#new life smp Sparrow

[shiningstarlight101]

Sparrow becoming a hybrid is both interesting and has scary implications to the entire concept of hybrids

He didn't just become a hybrid, he became a new person. He became completely different.

Aside from the creepy body things like no longer breathing or having camera eyes, he's had a lot of mind-altering changes. Sure, you got the basic things you'd expect. Any copper golem would be more infatuated with copper and buttons than a human.

But it goes so much further than that.

In his own words, he "doesn't fully remember what got him here." He doesn't have full recollection of his human life. He knows mechanical stuff without understanding why he does. He gets upset over his storage, an especially interesting part because the way you organise can say a lot about you. He feels disgusted at the idea of staying at his campsite because of the nature, this is coming from the man who proudly presented his campsite when he first set it up. He literally runs a factory for copper.

Another thing that really interests me is how he's treating Scott. Who is pretty much his only real friend at the moment. It didn't feel like Sparrow treated him the same as before. He showed interest in the living side of Scott (his breathing/sleeping because Sparrow cant do this). But he also tried to steal Scott's axe and blamed him partially for his messy storage as he wanted him to intervene ("how could you let me life like this"). And i feel like human Sparrow would have absolutely ran to Scott the second he became a hybrid, excited to show his new powers off. I think that some of his final words to Scott, "i'm doing hybrid things", "i'm being special like you", are things Sparrow would say. But our current one said this while pushing Scott to leave the area to not bother him.

You can see the old Sparrow still shine through at times but it is also clear that he's so much more, and not in a good way. I think you can see the old Sparrow the best when he says things like "i'm a hybrid now so i can do it." Because he's been hyping up the concept of becoming a hybrid so much. Human Sparrow truely thought being a hybrid would be an amazing, magical thing.

It's like he's a mix between a pure machine and a human. His knowledge, his thought process, his wants, all are closer to that of a machine then the Sparrow we learned to know.

And it makes you wonder, maybe being a hybrid isnt as fun as it seems at first

[emotional-mess-in-distress]

Sparrow's first life(s) ! 🧡

[afterartist]

Drawing fanart so I can actively ignore the angst of th e latest episode

It took me longer then it should have but I was busy crying okay so shut

New fave origin btw, sorry phantom but ur irrelevant to me now

[samzier]

Aww la creature

[feralportalmaster]

Owen’s latest episode been so out of the blue angsty sent me through a loop.

Like damn I just wanted to watch the cute little copper golem man build some more but nope, instead here’s another brooding self-sacrifice and the most horrifying scream you’ve ever heard from a Minecraft SMP.

[the-fandom-queenxox]

"I can fly there."

Owen do you know how little that narrows it down?

[exiledsundew]

Just a little copper guy with his little copper army!

Thanks for the request!

My art requests are closed now!

[lunarsands]

Multi-SMP Fanfic: Which Fate's Fairest To Us All - Ch 1

Afterlife SMP, New Life SMP and Empires SMP S2 crossover combo!!! I'm back with more MythicalSausage meets MythicalSausage shenanigans!

Characters: Mythical Sausage (1st), Rusty the Copper Golem, PearlescentMoon, Scott Smajor (1st), Mythical Sausage (2nd), Hermes, Mythical Sausage (3rd), Scott Smajor (2nd), Rocky the Goblin, and a couple of briefly mentioned cameos at the end!

WARNINGS: Character death (but they get better because Afterlife/New Life rules are in play), body horror

Summary: Myth has gotten comfortable in the place he unintentionally usurped from a parallel version of himself and fully expects he got his point across to Smajor to leave him alone. For a while it seemed the supposedly-reformed Smajor would abide by it, until he shows up with evidence that their missing doubles went into the Deep Dark and only Myth has the knowledge that can rescue them…

Meanwhile, in another universe, the Protector of Sanctuary and Guardian of Realities is called on to help sort out this very mishap - with a little help from his demigod son.

Sequel to Mirror Tenfold, Beyond the Wall and follows sometime after the events of Thou, O Kings, Fair Be You All (“sometime” being relative to how much time passes in each universe)

(Also available on Ao3!)

[A/N: I’m running out of ideas for titles, but not out of ideas for crossovers! | Gratitude again goes to the wonderful Cynthrey/Khyann for help with Spanish translations!]

Chapter One

Myth the phoenix hybrid made his way over to the automated farm area, carrying a toolbox and a satchel full of various sized spare gears, Rusty the copper golem trundling after him. They were headed to the one where the mechanism had begun to constantly spit out seeds, pick them back up, and then just spit them out again. Myth put his toolbox and satchel on the ground next to it, then set up a log post about a meter away and installed buttons all around the top half. Rusty merely watched the malfunctioning farm for a moment. He turned to Myth as if to comment, but when he saw the buttons, he waved his arms in the air and hurried over to begin pressing them one after the other.

Myth smiled, stretching the horizontal scars that marred his right cheek. That would keep the little copper construct nearby but occupied. He figured he could sort out the malfunctioning farm without additional help but he did like having Rusty around. It made up for his ongoing preference to keep to himself without getting too lonely. Most of the other hybrids tended to stay in their personal territories, anyway, building fanciful themed areas or doing tinkering of their own. This world had a great deal of steam-powered technology, different from the world Myth had come from, which hadn’t advanced past redstone.

At least, as far as he was aware. Perhaps once he and his rival, known as Smajor, had disappeared from there, the survivors of the two’s destructive revenge-fueled rampages had rebuilt and developed new technology.

…Probably as a means of stopping either of them, should they reappear.

Well, that was another time, and another life. The recently transformed phoenix had begun to settle into this new life, and while he didn’t intend to permanently replace his double, he wanted to learn as much as he could and try to pretend he could have a normal life.

The challenging part so far was that nearly everyone seemed aware they could come to his home and ask for supplies. It seemed the Ghast Mage who preceded him was, although grouchy, generous. Most of them asked first, some left notes if he wasn’t around, and one person in particular delighted in trying to sneak in under his nose. He suspected she thought he was in on the joke, except that she had no idea who he really was, nor did she know about the past that continued to lurk in the back of his mind.

It was as Myth was wondering when she might pop up that he noticed the number of button-pressing clicks had tripled. Rusty couldn’t move that fast, so he turned to find out who might be goofing around. Rusty and two other copper golems were treating the button setup like a maypole, going around it and pressing the buttons as quickly as they reset. Upon noticing that Myth had noticed them, the two extras scampered over to him. “Hi, Sausage!” said the one that looked and sounded like PearlescentMoon.

“Hi, Sausage!” echoed the one he didn’t recognize, but who sounded like… Sparrow?

“Rusty,” Myth addressed his assistant without acknowledging the two yet, “Did you build yourself some friends?”

Rusty turned away from the button he had just pressed. “That’s an odd thing to say.”

The Sparrow-sounding golem said, “Do I have some news for you, Sausage—”

Purposely looking past this new golem, Myth replied, “You’re right, Rusty. I would have noticed if you were taking from my copper supplies. So, it seems Pearl built herself a friend that follows her around and copies what she says.”

“That’s not true!” protested the Sparrow-voiced golem.

Laughing, Pearl cut in, “Sausage! Stop being silly. I actually ran into him on the way over and we decided to have a little fun. Can never have too many copper buddies running around.” She then threw some redstone dust at Myth, having accumulated it from the button pressing escapade. The other golem did the same in spite of protesting Myth’s observation.

Now, though, Myth looked at this third golem and asked with a forced tone of concern, “Why do you sound like Sparrow?”

“I am Sparrow! I made myself into a hybrid! And it turned out to be copper that fused with me, so now I’m just like Pearl!”

Myth swallowed down the feeling of dread that rose up from his stomach. “You made yourself into a hybrid…?” He attempted to sound curious instead of panicked.

Rusty, meanwhile, spoke what Myth was thinking. “What’s wrong with you?!”

“’Ey, ’ey, easy there, mate,” Sparrow said defensively. “No need to be rude!”

Rusty’s antenna bobbed up and down. “Are you sure about this?”

“Sausage, you need to work on this guy’s speech programming,” Sparrow advised.

“I can understand him just fine,” Myth said distractedly, still thinking about the implications of what Sparrow claimed to have done. “Uhm… don’t tell me both of you are here to clear out my copper reserves?”

“Nah,” Sparrow replied. “I was only accompanying Pearl to prank you! I mean, I did want to show you that I succeeded in my experiment, but I have another destination to get to right now. You can just give all your copper to Pearl!” With that cheeky declaration, Sparrow waved and hurried off through the ferns that now stood taller than him.

Myth bit back the urge to call after him demanding further explanation, because he knew his desperation would show as he imagined what horrors might result if Smajor found out about the possibility of augmenting his existing powers. Sure, the fungal mage claimed he was peaceful now and happy to have a little garden of mushrooms and avoid conflict because it had a detrimental effect on his life force. But if supplementing his abilities with something that could counter those weaknesses was available there was no reason to believe he wouldn’t take advantage of it to return to his old ways…

“Hey. Hey. Hey, Sausage? Are you overthinking what Sparrow said he did?”

The feeling of Pearl tapping on his leg drew him from his spiraling sense of horror.

“Personally,” she continued, “I think he changed because of the same reasons we all do, but was having so much fun with his inventions that he wanted to make it sound more interesting than ‘I accidentally tripped and landed inside this weird chamber I built’.”

 “Oh. Um. I guess. So, uh, I do have some copper to spare at the moment, but I need you to leave me a little for a project I’m doing this afternoon—”

“Oh, I didn’t really come here for copper, Sausage,” Pearl said benignly. “I honestly wanted to check on you. You’ve been keeping to yourself way more than normal.”

So. She finally noticed, Myth thought to himself.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Pearl continued. “I know you don’t remember some stuff, but we could still have a chat to try to work out a few more details.”

Myth glanced toward the malfunctioning farm to make it seem like he was directing a distasteful face at it instead of in response to her suggestion. “I… appreciate the offer, Pearl, I really do. But I’m not worried about what I can’t remember.” He forced a weak smile as he returned his gaze to her. “I’ve started to think of it as a way to make new memories. And as for keeping to myself, well, I just really enjoy tinkering around with all this machinery that the past me set up! It’s a fun way of relearning and building new things, giving structures more purpose than they usually would have! And when something happens to break, like this farm, it’s like a little puzzle to figure out which component isn’t working properly!”

The antenna at the side of Pearl’s head twitched. “Well, at least you’re sounding like your old enthusiastic self again! I gotta tell ya – and I mean this in the nicest way possible – you were quite gloomy for a while there, even for someone who used to be part Ghast!”

Noticed that too, huh? Myth kept that thought to himself as well, then said aloud, “I’ll have to take your word for it. The whole Ghast thing has slipped my mind.”

“Maybe it’s not worth bothering with after all, and we should focus on new things instead, like you said.” Pearl jumped up onto the side of the farm. “How about we start now? We can hang out while you fix this, and I’ll see if I can help with it!”

“Only if you have no other plans…” Myth said, trying to stall. “I don’t think it will take too long, and—”

“Sausage. There you go again, trying to be by yourself. Come on, buddy. At least give me an hour. Half an hour. Some company might do you some good. You need someone to talk to besides a regular old copper golem.”

Rusty rotated his head mid-button press. “What did you say?”

Pearl laughed. “Sorry, little guy. You’re all right.”

“Okay,” Rusty replied, then stepped around to the next button and waved his arms in the air.

Myth heaved a quiet sigh, accepting that she wasn’t going anywhere. He started to disassemble the farming mechanism. “If you want other reasons for me keeping to myself, I do have one major thing on my mind. S- Scott asked me for a favor, and it basically comes down to being his bodyguard because of his whole Gaia-mana thing, and he kinda needs my help, specifically, and I’m pretty set on not getting involved because of a… certain other argument we had.”

“Is it the sneaky planting of mushrooms around your base?” Pearl asked as she leaned closer to inspect the inside of the farming mechanism. “He left one patch by my mud farm, but you have a lot of areas around here where he could have hidden them.”

“No— Well— I mean, I guess you could say it involves his propensity for being an annoyance that bothers me.”

“Did he prank you by teleporting you more times than you mentioned, before he became a mushroom man? I could see that being a problem when you were a Ghast Mage and if he teleported you into water, but that would be something part of the lost memories, wouldn’t it?”

Myth gave pause with the wrench half-raised to remove some bolts as a memory did, indeed, come to him – of being teleported back and forth out of water when he was vulnerable to it.

But that had been a different Scott, who had the intention of literally cooling Myth’s temper rather than trying to kill him.

“I mean, it could be a subconscious thing like that,” Myth said, trying to sound like he was mulling over the idea. Then he spoke jovially, “I guess you have a point that somewhere in my head I’m holding a grudge for things that happened in the past.”

He felt amused to himself that it was the exact truth; she didn’t need to know the real details which went along with it.

He let her carry on with theories and suggestions, doing his best to remain polite out loud even though inside he kept vacillating between wanting to blurt out the whole sordid tale of what his version of Scott had done to him, and wanting to break down crying in relief at hearing her voice, even if she wasn’t his version of Pearl. He held it all in as they worked to troubleshoot and fix the farm, which went smoothly up until the wrench Myth held abruptly started glowing red-hot in his hand – something he didn’t register right away, since heat never bothered him, but when it turned into molten metal and began to drip onto the machinery with a hissing sound, he yelped and jumped backward.

Two things happened simultaneously after that.

Myth’s entire body erupted into flames; he could swear that for a full second his consciousness switched off into oblivion, then switched back on and he felt completely refreshed – even the ache that he had been ignoring in his elbow from turning the wrench was gone. There was, however, a ringing in his ears, and it was taking its sweet time to fade away.

Meanwhile, Pearl had also tumbled backwards and had pointed at something somewhere above and/or behind him, but after the flames died down she merely stood speechless.

No, not speechless. Myth couldn’t hear her over the ringing. He began to shrug at her and point at his ears, but then it finally faded out.

“—That should have killed you, Sausage! How are you still a phoenix?!”

He would have to ask her to specify what that had been, because he hadn’t felt a thing. He found himself staring at the now-solidifying puddle of melted wrench. He still didn’t know everything about being a phoenix. Did his body have an early warning sense for impending death? Was the sudden flare of heat – enough to melt anything he was holding – a precursor to his life cycle kicking in to remake him upon the moment of death?

But… that’s not how the rules of this world worked. It was the same as the world he had originally come from: when you die, you revive as something else entirely. Those cosmic rules would surely cancel out the abilities of a phoenix to rise from its own ashes.

“Sausage? Hey, Soos – are you shellshocked or something? Buddy? Can you hear me? Don’t tell me that wiped your memories even more!”

A new voice, languid, joined in. “Hmm. He looks shellshocked to me, that’s for certain. I missed what happened – that massive fireball is what caught my attention. I thought he was dealing with a raiding party, or hostile water-ability-wielder. How did you not melt, Pearl?”

The beguiling tone poured into the last word snapped Myth out of his stupor. Speak of the devil… He leveled a displeased look at the mushroom-clad Smajor. “Well hello, Scott. How do I know you didn’t have something to do with this?”

Smajor put his hands out, implying innocence. “I’m just a peaceful little mushroom tender who happened to be passing by—”

Pearl cut in, “Are you sure you weren’t checking on that clump of mycelium by the villager house? Because don’t think I didn’t notice it. That’s our guy for trading with.”

“Well, I might have left that there last time,” Smajor replied with a casual shrug, “But, really, that’s a small matter. The real question here is how did Sausage manage to not change? Does becoming a phoenix exclude you from the fate anyone else experiences upon death? Or maybe it’s a limited time effect with only so many rebirths-through-fire…” He clasped his chin and did a very good impression of seriously considering the matter.

Myth’s brow lowered into a frown. He could guess what Smajor was actually thinking based on that additional comment. Smajor was lucky Pearl was there, or else Myth would have tested if Gaia would forgive him for violence upon fungal mages. “Pearl,” Myth said, trying not to snap at her, “It looks like this is an opportunity for me to discuss that matter with Scott that I was telling you about. Thank you for your help with the farm. I think I’d prefer to talk one to one with him.”

“Oh?” Smajor purred, “You told her about a matter between us? Which one?”

Pearl glanced from one of them to the other. “You know, this is starting to sound like something I don’t want to be in the middle of, anyway. If you’re sure you’re okay, Sausage, I’ll leave you to your, um, personal chat.”

“Yeah, I’m okay now, Pearl. I was just… disoriented for a few seconds. I’m used to random bursts of flames, but that sure was a big one! I’ll, uhm, let you know if I feel side effects later.”

Smajor smiled pleasantly at Pearl and waved. When he was certain she was out of earshot, he said, “I’m sorry, I seem to have the worst timing when you’re having a coping session with an old friend. Old-new friend. I’m not sure how best to describe that particular relationship of yours—"

“Get to the point,” Myth growled. “Wait – actually.” He grabbed Smajor by the arm and dragged him toward the house. The fungal mage complied, cowering by reflex despite Myth not even paying attention to his reaction. Rusty pushed a button one last time then trundled after them; Myth was now also too preoccupied to remember that the copper golem would automatically follow. He shoved Smajor inside then slammed the door. “Okay. Now get to the point.”

Smajor rubbed his arm but didn’t comment on the man-handling.  “Ah… Well. I now have two things to talk about, seeing as what just happened… happened.” He leaned a little closer.

Myth instinctively drew back.

Smajor sighed, then settled for keeping his voice quiet. “About that. I died the other day. But I revived exactly the same as I was. Either we’re not bound by the rules of this world, or there’s something going on to keep us what we specifically are right now. I mean, I don’t mind spending the rest of my, um, immortal life as this – not sure how you feel about it – but someone might begin to suspect something is wrong about us if they notice.”

“You’re the fool who literally just mentioned it to Pearl,” Myth scoffed.

“A phoenix might be less obvious, though,” Smajor pointed out. “To an extent, as I said. And I know we had a hundred-some-odd lives, but as far as I know, no one here has hit any kind of maximum yet, which means we didn’t just so happen to step in when our doubles reached the end of their turns. Well, I know that for a fact, actually.”

Myth folded his arms across his chest. “Yes. I remember what I said to you the last time I saw you.”

“Uh, yeah. The whole not returning here unless it was with them, but… Well, every bit of evidence that I have found leads me to one answer, and you are not going to like it, because you’re the only one who knows how to get out of it, since I was unconscious at the time…”

Myth’s expression fell into a deep scowl. “You’re kidding. …Well, no, of course you’re not. That’s too obvious of a trap – you know that, right? Do you really think I would enter that labyrinth ever again? And by choice? We would end up separated, tossed into some random corner of the maze, and – and – with no way of orienting ourselves. Even if we found the spot where we fought the other versions of us, the only reason we got out at all was because they got their previous powers back, which was just enough to get above the walls and search!”

Myth pointed emphatically at the ceiling before continuing, “And even then, it took that shiny-knight version of me using his wither abilities to find the correct portals home. If you hadn’t noticed at the time, neither of us got back any old powers – thank the gods.”

“I think it’s in part because they had only a few under their belts,” Smajor theorized. “And, perhaps, the power behind the labyrinth leaned in their favor because of their good intentions. Maybe, if we go in with the spirit of rescuing these versions of us at heart, we’ll have better luck.”

Myth uttered an ugly laugh. “As if I could believe you have anyone’s best interest at heart.”

Smajor took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “It’s rather selfish of you to keep living in your double’s shoes instead of looking for him. This isn’t your life to live, Myth. Or are you just that jealous of all those other versions of yourself that you’ll gladly take over for one of them? Be honest. What’s in your heart right now?”

Myth began to emit flickers of flame, an annoyed growl rising in his throat. Before he could respond, however, the door burst open and Rusty exclaimed, “What’s wrong with you?!”

Myth now sighed. “Rusty, you know about me. Don’t be so accusatory.”

Somehow managing to sound sarcastic, Rusty asked, “Are you sure about this?”

The bright flickers died down. “Don’t tell me you’re on his side!”

“That’s an odd thing to say.”

“Then don’t agree with him!”

Smajor blinked and raised an eyebrow but merely observed the conversation.

“Are you sure about this?”

Myth opened his mouth to reply, then closed it and looked aside away from both Rusty and the fungal mage.

Smajor waited a minute to see if Myth would say something, then finally commented, “I’m not sure how you’re able to interpret what that thing is implying, but I think I appreciate its efforts.”

Rusty looked up at the fungal mage. “What did you say?”

Smajor blinked down at the golem. “I said I appreciate you helping me convince our fiery friend here to help me.”

Myth snorted. “He meant you calling him an it. You seem to think he’s just some empty automaton.”

Smajor shot Myth a flat look. “How about we get back on topic? If your concern is being able to get high enough for an aerial view of the maze, I can grow mushrooms to any height I want. It just takes a lot of mana. So, I’ve had to be cautious about approaching the entire problem. And the only thing I don’t have is a way to get everyone out. Myth, it is not fair if we leave them wandering lost in there forever while stealing their lives!”

Myth stared at him with a bitter scowl. “How did you die, by the way?”

“Huh?” Smajor was caught off guard by the change of subject.

“You said you died, but woke up still a fungal mage. Did your attempt to rescue them by yourself cause your death?” Myth watched his rival’s face carefully.

Smajor looked away as if embarrassed, then mumbled, “Zombies…”

“Excuse me?”

“I got cornered in a spider-infested catacomb by some zombies and had no choice but to defend myself to escape. But Gaia makes zero exceptions, and… I ran out of mana on the threshold of the exit, so all it took was one hit from the remaining zombies to take me out.”

Myth snorted in derision this time, yet then – miraculously – cracked a smile. “How far the mighty have fallen. I suppose if you’re that helpless, I’ll have to lend a hand. Since you can’t tell anyone else and are so afraid of what might happen if we get found out.”

Smajor frowned right back at him. “Really? That’s going to be your only reasons?”

“I’m nobody’s hero, Scott. If you want a truly sincere reason, then I’ll do it for Rusty’s sake. I didn’t intend to replace his original creator forever. I just… needed some time.” Myth directed this last comment toward Rusty.

The copper construct gazed back, then said, “Yes.”

~*~

Elsewhere in the multiverse…

The Protector of Sanctuary, graying of hair but still solid in his duty, stood before the lodestone in the Tower of the Sun God, one hand hovering over the bouquet of feathers tied with a braided cord of purple and gold thread that sat atop the stone. Over the decades he had figured out how to shape Sanctuary’s magic to imbue a focal point around an object that was associated with a specific person. Not only could he communicate with the self-appointed deity BdoubleO100 who had first built the tower and who resided in a whole other universe, he could now reach out to any receptive person that he had a token for.

Granted, it was easy to connect with someone of higher power like Bdubs or Joel – whose token was a solid gold statuette of a figure holding a trident in one hand and a lightning bolt in the other – but the bouquet of feathers with its significant colors served just as well for contacting the demi-god that Sausage and Joel had incidentally managed to bring to life and co-parent until Joel ascended to the celestial realms.

The lodestone hummed as it reached full telepathic connection range. Sausage spoke to the air, “Oh, Hermes~ I know you can hear me! I don’t know which universe you’ve adventured off to this time, but I need you to come home right away! Something is telling me I’ll need the Staff very soon!”

He waited for maybe three minutes, idly gazing out the window at the stands of bamboo that lay below bathed in sunlight, then he focused on the feathers again. “Mijo. This is a Guardian of Realities matter. I need that Staff back now.”

Sausage could feel the slight warping of time and space as a ripple appeared in the air over the lodestone. He moved back, and a half-second later Hermes emerged from the ripple. Accompanied by the jangle of bracelets and other gold accoutrement, the toga-clad demi-god with a purple streak in his pale blond hair stepped downward out of it onto the spot Sausage had just vacated.

“Sorry, Dad. There was a bit of a matter of an argument between two chosen heroes who I had been helping in the Mianite nexus, and I was trying to settle things peacefully when you called.” Hermes grinned apologetically and held out the Staff of Sanctuary. The sunlight from the window glinted off his earrings; one in the shape of a thunderbolt, the other a miniature flower pressed in resin.

Sausage smiled in understanding as he took the Staff from his son. “Okay. Just making sure you weren’t dilly-dallying anywhere dangerous which, ahem, could have been what my multiversal senses were telling me.”

“Nope,” Hermes assured, although he looked oddly nervous. “Just a regular old adventure.”

“Hmm. Alright,” Sausage said, pretending not to be suspicious as he headed down the stairs. “You can tell me about it later! I’m going to check if the magic can reveal some clues to me, so I can find out exactly where I need to go.”

Hermes followed him to the special tree that allowed them to communicate with the magic that sustained Sanctuary. Here Sausage placed the Staff into the hands of the armor stand for the magic to manipulate as needed. He declared, “Oh, Magic of Sanctuary! Hear me and answer! The energy of all reality is calling to me! Is there any aid which you could lend me to find my goal faster?”

A bright glow suffused the Staff. When it faded, the mushrooms had turned blue-black and were now speckled with bright turquoise spots. A translucent, dull-blue gemstone was now suspended in the center of the Staff’s crook. Sausage heard a chime that indicated the magic was done giving its response. He took the Staff in hand and carefully held it closer for inspection.

Hermes glanced over, too. “That looks kind of like… sculk. I guess it’s telling us that the first place we need to look is somewhere in the Deep Dark.”

“‘Us’? ‘We’?” Sausage asked skeptically. “Sorry, son, this is my job.”

“Aw, can’t I please come along this time? I know the cosmos hasn’t, like, officially deemed me a Guardian of Realities, but I’ve learned a lot and can probably help!”

“‘Probably’?” Sausage raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not just looking for another adventure? These Guardian duties are not to be taken lightly, believe me!”

“I know, Dad, I know! I haven’t forgotten that first time, with that guy who was a splintered-off piece of you! And that time you summoned a bunch of other versions of yourself from other realities! Even as a kid, I knew how important the rule was to make sure no one got mixed up and returned to the wrong universe!”  Hermes went quiet, lowering his head, then added in a mumble, “I’d like to have a multiverse-type trip together again. It’s been great that you allow me to travel by myself now, but just like that rule, I don’t get to take anyone around with me, and if I make any friends I have to leave them behind so that they complete the destiny they have in their own world.”

Sausage uttered a sympathetic noise and patted Hermes on the back. “Sorry, I should have realized you might feel that way about it, since the events that led me to this responsibility brought out my loneliness.” He tapped the Staff on the ground and nodded decisively. “Well, starting today you start your training to be an apprentice Guardian-of-Realities-in-Training!”

Hermes lifted his head, giving a little laugh. “Dad, that came out a bit redundant.”

“Oh – Hush! Let’s go ask Dolores if this gemstone means anything to her!”

.

Once, early on in her stay in Sanctuary, Sausage had wondered why he couldn’t communicate with Dolores like he could with other animals. Then it dawned on him that Wardens weren’t creatures of the sculk, but perhaps had once been an entire race of people of their own, perhaps even the ones who had built those Ancient Cities. So, he began spending time sitting by Dolores’ cave and passively teaching her words in Common – passively as in doing so while she was distracted by the noise machine, which he figured was a preferable safety precaution.

However, after a time she seemed to be drawn by the sound of his voice. It started with her standing by the machine but facing toward him. Then, during one week she began walking away from the machine and looming a meter away from the bars for the entire time he sat there talking. She would immediately walk back to the machine as soon as he indicated he was leaving for the day.

In the end, Sausage surmised that he was proving to Dolores that he wasn’t a threat, and she was lowering her guard. He then included Hermes in these sessions, and although Dolores emitted wary noises at first, she eventually stood calmly when both of them were there.

Now, however, this behavior caused Sausage to become worried when their approach with the modified Staff was met with loud sniffing and decidedly fearful-sounding whimpers. Dolores was already standing right at the bars by the time they reached the front of her cave.

“Hi, Dolores!” Sausage made extra effort to come off as cheerful. “The magic of Sanctuary changed my Staff to help us with a little adventure. We figured it’s indicating something in the Deep Dark. Does the, uh, smell of this gemstone mean anything to you?” He held the crook of the Staff closer to the bars.

The heartbeat visible through the exposed section of her chest grew faster. Dolores uttered an uneasy rumble followed by a whine, then she took two steps back and rumbled again.

Hermes frowned in concern. “Does she seem afraid to you? Because, personally, I’m a bit worried of what could make a Warden feel afraid.”

Dolores uttered a sad croon and turned to lumber away, much to Sausage’s scrutiny. Rather than return to the noise machine, Dolores walked to the very back of the cave and faced the wall. Then she raised a claw and scratched a roughly rectangular shape right through the lichen and the rock itself.

Sausage’s demeanor became somber. “The Ancient City portal. I’ve always wondered where it led to, but even I agreed with Bubbles about not testing it.” He looked at the gemstone. “Apparently, now I’m being called on to find out.”

Hermes spun on his sandaled heel and headed for the storage warehouse. “I’ll start packing some gear for us. I know the ‘City under Gobland has been fully carpeted for safety, but we should take a few stacks of wool in case the other side of the portal needs a light step, too. Should be a few pairs of Swift Sneak boots left in the armory. Oh, and maybe some invis potions, too! Could come in handy for scouting out if there are any dangers immediately on the other side.”

A smile made its way back to Sausage’s face after he quietly thanked Dolores then followed after Hermes. “Good idea, mijo. I’ll pack some food. This sounds like an adventure that needs a good number of empanadas and cookies to get us through it!”

~*~*~

Translations:

Mijo - son

Continued in [ Chapter Two ]

[goldstargloww]

guys i think sparrow is Not Okay lmaO

let's just say his.. self preservation is weird

[paperkutzblog]

If I had a nickel for every time Sparrow created a suicide machine. I'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice :/

[mielkae]

Mcyt as Writing Prompts pt. 5

[shiningstarlight101]

I find it really funny when I see the take "guys I think Sparrow might be going insane." Bestie that man made a suicide machine after like 1 week just to see if he could get powers from it. I don't think he's ever been sane

[emotional-mess-in-distress]

Haven't had time to draw this dude properly but here are some sketches since I started watching new life recently

[afterartist]

Not me forgetting to post things again-

But here’s a WIP shot from that NewLife SMP animatic I mentioned I was working on

(If any of you guess what song it is from this single frame I’ll call witchcraft))

Anyway I’m like- 9 pages in an only just finished the first sentence so- help (,:

Sparrow has my heart but Gem has ownership of all my valuables

Loose/loose situation for me but I must draw these two for musically based reasons

[carrythetorchtoinferno]

we are the same, you and I.

-grian voice- welcome to a new series where we become the monsters!

[skimmeh]

up to mischief!!!!