood your system. You had seen the look in her eyes. Even if she doesn’t know, you will. 

If you had entered that room, you wouldn’t have made it out alive. 

At least Pearl has the decency to not pretend otherwise. 

~~~~~

You’re not sure how to feel about the whole ‘soulmates’ thing. On one hand, you quite like the idea of someone’s soul being tied to yours. It’s comforting, knowing that no matter what, you will always have someone to turn to, someone that will always be there if you need them. 

On the other, it would be nice if he could put a little bit of effort into keeping you both alive instead of prancing off to the nether of all places. 

It quickly becomes clear that your soulmate has no interest in finding you. You’re on your own. 

Being alone is a death sentence. 

You find someone you trust, someone equally scorned, and you decide to stick together. Chosen soulmates, that’s what you call it.

When Pearl and Martyn return from the nether, they find you both. They seem stunned when you tell them that you’ve decided to stick with each other instead of with them. 

What were they expecting? A welcome home party? After they had shown such blatant disregard for your soulbonds?

No. You’re more than happy to stick with Scott. 

At least you know that he won’t leave you behind.  

~~~

You can’t bring yourself to abandon him fully. You know that he’s an idiot, that he doesn’t care all that much about keeping the two of you alive, but the idea of leaving him completely doesn’t sit right with you. 

It’s a safety measure, you suppose. If he’s on his own, he dies. If he dies, you die. It’s not exactly an ideal scenario. 

So you continue to reach out. You continue to try. You have to try. 

~~~

It’s only the four of you left. 

This is easily the worst possible outcome. 

You desperately want to tell Scott that it’s ok, that he can kill you and take the win. But you can’t. You can’t throw away Martyn’s life like that. 

But you can’t kill Scott either. You had sworn to him that you wouldn’t. You refuse to go back on your word.

You won’t be like BigB. You can’t, you won’t—

It’s Pearl that kills you in the end. 

You can’t help but smile as you hit the ground.

~~~~~

Everyone seems to think that your alliance will fail. Grian and Scar keep shooting you skeptical looks whenever they think you’re not looking. Martyn practically laughs in your face when he learns who’s on your team. 

That’s fine. You don’t need them to believe in you. You have no intention in proving them right. 

~~~

The others have decided to bring BigB into your alliance. Well, it’s less of a decision and more something that just happened. In a world that’s so hostile to everyone in it, you can’t exactly afford to withhold information from each other. 

Later, when your stomach no longer aches from hunger and the idea of bread doesn’t make you feel sick, Scott will find you. He’ll ask you if you’re really ok with BigB joining your team. 

Your instincts will scream at the thought, horrified that you would even consider such a thing. 

You’ll think of an open wound on your back, spilling blood into the river around you. You’ll think of a castle on a hill, once warm and inviting, now cold and empty. You’ll think of the taste of smoke on your tongue. 

“I don’t trust him,” is what you will eventually say, “but I’ll work with him.”

~~~

You’re such an idiot. You should have trusted your gut why didn’t you trust your gut?

You had known something like this would happen from the moment he had dared to enter your home and you had ignored it.

You’re going to kill him. The second that you go red you’re going to kill him over and over and over until the thought of coming back is no more than a distant dream. 

You let out a yell of frustration as your axe embeds itself into the flesh of a nearby tree. 

It’s dark out. Time has long since returned to normal. You think everyone else might be asleep, but you’re not sure. You don’t particularly care. 

You pull your axe from the bark and strike again. And again. And again. 

Over and over and over until your legs give out and you collapse in a ring of fallen trees. 

There’s footsteps approaching you. You don’t bother to look and see who it is. Maybe, if you’re lucky, it’s a red name. Or even a mob. 

You’re not picky. Both bring you closer to being able to slit BigB’s throat. 

It’s Pearl's face that fills your vision. She looks worried. 

You try not to let your disappointment show.

~~~

How dare he. How dare he?! First he takes advantage of your team’s panic and confusion to get back into your good graces, then he has the nerve to taunt you about it!!

You can feel the rage threatening to boil over across your skin. You can feel it desperately clawing at the surface, doing everything in its power to break free. 

No. No, you have to stay calm. 

In with anger, out with love. 

BigB is part of the team now. You had all agreed to it. It may have been through less than honest means, but you had still given your word. 

You refuse to attack your own teammate. You refuse to be like him. 

~~~

The bots are finally gone. You have a little bit of time before the next wildcard begins. A little bit of time to catch your breath. 

You’re back in the woods, surrounded by the ring of fallen trees, trying to convert them into usable materials. If you’re going to have a mental breakdown, you might as well be productive about it. 

Besides, it's a good distraction. 

You hear Scott approaching before you see him. He’s still unsteady from his respawn, his limbs not responding exactly as they should. 

You don’t blame him. Pufferfish poison is never a fun way to die. 

“How are you feeling?” He asks. 

“Fine.” A strip of bark is cut from the log. 

He doesn’t believe you. You can tell that he doesn’t believe you. 

Another piece of bark gone. 

“Do you still trust Pearl?” 

You can tell that your question catches him off guard. He wasn’t expecting to have the conversation turned on him like this. 

“Huh?” 

“After finding out that she lied to you about Mumbo and Skizz. Do you still trust her?”

“I— yeah? Of course I do, why do you ask?” 

“No reason.” Your axe glances against the side of the log and hits the dirt. You should be more careful next time. “I was just curious.”