Overworked

The rhythmic tink-tink-tink of a wrench against metal was the only sound that competed with the howling wind outside. Inside the cramped confines of his workshop, Judelow was a blur of purple plating and frayed wiring. His white eyes, usually sharp and calculating, were glazed over with a film of exhaustion, the pink pupils dimming every time he blinked.

He hadn't slept in three days. Or was it four? Time was a fluid concept when there were redstone repeaters to calibrate and pressure plates to disguise. The Strength SMP was a dangerous place, and Jude knew his survival depended on being three steps ahead of everyone else. If he wasn't trapping, he was losing.

A shadow fell across the doorway, momentarily blocking the flickering torchlight. Sharpness stood there, his black armor gleaming with a dull, matte finish. His light blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, a few stray bangs framing a face that was currently set in a mask of disapproval.

"Hey, Jude," Sharpness said, his voice cutting through the mechanical clatter.

Jude didn't look up. His metallic fingers fumbled with a redstone torch. "What do you want, Sharp?"

"Um, didn't you think of resting a little bit?" Sharpness stepped further into the room, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword—a habit, not a threat. "You’ve been at this since the sun was up, and Parker told me you didn't come back to the base last night either."

Jude let out a dry, mechanical rasp that might have been a chuckle if he had the energy. "Rest is for people who don't have enemies, Sharp. And last I checked, everyone on this server wants a piece of us."

Sharpness crossed his arms, his green eyes narrowing as he took in the state of his teammate. The purple animatronic looked ragged. The navy stripes on his arms were covered in dust, and the grey muzzle of his face seemed to droop. "You look really tired, bunny."

Jude stiffened, his ears twitching upright for a split second before falling back down. He finally looked up, giving Sharpness a flat, unimpressed stare. "Scoff. Wow, you worried about me? And don’t call me that. I’m an apex predator of the redstone variety."

"No, but seriously, Jude, you should stop," Sharpness insisted, his tone losing its competitive edge and softening into something genuinely protective. "If you pass out in the middle of a build, you’re just gonna get yourself killed by a stray creeper or, worse, a player who finds your half-finished trap."

Jude sighed, a long, wheezing sound that rattled his chest plates. He looked down at the mess of wires on the table. "Okay, whatever. I will after I finish this one circuit. It’s the trigger for the pitfall. Give me an hour."

"An hour," Sharpness repeated, skeptical. "I’m holding you to that."

"Yeah, yeah. Bye, Sharp."

Sharpness lingered for a moment, watching the way Jude’s hands shook as he reached for a redstone dust trail. He didn't like it. He’d been teammates with the rabbit for a few weeks now, and while he admired the cunning and the sheer lethality of Jude’s traps, he was starting to realize that the animatronic had no off-switch. With a frustrated huff, Sharpness turned and headed back toward the main base.

Three hours later, the sky didn't just darken; it bruised.

Heavy, charcoal-colored clouds rolled in, swallowing the moon. The wind picked up, turning from a breeze into a gale that ripped leaves from the trees. Then, the sky broke. Rain lashed down in sheets, turning the ground into a slurry of mud and grass.

Sharpness stood by the window of the base, watching the lightning arc across the horizon. He looked at the empty bed in the corner of the room—Jude’s bed.

"That idiot," Sharpness muttered.

He grabbed his black cloak, throwing it over his shoulders, and stepped out into the storm. The rain was freezing, stinging his skin, but he ignored it, trekking through the mud toward the clearing where Jude had been working.

He found him exactly where he expected—and in a state he didn't.

Jude was kneeling in the mud, his purple frame shivering violently. The rain was pouring over his animatronic casing, seeping into the joints where the metal met the internal wiring. He was trying to place a block of obsidian, but his movements were jerky and uncoordinated. The "bunny" was soaking wet, his fur-like texture matted and dark, his pink pupils flickering like a dying lightbulb.

"Jude! What are you doing?" Sharpness shouted over the roar of the thunder.

Jude didn't even look up, his fingers clawing at the wet earth. "Almost... almost done. The pulse... it’s not... resetting..."

Sharpness reached down and grabbed Jude by the shoulder, hauling him upward. The animatronic was surprisingly heavy, but Sharpness was fueled by a mix of irritation and genuine fear for his friend’s safety. "You’re soaking wet! Come back to the base, it's storming!"

"But— the trap—" Jude stammered, his voice box glitching, producing a high-pitched static sound.

"Jude!" Sharpness barked, his voice commanding and final.

Jude’s ears flopped forward, water dripping off the tips. He looked at Sharpness, his white eyes wide and disoriented. "Ugh. Okay. Fine."

The walk back was a struggle. Sharpness practically had to carry half of Jude’s weight, guiding the shivering animatronic through the treacherous mud. By the time they reached the base, both were drenched to the bone. Sharpness forced Jude into the bathroom, throwing a pile of dry towels at him and ordering him to dry off his internal components before he short-circuited entirely.

The next morning, the storm had passed, leaving behind a crisp, sunny day. Sharpness was already up, sharpening his netherite sword by the fireplace, when he heard a heavy, dragging sound from the hallway.

Jude emerged from the shadows, and he looked like death warmed over.

His movements were stiff, even for an animatronic. His head was tilted to the side, and a wet, rattling cough shook his entire frame every few seconds. His eyes were dim, the pink pupils barely visible behind a haze of exhaustion and illness.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sharpness asked, standing up and blocking the exit.

Jude tried to puff out his chest, but it ended in a series of harsh, dry coughs. "Back to... the clearing. The rain probably... ruined the redstone. Need to... re-wire."

"You’re not going anywhere," Sharpness said, his voice flat. "You sound like a broken furnace, Jude. You’re sick."

"I don't get 'sick,'" Jude rasped, his throat sounding like it was filled with sandpaper. "I’m a machine. Mostly. I just have... a slight... calibration error."

"A calibration error that makes you shake and cough?" Sharpness stepped closer, placing a hand on Jude’s forehead—or the metal equivalent. The casing was burning hot. "You’re overheating. You probably got water in your cooling system last night, and now you’ve got the player equivalent of a flu. You have a headache, don't you?"

Jude winced, his hand going to his temple. "It feels like a TNT array is going off behind my eyes."

"And your throat?"

"Like I swallowed a bucket of gravel."

"Sit. Down." Sharpness pointed to the sofa near the fire.

"Sharpness, I have work to do," Jude protested, though his voice lacked its usual bite. He took a step toward the door, stumbled, and would have hit the floor if Sharpness hadn't caught him.

"You have work to do?" Sharpness echoed, his competitive streak flaring up. "Your 'work' right now is not dying on my floor. I’ve spent weeks building this alliance, and I’m not letting my best trapper kick the bucket because he’s too stubborn to admit he’s human enough to get sick."

He steered Jude toward the sofa, pushing him down into the cushions. Jude let out a disgruntled groan but didn't have the strength to fight back. He slumped against the armrest, his ears drooping pathetically.

"I'll be back," Sharpness said.

He disappeared into the kitchen area, returning a few minutes later with a bowl of enchanted golden apple slices and a bottle of healing potion diluted with water. He set them on the small table next to Jude.

"Eat. Drink. Sleep," Sharpness commanded.

Jude looked at the food, then at Sharpness. "You’re being very... motherly. It’s weird. It doesn't fit the 'deadly PvP legend' aesthetic."

Sharpness rolled his eyes, though a small, mischievous smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Consider it an investment. If you’re healthy, you make traps. If you make traps, I don't have to work as hard during raids. I’m being selfish, really."

Jude let out a soft, wheezing laugh that turned into another coughing fit. He leaned back, closing his eyes. "Liar."

"Shut up and rest, bunny."

"I told you... don't call me..." Jude’s voice trailed off as his systems finally began to force a shutdown. The warmth of the fire and the safety of the base were finally overriding his frantic need to work.

Sharpness watched him for a moment, ensuring the animatronic’s breathing—or the mechanical imitation of it—remained steady. He picked up his cloak, which was still damp, and draped it over Jude’s shivering frame.

As he turned to go back to his sword, he heard a faint, glitchy whisper from the sofa.

"Thanks, Sharp."

Sharpness didn't look back, but he couldn't hide the small, protective smile on his face. "Whatever. Just don't expect me to do your redstone for you."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Jude muttered, already half-asleep. "You’d probably... blow us both up."

Sharpness chuckled quietly, settling into a chair by the door. He’d keep watch. No one was getting to his teammate while he was down—not the other players, and certainly not Jude’s own stubbornness. For today, the traps could wait. The Strength SMP could wait.

Logic dictated that a teammate was an asset to be maintained. But as Sharpness watched the steady flicker of the firelight against Jude’s purple armor, he knew it was more than that. They were a team, and Sharpness took care of what was his.

Even if "what was his" happened to be a grumpy, overworked, purple animatronic rabbit with a penchant for explosives.