Word count: 1136 Impressive for me, now you guys have no reason to keel me :)

Ahh. The smell of fresh air was a breeze compared to the nether. 

"whoosh portal sounds"

They spawned on an island. Carrying an injured Mumbo, they quickly gathered resources to make shelter and last the night. Etho found a shipwreck nearby the island, just off the east coast of camp. He quickly informed the others that he was going to the shipwreck to find some loot.

Etho dived down into the cool and cold ocean. He found some iron ingots and nuggets with a couple of lapis. Right before surfacing back to the island, he spotted a chest that he hadn't opened. Out of curiosity, he went back down and grabbed the loot in the chest. It was some paper and maps, but what made Etho keen the most was a buried treasure map.

The treasure was surprisingly close. In fact, it was directly under the island that they were gonna set camp. Etho quickly asked in chat if anyone could assist him with digging up the sand. Impulse volunteered and met up with Etho. With a shovel that lost some durability, they found the treasure. It was amazing. many iron and gold ingots, but most importantly, diamonds.

X decided to hold a meeting at camp, to discuss what to do next.

" Alright as you know, Astra is currently in the process of corrupting the server. We need a plan to stop it. Any ideas?" asked X.

"Maybe we can find an abandoned battleship like at our old camp," suggested Impulse.

It was a really good idea, so they split up trying to find an abandoned battleship. *Fires a firework to the sky signaling that they were nearby* 

"That firework sure look pretty, but the people near the launch didn't seem too friendly" Grian joked.

It was the Astra patroling group. With Mumbo still severely injured, there won't be any miniguns to help the other hermits. 

"Oh wait! if there's a patrolling group here, there must be a battleship somewhere nearby!"

It didn't take long for them to start attacking. Another fight had broken out. This time with the hermits being outnumbered, they had to think of a plan while holding them off. 

"Somebody sneak in the battleship and fire missiles at them." Yelled X while battling an Astra.

Impulse and Grian went to find the battleship. The battleships were really big so it was probably going to be an easy task. 

Astra 098 was killed by Xisumavoid

Astra 870 was killed by GoodtimeswithScar

It seemed that they can hold off the Astras. While checking the chat, Grian accidentally bumped into something hard. There it was, the battleship. It was bigger than the rest, which probably meant that a larger group of Astras was sent to kill the hermits. Impulse quickly took control of steering and flying the battleship, while Grian was shakily holding up the missiles launcher as he had never done this before.

Impulse quickly flew above the camp and Grian aimed for the Astras. The explosion was a bit bigger, but it didn't matter. They killed the seemingly large group of Astras. 

Astra 205 was exploded by a missile

Astra 204 was exploded by a missile

Astra 203 was exploded by a missile

Astra 202 was exploded by a missile

Astra 201was exploded by a missile

Astra 200 was exploded by a missile

The hermits near the explosion only got some minor burns and scratches. None of them got hit by the guns which were relieving.  A couple of Guns were dropped. Damaged, but operational. They tested it out on different blocks, that way when they get to the mothership, they had something to take cover from.

After much testing later, the hermits learned that obsidian was the only block that the bullet couldn't phase through. All of them started gathering obsidian to take cover. Mumbo was nearly fully recovered. Impulse and Mumbo knew alchemy pretty well, so they made some potions of strength, resistance, and regeneration. 

It was getting dark, and the hermits went to bed. They have not slept ever since the corruption started. Looking up at the red, bloody sky, reminded them of iskall red robotic eye and his red suit. They still went to bed, considering that they haven't slept for over a day.

The next morning, they woke up and checked chat.

Perma-death has been turned off

They were shocked. At least they didn't need to worry about death as much as they used to. Celebrating before even checking chat again. X noticed that Etho wasn't here celebrating. X checked Etho's tent and he was gone. He didn't even leave a note about him leaving. Just gone. Suddenly, their communicator started ringing. A lot. They checked chat and...

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Iskall... is spawn-killing Etho. with, a named sword.

Shift POV: Etho last night.

Etho was annoyed. He kept hearing annoying buzz sounds. has he gone crazy? With the curiosity he had, he went to check it out, without even thinking that it could've been the Astras. He was wandering around the forest when- 

*gets shot from tranquil arrow*

It became dark. Right before he passed out, he saw the red-suited man, with a grin, and blacked out. He woke up the next morning finding himself chained to the wall. In what looks like a lab.

"Good morning, Etho..." said Iskall with a disturbing voice.

" Wha-what are you doing?! Why am I here?" Etho shouted.

"I only need to do a couple of experiments, the first being torture." Iskall voice only got more disoriented. "now, if you won't mind, I'll quickly explain the consequences of not following my rules of mine. If you don't obey me, I'll perma-kill you. so be a good boy. set your spawn on this bed."

Etho nervously set his spawn. 

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Ethoslab was killed by Iskall85 using [ Hatred and anger to Hermitcraft ]

Hey guys! The writer here. I promise it would be a good ending. Just bear with me. Even tho it's filled with bad stuff right now, it would eventually become a happy and good ending.