He paced in the damp cave, his footsteps echoing through the deep cavern, no one knowing he rested below the hermits, plotting his next attack, his next move. He sat down on a cold rock, tapping his hand against his leg in an inpatient manner, unable to think straight. He wanted revenge, didn't he? He was the outcast, the one who they all hated, so why didn't he want to hurt them?

He just wanted to be apart of the hermits.

But that would never happen.

He let out a shout in rage, taking off his helmet and throwing it across the cavern, watching as the red visor shattered into pieces. He could care less. He wanted revenge on his brother, he wanted his sibling gone, he wanted all of them gone. But he never got the chance, with so many hermits, and so little knowledge of the world, how could he beat them?

He let out a lonely sigh, pulling his knees to his chest. They treated him like a monster, so why bother being anything other than what they see? He glanced at the worn out leather satchel which he carried around, holding all sorts of items. Food, empty potion bottles, netherwart and water, necessities for him. But there was one thing. One thing that he couldn't get rid of, no matter how much he wanted to.

He gently reached over towards his bag, taking the satchel in his gloved hands, running his fingers over the torn leather and messy stitching. He made it himself, mainly to carry food and water, but it held another item, a relic of the past.

He gently opened the bag, carefully rustling through the items and rotting food, the malnourished man craving better meals than rotting flesh and poisonous potatoes, but he ignored the smell of decaying food, pulling out a book, the cover worn out and mangled.

He smiled, a true smile, not one of malicious intent. He opened to the first page, pulling out a crumpled paper that had a drawing of him and his brother, a gift from his beloved brothers when he was younger.

They would flip through the pages before the two went to sleep, smiling in awe at all of the happy fairytales. Colorful pages of the past now lay, coated in dust, the normally vibrant colors now dry and empty, loosing their magic that they held so long ago.

His favorite fairytale was the wizard of Oz. Not because of the story or the colorful pictures, no, it was his brother's favorite. He loved his sibling, he cared for his sibling with all his heart.

So what changed?

When his brother left him behind?

When his brother called him evil?

When his brother's friends called him an outcast?

Does he even have a name?

He's only known as 'Evil Xisuma'. He doesn't have a name anymore. He doesn't have an identity anymore.

He threw the book across the room in spite, anger and hatred bubbling through his chest. If they all saw him as an evil person, why bother trying to reason with them? He was going to destroy hermitcraft and those who wronged him, one way or another.

And he had an idea how.

He stood up, moving swiftly through the cave and grabbing the book, flipping through the dirtied pages. He began to rip the pages out, ripping out story after story.

Alice in wonderland.

Beauty and the beast.

Billy goats gruff.

Little red riding hood.

Rapunzel.

The little mermaid.

Sleeping beauty.

He stopped at The Wizard of Oz. He gently felt the pages, looking at the worn-out ink, which seemed to have faded over time. All the times that he and his brother had seen the story, he must have memorized it as a child.

Now it was unfamiliar to him.

He ripped out the pages without another thought.

—

Grian had to try and think straight.

Two of his friends didn't seem to remember him.

And they were both mermen. They were half. Fish. They had gills! And a tail! But how? And why wouldn't they remember Grian? The small builder was more than confused, absolutely no idea on what was happening anymore. If those two didn't remember Grian, then maybe no one else did.

"Where is that little brat...?" Ex's gruff voice called, Grian quickly stumbling to his feet, glancing around for a place to hide. He was sitting by the shore of Tango's base, the tropical waters crystal clear, Grian able to spot Wels's golden tail through the water. He was hiding in a coral reef, and since he seemed to be interested in Grian, maybe he could help the small hermit.

Grian dove into the water, hoping that wherever Ex was, he didn't see Grian. The small hermit held his breath under the salty water, his eyes burning as Grian swam through the ocean, spotting Wels tail easily, it seemed to glow in the sunlight that shone atop the water's surface.

He grabbed Wels's tail, softly tugging it to alert the merman, the prince quickly turning around, his face instantly turning to a smile when he spotted Grian.

"You're the human I saved!" Wels said happily, swimming around Grian and inspecting him, especially interested in the small builder's legs, and lack of gills. Grian pointed to his mouth, trying to tell Wels that he couldn't breath under the water for much longer. Wels nodded in understanding, grabbing Grian's wrist and pulling him towards a shipwreck, Wels moving with incredible speed.

He took Grian into the shipwreck, which was filled to the brim with all sorts of treasures, diamond enchanted tools, potions, blocks, mob heads, all sorts of random junk which made Wels swoon. The merman grabbed a glowing blue potion, handing it to Grian with a smile, the small builder instantly downing the potion of water breathing and gasping for breath.

"I have so many questions for you, human!" Wels said with excitement, eagerly swimming around Grian as if he was a whirlpool, moving with great speed.

"Well that's great, but I have a couple of questions for you too.." Grian said, watching as Wels stopped swimming, his smile filled with glee.

"Really? A human asking me questions! That's so cool!" He said with glee, Wels's tail moving through the water rather quickly, his tail creating small bubbles as he did so.

"How long have you been a merman?" Grian asked, hoping Wels would remember something, anything, the builder frowning when Wels shrugged his shoulders, his smile still incredibly wide.

"I dunno. My whole life I gues-"

"Prince Wels!" TFC called, swimming through the waters and into the shipwreck, the prince sheepishly smiling at his guardian, Tin letting out an exasperated sigh, grabbing the prince's wrist and pulling him away from Grian.

"You humans are nothing but trouble, stay away from the prince!" Tin said with a growl, the prince mouthing 'sorry' at Grian, before he was pulled away into the deeper parts of the ocean, disappearing with the seaweed and kelp.

Grian would have to worry about them later, he couldn't stay under the water forever.

He needed to find Mumbo and Iskall, he had to hope that they were okay.

Grian didn't know what he would do if they weren't.