Cubicle to Cube World

Markle trek across the plains determined to start anew. He tugged at his makeshift pack of dirt, sticks, and scraps he'd cobbled together from yesterday's disaster.

"Note to self," he grumbled, glancing up at the endless sky. "Maybe find some actual tools. And, oh, I don't know, figure out how people live longer than a day here without turning into dinner."

His wandering soon brought him over a gentle rise in the land, revealing a small village nestled between sparse trees and a modest stream. His blocky eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Finally, some signs of life!" Markle said aloud, breaking into a jog as hope spurred him forward.

The village was disappointingly quiet. A few vacant homes stood in disrepair—roofs missing, crops withering in empty fields. The telltale hum of an iron golem's patrol was missing entirely. Markle's shoulders sank as he reached the first house.

"Well, so much for the grand welcome party," he muttered, leaning into a doorway. The interior was lacking anything useful, save for a bed with a broken frame and a chest as empty as his stomach.

A soft sound caught his attention, a hushed conversation carried on the wind. Markle froze, tilting his head. He followed the sound to the largest house in the village, peeking cautiously through a window.

Two figures stood inside, one hunched over a table filled with what appeared to be redstone components, and the other pacing with wild energy.

The pacing figure stopped abruptly, spotting him. Her silvery hair caught the light as she placed her hands on her hips, glaring. "Oi! What do you think you're doing, peeping into people's windows?"

"Whoa!" Markle backed away, hands up. "Didn't mean to… uh, bad timing. Is that a thing here? Privacy?"

The other figure, a wiry man with red goggles perched on his head, leaned out of the doorframe. "Who's shouting, Miya?" he asked, raising a brow at Markle. "Oh, hey. Stranger danger alert?"

"Not a threat!" Markle blurted. "Just passing through. Really not into the whole zombie thing, so I figured a village might be safer than, uh, the wilderness?"

The woman, Miya, exchanged a look with her brother. "Well, he's not undead," she said begrudgingly. Then, she added with a smirk, "Not much of a looker, though."

"Gee, thanks," Markle replied dryly. "And here I thought I was making an excellent first impression."

The man chuckled, waving Markle inside. "Don't mind her. She's like that with everyone. Name's Vyran. That's Miya, my sister. Welcome to... what's left of our village."

"What happened here?" Markle asked as he stepped in, glancing at the barren room and cluttered workbench.

Miya sighed, her teasing demeanor faltering. "Used to be lively. Plenty of villagers, trades, the usual. Then the mobs came, and it went downhill fast."

"We tried to hold out," Vyran added, fidgeting with a piece of redstone. "But there were too many of them. The golems fell first, then our defenses, and everyone either left or..." His voice trailed off, leaving the rest to imagination.

Markle nodded solemnly, digesting their words. "So it's just you two now?"

"Yep," Miya replied with a shrug. "Keeping the fort... or what's left of it."

"You're welcome to hang around, but it's not much of a life," Vyran added, glancing towards the doorway. "And not exactly safe, either. We've been meaning to move on, but..."

"It's hard to leave the only home you've ever known," Miya finished quietly.

The silence stretched between them before Markle spoke. "I get it. Starting fresh isn't easy." He hesitated before adding, "If it helps, I'm kinda figuring things out myself. We could... team up or something."

Vyran gave a thoughtful suggestion. Miya studied Markle for a long moment before she grinned. "All right, rookie. You've got yourself some teammates. But don't make us regret it."

Markle smiled faintly with his confidence flickering like the village's broken torches. "Deal. Let's figure this out together."

Miya slapped her hands together, sending a small cloud of dust into the air. "Right! If we're leaving this dump behind, we'd better do it right. Grab what you can, Vy."

Vyran nodded, already rummaging through a chest filled with odds and ends. "Goodbye, broken beds and useless bookshelves. We'll always remember you, fondly and as firewood."

Markle looked between them, mildly amused. "You two make this whole 'abandon your life and start fresh' thing seem oddly... casual."

"What's the point in moping?" Miya said, shruggingly. "Besides, I'm sure there's a better view waiting for us out there."

As they sorted through their belongings, Markle took the opportunity to glance around the room. He hadn't spent much time with people since landing in this strange, blocky world. It was oddly comforting to hear the siblings bantering, even in the face of leaving their home.

Vyran hefted a bag of redstone pieces onto his shoulder. "All set, Miya?"

"Almost." Miya gave the room one last look. "It's weird, huh? Walking away like this."

Markle stepped forward. "If it makes you feel any better, we can find a new place and make it better. A fresh start."

She glanced at him with a faint smile tugging at her lips. "Fresh starts, huh? Not a bad idea. All right, then."

Together, the three of them left the house, stepping into the quiet village square. The wind rustled through empty gardens and hollow houses, the sound eerily reminiscent of whispers.

Miya and Vyran paused before the village's well, an unspoken heaviness in the air. They each placed a block, a torch from Miya and a polished stone from Vyran, at the base of the well.

Markle watched quietly, deciding not to interrupt. He could only imagine what this place had meant to them.

"All right," Vyran said, adjusting his bag. "Ready?"

Miya nodded, shooting Markle a smirk. "Let's get moving before the mobs show up. We've got a house to plan, resources to scavenge, and a whole new world to explore."

Markle laughed softly, glancing at the open plains stretching out before them. "No pressure, right?"

"None at all," Miya replied breezily, already heading off towards the horizon.

Vyran fell into step with Markle, tapping his temple. "You've got a plan for where we're going, right?"

Markle blinked. "Oh, absolutely. A plan. Totally. Step one: uh, wander. Step two: survive. Step three: profit?"

Vyran snorted. "Well, at least you're honest."

As they walked, Miya launched into stories about the village, tales of neighbors and celebrations, of trades gone hilariously wrong and defenses that almost worked.

"The last golem we had? Called him Goliath. He managed to toss a Creeper halfway across the village square before he went down," Miya recounted with a wistful laugh.

"That Creeper cleared the fences like a champion," Vyran added, smiling despite himself.

Markle couldn't help but grin. "Sounds like this place had its moments."

"It did," Miya said softly, the light in her voice dimming for a moment. "We'll carry the memories, though. Right, Vy?"

Vyran nodded. "Always."

Their journey took longer than expected. The trio paused at rivers to gather reeds, digging up coal when they stumbled across shallow veins, and broke off saplings to replant wherever they decided to settle.

"You call this gathering resources?" Miya teased as Markle hauled a painfully modest pile of stones to the space they'd marked as a good spot to camp.

"I call it improvising," Markle shot back, dropping his load. "You try doing this with no tools!"

"Fair," she conceded with a grin, shoving her bag of materials onto the ground beside him. "But we're definitely doing better than your first night, right?"

"Very funny."

Vyran clapped his hands together, surveying their haul. "Okay, team, this might actually work. Let's set up camp for now and figure out where we go from here."

The three exchanged determined nods as their resolve growing stronger. They started sorting their collected resources into what would be the foundation of their new home.

"Before we get too comfortable," Markle said, stacking the stone into a crude pile, "I've got an idea for our new place. Hear me out, an underwater house."

Miya froze mid-swing, her makeshift axe poised over a log. "An underwater house?"

Vyran tilted his head with his eyebrows raised. "Is that a joke, or...?"

"Not a joke," Markle replied with an earnest expression. "Think about it! Mobs can't reach us underwater, it's secure, and it'd look amazing. We could make glass walls, watch fish swim by while—"

"—we drown trying to build it?" Miya cut in, arching a brow. "I hate to burst your bubble, rookie, but that's probably the fastest way to die around here."

"Not to mention sourcing enough glass," Vyran added thoughtfully, fiddling with a piece of redstone. "And do you have any idea how much water breathing we'd need?"

Markle deflated slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, fair points. But imagine how cool it'd be..."

"It would be cool," Miya admitted with a smirk. "Just not practical. At least not right now."

"Fine," Markle said with a dramatic sigh. "What's your suggestion, then?"

Vyran set his redstone down and gestured toward the clearing they'd stopped at earlier. "A plains biome, like this one. Great visibility, decent resources nearby, and a view worth waking up to."

"And, no offense, Markle, but we're still alive because we're the brains of this operation," Miya teased. "Stick with us, and you might survive another day."

"Ha-ha, hilarious," Markle replied, rolling his eyes but unable to hide a grin. "Okay, a plains house it is. But if mobs show up, don't come crying to me."

"Deal," Miya said with mock sincerity, already grabbing more wood. "Let's start sketching this out. I'm thinking two floors, room for each of us, and—"

"Don't forget a storage area," Vyran interjected. "We'll need space for resources. I can rig some redstone traps and secret entrances too."

"Nothing fancy at first," Markle pointed out. "Let's just make sure it stands long enough to keep the mobs out."

They worked together, hashing out ideas as they marked the layout with dirt blocks and torches. Vyran's practical engineering paired surprisingly well with Miya's knack for efficiency, while Markle's added spirited enthusiasm.

As the sun began to set, the basic framework of their future home emerged, a sturdy stonebrick mansion that would soon become their safe haven.

Markle stepped back, brushing his dusty hands on his robes. "All right. Day one, not bad. If we keep this up, we might just make it through this crazy world alive."

"We'd better," Miya said, pointing to the darkening horizon. "Because here comes another night."