TW: Trauma, Flashbacks

Six days had passed since he'd come to Hermitcraft. He spent the time building, and causing general mischief. He'd already started some chaos, abusing Mumbo's "Peace love and plants.", planting tons of trees around mumbo's base.

But it was time to check in with the watchers tonight, and he needed to tell them about the admin sensing him using his magic ... What if the hermits knew... Would they show mercy, let him go? Or would they capture him, hurt him, and Ark and Kanvi would be forced to kill them... 

With a shiver, he waved goodbye to Mumbo, and went to his starter house to sleep.

Once again he was in the white room, yet this time, he saw Kanvi, looking at him

"Xel!" She smiled. "Ark was busy this time - and they apologize -, but I'm here to get your report."

"Okay. The only thing to report about the server is last time I contacted you, apparently there was a spike of watcher magic..."

"The admin must be stronger than we thought to pick that up.. That doesn't sound right though- A spike of it, or at least enough to let everyone know... Hm... Well, we'll contact you only once a month, to decrease the risk. If you channel your magic in meditation you can reach us. Imagine using your magic to make tether to me, and pull it. I'll come."

"Okay... I've also nearly blown my cover... Pearlecentmoon, from Evo, is here. She doesn't know... but she thinks you guys kidnapped me, and Doc's still super paranoid about me. And... I... er- nearly had an episode, and X and Mumbo saw it..."

"Oh Xel... Is this too much for you? If you need to come home..."

"No! I need to do this... And... It feels... safer here... I don't know."

"Okay. Just know if you need to come home-"

"I don't. But there's something I need to talk to you about...."

All of a sudden dark purple tendrils curled around him in the white room, reaching for his neck.

"Kanvi-!" He yelled as Kanvi's form was flickering as the purple reached for her too.

"X- X- Xel? I- Can't see you any m-" All of a sudden Kanvi was silent, and before the tendrils grasped him, he saw her vanish.

"Kanvi..? KANVI-? ARK?" He gasped. The mindspace was clearly affected by watcher magic... He needed his mask to use his magic to fight back- He tried to access the extra dimensional space his inventory held, but mindspace seemed to be blocking it.

"Liar." A voice called out in Galactic.

"What-?"

"You lie to your new friends Xelqua, you use a false name, pretend to be something your not, and spy on them."

"What do you mean- I'm only trying to protect them!"

"Keep lying then. Lie to them, lie to yourself, it's not that different." The voice said mockingly.

"I'm not a liar!"

"No, you're not just a liar, you're a traitor to your friends. Are you sure you won't end up like sam?"

"S- sam..." He couldn't help but shiver when hearing... THAT name... "I'm... not like him..."

"Not yet, you're not. What if your friends find out and you need to choose between them? What if they capture Ark and Kanvi? Who would you save? Friends or family?"

"That'd never happen... Ark is too powerful to be captured, and they'd never let Kanvi be touched by the players-"

"Everything is possible, just remember how kind and caring Sam was..." The purple infecting his headspace, which had been steadily increasing, stretched out and covered his eyes, memories flashed by in his head.

The three of them were laughing over a prank they had played on a teacher.

Them helping him through a hard day.

Them saving him when he had just arrived in the country...

All the memories blurred as darker ones came through...

Sam forcing him to wear Taurtis' clothes...

Sam punishing him with the knife...

Sam making him fight people...

Watchers sending him to Evo...

Evo being destroyed because of him...

Taurtis's dead body, headphones destroyed...

Him trying to run to Taurtis...

Ark and Kanvi grabbing him and teleporting him away from the rubble...

"You think you can hide from your past? You thought Pearl was dead... She showed up... Sure, your "parents" assured you he's gone but... do you truly believe them? Sam's going to find you on this server too. You're going to destroy it. It's all going to be your fault." The voice spoke.

No... no... no... Xelqua's mind raced. He was going to get caught, he was going to find him, the server was going to get destroyed, it was all going to be his fault, his fault...

He began to simply... Shut down, his fears and anxieties riding a worn track in his mind.

"Wake up little Watchling. We are waiting for you." The voice spoke, chuckling.

The purple retreated, waking him up.

Mumbo was concerned. He'd knocked on Grian's door, but he hadn't replied... It wasn't like the builder to sleep in, or to not answer his door. He shot X a message on the communicator.

<MumboJumbo> Hey X, not sure if I should be panicking, but... Grian isn't answering his door...

<XisumaVoid> Hm, Alright, I'll come over

Mumbo sighed, knocking again. "Grian, I'm worried... Please, please, come out?"

His pleas were futile though. Grian did not respond...

A few minutes later, X ran up.

"Oh thank goodness- I've tried everything I can think of..." Mumbo said

"I'm not going to lie to you, Mumbo, I'm a bit worried about him myself... Something's going on with him... He's not as happy-go-lucky as he first appears." X replied

"Like the scars?" Mumbo asked.

"Yes... But I'm concerned about him right now... We might need to just open his door... It's not preferable but it's all I can think of..."

The two walked up to Grian's door, knocking on it one more time, before opening it. They opened it to find him huddled into a ball on his bed, mumbling to himself, his expression near-panic.

"╎ リᒷᒷ↸ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ∷⚍リ ⍑ᒷ'ᓭ ᓵ 𝙹ᒲ╎リ⊣ ╎'ᒲ リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ᓭᔑ ⎓ᒷ ╎'ᒲ リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ᓭᔑ ⎓ᒷ... リ𝙹 𝙹リᒷ'ᓭ ᓭᔑ ⎓ᒷ ᔑ ∷𝙹⚍リ↸ ᒲᒷ..." Grian was muttering, his small form shivering with terror

"Grian..?" Mumbo asked, but his curled up form was unresponsive

"ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ|| ∴ᒷ∷ᒷ ∴∷𝙹リ⊣ ╎'ᒲ リᒷ⍊ᒷ∷ ᓭᔑ ⎓ᒷ ⍑ᒷ'ᓭ ⊣𝙹╎リ⊣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ⎓╎リ↸ ᒲᒷ..." He seemed to be growing more frantic.

X placed a gentle hand on the shivering form's shoulder, trying to soothe grian, and tapped a message into his communicator.

"⍑ᒷ'ᓭ ᓵ 𝙹ᒲ╎リ⊣ ⍑ᒷ'ᓭ ᓵ 𝙹ᒲ╎リ⊣ ⍑ᒷ'ᓭ ᓵ 𝙹ᒲ╎リ⊣-" Grian began to just repeat what seemed to be a small sentence in the foreign language, and was gasping for breath in between it

"Pearl's coming... Hopefully she'll be able to help... She has more experience with his past..." X told Mumbo, who was pacing anxiously

"⍑ᒷ'ᓭ ᓵ 𝙹ᒲ╎リ⊣ ⍑ᒷ'ᓭ ᓵ 𝙹ᒲ╎リ⊣..."

Pearl landed in front of the house, her elytra folding neatly onto her back. She knocked on Grian's door, and X opened it for her.

"Thank you for coming over... You have more experience with his past than us- We were hoping you could help..."

She turned to look over at the huddled form of Grian, shivering and curled into a ball.

"... That's galactic." Pearl shivered.

"Huh? Why's that so bad?" Mumbo asked.

"That's the language watchers use..." Pearl looked at grian with concern.

"Hey... Admins use it too... sometimes..." X replied. "It's not only watchers-..."

"Admins only know it so that the watchers won't have a leg up."

"How do you know so much?"

"Grian told me a bit of it, the rest I picked up from the Hub. He was an admin, you know... He ran the Evo server. But... That's a watcher's accent..."

"Huh..." X stored this information into his mind. Now wasn't the time to ponder this... But why hadn't Grian said he was an admin? And why did he speak 'the way watchers do' according to Pearl? No, now wasn't the time. "What's he saying..."

"Let me listen- It can be hard to understand... especially when there's a racket."

Mumbo and X fell quiet, allowing Pearl to listen.

"╎ ⍑ᔑ ⍊ᒷ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ∷⚍リ ╎ ⍑ᔑ ⍊ᒷ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ∷⚍リ ⍑ᒷ'ᓭ ᓵ 𝙹ᒲ╎リ⊣!_!⍑ᒷ'ᓭ ᓵ 𝙹ᒲ╎リ⊣!"

"He said... I have to run, I have to run, He's coming... He's coming..." She translated.

"Grian... whoever you're afraid of, we can protect you." X tried to reassure Grian, but once again got no response but more muttering and shivering.

"Let me try something..." Pearl began to speak Galactic, and X could tell what she had meant with the difference- Pearl's galactic was more choppy, and unsure, while Grian's, despite his shaking voice, was fluid and smooth.

"ᓭ⍑⍑... ╎ℸ ̣ 'ꖎꖎ ʖᒷ 𝙹ꖌᔑ ||... ⋮⚍ᓭℸ ̣ ʖ∷ᒷᔑ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ." Pearl told him.

"...ꖌᔑ リ⍊╎?_? ꖌᔑ リ⍊╎ ╎ᓭ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᔑ ℸ ̣ ||𝙹⚍?_? ꖌᔑ リ⍊╎,_, ╎'ᒲ ᓭᓵ ᔑ ∷ᒷ↸... ⍑ᒷ'ᓭ ᓵ 𝙹ᒲ╎リ⊣..." He replied, his voice filled with hope all of a sudden, his curled up form relaxing slightly.

"ᓭ⍑⍑⍑... !¡ꖎᒷᔑ ᓭᒷ,_, ʖ∷ᒷᔑ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ⊣∷╎ᔑ リ ||𝙹⚍∷ ᓭᔑ ⎓ᒷ.." Pearl held his shoulder, trying to reassure him.

"⊣... ⊣∷╎ᔑ リ?_? リ𝙹 リ𝙹 リ𝙹 ||𝙹⚍∷ リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ꖌᔑ リ⍊╎!_!||𝙹⚍∷ リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ꖌᔑ リ⍊╎!_!∴⍑ᒷ∷ᒷᓭ ꖌᔑ リ⍊╎!_!∴⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ'ᓭ ᔑ ∷ꖌ!_!∴⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ ᔑ ∷ᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ||!_!╎ ∴ᔑ リℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ⊣𝙹 ʖᔑ ᓵ ꖌ ⍑𝙹ᒲᒷ..." His voice grew more and more frantic, and he raised his head to look at Pearl. "↸╎↸ ||𝙹⚍ ℸ ̣ ᔑ ꖌᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷᒲ?_? ↸╎↸ ||𝙹⚍ ⍑⚍∷ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷᒲ?_? ╎ ∴𝙹リ'ℸ ̣ ꖎᒷℸ ̣ !¡ᒷ𝙹!¡ꖎᒷ ⊣ᒷℸ ̣ ⍑⚍∷ℸ ̣ ʖᒷᓵ ᔑ ⚍ᓭᒷ 𝙹⎓ ᒲᒷ ᔑ リ||ᒲ𝙹∷ᒷ!_!⊣╎⍊ᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷᒲ ʖᔑ ᓵ ꖌ 𝙹∷ ᒷꖎᓭᒷ..." His voice grew more desperate

Mumbo and X glanced at each other, Mumbo's eyes full of concern for his friend, and X shifted nervously.

Pearl shifted nervously at the builders words, yet met Grian's eyes, and noticed an unnatural purple shine in his normally blue eyes. "Uh- X..."

"Yes Pearl?" X replied.

"Uh- Take a look at his eyes..."

X met Grian's eyes and bit his lip. "Is that-"

"Yes... Watcher magic..."

"... What do we do?" Mumbo asked.

"I have a sleeping potion in my inventory... I can use it so we can think for a bit." X commented, holding up a glass bottle with a deep grey liquid in it.

"Okay..." Pearl nodded, taking the potion from X. Grian had scrambled away from the three players, and was even more panicked than before. "⊣ᒷℸ ̣ ᔑ ∴ᔑ ||!_!⊣ᒷℸ ̣ ᔑ ∴ᔑ || ⊣ᒷℸ ̣ ᔑ ∴ᔑ || ⊣ᒷℸ ̣ ᔑ ∴ᔑ ||!"

"ᓭ⍑⍑⍑ ⊣∷╎ᔑ リ... ╎'ᒲ ᓭ𝙹 ᓭ𝙹∷∷||,_, ℸ ̣ ⍑╎ᓭ ╎ᓭ ⊣𝙹╎リ⊣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ⍑ᒷꖎ!¡ ||𝙹⚍ 𝙹ꖌᔑ ||?_?" Pearl tried to reassure him, but he didn't buy it.

"⊣𝙹 ᔑ ∴ᔑ || ∷ᒷʖᒷꖎ!" He tried to push back as Pearl tried to pin him.

Unseen by Pearl and Mumbo (Mumbo was currently covering his eyes, not wanting to witness this, and Pearl was currently fighting a surprisingly strong Grian), The builders hands began to glow with purple fire just as Pearl shoved the potion in his mouth. X was about to shout a warning, but it went out in a puff of smoke as he weakened.

Grian's fighting continued to weaken, until the builder slumped over, falling asleep.

A/N

I just again wanted to thank the people reading the updates! Sorry it moves a tad slow at the beginning, but the pace picks up.

WC: 1860 (Sorry, only good point to cut it)

- Xera