Before anyone had a chance to question Grian's announcement, the floor dropped and was replaced with a swirling purple mist. xB's arms were still wrapped around Keralis' waist, and he held him tighter, bracing himself. The shorter boy didn't know how to react so he just clung to the hermit's arm. Shouts of fear and excitement flooded through the mansion as they all vanished through.

The wide-eyed prince stumbled as he tried to regain his balance.

"Welcome, friends! To the Upside-Down Mansion!" Grian exclaimed.

Gasps filtered through the halls as they all admired the giant fireplace behind them.

"You made that?" Doc breathed, gripping Bdubs' hand.

"Ah, it's nothing," he said bashfully.

The hermits all stumbled around for a minute, trying to get used to being upside down.

"Starting to regret that drink now?" Impulse laughed, patting Zed on the back.

The only hermits who didn't have trouble adjusting to the upside-down party were - for obvious reasons - the current residents.

Speaking of Etho, he and Beef had been teleported with the turntable and switched out the record for a more fitting sound. Pigstep poured from the speakers as the hermits began to calm down. Grian flicked a couple of levers, and the sounds of pistons were followed by multiple activities popping up. They ranged from tame games such as bobbing for golden apples and pin the mustache on the Mumbo to hoglin riding and mini building competitions.

"I feel like that mohawk pig is staring at me," Scar muttered, shuddering at the memories of being dropped over and over into the pit.

"Don't worry, we'll stay far away from it," his boyfriend reassured him. He gave him a big hug and led him towards the table of food that followed them all into the nether. "I hear there are beans around here,"

"Are you sure this is safe, Grian?" X asked, looking around nervously. "What if-"

"I promise you everything will be fine. Nothing is going to bother us. And no one for that matter." The vampire queen touched the admin's arm for reassurance.

If only he knew just how wrong he was.

Not too far from the Upside-Down Mansion, two figures in matching dark red demon costumes were sharpening netherite swords, carefully watching the mansion.

"What are we even going to accomplish from this?" Hels grumbled, placing his sword down. "You know very well they can just respawn. Even if we do manage to take a couple of them out, it'll be useless in the end."

"All that matters is they receive our message, our warning. By the time the night is over, they will be scared," Ex explained, their voice calm but with eyes full of anger. Standing up, they admired their sword before sheathing it. They turned to the male and helped him up.

The sound of a crying ghast rang through their ears. A white creature emerged from the edge of the cliff with its back to them.

"Alright, let's do this," Ex said, rolling their shoulders. Turning their face into Hels' hair, they took a deep breath for a boost of energy. After sneaking a quick kiss, they gripped their netherite sword and charged the Ghast, the knight close behind.

Iskall gripped the crimson fence, a wide grin across their face. "C'mon Ren, just a little longer and you'll beat Etho's record!" they encouraged their date.

"Don't be too close or you'll get hit!" Hypno worried. He chuckled as the enby jumped back when the hoglin carried Ren towards them.

"Sorry, I'm just a little ex-" they cut themselves off with their cackle. Their boyfriend was sent flying off and over the fence.

Having seen the whole thing, Etho left the turntables and ran over, dropping next to the hermit. "Tell me you didn't break my record,"

"Thanks for being concerned," Ren teased, sitting up with the help of their partner. "And I believe if you check the timer, you will see a glorious two seconds over your record,"

Etho let out a fake gasp of horror, turning to the timer.

"You sure you're okay?" Jevin worried, touching the back of Wel's head. "That hoglin sent you flying."

"Yes, I promise. It's just a little bruised is all," he insisted, taking his hand so he could kiss it.

"Are you positive? I could get you some beans to make you feel better!" he offered with a wide grin.

"Maybe, beans do make everything better, after all!" Wels laughed.

Jevin opened his mouth to add on, but then a ghast scream could be heard from outside. The two looked in the direction in time to see part of the wall explode, debris falling around them. The knight dressed as a pirate swiftly wrapped his arms around his jelly boyfriend and ducked for cover.

"EXCUSE ME?" Grian and Bdubs screeched in unison.

"I swear, the number of times I've had to fix these walls!" the vampire queen shouted.

"The interiors could've been ruined!" Bdubs yelled.

A ghast floated in through the hole, and the hermits collectively gasped.

"I thought you said-" Xisuma started, turning to Grian.

"I know what I said," he snapped. "And I don't know!"

"Is that any way to greet your sibling?" EX said, crossing their arms and lifting their mask.

"How are you here?" he asked, balling his hand into a fist.

"And not in the Void? Now why would I tell you that?" they pointed out. "Nice outfit by the way, should I call you Beesuma from now on?"

X rolled his eyes at the comment.

Wels gripped the handle of his plastic pirate sword, wishing he had a real one on him.

"Hels," he muttered.

"Told you I'd be back." He lifted his mask, revealing a smirk. His eyes fell on Jevin, who gripped his pirate sword out of habit.

"Get out of here," the knight demanded through gritted teeth.

"What makes you think I'd listen to you?" he scoffed. He hopped off the ghast and stepped towards his brother.

"Grian, tell me there's an armory in here," False said, not taking her eyes off of the two.

"I don't need a sword to get them out of my house," he declared, ready to charge them both. Mumbo gripped his waist, holding him back.

"Don't be reckless, Dear," he scolded.

"I'm going to slice his head clean off," Hels threatened, pointing his sword at the blue boy.

"I'd like to see you try," Jevin retorted.

"Doc, don't be an idiot, you can't take them both," Bdubs snapped, seizing his arm.

"What, are you doubting my ability to fight?" the hybrid accused, staring him down.

"Yes, actually. I don't want to see you hurt!"

Doc huffed but didn't fight back. Bdubs slid his hand down to give the other a squeeze.

"EX, we can be civil about this," Xisuma said slowly.

His sibling's eyes narrowed.

"My name is Xavion," they hissed before commanding the ghast to shoot at the ceiling.

"Why you little-" Wels heard Bdubs start but was cut off as the ceiling of the mansion began to crumble. With nothing else to use, he had no choice but to pull his plastic sword as his brother charged at him. He easily disarmed Wels and knocked him to the ground with the hilt of his sword.

"Are you getting rusty?" he taunted, pressing his foot into his chest.

"Get off of him!" Jevin snarled, lunging at Hels. The two rolled on the ground and the male in the demon costume managed to pin the other down. Wels rolled onto his stomach, his body shaking as he tried to stand. Gasping, he looked up as a pile of the ceiling came tumbling down. The blue boy tried to reach an arm out. "Wels!" he cried out.

The knight slowly lowered his arms and opened his eyes. He was trapped under the debris, but at least his head wasn't hit.

"Now you can watch him suffer," Hels sneered, driving his sword into Jevin's shoulder. The hermit cried out in pain and clenched his fists.

Wels frantically felt around until he found a small enough piece of ceiling to pick up. He threw it at his brother's hand, and the moment he recoiled Jevin was able to throw him off. Gripping the sword, he quickly pushed debris off of his boyfriend and hauled him to his feet.

"You okay?" the knight softly asked, pressing a hand to his cheek.

"I will be," he grimaced, his shoulder still aching. He handed over the netherite sword, and the two turned to Hels.

Xavion jumped off the ghast as Hypno managed to kill it.

"What exactly do you want?" the hermit dressed as a cat asked, lowering the crossbow he had found.

"Nothing much," they shrugged. "Just to remind you that the two of us are still out here," smirking, they raised their sword and aimed towards the admin standing next to him. "And you should be afraid." They charged Hypno, who only had the crossbow to defend himself. He did his best to block the attacks, but the weapon was knocked from his hands. Xavion touched his neck with the tip of the netherite sword.

"Xavion, don't," X protested.

"What does it matter? At least you guys respawn," they spat, pulling the sword back so they could swing it.

Inhaling sharply, the admin grasped his sibling's arm and pushed against their attack. "Don't you dare hurt him!" He narrowed his eyes and did his best to look intimidating for a man in a bee-hybrid costume.

Hypno exhaled and stepped back. It wasn't every day his life was threatened by a person who looked identical to his friend. 

Xavion stumbled backward but managed to hold their ground. "It'll take more than-" they snarled, interrupted only by a cup of beans tossed at their face. As the two males in front of them stifled a laugh, they whipped their heads in the direction of the bean attack to find Joe. The hermit dressed as his girlfriend was holding a now empty cup with bean juice dripping down the side. The enby sibling wiped beans off their cheek and glared at him. The male hurled the cup at their face, giving him time to duck as they swung the sword for his head.

"Go ahead, do it," Hels sneered.

He was still on the ground, his brother standing above him with the sword pointed at his chest.

"I should've known," he laughed, knocking the sword aside. He stood up and planted himself right in front of his brother. "Oh great and noble Wels can't bring himself to hurt his evil brother," he mocked.

Wels sighed, a tired smile lifting the corners of his mouth. "You're right. I don't want to hurt my brother," he quietly admitted.

Hels clicked his tongue, looking away.

The pirate turned to the slime hermit and kissed his forehead. "Let's find you a healing potion," he murmured.

"But what about your brother?" Jevin quietly protested.

"Well..." The two watched as Xavion stomped over to Hels and gripped his wrist.

"We're leaving, but make sure to take someone down on our way out," they hissed in his ear.

"Why are there beans all over you," he snorted.

"Don't," they sighed, walking towards the exit.

"A-Are they leaving?" Stress wondered, rubbing her head.

"No, don't touch it," False fretted, parting the brunette's hair to find the cut left by debris.

"Aw, honey," she cooed, taking her girlfriend's hand to kiss it.

"I feel like this isn't over yet," Doc worried, looking around.

Bdubs watched as, within moments, Hels looked over his shoulder, a bow in hand. He wanted to run, to duck, something, but his feet were cemented to the ground.

He never saw the arrow leave the bow.

He never heard Doc yell his name, or him reaching out in an attempt to push him out of the way.

It wasn't until the arrow pierced his chest that he knew what was happening.

Keralis screamed nonsense as the two party-crashers tossed ender pearls out of the hole of the mansion and disappeared. He led the group of hermits that swarmed around Bdubs, who collapsed in his boyfriend's arms. His body screamed for help as pain seeped through his nerves.

Grian pushed through the crowd and covered his mouth. "I-I'm sorry, this is all my fault. I never should've-"

"Don't worry about it," he insisted, only to immediately wince. He clawed at Doc's arms.

Mumbo placed a hand on his short boyfriend's shoulder. "It's going to be okay," he murmured. "It's not your fault,"

"But it is. I brought us all here with no way to protect ourselves. I thought we were safe here, but I should've added more security measures,"

"Stop." He tightened his grip, planting a kiss on his temple.

"Don't cry, I'm going to be fine," Bdubs murmured. The hybrid's tears dripped on his cheek.

"I-I know, but still..." his voice trailed off and he pressed his lips to the builder's forehead. The small male curled up in his embrace, his body turning cold. Doc buried his face in his hair until the hermit faded away in a puff of smoke.

Keralis clung to xB's shirt and took shaky breaths. "It's fine, it's fine, he'll be fine," he muttered over and over to himself.

"Alright everyone," Xisuma clapped his hands together. "I think we should head back to the overworld. We'll see Bdubs in the morning." Everyone mumbled in response. It didn't matter that the hermits could respawn, most of them would never be used to watching a friend die.

After Grian teleported everyone back, he apologized to them again and bid them farewell as they all headed out. He gave an extra apology to X, Doc, Wels, and Jevin. Once they had left, he slumped against a wall and slid down.

"C'mon, let's get you to bed. We can clean up tomorrow," Mumbo spoke softly as he picked up the vampire queen bridal style.

Doc sighed as he sat down next to Bdubs' bed. The male was fast asleep, but he was so still he looked- but he wasn't.

After a quick shower, he climbed into bed next to the recovering brunette. He wanted to hold him close, but he knew better than to disturb a hermit that was still in the process of respawning.

"Do you think we did enough?" Hels mumbled, leaning against his partner's side.

"I'm sure we did." They kissed his head and wrapped an arm around his waist.

Sleeping in the nether is a death wish, so the two have learned they could sit up against a respawn anchor to regain energy. Xavion could feel the exhaustion disappearing as they nuzzled the crook of their boyfriend's neck.

It was the next morning, and the dirty blonde began to peel decals off the walls. Mumbo was on the other side of the mansion, pulling down balloons. Grian jumped as his front doors whined as they opened.

"You could've knocked," he laughed, hiding the surprise of seeing his friends on his front steps.

"Too bad, we're here to help," Cub grinned. Before the hermit could say anything, Scar led the hermits into the mansion. Bdubs launched himself at his nether roommate.

"We'll help you fix up the Upside-Down Mansion too," he promised.

Grian squeezed him and tried to apologize, but the freckled brunette just wasn't having it.

"It's okay, it's not your fault," he insisted.

With the whole server helping, it only took until mid-afternoon to clean up both the mansion and rebuild the Upside Down.  Once everything was taken care of, Mumbo and Grian cooked up a large buffet-style lunch for them all to enjoy, and stay distracted from the possible threats that lurked in the nether. 

Sorry this was such a mess, it's hard writing so many hermits at once (T^T)

I know not everyone was in the second part, and it was very much Jels, Xisuma, Hypno and Hex centered, but y'all are just going to have to deal with that.

Also, you really think I could go a whole fic without hurting Bdubs? Try again. And it got so much more angsty than I intended, I hope the beans helped lighten the mood