#Welcome to the HCDA

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chapter 9

Warnings: Light description of injury

Notes: I'm not particularly proud of this chapter but oh well

Chapter 9 - They blew up the mall?!

Scar

I sit in my chair, stroking Jellie as I try to think of where I should search next.

The malls? That’s where Gem found the feathers. That might work. But which one should I search? There are two malls.

“Scar?” I hear Mumbo call. “Bdubs is back. The mall blew up.”

My head shoots up, startling Jellie, who scrambles out of my lap as I begin to roll the wheelchair over.

“What do you mean the mall blew up?!” I exclaim, following Mumbo out of the office and down the hallway.

“I don’t know!” Mumbo cries, exasperated and panicked. “The mall blew up!”

Bdubs doesn’t seem badly hurt, at the very least. He’s got a decent burn on one arm, hit his head, has a black eye and chipped tooth, and is a little dazed. Everyone understands this and doesn’t crowd him, which is also good. If I had just been in a building that had blown up, I wouldn’t want a crowd.

I roll in between the other hermits. Etho and Cleo are seemingly his two supporters, and I am the one who gets to ask the questions.

“What happened?” I ask simply, scanning Bdubs.

“Well, it was normal until the first bomb went off.” Bdubs begins. “There were eight in total, and the fifth got me a bit. I hit my head on the wall, so I was a bit dizzy, but I think someone dragged me from the plaza.”

“What happened to the plaza?” 

“The roof collapsed, so anyone still inside was probably killed.” He says, looking away. “Though it held up for way too long, so either it was an extremely sturdy building or someone somehow held it up." He leans back against the wall, putting a finger to his head. “I think I need to go sit down.” 

He and Etho retreat to the medical room and chatter begins to break out. Who would blow up the mall? Why? It only takes me a bit to conclude that I need more information, information Bdubs can’t give me. I’m going to have to go get it myself. 

I grab my dragon scale, an item that will give you temporary wings when you need them, and put on the leg braces.

“Scar, where are you going?” I turn around to see Mumbo. 

“To investigate.”

“Alone?!” He exclaims. “That’s incredibly stupid, and you know it!”

“So? I’m not letting anyone else get hurt.”

“At least let me go,” Mumbo tries.

“No.” I tell him firmly. I run out the door before he can stop me.

“Wait! Scar! Stop!” Mumbo tries to run after me, but I have already pulled out my wings. His voice fades into the distance.

I feel bad about not letting him come, but it’s for the best. If I hadn’t decided to move our base and go after the Watchers, Grian wouldn’t be missing… I can’t let anyone else get hurt.

I see the mall over the horizon. It’s a bit worse than I expected, it completely collapsed in the center. There are sirens still wailing as the firemen search the ruins. There’s no way anyone could have survived, so I don’t know why they bother.

I land and duck behind a piece of rubble. All I need is to get in, then get out with some information.

Shoot. I forgot to bring any sort of invisibility potion. I press through the debris, avoiding any sharp bits sticking out. There’s muffled speaking from somewhere in the rubble, and it sounds a bit like firefighters.

If I lean closer, I can barely make out what they’re saying.

“What’s this purple dust?” One voice asks.

“I don’t know. It feels powerful.” Another replies.

There’s a little bit of muffled movement, which eventually fades away into the distance. I attempt to pinpoint where I’d heard the talking from, which I think was right below me.

I carefully shift the debris to make a hole big enough to get in and slip through. This is such a stupid idea, going into a collapsed building. Ah, oh well.

Once I’m down, I realize that this area is almost like a cave, held up only by wire. The pieces of debris are big enough that they don’t fall through the cracks. 

There’s a spot of purple on the floor, and it looks like dust. There’s a lot of it, like something disintegrated here. I reach down cautiously to touch it, and feel a jolt of energy run up my arm. I leap back, but nothing happens. It felt almost magical, which can only mean one thing. 

The Watchers are behind this. 

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chapter 7

Warnings: None

Notes: Just wait for the next one >:) in this universe these are the sibling headcanons! Keep in mind that they don't apply to every one of my AUs or stories

Chapter 7 - Call with their family

Scar

I sit in my office, leaning against the backrest of my wheelchair, thinking.

Grian’s alive. Why were his feathers at a shopping mall? What was he doing there? Was he captured, or was he a traitor?

I look up to see Pearl in the doorway. 

“Um, I just realized something,” Pearl says, face slightly pink. She seems almost… embarrassed? “I never told Jimmy or Lizzie about this.”

Oh gosh. Jimmy was Pearl and Grian’s brother, and Lizzie was the trio’s adopted sister. And Pearl didn’t tell her siblings that their brother had disappeared and was probably captured?!

“Pearl!” I exclaim. “Seriously?!”

“I forgot,” Pearl sighs. “Everything just happened so fast and I just realized I haven’t told them.”

“Well then we really need to.” I say, rolling to her. “Maybe a video chat would be best for this?”

“Yeah.” I follow Pearl out of the room to the computer room a few doors down. She pulls out her phone, and I assume she texts her siblings the code as I pull it up.

It’s not long before Lizzie’s face appears on the screen.

“You might want to get Joel for this too,” Pearl says. “It’s important.”

“Joel!” Lizzie calls. “Pearl and Scar want you here too!”

Joel is Lizzie’s husband, which makes him Grian’s brother in law. They were already enough like brothers anyway, so it doesn’t make much of a difference. 

Joel’s face pops in next to Lizzie’s. “So what’s the news?” He asks.

“We’re waiting for Jimmy,” Pearl sighs. I sit next to her, my fingers twitching nervously. When Jimmy joins, my hands somehow get more jittery.

“So what’s the family meeting for?” The canary hybrid asks. I glance at Pearl. She’s nervous, I can tell. She’s fighting to keep her antennae from twitching too much.

“Well, um,” Pearl starts awkwardly. “We have a bit of a… Problem.”

“What’s the problem?” Lizzie askes.

“Also, where’s Grian?” Joel asks. Lizzie shoots him a glare.

“Don’t interrupt them.” She says. Joel falls silent.

“Actually, he’s kinda on topic.” Pearl says. “Because um, well, Grian’s not here. He disappeared.”

There’s a moment of silence before Jimmy asks, “What?” Pearl winces. I hate hearing the dread in his voice.

“Me and Grian were chosen for the mission to infiltrate a group called the Watchers.” She explains, voice strained and quiet. “But when I woke up after the first day of our work, he was gone, and so were the Watchers.” 

Jimmy leans back in his chair, seemingly trying to make sense of what she’s said. He doesn’t seem quite there.

“So Grian’s… What happened to him?” Lizzie asks, worried. 

“Another problem,” I sigh. “We don’t know. He’s not dead, don’t worry, we know he’s not dead.” I amend quickly before they can go down the same thought path I did. That path isn’t a fun one.

“We found his feathers,” Pearl says. “And they were recent. So he’s either captured or working with the enemy.”

“What can we do to help?” Jimmy blurts. The light is back in his eyes now, and he seems determined. “I want to help. And also tell Tango that I can’t believe he didn’t let me know immediately.”

“Stay at home.” Pearl says firmly, giving her siblings a stern gaze and ignoring Jimmy’s second remark. In all honesty, Tango had probably not wanted to worry his husband. “I’ll contact you guys if we really need the help, but I am not going to let you get involved as long as I can help it.”

“What?!” Joel exclaims, voice rising in anger as. “We have to help! Grian’s our friend too! You can’t-”

“Joel!” Lizzie interrupts, giving him another look. “We are going to respect their wishes. I don’t want to stand by either, but I do think it’s safer for us to lie low.” I’m grateful that she agrees, because otherwise we might have had to put all of Grian’s family into danger.

Joel gives a sigh of defeat, looking away. At the very least, he listens to his wife, and it seems Jimmy will listen to Lizzie as well, because he doesn’t protest.

“I’ll text you any updates we have.” Pearl promises. “Bye!” She shuts off the computer and it’s just the two of us.

“Well, that went well enough,” I say.

“Yeah.” Pearl replies, getting up. “Let’s go.”

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chapter 6

Warnings: Mentions of bombs

Notes: Not the proudest of this one but it's important so

Chapter 6 - The Watcher’s approval

Grian

I swoop down to land on the Watcher’s doorstep. After they had found me out, we moved our headquarters. What used to be near a park was now a few blocks north, close enough for a fifteen minute walk but not close enough to be found again.

The new headquarters is tall, red bricks stacked to make a three story building. There’s a balcony at the top, but I’ve never actually been on it. After all, when I go into the building, I’m greeted with what a normal Watcher sees: an empty void.

I push open the dark marine colored door to said void, and step in. I shut the door behind me.

“I’m back.” I say to the Watchers, who are gathered in the void.

“Well then, welcome back Xelqua.” Selqua says. I wince at how friendly they sound, I don’t want them to be friendly.

 I glance around at the other watchers. I can tell who they are by some sort of emotional link, and there are only eight watchers in total (including me). The seven Watchers besides me and Selqua are Jilqua, Nilqua, Melqua, Dalqua, Vilqua, and Falqua. The structure of the names seems to be a consonant, a vowel, and then l and qua. They mentioned the qua part, but I didn’t know there was a l in each name too.

My Watcher name is Xelqua. As much as I hate being a Watcher, I will admit that my Watcher name has a nice ring to it.

“Deposit the emotions you have collected into the void beyond.” Jilqua instructs. The void beyond is a small gap in space and time that Watchers can open to store things, and that is where all the negative emotions are kept. It’s like a pantry, but for emotions. 

I open a rift to the void beyond and unscrew the cap of my vial, letting the emotions flow in with the others. Then I let the rift close and look back up at the Watchers.

“Well done,” Selqua claps. “You have completed your first task as a Watcher. That is a good amount of emotions, good job.” I look away. I don’t want praise from them. 

“It is time you learn what the Watchers aim to do.” Falqua says from Selqua’s side. They seem to have cleared this with the head Watcher already. “For though you know our powers, you do not fully know our goals and plans.” My headwings perk up, this might be it. I’ll finally have something to share.

Selqua creates a ring of ornate stone seats and gestures to them. “Sit.” They say. So I do. I sit down on one of the eight seats, which are surprisingly comfortable considering they’re made from stone.

“The first thing you should know about the Watchers is that we have an enemy.” Selqua begins, sitting down as well. “The Listeners. The Listeners get their power from hearing the positive conversations of mortals. They are also the reason we are here in London.

“We want the Listeners dead. They want us dead. And to do that, we need to drain the source of their power. Since their power comes from positive conversations, and they can hear them from a radius of three thousand miles, we are going to need to fix that.

“We will slowly conquer various parts of the world, and use the negative emotions generated by that to boost our power. And with less positivity, there will be less positive conversations and less power for the Listeners.”

I nod my head politely throughout the explanation, but my brain whirring as I try to make sense of what this means. The Listeners are the Watchers enemy, and they feed on positivity and happiness. If the Watchers essentially become anarchists, the Listeners will lose power and the Watchers can rule. What I’m worried about is what the Watchers will do to receive this power.

“Understood.” I say. “What will we be doing to increase the negativity?”

I look into the black void that is Selqua’s face. I wonder what they actually look like, if they have a real face at all. 

“We are going to start by setting off a bomb.” Selqua says, voice monotone and unemotional as they tell me. “It will be set off in the shopping mall.”

“When?” I ask, my heart racing. 

“You and Nilqua go to plant and detonate it tomorrow morning.”

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chapter 5

Warnings: None

Notes: It's hard to write filler

Chapter 5 - Searching

Scar

Me and Mumbo run into Pearl as we leave the underground mansion. 

“Where are you guys going?” She asks. There are bags under her eyes, and I don’t think she slept much either. Am I just a heavy sleeper?

“We’re going to search the park for clues.” Mumbo says. “The one near the old Watcher headquarters.”

Pearl, Impulse, Etho, and Bdubs had gone back to search the Watchers headquarters, now abandoned, and had found nothing. Maybe they thought that was too obvious a place.

“I’m coming.” Pearl decides without hesitation. She walks up beside us as I open the entrance to the outside world. I step out into the sunlight, squinting.

We decide to walk to the park, as if there are any clues on the way, we might be able to find them, and I’ve also changed to the braces, so it will be a little easier. Walking down the sidewalk with Mumbo and Pearl feels a little empty without a fourth person, and in other words, it feels empty without Grian here.

Just thinking about him makes me want to murder the Watchers. Ten times. I don’t think Grian would ever join them willingly, so I think they must be holding him hostage. Anybody who holds any of my friends hostage will regret it.

But… He could’ve joined them. I won’t think about that.

Pearl’s sleepless eyes are darting back and forth, up and down, searching for anything that could be of use. Poor Pearl. She must feel responsible for this, since she was Grian’s companion after all. She was supposed to keep him safe and vice versa, but she failed. I don’t think she understands it’s not her fault.

 As we turn the corner, we find the park. It’s set in the middle of the block, green fields filling the perimeter of the sidewalk around it. Fortunately, there are pretty much no cars around today, so we just cross the street. 

I get right to work. I’m not exactly sure where to search, so I search everywhere. In trees, in grass, on benches, etcetera. I didn't really manage to find anything, but I did fall out of a tree.

I pull myself from the grass and look to the center of the park, where a concrete circle and a fountain have been built. That’s where I want to search next. If there’s anything in this park, it’s gonna be there.

Mumbo sees me walk towards the fountain and follows. I look up at it, with its majestically carved stone and sparkling waters, it’s a surprise more people don’t come here. It’s one of the prettiest fountains I’ve ever seen.

“It’s beautiful,” I say to no one in particular.

“It is.” Mumbo nods, coming up beside me. I shake myself from my thoughts and get to searching. Around the fountain, there are five stone pillars. I figure I’ll check those first.

I run my hand across the smooth stone of one pillar. My fingers find cracks, and nothing else. I rotate to the next. And then the next. When I get to the fourth pillar, I do a 360 to make sure I haven’t missed anything. Nope. There was nothing on the first three. I place my hand on the fourth pillar, and my fingers hit a bump.

I move my hand away and see a symbol. It’s a rectangle, but with two of its corners detached. It hums with energy, but doesn’t seem to do anything.

“...Mumbo?” I ask, turning around. “I found something.”

He quickly comes to look, a puzzled expression crossing his face when he sees the symbol. “Let’s get Pearl.” He concludes. “Maybe she’ll know what this is.”

“Pearl!” I call across the park to the moth hybrid. “We found something!”

She jolts up and runs over. “What is it?” She asks when she reaches us, out of breath.

“Do you know what this symbol means?” I ask her, pointing to the rectangle shape.

Pearl freezes. “That’s the Watcher symbol.” She moves me out of the way to study it. The moth hybrid places her hand on the symbol, examining every inch. She pulls back abruptly.

“What’s wrong?” Mumbo askes.

“Always watching.” She looks up at me. “That’s what it told me.” 

I stare at her in confusion. “Huh?” 

“I don’t know how,” She says. “But when I touched it that message played in my brain-” Pearl is interrupted by a yawn. “But I think that it might be some sort of camera of sorts.” She yawns again. “Sorry, I just didn’t get much sleep…”

I give her an exasperated look. “How much did you get last night?” I ask her.

“Um, none?” She offers. Then she sighs. “Yeah, I know. I need some sleep.”

“We found something, we can come back tomorrow with a good night’s rest.” Mumbo decides. “Both of us need sleep. I only got… About two hours?”

I wince. No wonder they looked so tired. 

“Anyway, let’s go.” I beckon to Pearl and Mumbo and begin to walk away from the fountain. We found something. It’s not much, but it’s still something.

. . .

Almost as soon as we return, Gem bursts in. She’s red in the face, panting and out of breath, but she doesn’t seem worried or scared.

“He’s alive!” She announces. “Grian’s still alive!”

“What do you- how-” I begin. No, wrong words- I’m tripping all over myself. “Is he here? How did you find out? Where is he?”

“I found his feathers.” Gem explains, her eyes alight. “They were recent, which means he’s most likely alive.” Pearl runs up and wraps her arms around Gem, murmuring thanks. I swear I see the deer hybrid blush as she assures Pearl that it’s not that big of a deal, anyone could have done it.

I can’t begin to explain how relieved I was to hear this. Yeah, Grian might still be in a bad situation. But he’s still alive. And at this point, that’s the only thing that matters.

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chapter 4

Warnings: None

Notes: Sorry for the lack of updates. I forgot, and then promptly got sick

Chapter 4 - Run in with friends

Grian

I’m on my first solo patrol of sorts. I’m not really sure what to call it, a patrol? A mission? An assignment?

Well, I’m supposed to be gathering up some negative emotions for the Watchers in the shopping mall, which is pretty easy, lots of people have bad days all the time. I’m honestly not sure why the Watchers try to cause trouble, people give themselves enough. Sometimes, I wish I could help them.

My emotions vial is strapped in my rope belt. It collects the emotions I am able to harvest from people, storing them until I can deposit them in the actual emotion storage. 

Inside, the emotions take the form of a tiny ball of flame. They look kind of like the appearance of the typical soul in the movies and stories, a white hot core surrounded by colored fire.

The diamond shaped glass jar is about halfway full with emotions, and more are popping in every second as I let the negativity flow in.

It’s been a few days now, since the Watchers took me.

No one seems suspicious of me, a cloaked figure with purple wings strolling through a mall. The Watchers have that sort of effect on people, they are never suspicious unless they know who the Watchers are or are thinking about them.

Another Watcher power is the ability to read emotions. I can vaguely tell why the emotion is the way it is, and it’s stronger with negative emotions, but I definitely can tell.

There’s one who’s having trouble with friends, one whose heart is broken, one who’s struggling with a physical problem… 

That’s when I spot her.

Gem is standing in the crowd, her braided orange hair tucked over one shoulder and a bag of groceries slung over the other. I sense that she’s upset. Worried, sad, almost… Angry? About someone being taken from her- 

Oh. Me. She’s worried about me.

It hadn’t quite occurred to me how much panic my disappearance must have caused, and I feel bad for not thinking about it earlier. They must be devastated.

I pull my hood up further and hope she doesn’t notice me. Unfortunately, Gem does manage to spot me, and she’s not happy. 

I feel a sudden spike of fury as she comes and drags me by the arm into a space between two buildings. It’s not quite big enough to be an alley, but I guess you could call it that.

Gem slams me against the wall, anger burning in her green eyes.

“What have you and your friends done with Grian you son of a-” She stops, her eyes going wide with shock as she recognizes me. “You’re not- You haven’t-” She stammers.

“It was the only way I could protect you.” I sigh, not meeting her eyes. Gem releases me from the wall. 

“We’ve been worried sick!” She bursts out. I don’t want to know the hermits’ reaction. “It was… It’s been bad. Scar was almost in tears announcing it, and Pearl didn’t get any sleep last night. None! I don’t think Mumbo’s sleep was great either.”

I flinch. Every part of me wants to go with her and go back, but I know I can’t. The Watchers would kill them. “Nobody can know.” I say, my voice strained. “They can’t know I’m with the Watchers. They’ll just get themselves killed trying to rescue me.”

“At least let me tell them you’re alive,” Gem pleads. “A lot of us think you might be dead.”

I freeze. Dead? Yeah, I can see captured or something, but dead?

“Okay.” I say slowly. “Won’t they get suspicious?”

“No.” She tells me firmly. “I’ll bring them some of your feathers, and that should be proof enough.”

I pick up on her train of thought quite easily. “If the feathers are warm and recent, then that’ll definitely work.”

Gem nods. “That would. But can I still tell them eventually?”

“Let me learn some things about them first, so we can actually fight them.” I say. “I’ll send you a signal, like…” I trail off. What would be a good signal?

“A purple Watcher feather.” She says, pointing to my Watcher wings. “I’ll know when I see a Watcher feather.”

“Sounds good.” I let my wings revert to red and gold, their normal appearance, and pluck two feathers, one from each colored section. I hold out the feathers to Gem.

“You never saw anything but these, got it?” I say as she takes the feathers.

“Got it.” She says, and takes off running.

I watch her disappear into the crowd and can only hope they believe her. A purple feather… I can still finish my work. I can gather information, and I can take the Watchers down.

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chapter 2

Warnings: None I think

Notes: Nothing particularly stands out to me abt this chapter

Chapter 2 - The Watchers

Grian

I can’t believe it.

Me? Out of all people? Yeah, Pearl I get. She’s stealthy, she’s persuasive, she’s everything a spy should be. I’m lucky to have a sister as talented as she is. But me?

I’m loud, I’m awkward, pretty much everything you’d expect from someone who earned the nickname ‘Pesky Bird’. Though I kind of like the nickname.

Honestly, I’m really touched though. I’ve got all these obvious flaws, and Scar decides that I am one of the best ones for the job. Could he… No, he wouldn’t like me. It’s so obvious he likes Mumbo, they’re always giggling and laughing together.

“Grian?” Pearl whispers. I realize that everybody else has cleared out except for her and Scar. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” I stammer. “I just didn’t expect… me, I guess.”

“We can do this.” My sister gives my arm a squeeze and walks out.

“Uhm.” Scar clears his throat behind me. “Sorry about that, putting you on the spot-”

“No, it’s okay.” I reassure him. “I was just surprised. Why did you pick me?”

“Because…” Scar paused. “Honestly, I never have a good reason to pick anyone specifically. I just go with what my heart tells me. What my heart told me was you and Pearl.”

I feel my face heat up and I turn around so he won’t see. “Um, thanks.” I say quickly and hurry out of the room.

. . .

I run up beside Pearl.

“Are you ready to go G?” She asks me, twitching an antenna. Pearl is a moth hybrid with dusky brown wings that bear moon markings and purple accents. Her full name, Pearlescent Moon Solidarity, fits her well, especially the moon part.

“Yeah.” I reply, shaking my wings out. I can do this. “I’m ready.”

“Come on!” She steps outside and spreads her wings and takes off, and I follow close behind her.

Scar has given us a map of where the group was sighted, so the only thing we can do is hope we find them in one of those spots.

Thankfully, we don’t have to look long.

I spot a group of cloaked, winged figures on one of the sidewalks. “There!” I call to Pearl. We dive down and land in front of them.

“Hello.” Pearl says calmly. “We’ve heard of you, and we would like to join your organization.” She looks around, then says in a hushed voice, “We’re fellow troublemakers, and we’ve quite enjoyed seeing the things you’ve gotten up to on the news.” It sounds genuine, and I have to remind myself she’s only acting.

“Ah,” One of the figures says. I realize suddenly with an uncomfortable pang that it doesn’t have a face. Instead, there’s a black void under the hood. “You would like to be a Watcher? Come then.”

Pearl looks at me. I nod. We follow the group down the sidewalk until we reach a normal looking building.

“Come in here.” The Watcher tells us. “We will reveal more once we are out of sight.”

I cautiously step through the door. The interior looks totally normal, nothing suspicious at all. But I don’t think we have the wrong group.

“To be a Watcher is a commitment.” Says a voice behind me. “We feed off negative emotions, and we would like it if you joined our cause. It would help us find our food, with more hands on deck.”

“We’d love to join.” Pearl holds out a hand, and the Watcher shakes it. “Is it as simple as that? We’re good?”

“We will reveal more of our secrets the longer you are with us, but yes. It is that simple.”

“Wow,” I say, looking up at the cloaked figure. “Names?”

“Yes.” They say. “Watcher names. I am Selqua. All Watcher names end with qua.”

Selqua. Interesting. I wonder what mine will end up being?

. . .

By the time that the sun has gone down, not much else has happened. Selqua gave us a room and said something about our first mission tomorrow, and that’s about it.

I decide now is a good time to write to Scar, as the Watchers have all gone to sleep now.

I  write everything I’ve learned, and when I’m done, I seal the envelope. I sign the back Grian and hop out the window to deliver it. 

As I fly through the city, I admire the sheer architectural fineness of London. Both modern and older buildings form the city skylines, mixing in a way that I really enjoy. 

I land outside the woodland mansion, moving aside the plank that will open the door to the HQ.

All I do is slip in, drop off the letter, and slip out again, closing the door behind me. 

I fly back to the Watchers building, hoping no one realized I was gone.

I’m not sure I like the sight that greets me at the door.

“Where were you?” Selqua askes. They’re on the porch with three other Watchers, and I can tell this isn’t going to turn out well.

“I was admiring the skylines.” I say, which isn’t a complete lie. “I couldn’t sleep, and I really really like looking at the London skylines.”

“Come with us.” Selqua growls. Against my better judgment, I follow them. When we open the door, I don’t see a normal building, just black, empty void.

“Where’s Pearl?” I ask, trying not to let panic show in my voice. If they’ve done anything to her…

“She’s fine. We’ll let the girl go.” Selqua answers. “But you… You must join us if you would like to make up for your mistake. You must be a true Watcher.”

“But what if I don’t want to?” I protest angrily, wings puffing up. “You know I’m a spy now. What good would it get you for a traitor to stay with you?”

“Oh, you’ll listen.” A hint of menace creeps into Selqua’s voice. “After all, we are much more powerful than you.”

“I don’t care.”

“Would you care if I told you that the girl’s, and those Scar and Mumbo characters' lives are on the line?” Selqua doesn’t smile. I’m not able to see it. But I can hear the evil smirk as I freeze.

“You wouldn’t.” I say, panicked. I can’t let them hurt them. If they did I could never forgive myself. “You’re bluffing.”

“Unfortunately, I am not.” Selqua smirks as the Watchers circle around me, now I couldn’t escape if I wanted to. And I really do. “So what will you choose? The death of your friends and family, or joining us?”

“Fine.” I growl. “I’m with you. But don’t expect me to be the most loyal Watcher at heart.”

“Ah, good.” Selqua sighs. “Now come this way, Grian. Xelqua.”

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chapter 1

New fic! Crossposting from Quotev, will be on Ao3 soon

Warnings: Very very minor injuries

Notes: This has been a looong process for me, finishing this whole story. I'll get it caught up with the Quotev version and then start posting Monday/Friday like on Quotev

Chapter 1 - Moving in

Scar

I’m still not sure exactly what prompted me to start the HCDA. I guess there were too many conspiracies that got people hurt. I can’t stop people from trying, but hopefully I’ll be able to prevent them from actually getting somewhere with their silly, dangerous ideas.

We have the best team you could ask for, all the hermits? There are a lot of us, and we can get things done.

Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Scar Goodtimes, and I am one of the 26 hermits. We were originally just a society for friends to hang out in  and build things, but we’ve kind of split up. The government decided the islands that we hosted Hermitcraft on- Ones where you could die again and again and come back every time- were too dangerous. They were banned, and we went our separate ways. We were still friends, but just didn’t hang out very often compared to how much we used to.

I didn’t like it, of course. I’m a very social person! When I decided to create a spy and detective organization, my first thought was to add the former hermits. Luckily, all of them agreed. I think that after so long, we were ridiculously eager to get back together again.

Anyway, I’m the leader and founder of the HCDA, or the Hermit Conspiracy Detector Association. We work on detecting potentially dangerous conspiracies among other things. Kind of like superheroes, but with detective and spy work instead.

We’re moving into our new headquarters, carrying boxes and pushing dollies loaded with furniture. A bead of sweat drips down the side of my head as I put down a heavy box with a relieved sigh, glad to be relieved of the load. 

“It’s really not that heavy,” Snickers a friendly voice from behind me. I turn around to see Grian setting down a load of smaller boxes. His multicolored wings are pressed tightly together, I can tell he’s trying not to knock anything over with them. Last time we had a move, he accidentally knocked over a vase, which shattered and gave him a couple minor injuries. 

“Says you, you’re carrying a bunch of tiny ones!” I retort. Grian giggles again. 

“Well, come on.” He says, rolling his eyes. “There are a few more to get out.”

I follow the avian back to our moving truck. Our new headquarters will be located here, under the giant woodland mansion of London. I’m honestly not sure how Keralis managed to get the moving van down here, but I’m not asking any questions.

To get in, you have to push a certain board of wood on the side of the mansion, which opens a passageway. That passageway leads to this cave, which reminds me of the Hermitcraft Sewers a little bit. …I miss Hermitcraft.

Gem and Pearl are working together to get a large wooden office cabinet out of the truck. The drawers keep swinging open, and I glimpse Impulse closing them to keep them from hitting Gem and Pearl’s legs.

That was one of the last things in the truck I guess, as when me and Grian reach it there’s only a desk and another wooden file cabinet left.

“Which one do you wanna get?” Grian askes me. I shrug.

“Whichever, I guess,” I reply. 

He walks over to the desk and grabs one end of it. I grab the other, and we lift it from the moving truck. If you have never moved before, it’s not very fun. It’s mostly full of giant things that you have to move around without a lot of assistance from gadgets. Mind you, almost all of those things are heavy. Thankfully, we all have some experience, with how often we have to move.

We carefully move down the path to the door. I feel my foot catch on something, maybe a rock, and lose my balance. I fall onto the desk, which crashes into Grian. The blonde avian flings his wings out in panic, knocked backward by the sudden force as I land on the ground. He falls next to me and I pull myself up. 

“Are you okay?” I ask Grian, who has also sat up, examining himself. 

“I’ve got a scrape here,” He replies, rolling up one sweater sleeve. “But it’s not bad, there’s no blood and not much dirt.” He dusts the scratch with his other sleeve. “Leg braces all good?”

I check the mixture of metal and magic bands around my legs. “Nothing’s broken, as far as I can tell.” I say, standing up. There’s a slight ache in my legs though, I’m probably going to change to a wheelchair when we’re done. “I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.” Grian gets up too, going back to his side of the desk. 

We resume lifting it to the door, and are finally able to set it down when we get it into the room. My arms are protesting from the amount of work they’ve done, but we’re almost finished, and I’m determined to do my part.

Bdubs and Etho finish getting the other file cabinet not long after (With no one to close the drawers, surprisingly), and we all move to getting everything unpacked.

I move to open a box and hear a purr from below me. When I look down, there is a white and gray cat staring up at me.

“Jellie, you’re not supposed to be here yet!” I laugh. Jellie’s my cat, and no matter how far we move, she always comes before I have to go get her. She meows again and disappears into the boxes, tail twitching behind her.

My mind begins to drift as I open box after box, thinking about the reason we’ve moved here. There’s been an organization in London that seems to be causing some trouble. We have multiple reports from intercepted police calls about cloaked figures stirring up trouble for… Seemingly no reason. (Yes, to get our information we hack into police calls. Doc figured out how to do it without getting caught, that absolute genius.)

We’ve never had a case like this before, and I’m both excited and scared to put someone on it. A pair, definitely. This mission is one that needs two, I think.

“Scar?” Mumbo’s voice snaps me from my thoughts.

“Yes?” I turn to face the tall mustached man, smiling as my eyes meet his. 

“Where do I put this?” He shows me a chest that contains some emergency gear.

“Somewhere easy to reach…” I look around the room. “Like that shelf.” I point to a wooden shelf on one side of the room. I this is going to be the lobby, and the room next door is the meeting room. Then up the stairs will be my office and all the rooms for our members. Don’t want them paying for a hotel, after all!

Mumbo goes to put the chest on the shelf, and resumes unpacking afterward. Really the rest of the stuff we need to move is just storage units and a podium, so there’s not a lot we have left to do.

I pick up the podium, which I use in meetings, and carry it into the next room. The other hermits have already set up the chairs, so I place the podium at the front. 

I can already imagine calling up the people I will have chosen to infiltrate the mysterious organization. I hope they’ll return safely, whoever I decide to send. I’m… Not sure if I could live with myself if even just one of them didn’t.

. . .

I’ve chosen who I’m going to pick.

I roll the wheelchair up to the podium. I’ve never been so nervous to call someone to a mission before, it’s not really a feeling I normally have in callings, being nervous. I take a deep breath and begin to speak.

“As you all know, we have moved here to track the mysterious organization that we have no name for yet.” I say, addressing the hermits. “They have been causing trouble lately, and I would like to stop it. However, we have not had a case such as this one before. Usually, these sorts of things go into legal territory. But not this time.

“It has been especially hard to choose someone for this mission. So instead, I have chosen two. Due to the unfamiliar situation, I would like a pair to be assigned to this mission.” I take another deep breath. “The people I have chosen for this mission are Grian and Pearl.”

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chpater 10

Warnings: None

Notes: Not proud of this chapter but oh well

Chapter 10 - I can’t do this anymore.

Grian

I just stay up on the roof. 

I don’t want to go down, I don’t want to go back to the Watchers, I want to go home.

I guess the HCDA headquarters isn’t really my home, but it’s close enough.

When I’m not with them, me and Pearl live with Lizzie and Joel, which is always nice. Jimmy would go insane if I had to live with him, so we’ve spared him that. Me and Pearl are gone a lot anyway, so our sister and her husband don’t really have to deal with us much.

Even though we move every few months, I still feel like the HCDA is my home. Many people who move too much never feel at home, but I always have. I think it’s because I can enjoy myself with the people I’m with, and that’s what really makes it home.

Just thinking about my siblings and the other hermits hurts. I wonder if Pearl has told Jimmy and Lizzie yet? Part of me hopes she has, and the other hopes they don’t know yet.

The sun is setting. How long have I been up here for? I still don’t move from my spot. It’s getting kind of cold though… I wrap my wings around myself. I wish I could call them parrot wings still, but they have taken on the purple color all Watcher wings are.

I can shift my wing color at will, though I only gained that power when I joined Hermitcraft. Before that, my wings had always been white, but they started randomly changing in season six. It’s fun to change them.

I like making my wings parrot colors most, so I kept them when Hermitcraft was banned. I think everyone else likes them best too, because I guess the colors are just… Me.

The purple just doesn’t sit too well. 

I wish Hermitcraft had never been banned. I miss the fun bases we used to build and the pranks we could play. I miss being able to die and come back as many times as I wanted. 

It’s no use dwelling in the past and I know that, but I can’t help it. It’s hard not to when you’re struggling with a mixture of homesickness and guild. 

I really really want to run myself into a wall, but that wouldn’t do anything to improve my mood, so I keep sitting. Eventually I cave and decide to fly around a little bit. Flying has always calmed my nerves. 

I leap off the building and spread my wings, letting the cool air rush past me. I fly as high as I dare and just admire the view. 

The air is thinner up here, so if I were to go much higher I would need special equipment to stay conscious. It’s really pretty up here though, especially at sunset. 

The sun has dipped lower in the sky, and it’s practically nighttime now. I know I really should get back.

Begrudgingly, I fly back down to the surface. I push open the Watcher’s door.

“Finally back, Xelqua.” Jilqua comments disdainfully. “Are you done pouting?”

“Yes.” I say, brushing past them. I hate Jilqua, they’re mean and arrogant. Selqua’s arrogant as well, Falqua’s just cruel, Dalqua’s patronizing and harsh, Vilqua’s rude and inconsiderate, and Melqua is quiet but is silently cruel. None of them are any good.

Jilqua snickers. “Have fun.” They turn away from me.

I need to figure out something. I need to do something, something to hurt the Watchers. But what?

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA Masterpost

Cross posting from Quotev! (It will be on Ao3 when I get an account)

Book 1: Welcome to the HCDA

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chapter 8

Warnings: Implied death, injury, and explosive weapons

Notes: Angst >:)))

Chapter 8 - Blow up the mall

Grian

It’s now the morning I have been dreading all night. 

I am supposed to blow something up. I am supposed to do something that will hurt and possibly kill people. If I don’t I’m certain that I will be punished, and that punishment will be to hurt my friends.

Vilqua shows me how to summon weapons, and gives me my instructions.

“You set off the bomb in an area that will probably kill a few people, but mostly cause panic.” They say. “Then you run and collect as much emotion as you can on the way out.” I nod. There’s nothing else I can do.

When I step outside, Nilqua is waiting for me.

“You ready?” They sigh. “I’m not.”

“Neither am I,” I reply, surprised that they don’t want to do this.

“Well, let’s go.” Nilqua turns away from me, spreads their wings, and takes off. I stay behind them as we fly, and they never speak. The flight is quick, and we land in front of the mall.

“I can’t believe we have to do this,” Nilqua says, voice wavering. “Joining the Watchers was such a stupid idea.”

I glance at them. A Watcher like me who doesn’t like the job? Huh. Never thought I’d see that. “Why did you join then?” I ask them.

“I was power hungry,” Nilqua sighs, leading me into the mall. “I thought joining the Watchers would give me power. It did of course, but that novelty soon wore off and it became boring. Also, I felt bad taking people’s bad days and making it my power.”

“I definitely feel bad too.” I admit, looking at the faceless Watcher.

“The Watchers don’t let you leave once you’re part of them, so I guess I’m stuck, and you are too.” Nilqua looks around the mall. I feel bad for them. They had different reasons, but the two of us are the same. We want the Watchers gone.

“Do you have a face?” I ask, not able to stop myself. “Why do I have a face but no one else does?”

“When you’ve been a Watcher for over 6 months, you gain a black shroud that covers your face. If you take down the hood, it disappears.” Then Nilqua does something I don’t expect. They grab their hood and pull it down. The blackness melts away, and there is a normal human face under it. They have pale skin and short black hair, and they turn to look at me with unnatural purple eyes.

“I used to have brown eyes,” They say, sadly. “But I don’t anymore. My actual name is Jen, and I actually use she/her pronouns.” She pauses. “Could you use those when the others aren’t around?”

I blink at Nilqua- No- Jen. She has just revealed her true identity to me, and she barely knows who I am. Despite myself, I smile. “Of course.” I say. “My actual name is Grian and I use he/him pronouns.”

Jen smiles and sticks out her hand. I shake it. “I think I’ll keep my hood off for a little while.” She motions to the plaza. “But whether we like it or not we like it, we’ve got to blow this up. Where should we plant the bomb?”

I scan the plaza carefully. I spot a nook in one wall big enough for a large amount of dynamite that we can hook up to a few other places. I point out each spot and explain my plan to Jen.

“All we have to do is carefully maneuver the explosion sites so that all it will do is hurt a few people and cause panic to the rest.” I say to conclude my plan. Jen nods.

“Got it.” She says. We work together to summon about eight sticks of dynamite, enough for my plan. Then we fly around the mall, wedging the sticks into the crevices I’ve found. We connect the ropes and light one end.

It’s only when the rope is halfway burned that I notice someone in the crowd who I’d really hoped wouldn’t be here. Bdubs doesn’t notice me, thankfully, but he also doesn’t notice the dynamite. He’s strolling through the mall, not in a bad mood, probably daydreaming. I wonder why he’s here but- why today? He could get hurt. I tense and Jen follows my stare.

“Is he one of your friends?” She asks.

“Yes.” I choke out. 

“I’ll make sure he gets out.” Jen promises. “Without my hood, he won’t recognize me as a Watcher.

Then the first explosion goes off. 

It’s absolute pandemonium, people running to and fro in panic. Some use the fire exits, some just run for the entrance. Debris falls from the ceiling as the second explosion goes off.

Jen uses a power that more experienced Watchers have, telekinesis, to make sure that none of it hits Bdubs. I’m grateful for the help. 

“Go!” She shouts. The third and fourth bombs go off in succession, and the building rumbles. When the fifth bomb blows, Bdubs is a little too close. He’s thrown backwards against the other wall. 

“Bdubs!” I scream, and run towards him. Who cares if he sees me?

I pull up my hood so it covers my face and grab him by the sleeve, hoping he won’t notice that it’s me or that I’m a Watcher.

I drag Bdubs out away from the bombs as the sixth blows, and prop him against a wall outside the plaza. He’s still alive, I realize with a sigh of relief. Hopefully, he’ll be okay right here. Then I retreat back into the crowd and search for Jen. She’s still holding up the building with telekinesis.

“Are you coming? We have to go!” I call to her.

“There are still too many people trapped here!” She shouts back. “You help them get out! Leave me!”

I inhale sharply, soot and dust scraping my throat. The explosion of the seventh bomb echoes in my ears, and I know she’s right. Still, as I drag out person after person from the building, I can’t resist looking back.

Jen must be tired by now, and the building shakes a little more. I think almost everyone else is out.

The eighth and final bomb explodes, and the building collapses. The entrance hall remains intact, but anyone who was in the plaza is certainly dead. Including Jen.

I collect emotions on the way out, trying to banish from my mind what I’ve just done. 

I just blew something up. 

I just killed a Watcher who could’ve been my friend.

I just hurt one of my friends, and I don’t know how badly.

And I might have killed a few normal people too.

I spread my wings and fly from the scene, trying to escape my thoughts.

When I land back at the Watcher’s headquarters, I realize how mad they might be. After all, I got another Watcher killed.

I take a breath and push open the door.

“You’re back,” Selqua says. “Where is Nilqua?”

“There was a… Malfunction.” I say. “The bombs blew them up.”

There’s silence among the group for a minute.

“It’s been a while since we lost a Watcher,” Selqua says. “You are fine to go, once you deposit the emotions, Xelqua.”

So I did. I dumped the emotions into the void beyond, and retreated from the Watcher’s presence.

If only I could talk to someone about this… Scar, or Mumbo, or Pearl, or really anyone I trust. I feel a pang of homesickness and want to go back. Knowing I can’t without putting the people I love in danger makes me want to go cry in a corner.

I fly to the roof of a nearby building and look out across the city skylines, sitting down to think.

I just want to go home.

[robiin-draws]

Welcome!

Hi there! My name is Robin (But you may call me Sparrow or Jay as well!) and I use she/her pronouns.

I'm a self taught artist/animator, as well as a wannabee author. Most of my posts will not be this formal lol

This blog is dedicated to Hermitcraft and the Life Series, but I also have an everything blog, @r0bincats

Tags: #Welcome to the HCDA - for a fic I'm writing! Masterpost here

I am a MINOR, so please, please do not be a weirdo.

DNI if:

Racist

Sexist

Homophobe/Transphobe

Proshipper

Mainly NSFW blog

And that's it!

I do make quite a few hermitshipping posts, so don't like, don't look! <3

Requests are OPEN! Can't promise they'll be done fast, but,,

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chapter 3

Warnings: Panic attack

Notes: Panic attacks are hard to write- please lmk if I did anything wrong!!

Chapter 3 - Early return

Scar

I find the letter early the next morning when I go out to check the mail.

Grian has left a letter with his day one reports in our small mailbox, and I wonder what he and Pearl have learned.

I take it up to my office and rip open the seal. The paper inside reads the following:

Dear Scar,

I don’t have a ton of things to report, unfortunately. This group that we have found is called the Watchers, and we have been let in.

By the looks of it, their leader is a Watcher named Selqua. They apparently all have Watcher names that end in qua, which I thought was kind of interesting.

The most notable part of our first day though, was that we may have found the Watcher’s motives! They feed off negative emotion. That’s their food! They have to cause trouble, so they do. That’s… Not very good though. I have a feeling they might be our most dangerous enemy yet.

Please stay safe,

Grian

I finish reading the letter. Part of me is extremely glad Grian and Pearl are okay for the moment, and the other is even more worried for them. I mean, the most dangerous enemy? I hope they’re both alright.

And then Pearl bursts in.

“Scar-” She gasps. Why is she back so early? 

“Pearl?” I ask, my voice rising in panic as I stand slowly. I clutch the letter. “What happened? Where’s Grian? Is he okay? Are you okay?” 

Pearl takes a moment to breathe before speaking. “I woke up and both Grian and the Watchers were gone.” She says, eyes wide and frightened. “I searched all morning, but I know they wouldn't've left without me…” 

Pearl trails off. She might’ve said something else, but if she did, I don’t hear it. All I can hear is the roar of my own thoughts, the what ifs about Grian. What if they captured him? What if they went with him willingly? …What if he’s dead?

I shouldn't have thought about that. My thoughts race faster, though I’m faintly aware of someone calling my name.

“Scar- Scar?” My vision clears a little bit. Pearl is looking me in the eyes, her own filled with concern. “Are you alright?”

“I- I don’t know-” I stammer. I try, and fail, to slow my racing heart.

“Breathe. Look at me.” She tells me, still looking straight at me. Her eyes are a deep blue, I notice, and they soften a little bit when she sees I’m following her instructions. My thoughts have calmed a little. “Is that better?” She asks gently.

“...Yeah.” I say finally, smiling a little.

“That’s good,” She sighs. “I know you’re worried. I am too.” Pearl pauses. “Please, get some rest.”

She gives me a quick hug and walks out of the room. 

. . .

I can’t believe I have to publicly announce this.

I mean, I can’t just leave the other hermits in the dark, but I really don’t think I can.

I’m already at the podium though, so it’s too late to back down.

First, I have Pearl come up and explain everything she’d learned, which was pretty much the letter Grian sent me. Now, it’s my turn to tell them.

“I know that most of you are probably wondering why Pearl is back so early without Grian.” I start, taking a shaky breath. “And the answer isn’t one that I like. We… We don’t know what happened to Grian. He could have sided with the enemy, or been captured.” 

I struggle to look any of the hermits in the eye. My gaze falls on Pearl in the back, who nods encouragingly. We’ve never lost someone to a mission before. I really don’t want to tell them the last possibility. 

“It’s…” I try to force my voice to be steady. “It’s possible he’s dead.” My voice cracks. I have to look away from Mumbo’s face. I don’t want to see his reaction. “Please look for him, and I- Meeting dismissed.”

As everyone begins to talk amongst themselves, I slip out. I think Mumbo sees me, and Pearl does too.

I open the door to my office and roll to my desk, sinking into the worn wheelchair. Now that the initial panic has passed, I’m just worried. If he’s dead… I just can’t bring myself to think about that. He can’t be dead. They wouldn’t kill him. Why would they do that?

. . .

Nightmares of the Watchers and death haunt my dreams that night. I don’t think Grian is actually dead really, but it still worries me when I think about where he is instead. Jellie sits on my lap and I stroke her. She seems to sense I’m upset, because she won’t leave me alone. 

I hear a knock at the door, and I roll over to answer it, setting Jellie down on the floor.

Mumbo standing there, staring at me. His fingers are fiddling with each other, something he does when he’s nervous or worried, and he doesn’t look like he slept much.

“Are you okay?” I ask him.

“Are you?” He asks.

“I don’t know.” I admit.

“Neither do I.” Mumbo looks down. “Do you want to look for him? Just us, maybe Pearl?”

“Yes.” I say. “Absolutely.”