(WC: 1826
Category: Angst
Ship type: None
Warnings: Swearing and violence

I suffered from TeamAngsty's entries so you guys have to suffer now too

I was inspired by one of Fandomsunite05's oneshots that took place during S6's Civil War, so I guess we're going back in time a bit haha. Looking back, I probably should have put this in Hermitcraft Stuff, but it's too late now. Does this mean I can technically write all the Demise angst I have stored away?

Anyway, Fandom's was based around Tango and Impulse, and I thought I would do a different pair--X and Stress. Since I've heard some things about X not wanting to be shipped, this isn't labeled as a ship chapter, even if it would be platonic, just in case.)

Respite. Noun. A short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant.

The two teams stood on opposite sides of the battlefield, mirroring each other's defiant stances, as if daring the other to back down. The grass around them was marred with scorch marks and craters, all signs of the ongoing war. The white flag in the middle flapped in the wind untouched, but it was only a matter of time until that was gone, too.

None of them thought it would go this far. But neither team was going to back down first. What had started as a harmless chain of pranks had quickly escalated into more hurtful actions that people would take to heart.

Soon, people were forced to choose between two teams. Hermits were snatched up for their skills as fast as possible, being treated somewhat like objects instead of real people. Friendships were broken apart, new enemies were made, and people were starting to gang up.

The ones that didn't want anything to do with it escaped as fast as possible, holing themselves up in their bases and watching everything from a distance. Zedaph abandoned Tango and Impulse quickly, and the Convex decided to spectate the conflict like it was a show they were watching on TV vicariously instead of happening in real life.

Stress had found herself roped up into the war after helping Iskall save Sally the chicken after the opposing team trapped her in an underground dungeon--though, they didn't exactly save her, they had to replace her with another chicken. After Poultry Man (read: Grian) thanked them for their assistance, they immediately formed a team with some other people.

Originally, Stress wanted to stay as far away from the war as possible. It wasn't the kind of thing she wanted to get into. But after helping Grian, she felt entitled and sort of pressured into picking a side. What harm can there be? She asked herself. It's only a chain of pranks.

But soon after, the newly-formed G-Team was making a war base and plotting how to get back at the other team, Team Star. Everyone was taking the war more seriously now, and Grian was barking orders at all of them--set this trap, prime those cannons, spy on the other team. Stress wanted to tell everyone to take it down a notch and calm down, but nobody seemed to care, and she didn't want to anger Grian further.

It was now finally the day they had all been preparing for: The white peace flag was finally coming down, and with it, the war would officially kick off. Stress was already, well, stressed by the events before today; how would everything be once it all started for real?

She stood with the rest of G-Team, feeling awkward and out of place with her bulky iron armor and large sword. They'd swapped out their normal diamond gear for ones more suited for war. The sword Stress was holding was used for stabbing and not slashing, and the armor she wore was heavy but protected well.

"I see you decided to show up." Doc cocked his head at Mumbo, who was standing awkwardly next to Grian. "And I'm surprised your mole is with you, after that trick he pulled on us yesterday. We might be down a member, but it's okay. We didn't need him anyway--he was useless around the base."

"You're so cocky," Grian shot back. "Mumbo made the right choice in siding with us in the end. There's strength in numbers, after all."

Wels scoffed under his breath. "What good is strength in numbers when you have those people on your side?" He looked pointedly at Jevin, Joe, and Stress. "And when you have someone like Grian directing you around?"

"Grian's a good leader," Cleo snapped. "We wouldn't have come this far and outsmarted you if it wasn't for him. Besides, this is coming from the people who spent half of their prep time making a diss track that wasn't even that good."

"You insult Hermitgang one more time, and I swear to god--"

Doc cut off Wels with a glare, then turned to G-Team again. Stress tried to make herself look inconspicuous and slowly edged behind Grian.

Doc caught her eye, and she halted. Probably sensing her reluctance to say anything, he targeted her directly. "Is there a reason why you joined G-Team instead of Star, Stress? Unlike Wels, I see potential in you. Why not switch sides?"

Grian turned towards her, an eyebrow raised. In fact, everyone was looking at her now--even the Convex's drones were peering at her from the skies. She didn't want to switch teams. She didn't want to be a part of any team. "I...I don't--"

"Hey." Iskall took Stress's hand defensively while frowning at Doc. "That's enough. Stress is plenty happy where she is right now."

Doc shrugged. "Worth a shot. But, if you ask me, you're siding on the losing team."

"Oh yeah? We'll see who's on the losing team when we kick your ass!"

Both teams exploded into a round of arguments. Stress stayed silent and watched everything unfold. On either team, she could see a few others doing the same--Tango and Impulse were sharing nervous looks. Joe was off to the side.

Xisuma was quiet too--she could only imagine what he was thinking right now. He had been part of this close-knit group for so long, only to see it fall apart over a series of misunderstandings and harmful tricks.

Just then, a powerful boom interrupted everything and rattled the ground. A hidden pile of TNT tore through the earth and split the white flag's pole evenly down the middle. People were thrown backward. Stress heard a dim ringing in her ears. The flag itself, charred and ripped, fluttered to the ground and landed next to her.

A moment later, a second round of explosives came from the sky, destroying any remains of the flag and blowing shrapnel everywhere. Any Hermit that had managed to stay standing was now flung back farther than the people who fell earlier. 

The explosives also managed to kill members from both teams. Squinting through the smoke, Stress could make out a fallen body, a large piece of shrapnel sticking out of their back. Over on their drone, Cub and Scar gleefully tallied the deaths. 

"Shit," Grian swore, struggling to pull Mumbo up. "G-Team! Retreat back to the base! It must've been ConCorp who rigged those explosions."

Stress got up with difficulty and joined the rest of the team in running back to the base. On the way, they encountered a person. Stress still couldn't see through the smoke, but Iskall hit the person on the head with the hilt of their sword, causing the unfortunate victim to collapse. Stress winced--that couldn't have been good.

Grian walked up to the person and examined them. "It's Xisuma! Stress, you take care of him. If he's gone, that's an important member of Star down--we'll meet you back at the base." 

Stress didn't have time to protest, and the rest of G-Team sprinted off. She didn't know whether he let her do this because he trusted her, or if he just thought that if she died, that wouldn't be too big of a loss. There was a high chance it was the second.

She studied X warily. There was a sizable tear in his armor where a piece of shrapnel must've grazed against it. The wound was badly bleeding. His breathing through the helmet seemed labored, but he was still alive, thankfully. 

Grian's words stuck with her. Stress, you can take care of him. How easy would it be to yank out her sword and do one quick stab? It wouldn't do that much harm--he would just respawn with the injuries he had, and...

She looked down at her sword hilt, then stopped, cursing herself for even considering the option. Killing was bad. This wasn't like her.

The smoke was still thick around them. Both teams were probably regrouping at their bases. Stress knelt down next to X and gently shook him, careful not to nudge the bad leg. "X. X. Wake up. We need to get out of here."

X muttered something incoherent under his breath. Stress sighed and took his arm and helped him up, draping his body against hers for support. "X, try to work with me here. I'm going to take you to a safe place, then I'm gonna see if I can staunch the bleeding. Okay?"

X must have been in a lot of pain, but he managed to nod his head a little. Stress slowly carried the two of them over to a little cave over by the outskirts of the battlefield. It was just out of range of where the main battles would happen.

Stress was sweaty and exhausted, but she tried to lower X onto the floor gently. He seemed to have recovered some consciousness, so she tapped his shoulder. "X? You alright?"

X groaned. He tried to speak, then coughed at the effort. He tried again: "Y-yeah. I think I'm good." 

"Thank god. Okay, I'm going to try and heal that wound. This might hurt." 

Stress dug around in her inventory and sighed with relief when she found a healing potion. Opening the bottle, she poured the liquid onto the wound. X gritted his teeth and tried to bite back a swear as she took out some bandages and wrapped the cut. 

"There. How does that feel? Alright?"

"Yeah. Feels better. I don't think I can put any weight on it anytime soon, though."

"We're just going to have to stay here, then. I don't think anyone will find us here for the time being."

X started to say something, then stopped and peered behind Stress. "Hey, wait. Do you see that?"

"See what?" Stress looked behind her and tried to see through the smoke. She could barely make out two figures--one was sitting on the ground, and the other was crouched over him. The first person had a mop of brown hair, and the second was blonde. "Wait. Yeah, I do. Is that...Tango and Impulse?"

"Yeah, I think so." X sounded a bit more optimistic. "People from opposite sides are joining up. Maybe there's hope after all."

Stress didn't want to break his spirit further, but if she just lied to him, that wasn't going to do any good. 

"I wish...but this has been going on for so long that I don't think there's any going back."

"It's just..." X trailed off, trying to find the right words. "I've never seen a conflict this huge, and I've been around since Hermitcraft started. It just makes me really sad to see it all fall apart."

"Me, too. I think all we can do now is wait until it dies down."

"I just want this to be over."

"Me too, X. Me, too..."

And they sat there, listening to the fighting of a server torn to shreds.