Characters present: Ion, Prince
Date: 1/24/24
Season: 3

[Ion enters into Prince’s mansion, their footsteps resonating with the sculk sensors around.]

[19:04:02] <?[rp] Ion> Prince! are you here?

[They turn a corner to find Prince Prime and the other Prince standing in a hall together.]

[19:04:19] <?[rp] Ion> oh hi

[19:04:22] <?[rp] Prince Prime> ohohoh!! who is this i hear and definitely didnt know was coming from a mile away?

[19:04:32] <?[rp] Ion> :)

[The second Prince looks them up and down.]

[19:04:35] <?[rp] Prince 2> oh hi ion

[19:04:40] <?[rp] Prince 2> nice duds

[They furrow their brow at the two Princes.]

[19:04:44] <?[rp] Ion> huh

[19:04:54] <?[rp] Ion> 2 princes?

[19:04:59] <?[rp] Prince Prime> yea!!

[19:05:07] <?[rp] Prince 2> split off. mitosis or something

[19:05:01] <?[rp] Ion> amazing!

[19:05:12] <?[rp] Prince Prime> what brings you to our humble abodes

[19:05:36] <?[rp] Prince Prime> oh! and could i get you something to drink?

[Ion looks serious for a moment.]

[19:05:37] <?[rp] Ion> i need help and my faction members are refusing

[19:05:48] <?[rp] Ion> scarm said i should go here

[They brighten up as they hear Prime mention a drink.]

[19:05:53] <?[rp] Ion> ooh drink?

[19:06:02] <?[rp] Ion> what do you have?

[19:06:12] <?[rp] Prince Prime> oh uhhh. water.

[19:06:18] <?[rp] Prince Prime> some. manner of tea. probably

[19:06:28] <?[rp] Prince Prime> probably some juices actually

[19:06:46] <?[rp] Ion> id love some tea

[The second Prince nods at what Ion had said.]

[19:06:03] <?[rp] Prince 2> right right, thats what we heard. kinda. it was kinda muffled- oh! scarm? whose scarm again

[19:06:37] <?[rp] Ion> scarm? um its an arm i think. also sculk. also sentient

[19:06:53] <?[rp] Prince 2> ohhhhhh. him. yeah

[19:07:12] <?[rp] Prince 2> okay how about you follow me to the dining room, and i can get you some tea?

[The two Princes lead Ion into the dining room.]

[19:07:17] <?[rp] Ion> ok!

[They settle in, the second Prince pulling out a chair for Ion.]

[19:07:38] <?[rp] Ion> oh this room is gorgeous

[19:07:42] <?[rp] Prince Prime> thank uuuuuu

[19:08:01] <?[rp] Prince Prime> anyways. you needed help yes?

[19:08:15] <?[rp] Ion> yes. its corroded

[Prime steeples his fingers.]

[19:08:24] <?[rp] Prince Prime> ahhh yes. them

[Ion makes a fist with their hand.]

[19:08:22] <?[rp] Ion> i want revenge

[19:08:35] <?[rp] Prince Prime> revenge! now that's something we can agree on

[19:08:39] <?[rp] Ion> they blew up the wedding and everything just went bad from there

[19:08:49] <?[rp] Ion> i want them to feel as bad as i did

[19:09:02] <?[rp] Prince Prime> rightttttt

[19:09:06] <?[rp] Ion> i loved that building. i put my heart into it

[19:09:17] <?[rp] Prince Prime> yeah,,, it looked beautiful as well

[19:09:25] <?[rp] Ion> i want them scared if not heartbroken

[The second Prince returns.]

[19:09:34] <?[rp] Prince 2> also. uh. didnt have tea.

[He holds out a bottle of Malfaction Vodka.]

[19:09:39] <?[rp] Prince 2> we. do have vodka though?

[19:09:46] <?[rp] Ion> ooh even better!

[They take it from him.]

[19:09:52] <?[rp] Ion> thank you!

[19:10:02] <?[rp] Prince Prime> glad you like it :)

[They take a drink of it, musing about a recent finding.]

[19:10:10] <?[rp] Ion> although this sculk seems to have the same sort of effect strangely

[19:10:21] <?[rp] Prince Prime> oh...? what kind

[Ion blinks.]

[19:10:29] <?[rp] Ion> oh wait that feels even better

[19:10:39] <?[rp] Prince Prime> alcohol will do that to you, yes

[19:10:39] <?[rp] Ion> its all numb and fuzzy

[19:10:43] <?[rp] Ion> nothing hurts

[19:10:50] <?[rp] Ion> fun!

[19:10:55] <?[rp] Prince 2> yes... that is true

[19:11:08] <?[rp] Prince 2> freedom from freedom we call it

[19:11:16] <?[rp] Prince 2> no thoughts, just follow

[19:11:18] <?[rp] Prince Prime> its nice

[19:11:35] <?[rp] Ion> now will you help me with corroded? i thought you might have some good ideas?

[19:11:44] <?[rp] Prince Prime> ohoho! of course

[19:12:01] <?[rp] Ion> two heads are better than one i suppose

[19:12:13] <?[rp] Prince Prime> yes, yes! definitely

[19:12:15] <?[rp] Prince Prime> hmmmm

[19:12:27] <?[rp] Prince 2> arent they having that new... what was it. festival coming?

[19:12:34] <?[rp] Ion> a festival?

[19:12:39] <?[rp] Ion> i hadn't heard

[19:13:07] <?[rp] Prince Prime> mmm yeah, i mean we didnt before like 5 minutes ago when we checked "scarm"'s memory banks for info

[19:13:18] <?[rp] Prince Prime> but apparently that's coming

[19:13:26] <?[rp] Prince 2> we could do something with that probably?

[Ion fumes, clenching both fists on the table now.]

[19:13:31] <?[rp] Ion> what do they have to celebrate? blowing up the wedding?

[19:13:40] <?[rp] Prince Prime> uhhhh let me check....

[Ion scowls.]

[19:13:47] <?[rp] Ion> they can't be having fun! that's not fair!

[19:14:06] <?[rp] Prince 2> i think theyre celebrating... something... i think its to take their minds off things probably

[19:14:13] <?[rp] Prince Prime> and also they got the "egg"

[19:14:23] <?[rp] Prince Prime> have no idea what kind of egg. but they sure got it now

[19:14:29] <?[rp] Ion> hmmm, the egg? I've heard that in passing

[19:14:36] <?[rp] Ion> no idea what it's about

[19:14:44] <?[rp] Prince 2> same here

[19:14:42] <?[rp] Prince 2> its important enough that they dont talk about it when "scarm" is there

[19:15:10] <?[rp] Ion> huh we couldn't just step on this egg could we? if its so important to them

[19:15:16] <?[rp] Ion> blow it up maybe

[19:15:19] <?[rp] Prince 2> prooobably not?

[19:15:31] <?[rp] Prince 2> i think its safeguarded somewhere

[19:15:46] <?[rp] Ion> hmm we can disrupt the festival though. I have no idea how to manage that

[Prime sits up suddenly.]

[19:16:05] <?[rp] Prince Prime> oooh! what about wardens?

[19:16:13] <?[rp] Ion> what about them?

[19:16:28] <?[rp] Prince 2> well. theyre big and loud. and kill things that make noise

[19:16:42] <?[rp] Prince Prime> festivals. are loud i think. so theyll kill people that are there probably?

[19:16:44] <?[rp] Ion> ohhh oh i see

[19:16:47] <?[rp] Ion> i like

[19:16:50] <?[rp] Ion> hmmm

[19:16:58] <?[rp] Ion> will the wardens be fine?

[19:17:05] <?[rp] Prince 2> hmmmm

[19:17:17] <?[rp] Prince 2> depends if corroded kills them, i guess

[19:17:35] <?[rp] Ion> the price of revenge i suppose

[They look down at their hands on the table, now slowly unclenched. Their palms are covered in a thin layer of sculk, it seems to glow brighter when they think about it.]

[19:17:50] <?[rp] Ion> i feel some attachment to creatures born of sculk depths

[19:17:58] <?[rp] Ion> i don't know why

[19:17:59] <?[rp] Prince Prime> really?!

[19:18:11] <?[rp] Prince 2> oh that's wonderful to hear actually

[19:18:15] <?[rp] Prince 2> finally someone that cares

[19:18:24] <?[rp] Ion> wardens, i didn't know they killed. i thought they were protectors

[19:18:39] <?[rp] Prince Prime> well, they protect by killing

[19:18:52] <?[rp] Ion> oh, i suppose that works

[19:18:56] <?[rp] Prince Prime> and if theyre put somewhere new and loud, they start 'protecting'

[19:19:13] <?[rp] Ion> how do we get them to corroded without the faction noticing?

[19:19:30] <?[rp] Prince Prime> portal travel!

[19:19:35] <?[rp] Prince Prime> i have some methods

[19:19:35] <?[rp] Ion> oooh

[19:19:44] <?[rp] Prince Prime> i can show you actually

[19:20:00] <?[rp] Ion> now? i'd love to see

[19:20:08] <?[rp] Prince Prime> if youre willing, yes

[19:20:15] <?[rp] Prince Prime> let's go then

[19:20:26] <?[rp] Prince Prime> the other me can stay for now, guard the fort and all that

[Ion waves goodbye to the other Prince.]

[19:20:34] <?[rp] Ion> bye other you!

[The other Prince seems to half smile for the first time in the entire conversation.]

[19:20:55] <?[rp] Prince 2> bye ion!! it was nice talking to you again!!

[Prime leads Ion through the Malfaction in the direction of the underground Nether portal.]

[19:21:33] <?[rp] Ion> its so cold here

[19:21:44] <?[rp] Prince Prime> it is!

[19:21:57] <?[rp] Ion> we don't get snow in wisteria

[19:22:01] <?[rp] Prince Prime> oh really?

[19:22:10] <?[rp] Ion> but its beautiful

[19:22:16] <?[rp] Ion> the snow is

[19:22:31] <?[rp] Prince Prime> that's nice to hear

[19:22:09] <?[rp] Prince Prime> is it hot there?

[19:22:34] <?[rp] Ion> more like mild. its not as sweltering as corroded at any rate

[19:22:44] <?[rp] Prince Prime> most of the other people that come over here just complain about the chill

[19:23:06] <?[rp] Ion> thats a shame

[19:23:19] <?[rp] Prince Prime> it is

[The two leave the Malfaction, and travel through the nether until they reach the Nether Hub, where they travel up it to the Nether roof above.]

[19:25:25] <?[rp] Prince Prime> the nether roof! very blank

[Ion marvels at the long expanse of bedrock on all sides, and towering structures faint in the distance. A thick fog seems to permeate in every direction.]

[19:25:38] <?[rp] Ion> I ve never been up here before

[19:25:52] <?[rp] Prince Prime> really?

[19:26:06] <?[rp] Ion> i spend all my time below

[19:26:16] <?[rp] Prince Prime> fair enough to be honest

[19:26:21] <?[rp] Prince Prime> nothing much to see up here

[19:26:28] <?[rp] Ion> there was this thing i built down there

[19:26:33] <?[rp] Ion> at least i think i did

[19:26:38] <?[rp] Prince Prime> oooh what was it?

[19:26:52] <?[rp] Ion> some small sandstone castle

[19:27:09] <?[rp] Ion> there were orange mushrooms that grew around it

[19:27:24] <?[rp] Prince Prime> was it near the wisterian portals? cus i think ive seen that

[19:27:44] <?[rp] Ion> yes , i put some moss in it to make it friendly :)

[They arrive at some aimless point in the distance from where they entered the Nether roof. Prime stamps the ground with his foot.]

[19:28:16] <?[rp] Prince Prime> tis the spot!

[19:28:24] <?[rp] Ion> oh my goodness

[19:28:27] <?[rp] Prince Prime> if im not wrong, we are directly above corroded's place

[19:28:35] <?[rp] Ion> amazing!

[19:28:39] <?[rp] Prince Prime> portal. place. same thing. yes

[19:28:42] <?[rp] Ion> this is perfect!

[19:28:46] <?[rp] Prince Prime> yes!!

[Ion rubs their hands together.]

[19:29:01] <?[rp] Ion> i can't wait to see their faces :)

[19:29:07] <?[rp] Prince Prime> heeh yea

[19:29:44] <?[rp] Ion> by the way do you know what quarantine is? my faction seem to think its some party cake, but scarm wasn't sure

[The sculk on Prime’s skin begins to glow.]

[19:29:44] <?[rp] Prince Prime> but before that- shall we bring in our "Protectors?"

[Ion nods.]

[19:30:05] <?[rp] Ion> yes of course

[Prime gets caught up in Ion’s questioning, stopping for a moment.]

[19:29:55] <?[rp] Prince Prime> quarantine...

[19:30:19] <?[rp] Prince Prime> i thinkkk ive heard a phrase like that before... when one of my colleagues made a bio-weapon

[19:30:35] <?[rp] Ion> that's odd. did they celebrate it with cake?

[19:30:45] <?[rp] Prince Prime> no i dont think so?

[19:30:36] <?[rp] Prince Prime> something about keeping someone away from something

[19:31:02] <?[rp] Prince Prime> i think they put her in a cage and then they had to wear hazmat suits to visit her

[19:30:44] <?[rp] Ion> odd

[19:30:59] <?[rp] Ion> hmm maybe scarm was right

[19:31:11] <?[rp] Ion> but why would they lie?

[19:31:32] <?[rp] Prince Prime> wellll i think. if im being honest and true right now

[19:31:39] <?[rp] Prince Prime> i think theyre jealous of your sculk swag

[19:32:11] <?[rp] Ion> thats it! of course! i've been leaving more sculk around wisteria to help them along

[19:32:21] <?[rp] Ion> but they don't seem affected

[Prime begins to work. From the cavity in his chest, he begins to pull out handfuls of thick sculk. Wherever he places them on the ground, catalysts begin to grow, bones closing like sharp teeth out of the original bundle of spore. He places them down in a specific configuration, continuing as he talks.]

[19:32:37] <?[rp] Prince Prime> wellll the sculk is a bit special y'see

[19:32:47] <?[rp] Ion> that it is

[19:32:58] <?[rp] Prince Prime> its actually. reallly really hard to get someone to vibe with it

[19:33:05] <?[rp] Ion> strange

[19:33:12] <?[rp] Ion> i thought it was easy

[19:33:19] <?[rp] Prince Prime> nah its quite hard

[19:33:45] <?[rp] Prince Prime> to get someone to vibe with it, you gotta have little to no resistance to it in the first place

[19:33:55] <?[rp] Ion> after i got your letter i went to where i knew there was sculk, at spawn. it wrapped itself around me at once and i slept for so long

[19:34:03] <?[rp] Ion> it was so welcoming

[19:34:13] <?[rp] Ion> and all the hurt went away at once

[19:34:35] <?[rp] Ion> i don't know why anyone would resist that

[19:34:42] <?[rp] Prince Prime> right??

[Prime begins at each catalyst, reaching deep inside the swirling maw, and pulling out endless handfuls of sculk, shaping them into the empty vessels of warden-like bodies.]

[19:34:23] <?[rp] Prince Prime> well i think youre special

[Ion watches Prince work.]

[19:34:57] <?[rp] Ion> so when does the festival happen?

[19:35:06] <?[rp] Prince Prime> probably a few more days i would say

[Prince stands from his most recently sculpted warden, his hands are covered in sculk.]

[19:35:19] <?[rp] Prince Prime> i think... because this is your revenge, you should be its presenter you know?

[19:35:33] <?[rp] Prince Prime> folks love it when you have a speech when youre invading a place

[19:35:54] <?[rp] Ion> we let them have a bit of celebrating? then we hit them when they're all gathered together. Is there a point in the festival when they all get together?

[19:36:07] <?[rp] Prince Prime> maybe! i dont know

[19:36:16] <?[rp] Prince Prime> i could send no. 2 to spy and report back to us

[19:36:30] <?[rp] Ion> that's a good idea!

[Ion nods to himself.]

[19:36:44] <?[rp] Ion> i think i would like to say a few words to them

[19:36:44] <?[rp] Prince Prime> scarm's also probably gonna be there, but he usually realizes when im looking into his memories

[19:36:59] <?[rp] Ion> scarm's a friend isn't he?

[19:37:10] <?[rp] Prince Prime> ehhh, let's say he's a neutral party

[Ion seems surprised.]

[19:37:14] <?[rp] Ion> oh

[19:37:41] <?[rp] Prince Prime> he's a fan of the whole sculk thing, cus he's basically me after all, but he's under Doc's leash

[19:37:41] <?[rp] Ion> well i'm glad there's two of you at any rate. i feel like you're the only person i can trust at the moment

[19:37:56] <?[rp] Prince Prime> same here!

[19:38:00] <?[rp] Ion> :)

[Prime closes his eyes, and lifts his hands up, almost in silent prayer. His palms begin to glow with bioluminescent light, before he presses them into the warden vessel. The lines and shapes along the warden begin to glow. Its eyes become imbued with a sudden vibrant cyan light.]

[19:38:55] <?[rp] Ion> oh wow, what was that?

[Prime pulls away.]

[19:39:23] <?[rp] Prince Prime> just giving it some intelligence, so it actually 'becomes' a warden

[19:39:45] <?[rp] Ion> that's .. beautiful...

[19:39:52] <?[rp] Prince Prime> thank you!!

[19:39:58] <?[rp] Prince Prime> finally someone appreciates it!!

[19:40:45] <?[rp] Ion> i just hope the wardens don't suffer for our plan. i'd hate that

[19:41:17] <?[rp] Prince Prime> its okay, even if they die, they just return to a catalyst

[19:41:30] <?[rp] Ion> oh

[19:41:33] <?[rp] Ion> wow

[19:41:36] <?[rp] Ion> i love that

[19:41:45] <?[rp] Prince Prime> and if theyre placed back down, the souls inside will return to the whole of the Echo as if they've never left

[19:42:22] <?[rp] Ion> the echo

[19:42:33] <?[rp] Prince Prime> another name for the sculk

[19:42:40] <?[rp] Ion> yes, there's some comfort there

[19:42:48] <?[rp] Prince Prime> mhmm

[19:42:53] <?[rp] Prince Prime> so dont worry about them

[19:42:56] <?[rp] Ion> ohhh im excited for this now

[19:43:04] <?[rp] Prince Prime> itll be fun!

[19:43:05] <?[rp] Ion> this is going to be fun

[19:43:14] <?[rp] Ion> and satisfying!

[19:43:47] <?[rp] Ion> can i help at all?

[19:44:30] <?[rp] Prince Prime> you can help by becoming our presenter!

[19:44:38] <?[rp] Prince Prime> im not much for flashy stuff

[19:44:59] <?[rp] Prince Prime> you can tell them all about what you feel, make them really riled up and scared

[19:45:14] <?[rp] Ion> i have to say i'm not the most confident of people. but since the sculk, i get less scared

[19:45:23] <?[rp] Prince Prime> that's good!

[19:45:32] <?[rp] Prince Prime> prepare something if youre still unsure on what to say

[19:45:33] <?[rp] Ion> maybe with vodka and sculk i could talk to them all. hmmm

[19:45:47] <?[rp] Prince Prime> ill get you some on the day! malfaction is chock full with those

[Ion fidgets with her hands.]

[19:46:06] <?[rp] Ion> this will be strange. the wizard will be there won't he?

[19:46:16] <?[rp] Prince Prime> oh. yes. he will

[19:46:30] <?[rp] Ion> i used to listen to his radio all the time, now it's me he'll be listening to

[19:46:39] <?[rp] Ion> how the roles reverse

[19:46:43] <?[rp] Prince Prime> ohoho!

[19:46:45] <?[rp] Ion> and finch

[19:47:12] <?[rp] Ion> and finch

[19:47:25] <?[rp] Ion> they wanted me to forgive them after the wedding

[19:47:38] <?[rp] Ion> maybe after this i can finally do that

[19:47:50] <?[rp] Prince Prime> sounds like a plan

[Ion finally looks back up at Prince.]

[19:48:03] <?[rp] Ion> meet you back before the festival?

[19:48:09] <?[rp] Prince Prime> mhm!

[19:48:16] <?[rp] Prince Prime> we'll get everything setup

[19:48:18] <?[rp] Ion> fantastic!

[19:48:21] <?[rp] Prince Prime> and then. the attack!

[19:48:26] <?[rp] Ion> revenge!

[19:48:26] <?[rp] Prince Prime> this is gonna be so good

[19:48:35] <?[rp] Ion> i can't wait :)

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