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Chapter Text

Inferno was sitting in his lab. He just finished step one of his newest experiment, when he noticed he needed more magma cream, for which he needed to go to the nether. He stood up with a long sigh, his spine made an uncomfortable cracking noise.

Inferno took a bag from underneath his desk and filled it with a bit of bread, his journal, and a small bundle to store the magma cream. Lastly, Inferno walked over to his sword Frostbite. The name ironically didn't suit it's firey owner at all.

A sudden surge of uneasiness ran through Inferno. He tightly squeezed the handle of the blade, grounding himself with the familiar feeling of it. The bubbling of the lava filled cauldron next to the sword's stand comforted him.

Inferno's eyes darted to 'test subject 2.0', which his boyfriend Void kindly named 'Billy'. Void. Right. Inferno should probably tell him about his small trip to the nether. But then again, he'd only be gone for a few minutes. He slammed the button to open the door to the lab and stepped outside into the cave stairs. It was cold compared to the always heated lab.

Inferno shuddered. He dragged himself up the carved out stairs, holding frostbite in one hand and clutching the stone wall with the other. Soon he reached the exit, next to the greenhouse and portal room. Void wasn't in the greenhouse. What a shame, the man thought. He would've liked to say goodbye. Maybe even get a kiss. Inferno opened the gates to the portal room. Immediately he felt the same chill he always got near it. Something about that portal just creeped him out. Without further thoughts he stepped into the purple, nauseating light.

His vision blurred and his head spun. This was never a comfortable experience. He tightly held on to the backpack strap and Frostbite. Everything around him disappeared, he found himself in a swirl of purple. Inferno's stomach felt like it was flipped around. Finally, the agonizing spinning slowed down. Instead of the cold air of the overworld, he felt the cozy heat of the nether. Inferno stepped out of the portal, stumbling a little.

Everything was like always, the portal was surrounded by a box of cobblestone. The door was shut tightly, he could hear various creatures outside. Fortunately he wasn't the most human-looking, they wouldn't attack him on sight. Inferno opened the door, it's rusty hinges screeched.

Inferno didn't even need to traverse far, he immediately spotted a big magma cube right outside the box. He carefully snuck up on it, his sword raised. With one quick frosty stab, the magma cube melted. With the slightest hint of a smile, Inferno opened his bag and took out the bundle. He grabbed a handful of magma cream and carefully stored it inside. That's done, he thought.

Suddenly he heard a loud explosion behind him. Inferno spun around quickly, sword in his hand, and high on alert. The cobblestone box had broken. Somehow. Strange, a ghast couldn't have done that. While he was lost in thought, he failed to notice said creature right behind him. It was only when the ghast let out that scream, that Inferno snapped back to reality and dodged just in time and hid behind some netherrack. The fireball flew right past him, into the nether portal.

Shit.

No.

No..

No no no no no.

Panic surged right through Inferno. He didn't bring flint and steel. No. Okay. Stay calm.

The world around Inferno began spinning. He was stuck here.

No...

Void.

Oh no....

His hands trembled, he tried to pull himself back to reality, but his mind just kept spiraling. His breathing picked up rapidly, he clutched his chest. This was nothing. He could just look for flint and steal in the nearby fortresses. There was a fortress nearby, right?

...

No...

Chapter Text

Inferno woke up. His entire body hurt more than usual, he blinked a couple times. His surroundings gradually came back to him. Right. He was still stuck in the nether. For a moment Inferno forced his mind to forget and pretend he woke up next to Void. The moment was over immediately.

Now with more clarity, Inferno got the chance to actually think about what had happened. For one, ghasts don't attack him like that. They never have. To them he was just another strange creature of the nether. Infernos burn-scarred face was a real blessing sometimes.

Secondly, something, or someone, must've blown up the protective box of cobblestone and triggered the ghast to attack. But that was impossible. In this world it was just Void and him. An outcast enderman and a failed human. Inferno reluctantly stood up.

His sword was next to him, his bag was burned and unusable. That was the least of his worries. He picked up his sword Frostbite and used the red band around his waist to bind it to his belt. He'd have to climb.

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Inferno faced the giant wall of netherack. He dug his burned fingers into the soft rock and pulled himself up. Bit by bit, he reached the top. In front of him lied a beautiful blue warped forest, a stream of lava flowed through it. No mobs in sight.

The lava stream bubbled ominously, Inferno just stepped right through it. He had converted his blood to lava enough for it to make him resistant. That memory, late night experiments, lots of injections... Inferno shoved the thought back to the deepest corners of his mind, where it belonged.

Eventually he reached a small clearing, blue mushrooms grew all over it. He exhaled sharply, all of this was slowly getting to him. He needed to find a fortress. Quickly. Inferno took a couple deep breaths. Suddenly, he heard an oh so familiar warping sound. An enderman.

The tall creature had teleported right behind him. Inferno glanced up at it, right into its eyes. Those eyes... Such a beautiful pink... Void.. oh void.. how I had missed you... Inferno was pulled out of his thoughts by a sharp, throbbing pain in his side. The enderman, obviously NOT Void, was attacking him.

Inferno quickly stood up and drew his sword. Frostbite slashed coldly through the enderman. Inferno staggered for a second. That purple blood... Void. No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... He was once again reminded of harsh reality by another bite to his arm. Inferno struck the enderman one last time and watched it crumble to the ground, dead.

Tears threatened to well up in his eyes. Inferno swallowed hard and secured his sword back onto his belt. He hated killing endermen. He despised it even. They just.. they reminded him too much of his lover. They were one kin at the end of the day. Even though Void was an outcast due to his abnormally small size. Being outcasts always brought Void and Inferno closer. But here, among the firey creatures and biomes of the nether, Inferno felt a dreadful sense of belonging.

He sighed and forced his terrified gaze away from the dead enderman. He had to keep moving.

Chapter Text

Inferno didn't know how long he had been aimlessly wandering the nether. The scenery was awfully repetitive. If it wasn't red stone, it was grey stone. And if it wasn't stone he had to run from whatever creature took him as a good enough prey. But no matter what, Inferno knew one thing; he had to get home. Back to Void. And nothing else mattered.

So when he tore his sword out of the body of another hoglin, he forced down whatever feelings he might've felt. His old lab coat was barely white anymore, the blood seeped through the fabric, making it stick to his skin uncomfortably. Inferno breathed heavily. His muscles felt sore, he was so incredibly tired. He couldn't give in to the exhaustion, it threatened to pull him down. Inferno staggered, he had to keep himself upright by leaning on his sword. Going home felt impossible. With one sharp breath in he steadied himself and carried on.

And oh, was he glad he looked up. Right past this clearing, through a small gathering of trees, he could see the start of carefully crafted nether bricks. A fortress. Finally, after what felt like weeks, he found something that might help him out of here. Obsidian, flint and steel, he had hope for the first time in a long while. Inferno had no idea how much time had passed. He knew it must've been a while. His hair had grown out quite a bit. Inferno didn't dwell on it too much, for his own sanity.

With newfound strength, he climbed up the bricks, into the fortress. The first thing he saw was the raised sword of a wither skeleton. Inferno dodged the attack with practiced ease, quickly spinning around to sever the skull from the smoky body. It dissolved into a cloud of smoke before it could hit the floor. Inferno didn't even give it a second glance, he turned to advance deeper into the fortress.

Apart from the wither skeleton, it was eerily empty in these dark halls. Inferno held his sword tight, guard up and on high alert. Every single crackle of fire made him flinch, his eyes darted around wildly. Inferno felt paranoid, surely something would jump out at him any moment now. Yet it didn't, all that lingered was the silent dread of anticipation. Something creaked behind him. Before Inferno had time to react, an arrow impaled his left shoulder. It stung, fresh blood pooled out of the wound. It ran down his arm, slowly. Inferno shivered. He couldn't take care of the wound, or his attacker. He just ran, as fast and far as he possibly could.

His lungs burned, he felt so nauseous, his legs threatened to give in. Inferno kept running, the arrow in his shoulder made it increasingly difficult to keep going. He couldn't take it anymore. Inferno stumbled, his body crashed into the ground. For a moment he just lied there, gasping for air. He trembled, fighting unconsciousness. At some point he had dropped his sword. He couldn't remember where or when. He had been running for too long. The halls of the fortress seemingly infinite. Inferno took deep, shuddering breaths, trying anything to keep himself grounded. Then something caught his eye. Something painfully familiar. A wooden chest stood in the corner, right in front of him. Inferno dragged himself over to it. The weight of everything he'd been through kept him going as much as it wore him down.

With shaking hands he opened the chest. Inside, surrounded by gold, was a singular, shiny ender pearl. It felt like the world stopped. It should've. Inferno felt like he was frozen, staring at the purple particles coming from the pearl. They reminded him of something. He couldn't quite place what it was, it's been too long. It felt warm, safe, comfortable. It felt like everything this horrible place wasn't. Inferno gently picked the pearl up. He sunk to his knees, just taking in it's soft glow. He remembered a smile, or at least something that could only be translated as a smile. It was soft and bright. Similar to this pearl, yet Inferno knew whoever that was in his memories, would outshine any source of light. And it hurt. It hurt like no injury possibly could. The arrow in his shoulder was long forgotten. Inferno clutched the pearl to his chest, holding it impossibly close. At first, silent tears streamed down his face. Soon they turned into gut wrenching sobs. Slowly, the world around Inferno faded. Darkness overcame him, as his body finally gave out and he collapsed unconscious.