(Word count: 1589

Song: Cassiopeia by Really Slow Motion

So this was originally only going to be X and his family, but then I threw EX into the mix and everything went out of hand.

EX is canceled I'm sad now he will live forever in my books

I also wanted to ask what YOU GUYS want to see the Hermits witness when they go through the portal! I already have one ready for Bdubs and Keralis, but the other Hermits, what do you think they should see?)

What was Doc doing in Area 77?

Xisuma had just discovered a Nether Portal in the Area...but it wasn't normal. It had all of its obsidian blocks missing...yet the portal was still active. Diamond blocks lined the 1x3 portal.

There was no way this should even be possible.

X shouldn't even be in here, but he drank a potion of invisibility and snuck in here.

It was a good thing he came—this wasn't normal.

Should I go in? What if it's dangerous?

But something like this really shouldn't exist. He should probably check to see if it goes to the Nether or if it's just a glitch.

Bracing himself, X stepped through the portal.

A normal Nether Portal should take you to...well, the Nether. X would have understood if it took him somewhere other than that in the Overworld—it was broken, after all—but the last place he expected it to bring him was the End.

X double-checked to make sure it was the End. Yeah, it was...the Endstone, the obsidian towers...

Wait...where were all the farms? And the Enderman safe houses? And all the torches?

The obsidian towers looked intact. The dragon was nowhere to be seen. But this wasn't the End that belonged in Hermitcraft.

Maybe it was at the beginning of Hermitcraft? Maybe somehow the portal had brought him back in time? That would be a stunt on its own, but there would be block towers everywhere. The dragon would be present.

The Endermen were still present, though. There was an uncomfortable amount of them.

X looked around. The portal was still behind him, but something drew him to explore this odd End. As he scanned the island, he spotted something that shouldn't be present in the End.

A small hut, made from Endstone bricks. It wasn't anything special, a bit plain, but it jolted X's memories.

A house in the End.

A family of four.

Then, disaster. They were forced to flee, to leave their parents.

Then, finding Hermitcraft.

Then, reuniting with his brother in the worst possible circumstances.

This was Xisuma's home. His original home in the End.

This is where he was born. And then, a few years later, he was forced to leave, when the End had gotten out of control. He and his brother had run away, through the mysterious portal just outside their house, and it had brought them to a whole new world—the Overworld.

From there, X and his brother had stayed together, but then they had gotten separated. X was lucky enough to find a civilization called Hermitcraft, but he lost his brother.

Then, just a few years later, X had had the worst reunion with his brother. EX had been alone since the last time X had seen him. He'd wanted something, somewhere, to call home. X did the unreasonable thing and banned him to live alone, yet again.

Now, it was just a little over a year. X had found the Area 77 portal and was now back where he started. At his home.

X had a sudden realization. What if his parents had survived the disaster? He'd always assumed that when the End had gotten out of control, it had killed his parents, too. But...what if it hadn't?

The Endermen had gotten too much to handle. Anything provoked them. Soon, it got too dangerous to even step foot outside. X's parents had always assured him and EX that it was just a glitch and that they would get it patched, but it never did.

Should he go to the house? The answer should have been obvious, but now X was having doubts.

He still headed towards the house, nervous about what he would find. Could his parents still be alive, after all this time? Like it or not, he was about to find out.

There wasn't even a door. No matter—the ceiling was only two blocks high, so Endermen couldn't teleport or spawn inside. It was about as safe as the End could be—if the End even could be safe.

X stepped inside.

The house was exactly as he remembered--End rods lit up the area. Chests and other precious materials were in one corner. A safe room made out of obsidian was on the other side. Compared to the bases on Hermitcraft, this house would have been a temporary starter house. But no--this was where X lived. Resources were hard to get in the End. The few times where there was valuable loot, people treasured it.

He winced, waiting for a trap of anything, but nothing came.

Letting out a small breath of relief, X let his guard down a little.

Bad idea.

Instantly, an arrow flew past him, embedding itself into the Endstone behind X. He quickly drew his sword, relieved that the Infinity Portal had left his stuff intact. His eyes scanned the room, about 7x8, and spotted a flash of movement.

X was nervous. Was that his mother? His father, maybe? Or maybe it was someone else. X sure hoped it was the former.

He quickly thought of something on the spot, then dropped his sword and raised his hands in the air.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said, directing his attention to the mysterious figure on the other side of the room. 

A moment of silence. Then, a male voice spoke.

"Who are you?"

X was yet again overcome with a sea of memories. He knew that voice. 

Laughter. 

Being picked up and hugged and loved.

The End, despite being a dangerous place, was still home.

His home.

X couldn't say anything for a prolonged amount of time. His voice finally came, and he said,

"Dad?"

Now it was his dad's turn not to speak. "...That's impossible. You can't be..."

"Xisuma." 

A new figure rose up from another hiding spot, lowering her sword. She had the same posture as X, calm but ready in action at any given time. 

"Our sons left us years ago," X's mother said. "They jumped through the portal. We never saw them again. If you are Xisuma...how did you get back? How are you even here?"

"It's a long story," X said. "But I'm here now."

He approached his parents, who he had missed dearly for years, and fell into their hug. It felt so good to be with them again, to be in his home. 

When they finally let go, X's father smiled. "You have some explaining to do."

"Where's your brother?" X's mother said as if realizing for the first time EX wasn't with them.

X felt a pang of guilt. EX had been the "forgotten child", and X had been the light of his parents' lives. EX had been off to the side, not cared for, and X hadn't done anything about it. Then, when they were finally reunited, X had sent him off to isolation yet again.

"I..." X tried to say, but he felt so guilty. "I--I don't--"

"You don't need to say anything." A new voice said from behind them. X whirled around to see none other than EX himself, leaning against the doorway. His bright red outfit contrasted with the muted End colors. "You banned me. You left me not once, but twice."

"How are you here?" X asked in disbelief.

"You're the admin, aren't you? You left the world. You traveled to a new one. A glitch occurred, and I was unbanned. Obviously, I had to see what was going on. I saw the portal in Area 77. It's a good thing I did. Having a family reunion without me? Typical."

"EX?" Their father asked. "X banned you?   X, what is going on?"

"Yeah, X," EX chimed in, glaring at his brother. "Tell them. Tell them what I had to go through since they'll only listen to you."

"Hey, now," X's mother said. "That's not true..."

"All of you, stop." X snapped. "EX, I don't know how you're here and why, but this isn't the time and place to be doing this."

"This is exactly the time and place."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Apologize. Admit you did something wrong. Admit banning me was the wrong thing to do."

"You tried to destroy my world! Banning you was the only option."

"Two years in exile, Xisuma. Two years. No one else to talk to. Nothing else to do except wait for it to be over."

X knew he did the wrong thing, but he didn't want to give EX the satisfaction. 

"Just say it," EX said. "It's not that hard."

Their parents watched the exchange in stunned silence. This was not the reunion they wanted.

X tried to imagine himself in EX's shoes. Being separated from your brother, forced to wander in between worlds until you finally found civilization, only to find out your brother was in charge of that world. Then, resorting to drastic measures and getting yourself banned, just because you were lonely. Forced to stay 2 years in exile, still away from everyone, until you finally get free, only to find your family reuniting without you.

"I'm sorry, okay? It was the wrong thing to do." X glared at his brother. "Happy now?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say I'm happy," EX said. "But you admitted to it. That's new for you, brother."

"Can we put aside our differences, just this once? Please?" X asked his brother, hoping for the best.

EX sighed dramatically, then embraced his brother in a hug. X tensed at first but then relaxed into it. His parents joined in, a family together again.

It wasn't perfect. It had some holes to be patched up.

But for now, X was home again.