wc: 1468

guys its done

request for: ThatOne1Shadow and 

i dont think i'll do a part 4 unless its just them being idiots :) 

enjoy!

"We're going to have to figure something out."

Evil X looked up from his fidget toy. Xisuma had given it to him, and of course it was bee themed. There was an axolotl one which sat on X's desk.

"What do you mean?" Evil X asked distractedly, flipping a switch on the side of the toy. "I am perfectly content to sit on this couch for the rest of my life."

X snorted. "The Hermits aren't." He typed something and another holographic screen popped up. "They're still asking about you. I told them you were properly taken care of. They assumed it in the put you in a holding cell or have you under lock and key kind of way."

Evil X groaned. "All your fault, for dubbing me Evil X of all things." He tossed the fidget cube and X's head. It bounced off harmlessly. Evil X appreciated that X didn't wear his helmet inside anymore, only when there were other people around. His hair was very fluffy and Evil X liked to ruffle it for fun.

"You always hated your name." X's fingers stilled on his keyboard. "When I first called you that you thought it was funny."

Screwing his nose up at the thought, Evil X flopped back on the couch. "Well... I don't know what my name was before the whole Hermitcraft fiasco, so you can't blame me."

"You... can't remember?" X repeated, spinning his chair around to face Evil X. "Like, at all?"

Evil X huffed. "It started with an X, that's for sure." His fingers began to wander for something to do again, which X noticed probably immediately. He caught the fidget toy X threw back at him and played with the buttons.

"Xerion." 

"What?" 

"Xerion. That was your name." There was something very heavy in X's gaze as he plucked his own axolotl fidget toy off of his desk to fiddle with. "You said it sounded like a girl's name. Even though names that end with 'a' generally associate with girls."

"It does sound like a girl name," Evil X... no, Xerion said, but he was too busy turning the letters over in his head. 

It sounded nice. Unlike when the void always stressed the evil part of his name. Evil X, the void would whisper in his ear. You are every imperfection of your twin and only that.

"We called you Xeri," X continued, voice kind of distracted as his fingers stilled. "You only liked it until you were ten. Then some people at school teased you, and you came home crying and banned it."

"Oh," Xerion said vaguely. "I..." He shrugged. "I kinda like it now." He thought to how considerate X was, calling Xerion Ex instead Evil X. "I don't wanna be called Evil X anymore, anyway."

A smile twitched at his twin's lips. "I'll make sure to tell the hermits that." He swiveled back around to continue typing.

"Anyway, what're you gonna do?" Xerion asked. "About the whole me and the hermits situation."

The keys on the keyboard clacked loudly as X's hands darted across them, bring up screens and rolling lines of code and doing all sorts of admin stuff that Xerion had never bothered to learn.

"I'll have you meet them, that's what I'm going to do."

A fidget cube, a pillow, and a shoe bombarded X's head.

~~~

Xisuma cleared his throat over the crowd of Hermits. "Okay, everybody, this is Xerion," he said, voice booming authoritatively. Xerion could feel the slight tremor of X's hand, which he slipped his own into. He suddenly remembered the stage fright that always used to swallow X's courage.

He remembered X having to speak in front of the class, remembered his voice cracking, hands shaking.

He also remembered walking up in front of everybody, including the teacher, to take X's hand and do the speech together. 

Xerion's gaze swept over the crowd of people. Some looked a bit confused at the hostility literally emanating from other hermits, clearly people who'd joined recently.

"I know you guys have grudges," X continued with newfound confidence, "but I've done some research, and he had been affected by a virus in his Player code." There were some mutters of doubt. "I expect him to be treated well and fairly, and if you don't, then I will have some issues with you." He eyed some people. Xerion didn't really remember what had exactly happened, let alone what people he had, er... affected, so he stood awkwardly, fidgeting with X's watch.

X continued. "If you want, you can talk to him yourself. Once again, his name is Xerion, and I hope you all refer to him as such. He is my twin brother and since I was the one who spent my entire childhood with him, trust me when I say he is a total doofus." 

"Hey!" Xerion said, turning to him. "You didn't say that part when we rehearsed it."

X slapped a hand over his mouth and continued to speak, completely unfazed to Xerion trying to pry his fingers off of his face. "That's all. He's been through... a rough ordeal while in the void-" Xerion froze. "-so if you don't bring it up, that would be great."

Xerion swallowed. X dropped his hand, shooting him a worried glance to which he smiled in return. "Are you good?" X asked. It wasn't until he made to reply that he realized X had spoken in Enderian. 

"Yes," Xerion replied. 

He looked back and saw that Grian had a funny face on. He debated waiting for someone to come over to him, but as people began to turn and talk to each other, he decided he would be the extroverted one and went over to the winged hermit.

"Hi," he said. Grian smiled. 

"Hello," Grian replied. "How're ya feeling?"

"Like nothing ever happened," Xerion said with a grin. Which wasn't exactly true. Sometimes he still felt phantom aches in his muscles or so exhausted, like when he was unable to sleep, even though he slept for like ten hours every night.

Grian crossed his arms kind of skeptically. "Mhmmmm."

Xerion found it funny that he literally towered over Grian. The man was probably average height, but Xerion was abnormally tall as an Enderian, so Grian had to crane his neck to look up at him.

"Why the doubt?" Xerion asked. He suddenly felt very exposed, as his helmet was somewhere in the void, probably smashed to pieces by the void's anger. 

Grian shrugged. "Experience."

Xerion blinked, but Grian was already moving on. "Anyway, this is Mumbo!"

A tall man, perhaps a few inches shorter than Xerion, was pulled into scene by Grian, a thick mustache under his nose, raven hair, and deep brown eyes. One hand tugged at the tie on his suit a bit nervously. "Hello."

Xerion scrunched his nose. "Mumbo..." He hummed. "Sounds vaguely familiar."

Mumbo blinked. "You don't... remember, er, any of..." His hands gestured strangely.

A cough from Xerion. "No. I, ah, don't really recall anything while I had the virus, except for right before I was banned and some vague flashes." 

"A virus?" somebody repeated. Xerion turned to see a group of hermits and shrunk back a bit from their gaze.

"Y-yeah," he stammered. Xerion fidgeted with the black gloves on his hands, tugging them a little further past his wrists for no particular reason. "Although I don't think it was, uh, always there. Like I think sometimes I was myself." 

"You played tag with us!" somebody said. Xerion squinted at the person who'd spoken, a man with forest green eyes and pointed ears. His hair was deep brown and fell past his shoulders in waves, and he donned a green robe with a golden trim. His expression wasn't really hostile, it was just a little surprised.

"I don't remember much, but okay," Xerion said, shrugging. He wasn't lying, he didn't remember playing tag with hermits.

"Guess we need a proper introduction," Grian announced, clapping his hands together. None of the hermits argued, which surprised Xerion, although Grian did give off an aura of authority, or leadership. Although since Xerion didn't recognize him, he had to be relatively new.

"I'm Grian, as you know," he said, gesturing towards himself.

"Mumbo, as you know," Mumbo said, earning a few chuckles.

"Pearl."

"Impulse."

"Scar."

"Iskall."

"Cub."

The circle went around and around. Xerion felt a strange shiver go up his spine at the thought of how everybody seemed to just accept that he had not been acting right, but the feeling was... pleasant.

Someone grabbed his hand and began to lead him somewhere; Bdubs, he remembered vaguely, who was gesticulating excitedly as he rambled about the server and about the map and...

This strange feeling bubbling inside of Xerion, as everybody crowded around him, suggesting things, telling funny stories. The bubbling came out of his mouth, and pure exhilaration lifted Xerion up the highest he had ever been.

Was this what happiness was like? 'Cause if it was, he'd be down to live with it for a bit longer.

i'm so tired its so long please help 

thank you for reading! have a good day or night wherever you are!

-Ete