Word Count : 2973 

Requested By : ACykaofSouthEastAsia

Warnings : Feelings of worthlessness, panic attacks, hurt/comfort, platonic hugging, near death experience, 

Characters (Major) : Docm77, XisumaVoid, ImpulseSV, Grian Xe;qua, Mumbo Jumbo, TFC,

Characters (Minor) : Bdouble0100, Keralis, Cubfan135, Biffa2001, Joe Hills, TangoTek, Iskall85, VintageBeef, Zedaph, 

=

Doc took a step back from his Redstone project with a pending frown. The sun was just beginning to set and his machine still wasn't working.

"Gah, stupid thing. Why won't you work?" Doc grouched, kicking up some dirt after striking the ground with his foot. After grumbling to himself in German, a ping from his comm caught his attention. Doc gladly turned his back to the useless hunk of junk to check who was talking.

XisumaVoid : Night's setting in, anyone near a bed so mobs don't spawn in by the hundreds?

Bdouble0100 : My time has come everyone!

Bdouble0100 has went to sleep. Sweet dreams!

Keralis : What would we ever do without Bdubs or Wels?

XisumaVoid : Die apparently since hardly any of us have a good sleep schedule.

Keralis : You right tho, you right.

Doc smiled at the messages before tucking the comm back in his inventory. The sun would be reset and then the rest of the Hermits wouldn't have to worry about mobs. Doc turned on his heel to face his machine again with a new dawn shining down.

New light or not, Doc got only one step forward before he felt pain explode throughout his body. His heart meter dropped and the world around him became deafened from a ring.

Falling to the ground, Doc layed there feeling paralyzed and with no power to yell out in pain. He felt his comm buzz in his inventory multiple times as his vision became as useless as his hearing.

=

Warning! Player Docm77 has taken significant amounts of damage! Heal immediately!

As soon as Xisuma saw the ping he was jumping out of his base window and flying to Doc's coordinates with his bee wings. All sources of damage were like real damage when the server hit Hardcore mode. So damage from a skeletons arrow or a punch from a zombie did much more than on Hard mode.

The sun was at around its eight-o-clock place so the damage must have been taken right before the sun was reset. Goddamnit hardcore glitch.

Finally reaching Doc's location at the half split mansion, Xisuma quickly landed and sprinted to his wounded player, kneeling down beside him.

"Doc, Doc I need you to keep your eye open for me for just a little bit longer." Xisuma pleaded, pulling up his Admin controls.

Docm was laying on the ground on his front. He had a heart and a half on his meter and he was losing consciousness. Wounds covered his body and there was blood pooling beneath him. Normally the Hermits would have been able to walk that off but this was the Hardcore rotation, meaning they bled out and their hearts could stop beating if they fell unconscious.

Oh the pains and dangerous of a Hardcore server.

X's admin panels blinked on with life as he attempted to save Doc's. As he worked on bringing Doc's heart meter up, he sent an emergency message to two Hermits. Cub and Biffa.

XisumaVoid : Unum Gloria

=

Time Skip [4 Days Later] - Hardcore Switch - Reversed

=

ImpulseSV was slain by guardians using magic

Cubfan135 : F

ImpulseSV : Does anyone by chance have some redstone knowledge to spare?

ImpulseSV : Or even better- an extra body or two that they can lend to me for a while?

XisumaVoid : Is this an offer for your leak who's just got random corpses in their bases?

Joe Hills : X-

ImpulseSV : I

ImpulseSV was slain by guardians using magic

TangoTek : F again

ImpulseSV : No, I need help moving entities and I keep getting targeted by guardians and dying.

ImpulseSV : I need some people to be distractions and I need help getting the guardians to their destinations.

Grian Xelqua : Distraction is my middle name. I've got you Imp.

ImpulseSV was slain by guardians using magic

Iskall85 : I didn't know you and MJ had the same middle name G! :o

Mumbo Jumbo : Hey! >:O

Mumbo Jumbo : Also I'm fast. I can be a guardian distractor for you.

VintageBeef : Either Cub or Doc can help you with entity movement.

Cubfan135 : As much as that sounds like fun, my hands are kind of full. Try asking Doc maybe?

ImpulseSV : Alright

XisumaVoid : Scuse me??? I believe you are forgetting someone???

ImpulseSV : Hmmm, no I don't think so.

Iskall85 : Brb wheezing right now-

XisumaVoid : I've been betrayed??? This is not ok??? I'm being bullied???

ImpulseSV : <3 <3 <3

Grian Xelqua : Send your coords Imp, Mumbo and I shall be over in a hot minute.

ImpulseSV : K. Then I'm getting Doc.

ImpulseSV has shared his coordinates! X### Y## Z###

XisumaVoid : I'M BEING BULLIED HERE!

Biffa2001 : Wait Xisuma

Impulse grinned at his comm and laughed at the distress of his Admin. He placed his comm back in his inventory and put on his elytra. He didn't notice his comm buzz off again as he lifted off the ground with rockets in hand.

Impulse breathed in deeply and smiled as fresh air hit his face. Guardian deaths were no fun so it was nice to be getting away from them for now and the thought of not constantly being targeted was a relief.

As Impulse landed at Doc's half mansion with more grace than the local spoon and derp. The middle man in ZIT felt his comm buzz again.

Putting away his rockets Impulse reached into his inventory and pulled out his comm to check the messages.

Biffa2001 : Wait Xisuma

Biffa2001 : Isn't Doc super busy too?

XisumaVoid : He is?

XisumaVoid : WAIT HE IS

Cubfan135 : Wait Impulse

Cubfan135 : Impulse

TangoTek : Ayo what's happening? Doc's super busy?

ImpulseSV frowned. He looked up and away from his comm and at the half mansion. He had already flown to Doc's base so it'd be a waste of rockets to just fly all the way back to his starting guardian farm.

ImpulseSV : But I'm already here. I'm just gonna check on him.

XisumaVoid : Just hold your pony for a second

Joe Hills : Hold your pony? X, it's hold your horses.

XisumaVoid : JUST GIMME A MINUTE NOW

Grian Xelqua : Mumbo and I are heading to your guardian farm now

Cubfan135 : Impulse just stay where you are.

Impulse gave a sharp sigh then put his comm away. Cub and X were probably contracting Laughter's Disease again. Today had been going a bit slower anyways so Laughter's Disease was likely for the oddness.

Marching confidently up to the half mansion Impulse noticed how much quieter it was around here.

"Doc? You got a second bud?" The middle man of ZIT called out, walking onto the first floor of the halved mansion.

The mansion was dark but it was manageable thanks to the sun. Some of the furniture was out of place and a bookshelf was even on the ground. That sight alone caused Impulse to frown.

"Man, Doc we should start sending more people to come check up on you. You've kind of let yourself go don't you think?" Turning in a slow 180 degrees, Impulse came face to collar bone with a shadow enveloped, tall, green skinned figure.

Letting out a shout of surprise, Impulse stumbled back over a knocked over lamp and landed back on his rump.

"You-you shouldn't be here."

"Doc? Is that you bud?"

Squinted against the shadows, Impulse could see that it was in fact Doctor m77. Honestly he looked like he had seen better days. His hair was greasy and it looked like he hadn't changed clothes in a week.

Doc was wearing a wrinkled t-shirt and knee length blue jeans that were ripped at the ends. He looked slightly thinned and like he had been begging for phantoms to come after him. His robot arm was not even attached to his body and his mechanical eye that usually shone red had no light shining through it.

"Y-You shouldn't be here." Doc repeated, this time in a stronger sounding voice.

The shorter hermit gave Doc a puzzled look as he got onto his feet. Subconsciously, Impulse approached Doc as he would to comfort Tango or Zedaph when they were having difficult days.

"Doc are you-"

Immediately, Doc scrambled back and away from the shorter hermit. "No! Don't get any closer!" He shouted. He held his arm out in front of himself and gestured frantically. His organic eye widened in fear but he didn't seem afraid of his guest.

Drawing to a momentary stop, Impulse held out both his hands to his taller friend. A breakdown was something he could handle exceptionally well he had been told. This was just another one of those.

He could handle this.

"Doc, breathe. It'll be ok."

The tallest hermit didn't appear to trust that wording. His body began to visibly shake and he appeared to try and press himself further against the wall he was by. "No. Impulse don't-"

Impulse didn't even process the three words until he was touching Doc's organic hand with his own.

Impulse's body was suddenly shot with pain and his vision was blinded. His heart meter dropped to half as the recognizable sound of an explosion reached his ears. The explosion, however, did not reach the pair of ears at Impulse's work in progress guardian farm.

Grian was gazing upon the guardians from a distance, seeing what he could pick up on. But the cost of being a player on a semi regular server cost him most of his analyzing hardware that had been on him since he was an Admin and Watcher.

The shorter hermit pointed to one of the guardians that appeared bigger in size than the rest. "So, is that the Elder Guardian?"

Mumbo paused and looked to where Grian was pointing. "Yes, that's the Elder Guardian. That's basically the boss of them. But if I remember correctly, that's the one that Impulse wants to transport back to his base."

Grian blinked his blue eyes multiple times before nodding. "Alright, gotcha. Now where is Impulse? It took us six minutes to fly here."

Mumbo took a deep breath and shook his head. "He'll show with or without Doc eventually. So for now, just make sure you have your bed spawn here just in case you do die and put all your stuff in a chest so it doesn't scatter."

Grian rolled his eyes at the responsible instructions. "Just be pro and don't die Mumbo." He teased.

The black haired hermit rolled his eyes before beginning to do as he had instructed to Grian. He set his spawn, placed all but a couple of food items and a bunch of doors into a double chest and crafted himself a shield for extra protection.

The two prepared mostly in silence until their comms both went off. In accidental sync, they grabbed their comms from their inventories and checked to see who was making a fuss now.

Attention, ImpulseSV's Communicator has been damaged. See to it that it is repaired or replaced immediately for the best use possible.

ImpulseSV : Help

Simultaneously, Grian and Mumbo both looked at each other then immediately ran to grab their stuff again from the big chests. Moving much faster than they had been, Mumbo and Grian both lifted off the ground with only rockets and pieces of their inventory. They'd grab the rest of their stuff later.

Both their comms continued to go off as they hurried to Doc's half mansion.

Getting to their destination in record time, Mumbo and Grian's first sight of the area was one they weren't expecting. The ground was littered in creeper potholes that led into the forest and the half mansion appeared to be accumulating smoke.

"Impulse? Impulse!" Mumbo called out, weaving through the potholes the best he could towards the mansion with Grian hot on his heels.

The smoke density increased as the two neared the inner part of Doc's half. The interior of the place was absolutely trashed with the biggest creeper pothole being inside.

Grian was the first of the two to spy their friend laying on the destroyed wooden floor board. "There!" He pointed, waving his hand in front of his face to clear the air of smoke momentarily.

The two scampered toward the injured ZIT member and were down by him in seconds.

Impulse was covered in dust. His skin had lightning lines running across it like he had been shot by a lightning blast. His hair was a mess now and his clothes were all wrinkled. His eyes were shut.

Grian had knelt down by Impulse's head. He quickly placed his index and middle fingers against the crook of Impulse's neck to check for a pulse. His eyes locked with a panicked Mumbo as he pointed at him with his free hand. "Comm to the others." He ordered.

TangoTek : Guys

TangoTek :GUYS

TangoTek : What the hell is going on?!

Mumbo Jumbo has shared his coordinates! X### Y## Z###

Mumbo Jumbo : We need help over here now

Iskall85 : On my way

TangoTek : I'll grab Zed

Mumbo looked up from his comm and to his shorter hermit friend. "It's done, should I run and get X in case he doesn't see?"

Grian opened his mouth to reply but another voice beat him to the punch.

"No need to get me. But you might want to get someone else."

Both Mumbo and Grian snapped towards the new voice and sighed in near instant relief. "X!"

The admin, tagged by Cub and Biffa all came further into the light. Grian moved out of the way and allowed Cub to take his place who instantly got to work to bring Impulse's health back up.

Xisuma then turned to Grian and Mumbo and Biffa and Cub supervised over Impulse. "Go to TFC. Tell Xisuma needs a favor from him."

=

Doc didn't know how long he had been running but he didn't stop to check. After he sent the message on Impulse's comm he booked it and left everything behind. He had just hurt one of his family members, of course he was terrified.

Doc was mentally beating himself for what he had done. Impulse had tried to help him, but his fear had gotten too high. The thought of him losing control had overtaken every other instinct he had and his fuse ended.

What if they never forgave him? What if X had him banned for what he did?

Tears began to well up in his eyes as his thought process dragged him down further into the unimaginable.

Eventually Doc's body began to go numb and he found himself falling to the ground surrounded by unknown forest and trees. He found himself pathetically scrambling for cover beside a very large tree trunk and curling up into a small ball.

He wished he had the ability to disappear completely and be forgotten.

Tears began to fall from his organic eye as he buried his face into his organic arm that was resting on the tops of his knees.

Doc wasn't sure how long he was in his curled up position but the soft hum of someone's voice caused him to suddenly shoot to alert. His heartbeat jolted and began to beat faster in his chest.

The person was humming the tune of an American Nursery March that Doc did not exactly recognize. First the tune was minor then it turned to major, it'd go from quarter notes to sixteenth notes and most notably, it was getting louder as were the footsteps carrying the voice.

The humming then drew to a stop, as did the footsteps. Doc drew in a silent, deep breath.

"I know you're here son."

Doc shakily exhaled. He knew that voice but he didn't dare follow the command. "Tin?" He asked out loud, his voice cracking in the process.

"It's just me kid, you don't need to be afraid."

Doc licked his dry lips. But he was afraid. He was afraid that the others were never going to forgive him. He was afraid that he'd be outcast by the others. But... He hadn't talked to anyone except Impulse for nearly a week.

"Wh-What if I-" Doc swallowed. "What if I hurt you? Like I hurt Impulse? I-I-" The creeper stuttered and tripped over his words. His out loud questioning became muffled as he spoke to himself. Over and over again he asked the same heart breaking questions to himself.

Doc didn't even notice a shadow loom over him from in front. He didn't even notice the movement that happened directly in front of him. He didn't even notice the arms that eventually found themselves wrapped around him until it was too late for him to demand that TFC stay back.

With a water filled eye, Doc dropped his defense and wrapped his arm under TFC's, gripping onto the other hermit's shirt with an iron grip.

Doc's body shook and more tears ran down his face. Half blinded because of his switched off eye and completely exhausted from the mental breakdowns and stress that had built up over the past four days, Doc didn't realize that he drifted off to sleep.

Fin

Don't ever feel like you're alone. You aren't. I know it's hard but keep your heads up and take care of yourself. Don't believe that you have to make everyone happy because that's literally impossible.

Keep your heads high, do self care, stay safe and lift others up. - PowderMcMc