Tw: light sexual content (it's just a make out session, I promise it's not that bad-)

Yeah! This is just a bit of angst because why not!

This chapter is the longest by far, 2600+ words

I'm sorry lmao

Please tell me if I made any grammar mistakes- it's bound to have happened at least once-
———

"I don't know about this, Scar.." Bdubs furrowed his brow, hand on his head, fingers laced into his black hair.

"Ah, Bdubs, don't worry your sweet little head. Once that pesky dog catcher is gone, we'll be able to transform the shopping district to our hearts content!" Scar gave a slight giggle, bringing his pickaxe down onto a shining blue block of diamond.

Bdubs blushed a bit at the nickname, unable to help the flurry of emotions that stirred in his stomach at the praise, "yes, but-"

The shorter man was silenced with a kiss, the mayor turning on a dime to peck his lover on the lips. "It will all turn out in the end."
———
'Throne diamonds stolen?! Mayor issues statement!'

Hermitcraft was in chaos. Overnight, every single one of the shopping district diamonds had been stolen. Gone, without a trace.

Cub had been the first to discover it, and he and Cleo had worked like mad to get the exclusive first look at the drama.

By then, however, they were just amplifying the rumors that had been echoed throughout the server. By 10:00 am, everyone had heard about the missing throne.

Hermits speculated and gossiped, and by the time they had all sat down for an impromptu meeting, everyone had their own personal theory as to what happened to the shiny blue rocks.

"Was it a glitch?"
"Were they destroyed?"
"Were they stolen?"
"What? That's ridiculous! Who would steal-"

"Actually," a voice was quick to cut through the chaos, the british accent able to silence the room. "We have to consider the possibility that they were stolen.." Xisuma sighed, casting a glance around the room. "In fact, it is the most likely scenario.."

"I-" Scar paused to cough, before standing from his seat. The room stood still for the mayor, all on the edge of their seat to see what their leader had to say. "I agree with Xisuma. It is unfortunate, but.. I don't see any other obvious explanation." Scar's green eyes flickered with sadness, his voice rueful and low.

The hermits drank it up.

"..didn't Joe say something about burning the diamond throne?" This time it was Bdubs, sat to Scar's right hand. His voice was low, cautious, almost slightly regretful.

"What?! That's ridiculous!" Cleo jumped out of her seat, hand slamming down on the table. She glared daggers into Bdubs, causing the black haired man to wince.

"I have to agree," Joe pushed his glasses up his nose as he spoke, "if I were to burn the diamonds, it would be through due democratic process."

"Whatever the case, we can't discount the possibility, sorry Joe." Xisuma shot Cleo a glare, enough to temper the Zombie back into her seat.

A couple of sighs were passed around the room, along with some short murmurs, rumors already starting to take shape.

Scar bit back a smirk, his face instead soft set with worry, "we can't go around spreading rumors, Bdubs and I will go with Joe to investigate his base, I'm sure we won't find anything, but we have to be cautious."

"Mind if I tag along?" Coming from Xisuma it wasn't really a request, more of a courtesy.

"Of course," Scar nodded, "I'd feel safer with the admin coming along."

"What?! You've already made up your mind-" Cleo was pissed, her orange hair seeming to light on fire with how angry she was. She jumped out of her seat again, a jumble of words spilling from her mouth.

"That wasn't what I meant," Scar was quick to correct himself. "But Xisuma is the admin, and it would be best to bring him along."

Cleo might have been angry, but she wasn't stupid, and her usually tired green eyes danced like poison frogs, ready to leap up and sink Scar six feet under.

The mayor wouldn't fold, however, his expression calm as he stepped away from his chair. "It's best if we leave now. Bdubs, Xisuma, Joe?" He cut Cleo off.

The red head was silenced by another glare from Xisuma, light reflecting of his visor, the glare shielding his eyes.

Cleo had recognized the look from instances prior, and although she was in the mood for a fight, she was no match for Xisuma.

She skunk to her seat in defeat.
———

Scar, Bdubs, Xisuma, and Joe left for the dog catcher's vineyard, touching down just out of range of the berries.

Joe's base was a winery, a large building made of nether materials surrounded by rows upon rows of sweet berries- the red-purplish hue they gave off contrasting the violent green of the countryside.

Underneath the vineyard was an expansive system of caves, hand mined, naturally generated, or otherwise. They had all been terraformed to the Joe Hills level of excellence, and you wouldn't hear it from Joe, but the Tennessee native was quite proud of his work.

"It really is quite pretty here," Xisuma observed, clipping his wings to their resting position before turning to face the rest of the group.

"We should split up, we can search faster that way." Xisuma said, to nods and agreements from the group. "Me and Bdubs, Scar and Joe?"

When no objections were raised, they broke off into their respective groups, Xisuma and Bdubs going down to Joe's mines, Joe and Scar exploring the winery.

Up until that point, Joe had stayed relatively silent.

Scar couldn't say he blamed him.

The terraformer could almost see the gears of Joe's mind, turning with a thousand questions- most aimed at himself.

Had he left anything incriminating out? He didn't think he did.. but last night was..

What if he had stolen the diamonds? The question bounced back and forth between his ears. Don't get him wrong, he was almost positive he hadn't- it wasn't the kind of thing you just forgot about. But, what if he had?

He had gotten drunk last night, blackout drunk, in fact. He probably wasn't even in the right state of mind to pull of a heist as big as stealing the diamond throne, but as long as there was an inkling of a possibility that the diamond throne diamonds were in his base, he could feel his blood pressure rising.

"What are you thinking about, Joe?" Scar said as he opened a door, snapping the dog catcher out of his thoughts. "Worrying won't change the outcome."

"You act as if you know what will happen," Joe challenged, finger's fumbling as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Of course I do," Scar hummed, casting a casual glance down at his hand, examining his neatly filed nails.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you should savor your days as dog catcher."

"But I didn't- what?"

As if on queue, Scar's phone buzzed.

The mayor plucked the communicator from his pocket, accepting the call within a few rings.

"Oh no.. are you serious? We'll be right down."

Click, he hung up the phone.

The mayor said nothing, instead brushing past Joe as he arrogantly sauntered through the door.

The smaller man rushed after the mayor, curiosity and a renewed wave of anxiety compelling his legs to follow the elder hermit. (I don't actually know if Scar's older than Joe. I think he is, correct me if I'm wrong)

Well, would you look at that.

A block had been broken in the terraformed wall, the smooth stone cracked to reveal-

Lava, thick and syrupy, glowing a radioactive orange.

It spilled over a pile, the lava parting slightly where a diamond block jutted out unevenly.

"Joe, whats this?" Xisuma asked, subconsciously reaching for his sword.

His eyes narrowed to slits, watching as Joe took a step back.

"What- I didn't.. I don't even think-" Joe stuttered and staled, watching as the rest of the group turned to face him.

Judge, Scar, jury, Bdubs, executioner Xisuma.

When Scar spoke, his words were harsh- condemning. For a judge, he sure as hell sounded like he had already made up his mind.

"Be honest, Joe, did you steal the diamonds?"

"No!- I mean- maybe-" Joe fumbled for breath as he tried to piece together what had happened, a headache overwhelming his senses.

It felt like someone had taken a whisk to his brain.

"Maybe? How do you not know- I thought you were better than this, Joe." This time it was Bdubs who spoke.

No! No! No! If the jury doubted him-

"I didn't steal the-"

What the fuck

Joe's voice sharpened, slicing through the air.

He took in a long breath, releasing it with a shaky sigh.

"Last night I got drunk. Blackout drunk, in fact. If I stole the diamonds, I don't remember. You can have them back- in fact, please take them back. I swear to you." Joe put his hand over his heart, thumb nail digging into his skin to stop himself from screaming.

Xisuma didn't sound convinced, but nevertheless his muscles relaxed.

"Scar, Bdubs, organize an emergency meeting by the town hall, give me an hour or so.. Joe, come with me." Despite Xisuma's perpetual calm, Joe couldn't help but hear the unsung rage in the admin's words.

Nods were passed around the room, and they broke away to complete their various tasks.
———

"Alright, alright, settle down."

While you would assume it would be the mayor's job to deliver political news, Xisuma actually took charge of most town hall meetings.

He was the admin, after all, and every hermit respected and trusted the Brit.

So it came as a shock when he delivered his latest town hall speech.

"Joe, for the foreseeable future, will be demoted."

A series of murmurs passed around the room, but it was clear Xisuma wasn't done speaking, so the voices hushed almost as soon as they started talking.

"Scar, Bdubs and I have found significant evidence linking him to the theft of the diamond throne. While the vote for his position of dog catcher was more or less unanimous, he isn't uniquely qualified for the position.

"If you would like to apply for the position, submissions can be sent to Jellie's office, and with that, I pass the floor to Scar."

There's a lot to unpack there, but let's just throw away the whole suitcase.

If there was one thing the hermits took away from Xisuma's speech, it was the implications.

Joe being demoted didn't really matter- the dogs were largely gone by that point.

What mattered was the power dynamic on the server had just shifted.

Scar and Bdubs were now judge and jury, and even if Xisuma still held physical power, he was little more than an executioner. A limb of the mayoral duo's power.

Scar and Bdubs had just manipulated democracy, and wrapped the server around their fingers.

And it felt good.

In that moment, the duo felt almost euphoric.

They had reached the top.

And now, there was no one left to drag them down.

"Hello, fellow hermits, I know this may come as a shock, but I'd just like to elaborate on a few things Xisuma said."

Scar watched as the tone of the town hall shifted, hermit's squirming in their seat's as the mayor's gaze swept around the room.

He adjusted his speech to match the tone, his words authoritative and professional.

"While we did find evidence that Joe stole the diamonds, it is unclear weather or not certain variables lead to his actions. I will keep the specifics out to preserve Joe's privacy, but this situation is complicated and still developing. Updates will be available on the notice board as they come in, but for know, it's business as usual. Thank you for your time."
———

"Oh, god, I love you," Scar grinned, leaning forward to smash his lips against Bdubs'.

He had ambushed the smaller man at sunset, everyone had left for their bases at that point, and Scar had taken advantage of his free time, pinning Bdubs to a wall.

Bdubs' eyes widened in surprise, sitting there for a second before remembering to kiss back, feeling Scar's hand grip his waist as he melted further into the wall.

They broke away gasping, Bdubs' cheeks a bright red as he felt his knees turn to mush.

"What was- was.. was that for?" The shorter stuttered, biting his lip at the intensity of Scar's gaze. "We haven't won yet.."

"Oh, Bdubs, always worrying. What did I tell you, it will all turn out in the end." Scar let out a small sigh, hand going to brush Bdubs' raven hair.

Bdubs' blush rivaled the sun, cheeks electric as he did his best to avoid Scar's eyes. God, Scar knew how to get him flustered. He chewed his lip nervously, head spiraling down countless scenarios.

As soon as he opened his mouth, Scar's was on his, the mayor abusing the others lip's as his tongue shoved itself down the other's throat.

The mayor tugged at Bdubs' hair, tilting it ever so slightly for easier access.

When they broke for air, Bdubs had become a puddle in Scar's arms.

"I'll do whatever it takes."
———

Xisuma has his head in his hands, helmet stripped from his face. The sun had long since gone down, but he was still up, trying to make sense of.. everything.

That's when things got more confusing.

There was a knock, and then Etho and Beef stepped into his base.

As Xisuma fumbled with his helmet, he took note of the duo's expressions.

Beef's face was painted with worry, he wasn't even trying to hide his frown, arm protectively around Etho.

The redstoner in question had an.. unusual expression.

His typically blank face danced with questions, a confused and dazed- almost drunk- look.

As soon as Beef spoke, it was clear why.

"Etho.. thinks there's something off about Scar," Beef's arm was wrapped protectively around the smaller hermit, the masked man's shoulders slouched as he gazed innocuously up at the admin.

Xisuma kept his face calm, though he was unable to stop himself from sucking in a breath. "Off how?" That was a problem. Etho's intuition had never been wrong. It was almost inhuman.

He never lost a round of Rock Paper Scissors, he could tell if you were bluffing in poker, but most importantly, he was like a walking lie detector. Nothing ever slipped past him, and if it weren't for his shyness, he would be quite the formidable force.

Unfortunately, he could only speak through proxy, (in most cases, Beef, though sometimes text to speech), and thus his opinions were never heard unless they were sought after.

"Etho thinks there's something off about Scar. He told me that Joe was innocent- as in, he didn't steal the diamonds. And when I asked about Scar.." Beef could feel Etho tense beside him, and he shifted accordingly, rubbing circles into the smaller hermits shoulder.

"He said he couldn't read Scar."

Xisuma's eyes sharpened to points, his gaze burning holes into Etho.

"What do you mean?" To say Xisuma was baffled would be an understatement.

Etho could read everyone.

Everyone.

He could tell what you were thinking, even if you couldn't.

He could tell if you were lying, even if you couldn't.

He could tell what you were feeling, even if you couldn't.

The thought that there was someone Etho couldn't read was practically unheard of.

Could the entire server have been fooled?
———

Next up, the jury!

This is going to be a three part series, so watch out for that~

I'm sorry this one was so long (and all over the place the next one should be shorter and more coherent).

-yours, #biden2020 (well, bernie2020 but that's ship has sailed)