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theres-an-impulstor-among-us · 4 years ago

Note

If you have any idea, any existing ideas whatsoever that you want an excuse to write to continue the Tango glitch fic storyline, PLEASE -

(however if the horror of a forever uncertain fate is what you were aiming for in the first place I VIBE WITH THAT SO HARD feel no pressure to continue if the story is done)

thanks Shade for the idea! i saw your other ask and i like the general idea of it :)

(also as much as i like uncertain endings the anxiety in me needs arcs like this to have a proper ending. how happy that ending is is up to my creativity :3)

first part

second part

…

Tango steps through the doorway.

And vanishes.

Impulse lets out a choked sob and buries his face in his hands. Brody numbly puts his arm around his friend’s shoulder. Alone on the other side of the door, Etho slowly sinks to his knees.

Tango is gone. Forever.

“No!” Impulse wails into his hands. “Nooooo!”

Even Brody can’t hold the tears back.

All three of them blame themselves. Maybe if Impulse hadn’t killed him during the game… Maybe if Brody had done better with the doorway… Maybe if Etho had tried harder to dissuade him from going first…

...maybe Tango would still be here.

This doesn’t feel real. How can Tango, a friend they’ve had for years, more years than they can count, just be GONE? So quickly? So abruptly? So… So FINALLY? He was here just seconds ago, talking and moving, eyes full of life and emotion. And now…

Gone.

Etho stares through the doorway with hollow eyes. Not only is his close friend gone but now… now it’s proven that he’s stuck in here. Alone. Forever. He can’t follow Tango without meeting the same fate.

“What do we do now…?” asks Brody quietly.

It takes Etho a moment to realise that Brody is looking to him for guidance.

“I… I don’t… know…” Etho forces himself to breathe. “I-I guess I can’t come through the door. But I can’t stay here forever either. I guess it’s a case of picking death or a fate worse than death.”

His eyes flicker to Impulse, who is still crying into his hands. He has to blink back tears of his own as his heart aches, not just for his lost friend but for Impulse, who has lost his BEST friend. Can he in good conscience force his own death on Impulse as well? To lose one close friend in one day is bad, but two could break him.

But is a fate worse than death really preferable?

“Impulse,” Etho says softly. “Look at me.”

After a moment, Impulse raises his head and looks at him with red, puffy eyes. “Please don’t leave me,” he croaks. “I can’t… I can’t lose you too.”

Etho reaches out with his hand, palm towards Impulse, almost but not quite touching the doorway. Impulse mimics the movement with his own hand. It’s almost like they’re simply on either side of a window: able to see each other but not to touch.

Fresh tears spring to Impulse’s eyes.

They both know this is goodbye, one way or another.

“Am I closing the doorway, Etho?” Brody asks quietly.

He’s asking Etho what he wants to do.

“Yes."

“Are you sure? You know that once it’s closed, I might never be able to open it again?”

“Yes,” Etho says again. “I know it’ll be hard, but I-.”

“WAIT! STOP!”

Impulse jerks sharply and spins around at the familiar yell.

There’s no way it’s him, there’s no way he’s here, there’s no way it’s him, there’s no way he’s alive, there’s no way-

“Tango!” Brody gasps.

In the doorway to the lobby stands Tango, with someone Brody has never met before behind him: Xisumavoid.

Mouth open and tears still dripping uncontrollably from his eyes, Impulse scrambles to his feet and tackles Tango in a tight hug, unable to believe Tango is here.

“You’re okay…!” he cries. “I can’t believe you’re okay…!”

��I’m sorry,” Tango whispers back. “I’m so sorry for doing that to you. But I’m okay.”

“H-How…?”

“Later,” says Xisuma firmly, approaching the door. “Etho, come through the door.”

Etho’s eyes widen. “What?!”

“Trust me, it’s safe. It’ll take you back to Hermitcraft.”

“A-Are you sure?”

“That’s what happened to me,” says Tango, still hugging Impulse. “It sent me straight back to my last respawn point on Hermitcraft. I don’t know how and I don’t know why. But it should do the same to you.”

It’s the ultimate trust test. Does Etho trust the word of his friends?

Yes, he decides. He does.

Seeing the look in Etho’s eyes change, Xisuma nods. “See you back on Hermitcraft.”

Etho nods back and, after taking a deep breath, steps through the doorway.

He vanishes, just like Tango did.

“Everyone back to Hermitcraft,” Xisuma orders.

Tango releases Impulse and is immediately enveloped in a hug from Brody. “Don’t you dare make me grieve for you ever again, you asshole,” he mutters.

“Wasn’t my intention, trust me.” Tango can feel Brody trembling slightly. “But I won’t.”

After saying goodbye to Brody, the three Hermits head back to their server. Impulse’s head is spinning and his legs feel weak. He may faint at any moment.

“Are you okay?” Tango asks him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I never imagined I’d be sent straight back here. I thought I was either gonna just walk straight through or immediately get my face obliterated. I-.”

He breaks off as Impulse again pulls him into a hug. “Impy? Buddy?”

“I never wanna lose you again,” Impulse whispers. “Ever.”

Tango wordlessly hugs him back.

After a few minutes of the two just holding each other and recovering from the fact that they were almost separated forever, someone else joins the hug, wrapping their arms around both of them.

“Etho!” Tango beams and pulls him in. “You got back! Are you okay?”

Etho nods. “I’m okay, I’m okay. A little mentally scarred, but I’ll live.”

“Me too.”

“I’m so glad you guys are okay,” Impulse breathes. “For a horrible, horrible moment back there, I thought I’d lost both of you forever. That was so, so scary. Why did the doorway do that?”

“The game likely freaked out at having a dead player try to cross into the lobby without going through the normal resurrection protocols,” Etho responds, “and ejected us completely back to our normal world.”

“Thank god it did,” says Tango, shivering.

Impulse nods and holds his friends tighter to him, almost afraid that they would be ripped away from him at any moment.

“Yeah, thank god.”

…

“-then Etho turned up and everything was okay,” Tango finishes. “Well, KINDA okay.”

“What do you mean?” asks Zedaph, munching on the cookie Tango gave him.

“We’re physically fine, but I’m pretty sure at the very least, Impulse and I are scarred for life. I don’t even wanna think about what that might’ve done to Brody and Etho too. It’s got to the point where every time I even think about Among Us, I get a chill down my spine.”

Zedaph gives him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. That sounds horrible.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I still LOVE the game. It’s a lot of fun. I just… I don’t know if I can go back there after what happened. I don’t know if I can trust it anymore.”

After a moment, Zedaph says, “What if I went with you?”

Tango glances at him in surprise. “Really? I thought you said you never wanted to play.”

“I said I had no interest in playing but that was a while ago. Honestly, I’ve kinda wanted to play with you guys for a while and this is just the excuse I need.” Zedaph squeezes his best friend’s hand. “I know how much you love that game, Tango. If I can do anything to help you feel comfortable with it again, I’ll do it.”

“Oh, Zed…” Tango smiles gratefully and hugs his best friend. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Zedaph continues to hold his best friend, his mind already on the game he’s avoided playing for so long.

He likes glitches. They make life fun. Unpredictable. But not this time, not for his best friends. There may be some more glitches when Zedaph joins the Among Us crew, but he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure these glitches are only for fun.

He won’t let the game hurt Tango or Impulse ever again.

#hermong us #tangotek #impulsesv #etho #brodyman #vaunna’s requests

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justletmeplayminecraft · 4 years ago

Text

so, after seeing the wonderful frozen xisuma art by @ambered-glazed-sheep i had an urge to write some comfort. so i did.

featuring: hermits looking after their admin, a very out of it x, lots of warmth, both physically and in friendships, the comfort after the hurt.

warnings: general being frozen. he's fine though! warmed by the love of his friends. even if he won't step into a snowy biome for a while after this.

"'Suma!" Xisuma can't gather the energy to open his eyes. The voice sounds far away, and he struggles to tell if it really is or not. A burning touch against his cheek breaks through the numbness that has long taken over his body. He twitches from it, muscles moving without his command. A rough noise leaves his throat. "He's freezing."

"I think that's a bit obvious!" That voice is high and distressed. Xisuma can't place why. He knows he recognises them but- His thoughts are distracted as he's moved. Powdered snow slips off his body, limp in the hands that hold him. "Come on, I've got a leather chest plate. Help me get him into it."

He barely manages a noise to protest being manhandled. There's gentle hushing in response as a force tugs at his arms. He can hardly tell which way is up anymore. Something is being pulled onto him and with some effort, he blinks his eyes open. He can't make sense of what he sees. It's just colours - blues as cold as the iciness inside him. None of the shapes come together in his head, no matter how hard he tries to focus. Exhausted, they fall shut again. His head rolls forward with them, quickly caught and laid back on something solid. He's sitting upright. Ah.

"C'mon, Xisuma." He's pretty sure that voice is talking to him. He's Xisuma, right? "Stay with us a bit longer." With a firm click, warmth blossoms in his chest. He sighs at the sensation. He didn't think his muscles could slack any further, but he slumps against the wall behind him all the same.

"I've got his helmet." Mm, his helmet. Something tugs through his hair, and he feels snow drop onto his nose. When did he take his helmet off? "Let's get him back to Hermitcraft." He makes a surprised noise when the wall behind him moves. There's something hooking under his arms, and then he's hauled upwards. Despite his best efforts, his feet only slide on the ground. He can't feel the surface underneath them. He's not sure if he should be fighting the grip or embracing it.

"Up you come, big guy." He attempts to open his eyes but gravity swings around him. Although he can't be sure, he thinks that squeaking noise came from his mouth. He squeezes his eyes shut to fight off the dizziness in his already clouded thoughts.

"Have we got everything?" The pressure on his body shuffles him, moving malleable limbs into position. Xisuma flexes his fingers into soft fabric. They ache with the movement, but he grips on tightly all the same.

"One derp of an admin successfully collected. We can come back for anything else." The sturdy chest he's leaning against rumbles with the words. Xisuma hums softly.

"Impulse, can you go ahead and make sure we have potions?" Xisuma allows his head to rest against the support holding him. Warmth is seeping back into his limbs at a snail's pace. He couldn't tell anyone where his feet are right now for the life of him.

"On it! I'll see you guys at spawn." His ears finally pick up on the crunch of snow. That must've been there before. He was recording something with it, wasn't he? Warmth presses on his head, ruffling his hair. He sinks down with a pleased sigh, mind feeling heavy.

"I'd say this is a mission success."

"Yes, and somebody is going to get a stern talking to." The warmth on his head leaves for a second when his nose is poked. Xisuma scrunches up his face. He has a vague notion that somebody might be him.

"Let's get him warm first-." The rest of the sentence trails off from Xisuma's hearing. His thoughts have only grown heavier, and he's too tired to fight that encouraging pull into sleep. He lets out a final sigh, curling into the warmth surrounding him. He's safe here. He can rest.

It takes some time for him to climb back to consciousness. He's cozy. There's a comfortable pressure shielding him from the world. When he listens, he can make out familiar voices talking without distinguishable words. Occasionally, there's someone holding him, and he can feel the words more than he can hear them. Xisuma is happy existing in this in-between. There's no pressure. No ever-present responsibility. And, his tired mind helpfully supplies, no cold. He'd begun to think he'd never feel warmth again out there.

His thoughts are more coherent now, at least. He can feel all the way down to his toes. His skin is covered in soft fabric, a comfortable cocoon. A fire crackles in the distance, the scent of food reaching his nose. Mushroom stew, he thinks. Rich and well-flavoured.

"Xisuma," a voice encourages, next to him, "I can see you twitching." Xisuma thinks his sigh is disappointed as he makes that final grab towards consciousness. He squints his eyes open into a warm glow. "There you are!" Xisuma hums in reply, trying to make out the person's silhouette.

"Cub?" The name sounds unsure to his own ears. Like his voice still isn't part of him. It didn't hurt as much as he expected. How many potions have they fed him?

"Yep. Welcome back, X." Xisuma lifts one of his arms, weaving it out of the blankets to rub his eyes. It still feels heavy, moving with an ache. Ugh, he hates the cold.

"Gettin' there." He frowns at his failed pronunciation. Nothing he can do about it now. Cub chuckles, ruffling through X's hair. Xisuma makes an annoyed noise, trying and very much failing to whack him away.

"Think you can manage some food?" Cub asks. Xisuma takes a deep sniff of the stew, his stomach twisting in previously forgotten hunger at the thought.

"Please." Cub smiles, leaving his side with a barely felt squeeze of the shoulder. These blankets are thick.

Xisuma uses the time to take stock of where he is, eyes adjusted to the light. It's the spawn hub he built. Across the central room, Cub has joined Joe and Impulse, working in front of a campfire he's pretty sure he didn't include. Underneath him is the soft surface of a bed. Something is warm inside the blanket, and he's fairly sure he wasn't wearing such fluffy clothes earlier. His armour is stacked against a chest next to the bed, helmet on the lid and within reach. He smiles.

"X!" He turns back as Impulse approaches, smile brighter than any of the lights in the room. "It's good to see you awake, man. Or coherent at least." Xisuma laughs a little self-deprecatingly.

"Ah, I didn't do anything too embarrassing whilst I was out, did I?" His memories of all that are a bit fuzzy. He remembers recording, and it was going well! He'd taken good notes and he was working through them efficiently. Then he remembers lying there in the snow, wondering if he'd ever move again (he won't linger on that memory.) Next thing he knows, he's being picked up.

"Well, unless you count clinging to Cub like a child?" Hm. The blush he can feel at the thought answers that one. Impulse takes in his expression and laughs, "Nah, you were fine! We won't tell anyone. Lips sealed."

Xisuma doesn't get the chance to reply as Cub and Joe join them, bowls of stew and a plate of sliced bread in hand. They set up a few chairs with a table between them. Xisuma has to shuffle his sore limbs forward to reach. He jumps in surprise when something rolls out of his blanket pile, hitting the floor with a thud. Impulse reaches down and scoops it into his hand. He unwraps the bundle, revealing the stone within.

"Magma rocks, wrapped up so they're not too hot," he explains at Xisuma's confused look. "Zed's idea, actually. Keeps him warm in that massive cave of his." Oh. That explains the extra heat source, then. Xisuma reaches out for a slice of bread, dipping it into the stew. He smiles as he watches it soak in, taking his time to enjoy this. It smells glorious, and it tastes just as good.

Once he's half way through his stew, he finally asks, "What happened? I'm still a little confused." The three share a look. Cub is the one who shrugs.

"You went to record a snapshot overview, right?"

Xisuma nods, "I did indeed. And the next thing I remember is being on the ground. And cold." Can't forget the cold. He kind of wishes he could.

"Well, Xisuma," Joe sits up straight as he speaks. His bowl is already empty. How did he manage that without Xisuma realising? "We noticed after a few days that our dear admin hadn't come back. So after a few messages with no response, we went to look for you. And what do we find but our admin curled up in the snow, looking like an icicle."

"Seriously, X," Impulse says it with a gentle sigh, "Why would you set your spawn in the snow?" Xisuma's mouth opens, but he ends up simply rubbing his neck. It does nothing to hide the blush creeping onto his face.

"Ah, goodness." He chuckles once his words return. "Not my smartest move, then."

"Well, you've had your moments." Cub's smile is as fond as it is teasing. Xisuma returns to dipping his last slice of bread in the stew, hopefully not embarrassing himself further.

"You know, you're kind of lucky, X," Joe adds, with a smile a little too smug for him, "Cleo wanted to come." X winces at the thought, swallowing his food down on instinct. He got off very lucky indeed. "We're still going to talk about this," Joe warns, "but I'll hold her wrath off for now." Xisuma hums, tugging the blanket tighter around his shoulders.

"We don't want anything to happen to you, Xisuma," Impulse tells him, ever so soft. "We had no idea something did. What if we hadn't checked?" It's not a comfortable thought.

"I'll think of something," X decides. "I see what you're saying."

"Well, technically you don't see it-" Cub rolls his eyes at Joe, taking the empty bowls to wash up. Only Xisuma hasn't finished.

"Joe, I'm trying to be serious, man!" Impulse protests. Xisuma hides his laugh behind a spoonful of stew. He continues eating, listening to the three go back and forth. Later, they'll work out a plan for future snapshots. Frequent check ins, a buddy maybe. But, for now. For now, he gets to spend time with what matters most. His friends.

#hermitcraft #xisuma #xisumavoid #impulsesv #cubfan135 #joe hills #my writing #listened to the animal crossing nl soundtrack whilst editing. v good.#also sorry for tagging u if u didn't wanna be amber #pls do not feel obligated to reblog lmao it's just too give u credit where credit is due

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writing-the-end · 4 years ago

Text

LoL Chapter 43- Remember

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU, designs, ideas belongs to @theguardiansofredland)

Finding Mumbo isn’t the only challenge facing the hermits. They need to remind him who his family really is.

_______________________________________

“....i….a….n….? Gri…..Grian!” Iskall’s voice, tainted with fear, breaks through the empty unconsciousness that gripped Grian. He winces, pain shooting through every nerve and muscle of his being, his heart aching and fingers numb. xB is hovering over him, bending water to ease the pain and electricity that still runs through his body. Jevin’s slime runs across the burns that lightning has left behind. In the air, a faint scent of burnt chicken permeates around Grian.

He sits upright, terror ricocheting and intertwining with the pain in his body. Despite the horrible pain of electricity conducting through him, and the Forest of Memories using his proclivity for pain to drag him deeper into despair, his first worry is Mumbo lost in the woods.

Mumbo’s a city boy. He doesn’t know anything about the wild. Even if he’s just lost, he could fall down a ravine, or get caught in carnivorous vines, or hunted by a beast. But this isn’t any forest- this is the Forest of Memories, haunting him with his past, his fears. And haunting him with what just happened.

But it’s not just that Mumbo is from the city. He also knows his best friend's brain will turn his memories, his thoughts, his actions against him. It couldn’t have been any other hermit, one that wasn’t so insecure about their position among the guild, their ability to be a mage. It had to be Mumbo, the newest, the most fearful. It attacked him knowing he saw himself as the weakest link. And it made him believe it, see it.

“We have to go after that spoon.” Grian states, standing. He wobbles like a newborn shleep, falling to his knees.

“Hold up, Grian. You literally just had 300 million volts use your body as a lightning rod, I know you’re the guild healer and all but you can’t go running after him.” Cleo holds him down, keeping him from trying to run off into the woods. “Grian stop! You can’t run off on your own, or the Hangman’s Playground will turn your thoughts against you. We’ll go together.”

“How will we even know where he’s gone?” Keralis questions, reaching out to pet a shleep that had wandered into the clearing. The second the bug mage’s fingers sink into the galactic wool, red bolts of static zap him with a yelp.

“I think he went that way.” BDubs points, seeing other shleep going to the east, static bolts of red energy dancing between swirls of starry fur. Zed is positively delighted to have the company of the shleep in the terrifying forest, and he makes sure to keep the ruminants spirits high to help with the sanity of the rest of the group.

Iskall helps Grian to his feet, letting the angelic being rest lean on his shoulder, his friend stumbling along with the group. Joe casts a spell which enchants a compass that Wels had, pointing the direction of Mumbo. Though the poem rhyming ass with compass was a bit much.

The longer they spend within the Forest of Memories, the longer it’s effects linger and worm their way through their defenses. Stress’s amulet shatters, breaking in a burst of darkness. Immediately, the memories of her life before the hermits flood back in. She ignores the laughter, the empty parties and emptier people, running forward and grabbing another amulet to protect herself. They’re all fighting off their own demons, but the knowledge that Mumbo may be fighting his alone keeps them moving forward.

Ren tips his head up, sniffing the air and wagging his tail. “I smell a change in the air, I think we’re close.”

“You can’t possibly smell Mumbo, he’s not that stinky.” Iskall jeers, pushing a copse of brambles out of the way.

“It’s not Mumbo I smell- it’s his magic. It smells like ozone.” Ren disappears through the green foliage, though his tail gets stuck on the way out. He yanks it free a few times.

“Why would magic smell like oz-” Iskall’s cut off when he gets his answer. A bolt of lightning burns the grass at his feet, red lightning branching and crackling through the sky.

Grian let’s go of Iskall, stumbling forward. “Mumbo…”

Hovering in the air, surrounded by bolts of lightning striking at random intervals and places, the multi-mage is lost within his own magic. A power surge, fully realized, and well beyond Mumbo’s control. He was alone, with no one to calm his fears, to help him reign in his magic. Mumbo’s eyes are open, though glowing and crackling with energy. His arms hang limp, his feet at least a meter off the ground.

Mumbo’s in a power surge. TFC tries to step closer, but with every forward step any hermit takes, they’re forced to retreat two lest they be struck down like Grian was. He’s not even conscious enough to realize what he’s doing. And the surge is getting stronger. Lightning begins to burn the trees around them, setting the wood on fire. The shleep that were following Zed scatter, their wool turning a misty black.

“He’s going to destroy everything!” Beef warns, jumping back and stomping out a fire started by the lightning.

“He’s going to destroy himself!” Xisuma adds. “But how in the world are we going to get close enough to talk him down?”

Iskall and Grian look at one another. They’re Mumbo’s best friends, if there’s anyone that could bring him back to reality, it’s Iskall and Grian. The architechs. Iskall casts his magic, his own radioactive iskallium negates the energy of Mumbo’s magic, and Grian wraps his arms around Iskall and flutters into the air, within shouting distance of Mumbo. He struggles with his wounds, but refuses to drop Iskall. At least, not this time. “Mumbo? Mumbo!”

Grian’s shouts fall on deaf ears, the hollow form of Mumbo possessed only by magic. Iskall and Grian look at one another, then back at Mumbo. “Mumbo, look! Grian’s fine, it’s not the worst wound he’s ever gotten, you know that!”

“Mumbo, I know you think we don’t want you.” Grian ducks, his hair standing on end as a bolt of lightning nearly hits him again. “But that’s not true! You’re a part of this family, you’re a hermit! We aren’t like other guilds, we aren’t like your parents were. I asked you to join us because you were fun, and unique, and different. That’s what this guild is for.”

“You’re so strong Mumbo, because no matter how many times things don’t seem to work out, or your magic is just out of reach, you still keep trying! We all admire how no matter what happens, you still get right back up and try again. I mean, Grian and I have mega thrashed you before, and you just stand up and go for it again!” Iskall notices Mumbo’s eyes blink, and the loud roar of cracking lightning and thunderous roars begin to deafen.

“Yeah, Mumbo we know you’re strong! You’ve beaten us before, and we’re two S-class mages! But we also understand your struggle. We see how hard you work.” Grian floats toward the ground, following as Mumbo’s feet touch down on the grass. Iskall kneels beside Mumbo, Grian wrapping his wings to coo and comfort all three. “Mumbo, we want you around. You are a hermit and you are a part of this family.”

“You aren’t our weakest link, man. You’re our best friend.” Iskall breathes. He watches Mumbo blink once, then twice, and on the third time they can see his grey eyes once again. The last of the lightning fades away, Mumbo collapsing into his friends’ arms.

“I’m so sorry, I hurt you.” Mumbo whimpers, turning his head. Embarrassed to look at Grian. He hurt his best friend. He could’ve killed all the others.

“You know me, Mumbo.” Grian chuckles. “Nothing can keep me down for long.”

The other hermits join the architechs on the ground, reminding Mumbo how much he means to them. How he’s made their lives better, brighter, more fun.

And the Forest of Memories can’t hurt them.

The dark shadows lurking in the foliage instead show the dappled light of the sun through the trees. Rather than focusing on the negative, they see the light. Sunshine burns away the voices of those who wish to tear each hermit down. Doubtful family members, cruel guildmasters, even the voice of Magistrate Dolios himself is eradicated by the group’s sentimentality of each other.

Instead, the Forest begins to play the best moments of their times together. Mumbo and Grian meeting, Team ZIT meeting TFC on the side of a road, the day Cleo beached her ship on an island that should never exist. Days spent basking in the sun, too hot to train, playing on the beach and in the waters of the Ashioll sea. Cheering on and betting during duels, but always there for both the winner and the loser. Training feeling more like play with the hermits, dinners are bright and happy even in the dark, the island flourishing with life during festivals as the hermits grow excited. Even when it rains, they can be the happiest days on the island. Huddling close to warm fires with mugs of cider, blankets wrapping around friends. Playing in the puddles, dancing in the rain, enjoying every second of their lives.

They’re a family, though not by blood, but by choice. A family that nothing, not even the Hangman’s Playground, can tear apart.

#hermitcraft #light of lairyon #lol #hermitcraft au #hermitcraft fanfic #wizard hermits #wizard au #wizard grian #wizard mumbo #wizard iskall #wizard tfc #wizard joe #grian #grianmc #mumbo jumbo #iskall85 #tinfoilchef #joehills

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thelionbyname · 4 years ago

Text

Together We Are One (Prequel part 11, Final)

(Hello everyone :) So sorry for the huge gap between posts, I just moved back to my home country, so there wasn’t a lot of time for me to write. I also knew this was going to be the final part in this story, and I didn’t want it to be over. But I may write another Hermitcraft fanfic soon. Because this is the final, it is quite a bit longer than usual, hope you don’t mind. Enjoy!)

As soon as Grian landed beside him, Mumbo pelted him with questions. “Are you okay? Who was that? What happened to him? I’m sorry I was no help, I couldn’t climb down the tree fast enough…”

“That’s all right Mumbo, I don’t blame you. I’m fine, a few scratches and bruises, but otherwise unharmed,” Grian assured him.

“Who is he, though? You must know him, or at least, he knows you, or he wouldn’t have attacked out of the blue like that.”

Grian shrugged and brushed his fringe out of his eyes. “I don’t know, Mumbo. He looked at me like he knew me, but I’ve never seen him before. If I had, I would remember.”

Mumbo nodded thoughtfully. They decided they should probably tell Xisuma what happened; perhaps he knew more. They found the other hermits still sitting on the side of the road, Tango, Xisuma and Keralis trying to convince False to start singing again.

“False can sing?” Grian asked, surprised. He momentarily forgot what he came to them for.

“Right, yeah! You and Mumbo haven’t heard it! She’s phenomenal!” Tango told him. His crimson eyes sparkled, but then he clenched his fist behind his back and his smile faded. It looked to Xisuma like he was punishing himself for something. He pushed the thought aside for now.

“Yeah, Falsie sang in Argentina, and she really is incredible.” X agreed.

“I need to hear this!” Mumbo said excitedly.

“You know what, guys? When this is all over, I’ll sing for everyone and get us into the new year.” False decided.

Everyone smiled triumphantly. They continued to chat about other things, until Grian remembered what he came to tell them.

“Wait, guys. There was something I was trying to tell you before, but I forgot. A man attacked me when Mumbo and I were over yonder. I don’t know him, but we figured he must know us to have any reason to attack me. I was wondering if you guys knew anything about that.” Grian said to all of them, but facing Xisuma. He figured that if anyone knew, Xisuma would. He knew everything regarding the hermits.

“What did this man look like, Grian?” Xisuma asked him.

“Um… quite a handsome man, olive skin, but bloodshot eyes. He had a long scar along his right cheek.” Everyone except Mumbo gasped at his description. “What?” Grian asked, confused. He glanced at Mumbo, who shrugged, feeling just as out of the loop as Grian.

Xisuma was the one who responded. “Remember that night in the other world, when Tango and Keralis were held hostage, Tango died, and you two had to capture a bunch of people?”

Mumbo and Grian nodded, starting to understand.

“The man that attacked us back then matched that exact description. Malus.”

They recognised the name from the recount the others had given them after the fight. Their eyes widened in surprise.

“I assume your fight led to him being thrown into the black hole? It would explain how he got in that world.” Xisuma guessed correctly.

Grian nodded.

“No point dwelling on it, there’s nothing we can do about it, and we shouldn’t mess with the past anyway.” Keralis said, looking at Grian, knowing the latter would beat himself up over bringing the dangerous man to the other world for many nights to come if wasn’t reassured. Keralis knew Grian would blame himself for Tango’s temporary death, once he connected the dots.

Grian smiled at Keralis gratefully, aware of what he was doing. Keralis smiled back.

At that moment, light returned to the road up ahead; the black hole had closed.

Everyone hurried back to the taxis, this time not fussing over who sat where, so Tango ended up next to False, with Xisuma in the passenger’s seat.

Xisuma motioned for the driver to continue, and looked via the rearview mirror at the two in the back. Tango was sitting very stiffly, arms on his lap, like he really didn’t want to come in contact with anything.

...Or anyone…

Before Xisuma could dwell on that realisation, Tango noticed him watching, and looked in his eyes through the mirror. Tango blushed slightly from the embarrassment of being watched, and looked away. Nobody talked for the rest of the trip.

At some point during the drive, Tango sensed the other hermit’s minds. He could only really feel their aura, not their thoughts, but if Cleo was paying attention, she would feel them nearby too. Though to be fair, they were probably still recovering from the black hole and watching the six of them get sucked through, so it was unlikely that she was paying attention.

Then, suddenly, Tango felt an overwhelming wave of emotion. Pain, sadness, loss. This grief came from someone else’s mind, and he immediately recognised the aura. It was Impulse.

“Stop! Stop the car!” Tango shouted. He needed to get to Impulse, now.

The startled taxi driver hit the brakes, and Tango jumped out. He couldn’t bear the pain that wasn’t even his own, it was too much to know what his best friend was going through.

He sprinted in the direction of all the presences, but there was still a long way to go. The reach on his telepathy was quite far, so he felt the hermits far before he was anywhere near them. Then Xisuma was next to him. Without a word, he super-speed-ran all the way to the Hermits, taking Tango with him.

They stopped behind a few trees that hadn’t been torn from the earth, a few meters from the hermits, and Xisuma let go of Tango. Tango immediately ran through the group gathered around a single person, curled up in a ball of dread, arms wrapped around his legs, trying to protect himself from pain that came only from within.

“Impulse!” Tango screamed as he pushed his way through the mass of people.

Impulse, the one on the ground, just shook his head and whimpered, rocking back and forth. He mumbled to himself, “That’s not Tango, he’s gone, he’s never coming back.” And he let out a scream.

But then comforting arms wrapped around him, and the same voice that had called his name whispered, “Impulse, it’s all right, it’s me, I’m okay.”

Something in Impulse’s heart mended, a hole sealed. Even though it went against everything he just saw, Impulse wanted to believe him. And he did.

There’s some strange connection that forms in friendships such as these, and when your best friend is nearby, you just know, even when every logical part of your brain says it’s not possible.

Impulse carefully raised his head, and looked directly into his favorite pair of blood-red eyes. And as the final cracks in his heart and soul mended, miraculously, Impulse smiled.

“Tango! You’re alive!” he yelled, and despite himself, giggled with relief. “Wh- how? I saw you die!”

“You didn’t see me die, you saw me vanish into the black hole,” Tango corrected him. “It wasn’t deadly. Long story short, it led to another world, we traveled back in time, and now we’re home!”

“We? Where are the others? Did they make it?” A new expression of worry clouded his chocolate eyes.

“Yes, they-” before Tango could finish his sentence, someone else jumped playfully on top of both of them, knocking both of them over, and embracing them.

“Zed!” Tango laughed, and hugged him back. Then he smiled again, to himself. I’m back with my family.

All the hermits gathered around them just stood, some confused, most just watching the trio’s heartwarming happiness. Xisuma had not yet emerged from the trees, trying to get everything together and prepare to see all the people he was closest to in the world, after all those years. He didn’t quite dare to believe it, and once he’d laid eyes on them all, he stood frozen. Xisuma had always been the sensible and logically thinking one in the group, their leader of sorts. But now he was just afraid of it all being a dream, and he was terrified of getting his hopes up.

He stood there, numb but scared, between the trees, and watched team ZIT wrestle and roll around playfully. But then Cleo, having sensed him telepathically, and noticing his hesitation, came towards him.

“Xisuma, it’s okay. It’s really us. I know how you feel,”-she gestured at her head- “obviously, but you don’t have to worry that it’s all a dream”. Xisuma didn’t move. “You’re making me do this,” she said, and in one movement, twisted his arm behind his back and forced him to the ground.

“Ow! What was that for?” Xisuma demanded, coming to his senses.

“Could you have dreamt that?” Cleo asked, releasing him.

“I suppose not…”

“Good. Come join us. Where are Grian and the rest? The ones who went with you?”

“They took the taxi. They should be here soon.”

“Taxi? From where- you know what, tell everyone the whole story later. I’m just glad you’re all alive”.

“Me too.”

They joined the people still huddled around the now again-hugging team ZIT, and once people saw Xisuma, he was embraced by at least ten different hermits.

Just then, two taxis appeared at the end of the street, and Grian and Mumbo tumbled right out. They jumped to their feet as False and Keralis stepped out a bit more gracefully, but all four of them sprinted over to their friends. Everybody was hugging everybody.

“Bubbles!!” Keralis yelled, peering over the many heads in search of the little fella. And he was tackled to the ground and embraced tightly by bdubs.”Bubbles!” Keralis said again, happily.

But then Grian caught sight of team ZIT, still lying on the ground in the middle of the crowd. “Group hug!!” he shouted, and flopped on top of them, Mumbo right behind him.

Impulse grinned. “Hey G! Welcome back!”

Then another body added itself to the pile of happiness. Scar threw his arms around Grian and giggled in a way only he could. Then Iskall threw himself on top of Mumbo. After that, the rest followed, one by one, until all twentyfour of them were one big pile of pure euphoria. Even Jellie perched on top.

They could have remained like that for hours, just soaking up each other’s warmth and friendship, but eventually Zedaph said, “Um, I know we’re all very happy, but perhaps Impulse and Tango would like to breathe. I wouldn’t mind some fresh air either, actually.”

Everyone laughed and started gently trying to disentangle themselves from the heap of limbs. Before they could all disengage, however, two more young women showed up and just stood watching them, confusion on their faces, but also an expression that said, ‘yeah, seems about right’.

“Uh… Hi! I thought this was a New Year’s party?” one of them asked in her Australian accent.

At this, someone deep within the pile somehow jumped up, throwing all the hermits off him. Grian attempted to flatten his now messy hair with one hand, while he waved at the girls with the other. “Pearl! Right! I forgot I invited you… years ago.”

“Ehm… I’ll ask later. Is it still okay that we’re here? Oh yeah, I hope you don’t mind, I brought a plus one. This is Gem.” Said Pearl, gesturing at the woman beside her.

In a voice a hundred times sweeter than candyfloss, Gem said, “Nice to meet you all. You must be Grian, judging by the chaos around you.” This was met with welcoming laughter from all around.

Pearl and Gem helped everyone out of the mess of bodies, and then everyone- some skipping, some running, some just walking- went back to the ballroom where, a few hours or a few years ago, depending on who you asked, everyone was dancing, not a care in the world. Grian flew through the open doors and looked around at the place he had always continued to call home, with every day that had passed in the other timeline.

As he flew around, Mumbo and Iskall jumped up to reach him and each grabbed hold of one of his legs, pulling him down. “Come back down to earth, Grian!” Mumbo joked.

“Yeah, get your head out of the clouds,” Iskall added, laughing his contagious Swedish laugh.

Grian allowed his friends to pull him down, and hugged them again. “I love you guys.”

A few minutes later, it was as if no time had passed. Everyone stood around the room in little groups, chatting, while the big clock on one wall ticked off the minutes until the new millennium began.

Team ZIT stood around the same high table as they had before everything happened. They were talking about all sorts of things, but not the one thing everyone was wondering about. They had decided that was a story best told when everyone was together and listening, so all six time travelers could talk about it together.

“Oh, by the way, did you know False speaks Spanish?” Tango asked his two best friends.

“What? No way!” Impulse said in disbelief.

“Of course she does. That sounds like something she’d secretly know.” Zed grinned.

Their conversation was interrupted when False came over to their table.

“Hey Tango, wanna dance like we did in Argentina?” she asked with a smile, not knowing how pained that made him feel.

But he didn’t want to disappoint her, so he said, “Can you give me a few minutes?”

She nodded and slipped back into the sea of people.

“Tango, are you okay?” Zedaph asked, watching the way his friend stared after her.

Impulse saw it too, and had also noticed the flicker of hurt in Tango’s crimson eyes when she asked him to dance.

“I don’t know what happened in Argentina, or how in the world you even got to Argentina, but something changed, Tango, and it’s hurting you. We don’t want to see you hurt.” Zedaph told him.

Tango tore his gaze away from where False had disappeared between the mass of bodies, and turned back to face him. “I- I think I’m in love with her, guys. But I don’t want to be, I don’t want to ruin our friendship, or make things awkward with the rest of the hermits.” Tango confessed.

Impulse nodded, he’d suspected something like that. Zedaph looked surprised but understanding, and asked, “Have you talked to her? Maybe if you just told her how you feel, you can get it off your chest. It might be awkward for a bit, but you’re both mature...ish, your friendship will survive.”

“I think Zed is right. Maybe you should just confess.” Impulse concurred.

Tango sighed. “I guess it’s worth a shot. I don’t want to live like this.” And with that, he trudged to the dancefloor, where False was waiting for him. But when he put his hand on her waist, his mental connection with her seemed to become more focused, and narrowed down from his general view of all hermits’ thoughts, to only her’s. He felt her every emotion with every fibre of his being, and while that may seem romantic, it had the opposite effect. He felt everything she felt towards him, which was pure friendship and platonic love. And as he felt that, all his romantic notions seemed to melt away. He valued their friendship more than anything, and didn’t believe in lost causes anyway. He knew how she felt, and now he felt that way too. And he was grateful for it.

They tango’d into the final five minutes before the clock struck twelve, and Tango happily led. They were already warm from the wild movements when Xisuma approached them. “Two things. One, Falsie, were you going to sing us into the New Year?” he asked.

Tango and False stopped dancing to face him. “Yes, I’ll head to the stage.” False confirmed.

“Hold on. The second thing was that I was just talking to Stress, who was watching you dance, along with the rest of the hermits, I might add, and she mentioned the year the tango was invented.” He paused, looking at them meaningfully. “1880.”

False and Tango glanced at each other. “That was the year we went to in the time machine.” Tango said, realising. “Do you think we-?”

“I think we did!” False said, laughing.

Xisuma smiled. “Now you can sing, Falsie.”

And sing she did. Even more beautifully than in Argentina, over a century ago. She sang them all the way into the New Year, and everything was as it should be. As Xisuma watched Tango watching False, he saw no sign of his strange behaviour from earlier. He smiled to himself. Whatever had been going on with Tango, he was alright now. And the two of them, along with the rest of their family, shouted, “Happy New Year!”

THE END

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hermitcraftheadcanons · 5 years ago

Text

Zombie Apocalypse AU Masterpost 2 Electric Boogaloo

Previous Post: https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/618314308275863552/zombie-apocalypse-au-masterpost

-Bdubs is slowly going feral because he has the virus, it just doesn't show itself physically.

-Cub was tempted to purposefully get the virus to try and help find a cure, (they probably don't have lab rats given the circumstances,) by Scar talked him out of it.

-The timeline of events with DocM is that he started in the NHO group, they ended up dispersing (Etho turned and then left to ensure the safety of his friends, Beef ended up going separate due to Doc and Bdubs' constant fighting and Bdubs stormed off after an argument.) He ends up getting taken in by TFC, (he's the first to arrive,) and eventually captures Rendog.

-Stressmonster and Iskall originally lived in a cabin in the mountains. After Iskall got swept away in a snow storm and Joe and Cleo stopped by, Stress had no idea there was a Zombie outbreak.

-Hypnotizd and XB ended up trespassing in Jevin's property and Jevin shot Hypno. XB pleaded to Jevin that they weren't zombies and to not hurt them further and Jevin begrudgingly went, 'okay, fine. You aren't taking my food though.'

-Impulse's weapon of choice was a shovel.

-Grian can't fly in this AU. Let's be real, if he could, it would be pretty OP.

-Keralis most definetly gave a larger share of his rations to Xisuma while he was sick.

-TangoTek entirely blames himself for Impulse leaving and Zedaph getting bit. He feels especially conflicted because he wants to leave because he's convinced they both hate him and blame him but he can't because 'what if they go looking for him?' 'What if someone worse comes from that?'

-The location of Etho's bite is right on the front of the neck. He actually passed out from blood loss initially and he very nearly died. (Luckily for him the zombie didn't pull away, ripping out anything important (like a windpipe of an oesophagus,) giving Doc time to carefully unhinge the zombie's jaw and save Etho.) Nobody was quite sure how Etho was even alive with a big chunk out of his neck until he started displaying some strange behaviour.

-False is usually the one who stays up late to stand guard and protect her group.

-Mumbo accidentally caught Hypno in one of his traps at one point but let him go.

-Hay here’s a dumb idea, The reason ren is immune to the zombie virus is because he has like an anti-zombie virus in his body it behaves just like a normal zombie virus but it doesn’t turn you into a zombie, so how the hermits turn the zombie hermits human again is by making ren bite them.

-I have an angst ending and a no-angst ending so first here's the not-angst one: Doc and Ren team up with Cub and Scar to make a cure (so Ren doesn't have to bite everyone personally). They travel around finding every bitten survivor and salvageable zombie they can, using the weapons and resources from the NHO for protection. They find ways of producing and distributing enough cure for everyone, and during that process all of the Hermits decide to stay friends and in touch afterward.

-For the Zombie AU, if Scar doesn't already have like a different role in this au, he could've possibly been the first human infected because *someone's* pet cat ate a weird looking mouse and bit their owner.

-This is very angsty and gory, so fair warning: How fast does the virus spread through the body from the bite? If slow, you can cut the bitten part off before it spreads out through the body. To doc having a robot arm, what if he got bit and out of fear, they amputated his arm to stop the spread. I know y'all probably don't wanna go with body horror, but that's something to consider in this AU.

-Lowkey I feel zombie Etho doesnt do justice to his epic PVP skillz, but!! I do see Etho to be something SIMILAR to it! Idk if you've ever played Telltale's The Walking Dead game, but Etho could a zombie whisperer, a human who wears zombie skin and lives amongst the zombies for protection. So when Etho got bit, they THOUGHt he turned but actually just decided, hey I live here now and just vibin.

-You know how ren being a werewolf is popular in the fandom(from what I've seen) maybe that's why is immune to being a zombie and getting bitten by him if your infected cures it because the zombie infection and werewolf infection cancel eachother out.

-A more jokey Zombie!Au thing: The first episode of Llamas with hats but it's Zombie!Etho and Beef.

-I feel like if Wels could get to some of his friends he would try his hardest to protect them and if he ever managed to get bit it would be to save someone else.

-There is just always so much angst potential in any scenario or AU where it involves the possibility of Wels sacrificing himself in some way to protect his friends from something poor bb 😔

-Would infected hermits be able to like recognize people after the infection zombified them or whatever it is? Because if so oh my god imagine the angst.

(All those above in red are from our community's lovely anons!)

-About the anti-zombie Ren bite thing: Doc has the idea suddenly in the middle of an argument so the conversation goes a little like this:

Ren: "So what I'm trying to say, my dude, is that would never work because -"

Doc: "Ren. Bite me."

Ren: "Oh yeah, real mature way to end a disagreement there -"

Doc: *facepalming* "No, Ren, I mean actually.... Just do it, I'll explain later."

-Angst ending: They could never produce enough cure to stem the tide of undeath. They all choose to band together and take shelter underground, hoping to wait it out. They use X's tunnel, but that many people that close together smells irresistible to a horde. The zombies flood after them into the tunnel. X says he'll buy them some time, even though he is terrified. He collapses the tunnel on himself and the zombies so the others can escape. His last thought: At least I get to die as myself.

-Thinking about Etho's bite location (you said it was on his neck): Most bites are on the shoulder or leg (bit from behind while running away) or on the arm (bit while raised to defend). To be bitten on the neck he would have to have his arms and shoulders lowered. Etho, being a good fighter, would have only done this if it was absolutely necessary. Conclusion: he was bitten with his arms stretched out to protect someone behind him, and he knew the consequence that his choice would have.

-(@shadeswiftdraws.)

-The NHO are all strangely dressed (Etho is kakashi, Doc is green, Bdubs has a bandana,) because they were all at a cosplay convention. (-@tomcatacaphe.)

-When Etho left The nHo, he brings a Journal with him. Every Night he'll write a Journal entry. He'll write just about anything, there even some random lyrics and some pretty flowers he pick up along his travels. But as the Journal goes on, the words slowly became wobbly. Inconsistent. until finally, Unreadable chicken skrach. His final (at least readable) entry is: "-I hoPE yoU GUyZ ArE DoInG bETThEr ThAn I Am" As some point in time, Etho lost his Journal and Joe hills found it.

-Speaking of Joe Hill, he made it his personal mission to collect every literature and entertament media he can possibly carry on him. From Dnd Book, poetry, Documentary DVD's, to random journal He think would be usefull. Stress is happy to help Joe but Cleo is a little annoyed because it's will only slow them down, but Joe Argued that "If there's no knowledge left, then what will the future be? Just staying alive and surviving?" Cleo begrudgingly agrees.

-I can totally see Joe and Cleo Rocking an actual Sword and Dnd Cosplay (Joe got is a gift while Cleo Commissions her's after seeing Joe whip out his sword one time in a one shot DnD session) they keep the swords, but they ditch the Costume pretty early on tho.

-Mumbo's next Job Interview would be schedule at Concorp. But then the Zombie apocalypse happened on his way there.

(-@tearosepedall.)

-I don’t want this au to end but here’s my take: most of them get to the bunker where they don’t develop a cure, but do create a vaccine. Occasionally they will venture out to hand out the vaccine to survivors. Still, they all decide to stay into stay together. But because they were unable to develop a cure, even though they really try, there are some how have been lost such as etho, zed, and mumbo. Still the rest of them morn and try their best to survive without modern society. (-@lookitsspacekween.)

https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/618587883366957056/tw-very-brief-mention-of-vomit-general-warnings (-@carpe-shovelem.)

-Funny/happy ending to the Zombie AU: The hermits set up a zombie funneling system where the ones that didn't die from infection get bit by Ren to get turned back and they return the dead and give them proper burials. (-@my-cat-is-a-bastard.)

-I just remembered the thought post with Tuartis sleeping through things, Bdubs sleeping through the apocalypse, but now we've got Wels on the sleep team too! Wonder if he'd have slept through the apocalypse as well... (-@853dragons.)

TW: Mentions of dead animals:

I've got one last bit for the zombie au, it ties into my parasite one: With the rumors that the outbreak started in the Convex cancer research facility, and Scar feeling guilt because he Should Have Been Able To Stop This... It really was their fault. As a company. It wasn't intentional, of course, but Convex created the parasite. It was during research into a cure for certain conditions that are notoriously risky/impossible to perform surgery on, like brain tumors or lukemia-type cancer. The hope was to utilize the parasites as something that could harmlessly go in, eat or destroy all the cancerous cells, then die off, leaving a perfectly healthy human. The research project was abandoned after a several years, when every single attempt ended with either dead or, in later years, extremely sickly rats. Although the final round seemed promising, the rats weren't showing obvious signs of a decline in health after two weeks, Convex was convinced to just give it up and that the utilization of parasitic worms was asking for more trouble than it was worth. Plus, PETA was getting dangerous with their choices in protest against the tests, which was the main reason it was called off. Cub and the board of directors didn't want to risk bodily harm to their researchers, and it truly was getting so beyond ridiculous that a few bodyguards weren't enough protection.

Some researchers took some of the test rats home as pets, including our Patient Zero, because they really were quite cute. Patient Zero got bit by his rat, and nobody really thought anything of it for a couple weeks until his behavior took a bad turn. He was picking fights and throwing verbal abuse, and no amount of warnings and write-ups were giving any hint of stopping him. It all finally resulted in him viciously biting fellow labworkers, which sent two of them and himself to the ER. Upon arrival he had to be restrained and isolated lest he bite more people. He was fired from the company, his bodyguards pulled, but Scar had been friends and continued to visit him regularly, wondering where the change had come from, and saddened by his old friend's obvious decline in health. Nurses told him he was refusing to eat or drink, and too violent to reason with nor release to anywhere but the police or psychiatric hospital. Soon, there were more reports of uncharacteristicly aggressive actions from PZ's victims. And from there.... Well, it's your choice where the story goes, but it didn't take long for Scar to put the puzzle together.

-(@basaltdragon.)

More to be added!

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triple-a-enderdragon · 5 years ago

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End of Act 1

But far from over

First | Previous | Next

Something was very wrong, that much was apparent. Without checking his comms, Tango knew, as he had with Cub and Xisuma, that Iskall was dead. That's not what was so troubling, though. The flash of blue and the sudden horribly alien glee rippling through him freaked him out.

Now, more than ever, Tango needed to focus. Never mind that every hermit who came to watch was also dead, but Iskall dying was critical and Tango didn't have time to find out why.

He could hear TFC–or Earth, rather–directing Stress and Grian to stay in position, and for that he was grateful; he could focus on what he needed to do.

Which was–he now realized–to facilitate a little chat.

~~~

He never felt himself hit the ground. One instant he was falling in incredible pain, the next he was standing in front of a massive pillar of fire.

Iskall expected to be afraid, but he wasn't. He was furious; part of him realizing the fury wasn't entirely his own.

As the pillar of flame walked closer to him, a voice rang through the thick air:

How dare you.

The pillar stopped. Again, the voice rang out:

How dare you.

The pillar looked as if it would speak, but it never got the chance; it disappeared in a flash of smoke. Behind the clearing smoke, however–

Was Xisuma.

Xisuma's base was a whirling inferno. The only thing keeping the four avatars from burning was Tango's sheer will; a will he directed at the inferno itself.

"Fire! As I am bound to you, so you are bound to me! Answer!"

I need not answer you!

Tango looked at Fire grimly. "You already have." He layed his hand on the altar's southern point, the other avatars mirroring him.

Do you even know what that does?

"I do," said Earth, calm and unfazed. "It calls forth the wronged, and you have just committed a grave mistake without considering the consequences."

Another flash of brilliant blue light and Fire was thrown into the wall, a sparkling diamond figure where he had stood.

How dare you! You thought I wouldn't interfere!?

Wh–I don't understand–

Because you don't think! You never think! Now your avatar has to do it for you!?

"X?" Iskall, still in shock, was trying to process everything. "I thought you were dead. Or am I dead?"

"We're both dead. Though, I'm wondering who the diamond-blue person behind you was; he seemed furious," said X, looking past him.

"Diamond? Huh." Maybe that would explain a few things. "What have you been doing this whole time?"

X looked amused. "Saving you and Python from mobs of pigmen for one."

"Ah, that was...quite nice. Thank you."

A pause.

"So now what do we do?"

What have you done with him!?

Nothing yet! Why would you even care!?

Why would I care!? WHY WOULD I CARE!? Surely you can't be this blind. Release him!

As if I'd listen to the likes of you.

Don't make me force you.

Oh, you're threatening me? Is this how you want to handle this!?

YOU WRONGED ME.

...

RETURN HIM.

For a moment nothing moved but sparks and embers. The internal conversation that took place must have made an impression; Fire's flames dampened. He seemed almost afraid.

...alright geez. Calm down.

A flash of light.

Joe was kind of glad he hadn't gone. When he'd asked Cleo if she wanted to watch the spectacle, she'd reminded him about Cub, and about how he might wake up alone and utterly confused. And even though Joe was ready to go outside and safely die from a creeper-induced heart attack, she was right. He thrived on confusion, but that would be just tacky.

They had been conversing quietly—Cleo was telling him of a weird dream she had earlier—when an explosion went off, in the distance, from the direction of X's base. Joe could think of a few reasons why that would happen, but none of them were good. Evidently, Cleo came to a similar conclusion and started to head outside.

But before they could make it far, a noise could be heard from the Ministry.

Cub was waking up.

Whatever panic Python had when Iskall passed out in the tunnel now returned tenfold. As he laid Iskall's body next to X's, he tried his best not to think about his situation. He already disliked the Nether; hours and hours of quartz mining had seen to that. Now, alone with no foreseeable way out, Python knew he would never go back in if he could help it.

But all that dread soon turned to relief as two of his friends, one just recently taken, started to stir.

~~~

Several days had passed since Cub found himself in the Ministry and X, Iskall, and Python walked out of the Nether. Outwardly, things returned to a normal rhythm. But know everyone knew they weren't alone. Besides the Four Cardinal Directions–as they were now known–no other avatars were revealed. Some hermits, however, had their suspicions.

X had been in his base for the past day or so, sifting through world data. He had suspicions on a few counts, and both had finally borne fruit.

First, he'd confirmed his (suspicions) about the shadowy being who approached him years ago. They had been an Element from the End, yet his encounter with them left him scarred and definitely not an avatar. He hadn't yet found why.

His second findings were on the diamond-blue person and his connection–if any–to Iskall. And hoo boy, was there a connection. There was the same connection between the two of them as there was between Tango and Fire, or Stress and Water. Iskall was Diamond's avatar.

Curious, X had searched the other hermits for a similar connection, and found two. Doc and Ren. Doc had been fairly easy to figure out; his scary ability to mold redstone to his liking, his eerily accurate diagnostics on whatever was wrong with a circuit, his strange cybernetics. Doc was Redstone's avatar.

But Ren. Ren was a mystery. The only reason X had figured out Iskall and Doc's Elements was because he already had had an idea of who it could be; but with Ren, he had no such idea.

All X could do now was wait.

~~~

"I don't know why I wasn't killed by the magic blast, Tango. I was kind of hoping you would know."

"But you were killed when you hit the wall..."

"Are you trying to figure out why?"

Tango looked at Zed, amused. "And you don't want to know?"

Zed laughed, saying, "I just thought it was my wonderful personality."

"To save you from a incredibly powerful magic blast?" Joking as they were, Tango was deep in thought. And in a situation like this, there was only one thing to do, experiment!

~~~

As he approached the entrance to the Stock Exchange station, Mumbo was pleasantly surprised to not hear angry yelling. Entering the station proper, he couldn't immediately see Doc, but he knew he was here.

Sure enough, Doc was working on the departure/arrival area of track, fine-tuning the minecart dispensing and re-uptake system.

"Doc? You here, mate?"

A head poked up from behind the platform. "Yeah, man. What's up? Checking in on me?"

Mumbo looked a little sheepish. "Yeah, kind of. You all right? Redstone no longer going haywire?"

Doc climbed out of the rail pit and looked at the vending machine. "No, it's weird. After this whole 'Element' dealio, everything's gone back to normal. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I don't really want to know, either."

"Yep, I can understand that. don't want to mess with anything."

"Yes, that."

They both stood in companionable silence for a few moments before Mumbo asked, "So, you want any help with this one?"

Doc looked at him, amused. "If you're up for it, then I won't turn you down."

As they worked, Mumbo was constantly amazed by how intimately Doc knew his redstone circuits, able to pinpoint exactly where a change needed to take place without needing visual contact with it. Between the two of them, redstone powerhouses in their own ways, the minecart circulation system was one of the most beautifully constructed machines either of them had seen.

~~~

"They really aren't leaving you alone, are they?"

"I feel like they think I've been away too long."

Stress laughed as one of the huskies tugged on Iskall's sleeve as he tried to leave the lab. "And what makes you think that?"

"Hercules! Honestly! I'm not going very far! Sit!" Hercules obediently, if a bit reluctantly, let go of Iskall's sleeve and sat. "I'll be twenty minutes, and I'll be back, ok?" Iskall scratched Hercules' ears and said, "Good boy. I'll be back soon, I promise." Hercules whined, but stayed put.

Finally able to take off, Iskall went after Stress, who was already in the air, waiting for him. When she'd contacted him about the ice farm (of doom), he welcomed something fresh to do.

"From how he acts, you'd think it's been weeks since he last saw you," said Stress as they flew side by side.

"Well, he's always been more attached to me that Venus is. Besides, I think he could feel what I went through. You ever had that feeling? That your dogs know what you go through?"

"That hadn't really occurred to me, but now that you mention it, I could believe a few of them do." Stress paused for a moment, before continuing, "The rest, I'm not to sure about."

The rest of the way to the ice farm, they chatted; mostly about their animal companions and future plans for the lab.

~~~

It was dark. The sun was far overhead, but under the dense jungle canopy, it was dark. A shape edged through the shadows, careful to not disturb whatever might be lurking beyond them. A parrot, intrigued by this movement, perched nearby and started chattering.

"Where did—? Shush! Not now, dude!" Ren was desperately trying to quiet his stubborn new friend, who was quite happy to argue back.

"Of course I can handle myself, I'd just rather not tangle with anything if I can help it! Don't you have someone else you can bother?" Ren listened to the bird. "Fine. Come along if you must, but please. Be quiet!" The bird settled herself on his shoulder, quite pleased.

Now thoroughly distracted, Ren had to get back on track. He was looking for an ocelot, though why he wasn't quite sure. Even if he did find one, he wasn't sure he could get very close. He wasn't stealthy like Python, or fast like Grian; and ocelots were notoriously difficult to negotiate with. Negotiating was still his best bet.

It took the better part of an hour for him to glimpse a flash of yellow in the dense foliage. Crouching down, he once more impressed the importance of silence to his parrot passenger; he didn't want to spend more time than he had to out here. She ruffled her feathers and stayed quiet.

When he moved closer, Ren heard a small mew. Tentative, inquisitive.

"No, I'm not going to hurt you." He listened to the ocelot meowing, answering, "No, nothing like that. I just want to talk."

As the ocelot slowly crept from it's hiding place, Ren became aware of a gentle green glow from behind him. Turning around, a figure seemed to emerge from the trunk of the nearest tree. If that wasn't enough to make him faint, she spoke.

Welcome. The forest has accepted you, you are finally ready. Come, walk with me.

Utterly shocked, Ren fainted dead away. Maybe it was a bit to much.

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raediggitydog · 6 years ago

Text

Blast From the Past

-Chapter 4/7-

Grian: Come to my base ASAP!!!

It had taken MJ some time to figure out how to turn on his phone, but even then he wasn't sure how to respond to Grian's message. Instead, he boated to Grian's base as quickly as he could, hopeful it wasn't an emergency.

"I'm here, what's wrong?" MJ yelled down in the base.

"Come on down, we're just waiting for Ren!" Grian called back.

MJ looked around, quickly realizing there were no stairs or ladders to be seen. "How do I get down without dying?"

Grian just laughed. "Use the elytra I gave you, silly!"

MJ rifled through his things, finding the silvery wings gifted to him nearly a week ago. He hadn't touched them, in fear of flying by accident and dying. "I dunno how!"

Grian flew out of the basement with a laugh. "You still haven't figured it out? I learned by myself in a day!"

"To be honest, I haven't really tried.."

What?" Grian gasped. "How do you get anywhere? Let me help you, cmon."

"I walk just fine," MJ defended as Grian pried the wings out of his hands, strapping them onto MJ's back for him.

"Now, grab a rocket, like this. You see that little string? Jump in the air and pull the string at the same time, and you'll take off! Just be sure you're pointing towards open air so you don't crash! Here, follow my lead."

Grian showed MJ how to place his feet, and how to jump to get the best air time. Then, Grian pulled his string, shooting into the sky with a whoop.

"He really is a greaser without the grease..." MJ mumbled. He carefully held his rocket, prepped to activate it, and jumped. In an instant, he was soaring, wind tearing through his hair and making his eyes water.

"You did it!" Grian cheered. "Isn't this way better than walking?"

"I guess," MJ laughed nervously. "How do I get down?"

"With much difficulty!" Grian laughed. He looped around the base one last time before elegantly touching down. "Now you!"

MJ tugged on his elytra, trying to slow his fall as gracefully as Grian did. Quickly, he realized his touchdown would be more like a crash landing, and screamed.

Grian simply watched and laughed as MJ crashed into the glass, but instantly panicked as he received the message:

Mumbo Jumbo fell from a high place.

Grian: SOMEONE GET TO SPAWN

Grian: MJ DIED

Grian: I'M NOT SURE IF HE'LL RESPAWN HERE

Zedaph: Are there any supplies at spawn? Nether portal?

Xisuma: He likely doesn't know how to use a portal

GoodTimeWithScar fell from a high place.

Scar: He respawned here! :D

A wave of relieved texts flew past, and Scar assured that he would bring MJ to Grian's base immediately. Five minutes later, a wobbly MJ flew into Grian's base, accompanied by Scar.

"Oh I'm so glad you're okay! I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't respawned here!" Grian cried and threw his arms around MJ.

"Ah, I'm glad too." In that visceral instant before he died, MJ had the thought he might respawn at home, and in that instant, he was happy.

Did he want to stay here?

"So, your full name is Mumbo Jumbo, huh?" Scar giggled behind his hand.

MJ rolled his eyes with a grin. "Yeah, yeah. And you wonder why I go by MJ."

"You could have so many fun nicknames!" Grian bounced. "Like Mumbo, or Mumby, or Mum! Well, that one sounds like I'm calling you my mother..." Grian laughed.

"I'll stick with MJ, thanks. And thanks for helping me fly here Scar!"

"No problem! Good to see you're coming around to the idea of elytra." He winked. "I'd better get going, good to talk to you, MJ!"

"So Gri, what did you call me here for in the first place?" MJ shifted back to Grian.

"Well, while you were gone Ren came, so we can get started!"

"What's crackin, MJ?" Ren stood up from his seat on a chest, where MJ hadn't even noticed him. The man wore an expensive watch that matched the silver buckles in his suspenders, and had an air of cockiness about him. "Let's use the aviary, eh G?"

"Let's go!"

The trio carefully flew up into the cozy bird room, which held a strange fold out wall, blocking part of the room from view.

"What's with the..." MJ gestured to the wall.

"That's the changing room! There's a couple premade outfits back there already, you should try them on!" Ren herded MJ behind the wall, where a comfortable changing room had been set up. And, as Ren had said, there were a few outfits hanging on the wall. "Which one do you wanna try first?"

"Why do I have to try any? What's wrong with my outfit?" MJ protested.

Ren looked him up and down. "Baby, have you seen yourself lately? You look like a Steve that got mauled by phantoms."

MJ examined closer, and did admit his jeans were basically tattered, and his shirt wasn't really blue anymore. "Fine, fine. How about this one?" He grabbed a simple shirt with shorts curiously.

"Sure, we'll start there."

"...ah, do you mind?" MJ flushed, waving Ren away.

"Fine, fine! Just saying, we're both dudes, you didn't have to make it weird." Ren muttered.

"You made it weird first," MJ mumbled to himself. Ren was a weird guy, but overall one of the more approachable hermits he had met so far. He quickly changed, stepping out from behind the wall to display his new outfit.

"Ah, you look like a different person!" Grian clapped.

"Eh, the shirt is a little plain. Who wears plain white tees anymore? And the shorts are a little too short for your long legs." Ren criticized. "Go try another."

MJ shook his head, and went back to try another outfit. This one was definitely a Ren selection. "I don't wanna show you guys this one. I feel stupid." He called over the wall.

"It'll be fine, we won't judge!" MJ could hear the smirk in Ren's voice. He shuffled into view, just enough that Ren and Grian both burst into laughter. "It's so much better that I thought!"

"The- The ruffles really compliment your eyes!" Grian choked out through his laughter.

"You guys are the worst." MJ hid behind the wall, throwing the cotton candy outfit onto the floor. He pulled on the last outfit hanging up, and felt it was the best option yet. "Well?"

"Not bad!" Ren complimented. "I'm glad we kept my old outfit, it looks good on you!"

Grian nodded slowly. "I like the suspenders... I've got an idea. Ren, you take measurements while I grab fabric." Grian exploded out of the room, flying quickly to the shopping district.

"By chance do you know your armspan?" Ren quizzed.

"Uh, isn't it supposed to be the same as your height? I'm six foot five inches tall."

Ren tutted, pulling out a measuring tape. "Come here." Ren wrapped the tape around MJ's head, arms, legs and waist before Grian finally returned, arms full of fabrics.

"Let's get down to business!"

Four hours later and Grian appeared, exhaustion evident in his eyes. "Done! I'm so glad I finished today, this will be perfect! Go try it on!"

MJ eyed the outfit as he changed into it. "It's a little formal, ain't it?" MJ tugged at the tight starched collar.

Grian's eyes shone. "You look INCREDIBLE!!"

"Wow, with some hair gel you'll look perfect!" Even Ren seemed impressed.

"It's just..." MJ unbuttoned the suit coat and collar, loosening the red tie. "That's much better!"

Ren was beaming now, a light blush covering his cheeks. "Stunning! The handsome rouge, the ladies will love it! Let's give you a haircut!"

Almost an hour of hemming and hawing later, and Ren deemed him ready for the public.

"Do you guys have a mirror?" He wasn't keen on the makeover at first, but now MJ was excited to see how he looked.

Grian procured a mirror, and MJ nearly gasped when he saw himself. He was like a different person, who had really good fashion. "You sure with this much hair gel no one will think I'm a beatnik?" MJ teased.

"I don't know what that means, but you look incredible!" Grian grinned ear to ear. "Let's go to the shopping district and show everyone!"

"Ah," All of a sudden the full day of activity caught up with MJ. "Maybe tomorrow? I need to get back to Z's digs before night."

"You're staying with Zed? Nonsense, I have an empty island right here! Come be my neighbor!" Grian was bouncing with excitement, rambling about all the fun they would have as neighbors.

MJ laughed. "Man, now people are really going to think I'm a beatnik, hanging out with a greaser like you!"

Grian froze, confusion filling his large eyes. "What's a greaser?"

"Uh... I guess, it's someone who gets into trouble a lot, because he wants to fight authority." MJ withered when he saw tears well up in Grian's eyes.

"Like, a criminal? Do you think I'm a criminal, MJ?" Grian didn't move to wipe the tears rolling down his cheeks.

"No! Not at all, it's just that- you've got your preps, and they follow the rules to a T, and you've got the greasers fighting the norm. It's not good or bad, it's just different!" MJ scrambled to save himself, but evidently only made it worse.

Grian fell into Ren's arms, who eyed MJ harshly. "I don't know what things are like where you come from, but you could at least be nice about it. Cmon G." Ren and Grian took off, leaving MJ alone in the aviary.

MJ flew. He couldn't quite see where through the tears, but he hadn't gotten far when he crashed into a sandy beach, and sobbed. "I just want to go home! I don't belong here. Lord, science, however I got here, send me back. I just want to go home..."

But you are home!

"Huh...?"

MJ opened his eyes to find his forest, with his half-finished house tucked neatly on the outskirts. His animal pen was full as well, pigs oinking loudly for his attention. MJ rose slowly, and walked through the door. The house was unfinished, but he quickly noticed his inventory filled with wood.

"But I thought... But it was all gone! What is happening?"

A hiss from the front door sent MJ scrambling across the floor, throwing the back door open and sprinting away. "Not again! Not my house!"

Clattering bones came from the trees, filling his brain. "Stop! Leave me alone!" He cried.

Arrows whizzed past his head, snagging his sleeve. "Hey! Grian made me this! STOP!" He tripped in his distraction, scratching his face and palms.

Then the zombies. As much as creepers annoyed MJ, zombies were the worst. They moaned, grabbing MJ's clothes, tearing it to pieces. Their strong grip was impossible to resist once they had a hold on MJ's arms, dragging him in opposite directions. He screamed, but he couldn't hear it over the clattering and groaning in his brain.

"GRIAN!! GRIAN PLEASE, SAVE ME!!"

It's okay MJ!

"STOP STOP STOP I CAN'T DO THIS, STOP STOP-!"

A swift slap to the face shut him up quickly, and he shivered, crying silently. "You good, man?"

MJ pried his open, finding an unfamiliar face. He had a beard lining his strong jaw, and wore a large green jacket. Most notable however, was his left eye, which was made of iron, and glowed green.

"Oh good, I thought you would never wake up! That must have been some nightmare, you butt-dialed me in your sleep! It's lucky you did so I could come wake you up!" The man laughed, and it made MJ want to laugh despite the fact there were still tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Thanks, I think. What's your name?"

"Iskall! The redstone half of Architech, since you already know the builder half. You were yelling Grian's name a lot, what were you dreaming about?"

MJ shivered remembering his nightmare. "I was back home, but there were so many mobs..."

"Huh, wonder what caused that." Iskall's gaze made MJ wither.

"Oh yeah. I know what."

"What happened, man? You called Grian a criminal?"

"I guess Grian told you? I didn't call him a criminal, okay? I was asking if he was a greaser! It's not bad, I was just wondering what I was getting into, being his friend!" MJ defended.

"A greaser? Dude, Grian did not tell me that's what you said!" Iskall laughed. "Oh, sweet Grian, so oblivious sometimes."

"Wait, so you believe me?"

"Why wouldn't I? Everyone's been texting about how nice you are for the last week, and you think I'm not going to believe you?"

"How can I apologize to Gri? As much as he's a weird kid, I wanna be his neighbor..." MJ smiled slightly at the thought.

"Eh, he'll get over it. Buy him some tnt or something." Iskall waved. "More importantly, we need to get going! You've got an appointment with Impulse in ten minutes!"

#rae writes #blast from the past #hermitcraft #big oofs all around #iskall #grian #rendog #goodtimeswithscar #mumbo jumbo

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prismarine-parrots · 6 years ago

Text

Tree of Life Pt. 3.5

I wrote this as a special thing for Tumblr, just because I felt like it. It’s not one of the original 5 parts, hence the 3.5

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 (1) Part 5 (2)

Fair warning: you’re probably going to be mad at me, but I’ll be posting the last parts right after so...

TW: character death, killed by another character

There was nothing but ocean for miles around the group of boats. It would be faster to go by elytra, but no one wanted to get separated and lost because they're too fast and bad with coordinates and then crash into the ocean and drown.

So the group rowed along, skimming the ocean surface heading to their unknown location from the coordinates they had found.

"There's an island up ahead!" Iskall yelled, pausing to point at the landmass. Tango scanned against the harsh sunlight, glad that his demonic eyes weren't as affected by harsh light as the other humans' were.

One of the good things about being from the Nether, he thought to himself. Thinking of the Nether he was technically born in, there was a weird feeling that arose in his chest. He ignored it, not caring about that, whatever it was, as he had learned long ago that not being human meant literally nothing to anyone but himself.

"Should we rest there for a while?" Stress asked, sounding rather exhausted herself.

"I second that," Ren groaned loudly.

"Alright guys, let's take a break," Xisuma called. Tango frowned at how tense the admin sounded. Yes, he was server admin, but was he really the leader here? He was never really too outgoing, preferring to keep to himself and watch everyone else go crazy. While yes, he probably had a brain cell or two more than the rest of the whitelist, this entire situation was pushing everyone to their emotional and mental limits.

I could dispatch them. Have a little fun before putting them out of their misery.

Tango lurched at his own thought that didn't even seem like his own.

"What did I just think? Oh my god, no no," he whispered to himself in shock. How would that help at all?! Where did that come from?! I-I couldn't kill them...

"You alright there, Tango?" Doc asked. Tango stiffly nodded, still not quite out of his head. He had stopped rowing and was coasting, losing speed as the quiet Impulse stopped for his friend.

"Come on, Tango. Let's get to land," the dark-haired human encouraged. He hadn't raised his voice above a quiet breath since Zedaph died. Tango had been shocked as well, but if Impulse was hurting and Zed was gone... someone had to be the strong one and take the blows for Team ZIT. Interestingly enough, while he had shed some blood, there was a strange thrill to it that also scared Tango. Seeing ruby red zombie blood mixed with his own onyx black... there wasn't supposed to be any satisfaction in killing.

But blood is such a pretty color... red like netherrack, black like the void... Tango's thoughts continued after that, but he was not registering them anymore. His actual mind had gone blank, with a small question in the back wondering what was going on brushed into the cobwebs of old memories. Now there was only a feeling. The feeling Tango had felt before in the boats. An instinct, if you will. One that pushed aside Tango and replaced him with a single thought.

Kill.

——————

"Tango? Are you alright?" Impulse asked warily. Something was wrong. Tango had stopped moving, standing like a statue on the beach they had landed on. A wide smile had grown on his face and his ruby red eyes were bright but unseeing.

"Tango...?"

Suddenly the demon man lunged, enchanted diamond sword appearing in hand out of nowhere. Impulse yelled as he jumped out of the way and the other hermits immediately turned to see what the commotion was.

"The heck, Tango?" Iskall demanded, readying his own sword confidently to face off.

Tango didn't reply. That malicious smile was still on his face, showing off his fanged canines and slightly pointed teeth. He glanced around, sword still in hand, and Impulse noticed with a sickening jolt that the gloves that Tango normally wore to cover his finger were gone, showing off wicked hooked fingernails that no matter what he did always grew back as claws that got redstone dust under them. His eyes were alight with a look Impulse had never seen on his friends- where there was normally a happy, warm, excitable energy, there was now a terrifying thrill that even enderman or blazes did not possess.

Tango took a step forward and other hermits took a step back, except for Iskall and Doc, who had readied his trident.

"Not a step further, Tango," Doc growled.

"We don't want to hurt you," Iskall added.

"Tango, calm down love, i-it's alright. Whatever's bothering you, we can talk it ou'," Stress said, slowly moving forward but being held back by the Swede with the sword.

"I don't think he's going to listen," Iskall said quietly to her.

Impulse grimaced as they came to a standstill. The other hermits versus Tango, one of his best friends, who they all knew was not dangerous... except right now he was. Tango swayed on his feet, light on his feet, and Impulse knew from the amount of roughhousing they did that the demon packed a punch when not holding back.

Xisuma sucked in a breath from behind Impulse.

"What is it?" Ren asked, not taking his eyes off the showdown.

"It's his tree," Xisuma breathed, "It's affected now as well."

"So it made Grian sick, Wels exhausted, and now Tango... demonic?" Jevin summarized cautiously. "This is horrible..."

There was a hum of agreement.

Impulse stared at Tango in pain. In front of him was this prowling, maniacal version of one of his best friends, who they had no way of returning to sanity without a cure to the trees but also obviously couldn't handle in this state.

Python stepped forward. "I want to try something. Doc, put your trident down. Maybe he'll respond better to us if we don't threaten him, and because we're not human."

There as a muttering from someone saying that Tango looked more human than not, but was quickly hushed by Xisuma.

Doc glared at the passive-aggressive demon, but slowly placed his trident on the ground. Iskall backed up, but didn't lower his sword by any means. "Alright, Python, don't get yourselves killed," the hitman muttered.

The red creeper laughed nervously. "Yeah, sounds like a plan." Then he turned fully to Tango.

"Hey man. I know we don't know each other that well, but we're gonna figure this out, alright? It's just us. No need for weapons," Python said slowly, gesturing to Doc's trident on the ground.

Tango's eyes flicked to the trident. Python took another step forward, and Doc slowly moved to the side, giving space between himself and the other creeper hybrid. Impulse wondered if the others noticed Tango's subtle movement. With the red-on-red eyes, it was hard to notice the small changes, but being friends for as long as the golden boy had been with the demon, Impulse read him like the back of his own hand.

He's still looking at the trident. I think Python thinks he's still watching him-

Tango's slit eyes rapidly scanned over the rest of the group and made eye contact with Impulse. Pausing before narrowing and glancing down at the pale blue weapon once more.

He's going for it!

"Look out!" Impulse yelled right as Tango sprung into action. He leapt forward and slid to his knees, arching backward underneath Iskall's diamond blade, rising to one knee in a fluid motion and scooping up the trident.

"Well now we're done for," Joe groaned and pulled out a shield. The other hermits prepared their weapons, regretfully realizing they're going to have to fight. All eyes were on Tango now, waiting to see how the outnumbered one would react.

What do we do? Tango's still in there. What if we can't bring him back? Any of them? What if the trees are permanent and they're all dead and now Tango is... feral? Impulse was scared. Scared of that word, of what it meant, and what would happen to his friend if they act and what would happen to them if they didn't.

This is a no-win situation.

Tango raised the trident and was immediately met by Iskall's sword, the Swedish hitman reacting the quickest with his decent PVP skills.

And just like that, the fight against one of their own was on.

The trident swung around in a wide arc and everyone jumped back, before Tango jabbed the long weapon and Joe stepped forward and ducked behind his shield. The tips of the pronged weapon got stuck in the soft but reinforced wood, and Joe sent a wild look over his shoulder as Tango grunted, trying to pull back the weapon.

"Some assistance would be greatly appreciated so I don't get run through work a fork?"

"On it, Joe!" Cleo gave a battlecry as she did an understand swing, dislodging the trident from the poet's shield and from the demon's grip. It flipped in the air and landed in the long grass of the tiny island.

Doc, seeing his weapon free, made a dive for it. Iskall charged and took another strike at Tango, but his adrenaline was faster and he slid to the ground, grabbing his trident and letting Doc hit the ground harshly, a dull thud and "oof" coming from the cyborg as the air was knocked out of whatever lungs he had that wasn't machinery.

Tango twisted his body and braced the trident above his head just in time to meet Iskall's blade once more. They both grimaced as the forced against each other, trying to get the other to buckle.

Impulse was frozen watching the fight unfold in front of him. Stress and Xisuma seemed to be in a similar state, too scared and worried to know how to react. Ren was antsy watching Doc's and Iskall's moves, clearly wanting to help but not sure how. Jevin and Python has crept away and were making silent eye contact and single hand gestures.

What are they doing? Impulse wondered, but shook his head, keeping his focus on trying to figure out how the heck he was going to help Tango.

"Tango! This isn't you, dude!" Iskall said. The blonde only grinned.

With a powerful surprise shove of his trident Tango pushed Iskall back where Jevin reached out and caught him, then quickly spun the staff to regain his grip and raised the handle above his head, prongs pointed at the ground where Doc had finally recovered enough to be slowly lifting himself to his knees.

"NO!" Ren yelled out and surged forward, fists raised to go into hand-to-hand combat to protect Doc.

Doc had gotten himself oriented enough to see Ren coming and roll out of the way, propped up on one knee as the werewolf flew past.

At the same time, Python jumped into action, grabbing the trident staff himself from behind and restraining Tango.

Ren tried to skid to stop before he hurt Python, but ended up ramming into Tango.

Impulse watched in horror and the blonde demon's head jerked back from the momentum. His horn that extruded from the left side of his forehead and was just longer than his head that Impulse and Zedaph had learned to avoid knocked into Python's head, the soft, wrinkled, red flesh immediately blooming into a dark maroon. The red creeper let go of the trident and stumbled backward, gripping his head where it had been punctured.

"Python!"

Stress shrieked and coveted her mouth. Joe dropped everything and went into medic mode, scrambling to pull out a healing potion and Cleo was not a second layer pulling out string she kept on her in case she needed to do repairs on her tattered clothes.

Xisuma covered Doc and got him to his feet finally. Jevin was tending to Iskall, who seemed to have been wounded somewhere along the way in the fight and was downing a healing potion himself. Ren was staring in shock at Python, who had grown to a dulled pink color and eyes were fluttering. Joe and Cleo were talking urgently to each other.

"He's not healing!"

"His tree isn't regenerating..."

"There has to be something we can do, Joe!"

Joe silently shook his head. "Just try to stop the bleeding. Creepers don't have strong skin."

Cleo stared at him, a silent conversation happening in seconds between them before they both went back to work.

The only ones left were Impulse and Tango. Tango was staring at Python as well, the tension having left his stance and the ironically clean pronged weapon held loosely in his hand. His left horn was stained red, and there were a few speckles of crimson on the ends of his hair. He didn't seem be as alert anymore, he could have attacked anyone else by now, but he just... stood there.

I really hope that's Tango in there, resisting, and not him being a sadist and watching his victim die.

"Impulse," Xisuma approached. Doc had joined Jevin and Iskall, glancing over his shoulder and eyeing his weapon with a dark passion. Impulse gripped the unused sword in his hand, a grim feeling settling in his stomach seeing the admin's expression.

"We can't help him right now..."

The dark-haired man shivered as that was said. He grimaced and blinked away the tears and horrible feeling as he knew what had to be done.

"I know," Impulse whispered. Xisuma has the same expression that Impulse felt. Their eyes both slowly fell to Impulse's sword, a guilty silent agreement coming to them.

"I'm sorry," X choked, pulling out his own sword. Impulse shook his head and readied his own weapon.

"No. I will. I know how to fight him."

"But he's your friend!"

"And we can't risk losing you as admin," Impulse reasoned. X was surprised by this, jumping at the statement, before giving in.

"I hate that title, you know."

The gold man gave a single, cynical laugh. "I would too."

Then Impulse turned away from Xisuma and stepped forward. One step, two steps, then he called the name.

"Tango Tek!"

The demon at least responded to his name and faced Impulse. He glanced up and down at the human, eyes lingering on the sword and his face. Slowly, Tango started to raise the trident.

Impulse didn't give him the chance to fight back. He thrust his sword up, and it slid smoothly into the warm flesh in front of him. Tango cried out and sucked in a breath of air.

"I'm sorry," Impulse whispered.

"What's happening? What did I do...?" Tango asked, the first words he had spoken since Impulse had first realized something was wrong. Impulse pulled out his sword and Tango crumpled to the ground.

Two consecutive server messages came in on his phone in his cargo shorts pocket. He didn't need to look to know who it was as the realization of what he had just done set in. The sword slipped out of his hand, no longer feeling like a his main weapon now some sort of evil tool, despite having killed players with it before.

But everyone came back during the war. There was no question everyone would respawn. Tango's GONE now....

Joe and Cleo leaned back, giving up in their work at the still Python. Jevin helped Iskall to his feet, and Doc and Xisuma just observed their grief-stricken group.

Stress was quietly crying on the side, eyes wide and hands covering her mouth. Impulse slowly walked over to her, giving her the hug he so desperately wanted himself.

"This is too much. It's not supposed to go like this!" Stress breathed between sobs.

"I know."

They sank to the ground and Impulse cried.

————————

Word count: 2800

#hermitcraft #tangotek #impulsesv #xisumavoid #joehills #renthedog #docm77 #stressmonster #zombiecleo #ijevin #iskall85 #tree of life au #ToL #thats two deaths in one part oof #becca writes

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theres-an-impulstor-among-us · 4 years ago

Note

Bro can I get some Zed and Ex FLUFF my comfort characters go hurt/comfort

we got the angst now let’s jump straight into the fluff lol

part 1 part 2 part 3

this takes place in S7 btw, so about 3-4 years after the events of the previous parts

…

“Are you sure about this?” asks Zedaph nervously, peering down the cliff face. “I haven’t done anything like this in years.”

EX, who’s standing next to him, pats him on the back. “I’m totally sure. If you wanna overcome your fears, you have to face them first.”

“But what if I can’t be a hero anymore?” Zedaph worries. “I was a terrible hero when I started out and being inactive for nearly four years certainly won’t have helped.”

“You weren’t a terrible hero,” EX begins. “You just-.”

“Yes I was! You carried me on your back for months and you were a villain the whole time! If that doesn’t scream incompetence, I don’t know what does!”

“Hey, listen to me.” EX places their hands on Zedaph’s shoulders, forcing him to look at them. “If I die, I’m gone from this world. I might get flung back into the void, I might disappear entirely, who knows. I’m putting my life in your hands, Zedaph, and you know why?”

“Because you don’t know any better?” Zedaph mutters.

“No, because I trust you implicitly.”

Zedaph’s shoulders droop. “I… I don’t know if that’s wise, EX. What if I can’t save you?”

“I trust that you will,” EX responds. “I believe in you.”

“Words cannot express how bad an idea that is.”

EX chuckles. “You’re really stubborn, you know that?”

“I’ve been told,” says Zedaph wryly, adjusting the elytra on his back. “Alright, let’s do it.”

“Great.”

EX stands at the very edge of the cliff and turns to face Zedaph, who immediately gets an uneasy feeling in his stomach. “Oh, one more thing: if at any point you think you can’t save me, don’t be afraid to pull up and let me go. I’d rather die than have you smash yourself into the ground trying to save me.”

“So you’d rather you, who cannot respawn, smash into the ground than me, who can?”

EX nods. “Yes. I don’t want to be the cause of any more pain.”

“Oh.” Zedaph clears his throat. “Okay, then. Whenever you’re ready.”

EX makes eye contact with Zedaph and gives another nod. “I’m ready. Remember, wait five seconds and then come after me. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

Zedaph’s voice is so shaky that EX gives him a reassuring smile. “Good luck, Zedaph. I believe in you.”

With that, they lean backwards and let themself fall.

Zedaph forces himself to count to five, before leaping off after them. He keeps himself streamlined in the air, falling faster than EX. Within seconds, he’s caught up to them, but the ground is quickly approaching.

For a split second, Zedaph considers pulling up and avoiding a messy death.

But EX’s words echo in his ear: “I trust that you will.”

He can’t let his friend down.

His open arms close around EX and he pulls up just two blocks from the ground, shooting through the air at breakneck speed with his friend clutched tightly in his arms.

Unfortunately, he’s so caught up in the jubilation of catching EX that he forgets how to land.

SPLASH!

Zedaph coughs as he surfaces in the pond. The water is shallow enough for him to stand without being underwater but deep enough to break his and EX’s momentum. He swims to the shore and climbs out of the water, spotting EX doing the same a few blocks away. EX sits up, smacking their helmet to empty it of water. “Well… That sure was a thing.”

“I’m sorry,” says Zedaph nervously. “I-I didn’t-.”

“Are you kidding me?!” EX’s voice is more animated than Zedaph has ever heard it. “Zedaph, you did it!”

EX’s elation infects Zedaph too, causing him to grin uncontrollably. “I-I did it?”

“You did it; you saved me! And neither of us died!”

“Oh my gosh!”

Zedaph grabs EX in a hug and EX hugs him back, for the first time since they’ve known each other.

“You really are a hero, Zedaph.” EX pulls away and smiles widely. “I promise you, I’ll do whatever I can to make you a real hero this time.”

“Well, you’ve made a good start,” says Zedaph, beaming back. “I feel pretty heroic right now.”

“It’s all my belief in you that did it,” EX says teasingly. “My belief and your own skills. Season 5 wasn’t the best place for you to showcase your skills; maybe Season 7 is.”

Zedaph considers this. “I heard there was a hero on the server last season, which is good; I wasn’t in a great place last season so I don’t think I could have become Worm Man again so soon. But maybe it’s time.”

“I’ll support you no matter what,” says EX.

“Good, because I’ll need you as my sidekick again.”

EX blinks. “What, really? Even after everything I put you through? You’d trust me again?”

Zedaph shrugs. “Well, I mean… It’ll take time, sure. But you’re already proving yourself. After all, you were willing to splat yourself on the ground for me.”

“Ah, that’s true. Well, whenever you’re ready to work with me again, I’ll be honoured.”

“You’ll need a new name, though. I can’t have my sidekick be known as Evil Xisuma. What do you think of the name Red Xisuma instead?”

EX shoots him a look. “I hate it.”

“Helmet Guy.”

“Even worse.”

“Crimson Person.”

“You’re not even trying anymore.”

Zedaph bursts out laughing. “Okay, we can workshop the name. We’ve got time.”

EX sits back on their heels and shakes their head amusedly. Seeing Zedaph genuinely happy is an amazing feeling for them.

“Sure, Zedaph. We’ve got time.”

#hermitcraft #zedaph #evil xisuma #vaunna’s requests

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justletmeplayminecraft · 4 years ago

Text

xisuma doesn’t smooth over a server glitch fast enough. the others have to save him from the consequences.

in this fic, i play loosely with minecraft mechanics to create angst. very loosely. don’t think too much about ‘em. you can also date how long i’ve spent on this by the projects they’re working on.

featuring: being an admin gives you a connection to the server, xisuma has a less than stellar day, angst/comfort, zed is an ender hybrid, false & tango are minor admins, getting stuck in blocks is not a fun experience, the hermits care a lot about each other.

warnings: sensory deprivation, starvation, suffocation, its a death loop babyyy, a fair amount of panic, fighting code, glitches, helplessness, it’s pretty whumpy before the comfort. let me know if something’s missing here.

also on ao3. link in replies.

Xisuma sighs as the sun beats down on him. It's barely let up, even on the outskirts of the jungle. He enjoys the brief stints in the shadow of the giant quartz walls. Even then, waves of heat come off them. All of the structures in his base are a heat trap. Clearing out several layers of dirt and stone is a necessity he should've left for another day. With a click, he tugs his helmet off his head. The humidity outside is worse than his filtered air. He tucks the helmet under his arm, pushing sweat slicked hair from his face.

He's made good progress levelling this arena space. He leaves his helmet on his bed and heads to the temporary storage chests. They're filling up quickly, he notices, as he starts emptying his inventory into them. Except, something's broken. The stacks of blocks aren't all moving. He tries a few times before sighing, ruffling his hair. When he turns to the area he's been mining, it's still empty. It's been a long time since they've had desync this bad. He's not even sure when it started.

Stepping gently across the stone, he can feel the heat rising from them. He'll rollback the world and then he'll relax by Keralis's river. The farm is delightfully cool. Anything will be better than this oppressive heat.

He's almost reached his bed when something takes hold in his chest and pulls.

He stumbles forward with a gasp. Of course, the server decides to fix itself this time. He forces his feet forward, trying to reach his helmet so he can smooth things over. He only makes it two steps until his eyes are forced shut as the server reloads. For a split second, all he feels is the chill of the void as chunks reload around him.

He opens his eyes to darkness. It feels like he's suspended in space, unable to move. There's a suffocating pressure around him. Though it's with shallow breaths, he can still breathe. Did something go wrong? He blinks hard. All of his limbs are accounted for, he's certainly present. Even when he's working in the void there are still particles around him. His attempt to raise his arm fails, finding it impossible to open his back up admin panel. His helmet is- where even is his helmet?

His breath hitches, a feeling of panic escaping his controlled calm. He feels like he can't breathe. He can't move. He's trapped in his own body.

What's happening?

[MumboJumbo] anybody else just experience some major desync?

[Keralis1] Oh, is that what that was?

[Zedaph] I had nearly finished my redstone! All of that work, gone!

[FalseSymmetry] didn't you notice you weren't actually... losing anything from your inventory?

[Tango] he was probably too caught up in his supposed mastery

[FalseSymmetry] everybody okay though?

[Grian] all good here!

[Zedaph] Only my pride's wounded.

False looks down at the bedrock layer at her base. Like half an hour spent placing glass, all gone to waste. She groans, closing her chat as it pings away. Sure, she can rib Zedaph, but that doesn't change the fact she just did the exact same thing. She kicks off the sidewalk, gliding to the bedrock layer. She can feel the cold of the void float up with specks of grey.

"Good going, False," she murmurs. Some patches of glass survived. It's almost worse, that's going to be so much less satisfying to fill in. She takes her goggles off, tugging her hair loose to tie it in a low ponytail. Usually Xisuma gives them a warning before the server resets like that. It always messes up her hair, leaves it floaty and static.

She adjusts her goggles on her head, opening the player menu. Xisuma's currently online. She checks chat. He hasn't said anything. She considers it strange, but it's not unusual. Maybe he's been at a farm and isn't AFKing. She types out a private message, sending it across to him.

[FalseSymmetry to Xisuma] hey x, server blipped, might need to check it when you get back.

She'll see if he returns her message. She's got glass to place.

Iskall looks through his in-progress sorting system with a frown. It's broken somewhere. The stupid server reload has glitched it out and he can't find how. He's checked the redstone, he's checked the hoppers and he's checked the chests! Which means it's glitched. Either Xisuma reloads the chunk for him, or he's going to have to tear it down.

Actually, he'll probably have to tear it down anyway. Reloading the chunk will only roll it back.

At least he's not the only person who's redstone has been ruined. The thought brings some comfort. If he has to be miserable, somebody else should be too. He opens his communicator, checking who's around at the moment. That might take his mind off it.

He notices that Xisuma's online. Their admin has been quiet in chat since the reload. Maybe there's something going on behind the scenes he's having to sort out. He'll reach out to Mumbo and Grian, but first, he sends a message X's way.

[iskall85 to Xisuma] hey is everything alright? nothing broke?

[iskall85 to Xisuma] don't forget you can reach out to us if you need help.

He has no idea how much time has passed. Usually he's connected intrinsically to the server. It helps him keep track of the world, dig out any errors or mishaps - sometimes before his suit alerts him. It's essential for his job in order to keep things running smoothly. The server is always there, at the edges of his consciousness.

In this nothing, he can't even keep track of his internal clock. Perhaps it's his own panic, but the code he tries to reach out to feels fuzzy. It feels like it's glitching, sending shooting pains through his head if he focuses too hard. He couldn't take a guess how long he's been trapped. His breathing still comes too fast and shallow, ignoring his attempts to calm down.

He's completely helpless here. And he doesn't even know where here is.

Tango stares up at the stars on his ceiling. He checks his inventory again, counting aloud. He flicks it off with a frown. Yeah, he's definitely missing some. It's not a massive deal, Impulse will be happy to help out. But if he's having problems then some of the other hermits might be. Perhaps they fell and despawned in the reload. Either way.

"Tangoooooo!" The cry is accompanied by several rockets, something hitting the ground and the sound of damage. He chuckles, stepping away as Zed soars over the edge, stumbling forward with a flutter of his elytra. Tango straightens him up with his free hand.

"No, I'm not doing your redstone for you." Zedaph gasps, dusting off his jeans. He bounces up with a grin.

"You really think I'd come all this way for that?" Zed questions.

"So why have you come all the way here?"

"I'm bored," Zed replies. "And it still stings too much to do my redstone again." Tango laughs, opening up his chat. Xisuma's online, though Tango doesn't expect an immediate response.

"How do you feel about some wither grinding?" He types a message to Xisuma, Zedaph attempting to peer over his shoulder.

"Mmm, I don't see why not."

[Tango to Xisuma] Hey, seem to have lost some stars when the server reset

[Tango to Xisuma] might wanna check nothing important got eaten.

"Right, let's go."

Keralis hums, staring at the plot he was about to start building on. The area has been a bit... Funny. He'll break and replace a block, only to have it switch again. He might have to work on another area until it sorts itself out. His attempts at working here started after the reload, so he doesn't know if that caused it. He's not been able to spot Xisuma nearby either. He's been online, but Keralis hasn't spotted him in chat for a while.

He sighs as he watches the last blocks he placed switch back as if nothing happened. Crossing his arms, he examines the area. He wonders how big this is. Definitely more than one chunk. His new house is going to have to wait. He was excited to show Xisuma around, too.

With a glance at the sky, he realises it's late afternoon. He yawns, stretching his back out. Perhaps it'll be best to settle in his office and work on some future designs. He'll drop a message in chat first, in case this is affecting anyone else. It might give him an excuse to hunt down Shishwamy. He always feels guilty bothering him about things. Their admin takes far too much responsibility on his shoulders. They’re all adults. Keralis wishes he’d ask for help sometimes.

[Keralis1] Has anyone else been having glitchy blocks?

[iskall85] some of my redstone is broken but it's no biggie

[Tango] lost some of my nether stars with the reload but it's been fine since.

[FalseSymmetry] been placing glass without any problems since the reset

[MumboJumbo] I haven't had any problems either.

[Keralis1] A bunch of chunks around our bases are glitching

[Keralis1] but it seems like Shishwamy is busy :(

[Grian] well it looks like he just went afk

[iskall85] that answers that lol

His mind is becoming blurry. It's hard to focus on... Anything. He can't tell if it's because he's struggling to breathe, or something further, tugging him down and away. He tries to fight against it but there's nothing he can do to stay present. He can't hear anything, barely even his shallow breaths. He can only feel the consistent pressure on every inch of his body, the wet tears on his cheeks. He tries pulling on every one of his senses, but nothing comes up.

He slips under.

False empties the last of this glass stack, stepping back at a job well done. She smiles, rubbing her aching hands. It's nice to finally work on this part of her base. Even better now it's not going to pick itself up. At least she hopes so. She'll be right annoyed if it happens again. Something's been tingling at the back of her head, though. She wonders if it's because of the reset.

She looks up at the late afternoon sky. That's enough work for today. As she stretches, she can feel each and every ache in her body. She brushes away her hair, already falling loose. Maybe she'll have something nice for dinner. Some steak, potatoes and pumpkin pie. If she has pumpkin, of course. Xisuma was planning to build a pumpkin farm, wasn't he? His traditional pumpkin and melon combination. She chuckles to herself as she pulls out her rockets.

No matter how things change from season to season, there will always be things that don't. Hermits might come and go, but they'll always be her family.

She launches up, shooting through the water barrier. It's fast enough it doesn't stick. She lands gracefully, making her way to the kitchen. She hopes this nudging in her head doesn't get worse. She just wants to enjoy a nice meal. That's all.

"Well, I think we have a plan," Grian declares, grinning from his perch. His legs are crossed, hands resting in his lap.

"I mean, we didn't exactly need a plan to fix our redstone," Mumbo replies, slouched in his chair the way he only ever does in front of them. Iskall chuckles, resting his hands behind his head. They've really helped take his mind off the broken redstone. Mumbo had a similar problem, so tomorrow they'll meet up again and attempt some fixes.

"Always helps," Iskall says, shrugging. "Especially when one of us spends so much time in the Nether depths, now." Grian laughs, his legs kicking.

"Hey, I'm doing good work out there!" Mumbo yawns, looking between them.

"Well I don't know about you two, but I'm exhausted."

"Food then sleep?" Grian suggests. Iskall nods. It's been a long day.

It's dark as Zedaph and Tango return from The End. Zedaph yawns, running a hand through his hair, messing it up. Tango rubs the side of his own hair. Something's been bothering him, but he can't tell what. Like there's something just not... Right. Zedaph is chatting beside him, a bounce in his step. It's like he doesn't feel it at all.

"Do you want to have dinner together?" Zed asks, twirling his sword by his side. They've repaired their tools, done everything properly. It's been a hard day's work, but they've achieved a lot, even with the setback.

"Yeah, dinner sounds good." He looks at the night sky, squinting his eyes. Zedaph tilts his head at him. The purple eyes are concerned, particles floating up in his worry.

"Tango, are you okay? You seem... Off." Tango sighs, waving Zedaph's worry away.

"Something's nagging me. It's not a big deal." Zedaph's still frowning, but the particles die down.

"Let's just get you something to eat, yeah?" Tango nods, leaning into Zedaph when he squeezes his shoulder.

"Sounds good to me."

Keralis watches the night sky overhead. He's sat in the doorway to his office, a blanket around his shoulders. The stars are always a beautiful sight. It's the perfect way to relax after such a, hm, busy day. Not busy in a conventional sense, no, but still busy. His specially commissioned noteblock song plays in the background, a perfect accompaniment in the peaceful night. He thinks it's strange how the stars always seem the same no matter what world they're in. Maybe he should ask Xisuma about it in the future.

He pops up his screens open. Xisuma is still afk. He misses seeing his neighbour out and about. Xisuma often spends time at his farms, it's nothing new. But Keralis enjoys saying hello to him! Especially after missing well... Years of his life. He tries not to think about that.

With a sigh, he lies against the doorway. Time for bed soon. He laughs at the sound of Bubbles' voice in his head. His communicator beeps and he glances over to it.

Huh. That's interesting.

Xisuma is thrown into full consciousness. His stomach is still cramping with phantom hunger. He opens his eyes and finds...

Black.

No, no, he died. He died. Why has he respawned here? He chokes on his sob, realising no air is entering his lungs. His cheeks are still wet with tears, more leaking out as he gasps at nothing. His lungs burn, unable to take the shallow breaths he needs to. Would it even help? He wants to curl up, clutch at the growing pain in his chest. But he can't move an inch. Heaviness sinks into his limbs and head.

He wakes again in the same place. He doesn't know if he wants to scream or cry. There's not enough air for him to scream, anyway.

[Xisuma starved to death]

[MumboJumbo] X?? mate?

[Tango] X?

[FalseSymmetry] do we need to get your stuff?

[Keralis1] I'm by his base.

[Tango] he's not afk anymore

[Grian] x???????

[iskall85] maybe he's getting his stuff rn

[Keralis1] Shishwammmmyyyyyyy

[MumboJumbo] starving isn't a nice way to go

[Zedaph] It really isn't.

[Xisuma suffocated]

[iskall85] oh no

[FalseSymmetry] x???? im going over

[Keralis1] so am i

[Tango] this isn't right, this really isn't right

[Xisuma suffocated]

[Grian] what's going on???

False shimmies back into her elytra, reaching for the one jacket potato that finished cooking. So much for having a sit-down meal. She rubs her head, pushing away the fear that has something to do with this. Her communicator continues beeping as she grabs her rockets. She runs to the entrance, kicking off and launching into the air.

"We should go and help," Iskall decides, already picking up his armour.

"Thought you'd never say." Mumbo straps his elytra on, grabbing a spare shulker box and an ender chest. Grian nods with a seriousness that doesn't fit on his face.

"Let's go."

"We're going?" Zed asks. He's already stuffing food into his mouth. Tango rubs his temples, nodding. He takes the elytra that's thrusted into his hand.

"Yeah. We're definitely going." He watches the particles floating off Zed in waves, glowing the same purple as his pupils. Tango presses his eyes shut against another spike of pain as their communicators beep. "C'mon."

Keralis scrabbles until he balances on the tower roof. He's searched each one and not found X anywhere. Tapping his foot, he meddles with his communicator to turn some settings on. He has no minor admin powers - that he has to leave to False and Tango - but he can at least try this.

"Ah-hah!" He grins as hitboxes light up beneath him, hopefully a better clue where his currently red coloured friend may be. He scans the towers closely, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. There are a few mobs, especially as night sets in. Then he sees Xisuma's new build.

He has to take a step back at the sight. The chunks look- a mess. The outline of the blocks are overlapped or flickering. It hurts to look at. Blocks aren't meant to highlight like that. He glides across the treetops. It not only covers the area he was trying to work earlier but spreads into Xisuma's current build. Yeah that's- that's bad. That's not good. His communicator has continued to beep with messages as he searched. He goes to read it, and spots different colours in the mess. The red of an eyeline. He stands on his toes, leaning off the leaves. The outline flickers in and out, accompanied by a beep.

He thinks he's found X.

[Xisuma suffocated]

[Keralis1] he's in his new build!

[Keralis1] I think I can see him in the ground

[Keralis1] it is very very broken

[FalseSymmetry] tango? you on your way?

[Tango] as we speak

[Tango] been a long time since we've had to use these powers

[FalseSymmetry] not long enough

Tango and Zedaph are the first to land by Keralis's side. They kick up loose powder from the road, taking in the massive structure in front of them. Tango's shoulders raise, cringing at the sight.

"That's definitely broken," he agrees, his eyes twisting as they focus.

"And Xisuma's in the middle of it?" Zedaph looks at Keralis. He nods, usually big eyes sharply focused. He points beyond the walls.

"You can just see his name tag. I think the glitched blocks have got him stuck. I tried to build there earlier but nothing would stay." Tango presses his lips together in thought as False lands. They nod to each other in acknowledgement.

"How long does it take until the blocks pop back?"

Keralis hums, tapping his chin before answering, "About ten seconds, I think."

"That's not going to be enough time to reach him," Zed says. "Can't you just teleport him?" He looks at Tango and False. Tango opens his console menu, typing something in. Zed can tell the answer before Tango says it.

"What ideas do we have?" Keralis asks. "We can't just leave him there!"

"Of course not!" Tango replies, sounding shocked at the suggestion. "We just- need a plan." False nods.

"We're not as powerful as X," she explains, "Together we should be able to roll back these chunks but- I have no idea what that would mean for Xisuma. We don't really work with player code." She brushes her hair back. The conversation is paused as the trio of Grian, Iskall and Mumbo land beside them. The three slot in, listening as they're caught up.

"There has to be something that's making him spawn there." Iskall points out, his hand held towards the structure. False searches through the control panel, whilst Keralis and Tango simply examine the messed up blocks.

"He has a bed in there," Tango answers. False taps where Xisuma's spawn is tied to on her screen.

"Since the blocks are glitched, it must mean the bed isn't like... Registering them. Since they don't fully exist." She thinks about it carefully, putting the pieces together as she explains.

"So if we break the bed, he'll respawn at the world spawn?" Grian suggests.

"But how do we get down there?" Mumbo turns to look. It's pretty far down in the ground. They'd have to move quick to get near where Xisuma is.

"There's a few of us." Iskall waves at the gathered group. "I say with enough TNT and manpower, we could do it."

"Wait-" Zedaph holds his hand up, "-Get me close enough and I can teleport in there, get the bed. Less blocks to destroy."

"Zed." Tango turns to him, glaring at the blond. "That's a stupid idea, don't you get how dangerous that is-"

"Xisuma is stuck in a death loop, Tango!" Zed cuts in, raising his voice. The others fall silent, not sure how to handle this exchange. "Sure, I might die a bit! That's nothing compared to what Xisuma's currently experiencing."

"TNT will destroy a fair amount, but it already puts us on a time limit," Grian adds, a sideways agreement.

"I'm willing to do it. Either we reach the bed, or I teleport in." Zed says it with finality. The others don't argue. False checks his spawn point. Zedaph will respawn back in his cave, safe and sound. Even if it goes wrong, it'll be recoverable.

"We need to be ready to roll back the chunks," False says, focusing on Tango. "If I have this headache for much longer I'm going to go insane." Tango smiles tiredly.

"Fine. Let's try this." He shrugs. "I don't think we have a better idea."

"Well, come on! Let's go!" Keralis claps, placing an ender chest. Tango sighs, typing in a command.

"I think I'm allowed this time," he says, a stack of TNT appearing in his hand.

"And other times?" Grian asks. Even through the teasing, they can hear the fear in his voice.

"Don't push it."

There's noises. He blinks his eyes open into the unending darkness. He tries to focus past his burning chest and the weight of his body. There's... Definitely noises up above him. It sounds like explosions. The space he's stuck in shakes slightly. After another lapse, he gasps back to life in the same position. He wants to scream, tell somebody he's down here. This opportunity might not come again.

Then he feels a sharp stab of pain. Something is there, near him. Everything hurts and he still can't breathe. For a moment, he thinks he hears the trill of an Enderman. His tired mind can't figure out how as he runs out of air.

He wakes up to a chill. He slightly opens his eyes, spotting yellow sand as he falls, blacking out.

[Xisuma suffocated]

[Zedaph suffocated]

[Grian] have we done it?

[Keralis1] he's at worldspawn! got him!

[iskall85] YES!!!

[Zedaph] Oh thank goodness I don't want to do that again

[World reloaded]

[Tango] Z, you okay?

[Zedaph] I'm good. Bring my stuff? I'm going to worldspawn

[FalseSymmetry] will do

"Keralis!" Zedaph's elytra beats as he lands, feet digging into the sand. "Is he okay?" Keralis nods. Xisuma's head is resting in his lap. The admin's eyes are closed as he breathes slowly. His expression is relaxed. It's a good sight to see. The spawn island is lit up well, but Keralis keeps his eye on the surrounding oceans.

"He's sleeping," Keralis says, messing with strands of brown hair. "I don't think I'm strong enough to move him on my own." Zedaph drops onto the sand next to them, crossing his legs. There are still bright particles floating off him, his eyes fully purple. "What about you, Zee?" Zedaph seems to notice Keralis's focus, ducking away to hide his eyes.

"Um, not the best. That kind of sucked. But, it worked, and that's what matters!"

"Make sure you look after yourself, too," Keralis tells him. "Fighting the server's code isn't easy." Zedaph laughs, resting on his hands.

"Can say that again. Forgot we have anti-enderman griefing." Keralis cringes, realising why Zed looks so much like he might collapse. It'll pass, but it's never fun to go against programming like that. The architech trio arrives next. All of them look relieved to see the three on the island.

"Oh, Zedaph, I have your stuff." Mumbo starts emptying it out, the few things Zedaph couldn't fit in an ender chest. Zedaph smiles, tugging his helmet on and feeling a lot more comfortable. He tries not to meet anybody's eyes.

"Tango and False will be on their way. They're just checking everything's good," Grian tells them, hands moving quickly as he talks.

"Should we try moving X somewhere safer?" Iskall suggests. "The shopping district isn't that far."

"If you're willing to boat him." Keralis is firm. "I don't want him dropped in the ocean."

"I swear nothing will happen to him under our watch." Grian puts his hand on his heart. Iskall and Mumbo nod in agreement.

"It'll be the safest boat journey on the server." Iskall's hands are on his hips. Keralis tilts his head up.

"Look into my eyes and nothing but my eyes, if anything happens to my Shishwamy, I will not hold back." The architechs look suitably threatened.

"Can I boat with someone?" Zedaph asks. "I nearly crashed so many times flying over here."

"Hop in the back of mine!" Iskall calls, placing one in the water. Grian plucks Xisuma into his arms, carrying him to the edge of the water. He sets the admin in the boat before climbing in himself. Keralis checks him over before nodding and allowing Grian to keep him.

"I've told the others to meet us there," Mumbo says. "I'm going to fly across and see where's best to bunker down. I think we could all use some sleep."

Zedaph looks at the moon hanging overhead, "Yeah, I think we could."

[MumboJumbo] we're heading to the shopping district.

[FalseSymmetry] thats a good plan

[MumboJumbo] any idea who's shop we could stay in?

[FalseSymmetry] my dimension shop is pretty empty

[FalseSymmetry] plenty of room for some beds. pretty warm.

[Tango] we'll get it set up for you

[MumboJumbo] ok. ill protect the others

[Keralis1] so will I.

The first thing Xisuma picks up on is the talking. He stays still, trying to tell if his brain is playing tricks on him after so long in the nothing. His body is like a rock. He's barely able to move. His lungs still ache and it takes some conscious effort to continue breathing. He blinks his eyes open, wincing at bright lights. Light. There's light. He rolls forward, a sob leaving his lips before he can catch it.

"Xisuma, hey, hey." The voice is soft, casting a shadow over him. Xisuma forces his eyes open now the worst of the brightness is blocked out. Keralis is crouching in front of the bed. His fingers gently brush across Xisuma's cheek. For once, Xisuma doesn't feel the dried tears that had become his constant. "You're okay, you're safe. We got you." Xisuma takes a shaking breath in, squeezing his arms to feel the pressure of his own touch.

"Do you want your helmet?" He flits to look at False. The mere sight of his helmet is overwhelming. He reaches out and wraps it close to his chest. Keralis laughs gently, scratching through Xisuma's hair. The admin sighs, his eyes slipping closed once more.

"There you go." He can hear the smile in Keralis's voice. "We've got you, right here." The sound of movement. Cracking his eyes open reveals False sitting in front of the bed, weaving her hand into Xisuma's. He squeezes it gently.

"You're in my shop, in the shopping district," she tells him. "It's past midnight. You're completely safe here. We've got things sorted, there's nothing you need to worry about." A tear slips from his eye. Keralis wipes it away.

"What happened?" He can't make his voice louder than a whisper, and even that hurts.

"Something went wrong with the world reload," False tells him. He can trust her not to sugarcoat things. "We all had a few bugs, but the chunks around you glitched out badly. Created a bunch of like... Invisible blocks, but they were visible, if you get what I mean? They weren't fully there. Ugh, Tango's better at all this technical stuff." Xisuma tries to peer around for him, but the light still hurts if he looks for too long.

"You were stuck in a bunch of them," Keralis finishes. "We didn't realise until you starved and got stuck in a death loop. I'm really sorry, Xisuma."

"We broke your bed to get you out. Well, Zedaph did. The others got him close enough then Tango and I fixed the area. It's all sorted." Xisuma forces his sluggish brain to put the pieces together. He didn't dream up that enderman sound. That was-

"He's over there, sleeping. Tango's with him." Keralis points at a bed nearby. Tango's back blocks any sight of their part Ender friend, but Xisuma can see purple particles floating into the air. A concerning amount of them.

"What did Zed do?" He asks, the vice around his lungs tightening in concern.

"Um," Keralis answers, False looking at him. "He mentioned fighting the anti-enderman griefing code? So I think he picked the bed up." Xisuma's stomach drops. He tries to push himself up but collapses onto his back again.

"Hey, X, careful," False warns. Her voice is stern but Xisuma shakes his head.

"No- I-" He shuts his eyes, fighting off disorientation. "The server's going to keep fighting him. I've got to reset it." False helps him sit up, but she still watches him with concern. He picks up his helmet, pulling it on and relaxing slightly as all the displays flicker to life. Now when he looks at Zedaph he can see the extent of the damage. His very code seems to be fighting itself. "Help me up?"

False gets an arm around his chest. He ends up leaning his weight against her to stand, his legs shaking. She's firm, grip only tightening to accommodate his need. Keralis hovers nearby, ready to jump in if he has to. They take slow steps across the room. Xisuma strains to see under the light, but the tint of his helmet helps. He can see the architechs sat nearby, watching without any attempt at discretion.

Tango looks up as they approach. Xisuma can see the resignation on his face.

"This isn't going to fix itself, is it?" He asks. His hand in clasped tightly in Zedaph's, whose usually bright expression is twisted in pain. His skin is all too pale, black freckles spreading into larger patches across his face. He doesn't open his eyes, not even as Tango moves so Xisuma can sit down. The grip on each other's hand remains tight.

"I need to reset the code that's attacking him," Xisuma explains. His words have a tired slur he can't quite hide. "I'm gonna write an exception, I can't believe I haven't already just- not right now. Don't wanna do it wrong."

"Xisuma, it's okay." Tango smiles, pinched but genuine. "I'm sorry you need to do this." Xisuma shakes his head.

"It's nobody's fault," False says, "Do what you need to do, X. Then you're going back to bed." Keralis hums in agreement. Xisuma laughs softly as the command screens in his helmet boot up.

He zones out the others around him, leaning on Keralis's shoulder when his friend perches beside him. He scrolls through information as he brings up Zedaph's data on one screen. With one eye on it, he unlocks the data packs, searching through them. He gives voice instructions with his microphone muted to the outside world. Finding the pack he needs, he disables it and checks Zedaph's data. It looks like his code is straightening out again. Thank goodness. He makes sure all activity is deactivated before he turns the pack back on.

"That should do it," he mumbles, before realising his microphone is still off. He reactivates it before repeating himself.

"Maybe you should teach us a bit more sometime," False squeezes his shoulder, helping him up. Xisuma slings his arm over False with a nod. That would be good.

"Thank you, X." Tango smiles. He rubs his thumb across Zedaph's hand. The ender hybrid has relaxed, face slack. It looks like he's properly sleeping now. Xisuma can finally rest.

"Come on. Don't you fall asleep here, I don't want to carry you across." Xisuma hums, too tired to commit to any words. Before he knows it, he's sitting down on the comfortable bed again.

"Shishwam, lemme get your helmet." Xisuma nods, tilting his head up so Keralis can unlatch it and bring it off. His head rolls onto his shoulder the moment it's gone. Keralis giggles, ruffling his hair. "Come on, sleepy time." False lies him down, his helmet tucked safely in his arms. Keralis's hand slips into his. Xisuma shuts his eyes, before blinking them open again.

"Stay?" He asks, too tired to worry about being needy. He doesn't want to be alone in that darkness again.

"Of course," False replies.

"We're not going anywhere," Keralis adds. Xisuma smiles at them both, eyes slipping closed. The darkness is manageable with his friends by his side.

"Don't you dare wake them up," False hisses, watching as Grian and Iskall play with redstone. The morning sun is beginning to shine through the cracks in the windows. She's exhausted, having only caught a quick nap. Keralis is asleep next to Xisuma, sitting on the floor with his head resting on the bed. Tango's slid into bed beside Zedaph, holding him close to his chest. Mumbo's dead to the world across the room.

"We won't!" Grian calls, trying to figure out the game he could make out of this mechanic. Iskall has a Statues book open, an armour stand sat in front of a piston.

"You know, this would be a lot easier if the two people who have done this with armour stands were helping," Iskall points out, flicking through the pages.

"We're fine, it's part of the adventure!" Grian watches as the piston shoots the armour stand across the room. False smiles, leaning back against the bed. Some of the other hermits have been coming online with the early morning. Thankfully, they don't seem to know about everything that went down yesterday. It's best things are quiet for Xisuma whilst he rests. She's sure he’ll tell them about it. She'll make sure he does.

As the sun grows higher with the dawn, she dozes off again. Grian is yawning, him and Iskall only catching a few hours of sleep. He's still buzzing with activity. He'll crash later, easy enough.

It's to this quiet atmosphere that Xisuma wakes up. Iskall and Grian are still experimenting. Grian’s laughter rings out as the armour stand bounces in the air. The beat of the piston is monotonous, but they're nearly falling over each other at the sight. Xisuma watches with a soft smile, eyes barely opened.

"It we got one on top, do you think it would-" Grian holds his hand up, demonstrating an armour stand shaking up and down aggressively. Iskall chuckles, shaking his head.

"It's only the morning, we don't need to break physics yet."

"It's for science," Grian protests. He sounds breathless, half-delirious with his need for sleep.

"Please don't make me do work," Xisuma whispers, all too aware of the sleeping hermits around him. Grian perks up, Iskall turning to him with a grin.

"'Suma!" Iskall calls. Xisuma smiles at both of them, making no attempt to move. He's comfortable here and he doesn't want to wake his friends.

"Exy-Suma!" Grian slides across, leaving a gap from the sleeping hermits. Iskall stands by his side, resting his hand on Grian's shoulder. "How are you feeling?" Xisuma wraps his arm tighter around his helmet.

"Not the best, my friend," he answers honestly. "But I'm certainly better than before."

"Well, we'll just have to make that even better then." Grian is committed to the cause now. He's going to make Xisuma's day.

"You don't have to rush back into things," Iskall says, offering a smile. "I'm sure we can handle ourselves today."

"I don't think I'm getting out of this bed anytime soon." Xisuma looks down at Keralis, dark hair brushing Xisuma's chest plate. False is asleep slouched in the chair beside him. Even without being able to see the other occupants of the room, he can still tell they're sleeping. "Feels a bit weird not going for a jog at this time, though."

"I'm sure your legs won't wither away after one morning, X," Iskall jokes. "Be lazy like the rest of us." Grian grins.

"We could always play some mini-games later, too!" Xisuma laughs, stretching as much as he can without shifting Keralis. He's beginning to regret sleeping in his armour, but it's too late now.

The three chat with each other, Xisuma offering advice now he's awake. They're gradually building up a system to launch the armour stand across the room. Sure, they'll have to clean it all up later, but it passes the time and it makes them laugh. Hearing Xisuma laughing is good for all three of them, despite the roughness reminding them of last night's ordeal. It's safe to say that nobody envies Xisuma's experience.

The three jump at a strange, shrill noise, until the realisation kicks in. Zed is sitting up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Hair is falling into his face, ruffled from sleep. Tango remains slumped against him. He even rolls into the warmth Zedaph leaves behind. It takes a few seconds until the hybrid notices his audience. Zedaph jumps, smiling sheepishly.

"Oh, hi, sorry! Forgot I wasn't alone." His eyes are glowing brightly in the morning light. He looks down at the arm lazily clinging to his waist. "This oaf is used to it."

"No, no, you're okay," Xisuma tells him. False is stirring beside him, blinking to life, but Keralis remains out. "How are you feeling?" Zedaph taps his chin, resting his finger on his lip.

"Pretty well-rested, actually." Then his attention turns to Xisuma. "What about you? I should be asking you that question!" Xisuma laughs, flexing his fingers against his helmet.

"I'm okay. Taking it easy." He tilts his head towards Grian and Iskall. "Whether I like it or not, it seems."

"Too right," False agrees, yawning. "T'others can handle admin duties for today. You're ours."

"Is that a threat?"

"We can make it one!" Iskall tells him, his voice a lot more cheerful than the implication of his words. "We just need a good leash-"

"Oh absolutely not! Don't you dare!" Keralis pokes his head up next to him, trying to tune into the conversation. Zedaph laughs from across the room. He's tugging a bleary Tango to rest on his shoulder so he can wrap the blanket around them both.

"Oh come on, X, it'll be fun!" Grian wraps his arms around Iskall's shoulders. Xisuma shakes his head.

"You two are terrible. Absolutely terrible. Goodness me."

"I'm sure X will agree to take a day off willingly," False says, sounding far too threatening as she rubs sleep from her eyes.

"I already agreed. No leash required!"

"Why are we talking about leashes?" Keralis finally asks, looking more confused than anything. They break down into laughter.

[Grian] hello everyone

[iskall85] HALLO!

[iskall85] we are stealing your admin for the day!

[Grian] yeah he's ours.

[falsesymmetry] x had a rough night so he's having a day off

[falsesymmetry] so if any admins besides tango, x and i could step up please?

[cubfan135] yeah I'm on it.

[joehillssays] of course, and send our well wishes to our dear admin!

[Xisuma] your dear admin thanks you :-)

[Xisuma] please try not to break anything

[Etho] have a fun day lol

[joehillssays] don't make us lock you out of your screens, x!

[Keralis1] Nothing will get past us.

[iskall85] he's been suitably threatened.

[Renthedog] Should uh... We be concerned?

[Grian] about x-i-sooma finally getting a break?

[falsesymmetry] he's in safe hands. promise.

"Should we get this day started?" Tango asks. Grian is about to answer, only to yawn. He covers his mouth, face turning red.

"Another hour of sleep first?" False suggests. They look around the room, everyone in varying states of awareness.

"It never hurt anyone." Iskall shoves Mumbo over, fitting into bed beside him. "See y'all in an hour." Keralis smiles at Xisuma. He bumps their heads together.

"You deserve a break without being traumatised first, you know that Shishwamy?" He checks. Xisuma laughs, pressing their foreheads together.

"Yeah, I know." He leans back. "And I think I've got some good friends to remind me." False pats his back, getting comfortable enough to doze off again.

"And don't you forget it." Xisuma looks around the room. The architechs are fighting over the bed, Tango and Zedaph curled back up on theirs. He smiles, the fear from last night already on its way to being a distant memory.

"Don't think I can."

#hermitcraft #xisuma #falsesymmetry #keralis #grian #iskall85 #tangotek #zedaph #feel like mumbo's role is too minor to tag him lmao #my writing #this fic took so loooong #but i wanted to get it done #more brain space for my other projects

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writing-the-end · 4 years ago

Text

LoL Chapter 26- Next Right Move

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU, designs, ideas belongs to @theguardiansofredland)

Where do the hermits go from here? All this knowledge, it bears so much weight. With their enemy being the leader of Lairyon himself, how can they possibly do anything now? Why should they?

_________________________________________________

The hermits wasted no time returning to Eremita. Running as far from Milliara as possible, into the safety of the Ashioll sea. Protected by the mysterious magic surrounding their home, the hermits are able to recuperate from the honor and horror they’ve witnessed. Exhausted from the Chimaera’s Championship, but terrified from what monstrosity Dolios put them through. The phoenix shaped chalice, the grand prize of gold and honor from the games sits discarded at the guild hall. Every night, a few hermits can be found huddled near a fireplace or drinking in someone’s house.

The hermits left Eremita determined to find out who the dark mage was. They knew it was a Councilmember. They never expected it to be the magistrate himself. They never expected to win the Chimaera’s Championship, or stumble in on a plot much larger, much darker than they thought. And now here they are, narrowly escaped the dark mage’s wrath, with no clue what to do.

This is bigger than the hermits. This is bigger than Gildara, or Danes, or anything they’ve ever faced before. This is beyond a scope they can even understand. Why is Dolios doing this? How far has his corruption spread? Who can stop Dolios, the Magistrate and leader of Lairyon? If the king is silent, and the Council is a part of his cabal, then no one is able to stop him.

The hermits take the news in different ways- though no one celebrates their victory. Not after nearly dying in Dolios’s dungeons they only believed were rumors. The training field is empty, except for False. Anger burns through her pain, her kukri digging into the slime dummies she had Jevin make until the bodies rip in half. She decapitates one with a swift swing and turns around, ducking and rolling, before throwing molten blades into the chests of three more. The slime sizzles and burns, as hot as her anguish.

At the sidelines, Wels watches as he buffs out the dents on his armor. He scrubs the metal till he can see his reflection in it, and then a little more. Trying to rub out the memories of the chess game, the dark magic that had trapped them in the sick game.

Zedaph, Impulse, and Tango are together as always. But rather than trying to find trouble, all three sit on a haybale, just watching the animals of Zed’s farm. Tango twirls a stick full of leaves, much to the annoyance of the goat at his feet, eyes distant. Zedaph has been having a sleepover in their part of False’s forge, not wanting to leave his friend’s side. Not after knowing who killed their last guild. He doesn’t want to lose them as well. Impulse has no energy to be his bubbly, happy self. He feels like a cannon with a wet fuse, unable to light up and explode outward. Instead, he just mindlessly runs his fingers through the woolen fur of the sheep chewing on his clothes.

Grian and Mumbo sit on the open windows of the angel’s house. Just watching the sun rise into an afternoon sun across the sea. They say nothing, a rare silence from Grian and even Mumbo. The two friends have nothing to say. They won the championship, but Grian still feels the horror of watching Mumbo forced to move like a chess piece. A pawn, set forward and open to attack. He knew he should have trusted TFC, but in the moment all he could think of was losing his best friend.

Exiting his cave, TFC feels the oppressive mood in the air. He feels like he’s underground in Gildara again. That sense of hopelessness, that dampening weight on his shoulders. The guildmaster looks around, looks at his team, his island. A storm rolls in the distance, likely to come by evening and bless the island with life giving rain. But the hermits are like wilting flowers. Crumpled, lacking the color and life they normally carry with pride. Even the rainbow flags of the guild hall look muted.

TFC hates this feeling, this suspension. Waiting for something to break, something to happen. If it won’t happen, he’ll make it happen. TFC picks up a stone from the mouth of his cave home, feeling the weight of the stone as he wanders to Xisuma’s tower. It’s a good piece of granite, a nice heavy weight without being too strong or sharp. It’s perfect for his plan. He rests the stone in his dominant hand, looking up at Xisuma’s tower, the gleaming telescope at the peak of the building.

And he throws the stone. It clatters against Xisuma’s windowsill, rattling the metal frame but not breaking the glass. The stone falls, and he does it again. And again. Halfway through reeling back for a third throw, the window finally opens. X ducks just in time to miss getting a rock to the head. “What in the name of the gods are you doing?”

“Group meeting. Round up the others.” TFC crosses his arms, looking up at the wizard in the tower.

“What? Why?” Xisuma sighs, but pulls on his mask all the same. It’s too bright for him right now.

“If no one else is going to change the world, then we will.” TFC growls, then walks away. He motions for team ZIT to follow, and even dares to get between False and her training to call her to the guild hall. The open air space, enclosed only by clawlike stones and a ring of younger oak trees beneath the massive, entangling branches of the centerpiece, quickly fills with hermits. Sitting at the tables, Cleo tries to ease some of the tension with her good mead. But even Cleo’s best brews taste like swill right now.

The last to arrive was Grian. Iskall was practically dragging him by the cloak into the guild hall, across the wooden grains of the floor, across the twining knot of birch and dark oak. Once the architechs were seated, Iskall and Grian with their own mugs of mead, TFC looks at the guild before him.

He sighs, shaking his head. “I know what we faced was grim. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to be you guys, forced to be pawns in Dolios’s sick game.” TFC notices False’s hands ball into fists at the mention of his name. “Especially to be moved by me, I wish I could’ve thought of a better way to stop him.

“But we went to Milliara to discover who the dark mage was. We did that, and more. Dolios thought he could scare us, silence us. Make us turn on each other, make us choose who was more important and who wasn’t. But we’re not just a guild- we’re a family. It was terrible, but we got through it only because we worked as a team.”

Silence meets TFC’s words. None of the hermits answer him. Normally, he struggles to get his guild to stay quiet for more than a minute. He feels he would have better luck teaching toddlers than talking to this lot. And it makes TFC’s stomach burn like magma to be able to hear rustling leaves, the distant bleat of a sheep.

“And he’s winning.” He growls, looking at them all. “Look at us! Silent, still! Wallowing in what’s happened while Dolios is continuing to steal magic for his own nefarious desires! He’s winning, because we are doing nothing!”

“What can we do?” Jevin sneers, leaning back. “We’re nobodies. An outlaw guild of misfits. We don’t have the power like the king, the prestige like a legal guild.”

“That’s exactly why we can do it! We have our freedom, our strength in being beyond all that. If no one else will stop Dolios, if no one else can stop Diolios, then we should. Look at us,” TFC waves around as hermits pick up their heads. “We’re victors of the Chimaera’s Championship. We have more power and strength in this one hall than most guilds have in their entire history. We have a variety of magic and the creative minds to wield powers. To weave unlike magics into something greater.”

“Why us, though?” Even Xisuma is sitting up, though his voice still has a twinge of doubt and exasperation.

“If we don’t, who will?” The guildmaster looks around, seeing a spark return to the crowd. Thank Artyne, they’re finally talking over him again. “We know who the dark mage is, we know how to break a crystal, we’re not afraid of breaking a few rules! We may not be the heroes Lairyon needs, but we’re the only ones who can do it.”

The surge of pride and power shocks across the hermits. A coy grin parts Doc’s hybrid face, sharp teeth revealed and glinting in the hot summer sunlight. Ren’s tail is wagging so fast it’s smacking Stress and Joe with each hemisphere completed. And TFC knows he’s gotten them hooked when he sees angelic feathers plume out from a gremlin smirk on Grian’s face.

TFC pulls out a map from the nook in a tree, brushing an acorn aside that was stashed along with it. Using now empty mugs from Iskall and Grian, he unfurls the map and gazes at the crescent shaped continent that is Lairyon. He pulls out a piece of charcoal, and sketches four marks on the map. One where Gildara was, a diamond shape that is matched with one in Milliara. But the one in Milliara is crossed out. Danes and their home island get swirls, neither crossed out. “We know of four events that for certain included dark magic. In Milliara, we were successful in breaking the crystal.” He taps on the x-marked diamond. “Unfortunately, we can’t be certain if those husk storms will reappear in Danes or here.”

“We should gather information. Listen in to town gossip, meet with contacts, just try and find any stories that match what we saw.” Cleo hums, running her dead fingers along the map. “Go all across Lairyon, destroy any crystals and do our best to weaken Dolios.”

“And try to find a way to stop his reign once and for all.” Doc adds, his voice growling.

“We need every hermit in on this job.” TFC looks at the map, eyes alighting on Crystalla. Wels came back- it’s time for the other hermits to come home. “Joe, send a message to xB, Hypno, and Beef. Tell them that the Order of Hermits are fighting to take back Lairyon.”

#light of lairyon #lol #hermitcraft #hermitcraft au #hermitcraft fanfic #wizard au #wizard hermits #mcyt #wizard tfc #wizard xisuma #wizard false #wizard cleo #wizard jevin #new hermits coming in!

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