Zed winced as his base exploded, and he was flung back. He had known it would happen, but dang, it still hurt.

More explosions went off, and Zed ducked, his health dropping. The roof was shaking, and all his contraptions had been blown to bits. Stones were beginning to crumble around him as he zoomed towards the exit, flying out and watching as the cave threatened to collapse. The explosions stopped, and Zed sighed with relief. It would need repairs, but the cave was still mostly intact.

He hid, and heard Wels yell into thin air.

"You happy now? That enough of a 'show'?"

There was a small crackle, and a tall watcher slipped through a portal gracefully. Immediately, fear coursed through his veins. A second Watcher appeared, slightly shorter and looking a bit nervous.

"You have done well, little player. We shall spare you for now."

Wels just stood for a moment, before beginning to back away uncertainty.

"Go on, leave."

Wels took off, flying into the sky.

Zed listened closely as the two bird creatures talked, their beaks clicking softly.

"Well that was amusing."

The taller one chirruped slightly. The shorter one picked up a charred rock with one taloned foot and inspected it, before tossing it away absentmindedly.

"So what does Sibling Void have planned?"

The taller one sat upon another charred boulder.

"Well, he says that we've almost got Sibling Xelqua back, so we'll soon be beginning the second phase."

The smaller one nodded.

"Once Xelqua is with us, Void will try to convert the admin of this server, but his strength is likely to be minimal, and his loyalty to this server is quite high. If he proves difficult, we'll just kill him and be done with it."

The smaller one had wandered off slightly, and was now fiddling with some of Zed's broken machinery. A piston fired suddenly, and the bird hopped back with a screech of surprise, its wings flaring out.

"Sibling Chorus, behave! Had Sibling Void been here, he would not have tolerated such behaviour."

The taller one glared at Sibling Chorus, and it immediately straightened up.

"So, Sibling Crystal, shall we deal with our eavesdropper?"

Zed tensed, and quickly pondered his options. He sighed, and decided upon a diplomatic approach.

He stood shakily, and winced. Both Watchers were looking directly at his hiding spot, the glowing eye that hung above each of their heads staring as he stood.

"Uh... er- hello, uh Sibling Crystal, Sibling Chorus..."

He stumbled forwards, bowing slightly.

Both creatures chirruped again, birdlike laughter emanating from the pair.

"You are no sibling of ours, little player. It is an understandable mistake, however. Now tell us, why did you do nothing to stop your fellow player's mischief?"

Zed ambled closer, looking up at the faces of the two Watchers before him.

"Well, the damage was minimal, and I also told him that it was okay to prank me..."

The taller one sighed.

"Once again, these players display their vulnerable 'friendships'. We will be rid of them soon."

The tall one began to walk away, forming a portal with a flick of its talons.

"Wait! Please, is... is this "Xelqua" Grian?"

Sibling Chorus looked up at Sibling Crystal, who gave it a nod of approval. It turned to him as the taller one continued to hold open the portal.

"Yes, and I would suggest you watch your back. He shall betray you all."

With that, the watchers exited, closing the portal behind them.

Immediately, the strange aura of fear abated, and Zed let out a breath that he hadn't realised he was holding.

"Zed! Zed, I did whatcha said, got some of the portal stuff! Looks like invisibility is something they can't really thwart!"

He heard footsteps, and a jar seemingly floated towards him, crackles of lightning bouncing around it.

He took it, and False drank some milk, returning to visibility.

"What'd I tell ya? Grian's one of 'em. I... I wonder what we can do with that..."

False stared at the lightning with awe, a gleam in her eyes.

Zed nodded, and stored the container away in his inventory. False looked at the ground, visibly disappointed.

They took off, and Zed absentmindedly checked his communicator, which he had heard buzzing a bit ago.

Iskall? Killed by a Watcher?

He had to talk to Grian.

~ ⬩ !¡ꖎ⚍ᒲᒲᒷℸ ̣, ⬩ ~

"It's crazy... but it might just work. I would be breaking the rules, but so are the Watchers. Fight fire with fire, right?"

Grian nodded.

"We... maybe we should try diplomacy first. Maybe they'll just leave us alone?"

Xisuma shook his head sadly.

"I doubt it."

There was a call from outside.

"Someone's coming!"

The hermits peeked out of the cave curiously, looking about.

Three hermits were fast approaching from the north, and as they drew closer, they could recognize their faces.

Zed in front, firing rockets at a rapid rate. Close behind was False, looking a bit shaken. Last was Tango, anger and fear etched into his face. They landed, and Tango immediately produced a sword. Seeing Grian, he took a step forward.

Grian flinched, eyeing the sharp blade of the sword.

Tango looked at Xisuma.

"X, he's one of them! He told it to kill me! I know it, it was his voice he-"

"I know, Tango."

Tango seemed taken aback, and just stared at the wall blankly for a moment.

"Grian, do you want to tell Tango what really happened?"

Grian sighed, and stood, but didn't approach Tango. Doc and Cleo had also grasped their weapons, but were waiting to see how the situation unfolded.
"I was trying to warn him! I did call for help, I was worried that if you guys found out what I'd been up to, you'd... you'd just... ban me. And... this is my home. I couldn't give that up. That's when I decided that maybe I should use my power for good. Sorry I scared you, Doc. I thought I needed the fear of others to use it, then... look, the point is, I'm not going to be one of them anymore. I'm one of you. I'm Grian. And I'm gonna help get rid of the Watchers."

Tango slowly lowered his sword and slid it into his inventory.

"I.. I get it now... but that hurt man! Why'd they stab me, could have just knocked me out or something..."

Tango chuckled lightly.

Zed stepped up from behind Tango as Cleo and Doc put away their weapons.

"Seems like a big day for reveals, huh? Well, I've found some new information. Xisuma, they want to make you one of them."

The hermits around them gasped, and Xisuma looked at Zed with wide eyes.

"What?"

Zed nodded.

"My theory is that Grian here isn't any ordinary player. According to my research, the Watchers have tried to convert players multiple times with... disappointing results. However, an admin can withstand Watcher power, already possessing server controls. Grian, before hermitcraft, were you the admin of any servers?"

Grian shook his head, and replied softly, "I don't remember..."

Zed shrugged.

"Anyhoo, They say that if they can't convert you, X, they're just gonna... destroy the server. Kill us all, permanently. Not ban, kill. Guys, we're gonna have to fight. There's no other way."
Xisuma nodded. "Well then, I guess it's decided."

The hermits nodded, exchanging glances with one another.

"The plan begins tonight."

...

Could... could your plan be to give me a kudo?
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