Pearl opened her eyes just to be met with the exact same ceiling she saw when she passed out.

Her clothes, hair and body were drenched in her own blood, but it had slowly began to dry.

She shifted to a sitting position, slowly recalling what had happened. She passed out from magic exhaustion, probably.

Pearl stood up and awkwardly stepped out of the pool of blood she's been chilling in for who knows how long.

Come to think about it, she had no idea how much time had passed. She was honestly mostly surprised over the fact that the apparent 'Master' didn't come back for her, but she definitely wasn't going to complain.

A few careful steps later the exhausted feeling hit her once again, but not nearly as strong as before. She decided to brush it off and carry on.

Her mind wandered off and Pearl remembered how there had been something about intruders. She felt sick to her stomach once she realised that those intruders probably were the other hermits that had gone to the Facility.

What had happened to them? Were they found? Are they hurt? Are they...?

Pearl decided to cut it off there and think more positively. It could've been someone else, or maybe they managed to flee the Facility.

Her hope didn't last for very long though, as she soon recalled the words Xisuma had told her while he specifically instructed her to not follow them to the Facility.

"We need your help to get there and back."

Yeah, Pearl most definitely needed to find them right this instant.

She quickly began to retrace her steps to where the portal had left them, hoping to find any kind of clues as to where they went. She knew that they had gone to the archives, but she had no idea where that was.

When she reached the place they had been left at by the portal, Pearl swore to herself quietly when she saw that the portal was gone. Summoning it again, especially if she was in a rush, was on the brink of impossible.

She told herself to stay determined and headed in the direction the other had gone in, but soon she came to a halt. A tap on her shoulder made her spin around. A person with short indigo hair and brown eyes stood in front of her.

"Why are you covered in blood?" they asked suspiciously.

That was a very understandable thing to ask.

"I accidentally hurt myself," Pearl lied, hoping that she wouldn't be seen through.

"I don't believe you, but fine," the person said. "I'm afraid I'll have to turn you in to Master."

"Not happening," Pearl disagreed. "I've already spoken to him, so it'd only be a waste of time."

Their eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I still have to do it, y'know. There have been rumours about said intruders."

"They've already been dealt with," Pearl assured them, for some reason feeling more and more confident. She didn't even sound like she was lying anymore.

"I don't know what you're hiding, but I suppose I'll let you pass," they sighed.

Pearl wanted to ask them where the archive was, but that would make her look even more suspicious so she decided not to.

She walked past the person, proud about how she handled the encounter. However, she still faced one problem: she still needed to find the archive.

That would soon be proven to not be very hard though. Pearl couldn't believe her luck when two people rushed past her, one shouting about hurrying to the archive. The person who was shouting proceeded to encourage everyone to follow them there, as it was an emergency.

This made it extremely easy for Pearl to get there without looking suspicious. Nobody questioned her as she followed the small crowd that slowly got bigger, and before she knew it she had arrived.

Unfortunately, she couldn't see nor hear what was going on since basically half of the people in the Facility was there. There was no way that she'd manage to push herself through the enormous crowd that consisted of more than a hundred thousand people.

People were excitedly chatting about what was going on, and Pearl heard some saying that this was the end of the longest-running experiment and that it could get them out. This sent a shiver down her spine. If all of them got out, it would cause havoc. But the thing that scared her the most was 'the longest-running experiment'. Hermitcraft had been running for almost a decade... Could it be...?

Pearl dismissed that thought. It was probably something else. Hermitcraft was one of the most well-known SMP's, especially known for it's variety and friendliness, there was no way something that dark was going on in the background.

"Pearl?" a voice suddenly called out. Pearl flinched and frantically looked around, trying to find whoever said her name.

"Here, I'm behind you," the person said helpfully, and now she felt like she recognised it. She had definitely heard that voice before.

She turned around to see a hooded figure. Their face was completely covered and she had no idea who the person was.

"What did you get banned for?" the person asked. "Back when I knew you, you were most definitely not a troublemaker."

"Oh I... Started using cheats to gain building materials quickly." It was a quick lie that she came up with, but she hoped that the mystery person would buy it.

"You've always been all about the building," they chuckled. "You're very talented too."

"Thank you, uh..." she trailed off. She didn't know who the hooded person was, and she felt like it was rude to ask for their name.

Pearl realised that the area was much less crowded now. Most people was heading off in different directions, probably because they were ordered to do so. She managed to catch a glimpse of one of the hermits, but she couldn't tell who. The hermit seemed to be handcuffed though, and escorted away.

"The drama is over, you can leave now!" she heard somebody shout repeatedly. She was just weighing over her options, when she saw Gem. She had a big cut on her right arm that still was bleeding, and was being harshly pushed by a player. Behind Gem she spotted Hypno in a similar state.

Anger rushed through her veins. It wasn't fair, the way they treated her friends. Sure, they were intruders, but some respect would be nice?

Suddenly, Gem looked her way. Her eyes were filled with tears, and they widened as she met Pearl's eyes. Unfortunately, the player also looked her way and saw her too. Pearl was caught.

Players started heading her direction, and she wondered if she should make a run for it. But she hesitated for too long, as she shortly after was surrounded.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't PearlescentMoon," one of the players said. She had a mask covering the bottom of her face, blonde hair and light brown eyes. "I'm Ayoea, and I am here to greet you."

"Let my friends go!" she shouted, knowing very well that her cover was blown anyway.

"But that would be no fun, wouldn't it?" Ayoea chuckled. "Besides, what I have in store for you is nowhere as cruel as what Generikb did to me and my sister."

"Generikb?" Pearl repeated. "That's not fair, he's not even a part of Hermitcraft anymore!"

"I know, but Xisuma knew what he was doing. And he didn't stop him," Ayoea sighed. "That's why you all need to pay."

"I tried, but-" Xisuma tried to finish his sentence, but was silenced by Ayoea who delivered another slash on his arm.

"What did we even do you?" Pearl asked. She knew that this was hopeless. She attempted to use her powers, but they were... Gone?

"You don't understand, do you?" Ayoea said and shook your head. "In the long run, Hermitcraft was just an experiment. You just so happened to be the last piece of it, hence the powers I granted you. We have collected all the information we need, and we're breaking out of this place. We're breaking Minecraft. It'll be justice for those who weren't be able to make it."

Pearl stood speechless. Was this the end? There had to be some way out, surely...

"Anyway," Ayoea continued. "I have something to tell you. Remember when you killed all the hermits and travelled back in time to redeem yourself?"

She froze. No... Why did she trust that mystery person? Why didn't she even question it? Hopelessness could really make one desperate...

"You never actually traveled back in time, just to an alternate universe. You don't belong in this universe, and it's time for you to go home," Ayoea declared. She approached Pearl, and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry about this, but I couldn't help what happend in your universe. At least we can finally be free in this one."

And with that, Pearl's vision faded to black.

---

I know, this was super rushed and so many things was random and left unexplained but I just wanna mark the complete button

Still have an epilogue to write though-

Adventure awaits!
- Amethyst