Archive of Our Own ^beta

They speak of the wild boy of the woods, the one who speaks in bittern calls and the rustle of leaves. He’s young, or maybe just skinny; a presence that makes that dangerous forest something special. More friendly. Should you enter the woods, you know he’s there. Silent, but watching, keeping you safe from wild wolves and the reawakened dead. You may hear his laughter if you trip over a root, the soft giggle of a boy who knows only how to be happy.

Of course such a mystery brought curiosity. Two of the rough n’ tumble town boys, a curly headed leader wearing a bearskin and his raggedy companion found themselves at the edge of the forest.

“You go in first,” said the one with the bearskin.

“No way! You first. You’re the leader,” replied the other.

They both stared into the woods, wondering. Scared. But neither would admit it. So what if no one had seen the wild boy? They were going to, today. That was that. Even so, they’d run into an issue.

“Then who’s going to go first? I’m the leader, and I say you. Bet you’re too scared .” He cackled, shoving his friend.

“Michael! I’m not scared , ‘s just, y’know we were always told to stay away from the woods. We don’t even know what the wild boy is . He could be like- like- a ghost , or anything! Who knows!”

“Jeremy, that definitely sounds like you’re scared. What, you’re scared of ghosts? They aren’t real, duh.”

“That’s not true. I’ve seen ‘em.”

Michael and Jeremy were staring at each other. Neither of their lips had moved, just then. The voice came from the woods in front of them. They both swallowed, then slowly turned to see a boy their age standing there, covered in mottled fabrics and leaves.

They screamed.

“Well that’s not very nice. You said you wanted to see me, but then yell when you do. Ought to keep quiet, y’know. Creepers can hear better than you can.”

Jeremy and Michael stared at the boy. They didn’t know they’d find him so easily- or that he’d just be a regular human boy, if not a little dirty. They were both pretty gross themselves. That isn’t what was intimidating. What was so intimidating was that wasn’t just mottled fabric- it was a leather made from creeperskin. Such a young person, who’d managed to kill one of the most dangerous creatures of the forest?

It made them wonder if he was truly as young as he looked.

The wild boy stared at them, slowly kind of slumping and crooking his head to the side. After only a few seconds, he seemed a bit bored. Were they really just going to look at him?

Michael let go of Jeremy and stood tall. He thinks he’s the tallest; at least, at a glance, he is. He puffs his chest and steps forward.

“You got a name?”

“Gavin. Is that really all you have to ask, Michael, Jeremy?”

Hearing the wild boy say their names sets them on edge, but they did say their names just moments ago. It wasn’t a shock he knew them. Michael continued to size Gavin up, but then Jeremy decided to make a move.

“Do you wanna play together?”

This time, Gavin seemed to be surprised. He looked at the two boys, wondering if it was a trap- but they looked a bit dumb. He would be fine.

“Alright. C’mon, I know a fun place, and I can get us there safe! The wolves there are friendly and they just had puppies, we can hold ‘em!”

Well. If there’s a better way to entice a young lad than offering him a puppy, I’d never know. The three took off into the woods without a care. They’d say they were instant friends. They all loved to wrestle, to play tricks, even to just shout and be loud. But they also all liked to sit in quiet, they learned; as time passed, the three boys grew into teens, then adults together. Jeremy and Michael always returned to the village, and Gavin remained the wild man. He was never comfortable under a ceiling.

One night, as the lads decided to all sleep in the clearing with wolves around them, they spoke gently to one another. There had always been so much to talk about. The echo of a laugh reflected in the way the moon shone down on them; it seemed to tease at how Gavin had been a legend, at some point.

For now, they spoke about legends, too.

“Have I really never told you about the Dragon?”

Jeremy snorted. “Of course not,” he said, “don’t you think we would have gone to see it if you had?”

For once, fear blanches Gavin’s face. “No, no, you must never see the Dragon. The legend goes that the Dragon ends everything. Just seeing it means that it's the End. Call it the Ender Dragon, because of that.”

“Ender? Really? Wouldn’t like… the Apocalypse Dragon, or the Fierce Dragon work better?”

Gavin snorts, but he shakes his head. “No, its Ender. I’m sure of it. That’s what I was told.”

Michael hums, suddenly, and he turns to look at Gavin. “You’ve never told us who tells you all these stories. Who'd you hear this from?”

Gavin gets a bit cagey, worried. He knows they won't like the answer, but it's the one they'll get, because it's the truth.

“I don't rightly know. He's always wearing a mask. He said he might tell me his name, one day, but he hasn't yet. I promise he's real!”

Michael and Jeremy both seem surprised. They know Gavin extremely well; at this point, they’ve been an inseparable trio for going on 10 years. Gavin had been there for them as Michael and Jeremy both took up their knight training, just to be able to protect Gavin too. And in all this time, they’d never known Gavin had other friends.

“Can we meet him?”

While Jeremy asks a simple question, the answer is anything from easy. Gavin shuffles, a bit nervous, but he sits up enough that he can stoke the campfire. He throws more and more coals on it, making it into a raging fire, then extinguishes it with an entire bucket of water, all at once. It smolders and sends up a huge smoke trail.

In front of the boys, they see a glisten of purple, and then something is there.

He’s tall. Gavin had started growing far beyond Michael and Jeremy, but even Gavin was dwarfed. This creature wore a tunic ended in red, woven green strands flowing through it. His top half almost seemed to be wearing a suit. It was so incredibly different from what they knew, but so was he. His skin was so incredibly dark, purple flecks chipping off of him.

Humans had to work hard for the magic they needed for weapons and potions. This creature had plenty to spare.

But the worst was his mask.

It was black as well; solid tar with violet glowing glass for eyes. Hair poked up from the top of his head, as if he were human indeed. But there was no secret that he was not.

“Gavin ,” he says, voice sounding both like a nightmare and a dream, “ You have guests. Are these they? Your warriors?”

“Yes! Sorry I've never introduced you. This one is Michael and this one is Jeremy. They're my best friends! Michael, Jeremy, this is my friend. I've named him Edgar, since he doesn't want to tell me his true name.”

“What you do not know will not hurt you. It's enough I let you see me; you shouldn't be allowed at all, but you are special, as I am special. We were meant to be a match.”

Michael and Jeremy can't do much more than stare. After all, what the fuck are you meant to do? Sure, they'd long accepted Gavin was weird. He always had these crazy stories about things that couldn't have happened; he talked about metal ships that flew through the sky, a wasteland canyon where two groups warred, the mystical weapons and mysterious magic that brought four girls together. That, they were used to. Insane tales Gavin told as if he'd been there.

But this? He'd spoken of something as mundane as just a dragon. What sort of story was it that the dragon would end the world? Every dragon was supposed to destroy, said the legends. And Gavin had never spoken of something so simple. All his stories were so farfetched, there wasn't any way they could be real.

And yet. Here stood a man they could hardly comprehend. His inky black was only visible through those neon eyes. They cast a light easy enough to see.

It was silent, for a moment longer, then Michael spoke.

“Nice to meet you, Edgar. You're. A real. Freak of nature. You're horrifying, holy shit.”

Edgar laughs with the sound of stars shattering. "Thank you,” he replies.

This makes Jeremy choke out a laugh. Edgar turns to look at him now, and Jeremy quiets down with those bright eyes looking at him. He really can’t get over him.

Gavin decides to keep them going, and he pats Edgar's side, which is about as high as he can reach without trying to high-five his shoulder. “So, Eddy, do you want to tell us all about the Ender Dragon?”

Edgar sits down beside them, and he does.

“The Ender Dragon was born, but not like the rest of us. She was brought forth to fulfill destiny. There was always one who was chosen; someone the universe deemed theirs from the start. She’s meant to combat them. She threatens all life by merely existing, and this is her sin. Someone will decide to destroy her one day, for if she manages to leave the End, she will take it with her. Her scouts, the humans she has corrupted with her dust, the Ender Men, they allow her to see through her eyes.”

Edgar leans forward, and he begins to draw in the dirt. He draws a dragon, horns and wings and tail showing how fierce she is and how she’s unlike anything else they’ve ever seen. He draws pillars surrounding her, and little people walking along the ground.

“This is her palace. An island of stone, with pillars that heal her stretching into the sky. She is very powerful, but with those pillars, she is impossible to fight. No one may hope to destroy her like that. To fight her, the destined one must be skilled with sword, shield, and bow. They must know healing as well as they know hurt. Her Ender Men, they cannot see you unless you see them. To make eye contact is to draw their ire.”

The three boys listened to Edgar explain, and he continued further still. He said that the only way to get to the end at all was to befriend a stray Ender Man, or kill several and mix their eyes with the powder from a blaze. These would lead you to one of her strongholds. From there, you should be able to fill the frame with those same eyes and it will lead you through a void and into her home.

Edgar was very knowledgeable. He knew so much about this dragon and how she worked; they wondered, then, why that was. But Edgar suddenly jerked his head up, and stood.

“I must go. I am being called. But you should take this with you.”

He takes out a small pouch, and puts it into their hands. He vanishes in a puff of purple smoke, particles drifting through the air behind him. Inside the pouch is a layer of little flowers, dandelions and poppies and lillies. They seemed to be protecting something bigger. Underneath, there were tulips. Wrapped in between the petals of each one were gem-green eyes, dusted with an orange powder that made them glow.

After what they had been told, there was no question what these were. Gavin and Michael and Jeremy all looked between themselves, then zipped the bag shut.

They had been brought together years ago, not by chance. They believed in Fate. In Destiny. Gavin’s friend that he’d had for years, upon meeting them, gave them what could only be the Eyes of the Enders. It meant something. They smiled together, Jeremy swinging his arms up onto Gavin and Michael’s shoulders.

“Looks like we’ve gotta go to the End.”

---

Of course, such a thing is easier said than done. The townspeople noticed a change in Jeremy and Michael. The two were skilled warriors, but they were training more often than usual now, and had even gotten the wild boy out of the woods and onto the training field. He was skilled with a bow, as if he’d used one his whole life. They knew, though, that he hadn’t. With a sword he was more out of practice. It was much heavier, and though his arms were strong, Gavin was unwieldy with it. Michael and Jeremy decided they would be best as the swordsmen, and Gavin to have the bow.

One of the knights of the village, a woman with short hair, had entrusted the her dear sister to the potions master for a moment alone. She found the boys training. She had helped Michael and Jeremy to learn the sword; she had grown up beside them, but was very talented in the beginning. She wanted to help.

“I’m not sure, Z. I mean, it’s- it’s our destiny. I think.” Jeremy turned to the other two, a bit nervous. Thankfully, Michael was much more brave.

“You can’t see it through to the End with us, but you can help us get there. If we don’t make it to the gateway so we can do this, there’s not much point. We’d love to have you.”

Michael grinned and offered his hand to her, grabbing ahold and tugging her so their shoulders bumped. She smiled in return, and said she looked forward to it.

This ended up attracting more attention. Another troublemaker, who’d found discipline in swords, and the potions master themself decided they ought to come along as well. Another sword would never hurt, and potions would help to heal them, should they find themselves injured along the way.

In the end, this would all be perfect for them. Their team had come together; three boys who always were, and their 3 companions who became legend because of them.

Gavin was chosen to release the first Eye of Ender. It flew fast into the sky, and they chase. They chased through the forest, into a jungle, down through a temple and into a hold of stone and iron. It looked to be a fortress long forgotten. The rattle of bones told them otherwise.

An arrow flew towards them, and they knew they had finally arrived to the fight.

The found a library, first. Ancient books covered in cobwebs that instantly drew the eye of the potions master. They wished to stay and collect some books, and would make sure no one else would follow them deeper into the stronghold. Their larger companion said he would stay behind as well, to make sure the potions master remained safe. Just as they’d become a part of their adventure, they parted.

They found prison cells, filled with the skeletons of those whose crimes would be left unremembered. Hands of rotting flesh and bone reached, the monsters they’d become groaning for the flesh of the living. Gavin, ever kind, shot an arrow into the head of each one. They’d suffered here long enough. As they bowed their heads in respect, they heard the hiss of something else.

Something… much more dangerous.

Not a creeper, though it was their first thought. Gavin knew the smell of a creeper too well, could sense one from 40 blocks. This was something else entirely. This next room, the one down the next staircase… this was it. The four companions looked between one another and tightened their grips on their weapons.

At the end of the staircase, lava bubbled.

Giant insects, silverfish, crawled across the floor and up the body of an impossibly tall creature who sat on a ring of pedestals. A few of these pedestals had Eyes of Ender within their cavities. It was obvious what they had to do here. But there was someone else; someone they hadn’t expected at all.

At first thought it was Edgar. But no- it didn’t have the same clothes as before. It did not speak. When their eyes drifted to this creature’s face, its jaw dropped and it screamed.

Michael charged forward first. He slashed his sword towards the void of its chest to meet nothing at all. Michael stumbled, but was grabbed by the back of his shirt and slung into the wall. Michael shouted, and slumped for a moment, shaking. It had teleported behind him in an instant. How could they combat that?

Jeremy grabbed the arm of their knight and whispered, hurriedly. Gavin took aim and shot, the dusting on his arrows causing it to scream again. Static was filling their heads; they were beginning to panic. They knew how to stay calm in a situation like this, they were trained fighters, but this sound- its unlike anything they’d ever experienced.

Jeremy and the knight charged forward together, swinging their swords in tandem. This time, when it dodged Jeremy’s blade, the knight caught it on her swing. Purple sparks flew from its flesh. They didn’t stop to contemplate. They needed it out of their way, for its screams to stop, to get to the End. Their journey wasn’t long but they already ached for it to be over.

Michael stood again, and he pierced the monster from behind, when it expected nothing. Gavin took advantage of their distraction and frantically began placing the eyes, filling in empty spaces. They were going to go.

Even with all the firepower from the warriors, it still stood. This was a very powerful monster indeed. The starry night lit up in the center of the portal, otherworldly and infinite.

“It’s open!” Gavin shouted. The creature turned towards him, and it screamed anew. They heard the sound of footsteps, and their other companions arrived. The potions master glowed with a new magic; there was a book in their hand. It seemed the library had done them good.

The knight who fought the creature alongside them shouted in return. “We’ll take care of it here! Go- you’ve got a destiny waiting for you!”

Michael, Gavin, and Jeremy caught eyes with one another. It was time. Gavin jumped in, followed by Jeremy, as fast as he could go. Michael climbed up and stopped for a second, and he stood at the edge of the portal.

“No matter what happens, or where we all end up, I’ll never forget you!”

And then he fell.

It was dark.

Impossibly dark- through the black they could feel hands reaching for them. Was it their friends? Or foes?

They landed, softly, on a platform of stone. There were the soft dips of footsteps in the rock. Things had lived here a long time before they arrived. The three looked around, orienting themselves, and finally settled on up.

Obsidian pillars reached far beyond, into the starless sky. Crystals, the same purple of Edgar's eyes, sat atop each one. They spun slowly, each in a cage of iron bars. Protected. Obviously important. There were replicas of that same creature they’d just fought, what they could now only assume to be Ender Men, wandering the plains of stone. They didn’t move. They weren’t sure where the dragon was.

A deep rumbling warned them she was closer than they might think.

The three boys were laid out flat by the force of her wing slamming them into the floor. She flew past them, roaring out what nearly sounded like a laugh. Of course she would think them weak. What heroes fall on the first strike?

But what heroes don’t get back up?

All three stumbled upright, glaring after her. She was as dark as the night itself, only visible by her bright purple eyes. It was nearly impossible to catch a view of her. She was fast. She was dark. Once far enough, a crystal flashed and began to cast a light towards her, showing where she was, but making her seem to glow as well.

Healing her.

Once he was able, Gavin stood upright, launching arrows at those crystals. They were far, but his arm was strong and his aim impeccable. He struck on the second shot. The crystal lasted a second before shattering. The beam fizzed out from it. The lads all looked between one another, and they knew it had begun.

The dragon turned, only to see one of her towers was lost. She roared at them, and dived down.

There are stories of epic battles. Warriors of ancient times who tricked the dragon, who slayed them with a single stroke, who befriended them instead. The stories are normally far from what really happened, and even farther from what happened here. The fight seemed to take ages; and at the same time, fast, a blur. Everything was darkness except for the blinding white stone under them, the piercing purple of her eyes, the same color reflected in the eyes of the Ender Men around them, staring, staring, watching as they were battered by the flying beast herself.

It seems like hours. It seems like minutes. The dragon has long since lost her healing pillars; Gavin made sure of that. Her wings were cut by the determined blades of Michael and Jeremy. She was tired. They were tired.

The End held no glory, it seemed.

Gavin shot another arrow, colliding with the shoulder of her wing. There was a crack, then she tilted heavily. Though she was falling it was with finesse, she forced past pain and arched the now broken wing out to the side. Michael turned to run back, catching sight of her eyes too late, but too late was always how it happened.

He was swallowed by the void of her skin, and they felt instantly he wasn’t there anymore. Jeremy screamed. Their parents had joked they were born holding hands, and now- he was gone.

“Jeremy! Keep your head about you!”

But Gavin’s cry was unheard.

Jeremy charged, sword drawn, and the dragon waited. Waited for just a second, then grabbed him in her mouth. Crushing, blood boiling up to his surface but he was determined. Angled his sword and sliced, cut near through the underside of her neck. The damage was done. Gavin watched as Jeremy fell to the ground, shaking hard enough that all he could do was turn his face away, so Gavin wouldn’t have to see it.

The dragon’s blood soaked him through before Gavin could get a glimpse, anyway.

“So it is you, and me. You are very lucky you had these companions. I would have eaten you whole, and been free. But instead it seems you survive. Very lucky indeed.”

Her voice was overwhelming. It echoed through his head and Gavin stumbled. He was in shock; his two friends, dead. Gone. He didn’t know what to do. And now the dragon was speaking to him. It was too surreal.

He couldn’t- his mission. Can’t forget. Arrow- out of the quiver. Line it up. Pull back the string. Aim. Silence. Don’t breathe. Don’t listen. You can’t hear her. She doesn’t have anything important to say to you. You don’t need to listen. This is destiny. She is still. Unmoving. Making it easy. Just.

Fire.

The arrow knocks her off-balance. Her head jerks to the side and sways in an unnatural way. Her wings stretch out and she forces herself to fly, pushing up into the air though she shouldn’t. Her wounds begin to glow- first, purple, then lavender, white, blinding white, scorching white, then he has to shut his eyes and for a second- his world goes red.

When he opens them again, she is gone. All that’s there is a bedrock portal filled with the same void that brought him here. Gavin drops to his knees and hurries forward. The dragon’s blood is gone. Nothing is left. Where are his boys? Could he not even get their bodies to mourn over? Gavin almost couldn’t cry at all. It was too sudden for him to fully comprehend that was it. He stares at the solid black egg there and he almost wants to smash it out of spite.

Instead, he snatches it up in the bag Edgar gave to them, and he jumps into the portal.

A warm embrace catches him as he watches a book open.

Two different colored texts begin to appear, and his heart clenches as he watches.

Then he wakes up crying.

Michael and Jeremy are there, holding him tightly and looking panicked.

“Boys?”

They immediately look down. Gavin looks gorgeous there, tired, but surrounded by the wildflowers of the field that they’re in. None of them remember how they got here. Gavin holds the bag with the egg against his chest. He moves it aside, standing a little shaky, but he’s alright. Gavin turns to both of his boys, the two he’s always been with, who he’s been through everything with, and he can only smile.

Michael tries to hold onto Gavin’s shoulders, tears tickling at his own eyes, but he has to know. He opens his mouth to ask, did you do it? Is she dead? But his words are interrupted by the softness of lips he hadn’t expected.

Gavin turns to Jeremy, holds one of his hands as he leans down to kiss him as well. Jeremy looks just as stunned as Michael. They both stand there, staring at Gavin as he just doesn’t stop crying.

Both of them remain silent as he speaks.

“They told me- the fates themselves, the makers of everything, I think, they told me. We were always meant to be together. As friends, as, as whatever we want. I’m going to dream better, to be happy with you, to do anything- we’re free to do anything. We reached the end and we can keep going. We can talk about everything later- Come on. Let’s get back to the village and tell them.”

Gavin finally wipes away his tears, and he ties the egg to his belt. He needs his hands free. He grabs onto both of his boys, turning and heading back the way he’s always known home was.

And he remembers what he saw.

the universe said I love you

and the universe said everything you need is within you

and the universe said you are stronger than you know

and the universe said you are the daylight

and the universe said you are the night

and the universe said the darkness you fight is within you

and the universe said the light you seek is within you

and the universe said you are not alone

and the universe said you are not separate from every other thing

and the universe said you are the universe tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own code

and the universe said I love you because you are love.