Foreword:

This was written in collaboration with XelingNight on AO3! We both wrote about half the book, and she also made the cover for the book!

Hi Everyone! Xel here! This work of art was a collaboration between SparklingWonderQueen (Ruby) and myself! We wanted to see how we fared partnering together and coming up with a story! In the end, I truly enjoyed writing this story with her, and I hope y'all enjoy reading it! Take care!!! ♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡

(Also if you're reading my (Ruby's) TLO series this isn't related to that.)

~☾~

Scar frowned as he stared up into the sky. It was mid day, and yet, the moon was still taking up half of the sky, blotting out the sky. He was a man that usually had a care-free demeanor, but the growing problem was nothing short of alarming. It had been funny at first, noticing how the moon was growing. Now, he wasn't sure what this lead to. Grian, long had forgone to sleep in either of his bases, choosing the observatory as to observer and document how big the moon became day by day. Though now, as even during the day one can still see the moon, Grian flew down from his observatory and onto the man he had been hoping to see.

    "Scar....!! Scar! Scar, Scar!" The avian cried out, wings closing in on his body, allowing him to propel down and land gracefully on the, could he still call it ground? It had more holes than their Boatem void-hole. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you, mate." Grian smiled despite the growing tensions from the Moon. "I'm sure you've seen, but I don't think it is a joke anymore. Do you happen to have any idea as to how to stop it? Mumbo, the ever loving spoon that he is, proposed blowing up the moon, but I, I don't trust that."

    If it had been any normal day, Scar would've been startled at the sudden and unexpected sight of his friend. Nowadays, however, nothing really ever caught him off guard; the weirdest things had become reality now. For all the things silly, Scar spared a pity laugh for the mustachioed man. "Well, that's a better idea than starting a cult." He supposed. The twinkle in his eyes faded as he looked to his lap. An impending sense of doom had slowly crept up on him these past few weeks, and now it was beginning to choke him. How was he supposed to know how to stop this? He rubbed at his eyes as if he were tired, ironic considering he was the only Boatem member that didn't forgo sleep. He took a sharp breath, forcing himself to let it out slowly. "I... don't know, G. I really don't..." he whispered, shaking his head. He felt as though all was lost, and maybe that really was true. "I don't even know why this glitch is happening..." He hugged his sides, trying to comfort himself. Looking over at the top-hatted man he called friend, Grian sighed deeply. If it was anyone who could produce the most insane ideas on the spot that somehow ended up working, it would be Scar. But seeing as his friend too, was in disarray, he frowned.

    "Xisuma had responded that neither he nor Evil X have any idea why this is happening. Though Evil X tried to blame us for our too many sacrifices onto the void, which one, rude. And two, that has no correlation to the Moon being bigger than normal." Grian could feel his wings puff up in annoyance, but brought them down when his eyes softened at Scar's trembling form. Quickly pulling him for a hug, he let his wings close in on them both. "It's....it's going to be alright mate...We, I mean, all of us will figure out what is actually happening, but," The avian pulled on Scar's face to lock eyes. Coal ones twinkled in the light, a flash of purple if Scar hadn't seen, to meet Emerald ones. "I guess we will be in need of that rocket of yours you build in every occasion you can very well get." He laughed, wings dispersing from their hold.

Grian's efforts made Scar feel better, if only a little. He clung to Grian for a few moments, as if he were afraid that the fading gravity would launch him in the air and he'd never come back again. Then again, that was looking more and more like a possibility.

The man shook his head. It wasn't right for him to be the one comforted; both of them were scared after all. He tried to put on a brave face for his friend, sinking into the role that he was accustomed to in this world: the sneaky but silly salesman. He loosened his grip, looking into Grian's black eyes. "You might just be right about that." He smirked, trying to psyche both of them up. Grian did always appreciate the way Scar could very well easily mask and slip into whatever role he was playing. Giving a smirk back, the avian stretched himself up, beautiful wings of different colors showing in all splendor.

"In that case, we may as well get started in gathering materials. I can also que in Xisuma to let him know of our plans and if any other hermit needs an out of this island."

"Do ya need any 'elp at all with anythin'?" Pearl popped up from behind one of Scar's many swaggons, llamas in tow. "'M makin' a refugee for all mê animals, but I can also pitch in an' 'elp!" She exclaimed, hand rubbing in soothing motions to calm the animal down. Her sudden appearance was enough to make Scar let out a series of yelps, and if he hadn't been strapped into his seat, he would've leapt right out of it.

"Pearl!" He exclaimed, placing a hand over his chest. "You scared my poor little heart!" He took a few moments to recover, steadying his breathing. Once he had, he put on a smile once again. "I'm going to need deepslate and copper." He began, the creative processes in his brain beginning to fire.

"What about redstone?" A voice asked. Scar turned, finding a large man walking from the other side of the village. Impulse, one of the two Redstoners that Boatem had, was cradling a phantom that nibbled on his arm. He had been careful to shield it from the sun, keeping in his shadow. He didn't mind; from his sleepless nights he found that phantoms were actually quite affectionate pets if you didn't mind the mild blood loss. He greeted his friends with his classic smile, the same one that would just about bring out the sun on the stormiest of days.

"That would be wonderful!" Scar agreed, his smile smoothing over into a bit more of a genuine one. He laughed at himself openly as the world began to quake. It happened so frequently now that he hardly even noticed it. "If I tried on my own, I'd just end up blowing myself up!" Grian couldn't help the laugh that escaped him, having seen just how bad Scar's redstone was. It honestly, compared to his own if he were to be honest. Beside him, Pearl stepped up to Impulse to touch the phantom.

"Ya wanna put 'im along with mê animals? He'd be safe in t'e nether, ma–," She didn't get to finish her sentence, for the yelling of someone made them look up, only to find one Mumbo Jumbolio, making his way towards them from the sky.

"I see that a Boatem meeting is taking place without its CEO." Mumbo spoke from up high. Forgone was his Moon cult attire, and in its place, his pristine suit and tie that he was most known for. Really now, without gravity, it did make for traveling much faster, since you could glide down without taking in hardly any damage. It was how he glided right onto Grian's wings, getting a mouthful of feathers. Coughing those up, the mustachioed man quickly composed himself, taking a good look at Impulse. "Er, how about I help on the redstone too, mate? I fear your sleep-deprived mind could actually blow us up." He chuckled, quickly giving Grian a glare. "And you! You actually have no trust that I could blow up the moon, huh?" Stifling his laughter, Grian gave his best friend a sheepish grin.

"What?! NOooOoo, I do trust you, it's that, if it goes south, well, we still need a way out, mate. And Scar here," Grian placed his hand on Scar's shoulder. "Just so happens to have built plans for a rocket, so~."

"You're right." Scar spoke as Grian did, nodding. "We should go to the boatem hole to discuss everything with Mumbotato." He laughed a bit at his own jab, reminding Mumbo that he had been replaced by his own machine.

"I'm thinking clearer than I have in a long time, but sure you can help." Impulse chuckled, thinking it to be true. He was probably the only member yet that hadn't caught up on his sleep yet, and it was evident by his love for the monsters yet. He moved the creature in his arms so Pearl could pet it easier, wincing as it gave him a particularly tough bite. "Careful, girl..." He whispered to it. Nothing about this struck him as abnormal. Side eyeing the interaction those two where having, Grian turned back to Scar.

"So Deepslate and Copper. After Pearl secures, um," He turned to look at the now phantom in a minecart. "Right, after Pearl's done with them, she can help gather anything else we may need."

"In the meantime, let me take a look at those blueprints, mate. Impulse and myself can gather the mechanical parts to get it going."

"We can also all meet in the Boatem hole to build it there. As a sort of blast off farewell!"

Scar couldn't help but chuckle, feeling the support of his friends. They were certainly an odd bunch, but that only made them closer. He turned away from them, looking to his base. "I'll have to get the plans. I flushed them out a few months ago." At the time, he wasn't sure what kind of storyline he would create to excuse the creation of such a rocket. He didn't realize that it would actually be their saving grace, away from any kind of make-believe lore. He pushed himself along, even as he began to float, to his base. He didn't even need to use his hidden lift because of the lack of gravity, simply floating onto the platform that was the front door of his Swaggon. It only took him a few minutes to locate the plans and come back out, holding them up in his hand in victory as he looked down at his friends. "Found them!" He called.

Free from his phantom-baby, Impulse was free to rush over to the odd build. "You did? That's great!" he exclaimed, finding himself climbing up the ladder to get a closer look. Following Impulse's lead, Mumbo too rushed over to check them out. He had to give Scar credit though, the rocket build was magnificent. The redstone part of it though, could use a few tweakings here and there. Pulling his pencil from his pocket, Mumbo began to scribble over some of the redstone components, adding to what Impulse was suggesting and making more plans to have a better propeller and auto-pilot system.

It indeed looked like the whole Boatem crew was working as one to get this urgent project done as soon as could be, keeping in mind how the night drew closer. Though while Grian flew into his trading horde, a sudden chill ran down his spine, making him drop the emerald blocks he had been using to trade. His wings ruffled up, and he could visibly feel some of his eyes open. No–,¡!¿?

They couldn't, –Grian thought, visibly shaking, body slamming against the wall. A few of the villagers turned over to look, but did not speak. The nightmare that had been when he heard his villagers speak, it was the last straw to him finally sleeping. But this, this was worse than not sleeping. With some of his eyes opened, he could see himself and around him, that was disorienting. He hadn't needed to see, to watch, in years. Why now? Was it because of the moon? Was it making his powers glitch out? Goodness no! He couldn't allow that to happen. HE had promised to himself that he wouldn't, only for fortifying the firewalls with Xisuma, but even his Admin did not know. Just knew he used to be an admin and from an old server, so therefore knew how to fortify the server walls. Still, gripping at his hair, Grian felt himself coming closer to a panic attack, and he couldn't, not when his friends needed him and when he needed to be there for them too. With a heavy heart that did not even remotely calm down, Grian willed the eyes to close one by one, until he only had two. Until it was only him. In his trading hole. No eyes, no watching, no...

"We're always watching"

Echoed around him, as Grian ignored that sensation and willed himself to push forward from those thoughts carrying around him.

The others had never known about Grian's past, never even suspected it. To them, the beings that had decided Grian's entire life were nothing but myths. Fairytales. Stories to keep children in line. Watchers weren't real; how could they be? No one had ever seen one, never spoken to one. That they knew of at least; and even if they had, they were written off as crazies or high-talers.

The time was ticking onward. Scar had received a double chests worth of supplies all ransacked from the Boatem village. He had gotten straight into building even though he was still waiting on a lot of supplies that Grian and Pearl promised to grab. Naturally he would have started with the tip of the shuttle, but this time was different. Instead, he started with the main unit at the center of the build, which allowed the redstoners to begin all of the technical work that needed to be done. Drowned in their work, Scar nor Impulse had not noticed how much time Grian had been taking. It wasn't until Mumbo, hands stained red from all that redstone had stepped aside to allow Pearl to continue building on his side of the rocket, that he frowned. Aside from the first delivery of chets, Mumbo hadn't seen his best friend at all, and okay, while it was normal for hermits to you know, do as their namesake suggested, this was different. It felt as if their friend disappeared, but before anything else could manifest, the flapping of wings caught everyones' attention.

"Hey guys!" Grian called out, landing beside Scar. His hair and wings looked to be disheveled, while eyes appeared swollen, but nonetheless, the builder gave them all a smile. Though it didn't quite reach him. "Sorry it took me a while. I went deep into mining and trading for as much materials as we could need. Also," Placing another shulker box down, Grian chuckled rather cheekily. "I may have nabbed all of our diamonds, you know, in case we need them for trading, or, decoration purposes." The avian proudly proclaimed, completely ignoring what had happened earlier. He didn't need to think about that anymore, not when there where more pressing matters to attend to.

Scar gave Grian a good look as he announced his presence. To say that he looked terrible was an understatement. Dare he say, he looked even worse when he hadn't slept at all. He set his blocks aside, hesitating. He really did need to build this rocket, but in that moment, his friend mattered more. He pushed himself off the rocket, floating down to the ground beside Grian. "Hey... are you alright?" he asked gently. He looked like he had been crying, not that he could blame him. He had nearly cried earlier. He was pretty sure why Grian was upset, and if it really was the case, there was nothing he could do to make it better. He wasn't even really sure that he was in the state of mind himself to offer emotional support. That didn't mean that he wasn't going to try regardless. If it were any other person, then Grian would have made up and excuse and gone about his merry way, but as it turns out, it wasn't just anyone, but Scar and the rest of Boatem...who he considered part of his family. Dare he say, flock even. Heaving a shaky breath in, Grian just managed to give a slight nod of his head, a sudden tremor pulling everyone from their thoughts.

"Whoa...alright...that, that isn't normal..." The avian spoke, grasping the hands of both Mumbo and Scar, while they grasped onto both Pearl and Impulse too. If Grian was going to say something about why he was in this sorry state, the tremor managed to distract them. In good riddance as well. "Right," the Englishman urgently spoke instead, pulling his ender chest out and hurriedly looking through its contents. Ruffled feathers flaring up with each intake of breath. Instead of building materials, or more diamonds, or anything else of the sort, Grian pulled out from the chest where a handful of what appeared to be necklaces. Each of the string having been dyed in various colors, with one of his feathers acting as the pendant.

He wasn't going to lie.

During his state of panic, he crafted one of these necklaces for each of his family. In case....they....if something where to happen, they where family, flock, and they protect each other. "I...crafted these sometime ago...just, didn't know when the proper time would have been to give them to you. I guess, now is better than never." Grian finished with a whisper, cheeks flushed red in slight embarrassment. "We're, dare I say family, and family protects each other, so..." The man continued, clipping on the last necklace behind Impulse's neck. The string of a golden yellow color. "Protection charms, you could say." And those with magical abilities could feel the faint hum of magic coursing throughout it. Grian had taken a step back, very much flustered, but noticing the quietness around him, he coughed. "Right, yeah, shall we continue? We don't know exactly how much time we have left."

Scar found himself holding his own feather, which was orange. At first glance, it looked to be a friendship charm, but he knew better than that. He had spent many years trying to study magic, he knew it when he saw it. "Protection from what, exactly?" he asked, looking up into the sky. A protection spell like this one wasn't going to help them in case the world came to an end, quite literally. And speaking of magic, since when did Grian know anything about that? He had never shown much interest in it before.

Impulse laughed a bit, studying his own. "Have you never gotten a friendship bracelet before, Scar?" he asked. He never had magic like Scar, and it showed in that moment. Scar could only frown as he stared at Impulse for a few moments, deciding not to respond. He then looked back at Grian expectantly. In the end, it wasn't Grian that spoke up, but Pearl. She had tears falling down her cheeks and chokingly, crushed Grian into a hug.

"Y-you....'ow could you..." She spoke through her tears. Grian, so as to not have both of them falling, flared his wings up and adjusted his position. He coughed slightly at the strong hold Pearl was pulling him in, but could do nothing more than allow her to continue, for he knew, she of all people would have understood the meaning behind this. After a few more minutes, Pearl managed to quiet down her tears and calm down a little. "..I'm okay..." She seemed to say to Grian who looked at her with worried eyes, but nodded. Turning over to a still waiting Scar, the avian opened his mouth to say something, but of course Pearl would do that for him.

"Scar," The brunette addressed him, her eyes locking onto Scar's. "You know 'ow Grian and I come from the same server. "Ow 'e's like my brother. I love 'im very much, and these.." Pearl gestured towards the necklaces. "A servermate of ours showed us 'ow to craft t'em. She was wonderful. Knew 'er way in an' out of potions. Took it as a challenge w'en we didn't 'ave the righ' resources to brew any yet."

"Netty always did have a knack for it. She was our resident doctor." Grian chipped in after Pearl grew quiet. "It was right before our fight with the ender dragon." A slight pause to gather his thoughts. Right, aside from Pearl, he hadn't told anyone else yet about Evo. Or about all the wonderful people he had thought he lost due to their influence and manipulation upon them. "Netty had taken feathers from me and one other avian of the group, interlocking them into bracelets. She said it was a protection to ward of anything evil that may wish harm upon us."

"Only to be broken in the end..." Pearl hadn't mean to say that aloud, as her eyes growing wide proved it. She quickly closed her mouth and turned to Grian. The latter who was frowning now.

"In any case," Grian decided it be best to ignore Pearl's comment. Although true, he didn't want to admit it anymore than he had to. "Netty showed me the protection which she had used." He shrugged. "Nothing else really, just that this situation reminded me of that incident and I wanted something for my peace of mind. You can say no to it Scar." The male joked, even though it didn't quite reach the situation.

"Well, in my case, I find it very lovely G. Thank you for this." Mumbo spoke, admiring his own red feather with sparkling eyes.

Scar's hand closed around his own feather. Of course he wasn't going to reject it; it was a gift from a friend after al. However, the meaning of it worried him, even more so after he had heard Grian and Pearl talk. They never really had talked much about their old server, always kept quiet about it. Scar had trusted that in time, they would open up about it if they wanted to. As much as he had tried not to be, he couldn't help but be curious. There was definitely a story there; if there hadn't, they wouldn't have been so secretive. Now, hearing their words, he darkly wondered if their old servermates were no longer alive. He was tempted to ask more, but he knew better than to. He closed his eyes, trying to still himself. "No... it's amazin', thank you." He assured. Whatever past this was connected to, it clearly meant a lot to Grian and Pearl, and that was enough for him.

"We're going to be okay." Impulse spoke, moved by the fragment of the tale which was Evo. He had been studying his own feather this whole time, dwelling on the little that he had been told. It had all seemed so grave; the feathers, although beautiful, seemed like a farewell. He looked to Grian and Pearl, who stood side by side. "Scar's rocket is going to take us away from here, yeah? Whatever happens, we are not going to be separated." By space or death or anything else. "I'll make sure of it myself." Grian didn't believe that. How could they be sure they wouldn't be separated, or worse? But he couldn't very well voice that, as he saw how determined Impulse looked. How brave Mumbo was putting on a face. And Scar, how, although he could see wanted more, held back and nodded in approval. Yeah, he still didn't believe it, and maybe it was because of his own state of mind, and thoughts about an old server dying, that had him pursing his lips into a thin line. But for the sake of his new found family, and knowing that this was not Evo, he nodded. Yeah, they will be okay. They can't get them here. He's safe. They're safe.

"..Thank you, guys. You're right, we'll be all safe." And he'll gosh damn well make sure of it too.

The nice pause was good on all of them to gather up their thoughts, before Pearl, ever with her cheery personality, grabbed a hold of her pickaxe, and grinned at them.

"Shall we continue our build, guys? Don't know about y'u all, but I want ma own room in 'ere. Cause I love ye and all, but a gal needs 'er privacy." She snickered, ducking out of the way as Grian tried to push her off the rocket build, him fumbling around instead. The silliness was enough for both Scar and Impulse to break away from their serious faces and into strange ones of their own.

"Right. Can't be going out unless it's in style!" Scar exclaimed. As a builder, he needed to make sure that this build was more than just functional. He'd never hear the end of it if he built something ungly after all. He took out his blocks again, heading out onto a precarious ledge to begin building again as if he had never stopped.

"Well Mumbo, I think that's our que." Impulse noted, holding his pickaxe over his shoulder. You could see just where he touched it previously, even that was red with the dust he had been using. He turned, heading back into the main control unit which was littered with the said redstone. It was a jambled mess, but it was just starting to come together. At least, that's what he had hoped. One could never be too sure with redstone until they were done (or at least, thought they were). Either it would work, it would not or it would break itself and had to be built from scratch. Hopefully with two minds working together, it would be the much more preferable choice of working without repercussion.

"Coming!" Mumbo shouted from the corner of his rocket. He had been very well thinking about his best friend, and truly seeing that he really did know much. He knew the lady had pierced through his private server, sustaining third degree burns and almost in a perma-death state. But other than that, the nightmares, panic attacks, and late night talkings of long gone dead friends, had been enough for Mumbo to do everything in his power and help the man out. They grew closer. Grian confiding in him, his worst nightmares and doubts, but never bringing up his old home. He found it odd, but then again, no Hermit was required to give out their past if they did not want to. And even Mumbo had secrets to keep. Like, now he had a piece of Grian in him, and could feel his friend was not okay, the feeling of being trapped creeping up on him, but Mumbo squashed that feeling down. It must be because of the moon. The fear of loosing everyone that chalking all these insecurities. Shaking his head slightly, Mumbo pulled his own stained pickaxe out and proceeded to jump, or glide inside the main frame. They where almost done, only needed a few more observers and timing them correctly. As for fuel, well, peace, love and plants will go a long way. And Mumbo couldn't help but chuckle at that.

Seeing two of the main buildings busy finishing up the rocket, Grian took his time to message Xisuma. Amidst all the chaos, the avian had forgotten to do that. Communicator out, slightly scratched and banged up from previous fallings or throwings, Grian typed in 'Xisuma,' and pulled out their private chat box.

Ex-Eye Suma:

Hey, X

Just wanted to update you on Boatem's current standing

On the moon problem

Meanwhile, Xisuma was mid flight. He had spent the night desperately scrambling, trying to fix the server. To contact other admins that might have any idea as to how to solve any of this. Even though he hadn't believed that sacrificing his bed would save them, he had hardly slept all the same. None of it had come to anything except the overbearing feeling of stress and shame, like he had failed every single Hermit all at once in the worst way possible. He knew logically that none of them beared any ill will towards him, didn't fault him for anything, but he still couldn't help but feel like a failure regardless. Now he had spent all the day, starting from sunrise going from base to base, checking in on everyone. He had just gotten done with the Big Eye trio, next he was going to Iskall and Etho. It was only a few moments after he heard the buzz of his communicator until the admin responded to Grian. It was quite impressive how he was able to juggle all the servers' concerns, big and small, in such a timely manner. Even now, as he continued to fly.

Grian:

I've been meaning to pay you all a visit

Forgive me

What have you been up to?

Are you all right?

Grian had pocketed his comm away, and was helping Scar with his side of the build, the man on top of his shoulders to reach a particularly high spot, when the buzzing in his pocket got consistent.

"Scar? I need to answer this, I'll hold you with one hand though, so don't move a lot!" And proceeded to pull his comm back out and snort at Xisuma's response. Ever the gentleman even with the end of the world upon his shoulders. Should he?...no...even if his Alderbaran prayed, could he do anything. He hadn't even the faintest idea of what was causing it, but he knew that soon enough the firewalls could be breached. And that meant-, frowning, he was quick, or as quickly he could with a man on his shoulders and one hand typing out a coherent response.

Ex-Eye Suma:

You're alright, mate

Figured you'd be too busy with everything around you

Boatem's doing alright, we're in the process of building a rocket

Also,

Mumbo wants to shoot the moon though,

I have a feeling it won't end well, hence the rocket

Can you send a server wide message to any other hermits that may need a way out?

We have more than enough room for them here

Xisuma had landed at Iskall and Etho's mountain now, standing on its steps. Feeling a buzz in his pocket, he checked his communicator again, deciding to read it before he would do his neck up. He couldn't help but chuckle out loud once he had read it. He had known Mumbo for nearly ten years now, and he hadn't changed one bit from the teenager that had managed to stumble across. Smart but so, so clueless. In both cases, he was rather charming; somehow the two sides of himself balanced itself out. He typed out a response.

Grian:

Thank you

Funnily enough, I actually did wonder if he would do that

But anyway, I'll be sure to write a server wide message

I want to check up on everyone first; I only have two Hermits left

That way, I can put all the information out at once.

I'll come see you after then

Shutting off his comm with a click, Xisuma proceeded to knock on the second to last door he needed to. So far today was all about checking in with everyone. He knew some Hermits were planning to go to other dimensions, one planned to rocket himself to the moon. (Come to think of it, maybe he should stop Mumbo from blowing up the moon if that was the case.) Others had no real plan, convinced there was no real place to go. In any case, no plan seemed full proof to the cautious admin; it sounded like a gamble.

The next meeting he had went just about as good (or bad) as the rest. He waved at the two as a goodbye before closing the door behind him. He let out a sigh as soon as he was alone, rubbing his helmet as if to rub his forehead. He was tired– no, exhausted, but he had to keep going. Just had to send a message, and then go to Boatem and then... He wasn't quite sure, honestly. Admittedly, he hadn't even begun to think of his own exit strategy. He shook his head; he could think about that later. Now he needed to send a message to everyone.

Server-wide message:

Attention everyone. I know that these past few days have been stressful for us all. I have met with each one of you, with exception to Boatem Incorporated, whom I spoke to on comms. I know that some of you have already made plans to leave this planet. As I have never encountered this problem before, I cannot say which one of these plans is the safest.

There are some of you who have also come up with ulterior plans. For example, Tango has just left orbit, heading up to the moon. He hopes that he can try to blow up as much of it as possible. Mumbo has similarly decided to send a missile to the moon after forgoing his moon worshiping strategy. Zedaph is still conducting research on why the moon has swung out of it's intended orbit.

Right now, the members of Boatem are currently constructing their own rocket to leave the world that way. If you do not have a plan, I suggest that you come to Boatem and board their craft.

Please stay safe everyone, and if anything happens, please message me or the other Hermits. -Xisuma

All around Boatem, the buzzing sound of their communicators rang along the metals of the empty rocket ship. Just a shell of itself at the moment, but will soon get filled with supplies and cargo each one may need.

"Oh wow, Xisuma issued a server-wide message." Mumbo showed Impulse, before giving an indignant cry as he read what Xisuma texted of him. "Hey! My moon worshiping strategy would have worked if others joined in!" But ultimately laughed at it. In hindsight, it was probably a very bad idea to try and blow up the moon, considering that Tango was also trying a similar but better tactic upon the moon itself. What did have him furrowing his eyebrows was the last part. If more people board, that means they needed to up the capacity of the reactor to amass for more weight.

"Impulse, my friend, I do believe we'll have to recalculate for more people joining us. Thankfully we have everything in place, it's just a matter of numbers now."

"Does t'at mean t'at we'll 'ave to make the rocket wider?" Pearl asked both Grian and Scar after reading on the possibility of having more hermits join them.

"Yeah, and if we do that, we can also board cattle for food and such. Just as a precaution. We don't even know if Xisuma has a new world ready for season 9 though yet. So the possibility of being in space for a while is looking closer than ever." Gliding down from the top, Grian told his two builder friends, before pausing. "What we can also do, is have what Scar did for his swaggon and my train. Multiple room carts connected within each other and pulling each other along?"

    Impulse shook off the redstone off his hands as he stood up from his knees, nodding to himself. "And each cart has a rocket attached to it. We can build them so that this," He gestured to the empty hull of a ship they had now, "is the main part of the rocket. It would have the most power, and will be placed in the center of all the cabins. That way, the ship won't end up lopsided. Each compartment could also account for its own weight then, assuming we have more fuel to power them." He mused out loud. It was an adjustment, but any new Hermit that wished to board could also lend their supplies and helping hands.

    "Great idea, Impulse!" Scar exclaimed from where he was in the ship. His voiced echoed against the empty walls. "As soon as I finish this decal, I can get started with the design." Thankfully, Scar usually wasn't one for much planning. Most of the time, he didn't even use a blueprint. He just freely built things, watching them come together in front of his very eyes. This was no different to him, thankfully. He was as much in his comfort zone as a guy who was facing near-certain death could be.

"Oh yes! That's brilliant, mate! I have more redstone up in my base, since I can take apart my storage system and use that, but if we get more people, each can add their own designs to it as well." The mustachioed man grinned, handing a red cloth towards Impulse to help him clean his hands better.

"If that's the case, my train cart does have more building resources, but I'm pretty sure we want to stick with just deep slate and Copper if we're going to be orbiting in outer space." Swinging his pickaxe, Grian grinned cheekily, "Back to mining, I suppose."

"Did somebody say mining?!" A voice echoed around them, before rockets where heard being used. "Fear not my dudes! For with the powers of both Ren and Docm77 combined, we can help with the building!" -A Rendog appeared before them, slamming onto the floor. Dusting himself back up though, the werewolf grinned at them with a wide smile, fangs showing. "We also brought our supplies, since Evil X scammed us, which! Will not go unpunished! But first, let's get outta here!" A Doc nodding right behind the werewolf, a shulker box occupying his hands.

"We also 'ad plans for a rocket, but certain situations deemed it to late for us, so 'ere.." Setting the shulker down, Grian opened it, only for his eyes to widen. Stacks upon stacks of deeplate and another of copper.

"Oh-oh wow..." The avian was stunned, before grinning and pulling out a stack. "This works brilliantly!"

"We can help too!" Said another voice. In walked Iskall and Etho, who tried to wave. It was nearly impossible since both his and Iskall's hands were completely full of shulker boxes. It looked as though any moment now, they'd collapse with the sheer amount of stuff they had but they somehow managed long enough to get clear of the doorway before dumping it into one large pile. "We brought all of the redstone that we own, plus anything else we could carry."

"Guys!" Impulse exclaimed as he finished wiping his hands. He rushed over to the one eyed man and the one wearing a mask. "Could you help me and Mumbo with the redstone? We could all build a compartment that way." Etho only chuckled, nodding as he went to pick up one of his redstone boxes.

"Of course!" He assured. "We'll get started on it right away!" As Etho and Iskall rushed off, it seemed as though everything was coming together after all. Scar couldn't help but take the moment to pause, smiling. As a few more Hermits came, got their assignments and got right to work, he couldn't help but think to himself how lucky he was to have such friends. Maybe, just maybe, they all really could get through this. Together, nothing could stop them, so he thought. He too went back to work, newly inspired by his friends who were all putting in their best efforts. Little did he know though just how wrong he was....

The Hermits, despite their best efforts upon working together, still took upon the whole night to complete the rocket and extra compartments. By the time the sun was rising, the moon hadn't even disappeared and the tremors only got worse. It had gotten to the point where one could not be on the land, without the block floating away. But that did not deter the Hermits, who continued to work with the time literally breathing down their necks. It was only when the sun peaked high up in the horizon, still trying its best to give them light, upon the moon's efforts to squish that, that Mumbo gave a cry of happiness. They did it! They managed to build a conduit core in each compartment that connects to the main energy frame. It would give the others power, while cycling back to the main power source. A sort of feeds itself energy, except, it didn't. As soon as that fuel ran out, they would have to turn on the solar panels installed by Doc and Iskall. Now it was a waiting game for the builders to finish well, building around each observer conduit frame.

Dusting off his red stained hands on his equally stained handkerchief, Mumbo looked over, pausing over the builder team and furrowing his brows, mustached shiften upwards too. His best friend was nowhere to be, seeing upon the bundle of people, but neither was their admin. Huh, weird. Mayhaps they found a way to stop this very well be called madness, Mumbo chortled at his own thought. That was just, if not more than wishful thinking.

Regardless, here comes the hard part, making sure everything works, and nothing explodes on them. Which judging by Ren's face, he was sure the man had redstone explode on him.

In all terms and purposes, Grian shoud have known. There was no way the sudden chill he had gotten earlier wouldn't come back. And yet, Grian did his best to ignore the creeping sensation of being watched. He wasn't— They weren't—, He's not there. Which is why before another attack surged in place, Grian located his Admin and pulled him away from the rocket building, behind one of the open stalls built for their animals. It was as private as Grian could want, to watch over his friends too.

"X, please, I need this for my state of mind. No breaches? No entering. There's nothing, right? I'm just imagining Them, here..!" Grian's voice grew in distress, those thoughts much more louder upon his head.

Grian had never told X who 'Them' were, not even after these two or three years living together. He had given out as few details about Them as possible, in fact. All he really knew was that Them scared Grian. He recalled how paranoid Grian had been when he had first become a Hermit, begging to help strengthen the firewall. He had been desperate, as if his very life depended on it. Even after that fact, he would send messages to Xisuma several times a day to ask him the things he asked now. He didn't know enough about the situation to decide whether or not Grian's paranoia was justified. It probably wasn't, or at least he hoped it wasn't, but he had always tried his best to still the winged man's fears regardless of his cluelessness.

The man sighed into his helmet. To say the absolute least, he was tired. He had spent nearly every second these past few weeks up until yesterday looking into the code. Checking and rechecking breaches, patterns in the glitches, anything that would explain what was happening. He hadn't found anything that had helped. He reached out his arm, placing it on Grian's shoulder. "Trust me, G, I check that first thing every morning. You know that, and you also know that you would be the first one I would tell if I found that it had been broken. They aren't here." He had made him that promise a few years back already. "Recently, I've checked nearly every hour, even. No– more like fifteen minutes. There's absolutely nothing."

He waited a few moments, studying Grian's face. Although he hadn't seen as much as Mumbo, he knew that this man had once been prone to panic attacks. Still was, actually, but not nearly as much as he had been when he first met him. He considered this fact, not wanting Grian to spiral. "Here... Let's check again together, okay?" he took out his communicator, tapping on a few buttons so the screen would display in the air for easy viewing. It was only a few moments until he brought up the screen that displayed the firewall in full, a full rundown of any and all activity involving it beside it. "See?" he asked, looking to Grian without even looking at the screen. "It's fine." And what Xisuma had spoken of, was true. Looking throughout all the files, all the codes and firewall protection spells cast, nothing seemed out of place.

In fact, it was as if everything had strengthen. No doubt from the admin in his desperate need to figure out what was causing the moon to be this huge. Taking one last look at the firewall codes, Grian's shoulders seemed to have hunched down a bit. As if a sigh of relief at knowing it had nothing to do with Them. He was about to allow Xisuma to close the panel down, when he saw it. Or rather, felt it. A tremor from up high in the sky, and a glitch distorting the code. But it wasn't just one. Or a trick of the mind.

The panel screen the two had been looking at, shifted in an out of focus. Blurred red and blue light numbers shimmering as the codes disappeared and came back. A strong gush of wind blew past all of Boatem, before all the lights and windows exploded. Shards flying everywhere, in the sudden moon shifting. It wasn't just a normal quake like the ones the Hermits had felt before. This one seemed more stronger, if it managed to knock down trees and destroy their builds. Making the blocks either fall or lift into the sky, only to come back down in full force.

"X!" Grian srieked, his dark eyes wide in fear, seeing the panel shut itself out. Grian saw how Xisuma tried to pull it back up, pulling the admin away from a block close to hitting the man. Grian manouvered them back towards the rocket, the increase yelling of his fellow hermits, louder the closer they got. It did little to no good though. For every time Grian saw Xisuma trying to pull the panel back up, the panel would fizzle in and out, before shattering back out of existence. "W-why's it doing, doing that X...please...tell me its' a joke, a prank." The avian stopped walking, eyes desperately searching Xisuma's for confirmation. Finding none, but only distress and concern, did not do it for Grian's already frazzled mind. He, took a step back from the admin, the other hermits looking over at hearing Grian's anguished voice. It didn't help that the sudden earthquake pushed them back from almost being done with the ship, that they would have to work double and with less resources.

"Mate?..." It was Mumbo who jumped down, noticing the signs. Grian was spiraling and whatever Xisuma had shown him, had not helped at all. Mumbo had already been worried, with what Grian giving out magically infused feathers of goodbye, but this. The mustachioed man tried to reach out to him, to console him, like all those other times before, but Grian shook his body.

"Don't!" The Englishman yelled, taking another step back. Coincidentally getting closer to the Boatem void hole. "It was just the moon." Grian repeated to himself, like a mantra. He didn't care that the others where seeing him in this state. His mind was too gone with old wounded memories. "Just the moon. They're not here. You're imagining it," Grian mumbled more to himself than too anyone.

"Just a prank. A prank." He tried for a breather, but choked on his own air as he felt it. Felt the coolness of the air shift around him and the whole of Boatem Incorporated. It got harder to breathe, the heaviness of the air, like the nether, or, or of the end... His head quickly whipped to look towards the void, feeling his eyes opening and changing from their deep dark to a bright purple. And that's when Grian, no, everyone heard Them. A manaical laughter, echoing throughout the land, and a pair of deep purple wings shielding Grian from the rest.

"Oh songbird, are you sure about that?"

Scar had been watching from the window. Watching how Grian crumpled on himself, how Mumbo went out to meet him and X. He wanted to go out and comfort him too, but having a crowd around a panicking person was seldom a good idea. He trusted that Mumbo could handle it; he was the best at calming their friend after all. That didn't keep him from being worried, however, and so he watched from the window. That was, until he saw the Boatem hole suddenly flash purple, glowing almost like a beacon.

He didn't know what that meant, but he knew that couldn't be good. Running on pure instinct, he raced outside, pushing his wheels as fast as they could go. Alas, he was too late. By the time he had gotten outside, one of the winged creatures had already cacooned Grian in their wings and knocked Xisuma over onto the ground with the force of their tremors. Scar couldn't help to let out a yell as Impulse came running out behind him. "Let go of him!" Was what he yelled.

The creature that wasn't keeping Grian hostage only chuckled. Their giant wings burned like fire, a brilliant display of orange, red and yellow, purple at their very tips. They were terrifyingly beautiful. "No, we don't think we will." They decided, their features, hidden behind a white mask that covered their eyes, burned with determination. "We have spent too much time... too many resources to get this one back. You're just a human, what would you know anyway?"

"DON'T!!!" Grian shouted, jerking his body away from the one bounded to himself. He didn't care of what happened to himself again, but he will not allow another person he loved to be punished or worse...because of himself. "STAY AWAY!!! YOu Don't know...!!!" He cried out, tears threatening to roll down his cheeks as he desperately tried, with no avail to leave their hold.

"GRIAN!!" Pearl cried out, jumping down from the ship, landing heavily on the scarred floor. This was Evo all over again. She would not lose the one she calls brother to them again. But Pearl couldn't move, and turning to see why, she shook herself in tears. One Mumbo Jumbo keeping her in place.

"Don't mate..." They softly spoke to her. "Grian would never forgive himself if something happened to you.." And he was right. If they couldn't get to Grian, Mumbo would do his best to keep them safe. Scar hadn't been able to contain himself, running off to save their friend, and all Mumbo could hope was that they come back safely.

Watching the scene before them, the one keeping Grian in a hold, sneered, wings curling more around his lithe body. Their other wings, keeping them afloat.

"Oh songbird, I didn't think you would care this deeply for others....especially after what happened the first time..." The being spoke, their voice melodic, as if one were enchanting gear, the magical particles calling to you. It didn't help that their wings, multiple in feathers shined and glimmered with the stars above. If one were to squint, one could even see a star flying past. An equal white mask was shrouding their eyes too, and the halo above their white hair shimmered in the shape of a broken portal when they bent down to speak, miniature orbs of light surrounded the halo floating around. The being took a hold of Grian's tear stained face, raking a nail over their face.

"My my songbird...what's with this behavior? Are you not happy to see us once more? We have been searching a very long time for our lost birdie, he can finally return home." The being then tilted their face, even with the mask on, Grian could see them frowning. Knew the sign. He was in trouble. "But songbird, this isn't you? Where are those pretty wings WE helped you grow out? Did you hide them? Do we need to change your code back to what you were always meant to do? To Watch."

Scar knew what he had been told to do, to stand back. To simply do nothing as Grian... gosh, what were they planning to do with Grian?! They were going to take him away? To change his code? To what, exactly? Fear ran along his spine, making its course though his arms. He found he couldn't move himself. "S...Stop it." He began, feeling tears prick at his own eyes. "You... you can't have him." He didn't know what these things were capable of, but he knew it was Them, and if Grian was terrified of them, he was already beginning to see why.  That being said, however, Scar was a reckless man. If it meant saving his friends, he'd even die. He managed to move himself one push, two pushes. Impulse stayed where he was, his eyes full of fear. Although Scar was looking dead ahead at the starry and phoenix-like creatures, he could tell that Impulse was terrified; unless Xisuma got up and helped him, he would be alone in trying to save Grian.

The creature with flame-like wings grew to have a twisted smile. They tilted their head so their flame-encrusted halo bobbed almost teasingly in the air. In the moment, they looked like a cat that was toying with its prey, beating it senselessly just to hear it scream, refusing to give it mercy and kill it. "Oh? But we love our little songbird, don't we, Lilura?" they sung teasingly, moving over to pet Grian's cheek. For a moment, they almost looked serene, calm. And then, they didn't. Their face came to a rage. "Listen, you crippled, pathetic human, you don't know what you're dealing with!" They yelled, throwing out their hand with a burst of magic. The purple swirls were flung at Scar, and before he could move out of the way, it grabbed him like a giant fist, squeezing him tightly. With a simple wave of the creature's hand, they lifted him right out of his chair, struggling for breath.

"S-Scar!!" Impulse managed to exclaim, taking a step back. He too was crying now. He couldn't save them, he knew that just by watching.

"....let, let him go..." Grian eyes glowed wide in panic at seeing Scar at the mercy of the Watchers. They couldn't. Not with them. Not anyone, not anymore. "let him go..."

"Hm? What was that, Songbird? Don't worry, this time, we'll make sure no one survives." Lilura singsonged, watching with glee at the misery Scar was in.

"Xisuma!!! Oh thank the void!!" Cleo had rushed over to their admin, holding and checking to see if there had been any cracks in his helmet or injuries. None that she could find upon from scrapes. Now with him awake, she helped him back up and felt as if they had a chance. Their admin would know what to do. Especially with two of their hermits at their mercy.

"Here Songbird, watch as Phextris destroys his insignificant life." Lilura forced his face at an angle, nails digging into skin, as they forced him to watch the bloody scene unfold.

"No...please...I'll, I'll do anything, just please...don't..." Grian choked on spit, coughing as he attempted to break out. He couldn't let them kill them, not a second time.

"Aww, but songbird, if you hadn't escaped the first time, and stayed in your little cage like a good boy, maybe nothing like this would have happened. Their blood is on your hands."

And that, that was the tip of it. Grian felt something within him break, eyes of plenty opening up all around Boatem. Grian's own closing as his ear feathers grew in numbers and covered them up. Grian felt as his own conscience slipped away, and a wave of magic passed throughout the land.

"I said..." He spoke before most of his eyes focused in on Phextris alone. "To Let, Him, GO!!!" His yelling echoing in the ears of others, before they had a chance to see what had happened. For in front of them, stood Grian. No, it was Grian alright, but he wasn't their Grian. What stood before them was a being like Them. Two sets of beautiful pearl-white wings, dipped in gold were clipped at his back. No longer was there a red jumper that the man always wore, instead, a beautiful tunic dress adorned Grians' features, a cloak making it seemed like he was wearing layers. Grian landed on the soft grass, his feet bare save for the golden leaf vines adorning his legs,  kneeled in front of a now fallen Scar. His halo, shimmering in gold, two orbs of light dancing around it. One fainter than the other who shined brightly. Upon the outburst and his code changing,  he witnessed the man getting knocked to the ground. The beings falling a few feet apart from them.

"You're okay Scar...I won't hurt you..." His galactic spoke through, sounding like a familiar tune on a record player. Eyes shifting to look at Scar in all angles for possible injuries. He never wanted to be this, but They, They forced him to reveal a past he had so desperately tried to erase. Now he had no choice. They messed with his family. He wasn't top of his class for nothing.

Scar had fallen far from his chair, rolling over a few times. He was covered in bruises now, and dirt. He was wheezing and disoriented, his mind a bit scrambled. He wasn't ready to get up yet.

Who was, however, was Xisuma. He himself had just gotten out of his near unconsciousness to behold the three stunning creatures. "You're..." he began, breathless. If this wasn't such a desperate situation, he would've even called them beautiful. "Xelqua...?" He asked, his breath nearly holding awe. He wondered how this could possibly be. He glanced at Scar, lost and injured. . "The... the Watchers are supposed to be benevolent... they— they were said to teach the first admins how to take care of their worlds! And yet you come here and you threaten to kill us all?!" He felt hurt, betrayed. Ignoring his Aldebaran for the moment, Xelqua, as he was rightfully called, placed a glowing hand over Scar. He silently chanted, lips moving but no sound coming through. A wave of purple light phased throughout the man's body, healing his wounds. He felt the man go limp, a sudden peacefulness befalling Scar, before Xelqua picked him up. One set of wings pushed him forward, gliding gracefully before stopping in front of an equally shocked Impulse. He would be too, if he were to be honest. Xelqua passed the man onto him.

"He's, sleeping...He'll recover..." The deity spoke, his words carrying beyond the land. Human eyes shielded by feathers, twitched at the loudness. Right. It had been years since he used his powers, they would take a bit before he got used to them. Though he could see how his outburst was wearing off the other two. Lilura looked at him, with dare he say, a proudness. Was it because he altered his code? To what he's supposed to be? He scoffed at that. Now then, Xelqua turned to Xisuma. Wings carrying him forward. To his Aldebaran. To his first. Stopping in front of the voidwalker, Xelqua bowed low in greeting. For it was disgraceful for a deity who was worshipped and powerful to show such a vulnerable and shameful display of power. But Xelqua cared not for those rules, Xisuma, his Aldebaran was also his admin. One who prayed and worshipped him since the beginning of Xelqua being a god. A protector to those in need of a place to call home. His pantheon wasn't big, but those under him, he made sure they were alright. Oh how he failed his first one.

"Forgive me, my Aldebaran. I did not wish for you to know of the truth like this. Not all Watchers are benevolent. They are worse than the ones you've encountered."

Xelqua spoke, half his eyes on Xisuma, the others on the two coming to their senses.

"I tried everything in my power to not allow you this sight, but, the Watchers you see before you, they've killed. For their own entertainment. It is the reason I left. We're supposed to protect, not destroy. And in that sense, I feel like I have failed you. And well, this is the consequence of me disobeying that act. And you're paying the price for believing in me."

Xisuma was shocked, to say the very least. How many years had he prayed, wished that he could see his deity, the wonderful and magical and mystical Xelqua? How many nights did he ask for a sign? He had been granted them at first. Words of the god himself, written plainly to see. They didn't come often, but it had been often enough. It didn't tell him nor give him everything he had wanted, but it was more than he could have dreamed of. And then one day, it just... stopped. A few months went on by as per usual, but more months passed and there was nothing. It was simply as though Xelqua had vanished. It was just around the time that Grian had come stumbling upon the server. He had never correlated the two. That was, until now.

"How... Can this be?" Was the only thing he was able to whisper, his eyes still full of shock. It was just simply impossible to think that the nervous little trouble maker was actually this perfect image, that they were one and the same. Xelqua smiled, as if reading Xisuma's thoughts.

"I was a player once, I did remember mentioning that to you. My server, Evo," Xelqua-Grian shifted to the side, motioning to one of the orbs of light, the faint one, as it spiralled around him. "Went from being mine, to being of the Watchers, in the end, to save my people, they took me." His galactic switching back to common. "I never wanted this, Xisuma. Never asked to be made into, this," He pointed to himself. "But the Watchers, seemed nice at first, but ruthless beneath. Do you have any idea what I endured in their grasp? The nightmares? The screams? It was the reason I asked to reinforce the server, I kept my new family safe. That last prayer you sent. I kept it, held onto it. Because of you, I could be Grian again. Because of you, I learned what it meant to be actually have a family, and don't worry, X, I will keep that promise. I won't let them hurt us, anymore." He turned his back, Watching as the beings started flying closer. "Even if it costs me.."

He didn't have time to finish that sentence because Phextrix was upon him already, much to Xisuma's horror. It was almost as though it were on que. "No!" They growled. "You, foolish songbird, need to be taught a lesson! You need to pay for your crimes!" At once, their semi-transparent whisps of magic formed itself into a sword that was slightly less translucent. It was five times as large as the average player. Phextrix swirled their finger and then pointed right at Xelqua. Such a simple yet deadly action. At once, the sword obeyed, flying full force towards Xelqua.

"G-Grian!!" Xisuma stammered in horror. He hadn't seen magic, at least anything like this before, but it was easy to tell that anything that came into this sword's path, even a mountain made of obsidian, would be absolutely obliterated. Impulse held Scar close, letting out a yell as well. Fear filled him and he began to flee, worrying for not just his own life and the life of Scar as well. He couldn't protect Grian or Xisuma, that much was true. He could still save Scar though, if only he wouldn't be targeted.

Grian managed to barely dodge the attack, his wings pushing behind me and propelling him forward. He moved the fight to the other side, full well knowing the sword was following him. He wasn't stupid. He knew what Phextrix had done. Materilizing a block of tnt, Grian punched it forwards to the sword, watching as it exploded. What he had always been thankful, was the fact that due to their server having been made in beta, Grian-Xelqua could summon the old blocks of beta, using them to his advantage. He created another one, tossing it towards the deity, but screamed in pain when another sword grazed him. Grian clutched his arm, but managed to toss a block of snow at Lilura, blocking an arrow from piercing Impulse.

"Get...away from them!" He cried, landing with a heavy thud on the ground.

"Very nice, songbird. But you cannot fight the two of us." Lilura summoned her bow, the obsidian arrows, a promise of pain and suffering. She shot multiple, all different angles. And Grian, he couldn't hold the two of them for long, but he didn't have too, for in Lilura's wake, stood both Mumbo and Doc. Mumbo holding an end crystal and Doc sitting on top of a cannon.

"We're not gods, but you very dam well know we'll protect each other."

"Grian, mate you take one, together, we'll take the other." Mumbo spoke, though the tremor in his voice was visible. Inspired by his own friends, Xisuma took up his own sword. He wasn't particularly the king of redstone, or of building, starting wars, or anything else, but he at least knew his way around a sword. Enough to not be a liability, or so he hoped. He rushed over to his friends, keeping his sword in a defensive stance.

"I can help." He said, hoping he could be of use. His declaration must have been annoying, because Phetrix let out an angered sound.

"Humans." They sneered. "Nothing more than annoying little bugs in the code. Enough to notice, sure, but ultimately all you have to do is smash them." They stuck up their nose in ignorance and pride. "Lilura, you take care of the stupid little pests. I'm going to put this songbird back in it's rightful cage." They turned their sights back onto Xelqua now. With a simple snap of their fingers, a few dozen swords appeared out of thin air, the size a player would have. Their blades pointed at him for only a few moments before they all charged at him at once.

"It would be my pleasure, Phetrix" Lilura smiled sinisterly, Raising her bow up in the sky. Shooting the arrow up high, the watched as one turned to multiple and raised towards their target. The moon shifted once more and those already inside the rocket, helped pull Scar inside, before pulling Impulse.

"We need to 'elp 'em." Pearl shouted through the shaking of the world. She watched how their three friends battled for their life, feeling useless.

"That's not possible, Pearl." Ren called out, picking Scar up from their placement on the ground and turning to the first bed he saw. "What we have to do know, is make sure everything is ready for when Grian tells us to go. He's, we're family and if they say they can do it, we have to trust them. Plus, Xisuma is down there and so is Cleo. She won't let anything happen to our friends." And it wa true, as Pearl looked out the door once more, she saw an army of zombies clawing their way to the god. Ren was right, she had to be ready for anything, even if it meant..Her gaze shifting to Grian, um Xelqua? She didn't know..but he was still her brother, he'd pull through.

"Not now, Phetrix, not ever. I will never, go back to that cage!" He summoned an axe, throwing it at the deity. He flew up, summoning more tnt and punched them towards them. Xelqua wasn't going to let Phetrix attack him anytime soon, for he went on offence and shot explosion after explosion, weapons mixed in as well. Some of the attacks though, Xelqua felt them piercing him, but he only pulled them out to continue. All he needed was to get close and shoot an a bedrock shard. One of the only ways to kill a watcher.

Scar was still asleep, still healing. Impulse wiped his brow; he may be built like a tank but that didn't mean he could carry almost two-hundred pounds forever. He was glad that his friends took Scar from him. For now, though, he rushed over to the window of the ship. He frowned, staring at his friends. He too felt useless. "What... what if they don't make it?" He asked. He hated to think there was a possibility that he'd leave Grian behind. Doc, Mumbo and Xisuma could be left behind too at this rate... "are we—" he shook his head. "I don't want to abandon them." He said. He watched as the two Watchers went back and forth, summoning weapon after weapon. It seemed that both were skilled in combat; they both dodged difficult attacks while continuing to make their own.

Phextrix had taken a few blows. In one explosion, they nearly tumbled out of the sky, doing a few front flips before managing to catch themself in the air. They hissed, observing their singed wing. "You are going to pay for everything that you've done. You songbird, will never see the light of day again when this is over." They hissed. They spun around, a ring forming around them. Throwing their arms out made it appear to be a ring of flame, which quickly pushed itself outward.

Xelqua watched the ring of fire with terrifying beauty. It was mesmerizing in a horrific way, but he smirked. He had made Phextrix loose his Galactic. That meant that the Watcher had lost their cool. If he continued like that, he may just be able too..an idea formed in his head. Closing his wings over himself, Xelqua dived down, landing on top of the Treesa, before summoning his tnt blocks. Xelqua waited until the fire ring got close and summoning an obsidian block, Xelqua placed it in front of him, before ducking inside the tree. He felt the heatness engulfing the tree, saying his prayers to the tree. She had served her purpose well. Feeling his wings singe, Xelqua grabbed multiple water buckets, letting one fall on his feet, before glazing up. He saw Phextrix right above him and taking a trident, he threw it forwards, propelling himself, like a blazing bullet, pulling two buckets down and throwing them at the Watcher. He hear the splashing sound, summoning another tnt and hitting it towards him before his momentum had him crashing onto Lilura, who had thrown another attack and too busy watching her arrows pierce through the wall of zombies, failed to notice the incoming projectile, until Xelqua crashed into them, tumbling through the ground, only stopping when hitting the moon shrine. Xelqua just groaned, head dizzy, and eyes disorienting him.

Phextrix hissed as he tried to cover himself from the splash. They never did like getting wet. It took a few moments for them to get their bearings. Just out of pure spite, with another snap, he engulfed the monster tree into even more flames, as if it wasn't already burning. Upon hearing the crash, he turned, sucking in a breath as he saw Xelqua on top of the other Watcher. He nearly raced over to them to knock Xelqua off, but then he paused. Another idea formed in his head as a wicked grin grew on his face. He slowly fisted his hand, beginning to collect magic around it. He slowly and ominously turned towards the rocket, the Hermits' one saving grace.

When Xisuma noticed this, he felt his stomach drop and he suddenly forgot how to breathe. "The– the rocket!!" he exclaimed, pointing at it. He glanced at his sword; it'd do him no good. No, the only thing he could do would be... break the rules. He frantically dropped his sword to grab his communicator as the Watcher punched, sending the extreme mass of flaming magic towards the rocket. The admin began wildly pressing buttons, hoping that he would be able to hack in time. It was dangerous, reckless but it was the one and only thing he could think to do to save his friends and himself. His desperation was enough for the creature to laugh, as if this was simply a game.

"How pathetic." Phextrix sneered.

"No!!" Mumbo exclaimed, racing over to try and place end crystals. He only had a couple left, but if the fire hit them, maybe that could stop it?

Grian was watching, but his head was still dizzying, his eyes multiplied tenfold and he knew he only had a few seconds to time this. Plucking a feather from Lilura, who had hit the shrine head on, and was having trouble coming back, Grian got on top of them. Summoning a piece of bedrock, Grian took the now pointy feather, ever thankful that he figured this out when he had bared witness to the killing of another Watcher. One who had destroyed a planet from existence. The void punished him to permadeath, and him, young, scared and obedient bared the ritual. Watchers, especially those of higher tiers, when a feather gets plucked, it becomes a weapon to use in battle. Sharp and poisonous to another of their kind. Grian hit the bedrock multiple times with the feather. He only needed a small shard of it and he felt the world tick to a stop, until a small shard chipped off and he was quick to create a makeshift arrow with those two things and string. Embedding said arrow onto Lilura's chest, he went deep, making sure the shard pierced their heart, before pushing himself forward, faster than he had ever before and taking the blunt ends of Mumbo's crystal attack, flyring bacwards, he felt his wings on fire, but he ignored the pain, to place water and taking the hack he still had due to beta, the one allowing him to have water column walls, was able to rise the water at the last second and shield the rocket, but not before getting doused himself and falling to his knees having exerted too much magic. He hoped that was enough to buy their admin some more time. But Grian was exhausted, and it showed as he tried to get back up, only to crumble back down. He pulled his sword out to help him back up and shakily stood again. His eyes distorted and glowing.

"You...you are not getting them...over my dead body."

Phextrix hummed, his expression almost playful. "Looks like that'll be very soon." He replied. He glanced at Lilura, who too was at death's door. Much more so than Xelqua even. Well, no matter. He could take care of this on his own. He felt as though he had barely even began. He spun in the air, three rings appearing around him this time. He kept them near himself, focusing on gathering his magic. He tried not to pant, as though he were somehow tired through this little fight.

Meanwhile, Xisuma continued to look back and forth between his communicator and the battlefield. In accordance to his hacking, the area around the ship began to distort, as if it wasn't really supposed to be there. It wasn't quite ready yet when Phetrix's power surged and he sent his magic outwards once more. "Try to stop this one, Xelqua." he teased, finding himself growing lower to the ground due to growing weariness.

"Mumbo! Doc! Xisuma! Cleo! Get inside the ship, now!" Xelqua cried out, the right side of his face, blood was starting to trickle down. He summoned snow watching them run, wheezing in pain from a flare up on his wings, but he pushed through. Placing a line down, he raised his fingertips, the purple color dancing between each finger and quickly lifted the wall up. It would melt, but it would give him time to fly back, yelling as he pushed his wings to the limit, feeling the tears of feathers. But he needed this. Diving back down to Lilura's disintegrating body, Xelqua picked up their bow and arrow. Plucking a couple more feathers from their dead body. He only had one shot with Lilura's special arrow. It was now or never if he wanted a chance to defeat the watcher that had caused him the most nightmares. Flying back, he noticed his wall had melted, but had kept most of the ship intact. A few blocks burned away, but nothing the hermits couldn't fix. He was glad it wasn't the main area. No, Xelqua yelled as he raised the bow. He surged up, wings begging him to stop, but him pushing them forward.

"THIS IS FOR ALL THE TIMES YOU ABUSED ME, AND MADE ME YOUR PET!!!" Xelqua shot the arrow, watching it explode into a rain shower. "AND THIS," He punched tnt upon tnt up to the watcher. "FOR THREATING ME ONCE MORE! PHEXTRIX!" Grian yelled, watching the arrows and tnt explode. Allowing for his body to free fall back down, in order to recover, a bit of his energy. Though Xelqua still wasn't done. He needed to do one more thing, but for that, Phextrix needed to fall.

Through all the yelling, Xisuma, Doc and Cleo ran blindly to the rocket, through the fracturing of the distorted area. Xisuma still was working on breaking away the code, to rip away the ship from the world itself. Thankfully, his progress had helped protect it just a bit. Doc got to it first, helping the others up into it. Unlike the others, he lingered at the door, staring outwards. Closing the door would be saying goodbye. Keeping it open for too long, on the other hand, could be their end if Xisuma couldn't save them. It was not a matter of if in the chance he and Grian-Xelqua failed; it was just a matter of if the end would be from the Watchers or from the ever growing moon.

Phextrix tried to dodge Xelqua's attacks, but in the rain of arrows, he got hit too many times. He got off balance, not allowing him to recover enough to dodge the other attacks. He threw a desperate hand, shooting a wild burst of magic towards his opponent as he fell hard onto his back. He tried to let out a gasp, but the air was taken right out of his lungs. His head slammed against the ground, hard enough to knock the average person unconscious. Stars flooded his vision, but he kept with it. He refused to let himself pass out. Xelqua too had landed hard on the ground, the wind getting knocked out of him. He laid there on the barren and fiery now wasteland, breathing hard and barely able to turn to the side, once he felt and saw Phextrix land hard too. Scraping his hands, Xelqua pushed himself up, his once pristine white robes, now tattered and ripped. Honestly, it was as if the first time Xelqua had landed on the server. Coughing blood out, Xelqua crawled his way forward, legs too shaky to even attempt to get up. Managing to reach the Watcher, and knees bloodied and bruised, Xelqua lifted himself up top of the deity, straddling to hold himself up.. Bloody face mixed in with his tears, as Xelqua punched the man to bits. Yelling curses and anything he can think of, of his life with them. In the end, those punches turned feebly, as Xelqua gave out, his body racking up with sobs, trembling in his stance. Still crying, he lifted his body back up, Xelqua pulling Lilura's bow back up and clinking an arrow to it. Not just any arrow, but the one he used to kill them, grabbing it instead of the feathers he had plucked. The bedrock shard still dipped with their golden blood. Xelqua aimed the bow and with little hesitation, shot the arrow down. He let the bow fall down from his hands, and slipped off the now dead watcher, for the arrow had pierced right in between his eyes. He had done it. He had killed....protected his family. They where safe...safe...And for once, Xelqua welcomed the tremor as the sky split open and the shaking lulled him out of existence.

"Just one more moment..." Xisuma muttered, fully focused on the screen now. He hadn't been watching the fight at all. The area around them was glitching now with his efforts.

Impulse gasped, watching Grian faint. He couldn't possibly leave his friend. He dashed out of the ship, Doc following a few moments later. Together they worked to lift the Watcher up and rush him in, just in time for the entire area to brake away from the world, glitching into the Void.

"Here, here! We made a special area for him" Mumbo led them through the corridor , Etho calling out their depature as soon as he got confirmation that Xisuma and everyone had boarded. Along with Ren at the pilot helm, the two took off, the rocket blasting off into space as the world they once used to know, disappeared under the collision of the heavy moon.

"How's he doing?" Mumbo asked, pushing the curtain aside to step inside. They had been up in orbit for a few days after the destruction of their world, but Grian didn't seem to come back. Granted his injures would have been enough to permakill anyone of them, but Grian, he wasn't human, at least, not anymore, and so, between Pearl, Doc and Iskall, they treated their avian friend as best they could. Going so far as to bandage his sets of wings, having seen then singed and broken. The one thing none of them could treat, was his face, for the feathers shielding his eyes, would not budge. As if, the feathers were his mask. They did their best to treat his face though. And everytime they moved his face, his halo would display what he was. The broken portal, a symbol of the watchers, with two orbs of light dancing around him. One visibly shining brighter than the other. 

Now...days later, Pearl cried out in happiness, Grian's mask and halo had disappeared, but he was still out, and the only solace they found, where the multiple eyes littered across the room, watching them. "'es okay now...jus' sleeping. 'Es not battling death, that's for sure." Pearl called out from checking on his injuries. Most were healing nicely, though others were taking their time. It was better that the avian wasn't conscious for it. It would hurt him if he had to endure it awake. Mumbo nodded before looking over at Scar, the man sleeping peacefully. Right, he should get on it and build him a makeshift wheelchair while here. It wouldn't do much for their builder friend to be cooped up longer than he had too. But everyone was worried for him, including the eyes that blinked at him as he turned to leave with Pearl behind him. They should unnerve him, but these were Grian's eyes. The same man that pulled pranks on them. What was there to fear from him?

Scar had woken up on the end of the second day. Thankfully, the Hermits didn't need to tend to him as much, seeing as Xelqua had already taken care of his injuries. All that he needed, it would seem, was rest. The problem though, was through all the chaos, no one had quite remembered to grab his chair and put it on the ship. He had spent the past few days, therefore, sitting up in the bed next to Grian's. He had begun to fear that the Brit would never wake, and he had spent many hours staring at him, worrying (there wasn't much else to do.)

Outside of Scar and Pearl, the person who spent the most time beside Grian was Xisuma. He hadn't made much conversation with the others, still finding himself in the shock of it all. Just how could it be that this troublemaker, this goofball he had known for years was the same god to whom he had prayed?

"Here..." A cup of warm tea was placed on the table set between the two injured individuals. Where Cleo found Xisuma as well. The man seeming lost in thoughts, but books laid across them all. Cleo handed the other cup to Scar in his hands. "It's hot, so careful." Pulling a chair from the corner of the room, she sat down across all three boys, and sighed before taking a sip from her own cup.

"Doc says they'll be entering a small meteor ring in a day or two, so if you still need time in finding a suitable location, to maybe temporarily stop and reunite with the others, to let him know." She paused, setting her cup down, before glazing over at Grian. The man still knocked out, but one could see his chest rising and falling, so that was a good sign, right? "Iskall and Etho both managed to set up a communication with everyone else, but they've kept what happened a secret. It's not...ours to tell, if he doesn't want to.."

Scar nodded slowly, squeezing his cup lightly. The wisps of steam rose to tickle his chin, entering his nostrils as if to beg to be sipped at. He gave in, just the smallest of tastes. He sighed in satisfaction. "I suppose you're right." he agreed. The voices was enough to snap Xisuma out of it, thankfully.

"I... have a few places in mind, actually." He replied, meeting her gaze. Even though he had been mostly dazed since they left the world, he would never forgive himself if he just abandoned his duty as an admin. "I'll be sure to talk to Doc when I get a chance." he forced a smile, taking his own mug.

"That's great X, we can meet up with everybody else then."Cleo responded before her mouth formed into a tight lipped line. She could ask him, but then again, how was she supposed to comfort someone who's god had actually been real and had been with him all these years? Cleo, she supposes she would be mad, but this was Xisuma, he didn't get mad that easily. Annoyed and frustrated, yes, but rarely mad. How would they?...

"X, would you, like to talk about it? Scar and I will not tell anyone else. Just us three, and Grian." She pointed to the few eyes blinking at them, taking a sip from her cup. Scar let go of his cup with one of his hands, placing a finger on his lips. It was a silent symbol of showing that he too could keep a secret.

"I... don't really know if there's anything to talk about." X only shrugged, laughing just a bit nervously. Even now, he found he was at a loss of words about it all, unsure how he was even supposed to feel. "I.... don't blame him." he sighed with another shrug. "Xelqua... he always was... humble. Down to the worlds for a god. He never asked much of me... It's what drew me to him." He shook his head, feeling Scar's frown pointed at him. There was a pause in the conversation, as Cleo took in Xisuma's words. The eyes blinked at them, shifting closer to Xisuma, as if acknowledging his words. Curious, Cleo asked.

"He asked you to do things? Drew you in? I'm sorry X, but I find it hard to believe that Grian would...you know.." She waved her hand around. Xisuma only nodded.

"And now you see why this is so hard for me to wrap my head around," He only sighed again, side-eying his nearly untouched drink. "All gods ask at least something of their followers, and if you please them, you'll be rewarded if they are kind. Xelqua was always kind... All he really wanted of me was to build a safe haven for the lost. I thought he was being benevolent and caring, and maybe he was... but I suppose he was asking for himself too, so he had a place to run to."

"Oh, that's...very kind of him then.." For Cleo, Hermitcraft had been a safe haven for her when she had been on the run and in hiding. She didn't disclose much about her personal life aside from needing a place to live, and Xisuma had offered her that. Now she found a home where she could use her powers or reanimation to her full potential, and no one would be there to hunter her or confront her about it. Instead, her fellow hermits praised her work and ask her to make them puppets for their own builds. It boosted her confidence a lot, if she were to be honest.

"....Not really....I just...wanted you to have....your own...family...X..." A cough shook Grian's core, the male turning on his side in pain. During their conversation, Grian had slowly awoken, but hadn't wanted to open his player eyes. It hurt to even move, but as the conversation went on, he felt as though he should truly address what was being talked about. And so, he slowly opened his eyes, before he answered.

"Grian!" Scar exclaimed. He was quick to set aside his drink. He began to move to get out of bed, but X put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He could see that Scar was going to attempt to throw himself between the beds, suspended between both of them, then pull himself up onto their friend's bed. He knew how much Scar wanted to be right there to help support Grian, but that was a very risky move for the already injured man. Once X had stilled the Disabled man, he turned to the blonde. It was only then that his words actually struck him.

"My... own family?" He repeated, his eyes opening wider. He was never not taken off guard by Xelqua's kindness. "You really...?" he asked. Grian, despite hurting, managed a wheezed chuckle at Scar. "I'm sure...there will be plenty....of hugs later...friend..." His eyes spoke with fondness towards the man he called friend. Grian tried to sit up on the bed, but a wrong move made his wing fold and he cried in pain. Cleo was quick to help him lay back down, tone chidding. As if Grian was her younger brother and not some powerful god that could kill her if he wanted to.

"Careful! They're barely starting to heal. What were you thinking trying to get up!? You'll hurt yourself even more!"

"...Sorry..." The blonde sheepishly answered, resting his head back on the pillow. Cleo nodded before leaving to get another cup of tea for him. Void knows the male needs it. Grian watched her leave, before looking at Xisuma, his eyes flashed purple and it took a moment to answer him.

"...You remember the time you and...Evil X where chased by your own kind?...Because twins were taboo?..." Grian began, coughing whenever he needed to take a breath in. "...Do you remember falling down a ravine....from the end...wishing for someone...something..." Grian wheezed, holding his chest as a terrible cough interrupted his story. X wanted to hear what Grian had to say, and as his Aldebaran he hung onto every word as if they were a stack – no, sixty four stacks of diamond blocks. At the same time though, he was an admin, in charge of his friend's health.

"Careful!" He cried. As much as it pained him to wait, it was much more painful for Grian to tell this story. "You can tell me later if you need to..."

"And he will, if he knows what's good for him." Doc appeared at the door, cup of tea in hand, potions on the other. Most likely Cleo had informed the others and Doc, as resident doctor, had come to check on him. Grian lightly gave a giggle, accepting the steaming cup gingerly, though before Doc could let go, he felt Grian's hanging slip and decided to hand it to Xisuma. "Here, he'll help you.. By the way, how are you feeling?" The doctor couldn't help but ask, memories still fresh in his mind. Was he weary, no. He knew their friend had no affiliation with those beings anymore than he had too, but he was scared for the safety of his family. It was safe to say that Doc cared for everyone, a lot. Including pesky bird people who fight gods.

"Mhm," Grian hummed from the sip offered to him. Doc was right, he was weak. "Like I got hit by...my traveling train...everything hurts....and I feel broken bones.."

"Understandable," Doc nodded along, before his red eye glowed. "Grian, you almost perma-died. It was a miracle we could save you just in time. Every spot in your body was bleeding and your wings." Doc told him, before throwing him a splash potion of weakness. Grian's eyes suddenly fell drowsy. Doc cheated. "Regardless, rest. I'm sure you'll feel better for when you awake again." And threw another regen potion before seeing the winged man go out.

The next time Grian awoke, he was back in the room, but Scar was nowhere to be seen, huh, they must have taken him for a walk to calm his ever growing energy. Who was there though, was the same man he decided to save.

"Hey X..you haven't rest?..." Confusion rsad his features. The admin only chuckled tiredly.

"You can sleep in a chair, you know." he assured. A bit more seriously, he answered, "How could I? You know I'll always wait for you..." How many days in and out did he sit, doing nothing but waiting for a sign, a response? This was nothing new to him, and the fact that he had his family coming in and out made the time go by faster. "So don't worry about me. How are you feeling, G?" He didn't want to make this about himself. At that, Grian's face softened. He knew how much his first truly meant that, which is why he smiled.

"I'm pretty sure...the potion Doc threw me..was a cocktail, because it doesn't hurt as much as it should..." Grian chuckled, wincing slightly. A bit of silence grew between them, before Grian spoke again. "...I saw you...that day...I randomly heard outbursts from one of the priztine watching rooms. I usually never engaged in those viewings....Watchers could be cruel with their forms or entertainment. But something....I knew I had to watch...I heard your prayer...while others laughed, I felt it. A connection...it was as if I was watching myself...but unlike me who had none, I could do something...so I did...I placed those blocks of snow to shield your fall, before your code erased, and sent you a path...I left my name, so you knew...you weren't alone...I didn't think...you'd look up everything on me though..."

"And how couldn't I?" Xisuma asked, his eyes shining with such admiration, a sad backing to it. "I– I needed to repay you for saving me." He hadn't remembered what he had prayed internally or externally at that time years ago, but he had remembered that he had made a promise to whoever would dare save him – that he would do anything for them, that he would never forget their deed. "How could I just.. Forget you?" he asked. One thing could be said about him; that he was loyal. Loyal to his god. Loyal to his family. Such an unwavering loyalty that if he knew it would burn him, it still wouldn't waver.

"You didn't need to..." Grian chuckled, reminiscing old memories. "Did you have any idea how scared I was when I heard your voice, and the offerings you burned, appearing in my room? The other's rejoiced though, told me I had finally become one, a true watcher. But I hadn't want to. I hadn't want the power that came with having followers and worshippers. The manipulation you can give them. But you, I could never ignore you, even now, as Grian...I still was there, Xisuma." Grian furrowed his brow, remembering Xisuma saying he abandoned him. "Back in Season 6, when you prayed for the war to end, because you didn't want your family to grow apart, I changed it to Capture the flag. I was there when you needed help, through text or appearing before you..but you...stopped offering...and all I could do was watch.." His words made Xisuma immediately begin to feel bad.

"I failed you..." X whispered, feeling the sinking feeling in his chest. All this time, he had thought that Xelqua had turned his back on him. The betrayal had stung, it had hurt. It made him bawl his eyes out, it made him throw his helmet across the room. Really, he had been selfish. He had been impatient. Blind, even. Stupid. "I– I'm so sorry..." he whispered, putting his head in his hands.

Grian immediately pulled forward, taking his first in a hold. As gentle as possible, his wings engulfed the two and the blonde was quick to shh, Xisuma's worries.

"No, X, that' not what I had meant, bollocks." Grian chastized himself. "What I meant was, everyone's faith wavers, and yours did as well. It was perfectly normal, I didn't want you think I abandoned you, but I couldn't show you, it felt to personal, too raw, too...I was trying to erase that life, but I never could with you..I did my best though, with who I was trying to be..A normal ex-admin, in a new home. I was serious though, when I appeared before you that day you cried out, not knowing if you could be a great admin. I gave you one wish. A family. You who had lost all, I wanted you to find your own." Grian smiled as he pulled away, ignoring his pain to comfort not only his first, but his admin too. Tears ran freely down the man's face, even though he didn't permit them to. His body shook, and he couldn't identify his feelings anymore. Relief? Sadness? He didn't know anymore. He went to wipe his eyes, not wanting to be any more of a bother for Grian.

"T-Thank you..." Was what he had managed to say. Grian giggled, sitting on the bed. Bandaged legs dangled over the bed, and he smiled.

"Just remember, when we land on Season 9, I want my shrine back." He took a sip from Xisuma's drink, smirking at the man. "Make it beautiful, like all those times ago, also, no more fish please. It takes forever for the smell to leave." He laughed, coughing when he threw his head back too hard. Right, still injured. "How about something else instead?"

Xisuma couldn't help but laugh as he really did wipe his tears away for good. "That's all I had to eat back then..." He explained, as if Grian didn't know that fishing farms had been the most efficient way to get food back then. He offered a small, saddened smile. "I'll get you something different. Anything you like. Promise."

"I'm looking forward to it, Ex-Eye-Suma ve-oid." Grian grinned, body content, that although he had been made to show his true self, or as true as one made him seem, his family didn't shied away, but instead, protected him even more. Now the question still remained, how would he tell the others and how will this new world fare for him. He had killed two watchers, and he was sure they would not forgive him, but he cared not, for he was Xelqua, and Grian. Two sides of the same coin. Who would kill again, if it meant keeping what he held dear, safe.