The Hermits stood, staring into the cell in disbelief. None were really sure what to do, but each of them begged silently for Grian to still be alive. Sam was giggling maniacally in the corner as Grian's limp body lay, barely moving in the dim light.
The invisibility spell had worn off in the time that they'd been staring, unsure what to make of the situation.

After processing and realising what Sam had done, Doc began to get angry. Very angry.

"YOU! YOU BASTARD! WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU?! WE HAVE SHOWN YOU NOTHING BUT KINDNESS AND YET YOU HAVE DECEIVED, MANIPULATED AND HURT US! WHY?! W-Why..." Doc grabbed the bars of the cell in anger, his whole body being overcome with rage.

Ren placed a hand on his shoulder, sighing before a furious expression appeared on his face.
"Yeah! What the hell, man? I thought being put in prison for the rest of eternity would be enough." Ren continued.

"Guys, he's gone insane. I'm not even sure if he's human anymore." Xisuma pointed out, getting closer to the cell.

Suddenly, Scar pulled out his netherite sword and violently slashed the bars. His eyes were cold, almost emotionless. Mumbo saw what Scar was attempting to do, and also pulled out his sword. They were both desperate to get him out. The other Hermits were in slight shock. They had never seen either of the men so angry or frustrated. They usually kept a level head or at least resorted to less violence.
Doc had enough of Sam's tactics and used his strength to help the other two, barging his shoulder into the cell. The bars suddenly crashed down with a large amount of dust and debris from being torn out of the wall. A cloud of smoke puffed up into their faces from the destruction, however it quickly cleared and allowed them through.

All hermits rushed to the body on the ground, ignoring the man in the corner. They all crouched around Grian, crowding in a protective circle around the Avian.

"Grian? Please, G. Wake up!" Scar shouted, shaking the body covered in blood. Despite his sweater being red, the vivid crimson of his blood still showed. His wings were bloodied and the few areas that weren't were dirty or completely torn out.

Xanthe, who had been stood to the side while all of this was happening sat beside Grian, feeling for his friend's pulse in his wrists. He frowned after seeing the various arm injuries that Grian had gotten from Sam over the years. Scars littered his arms, however the majority were covered up by blood anyway. Xanthe could never imagine in his wildest dreams what Sam had done to the poor man.
"Do you feel anything?" Xisuma asked, referring to his pulse, a genuinely terrifying dread forming in the pit of his stomach

A silence was cast over the group, even Sam seeking to stop laughing from the corner. The tension ran thick through the air and could be cut with a knife.
Xanthe removed his hands from Grian's wrist and placed two fingers to his neck. The others saw this as a bad sign and began to worry.
Xanthe smiled faintly, hope returning to the Hermits.

"It's very very faint. But he's alive!" Xanthe grinned, a few tears of joy forming in his eyes.

Mumbo couldn't help but cry a little too. The amount of times he and Grian had been separated was beyond countable and hearing that his friend was alive really broke him.

"Come on! Let's get out of here before Sam goes back to normal." Ren suggested, glaring at the man who had proceeded with his giggling.

Xisuma picked Grian up from the floor, everyone else standing up too after crouching beside his body for so long.

Xanthe nodded, pulling out his spell book and chalk. He drew a perfect circle around all members of the group before adding a couple symbols like stars or moons of various shapes and sizes. The Hermits didn't really know how it worked but they supposed it was important anyway. A blinding light engulfed them all, causing them to wince or close their eyes. And when they opened them again, they were in the middle of Boatem, where the rest of the Hermits paced around worriedly.

As soon as she saw the state of Grian, Pearl had immediately dropped her previous conversation to go and grab Grian from Xisuma's arms.

"H-he's alive, right?" Her voice shook as she observed the state of her friend.

"Of course. We'll have to go and heal him for a while, and with the state of his wings, he'd probably be in bed for the next week." Xanthe explained with a pitiful smile.

"We'll get our best medicine team to help him, alright?" Xisuma reassured Pearl with a slight smile.

It was so odd for them to be all together again. They had been constantly running from threats or trying to get someone back that they'd not had time to sit back and relax. In fact, a few Hermits back at the camp had been forgetting to take care of themselves due to the worry or doubt that the group would get home safe.

But finally, after a long adventure and a lot of near death experiences, they were finally safe and secure in the lands that they called home.